file was produced from images generously made available by the posner memorial collection (http://posner.library.cmu.edu/posner/)) journal of the proceedings of the linnean society. zoology. vol. iii. london: longman, brown, green, longmans & roberts, and williams and norgate. . printed by taylor and francis, red lion court, fleet street. list of papers. page baikie, dr. extract of a letter from dr. baikie to sir john richardson, m.d., c.b., f.r. & l.s., dated th october, , rabba, on the qworra bate, c. spence, esq., f.l.s. on the importance of an examination of the structure of the integument of crustacea in the determination of doubtful species.--application to the genus _galathea_, with the description of a new species of that genus bell, thomas, esq., p.l.s. description of a new genus of crustacea, of the family pinnotheridæ; in which the fifth pair of legs are reduced to an almost imperceptible rudiment darwin, charles, esq., f.r.s., f.l.s., & f.g.s., and wallace, alfred r., esq. on the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection hanbury, daniel, esq., f.l.s. note on two insect-products from persia higgins, rev. henry. death of the common hive bee; supposed to be occasioned by a parasitic fungus huxley, t. h., esq., f.r.s., professor of natural history, government school of mines. on some points in the anatomy of _nautilus pompilius_ knox, r., esq., m.d., f.r.s.e. contributions to the anatomy and natural history of the cetacea. smith, frederick, esq., assistant in the zoological department in the british museum. catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected at celebes by mr. a. r. wallace catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by mr. a. r. wallace at the islands of aru and key walker, francis, esq., f.l.s. catalogue of the dipterous insects collected in the aru islands by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species catalogue of the heterocerous lepidoptera collected at singapore by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species catalogue of the heterocerous lepidopterous insects collected at malacca by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species wallace, alfred r., esq., and darwin, charles esq., f.r.s., f.l.s., & f.g.s. on the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection washington, captain. natural-history extracts from the journal of captain denham, h.m. surveying vessel 'herald,' wetherell, john w., esq. notice of the occurrence of recent worm tracks in the upper part of the london clay formation near highgate index journal of the proceedings of the linnean society of london. on the importance of an examination of the structure of the integument of crustacea in the determination of doubtful species.--application to the genus _galathea_, with the description of a new species of that genus. by spence bate, esq., f.l.s. [read january , .] of the various genera of decapod crustacea none are more interesting, or more difficult of description, than those which constitute the family galatheadæ. the interest attaching to these forms arises from the intermediate position which they occupy in the natural arrangement of the class, their structure placing them between the macrura and brachyura; in accordance with which we find that, whilst professor m.-edwards classes them among the macrura, professor bell, in his work on the british crustacea, places them (more correctly, as we think) in the intermediate group of anomura. this opinion is fully borne out both in the development of the animals and in their structure in the adult state. the early form of the larva bears, anteriorly, a resemblance to the brachyural type, whilst the caudal appendages assimilate to those of the macrura. the same conditions obtain in the young of anomura. at the time of birth, the larva, like that of the brachyura, has only the two gnathopoda developed, whilst the termination of the tail is like that of a fish, as in the macrura. in the adult, the internal antennæ possess short flagella and complementary appendages, such as exist in the order brachyura, whilst the external antennæ have the long and slender flagella proper to the macrura. the _scale_, however, commonly appended to the external antennæ in the latter order is wanting, a circumstance which exhibits a relation to the brachyura. an examination of the legs shows that the coxæ are fused with the thorax, as in the brachyura, and not articulated with it as in the macrura, whilst, on the other hand, the posterior division and caudal termination approach the macrural type more nearly than that of the brachyura, the animal thus assuming a character intermediate between the two orders. but in the description of the several species of the genus _galathea_, a peculiar difficulty appears to arise, originating in the affinity which they bear to each other. so close, in fact, is the approximation, that the descriptions of the best writers will scarcely avail for the distinction of the individual species without the assistance of figures. this arises from the fact that the general characters, upon which the descriptions are based, vary, in this genus, only in their comparative degrees of development. in the three species recognized in professor bell's work on the british crustacea, it will be found that each species retains the same characters in greater or less degree. _galathea strigosa_ is peculiar for the spinous character of the carapace and cheliform legs. every spine, however, is repeated in both the other species, only less developed. we find the rostrum furnished with four lateral teeth on each side, a character which also exists in each of the other species; and although close observation may detect a slightly different arrangement in the relative position of these teeth, the differences are not of sufficient importance to enable a naturalist thence to derive a specific distinction, unless the peculiarity is seconded by some more unqualified character less liable to be affected by any peculiarity of condition. in order to arrive at more certain results in the identification of species, we think that the microscopic examination of the surface of the integument will be found peculiarly useful. this mode of examination of species may also be applied to a considerable extent throughout the crustacea generally with great advantage; and if found valuable in recent, there can be no doubt that it will prove of far greater importance in extinct forms, where parts on which the identification of species visually rests are lost, and fragments only of the animal obtainable. it should be borne in mind that, as the structure in question undergoes modifications more or less considerable in different parts of the animal, it will always be advisable to compare the corresponding parts with each other. applying this test to the known species of _galathea,_ we perceive that the structure of the integument upon the arms, independent of the marginal spines, exhibits a squamiform appearance, but that the scales, which characterise the structure, possess features peculiar to each species. in _galathea strigosa_ the scales are convex, distant from each other, smooth at the edge, and fringed with long hairs. in _g. squamifera_ they are convex, closely placed, scalloped at the edge, and without hairs. in _g. nexa_ the scales are obsolete, tufts of hair representing the supposed edges. in _g. depressa_, n. sp., the scales are broad, less convex than in _g. strigosa_ and _g. squamifera_, smooth, closely set, and fringed with short hairs. in _g. andrewsii_ they are small, distant, very convex, tipped with red, and slightly furnished with hair. as another instance of the practical application of the microscopical examination of the surface, i would refer to two species of amphipoda, classed by leach under the name of _gammarus locusta_, from his inability to assign them any separate specific characters. in the structure of their integuments, however, these two forms will be found to exhibit widely different microscopical appearances. again, there exists in the same group three or four species, the description of any one of which would apply to either of the others; and it is probable they would never have been ranked as separate species had not their habitats been geographically distant. thus _gammarus olivii_, m.-ed., _g. affinis_, m.-e., _g. kröyii_, rathke, and _g. gracilis_, r., can only be specifically determined by a microscopic examination of the integument. the same may be said of other amphipoda, such as _urothoe inostratus_, dana, from south america, which so nearly resembles in form the _u. elegans_ of the british shores. galathea dispersa, mihi. _g._ rostro brevi, dentibus utrinque ornato, anterioribus minoribus; pedibus anterioribus elongatis, sparse spiosus; chelarum digitis parallelis. galathea with short rostrum, armed on each side with teeth, the two posterior being less important than the two anterior. the fingers of the chelæ impinge through their whole length; outer margin of the hand furnished with or small spines. _hab._ trawling-ground, plymouth, common; moray frith, scotland. this species unites _g. andrewsii_ with _g. nexa_, and, i think, has often been mistaken for the young of the latter; but _g. nexa_, so far as my experience goes, is a species peculiar to the north of england, whereas _g. dispersa_, i anticipate, will be found to be the most universally dispersed, in deep water, of any of the species known. it can always be detected from _g. nexa_ by the form of the hand and the manner in which the fingers impinge: in _g. nexa_ the hand is broad towards the extremity, and the fingers meet only at the apex; in _g. dispersa_ the hand gradually narrows to the apex, and the fingers meet each other through their whole length, the inner margin of the finger being finely serrated, the thumb not. it also may be distinguished from _g. andrewsii_ by the breadth of the hands, which are narrow and round in _g. andrewsii_, and moderately broad and flat in _g. dispersa_. by an examination of the texture of the integument under a magnifying power of low degree, the surface of _g. dispersa_ will be seen distinctly to differ from that of any of the others; it is covered with flat scales, fringed with short cilia. the length of the animal, including the arms, is about - / inches. catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected at celebes by mr. a. r. wallace. by frederick smith, esq., assistant in the zoological department, british museum. communicated by w. w. saunders, esq., f.r.s., f.l.s. [read april th, .] this collection of the hymenoptera of celebes is specially interesting, as adding greatly to our knowledge of the geographical range of many well-known species, while the additions made to the fossorial group contain many of great beauty and rarity. a new species belonging to the tribe of solitary wasps, _odynerus clavicornis_, is perhaps the most interesting insect in the collection; this wasp has clavate antennæ, the flagellum being broadly dilated towards the apex, convex above and concave beneath. i am not acquainted with any other insect belonging to the vespidious group which exhibits such an anomaly. fam. andrenidÆ, _leach._ gen. sphecodes, _latr._ . sphecodes insularis. _s._ niger, abdominis segmentis primo secundo et tertio (basi) rubris; alis hyalinis. _male._ length - / lines. head and thorax black, closely and strongly punctured; the face below the antennæ with silvery-white pubescence; the joints of the flagellum submoniliform; the mandibles ferruginous. thorax: the tegulæ pale rufo-testaceous, wings hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the metathorax coarsely rugose; the articulations of the legs and the tarsi ferruginous. abdomen: the first, second, and base of the third segments red, the apical ones black, very finely and closely punctured, with the apical margins of the segments smooth and shining; a black spot in the middle of the basal segment. _hab._ celebes. gen. nomia, _latr._ . nomia punctata. _n._ nigra nitida punctata, alis nigro-fuscis. _male._ length - / lines. shining black: head and thorax coarsely punctured, the metathorax ruggedly sculptured, truncate at the apex, the truncation and sides smooth with a few fine punctures; the abdomen closely and rather finely punctured, the apical margins of the segments smooth and shining. the tips of the mandibles, the tarsi and apex of the abdomen rufo-testaceous, the wings fuscous. _hab._ celebes. . nomia flavipes. _n._ nigra pedibus flavis, abdomine cinereo fasciato, alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the face and cheeks densely clothed with short cinereous pubescence, the vertex thinly so; the margins of the prothorax, mesothorax and scutellum with a line of pale ochraceous pubescence, the disk of the thorax thinly covered with short pubescence of the same colour, the emargination of the metathorax as well as its sides with longer pubescence of the same colour; the base of the abdomen and basal margin of the second and following segments covered with short cinereous pubescence. the flagellum beneath fulvous; the mandibles ferruginous. the legs reddish-yellow, with the coxæ and base of the femora black; the wings hyaline; the tegulæ yellow, the nervures pale testaceous. _hab._ celebes. . nomia formosa. _n._ capite thoraceque nigris; abdomine chalybeo; marginibus apicalibus segmentorum cæruleo fasciatis. _female._ length - / lines. head and thorax black and very closely punctured; the face covered with griseous pubescence; the clypeus with a central longitudinal carina. thorax: the apical margin of the prothorax, the margins of the scutellum, and the sides of the metathorax covered with a dense short ochraceous pubescence; the disk of the thorax thinly sprinkled with short black hairs; the posterior tibiæ obscurely ferruginous; the tarsi ferruginous; the legs covered with bright golden-yellow pubescence; wings subhyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the tegulæ yellow with a fuscous stain in the middle. abdomen obscurely chalybeous, closely punctured, the two basal segments strongly so; the apical margins of the segments with smooth shining narrow blue fasciæ. _male._ closely resembling the female, but with the legs black; the posterior femora incrassate, the tibiæ narrow at their base and broadly dilated at their apex, which, as well as the calcaria, are pale testaceous. this species closely resembles a species from north china, _n. chalybeata_, westw. ms., from which it is readily distinguished by the form of the fourth ventral segment, which is notched in the middle, rounded, and then emarginate with the lateral angles rounded; in the species from china the margin is arched, and fringed with fulvous pubescence. . nomia haliotoides. _n._ nigra, pube cinerea tecta, abdominis segmentis intermediis pube alba fasciatis. _female._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax opake, and thinly clothed with cinereous pubescence, that on the disk of the thorax and margin of the scutellum slightly ochraceous. the flagellum fulvous beneath, the mandibles ferruginous at their apex; the tarsi ferruginous, wings hyaline, nervures fuscous, stigma testaceous. abdomen shining, delicately punctured; the basal margins of the second, third, and fourth segments with a band of cinereous pubescence, attenuated in the middle. _hab._ celebes. fam. dasygastrÆ. . megachile incisa. _m._ nigra, rude et dense punctata, facie fulvo pubescente; alis fuscis, segmentis abdominis marginibus multo depressis. _male._ length - / lines. black; closely and strongly punctured, the punctures confluent on the abdomen. the face clothed with fulvous pubescence. the tarsi obscurely rufo-piceous, the claws ferruginous; wings dark fuscous, their base hyaline. abdomen: the apical margins of the segments smooth, impunctate, their basal margins very deeply depressed; a deep fovea at the tip of the apical segment; the head, thorax, and abdomen clothed beneath with short cinereous pubescence. _hab._ celebes. . megachile fulvifrons. _m._ nigra, delicatule punctata; facie dense fulvo pubescente; thoracis lateribus abdomineque subtus fulvo pubescentibus; fasciis marginalibus abdominis fulvis. _female._ length lines. black; head and thorax closely punctured, the abdomen delicately so and shining; the mandibles stout, with two acute teeth at their apex, shining and covered with oblong punctures; the face, sides of the thorax, and abdomen beneath, densely clothed with fulvous pubescence; the apical margins of the segments of the abdomen above with narrow fasciæ of short fulvous pubescence; the abdomen in certain lights has a metallic tinge. the _male_ is similarly clothed to the female, the margins of the segments are deeply depressed, and that of the apical segment slightly notched in the middle. _hab._ celebes. . megachile terminalis. _m._ nigra, capite thoraceque dense punctatis; abdomine pube nigra vestito; segmentis duobus apicalibus pube alba vestitis; alis fuscis. _female._ length lines. black; the face with tufts of black pubescence above the insertion of the antennæ; mandibles very stout, with an acute tooth at their apex, the inner margin subdentate, and covered with fine cinereous pubescence. thorax with black pubescence at the sides of the metathorax; the wings dark fuscous. abdomen clothed with black pubescence; the fifth and sixth segments clothed with ochraceous pubescence above, that on the sixth nearly white. _hab._ celebes. this species resembles the _m. ornata_; but when viewed beneath, the different colour of the pollen-brush at once separates them. gen. ceratina, _spin._ . ceratina viridis, _guér. icon. reg. ann._ . t. . f. . _hab._ india (bengal, n. india), ceylon, celebes, china. . ceratina hieroglyphica, _smith_, _cat. hym. ins._ ii. . _hab._ northern india, celebes, philippine islands, hong kong. fam. denudatÆ. . stelis abdominalis. _s._ dense punctata, capite thoraceque nigris, abdomine ferrugineo; alis nigro-fuscis violaceo iridescentibus. _male._ length lines. head and thorax black, abdomen ferruginous; head and thorax strongly punctured, the scutellum very strongly so; the sides of the face and the anterior margin of the face fringed with white pubescence. the posterior margin of the scutellum rounded; wings dark brown with a violet iridescence. abdomen ferruginous and closely punctured. _hab._ celebes. . coelioxys fulvifrons. _c._ nigra, rude punctata, facie pube fulva vestita; alis fuscis cupreo iridescentibus. _male._ length lines. black; the head and thorax with large confluent punctures; the face clothed with fulvous pubescence. thorax: a stout tooth on each side of the scutellum at its base; wings dark brown with a coppery effulgence, subhyaline at their base; beneath clothed with short cinereous pubescence. abdomen: elongate, conical; closely punctured, with the apical and basal margins of the segments smooth; the apical segment with a tooth on each side at its base and four at its apex; beneath the margins of the segments fringed with pale pubescence; the apical margin of the fourth segment notched in the middle; the fifth entirely clothed with pale pubescence. _hab._ celebes. fam. scopulipedes. gen. anthophora, _latr._ . anthophora zonata, _linn. syst. nat._ i. . . _hab._ india, ceylon, malacca, sumatra, borneo, philippine islands, hong kong, shanghai, celebes. gen. xylocopa, _latr._ . xylocopa fenestrata, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . [symbol: male]. _hab._ india, celebes. . xylocopa æstuans, _linn. syst. nat._ . . _hab._ india, java, singapore, celebes. . xylocopa dejeanii, _st. farg. hym._ ii. . . _hab._ java, borneo, sumatra, celebes. . xylocopa collaris, _st. farg. hym._ ii. . . _hab._ india, sumatra, malacca, borneo, celebes. . xylocopa nobilis. _x._ nigra, pube nigra induta; abdominis basi pube flava, apice lateritio. _female._ length lines. black; a narrow line of pale fulvous pubescence on the margin of the thorax in front, a patch of the same colour on each side of the metathorax, and the basal segment of the abdomen covered above with similar pubescence; the apical margin of the third and fourth segments, and the fifth and six entirely, covered with bright brick-red pubescence; the wings black, with coppery iridescence. _hab._ celebes. fam. sociales. . apis zonata. _a._ nigra, thoracis lateribus dense ochraceo pubescentibus; alis fumatis; abdomine nitido, segmentis secundo tertio quartoque basi niveo pubescentibus. _worker._ length -- - / lines. black; the head and thorax opake, the abdomen shining; the clypeus smooth and shining, the flagellum rufo-piceous beneath; the anterior margin of the labrum narrowly, and the apex of the mandibles, ferruginous; the face with a little fine short cinereous pubescence above the insertion of the antennæ; the vertex with long black pubescence; the eyes covered with short black pubescence. thorax: the sides with ochraceous pubescence; wings smoky, the superior pair darkest at their anterior margin beyond the stigma. abdomen: a snow-white band at the basal margin of the second, third, and fourth segments, the bands continued beneath, but narrower. _hab._ celebes, philippine islands. specimens of this species denuded of their white bands would approach the _a. unicolor_ of latreille; but that insect is described as having the anterior wings black; in the present species both pairs are of the same smoky colour, not approaching black. fam. mutillidÆ. gen. mutilla. . mutilla sexmaculata, _swed. nov. act. holm._ viii. . . [symbol: female]. mutilla fuscipennis, _fabr. syst. piez._ . . [symbol: male]. _hab._ india (punjaub, &c.), china, java, celebes. . mutilla unifasciata, _smith_, _cat. hym._ pt. iii. p. . _hab._ india, celebes. . mutilla rufogastra, _st. farg. hym._ iii. . . [symbol: male]. _hab._ india, celebes. . mutilla volatilis. _m._ nigra, rude punctata et pubescens; capite abdomineque nitidis, alis fusco-hyalinis. _male._ length - lines. black. head and thorax very coarsely punctured; head and disk of the thorax punctured; the metathorax opake, with a central abbreviated channel and covered with large shallow punctures; the eyes notched on their inner margin; wings fuscous and iridescent; the tegulæ smooth and shining. abdomen shining and rather finely punctured; the basal segment narrow and campanulate; the margins of the segments thickly fringed with silvery-white hair; the cheeks, sides of the thorax, and beneath the legs and abdomen with scattered long silvery-white hairs. _hab._ celebes. fam. scoliadÆ, _leach._ gen. scolia, _fabr._ . scolia erratica, _smith_, _cat. hym. ins._ pt. iii. p. . . scolia verticalis, _burm. abh. nat.-ges. halle_, i. . . _hab._ india, sumatra, celebes. . scolia aurulenta, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iii. p. . . (nec _fabr._). _hab._ philippine islands, celebes. . scolia fimbriata, _burm. abh. nat.-ges. halle_, i. p. . . _hab._ java, celebes. . scolia dimidiata, _guér. voy. coq. zool._ ii. pt. . p. . _hab._ senegal, celebes. . scolia terminata. _s._ nigra, clypeo mandibulisque flavis, thorace flavo variegato, alis hyalinis, abdomine flavo quinque-fasciato, apicisque marginibus flavis. _male._ length lines. black; the clypeus, labrum, and mandibles yellow; the former with a triangular black spot in the middle; the latter ferruginous at their apex. the posterior margin of the prothorax, the tegulæ, a transverse curved line on the scutellum, and a spot on the postscutellum yellow; the anterior and intermediate tarsi, tibiæ, and knees, and the posterior tibiæ outside, yellow; a black line on the intermediate tibiæ beneath, and the apical joints of the tarsi fuscous; wings hyaline, the nervures ferruginous. abdomen brightly prismatic; the margins of all the segments with a narrow yellow fascia, those on the second and third segments terminating at the sides in a large rounded macula; the fascia very narrow or obliterated on the sixth segment; the fasciæ on the second and third segments continued beneath. _hab._ celebes. . scolia agilis. _s._ nigra, mandibulis clypeoque flavis, alis fulvo-hyalinis, abdomine prismatico flavo quadrifasciato. _male._ length lines. black and punctured, with thin long griseous pubescence; the vertex, disk of the thorax, and the abdomen shining; the mandibles and clypeus yellow, the latter with a black bell-shaped spot in the middle; wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the tibiæ with a yellow line outside. abdomen beautifully prismatic; the first and three following segments with a yellow fascia on their apical margins, the second and two following much attenuated in the middle, or the fourth interrupted. _hab._ celebes. . scolia fulvipennis. _s._ nigra, antennis capiteque supra basin antennarum rubris, alis fulvo-hyalinis. _male._ length lines. black; the antennæ and the head above their insertion ferruginous, the scape black, the head coarsely punctured. thorax: coarsely punctured; the mesothorax with an abbreviated deeply impressed line in the middle of its anterior margin; wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the apex of the wings slightly fuscous, the anterior pair with two submarginal cells and one recurrent nervure. abdomen: shining, punctured, and prismatic. _hab._ celebes. . scolia alecto. _s._ nigra, capite supra basin antennarum rubro; alis nigris violaceo micantibus. _female._ length lines. black and shining; head red above the insertion of the antennæ, very smooth and glossy, with a few punctures at the sides of and in front of the ocelli; antennæ black; the mandibles with a fringe of ferruginous hairs on their inferior margin. thorax: smooth on the disk, which has a few scattered punctures at the sides; the scutellum punctured and shining; the thorax in front and the metathorax with black pubescence, the latter widely emarginate at the verge of the truncation, the lateral angles produced; wings black with a bright violet iridescence. abdomen punctured, with the middle of the second, third, and fourth segments smooth and shining in the middle; the first segment with a smooth shining carina at its base slightly produced forwards, the abdomen with a slight metallic lustre. the wings with one marginal and three submarginal cells, and one recurrent nervure. _male._ smaller than the female, and differs in having the clypeus red and the red colour running down behind the eyes, the antennæ longer, and the abdomen with a bright metallic iridescence. _hab._ celebes. . scolia minuta. _s._ nigra, abdomine iridescente, segmentorum marginibus apicalibus flavo fasciatis, alis subhyalinis iridescentibus. _male._ length lines. head and thorax black and shining, with scattered pale pubescence; the mandibles and clypeus yellow, the latter with an anchor-shaped black spot. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax and the anterior and intermediate tibiæ and tarsi yellow; a minute yellow spot on the postscutellum yellow; the wings subhyaline, the nervures fusco-ferruginous. abdomen: the apical margins of the segments with a narrow yellow border, the second and third uniting with a lateral spot; the sixth segment immaculate; the apex pale testaceous. _hab._ celebes. fam. pompilidÆ, _leach_. . pompilus analis, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ india, java, ceylon, celebes. . pompilus saltitans. _p._ niger, pedibus subferrugineis, prothoracis margine postica flava; alis flavo-hyalinis, apice fuscis, abdomine pilis cinereis fasciato. _female._ length lines. black and thinly covered with ashy pile. the scape, labrum, mandibles and palpi ferruginous; the clypeus widely emarginate anteriorly. the posterior margin of the prothorax angular and with a yellow border; the scutellum prominent, covered on each side with a dense silvery-white pile, the postscutellum with two spots of the same; the wings flavo-hyaline, their apex with a broad dark-fuscous border, the nervures ferruginous, the tegulæ yellow; the posterior wings palest; legs pale ferruginous, the coxæ black with their tips pale; the apical joints of the tarsi blackish, the spines of the legs black. abdomen: the first, second, and third segments with a fascia of silvery-white pile at their basal margins; the apex of the abdomen ferruginous. _hab._ celebes. . pompilus contortus. _p._ niger, cinereo-pilosus, prothorace flavo postice marginato; alis subhyalinis, marginibus apicalibus fuscis, pedibus subferrugineis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the head, thorax, and four basal segments of the abdomen covered with ashy pile; the first and second segments with their apical margins naked. the scape yellow in front; the flagellum beneath, the labrum, mandibles and palpi ferruginous; the joints of the antennæ arcuate, particularly the apical ones; the apex of each joint is oblique, giving the antennæ a twisted appearance. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax angular and with a broad yellow border; the scutellum compressed and prominent; wings subhyaline with a broad fuscous border at their apex, the tegulæ yellow; legs pale ferruginous, with their coxæ and trochanters black; the apical joints of the tarsi fuscous. abdomen with a yellow macula at the tip. _hab._ celebes. . pompilus pilifrons. _p._ niger, facie argenteis pilis dense tecta; thorace abdomineque flavo maculatis, alis subhyalinis, apice fuscis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the face densely covered with silvery-white pile; a narrow line at the inner orbits of the eyes, the palpi and mandibles yellow; the latter ferruginous at their apex. the posterior margin of the prothorax rounded and yellow; a minute yellow spot on the mesothorax touching the scutellum, the thorax and abdomen covered with a changeable silky pile; the wings subhyaline, their nervures fuscous, a broad dark fuscous border at the apex of the superior pair. a transverse spot on each side of the basal margin of the second and third segments, and an emarginate fascia on that of the fifth, yellow. . pompilus deceptor. _p._ rufescenti-flavus; vertice nigro, alis anticis apice fuscis. _male._ length lines. pale reddish-yellow; the antennæ slightly dusky above; a black transverse stripe on the vertex between the eyes, and another issuing from it in the middle and passing beyond the ocelli. thorax: a black stripe on each side of the mesothorax over the tegulæ; the wings subhyaline, the nervures ferruginous, the superior pair fuscous at their apex. abdomen immaculate. subgenus priocnemis. . priocnemis rufifrons. _p._ niger; facie, antennis, tibiis tarsisque ferrugineis, alis fulvo-hyalinis; abdominis segmento apicali flavo unimaculato. _female._ length - / lines. black; the face above the clypeus, as high as the anterior ocellus, reddish-yellow; the extreme edge of the clypeus, the labrum and base of the mandibles ferruginous; the antennæ reddish-yellow. thorax: fulvo-hyaline, with a dark fuscous border at the apex; the knees, tibiæ and tarsi reddish-yellow; the two latter spinose. abdomen: gradually tapering to an acute point at the apex, the sixth segment with an elongate red spot. _hab._ celebes. subgenus agenia. . agenia blanda, _guér. voy. coq. zool._ ii. pt. . p. . . agenia bimaculata. _a._ nigra, cinereo-pilosa, clypeo plagis duabus flavis; antennarum articulis apicalibus, tibiis tarsisque anticis et intermediis femoribusque posticis ferrugineis; alis subhyalinis, nervuris nigris. _female._ length lines. black, and covered with ashy pile; a large macula on each side of the clypeus, the mandibles and palpi yellow; the base and apex of the mandibles rufo-piceous; the flagellum pale ferruginous, more or less fuscous above towards the base. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax arched; the anterior and intermediate tibiæ and tarsi and the femora at their apex beneath, also the posterior femora, pale ferruginous; the wings subhyaline, the nervures dark fuscous. abdomen: the apical margins of the segments obscurely and narrowly rufo-piceous, the apex ferruginous. _hab._ celebes. gen. macromeris, _st. farg._ . macromeris splendida, _st. farg. hym. iii._ . . [symbol: male]. _hab._ india, china, malacca, borneo, java, celebes. gen. mygnimia, _smith_. . mygnimia iridipennis, _smith, journ. proc. linn. soc._ ii. p. . _hab._ celebes, borneo. this insect, a female, is lines larger than _m. iridipennis_; but i can point out no other distinction beyond a slight difference in the colour of the wings: the specimen from borneo has a metallic bluish-green iridescence, the celebes insect has a violet iridescence; notwithstanding which i am inclined to regard them as one species. . mygnimia fumipennis. _m._ aurantiaco-rubra, alis obscure fuscis. _female._ length lines. orange-red; the anterior margin of the clypeus entire; the labrum produced, its anterior margin widely emarginate; eyes large, black and ovate. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax rounded; the mesothorax with a longitudinal fuscous stripe on each side, widest anteriorly; the metathorax truncate; above, transversely striate; the tibiæ and tarsi spinose; wings dark fuscous, with a pale semitransparent macula at the base of the second discoidal cell and a dark fuscous macula beyond; the insect entirely covered with a fine orange-red downy pile. _hab._ celebes. fam. sphegidÆ. . sphex prÆdator. _s._ niger, rude punctatus, facie pube fulva vestita; alis fuscis cupreo iridescentibus. _male._ length - / lines. black; the head and thorax opake. abdomen shining blue-black. the face with silvery pile on each side of the clypeus, and sprinkled with erect black hairs. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax with a line of silvery pubescence; the metathorax with a short light-brown pubescence at the apex, and thinly clothed with black hairs; wings dark brown, with a brilliant violet iridescence. abdomen blue-black, smooth and shining. _hab._ celebes. . ammophila insolata. _a._ nigra, scapo mandibulis, pedibus, abdominisque segmentis primo et secundo ferrugineis; alis subhyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the scape, the base of the flagellum beneath, the anterior margin of the clypeus and the mandibles ferruginous; the latter black at their apex. thorax: the prothorax smooth and shining; the meso- and metathorax above transversely striated, the scutellum longitudinally so; the legs ferruginous, with their coxæ black; a spot of silvery-white pubescence on each side of the metathorax at its base, and two at its apex close to the insertion of the petiole; the wings fulvo-hyaline with the nervures ferruginous. abdomen: the petiole and the following segment red, the base of the third also slightly red; the three apical segments obscurely blue, with a thin glittering pile. the _male_ differs in having the legs black, their articulations only being ferruginous; the head entirely black with the face densely covered with silvery-white pile. the thorax is sculptured as in the other sex; the petiole more elongate and slender, the basal joint black, the second and the first segment ferruginous beneath; the rest of the abdomen blue. _hab._ celebes. gen. pelopÆus, _latr._ . pelopæus madraspatanus, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ malabar, madras, nepaul, bengal, celebes. . pelopæus bengalensis, _dahlb. syst. nat._ i. . . _hab._ india, philippine islands, china, isle of france, celebes. . pelopÆus intrudens. _p._ niger; clypeo bidentato, tibiis anticis et intermediis, femorumque apice, femoribusque posticis basi, trochanteribus, tibiarum dimidio basali, petioloque rufescenti-flavis; alis fulvo-hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; the face with silvery pubescence; the clypeus with two large blunt teeth at its apex, formed by a deep notch in its anterior margin; the scape reddish-yellow in front. the meso- and metathorax transversely striated; the wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the anterior and intermediate tibiæ and the femora at their apex, the posterior femora at their base, the trochanters, the tibiæ with their basal half and the middle of the basal joint of the posterior tarsi, reddish-yellow; the petiole of the abdomen of a paler yellow; the abdomen smooth and shining. the male only differs in being rather smaller. _hab._ celebes. mr. wallace says of this species, "a common house-wasp in macassar; builds mud cells on rafters." _note._--in describing the species of this genus collected by mr. wallace at borneo, i incorrectly gave that locality for _p. javanus_. the insect mistaken for that species may be shortly characterized as p. _benignus_, length lines. opake-black, with the petiole shining; the metathorax transversely striated; the wings pale fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the scape in front, the anterior and intermediate tibiæ, the apex of the femora, and the basal joint of the tarsi reddish-yellow; the posterior legs, with the trochanters and basal half of the femora, yellow. . pelopÆus flavo-fasciatus. _p._ niger; capite thoraceque flavo variegato; pedibus abdominisque basi ferrugineis; alis hyalinis, apice fuscis, abdominisque segmento tertio fascia lata flava ornato. _female._ length lines. black; the clypeus yellow; the mandibles and scape ferruginous, the former black at their base, the latter yellow in front; the sides of the face with a bright golden pile. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax, the tegulæ, scutellum, and a quadrate spot on each side of the metathorax at its base yellow; the legs ferruginous, with the coxæ, trachanters, and claw-joint of the tarsi black; wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous, a fuscous spot at the apex of the anterior pair; the meso- and metathorax transversely striated, the latter with a yellow spot at the insertion of the petiole. abdomen: the petiole slightly curved upwards, the first segment ferruginous; a broad yellow fascia at the apex of the third segment, the apex of the fourth with a narrow obscure fascia; the abdomen covered with a fine silky pile. _hab._ celebes. fam. bembicidÆ, _westw._ . bembex trepanda, _dahlb. hym. europ._ i. p. . _hab._ india, celebes. fam. larridÆ. genus larra, _fabr._ . larra prismatica, _smith, journ. proc. linn. soc._ ii. p. . _hab._ malacca, celebes. genus larrada, _smith_. . larrada aurulenta, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. . . sphex aurulenta, _fabr. mant._ i. . . _hab._ india, java, sumatra, celebes, philippine islands, china, cape of good hope, gambia. . larrada exilipes, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. p. . . larrada Ædilis. _l._ nigra; facie argenteo-pilosa, alis subhyalinis, articulis apicalibus tarsorum rufo-testaceis, abdomine lævi et nitido. _female._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax subopake, the abdomen shining; the face densely covered with silvery pile, the cheeks, sides of the thorax and abdomen thinly so; the tips of the mandibles and apical joints of the tarsi ferruginous, the latter obscurely so. the metathorax transversely and rather finely rugose, the truncation more strongly striated; the scutellum shining; the wings subhyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the tibiæ with scattered spines, the tarsi spinose. . larrada aurifrons. _l._ nigra; facie mesothoracis metathoracisque lateribus aurato pubescentibus, abdominis marginibus segmentorum trium basalium argentato piloso fasciatis; alis fuscis. _male._ length lines. black; the face and outer orbits of the eyes clothed with golden pile; the lateral margins of the mesothorax and the metathorax thinly clothed with golden pile; wings dark fuscous with a violet iridescence; the three basal segments of the abdomen with fasciæ of silvery pile. _hab._ celebes. . larrada personata. _l._ capite thoraceque nigris, abdomine ferrugineo. _female._ length - / lines. head, thorax, and legs black; the two former closely punctured and thinly covered with short cinereous pubescence; the metathorax with the punctures running into transverse striæ in the middle; the sides of the thorax and the legs with a fine silky silvery-white pile; the tibiæ and tarsi strongly spinose; wings fusco-hyaline; abdomen entirely red, smooth and shining. the _male_ is smaller, and has the four apical segments of the abdomen black, the face, cheeks, and apical margins of the segments of the abdomen with silvery pile. _hab._ celebes. this is probably merely a variety of _l. simillima_, wanting the black apex to the abdomen; it very much resembles the l. _anathema_ of europe. . larrada rufipes. _l._ nigra, mandibulis pedibusque rufis; alis hyalinis, venis pallide testaceis; abdomine sericeo-piloso. _female._ length lines. black; the head smooth and shining; the clypeus, the cheeks, and face anteriorly covered with silvery pile; the scape in front, the mandibles, and palpi ferruginous. thorax: the sides and beneath with a thin silvery-white pile; the legs ferruginous with the coxæ black, the posterior pair red beneath; the thorax closely punctured, the metathorax transversely striated; wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures pale-testaceous. abdomen shining, very closely and delicately punctured; thinly covered with a fine white silky pile, which is very bright on the margins of the segments, which are slightly rufo-piceous. the _male_ closely resembles the female, and is similarly sculptured and coloured. _hab._ celebes. . larrada festinans. _l._ nigra; facie abdominisque marginibus segmentorum argentato-pilosis. _female._ length lines. black; the face and cheeks thinly covered with silvery pile. thorax: the disk very closely punctured, the metathorax rugose; the sides and the legs with a fine glittering sericeous pile, the wings subhyaline, their apical margins fuscous, the nervures fuscous. abdomen smooth and sinning, covered with a thin silky pile, the apical margins with bright silvery fasciæ, only observable in certain lights. the _male_ closely resembles the female, but has the face more silvery. _hab._ celebes. genus morphota, _smith_. . morphota formosa. _m._ capite thoraceque nigris; abdomine rufo, apice nigro, pilis argentatis ornato. _female._ length lines. black, with the two basal segments of the abdomen red; covered with a brilliant changeable silvery pile, most dense on the face, cheeks, sides of the metathorax, and on the apical margins of the abdominal segments. the mandibles ferruginous, with their apex piceous. the vertex smooth, and having _three distinct ocelli_; the head more produced behind the eyes than in _larrada_. thorax: the prothorax subtuberculate at the sides; wings subhyaline and iridescent, the nervures fuscous, the tegulæ pale testaceous behind. the apical margin of the first segment of the abdomen rufo-fuscous. _hab._ celebes. the insects belonging to the genus _morphota_ differ from those of _larrada_ in having three distinct ocelli, the vertex without any depressions, and the head much less compressed than in _larrada_; the recurrent nervures are received nearer to the base and apex of the second submarginal cell; the species have, in fact, a distinct habit, and do not assimilate with the species of _larrada_. genus tachytes, _panz._ . tachytes morosus. _t._ niger, scutello abdomineque nitidis, facie argenteo-pilosa; marginibus lateralibus abdominis segmentorum argentatis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the face covered with silvery pile; the thorax finely and very closely punctured; the metathorax opake and finely rugose, thinly covered with cinereous pubescence; the anterior tarsi ciliated on the exterior, and the intermediate and posterior tibiæ with a few dispersed spines; wings fusco-hyaline and iridescent, the nervures fusco-ferruginous, the costal nervure black. abdomen smooth and shining; the apical margins of the intermediate segments slightly depressed, with the sides sericeous. fam. crabronidÆ. genus oxybelus, _latr._ . oxybelus agilis, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. . . _hab._ india, celebes. genus crabro, _latr._ . crabro (rhopalum) agilis. _c._ obscuro-nigra, clypeo argentato, capite, thorace abdomineque flavo variis. _female._ length lines. black, opake; head larger than the thorax, quadrate; the ocelli in a curve on the vertex; the clypeus and lower portion of the cheeks with silvery pile; the scape, two basal joints of the flagellum, the palpi, and the mandibles, yellow; the latter rufo-piceous at their apex. the margin of the prothorax, the tubercles, the scutellum, the tibiæ and tarsi, the anterior femora and the intermediate pair at their apex yellow; the anterior femora black above; the wings subhyaline and iridescent, the nervures testaceous. abdomen: with an elongate clavate petiole; the first segment with an oblique yellow macula on each side, the third with a large lateral macula at its base, and the following segments entirely yellow. _hab._ celebes. this species closely resembles the _c. westermanni_ of dahlbome, from the cape of good hope. genus cerceris, _latr._ . cerceris instabilis, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. . . _hab._ india, china, celebes. . cerceris unifasciata, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. . . _hab._ north china, celebes. . cerceris fuliginosa, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. iv. . . _hab._ celebes. . cerceris varipes. _c._ nigra, facie flavo varia; alis fuscis basi hyalinis; pedibus variegatis; abdomine flavo maculato. _male._ length lines. black; a line down the inner orbits of the eyes, continued along the lower margins of the face, and uniting with the clypeus, which as well as a line above it between the antennæ are yellow; a spot on the scape in front, and the mandibles, yellow; the latter rufo-piceous at their apex. thorax: a spot on each side of the prothorax, a minute one on the tegulæ; the postscutellum, the intermediate and posterior coxæ and trochanters, the anterior tibiæ behind, the femora beneath, and the intermediate and posterior tibiæ yellow; the femora reddish above and at their articulations; the posterior femora and tibiæ black, with the tarsi rufo-testaceous; the anterior wings and the apex of the posterior pair brown, the base of the anterior pair hyaline. abdomen: the second and three following segments with a short yellow stripe on each side. _hab._ celebes. tribe vespidÆ. fam. eumenidÆ, _westw_. genus zethus, _fabr._ . zethus cyanopterus, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol_. i. . . genus montezumia, _sauss._ . montezumia indica, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ i. _supp._ . . t. . f. . _hab._ india, celebes. genus rhynchium, _spin._ . rhynchium hæmorrhoidale, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ i. . . vespa hæmorrhoidalis, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ india, java, cape of good hope, celebes. . rhynchium argentatum, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ i. . . vespa argentata, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ india, celebes. . rhynchium atrum, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ i. . . _hab._ india, celebes. . rhynchium parentissimum, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ p. . . var. _r. hæmorrhoidale?_ _hab._ india, java, celebes. genus eumenes. . eumenes circinalis, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ india, sumatra, celebes. . eumenes fulvipennis, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ pt. v. . . _hab._ celebes. . eumenes vindex. _e._ niger, flavo variegatus, alis subhyalinis iridescentibus. _male._ length lines. black; strongly punctured and shining; a minute spot behind the eyes, another in their emargination, the clypeus, with two minute spots above it, a spot at the base of the mandibles, and the scape in front yellow. thorax: a subinterrupted line on its anterior margin, the tubercles, a spot on the tegulæ behind, and the legs yellow; the coxæ, femora at their base, and the posterior tibiæ outside dusky; wings light brown and iridescent, the anterior margin of the superior pair darkest. abdomen delicately punctured; the apical margin of the first segment with a narrow yellow border slightly interrupted on each side; the apical segments with a thin cinereous pile. _hab._ celebes. . eumenes architectus. _e._ niger, clypeo, prothoracis margine postscutello abdominisque segmenti primi margine flavis. _female._ length lines. black and closely punctured; a line behind the eyes near their vertex, a spot between the antennæ and the clypeus, yellow; the latter black at the apex, which is notched; the labrum and mandibles reddish-yellow, the latter black at their base. thorax: the anterior margin yellow; the tubercles, tegulæ, postscutellum, an interrupted line on each side of the metathorax, the tibiæ, tarsi, and femora at their apex, yellow; the coxæ spotted with yellow and the posterior tibiæ dusky; the wings fusco-hyaline; a black line across the tegulæ. abdomen: an ovate spot on each side of the petiole, its apical margin, a transverse ovate spot on each side of the first segment, and its posterior margin yellow; the following segments covered with a grey silky pile. _male._ differs from the female in having the clypeus entirely yellow, the metathorax and abdomen entirely black; only the apical margin of the petiole is yellow, it is also longer. _hab._ celebes. . eumenes floralis. _e._ niger; clypeo flavo; thorace pedibusque ferrugineo-flavo variegatis. _male._ length - / lines. black; strongly punctured and shining; the clypeus and a spot above yellow; a narrow abbreviated line behind the eyes, a minute spot in their emargination, and the tips of the mandibles orange-red; the flagellum fulvous beneath. thorax: the anterior and posterior margin of the prothorax, the tubercles, and a spot on the tegulæ behind, a line on the postscutellum and the legs, orange-red, the coxæ black, and the tarsi dusky; the wings slightly brownish with a violet iridescence. abdomen immaculate, with a minute spot on the posterior border of the petiole; the third and following segments with a fine cinereous pile. _hab._ celebes. genus odynerus, _latr._ . odynerus ovalis, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ . . t. . f. . _hab._ india, china, celebes. . odynerus (ancistrocerus) clavicornis. _o._ niger, flavo varius; capite thoraceque fortiter, abdomine delicatule punctatis, antennis clavatis. _male._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax strongly punctured and shining; a spot on the mandibles, the labrum, the clypeus, a spot above, the scape in front, a line in the emargination of the eyes and a spot behind them, yellow; the flagellum broadly clavate, the joints transverse, the apex of the club and the terminal hook reddish-yellow, the thickened part of the club concave beneath, the hook bent into the cavity. thorax: two spots on the anterior margin, a spot on the tegulæ in front, and the legs, reddish-yellow, the coxæ dusky; the metathorax coarsely rugose and deeply concave-truncate. abdomen: the first segment with a transverse carina at its base, in front of which is an irregularly cut deep transverse channel forming a second carina in front of the groove; the segments finely punctured, the first and second segments with a yellow posterior border, the fourth and following segments rufo-piceous. _hab._ celebes. . odynerus (leionotus) insularis. _o._ niger, flavo et aurantio variegatus; abdominis basi ferruginea. _male._ length lines. black; the head and thorax strongly punctured; the mandibles, clypeus, a line above extending to the anterior ocellus, the emargination of the eyes, a spot at their vertex and a line at their outer orbits, yellow; the antennæ reddish-yellow, with the scape pale yellow in front and a narrow fuscous line above; the yellow marking more or less stained orange. thorax: the prothorax orange, its anterior border, the tubercles, tegulæ, two spots on the scutellum and postscutellum, the lateral margins of the metathorax and the legs, yellow, the latter with reddish stains; wings subhyaline, the superior pair with a fuscous cloud at their apex. the base of the abdomen and a large macula on each side of the second segment ferruginous; the apical margin of the segments with a yellow border, the first and second with a minute notch in the middle; the first and second segments entirely ferruginous beneath. . odynerus fulvipennis. _o._ niger, flavo varius, pedibus ferrugineis, alis fulvo-hyalinis. _male._ black; head and thorax closely and strongly punctured; the clypeus and two spots above, a line along the lower margin of the sinus of the eyes, a narrow line behind them, the scape in front, and the mandibles yellow; the tips of the latter rufo-piceous; the antennæ and legs ferruginous; an interrupted yellow line on the anterior margin of the thorax; the wings fulvo-hyaline; the veins which enclose the marginal and second and third submarginal cells fuscous, the rest pale testaceous; a fuscous cloud in the marginal cell. abdomen: the apical margin of the second segment with a yellow fascia, the following segments with red fasciæ. _hab._ celebes. genus icaria, _sauss._ . icaria ferruginea, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ p. . . _hab._ india, celebes. . icaria pilosa. _i._ nigra, rude punctata et densissime pubescens, clypeo flavo, thorace, pedibus abdomineque ferrugineo variegatis; alis subhyalinis, anticis apice fusco maculatis. _male._ length - / lines. black; closely and strongly punctured; the clypeus, a line on the mandibles, and the scape in front, yellow; tips of the mandibles, the scape above, and the base of the flagellum ferruginous. thorax: the prothorax, scutellum and postscutellum, ferruginous; the tegulæ and legs pale ferruginous, the coxæ black; wings fusco-hyaline, with a dark cloud in the marginal cell extending to the apex of the wing; a fainter cloud traverses the margin of the wing to its base. abdomen: the first, second and third segments with a reddish-yellow fascia, that on the second segment continued beneath; a longitudinal broad stripe of the same colour on each side of the second segment; its apical margin serrated. _hab._ celebes. genus polistes, _latr._ . polistes sagittarius, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ p. . . various specimens from greece and celebes have the thorax more or less ferruginous. _hab._ india, celebes, china, greece. . polistes picteti, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ . . t. . f. . _hab._ ceram, australia, celebes. . polistes fastidiosus, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ p. . . _hab._ africa (gambia), celebes. . polistes stigma, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ india, ceram, celebes. . polistes philippinensis, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ . (var.). _hab._ philippine islands. genus vespa, _linn._ . vespa affinis, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . (var. _v. cincta_?). _hab._ india, china, singapore, celebes. . vespa fervida. _v._ nigra, delicatule punctata; clypei margine antica, macula pone oculos, margineque postica segmenti primi abdominis flavis; alis fulvo-hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; closely and finely punctured; the clypeus convex and strongly punctured, emarginate anteriorly, the emargination with a yellow border; the eyes extending to the base of the mandibles, which have three stout teeth at their apex and a narrow yellow line at their inner margin. thorax: the postscutellum yellow, and a minute yellow spot on the outer margin of the tegulæ; the wings rufo-hyaline, darkest along the anterior margin of the superior pair; the nervures ferruginous, gradually becoming darker at the base of the wings, the costal nervure black. _worker._ length lines. very closely resembles the female, but in addition to the yellow markings of that sex has the anterior margin of the clypeus yellow, a narrow transverse line between the antennæ, another along the lower margin of the notch of the eyes, an abbreviated stripe behind them at the base of the mandibles, a spot beneath the postscutellum and a narrow yellow line along the posterior margin of the basal segment of the abdomen. _hab._ celebes. fam. tenthredinidÆ. genus tenthredo, _linn._ . tenthredo (allantus) purpurata. _t._ capite thoraceque cæruleo-viridibus, abdomine purpureo, alis fuscis iridescentibus. size, length lines. head and thorax blue-green, abdomen purple; wings dark fuscous with a violet iridescence; an oblique white line on each side beneath the scutellum; legs and antennæ black. _hab._ celebes. fam. ichneumonidÆ. genus megischus, _brullé._ . megischus indicus, _westw. trans. ent. soc._ new ser. i. . _hab._ philippine islands, celebes. genus mesostenus, _brullé._ . mesostenus albo-spinosus. _m._ niger, albo varius, abdominis segmentis albo marginatis, metathorace spinis duabus albis armato. _female._ length - / lines. black; a half-circular spot on the clypeus, a heart-shaped one above it, a spot at the base of the mandibles, the orbits of the eyes, interrupted at their vertex, yellowish white, the palpi of the same colour, and a broad incomplete annulus on the antennæ beyond their middle. thorax: the mesothorax with two deeply impressed oblique lines inclined inwards and terminating at an ovate spot in the middle of the disk, the scutellum and an oblique line on each side a little before it, a horseshoe-shaped spot in the middle of the metathorax, and a little below it on each side a conical tooth, yellowish white; four spots beneath the wings, one on each side of the metathorax, and the coxæ beneath, white; the legs ferruginous, with the intermediate pair dusky behind, the posterior pair entirely so, the femora being black; the wings hyaline, nervures fuscous. abdomen: punctured and with a white fascia on the margins of the three basal segments; the two apical segments with very narrow fasciæ. _hab._ celebes. this species is closely allied to the _m. literatus_ of brullé; but it differs too much, i think, to be identical with it. . pimpla trimaculata. _p._ flava, oculis, macula circa ocellos, vittulis tribus mesothoracis setisque caudalibus nigris. _female._ length lines. yellow; the antennæ fuscous above, also a fuscous cloud at the apex of the anterior wings, the wings hyaline with the nervures black; a spot on the scape within, and three longitudinal stripes on the mesothorax, black; the latter slightly punctured anteriorly; the metathorax smooth and shining, with three oblique carinæ on each side, and a small subovate enclosed space in the middle of the disk. abdomen punctured, all the segments margined at their apex, and each with a deeply impressed line at their extreme lateral margins; the sixth segment with two minute black spots at its basal margin, the two apical segments smooth and shining; the ovipositor black. _hab._ celebes. this species is closely allied to the _p. trilineata_ of brullé. fam. braconidÆ. . bracon insinuator. _b._ capite, thorace pedibusque ferrugineis; antennis, tibiis tarsisque posticis et abdomine nigris; alis nigro-fuscis, macula hyalina sub stigmate. _female._ length - / lines. head and thorax smooth, shining, and ferruginous, the legs ferruginous, with the posterior tibiæ and tarsi black; the antennæ black, with the scape and following joint ferruginous; wings dark brown, with their extreme base pale testaceous; a hyaline stripe runs from the stigma across the first submarginal cell and passes a little below it. abdomen black, smooth, and shining, with the lateral margins of the basal segment pale yellow-testaceous; this segment has on each side a longitudinal carina, and between them is a highly polished bell-shaped form; the second segment with deep oblique depressions at the sides, and deeply longitudinally rugose-striate, leaving the apical margin smooth and shining; the second segment is similarly sculptured, and the third has a transverse groove at its base. _hab._ celebes. . bracon intrudens. _b._ rufescenti-flavus, antennis setisque caudalibus nigris; alis nigro-fuscis, basi fasciaque angusta transversa flavis. _female._ length lines. pale reddish-yellow; the eyes, flagellum, and ovipositor black; the scape and the following segment yellow; the head and thorax smooth and shining, both pubescent at the sides and beneath, the legs covered with a similar pale pubescence; the face with an upright horn between the antennæ, and a raised flattened plate in front of it. abdomen: the basal segment with the lateral margins raised, and having on each side an elongate broad depression extending its entire length; the three following with an oblique depression on each side at the base of the segment; the third, fourth, and fifth segments distinctly margined at their apex; the ovipositor the length of the insect. _hab._ celebes. genus agathis, _latr._ . agathis sculpturalis. _a._ nigra, prothorace, pedibus anticis mediisque ferrugineis; abdomine lævigato nitido. _male._ length - / lines. black; the mouth, prothorax, anterior and intermediate legs, ferruginous; the face with two teeth or horns between or a little before the insertion of the antennæ, and another at the side of each, close to their insertion. thorax: the mesothorax with two deeply impressed lines in front, running inwards, and uniting about the middle, and with two or three deep transverse channels before their junction; the lateral margins of the mesothorax deeply impressed; the metathorax ruggedly sculptured; the posterior coxæ and femora closely punctured; wings black with a hyaline spot in the first submarginal cell. abdomen very smooth and shining, with a deeply impressed line on each side of the basal segment. _hab._ celebes. . agathis modesta. _a._ rufescenti-flava; antennis, vertice, tibiis posticis apice, tarsisque nigris; alis fusco maculatis. _female._ length lines. reddish-yellow: the antennæ and vertex, black. the mesothorax with two deeply impressed longitudinal oblique lines, and two parallel ones between them; the metathorax reticulated; wings hyaline, with a dark fuscous stain crossing the anterior pair at the base of the first submarginal cell, these hyaline to the middle of the stigma, beyond which they are fuscous; a subhyaline spot at the apex of the marginal cell, and another beneath it at the inferior margin of the wing; the posterior tarsi dusky, and the tips of the tibiæ black. _hab._ celebes. . agathis nitida. _a._ nigra, nitida; facie, pectore, pedibus anticis et intermediis, plaga infra alas, scutelloque pallide ferrugineis. length lines. black and shining; the face, mandibles, head beneath, legs, pectus, sides of the thorax beneath the wings, the scutellum and the basal half of the abdomen beneath, pale ferruginous; the mesothorax with two longitudinal oblique lines on the disk, which have two parallel ones between them; the metathorax coarsely rugose; the wings dark brown, with the base of the stigma pale, and a hyaline spot beneath it. abdomen very smooth and shining, with the apical margins of the segments narrowly rufo-piceous; the posterior legs incrassate and dark rufo-piceous. fam. chrysididÆ. genus hedychrum, _latr._ . hedychrum flammulatum. _h._ viridi-purpureo lavatum; capite thoraceque fortiter, abdomine delicatule, punctatis; alis fuscis basi hyalinis. length lines. bright green; the vertex, two oblique stripes on the prothorax, meeting in the centre of its anterior margin, a broad longitudinal stripe on the disk of the mesothorax, and the sides of the scutellum and postscutellum deep purple. abdomen: the middle of the basal segment, the second and third segments at their base, broadly purple; the apical margin of the third tinged with purple; wings subfuscous, with their base hyaline. the head and thorax coarsely and closely punctured, the abdomen finely so; the tarsi with the claws unidentate. _hab._ celebes. genus chrysis, _linn._ . chrysis purpurea. _c._ læte purpurea, capite, thorace abdominisque basi rugosis punctatis, segmentis abdominis secundo et tertio delicatule punctatis, apice quadridentato. length lines. bright purple; the head, thorax, and base of the abdomen strongly and coarsely punctured, the rest of the abdomen finely punctured; the disk of the thorax and apical margins of the segments of the abdomen reflecting bright tints of green; the wings subhyaline, the nervures dark fuscous; the apical margin of the third segment of the abdomen with four teeth, the two central ones approximating, separated by a deep notch, the lateral teeth more distant, separated from the others by a wide emargination. _hab._ celebes. . chrysis insularis. _c._ nigro-purpurea, violaceo et viridi lavata; capite, thorace abdominisque basi rude punctatis. length lines. dark purple, with violet and green reflections; the face, legs, and thorax beneath, green; wings slightly fuscous, and iridescent; the head and thorax closely and coarsely punctured; the base of the abdomen roughly punctured, the two following segments much more finely so; the apical segment armed with six teeth, the outer ones subacute. _hab._ celebes. . chrysis sumptuosa. _c._ fortiter punctata, metallico-viridis auro lavata; thoracis disco, abdominis segmentis secundo et tertio basi purpureis; segmento apicali margine integro. length - / lines. golden-green; the thorax at the sides and posteriorly with bright coppery effulgence; an oblong purple spot on the disk of the thorax; the metathorax and its lateral teeth vivid green, the vertex and prothorax splashed with gold. abdomen: the basal segment bright green, with a bright coppery or golden effulgence at the sides; the second segment purple at the base, coppery at the apex, and with a suffusion of green between these tints; the third segment is similarly coloured, with the apical margin entire; the insect closely and strongly punctured throughout. _hab._ celebes. description of a new genus of crustacea, of the family pinnotheridæ; in which the fifth pair of legs are reduced to an almost imperceptible rudiment. by thomas bell, esq., pres. l. s. [read june rd, .] fam. pinnotheridÆ, _edwards_. genus amorphopus, _bell_. char. gen.:--corpus subcylindricum. testa semicircularis, margine posteriore recto.--_antennæ externæ minimæ_, articulo basali orbitam subtus partim claudente.--_antennularum fossulæ_ transversæ, continuæ, et ab orbitis haud separatæ.--_pedipalpi externi_ articulo quarto ovato, palpo tri-articulato, ad angulum antico-interiorem articuli quarti inserto.--oris apertura antice arcuata.--_orbitæ_ apertæ, margine inferiore carente, superiore integro.--_oculi_ transversim positi.--_pedes antici_ robusti, inæquales; _pedum paria secundum, tertium et quartum_ longa, subcompressa; _par quintum_ exiguum, simplicissimum, rudimentarium, in incisura articuli basalis paris quarti insertum.--_abdomen_ maris segmentis tertio cum quarto, et quinto cum sexto coalitis; foeminÆ? sp. unica. _amorphopus cylindraceus_, mihi. _description._--the body is nearly cylindrical, somewhat depressed, the carapace very much curved from the point to the back, quite straight from side to side; the anterior and lateral margins forming nearly a semicircle, the posterior margin straight; the orbits are deeply cut in the anterior margin of the carapace, looking upwards; the inferior margin wanting; the oral aperture much arched anteriorly; the external footjaws with the third articulation somewhat rhomboid, the fourth irregularly oval, and the palpi three-jointed, inserted at its anterior and inner angle. epistome extremely small, transversely linear; the external antennæ placed directly beneath the orbits, the basal joints partly filling them beneath. the antennules folded transversely in large open fossæ, which are scarcely at all separated from each other, and are open to the orbits, the eyes lying transversely; the peduncles short and thick; the sternum is semicircular, the segments separated by very deep grooves; the abdomen very long and narrow, the first and second joint transversely linear, the third and fourth united and forming a triangle truncated anteriorly at the articulation of the portion formed by the fifth and sixth joints united, and which with the seventh form a very narrow and linear piece extending forwards to the posterior margin of the oral aperture; the first pair of legs robust, unequal (the right being the larger in the only specimen at present observed); the hand in each as broad as it is long; that of the smaller conspicuously tuberculated, that of the larger much less so; the former with the fingers nearly meeting throughout their length, those of the latter only at the tips; the second, third, and fourth pairs of legs are long, somewhat compressed, the third joint tuberculated on the under side, the third pair the longest; the fifth pair is reduced to a mere rudiment, in the form of a minute tubercle inserted in a little notch at the base of the first joint of the fourth pair, and scarcely discernible by the naked eye. _observations._--the relation of this genus to the pinnotheridæ is tolerably obvious, in the smallness of the antennæ, the direction and arrangement of the eyes, and particularly in the form of the oral aperture, and of the external footjaws. i shall not, however, enter upon the consideration of these relations, as i am about shortly to offer to the society a review and monograph of the whole of this family. the most remarkable peculiarity in the genus is the apparent absence of the fifth pair of legs, which can only be discovered to exist at all by examination with the help of a lens. in this respect i doubt not that the fabrician genus _hexapus_, adopted and figured by de haan, will be found to agree with it, although it is very remarkable that the anomalous condition of this part never excited any particular attention on the part of either of these distinguished naturalists; and de haan describes fabricius's species, _hexapus sexpes_, as if there were nothing especial or abnormal in a decapod having only six pairs of legs besides the claws. mr. white made a similar mistake on one occasion, when he described an anomourous genus allied to _lithodes_, in which the fifth pair of legs were not visible; but when, at my suggestion, a more careful examination was made, they were found, as was anticipated, in a rudimentary form, concealed under the edge of the carapace. i believe that i can discover even in de haan's figure something like a little tubercle at the base of the fourth leg, which is probably the rudimentary representative of the fifth. death of the common hive bee, supposed to be occasioned by a parasitic fungus. by the rev. henry higgins. communicated by the president. [read june rd, .] on the th of march last, timpron martin, esq., of liverpool, communicated to me some circumstances respecting the death of a hive of bees in his possession, which induced me to request from him a full statement of particulars. mr. martin gave me the following account:-- "in october last i had three hives of bees which i received into my house. each doorway was closed, and the hive placed upon a piece of calico; the corners were brought over the top, leaving a loop by which the hive was suspended from the ceiling. the hives were taken down about the th of march; two were healthy, but all the bees in the third were dead. there was a gallon of bees. the two hives containing live bees were much smaller; but in each of them were dead ones. under whatever circumstances you preserve bees through the winter, dead ones are found at the bottom, in the spring. the room, an attic, was dry; and i had preserved the same hives in the same way during the winter of . in what i may call the dead hive there was an abundance of honey when it was opened; and it is clear that its inmates did not die for want. it is not a frequent occurrence for bees so to die; but i have known another instance. in that case the hive was left out in the ordinary way, and possibly cold was the cause of death. i think it probable that my bees died about a month before the th of march, merely from the circumstance that some one remarked about that time that there was no noise in the hive. they might have died earlier; but there were certainly live bees in the hive in january. i understand there was an appearance of mould on some of the combs. there was ample ventilation, i think; indeed, as the bees were suspended, they had more air than through the summer when placed on a stand." when the occurrence was first made known to me, i suggested that the bees might probably have died from the growth of a fungus, and requested some of the dead bees might be sent for examination. they were transmitted to me in a very dry state; and a careful inspection with a lens afforded no indications of vegetable growth. i then broke up a specimen, and examined the portions under a compound microscope, using a nachet no. . the head and thorax were clean; but on a portion of the sternum were innumerable very minute, linear, slightly curved bodies, showing the well-known oscillatory or swarming motion. notwithstanding the agreement of these minute bodies with the characters of the genus of _bacterium_ of the vibrionia, i regarded them as spermatia, having frequently seen others undistinguishable from them under circumstances inconsistent with the presence of _confervæ_, as in the interior of the immature peridia and sporangia of fungals. in the specimen first examined there were no other indications of the growth of any parasite; but from the interior of the abdomen of a second bee i obtained an abundance of well-defined globular bodies resembling the spores of a fungus, varying in size from . to . in. three out of four specimens subsequently examined contained similar spores within the abdomen. no traces of a mycelium were visible; the plants had come to maturity, fruited, and withered away, leaving only the spores. the chief question then remaining to be solved was as to the time when the spores were developed; whether before or after the death of the bees. in order, if possible, to determine this, i placed four of the dead bees in circumstances favourable for the germination of the spores, and in about ten days i submitted them again to examination. they were covered with mould, consisting chiefly of a species of _mucor_, and one also of _botrytis_ or _botryosporium_. these fungi were clearly extraneous, covering indifferently all parts of the insects, and spreading on the wood on which they were lying. on the abdomen of all the specimens, and on the clypeus of one of them, grew a fungus wholly unlike the surrounding mould. it was white and very short, and apparently consisted entirely of spores arranged in a moniliform manner, like the fertile filaments of a stemless _penicillium_. these spores resembled those found in the abdomen of the bees, and proceeded i think, from them. the filaments were most numerous at the junction of the segments. the spores did not resemble the globules in _sporendonema muscæ_ of the english flora, neither were they apparently enclosed. the rev. m. j. berkeley, to whom i sent some of the bees, procured, by scraping the interior of the abdomen with a lancet, very minute, curved linear bodies from / to / in. long, which he compares to vibrios. he also found mixed with them globular bodies, but no visible stratum of mould. from the peculiar position of the supposed spores within the abdomen of the bees, and from the subsequent growth of a fungus unlike any of our common forms of mucedines, i think it probable that the death of the bees was occasioned by the presence of a parasitic fungus. notice of the occurrence of recent worm tracks in the upper part of the london clay formation near highgate. by john w. wetherell. communicated by james yates, esq., m.a., f.l.s. [read june rd, .] the london clay is very tenacious, and near the surface is generally of a brown colour, probably owing to the decomposition of the iron pyrites which it contains. it abounds in selenite or sulphate of lime, and in nodules which often contain organic remains. fossil wood with _teredo antenautæ_ is also met with, and pyritous casts of univalve and bivalve shells. lower down the stratum becomes more compact and is of a bluish or blackish colour, and its fossil contents are in a fine state of preservation. during the last summer, while examining the london clay in the vicinity of highgate in search of fossils, my attention was directed to certain appearances in it which i could not account for. this led to a further examination, when i found they were produced by the borings of _lumbrici_ or earth-worms. these appearances consisted of long tubes passing nearly perpendicularly through the clay and terminating in receptacles or _nidi_, each tube leading to a separate receptacle. as these receptacles occurred in large numbers, i had an opportunity of examining a great many of them with various results. in one instance, i found a dead worm coiled up; in another, a portion of a worm protruding into the lower part of the tube. again, _nidi_ were found partially filled with only the casts of worms, whilst others contained more or less of a species of conferva; and, lastly, i obtained some with the cavities partially or wholly filled up. the receptacles varied in shape, from a sphere to an oval, and were extremely thin and fragile. they also varied in size from a pea to a nut. externally they presented an appearance so singularly contorted, that i could not help considering they were moulded from the casts of worms. they did not appear to have any attachment to the surrounding clay, except at the point of junction with the tube; and the clay beneath them presented no unusual appearance. internally they generally exhibited impressions of the worm; but occasionally i detected some of the round and contorted appearances which i have mentioned as being so conspicuous on the outside. i cannot speak with precision as to the length of the tubes, as the clay when examined had been broken up into large rough masses in digging for the foundations of houses. the largest noticed was about three inches long, and the general width one-eighth of an inch. they often run parallel to each other, but at unequal distances. i now have to notice what i consider a remarkable circumstance, namely, that all the tubes contained a solid cylinder of clay, and in every instance where the worms occurred under the circumstances above recorded, they were found to be dead. researches of this kind are calculated to throw a light on some of those singular phenomena which geologists occasionally meet with in the older rocks. [_mem._--several specimens of clay, containing the worm-tubes as above described, were exhibited to the meeting.] natural history--extracts from the journal of captain denham, h.m. surveying vessel 'herald,' . communicated by captain washington, through the secretary. [read june rd, .] we found upon the larger islands the small species of the kangaroo, bearing the native name wallaby (_halmaturus billardierii_), which, when mixed with other meats, affords a fine-flavoured soup. on the islets are flocks of the cape banca goose, which mr. smith informed me were only to be found in these straits in the vicinity of flinders island, from cape banca to cape frankland (west about), and that they are readily domesticated, and hatch from three to seven eggs, and afford an acceptable dish. i obtained a live specimen, which dr. rayner of this ship describes thus:--"_cereopsis novæ hollandiæ_. body about the size of a common goose; bill short, vaulted, obtuse, two-thirds of which is covered by an expanded cere of a pale greenish-yellow colour, the tip of the bill being black, arcuated, and truncated. nostrils large, round, open, and situated in the middle of the bill. wings ample, third quill longest. legs long, light dull-red, and naked to a little above the knee. feet black, webbed, the membrane being deeply notched, great toe articulated to the metatarsus. plumage slate-grey, with black spots upon the wings and back. wing-feathers dusky black, and edged at the tip with pale grey. irides light hazel." we likewise obtained specimens of the following wildfowl:-- aves. a bronze-wing pigeon, phaps elegans. quail, corturnix pectoralis (_gould_). oyster-catcher, hæmatophus fuliginosus. ring plover, hiaticula bicincta. wild duck, anas punctata (_cuvier_). great gull, larus pacificus. lesser gull, xema jamesonii. mutton bird, puffinus brevicaudus (_brandt_). southern gannet, sulu australis (_gould_). small penguin, spheniscus minor (_temminck_). the mutton bird we observed streaming from island to island; and i learnt from mr. benvenuto smith the following particulars of its habits from his own observations. the male birds come in from sea in the month of september, and prepare the burrows for the reception of the hens. the hen bird does not make her appearance till about the th november, when she lays and sits at once. the mutton bird lays but one egg; they are employed rearing the young bird until the month of may, at which time the old birds leave the young ones to shift for themselves; the young birds remain in the burrows till they are starved down, and then set off to sea, and are not seen again amongst the islands till september. the cock and hen sit alternately night and day; and all the labour of providing for the young is equally shared. there are at this date about ninety people living on the small islands in "franklin inlet" who make a livelihood by gathering the oil, feathers, and eggs of the mutton bird. upwards of gallons of the oil are extracted from the birds annually; and although , birds are known to be destroyed each year, they appear undiminished in numbers. the oil burns well, and is of a bright-red colour. i was presented by mr. smith with two paper nautilus shells (_argonauta tuberculosa_) found on the shore of flinders island this season, a circumstance which he has remarked occurs but every seventh year, when many hundreds are thrown up: the shells are rarely obtained perfect, as they are extremely fragile, and the sea fowl pick the fish out of them. our botanic collector, mr. milne, ascertained, from what he obtained himself and from what we could contribute from our individual visits to the islets, the existence of plants, which he believes to be indigenous, belonging to the following families and genera, viz. amentaceæ. umbelliferæ. asteraceæ. graminaceæ. rosaceæ. junceæ. geraniaceæ. solanum. euphorbiaceæ. geranium. myrtaceæ. testing the chances of fish refreshment at this anchorage, we found little encouragement for hook and line; but the two favouring opportunities which the weather allowed for hawling the seine produced as tabulated on opposite page. we found the reef islands in this sound so abundant in rabbits since captain stokes's forethought had set some loose upon them, that, in two visits of four hours with but four guns, brace were brought on board. i took care to follow my esteemed brother officers' example and the system of introducing such productions, and obtained a dozen couple alive for letting loose in shark bay. [a coloured drawing of _cereopsis novæ hollandiæ_ accompanied captain denham's observations.] | trawl-seine, | | or hook | |how many | and line. | |hawls and| depth | nature| natural | phase | of | of | history | common |no. of|pounds locality. |of [moon]| water.|bottom.| names. | names. |sorts.|weight. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- west side | hawls | with seine. |mugil |mullet | | | | | | | | | | | flinders | ... ... | / |... ...|hemiramphus |gar-fish | | | isl. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | settlement|[moon] } | | sand |{platycephalus|flat-head,| | | | |fathom | | |small | | | | | | | | | | | bay | days} | on | and |{raia |sting ray | | | | | | | | | | | h.w.f. & |... ... }|a flat | weed |{iulis |small fish|several|...| c. [moon] | | | | |of the | | | x. . | | | | |basse | | | | | | | |family | | | | | | | | | | | range | l.w. |... ...|... ...|labrax |basse | | | ft. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | east side | hawls | with seine |{myliobatis |ray | | | of } | | (mar.). | | | | | | | | | | | | | hummock } | [moon] |... ...|... ...|{mugil |mullet | | | | | | | | | | | island | days | to | sandy |platycephalus |flat-head | | | centre | | fams. | beach | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |{siphyracus |barracouta| | | | | | | | | | | bay | at / |... ...|... ...|{scomberesox |saury | | | | flood | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |{sepioteuthis |cuttlefish|several|...| | | | | | | | | | | | | |total | ...| | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- on some points in the anatomy of _nautilus pompilius_. by t. h. huxley, f.r.s., professor of natural history, government school of mines. [read june rd, .] some time ago my friend dr. sinclair, of new zealand, had the kindness to offer me two specimens of the pearly nautilus which had been brought to him from new caledonia, preserved in goadby's solution. i gladly accepted the present, and looked forward to the dissection of the rare animal with no little pleasure; but on proceeding to examine one of the specimens, i found its anatomical value greatly diminished by the manner in which a deposit from the solution had glued together some of the internal viscera. other parts of the nautilus, however, were in a very good state of preservation; and i have noted down such novel and interesting peculiarities as they presented, in the hope that an account of them will be acceptable to the linnean society. of the six apertures which, besides the genital and anal outlets, open into the branchial cavity of _nautilus pompilius_, one on each side lies immediately above and in front of that fold of the inner wall of the mantle which forms the lower root of the smaller and inner gill, and encloses the branchial vein of that gill. the aperture is elongated and narrow, with rather prominent lips. it measures about / th of an inch. the other two apertures are larger, and lie at a distance of / ths of an inch below and behind the other. they are in close juxta-position, being separated only by a thin triangular fold of membrane, which constitutes the inner lip of the one and the outer lip of the other. the inner aperture is the larger, measuring / ths of an inch in long diameter, and having the form of a triangle with its base directed posteriorly. the outer aperture is not more than / th of an inch long. the two apertures lie just above the edge of the fold of membrane which runs from the inner root of the larger or outer branchia, across the branchial cavity and beneath the rectum, to the other side. these apertures lead into five sacs, which collectively constitute what has been described as the pericardium. the sacs into which the superior apertures open, by a short wide canal with folded walls, are situated on each side of and above the rectum. their inner boundaries are separated by a space of not less than / ths of an inch in width, in which lie the vena cava and the oviduct. each cavity has a rounded circumference, and a transverse diameter of about half an inch. in a direction at right angles to this diameter the dimensions vary with its state of distension; but a quarter of an inch would be a fair average. the anterior or outer wall of the cavity is formed by the mantle; the posterior, inner, or visceral wall by a delicate membrane. the former separates it from the branchial cavity; the latter from the fifth sac, to be described by-and-by. i could find no natural aperture in the thin inner wall, so that i conceive no communication can take place between either of these sacs and the fifth sac. two irregular, flattened, brownish, soft plates depend from the posterior wall of the sac into its cavity; their attached edges are fixed along a line which is directed from behind obliquely forwards and upwards. the outer and smaller of the inferior apertures on each side leads into a sac of similar dimensions and constitution to the preceding, but having a less rounded outline in consequence of its being flattened in one direction against its fellow of the opposite side, from which it is separated only by a delicate membranous wall, whilst on another side it is applied against the inferior wall of the superior sac, and is in like manner separated from it only by a thin and membranous partition. like the upper sacs, each of these has two dark-brown, lamellar, glandular masses depending from its membranous visceral wall. a delicate, but broad, triangular membranous process, about / th of an inch long, hangs down freely from the visceral wall of the cavity just behind the opening of the short canal which connects the sac with its aperture. the third and largest aperture on each side opens directly into a very large fifth cavity, whose boundary is formed anteriorly by the visceral walls of the sacs already described, and behind this by the mantle itself as far as the horny band which marks and connects the insertion of the shell-muscles. in fact this cavity may be said to be co-extensive with the attached part of the mantle,--the viscera, enclosed within their delicate "peritoneal" membranous coat, projecting into and nearly filling it, but nevertheless leaving a clear space between themselves and the delicate posterior wall of the mantle. a layer of the "peritoneal" membrane extends from the posterior edge of the muscular expansion which lies between the shell-muscles and from the upper wall of the dilatation of the vena cava, and passes upwards and backwards like a diaphragm to the under surfaces of the gizzard and liver. it is traversed by the aorta, to whose coats it closely adheres. along a line nearly corresponding with the horny band which proceeds from the insertions of the shell-muscles and encircles the mantle below, the pallial wall is produced inwards and forwards into a membranous fold or ligament, which i will call the pallio-visceral ligament; and this pallio-visceral ligament becoming attached to various viscera, divides the great fifth chamber into an anterior inferior, and a posterior superior portion, which communicate freely with one another. commencing with its extreme right-hand end, the ligament is inserted into the line of reflection of the mantle, and then into the wall of the oviduct, which becomes enclosed as it were within the ligament. the latter then ends in a free edge on the inner side of the oviduct, and is continued along it until it reaches the inferior surface of the apex of the ovary, into which it is inserted. the free edge is arcuated; and the rectum passes over it, but is in no way connected with it. here, therefore, is one great passage of communication between the anterior and posterior divisions of the fifth chamber. on the left side, this aperture is limited by the heart, whose posterior edge is, on the left side, connected by means of a ligamentous band with the surface of the apex of the ovary; but on the right, for the greater part of its extent, receives a process of the pallio-visceral ligament. between the ovario-cardiac ligament and this process lies the small oval aperture already described by professor owen, which gives passage to the siphonal artery. it constitutes the middle aperture of communication between the two divisions of the fifth chamber. the left-hand end of the ligament is inserted into the upper wall of the dilated end of the vena cava; but between this point and the heart it has a free arcuated edge, as on the right side. thus there are in reality three apertures of communication between the two divisions of the fifth chamber, the middle, by far the smallest, being alone hitherto known. a delicate membranous band passes from the whole length of the middle line of the rectum to the heart and to the ovary. the singular "pyriform appendage" of the heart lies in the left process of the ligament, its anterior edge nearly following the arcuated contour of that process. the siphuncular process of the mantle was broken in my specimen; but its aperture appeared to communicate quite freely with the posterior division of the fifth chamber. four sets of brownish, glandular-looking bodies depend into the anterior division of the fifth chamber, from parts of the delicate septa dividing this from the four small sacs, corresponding with the insertions of the glandular bodies above described. in fact, on distending the vena cava with air, it is found that the four branchial arteries traverse these septa, and that the appendages in question are diverticula of their walls. consequently the anterior wall of each branchial vein is produced into two glandular appendages, which hang into one of the four smaller sacs, while the posterior wall is produced into a single mass of appendages, which hangs into the anterior division of the fifth chamber. although, as i believe, the five chambers do not communicate directly, all the appendages must nevertheless be equally bathed with sea-water, which enters by the apertures of the chambers. an impacted yellowish-white concretionary matter filled the anterior chamber; and a small quantity of it lay as a fine powder at the bottom of the posterior one. in the latter, however, its presence might, by possibility, have been accidental. my colleague, dr. percy, who kindly undertook to examine this substance, informs me that he has been unable to detect uric acid in it. the follicular appendages of the branchial arteries present remarkable differences in their external appearance. the eight which hang into the four anterior chambers are similar, slightly festooned, but otherwise simple lamellæ; while the four which depend into the posterior chambers are produced into a number of papillary processes. this external difference is obvious enough: whether it be accompanied by a corresponding discrepancy in minute structure i am unable to say; for i have not as yet been able to arrive at any satisfactory results from the microscopic examination of the altered tissues, and, as will be seen below, the only observer who has had the opportunity of examining the nautilus in the fresh state has not noted any difference of structure in the two sets of follicles. one is naturally led to seek among other mollusks for a structure analogous to the vast posterior aquiferous chamber of the nautilus; and it appears to me that something quite similar is offered by the _ascidioida_ and the _brachiopoda_. in both cases, the viscera, inclosed within a delicate tissue, project into a large cavity communicating freely with the exterior by the cloacal aperture in the one case, and by the funnel-shaped channels which have been miscalled "hearts" in the other. the rudimentary renal organs of the ascidian are developed in the walls of the cavity in question; and an aquiferous chamber of smaller dimensions has the same relation to the kidney in lamellibranchiata--in gasteropoda, heteropoda, pteropoda, and dibranchiate cephalopoda. but although such is likely enough to be the case, we do not know at present that the aquiferous chambers in any of the last named mollusks attain an extension similar to that which obtains in nautilus. on comparing the observations detailed above with the statements of previous writers, i find that, in his well-known "memoir on the pearly nautilus" ( ), professor owen describes "on each side, at the roots of the branchiæ," "a small mamillary eminence with a transverse slit which conducts from the branchial cavity into the pericardium. there is, moreover, a foramen at the lower part of the cavity (_o_, pl. ) permitting the escape of a small vessel; and by the side of this vessel a free passage is continued between the gizzard and ovary into the membranous tube or siphon that traverses the divisions of the shell, thus establishing a communication between the interior of that tube and the exterior of the animal." the foramen here described is easily seen; but, as i have stated, there are other modes of communication between the so-called pericardium and the cavity with which the siphuncle communicates, of a far more extensive nature. with respect to the pericardium itself, professor owen states, "the peritoneum, after lining the cavity which contains the crop and liver, and enveloping those viscera, forms two distinct pouches at the bottom of the pallial sac, in one of which, the left, is contained the gizzard, and in the other the ovary; anterior to these, and on the ventral aspect of the liver, is another distinct cavity, of a square shape, which contains the heart and principal vessels, with the glandular appendages connected therewith." this is what the author terms the pericardium. as van der hoeven has pointed out, however, the gizzard lies to the right and the ovary to the left. moreover, the gizzard is superior to the ovary, so as only to overlap it a little above; and i can find no evidence of the existence of such distinct pouches as those described. professor owen states that the branchiæ "arise by a common peduncle from the inner surface of the mantle." my own observations, however, and van der hoeven's figures, of both male and female, lead me to believe that the peduncles of the branchiæ are perfectly distinct from one another. the follicles of the branchial arteries are thus described in the "memoir on the pearly nautilus:"--"they are short and pyriform and closely set together. to each of the branchial arteries are appended three clusters of these glands, of which one is larger than the united volume of both the others; and the larger cluster is situated on one side of the vessel and the two smaller on the opposite side. each of these clusters is contained in a membranous receptacle proper to itself, partitioned off, as it were, from the pericardium, but communicating with it.... the two canals which form the communication between the pericardium and the branchial cavity commence at the receptacle of the lesser cluster attached to the superior branchial arteries, and terminate at the papillæ before mentioned, which are situated at the roots of the branchiæ. the pericardium and these receptacles of the glands, when first laid open, were found filled with a coagulated substance so closely compacted as to require a careful removal, bit by bit, before the contained follicles and vessels could be brought into view." like valenciennes and van der hoeven, i have been unable to find any communication between the four sacs in which the small double clusters of follicles are contained, and the "pericardium;" and i hold it to be certain that the other four sets of follicles are not contained in sacs at all, but lie free in the "pericardium" or posterior chamber. no notice is here taken of the widely different characters of the anterior and posterior follicles; and the figure gives both a similar structure. valenciennes ("nouvelles recherches sur le nautile flambé," 'archives du muséum,' ii., ) pointed out the existence of three pairs of apertures opening into the branchial sac, besides the genital and anal openings; and he affirms that they open into as many closed sacs, which communicate neither with one another nor with the cavity that contains the heart. m. valenciennes indicates the difference in the structure of the anterior and posterior venous appendages. he seems to me to have seen something of the part which i have described as the pallio-visceral ligament; but i cannot clearly comprehend either his figure or his description. van der hoeven, in his 'contributions to the knowledge of the animal of _nautilus pompilius_,' , confirmed the statement of valenciennes with regard to the existence of three pairs of apertures; but he showed, in opposition to him, that one of these pairs of apertures communicated with the pericardium. the sacs into which the other two pairs open are, according to this anatomist, blind. in the aperture of the anterior blind sac he found a concretionary matter which he supposed to contain uric acid, but chemical analysis did not confirm the supposition. van der hoeven refers to some observations by vrolik; but as these are in dutch, and have not, so far as i can find, been translated into either french, german, or english, i know not what they may contain. in his more recent essay, translated in 'wiegmann's archiv' for , under the title of "beitrag zur anatomie von _nautilus pompilius_," van der hoeven states that he has again found hard concretions in the chamber enclosing the appendage of the anterior branchial artery, and that these on chemical analysis yielded phosphate of lime and traces of fat and albumen, but no uric acid. mr. macdonald, in a valuable paper on the anatomy of _nautilus umbilicatus_, published in the philosophical transactions for , thus describes the follicular appendages of the branchial arteries:-- "these follicles are subcylindrical in form, somewhat dilated at the free extremity, to which is appended a folded and funnel-shaped process of membrane, which expands rather suddenly, presenting a jagged and irregular border. they open by a smooth and oval or slit-like, orifice into the afferent pulmonary vessels, on each of which, as professor owen has observed, they are disposed in three clusters. the outer membrane is smooth and glassy, homogeneous in structure and sprinkled over with minute rounded and transparent bodies, probably the nuclei of cells. beneath this layer, flat bundles of fibres, apparently muscular, are traceable here and there, principally disposed in a longitudinal direction, and sometimes branched. the lining membrane consists of a loose epithelial pavement in many respects similar to that of the uriniferous tubules of the higher animals, the cells containing, besides the nuclei, numerous minute oil-globules, or a substance much resembling concrete fatty matter. this membrane is thrown up into an infinite number of papillæ and corrugations, so as to augment the extent of surface considerably. the papillæ are more numerous at the inner part or towards the attached end; and a circlet of longitudinally disposed folds radiate from the bottom of the follicles, in which a number of small pits or fenestrations are sometimes visible. the sides of these folds are wrinkled transversely so as to present a median zigzag elevation. the funnel-shaped membranous process above noticed is continuous with the lining membrane, consisting of an extension of the same epithelial pavement; but the cells are somewhat larger and more regular in form. the cavity of each follicle, therefore, communicates with the exterior through the centre of this process; and the aperture is thus guarded by a kind of circular valve, permitting the escape of secreted matter, but effectually preventing the entrance of fluid from without." in his fig. , pl. xv., mr. macdonald depicts certain "crystalline bodies often occurring within the follicles." from what mr. macdonald states, one would be led to conclude that all the follicles have the same structure; but i suspect this to be an oversight. [illustration: _nautilus pompilius._ fig. . viewed from the left side and a little behind. two of the anterior chambers, and the fifth or posterior chamber, laid open. natural size. _a._ shell muscle. _b._ ovary. _c._ intestine. _d._ heart; _d'._ its pyriform appendage. _e._ superior anterior chamber; _e'._ its follicles. _f._ inferior anterior chamber; _f'._ its follicles. _g._ posterior chamber; _g'._ follicles. _h._ cut ends of branchial arteries. _i._ termination of vena cava. _k._ pallio-visceral ligament.] in the second edition of professor owen's lectures on the invertebrata ( ), i find no mention of valenciennes' discovery of the additional four apertures; but the author states that "on each side, at the roots of the anterior branchiæ, there is a small mamillary eminence with a transverse slit, which conducts from the branchial cavity to one of the compartments of the pericardium containing two clusters of venous glands. there are also two similar, but smaller, slits, contiguous to one another, near the root of the posterior branchia on each side, which lead to and may admit sea-water into the compartments containing the posterior cluster of the venous follicles." in this work the ovary is not only described, but _figured_, on the right side of the gizzard. the figure, however, rightly places the greater part of the ovary below that organ. [illustration: _nautilus pompilius._ fig. . natural size. the pallio-visceral ligament seen from below: torn on the right side to show the rectum and oviduct; cut through on the left side along the dotted line close to _d'_ in the preceding figure. _a._ anus. _b._ oviducal aperture. _c._ heart. _d._ left branchial veins. _e._ right branchial veins. _f._ oviduct cut through. _g._ ovary. _h._ rectum. _i._ mantle. _k k k._ pallio-visceral ligament; _k'._ its torn portion. the oval "aperture for the siphonal artery" is seen to the left of _c'_, and the right-hand style in _fig._ passes through it.] on the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection. by charles darwin, esq., f.r.s., f.l.s., & f.g.s., and alfred wallace, esq. communicated by sir charles lyell, f.r.s., f.l.s., and j. d. hooker, esq., m.d., v.p.r.s., f.l.s., &c. [read july st, .] london, june th, . my dear sir,--the accompanying papers, which we have the honour of communicating to the linnean society, and which all relate to the same subject, viz. the laws which affect the production of varieties, races, and species, contain the results of the investigations of two indefatigable naturalists, mr. charles darwin and mr. alfred wallace. these gentlemen having, independently and unknown to one another, conceived the same very ingenious theory to account for the appearance and perpetuation of varieties and of specific forms on our planet, may both fairly claim the merit of being original thinkers in this important line of inquiry; but neither of them having published his views, though mr. darwin has for many years past been repeatedly urged by us to do so, and both authors having now unreservedly placed their papers in our hands, we think it would best promote the interests of science that a selection from them should be laid before the linnean society. taken in the order of their dates, they consist of:-- . extracts from a ms. work on species[a], by mr. darwin, which was sketched in , and copied in , when the copy was read by dr. hooker, and its contents afterwards communicated to sir charles lyell. the first part is devoted to "the variation of organic beings under domestication and in their natural state;" and the second chapter of that part, from which we propose to read to the society the extracts referred to, is headed, "on the variation of organic beings in a state of nature; on the natural means of selection; on the comparison of domestic races and true species." . an abstract of a private letter addressed to professor asa gray, of boston, u.s., in october , by mr. darwin, in which he repeats his views, and which shows that these remained unaltered from to . . an essay by mr. wallace, entitled "on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type." this was written at ternate in february , for the perusal of his friend and correspondent mr. darwin, and sent to him with the expressed wish that it should be forwarded to sir charles lyell, if mr. darwin thought it sufficiently novel and interesting. so highly did mr. darwin appreciate the value of the views therein set forth, that he proposed, in a letter to sir charles lyell, to obtain mr. wallace's consent to allow the essay to be published as soon as possible. of this step we highly approved, provided mr. darwin did not withhold from the public, as he was strongly inclined to do (in favour of mr. wallace), the memoir which he had himself written on the same subject, and which, as before stated, one of us had perused in , and the contents of which we had both of us been privy to for many years. on representing this to mr. darwin, he gave us permission to make what use we thought proper of his memoir, &c.; and in adopting our present course, of presenting it to the linnean society, we have explained to him that we are not solely considering the relative claims to priority of himself and his friend, but the interests of science generally; for we feel it to be desirable that views founded on a wide deduction from facts, and matured by years of reflection, should constitute at once a goal from which others may start, and that, while the scientific world is waiting for the appearance of mr. darwin's complete work, some of the leading results of his labours, as well as those of his able correspondent, should together be laid before the public. we have the honour to be yours very obediently, charles lyell. jos. d. hooker. _j. j. bennett, esq.,_ _secretary of the linnean society._ i. _extract from an unpublished work on species, by_ c. darwin, esq., _consisting of a portion of a chapter entitled, "on the variation of organic beings in a state of nature; on the natural means of selection; on the comparison of domestic races and true species._" de candolle, in an eloquent passage, has declared that all nature is at war, one organism with another, or with external nature. seeing the contented face of nature, this may at first well be doubted; but reflection will inevitably prove it to be true. the war, however, is not constant, but recurrent in a slight degree at short periods, and more severely at occasional more distant periods; and hence its effects are easily overlooked. it is the doctrine of malthus applied in most cases with tenfold force. as in every climate there are seasons, for each of its inhabitants, of greater and less abundance, so all annually breed; and the moral restraint which in some small degree checks the increase of mankind is entirely lost. even slow-breeding mankind has doubled in twenty-five years; and if he could increase his food with greater ease, he would double in less time. but for animals without artificial means, the amount of food for each species must, _on an average_, be constant, whereas the increase of all organisms tends to be geometrical, and in a vast majority of cases at an enormous ratio. suppose in a certain spot there are eight pairs of birds, and that _only_ four pairs of them annually (including double hatches) rear only four young, and that these go on rearing their young at the same rate, then at the end of seven years (a short life, excluding violent deaths, for any bird) there will be birds, instead of the original sixteen. as this increase is quite impossible, we must conclude either that birds do not rear nearly half their young, or that the average life of a bird is, from accident, not nearly seven years. both checks probably concur. the same kind of calculation applied to all plants and animals affords results more or less striking, but in very few instances more striking than in man. many practical illustrations of this rapid tendency to increase are on record, among which, during peculiar seasons, are the extraordinary numbers of certain animals; for instance, during the years to , in la plata, when from drought some millions of cattle perished, the whole country actually _swarmed_ with mice. now i think it cannot be doubted that during the breeding-season all the mice (with the exception of a few males or females in excess) ordinarily pair, and therefore that this astounding increase during three years must be attributed to a greater number than usual surviving the first year, and then breeding, and so on till the third year, when their numbers were brought down to their usual limits on the return of wet weather. where man has introduced plants and animals into a new and favourable country, there are many accounts in how surprisingly few years the whole country has become stocked with them. this increase would necessarily stop as soon as the country was fully stocked; and yet we have every reason to believe, from what is known of wild animals, that _all_ would pair in the spring. in the majority of cases it is most difficult to imagine where the checks fall--though generally, no doubt, on the seeds, eggs, and young; but when we remember how impossible, even in mankind (so much better known than any other animal), it is to infer from repeated casual observations what the average duration of life is, or to discover the different percentage of deaths to births in different countries, we ought to feel no surprise at our being unable to discover where the check falls in any animal or plant. it should always be remembered, that in most cases the checks are recurrent yearly in a small, regular degree, and in an extreme degree during unusually cold, hot, dry, or wet years, according to the constitution of the being in question. lighten any check in the least degree, and the geometrical powers of increase in every organism will almost instantly increase the average number of the favoured species. nature may be compared to a surface on which rest ten thousand sharp wedges touching each other and driven inwards by incessant blows. fully to realize these views much reflection is requisite. malthus on man should be studied; and all such cases as those of the mice in la plata, of the cattle and horses when first turned out in south america, of the birds by our calculation, &c., should be well considered. reflect on the enormous multiplying power _inherent and annually in action_ in all animals; reflect on the countless seeds scattered by a hundred ingenious contrivances, year after year, over the whole face of the land; and yet we have every reason to suppose that the average percentage of each of the inhabitants of a country usually remains constant. finally, let it be borne in mind that this average number of individuals (the external conditions remaining the same) in each country is kept up by recurrent struggles against other species or against external nature (as on the borders of the arctic regions, where the cold checks life), and that ordinarily each individual of every species holds its place, either by its own struggle and capacity of acquiring nourishment in some period of its life, from the egg upwards; or by the struggle of its parents (in short-lived organisms, when the main check occurs at longer intervals) with other individuals of the _same_ or _different_ species. but let the external conditions of a country alter. if in a small degree, the relative proportions of the inhabitants will in most cases simply be slightly changed; but let the number of inhabitants be small, as on an island, and free access to it from other countries be circumscribed, and let the change of conditions continue progressing (forming new stations), in such a case the original inhabitants must cease to be as perfectly adapted to the changed conditions as they were originally. it has been shown in a former part of this work, that such changes of external conditions would, from their acting on the reproductive system, probably cause the organization of those beings which were most affected to become, as under domestication, plastic. now, can it be doubted, from the struggle each individual has to obtain subsistence, that any minute variation in structure, habits, or instincts, adapting that individual better to the new conditions, would tell upon its vigour and health? in the struggle it would have a better _chance_ of surviving; and those of its offspring which inherited the variation, be it ever so slight, would also have a better _chance_. yearly more are bred than can survive; the smallest grain in the balance, in the long run, must tell on which death shall fall, and which shall survive. let this work of selection on the one hand, and death on the other, go on for a thousand generations, who will pretend to affirm that it would produce no effect, when we remember what, in a few years, bakewell effected in cattle, and western in sheep, by this identical principle of selection? to give an imaginary example from changes in progress on an island:--let the organization of a canine animal which preyed chiefly on rabbits, but sometimes on hares, become slightly plastic; let these same changes cause the number of rabbits very slowly to decrease, and the number of hares to increase; the effect of this would be that the fox or dog would be driven to try to catch more hares: his organization, however, being slightly plastic, those individuals with the lightest forms, longest limbs, and best eyesight, let the difference be ever so small, would be slightly favoured, and would tend to live longer, and to survive during that time of the year when food was scarcest; they would also rear more young, which would tend to inherit these slight peculiarities. the less fleet ones would be rigidly destroyed. i can see no more reason to doubt that these causes in a thousand generations would produce a marked effect, and adapt the form of the fox or dog to the catching of hares instead of rabbits, than that greyhounds can be improved by selection and careful breeding. so would it be with plants under similar circumstances. if the number of individuals of a species with plumed seeds could be increased by greater powers of dissemination within its own area (that is, if the check to increase fell chiefly on the seeds), those seeds which were provided with ever so little more down, would in the long run be most disseminated; hence a greater number of seeds thus formed would germinate, and would tend to produce plants inheriting the slightly better-adapted down[b]. besides this natural means of selection, by which those individuals are preserved, whether in their egg, or larval, or mature state, which are best adapted to the place they fill in nature, there is a second agency at work in most unisexual animals, tending to produce the same effect, namely, the struggle of the males for the females. these struggles are generally decided by the law of battle, but in the case of birds, apparently, by the charms of their song, by their beauty or their power of courtship, as in the dancing rock-thrush of guiana. the most vigorous and healthy males, implying perfect adaptation, must generally gain the victory in their contests. this kind of selection, however, is less rigorous than the other; it does not require the death of the less successful, but gives to them fewer descendants. the struggle falls, moreover, at a time of year when food is generally abundant, and perhaps the effect chiefly produced would be the modification of the secondary sexual characters, which are not related to the power of obtaining food, or to defence from enemies, but to fighting with or rivalling other males. the result of this struggle amongst the males may be compared in some respects to that produced by those agriculturists who pay less attention to the careful selection of all their young animals, and more to the occasional use of a choice mate. ii. _abstract of a letter from_ c. darwin, esq., _to_ prof. asa gray, _boston, u.s., dated down, september th, ._ . it is wonderful what the principle of selection by man, that is the picking out of individuals with any desired quality, and breeding from them, and again picking out, can do. even breeders have been astounded at their own results. they can act on differences inappreciable to an uneducated eye. selection has been _methodically_ followed in _europe_ for only the last half century; but it was occasionally, and even in some degree methodically, followed in the most ancient times. there must have been also a kind of unconscious selection from a remote period, namely in the preservation of the individual animals (without any thought of their offspring) most useful to each race of man in his particular circumstances. the "roguing," as nurserymen call the destroying of varieties which depart from their type, is a kind of selection. i am convinced that intentional and occasional selection has been the main agent in the production of our domestic races; but however this may be, its great power of modification has been indisputably shown in later times. selection acts only by the accumulation of slight or greater variations, caused by external conditions, or by the mere fact that in generation the child is not absolutely similar to its parent. man, by this power of accumulating variations, adapts living beings to his wants--may be said to make the wool of one sheep good for carpets, of another for cloth, &c. . now suppose there were a being who did not judge by mere external appearances, but who could study the whole internal organization, who was never capricious, and should go on selecting for one object during millions of generations; who will say what he might not effect? in nature we have some _slight_ variation occasionally in all parts; and i think it can be shown that changed conditions of existence is the main cause of the child not exactly resembling its parents; and in nature geology shows us what changes have taken place, and are taking place. we have almost unlimited time; no one but a practical geologist can fully appreciate this. think of the glacial period, during the whole of which the same species at least of shells have existed; there must have been during this period millions on millions of generations. . i think it can be shown that there is such an unerring power at work in _natural selection_ (the title of my book), which selects exclusively for the good of each organic being. the elder de candolle, w. herbert, and lyell have written excellently on the struggle for life; but even they have not written strongly enough. reflect that every being (even the elephant) breeds at such a rate, that in a few years, or at most a few centuries, the surface of the earth would not hold the progeny of one pair. i have found it hard constantly to bear in mind that the increase of every single species is checked during some part of its life, or during some shortly recurrent generation. only a few of those annually born can live to propagate their kind. what a trifling difference must often determine which shall survive, and which perish! . now take the case of a country undergoing some change. this will tend to cause some of its inhabitants to vary slightly--not but that i believe most beings vary at all times enough for selection to act on them. some of its inhabitants will be exterminated; and the remainder will be exposed to the mutual action of a different set of inhabitants, which i believe to be far more important to the life of each being than mere climate. considering the infinitely various methods which living beings follow to obtain food by struggling with other organisms, to escape danger at various times of life, to have their eggs or seeds disseminated, &c. &c., i cannot doubt that during millions of generations individuals of a species will be occasionally born with some slight variation, profitable to some part of their economy. such individuals will have a better chance of surviving, and of propagating their new and slightly different structure; and the modification may be slowly increased by the accumulative action of natural selection to any profitable extent. the variety thus formed will either coexist with, or, more commonly, will exterminate its parent form. an organic being, like the woodpecker or misseltoe, may thus come to be adapted to a score of contingences--natural selection accumulating those slight variations in all parts of its structure, which are in any way useful to it during any part of its life. . multiform difficulties will occur to every one, with respect to this theory. many can, i think, be satisfactorily answered. _natura non facit saltum_ answers some of the most obvious. the slowness of the change, and only a very few individuals undergoing change at any one time, answers others. the extreme imperfection of our geological records answers others. . another principle, which may be called the principle of divergence, plays, i believe, an important part in the origin of species. the same spot will support more life if occupied by very diverse forms. we see this in the many generic forms in a square yard of turf, and in the plants or insects on any little uniform islet, belonging almost invariably to as many genera and families as species. we can understand the meaning of this fact amongst the higher animals, whose habits we understand. we know that it has been experimentally shown that a plot of land will yield a greater weight if sown with several species and genera of grasses, than if sown with only two or three species. now, every organic being, by propagating so rapidly, may be said to be striving its utmost to increase in numbers. so it will be with the offspring of any species after it has become diversified into varieties, or subspecies, or true species. and it follows, i think, from the foregoing facts, that the varying offspring of each species will try (only few will succeed) to seize on as many and as diverse places in the economy of nature as possible. each new variety or species, when formed, will generally take the place of, and thus exterminate its less well-fitted parent. this i believe to be the origin of the classification and affinities of organic beings at all times; for organic beings always _seem_ to branch and sub-branch like the limbs of a tree from a common trunk, the flourishing and diverging twigs destroying the less vigorous--the dead and lost branches rudely representing extinct genera and families. this sketch is _most_ imperfect; but in so short a space i cannot make it better. your imagination must fill up very wide blanks. c. darwin. iii. _on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type._ by alfred russell wallace. one of the strongest arguments which have been adduced to prove the original and permanent distinctness of species is, that _varieties_ produced in a state of domesticity are more or less unstable, and often have a tendency, if left to themselves, to return to the normal form of the parent species; and this instability is considered to be a distinctive peculiarity of all varieties, even of those occurring among wild animals in a state of nature, and to constitute a provision for preserving unchanged the originally created distinct species. in the absence or scarcity of facts and observations as to _varieties_ occurring among wild animals, this argument has had great weight with naturalists, and has led to a very general and somewhat prejudiced belief in the stability of species. equally general, however, is the belief in what are called "permanent or true varieties,"--races of animals which continually propagate their like, but which differ so slightly (although constantly) from some other race, that the one is considered to be a _variety_ of the other. which is the _variety_ and which the original _species_, there is generally no means of determining, except in those rare cases in which the one race has been known to produce an offspring unlike itself and resembling the other. this, however, would seem quite incompatible with the "permanent invariability of species," but the difficulty is overcome by assuming that such varieties have strict limits, and can never again vary further from the original type, although they may return to it, which, from the analogy of the domesticated animals, is considered to be highly probable, if not certainly proved. it will be observed that this argument rests entirely on the assumption, that _varieties_ occurring in a state of nature are in all respects analogous to or even identical with those of domestic animals, and are governed by the same laws as regards their permanence or further variation. but it is the object of the present paper to show that this assumption is altogether false, that there is a general principle in nature which will cause many _varieties_ to survive the parent species, and to give rise to successive variations departing further and further from the original type, and which also produces, in domesticated animals, the tendency of varieties to return to the parent form. the life of wild animals is a struggle for existence. the full exertion of all their faculties and all their energies is required to preserve their own existence and provide for that of their infant offspring. the possibility of procuring food during the least favourable seasons, and of escaping the attacks of their most dangerous enemies, are the primary conditions which determine the existence both of individuals and of entire species. these conditions will also determine the population of a species; and by a careful consideration of all the circumstances we may be enabled to comprehend, and in some degree to explain, what at first sight appears so inexplicable--the excessive abundance of some species, while others closely allied to them are very rare. the general proportion that must obtain between certain groups of animals is readily seen. large animals cannot be so abundant as small ones; the carnivora must be less numerous than the herbivora; eagles and lions can never be so plentiful as pigeons and antelopes; the wild asses of the tartarian deserts cannot equal in numbers the horses of the more luxuriant prairies and pampas of america. the greater or less fecundity of an animal is often considered to be one of the chief causes of its abundance or scarcity; but a consideration of the facts will show us that it really has little or nothing to do with the matter. even the least prolific of animals would increase rapidly if unchecked, whereas it is evident that the animal population of the globe must be stationary, or perhaps, through the influence of man, decreasing. fluctuations there may be; but permanent increase, except in restricted localities, is almost impossible. for example, our own observation must convince us that birds do not go on increasing every year in a geometrical ratio, as they would do, were there not some powerful check to their natural increase. very few birds produce less than two young ones each year, while many have six, eight, or ten; four will certainly be below the average; and if we suppose that each pair produce young only four times in their life, that will also be below the average, supposing them not to die either by violence or want of food. yet at this rate how tremendous would be the increase in a few years from a single pair! a simple calculation will show that in fifteen years each pair of birds would have increased to nearly ten millions! whereas we have no reason to believe that the number of the birds of any country increases at all in fifteen or in one hundred and fifty years. with such powers of increase the population must have reached its limits, and have become stationary, in a very low years after the origin of each species. it is evident, therefore, that each year an immense number of birds must perish--as many in fact as are born; and as on the lowest calculation the progeny are each year twice as numerous as their parents, it follows that, whatever be the average number of individuals existing in any given country, _twice that number must perish annually_,--a striking result, but one which seems at least highly probable, and is perhaps under rather than over the truth. it would therefore appear that, as far as the continuance of the species and the keeping up the average number of individuals are concerned, large broods are superfluous. on the average all above _one_ become food for hawks and kites, wild cats and weasels, or perish of cold and hunger as winter comes on. this is strikingly proved by the case of particular species; for we find that their abundance in individuals bears no relation whatever to their fertility in producing offspring. perhaps the most remarkable instance of an immense bird population is that of the passenger pigeon of the united states, which lays only one, or at most two eggs, and is said to rear generally but one young one. why is this bird so extraordinarily abundant, while others producing two or three times as many young are much less plentiful? the explanation is not difficult. the food most congenial to this species, and on which it thrives best, is abundantly distributed over a very extensive region, offering such differences of soil and climate, that in one part or another of the area the supply never fails. the bird is capable of a very rapid and long-continued flight, so that it can pass without fatigue over the whole of the district it inhabits, and as soon as the supply of food begins to fail in one place is able to discover a fresh feeding-ground. this example strikingly shows us that the procuring a constant supply of wholesome food is almost the sole condition requisite for ensuring the rapid increase of a given species, since neither the limited fecundity, nor the unrestrained attacks of birds of prey and of man are here sufficient to check it. in no other birds are these peculiar circumstances so strikingly combined. either their food is more liable to failure, or they have not sufficient power of wing to search for it over an extensive area, or during some season of the year it becomes very scarce, and less wholesome substitutes have to be found; and thus, though more fertile in offspring, they can never increase beyond the supply of food in the least favourable seasons. many birds can only exist by migrating, when their food becomes scarce, to regions possessing a milder, or at least a different climate, though, as these migrating birds are seldom excessively abundant, it is evident that the countries they visit are still deficient in a constant and abundant supply of wholesome food. those whose organization does not permit them to migrate when their food becomes periodically scarce, can never attain a large population. this is probably the reason why woodpeckers are scarce with us, while in the tropics they are among the most abundant of solitary birds. thus the house sparrow is more abundant than the redbreast, because its food is more constant and plentiful,--seeds of grasses being preserved during the winter, and our farm-yards and stubble-fields furnishing an almost inexhaustible supply. why, as a general rule, are aquatic, and especially sea birds, very numerous in individuals? not because they are more prolific than others, generally the contrary; but because their food never fails, the sea-shores and river-banks daily swarming with a fresh supply of small mollusca and crustacea. exactly the same laws will apply to mammals. wild cats are prolific and have few enemies; why then are they never as abundant as rabbits? the only intelligible answer is, that their supply of food is more precarious. it appears evident, therefore, that so long as a country remains physically unchanged, the numbers of its animal population cannot materially increase. if one species does so, some others requiring the same kind of food must diminish in proportion. the numbers that die annually must be immense; and as the individual existence of each animal depends upon itself, those that die must be the weakest--the very young, the aged, and the diseased,--while those that prolong their existence can only be the most perfect in health and vigour--those who are best able to obtain food regularly, and avoid their numerous enemies. it is, as we commenced by remarking, "a struggle for existence," in which the weakest and least perfectly organized must always succumb. now it is clear that what takes place among the individuals of a species must also occur among the several allied species of a group,--viz. that those which are best adapted to obtain a regular supply of food, and to defend themselves against the attacks of their enemies and the vicissitudes of the seasons, must necessarily obtain and preserve a superiority in population; while those species which from some defect of power or organization are the least capable of counteracting the vicissitudes of food, supply, &c., must diminish in numbers, and, in extreme cases, become altogether extinct. between these extremes the species will present various degrees of capacity for ensuring the means of preserving life; and it is thus we account for the abundance or rarity of species. our ignorance will generally prevent us from accurately tracing the effects to their causes; but could we become perfectly acquainted with the organization and habits of the various species of animals, and could we measure the capacity of each for performing the different acts necessary to its safety and existence under all the varying circumstances by which it is surrounded, we might be able even to calculate the proportionate abundance of individuals which is the necessary result. if now we have succeeded in establishing these two points-- st, _that the animal population of a country is generally stationary, being kept down by a periodical deficiency of food, and other checks_; and, nd, _that the comparative abundance or scarcity of the individuals of the several species is entirely due to their organization and resulting habits, which, rendering it more difficult to procure a regular supply of food and to provide for their personal safety in some cases than in others, can only be balanced by a difference in the population which have to exist in a given area_--we shall be in a condition to proceed to the consideration of _varieties_, to which the preceding remarks have a direct and very important application. most or perhaps all the variations from the typical form of a species must have some definite effect, however slight, on the habits or capacities of the individuals. even a change of colour might, by rendering them more or less distinguishable, affect their safety; a greater or less development of hair might modify their habits. more important changes, such as an increase in the power or dimensions of the limbs or any of the external organs, would more or less affect their mode of procuring food or the range of country which they inhabit. it is also evident that most changes would affect, either favourably or adversely, the powers of prolonging existence. an antelope with shorter or weaker legs must necessarily suffer more from the attacks of the feline carnivora; the passenger pigeon with less powerful wings would sooner or later be affected in its powers of procuring a regular supply of food; and in both cases the result must necessarily be a diminution of the population of the modified species. if, on the other hand, any species should produce a variety having slightly increased powers of preserving existence, that variety must inevitably in time acquire a superiority in numbers. these results must follow as surely as old age, intemperance, or scarcity of food produce an increased mortality. in both cases there may be many individual exceptions; but on the average the rule will invariably be found to hold good. all varieties will therefore fall into two classes--those which under the same conditions would never reach the population of the parent species, and those which would in time obtain and keep a numerical superiority. now, let some alteration of physical conditions occur in the district--a long period of drought, a destruction of vegetation by locusts, the irruption of some new carnivorous animal seeking "pastures new"--any change in fact tending to render existence more difficult to the species in question, and tasking its utmost powers to avoid complete extermination; it is evident that, of all the individuals composing the species, those forming the least numerous and most feebly organized variety would suffer first, and, were the pressure severe, must soon become extinct. the same causes continuing in action, the parent species would next suffer, would gradually diminish in numbers, and with a recurrence of similar unfavourable conditions might also become extinct. the superior variety would then alone remain, and on a return to favourable circumstances would rapidly increase in numbers and occupy the place of the extinct species and variety. the _variety_ would now have replaced the _species_, of which it would be a more perfectly developed and more highly organized form. it would be in all respects better adapted to secure its safety, and to prolong its individual existence and that of the race. such a variety _could not_ return to the original form; for that form is an inferior one, and could never compete with it for existence. granted, therefore, a "tendency" to reproduce the original type of the species, still the variety must ever remain preponderant in numbers, and under adverse physical conditions _again alone survive_. but this new, improved, and populous race might itself, in course of time, give rise to new varieties, exhibiting several diverging modifications of form, any of which, tending to increase the facilities for preserving existence, must, by the same general law, in their turn become predominant. here, then, we have _progression and continued divergence_ deduced from the general laws which regulate the existence of animals in a state of nature, and from the undisputed fact that varieties do frequently occur. it is not, however, contended that this result would be invariable; a change of physical conditions in the district might at times materially modify it, rendering the race which had been the most capable of supporting existence under the former conditions now the least so, and even causing the extinction of the newer and, for a time, superior race, while the old or parent species and its first inferior varieties continued to flourish. variations in unimportant parts might also occur, having no perceptible effect on the life-preserving powers; and the varieties so furnished might run a course parallel with the parent species, either giving rise to further variations or returning to the former type. all we argue for is, that certain varieties have a tendency to maintain their existence longer than the original species, and this tendency must make itself felt; for though the doctrine of chances or averages can never be trusted to on a limited scale, yet, if applied to high numbers, the results come nearer to what theory demands, and, as we approach to an infinity of examples, become strictly accurate. now the scale on which nature works is so vast--the numbers of individuals and periods of time with which she deals approach so near to infinity, that any cause, however slight, and however liable to be veiled and counteracted by accidental circumstances, must in the end produce its full legitimate results. let us now turn to domesticated animals, and inquire how varieties produced among them are affected by the principles here enunciated. the essential difference in the condition of wild and domestic animals is this,--that among the former, their well-being and very existence depend upon the full exercise and healthy condition of all their senses and physical powers, whereas, among the latter, these are only partially exercised, and in some cases are absolutely unused. a wild animal has to search, and often to labour, for every mouthful of food--to exercise sight, hearing, and smell in seeking it, and in avoiding dangers, in procuring shelter from the inclemency of the seasons, and in providing for the subsistence and safety of its offspring. there is no muscle of its body that is not called into daily and hourly activity; there is no sense or faculty that is not strengthened by continual exercise. the domestic animal, on the other hand, has food provided for it, is sheltered, and often confined, to guard it against the vicissitudes of the seasons, is carefully secured from the attacks of its natural enemies, and seldom even rears its young without human assistance. half of its senses and faculties are quite useless; and the other half are but occasionally called into feeble exercise, while even its muscular system is only irregularly called into action. now when a variety of such an animal occurs, having increased power or capacity in any organ or sense, such increase is totally useless, is never called into action, and may even exist without the animal ever becoming aware of it. in the wild animal, on the contrary, all its faculties and powers being brought into full action for the necessities of existence, any increase becomes immediately available, is strengthened by exercise, and must even slightly modify the food, the habits, and the whole economy of the race. it creates as it were a new animal, one of superior powers, and which will necessarily increase in numbers and outlive those inferior to it. again, in the domesticated animal all variations have an equal chance of continuance; and those which would decidedly render a wild animal unable to compete with its fellows and continue its existence are no disadvantage whatever in a state of domesticity. our quickly fattening pigs, short-legged sheep, pouter pigeons, and poodle dogs could never have come into existence in a state of nature, because the very first step towards such inferior forms would have led to the rapid extinction of the race; still less could they now exist in competition with their wild allies. the great speed but slight endurance of the race horse, the unwieldy strength of the ploughman's team, would both be useless in a state of nature. if turned wild on the pampas, such animals would probably soon become extinct, or under favourable circumstances might each lose those extreme qualities which would never be called into action, and in a few generations would revert to a common type, which must be that in which the various powers and faculties are so proportioned to each other as to be best adapted to procure food and secure safety,--that in which by the full exercise of every part of his organization the animal can alone continue to live. domestic varieties, when turned wild, _must_ return to something near the type of the original wild stock, _or become altogether extinct_. we see, then, that no inferences as to varieties in a state of nature can be deduced from the observation of those occurring among domestic animals. the two are so much opposed to each other in every circumstance of their existence, that what applies to the one is almost sure not to apply to the other. domestic animals are abnormal, irregular, artificial; they are subject to varieties which never occur and never can occur in a state of nature: their very existence depends altogether on human care; so far are many of them removed from that just proportion of faculties, that true balance of organization, by means of which alone an animal left to its own resources can preserve its existence and continue its race. the hypothesis of lamarck--that progressive changes in species have been produced by the attempts of animals to increase the development of their own organs, and thus modify their structure and habits--has been repeatedly and easily refuted by all writers on the subject of varieties and species, and it seems to have been considered that when this was done the whole question has been finally settled; but the view here developed renders such an hypothesis quite unnecessary, by showing that similar results must be produced by the action of principles constantly at work in nature. the powerful retractile talons of the falcon- and the cat-tribes have not been produced or increased by the volition of those animals; but among the different varieties which occurred in the earlier and less highly organized forms of these groups, _those always survived longest which had the greatest facilities for seizing their prey_. neither did the giraffe acquire its long neck by desiring to reach the foliage of the more lofty shrubs, and constantly stretching its neck for the purpose, but because any varieties which occurred among its antitypes with a longer neck than usual _at once secured a fresh range of pasture over the same ground as their shorter-necked companions, and on the first scarcity of food were thereby enabled to outlive them_. even the peculiar colours of many animals, especially insects, so closely resembling the soil or the leaves or the trunks on which they habitually reside, are explained on the same principle; for though in the course of ages varieties of many tints may have occurred, _yet those races having colours best adapted to concealment from their enemies would inevitably survive the longest_. we have also here an acting cause to account for that balance so often observed in nature,--a deficiency in one set of organs always being compensated by an increased development of some others--powerful wings accompanying weak feet, or great velocity making up for the absence of defensive weapons; for it has been shown that all varieties in which an unbalanced deficiency occurred could not long continue their existence. the action of this principle is exactly like that of the centrifugal governor of the steam engine, which checks and corrects any irregularities almost before they become evident; and in like manner no unbalanced deficiency in the animal kingdom can ever reach any conspicuous magnitude, because it would make itself felt at the very first step, by rendering existence difficult and extinction almost sure soon to follow. an origin such as is here advocated will also agree with the peculiar character of the modifications of form and structure which obtain in organized beings--the many lines of divergence from a central type, the increasing efficiency and power of a particular organ through a succession of allied species, and the remarkable persistence of unimportant parts such as colour, texture of plumage and hair, form of horns or crests, through a series of species differing considerably in more essential characters. it also furnishes us with a reason for that "more specialized structure" which professor owen states to be a characteristic of recent compared with extinct forms, and which would evidently be the result of the progressive modification of any organ applied to a special purpose in the animal economy. we believe we have now shown that there is a tendency in nature to the continued progression of certain classes of _varieties_ further and further from the original type--a progression to which there appears no reason to assign any definite limits--and that the same principle which produces this result in a state of nature will also explain why domestic varieties have a tendency to revert to the original type. this progression, by minute steps, in various directions, but always checked and balanced by the necessary conditions, subject to which alone existence can be preserved, may, it is believed, be followed out so as to agree with all the phenomena presented by organized beings, their extinction and succession in past ages, and all the extraordinary modifications of form, instinct, and habits which they exhibit. ternate, february, . footnotes: [a] this ms. work was never intended for publication, and therefore was not written with care.--c. d. . [b] i can see no more difficulty in this, than in the planter improving his varieties of the cotton plant.--c. d. . contributions to the anatomy and natural history of the cetacea. by r. knox, esq., m.d., f.r.s.e. communicated by the secretary. [received oct. , .] part i. the dolphins. the dissection of the cetacea, and more especially of the larger kinds, is attended with great difficulty, and not unfrequently entails heavy expenses on those who attempt it. for these reasons i have thought that zoologists might be pleased to have, even now, submitted to them the results of numerous dissections made many years ago, when, not stinted in means, and having the aid of excellent assistants, i attempted the dissection even of the gigantic arctic rorqual, the largest, perhaps, of all living beings. certain of the details have been from time to time laid before the public, but in an extremely scattered and incomplete form, and without the illustrations (artistic), which explain so much better than any verbal description. the greater part is still before me in manuscript. it is my intention in the following contributions to endeavour to connect them together, adding to those already published many facts i find in mss. the original drawings, made by my brother and by messrs. edward forbes and henry goodsir (who were at that time my students and assistants), are still in my possession. _determination of species._--the determination of species as regards the _cetacea_ is one of much difficulty; cuvier met this difficulty by an appeal to anatomy. the number of vertebræ composing the vertebral column (exclusive of the cephalic) seemed to me a tolerably secure guide in the determination of species,--being aware, however, that some doubted the method, believing that the number of the vertebræ might vary, first, with the individual, secondly with the age of the specimen. i still continue to be of my original opinion, that the number of vertebræ comprising the vertebral column, properly so called, may safely be trusted in determining the species of the cetacea; and with this view i drew up the following table, excepting from it the genus _dugong_, which i have never considered to be a cetacean:-- _tabular view of the number of the vertebræ in certain cetacea._ (cephalic vertebræ excluded.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- | authorities. | | --------------------------------------------------- | species. | cuvier. rudolphi. knox. j. hunter. hunter | | | (glasgow.)| --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | . mysticetus. | | | | | | |skeleton of the | | | | | | |foetus (the | | | | | | |cervical reckoned| | | | | | |as ) of the | | | | | | |_mysticetus_ | | | | | | |_borealis_, | | | | | | |greenland | | | | | | | | | | | | | |adult | | | | | | |_mysticetus_, | | | | | | |whale of | | | | | | |commerce. | unknown | | | | | | | | | | | | |_b. mysticetus_ | | | | | | |_australis_, true| | | | | | |whale of the cape| | | | | | |seas | | | | | | | | | | | | | | . balÆnoptera. | | | | | | |gigantic northern| | | | | | |rorqual | | | | | | | | | | | | | |specimen of | | | | | | |rorqual described| | | | | | |by rudolphi | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_b. rostrata_ of | | | | | | |fabricius; on the| | | | | | |authority of van | | | | | | |beneden: a. | | | | | | |rorqual | | | | | | | | | | | | | |great whale at | | | | | | |antwerp. van | | | | | | |beneden. species | | | | | | |not stated | | | | | or . | | | | | | | | |the lesser | | | | | | |rorqual of the | | | | | | |north | | | | | | | | | | | | | |great rorqual of | | | | | | |the cape | | | | | | | | | | | | | | . physeter. | | | | | | |sperm whale or | | | | | | |cachalot | | | | | | | | | | | | | | . delphinus. | | | | | | |_d. delphis_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_d. delphis._ in | | | | | | |my museum | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_d. delphis._ in | | | | | | |the museum of dr.| | | | | | |r. hunter, | | | | | | |glasgow | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_d. delphis._ | | | | | | |dissected by john| | | | | | |hunter | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_d. phocæna_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_d. ebsenii._ van| | | | | | |beneden | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- in a late number of the 'bulletins of the royal academy of brussels' i find some valuable remarks in respect of these points by m. van beneden. he praises, and deservedly, no doubt, the exertions of m. eschricht to collect a proper museum of the cetacea. it appears, according to m. eschricht, that at no age whatever do we find in true whales (meaning, i presume, the _mysticetus borealis_ and _australis_) any distinct vertebræ in the cervical region as in other mammals. a fusion of all into one bone or cartilage seems to take place even in the youngest foetus. in the foetus examined by me of this species (a specimen removed from the uterus of a true _mysticetus_ killed in the greenland seas), i do not recollect the precise appearance of the cervical vertebræ; but the skeleton is in existence, and shall be referred to. to the skeleton of the rorqual now in the museum at antwerp, and which seems to me of the same species as the one i dissected in scotland (and of which the skeleton, prepared with infinite care by my brother and myself, was presented by me to the town council of edinburgh, and is now preserved in the zoological gardens of the same city), he gives the following vertebræ:-- skeleton of the rorqual at antwerp--cervical dorsal - lumbar caudal [c] -------- total or in the skeleton of the great rorqual now in the zoological gardens at edinburgh, and originally dissected and prepared by my brother and myself, these vertebræ are-- cervical dorsal lumbar and caudal -- total in that of the lesser rorqual i dissected in , the skeleton of which i think is still preserved in the museum of the university of edinburgh, we found-- vertebræ. cervical dorsal lumbar caudal -- total the specimen was that of a young animal, and of the same species, i believe, as the one described by mr. hunter and fabricius; it is a distinct species, and not merely the young of the great rorqual. i shall return to the dugong, as not being a cetacean, in a future section: its skeleton has been examined in a masterly way by de blainville, an anatomist and observer of the highest order, since the time i wrote and published my memoir on the dugong. the first great step in the anatomy of the cetacea is unquestionably due to cuvier; but his dissections were almost confined to the genus _delphinus_, or the common porpoise of our coasts. i repeated all his dissections, and found them, as they almost always were, scrupulously exact; but when i came to examine cetacea with whalebone instead of teeth, i was surprised to find how different, in fact, the anatomy of the two great families was. scarcely in any great natural family do we find cuvier's favourite theory of anatomical and physiological co-relations so entirely at fault as in the cetacea. the teeth or whalebone, as natural-history characters, lead to no results; the whole structure of the interior defies all _à-priori_ reasoning. the brain in whalebone-whales does not fill the interior of the cranium; so that the capacity of the one is no measure of the solid bulk of the other. their food is various, having no relation to the teeth or buccal appendages; vascular structures surround the spinal marrow, and extend in the _balænopteræ_ into the cavity of the cranium, which seem to be without any analogy in other mammals, or, at the least, a very obscure one, and whose functions are wholly unknown. cetacea might with some propriety be divided into whales with whalebone, and whales with teeth. those with whalebone have rudimentary teeth in both jaws in the foetal state. fossil cetacea exist, and they seem to have been of both kinds, but, no doubt, were generically and specifically distinct from the recent. judging from the remains of those i have seen, i am inclined to think that those with teeth were of a stronger and firmer build in the skeleton than those called recent; that the neck was longer, and the caudal portion of the column shorter than in the recent kinds, and that they approached the saurians in form. there is a remarkable want of symmetry in the crania of some of the cetacea; but most remarkable is the cranium of the narwhal. of this fact i have already spoken, in the article published in the transactions of the royal society of edinburgh. _delphinus phocæna. dissection of a small cetacean sent to me from orkney in the month of may ._--this species is said to abound on the coasts, and to furnish a kind of fishery to the inhabitants. on dissection we found vertebræ, exclusive of the cephalic. the species must be quite distinct from those previously and subsequently examined by myself and many others, in which the number of vertebræ ranged from to . it is also, i think, distinct from the specimen i saw in dr. r. hunter's museum in glasgow, in which the number of vertebræ was , exclusive of the cephalic in all the cases. thus it stands with regard to the cetacea called porpoises and dolphins. in certain species of _delphinus_ the vertical column is composed of vertebræ, in others of , in others of , in others of , in others of . the specimen i now describe was, no doubt, that of a young animal; and the skeleton was prepared, consequently, as a natural one. this method has the advantage of security against the loss of any important osseous structures, which too frequently happens when the bones require to be macerated. the bones contained little oil, and weighed, head included, only - / lbs.; the whole animal, when entire, weighed stone, or lbs.; the skeleton therefore was about a twenty-fourth part of the whole weight. it was a female. the external nostrils terminated in a single orifice of a semilunar shape, with the concavity turned towards the snout. measurements of young animals have not the importance of those of the adult; but i give them here because i think that the specimen, although young, had nearly attained its full growth:-- ft. in. total length over the dorsum - / total length lateral surface - / total length abdominal surface - / from the snout to the nostrils - / from the nostrils to the dorsal fin - / base of the dorsal fin from dorsal fin to foot of tail - / breadth of pectoral limb - / from the snout to the organs of generation - / circumference anterior to the arm circumference anterior to dorsal fin - / circumference posterior to dorsal fin circumference at setting on of the tail - / length of pectoral limb breadth of tail greatest height of the dorsal fin from the notes taken at the time, i find that my brother remarks that the dolphin of orkney differed a good deal in shape from those found in the forth and seas in the south of scotland. there were, moreover, more vertebræ than in the skeleton of the common porpoise of authors. the teeth generally weighed - / grains each. further, the muscles of the tongue, intrinsic as well as extrinsic, were extremely well developed. the isthmus faucium was inches long. all this part was extremely glandular. a well-marked muscular gullet followed, composed of two layers of muscular fibres,--one circular internally, and one longitudinal externally. these latter sent a slip to the base of the arytænoid cartilages. the mucous membrane of the gullet had no true epidermic covering, and in this respect differed remarkably from the first gastric compartment, from which a cuticular lining could be peeled off, as strong as that from the sole of the foot in man. the larynx presented that organization so well described by the illustrious cuvier, and which i believe to be peculiar to the whales with teeth. it differs very much, as i explained long ago, in its arrangement from that of whalebone whales,--a fact of which i think cuvier was not aware. the cricoid cartilage was imperfect in form; the hyo-epiglottic muscles very strong. the proper arytænoid were present, and strong, but did not extend so high as in man; the thyro-arytænoid muscles were very fully developed. in the interior of the larynx there were no projections nor ventricles, no cuneiform cartilages, nor cornicula laryngis. the rings of the trachea formed complete circles. _stomach._--the cuticular lining is limited to the first cavity or compartment. it is in the second compartment that is found the curious glandular arrangement first, i believe, described by me in the 'transactions of the royal society of edinburgh.' this structure is most probably not limited to the second compartment. there are four distinct compartments in the stomach of this animal. a dilated duodenum follows, inches in length. it is possible that this may have been in some instances mistaken for a stomach. the valvulæ conniventes commence with the jejunum; these are longitudinal, and extend to within about inches of the anus, terminating at a point where the intestine seems enlarged. the length of the intestines, large and small, was feet; circumference generally about inches. thousands and tens of thousands of parasitical worms were found in the stomach, but none in the intestine. in the stomach also we found four mandibles of the cuttlefish, but no remains of anything in the intestines, and no parasites. _heart and vessels._--the heart weighed exactly one pound. the eustachian valve was small, that of thebesius imperfect. the aorta proceeded for about inches of its course before giving off any branches. at a point corresponding to the th or th lumbar vertebra the vessel divided into the common iliacs. the _art. sacri media_, its continuation, continued its course protected by the v-bones, and giving off branches corresponding to the intervertebral spaces. _brain and nervous system._--the erectile tissue surrounding the spinal cord and origin of the spinal nerves in the cetacea did not extend into the interior of the cranium. the entire encephalic mass weighed - / lbs.: cerebrum, lbs.; cerebellum, / ; pons and medulla, / = - / . compared with a drawing of camper of the _delphinus phocæna_, the brain was found to differ remarkably, in being much broader in the line of the middle and posterior lobes. in no animal did i ever find the fibrous structure of the brain so well marked; and this extended to the cerebellum[d]. i give here some measurements of the brain, which may be of use to future observers. the brain is short from before backwards, but broad transversely:-- antero-posterior diameter - / inches. breadth inches. greatest breadth of the cerebellum inches. length of the cerebellar hemisphere - / inches. depth of ditto - / inches. weight of the encephalic mass - / lbs. depth of the interhemispherical fissure - / inches. length of the corpus callosum - / inches. weight of cerebrum } weight of cerebellum - / } = - / lbs. weight of the pons and med. oblongata - / } _nerves._--the th pair was found to be unexpectedly large and firm, including both portions. the anterior roots of the spinal nerves were far more numerous than the posterior or dorsal. _muscles._--the panniculus carnosus, strong and fleshy, extended nearly over the whole trunk. the recti abdominis were powerful, and attached inferiorly in this way:--a portion runs to the pelvic bones; a much stronger to a strong aponeurosis, situated between the anus and the root of the tail. the erector muscles of the spine (sacrolumbalis, longissimus dorsi and multifidus spinæ) weighed fully lbs. they had but slender costal attachments; but their spinal (small delicate tendons) were innumerable. the scaleni were very large; and the vessels held the same relation to them as in man. the serratus magnus was comparatively small. the larger rhomboid had no spinal attachment; the minor rhomboid seemed to be the larger of the two. the pectorals were comparatively small. the adipose tissue appeared to be wholly confined to the subcutaneous region. the muscles were of a deep brown colour, full of blood, with a short, dark, and well-flavoured fibre: when cooked, they had a strong resemblance in flavour and taste to the flesh of the hare. part ii. the balÆna whales, or whales with whalebone. in february a young whale of the family of balæna whales was caught near the queensferry, in the firth of forth. one much larger had been seen some time before, but escaped. i purchased it for dissection, although i was aware that it was impossible for me, during the hurry of the winter session, to devote much time to it. but i had able assistants (mr. henry goodsir, mr. edward forbes, and my brother), from whom i expected a good deal of aid. some very beautiful drawings of this whale, made for me by mr. edward forbes and by my brother, are still in my possession. it was easy to see, by the dorsal fin and by the numerous plaits or folds on the abdominal surface of the throat and chest, before any dissection, that the specimen was a young balænopterous whale, differing in a great many points from the true whale or _mysticetus_: for, st, the form of the head was entirely different; nd, it had a dorsal fin; and, rd, occupying the lower surface of the throat and thorax were numerous folds of the integuments. to this class of whales i have been in the habit of giving the name of rorqual, to distinguish them from the other class of whalebone whales, the _mysticetus_ both _borealis_ and _australis_. it appears from my notes, that at that time m. g. cuvier considered the species i now describe as identical with the great rorqual i had described about two years previously; but i felt convinced then, as now, that they form distinct species, and in this opinion some continental anatomists seem to coincide. being persuaded that there was some inaccuracy in former drawings of the species, i had the specimen suspended and drawn with great care by mr. edward forbes. this position explained the mechanism of the mouth, showing its great size, even in the short balæna whales; its great capacity in the _mysticetus_ had never been doubted. as to the species, the conclusion i arrived at was, that the specimen belonged to that termed by fabricius _rostrata_, and that individuals of the species had been seen by john hunter, sir james watson, and fabricius. _measurements._ ft. in. total length of the specimen circumference immediately behind the pectoral extremities circumference where the folds or rugæ terminated - / ditto of the tail at its origin - / length from the back fin to the setting on of the tail length from the snout to the ear length from snout to nostrils length of lower jaw length of arm; inner side length from the angle of the mouth to the arm length from snout to arm length of tail in depth length of back fin at the base height of back fin - / from top to tip of tail - / stomach:-- st compartment, in length nd compartment, in length rd compartment, in length th compartment, in length th compartment, in length spleen weighed ounces; its length was liver, lbs. small intestines, length large intestines, length kidney, weight - / lbs. brain (including inches of spinal marrow), - / lbs. cerebellum, pons, and inches of spinal marrow, / lb. great hemisphere of the brain measured inches in length, in breadth, - / ; at the base, inches. tuber annulare - / olfactory nerves, in length - / ditto, breadth - / skeleton:--length of cranium greatest breadth between the orbits length of vertebral column when we compare the skeleton of this rorqual with the gigantic rorqual i also dissected, we find as follows:-- _r. giganteus._ _r. minor._ cervical vertebræ vertebræ dorsal lumbar, sacral, caudal -- -- these differences must be specific. at the extremity of the snout in either jaw there were strong bristles, being the only vestiges of hair found on the external surface. the mouth was of great size; the tongue large and tolerably free, and of a pale rose or vermilion colour. the baleen, where deepest, measured about inches; there were plates on each side; but anteriorly and posteriorly these plates were reduced to mere bristles. the isthmus faucium allowed the closed hand to pass through it; through this isthmus i do not believe that any water ever passes into the pharynx, unless it be accidentally, as in man. the "spout" of the whalebone whale is composed, no doubt, of the pulmonary vapour, and not of any water received into the pharynx from the mouth. the stomach seemed composed of five compartments externally, but presented only four when laid open, the fifth being manifestly the duodenum. in the intestines no remains of food were found, but abundance of intestinal worms, and a substance strongly resembling the human meconium. there was an ilio-cæcal valve as distinct as in man. in the rectum the folds of the mucous membrane were transverse. _organs of respiration_.--the external nostrils were double; and the cavities of the nostrils provided with the remarkable cartilages and muscular apparatus i discovered and described in the anatomy of the great rorqual. in this specimen they were about inches in length, but of as many feet in the large rorqual. the mode of breathing in the rorquals does not differ much from that in man, with the exception of the apparatus of the protruding cartilages, which in man are rudimentary. the _olfactory nerves_ were quite as large as in other mammals; and in this respect the balæna whales are quite unlike the dolphins[e]. the trachea communicated, near its upper part, with a sac or pouch; the lungs were each composed of a single lobe. the rings of the trachea were mostly deficient anteriorly. in the heart the foetal arrangements had wholly disappeared. the dura mater seemed divisible into three layers, the external being vascular. a remarkable vascular substance connected with this layer covers the back part of the brain and cerebellum, extending into the spinal canal, and even into the chest. at the base of the brain the vascular plexus was about inches in thickness. it is, as is well known, a sort of erectile tissue, of whose functions we are wholly ignorant. it is not confined to this course, but extends to the neck, and, passing through the foramina intervertebralia, fills the intercostal spaces exterior to the pleura. there was evidently a canal in the centre of the spinal marrow. wherever the nerves of the lungs and stomach were traced, they terminated in loops. we did not observe in the great rorqual any tracheal pouch like that in the smaller; but it may have escaped notice: if absent in the great rorqual, it would be another proof of the distinctness of the species. the doubts raised by m. st. hilaire, as to the whale being a mammal in the true sense of the term, were set aside long ago by an appeal to facts. the young of the whale tribe suckle like the young of all mammals; nevertheless i showed, in , that the lactiferous glands in the _balænopteræ_ differ in structure from the same organs in most mammals. i do not find in my notes anything to add to the description of the great rorqual already published in the 'transactions of the royal society of edinburgh' for , to which i beg leave to refer the reader. a single remark must be added regarding the nature of the vascular plexus which, in the cetacea, surrounds the spinal marrow, and extends into the chest. on selecting the artery which seemed to form the plexus, which was, if i rightly recollect, in this instance an intercostal artery, and dissecting it under water, i found, to my surprise, that the artery, so long as i followed it, never gave off any branches, but continued of the same calibre throughout, making innumerable flexuosities or turnings. thus, on a plexiform mass of this kind being cut across, the first impression is, that a great number of arterial branches or arteries have been divided, whilst in fact the entire plexus seems to be formed of one artery. as was to be expected of animals so much withdrawn from human observation, there is but little to say on the natural history of the cetacea properly so called. their food, no doubt, is various, and seems to have little or no relation to the character of their dentition. the enormous cachalot, with its vast teeth implanted only in one jaw, is generally understood to prey chiefly on the cuttlefish. the food of the true whale, or _mysticetus_, is well known to be the clio and other smaller mollusca, with which certain regions of the ocean abound; the same, or similar, is probably the food of the more active and restless rorquals, found in both hemispheres. the dolphins, or toothed whales, generally prey, no doubt, on fishes of various kinds; yet, even as regards these, it has been proved by my esteemed friend, the late mr. henry goodsir, that some of the largest, following in the wake of the herring shoals, prey not on these, but on the various microscopic food (the entomostraca and other marine animals) which i was the first to prove to be the natural food of many excellent gregarious freshwater fish, as the vendace, early loch leven trout, the brown trout of the highland and scottish lakes generally, and of the herring itself[f]. it is scarcely necessary to add, that the complex apparatus connected with the exterior nostrils of the dolphins is wholly wanting in the balæna whales,--a fact of which m. cuvier was not aware when he wrote his celebrated treatise on comparative anatomy. _appendix_.--since writing the above, i have received an answer to a letter i addressed to my friend, john goodsir, esq., professor of anatomy in the university of edinburgh. the request contained in my letter to mr. goodsir was, to examine for me the skeleton of a foetal _mysticetus_ now in the university museum. the foetus from which this skeleton was prepared was removed from the uterus of the mother, killed in the north seas by the seamen of a whaling ship, by one of my former students, mr. r. auld, who presented the specimen to me. the point at issue was the composition of the cervical vertebræ in the true or greenland whale, the _balæna mysticetus_. m. van beneden, to whose memoir i have referred in the commencement of this, says, on the authority of eschricht, that at no age whatever do we find in true whales (meaning, i presume, the _mysticetus borealis_ and _australis_) any distinct vertebræ in the cervical region, as in other mammals. a fusion of all into one bone or cartilage seems to take place even in the youngest foetus. now, i had enjoyed the rare opportunity of dissecting the foetus of the _mysticetus_, and i knew that the skeleton, prepared with the greatest care, was still preserved in the museum of the university of edinburgh. i wrote to mr. goodsir to re-examine this point for me, for i did not find in my notes any confirmation of the observations of eschricht. mr. goodsir's reply to my note is as follows:-- "university, edinburgh, sept. , . "my dear sir, "in the skeleton of the foetal _mysticetus_ now in the university museum, the bodies of the axis and atlas have shrivelled up together, having evidently consisted of cartilage only; but the bodies of the five posterior cervical vertebræ are beautifully distinct, having well-formed osseous centres, which give them more of the configuration of the succeeding vertebral bodies than they present in their compressed form in the adult. "the neural arches in the cervical region of this skeleton are five in number; the two anterior, which are distinctly those of the atlas and axis, have an osseous nodule on each side, where the transverse processes pass off. the third arch belongs to the third vertebra, the fourth and fifth to the sixth and seventh. these three arches are cartilaginous, and present no osseous centres. it is impossible to determine from the preparation whether the arches of the fourth and fifth vertebræ had been cut away in dissecting the parts, or whether they have shrivelled up in drying; but as the skeleton was very carefully prepared, and as these two arches are deficient (at least laterally) in the adult _mysticetus_, i presume that the cartilaginous matrices were at least extremely delicate in the foetus. "i believe i have stated all the facts, afforded by this skeleton, which bear upon your questions. they appear to me to afford no support to the views to which they refer. "yours very sincerely, (signed) "john goodsir." the conclusion i arrived at is this,--that the actual number of cervical vertebræ in the _mysticetus_ is, as in most other mammals, seven, and that, notwithstanding their earlier fusion, they are originally quite distinct. footnotes: [c] it is stated that some of the last of these are of wood. the skeleton in edinburgh is perfect. [d] "the substance of the brain is more visibly fibrous than i ever saw it in any other animal, the fibres passing from the ventricles as from a centre to the circumference, which fibrous texture is also continued through the cortical substance."--hunter, "on whales," 'animal economy,' palmer's edit. p. . [e] in his paper "on the structure of whales" (phil. trans. ), hunter remarks that the organ of smell "is peculiar to the large and small whalebone whales." he further remarks, that, "in those that have olfactory nerves, the lateral ventricles are not continued into them as in many quadrupeds;" and he notices "the want of the olfactory nerves in the genus of the porpoise."--'anim. economy,' palmer's edit. pp. , , . [f] see memoirs in the 'transactions of the royal society of edinburgh' for . extract of a letter from dr. baikie to sir john richardson, m.d., c.b., f.r. & l.s., dated th october, , rabba, on the qworra. [read january st, .] "in natural history my collection is advancing, especially in skins and skeletons of birds. i am collecting skulls of all the domesticated animals, and skeletons of the sheep and goats. i have got a few fish, including a prettily-marked _diodon_ or _tetraodon_, probably new, and a _myletes_ which i did not meet with formerly. the _siluridæ_ are the most abundant fishes; and one species closely resembles the _hypophthalmus_, figured by rüppell in his 'fishes of the nile and red sea.' i have not met with another polypterus. i shall get a _lepidosiren_ in the river, and have heard of an electrical fish, i believe a _malopteruris_, such as i formerly found. i enclose two scales of a fish which is said to grow to the length of feet, but of which i have specimens half that size only,--also a sketch of a curious fish - / feet, which i put into spirits; it has neither ventral nor anal fins, a very peculiar caudal, and a slender head, while the dorsal extends along the whole back; eyes very small; teeth numerous and hard, but not sharp." he adds, in a postscript, that he had got the _lepidosiren_. he had collected species of plants, and numerous fine fruits, which he says "will rejoice sir william hooker's heart." dr. baikie's postscript, however, mentions that his vessel had been wrecked about twelve miles above lagos, and that she sunk in a few minutes after she struck. he does not say what was the fate of his collections, but states that all the party had fever from fatigue and sleeping in swamps after the wreck.--j. r. catalogue of the dipterous insects collected in the aru islands by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species. by francis walker. aru island. fam. mycetophilidÆ, _haliday_. gen. sciara, _meigen_. div. a. _a., meig_. vi. . . sciara selecta, n. s. _mas_. nigra, cinereo-tomentosa, antennis sat validis, pedibus piceis, alis cinereis, venis costalibus crassis. _male_. black, with cinereous tomentum; antennæ rather stout; legs piceous; wings greyish; veins black; radial and cubital veins thick; radial vein extending to the fork of the subapical. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. fam. bibionidÆ, _haliday_. gen. plecia, _hoffmansegg_. . plecia dorsalis, _walk_. see vol. i. p. . fam. culicidÆ, _haliday_. . culex scutellaris, n. s. _mas_. nigro-fuscus, capite thoraceque argenteo trivittatis, scutello rufescente; abdominis segmentis argenteo fasciatis, genubus et tarsorum posticorum fasciis niveis; alis subcinereis, venis nigris ciliatis. _male_. blackish brown. head and thorax with three silvery stripes, the middle one very distinct; scutellum reddish; pectus with silvery gloss; abdomen with silvery bands, which are narrow above, broad beneath; femora pale towards the base; knees snow-white; hind tarsi with broad snow-white bands; middle tarsi with the first and second joints white at the base; wings slightly greyish; veins black, fringed. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. tipulidÆ. gen. megistocera, _wied_. . megistocera tuscana, _wied. auss. zweist._ . . . inhabits also java. gen. gynoplistia, _westw_. . gynoplistia jurgiosa, n. s. _mas. et foem._ nigra, capite rufescente, alis cinereis, plagis costalibus nigro-fuscis.--_mas_. abdomine ochraceo, apice nigro, femoribus basi testaceis.--_foem._ abdomine atro fasciis albidis apice luteo. _male and female._ black. head reddish; antennæ testaceous at the base; thorax testaceous in front; wings greyish, blackish-brown along the costa, and with three subcostal blackish-brown patches, the third continued along the veins towards the hind border. _male_. abdomen ochraceous, black at the tip; femora testaceous at the base; halteres testaceous. _female._ abdomen deep black, with whitish bands on the sutures; tip luteous. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. fam. stratiomidÆ, _haliday_. gen. ptilocera, _wied_. . ptilocera quadridentata. see vol. . p. _ _. . massicyta inflata, n. s. _foem._ nigra, capite viridi maculis nigris, antennis basi ferrugineis, pectoris callis duobus scutelloque testaceis, abdomine basi sordide albido lineis tribus nigris, fasciis duabus cano-tomentosis, segmentis tertio quartoque apice ferrugineis, tibiis basi tarsisque albidis, alis subcinereis fusco marginatis, stigmate nigricante, halteribus testaceis. _female._ black. head dull green, with several black spots; mouth testaceous; antennæ dark ferruginous towards the base; two pectoral calli and the scutellum testaceous; abdomen at the base dingy-whitish and semihyaline, and with three black lines; third and fourth segments with hoary bands, their hind borders ferruginous; tibiæ towards the base, and tarsi, whitish; hind tibiæ with the two colours most distinctly marked; wings grey, with broad brownish borders; stigma blackish; veins black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . massicyta cerioÏdes, n. s. _foem._ nigra, capite testaceo maculis nigris, antennis basi ferrugineis, pectoris callis duobus, thoracis vittis duabus interruptis, scutello abdominisque fasciis tribus viridibus, segmento abdominali secundo maculis duabus testaceis, tarsis albis, alis nigricanti-fuscis, halteribus viridibus. _female._ black. head testaceous, with some black spots on the vertex. antennæ dark ferruginous towards the base. an interrupted stripe on each side of the thorax, two pectoral calli, the scutellum, and the hind borders of the second, third, and fourth abdominal segments green. abdomen testaceous at the base beneath; first band interrupted, having before it two testaceous spots. knees lurid; tarsi white. wings blackish brown; stigma and veins black; halteres apple-green. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. gen. salduba, n. g. _male. corpus_ angustum, sublineare. _caput_ transversum; vertex angustus. _oculi_ magni. _antennæ_ capite transverso valde longiores; articuli primo ad septimum breves; flagellum longum, lanceolatum, subarcuatum. _thorax_ longus, subcompressus; scutellum inerme. _abdomen_ planum, thorace paullo longius. _pedes_ graciles; postici longi. _alæ_ angustæ. _male._ body narrow, nearly linear. head slightly transverse, nearly as broad as the thorax; vertex narrow. eyes large. antennæ shorter than the thorax; joints from the first to the seventh short; flagellum long, lanceolate, slightly curved. thorax long, slightly increasing in breadth from the head to the base of the wings. abdomen nearly flat and linear, a little longer than the thorax. legs slender; hind pair long. wings narrow; veins complete, distinctly marked; first cubital areolet rather short, divided from the second by the oblique first cubital rim; discal areolet large, hexagonal; subanal and anal veins united at some distance from the border. . salduba diphysoides, n. s., _mas._ nigra, ore flavo, thorace vittis quatuor subauratis, abdominis apice cinereo, pedibus albidis, femoribus posticis apices versus tibiisque posticis nigris, alis cinereis, venis stigmateque nigris, halteribus testaceis. _male._ black. mouth yellow; thorax with four stripes of slightly gilded tomentum; tip of the abdomen with cinereous tomentum; legs whitish, hind femora towards the tips and hind tibiæ black; wings greyish, veins and stigma black; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. stratiomys. . stratiomys confertissima, n. s. _foem._ nigra, subtus ferruginea, capite fulvo, antennis basi fulvis, thorace vittis quatuor subauratis, scutelli margine fulvo, ventre piceo basi testaceo, pedibus fulvis nigro fasciatis; alis subcinereis, venis stigmateque nigris, halteribus testaceis. _female._ black, ferruginous beneath. head, antennæ at the base, border of the scutellum, and legs tawny; antennæ a little shorter than the breadth of the head; thorax with four slightly gilded stripes; abdomen beneath piceous, testaceous at the base; femora and tibiæ with broad black bands; wings greyish, stigma and veins black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings - / lines. . stratiomys nexura, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigra, antennis basi fulvis, capite transverso brevioribus, abdominis lateribus, ventre, tibiis, tarsis halteribusque fulvis, alis limpidis, venis testaceis. _mas._ thorace atro piloso. _foem._ thorace nigro-æneo angustiore. _male and female._ black. head rather prominent; antennæ tawny towards the base, shorter than the breadth of the head; spines of the scutellum, abdomen beneath, tibiæ, tarsi, and halteres tawny; wings limpid, veins testaceous. _male._ thorax deep black, pilose; abdomen tawny along each side. _female._ head shining; thorax æneous black, narrower than that of the male; abdomen with the tawny stripes much narrower than those of the male. length of the body - / lines; of the wings - / lines. gen. clitellaria, _meigen._ . clitellaria bivittata, _fabr._ see vol. i. p. . gen. gabaza, n. g. _foem. corpus_ breve, latum. _caput_ transversum, thorace paullo angustius; facies valde obliqua. _antennæ_ capite transverso breviores; articuli breves, transversi; arista longa, gracilis, filiformis. _scutellum_ prominens, spinis duabus minutis. _abdomen_ transversum, thorace multo latius. _pedes_ graciles, breviusculi. _alæ_ sat angustæ; venæ tenues. _female._ body short, broad. head transverse, a little narrower than the thorax; face very oblique. antennæ shorter than the breadth of the head; joints short, transverse; arista slender, filiform, longer than the preceding part, which is lanceolate. scutellum prominent, armed with two minute spines. abdomen transverse, much broader than the thorax. legs slender, somewhat short. wings rather narrow; veins feeble, in structure like those of _stratiomys_. . gabaza argentea, n. s. _foem._ nigra, antennis fulvis, arista alba, thorace abdomineque argenteo-tomentosis, tarsis albido-testaceis, alis limpidis, venis pallidis. _female._ coal-black. antennæ tawny, arista white; thorax and abdomen with bright silvery tomentum; tarsi whitish testaceous; wings limpid, veins pale. length of the body lines; of the wings - / lines. gen. sargus, _fabr._ . sargus metallinus, _fabr._ see vol. i. p. . . sargus complens, n. s. _foem._ rufescente-fulvus, capitis vertice nigro, antennis testaceis, abdomine fasciis latis abbreviatis piceis, tarsis posticis basi tibiisque posticis nigris, alis cinereis, basi subluridis, apud costam exteriorem nigro-fuscis. _female._ reddish tawny. head black above, testaceous beneath; antennæ testaceous; abdomen with four broad abbreviated piceous bands; legs tawny, hind tibiæ black with a tawny apical mark, hind tarsi black towards the base; wings greyish, slightly lurid towards the base, blackish-brown about the exterior part of the costa, veins black, tawny towards the base; halteres testaceous, tawny towards the tips. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . sargus rogans, n. s. _mas et foem._ capitis vertice nigro, antennis pedibusque testaceis, tibiis tarsisque posticis nigris, alis subcinereis apice obscurioribus. _mas._ luteo-testaceus. _foem._ ferrugineus. _male and female._ head black above; antennæ and legs testaceous; hind tibiæ and hind tarsi black; wings greyish, darker towards their tips; veins black, tawny towards the base. _male._ lutescent testaceous. _female._ ferruginous; wings darker than those of the male. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. nerua, n. g. _foem. corpus_ longiusculum, sublineare. _caput_ transversum, thorace non latius. _antennæ_ breves; articulus tertius rotundus; arista apicalis, longa, tenuis, setiformis. _thorax_ productus. _scutellum_ spinis quatuor longiusculis. _abdomen_ depressum, sublineare, thorace vix latius, non longius. _pedes_ graciles, non longi. _alæ_ angustæ; venæ bene determinatæ. _female._ body rather long, nearly linear. head transverse, not broader than the thorax. antennæ short; third joint round; arista apical, long, slender, setiform. thorax long. abdomen flat, thin, nearly linear, hardly broader and not longer than the thorax. legs slender, not long. wings narrow; veins distinctly marked, in structure like those of _clitellaria_. this genus may be distinguished from _culcua_ by the shape of the abdomen. . nerua scenopinoÏdes, n. s. _foem._ atra, nitens, antennis fulvis, scutelli spinis pedibusque albis, alis nigro-cinereis, postice pallidioribus, venis nigris, halteribus testaceis. _female._ coal-black, shining; antennæ tawny; thorax slightly tomentose; spines of the scutellum and legs white; wings blackish grey, paler towards the hind border, veins black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. adraga, n. g. _mas. corpus_ sublineare. _caput_ thorace non latius. _oculi_ connexi. _antennæ_ brevissimæ; articulus tertius rotundus; arista apicalis, gracilis, setiformis. _thorax_ sutura transversa bene determinata. _scutellum_ prominens, trigonum, marginatum. _abdomen_ thorace paullo brevius, non latius. _pedes_ breviusculi, validi, non dilatati. _alæ_ mediocres. _male_. body nearly linear, rather thick. head not broader than the thorax. eyes connected. antennæ very short; third joint round; arista apical, long, slender, setiform. thorax with the transverse suture very distinct. scutellum prominent, triangular, with a border. abdomen a little shorter and not broader than the thorax. legs stout, rather short, not dilated. wings moderately broad; veins in structure like those of _clitellaria_. . adraga univitta, n. s. _mas._ nigra, subtilissime punctata, antennis piceis, thorace vitta cinerea, tarsis posterioribus albis, alis nigricantibus. _male_. coal-black, hardly shining; antennæ piceous; thorax and abdomen very minutely punctured; thorax with a stripe of cinereous tomentum; posterior tarsi white; wings blackish, veins black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. obrapa, n. g. _foem. corpus_ breve, latum, crassum, convexum. _caput_ transversum, thorace angustius. _antennæ_ breves; articulus tertius rotundus; arista apicalis, gracilis, setiformis. _thorax_ sutura transversa bene determinata. _abdomen_ transversum, thorace paullo latius, valde brevius. _pedes_ breviusculi, validi; antici subdilatati. _alæ_ mediocres. _female._ body short, broad, thick, convex. head transverse, narrower than the thorax. antennæ short; third joint round; arista apical, slender, setiform. thorax with the transverse suture very distinct. scutellum large, prominent, with a marginal suture. abdomen transverse, a little broader than the thorax, and not more than half its length. legs stout, rather short, the fore pair slightly dilated. wings moderately broad, veins rather irregular; discal areolet large, quadrilateral; externo-medial veins, subanal vein, and anal vein very slight; subanal vein and anal vein united at some distance from the border. . obrapa perilampoÏdes, n. s. _foem._ atra, nitens, subtilissime punctata, capite glabro, antennis piceis, tarsis posterioribus albidis, alis limpidis, venis albidis basi nigris, halteribus niveis. _female._ deep black, shining, very minutely punctured; head smooth; antennæ piceous; posterior tarsi whitish, with black tips; wings limpid, veins whitish, black towards the base; halteres snow-white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . obrapa celyphoÏdes, n. s. _foem._ atra, nitens, subtilissime punctata, capite glabro, antennis piceis, tarsis albidis, alis nigro-cinereis, venis nigris, halteribus niveis. _female._ deep black, very minutely punctured. head smooth; antennæ piceous; tarsi whitish; wings blackish cinereous, veins black; halteres snow-white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. tabanidÆ, _leach_. gen. tabanus, _linn._ . tabanus recusans, n. s. _foem._ piceus, cinereo-subtomentosus, callo nigro angusto, antennis rufis apice nigris, humeris rufescentibus, abdomine basi glaucescente, tibiis obscure ferrugineis, alis nigro-fuscis, apice margineque postico cinereis. _female._ piceous, slightly covered with cinereous tomentum. callus of the head black, long, slender, entire; antennæ red, black towards the tips, angle of the third joint very small; thorax reddish on each side in front of the forewings; abdomen with glaucous tomentum towards the base; tibiæ mostly dark ferruginous; wings blackish-brown, cinereous towards the tips and along the hind border; veins black; forebranch of the cubital vein simple, very slightly undulating, its tip, like that of the radial vein, clouded with blackish-brown. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. asilidÆ, _leach_. subfam. dasypogonites, _walk._ gen. dasypogon, _fabr._ . dasypogon inopinus, n. s. _foem._ piceus, facie aurata, mystace parvo albo, antennis ferrugineis, apices versus nigris, capite transverso longioribus, articulo tertio lineari, pectore fasciis tribus canis, abdominis segmentis ferrugineo fasciatis, alis luridis, apud costam nigro-fuscis, halteribus testaceis. _female._ piceous. face flat, brightly gilded; epistoma not prominent; mystax with a few white bristles; mouth black; antennæ ferruginous, black towards the tips, longer than the breadth of the head; third joint linear, longer than the first and the second together; pectus with three hoary bands; abdomen subclavate, nearly twice the length of the thorax; a ferruginous band on the hind border of each segment; legs mostly ferruginous; wings lurid, blackish-brown towards the costa, veins black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dasypogon honestus, n. s. lutescente-fulvus, capite, antennis, pedibus alisque nigris, thorace vitta schistacea nigro marginata vittisque duabus lateralibus cinereis, pectore postico nigro, abdomine ----?, tibiis tarsisque posticis fulvis. luteous-tawny. head, antennæ, hind part of the pectus, and legs black, shining; mystax with very few bristles; antennæ almost as long as the breadth of the head, third joint long, slender, linear; thorax with a slate-coloured blackish-bordered stripe, a short slate-coloured stripe on each side; abdomen wanting; hind tibiæ and tarsi tawny; wings blackish, veins black. length of the body ? lines; of the wings lines. subfam. laphrites, _walk._ gen. laphria, _fabr._ . laphria scapularis, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also java. . laphria aurifacies, _macq._ see vol. i. p. . . laphria gloriosa, n. s. _mas et foem._ aurata, capite pectoreque albis, abdomine purpureo, guttis lateralibus albis, basi viridi, lateribus pedibusque cyaneis, alis fuscis basi cinereis, halteribus testaceis. _male and female._ head and pectus with white tomentum and hairs; mystax with a few black bristles; mouth and antennæ black; third joint of the latter linear, conical at the tip, longer than the first and the second together; thorax with cupreous-gilded tomentum; abdomen purple, green at the base, blue and with a row of white dots along each side; legs blue; wings brown, cinereous towards the base, veins black; halteres testaceous. _male._ legs very thick and pilose. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . laphria socia, n. s. _foem._ cyaneo-viridis, capite aurato, antennarum articulo tertio longissimo subfusiformi, thoracis tomento subaurato, vitta media nuda, pectore argenteo, abdomine purpureo-cyaneo basi viridi maculis lateralibus argenteis, alis nigro-cinereis basi cinereis. _female._ bluish-green. head brightly gilded, hind part silvery; mystax with six long black bristles; third joint of the antennæ very elongate subfusiform; thorax with slightly gilded tomentum, excepting a broad bare middle stripe; pectus with silvery tomentum; abdomen purplish-blue, green towards the base, with spots of silvery tomentum along each side; hind borders of the ventral segments white; wings grey, blackish-grey for almost half the length from the tips and along three-fourths of the length of the hind border, veins black; halteres ferruginous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . laphria consobrina, n. s. _foem._ purpurea, capite aurato, pectore argenteo, abdomine viridi-cyaneo, maculis lateralibus argenteis, alis nigricantibus basi cinereis. _female._ purple. head brightly gilded, hind part silvery, underside with white hairs; mystax with six long black bristles; pectus with silvery tomentum; abdomen greenish blue, with spots of silvery tomentum along each side; hind borders of the ventral segments white; wings slightly grey, blackish for full half the length from the tips and along full three-fourths of the length of the hind border, veins black; halteres ferruginous, with black tips. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. this species much resembles _l. socia_, but may be distinguished by the difference of colour, and more especially by the more undulating first branch vein, by the much less oblique third externo-medial vein, and by the subanal vein, which is united to the anal vein much nearer the border. . laphria sodalis, n. s. _mas._ cyanea, capite aurato, antennarum articulo tertio fusiformi, thoracis lateribus purpureo-viridibus, pectore ventreque argenteis, abdomine maculis lateralibus argenteis, alis cinereis, apice posticeque nigricantibus. _male._ blue. head brightly gilded, vertex and hind part silvery, underside with white hairs; mystax with four long black bristles, and with several gilded bristles; third joint of the antennæ elongate-fusiform; sides of the thorax varied with green and purple; abdomen with spots of silvery tomentum along each side, underside and pectus silvery; wings grey, black towards the tips and along half the length of the hind border; halteres white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. the veins of this species are hardly different from those of _l. consobrina_ in structure, excepting the third externo-medial, which is united to the fourth nearer the border. . laphria comes, n. s. _mas et foem._ viridi-cyanea, capite aurato, antennarum articulo tertio fusiformi, pectore ventrisque lateribus argenteis, abdomine viridi (mas) aut purpureo-cyaneo (foem.) maculis lateralibus argenteis, alis nigricantibus basi cinereis. _male and female._ greenish blue. head brightly gilded, hind part silvery; mystax with six long black bristles; third joint of the antennæ elongate-fusiform; pectus with silvery tomentum; abdomen green in the male, purplish-blue in the female, with silvery spots along each side, underside with two silvery stripes; wings blackish, grey at the base and along the costa for more than one-third of the length, veins and halteres black. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. this may be only a small variety of _l. consobrina_; but the wings are not darker towards the costa as in that species, and the first branch-vein is much more straight. . laphria consors, n. s. _mas et foem._ viridis (mas) aut cyanea (foem.), capite aurato, antennarum articulo tertio brevifusiformi, pectore argenteo, abdomine æneo-viridi (mas) aut cyaneo-purpureo (foem.) maculis lateralibus argenteis, alis nigricantibus, basi cinereis. _male and female._ green (male) or blue (female). head gilded, hind part silvery; mystax with a few black bristles; third joint of the antennæ short-fusiform; pectus silvery; abdomen æneous-green in the male, bluish-purple in the female, with silvery spots along each side; wings blackish, grey at the base and along the costa for more than one-third of the length; veins and halteres black. length of the body - / -- lines; of the wings - lines. the straight and not oblique third externo-medial vein distinguishes this species from all the preceding _laphriæ_. . laphria germana, n. s. _foem._ cyanea, facie aurata, antennarum articulo tertio longissime subfusiformi, abdominis maculis lateralibus pectoreque argenteis, alis cinereis, basi subcinereis, halteribus albis. _female._ blue. head gilded in front, vertex and hind part silvery; mystax with six black bristles; third joint of the antennæ very long, subfusiform; pectus silvery; abdomen purplish blue, shorter than in the preceding species, with silvery spots along each side; wings grey, slightly grey towards the base; halteres white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . laphria flagrantissima, n. s. _mas._ rufescente-cervina, capite aurato, antennis pedibusque rufescentibus, thorace vittis tribus latissimis (lateralibus abbreviatis) pectoreque nigricantibus, alis lutescentibus, plaga postica interiore fasciaque latissima exteriore nigricantibus. _male._ reddish fawn colour. head gilded; mystax with numerous gilded bristles; mouth lanceolate, very stout; antennæ reddish, third joint long, lanceolate, abruptly acuminated at the tip; thorax with three very broad blackish stripes; disk of the pectus black; abdomen with the segments darker towards the base, underside black towards the tip; legs reddish, stout; tarsi with black bands beneath; wings somewhat luteous, with a large blackish patch on the hind border near the base, and with a very broad blackish band near the tip; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . laphria justa, n. s. _mas._ lutea, capite aurato, ore, antennis apice, thoracis maculis duabus posticis, pectore, abdominis fasciis latis femoribusque nigris, alis cinereis, apud costam luridis. _male._ luteous. head gilded; mystax with numerous gilded bristles; mouth short, black; antennæ reddish tawny, third joint lanceolate, black except at the base; thorax with the disk somewhat darker, two large black spots hindward; pectus black; abdomen linear, with a broad black band on the fore border of each segment; femora black above except at the tips, hind femora black also beneath; wings greyish, slightly clouded with dark grey, lurid along the costa for three-fourths of the length; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . laphria manifesta, n. s. _mas et foem._ fulva, capite argenteo (mas) aut pallide aurato (foem.), antennis apice nigris, thoracis disco et abdominis maculis subtrigonis subæneo-ferrugineis, scutello quadrisetoso, alis subcinereis. _male and female._ tawny. head silvery in the male, pale-gilded in the female; mystax with several slender bristles; mouth lanceolate; third joint of the antennæ very elongate-subfusiform, black towards the tip; disk of the thorax and nearly triangular dorsal spots of the abdomen ferruginous with a slight æneous tinge; pectus testaceous, slightly silvery; wings slightly greyish; veins black, testaceous at the base, where the wings also have a testaceous tinge; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / -- lines; of the wings - lines. . laphria aperta, n. s. _foem._ testacea, capite subargenteo, antennis abdominisque apice nigris, alis nigricantibus basi limpidis, halteribus albidis. _female._ testaceous. head with whitish slightly silvery tomentum; mystax with very few bristles; antennæ black, third joint long, linear, conical at the tip; thorax with a very indistinct darker stripe; abdomen black towards the tip; wings blackish, limpid towards the base; veins black, testaceous at the base; halteres whitish. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . laphria declarata, n. s. _mas._ fulva, capite albo, facie argentea micante, antennis tibiisque posticis nigris, thorace atro, alis cinereis, venis nigris, halteribus testaceis. _male._ tawny, slender. head white, face brilliant silvery; mystax with four bristles; mouth black, short, slender; eyes flat in front; antennæ black, almost as long as the breadth of the head; third joint long, slender, lanceolate; thorax deep black; scutellum reddish tawny; hind tibiæ black, with tawny tips; wings greyish, veins black; discal veinlet and third externo-medial vein forming one straight line, as in the genus _atomosia_; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. asilites, _walk._ gen. trupanea, _macq._ . trupanea contradicens, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigricans, cinereo-subtomentosa, thoracis vittis pectoreque cano-tomentosis, pedibus nigris, tibiis rufis apice nigris, alis fusco-cinereis, areola radiali schistaceo vittata. _mas._ capite subaurato, barba testaceo-albida, abdominis segmentis lutescente marginatis. _foem._ capite barbaque albidis, abdomine stylato, segmentis cano marginatis. _male and female._ blackish. antennæ and legs black; thorax slightly covered with cinereous tomentum; stripes, pectus, and underside of the abdomen hoary; tibiæ red, with black tips; wings brownish grey; radial areolet with a slate-coloured stripe. _male._ head slightly gilded; mystax with a few black bristles and many gilded bristles; beard testaceous-whitish; sides of the abdomen and hind borders of the segments lutescent. _female._ head and beard whitish; mystax with many black bristles and a few white bristles; abdomen with an apical style, more than one-third of the length of the preceding part, sides and hind borders of the segments hoary. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. gen. asilus, _linn._ . asilus longistylus, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also java. gen. ommatius, _illiger._ . ommatius noctifer, n. s. _mas._ niger, capite aurato, thoracis incisuris, scutello, pectore, segmentorum abdominalium marginibus ventreque canis, tibiis fulvis apice nigris, alis cinereis costa apiceque nigricantibus, halteribus ferrugineis. _male._ black. head gilded; mystax with a few black and several gilded bristles; sutures of the thorax, scutellum, sides, pectus, hind borders of the abdominal segments, and underside hoary; tibiæ tawny, with black tips; wings cinereous, blackish along the costa and towards the tips, veins black; halteres ferruginous. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. . ommatius lucifer, n. s. _mas._ Æneo-niger, capite argenteo, pectore albido, abdominis segmentis ferrugineo marginatis, pedibus testaceis, femoribus nigro-vittatis, tarsis nigris, alis limpidis apice nigricantibus costa atra apud medium incrassata, halteribus testaceis. _male._ bronze-black. head silvery in front; mystax with a few black and a few whitish bristles; pectus whitish; hind borders of the abdominal segments ferruginous; legs testaceous; femora striped with black; tarsi black, ferruginous at the base; wings limpid, blackish at the tips; costa deep black, incrassated in the middle; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . ommatius retrahens, n. s. _foem._ cinereo-niger, facie argentea, pectore albido, pedibus testaceis, tarsis, femoribus tibiisque apice femoribusque posticis nigris, alis limpidis apice subcinereis, halteribus testaceis. _female._ cinereous-black. head silvery white in front; mystax with very few white and black bristles; pectus whitish; legs testaceous; tips of the anterior femora and of the middle tibiæ black; hind femora and hind tarsi black; anterior tarsi and hind tibiæ black, testaceous towards the base; wings limpid, slightly cinereous towards the tips; veins black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. leptogaster, _meigen._ . leptogaster ferrugineus, n. s. _mas._ ferrugineus, pectore albo, abdomine nigro, segmentorum marginibus ventreque testaceis, pedibus fulvis, femoribus apice nigris, tibiis piceo vittatis, tibiis posticis tarsisque nigris basi testaceis, alis sublimpidis, halteribus testaceis apice piceis. _male._ ferruginous. head pale, gilded in front, hind side and pectus white; mouth and antennæ tawny, the latter blackish towards the tips; abdomen black; hind borders of the segments and under side testaceous; legs tawny; anterior femora with a testaceous band before the tips, which are black; hind femora and anterior tibiæ striped with piceous, the latter black towards the tips; tarsi and hind tibiæ black, testaceous at the base; wings very slightly greyish, veins black; halteres testaceous, piceous towards the tips. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . leptogaster longipes, n. s. _mas._ ferrugineus, pectore albido, abdomine piceo, segmentis apice fulvescentibus, pedibus anterioribus fulvescentibus, posticis piceis longissimis, femoribus posticis basi testaceis, alis subcinereis basi obscurioribus costa venisque nigris, halteribus testaceis apice nigris. _male._ ferruginous. head testaceous in front; mouth and antennæ black; pectus whitish; abdomen piceous, hind borders of the segments somewhat tawny; legs somewhat tawny; hind legs piceous, very long, their femora testaceous at the base; wings slightly greyish, darker towards the base, costa and veins black; halteres testaceous, with black knobs. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . leptogaster albimanus, n. s. _mas._ niger, capite antico pectoreque albis, antennis basi ferrugineis, abdominis segmentis cano fasciatis, femoribus, tibiis tarsisque basi albis, femoribus posticis luteo fasciatis, alis limpidis, halteribus albidis apice piceis. _male._ black. head in front and the pectus white; antennæ ferruginous at the base; abdomen long, a hoary band on the hind border of each segment; femora, tibiæ, and tarsi white at the base; hind legs long, rather stout; hind femora with a luteous band; wings limpid, veins black; halteres whitish, with piceous knobs. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. leptidÆ, _westw._ gen. leptis, _fabr._ . leptis ferruginosa, _wied._ see vol. i. p. . gen. chrysopila, _macq._ . chrysopila vacillans, n. s. _mas et foem._ lutescens, capite nigro, thorace subvittato, abdominis segmentis nigro fasciatis, alis sublimpidis apud costam flavescentibus, venis fusco latissime marginatis, stigmate nigro-fusco. _male and female._ lutescent. head of the female black, shining; thorax with two brown bands which are paler and indistinct hindward; abdomen with a broad black band on each segment; tarsi blackish towards the tips; wings nearly limpid, yellowish along the costa, veins exteriorly with very broad brownish borders, stigma blackish brown. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. bombylidÆ, _leach._ subfam. therevites, _walk._ . thereva congrua, n. s. _mas._ nigra, glaucescente albo tomentosa, albo pilosa, capite argenteo, thorace trivittato et bilineato, pedibus nigris, femoribus albis, alis cinereis stigmate elongato venisque nigris. _male._ black, with glaucous-white tomentum and with white hairs. head silvery in front; thorax with three blackish brown stripes, the middle one with a dark stripe on each side, broader and more distinct than the lateral pair; abdomen beneath and legs black, femora white; wings grey, with an elongated black stigma and black veins; halteres black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. subfam. bombylites, _walk._ gen. anthrax, _fabr._ . anthrax pelops, n. s. _mas._ ferruginea, thoracis margine rufo piloso, pectore abdomineque nigris, abdomine fasciis duabus, maculis duabus apicalibus, plagaque ventrali subtrigona argenteis, alis cinereis, basi costaque nigris. _male._ closely allied to _a. tantalus_. dark ferruginous. head above, antennæ, pectus, abdomen, and legs black; thorax bordered with red hairs; pectus with a silvery dot on each side; abdomen with red hairs on each side at the base, with two silvery bands, with two silvery apical spots, and with a ventral, nearly triangular, silvery patch; wings cinereous, black at the base and along five-sixths of the length of the costa, veins and halteres black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . anthrax semiscita, _walk._ see vol. i. p. . . anthrax degenera, _walk._ see vol. i. p. . gen. geron, _meigen._ . geron simplex, n. s. _mas._ ater, antennis pedibusque nigris, alis subcinereis, halteribus fulvis. _male._ deep black. eyes bright red; proboscis a little longer than the thorax; antennæ and legs black; wings slightly greyish, veins black; halteres tawny. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. empidoÆ, _leach._ gen. hybos, _fabr._ . hybos bicolor, n. s. _mas._ fulvus, ore antennisque testaceis, abdomine, femoribus posticis apice tibiisque anticis piceis, tarsis anterioribus ferrugineis, alis obscure cinereis. _male._ tawny. mouth and antennæ testaceous; abdomen, hind femora at the tips, and fore tibiæ piceous, anterior tarsi ferruginous; wings dark grey, veins black. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. dolichopidÆ, _leach._ gen. psilopus, _meigen._ . psilopus æneus, _fabr. syst. antl._ . . inhabits also java. . psilopus benedictus, n. s. _mas et foem._ aureo-viridis, facie pectoreque argenteis, antennis testaceis apice nigris, thorace vittis tribus cupreis, abdomine fasciis cupreo-purpureis, maculis lateralibus albidis, pedibus testaceis tibiis posticis tarsisque nigris, alis subcinereis, costam versus et apud venas transversas nigro-fuscis, halteribus testaceis. _foem._ vertice cyaneo-purpureo, abdomine fasciis cyaneis. _male and female._ golden green. face silvery; antennæ testaceous, black towards the tips, arista full as long as the thorax; thorax with three cupreous stripes; pectus silvery; abdomen with cupreous purple bands and with whitish spots along each side; legs testaceous, tarsi and hind tibiæ black; wings slightly greyish, blackish brown along the costa and about the transverse veins, veins black, fore branch of the præbrachial vein curved inward, discal transverse vein undulating; halteres testaceous. _female._ vertex bluish purple; abdomen with blue bands. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. . psilopus lucigena, n. s. _mas._ aureo-viridis, facie pectoreque argenteis, antennis tarsisque nigris, thorace vittis tribus rufo-cupreis, abdomine fasciis cupreo-purpureis, femoribus lutescentibus, tibiis piceis, femoribus anticis apice nigricantibus, alis nigris apice albis, halteribus fulvis apice nigris. _male._ golden green. face and pectus silvery; antennæ black, arista longer than the thorax; thorax with three broad reddish cupreous stripes; abdomen with broad cupreous purple bands; femora lutescent, tibiæ piceous, fore femora blackish towards the tips, tarsi black; wings black, tips snow-white, fore branch of the præbrachial vein slightly curved inward, discal transverse vein much curved outward; halteres tawny, with black tips. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . psilopus flavicornis, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also sumatra. . psilopus terminifer, n. s. _mas._ aureo-viridis, vertice cyaneo-purpureo, facie pectoreque argenteis, antennis, pedibus halteribusque testaceis, abdomine apicem versus atro fasciis duabus cupreis, alis subcinereis apice nigris. _male._ golden-green, slender. vertex bluish-purple; face and pectus silvery; antennæ testaceous, arista about half the length of the body; fourth and fifth segments of the abdomen deep black with a cupreous band on the hind border of each segment, tip blue; legs and halteres testaceous; wings greyish, paler along the hind border, tips black, fore branch of the præbrachial vein slightly curved inward, discal transverse vein slightly undulating. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . psilopus orcifer, n. s. _foem._ purpureus, facie pectoreque subcinereis, antennis, pedibus halteribusque nigris, abdomine cyaneo-viridi segmentorum marginibus posticis purpureis, alis nigricantibus margine postico cinereo. _var._ viridis, vertice cyaneo, abdominis segmentis basi nigris. _female._ purple, rather stout. face and pectus slightly cinereous; antennæ, legs, and halteres black; abdomen bluish-green, hind borders of the segments purple; wings blackish, cinereous along the hind border, fore branch of the præbrachial vein forming an obtuse angle, discal transverse vein very undulating. _var._ green. vertex blue; abdominal segments black at the base. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . psilopus egens, n. s. _mas et foem._ purpureus, facie pectoreque cyaneo-viridi cinereo subtomentosis, antennis, pedibus halteribusque nigris, metathorace viridi, abdomine cyaneo, suturis nigris, alis cinereis. _male and female._ purple. face and pectus slightly covered with cinereous tomentum, the latter bluish-green; antennæ black, arista much more than half the length of the body; metathorax green; abdomen blue, sutures black; legs and halteres black; wings grey, fore branch of the præbrachial vein much curved inward, discal transverse vein straight; length of the body - / -- - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. dolichopus, _latr._ . dolichopus trigonifer, n. s. _foem._ cupreo-viridis, facie argentea, antennis, pedibus halteribusque testaceis, pectore, ventre abdominisque maculis lateralibus trigonis albidis, abdomine purpureo marginibus posticis nigris, tarsis posterioribus nigricantibus, alis cinereis. _female._ cupreous green. face silvery; antennæ, legs, and halteres testaceous; pectus, abdomen beneath, and triangular spots on each side whitish; abdomen purple, hind borders of the segments black; posterior tarsi blackish; wings grey, veins black, præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, between which and the border it is much curved inward, discal transverse vein very slightly curved outwards. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. this species resembles the _psilopi_ in the structure of the præbrachial vein. gen. diaphorus, _meigen._ . diaphorus resumens, n. s. _mas et foem._ obscure viridis (mas) aut niger (foem.), facie pectoreque albidis, antennis piceis, abdomine nigro-cupreo basi obscure testaceo, pedibus anterioribus tibiisque posticis basi obscure testaceis, pedibus posticis nigris, alis nigricantibus apud marginem posticum pallidioribus, halteribus testaceis. _male and female._ dark green (male) or black (female). face and pectus whitish; antennæ piceous; abdomen cupreous-black, dull testaceous towards the base; hind legs black, hind tibiæ towards the base and anterior legs dull testaceous; wings blackish, paler along the hind border, veins black, præbrachial vein and discal transverse vein straight; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings - / lines. fam. syrphidÆ, _leach._ gen. ceria, _fabr._ . ceria smaragdina, n. s. _foem._ saturate metallico-viridis, subtilissime punctata, faciei lateribus cupreis, antennis nigris, arista nivea, thorace bivittato, abdomine æneo-viridi, tarsis nigris, alis dimidio costali nigro, halteribus testaceis. _female._ deep metallic green, very finely punctured. head blue in front, sides of the face cupreous-purple; mouth, antennæ, and tarsi black; arista snow-white; thorax with two almost contiguous darker stripes; abdomen æneous green, with the exception of the petiole, which is very thick; wings slightly greyish, costal half black; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . ceria relicta, n. s. _mas._ nigra, faciei lateribus, thoracis maculis quatuor humeralibus, pectoris fasciis duabus lateralibus, scutello, abdominis maculis duabus basalibus fasciisque duabus flavis, tibiis flavescentibus apice piceis, alis apud costam nigris, halteribus testaceis. _male._ black. head yellow beneath, and in front with the exception of a black stripe on the disk of the face; arista white; thorax with two yellow spots on each side in front; scutellum yellow; pectus with an oblique yellow band on each side; abdomen not petiolated, with a tumid yellow spot on each side at the base, hind borders of the third and fourth segments yellow; femora at the tips and tibiæ yellow, the latter piceous towards the tips, tarsi piceous; wings greyish-black towards the costa, excepting a lurid costal streak which extends along half the length from the base; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . ceria relicta, n. s. _foem._ nigra, faciei lateribus abdominisque fasciis duabus flavis, antennis ferrugineo variis, pedibus fulvis, alis cinereis costam versus nigris, halteribus stramineis. _female._ black. head yellow, beneath and in front with the exception of a black stripe on the disk of the face; first and third joints of the antennæ somewhat ferruginous, arista white; thorax with two indistinct yellowish marks on the transverse suture, hind border of the scutellum and hind borders of the second and third abdominal segments yellow; legs tawny, tibiæ paler towards the base; wings green, black for nearly half the breadth from the costa; halteres straw-colour. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. this may prove to be the female of _c. relictura_, notwithstanding its great difference from that species in the marks of the thorax and of the abdomen, and in the colour of the legs. gen. microdon, _meig._ . microdon fulvicornis, n. s. _mas._ niger, aureo-subpubescens, antennis, abdomine, pedibus halteribusque fulvis, femoribus nigris, tibiis nigro vittatis, alis fuscis postice cinereis. _male._ black. head with gilded pubescence, cinereous behind and beneath; antennæ tawny, second joint above towards the tip and third joint piceous; thorax slightly covered with gilded tomentum; pectus with cinereous tomentum; abdomen with gilded tomentum towards the tip; legs tawny, femora mostly black, tibiæ with black stripes; wings cinereous, dark-brown about the costa, veinlet which bisects the subapical areolet incomplete, as it is also in the following species; halteres tawny. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . microdon apicalis, n. s. _mas et foem._ niger, aureo-pubescens, thorace abdomineque fasciatis, pedibus halteribusque fulvis, alis nigro-fuscis postice obscure cinereis. _male and female._ black, with gilded tomentum, which forms two bands on the thorax, and one on each side of the pectus; abdomen with three gilded tomentose bands, the third subapical, first segment ferruginous beneath; legs tawny, femora at the base and coxæ black; wings blackish-brown, dark cinereous hindward; halteres tawny. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. gen. graptomyza, _wied._ . graptomyza tibialis, n. s. _mas._ testacea, vertice pectorisque fasciis duabus piceis, antennis supra nigris, abdominis lateribus fasciis duabus subtrigonis apiceque nigris, alis cinereis. _male._ testaceous. vertex and mouth piceous; epistoma with a piceous line on each side; third joint of the antennæ black above; abdomen black along each side and at the tip, and with two black bands which are angular in front; wings cinereous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. eristalis, _latr._ . eristalis splendens, _leguillon, voy. aut. du monde_; _macq. dipt. exot._ . . . . inhabits also solomon's islands. . eristalis resolutus, n. s. _mas et foem._ niger, capite antice albo, thorace vittis duabus fasciaque pectorisque disco cinereis, scutello fulvo, abdomine fasciis interruptis æneo-viridibus, tibiis basi fulvescentibus, alis fuscis (mas) aut obscure fuscis (foem.) basi cinereis, halteribus testaceis. _male and female._ black. head shining, with white tomentum beneath and on each side of the face; third joint of the antennæ piceous, arista simple; thorax with two cinereous stripes and with one cinereous band, somewhat chalybeous towards the scutellum, which is tawny; the band continued on each side of the pectus, whose disk is cinereous; abdomen with an interrupted æneous-green band on the second segment, third and fourth segments æneous-green, each with three large black spots; tibia somewhat tawny towards the base; wings brown (male) or dark brown (female), cinereous towards the base; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . eristalis conductus, n. s. _foem._ niger, faciei lateribus albis, antennis, scutello, abdominis fasciis pedibusque testaceis, thorace antico albido, alis subcinereis apice obscurioribus. _female_. black. head shining, with white tomentum behind, beneath and on each side of the face; antennæ, scutellum, and legs testaceous, arista simple; thorax whitish in front, the whitish part continued in a short band on each side of the pectus; abdomen testaceous at the base and beneath, and with three testaceous bands; hind tibiæ with black tips; wings slightly greyish, darker towards the tips, cubital vein much less bent than usual; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . eristalis suavissimus, n. s. _foem._ fulvus, capite testaceo vertice nigro, thorace vittis quinque testaceis, abdomine nigro maculis sex lutescentibus, segmentorum marginibus posticis æneis, pedibus nigris testaceo fasciatis, alis sublimpidis punctis duobus costalibus nigris. _female_. tawny. head with testaceous tomentum, vertex black, shining; antennæ testaceous, arista simple; thorax with five testaceous stripes; pectus with two oblique testaceous bands on each side; abdomen black, with six somewhat luteous spots, the basal pair larger and darker than the middle pair, which are larger than the hind pair, apical segment with two testaceous points, hind borders of the segments æneous above, testaceous beneath; legs black, tibiæ at the base and tarsi testaceous; wings nearly limpid, costa with two black points; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . eristalis muscoÏdes, n. s. _mas._ cyaneo-viridis subchalybeus, capitis callo antennisque fulvis, faciei lateribus albo tomentosis, thorace subvittato, abdomine nigro maculis æneo-viridibus, pedibus nigris, alis subcinereis, halteribus albis. _male._ bluish-green, with a slight chalybeous tinge. face with white tomentum along each side, middle callus tawny, shining; antennæ pale tawny, arista plumose; thorax with three indistinct black stripes, the lateral pair oblique, callus on each side beneath pale tawny; abdomen black, second segment with a broad interrupted bluish green band, third segment with four æneous-green streaks, fourth segment also with four streaks which are united on the hind border, ventral segments whitish on each side; legs black; femora bluish black towards the base; wings slightly cinereous; halteres white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. helophilus, _meigen._ . helophilus quadrivittatus, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . (eristalis). inhabits also hindostan. . helophilus mesoleucus, n. s. _foem._ niger, faciei lateribus niveo tomentosis, thorace vittis quatuor canis, scutello, abdominis fascia antica latissima interrupta basique lutescentibus, alis cinereis, venis basi halteribusque fulvis. _female._ black. face with snow-white tomentum on each side; thorax with four hoary stripes; pectus with a cinereous disk; scutellum pale luteous; abdomen pale luteous at the base, and with a broad interrupted pale luteous band on the second segment, third and fourth segments somewhat chalybeous, the former livid along the fore border, under side with two lateral abbreviated pale luteous stripes; hind femora thick; wings grey, veins towards the base, and halteres, tawny. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. xylota, _meigen._ . xylota ventralis, n. s. _foem._ nigro-chalybea, capite albido tomentoso, scutello fulvo, vittis duabus ventralibus latis abbreviatis testaceis, pedibus piceo et testaceo variis, alis fuscis basi cinereis, halteribus testaceis. _female._ blackish chalybeous. head with whitish tomentum, excepting the callus on the vertex and another on the front; mouth and antennæ black; scutellum tawny; abdomen beneath with two very broad testaceous stripes extending from the base to two-thirds of the length; legs dingy testaceous, femora and hind tibiæ partly piceous, hind femora thick, piceous, slightly chalybeous, armed with spines beneath; wings dark brown, cinereous towards the base; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. orthoneura, _macq._ . orthoneura basalis, n. s. _foem._ chalybeo-nigra, nitens, cano-subtomentosa, antennis ferrugineis basi fulvis articulo tertio elongato, tarsis posterioribus piceis, tarsis anticis tibiisque anterioribus fulvis, his nigro fasciatis, alis subcinereis fusco fasciatis, halteribus testaceis. _female._ chalybeous-black, very shining, partly and slightly covered with hoary tomentum; antennæ tawny, third joint ferruginous, long, linear, tawny at the base; anterior tibiæ tawny with a black band, fore tarsi tawny, hinder tarsi piceous; wings greyish, with a subapical brown band which is abbreviated hindward, veins towards the base and halteres testaceous; alulæ whitish. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. syrphus, _fabr._ . syrphus ægrotus, _fabr._ see vol. i. p. . . syrphus ericetorum, _fabr. ent. syst._ iv. . . inhabits also sierra leone, hindostan, and java. fam. muscidÆ, _latr._ subfam. tachinides, _walk._ gen. masicera, _macq._ . masicera notabilis, n. s. _mas._ nigra, longiuscula, capite abdominisque fasciis albis, frontalibus atris, pectore cano, scutelli margine postico abdominisque lateribus ferrugineis, alis cinereis, venis fusco marginatis. _male._ black, rather long, with long stout bristles; head white, silvery, with white hairs behind and beneath, frontalia deep black, widening slightly to the face, facialia without bristles, epistoma not prominent; eyes bare; palpi ferruginous at the tips; antennæ extending to the epistoma, third joint slightly widening towards the tip, nearly four times the length of the second, arista slender, very much longer than the third joint; pectus and sides of the thorax hoary, hind border of the scutellum ferruginous; abdomen fusiform, much longer than the thorax, with a broad slightly interrupted white band on the fore border of each segment, sides of the second and third segments slightly ferruginous; wings grey, veins black bordered with brown, præbrachial vein forming a slightly acute angle at its flexure, near which it is much curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein curved inward, parted by less than its length from the border, and by rather more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ white; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . masicera? tentata, n. s. nigra, cinereo-tomentosa, capite argenteo frontalibus atris, antennarum articulo tertio basi rufo, thorace quadrivittato, abdomine?, pedibus longiusculis, alis nigricantibus postice cinereis. black, with cinereous tomentum and with moderately stout bristles. head silvery with white hairs behind and beneath, frontalia deep black, slightly widening towards the face, facialia without bristles, epistoma not prominent; antennæ extending nearly to the epistoma; third joint cinereous, slender, linear, red towards the base, rounded at the tip, more than four times the length of the second; arista slender, much longer than the third joint; thorax with four slender black stripes; scutellum not cinereous; abdomen wanting; legs rather long and slender; wings blackish, cinereous hindward and at the tips, veins black, præbrachial vein forming a very obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is almost straight to its tip, discal transverse vein slightly undulating, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by a little less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ large, yellowish white; halteres piceous. length of the body ? lines; of the wings lines. . masicera solennis, n. s. _foem._ nigra, breviuscula, cinereo-tomentosa, capite albo, frontalibus atris, thorace quadrivittato, scutelli margine postico ferrugineo, abdomine subtessellato, alis cinereis. _female._ black, rather short, with cinereous tomentum. head white, with white hairs behind and beneath, frontalia deep black, widening towards the face, facialia without bristles, epistoma not prominent; eyes bare; antennæ almost reaching the epistoma, third joint cinereous, linear, rounded at the tip, more than four times the length of of the second, arista slightly stout towards the base, much longer than the third joint; thorax with four slender black stripes; scutellum ferruginous along the hind border; abdomen short-conical, with three broad interrupted cinereous bands; legs rather short; wings grey, veins black, præbrachial vein forming a slightly obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is almost straight to its tip, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by much less than its length from the border and by a little less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ cinereous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . masicera simplex, n. s. _foem._ nigra, capite albo, frontalibus atris, thorace cinereo-tomentoso quadrivittato, abdomine fasciis cinereis late interruptis, alis cinereis. _female._ black, with stout bristles. head white, with white hairs beneath, frontalia deep black, linear, face oblique, facialia without bristles, epistoma not prominent; eyes bare; antennæ almost reaching the epistoma, third joint cinereous, linear, rather broad, almost truncated at the tip, about four times the length of the second, arista slender, very much longer than the third joint; thorax and pectus with cinereous tomentum, the former with four slender black stripes; abdomen shining, subelliptical, a little longer than the thorax, with a widely interrupted cinereous band on the fore border of each segment; legs stout; wings cinereous; veins black; præbrachial vein forming a very obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is straight to its tip, discal transverse vein almost straight, parted by hardly less than its length from the border, and by very much more than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . masicera guttata, n. s. _foem._ nigra, capite albo, frontalibus atris, thoracis vittis tribus pectoreque cinereis, abdomine guttis lateralibus albis, alis cinereis. _female._ black, with short slight bristles. head white, frontalia deep black, widening slightly towards the epistoma, face oblique, facialia without bristles, epistoma not prominent; antennæ reaching the epistoma, third joint linear, slightly truncated at the tip, full four times the length of the second, arista slender; thorax with three cinereous stripes; pectus cinereous; abdomen elongate-oval, a little longer than the thorax, a row of white dots along each side on the fore borders of the segments; wings cinereous, a little darker along the costa towards the base, veins black, præbrachial vein forming a very obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is almost straight to its tips; discal transverse vein straight, parted by more than its length from the border and by nearly twice its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ whitish. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. eurygaster, _macq._ . eurygaster tentans, n. s. _foem._ nigra, latiuscula, cinereo tomentosa, capite albo, frontalibus atris, thorace vittis quatuor nigris, scutelli margine postico ferrugineo, abdomine subtessellato, alis cinereis apud costam subfuscis. _female._ black, rather broad, with cinereous tomentum. head white, with white hairs behind and beneath, frontalia deep black, narrow, widening towards the face, which is oblique, facialia with bristles along more than one-third of the length from the frontalia, epistoma not prominent; eyes pubescent, palpi ferruginous; antennæ extending to the epistoma, third joint cinereous, hardly widening from the base to the tip, which is somewhat truncated, arista slender, very much longer than the third joint; thorax with four indistinct black stripes; scutellum ferruginous hindward; abdomen conical, not longer than the thorax, with three broad, slightly interrupted, cinereous bands, second segment indistinctly ferruginous on each side; legs stout; wings grey, slightly brownish in front, veins black, testaceous towards the base, præbrachial vein forming an obtuse angle at its flexure, hardly curved inward from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein very slightly undulating, parted by much less than its length from the border and from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ whitish. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . eurygaster decipiens, n. s. _foem._ nigra, aureo-tomentosa, capite antico argenteo frontalibus atris, antennis ferrugineis, thorace vittis quatuor nigris, abdomine fulvo subtessellato vitta basali nigra, pedibus fulvis, alis cinereis. _female._ black, stout, with gilded tomentum. head silvery white in front and beneath, frontalia deep black, widening slightly towards the upright face, the bristles on each side hardly extending to the facialia, epistoma not prominent; eyes bare; antennæ ferruginous, extending to the epistoma, third joint linear, somewhat truncated at the tip, more than four times the length of the second joint, arista slender, much longer than the third joint; thorax with numerous long bristles, with four slight black stripes; pectus cinereous; abdomen tawny, conical, not longer than the thorax, with short stout bristles, and with three broad, slightly gilded, somewhat interrupted bands, a short black stripe at the base; legs tawny, stout, tibiæ darker than the femora, tarsi piceous; wings grey, somewhat darker in front, veins black, præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, near which it is much curved inward, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by more than half its length from the border, and by a little less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ slightly cinereous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . eurygaster phasioÏdes, n. s. _mas._ nigra, cano-tomentosa, capite albo frontalibus atris, antennis, scutello, abdomine femoribusque fulvis, abdomine fasciis duabus posticis albidis vittaque nigra, alis cinereis basi albis, costa plagaque nigricantibus. _male._ black, with hoary tomentum. head white, frontalia deep black, widening towards the upright face, facialia with bristles along more than half the length from the epistoma, which is not prominent; eyes bare; palpi testaceous; antennæ tawny, extending to the epistoma, third joint linear, slightly rounded at the tip, more than four times the length of the second joint, arista slender, much longer than the third joint; thorax with four very slender black stripes; abdomen tawny, short-oval, not longer than the thorax, with a black stripe which does not extend to the tip, third and fourth segments with a white band along each fore border; legs very stout, femora tawny; wings cinereous, white and with testaceous veins at the base, blackish along the costa, and with a broad black band which is abbreviated hindward, præbrachial vein forming an obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is very slightly curved inward to its tip, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by hardly less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ whitish. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. dexides, _walk._ gen. rutilia, _desv._ . rutilia plumicornis, _guérin, macq. dipt. exot._ . . . . pl. . f. . inhabits also offak, new guinea. . rutilia angustipennis, n. s. _foem._ nigro-viridis, capite cinereo frontalibus atris, thoracis lateribus subpurpurascentibus, scutello purpureo, abdomine viridi basi purpureo, tibiis ferrugineis, alis angustis lanceolatis obscure fuscis basi nigris. _female._ blackish-green. head cinereous, frontalia deep black, widening much towards the face, epistoma very prominent, arista stout, bare; thorax with almost obsolete stripes, purplish along each side; scutellum mostly purple; abdomen dark green, purple at the base; legs black, tibiæ ferruginous; wings narrow, lanceolate, dark brown, black towards the base, præbrachial vein forming a much rounded angle at its flexure, near which it is slightly curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein very slightly undulating, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by much more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ dark brownish cinereous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. dexia, _meigen._ . dexia pectoralis, n. s. _foem._ testacea, capite pectoreque albis frontalibus atris, antennis fulvis, thorace cinereo vittis quatuor nigris, abdomine fulvo apicem versus spinoso fasciis duabus nigris, pedibus longis tibiis tarsisque nigris, alis cinereis venis subfusco late marginatis. _female._ testaceous. head white, frontalia deep black, widening towards the face, facialia without bristles, epistoma prominent; antennæ tawny, not reaching the epistoma, third joint of the antennæ long, linear, arista plumose; thorax cinereous, with four black stripes, of which the inner pair are much narrower than the outer pair; scutellum tawny hindward; pectus white; abdomen tawny, with a few spines towards the tip, hind borders of the third and fourth segments and tips black; legs long, black, coxæ and femora testaceous; wings grey, veins very broadly bordered with pale brown, præbrachial vein forming a slightly obtuse angle at its flexure, between which and its tip it is slightly curved inward, discal transverse vein undulating, parted by about half its length from the border, and by a little less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ cinereous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. prosena, _st.-farg._ . prosena argentata, n. s. _mas et foem._ testacea (mas) aut nigra (foem.), capite thoraceque argenteis, antennis fulvis, abdomine longo fasciis vittaque nigris (mas) aut breviore fasciis cinereis lateribusque basi testaceis (foem.), pedibus nigris femoribus testaceis, alis subfuscescentibus (mas) aut cinereis (foem.). _male and female._ head and thorax with bright silvery tomentum, facialia without bristles, epistoma slightly prominent; eyes bare; mouth black, testaceous towards the base, full as long as the thorax; antennæ tawny, not reaching the epistoma, arista plumose; legs black, coxæ and femora testaceous; wings grey, veins black. _male._ testaceous. pectus mostly white; abdomen elongate-conical, with slight whitish reflexions, dorsal stripe and hind borders of the segments black; legs long; wings brownish towards the costa and about the veins, præbrachial vein forming a slightly obtuse angle at its flexure, between which and its tip it is very slightly curved inward, discal transverse vein hardly undulating, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. _female_. black. pectus silvery; scutellum deep black; abdomen conical, with broad cinereous bands, first and second segments with broad interrupted testaceous bands, a testaceous mark on each side of the third segment at the base; legs rather long, femora with black tips; præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, curved inward from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein curved inward near its hind end, parted by less than its length from the border and from the flexure of the præbrachial. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. sarcophagides, _walk._ gen. sarcophaga, _meigen._ . sarcophaga compta, n. s. _foem._ nigra, cinereo-tomentosa, capite aurato subtus fulvo piloso, thorace vittis tribus nigris, abdomine tessellato, alis obscure cinereis. _female._ black, with cinereous tomentum. head gilded in front, clothed behind and beneath with tawny hairs, frontalia deep black, hardly widening towards the face; thorax with three black very distinctly marked stripes, the middle one dilated on the scutellum; abdomen distinctly tessellated with six large cinereous excavated spots; wings grey, præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, near which it is much curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein hardly undulating, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by little more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . sarcophaga invaria, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigra, cinereo-tomentosa, capite _maris_ albo, thorace vittis quinque nigris, abdomine tessellato, alis cinereis. _male and female._ black, with cinereous tomentum. thorax with five black stripes, the lateral pair incomplete; abdomen distinctly tessellated, the spots being much excavated; wings grey, præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, near which it is much curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein hardly undulating, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by rather more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ white. _male_. head silvery white, frontalia deep black, linear; tomentum of the thorax and of the abdomen more whitish than that of the female. _female_. frontalia slightly widening towards the face. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. muscides, _walk._ gen. idia, _meigen._ . idia australis, _walk. cat. dipt._ pt. . . inhabits also australia. . idia Æqualis, n. s. _foem._ Ænea, capite subtuberculato, thoracis lateribus pectoreque albido-testaceis lineis duabus lateralibus æneis, abdomine fulvo fasciis tribus æneis, pedibus testaccis tibiis apice femoribusque æneis, alis cinereis apice nigricantibus. _female._ Æneous-whitish, testaceous beneath. head with minute tubercles on each side of the front, frontalia piceous, linear; thorax with an æneous stripe on each side in a line with the base of the wings, and with numerous points between these lines and the disk; abdomen pale tawny, with three æneous bands on the hind borders of the segments; legs testaceous, tibiæ towards the tips and femora æneous; wings greyish, with blackish tips, præbrachial vein forming an obtuse and much-rounded angle at its flexure, from whence it is almost straight to its tip, discal transverse vein parted by about half its length from the border and by about its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ very slightly cinereous; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. musca, _linn._ . musca gloriosa, n. s. (genus silbomyia, _macq._) _foem._ cyaneo-viridis, capite lætissime aurato frontalibus atris, antennis pedibusque nigris, thorace vittis quatuor cupreis, pectore maculis quatuor albis, abdomine viridi-cyaneo, vitta tenui purpurea, alis cinereis apud costam nigris, alulis albis. _female._ golden green. head brilliantly gilded, frontalia deep black, widening towards the face; a brilliantly-gilded lanceolate streak between the antennæ, which are black; epistoma piceous, slightly prominent; thorax with four cupreous stripes; pectus with four white tomentose spots; abdomen greenish blue with a very slender purple stripe; legs black, femora blackish green; wings grey, black for full one-third of the breadth from the costa, præbrachial vein forming a very obtuse angle at its flexure, from whence it is nearly straight to its tip, discal transverse vein very slightly undulating, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ pure white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . musca opulenta, n. s. (genus silbomyia, _macq._) _foem._ aureo-viridis, capite aurato, frontalibus atris, antennis piceis, thorace vittis quatuor subobsoletis cupreis, pectore maculis duabus albis, alis cinereis apud costam nigris, alulis albis. _female._ golden green. head brightly gilded, frontalia deep black, linear, epistoma piceous, slightly prominent; antennæ piceous; thorax with four almost obsolete cupreous stripes; pectus with a spot of white tomentum on each side; abdomen with a very indistinct cupreous stripe; tibiæ and tarsi black; wings grey, black along the costa, præbrachial vein forming a right angle at its flexure, near which it is slightly curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein undulating, parted by more than half its length from the border and from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . musca macularis, n. s. (genus chrysomyia? _desv._) _mas et foem._ aureo-viridis, capite argenteo antice aurato frontalibus atris, antennis pedibusque nigris, thorace vittis tribus cupreis vix conspicuis, scutello cyaneo, pectore maculis quatuor lateralibus albo tomentosis, abdomine viridi-cyaneo maculis quatuor lateralibus albis, alis cinereis basi nigricantibus, alulis nigricantibus. _male and female._ golden green. head brightly gilded, white behind; antennæ, tibiæ, and tarsi black; thorax with three indistinct cupreous stripes; scutellum blue; pectus with two white tomentose spots on each side; abdomen greenish blue with two transverse white spots on each side; femora blackish-green; wings grey, blackish at the base, præbrachial vein forming a slightly obtuse angle at its flexure, nearly straight from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein curved outward towards its fore end, parted by about half its length from the border, and by much less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ blackish. _female._ head with a silvery white vertex, frontalia deep black, linear. length of the body lines; of the wings - lines. . musca marginifera, n. s. (genus lucilia, _desv._) _foem._ viridi-cyanea, capite albido frontalibus atris, antennis pedibusque nigris, abdominis segmentis purpureo marginatis, alis cinereis basi subnigricantibus, alulis cinereis. _female._ greenish-blue. head whitish, frontalia deep black, linear, face and third joint of the antennæ cinereous; abdomen with a purple band on the hind border of each segment; legs black; wings grey, almost blackish at the base, præbrachial vein forming a hardly obtuse angle at its flexure, between which and its tip it is hardly curved inward, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by about half its length from the border, and by more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ cinereous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . musca benedicta, n. s. (genus pyrellia, _desv._) _mas._ aureo-viridis, capite albo, antennis pedibusque nigris, alis cinereis basi subluridis venis basi fulvis, alulis testaceo-cinereis. _var._? abdominis apice purpureo. _male._ golden green. head white in front; antennæ and legs black; wings cinereous, slightly lurid towards the base, veins tawny towards the base, præbrachial vein curved at the flexure, almost straight from thence to the tip, discal transverse vein slightly undulating, parted by full half its length from the border, and by little less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ cinereous with a testaceous tinge. _var._? or a distinct species: darker; abdomen purple at the tip. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . musca obtrusa, n. s. (genus pyrellia, _desv._) _mas et foem._ purpureo-cyanea, antennis pedibusque nigris, alis cinereis, alulis obscurioribus. very nearly allied to _m. refixa_ and to _m. perfixa_, but differing slightly in the veins of the wings. _male and female._ blue, more or less mingled with purple. head black, slightly cinereous in front; antennæ and legs black; wings grey, veins black, præbrachial vein forming an almost angular curve at its flexure, nearly straight from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein very slightly undulating, parted by little more than half its length from the border, and by about its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ dark cinereous. length of the body - / -- lines; of the wings - lines. . musca domestica, _linn._ see vol. i. p. . . musca obscurata, n. s. _foem._ nigra, subcinerascens, capite postico albo, thorace vittis quatuor angustis nigris, abdomine tessellato, alis obscure cinereis apud costam nigricantibus, alulis testaceo-cinereis. _female._ black, slightly covered with cinereous tomentum. head white behind; thorax with four slender black stripes; abdomen distinctly tessellated with four rows of cinereous reflecting spots; wings very dark grey, blackish towards the costa, præbrachial vein forming a somewhat rounded and very slightly obtuse angle at its flexure, hardly curved inward from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein slightly undulating, parted by less than half its length from the body, and by more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ cinereous, with a testaceous tinge. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . musca patiens, n. s. _foem._ nigra, cinereo-tomentosa, frontalibus antennisque piceis, thorace vittis quatuor tenuissimis nigris, abdomine tessellato, alis cinereis. _female._ black, with cinereous tomentum. head whitish behind, frontalia piceous, linear; antennæ piceous; thorax with four very slender black stripes; abdomen tessellated; wings grey, veins black, præbrachial vein forming an obtuse and somewhat rounded angle at its flexure, from whence it is hardly curved inward to its tip, discal transverse vein undulating, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ slightly cinereous, with testaceous borders. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . musca eristaloÏdes, n. s. (genus pollenia? _desv._) _mas et foem._ aureo tomentosa, crassa, subtus testacea, capite antico albo frontalibus antice rufis, antennis piceis basi rufis, thorace vittis tribus abbreviatis fulvis, scutello cyaneo, abdomine cyaneo basi fasciisque duabus albis, pedibus fulvis, tibiis tarsisque nigris, alis cinereis apud costam fuscescentibus. _var. mas._ minor, thorace vittis tribus nigris. _male and female._ body thick; head white; frontalia of the female piceous, linear, red in front; epistoma prominent; proboscis long; palpi whitish; antennæ piceous, red at the base; thorax with gilded tomentum, and with three tawny bands which are abbreviated hindward, scutellum blue; pectus testaceous; abdomen blue, white at the base and with two white bands on the rd and th segments, st segment with a transverse blue spot on each side; legs tawny, tibiæ and tarsi black; wings grey, blackish along the exterior part of the costa, præbrachial vein forming a right but rounded angle at its flexure, near which it is curved inward and is thence straight to its tip, discal transverse vein slightly undulating, parted by a little more than half its length from the border, and by much more than half its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ testaceous. _var. male._ smaller; thorax with three black stripes; abdomen with only one white band, which is on the th segment. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. gen. bengalia, _desv._ . bengalia spissa, n. s. _mas et foem._ fulva, capite nigro antice albo, antennis testaceis, pectore fasciis duabus obliquis albidis, pedibus nigris femoribus basi coxisque fulvis, alis cinereis. _male and female._ tawny. head black, with silvery tomentum in front, epistoma not prominent; palpi black; antennæ testaceous; pectus with an oblique whitish band on each side; legs black, femora towards the base and coxæ tawny; wings grey, veins black, testaceous towards the base, præbrachial vein forming an obtuse and rounded angle at its flexure, which is very near the border of the wing, straight from thence to its tip, discal transverse vein straight, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by very much more than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; alulæ testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. anthomyides, _walk._ gen. aricia, _macq._ . aricia significans, n. s. _mas et foem._ fulva, subtus testacea, capite nigro argenteo-tomentoso, antennis testaceis, thorace vittis tribus albidis, abdominis apice piceo, alis cinereis. _male and female._ tawny, testaceous beneath. head black, with silvery tomentum, vertex much broader in the female than in the male; palpi tawny; antennæ testaceous; thorax with three whitish stripes in the disk, and with one on each side; abdomen piceous at the tip; tarsi blackish towards the tips; wings cinereous, veins black, tawny towards the base, discal transverse vein hardly undulating, parted by more than its length from the præbrachial transverse, and by less than its length from the border; alulæ pale cinereous, with testaceous borders. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . aricia canivitta, n. s. _foem._ fulva, subtus testacea, capite nigro, facie argentea, palpis antennisque testaceis, thoracis disco, abdominis plagis duabus trigonis pedibusque nigris, thorace vitta cana, alis cinereis. _female._ tawny, testaceous beneath. head black, face silvery; palpi and antennæ testaceous; disk of the thorax blackish, with a broad hoary stripe; disk of the scutellum piceous; second and third segments of the abdomen with triangular black bands; legs black, coxæ and trochanters testaceous; wings grey, veins black, discal transverse vein hardly curved inward, parted by more than half its length from the border, and by a little less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ pale cinereous, with testaceous borders. length of the body - / lines, of the wings lines. gen. anthomyia, _meigen._ . anthomyia procellaria, n. s. _mas._ nigra, subtus albida, capite argenteo, thorace fasciis duabus (prima interrupta) albis, abdomine vitta tenui fasciisque interruptis albidis, alis cinereis, halteribus testaceis. nearly allied to _a. pluvialis_ and to _a. tonitrui. male._ black, whitish beneath. head silvery; thorax with two whitish bands, the first interrupted in the middle, widened on each side; scutellum elongate; abdomen with a slender whitish stripe, and with interrupted whitish bands, which are widened on each side; wings grey, veins black, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by less than half its length from the border and by hardly less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ grey, with testaceous borders; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. cÆnosia, _meigen._ . cÆnosia luteicornis, n. s. _mas._ cana, capite antennisque pallide luteis, abdomine basi testaceo maculis octo nigris, pedibus halteribusque testaceis, alis sublimpidis apice nigris. _male._ hoary. head pale luteous, frontalia darker, widening towards the face; palpi white; antennæ pale luteous, extending to the epistoma, third joint long, slender, linear, arista plumose for half the length from the base; abdomen testaceous towards the base, with four dorsal black spots and with two black spots on each side towards the tip; legs testaceous; wings nearly limpid, with a black apical spot, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by less than its length from the border and by very much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ white; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. subfam. helomyzides, _fallen._ gen. coelopa, _meigen._ . coelopa inconspicua, n. s. _foem._ cinerea, antennis piceis, pectore antico, abdomine pedibusque fulvis, his nigro variis, alis cinereis, halteribus testaceis. _female._ cinereous, flat. antennæ piceous; fore part of the pectus, abdomen and legs tawny, the latter with diffuse blackish bands; wings grey, veins black, with the usual structure, tawny towards the base; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings - / lines. gen. xarnuta, _walk._ . xarnuta leucotelus, _walk._ see vol. i. p. . gen. helomyza, _fallen_. . helomyza picipes, n. s. _foem._ fulva, capite, antennis femoribusque nigris, abdominis segmentis nigro marginatis, tibiis tarsisque piceis, alis cinereis apud costam luridis vena discali transversa fusco subnebulosa, halteribus testaceis. _var._ thoracis vitta lata abdomineque piceis. _female._ tawny. head and antennæ black, arista plumose; thorax with two slender, darker, almost obsolete stripes; hind borders of the abdominal segments black; legs piceous, femora black, coxæ tawny; wings grey, with a lurid tinge towards the costa, discal transverse vein straight, slightly clouded with brown, parted by about half its length from the border, and by more than twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. _var._ thorax with a broad piceous stripe; abdomen piceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . helomyza atripennis, n. s. _mas._ fulva, scutello nigro, pectore piceo, abdomine ferrugineo, alis nigris postice cinereis. _male._ tawny. antennæ pale tawny, arista plumose; thorax with two slender, darker, almost obsolete stripes; scutellum black; pectus piceous; abdomen ferruginous; wings black, cinereous along the hind border for more than half its length from the base, veins as in the preceding species. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . helomyza restituta, n. s. _foem_. testacea, abdomine punctis sex nigris, alis cinereis apice nigricantibus venis transversis nigricante nebulosis. _female._ testaceous. third, fourth, and fifth segments of the abdomen with two black points on each fore border; wings grey, with a slight lurid tinge towards the costa, blackish at the tips, transverse veins clouded with blackish, veins with the usual structure. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. dryomyza, _fallen._ . dryomyza semicyanea, n. s. _foem._ ferruginea, vertice piceo, antennis fulvis, thorace cyanescente, abdomine cyaneo basi ferrugineo, pedibus testaceis, alis subcinereis apud costam luridis. _female._ ferruginous. vertex piceous, face slightly covered with whitish tomentum; antennæ tawny, arista very minutely pubescent; thorax tinged with blue; abdomen blue, tawny at the base; legs testaceous; wings greyish, lurid along the costa, veins tawny, præbrachial vein forming a very slight angle where it joins the discal transverse, with a slight curve from thence to its tip, præbrachial transverse stout, slightly clouded, discal transverse straight, upright, parted by much less than half its length from the border and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. gen. sepedon, _latr._ . sepedon costalis, n. s. _mas._ cinerea, capite testaceo guttis quatuor nigris, antennis nigris basi testaceis arista alba, abdomine pedibusque fulvis femoribus posticis denticulatis, alis fuscescenti-cinereis, costa testacea. _male._ cinereous. head testaceous, with a black dot on each side above and two more towards the mouth; antennæ black, testaceous at the base, second joint very long, arista white; thorax with four slender indistinct darker lines, pectus hoary; abdomen and legs tawny, tarsi piceous, hind femora denticulated; wings brownish cinereous, slightly testaceous along the costa; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. lauxanides, _walk._ gen. lauxania, _latr._ . lauxania duplicans, n. s. _foem._ nigro-cyanea, antennis piceis, articulo tertio longissimo, tarsis basi albidis, tibiis intermediis sordide albidis, alis limpidis. _female._ blackish-blue, shining. antennæ piceous, third joint very long, reddish beneath, arista bare; legs black, tarsi whitish towards the base, middle tibiæ dingy whitish; wings limpid, veins pale, discal transverse vein white, parted by a little less than its length from the border and by nearly twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres white. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. . lauxania minuens, n. s. _foem._ nigra, nitens, antennis longis arista nuda, tarsis albidis, alis sublimpidis, halteribus albis. _female._ black, shining. third joint of the antennæ long, arista bare; tarsi whitish; wings very slightly greyish, veins pale, of the usual structure; halteres white. length of the body - / line; of the wings - / lines. gen. lonchÆa, _fallen._ . lonchÆa? inops, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigra, nitens, antennis piceis arista plumosa, scutello ferrugineo, tibiis, tarsis halteribusque fulvis, alis subcinereis. _male and female._ black, shining. antennæ piceous, third joint short, arista plumose; scutellum somewhat ferruginous; tibiæ;, tarsi, and halteres tawny; wings slightly greyish, veins pale, discal transverse vein parted by much less than its length from the border and by nearly twice its length from the flexure of the præbrachial. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. subfam. ortalides, _haliday._ gen. lamprogaster, _macq._ . lamprogaster quadrilinea, n. s. _mas et foem._ cyaneo-viridis; capite pedibusque nigris; antennis piceis, basi rufis; thorace vittis quatuor albidis; abdomine purpureo-cyaneo; alis limpidis, litura basali, fasciis duabus (prima abbreviata, secunda interrupta) strigaque costali apicali nigris. _male and female._ bluish green. head black; proboscis red at the tip; antennæ piceous, red at the base; thorax with two whitish stripes on each side; abdomen purplish blue; legs black, tarsi with pale tomentum towards the base; wings limpid, two black streaks, one basal including a limpid dot, the other apical, first band oblique, extending from the costa to the disk, second widely interrupted in the middle, its hind part occupying the discal transverse vein; veins black, testaceous along the costa; præbrachial vein forming a slight angle at its junction with the discal transverse, the latter parted by not more than one-fourth of its length from the border, and by more than its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body - / -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. . lamprogaster marginifera, n. s. _foem._ testacea; capite maculis duabus fasciaque nigro-æneis; thoracis disco nigro-æneo, vittis tribus testaceis, vittis duabus lateralibus albidis, scutelli margine testaceo; abdominis dorso nigro-æneo; alis limpidis, fasciis plurimis fuscis. _female._ testaceous. head with two blackish æneous spots on the vertex, and with a blackish æneous band in front; mouth and antennæ tawny; disk of the thorax blackish æneous, with three testaceous stripes which are united in front, the middle one slender, the lateral pair united on the border of the scutellum, a whitish stripe on each side; abdomen blackish æneous above; wings limpid, with eight or nine irregular brown bands; veins black, testaceous along the costa; discal transverse vein parted by much less than its length from the border, and by about its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . lamprogaster delectans, n. s. _foem._ ferruginea; capite testaceo, postice albido, vertice luteo fasciis duabus nigris, vittis quatuor anticis antennisque nigris; thorace vittis septem et metathoracis fascia albidis; abdomine cyaneo-viridi, basi discoque fulvis; pedibus nigricantibus, femoribus testaceis apice nigris; alis sublimpidis, costa, striga obliqua subcostali guttaque marginali nigricantibus. _female._ ferruginous. head testaceous, whitish behind; vertex luteous, blackish in front and behind; fore part with four blackish stripes; antennæ blackish; thorax with seven whitish stripes, the middle one broad, the inner pair very slender, the second pair broad, the third pair lateral; abdomen bluish green, slightly varied with purple, base and fore part of the disk tawny; legs blackish; femora testaceous, with black tips; wings nearly limpid, with a slight lurid tinge in the discal areolet, blackish along the costa, and with a blackish oblique streak which extends from the costa along the præbrachial transverse vein; a blackish dot on the hind end of the discal transverse vein; veins black, discal transverse vein parted by about one-fourth of its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse which is very oblique; alulæ white; halteres testaceous, with black knobs. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . lamprogaster scutellaris, n. s. _mas._ subcinereo-nigra; oculis albido submarginatis; thorace vittis tribus cinereis, vittis duabus lateralibus, scutelli subquadrati margine, tibiis intermediis tarsisque albidis; alis nigricantibus, fasciis duabus integris duabusque macularibus incompletis albidis. _male._ black, with a slight cinereous tinge; eyes partly bordered with whitish; third joint of the antennæ elongate-conical; arista plumose, the bristles few; thorax with three indistinct cinereous stripes, and with two whitish lateral stripes; scutellum nearly quadrate, with a whitish border; middle tibiæ, knees and tarsi whitish, the latter with black tips; wings blackish, whitish at the base, and with four whitish bands, first and third bands entire, second and fourth macular, very irregular and incomplete; veins black; discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-fourth of its length from the border, and by hardly more than its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. this species has some resemblance to the genus _platystoma_, and differs rather from the characters of _lamprogaster_; it and the two following species, which are still more aberrant, will probably be considered as three new genera. . lamprogaster celyphoÏdes, n. s. _mas et foem._ atra, nitens, brevis, lata; capite, antennis pedibusque testaceis; abdomine nigro-cyaneo; alis limpidis, strigis transversis subcostalibus fuscescentibus. _male and female._ deep black, shining, short, broad. head testaceous, face transverse; antennæ testaceous, third joint elongate-conical; arista bare; abdomen blackish blue, second segment very large, third and following not visible; legs testaceous; wings limpid, with four transverse pale brown subcostal streaks; discal transverse vein parted by less than half its length from the border, and by less than its length from the flexure of the præbrachial; halteres testaceous. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - / lines. . lamprogaster tetyroÏdes, n. s. _mas._ atra, nitens, brevissima, latissima; capite transverso, subruguloso; thorace scitissime punctato; abdomine cyaneo; tarsis flavis; alis nigris albido punctatis apud marginem posticum obscure cinereis. _male._ deep black, shining, very short and broad. head transverse, slightly rugulose; third joint of the antennæ conical; arista thinly plumose; thorax very finely punctured; scutellum almost semicircular; abdomen blue, smooth; tarsi yellow; wings black, dark grey towards the hind border, with whitish points towards the costa; discal transverse vein parted by about its length from the border and by more than its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. platystoma, _latr._ . platystoma fusifacies, n. s. _mas et foem._ cinerea; capite postice et apud oculos albo; vertice pallide luteo (mas) aut rufo (foem.); facie plana, fusiformi, subargentea; antennis piceis; thoracis vittis tribus pectoreque canis; abdomine conico punctis albis; alis limpidis, guttis transversis interioribus fasciisque exterioribus nigricantibus. _male and female._ cinereous. head white hindward and about the eyes, black and shining towards the mouth; vertex pale luteous in the male, red in the female; face flat, fusiform, somewhat silvery; antennæ piceous, third joint long, slender, linear, arista plumose; thorax with three hoary stripes, the middle one much broader than the lateral pair; pectus hoary; abdomen conical, with numerous white points; wings limpid, with blackish dots towards the base, and with four exterior blackish bands, two of which are dilated towards the costa, and there contain some limpid dots; veins black, discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-fourth of its length from the border, and by more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body - / - lines; of the wings - lines. . platystoma multivitta, n. s. _mas._ cinerea; capite postice et apud oculos albo, vertice luteo, facie et antennis fulvis; thoracis vittis octo pectoreque canis; abdominis segmentis cano fasciatis; ventre ferrugineo; pedibus nigris; alis limpidis, fasciis quatuor strigisque interioribus nigricantibus. _male._ cinereous. head white behind and about the eyes, vertex luteous; face and antennæ tawny, third joint of the latter long, slender, linear; arista very slightly plumose; thorax with eight hoary stripes; pectus hoary; abdomen with a hoary band on the fore border of each segment; legs black; wings limpid, with four blackish bands, and with some blackish marks nearer the base; two blackish streaks between the first and second bands; veins black; discal transverse vein straight, parted by one-fourth of its length from the border, and by very much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. dacus, _fabr_. . dacus expandens, n. s. _foem._ fulvus, latiusculus; antennarum articulo tertio piceo angusto lineari longissimo; abdomine vitta tenui nigricante; alis limpidis, costa vittaque postica fuscescentibus. _female._ tawny, rather broad, very slightly covered with hoary tomentum, which forms stripes on the thorax and indistinct bands on the abdomen; third joint of the antennæ piceous, slender, linear, very long; arista bare; abdomen with a slender blackish stripe; wings limpid, brownish along the costa, and with a short oblique brownish stripe extending from the base to the interior border; veins black, discal transverse vein oblique, parted by full one-fourth of its length from the border, and by more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dacus pectoralis, n. s. _foem._ cinereo-niger; capite fulvo, facie guttis duabus nigris; antennarum articulo tertio piceo angusto lineari longissimo; callis duabus humeralibus, fasciis duabus obliquis pectoralibus lateralibus, scutello tarsisque testaceis; thoracis vittis tribus abdominisque una canis; pedibus fulvis piceo cinctis; alis limpidis, costa vittaque postica fuscescentibus. _female._ black, slightly covered with cinereous tomentum. head tawny, with two small black dots on the face; third joint of the antennæ piceous, slender, linear, very long, arista bare; thorax with three indistinct hoary stripes; humeral calli, an oblique band on each side of the pectus, scutellum and tarsi, testaceous; abdomen with one hoary stripe; legs tawny, with diffuse piceous bands; wings limpid, brownish along the costa, and with a short oblique brownish stripe, extending from the base to the interior border; veins black; discal transverse vein parted by less than one-fourth of its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings - / lines. . dacus latifascia, n. s. _foem._ niger; capite postice et apud oculos albido; antennarum articulo tertio vix longo; thoracis fascia, metathorace pectorisque fasciis duabus obliquis canis; abdomine cyaneo; femoribus albidis apice nigris; alis albo-limpidis, costa atra, fasciis duabus latissimis nigris; halteribus testaceis. _female._ black. head whitish behind and about the eyes; third joint of the antennæ linear, round at the tip, hardly long, arista plumose; thorax with a band on the hind border of the scutum; metathorax and an oblique band on each side of the pectus hoary; abdomen blue; coxæ and femora whitish, the latter with black tips; wings limpid white, deep black along the costa, and with two very broad black bands; veins black; discal transverse vein very oblique, parted by about one-sixth of its length from the border, and by little more than half its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dacus mutilloÏdes, n. s. _foem._ rufescens; capite nigro, postice et apud oculos albo; antennarum articulo tertio angusto lineari longissimo; thoracis vittis tribus, pectoris fasciis duabus obliquis lateralibus abdominisque fasciis duabus (secunda interrupta) albis, abdominis dimidio postico nigro-æneo; pedibus piceis; alis sublimpidis, costæ apice venisque transversis nigro nebulosis; halteribus albidis. _female_. reddish. head black, white behind and about the eyes and on the grooves of the face; antennæ black, reddish at the base, third joint slender, linear, very long, arista bare, rather stout; thorax with three whitish stripes; pectus with a more distinct oblique white band on each side; metathorax whitish; abdomen æneous, pubescent, finely punctured, reddish and slightly contracted towards the base, with two white bands, the second widely interrupted; oviduct long, lanceolate; legs piceous; wings nearly limpid, clouded with black at the tip of the costa and on the præbrachial transverse vein, hardly clouded on the discal transverse vein; veins black; discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-fourth of its length from the border, and by much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dacus longivitta, n. s. _mas._ Æneo-viridis, subpubescens, subtilissime punctatus; capite nigro apud oculos albido, epistomate ferrugineo, antennarum articulo tertio longo lineari; thorace subvittato; pedibus nigris, femoribus ferrugineis; alis subcinereis, costa vittaque apud venam præbrachialem nigris; halteribus piceis. _male._ Æneous green, with slight hoary tomentum, very finely punctured. head black, whitish about the eyes; epistoma ferruginous, prominent; antennæ black, ferruginous at the base, third joint long, linear, conical at the tip; arista bare; thorax with an indistinct broad hoary stripe; abdomen compressed, nearly linear; legs black; femora ferruginous; wings slightly greyish, black along the costa and with a black stripe which extends along the præbrachial vein to the discal transverse vein; veins black; discal transverse vein straight, oblique, parted by a little more than half its length from the border, and by very much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres piceous. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. . dacus lativentris, n. s. _foem._ nigro-viridis, subtilissime punctatus; capite piceo apud oculos albido; antennis fulvis, articulo tertio sublanceolato; abdomine brevi, lato; pedibus nigris, femoribus anticis fulvis; alis subcinereis, costa vittaque apud venam præbrachialem nigris, vena discali transversa nigricante nebulosa; halteribus albidis. _female._ blackish green, very minutely punctured. head piceous, whitish about the eyes; epistoma ferruginous, slightly prominent; antennæ tawny, third joint rather long, somewhat lanceolate, arista bare; abdomen nearly round, broader than the thorax; legs black, fore femora tawny; wings very slightly greyish, black along the costa to the tip of the præbrachial vein, with a black stripe along the præbrachial vein to the discal transverse vein, and with a blackish tinge about the discal transverse vein and along the adjoining part of the hind border; veins black, discal transverse straight, vein parted by less than half its length from the border, and by very much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dacus obtrudens, n. s. _mas._ nigro-viridis, subtilissime punctatus; capite nigro apud oculos albido; antennis piceis basi rufescentibus, articulo tertio lineari longissimo; abdomine lineari maculis duabus lateralibus testaceis; pedibus nigris, femoribus apice tarsisque posticis basi fulvis; alis subcinereis, costa, apice maculaque apud venam transversam discalem nigricantibus; halteribus albis. _male._ dark green, very minutely punctured. head black, whitish about the eyes, ferruginous towards the epistoma; antennæ piceous, reddish towards the base; third joint linear, very long, arista bare; abdomen linear, compressed, with a testaceous spot on each side before the middle; legs black, femora tawny towards the tips, hind tarsi tawny at the base; wings slightly greyish, blackish along the costa and at the tips, and about the transverse veins; veins black, tawny at the base; discal transverse vein straight, oblique, parted by about half its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres white. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . dacus pompiloides, n. s. _mas._ niger; capite albido, epistomate ferrugineo; antennis piceis basi rufis, articulo tertio longo lineari; abdomine nigro-cyaneo; pedibus piceis; alis subcinereis, striga costali basali, fascia tenui postice abbreviata et triente apicali strigam subcineream includente nigricantibus; halteribus albis. _male._ black. head with whitish tomentum, epistoma ferruginous, prominent; antennæ piceous, red at the base, third joint long, linear, arista bare; abdomen linear, blackish blue, longer than the thorax; legs piceous; wings slightly greyish, with a blackish costal streak extending from the base, with a slender blackish band which is abbreviated hindward, and with more than one-third of the apical part blackish and including a slightly greyish streak; veins black, discal transverse vein straight, oblique, parted by a little less than its length from the border and by about its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. brea, n. g. platystomæ affinis. _facies_ lata. _antennæ_ breves; articulus tertius longiconicus; arista nuda. _femora_ intermedia incrassata, denticulata. allied to _platystoma_. face broad; antennæ short, third joint elongate-conical; arista bare; middle femora incrassated, denticulated beneath. . brea discalis, n. s. _mas_. nigra; capite testaceo apud oculos albido, fronte ochracea; antennis piceis basi rufescentibus; thorace vitta lata cana; abdomine fulvo, disco nigro cupreo; pedibus fulvis, femoribus anticis apice tibiisque anticis basi nigris; alis sublimpidis, fascia media lata postice abbreviata guttam limpidam subcostalem includente lineaque transversa exteriore nigricantibus; halteribus testaceis. _male_. black. head testaceous, whitish about the eyes, front ochraceous; antennæ piceous, reddish at the base; thorax with a broad hoary stripe; abdomen tawny, with a blackish cupreous disk; legs tawny, fore femora at the tips and fore tibiæ at the base black; wings nearly limpid, with a broad middle blackish band, which is abbreviated hindward and includes a limpid dot by the costa, and has beyond it a blackish transverse line; veins black, testaceous towards the base; discal transverse vein straight, upright, parted by half its length from the border, and by much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . brea contraria, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigra; capite fulvo apud oculos albido, fronte ochracea; antennis rufescentibus; thorace vitta cana; abdomine purpureo apice cyaneo; pedibus nigris, femoribus anticis tarsisque testaceis; alis sublimpidis, fascia lata media postice abbreviata, guttis interioribus lineaque transversa exteriore nigricantibus. _male and female._ black. head tawny, whitish about the eyes; antennæ reddish; thorax with a hoary stripe; sides and pectus also hoary; abdomen purple, blue towards the tip; legs black; tarsi and fore femora testaceous; wings nearly limpid, with a broad blackish middle band which is abbreviated hindward, with some interior blackish dots, and with an exterior transverse blackish line; veins black; discal transverse vein straight, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres black. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings - lines. gen. adrama, n. g. _mas. corpus_ longiusculum. _caput_ thorace vix latius, setis duabus posticis erectis. _antennæ_ sat longæ; articulus tertius linearis, apice conicus; arista pubescens. _abdomen_ sublineare, thorace longius et angustius. _pedes_ mediocres; femora posteriora spinis minutis armata. _alæ_ sat longæ. _male._ body rather long. head transverse, hardly broader than the thorax, with two erect setæ on the hind part of the vertex; face vertical; epistoma slightly prominent. antennæ nearly reaching the epistoma; third joint long, linear, conical at the tip; arista pubescent. abdomen almost linear, longer and narrower than the thorax. legs moderately long and slender; posterior femora with minute spines beneath. wings rather long; discal transverse vein straight, upright, parted by hardly half its length from the border, and by rather more than its length from the præbrachial transverse. . adrama selecta, n. s. _mas._ testacea; capite guttis tribus nigris; thorace disco antico vittisque duabus posterioribus nigris; tibiis tarsisque anticis piceis, tibiis posticis subpiceis; alis subfuscescentibus, fascia lata limpida nigricante marginata postice abbreviata. _male._ testaceous. head with a black dot above the antennæ and one on each side of the epistoma; thorax with the fore part of the disk black, and with two hindward black stripes; fore tibiæ and fore tarsi piceous; hind tibiæ somewhat piceous; wings slightly brownish, with two blackish bands, the first on the præbrachial transverse vein, abbreviated hindward, the second on the discal transverse vein, abbreviated in front, intermediate space limpid, veins testaceous, black towards the tips; halteres pale testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. ortalis, _fallen_. . ortalis prompta, n. s. _foem._ nigro-viridis; capite piceo apud oculos albido; antennis rufescentibus; thorace vitta abdomineque fasciis cinereis; pedibus nigris; alis limpidis, vittis tribus nigris, prima postice abbreviata, secunda tertiaque latis; halteribus albidis. _female._ blackish green. head piceous, whitish about the eyes; epistoma somewhat prominent; antennæ reddish, third joint somewhat lanceolate, piceous towards the tip; arista bare; thorax with a cinereous stripe; sides and pectus also cinereous; abdomen with two cinereous bands; legs black; wings limpid white, slightly cinereous towards the base, with three black bands, the first abbreviated hindward, the second and third very broad; veins black, discal transverse vein curved inward, parted by much less than its length from the border and by a little less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . ortalis complens, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigro-viridis; capite antennisque testaceis, articulo tertio brevi, arista plumosa; abdomine atro; pedibus testaceis, femoribus nigris; alis albo limpidis, strigis duabus apiceque nigro-cinereis, fasciis tribus satis nigricantibus; halteribus albis. _mas._ vertice luteo postice nigro, femoribus apice testaceis, alarum fasciis subconnexis. _foem._ vertice nigro, tibiis nigris, posticis basi testaceis. _male and female._ blackish green. head testaceous; antennæ testaceous, third joint short, conical; arista plumose; abdomen deep black; legs testaceous; femora black; wings limpid white, with three broad blackish stripes, the second emitting a branch from its outer side to the costa, a streak connected with the outer side of the third band, and the tips blackish cinereous; discal transverse vein straight, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres white. _male._ vertex luteous, black hindward; femora with testaceous tips; bands of the wings partly connected. _female._ vertex black; tibiæ black, the hind pair testaceous towards the base. length of the body - / -- lines; of the wings - lines. gen. trypeta, _meigen_. . trypeta multistriga, n. s. _foem._ testacea; thorace pectoreque nigro-strigatis; abdomine maculis quatuor lateralibus anterioribus fascia lata apiceque nigris; femoribus posterioribus nigro vittatis; alis nigricantibus basi marginali maculis guttisque albis. _female._ testaceous. third joint of the antennæ short, conical; arista plumose; thorax with black bristles on each side, with eight black streaks, four in front, of which the middle pair are very short, four hindward, the middle pair short, the outer pair connected in front of the scutellum, two lateral black streaks; pectus with a black interrupted streak on each side; disk also black; abdomen with two transverse black spots on each side towards the base, and with a broad black band; oviduct black, flat, lanceolate, obtuse at the tip; posterior femora striped with black; wings blackish, limpid for a space from the base along the costa and along the hind border, and with twelve white marks of various size, four discal, eight marginal; discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by one-fourth of its length from the border, and by about its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . trypeta dorsigutta, n. s. _mas._ atra; capite piceo vitta testacea, subtus albo; antennis testaceis; thorace cinereo punctis lateralibus albis, pectore albido; abdominis segmentis testaceo marginatis; tibiis albido fasciatis, tarsis albidis; alis albo-limpidis, strigis basalibus fasciisque duabus latis nigricantibus, prima antice furcata; halteribus albis. _male._ deep black. head piceous, with cinereous tomentum, white behind and beneath, a testaceous stripe on the vertex; antennæ testaceous, black at the base, third joint conical, white at the base, arista plumose; thorax with cinereous tomentum, white points along each side; pectus whitish; hind borders of the abdominal segments testaceous with cinereous tomentum; tibiæ with a dingy whitish band; tarsi dingy whitish; wings limpid white, with several blackish marks towards the base and with two broad blackish bands, the first forked in front; discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by less than its length from the border, and by more than twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres white. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . trypeta basalis, n. s. _mas._ nigra, nitens; capite antennisque fulvis, vertice maculis duabus piceis; abdomine basi pedibusque testaceis; alis limpidis, striga basali, fasciis tribus costaque apicali nigricantibus; halteribus testaceis. _male._ black, slender, shining. head tawny, with two elongated piceous spots on the vertex; antennæ tawny, third joint linear, rather long, arista bare; abdomen nearly fusiform, testaceous at the base; legs testaceous; wings limpid, with a blackish oblique streak extending from the base, with three blackish bands, and with a blackish costal streak extending round the tip, first and third bands slender, second broad, abbreviated like the first hindward; discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-fourth of its length from the border, and by less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. . trypeta impleta, n. s. _foem._ cinerea; capite albido; antennarum articulo tertio albido apice nigro; thorace vitta fusca, scutello albido, abdomine nigro; pedibus albidis nigro fasciatis; alis albis, maculis plurimis nigricantibus ex parte confluentibus; halteribus albidis. _female._ cinereous. head whitish; third joint of the antennæ short, conical, whitish, blackish at the tip, arista plumose; thorax with a brown stripe; scutellum whitish; abdomen black; legs whitish, with black bands; wings white, with many blackish spots, some of them confluent; discal transverse vein straight, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by a little less than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. . trypeta subocellifera, n. s. _mas._ cana; antennis albidis; thorace guttis fuscis, scutelli margine albido; abdomine fusco apicem versus cano maculis fuscis; pedibus albidis fusco fasciatis; alis limpidis, maculis nigricantibus pallido signatis ex parte confluentibus. _male._ hoary. antennæ whitish, third joint short, conical, arista plumose; thorax with some slight brown dots; scutellum brown, hind borders of the scutellum white; abdomen brown, hind borders of the segments and apical part cinereous, the latter with brown dots; legs whitish, with brown bands; wings limpid, with several blackish dots containing pale marks, some of them confluent and forming a middle band; discal transverse vein straight, enclosed in a pale streak, parted by much less than its length from the border and by much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. subfam. achiides, _walk._ gen. achias, _fabr._ . achias longividens, n. s. _mas et foem._ viridi-cinerea; capite testaceo fasciis duabus vittisque tribus anticis nigris; antennis nigris; thorace vittis quatuor purpureo-nigris, pectore ferrugineo; abdomine viridi-fulvo; pedibus piceis; alis limpidis, costa lurido-nigricante, vena transversa discali fusco nebulosa; halteribus testaceis apice nigris. _mas._ oculis longissime petiolatis, scutello viridi, femoribus basi fulvis. _foem._ oculis subpetiolatis, scutello nigro-purpureo. _male and female._ greenish cinereous. head with two black bands on the vertex and with four black stripes in front; antennæ black, third joint linear, very long, arista plumose; thorax with four purplish black stripes, middle pair abbreviated hindward and having behind them a spot of the same hue, lateral pair interrupted; pectus ferruginous; abdomen tawny, with bright green reflections, testaceous beneath; legs piceous; wings limpid, blackish, and with a lurid tinge along the costa, whence a short oblique blackish streak proceeds by the præbrachial transverse vein; discal transverse vein clouded with brown, hardly curved, parted by less than one-third of its length from the border, and by much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse, which is very oblique; halteres testaceous, with black tips. _male._ head with the fore black band interrupted; eyes with very long petioles, the latter about three-fourths of the length of the body; scutellum green; femora tawny towards the base. _female._ eyes with short petioles, extending a little beyond the sides of the thorax; scutellum blackish purple. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. . achias latividens, n. s. _foem._ viridi-cinerea; capite testaceo, vittis tribus anticis nigris, oculis subpetiolatis; antennis nigris; thorace vittisquatuor purpureo-nigris, scutello cyaneo basi viridi, pectore fulvo; abdomine viridi-fulvo; pedibus nigris, femoribus basi luteis, tibiis luteo fasciatis; alis subcinereis, vitta costali nigricante interrupta lurida strigata, vena transversa discali fusco nebulosa; halteribus testaceis apice nigris. _female._ greenish cinereous. head testaceous, with three black stripes on the face; eyes very slightly petiolated; antennæ black; thorax with four purplish black stripes; scutellum blue, green at the base; pectus tawny; abdomen tawny, with bright green reflections; legs black; femora luteous towards the base; tibiæ with indistinct luteous bands; wings slightly greenish, with a blackish interrupted costal stripe containing luteous streaks; discal transverse vein clouded with brown; veins in structure like those of the preceding species; halteres testaceous, with black tips. length of the body lines; of the lines. this species at first sight seems like a variety of the preceding one, but the petioles of the eyes are shorter and thicker, the costal stripes of the wings are interrupted, and the shade on the discal transverse vein is more diffuse. . achias amplividens, n. s. _foem._ fulva, subtus testacea; oculis extantibus non petiolatis; thorace submetallico, vittis quinque cinereis; abdomine purpureo basi testaceo, tibiis tarsisque nigris; alis subcinereis, costa nigro-fusca, venis transversis nigro-fusco nebulosis. _female._ tawny, testaceous beneath. head testaceous; eyes very prominent, but hardly petiolated; antennæ tawny; thorax slightly metallic, with five cinereous stripes, which are abbreviated hindward, the inner pair slender; abdomen purple, testaceous at the base; legs black; coxæ and femora testaceous, the latter with black tips; wings slightly greyish, costal stripe brown, blackish towards the tip; præbrachial transverse vein clouded with blackish, discal transverse vein clouded with a much paler hue than that of the præbrachial transverse vein, in structure like those of the two preceding species; halteres testaceous, with black tips. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam.----? gen. polyara, n. g. _mas._ _corpus_ longiusculum. _caput_ transversum; facies lata, plana, non obliqua. _palpi_ lati. _antennæ_ parvæ; articulus tertius longiconicus; arista plumosa. _thorax_ oblongo-subquadratus. _abdomen_ sublineare, thorace multo longinus et angustius. _pedes_ breves, tenues. _alæ_ latiusculæ; venæ optime determinatæ; venæ duæ transversæ inter venas radialem et cubitalem; vena præbrachialis apicem versus valde flexa. _male._ body rather long. head transverse, a little broader than the thorax; face broad, flat, vertical. palpi broad. antennæ small; third joint elongate-conical, not extending more than half the length to the epistoma; arista plumose. thorax oblong-subquadrate. abdomen nearly linear, much longer and more slender than the thorax. legs short, rather slender; fore femora somewhat setose beneath. wings rather broad, flat in repose; veins very strongly marked; a transverse vein between the cubital and mediastinal veins; two transverse veins between the radial and cubital veins; cubital vein slightly angular between the præbrachial transverse vein and the tip of the wing; præbrachial vein much curved towards its tip. the structure of the wing veins in this genus is very peculiar, and it does not agree well with any of the established subfamilies of _muscidæ_. . polyara insolita, n. s. _mas._ testacea; faciei sulcis albidis; abdomine lutescente fulvo; alis subcinereis, nigricante-fusco submarginatis et subfasciatis. _male._ testaceous, paler beneath. facial grooves for the antennæ whitish; thorax with some almost obsolete stripes, the middle pair approximate, slender, somewhat more distinct than the others; abdomen somewhat lutescent-tawny; wings slightly greyish, irregularly blackish-brown along the costa, brown at the tips, and with a brown band which is indistinct in front but much darker on the discal transverse vein; præbrachial vein largely bordered with brown; veins black, testaceous towards the base, discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-sixth of its length from the border, and by rather less than half its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ very small. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. sepsides, _walk._ gen. angitula, n. g. _foem._ _corpus_ convexum, glaberrimum, nitidissimum. _caput_ subrotundum; epistoma valde prominens. _antennæ_ epistoma non attingentes; articulus tertius longiusculus, linearis, apice conicus; arista subpubescens. _thorax_ anticus valde productus et attenuatus; scutellum bispinosum; metathorax magnus, declivis. _abdomen_ longi-subfusiforme; segmentum primum gibbosum. _pedes_ longi, graciles; coxæ anticæ longissimæ. _alæ_ longæ, angustæ; alulæ obsoletæ. _female._ body convex, very smooth and shining. head nearly round; front subquadrate; face short; epistoma very prominent. mouth short. antennæ not reaching the epistoma; third joint linear, rather long, conical at the tip; arista somewhat pubescent. thorax much produced and attenuated in front; scutellum armed with two spines; metathorax slanting, well developed. abdomen elongate-subfusiform, longer and much more slender than the thorax; first segment gibbous above. legs long, slender, without bristles; fore coxæ very long. wings long, narrow; discal transverse vein straight, upright, parted by less than half its length from the border, and by nearly twice its length from the præbrachial transverse. . angitula longicollis, n. s. _foem._ nigro-ænea; capite subtus albido, frontis disco rufescente, fascia albida; antennis piceis basi rufis; pedibus nigris, femoribus basi coxisque anticis albidis; alis limpidis, costa nigra. _female._ Æneous black. head whitish beneath, front with a reddish disk, face whitish. antennæ piceous, first and second joints red; legs black, bare; femora towards the base and fore coxæ whitish; wings limpid, with a black costal line extending to the tip of the præbrachial vein; veins and halteres black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. sepsis, _fallen_. . sepsis basifera, n. s. _mas et foem._ nigra; thorace nigro-æneo; tarsis, femoribus basi pedibusque anticis testaceis; alis limpidis, costa basi nigra. _mas._ metatarsis intermediis dilatatis, alis apice vix nigricantibus. _foem._ alis apice nigris. _male and female._ black, shining. thorax æneous black; pectus cinereous; tarsi, femora at the base, and fore legs, pale testaceous; wings limpid; costa at the base and veins black. _male._ basal joint of the intermediate tarsi dilated; wings hardly blackish at the tips. _female._ wings black at the tips. length of the body -- - / lines; of the wings -- - / lines. gen. calobata, _fabr._ . calobata albitarsis, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also java and australia. . calobata indica, _desv. ess. myod._ . . (nerius). inhabits also hindostan. . calobata abana, _walk. cat. dipt._ pt. . . . calobata sepsoides, n. s. _foem._ nigra; antennis ferrugineis, articulo tertio conico brevi, arista nuda; pedibus testaceis nigricante subnotatis, femoribus anticis nigris basi testaceis, tibiis anticis nigris, tarsis anticis niveis, posticis albidis; alis subcinereis, fasciis duabus indistinctis fuscescentibus. _female._ black, shining. antennæ ferruginous, third joint short, conical, arista bare; pectus slightly covered with cinereous tomentum; legs testaceous, with a few very indistinct blackish marks; fore femora black, testaceous towards the base; fore tibiæ black; fore tarsi snow-white, black at the base; hind tarsi whitish; wings greyish, with two almost obsolete brownish bands; discal transverse vein parted by less than its length from the border and by about four times its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. cardiacephala, _macq._ . cardiacephala debilis, n. s. _foem._ testacea, gracilis; thorace linea transversa interrupta nigra; pedibus anticis parvis, posterioribus longis, tarsis albis brevissimis, tibiis anterioribus piceis; alis limpidis apice cinereis, fascia lata pallide lutea. _female._ testaceous, slender. vertex somewhat luteous; third joint of the antennæ conical, very short, arista bare; thorax attenuated in front, with a transverse interrupted black line hindward; abdomen longer than the thorax, lanceolate hindward; fore legs short, posterior legs long; tarsi white, very short; anterior tibiæ piceous; middle femora rather thicker than the hind pair; wings limpid, grey towards the tips, with a pale luteous middle band; veins testaceous, cubital and præbrachial converging towards the tips of the wings, discal transverse vein straight, parted by less than its length from the border and by about thrice its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. psilides, _walk._ gen. lissa, _meigen_. . lissa cylindrica, n. s. _mas._ cyanea, gracilis, cylindrica; antennis piceis basi albidis, arista plumosa; abdomine piceo basi apiceque cyaneis; pedibus albidis, femoribus posterioribus nigris apice albidis, femoribus posticis subtus spinosis, tibiis posticis nigris; alis subcinereis apice subfuscis; halteribus albidis apice nigris. _male._ blue, slender, cylindrical. head broader than the thorax; antennæ whitish, third joint piceous, arista plumose; abdomen piceous, slightly increasing in breadth to the tip, blue at the base and at the tip, hind borders of the first and second segments whitish; legs whitish, posterior femora black, whitish at the base and towards the tips, hind femora spinose beneath, hind tibiæ black; wings slightly greyish, brownish towards the tips; veins black, præbrachial and perbrachial very near together for more than half their length, discal transverse vein straight, parted by more than its length, and by about four times its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish, with black tips. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. gen. nerius, _fabr._ . nerius duplicatus, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also java. subfam. oscinides, _haliday_. gen. oscinis, _fabr._ . oscinis lineiplena, n. s. _mas._ fusca; capite subtus testaceo apud oculos albo, vitta frontali alba; thorace pectoreque lineis sex albidis; abdomine sordide testaceo, pedibus albidis, tibiis tarsisque apice femoribusque anticis nigris; alis subcinereis, halteribus albidis. _male._ brown. head testaceous in front and beneath, white about the eyes, with a white stripe on the front; thorax and pectus with six whitish stripes on each, thorax with an indistinct middle testaceous stripe; abdomen dull testaceous; legs whitish; tibiæ and tarsi at the tips and fore femora black; wings greyish; veins black, discal transverse vein oblique, parted by more than its length from the border, and by full twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres whitish. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . oscinis noctilux, n. s. _mas._ atra; capite pallide flavo subtus albo; antennis luteis, arista nuda; scutello, maculis duabus pectoralibus abdominisque apice albis; tibiis tarsisque intermediis testaceis; alis nigricantibus postice cinereis, halteribus niveis. _male._ black. head pale yellow, black hindward, white beneath; antennæ pale luteous, third joint very short, arista bare; scutellum white; pectus with a white spot on each side; abdomen white at the tip; middle legs with testaceous tibiæ and tarsi; hind wings blackish, cinereous hindward; halteres snow-white. length of the body / line; of the wings - / line. subfam. geomyzides, _fallen_. gen. drosophila, _fallen_. . drosophila? finigutta, n. s. _mas._ fulva; capite antice testaceo, antennis testaceis, articulo tertio conico; abdomine maculis quatuor apicalibus nigris, tarsis nigris; alis cinereis venis nigris. _male._ tawny. head testaceous in front; antennæ testaceous, third joint conical; abdomen with two black spots on each side at the tip; legs testaceous; tarsi black; wings grey; veins black, discal transverse vein straight, parted by full half its length from the border and by full twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / line; of the wings lines. . drosophila? melanospila. _foem._ testacea; antennarum articulo tertio conico, arista plumosa; thoracis disco abdominisque guttis duabus apicalibus atris; tarsis piceis; alis subcinereis. _female._ testaceous. vertex luteous; third joint of the antennæ conical; arista plumose; disk of the thorax and a dot on each side of the tip of the abdomen deep black; tarsi piceous; wings slightly greyish; veins black, discal transverse vein straight, parted by about half its length from the border and by twice its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body line; of the wings lines. . drosophila? imparata. _foem._ pallide testacea; pedibus pallidioribus; alis subcinereis, venis pallidis. _female._ pale testaceous, with a few bristles. legs paler than the body; wings slightly greyish; veins pale, discal transverse vein straight, parted by about twice its length from the border and by more than twice its length from the præbrachial transverse. length of the body / line; of the wings - / line. subfam. hydromyzides, _haliday_. gen. ephydra, _fallen_. . ephydra? taciturna, n. s. _foem._ atra, nitens, antennis nigris, arista plumosa, abdomine nigro-cupreo, pedibus nigro-piceis, alis nigricantibus, venis nigris. _female._ deep black, shining. antennæ black, third joint linear, rather long, arista plumose; legs blackish-piceous; wings blackish; veins black, discal transverse vein straight, parted by a little more than its length from the border. length of the body - / line; of the wings - / lines. fam. phoridÆ, _haliday_. gen. pallura, n. g. _mas._ _corpus_ latiusculum, pubescens. _os_ retractum. _oculi_ pubescentes. _antennæ_ brevissimæ; arista longissima. _scutellum_ magnum, conicum. _abdomen_ subellipticum, thorace non longius. _pedes_ latiusculi, pubescentes, non setosi. _alæ_ amplæ, venis æqualibus. _male._ body rather broad, pubescent. proboscis small, withdrawn; eyes pubescent; antennæ very short, arista very long; scutellum large, conical, very prominent, extending beyond the base of the abdomen; abdomen nearly elliptical, not longer than the thorax; legs rather broad, pubescent, without bristles; wings rather long and broad; veins of equal size, costal vein ending at rather before half the length of the wing, radial ending at somewhat in front of the tip of the wing, cubital ending at hardly in front of the tip, præbrachial ending at a little behind the tip, pobrachial ending on the hind border at half the length of the wing, discal transverse vein straight, parted by more than twice its length from the border and from the præbrachial transverse. . pallura invaria. _mas._ lutea, immaculata, alis cinereis basi luteis, apice nigricantibus, venis nigris robustis. _male._ luteous, of one colour. wings grey, luteous at the base, blackish towards the tips; veins black, robust. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. hippoboscidÆ, _leach_. gen. ornithomyia, _leach_. . ornithomyia parva?, _macq. hist. nat. dipt._ . . . . key island. fam. asilidÆ, _leach_. subfam. laphrites, _walk._ gen. laphria, _fabr._ . laphria paradisiaca, n. s. _mas._ cuprea, aureo pilosa, capite pectoreque argenteis albo pilosis, mystace subaurato setis nonnullis nigris, abdomine apice purpureo subtus albido piloso, pedibus cyaneo-purpureis albido pilosis, femoribus cyaneo-viridibus, alis nigricantibus basi cinereis, halteribus albidis nigro notatis. _male._ cupreous, with gilded hairs. head and pectus silvery, with white hairs; mystax slightly gilded, with a few long black bristles; antennæ and mouth black; abdomen purple at the tip, underside clothed with long whitish hairs, silvery white at the base, the following segments bordered with silvery white; legs blue and purple, thickly clothed with long whitish hairs, femora bluish-green, fore tibiæ with pale gilded down beneath, hind tibiæ with a black bristly apical tuft beneath; wings blackish, grey towards the base; halteres whitish, marked with black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . laphria placens, n. s. _mas._ cyanea, capite aurato, mystace setis paucis longis nigris; antennis nigris, articulo tertio fusiformi; pectore albido, abdomine angusto, femoribus intus tibiisque purpureis; alis nigricantibus basi cinereis, halteribus piceis. _male._ blue. head gilded in front, whitish behind; mystax with a few long black bristles; proboscis and antennæ black, third joint of the latter fusiform; pectus whitish; abdomen cylindrical, much narrower than the thorax, and about twice its length; femora on the inner side and tibiæ purple, tarsi black; wings blackish, cinereous towards the base; halteres piceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. asilites, _walk._ gen. asilus, _linn._ . asilus superveniens, n. s. _mas._ cinereous, capite subaurato, mystace aurato setis paucis nigris, thorace vittis tribus latissimis nigris, abdomine fulvescenti-cinereo, pedibus rufescentibus, femoribus nigro vittatis, tarsis nigris, alis cinereis apice nigricantibus, halteribus testaceis. _male._ cinereous. head slightly gilded, pale cinereous, and clothed with pale hairs behind; mystax composed of gilded bristles, above which there are a few shorter black bristles; antennæ black, third joint elongate-fusiform, arista much longer than the third joint; thorax with three very broad hardly divided black stripes; abdomen with a slight fawn-coloured tinge, tip black, sexualia very small; legs reddish, femora striped above with black, tarsi black, reddish at the base; wings cinereous, blackish towards the tips; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. ommatius, _illiger_. . ommatius noctifer, _walk._ see page . fam. empidÆ, _leach_. gen. hybos, _fabr._ . hybos deficiens, n. s. _mas._ niger, thorace fulvo globoso macula dorsali nigra, abdomine basi fulvo, pedibus anterioribus testaceis, femoribus posticis subtus spinosis, alis cinereis apice obscurioribus, stigmate venisque nigris, halteribus testaceis, apice piceis. _male._ black. thorax and pectus tawny, the former globose, with a black dorsal spot; abdomen tawny at the base; anterior legs testaceous, hind femora spinose beneath; wings grey, darker at the tips; stigma and veins black; halteres testaceous, with piceous tips. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. syrphidÆ, _leach_. gen. eristalis, _latr._ . eristalis resolutus, _walk._ see p. . gen. baccha, _fabr._ . baccha purpuricola, n. s. _foem._ purpureo-fulva; capite chalybeo; antennis rufis; pedibus fulvis; tibiis posticis apice tarsisque posticis basi piceis; alis nigricantibus, apud costam obscurioribus, spatio apicali subcostali cinereo; halteribus testaceis. _female._ tawny, tinged with purple. head chalybeous; antennæ red; legs tawny, hind tibiæ piceous towards the tips, hind tarsi piceous towards the base; wings blackish, darker along the costa, cinereous towards the tips with the exception of the costa; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. muscidÆ, _latr._ subfam. sarcophagides, _walk._ gen. sarcophaga, _meigen_. . sarcophaga basalis, n. s. _mas._ nigra, subaureo tomentosa; capite aurato; thorace vittis tribus nigris; abdomine albido tessellato; alis cinereis; venis lurido marginatis; alulis testaceis. _male._ black, with slightly gilded tomentum. head gilded; frontalia deep black, hardly widening in front; thorax with three black stripes, an indistinct blackish line on each side of the middle stripe; abdomen tessellated with white; wings grey; veins bordered with a lurid hue, especially towards the costa; præbrachial vein forming a slightly acute angle at its flexure, near which it is much curved inward, and is thence straight to its tip; discal transverse vein slightly curved inward near its hind end, parted by a little more than half its length from the border and from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. subfam. muscides, _walk._ gen. idia, _meigen_. . idia xanthogaster, _wied. auss. zweifl._ . . . inhabits also hindostan and java. . idia testacea, _macq. hist. nat. dipt._ . . . inhabits also mauritius. gen. musca, _linn._ . musca obtrusa, _walk._ see p. . subfam. anthomyides, _walk._ gen. aricia, _macq._ . aricia vicaria, n. s. _foem._ fulva, subtus testacea; capite nigro, apud oculos albo; antennis testaceis; alis cinereis, apud costam luridis. _female._ tawny, testaceous beneath. head black, white about the eyes; antennæ testaceous; abdomen clothed with short black bristles; legs testaceous, tarsi piceous; wings grey, with a lurid tinge towards the costa; veins black, discal transverse vein nearly straight, parted by about its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ slightly testaceous; halteres testaceous. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . aricia squalens, n. s. _foem._ nigra, cinereo tomentosa; facie argentea; antennis testaceis; thorace vittis nigris vittisque duabus lateralibus latis testaceis; abdomine obscure testaceo; pedibus piceis; femoribus nigris; tibiis anticis testaceis; alis cinereis; apud costam subluridis; venis halteribusque testaceis. _female._ black, with cinereous tomentum. face silvery white; antennæ pale testaceous, third joint long, linear, extending to the epistoma; thorax with black stripes, and on each side with a broad testaceous stripe; abdomen dull testaceous; legs piceous; femora black, fore tibiæ testaceous; wings grey, with a lurid tinge towards the costa; veins testaceous, discal transverse vein very slightly curved inward, parted by much less than its length from the border, and by a little more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ whitish; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. subfam. ortalides, _haliday_. gen. lamprogaster, _macq._ . lamprogaster ventralis, n. s. _foem._ testaceo-cinerea; capite apud oculos albo, vertice luteo, facie pallide fulva; thorace lineis septem indistinctis nigricantibus; abdomine fusco maculis dorsalibus canis, subtus cavo lateribus ferrugineis; pedibus nigris, tibiis ferrugineo fasciatis; alis limpidis basi subtestaceis, fasciis incompletis guttisque fuscis apud costam nigricantibus. _female._ cinereous, with a testaceous tinge. head white about the eyes, vertex luteous; face pale tawny, with white grooves for the antennæ; antennæ tawny, small; arista slightly plumose at the base; thorax with seven indistinct blackish lines; abdomen brown, with dorsal hoary nearly triangular spots, under side marsupial-like or with a pouch, ferruginous on each side; legs black, each tibia with a ferruginous band; wings limpid, slightly testaceous at the base, with brown dots and bands, the latter abbreviated hindward, blackish towards the costa; veins black, testaceous towards the base; discal transverse vein straight, parted by about one-third of its length from the border and by much more than its length from the præbrachial transverse; alulæ cinereous; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. trypeta, _meigen_. . trypeta roripennis, n. s. _foem._ fusca; capite nigro, facie alba; antennis nigris rufo-fasciatis; thorace vittis quatuor canis; abdominis segmentis testaceo marginatis; pedibus nigris, tarsis halteribusque testaceis; alis nigris, punctis plurimis albis. _female._ brown. head black; face white; antennæ black, third joint red, linear, rather long, black towards the tip; arista plumose; thorax with four hoary stripes; abdominal segments with testaceous hind borders; legs black, tarsi testaceous; wings black, with very numerous white points, a few of which are rather larger than the others; discal transverse vein straight, parted by less than its length from the border, and by more than twice its length from the præbrachial transverse; halteres testaceous. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by mr. a. r. wallace at the islands of aru and key. by frederick smith, esq., assistant in the zoological department, british museum. communicated by w. w. saunders, esq., f.r.s., v.p.l.s. [read december rd, .] this collection of hymenoptera is the most important contribution which has been made to the aculeata through the exertions of mr. wallace; in point of geographical distribution, it adds much to our knowledge. in the aru, key, and neighbouring islands, we meet with the extreme range of the australian insect-fauna; and as might be expected, it is found amongst the vespidious group, and in one or two instances in the formicidæ. the latter, being frequently conveyed from one island to another, can perhaps scarcely be considered indicative of natural geographical distribution. of the forty-six species of the formicidous group, only six were previously known to science. of the genus _podomyrma_ here established, one species only, from adelaide, was previously known; it is one of the most distinct and remarkable genera in the family. the _pompilidæ_ are species of great beauty, some closely resembling those of australia in the banding and maculation of their wings; amongst the _vespidæ_ will be found some of the most elegant and beautiful forms in the whole of that protean family of hymenoptera. fam. andrenidÆ. gen. prosopis. . prosopis malachisis. _p._ nigro-cæruleo-viridis, nitida et delicatulè punctata; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. deep blue-green, with tints of purple in certain lights, particularly on the head, the clypeus with a central longitudinal ridge, its anterior margin slightly emarginate; the flagellum rufo-piceous beneath, the ocelli white. thorax: the wings hyaline and brilliantly iridescent; the legs dark rufo-piceous with a bright purple tinge. abdomen delicately punctured, the head and thorax more strongly so; the latter with a semicircular enclosed space at its base, which is smooth and shining. _hab._ key island. gen. nomia. . nomia cincta. _n._ nigra, capite thoraceque punctatis, pedibus ferrugineis; segmentis abdominis apice fulvo-testaceo late fasciatis. _female._ length lines. black: the two basal joints of the flagellum, the apical margin of the clypeus, the labrum, mandibles, and legs ferruginous; the wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous, the tegulæ more or less rufo-testaceous; the sides of the metathorax with tufts of pale fulvous pubescence and the floccus on the posterior femora of the same colour, the tibiæ and tarsi with short ferruginous pubescence. abdomen shining, the apical margins of the segments broadly fulvo-testaceous, very bright, having a golden lustre. _hab._ key island. . nomia longicornis. _n._ nigra, lucida et delicatulè punctata, facie pube brevi griseâ tectâ, femorum posticorum flocco pallido, tibiis externè fusco-pubescentibus; maris antennis, capite thoraceque longioribus. _male._ length lines. brassy, with tints of green on the clypeus, metathorax, and thorax beneath; the head and thorax very closely and finely punctured; the clypeus produced and highly polished; the mandibles rufo-testaceous, the antennæ as long as the head and thorax. thorax: the wings hyaline and splendidly iridescent, the tegulæ and the tarsi rufo-testaceous. abdomen closely punctured, the apical margins of the segments smooth and shining; the head and thorax above with a pale fulvous pubescence, that on the sides of the metathorax and legs pale and glittering; the abdomen has a pale scattered glittering pubescence. _hab._ aru. . nomia dentata. _n._ nigra et punctata, facie metathoracisque lateribus cinereo-pubescentibus, postscutello medio unidentato. _mas._ antennis filiformibus longitudine thoracis. _female._ length lines. black; head and thorax rather finely punctured; the face covered with short cinereous pubescence; the clypeus naked and much produced, the anterior margin and the tips of the mandibles ferruginous; the cheek with long whitish pubescence. thorax: the sides of the metathorax, the floccus on the posterior femora and the postscutellum with whitish pubescence, the latter produced in the middle into a blunt tooth; the legs fusco-ferruginous, with the anterior tibiæ and apical joints of the tarsi brighter; wings hyaline and iridescent. abdomen shining and punctured, the apical margins of the two basal segments broadly depressed, and more finely and closely punctured than the rest; the apical margins of the second, third, and fourth segments pale testaceous; the apical margins of the two basal segments narrowly fringed with white pubescence, usually more or less interrupted in the middle. _male._ resembles the female very closely, but has the face much more pubescent; the antennæ filiform and longer than the head and thorax; the scutellum armed at its posterior lateral angles with an acute tooth; the metathorax truncate and slightly concave, its base with short longitudinal grooves, the lateral margins fringed with long pubescence. _hab._ aru. subfam. dasygastrÆ. gen. megachile, _latr._ . megachile lateritia. _m._ nigra, abdomine pube ferrugineâ vestito, alis fuscis. _female._ length lines. black; head and thorax very closely and finely punctured; the mandibles with a single blunt tooth at their apex; the anterior margin of the clypeus transverse. thorax: the wings brown, the posterior pair palest, their base subhyaline. abdomen clothed with bright brick-red pubescence above and beneath; the basal segment with bright yellow pubescence above. _hab._ aru. . megachile scabrosa. _m._ nigra, metathorace anticè rudè scabrato, abdomine subtùs nigro-pubescente. _female._ length - / lines. black; the clypeus, mesothorax anteriorly, and the posterior tibiæ outside coarsely rugose, the roughness on the thorax consisting of transverse little elevated points; the face with a thin griseous pubescence; the anterior margin of the clypeus fringed with fulvous hairs; the cheeks have a long pale fulvous pubescence. thorax: the wings hyaline, the nervures black. abdomen smooth and shining, with black pubescence beneath; beneath, the apical margins of the segments with a fringe of very short white pubescence. _hab._ aru. . megachile insularis. _m._ nigra, nitida, delicatulè punctata, facie pube pallidè fulvâ vestitâ, abdomine subtùs pube lætè ferrugineâ vestito, alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the head and thorax finely and closely punctured, the abdomen delicately so; the face clothed with pale fulvous pubescence, the mandibles with two blunt teeth at their apex; the clypeus shining and strongly punctured. thorax: the wings subhyaline with a slight cloud at their apex; the basal joint of the posterior tarsi with a dense dark ferruginous pubescence within. abdomen: the four basal segments with transverse impressed lines in the middle; beneath, clothed with bright ferruginous pubescence; the abdomen has an obscure æneous tinge above. _hab._ aru. gen. crocisa, _jurine_. . crocisa nitidula, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ aru; key island; australia; amboyna. gen. allodape, _st.-farg._ . allodape nitida. _a._ nitida nigra, clypeo flavo, alis hyalinis, abdomine ad apicem punctato. _female._ length lines. black and shining; the clypeus yellow, produced in front; the sides of the face depressed; the ocelli prominent and reddish. thorax very smooth and shining; the wings colourless and iridescent, their extreme base yellowish, the nervures and stigma brown, the tegulæ pale testaceous-yellow; the posterior tibiæ with a scopa of glittering white hairs, the tarsi ferruginous and with glittering hairs. abdomen, from the third segment to the apex, gradually more and more strongly and closely punctured. _hab._ aru. gen. xylocopa, _latr._ . xylocopa æstuans, _linn. syst. nat._ i. p. . [symbol: female]; _st.-farg. hym._ ii. p. . [symbol: male] [symbol: female]. _hab._ aru; india; singapore; celebes. gen. saropoda, _latr._ . saropoda bombiformis, _smith, cat. hym. ins._ p. . p. . . _hab._ aru; australia (richmond river). gen. anthophora, _latr._ . anthophora zonata, _linn. syst. nat._ _hab_. aru island; celebes; ceylon; india; borneo; hong-kong; shanghai; philippine islands. . anthophora elegans. _a._ nigra, pube capitis thoracisque nigrâ, abdomine fasciis quatuor lætè cæruleis ornato; tibiis posticis ferrugineo-pubescentibus. _female._ length lines. black; the labrum, a narrow line down the middle and another on each side of the clypeus, a minute spot above it, and the scape in front testaceous yellow, the base of the mandibles of a paler colour; the flagellum fulvous beneath. thorax: the pubescence black; wings subhyaline, the nervures dark rufo-fuscous, tegulæ obscurely testaceous. abdomen with four fasciæ of brilliant blue, which is changeable, with pearly tints in different lights; the posterior tibiæ densely clothed outside with fulvo-ferruginous pubescence; the pubescence inside is black. _hab._ key island. gen. trigona, _jurine_. . trigona læviceps, _smith, cat. hym. ins., journ. proc. linn. soc._ ii. p. . . _hab._ aru; singapore; india. fam. formicidÆ. gen. formica. . formica virescens, _fabr. ent. syst._ ii. p. . [symbol: male] [symbol: female] [symbol: mercury].--lasius virescens, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . . formica gracilipes, _smith, cat. hym. ins., journ. proc. linn. soc._ ii. p. . [symbol: mercury]. . formica fragilis. _f._ pallidè testacea, elongata et gracilis, capite posticè angustato; thorace medio compresso, pedibus elongatis; squamâ incrassatâ triangulatâ. _worker._ length - / lines. pale rufo-testaceous, smooth and slightly shining; antennæ elongate, longer than the body, the flagellum slender and filiform, the scape nearly as long as the head and thorax; head oblong, narrowed behind the eyes into a kind of neck, the sides parallel before the eyes, which are black and round, the clypeus slightly emarginate anteriorly, the mandibles finely serrated on their inner margin and terminating in a bent acute tooth. thorax elongate, narrowest in the middle, the prothorax forming a neck anteriorly; legs elongate and very slender. abdomen ovate, the node of the petiole incrassate, and viewed sideways is triangular or wedge-shaped. _hab._ aru. this is one of those remarkable forms which recede so greatly from the normal type of _formica_ as apparently to indicate a generic distinction; but in those exotic species of which we have obtained all the forms, we find many which approach closely to the present insect, which is probably only the small worker of some already described species. no one would venture, without the authority of the personal observation of some competent naturalist, to unite all the forms of any exotic species of _formica_. . formica flavitarsus. _f._ nigra, elongata et gracilis; thorace posticè compresso, pedibus elongatis, tarsis flavis. _worker._ length lines. black and subopake; head elongate, narrowed behind, the clypeus truncate anteriorly, the mandibles pale ferruginous; antennæ elongate and slender, the flagellum filiform and pale rufo-testaceous; the thorax and legs elongate, the latter slender with their tarsi pale rufo-testaceous. abdomen ovate, the scale of the petiole incrassate and slightly notched above. _hab._ aru. . formica coxalis. _f._ nigra, nitida; flagello, coxis et abdomine subtùs pallidè testaceis. _worker major._ length lines. black and very delicately roughened with a fine transverse waved striation only perceptible under a good magnifying power. head large, much wider than the thorax, oblong-ovate with a deep emargination behind; the clypeus slightly produced and truncate anteriorly, the angles of the truncation rounded, and with a central shining carina; the flagellum, except the tarsal joint, pale rufo-testaceous. thorax elongate, compressed behind, the coxæ pale rufo-testaceous. abdomen ovate, the scale of the petiole incrassate, somewhat wedge-shaped when viewed sideways, the abdomen sparingly sprinkled with long pale hairs. . formica cordata. _f._ pallidè rufa; abdomine fusco, capite cordato. _worker._ length lines. pale rufo-testaceous; the head heart-shaped; the eyes black, the flagellum fusco-ferruginous with the basal joints pale; the mandibles ferruginous. thorax narrow, deeply strangulated at the base of the metathorax. abdomen more or less fuscous, the node of the petiole narrow and pointed above; the entire insect is smooth and shining. _hab._ aru. the _worker minor_ is rather smaller and has the abdomen darker, in all the specimens received, but in other respects agrees with the above. . formica oculata. _f._ pallidè ferruginea; capite oblongo, oculis magnis, thorace compresso. _worker._ length - / lines. pale ferruginous, with the vertex and apex of the abdomen black; the head oblong, the sides nearly parallel, with the anterior margin truncate; the mandibles with fine acute teeth on their inner margin; the antennæ inserted wide apart about the middle of the head; the eyes very large and ovate, placed backwards on the sides of the head, reaching to the posterior margin of the vertex, forming as it were its posterior lateral angles. the thorax narrow and compressed behind; abdomen ovate, entirely smooth and shining. _hab._ aru. . formica mutilata. _f._ nigra; capite oblongo, truncato anticè et sanguineo, antennis tarsisque rufo-testaceis. _worker._ length - / lines. black and shining; the head truncate anteriorly, the antennæ inserted wide apart, about the middle, the face blood-red before their insertion and deeply striated longitudinally, behind the antennæ the head is black, smooth, and shining; the eyes ovate and placed backwards on the sides of the head. thorax rounded in front and strangulated between the meso- and metathorax, the latter obliquely truncate; legs rather short and stout, the femora compressed, the anterior pair broadly dilated, the base and apex of the femora, the tibiæ, and tarsi rufo-testaceous, the tibiæ with a darker stain behind. abdomen oblong-ovate, the apical margins of the segments narrowly pale testaceous; the scale of the petiole compressed, with its superior margin rounded. _hab._ aru. this is a very singular insect in many respects, and closely resembles in form the _formica truncata_ of spinola. . formica quadriceps. _f._ nigra, nitida; capite anticè obliquè truncato, thorace posticè compresso. _worker._ length - / lines. shining black; head oblong-quadrate, slightly narrowed anteriorly, with the sides nearly straight, the posterior angles rounded, and very slightly emarginate behind; the head obliquely truncate from the base of the clypeus; the truncation as well as the mandibles obscurely ferruginous; the apex of the flagellum and the apical joints of the tarsi pale rufo-testaceous. thorax rounded anteriorly, compressed behind, with the metathorax abruptly truncate. the scale of the petiole narrow, incrassate, its anterior margin slightly curved, its posterior margin straight; the abdomen ovate. _worker minor._ about lines long, very like the larger _worker_, the head being truncate in front; but it is, in proportion to the thorax, narrower; the latter is compressed and abruptly truncate; in other respects it agrees with the _worker major_. _hab._ aru. . formica lÆvissima. _f._ nigra nitida lævissima, sparsè pilosa; squamâ oblongâ subdepressâ. _worker._ length lines. jet-black, very smooth and shining; head wider than the thorax, slightly emarginate behind, the sides slightly rounded; the anterior margin of the clypeus rounded, the mandibles striated and obscurely ferruginous; the scape with a few glittering silvery-white hairs. thorax not quite so wide as the head anteriorly, narrowed behind, with the disk somewhat flattened, slightly convex, a deep strangulation between the meso- and metathorax, the latter obliquely rounded; the legs and abdomen sprinkled with glittering white hairs. the node of the petiole incrassate, very slightly elevated; viewed sideways, broadly wedge-shaped; the abdomen ovate. _hab._ aru. . formica nitida. _f._ capite abdomineque nigris, antennis thoraceque pedibusque rufo-testaceis lævissimis et lucidis. _worker._ length lines. head and abdomen shining black; the flagellum, thorax, legs, and scale of the petiole rufo-testaceous; the legs palest; the scape fuscous, with its base pale; the head large, wider than the abdomen, and emarginate behind; the clypeus and mandibles obscurely ferruginous. thorax compressed, not strangulated in the middle. the scale of the petiole narrow, with its margin rounded above; abdomen ovate, and sprinkled with a few erect pale hairs. _hab._ aru. . formica scrutator. f. nigerrima, mandibulis tarsorumque articulo apicali pallidè ferrugineis, thorace medio profundè coarctato. _worker._ length - / -- lines. shining black; the mandibles pale, ferruginous, with their inner margins finely denticulate; the eyes placed rather forwards on the sides of the head, the latter emarginate behind. thorax deeply strangulated in the middle; the metathorax elevated and obliquely truncate behind. abdomen ovate; the scale of the petiole sub-incrassate, with its margin rounded above; the insect very thinly covered with a fine cinereous pile. _hab._ aru. . formica angulata. f. nigra nitida; flagello capite anticè pedibusque obscurè ferrugineis, metathorace angulato. _worker._ length lines. shining black; head of moderate size; the clypeus and mandibles obscure ferruginous; the flagellum fusco-ferruginous, with the tip pale testaceous. thorax rounded anteriorly and compressed behind; the scutellum prominent, forming a small tubercle; the metathorax obliquely truncate, the margin of the truncation elevated, so that when viewed sideways the metathorax forms an obtuse angular shape. abdomen ovate, the node of the peduncle elevated, incrassate, rounded anteriorly, and flat behind. _hab._ aru. gen. polyrhachis, _smith_. . formica sericata, _guér. voy. coq. zool._ ii. ; _atlas ins._ pl. . f. , _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, [symbol: mercury]. (polyrhachis sericata, _smith, append. cat. form._ p. .) _hab._ aru; new hebrides. . formica sexspinosa, _latr. hist. nat. fourm._ p. , pl. iv. f. [symbol: mercury]. (polyrhachis sexspinosa, _smith, cat. form._ p. . .) _hab._ aru; india; philippine islands. . polyrhachis marginatus. _p._ niger; antennis, palpis pedibusque ferrugineis; thoracis marginibus recurvis, metathorace petiolique squamulâ bidentatis. _worker._ length - / lines. black; the antennæ and legs ferruginous; the head and thorax rugose; the prothorax transverse, its anterior margin slightly curved, with the lateral angles produced forwards and very acute; the thorax narrowed to the metathorax, which is armed with two divergent acute spines. abdomen velvety black and globose; the scale of the petiole produced laterally into long, bent, acute spines, which curve backwards to the shape of the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis hostilis. _p._ niger, longitudinaliter striatus, thoracis marginibus expansis, metathorace squamulâque petioli spinis duabus crassis acutis curvatis. _worker._ length lines. black; the head and thorax longitudinally striated, the abdomen very finely and evenly so; the prothorax transverse, wider than the head, the anterior and lateral margins recurved, the latter acute at their anterior angles, and rounded at the posterior ones; the lateral margins of the mesothorax recurved, a deep notch between the meso- and metathorax; the latter with a long, stout, curved, acute spine on each side. the scale of the petiole produced above on each side, into a long, curved, stout, acute spine, which curves backwards round the sides of the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis longipes. _p._ niger; flagelli dimidio apicali tibiisque anticis pallidè ferrugineis, prothorace petiolique squamulâ bidentatis. _worker._ length lines. black; the head and thorax finely rugose; the antennæ elongate, longer than the insect; the apical half of the flagellum pale ferruginous. thorax rounded above, the sides not margined; two spines on the thorax anteriorly, two on the metathorax, and two on the scale of the petiole; the legs elongate, with the anterior tibiæ ferruginous. abdomen globose, sometimes rufo-fuscous, or the base obscurely rufous. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis serratus. _p._ niger; capite thoraceque rugosis, abdomine densè punctato, squamâ petioli transversâ, margine superno serratâ. _worker._ length lines. black, with the antennæ and legs ferruginous. thorax oblong-quadrate or very slightly narrowed towards the metathorax, slightly convex above, not margined at the sides, the divisions not perceptible; the head and thorax rugose and pubescent. abdomen globose, shining, and closely punctured; the scale of the petiole transverse above, produced into an acute spine on each side, the upper margin finely serrated, the lateral margins narrowed to their base, and having two or three small sharp spines. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis scutulatus. _p._ niger, fortiter politus et lucidus, metathorace petiolique squamulâ dente longo curvato acuto in latere utroque, pedibus nigro-ferrugineis. _worker._ length - / lines. black and very smooth and shining; the legs dark ferruginous. thorax: the disk expanded, slightly convex above, with the margins acute and curving upwards; the anterior margin transverse, rather wider than the head, with the lateral angles slightly curved forwards, and very acute; the lateral margins of the prothorax curved backwards and inwards; the margins of the mesothorax are rounded; the pro- and mesothorax highly polished above, forming an escutcheon-shaped disk; the metathorax opake, and sprinkled with a few short glittering hairs, armed posteriorly with two long very acute spines, divergent and directed backwards. abdomen globose; the scale of the petiole with two long curved acute spines, directed backwards to the curve of the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis mucronatus. _p._ lævis, nitidus, niger; thorace spinis duabus crassis compressis acutis posticè armato. _worker._ length - / lines. black, smooth, and shining, very delicately and indistinctly aciculate; the antennæ beneath and the tibiæ and femora obscurely ferruginous, the anterior and intermediate tibiæ brightest; the apex of the mandibles ferruginous. thorax transverse in front, or very slightly curved, with the lateral angles acute; the thorax is rounded above, and not margined at the sides; the metathorax armed with two long, stout, acute compressed spines; the spines divergent, as well as two on the scale of the petiole, which are long and very acute. abdomen globose. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis geometricus. _p._ niger; antennarum apice, tibiis tarsorumque apice ferrugineis, thorace circulariter striato. _worker._ length lines. black; the apical joints of the flagellum, the anterior legs, the anterior and intermediate tibiæ, and the apical joints of the tarsi pale ferruginous; the extreme base of the anterior tarsi black. thorax rounded above, not margined, gradually narrowed posteriorly; the prothorax of the same width as the head, its lateral angles toothed; the disk with a circular striation. abdomen globose and pubescent; the scale of the petiole compressed, its superior margin rounded, and with four minute teeth. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis irritabilis. _p._ niger, pube pallidè aureâ vestitus; thorace quadridentato, petioli squamulâ bidentatâ. _female._ length - / lines. black, and densely clothed with short pale golden pubescence; all parts of the insect sprinkled with erect cinereous hairs; the mandibles shining black, the palpi pale testaceous; the head elongate, the eyes placed high on the sides of the head, ferruginous and very prominent. thorax elongate-ovate; the prothorax with a short, stout, acute tooth on each side, slightly curved and directed forwards; the metathorax with a similar tooth on each side directed backwards; the wings subhyaline, the nervures fuscous; the legs fusco-ferruginous, the femora and coxæ brightest. abdomen ovate; the scale incrassate, armed above with two stout acute teeth. _hab._ aru. this is probably the female of _p. sexspinosus_. . polyrhachis lÆvissimus. _p._ niger, lævis nitidusque; metathorace bispinoso, petioli squamulâ quadrispinosâ, pedibus ferrugineis. _worker._ length - / lines. black, very smooth and shining; the legs ferruginous, with the coxæ, articulations, and the tarsi black. the thorax not flattened above, or margined at the sides; the division between the pro- and mesothorax distinct, that between the meso- and metathorax not discernible, the latter with two erect acute spines; the scale of the petiole with four short acute spines. abdomen globose. _hab._ aru. this species is very like _p. mucronatus_; on close examination, however, it is seen to be very distinct: it may be at once distinguished by its larger head, which is wider than the thorax, rounded behind the eyes, and widely emarginate behind. . polyrhachis bellicosus. _p._ capite abdomineque nigris, thorace femoribusque rufis, thorace quadrispinoso, petioli squamulâ bihamatâ. _worker_. length - / lines. black, with the scale of the petiole, thorax, coxæ, and femora blood-red. thorax: the lateral margins raised above, with two slightly curved divergent spines in front, and two stout, acute, long curved spines in the middle, directed backwards; the scale of the petiole forming a long erect pedestal, which terminates above in two much bent acute hooks, directed backwards, and being as high as the basal segment of the abdomen; the spines and hooks black at the apex. abdomen ovate. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis hector. _p._ niger et vestitus pube pallidè aureâ; prothorace petiolique squamulâ bispinosis, pedibus ferrugineis. _worker._ length lines. black; the apex of the scape and the legs ferruginous; the extreme base of the tibiæ and the tarsi black; a stout acute spine on each side of the prothorax, directed forwards; the thorax flattened above, its lateral margins raised; the divisions of the segments very distinctly impressed; the pale golden pubescence on the abdomen thinner than on the head and thorax. the scale of the petiole angled at the sides towards its summit, the angles dentate, the upper margin straight, and at each lateral angle an acute spine, directed backwards, and curved to the shape of the abdomen; the spines parallel. _hab._ aru. . polyrhachis rufofemoratus. _p._ niger, lævis, nitidus; femoribus abdominisque squamulâ ferrugineis. _worker._ length - / lines. black; head oblong; the eyes placed high at the sides near the vertex, the front very prominent, with two elevated carinæ in the middle, at the outside of which the antennæ are inserted. thorax: the divisions strongly marked, flattened above with the sides elevated; the prothorax with an acute spine on each side anteriorly; the coxæ and femora ferruginous, with the apex of the latter more or less fuscous. abdomen: the base and the scale ferruginous, the latter angled at the sides and emarginate above. _hab._ aru. gen. ponera, _latr._ . ponera rugosa, _smith, cat. hym. ins. proc. linn. soc._ ii. . . _hab._ aru. borneo. . ponera sculpturata. _p._ nitida nigra; capite, thorace abdominisque segmentis primo et secundo profundè striatis, nodo spinis duabus acutis armato; pedibus abdomineque apice ferrugineis. _worker._ length lines. black and shiny, the legs obscurely ferruginous as well as the mandibles; the head strongly and evenly striated longitudinally. the prothorax with a circular striation above; behind, the thorax is compressed, the sides being obliquely striated, the striæ uniting and crossing the central ridge of the thorax. the node of the petiole and basal segment of the abdomen with a curved striation, the second segment longitudinally striated and depressed at its base, which is smooth and shining; the basal half of the third segment is longitudinally striated. _hab._ aru. this species is at first sight very like the _p. geometrica_ from singapore; but the striation of the abdomen alone will serve to distinguish it. . ponera parallela. _p._ nigra, opaca; antennis, mandibulis, pedibus abdominisque apice ferrugineis. _worker._ length - / lines. opake black; the antennæ thick and scarcely as long as the thorax, their apex and the mandibles bright ferruginous; the legs somewhat obscure ferruginous, with the articulations much brighter; the head a little wider than the thorax and subovate; the thorax, node of the petiole, and the abdomen of nearly equal width, the abdomen being slightly the widest; the node of the petiole nearly quadrate; the apical margin of the first segment and base of the second slightly depressed. _hab._ aru. . ponera quadridentata. _p._ atro-fusca; antennis, facie anticè, antennis, mandibulis, tibiis tarsisque ferrugineis; alis subhyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. nigro-fuscous; the antennæ with a carina between their base, the face anteriorly, the mandibles, the legs, and the abdomen at its apex and beneath, ferruginous; the femora and coxæ above, fuscous; the head subquadrate with the angles rounded; the eyes small and placed forwards on the sides of the head towards the base of the mandibles, the latter with four strong teeth on their inner margin. thorax oblong-ovate with the metathorax truncate; the wings fusco-hyaline, the stigma large and black. abdomen: the second segment slightly narrowed at its base, the node of the petiole incrassate and compressed, its upper margin rounded. the insect entirely covered with a short downy cinereous pile, the abdomen having also a number of scattered erect glittering hairs. _hab._ aru. gen. ectatomma, _smith_. . ectatomma rugosa. _e._ fusco-brunnea; capite, thorace, nodoque rugosis; abdomine delicatulè aciculato. _worker._ length lines. obscure fusco-ferruginous, the antennæ and legs bright ferruginous; the head, thorax, and node of the petiole coarsely rugose; the eyes very prominent and glassy; the mandibles longitudinally but very delicately striated, their inner margin edentate; the thorax slightly narrowed behind. abdomen very delicately aciculate. _male._ length - / lines. of the same colour, and sculptured like the worker; the head rounded behind the eyes and narrowed before them; the eyes very large, prominent and ovate; the ocelli very bright and prominent; antennæ elongate and slender, the scape short, not longer than the second joint of the flagellum. thorax: the scutellum prominent, forming a rounded tubercle, the metathorax elongate and oblique. abdomen aciculate as in the worker, but much more deeply strangulated between the first and second segments; the petiole rugose and clavate. _hab._ aru. gen. odontomachus, _latr._ . odontomachus simillimus, _smith, cat. form._ p. . [symbol: female]. _hab._ aru. ceylon. . odontomachus tyrannicus. _o._ capite thoraceque nigris, antennis abdomineque ferrugineis, margine interno mandibulorum serratulo. _worker._ length lines. head oblong, narrowed behind, posteriorly deeply emarginate; the mandibles rufo-piceous, brightest at their apex, which is armed with two long teeth which are bent abruptly inwards, their tips black; the anterior portion of the head striated obliquely from the centre; the head, behind the anterior sulcation, very smooth and shining and having a deep longitudinal central depression. thorax transversely striated, the articulations of the legs and the tarsi ferruginous. abdomen smooth, shining, and ferruginous; the node of the petiole incrassate, cylindric, and tapering upwards into a very acute spine. _hab._ aru. . odontomachus malignus. _o._ ferrugineus; capite suprà obliquè striato; margine interno mandibulorum confertim serrato; metathorace transversim striato; squamâ unispinosâ; abdomine lævissimo. _worker._ length lines. ferruginous; the flagellum and legs palest; head much narrowed behind, the posterior margin deeply emarginate; mandibles smooth and shining, their inner margin strongly serrated, their apex abruptly bent or elbowed, and armed with two stout teeth; the face anteriorly evenly striated obliquely; the head behind the anterior sulcation very delicately striated obliquely. the prothorax smooth and shining, the meso- and metathorax transversely striated. abdomen very smooth and shining; the node of the petiole incrassate and tapering upwards into an acute spine. _hab._ aru. this species most closely resembles _o. maxillaris_ from brazil; but its smooth polished prothorax alone would distinguish it; its head is much broader anteriorly, and less elongate. gen. pseudomyrma, _guér._ . pseudomyrma lÆviceps. _p._ nigra, lævis et nitida; antennis, mandibulis, tibiis anterioribus, tarsisque rufo-fulvis. _worker._ length - / lines. black and shining; head very smooth and slightly emarginate behind, the eyes large and ovate; the mandibles and antennæ rufo-fulvous. thorax with the sides flattened, the disk slightly convex; a deep strangulation between the meso- and metathorax, the latter rounded above and oblique behind; the trochanters, articulations of the legs, and the tarsi rufo-fulvous. abdomen thinly covered with a fine cinereous pile; the first node of the petiole somewhat oblong-ovate, the second subglobose, the petiole of the first node short. _hab._ aru. gen. podomyrma, _smith_. _head_ oblong in the _female_, rather wider than the thorax; in the _worker_ subovate and much wider; _eyes_ small, ovate and placed about the middle at the sides of the head; _antennæ_ geniculated, the scape about two thirds of the length of the flagellum which is clavate, the club three-jointed; the _mandibles_ stout and dentate; the _labial palpi_ -jointed; the _maxillary palpi_ -jointed. _thorax_, oblong-ovate in the _female_, in the _worker_ transverse in front and narrowed behind with the metathorax bidentate; the anterior wings with one elongate marginal cell and two submarginal cells, the second extending to the apex of the wing; the legs stout, the femora incrassate; abdomen ovate, the peduncle with two nodes. the insects included in this genus are undoubtedly most nearly allied to those belonging to the genus _myrmecina_; but, excepting that they agree in having the same number of joints in the palpi, they have little resemblance to each other. with the exception of the genus _myrmecia_, these are the largest insects in the subfamily myrmicidæ; and all the species are distinguished by their remarkably thickened femora and margined thorax: we are unacquainted with the males. . podomyrma femorata. _p._ ferruginea; capite oblongo, obliquè striato, thorace abdomineque lævibus nitidis; alis subhyalinis fusco-nebulosis; femoribus valdè incrassatis, basi tenuissimis, femoribus posticis infrà compressis. _female._ length lines. rufo-testaceous; the mandibles and anterior margin of the face black, the inner margin of the mandibles rufo-piceous and armed with six short stout teeth, the apical tooth largest. the head oblong, slightly narrowed posteriorly and emarginate behind, longitudinally striated, the striæ diverging from the centre at the anterior ocellus; at half the distance between the posterior ocelli and the margin of the vertex the striæ are transverse. thorax smooth and shining, with scattered fulvous hairs; the wings fusco-hyaline, with a dark fuscous stain occupying the marginal cell and traversing the course of all the nervures; the legs with the femora much incrassated, the posterior pair compressed beneath into a flattened process or keel. abdomen ovate, smooth, shining, and with a scattered fulvous pubescence; the first node of the petiole rounded in front, narrowed and truncate behind, with a large compressed tooth beneath; the second node subglobose. _worker major._ length lines. ferruginous, entirely smooth and shining; the thorax, legs, and abdomen more or less obscure, the femora being usually rufo-piceous; the mandibles striated with their margins black. thorax nearly flat above, very slightly convex with the sides margined, the anterior margin slightly rounded, the lateral angles produced into small acute spines; a deep strangulation at the base of the metathorax, a little before which the lateral margins are produced into an angular tooth, the metathorax with two short acute spines; the femora thickly incrassate. abdomen ovate. _hab._ aru. . podomyrma striata. _p._ ferruginea; capite thoraceque longitudinaliter striatis, femoribus valdè incrassatis, basi tenuissimis. _worker._ length lines. rufo-ferruginous with the abdomen obscure, becoming blackish at the apex, the head coarsely striated, with a central portion from the insertion of the antennæ to the hinder margin of the vertex delicately so; the mandibles striated, with the teeth on their inner margin black. thorax rugose-striate, the anterior lateral angles dentate, the metathorax without spines; the femora thickly incrassate and greatly attenuated at their base. abdomen ovate, smooth and shining; the nodes of the petiole rugose. _hab._ aru. this species resembles _p. femorata_, but is easily distinguished by its striated head and thorax; the latter is similarly flattened above and margined at the sides; the femora are also thickened precisely as in that species. . podomyrma lÆvifrons. _p._ obscurè ferruginea; capite abdomineque lævissimis lucidisque; thorace longitudinaliter striato; femoribus medio valdè incrassatis, basi tenuissimis. _worker._ length - / lines. head and abdomen smooth, shining black, in some examples fusco-ferruginous; the antennæ, legs, and thorax ferruginous, the latter longitudinally striated; the thorax margined at the sides, the disk slightly convex, the anterior margin slightly rounded, with the lateral angles armed with short acute spines, the thorax deeply strangulated posteriorly, the metathorax not spined; the femora thickly swollen in the middle and very slender at their base and apex. abdomen ovate, the first node of the petiole oblong, the second globose. _hab._ aru. there is considerable variation in intensity of colouring in examples of this species, the thorax and legs being sometimes pale ferruginous; in the specimen described they are dark; every shade of gradation occurs in different individuals. . podomyrma basalis. _p._ fusco-ferruginea; abdominis basi pallidè testacea; femoribus medio incrassatis, basi tenuibus. _worker._ length lines. obscurely ferruginous, the scape of the antennæ, the base of the femora and the tibiæ pale ferruginous; the base of the abdomen pale testaceous; the head and thorax with deep coarse longitudinal furrows; the flagellum blackish-brown towards its apex, with the extreme tip pale. thorax: the anterior margin slightly rounded with the lateral angles very acute; the femora very thickly incrassate in the middle; the apex of the tibiæ ferruginous. abdomen smooth and shining; the basal half pale testaceous, the apical half and the following segments black; the nodes of the petiole rugose; the first node elongate, with a short acute tooth at the base above, and a blunt one beneath. _hab._ aru. gen. myrmica, _latr._ . myrmica parallela. _m._ rufo-fulva; antennis pedibusque pallidè testaceis; abdomine fusco-ferrugineo; capite thoraceque longitudinaliter striatis. _worker._ length line. head and thorax ferruginous and longitudinally and evenly striated; antennæ and legs pale rufo-testaceous. thorax margined at the sides, the disk slightly convex, the anterior margin transverse, the lateral angles acute; the metathorax with two short spines; abdomen dark fusco-ferruginous, the nodes of the petiole subrugose; club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. . myrmica scabrosa. _m._ nigra; capite thoraceque scabrosis, metathorace bispinoso, abdomine ovato lævi. _worker._ length line. black; the head, thorax, and nodes of the petiole roughened; the mandibles, flagellum and tarsi rufo-testaceous; the lateral angles of the prothorax acute, the sides narrowed slightly to the base of the metathorax, the spines on the latter acute; nodes of the petiole globose. abdomen ovate, smooth and shining; club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. . myrmica thoracica. _m._ capite abdomineque nigris; antennis, mandibulis thorace pedibusque flavis. _worker._ length / line. head and abdomen jet-black; the antennæ, thorax, and legs of a clear honey-yellow; the mandibles of a more obscure yellow; the anterior margin of the thorax transverse, the lateral angles acute, narrowed from thence to the base of the mesothorax, the disk anteriorly slightly convex; the metathorax armed with two acute spines. abdomen nearly round, and very smooth and shining; the first node of the petiole vertical anteriorly, and gradually rounded behind, the second node transverse, its anterior margin straight, the angles rounded, the sides narrowed towards the abdomen; the club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. the singular form of the thorax of this species, as well as the construction of the nodes of the petiole, appear to indicate an uncharacterized division of the genus _myrmica_. . myrmica suspiciosa. _m._ rufo-testacea, lævis, tota nitidissima nuda; mandibulis, antennis, pedum articulationibus tarsisque palles-centibus; metathoracis spinis minutissimis. _worker._ length line. rufo-testaceous and very smooth and shining; the antennæ as long as the insect; the flagellum, mandibles, tarsi, and articulations of the legs pale testaceous. the thorax narrowed anteriorly into a short neck, behind which it is dilated, the sides being rounded, the meso- and metathorax narrower and of nearly equal width, the spines of the metathorax minute and slender. the first node of the petiole somewhat wedge-shaped, the second globose, the abdomen very smooth and shining; club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. i can detect no specific difference between this and _myrmica lævigata_, taken by myself in the neighbourhood of london; but it is not uncommonly met with in hothouses, near to which i captured my specimen. i believe _m. lævigata_ is identical with _oecophthora pusilla_, the house-ant of madeira. . myrmica mellea. _m._ capite thoraceque flavis; abdomine pallidè fusco. _worker._ length - / line. head, antennæ, thorax, and legs honey-yellow and very smooth and shining; thorax strangulated at the base of the metathorax, which is not spined; the first node of the abdomen is oblique anteriorly, and vertical behind, the second node subglobose. abdomen: the base honey-yellow, the apical margin of the first segment, and the following segments entirely, pale fuscous; the club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. . myrmica carinata. _m._ obscurè fusco-ferruginea; thorace rufo-fulvo; capite thoraceque carinis irregularibus; metathorace spinis duabus longis armato. _worker._ length - / lines. head and abdomen black, with more or less of an obscure ferruginous tinge, particularly at the vertex and base of the abdomen; the thorax and nodes of the petiole ferruginous; the legs rufo-piceous, with the tarsi and articulations ferruginous, the antennæ and mandibles ferruginous; the head and thorax with irregular distant longitudinal carinæ; the sides of the thorax rugose; the spines on the metathorax long and acute; the abdomen very smooth and shining; the club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. gen. crematogaster, _lund_. . crematogaster obscura, _smith, cat. hym. ins., journ. proc. linn. soc._ ii. . [symbol: mercury]. _hab._ aru; borneo. . crematogaster elegans. _c._ pallidè rufo-testaceus; abdomine nigerrimo nitido; thorace bispinoso. _worker._ length / line. entirely pale rufo-testaceous, excepting the eyes and abdomen which are jet black; the nodes of the petiole pale, smooth, and shining. head about the same width as the abdomen. the lateral angles of the anterior margin of the prothorax acute, the metathorax armed with two long acute spines. abdomen heart-shaped, its apex acute. _hab._ aru. . crematogaster insularis. _c._ niger, lævis et nitidus; antennis tarsisque pallidè testaceis; thorace spinis duabus acutis armato. _worker._ length - / line. black, smooth and shining; the vertex, thorax and nodes of the peduncle with an obscure ferruginous tinge; the antennæ, tarsi, and articulations of the legs pale rufo-testaceous; the spines which arm the metathorax stout, elongate, and acute, with their apex pale testaceous. abdomen heart-shaped and very acute at the apex. _hab._ aru. gen. solenopsis, _westw._ . solenopsis cephalotes. _s._ pallidè ferruginea; capite maximè in medio sulcato, abdomine apice fusco. _worker major._ length - / lines. pale ferruginous, with the anterior part of the face darker, the mandibles incrassate and very dark fusco-ferruginous; head very large and divided by a deep longitudinal channel, emarginate behind, nearly quadrate; the eyes small and placed forwards on the sides of the head. the metathorax truncate, not spined. abdomen ovate, truncate at the base, its apex fuscous; the first node of the petiole compressed, its margin rounded above, the second node incrassate and subglobose; club of the antennæ -jointed. _worker minor._ length - / line. of the same colour as the _worker major_, but with the head of the ordinary size and slightly narrowed behind, the mandibles of the same colour as the head; the legs and antennæ longer, as well as the petiole of the abdomen; the body is very smooth and shining, the club of the antennæ -jointed. _hab._ aru. subfam. cryptoceridÆ, _smith_. gen. meranoplus, _smith_. . meranoplus spinosus. _m._ castaneo-rufus; abdomine nigro, thorace sexspinoso; abdomine ovato. _worker._ length - / line. head and thorax rugose; the antennæ and tarsi rufo-testaceous; the eyes rather prominent, the groove above them at the sides of the head extending backwards to the vertex. thorax: the anterior margin curved forwards, the lateral angles produced into a bifurcate process on each side, behind the processes, slightly narrowed to the base of a long curved tooth; the posterior margin emarginate with a long sharp spine at each angle of the emargination; the node of the petiole globose. abdomen black, smooth and shining. _hab._ aru. fam. mutillidÆ, _leach_. gen. mutilla, _linn._ . mutilla sibylla, _smith, proc. linn. soc._ ii. . [symbol: female]. _hab._ aru; borneo; celebes. . mutilla manifesta. _m._ capite abdomineque nigris, thorace sanguineo-rubro, maris alis nigro-fuscis. _female._ length - / lines. head black and rugose. the thorax blood-red and coarsely rugose, its anterior margin widest and straight, the sides gradually narrowed to the apex in a slight curve; the lateral margins have two teeth not wide apart. abdomen black, rugose, and slightly shining, with black pubescence above; on the under surface it is glittering silvery-white; the legs and sides of the thorax have a similar pubescence. _male._ the same size as the female, and the same colour; the eyes notched. the thorax oblong-quadrate, the posterior lateral angles acute; the tegulæ large and red; the wings dark brown, with their extreme base hyaline. abdomen shining black, the first and second segments strongly punctured, the rest much more finely and not very closely so. _hab._ aru. . mutilla carinata. _m._ capite thoraceque metallico-purpureis viridi tinctis, pedibus ferrugineis, abdomine nigro, basi pallido fasciatâ, segmento secundo ad apicem fasciâ bilobatâ ornato. _female._ length - / lines. the head and thorax of a metallic purple tint with shades of green and copper; the scape of the antennæ, the mandibles, palpi, and legs ferruginous; the head and thorax closely and strongly punctured. the abdomen velvety black; the base truncate, the truncation smooth and shining; its margin carinate; the upper surface of the basal segment yellowish-white, a broad bilobed fascia of the same colour at the apical margin of the second segment; the apex ferruginous. _male._ the head and thorax metallic green, strongly and closely punctured; abdomen black and shining, much more finely punctured than the thorax; wings light brown, with their base and extreme apex hyaline; the legs ferruginous. _hab._ aru. . mutilla nigra. _m._ nigra et punctata, abdomine lævi et nitido, delicatulè punctato, alis fuscis, basi hyalinis. _male._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax closely and strongly punctured; the eyes slightly notched; the face with silvery-white pubescence, the mandibles shining, the palpi black. thorax: the metathorax densely clothed with yellowish-white pubescence; the legs with glittering white hairs, the calcaria white; wings brown with their base hyaline. abdomen smooth and shining, delicately and sparingly punctured, with a few silvery hairs at the sides. _hab._ aru. . mutilla exilis. _m._ nigra et punctata; abdomine lævigato, nitido; alis subhyalinis; facie et metathorace pube argentatâ vestitis. _male._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax strongly punctured; the eyes emarginate, the face with glittering silvery-white pubescence, the cheek thinly sprinkled with silvery hairs; the palpi testaceous. thorax: the metathorax densely clothed with silvery pubescence, beneath, at the sides, and also the legs with scattered silvery hairs, the calcaria white; the tegulæ shining; the wings subhyaline with the nervures dark fuscous. abdomen shining black, smooth, and very delicately and sparingly punctured, the apical margins of the segments very thinly fringed with glittering silvery hairs. _hab._ aru. tribe fossores, _latr._ fam. scoliadÆ, _leach_. gen. myzine. . myzine tenuicornis. _m._ nigra, alis hyalinis, abdomine nitido flavoque variegato. _male._ length lines. black; the head and thorax very closely punctured, thinly clothed with griseous pubescence, that on the face, thorax beneath, and on the coxæ most dense and glittering; antennæ more slender than is usual in this genus, and tapering to their apex, the joints slightly subarcuate; the mandibles bidentate at their apex and with a yellow spot at their base. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax, a spot beneath the wings, the tegulæ, and the postscutellum yellow; the anterior and intermediate tibiæ ferruginous and more or less dusky above, the posterior pair ferruginous beneath. abdomen shining, the margins of the segments deeply depressed; a small ovate spot on each side of the first segment, the second and three following segments with a narrow stripe on each side in the middle, yellow; the yellow markings obscure; the apical segment coarsely rugose; beneath, the segments are closely and strongly punctured. _hab._ aru. gen. scolia, _fabr._ division i. the anterior wings with two submarginal cells and two recurrent nervures. . scolia grossa, _burm. abh. nat. ges. halle_, i. p. . (tiphia grossa, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . .) _hab._ aru; java. the specimens of this species received from aru are only lines in length; i have examined others from celebes, borneo, india, and java, showing every difference between lines and lines. division ii. anterior wings with two submarginal cells and one recurrent nervure. . scolia nitida. _s._ nitida, aterrima; alis æneo et violaceo splendidè micantibus. _female._ length lines. shining jet-black, the abdomen with prismatic tints. the flagellum fusco-ferruginous beneath, the mandibles ferruginous at their apex; the wings dark brown with a splendid lustre of coppery and golden tints mixed with shades of violet. the head with a few punctures behind the ocelli; the thorax with scattered punctures; the metathorax finely but not closely punctured; the disk of the mesothorax impunctate; the abdomen with fine scattered punctures; the apical segment opake, rugose, and with its apical margin pale testaceous; the abdomen beneath with strong distant punctures. _hab._ aru. . scolia fulgidipennis. _s._ nitida, nigra; abdomine prismatico, alis fuscis viride et violaceo micantibus. _female._ length - lines. jet-black, shining; head very smooth, the hinder margin of the vertex finely punctured, the face with a few fine scattered punctures; the flagellum obscurely rufo-fuscous. thorax finely punctured, the disk of the mesothorax impunctate; wings dark brown with a splendid green iridescence, with violet tints towards their base; the legs thickly spinose and pubescent; the calcaria simple. abdomen with scattered fine punctures; the apical segment densely clothed with black pubescence; beneath, with strong scattered punctures. _male._ rather smaller than the female, much more closely punctured, and not so shining and smooth; the face with a transverse arched carina above the insertion of the antennæ, which enters the emargination of the eyes; the clypeus strongly punctured; in other respects resembling the female. _hab._ aru. this species belongs to guérin's division liacos, of which _s. dimidiata_ is the type; the third discoidal cell is petiolated, the petiole entering the second submarginal about the middle. . scolia insularis. _s._ nitida nigra; abdomine prismatico, alis obscurè fuscis cupreo submicantibus. _male._ length - lines. shining black; head punctured, the vertex most finely and distinctly so. thorax punctured, the disk of the mesothorax impunctate, the punctures wide apart on the scutellum and metathorax; the wings dark brown with a coppery iridescence, which has a remarkable dimness as if breathed upon. the basal segment of the abdomen strongly and closely punctured; the following segments more finely and distantly punctured, particularly the second and third segments. _hab._ key island. . scolia quadriceps. _s._ nitida nigra; foeminæ capite magno subquadrato, alis fuscis cupreo iridescentibus. _female._ length - lines. black and shining; head subquadrate, smooth and shining, as wide as the thorax, with a few punctures at the sides of the face and between the antennæ. thorax finely punctured, with the disk of the mesothorax impunctate; wings dark brown with a rich coppery iridescence. abdomen with a fine prismatic lustre, closely and strongly punctured towards the apex and at the extreme base, the second segment and the middle of the third with only a few very fine scattered punctures. _hab._ aru. this species also belongs to the division liacos; the petiolated cell is small and oblong-quadrate; the male exactly resembles the female, except that its head is smaller and narrower than the thorax; the abdomen is rather more strongly punctured. gen. pompilus, _fabr._ . pompilus dubius. _p._ niger, pilis mutabili-sericeis tectus; alis subhyalinis, apice nebuloso. _female._ length - / lines. black and covered with a thin changeable silvery pile, which is most dense on the sides of the metathorax and base of the segments of the abdomen. the vertex emarginate behind, the eyes very large, their inner orbits emarginate, reaching high on the sides of the head nearly to the margin of the vertex; the clypeus emarginate in front, the labrum produced. thorax: the prothorax subelongate, narrowed anteriorly; the wings subhyaline, their apex clouded; the intermediate and posterior tibiæ with a double row of spines; all the tarsi simple; the calcaria stout and elongate. abdomen shining, with the margins of the segments slightly depressed. _hab._ aru. subgen. agenia, _schiödte_. . agenia blanda, _guér. voy. coq. zool._ pt. . ii. p. . _hab._ celebes; india; singapore; malacca; borneo; key island. . agenia callisto. _a._ nigra, pilis sericeis vestita; facie thoraceque subtùs pube argentato-albâ densè: vestitis; alis fasciis duabus angustis. _female._ length lines. black; the face, clypeus, and cheeks with a dense silvery-white pile; the tips of the mandibles obscurely ferruginous, the palpi black. thorax with a brilliant silvery-white pile on the sides, beneath, and on the coxæ; the metathorax transversely rugose; the wings hyaline; the anterior pair with a narrow fuscous fascia at the apex of the externo-medial cell, and a second rather broader at the base of the marginal cell, which does not quite cross the wing; the apex of the wing fuscous. abdomen petiolated, smooth and shining, with a beautiful glossy pile, which is most dense at the sides; the apical segment longitudinally subcarinated in the middle above. _hab._ aru. . agenia jucunda. _a._ nitida nigra; facie metathorace abdomineque pube sericeâ vestitis; antennis, pedibus, abdominisque marginibus apicalibus ferrugineis; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; head, pro- and mesothorax, as well as the scutellum, glassy-smooth and shining; the face covered with silvery-white pile; the antennæ, tips of the mandibles, and the legs ferruginous; the palpi elongate and pale rufo-testaceous. thorax: the wings hyaline and iridescent, the nervures very slender and pale rufo-testaceous, the stigma fuscous; the metathorax rounded behind, transversely rugose, and covered with silvery-white pile. abdomen petiolated; the apical margins of the second and following segments ferruginous, the apical segment entirely so; the ferruginous band on each segment produced in the middle into an angular shape; on the abdomen beneath they are similarly produced; the basal segment entirely ferruginous, with a black spot on each side. _hab._ aru. . agenia althea. _a._ nigra; facie pube argentato-albâ vestitâ, thorace abdomineque sericeo pubescentibus; alis hyalinis, venis nigris. _female._ length lines. black; the face silvery; the anterior margin of the clypeus rounded and narrowly smooth and shining; tips of the mandibles ferruginous; the mandibles elongate and pale rufo-testaceous. thorax: the metathorax finely transversely rugose, the sides with bright silvery-white pubescence; the coxæ, the thorax beneath and on the sides, with fine silky sericeous pile; the anterior tibiæ and tarsi, and all the femora at their apex beneath, ferruginous; wings hyaline and iridescent, nervures black; the outer margin of the tegulæ testaceous. abdomen shining, and with a fine silvery sericeous pile; the apical margins of the segments narrowly rufo-piceous; the terminal segment with an elongate, smooth, shining space, which extends to the apex, which is testaceous. _hab._ aru. . agenia alcyone. _a._ nigra, pilis sericeis cinereis vestita; antennis pedibusque ferrugineis, alis hyalinis; abdomine petiolato; marginibus apicalibus segmentorum flavis. _male._ length lines. black; the antennæ, tips of the mandibles, and the legs ferruginous; the scape in front, a narrow line on the inner orbit of the eyes, and the anterior portion of the clypeus yellow; the antennæ fuscous above towards their base. thorax: the femora beneath towards their base, the trochanters and coxæ, except their apex, black; the apical joints of the intermediate and posterior tarsi fuscous; wings hyaline, the nervures fusco-ferruginous, the tegulæ reddish-yellow. abdomen petiolated; the apical margins of the segments with reddish-yellow fasciæ; beneath, the margins of the segments are rufo-piceous, not fasciated. _hab._ aru. . agenia amalthea. _a._ nigra, pilis tenuibus cinereis sericeis vestita; antennis anticè pedibusque anticis et intermediis anticè ferrugineis; abdomine petiolato; alis hyalinis bifasciatis. _female._ length lines. black; the face densely covered with silvery pile; the antennæ in front, the anterior margin of the clypeus and the tips of the mandibles ferruginous; palpi elongate and pale rufo-testaceous. thorax: the posterior margin of the prothorax narrowly, the tegulæ, the anterior and intermediate femora in front, the posterior pair towards their apex beneath, the anterior tibiæ and tarsi, the intermediate and posterior tibiæ more or less beneath, and their tarsi, ferruginous; the tarsi sometimes dusky above; the wings hyaline, a narrow fuscous fascia at the apex of the externo-medial cell, and a broad one crossing at, and being the width of, the second and third submarginal cells; tips of the wings milky-white; the metathorax rounded posteriorly, transversely finely rugose and densely covered with short silvery-white pubescence at the sides and apex. abdomen petiolated, smooth and shining, with the apex and the margins of the segments narrowly rufo-piceous. _hab._ aru. gen. priocnemis, _schiödte_. . priocnemis pulcherrimus. _p._ lætè ruber; alis flavo-hyalinis, apice latè fusco, abdominis lateribus nigris. _female._ length - / lines. bright red; the anterior margin of the clypeus with a minute tooth in the centre; the tips of the mandibles fuscous. the metathorax slightly striated transversely, and with a central as well as a lateral longitudinal groove; the wings flavo-hyaline, their apex with a fuscous cloud, which commences at the base of the first discoidal cell, the extreme tips pale; the tibiæ and tarsi with short slender spines; the extreme apex of the joints of the posterior tarsi black. abdomen: the short petiole of the basal segment, and the sides of the second, third, and fourth segments black, leaving a red line down the middle of each; beneath, the second, third, and base of the fourth segments black. _hab._ aru. . priocnemis fervidus. _p._ capite, antennis, thorace pedibusque ferrugineis; abdomine nigro; alis fuscis basi subhyalinis. _female._ length lines. ferruginous, with the abdomen black; the anterior margin of the clypeus rounded. the metathorax transversely rugose; the pectus, and coxæ at their base within, black; wings brown, with a violet iridescence, their base rufo-hyaline; the intermediate and posterior tibiæ with a double row of spines, all the tarsi spinose. abdomen shining black, with the extreme apex slightly ferruginous. _hab._ aru. gen. macromeris, _st.-farg._ . macromeris iridipennis. _m._ cæruleo-nigra; abdomine iridescente, alis cæruleo-violaceoque splendidè micantibus; pedibus mutieis, simplicibus. _female._ length lines. blue-black; abdomen with a changeable iridescent pile; head and thorax with a black velvety pubescence; the metathorax very finely rugose and opake; the legs simple; the posterior tibiæ villose within; the wings very dark brown, with a splendid violet and blue iridescence. _male._ very closely resembling the female, but rather smaller; the anterior and intermediate femora more incrassate, and all the femora with a simple row of teeth or serrations on their inferior margins. _hab._ aru. although this species of _macromeris_ is very similar in colour to the _m. violacea_ of st.-fargeau, the femora are not so thick as in that species, not in fact much more so than in the female; and the row of teeth beneath is a strong specific character. gen. salius, _fabr._ . salius malignus. _s._ niger, pube cinereâ sericeâ vestitus; alis fuscis, albo fasciatis. _female._ length lines. black, and covered with a fine thin ashy pile; the scape in front, and the anterior margin of the clypeus narrowly, obscure yellow; the mandibles ferruginous at their apex, which has a single notch; the palpi pale rufo-testaceous. thorax: the prothorax with a slightly interrupted narrow fascia a little before its posterior margin, and the scutellum, yellow; the anterior femora broadly dilated, and, as well as the anterior tibiæ, ferruginous within; the intermediate tibiæ ferruginous at their apex in front, and the posterior pair with a yellowish-white spot at their base outside; the calcaria pale testaceous, the claws ferruginous, the anterior tarsi entirely so, but more or less obscure; the posterior tibiæ slightly spinose; the anterior wings brown, with a white fascia crossing at the first discoidal cell, and a second at the apex of the third submarginal, the extreme base and the anterior margin of the externo-medial cell hyaline. abdomen: the apical margins of the segments with a little bright silvery pile. _hab._ aru. gen. mygnimia, _smith_. . mygnimia aspasia. _m._ cæruleo-nigra; capite thoraceque pube holosericeâ vestitis; alis fulvo-hyalinis; abdomine pilis iridescentibus vestito. _female._ length lines. black, with shades of blue in certain lights; the abdomen with bright tints of blue and violet, caused by fine iridescent changeable pile; the legs have a similar pile, very bright on the femora within; the head and thorax with a short black velvety pubescence; the wings flavo-hyaline; the nervures pale ferruginous; the extreme base of the wings blackish, their apical margins with a narrow fuscous border. the legs spinose; the posterior tibiæ with a double row of strong serrations. gen. sphex, _fabr._ . sphex argentata, _dahlb. hym. eur._ i. . . _hab._ aru; celebes; sumatra; india; greece; africa; east florida. . sphex sericea, _fabr. syst. piez._ . . _hab._ aru; malacca; borneo; java; philippine islands. . sphex aurifrons. _s._ niger; facie pube aureâ vestitâ, alis flavo-hyalinis apice fuscis, abdomine pilis sericeo-aureis vestito. _female._ black; the face densely clothed with golden pubescence, the head having a number of scattered long golden-yellow hairs. thorax thinly covered with long yellow pubescence, which is most dense at the sides of the metathorax; the tibiæ, tarsi, and posterior femora ferruginous; the claw-joint of the tarsi black; the tibiæ and tarsi with black spines; the wings fulvo-hyaline, their apex with a narrow fuscous border, the nervures ferruginous. abdomen covered with a fine, thin, golden-reflecting pile; the apical margins of the segments rufo-testaceous, the testaceous margin produced in the middle into a triangular shape, most conspicuously so on the segments beneath. _hab._ aru. . sphex nitidiventris. _s._ niger; abdomine nigro-cæruleo, lævigato, nitido; alis fuscis. _female._ length lines. black; the face with silvery pubescence, and thinly covered with long black hairs; the clypeus with a central longitudinal carina at the base, which terminates at the middle, from whence to the anterior margin is a broad, smooth, shining space. thorax shining and finely punctured; the metathorax opake and covered with long, loose, black pubescence; the legs shining, the posterior tibiæ with shining grey pile within; wings brown, darkest at their base. abdomen blue, and very smooth and shining, oblong-ovate; the apical segment vertical. _hab._ aru. . sphex sepicola. _s._ niger; facie pube aureâ vestitâ; alis subhyalinis apice fuscis; abdomine nitido. _female._ length lines. black; the face densely clothed with golden pubescence, the cheeks with iridescent pile, with a long, loose, scattered pale yellow pubescence on the head and thorax; the mandibles smooth, shining black. the disk of the thorax with an obscure chalybeous tint, shining and finely punctured; the metathorax opake and finely rugose; the wings subhyaline, their apical margins fuscous, the nervures fusco-ferruginous. abdomen with a slender subelongate petiole, and with a thin, silky, grey pile; the apical margins of the segments narrowly and obscurely rufo-piceous. _male._ rather smaller than the female, more slender and more pubescent, the pubescence on the face paler. _hab._ aru. . sphex gratiosa. _s._ capite thoraceque nigris, abdomine cæruleo, alis fusco-hyalinis. _male._ length lines. head and thorax black; the face densely clothed with pale golden pubescence; the labrum and mandibles highly polished, very smooth and shining; a thin pale pubescence is scattered over the head, pro- and mesothorax, the latter obscurely chalybeous above, shining, and finely and closely punctured, with an abbreviated, deeply impressed line in the middle anteriorly; the posterior margin of the prothorax covered with shining silvery pubescence; the metathorax opake, and clothed with black pubescence; wings fusco-hyaline, the anterior pair darkest towards their base, the nervures dark fusco-ferruginous, nearly black. abdomen smooth, shining dark blue; beneath, the margins of the segments have a bright, glittering, pale-golden pile. gen. pelopoeus, _latr._ . pelopoeus laboriosus. _p._ niger; scapo anticè, pedibus petioloque rufescenti-flavis, alis hyalinis fulvo tinctis. _female._ length lines. black, with black pubescence on the head and thorax; the face with a fine cinereous pile; the scape yellow in front; the mandibles smooth and shining. thorax: the legs pale ferruginous, the posterior femora darkest; the coxæ, the anterior and intermediate trochanters, and base of the femora black; wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the metathorax obliquely striated. abdomen slightly shining at the base, with the petiole reddish-yellow. _hab._ aru. gen. larrada, _smith_. . larrada modesta. _l._ nigra; abdomine pilis argentatis fasciato; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the face covered with silvery down; the mandibles smooth, shining, black, and fringed beneath with fulvous hairs, the cheeks silvery. thorax slightly shining, closely and delicately punctured; the metathorax opake and transversely striated; wings subhyaline, with a fuscous border at their apex, the nervures black. abdomen slightly shining; the apical margins of the first, second, and third segments with fascia of silvery pile, which is very brilliant in certain lights. _male_ closely resembles the female, but has an additional fascia on the abdomen. _hab._ aru. gen. larra, _fabr._ . larra simillima. _l._ nigra, pulchre prismatica, maculis fasciisque variis flavis ornata. _female._ length - / lines. black; the abdomen with tints of blue violet; the thorax slightly prismatic; the labrum, clypeus, an angular scape above, an abbreviated line on the inner orbits of the eyes, the scape in front, and the antennæ beneath, yellow; the cheeks with a silvery reflexion. the thorax beneath, and the metathorax, with a shining white silvery pile; the anterior and intermediate femora and tibiæ beneath yellow; the tarsi pale ferruginous, and more or less fuscous above; wings subhyaline, the nervures fuscous; a spot on the lateral posterior angles of the metathorax, two ovate spots on the scutellum, and a line on the postscutellum yellow. abdomen: the basal segment with a broadly interrupted fascia a little before its apical margin; the second and fourth segments with a narrow yellow fascia at their apical margins, which is widened laterally; beneath, the second and third segments with a yellow spot on each side. the _male_ differs from the female in having a large quadrate black spot on the clypeus, and a spot at the base of the labrum; there is also a narrow yellow line on the posterior margin of the prothorax; and the third segment of the abdomen has a yellow fascia: it is also rather smaller. _hab._ aru. this insect very closely resembles _larra prismatica_, from borneo, malacca, and celebes, of which it may be a variety. gen. bembex, _fabr._ . bembex melancholieca, _smith, cat. hym._ pt. iv. p. ; _proc. linn. soc._ ii. p. . _hab._ aru; sumatra; borneo. many of the specimens from aru are less highly coloured than those of sumatra or borneo: the yellow markings on the abdomen are frequently much obliterated in the females; others are as highly coloured as any examples i have seen. gen. pison, _spin._ . pison nitidus. _p._ nitidus, niger, distinctè punctatus; alis subhyalinis, venis fuscis; segmentis abdominalibus apice depressis. _female._ length lines. black and shining; the head and thorax strongly punctured; the face beneath, the antennæ, the clypeus, cheeks, and the sides of the segments of the abdomen covered with a silvery down; the palpi pale testaceous; the mandibles obscurely ferruginous at their apex. the metathorax transversely striated behind, with a central longitudinal impressed line above, which is transversely striated, and terminates in a deep fovea just beyond the verge of the posterior inclined truncation; the wings subhyaline; the nervures dark fuscous; the first recurrent nervure received at the apex of the first submarginal cell, and the second at the base of the third submarginal. abdomen shining, and more delicately punctured than the thorax; the margins of the segments deeply depressed. _hab._ aru, key island. gen. gorytes, _latr._ . gorytes constrictus. _g._ niger; clypei lateribus flavis; collari, tuberculis postscutelloque flavis; segmentorum abdominis marginibus apicalibus flavis constrictis, pedibusque flavo variegatis. _female._ length lines. black; the head and thorax very closely punctured and opake, the head slightly shining on the vertex; the antennæ beneath and the apical half of the mandibles ferruginous, the latter black at their tips; the clypeus yellow at the sides, and coarsely rugose in front. thorax: the metathorax coarsely longitudinally rugose, with cinereous pubescence at the sides; the antennæ and intermediate tibiæ, the tarsi, and articulations of the legs reddish-yellow; wings subhyaline, with a fuscous cloud in the marginal cell, which passes beyond to the apex of the wings; the nervures fusco-ferruginous; the tegulæ ferruginous. abdomen shining, covered with a thin, fine, cinereous pile, and with the margins of the segments constricted; the apical margins of the segments with narrow yellow fasciæ, that on the fourth abbreviated on each side, on the fifth it is obsolete; beneath, the second segment is opake, finely punctured, and pilose; the following segments smooth, shining, and with five scattered punctures. the _male_ strongly resembles the female, but is smaller and less variegated with yellow; the face covered with silvery down; the scape and base of the flagellum ferruginous beneath; the clypeus yellow, except its extreme base. the thorax black, with the legs rufo-piceous; the tibiæ and tarsi pale ferruginous, variegated with yellow; the sides of the thorax beneath the wings longitudinally striated in both sexes, most conspicuously so in the male. the abdomen with three narrow interrupted fasciæ. _hab._ aru. . gorytes vagus. _g._ niger; clypeo maculis duabus flavis notato; postscutello et segmentis primo et secundo fasciâ apicali flavis, fasciâ in segmento primo subinterrupto. _female._ length lines. black; the head finely punctured and shining; the anterior margin of the clypeus emarginate in the middle, and more deeply so on each side; on each side of the clypeus, at its base, is an oblique yellow spot, and anteriorly it is roughly punctured; the mandibles roughened at their base, their apical half smooth, shining, and ferruginous, with their apex black. thorax subopake, very closely punctured, and slightly shining; the metathorax coarsely longitudinally rugose-striate; the postscutellum yellow; wings subhyaline and iridescent, the nervures fusco-ferruginous; a dark fuscous cloud occupies the marginal cell. abdomen smooth and shining, with a slightly interrupted fascia a little before the apical margin of the basal segment; the second segment has a fascia at its apical margin; both are yellowish white; the first is gradually widened towards the sides of the segment, the second abruptly widened, with the angle of the widened portion pointed inwards; beneath the abdomen is glossy, with the basal segment closely punctured and subopake; the margins of abdominal segments slightly constricted. _hab._ key island. gen. trypoxylon, _latr._ . trypoxylon eximium. _t._ nigrum; clypeo argentato-pubescente; abdominis segmentis secundo tertio quartoque basi rubris; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black, smooth, and shining; the head and thorax very delicately punctured; the face and clypeus below the insertion of the antennæ densely covered with silvery-white pubescence; the anterior margin of the clypeus rounded and much produced, with a slight curving upwards at its margin; the mandibles yellow, with their apex ferruginous; the palpi pale testaceous; the inner orbits of the eyes very deeply notched. thorax: the metathorax, the sides, and beneath with a thin silvery-white pubescence, most dense on the former; the metathorax not distinctly enclosed at its base, but with two shallow impressed lines, which mark the form of the usual enclosed space; a central longitudinal channel extends from its base to the apex, slightly subinterrupted in the middle; the wings hyaline and iridescent, the nervures dark fuscous; the anterior and intermediate tibiæ in front, their tarsi, the apical joints of the posterior pair, and the base of the tibiæ very pale ferruginous; the claw-joint of the intermediate and posterior tarsi fuscous above; the calcaria pale testaceous. abdomen, the second, third, and base of the fourth segment more or less ferruginous; the apex of the basal petiolated joint ferruginous beneath. _hab._ aru and key island. gen. crabro, _fabr._ . crabro solitarius. _c._ niger; abdomine petiolato; scapo flagellique articulo ultimo, collari, tuberculis, postscutelli maculis duabus flavis; pedibus petioloque basi ferrugineis. _female._ length lines. black and opake; the head large, quadrate, and wider than the thorax; the ocelli in a curve on the vertex; the clypeus covered with silvery pubescence, carinated in the middle, and slightly produced; the scape and basal joint of the flagellum pale yellow. thorax: an interrupted line on the collar, the tubercles, a spot beneath the wings, and two minute ones on the postscutellum yellow; the disk of the thorax longitudinally delicately rugose; the metathorax oliquely striated, with an enclosed space at its base, and having a central longitudinal channel, the side covered with thin silvery pubescence; the wings hyaline and iridescent, the nervures fuscous; the legs ferruginous, variegated with yellow. abdomen: the basal petiolated segment ferruginous, with its apical half black above; the apical segment with an angular shape at its base, which is smooth and shining, with its lateral margins carinate, the extreme apex ferruginous; beneath smooth and shining, with the apical margins rufo-piceous. _hab._ aru. this species would, according to the views of some hymenopterists, belong to the genus _rhopalum_ of kirby. group solitary wasps. fam. eumenidÆ, _westw._ gen. eumenes, _latr._ . eumenes arcuata, _fabr. syst. piez._ . . _hab._ key island; coast of new guinea (triton bay); australia. gen. pachymenes, _sauss._ . pachymenes viridis. _p._ lætè viridis; facie pube argentato-albâ tectâ; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. bright green; the head, thorax, and basal segment of the abdomen rugose, the rest of the abdomen finely and very closely punctured; the clypeus thinly covered with a fine silvery-white pubescence, its apex produced and truncate. thorax: the metathorax rounded behind, a deep longitudinal impressed line in the middle, and with fine silvery down at the sides and behind; the wings subhyaline, with a fuscous stain along the anterior margin of the superior pair; the legs rufo-piceous; the coxæ, femora, and tibiæ more or less tinged with green. _hab._ aru. gen. rhynchium, _spin._ . rhynchium mirabile, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ . , t. . f. [symbol: female]. _hab._ aru; tasmania. the _male_ of this fine species closely resembles the female; it is black, with a transverse spot above the insertion of the antennæ, an abbreviated narrow line behind the eyes, another on the lower margin of their emargination; the scape in front and the clypeus yellow, the latter notched at its apex; a minute yellow spot at the base of the mandibles; the antennæ, tibiæ, apex of the femora, and the tarsi ferruginous; the basal joint of the intermediate and posterior tarsi dusky; the intermediate femora deeply excavated or hollowed beneath; the prothorax yellow above; the metathorax truncate, transversely striated with several minute teeth on the lateral margins; the wings hyaline, tinted with yellow, their apical margins slightly clouded; the apical margins of all the segments of the abdomen bordered with yellow, that on the first segment narrowest. the only particulars in which the female apparently differs from saussure's description, is that the second fascia on the abdomen is _widest at the sides_, and there are _three little teeth_ on each side of the margins of the metathorax. the _female_ is also in the paris museum. . rhynchium superbum, _sauss. mon. guêpes sol._ p. . . _hab._ aru: new holland. our example of this species slightly differs in coloration from the description of saussure. he says, "black, with the vertex, the front, the prothorax, and the border of all the segments of the abdomen, except the first, yellow; the wings yellow;" in the aru specimen, the sinus of the eyes, a spot above the clypeus, a reversed crescent-shaped spot crossing the ocelli, two oblique spots behind them, and a broad elongate stripe behind the eyes yellow. these slight differences cannot characterize more than a variety; in every other particular they exactly correspond. gen. odynerus, _latr._ . odynerus petiolatus. _o._ niger; clypeo apiculato; capite, thorace abdomineque flavo variis; abdomine petiolato; alis subhyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. black; head and thorax strongly punctured; two confluent spots between the antennæ, a line on the inner orbits of the eyes, terminating in their emargination, an oblong spot behind them, a spot at the base of the mandibles, the scape in front, and the clypeus yellow; the latter with a large black spot in the middle, and with its anterior margin prolonged into an acute point; the mandibles ferruginous, with their base and margins black; the flagellum fulvous beneath. thorax: an interrupted line on the collar, a spot beneath the wings, the outer margin of the tegulæ, two spots on the scutellum, two longitudinal curved lines on the metathorax, extending from the base to the apex, yellow; the yellow lines on the metathorax curving inwards. the tibiæ, tarsi, and apex of the femora ferruginous; the intermediate and posterior tibiæ with a fuscous line outside, a spot on the coxæ outside, a stripe at the apex of the anterior femora beneath, another on the intermediate pair, and a line on the anterior tibiæ, behind, yellow; wings subhyaline, their margins fuscous. abdomen petiolated; a fascia on the apical margins of all the segments, and the petiole, yellow; the third and following fasciæ narrowest; all the fasciæ continued beneath the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . odynerus agilis. _o._ niger; capite thoraceque distinctè, abdomine delicatulè punctatis; pedibus ferrugineis; abdominis segmentis duobus basalibus flavo fasciatis; alis subhyalinis. _male._ length lines. black; the scape in front, a line on the inner margin of the eyes, terminating in their emargination, an abbreviated line behind them, and the clypeus yellow; the latter deeply emarginate, forming two teeth. thorax: a line in the middle of the anterior margin of the prothorax, two spots on the verge of the emargination of the metathorax, and a fascia on the apical margins of the first and second segments of the abdomen yellow; the legs ferruginous; the wings subhyaline, the anterior margin of the superior pair fuscous; the outer margin of the tegulæ yellowish. _hab._ aru. . odynerus multipictus. _o._ niger, flavo maculatus et punctatus; pedibus flavis, alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; the head and thorax strongly punctured, the abdomen finely and distantly so; the clypeus, a spot above it, the inner and outer orbits of the eyes, and the scape in front yellow; the clypeus deeply emarginate in front; the mandibles ferruginous, with a yellow spot at their base. thorax: the prothorax in front, the tegulæ and two spots beneath the wings, the scutellum, and sides of the metathorax yellow; the legs yellow, with ferruginous stains; the femora with a black or dark stain above; wings hyaline, with a fuscous stain along the anterior border of the superior pair. abdomen: a yellow fascia on the apical margins of the two basal segments; the three following segments with very narrow yellow borders, and the apical segment entirely reddish-yellow. _hab._ aru. . odynerus modestus. _o._ niger; abdominis segmentis duobus basalibus flavo fasciatis; tibiis tarsisque femigineis; alis hyalinis; abdominis segmento primo basi transversim bicarinato. _female._ length lines. black; head and thorax coarsely punctured; the vertex swollen; the scape of the antennæ, a spot between them, and the clypeus yellow; the latter with a transverse black spot in the middle, deeply notched in front, and having a carina on each side, in a line with the angle or tooth of the emargination; the flagellum ferruginous towards the apex beneath; wings hyaline, with a fuscous cloud in the marginal cell; the tibiæ and tarsi ferruginous. abdomen: the base truncate, with an oblique space above the truncation, the margin of both defined by an elevated ridge or carina; a narrow fascia on the apical margin of the basal segment, and a broader one on the second; the latter continued beneath the abdomen. _hab._ aru. this species is undoubtedly allied to _o. sichellii_ of saussure; but, beside differing in the colour of its legs, and of the bands of the abdomen, it wants the strong tubercle at the base of the second segment of the latter. gen. alastor, _st.-farg._ . alastor unifasciatus. _a._ niger; maculâ inter antennas, abdominisque margine apicali et segmento secundo flavis; alis fuscis. _female._ length - / lines. black; the head and thorax strongly punctured; the face, sides of the clypeus, cheeks, and base of the mandibles with a fine silky silvery-white pubescence; the clypeus convex, its anterior margin emarginate; from each angle of the emargination a shining carina runs more than halfway up the clypeus; a minute spot between the antennæ, and two on the anterior margin of the prothorax, yellow; the wings fuscous, palest at their posterior margins. abdomen finely and closely punctured; the third segment strongly so; a broad yellow fascia on the apical margin of the second segment. _hab._ aru. . alastor apicatus. _a._ niger; abdominis segmentis primo et secundo aurantiaco-rubris; alis fuscis. _male._ length - / lines. black; the head and thorax strongly punctured; a spot between the antennæ, the scape in front, and the clypeus yellow; the latter with a large black spot at its base, anteriorly deeply emarginate; wings fuscous; the tegulæ with a rufo-testaceous spot at their outer margins; the tarsi and articulations of the legs ferruginous. abdomen bright orange-red, with the third and following segments black; the base rugose, the second segment finely punctured, the rest much more strongly so. _hab._ aru. group social wasps. fam. vespidÆ, _steph._ . ischnogaster iridipennis. _i._ rufescenti-fuscus flavo varius; vertice et metathorace nigris, alis subhyalinis et pulcherrimè iridescentibus. _male._ length - / lines. head yellow, above the insertion of the antennæ black; antennæ black, with the scape, basal joint of the antennæ, and the mandibles ferruginous; the flagellum obscurely ferruginous beneath; the clypeus produced at the apex into an acute tooth. thorax pale ferruginous; the metathorax black, with a ferruginous spot on each side in front; the scutellum with a reddish-brown spot in the middle, the postscutellum yellow and subinterrupted in the middle; the sides of the thorax yellow anteriorly, the yellow portion with two black spots; the legs slightly variegated with yellow; wings subhyaline and brilliantly iridescent, the marginal cell with a fuscous cloud. abdomen brown; the petiole pale testaceous at its apex and ferruginous beneath, longer than the head and thorax; the second segment has a yellow macula on each side, and, beneath, a smaller spot on each side in a line with the side spots; the first segment has its basal portion yellow beneath, and a blackish spot in the centre rather behind the middle. _hab._ aru. this species in many particulars agrees with the _i. nitidipennis_ of saussure, but differs in too many, i think, to be considered the same species; the second recurrent nervure is straight at the upper extremity, then curved towards the margin of the wing, and again straight at its lower extremity; the third submarginal cell is much wider than the fourth. gen. icaria, _sauss._ . icaria maculiventris, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ p. . .--rhopalidia maculiventris, _guér. voy. coq. zool._ ii. pt. . _ins_. p. , pl. . fig. . _hab._ aru; new guinea. . icaria nigra. _i._ nigra; clypeo anticè angulato; metathorace concavo et transversim striato; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black, punctured and opake; the clypeus terminating in a sharp-pointed angle; the base and apex of the mandibles rufo-piceous; the scape ferruginous in front; the face with a thin, fine, griseous pubescence. thorax slightly margined in front; an obscure testaceous spot on each side of the postscutellum, the metathorax concave and transversely striated; wings hyaline. abdomen with a short petiole to the basal segment, which is very short and campanulate; at its posterior margin are two minute, obscure, pale spots; beneath, the margins of the apical segments are rufo-piceous. _hab._ aru. . icaria fasciata. _i._ nigra; clypei margine antico, maculis duabus postscutelli flavis; segmentis abdominis ad apicem flavo angustè fasciatis. _female._ length lines. black; the clypeus angular in front, its anterior margin and a spot on the mandibles yellow; the antennæ rufo-testaceous beneath. thorax: the anterior margin of the prothorax slightly rebordered; the anterior coxæ with a spot in front and two spots on the postscutellum yellow; the anterior and intermediate tibiæ beneath, the tarsi beneath and the claw-joint entirely, ferruginous; wings hyaline with a fuscous stain along the anterior margin of the superior pair; the metathorax oblique and slightly concave, with an acute stout tooth on each side. abdomen: the basal segment campanulate, the petiole short; a narrow yellow fascia on the apical margin of all the segments. _hab._ aru. . icaria brunnea. _i._ rufescenti-fusca; coxis femoribusque obscuris; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. reddish-brown; head and thorax punctured, the abdomen finely rugose; the clypeus and mandibles pale ferruginous, the former with a darker spot in the middle, the anterior margin angular. the anterior margin of the prothorax slightly rebordered; the wings hyaline and iridescent, with a fuscous stain along the anterior margin of the superior pair; the metathorax abruptly truncate. abdomen: the basal margin of the third and following segments black. _hab._ aru. . icaria gracilis. _i._ nigra flavo variegata; abdominis segmento basali elongato, gracili et petiolato; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; the scape in front, the sides and apical margin of the clypeus, and a spot at the base of the mandibles yellow; the cheeks reddish-yellow; the antennæ ferruginous; the head covered with short griseous pubescence. thorax with obscure ferruginous tints and a short griseous pubescence, most dense on the sides and beneath; the anterior margin of the prothorax, the tegulæ, scutellum and postscutellum, a broad stripe on each side of the metathorax, the coxæ, and the anterior and intermediate femora, at their apex beneath, yellow; the scutellum with a ferruginous stain in the middle, the postscutellum with a black stain, the coxæ ferruginous above, the tibiæ and tarsi ferruginous beneath; wings hyaline, with a fuscous stain along the anterior margin of the superior pair. abdomen: a yellow fascia on the apical margin of the first and second segments; that on the following segments rufo-testaceous. _hab._ aru. . icaria unicolor. _i._ rufescenti-fusca, tenuiter cinereo-pubescens. _female._ length lines. reddish-brown, covered with a thin cinereous pubescence; the clypeus acutely angular anteriorly; the metathorax oblique and delicately striated transversely; wings fusco-hyaline; the petiole of the abdomen long, the segment campanulated and narrow. _hab._ key island. gen. polistes, _latr._ . polistes tepidus, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ aru; key island; solomon islands; new guinea; australia. . polistes diabolicus, _sauss. mon. guêpes soc._ . , t. . f. . _hab._ aru; java; timor. . polistes stigma, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ aru; celebes; ceram; india. _var._ the specimens from aru differ from the typical ones in wanting the two longitudinal yellow lines on the metathorax, which is entirely black. saussure has a variety with the metathorax black between the lines; of two examples from celebes, one has the yellow lines entire, the other has them abbreviated at half their length. . polistes nigrifrons. _p_. capite thoraceque nigris, flavo et ferrugineo variegatis; abdomine ferrugineo, segmentis basi nigris, marginibus apicalibus flavis. _female._ length lines. head and thorax black; the anterior margin of the clypeus angular and narrowly rufo-testaceous; the mandibles, palpi, and antennæ ferruginous; the scape, and flagellum above, except the basal joint, fuscous; the outer orbits of the eyes with a narrow yellow line. the anterior margin of the prothorax slightly rebordered, the posterior margin ferruginous; the outer margin of the tegulæ reddish-yellow; wings subhyaline with a fusco-ferruginous stain along the anterior margins of the superior pair; the metathorax finely striated transversely, and with two yellow stripes running upwards halfway from the base, the posterior margin of the pectus, tips of the coxæ, the femora at their base and apex, the tibiæ and tarsi beneath, ferruginous; tips of the femora, and tibiæ above, yellowish. abdomen ferruginous, with the base of the second and following segments black; the first and three following segments with a yellow fascia on their apical margins; beneath, the two basal segments entirely ferruginous. _hab._ aru. this species is closely allied to the _p. fastidiosus_ of saussure, and, notwithstanding the difference in colouring, may possibly, i think, be an extreme variety of that species. . polistes elegans. _p._ ferrugineus; capite thoraceque flavo variis; segmentis abdominis flavo marginatis. _female._ length lines. ferruginous; the clypeus, mandibles, cheeks, and the face, as high as the middle of the emargination of the eyes, yellow. thorax: the margins of the prothorax, two longitudinal stripes on the mesothorax, the scutellum, postscutellum, and sides of the metathorax broadly, yellow; the legs beneath, the coxæ and the sides of the thorax spotted with yellow; the intermediate and posterior coxæ spotted with ferruginous or fusco-ferruginous; the metathorax finely striated transversely; the wings hyaline with the nervures ferruginous. abdomen: the first and three following segments with yellow marginal fasciæ, that on the fourth usually more or less obliterated. _hab._ aru; key island. fam. evanidÆ, _leach_. gen. foenus, _fabr._ . foenus gracilis. _f._ niger, facie lateribusque thoracis argenteo pilosis; pedibus anticis et intermediis pallidè rufo-testaceis, tibiis posticis basi tarsisque albis; abdomine subtùs rufo-testaceo. _female._ length lines. black; subopake; the face, sides of the thorax and beneath with silvery pubescence; the mandibles, palpi, and scape in front rufo-testaceous. thorax: the anterior and intermediate legs rufo-testaceous, the femora having a darker stain above; the posterior legs black, with the base of the tibiæ and the tarsi white. abdomen rufo-testaceous beneath; the ovipositor white at its apex. _hab._ aru. gen. stenophasmus. head globose; antennæ longer than the body, and very slender and setaceous; the prothorax forming a slender neck; the anterior wings with one marginal and three submarginal cells; the femora slightly incrassate, not denticulate; the tarsi -jointed. abdomen petiolated, the petiole as long as the abdomen; the ovipositor as long as the petiole and abdomen united. this genus is founded on the examination of a single individual, which in general appearance exactly resembles the smaller species of the genus _megischus_; on examination, however, it will be found that it differs from that genus in the neuration of the anterior wings; its femora are not denticulate, in which character it differs from both _megischus_ and _stephanus_; with the latter genus it agrees in having -jointed tarsi. . stenophasmus ruficeps. _s._ niger; capite et antennarum basi rufis; ovipositore tarsisque pallidè testaceis; petiolo abdominis cylindrico; alis subhyalinis. _female._ length lines. black, slightly shining; head globose, red and sprinkled with white hairs, and delicately striated transversely. thorax sprinkled with white pubescence above, the sides more thickly clothed with the same; above, the thorax is transversely rugose, on the metathorax becoming more regularly striate; the metathorax has a central longitudinal carina and also one on each side; the legs sprinkled with erect white hairs; the tarsi pale rufo-testaceous with the claw-joint black; wings subhyaline, with a broad light-fuscous stain along the centre of the anterior pair; a hyaline streak crosses them at the base of the stigma. abdomen: the petiole as long as the thorax, narrowest at the base of the abdomen; it is rugose at the base; the ovipositor pale testaceous. _hab._ aru. fam. ichneumonidÆ, _leach_. gen. ichneumon. . ichneumon insularis. _i._ niger; capite thoraceque albo variegatis; abdominis segmentorum primo, secundo tertioque albo maculatis. length - / lines. black; the orbits of the eyes, the face before the antennæ, the mandibles and palpi yellowish-white; the flagellum with the joints from the th to th white. thorax: a line on each side before the tegulæ, a spot beneath the wings, two at the sides of the pectus, the anterior coxæ in front, and a narrow line on each side of the scutellum yellowish-white; the anterior and intermediate legs and a spot beneath the posterior tibiæ rufo-testaceous; the wings hyaline, the nervures black. abdomen: a minute spot at the lateral apical margins of the three basal segments, and a large central one on the two apical segments, white. _hab._ key island. gen. cryptus, _fabr._ . cryptus scutellatus. _c._ ferrugineus; tibiis posticis tarsisque albo annulatis; scutello tuberculato. _female._ length lines. ferruginous; the face testaceous-yellow, an elongate black spot on the vertex enclosing the ocelli and extending to the insertion of the antennæ; the latter black, with the scape ferruginous in front. thorax: the scutellum elevated, forming a compressed tubercle, its side view wedge-shaped; the wings hyaline the nervures black, the base of the wings yellowish; the apical joints of the intermediate tarsi, the tips of the posterior femora, the extreme base of the tibiæ, their apical half, and the tarsi black; the intermediate portion of the tibiæ yellow; the apical segment of the abdomen black. _hab._ aru. gen. mesostenus, _grav._ . mesostenus pictus. _m._ niger; capite thoraceque flavo striatis et punctatis; pedibus flavis nigro et ferrugineo lavatis; segmentis abdominalibus flavo marginatis; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; a large ovate spot on the cheeks touching the mandibles, the labrum, palpi, inner orbits of the eyes, and from the th to the th joints of the antennæ yellowish-white. thorax: an ovate spot in the middle of the disk of the mesothorax, the tegulæ, a spot beneath them, two larger spots beneath the wings, the scutellum, a spot on the postscutellum uniting with another at the base of the metathorax, a trilobed spot at its apex, and a subovate one on each side yellowish-white; the coxæ white with black stains on the intermediate and posterior pairs; the femora white beneath, the anterior and intermediate pairs with a black line above, the posterior pair ferruginous above; the tibiæ and tarsi whitish beneath, stained more or less fusco-ferruginous above; wings hyaline. abdomen: all the segments with yellowish-white fasciæ on their apical margins, the fasciæ continued beneath; the ovipositor about the length of the abdomen, the valves broadest at their apex. _hab._ aru. . mesostenus agilis. _m._ niger; antennis medio albis; thorace pedibusque albo variegatis; abdominis marginibus fasciis albis. _female._ length lines. black; the joints of the antennæ, from the th to th, white, the vertex also white. thorax: a spot in the middle of the disk of the mesothorax, the scutellum, a spot on the postscutellum, two beneath the wings, the apex of the metathorax, and a spot on each side white; the legs white, the anterior pair slightly fuscous above; the intermediate femora and tibiæ beneath, and the tarsi above, black; the posterior femora above and beneath the tibiæ, except their extreme base and the base and apex of the tarsi, black; wings hyaline, the nervures black. abdomen: the apical margins of the segments, excepting the fourth and fifth, with white fasciæ, the second and third fasciæ attenuated in the middle. _hab._ aru. . mesostenus albopictus. _m._ niger, albo varius; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; the clypeus, mandibles, palpi, the joints of the antennæ from the sixth to the thirteenth, and a broad stripe at the inner orbits of the eyes white. thorax: an ovate spot on each side of the prothorax above, a similar spot in the middle of the mesothorax, the tegulæ, scutellum and postscutellum, a t-shaped spot reversed on the metathorax, a large quadrate one on its sides, three irregular-shaped maculæ beneath the wings, and the anterior and intermediate legs white, the legs with a black line above; the posterior legs have a large spot on the coxæ behind, the trochanters, the tibiæ, and tarsi white, the tibiæ black at their apex, and the femora palish at their base outside; the wings hyaline and iridescent, with the nervures black. the abdomen beneath, and the apical margins of the segments above, white. _male._ rather smaller than the female, but only differs otherwise in the colour of the legs, the anterior and intermediate pairs being entirely yellowish-white, excepting the intermediate tibiæ and tarsi, which are slightly fuscous above; the posterior femora are ferruginous, the tibiæ and tarsi white, with the base and apex of the two former black as well as the apical joint of the tarsi. _hab._ key island. gen. pimpla, _fabr._ . pimpla ochracea. _p._ ochracea; antennis ferrugineis; facie luteâ; alis hyalinis, apice fuscis. _female._ length lines. entirely ochraceous, with the face and scape in front yellow; the body beneath is pale ochraceous; the antennæ ferruginous, above dusky; the eyes emarginate within; the tarsi have the tips of the claws black; the wings flavo-hyaline, with the apex of the anterior pair fuscous, the nervures black, becoming yellow at the base of the wings. the head, thorax, legs and base of the abdomen smooth and shining; the abdomen, except at the base, finely punctured; a transverse impressed row of punctures a little before the apical margin of each segment, and the space between impunctate. _hab._ aru. . pimpla braconoides. _p._ rufo-flava; antennis tarsisque et abdominis dimidio posteriori nigris; alis fuscis, dimidio basali flavis. _female._ length lines. ferruginous; the posterior tarsi and the fourth and following segments of the abdomen black; the head is reddish yellow, the eyes brown; the scape and two or three of the basal joints of the flagellum ferruginous, the rest fuscous; the basal half of the wings flavo-hyaline, the apical half fuscous; the stigma yellow, with a subhyaline macula beneath, and two other similar irregular-shaped spots. the abdomen with two longitudinal carinæ on the basal segment, and a transverse curved impressed line on the other segments. _hab._ key island. this species might at first sight be mistaken for a species of the genus _bracon_. the male only differs from the female in having the abdomen black, with only the basal segment yellow; the wings are only very slightly yellow at their base; it is also rather smaller. . pimpla penetrans. _p._ flavo-ferruginea; flagello fusco; alis flavo-hyalinis, apice fuscis. _female._ length - / lines. reddish yellow, smooth, and shining; the face testaceous, with slight fuscous stains; the scape and two or three of the basal joints of the flagellum yellow in front; the wings hyaline, with a yellowish tinge; the nervures black, except the costal nervure, which is ferruginous towards the base, the apex of the wings slightly clouded; the posterior tibiæ fuscous above. abdomen: the segments with slightly impressed oblique depressions, the ovipositor shorter than the abdomen, and black. the _male_ only differs in having the abdomen rather more slender. _hab._ aru. . pimpla ferruginea. _p._ flavo-ferruginea; antennis supra fuscis; alis hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. ferruginous, with the head and thorax beneath yellow-testaceous; the coxæ also are of the same colour; the flagellum slightly fuscous above; the wings flavo-hyaline, the nervures black; the two basal segments of the abdomen shining, the third and the following segments subopake; the ovipositor as long as the abdomen. _hab._ key island. . pimpla plagiata. _p._ flavo-rufa; antennis strigisque tribus mesothoracis nigris; alis hyalinis, apice cellulæ marginalis fusco unimaculato. _female._ length - / lines. yellow, the legs with ferruginous stains; the antennæ black, with the scape yellow in front; the head with a large ovate black spot behind the ocelli. thorax finely punctured on the disk of metathorax, which has three longitudinal broad black stripes, a narrow black line on the posterior margin of both the scutellum and postscutellum; wings hyaline, the nervures black, with a dark fuscous spot at the apex of the marginal cell. abdomen reddish-yellow, with the apical margins of the segments yellow; the ovipositor black, and shorter than the abdomen. _hab._ aru. gen. rhyssa, _grav._ . rhyssa maculipennis. _r._ rufescenti-flava; antennis et vertice nigris; alis hyalinis, plaga nigro-fusca. _male._ length lines. ferruginous; the head of a yellow testaceous, with the vertex and antennæ black; the scape ferruginous in front; the mandibles black. thorax: the mesothorax and scutellum transversely rugose, the former with two deeply impressed lines in front, which converge inwards, and meet in the middle of the disk; wings hyaline, with a yellow tinge on the anterior pair, the nervures black; a black stripe crosses the middle of the marginal cell, and terminates at the inferior margin of the discoidal cell; the legs ferruginous, with the posterior tarsi black. abdomen smooth, shining, ferruginous. _hab._ aru. . rhyssa vestigator. _r._ ferruginea; antennis, mesothorace, metathoracisque basi nigris; abdomine lineari, nitido et lævi; alis hyalinis, apice subfuscato. _male._ length lines. head testaceous-yellow, with the vertex ferruginous; the antennæ fusco-ferruginous. thorax black, with the prothorax, a large oblique spot beneath the wings, the scutellum, and metathorax yellow, the base of the latter black; the mesothorax and scutellum rugose; the metathorax smooth and shining; the legs ferruginous, with the anterior coxæ in front and the posterior pair behind yellow; the posterior coxæ black beneath; wings hyaline, faintly clouded at their apical margins. abdomen elongate, linear, glossy, smooth, and shining, ferruginous, with the base and lateral margins blackish. _hab._ aru. gen. bracon, _fabr._ . bracon basalis. _b._ capite, thorace, pedibus anticis et intermediis, femoribus posticis ferrugineis; tibiis tarsisque et abdomine nigris, segmento basali flavo; alis fusco-hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. the head, scape in front, thorax, anterior and intermediate legs, the posterior coxæ, trochanters, and femora, and the first segment of the abdomen, and a semicircular spot in the middle of the base of the second, yellow-ferruginous; the antennæ, the posterior tibiæ and tarsi, fuscous; abdomen shining black; the thorax smooth and shining; the wings fusco-hyaline. the basal segment of the abdomen with a longitudinal impressed line on each side, the second segment with an oblique depression, the third with an impressed line, curved forwards and extending to the lateral margins; the base of the segment has a row of short, deeply impressed striæ; the ovipositor shorter than the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . bracon albo-marginatus. _b._ capite, thorace pedibusque ferrugineis; abdomine nigris annulis albo-marginatis; alis fusco-hyalinis. _female._ length - / lines. head, thorax, and legs ferruginous, smooth, and shining; antennæ and abdomen black, the latter smooth and shining, the posterior margins of the third and following segments with a narrow bluish-white fascia; the posterior tarsi slightly fuscous; the wings fusco-hyaline; the ovipositor a little longer than the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . bracon nigripennis. _b._ thorace, pedibus anticis et intermediis, femoribusque posticis ferrugineis; tibiis tarsisque posticis et abdomine nigris; alis nigro-fuscis; capite luteo-testaceo. _female._ length lines. head testaceous, the antennæ black. thorax, anterior and intermediate legs, the posterior coxæ, trochanters and femora, the tegulæ, extreme base of the wings, and the base of the stigma ferruginous; the thorax smooth and shining; the wings brown-black, with a small hyaline spot in the first submarginal cell. abdomen longitudinally aciculate, a central carina at the base of the first segment, the second segment with an oblique impressed line running from the lateral angles of its basal margin, and meeting in the centre of its posterior margin; the margins of all the segments constricted; the ovipositor shorter than the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . bracon exoletus. _b._ niger; capite, thorace, pedibus anterioribus et intermediis ferrugineis; alis subhyalinis. _female._ length lines. head, scape of the antennæ, thorax, anterior and intermediate legs, ferruginous; flagellum and tips of the mandibles black. thorax smooth and shining; wings fusco-hyaline, the nervures dark brown; the posterior legs fusco-ferruginous. abdomen rugose and subopake; the basal segment black in the middle, with the base and lateral margins ferruginous, the sides deeply channeled; the second segment with an arrow-headed shining space in the middle of its base; the ovipositor shorter than the abdomen. _hab._ aru. . bracon abdominalis. _b._ rufo-flavus; antennis fuscis; alis subhyalinis; abdomine ovato. _female._ length lines. reddish yellow; head and thorax smooth and shining; the head narrower than the thorax; wings fusco-hyaline; abdomen ovate, broader than the thorax, the first and second segments rugose, with deep sculptured impressions; the second segment has an ovate shining space in the middle at its basal margin; the third segment is deeply depressed and sculptured at the base, leaving a transverse arched space at its apex, the width of the entire segment; the following segments have their margins very deeply depressed. _hab._ aru. . bracon nitidus. _b._ niger; capite, thorace pedibusque et abdominis segmento primo ferrugineis, totis nitidissimis. _female._ length lines. ferruginous, with the flagellum, second and following segments shining black; the thorax smooth and shining, with the scutellum prominent; the wings subhyaline, their apical margins clouded, their extreme base yellowish, the nervures dark brown, the stigma black. abdomen: the second and third segments with deeply impressed oblique lines on each side, and the basal margins of the following segments depressed. _hab._ aru. . bracon pallifrons. _b._ niger; thorace pedibusque anticis et intermediis ferrugineis; alis fuscis. _female._ length lines. head obscure, testaceous yellow; the eyes brown; the antennæ black. thorax and the anterior and intermediate legs ferruginous; an ovate black spot on the metathorax; and the posterior legs black, with the articulations obscurely ferruginous; wings dark fuscous, with the nervures and stigma black, the base of the latter yellowish, and a hyaline streak beneath it, which crosses the first submarginal cell. abdomen black and shining; the first segment with some coarse striae at the apex; the second with a central forked carina and an oblique one on each side running inwards to the apex of the segment; between the carinæ are a number of deep grooves; the lateral margins of the three basal segments carinated; the third segment has a row of short deep striæ at its base; the ovipositor longer than the body. _hab._ aru. . bracon intrudens. _b._ niger; thorace, pedibus anticis intermediisque et abdominis segmento basali ferrugineis; alis hyalinis. _female._ length lines. black; the thorax, anterior and intermediate legs, the articulations of the posterior pair, and the base of the abdomen ferruginous, entirely smooth and shining; the wings subhyaline, the nervures fusco-ferruginous, an irregular fuscous stain at the base of the first submarginal cell, extending beyond it. abdomen: the basal segment margined at the sides; the second segment with an oblique deeply impressed line running inwards, not quite meeting or extending to the apical margin. _hab._ aru. gen. agathis, _latr._ . agathis fumipennis. _a._ ferruginea; capite, abdominis apice tarsisque posticis nigris; alis obscurè fuscis. _female._ length lines. reddish-yellow; the head, apical joint of the intermediate tarsi, the apex of the posterior tibiæ, and the third and following segments of the abdomen black; the thorax and legs with a thin, short, pale fulvous pubescence; the head and abdomen smooth and shining; the head produced before the eyes into a kind of beak, rufo-piceous anteriorly. thorax narrowed before the wings, which are dark fuscous, with a hyaline irregular mark below the stigma, crossing the submarginal cell; the anterior margin of the anterior wings pubescent; the metathorax broad, margined laterally, with a central forked carina, and a crooked one on each side; the posterior legs incrassate. abdomen with the sides of the upper surface carinated. _hab._ aru. fam. chrysididÆ, _leach_. gen. stilbum, _spin._ . stilbum splendidum, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ aru; senegal; java; bengal. . stilbum amethystinum, _fabr. syst. piez._ p. . . _hab._ aru; australia. fabricius includes this insect in the genus _chrysis_; the typical specimen, however, proves that it belongs to the more modern genus _stilbum_: it is very distinct from _s. splendidum_, being much more strongly and coarsely punctured; and the teeth which arm the apical segment are differently disposed on the margin. fam. tenthredinidÆ, _leach_. gen. oryssus, _fabr._ . oryssus maculipennis. _o._ niger, punctatus; pedibus ferrugineis; alis fuscis fasciâ hyalinâ ante cellulam marginalem sitâ. _female._ length - / lines. black; the head rugose, the front coarsely so, with a row of transverse tubercles running from the vertex along the inner orbits of the eyes, and crossing the front at half their length; the cheeks with a cinereous down, and a line of silvery-white pubescence or down, along the outer orbits of the eyes. thorax coarsely punctured; the mesothorax with a central longitudinal smooth elevation; wings fuscous, with a broad transverse hyaline fascia before the base of the marginal cell, the tips of the wings hyaline; the legs ferruginous, with the coxæ and trochanters black; the posterior tibiæ with a double row of serrations outside. abdomen shining and closely punctured; the base and apex coarsely so. _hab._ aru. gen. xyphidria, _latr._ . xyphidria rufipes. _x._ nigra; mandibulis, antennarum scapo, pedibusque ferrugineis; alis hyalinis et iridescentibus. _female._ length lines. black and shining; the vertex highly polished; the front from the posterior ocelli forwards closely punctured and opake; the mandibles, scape, and basal joint of the flagellum ferruginous. the thorax anteriorly punctured and opake, posteriorly shining, and with a few punctures at the base of the scutellum; wings hyaline and iridescent, the nervures black, the extreme base of the wings and the tegulæ pale testaceous; the legs pale ferruginous, with the claws of the tarsi darker. abdomen: the base of the segments depressed and very delicately and closely punctured, subopake; the apical half highly polished and shining; beneath obscurely rufo-piceous. _hab._ aru. gen. tremex, _jurine_. . tremex insignis. _t._ nigro-purpureus; abdominis fasciis basalibus albis; alis nigris cupreo nitentibus. _female._ length lines. obscure steel-blue, with shades of green, purple and violet; the head and thorax punctured; the prothorax with an oblique smooth shining space on each side; the wings very dark brown, with a brilliant coppery effulgence. the base of the abdomen opake, velvety, purple-black; the first segment with a transverse cream-coloured fascia in the middle, the second very slightly whitish at its base; the rest of the abdomen is highly polished, and has a scattered, short, black pubescence. _hab._ aru. note on two insect-products from persia. by daniel hanbury, esq., f.l.s. [read december th, .] in the month of june last, my friend professor guibourt, of paris, laid before the académie des sciences[g] some account of a remarkable substance called _tréhala_, the cocoon of a curculionidous insect found in persia, where, as well as in other parts of the east, it enjoys some celebrity as the basis of a mucilaginous drink administered to the sick. specimens of this substance, as well as of another insect-product of persia, together with the insects themselves, were presented a few years ago to the british museum by w. k. loftus, esq., who obtained them while engaged by the british government on the question of the turco-persian boundaries. the precise determination of the species of these insects being a matter of doubt, they have at my request been lately examined by m. jekel, of paris, an entomologist with whom the family of _curculionidæ_ has long been an especial study. one of these insects m. jekel has identified with a species of wide distribution; the other proving undescribed, he has drawn up a description of it, which, accompanied by a figure, i have the honour to lay before the linnean society. to this, i venture to add a few observations upon the productions to which i have alluded. the first of these is _tréhala_ or _tricala_, under which name it formed part of the collection of materia medica sent by m. della sudda, of constantinople, to the paris exhibition of , and since deposited in the ecole de pharmacie in paris. _tréhala_ (fig. ) consists of cocoons of an ovoid or globular form, about / of an inch in length; their inner surface is composed of a smooth, hard, dusky layer, external to which is a thick, rough, tuberculated coating of a greyish-white colour and earthy appearance. some of the cocoons have attached to them the remains of the tomentose stalk of the plant upon which they were formed; others have portions of a tomentose spiny leaf built into them; and, more rarely, one finds portions of the flowering heads of the plant, a species of _echinops_, similarly enclosed. many of the cocoons are open at one end and empty; others have a longitudinal aperture, originally closed by the stalk of the plant, and still contain the insect; a few are entirely closed. specimens of this insect, extracted from the cocoons sent to paris, were examined in by my friend mr. w. wilson saunders, who pronounced them to be _larinus maculatus_ of faldermann,--a determination also arrived at by m. jekel from specimens presented by mr. loftus to the british museum. respecting these latter, one of which is represented in fig. , m. jekel makes the following remarks:-- "larinus maculatus, _faldermann, faun. transcauc._ ii. p. , , tab. . f. , et iii. p. .--_schönh. gen. et sp. curcul._ iii. p. et vii. . p. .--_hochhuth, bull. moscou_, , no. . p. (var. [greek: gamma]). "var. [greek: gamma]. _larin. onopordinis_, sch. _loc. cit._ iii. p. (excl. synon.). "of this species, mr. loftus captured several specimens, all of small size: from some of them the pollinosity had been rubbed off, as is represented in the figure by mr. ford (_vide_ fig. ), which shows only a part of the inferior layer of tomentum and the greyish ground of the dorsal and lateral maculæ; the latter, being the most densely coloured in fresh specimens, are always the most persistent. these belong to schönherr's var. [greek: gamma], which that author formerly regarded as the _larinus onopordinis_, fabr. others of mr. loftus's specimens, which are very fresh, belong to var. [greek: beta]; none to the typical variety, which is often larger in size. "this species has a very extended habitat: i have received it from european turkey (frivaldski), beyrouth, caucasus, persia (dupont), &c. &c.; and it is recorded by schönherr as also found in barbary and portugal. "this is the insect which proceeds from the rough chalky-looking nidus figured by mr. ford. (_vide_ fig. .)" the entomological question being so far disposed of, i may be permitted a few remarks upon the properties which have obtained for _tréhala_ a place among drugs and dietetic substances. the first author who gives any account of the substance is father ange, who, in his 'pharmacopoea persica[h],' describes it in the following terms:--"est autem istud medicamentum veluti _tragea_ ex nucleo pistacii integro confecta; nam revera saccharum istud exterius corrugatum et agglomeratum adhæret cuidam nucleo, in quo non fructus, sed vermiculus quidam nigricans persice _c-hezoukek_ bombycis instar reconditur et moritur." father ange also states that the substance is called in persian _schakar tigal_ ([persian script]), literally _sugar of nests_; but his arabic names, _schakar el ma-ascher_ ([arabic script]) and _saccar el aschaar_, apply to an entirely different substance, namely to a saccharine matter exuded, after the punctures of an insect, from the stems of _calotropis procera_, r. br.[i], of which plant he gives a quaint but tolerably characteristic description. mr. loftus, who obtained the specimens which he presented to the british museum, at kirrind in persia, in september, , gives as the persian name of the cocoons _shek roukeh_--a term, probably, the same as the "_c-hezoukek_" (a misprint?) of father ange, but the signification of which i have not been able to discover. another notice of the same substance, with a figure, is briefly given in dr. honigberger's 'thirty-five years in the east' (lond. , vol. ii. pp. - ), where we read that _manna teeghul_ or _shukure teeghal_, which are certain insect-nests of a hard texture, rough on the outside, smooth within, about half an inch in length, and of a whitish colour, are imported into lahore from hindostan. m. bourlier published in an interesting note on the same substance[j], which has been followed by m. guibourt's communication to the académie des sciences, and still later by a memoir on the chemical history of tréhala, by m. marcellin berthelot, also presented to the academy[k]. from the investigations of m. guibourt, it appears that the cocoons are composed of a large proportion of starch (identical with that found in the stem of the _echinops_, upon which the insect forms its nest), of gum, a peculiar saccharine matter, a bitter principle, besides earthy and alkaline salts. the saccharine principle, which has been especially examined by m. berthelot, and named by him _tréhalose_, is a body analogous to cane-sugar, but possessing distinctive properties, which separate it from that and all other varieties of sugar. m. bourlier states that _tréhala_, which is abundant in the shops of the jew drug-dealers of constantinople, is frequently used by the arab and turkish physicians in the form of a decoction, which is regarded by them as of peculiar efficacy in diseases of the respiratory organs. the second insect-product to which i would draw attention, is a saccharine substance resembling dark honey. mr. loftus, who obtained it near kirrind, th july, , and whose specimen is in the british museum, states that it is exuded from a species of thistle when pierced by a rhynchophorous insect; but he fails to inform us for what purposes it is used by the inhabitants. mr. loftus having also presented the museum with excellent specimens both of the plant and insect, i am able to state that the former is _echinops persicus_, fisch., and the latter a new species of _larinus_, to which m. jekel has applied the name _larinus mellificus_, and of which he has drawn up the following description:-- "larinus mellificus, _jekel_ (fig. ). breviter ovatus, convexus, niger, nitidus; infra subtiliter, lateribus thoracis margineque elytrorum intus medio versus angulariter ampliata, apicem occupante griseo-cinerascenti tomentosis; rostro leviter punctato, basi utrinque bicanaliculato cum elevatione media lata subcariniformi; thorace subconico antice tubulato, supra confertim sat rude punctato, lateribus subrugoso; elytris striato-punctatis, interstitiis latis, planis, transversim subtilissime rugulosis, cum abdomine tenuissime alutaceis, punctis majoribus remotioribus impressis; pectore, lateribus, pedibusque rugoso-punctatis, femoribus infra fortiter oblique costato-rugosis; tibiis intus, anticis fortius crenulatis. long. (rostr. excl.) - , lat. elytr. - mill. "patria--persia, prope kirrind, ubi _echinopsidis_ speciem frequentat, cujus plantæ caules ab hoc insecto puncti materiam quamdam saccharinam sudant." _w. k. loftus_, mus. brit. [illustration: fig. . _larinus maculatus_, falderm.] [illustration: fig. . the cocoons of _larinus maculatus_, called in turkish _tréhala_.] [illustration: fig. . _larinus mellificus_, jekel.] very similar to _l. onopordinis_, but proportionably more elongate and less convex; rostrum and thorax longer; pilosity of the body underneath much thinner and shorter; thighs thicker, more clavate, the anterior evidently costate-rugose underneath; without whitish marks on the elytra, and without that layer of light-brown earth-like pollinose transudation which is often wanting in rubbed specimens of _larinus onopordinis_. the freshest specimens have the griseous margin of the elytra, which parts from the base under the shoulder, obliquely and angularly ampliate interiorly towards the middle, where it reaches the second stria. this griseous pilosity fills all the tips of the elytra, leaving bare only the sutures, an angular notch behind the middle (which forms with that apical part of the suture a kind of hook on each elytron), and two round spots, one submarginal fronting the tip of the notch, the other larger, discoidal, behind the foot of the notch, much above the tip. footnotes: [g] comptes rendus, juin, , p. . [h] pharmacopoea persica ex idiomate persico in latinum conversa. lutet. paris., , p. . [i] this saccharine substance is noticed by avicenna as _zuccarum alhusar_ (lib. ii. tract. ii. cap. , ed. valgr. venet. ), and also by matthiolus (comm. in lib. ii. diosc. cap. ). it is likewise referred to by endlicher (enchiridion botanicum, p. ), royle (illustr. of the bot. of the himalayan mountains, vol. i. p. ), merat and de lens (dict. de matière médicale, l. i. p. ), &c. [j] revue pharmaceutique de , par dorvault, p. . [k] comptes rendus, juin , p. . catalogue of the heterocerous lepidoptera collected at singapore by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species. by francis walker, esq., f.l.s. [read feb. , .] fam. uraniidÆ, _westwood_. gen. nyctalemon, _dalman_. . nyctalemon hector, _white, walk. cat. lep. het._ vii. . inhabits also borneo. fam. agaristidÆ, _swainson_. gen. eusemia, _dalman_. . eusemia maculatrix, _westwood, cat. orient. ent._ , pl. . f. . inhabits also hindostan and java. . eusemia mollis, _walk. cat. lep. het._ vii. . inhabits also hindostan. fam. zygÆnidÆ, _leach_. gen. syntomis, _illiger_. . syntomis annosa, n. s. _foem._ cinereo-fusca; capite, antennis apice, humeris abdominisque maculis lateralibus albis; alis maculis quatuor vitreis. _female._ cinereous brown. head white. antennæ serrated, white towards the tips. thorax with a large white spot on each side in front. abdomen somewhat compressed towards the base, with white spots along each side. wings long, with the discal areolets from the base to beyond the middle mostly vitreous, but having the veins bordered with brown. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . syntomis chloroleuca, n. s. _foem._ nigro-viridis; fronte, antennis apice, humeris abdominisque fasciis duabus dorsalibus fasciisque ventralibus albis; alis purpureo-nigris, anticis maculis quatuor vitreis, posticis macula una vitrea. _female._ blackish-green. front, antennæ towards the tips, and two humeral spots white. antennæ simple. abdomen with a white band at the base, and with another on the fifth segment, and with white ventral bands. wings purplish-black; fore wings with four vitreous spots; the fore one of the interior pair not one-third of the size of the hind one, which is very long; the fore one of the exterior pair much narrower than the hind one, and accompanied at its inner end by an elongated vitreous point; hind wings with an elongated vitreous spot. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. . syntomis xanthomela, n. s. _mas._ nigra; fronte, thoracis margine antico abdominisque fasciis ochraceis; antennis apice albis, abdominis fasciculo pallide cinereo; alis anticis maculis quinque vitreis, posticis maculis duabus vitreis. _male._ black. front, fore borders of the thorax and hind borders of the abdominal segments ochraceous; dorsal tuft pale cinereous, rather large. antennæ simple, white towards the tips. fore wings with five vitreous spots, of which the basal one is small and round, and the other four large and elongated; the exterior pair intersected by the black veins. hind wings with two vitreous spots, of which one is basal and the other discal. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. lithosiidÆ. gen. nyctemera, _hübner_. . nyctemera mundipicta, n. s. _mas et foem._ fusca; capite thoraceque albo vittatis; abdomine albo guttis dorsalibus fuscis; alis anticis basi albo venosis, fascia exteriore obliqua postice abbreviata alba, posticis albis fusco marginatis. _foem._ thorace fascia postica lutea, abdomine fusco fasciis albis; alis anticis fascia latiore vix abbreviata. _male._ brown. head and thorax with white lines. antennæ moderately pectinated. pectus with black spots, luteous on each side. abdomen white, with brown dorsal dots; tip luteous. legs white. fore wings with white veins towards the base, and with an exterior oblique white band, which is narrower hindward, and ends at some distance from the interior border. hind wings white, with a broad brown border. _female?_ larger. antennæ slightly pectinated. thorax with a slight luteous band in front, and another hindward. abdomen brown, with a white band on the hind border of each segment; under side white, with brown spots along each side. fore wings with the band much broader, hardly straightened hindward, and ending very near the interior border. length of the body - lines; of the wings - lines. gen. cyclosia, _hübner_. . cyclosia submaculans, n. s. _mas._ nigra, velutina, squamis nonnullis cyaneis, subtus albo cyaneoque fasciata; alis anticis purpureo-nigris, punctis paucis exterioribus, alis posticis fuscis, punctis submarginalibus albis; alis quatuor subtus fuscis, guttis exterioribus et submarginalibus albis. _male._ black, with a few metallic blue specks, and with metallic bluish-white pectoral spots and ventral bands. antennæ slightly pectinated. wings velvety, rather long, brown beneath, with an exterior and a submarginal row of white dots; fore wings purplish-black, with a few exterior and submarginal white points; hind wings brown, with submargiual white points. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. . cyclosia nivipetens, n. s. _mas._ cinereo-nigra; antennis cyaneo-nigris subpectinatis; alis anticis fascia lata submarginali alba. _male._ cinereous-black. antennæ bluish-black. fore wings with a broad, submarginal, upright, white band, which is much narrower hindward, and is intersected by the black veins. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. pidorus, _walk._ . pidorus constrictus, n. s. _mas._ cyaneo-niger, subtus testaceus; antennis pectinatis corpore vix brevioribus; thoracis margine antico coccineo; alis angustis, anticis fascia exteriore subrecta subobliqua flavo-alba, posticis cinereo-nigris. _male._ bluish-black, testaceous beneath. antennæ moderately pectinated, hardly shorter than the body. thorax crimson along the fore border. wings narrow, somewhat testaceous beneath towards the base; fore wings with a slightly oblique, hardly curved, yellowish-white exterior band; hind wings cinereous-black. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. hypsa, _hübner_. . hypsa silvandra, _cram. pap. exot._ iv. , pl. . f. d (phalæna). inhabits also hindostan, china, and australia. . hypsa egens, _walk. cat. lep. het._ . . . inhabits also hindostan and java. gen. setina, _schranck_. . setina bipunctata, n. s. _mas._ flava; alis anticis punctis duobus basalibus guttaque discali nigris. _male._ yellow, closely allied to _s. apicalis_ (cat. lep. het. ). fore wings black along the costa towards the base, where there are two black points; a small black dot at the tip of the discal areolet. hind wings a little paler than the fore wings. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. bizone, _walk._ . bizone hamata, _walk. cat. lep. het._ . . inhabits also china. gen. deiopeia, _stephens_. . deiopeia detracta, n. s. _foem._ pallide lutea; thorace guttis nigris; alis sat angustis nigro guttatis, fimbria pallida nitente; alis anticis nigro transverse quadristrigatis. _female._ pale luteous. thorax with six black dots. wings narrower than in the other species of this genus, with black dots, of which the most part are towards the exterior border, where they form two irregular lines, and are somewhat confluent on the under side; fringe whitish, shining. fore wings with four short transverse various black streaks, of which the first and the second form an interrupted line. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. darantasia, n. g. _foem. corpus_ sat robustum. _proboscis_ distincta. _palpi_ porrecti, breves, caput non superantes; articulus tertius longiconicus, acutus, secundi dimidio non longior. _antennæ_ setaceæ, simplices, gracillimæ. _abdomen_ subconicum, alas posticas superans; sexualia sat magna. _pedes_ breves, nudi, sat validi, calcaribus robustis sat longis. _alæ_ breviusculæ, sat angustæ; anticæ apud costam convexæ, apice rotundatæ, margine exteriore perobliquo. allied to _lemyra_ (cat. lep. het. vii. ). _female._ body rather stout. proboscis moderately long. palpi porrect, short, not extending beyond the head; third joint elongate-conical, acute, about half the length of the second. antennæ setaceous, simple, very slender, full half the length of the body. abdomen nearly conical, extending somewhat beyond the hind wings; anal appendages rather large. legs short, bare, rather stout; spurs stout, rather long. wings rather short and narrow; fore wings convex along the costa, rounded at the tips, extremely oblique along the exterior border. . darantasia cuneiplena, n. s. _mas._ nigra; corpore subtus, capite, thoracis fasciis duabus anticis maculaque postica abdominisque fasciis posticis luteis; pedibus luteis, tibiis supra nigris; alis anticis luteo octo-strigatis, posticis luteo strigatis. _male._ black, mostly luteous beneath. head luteous. thorax with two luteous bands in front, and with a luteous spot hindward. abdomen with luteous bands hindward. legs luteous; tibiæ black above. fore wings with eight wedge-shaped luteous streaks, of which three are near the base, two subcostal, two hindward, and one submarginal and transverse. hind wings with three luteous streaks, of which the first and second are connected exteriorly, and the third is short, broad, and submarginal. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. liparidÆ, _boisduval_. gen. artaxa, _walk._ . artaxa varians, _walk. cat. lep. het._ iv. . inhabits also west africa, hindostan, and china. gen. pantana, _walk._ . pantana bicolor, _walk. cat. lep. het._ iv. . _note._--_p. dispar_, a native of hindostan, and _p. ampla_, a native of china, may be varieties of this species. fam. notodontidÆ, _stephens_. gen. darabitta, n. g. _foem._ _corpus_ vix robustum. _proboscis_ brevis. _palpi_ longiusculi, oblique ascendentes, non pilosi. _antennæ_ validæ, subcompressæ, breviusculæ, simplices. _abdomen_ conicum, alas posticas non superans. _pedes_ squamosi, læves, brevinusculi, sat graciles, calcaribus longis. _alæ_ latiusculæ, non longæ; anticæ apud costam rectæ, apice subrotundatæ, margine exteriore vix convexo. this genus hardly belongs to the _notodontidæ_; but its precise situation seems to be uncertain. _female._ body hardly stout. proboscis short. palpi rather long and slender, not pilose, obliquely ascending, rising a little higher than the vertex; third joint elongate-conical, less than half the length of the second. antennæ stout, bare, slightly compressed, little longer than the thorax; joints few. abdomen conical, not extending beyond the hind wings. legs squamous, smooth, rather short and slender; spurs long. wings rather broad, not long; fore wings straight along the costa, slightly rounded at the tips; exterior border hardly convex, very slightly oblique. . darabitta strigicosta, n. s. _foem._ rufa, vix cinerascens; alis anticis linea submarginali e punctis nigris, lineolis tribus costalibus obliquis albis, prima angulata, secunda tertiaque connexis. _female._ red, with a slight cinereous tinge, more cinereous beneath. antennæ pale. fore wings with three white oblique costal streaks; first streak forming an outward angle; second connected in the disk with the third, which is oblique in the contrary direction; a row of submarginal black points. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. limacodidÆ, _duponchel_. gen. miresa, _walk._ . miresa curvifera, n. s. _mas._ rufa, crassa, brevis; antennis late pectinatis; alis anticis linea exteriore arcuata nivea, spatio contiguo exteriore obscuriore. _male._ red, thick, short. palpi porrect, extending a little beyond the head. antennæ shorter than the thorax, broadly pectinated except towards the tips. abdomen short, obtuse, not extending beyond the hind wings. legs short. wings not broad. fore wings straight along the costa, rounded at the tips, darker on the exterior side of a curved transverse bright white line, which is somewhat beyond the middle; exterior border rather oblique. hind wings a little paler than the fore wings. length of the body - / lines; of the wings lines. fam. saturniidÆ, _walk._ gen. attacus, _linn._ . attacus atlas, _linn. syst. nat._ . inhabits also hindostan, ceylon, china, and borneo. fam. bombycidÆ. gen. bombyx, _linn._ . bombyx subnotata. _mas._ ferruginea, crassa; antennis late pectinatis; abdominis apice laminis lateralibus fimbriatis; alis anticis margine exteriore subundulato subexciso, macula subtus costali subapicali flava. _male._ ferruginous, thick, pilose. mouth obsolete. antennæ broadly pectinated. abdomen much more slender than the thorax, not extending beyond the hind wings; anal lateral appendages fringed. legs short, stout. fore wings rounded at the tips, extremely oblique along the exterior border, which is slightly angular in the middle and slightly excavated on each side; under side with a yellow costal spot near the tip. hind wings with the interior border densely fringed towards the tip. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. leucanidÆ, _guénée_. gen. mythimna, _hübner_. . mythimna inducens, n. s. _foem._ lateritio-rufa, subtus albida; palporum articulo tertio brevissimo; abdomine rufescenti-cano; alarum anticarum puncto discali nigro, lineis duabus nigricantibus subarcuatis indistinctis, alis posticis rufescenti-canis. _female._ brick-red colour, mostly whitish beneath. palpi obliquely ascending, not rising to the height of the vertex; third joint extremely small, less than one-sixth of the length of the second. abdomen reddish-hoary, extending but little beyond the hind wings. legs stout, squamous; spurs moderately long. fore wings very slightly convex along the costa, rectangular at the tips; exterior border slightly oblique, nearly straight; two slender, indistinct, slightly curved, blackish lines, having between them a more distinct black discal point. hind wings reddish-hoary, the reddish tinge most prevalent towards the exterior border. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. gonopteridÆ, _guénée_. gen. anomis, _hübner_. . anomis mutilata, n. s. _mas._ rufa, robusta, subtus rufescenti-cinerea; palpis longis subascendentibus; abdomine latiusculo; alarum anticarum lineis tribus indistinctis angulosis nigricantibus, orbiculari alba punctiformi, margine exteriore postico perobliquo subexcavato. _male._ red, stout, reddish cinereous beneath. palpi long, obliquely ascending; third joint slender, linear, obtuse at the tip, a little shorter than the second. antennæ stout, with extremely short setæ. abdomen rather broad, extending a little beyond the hind wings. fore wings with three blackish, indistinct, slightly diffuse, zigzag lines, which are slightly bordered hindward with pale yellow; orbicular mark white, punctiform; exterior border slightly angular, hardly oblique, and slightly truncated on the fore half, extremely oblique and with two slight excavations on the hind half; fringe partly white. hind wings not paler than the fore wings. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. thalatta, _walk._ . thalatta aurigutta, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xv. . fam. hypogrammidÆ, _guénée_. gen. briarda, _walk._ . briarda plagifera, n. s. _mas._ ferrugineo-cinerea; capite thoraceque antico nigricantibus; tibiis ciliatis; alis sat angustis subdenticulatis, anticarum fascia basali, macula discali maculaque costali exteriore nigricantibus, lineis exteriore et submarginali fuscis duplicatis denticulatis subnebulosis; alis posticis pallide cinereis, semihyalinis, fusco latissime marginatis. _male._ cinereous, tinged with ferruginous. head and fore part of the thorax blackish. palpi obliquely ascending; third joint linear, conical at the tip, about half the length of the second. antennæ hardly setose. abdomen extending a little beyond the hind wings. legs rather stout; tibiæ fringed; spurs very long. wings rather narrow, slightly denticulated. fore wings slightly rounded at the tips, very oblique along the exterior border; a blackish band near the base, abbreviated hindward; a large blackish spot on the reniform mark, and a diffuse blackish spot near the tip of the costa; exterior and submarginal lines brown, double, denticulated, with the space along their borders somewhat clouded. hind wings pale cinereous, semihyaline, with very broad brown borders. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. catephidÆ, _guénée_. gen. steiria, _walk._ . steiria phryganeoides, n. s. _mas._ pallide cinerea, rufescente conspersa; palpis longis vix ascendentibus; alis sat angustis denticulatis; alarum anticarum squamis nonnullis nigris fuscisque, marginibus exteriore et interiore non conspersis, reniformi magna; alis posticis pallide cinereis, fusco late marginatis. _male._ pale cinereous, thickly speckled with ferruginous red. palpi long, hardly ascending, almost straight; third joint linear, obtuse at the tip, rather shorter than the second. antennæ bare. abdomen conical, extending rather beyond the hind wings; apical tuft small. legs rather long and slender, almost bare; spurs very long. wings rather narrow; exterior border denticulated. fore wings with the speckles mostly confluent in the disk, mostly wanting along the interior and exterior borders; several black and brown speckles, some of which border the large reniform mark. hind wings pale cinereous, with a broad brown border. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. ophideridÆ, _guénée_. gen. ophideres, _boisduval_. . ophideres salaminia, _cram. pap. exot._ . , pl. . fig. a. inhabits also hindostan, ceylon, java, and china. . ophideres discrepans, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xiii. . . ophideres smaragdipicta, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xiii. . fam. phyllodidÆ, _guénée_. gen. lygniodes, _guénée_. . lygniodes endoleuca, _guén. noct._ iii. . inhabits also java. fam. erebidÆ, _guénée_. gen. sypna, _guénée_. . sypna subsignata, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xiv. . fam. ommatophoridÆ, _guénée_. gen. patula, _guénée_. . patula macrops, _linn. syst. nat._ (noctua). inhabits also west and south africa, madagascar, hindostan, and ceylon. gen. argiva, _hübner_. . argiva hieroglyphica, _drury, ins. exot._ . , pl. . f. (noctua). inhabits also madagascar, hindostan, and ceylon. fam. ophiusidÆ, _guénée_. gen. cÆcila, _walk._ . cæcila complexa, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xv. . gen. ophisma, _guénée_. . ophisma umminia, _cram. pap. exot._ . , pl. . f. (noctua). inhabits also java and sumatra. gen. achÆa, _hübner_. . achæa mercatoria, _fabr. ent. syst._ . , . . (noctua). inhabits also hindostan and java. fam. thermesidÆ, _guénée_. gen. thermesia, _hübner_. . thermesia? recusata, n. s. _mas._ rufescenti-cinerea, robusta, nigricante conspersa, capite thoraceque antico fuscis; palpis longissimis ascendentibus subarcuatis; antennis subsetosis, alis linea exteriore recta obliqua nigricante extus diffusa, linea interiore tenui subarcuata nigricante, linea submarginali e punctis lineaque marginali nigris. _male._ reddish cinereous, stout, with blackish speckles. head and fore part of the thorax brown. frontal tuft acute. palpi very long, slightly curved, nearly vertical; third joint linear, acute, shorter than the second. antennæ slightly setose. abdomen hardly extending beyond the hind wings. wings with the speckles here and there confluent; lines blackish; interior line slender, slightly curved; exterior line straight, oblique, diffuse on the outer side, extending almost to the tips of the fore wings; submarginal line represented by points; marginal line slightly undulating. fore wings rectangular at the tips; exterior border slightly bent; its fore part not oblique; orbicular and reniform marks indistinct. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. hypernaria, _guénée_. . hypernaria diffundens, n. s. _foem._ cinerea, robusta, fusco conspersa; palporum articulo secundo extus fusco, tertio aciculari longissimo, alarum lineis interiore et exteriore vagis dentatis lineaque media recta sat obliqua squamis fuscis, punctis marginalibus atris, alis anticis acutis, orbiculari punctiformi atra, litura reniformi angusta fusco marginata extus excavata. _female._ cinereous, stout, speckled with brown. palpi very slightly curved; second joint brown on the outer side; third acicular, a little shorter than the second. antennæ minutely setose. abdomen not extending beyond the hind wings. wings with the interior and exterior lines angulose, diffuse, composed of brown speckles; middle line more oblique, straight, slender, double, obsolete towards the costa of the fore wings, bordered with diffuse angular streaks of brown speckles; marginal points deep black. fore wings acute; orbicular mark black, punctiform; reniform narrow, brown, bordered, excavated on the outer side; exterior border slightly convex. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. ugia, _walk._ . ugia disjungens, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xv. . fam. platydidÆ, _guénée_. gen. masca, _walk._ . masca abactalis, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xvi. . fam. hypenidÆ, _herr.-schæffer_. gen. hypena, _schranck_. . hypena ruralis, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xvi. . inhabits also ceylon. gen. macna, _walk._ . macna pomalis, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xvi. . fam. margarodidÆ, _guénée_. gen. margarodes, _guénée_. . margarodes amphitritalis, _guén. delt. et pyral._ , . inhabits also hindostan. gen. neurina, _guénée_. . neurina procopialis, _cram. pap. exot._ iv. , pl. . f. e. (phalæna pyralis procopia.) inhabits also hindostan and java. fam. ennomidÆ, _guénée_. gen. bulonga, n. g. _corpus_ gracile. _proboscis_ brevissima. _palpi_ breves, porrecti, angulati. _antennæ_ simplices. _abdomen_ conicum. _pedes_ graciles, nudi, calcaribus non longis, tibiis anticis brevissimis. _alæ_ sat latæ; anticæ acutæ, margine exteriore sat obliquo; posticæ abdomen superantes. body slender. proboscis very short. palpi as long as the breadth of the head; second joint obliquely ascending; third porrect, rather shorter than the second, with which it forms an obtuse angle. antennæ simply filiform. abdomen conical. legs slender, bare; spurs rather short; fore tibiæ very short. wings rather broad; fore wings rectangular at the tips; costa hardly convex; exterior border rather oblique. hind wings with the interior angle prominent, acute. . bulonga schistacearia, n. s. _foem._ glauco-cinerea, alis nitentibus, linea marginali nigra fimbria interlineata, anticis fusco quadrilineatis, posticis trilineatis. _female._ glaucous-cinereous, paler beneath. head and palpi reddish. wings shining; marginal line black; fringe pale cinereous, including a darker line. fore wings with four straight oblique brown lines; second line broader than the first, apparent also on the hind wings; third narrower and darker than the others, blackish, and still more distinct on the hind wings, where it is bordered with whitish on the outer side; fourth more indistinct than the others, still more indistinct on the hind wings. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. amphidasydÆ, _guénée_. gen. daristane, n. g. _mas._ _corpus_ robustum. _proboscis_ brevissima. _palpi_ validi, breves obtusi, oblique ascendentes; articulus tertius minimus. _antennæ_ setaceæ, simplices. _abdomen_ conicum, alas posticas non superans. _pedes_ validi, breviusculi; tibiæ anticæ brevissimæ, posteriores latissimae, calcaribus longis. _alæ_ breviusculæ, sat latæ; anticæ acutæ. _male._ body robust. proboscis very short. palpi short, stout, obtuse, obliquely ascending; third joint very small. antennæ setaceous, simple. abdomen conical, not extending beyond the hind wings. legs stout, rather short; tibiæ pilose; fore tibiæ very short; posterior tibiæ very broad, especially the middle pair. wings rather short, moderately broad. fore wings straight along the costa, acutely rectangular at the tips; exterior border rather oblique. . daristane tibiaria, n. s. _mas._ cinerea, nitens, alis nigro conspersis, fascia media rufescente non bene determinata, anticis costa albida nigro punctata. _male._ cinereous, shining, a little paler beneath. wings speckled with black; an indistinct oblique reddish middle band; costa of the fore wings whitish, with black points. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. palyadÆ, _guénée_. gen. eumelea, _duncan_. . eumelea rosaliata, _cram. pap. exot._ iv. , pl. . f. f. (phalæna geometra rosalia.) inhabits also amboyna. fam. ephyridÆ, _guénée_. gen. ephyra, _duponchel_. . ephyra quadristriaria, n. s. _foem._ rufescens, subtus flava, alis flavis rufescente conspersis, fascia exteriore perobliqua rufescente, anticis acutis, lituris duabus costalibus obliquis fuscis. _female._ reddish, yellow beneath. proboscis short. palpi short, slightly ascending; third joint linear, obtuse, a little shorter than the second. antennæ short, stout, setaceous. abdomen not extending beyond the hind wings. legs bare, rather long and slender; spurs long. wings yellow, with reddish speckles, and with a straight reddish band, which extends from beyond the middle of the interior border of the hind wings to the tips of the fore wings. fore wings acute, with two oblique brown costal marks; exterior border rather oblique. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. anisodes, _guénée_. . anisodes expunctaria, n. s. _foem._ luteo-cervina, palpis longis angulatis, antennis breviusculis, alis ferrugineo subconspersis, linea media fusca undulata valde indistincta, lineis interiore et exteriore e punctis nigris, punctis marginalibus nigris. _female._ pale luteous fawn colour. proboscis short. palpi long, slightly decumbent; third joint a little shorter than the second, with which it forms an obtuse angle. antennæ simple, short. wings minutely and indistinctly sprinkled with ferruginous; a brown, diffuse, undulating, very indistinct middle line, which is obsolete in the hind wings; interior and exterior lines indicated by widely separated black points; marginal points black. fore wings rectangular at the tips; exterior border slightly oblique. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. acidalidÆ, _guénée_. gen. synegia, _guénée_. . synegia botydaria, _guén. uran. et phal._ i. . . inhabits also borneo. gen. drapetodes, _guénée_. . drapetodes mitaria, _guén. uran. et phal._ i. . . inhabits also hindostan. gen. timandra, _duponchel_. . timandra ajaia, n. s. _mas._ glaucescenti-cinerea; antennis setosis, alis linea perobliqua fusca antice abbreviata, linea marginali nigra, anticis valde acutis, reniformi tenui fusca. _male._ cinereous, with a glaucous tinge. proboscis short. palpi very short, obliquely ascending; third joint extremely small. antennæ setose, somewhat shorter than the body. wings with a straight, very oblique, brown line, which extends from the middle of the interior border of the hind wings towards the tip of the fore wings, on approaching which it is obsolete; marginal line black. fore wings very acute; exterior border extremely oblique; reniform mark brown, very slender. hind wings extending beyond the abdomen. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. gen. zanclopteryx, _herr.-schæffer_. . zanclopteryx saponaria, _herr.-schæffer, guén. uran. et phal._ . , . inhabits also ceylon. fam. micronidÆ, _guénée_. gen. micronia, _guénée_. . micronia rectinervata, _guén. uran. et phal._ . , . fam. zerenidÆ. gen. stalagmia, _guénée_. . stalagmia guttaria, _guér. icon. regn. anim. ins._ pl. (phalæna). catalogue of the heterocerous lepidopterous insects collected at malacca by mr. a. r. wallace, with descriptions of new species. by francis walker. fam. sphingidÆ, _leach_. gen. macroglossa, _ochsenheimer_. . macroglossa passalus, _drury, exot. ins._ ii. , pl. . f. (sphinx). inhabits also hindostan and java. . macroglossa corythus, _boisd. mss._; _walk. cat. lep. het._ viii. . . inhabits also hindostan, ceylon, and java. fam. agaristidÆ, _swainson_. gen. eusemia, _dalman_. . eusemia maculatrix, _westw._ (see singapore sp. no. .) . eusemia mollis, _walk._ (see singapore sp. no. .) . eusemia subdives, n. s. _mas._ atra, antennis subpectinatis, abdomine fasciis luteis, alis anticis fascia exteriore recta non obliqua testacea; posticis ochraceis atro marginatis. _male._ deep black. antennæ slightly pectinated, slightly hooked at the tips. abdomen with a luteous band on the hind border of each segment. fore wings with an upright, straight, testaceous exterior band, which does not extend to the interior border. hind wings bright ochraceous, with a deep black border, which is irregular on the inner side and is joined in front to a black spot, the latter, on the under side, containing a white curved line. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. lithosiidÆ, _stephens_. gen. nyctemera, _hübner_. . nyctemera tripunctaria, _linn. syst. nat._ . (geometra). inhabits also hindostan and china. gen. euschema, _hübner_. . euschema subrepleta, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xi. . . inhabits also ceylon and borneo. fam. liparidÆ, _boisduval_. gen. pantana. . pantana bicolor, _walk._ (see singapore sp. no. .) fam. orthosidÆ, _guénée_. gen. carea, _walk._ . carea varipes, _walk. cat. lep. het._ x. . fam. hyblÆidÆ, _guénée_. gen. hyblÆa, _fabr._ . hyblæa tortricoides, _guén. noct._ ii. . inhabits also borneo. . hyblæa erycinoides, _walk. cat. lep. het._ xv. . fam. phyllodidÆ, _guénée_. gen. lygniodes, _guénée_. . lygniodes endoleuca, _guén._ (see singapore sp. no. .) fam. ophiusidÆ, _guénée_. gen. ophiusa, _ochsenheimer_. . ophiusa fulvotænia, _guén. noct._ iii. . . inhabits also hindostan, ceylon, java, and sumatra. fam. thermesidÆ, _guénée_. gen. cotuza, _walk._ . cotuza confirmata, n. s. _mas._ cinereo-ferruginea, robusta, dense vestita, subtus alba; palpis latis compressis oblique ascendentibus; articulo tertio minimo, antennis plus dimidio basali subpectinatis, alis linea, media recta perobliqua nigro-fusca antice angulosa et retracta, linea exteriore e denticulis nigro-fuscis albido terminatis, fimbria apice alba, alis anticis subhamatis, linea interiore nigro-fusca undulata orbiculari nigra punctiformi, reniformi et litura costali albis nigro marginatis. _male._ cinereous-ferruginous, stout, densely pilose, white beneath. palpi broad, compressed, obliquely ascending, not rising higher than the head; third joint obtuse, extremely short. antennæ slightly pectinated to nearly two-thirds of the length, bare from thence to the tips. abdomen not extending beyond the hind wings. legs white; tibiæ ferruginous above. wings ample; a blackish brown, straight, very oblique line, which is zigzag, and retracted towards the costa of the fore wings; exterior line composed of blackish-brown, very acute, whitish-pointed angles; fringe white exteriorly. fore wings slightly hooked, with an interior undulating blackish-brown line; orbicular mark black, punctiform; reniform white, black-bordered, forming a triangular spot and an anterior point; a small exterior white costa, with mark. length of the body lines; of the wings lines. fam. acidalidÆ, _guénée_. gen. zanclopteryx, _herr.-schæff._ . zanclopteryx saponaria, _herr.-schæff._ (see singapore species, no. .) index. page achæa mercatoria, _fabr._ achias longividens, _walk._ latividens, _walk._ amplividens, _walk._ achiides, _walk._ acidalidæ, _guénée_ , adraga, _walk._ univitta, _walk._ adrama, _walk._ selecta, _walk._ agaristidæ, _swainson_ , agathis fumipennis, _sm._ modesta, _sm._ nitida, _sm._ sculpturalis, _sm._ agenia, alcyone, _sm._ althea, _sm._ amalthea, _sm._ bimaculata, _sm._ blanda, _guér._ , callisto, _sm._ jucunda, _sm._ alastor apicatus, _sm._ unifasciatus, _sm._ allodape nitida, _sm._ ammophila insolata, _sm._ amorphopus, _bell_ cylindraceus, _bell_ amphidasydæ, _guénée_ anas punctata, _cuvier_ andrenidæ, _leach_ , angitula, _walk._ longicollis, _walk._ anisodes expunctaria, _walk._ anomis mutilata, _walk._ anthomyia procellaria, _walk._ anthomyides, _walk._ , anthophora elegans, _sm._ zonata, _linn._ , anthrax degenera, _walk._ pelops, _walk._ semiscita, _walk._ apis zonata, _sm._ argiva hieroglyphica, _drury_ argonauta tuberculosa aricia canivitta, _walk._ aricia significans, _walk._ squalens, _walk._ vicaria, _walk._ artaxa varians, _walk._ asilidæ, _leach_ , asilites, _walk._ asilus longistylus, _wied._ superveniens, _walk._ attacus atlas, _linn._ baccha purpuricola, _walk._ bee, death of the common hive bee occasioned by a parasitic fungus bembex melancholica, _sm._ trepanda, _dahlb._ bembicidæ, _westw._ bengalia spissa, _walk._ bibionidæ, _haliday_ bizone hamata, _walk._ bombilidæ, _leach_ bombyx subnotata, _walk._ bombycidæ bombylites, _walk._ bracon abdominalis, _sm._ albo-marginatus, _sm._ basalis, _sm._ exoletus, _sm._ insinuator, _sm._ intrudens, _sm._ , nigripennis, _sm._ nitidus, _sm._ pallifrons, _sm._ braconidæ brea, _walk._ contraria, _walk._ discalis, _walk._ briarda plagifera, _walk._ bulonga, _walk._ schistacearia, _walk._ coelyoxys fulvifrons, _sm._ calobata abana, _walk._ albitarsis, _wied._ indica, _desv._ sepsoides, _walk._ cardiacephala debilis, _walk._ carea varipes, _walk._ catephidæ, _guénée_ ceratina hieroglyphica, _sm._ viridis, _guér._ cerceris fuliginosa, _sm._ instabilis, _sm._ unifasciata, _sm._ varipes, _sm._ cereopsis novæ hollandiæ cerea relicta, _walk._ , smaragdina, _walk._ cetacea, _r. knox_ on the anatomy and natural history of the chrysididæ , chrysis insularis, _sm._ purpurea, _sm._ sumptuosa, _sm._ chrysopila vacillans, _walk._ clitellaria bivittata, _fabr._ cæcila complexa, _walk._ cælopa inconspicua, _walk._ cænosia luteicornis, _walk._ coturnix pectoralis, _gould_ cotuza confirmata, _walk._ crabro (rhopalum) agilis, _sm._ solitarius, _sm._ crabronidæ crematogaster elegans, _sm._ insularis, _sm._ obscura, _sm._ crocisa nitidula, _fabr._ cryptoceridæ, _sm._ cryptus scutellatus, _sm._ culex scutellaris, _walk._ culicidæ, _haliday_ cyclosia nivipetens, _walk._ submaculans, _walk._ dacus expandens, _walk._ latifascia, _walk._ lativentris, _walk._ longivitta, _walk._ mutilloides, _walk._ obtrudens, _walk._ pectoralis, _walk._ pompiloides, _walk._ darabitta, _walk._ strigicosta, _walk._ darantasia, _walk._ cuneiplena, _walk._ daristane, _walk._ tibiaria, _walk._ dasygastræ, _sm._ , dasypogon inopinus, _walk._ honestus, _walk._ dasypogonites, _walk._ deiopeia detracta, _walk._ denudata dexia pectoralis, _walk._ dexides, _walk._ diaphorus resumens, _walk._ diodon dolichopidæ, _leach_ dolichopus trigonifer, _walk._ delphinis drapetodes mitaria, _guér._ drosophila? finigutta, _walk._ ? imperata, _walk._ ? melanospila, _walk._ dryomyza semicyanea, _walk._ ectatomma rugosa, _sm._ empidæ, _leach_ , ennomidæ, _guén._ ephydra? taciturna, _walk._ ephyra quadristriaria, _walk._ ephyridæ, _guénée_ erebidæ, _guéneé_ eristalis conductus, _walk._ muscoïdes, _walk._ resolutus, _walk._ , splendens, _leguillon_ suavissimus, _walk._ evanidæ, _leach_ eumelea rosaliata, _cram._ eumenes architectus, _sm._ arcuata, _fabr._ circinalis, _fabr._ floralis, _sm._ fulvipennis, _sm._ vindex, _sm._ eumenidæ, _westw._ , eurygaster decipiens, _walk._ phasioïdes, _walk._ tentans, _walk._ euschema subrepleta, _walk._ eusemia maculatrix, _westw._ , mollis, _walk._ , subdives, _walk._ foenus gracilis, _sm._ formica angulata, _sm._ cordata, _sm._ coxalis, _sm._ flavitarsus, _sm._ fragilis, _sm._ gracilipes, _sm._ lævissima, _sm._ mutilata, _sm._ nitida, _sm._ oculata, _sm._ quadriceps, _sm._ scrutator, _sm._ sericata, _guér._ sexspinosa, _latr._ virescens, _fabr._ formicidæ gabaza, _walk._ argentea, _walk._ galathea andrewsii, _sp. bate_ depressa, _sp. bate_ dispersa, _sp. bate_ nexa squamifera, _sp. bate_ strigosa gammarus affinis, _m.-ed._ kröyii, _rathke_ locusta, _leach_ olivii, _m.-ed._ geomyzides, _fallen_ geron simplex, _walk._ gonopteridæ, _guénée_ gorytes constrictus, _latr._ vagus, _sm._ graptomyza tibialis, _walk._ gynoplistia jurgiosa, _walk._ hæmatophis fuliginosus halmaturus billardierii hedychrum flammulatum, _sm._ helomyza atripennis, _walk._ picipes, _walk._ restituta, _walk._ helomyzides, _fallen_ helophilus mesoleucus, _walk._ quadrivittatus, _wied._ hiaticula bicincta hippoboscidæ, _leach_ hybos bicolor, _walk._ deficiens, _walk._ hyblæa tortricoïdes, _guén._ hyblæidæ, _guéneé_ hydromyzides, _haliday_ hypena ruralis, _walk._ hypenidæ, _herr schæff._ hypernaria diffundens, _guén._ hypogrammidæ, _guénée_ hypsa egens, _walk._ silvandra, _cram._ icaria brunnea, _sm._ fasciata, _sm._ ferruginea, _sauss._ gracilis, _sm._ maculiventris, _sm._ nigra, _sm._ pilosa, _sm._ unicolor, _sm._ ichneumon insularis, _sm._ ichneumonidæ, _leach_ , idia æqualis, _walk._ australis, _walk._ testacea, _macq._ xanthogaster, _wied._ ischnogaster iridipennis, _sm._ lamprogaster celyphoïdes, _walk._ delectans, _walk._ marginifera, _walk._ quadrilinea, _walk._ scutellaris, _walk._ tetyroïdes, _walk._ ventralis, _walk._ laphria aperta, _walk._ aurifacies, _macq._ comes, _walk._ consobrina, _walk._ consors, _walk._ declarata, _walk._ flagrantissima, _walk._ germana, _walk._ gloriosa, _walk._ justa, _walk._ manifesta, _walk._ paradisiaca, _walk._ placens, _walk._ scapularis, _wied._ socia, _walk._ sodalis, _walk._ laphrites, _walk._ larinus maculatus, _falderm._ mellificus, _jekel_ larra prismatica, _sm._ simillima, _sm._ larrada ædilis, _sm._ aurifrons, _sm._ aurulenta, _sm._ exilipes, _sm._ festinans, _sm._ personata, _sm._ modesta, _sm._ rufipes, _sm._ larridæ larus pacificus lauxania duplicans, _walk._ minuens, _walk._ lauxanides, _walk._ lepidosiren leptidæ, _westw._ leptis ferruginosa, _wied._ leptogaster albimanus, _walk._ ferrugineus, _walk._ longipes, _walk._ leucanidæ, _guénée_ limacodidæ, _duponchel_ liparidæ, _boisduval_ , lissa cylindrica, _walk._ lithosiidæ, _stephens_ , lonchæa inops, _walk._ lygnioides endoleuca, _guén._ , macna pomalis, _walk._ macroglossa corythus, _boisd._ passalus, _drury_ macromeris iridipennis, _sm._ splendida, _st. farg._ malopteruris margarodes amphitritalis, _guén._ margarodidæ, _guéneé_ masca abactalis, _walk._ masicera guttata, _walk._ notabilis, _walk._ simplex, _walk._ solennis, _walk._ tentata, _walk._ massicyta cerioïdes, _walk._ inflata, _walk._ megachile fulvifrons, _sm._ incisa, _sm._ insularis lateritia scabrosa terminalis, _sm._ megischus indicus, _westw._ megistocera tuscana, _wied._ meranoplus spinosus, _sm._ mesostenus agilis, _sm._ albopictus, _sm._ albo-spinosus, _sm._ pictus, _sm._ microdon apicalis, _walk._ fulvicornis, _walk._ micronia rectinervata, _guén._ micronidæ, _guénée_ miresa curvifera, _walk._ montezumia indica, _sauss._ morphota formosa, _sm._ musca benedicta, _walk._ domestica, _linn._ eristaloïdes, _walk._ gloriosa, _walk._ macularis, _walk._ marginifera, _walk._ obscurata, _walk._ obtrusa, _walk._ , opulenta, _walk._ patiens, _walk._ muscidæ, _latr._ , muscides, _walk._ , mutilla carinata, _sm._ exilis, _sm._ manifesta, _sm._ nigra, _sm._ rufogastra, _sm._ sexmaculata, _swed. n. a. holm._ sibylla, _sm._ unifasciata, _sm._ volatilis, _sm._ mutillidæ, _leach_ , mycetophilidæ, _haliday_ mygnimia aspasia, _sm._ fumipennis, _sm._ iridipennis, _sm._ myrmica carinata, _sm._ mellea, _sm._ parallela, _sm._ scabrosa, _sm._ suspiciosa, _sm._ thoracica, _sm._ mysticetus mythymna inducens, _walk._ myzine tenuicornis, _sm._ nautilus pompilius, _t. h. huxley_ on the anatomy of nerius duplicatus, _wied._ nerua, _walk._ scenopinoïdes, _walk._ neurina procopialis, _cram._ nomia cincta, _sm._ dentata, _sm._ flavipes, _sm._ formosa, _sm._ haliotoïdes, _sm._ longicornis, _sm._ punctata, _sm._ notodontidæ, _stephens_ nyctalemon hector, _white_ nyctemera mundipicta, _walk._ tripunctaria, _linn._ obrapa, _walk._ celyphoïdes, _walk._ perilampoïdes, _walk._ odontomachus malignus, _sm._ simillimus, _sm._ tyrannicus, _sm._ odynerus agilis, _sm._ (ancistrocerus) clavicornis, _sm._ fulvipennis, _sm._ (leionotus) insularis, _sm._ modestus, _sm._ multipictus, _sm._ petiolatus, _sm._ ommatius lucifer, _walk._ noctifer, _walk._ , retrahens, _walk._ ommatophoridæ, _guénée_ ophideres discrepans, _walk._ salaminia, _cram._ smaragdipicta, _walk._ ophideridæ, _guénée_ ophisma umminia, _cram._ ophiusa fulvotænia, _guén._ ophiusidæ, _guénée_ , ornithomyia parva, _macq._ ortalides, _haliday_ - ortalis prompta, _walk._ complens, _walk._ orthoneura basalis, _walk._ orthosidæ, _guénée_ oscinides, _haliday_ oscinis lineiplena, _walk._ noctilux, _walk._ oxybelus agilis, _sm._ oxyssus maculipennis, _sm._ pachymenes viridis, _sm._ pallura, _walk._ invaria, _walk._ palyadæ, _guénée_ pantana bicolor, _walk._ , patula macrops, _linn._ pelopæus bengalensis, _dahlb._ flavo-fasciatus, _sm._ intrudens, _sm._ laboriosus, _sm._ madraspatanus, _fabr._ phaps elegans phoridæ, _haliday_ phyllodidæ, _guénée_ , pidorus constrictus, _walk._ pimpla braconoïdes, _sm._ ferruginea, _sm._ ochracea, _sm._ penetrans, _sm._ plagiata, _sm._ trimaculata, _sm._ pinnotheridæ, _m. ed._ pison nitidus, _sm._ platydidæ, _guénée_ platystoma fusifacies, _walk._ multivitta, _walk._ plecia dorsalis, _walk._ podomyrma, _sm._ basalis, _sm._ lævifrons, _sm._ femorata, _sm._ striata polistes diabolicus, _sauss._ elegans, _sm._ fastidiosus, _sauss._ nigrifrons, _sm._ philippinensis, _sauss._ picteti, _sauss._ sagittarius, _sauss._ stigma, _sauss._ tepidus, _fabr._ polyara, _walk._ insolita, _walk._ polypterus polyrhachis bellicosus, _sm._ geometricus, _sm._ hector, _sm._ irritabilis, _sm._ lævissimus, _sm._ longipes, _sm._ marginatus, _sm._ mucronatus, _sm._ hostilis, _sm._ rufofemoratus, _sm._ scutulatus, _sm._ serratus, _sm._ pompilidæ, _leach_ pompilus analis, _fabr._ contortus, _sm._ deceptor, _sm._ dubius, _sm._ pilifrons, _sm._ saltitans, _sm._ ponera parallela, _sm._ quadridentata, _sm._ rugosa, _sm._ sculpturata, _sm._ priocnemis fervidus, _sm._ pulcherrimus, _sm._ rufifrons, _sm._ prosena argentata, _walk._ prosopis malachisis, _sm._ pseudomyrma læviceps, _sm._ psilides, _walk._ psilopus æneus, _fabr._ benedictus, _walk._ egens, _walk._ lucigena, _walk._ orcifer, _walk._ planicornis, _wied._ terminifer, _walk._ ptilocera quadridentata, _walk._ puffinus brevicaudus, _brandt_ rhynchium argentatum, _sauss._ atrum, _sauss._ hæmorrhoidale, _sauss._ mirabile, _sauss._ parentissimum, _sauss._ superbum, _sauss._ rhyssa maculipennis, _sm._ vestigator, _sm._ rutilia angustipennis, _walk._ plumicornis, _guérin_ salduba, _walk._ diphysoïdes, _walk._ salius malignus, _sm._ sarcophaga basalis, _walk._ compta, _walk._ invaria, _walk._ sarcophagides, _walk._ sargus complens, _walk._ metallinus, _fabr._ vagans, _walk._ saropoda bombiformis, _sm._ saturniidæ, _walk._ sciara selecta, _walk._ scolia agilis, _sm._ alecto, _sm._ aurenta, _sm._ erratica, _sm._ fulgidipennis, _sm._ fulvipennis, _sm._ grossa, _burm._ insularis, _sm._ minuta, _sm._ nitida, _sm._ quadriceps, _sm._ terminata, _sm._ scoliadæ, _leach_ scopulipedes, _sm._ sepedon costalis, _walk._ sepsides, _walk._ sepsis basifera, _walk._ setina bipunctata, _walk._ siluridæ solenopsis cephalotes, _sm._ sphegidæ spheniscus minor, _temminck_ sphex argentata, _dahl._ aurifrons, _sm._ gratiosa, _sm._ nitidiventris, _sm._ prædator, _sm._ sepicola, _sm._ sericea, _fabr._ sphingidæ, _leach_ stalagmia guttaria, _guérin_ steiria phryganeoïdes, _walk._ stelis abdominalis, _sm._ stenophasmus, _sm._ ruficeps, _sm._ stilbum amethystinum, _fabr._ splendidum, _fabr._ stratiomidæ, _haliday_ stratiomys confertissima, _walk._ nexura, _walk._ sulu australis, _gould_ synegia botydaria, _guénée_ syntomis annosa, _walk._ chloroleuca, _walk._ xanthomela, _walk._ sypna subsignata, _walk._ syrphidæ, _leach_ , syrphus ægrotus, _fabr._ ericetorum, _fabr._ tabanidæ, _leach_ tabanus recusans, _walk._ tachinides, _walk._ tachytes morosus, _sm._ tenthredinidæ , tenthredo (allantus) purpurata, _sm._ thalatta aurigutta, _walk._ thereva congrua, _walk._ therevites, _walk._ thermesia? recusata, _walk._ thermesidæ, _guénée_ , timandra ajaia, _walk._ tipulidæ _tréhala_ tremex insignis, _sm._ trigona læviceps, _sm._ trupanea contradicens, _walk._ trypeta basalis, _walk._ dorsigutta, _walk._ impleta, _walk._ multistriga, _walk._ roripennis, _walk._ subocellifera, _walk._ trypoxylon eximium, _sm._ vespa affinis, _fabr._ fervida, _sm._ vespidæ, _stephens_ , ugia disjungens, _walk._ uraniidæ, _walk._ urothoe elegans inostratus, _dana_ worm-tracks, notice of in london clay xarnuta leucotelus, _walk._ xema jamesonii xylocopa æstuans, _linn._ , collaris, _st. farg._ dejeanii, _st. farg._ fenestrata, _fabr._ nobilis, _sm._ xylota ventralis, _walk._ xyphidria rufipes, _sm._ zanclopteryx saponaria, _h. schæff._ , zerenidæ zethus cyanopterus, _sauss._ zygænidæ, _leach_ the end printed by taylor and francis, red lion court, fleet street. transcriber's notes: . chrysophila changed to chrysopila in the index to match the text referred to. . stenophasimis changed to stenophasmus in the index to match the text refered to. . a number of words occur throughout the book in accented and non-accented forms. these were left as in the original text. essays in natural history and agriculture. by the late thomas garnett, of low moor, clitheroe. london: printed at the chiswick press. . contents. facts and observations on the salmon. introductory observations the salmon enters and ascends rivers for other purposes besides propagation suggestions for an alteration in the laws regarding salmon artificial breeding of fish artificial propagation of fish remarks on a proposed bill for the better preservation of salmon letters on agricultural subjects. on the cultivation of wheat on the same land in successive years the cultivation of wheat on the gravelling of clay soils cotton papers on natural history. wrens' nests the long-tailed titmouse identity of the green with the wood sandpiper the stoat the marsh titmouse creeper wrens' nests alarm-note of one bird understood by other species of birds dates of the appearance of some spring birds in , at clitheroe the rook serviceable to man.--prejudice against it sandpipers on birds dressing their feathers with oil from a gland mocking powers of the sedge-warbler the water ouzel scolopax, sabines, sabine's snipe fish and other river phenomena lampreys on the spawning of the minnow eels on the possibility of introducing salmon into new zealand and australia on the formation of ice at the bottom of rivers on the production of ice at the bottoms of rivers gossamer * * * * * facts and observations on the salmon. * * * * * facts and observations on the salmon. in the following observations i intend to offer some remarks on the various migratory fish of the _genus salmo_; and then some facts and opinions which tend to show the importance of some change in the laws which are now in force regarding them. we have first the salmon; which, in the ribble, varies in weight from five to thirty pounds. we never see the fish here before may, and then very rarely; a few come in june, july, and august if there are high floods in the river, and about the latter end of september they become tolerably abundant; as the fisheries near the mouth of the river have then ceased for the season, and the salmon run very freely up the river from that time to the middle or end of december. they begin to spawn at the latter end of october, but the greater part of those that spawn here do so in december. i believe nearer the source of the river they are earlier, but many fish are seen on the spawning beds in january; and i have even seen a pair so late as march; but this last is of very rare occurrence. some of the male kipper (kelts) come down in december and january, but the greater part of the females remain in the river until april, and they are occasionally seen herding with shoals of smolts in may. in this state they will take a worm very readily, and are, many of them, caught with the fly in the deeps; but they are unfit to eat, the flesh being white, loose, and insipid; although they have lost the red dingy appearance which they had when about to spawn, and are almost as bright as the fresh fish, their large heads and lank bodies render it sufficiently easy to distinguish them from fish which are only ascending the river, even if the latter were plentiful at this season; but this is unfortunately not the case. secondly, we have the mort. i am not sure whether this fish is what is called the grilse in scotland, or whether it is the sea trout of that country; it is a handsome fish, weighing from one and a half to three pounds. we first see morts in june; from that time to the end of september they are plentiful in favourable seasons in the hodder, a tributary stream of the ribble, although they are never very numerous in the ribble above the mouth of that stream. it is the opinion of the fishermen here that this is a distinct species; my own opinion is, that it is a young salmon, and yet, if i were called upon to give reasons for thinking so, i could not offer any very conclusive ones: the best i have is, that there is no perceptible difference in the fry when going down to sea. it may be said, how do you know that one of the three or four varieties of smolts which you describe further on, is not the fry of the mort? to this objection, if made, i say that these varieties exist in the wharfe, where, owing either to natural or artificial causes, there is never either a mort or a sprod (whitling?) seen. thirdly, we have the sprod, which is, i believe, synonymous with the whitling, whiting, or birling of scotland. it is a beautiful fish of six or eight ounces in weight, and has more the appearance of the salmon than the mort; it seldom ascends the river before july, and, like the mort, is far more abundant in the hodder than in the ribble; this fish sometimes rises pretty freely at the fly, and when it does so, makes a very handsome addition to the angler's basket, but at other times it is difficult to hook, because of its shyness. it disappears in a great measure about september. fourthly, we have the pink, or par, which is found of two or three sizes in the ribble; the largest are all males, and in october the milt in them is large; they are small fishes, ranging in weight from about one to three ounces each, and it is well remarked by the author of that delightful book "wild sports of the west," they have very much the appearance of hybrids between the salmon and the trout; they rise very freely at the fly and maggot, from july to october, and afford good sport to the angler who is satisfied with catching small fish. i trust i shall be able in the following pages to give some information respecting this fish which will assist in dispelling the mystery in which its natural history has been enveloped. i will now mention a few of the opinions respecting the various species of the salmon, and also my own, when they are at variance with the generally received ones, and give the facts and reasonings which have induced me to form those opinions, and i shall be very glad, if i am in error on any of these points, if some one of my readers, better acquainted with the subject than i am, will take the trouble to set me right. it seems to be the opinion of many, indeed of most persons, that the salmon spawns from november to february, that the young fry, or smolts, go down to the sea in the april or may following; my own opinion is that they stay in the river much longer. the grilse is by many believed to be a distinct species, whilst others stoutly maintain that it is a young salmon. the testimony of the witnesses from the severn, the wye, the lee, near cork, and the ness (see the evidence given before the select committees of the house of commons in and ), would lead one to suppose that the fish were in best season from november to march, whilst the evidence of the witnesses from other parts of the kingdom goes to prove that this is the very worst period for catching them. one maintains that each river has its own variety of fish, which can be distinguished from the fish of any other river; another contends that there is no such difference; a third states that stake nets are exceedingly injurious to the breed of the fish; and a fourth attests that stake nets only catch the fish when they are in the best season, that neither kelt nor fry are taken in them, and that if they were prohibited it would only be preserving the fish for the grampuses and seals;--in short, the evidence regarding both their habits, and the best mode of catching them, having in view the preservation and increase of the breed, is so completely contradictory as to leave a doubt in the mind of every one who reads it, and has no other means of forming an opinion. i will endeavour to show in some instances which of the testimonies is correct, and it will be for my readers to judge how far i succeed, and i hope they will be so obliging as to correct any error into which i may fall. first.--it is my opinion that the fry of salmon are much older when they leave the river than seems to be generally supposed, and that the growth of this fish is by no means so rapid as it is considered to be by those who have written upon the subject. for several years previous to the salmon were unable to ascend into the upper parts of the river wharfe, being prevented either by the high weirs in the lower parts, or by some other cause, and of course there were no smolts or par; but in that year either the incessant rains of that summer or rumours of the formation of an association for the protection of fish, or some other unknown cause, enabled some salmon to ascend the river, thirty or forty miles, and to spawn there. in the next spring, , there were no smolts, but about september they began to rise at the very small flies which the anglers use in that river--they were then a little larger than minnows. in the spring of there were blue smolts, or what are generally known as salmon fry, which went down to the sea in the may of that year; but these were only part of the brood, the females only, the males remaining all that summer, being at the period when the females went down very much smaller than they, and what was called at the wharfe grey smolt and pinks, or par elsewhere. i have shown that there were two migrations from the spawn of ; but this was not all--there still remained a few smolts through the summer of , which by that time were from four to six ounces in weight, and which are known by the anglers there as brambling smolts. the blue marks on their sides are very distinct, and the fish is a perfect smolt, except that it is considerably larger. it is quite different from the whitling, or sprod, which is not known in the wharfe, at least not in the upper parts of that river, whilst the brambling is never seen in the ribble. [ ] the brambling is a beautiful fish, and it rises very freely both at the may fly and the artificial fly through the summer; it is occasionally caught by anglers with the worm on the salmon spawning beds in the autumn, with the milt perfectly developed, and in a fluid state. although this fish is not found in the ribble, so far as my observations and inquiries have gone, i believe that it is found in the tweed, and perhaps also in other rivers running into the german ocean; for a letter addressed to mr. kennedy, who was chairman of the select committee appointed to investigate this subject, by a mr. george houy, states that the smolts are sometimes found there ten inches long, which he attributes to their not being able to get down at the proper period for want of a flood in the river. but i know that in the ribble smolts will go down to the sea without there being a flood at all, if that does not come within ten days or a fortnight of the time at which they usually descend to the sea. i also know that brambling are found in the wharfe, in years where there has been no deficiency in that respect; yet why they should be common in that river, when they are never met with in the ribble, which has ten times as many salmon and smolts in it, i am unable to comprehend. it is my opinion that the ova of the salmon are not hatched before march or april. two anglers, who were in april wading in the river wharfe, came upon a spawning bed, which they had the curiosity to examine; they found a number of ova, in which they could see the young fry already alive, and one of them took these eggs home with him. by regularly and frequently supplying them with fresh water, he succeeded in hatching them, and kept some of the young fishes alive for some time; but they died in consequence of neglect, and were even then very diminutive. the opinion generally received in scotland seems to be, if i may judge from the evidence given before the house of commons, that the smolts go down to the sea in the spring after they are spawned, and that they return in the summer and autumn of the same year as grilse. when they return, and what size they are on their first visit, i have hitherto been unable to ascertain; but i think i have succeeded in proving that they do not go to the sea so soon as is generally believed, nor do any of the witnesses give their reasons for thinking that they do. i should very much like to learn what evidence they have to offer in behalf of this opinion. i remember seeing an article in the "scotsman," perhaps about twelve months ago, in which it was stated that dr. knox had made some important discoveries in the natural history of the salmon and herring, both in their food and propagation, and, if i recollect aright, it stated that he had ascertained that the eggs remained several months in the gravel, and that then, in a few days or weeks after, they (_i.e._ the fish hatched from them) were so much grown as to go down to the sea; but none of the data which enabled him to arrive at this conclusion were given, and since then i have heard nothing about the matter. as it is so long since i read this article, i may have quoted it incorrectly, but i believe its substance was what i have stated. the only conclusive evidence i can find about the hatching of salmon fry is that of mr. george hogarth (second parl. report, p. ), and his account agrees with my own: he states that he took salmon spawn from the spawning beds, and by keeping it freely supplied with fresh water, he succeeded in hatching some of the eggs; he gives drawings of the appearance of the fry in three or four different stages, from the egg to the age of eight days (see appendix to second parl. report), that the young fry, by keeping them well supplied with fresh water, were very lively and vigorous for three weeks, but that they after this time appeared to grow languid and uneasy, and as they would eat nothing they died when one inch long. unfortunately he does not state at what time of the year they were hatched, but if this were in march or april, which i see no reason to doubt, it is sufficient to prove that they would not reach the size that smolts are when they leave the river for the sea; for supposing them to be hatched the last week in march, and that they lived a month, this would bring us to the time when they are about to migrate, at which time they average more than six inches long; many of them are eight inches, and at this period they are fond of feeding upon worms, flies, maggots, and caddis worms, as is known to every schoolboy living on the banks of a river frequented by salmon. it is also my opinion that neither salmon nor trout spawn every year, [ ] for salmon ascend the river as early as january, in the highest condition, with roe in them no bigger than mustard seed: these could not have spawned that season, as the kelts, particularly the females, do not return to the sea until march or april, [ ] and at that time they are in very bad condition, and do not appear to have a particle of spawn in them; and in the evidence of mr. mackenzie (see parl. rep., p. ), we have an account of a grilse kelt which was caught and marked in march, , and was again caught as a salmon on its return to the river in march, . in this case the fish had evidently required a residence of twelve months in the sea before it was in a condition to visit the river a second time, and in the wharfe it is the constant practice of the angler to catch trout through the winter with very minute roe in them, and in high condition with the worm and salmon roe, and also with night lines. in fact, one of the fishermen has frequently remarked to me that he occasionally caught dishes of trout with the fly in january, and in finer condition, than he has found them in april, which he accounted for by saying that the spawned fish (kelts) of that season had not begun to rise freely at the fly at the former period, but they had at the latter, so that his pannier contained as many kelts as fresh fish. another reason has just occurred to me: it is, that in january the spawned fish will still be in the small brooks in which they are so fond of breeding, and of course the bulk of the fish remaining in the river at that time would be fish in good season. as it is some years since i acquired this information, or at least a part of it, i felt afraid of giving it incorrectly; and i therefore addressed a letter to a friend living on the banks of the wharfe, requesting him to send me all the information in his possession on this subject, that derived from his own observations, as well as that collected from others. he has since the above was written sent me the following reply:--"i have seen robinson (one of the best anglers and fly makers between cornwall and caithness), and have had some conversation with him on the subject of salmon, &c. he is of opinion that the spawn of the salmon remains five months in the gravel before hatching; he examined the spawn in april, and found the young fry alive in the eggs, and ingham, another angler, took some home and kept one of the smolts two or three months. i have subsequently seen ingham, and he has given me the same account. all the fishermen here are of opinion that the female smolts remain one year, and the males two years, before they go down to the sea. the bramblings are supposed to be smolts which remain a year longer than the usual time; they are few in number, and are generally taken with the may fly. i have no doubt that the above opinions are correct, for we have now three distinct sizes of smolts in the river exclusive of bramblings, the largest of which are nearly four ounces in weight, and are all males, as they contain milt in october and november. the next are the females of the present year: i have had one since the receipt of your letter, which weighed half an ounce and measured five inches in length; this was a real blue smolt; the third are the males of the same age, and are much smaller; these are occasionally taken with the worm, and will rise at the fly all the next summer." "we were for several years, but i do not know the dates, entirely without salmon, and of course without smolts; and we invariably found that the smolts made their appearance the year after the salmon, but were very small till the second year, when we had what we call blue smolts, which disappeared in may or june; and what you called pinks, which remained till the following year; and brambling smolts, which remained another year. the fishermen here are also of opinion that neither salmon nor trout spawn every year. robinson says that one day lately (the letter is dated december th) he caught seven trouts, six of which were in good season; and he brought me two the other day, one of which contained roe, and the other was in excellent condition." my friend states, in a subsequent communication, that one of the fishermen had told him that he had caught the male smolt (par) more abundantly on the salmon spawning beds than elsewhere, and my friend adds that the opinion there is, that if a female salmon gets up to the spawning beds, and if no male accompanies her, yet her eggs are fecundated by the male smolts; and they allege, in support of this opinion, that a female got up one season and spawned, and though no male was seen near her her eggs were prolific. i mention this, although i apprehend it is evidence which the unbeliever will consider inadmissible, for though no male was seen, still there may have been one, or admitting that one did spawn, without being accompanied by a male, yet another, which contrived to bring her mate along with her, may have spawned in the same place the same season; yet, notwithstanding its liability to these objections, i have no doubt myself that if a female were to come alone her eggs would be impregnated by the par. it is an excellent maxim, that nature makes no useless provisions; yet, if we admit that par are young salmon, for what purpose is the milt if not to impregnate salmon roe? and if we deny this to be the fact, we must endeavour to show that there are female par, but in all my examinations, i have never been able to meet with one that contained roe. that the grilse are salmon is proved i think sufficiently by the evidence given before the house of commons. mr. wm. stephens states (see rep., p. ) that he has known grilse kept in a salt-water pond until they became salmon, and that fry that had been marked came back that year as grilse, and the year after as salmon; and mr. george hogarth states that he has often seen a salmon and a grilse working together on the spawning beds, as two salmon, or two grilse; and mr. mackenzie states (page ) that he, in march, , marked a grilse kelt with brass wire, and caught it again in march, , a salmon of seven pounds weight. the testimony of the witnesses from the ness, the severn, the lee, and some other rivers, is too positive and too well supported to admit of any doubt as to the excellent condition of many of the fish ascending those rivers in november, december, and january--a period when they are out of season, and full of spawn generally, and even when many fish are caught in those rivers in the same unseasonable condition. the fact that there are many fish in fine season in those months may be, i think, accounted for, if we admit that salmon spawn every other year, which i have i think shown to be very probable; but what it is that induces those fish to ascend rivers so many months before the spawning season, i cannot explain. probably there may be some quality in the waters of these rivers, all the year, which is congenial to the habits of the fish, while the same quality may only be found during part of the year in others; it is certain that the quality of the waters in rivers generally varies very much with the season: thus the water of the ribble, after a flood in summer, is always of a dark brown colour, being so coloured by the peat moss over which it passes, while in winter no such tinge can be observed; and there may be other differences with which we are unacquainted; however, whether this is the true reason or not, it certainly cannot be that the fish which spawn in october are impelled by their desire to propagate their species to ascend the river the january before; and if this long residence in fresh water were necessary for the proper development of the ova in one river, we might suppose it would be necessary in all; yet this is not the case, as the red fish which ascend the river in november and december have at that time the spawn in them nearly ready for exclusion. on one point, about which there is great difference of opinion, viz. whether the fish which are bred in the river generally resort to it again, and whether each river has its own variety of fish, i am not a competent judge, as i am acquainted with too few rivers to pretend to decide. i may, however, just remark that the hodder, though it is a much smaller river than the ribble, is always much better stocked with salmon, morts, sprods, smolts, and par than is the latter river, which i attribute to the fact that more fish spawn in the river hodder, which runs for many miles through the forest of bowland (the property of the duke of buccleuch) and other large estates, and the fish are much better protected there than in the ribble, where, with one or two exceptions, the properties are very much divided, and few people think it worth their while to trouble themselves on the subject. dr. fleming, in his letter to mr. kennedy (appendix to the first rep., ), seems to doubt that salmon enter rivers for any other purpose than of propagation, but lest i should misrepresent his opinions, i will quote what he has said on the subject:--"in the evidence taken before the select committee during the last season of parliament, and appearing in the report, there are several statements of a somewhat imposing kind, which, as they appear to me to be erroneous and apt to mislead, i shall here take the liberty of opposing." he then enumerates several opinions expressed before the select committee, one of which is, that salmon enter and leave rivers for other purposes than those connected with spawning (see the evidence of messrs. little, halliday, and johnstone). first, "that they enter rivers to rid themselves of sea lice (_monoculus piscinus_);" secondly, "that they forsake rivers to save themselves from being exhausted by residence in fresh water, and from having their gills devoured by a maggot (_lernaea salmonea_)." the whole history of the salmon contradicts this hypothesis. another of these errors is, that it is asserted (rep., , p. ), "that salmon always return to the same river;" this is not probable, when we consider the circumstances in which they are placed during their residence in the sea. on the first of these opinions, i am not a competent judge; but i think that the fact that salmon enter rivers nine or ten months before they are ready to spawn, is of itself sufficient to show that there are other reasons for their entering rivers than those connected with propagation. with respect to the second, i believe that after salmon have once entered rivers, at least when they have ascended into the upper parts of them, they never offer to descend again until they have spawned. on the third opinion i would remark, that although i do not think that salmon always come to the same river in which they were bred, yet i think they will do so if they can; and i think that the fact which i have mentioned of the hodder, a smaller and a tributary stream to the ribble, containing many more salmon, as well as more morts and sprods, countenances this supposition, for why should the larger number of fish ascend the smaller river except for such a reason? i am of opinion that salmon do not grow so fast in the sea as is generally supposed. it is here generally believed that the smolts, which go down in the spring, come up again in the august or september following, five or six pounds in weight; and george little, esq., in his evidence states that as his opinion, but he does not give any other reason for it than this: "that the grilse that ascend the river in june weigh one and a half or two pounds, and that those which come in september weigh five or six pounds," --but opposed to this supposition is the evidence of mr. mackenzie, before referred to (second parl. report, p. ), who states that he caught in march a grilse kelt which weighed three and a half pounds, that he marked it with a brass wire, and let it go, and that in the march following he caught it again a salmon of seven pounds weight. now a fish which weighed three and a half pounds as a kelt, would weigh five pounds or six pounds when in high condition the summer before, and if this were so, which i believe all persons who are acquainted with salmon will admit, the fish would have gained only one pound or two pounds in fifteen or eighteen months. besides, if salmon grew as fast as is stated and believed by many persons, the breeds of different years would vary very much in weight, whereas it is known to everybody that we have them of all sizes, from five pounds to forty pounds; and it is contrary to analogy to suppose that a fish which is two or three years in arriving at the weight of as many ounces, should in two or three months acquire as many pounds. there are, however, two or three things about which all persons agree in opinion--one of these is: that the breed of salmon is decreasing every year, and that the great cause of this decrease is the want of protection, and a consequent destruction in the spawning season. the complaint on this head is universal from north to south; from the shannon to the tweed, the cry is--"protect the breeding fish, or we shall very soon have none to protect." and yet, although the destruction of the spawning fish, and the destruction of the fry in the spring, are the chief reasons for this alarming falling off, no one seems able to devise a remedy; no one seems inclined to make the necessary sacrifices for so desirable an object, and without these sacrifices it would be absurd to expect the fish to become plentiful; and instead of furnishing an abundant supply of cheap and wholesome food to all classes, which they certainly would do if the fisheries were properly regulated, they will either become wholly extinct, or so rare as to be found only at the tables of the wealthy. james gillies, in his evidence, states that his brother had in one night killed in the tweed four hundred salmon at one landing-place in close time; and all the reports are full of statements showing how unceasing and universal is the persecution the salmon undergo, not only when in season, but at all times, and most of all when every one should do his utmost to preserve them--i mean when they are spawning. in this neighbourhood the properties generally are so much divided, and so few good fish are allowed to ascend the river, that no one has any interest in protecting them in close time, and the consequence is, as might be expected, that all sorts of contrivances for taking them are resorted to: they are speared and netted in the streams by day and night; they are caught with the fly, they are taken with switch hooks (large hooks fixed to the ends of staves), or with a triple hook fixed to the end of a running line and a salmon rod; if the river becomes low, parties of idle fellows go up each side of it in search of them, and by stoning the deeps, or dragging a horse's skull, or large bone of any kind through them, they compel the fish to _side_, and there they fall an easy prey, in most cases where the pool is of small extent. in a river so small as the ribble, it will be readily believed that not many fish can deposit their spawn in safety, when practices of this kind are followed almost openly, and when no one feels a sufficient interest in the matter to put a stop to them. a single party of poachers killed four hundred salmon in one spawning season near the source of the river; the roe of which, when potted, they sold for l . need we be surprised, then, if the breed decreases? the only wonder is that they have not been exterminated long ago. i may perhaps be allowed to say what, in my opinion, would remedy this alarming destruction, particularly as no one hitherto seems to have devised an efficient preventive. i believe that in there was an act of parliament passed which either repealed or modified some of the old laws on the subject, and i have also understood that the good effects of this new law are already perceptible in scotland, to which it is exclusively applied. there was a bill introduced into parliament in which was intended to apply to the whole kingdom; but some of the clauses were so very objectionable, that if they had been carried they could not possibly have been enforced without stopping and ruining the manufactories which were carried on by water-power, and the bill was consequently abandoned. the first thing to be done is to give the proprietors on the upper part of the river such an interest in the fisheries as will make them anxious about the preservation of the fish in the spawning season; and to accomplish so desirable an object no one ought to fish or keep a net stretched across a river for more than twelve hours each day, or from sunrise to sunset; and every mill-owner ought to be compelled to facilitate the passage of the fish over his weir by every means consistent with the proper supply of water to his wheels. at present the fisheries at the mouths and lower parts of rivers so completely prevent the access of the fish to the upper parts, that unless there happen to be high floods, which prevent the fishermen below from keeping their nets in, the upper proprietors comparatively seldom see any until the season is at an end. the evidence before the house of commons on this point is exceedingly amusing. one person thinks the upper proprietors have no right to expect any fish, as they have never paid any consideration for them when they bought their estates; another states that he pays l , a year to the duke of gordon, and that if he is compelled to observe a weekly (not a daily) close time, he will lose that proportion of his rent; another observes the weekly close time, and opens a passage for the fish, but places a crocodile, painted in very glaring colours, in the gap to frighten them back again; another says he observes the weekly close time in his cruive fishing, but no one is allowed to inspect the cruives; another sends men to break down the stake nets in the estuary, which reach from high to low water-mark, and at the same time stretches a net completely across the river from march to august, so that a fish cannot pass without his permission. no wonder that fish are scarce in the upper parts of the river, when such samples of _disinterestedness_ are manifested by the proprietors of the fisheries below. no wonder that the upper proprietors should be careless about the protection of fish from which they are not allowed to derive any benefit. no wonder that they should connive at, and even encourage, the shameful destruction of fish in close time, since that is the only time they are allowed to have any. let the fishermen below make it worth the while of the upper proprietors to protect the fish, and they will receive that protection; but it is too much to expect from human nature that these proprietors will take all the odium and trouble of preserving them when others reap all the benefit. there ought to be conservators employed, to see that the fisheries are properly regulated, and these should be paid by an assessment on all the proprietors in proportion to the value of their fisheries. i should also recommend an extension and uniformity of close time in all the rivers in the kingdom, for although it is an undoubted fact that some clean fish are caught in the river early in the season, yet they are comparatively few in number, and their capture involves that of a far greater number of spawning and kelt fish, which are not only of no value for the table, but the destruction of which is in effect the destruction of millions of fish which would proceed from them. in the first parl. rep., p. , mr. walter jamieson says, that in the river tweed, from january th to february st, he caught one hundred and twenty-one fish, only one of which had spawned; from february st to march st he took forty-four fish, twenty-five of which had not spawned --fifteen were kelts and four were clean fish; from march st to march th he took seventeen fish, seven of which had not spawned (four of them on the th)--six were kelts and one clean fish. now the close time varies in almost every river, and some have no close time at all; thus in the ribble the close time begins on september th and ends on december st, and in the hodder there is no legal close time; but there is no practical difference between them in this respect, every one thinking himself entitled to kill all the fish he can, at all times of the year, in both of them. the observance of the weekly close time, that is, opening a passage for the fish from sunset on saturday night to sunrise on monday morning, is a mere farce, even if it could not be evaded, as it almost invariably is, for it is well known to every one conversant with the habits of salmon, that they only ascend the rivers when there are freshes (floods) in them, and in summer the ground is generally so dry, and vegetation absorbs so much moisture, and the evaporation is so great, that it not only requires twice as much rain to produce a flood in the river then as it does in winter, but when the rain does come its effects are only visible in the river for a short time. i have known a strong fresh in the ribble in the morning, and the river low again in the afternoon of the same day. a fresh coming at the beginning of a week, would disappear long before the close of it, unless the rainy weather continued; and thus the strict observance of the weekly close time would be of little service to the upper proprietors unless the fresh came at the right end of the week. the smolts and the par ought to be protected as strictly as the salmon; and there ought to be a penalty attached to the killing of them, or having them in possession, and conservators of rivers ought to have the power of inspecting all mills and manufactories driven by those rivers, to ascertain that they have no contrivances for taking the fry on their way to the sea, as it appears that in some rivers they are taken in large quantities. there ought also to be a penalty attached to the killing of kelt fish, which in that state are not only tasteless and insipid, but actually unwholesome; yet they are pursued and destroyed with as much avidity as the fresh fish, and a very small number of the few that spawn in safety ever return to the sea. a penalty ought also to be inflicted for selling, buying, using, or having in possession salmon roe, either in a fresh or salted state, as its excellence as a bait for trout and eels, and the consequent high price at which it sells, are sufficient temptations to poachers to kill the salmon in the spawning season even if they could not sell or use any other part. yet destructive as this practice is, there is an extensive trade in this article-- a fishing-tackle maker in liverpool having told a friend of mine that he sold lbs. in a season, which, supposing every egg to hatch, would produce perhaps five times as many salmon as are caught in one year throughout the whole kingdom. [ ] in concluding this imperfect sketch, i may remark that i have omitted many things concerning the natural history and habits of the salmon, fearing to trespass too much on the patience of my readers; but i have wished, in addition to communicating some facts in the natural history of this fish, which i believe are not generally known, to call the attention of the public to the present state of the salmon fisheries in england. many of the preceding observations are founded on the evidence of persons connected with the fisheries in scotland, and are perhaps no longer applicable to that part of the kingdom, since there has been an alteration in the laws; whether this is the case or not, i have no present means of ascertaining. i shall be glad if any one having a knowledge of the subject will say what benefit, if any, has been derived from the alteration; however, it is sufficient for my present purpose to show what is the state of things when there are no laws on the subject, or, which is the same thing, when there is no attention paid to them; a state of things which, instead of promoting an abundant supply of these excellent fish, and rendering the salmon fisheries nationally important, tends by the habitual disregard of the laws by one party, the selfishness of another, and the neglect of a third, to render these fisheries of little and decreasing value; whereas if the lower proprietors would allow a tolerable supply of salmon to come up the river when they were worth taking, and the upper ones would preserve them during close time, there would be plenty for each and for all. i am aware it will be difficult to legislate upon this subject without injury to what is of infinitely greater importance--i mean the manufactories of the country. the absurd and impracticable clauses which were contained in the bill for the protection of the fisheries, which was introduced into parliament in , show this; yet notwithstanding this difficulty, i think it is possible to protect the fish without interfering with the interest of the mill-owners, and to make such laws on the subject as will be effectual, without calling forth a single objection from any unprejudiced person. i shall be glad if what i have said on this subject should induce any gentleman to turn his attention to it. there must be many whose opportunities of observation will enable them to determine whatever is doubtful in the natural history of the salmon tribe; whose experience will teach them the defects and absurdities of the present laws on the fisheries; and whose influence will, if they can be induced to exert it, materially contribute to their amendment. clitheroe, _january_, . * * * * * the salmon enters and ascends rivers for other purposes besides propagation. [ ] in addition to the objections which i have offered to the seeming doubt of dr. fleming, whether salmon enter rivers for any other purpose besides propagation, the following have come to mind; and though they do not apply to the salmon, they confirm me in the opinion that there are reasons, of which we know nothing, for fish ascending rivers, which are not at all connected with propagation. one is the habit of what is here called streaming. in the winter the fish not engaged in spawning (i speak of trout, grayling, chub, dace, &c.) leave the streams and go into deep water; either because the water is warmer there, or because they there find more food; and it is well known to fly-fishers that they do not catch many fish in the streams if they begin early, say in february. it is proverbial here that fish begin to stream when the great grey, or what is called in other districts the devil or dule crook, and in march brown or brown drake, comes upon the water; and i have seen trout by scores leaping at a weir in the beginning of may, whether in search of food or an instinct implanted in them to keep all parts equally stocked with them, i do not know; but it has certainly nothing to do with their spawning. is it presumptuous to suppose that god in his providence has implanted this instinct in salmon for our good, that we might have a supply of excellent food, which without this would be in a great measure unattainable? whether this is the true cause, and the only one, i am unable to determine; but this is the effect produced, and in the absence of other reasons it is, in my opinion, one that ought to be admitted. another reason why fish ascend rivers is their impatience of heat. i speak now more particularly of grayling; if the weather is very hot at the end of may or the beginning of june, the grayling in the wharfe (they are almost unknown in this part of the ribble) ascend the mill streams by hundreds, and go up the wheel races as far as they can get, and stay there until the stoppage of the wheels (many a ducking have i had in pursuit of them), when they are obliged to beat a retreat, and this often proves a disastrous one to many of them. the ascent of young eels by millions, and the ascent of the flounder, are neither of them connected with the propagation of their kind, and though i cannot say for what purposes they do ascend, i am, i think, justified in doubting assertions which seem to have nothing to support them but the positive manner in which they are made. the salmon par is neither a hybrid nor a distinct species of the _genus salmo_, but a state of the common salmon. the author of "wild sports of the west" says of the par, as i have noted previously, "that it has very much the appearance of a hybrid between the salmon and the trout, and (in a note) that the natural history of this fish is doubtful. some conjecture that it is a hybrid between the salmon and trout, because it is only found in rivers which are frequented by salmon. others think it a cross breed between the sea trout and river trout," and then he speaks of this "hybridous diminutive," as if he thought one of these opinions was correct. that the par is not the result of a cross between a sea trout and a river trout, is proved by the fact that there are no sea trouts in the wharfe, the par (admitting it to be a distinct species, which i do not), the salmon, and common trout being the only kinds of salmonidae which are found in that river, at least where i am acquainted with it. if the par be the result of a cross between the salmon and the trout, what becomes of it in the spring, and where are all the par, which were so abundant in october, gone to in april? did they migrate to the sea, the shoals would be met with by somebody; and did they stay in the river they would be caught at one time or other. however, as it is well known that neither of these cases is ever realized, we must suppose another, which i have already done in my former communication. in fact, in angling in the beginning of march, fish are often caught which would puzzle the most experienced fisherman to determine whether they are par or smolts, especially after they have been caught some time; and in a large number caught at that time there are all the intermediate shades of appearance between the perfect par and the real blue smolt. clitheroe, _may th_, . * * * * * clitheroe, _march th_, . to mr. pakington (lord hampton). sir,--through the polite attention of mr. cardwell i have been favoured with a copy of your bill--"for the better preservation of salmon." as this is a subject to which i have paid some attention, i trust it will not be deemed impertinent if i offer some suggestions for your consideration with regard to the free gap. it appears to me that it will be desirable to specify the width and depth of this free gap, or it may on the one hand degenerate into a mouse-hole, or on the other hand the surveyor, by the provisions of the th section of the act, may insist on such a gap being made that the whole of the water may be diverted through it, which in small rivers, where there are ancient and legal hecks or cruives for the purpose of taking salmon, will destroy the value of the fishery. then, with regard to fence time:--in the th section of the act, i presume you do not intend that night fishing shall be allowed at any season of the year; but it appears to me that the expressions in the th section would scarcely prevent the owners of cruives from keeping them open, as they need not go near them between sunset and sunrise, and then they will neither lay, draw, nor fish with any net, device, or engine. would it not be better to expressly insist upon all cruive fisheries being positively closed from sunset to sunrise? or, what would be still better, that the cruive or heck should have a free gap in it, of a specified size, which should be kept constantly open between sunset and sunrise. as this is one of the most important sections of the act, i may be pardoned for calling your particular attention to it; for unless this section be vigorously enforced, it will be in vain to legislate on the subject;--for the proprietors near the sources of rivers (where most of the fish spawn) will never interest themselves about the preservation of fish which they are not allowed to see when in season, and which has hitherto been the case in this neighbourhood at all events; but if the fish are allowed a free passage everywhere, and at all times, between sunset and sunrise, the upper proprietors will then have some inducement to take care of the fish in the spawning season. until now, all the good fish have been taken in the fisheries near the mouth of the river. there is at present a great trade carried on in this neighbourhood in salmon roe, as a bait for trout and eels, and scores of spawning salmon are now destroyed for little else than the spawn they contain. cannot this be prevented? * * * * * _may th_, . h. george, esq. sir,--i enclose a letter i had addressed to mr. pakington on the subject of the preservation of the breed of salmon. i had written to him because i perceived that he had introduced the bill into the house of commons, but since that letter was written i have been favoured with your address through the politeness of sir thomas winnington, to a friend of mine, and as he requests that any suggestion about weirs may be addressed to you, i make no apology for enclosing the letter i had addressed to mr. pakington with some further suggestions, which on looking over my letter i find i have omitted to notice. in one of the clauses of the bill (i do not remember which, and i have not the bill at hand to refer to) you require that a grating, the bars of which shall not be more than three inches distant from each other, and which shall be placed at the junction of the tail- goit with the river, as well as in front of the wheel. this i presume is to prevent any fish being injured by the wheels, but i assure you that during the twenty-two years in which i have had the management of the works here, i never knew an instance of a salmon being either killed or hurt by the wheels. indeed, i do not know half-a-dozen instances of salmon ever ascending the tail-goit to the wheel, and i must have seen many instances if this was a common occurrence. this may, however, happen, and the fish may be occasionally injured where there is much fall lost, and a strong stream running from a wheel constituted in the old way with open float boards. but the objections to such a plan on the part of the manufacturers will be insuperable, in fact, the accumulation of sticks and leaves in the autumn, and ice in the winter, will be so great at the grating in the tail-goit, that the wheels will be thrown into back water and the works stopped, and all this loss and inconvenience will be incurred because of the possibility of a salmon being killed or hurt by the wheel. there is not much probability of this frequently happening, because, as i said in my other letter, salmon seldom migrate except where there are freshes in the rivers, and then there is so much water flowing down the usual course of the stream, that the fish have no inducement to leave it to seek for a passage elsewhere. i would, however, suggest that power be given to conservators to go at all times up the tail-goits and into the wheelhouses, to see that there are no illegal contrivances in them for catching the salmon and smolts in their migration, as i have certainly heard of such things occurring. in sir thomas winnington's note to my friend, he says we have difficulty enough in endeavouring to obtain support for one day's clear course; two we could not carry, however desirable. allow me to suggest, that in endeavouring to carry so little you rouse up your opponents, while there is not enough to stimulate the zeal of your friends, for it will be in vain to look for the zealous co- operation of the proprietors on the upper part of rivers unless you give them some inducement. this one day in the week will not effect, and besides this, you make it illegal to catch smolts, even with the rod, which is destroying one of the greatest amusements of the anglers, and depriving them of the most delicate of fish, and for no object: because, if the provisions of your bill are carried (without this clause), there will be an abundant supply of fish for all purposes, even after the anglers have enjoyed their sport. i do not see the propriety and utility of prohibiting the killing of smolts, because if they lived they would become salmon, any more than i see the propriety of prohibiting the eating of eggs, because if they were hatched and lived long enough they would become barn-door fowls. let the legislature and the estuary fisheries give the upper proprietors a fair share of salmon when in season, and they will be glad to see the angling for smolts abolished; but it is rather too bad for the estuary fisheries to catch all the good salmon, and then grudge to the upper proprietors the angling for smolts. in conclusion, allow me to urge on you the propriety of endeavouring to obtain such a bill as will give the proprietors of land on the upper parts of rivers a strong inducement to support you, and at the same time that it does this will not injure the mill-owners; and, with the modifications i have pointed out, i think this may be accomplished. i speak on this subject as a practical man, having some knowledge of the habits of salmon, and superintending a mill driven by water-power which employs nearly a thousand people; so that if a bill like yours could be worked in a satisfactory manner here, on so small a stream as the ribble, it may anywhere in the kingdom. but if you make a tinkering job of it, and ask for too little, you will rouse your opponents and discourage your friends. by all means go for a free passage for the fish every night from sunset to sunrise in all cases where this does not interfere with manufactories, and then there will be some inducement to support you. i refer you to some papers which i wrote on this subject in the magazine of natural history, in the year , and if you think it worth while to ask for further information on the subject, i shall be happy to give you any i may possess. * * * * * low moor, _july st_, . to the editor of "the times." the attempt which is now making to amend the laws relating to the salmon fisheries, appears to run such a great risk of failure, from the opposition of interested persons, that i think a short sketch of the defects of the present laws and their effects on the breed of fish, and a comparison of them with the proposed amendment, may be interesting to some of your readers, and may, perhaps, induce some influential gentlemen to throw their influence into the right scale, in the approaching discussion on this subject. the salmon fisheries in former times appear to have supplied food for a large portion of the people, as there are still traditions current on the banks of various rivers in the north, that the indentures of apprenticeship always stipulated that the apprentice should not be compelled to eat salmon more frequently than three days a week, and however exaggerated this story may appear at the present day, i hope to succeed in showing that it is neither improbable that it has been so, nor impossible that it may be so again,--if good laws are made for their protection, and these laws are properly enforced. at present there is no doubt the fisheries are rapidly declining, and in some rivers which used to have a good many salmon in them, and which used to swarm with smolts (or fry) in the spring within my remembrance, they are now rarely seen. to show their scarcity i may mention a circumstance which occurred in the wharfe, which was formerly one of the finest rivers in yorkshire for salmon. a few years ago a pair of salmon were seen on a spawning bed in the wharfe, about forty miles from its mouth. this became known at the anglers' club, and it was deemed so important to preserve them, that the club divided themselves into three or four watches, and guarded the spawning bed night and day, whilst the fish were spawning, and this spawning lasted about a week. here in the ribble the salmon fisheries are not quite so near extinction (though they are rapidly progressing in that direction), for although we are very seldom allowed to see or catch fish in seasonable condition, a good many come up the river to spawn, though very few of them ever do so, and very few of those that do ever reach the sea again. the reason is obvious, no one here has any interest in preserving the spawning fish, and they are openly killed by the poachers, who never dream of being prosecuted for it. i am credibly informed that in a stream not five hundred yards from where i write, sixty spawning fish were killed last winter. some years ago one gang of poachers killed three hundred salmon on the spawning beds in one season, and sold potted salmon roe (which is a most destructive bait for trout) to the value of l . in the lune the proprietors of the fisheries near lancaster sent men to protect the spawning fish in the streams above; but these men were warned off by the landed proprietors, who said, if you catch all the good fish you must at least allow us to catch the bad ones. in the tweed and its tributaries it used to be quite as bad (what the new scotch law has done i do not know), but a poacher who gave evidence before the committee of the house of commons in said that he had assisted to take four hundred salmon at one haul in close time in the tweed. sir walter scott's vivid description of burning the water, which occurs in "guy mannering," shows that he knew how to kill salmon in close time. in fact, his account, and that of hogg (the ettrick shepherd), show that both were regular black fishers. there are various devices for killing the fish in close time: they are speared, netted, and hooked on the spawning beds, and when the rivers get low, gangs of idle fellows range up and down on the banks, stoning and beating the water by poles, or, what is more effective still, a large bone, or horse's skull, and by fastening a cord to it, one end of which is passed to each side of the river, they draw this skull up and down in the pools where they know there are salmon, and the fish are so foolish and timid, that they thrust their heads under any stone or cover they can find, and are taken without trouble; it being common enough in such cases to slip a noose over the tail, then tightening it, and the fish is hauled out immediately. then again, gentlemen who want to have the reputation of being skilful anglers, employ their game-keepers to find the kippers (scottice kelts) or spawned fish in the pools, which is a very easy matter in low water, and dropping a hook baited with a lob worm before their noses, it is greedily taken, and the poor fish (which are unfit for food) are caught. it is then trumpeted forth to the angling world that mr. a. b. has had splendid sport--he has caught a dozen salmon with the rod in a single day, meaning it to be understood that these fish have been caught with the fly. i by no means uphold these practices, neither do i think them very deserving of censure in the present state of the law, for all the good fish are taken near the mouths of the rivers. this leads me to consider the defects of the present law, which is by no means adapted to protect and increase the breed of salmon. in the first place, the close time is too short. it commences in the ribble nominally (for in reality the fish are openly killed all the year through) on the th september, and ends on the st of december; whereas it ought to extend to the end of april, for the following reasons. a very large proportion of the fish are spawning in january and february, and i have even seen a spawning fish as late as the rd of april. in the evidence given before the house of commons in , it was proved by a fisherman from the tweed, that in march for one clean fish that was caught there were ten caught that were not so, as they were either fish that had not spawned, or kelts, that is, fish which have finished spawning but have not returned to the sea, and are then flabby, unwholesome, and unfit for food. a very large proportion of these kippers or kelts do not go to the sea until april, and not then without there is a fresh in the river, for, like the smolts, they seem disposed to remain in the rivers until they can avail themselves of the assistance of a flood, to enable them more easily to reach the sea. another defect in the present law is that it fails to secure a supply of good fish to the upper proprietors. there are no provisions in it (or they are not enforced) for giving the fish a free passage, no prohibition of nets, traps, or devices for stopping them in their progress up the rivers. no daily or weekly close time, but everywhere there is so short-sighted a selfishness, that it is completely realizing the fable of the man who killed the goose which laid the golden egg. the fisheries are declining so rapidly, that unless something is done, and done quickly, the breed of salmon will be extinct in the rivers in this neighbourhood. again, there is no power to appoint or pay conservators, and without their assistance there is no chance of preserving salmon in the spawning beds. game-keepers are most certainly not to be depended upon. in pointing out the defects of the present laws i have, in fact, given an opinion how they should be remedied. i would extend the close time from the end of september to the end of april. i would establish a daily close time, allowing no net, device, or engine to be employed in taking salmon between sunset and sunrise above tideway in any river; and below, i would only allow nets to be set for twelve hours per diem. i would appoint conservators, whom i would pay by a tax on the fisheries on the whole course of the river, which tax should be determined by a valuation of the fisheries, and paid accordingly. i would fine every one who sold, used, or had in his possession any potted or prepared salmon roe for the purpose of angling, and i would give conservators the power of examining all mill goits and races, for the purpose of seeing that no unfair practices were resorted to for the taking of salmon or salmon fry; and i would give the upper proprietors the power of making any alterations in mill weirs and dams which did not impair their stability or the efficiency of the water power. if some such enactments as these were made and properly enforced, there is no doubt salmon would swarm in every river, for their fecundity is such, that a very few salmon spawning in a river under favourable circumstances stock it abundantly with smolts. a large salmon having not less than , eggs in it, how soon, with a little forbearance and care, would every river swarm with this delicious fish, even to such a degree as to be a cheap food for the poor! but to obtain such results it must be made the interest of every person to protect them. in reading over the evidence on the salmon fisheries, which was given before the house of commons in , i was exceedingly amused by the reasons given by the tenants of some of the fisheries in scotland why there should be no weekly close time, and the shifts and evasions practiced by others. one said he paid l , a year rent to the duke of gordon for his fishery, and if one day in the week were allowed for close time he would lose l , a year. another said he kept the close time, but he would allow nobody to go and see whether he kept the free gap open or not. another proved that he kept open the free passage, but it was also proved that he had a crocodile placed in the gap, painted with very glaring colours, in order to frighten back any fish that attempted to pass. another sent his boats to break down the stake nets which were set in the estuary, but acknowledged that he kept his own nets set across the river day and night. there would be no difficulty in stocking every suitable river in the kingdom with salmon, either by putting into them a few pairs of breeding fish, or by artificially fecundating the eggs, and placing them in artificial spawning beds. it is a plan i have frequently adopted, and sometimes successfully; but in other experiments i have failed, from the difficulty of choosing a suitable locality in the river. if too rapid a stream was chosen, the eggs and gravel were all washed away; and if too calm and still a place was selected, the gravel was filled up with sand and mud, and the eggs rotted instead of hatching. i am even of opinion that where there is already a breed of salmon fry in a river, it is not absolutely necessary that any male salmon should come up the river in the spawning season, the male par, or penks, as we call them in the ribble, being sufficient to fecundate the eggs. if this is doubted, i would ask how it happens that in the autumn they have fluid milt in them? for as nature makes no unnecessary provisions, for what purpose is this, if not to provide for the possibility of a female salmon coming alone? these pars swarm on the salmon spawning beds. * * * * * suggestions for an alteration in the laws regarding salmon. clitheroe, _october th_, . to the editor of the "gardeners' chronicle." as the amusement of fly-fishing is one which holds a first place in the opinion of every one who understands it, and as the trout and the salmon are the only fish which afford genuine sport to the angler, and as i believe that the latter in some of the southern counties is nearly extinct, whilst the former is far from being abundant, i wish to call the attention of such of your readers as are possessed by the true _piscatorial furor_, to the facility with which these fish can be bred artificially. and as many experiments have been made under my direction, and having witnessed the results, i unhesitatingly say that there is little risk of failure, if due care be taken. the experiments of shaw and agassiz, my own also included, have proved that fish can be bred artificially. the experiments of boccius i have not yet tried, although he proposes to arrive at the same result in another manner, and acting in the manner recommended by them, trout and salmon have been bred by thousands during the last ten years. as the season for making the experiment will shortly be here, i hope that those who intend to try the plan will lose no time in looking after their supply of breeding fish. to begin with trout:--catch as many as you can conveniently obtain upon the spawning beds, [ ] and examine them carefully one by one, to see that the spawn and milt are in a fit state for exclusion; and also to enable you to separate the males from the females. if they are in a fit state to be operated upon (which may be known by the facility with which the milt and the roe run from them on a slight pressure), squeeze the milt of the males into a little water, and when you have obtained all the milt you can get, add so much water that the mixture remains slightly opalescent--say about equal in colour to a tablespoonful of milk mixed in a quart of water; pour this into a deep dish or bowl, large enough to hold the largest of your female trouts; take one of these and put it into the water so prepared, and gently squeeze the roe from it whilst the vent is immersed in the water. [ ] do this as quickly as possible, and return the fish into fresh water, and then pour off the water containing the impregnated roe, through a strainer, carefully preserving it for the remaining fish, and immediately return the roe into fresh spring or brook water. repeat the operation for every female trout, and you will then have a quantity of impregnated roe, which if properly managed will hatch with great certainty. have ready as many boxes as you are able to stock with spawn (three feet long, two feet broad, and six inches deep). fill them to the depth of two inches of river sand, which ought to be previously so well washed that there is not a particle of mud left in it, and upon that put two inches of river gravel, also exceedingly well washed, the pebbles varying in size from a hazel nut to a pigeon or pullet's egg. these boxes must be so placed that the water from a spring will flow into the first, and from the surface of that into the second, and below the whole nest of boxes there ought to be a small reservoir made--say three yards by two and eighteen inches deep, and well gravelled at the bottom. all these matters having been previously arranged, and the water flowing nicely over the gravel, sprinkle the impregnated roe equally over the surface of the gravel, say a quarter of a pint to each box, and it will roll down into the interstices of the gravel and find a bed in which it will remain snugly until the spring, when, about march, if all has been properly managed, you will find, on a careful examination, that the young trout are coming to life by hundreds. i am very particular in recommending spring rather than brook water, for several reasons. in the first place, brooks are liable to be flooded, and are sometimes so overcharged with sand and mud that the gravel in the spawning-boxes is completely choked with it and the spawn is lost, as i know to my great and frequent disappointments. at other times all is washed away together. in the second place, the gravel of brooks swarms with water-lice (shrimps) and the larvae of aquatic insects, as well as bull-heads and loaches, all of which prey upon the spawn of the trout and salmon. in the third place, if you put your spawning-boxes in a brook, you will find it difficult to prevent the escape of the fry when hatched, and you are left in doubt as to the success of your experiment. with spring water all these inconveniences are avoided. but if your watercourse should contain water-lice or aquatic larvae, it is a very easy matter to destroy them before putting in your boxes, with a little salt or quicklime. it is also desirable to cover your spawning-boxes with a wire grating, to exclude the light, and to protect them in severe weather from the chance of being frozen. when they begin to hatch, open a communication between the boxes and the little reservoir below, and if this communicates with a watercourse in which aquatic plants are growing, so much the better. the fry, as soon as they are strong enough, will make their way into this ditch, and will find abundance of food among the water plants; thence they ought to be able to make their way into the brook, river, or lake which it is intended to store with them. all ducks, wild and tame, should be driven from this ditch, or few of the trout will be allowed to find their way to their final place of destination. these rules, with some modification, are applicable to the breeding of salmon as well as trout; the only difference being in the mode of placing the female fish, when obtaining the roe, and the size of the gravel in which the spawn is deposited in the boxes. the salmon is too large a fish to put into the vessels in which the diluted milt is placed, but i think that she should be held by an assistant, in such a manner that the tail and lower part of the body up to the vent are immersed in the water containing the milt. and it is also very necessary to hold her firmly, otherwise a large fish, in the struggles which it makes to get free, is apt to upset the vessel containing the milt, and then the experiment is at an end, at least for the time. being held firmly by the assistant, as above stated, the belly of the fish must be gently pressed by the hands to promote the exclusion of the spawn, which on exclusion must be gently stirred in the diluted milt, to bring every grain into contact with it; but the roe ought not to remain in contact with the milt a minute, if it can sooner be got out, as i have found that if the diluted milt be too strong, or if the ova remain too long in contact with it, they become opaque, and never hatch at all, apparently because they are over-impregnated. in the ordinary way in which salmon and trout are bred, the milt must be largely diluted with water, and the contact between the milt and ova can only be momentary, for the streams in which these fish spawn (particularly the salmon) are so rapid, that the milt on exclusion must be carried away immediately. there is another method, which is preferred by ramsbottom, to the one i have been describing, and it is certainly less troublesome. this is to take the ova from the female fish in the first place (taking care to exclude the air from it, by immersing the fish into water up to the vent), and when all the roe has been collected into a large bowl or basin, then mix the milt with it, the same diluted in the proportion which has been before described, namely, until the water which covers the roe becomes lightly opalescent. i am quite aware that there is another theory which assumes that impregnation takes place twelve months before the exclusion of the ova. [ ] but a very careful and long continued examination of the spawning of minnows and lampreys (i have never been able closely to examine the spawning of salmon), convinces me that it is not a correct one. besides, did any one ever succeed in hatching the ova of a fish which had not been allowed to come in contact with milt after exclusion? if they have, when, where, and how has this been accomplished, and where is it recorded? i know that i could never succeed, although i have often tried the experiment. on the other hand, it is the easiest thing imaginable, with due care and a suitable situation, to hatch those which have been properly impregnated after exclusion. but if, to avoid argument, i admit that this theory is correct, it will not at all interfere with artificial breeding of trout and salmon; on the contrary, it will materially facilitate it. it will only be necessary to catch female fish with the ova ready for exclusion, and place these ova in clean gravel in a box, as before described, but there will be no occasion for males. but supposing trout and salmon can be bred in this manner, which i by no means believe, there would be no means of breeding hybrids, which i consider a far more important achievement, and to which i will now refer. ever since my attention was turned to the artificial breeding of fish, it has always appeared to me exceedingly desirable and important to breed hybrids between the trout and the salmon. the fry of the salmon, which, by-the-bye, is perhaps the most delicately flavoured fish that exists in this country, although it lives and thrives in fresh water for two or three years, if kept in a locality where it cannot escape to the sea, yet, if kept longer than that time, pines away and dies. if, therefore, we could obtain a hybrid fish, bred between the river trout and the salmon, we should probably produce a fish which, being a mule, would be always in good condition; being crossed with a river fish, it would probably never require a visit to salt water to keep it in good health. being crossed with a salmon, it ought to get to a good size in a comparatively short period; and, if it would rise at the artificial fly, or the minnow, ought to afford first-rate sport to the angler. there does not appear to be a greater specific difference between the trout and the salmon than there is between the horse and the ass, between the mallard and the musk duck, or between a cabbage and a turnip. but hitherto, in all my experiments, i have never succeeded in producing a hybrid between the trout and the salmon. [ ] yet i do not despair of doing so, for there was always a something to complain of, and to doubt about, in every one i tried, and i still think i shall succeed by perseverance. even if i shall succeed, the result may not prove quite so favourable as i anticipate, but may turn out as unfortunately as the marriage of the gentleman in the story, which relates that, being good- tempered but ugly himself, he married a handsome ill-tempered wife, hoping that his children would have his good-temper and their mother's good looks; but when they came, they were as ugly as the father and as ill-tempered as the mother. so it may prove with these hybrids--they may not always thrive in fresh water; they may not grow to a good size; they may not rise at the artificial fly; they may be worthless for the table. nevertheless, it is desirable if possible that this should be ascertained. the progeny of a male salmon and a female trout may be much better or much worse fitted for a continual residence in fresh water than the descendants of a male trout and a female salmon; but this can only be determined by experiment. dr. lindley says, in his introduction to the "guide to the orchard," that in the cross fertilization of fruits, the seedlings always partake more of the character of the male than of the female parent. but i believe that in breeding mules it is found more desirable that the father should be an ass than a horse. in my poultry yard i breed hybrids between the musk duck and the common duck, and i find that i have a much better progeny from the musk drake and the common duck than from the common drake and the musk duck. in the latter cross, although the males are fine birds, the females are not larger than a widgeon, and fly about almost like wild ducks. this may not always be the case, but it has proved so with me. but to return to the fish. if any gentleman who is interested in such matters will do me the honour to read this paper, and wishes for further information on the subject, i shall be happy to give it, so far as i am able. very sure i am that the sportsman who once fairly starts as a fly-fisher, and is so fortunate as to hook a salmon or a large trout, will thenceforward despise or lightly esteem corks and floats, ground-bait and trimmers, punts and perch fishing, and will fairly wish them all exchanged for a nice stream well stocked with trout--as a gentleman lately said to me, fly- fishing is a perfect infatuation! he was quite right. the extreme avidity with which it is followed by the thoroughly initiated, can only be explained on that supposition; to the casual observer, there does not appear to be any strong excitement in it. but that is a great mistake. let me get to the bank of a river well stocked with trout in a good humour, early in the morning, and i feel neither hunger, thirst, nor fatigue if i fish until dark without tasting of anything. and the excitement of hooking a ten or twelve pound salmon is not much inferior to that produced by a long run after the hounds. i cannot conclude without calling the attention of all interested, and who are able to render assistance in remedying the evil, to the great falling off in the quantity of fish there is in all the salmon rivers in england. with those in scotland and ireland i am not acquainted, but believe that matters are not in a much better state there. i believe that the unsatisfactory state of the laws has a great deal to do with this decline in the value of the fisheries, and i also believe that it is quite possible so to alter the law as to very greatly improve them, and that without improperly interfering with what is of far more importance--i mean the manufactories of the country. as the law stands at present the proprietors of the upper parts of rivers have not the slightest interest in the preservation of the fish in the breeding season, for, as they are seldom allowed to see a fish when it is fit for the table, why should they look after the poachers in close time? why should they be put to much expense and trouble, as well as the risk of the lives of their game-keepers, merely to breed fish for the proprietors of stake nets and estuary fisheries, who don't spend a farthing in the preservation of the fish when breeding, and yet reap all the benefit? i had occasion, some years ago, to examine the evidence on this subject given before the house of commons in , and was exceedingly amused at the schemes resorted to to evade the law, moderate and inefficient as was the law at that time. (since then the law has been altered both in scotland and ireland, but i do not know what are the provisions, nor what has been the effect of the new law.) it required that there should be a free passage for the fish (salmon) through all the traps, nets, weirs, and devices that were used to catch or detain them, from sunset on saturday night to sunrise on monday morning. one man said he paid l , a year for his fishery, and should lose one-seventh of his catch. another said he allowed a free passage on sundays, but would not permit anybody to go and examine for themselves. a third proved that he allowed the fish a free passage on sundays, but his neighbours proved that he placed in the gap a crocodile, painted red. and a fourth was convicted of breaking down the stake nets in the estuary of a river--at the same time he had a net stretched entirely across the river above, both day and night. and so with many others, every one striving with all his might to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. this is not the way to improve the salmon fisheries. to do this effectually the upper proprietors must have a strong interest in the preservation of the breeding of fish, and in order to give them this interest they ought to have an ample supply of fish when they are in the best condition; but to give them this supply the law ought to be altered. at present i believe the law does not require a free passage for the fish (at least in english rivers) except from saturday night to monday morning; in many of them i believe this is not insisted upon; whereas the law ought to prohibit fishing for or obstructing the passage of the fish every night from sunset to sunrise, and this regulation ought to be rigorously enforced. this would give the upper proprietors a chance of having good fish, and a corresponding inducement to take care of them. nobody would be so much benefited as the owners of fisheries at the mouths of rivers; they would be the first takers, and would still get the lion's share of all the fish that ascended the river. if this regulation were enforced, the expenses of conservators might be defrayed by levying a small tax, in the shape of a licence for angling, which all true sportsmen would be glad to pay if it gave a reasonable prospect of a well-stocked river. now matters are getting worse every day, and notwithstanding the enormous fecundity of the salmon (a large one producing , ova in a season), they are now extinct in some rivers where they used to be found in my recollection, and in others where they were once abundant they are now very scarce. no one need to wonder at this, when he is told that gangs of poachers are on the look-out for them all through the spawning season. in one winter, some years ago, i am credibly informed that two hundred salmon were taken in one stream within five hundred yards of the spot where i am now writing. it is nobody's business and nobody's interest to prevent this, and therefore it goes on openly night and day. are there no influential gentlemen in the house of commons who will take up this matter and endeavour to get an equitable and comprehensive law passed for the preservation and increase of the breed of salmon? it is a matter of even national importance, and if duly provided for and properly attended to, i see no improbability in the supposition that salmon would again be as abundant as they were when the apprentices on the banks of the ribble stipulated that they should not be compelled to eat salmon oftener than three days in the week. the apathy of country gentlemen in this matter is to me unaccountable. i have some reason to believe, however, that government have at all times been so far from lending their influence to the promotion of any attempts to amend these laws, that they have obstructed rather than assisted them, most probably from an idea that the preservation of the fish would interfere with manufactories. if i thought that this would be the case, i should not say a word on the subject; but i am very far from holding such an opinion. so far from this being the case, i assert without hesitation that weirs need form no obstruction to the free passage of fish, and that without impairing the efficiency of the water power. with the poisonous and filthy mixtures sent by some manufactories down the rivers, the case is far different, and where this is done the case is hopeless. salmon and trout will rapidly disappear from such rivers, never to be seen there again, so long as these noxious contaminations are permitted to flow into them. * * * * * artificial breeding of fish. clitheroe, _december th_, . to the editor of the "manchester guardian." sir,--i have read with some interest the letter of your correspondent, salmo salar, on the artificial breeding of fish; and knowing, as i do, the great interest which the writer feels in the preservation and increase of his namesakes, i shall be most happy if my humble efforts in the same cause throw any more light on the same subject, and in any degree contribute to the same end. but mr. salmo salar is quite wrong in saying that, with the exceptions of the experiments made on the banks of the hodder, by ramsbottom, no efforts have been made to increase the number of salmon by providing artificial breeding-places. passing over my own numerous experiments here for the last fourteen or fifteen years (which you, sir, are aware of, though the fishing world is not), i may refer to the extensive experiments made by mr. fawkes, of farnley, in and , and renewed again in and ; and the whole of which (with the exception of a portion of these in ) were successful. the experiments of salmo salar were not made until and , and were intended merely to test the accuracy of an assumption that the impregnation of the ova takes place long prior to their exclusion; which experiments terminated in a complete failure. salmo salar says that the quantity of salmon fry in the river is enormous; and that he has caught five pounds of them in a single pool in a single day. i have known three times that quantity caught in the same way. but still this proves nothing at all, for it is well known that almost all migratory animals, however solitary their general habits may be, are gregarious at the time of migration. witness swallows, fieldfares, and even woodcocks. witness also the clouds of small eels ascending the rivers in may and june; and if we are to believe the accounts of travellers, the enormous flocks of antelopes in africa, and of bisons in america, are proofs of the same general law. no doubt salmo salar will find, as he says, that the samlets are exceedingly abundant in some of the pools, when they have flocked together for the purpose of migration; but he may perhaps travel for miles either up or down the river before he will find any more. it is notorious that, in the tributaries of the hodder, they are walled in, in many places, for the purpose of detaining them, that unscrupulous anglers may get as many of them as possible before they go to the sea. salmo salar is in error also when he says that ramsbottom deposited , in the ponds of galway, of which , are expected to be fruitful. the fact is, that he deposited , in december, , of which above , are now alive and in the ponds, varying from four to five inches long to two or three, notwithstanding that experiment was made under very unfavourable circumstances; for there was so much mud in the stream that supplied the spawning-boxes, that when ramsbottom left galway he was afraid all the ova would be choked by it. salmo salar seems to think that almost all the ova deposited naturally come to life, and that very few of those deposited artificially do so. this, however, is quite contrary to my experience, and i think that if salmo salar will listen to the evidence he will change his opinion. it is well known that salmon are very fond of particular streams, their instinct no doubt informing them which are suitable to their purpose; and when one pair of fish have finished spawning, another pair will come and occupy the same place. now, what takes place under such circumstances? the ova which were deposited by the first pair are rooted up by the second, and their specific gravity is so near that of the water, that they roll down out of the loose gravel and are picked up by the trouts, par, and other fish that are always lying in wait just below for that purpose. when ramsbottom was in galway he caught a large trout, out of whose throat he squeezed a thousand ova, which were deposited in a spawning-box, many of which came to life notwithstanding the pit they had escaped from. the extraordinary avidity with which trout take salmon roe as a bait is also a proof (if that were needed) of their preying upon it in the spawning beds. yet, in addition to them, are all the par, bullheads, eels, loaches, and aquatic larvae which may be found swarming in every spawning bed by any one who will look for them. in addition to these enemies, millions of the ova are destroyed by being washed away by heavy floods, and as many more are destroyed by being choked with mud and sand in the spawning beds as well as by being left dry at low water owing to the salmon spawning in places which frequently become quite dry in early spring. no doubt many of the salmon fry when they have reached the sea are destroyed by enemies there, of which we know nothing. but still, if , are bred, in addition to all that are reared naturally, it will represent a larger proportion of the whole than salmo salar seems to suppose; otherwise, how is it that in rivers where salmon are protected, or still more in unsettled countries, the salmon are so numerous? the salmon in the columbia river, on the north-west coast of america, are cast dead upon the shores by myriads after the spawning season, and these are merely the fish dying from exhaustion, as a small portion always do here. how numerous, then, are those which ascend the river to spawn, and go down again to the sea afterwards! no doubt the grand object to be attained is to make salmon abundant, and the most important step towards the attainment of this object will be to give an efficient protection to the spawning fish, and the only way to do this effectually is to give the upper proprietors of rivers such an interest in the salmon fisheries as will make them worth attention. at present this is far from being the case. now the upper proprietors are merely considered as so many clucking hens, whose business and whose duty it is to hatch salmon for the proprietors of fisheries at the mouths of rivers, who do not in many cases spend a farthing in their protection when spawning, and who grievously begrudge the upper proprietors every fish that is able to pass their nets and other engines of destruction. let the upper proprietors of salmon rivers bestir themselves so to amend the law as to give them a chance of having a supply of salmon when they are in season. they cannot and will not have a more efficient ally than salmo salar. salmo salar is in my opinion quite right when he says that the fish kept in ponds will not be quite so well able to take care of themselves as fish which have been bred and lived all their lives in the river. nor do i think that this is necessary for any longer period than until the young fry get rid of the umbilical vessel; after which they are quite able to take care of themselves. before that time they are scarcely able to move, and thousands of them fall a prey, not only to the other fish, but to the larvae of aquatic insects which prey upon them very greedily. as i happen to know from my own observations, the larva of the stone fly (may fly of lancashire) and those of all the larger ephemera (drakes), to say nothing of the fresh-water shrimps, swarm in all the spawning beds, and no doubt destroy myriads of the ova. all these would be saved by proper precautions and well formed spawning-boxes, with good supplies of spring water to feed them. i think salmo salar has very greatly over-estimated the quantity of salmon fry that go down to the sea from the rivers. he speaks of them going down by millions. now we will take the river hodder as a river with which both salmo salar and myself are well acquainted, and i will venture to say that, so far is this an over-estimate, that if he would take the hundredth part of the number he would be much nearer the truth. the samlets when they go to the sea may be reckoned to weigh eight to the pound, and two millions would at that rate weigh one hundred and ten tons. does salmo salar think that one ton and a tenth of smolts go down the river hodder to the sea on an average of years? i have more favourable means of judging of the quantity that go down the river ribble than i have of those of the hodder, and i believe i should very greatly exaggerate their numbers if i estimated them at any such weight as a fourth of that quantity. again, the hodder and the ribble are, in some respects, far more favourable for spawning than many other rivers; for partly owing to the country through which they pass, and partly owing to the rapidity of their streams, the gravel is large and very suitable for spawning in; there is also far less mud and sand in them, and the spawning beds are much less liable to be choked up than they are in many other rivers. no doubt the salmon will make the best selection in their power, but they can only select from such places as there are; and if those are not suitable the ova must be in a great measure destroyed. since ramsbottom returned from scotland he has visited the river dee, about forty miles from chester, and there he found the spawning beds (ridds as salmo salar calls them) silted up with mud and sand, and the ova buried in them to the depth of eighteen inches. how or when were the newly hatched fish (supposing, which is very improbable, that they ever did hatch) to make their escape from such a heap of filth? it would be quite impossible. in conclusion, it seems desirable and quite necessary to say a few words as to the priority of discovery of this process of fish propagation. the french claim it; the irish seem to claim it; the messrs. ashworth take great credit for it; and now salmo salar says he first suggested it. allow me, as there are so many claimants in the field, to suggest one or two more. in the year , without knowing that such a thing had ever been done or even thought of, i made some experiments on the spawning of fish and the artificial impregnation of their ova, which i communicated to "loudon's magazine of natural history," in which they appeared. after that came the duke of buccleuch's game-keeper, shaw, whose experiments were both satisfactory and conclusive. this was in or . then after my experiments at home, i induced mr. fawkes to take up the matter in , and they were resumed in , and again in and , both with salmon and trout. it was at this period that ramsbottom came into the field. at mr. fawkes's request i instructed him in the art, and sent him to farnley, where he was perfectly successful; and since then, i believe he has had more experience and been more successful than any other propagator in the kingdom. the principle of this system is very easily comprehended; but success depends on many niceties of manipulation, and much experience in judging whether the fish, both male and female, are in the proper condition for operating upon. this experience is not gained without much practice. this practice ramsbottom has in great perfection. there is no doubt the artificial breeding of fish will be found exceedingly beneficial, if properly carried out; and i hope to see the time when salmo salar may catch half-a-dozen of his namesakes at whitewell, any good day in the season. i am, sir, yours very truly, thomas garnett. * * * * * artificial breeding of fish--(continued). clitheroe, _ th january_, . to the editor of the "manchester guardian." sir,--as i believe that salmo salar is quite as desirous of increasing the breed of salmon as myself, the controversy between us may be reduced to very narrow limits. he believes that trout eat very few of the salmon ova, and therefore cannot do much harm. i will just mention a few facts which make me think otherwise. when ramsbottom was in galway he caught in one night twenty-five trout on the spawning ground, which had on the average not less than five hundred ova in each of their stomachs; from one of their throats he squeezed a thousand. as the net would not take a fish of less than two pounds, how many had passed through it? when he was at knowlmere, in sweeping the river for spawning fish he caught nine par, two trouts, and a sprod on the spawning bed, all of which were gorged with salmon spawn; when he went into the brooks there he never found a pair of trout spawning without also finding a number of smaller fish behind, some of which he caught, and in all such cases found them gorged with roe up to the throat; the male trout would occasionally drive them off, but as soon as he returned to the female they were again close in the rear. in the "perthshire courier" of the nd december is the following statement: the men employed in taking the breeding fish secured a whitling on tuesday about three-quarters of a pound, and as they observed salmon ova coming out of his mouth he was brought to the office of mr. buist for examination; on being opened, upwards of three hundred impregnated salmon ova were taken from his stomach quite undigested. it may be, therefore, fairly presumed, that this youngster had taken this quantity for his breakfast; if he dined and breakfasted in the same style each day during the breeding season, it is difficult to estimate the expense of his keep. such is the amount of loss of impregnated roe in one morning from one trifling fish; what must it be throughout the season from the various enemies it has to encounter? salmo salar is facetious about the destruction of the roe by insects, and says, "because an aquatic insect will devour a minnow's egg, which is not as large as a pin's head, we have no right to infer that it will devour that of a salmon, which is as large as a pea; it would be just as reasonable to suppose that because a wasp feasts upon a cherry, or a strawberry, therefore he will eat a turnip or a mangold wurtzel." as he seems to have made a slip of the pen in naming the two last _fruits_, allow me to supply what i suppose he meant to say, which i presume was that because a wasp eats a cherry or a strawberry, we must not therefore infer that he will either eat a pear or a plum; if that is his meaning, i think i can understand it. if he adheres to his own version, i would merely observe that there is no analogy in the two cases. but the inference does not rest upon mere supposition; the freshwater shrimps at knowlmere were seen devouring the ova in the spawning-boxes. we have seen above that par eat ova as well as trout. let us suppose that the millions of smolts (as par) have only one meal each of salmon roe, and we will stint them to twenty ova apiece. i fear that very few of the five millions which salmo salar says are deposited in the hodder will be left to grow into salmon. in addition to these, ducks, both wild and tame, eat them greedily. when ramsbottom was in galway he saw that the tame ducks frequented the spawning ford, and the superintendent bought one, and found its crop quite full of salmon roe. if this had been buried eighteen inches in the gravel (as salmo salar suggests), the duck would have had some difficulty in extracting it; but so far as my experience goes, it is not usually one-half that depth, although this varies in different rivers. then, if one salmon is able to plough up gravel which is cemented together by sand and long continuance in one place, why should not another be able to do the same when the gravel is loose and easily removed? but there is another enemy whom salmo salar has not mentioned, who does more harm than all the rest: that is the poacher, and i fear that many of the salmon which salmo salar saw spawning in the hodder and its tributaries have since then made a journey overland. at all events, i am credibly informed that in one season a gang of poachers took seventy salmon in the hodder. is he sure they have taken none this season? salmo salar seems to think that one pair of salmon will not spawn on the same ground, which has been previously occupied by another pair; but he has only to watch the same ridd for a week or two to be convinced he is mistaken. as to fish refusing to spawn on new gravel, i may state that when mr. fawkes was making his experiments at farnley he put some new gravel into his brook, and there were sixteen pairs of trout spawning on it the next morning. salmo salar says that if he can have those simple checks which he enumerates to the present practices, he will restore abundance of salmon to the ribble; they are all very good in their way, but do not go quite far enough, and they would do very little good without a fourth, namely, protection from the poacher for the fish on the spawning beds. until this can be given more efficiently than it is at present, all the rest will be unavailing; and until the upper proprietors can have a greater interest in the preservation of salmon than they now have, they cannot be expected to give themselves much trouble on the subject. my readers would not be much edified by strong assertion and counter-assertion of what trout do, and what they cannot do; nor is it probable that where we differ we should convince each other; neither do i see any occasion for personality, when both parties are actuated by the same motives--a desire to see the salmon fisheries restored to a state of great prosperity. i therefore avoid noticing some of salmo salar's remarks, which seem to me a little tinged with this spirit, and hope we shall be able to act in concert for the attainment of that desirable result. salmo salar will find that the number of smolts is not always determined by the quantity of ova deposited: if he will examine the bed of the hodder the next low water, he will find many of the ridds disturbed by the ice floods of yesterday; and if he doubts this, i shall be happy to examine them along with him, if he will give me previous notice of his intention. since the above was written i have seen ramsbottom, who tells me that the stream in the tay, where he caught the whole of the fish from which he obtained , to , ova, was on one side of it one continuous ridd, and that the fish could not avoid ploughing up the gravel which previous fish had spawned in, and at oughterard, where pairs of fish spawned in the same number of yards, it was the same; and they found thousands of ova buried so deep that they were rotting in great quantities. with regard to what salmo salar says about the infrequency of a veritable spawning bed being washed away by floods, i refer him to what i have said previously; but ramsbottom tells me the game- keeper at harden (haworth) will be able to give him sufficient proof that in the langden brook this has occurred, as he found the ova on the dry land by thousands, which had been left there by the flood. when ramsbottom was at perth he found on one of the fords, a space of twenty yards long and fourteen yards wide, filled with ridds, which was entirely left dry. what would become of all the spawn deposited there? salmo salar seems to think nature is quite sufficient to take care of her own interests without our interference, and that without some counter-acting influence to keep the breed of fish in check, the river would not hold all that would be bred. i quite agree with him in this, provided nature had fair play; but she has not, and occasionally needs a little help: else why do we employ game- keepers to trap cats, foxes, and weasels, to shoot hawks, carrion crows, and magpies, and to breed pheasants, as well as to prevent poaching? if these precautions are unnecessary, why go to such expense? and if they are necessary for hares and birds, may they not be also for fish? i hope salmo salar will investigate what i said about walling in of the smolts in langden brook. i fancy he may have seen these enclosures himself; at all events, i have, and although i cannot prove they were erected for that purpose, i do not doubt the accuracy of my information. i am, sir, yours very truly, thomas garnett. * * * * * the following letter was sent to me from chester:-- chester, _ rd february_, . sir,--we are about to make application to parliament for a commission of inquiry into the state of laws respecting the fisheries of england and wales. and mr. ashworth, of poynton, has been so good as to refer me to you, as able and willing to furnish us with information on the subject. the annual meeting of the river dee fishery association will be held on the th instant, when i purpose to lay before them the draft of a petition to parliament for their approval. i am anxious in the meantime to obtain all the information possible relative to the working of the present laws, their defects, and the alterations to be proposed in them, in order that a condensed statement may be embodied in the petition as the ground of our application. i should be exceedingly obliged for any remarks your experience may suggest, and trust you will accept the cause which dictates my writing as a sufficient apology for troubling you on the subject. i have had great pleasure in reading your able replies to salmo salar's letters. on the appearance of the first, i was strongly prompted to reply to it myself, but rejoiced to find him in much better hands. i remain, sir, yours very truly, william ayrton. * * * * * clitheroe, _ th february_, . to wm. ayrton, esq. dear sir,--i am favoured with your letter of yesterday, and shall be glad to give you any information i may possess on the habits of salmon, or the requirements of any act of parliament necessary for the preservation and increase of this valuable fish. being a mill- owner, i have interests which are supposed to clash with those of fish preservers; but i hope to be able to show that all mill- owners are able to give a passage over their weirs at all times when the fish are inclined to run; that is, when there are freshes in the river. i say this the more confidently, as i believe the works here are the largest in england for the power of the stream they stand upon, and i find it necessary to employ horse-power of steam. yet i find from a careful register, which has been kept here since the year , that we are able, without interfering with the efficiency of the water power, to give the fish a passage over the weir days, or part of days, annually, and this at times when alone they are disposed to avail themselves of such a passage--that is in floods. the suggestions that occur to me from time to time i will not fail to send you. at present the following seem to me to be essential, to give efficacy to any act of parliament framed for the purpose of preserving and increasing the breed of salmon, for without some such provisions the gentlemen on the upper parts of rivers will have no inducement to exert themselves in the matter. first.--no nets or other engines, except rod and line, should be used for taking fish from six o'clock at night to six o'clock in the morning, and all fish should be allowed a free passage up the stream every night when this does not destroy or impair the efficacy of the water power. second.--no mill-owner nor his servants, nor any other person, should be allowed to take fish at his weir, or within fifty yards of it. third.--conservators should be allowed to go into all wheel-races, wheel-houses and tail-goits, and also upon all lands on the banks of salmon rivers, as well as inspect all cruives, weirs, &c., without being deemed guilty of trespass. fourth.--all weirs kept solely for fishing purposes, cruives, &c., should be compelled to give a free passage to the fish every night from six o'clock to six o'clock in the morning; and any obstruction placed in the gap calculated to hinder or frighten the fish back, should be deemed breaches of the act of parliament and liable to a penalty. fifth.--all nets and other devices for catching eels should be prohibited in april, may, and june. sixth.--close time should be altered and extended, as well as made uniform, in all rivers. seventh.--the sale and use of salmon roe should be prohibited. eighth.--justices should be enabled to assist the passage of fish over weirs by any contrivance which did not impair their stability nor the efficiency of the water power. ninth.--all cruives should be formed of vertical bars, and should have the intervening spaces to measure not less than three inches. tenth.--no nets used in a salmon river should measure in the mesh less than two inches and a half from knot to knot. eleventh.--any person having no right of fishing found with a net in his possession or a salmon out of season, should be guilty of misdemeanour. twelfth.--a ten shillings' licence for angling for salmon. the reasons for most of these suggestions will be obvious to you, but there are some which may not be so; i will therefore give a short comment on such. third and fourth.--the conservators shall have the right to inspect all wheel-races, cruives, &c., to see they are properly regulated, and also to see that no contrivance is used to drive the fish back. in the evidence given before the house of commons in , it was proved that the lessee of a fishery in scotland used to place a crocodile painted red in the king's gap, which the law compelled him to give from saturday night till monday morning. fifth.--the prohibition to set eel nets in april, may, and june is to prevent the destruction of smolts when going down to the sea. seventh.--salmon are destroyed here when spawning chiefly for the sake of the roe. if a man were fined for selling it or having it in his possession, this inducement would be weakened. eleventh.--there is the same reason for seizing the net of the black fisher that there is for seizing the snare of the poacher, and if the latter can be convicted for having hares or snares in his possession, i do not see why the former should not for having nets and salmon. a meeting of the gentlemen interested in the fisheries of the ribble and the hodder will be held on friday, the th instant, previous to which time i should be glad of your criticism. i am, dear sir, yours very truly, thomas garnett. p.s.--it occurs to me since closing my letter that i have forgotten one important provision required in any new act of parliament--namely, protection to the smolts in their downward migration. here the pools are swept with small meshed trammel nets of all the fish that they contain. * * * * * artificial propagation of fish. clitheroe, _ rd april_, . to the editors of the "leeds mercury." gentlemen,--i am somewhat at a loss to understand the object of mr. horsfall's letter on this subject which appears in the "mercury" of to-day. if he means that fish hatched by this process are as much at the mercy of their natural enemies as they are in their natural spawning beds i differ from him entirely; but if he means that there is no good in breeding migratory fish like salmon, when the obstacles to their return in the shape of stake nets, impassable weirs, and poisonous waters are so numerous as they are at present in many rivers (the wharfe and the aire are examples of both), i entirely agree with him. let us consider both suppositions, for the more this subject is ventilated the more likely is good to arise from the discussion. i think mr. horsfall is entirely wrong in the first supposition, for the following reasons: by artificial propagation the young fish escape all damage from floods, and particularly ice floods, which scoop out all the loose gravel from the spawning beds, which are frequently entirely carried away by these floods. they escape all danger from drought, which in some rivers is almost as bad, there being now several mounds of dry gravel in my length of the ribble which were spawning grounds last december. they escape being destroyed as ova by trout, eels, bullheads, loaches, the larva of aquatic insects, ducks (wild and tame), water rats, and water shrews. the last are said to be destructive to the spawn; but this i do not vouch for, as these two last-mentioned animals have not come under my own observation as devourers of spawn. with regard to the salmon ova said to have been taken from the stomach of a trout, ramsbottom is the authority for it, only he says there were nearer , than , and he took them from the maw of a large lake trout at oughterard, when netting the spawning salmon for his artificial propagation. when ramsbottom was fish breeding for mr. peel the year after he first went to ireland for that purpose, he went into the brooks at night with a light. he never found a pair of spawning fish without also finding several waiters on providence in the shape of small trout, which were picking up the ova that descended the streams towards them. several of these he caught, and they were perfectly gorged with spawn. with regard to the ducks, ramsbottom is again my authority. he found that a flock of tame ducks frequented the spawning beds at oughterard; he bought one for the purpose of ascertaining whether they eat spawn or not, and he found its crop quite full of spawn. with regard to the aquatic larvae of insects, mr. horsfall may easily satisfy himself that they destroy spawn if he will turn some into an artificial spawning bed. one of my friends failed to hatch his trout ova because he could not keep out the fresh-water shrimps. mr. horsfall seems to think that nature would be sufficient to take care of her own interests if man did not step in to aid her endeavours; but if he is a sportsman he no doubt has a game- keeper, who not only preserves the ground from poachers, but traps cats and weasels, shoots hawks, magpies and carrion crows, breeds tame pheasants, and generally looks to the well being of the game without trusting to the efforts of unassisted nature. let us take the second supposition, that there is no good in artificial propagation when the fish which are sent to the sea can never come back again by reason of insurmountable obstacles. if mr. horsfall means this he is quite right; there is no good in the upper proprietors of salmon rivers becoming brood hens for the owners of fisheries at the mouths of rivers or the proprietors of impassable weirs, who take all the fish which get to the foot of these weirs. i quite agree with mr. horsfall that it is in most cases easy to build practicable fish passes, and at a slight expense, if people were willing to do so; but i wish to show that notwithstanding the boasted effects of the act of , the upper riparian proprietors have not a sufficient inducement to build fish passes, and will not do so unless the expense can be made very moderate indeed. i will take the river ribble to illustrate my meaning. as a general rule we have no fresh run salmon until may, and the upper proprietors are supposed to have a sufficient share of the fish that ascend the stream if the owners of the fisheries in the estuary and the tidal part of the river cease to net from six o'clock on the saturday night to six o'clock on the monday morning. that is a day and a half per week. the fishing for salmon (except angling) ceases on the st of august, and from the st of may to the st of august there are days. call the period eighteen weeks, which gives us twenty-seven days during which time the salmon have liberty to pass to the upper parts of the river. but on the average of seasons, owing to droughts, the rapid absorption of moisture by vegetation, and the great evaporation, there is no fresh water to enable the fish to ascend during two- thirds of that time. every one who knows anything of the habits of salmon is aware that they never ascend the rivers from the estuary unless there is a fresh in the river; and, as i said before, on the average of seasons there is no fresh for two-thirds of the time from may to august. this reduces the twenty-seven days (which are supposed to feed the upper proprietors with salmon to repletion) to nine days, and these nine days are expected to stock the river and its tributaries for one hundred miles. it is true i have not taken into consideration the privileges which the upper proprietors have of angling to the st of november; but besides the fact that the fish are then full of spawn, and ought not to be killed at all, very few rise at the fly, and when they are taken they can neither be sold nor used by any one who knows what a fresh salmon is. it is a greater crime against public polity to kill a spawning salmon than it is to steal a sheep; for, supposing it produces , ova, and one in a hundred returns as a salmon, it returns from a place (the sea) where it has cost nothing in rent, taxes, or superintendence, and, in the finest condition imaginable, it invites us to take it. mr. horsfall and i both wish for the same results (rivers swarming with fish), and although we may somewhat differ as to details, i have no doubt both would be glad to see public attention directed to these matters rather more than it is at present. if mr. horsfall will do me the honour to come and see me, i will show him an efficient fish-pass which has been in operation forty years. it may suggest some ideas to him, and he may be able to suggest some improvements in it which i should be glad to receive. i am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, thomas garnett. * * * * * low moor, _ th january_, . dear sir,--as i believe mr. eden, the commissioner of salmon fisheries, is visiting various districts connected with salmon rivers in england and wales, with a view of explaining the proposed alterations and additions to the bill of , and as i think from what i have learnt that the proposed alterations and additions will not be satisfactory to the upper proprietors of salmon rivers, i wish to call your attention to the matter, that, if he should come into this district, the gentlemen interested may be able to point out to him how far these alterations are from meeting their wishes. supposing that the new bill (as published in the "field" newspaper, and explained and commented on by mr. eden) is to be understood as a government measure and one in which they will allow of no alterations, i maintain that it is very objectionable both from what it omits and what it purposes to do. to begin with the former, or, in other words, to take the recommendations of the worcester meeting as the groundwork of new legislation, it does not touch on several of them; they were, so far as i remember (for i have no memoranda to refer to) an extension of the weekly and annual close time--minimum penalties: --a close time for trout, and a right of way on the banks of salmon rivers for all water-bailiffs, duly appointed, without their being deemed guilty of trespass; and a tax on fishery nets and implements, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of protection. now, so far as i understand the bill as proposed, the only one of these recommendations included in it is the tax. i am wrong in this--the taxation is not included in the bill, but was suggested by mr. eden at the meeting he attended lately at chester. the bill proposes that the choice of conservators shall be vested in the magistrates at quarter sessions, and the conservators shall have power to expend all the funds raised by voluntary subscriptions for certain purposes mentioned in the act. but mr. eden suggested at chester that if these funds were inadequate the conservators should have the power of supplementing them by a rate on the owners and lessees of fisheries in proportion to their extent. now one man may have an estate on the banks of a river extending for miles from which he derives little or no revenue; while another may have a fishery not extending more yards than the other does miles, but from which he derives a revenue of as many pounds as the other does pence. if mr. eden's meaning is lineal extent, i feel very sure it will not meet with the approval of the upper riparian proprietors. again, why should the magistrates in quarter sessions (nine-tenths of whom know nothing of salmon or salmon rivers) choose the conservators? what, for instance, would the magistrates meeting at wakefield know of the ribble or the hodder? what would they care about the matter? they would choose the men who had power to tax the riparian proprietors and lessees; but as they would not be taxed themselves, they would look on with great composure. no; if we are to be taxed, let us tax ourselves, and not leave it to those who will have no interest in the matter, and who may involve us in litigation and expense over which we shall have no control. the recommendations of the worcester committee deserved more consideration on the part of government. they were suggested by men of great experience, and, moreover, unless they are adopted and legalized by parliament there can be no permanent prosperity for salmon rivers. take the extension of close time as an instance. it cannot be right that the owners or lessees of estuary fisheries shall be allowed to take ninety per cent. of the fish which they have neither bred nor fed, and whose well-being and increase they have done nothing to promote; while the upper proprietors, on whom devolve all the care, trouble, and expense, are to rest satisfied with what the thirty-six hours per week can give them. what did they give the upper proprietors on the ribble and the hodder last season? little or nothing. when the bill of was before the house of commons, i had an opportunity of suggesting (indirectly) to the late sir george cornewall lewis the propriety and desirableness of an extension of the weekly close time for the benefit of the upper proprietors. he replied, "you might as well propose to restrict the shooting of partridges to three days a week as to restrict the netting of salmon." but with all due deference to so great an authority, there is no analogy between the two cases. if partridges had all to migrate and return before they could be legally shot, and had, like the salmon, all to return by the same road, ninety per cent. of them before reaching the district where they were reared would become the prey of men who had neither bred nor fed them. i fancy sportsmen would want protection for them; and if they were not able to obtain it, they would do what is seriously proposed by many people with regard to the salmon--they would do all they could to exterminate them, rather than continue to act as brood hens to hatch chickens for other men's eating. then take the annual close time and the pretended compensation it offers in the two months' rod-fishing (september and october). after the nets have been withdrawn, what is it worth? or, what is the value of black fish full of spawn? they cannot be sold; they are not fit to eat; the spawn has nearly arrived at maturity, and the only value the fish has is in the spawn, which is potted and sold in many instances by the poacher who kills the fish. he deserves no other name, whatever may be his rank or station. again, in the st section, regulating the weekly close time, it is enacted "that any person acting in contravention of this section shall forfeit all the fish taken by him, and any net or movable instrument used by him in taking the same, and, in addition thereto, shall incur a penalty of not exceeding five pounds, and a further penalty of not exceeding one pound for each fish." but in the th section, which regulates the annual close time, though there is a penalty for the contravention and forfeiture of the salmon so taken, there is no forfeiture of nets and implements. you will no doubt remember how this worked when the watchers took a net and boat, near preston, last season, after the setting in of the annual close time. how the owner of the net and boat came to claim them, on the pretence that the net had been stolen from the bank, where it had been left to dry, although his own men were the parties who were so illegally using them. minimum penalties.--i see no mention of them in the new bill, although it is notorious that many magistrates have fined convicted poachers in the penalty of a farthing or a shilling. what is this but an encouragement to do so again? close time for trout.--this is greatly needed in salmon rivers, as it is well known that many a poacher pretends to be fishing for trout when he is looking after salmon. this is doubly needed when the salmon ascend the small tributaries to spawn. the right of way for water bailiffs.--there is no clause or section in the new bill giving the right of way on the banks of salmon rivers to duly authorized persons without their being deemed guilty of trespass. but there is one by which they are permitted to examine weirs. there is on my part no objection to this examination, but why are millowners stigmatized by being subjected to exceptional legislation? are not the gamekeepers of gentlemen who have many miles of river subject to no surveillance on the part of the water bailiffs as likely to act illegally as the servants of the millowners? let both be watched with equal care, and i do not mind how vigilant the watching may be; but i do object to being made the object of special and exceptional legislation. the tax ought to be upon nets and rods and other implements in proportion to their value. but if a tax is laid on the extent of the fishery, we may bid adieu to voluntary subscriptions. in conclusion, if mr. eden comes into this district, i think it ought to be distinctly intimated to him that no bill would be satisfactory to the upper proprietors which did not give them a greater interest in the increase and improvement of rivers. there are three ways of doing this. the mesh of the salmon net might be enlarged from eight to twelve inches round. this would allow grilse to pass, and fill the river with breeding fish. or, secondly, the weekly close time might be extended so as to include friday as well as saturday afternoon and sunday. or, thirdly, the annual close time for net and rod fishing might commence a month earlier than at present; say net fishing to close on the st of august, and rod fishing on the st of october. any of these measures would give the upper proprietors a much better supply of fish than they now have. they all, i think, deserve consideration. one thing at least is certain, that unless the upper proprietors have a better share of the fish than they have at present, they will soon cease to take an interest in their preservation. to colonel j. wilson patten, m.p. * * * * * low moor, _ th january_, . my dear sir,--i shall be very glad if i can induce you to read my opinions on the salmon question. it is one which i think may become of even national importance, if properly managed. but the sad tinkering it has hitherto received in the nine hundred and ninety-nine acts of parliament wholly or partly devoted to the subject makes me almost hopeless about future legislation. yet it seems to me that the only way to greatly increase the breed of salmon is so simple and obvious, that its not having been adopted long since can only be accounted for by supposing that all the parties interested in the matter are like the man in the fable, who killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. hitherto the law has never properly recognized the claims of the upper riparian proprietors. these men have all the trouble and expense of rearing and protecting the young fish, whilst the owners of estuary fisheries, men who never lift a hand nor spend a penny in taking care of the brood, take above ninety per cent. of the grown salmon when in season; and even then think they are hardly used. how can it be expected that the upper proprietors should be very earnest in their protection of fish from which they derive little or no benefit, merely acting the part of brood hens and hatching the chickens for the benefit of other people? in june, , , salmon and salmon trout were taken at a single haul of the net in the ribble, near penwortham. now the sea is as wide, and, for anything we know to the contrary, as capable of feeding them as it was a hundred years ago; and the rivers are as capable of breeding and rearing them now as they were at that time; and therefore i do not see why, if proper steps were taken, they should not be as abundant now as they were then. if we take a sheep or a bullock, and to his first cost add the rent of the land on which he has pastured, and something for insurance and interest on capital, the transaction is not a very profitable one in the long run. but in the case of the salmon, we send a little fish down to the sea which is not worth a penny, and he remains there, paying neither rent nor taxes, neither gamekeepers' nor bailiffs' wages, costing nothing to anyone, until he returns to the river, worth ten or twenty shillings, as the case may be. surely this is a branch of the public wealth that deserves sedulous cultivation. i think with you that the calder can never become a salmon river, so long as manufactories flourish on its banks, and it is not desirable that it ever should become so at their expense; but even in the calder (and its tributaries) a little care would prevent immense mischief. some people at church, a few years ago, very carelessly pushed a quantity of poisonous matter into the hyndburn brook, and the first thunderstorm that followed carried it down the calder into the ribble, and poisoned all the fish between calder foot and ribchester. take another instance of carelessness in the ribble, the emptying of the gas-holder tank at settle, which when turned into the river killed nearly all the fish between that town and mitton. several other instances occur to me, but these two are sufficient to show the great mischief occasioned by avoidable neglect and carelessness. such mischief should not be perpetrated with impunity. the act of was very good as far as it went, notwithstanding some oversights; but it did not go far enough. it did not give to the upper riparian proprietors such an interest in the fish as they are entitled to, nor is the interest they now have sufficient to induce them to exert themselves in the preservation and increase of the salmon as they might and would do if such additional stimulus were given to them. the law now is, that no nets shall be used in the taking of salmon between twelve o'clock at noon on saturdays, and six o'clock on monday mornings. that is, forty-two hours per week. but in the ribble, as a rule, we never see seasonable salmon until may. now from that time to the st of september, is, say sixteen weeks, and at forty-two hours per week (the length of the weekly close time) this gives twenty-eight days during which time the fish may pass up the river without interruption; but this is by no means the true state of the case. everyone conversant with the habits of salmon knows that they never ascend rivers except when they are in a state of flood; and in average summers, partly owing to droughts, and partly to the rapid evaporation and absorption of moisture by vegetation, these twenty-eight days may fairly be reduced by two-thirds, to give the true time allowed for the ascent of the fish. but say ten days, which are supposed to give an adequate supply of fish to a hundred miles of river,--the extent of the ribble and its salmon-breeding tributaries. is it surprising that the upper proprietors are not satisfied with this state of things? it would be surprising if they were content with such a cheeseparing allowance. when the bill of was before the house of commons, i had an opportunity (indirectly) of suggesting to the late sir george cornewall lewis the propriety of a considerable extension of the weekly close time. he replied, "you might as well propose to shoot partridges only three days a week, as to restrict the netting of salmon to only three days." with all due deference to such an authority, there is no analogy between the two cases. but if partridges had all to migrate and return before they could be legally shot, and had, like salmon, to come by one road, and if, like them, ninety per cent. of them became the prey of men who had neither bred nor fed them, i fancy the sportsman who reared them would want some restrictions placed on their being shot by men who had not spent a farthing in breeding and protecting them, but who took the lion's share in their appropriation. i saw lord derby on the subject last spring. he had, however, so little time at his disposal that he could only give me a few minutes. he said a good deal must be allowed for vested interests. i said, "my lord, i am a manufacturer. when the ten hours bill was passed, manufacturers were deprived of one-sixth of their fixed capital at a stroke, and had not a farthing allowed for their vested interests; nay, more, that measure involved the destruction of machinery which had cost millions. all this was done on grounds of public policy. and is not the salmon question one of public policy? if, as i suppose, the measure i advocate produced a great increase in the breed of salmon, the estuary fisheries would be the first to profit by it. they are the first on the river. indeed, the stake nets in the estuaries are taking fish daily in times of drought, when fish will not ascend the river at all." in we had not a fresh in the river between the th of april and the st of august. and last year we had only a few days of flood between the beginning of may and the st august, when close time (for nets) commences. i have said above that only ten days per year are allowed for the supply of fish to the upper proprietors. i may be told that they have two months (september and october) in which they are allowed to angle for them. true, but what are they worth? they are not allowed to be sold, they are not fit to eat, the fish are black (or red), the milt and spawn nearly at maturity, and the only temptation they offer is to the poacher (who often pots the roe as a bait for trout); and he is a poacher, whatever his rank or station, who will kill an october fish when full of spawn. last year, at my suggestion, a meeting of gentlemen interested in salmon fisheries was convened at worcester, during the meeting there of the royal agricultural society, and a number of suggestions were made, and resolutions were come to, which were intended to serve as a basis for the desired alterations in the salmon bill of . i have no memoranda to which i can now refer, but the most important, according to my recollection, were the following:--the extension of the weekly close time; the annual close time to be extended to trout; a right to be given to all conservators and water-bailiffs, duly appointed, to pass along the banks of salmon rivers without being deemed guilty of trespass; a tax on fishing-nets, rods, and implements, to defray the expenses of protecting the rivers from poachers. the commissioner of salmon fisheries, mr. eden, has been convening meetings of gentlemen interested in salmon rivers at chester, conway, york, and various other places, to explain the provisions of the bill which government introduced at the end of last session and intend to bring forward again. i have not attended any of these meetings, but expect he will be at whalley or preston shortly, when we shall hear what he has got to say. the new bill, as printed last year, does not embody any of the suggestions of the worcester meeting; but as i learn from private sources, mr. eden, at the various meetings he has lately attended, has thrown out various suggestions, some of which are highly objectionable. for instance, he suggests that the magistrates in quarter sessions assembled shall have the power to appoint conservators, and that the conservators shall have the power to expend all the money raised by subscription in having water-bailiffs to put up fish- ladders, commencing actions at law in certain cases; and if the subscriptions are not adequate to defray all these expenses, that they (the conservators) shall have the power to levy a rate in aid on the riparian proprietors. i cannot see how this can be made to work equitably. if the rate be laid on the extent of frontage to the river, one man may have a great extent of no value for fishing purposes, another may have only one pool, so conveniently formed and placed for netting that he will be able to catch ten times as many fish as the other. then how are the fisheries in the estuary and just above tideway to be valued? they probably take ninety per cent. of all the seasonable fish. will they be willing to pay ninety per cent. of the rate? again, the college at stonyhurst claims a right of _several fishery_, both in the ribble and the hodder. that is, they exercise a right to fish in both rivers, where they have no land, and they exercise this right so freely that they take more fish than all the other upper proprietors added together. if, then, the tax is laid on the extent of frontage to the rivers, these reverend gentlemen would escape entirely, so far as the right of _several fishery_ extends, and would only pay the rate on their own extent of frontage. again, the new bill does not embody the suggestions of the worcester meeting as to the right of way for the water-bailiffs; but according to mr. eden's comment upon it at chester and elsewhere, a strict surveillance is to be kept on weirs, to which the water-bailiffs are to have free access. personally i have no objection to this, provided the water-bailiffs are allowed free access to the banks of the river elsewhere; but i have a strong objection to be made the subject of offensive exceptional legislation. are not gamekeepers as likely to need looking after as mill-owners? again, the bill does not touch on minimum penalties. this it ought to do, for in some districts (wales, for instance) there is a strong animus against all attempts at preserving the salmon, and notorious poachers, duly convicted of offences against the act of , in some instances have been fined a shilling, in others a farthing. to w. h. hornby, esq., m.p. * * * * * remarks on a proposed bill for the better preservation of salmon. clitheroe, _august th_, . henry george, esq. dear sir,--i am favoured by the receipt of your letter of the th inst., and the accompanying draft of a proposed bill "for the better preservation of salmon," and proceed at once to offer such remarks and suggestions as occur to me, and shall be glad to learn that they meet with your approval. in the third clause (section) you give an interpretation of the names under which you wish to include all fish of the salmon kind. does not this include common trout? you specially include char by name. would it not be better to limit your intentions to all migratory fish of the salmon kind, to wit, salmon, grilse, &c. &c.? i think also the meaning of a fixed net wants defining more rigorously. as it now stands it appears to me that it would include any net which should be fastened on a root or stone whilst it was being drawn through a pool, if the men employed in doing this were to let go the cords whilst they loosed the net from the obstruction. fourth clause.--i quite agree with you on the period allotted to annual close time, but think there ought to be a penalty for buying, selling, or having in possession salmon roe (save and except for the purpose of artificial propagation). seventh.--i do not agree with you at all on the subject of the weekly close time, which in my opinion ought to be for one-half of every day, except sunday, and the whole of that day. why should the owners of fisheries at the mouths of rivers, who are at neither trouble nor expense in breeding or preserving the spawning fish, have all the benefit derivable from their increase? why should the upper proprietors act the part of brood hens for these, hatching and preserving the fish for the benefit of those who take no trouble about these things themselves? twelfth.--i do not agree with you as to the size of the mesh: i do not think that a mesh of twelve inches in circumference, or three inches from knot to knot, at all too large; it would permit fish below six pounds to escape, and this being done, there would under any circumstances be a fair supply of breeding fish. fifteenth.--i think your leister requires a more rigorous definition. a man in this neighbourhood is reputed to have killed a good many salmon with a hay or a dung fork. are either of these leisters? your sixteenth section is utterly impracticable. how could such hecks or grates be prevented from choking with leaves in the autumn and ice in the winter, thus stopping the wheels? you might as well require a farmer to hedge out the game. impose a penalty, if you like, upon any millowner who may kill salmon in his mill lead; and as you give your conservators power to inspect everywhere, you will readily detect such practices. but it will never do to close the mills by pretexts that the fish may be taken or killed there. twenty-first.--i do not understand the meaning of this. but taken in its ordinary sense, it seems to me to be very unjust. many persons have traps in their weirs for the purpose of taking salmon to which they plead a prescriptive right. do you mean to do away with these? you may succeed in this, but why should not a man be allowed to fish in the river above the weir where there are no obstructions to the passage of the fish? and why should not a man be allowed to fish with a rod and line below the weir, and as near to it as he chooses? i think weirs might be safely divided into two classes: those used for manufacturing purposes and those for fishery purposes; that a man should be allowed to say in which class his weir should be included. if for manufacturing purposes he should not be allowed to catch salmon (except with rod and line) within a certain distance below the weir. if he choose to class his weir as one for fishery purposes, he should then be compelled to give a free passage to the fish for twelve hours every day; but he should be compelled to make his election as to the class in which he would include his weir. twenty-fifth.--it would never do to allow the commissioners to make bye-laws. suppose the case of a millowner who got into a dispute with them: he might be utterly ruined by their bye-laws; they might make bye-laws which deprived him of his water-power, under a pretext that they were taking more efficient care of the salmon. thirty-first.--i think the licence to angle should be compulsory, and not at the discretion of the commissioner. that it should be in the nature of a game licence, qualifying and enabling the holder to angle in any river of great britain and ireland, provided he had the consent of the owner of the fishery where he was angling. (_additional observations_). twelfth.--you say that no double net shall be used. do you mean to prohibit the trammel, which is usually a treble and not a double net? you also prohibit one net behind another, but you do not specify the distance outside of which a second net would be lawful. if neither a series of scotch nets nor a single trammel is to be used, by what sort of net do you propose to catch the salmon? nineteenth.--you say the sluices which admit water to wheels or factories shall be kept closed from six o'clock on saturday night to six o'clock on monday morning. how, then, are the repairs of shafting and machinery to be made? these are generally done when the workpeople have gone home on saturdays. besides, what is your object? if the river is low, the salmon will not be running up the stream, and if it be in flood there will always be an abundant supply running over the weir in addition to that which would be required to turn the wheel. you add that the water may be allowed to flow freely through the waste-gate, provided the opening of such a waste-gate shall not deprive the mill of the necessary supply of water. eighteenth.--in this clause you say that in weirs already constructed it shall be lawful for the commissioner, on the application of any two or more persons interested in the fisheries of such river, and at the proper costs and charges of the persons making such application--proof having been first given, &c.--to cause a survey to be made of such dam or weir by a competent engineer, and to direct such alterations to be made therein as shall, in the opinion of the commissioner, be necessary and desirable, &c. in this clause, which so far as it goes is very desirable, you have omitted a proviso without which it could never pass into a law. you have forgotten to provide for the legal right of the millowner, which would, or might, be taken away by the alteration made in the weir unless there were some provision in the act which prevented this being done. at present there is no such proviso in your act. here i have offered for years to allow the upper proprietors to make any alteration they liked in the weir, provided such alterations did not affect the milling power, the stability of the weir, or my legal title to the weir as existing at present. and my legal adviser tells me that any alteration made in the weir without a guarantee from the upper proprietors would very probably deprive me of my present title. * * * * * letters on agricultural subjects. * * * * * on the cultivation of wheat on the same land in successive years. _to the editor of the "manchester guardian."_ clitheroe, october th, . sir,--i promised to send you some details of my attempt to grow wheat on the same soil year after year. these i now forward, and hope they may prove interesting. i was led into these experiments by reading liebig's book on the "chemistry of agriculture;" for, assuming his theory to be true, it appeared to me to be quite possible to grow wheat on the same land year after year; as, according to that theory, the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, which constitute the great bulk of all cereal crops (both grain and straw), are supplied in abundance from the soil and atmosphere (or perhaps, to speak more correctly, from the latter), and we have only to supply those inorganic substances, which, however numerous, form but a small part of the whole weight of the crop. with the view of testing this theory, and hoping that i might be able to find out what were the elements which built up and cemented the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen together--or, in other words, which constituted fertility--i begun, in the autumn of , to experiment on a field which had been exhausted by a succession of crops, and which had just been cleared of one of oats. i chose an exhausted field in preference to any other, as the only one in which i could test the truth of the theory. it was very foul, being full of couch grass and weeds of all kinds. it was ploughed up and hastily picked over, for the season was so unfavourable for cleaning the land (from the great quantity of rain that fell) that i was almost induced to abandon the experiment. previously to sowing the seed, one-fourth of the field was manured with a compost of night-soil and coal-ashes, at the rate of forty tons to the customary acre ( yards); the remaining three-fourths having the seed put in without any manure whatever. the winter was very unfavourable for the plants in our cold wet soil, and in the unmanured part of the field many of them perished, and those that survived made very little progress, from having no stimulus at the roots. thinking it desirable to apply my experimental manures in moist weather, i waited until the th may, when i treated that part of the field which had _not_ been manured (three-fourths of the whole) in the following manner. i applied guano to one-fourth, at the rate of two hundredweight to the statute acre, and the same weight of nitrate of soda over another fourth, leaving one-fourth entirely without manure. the wheat manured with the guano and nitrate of soda grew vigorously, and the ears, more particularly in the part manured with guano, were the finest i had ever seen, but when it came to ripen it shrivelled in the ear, and the sample was very indifferent; the soil being evidently deficient in some property necessary for perfecting the grain. the crop also suffered much from the depredations of the birds. the portion manured with night-soil produced to the statute acre bushels of lbs. each. guano " " " " " nitrate of soda " " " " " unmanured part " " / " " " i give these details to show that the land was in an exhausted state previous to the commencement of the experiment i am now about to detail. after the crop of was reaped, the land was immediately ploughed up, and the season being very favourable, it was tolerably well cleaned, and the seed was sown (without any manure) about the first week in october. after the wheat came up, it was manured with a dusting of one hundredweight of guano, over the entire field (about one acre, three roods), to keep the plants alive through the winter. in the spring, being divided into three portions, it was manured with the same number of experimental manures, which were furnished to me by mr. blyth, of church, near accrington, who also analyzed the soil and subsoil for me. these manures were applied about the th of april, and the experiment was still further varied by covering a portion of each division with guano a fortnight afterwards, at the rate of two hundredweight to the acre, but all the manure applied to the crop, including the hundredweight of guano put on in the autumn, did not exceed / hundredweight. the crop, which was a very thin one in the spring, improved so much by the application of these manures, that when it came into ear, it was allowed by all who saw it to be the best in the neighbourhood; but the heavy rains of july caused it to lodge in the best part of the field, and there it was attacked by rust, and the sample was very indifferent. in addition to this drawback, there being very little wheat grown in the neighbourhood of the town, and this being much earlier than any of the other fields, was attacked by the birds as soon as the grain was formed in the ear. notwithstanding all the efforts made to prevent them, they continued feeding upon it until it was cut; and it is a very moderate estimate of the damage, to say that they destroyed one- fourth of the crop throughout the field. that part of the field covered with manure (no. ) being the earliest, suffered most. there were patches of several square yards where there did not appear to be a single grain left; and wherever the birds took a grain from the middle of the ear, when in the milky state, the grains on each side of it appeared to grow no more, but shrivelled up in the ear. i have little doubt that in this portion of the field one-third of the crop was destroyed. all this seems to reduce the experiment to little more than guess-work; and it will, probably, be very difficult to persuade those who did not see the field when it was cut, to credit this report of the devastation made by the birds; even when they are told that clitheroe is a town of , inhabitants, and probably as many sparrows, and that apparently they were all assembled to feed in this field; and they became so accustomed to the good living they found there, that even when our neighbours' wheat was fit to eat, they continued to favour this field with their visits in preference to going elsewhere. i estimate the damage on no. at one-third, no. at one-fourth, no. at one-fifth; this was later than the others, and suffered more from rust than birds. the following are the results:--from , yards manured with no. , there were obtained , lbs. of wheat, or / bushels of lbs. each to the statute acre; if we add one-half to this, as we assume that one-third was destroyed by the birds, it will give / bushels to the statute acre. the weight of straw from this portion was stones lbs., lbs. to the stone. from , yards manured with no. , lbs. of wheat were obtained, and stones lbs. of straw; this is equal to / bushels per acre, or with one-third added, for estimated damage, it is equal to bushels per statute acre. from yards manured with no. , there were , lbs. of wheat, and stones lbs. of straw, or bushels to the statute acre, to which if we add one-fourth, according to the estimate of damage, it will be equal to / bushels per acre. it will be observed that this portion yielded a far greater weight of straw per acre than either of the others, and from the sort of manure applied, it was expected that this would be the case. no. yielded straw at the rate of / stones per acre. " " " " " / " " " " " " " / " " many people may feel inclined to say, that all these apparent data are mere guesses, and that a crop may be made into anything one likes, if they assume so much for damages; but, fortunately, it is not all guess-work. i have stated previously that i covered a part of each division with guano a fortnight after the application of the manures in april, intending to see what advantage was obtained by the use of it; but, owing to the depredations of the birds, the portions of the first and second divisions manured with guano were not kept separate from those which were left without guano; but the third being later, and, therefore, not so much injured by them, gave me an opportunity of ascertaining the effect. i measured off a land which had been so manured, and reaped and thrashed it out separately. from this land of yards long and feet wide ( , square feet), there was obtained lbs. of wheat, or bushels of lbs. per statute acre; and this was far from being the best portion of the field. i don't mean that it was not the best portion of the crop, but i mean that the soil was not so good there as it was in other parts of the field; as i have before stated, in the best part of the field the crop was spoiled by being lodged by the rain, and subsequently attacked by rust. i communicate this to you, in the hope that the publication of it in your paper maybe the means of stimulating others to try the same experiments. it is not too late yet to try for the next year's crop, and i have no doubt that mr. blyth will be happy to supply both material and information to any who may require them from him. it is the duty of everyone to promote the advancement of agriculture; and this is my contribution towards it. i have not yet done, for i have sown the same field with wheat again, and hope, with a favourable season, to reap a still more abundant crop next year. * * * * * _to the same._ clitheroe, _october th_, . sir,--last october you published an account of an attempt of mine to grow wheat on the same land year after year; and, as i have repeated the experiment this year, i shall be obliged if you will be kind enough to insert the account of it in the "guardian," as the subject appears to me to be an important one; and, as many persons who may read this letter may either not have seen the former, or may have forgotten it, i trust that a short summary of the former experiments may not be out of place. these experiments took place in the autumn of , after the field had been cleared of a crop of oats, which was a very bad one; the land being not only naturally poor, but foul and exhausted by long cropping. as the season was very wet, it was indifferently cleaned, and one-fourth of it manured with a compost of night-soil and ashes, and then the field was sowed with wheat. two of the remaining three-fourths were manured on the th of may, (the spring being a very dry one, no rain came until that day), one with guano, the other with nitrate of soda, each at the rate of two hundredweight to the statute acre, and the remaining fourth was left unmanured. the following were the results at harvest:--that manured with night-soil and ashes produced bushels of lbs. per acre; guano, bushels; nitrate of soda, bushels; unmanured, / bushels. when the field had been cleared of the crop, it was immediately ploughed up, and, as the season was favourable, the land was well cleaned and sowed with wheat in october, , without any manure except cwt. of guano, which was scattered over it when the wheat was coming up. the field was divided into three portions, and in april, , was manured as follows:--no. , with lbs. of sulphate of magnesia, and cwt. nitrate of soda to the statute acre; no. , with a compound from a manufacturer of chemical manures; no. , with lbs. of silicate of soda and cwt. of nitrate of soda to the acre; and, with the view of still further varying the experiment, a part of each portion was sowed with guano a fortnight after the application of the chemical manures. the crop promised to be a very good one, but it was much plundered by the birds, and as the summer was wet, it suffered also much from rust. allowing for the destruction occasioned by the birds, the crop was estimated at: / bushels in patch no. , " " no. , / " " no. , and in that part of no. which was also covered with guano, it reached by actual weight (not by estimate), bushels of lbs. to the acre. those patches in nos. and which had guano put on them, suffered so much from the depredations of the birds, that no account was taken of them separately. the crop was cleared off the land, which was cleaned, and again sowed with wheat on rd october, . it was drilled in rows seven inches apart, and at the rate of / bushels to the acre. it is to the results of this crop that i now wish to call your attention. before sowing, the land was subsoiled to the depth of from to inches; except a strip of about feet in width, down the middle of the field, which was left untouched for the purpose of determining what were the advantages derived from subsoiling. if the advantage was merely that of thorough draining (for the field had not been thoroughly drained previous to the subsoiling), it was thought probable that this strip of feet wide would be drained by the subsoiling on each side of it; but if, in addition to this, the wheat plant derived more nourishment by striking its root deeper into the soil, where that was loosened by the subsoil plough, the crop ought to be better in the subsoiled than in the unsubsoiled part. the field runs over the ridge of a hill, and upon that ridge the soil is so poor and thin, that it was deemed expedient to give it a slight dressing of coal-ashes and night-soil, from an idea that the plant would scarcely survive the winter unless some stimulus were applied there; but the ashes contained little manure, and were only applied to the worst part of the field, covering about one-third of its surface. the wheat was spalding's prolific; it came up evenly and well all over the field. it was hand-sowed with lime early in february to the extent of about cwt. of dry lime on the acre. in order to ascertain the value of lime, and the proper quantity, i had the field uniformly covered with it, except one land, which was left entirely without, and the headlands, which had one three, the other six times as much lime put upon them as any other part. the field was also dressed with a chemical manure of the following ingredients on the th march, costing:-- l. s. d. / cwt. nitrate of soda " impure sulphate of magnesia / " silicate of soda / " common salt / " gypsum mixing and applying it, say total for statute acre l speculating on the probability of a dry summer, i gave it an extra quantity of manure, and i think where guano is used afterwards, as it is by me, the nitrate of soda might be dispensed with, which would bring the cost to l s. d. per acre. i should prefer guano to nitrate of soda, because of the phosphates contained in the former. at the distance we are from the sea (about thirty miles) it would seldom be necessary to apply common salt, as the gales of winter generally bring as much as is needed; but last winter we had no high winds, and i thought that where salt was applied with other chemical manures, the wheat was more luxuriant than where there was none; but owing to a misunderstanding of the instructions to that effect, the produce was not kept separate. when the chemical manure was applied, one land was left without, for the purpose of comparison. guano was sowed on the land on the th march, at the rate of something less than cwt. to the statute acre, one side of the field being covered with peruvian, the other with african, and the land on which no chemical manure had been sowed was half of it covered with guano, and the other half left without anything except lime; but as it was thought desirable to ascertain the value of the chemical manure without guano, half of this patch was sowed with the chemical manure in april, after the long drought of the last spring had set in. a small patch was left without manure, to show the natural condition of the field, and to serve as a comparison with the manured part alongside it, and also with the condition of the field when the experiment commenced, - , when the unmanured portion yielded only / bushels to the acre. this part of the experiment, however, was frustrated by the carelessness of the men who thrashed out the wheat. the crop was a very good one throughout the field, but was evidently shorter and thinner where there was no lime, and also where guano was applied alone. it was best on the headlands where more lime had been applied. the weather was extremely favourable until the wheat was going out of bloom, but it then changed, and the crop was beaten down by the rain, in some places so thoroughly that it never rose again; and from that time to the day it was reaped ( st august), there were not more than six fine warm days. this cold and ungenial weather would, no doubt, materially affect both the quantity and quality of the crop,--the sample only being just fair. on thrashing out the crop, i find the result to be as follows:--where the guano and chemical manure were applied, but no lime, the yield was / bushels of lbs. per statute acre; where the land was left unsubsoiled, it was / bushels; when guano alone was applied, it was / bushels; where the chemical manure alone was applied, it was / bushels; where the african guano was applied, it was bushels; where the peruvian was applied, it was / bushels; on the headlands, where three times the quantity of lime (or / tons per acre) was applied, it was nearly bushels; and where six times the quantity of lime (or tons to the acre), it was / bushels. i give this last result as it was ascertained, but do not consider it conclusive, for the wheat plant on this headland looked quite as well as the other, until it went out of bloom, when from some unknown cause it was partially blighted; an irregular patch from a foot to a yard in width and extending almost from end to end of the headland becoming brown and parched, as if affected by lightning or some atmospheric visitation. with the view of making these results a little clearer to the eye, i subjoin the following tabular statement of the produce per acre in the different parts of the field:-- bushels of lbs. per statute acre. guano alone / chemical manure alone / guano and chemical manure, with cwt. lime to the acre, but land unsubsoiled / guano and chemical manure, but no lime / african guano and lime peruvian " " / " " and times as much lime " " and " " / average crop throughout the field it may be as well to observe, that the total expense of manure, and of its application to that portion of the field which produced sixty-two bushels per acre (including the guano and the additional quantity of lime used), was at the rate of s. per statute acre. deducting the cost of the nitrate of soda, the utility of which, under the circumstances, i am inclined to doubt, it would have been s. d. i consider these to be very favourable results, and as offering strong inducements to continue the experiment. i have accordingly had the land ploughed up and cleaned; and it was again sowed with wheat on the th inst. having detailed the general results of the experiment, i beg to offer the following remarks upon some points in it, which seem to me to require a little elucidation. i consider the success of this experiment to be in a great measure owing to the use of soluble silica and magnesia; because, although there is an abundance of silica in the soil, my first crop showed very miserable results, the grain being ill-fed and poor, and the straw soft and discoloured, although the year was, in this district, very favourable for wheat, the month of august being singularly fine and warm; but when i combined the nitrate of soda with sulphate of magnesia, as in experiment no. in , but still more so when i combined it with the silicate of soda, as in no. of that year, the straw became as strong, firm, and bright as need be desired; and this year when both these salts are combined with nitrate of soda, common salt, and gypsum, i have not only good and bright straw, but also an abundant crop of wheat. with respect to the lime used, it may be as well to state that the field had not been limed for many years, and although in a limestone district, showed a deficiency of lime on analysis. the soil is a strong loam, on a brick clay subsoil, in which there is little or no lime, although the stony clays, which form the subsoil in a great part of the district, abound in it, containing from twenty to thirty per cent. of carbonate of lime. i had always believed that lime was used in great excess in this neighbourhood, and had, in fact, an idea that its good qualities were overrated, inasmuch as it does not enter into the composition of the plant, except in very minute proportion; but last winter i saw a paper (by mr. briggs of overton) on the possibility of growing wheat on the same land year after year, in which the utility of lime in preventing rust was incidentally touched upon. i also saw liebig's letters explaining the action of quicklime in liberating potash from the clay; and then i considered it very important to ascertain the proper quantity to be applied. the quantity required to decompose the phosphate of iron was not great, and assuming liebig's theory of its action in liberating the potash to be true, it seemed to me that an excess of lime would permanently impoverish the land; for, supposing that the crop required lbs. of potash, and as much lime was applied as liberated lbs., what became of the lbs. which did not enter into the composition of the plant? was not a large portion of this lbs. washed down the drains by the rain, and so lost for ever? perhaps the absence of lime in this field accounts for its beneficial action in the experiment just detailed; but if my supposition is correct, that any excess of potash which may be liberated from the clay by the use of quicklime (that is, any more than may be required to perfect the crop), is washed down the drains, and thus the land is permanently impoverished by the excessive use of lime, it behoves landed proprietors to ascertain what is required, and they should take care to apply no more than is necessary. this caution is most particularly needed in this neighbourhood, where lime is cheap, and where the opinion is prevalent that the more there is applied the better it is for the land, and where it is common to apply ten or twelve tons to the acre. i have stated above that chemical manure was applied to a small portion of the field after the setting-in of the drought in april. the action of this manure showed that a good thing may be very injurious if applied at an improper time; for, although it produced a stimulating effect on the plant immediately after its application, there was too little moisture in the land to dissolve it thoroughly, and thus enable the plants to appropriate it, until the rain came, about the end of june, when the wheat had been in flower some time; but the stimulus was then so great that all the plants threw up fresh stalks (from the roots), which were in flower when the wheat was cut, and it was then found that they had not only impoverished the plants, but had prevented the grain from ripening. this was the case not only in the experimental field, but in several others also, where the chemical manure was sowed after the setting-in of the drought. when the field was sowed with guano, it was thought desirable to cover one part of it with the african, and the other with peruvian, for the sake of comparison; but as the african did not appear to produce the same stimulating effect as the other, fifty per cent. more was applied, that the cost might be equal (the peruvian cost s., the african s. per cwt.); but as the latter application of the african was made when the wheat was just shooting into ear, the same objection applies to the experiment which does to the chemical manure applied after the drought had set in--viz., that there was not sufficient moisture in the soil to dissolve it thoroughly until the plant was too far advanced to benefit by it; and therefore its failure would be no proof of the value of the african as compared with the peruvian, which was the object of the experiment. it is true, no bad effects followed the application similar to those produced by the misapplication of the chemical manure in dry weather, yet if soluble salts like the latter did not find sufficient moisture in the ground when applied in april, there is reason to suppose that the former would not do so when applied in may. i regret the failure of the experiment without any manure, as i think the result would have shown satisfactorily that the land is so far from being impoverished by this system of cropping, that it is improving every year. i think, however, that this is shown by the produce of the land manured with guano alone. in the first year's experiment the produce from guano alone was bushels per acre, and both straw and wheat were very indifferent in quality. this year the produce from guano alone is / bushels; and although neither straw nor wheat are so good as upon the adjoining lands, they are both very much better than they were in . it will be observed that the result from the unsubsoiled portion is very good, and if nothing more were said about it, people would be led to conclude that there was no advantage in subsoiling. but this, in my opinion, would be a great mistake; for to say nothing of the advantage which the unsubsoiled portion would derive from the drainage which it received from the subsoiling on each side of it, i found, when the field was ploughed up this autumn, that whilst the unsubsoiled portion was stiff and heavy, the subsoiled part was comparatively friable and loose, like a garden, and will, i expect, show its superiority in the succeeding crops. it must be borne in mind, in reading these experiments, that we have here one of the most unfavourable climates in the kingdom for growing wheat, from the excessive quantity of rain that falls, three times more rain falling annually in the north of lancashire than at york, and this, no doubt, is very prejudicial to the success of such a series of experiments as i have been detailing. it has been objected to these experiments, that allowing all to have been done which is here detailed, it leads to no important conclusion; for although it may be practicable to grow wheat every year, in a small field like the one experimented on, it is not so on a large scale. but the objectors should remember that there is not the seed of a single weed sowed with the manure; and therefore if the land is thoroughly cleaned, and kept so, by hoeing the crop in the spring, it will require very little labour to fit it for another. but i shall be better able to speak on this head next harvest, having sowed wheat on an oat stubble with once ploughing. it is said there are no weeds in chinese husbandry, and if they can eradicate them completely, so may we, if we adopt the same methods and follow them up as perseveringly. again, admitting that it is not practicable to grow wheat on the same land year after year on a large scale, yet if we can double the crop in those years in which we do grow it, by the application of chemical manures (and the same manures are applicable to all cereal crops), will not that be a conclusion worth arriving at? that it is possible to do so, is, i think, sufficiently shown by the results i have obtained. what, then, may we expect when these experiments are infinitely multiplied and varied, under the superintendence of skilful and experienced men, who will devote their whole time and attention to the subject? will raising the average produce from twenty-five to fifty bushels per acre be the utmost limit to which improvement can be carried? i believe not. in conclusion, i would urge on all owners and occupiers of land, the importance of devoting at least a small field to agricultural experiments, as i think there can be no doubt that, if these are carefully and systematically made and followed up by agriculturists generally, we shall be so far from needing an importation of corn in average years that we shall have a large surplus to spare for our neighbours. note.--in the use of silicates of soda and potash one precaution is very necessary--viz., that you really have a soluble silicate, and not a mere mechanical mixture of ground flint and soda: this is a very different thing, and one, if it be not carefully guarded against, which will lead to nothing but disappointment. again, the silicate may be properly made in the first place, but in a long exposure to the atmosphere the soda attracts carbonic acid, and the soda is liberated, and this has defeated my expectations more than once. again, though i consider it desirable to defer the application of it until vegetation has fairly started in the spring, yet, in one instance, i delayed the application of it so long, that there was not moisture to dissolve it until the end of june, and then the wheat began to shoot afresh from the roots and the crop was seriously injured by it: but this was in an exceedingly dry spring, and might not happen again for many years. * * * * * _to the same._ low moor, _ th december_, . sir,--i promised to communicate to you the results of my attempt to grow wheat on the same land year after year, this being the fourth crop of wheat (the fifth white crop) grown in successive years on the same soil, and though i consider the crop an indifferent one, i don't think the failure ought in any degree to be attributed to the over-cropping, but to the wetness and coldness of the season, as well as other untoward circumstances hereafter to be mentioned. in a former letter of mine of the th october, --which was published in the "guardian" a few days after--i gave an account of the crop of , which was a very good one, being fifty bushels to the acre throughout the field, and as much as fifty-two bushels in the best part of it. this i considered so satisfactory that i had the field again ploughed up and sowed with wheat on the th october, , and it is to the results of this crop that i wish to call your attention. as remarked in my former letter, the field was subsoil ploughed in the autumn of , and this subsoiling was carried to such a depth that most of the drains in the field were more or less injured by it; and although this did no injury to the crop of , owing to the very dry season, yet when the rain came in the winter of , the want of drainage was found to be very prejudicial, and in the wet places large patches of the young wheat went off altogether, and there was a great deficiency of roots in many parts of the field; the long continuance of frost and after that the ungenial weather which continued so long in the spring (of ) were also unfavourable, yet with all these drawbacks the appearance of the plant after the growing weather _did_ come, was very promising, and many of my friends predicted that i should have as good a crop as in . on the th march i applied chemical manure of the same kind as i had done in , at the rate of about / cwt. to the acre (costing s. d.), and a fortnight after i had it sowed with cwt. of guano to the acre. when the warm weather came, these manurings seemed to help it wonderfully, and it was, as i have before stated, a very promising crop; but the cold, ungenial weather we had through a great part of the summer, and the continued rain we had whilst the wheat was in flower, destroyed all the former promise: and the manuring with guano, so far from being beneficial, was very injurious--so much so, that i believe every shilling's-worth of it applied to my wheat this year, made the crop a shilling worse than if nothing had been applied; and all ammoniacal manures had the same effect. it may be asked how i know it was the guano, and not the chemical manure. in answer to this inquiry, if made, i may observe, that i supplied two of my neighbours with the chemical manure, and they applied it without guano on very poor land, and they both assert they had never such good crops of wheat before; but everywhere in this neighbourhood, the only good samples of wheat that i saw or heard of were grown on exhausted soil. this appears to me to be a strong proof that chemistry has a great deal to learn before it can adapt its measures to all varieties of seasons, particularly as it cannot know beforehand how the season may turn out. if further proof be required of the injurious effect upon grain crops of ammoniacal manures in general, and of guano in particular, i may mention that in another field of wheat, sowed on the st december, and which did not come up until the frost broke, in march (the previous crop having been swedes), the blade was so yellow and the plant altogether so small and sickly in appearance, that i had it manured with a water-cart from a cesspool in april. this appeared to produce a wonderful improvement immediately, as the plant assumed a deep green and grew very fast, but when it ought to have shot, the heads seemed to stick in the sockets, the blade and straw became mildewed and made no progress in ripening. it was not fit to cut for three weeks after the experimental field, although it was an early white wheat, and the result was a miserable crop--far worse than the experimental field. the instance of injury from the use of guano, i had from a neighbour, who told me he had sowed a patch of oats with it, and that they never ripened at all, and that he was compelled to cut them green as fodder for his cattle. i had a striking proof this season of the much lower temperature required by oats than wheat, when strongly stimulated by manuring. i had gathered an ear of wheat and a panicle of oats the previous season, which seemed to me to be superior varieties; and that they might have every chance, i dibbled them alongside each other in my garden, and determined to manure them with every kind of manure i could procure, as i had an idea that it was not easy to over-manure grain crops, if all the elements entering into the composition of the plant were applied in due proportion to each other, and i also wished to ascertain whether wheat and oats would thrive equally well with the same sort of manuring. i accordingly limed the land soon after the wheat came up, and in march i applied silicate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, gypsum, common salt, and nitrate of soda. a fortnight after this i applied guano, then bones dissolved in sulphuric acid, then woollen rags dissolved in potash (the two latter in weak solution); and the consequence was, that i don't think there was a single grain in the whole parcel--at least i could not find one--the straw was no great length, and the blade much discolored with mildew, whilst the oats were seven feet high, and with straws through which i could blow a pea, and large panicles, although the oat was not particularly well-fed. the inference i have drawn from these experiments is, that as far as is practicable the manuring should be adapted to the temperature, but as this is obviously impossible in a climate like ours, the only way is to rather under than over manure, and to apply no ammoniacal manure to the wheat crop, or at all events very little; for although guano was beneficial to wheat when used in conjunction with silicates, &c. &c. in , yet the injury it did in may very fairly be set against that benefit. i should feel obliged if any of your readers who may have tried the experiment of manuring grain crops with guano, the last season ( ) would publish the result as compared with a similar crop without such manuring. i feel convinced that such result would be against the use of guano for wheat in . i am the more confirmed in the opinion that ammoniacal manures are unfavourable for wheat, by a series of articles in the "gardener's chronicle" on the "geo-agriculture of middlesex," in which the writer states that land in that county which in queen elizabeth's time produced such good wheat that it was reserved for her especial use, will now scarcely grow wheat at all, and when that grain is sowed upon it, the straw is always mildewed, and the sample very poor; and this is attributed--and no doubt justly so--to the extensive use of london manure. my crop was only bushels to the acre of lbs. to the bushel; last year the crop, as i have said before, was bushels of the same weight. * * * * * _to the same._ clitheroe, _ th march_, . on continuing my attempts to grow wheat on the same land year after year, i observed that the crop of was very seriously injured by the deficient drainage--the old drains having been destroyed by the subsoil plough. it was therefore necessary to replace them: they were accordingly put in four feet deep. this occupied so much time that the season for sowing wheat had gone by, and the ground was cropped with potatoes, which were got up in september, and the wheat might have been got in early in october. but seeing in your paper that sowing too early was not advisable, and also being carried away by the arguments of the thin-seeders, i deferred sowing until the middle of november, and then put in little seed; and the winter proving very unfavourable, when the wheat was coming up, there was not half plant enough in the spring, and i hesitated whether to plough up the ground or drill in barley. i determined to do the latter, which was done on the th april, and wheat and barley grew up together, and when cut and threshed, proved to be equal to bushels to the acre. * * * * * low moor, _ st december_, . henry briggs, esq. i duly received your obliging letter in reply to my pamphlet on the growth of wheat year after year on the same land, and now offer my rejoinder to your remarks. you seem to consider the expense is too great under the system pursued by me; and that it was more than was required by the crop, is proved in my opinion by the fact that the fertility of the land is very much augmented since the commencement of the experiment in : as my first crop with guano alone produced only bushels per acre, whilst this year from guano alone the produce was bushels. but still i think that your allowance of manure is far too little, and not exactly what i should apply, and i shall frankly state my objections and opinions, in the hope that they may elicit a reply from you, as it will be from discussion and the experiments instituted to test the various theories propounded, that agriculture will be most materially benefited. you state that liebig's present theory is, that plants obtain the necessary oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen from the rain and atmosphere, and that the plants merely require the supply of inorganic constituents, and that you are inclined to agree with him. my copy of his work on the chemistry of agriculture is his first edition; and i don't know how far he has since modified or altered the opinions therein expressed, which are in some degree at variance with each other. he states that it may be received as an axiom in agricultural chemistry that the nitrogen of the atmosphere is never assimilated by plants, except in the form of ammonia or nitric acid. he certainly states that plants and animals derive their nitrogen from the atmosphere; but why, if this be true, does he attach so much importance to the excrements (particularly urine), of men and animals being husbanded with so much care? and he states that for every pound of urine wasted, a pound of wheat is thrown away. but even if he said it was utterly worthless, every practical farmer who has tried it knows how exceedingly valuable it is. it may be said there are other ingredients in urine besides ammonia, and these are what make it valuable; and in reply to this i would ask what is it that makes the ammoniacal liquor from gasworks so valuable? there are no phosphates or alkalies there, and yet what a powerful stimulant it is. again, liebig states that the carbon is derived from the atmosphere; but to say nothing of the argument which might be deduced from the advantage which is derived by plants from having their soil loosened about their roots, the experiments of dumas and boussingault prove that a tree which was cut off below the branches expired a large quantity of carbonic acid. it may be asked how i know this was not precipitated by the rain. i don't know; but if the plant would assimilate this, why should it not assimilate that which arises from the decomposition of the carbonaceous matter in the soil? my idea is that it does both, and that carbon in the soil does good if it offers an abundant supply of carbonic acid to the plant when it is in a condition to appropriate it. your allowance of lime appears to me to be far too small, for if any reliance can be placed on my experiments, lime can be profitably used to far greater extent than you seem to imagine. and, again, you seem to think that where there is plenty of silex in the soil, the plant will be able to obtain as much as it requires. i think that it is quite necessary that the silex should be in a soluble state, as i think that it is not only desirable that all the elements necessary to fertility should be in the soil, but that they should be in such a form that they can be assimilated by the plant. some of our compounds for producing fertility may perhaps be as absurd as it would be to give muriatic acid to a man troubled with indigestion, because free muriatic acid is found in the stomach of a healthy person. let me recommend you to try both silex and magnesia in a soluble state, and i think you will be satisfied with the benefit derived from their use. recurring again to the quantity of manure necessary to grow thirty-six bushels of wheat, i would ask, why limit yourself to so small a crop? the difference in the cost of your manuring a field, and my manuring it, is more than made up by the increase of fourteen bushels of wheat and the corresponding increase of straw, even if the land did not improve every year by the application; and as the seed, rent, labour, and liabilities of the land are the same whether you grow a small crop or a large one, why not have it as large as possible? again, if i applied far more manure than was necessary, i ought to have had the crop equally good throughout the field; but on the ridge of the hill, where the soil was thin and poor, neither straw nor wheat were so good as they were where it was deeper and richer. my own opinion is, that the plant is never able to extract from the soil all the manure, and therefore it ought to be brought up to a good standard before good crops can be expected. i am not satisfied with any analogy that i can think of, but the best that occurs to me is that of a cloth in a dye- copper. you can never get it to absorb either all or half the colouring matter, and if you don't use far more than is taken up by the cloth, you will never obtain the desired results. besides, in chemical combinations it is desirable to use far more than the chemical equivalents, or the experiments don't succeed. i perceive that you intend to use guano next year, and that you intend to use it along with the seed. i trust it will not be sowed in contact with either the seed or the quicklime, which you proposed to use in some of your land. the best time i have found for applying guano is in wet weather, just when vegetation is making a start in the spring--say the last week in march, or the first week in april--as i fear a large part of the soluble portion of it would be washed away by the rains of winter. it is true we have had none this winter, but when shall we have such another? did you ever use woollen rags as manure? they ought to be excellent, as they are almost all albumen, and are, i fancy, to be had at a very moderate price, not far from you. can you inform me what it is that causes the land to be clover-sick? if it is the abstraction of something from the soil, what is that something? sir humphrey davy said that a dressing of gypsum would prevent it; but clover does not succeed here (even when dressed with gypsum), if sowed every four years. one reason why i think so small a quantity of manure will not succeed, is based on the theory of excrementitious secretion. decandolle proved that this secretion took place, but he did not succeed in proving that it poisoned the land for a similar crop. i can only reason from analogy, and it does not follow that an analogy drawn from animal life will hold good when applied to plants; but if we were to feed an animal with pure gluten and pure starch, with the proper quantity of phosphates, &c., are we to suppose it would have no excrements? let this be applied to plants: are we to suppose that the plant assimilates all that is absorbed by its roots and leaves? when that which is absorbed is what would enter into the composition of the plant, is it not more rational to suppose that the inorganic and gaseous constituents only combine in fixed proportions, and that although the plant may absorb a much larger proportion of one than is required, the surplus is discharged excrementitiously, and perhaps may be unfitted for entering into the plant until it has undergone a decomposition? in conclusion, i trust you will pardon my frankness in so boldly canvassing your opinions; but it is in this collision of opinion that the truth will be elicited, and if i judge you aright, it is that you wish to discover whether it harmonizes with your preconceived notions or not. * * * * * low moor, _ st may_, . henry briggs, esq. i duly received your pamphlet on the use of lime, for which i am much obliged, and am delighted to perceive that you confirm the idea (expressed in my pamphlet on the growth of wheat every year on the same land) that the excessive use of lime is ultimately injurious to the fertility of the soil to which it is applied. this, coming from a gentleman of your reputation and experience, will, i hope, induce someone capable of performing the experiment to endeavour to ascertain with precision how much lime it is desirable to apply to an acre to give the best results, and with the least waste, assuming that the land contained little or none previous to the experiment; and it would also be desirable to ascertain whether it is better, in an economical point of view, to apply a small quantity every year, or a larger quantity every third or fourth. my own opinion is in favour of the former method, except that it is difficult to get it ploughed in, particularly in wet weather, immediately after spreading (which is essential where you grow wheat on the same land every year) without injuring the feet of the horses. you speak of ten days or a fortnight being necessary to neutralize caustic lime, but our horses had their feet injured by it six weeks after it had been spread on the land, last year, although the weather had been wet almost the whole of the time, say from the beginning of february to the middle of march. you appear to think that lime will replace silica in the wheat plant. whose authority have you for this? it will be very important to establish this supposition, but i fear it is too good news to be true. on referring to your letter, i find you don't say what i supposed you did, but that the lime liberates the soluble silicates, potash, &c. this may be, and certainly the beneficial effects of lime in growing wheat are not to be explained by any other hypothesis with which i am acquainted. i am this year trying some experiments to ascertain (if i can) the cause of clover- sickness, and i hope to be in a position to say whether your supposition that lime, gypsum, &c. will prevent it, is correct. my experiments so far are opposed to this theory, but it is not very safe or philosophical to draw conclusions from one or two experiments only. i doubt the possibility of making silicate of soda by merely mixing lime, sand, and salt together, as my chemical friends tell me this cannot be accomplished unless the silex and the alkali are fused together. if a soluble silicate of soda can be made in the way you mention, it will be a great saving of expense. has it been tried? you have no doubt seen a report of the enormous crop of wheat grown in a field in norfolk last year ( bushels to the acre), and that the royal agricultural society have determined to have the soil analyzed by dr. playfair. this is very desirable, but as dr. playfair is more of a lecturing than an analyzing chemist, i think it is very necessary that his analysis should be checked by another, made by the most eminent chemist that europe can produce, for bushels is so unheard-of a crop, that no expense should be spared which would enable us to ascertain what the soil contained to enable it to produce such a crop, which is the more remarkable as the field seems to have been a good many years under the plough. as your wakefield farmers' club has many wealthy members in it, allow me to hint the desirableness of your undertaking this analysis, which, if properly performed, will be worth a thousand times more than its cost. when you are aware that even davy missed per cent. of alumina in one of his analyses and that the chemists of the present day don't seem to have detected the potash which exists so abundantly in potato-tops, you will, i think, agree how exceedingly important it is that such analysis should be checked by others, made without any communication between the parties. you speak of an original letter of liebig's appearing in the "farmer's journal." on what subject is it? as i have no means of referring to the periodical in question. does it throw any light upon the new manure for which he is said to be taking out a patent? you speak of humus and humic acid. what do you understand by humus? as, according to liebig, humus sometimes means one thing and sometimes another, and he appears to treat it very much as modern chemists treat phlogiston, as something which they don't comprehend, but which they need to explain the phenomena of vegetation. if you are a believer in humus, what is it composed of, and how does it act in forwarding vegetation? i suppose you will reply, by combining with oxygen and forming humic acid. but would not the theory of the decomposition of carbon do quite as well? i don't perceive the injurious effects of quicklime upon grass land which you anticipate in your paper, but the contrary, and the more caustic it is the more beneficial is its action, so far as i can judge from my own experiments; and it is my practice in liming grass land to spread it as soon as i can get it into the state of flour. i shall be glad to hear the result of your electrical experiment--at present i am rather sceptical on the subject. p.s.--am i to suppose that you have abandoned the idea of manuring an acre of wheat for thirteen shillings? * * * * * the cultivation of wheat. _october st_, . to the editor of the "manchester guardian." the increasing quantity of agricultural produce consumed in this country makes it desirable that the cultivation of the land should be carried to the highest point consistent with profit; and the increasing scarcity of agricultural labourers will shortly render it difficult for the farmers in some districts to gather in their crops. it therefore becomes increasingly desirable that every mechanical contrivance which will facilitate their doing so should be made as perfect as possible; and also that the crops themselves should be so cultivated as to make these mechanical aids to work to the greatest advantage. but it has been a difficult matter (at least in the wet climate of lancashire) to ascertain how far it is prudent to manure for wheat, for in unfavourable seasons the plant runs so much to straw that it is liable to lodge, and become mildewed; in which cases the manure is not only wasted, but becomes positively injurious, as appears to be the case in the south of england this year, and as was also the case in the north in , when every shilling expended in manuring the wheat crops of that year made the crop at least a shilling worse than if no manure had been applied. but if we could find a wheat so short in the straw that it would bear heavy manuring without being lodged, wheat-growing would be a far less hazardous occupation than it is at present, and we might confidently calculate on a far greater production than we can now. the following appear to me to be some of the advantages of growing a short-strawed wheat:-- st. it will bear highly manuring without lodging, and with much less liability to mildew, than a long-strawed wheat. nd. the proportion of grain to straw is greater in short than in long-strawed wheat. rd. as it very rarely lodges, it will be far better suited to the reaping-machine than a long-strawed wheat; and no doubt other advantages will occur to the minds of experienced agriculturists. when making these assertions i ought to state that my experience of wheat-growing does not extend beyond the counties of york and lancaster, but from what i can learn of the agriculture of more southerly districts, i fancy these opinions of mine will be found correct even there. i may be asked to prove my assertion, and i will endeavour to do so. i have been experimenting on the growth of wheat for the last ten or eleven years--particularly with reference to the practicability of doing this on the same land year after year; and that i might do it in the most satisfactory manner, i have varied my seed-wheat and my manure very frequently: but i very soon discovered that the advantages of abundance of manure and high cultivation did not insure good crops of wheat, inasmuch as in our moist climate, we had not one summer in five that was favourable, and consequently the crop was generally lodged, and the straw mildewed. i found that the time of sowing, and also of applying the manure, were matters of great importance, and it occurred to me that the remedy would be--a straw so short, that it would not lodge when highly manured. i consequently addressed a query to the "gardener's chronicle," asking what was the shortest-strawed variety of wheat known, and was told that piper's thickset was so; i therefore got some of this sort from mr. piper, which i have cultivated since . it is a coarse red wheat, but the quality has improved with me every year, and this season _being the third successive crop on the same land_, i have nearly eight quarters to the statute acre from this variety. . the proportion of wheat in piper's thickset is per cent. of the gross weight of the crop; in the hopetown wheat (i speak of my own crops only), per cent. . not having seen a reaping-machine, it may seem absurd in me to say that short-strawed wheat is better adapted to it than long- strawed; but every report of the working of these machines goes to show that, so far, they are not well adapted to the cutting of laid corn; therefore a variety that always stands upright will be much better suited to the working of them. i have been trying for the last six years to obtain (by cross- breeding) a wheat of good quality, and with a straw shorter than piper's, but hitherto with indifferent success; but, thanks to the kindness of messrs. brownells, of liverpool, who furnished me with many samples of chilian wheat about three years ago, i have now got varieties much shorter in the straw than piper's, and some which appear to be of much better quality, but these will require to be tested for a year or two before i can speak decisively about them. the chilian varieties are very difficult to acclimatize. the original samples were beautiful white wheats, very much resembling the australian, but when grown in lancashire they resemble rye more than wheat, and three years' sowing has not much improved them. it has, however, enabled me to obtain crosses which seem better adapted to the soil and climate, and so short in the straw that the highest manuring produces no tendency to lodge. if we could obtain a variety of wheat of good quality, which, instead of two tons of straw and one of wheat to the acre, produced a ton and a half of each, it might be profitably cultivated, and the differences in the chemical composition of grain and straw are not so very great as to make me despair of this being done some time or other. it may be asked, where can a short-strawed wheat of good quality be procured? to this i am afraid the reply will be, nowhere at present. but can none of our expert manipulators, who rejoice exceedingly when they cross-breed a geranium or a fuchsia, turn their attention to the cross-breeding of wheat? cannot the royal agricultural society offer a premium for a short-strawed wheat of good quality? do none of the great agriculturists themselves see how desirable such a wheat would be for the agriculture of this country? apparently not; for with the exception of mr. raynbird, of hampshire, i am not aware of one scientific operator who is endeavouring to produce such a wheat. my own attempts at cross-breeding are such as may be tried by anyone who has sufficient perseverance, and (with one or two exceptions, of doubtful success) have been confined to sowing the different varieties i wished to cross in contiguous drills, and then sowing the produce of these. at the second harvest i carefully select such ears as differ from both varieties, and at the same time seem by their quality of grain and the shortness of their straw to be the best suited to my wishes. it has been, no doubt, to the accidental contact of distinct varieties that we owe the numerous kinds now known to agriculturists, and which differ from each other in colour, quality, yield, and comparative value in the various districts in which they are grown. fully sensible of my inability to do justice to this important subject, i yet hope (if you do me the honour to publish my letter) that my remarks may induce scientific men to consider it; for it appears unaccountable to me that hitherto they seem to have thought it unworthy of their attention. p.s.--there is still time to try the experiment during the present season. if any gentleman wishes to try the short-strawed chilian wheat, i shall be glad to give him a sample of it for the purpose of cross-breeding. samples were sent to mr. h. briggs, mr. raynbird, and mr. stevenson, stockport. * * * * * _january th_, . to the editor of the "agricultural gazette." you invite persons who have grown good crops of grain or turnips to forward you the particulars. i therefore enclose you an account of an attempt which i made to grow wheat on the same land year after year, that account reaching to the fourth white crop in . as i still continue the experiment, i shall be in a position to continue the account up to the present time (as i am now threshing out the last year's crop), and will send it to you if you think it worthy of insertion in the "agricultural gazette." if the account i now send is not worth inserting, please to send it to your correspondent a. w., who doubted whether there were authenticated instances of land producing eighty, seventy, or even fifty bushels to the acre. i attribute my success in growing wheat to the use of silicate of soda, and yet, singularly enough, until now i have been unable to induce anyone else to try it. this season, however, several persons have applied to me to procure it for them. among them is the talented editor of the "liverpool times," whose farm at barton moss shows what good management will accomplish on very unpromising soils. if, as i hope will be the case, the silicate of soda should supply to peat its greatest deficiency, no one will more readily discover it than mr. baines. in the use of silicates of soda and potash, one precaution is very necessary, namely, that you really have a soluble silicate, not a mere mechanical mixture of ground flint and alkali. this is a very different thing, and one which, if it be not carefully guarded against, will lead to nothing but disappointment. again, the silicate of soda may be properly made, in the first instance, but in a long exposure to the atmosphere, the soda attracts carbonic acid, and is liberated from the silex, and this has disappointed my expectation more than once. again, though i consider it desirable to defer the application of soluble silicates until vegetation has made a fair start in the spring, yet in one instance i delayed the application of it so long that there was not moisture to dissolve it until the end of june, and then the plant began to send up suckers from the roots, and the crop was seriously injured by it; but this was in an exceedingly dry spring, and may not happen again for many years. * * * * * clitheroe, _march th_, . in continuing my attempts to grow wheat on the same land year after year, i observed that the crop of was very seriously injured by the deficient drainage--the old drains having been destroyed by the subsoil plough. it was therefore necessary to replace them; they were accordingly put in four feet deep. this took up so much time, that the season for sowing wheat had gone by, and the ground was cropped with potatoes, which were dug up in september, and the wheat might have been got in early in october; but seeing in your paper that sowing too early was not advisable, and also being carried away by the arguments of the thin-seeders, i deferred sowing until the middle of november, and also put in little seed, and the weather proving very unfavourable when the wheat was coming up, there was not half plant enough in the spring, and i hesitated whether to plough up the ground or to drill in barley. i determined to do the latter. it was put in on the th april, and wheat and barley grew up together, and when cut and threshed, it yielded bushels to the acre. * * * * * on the gravelling of clay soils. there is an old story of a man, who, having a very stony field, determined to experiment on the value of these stones in the growth of his crops. with this view he divided his field into three equal parts. from no. he gathered all the stones, which he spread upon no. , leaving no. in its original condition. he then sowed barley over the whole field, and carefully noted the results. the story ends by saying that no. bore a miserably poor crop, no. a tolerable one, and no. a splendid one. i quote this story as a text on which i wish to speak as to the advantage of gravelling heavy clay soils. some weeks since i spent a few days at the village of milnthorpe, in westmoreland, and during one day with mr. hutton, the celebrated bone-setter, i remarked that the land was very stony, being covered with stones (not pebbles) having very much the appearance of road metal. he replied, that these stones were essential to the fertility of the soil, and said that some years before there was a great demand for such material in the neighbourhood of preston, and the high prices stimulated the farmers to gather these stones from their land, and send them to preston; but the consequences were so injurious to the growth of their crops, that they were compelled--at least those who had the means of doing so--to lead stones again upon their land before their crops would grow again with the vigour which they had before the stones were abstracted. this brought to mind what had occurred in my own farm practice. a church was built in the neighbourhood, and the stones for it were hewn on the corner of a field which was afterwards sown with wheat, and i remarked that the straw was much brighter, the ripening was forwarded ten days, and the sample was much better where the stones had been hewn than elsewhere in the field. (the stones of which the church was built were of ordinary sandstone, probably millstone grit.) borrowing from this hint, i had the field covered with about cartloads of alluvial gravel (from the bed of the river) to the acre, and the land was then ploughed two furrows deep, one plough following the other. previous to this gravelling, the land was a stiff, obdurate clay nearly to the surface. the subsequent effect was the doubling, or more probably trebling the value of the land, which has now become a nice friable soil. i was much amused with the criticisms of some of the neighbouring farmers (men of the old school), one of whom remarked that he had seen land tilled (manured) in various ways before my time, but until now he had never seen a field tilled with cobble-stones. i said, "what is your objection to it, john?" "why, ye see, it makes th' land so poor." i replied, "making anything or anybody poor, means robbing them of something. if you had twenty shillings in your pocket, and i filled it up with these cobble-stones, how much poorer would you be? of what have i robbed this field by putting gravel into it?" "why, of nothing; but it looks so queer." i said, "john, did you never hear of a man gathering the stones off his field, and then having to lead them back again?" "yes, i have; but then they were _natural_ to the soil." i said, "what does manuring land mean, but putting something into it of which it is deficient? you don't till a muck-midden. if in stony land stones are essential for the vigorous growth of the crop, is it not exceedingly probable that they will be still more beneficial on stiff land which has no stones in it?" this is a doctrine i tried many years since to inculcate upon our friend mechi, and some of his land (i speak of its condition twenty years since) needed such a gravelling as much as any land i ever saw. whether he adopted my suggestion, or his land remains in the same condition now as then, i don't know; but if it does, i would just suggest to him and to all landed proprietors who own stiff clay lands, if they are near to gravel-pits, to try a small portion by gravelling it freely, and let us hear the results. _december nd_, . * * * * * cotton. _june st_, . j. kindermann, esq. i have for some time intended to call your attention to the importance of attempting to grow fine cotton in peru, but my inability to do justice to the subject, both from my being practically unacquainted with any mode of growing cotton and my general want of information, has hitherto prevented me; but as i made you a promise to that effect yesterday, i have endeavoured to put a few suggestions on paper, and hope that if they be carefully acted upon, some benefit may be derived from the experiments. we have been (as you are aware) consumers of peruvian cotton to some extent for the last six or eight months, and from the observations i have made on it during that time, i have no hesitation in saying that it possesses many excellences: it is long enough (almost too long), very sound in staple, and where well managed of a very good colour. its defects are coarseness and harshness of staple, and if these could be removed i don't see what is to prevent its rivalling the egyptian and sea islands cotton, any considerable approximation to which would very materially enhance its value, seeing that the highest quotation for sea island, was last week d. per lb. ( s. d.), whilst the highest for peruvian was no more than / d. with the view of improving the quality of the cotton in peru, i would strongly recommend you to send seeds of various kinds, packed in air-tight boxes, particularly sea island and egyptian, which some of the cotton-brokers would easily procure from the spinners using these descriptions, and, judging from what i hear of the climate of both countries, i should think the egyptian would go to a very similar atmosphere and mode of cultivation to that of the country where it had been raised, which would probably render it more easy to acclimatize, and, of course, make it more likely to succeed than a sort of cotton which had been grown under dissimilar circumstances of soil, climate, and mode of cultivation. these seeds when sown, ought (with the exceptions hereafter to be mentioned) to be planted at such a distance from all other cottons as to render it very unlikely for the wind or insects to carry the pollen from the flowers of one kind to those of another; for without this precaution, such is the tendency in many genera of plants to hybridize (and i believe, from what i have heard, there is this tendency in the different varieties of cotton) or cross- breed with each other, that, however good the quality in the first instance, they would all revert to the old variety in a year or two in consequence of the great preponderance of that variety over any newly-introduced ones. so much are the growers of turnip-seed for sale in england aware of the importance of attending to this, that the greatest precautions are taken to remove all _cruciform plants_ from the vicinity of the field whilst their turnips are in flower, as there is such a tendency in them all to hybridize that the quality of the seed is often injured by the wild mustard (_sinapis arvensis_) springing up in the same or the adjoining fields; whilst, on the other hand, by carefully selecting the best bulbs for seed, and by judiciously crossing one variety with another, new sorts are obtained, combining the excellences of both. this leads me to observe, that probably seed of foreign varieties of cotton may not thrive well in the first instance, and i would therefore strongly recommend the gentlemen who may make the experiment carefully to select seed from the plants on their estates which they see are growing the best and finest cotton, and sow them in contact with a few seeds of each of the sorts you may send out, carefully removing them in every instance as far as may be practicable from the vicinity of all other cotton; and then again sowing the seeds which are obtained from the plants thus raised in contiguity to each other, and carefully examining the cotton grown upon each of them, it is more than probable they will find that _some_ of the plants will be varieties partaking of the character of both the parent kinds, and by selecting the best of these and sowing them only (still apart from all other cotton), there is little doubt that much benefit will be derived by the persevering and skilful cultivator. i have heard it stated that the origin of sea island cotton is to be traced to something of this kind. an observing and experimental planter, by carefully examining his cotton, and by sowing his seed only from those plants that produced the finest and longest staple, at last arrived at the excellent quality which is now known by that name. look, again, at what has been done in egypt by the introduction of better varieties of cotton. there these improved varieties have by no means had a fair chance of showing what they are capable of becoming, inasmuch as the wretched cultivator has not the slightest inducement to improve their quality--he gets no more per pound for the finest and cleanest cotton than he does for the coarsest and dirtiest, and therefore it is not very likely to improve under his care. but with all this neglect and want of management, we can see by what it is, what it would most probably become in the hands of an enterprising and intelligent man who knew that every improvement he made in its quality would be to his own advantage. assuming that your peruvian friends could so far improve the quality of their cotton as to double its value in this market (and i don't think myself too sanguine in expecting more than this), with very little extra labour nearly all the additional price would be profit. but supposing even that cross-breeding, or hybridizing, as the horticulturists call it, does not frequently occur naturally in cotton, it is well known that it is very easy to effect it artificially by prematurely unfolding the petals and with fine scissors cutting away all the stamens before impregnation takes place. this requires to be carefully done, so as not to injure the petals, and they will then close again of themselves, and when they expand naturally, then impregnate the stigma of the flower with the pollen of the kind you want to cross with. we owe many of our finest varieties of fruits to this practice. the late mr. payne knight was very successful in raising new varieties of many sorts of fruit in this way, and it appears to me from the experiments i have made that the more frequently this cross- breeding takes place, the more easy (within certain limits) is it to extend it until cultivation has so completely changed the character of the plant that it bears very little resemblance to its original stock. there is nothing growing wild like our cabbages, turnips, and cauliflowers; nor even like our carrots, celery, and asparagus. where are the originals of our wheat, barley, rye, beans, and peas? many of these appear to be so completely transformed by cultivation that we don't know where to look for the parent stocks from which they originated. but i am forgetting cotton altogether, yet beg to refer to the preceding paragraph to show how much is owing to careful cultivation, and trust that it may not be without its use if my letter induces your friends to make the experiments here suggested, even though their first attempts are unsuccessful. this letter was translated into spanish and circulated in peru, but with what success i do not know. it was also published in the "gardener's chronicle," and led to a reply from dr. royle, which occasioned the following letter. * * * * * _august th_, . to the editor of the "gardener's chronicle." i am very glad that my letter and your remarks on the improvement of cotton in india have attracted the attention of so able a correspondent as g. f. r. (dr. royle), who appears to be conversant with a good deal of what has been attempted there. no doubt there are, as he states, great diversities of soil and climate in so extensive a country as india; and if so, although there may be some which are not adapted to the growth of either the _gossypium barbadense_ or the _gossypium peruvianum_, there must be both soil and climate suited to them in various localities in that country. my chief reason for suspecting that the injury arises from the new kinds hybridizing with the indigenous cotton, is, that very good cotton has been grown from both varieties in the first generation, but when the seed from this first crop is sown again, the quality always deteriorates (at least all the gentlemen say so with whom i have conversed on this subject). i have a sample of indian-grown cotton of excellent quality from pernambuco seed, worth twice as much as the best surat cotton i ever saw; but i cannot learn that anything deserving the name of aught but a sample was ever obtained. we hear of no increase in the quantity of this improved variety; it does not--like cotton in the united states--go on from ten bags to ten thousand, in eight or ten years; on the contrary, so far as i can learn, it dwindles away to nothing. the tinnivelly cotton brought forward as an example by your correspondent is no exception to this--it is no more like bourbon cotton, than bowed cotton is like sea island--at least none that i ever saw. bourbon is a long, silky-stapled cotton, whilst tinnivelly has the shortness and inequality of fibre common to most of the cotton of india. it is generally much cleaner than the cotton grown on the western side of india, but this arises from the greater care in picking it. an intelligent friend of mine, now in india, says that the pod of cotton is overhung by a brown leaf (bractea?), and if the cotton is gathered early in the morning, whilst the dew is on the plant, this leaf is tough and does not break, and the cotton is gathered clean; but if it is picked after the dew has evaporated, this leaf is brittle, and gets mixed with the cotton in the picking. but he says that no persuasion can induce the ryots to keep that which is picked in the morning from that which is gathered in the heat of the day. he also suggests that the cotton should be irrigated during its growth, and alleges as a motive for doing this, that in egypt and peru no good cotton can be grown without resorting to it. but the cases are not exactly parallel, inasmuch as no rain falls in either of these countries, whilst rain is most abundant in india, eighty or ninety inches of rain sometimes falling at bombay in three months during the monsoon. another intelligent gentleman with whom i have conversed on this subject since my former letter was written, and who has resided at bombay many years, where he has paid much attention to this subject, tells me that the gentleman entrusted by the east india company with the management of one of the experimental cotton estates, assures him he has grown excellent orleans cotton, and that the ryots were so satisfied with its superiority over the indigenous kind that , begahs (say acres) were planted with it. but this was two years ago, and as the disturbances took place in this very neighbourhood, he fears these plantations have perished, as he heard no more of the matter, and had omitted to inquire of the gentleman entrusted with the management. i reserved this until i saw the second letter from your correspondent g. f. r., which i have now read, as well as an article on the same subject in the "manchester guardian," in which it is stated that , acres are now under cultivation, planted with this improved cotton. i fear this is too good news to be true. my informant is a gentleman who was in correspondence with mr. mercer, the superintendent of these cotton estates, or some of them, and i have again questioned him. he says that the crop which would be gathered in march last, would amount to what i have stated ( , begahs), according to mr. mercer's letter to him, but he says it is now twelve months since he heard from mr. mercer, as he left bombay for england shortly after. his fear was that none of this cotton would be gathered, as the disturbances which took place in central india, and which required so long a time to quell them, were in this very district. if your correspondent g. f. r. has got samples of this improved cotton, of the second or third generation, he would confer a great obligation upon me by sending me a small sample of it by post. but this is wandering from what i intended to say, which was most heartily to thank your correspondent for his second communication, which goes far to prove the truth of what i had previously supposed, that the cotton of india is capable of great improvement by being judiciously crossed with suitable foreign varieties. your correspondent thinks if the old varieties deteriorate the new when growing in proximity to each other, the new ought, for the same reason, to improve the old; and no doubt they will, but to a much smaller extent. it is said that a man leaping up into the air attracts the earth (proportionately) as much as the earth attracts him, and it may be so with the old and new cotton. what i mean to say is, that although some of the old sort of cotton might be hybridized by the new, the improved variety would be in so small a quantity that a thousand to one the cultivator would never observe it; and such is the aversion or indifference to anything new among the natives of india, that if an improved plant were observed, it is again a thousand to one he would take no pains to preserve it; and if he did, it is again perhaps a thousand to one that it would be entirely spoilt in the next generation by being planted among the indigenous sorts. i trust your correspondent will continue to favour us with his communications whenever he has any fresh information on the subject, which, the more it is considered the more important it seems to be. * * * * * papers on natural history. * * * * * wrens' nests. the editor of loudon's "magazine of natural history," and one of his contributors, mr. jennings, were of opinion that the common wren never lined its nest with feathers. the following contribution was sent to the "magazine of natural history" in consequence of this, and led to some discussion afterwards:-- _april th_, . mr. jennings and yourself, in opposition to montagu, are of opinion that the wren never lines its nest with feathers; like the knights of the gold-and-silver shield, both sides are right. it is true, many wrens' nests may be found in which there are no feathers; but did you ever find either eggs or young ones in them? as far as my observations go, the nest in which the wren lays its eggs is profusely lined with feathers; but during the period of incubation, the male--apparently from a desire to be doing something--constructs several nests in the vicinity of the first, none of which are lined; and whilst the first nest is so artfully concealed as to be found with difficulty, the last is very often seen. the wren does not appear to be very careful in the selection of a site for these cock-nests, as they are called in yorkshire by the schoolboys. i have frequently seen them in the twigs of a thick thorn hedge, under banks, in haystacks, in ivy bushes, in old stumps, in the loopholes of buildings, and in one instance in an old bonnet, which was placed among some peas to frighten away the blackcaps. * * * * * _august th_, . to professor rennie. in your edition of montagu's "ornithological dictionary," just published, you say--speaking of the wren--"an anonymous correspondent of loudon's 'magazine of natural history,' &c. &c.;" and you remark, "there can be no doubt of these supposed 'cock- nests' being nothing more than unfinished structures of paired birds; otherwise, the story would require the support of very strong evidence to render it credible." as i am the anonymous correspondent alluded to, i forward you a few observations of facts tending, as i think, to confirm my view of the question. in the first place, these nests are far too abundant for the birds, which are not plentiful--at least, in this neighbourhood. again, it is at least five to one that any wren's nest which is found during the summer without a lining of hair or feathers is ever completed, or has any eggs in it. this i have verified in a hundred instances, when, having found wrens' nests, i have visited them again at intervals, for the purpose of ascertaining whether my opinion of cock-nests was correct. farther, in a small wood adjoining my garden, where i was certain there was only one pair of wrens, i found at least half-a-dozen nests, not one of which was either lined with feathers or ever had eggs in it; although i discovered they were not all deserted, as i found an old bird roosting in one of them. i was induced to be more particular in my remarks in consequence of my seeing mr. jennings's remarks in the "magazine of natural history;" and i searched, as i supposed, every bank, bush, and stump in the wood two or three times before i could find the breeding-nest, which i at last discovered in the twigs of a willow on the bank of the river, in the centre of a bunch of tangled grass, cotton waste, and straws which had been left there by the floods, and which the bird had apparently excavated and in it formed its nest, which was profusely lined with rooks' feathers. the fear of being thought tedious prevents my giving other facts which tend, as i think, to prove the correctness of my opinion; however, i will just add that all the persons with whom i have conversed who take an interest in such pursuits, agree with me in opinion in this matter. the nest i have just spoken of was also a strong proof that wrens, although they may not always adapt their materials to the locality they have chosen for a nest, frequently do so; and if this is not with the intention of concealing it, but merely because the materials are at hand, it serves the purpose of concealment also, and very effectually. the one i am speaking of was so exactly like the other lumps of rubbish which had been left by the floods in the same bush, that i did not discover that it was a wren's nest until i had pulled it out of the twigs; and if a wren builds its nest in a haystack--which it frequently does--the front of the nest is almost invariably composed of the hay from the stack, which prevents its being seen much more effectually than if the moss of which the body of the nest is composed were visible on the outside. the fact that the long-tailed tits occasionally associate to the number of six or seven, and have a nest in common, which is mentioned in the same page of the "magazine of natural history" as the wrens' nests, i could prove by the testimony of twenty people who saw the nest and young there spoken of. i should be glad to learn whether the same thing has been noticed by other people. among the few rare birds which it has been my good fortune to procure is a woodpecker, which i killed this summer, and which is not mentioned in your edition of montagu, although spoken of by bewick as a dubious species, under the name of the middle spotted woodpecker. a pair of these birds had built their nest, or rather hatched their young (for there was no nest), in a hole in a decayed ash tree about twenty feet from the ground. there were two young ones, which i secured, as well as one of the old ones, and they are all in the possession of a professional friend of mine, who is a collector of ornithological specimens. the old one measures / inches long, and weighed / dwts. an hour after it was killed. the forehead is a dirty buff, the whole crown of the head a bright crimson; the irides a dark lead colour, and it has a white ring round its neck. in other respects it corresponds with your description of the _picus major_. the sex was not ascertained. the young ones have also the bright crimson head, and differ very materially from the old one. the chevy linnet, as the lesser redpole is called, is found here throughout the year, and is at no time a scarce bird with us. it frequently builds its nest in the alder and willow bushes, on the banks of the brooks or rivers. it is a late breeder, the nests being often met with containing eggs or young in july. in the winter it feeds upon the seeds of the alder or the cones of the larch, hanging suspended from the twigs like the titmouse. we have also the gray wagtail (_motacilla sulphurea_) with us the whole year, but it is rather a rare bird at all times and in all localities with which i am acquainted. ( :--it is more plentiful now than it was in .) i very strongly suspect selby is mistaken when he says, "that previous to its departure in september, it assembles in small flocks or families, which haunt the meadows or bare pastures." this does not agree with my observations of this bird, although quite true when applied to the spring wagtail (_motacilla flava_); on the contrary, the grey wagtail is solitary throughout the year, except in the breeding season, and never frequents the meadows, but is found in the beds of the rivers, brooks, or ditches, where its shrill note often betrays it to eyes which would otherwise never see it. this bird may be easily distinguished from the spring wagtail by its note when flying--yet, notwithstanding the difference is very apparent to a person who hears them both, it is not so easily described. in attempting to do so, therefore, i hope i shall be excused if i don't make the difference so apparent in the description as it is in reality. the latter part of the note of the grey wagtail when flying is higher in the musical scale than the former part, and is very staccato, thus: [bar of music] generally being uttered as the bird makes a spring in the air, [ ] whilst the latter part of the note of the summer-bird is lower in the scale than the former part, which is more prolonged than in the note of the grey wagtail, and is slurred into the latter part, something in the following manner: [bar of music] of course i don't mean it to be understood that these notes are either of the same pitch, or that they bear the same relation to each other that the notes of the bird do, but as a rude attempt at illustrating what i could not explain in any other way. a singular habit which i have noticed in several individuals of this species (_m. sulphurea_) has amused me exceedingly. they were in the habit of looking at their own images in the windows and attacking them, uttering their peculiar cry, and pecking and fluttering against the glass as earnestly as if the object they saw was a real rival instead of an imaginary one (a friend who observed it, insisted that, narcissus-like, it was in an ecstasy of self-admiration). what is more remarkable, two of these instances occurred in the autumn, when one would not suppose the same motives for animosity to exist that would probably actuate them in the spring. the first of these instances was when i was a boy, and was repeated daily for several weeks, both against the windows of my father's house and those of our neighbour, who, being rather superstitious, was alarmed about it, and came to consult my mother on the subject. she said there was a bird which her brother told her was a barley-bird (_motacilla flava_), which was continually flying against her windows, and as birds were not in the habit of doing so generally, she thought something serious was portended by it. my mother comforted her as well as she could, and i undertook to rid her of the annoyance, which i did by setting a horsehair- noose on one of the window-ledges which it frequented. i soon caught it, and by plucking out the under-tail coverts, with which i wanted to dress _yellow duns_, i effectually cured it of the propensity--whether, narcissus-like, it was in an ecstasy of self- admiration, or like the cock which attacked its own image in the boot (which mr. robert warren's poet and painter have immortalized), it would admit of no rival. it has been suggested, and i think with great probability, that the bird was merely attempting to catch the flies which it saw on the inside of the panes of glass; but certainly it was not so silent about it as these birds generally are when they are feeding. * * * * * the long-tailed titmouse. to the editor of "loudon's magazine." some years ago, when my brother and myself were seekers of birds' nests, we found one of the long-tailed titmouse (_parus caudatus_), about two miles from home, containing young ones half- fledged. being anxious to rear them, we hit upon the plan of catching the old ones, and giving them the trouble instead of ourselves. we accordingly set lime-twigs near the nest, and caught six old ones out of the seven of which the colony consisted, and brought them away in triumph; but the old ones would not eat in confinement, and all died but one, which we allowed to escape, in the hope that it would come back and rear the young ones. this it did, and by the most unwearied exertion reared the whole brood, sometimes feeding them ten times in a minute. never having seen this social habit stated in any ornithological work to which i have access, i am not aware that it is generally known to naturalists; but it is right to state that i have only found one nest of the species since, and this my avocations would not permit me to examine. i am therefore not aware whether the fact i have stated was an exception to the general habit of the bird, or whether such is invariably the case. some of your correspondents will, no doubt, be able to give an answer to this inquiry. * * * * * identity of the green with the wood-sandpiper. to the editor of the "magazine of natural history." the question whether the green and the wood-sandpiper are the same species seems from rennie's edition of montagu's "ornithological dictionary" to be undecided; but as a specimen has just come under my notice which appears to me to clear up this difficulty, i shall offer no apology for sending a description of it. the length from the bill to the tail is inches, to the end of the toes, / inches; breadth, inches; thigh-joint to the toe, / inches. the bill measures / inches from the corner of the mouth, and is very slender; the upper mandible, which is black and slightly curved at the point, is a little longer than the lower one, which is a dark green at the base and black at the point; a dark streak extends from the base of the upper mandible to the corner of the eye, and above it is a patch of dirty white intermixed with minute dusky spots; a small circle of dirty white surrounds the eyes; the chin is white; the cheeks, throat, and forepart of the neck white, spotted with dusky, with which colour a few laminae of each feather are marked their whole length. the breast has a dappled stripe of the same colour as the throat running down the middle of it; with this exception it is white, as are also the belly, vent, and under tail-coverts. the crown of the head and hinder part of the neck are a dingy brown, which on the neck has a shade of ash colour; the bend of the wing and lesser wing-coverts are a brownish black; the whole upper surface of the plumage is of a glossy brownish-green, which is spotted on the middle wing-coverts with minute white spots, that change to a dingy yellow on the back, scapulars, and tertials, the last of which have twelve spots on the outer margin of the feathers, and six on the inner one; the tertials are very long, the longest of them reaching to within a quarter of an inch of the extreme top of the wing, which reaches to the end of the tail; the quill feathers are wholly black, as are also the secondaries; the upper part of the rump is black, and each feather is slightly tipped with white, which forms small wavy lines on that part of the plumage; the lower part of the rump and upper tail-coverts are pure white; the tail, which is even at the end, consists of twelve feathers, which are barred with black and white alternately. at the end of bewick's description of the green sandpiper there is a very exact representation of a covert feather of the tail, and an inner-wing covert, which will give a better idea of their appearance than a page of letterpress. the legs are dark green, the outer toe connected with the middle one by a membrane as far as the first joint; toes very slender, middle one / inch long; weight, / oz. killed on the th september, , near stonyhurst. i have been thus minute in my description from a wish to clear up the doubt that appears to exist as to the identity of these two birds. the one i have now before me is, undoubtedly, the green sandpiper of bewick, but it corresponds in so many particulars with the wood sandpiper of montagu, and appears to combine so many of the peculiarities of both without exactly agreeing with either, that i think it proves their identity satisfactorily. the glossy green of the upper plumage and the barring of the under wing- coverts and the tail identify this bird with the green sandpiper; whilst on the other side the yellowish spots on the scapulars and tertials, the black rump, the length of the leg, and the web between the outer and middle toes are characteristic of the wood sandpiper of montagu. * * * * * the stoat. i. m. (in the "magazine of natural history") says that the stoat is more timid than the weasel, and that it does not change its colour as in the more northern parts of the world. i know not why he calls it timid, even relatively, as i think it is the most fearless wild animal we have in the kingdom, in proof of which i will mention an incident i witnessed myself. i one day saw a stoat carrying off a large rat it had killed, and i immediately pursued it, but it stuck so tenaciously to its prey (although it was so encumbered with its load as to be scarcely able to run at all) that i was close upon it before it would abandon it; however, it then took refuge in a wall that happened to be close by. i took up the rat, and the stoat put its head out of the wall, spitting and chattering with every appearance of the most lively indignation against me for having so unjustly robbed it of a lawful prize. i amused myself with watching it for some time, and then being desirous of seeing how far its evident desire to recapture its booty would overcome its fear of me, i held the rat just before the hole in which it was, when after several attempts, in which its discretion got the better of its valour, it at length screwed up its courage to the sticking-place, came boldly out of the wall, and dragged it out of my hand into the hole. i know not in what county i. m. lives, nor do i know whether he means to include any part of england in the more northern parts of the world, but i do know that the stoat is white in the winter in yorkshire, as i have caught and still more frequently seen specimens of this colour. * * * * * the marsh titmouse. i have been much interested this spring at witnessing in two or three instances the tenacity with which the marsh titmouse sits on its nest. being in a wood near my own house, i perceived a pair of these birds in one of the trees, and having seen them in the same place several times before, and being desirous of finding the nest, i sat down to watch their motions. after examining me on all sides with much chattering and many gesticulations, indicative of dislike and suspicion, the female flew to the root of a tree, three or four yards off, and disappeared, as she had gone to the opposite side of the tree to that on which i sat; and as there were several holes about the root i was at a loss to know in which the nest was built, and began to strike the root with a stick, expecting her to fly out, but nothing appeared. i then examined the holes one by one, and whilst doing so heard her hissing and puffing from within, in such a way that if i had not known she was there i should have thought it was a snake rather than a bird. however, as she would not come out, and the hole was so small that i could not get my hand in, i was obliged to raise the siege until next morning, when i returned armed with a hammer and chisel with which to storm her citadel. as the wood was sound, the hole small, and the nest six or eight inches within the tree, i was five or ten minutes before i could get to it, during which i gave her repeated opportunities of escaping if she chose; but she still sat on her nest, puffing and pecking at the stick that i thrust in in order to drive her off. she at last crept to the further edge of the nest, which i then took out, as i wanted it for one of my friends who is a collector of eggs, but on attempting to blow one i found they had been sat upon too long, and i then felt desirous of seeing whether the old bird would hatch them after having her nest torn from under her, and i turned back to the tree whence i had taken them, and found her still sitting in the hole where i had left her. i regret to add that the humane part of my experiment did not succeed, for although she remained after i had returned the nest to its place, she left it immediately after, and did not return to it again. another instance which i witnessed was in a nest containing young ones. this was also at the root of a tree, but the situation did not appear to be so well chosen as is usually the case with the titmouse tribe; for in this instance the hole went quite through the tree, and on one side was large enough to admit the hand. as the young ones were exposed to the weather, and were also liable to be seen by anyone going along the adjoining footpath, i attempted to remedy this defect by covering the larger hole with a sod, which to a casual observer would appear to have grown there. on taking the sod off one day, to see how the nestlings were going on, i perceived that a clod of earth had fallen from the sod upon them, and i took a stick and hooked it out, lest it should smother them. whilst i was doing this i perceived the old one sat on the further side of the nest, so still and quiet that until i perceived her eye i fancied she was dead; and she also endured several pokings with the stick before she would move, although the hole on the opposite side of the tree enabled her to escape whenever she thought proper. perhaps mr. rennie, in his next edition of montagu's dictionary, will give us a new name for this bird, as the one it has at present is no more applicable to this species than it is to the _parus caeruleus_, or the _parus major_, and not half so much so as it would be to the _parus biarnicus_; and he has changed good names into bad ones with far less reason, witness _corvus frugilegus_ into _corvus predatorius_. the former name is strictly applicable to that species, and to that alone; and so useful a bird does not deserve the name of a thief. the chaffinch (which received its name of _coelebs_ from linnaeus on account of the males alone remaining in sweden in the winter, which fact is corroborated by white, who found scarcely any but females in hampshire during that season) has had its name changed by mr. rennie into _spiza_. the old name is characteristic of a remarkable fact in the habits of this bird; why the new one is more appropriate (neither understanding greek, nor having read aristotle), i cannot say. will mr. rennie condescend to enlighten me? once for all--if we are to have a new nomenclature, let a committee of able naturalists decide upon it, or let us submit to the authority of a master (for instance linnaeus or temminck), but don't let every bookmaker who publishes a work on natural history, rejecting names long established and universally received, give new ones in such a way as serves only to show his own presumption and to confuse what it ought to be his business to elucidate. * * * * * creeper. the nuthatch does not occur in this, and i doubt if in any part of lancashire, but the creeper is very common, and is a bird with the habits and peculiar call of which i have been acquainted from my childhood. mr. bree, who combines with accurate and extensive information, an amiable and pleasant manner of communicating it, has not, i perceive, witnessed the creepers associating with the titmice in winter, at which i am rather surprised, and think if they are numerous in his neighbourhood, he will hereafter not fail to perceive them among the small flocks of titmice which associate through the winter. * * * * * wrens' nests. in mr. rennie's edition of montagu's dictionary, and also in his "architecture of birds," after copying what i have said on the subject of wrens' nests being lined with feathers, he says:-- "there can be no doubt, i apprehend, of these supposed cock-nests being nothing more than the unfinished structures of paired birds; otherwise the story would require the support of strong evidence to render it credible." mr. rennie afterwards goes on to say that in two instances he had seen nests which had about half-a-dozen feathers interwoven into the linings with hair; and mr. jennings, if i recollect aright, as i have not the work to refer to at present, says that wrens don't line their nests with anything but moss, and he thinks montagu is in error when he says they are lined with feathers. along with this i send you three or four wrens' nests, which you will perceive have abundance of feathers in the inside; and although the wren will occasionally use cows' hair along with the feathers, yet i am persuaded from the localities in which i have met with them, that cows' hair has been used because feathers were not to be found; but when the nests are in the vicinity of a rookery, a farm-yard, or any other locality where feathers are abundant, the wrens will use them exclusively. what the "strong evidence" must be which will convince mr. rennie about cock-nests, i don't know; but i know of a dozen of these nests at the present moment, several of which have remained in the state in which they were left in the middle of april. other nests found about the same time have now young ones in them. i doubt not these nests are occasionally used for breeding in: for instance, if the first nest of a wren be taken, or if it breed a second time, it will occasionally take possession of a cock-nest; as i have sometimes found that after remaining in the same unfinished state for several weeks, they have afterwards been fitted up with a lining, and bred in. mr. rennie asserts that montagu is wrong when he says that the wren always adapts its materials to its locality. although it certainly is not always the case, yet so very generally is it so, that i think it is not surprising that montagu made this assertion. thus, if a wren build in a haystack, the front of the nest is generally composed of the hay from the stack; if it be built in a bush by the side of a river, and (which is frequently the case) below flood mark, it is generally covered on the outside with the rubbish which has been left there by the flood; and if it build in a mossy stump, the front of the nest is composed of the dark- coloured moss which grows there. (may , .) along with my last letter, i sent some wrens' nests lined with feathers, and i could easily have increased them to a dozen of the same sort, only i did not wish to deprive so many of my little favourites of their eggs and young. every day convinces me more decidedly, that i am right both with regard to the lining of the wrens' nests, and as to the cock-nests also. the nests i sent you will prove the former, and i know of at least twenty instances of the latter, in nests which i have known of all through the spring, from april to the present time, which have remained in the same unfinished state, although they are not forsaken, as i have found the birds in them, in several instances, when i have examined them. i found one of these nests on the th of april, under a bank on the side of the river; and i examined it repeatedly through april and may, and always found it in the same state, although there was always a pair of wrens about, and i could find no other nest; yet i am sure there was another, for in the beginning of this month (june) there were some young wrens, which had evidently only just come out of the nest; and there were only two or three bushes grew thereabouts, so that it is not probable they had come from any other quarter, but the bushes were filled with dead leaves, and other rubbish brought down by the flood. however, when i heard them, i looked out for another nest, as i believe (notwithstanding what montagu says, that there are few birds, if any, that would produce a second lot of eggs if the first were unmolested) that most of the small birds which are early breeders build a second time the same year, even when they succeed in rearing the first brood. i have had proof of this (if anything can be considered proof, except marking the birds), in the throstle, the blackbird, the wren, the redbreast, and the hedge sparrow, whose second nests may be found contiguous to the first; and in point of time, this always happens just when the first brood have left the nest. the cock-bird, too, who had been silent whilst his young were unfledged, begins to sing again, and throwing off the anxious and care-beset manners of a parent, again assumes that of a bridegroom. but to return to wrens' nests. i found one within ten yards of the one i had known of since the th of april, lined, and ready for an egg. as i was anxious to prove what i had so long believed, i pulled out this nest, thinking that the old bird was ready for laying a second lot of eggs; and that when i had destroyed this, as she had no other nest ready, she would probably take up with the cock-nest. as it was half a mile from my house, i did not visit it again until the th of june, and was then delighted to find the old bird sitting on six or seven eggs in the cock-nest, which had remained so long unoccupied. i believe that in this instance there is very little lining (fur, feathers, &c.) in the nest, although i should be sorry to examine it minutely until the young have left it; but i consider it an exception to the general rule, inasmuch as i believe the bird was ready to lay when i pulled out the other nest. as she would have to find another with as little delay as possible, she would not have time to embellish the inside in the same manner as she probably would have done if she had had more time. on examining another wrens' nest a few evenings ago, i found the young ones had flown, and as there was a cock-nest in some wrack left by the river in a bush a few yards off, i gave it a shake to see if the old ones had taken possession of it for another brood; and i was surprised to see one, and then a second young one come flying out, and a third putting out its head to reconnoitre. whether the whole brood was there i don't know, as i did not disturb them further. as i had examined this nest only ten days before, when it had not an egg in it, i was at first at a loss to account for these young ones; but i have now no doubt they were the young from the adjoining nest, which had taken up their quarters for the night in the new house. but how had they learnt the way? young birds generally roost where night finds them, and if i had found only one, i should not have been surprised, but to find at least three, probably six or seven, in a nest where i am certain they were not bred, was something new to me. i went several times in the evening after this, but never found them; i suppose the fright i gave them deterred them from lodging there again. the editor of "loudon's magazine," in a paragraph appended to this article, says: "we have examined the wrens' nests sent; their staple materials are moss, feathers, and hair. into the moss on the exterior of the nest are woven a more or less perfect but feeble frond or two, and separate pinnae as well of aspidium filix-mas, and leaves of apple, elm, and oak trees. interiorly cows' hair is not scarce, and is partly inwoven with the moss and laces it together, and partly mingled with the feathers; a horse- hair or two are also observable. the feathers in each nest, apparently those of domestic fowls, are numerous enough to fill the hollow of the hand when the fingers are so folded over as not to much compress the feathers." * * * * * alarm-note of one bird understood by other species of birds. in montagu's "ornithological dictionary," under the article "song of birds," there is the following remark: "regarding the note of alarm which birds utter on the approach of their natural enemies, whether a hawk, an owl, or a cat, we consider it to be a general language perfectly understood by all small birds, though each species has a note peculiar to itself." i was last april very much pleased at witnessing an illustration of the truth of this opinion. i found a nest of young throstles at the root of a hazel, and although they could scarcely fly, yet as they were near a footpath, and the next day was sunday, when many idle and mischievous lads would be rambling about, i thought they would be safer out of their nest than in it; and as i knew that when so far fledged, if they were once disturbed they would not continue in the nest, i took one from the nest and made it cry out, and then put it back again; but in one minute, not only it but its three companions had disappeared in the long dry grass which was round about. on hearing the cry of their young one, the parent bird set up such shrieks of alarm as brought all the birds in the wood to see what was the matter. i noticed the blackbird, the chaffinch, the titlark, the robin, the oxeye (greater titmouse), the blue and marsh titmouse, and the wren all uttering their cries of alarm and apprehension; even the golden-crested wren, which usually seems to care for nothing, was as forward and persevering as any of them in expressing its fears on this occasion; indeed, the only bird which seemed indifferent to all these manifestations of alarm was the creeper, which continued its anxious and incessant search for food, as it flitted from one tree to another, examining them from root to branch without ever seeming to understand or to care for what seemed to have so much frightened the others. (june th, .) * * * * * dates of the appearance of some spring birds in , at clitheroe. young rooks heard, th april; house martin seen, th; sandpiper, th; willow wren, spring wagtail, and redstart, th; wheatear, th (this is generally the first spring bird seen); sand martin and swallow, nd; cuckoo heard, th; wood wren, blackcap, and whinchat, th; mocking-bird and whitethroat, th may; swift, th; flycatcher, th; and fieldfares were not seen until the nd of may, which is later than i ever observed them before. (in the parish of allesby, near coventry, fieldfares were observed as late as the th of may.) no doubt many of these birds were in the neighbourhood earlier than the dates i have attached to them, but they are the periods at which i saw or heard them. the study of natural history is perhaps as little followed in this neighbourhood as in any part of the kingdom, notwithstanding the facilities which are offered. our flora is beautiful, varied, and possesses many rare plants, yet i only know of two herbaria; the birds are abundant, yet there is but one collector of them; and as for insects, although i frequently take what i consider rare species, yet i cannot find an entomologist in the whole district, or i would send them to him. in conclusion, allow me to say, that the leisure hours a somewhat busy life has enabled me to spend in these pursuits, have been some of the happiest of my existence, and have awakened and cherished such an admiration of nature and such a love for the country and its scenes, as i think can never be appreciated by the inhabitants of large towns, and which i cannot describe so well as in the words of one of my friends in a beautiful apostrophe to england, when leaving it--never to return: [ ]-- "to thee whose fields first fed my childish fantasy, whose mountains were my boyhood's wild delight, whose rocks, and woods, and torrents were to me the food of my soul's youthful appetite; were music to my ear--a blessing to my sight." * * * * * the rook serviceable to man.--prejudice against it. a strong prejudice is felt by many persons against rooks, on account of their destroying grain and potatoes, and so far is this prejudice carried, that i know persons who offer a reward for every rook that is killed on their land; yet so mistaken do i deem them as to consider that no living creature is so serviceable to the farmer as the rook, except his own live stock. in the neighbourhood of my native place is a rookery belonging to william vavasour esq., of weston in wharfdale, in which it is estimated there are , rooks, that lb. of food a week is a very moderate allowance for each bird, and that nine-tenths of such food consists of worms, insects, and their larvae: for although they do considerable damage to the crops for a few weeks in seed-time and harvest, particularly in backward seasons, yet a very large proportion of their food, even at these times, consists of insects and worms, which (if we except a few acorns, walnuts, and potatoes in autumn) at all other times form the whole of their subsistence. here, then, if my data be correct, there is the enormous quantity of , lbs., or tons of worms, insects, and their larvae destroyed by the birds of a single rookery, and to everyone who knows how very destructive to vegetation are the larvae of the tribes of insects (as well as worms) fed upon by rooks, some slight idea may be formed of the devastation which rooks are the means of preventing. i have understood that in suffolk and in some of the southern counties, the larvae of the cockchafer are so exceedingly abundant that the crops of corn are almost destroyed by them, and that their ravages do not cease even when they have become perfect insects. various plans have been proposed to put a stop to their ravages, but i have little doubt that their abundance is to be attributed to the scarcity of rooks, as i have somewhere seen an account that these birds are not numerous in those counties (i have never been there), either from the trees being felled in which they nested, or from their having been destroyed by the prejudiced farmer. i am the more inclined to be of this opinion, because we have many rooks in this neighbourhood where the cockchafer is not known as a destructive insect, and i know that insects of that class and their larvae are the most favourite food of the rook, which may be seen in the twilight catching both cockchafers and the large blackbeetles which are flying at that time in the evening. i will mention another instance of the utility of the rook which occurred in this neighbourhood. many years ago a flight of locusts visited craven, and they were so numerous as to create considerable alarm among the farmers of the district. they were, however, soon relieved from their anxiety, for the rooks flocked in from all quarters by thousands and tens of thousands, and devoured the locusts so greedily that they were all destroyed in a short time. such, at least, is the account given, and i have heard it repeatedly mentioned as the reason why the late lord ribblesdale was so partial to rooks. but i have no means of ascertaining how far this is true. it was stated in the newspapers a year or two back that there was such an enormous quantity of caterpillars upon skiddaw, that they devoured all the vegetation on the mountain, and people were apprehensive they would attack the crops in the enclosed lands; but the rooks (which are fond of high ground in the summer) having discovered them, put a stop to their ravages in a very short time. (june th, .) these remarks are confirmed by a writer in the "essex herald" and by mr. waterton. the former says:--"an extensive experiment appears to have been made in some of the agricultural districts on the continent, the result of which has been the opinion that farmers do wrong in destroying rooks, jays, sparrows, and, indeed, birds in general on their farms, particularly where there are orchards." that birds do mischief occasionally among ripe corn there can be no doubt; but the harm they do in autumn is amply compensated by the good they do in spring by the havoc they make among the insect tribes. the quantity of grubs destroyed by rooks and of caterpillars and grubs by the various small birds, must be annually immense. other tribes of birds which feed on the wing--as swifts, swallows, and martins--destroy millions of winged insects which would otherwise infest the air and become insupportably troublesome. even the titmouse and the bullfinch, usually supposed to be so mischievous in gardens, have actually been proved only to destroy those buds which contain a destructive insect. ornithologists have of late determined these facts to be true, and parish officers would do well to consider them before they waste the public money in paying rewards to idle boys and girls for the heads of dead birds, which only encourages children and other idle persons in the mischievous employment of fowling instead of minding their work or their schooling. but to return to the experiment alluded to. on some very large farms in devonshire the proprietors determined a few summers ago to try the result of offering a great reward for the heads of rooks, but the issue proved destructive to the farms, for nearly the whole of the crops failed for three succeeding years, and they have since been forced to import rooks and other birds wherewith to re-stock their farms. of late years the extensive destruction of the foliage and young fruit in orchards by a species of caterpillar has excited the attention of the naturalist, and it has been found to have arisen from the habit of destroying those small birds about orchards which if left unmolested would have destroyed or kept down those rapacious insects. * * * * * sandpipers. sandpipers breed about clitheroe. i this year ( ) started an old one from her nest at the root of a weymouth pine. she screamed out, and rolled about in such a manner, and seemed so completely disabled, that, although perfectly aware that her intention was to allure me from her nest, i could not resist my inclination to pursue her, and in consequence i had great difficulty in finding the nest again. it was built of a few dried leaves of the weymouth pine, and contained three young ones just hatched, and an egg through which the bill of a young one was making its way. yet, young as they were, on my taking out the egg to examine it, the little things, which could not have been out of the shell more than an hour or two, set off out of the nest with as much celerity as if they had been running about a fortnight. as i thought the old one would abandon the egg if the young ones left the nest, i caught them again and covering them up with my hand for some time, they settled down again. next day all four had disappeared. montagu says: "it is probable many of the sandpipers are capable of swimming if by accident they wade out of their depth. having shot and winged one of this species as it was flying across a piece of water, it fell, and floated towards the side, and as we reached to take it up, the bird instantly dived, and we never saw it rise again to the surface; possibly it got entangled in the weeds and was drowned." i quote this remark because the same thing has happened to myself. i winged a sandpiper, and on going to take it up, it fluttered into the water and dived, but never rose again to the surface that i could perceive, although i watched long and attentively for it. in this instance the bird could not have been entangled by the weeds, inasmuch as the bottom of the river was covered with gravel and not a weed was growing there. whether the sandpiper laid hold of the gravel at the bottom with its feet, or how it managed, i cannot tell, nor have i ever been able to account for it. (june th, .) * * * * * on birds dressing their feathers with oil from a gland. mr. waterton doubts ("mag. of nat. history," vol. v. p. ) if the small nipple on the rump of birds is an oil-gland, or that birds ever oil their feathers with matter obtained from it; and he asks if any naturalist will say that he has ever witnessed this process, and if so how it is that the bird contrives to take this oil in its bill and how it manages to oil its head and neck? i will therefore state what i think i have witnessed, and trust to mr. waterton's forbearance if i am in error; yet i cannot help suspecting that mr. waterton's queries are (like those of charles the second to the royal society) more for the purpose of laughing at our ignorance than from any wish he has to obtain information, for i can scarcely suppose that so acute an observer can have failed to perceive everything perceptible on the point at issue. i have just watched a muscovy duck go through the operation of preening and dressing its feathers, and it certainly appears obvious enough to me that this bird uses the gland on the rump for the purpose for which birds are generally supposed to use it. the bird erected the feathers on the rump so as to exhibit the gland very distinctly, and then, after pressing it with the bill, rubbed the under mandible and chin down to the throat upon it, and then, after drawing some of the feathers through the bill, rubbed the lower mandible and chin upon the back and scapulars, apparently to apply the oil which adhered to them, and then, turning its head back, it rubbed the crown and sides of the head and neck upon those parts which it had previously rubbed with the chin and under mandible. by this rubbing of the head and neck it is easy to perceive how birds can oil these parts if it be allowed that birds oil themselves at all. i cannot see how we can explain this action of birds in relation to any other object. it certainly does not seem calculated to expel or disturb any vermin lodged there, and i remarked that it never occurred except when the bird had been applying its bill to the gland as above mentioned. however, mr. waterton, and anyone who doubts this oiling, may readily judge for themselves. let them take a common duck, and shut it up for two or three days, so that it can have no access to water except for drinking, and at the end of that time let them turn it out, and allow it to go to a brook or pond; it will give itself a thorough ablution--ducking, diving, and splashing with its wings--and on coming out, will begin to dress and arrange its feathers, very frequently applying its bill to the gland on its rump. if this application is not for the purpose of procuring a supply of oil, perhaps mr. waterton will have the goodness to inform us what it is for, and what end this gland answers in the economy of the feathered tribes if not that which has hitherto been supposed. (june , .) * * * * * mocking powers of the sedge-warbler. in the article "sedge bird," in montagu's "dictionary of ornithology" (rennie's edition, p. ), the writer says: "it has a variety of notes, which partake of those of the skylark and the swallow, as well as the chatter of the house-sparrow." according to my observation, it has a much greater variety than this. i have heard it imitate in succession (intermixed with its own note, _chur, chur_), the swallow, the house-martin, the greenfinch, the chaffinch, the lesser-redpole, the house-sparrow, the redstart, the willow-wren, the whinchat, the pied-wagtail, and the spring- wagtail; yet its imitations are chiefly confined to the notes of alarm (the fretting-notes as they are called here) of those birds, and so exactly does it imitate them in tone and modulation, that if it were to confine itself to one (no matter which), and not interlard the wailings of the little redpole and the shrieks of the martin with the _curses_ of the house-sparrow, the _twink, twink_ of the chaffinch, and its own _care-for-naught_ chatters, the most practiced ear would not detect the difference. after being silent for awhile, it often begins with the _chue, chue_ of the house-sparrow, so exactly imitated in every respect that were it not for what follows, no one would suppose it to be any other bird. it is called a mocking-bird here, and it well deserves the name, for it is a real scoffer at the sorrows of other birds, which it laughs to scorn and turns into ridicule by parodying them so exactly. i never heard it attempt to imitate any of the larks or thrushes, although i have listened to it for hours. this bird was very plentifully met with in wharfdale ten years ago, and is also found in this neighbourhood, but i am not aware that anybody in either of these districts ever attempted to keep one in confinement, although from their powers of imitation, i think the experiment well worth trying; probably the idea that it would be difficult to supply them with proper food has prevented the experiment being made. (may nd, .) i am surprised that no other writer on natural history has noticed the wonderful imitative power of this bird. so far is the above notice from overstating this bird's powers of imitation, that i have scarcely enumerated half the notes which it hits off with such wonderful exactness. in listening to one the other day for about a quarter of an hour, i heard it give three notes of the swallow, two of the martin, and two of the spring-wagtail; and in addition, notes of the house- sparrow, whinchat, starling, chaffinch, whitethroat, greenfinch, little redpole, and whin-linnet, besides the notes of half-a-dozen birds which i did not know; at least, a reasoning from analogy would induce me to think them imitations, and i have no right to suppose they were not because i did not happen to recognize them. i am not strictly correct when i say that it only imitates the alarm-notes (called here fretting-notes) of other birds, for although this is generally the case, it is not invariably so. for instance, in addition to the alarm-note of the swallow, _chizzic, chizzic_, it also had the _whit, whit_, which the swallow uses when flying about, and the chatter of self-satisfaction (not the song) which one often hears in a barn when two swallows are arranging their plan of operations in the spring. again, in addition to the shriek of the martin, there was the note which it utters when on the wing in pursuit of its food. there was also the chirrup of the greenfinch, and the _whee, whee, whee_ which is the climax of the linnet's song, by which it is so irresistible as a call-bird, and which appears to bring down the flock in spite of themselves. although the sedge-bird imitated all i have mentioned, it made much more frequent use of the notes of some than of others--the sparrow, the whinchat, the swallow, and the starling appeared to be its chief favourites, whilst it only touched once or twice on the notes of the greenfinch and the linnet. it had been very sparing also in its use of the chaffinch's note, until one in the neighbourhood had begun to _twink, twink, twink_; then the mocking-bird took it up, and _twinked_ away for fifty times together. next morning the linnet's note was much more frequent in request, and it also made more use of notes with which i was not acquainted. on neither day did it touch upon the notes of the redstart, or pied-wagtail, both of which i had heard frequently used by the mocking-bird before. on the other hand, i had not previously observed the notes of the starling and whin-linnet, and therefore, although i have said that i have never heard it make use of the notes of any of the larks or the thrushes, i would not be understood to say that this never happens. it is, perhaps, difficult to say whether it has a note which is not an imitation of some other bird, but there is one which it always makes use of when any person approaches its nest (intermixed, however, with the notes of the swallow, whinchat, and whitethroat). this is something like _chur-r-r, chur-r-r_, prolonging the sound of the _r_ very considerably, and in a style which would be quite an acquisition to the northumbrians if they could attain it. (may th, .) * * * * * the water ouzel. the water ouzel sings very frequently, and as much in winter as at any time. perched on a stone or a piece of ice, it chirps away at a famous rate, but its song consists almost entirely of its note _zeet, zeet_, which it hashes up in all sorts of ways, lengthening and shortening--now a crotchet, then a semiquaver, rising an octave or so, and then descending again. it makes as much of it as can be made, but with all its efforts its song is a very _so-so_ affair, all its syllables beginning with _z_, and almost ending with it too. yet, although it is not much of a songster, it is almost a sacred bird with me, in consequence of the associations connected with it. a pair had built for forty years, according to tradition, in a wheel-race near to where i was born, and had never been molested by anybody until a gentleman in the neighbourhood, who was a great ornithologist, employed his gamekeeper to shoot this pair. i think the natives of calcutta were not more indignant when an unlucky englishman got one of their sacred bulls into his compound and baited him, than was our little community at what we considered so great an outrage. the gamekeeper narrowly escaped being stoned by myself and some more lads, any one of whom would have shot fifty blackbirds or fieldfares without any misgivings. this bird very much resembles the wren in its habits and motions, its nods and curtsies, and cocks its tail in exactly the same manner. its nest is also similar in form to that of the wren. some persons seem to think that it is impossible for the water ouzel to walk at the bottom of the water, owing to its body being of less specific gravity. i will not argue the point with them, but disbelieving my own eyes, i will endeavour to submit with a good grace; otherwise i should have said that i have repeatedly seen it doing so, from a situation where i had an excellent opportunity of observing it, the window of a building directly over the place where it was feeding. it walked into the water and began to turn over the pebbles with its bill, rooting almost like a pig, and it seemed to have no difficulty whatever in keeping at the bottom at all depths where i could see it; and i have frequently observed it when the water just covered it, and its head appeared above the water every time it lifted it up, which it did incessantly, turning over a pebble or two, then lifting its head, and again dipping it below to seize the creepers (_aquatic larvae_) it had disturbed from their hiding-places. besides, its speed was too slow for diving. every aquatic bird with which i am acquainted moves much faster when diving than when it is swimming or walking, and its course is generally in a straight line, or nearly so; but the water ouzel, when feeding, turns to the right or left, or back again to where it started, stops and goes on again, just as it does when out of the water. yet when it wished, it seemed to have the power of altering its own gravity, as after wading about two, or perhaps five minutes, where it could just get its head out, it would suddenly rise to the surface and begin to swim, which it does quite as well as the water-hen. the awkward, tumbling, shuffling wriggle which it appears to have, is occasioned by the incessant motion of its head as it turns over the gravel in search of creepers, which appear to me to form the bulk of its food. sir george mackenzie seems to think that these birds destroy salmon spawn, and this opinion is prevalent in scotland. if it is correct, it would go far towards putting an end to my partiality for them; but i rather think that they are unjustly accused, and believe they are catching creepers when they are supposed to be eating spawn. if this is the fact (and it is well worth ascertaining) they are rendering an essential service to the fisheries instead of injuring them, because these creepers (the larvae of the stone-fly, bank-fly, and all the drakes) are exceedingly destructive to spawning-beds, and as the water ouzel feeds on them at all other times, and as they are more abundant in the winter than at any other season, i think this is the more probable supposition. of course, if sir george mackenzie has shot the bird, and speaks from his own knowledge, after dissecting it, there can be no doubt of the fact that it destroys spawn; but if he merely supposes so because the water ouzel feeds in the same streams where the salmon are spawning, it is very probable he is mistaken, for the reasons before mentioned. (may th, ). * * * * * scolopax, sabines, sabine's-snipe. some years ago i killed what i am now persuaded was a sabine's- snipe, but unfortunately it was not preserved, for hanging it up in the larder with the other birds i had killed, i found to my great mortification that the cook had stripped it of every feather before i was aware, and before i had noted down the markings of the plumage. the dry weather of august, , had driven a flock of the golden plover from the moors to the banks of the river wharfe, and on the th of that month i had been out with my gun, endeavouring to shoot some of them. on my return i sprung this snipe from a pond near home, and killed it. when i picked it up, i was astonished to find a snipe with the plumage of a woodcock, and showed it to a friend of mine, who is a good practical ornithologist, but he was as much puzzled as myself to give it a name; so not being able to find a description of it in any books to which we had access, we jumped to the conclusion that it was a hybrid between the snipe and the woodcock, and called it a bastard woodcock. according to the recollection i have of it, it was as large as the solitary snipe, and the bill was a little longer; the general appearance of the plumage on the wings and back resembled a dark- coloured woodcock; but under the wings the fine blue inner coverts exactly resembled those of the snipe. in those days i had no idea of the value attached to rare birds, nor did i know anything of the art of preserving birds, or of bird-preservers, and no doubt some of these gentlemen will pronounce me a great goth when i tell them that what i regretted most, when i found that the bird was plucked, was the loss of the wings, the feathers of which i wanted to dress artificial flies with. three days after i had killed this, i saw another in a ditch adjoining sir henry ibbetson's park, at denton, but being in his preserve i had no opportunity of procuring it. i had never seen one since, and until i had seen the sixth edition of bewick's "birds," i was unable to make out its name, about which i may still be mistaken. (may th, .) * * * * * fish and other river phenomena. a writer in the "british naturalist" says, that "fish don't feed, and therefore we may conclude they don't discern in sunny weather." if the author had ever been a may-fly-fisher he would have known that bright weather and clear water were essentially necessary to his success. this fly is one of the best baits i know for large trout, and is much used by the anglers in some of the rivers in yorkshire (perhaps in other counties also), where two methods of fishing it are practised. the one is bobbing, which with one sort of bait or another is universal, and therefore needs no description. however, it is always practised in bright weather. in the other method (which i believe is peculiar to the north of england) the may-fly (stone-fly) is fished with a long line in rapid streams, in the same way as the artificial fly, except that it is fished up the stream; that is, the angler throws his line into the stream above where he stands, and allows it to float down opposite to him, when he makes another throw; by this means he always keeps his line slack, and the may-fly floats on the surface, which is essential to his success. i mention these two methods of angling because both are practised in bright weather, and therefore prove that fish both discern and feed in such days. i believe the fact is, that at such times they frequently see too well for the angler, and are consequently aware that his artificial flies are not what they seem to be. fishes, particularly par and grayling, may be seen rising by dozens at the small flies (midges) which abound in sunny weather, yet the angler is unable to hook a single fish. first-rate anglers are well aware of this, and abandon their larger flies as the summer advances, use smaller hooks, dress their flies much finer, and substitute horsehair for the fishing- gut, when they can procure it of good quality. * * * * * lampreys. lampreys abound in the ribble. some of them, of the large species (_petromyzon marinus_), weigh three and four pounds each, [ ] but owing to a prejudice against them (i suppose on account of their ugliness) they are seldom eaten. i will illustrate this prejudice by giving the remark of a keen fisherman to myself, on my saying that i should eat a large one i had just caught. "well," said he, "if you can manage to eat such a thing as that, you would not stick at devouring a child in the small-pox." this, if not an elegant, was at least a forcible expression of his opinion on the subject, and this dislike of them is almost universal in this neighbourhood. (jan. th .) "an old angler," in the "magazine of natural history," having questioned the assertion of sir everard home that the lamprey was hermaphrodite--in fact, that all were spawners and emitted eggs-- the following was addressed to the "magazine of natural history":-- when i had the pleasure of writing to you before, i had either overlooked or forgotten the queries of "an old angler" respecting the lamprey. however, your remarks have induced me to pay a little more attention to the subject. i can now confirm in the strongest and most conclusive manner the supposition of "an old angler" that the sexes are as distinct in the lamprey as they are in the cod or herring. how so distinguished an anatomist as sir everard home fell into such a mistake, it is not for me to say; but i am as certain that the sexes are distinct in the lamprey as that they are so in any other animal, and i will now give my reasons for making this positive assertion. on the th of may, chancing to cross a small stream, i saw a number of lampreys in the act of spawning, and remembering the queries of your correspondent, i stood to watch their motions. after observing them for some time, i observed one twist its tail round another in such a manner, and they both stirred up the sand and small gravel from the bottom in such a way, as convinced me it was a conjunction of the sexes. however, there were so many of them together, and they kept so continually moving about, that i could not single out the two individuals, and thus ascertain whether they were male and female; but i felt so desirous of being able to set this question at rest, that i went again next morning, and was fortunate enough to find only two, a male and a female. i then witnessed several sexual conjunctions, during which the sand and small gravel was stirred up by them, and each of which was followed by the ejection of a jet of eggs from the female. i then caught them both, and dissected them. the sexual organ in the male was projected above a quarter of an inch, and the body filled with milt; the female, although she seemed to have shed a considerable quantity of her spawn, had still a tolerable stock remaining. i frequently afterwards witnessed the same thing, and always found the same difference of sexes; in fact, there was generally no difficulty in distinguishing the male from the female, without taking them out of the water: the latter might be readily known by the enlargement of her body, and the former by a still more incontestable token. i have been induced to describe this more minutely than i otherwise should have done, in consequence of the mystery in which the propagation of fish has been wrapped hitherto; and i am not aware that what i have described has been witnessed by anyone before--at least i don't know that it has been recorded. i caught half-a-dozen lampreys, four males and two females, and preserved them in spirits, and these i now forward to you. i am unable to give the same information concerning the large lamprey, having never seen it in the act of spawning; but i have repeatedly caught both milters and spawners of species with the milt and roe as distinctly visible in them as it is in the salmon or any other fish. i am of opinion that the _p. marinus_ and the _p. fluviatilis_ are distinct species, for the following reasons:-- st. because the latter stays with us the whole year, while the former only ascends the rivers to spawn, and then returns to the sea immediately. nd. because fish that are in the habit of descending to the sea, never (unless the small lamprey be an exception to the general rule) arrive at maturity [ ] until they have visited it; and, rdly, because there are no intermediate sizes (at least in the ribble) between the one which, although only six or seven inches long, and an ounce in weight, is yet capable of propagation, and the one of a pound. not having one of the larger kind to refer to, i am unable to point out any specific difference of form. (may nd, .) * * * * * on the spawning of the minnow. as i had been so fortunate in observing the lampreys, i felt desirous of ascertaining whether the same thing could be seen in other fish (as in natural history it is not always safe to reason from analogy), and as there was a large shoal of minnows spawning near the place where i had seen the lampreys, i determined to watch their motions. they happened to have chosen a very convenient place for being observed, being between two large stones in the river, which lay about three feet from each other; so that by cautiously approaching them from behind one of the stones, i got close to without disturbing them, but after watching them carefully and repeatedly within the distance of two feet, i can only speak doubtfully of their operations, for they were so numerous, and their motions were so incessant; and when a female was about to shed her spawn, the males (which were ten times more numerous than the females) crowded round her in such a manner as to render it very difficult, if not impossible, to speak with certainty on the subject. i will state what steps i took to satisfy myself, and perhaps the history of my failure may be of use to future observers. it occurred to me from what i observed, that it was probable the males had the power of absorbing the eggs after their exclusion by the female, and impregnating them within their own bodies; and i caught a dozen males at different times, when they were attending on females, and opened them, but i could discover nothing like an egg. i then caught a female, and scattered the spawn (which was expelled by the slightest pressure) in a place frequented by a number of males, but they took no notice of it whatever. i after this caught a female when she was surrounded by a number of males, and apparently in the act of shedding her spawn, and examined whether the spawn which i pressed from her body was impregnated; but it appeared perfectly homogeneous, and so delicate in its texture that it burst with the slightest touch, whilst in that which i picked up from among the gravel where it was scattered abundantly, the impregnation was visible with the assistance of a microscope, and it was so much tougher in its covering as to bear rolling about in my hand without injury. i then tried to impregnate the eggs _mechanically_, and applied a drop of the spermatic fluid to the egg at the moment of exclusion, and it certainly seemed, in one instance, both to increase the size and to alter the colour of the ova it was applied to; but i was not able to produce the same effect so decidedly in any of my subsequent attempts. my observations, which were often repeated, induce me to believe that the egg is impregnated at the moment of exclusion, and that two males have (almost invariably) access to the female at the same time; for i frequently remarked, that when a female came among a number of males, they immediately pursued her: if she was not ready for shedding her spawn, she made a precipitate retreat; but if she was, she came boldly in among them, and was immediately pressed closely by a male on each side, who when they had been in that situation a short time, were superseded by other two, who wedged themselves in between them and the female, who appeared to treat all her lovers with the same kindness. one difficulty is, that the spermatic fluid mixes very readily with water; and i cannot imagine how its virtue is preserved, [ ] if (as i suppose must be the case) the egg is impregnated after exclusion; but i also think it probable that the ventral fins of the female serve to conduct this fluid to the place where it is needed, and the chemical affinity between it and the egg may be sufficient for impregnation. p.s. july th. i tried to hatch some of the eggs i had endeavoured to fecundate. the attempt was unsuccessful. i placed the eggs, which i had put into some clean-washed gravel, in a shallow vessel (open at the top, and with holes drilled through the sides) in a small stream of water, but i found to my great mortification on looking for them a day or two after that there was not one left, but that in their stead were many aquatic insects, which had no doubt feasted on them as long as they lasted, and after this i was not able to meet with another shoal of minnows in the act of spawning. the head of the minnow in the spawning season is spotted over with small white knobs, apparently osseous in their structure, which make their appearance immediately before the fish begins to spawn, and which disappear again as shortly after, and i think they are intended as a protection to the head of the fish during the spawning; as i remarked that they generally thrust their heads in between two pebbles, and had their tails sticking up almost perpendicularly. yet this was not always the case, as they sometimes ran nearly out of the water, and it was in this situation that i observed what i have before mentioned, as i found it impossible to discover anything that was done by those in deeper water; for when a female went into such a situation, there was such a crowd of males rushed to the place that i lost sight of her in a moment. i was astonished to find how quickly the eggs were hatched. i discovered a large shoal spawning on the th of may; on the th they were diminished to one-tenth of the number, and on the th (the th being sunday) there was not one left. as i had by no means satisfied myself on the subject, i felt disappointed that they had so soon finished their operations, and i took up a handful of the gravel where they had been spawning, and examined it with the microscope, to see whether i could discover any ova, and how they were going on, when to my great surprise i found them already hatching and some of them already excluded from the egg. one of them, which i took on the point of a knife, swam briskly away, and another was the means of pointing out an enemy to me which i had not previously suspected, and that i had always hitherto believed to be the prey of and not the preyer upon fish. the poor minnow had somehow got fast to the point of the knife, and in its struggles to free itself it attracted the attention of a creeper--the larva of one of the aquatic flies called drakes (_ephemerae_)--which pounced upon it as fiercely as the water staphylinus does on the luckless tadpole, but, fortunately for the minnow, either the glittering of the knife-blade or the motion of my hand, scared it away again without its prey. the young minnows in this state were quite transparent, except the eyes, which were disproportionately large; and they seemed to be perfectly aware that they owed their safety to concealment, as those that i saw immediately buried themselves in the gravel when they were set at liberty. (july th, .) * * * * * eels. to the editor of the "gardener's chronicle." my attention has been called to a paragraph in a worcester paper giving an account of a (so-called) discovery by mr. boccius, that eels are propagated by spawn, like other fish, and that they are not brought forth alive, as had hitherto been supposed. this may be true, but before i can give an unqualified belief to the assertion, i should like to have a few questions answered by mr. boccius. who saw the fish from which those thousands of eggs were extracted at the time this dissection was made? are the parties who saw these eggs quite certain that the fish was an eel and not a lamprey? who saw the eggs from which mr. boccius produced living eels? who beside mr. boccius ever saw eel-fry in a pond which had no communication with a river? will mr. allees and mr. reed (the gentlemen to whom the spawn was exhibited) say whether the ovary which was shown to them was pretty much of the same form as that of the lamprey? and if not, in what respect did it differ? i am induced to ask these questions, both because by inference they show my own opinions on the subject, and because i am led on undoubted authority to believe that mr. boccius is inclined to claim at _least_ all that belongs to him; and also because i have my doubts about the scientific attainments of mr. boccius in the natural history of fishes. it is difficult to prove a negative. my never having seen the strange things above mentioned certainly does not prove that other people with better eyes and more discrimination have likewise failed to do so; but i can't help doubting, and i publish my doubts in the hope that the subject may be further inquired into. a true naturalist ought only to wish for the truth, without reference to his own preconceived notions; but so far as my examinations have gone, i have failed altogether to detect spawn in the fringes which i have fancied were the ovaria of the fish, or elsewhere, and i don't believe that eels are bred in fresh water at all. i see the fry ascending from the sea in may and june by thousands and millions, but i never met with one of these in a pond having no communication with a river. i have little doubt that i shall be pronounced in error touching this matter, except perhaps by those who know how perseveringly these little eels make their way up every stream, ditch, and driblet of water into which they can gain access. they penetrate into the water-pipes and pumps; they climb up the perpendicular faces of the rocks and weirs which obstruct the course of the rivers, even when they are only moist--adhering to the moss and stones like snails. the downward migration of eels is observed here from july to the middle of september, but in the manchester market i find them up to this time (the end of november), and am informed that they are caught at the foot of windermere in their downward migration. would a dissection of the conger at various seasons throw any light on the propagation of eels? one would think that in such large fish the ovaria would be much more easily distinguished than in smaller specimens. (november, .) _the above elicited the following reply:_-- t. g. denies the possibility of eels breeding in fresh water. we have a pond here covering three or four acres which swarms with eels of all sizes. i have caught them from the size of my little finger up to the weight of five pounds. the supply of water is from nothing else than land springs--there being no communication between the pond and any river. when much rain occurs i am obliged to put up a sluice-board, in order to prevent the banks from overflowing. i have taken from one to two hundredweight at a time from a box which the water flows through at the bottom of the sluice-board. the large quantity that has been taken out of this pond leaves no doubt that they breed there to a great extent, but whether they are propagated by spawn or brought forth alive i am unable to say.--g. h., _finedon hall_. _reply to the foregoing._ your correspondent g. h. says t. g. denies the possibility of eels breeding in fresh water. this is rather too strong. i don't deny the _possibility_ of eels being bred in fresh water, i only deny the _probability_. the expression i used was that i did not believe they were bred in fresh water at all, and i distinctly stated that my not having seen these things (eel spawn, &c.), did not prove that other people had not done so. but to the question. g. h. says that he has caught them of all sizes, from the thickness of his little finger to five pounds weight. no doubt he may have done so, but did he catch them of the thickness of a crow's quill, and three inches long? because that is the size at which they usually ascend rivers. he says his pond does not communicate with any river. is there no escape of water from it? i mean, is the evaporation from its surface equal to the supply of water? if not, where does the surplus go to? does it not directly or indirectly flow into a river or the sea? i am the more inclined to think that this is the case, because g. h. says he caught a hundredweight at a time from a box which the water flows through at the bottom of the sluice-board. this is exceedingly like what is done here and elsewhere from july to the end of november, when the eels are on their downward migration. will g. h. be kind enough to say whether he does not catch his about the same time? will he also say whether the eels he catches are not silver eels? and will he also state whether he does not catch them principally after heavy rains have increased the flow of water out of the pond? if he answers these questions in the affirmative, i shall still think i am right, and request him to keep a sharp look-out after rains in may and june, when i think he would probably see the grigs passing through his box into the pond. if, on the other hand, there is no escape of water from the pond at any time, i must admit that i am wrong, but at present i don't know how to reconcile the impounding the water so completely with what he says about the flow of the water through the box at the bottom of the sill. where does the water flow to, and for what is this sill? _g. h. replied as follows._ t. g. asks if i have caught eels of the size of a crow's quill. i have caught them of the size of a tobacco-pipe, and from three to four inches in length. our surplus water flows indirectly into the river nene from our sluice. it supplies some stews where we have been in the habit of keeping reserve fish, and passing over several waterfalls, it enters into a ditch which is about three-quarters of a mile long, and then reaches the river i have just named. the greatest take of eels i have had was on the rd of december, but the time of the year is of little consequence with us, provided the water is thick and muddy and the weather rather warm, which, of course, only occurs during very heavy rains. if i were to draw all the water out of the pond when in a clear state, i should not catch a fish. the variety is the silver eel. our pond is upwards of fifty miles from the sea; therefore how is it that those little eels had got no larger during their long journey, interrupted as it is by numerous and almost insurmountable obstacles, before they could reach the little ditch, three- quarters of a mile long, that would conduct them to our pond? and, last of all, after this long and tedious journey, within a hundred yards of their destination they would have to climb four waterfalls and a perpendicular sluice-board. it appears to me they should have grown much larger than a common tobacco-pipe and longer than three or four inches in that time, but i will leave this point for t. g. to explain.--g. h., _finedon hall_. _reply to the foregoing._ many thanks to g. h. for his second letter on this subject. it appears to me that we think very much alike about eels. he says his pond is fifty miles from the sea; "therefore, how is it that these little eels get no larger in their long and tedious journey? interrupted as it is by numerous and almost insurmountable obstacles, before they could reach the little ditch, three-quarters of a mile long, which would conduct them to our pond? and last of all, after this long and tedious journey, within a hundred yards of their destination, they would have to climb four waterfalls and a perpendicular sluice-board. it appears to me they should have grown much larger than a common tobacco-pipe during that time; but i will leave that point to t. g. to explain." this is so fairly put, that i will tell what i have seen, hoping that this will be a sufficient explanation. in june, , i chanced to go down to the bank of the ribble, and there i saw a column of small eels steadily making their way up the stream. i should suppose there might be fifty in every lineal yard, for they kept pretty close to the bank, apparently because they met with less resistance from the stream, and without pretending to accuracy i supposed they travelled at the rate of a mile an hour. this was about five o'clock in the afternoon, and i went to look for them about nine in the evening--they were still going in one unbroken column. how long they had been going when i first saw them, and how long they continued to go after my second visit, i don't know, but many thousands--perhaps millions--must have passed that day. at this rate (of a mile an hour) they would have required little more than two days to reach g. h.'s pond, fifty miles from the sea; but he says they had to pass over three or four waterfalls and a perpendicular sluice-board. if these waterfalls and the sluice-board were covered with moss, they would climb them as readily as a cat does a ladder. i have seen them in swarms at a perpendicular weir here, winding their way through the damp moss with which the stones are covered; but this was not all: where there was no moss, the little things seemed to have the power of adhering to the perpendicular face of the stones, like so many snails. i must not omit to remark, that although they seemed to choose the margin of the stream for the sake of easier travelling, yet they took care to keep in the stream, as i had a nice opportunity of observing. at the point where i first saw them, the tail goit of a water- wheel had its junction with the river, but being sunday there was no current there--not a single eel took its course up the goit, although the water was deeper there than where they went. the water being low and perfectly clear, i could trace their course both above and below the place where i stood without any difficulty. if we allowed that they travelled a mile in the hour, and that the obstructions of the waterfalls and sluice-board took as long to get over as all the rest of the journey, they would be able to reach g. h.'s pond in four days from the sea; and from what i have seen of their ability to surmount such obstructions, i am quite convinced that they would travel that distance in the time. but say they were a week--they would not grow much in that time, particularly if they had been travelling without food the whole of the distance, and that they must have done so, is proved to my mind by their keeping in column; for if they had dispersed to seek for food, by what contrivance were they marshalled into line again, to enable them to proceed? now the place i saw them is forty miles from the sea, although not that distance from salt- water. t. says it is no proof that eels are bred in fresh water because they may be found in ponds having no connection with a river--the proof required is _ab ovo_. if we wait for this proof i fear we will have to wait for some time, for i fancy that no one but mr. boccius ever saw the ova of eels, and he will not condescend to enlighten us on the subject. at the same time i admit that finding them there is no proof that they were bred there, inasmuch as i have myself stocked such ponds for my friends, and what i have done may be done by others. t. says further there is also room for inquiry into another curious subject--do eels return to fresh water after having gone to the sea for spawning? in reply to this, i can only say, that no trace of such a migration is ever seen here, and i think if it existed at all, i should have observed it, for the following reasons. the ribble here supplies a large mill, the water-wheels of which are horse-power; therefore, when they are at work in the daytime, the whole force of the river is often passing through the mill-lead (goit) and the bed of the river between the weir, and the tail goit in such times is left dry, except in a few pools. if there was a shoal of eels between these two points it would have been seen at one time or another, and this has never happened, so far as i know. it may be said that they migrate singly, but they don't do so in their first migration, and, so far as i am aware, it is not the habit of any animal to do so. herrings, pilchards, smelts, flounders, sturgeon, bisons, antelopes, woodcocks, swallows, fieldfares, locusts, and even butterflies congregate together previous to migration. note.--the last paragraph requires some modification, as i have since proved that eels migrate singly when going to the sea, as i have had occasion to know in a hundred cases when watching my eel- trap, where every eel may be seen as it descends into the trap. _on the same subject._ i [jeremiah garnett, brother of the writer, and editor of the "manchester guardian,"] having noticed the communications on this subject which have recently appeared in your columns, am desirous of mentioning a fact which appears to me to throw some light upon the localities in which eels are bred, though it leaves the question of the mode of generation precisely where it stood before. like your correspondent t. g., i have many times seen columns of small eels ascending the ribble and other rivers in the months of may and june, at considerable distances from the sea, but only on one occasion have i seen them under circumstances which evidently brought them near the place of their nativity. i happened to be attending the lancaster spring assizes in the month of march in the year , and learning that there was a remarkably high tide in the estuary of the lune, i walked down to the riverside about the time of high water, and found that the tide had covered the grass in many places; and as it began to ebb, i observed something moving in every small hollow which had been overflowed, and in which a little water had been left behind. on examination i found that the moving bodies were exceedingly diminutive eels, rather less, to the best of my recollection, than three-quarters of an inch long, and almost transparent, but exhibiting in every respect the true form of the mature eel. they had evidently followed the water to its extreme verge, where it could not have been more than an inch deep, and that they must have been very numerous was clear from the large numbers which were left behind and had perished--for that they did perish i found on the following day, when they were lying dead on the grass by hundreds. some of your correspondents who reside in localities favourable for making observations on this subject may be induced to pay attention to it; the exact appearance may be ascertained, with probably other facts calculated to throw light on the obscure question of their generation. * * * * * on the possibility of introducing salmon into new zealand and australia. _october_, . the colonists of australia, tasmania, and new zealand appear to wish for the introduction of salmon and trout into the rivers of these colonies, and one of them, tasmania, is said to have offered the reward of l for the first pair of live salmon which reaches that colony. if this is true it is a liberal offer, and one that is likely to induce various persons, both in england and france, to make the attempt. i should be sorry to say anything to check so laudable an endeavour, but i greatly fear that van diemen's land (to say nothing of the australian colonies) is too near the tropics to offer a reasonable chance of success. i think it is practicable to take these fish there (or at least fertilized ova), but i don't think they would live and thrive in the rivers of that colony. never having been there, i can, of course, only reason from european experience, but the best inquiries i can make lead me to suppose that there are no salmon in france (south of brittany), spain, or any of the countries washed by the mediterranean sea; and in america (although i confess i am not so well informed on that country) i have never heard of salmon being seen to the south of the tributaries of the st. lawrence. supposing this to be so, i think that we may fairly infer that if salmon are not found south of a certain latitude in europe and america, it must be that the climate of these southern countries is not congenial to the habits of this fish. i believe, however, that the trout lives and thrives much further south than the salmon; for instance, it is found in the pyrenees and in the lakes of northern italy (lady m. w. montagu). it is also found in northern turkey, and probably albania also (spencer); and therefore i think it is quite probable that it might live in tasmania--that is, if the streams are never dried up and the rivers reduced to a number of water-holes, which appears to be the case in australia. should this be the case in tasmania also, i doubt whether even trout would thrive, for here in lancashire i have known the trout to die in great numbers from the heat, when, owing to the water-wheels of the mill diverting the river from its usual channel, there was no stream, but merely a series of detached pools or water-holes; and the grayling seem to be more incommoded by heat than the trout, and it was one of the diversions of my boyhood to wait until the wheels of my father's mill were stopped in the hot weather, and then go up the covered wheel-races in search of the grayling that had gone there to get out of the sunshine. i used to catch them there in great numbers. however, this has nothing to do with the matter, except to suggest that although grayling are very desirable fish to introduce into the colonies, i fear they would be too impatient of heat to thrive there. but my object in addressing you is to ask whether it is true that the legislature of tasmania has offered the prize of l for the first pair of live salmon taken there? secondly, whether they offer a prize for the introduction of salmon fry; and if so, what is the amount offered? thirdly, whether they offer a prize for the introduction of fertilized ova of salmon or trout, and what is the amount? i ask these questions because i happen to know a good deal on such matters, and i have been applied to this day by james birch, the head water-bailiff of our river (ribble), to obtain some information for him on the subject, as he seems seriously bent on making the experiment, provided the reward be an adequate one; for, to be successful, it would involve the necessity of his making the voyage himself, and it would be a cruel thing to induce him to do so, and in the end to find that he was entitled to no reward. i'll say this for him, that if he tries he will succeed, if success be possible; but his pecuniary resources are too limited for him to undertake such a risk. i have reason to believe that he has been applied to by ramsbottom to go to tasmania, but this he declines to do under ramsbottom's auspices. as he (r.) professes to be in communication with the authorities of tasmania (or at all events with influential persons there) let him make the first attempt, and if he succeed, there will be no necessity to apply to me on the subject; but if he should fail--as i think he will--why, then the persons interested in the matter may, if they wish to try again, let me know their wishes and the amount of remuneration they mean to give. i should certainly suggest that both salmon and salmon trout (as well as the common trout) should be included in their list of desiderata, and although for reasons previously given i have no great hopes of success with the two former, i think it quite probable that the common trout would succeed better. of course i know nothing of the fish already in the rivers of tasmania; for aught i know there may be fish in all those rivers quite as voracious and destructive as the pike are here. if this is the case, the chances of success would be materially lessened, as trout and salmon fry are rare in all rivers stocked with pike. however, those who are making the attempt ought to know what they are about, and will, no doubt, have considered such obstacles, if there are any such in the way. will you, therefore, be kind enough to answer the questions i have asked above, at your earliest convenience, and if your replies offer any inducement to birch to make the attempt, i have no doubt that he will be quite ready to do so. for various reasons he can only start from here in the autumn or winter, and he should, if he reaches tasmania with either live fish or fertilized ova, have someone to render him prompt and cordial assistance to enable him to deposit the fish or ova, or fish and ova, in suitable places for spawning and hatching; and therefore if this letter be replied to, the answer ought to say to whom birch should apply on his arrival in tasmania. it may be asked, who is the man who obtrudes his opinions on the colony unasked, and what can be his motives? as i am not aware that i know a single person in tasmania, i cannot refer to anyone there; but i happen to know one or two gentlemen in melbourne, and if you will take the trouble to refer there to messrs. w. and b. hick, or to w. bailey, the corn merchant, they will be able to satisfy all inquiries. if it be asked what i know of the habits of fish, and salmon in particular, i beg to refer the inquirers to loudon's "magazine of natural history" for (if there is a copy of that work in the colony), and they will there find two papers (signed "t.g.," clitheroe) which will show that i then knew all that has since been proved by the elaborate experiments made at perth by ramsbottom, and moreover i taught ramsbottom himself the art of propagating fish artificially. i want no compensation: the honour of being the first man who succeeded in introducing these valuable fish into the colonies would be a sufficient reward to me. but with birch the case is different: he is a working man, and l would be a fortune to him. on the other hand, he could not afford to come to hobart town from england at his own expense, as he has not the means. would the colony, if other attempts failed, be willing to pay birch's passage out and home if he failed also, and would he receive the l if he succeeded? by success i mean that he would either bring live fish or ova that would hatch into live fish. either of these objects being accomplished, he ought, in my opinion, to receive the reward; for although he would attempt both, he would probably fail in the former. should he attempt this under my advice, i should not only send salmon and salmon trout and their ova, but the common brown trout and its ova also, for the reason previously given in this letter; and although i am by no means sanguine of success, on account of the temperature, the experiment is too important to be abandoned for a mere theoretical objection which may be erroneous. i think new zealand offers far greater chances of success. it is not only further removed from the tropics, but, if i am rightly informed, the streams are more abundant and constant than those of australia and tasmania--in fact, i believe it is as well watered as this country; and if the authorities there are as much alive to the importance of introducing these fish into their rivers, i would undertake to do this with much greater confidence of ultimate success than i should have if i undertook to introduce them into tasmania or the sister colonies. some time since (it may be eighteen months or two years ago) there was a very intelligent correspondent of the "field" newspaper, whose _nom de plume_ was the maori one, "wetariki no te wai herekeke," or a similar one; and i having written something in the "field" on this subject, the new zealander asked for my address, which, for some private reason of his own, the editor declined to give until so long a time had elapsed that wetariki herekeke had returned to the colony--this i learnt from an indirect source-- otherwise i should have tried to induce him to undertake the experiment of introducing all the various species of the genus salmo which are to be found in our rivers. if the colonists of new zealand wish to make the attempt, i shall be most happy to render them all the assistance in my power, and i know no one so qualified as birch to undertake the management of such an experiment; for he is exceedingly intelligent, has a perfect knowledge of the habits of both trout and salmon, and thoroughly understands the feeding of fish, both in their natural haunts and artificially, and would consequently be able to select suitable localities for conducting such an experiment to a successful issue. note.--no reply was given to this by the authorities of tasmania, but a similar communication, addressed to the governor of new zealand, elicited a very polite reply from his secretary, in which he said that there were no funds available for such a purpose, but that the subject would be brought before the legislature on their assembling, and would no doubt meet with their favourable consideration; but the maori troubles broke out immediately after, and i heard no more about it. * * * * * clitheroe, _october th_, . to the editor of the "field." in the "field" of some weeks since, it was stated that the colonists of tasmania were offering a large reward for the introduction of live salmon, salmon fry, or the fertilized ova of salmon. will you have the kindness to say what was the amount offered? who were the parties who made themselves responsible for the payment? and what time did they give within which they would pay for a successful attempt? i am the more anxious to have this information, because i have been applied to for advice by an exceedingly likely person, as the reward (l ) which he understood to be offered is to him so tempting a sum, that he would need very little encouragement to undertake the management of the experiment; and from what i know of him i will venture to assert that he will succeed, if success be practicable. but before i speak confidently of success, i would like a little more information, and will thank any of your readers who are able to do so, to give me replies to the following questions:-- are there any salmon in the rivers of spain, or in france, south of the loire, or even in that river? if not, why not? are there any salmon in north america, in any river (not a tributary of the st. lawrence), south of that river? if there are, what rivers in the states contain salmon. do any of the rivers on the west coast of america below the latitude of degrees n. contain salmon? do any of the rivers of china (not chinese tartary) contain salmon? if i am right in supposing that the rivers i have pointed out have no salmon in them, is it not exceedingly probable that the high temperature of these southern countries is unsuited to the habits and uncongenial to the health of these fish? or how is it when they are on the same seaboard further north, they don't ascend these rivers, unless there are some such objections to their doing so? and if these objections really exist, then do they not equally exist in the rivers of australia and tasmania? but there may be other objections equally fatal: there may be fish in their rivers as voracious and destructive as our pike; there may be sharks and other fish in their seas and estuaries, which would snap up every salmon that entered them. there may be seals, porpoises, albatrosses, man-of-war birds, and cormorants, as well as fifty other nameless enemies, all combining their efforts to defeat so desirable a consummation; and, after all, there may be no one willing to make himself responsible for a repayment of the necessary expenses, for corporations and public bodies are proverbially untrustworthy. yet, notwithstanding all these doubts of success, i think the experiment ought to be made; for its success would confer so great a boon on the colony in which it was made, that they (the colonists) ought to incur considerable risk and outlay for the chance of success, however small. i don't think there will be much difficulty in carrying fertilized ova there, but when hatched i fear they would not thrive. i think new zealand offers far better chances of success: it is further from the tropics, it abounds in suitable rivers, the climate and temperature are more like england, and i believe the rivers never degenerate into mere water-holes, as they seem to do in australia; and i think the residents of that colony ought to make a vigorous attempt to introduce salmon, salmon trout, and the common brown trout into their rivers immediately; and i should be delighted to render all the assistance in my power to accomplish so desirable an object. * * * * * on the formation of ice at the bottom of rivers. _anchor frosts._ a correspondent of the "magazine of natural history," in endeavouring to explain the causes why water freezes at the bottom in rapid streams, says this unusual phenomenon may be rationally accounted for by anyone who has attended to it; that the streams in which anchor frosts occur generally are those which contain water of different temperatures--viz., surface-drainage and land springs and main springs, the first being always colder than the latter, in winter these never being less than degrees, even in severe frosts. these colder globules being first frozen, float on the surface of the water individually, being prevented from coalescing by the intermediate main-spring-water, and where the water passes in a shallow stream over the pebbles the crystals are intercepted by the interstices of the stones, and then become heaped together in thick beds. the fact of the crystals of ice (which are specifically lighter than the water) sinking below the surface, is a circumstance requiring explanation. they do not sink from their specific gravity, but in the commotion of the current they are occasionally submerged, and while so are stopped by any obstruction, when they commence and compose the aggregation. thinking this was an erroneous view of the matter, i replied as follows:-- j. m., in his remarks on anchor frosts, appears to me to have fallen into several errors in endeavouring to account for them (they are called bottom frosts in yorkshire); for, admitting that main springs are of the temperature stated ( degrees) when they issue from the earth, i am by no means prepared to believe that they keep that temperature long, or that the water issuing from them does not mingle intimately and immediately with the water of the river into which it flows; especially in the situations where anchor frosts are most common, which are rough and rapid streams. from j. m.'s statement it would appear that globules of water of different temperatures mix together without the one imparting its excess of caloric to the other, which is contrary to the experience of everyone; it is true, that in still places there will be different temperatures in the same body of water, but it is not owing to the main springs of which j. m. speaks, but to the peculiar way in which water is affected by cold. it is well known that water increases in density down to degrees, below which temperature it begins to expand, and this expansion continues until it reaches the freezing-point, so that in severe frosts there will be strata of different temperatures from degrees to degrees. again, he says that "the crystals of ice are intercepted by the interstices of the stones, and then become heaped together in thick beds;" but if my observations are correct, these depositions begin first round the large stones, which are not likely to stop small spiculae any more than are the water-gates of mills, where, he says, the accumulations also take place. anchor frosts are most common in the rapid streams occurring below deeps in rivers, and i have seen a weir on the river wharfe which had a wall of ice four feet high formed upon it in a single night by a sharp north wind. in my opinion a sufficient explanation of this freezing at the bottom of rivers is to be found in the fact that water when kept still may be cooled down below the freezing- point without being congealed; but if the vessel in which it is kept be shaken, a portion of it will be converted into a porous, spongy ice, and the temperature immediately rises to degrees. in the deeps of rivers the same cooling below the freezing-point takes place without congelation, but as soon as this water reaches the stream below, the agitation immediately converts a portion of it into ice, which collects round the large stones at the bottom in the same way that crystallization commences in a solution of salt or sugar around a piece of thread or other substance which may be suspended in it. if a severe frost is followed by a bright day, thousands of these detached pieces of spongy ice may be seen rising from the stones which have served as nuclei for them; which proves that the detention of them is not merely mechanical, but that precipitation (if i may be allowed to call it so) takes place in the first instance, the stone serving as a nucleus, and that this adhesion is destroyed by the action of the sun's rays. i have never seen any attempt to explain the phenomenon of bottom- frosts before this of j. m.'s, and i am not philosopher enough to speak positively on the subject; but the above is the way in which i have always endeavoured to account for it. perhaps some of your scientific readers may be able to give much better reasons for it than have been offered either by j. m. or myself. (january th, .) another writer (j. carr, of alnwick,) says that anchor frosts are merely long and severe ones where long masses of ice are frozen to the stones at the bottom of rapid streams, and this is simply owing to these stones acquiring a degree of cold far below the freezing-point, and the water in contact with them freezing and spreading into large sheets of ice, which are sometimes torn up and carry away the gravel adhering to the under surface. thinking that this was an error, i again wrote to the "magazine of natural history" as below:-- i perceive that others beside myself have endeavoured to account for anchor frosts. mr. carr says they never occur except in long and severe frosts, and that the adhesion of the ice to the stones at the bottom is owing to their acquiring a degree of cold far below the freezing-point. he is in error when he says they never occur except in long-continued frosts, as the walls of ice which are sometimes raised on the crowns of weirs are invariably (so far as my observations have extended) deposited there _before_ the water in the reservoir above is frozen over, which proves that the frost has not been of long continuance, although it may have been severe. as to what he says about the stones acquiring a degree of cold far below the freezing-point, and imparting that coldness to the water, i would just ask how it is that a stone at the bottom of a river acquires this excess of cold, and if it is not more probable that the stones impart warmth to the surrounding water? i can easily conceive how the stones may, by the action of the sun's rays upon them, warm the surrounding water; but i do not see how they can impart cold, or, in other words, how their temperature can be reduced below that of the water by which they are surrounded. stones certainly impart warmth to the water they are in, in bright weather, as the rays of the sun do not give much warmth in passing through any transparent medium; but on coming in contact with any opaque bodies, the heat is absorbed or reflected as the case may be, and in this way transparent media such as air and water acquire a warmth by contact which they would not otherwise possess. thus, if an anchor frost is followed by a bright day, the rays of the sun impart so much warmth to the stones at the bottom of the river as is sufficient to liberate the ice from them, and on such days thousands of pieces of ice may be seen rising from the bottom and floating down the streams. since my former observations were written i have had the satisfaction of finding my views on the subject confirmed by a very eminent chemist, [ ] and if the discussions in your magazine were to be settled by authority, and not by argument (which i trust will never be the case), he is one to whom many would be inclined to appeal, and to whom few would refuse to submit. (may nd, .) * * * * * to the editor of the "agricultural gazette." in a leading article of the th of january, , after an account of the effects produced on water by radiation and the protection afforded to plants by the ice with which ponds are covered in winter, you go on to say that there are some circumstances under which water-plants suffer greatly, and from a singular cause, but one which when looked into is sufficiently simple and intelligible. as you do not appear to have hit upon the true reason, allow me to quote a little further, and then give my reason for this singular effect. you say that on a very fine but still night, water is cooled less rapidly than the earth: under such circumstances the bottom of the pond cools more rapidly than the surface, the plants become colder--in fact, some degrees below the freezing-point, &c. &c. i submit that such reasons are inadmissible, for there would be an immediate upward current, which, as water is such an excellent conductor of heat, would immediately equalize the temperature of all the water above degrees fahrenheit, and stratified (if i may use the expression) above the water of this temperature there would be another layer of water of equal but gradually decreasing temperature until it fell below degrees fahrenheit. the explanation i offer is this. it is well known that if water is kept perfectly still it may be cooled down considerably, or at least some degrees below degrees, without freezing; but the moment it is shaken a portion of it is converted into a spongy, porous ice, and the temperature rises to degrees. what may be the case in the rivers of the south of england i do not know, but in the rapid streams of the north this process may be seen on a very extensive scale in severe frosts. the water in the still pools (before they are frozen over) is cooled down to below degrees, and so soon as this cooled water reaches the next stream, precipitation (if i may so call it) takes place, and the spongy ice lays hold of every projecting pebble, which serves as a nucleus in the same way as threads and bits of stick serve in the crystallization of salts. after a severe frost, when followed by bright sunshine the next morning, i have seen thousands of these bits of spongy ice rising from the stones to which they had been attached to the surface of the water. i have seen after long- continued frost the course of a stream completely altered by this bottom-ice (as it is called here), and i have also seen a weir with a wall of ice on it three feet high (raised in a single night) by the same cause. now apply this to the bottom-ice in ponds (which however i must confess i never saw). the night being calm, the water gets cool below degrees, but then a breeze springing up the water becomes agitated, precipitation takes place, and the plants serving as nuclei become immediately clothed with this spongy ice, and the sun shining next morning imparts so much warmth to the plants that the ice thaws which is in contact with them, and rises to the surface. of course if the sun does not shine next morning, and the frost continues, the plants may be clothed with ice for a long time. to the foregoing the editor of the "agricultural gazette" replied as follows:-- we cannot admit the soundness of our correspondent's explanation of the formation of bottom-ice or ground _gore_. we are well acquainted with the statements of arago and other writers as to the cause of this curious phenomenon, and after a careful consideration of the subject believe that it is due to radiation and not to any other cause. bottom-ice has been observed in ponds on perfectly still nights when there was no breeze to agitate the surface of the water. the waters in the pools between the rapids of rivers can hardly ever be still enough for the water to fall below the freezing- point and yet remain fluid; the temperature of water in such situations is not below degrees. the following was my rejoinder:-- you say at the end of remarks about bottom-ice that you cannot admit the soundness of my explanation, and that you are well aware of what is said by arago and others on this curious phenomenon, and that bottom-ice has been observed in ponds when there was no breeze, and that the water in pools between the rapids of weirs can hardly ever be still enough to fall below the freezing-point, and yet remain fluid. i was not aware before seeing your remarks that either arago or any other philosopher had ever written about bottom-ice, and even now i do not know what are their opinions on the subject, and if the discussions in your paper are to be settled by authority and not by argument, i can only make my bow and withdraw; but if it meets your views to allow your correspondents to state their opinions temperately, and support them by such arguments as occur to them, i do not yet feel inclined to give up my notions about bottom-ice. will you allow me to ask whether you ever personally saw ice at the bottom of a pond when there was none on the surface? and if so, under what circumstances? i have heard of such an occurrence, but never witnessed it, and feel inclined to doubt the fact unless you will vouch for it; for it appears to me that the moment the water at the bottom falls below degrees it will begin to rise to the surface, and it is so excellent a conductor that it will instantly equalize the temperature of the mud at the bottom with that of its own temperature. i am neither chemist nor meteorologist, and therefore i am not able to say much about radiation; but my idea of it is, that its effects in water would be much greater in still pools than in rapid streams, and that, therefore, if radiation was the cause of bottom-ice, there ought to be more of it in the pools than in the rapid streams. but the contrary is the fact, for after a severe night's frost, i can frequently find the streams filled with this bottom-ice, when none can be observed in the pools. again, can the fact of the weir which had a wall of this bottom- ice three feet high in a single night, be accounted for by radiation? it appears to me to be very easily accounted for by supposing that the water in the deep above was so quietly cooled down as to retain its fluidity until the shaking it got on flowing over the weir suddenly produced congelation. i think that radiation would not go on at the crown of the weir alone. why do you think that the water in pools is never still enough to allow it to get below degrees without freezing on still clear nights? in long deep pools, where the body of the water is perhaps a hundred times as great as the current flowing into it, the motion is so extremely slow that i cannot for a moment doubt that it gets below degrees without congelation, but when it arrives at a rapid, this ice is immediately formed. the editor closed the discussion at this point by saying that the subject was not of sufficient agricultural importance to be continued further. the following is my brother richard garnett's [ ] account of his observations on bottom-frosts. (the paper was written in , and published in the "journal of the royal institution.") * * * * * on the production of ice at the bottoms of rivers. the phenomenon of the production of ice at the bottoms of rivers has been repeatedly noticed, but i am not aware that any satisfactory solution of the cause has hitherto been given. in nicholson's "dictionary of chemistry," several different hypotheses are enumerated, which i shall not stop now to examine, since it may be safely asserted that they neither accord with the established principles of chemistry, nor with the facts for which they endeavour to account. the most recent theory with which i am acquainted is that of mr. a. knight, who in a paper lately published in the "philosophical transactions," seems to consider the particles of ice as originally formed at the surface, and afterwards absorbed by the eddies of streams to the bottom. he states, in support of this idea, that he did not observe any similar phenomenon in still water. i shall advert to this hypothesis in the sequel, and at present it may suffice to remark of it and all others which i have hitherto seen, that supposing any of them to be correct, the same effects ought regularly to be produced whenever the atmosphere is at a similar temperature, or in other words, that whenever the frost is so intense as materially to affect the water of a river, we may then expect to find ice at the bottom. now this is certainly not the case, since the appearance we are treating of never occurs but under peculiar _atmospherical_ circumstances, and rivers are frequently frozen over, and remain so for a length of time without a particle of ice being visible at the bottom of their streams. i do not now profess to have developed this mystery, but merely intend to state the circumstances under which the phenomenon takes place, as well as a few particulars connected with it, which are perhaps not generally known, and which may hereafter be serviceable as data for investigating the cause. it is well known to meteorologists that a severe frost in winter does not always commence in a uniform manner. sometimes it begins with a gentle wind from the e. or n.e., and is at first comparatively mild in its operations, but afterwards gradually increases in intensity. frosts of this kind are generally more lasting than others, and during such, i have not observed that any ice is generated at the bottoms of streams; though the deep and still parts of rivers are often frozen over to a considerable extent. at other times, during the continuance of the violent south-westerly gales which are so prevalent in this country in the winter months, the wind frequently shifts on a sudden from s.w. to n.w., commonly about an hour before sunset, and blows with great impetuosity in the latter direction, attended with a severe frost, and sometimes with a heavy fall of snow. the effects of this frost, in places exposed to the wind, are extremely rapid, so as to render the ground impenetrably hard in about a couple of hours from its commencement. situations that are not so much exposed seem comparatively little affected--at least, i have repeatedly observed that a small sheltered pond in a field was nearly free from ice, while the current of a large and rapid river at no great distance was nearly choked up by it. i believe that the phenomenon under consideration seldom occurs except during such frosts as these, and the following are the principal circumstances connected with it which i am able to state from my own observation. it may here be premised that ice of this description is seldom seen adhering to anything beside rock, stone, or gravel, and that it is more abundantly produced in proportion to the greater magnitude and number of the stones composing the bed of the river, combined (as will be further noticed) with the velocity of the current. i have been informed by a friend that he has occasionally seen it attached to solid wooden piles at a considerable depth below the surface of the water, but i never saw or heard of any on earth, mud, or clay. it is not easy to ascertain the precise time at which the process begins to take place. it appears, however, almost invariably to commence during the first night of the frost, and probably within a few hours after sunset. on the ensuing morning the first thing which strikes an observer is an immense quantity of detached plates of ice floating down the stream. mr. knight naturally enough supposed these to have been formed at the surface by the influence of the freezing atmosphere, and afterwards absorbed by the current; but i think that a minute inspection would have led him to form a different conclusion-- viz., that they are first formed in the bed of the river, and afterwards rise to the surface. it is true that none are to be seen in situations where there is no sensible current, and that they abound most in rough and rapid places; but on closely examining any stream of moderate velocity, yet smooth, equable, and free from all appearance of eddy or rippling, a great number of these plates of ice will be found adhering to the rock, stone, or gravel at the bottom. if they are watched with attention, they will be observed to rapidly increase in bulk, till at last, on account of their inferior specific gravity, aided, perhaps, by the action of the current, they detach themselves from the substances to which they first adhered, and rise to the surface of the water. the form of these pieces of ice is very irregular, depending in a great measure on the size and shape of the stones or other substances to which they were originally attached. most of them seem to be of an oblong or circular figure; they are generally convex on the upper surface, and have a number of laminae and spiculae shooting from them in various directions, especially from their circumference. sometimes when those floating pieces or plates meet with any obstruction in the channel of the river, they accumulate in such quantities as to cover the surface of the water, and become frozen together in one large sheet, but this kind of ice may be always readily distinguished from that produced in the usual way by the action of the cold air on the surface, which is smooth, transparent, and of an uniform texture; on the contrary, one of these conglomerated fields or sheets is opaque, uneven, full of asperities, and the form of each separate plate composing it may be distinctly traced. in this situation, they generally assume the shape of irregular polygons, with angles somewhat rounded; a form apparently caused by the lateral pressure of the contiguous pieces. on the river wharfe, near otley, in the west riding of yorkshire, is a weir or milldam where this phenomenon is sometimes manifested in a striking manner. this structure is of hewn stone, forming a plane inclined at an angle of from degrees to degrees, fronting the north and extending from west to east, to the length of or yards. when one of the above-mentioned frosts occurs, the stone which composes the weir soon becomes incrusted with ice, which increases so rapidly in thickness as in a short time to impede the course of the stream, which falls over it in a tolerably uniform sheet, and with considerable velocity; at the same time, the wind blowing strongly from the north-west, contributes to repel the water and freeze such as adheres to the crest of the weir when its surface comes nearly in contact with the air. the consequence is that in a short time the current is entirely obstructed, and the superincumbent water forced to a higher level. but as the above-mentioned causes continue to act, the ice is also elevated by a perpetual aggregation of particles, till by a series of similar operations an icy mound or barrier is formed, so high as to force the water over the opposite bank, and thus produce an apparent inundation. but in a short time the accumulated weight of a great many thousand cubic feet of water presses so strongly against the barrier as to burst a passage through some weak part, through which the water escapes and subsides to its former level, leaving the singular appearance of a wall or rampart of ice three or four feet high, and about two feet in thickness, along the greatest part of the upper edge of the weir. the ice composing this barrier where it adheres to the stone, is of solid consistency, but the upper part consists of a multitude of thin laminae or layers resting upon each other in a confused manner, and at different degrees of inclination, their interstices being occupied by innumerable icy spiculae, diverging and crossing each other in all directions. the whole mass much resembles the white and porous ice which may be seen at the edge of a pond or small rill where the water has subsided during a frost. it may be further observed that a frost of this kind is very limited in its duration, seldom lasting more than thirty-six or forty hours. on the morning of the second day after its commencement, a visible relaxation takes place in the temperature of the atmosphere. usually before noon, the wind on a sudden shifts to the south-west, and a rapid thaw comes on, frequently attended with rain. what appears somewhat remarkable is, that during several hours after the commencement of the thaw, the production of ice at the bottom of rivers seems to go on without abatement, and upon examining a rapid stream, the stones over which it flows will be found at this period completely incrusted with the above description of icy plates. it seems evident from this that the bed of the river, which has been reduced below the freezing temperature, is not for some time affected by the change of the atmosphere. this may be in some measure illustrated by the well-known fact, that rain which falls upon a rock or stone wall, is frequently converted into ice, though the air and the ground are evidently in a state of thaw. before the following morning, the ice of which we have been speaking generally disappears, being carried away by the current or dissolved by the thaw. the last time that i remarked this phenomenon, was in a stream of the river aire, near bradford, in yorkshire, on the st of january, . this instance did not precisely accord with what i have stated to be the usual circumstances of the case, as the frost then had existed several days without any previous appearance of this kind; but there were several indications of approaching change of temperature, and the day following there was a partial thaw attended with rain, the wind having veered from north-west to south-west. this thaw, however, did not continue long, and was succeeded by a frost which surpassed all within my recollection in severity and duration. yet during the whole of the period, though the thermometer often stood below degrees fahrenheit, and the estuary of the tees several miles below stockton, where the spring-tides rise from twelve to eighteen feet, was for two months frozen over, so as to allow the passage of a loaded waggon, i could never perceive a particle of ice adhering to the rock or gravel, in the bed of the small and rapid river leven in cleveland, where i then resided. this circumstance seems decisively to prove that the phenomenon does not merely depend on an intensity of cold. i confess i am unable to frame any hypotheses respecting the above-mentioned facts which would not be liable to numerous and formidable objections. the immediate cause of the formation of the ice seems to be a rapid diminution of the temperature in the stone or gravel in the bed of the river, connected with the sudden changes in the state of the atmosphere, but it does not seem very easy to explain the precise nature of this connection. we may easily conceive that by a sudden change from a state of thaw to an intense frost attended by a strong wind, the whole body of water in a river may become quickly cooled, and consequently diminish the temperature of the stone or gravel over which it flows; but to suppose that water which is not itself at freezing- point is capable of reducing the substances in contact with it by means of a continual application of successive particles so far _beneath_ that temperature as in process of time to convert the contiguous water to ice, seems not to accord very well with the usually received theory of the equilibrium of caloric. however, the fact that the quantity of ice thus produced is always greater in proportion to the superior velocity of the stream, little or none being found where there is no sensible current, seems in some degree to countenance the above idea. i cannot learn that any experiments have ever been instituted on this subject, though it seems that they might easily be made by a person conveniently situated and possessed of the necessary instruments. a careful examination by properly contrived thermometers of the relative temperatures of the air, the water, and the bed of the river and of the changes undergone by them during the above process, would probably go a great way towards solving the problem. i know no one better qualified for this undertaking than mr. knight, if he should at any future time have leisure and opportunity to direct towards it the same acuteness of observation and accuracy of investigation which have enabled him to make such important discoveries in the economy of the vegetable kingdom, and if the explanation of this phenomenon should ever lead to results of any importance to the cause of science, i shall feel sufficiently satisfied if it be deemed that i have been of any service in pointing out the way. richard garnett. blackburn, _may th_, . * * * * * gossamer. clitheroe, _october th_, . to the editor of the "field." "a young inquirer" asks what is the cause of that appearance so often met with in the autumn, resembling spider-webs. he says, if it be the production of that insect, how do you account for their hanging apparently unsuspended in the air, as it is seen fifty or sixty feet high, without a tree or any other object near to which it could be attached? i suppose you have not time to give to such questions minutely, as your reply would lead one to infer that gossamer proceeded from spiders in general; and if it be meant that all true spiders spin, it is no doubt correct; but the gossamer which "a young inquirer" asks about is the production of a small black spider about the size of a flea, which was a true aeronaut long before montgolfier or lunardi, and if "a young inquirer" has access to either the "linnean transactions" or the first series of loudon's "magazine of natural history," he will find particulars in the latter, showing that a violent controversy raged through the three first volumes between mr. blackwall and dr. murray on the question whether the ascent of this spider (_a. aeronautica_) was electric, or whether it merely travelled in the direction of the wind. but if "a young inquirer" would deserve his name, let him begin with these spiders and observe for himself; he will find the inquiry highly interesting. he has no doubt frequently seen a small black spider creeping on his hat or clothes (if he lives in the country this must have occurred to him many times); this is the aeronautic spider. let him take this upon his hand, and if he be in the house let him carry it to the open door or window, and allow it to creep up to the tip of his finger, which he must then hold in a horizontal position. when the spider finds it can proceed no further by creeping, it generally drops a few inches, where it remains suspended for a short time, apparently quite still, but if very closely observed another thread (gossamer) may be seen proceeding from its vent, and when this has reached the length which the spider's instinct tells it is sufficient for the purpose, it cuts off the connection till then existing between it and the thread by which it has hitherto been suspended from the finger, and floats away into space. very often it rises almost vertically, sometimes its course is nearly horizontal, and sometimes it is oblique. i cannot say, as mr. murray does, that i have seen the spider go _against_ the wind, neither can i confirm mr. blackwall's assertions that he always goes right before the wind, for i have seen him go apparently across the current, so far as i could judge of the direction of the wind at the time. if "a young inquirer" makes the experiment i have suggested, let him not be discouraged if the first he tries does not go off at all, as i have sometimes found this to be the case, which i accounted for by supposing that possibly the supply of materials might be exhausted at the time. i do not remember that i ever saw one of these aeronautic spiders preying upon any insect, yet it must be for some such purpose that they ascend to great altitudes, sometimes in countless numbers, and the way they come down again is quite as curious as the manner in which they ascend. many years since, as i was walking over the hills in the neighbourhood of blackburn, on a bright, still morning in september, thousands of small locks of what looked like cotton wool were slowly descending to the ground from various altitudes-- some as high as i could see--and tens of thousands of similar locks were lying on the ground on both sides of the path by which i was travelling; and on examination i found that all these locks were gossamer, some with the spider still with them, but generally deserted. the spiders when they wanted to come down, finding there was no descending current of air, or perhaps, as mr. murray says, no electricity, determined to descend in _parachutes_; they therefore had drawn up their cables hand over hand (as they may often be seen to do when they wish to ascend their own lines) until they accumulated a mass heavy enough to fall by its own weight, and carry them along with it. i have seen gossamer in this form at other times before and since, but in the likeness of a snow-shower i never saw it except on that occasion, and, if i recollect aright, the same enormous shower of gossamer was observed to extend as far as liverpool. what induced these millions of spiders to go up at the same time, of course i do not know, and can only suppose that they went up to feed; but, as i have said previously, i never saw one of this species preying upon anything. the idea that they go aloft to kill the _furia infernalis_ is too fanciful to deserve credit. who knows whether the _furia infernalis_ is anything else than a murderous mrs. harris--at all events, who has seen one, and what was it like? i suppose they are true sportsmen, and disdaining to take their fish in nets, they, like thorough brothers of the angle, fish only _with fine gut_. gilbert white noticed one of these showers of gossamer, and as his account is very interesting, i quote it. he says that on the st of september, , intent upon field diversions, he rose before daybreak, but on going out he found the whole face of the country covered with a thick coat of cobweb drenched with dew, as if two or three setting-nets had been drawn one over the other. when his dogs attempted to hunt, their eyes were blinded and hoodwinked, so much that they were obliged to lie down and scrape themselves. this appearance was followed by a most lovely day. about a.m. a shower of these webs (formed not of single threads, but of perfect flakes, some near an inch broad and five or six long) was observed falling from very elevated regions, which continued without interruption during the whole of the day, and they fell with a velocity which showed they were considerably heavier than the atmosphere. when the most elevated station in the country where this was observed was ascended, the webs were still to be seen descending from above, and twinkling like stars in the sun, so as to draw the attention of the most incurious. the flakes of the web on this occasion hung so thick upon the hedges and trees, that basketsful might have been collected. no one doubts (he observes) but that these webs are the production of small spiders. these aerial spiders are of two sizes, although of the same colour and general appearance; they are probably male and female. at all events they do not vary in size more than other species of spiders when the sexes differ. has it been observed by naturalists that spiders eat their own webs? a large one that i used to feed when i was a lad with wasps, humble bees, and flesh-flies, used to do so occasionally. these insects were so strong that they often ruined the web in their efforts to escape, and the spider, quite aware of the rough customers it had to deal with, would often coil a cable of many folds round them before venturing to seize them with its mandibles. it would, if the web was ruined by the struggles of the insect, deliberately gorge it, which i accounted for by supposing that unless it did so it would not be able to secrete a sufficient supply of material to enable it to spin another. the leaping spiders are another curious species, which construct no webs, although they spin threads. this spider may be seen frequently on the walls of houses, and if carefully watched it will be seen to range up and down in quest of small gnats and other insects; when it observes one it creeps to within about two inches of it, and backing slightly, it appears to hesitate for a moment, and then springs upon the fly, but always before doing so it fixes a thread to the spot from whence it springs, so that if the fly happens to be too strong for it, and is able to detach itself from the wall, they both remain suspended from the thread which has been previously fixed by the spider. this i have seen more than once. they sometimes venture on larger game than the small gnats. one i was watching one day came upon one of the large _ephemera_ (the browndrake), an insect ten times as large as the spider, but after many points (for the setting of the spider before it springs is very similar in manner to that of a thoroughbred pointer [ ]), in which it kept varying its position, apparently to gain some advantage, it gave up the attempt, discretion proving the better part of valour. when botanizing on erris begh (in connemara), this summer, i passed through many spider-lines so strong as to offer a very sensible resistance before breaking. i don't remember to have ever before met with them so strong and tenacious, and the makers of optical instruments might there have found abundance of threads which i am told are valuable as _cross-wires_ for transit- instruments and theodolites. i did not meet with any of the spiders that had thrown out these lines, but judging of them by their works i suppose they must have been large ones. one of your correspondents was inquiring a few weeks since how it was that a spider could throw out a long line between two trees or buildings at a considerable distance from each other. this seems to me to be very easily explained, if we reason from the analogy of the flying spider. the spider seems to throw out a line, trusting it will catch somewhere or other, and it is able to ascertain it has done so by pulling at it, and when it finds that it is firmly fixed it starts off to travel upon it, as i have occasionally noticed. everyone has noticed how carefully the spider carries her cocoon of eggs attached to the vent, and how disconsolate she appears to be when deprived of them; but i don't think it is so generally known that some of the spiders carry their young on their backs for some time after they are hatched. i remember seeing an instance of this one day when on the moors, grouse-shooting. i saw what seemed to be a very curious insect travelling on the ling (heather), and on stooping down to examine it i found it was a large spider, upon the back of which (in fact, all over it) were clustered some dozens of young ones, about the size of pins' heads; she also seemed to guard them with great care, and seemed much afraid of losing them. finis. notes. [ ] there is a fish somewhat resembling the brambling in the dunsop, a tributary of the hodder, where it is known by the name of the bull penk. [ ] my opinion that neither trout nor salmon spawn every year is i think strongly corroborated by the fact, that previous to the act of the london fish market was supplied with salmon of the largest size, and of the best quality, in october, november, and december. when these fish were examined, it was found that the ovaries were but small, and the individual ova were not larger than mustard seed. these fish could not have spawned that season, nor would they have done so if left alive, if the growth of the ova in the ovaries is uniform--i mean if the growth of the ova is as great in one month as another--because in may and june the ova in a female salmon is four times as large as these were in november. again, when the gas tank at settle was emptied into the ribble, in september, , all the fish so far as was known were killed between that place and mitton, salmon as well as par and trout. supposing that salmon spawn every year, and that the smolts come up the river, as grilse in the summer of the same year in which they have gone to the sea in the spring, there ought to have been a great scarcity of both grilse and salmon in the ribble in the year , but so far was this from being the case, that both grilse and salmon were more abundant that season than they had been for some years previously, but there was a scarcity of both in . again, when the smolts were turned out of the breeding ponds at dohulla, galway, the experiment was looked upon as a failure because no grilse returned the same season, not one having showed itself, but many came the summer after, proving pretty conclusively that in some rivers, at all events, the smolt requires a year's residence in the sea before it returns as grilse. [ ] in the evidence of mr. george hogarth, it is stated that he saw upwards of ninety kelt fish in the mill lead at grandholme, on the don, may th. [ ] salmon are said to produce , or , eggs each, and i have no doubt that a large salmon will produce more, as one i examined a year or two ago, of about ten pounds weight, had a roe which weighed two pounds nine ounces, and the skin in which the eggs were enveloped (they were not in the loose state in which they are found just before exclusion) weighed three ounces, after all the eggs were washed from it; so that there were thirty-eight ounces of eggs. i weighed fifty of them, and found they weighed sixty-five grains. at that rate, thirty-eight ounces would give , , and lbs. , , ; but as they would be much lighter when dried and potted than when taken from the belly of the fish, we may safely estimate that the lbs. would contain , , , a prodigious number to pass through the hands of one tackle maker in a season. [ ] from "loudon's magazine of natural history." [ ] i have frequently found, when catching trout for this purpose, that the milt and roe were not ready for exclusion; when this was the case, i put them into a wire cage, which i sunk in the water, examining the fish every week, until i found they were in a fit state for the experiment. [ ] i fancy that if the ova come in contact with the air on exclusion, they are not so readily impregnated as if they are always covered with the water, and therefore i have laid some stress on the desirableness of keeping the air excluded from the ova as much as possible. [ ] there is, however, one fact which must lead a casual observer to suppose that the ova are impregnated twelve months before exclusion. it is this: the male par (salmon fry) are at this season, october, full of milt, almost ready for exclusion; whilst, in the female, the ova are so small that they require a microscope to see them individually, and the whole ovary is merely like a thread, leading to the conclusion that either the milt of the male is not required for the female par, or the ova are impregnated twelve months before exclusion. the fact is, that the milt of the par is used to impregnate the ova of the salmon on the spawning beds. [ ] when i commenced this paper i had no doubt that hybrids had been produced between the sprod (sea trout) and the common trout; since then, having seen the fry said to be so produced, and on making some further inquiries, i find there is some doubt whether the female was a _sprod_, or merely a white trout, and therefore i cannot confidently assert (as some time ago i believed i could) that hybrid fish had already been produced. as some of my readers may not know what a _sprod_ is, it may be necessary to explain. in the ribble we have a fish ascending from the sea in july and august, weighing from six to ten ounces, which, in appearance at least, is a miniature salmon. i believe the same fish is called a whitling in scotland. besides this, we have a similar but larger fish, which begins to come a little earlier, and which weighs from one to three pounds; this, in the ribble, is called a mort (in scotland a sea trout). both these fish (if they are two species) afford splendid sport to the angler, who must never consider them beaten until he has them in the landing-net. they are also delicate eating. _note on cross-breeding of fish._ since the above paper was published, the breeding of hybrids has been successfully accomplished. i have had fish sent from two different gentlemen living on the banks of the reservoirs belonging to the liverpool waterworks; these were beautiful fish (three in number), more like the sea trout than the salmon, and the largest of them weighing two pounds. i had put them into the brooks running into the reservoirs three years before. i also learn from a friend that a beautiful specimen of the _ombre chevalier_ (french char) was taken out of the rivington reservoir. about a thousand had been put there by me two years before. [ ] persons conversant with the habits of birds will readily comprehend me; for the sake of those who do not, i will just observe that the flight of all the wagtails is very peculiar, being a succession of great leaps in the air (if i may be allowed the expression), which form a series of curves, the bird rising considerably at the commencement of each effort, and sinking again at the close. [ ] the intrepid and unfortunate traveller joseph ritchie, who accompanied captain lyon's expedition to fezzan, and died there in . mr. ritchie was a native of otley, and an intimate friend of mr. garnett and his brothers. the beautiful poem from which the quotation is taken is printed in alaric watts's "poetical album." [ ] .--i regret that in , and for some years previous, we have not seen one. i fear they are extinct. the smaller kind are still numerous. [ ] the male par is an exception to this rule. [ ] it appears to be a beautiful provision of nature that mixture with water should increase the sphere of its action. spallanzani found by actual experiment that three grains of the seed of a male frog might be diluted with a pint of water without destroying its stimulating power. see "dissertations," vol. ii. p. , chap. , ed. "mag. nat. history." [ ] mr. thomson, of primrose. [ ] assistant keeper of printed books in the british museum. author of "philological essays," &c. [ ] the toad, when going to take a bee, points for a second or two as beautifully as the best-trained pointer before it strikes with its tongue. generously made available by google books.] [frontispiece: a nomad of the mongolian plains] across mongolian plains a naturalist's account of china's "great northwest" by roy chapman andrews associate curator of mammals in the american museum of natural history, and leader of the museum's second asiatic expedition. author of "whale hunting with gun and camera," "camps and trails in china," etc. photographs by yvette borup andrews photographer of the second asiatic expedition d. appleton and company new york: london: mcmxxi copyright, , by d. appleton and company printed in the united states of america this book is affectionately dedicated to dr. j. a. allen who, through his profound knowledge, unselfish devotion to science, and never-failing sympathy with younger students of zoÖlogy has been an example and an inspiration during the years i have worked at his side. preface during - the first asiatic expedition of the american museum of natural history carried on zoölogical explorations along the frontiers of tibet and burma in the little known province of yün-nan, china. the narrative of that expedition has already been given to the public in the first book of this series "camps and trails in china." it was always the intention of the american museum to continue the asiatic investigations, and my presence in china on other work in gave the desired opportunity at the conclusion of the war. having made extensive collections along the southeastern edge of the great central asian plateau, it was especially desirable to obtain a representation of the fauna from the northeastern part in preparation for the great expedition which, i am glad to say, is now in course of preparation, and which will conduct work in various other branches of science. consequently, my wife and i spent one of the most delightful years of our lives in mongolia and north china on the second asiatic expedition of the american museum of natural history. the present book is the narrative of our work and travels. as in "camps and trails" i have written it entirely from the sportsman's standpoint and have purposely avoided scientific details which would prove uninteresting or wearisome to the general public. full reports of the expedition's results will appear in due course in the museum's scientific publications and to them i would refer those readers who wish further details of the mongolian fauna. asia is the most fascinating hunting ground in all the world, not because of the _quantity_ of game to be found there but because of its _quality_, and scientific importance. central asia was the point of origin and distribution for many mammals which inhabit other parts of the earth to-day and the habits and relationships of some of its big game animals are almost unknown. because of unceasing native persecution, lack of protection, the continued destruction of forests and the ever increasing facilities for transportation to the remote districts of the interior, many of china's most interesting and important forms of wild life are doomed to extermination in the very near future. fortunately world museums are awakening to the necessity of obtaining representative series of asiatic mammals before it is too late, and to the broad vision of the president and board of trustees of the american museum of natural history my wife and i owe the exceptional opportunities which have been given us to carry on zoölogical explorations in asia. we are especially grateful to president henry fairfield osborn, who is ready, always, to support enthusiastically any plans which tend to increase knowledge of china or to strengthen cordial relations between the united states and the chinese republic. director f. a. lucas and assistant secretary george h. sherwood have never failed in their attention to the needs of our expeditions when in the field and to them i extend our best thanks. mr. and mrs. charles l. bernheimer, who have contributed to every expedition in which i have taken part, generously rendered financial aid for the mongolian work. my wife, who is ever my best assistant in the field, was responsible for all the photographic work of the expedition and i have drawn much upon her daily "journals" in the preparation of this book. i wish to acknowledge the kindness of the editors of _harper's magazine_, _natural history_, _asia magazine_ and the _trans-pacific magazine_ in whose publications parts of this book have already appeared. we are indebted to a host of friends who gave assistance to the expedition and to us personally in the field: the wai chiao pu (ministry of foreign affairs) freely granted permits for the expedition to travel throughout china and extended other courtesies for which i wish to express appreciation on behalf of the president and board of trustees of the american museum of natural history. in peking, his excellency paul s. reinsch, formerly american minister to china, dr. c. d. tenney, mr. willys peck, mr. ernest b. price and other members of the legation staff obtained import permits and attended to many details connected with the chinese government. mr. a. m. guptil acted as our peking representative while we were in the field and assumed much annoying detail in forwarding and receiving shipments of supplies and equipment. other gentlemen in peking who rendered us courtesies in various ways are commanders i. v. gillis and c. t. hutchins, dr. george d. wilder, dr. j. g. anderson and messrs. h. c. faxon, e. g. smith, c. r. bennett, m. e. weatherall and j. kenrick. in kalgan, mr. charles l. coltman arranged for the transportation of the expedition to mongolia and not only gratuitously acted as our agent but was always ready to devote his own time and the use of his motor cars to further the work of the party. in urga, mr. f. a. larsen of anderson, meyer & company, was of invaluable assistance in obtaining horses, carts and other equipment for the expedition as well as in giving us the benefit of his long and unique experience in mongolia. mr. e. v. olufsen of anderson, meyer & company, put himself, his house, and his servants at our disposal whenever we were in urga and aided us in innumerable ways. mr. and mrs. oscar mamen often entertained us in their home. mr. and mrs. e. l. maccallie, who accompanied us on one trip across mongolia and later resided temporarily in urga, brought equipment for us across mongolia and entertained us while we were preparing to return to peking. monsieur a. orlow, russian diplomatic agent in urga, obtained permits from the mongolian government for our work in the urga region and gave us much valuable advice. in south china, reverend h. castle of tunglu, and reverend lacy moffet planned a delightful hunting trip for us in che-kiang province. in shanghai the hon. e. s. cunningham, american consul-general, materially aided the expedition in the shipment of specimens. to mr. g. m. jackson, general passenger agent of the canadian pacific ocean services, thanks are due for arranging for rapid transportation to america of our valuable collections. roy chapman andrews american museum of natural history, new york city, u. s. a. contents preface early conquests of the mongols--why their power was lost--independence of outer mongolia--china's opportunity to obtain her former power in mongolia--general hsu shu-tseng--memorial to president of china--cancellation of outer mongolia's autonomy chapter i entering the land of mystery arrival in kalgan--the hutukhtu's motor car--start for the great plateau--camel caravans--the pass--a motor car on the mongolian plains--start from hei-ma-hou--chinese cultivation--the mongol not a farmer--the grass-lands of inner mongolia--the first mongol village--construction of a _yurt_--bird life--the telegraph line chapter ii speed marvels of the gobi desert wells in the desert--panj-kiang--a lama monastery--a great herd of antelope--a wild chase--long range shooting--amazing speed--an exhibition of high-class running--difficulties in traveling--description of the northern mongols--love of sport--ude--bustards--great monastery at turin--the rolling plains of outer mongolia--urga during the world war chapter iii a chapter of accidents return trip--the "agony box"--the first accident--my czech and cossack passengers--the "agony box" breaks a wheel--a dry camp--more motor trouble--meeting with langdon warner--our game of hide-and-seek in the orient--an accident near panj-kiang--we use mutton fat for oil--arrival at hei-ma-hou--a wet ride to kalgan--trouble at the gate chapter iv new travels on an old trail winter in peking--we leave for mongolia--inner mongolia in spring--race with a camel--geese and cranes--gophers--an electric light in the desert--chinese motor companies--an antelope buck--a great herd--brilliant atmosphere of mongolia--notes on antelope speed chapter v antelope movie stars moving pictures under difficulties--a lost opportunity--a zoölogical garden in the desert--killing a wolf--speed of a wolf--antelope steak and _parfum de chameau_--a caravan--a wild wolf-hunt--sulphuric acid--the turin plains chapter vi the sacred city of the living buddha a city of contrasts--the chinese quarter like frontier america--a hamlet of modern russia--an indescribable mixture of mongolia, russia and china in west urga--description of a mongol woman--urga like a pageant on the stage of a theater--the sacred mountain--the palace of the "living god"--love for western inventions--a strange scene at the hutukhtu's palace--a bed for the living buddha--lamaism--the lama city--ceremony in the temple--prayer wheels--burial customs--corpses eaten by dogs--the dogs of mongolia--cleanliness--food--morality--"h. c. l." in urga--a horrible prison--mr. f. a. larsen chapter vii the long trail to sain noin khan beginning work--carts--ponies--our interpreter--mongol tent--native clothes best for work--supplies--how to keep "fit" in the field--accidents--sain noin khan--the first day--a night in a _yurt_--cranes--we trade horses--horse stealing--no mammals--birds--breaking a cart horse--mongol ponies chapter viii the lure of the plains trapping marmots--skins valuable as furs--native methods of hunting--a marmot dance--habits--the first hunting-camp--our mongol neighbors--after antelope on horseback--the first buck--a pole-cat--the second day's hunt--the vastness of the plains--development of a "land sense"--another antelope chapter ix hunting on the turin plains mongol hospitality--camping on the turin plains--an enormous herd of antelope--a wonderful ride--three gazelle--a dry camp--my pony, kublai khan--plains life about a well--antelope babies--a wonderful provision of nature--habits--species in mongolia--the "goitre"--speed--work in camp--small mammals chapter x an adventure in the lama city an unexpected meeting with a river--our new camp in urga--"god's brother's house"--photographing in the lama city--a critical moment--help from mr. olufsen--the motion picture camera an instrument of magic--floods in urga--duke loobtseng yangsen--the duchess--vegetables in urga chapter xi mongols at home the forests of mongolia--a bad day's work--the terelche river--tserin dorchy's family--a wild-wood romance--evening in the valley--doctoring the natives--a clever lama--a popular magazine--return of tserin dorchy--independence--his hunt on the sacred mountain--punishment--hunting with the mongols--_tsamba_ and "buttered tea"--a splendid roebuck--the fortune of a naturalist--eating the deer's viscera--the field meet of the terelche valley--horse races--wrestling chapter xii nomads of the forest an ideal camp--the first wapiti--a roebuck--currants and berries--catching fish--enormous trout--a rainy day in camp--a wapiti seen from camp--mongolian weather--flowers--beautiful country--a musk deer--habits and commercial value--a wild boar--success and failure in hunting--we kill two wapiti--return to urga--mr. and mrs. maccallie--packing the collections--across the plains to peking chapter xiii the passing of mongolian mystery importance of far east--desert, plain, and water in mongolia--the gobi desert--agriculture--pastoral products--treatment of wool and camel hair--marmots as a valuable asset--urga a growing fur market--chinese merchants--labor--gold mines--transportation--motor trucks--passenger motor service--forests--aeroplanes--wireless telegraph chapter xiv the great ram of the shansi mountains brigands, chinese soldiers and "battles"--the mongolian sheep--harry caldwell--difference between north and south china--the "dust age" in china--inns--brigand scouts--the tai hai lake--splendid shooting--the sheep mountains--an awe-inspiring gorge--an introduction to the _argali_--caldwell's big ram--a herd of sheep--my first ram--a second sheep--the end of a perfect day chapter xv mongolian "argali" a long climb--roebuck--an unsuspecting ram--my mongol hunter--donkeys instead of sheep--two fine rams--the big one lost--a lecture on hunting--a night walk in the cañon--commander hutchins and major barker--tom and i get a ram--the end of the sheep hunt chapter xvi the horse-deer of shansi wu tai hai--the "american legation"--interior of a north shansi house--north china villages--the people--"horse-deer"--the names "wapiti" and "elk"--a great gorge--a rock temple--the hunting grounds furnish a surprise--a huge bull wapiti chapter xvii wapiti, roebuck and goral our camp in a new village--game at our door--concentration of animal life--chinese roebuck--a splendid hunt--goral--difficult climbing--"hide and seek" with a goral--the second wapiti--a happy ending to a cold day chapter xviii wild pigs--animal and human shansi province famous for wild boar--flesh delicious--when to hunt--where to go--inns and coal gas--kao-chia-chuang--a long shot--our camp at tziloa--native hunters--a young pig--a hard chase--pheasants--another pig--smith runs down a big sow--chinese steal our game--a wounded boar chapter xix the hunting park of the eastern tombs a visit to duke tsai tse--a "personality"--the _tung ling_--the road to the tombs--a country inn--the front view of the _tung ling_--the tombs of the empress dowager and ch'ien lung--the "hinterland"--an area of desolation--our camp in the forest--reeves's pheasant--the most beautiful chinese deer--"blood horns" as medicine--goral--animals and birds of the _tung ling_--a new method of catching trout--a forest fire--native stupidity--wanton destruction--china's great opportunity index illustrations a nomad of the mongolian plains (frontispiece) roy chapman andrews on "kublai khan" yvette borup andrews, photographer of the expedition at the end of the long trail from outer mongolia women of southern mongolia the middle ages and the twentieth century a mongolian antelope killed from our motor car watering camels at a well in the gobi desert the water carrier for a caravan a thirty-five pound bustard young mongolia mongol horsemen on the streets of urga the prison at urga a criminal in a coffin with hands manacled the great temple at urga a prayer wheel and a mongol lama lamas calling the gods at a temple in urga mongol praying at a shrine in urga mongol women beside a _yurt_ the headdress of a mongol married woman the framework of a _yurt_ mongol women and a lama the traffic policeman on urga's "broadway" a mongol lama the grasslands of outer mongolia mongol herdsmen carrying lassos a lone camp on the desert tibetan yaks our caravan crossing the terelche river our base camp at the edge of the forest the mongol village of the terelche valley wrestlers at terelche valley field meet women spectators at the field meet cave dwellings in north shansi province an asiatic wapiti harry r. caldwell and a mongolian bighorn where the bighorn sheep are found a mongolian roebuck the head of the record ram map of mongolia and china, showing route of second asiatic expedition in broken lines introduction the romantic story of the mongols and their achievements has been written so completely that it is unnecessary to repeat it here even though it is as fascinating as a tale from the _arabian nights_. the present status of the country, however, is but little known to the western world. in a few words i will endeavor to sketch the recent political developments, some of which occurred while we were in mongolia. in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the great genghiz khan and his illustrious successor kublai khan "almost in a night" erected the greatest empire the world has ever seen. not only did they conquer all of asia, but they advanced in europe as far as the dnieper leaving behind a trail of blood and slaughter. all europe rose against them, but what could not be accomplished by force of arms was wrought in the mongols themselves by an excess of luxury. in their victorious advance great stores of treasure fell into their hands and they gave themselves to a life of ease and indulgence. by nature the mongols were hard riding, hard living warriors, accustomed to privation and fatigue. the poison of luxury ate into the very fibers of their being and gradually they lost the characteristics which had made them great. the ruin of the race was completed by the introduction of lamaism, a religion which carries only moral destruction where it enters, and eventually the mongols passed under the rule of the once conquered chinese and then under the manchus. until the overthrow of the manchu regime in china in , and the establishment of the present republic, there were no particularly significant events in mongolian history. but at that time the russians, wishing to create a buffer state between themselves and china as well as to obtain special commercial privileges in mongolia, aided the mongols in rebellion, furnished them with arms and ammunition and with officers to train their men. a somewhat tentative proclamation of independence for outer mongolia was issued in december, , by the hutukhtu and nobles of urga, and the chinese were driven out of the country with little difficulty. beset with internal troubles, the chinese paid but scant attention to mongolian affairs until news was received in peking in october, , that m. korostovetz, formerly russian minister to china, had arrived secretly in urga and on november , , had recognized the independence of outer mongolia on behalf of his government. it then became incumbent upon china to take official note of the situation, especially as foreign complications could not be faced in view of her domestic embarrassments. consequently on november , , there was concluded a russo-chinese agreement wherein russia recognized that outer mongolia was under the suzerainty of china, and china, on her part, admitted the autonomy of outer mongolia. the essential element in the situation was the fact that russia stood behind the mongols with money and arms and china's hand was forced at a time when she was powerless to resist. quite naturally, mongolia's political status has been a sore point with china and it is hardly surprising that she should have awaited an opportunity to reclaim what she considered to be her own. this opportunity arrived with the collapse of russia and the spread of bolshevism, for the mongols were dependent upon russia for material assistance in anything resembling military operations, although, as early as , they had begun to realize that they were cultivating a dangerous friend. the mongolian army, at the most, numbered only two or three thousand poorly equipped and undisciplined troops who would require money and organization before they could become an effective fighting force. the chinese were not slow to appreciate these conditions and general hsu shu-tseng, popularly known as "little hsu," by a clever bit of oriental intrigue sent four thousand soldiers to urga with the excuse of protecting the mongols from a so-called threatened invasion of buriats and brigands. a little later he himself arrived in a motor car and, when the stage was set, brought such pressure to bear upon the hutukhtu and his cabinet that they had no recourse except to cancel mongolia's autonomy and ask to return to their former place under chinese rule. this they did on november , , in a formal memorial addressed to the president of the chinese republic, which is quoted below as it appeared in the peking press, under date of november , : "we, the ministers and vice-ministers [here follow their names and ranks] of all the departments of the autonomous government of outer mongolia, and all the princes, dukes, hutukhtus and lamas and others resident at urga, hereby jointly and severally submit the following petition for the esteemed perusal of his excellency the president of the republic of china:-- "outer mongolia has been a dependency of china since the reign of the emperor kang hsi, remaining loyal for over two hundred years, the entire population, from princes and dukes down to the common people having enjoyed the blessings of peace. during the reign of the emperor tao kwang changes in the established institutions, which were opposed to mongolian sentiment, caused dissatisfaction which was aggravated by the corruption of the administration during the last days of the manchu dynasty. taking advantage of this mongolian dissatisfaction, foreigners instigated and assisted the independence movement. upon the kiakhta convention, being signed the autonomy of outer mongolia was held a _fait accompli_, china retaining an empty suzerainty while the officials and people of outer mongolia lost many of their old rights and privileges. since the establishment of this autonomous government no progress whatsoever has been chronicled, the affairs of government being indeed plunged in a state of chaos, causing deep pessimism. "lately, chaotic conditions have also reigned supreme in russia, reports of revolutionary elements threatening our frontiers having been frequently received. moreover, since the russians have no united government it is only natural that they are powerless to carry out the provisions of the treaties, and now that they have no control over their subjects the buriat tribes have constantly conspired and cooperated with bandits, and repeatedly sent delegates to urga urging our government to join with them and form a pan-mongolian nation. that this propaganda work, so varied and so persistent, which aims at usurping chinese suzerainty and undermining the autonomy of outer mongolia, does more harm than good to outer mongolia, our government is well aware. the buriats, with their bandit allies, now considering us unwilling to espouse their cause, contemplate dispatching troops to violate our frontiers and to compel our submission. furthermore, forces from the so-called white army have forcibly occupied tanu ulianghai, an old possession of outer mongolia, and attacked both chinese and mongolian troops, this being followed by the entry of the red army, thus making the situation impossible. "now that both our internal and external affairs have reached such a climax, we, the members of the government, in view of the present situation, have assembled all the princes, dukes, lamas and others and have held frequent meetings to discuss the question of our future welfare. those present have been unanimously of the opinion that the old bonds of friendship having been restored our autonomy should be canceled, since chinese and mongolians are filled with a common purpose and ideal. "the result of our decision has been duly reported to his holiness the bogdo jetsun dampa hutukhtu khan and has received his approval and support. such being the position we now unanimously petition his excellency the president that the old order of affairs be restored." (signed) "premier and acting minister of the interior, prince lama batma torgoo. "vice-minister, prince of tarkhan puntzuk cheilin. "vice-minister, great lama of beliktu, prince puntzuk torgoo. "minister of foreign affairs, duke cheilin torgoo. "vice-minister, dalai prince cheitantnun lomour. "vice-minister, prince of ochi, kaotzuktanba. "minister of war, prince of eltoni jamuyen torgoo. "vice-minister, prince of eltoni selunto chihloh. "vice-minister, prince of elteni punktzu laptan. "vice-minister, prince of itkemur chitu wachir. "minister of finance, prince lama loobitsan paletan. "vice-minister, prince torgee cheilin. "vice-minister, prince of suchuketu tehmutgu kejwan. "minister of justice, dalai of chiechenkhan wananin. "vice-minister, prince of daichinchihlun chackehbatehorhu. "vice-minister, prince of cholikota lama dashtunyupu." naturally, the president of china graciously consented to allow the prodigal to return and "killed the fatted calf" by conferring high honors and titles upon the hutukhtu. moreover, he appointed the living buddha's good friend (?) "little hsu" to convey them to him. thus, mongolia again has become a part of china. who knows what the future has in store for her? but events are moving rapidly and by the time this book is published the curtain may have risen upon a new act of mongolia's tragedy. chapter i entering the land of mystery careering madly in a motor car behind a herd of antelope fleeing like wind-blown ribbons across a desert which isn't a desert, past caravans of camels led by picturesque mongol horsemen, the twentieth century suddenly and violently interjected into the middle ages, should be contrast and paradox enough for even the most _blasé_ sportsman. i am a naturalist who has wandered into many of the far corners of the earth. i have seen strange men and things, but what i saw on the great mongolian plateau fairly took my breath away and left me dazed, utterly unable to adjust my mental perspective. when leaving peking in late august, , to cross the gobi desert in mongolia, i knew that i was to go by motor car. but somehow the very names "mongolia" and "gobi desert" brought such a vivid picture of the days of kublai khan and ancient cathay that my clouded mind refused to admit the thought of automobiles. it was enough that i was going to the land of which i had so often dreamed. not even in the railway, when i was being borne toward kalgan and saw lines of laden camels plodding silently along the paved road beside the train, or when we puffed slowly through the famous nankou pass and i saw that wonder of the world, the great wall, winding like a gray serpent over ridge after ridge of the mountains, was my dream-picture of mysterious mongolia dispelled. i had seen all this before, and had accepted it as one accepts the motor cars beside the splendid walls of old peking. it was too near, and the railroad had made it commonplace. but mongolia! that was different. one could not go there in a roaring train. i had beside me the same old rifle and sleeping bag that had been carried across the mountains of far yün-nan, along the tibetan frontier, and through the fever-stricken jungles of burma. somehow, these companions of forest and mountain trails, and my reception at kalgan by two khaki-clad young men, each with a belt of cartridges and a six-shooter strapped about his waist, did much to keep me in a blissful state of unpreparedness for the destruction of my dream-castles. that night as we sat in mr. charles coltman's home, with his charming wife, a real woman of the great outdoors, presiding at the dinner table, the talk was all of shooting, horses, and the vast, lone spaces of the gobi desert--but not much of motor cars. perhaps they vaguely realized that i was still asleep in an unreal world and knew that the awakening would come all too soon. yet i was dining that night with one of the men who had destroyed the mystery of mongolia. in , coltman and his former partner, oscar mamen, had driven across the plains to urga, the historic capital of mongolia. but most unromantic and incongruous, most disheartening to a dreamer of oriental dreams, was what i learned a few days later when the awakening had really come--that among the first cars ever to cross the desert was one purchased by the hutukhtu, the living buddha, the god of all the mongols. when the hutukhtu learned of the first motor car in mongolia he forthwith demanded one for himself. so his automobile was brought safely through the rocky pass at kalgan and across the seven hundred miles of plain to urga by way of the same old caravan trail over which, centuries ago, genghis khan had sent his wild mongol raiders to conquer china. we arose long before daylight on the morning of august . in the courtyard lanterns flashed and disappeared like giant fireflies as the _mafus_ (muleteers) packed the baggage and saddled the ponies. the cars had been left on the plateau at a mission station called hei-ma-hou to avoid the rough going in the pass, and we were to ride there on horseback while the food and bed-rolls went by cart. there were five of us in the party--mr. and mrs. coltman, mr. and mrs. lucander, and myself. i was on a reconnoissance and mr. coltman's object was to visit his trading station in urga, where the lucanders were to remain for the winter. the sun was an hour high when we clattered over the slippery paving stones to the north gate of the city. kalgan is built hard against the great wall of china--the first line of defense, the outermost rampart in the colossal structure which for so many centuries protected china from tartar invasion. beyond it there was nothing between us and the great plateau. after our passports had been examined we rode through the gloomy chasm-like gate, turned sharply to the left, and found ourselves standing on the edge of a half-dry river bed. below us stretched line after line of double-humped camels, some crowded in yellow-brown masses which seemed all heads and curving necks, and some kneeling quietly on the sand. from around a shoulder of rock came other camels, hundreds of them, treading slowly and sedately, nose to tail, toward the gate in the great wall. they had come from the far country whither we were bound. to me there is something fascinating about a camel. perhaps it is because he seems to typify the great waste spaces which i love, that i never tire of watching him swing silently, and seemingly with resistless power, across the desert. our way to hei-ma-hou led up the dry river bed, with the great wall on the left stretching its serpentine length across the hills, and on the right picturesque cliffs two hundred feet in height. at their bases nestle mud-roofed cottages and chinese inns, but farther up the river the low hills are all of _loess_--brown, wind-blown dust, packed hard, which can be cut like cheese. deserted though they seem from a distance, they really teem with human life. whole villages are half dug, half built, into the hillsides, but are well-nigh invisible, for every wall and roof is of the same brown earth. ten miles or so from kalgan we began on foot the long climb up the pass which gives entrance to the great plateau. i kept my eyes steadily on the pony's heels until we reached a broad, flat terrace halfway up the pass. then i swung about that i might have, all at once, the view which lay below us. it justified my greatest hopes, for miles and miles of rolling hills stretched away to where the far horizon met the shansi mountains. it was a desolate country which i saw, for every wave in this vast land-sea was cut and slashed by the knives of wind and frost and rain, and lay in a chaotic mass of gaping wounds--cañons, ravines, and gullies, painted in rainbow colors, crossing and cutting one another at fantastic angles as far as the eye could see. when, a few moments later, we reached the very summit of the pass, i felt that no spot i had ever visited satisfied my preconceived conceptions quite so thoroughly. behind and below us lay that stupendous relief map of ravines and gorges; in front was a limitless stretch of undulating plain. i knew then that i really stood upon the edge of the greatest plateau in all the world and that it could be only mongolia. we had tiffin at a tiny chinese inn beside the road, and trotted on toward hei-ma-hou between waving fields of wheat, buckwheat, millet, and oats--oats as thick and "meaty" as any horse could wish to eat. after tiffin coltman and lucander rode rapidly ahead while i trotted my pony along more slowly in the rear. it was nearly seven o'clock, and the trees about the mission station had been visible for half an hour. i was enjoying a gorgeous sunset which splashed the western sky with gold and red, and lazily watching the black silhouettes of a camel caravan swinging along the summit of a ridge a mile away. on the road beside me a train of laden mules and bullock-carts rested for a moment--the drivers half asleep. over all the plain there lay the peace of a perfect autumn evening. suddenly, from behind a little rise, i heard the whir of a motor engine and the raucous voice of a klaxon horn. before i realized what it meant, i was in the midst of a mass of plunging, snorting animals, shouting carters, and kicking mules. in a moment the caravan scattered wildly across the plain and the road was clear save for the author of the turmoil--a black automobile. i wish i could make those who spend their lives within a city know how strange and out of place that motor seemed, alone there upon the open plain on the borders of mongolia. imagine a camel or an elephant with all its oriental trappings suddenly appearing on fifth avenue! you would think at once that it had escaped from a circus or a zoo and would be mainly curious as to what the traffic policeman would do when it did not obey his signals. but all the incongruity and the fact that the automobile was a glaring anachronism did not prevent my abandoning my horse to the _mafu_ and stretching out comfortably on the cushions of the rear seat. there i had nothing to do but collect the remains of my shattered dream-castles as we bounced over the ruts and stones. it was a rude awakening, and i felt half ashamed to admit to myself as the miles sped by that the springy seat was more comfortable than the saddle on my mongol pony. but that night when i strolled about the mission courtyard, under the spell of the starry, desert sky, i drifted back again in thought to the glorious days of kublai khan. my heart was hot with resentment that this thing had come. i realized then that, for better or for worse, the sanctity of the desert was gone forever. camels will still plod their silent way across the age-old plains, but the mystery is lost. the secrets which were yielded up to but a chosen few are open now to all, and the world and his wife will speed their noisy course across the miles of rolling prairie, hearing nothing, feeling nothing, knowing nothing of that resistless desert charm which led men out into the great unknown. at daylight we packed the cars. bed-rolls and cans of gasoline were tied on the running boards and every corner was filled with food. our rifles were ready for use, however, for coltman had promised a kind of shooting such as i had never seen before. the stories he told of wild rides in the car after strings of antelope which traveled at fifty or sixty miles an hour had left me mildly skeptical. but then, you know, i had never seen a mongolian antelope run. for twenty or thirty miles after leaving hei-ma-hou we bounced along over a road which would have been splendid except for the deep ruts cut by mule- and oxcarts. these carts are the despair of any one who hopes some time to see good roads in china. the spike-studded wheels cut into the hardest ground and leave a chaos of ridges and chasms which grows worse with every year. we were seldom out of sight of mud-walled huts or tiny chinese villages, and chinese peddlers passed our cars, carrying baskets of fruit or trinkets for the women. chinese farmers stopped to gaze at us as we bounded over the ruts--in fact it was all chinese, although we were really in mongolia. i was very eager to see mongols, to register first impressions of a people of whom i had dreamed so much; but the blue-clad chinaman was ubiquitous. for seventy miles from kalgan it was all the same--chinese everywhere. the great wall was built to keep the mongols out, and by the same token it should have kept the chinese in. but the rolling, grassy sea of the vast plateau was too strong a temptation for the chinese farmer. encouraged by his own government, which knows the value of just such peaceful penetration, he pushes forward the line of cultivation a dozen miles or so every year. as a result the grassy hills have given place to fields of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat, and potatoes. the mongol, above all things, is not a farmer; possibly because, many years ago, the manchus forbade him to till the soil. moreover, on the ground he is as awkward as a duck out of water and he is never comfortable. the back of a pony is his real home, and he will do wonderfully well any work which keeps him in the saddle. as mr. f. a. larsen in urga once said, "a mongol would make a splendid cook if you could give him a horse to ride about on in the kitchen." so he leaves to the plodding chinaman the cultivation of his boundless plains, while he herds his fat-tailed sheep and goats and cattle. [illustration: roy chapman andrews on "kublai khan"] [illustration: yvette borup andrews, photographer of the expedition] about two hours after leaving the mission station we passed the limit of cultivation and were riding toward the tabool hills. there mr. larsen, the best known foreigner in all mongolia, has a home, and as we swung past the trail which leads to his house we saw one of his great herds of horses grazing in the distance. all the land in this region has long, rich grass in summer, and water is by no means scarce. there are frequent wells and streams along the road, and in the distance we often caught a glint of silver from the surface of a pond or lake. flocks of goats and fat-tailed sheep drifted up the valley, and now and then a herd of cattle massed themselves in moving patches on the hillsides. but they are only a fraction of the numbers which this land could easily support. not far from tabool is a mongol village. i jumped out of the car to take a photograph but scrambled in again almost as quickly, for as soon as the motor had stopped a dozen dogs dashed from the houses snarling and barking like a pack of wolves. they are huge brutes, these mongol dogs, and as fierce as they are big. every family and every caravan owns one or more, and we learned very soon never to approach a native encampment on foot. the village was as unlike a chinese settlement as it well could be, for instead of closely packed mud houses there were circular, latticed frameworks covered with felt and cone-shaped in the upper half. the _yurt_, as it is called, is perfectly adapted to the mongols and their life. in the winter a stove is placed in the center, and the house is dry and warm. in the summer the felt covering is sometimes replaced by canvas which can be lifted on any side to allow free passage of air. when it is time for the semiannual migration to new grazing grounds the _yurt_ can be quickly dismantled, the framework collapsed, and the house packed on camels or carts. the mongols of the village were rather disappointing, for many of them show a strong element of chinese blood. this seems to have developed an unfortunate combination of the worst characteristics of both races. even where there is no real mixture, their contact with the chinese has been demoralizing, and they will rob and steal at every opportunity. the headdresses of the southern women are by no means as elaborate as those in the north. when the hills of tabool had begun to sink on the horizon behind us, we entered upon a vast rolling plain, where there was but little water and not a sign of human life. it resembled nothing so much as the prairies of nebraska or dakota, and amid the short grass larkspur and purple thistles glowed in the sunlight like tongues of flame. there was no lack of birds. in the ponds which we passed earlier in the day we saw hundreds of mallard ducks and teal. the car often frightened golden plover from their dust baths in the road, and crested lapwings flashed across the prairie like sudden storms of autumn leaves. huge, golden eagles and enormous ravens made tempting targets on the telegraph poles, and in the morning before we left the cultivated area we saw demoiselle cranes in thousands. in this land where wood is absent and everything that will make a fire is of value, i wondered how it happened that the telegraph poles remained untouched, for every one was smooth and round without a splinter gone. the method of protection is simple and entirely oriental. when the line was first erected, the mongolian government stated in an edict that any man who touched a pole with knife or ax would lose his head. even on the plains the enforcement of such a law is not so difficult as it might seem, and after a few heads had been taken by way of example the safety of the line was assured. our camp the first night was on a hill slope about one hundred miles from hei-ma-hou. as soon as the cars had stopped, one man was left to untie the sleeping bags while the rest of us scattered over the plain to hunt material for a fire. _argul_ (dried dung) forms the only desert fuel and, although it does not blaze like wood, it will "boil a pot" almost as quickly as charcoal. i was elected to be the cook--a position with distinct advantages, for in the freezing cold of early morning i could linger about the fire with a good excuse. it was a perfect autumn night. every star in the world of space seemed to have been crowded into our own particular expanse of sky, and each one glowed like a tiny lantern. when i had found a patch of sand and had dug a trench for my hip and shoulder, i crawled into the sleeping bag and lay for half an hour looking up at the bespangled canopy above my head. again the magic of the desert night was in my blood, and i blessed the fate which had carried me away from the roar and rush of new york with its hurrying crowds. but i felt a pang of envy when, far away in the distance, there came the mellow notes of a camel-bell. _dong_, _dong_, _dong_ it sounded, clear and sweet as cathedral chimes. with surging blood i listened until i caught the measured tread of padded feet, and saw the black silhouettes of rounded bodies and curving necks. oh, to be with them, to travel as marco polo traveled, and to learn to know the heart of the desert in the long night marches! before i closed my eyes that night i vowed that when the war was done and i was free to travel where i willed, i would come again to the desert as the great venetian came. chapter ii speed marvels of the gobi desert the next morning, ten miles from camp, we passed a party of russians en route to kalgan. they were sitting disconsolately beside two huge cars, patching tires and tightening bolts. their way had been marked by a succession of motor troubles and they were almost discouraged. woe to the men who venture into the desert with an untried car and without a skilled mechanic! there are no garages just around the corner--and there are no corners. lucander's chinese boy expressed it with laconic completeness when some one asked him how he liked the country. "well," said he, "there's plenty of _room_ here." a short distance farther on we found the caravan which had passed us early in the night. they were camped beside a well and the thirsty camels were gorging themselves with water. except for these wells, the march across the desert would be impossible. they are four or five feet wide, walled with timbers, and partly roofed. in some the water is rather brackish but always cool, for it is seldom less than ten feet below the surface. it is useless to speculate as to who dug the wells or when, for this trail has been used for centuries. in some regions they are fifty or even sixty miles apart, but usually less than that. the camel caravans travel mostly at night. for all his size and apparent strength, a camel is a delicate animal and needs careful handling. he cannot stand the heat of the midday sun and he will not graze at night. so the gobi caravans start about three or four o'clock in the afternoon and march until one or two the next morning. then the men pitch a light tent and the camels sleep or wander over the plain. at noon on the second day we reached panj-kiang, the first telegraph station on the line. its single mud house was visible miles away and we were glad to see it, for our gasoline was getting low. coltman had sent a plentiful supply by caravan to await us here, and every available inch of space was filled with cans, for we were only one-quarter of the way to urga. not far beyond panj-kiang, a lama monastery has been built beside the road. its white-walled temple bordered with red and the compound enclosing the living quarters of the lamas show with startling distinctness on the open plain. we stopped for water at a well a few hundred yards away, and in five minutes the cars were surrounded by a picturesque group of lamas who streamed across the plain on foot and on horseback, their yellow and red robes flaming in the sun. they were amiable enough--in fact, too friendly--and their curiosity was hardly welcome, for we found one of them testing his knife on the tires and another about to punch a hole in one of the gasoline cans; he hoped it held something to drink that was better than water. thus far the trail had not been bad, as roads go in the gobi, but i was assured that the next hundred miles would be a different story, for we were about to enter the most arid part of the desert between kalgan and urga. we were prepared for the only real work of the trip, however, by a taste of the exciting shooting which coltman had promised me. i had been told that we should see antelope in thousands, but all day i had vainly searched the plains for a sign of game. ten miles from panj-kiang we were rolling comfortably along on a stretch of good road when mrs. coltman, whose eyes are as keen as those of a hawk, excitedly pointed to a knoll on the right, not a hundred yards from the trail. at first i saw nothing but yellow grass; then the whole hillside seemed to be in motion. a moment later i began to distinguish heads and legs and realized that i was looking at an enormous herd of antelope, closely packed together, restlessly watching us. our rifles were out in an instant and coltman opened the throttle. the antelope were five or six hundred yards away, and as the car leaped forward they ranged themselves in single file and strung out across the plain. we left the road at once and headed diagonally toward them. for some strange reason, when a horse or car runs parallel with a herd of antelope, the animals will swing in a complete semicircle and cross in front of the pursuer. this is also true of some african species, whether they think they are being cut off from some more desirable means of escape i cannot say, but the fact remains that with the open plain on every side they always try to "cross your bows." i shall never forget the sight of those magnificent animals streaming across the desert! there were at least a thousand of them, and their yellow bodies seemed fairly to skim the earth. i was shouting in excitement, but coltman said: "they're not running yet. wait till we begin to shoot." i could hardly believe my eyes when i saw the speedometer trembling at thirty-five miles, for we were making a poor showing with the antelope. but then the fatal attraction began to assert itself and the long column bent gradually in our direction. coltman widened the arc of the circle and held the throttle up as far as it would go. our speed increased to forty miles and the car began to gain because the antelope were running almost across our course. they were about two hundred yards away when coltman shut off the gas and jammed both brakes, but before the car had stopped they had gained another hundred. i leaped over a pile of bedding and came into action with the . savage high-power as soon as my feet were on the ground. coltman's . mauser was already spitting fire from the front seat across the windshield, and at his second shot an antelope dropped like lead. my first two bullets struck the dirt far behind the rearmost animal, but the third caught a full-grown female in the side and she plunged forward into the grass. i realized then what coltman meant when he said that the antelope had not begun to run. at the first shot every animal in the herd seemed to flatten itself and settle to its work. they did not run--they simply _flew_ across the ground, their legs showing only as a blur. the one i killed was four hundred yards away, and i held four feet ahead when i pulled the trigger. they could not have been traveling less than fifty-five or sixty miles an hour, for they were running in a semicircle about the car while we were moving at forty miles in a straight line. those are the facts in the case. i can see my readers raise their brows incredulously, for that is exactly what i would have done before this demonstration. well, there is one way to prove it and that is to come and try it for yourselves. moreover, i can see some sportsmen smile for another reason. i mentioned that the antelope i killed was four hundred yards away. i know how far it was, for i paced it off. i may say, in passing, that i had never before killed a running animal at that range. ninety per cent of my shooting had been well within one hundred and fifty yards, but in mongolia conditions are most extraordinary. in the brilliant atmosphere an antelope at four hundred yards appears as large as it would at one hundred in most other parts of the world; and on the flat plains, where there is not a bush or a shrub to obscure the view, a tiny stone stands out like a golf ball on the putting green. because of these conditions there is strong temptation to shoot at impossible ranges and to keep on shooting when the game is beyond anything except a lucky chance. therefore, if any of you go to mongolia to hunt antelope take plenty of ammunition, and when you return you will never tell how many cartridges you used. our antelope were tied on the running board of the car and we went back to the road where lucander was waiting. half the herd had crossed in front of him, but he had failed to bring down an animal. when the excitement was over i began to understand the significance of what we had seen. it was slowly borne in upon me that our car had been going, by the speedometer, at forty miles an hour and that the _antelope were actually beating us_. it was an amazing discovery, for i had never dreamed that any living animal could run so fast. it was a discovery, too, which would have important results, for professor henry fairfield osborn, president of the american museum of natural history, even then was carrying on investigations as to the relation of speed to limb structure in various groups of animals. i determined, with mr. coltman's help, to get some real facts in the case--data upon which we could rely. there was an opportunity only to begin the study on the first trip, but we carried it further the following year. time after time, as we tore madly after antelope, singly or in herds, i kept my eyes upon the speedometer, and i feel confident that our observations can be relied upon. we demonstrated beyond a doubt that the mongolian antelope can reach a speed of from fifty-five to sixty miles an hour. this is probably the maximum _which is attained only in the initial sprint_ and after a very short distance the animals must slow down to about forty miles; a short distance more and they drop to twenty-five or thirty miles, and at this pace they seem able to continue almost indefinitely. they never ran faster than was necessary to keep well away from us. as we opened the throttle of the car they, too, increased their speed. it was only when we began to shoot and they became thoroughly frightened that they showed what they could do. i remember especially one fine buck which gave us an exhibition of really high-class running. he started almost opposite to us when we were on a stretch of splendid road and jogged comfortably along at thirty-five miles an hour. our car was running at the same speed, but he decided to cross in front and pressed his accelerator a little. coltman also touched ours, and the motor jumped to forty miles. the antelope seemed very much surprised and gave his accelerator another push. coltman did likewise, and the speedometer registered forty-five miles. that was about enough for us, and we held our speed. the animal drew ahead on a long curve swinging across in front of the car. he had beaten us by a hundred yards! but we had a surprise in store for him, for coltman suddenly shut off the gas and threw on both brakes. before the motor had fully stopped we opened fire. the first two bullets struck just behind the antelope and a third kicked the dust between his legs. the shock turned him half over, but he righted himself and ran to his very limit. the bullets spattering all about kept him at it for six hundred yards. he put up a desert hare on the way, but that hare didn't have a chance with the antelope. it reminded me of the story of the negro who had seen a ghost. he ran until he dropped beside the road, but the ghost was right beside him. "well," said the ghost, "that was _some_ race we had." "yes," answered the negro, "but it ain't nothin' to what we're goin' to have soon's ever i git my breath. and then," said the negro, "we ran agin. and i come to a rabbit leggin' it up the road, and i said, 'git out of the way, rabbit, and let some one run what can run!'" the last we saw of the antelope was a cloud of yellow dust disappearing over a low rise. the excitement of the chase had been an excellent preparation for the hard work which awaited us not far ahead. the going had been getting heavier with every mile, and at last we reached a long stretch of sandy road which the motors could not pull through. with every one except the driver out of the car, and the engine racing, we pushed and lifted, gaining a few feet each time, until the shifting sand was passed. it meant two hours of violent strain, and we were well-nigh exhausted; a few miles farther, however, it had all to be done again. where the ground was hard, there was such a chaos of ruts and holes that our arms were almost wrenched from their sockets by the twisting wheels. this area more nearly approaches a desert than any other part of the road to urga. the soil is mainly sandy, but the gobi sagebrush and short bunch grass, although sparse and dry, still give a covering of vegetation, so that in the distance the plain appears like a rolling meadowland. [illustration: at the end of the long trail from outer mongolia] [illustration: women of southern mongolia] when we saw our first northern mongol i was delighted. every one is a study for an artist. he dresses in a long, loose robe of plum color, one corner of which is usually tucked into a gorgeous sash. on his head is perched an extraordinary hat which looks like a saucer, with upturned edges of black velvet and a narrow cone-shaped crown of brilliant yellow. two streamers of red ribbon are usually fastened to the rim at the back, or a plume of peacock feathers if he be of higher rank. on his feet he wears a pair of enormous leather boots with pointed toes. these are always many sizes too large, for as the weather grows colder he pads them out with heavy socks of wool or fur. it is nearly impossible for him to walk in this ungainly footgear, and he waddles along exactly like a duck. he is manifestly uncomfortable and ill at ease, but put him on a horse and you have a different picture. the high-peaked saddle and the horse itself become a part of his anatomy and he will stay there happily fifteen hours of the day. the mongols ride with short stirrups and, standing nearly upright, lean far over the horse's neck like our western cowboys. as they tear along at full gallop in their brilliant robes they seem to embody the very spirit of the plains. they are such genial, accommodating fellows, always ready with a pleasant smile, and willing to take a sporting chance on anything under the sun, that they won my heart at once. above all things they love a race, and often one of them would range up beside the car and, with a radiant smile, make signs that he wished to test our speed. then off he would go like mad, flogging his horse and yelling with delight. we would let him gain at first, and the expression of joy and triumph on his face was worth going far to see. sometimes, if the road was heavy, it would need every ounce of gas the car could take to forge ahead, for the ponies are splendid animals. the mongols ride only the best and ride them hard, since horses are cheap in mongolia, and when one is a little worn another is always ready. not only does the mongol inspire you with admiration for his full-blooded, virile manhood, but also you like him because he likes you. he doesn't try to disguise the fact. there is a frank openness about his attitude which is wonderfully appealing, and i believe that the average white man can get on terms of easy familiarity, and even intimacy, with mongols more rapidly than with any other orientals. ude is the second telegraph station on the road to urga. it has the honor of appearing on most maps of mongolia and yet it is even less impressive than panj-kiang. there are only two mud houses and half a dozen _yurts_ which seem to have been dropped carelessly behind a ragged hill. after leaving ude, we slipped rapidly up and down a succession of low hills and entered upon a plain so vast and flat that we appeared to be looking across an ocean. not the smallest hill or rise of ground broke the line where earth and sky met in a faint blue haze. our cars seemed like tiny boats in a limitless, grassy sea. it was sixty miles across, and for three hours the steady hum of the motor hardly ceased, for the road was smooth and hard. halfway over we saw another great herd of antelope and several groups of ten or twelve. these were a different species from those we had killed, and i got a fine young buck. twice wolves trotted across the plain, and at one, which was very inquisitive, i did some shooting which i vainly try to forget. but most interesting to me among the wild life along our way was the bustard. it is a huge bird, weighing from fifteen to forty pounds, with flesh of such delicate flavor that it rivals our best turkey. i had always wanted to kill a bustard and my first one was neatly eviscerated at two hundred yards by a savage bullet. i was more pleased than if i had shot an antelope, perhaps because it did much to revive my spirits after the episode of the wolf. sand grouse, beautiful little gray birds, with wings like pigeons and remarkable, padded feet, whistled over us as we rolled along the road, and my heart was sick with the thought of the excellent shooting we were missing. but there was no time to stop, except for such game as actually crossed our path, else we should never have arrived at urga, the city of the living god. speaking of gods, i must not forget to mention the great lamasery at turin, about one hundred and seventy miles from urga. for hours before we reached it we saw the ragged hills standing sharp and clear against the sky line. the peaks themselves are not more than two hundred feet in height, but they rise from a rocky plateau some distance above the level of the plain. it is a wild spot where some mighty internal force has burst the surface of the earth and pushed up a ragged core of rocks which have been carved by the knives of weather into weird, fantastic shapes. this elemental battle ground is a fit setting for the most remarkable group of human habitations that i have ever seen. three temples lie in a bowl-shaped hollow, surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of tiny pill-box dwellings painted red and white. there must be a thousand of them and probably twice as many lamas. on the outskirts of the "city" to the south enormous piles of _argul_ have been collected by the priests and bestowed as votive offerings by devout travelers. vast as the supply seemed, it would take all this, and more, to warm the houses of the lamas during the bitter winter months when the ground is covered with snow. on the north the hills throw protecting arms about the homes of these half-wild men, who have chosen to spend their lives in this lonely desert stronghold. the houses are built of sawn boards, the first indication we had seen that we were nearing a forest country. the remaining one hundred and seventy miles to urga are a delight, even to the motorist who loves the paved roads of cities. they are like a boulevard amid glorious, rolling hills luxuriant with long, sweet grass. in the distance herds of horses and cattle grouped themselves into moving patches, and fat-tailed sheep dotted the plain like drifts of snow. i have seldom seen a better grazing country. it needed but little imagination to picture what it will be a few years hence when the inevitable railroad claims the desert as its own, for this rich land cannot long remain untenanted. it was here that we saw the first marmots, an unfailing indication that we were in a northern country. the thick blackness of a rainy night had enveloped us long before we swung into the urga valley and groped our way along the tola river bank toward the glimmering lights of the sacred city. it seemed that we would never reach them, for twice we took the wrong turn and found ourselves in a maze of sandy bottoms and half-grown trees. but at ten o'clock we plowed through the mud of a narrow street and into the courtyard of the mongolian trading company's home. oscar mamen, coltman's former partner, and mrs. mamen had spent several years there, and for six weeks they had had as guests messrs. a. m. guptil and e. b. price, of peking. mr. guptil was representing the american military attache, and mr. price, assistant chinese secretary of the american legation, had come to urga to establish communication with our consul at irkutsk who had not been heard from for more than a month. urga recently had been pregnant with war possibilities. in the lake baikal region of siberia there were several thousand magyars and many bolsheviki. it was known that czechs expected to attack them, and that they would certainly be driven across the borders into mongolia if defeated. in that event what would be the attitude of the mongolian government? would it intern the belligerents, or allow them to use the urga district as a base of operations? as a matter of fact, the question had been settled just before my arrival. the czechs had made the expected attack with about five hundred men; all the magyars, to the number of several thousand, had surrendered, and the bolsheviki had disappeared like mists before the sun. the front of operations had moved in a single night almost two thousand miles away to the omsk district, and it was certain that mongolia would be left in peace. mr. price's work also was done, for the telegraph from urga to irkutsk was again in operation and thus communication was established with peking. the morning after my arrival mr. guptil and i rode out to see the town. never have i visited such a city of contrasts, or one to which i was so eager to return. as we did come back, i shall tell, in a future chapter, of what we found there. chapter iii a chapter of accidents this is a "hard luck" chapter. stories of ill-fortune are not always interesting, but i am writing this one to show what _can_ happen to an automobile in the gobi. we had gone to urga without even a puncture and i began to feel that motoring in mongolia was as simple as riding on fifth avenue--more so, in fact, for we did not have to watch traffic policemen or worry about "right of way." there is no crowding on the gobi desert. when we passed a camel caravan or a train of oxcarts we were sure to have plenty of room, for the landscape was usually spotted in every direction with fleeing animals. our motors had "purred" so steadily that accidents and repair shops seemed very far away and not of much importance. on the return trip, however, the reverse of the picture was presented and i learned that to be alone in the desert when something is wrong with the digestion of your automobile can have its serious aspects. unless you are an expert mechanic and have an assortment of "spare parts," you may have to walk thirty or forty miles to the nearest water and spend many days of waiting until help arrives. fortunately for us, there are few things which either coltman or guptil do not know about the "insides" of a motor and, moreover, after a diagnosis, they both have the ingenuity to remedy almost any trouble with a hammer and a screw driver. four days after our arrival in urga we left on the return trip. as occupants of his car charles coltman had mr. price, mrs. coltman, and mrs. mamen. with the spiritual and physical assistance of mr. guptil i drove the second automobile, carrying in the rear seat a wounded russian cossack and a french-czech, both couriers. the third car was a ford _chassis_ to which a wooden body had been affixed. it was designed to give increased carrying space, but it looked like a half-grown hayrack and was appropriately called the "agony box." this was driven by a chauffeur named wang and carried mamen's chinese house boy and an _amah_ besides a miscellaneous assortment of baggage. it was a cold, gray morning when we started, with a cutting wind sweeping down from the north, giving a hint of the bitter winter which in another month would hold all mongolia in an icy grasp. we made our way eastward up the valley to the russian bridge across the tola river and pointed the cars southward on the caravan trail to kalgan. just as we reached the summit of the second long hill, across which the wind was sweeping in a glacial blast, there came a rasping crash somewhere in the motor of my car, followed by a steady _knock_, _knock_, _knock_. "that's a connecting rod as sure as fate," said "gup." "we'll have to stop." when he had crawled under the car and found that his diagnosis was correct, he said a few other things which ought to have relieved his mind considerably. there was nothing to be done except to replace the broken part with a spare rod. for three freezing hours gup and coltman lay upon their backs under the car, while the rest of us gave what help we could. to add to the difficulties a shower of hail swept down upon us with all the fury of a mongolian storm. it was three o'clock in the afternoon before we were ready to go on, and our camp that night was only sixty miles from urga. the next day as we passed turin the czech pointed out the spot where he had lain for three days and nights with a broken collar bone and a dislocated shoulder. he had come from irkutsk carrying important dispatches and had taken passage in an automobile belonging to a chinese company which with difficulty was maintaining a passenger service between urga and kalgan. as usual, the native chauffeur was dashing along at thirty-five miles an hour when he should not have driven faster than twenty at the most. one of the front wheels slid into a deep rut, the car turned completely over and the resulting casualties numbered one man dead and our czech seriously injured. it was three days before another car carried him back to urga, where the broken bones were badly set by a drunken russian doctor. the cossack, too, had been shot twice in the heavy fighting on the russian front, and, although his wounds were barely healed, he had just ridden three hundred miles on horseback with dispatches for peking. both my passengers were delighted to have escaped the chinese motors, for in them accidents had been the rule rather than the exception. during one year nineteen cars had been smashed and lay in masses of twisted metal beside the road. the difficulty had been largely due to the native chauffeurs. although these men can drive a car, they have no mechanical training and danger signals from the motor are entirely disregarded. moreover, all chinese dearly love "show" and the chauffeurs delight in driving at tremendous speed over roads where they should exercise the greatest care. the deep cart ruts are a continual menace, for between them the road is often smooth and fine. but a stone or a tuft of grass may send one of the front wheels into a rut and capsize the car. even with the greatest care accidents will happen, and motoring in mongolia is by no means devoid of danger and excitement. about three o'clock in the afternoon of the second day we saw frantic signals from the agony box which had been lumbering along behind us. it appeared that the right rear wheel was broken and the car could go no farther. there was nothing for it but to camp right where we were while charles repaired the wheel. gup and i ran twenty miles down the road to look for a well, but without success. the remaining water was divided equally among us but next morning we discovered that the chinese had secreted two extra bottles for themselves, while we had been saving ours to the last drop. it taught me a lesson by which i profited the following summer. on the third day the agony box limped along until noon, but when we reached a well in the midst of the great plain south of turin it had to be abandoned, while we went on to ude, the telegraph station in the middle of the desert, and wired mamen to bring a spare wheel from urga. the fourth day there was more trouble with the connecting rod on my car and we sat for two hours at a well while the motor was eviscerated and reassembled. it had ceased to be a joke, especially to coltman and guptil, for all the work fell upon them. by this time they were almost unrecognizable because of dirt and grease and their hands were cut and blistered. but they stood it manfully, and at each new accident gup rose to greater and greater heights of oratory. we were halfway between ude and panj-kiang when we saw two automobiles approaching from the south. their occupants were foreigners we were sure, and as they stopped beside us a tall young man came up to my car. "i am langdon warner," he said. we shook hands and looked at each other curiously. warner is an archaeologist and director of the pennsylvania museum. for ten years we had played a game of hide and seek through half the countries of the orient and it seemed that we were destined never to meet each other. in i drifted into the quaint little town of naha in the loo-choo islands, that forgotten kingdom of the east. at that time it was far off the beaten track and very few foreigners had sought it out since , when commodore perry negotiated a treaty with its king in the picturesque old shuri palace. only a few months before i arrived, langdon warner had visited it on a collecting trip and the natives had not yet ceased to talk about the strange foreigner who gave them new baskets for old ones. a little later warner preceded me to japan, and in i followed him to korea. our paths diverged when i went to alaska in , but i crossed his trail again in china, and in , just before my wife and i left for yün-nan, i missed him in boston where i had gone to lecture at harvard university. it was strange that after ten years we should meet for the first time in the middle of the gobi desert! warner was proceeding to urga with two czech officers who were on their way to irkutsk. we gave them the latest news of the war situation and much to their disgust they realized that had they waited only two weeks longer they could have gone by train, for the attack by the czechs on the magyars and the bolsheviki, in the trans-baikal region, had cleared the siberian railway westward as far as omsk. after half an hour's talk we drove off in opposite directions. warner eventually reached irkutsk, but not without some interesting experiences with bolsheviki along the way, and i did not see him again until last march ( ), when he came to my office in the american museum just after we had returned to new york. when we reached panj-kiang we felt that our motor troubles were at an end, but ten miles beyond the station my car refused to pull through a sand pit and we found that there was trouble with the differential. it was necessary to dismantle the rear end of the car, and coltman and gup were well-nigh discouraged. the delay was a serious matter for i had urgent business in japan, and it was imperative that i reach peking as soon as possible. charles finally decided to send me, together with price, the czech, and the cossack, in his car, while he and gup remained with the two ladies to repair mine. price and i drove back to panj-kiang to obtain extra food and water for the working party and to telegraph kalgan for assistance. we took only a little tea, macaroni, and two tins of sausage, for we expected to reach the mission station at hei-ma-hou early the next morning. we were hardly five miles from the broken car when we discovered that there was no more oil for our motor. it was impossible to go much farther and we decided that the only alternative was to wait until the relief party, for which we had wired, arrived from kalgan. just then the car swung over the summit of a rise, and we saw the white tent and grazing camels of an enormous caravan. of course, mongols would have mutton fat and why not use that for oil! the caravan leader assured us that he had fat in plenty and in ten minutes a great pot of it was warming over the fire. we poured it into the motor and proceeded merrily on our way. but there was one serious obstacle to our enjoyment of that ride. events had been moving so rapidly that we had eaten nothing since breakfast, and when a delicious odor of roast lamb began to arise from the motor, we realized that we were all very hungry. dry macaroni would hardly do and the sausage must be saved for dinner. all the afternoon that tantalizing odor hovered in the air and i began to imagine that i could even smell mint sauce. at six o'clock we saw the first _yurt_ and purchased a supply of _argul_ so that we could save time in making camp. the lamps of the car were _hors de combat_ and a watery moon did not give us sufficient light by which to drive in safety, so we stopped on a hilltop shortly after dark. in the morning when the motor was cold we could save time and strength in cranking by pushing it down the slope. much to our disgust we found that the _argul_ we had purchased from the mongol was so mixed with dirt that it would not burn. after half an hour of fruitless work i gave up, and we divided the tin of cold sausage. it was a pretty meager dinner for four hungry men and i retired into my sleeping bag to dream of roast lamb and mint sauce. when the cossack officer found that he was not to have his tea he was like a child with a stick of candy just out of reach. he tried to sleep but it was no use, and in half an hour i opened my eyes to see him flat on his face blowing lustily at a piece of _argul_ which he had persuaded to emit a faint glow. for two mortal hours the russian nursed that fire until his pot of water reached the boiling point. then he insisted that we all wake up to share his triumph. [illustration: the middle ages and the twentieth century] [illustration: a mongolian antelope killed from our motor car] [illustration: watering camels at a well in the gobi desert] we reached the mission station at noon next day, and father weinz, the belgian priest in charge, gave us the first meal we had had in thirty-six hours. the czech courier decided to remain at hei-ma-hou and go in next day by cart, but we started immediately on the forty-mile horseback ride to kalgan. a steady rain began about two o'clock in the afternoon, and in half an hour we were soaked to the skin; then the ugly, little gray stallion upon which i had been mounted planted both hind feet squarely on my left leg as we toiled up a long hill-trail to the pass, and i thought that my walking days had ended for all time. at the foot of the pass we halted at a dirty inn where they told us it would be useless to go on to kalgan, for the gates of the city would certainly be closed and it would be impossible to enter until morning. there was no alternative except to spend the night at the inn, but as they had only a grass fire which burned out as soon as the cooking was finished, and as all our clothes were soaked, we spent sleepless hours shivering with cold. the cossack spoke only mongol and russian, and, as neither of us knew a single word of either language, it was difficult to communicate our plans to him. finally, we found a chinaman who spoke mongol and who consented to act as interpreter. the natives at the inn could not understand why we were not able to talk to the cossack. didn't all white men speak the same language? mr. price endeavored to explain that russian and english differ as much as do chinese and mongol, but they only smiled and shook their heads. in the morning i was so stiff from the kick which the gray stallion had given me that i could get to his back only with the greatest difficulty, but we reached kalgan at eight o'clock. unfortunately, the cossack had left his passport in the cart which was to follow with his baggage, and the police at the gate would not let us pass. mr. price was well known to them and offered to assume responsibility for the cossack in the name of the american legation, but the policemen, who were much disgruntled at being roused so early in the morning, refused to let us enter. their attitude was so obviously absurd that we agreed to take matters into our own hands. we strolled outside the house and suddenly jumped on our horses. the sentries made a vain attempt to catch our bridle reins and we rode down the street at a sharp, trot. there was another police station in the center of the city which it was impossible to avoid and as we approached it we saw a line of soldiers drawn up across the road. our friends at the gate had telephoned ahead to have us stopped. without hesitating we kept on, riding straight at the gray-clad policemen. with wildly waving arms they shouted at us to halt, but we paid not the slightest attention, and they had to jump aside to avoid being run down. the spectacle which these chinese soldiers presented, as they tried to arrest us, was so ridiculous that we roared with laughter. imagine what would happen on fifth avenue if you disregarded a traffic policeman's signal to stop! although the officials knew that we could be found at mr. coltman's house, we heard nothing further from the incident. it was so obviously a matter of personal ill nature on the part of the captain in charge of the gate police that they realized it was not a subject for further discussion. after the luxury of a bath and shave we proceeded to peking. charles and gup had rather a beastly time getting in. the car could not be repaired sufficiently to carry on under its own power, and, through a misunderstanding, the relief party only went as far as the pass and waited there for their arrival. they eventually found it necessary to hire three horses to tow them to the mission station where the "hard luck" story ended. chapter iv new travels on an old trail the winter of - we spent in and out of one of the most interesting cities in the world. peking, with its background of history made vividly real by its splendid walls, its age-old temples and its mysterious forbidden city, has a personality of its own. when we had been away for a month or two there was always a delightful feeling of anticipation in returning to the city itself and to our friends in its cosmopolitan community. moreover, at our house in wu liang tajen hutung, a baby boy and his devoted nurse were waiting to receive us. even at two years the extraordinary facility with which he discovered frogs and bugs, which, quite unknown to us, dwelt in the flower-filled courtyard, showed the hereditary instincts of a born explorer. that winter gave us an opportunity to see much of ancient china, for we visited shantung, traveled straight across the provinces of honan and hupeh, and wandered about the mountains of che-kiang on a serow hunt. in february the equipment for our summer's work in mongolia was on its way across the desert by caravan. we had sent flour, bacon, coffee, tea, sugar, butter and dried fruit, for these could be purchased in urga only at prohibitive prices. even then, with camel charges at fourteen cents a _cattie_ ( / lbs.), a fifty-pound sack of flour cost us more than six dollars by the time it reached urga. charles coltman at kalgan very kindly relieved me of all the transportation details. we had seen him several times in peking during the winter, and had planned the trip across the plains to urga as _une belle excursion_. mrs. coltman was going, of course, as were mr. and mrs. "ted" maccallie of tientsin. "mac" was a famous cornell football star whom i knew by reputation in my own college days. he was to take a complete delco electric lighting plant to urga, with the hope of installing it in the palace of the "living god." a soldier named owen from the legation guard in peking was to drive the delco car, and i had two chinese taxidermists, chen and kang, besides lu, our cook and camp boy. chen had been loaned to me by dr. j. g. andersson, mining adviser to the chinese republic, and proved to be one of the best native collectors whom i have ever employed. the coltmans and maccallies were to stay only a few days in urga, but they helped to make the trip across mongolia one of the most delightful parts of our glorious summer. we left kalgan on may . mac, owen, and i rode the forty miles to hei-ma-hou on horseback while charles drove a motor occupied by the three women. there is a circuitous route by which cars can cross the pass under their own power, but coltman preferred the direct road and sent four mules to tow the automobile up the mountains to the edge of the plateau. it was the same trail i had followed the previous september. then, as i stood on the summit of the pass gazing back across the far, dim hills, my heart was sad for i was about to enter a new land alone. my "best assistant" was on the ocean coming as fast as steam could carry her to join me in peking. i wondered if fate's decree would bring us here together that we might both have, as a precious heritage for future years, the memories of this strange land of romance and of mystery. now the dream had been fulfilled and never have i entered a new country with greater hopes of what it would bring to me. never, too, have such hopes been more gloriously realized. we packed the cars that night and at half past five the next morning were on the road. the sky was gray and cloud-hung, but by ten o'clock the sun burned out and we gradually emerged from the fur robes in which we had been buried. instead of the fields of ripening grain which in the previous autumn had spread the hills with a flowing golden carpet, we saw blue-clad chinese farmers turning long brown furrows with homemade plows. the trees about the mission station had just begun to show a tinge of green--the first sign of awakening at the touch of spring from the long winter sleep. already caravans were astir, and we passed lines of laden camels now almost at the end of the long journey from outer mongolia, whither we were bound. but, instead of splendid beasts with upstanding humps and full neck beards, the camels now were pathetic mountains of almost naked skin on which the winter hair hung in ragged patches. the humps were loose and flat and flapped disconsolately as the great bodies lurched along the trail. when we passed one caravan a _débonnaire_ old mongol wearing a derby hat swung out of line and signaled us to stop. after an appraising glance at the car he smiled broadly and indicated that he would like to race. in a moment he was off yelling at the top of his lungs and belaboring the bony sides of his camel with feet and hands. the animal's ungainly legs swung like a windmill in every direction it seemed, except forward, and yet the mongol managed to keep his rolling old "ship of the desert" abreast of us for several minutes. finally we let him win the race, and his look of delight was worth going far to see as he waved us good-by and with a hearty "_sai-bei-nah_" loped slowly back to the caravan. the road was much better than it had been the previous fall. during the winter the constant tramp of padded feet had worn down and filled the ruts which had been cut by the summer traffic of spike-wheeled carts. but the camels had almost finished their winter's work. in a few weeks they would leave the trail to ox and pony caravans and spend the hot months in idleness, storing quantities of fat in their great hump reservoirs. there was even more bird life than i had seen the previous september. the geese had all flown northward where we would find them scattered over their summer breeding grounds, but thousands of demoiselle cranes (_anthropoides virgo_) had taken their places in the fields. they were in the midst of the spring courting and seemed to have lost all fear. one pair remained beside the road until we were less than twenty feet away, stepping daintily aside only when we threatened to run them down. another splendid male performed a love dance for the benefit of his prospective bride quite undisturbed by the presence of our cars. with half-spread wings he whirled and leaped about the lady while every feather on her slim, blue body expressed infinite boredom and indifference to his passionate appeal. ruddy sheldrakes, mallards, shoveler ducks, and teal were in even the smallest ponds and avocets with sky-blue legs and slender recurved bills ran along the shores of a lake at which we stopped for tiffin. when we had passed the last chinese village and were well in the mongolian grasslands we had great fun shooting gophers (_citellus mongolicus umbratus_) from the cars. it was by no means easy to kill them before they slipped into their dens, and i often had to burrow like a terrier to pull them out even when they were almost dead. we got eighteen, and camped at half past four in order that the taxidermists might have time to prepare the skins. there was a hint of rain in the air and we pitched the tent for emergencies, although none of us wished to sleep inside. mac suggested that we utilize the electric light plant even if we were on the mongolian plains. in half an hour he had installed wires in the tent and placed an arc lamp on the summit of a pole. it was an extraordinary experience to see the canvas walls about us, to hear the mournful wail of a lone wolf outside, and yet be able to turn the switch of an electric light as though we were in the city. no arc lamp on fifth avenue blazed more brightly than did this one on the edge of the gobi desert where none of its kind had ever shone before. with the motor cars which had stolen the sanctity of the plains it was only another evidence of the passing of mongolian mystery. usually when we camped we could see, almost immediately, the silhouettes of approaching mongols black against the evening sky. where they came from we could never guess. for miles there might not have been the trace of a human being, but suddenly they would appear as though from out the earth itself. perhaps they had been riding along some distant ridge far beyond the range of white men's eyes, or the roar of a motor had carried to their ears across the miles of plain; or perhaps it was that unknown sense, which seems to have been developed in these children of the desert, which directs them unerringly to water, to a lost horse, or to others of their kind. be it what it may, almost every night the mongols came loping into camp on their hardy, little ponies. but this evening, when we had prepared an especial celebration, the audience did not arrive. it was a bitter disappointment, for we were consumed with curiosity to know what effect the blazing arc would have upon the mongolian stoics. we could not believe that natives had not seen the light but probably they thought it was some spirit manifestation which was to be avoided. an hour after we were snuggled in our fur sleeping bags, two mongols rode into camp, but we were too sleepy to give an exhibition of the fireworks. we reached panj-kiang about noon of the second day and found that a large mud house and a spacious compound had been erected beside the telegraph station by the chinese company which was endeavoring to maintain a passenger service between kalgan and urga. the chinese government also had invaded the field and was sending automobiles regularly to the mongolian capital as a branch service of the peking-suiyuan railroad. in the previous september we had passed half a dozen of their motors in charge of a foreign representative of messrs. jardine, matheson and co. of shanghai from whom the cars were purchased. he discovered immediately that the difficulties which the chinese had encountered were largely the result of incompetent chauffeurs. we had kept a sharp lookout for antelope, but saw nothing except a fox which looked so huge in the clear air that all of us were certain it was a wolf. there are always antelope on the panj-kiang plain, however, and we loaded the magazines of our rifles as soon as we left the telegraph station. i was having a bit of sport with an immense flock of golden plover (_pluvialis dominicus fulvus_) when the people in the cars signaled me to return, for a fine antelope buck was standing only a few hundred yards from the road. the ground was as smooth and hard as an asphalt pavement and we skimmed along at forty miles an hour. when the animal had definitely made up its mind to cross in front of us, charles gave the accelerator a real push and the car jumped to a speed of forty-eight miles. the antelope was doing his level best to "cross our bows" but he was too far away, and for a few moments it seemed that we would surely crash into him if he held his course. it was a great race. yvette had a death grip on my coat, for i was sitting half over the edge of the car ready to jump when charles threw on the brakes. with any one but coltman at the wheel i would have been too nervous to enjoy the ride, but we all had confidence in his superb driving. the buck crossed the road not forty yards in front of us, just at the summit of a tiny hill. charles and i both fired once, and the antelope turned half over in a whirl of dust. it disappeared behind the hill crest and we expected to find it dead on the other side, but the slope was empty and even with our glasses we could not discover a sign of life on the plain, which stretched away to the horizon apparently as level as a floor. it had been swallowed utterly as though by the magic pocket of a conjurer. mac had not participated in the fun, for it had been a one-man race. fifteen minutes later, however, we had a "free for all" which gave him his initiation. an extract from yvette's "journal" gives her impression of the chase: "some one pointed out the distant, moving specks on the horizon and in a moment our car had left the road and started over the plains. nearer and nearer we came, and faster and faster ran the antelope stringing out in a long, yellow line before us. the speedometer was moving up and up, thirty miles, thirty-five miles. roy was sitting on the edge of the car with his legs hanging out, rifle in hand, ready to swing to the ground as soon as the car halted. mr. coltman, who was driving, had already thrown on the brakes, but roy, thinking in his excitement that he had stopped, jumped--and jumped too soon. the speed at which we were going threw him violently to the ground. i hardly dared look to see what had happened but somehow he turned a complete somersault, landed on his knees, and instantly began shooting. mr. coltman, his hands trembling with the exertion of the drive, opened fire across the wind shield. as the first reports crashed out, the antelope, which had seemed to be flying before, flattened out and literally skimmed over the plain. half a dozen bullets struck behind the herd, then as roy's rifle cracked again, one of those tiny specks dropped to the ground. "it was a wonderful shot--four hundred and twenty yards measured distance. no, this isn't a woman's inaccuracy of figures, it's a fact. but then you must remember the extraordinary clearness of the air in mongolia, where every object appears to be magnified half a dozen times. the brilliant atmosphere is one of the most bewildering things of the desert. once we thought we saw an antelope grazing on the hillside and mr. coltman remarked disdainfully: 'pooh, that's a horse.' but the laugh was on him for as we drew near the 'horse' proved to be only a bleached bone. at a short distance camels and ponies stood out as though cut in steel, seeming as high as a village church steeple; and, most ridiculous of all, my husband mistook me once at a long, long distance for a telegraph pole! tartarin de tarascon would have had some wonderful stories to tell of mongolia!" [illustration: the water carrier for a caravan] [illustration: a thirty-five pound bustard] [illustration: young mongolia] we had hardly reached the road again before mrs. coltman discovered a great herd of antelope on the slope of a low hill, and when the ears carried us over the crest we could see animals in every direction, feeding in pairs or in groups of ten to forty. we all agreed that no better place could be found at which to obtain motion pictures and camp was made forthwith. unfortunately, the gazelles were shedding their winter coats and the skins were useless except for study; however, i did need half a dozen skeletons, so the animals we killed would not be wasted. it was four o'clock in the afternoon when the tents were up and too late to take pictures; therefore, the photography was postponed until the next day, and we ran over toward a herd of antelope which was just visible on the sky line. when each of us had killed an animal, the opinion was unanimous that we had enough. i got mine on the first chase and thenceforth employed my time in making observations on the antelope's speed. time after time the car reached forty miles an hour, but with an even start the gazelles could swing about in front and "cross our bows." one of the antelope had a front leg broken just below the knee, and gave us a hard chase with the car going at thirty-five miles an hour. i estimated that even in its crippled condition the animal was traveling at a rate of _not less than twenty-five miles an hour_. my field notes tell of a similar experience with the last gazelle which mac killed late in the afternoon. ". . . we ran toward another group of antelope standing on the summit of a long land swell. there were fourteen in this herd and as the car neared them they trotted about with heads up, evidently trying to decide what species of plains animal we represented. the sun had just set, and i shall never forget the picture which they made, their graceful figures showing in black silhouettes against the rose glow of the evening sky. there was one buck among them and they seemed very nervous. when the men leaped out to shoot we were fully two hundred and fifty yards away, but at his third shot mac dropped the buck. it was up again and off before the motor started in pursuit and, although running apart from the herd, it was only a short distance behind the others. evidently the right foreleg was broken but with the car traveling at twenty-five miles an hour it was still drawing ahead. the going was not good and we ran for two miles without gaining an inch; then we came to a bit of smooth plain and the motor shot ahead at thirty-five miles an hour. we gained slowly and, when about one hundred yards away, i leaped out and fired at the animal breaking the other foreleg low down on the left side. even with two legs injured it still traveled at a rate of fifteen miles, and a third shot was required to finish the unfortunate business. we found that both limbs were broken below the knee, and that the animal had been running on the stumps." chapter v antelope movie stars it was eight o'clock before we finished breakfast in the morning, but we did not wish to begin the motion picture photography until the sun was high enough above the horizon to give us a clear field for work. charles and i rigged the tripod firmly in the _tonneau_ of one of the cars. mrs. mac and wang, a chinese driver, were in the front seat, while yvette and i squeezed in beside the camera. the coltmans, mac, and owen occupied the other motor. we found a herd of antelope within a mile of camp and they paraded in beautiful formation as the car approached. it would have made a splendid picture, but although the two automobiles were of the same make, there was a vast difference in their speed and it was soon evident that we could not keep pace with the other motor. after two or three ineffectual attempts we roped the camera in the most powerful car, the three men came in with me, and the women transferred to wang's machine. the last herd of antelope had disappeared over a long hill, and when we reached the summit we saw that they had separated into four groups and scattered about on the plains below us. we selected the largest, containing about fifty animals, and ran toward it as fast as the car could travel. the herd divided when we were still several hundred yards away, but the larger part gave promise of swinging across our path. the ground was thinly covered with short bunch grass, and when we reached a speed of thirty-five miles an hour the car was bounding and leaping over the tussocks like a ship in a heavy gale. i tried to stand, but after twice being almost pitched out bodily i gave it up and operated the camera by kneeling on the rear seat. mac helped anchor me by sitting on my left leg, and we got one hundred feet of film from the first herd. races with three other groups gave us two hundred feet more, and as the gasoline in our tank was alarmingly depleted we turned back toward camp. unfortunately i did not reload the camera with a fresh roll of film and thereby missed one of the most unusual and interesting pictures which ever could be obtained upon the plains. the tents were already in sight when a wolf suddenly appeared on the crest of a grassy knoll. he looked at us for a moment and then set off at an easy lope. the temptation was too great to be resisted even though there was a strong possibility that we might be stalled in the desert with no gas. the ground was smooth and hard, and our speedometer showed forty miles an hour. we soon began to gain, but for three miles he gave us a splendid race. suddenly, as we came over a low hill, we saw an enormous herd of antelope directly in front of us. they were not more than two hundred yards away, and the wolf made straight for them. panic-stricken at the sight of their hereditary enemy followed by the roaring car, they scattered wildly and then swung about to cross our path. the wolf dashed into their midst and the herd divided as though cut by a knife. some turned short about, but the others kept on toward us until i thought we would actually run them down. when not more than fifty yards from the motor they wheeled sharply and raced along beside the wolf. to add to the excitement a fat, yellow marmot, which seemed suddenly to have lost his mind, galloped over the plain as fast as his short legs could carry him until he remembered that safety lay underground; then he popped into his burrow like a billiard ball into a pocket. with this strange assortment fleeing in front of the car we felt as though we had invaded a zoölogical garden. the wolf paid not the slightest attention to the antelope for he had troubles of his own. we were almost on him, and i could see his red tongue between the foam-flecked jaws. suddenly he dodged at right angles, and it was only by a clever bit of driving that charles avoided crashing into him with the left front wheel. before we could swing about the wolf had gained five hundred yards, but he was almost done. in another mile we had him right beside the car, and coltman leaned far out to kill him with his pistol. the first bullet struck so close behind the animal that it turned him half over, and he dodged again just in time to meet a shot from mac's rifle which broke his back. with its dripping lips drawn over a set of ugly teeth, the beast glared at us, as much as to say, "it is your move next, but don't come too close." had it been any animal except a wolf i should have felt a twinge of pity, but i had no sympathy for the skulking brute. there will be more antelope next year because of its death. all this had happened with an unloaded camera in the automobile. i had tried desperately to adjust a new roll of film, but had given up in despair for it was difficult enough even to sit in the bounding car. were i to spend the remainder of my life in mongolia there might never be such a chance again. but we had an opportunity to learn just how fast a wolf can run, for the one we had killed was undoubtedly putting his best foot forward. i estimated that even at first he was not doing more than thirty-five miles an hour, and later we substantiated it on another, which gave us a race of twelve miles. with antelope which can reach fifty-five to sixty miles an hour a wolf has little chance, unless he catches them unawares, or finds the newly born young. to avoid just this the antelope are careful to stay well out on the plains where there are no rocks or hills to conceal a skulking wolf. the wolf we had killed was shedding its hair and presented a most dilapidated, moth-eaten appearance; moreover, it had just been feeding on the carcass of a dead camel, which subsequently we discovered a mile away. when we reached camp i directed the two taxidermists to prepare the skeleton of the wolf, but to keep well away from the tents. charles and i had been talking a good deal about antelope steak, and for tiffin i had cut the fillets from one of the young gazelle. we were very anxious to "make good" on all that had been promised, so we cooked the steak ourselves. just when the party was assembled in the tent for luncheon the chinese began work upon the wolf. they had obediently gone to a considerable distance to perform the last rites, but had not chosen wisely in regard to the wind. as the antelope steak was brought in, a gentle breeze wafted with it a concentrated essence of defunct camel. yvette put down her knife and fork and looked up. she caught my eye and burst out laughing. mrs. mac had her hand clasped firmly over her mouth and on her face was an expression of horror and deathly nausea. although i am a great lover of antelope steak, i will admit that when accompanied by _parfum de chameau_, especially when it is a very dead _chameau_, there are other things more attractive. moreover, the antelope which we killed on the panj-kiang plain really were very strong indeed. i have never been able to discover what was the cause, for those farther to the north were as delicious as any we have ever eaten. the introduction was such an unfortunate one that the party shied badly whenever antelope meat was mentioned during the remainder of the trip to urga. coltman, who had charge of the commissary, quite naturally expected that we would depend largely on meat and had not provided a sufficiency of other food. as a result we found that after the third day rations were becoming very short. we camped that night at a well in a sandy river bottom about ten miles beyond ude, the halfway point on the trip to urga. it had been a bad day, with a bitterly cold wind which drove the dust and tiny pebbles against our faces like a continual storm of hail. as soon as the cars had stopped every one of us set to work with soap and water before anything had been done toward making camp. our one desire was to remove a part of the dirt which had sifted into our eyes, hair, mouths, and ears. in half an hour we looked more brightly upon the world and began to wonder what we would have for dinner. it was a discussion which could not be carried on for very long since the bread was almost gone and only macaroni remained. just then a demoiselle crane alighted beside the well not forty yards away. "there's our dinner," charles shouted, "shoot it." two minutes later i was stripping off the feathers, and in less than five minutes it was sizzling in the pan. that was a bit too much for mrs. mac, hungry as she was. "just think," she said, "that bird was walking about here not ten minutes ago and now it's on my plate. it hasn't stopped wiggling yet. i can't eat it!" poor girl, she went to bed hungry, and in the night waked to find her face terribly swollen from wind and sunburn. she was certain that she was about to die, but decided, like the "good sport" she is, to die alone upon the hillside where she wouldn't disturb the camp. after half an hour of wandering about she felt better, and returned to her sleeping bag on the sandy river bottom. just before dark we heard the _dong_, _dong_, _dong_ of a camel's bell and saw the long line of dusty yellow animals swing around a sharp earth-corner into the sandy space beside the well. like the trained units of an army each camel came into position, kneeled upon the ground and remained quietly chewing its cud until the driver removed the load. long before the last straggler had arrived the tents were up and a fire blazing, and far into the night the thirsty beasts grunted and roared as the trough was filled with water. for thirty-six days they had been on the road, and yet were only halfway across the desert. every day had been exactly like the day before--an endless routine of eating and sleeping, camp-making and camp-breaking in sun, rain, or wind. the monotony of it all would be appalling to a westerner, but the oriental mind seems peculiarly adapted to accept it with entire contentment. long before daylight they were on the road again, and when we awoke only the smoking embers of an _argul_ fire remained as evidence that they ever had been there. mongolia, as we saw it in the spring, was very different from mongolia of the early autumn. the hills and plains stretched away in limitless waves of brown untinged by the slightest trace of green, and in shaded corners among rocks there were still patches of snow or ice. instead of resembling the grassy plains of kansas or nebraska, now it was like a real desert and i had difficulty in justifying to yvette and mac my glowing accounts of its potential resources. moreover, the human life was just as disappointing as the lack of vegetation, for we were "between seasons" on the trail. the winter traffic was almost ended, and the camels would not be replaced by cart caravans until the grass was long enough to provide adequate food for oxen and horses. the _yurts_, which often are erected far out upon the plains away from water when snow is on the ground, had all been moved near the wells or to the summer pastures; and sometimes we traveled a hundred miles without a glimpse of even a solitary mongol. ude had been left far behind, and we were bowling along on a road as level as a floor, when we saw two wolves quietly watching us half a mile away. we had agreed not to chase antelope again; but wolves were fair game at any time. moreover, we were particularly glad to be able to check our records as to how fast a wolf can run when conditions are in its favor. coltman signaled mac to await us with the others, and we swung toward the animals which were trotting slowly westward, now and then stopping to look back as though reluctant to leave such an unusual exhibition as the car was giving them. a few moments later, however, they decided that curiosity might prove dangerous and began to run in earnest. they separated almost immediately, and we raced after the larger of the two, a huge fellow with rangy legs which carried him forward in a long, swinging lope. the ground was perfect for the car, and the speedometer registered forty miles an hour. he had a thousand-yard start, but we gained rapidly, and i estimated that he never reached a greater speed than thirty miles an hour. charles was very anxious to kill the brute from the motor with his . caliber automatic pistol, and i promised not to shoot. the wolf was running low to the ground, his head a little to one side watching us with one bloodshot eye. he was giving us a great race, but the odds were all against him, and finally we had him right beside the motor. leaning far out, coltman fired quickly. the bullet struck just behind the brute, and he swerved sharply, missing the right front wheel by a scant six inches. before charles could turn the car he had gained three hundred yards, but we reached him again in little more than a mile. as coltman was about to shoot a second time, the wolf suddenly dropped from sight. almost on the instant the car plunged over a bank four feet in height, landed with a tremendous shock--and kept on! charles had seen the danger in a flash, and had thrown his body against the wheel to hold it steady. had he not been an expert driver we should inevitably have turned upside down and probably all would have been killed. we stopped an instant to inspect the springs, but by a miracle not a leaf was broken. the wolf halted, too, and we could see him standing on a gentle rise with drooping head, his gray sides heaving. he seemed to be "all in," but to our amazement he was off again like the wind even before the car had started. during the last three miles the ground had been changing rapidly, and we soon reached a stony plain where there was imminent danger of smashing a front wheel. the wolf was heading directly toward a rocky slope which lay against the sky like the spiny back of some gigantic monster of the past. his strategy had almost won the race. for a moment the wolf rested on the ridge, and i leaped out to shoot, but instantly he dropped behind the bowlders. leaving me to intercept the animal, charles swung behind the ridge only to run at full speed into a sandy pocket. the motor ceased to throb, and the race was ended. these wolves are sneaking carrion-feeders and as such i detest them, but this one had "played the game." _for twelve long miles_ he had kept doggedly at his work without a whimper or a cry of "kamerad." the brute had outgeneraled us completely, had won by strategy and magnificent endurance. whatever he supposed the roaring car to be, instinct told him that safety lay among the rocks and he led us there as straight as an arrow's flight. the animal seemed to take an almost human enjoyment in the way we had been tricked, for he stood on a hillside half a mile away watching our efforts to extricate the car. we were in a bad place, and it was evident that the only method of escape was to remove all the baggage which was tied to the running boards. spreading our fur sleeping bags upon the sand, we pushed and lifted the automobile to firm ground after an hour of strenuous work. hardly had we started back to the road, when charles suddenly clapped both hands to his face yelling, "my lord, i'm burning up. what is it? i'm all on fire." mrs. coltman pulled his hands away, revealing his face covered with blotches and rising blisters. at the same moment yvette and i felt a shower of liquid fire stinging our hands and necks. we leaped out of the car just as another blast swept back upon us. then charles shouted, "i know. it's the delco plant," and dived toward the front mud guard. sure enough, the cover had been displaced from one of the batteries, and little pools of sulphuric acid had formed on the leather casings. the wind was blowing half a gale, and each gust showered us with drops of colorless liquid which bit like tiny, living coals. in less than ten seconds i had slashed the ropes and the batteries were lying on the ground, but the acid had already done its work most thoroughly. the duffle sacks containing all our field clothes had received a liberal dose, and during the summer yvette was kept busy patching shirts and trousers. i never would have believed that a little acid could go so far. even garments in the very center of the sacks would suddenly disintegrate when we put them on, and the hutukhtu and his electric plant were "blessed" many times before we left mongolia. [illustration: mongol horsemen on the streets of urga] [illustration: the prison at urga] [illustration: a criminal in a coffin with hands manacled] when we reached the road, mrs. mac was sitting disconsolately in a car beside the servants. we had been gone nearly three hours and the poor girl was frantic with anxiety. mac and owen had followed our tracks in another motor, and arrived thirty minutes later. mac's happy face was drawn and white. "i wouldn't go through that experience again for all the money in mongolia," he said. "we followed your tracks and at every hill expected to find you dead on the other side and the car upside down. how on earth did you miss capsizing when you went over that bank?" at turin we found mr. and mrs. mamen camped near the telegraph station awaiting our arrival. the first cry was "food! food!" and two loaves of russian bread which they had brought from urga vanished in less than fifteen minutes. after taking several hundred feet of "movie" film at the monastery, we ran on northward over a road which was as smooth and hard as a billiard table. the turin plain was alive with game; marmots, antelope, hares, bustards, geese, and cranes seemed to have concentrated there as though in a vast zoölogical garden, and we had some splendid shooting. but as yvette and i spent two glorious months on this same plain, i will tell in future chapters how, in long morning horseback rides and during silent starlit nights, we learned to know and love it. chapter vi the sacred city of the living buddha far up in northern mongolia, where the forests stretch in an unbroken line to the siberian frontier, lies urga, the sacred city of the living buddha. the world has other sacred cities, but none like this. it is a relic of medieval times overlaid with a veneer of twentieth-century civilization; a city of violent contrasts and glaring anachronisms. motor cars pass camel caravans fresh from the vast, lone spaces of the gobi desert; holy lamas, in robes of flaming red or brilliant yellow, walk side by side with black-gowned priests; and swarthy mongol women, in the fantastic headdress of their race, stare wonderingly at the latest fashions of their russian sisters. we came to urga from the south. all day we had been riding over rolling, treeless uplands, and late in the afternoon we had halted on the summit of a hill overlooking the tola river valley. fifteen miles away lay urga, asleep in the darkening shadow of the bogdo-ol (god's mountain). an hour later the road led us to our first surprise in mai-ma-cheng, the chinese quarter of the city. years of wandering in the strange corners of the world had left us totally unprepared for what we saw. it seemed that here in mongolia we had discovered an american frontier outpost of the indian fighting days. every house and shop was protected by high stockades of unpeeled timbers, and there was hardly a trace of oriental architecture save where a temple roof gleamed above the palisades. before we were able to adjust our mental perspective we had passed from colonial america into a hamlet of modern russia. gayly painted cottages lined the road, and, unconsciously, i looked for a white church with gilded cupolas. the church was not in sight, but its place was taken by a huge red building of surpassing ugliness, the russian consulate. it stands alone on the summit of a knoll, the open plains stretching away behind it to the somber masses of the northern forests. in its imposing proportions it is tangible evidence of the russian colossus which not many years ago dominated urga and all that is left of the ancient empire of the khans. for two miles the road is bordered by russian cottages; then it debouches into a wide square which loses its distinctive character and becomes an indescribable mixture of russia, mongolia, and china. palisaded compounds, gay with fluttering prayer flags, ornate houses, felt-covered _yurts_, and chinese shops mingle in a dizzying chaos of conflicting personalities. three great races have met in urga and each carries on, in this far corner of mongolia, its own customs and way of life. the mongol _yurt_ has remained unchanged; the chinese shop, with its wooden counter and blue-gowned inmates, is pure chinese; and the ornate cottages proclaim themselves to be only russian. but on the street my wife and i could never forget that we were in mongolia. we never tired of wandering through the narrow alleys, with their tiny native shops, or of watching the ever-changing crowds. mongols in half a dozen different tribal dresses, tibetan pilgrims, manchu tartars, or camel drivers from far turkestan drank and ate and gambled with chinese from civilized peking. the barbaric splendor of the native dress fairly makes one gasp for breath. besides gowns and sashes of dazzling brilliance, the men wear on their heads all the types of covering one learned to know in the pictures of ancient cathay, from the high-peaked hat of yellow and black--through the whole, strange gamut--to the helmet with streaming peacock plumes. but were i to tell about them all i would leave none of my poor descriptive phrases for the women. it is hopeless to draw a word-picture of a mongol woman. a photograph will help, but to be appreciated she must be seen in all her colors. to begin with the dressing of her hair. if all the women of the orient competed to produce a strange and fantastic type, i do not believe that they could excel what the mongol matrons have developed by themselves. their hair is plaited over a frame into two enormous flat bands, curved like the horns of a mountain sheep and reënforced with bars of wood or silver. each horn ends in a silver plaque, studded with bits of colored glass or stone, and supports a pendent braid like a riding quirt. on her head, between the horns, she wears a silver cap elaborately chased and flashing with "jewels." surmounting this is a "saucer" hat of black and yellow. her skirt is of gorgeous brocade or cloth, and the jacket is of like material with prominent "puffs" upon the shoulders. she wears huge leather boots with upturned, pointed toes, similar to those of the men, and when in full array she has a whole portiere of beadwork suspended from the region of her ears. she is altogether satisfying to the lover of fantastic oriental costumes, except in the matter of footgear, and this slight exception might be allowed, for she has so amply decorated every other available part of her anatomy. moreover, the boots form a very necessary adjunct to her personal equipment, besides providing a covering for her feet. they are many sizes too large, of course, but they furnish ample space during the bitter cold of winter for the addition of several pairs of socks, varying in number according to the thermometer. during the summer she often wears no socks at all, but their place is taken by an assortment of small articles which cannot be carried conveniently on her person. her pipe and tobacco, a package of tea, or a wooden bowl can easily be stuffed into the wide top boots, for pockets are an unknown luxury even to the men. in its kaleidoscopic mass of life and color the city is like a great pageant on the stage of a theater, with the added fascination of reality. but, somehow, i could never quite make myself believe that it was real when a brilliant group of horsemen in pointed, yellow hats and streaming, peacock feathers dashed down the street. it seemed too impossible that i, a wandering naturalist of the drab, prosaic twentieth century, and my american wife were really a living, breathing part of this strange drama of the orient. but there was one point of contact which we had with this dream-life of the middle ages. yvette and i both love horses, and the way to a mongol's heart is through his pony. once on horseback we began to identify ourselves with the fascinating life around us. we lost the uncomfortable sense of being merely spectators in the urga theatricals, and forgot that we had come to the holy city by means of a very unromantic motor car. we remained at urga for ten days while preparations were under way for our first trip to the plains, and returned to it often during the summer. we came to know it well, and each time we rode down the long street it seemed more wonderful that, in these days of commerce, urga, and in fact all mongolia, could have existed throughout the centuries with so little change. there is, of course, no lack of modern influence in the sacred city, but as yet it is merely a veneer which has been lightly superimposed upon its ancient civilization, leaving almost untouched the basic customs of its people. this has been due to the remoteness of mongolia. until a few years ago, when motor cars first made their way across the seven hundred miles of plains, the only access from the south was by camel caravan, and the monotonous trip offered little inducement to casual travelers. the russians came to urga from the north and, until the recent war, their influence was paramount along the border. they were by no means anxious to have other foreigners exploit mongolia, and they wished especially to keep the country as a buffer-state between themselves and china. not only is urga the capital of mongolia and the only city of considerable size in the entire country but it is also the residence of the hutukhtu, or living buddha, the head of both the church and the state. across the valley his palaces nestle close against the base of the bogdo-ol (god's mountain), which rises in wooded slopes from the river to an elevation of eleven thousand feet above sea level. the sacred mountain is a vast game preserve, which is patrolled by two thousand lamas, and every approach is guarded by a temple or a camp of priests. great herds of elk, roebuck, boar, and other animals roam the forests, but to shoot within the sacred precincts would mean almost certain death for the transgressor. some years ago several russians from urga made their way up the mountain during the night and killed a bear. they were brought back in chains by a mob of frenzied lamas. although the hunters had been beaten nearly to death, it required all the influence of the russian diplomatic agent to save what remained of their lives. the bogdo-ol extends for twenty-five miles along the tola valley, shutting off urga from the rolling plains to the south. like a gigantic guardian of the holy city at its base, it stands as the only obstacle to the wireless station which is soon to be erected. the hutukhtu has three palaces on the banks of the tola river. one of them is a hideous thing, built in russian style. the other two at least have the virtue of native architecture. in the main palace the central structure is white with gilded cupolas, and smaller pavilions at the side have roofs of green. the whole is surrounded by an eight-foot stockade of white posts trimmed with red. the hutukhtu seldom leaves his palace now, for he is old and sick and almost blind. many strange stories are told of the mysterious "living god" which tend to show him "as of the earth earthy." it is said that in former days he sometimes left his "heaven" to revel with convivial foreigners in urga; but all this is gossip and we are discussing a very saintly person. his passion for occidental trinkets and inventions is well known, however, and his palace is a veritable storehouse for gramophones, typewriters, microscopes, sewing machines, and a host of other things sold to him by russian traders and illustrated in picture catalogues sent from the uttermost corners of the world. but like a child he soon tires of his toys and throws them aside. he has a motor car, but he never rides in it. it has been reported that his chief use for the automobile is to attach a wire to its batteries and give his ministers an electric shock; for all mongols love a practical joke, and the hutukhtu is no exception. now his palace is wired for electricity, and a great arc light illuminates the courtyard. one evening mr. lucander and mr. mamen, who sold the electric plant to the hutukhtu, were summoned to the palace to receive payment. they witnessed a scene which to-day could be possible only in mongolia. several thousand dollars in silver were brought outside to their motor car, and the lama, who paid the bills, insisted that they count it in his presence. a great crowd of mongols had gathered near the palace and at last a long rope was let out from one of the buildings. kneeling, the mongols reverently touched the rope, which was gently waggled from the other end, supposedly by the hutukhtu. a barbaric monotone of chanted prayers arose from the kneeling suppliants, and the rope was waggled again. then the mongols rode away, silent with awe at having been blessed by the living god. all this under a blazing electric light beside an automobile at the foot of the bogdo-ol! the hutukhtu seemed to feel that it became his station as a ruling monarch to have a foreign house with foreign furniture. of course he never intended to live in it, but other kings had useless palaces and why shouldn't he? therefore, a russian atrocity of red brick was erected a half mile or so from his other dwellings. the furnishing became a matter of moment, and mr. lucander, who was temporarily in the employ of the mongolian government, was intrusted with the task of attending to the intimate details. the selection of a bed was most important, for even living buddhas have to sleep sometimes--they cannot always be blessing adoring subjects or playing jokes on their ministers of state. with considerable difficulty a foreign bed was purchased and brought across the seven hundred miles of plains and desert to the red brick palace on the banks of the tola river. mr. lucander superintended its installation in the hutukhtu's boudoir and himself turned chambermaid. as this was the first time he had ever made a bed for a living god, he arranged the spotless sheets and turned down the covers with the greatest care. when all was done to his satisfaction he reported to one of the hutukhtu's ministers that the bed was ready. two lamas, high dignitaries of the church, were the inspection committee. they agreed that it _looked_ all right, but the question was, how did it _feel_? mr. lucander waxed eloquent on the "springiness" of the springs, and assured them that no bed could be better; that this was the bed _par excellence_ of all the beds in china. the lamas held a guttural consultation and then announced that before the bed could be accepted it must be tested. therefore, without more ado, each lama in his dirty boots and gown laid his unwashed self upon the bed, and bounced up and down. the result was satisfactory--except to lucander and the sheets. although to foreign eyes and in the cold light of modernity the hutukhtu and his government cut a somewhat ridiculous figure, the reverse of the picture is the pathetic death struggle of a once glorious race. i have said that unaccustomed luxury was responsible for the decline of the mongol empire, but the ruin of the race was due to the lama church. lamaism, which was introduced from tibet, gained its hold not long after the time of kublai khan's death in . previous to this the mongols had been religious liberals, but eventually lamaism was made the religion of the state. it is a branch of the buddhist cult, and its teachings are against war and violent death. by custom one or more sons of every family are dedicated to the priesthood, and as lamaism requires its priests to be celibate, the birth rate is low. to-day there are only a few million mongols in a country half as large as the united states (exclusive of alaska), a great proportion of the male population being lamas. with no education, except in the books of their sect, they lead a lazy, worthless existence, supported by the lay population and by the money they extract by preying upon the superstitions of their childlike brothers. were lamaism abolished there still would be hope for mongolia under a proper government, for the mongols of to-day are probably the equals of genghis khan's warriors in strength, endurance, and virility. the religion of mongolia is like that of tibet and the dalai lama of lhassa is the head of the entire church. the tashi lama residing at tashilumpo, also in tibet, ranks second. the hutukhtu of mongolia is third in the lama hierarchy, bearing the title _cheptsundampa hutukhtu_ (venerable best saint). according to ancient tradition, the hutukhtu never dies; his spirit simply reappears in the person of some newly born infant and thus comes forth reëmbodied. the names of infants, who have been selected as possible candidates for the honor, are written upon slips of paper incased in rolls of paste and deposited in a golden urn. the one which is drawn is hailed as the new incarnation. some years ago the eyesight of the hutukhtu began to fail, and a great temple was erected as a sacrifice to appease the gods. it stands on a hill at the western end of urga, surrounded by the tiny wooden dwellings of the priests. "the lama city" it is called, for only those in the service of the church are allowed to live within its sacred precincts. in the temple itself there is an eighty-foot bronze image of buddha standing on a golden lotus flower. the great figure is heavily gilded, incrusted with precious stones, and draped with silken cloths. i was fortunate in being present one day when the temple was opened to women and the faithful in the city. somewhat doubtful as to my reception, i followed the crowd as it filed through an outer pavilion between a double row of kneeling lamas in high-peaked hats and robes of flaming yellow. i carried my hat in my hand and tried to wear a becoming expression of humility and reverence. it was evidently successful, for i passed unhindered into the presence. at the entrance stood a priest who gave me, with the others, a few drops of holy water from a filthy jug. silent with awe, the people bathed their faces with the precious fluid and prostrated themselves before the gigantic figure standing on the golden lotus blossom, its head lost in the shadows of the temple roof. they kissed its silken draperies, soiled by the lips of other thousands, and each one gathered a handful of sacred dirt from the temple floor. from niches in the walls hundreds of tiny buddhas gazed impassively on the worshiping mongols. [illustration: the great temple at urga] [illustration: a prayer wheel and a mongol lama] [illustration: lamas calling the gods at a temple in urga] [illustration: mongol praying at a shrine in urga] the scene was intoxicating in its barbaric splendor. the women in their fantastic headdresses and brilliant gowns; the blazing yellow robes of the kneeling lamas; and the chorus of prayers which rose and fell in a meaningless half-wild chant broken by the clash of cymbals and the boom of drums--all this set the blood leaping in my veins. there was a strange dizziness in my head, and i had an almost overpowering desire to fall on my knees with the mongols and join in the chorus of adoration. the subtle smell of burning incense, the brilliant colors, and the barbaric music were like an intoxicating drink which inflamed the senses but dulled the brain. it was then that i came nearest to understanding the religious fanaticism of the east. even with a background of twentieth-century civilization i felt its sensuous power. what wonder that it has such a hold on a simple, uneducated people, fed on superstition from earliest childhood and the religious traditions of seven hundred years! the service ended abruptly in a roar of sound. rising to their feet, the people streamed into the courtyard to whirl the prayer wheels about the temple's base. each wheel is a hollow cylinder of varying size, standing on end, and embellished with tibetan characters in gold. the wheels are sometimes filled with thousands of slips of paper upon which is written a prayer or a sacred thought, and each revolution adds to the store of merit in the future life. the mongol goes farther still in accumulating virtue, and every native house in urga is gay with fluttering bits of cloth or paper on which a prayer is written. each time the little flag moves in the wind it sends forth a supplication for the welfare of the mongol's spirit in the buddhistic heaven. not only are the prayer wheels found about the temples, but they line the streets, and no visiting mongol need be deprived of trying the virtue of a new device without going to a place of worship. he can give a whirl or two to half a dozen within a hundred yards of where he buys his tea or sells his sheep. on every hand there is constant evidence that urga is a sacred city. it never can be forgotten even for a moment. the golden roofs of scores of temples give back the sunlight, and the moaning chant of praying lamas is always in the air. even in the main street i have seen the prostrate forms of ragged pilgrims who have journeyed far to this mecca of the lama faith. if they are entering the city for the first time and crave exceeding virtue, they approach the great temple on the hill by lying face down at every step and beating their foreheads upon the ground. wooden shrines of dazzling whiteness stand in quiet streets or cluster by themselves behind the temples. in front of each, raised slightly at one end, is a prayer board worn black and smooth by the prostrated bodies of worshiping mongols. although the natives take such care for the repose of the spirit in after life, they have a strong distaste for the body from which the spirit has fled and they consider it a most undesirable thing to have about the house. the stigma is imposed even upon the dying. in urga a family of mongols had erected their _yurt_ in the courtyard of one of our friends. during the summer the young wife became very ill, and when her husband was convinced that she was about to die he moved the poor creature bodily out of the _yurt_. she could die if she wished, but it must not be inside his house. the corpse itself is considered unclean and the abode of evil spirits, and as such must be disposed of as quickly as possible. sometimes the whole family will pack up their _yurt_ and decamp at once, leaving the body where it lies. more usually the corpse is loaded upon a cart which is driven at high speed over a bit of rough ground. the body drops off at some time during the journey, but the driver does not dare look back until he is sure that the unwelcome burden is no longer with him; otherwise he might anger the spirit following the corpse and thereby cause himself and his family unending trouble. unlike the chinese, who treat their dead with the greatest respect and go to enormous expense in the burial, every mongol knows that his coffin will be the stomachs of dogs, wolves, or birds. indeed, the chinese name for the raven is the "mongol's coffin." the first day we camped in urga, my wife and mrs. maccallie were walking beside the river. only a short distance from our tent they discovered a dead mongol who had just been dragged out of the city. a pack of dogs were in the midst of their feast and the sight was most unpleasant. the dogs of mongolia are savage almost beyond belief. they are huge black fellows like the tibetan mastiff, and their diet of dead human flesh seems to have given them a contempt for living men. every mongol family has one or more, and it is exceedingly dangerous for a man to approach a _yurt_ or caravan unless he is on horseback or has a pistol ready. in urga itself you will probably be attacked if you walk unarmed through the meat market at night. i have never visited constantinople, but if the turkish city can boast of more dogs than urga, it must be an exceedingly disagreeable place in which to dwell. although the dogs live to a large extent upon human remains, they are also fed by the lamas. every day about four o'clock in the afternoon you can see a cart being driven through the main street, followed by scores of yelping dogs. on it are two or more dirty lamas with a great barrel from which they ladle out refuse for the dogs, for according to their religious beliefs they accumulate great merit for themselves if they prolong the life of anything, be it bird, beast, or insect. in the river valley, just below the lama city, numbers of dogs can always be found, for the dead priests usually are thrown there to be devoured. dozens of white skulls lie about in the grass, but it is a serious matter even to touch one. i very nearly got into trouble one day by targeting my rifle upon a skull which lay two or three hundred yards away from, our tent. the customs of the mongols are not all as gruesome as those i have described, yet urga is essentially a frontier city where life is seen in the raw. its natives are a hard-living race, virile beyond compare. children of the plains, they are accustomed to privation and fatigue. their law is the law of the northland: ". . . . that only the strong shall thrive, that surely the weak shall perish and only the fit survive." in the careless freedom of his magnificent horsemanship a mongol seems as much an untamed creature of the plains as does the eagle itself which soars above his _yurt_. independence breathes in every movement; even in his rough good humor and in the barbaric splendor of the native dress. but the little matter of cleanliness is of no importance in his scheme of life. when a meal has been eaten, the wooden bowl is licked clean with the tongue; it is seldom washed. every man and woman usually carries through life the bodily dirt which has accumulated in childhood, unless it is removed by some accident or by the wear of years. one can be morally certain that it will never be washed off by design or water. perhaps the native is not altogether to blame, for, except in the north, water is not abundant. it can be found on the plains and in the gobi desert only at wells and an occasional pond, and on the march it is too precious to be wasted in the useless process of bathing. moreover, from september until may the bitter winds which sweep down from the siberian steppes furnish an unpleasant temperature in which to take a bath. the mongol's food consists almost entirely of mutton, cheese, and tea. like all northern people, he needs an abundance of fat, and sheep supply his wants. there is always more or less grease distributed about his clothes and person, and when mongols are _en masse_ the odor of mutton and unwashed humanity is well-nigh overpowering. i must admit that in morality the mongol is but little better off than in personal cleanliness. a man may have only one lawful wife, but may keep as many concubines as his means allow, all of whom live with the members of the family in the single room of the _yurt_. adultery is openly practiced, apparently without prejudice to either party, and polyandry is not unusual in the more remote parts of the country. the mongol is _unmoral_ rather than _immoral_. he lives like an untaught child of nature and the sense of modesty or decency, as we conceive it, does not enter into his scheme of life. but the operation of natural laws, which in the lower animals are successful in maintaining the species, is fatally impaired by the loose family relations which tend to spread disease. unless lamaism is abolished i can see little hope for the rejuvenation of the race. in writing of urga's inhabitants and their way of life i am neglecting the city itself. i have already told of the great temple on the hill and its clustering lama houses which overlook and dominate the river valley. its ornate roof, flashing in the sun, can be seen for many miles, like a religious beacon guiding the steps of wandering pilgrims to the mecca of their faith. at the near end of the broad street below the lama city is the tent market, and just beyond it are the blacksmith shops where bridles, cooking pots, tent pegs, and all the equipment essential to a wandering life on the desert can be purchased in an hour--if you have the price! nothing is cheap in urga, with the exception of horses, and when we began to outfit for our trip on the plains we received a shock similar to that which i had a month ago in new york, when' paid twenty dollars for a pair of shoes. we ought to be hardened to it now, but when we were being robbed in urga by profiteering chinese, who sell flour at ten and twelve dollars a sack and condensed milk at seventy-five cents a tin, we roared and grumbled--and paid the price! i vowed i would never pay twenty dollars for a pair of shoes at home, but roaring and grumbling is no more effective in procuring shoes in new york than it was in obtaining flour and milk in urga. we paid in russian rubles, then worth three cents each. (in former years a ruble equaled more than half a dollar.) eggs were well-nigh nonexistent, except those which had made their way up from china over the long caravan trail and were guaranteed to be "addled"--or whatever it is that sometimes makes an egg an unpleasant companion at the breakfast table. even those cost three rubles each! only a few russians own chickens in urga and their productions are well-nigh "golden eggs," for grain is very scarce and it takes an astounding number of rubles to buy a bushel. fortunately we had sent most of our supplies and equipment to urga by caravan during the winter, but there were a good many odds and ends needed to fill our last requirements, and we came to know the ins and outs of the sacred city intimately before we were ready to leave for the plains. the chinese shops were our real help, for in urga, as everywhere else in the orient, the chinese are the most successful merchants. some firms have accumulated considerable wealth and the chinaman does not hesitate to exact the last cent of profit when trading with the mongols. at the eastern end of urga's central street, which is made picturesque by gayly painted prayer wheels and alive with a moving throng of brilliant horsemen, are the custom house and the ministry of foreign affairs. the former is at the far end of an enormous compound filled with camel caravans or loaded carts. there is a more or less useless wooden building, but the business is conducted in a large _yurt_, hard against the compound wall. it was an extraordinary contrast to see a modern filing-cabinet at one end and a telephone box on the felt-covered framework of the _yurt_. not far beyond the custom house is what i believe to be one of the most horrible prisons in the world. inside a double palisade of unpeeled timbers is a space about ten feet square upon which open the doors of small rooms, almost dark. in these dungeons are piled wooden boxes, four feet long by two and one-half feet high. these coffins are the prisoners' cells. some of the poor wretches have heavy chains about their necks and both hands manacled together. they can neither sit erect nor lie at full length. their food, when the jailer remembers to give them any, is pushed through a six-inch hole in the coffin's side. some are imprisoned here for only a few days or weeks; others for life, or for many years. sometimes they lose the use of their limbs, which shrink and shrivel away. the agony of their cramped position is beyond the power of words to describe. even in winter, when the temperature drops, as it sometimes does, to sixty degrees below zero, they are given only a single sheepskin for covering. how it is possible to live in indescribable filth, half-fed, well-nigh frozen in winter, and suffering the tortures of the damned, is beyond my ken--only a mongol could live at all. the prison is not a mongol invention. it was built by the manchus and is an eloquent tribute to a knowledge of the fine arts of cruelty that has never been surpassed. i have given this description of the prison not to feed morbid curiosity, but to show that urga, even if it has a custom house, a ministry of foreign affairs, motor cars, and telephones, is still at heart a city of the middle ages. in urga we made a delightful and most valuable friend in the person of mr. f. a. larsen. most foreigners speak of him as "larsen of mongolia" and indeed it is difficult for us to think of the country without thinking of the man. some thirty years ago he rode into mongolia and liked it. he liked it so much, in fact, that he dug a well and built a house among the tabool hills a hundred miles north of kalgan. at first he labored with his wife as a missionary, but later he left that field to her and took up the work which he loved best in all the world--the buying and selling of horses. during his years of residence in mongolia hundreds of thousands of horses have passed under his appraising eyes and the mongols respect his judgment as they respect the man. i wish that i might write the story of his life, for it is more interesting than any novel of romance or adventure. in almost every recent event of importance to the mongols mr. larsen's name has figured. time after time he has been sent as an emissary of the living buddha to peking when misunderstandings or disturbances threatened the political peace of mongolia. not only does he understand the psychology of the natives, but he knows every hill and plain of their vast plateau as well as do the desert nomads. for some time he had been in charge of andersen, meyer's branch at urga with mr. e. w. olufsen and we made their house our headquarters. mr. larsen immediately undertook to obtain an outfit for our work upon the plains. he purchased two riding ponies for us from prince tze tze; he borrowed two carts with harness from a russian friend, and bought another; he loaned us a riding pony for our mongol, a cart horse of his own, and mr. olufsen contributed another. he made our equipment a personal matter and he was never too busy to assist us in the smallest details. moreover, we could spend hours listening to the tales of his early life, for his keen sense of humor made him a delightful story-teller. one of the most charming aspects of our wandering life is the friends we have made in far corners of the world, and for none have we a more affectionate regard than for "larsen of mongolia." [illustration: mongol women beside a _yurt_] [illustration: the headdress of a mongol married woman] [illustration: the framework of a _yurt_] [illustration: mongol women and a lama] chapter vii the long trail to sain noin khan our arrival in urga was in the most approved manner of the twentieth century. we came in motor cars with much odor of gasoline and noise of horns. when we left the sacred city we dropped back seven hundred years and went as the mongols traveled. perhaps it was not quite as in the days of genghis khan, for we had three high-wheeled carts of a russian model, but they were every bit as springless and uncomfortable as the palanquins of the ancient emperors. of course, we ourselves did not ride in carts. they were driven by our cook and the two chinese taxidermists, each of whom sat on his own particular mound of baggage with an air of resignation and despondency. their faces were very long indeed, for the sudden transition from tie back seat of a motor car to a jolting cart did not harmonize with their preconceived scheme of mongolian life. but they endured it manfully, and doubtless it added much to the store of harrowing experience with which they could regale future audiences in civilized peking. my wife and i were each mounted on a mongol pony. mine was called "kublai khan" and he deserved the name. later i shall have much to tell of this wonderful horse, for i learned to love him as one loves a friend who has endured the "ordeal by fire" and has not been found wanting. my wife's chestnut stallion was a trifle smaller than kublai khan and proved to be a tricky beast whom i could have shot with pleasure. to this day she carries the marks of both his teeth and hoofs, and we have no interest in his future life. kublai khan has received the reward of a sunlit stable in peking where carrots are in abundance and sugar is not unknown. besides the three chinese we had a little mongol priest, a yellow lama only eighteen years of age. we did not hire him for spiritual reasons, but to be our guide and social mentor upon the plains. of course, we could not speak mongol, but both my wife and i know some chinese and our cook-boy lu was possessed of a species of "pidgin english" which, by using a good deal of imagination, we could understand at times. since our lama spoke fluent chinese, he acted as interpreter with the mongols, and we had no difficulty. it is wonderful how much you can do with sign language when you really have to, especially if the other fellow tries to understand. you always can be sure that the mongols will match your efforts in this respect. an interesting part of our equipment was a mongol tent which charles coltman had had made for us in kalgan. this is an ingenious adaptation of the ordinary wall tent, and is especially fitted for work on the plains. no one should attempt to use any other kind. from the ridgepole the sides curve down and out to the ground, presenting a sloping surface to the wind at every angle. one corner can be lifted to cause a draft through the door and an open fire can be built in the tent without danger of suffocation from the smoke; moreover, it can be erected by a single person in ten minutes. we had an american wall tent also, but found it such a nuisance that we used it only during bad weather. in the wind which always blows upon the plains it flapped and fluttered to such a degree that we could hardly sleep. as every traveler knows, the natives of a country usually have developed the best possible clothes and dwellings for the peculiar conditions under which they live. just as the mongol felt-covered _yurt_ and tent are all that can be desired, so do they know that fur and leather are the only clothing to keep them warm during the bitter winter months. in the carts we had an ample supply of flour, bacon, coffee, tea, sugar, and dried fruit. for meat, we depended upon our guns, of course, and always had as much as could be used. although we did not travel _de luxe_, nevertheless we were entirely comfortable. when a man boasts of the way in which he discards even necessaries in the field, you can be morally certain that he has not done much real traveling. "roughing it" does not harmonize well with hard work. one must accept enough discomforts under the best conditions without the addition of any which can be avoided. good health is the prime requisite in the field. without it you are lost. the only way in which to keep fit and ready to give every ounce of physical and mental energy to the problems of the day is to sleep comfortably, eat wholesome food, and be properly clothed. it is not often, then, that you will need a doctor. we have not as yet had a physician on any of our expeditions, even though we have often been very many miles from the nearest white men. it never ceases to amuse me that the insurance companies always cancel my accident policies as soon as i leave for the field. the excuse is that i am not a "good risk," although they are ready enough to renew them when i return to new york. and yet the average person has a hundred times more chance of being killed or injured right on fifth avenue than do we who live in the open, breathing god's fresh air and sleeping under the stars. my friend stefansson, the arctic explorer, often says that "adventures are a mark of incompetence," and he is doubtless right. if a man goes into the field with a knowledge of the country he is to visit and with a proper equipment, he probably will have very few "adventures." if he has not the knowledge and equipment he had much better remain at home, for he will inevitably come to grief. we learned from the mongols that there was a wonderful shooting ground three hundred miles southwest of urga in the country belonging to sain noin khan. it was a region backed by mountains fifteen thousand feet in height, inhabited by bighorn sheep and ibex; and antelope were reported to be numerous upon the plains which merged gradually into the sandy wastes of the western gobi where herds of wild horses (_equus prjevalski_) and wild asses (_equus hemionus_) could be found. sain noin, one of the four mongolian kings, had died only a short time earlier under suspicious circumstances, and his widow had just visited the capital. monsieur orlow, the russian diplomatic agent, had written her regarding our prospective visit, and through him she had extended to us a cordial invitation. our start from urga was on a particularly beautiful day, even for mongolia. the golden roof of the great white temple on the hill blazed with light, and the undulating crest of the sacred mountain seemed so near that we imagined we could see the deer and boar in its parklike openings. our way led across the valley and over the tola river just below the palace of the living god. we climbed a long hill and emerged on a sloping plain where marmots were bobbing in and out of their burrows like toy animals manipulated by a string. two great flocks of demoiselle cranes were daintily catching grasshoppers not a hundred yards away. we wanted both the cranes for dinner and the marmots for specimens, but we dared not shoot. although not actually upon sacred soil we were in close proximity to the bogdo-ol and a rifle shot might have brought a horde of fanatical priests upon our heads. it is best to take no chances with religious superstitions, for the lamas do not wait to argue when they are once aroused. the first day began most beautifully, but it ended badly as all first days are apt to do. we met our "waterloo" on a steep hill shortly after tiffin, for two of the horses absolutely refused to pull. the loads were evidently too heavy, and the outlook for the future was not encouraging. an extract from my wife's journal tells what we did that afternoon. "it took two hours to negotiate the hill, and the men were almost exhausted when the last load reached the summit ever since tiffin the sky had been growing darker and darker, and great masses of black clouds gathered about the crest of the bogdo-ol. suddenly a vivid flash of lightning cut the sky as though with a flaming knife, and the rain came down in a furious beat of icy water. in five minutes we were soaked and shivering with cold, so when at last we reached the plain we turned off the road toward two mongol _yurts_, which rested beside the river a mile away like a pair of great white birds. "roy and i galloped ahead over the soft, slushy grass, nearly blinded by the rain, and hobbling our horses outside the nearest _yurt_, went inside with only the formality of a shout. the room was so dark that i could hardly see, and the heavy smoke from the open fire burned and stung our eyes. on the floor sat a frowzy-looking woman, blowing at the fire, and a yellow lama, his saucer hat hidden under its waterproof covering--apparently he was a traveler like ourselves. "the frowzy lady smiled and motioned us to sit down on a low couch beside the door. as we did so, i saw a small face peering out of a big sheepskin coat and two black eyes staring at us unblinkingly. it was a little mongol girl whose nap had been disturbed by so many visitors. she was rather a pretty little thing and so small--just a little older than my own baby in peking--that i wanted to play with her. she was shy at first, but when i held out a picture advertisement from a package of cigarettes she gradually edged nearer, encouraged by her mother. soon she was leaning on my knee. then without taking her black eyes from my face, she solemnly put one finger in her mouth and jerked it out with a loud 'pop,' much to her mother's gratification. but when she decided to crawl up into my lap, my interest began to wane, for she exuded such a concentrated 'essence of mongol' and rancid mutton fat that i was almost suffocated. "our hostess was busy stirring a thick, white soup in a huge caldron, and by the time the carts arrived every one was dipping in with their wooden bowls. we begged to be excused, since we had already had some experience with mongol soup. "the _yurt_ really was not a bad place when we became accustomed to the bitter smoke and the combination of native odors. there were two couches, about six inches from the ground, covered with sheepskins and furs. opposite the door stood a chest--rather a nice one--on top of which was a tiny god with a candle burning before it, and a photograph of the hutukhtu." we had dinner in the _yurt_, and the boys slept there while we used our mongol tent. there was no difficulty in erecting it even in the wind and rain, but it would have been impossible to have put up the american wall tent. even though it was the fifth of june, there was a sharp frost during the night, and we were thankful for our fur sleeping bags. always in mongolia after a heavy rain the air is crystal-clear, and we had a delightful morning beside the river. hundreds of demoiselle cranes were feeding in the meadowlike valley bottom where the grass was as green as emeralds. we saw two of the graceful birds standing on a sand bar and, as we rode toward them, they showed not the slightest sign of fear. when we were not more than twenty feet away they walked slowly about in a circle, and the lama discovered two spotted brown eggs almost under his pony's feet. there was no sign of a nest, but the eggs were perfectly protected by their resemblance to the stones. our way led close along the tola river, and just before tiffin we saw a line of camels coming diagonally toward us from behind a distant hill. i wish you could have seen that caravan in all its barbaric splendor as it wound across the vivid green plains. three lamas, dressed in gorgeous yellow robes, and two, in flaming red, rode ahead on ponies. then neck and neck, mounted on enormous camels, came four men in gowns of rich maroon and a woman flashing with jewels and silver. behind them, nose to tail, was the long, brown line of laden beasts. it was like a painting of the middle ages--like a picture of the days of kublai khan, when the mongol court was the most splendid the world has ever seen. my wife and i were fascinated, for this was the mongolia of our dreams. but our second day was not destined to be one of unalloyed happiness, for just after luncheon we reached a bad stretch of road alternating between jagged rocks and deep mud holes. the white horse, which was so quickly exhausted the day before, gave up absolutely when its cart became badly mired. just then a red lama appeared with four led ponies and said that one of his horses could extricate the cart. he hitched a tiny brown animal between the shafts, we all put our shoulders to the wheels, and in ten minutes the load was on solid ground. we at once offered to trade horses, and by giving a bonus of five dollars i became the possessor of the brown pony. but the story does not end there. two months later when we had returned to urga a mongol came to our camp in great excitement and announced that we had one of his horses. he said that five animals had been stolen from him and that the little brown pony for which i had traded with the lama was one of them. his proof was incontrovertible and according to the law of the country i was bound to give back the animal and accept the loss. however, a half dozen hard-riding mongol soldiers at once took up the trail of the lama, and the chances are that there will be one less thieving priest before the incident is closed. it is interesting to note how a similarity of conditions in western america and in mongolia has developed exactly the same attitude of mutual protection in regard to horses. in both countries horse-stealing is considered to be one of the worst crimes. it is punishable by death in mongolia or, what is infinitely worse, by a life in one of the prison coffins. moreover, the spirit of mutual assistance is carried further, and several times during the summer when our ponies had strayed miles from the tents they were brought in by passing mongols, or we were told where they could be found. our camp the second night was on a beautiful, grassy plateau beside a tiny stream, a tributary of the river. we put out a line of traps for small mammals, but in the morning were disappointed to find only three meadow mice (_microtus_). there were no fresh signs of marmots, hares, or other animals along the river, and i began to suspect what eventually proved to be true, viz., that the valley was a favorite winter camping ground for mongols, and that all the game had been killed or driven far away. indeed, we had hardly been beyond sight of a _yurt_ during the entire two days, and great flocks of sheep and goats were feeding on every grassy meadow. but the mongols considered cartridges too precious to waste on birds and we saw many different species. the demoiselle cranes were performing their mating dances all about us, and while one was chasing a magpie it made the most amusing spectacle, as it hopped and flapped after the little black and white bird which kept just out of reach. mongolian skylarks were continually jumping out of the grass from almost under our horses' feet to soar about our heads, flooding the air with song. along the sand banks of the river we saw many flocks of swan geese (_cygnopsis cygnoides_). they are splendid fellows with a broad, brown band down the back of the neck, and are especially interesting as being the ancestors of the chinese domestic geese. they were not afraid of horses, but left immediately if a man on foot approached. i killed half a dozen by slipping off my pony, when about two hundred yards away, and walking behind the horses while yvette rode boldly toward the flock, leading kublai khan. twice the birds fell across the river, and we had to swim for them. my pony took to the water like a duck and when we had reached the other bank would arch his neck as proudly as though he had killed the bird himself. his keen interest in sport, his gentleness, and his intelligence won my heart at once. he would let me shoot from his back without the slightest fear, even though he had never been used as a hunting pony by prince tze tze from whom he had been purchased. in the ponds and among the long marsh grass we found the ruddy sheldrake (_casarca casarca_), and the crested lapwing (_vanellus vanellus_). they were like old friends, for we had met them first in far yün-nan and on the burma frontier during the winter of - whence they had gone to escape the northern cold; now they were on their summer breeding grounds. the sheldrakes glowed like molten gold when the sun found them in the grass, and we could not have killed the beautiful birds even had we needed them for food. moreover, like the lapwings, they had a trusting simplicity, a way of throwing themselves on one's mercy, which was infinitely appealing. we often hunted for the eggs of both the sheldrakes and lapwings. they must have been near by, we knew, for the old birds would fly about our heads uttering agonizing calls, but we never found the nests. i killed four light-gray geese with yellow bills and legs and narrow brown bars across the head, and a broad brown stripe down the back of the neck. i could only identify the species as the bar-headed goose of india (_eulabeia indica_), which i was not aware ever traveled so far north to breed. later i found my identification to be correct, and that the bird is an occasional visitor to mongolia. we saw only one specimen of the bean goose (_anser fabalis_), the common bird of china, which i had expected would be there in thousands. there were a few mallards, redheads, and shoveler ducks, and several bustards, besides half a dozen species of plover and shore birds. except for these the trip would have been infinitely monotonous, for we were bitterly disappointed in the lack of animal life. moreover, there was continual trouble with the carts, and on the third day i had to buy an extra horse. although one can purchase, a riding pony at any _yurt_, cart animals are not easy to find, for the mongols use oxen or camels to draw most loads. the one we obtained had not been in the shafts for more than two years and was badly frightened when we brought him near the cart. it was a liberal education to see our mongol handle that horse! he first put a hobble on all four legs, then he swung a rope about the hind quarters, trussed him tightly, and swung him into the shafts. when the pony was properly harnessed, he fastened the bridle to the rear of the other cart and drove slowly ahead. at first the horse tried to kick and plunge, but the hobbles held him fast and in fifteen minutes he settled to the work. then the mongol removed the hobbles from the hind legs, and later left the pony entirely free. he walked beside the animal for a long time, and did not attempt to drive him from the cart for at least an hour. although mongols seem unnecessarily rough and almost brutal, i do not believe that any people in the world can handle horses more expertly. from earliest childhood their real home is the back of a pony. every year, in the spring, a children's race is held at urga. boys and girls from four to six years old are tied on horses and ride at full speed over a mile-long course. if a child falls off it receives but scant sympathy and is strapped on again more tightly than before. a mongol has no respect whatever for a man or woman who cannot ride, and nothing will win his regard as rapidly as expert horsemanship. strangely enough the mongols seldom show affection for their ponies, nor do they caress them in any way; consequently, the animals do not enjoy being petted and are prone to kick and bite. my pony, kublai khan, was an extraordinary exception to this rule and was as affectionate and gentle as a kitten--but there are few animals like kublai khan in mongolia! the ponies are small, of course, but they are strong almost beyond belief, and can stand punishment that would kill an ordinary horse. the mongols seldom side except at a trot or a full gallop, and forty to fifty miles a day is not an unusual journey. moreover, the animals are not fed grain; they must forage on the plains the year round. during the winter, when the grass is dry and sparse, they have poor feeding, but nevertheless are able to withstand the extreme cold. they grow a coat of hair five or six inches in length, and when kublai khan arrived in peking after his long journey across the plains he looked more like a grizzly bear than a horse. he had changed so completely from the sleek, fine-limbed animal we had known in mongolia that my wife was almost certain he could not be the same pony. he had to be taught to eat carrots, apples, and other vegetables and would only sniff suspiciously at sugar. but in a very short time he learned all the tastes of his city-bred companions. horses are cheap in mongolia, but not extraordinarily so. in the spring a fair pony can be purchased for from thirty to sixty dollars (silver), and especially good ones bring as much as one hundred and fifty dollars. in the fall when the mongols are confronted with a hard winter, which naturally exacts a certain toll from any herd, ponies sell for about two-thirds of their spring price. in urga we had been led to believe that the entire trip to sain noin khan's village could be done in eight days and that game was plentiful along the trail. we had already been on the road five days, making an average of twenty-five miles at each stage, and the natives assured us that it would require at least ten more days of steady travel before we could possibly arrive at our destination; if difficulties arose it might take even longer. moreover, we had seen only one hare and one marmot, and our traps had yielded virtually nothing. it was perfectly evident that the entire valley had been denuded of animal life by the mongols, and there was little prospect that conditions would change as long as we remained on such rich grazing grounds. it was hard to turn back and count the time lost, but it was certainly the wisest course for we knew that there was good collecting on the plains south of urga, although the fauna would not be as varied as at the place we had hoped to reach. the summer in mongolia is so short that every day must be made to count if results which are worth the money invested are to be obtained. yvette and i were both very despondent that evening when we decided it was necessary to turn back. it was one of those nights when i wished with all my heart that we could sit in front of our own camp fire without the thought of having to "make good" to any one but ourselves. however, once the decision was made, we tried to forget the past days and determined to make up for lost time in the future. [illustration: the traffic policeman on urga's "broadway"] [illustration: a mongol lama] [illustration: the grasslands of outer mongolia] chapter viii the lure of the plains on monday, june , we left urga to go south along the old caravan trail toward kalgan. only a few weeks earlier we had skimmed over the rolling surface in motor cars, crossing in one day then as many miles of plains as our own carts could do in ten. but it had another meaning to us now, and the first night as we sat at dinner in front of the tent and watched the afterglow fade from the sky behind the pine-crowned ridge of the bogdo-ol, we thanked god that for five long months we could leave the twentieth century with its roar and rush, and live as the mongols live; we knew that the days of discouragement had ended and that we could learn the secrets of the desert life which are yielded up to but a chosen few. within twenty-five miles of urga we had seen a dozen marmots and a species of gopher (_citellus_) that was new to us. the next afternoon at two o'clock we climbed the last long slope from out the tola river drainage basin, and reached the plateau which stretches in rolling waves of plain and desert to the frontier of china six hundred miles away. before us three pools of water flashed like silver mirrors in the sunlight, and beyond them, tucked away in a sheltered corner of the hills, stood a little temple surrounded by a cluster of gray-white _yurts_. our mongol learned that the next water was on the far side of a plain thirty-five miles in width, so we camped beside the largest pond. it was a beautiful spot with gently rolling hills on either side, and in front, a level plain cut by the trail's white line. as soon as the tents were up yvette and i rode off, accompanied by the lama, carrying a bag of traps. within three hundred yards of camp we found the first marmot. when it had disappeared underground we carefully buried a steel trap at the entrance of the hole and anchored it securely to an iron tent peg. with rocks and earth we plugged all the other openings, for there are usually five or six tunnels to every burrow. while the work was going on other marmots were watching us curiously from half a dozen mounds, and we set nine traps before it was time to return for dinner. the two chinese taxidermists had taken a hundred wooden traps for smaller mammals, and before dark we inspected the places they had found. already one of them held a gray meadow vole (_microtus_), quite a different species from those which had been caught along the tola river, and yvette discovered one of the larger traps dragged halfway into a hole with a baby marmot safely caught. he was only ten inches long and covered with soft yellow-white fur. shortly after daylight the next morning the lama came to our tent to announce that there was a marmot in one of the traps. the boy was as excited as a child of ten and had been up at dawn. when we were dressed we followed the mongol to the first burrow where a fine marmot was securely caught by the hind leg. a few yards away we had another female, and the third trap was pulled far into the hole. a huge male was at the other end, but he had twisted his body halfway around a curve in the tunnel and by pulling with all our strength the mongol and i could not move him a single inch. finally we gave up and had to dig him out. he had given a wonderful exhibition of strength for so small an animal. it was especially gratifying to catch these marmots so easily, for we had been told in urga that the mongols could not trap them. i was at a loss to understand why, for they are closely related to the "woodchucks" of america with which every country boy is familiar. later i learned the reason for the failure of the natives. in the urga market we saw some double-spring traps exactly like those of ours, but when i came to examine them i found they had been made in russia, and the springs were so weak that they were almost useless. these were the only steel traps which the mongols had ever seen. the marmots (_marmota robusta_) were supposed to be responsible for the spread of the pneumonia plague which swept into northern china from manchuria a few years ago; but i understand from physicians of the rockefeller foundation in peking, who especially investigated the disease, that the animal's connection with it is by no means satisfactorily determined. the marmots hibernate during the winter, and retire to their burrows early in october, not to emerge until april. when they first come out in the spring their fur is bright yellow, and the animals contrast beautifully with the green grass. after the middle of june the yellow fur begins to slip off in patches, leaving exposed the new coat, which is exceedingly short and is mouse-gray in color. then, of course, the skins are useless for commercial purposes. as the summer progresses the fur grows until by september first it has formed a long, soft coat of rich gray-brown which is of considerable economic value. the skins are shipped to europe and america and during the past winter ( - ) were especially popular as linings for winter coats. we had an opportunity to see how quickly the demand in the great cities reaches directly to the center of production thousands of miles away. when we went to urga in may prime marmot skins were worth thirty cents each to the mongols. early in october, when we returned, the hunters were selling the same skins for _one dollar and twenty-five cents apiece_. the natives always shoot the animals. when a mongol has driven one into its burrow, he lies quietly beside the hole waiting for the marmot to appear. it may be twenty minutes or even an hour, but the oriental patience takes little note of time. finally a yellow head emerges and a pair of shining eyes glance quickly about in every direction. of course, they see the mongol but he looks only like a mound of earth, and the marmot raises itself a few inches higher. the hunter lies as motionless as a log of wood until the animal is well out of its burrow--then he shoots. the mongols take advantage of the marmot's curiosity in an amusing and even more effective way. with a dogskin tied to his saddle the native rides over the plain until he reaches a marmot colony. he hobbles his pony at a distance of three or four hundred yards, gets down on his hands and knees, and throws the dogskin over his shoulders. he crawls slowly toward the nearest animal, now and then stopping to bark and shake his head. in an instant, the marmot is all attention. he jumps up and down whistling and barking, but never venturing far from the opening of his burrow. as the pseudo-dog advances there seems imminent danger that the fat little body will explode from curiosity and excitement. but suddenly the "dog" collapses in the strangest way and the marmot raises on the very tips of his toes to see what it is all about. then there is a roar, a flash of fire and another skin is added to the millions which have already been sent to the seacoast from outer mongolia. mr. mamen often spoke of an extraordinary dance which he had seen the marmots perform, and when mr. and mrs. maccallie returned to kalgan they saw it also. we were never fortunate enough to witness it. mac said that two marmots stood erect on their hind legs, grasping each other with their front paws, and danced slowly about exactly as though they were waltzing. he agreed with mamen that it was the most extraordinary and amusing thing he had ever seen an animal do. i can well believe it, for the marmots have many curious habits which would repay close study. the dance could hardly be a mating performance since mac saw it in late may and by that time the young had already been born. one morning at the "marmot camp," as we named the one where we first began real collecting, yvette saw six or seven young animals on top of a mound in the green grass. we went there later with a gun and found the little fellows playing like kittens, chasing each other about and rolling over and over. it was hard to make myself bring tragedy into their lives, but we needed them for specimens. a group showing an entire marmot family would be interesting for the museum; especially so in view of their reported connection with the pneumonic plague. we collected a dozen others before the summer was over to show the complete transition from the first yellow coat to the gray-brown of winter. like most rodents, the marmots grow rapidly and have so many young in every litter that they will not soon be exterminated in mongolia unless the native hunters obtain american steel traps. even then it would take some years to make a really alarming impression upon the millions which spread over all the plains of northern mongolia and manchuria. since these marmots are a distinctly northern animal they are a great help in determining the life zones of this part of asia. we found that their southern limit is at turin, one hundred and seventy-five miles from urga. a few scattered families live there, but the real marmot country begins about twenty-five miles farther north. the first hunting camp was eighty miles south of urga, after we had passed a succession of low hills and reached what, in prehistoric times, was probably a great lake basin. when our tents were pitched beside the well they seemed pitifully small in the vastness of the plain. the land rolled in placid waves to the far horizon on every hand. it was like a calm sea which is disturbed only by the lazy progress of the ocean swell. two _yurts_, like the sails of hull-down ships, showed black against the sky-rim where it met the earth. the plain itself seemed at first as flat as a table, for the swells merged indistinguishably into a level whole. it was only when approaching horsemen dipped for a little out of sight and the depressions swallowed them up that we realized the unevenness of the land. camp was hardly made before our mongol neighbors began to pay their formal calls. a picturesque fellow, blazing with color, would dash up to our tent at a full gallop, slide off and hobble his pony almost in a single motion. with a "_sai bina_" of greeting he would squat in the door, produce his bottle of snuff and offer us a pinch. there was a quiet dignity about these plains dwellers which was wonderfully appealing. they were seldom unduly curious, and when we indicated that the visit was at an end, they left at once. sometimes they brought bowls of curded milk, or great lumps of cheese as presents, and in return we gave cigarettes or now and then a cake of soap. having been told in urga that soap was especially appreciated by the mongols, i had brought a supply of red, blue, and green cakes which had a scent even more wonderful than the color. i can't imagine why they like it, for it is carefully put away and never used. strangely enough, the mongols have no word for "thank you" other than "_sai_" (good), but when they wish to express approbation, and usually when saying "good-by," they put up the thumb with the fingers closed. in yün-nan and eastern tibet we noted the same custom among the aboriginal tribesmen. i wonder if it is merely a coincidence that in the gladiatorial contests of ancient rome "thumbs up" meant mercy or approval! the mongols told us that in the rolling ground to the east of camp we could surely find antelope. the first morning my wife and i went out alone. we trotted steadily for an hour, making for the summit of a rise seven or eight miles from camp. yvette held the ponies, while i sat down to sweep the country with my glasses. directly in front of us two small valleys converged into a larger one, and almost immediately i discovered half a dozen orange-yellow forms in its very bottom about two miles away. they were antelope quietly feeding. in a few moments i made out two more close together, and then four off at the right. after my wife had found them with her glasses we sat down to plan the stalk. it was obvious that we should try to cross the two small depressions which debouched into the main valley and approach from behind the hill crest nearest to the gazelles. we trotted slowly across the gully while the antelope were in sight, and then swung around at full gallop under the protection of the rising ground. we came up just opposite to the herd and dismounted, but were fully six hundred yards away. suddenly one of those impulses which the hunter never can explain sent them off like streaks of yellow light, but they turned on the opposite hillside, slowed down, and moved uncertainly up the valley. much to our surprise four of the animals detached themselves from the others and crossed the depression in our direction. when we saw that they were really coming we threw ourselves into the saddles and galloped forward to cut them off. instantly the antelope increased their speed and literally flew up the hill slope. i shouted to yvette to watch the holes and shook the reins over kublai khan's neck. like a bullet he was off. i could feel his great muscles flowing between my knees but otherwise there seemed hardly a motion of his body in the long, smooth run. standing straight up in the stirrups, i glanced back at my wife who was sitting her chestnut stallion as lightly as a butterfly. hat gone, hair streaming, the thrill of it all showed in every line of her body. she was running a close second, almost at my side. i saw a marmot hole flash by. a second death trap showed ahead and i swung kublai khan to the right. another and another followed, but the pony leaped them like a cat. the beat of the fresh, clean air; the rush of the splendid horse; the sight of the yellow forms fleeing like wind-blown ribbons across our path--all this set me mad with excitement and a wild exhilaration. suddenly i realized that i was yelling like an indian. yvette, too, was screaming in sheer delight. the antelope were two hundred yards away when i tightened on the reins. kublai khan stiffened and stopped in twenty yards. the first shot was low and to the left, but it gave the range. at the second, the rearmost animal stumbled, recovered itself, and ran wildly about in a circle. i missed him twice, and he disappeared over a little hill. leaping into the saddle, we tore after the wounded animal. as we thundered over the rise i heard my wife screaming frantically and saw her pointing to the right where the antelope was lying down. there was just one more shell in the gun and my pockets were empty. i fired again at fifty yards and the gazelle rolled over, dead. leading our horses, yvette and i walked up to the beautiful orange-yellow form lying in the fresh, green grass. we both saw its horns in the same instant and hugged each other in sheer delight. at this time of the year the bucks are seldom with the does and then only in the largest herds. this one was in full pelage, spotless and with the hair unworn. moreover, it had finer horns than any other which we killed during the entire trip. kublai khan looked at the dead animal and arched his neck, as much as to say, "yes, i ran him down. he had to quit when i really got started." my wife held the pony's head, while i hoisted the antelope to his back and strapped it behind the saddle. he watched the proceedings interestedly but without a tremor, and even when i mounted, he paid not the slightest attention to the head dangling on his flanks. thereby he showed that he was a very exceptional pony. in the weeks which followed he proved it a hundred times, and i came to love him as i have never loved another animal. yvette and i trotted slowly back to camp, thrilled with the excitement of the wild ride. we began to realize that we were lucky to have escaped without broken necks. the race taught us never again to attempt to guide our ponies away from the marmot holes which spotted the plains, for the horses could see them better than we could and all their lives had known that they meant death. that morning was our initiation into what is the finest sport we have ever known. hunting from a motor car is undeniably exciting at first, but a real sportsman can never care for it very long. the antelope does not have a chance against gas and steel and a long-range rifle. on horseback the conditions are reversed. an antelope can run twice as fast as the best horse living. it can see as far as a man with prism binoculars. all the odds are in the animal's favor except two--its fatal desire to run in a circle about the pursuer, and the use of a high-power rifle. but even then an antelope three hundred yards away, going at a speed of fifty miles an hour, is not an easy target. of course, the majority of sportsmen will say that it cannot be done with any certainty--until they go to mongolia and do it themselves! but, as i remarked in a previous chapter, conditions on the plains are so unusual that shooting in other parts of the world is no criterion. after one gets the range of an animal which, like the antelope, has a smooth, even run, it is not so difficult to hit as one might imagine. practice is the great essential. at the beginning i averaged one antelope to every eight cartridges, but later my score was one to three. we spent the afternoon at the new camp, setting traps and preparing for the days to come--days in which we knew, from long experience, we would have every waking moment full of work. the nights were shortening rapidly, and the sun did not dip below the rim of our vast, flat world until half past seven. then there was an hour of delightful, lingering twilight, when the stars began to show in tiny points of light; by nine o'clock the brooding silence of the mongolian night had settled over all the plain. daylight came at four o'clock, and before the sun rose we had finished breakfast. our traps held five marmots and a beautiful golden-yellow polecat (_mustela_). i have never seen such an incarnation of fury as this animal presented. it might have been the original of the chinese dragon, except for its small size. its long, slender body twisted and turned with incredible swiftness, every hair was bristling, and its snarling little face emitted horrible squeaks and spitting squeals. it seemed to be cursing us in every language of the polecat tribe. the fierce little beast was evidently bent upon a night raid on a marmot family. we could imagine easily into what terror the tiny demon would throw a nest of marmots comfortably snuggled together in the bottom of their burrow. probably it would be most interested in the babies, and undoubtedly would destroy every one within a few moments. all the weasel family, to which the polecat belongs, kill for the pure joy of killing, and in china one such animal will entirely depopulate a hen-roost in a single night. at six o'clock yvette and i left camp with the lama and rode northeast. the plain swept away in long, grassy billows, and at every rise i stopped for a moment to scan the horizon with my glasses. within half an hour we discovered a herd of antelope six or seven hundred yards away. they saw us instantly and trotted nervously about, staring in our direction. dropping behind the crest of the rise, i directed the lama to ride toward them from behind while we swung about to cut them off. he was hardly out of sight when we heard a snort and a rush of pounding hoofs. with a shout to yvette i loosened the reins over kublai khan's neck, and he shot forward like a yellow arrow. yvette was close beside me, leaning far over her pony's neck. we headed diagonally toward the herd, and they gradually swung toward us as though drawn by a powerful magnet. on we went, down into a hollow and up again on its slope. we could not spare the horses for the antelope were already over the crest and lost to view, but our horses took the hill at full speed, and from the summit we could see the herd fairly on our course, three hundred yards away. kublai khan braced himself like a polo pony when he felt the pressure of my knees, and i opened fire almost under his nose. at the crack of the rifle there was a spurt of brown dust near the leading animal. "high and to the left," shouted yvette, and i held a little lower for the second trial. the antelope dropped like a piece of white paper, shot through the neck. i paced the distance and found it to be three hundred and sixty-seven yards. it seemed a very long shot then, but later i found that almost none of my antelope were killed at less than three hundred yards. as i came up to kublai khan with the dead animal, i accidentally struck him on the flank with my rifle in such a way that he was badly frightened. he galloped off, and yvette had a hard chase before he finally allowed her to catch him. had i been alone i should probably have had a long walk to camp. it taught us never to hunt without a companion, if it could possibly be avoided. if your horse runs away, you may be left many miles from water, with rather serious consequences. i think there is nothing which makes me feel more helpless than to be alone on the plains without a horse. for miles and miles there is only the rolling grassland or the wide sweep of desert, with never a house or tree to break the low horizon. it seems so futile to walk, your own legs carry you so slowly and such a pitifully short distance, in these vast spaces. to be left alone in a small boat on the open sea is exactly similar. you feel so very, very small and you realize then what an insignificant part of nature you really are. i have felt it, too, amid vast mountains when i have been toiling up a peak which stretched thousands of feet above me with others rearing their majestic forms on every side. then, nature seems almost alive and full of menace; something to be fought and conquered by brain and will. early in our work upon the plains we learned how easy it is to lose one's way. the vast sea of land seems absolutely flat, but in reality it is a gently rolling surface full of slopes and hollows, every one of which looks exactly like the others. but after a time we developed a _land sense_. the mongols all have it to an extraordinary degree. we could drop an antelope on the plain and leave it for an hour or more. with a quick glance about our lama would fix the place in his mind, and dash off on a chase which might carry us back and forth toward every point of the compass. when it was time to return, he would head his pony unerringly for that single spot on the plain and take us back as straight as the flight of an arrow. at first it gave him unceasing enjoyment when we became completely lost, but in a very short time we learned to note the position of the sun, the character of the ground, and the direction of the wind. then we began to have more confidence in ourselves. but only by years of training can one hope even to approximate the mongols. they have been born and reared upon the plains, and have the inheritance of unknown generations whose very life depended upon their ability to come and go at will. to them, the hills, the sun, the grass, the sand--all have become the street signs of the desert. in the afternoon of our second day i remained at the tents to measure specimens, while yvette and the lama rode out toward the scene of our morning hunt to locate an antelope which one of our mongol neighbors had reported dead not far away. at six o'clock they came galloping back with the news that there were two gazelles within three miles of camp. i saddled kublai khan and left with them at once. twenty minutes of steady trotting brought us to the summit of a slope, where we could see the animals quietly feeding not five hundred yards away. it was just possible to stalk them for a long-range shot, and slipping off my pony, i flattened out upon the ground. on hands and knees, and sometimes at full length, i wormed my way through the grass for one hundred yards. the cover ended there and i must shoot or come into full view of the gazelles. they were so far away that the front sight entirely covered the animals, and to increase the difficulty, both were walking slowly. the first bullet struck low and to the right, but the antelope only jumped and stared fixedly in my direction; at the second shot one went down. the other animal dashed away like a flash of lightning, and although i sent a bullet after its white rump-patch, the shot was hopeless. the antelope i had knocked over got to its feet and tried desperately to get away, but the lama leaped on his pony and caught it by one hind leg. my automatic pistol was not in working order, and it was necessary to knife the poor beast--a job which i hate like poison. the lama walked away a dozen yards and covered his face with the sleeve of his gown. it is against the laws of the buddhist religion to take the life of any animal or even to see it done, although there are no restrictions as to eating flesh. with a blanket the mongol made a seat for himself on his pony's haunches, and threw the antelope across his saddle; then we trotted back to camp into the painted western sky, with the cool night air bringing to us the scent of newborn grass. we would not have exchanged our lot that night with any one on earth. chapter ix hunting on the turin plain after ten days we left the "antelope camp" to visit the turin plain where we had seen much game on the way to urga. one by one our mongol neighbors rode up to say "farewell," and each to present us with a silk scarf as a token of friendship and good will. we received an invitation to stop for tea at the _yurt_ of an old man who had manifested an especial interest in us, but it was a very dirty _yurt_, and the preparations for tea were so uninviting that we managed to exit gracefully before it was finally served. yvette photographed the entire family including half a dozen dogs, a calf, and two babies, much to their enjoyment. when we rode off, our hands were heaped with cheese and slabs of mutton which were discarded as soon as we had dropped behind a slope. mongol hospitality is whole-souled and generously given, but one must be very hungry to enjoy their food. a day and a half of traveling was uneventful, for herds of sheep and horses indicated the presence of _yurts_ among the hills. game will seldom remain where there are mongols. although it was the first of july, we found a heavy coating of ice on the lower sides of a deep well. the water was about fifteen feet below the level of the plain, and the ice would probably remain all summer. moreover, it is said that the wells never freeze even during the coldest winter. [illustration: mongol herdsmen carrying lassos] [illustration: a lone camp on the desert] the changes of temperature were more rapid than in any other country in which i have ever hunted. it was hot during the day--about fahrenheit--but the instant the sun disappeared we needed coats, and our fur sleeping bags were always acceptable at night. we were one hundred and fifty miles from urga and were still going slowly south, when we had our next real hunting camp. great bands of antelope were working northward from the gobi desert to the better grazing on the grass-covered turin plain. we encountered the main herd one evening about six o'clock, and it was a sight which made us gasp for breath. we were shifting camp, and my wife and i were trotting along parallel to the carts which moved slowly over the trail a mile away. we had had a delightful, as well as a profitable, day. yvette had been busy with her camera, while i picked up an antelope, a bustard, three hares, and half a dozen marmots. we were loafing in our saddles, when suddenly we caught sight of the cook standing on his cart frantically signaling us to come. in ten seconds our ponies were flying toward the caravan, while we mentally reviewed every accident which possibly could have happened to the boys. lu met us twenty yards from the trail, trembling with excitement and totally incoherent. he could only point to the south and stammer, "too many antelope. over there. too many, too many." i slipped off kublai khan's back and put up the glasses. certainly there were animals, but i thought they must be sheep or ponies. hundreds were in sight, feeding in one vast herd and in many smaller groups. then i remembered that the nearest well was twenty miles away; therefore they could not be horses. i looked again and knew they must be antelope--not in hundreds, but in thousands. mr. larsen in urga had told us of herds like this, but we had never hoped to see one. yet there before us, as far as the eye could reach, was a yellow mass of moving forms. in a moment yvette and i had left the carts. there was no possibility of concealment, and our only chance was to run the herd. when we were perhaps half a mile away the nearest animals threw up their heads and began to stamp and run about, only to stop again and stare at us. we kept on very slowly, edging nearer every moment. suddenly they decided that we were really dangerous, and the herd strung out like a regiment of yellow-coated soldiers. kublai khan had seen the antelope almost as soon as we left the carts, and although he had already traveled forty miles that day, was nervously champing the bit with head up and ears erect. when at last i gave him the word, he gathered himself for one terrific spring; down went his head and he dashed forward with every ounce of strength behind his flying legs. his run was the long, smooth stride of a thoroughbred, and it sent the blood surging through my veins in a wild thrill of exhilaration. once only i glanced back at yvette. she was almost at my side. her hair had loosened and was flying back like a veil behind her head. tense with excitement, eyes shining, she was heedless of everything save those skimming yellow forms before us. it was useless to look for holes; ere i had seen one we were over or around it. with head low down and muzzle out, my pony needed not the slightest touch to guide him. he knew where we were going and the part he had to play. more than a thousand antelope were running diagonally across our course. it was a sight to stir the gods; a thing to give one's life to see. but when we were almost near enough to shoot, the herd suddenly swerved heading directly away from us. in an instant we were enveloped in a whirling cloud of dust through which the flying animals were dimly visible like phantom figures. khan was choked, and his hot breath rasped sharply through his nostrils, but he plunged on and on into that yellow cloud. standing in my stirrups, i fired six times at the wraithlike forms ahead as fast as i could work the lever of my rifle. of course, it was useless, but just the same i had to shoot. in about a mile the great herd slowed down and stopped. we could see hundreds of animals on every side, in groups of fifty or one hundred. probably two thousand antelope were in sight at once and many more were beyond the sky rim to the west. we gave the ponies ten minutes' rest, and had another run as unsuccessful as the first. then a third and fourth. the antelope, for some strange reason, would not cross our path, but always turned straight away before we were near enough to shoot. after an hour we returned to the carts--for yvette was exhausted from excitement--and the lama took her place. we left the great herd and turned southward, parallel to the road. a mile away we found more antelope; at least a thousand were scattered about feeding quietly like those we had driven north. it seemed as though all the gazelles in mongolia had concentrated on those few miles of plain. the ponies were so exhausted that we decided to try a drive and leave the main herd in peace. when we were concealed from view in the bottom of a land swell i slipped off and hobbled kublai khan. the poor fellow was so tired he could only stand with drooping head, even though there was rich grass beneath his feet. i sent the lama in a long circle to get behind the herd, while i crawled a few hundred yards away and snuggled out of sight into an old wolf den. i watched the antelope for fifteen minutes through my binoculars. they were feeding in a vast semicircle, entirely unconscious of my presence. suddenly every head went up; they stared fixedly toward the west for a moment, and were off like the wind. about five hundred drew together in a compact mass, but a dozen smaller herds scattered wildly, running in every direction except toward me. they had seen the lama before he had succeeded in completely encircling them, and the drive was ruined. the mongols kill great numbers of antelope in just this way. when a herd has been located, a line of men will conceal themselves at distances of two or three hundred yards, while as many more get behind the animals and drive them toward the waiting hunters. sometimes the gazelles almost step on the natives and become so frightened that they run the gantlet of the entire firing line. i did not have the heart to race again with our exhausted ponies, and we turned back toward the carts which were out of sight. scores of antelope, singly or in pairs, were visible on the sky line and as we rode to the summit of a little rise a herd of fifty appeared almost below us. we paid no attention to them; but suddenly my pony stopped with ears erect. he looked back at me, as much as to say, "don't you see those antelope?" and began gently pulling at the reins. i could feel him tremble with eagerness and excitement. "well, old chap," i said, "if you are as keen as all that, let's give them a run." with a magnificent burst of speed kublai khan launched himself toward the fleeing animals. they circled beautifully, straight into the eye of the sun, which lay like a great red ball upon the surface of the plain. we were still three hundred yards away and gaining rapidly, but i had to shoot; in a moment i would be blinded by the sun. as the flame leaped from my rifle, we heard the dull thud of a bullet on flesh; at the second shot, another; and then a third. "_sanga_" (three), yelled the lama, and dashed forward, wild with excitement. the three gazelles lay almost the same distance apart, each one shot through the body. it was interesting evidence that the actions of working the lever on my rifle and aiming, and the speed of the antelope, varied only by a fraction of a second. in this case, brain and eye and hand had functioned perfectly. needless to say, i do not always shoot like that. two of the antelope were yearling bucks, and one was a large doe. the lama took the female on his pony, and i strapped the other two on kublai khan. when i mounted, he was carrying a weight of two hundred and eighty-five pounds, yet he kept his steady "homeward trot" without a break until we reached the carts six miles away. yvette had been afraid that we would miss the well in the gathering darkness, and had made a "dry camp" beside the road. we had only a little water for ourselves; but my pony's nose was full of dust, and i knew how parched his throat must be, so i divided my supply with him. the poor animal was so frightened by the dish, that he would only snort and back away; even when i wet his nose with some of the precious fluid, he would not drink. the success of our work upon the plains depended largely upon kublai khan. he was only a mongol pony but he was just as great, in his own way, as was the tartar emperor whose name he bore. whatever it was i asked him to do, he gave his very best. can you wonder that i loved him? within a fortnight from the time i bought him, he became a perfect hunting pony. the secret of it all was that he liked the game as well as i. traveling with the carts bored him exceedingly but the instant game appeared he was all excitement. often he saw antelope before we did. we might be trotting slowly over the plains, when suddenly he would jerk his head erect and begin to pull gently at the reins; when i reached down to take my rifle from the holster, he would tremble with eagerness to be off. in hunting antelope you should ride slowly toward the animals, drawing nearer gradually. they are so accustomed to see mongols that they will not begin to run in earnest until a man is five or six hundred yards away, but when they are really off, a fast pony is the great essential. the time to stop is just before the animals cross your path, and then you must stop quickly. kublai khan learned the trick immediately. as soon as he felt the pressure of my knees, and the slightest pull upon the reins, his whole body stiffened and he braced himself like a polo pony. it made not the slightest difference to him whether i shot from his back or directly under his nose; he stood quietly watching the running antelope. when we were riding across the plains if a bird ran along the ground or a hare jumped out of the grass, he was after it like a dog. often i would find myself flying toward an animal which i had never seen. yvette's pony was useless for hunting antelope. instead of heading diagonally toward the gazelles he would always attempt to follow the herd. when it was time to stop i would have to put all my strength upon the reins and the horse would come into a slow gallop and then a trot. seconds of valuable time would be wasted before i could begin to shoot. i tried half a dozen other ponies, but they were all as bad. they did not have the intelligence or the love of hunting which made kublai khan so valuable. the morning after encountering the great herd, we camped at a well thirty miles north of the turin monastery. three or four _yurts_ were scattered about, and a caravan of two hundred and fifty camels was resting in a little hollow. from the door of our tent we could see the blue summit of the turin "mountain," and have in the foreground a perpetual moving picture of camels, horses, sheep, goats, and cattle seeking water. all day long hundreds of animals crowded about the well, while one or two mongols filled the troughs by means of wooden buckets. the life about the wells is always interesting, for they are points of concentration for all wanderers on the plains. just as we pitch our tents and make ourselves at home, so great caravans arrive with tired, laden camels. the huge brutes kneel, while their packs are being removed, and then stand in a long line, patiently waiting until their turn comes to drink. groups of ten or twelve crowd about the trough; then, majestically swinging their padded feet, they move slowly to one side, kneel upon the ground, and sleepily chew their cuds until all the herd has joined them. sometimes the caravans wait for several days to rest their animals and let them feed; sometimes they vanish in the first gray light of dawn. on the turin plain we had a delightful glimpse of antelope babyhood. the great herds which we had found were largely composed of does just ready to drop their young, and after a few days they scattered widely into groups of from five to twenty. we found the first baby antelope on june . we had seen half a dozen females circling restlessly about, and suspected that their fawns could not be far away. sure enough, our mongol discovered one of the little fellows in the flattest part of the flat plain. it was lying motionless with its neck stretched out, just where its mother had told it to remain when she saw us riding toward her. yvette called to me, "oh, please, please catch it. we can raise it on milk and it will make such an adorable pet." "oh, yes," i said, "let's do. i'll get it for you. you can put it in your hat till we go back to camp." in blissful ignorance i dismounted and slowly went toward the little animal. there was not the slightest motion until i tossed my outspread shooting coat. then i saw a flash of brown, a bobbing white rump-patch, and a tiny thing, no larger than a rabbit, speeding over the plain. the baby was somewhat "wobbly," to be sure, for this was probably the first time it had ever tried its slender legs, but after a few hundred yards it ran as steadily as its mother. i was so surprised that for a moment i simply stared. then i leaped into the saddle and kublai khan rushed after the diminutive brown fawn. it was a good half mile before we had the little chap under the pony's nose but the race was by no means ended. mewing with fright, it swerved sharply to the left and ere we could swing about, it had gained a hundred yards. again and again we were almost on it, but every time it dodged and got away. after half an hour my pony was gasping for breath, and i changed to yvette's chestnut stallion. the mongol joined me and we had another run, but we might have been pursuing a streak of shifting sunlight. finally we had to give it up and watch the tiny thing bob away toward its mother, who was circling about in the distance. there were half a dozen other fawns upon the plain, but they all treated us alike and my wife's hat was empty when we returned to camp. these antelope probably had been born not more than two or three days before we found them. later, after a chase of more than a mile, we caught one which was only a few hours old. had it not injured itself when dodging between my pony's legs we could never have secured it at all. thus, nature, in the great scheme of life, has provided for her antelope children by blessing them with undreamed-of speed and only during the first days of babyhood could a wolf catch them on the open plain. when they are from two to three weeks old they run with the females in herds of six or eight, and you cannot imagine what a pretty sight it is to see the little fellows skimming like tiny, brown chickens beside their mothers. there is another wonderful provision for their life upon the desert. the digestive fluids of the stomach act upon the starch in the vegetation which they eat so that it forms sufficient water for their needs. therefore, some species never drink. the antelope choose a flat plain on which to give birth to their young in order to be well away from the wolves which are their greatest enemy; and the fawns are taught to lie absolutely motionless upon the ground until they know that they have been discovered. apparently they are all born during the last days of june and in the first week of july. the great herds which we encountered were probably moving northward both to obtain better grazing and to drop their young on the turin plain. during this period the old bucks go off singly into the rolling ground, and the herds are composed only of does and yearling males. it was always possible to tell at once if an antelope had a fawn upon the plain, for she would run in a wide circle around the spot and refuse to be driven away. we encountered only two species of antelope between kalgan and urga. the one of which i have been writing, and with which we became best acquainted, was the mongolian gazelle (_gazella gutturosa_). the other was the goitered gazelle (_gazella subgutturosa_). in the western gobi, the prjevalski gazelle (_gazella prjevalski_) is more abundant than the other species, but it never reaches the region which we visited. the goitered antelope is seldom found on the rolling meadowlands between kalgan and panj-kiang on the south, or between turin and urga on the north, according to our observations; they keep almost entirely to the gobi desert between panj-kiang and turin, and we often saw them among the "nigger heads" or tussocks in the most arid parts. the mongolian gazelle, on the other hand, is most abundant in the grasslands both north and south of the gobi, but nevertheless has a continuous distribution across the plateau between kalgan and urga. on our northward trip in may, when we took motion pictures of the antelope on the panj-kiang plain, both, species were present, but the goitered gazelle far outnumbered the others--which is unusual in that locality. it could always be distinguished from the mongolian gazelle because of its smaller size, darker coloring, and the long tail which it carries straight up in the air at right angles to the back; the mongolian antelope has an exceedingly short tail. the horns of both species differ considerably in shape and can easily be distinguished. during the winter these antelope develop a coat of very long, soft hair which is light brown-gray in color strongly tinged with rufous on the head and face. its summer pelage is a beautiful orange-fawn. the winter coat is shed during may, and the animals lose their short summer hair in late august and early september. both species have a greatly enlarged larynx from which the goitered gazelle derives its name. what purpose this extraordinary character serves the animal, i am at a loss to know. certainly it is not to give them an exceptional "voice"; for, when wounded, i have heard them make only a deep-toned roar which was by no means loud. specimens of the larynx which we preserved in formalin are now being prepared for anatomical study. although the two species inhabit the same locality, they keep well by themselves and only once, on the panj-kiang plain, did we see them running together in the same herd; then it was probably because they were frightened by the car. i doubt if they ever interbreed except in rare instances. the fact that these animals can develop such an extraordinary speed was a great surprise to me, as undoubtedly it will be to most naturalists. had we not been able to determine it accurately by means of the speedometers on our cars, i should never have dared state that they could reach fifty-five or sixty miles an hour. it must be remembered that the animals can continue at such a high speed only for a short distance--perhaps half a mile--and will never exert themselves to the utmost unless they are thoroughly frightened. they would run just fast enough to keep well away from the cars or our horses, and it was only when we began to shoot that they showed what they were capable of doing. when the bullets began to scatter about them they would seem to flatten several inches and run at such a terrific speed that their legs appeared only as a blur. of course, they have developed their fleetness as a protection from enemies. their greatest menace is the wolves, but since we demonstrated that these animals cannot travel faster than about thirty miles an hour, the antelope are perfectly safe unless they happen to be caught off their guard. to prevent just this, the gazelles usually keep well out on the open plains and avoid rocks or abrupt hills which would furnish cover for a wolf. of course, they often go into the rolling ground, but it is usually where the slopes are gradual and where they have sufficient space in which to protect themselves. the gazelles have a perfectly smooth, even run when going at full speed. i have often seen them bound along when not particularly frightened, but never when they are really trying to get away in the shortest possible time. the front limbs, as in the case of a deer, act largely as supports and the real motive power comes from the hind legs. if an antelope has only a front leg broken no living horse can catch it, but with a shattered hind limb my pony could run it down. i have already related (see [the end of chapter iv]) how, in a car, we pursued an antelope with both front legs broken below the knee; even then, it reached a speed of fifteen miles an hour. the mongolian plains are firm and hard with no bushes or other obstructions and, consequently, are especially favorable for rapid travel. the cheetah, or hunting leopard of africa, has the reputation of being able to reach a greater speed, for a short dash, than any other animal in that country, and i have often wondered how it would fare in a race with a mongolian gazelle. unfortunately, conditions in africa are not favorable for the use of automobiles in hunting, and no actual facts as to the speed of the cheetah are available. at this camp, and during the journey back to urga, we had many glorious hunts. each one held its own individual fascination, for no two were just alike; and every day we learned something new about the life history of the mongolian antelope. we needed specimens for a group in the new hall of asiatic life in the american museum of natural history, as well as a series representing all ages of both males and females for scientific study. when we returned to urga we had them all. the hunting of large game was only one aspect of our work. we usually returned to camp about two o'clock in the afternoon. as soon as tiffin had been eaten my wife worked at her photography, while i busied myself over the almost innumerable details of the preparation and cataloguing of our specimens. about six o'clock, accompanied by the two chinese taxidermists carrying bags of traps, we would leave the tents. sometimes we would walk several miles, meanwhile carefully scrutinizing the ground for holes or traces of mammal workings, and set eighty or one hundred traps. we might find a colony of meadow voles (_microtus_) where dozens of "runways" betrayed their presence, or discover the burrows of the desert hamster (_cricetulus_). these little fellows, not larger than a house mouse, have their tiny feet enveloped in soft fur, like the slippers of an eskimo baby. as we walked back to camp in the late afternoon, we often saw a kangaroo rat (_alactaga mongolica_?) jumping across the plain, and when we had driven it into a hole, we could be sure to catch it in a trap the following morning. they are gentle little creatures, with huge, round eyes, long, delicate ears, and tails tufted at the end like the feathers on an arrow's shaft. the name expresses exactly what they are like--diminutive kangaroos--but, of course, they are rodents and not marsupials. during the glacial period of the early pleistocene, about one hundred thousand years ago, we know from fossil remains that there were great invasions into europe of most of these types of tiny mammals, which we were catching during this delightful summer on the mongolian plains. after two months we regretfully turned back toward urga. our summer was to be divided between the plains on the south and the forests to the north of the sacred city, and the first half of the work had been completed. the results had been very satisfactory, and our boxes contained five hundred specimens; but our hearts were sad. the wide sweep of the limitless, grassy sea, the glorious morning rides, and the magic of the starlit nights had filled our blood. even the lure of the unknown forests could not make us glad to go, for the plains had claimed us as their own. chapter x an adventure in the lama city late on a july afternoon my wife and i stood disconsolately in the middle of the road on the outskirts of urga. we had halted because the road had ended abruptly in a muddy river. moreover, the river was where it had no right to be, for we had traveled that road before and had found only a tiny trickle across its dusty surface. we were disconsolate because we wished to camp that night in urga, and there were abundant signs that it could not be done. at least the mongols thought so, and we had learned that what a mongol does not do had best "give us pause." they had accepted the river with oriental philosophy and had made their camps accordingly. already a score of tents dotted the hillside, and _argul_ fires were smoking in the doorways. hundreds of carts were drawn up in an orderly array while a regiment of oxen wandered about the hillside or sleepily chewed their cuds beside the loads. in a few hours or days or weeks the river would disappear, and then they would go on to urga. meanwhile, why worry? two adventurous spirits, with a hundred camels, tried to cross. we watched the huge beasts step majestically into the water, only to huddle together in a yellow-brown mass when they reached midstream. all their dignity fled, and they became merely frightened mountains of flesh amid a chaos of writhing necks and wildly switching tails. but stranger still was a motor car standing on a partly submerged island between two branches of the torrent. we learned later that its owners had successfully navigated the first stream and entered the second. a flooded carburetor had resulted, and ere the car was again in running order, the water had risen sufficiently to maroon them on the island. my wife and i both lack the philosophical nature of the oriental, and it was a sore trial to camp within rifle shot of urga. but we did not dare leave our carts, loaded with precious specimens, to the care of servants and the curiosity of an ever increasing horde of mongols. for a well-nigh rainless month we had been hunting upon the plains, while only one hundred and fifty miles away urga had had an almost daily deluge. in midsummer heavy rain-clouds roll southward to burst against "god's mountain," which rears its green-clad summits five thousand feet above the valley. then it is only a matter of hours before every streamlet becomes a swollen torrent. but they subside as quickly as they rise, and the particular river which barred our road had lost its menace before the sun had risen in a cloudless morning sky. all the valley seemed in motion. we joined the motley throng of camels, carts, and horsemen; and even the motor car coughed and wheezed its way to urga under the stimulus of two bearded russians. [illustration: tibetan yaks] [illustration: our caravan crossing the terelche river] we made our camp on a beautiful bit of lawn within a few hundred yards of one of the most interesting of all the urga temples. it is known to the foreigners in the city as "god's brother's house," for it was the residence of the hutukhtu's late brother. the temple presents a bewildering collection of carved gables and gayly painted pavilions flaunting almost every color of the rainbow. yvette and i were consumed with curiosity to see what was contained within the high palisades which surround the buildings. we knew it would be impossible to obtain permission for her to go inside, and one evening as we were walking along the walls we glanced through the open gate. no one was in sight and from somewhere in the far interior we heard the moaning chant of many voices. evidently the lamas were at their evening prayers. we stepped inside the door intending only to take a rapid look. the entire court was deserted, so we slipped through the second gate and stood just at the entrance of the main temple, the "holy of holies." in the half darkness we could see the tiny points of yellow light where candles burned before the altar. on either side was a double row of kneeling lamas, their wailing chant broken by the clash of cymbals and the boom of drums. beside the temple were a hideous foreign house and an enormous _yurt_--evidently the former residences of "god's brother"; in the corners of the compound were ornamental pavilions painted green and red. except for these, the court was empty. suddenly there was a stir among the lamas, and we dashed away like frightened rabbits, dodging behind the gateposts until we were safe outside. it was not until some days later that we learned what a really dangerous thing it was to do, for the temple is one of the holiest in urga, and in it women are never allowed. had a mongol seen us, our camp would have been stormed by a mob of frenzied lamas. a few days later we had an experience which demonstrates how quickly trouble can arise where religious superstitions are involved. my wife and i had put the motion picture camera in one of the carts and, with our mongol driving, went to the summit of the hill above the lama city to film a panoramic view of urga. we, ourselves, were on horseback. after getting the pictures, we drove down the main street of the city and stopped before the largest temple, which i had photographed several times before. as soon as the motion picture machine was in position, about five hundred lamas gathered about us. it was a good-natured crowd, however, and we had almost finished work, when a "black mongol" (i.e., one with a queue, not a lama) pushed his way among the priests and began to harangue them violently. in a few moments he boldly grasped me by the arm. fearing that trouble might arise, i smiled and said, in chinese, that we were going away. the mongol began to gesticulate wildly and attempted to pull me with him farther into the crowd of lamas, who also were becoming excited. i was being separated from yvette, and realizing that it would be dangerous to get far away from her, i suddenly wrenched my arm free and threw the mongol to the ground; then i rushed through the line of lamas surrounding yvette, and we backed up against the cart. i had an automatic pistol in my pocket, but it would have been suicide to shoot except as a last resort. when a mongol "starts anything" he is sure to finish it; he is not like a chinese, who will usually run at the first shot. we stood for at least three minutes with that wall of scowling brutes ten feet away. they were undecided what to do and were only waiting for a leader to close in. one huge beast over six feet tall was just in front of me, and as i stood with my fingers crooked about the trigger of the automatic in my pocket, i thought, "if you start, i'm going to nail you anyway." just at this moment of indecision our mongol leaped on my wife's pony, shouted that he was going to duke loobitsan yangsen, an influential friend of ours, and dashed away. instantly attention turned from us to him. fifty men were on horseback in a second, flying after him at full speed. i climbed into the cart, shouting to yvette to jump on kublai khan and run; but she would not leave me. at full speed we dashed down the hill, the plunging horses scattering lamas right and left. our young mongol had saved us from a situation which momentarily might have become critical. at the entrance to the main street of urga below the lama city i saw the black mongol who had started all the trouble. i jumped to the ground, seized him by the collar and one leg, and attempted to throw him into the cart for i had a little matter to settle with him which could best be done to my satisfaction where we were without spectators. at the same instant a burly policeman, wearing a saber fully five feet long, seized my horse by the bridle. at the black mongol's instigation (who, i discovered, was himself a policeman) he had been waiting to arrest us when we came into the city. since it was impossible to learn what had caused the trouble, yvette rode to andersen, meyer's compound to bring back mr. olufsen and his interpreter. she found the whole courtyard swarming with excited mongol soldiers. a few moments later olufsen arrived, and we were allowed to return to his house on parole. then he visited the foreign minister, who telephoned the police that we were not to be molested further. we could never satisfactorily determine what it was all about for every one had a different story. the most plausible explanation was as follows. russians had been rather _persona non grata_ in urga since the collapse of the empire, and the mongols were ready to annoy them whenever it was possible to do so and "get away with it." all foreigners are supposed to be russians by the average native and, when the black mongol discovered us using a strange machine, he thought it an excellent opportunity to "show off" before the lamas. therefore, he told them that we were casting a spell over the great temple by means of the motion picture camera which i was swinging up and down and from side to side. this may not be the true explanation of the trouble but at least it was the one which sounded most logical to us. our lama had been caught in the city, and it was with difficulty that we were able to obtain his release. the police charged that he tried to escape when they ordered him to stop. he related how they had slapped his face and pulled his ears before they allowed him to leave the jail, and he was a very much frightened young man when he appeared at andersen, meyer's compound. however, he was delighted to have escaped so easily, as he had had excellent prospects of spending a week or two in one of the prison coffins. the whole performance had the gravest possibilities, and we were exceedingly fortunate in not having been seriously injured or killed. by playing upon their superstitions, the black mongol had so inflamed the lamas that they were ready for anything. i should never have allowed them to separate me from my wife and, to prevent it, probably would have had to use my pistol. had i begun to shoot, death for both of us would have been inevitable. the day that we arrived in urga from the plains we found the city flooded. the great square in front of the horse market was a chocolate-colored lake; a brown torrent was rushing down the main street; and every alley was two feet deep in water, or a mass of liquid mud. it was impossible to walk without wading to the knees and even our horses floundered and slipped about, covering us with mud and water. the river valley, too, presented quite a different picture than when we had seen it last. instead of open sweeps of grassland dotted with an occasional _yurt_, now there were hundreds of felt dwellings interspersed with tents of white or blue. it was like the encampment of a great army, or a collection of huge beehives. most of the inhabitants were mongols from the city who had pitched their _yurts_ in the valley for the summer. although the wealthiest natives seem to feel that for the reception of guests their "position" demands a foreign house, they seldom live in it. duke loobitsan yangsen had completed his mansion the previous winter. it was built in russian style and furnished with an assortment of hideous rugs and foreign furniture which made one shiver. but in the yard behind the house his _yurt_ was pitched, and there he lived in comfort. loobitsan was a splendid fellow--one of the best types of mongol aristocrats. from the crown of his finely molded head to the toes of his pointed boots, he was every inch a duke. i saw him in his house one day reclining on a _kang_ while he received half a dozen minor officials, and his manner of quiet dignity and conscious power recalled accounts of the mongol princes as marco polo saw them. loobitsan liked foreigners and one could always find a cordial reception in his compound. he spoke excellent chinese and was unusually well educated for a mongol. although he was in charge of the customs station at mai-ma-cheng and owned considerable property, which he rented to the chinese for vegetable gardens, his chief wealth was in horses. in mongolia a man's worldly goods are always measured in horses, not in dollars. when he needs cash he sells a pony or two and buys more if he has any surplus silver. his bank is the open plain; his herdsmen are the guardians of his riches. loobitsan's wife, the duchess, was a nice-looking woman who seemed rather bored with life. she rejoiced in two gorgeous strings of pearls, which on state occasions hung from the silver-encrusted horns of hair to the shoulders of her brocade jacket. ordinarily she appeared in a loose red gown and hardly looked regal. loobitsan had never seen peking and was anxious to go. when general hsu shu-tseng made his _coup d'état_ in november, , mr. larsen and loobitsan came to the capital as representatives of the hutukhtu, and one day, as my wife was stepping into a millinery shop on rue marco polo, she met him dressed in all his mongol splendor. but he was so closely chaperoned by chinese officials that he could not enjoy himself. i saw larsen not long afterward, and he told me that loobitsan was already pining for the open plains of his beloved mongolia. in mid-july, when we returned to urga, the vegetable season was at its height. the chinese, of course, do all the gardening; and the splendid radishes, beets, onions, carrots, cabbages, and beans, which were brought every day to market, showed the wonderful possibilities for development along these lines. north of the bogdo-ol there is a superabundance of rain and vegetables grow so rapidly in the rich soil that they are deliciously sweet and tender, besides being of enormous size. while we were on the plains our food had consisted largely of meat and we reveled in the change of diet. we wished often for fruit but that is nonexistent in mongolia except a few, hard, watery pears, which merchants import from china. mr. larsen was in kalgan for the summer but mr. olufsen turned over his house and compound for our work. i am afraid we bothered him unmercifully, yet his good nature was unfailing and he was never too busy to assist us in the innumerable details of packing the specimens we had obtained upon the plains and in preparing for our trip into the forests north of urga. it is men like him who make possible scientific work in remote corners of the world. chapter xi mongols at home until we left urga the second time mongolia, to us, had meant only the gobi desert and the boundless, rolling plains. when we set our faces northward we found it was also a land of mountains and rivers, of somber forests and gorgeous flowers. a new forest always thrills me mightily. be it of stately northern pines, or a jungle tangle in the tropics, it is so filled with glamour and mystery that i enter it with a delightful feeling of expectation. there is so much that is concealed from view, it is so pregnant with the possibility of surprises, that i am as excited as a child on christmas morning. the forests of mongolia were by no means disappointing. we entered them just north of urga where the siberian life zone touches the plains of the central asian region and the beginnings of a new fauna are sharply delineated by the limit of the trees. we had learned that the terelche river would offer a fruitful collecting ground. it was only forty miles from urga and the first day's trip was a delight. we traveled northward up a branch valley enclosed by forested hills and carpeted with flowers. never had we seen such flowers! acre after acre of bluebells, forget-me-nots, daisies, buttercups, and cowslips converted the entire valley into a vast "old-fashioned garden," radiantly beautiful. our camp that night was at the base of a mountain called the da wat which shut us off from the terelche river. on the second morning, instead of golden sunshine, we awoke to a cloud-hung sky and floods of rain. it was one of those days when everything goes wrong; when with all your heart you wish to swear but instead you must smile and smile and keep on smiling. no one wished to break camp in the icy deluge but there were three marshes between us and the terelche river which were bad enough in dry weather. a few hours of rain would make them impassable, perhaps for weeks. my wife and i look back upon that day and the next as one of our few, real hardships. after eight hours of killing work, wet to the skin and almost frozen, we crossed the first dangerous swamp and reached the summit of the mountain. then the cart, with our most valuable possessions, plunged off the road on a sharp descent and crashed into the forest below. chen and i escaped death by a miracle and the other chinese taxidermist, who was safe and sound, promptly had hysterics. it was discouraging, to say the least. we camped in the gathering darkness on a forty-five-degree slope in mud twelve inches deep. next day we gathered up our scattered belongings, repaired the cart, and reached the river. i had a letter from duke loobitsan yangsen to a famous old hunter, tserin dorchy by name, who lives in the terelche region. he had been gone for six days on a shooting trip when we came into the beautiful valley where his _yurts_ were pitched, but his wife welcomed us with true mongolian hospitality and a great dish of cheese. our own camp we made just within the forest, a mile away. for a week we hunted and trapped in the vicinity, awaiting tserin dorchy's return. our arrival created a deal of interest among the half dozen families in the neighborhood and, after each had paid a formal call, they apparently agreed that we were worthy of being accepted into their community. we were nomads for the time, just as they are for life. we had pitched our tents in the forest, as they had erected their _yurts_ in the meadow beside the river. when the biting winds of winter swept the valley a few months later they would move, with all their sheep and goats, to the shelter of the hills and we would seek new hunting grounds. before many days we learned all the valley gossip. moreover, we furnished some ourselves for one of the chinese taxidermists became enamored of a mongol maiden. there were two of them, to be exact, and they both "vamped" him persistently. the toilettes with which they sought to allure him were marvels of brilliance, and one of them actually scrubbed her little face and hands with a cake of my yellow, scented soap. our servant's affections finally centered upon the younger girl and i smiled paternally upon the wild-wood romance. every night, with a sheepish grin, chen would ask to borrow a pony. the responsibilities of chaperones sat lightly on our shoulders, but sometimes my wife and i would wander out to the edge of the forest and watch him to the bottom of the hill. usually his love was waiting and they would ride off together in the moonlight--where, we never asked! but we could not blame the boy--those mongolian nights were made for lovers. the marvel of them we hold among our dearest memories. wherever we may be, the fragrance of pine trees or the sodden smell of a marsh carries us back in thought to the beautiful valley and fills our hearts again with the glory of its clear, white nights. no matter what the day brought forth, we looked forward to the evening hunt as best of all. as we trotted our ponies homeward through the fresh, damp air we could watch the shadows deepen in the somber masses of the forest, and on the hilltops see the ragged silhouettes of sentinel pines against the rose glow of the sky. ribbons of mist, weaving in and out above the stream, clothed the alders in ghostly silver and rested in billowy masses upon the marshes. ere the moon had risen, the stars blazed out like tiny lanterns in the sky. over all the valley there was peace unutterable. we were soon admitted to a delightful comradeship with the mongols of our valley. we shared their joys and sorrows and nursed their minor ills. first to seek our aid was the wife of the absent hunter, tserin dorchy. she rode up one day with a two-year-old baby on her arm. the little fellow was badly infected with eczema, and for three weeks one of the lamas in the tiny temple near their _yurt_ had been mumbling prayers and incantations in his behalf, without avail. fortunately, i had a supply of zinc ointment and before the month was ended the baby was almost well. then came the lama with his bill "for services rendered," and tserin dorchy contributed one hundred dollars to his priestly pocket. a young mongol with a dislocated shoulder was my next patient, and when i had made him whole, the lama again claimed the credit and collected fifty dollars as the honorarium for his prayers. and so it continued throughout the summer; i made the cures, and the priest got the fees. although the mongols all admitted the efficacy of my foreign medicines, nevertheless they could not bring themselves to dispense with the lama and his prayers. superstition was too strong and fear that the priest would send an army of evil spirits flocking to their _yurts_ if they offended him brought the money, albeit reluctantly, from their pockets. although the lama never proposed a partnership arrangement, as i thought he might have done, he spent much time about our camp and often brought us bowls of curded milk and cheese. he was a wandering priest and not a permanent resident of the valley, but he evidently decided not to wander any farther until we, too, should leave, for he was with us until the very end. a short time after we had made our camp near the terelche river a messenger arrived from urga with a huge package of mail. in it was a copy of _harper's magazine_ containing an account of a flying visit which i had made to urga in september, . [footnote: _harper's magazine_, june, , pp. - .] there were half a dozen mongols near our tent, among whom was madame tserin dorchy. i explained the pictures to the hunter's wife in my best chinese while yvette "stood by" with her camera and watched results. although the woman had visited urga several times she had never seen a photograph or a magazine and for ten minutes there was no reaction. then she recognized a mongol headdress similar to her own. with a gasp of astonishment she pointed it out to the others and burst into a perfect torrent of guttural expletives. a picture of the great temple at urga, where she once had gone to worship, brought forth another volume of mongolian adjectives and her friends literally fought for places in the front row. news travels quickly in mongolia and during the next week men and women rode in from _yurts_ forty or fifty miles away to see that magazine. i will venture to say that no american publication ever received more appreciation or had a more picturesque audience than did that copy of _harper's_. the absent tserin dorchy returned one day when i was riding down the valley with his wife. we saw two strange figures on horseback emerging from the forest, each with a russian rifle on his back. their saddles were strung about with half-dried skins--four roebuck, a musk deer, a moose, and a pair of elk antlers in the "velvet." [illustration: our base camp at the edge of the forest] [illustration: the mongol village of the terelche valley] with a joyful shout madame tserin dorchy rode toward her husband. he was an oldish man, of fifty-five years perhaps, with a face as dried and weather-beaten as the leather beneath his saddle. he may have been glad to see her but his only sign of greeting was a "_sai_" and a nod to include us both. her pleasure was undisguised, however, and as we rode down the valley she chattered volubly between the business of driving in half a dozen horses and a herd of sheep. the monosyllabic replies of the hunter were delivered in a voice which seemed to come from a long way off or from out of the earth beneath his pony's feet. i was interested to see what greeting there would be upon his arrival at the _yurt_. his two daughters and his infant son were waiting at the door but he had not even a word for them and only a pat upon the head for the baby. all mongols are independent but tserin dorchy was an extreme in every way. he ruled the half dozen families in the valley like an autocrat. what he commanded was done without a question. i was anxious to get away and announced that we would start the day after his arrival. "no," said he, "we will go two days from now." argument was of no avail. so far as he was concerned, the matter was closed. when it came to arranging wages he stated his terms, which were exorbitant. i could accept them or not as i pleased; he would not reduce his demands by a single copper. as a matter of fact, offers of money make little impression upon the ordinary mongols. they produce well-nigh everything they need for they dress in sheepskins during the winter and eat little else than mutton. when they want cloth, tea, or ammunition, they simply sell a sheep or a pony or barter with the chinese merchants. we found that the personal equation enters very largely into any dealings with a mongol. if he likes you, remuneration is an incident. if he is not interested, money does not tempt him his independence is a product of the wild, free life upon the plains. he relies entirely upon himself for he has learned that in the struggle for existence, it is he himself that counts. of the chinaman, the opposite is true. his life is one of the community and he depends upon his family and his village. he is gregarious above all else and he hates to live alone. in this dependence upon his fellow men he knows that money counts--and there is very little that a chinaman will not do for money. on one of his trips across mongolia, mr. coltman's car became badly mired within a stone's throw of a mongol _yurt_. two or three oxen were grazing in front of the house and coltman asked the native to pull his car out of the mud. the mongol, who was comfortably smoking his pipe in the sun, was not at all interested in the matter, but finally remarked casually that he would do it for eight dollars. there was no argument. eight dollars was what he said, and eight dollars it would have to be or he would not move. the entire operation of dragging the car to firm ground consumed just four minutes. but this instance was an exception for usually a mongol is the very essence of good nature and is ready to assist whenever a traveler is in difficulty. tserin dorchy's independence kept us in a constant state of irritation for it was manifested in a dozen different ways. we would gladly have dispensed with his services but his word was law in the community and, if he had issued a "bull" against us, we could not have obtained another man. for all his age, he was an excellent hunter and we came to be good friends. the old man's independence once led him into serious trouble. he had often looked at the bogdo-ol with longing eyes and had made short excursions, without his gun, into its sacred forests. on one of these trips he saw a magnificent elk with antlers such as he had never dreamed were carried by any living animal. he could not forget that deer. its memory was a thorn that pricked him wherever else he hunted. finally he determined to have it, even if mongolian law and the lama church had proclaimed it sacred. toward the end of july, when he deemed the antlers just ripe for plucking, he slipped into the forest during the night and climbed the mountain. after two days he killed the elk. but the lamas who patrol "god's mountain" had heard the shot and drove him into a great rock-strewn gorge where they lost his trail. believing that he was still within hearing distance, they shouted to one another that it was useless to hunt longer and that they had best return. then they concealed themselves and awaited results. an hour later tserin dorchy crawled out from under a bowlder directly into their hands. he had been well-nigh killed before the lamas brought him down to urga and was still unconscious when they dumped him unceremoniously into one of the prison coffins. he was sentenced to remain a year; but the old man would not have lived a month if duke loobitsan yangsen, with whom he had often hunted, had not obtained his release. his independent spirit is by no means chastened, however, and i feel sure that he will shoot another deer on the bogdo-ol before he dies! three days after his return home, my wife and i left with him and three other mongols on our first real hunt. our equipment consisted only of sleeping bags and such food as could be carried on our horses; it was a time when living "close to nature" was really necessary. eight miles away we stopped at the entrance to a tiny valley. by arranging a bit of canvas over the low branches of a larch tree we prepared a shelter for ourselves and another for the hunters. in fifteen minutes camp was ready and a fire blazing. when a huge iron basin of water had begun to warm one of the mongols threw in a handful of brick tea, which resembled nothing so much as powdered tobacco. after the black fluid had boiled vigorously for ten minutes each one filled his wooden eating bowl, put in a great chunk of rancid butter, and then a quantity of finely-ground meal. this is what the tibetans call _tsamba_, and the buttered tea was prepared exactly as we had seen the tibetans make it. the tsamba, however, was only to enable them to "carry on" until we killed some game; for meat is the mongols' "staff of life," and they care little for anything except animal food. the evening hunt yielded no results. two of the mongols had missed a bear, i had seen a roebuck, and the old man had lost a wounded musk deer on the mountain ridge above the camp. but the game was there and we knew where to find it on the morrow. in the gray light of early morning tserin dorchy and i rode up the valley through the dew-soaked grass. once the old man stopped to examine the rootings of a _ga-hai_ (wild boar), then he continued steadily along the stream bed. in the half-gloom of the forest the bushes and trees seemed flat and colorless but suddenly the sun burned through an horizon cloud, flooding the woods with golden light. the whole forest seemed instantly to awaken. it was as though we had come into a dimly lighted room and touched an electric switch. the trees and bushes assumed a dozen subtle shades of green, and the flowers blazed like jewels in the gorgeous woodland carpet. i should have liked to spend the morning in the forest but we knew the deer were feeding in the open. on foot we climbed upward through knee-high grass to the summit of a hill. there seemed nothing living in the meadow but as we walked along the ridge a pair of grouse shot into the air followed by half a dozen chicks which buzzed away like brown bullets to the shelter of the trees. we crossed a flat depression and rested for a moment on a rounded hilltop. below us a new valley sloped downward, bathed in sunshine. tserin dorchy wandered slowly to the right while i studied the edge of a marsh with my glasses. suddenly i heard the muffled beat of hoofs. jerking the glasses from my eyes i saw a huge roebuck, crowned with a splendid pair of antlers, bound into view not thirty feet away. for the fraction of a second he stopped, with his head thrown back, then dashed along the hillside. that instant of hesitation gave me just time to seize my rifle, catch a glimpse of the yellow-red body through the rear sight, and fire as he disappeared. leaping to my feet, i saw four slender legs waving in the air. the bullet had struck him in the shoulder and he was down for good. my heart pounded with exultation as i lifted his magnificent head. he was the finest buck i had ever seen and i gloated over his body as a miser handles his gold. and gold, shining in the sunlight, was never more beautiful than his spotless summer coat. right where he lay upon the hillside, amid a veritable garden of bluebells, daisies, and yellow roses, was the setting for the group we wished to prepare in the american museum of natural history. he would be its central figure for his peer could not be found in all mongolia. as i stood there in the brilliant sunlight, mentally planning the group, i thought how fortunate i was to have been born a naturalist. a sportsman shoots a deer and takes its head; later, it hangs above his fireplace or in the trophy room. if he be one of imagination, in years to come it will bring back to him the feel of the morning air, the fragrance of the pine trees, and the wild thrill of exultation as the buck went down. but it is a memory picture only and limited to himself. the mounted head can never bring to others the smallest part of the joy he felt and the scene he saw. the naturalist shares his pleasure and, after all, it is largely that which counts. when the group is constructed in the museum under his direction he can see reproduced with fidelity and in minutest detail this hidden corner of the world. he can share with thousands of city dwellers the joy of his hunt and teach them something of the animals he loves and the lands they call their own. to his scientific training he owes another source of pleasure. every animal is a step in the solution of some one of nature's problems. perhaps it is a new discovery, a species unknown to science. asia is full of such surprises--i have already found many. be the specimen large or small, if it has fallen to your trap or rifle, there is the thrill of knowing that you have traced one more small line on the white portion of nature's map. while i was gazing at the fallen buck tserin dorchy stood like a statue on the hilltop, scanning the forest and valley with the hope that my shot had disturbed another animal. in a few moments he came down to me. the old man had lost some of his accustomed calm and, with thumb upraised, murmured, "_sai_, _sai_." then he gave, in vivid pantomime, a recital of how he suddenly surprised the buck feeding just below the hill crest and how he had seen me jerk the glasses from my eyes and shoot. sitting down beside the deer we went through the ceremony of a smoke. then tserin dorchy eviscerated the animal, being careful to preserve the heart, liver, stomach, and intestines. like all other orientals with whom i have hunted, the mongols boiled and ate the viscera as soon as we reached camp and seemed to consider them an especial delicacy. some weeks later we killed two elk and tserin dorchy inflated and dried the intestines. these were to be used as containers for butter and mutton fat. after tanning the stomach he manufactured from it a bag to contain milk or other liquids. his wife showed me some really beautiful leather which she had made from roebuck skins. tanning hides and making felt were the only strictly mongolian industries which we observed in the region visited by our expedition. the mongols do a certain amount of logging and charcoal burning and in the autumn they cut hay; but with these exceptions we never saw them do any work which could not be done from horseback. our first hunting trip lasted ten days and in the following months there were many others. we became typical nomads, spending a day or two in some secluded valley only to move again to other hunting grounds. for the time we were mongols in all essentials. the primitive instincts, which lie just below the surface in us all, responded to the subtle lure of nature and without an effort we slipped into the care-free life of these children of the woods and plains. we slept at night under starlit skies in the clean, fresh forest; the first gray light of dawn found us stealing through the dew-soaked grass on the trail of elk, moose, boar or deer; and when the sun was high, like animals, we spent the hours in sleep until the lengthening shadows sent us out again for the evening hunt. in those days new york seemed to be on another planet and very, very far away. happiness and a great peace was ours, such as those who dwell in cities can never know. in the midst of our second hunt the mongols suddenly announced that they must return to the terelche valley. we did not want to go, but tserin dorchy was obdurate. with the limited chinese at our command we could not learn the reason, and at the base camp lu, "the interpreter," was wholly incoherent. "to-morrow, plenty mongol come," he said. "riding pony, all same peking. two men catch hold, both fall down." my wife was perfectly sure that he had lost his mind, but by a flash of intuition i got his meaning. if was to be a field meet. "riding pony, all same peking" meant races, and "two men catch hold, both fall down" could be nothing else than wrestling. i was very proud of myself, and lu was immensely relieved. athletic contests are an integral part of the life of every mongol community, as i knew, and the members of our valley family were to hold their annual games. at urga, in june, the great meet which the living god blesses with his presence is an amazing spectacle, reminiscent of the pageants of the ancient emperors. all the _elite_ of mongolia gather on the banks of the tola river, dressed in their most splendid robes, and the archery, wrestling, and horse racing are famous throughout the east. this love of sport is one of the most attractive characteristics of the mongols. it is a common ground on which a foreigner immediately has a point of contact. the chinese, on the contrary, despise all forms of physical exercise. they consider it "bad form," and they do not understand any sport which calls for violent exertion. they prefer to take a quiet walk, carrying their pet bird in a cage for an airing; to play a game of cards; or, if they must travel, to loll back in a sedan chair, with the curtains drawn and every breath of air excluded. the terelche valley meet was held on a flat strip of ground just below our camp. as my wife and i rode out of the forest, a dozen mongols swept by, gorgeous in flaming red and streaming peacock plumes. they waved a challenge to us, and we joined them in a wild race to a flag in the center of the field. on the side of the hill sat a row of lamas in dazzling yellow gowns; opposite them were the judges, among whom i recognized tserin dorchy, though he was so bedecked, behatted and beribboned that i could hardly realize that it was the same old fellow with whom we had lived in camp. (i presume if he saw me in the clothes of civilization he would be equally surprised.) in front of the judges, who represented the most respected laity of the community, were bowls of cheese cut into tiny cubes. the spectators consisted of two groups of women, who sat some distance apart in compact masses, the "horns" of their headdresses almost interlocked. their costumes were marvels of brilliance. they looked like a flock of gorgeous butterflies, which had alighted for a moment on the grass. the first race consisted of about a dozen ponies, ridden by fourteen-year-old boys and girls. they swept up the valley from the starting point in full run, hair streaming, and uttering wailing yells. the winner was led by two old mongols to the row of lamas, before whom he prostrated himself twice, and received a handful of cheese. this he scattered broadcast, as he was conducted ceremoniously to the judges, from whom he returned with palms brimming with bits of cheese. finally, all the contestants in the races, and half a dozen of the mongols on horseback, lined up in front of the priests, each one singing a barbaric chant. then they circled about the lamas, beating their horses until they were in a full run. after the race came wrestling matches. the contestants sparred for holds and when finally clinched, each with a grip on the other's waistband, endeavored to obtain a fall by suddenly heaving. when the last wrestling match was finished, a tall mongol raised the yellow banner, and followed by every man and boy on horseback, circled about the seated lamas. faster and faster they rode, yelling like demons, and then strung off across the valley to the nearest _yurt_. although the sports in themselves were not remarkable, the scene was picturesque in the extreme. opposite to the grassy hill the forest-clad mountains rose, tier upon tier, in dark green masses. the brilliant yellow lamas faced by the mongols in their blazing robes and pointed yellow hats, the women, flashing with "jewels" and silver, the half-wild chant, and the rush of horses, gave a barbaric touch which thrilled and fascinated us. we could picture this same scene seven hundred years ago, for it is an ancient custom which has come down from the days of kublai khan. it was as though the veil of centuries had been lifted for a moment to allow us to carry away, in motion pictures, this drama of mongolian life. chapter xii nomads of the forest three days after the field meet we left with tserin dorchy and two other mongols for a wapiti hunt. we rode along the terelche river for three miles, sometimes splashing through the soggy edges of a marsh, and again halfway up a hillside where the ground was firm and hard; then, turning west on a mountain slope, we came to a low plateau which rolled away in undulating sweeps of bush-land between the edges of the dark pine woods. it was a truly boreal landscape; we were on the edge of the forest, which stretches in a vast, rolling sea of green far beyond the siberian frontier. from the summit of the table-land we descended between dark walls of pine trees to a beautiful valley filled with parklike openings. just at dark tserin dorchy turned abruptly into the stream and crossed to a pretty grove of spruces on a little island formed by two branches of the river. it was as secluded as a cavern, and made an ideal place in which to camp. a hundred feet away the tent was invisible and, save for the tiny wreaths of smoke which curled above the tree-tops, there was no sign of our presence there. after dinner tserin dorchy shouldered a pack of skins and went to a "salt lick" in a meadow west of camp to spend the night. he returned in the first gray light of dawn, just as i was making coffee, and reported that he had heard wapiti barking, but that no animals had visited the lick. he directed me to go along the hillsides north of camp, while the mongol hunters struck westward across the mountains. i had not been gone an hour, and had just worked across the lower end of a deep ravine, when i heard a wapiti bark above and behind me. it was a hoarse roar, exactly like a roebuck, except that it was deeper toned and louder. i was thrilled as though by an electric current. it seemed very far away, much farther than it really was, and as i crept to the summit of a ridge a splendid bull wapiti broke through the underbrush. he had been feeding in the bottom of the ravine and saw my head instantly as it appeared above the sky line. there was no chance to shoot because of the heavy cover; and even when he paused for a moment on the opposite hillside a screen of tree branches was in my way. absolutely disgusted with myself, i followed the animal's trail until it was lost in the heavy forest. the wapiti was gone for good, but on the way back to camp i picked up a roebuck which acted as some balm to my injured feelings. i had climbed to the crest of the mountains enclosing the valley in which we were camped, and was working slowly down the rim of a deep ravine. in my soft leather moccasins i could walk over the springy moss without a sound, and suddenly saw a yellow-red form moving about in a luxurious growth of grass and tinted leaves. my heart missed a beat, for i thought it was a wapiti. instantly i dropped behind a bush and, as the animal moved into the open, i saw it was an enormous roebuck bearing a splendid pair of antlers. i watched him for a moment, then aimed low behind the foreleg and fired. the deer bounded into the air and rolled to the bottom of the ravine, kicking feebly; my bullet had burst the heart. it was one of the few times i have ever seen an animal instantly killed with a heart shot for usually they run a few yards, and then suddenly collapse. the buck was almost as large as the first one i had killed with tserin dorchy but it had a twisted right antler. evidently it had been injured during the animal's youth and had continued to grow at right angles to the head, instead of straight up in the normal way. when i reached camp i found yvette busily picking currants in the bushes beside the stream. her face and hands were covered with red stains and she looked like a very naughty little boy who had run away from school for a day in the woods. although blueberries grew on every hillside, we never found strawberries, such as the russians in urga gather on the bogdo-ol, and only one patch of raspberries on a burned-off mountain slope. but the currants were delicious when smothered in sugar. yvette and i rode out to the spot where i had killed the roebuck to bring it in on kublai khan and before we returned the mongol hunters had reached camp; neither of them had seen game of any kind. during the day we discovered some huge trout in the stream almost at our door. we had no hooks or lines, but the mongols devised a way to catch the fish which brought us food, although it would have made a sportsman shiver. they built a dam of stones across the stream and one man waded slowly along, beating the water with a branch to drive the trout out of the pools into the ripples; then we dashed into the water and tried to catch them with our hands. at least a dozen got away but we secured three by cornering them among the rocks. they were huge trout, nearly three feet long. unfortunately i was not able to preserve any of them and i do not know what species they represented. the mongols and chinese often catch the same fish in the tola river by means of nets and we sometimes bought them in urga. one, which we put on the scales, weighed nine pounds. although ted maccallie tried to catch them with a fly at urga he never had any success but they probably would take live bait. august was our second day in camp. at dawn i was awakened by the patter of rain on the tent and soon it became a steady downpour. there was no use in hunting and i went back to sleep. at seven o'clock chen, who was fussing about the fire, rushed over to say that he could see two wapiti on the opposite mountain. yvette and i scrambled out of our sleeping bags just in time to see a doe and a fawn silhouetted against the sky rim as they disappeared over the crest. half an hour later they returned, and i tried a stalk but i lost them in the fog and rain. tserin dorchy believed that the animals had gone into a patch of forest on the other side of the mountain. we tried to drive them out but the only thing that appeared was a four-year-old roebuck which the mongol killed with a single shot. [illustration: wrestlers at terelche valley field meet] [illustration: women spectators at the field meet] we had ridden up the mountain by zigzagging across the slope, but when we started back i was astounded to see tserin dorchy keep to his saddle. the wet grass was so slippery that i could not even stand erect and half the time was sliding on my back, while kublai khan picked his way carefully down the steep descent. the mongol never left his horse till we reached camp. sometimes he even urged the pony to a trot and, moreover, had the roebuck strapped behind his saddle. i would not have ridden down that mountain side for all the deer in mongolia! it had begun to rain in earnest by eleven o'clock, and we spent a quiet afternoon. there is a charm about a rainy day when one can read comfortably and let it pour. the steady patter on the tent gives one the delightful sensation of immediately escaping extreme discomfort. there is no pleasure in being warm unless the weather is cold; and one never realizes how agreeable it is to be dry unless the day is wet. this day was very wet indeed. we had a month's accumulation of unopened magazines which a mongol had brought to our base camp just before we left, so there was no chance of being bored. the fire had been built half under a huge, back-log which kept a cheery glow of coals throughout all the downpour, and chen made us "_chowdzes_"--delicious little balls of meat mixed with onions and seasoned with chinese sauce. the mongols slept and ate and slept some more. we ate and slept and read. therefore, we were very happy. the weather during that summer in the forest was a source of constant surprise to us. we had never seen such rapid changes from brilliant sunshine to sheets of rain. for an hour or two the sky might stretch above us like a vast blue curtain flecked with tiny masses of snow-white clouds. suddenly, a leaden blanket would spread itself over every inch of celestial space, while a rush of rain and wind changed the forest to a black chaos of writhing branches and dripping leaves. in fifteen minutes the storm would sweep across the mountain tops, and the sun would again flood our peaceful valley with the golden light of early autumn. for autumn had already reached us even though the season was only mid-august. it was like october in new york, and we had nightly frosts which withered the countless flowers and turned the leaves to red and gold. in the morning, when i crossed the meadows to the forest, the grass was white with frost and crackled beneath my feet like delicate threads of spun glass. my moccasins were powdered with gleaming crystals of frozen dew, but at the first touch of sun every twig and leaf and blade of grass began to drip, as though from a heavy rain. my feet and legs waist-high were soaked in half an hour, and at the end of the morning hunt i was as wet as though i had waded a dozen rivers. one cannot move on foot in northern mongolia without the certainty of a thorough wetting. when the sun has dried the dew, there are swamps and streamlets in every valley and even far up the mountain slopes. it is the heavy rainfall, the rich soil, and the brilliant sunshine that make northern mongolia a paradise of luxurious grass and flowers, even though the real summer lasts only from may till august. then, the valleys are like an exquisite garden and the woods are ablaze with color. bluebells, their stalks bending under the weight of blossoms, clothe every hillside in a glorious azure dress bespangled with yellow roses, daisies, and forget-me-nots. but i think i like the wild poppies best of all, for their delicate, fragile beauty is wonderfully appealing. i learned to love them first in alaska, where their pale, yellow faces look up happily from the storm-swept hills of the pribilof islands in the bering sea. besides its flowers, this northern country is one of exceeding beauty. the dark green forests of spruce, larch and pine, broken now and then by a grove of poplars or silver birches, the secluded valleys and the rounded hills are strangely restful and give one a sense of infinite peace. it is a place to go for tired nerves. ragged peaks, towering mountains, and yawning chasms, splendid as they are, may be subtly disturbing, engendering a feeling of restlessness and vague depression. there is none of this in the forests of mongolia. we felt as though we might be happy there all our lives--the mad rush of our other world seemed very far away and not much worth while. as yet this land has been but lightly touched by the devastating hand of man. a log road cuts the forest here and there and sometimes we saw a train of ox-carts winding through the trees; but the primitive beauty of the mountains remains unmarred, save where a hillside has been swept by fire. in all our wanderings through the forests we saw no evidences of occupation by the mongols except the wood roads and a few scattered charcoal pits. these were old and moss-grown, and save for ourselves the valleys were deserted. one morning while i was hunting north of camp, i heard a wapiti roar on the summit of a mountain. i found its tracks in the soft earth of a game trail which wound through forest so dense that i could hardly see a dozen yards. as i stole along the path i heard a sudden sneeze exactly like that of a human being and saw a small, dark animal dash off the trail. i stopped instantly and slowly sank to the ground, kneeling motionless, with my rifle ready. for five minutes i remained there--the silence of the forest broken only by the clucking of a hazel grouse above my head. then came that sneeze again, sounding even more human than before. i heard a nervous patter of tiny hoofs, and the animal sneezed from the bushes at my right. i kept as motionless as a statue, and the sneezes followed each other in rapid succession, accompanied by impatient stampings and gentle rustlings in the brush. then i saw a tiny head emerge from behind a leafy screen and a pair of brilliant eyes gazing at me steadily. very, very slowly i raised the rifle until the stock nestled against my cheek; then i fired quickly. running to the spot where the head had been i found a beautiful brown-gray animal lying behind a bush. it was no larger than a half-grown fawn, but on either side of its mouth two daggerlike tusks projected, slender, sharp and ivory white. it was a musk deer--the first living, wild one i had ever seen. even before i touched the body i inhaled a heavy, not unpleasant, odor of musk and discovered the gland upon the abdomen. it was three inches long and two inches wide, but all the hair on the rump and belly was strongly impregnated with the odor. these little deer are eagerly sought by the natives throughout the orient, as musk is valuable for perfume. in urga the mongols could sell a "pod" for five dollars (silver) and in other parts of china it is worth considerably more. when we were in yün-nan we frequently heard of a musk buyer whom the paris perfumer, pinaud, maintained in the remote mountain village of atunzi, on the tibetan frontier. because of their commercial value the little animals are relentlessly persecuted in every country which they inhabit and in some places they have been completely exterminated. those in mongolia are particularly difficult to kill, since they live only on the mountain summits in the thickest forests. indeed, were it not for their insatiable curiosity it would be almost impossible ever to shoot them. they might be snared, of course, but i never saw any traps or devices for catching animals which the mongols used; they seem to depend entirely upon their guns. this is quite unlike the chinese, koreans, manchus, malays, and other orientals with whom i have hunted, for they all have developed ingenious snares, pitfalls and traps. the musk sac is present only in the male deer and is, of course, for the purpose of attracting the does. unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish the sexes except upon close examination, for both are hornless, and as a result the natives sometimes kill females which they would prefer to leave unmolested. the musk deer use their tusks for fighting and also to dig up the food upon which they live. i frequently found new pine cones which they had torn apart to get at the soft centers. during the winter they develop an exceedingly long, thick coat of hair which, however, is so brittle that it breaks almost like dry pine needles; consequently, the skins have but little commercial value. late one rainy afternoon tserin dorchy and i rode into a beautiful valley not far from where we were camped. when well in the upper end, we left our horses and proceeded on foot toward the summit of a ridge on which he had killed a bear a month earlier. motioning me to walk to the crest of the ridge from the other side, the old man vanished like a ghost among the trees. when i was nearly at the top i reached the edge of a small patch of burned forest. in the half darkness the charred stumps and skeleton trees were as black as ebony. as i was about to move into the open i saw an object which at first seemed to be a curiously shaped stump. i looked at it casually, then something about it arrested my attention. suddenly a tail switched nervously and i realized that the "stump" was an enormous wild boar standing head-on, watching me. i fired instantly, but even as i pressed the trigger the animal moved and i knew that the bullet would never reach its mark. but my brain could not telegraph to my finger quickly enough to stop its action and the boar dashed away unharmed. it was the largest pig i have ever seen. as he stood on the summit of the ridge he looked almost as big as a mongol pony. it was too dark to follow the animal so i returned to camp, a very dejected man. i have never been able to forget that boar and i suppose i never shall. later, i killed others but they can never destroy the memory of that enormous animal as he stood there looking down at me. had i realized that it was a pig only the fraction of a second sooner it would have been a different story. but that is the fortune of shooting. in no other sport is the line between success and failure so closely drawn; of course, it is that which makes it so fascinating. at the end of a long day's hunt one chance may be given; then all depends on a clear eye, a steady hand and, above all, judgment. in your action in that single golden second rests the success or failure of, perhaps, a season's trip. you may have traveled thousands of miles, spent hundreds of dollars, and had just one shot at the "head of heads." some men tell me that they never get excited when they hunt. thank god, i do. there would be no fun at all for me if i _didn't_ get excited. but, fortunately, it all comes after the crucial moment. when the stock of the rifle settles against my cheek and i look across the sights, i am as cold as steel. i can shoot, and keep on shooting, with every brain cell concentrated on the work in hand but when it is done, for better or worse, i get the reaction which makes it all worth while. one morning, a week after we had been in camp, tserin dorchy and i discovered a cow and a calf wapiti feeding in an open forest. it was a delight to see how the old mongol stalked the deer, slipping from tree to bush, sometimes on his knees or flat on his face in the soft moss carpet. when we were two hundred yards away we drew up behind a stump. i took the cow, while tserin dorchy covered the calf and at the sound of our rifles both animals went down for good. i was glad to have them for specimens because we never got a shot at a bull in mongolia, although twice i lost one by the merest chance. one of our hunters brought in a three-year-old moose a short time after we got the wapiti and another had a long chase after a wounded bear. it was the first week in september when we returned to the base camp, our ponies heavily loaded with skins and antlers. the chinese taxidermists under my direction had made a splendid collection of small mammals, and we had pretty thoroughly exhausted the resources of the forests in the terelche region. therefore, yvette and i decided that it would be well to ride into urga and make arrangements for our return to peking. we did the fifty miles with the greatest ease and spent the night with mamen in mai-ma-cheng. next day mr. and mrs. maccallie arrived, much to our delight. they were to spend the winter in urga on business and they brought a supply of much needed ammunition, photographic plates, traps and my mannlicher rifle. this equipment had been shipped from new york ten months earlier but had only just reached peking and been released from the customs through the heroic efforts of mr. guptil. we had another two weeks' hunting trip before we said good-by to mongolia but it netted few results. all the valleys, which had been deserted when we were there before, were filled with mongols cutting hay for the winter feed of their sheep and goats. of course, every camp was guarded by a dog or two, and their continual barking had driven the moose, elk, and bear far back into the deepest forests where we had no time to follow. mr. and mrs. maccallie had taken a house in urga, just opposite the russian consulate, and they entertained us while i packed our collections which were stored in andersen, meyer's godown. it was a full week's work, for we had more than a thousand specimens. the forests of mongolia had yielded up their treasures is we had not dared to hope they would, and we left them with almost as much regret as we had left the plains. october first the specimens started southward on camel back. kublai khan, my pony, went with them, while we left in the chinese government motor cars. for two hundred miles we rushed over the same plains which, a few months earlier, we had laboriously crossed with our caravan. every spot was pregnant with delightful memories. at this well we had camped for a week and hunted antelope; in that ragged mass of rocks we had killed a wolf; out on the turin plain we had trapped twenty-six marmots in an enormous colony. those had been glorious days and our hearts were sad as we raced back to peking and civilization. but one bright spot remained--we need not yet leave our beloved east! far to the south, in brigand-infested mountains on the edge of china, there dwelt a herd of bighorn sheep, the _argali_ of the mongols. among them was a great ram, and we had learned his hiding place. how we got him is another story. chapter xiii the passing of mongolian mystery i know of no other country about which there is so much _misinformation_ as about mongolia. because the gobi desert stretches through its center the popular conception appears to be that it is a waste of sand and gravel incapable of producing anything. in the preceding chapters i have attempted to give a picture of the country as we found it and, although our interests were purely zoölogical, i should like to present a few notes regarding its commercial possibilities, for i have never seen a land which is readily accessible and is yet so undeveloped. every year the far east is becoming increasingly important to the western world, and especially to the people of the united states, for china and its dependencies is the logical place for the investment of american capital. it is the last great undeveloped field, and i am interested in seeing the american business man appreciate the great opportunities which await him in the orient. it is true that the gobi desert is a part of mongolia, but only in its western half is it a desolate waste; in the eastern section it gradually changes into a rolling plain covered with "gobi sage brush" and short bunch grass. when one looks closely one sees that the underlying soil is very fine gravel and sand. there is little water in this region except surface ponds, which are usually dry in summer, and caravans depend upon wells. the water in the desert area contains some alkali but, except in a few instances, the impregnation is so slight that it is not especially disagreeable to the taste. mr. larsen told me that there is no part of the country between kalgan and urga in which water cannot be found within ten or twenty feet of the surface. i am not prepared to say what this arid region could be made to produce. doubtless, from the standpoint of agriculture it would be of little importance but sheep and goats could live upon its summer vegetation, i am sure. it is difficult to say where the gobi really begins or ends when crossing it between kalgan and urga, for the grasslands both on the south and north merge so imperceptibly into the arid central part that there is no real "edge" to the desert; however, it is safe to take panj-kiang as the southern margin, and turin as the northern limit, of the gobi. both in the north and south the land is rich and fertile--much like the plains of siberia or the prairies of kansas and nebraska. such is the eastern gobi from june to mid-september. in the winter, when the dried vegetation exposes the surface soil, the whole aspect of the country is changed and then it does resemble the popular conception of a desert. but what could be more desertlike than our north china landscape when frost has stripped away the green clothing of its hills and fields? the chinese have already demonstrated the agricultural possibilities in the south and every year they reap a splendid harvest of oats, wheat, millet, buckwheat and potatoes. on the grass-covered meadowlands, both north and south of the gobi, there are vast herds of sheep, goats, cattle and horses, but they are only a fraction of the numbers which the pasturage could support. the cattle and sheep which are exported through china can be sent to kalgan "on the hoof," for since grass is plentiful, the animals can graze at night and travel during the day. this very materially reduces the cost of transportation. besides the great quantities of beef and mutton which could be raised and marketed in the orient, america or europe, thousands of pounds of wool and camel hair could be exported. of course both of these articles are produced at the present time, but only in limited quantities. in the region where we spent the summer, the mongols sometimes do not shear their sheep or camels but gather the wool from the ground when it has dropped off in the natural process of shedding. probably half of it is lost, and the remainder is full of dirt and grass which detracts greatly from its value. moreover, when it is shipped the impurities add at least twenty per cent to its weight, and the high cost of transportation makes this an important factor. indeed, under proper development the pastoral resources of mongolia are almost unlimited. the turin-urga region has another commercial asset in the enormous colonies of marmots which inhabit the country for hundreds of miles to the north, east and west. the marmots are prolific breeders--each pair annually producing six or eight young--and, although their fur is not especially fine, it has always been valuable for coats. several million marmot pelts are shipped every year from mongolia, the finest coming from uliassutai in the west, and were american steel traps introduced the number could be doubled. urga is just being discovered as a fur market. many skins which have been taken well across the russian frontier are sold in urga, and as the trade increases it will command a still wider area. wolves, foxes, lynx, bear, wildcats, sables, martens, squirrels and marmots are brought in by thousands; and great quantities of sheep, goat, cow and antelope hides are sent annually to kalgan. several foreign fur houses of considerable importance already have their representatives in urga and more are coming every year. the possibilities for development in this direction are almost boundless, and i believe that within a very few years urga will become one of the greatest fur markets of the orient. as in the south the chinese farmer cultivates the grasslands of the mongols, so in the north the chinese merchant has assumed the trade. many firms in peking and tientsin have branches in urga and make huge profits in the sale of food, cloth and other essentials to the mongols and foreigners and in the export of furs, skins and wool. it is well-nigh impossible to touch business in mongolia at any point without coming in contact with the chinese. all work not connected with animals is assumed by chinese, for the mongols are almost useless for anything which cannot be done from the back of a horse. thus the chinese have a practical monopoly and they exercise all their prerogatives in the enormous prices which they charge for the slightest service. mongols and foreigners suffer together in this respect, but there is no alternative--the chinaman can charge what he pleases, for he knows full well that no one else will do the work. although there is considerable mineral wealth in northern mongolia, up to the present time very little prospecting has been done. for several years a russian company has carried on successful operations for gold at the yero mines, between urga and kiakhta on the siberian frontier, but they have had to import practically all their labor from china. we often passed chinese in the gobi desert walking across mongolia pushing a wheelbarrow which contained all their earthly belongings. they were on their way to the yero mines for the summer's work; in the fall they would return on foot the way they had come. now that mongolia is once more a part of the chinese republic, the labor problem probably will be improved for there will certainly be an influx of chinese who are anxious to work. transportation is the greatest of all commercial factors in the orient and upon it largely depends the development of any country. in mongolia the problem can be easily solved. at the present time it rests upon camel caravans, ox and pony carts and upon automobiles for passengers. camel traffic begins in september and is virtually ended by the first of june. then their places on the trail are taken by ox- and pony carts. camels make the journey from kalgan to urga in from thirty to fifty days, but the carts require twice as long. they travel slowly, at best, and the animals must be given time to graze and rest. of course, they cannot cross the desert when the grass is dry, so that transportation is divided by the season--camels in winter and carts in summer. each camel carries from four hundred and fifty to five hundred pounds, and the charges for the journey from kalgan to urga vary with conditions at from five to fifteen cents (silver) per _cattie_ (one and one-third pounds). thus, by the time goods have reached urga, their value has increased tremendously. i can see no reason why motor trucks could not make the trip and am intending to use them on my next expedition. between panj-kiang and turin, the first and third telegraph stations, there is some bad going in spots, but a well made truck with a broad wheel base and a powerful engine certainly could negotiate the sand areas without difficulty. after turin, where the gobi may be said to end, the road is like a boulevard. the motor service for passengers which the chinese government maintains between kalgan and urga is a branch of the peking-suiyuan railway and has proved successful after some initial difficulties due to careless and inexperienced chauffeurs. although the service badly needs organization to make it entirely safe and comfortable, still it has been effective even in its crude form. at the present time a great part of the business which is done with the mongols is by barter. the chinese merchants extend credit to the natives for material which they require and accept in return cattle, horses, hides, wool, etc., to be paid at the proper season. in recent years russian paper _rubles_ and chinese silver have been the currency of the country, but since the war russian money has so depreciated that it is now practically valueless. mongolia greatly needs banking facilities and under the new political conditions undoubtedly these will be materially increased. a great source of wealth to mongolia lies in her magnificent forests of pine, spruce, larch and birch which stretch away in an almost unbroken line of green to far beyond the siberian frontier. as yet but small inroads have been made upon these forests, and as i stood one afternoon upon the summit of a mountain gazing over the miles of timbered hills below me, it seemed as though here at least was an inexhaustible supply of splendid lumber. but no more pernicious term was ever coined than "inexhaustible supply!" i wondered, as i watched the sun drop into the somber masses of the forest, how long these splendid hills would remain inviolate. certainly not many years after the gobi desert has been crossed by lines of steel, and railroad sheds have replaced the gold-roofed temples of sacred urga. we are at the very beginning of the days of flying, and no land which contains such magnificent spruce can keep its treasure boxes unspoiled for very long. even as i write, aeroplanes are waiting in peking to make their first flight across mongolia. the desert nomads have not yet ceased to wonder at the motor cars which cover as many miles of plain in one day as their camels cross in ten. but what _will_ they think when twenty men leave kalgan at noon and dine in urga at seven o'clock that night! seven hundred miles mean very little to us now! the start has been made already and, after all, it is largely that which counts. the automobile has come to stay, we know; and motor trucks will soon do for freight what has already been done for passengers, not only from kalgan to urga, but west to uliassutai, and on to kobdo at the very edge of the altai mountains. few spots in mongolia need remain untouched, if commercial calls are strong enough. last year the first caravans left feng-chen with wireless equipment for the eighteen hundred mile journey across mongolia to urumchi in the very heart of central asia. construction at urga is well advanced and it will soon begin at kashgar. when these stations are completed kobdo in mongolia, hami in chinese turkestan and sian-fu in shensi will see wireless shafts erected; and old peking will be in touch with the remotest spots of her far-flung lands at any time by day or night. these things are not idle dreams--they are hard business facts already in the first stages of accomplishment. why, then, should the railroad be long delayed? it may be built from kalgan to urga, or by way of kwei-hua-cheng--either route is feasible. it will mean a direct connection between shanghai, china's greatest port, and verkhin udinsk on the trans-siberian railroad via tientsin, peking, kalgan, urga, kiakhta. it will shorten the trip to london by at least four days for passengers and freight. it will open for settlement and commercial development a country of boundless possibilities and unknown wealth which for centuries has been all but forgotten. less than seven hundred years ago mongolia well-nigh ruled the world. her people were strong beyond belief, but her empire crumbled as quickly as it rose, leaving to posterity only a glorious tradition and a land of mystery. the tradition will endure for centuries; but the motor car and aeroplane and wireless have dispelled the mystery forever. chapter xiv the great ram of the shansi mountains away up in northern china, just south of the mongolian frontier, is a range of mountains inhabited by bands of wild sheep. they are wonderful animals, these sheep, with horns like battering-rams. but the mountains are also populated by brigands and the two do not form an agreeable combination from the sportsman's standpoint. in reality they are perfectly nice, well-behaved brigands, but occasionally they forget their manners and swoop down upon the caravan road less than a dozen miles away. this is done only when scouts bring word that cargo valuable enough to make it worth while is about to pass. each time the brigands make a foray a return raid by chinese soldiers can be expected. occasionally these are real, "honest-to-goodness" fights, and blood may flow on both sides, but the battle sometimes takes a different form. with bugles blowing, the soldiers march out to the hills. through "middle men" the battle ground has been agreed upon, and a "david" is chosen from the soldiers to meet the "goliath" of the brigands. but david is particularly careful to leave his gun behind, and to have his "sling" well stuffed with rifle shells. goliath advances to the combat armed only with a bag of silver dollars. then an even trade ensues--a dollar for a cartridge--and the implement of war changes hands. [illustration: cave dwellings in north shansi province] [illustration: an asiatic wapiti] [illustration: harry r. caldwell and a mongolian bighorn] the soldiers return to the city with bugles sounding as merrily as when they left. the commander sends a report to peking of a desperate battle with the brigands. he says that, through the extreme valor of his soldiers, the bandits have been dispersed and many killed; that hundreds of cartridges were expended in the fight; therefore, kindly send more as soon as possible. all this because the government has an unfortunate way of forgetting to pay its soldiers in the outlying provinces. when no money is forthcoming and none is visible on the horizon, it is not surprising that they take other means to obtain it. "battles" of this type are by no means exceptions--they are more nearly the rule in many provinces of china. but what has all this to do with the wild sheep? its relation is very intimate, for the presence of brigands in those shansi mountains has made it possible for the animals to exist, the hunting grounds are only five days' travel from peking and many foreigners have turned longing eyes toward the mountains. but the brigands always had to be considered. since sir richard dane, formerly chief inspector of the salt gabelle, and mr. charles coltman were driven out by the bandits in , the chinese government has refused to grant passports to foreigners who wished to shoot in that region. the brigands themselves cannot waste cartridges at one dollar each on the sheep, so the animals have been allowed to breed unmolested. nevertheless, there are not many sheep there. they are the last survivors of great herds which once roamed the mountains of north china. the technical name of the species is _ovis commosa_ (formerly _o. jubata_) and it is one of the group of bighorns known to sportsmen by the mongol name of _argali_. in size, as well as ancestry, the members of this group are the grandfathers of all the sheep. the largest ram of our rocky mountains is a pygmy compared with a full-grown _argali_. hundreds of thousands of years ago the bighorns, which originated in asia, crossed into alaska by way of the bering sea, where there was probably a land connection at that time from alaska they gradually worked southward, along the mountains of the western coast, into mexico and lower california. in the course of time, changed environment developed different species; but the migration route from the old world to the new is there for all to read. the supreme trophy of a sportsman's life is the head of a mongolian bighorn sheep. i think it was rex beach who said, "some men can shoot but not climb. some can climb but not shoot. to get a sheep you must be able to climb and shoot, too." for its hall of asiatic life, the american museum of natural history needed a group of _argali_. moreover, we wanted a ram which would fairly represent the species, and that meant a very big one. the reverend harry r. caldwell, with whom i had hunted tiger in south china, volunteered to get them with me. the brigands did not worry us unduly, for we both have had considerable experience with chinese bandits and we feel that they are like animals--if you don't tease them, they won't bite. in this case the "teasing" takes the form of carrying anything that they could readily dispose of--especially money. i decided that my wife must remain in peking. she was in open rebellion but there was just a possibility that the brigands might annoy us, and we had determined to have those sheep regardless of consequences. although we did not expect trouble, i knew that harry caldwell could be relied upon in any emergency. when a man will crawl into a tiger's lair, a tangle of sword grass and thorns, just to find out what the brute has had for dinner; when he will walk into the open in dim light and shoot, with a . high-power rifle, a tiger which is just ready to charge; when he will go alone and unarmed into the mountains to meet a band of brigands who have been terrorizing the country, it means that he has more nerve than any one man needs in this life! after leaving the train at feng-chen, the journey was like all others in north china; slow progress with a cart over atrocious roads which are either a mass of sticky mud or inches deep in fine brown dust. we had four days of it before we reached the mountains but the trip was full of interest to us both, for along the road there was an ever-changing picture of provincial life. to harry it was especially illuminating because he had spent nineteen years in south china and had never before visited the north. he began to realize what every one soon learns who wanders much about the middle kingdom--that it is never safe to generalize in this strange land. conditions true of one region may be absolutely unknown a few hundred miles away. he was continually irritated to find that his perfect knowledge of the dialect of fukien province was utterly useless. he was well-nigh as helpless as though he had never been in china, for the languages of the north and the south are almost as unlike as are french and german. even our "boys" who were from peking had some difficulty in making themselves understood, although we were not more than two hundred miles from the capital. instead of hills thickly clothed with sword grass, here the slopes were bare and brown. we were too far north for rice; corn, wheat, and _kaoliang_ took the place of paddy fields. instead of brick-walled houses we found dwellings made of clay like the "adobe" of mexico and arizona. sometimes whole villages were dug into the hillside and the natives were cave dwellers, spending their lives within the earth. all north china is spread with _loess_. during the glacial period, about one hundred thousand years ago, when in europe and america great rivers of ice were descending from the north, central and eastern asia seems to have suffered a progressive dehydration. there was little moisture in the air so that ice could not be formed. instead, the climate was cold and dry, while violent winds carried the dust in whirling clouds for hundreds upon hundreds of miles, spreading it in ever thickening layers over the hills and plains. therefore, the "ice age" for europe and america was a "dust age" for northeastern asia. the inns were a constant source of interest to us both. their spacious courtyards contrasted strangely with the filthy "hotels" of southern china. in the north all the traffic is by cart, and there must be accommodation for hundreds of vehicles; in the south where goods are carried by boats, coolies, or on donkey back, extensive compounds are unnecessary. each night, wherever we arrived, we found the courtyard teeming with life and motion. line after line of laden carts wound in through the wide swinging gates and lined up in orderly array; there was the steady "crunch, crunch, crunch" of feeding animals, shouts for the _jonggweda_ (landlord), and good-natured chaffing among the carters. in the great kitchen, which is also the sleeping room, over blazing fires fanned by bellows, pots of soup and macaroni were steaming. on the two great _kangs_ (bed platforms), heated from below by long flues radiating outward from the cooking fires, dozens of _mafus_ were noisily sucking in their food or already snoring contentedly, rolled in their dusty coats. many kinds of folk were there; rich merchants enveloped in splendid sable coats and traveling in padded carts; peddlers with packs of trinkets for the women; wandering doctors selling remedies of herbs, tonics made from deerhorns or tigers' teeth, and wonderful potions of "dragons' bones." perhaps there was a buddhist priest or two, a barber, or a tailor. often a professional entertainer sat cross-legged on the _kang_ telling endless stories or singing for hours at a time in a high-pitched, nasal voice, accompanying himself upon a tiny snakeskin violin. it was like a stage drama of concentrated chinese country life. among this polyglot assembly perhaps there may be a single man who has arrived with a pack upon his back. he is indistinguishable from the other travelers and mingles among the _mafus_, helping now and then to feed a horse or adjust a load. but his ears and eyes are open. he is a brigand scout who is there to learn what is passing on the road. he hears all the gossip from neighboring towns as well as of those many miles away, for the inns are the newspapers of rural china, and it is every one's business to tell all he knows. the scout marks a caravan, then slips away into the mountains to report to the leader of his band. the attack may not take place for many days. while the unsuspecting _mafus_ are plodding on their way, the bands are hovering on the outskirts among the hills until the time is ripe to strike. i have learned that these brigand scouts are my best protection, for when a foreigner arrives at a country inn all other subjects of conversation lose their interest. everything about him is discussed and rediscussed, and the scouts discover all there is to know. probably the only things i ever carry which a bandit could use or dispose of readily, are arms and ammunition. but two or three guns are hardly worth the trouble which would follow the death of a foreigner. the brigands know that there would be no sham battle with chinese soldiers in that event, for the legations at peking have a habit of demanding reparation from the government and insisting that they get it. as a _raison d'étre_ for our trip caldwell and i had been hunting ducks, geese, and pheasants industriously along the way, and not even the "boys" knew our real destination. we had looked forward with great eagerness to the tai hai, a large lake, where it was said that water fowl congregated in thousands during the spring and fall. we reached the lake the second night after leaving feng-cheng. darkness had just closed about us when we crossed the summit of a high mountain range and descended into a narrow, winding cut which eventually led us out upon the flat plains of the tai hai basin. while we were in the pass a dozen flocks of geese slipped by above our heads, flying very low, the "wedges" showing black against the starlit sky. with much difficulty we found an inn close beside the lake and, after a late supper, snuggled into our fur bags to be lulled to sleep by that music most dear to a sportsman's heart, the subdued clamor of thousands of waterfowl settling themselves for the night. at daylight we dressed hurriedly and ran to the lake shore. harry took a station away from the water at the base of the hills, while i dropped behind three conical mounds which the natives had constructed to obtain salt by evaporation. i was hardly in position before two geese came straight for me. waiting until they were almost above my head, i knocked down both with a right and left. the shots put thousands of birds in motion. flock after flock of geese rose into the air, and long lines of ducks skimmed close to the surface, settling away from shore or on the mud flats near the water's edge. no more birds came near me, and in fifteen minutes i returned to the inn for breakfast. harry appeared shortly after with only a mallard duck, for he had guessed wrong as to the direction of the flight, and was entirely out of the shooting. when the carts had started at eight o'clock harry and i rode down the shore of the lake to the south, with chen to hold our horses. the mud flats were dotted with hundreds of ruddy sheldrakes, their beautiful bodies glowing red and gold in the sunlight. a hundred yards from shore half a dozen swans drifted about like floating snow banks, and ducks and geese by thousands rose or settled in the lake. we saw a flock of mallards alight in the short marsh grass and when i fired at least five hundred greenheads, yellow-nibs, and pintails rose in a brown cloud. crouched behind the salt mounds, we had splendid shooting and then rode on to join the carts, our ponies loaded with ducks and geese. the road swung about to the north, and we saw geese in tens of thousands coming into the lake across the mountain passes from their summer breeding grounds in mongolia and far siberia. regiment after regiment swept past, circled away to the west, and dropped into the water as though at the command of a field marshal. although we were following the main road to kwei-hua-cheng, a city of considerable importance not far from the mountains which contained the sheep, we had no intention of going there. neither did we wish to pass through any place where there might be soldiers, so on the last day's march we left the highway and followed an unimportant trail to the tiny village of wu-shi-tu, which nestles against the mountain's base. here we made our camp in a chinese house and obtained two mongol hunters. we had hoped to live in tents, but there was not a stick of wood for fuel. the natives burn either coal or grass and twigs, but these would not keep us warm in an open camp. about the village rose a chaotic mass of saw-toothed mountains cut, to the east, by a stupendous gorge. we stood silent with awe, when we first climbed a winding, white trail to the summit of the mountain and gazed into the abysmal depths. my eye followed an eagle which floated across the chasm to its perch on a projecting crag; thence, down the sheer face of the cliff a thousand feet to the stream which has carved this colossal canon from the living rock. like a shining silver tracing it twisted and turned, foaming over rocks and running in smooth, green sheets between vertical walls of granite. to the north we looked across at a splendid panorama of saw-toothed peaks and ragged pinnacles tinted with delicate shades of pink and lavender. beneath our feet were slabs of pure white marble and great blocks of greenish feldspar. among the peaks were deep ravines and, farther to the east, rolling uplands carpeted with grass. there the sheep are found. we killed only one goral and a roebuck during the first two days, for a violent gale made hunting well-nigh impossible. on the third morning the sun rose in a sky as blue as the waters of a tropic sea, and not a breath of air stirred the silver poplar leaves as we crossed the rocky stream bed to the base of the mountains north of camp. fifteen hundred feet above us towered a ragged granite ridge which must be crossed ere we could gain entrance to the grassy valleys beyond the barrier. we had toiled halfway up the slope, when my hunter sank into the grass, pointed upward, and whispered, "_pan-yang_" (wild sheep). there, on the very summit of the highest pinnacle, stood a magnificent ram silhouetted against the sky. it was a stage introduction to the greatest game animal in all the world. motionless, as though sculptured from the living granite, it gazed across the valley toward the village whence we had come. through my glasses i could see every detail of its splendid body--the wash of gray with which many winters had tinged its neck and flanks, the finely drawn legs, and the massive horns curling about a head as proudly held as that of a roman warrior. he stood like a statue for half an hour, while we crouched motionless in the trail below; then he turned deliberately and disappeared. when we reached the summit of the ridge the ram was nowhere to be seen, but we found his tracks on a path leading down a knifelike outcrop to the bottom of another valley. i felt sure that he would turn eastward toward the grassy uplands, but na-mon-gin, my mongol hunter, pointed north to a sea of ragged mountains. we groaned as we looked at those towering peaks; moreover, it seemed hopeless to hunt for a single animal in that chaos of ravines and canons. we had already learned, however, that the mongol knew almost as much about what a sheep would do as did the animal itself. it was positively uncanny. perhaps we would see a herd of sheep half a mile away. the old fellow would seat himself, nonchalantly fill his pipe and puff contentedly, now and then glancing at the animals. in a few moments he would announce what was about to happen, and he was seldom wrong. therefore, when he descended to the bottom of the valley we accepted his dictum without a protest. at the creek bed harry and his young hunter left us to follow a deep ravine which led upward a little to the left, while na-mon-gin and i climbed to the crest by way of a precipitous ridge. not fifteen minutes after we parted, harry's rifle banged three times in quick succession, the reports rolling out from the gorge in majestic waves of sound. a moment later the old mongol saw three sheep silhouetted for an instant against the sky as they scrambled across the ridge. then a voice floated faintly up to me from out the cañon. "i've got a f-i-n-e r-a-m," it said, "a b-e-a-u-t-y," and even at that distance i could hear its happy ring. "good for harry," i thought. "he certainly deserved it after his work of last night;" for on the way home his hunter had seen an enormous ram climbing a mountain side and they had followed it to the summit only to lose its trail in the gathering darkness. harry had stumbled into camp, half dead with fatigue, but with his enthusiasm undiminished. when na-mon-gin and i had reached the highest peak and found a trail which led along the mountain side just below the crest, we kept steadily on, now and then stopping to scan the grassy ravines and valleys which radiated from the ridge like the ribs of a giant fan. at half past eleven, as we rounded a rocky shoulder, i saw four sheep feeding in the bottom of a gorge far below us. quite unconscious of our presence, they worked out of the ravine across a low spur and into a deep gorge where the grass still showed a tinge of green. as the last one disappeared, we dashed down the slope and came up just above the sheep. with my glasses i could see that the leader carried a fair pair of horns, but that the other three rams were small, as _argali_ go. lying flat, i pushed my rifle over the crest and aimed at the biggest ram. three or four tiny grass stems were directly in my line of sight, and fearing that they might deflect my bullet, i drew back and shifted my position a few feet to the right. one of the sheep must have seen the movement, although we were directly above them, and instantly all were off. in four jumps they had disappeared around a bowlder, giving me time for only a hurried shot at the last one's white rump-patch. the bullet struck a few inches behind the ram, and the valley was empty. looking down where they had been so quietly feeding only a few moments before, i called myself all known varieties of a fool. i felt very bad indeed that i had bungled hopelessly my first chance at an _argali_. but the sympathetic old hunter patted me on the shoulder and said in chinese, "never mind. they were small ones anyway--not worth having." they were very much worth having to me, however, and all the light seemed to have gone out of the world. we smoked a cigarette, but there was no consolation in that, and i followed the hunter around the peak with a heart as heavy as lead. half an hour later we sat down for a look around. i studied every ridge and gully with my glasses without seeing a sign of life. the four sheep had disappeared as completely as though one of the yawning ravines had swallowed them up; the great valley bathed in golden sunlight was deserted and as silent as the tomb. i was just tearing the wrapper from a piece of chocolate when the hunter touched me on the arm and said quietly, "_pan-yang li la_" (a sheep has come). he pointed far down a ridge running out at a right angle to the one on which we were sitting, but i could see nothing. then i scanned every square inch of rock, but still saw no sign of life. the hunter laughingly whispered, "i can see better than you can even with your foreign eyes. he is standing in that trail--he may come right up to us." i tried again, following the thin, white line as it wound from us along the side of the knifelike ridge. just where it vanished into space i saw the sheep, a splendid ram, standing like a statue of gray-brown granite and gazing squarely at us. he was fully half a mile away, but the hunter had seen him the instant he appeared. without my glasses the animal was merely a blur to me, but the marvelous eyes of the mongol could detect its every movement. "it is the same one we saw this morning," he said. "i was sure we would find him over here. he has very big horns--much better than those others." that was quite true; but the others had given me a shot and this ram, splendid as he was, seemed as unobtainable as the stars. for an hour we watched him. sometimes he would turn about to look across the ravines on either side and once he came a dozen feet toward us along the path. the hunter smoked quietly, now and then looking through my glasses. "after a while he will go to sleep," he said, "then we can shoot him." i must confess that i had but little hope. the ram seemed too splendid and much, much too far away. but i could feast my eyes on his magnificent head and almost count the rings on his curling horns. a flock of red-legged partridges sailed across from the opposite ridge, uttering their rapid-fire call and alighted almost at our feet. then each one seemed to melt into the mountain side, vanishing like magic among the grass and stones. i wondered mildly why they had concealed themselves so suddenly, but a moment later there sounded a subdued whir, like the motor of an aeroplane far up in the sky. three shadows drifted over, and i saw three huge black eagles swinging in ever lowering circles about our heads. i knew then that the partridges had sought the protection of our presence from their mortal enemies, the eagles. when i looked at the sheep again he was lying down squarely in the trail, lazily raising his head now and then to gaze about. the hunter inspected the ram through my glasses and prepared to go. we rolled slowly over the ridge and then hurried around to the projecting spur at the end of which the ram was lying. the going was very bad indeed. pieces of crumbled granite were continually slipping under foot, and at times we had to cling like flies to a wall of rock with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet below us. twice the mongol cautiously looked over the ridge, but each time shook his head and worked his way a little farther. at last he motioned me to slide up beside him. pushing my rifle over the rock before me, i raised myself a few inches and saw the massive head and neck of the ram two hundred yards away. his body was behind a rocky shoulder, but he was looking squarely at us and in a second would be off. i aimed carefully just under his chin, and at the roar of the high-power shell, the ram leaped backward. "you hit him," said the mongol, but i felt he must be wrong; if the bullet had found the neck he would have dropped like lead. never in all my years of hunting have i had a feeling of such intense surprise and self-disgust. i had been certain of the shot and it was impossible to believe that i had missed. a lump rose in my throat and i sat with my head resting on my hands in the uttermost depths of dejection. and then the impossible happened! why it happened, i shall never know. a kind providence must have directed the actions of the sheep, for, as i raised my eyes, i saw again that enormous head and neck appear from behind a rock a hundred yards away; just that head with its circlet of massive horns and the neck--nothing more. almost in a daze i lifted my rifle, saw the little ivory bead of the front sight center on that gray neck, and touched the trigger. a thousand echoes crashed back upon us. there was a clatter of stones, a confused vision of a ponderous bulk heaving up and back--and all was still. but it was enough for me; there could be no mistake this time. the ram was mine. the sudden transition from utter dejection to the greatest triumph of a sportsman's life set me wild with joy. i yelled and pounded the old mongol on the back until he begged for mercy; then i whirled him about in a war dance on the summit of the ridge. i wanted to leap down the rocks where the sheep had disappeared but the hunter held my ann. for ten minutes we sat there waiting to make sure that the ram would not dash away while we were out of sight in the ravine below. but i knew in my heart that it was all unnecessary. my bullet had gone where i wanted it to go and that was quite enough. no sheep that ever walked could live with a mannlicher ball squarely in its neck. when we finally descended, the animal lay halfway down the slope, feebly kicking. what a huge brute he was, and what a glorious head! i had never dreamed that an _argali_ could be so splendid. his horns were perfect, and my hands could not meet around them at the base. then, of course, i wanted to know what had happened at my first shot. the evidence was there upon his face. my bullet had gone an inch high, struck him in the corner of the mouth, and emerged from his right cheek. it must have been a painful wound, and i shall never cease to wonder what strange impulse brought him back after he had been so badly stung. the second ball had been centered in the neck as though in the bull's-eye of a target. the skin and head of the sheep made a pack weighing nearly one hundred pounds, and the old mongol groaned as he looked up at the mountain barriers which separated us from camp. on the summit of the first ridge we found the trail over which we had passed in the morning. half an hour later the hunter jerked me violently behind a ledge of rock. "_pan-yang_," he whispered, "there, on the mountain side. can't you see him?" i could not, and he tried to point to it with my rifle. just at that instant what i had supposed to be a brown rock came to life in a whirl of dust and vanished into the ravine below. we waited breathlessly for perhaps a minute--it seemed hours--then the head and shoulders of a sheep appeared from behind a bowlder. i aimed low and fired, and the animal crumpled in its tracks. a second later two rams and a ewe dashed from the same spot and stopped upon the hillside less than a hundred yards away. instinctively i sighted on the largest but dropped my rifle without touching the trigger. the sheep was small, and even if we did need him for the group we could not carry his head and skin to camp that night. the wolves would surely have found his carcass before dawn, and it would have been a useless waste of life. the one i had killed was a fine young ram. with the skin, head, and parts of the meat packed upon my shoulders we started homeward at six o'clock. our only exit lay down the river bed in the bottom of a great cañon, for in the darkness it would have been dangerous to follow the trail along the cliffs. in half an hour it was black night in the gorge. the vertical walls of rock shut out even the starlight, and we could not see more than a dozen feet ahead. i shall never forget that walk. after wading the stream twenty-eight times i lost count. i was too cold and tired and had fallen over too many rocks to have it make the slightest difference how many more than twenty-eight times we went into the icy water. the hundred-pound pack upon my back weighed more every hour, but the thought of those two splendid rams was as good as bread and wine. harry was considerably worried when we reached camp at eleven o'clock, for in the village there had been much talk of bandits. even before dinner we measured the rams and found that the horns of the one he had killed exceeded the published records for the species by half an inch in circumference. the horns were forty-seven inches in length, but were broken at the tips; the original length was fifty-one inches; the circumference at the base was twenty inches. moreover, mine was not far behind in size. as i snuggled into my fur sleeping bag that night, i realized that it had been the most satisfactory hunting day of my life. the success of the group was assured, with a record ram for the central figure. we had three specimens already, and the others would not be hard to get. the next morning four soldiers were waiting in the courtyard when we awoke. with many apologies they informed us that they had been sent by the commander of the garrison at kwei-hua-cheng to ask us to go back with them. the mountains were very dangerous; brigands were swarming in the surrounding country; the commandant was greatly worried for our safety. therefore, would we be so kind as to break camp at once. we told them politely, but firmly, that it was impossible for us to comply with their request. we needed the sheep for a great museum in new york, and we could not return without them. as they could see for themselves our passports had been properly viséed by the foreign office in peking, and we were prepared to stay. the soldiers returned to kwei-hua-cheng, and the following day we were honored by a visit from the commandant himself. to him we repeated our determination to remain. he evidently realized that we could not be dislodged and suggested a compromise arrangement. he would send soldiers to guard our house and to accompany us while we were hunting. we assented readily, because we knew chinese soldiers. of course, the sentinel at the door troubled us not at all, and the ones who were to accompany us were easily disposed of. for the first day's hunt with our guard we selected the roughest part of the mountain, and set such a terrific pace up the almost perpendicular slope that before long they were left far behind. they never bothered us again. chapter xv mongolian _argali_ although we had seen nearly a dozen sheep where we killed our first three rams, the mountains were deserted when harry returned the following morning. he hunted faithfully, but did not see even a roebuck; the sheep all had left for other feeding grounds. i remained in camp to superintend the preparation of our specimens. the next day we had a glorious hunt. by six o'clock we were climbing the winding, white trail west of camp, and for half an hour we stood gazing into the gloomy depths of the stupendous gorge, as yet unlighted by the morning sun. then we separated, each making toward the grassy uplands by different routes. na-mon-gin led me along the summit of a broken ridge, but, evidently, he did not expect to find sheep in the ravines, for he kept straight on, mile after mile, with never a halt for rest. at last we reached a point where the plateau rolled away in grassy waves of brown. we were circling a rounded hill, just below the crest, when, not thirty yards away, three splendid roe deer jumped to their feet and stood as though frozen, gazing at us; then, with a snort, they dashed down the slope and up the other side. they had not yet disappeared, when two other bucks crossed a ridge into the bottom of the draw. it was a sore trial to let them go, but the old hunter had his hand upon my arm and shook his head. passing the summit of the hill, we sat down for a look around. before us, nearly a mile away, three shallow, grass-filled valleys dropped steeply from the rolling meadowland. almost instantly through my binoculars caught the moving forms of three sheep in the bottom of the central draw. "_pan-yang_," i said to the mongol. "yes, yes, i see them," he answered. "one has very big horns." he was quite right; for the largest ram carried a splendid head, and the other was by no means small. the third was a tiny ewe. the animals wandered about nibbling at the grass, but did not move out of the valley bottom. after studying them awhile the hunter remarked, "soon they will go to sleep. we'll wait till then. they would hear or smell us if we went over now." i ate one of the three pears i had brought for tiffin and smoked a cigarette. the hunter stretched himself out comfortably upon the grass and pulled away at his pipe. it was very pleasant there, for we were protected from the wind, and the sun was delightfully warm. i watched the sheep through the glasses and wondered if i should carry home the splendid ram that night. finally the little ewe lay down and the others followed her example. we were just preparing to go when the hunter touched my arm. "_pan-yang_," he whispered. "there, coming over the hill. don't move." sure enough, a sheep was trotting slowly down the hillside in our direction. why he did not see or smell us, i cannot imagine, for the wind was in his direction. but he came on, passed within one hundred feet, and stopped on the summit of the opposite swell. what a shot! he was so close that i could have counted the rings on his horns--and they were good horns, too, just the size we wanted for the group. but the hunter would not let me shoot. his heart was set upon the big ram peacefully sleeping a mile away. "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" is a motto which i have followed with good success in hunting, and i was loath to let that _argali_ go even for the prospect of the big one across the valley. but i had a profound respect for the opinion of my hunter. he usually guessed right, and i had found it safe to follow his advice. so we watched the sheep walk slowly over the crest of the hill. the mongol did not tell me then, but he knew that the animal was on his way to join the others, and his silence cost us the big ram. you may wonder how he knew it. i can only answer that what that mongol did not know about the ways of sheep was not worth learning. he seemed to think as the sheep thought, but, withal, was a most intelligent and delightful companion. his ready sympathy, his keen humor, and his interest in helping me get the finest specimens of the animals i wanted, endeared him to me in a way which only a sportsman can understand. his shansi dialect and my limited mandarin made a curious combination of the chinese language, but we could always piece it out with signs, and we never misunderstood each other on any important matter. we had many friendly differences of opinion about the way in which to conduct a stalk, and his childlike glee when he was proved correct was most refreshing. one morning i got the better of him, and for days he could not forget it. we were sitting on a hillside, and with my glasses i picked up a herd of sheep far away on the uplands. "yes," he said, "one is a very big ram." how he could tell at that distance was a mystery to me, but i did not question his statement for he had proved too often that his range of sight was almost beyond belief. we started toward the sheep, and after half a mile i looked again. then i thought i saw a grasscutter, and the animals seemed like donkeys. i said as much but the hunter laughed. "why, i saw the horns," he said. "one is a big one, a _very_ big one." i stopped a second time and made out a native bending over, cutting grass. but i could not convince the mongol. he disdained my glasses and would not even put them to his eyes. "i don't have to--i _know_ they are sheep," he laughed. but i, too, was sure. "well, we'll see," he said. when we looked again, there could be no mistake; the sheep were donkeys. it was a treat to watch the mongol's face, and i made much capital of his mistake, for he had so often teased me when i was wrong. but to return to the sheep across the valley which we were stalking on that sunlit thursday noon. after the ram had disappeared we made our way slowly around the hilltop, whence he had come, to gain a connecting meadow which would bring us to the ravine where the _argali_ were sleeping. on the way i was in a fever of indecision. ought i to have let that ram go? he was just what we wanted for the group, and something might happen to prevent a shot at the others. it was "a bird in the hand" again, and i had been false to the motto which had so often proved true. then the "something" i had feared did happen. we saw a grasscutter with two donkeys emerge from a ravine on the left and strike along the grassy bridge five hundred yards beyond us. if he turned to the right across the upper edge of the meadows, we could whistle for our sheep. even if he kept straight ahead, possibly they might scent him. the mongol's face was like a thundercloud. i believe he would have strangled that grasscutter could he have had him in his hands. but the fates were kind, and the man with his donkeys kept to the left across the uplands. even then my mongol would not hurry. his motto was "slowly, slowly," and we seemed barely to crawl up the slope of the shallow valley which i hoped still held the sheep. on the summit of the draw the old hunter motioned me behind him and cautiously raised his head. then a little farther. another step and a long look. he stood on tiptoe, and, settling back, quietly motioned me to move up beside him. just then a gust of wind swept across the hilltop and into the ravine. there was a rush of feet, a clatter of sliding rock, and three _argali_ dashed into view on the opposite slope. they stopped two hundred yards away. my hunter was frantically whispering, "one more. don't shoot. don't shoot." i was at a loss to understand, for i knew there were only three sheep in the draw. the two rams both seemed enormous, and i let drive at the leader. he went down like lead--shot through the shoulders. the two others ran a few yards and stopped again. when i fired, the sheep whirled about but did not fall. i threw in another shell and held the sight well down. the "putt" of a bullet on flesh came distinctly to us, but the ram stood without a motion. the third shot was too much, and he slumped forward, rolled over, and crashed to the bottom of the ravine. all the time na-mon-gin was frantically whispering, "not right. not right. the big one. the big one." as the second sheep went down i learned the reason. out from the valley directly below us rushed a huge ram, washed with white on the neck and shoulders and carrying a pair of enormous, curling horns. i was too surprised to move. how could four sheep be there, when i knew there were only three! usually i am perfectly cool when shooting and have all my excitement when the work is done, but the unexpected advent of that ram turned on the thrills a bit too soon. i forgot what i had whispered to myself at every shot, "aim low, aim low. you are shooting down hill." i held squarely on his gray-white shoulder and pulled the trigger. the bullet just grazed his back. he ran a few steps and stopped. again i fired hurriedly, and the ball missed him by the fraction of an inch. i saw it strike and came to my senses with a jerk; but it was too late, for the rifle was empty. before i could cram in another shell the sheep was gone. na-mon-gin was absolutely disgusted. even though i had killed two fine rams, he wanted the big one. "but," i said, "where did the fourth sheep come from? i saw only three." he looked at me in amazement. "didn't you know that the ram which walked by us went over to the others?" he answered. "any one ought to have known that much." well, i hadn't known. otherwise, i should have held my fire. right there the mongol read me a lecture on too much haste. he said i was like every other foreigner--always in a rush. he said a lot of other things which i accepted meekly, for i knew that he was right. i always _am_ in a hurry. missing that ram had taken most of the joy out of the others; and to make matters worse, the magnificent animal stationed himself on the very hillside where we had been sitting when we saw them first and, with the little ewe close beside him, watched us for half an hour. na-mon-gin glared at him and shook his fist. "we'll get you to-morrow, you old rabbit," he said; and then to me, "don't you care. i won't eat till we kill him." for the next ten minutes the kindly old mongol devoted himself to bringing a smile to my lips. he told me he knew just where that ram would go; we couldn't have carried in his head anyway; that it would be much better to save him for to-morrow; and that i had killed the other two so beautifully that he was proud of me. i continued to feel better when i saw the two dead _argali_. they were both fine rams, in perfect condition, with beautiful horns. one of them was the sheep which had walked so close to us; there was no doubt of that, for i had been able to see the details of his "face and figure." every _argali_ has its own special characters which are unmistakable. in the carriage of his head, the curve of his horns, and in coloration, he is as individual as a human being. while we were examining the sheep, harry and his hunter appeared upon the rim of the ravine. they brought with them, on a donkey, the skin and head of a fine two-year-old ram which he had killed an hour earlier far beyond us on the uplands. it fitted exactly into our series, and when we had another big ram and two ewes, the group would be complete. poor harry was hobbling along just able to walk. he had strained a tendon in his right leg the previous morning, and had been enduring the most excruciating pain all day. he wanted to stay and help us skin the sheep, but i would not let him we were a long way from camp, and it would require all his strength to get back at all. at half-past four we finished with the sheep, and tied the skins and much of the meat on the two donkeys which harry had commandeered. our only way home lay down the river bed, for in the darkness we could not follow the trail along the cliffs. by six o'clock it was black night in the gorge. the donkeys were our only salvation, for by instinct--it couldn't have been sight--they followed the trail along the base of the cliffs. by keeping my hands upon the back of the rearmost animal, and the two mongols close to me, we got out of the cañon and into the wider valley. when we reached the village i was hungry enough to eat chips, for i had had only three pears since six o'clock in the morning, and it was then nine at night. harry, limping into camp just after dark, had met my cousin, commander thomas hutchins, naval attache of the american legation, and major austin barker of the british army, whom we had been expecting. they had reached the village about ten o'clock in the morning and spent the afternoon shooting hares near a beautiful temple which harry had discovered among the hills three miles from camp. the boys had waited dinner for me, and we ate it amid a gale of laughter--we were always laughing during the five days that tom and barker were with us. harry was out of the hunting the next day because his leg needed a complete rest. i took tom out with me, while barker was piloted by an old mongol who gave promise of being a good hunter. tom and i climbed the white trail to the summit of the ridge, while barker turned off to the left to gain the peaks on the other side of the gorge. na-mon-gin was keen for the big ram which i had missed the day before. he had a very definite impression of just where that sheep was to be found, and he completely ignored the ravines on either side of the trail. not half a mile from the summit of the pass, the mongol stopped and said, "_pan-yang_-on that ridge across the valley." he looked again and turned to me with a smile. "it is the same ram," he said. "i knew he would be here." sure enough, when i found the sheep with my glasses, i recognized our old friend. the little ewe was with him, and they had been joined by another ram carrying a circlet of horns, not far short of the big fellow's in size. for half an hour we watched them while the mongols smoked. the sheep were standing on the very crest of a ridge across the river, moving a few steps now and then, but never going far from where we first discovered them. my hunter said that soon they would go to sleep, and in less than half an hour they filed down hill into the valley; then we, too, went down, crossed a low ridge, and descended to the river's edge. the climb up the other side was decidedly stiff, and it was nearly an hour before we were peering into the ravine where the sheep had disappeared. they were not there, and the hunter said they had gone either up or down the valley--he could not tell which way. we went up first, but no sheep. then we crossed to the ridge where we had first seen the _argali_ and cautiously looked over a ledge of rocks. there they were, about three hundred yards below, and on the alert, for they had seen tom's hunter, who had carelessly exposed himself on the crest of the ridge. tom fired hurriedly, neglecting to remember that he was shooting down hill, and, consequently, overshot the big ram. they rushed off, two shots of mine falling short at nearly four hundred yards as they disappeared behind a rocky ledge. my mongol said that we might intercept them if we hurried, and he led me a merry chase into the bottom of the ravine and up the other side. the sheep were there, but standing in an amphitheater formed by inaccessible cliffs. i advocated going to the ridge above and trying for a shot, but the hunter scoffed at the idea. he said that they would surely scent or hear us long before we could see them. tom and his mongol joined us in a short time, and for an hour we lay in the sunshine waiting for the sheep to compose themselves. it was delightfully warm, and we were perfectly content to remain all the afternoon amid the glorious panorama of encircling peaks. at last na-mon-gin prepared to leave. he indicated that we were to go below and that tom's hunter was to drive the sheep toward us. when we reached the river, the mongol placed tom behind a rock at the mouth of the amphitheater. he took me halfway up the slope, and we settled ourselves behind two bowlders. i was breathing hard from the strenuous climb, and the old fellow waited until i was ready to shoot; then he gave a signal, and tom's hunter appeared at the very summit of the rocky amphitheater. instantly the sheep were on the move, running directly toward us. they seemed to be as large as elephants, for never before had i been as close to a living _argali_. just as the animals mounted the crest of a rocky ledge, not more than fifty yards away, na-mon-gin whistled sharply, and the sheep stopped as though turned to stone. "now," he whispered, "shoot." as i brought my rifle to the level it banged in the air. i had been showing the hunters how to use the delicate set-trigger, and had carelessly left it on. the sheep instantly dashed away, but there was only one avenue of escape, and that was down hill past me. my second shot broke the hind leg of the big ram; the third struck him in the abdomen, low down, and he staggered, but kept on. the sheep had reached the bottom of the valley before my fourth bullet broke his neck. tom opened fire when the other ram and the ewe appeared at the mouth of the amphitheater, but his rear sight had been loosened in the climb down the cliff, and his shots went wild. it was hard luck, for i was very anxious to have him kill an _argali_. the abdomen shot would have finished the big ram eventually, and i might have killed the other before it crossed the creek; but experience has taught me that it is best to take no chances with a wounded animal in rough country such as this. i have lost too many specimens by being loath to finish them off when they were badly hit. [illustration: where the bighorn sheep are found] [illustration: a mongolian roebuck] my ram was a beauty. his horns were almost equal to those of the record head which harry had killed on the first day, but one of them was marred by a broken tip. the old warrior must have weathered nearly a score of winters and have had many battles. but his new coat was thick and fine--the most beautiful of any we had seen. as he lay in the bottom of the valley i was impressed again by the enormous size of an _argali's_ body. there was an excellent opportunity to compare it with a donkey's, for before we had finished our smoke, a mongol arrived driving two animals before him. the sheep was about one-third larger than the donkey, and with his tremendous neck and head must have weighed a great deal more. after the ram had been skinned tom and i left the men to pack in the meats skin, and head, while we climbed to the summit of the pass and wandered slowly home in the twilight. major barker came in shortly after we reached the village. he was almost done, for his man had taken him into the rough country north of camp. a strenuous day for a man just from the city, but barker was enthusiastic. even though he had not killed a ram, he had wounded one in the leg and had counted twenty sheep--more than either harry or i had seen during the entire time we had been at wu-shi-tu. when we awoke at five o'clock in the morning, torn stretched himself very gingerly and remarked that the only parts of him which weren't sore were his eyelids! harry was still _hors de combat_ with the strained tendon in his leg, and i had the beginning of an attack of influenza. barker admitted that his joints "creaked" considerably; still, he was full of enthusiasm. we started off together but separated when six miles from camp. he found sheep on the uplands almost at once, but did not get a head. barker was greatly handicapped by using a special model u.s. army springfield rifle, which weighed almost as much as a machine gun, and could not have been less fitted for hunting in rough country. no man ever worked harder for an _argali_ than he did, and he deserved the best head in the mountains. by noon i was burning with fever and almost unable to drag myself back to camp. i arrived at four o'clock, just after tom returned. he had not seen a sheep. the major hunted next day, but was unsuccessful, and none of us went to the mountains again, for i had nearly a week in bed, and harry was only able to hobble about the court. on the th of october, tom and barker left for peking. harry and i were sorry to have them leave us. i have camped with many men in many countries of the world, but with no two who were better field companions. neither harry nor i will ever forget the happy days with them. it was evident that i could not hunt again for at least a week, although i could sit a horse. we had seven sheep, and the group was assured; therefore, we decided to shift camp to the wapiti country, fifty miles away hoping that by the time we reached there, we both would be fit again. chapter xvi the "horse-deer" of shansi all the morning our carts had bumped and rattled over the stones in a somber valley one hundred and fifty _li_ from where we had killed the sheep [footnote: a _li_ equals about one-third of a mile]. with every mile the precipitous cliffs pressed in more closely upon us until at last the gorge was blocked by a sheer wall of rock. our destination was a village named wu-tai-hai, but there appeared to be no possible place for a village in that narrow cañon. we were a quarter of a mile from the barrier before we could distinguish a group of mud-walled huts, seemingly plastered against the rock like a collection of swallows' nests. no one but a chinese would have dreamed of building a house in that desolate place. it was wu-tai-hai, without a doubt, and harry and i rode forward to investigate. at the door of a tiny hut we were met by one of our chinese taxidermists. he ushered us into the court and, with a wave of his hand, announced, "this is the american legation." the yard was a mass of straw and mud. from the gaping windows of the house bits of torn paper fluttered in the wind; inside, at one end of the largest room, was a bed platform made of mud; at the other, a fat mother hog with five squirming "piglets" sprawled contentedly on the dirt floor. six years before colonel (then captain) thomas holcomb, of the united states marine corps, had spent several days at this but while hunting elk. therefore, it will be known to peking chinese until the end of time as the "american legation." an inspection of the remaining houses in the village disclosed no better quarters, so our boys ousted the sow and her family, swept the house, spread the _kang_ and floor with clean straw, and pasted fresh paper over the windows. we longed to use our tents, but there was nothing except straw or grass to burn, and cooking would be impossible. the villagers were too poor to buy coal from kwei-hua-cheng, forty miles away, and there was not a sign of wood on the bare, brown hills. at the edge of the _kang_, in these north shansi houses, there is always a clay stove which supports a huge iron pot. a hand bellows is built into the side of the stove, and by feeding straw or grass with one hand and energetically manipulating the bellows with the other, a fire sufficient for simple cooking is obtained. except for a few hours of the day the house is as cold as the yard outside, but the natives mind it not at all. men and women alike dress in sheepskin coats and padded cotton trousers. they do not expect to remove their clothing when they come indoors, and warmth, except at night, is a nonessential in their scheme of life. a system of flues draws the heat from the cooking fires underneath the _kang_, and the clay bricks retain their temperature for several hours. at best the north china natives lead a cheerless existence in winter. the house is not a home. dark, cold, dirty, it is merely a place in which to eat and sleep. there is no home-making instinct in the chinese wife, for a centuries' old social system, based on the confucian ethics, has smothered every thought of the privileges of womanhood. her place is to cook, sew, and bear children; to reflect only the thoughts of her lord and master--to have none of her own. wu-tai-hai was typical of villages of its class in all north china; mud huts, each with a tiny courtyard, built end to end in a corner of the hillside. a few acres of ground in the valley bottom and on the mountain side capable of cultivation yield enough wheat, corn, turnips, cabbages, and potatoes to give the natives food. their life is one of work with few pleasures, and yet they are content because they know nothing else. imagine, then, what it meant when we suddenly injected ourselves into their midst. we had come from a world beyond the mountains--a world of which they had sometimes heard, but which was as unreal to them as that of another planet. europe and america were merely names. a few had learned from passing soldiers that these strange men in that dim, far land had been fighting among themselves and that china, too, was in some vague way connected with the struggle. but it had not affected them in their tiny rock-bound village. their world was encompassed within the valley walls or, in its uttermost limits, extended to kwei-hua-cheng, forty miles away. they knew, even, that a "fire carriage" running on two rails of steel came regularly to feng-chen, four days' travel to the east, but few of them had ever seen it. so it was almost as unreal as stories of the war and aeroplanes and automobiles. all the village gathered at the "american legation" while we unpacked our carts. they gazed in silent awe at our guns and cameras and sleeping bags, but the trays of specimens brought forth an active response. here was something that was a part of their own life--something they could understand. mice and rabbits like these they had seen in their own fields; that weasel was the same kind of animal which sometimes stole their chickens. they pointed to the rocks when they saw a red-legged partridge, and told us there were many there; also pheasants. why we wanted the skins they could not understand, of course. i told them that we would take them far away across the ocean to america and put them in a great house as large as that hill across the valley; but they smilingly shook their heads. the ocean meant nothing to them, and as for a house as large as a hill--well, there never could be such a place. they were perfectly sure of that. we had come to wu-tai-hai to hunt wapiti--_ma-lu_ (horse-deer) the natives call them--and they assured us that we could find them on the mountains behind the village. only last night, said one of the men, he had seen four standing on the hillside. two had antlers as long as that stick, but they were no good now--the horns were hard--we should have come in the spring when they were soft. then each pair was worth $ , at least, and big ones even more. the doctors make wonderful medicine from the horns--only a little of it would cure any disease no matter how bad it was. they themselves could not get the _ma-lu_, for the soldiers had long since taken away all their guns, but they would show us where they were. it was pleasant to hear all this, for we wanted some of those wapiti very badly, indeed. it is one of the links in the chain of evidence connecting the animals of the old world and the new--the problem which makes asia the most fascinating hunting ground of all the earth. when the early settlers first penetrated the forests of america they found the great deer which the indians called "wapiti." it was supposed for many years that it inhabited only america, but not long ago similar deer were discovered in china, manchuria, korea, mongolia, siberia, and turkestan, where undoubtedly the american species originated. its white discoverers erroneously named the animal "elk," but as this title properly belongs to the european "moose," sportsmen have adopted the indian name "wapiti" to avoid confusion. of course, changed environment developed different "species" in all the animals which migrated from asia either to europe or america, but their relationships are very close, indeed. the particular wapiti which we hoped to get at wu-tai-hai represented a species almost extinct in china. because of relentless persecution when the antlers are growing and in the "velvet" and continual cutting of the forests only a few individuals remain in this remote corner of northern shansi province. these will soon all be killed, for the railroad is being extended to within a few miles of their last stronghold, and sportsmen will flock to the hills from the treaty ports of china. our first hunt was on november first. we left camp by a short cut behind the village and descended to the bowlder-strewn bed of the creek which led into a tremendous gorge. we felt very small and helpless as our eyes traveled up the well-nigh vertical walls to the ragged edge of the chasm a thousand feet above us. the mightiness of it all was vaguely depressing, and it was with a distinct feeling of relief that we saw the cañon widen suddenly into a gigantic amphitheater. in its very center, rising from a ragged granite pedestal, a pinnacle of rock, crowned by a tiny temple, shot into the air. it was three hundred feet, at least, from the stream bed to the summit of the spire--and what a colossal task it must have been to transport the building materials for the temple up the sheer sides of rock! the valley sinners must gain much merit from the danger and effort involved in climbing there to worship. farther on we passed two villages and then turned off to the right up a tributary valley. we were anxiously looking for signs of forest, but the only possible cover was in a few ravines where a sparse growth of birch and poplar bushes, not more than six or eight feet high, grew on the north slope. moreover, we could see that the valley ended in open rolling uplands. [illustration: the head of the record ram] [illustration: map of mongolia and china, showing route of second asiatic expedition in broken lines] turning to na-mon-gin, i said, "how much farther are the _ma-lu_?" "here," he answered. "we have already arrived. they are in the bushes on the mountain side." caldwell and i were astounded. the idea of looking for wapiti in such a place seemed too absurd! there was hardly enough cover successfully to conceal a rabbit, to say nothing of an animal as large as a horse. nevertheless, the hunters assured us that the _ma-lu_ were there, and we began to take a new interest in the birch scrub. almost immediately we saw three roebuck near the rim of one of the ravines, their white rump-patches showing conspicuously as they bobbed about in the thin cover. we could have killed them easily, but the hunters would not let us shoot, for we were after larger game. a few moments later we separated, harry keeping on up the main valley, while my hunter and i turned into a patch of brush directly above us. we had not gone fifty yards when there was a crash, a rush of feet, and four wapiti dashed through the bushes. the three cows kept straight on, but the bull stopped just on the crest of the ridge directly behind a thick screen of twigs. my rifle was sighted at the huge body dimly visible through the branches. in a moment i would have touched the trigger, but the hunter caught my arm, whispering frantically, "don't shoot! don't shoot!" of course i knew it was a long chance, for the bullet almost certainly would have been deflected by the twigs, but those splendid antlers seemed very near and very, very desirable. i lowered my rifle reluctantly, and the bull disappeared over the hill crest whence the cows had gone. "they'll stop in the next ravine," said the hunter, but when we cautiously peered over the ridge the animals were not there--nor were they in the next. at last we found their trail leading into the grassy uplands; but the possibility of finding wapiti, these animals of the forests, on those treeless slopes seemed too absurd even to consider. yet, the old mongol kept straight on across the rolling meadow. suddenly, off at the right, harry's rifle banged three times in quick succession--then an interval, and two more shots. ten seconds later three wapiti cows showed black against the sky line. they were coming fast and straight toward us. we flattened ourselves in the grass, lying as motionless as two gray bowlders, and a moment later another wapiti appeared behind the cows. as the sun glistened on his branching antlers there was no doubt that he was a bull, and a big one, too. the cows were headed to pass about two hundred yards above us and behind the hill crest. i could easily have reached the summit where they, would have been at my mercy, but lower down the big bull also was coming, and the hunter would not let me move. "wait, wait," he whispered, "we'll surely get him. wait, we can't lose him." "what about that ravine?" i answered. "he'll go into the cover. he will never come across this open hillside. i'm going to shoot." "no, no, he won't turn there. i am sure he won't." the mongol was right. the big fellow ran straight toward us until he came to the entrance to the valley. my heart was in my mouth as he stopped for an instant and looked down into the cover. then, for some strange reason, he turned and cane on. three hundred yards away he halted suddenly, swung about, and looked at the ravine again as if half decided to go back. he was standing broadside, and at the crash of my rifle we could hear the soft thud of the bullet striking flesh; but without a sign of injury he ran forward and stopped under a swell of ground. i could see just ten inches of his back and the magnificent head. it was a small target at three hundred yards, and i missed him twice. with the greatest care i held the little ivory bead well down on that thin brown line, but the bullet only creased his back. it was no use--i simply could not hit him. running up the hill a few feet, i had his whole body exposed, and the first shot put him down for good. with a whoop of joy my old mongol dashed down the steep slope. i had never seen him excited while we were hunting sheep, but now he was wild with delight. before he had quieted we saw harry coming over the hill where the wapiti had first appeared. he told us that he had knocked the bull down at long range and had expected to find him dead until he heard me shooting. we found where his bullet had struck the wapiti in the shoulder, yet the animal was running as though untouched. i examined the bull with the greatest interest, for it was the first asiatic wapiti of this species that i had ever seen. its splendid antlers carried eleven points but they were not as massive in the beam or as sharply bent backward at the tips as are those of the american elk. because of its richer coloration, however, it was decidedly handsomer than any of the american animals. but the really extraordinary thing was to find the wapiti there at all. it seemed as incongruous as the first automobile that i saw upon the gobi desert, for in every other part of the world the animal is a resident of the park-like openings in the forests. here not a twig or bush was in sight, only the rolling, grass-covered uplands. undoubtedly these mountains had been wooded many years ago, and as the trees were cut away, the animals had no alternative except to die or adapt themselves to almost plains conditions. the sparse birch scrub in the ravines still afforded them limited protection during the day, but they could feed only at night. it was a case of rapid adaptation to changed environment such as i have seen nowhere else in all the world. the wapiti, of course, owed their continued existence to the fact that the chinese villagers of the valley had no firearms; otherwise, when the growing antlers set a price upon their heads, they would all have been exterminated within a year or two. chapter xvii wapiti, roebuck, and goral after the first day we left the "american legation" and moved camp to one of two villages at the upper end of the valley about a mile nearer the hunting grounds. there were only half a dozen huts, but they were somewhat superior to those of wu-tai-hai, and we were able to make ourselves fairly comfortable. the usual threshing floor of hard clay adjoined each house, and all day we could hear the steady beat, beat, beat, of the flails pounding out the wheat. the grain was usually freed from chaff by the simple process of throwing it into the air when a brisk wind was blowing, but we saw several hand winnowing machines which were exceedingly ingenious and very effective. the wheat was ground between two circular stones operated by a blindfolded donkey which plodded round and round tied to a shaft. of course, had the animal been able to see he would not have walked continuously in a circle without giving trouble to his master. behind our new house the cliffs rose in sheer walls for hundreds of feet, and red-legged partridges, or chuckars, were always calling from some ledge or bowlder. we could have excellent shooting at almost any hour of the day and often picked up pheasants, bearded partridges, and rabbits in the tiny fields across the stream. besides the wapiti and roebuck, goral were plentiful on the cliffs and there were a few sheep in the lower valley. altogether it was a veritable game paradise, but one which i fear will last only a few years longer. we found that the wapiti were not as easy to kill as the first day's hunt had given us reason to believe. the mountains, separated by deep ravines, were so high and precipitous that if the deer became alarmed and crossed a valley it meant a climb of an hour or more to reach the crest of the new ridge. it was killing work, and we returned to camp every night utterly exhausted. the concentration of animal life in these scrub-filled gorges was really extraordinary, and i hope that a "game hog" never finds that valley. probably in no other part of china can one see as many roebuck in a space so limited. it is due, of course, to the unusual conditions. instead of being scattered over a large area, as is usual in the forest where there is an abundance of cover, the animals are confined to the few ravines in which brush remains. the surrounding open hills isolate them almost as effectively as though they were encircled by water; when driven from one patch of cover they can only run to the next valley. the facility with which the roebuck and wapiti had adapted themselves to utterly new conditions was a continual marvel to me, and i never lost the feeling of surprise when i saw the animals on the open hillside or running across the rolling, treeless uplands. had an elephant or a rhinoceros suddenly appeared in place of a deer, it would not have seemed more incongruous. after we had killed the first wapiti we did not fire a shot for two days, even though roebuck were all about us and we wanted a series for the museum. this species, _capreolus bedfordi_, is smaller both in body and in antlers than the one we obtained in mongolia and differs decidedly in coloration. on the second hunt i, alone, saw forty-five roebuck, and harry, who was far to the north of me, counted thirty-one. the third day we were together and put out at least half as many. during that time we saw two wapiti, but did not get a shot at either. both of us were becoming decidedly tired of passing specimens which we wanted badly and decided to go for roebuck regardless of the possibility of frightening wapiti by the shooting. na-mon-gin and the other hunters were disgusted with our decision, for they were only interested in the larger game. for the first two drives they worked only half-heartedly, and although seventeen deer were put out of one ravine, they escaped without giving us a shot. harry and i held a council of war with the natives and impressed upon them the fact that we were intending to hunt roebuck that day regardless of their personal wishes. they realized that we were not to be dissuaded and prepared to drive the next patch of cover in a really businesslike manner. na-mon-gin took me to a position on the edge of a projecting rock to await the natives. as they appeared on the rim of the ravine we saw five roe deer move in the bushes where they had been asleep. four of them broke back through the line of beaters, but one fine buck came straight toward us. he ran up the slope and crossed a rock-saddle almost beneath me, but i did not fire until he was well away on the opposite hillside; then he plunged forward in his tracks, dead. without moving from our position we sent the men over the crest of the mountain to drive the ravines on the other side. the old mongol and i stretched out upon the rock and smoked for half an hour, while i tried to tell him in my best chinese--which is very bad--the story of a bear hunt in alaska. i had just killed the bear, in my narrative, when we saw five roebuck appear on the sky line. they trotted straight toward harry, and in a moment we heard two shots in quick succession. i knew that meant at least one more deer. five minutes later we made out a roebuck rounding the base of the spur on which we sat. it seemed no larger than a brown rabbit at that distance, but the animal was running directly up the bottom of the ravine which we commanded. it was a buck carrying splendid antlers and we watched him come steadily on until he was almost below us. na-mon-gin whispered, "don't shoot until he stops"; but it seemed that the animal would cross the ridge without a pause. he was almost at the summit when he halted for an instant, facing directly away from us. i fired, and the buck leaped backward shot through the neck. na-mon-gin was in high good humor, for i had killed two deer with two shots. harry brought a splendid doe which he had bored neatly through the body as it dashed at full speed across the valley below him. even the old mongol had to admit that the wapiti could not have been greatly disturbed by the shooting, and all the men were as pleased as children. there was meat enough for all our boys as well as for the beaters. our next day's hunt was for goral on the precipitous cliffs north of camp. goral belong to a most interesting group of mammals known as the "goat-antelopes" because of the intermediate position which they occupy between the true antelope and the goats. the takin, serow, and goral are the asiatic members of this sub-family, the _rupicaprinae_, which is represented in america by the so-called rocky mountain goat and in europe by the chamois. the goral might be called the asiatic chamois, for its habits closely resemble those of its european relative. i had killed twenty-five goral in yün-nan on the first asiatic expedition and, therefore, was not particularly keen, from the sporting standpoint, about shooting others. but we did need several specimens, since the north china goral represents a different species, _nemorhaedus caudatus_, from the one we had obtained in yün-nan, which is _n. griseus_. moreover, harry was exceedingly anxious to get several of the animals for he had not been very successful with them. he had shot one at wu-shi-tu, while we were hunting sheep, and after wounding two others at wu-tai-hai had begun to learn how hard they are to kill. the thousand-foot climb up the almost perpendicular cliff was one of the most difficult bits of going which we encountered anywhere in the mountains, and i was ready for a rest in the sun when we reached the summit. although my beaters were not successful in putting out a goral, we heard harry shoot once away to the right; and half an hour later i saw him through my binoculars accompanied by one of his men who carried a goral on his shoulders. on the way harry disturbed a goral which ran down the sheer wall opposite to us at full speed, bouncing from rock to rock as though made of india rubber. it was almost inconceivable that anything except a bird could move along the face of that cliff, and yet the goral ran apparently as easily as though it had been on level ground. i missed it beautifully and the animal disappeared into a cave among the rocks. although i sent two bullets into the hole, hoping to drive out the beast, it would not move. two beaters made their way from above to within thirty feet of the hiding place and sent down a shower of dirt and stones, but still there was no sign of action. then another native climbed up from below at the risk of his life, and just as he gained the ledge which led to the cave the goral leaped out. the mongol yelled with fright, for the animal nearly shoved him off the rocks and dashed into the bottom of the ravine where it took refuge in another cave. i would not have taken that thousand-foot climb again for all the gorals in china, but harry started down at once. the animal again remained in its cave until a beater was opposite the entrance and then shot out like an arrow almost into harry's face. he was so startled that he missed it twice. i decided to abandon goral hunting for that day. na-mon-gin took me over the summit of the ridge with two beaters and we found roebuck at once. i returned to camp with two bucks and a doe. in the lower valley i met harry carrying a shotgun and accompanied by a boy strung about with pheasants and chuckars. after losing the goral he had toiled up the mountain again but had found only two roebuck, one of which he shot. our second wapiti was killed on november seventh. it was a raw day with an icy wind blowing across the ridges where we lay for half an hour while the beaters bungled a drive for twelve roebuck which had gone into a scrub-filled ravine. the animals eluded us by running across a hilltop which should have been blocked by a native, and i got only one shot at a fox. the report of my rifle disturbed eight wapiti which the beaters discovered as they crossed the uplands in the direction of another patch of cover a mile away. it was a long, cold walk over the hills against the biting wind, and after driving one ravine unsuccessfully harry descended to the bottom of a wide valley, while i continued parallel with him on the summit of the ridge. three roebuck suddenly jumped from a shallow ravine in front of me, and one of them, a splendid buck, stopped behind a bush. it was too great a temptation, so i fired; but the bullet went to pieces in the twigs and never reached its mark. harry saw the deer go over the hill and ran around the base of a rocky shoulder just in time to intercept three wapiti which my shot had started down the ravine. he dropped behind a bowlder and let a cow and a calf pass within a few yards of him, for he saw the antlers of a bull rocking along just behind a tiny ridge. as the animal came into view he sent a bullet into his shoulder, and a second ball a few inches behind the first. the elk went down but got to his feet again, and harry put him under for good with a third shot in the hip. looking up he saw another bull, alone, emerging from a patch of cover on the summit of the opposite slope four hundred yards away. he fired point-blank, but the range was a bit too long and his bullet kicked up a cloud of snow under the animal's belly. i was entirely out of the race on the summit of the hill, for the nearest wapiti was fully eight hundred yards away. harry's bull was somewhat smaller than the first one we had killed, but had an even more beautiful coat. we were pretty well exhausted from the week's strenuous climbing and spent sunday resting and looking after the small mammal work which our chinese taxidermists had been carrying on under my direction. monday morning we were on the hunting grounds shortly after sunrise. at the first drive a beautiful buck roe deer ran out of a ravine into the main valley where i was stationed. suddenly he caught sight of us where we sat under a rock and stopped with head thrown up and one foot raised. i shall never forget the beautiful picture which he made standing there against the background of snow with the sun glancing on his antlers. before i could shoot he was off at top speed bounding over the bushes parallel to us. my first shot just creased his back, but the second caught him squarely in the shoulder, while he was in mid-air, turning him over in a complete somersault. a few moments later we saw the two beaters on the hill run toward each other excitedly and felt sure they had seen something besides roebuck. when they reached us they reported that seven wapiti had run out directly between them and over the ridge. the climb to the top of the mountain was an ordeal. it was the highest ridge on that side of the valley and every time we reached what appeared to be the crest, another and higher summit loomed above us. we followed the tracks of the animals into a series of ravines which ran down on the opposite side of the mountain and tried a drive. it was too large a territory for our four beaters, and the animals escaped unobserved up one of the valleys. na-mon-gin and i sat on the hillside for an hour in the icy wind. we were both shaking with cold and i doubt if i could have hit a wapiti if it had stopped fifty feet away. harry saw a young elk go into a mass of birch scrub in the bottom of the valley, and when he descended to drive it out, his hunter discovered a huge bull walking slowly up a ravine not two hundred yards from me but under cover of the hill and beyond my sight. a little before dark we started home by way of a deep ravine which extended out to the main valley. we were talking in a low tone and i was smoking a cigarette--my rifle slung over my shoulder. suddenly harry exclaimed, "great scott, roy! there's a _ma-lu_." on the instant his rifle banged, and i looked up just in time to see a bull wapiti stop on an open slope of the ravine about ninety yards away. before i had unslung my rifle harry fired again, but he could not see the notch in his rear sight and both bullets went high. through the peep sight in my mannlicher the animal was perfectly visible, and when i fired, the bull dropped like lead, rolling over and over down the hill. he attempted to get to his feet but was unable to stand, and i put him down for good with a second shot. it all happened so quickly that we could hardly realize that a day of disappointment had ended in success. on our way back to camp harry and i decided that this would end our hunt, for we had three fine bulls, and it was evident that only a very few wapiti remained. the species is doomed to early extinction for, with the advent of the railroad, the last stand which the elk have made by means of their extraordinary adaptation to changed conditions will soon become easily accessible to foreign sportsmen. we at least could keep our consciences clear and not hasten the inevitable day by undue slaughter. in western china other species of wapiti are found in greater numbers, but there can be only one end to the persecution to which they are subjected during the season when they are least able to protect themselves. it is too much to hope that china will make effective game laws before the most interesting and important forms of her wild life have disappeared, but we can do our best to preserve in museums for future generations records of the splendid animals of the present. not only are they a part of chinese history, but they belong to all the world, for they furnish some of the evidence from which it is possible to write the fascinating story of those dim, dark ages when man first came upon the earth. chapter xviii wild pigs-animal and human shansi province is famous for wild boar among the sportsmen of china. in the central part there are low mountains and deep ravines thickly forested with a scrub growth of pine and oak. the acorns are a favorite food of the pigs, and the pigs are a favorite food of the chinese--and of foreigners, too, for that matter. no domestic pork that i have ever tasted can excel a young acorn-fed wild pig! even a full-grown sow is delicious, but beware of an old boar; not only is he tough beyond description, but his flesh is so "strong" that it annoys me even to see it cooked. i tried to eat some boar meat, once upon a time--that is why i feel so deeply about it. it is useless to hunt wild pig until the leaves are off the trees, for your only hope is to find them feeding on the hillsides in the morning or early evening. then they will often come into the open or the thin forests, and you can have a fair shot across a ravine or from the summit of a hill. if they are in the brush it is well-nigh impossible to see them at all. a wild boar is very clever at eluding his pursuers, and for his size can carry off more lead and requires more killing than any other animal of which i know. therefore, you may be sure of a decidedly interesting hunt. on the other hand, an unsuspecting pig is easy to stalk, for his eyesight is not good; his sense of smell is not much better; and he depends largely upon hearing to protect him from enemies. in tientsin and shanghai there are several sportsmen who year after year go to try for record tusks--they are the real authorities on wild boar hunting. my own experience has been limited to perhaps a dozen pigs killed in korea, mongolia, celebes, and various parts of china. harry caldwell and i returned from our bighorn sheep and wapiti hunt on november . he was anxious to go with me for wild boar, but business required his presence in foochow, and everett smith, who had been my companion on a trip to the eastern tombs the previous spring, volunteered to accompany me. we left on november by the peking-hankow railroad for ping-ting-cho, arriving the following afternoon at two o'clock. there we obtained donkeys for pack and riding animals. all the traffic in this part of shansi is by mules or donkeys. as a result the inns are small, with none of the spacious courtyards which we had found in the north of the province. they were not particularly dirty, but the open coal fires which burned in every kitchen sometimes drove us outside for a breath of untainted air. how it is possible for human beings to exist in rooms so filled with coal gas is beyond my knowledge. of course, death from gas poisoning is not unusual, but i suppose the natives have become somewhat immune to its effects. our destination was a tiny village in the mountains about eight miles beyond ho-shun, a city of considerable size in the very center of the province. tai-yuan-fu, the capital, at the end of the railway, is a famous place for pigs; but they have been hunted so persistently in recent years that few remain within less than two or three days' journey from the city. it was a three days' trip from the railroad to ho-shun, and there was little of interest to distinguish the road from any other in north china. it is always monotonous to travel with pack animals or carts, for they go so slowly that you can make only two or three miles an hour, at best. if there happens to be shooting along the way, as there is in most parts of shansi, it helps to pass the time. we picked up a few pheasants, some chuckars, and a dozen pigeons, but did not stop to do any real hunting until we entered a wooded valley and established ourselves in a fairly comfortable chinese but at the little village of kao-chia-chuang. on the way in we met a party of christian brother missionaries who had been hunting in the vicinity for five days. they had seen ten or twelve pigs and had killed a splendid boar weighing about three hundred and fifty pounds as well as two roebuck. the mountains near the village had been so thoroughly hunted that there was little chance of finding pigs, but nevertheless we decided to stay for a day or two. i killed a two-year-old roebuck on the first afternoon; and the next morning, while smith and i were resting on a mountain trail, one of our men saw an enormous wild boar trot across an open ridge and disappear into a heavily forested ravine. i selected a post on a projecting shoulder, while one chinese went with smith to pick up the trail of the pig. there were so many avenues of escape open to the boar that i had to remain where it was possible to watch a large expanse of country. smith had not yet reached the bottom of the ravine when the native who had remained with me suddenly began to gesticulate wildly and to point to a wooded slope directly in front of us. he hopped about like a man who has suddenly lost his mind and succeeded in keeping in front of me so that i could see nothing but his waving arms and writhing body. finally seizing him by the collar, i threw him to the ground so violently that he realized his place was behind me. then i saw the pig running along a narrow trail, silhouetted against the snow which lay thinly on the shaded side of the hill. he was easily three hundred and fifty yards away and i had little hope of hitting him, but i selected an open patch beyond a bit of cover and fired as he emerged. the boar squealed and plunged forward into the bushes. a moment later he reappeared, zigzagging his way up the slope and only visible through the trees when he crossed a patch of snow. i emptied the magazine of my rife in a futile bombardment, but the boar crossed the summit and disappeared. we picked up his bloody trail and for two hours followed it through a tangled mass of scrub and thorns. it seemed certain that we must find him at any moment, for great red blotches stained the snow wherever he stopped to rest. at last the trail led us across an open ridge, and the snow and blood suddenly ceased. we could not follow his footprints in the thick grass and abandoned the chase just before dark. two more days of unsuccessful hunting convinced us that the missionaries had driven the pigs to other cover. there was a region twelve miles away to which they might have gone, and we shifted camp to a village named tziloa a mile or more from the scrub-covered hills which we wished to investigate. the natives of this part of the country were in no sense hunters. they were farmers who, now that the crops were harvested, had plenty of leisure time and were glad to roam the hills with us. although their eyesight was remarkable and they were able to see a pig twice as far as we could, they had no conception of stalking the game or of how to hunt it. when we began to shoot, instead of watching the pigs, they were always so anxious to obtain the empty cartridge cases that a wild scramble ensued after every shot. they were like street boys fighting for a penny. it was a serious handicap for successful hunting, and they kept me in such a state of irritation that i never shot so badly in all my life. we found pigs at tziloa immediately. the carts went by road to the village, while smith and i, with two chinese, crossed the mountains. on the summit of a ridge not far from the village we met eight native hunters. two of them had ancient muzzle-loading guns but the others only carried staves. evidently their method of hunting was to surround the pigs and drive them close up to the men with firearms. we persuaded one of the chinese, a boy of eighteen, with cross-eyes and a funny, dried-up little face, to accompany us, for our two guides wished to return that night to kao-chia-chuang. he led us down a spur which projected northward from the main ridge, and in ten minutes we discovered five pigs on the opposite side of a deep ravine. the sun lay warmly on the slope, and the animals were lazily rooting in the oak scrub. they were a happy family--a boar, a sow, and three half-grown piglets. we slipped quietly among the trees until we were directly opposite to them and not more than two hundred yards away. the boar and the sow had disappeared behind a rocky corner, and the others were slowly following so that the opportunity for a shot would soon be lost. telling smith to take the one on the left, i covered another which stood half facing me. at the roar of my rifle the ravine was filled with wild squeals, and the pig rolled down the hill bringing up against a tree. the boar rushed from behind the rock, and i fired quickly as he stood broadside on. he plunged out of sight, and the gorge was still! smith had missed his pig and was very much disgusted. the three chinese threw themselves down the slope, slipping and rolling over logs and stones, and were up the opposite hill before we reached the bottom of the ravine. they found the pig which i had killed and a blood-splashed trail leading around the hill where the boar had disappeared. my pig was a splendid male in the rich red-brown coat of adolescence. the bullet had struck him "amidships" and shattered the hip on the opposite side. from the blood on the trail we decided that i had shot the big boar through the center of the body about ten inches behind the forelegs. we had learned by experience how much killing a full-grown pig required, and had no illusions about finding him dead a few yards away, even though both sides of his path were blotched with red at every step. therefore, while the chinese followed the trail, smith and i sprinted across the next ridge into a thickly forested ravine to head off the boar. we took stations several yards apart, and suddenly i heard smith's rifle bang six times in quick succession. the chinese had disturbed the pig from a patch of cover and it had climbed the opposite hill slope in full view of smith, who apparently had missed it every time. missing a boar dodging about among the bushes is not such a difficult thing to do, and although poor smith was too disgusted even to talk about it, i had a good deal of sympathy for him. we had little hope of getting the animal when we climbed to the summit of the ridge and saw the tangle of brush into which it had disappeared, but nevertheless we followed the trail which was still showing blood. i was in front and was just letting myself down a snow-covered bowlder, when far below me i saw a huge sow and a young pig walking slowly through the trees. i turned quickly, lost my balance, and slipped feet first over the rock into a mass of thorns and scrub. a locomotive could not have made more noise, and i extricated myself just in time to see the two pigs disappear into a grove of pines. i was bleeding from a dozen scratches, but i climbed to the summit of the ridge and dashed forward hoping to cut them off if they crossed below me. they did not appear, and we tried to drive them out from the cover into which they had made their way; but we never saw them again. it was already beginning to grow dark and too late to pick up the trail of the wounded boar, so we had to call it a day and return to the village. one of our men carried my shotgun and we killed half a dozen pheasants on the way back to camp. the birds had come into the open to feed, and small flocks were scattered along the valley every few hundred yards. we saw about one hundred and fifty in less than an hour, besides a few chuckars. i have never visited any part of china where pheasants were so plentiful as in this region. had we been hunting birds we could have killed a hundred or more without the slightest difficulty during the time we were looking for pigs. we could not shoot, however, without the certainty of disturbing big game and, consequently, we only killed pheasants when on the way back to camp. during the day the birds kept well up toward the summits of the ridges and only left the cover in the morning and evening. our second hunt was very amusing, as well as successful. we met the same party of chinese hunters early in the morning, and agreed to divide the meat of all the pigs we killed during the day if they would join forces with us. among them was a tall, fine-looking young fellow, evidently the leader, who was a real hunter--the only one we found in the entire region. he knew instinctively where the pigs were, what they would do, and how to get them. he led us without a halt along the summit of the mountain into a ravine and up a long slope to the crest of a knifelike ridge. then he suddenly dropped in the grass and pointed across a cañon to a bare hillside. two pigs were there in plain sight--one a very large sow. they were fully three hundred yards away and on the edge of a bushy patch toward which they were feeding slowly. smith left me to hurry to the bottom of the cañon where he could have a shot at close range if either one went down the hill, while i waited behind a stone. before he was halfway down the slope the sow moved toward the patch of cover into which the smaller pig had already disappeared. it must be then, if i was to have a shot at all. i fired rather hurriedly and registered a clean miss. both pigs, instead of staying in the cover where they would have been safe, dashed down the open slope toward the bottom of the cañon. at my first shot all eight of the chinese had leaped for the empty rifle shell and were rolling about like a pack of dogs after a bone. one of them struck my leg just as i fired the second time and the bullet went into the air; i delivered a broadside of my choicest chinese oaths and the man drew off. i sent three shots after the fleeing sow, but she disappeared unhurt. one shell remained in my rifle, and i saw the other pig running like a scared rabbit in the very bottom of the cañon. it was so far away that i could barely see the animal through my sights, but when i fired it turned a complete somersault and lay still; the bullet had caught it squarely in the head. meanwhile, smith was having a lively time with the old sow. he had swung around a corner of rock just in time to meet the pig coming at full speed from the other side not six yards away. he tried to check himself, slipped, and sat down suddenly but managed to fire once, breaking the animal's left foreleg. it disappeared into the brush with smith after it. he began an intermittent bombardment which lasted half an hour. _bang_, _bang_, _bang_--then silence. _bang_, _bang_, _bang_--silence again. i wondered what it all meant and finally ran down the bottom of the valley until i saw smith opposite to me just under the rim of the ravine. he was tearing madly through the brush not far behind the sow. as the animal appeared for an instant on the summit of a rise he dropped on one knee and fired twice. then, i saw him race over the hill, leaping the bushes like a roebuck. once he rolled ten feet into a mass of thorn scrub, but he was up again in an instant, hurdling the brush and fallen logs, his eye on the pig. it was screamingly funny and i was helpless with laughter. "go it, smith," i yelled. "run him down. catch him in your hands." he had no breath to waste in a reply, for just then he leaped a fallen log and i saw the sow charge him viciously. the animal had been lying under a tree, almost done, but still had life enough to damage smith badly if it had reached him. as the man landed on his feet, he fired again at the pig which was almost on him. the bullet caught the brute in the shoulder at the base of the neck and rolled it over, but it struggled to its feet and ran uncertainly a few steps; then it dropped in a little gully. by the time i had begun to climb the bill smith shouted that the pig might charge again, and i kept my rifle ready, but the animal was "all in." i circled warily and, creeping up from behind, drove my hunting knife into its heart; even then it struggled to get at me before it rolled over dead. smith was streaming blood from a score of scratches, and his clothes were in ribbons, but his face was radiant. "i'd have chased the blasted pig clear to peking," he said. "all my shells are gone, but i wasn't going to let him get away. if i hadn't kept that last cartridge he'd have caught me, surely." it was fine enthusiasm and, if ever a man deserved his game, smith deserved that sow. the animal had been shot in half a dozen places; two legs were broken, and at least three of the bullets had reached vital spots. still the brute kept on. any one who thinks pigs are easy to kill ought to try the ones in shansi! the sow weighed well over three hundred pounds, and it required six men to carry the two pigs into camp. we got no more, although we saw two others, but still we felt that the day had not been ill spent. as long as i live i shall never forget smith's hurdle race after that old sow. although i killed two roebuck, the next day i returned to camp with rage in my heart. smith and i had separated late in the afternoon, and i was hunting with an old chinese when we discovered three pigs--a huge boar, a sow, and a shote--crossing an open hill. crawling on my face, i reached a rock not seventy yards from the animals. at the first shot the boar pitched over the bluff into a tangle of thorns, squealing wildly. my second bullet broke the shoulder of the sow, and i had a mad chase through a patch of scrub, but finally lost her. when i returned to get the big boar i discovered my chinese squatted on his haunches in the ravine. he blandly informed me that the pig could not be found. i spent the half hour of remaining daylight burrowing in the thorn scrub without success. i learned later that the native had concealed the dead pig under a mass of stones and that during the night he and his _confrères_ had carried it away. moreover, after we left, they also got the sow which i had wounded. although at the time i did not suspect the man's perfidy, nevertheless it was apparent that he had not kept his eyes on the boar as i had told him to do; otherwise the pig could not possibly have escaped. we had one more day of hunting because smith had obtained two weeks' leave. the next morning dawned dark and cloudy with spurts of hail--just the sort of weather in which animals prefer to stay comfortably snuggled under a bush in the thickest cover. consequently we saw nothing all day except one roebuck, which i killed. it was running at full speed when i fired, and it disappeared over the crest of a hill without a sign of injury. smith was waiting on the other side, and i wondered why he did not shoot, until we reached the summit and discovered the deer lying dead in the grass. smith had seen the buck plunge over the ridge, and just as he was about to fire, it collapsed. we found that my bullet had completely smashed the heart, yet the animal had run more than one hundred yards. as it fell, one of its antlers had been knocked off and the other was so loose that it dropped in my hand when i lifted the head. this was on december . the other bucks which i had killed still wore their antlers, but probably they would all have been shed before christmas. the growth takes place during the winter, and the velvet is all off the new antlers by the following may. on the way back to camp we saw a huge boar standing on an open hillside. smith and i fired hurriedly and both missed a perfectly easy shot. with one of the chinese i circled the ridge, while smith took up the animal's trail. we arrived on the edge of a deep ravine just as the boar appeared in the very bottom. i fired as it rushed through the bushes, and the pig squealed but never hesitated. the second shot struck behind it, but at the third it squealed again and dived into a patch of cover. when we reached the spot we found a great pool of blood and bits of entrails--but no pig. a broad red patch led through the snow, and we followed, expecting at every step to find the animal dead. instead, the track carried us down the hill, up the bottom of a ravine, and onto a hill bare of snow but thickly covered with oak scrub. while smith and i circled ahead to intercept the pig, the chinese followed the trail. it was almost dark when we went back to the men, who announced that the blood had ceased and that they had lost the track. it seemed incredible; but they had so trampled the trail where it left the snow that we could not find it again in the gloom. then smith and i suspected what we eventually found to be true, viz., that the men had discovered the dead pig and had purposely led us astray. we had no proof, however, and they denied the charge so violently that we began to think our suspicions were unfounded. we had to leave at daylight next morning in order to reach peking before smith's leave expired. two days after we left, one of my friends arrived at kao-chia-chuang, where we had first hunted, and reported that the chinese had brought in all four of the pigs which we had wounded. one of them, probably the boar we lost on the last night, was an enormous animal which the natives said weighed more than five hundred pounds. of course, this could not have been true, but it probably did reach nearly four hundred pounds. what smith and i said when we learned that the scoundrels had cheated us would not look well in print. however, it taught us several things about boar hunting which will prove of value in the future. the chinese can sell wild pig meat for a very high price since it is considered to be a great delicacy. therefore, if i wound a pig in the future i shall, myself, follow its trail to the bitter end. moreover, i learned that, to knock over a wild boar and keep him down for good, one needs a heavy rifle. the bullet of my . mm. mannlicher, which has proved to be a wonderful killer for anything up to and including sheep, has not weight enough behind it to stop a pig in its tracks. these animals have such wonderful vitality that, even though shot in a vital spot, they can travel an unbelievable distance. next time i shall carry a rifle especially designed for pigs and thieving chinese! chapter xix the great park of the eastern tombs the sunshine of an early spring day was flooding the flower-filled courtyards of duke tsai tse's palace in peking when dr. g. d. wilder, everett smith, and i alighted from our car at the huge brass-bound gate. we came by motor instead of rickshaw, for we were on an official visit which had been arranged by the american minister. we would have suffered much loss of "face" had we come in any lesser vehicle than an automobile, for we were to be received by a "royal highness," an imperial duke and a man in whose veins flowed the bluest of manchu blood. although living in retirement, duke tsai tse is still a powerful and a respected man. we were ushered through court after court into a large reception hall furnished in semi-foreign style but in excellent taste. a few moments later the duke entered, dressed in a simple gown of dark blue silk. had i met him casually on the street i should have known he was a "personality." his high-bred features were those of a maker of history, of a man who has faced the ruin of his own ambitions; who has seen his emperor deposed and his dynasty shattered; but who has lost not one whit of his poise or self-esteem. he carried himself with a quiet dignity, and there was a royal courtesy in his greeting which inspired profound respect. had he been marked for death in the revolution i am sure that he would have received his executioners in the same calm way that he met us in the reception hall. he listened with a courteous interest while we explained the object of our visit. we had come, we told him, to ask permission to collect natural history specimens in the great hunting park at the _tung ling_, eastern tombs. here, and at the _hsi ling_, or western tombs, the manchu emperors and their royal consorts sleep in splendid mausoleums among the fragrant pines. the emperors are buried at the lower end of a vast, walled park, more than one hundred miles in length. true to their reverence for the dead, the chinese conquerors have never touched these sacred spots, and doubtless will never do so. they belong unquestionably to the manchus, even if their dynasty has been overthrown by force of arms. according to custom, some member of the royal court is always in residence at the eastern tombs. this fact tsai tse gravely explained, and said that he would commend us in a letter to duke chou, who would be glad to grant us the privileges we asked. then, by touching his teacup to his lips, he indicated that our interview was ended. with the same courtesy he would have shown to a visiting diplomat he ushered us through the courtyards, while at each doorway we begged him to return. such is the custom in china. that same afternoon a messenger from the duke arrived at my house in wu liang tajen hutung bearing a letter beautifully written in chinese characters. everett smith and i left next morning for the eastern tombs. we went by brain to tung-cho, twelve miles away, where a _mafu_ was waiting with our ponies and a cart for baggage. the way to the _tung ling_ is a delight, for along it north china country life passes before one in panoramic completeness. for centuries this road has been an imperial highway. i could imagine the gorgeous processions that had passed over it and the pomp and ceremony of the visits of the living emperors to the resting places of the dead. most vivid of all was the picture in my mind of the last great funeral only nine years ago. i could see the imperial yellow bier slowly, solemnly, borne over the gray peking hills. in it lay the dead body of the dowager empress, tz'u-hsi--most dreaded yet most beloved--the greatest empress of the last century, the woman who tasted of life and power through the sweetest joys to their bitter core. we spent the first night at an inn on the outskirts of a tiny village. it was a clean inn, too--very different from those in south china. the great courtyard was crowded with arriving carts. in the kitchen dozens of tired _mafus_ were noisily gulping huge bowls of macaroni, and others, stretched upon the _kang_, had already become mere, shapeless bundles of dirty rags. after dinner smith and i wandered outside the court. an open-air theater was in full operation a few yards from the inn, and all the village had gathered in the street. but we were of more interest to the audience than the drama itself, and in an instant a score of men and women had surrounded us. they were all good-natured but frankly curious. finally an old man joined the crowd. "why," said he, "there are two foreigners!" immediately the hum of voices ceased, for age was speaking. "they've got foreign clothes," he exclaimed; "and what funny hats! it is true that foreign hats are much bigger than chinese caps, and they cost a lot more, too! see that gun the tall one is carrying! he could shoot those pigeons over there as easily as not--all of them with one shot--probably he will in a minute." the old man continued the lecture until we strolled back to the inn. undoubtedly he is still discussing us, for there is little to talk about in a chinese village, except crops and weather and local gossip. we reached the eastern tombs in the late afternoon of the same day. emerging from a rocky gateway on the summit of a hill, we had the whole panorama of the _tung ling_ spread out before us. it was like a vast green sea where wave after wave of splendid forests rolled away to the blue haze of distant mountains. the islands in this forest-ocean were the yellow-roofed tombs, which gave back the sun in a thousand points of golden light. after the monotonous brown of the bare north china hills, the vivid green of the trees was as refreshing as finding an unknown oasis in a sandy desert. to the right was the picturesque village of ma-lin-yu, the residence of duke chou. from the wide veranda of the charming temple which we were invited to occupy we could look across the brown village to the splendid park and the glistening yellow roofs of the imperial tombs. we found next day that it is a veritable paradise, a spot of exquisite beauty where profound artistic sentiment has been magnificently expressed. broad, paved avenues, bordered by colossal animals sculptured in snow-white marble, lead through the trees to imposing gates of red and gold. there is, too, a delightful appreciation of climax. as one walks up a spacious avenue, passing through gate after gate, each more magnificent than the last, one is being prepared by this cumulative splendor for the tomb itself. one feels everywhere the dignity of space. there is no smallness, no crowding. one feels the greatness of the people that has done these things: a race that looks at life and death with a vision as broad as the skies themselves. at the _tung ling_ nature has worked hand in hand with man to produce a harmonious whole. most of the trees about the tombs have been planted, but the work has been cleverly done. there is nothing, glaringly artificial, and you feel as though you were in a well-groomed forest where every tree has grown just where, in nature's scheme of things, it ought to be. although the tombs are alike in general plan, they are, at the same time, as individual as were the emperors themselves. each is a subtle expression of the character of the one who sleeps beneath the yellow roof. the tomb of ch'ien-lung, the artist emperor, lies not far away from that of the empress dowager. stately, beautiful in its simplicity, it is an indication of his life and deeds. in striking contrast is the palace built by the empress for her eternal dwelling. a woman of iron will, holding her place by force and intrigue, a lover of lavish display--she has expressed it all in her gorgeous tomb. the extravagance of its decoration and the wealth of gold and silver seem to declare to all the world her desire to be known even in death as the greatest of the great. it is said that her tomb cost ten million dollars, and i can well believe it. but a hundred years from now, when ch'ien-lung's mausoleum, like the painting of an old master, has grown even more beautiful by the touch of age, that of the empress will be worn and tarnished. charmed with the calm, the peace, the exquisite beauty of the spot, we spent a delightful day wandering among the red and gold pavilions. but fascinating as were the tombs, we were really concerned with the "hinterland," the hunting park itself. sixty miles to the north, but still within the walls, are towering mountains and glorious forests; these were what we had come to see. all day, behind three tiny donkeys, we followed a tortuous, foaming stream in the bottom of a splendid valley, ever going upward. at night we slept in the open, and next day crossed the mountain into a forest of oak and pine sprinkled with silver birches. hundreds of wood-cutters passed us on the trail, each carrying a single log upon his back. before we reached the village of shing lung-shan we came into an area of desolation. thousands of splendid trees were lying in a chaos of charred and blackened trunks. it was the wantonness of it all that depressed and horrified me. the reason was perfectly apparent. on every bit of open ground manchu farmers were at work with plow and hoe. the land was being cleared for cultivation, regardless of all else. north china has very little timber--so little, in fact, that one longs passionately to get away from the bare hills. yet in this forest-paradise the trees were being sacrificed relentlessly simply to obtain a few more acres on which the farmer could grow his crops. if it had to be done--and heaven knows it need not have been--the trees might have been utilized for timber. many have been cut, of course, but thousands upon thousands have been burned simply to clear the hillside. at shing lung-shan we met our hunters and continued up the valley for three hours. with every mile there were fewer open spaces; we had come to a region of vast mountains, gloomy valleys, and heavy forests. the scenery was superb! it thrilled me as did the mountains of yün-nan and the gorges of the yangtze. yet all this grandeur is less than one hundred miles from peking! on a little ridge between two foaming streams we made our camp in the forest. from the door of the tent we could look over the tops of the trees into the blue distance of the valley; behind us was a wall of forests broken only by the winding corridor of the mountain torrent. we had come to the _tung ling_ especially to obtain specimens of the sika deer (_cervus hortulorum_) and the reeves's pheasant (_syrmaticus reevesi_). the former, a noble animal about the size of our virginia deer in america, has become exceedingly rare in north china. the latter, one of the most beautiful of living birds, is found now in only two localities--near ichang on the yangtze river, and at the _tung ling_. when the forests of the eastern tombs have been cleared this species will be extinct in all north china. early in the morning we left with six hunters. our way led up the bottom of the valley toward a mountain ridge north of camp. as we walked along the trail, suddenly one of the hunters caught me by the arm and whispered, "_sang-chi_" (wild chicken). there was a whir of wings, a flash of gold--and i registered a clean miss! the bird alighted on the mountain side, and in the bliss of ignorance smith and i dashed after it. ten minutes later we were exhausted from the climb and the pheasant had disappeared. we learned soon that it is useless to chase a reeves's pheasant when it has once been flushed, for it will invariably make for a mountain side, run rapidly to the top, and, once over the summit, fly to another ridge. on the way home i got my first pheasant, and an hour later put up half a dozen. i should have had two more, but instead of shooting i only stared, fascinated by the beauty of the thing i saw. it was late in the afternoon and the sun was drawing oblique paths of shimmering golden light among the trees. in a clearing near the summit of a wooded shoulder i saw six pheasants feeding and i realized that, by skirting the base of the ridge, i could slip up from behind and force them to fly across the open valley. the stalk progressed according to schedule. when i crossed the ridge there was a whir of wings and six birds shot into the air not thirty feet away. the sun, glancing on their yellow backs and streaming plumes, transformed them into golden balls, each one with a comet-trail of living fire. the picture was so indescribably beautiful that i watched them sail across the valley with the gun idle in my hands. not for worlds would i have turned one of those glorious birds into a crumpled mass of flesh and feathers. for centuries the barred tail plumes, which sometimes are six feet long, have been worn by chinese actors, and the bird is famous in their literature. it will be a real tragedy when this species has passed out of the fauna of north china, as it will do inevitably if the wanton destruction of the _tung ling_ forests is continued unchecked. the next afternoon four sika deer gave me a hard chase up and down three mountain ridges. finally, we located the animals in a deep valley, and i had an opportunity to examine them through my glasses. much to my disgust i saw that the velvet was not yet off the antlers and that their winter coats were only partly shed. they were valueless as specimens and forthwith i abandoned the hunt. before leaving peking i had visited the zoölogical garden to make sure that the captive sika had assumed their summer dress and antlers. but at the _tung ling_, spring had not yet arrived, and the animals were late in losing their winter hair. in summer the sika is the most beautiful of all deer. its bright red body, spotted with white, is, when seen among the green leaves of the forest, one of the loveliest things in nature. we wished to obtain a group of these splendid animals for the new hall of asiatic life in the american museum of natural history, but the specimens had to be in perfect summer dress. my hunter was disgusted beyond expression when i refused to shoot the deer. the antlers of the sika when in the velvet are of greater value to the natives than those of any other species. a good pair of horns in full velvet sometimes sells for as much as $ . the growing antlers are called _shueh-chiao_ (blood horns) by the chinese, who consider them of the highest efficacy as a remedy for certain diseases: therefore, the animals are persecuted relentlessly and very few remain even in the _tung ling_. the antlers of the wapiti are also of great value to the native druggists, but strangely enough they care little for those of the moose and the roebuck. hundreds of thousand of deerhorns are sent from the interior provinces of china to be sold in the large cities, and the complete extermination of certain species is only a matter of a few decades. moreover, the female elk, just before the calving season, receive unmerciful persecution, for it is believed that the unborn fawns have great medicinal properties. since the roebuck at the _tung ling_ were in the same condition as the sika, they were useless for our purposes. the goral, however, which live high up on the rocky peaks, had not begun to shed their hair, and they gave us good shooting. one beautiful morning smith killed a splendid ram just above our camp. we had often looked at a ragged, granite outcrop, sparsely covered with spruce and pine trees, which towered a thousand feet above us. we were sure there must be goral somewhere on the ridge, and the hunters told us that they had sometimes killed them there. it was a stiff climb, and we were glad to rest when we reached the summit. the old hunter placed smith opposite an almost perpendicular face of rock and stationed me beyond him on the other side. three beaters had climbed the mountain a mile below us and were driving up the ridge. for half an hour i lay stretched out in the sun luxuriating in the warmth and breathing in the fragrant odor of the pines. while i was lazily watching a chinese green woodpecker searching for grubs in a tree near by, there came the faintest sound of a loosened pebble on the cliff above my head. instantly i was alert and tense. a second later smith's rifle banged once. then all was still. in a few moments he shouted to me that he had fired at a big goral, but that it had disappeared behind the ridge and he was afraid it had not been hit. the old hunter, however, had seen the animal scramble into a tiny grove of pine trees. as it had not emerged, i was sure the goral was wounded, and when the men climbed up the cliff they found it dead, bored neatly through the center of the chest. gorals, sika, and roebuck are by no means the only big game animals in the _tung ling_. bears and leopards are not uncommon, and occasionally a tiger is killed by the natives. among other species is a huge flying squirrel, nearly three feet long, badgers, and chipmunks, a beautiful squirrel with tufted ears which is almost black in summer and now is very rare, and dozens of small animals. but perhaps most interesting of all the creatures of these noble forests are the only wild monkeys to be found in northeastern china. the birds are remarkable in variety and numbers. besides the reeves's pheasant, of which i have spoken, there are two other species of this most beautiful family. one, the common ring-necked pheasant, is very abundant; the other is the rare pucrasia, a gray bird with a dark-red breast, and a yellow striped head surmounted by a conspicuous crest. it is purely a mountain form requiring a mixed forest of pine and oak and, although more widely distributed than the reeves's pheasant, it occurs in comparatively few localities of north china. one morning as smith and i were coming back from hunting we saw our three boys perched upon a ledge above the stream peering into the water. they called to us, "would you like some fish?" "of course," we answered, "but how can you get them?" in a second they had slipped from the rock and were stripping off their clothes. then one went to the shallows at the lower end of the pool and began to beat the surface with a leafy branch, while the other two crouched on the bowlders in midstream. suddenly, one of the boys plunged his head and arms into the water and emerged with a beautiful speckled trout clutched tightly in both hands. he had seen the fish swim beneath the rock where it was cornered and had caught it before it could escape. for an hour the two boys sat like kingfishers, absolutely motionless except when they dived into the water. of course, they often missed; but when we were ready to go home they had eight beautiful trout, several of them weighing as much as two pounds. the stream was full of fish, and we would have given worlds for a rod and flies. lu baked a loaf of corn bread in his curious little oven made from a standard oil tin, and we found a jar of honey in our stores. brook trout fried in deep bacon fat, regular "southern style" corn bread and honey, apple pie, coffee, and cigarettes--the "hardships of camping in the orient!" when we had been in camp a week we awoke one morning to find a heavy cloud of smoke drifting up the valley. evidently a tremendous fire was raging, and smith and i set out at once on a tour of investigation. a mile down the valley we saw the whole mountain side ablaze. it was a beautiful sight, i admit, but the destruction of that magnificent forest appalled us. fortunately, the wind was blowing strongly from the east, and there was no danger that the fire might sweep northward in the direction of our camp. as we emerged into a tiny clearing, occupied by a single log hut, we saw two chinese sitting on their heels, placidly watching the roaring furnace across the valley. with a good deal of excitement we asked them how the fire possibly could have originated. "oh," said one, "we started it ourselves." "in the name of the five gods why did you do it?" smith asked. "well, you see," returned the chinese, "there was quite a lot of brush here in our clearing and we had to get rid of it. to-day the wind was right, so we set it on fire." "but don't you see that you have burned up that whole mountain's side, destroyed thousands of trees, and absolutely ruined this end of the valley?" "oh, yes, but never mind; it can't be helped," the native answered. then i exploded. i frankly confess that i cursed that chinese and all his ancestors; which is the only proper way to curse in china. i assured him that he was an "old rabbit" and that his father and his grandfather and his great-grandfather were rabbits. to tell a man that he is even remotely connected with a rabbit is decidedly uncomplimentary in china. but when it was all said i had accomplished nothing. the man looked at me in blank amazement as though i had suddenly lost my mind. he had not the faintest idea that burning up that beautiful forest was reprehensible in the slightest degree. to him and all his kind, the only thing worth while was to clear that bit of land in the valley. if every tree on the mountain was destroyed in the process, what difference did it make? it would be done eventually, anyway. land, whether it be on a hill or in a valley, was made to grow crops and to be cultivated by chinese farmers. the wanton destruction which is being wrought at the _tung ling_ makes me sick at heart. here is one of the most beautiful spots in all china, within less than one hundred miles of peking, which is being ruined utterly as fast as ax and fire can do the work. one can travel the length and breadth of the whole republic and not find elsewhere so much glorious scenery in so small a space. moreover, it is the last sanctuary of much of north china's wild life. when the forests of the _tung ling_ are gone, half a dozen species of birds and mammals will become extinct. how much of the original flora of north china exists to-day only in these forests i would not dare say, for i am not a botanist, but it can be hardly less than the fauna of which i know. if china could but realize before it is too late how priceless a treasure is being hewed and burned to nothingness and take the first step in conservation by making a national park of the eastern tombs! politically there are difficulties, it is true. the _tung ling_, and all the surroundings, as i have said, belong unquestionably to the manchus, and they can do as they wish with their own. but it is largely a question of money, and were the republic to pay the price for the forests and mountains beyond the tombs it would not be difficult to do the rest. no country on earth ever had a more splendid opportunity to create for the generations of the present and the future a living memorial to its glorious past. the end index [topics only, page numbers not reproduced] aeroplanes altai mountains american museum of natural history, asiatic explorations of; trustees of anderson, dr. j. g., mining adviser to chinese republic anderson, meyer and co., assistance rendered to expedition by andrews, yvette b., extract from "journal" of antelope, description of hunt for; speed of _anthropoides virgo_ _argali_ _argul_, desert fuel asia _asia magazine_ asian plateau asiatic mammals asiatic zoölogical explorations asses, wild (_equus hemionus_) atunzi avocets baikal lake barker, major austin beach, rex, quoted bear bennett, c. r. bernheimer, mr. and mrs. charles l. bighorn sheep (_argali_) boar _bogdo-ol_ (god's mountain) bolsheviki bolshevism buriats burma bustard caldwell, rev. harry r. canadian pacific ocean service, transportation to america of collections by _capreolus bedfordi_ caravans, camel _casarca casarca_ castle, rev. h. cathay _cervus hortulorum_ cheetah che-kiang, province of chen, chinese taxidermist chinese chinese turkestan chou, duke _citellus mongolicus umbratus_ coltman, charles l., mr. and mrs. cranes; demoiselle _cricetulus_ cunningham, hon. e. s., american consul general _cygnopsis cygnoides_ czechs dane, sir richard da wat mountain, camped at foot of delco electric lighting plant de tarascon, tartarin dogs dorchy, tserin ducks, mallard; ducks, shoveler eagles elk _equus hemionus_ _equus prejevalski_ _eulabeia indica_ _fabalis anser_ fauna, mongolian faxon, h. c. feng-chen fuel _gazella gutturosa_ _gazella prejevalski_ _gazella subgutturosa_ gazelles genghis khan gillis, i. v. gobi desert god's mountain (_bogdo-ol_) goose, bar-headed; bean gophers (_citellus mongolicus umbratus_) goral great wall of china, grouse, sand guptil, a. m. hami hamster, desert (_cricetulus_) hares _harper's magazine_ hei-ma-hou holcomb, captain thomas honan horses, wild (_equus prejevalski_) ho-shun hsi ling hsu shu-tseng, general hupeh hutchins, c. t., naval attache, american legation hutukhtu, the living buddha ibex irkutsk jackson, g. m., general passenger agent, canadian pacific ocean service, appreciation for assistance in transportation of collections by jardine, matheson and co., of shanghai kalgan kang, chinese taxidermist kang hsi, emperor kao-chia-chuang kendrick, j. khans kiakhta kobdo korostovetz, m. kublai khan kwei-hua-cheng lake baikal lama church lama city lamaism lamas; monastery of lapwing (_vanellus vanellus_) lapwings larsen, f. a. "little hsu" loo-choo islands lucander, mr. and mrs. lucas, dr. f. a., acknowledgment to lu, cook for expedition lung chi'en, emperor, tomb of maccallie, mr. and mrs. e. l. magyars mai-ma-cheng mallards ma-lin-yu, residence of duke chou _ma-lu_ mamen, mr. and mrs. oscar mammals, asiatic manchu; dynasty of manchus mannlicher _marmota robusta_ marmot; mongols' method of capturing mauser meadow mice (_microtus_) memorial addressed to president of chinese republic _microtus_ ministry of foreign affairs mongolia, fauna of; religion of mongolian trading company mongols, dislike for the body of the dead; dress of; food of; manner of riding of; manner of catching trout by; morals of; southern motion picture photography motor cars; ford; hunting from; troubles with musk deer _mustela_ naha na-mon-gin, mongol hunter nankou pass _natural history_ _nemorhaedus caudatus_ _nemorhaedus griseus_ olufsen, e. v. omsk orlow, a., russian diplomatic agent osborn, henry fairfield outer mongolia _ovis comosa_ _ovis jubata_ owen panj-kiang, telegraph station at _pan-yang_ wild sheep peck, willys peking peking-hankow railroad peking press, quoted from peking-suiyuan railway; motor service of perry, commodore pheasant, reeves's (_syrmaticus reevesi_) photography, motion picture ping-ting-cho plover _pluvialis dominicus fulvus_ polecat (_mustela_) polo, marco prayer wheels president, chinese republic, memorial addressed to, xiii price, ernest b. prisons, description of pucrasia rat, kangaroo (_alactaga mongolica_?) ravens red army redheads reinsch, paul s. rifles used on expedition; mannlicher; savage rockefeller foundation roebuck _rupicaprinae_ russia russian consulate russians russo-chinese sain noin khan savage rifle serow shanghai shansi mountains shantung sheep, bighorn sheldrake (_casarca casarca_) shensi sherwood, george h., assistance rendered to expedition by shing lung-shan shuri, palace sian-fu siberian frontier sika deer (_cervus hortulorum_) skylarks smith, e. g. stefansson swan geese (_cygnopsis cygnoides_) _syrmaticus reevesi_ tabool tai hai tai yuan-fu takin tanu ulianghai tao kwang, emperor teal telegraph poles, method of protection of tenney, dr. c. d. tent, american wall; mongol terelche region terelche river terelche valley tibet, vii tientsin tola river tola valley tombs trans-pacific magazine trans-siberian railroad trout, manner of catching by mongols tsai tse, duke, visit to palace of tung-cho tung-ling; pheasants and deer found at turin; lamasery at tziloa, pigs found at tz'u-hsi, dowager empress, funeral of ude, telegraph station uliassutai urga, important fur market urumchi verkin udinsk vole, meadow (_microtus_) wai chiao pu, (ministry of foreign affairs) wapiti warner, langdon weatherall, m. e. weinz, father, belgian priest wells, description of white army wilder, dr. george d. wireless station in course of erection wolf wu liang tajen hutung wu-shi-tu wu-tai-hai yangsen, loobitsan, duke yero mines, gold found at yün-nan yurt, mongol house, description of none etext prepared by john bickers and dagny through the brazilian wilderness by theodore roosevelt etext prepared by dagny, dagnypg@yahoo.com and john bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz through the brazilian wilderness by theodore roosevelt preface this is an account of a zoo-geographic reconnaissance through the brazilian hinterland. the official and proper title of the expedition is that given it by the brazilian government: expedicao scientifica roosevelt- rondon. when i started from the united states, it was to make an expedition, primarily concerned with mammalogy and ornithology, for the american museum of natural history of new york. this was undertaken under the auspices of messrs. osborn and chapman, acting on behalf of the museum. in the body of this work i describe how the scope of the expedition was enlarged, and how it was given a geographic as well as a zoological character, in consequence of the kind proposal of the brazilian secretary of state for foreign affairs, general lauro muller. in its altered and enlarged form the expedition was rendered possible only by the generous assistance of the brazilian government. throughout the body of the work will be found reference after reference to my colleagues and companions of the expedition, whose services to science i have endeavored to set forth, and for whom i shall always feel the most cordial friendship and regard. theodore roosevelt. sagamore hill, september , through the brazilian wilderness i. the start one day in , when my presidential term was coming to a close, father zahm, a priest whom i knew, came in to call on me. father zahm and i had been cronies for some time, because we were both of us fond of dante and of history and of science--i had always commended to theologians his book, "evolution and dogma." he was an ohio boy, and his early schooling had been obtained in old-time american fashion in a little log school; where, by the way, one of the other boys was januarius aloysius macgahan, afterward the famous war correspondent and friend of skobeloff. father zahm told me that macgahan even at that time added an utter fearlessness to chivalric tenderness for the weak, and was the defender of any small boy who was oppressed by a larger one. later father zahm was at notre dame university, in indiana, with maurice egan, whom, when i was president, i appointed minister to denmark. on the occasion in question father zahm had just returned from a trip across the andes and down the amazon, and came in to propose that after i left the presidency he and i should go up the paraguay into the interior of south america. at the time i wished to go to africa, and so the subject was dropped; but from time to time afterward we talked it over. five years later, in the spring of , i accepted invitations conveyed through the governments of argentina and brazil to address certain learned bodies in these countries. then it occurred to me that, instead of making the conventional tourist trip purely by sea round south america, after i had finished my lectures i would come north through the middle of the continent into the valley of the amazon; and i decided to write father zahm and tell him my intentions. before doing so, however, i desired to see the authorities of the american museum of natural history, in new york city, to find out whether they cared to have me take a couple of naturalists with me into brazil and make a collecting trip for the museum. accordingly, i wrote to frank chapman, the curator of ornithology of the museum, and accepted his invitation to lunch at the museum one day early in june. at the lunch, in addition to various naturalists, to my astonishment i also found father zahm; and as soon as i saw him i told him i was now intending to make the south american trip. it appeared that he had made up his mind that he would take it himself, and had actually come on to see mr. chapman to find out if the latter could recommend a naturalist to go with him; and he at once said he would accompany me. chapman was pleased when he found out that we intended to go up the paraguay and across into the valley of the amazon, because much of the ground over which we were to pass had not been covered by collectors. he saw henry fairfield osborn, the president of the museum, who wrote me that the museum would be pleased to send under me a couple of naturalists, whom, with my approval, chapman would choose. the men whom chapman recommended were messrs. george k. cherrie and leo e. miller. i gladly accepted both. the former was to attend chiefly to the ornithology and the latter to the mammalogy of the expedition; but each was to help out the other. no two better men for such a trip could have been found. both were veterans of the tropical american forests. miller was a young man, born in indiana, an enthusiastic with good literary as well as scientific training. he was at the time in the guiana forests, and joined us at barbados. cherrie was an older man, born in iowa, but now a farmer in vermont. he had a wife and six children. mrs. cherrie had accompanied him during two or three years of their early married life in his collecting trips along the orinoco. their second child was born when they were in camp a couple of hundred miles from any white man or woman. one night a few weeks later they were obliged to leave a camping-place, where they had intended to spend the night, because the baby was fretful, and its cries attracted a jaguar, which prowled nearer and nearer in the twilight until they thought it safest once more to put out into the open river and seek a new resting-place. cherrie had spent about twenty-two years collecting in the american tropics. like most of the field-naturalists i have met, he was an unusually efficient and fearless man; and willy-nilly he had been forced at times to vary his career by taking part in insurrections. twice he had been behind the bars in consequence, on one occasion spending three months in a prison of a certain south american state, expecting each day to be taken out and shot. in another state he had, as an interlude to his ornithological pursuits, followed the career of a gun-runner, acting as such off and on for two and a half years. the particular revolutionary chief whose fortunes he was following finally came into power, and cherrie immortalized his name by naming a new species of ant-thrush after him--a delightful touch, in its practical combination of those not normally kindred pursuits, ornithology and gun-running. in anthony fiala, a former arctic explorer, we found an excellent man for assembling equipment and taking charge of its handling and shipment. in addition to his four years in the arctic regions, fiala had served in the new york squadron in porto rico during the spanish war, and through his service in the squadron had been brought into contact with his little tennessee wife. she came down with her four children to say good-by to him when the steamer left. my secretary, mr. frank harper, went with us. jacob sigg, who had served three years in the united states army, and was both a hospital nurse and a cook, as well as having a natural taste for adventure, went as the personal attendant of father zahm. in southern brazil my son kermit joined me. he had been bridge building, and a couple of months previously, while on top of a long steel span, something went wrong with the derrick, he and the steel span coming down together on the rocky bed beneath. he escaped with two broken ribs, two teeth knocked out, and a knee partially dislocated, but was practically all right again when he started with us. in its composition ours was a typical american expedition. kermit and i were of the old revolutionary stock, and in our veins ran about every strain of blood that there was on this side of the water during colonial times. cherrie's father was born in ireland, and his mother in scotland; they came here when very young, and his father served throughout the civil war in an iowa cavalry regiment. his wife was of old revolutionary stock. father zahm's father was an alsacian immigrant, and his mother was partly of irish and partly of old american stock, a descendant of a niece of general braddock. miller's father came from germany, and his mother from france. fiala's father and mother were both from bohemia, being czechs, and his father had served four years in the civil war in the union army--his tennessee wife was of old revolutionary stock. harper was born in england, and sigg in switzerland. we were as varied in religious creed as in ethnic origin. father zahm and miller were catholics, kermit and harper episcopalians, cherrie a presbyterian, fiala a baptist, sigg a lutheran, while i belonged to the dutch reformed church. for arms the naturalists took -bore shotguns, one of cherrie's having a rifle barrel underneath. the firearms for the rest of the party were supplied by kermit and myself, including my springfield rifle, kermit's two winchesters, a and - , the fox -gauge shotgun, and another -gauge gun, and a couple of revolvers, a colt and a smith & wesson. we took from new york a couple of canvas canoes, tents, mosquito-bars, plenty of cheesecloth, including nets for the hats, and both light cots and hammocks. we took ropes and pulleys which proved invaluable on our canoe trip. each equipped himself with the clothing he fancied. mine consisted of khaki, such as i wore in africa, with a couple of united states army flannel shirts and a couple of silk shirts, one pair of hob-nailed shoes with leggings, and one pair of laced leather boots coming nearly to the knee. both the naturalists told me that it was well to have either the boots or leggings as a protection against snake-bites, and i also had gauntlets because of the mosquitoes and sand-flies. we intended where possible to live on what we could get from time to time in the country, but we took some united states army emergency rations, and also ninety cans, each containing a day's provisions for five men, made up by fiala. the trip i proposed to take can be understood only if there is a slight knowledge of south american topography. the great mountain chain of the andes extends down the entire length of the western coast, so close to the pacific ocean that no rivers of any importance enter it. the rivers of south america drain into the atlantic. southernmost south america, including over half of the territory of the argentine republic, consists chiefly of a cool, open plains country. northward of this country, and eastward of the andes, lies the great bulk of the south american continent, which is included in the tropical and the subtropical regions. most of this territory is brazilian. aside from certain relatively small stretches drained by coast rivers, this immense region of tropical and subtropical america east of the andes is drained by the three great river systems of the plate, the amazon, and the orinoco. at their headwaters the amazon and the orinoco systems are actually connected by a sluggish natural canal. the headwaters of the northern affluents of the paraguay and the southern affluents of the amazon are sundered by a stretch of high land, which toward the east broadens out into the central plateau of brazil. geologically this is a very ancient region, having appeared above the waters before the dawning of the age of reptiles, or, indeed, of any true land vertebrates on the globe. this plateau is a region partly of healthy, rather dry and sandy, open prairie, partly of forest. the great and low-lying basin of the paraguay, which borders it on the south, is one of the largest, and the still greater basin of the amazon, which borders it on the north, is the very largest of all the river basins of the earth. in these basins, but especially in the basin of the amazon, and thence in most places northward to the caribbean sea, lie the most extensive stretches of tropical forest to be found anywhere. the forests of tropical west africa, and of portions of the farther-indian region, are the only ones that can be compared with them. much difficulty has been experienced in exploring these forests, because under the torrential rains and steaming heat the rank growth of vegetation becomes almost impenetrable, and the streams difficult of navigation; while white men suffer much from the terrible insect scourges and the deadly diseases which modern science has discovered to be due very largely to insect bites. the fauna and flora, however, are of great interest. the american museum was particularly anxious to obtain collections from the divide between the headwaters of the paraguay and the amazon, and from the southern affluents of the amazon. our purpose was to ascend the paraguay as nearly as possible to the head of navigation, thence cross to the sources of one of the affluents of the amazon, and if possible descend it in canoes built on the spot. the paraguay is regularly navigated as high as boats can go. the starting- point for our trip was to be asuncion, in the state of paraguay. my exact plan of operations was necessarily a little indefinite, but on reaching rio de janeiro the minister of foreign affairs, mr. lauro muller, who had been kind enough to take great personal interest in my trip, informed me that he had arranged that on the headwaters of the paraguay, at the town of caceres, i would be met by a brazilian army colonel, himself chiefly indian by blood, colonel rondon. colonel rondon has been for a quarter of a century the foremost explorer of the brazilian hinterland. he was at the time in manaos, but his lieutenants were in caceres and had been notified that we were coming. more important still, mr. lauro muller--who is not only an efficient public servant but a man of wide cultivation, with a quality about him that reminded me of john hay--offered to help me make my trip of much more consequence than i had originally intended. he has taken a keen interest in the exploration and development of the interior of brazil, and he believed that my expedition could be used as a means toward spreading abroad a more general knowledge of the country. he told me that he would co-operate with me in every way if i cared to undertake the leadership of a serious expedition into the unexplored portion of western matto grosso, and to attempt the descent of a river which flowed nobody knew whither, but which the best-informed men believed would prove to be a very big river, utterly unknown to geographers. i eagerly and gladly accepted, for i felt that with such help the trip could be made of much scientific value, and that a substantial addition could be made to the geographical knowledge of one of the least-known parts of south america. accordingly, it was arranged that colonel rondon and some assistants and scientists should meet me at or below corumba, and that we should attempt the descent of the river, of which they had already come across the headwaters. i had to travel through brazil, uruguay, the argentine, and chile for six weeks to fulfil my speaking engagements. fiala, cherrie, miller, and sigg left me at rio, continuing to buenos aires in the boat in which we had all come down from new york. from buenos aires they went up the paraguay to corumba, where they awaited me. the two naturalists went first, to do all the collecting that was possible; fiala and sigg travelled more leisurely, with the heavy baggage. before i followed them i witnessed an incident worthy of note from the standpoint of a naturalist, and of possible importance to us because of the trip we were about to take. south america, even more than australia and africa, and almost as much as india, is a country of poisonous snakes. as in india, although not to the same degree, these snakes are responsible for a very serious mortality among human beings. one of the most interesting evidences of the modern advance in brazil is the establishment near sao paulo of an institution especially for the study of these poisonous snakes, so as to secure antidotes to the poison and to develop enemies to the snakes themselves. we wished to take into the interior with us some bottles of the anti-venom serum, for on such an expedition there is always a certain danger from snakes. on one of his trips cherrie had lost a native follower by snake-bite. the man was bitten while out alone in the forest, and, although he reached camp, the poison was already working in him, so that he could give no intelligible account of what had occurred, and he died in a short time. poisonous snakes are of several different families, but the most poisonous ones, those which are dangerous to man, belong to the two great families of the colubrine snakes and the vipers. most of the colubrine snakes are entirely harmless, and are the common snakes that we meet everywhere. but some of them, the cobras for instance, develop into what are on the whole perhaps the most formidable of all snakes. the only poisonous colubrine snakes in the new world are the ring- snakes, the coral-snakes of the genus elaps, which are found from the extreme southern united states southward to the argentine. these coral-snakes are not vicious and have small teeth which cannot penetrate even ordinary clothing. they are only dangerous if actually trodden on by some one with bare feet or if seized in the hand. there are harmless snakes very like them in color which are sometimes kept as pets; but it behooves every man who keeps such a pet or who handles such a snake to be very sure as to the genus to which it belongs. the great bulk of the poisonous snakes of america, including all the really dangerous ones, belong to a division of the widely spread family of vipers which is known as the pit-vipers. in south america these include two distinct subfamilies or genera--whether they are called families, subfamilies, or genera would depend, i suppose, largely upon the varying personal views of the individual describer on the subject of herpetological nomenclature. one genus includes the rattlesnakes, of which the big brazilian species is as dangerous as those of the southern united states. but the large majority of the species and individuals of dangerous snakes in tropical america are included in the genus lachecis. these are active, vicious, aggressive snakes without rattles. they are exceedingly poisonous. some of them grow to a very large size, being indeed among the largest poisonous snakes in the world--their only rivals in this respect being the diamond rattlesnake of florida, one of the african mambas, and the indian hamadryad, or snake-eating cobra. the fer-de-lance, so dreaded in martinique, and the equally dangerous bushmaster of guiana are included in this genus. a dozen species are known in brazil, the biggest one being identical with the guiana bushmaster, and the most common one, the jararaca, being identical, or practically identical with the fer-de-lance. the snakes of this genus, like the rattlesnakes and the old world vipers and puff-adders, possess long poison-fangs which strike through clothes or any other human garment except stout leather. moreover, they are very aggressive, more so than any other snakes in the world, except possibly some of the cobras. as, in addition, they are numerous, they are a source of really frightful danger to scantily clad men who work in the fields and forests, or who for any reason are abroad at night. the poison of venomous serpents is not in the least uniform in its quality. on the contrary, the natural forces--to use a term which is vague, but which is as exact as our present-day knowledge permits-- that have developed in so many different families of snakes these poisoned fangs have worked in two or three totally different fashions. unlike the vipers, the colubrine poisonous snakes have small fangs, and their poison, though on the whole even more deadly, has entirely different effects, and owes its deadliness to entirely different qualities. even within the same family there are wide differences. in the jararaca an extraordinary quantity of yellow venom is spurted from the long poison-fangs. this poison is secreted in large glands which, among vipers, give the head its peculiar ace-of-spades shape. the rattlesnake yields a much smaller quantity of white venom, but, quantity for quantity, this white venom is more deadly. it is the great quantity of venom injected by the long fangs of the jararaca, the bushmaster, and their fellows that renders their bite so generally fatal. moreover, even between these two allied genera of pit-vipers, the differences in the action of the poison are sufficiently marked to be easily recognizable, and to render the most effective anti-venomous serum for each slightly different from the other. however, they are near enough alike to make this difference, in practice, of comparatively small consequence. in practice the same serum can be used to neutralize the effect of either, and, as will be seen later on, the snake that is immune to one kind of venom is also immune to the other. but the effect of the venom of the poisonous colubrine snakes is totally different from, although to the full as deadly as, the effect of the poison of the rattlesnake or jararaca. the serum that is an antidote as regards the colubrines. the animal that is immune to the bite of one may not be immune to the bite of the other. the bite of a cobra or other colubrine poisonous snake is more painful in its immediate effects than is the bite of one of the big vipers. the victim suffers more. there is a greater effect on the nerve-centres, but less swelling of the wound itself, and, whereas the blood of the rattlesnake's victim coagulates, the blood of the victim of an elapine snake--that is, of one of the only poisonous american colubrines-- becomes watery and incapable of coagulation. snakes are highly specialized in every way, including their prey. some live exclusively on warm-blooded animals, on mammals, or birds. some live exclusively on batrachians, others only on lizards, a few only on insects. a very few species live exclusively on other snakes. these include one very formidable venomous snake, the indian hamadryad, or giant cobra, and several non-poisonous snakes. in africa i killed a small cobra which contained within it a snake but a few inches shorter than itself; but, as far as i could find out, snakes were not the habitual diet of the african cobras. the poisonous snakes use their venom to kill their victims, and also to kill any possible foe which they think menaces them. some of them are good-tempered, and only fight if injured or seriously alarmed. others are excessively irritable, and on rare occasions will even attack of their own accord when entirely unprovoked and unthreatened. on reaching sao paulo on our southward journey from rio to montevideo, we drove out to the "instituto serumtherapico," designed for the study of the effects of the venom of poisonous brazilian snakes. its director is doctor vital brazil, who has performed a most extraordinary work and whose experiments and investigations are not only of the utmost value to brazil but will ultimately be recognized as of the utmost value for humanity at large. i know of no institution of similar kind anywhere. it has a fine modern building, with all the best appliances, in which experiments are carried on with all kinds of serpents, living and dead, with the object of discovering all the properties of their several kinds of venom, and of developing various anti-venom serums which nullify the effects of the different venoms. every effort is made to teach the people at large by practical demonstration in the open field the lessons thus learned in the laboratory. one notable result has been the diminution in the mortality from snake-bites in the province of sao paulo. in connection with his institute, and right by the laboratory, the doctor has a large serpentarium, in which quantities of the common poisonous and non-poisonous snakes are kept, and some of the rarer ones. he has devoted considerable time to the effort to find out if there are any natural enemies of the poisonous snakes of his country, and he has discovered that the most formidable enemy of the many dangerous brazilian snakes is a non-poisonous, entirely harmless, rather uncommon brazilian snake, the mussurama. of all the interesting things the doctor showed us, by far the most interesting was the opportunity of witnessing for ourselves the action of the mussurama toward a dangerous snake. the doctor first showed us specimens of the various important snakes, poisonous and non-poisonous, in alcohol. then he showed us preparations of the different kinds of venom and of the different anti-venom serums, presenting us with some of the latter for our use on the journey. he has been able to produce two distinct kinds of anti-venom serum, one to neutralize the virulent poison of the rattlesnake's bite, the other to neutralize the poison of the different snakes of the lachecis genus. these poisons are somewhat different and moreover there appear to be some differences between the poisons of the different species of lachecis; in some cases the poison is nearly colorless, and in others, as in that of the jararaca, whose poison i saw, it is yellow. but the vital difference is that between all these poisons of the pit- vipers and the poisons of the colubrine snakes, such as the cobra and the coral-snake. as yet the doctor has not been able to develop an anti-venom serum which will neutralize the poison of these colubrine snakes. practically this is a matter of little consequence in brazil, for the brazilian coral-snakes are dangerous only when mishandled by some one whose bare skin is exposed to the bite. the numerous accidents and fatalities continually occurring in brazil are almost always to be laid to the account of the several species of lachecis and the single species of rattlesnake. finally, the doctor took us into his lecture-room to show us how he conducted his experiments. the various snakes were in boxes, on one side of the room, under the care of a skilful and impassive assistant, who handled them with the cool and fearless caution of the doctor himself. the poisonous ones were taken out by means of a long-handled steel hook. all that is necessary to do is to insert this under the snake and lift him off the ground. he is not only unable to escape, but he is unable to strike, for he cannot strike unless coiled so as to give himself support and leverage. the table on which the snakes are laid is fairly large and smooth, differing in no way from an ordinary table. there were a number of us in the room, including two or three photographers. the doctor first put on the table a non-poisonous but very vicious and truculent colubrine snake. it struck right and left at us. then the doctor picked it up, opened its mouth, and showed that it had no fangs, and handed it to me. i also opened its mouth and examined its teeth, and then put it down, whereupon, its temper having been much ruffled, it struck violently at me two or three times. in its action and temper this snake was quite as vicious as the most irritable poisonous snakes. yet it is entirely harmless. one of the innumerable mysteries of nature which are at present absolutely insoluble is why some snakes should be so vicious and others absolutely placid and good-tempered. after removing the vicious harmless snake, the doctor warned us to get away from the table, and his attendant put on it, in succession, a very big lachecis--of the kind called bushmaster--and a big rattlesnake. each coiled menacingly, a formidable brute ready to attack anything that approached. then the attendant adroitly dropped his iron crook on the neck of each in succession, seized it right behind the head, and held it toward the doctor. the snake's mouth was in each case wide open, and the great fangs erect and very evident. it would not have been possible to have held an african ring-necked cobra in such fashion, because the ring-neck would have ejected its venom through the fangs into the eyes of the onlookers. there was no danger in this case, and the doctor inserted a shallow glass saucer into the mouth of the snake behind the fangs, permitted it to eject its poison, and then himself squeezed out the remaining poison from the poison- bags through the fangs. from the big lachecis came a large quantity of yellow venom, a liquid which speedily crystallized into a number of minute crystals. the rattlesnake yielded a much less quantity of white venom, which the doctor assured us was far more active than the yellow lachecis venom. then each snake was returned to its box unharmed. after this the doctor took out of a box and presented to me a fine, handsome, nearly black snake, an individual of the species called the mussurama. this is in my eyes perhaps the most interesting serpent in the world. it is a big snake, four or five feet long, sometimes even longer, nearly black, lighter below, with a friendly, placid temper. it lives exclusively on other snakes, and is completely immune to the poison of the lachecis and rattlesnake groups, which contain all the really dangerous snakes of america. doctor brazil told me that he had conducted many experiments with this interesting snake. it is not very common, and prefers wet places in which to live. it lays eggs, and the female remains coiled above the eggs, the object being apparently not to warm them, but to prevent too great evaporation. it will not eat when moulting, nor in cold weather. otherwise it will eat a small snake every five or six days, or a big one every fortnight. there is the widest difference, both among poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, not alone in nervousness and irascibility but also in ability to accustom themselves to out-of-the-way surroundings. many species of non-poisonous snakes which are entirely harmless, to man or to any other animal except their small prey, are nevertheless very vicious and truculent, striking right and left and biting freely on the smallest provocation--this is the case with the species of which the doctor had previously placed a specimen on the table. moreover, many snakes, some entirely harmless and some vicious ones, are so nervous and uneasy that it is with the greatest difficulty they can be induced to eat in captivity, and the slightest disturbance or interference will prevent their eating. there are other snakes, however, of which the mussurama is perhaps the best example, which are very good captives, and at the same time very fearless, showing a complete indifference not only to being observed but to being handled when they are feeding. there is in the united states a beautiful and attractive snake, the king-snake, with much the same habits as the mussurama. it is friendly toward mankind, and not poisonous, so that it can be handled freely. it feeds on other serpents, and will kill a rattlesnake as big as itself, being immune to the rattlesnake venom. mr. ditmars, of the bronx zoo, has made many interesting experiments with these king- snakes. i have had them in my own possession. they are good-natured and can generally be handled with impunity, but i have known them to bite, whereas doctor brazil informed me that it was almost impossible to make the mussurama bite a man. the king-snake will feed greedily on other snakes in the presence of man--i knew of one case where it partly swallowed another snake while both were in a small boy's pocket. it is immune to viper poison but it is not immune to colubrine poison. a couple of years ago i was informed of a case where one of these king-snakes was put into an enclosure with an indian snake- eating cobra or hamadryad of about the same size. it killed the cobra but made no effort to swallow it, and very soon showed the effects of the cobra poison. i believe it afterward died, but unfortunately i have mislaid my notes and cannot now remember the details of the incident. doctor brazil informed me that the mussurama, like the king-snake, was not immune to the colubrine poison. a mussurama in his possession, which had with impunity killed and eaten several rattlesnakes and representatives of the lachecis genus, also killed and ate a venomous coral-snake, but shortly afterward itself died from the effects of the poison. it is one of the many puzzles of nature that these american serpents which kill poisonous serpents should only have grown immune to the poison of the most dangerous american poisonous serpents, the pit-vipers, and should not have become immune to the poison of the coral-snakes which are commonly distributed throughout their range. yet, judging by the one instance mentioned by doctor brazil, they attack and master these coral-snakes, although the conflict in the end results in their death. it would be interesting to find out whether this attack was exceptional, that is, whether the mussurama has or has not as a species learned to avoid the coral-snake. if it was not exceptional, then not only is the instance highly curious in itself, but it would also go far to explain the failure of the mussurama to become plentiful. for the benefit of those who are not acquainted with the subject, i may mention that the poison of a poisonous snake is not dangerous to its own species unless injected in very large doses, about ten times what would normally be injected by a bite; but that it is deadly to all other snakes, poisonous or non-poisonous, save as regards the very few species which themselves eat poisonous snakes. the indian hamadryad, or giant cobra, is exclusively a snake-eater. it evidently draws a sharp distinction between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, for mr. ditmars has recorded that two individuals in the bronx zoo which are habitually fed on harmless snakes, and attack them eagerly, refused to attack a copperhead which was thrown into their cage, being evidently afraid of this pit-viper. it would be interesting to find out if the hamadryad is afraid to prey on all pit-vipers, and also whether it will prey on its small relative, the true cobra--for it may well be that, even if not immune to the viper poison, it is immune to the poison of its close ally, the smaller cobra. all these and many other questions would be speedily settled by doctor brazil if he were given the opportunity to test them. it must be remembered, moreover, that not only have his researches been of absorbing value from the standpoint of pure science but that they also have a real utilitarian worth. he is now collecting and breeding the mussurama. the favorite prey of the mussurama is the most common and therefore the most dangerous poisonous snake of brazil, the jararaca, which is known in martinique as the fer-de-lance. in martinique and elsewhere this snake is such an object of terror as to be at times a genuine scourge. surely it would be worth while for the authorities of martinique to import specimens of the mussurama to that island. the mortality from snake-bite in british india is very great. surely it would be well worth while for the able indian government to copy brazil and create such an institute as that over which doctor vital brazil is the curator. at first sight it seems extraordinary that poisonous serpents, so dreaded by and so irresistible to most animals, should be so utterly helpless before the few creatures that prey on them. but the explanation is easy. any highly specialized creature, the higher its specialization, is apt to be proportionately helpless when once its peculiar specialized traits are effectively nullified by an opponent. this is eminently the case with the most dangerous poisonous snakes. in them a highly peculiar specialization has been carried to the highest point. they rely for attack and defence purely on their poison-fangs. all other means and methods of attack and defence have atrophied. they neither crush nor tear with their teeth nor constrict with their bodies. the poison-fangs are slender and delicate, and, save for the poison, the wound inflicted is of a trivial character. in consequence they are helpless in the presence of any animal which the poison does not affect. there are several mammals immune to snake- bite, including various species of hedgehog, pig, and mongoose--the other mammals which kill them do so by pouncing on them unawares or by avoiding their stroke through sheer quickness of movement; and probably this is the case with most snake-eating birds. the mongoose is very quick, but in some cases at least--i have mentioned one in the "african game trails"--it permits itself to be bitten by poisonous snakes, treating the bite with utter indifference. there should be extensive experiments made to determine if there are species of mongoose immune to both cobra and viper poison. hedgehogs, as determined by actual experiments, pay no heed at all to viper poison even when bitten on such tender places as the tongue and lips and eat the snake as if it were a radish. even among animals which are not immune to the poison different species are very differently affected by the different kinds of snake poisons. not only are some species more resistant than others to all poisons, but there is a wide variation in the amount of immunity each displays to any given venom. one species will be quickly killed by the poison from one species of snake, and be fairly resistant to the poison of another; whereas in another species the conditions may be directly reversed. the mussurama which doctor brazil handed me was a fine specimen, perhaps four and a half feet long. i lifted the smooth, lithe bulk in my hands, and then let it twist its coils so that it rested at ease in my arms; it glided to and fro, on its own length, with the sinuous grace of its kind, and showed not the slightest trace of either nervousness or bad temper. meanwhile the doctor bade his attendant put on the table a big jararaca, or fer-de-lance, which was accordingly done. the jararaca was about three feet and a half, or perhaps nearly four feet long--that is, it was about nine inches shorter than the mussurama. the latter, which i continued to hold in my arms, behaved with friendly and impassive indifference, moving easily to and fro through my hands, and once or twice hiding its head between the sleeve and the body of my coat. the doctor was not quite sure how the mussurama would behave, for it had recently eaten a small snake, and unless hungry it pays no attention whatever to venomous snakes, even when they attack and bite it. however, it fortunately proved still to have a good appetite. the jararaca was alert and vicious. it partly coiled itself on the table, threatening the bystanders. i put the big black serpent down on the table four or five feet from the enemy and headed in its direction. as soon as i let go with my hands it glided toward where the threatening, formidable-looking lance-head lay stretched in a half coil. the mussurama displayed not the slightest sign of excitement. apparently it trusted little to its eyes, for it began to run its head along the body of the jararaca, darting out its flickering tongue to feel just where it was, as it nosed its way up toward the head of its antagonist. so placid were its actions that i did not at first suppose that it meant to attack, for there was not the slightest exhibition of anger or excitement. it was the jararaca that began the fight. it showed no fear whatever of its foe, but its irritable temper was aroused by the proximity and actions of the other, and like a flash it drew back its head and struck, burying its fangs in the forward part of the mussurama's body. immediately the latter struck in return, and the counter-attack was so instantaneous that it was difficult to see just what had happened. there was tremendous writhing and struggling on the part of the jararaca; and then, leaning over the knot into which the two serpents were twisted, i saw that the mussurama had seized the jararaca by the lower jaw, putting its own head completely into the wide-gaping mouth of the poisonous snake. the long fangs were just above the top of the mussurama's head; and it appeared, as well as i could see, that they were once again driven into the mussurama; but without the slightest effect. then the fangs were curved back in the jaw, a fact which i particularly noted, and all effort at the offensive was abandoned by the poisonous snake. meanwhile the mussurama was chewing hard, and gradually shifted its grip, little by little, until it got the top of the head of the jararaca in its mouth, the lower jaw of the jararaca being spread out to one side. the venomous serpent was helpless; the fearsome master of the wild life of the forest, the deadly foe of humankind, was itself held in the grip of death. its cold, baleful serpent's eyes shone, as evil as ever. but it was dying. in vain it writhed and struggled. nothing availed it. once or twice the mussurama took a turn round the middle of the body of its opponent, but it did not seem to press hard, and apparently used its coils chiefly in order to get a better grip so as to crush the head of its antagonist, or to hold the latter in place. this crushing was done by its teeth; and the repeated bites were made with such effort that the muscles stood out on the mussurama's neck. then it took two coils round the neck of the jararaca and proceeded deliberately to try to break the backbone of its opponent by twisting the head round. with this purpose it twisted its own head and neck round so that the lighter-colored surface was uppermost; and indeed at one time it looked as if it had made almost a complete single spiral revolution of its own body. it never for a moment relaxed its grip except to shift slightly the jaws. in a few minutes the jararaca was dead, its head crushed in, although the body continued to move convulsively. when satisfied that its opponent was dead, the mussurama began to try to get the head in its mouth. this was a process of some difficulty on account of the angle at which the lower jaw of the jararaca stuck out. but finally the head was taken completely inside and then swallowed. after this, the mussurama proceeded deliberately, but with unbroken speed, to devour its opponent by the simple process of crawling outside it, the body and tail of the jararaca writhing and struggling until the last. during the early portion of the meal, the mussurama put a stop to this writhing and struggling by resting its own body on that of its prey; but toward the last the part of the body that remained outside was left free to wriggle as it wished. not only was the mussurama totally indifferent to our presence, but it was totally indifferent to being handled while the meal was going on. several times i replaced the combatants in the middle of the table when they had writhed to the edge, and finally, when the photographers found that they could not get good pictures, i held the mussurama up against a white background with the partially swallowed snake in its mouth; and the feast went on uninterruptedly. i never saw cooler or more utterly unconcerned conduct; and the ease and certainty with which the terrible poisonous snake was mastered gave me the heartiest respect and liking for the easy-going, good-natured, and exceedingly efficient serpent which i had been holding in my arms. our trip was not intended as a hunting-trip but as a scientific expedition. before starting on the trip itself, while travelling in the argentine, i received certain pieces of first-hand information concerning the natural history of the jaguar, and of the cougar, or puma, which are worth recording. the facts about the jaguar are not new in the sense of casting new light on its character, although they are interesting; but the facts about the behavior of the puma in one district of patagonia are of great interest, because they give an entirely new side of its life-history. there was travelling with me at the time doctor francisco p. moreno, of buenos aires. doctor moreno is at the present day a member of the national board of education of the argentine, a man who has worked in every way for the benefit of his country, perhaps especially for the benefit of the children, so that when he was first introduced to me it was as the "jacob riis of the argentine"--for they know my deep and affectionate intimacy with jacob riis. he is also an eminent man of science, who has done admirable work as a geologist and a geographer. at one period, in connection with his duties as a boundary commissioner on the survey between chile and the argentine, he worked for years in patagonia. it was he who made the extraordinary discovery in a patagonian cave of the still fresh fragments of skin and other remains of the mylodon, the aberrant horse known as the onohipidium, the huge south american tiger, and the macrauchenia, all of them extinct animals. this discovery showed that some of the strange representatives of the giant south american pleistocene fauna had lasted down to within a comparatively few thousand years, down to the time when man, substantially as the spaniards found him, flourished on the continent. incidentally the discovery tended to show that this fauna had lasted much later in south america than was the case with the corresponding faunas in other parts of the world; and therefore it tended to disprove the claims advanced by doctor ameghino for the extreme age, geologically, of this fauna, and for the extreme antiquity of man on the american continent. one day doctor moreno handed me a copy of the outlook containing my account of a cougar-hunt in arizona, saying that he noticed that i had very little faith in cougars attacking men, although i had explicitly stated that such attacks sometimes occurred. i told him, yes, that i had found that the cougar was practically harmless to man, the undoubtedly authentic instances of attacks on men being so exceptional that they could in practice be wholly disregarded. thereupon doctor moreno showed me a scar on his face, and told me that he had himself been attacked and badly mauled by a puma which was undoubtedly trying to prey on him; that is, which had started on a career as a man-eater. this was to me most interesting. i had often met men who knew other men who had seen other men who said that they had been attacked by pumas, but this was the first time that i had ever come across a man who had himself been attacked. doctor moreno, as i have said, is not only an eminent citizen, but an eminent scientific man, and his account of what occurred is unquestionably a scientifically accurate statement of the facts. i give it exactly as the doctor told it; paraphrasing a letter he sent me, and including one or two answers to questions i put to him. the doctor, by the way, stated to me that he had known mr. hudson, the author of the "naturalist on the plata," and that the latter knew nothing whatever of pumas from personal experience and had accepted as facts utterly wild fables. undoubtedly, said the doctor, the puma in south america, like the puma in north america, is, as a general rule, a cowardly animal which not only never attacks man, but rarely makes any efficient defence when attacked. the indian and white hunters have no fear of it in most parts of the country, and its harmlessness to man is proverbial. but there is one particular spot in southern patagonia where cougars, to the doctor's own personal knowledge, have for years been dangerous foes of man. this curious local change in habits, by the way, is nothing unprecedented as regards wild animals. in portions of its range, as i am informed by mr. lord smith, the asiatic tiger can hardly be forced to fight man, and never preys on him, while throughout most of its range it is a most dangerous beast, and often turns man-eater. so there are waters in which sharks are habitual man- eaters, and others where they never touch men; and there are rivers and lakes where crocodiles or caymans are very dangerous, and others where they are practically harmless--i have myself seen this in africa. in march, , doctor moreno with a party of men working on the boundary commission, and with a number of patagonian horse-indians, was encamped for some weeks beside lake viedma, which had not before been visited by white men for a century, and which was rarely visited even by indians. one morning, just before sunrise, he left his camp by the south shore of the lake, to make a topographical sketch of the lake. he was unarmed, but carried a prismatic compass in a leather case with a strap. it was cold, and he wrapped his poncho of guanaco- hide round his neck and head. he had walked a few hundred yards, when a puma, a female, sprang on him from behind and knocked him down. as she sprang on him she tried to seize his head with one paw, striking him on the shoulder with the other. she lacerated his mouth and also his back, but tumbled over with him, and in the scuffle they separated before she could bite him. he sprang to his feet, and, as he said, was forced to think quickly. she had recovered herself, and sat on her haunches like a cat, looking at him, and then crouched to spring again; whereupon he whipped off his poncho, and as she sprang at him he opened it, and at the same moment hit her head with the prismatic compass in its case which he held by the strap. she struck the poncho and was evidently puzzled by it, for, turning, she slunk off to one side, under a bush, and then proceeded to try to get round behind him. he faced her, keeping his eyes upon her, and backed off. she followed him for three or four hundred yards. at least twice she came up to attack him, but each time he opened his poncho and yelled, and at the last moment she shrank back. she continually, however, tried, by taking advantage of cover, to sneak up to one side, or behind, to attack him. finally, when he got near camp, she abandoned the pursuit and went into a small patch of bushes. he raised the alarm; an indian rode up and set fire to the bushes from the windward side. when the cougar broke from the bushes, the indian rode after her, and threw his bolas, which twisted around her hind legs; and while she was struggling to free herself, he brained her with his second bolas. the doctor's injuries were rather painful, but not serious. twenty-one years later, in april, , he was camped on the same lake, but on the north shore, at the foot of a basaltic cliff. he was in company with four soldiers, with whom he had travelled from the strait of magellan. in the night he was aroused by the shriek of a man and the barking of his dogs. as the men sprang up from where they were lying asleep they saw a large puma run off out of the firelight into the darkness. it had sprung on a soldier named marcelino huquen while he was asleep, and had tried to carry him off. fortunately, the man was so wrapped up in his blanket, as the night was cold, that he was not injured. the puma was never found or killed. about the same time a surveyor of doctor moreno's party, a swede named arneberg, was attacked in similar fashion. the doctor was not with him at the time. mr. arneberg was asleep in the forest near lake san martin. the cougar both bit and clawed him, and tore his mouth, breaking out three teeth. the man was rescued; but this puma also escaped. the doctor stated that in this particular locality the indians, who elsewhere paid no heed whatever to the puma, never let their women go out after wood for fuel unless two or three were together. this was because on several occasions women who had gone out alone were killed by pumas. evidently in this one locality the habit of at least occasional man-eating has become chronic with a species which elsewhere is the most cowardly, and to man the least dangerous, of all the big cats. these observations of doctor moreno have a peculiar value, because, as far as i know, they are the first trustworthy accounts of a cougar's having attacked man save under circumstances so exceptional as to make the attack signify little more than the similar exceptional instances of attack by various other species of wild animals that are not normally dangerous to man. the jaguar, however, has long been known not only to be a dangerous foe when itself attacked, but also now and then to become a man-eater. therefore the instances of such attacks furnished me are of merely corroborative value. in the excellent zoological gardens at buenos aires the curator, doctor onelli, a naturalist of note, showed us a big male jaguar which had been trapped in the chaco, where it had already begun a career as a man-eater, having killed three persons. they were killed, and two of them were eaten; the animal was trapped, in consequence of the alarm excited by the death of his third victim. this jaguar was very savage; whereas a young jaguar, which was in a cage with a young tiger, was playful and friendly, as was also the case with the young tiger. on my trip to visit la plata museum i was accompanied by captain vicente montes, of the argentine navy, an accomplished officer of scientific attainments. he had at one time been engaged on a survey of the boundary between the argentine and parana and brazil. they had a quantity of dried beef in camp. on several occasions a jaguar came into camp after this dried beef. finally they succeeded in protecting it so that he could not reach it. the result, however, was disastrous. on the next occasion that he visited camp, at midnight, he seized a man. everybody was asleep at the time, and the jaguar came in so noiselessly as to elude the vigilance of the dogs. as he seized the man, the latter gave one yell, but the next moment was killed, the jaguar driving his fangs through the man's skull into the brain. there was a scene of uproar and confusion, and the jaguar was forced to drop his prey and flee into the woods. next morning they followed him with the dogs, and finally killed him. he was a large male, in first-class condition. the only features of note about these two incidents was that in each case the man-eater was a powerful animal in the prime of life; whereas it frequently happens that the jaguars that turn man- eaters are old animals, and have become too inactive or too feeble to catch their ordinary prey. during the two months before starting from asuncion, in paraguay, for our journey into the interior, i was kept so busy that i had scant time to think of natural history. but in a strange land a man who cares for wild birds and wild beasts always sees and hears something that is new to him and interests him. in the dense tropical woods near rio janeiro i heard in late october--springtime, near the southern tropic--the songs of many birds that i could not identify. but the most beautiful music was from a shy woodland thrush, sombre-colored, which lived near the ground in the thick timber, but sang high among the branches. at a great distance we could hear the ringing, musical, bell-like note, long-drawn and of piercing sweetness, which occurs at intervals in the song; at first i thought this was the song, but when it was possible to approach the singer i found that these far-sounding notes were scattered through a continuous song of great melody. i never listened to one that impressed me more. in different places in argentina i heard and saw the argentine mocking-bird, which is not very unlike our own, and is also a delightful and remarkable singer. but i never heard the wonderful white-banded mocking-bird, which is said by hudson, who knew well the birds of both south america and europe, to be the song-king of them all. most of the birds i thus noticed while hurriedly passing through the country were, of course, the conspicuous ones. the spurred lapwings, big, tame, boldly marked plover, were everywhere; they were very noisy and active and both inquisitive and daring, and they have a very curious dance custom. no man need look for them. they will look for him, and when they find him they will fairly yell the discovery to the universe. in the marshes of the lower parana i saw flocks of scarlet- headed blackbirds on the tops of the reeds; the females are as strikingly colored as the males, and their jet-black bodies and brilliant red heads make it impossible for them to escape observation among their natural surroundings. on the plains to the west i saw flocks of the beautiful rose-breasted starlings; unlike the red-headed blackbirds, which seemed fairly to court attention, these starlings sought to escape observation by crouching on the ground so that their red breasts were hidden. there were yellow-shouldered blackbirds in wet places, and cow-buntings abounded. but the most conspicuous birds i saw were members of the family of tyrant flycatchers, of which our own king-bird is the most familiar example. this family is very numerously represented in argentina, both in species and individuals. some of the species are so striking, both in color and habits, and in one case also in shape, as to attract the attention of even the unobservant. the least conspicuous, and nevertheless very conspicuous, among those that i saw was the bientevido, which is brown above, yellow beneath, with a boldly marked black and white head, and a yellow crest. it is very noisy, is common in the neighborhood of houses, and builds a big domed nest. it is really a big, heavy kingbird, fiercer and more powerful than any northern kingbird. i saw them assail not only the big but the small hawks with fearlessness, driving them in headlong flight. they not only capture insects, but pounce on mice, small frogs, lizards, and little snakes, rob birds' nests of the fledgling young, and catch tadpoles and even small fish. two of the tyrants which i observed are like two with which i grew fairly familiar in texas. the scissor-tail is common throughout the open country, and the long tail feathers, which seem at times to hamper its flight, attract attention whether the bird is in flight or perched on a tree. it has a habit of occasionally soaring into the air and descending in loops and spirals. the scarlet tyrant i saw in the orchards and gardens. the male is a fascinating little bird, coal- black above, while his crested head and the body beneath are brilliant scarlet. he utters his rapid, low-voiced musical trill in the air, rising with fluttering wings to a height of a hundred feet, hovering while he sings, and then falling back to earth. the color of the bird and the character of his performance attract the attention of every observer, bird, beast, or man, within reach of vision. the red-backed tyrant is utterly unlike any of his kind in the united states, and until i looked him up in sclater and hudson's ornithology i never dreamed that he belonged to this family. he--for only the male is so brightly colored--is coal-black with a dull-red back. i saw these birds on december near barilloche, out on the bare patagonian plains. they behaved like pipits or longspurs, running actively over the ground in the same manner and showing the same restlessness and the same kind of flight. but whereas pipits are inconspicuous, the red-backs at once attracted attention by the contrast between their bold coloring and the grayish or yellowish tones of the ground along which they ran. the silver-bill tyrant, however, is much more conspicuous; i saw it in the same neighborhood as the red-back and also in many other places. the male is jet-black, with white bill and wings. he runs about on the ground like a pipit, but also frequently perches on some bush to go through a strange flight-song performance. he perches motionless, bolt upright, and even then his black coloring advertises him for a quarter of a mile round about. but every few minutes he springs up into the air to the height of twenty or thirty feet, the white wings flashing in contrast to the black body, screams and gyrates, and then instantly returns to his former post and resumes his erect pose of waiting. it is hard to imagine a more conspicuous bird than the silver-bill; but the next and last tyrant flycatcher of which i shall speak possesses on the whole the most advertising coloration of any small bird i have ever seen in the open country, and moreover this advertising coloration exists in both sexes and throughout the year. it is a brilliant white, all over, except the long wing-quills and the ends of the tail-feathers, which are black. the first one i saw, at a very long distance, i thought must be an albino. it perches on the top of a bush or tree watching for its prey, and it shines in the sun like a silver mirror. every hawk, cat, or man must see it; no one can help seeing it. these common argentine birds, most of them of the open country, and all of them with a strikingly advertising coloration, are interesting because of their beauty and their habits. they are also interesting because they offer such illuminating examples of the truth that many of the most common and successful birds not merely lack a concealing coloration, but possess a coloration which is in the highest degree revealing. the coloration and the habits of most of these birds are such that every hawk or other foe that can see at all must have its attention attracted to them. evidently in their cases neither the coloration nor any habit of concealment based on the coloration is a survival factor, and this although they live in a land teeming with bird-eating hawks. among the higher vertebrates there are many known factors which have influence, some in one set of cases, some in another set of cases, in the development and preservation of species. courage, intelligence, adaptability, prowess, bodily vigor, speed, alertness, ability to hide, ability to build structures which will protect the young while they are helpless, fecundity--all, and many more like them, have their several places; and behind all these visible causes there are at work other and often more potent causes of which as yet science can say nothing. some species owe much to a given attribute which may be wholly lacking in influence on other species; and every one of the attributes above enumerated is a survival factor in some species, while in others it has no survival value whatever, and in yet others, although of benefit, it is not of sufficient benefit to offset the benefit conferred on foes or rivals by totally different attributes. intelligence, for instance, is of course a survival factor; but to-day there exist multitudes of animals with very little intelligence which have persisted through immense periods of geologic time either unchanged or else without any change in the direction of increased intelligence; and during their species-life they have witnessed the death of countless other species of far greater intelligence but in other ways less adapted to succeed in the environmental complex. the same statement can be made of all the many, many other known factors in development, from fecundity to concealing coloration; and behind them lie forces as to which we veil our ignorance by the use of high-sounding nomenclature--as when we use such a convenient but far from satisfactory term as orthogenesis. ii. up the paraguay on the afternoon of december we left the attractive and picturesque city of asuncion to ascend the paraguay. with generous courtesy the paraguayan government had put at my disposal the gunboat-yacht of the president himself, a most comfortable river steamer, and so the opening days of our trip were pleasant in every way. the food was good, our quarters were clean, we slept well, below or on deck, usually without our mosquito-nettings, and in daytime the deck was pleasant under the awnings. it was hot, of course, but we were dressed suitably in our exploring and hunting clothes and did not mind the heat. the river was low, for there had been dry weather for some weeks --judging from the vague and contradictory information i received there is much elasticity to the terms wet season and dry season at this part of the paraguay. under the brilliant sky we steamed steadily up the mighty river; the sunset was glorious as we leaned on the port railing; and after nightfall the moon, nearly full and hanging high in the heavens, turned the water to shimmering radiance. on the mud-flats and sandbars, and among the green rushes of the bays and inlets, were stately water-fowl; crimson flamingoes and rosy spoonbills, dark- colored ibis and white storks with black wings. darters, with snakelike necks and pointed bills, perched in the trees on the brink of the river. snowy egrets flapped across the marshes. caymans were common, and differed from the crocodiles we had seen in africa in two points: they were not alarmed by the report of a rifle when fired at, and they lay with the head raised instead of stretched along the sand. for three days, as we steamed northward toward the tropic of capricorn, and then passed it, we were within the republic of paraguay. on our right, to the east, there was a fairly well-settled country, where bananas and oranges were cultivated and other crops of hot countries raised. on the banks we passed an occasional small town, or saw a ranch-house close to the river's brink, or stopped for wood at some little settlement. across the river to the west lay the level, swampy, fertile wastes known as the chaco, still given over either to the wild indians or to cattle-ranching on a gigantic scale. the broad river ran in curves between mud-banks where terraces marked successive periods of flood. a belt of forest stood on each bank, but it was only a couple of hundred yards wide. back of it was the open country; on the chaco side this was a vast plain of grass, dotted with tall, graceful palms. in places the belt of forest vanished and the palm- dotted prairie came to the river's edge. the chaco is an ideal cattle country, and not really unhealthy. it will be covered with ranches at a not distant day. but mosquitoes and many other winged insect pests swarm over it. cherrie and miller had spent a week there collecting mammals and birds prior to my arrival at asuncion. they were veterans of the tropics, hardened to the insect plagues of guiana and the orinoco. but they reported that never had they been so tortured as in the chaco. the sand-flies crawled through the meshes in the mosquito- nets, and forbade them to sleep; if in their sleep a knee touched the net the mosquitoes fell on it so that it looked as if riddled by birdshot; and the nights were a torment, although they had done well in their work, collecting some two hundred and fifty specimens of birds and mammals. nevertheless for some as yet inscrutable reason the river served as a barrier to certain insects which are menaces to the cattlemen. with me on the gunboat was an old western friend, tex rickard, of the panhandle and alaska and various places in between. he now has a large tract of land and some thirty-five thousand head of cattle in the chaco, opposite concepcion, at which city he was to stop. he told me that horses did not do well in the chaco but that cattle throve, and that while ticks swarmed on the east bank of the great river, they would not live on the west bank. again and again he had crossed herds of cattle which were covered with the loathsome bloodsuckers; and in a couple of months every tick would be dead. the worst animal foes of man, indeed the only dangerous foes, are insects; and this is especially true in the tropics. fortunately, exactly as certain differences too minute for us as yet to explain render some insects deadly to man or domestic animals, while closely allied forms are harmless, so, for other reasons, which also we are not as yet able to fathom, these insects are for the most part strictly limited by geographical and other considerations. the war against what sir harry johnston calls the really material devil, the devil of evil wild nature in the tropics, has been waged with marked success only during the last two decades. the men, in the united states, in england, france, germany, italy--the men like doctor cruz in rio janeiro and doctor vital brazil in sao paulo--who work experimentally within and without the laboratory in their warfare against the disease and death bearing insects and microbes, are the true leaders in the fight to make the tropics the home of civilized man. late on the evening of the second day of our trip, just before midnight, we reached concepcion. on this day, when we stopped for wood or to get provisions--at picturesque places, where the women from rough mud and thatched cabins were washing clothes in the river, or where ragged horsemen stood gazing at us from the bank, or where dark, well-dressed ranchmen stood in front of red-roofed houses--we caught many fish. they belonged to one of the most formidable genera of fish in the world, the piranha or cannibal fish, the fish that eats men when it can get the chance. farther north there are species of small piranha that go in schools. at this point on the paraguay the piranha do not seem to go in regular schools, but they swarm in all the waters and attain a length of eighteen inches or over. they are the most ferocious fish in the world. even the most formidable fish, the sharks or the barracudas, usually attack things smaller than themselves. but the piranhas habitually attack things much larger than themselves. they will snap a finger off a hand incautiously trailed in the water; they mutilate swimmers--in every river town in paraguay there are men who have been thus mutilated; they will rend and devour alive any wounded man or beast; for blood in the water excites them to madness. they will tear wounded wild fowl to pieces; and bite off the tails of big fish as they grow exhausted when fighting after being hooked. miller, before i reached asuncion, had been badly bitten by one. those that we caught sometimes bit through the hooks, or the double strands of copper wire that served as leaders, and got away. those that we hauled on deck lived for many minutes. most predatory fish are long and slim, like the alligator-gar and pickerel. but the piranha is a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face and a heavily undershot or projecting lower jaw which gapes widely. the razor-edged teeth are wedge-shaped like a shark's, and the jaw muscles possess great power. the rabid, furious snaps drive the teeth through flesh and bone. the head with its short muzzle, staring malignant eyes, and gaping, cruelly armed jaws, is the embodiment of evil ferocity; and the actions of the fish exactly match its looks. i never witnessed an exhibition of such impotent, savage fury as was shown by the piranhas as they flapped on deck. when fresh from the water and thrown on the boards they uttered an extraordinary squealing sound. as they flapped about they bit with vicious eagerness at whatever presented itself. one of them flapped into a cloth and seized it with a bulldog grip. another grasped one of its fellows; another snapped at a piece of wood, and left the teeth-marks deep therein. they are the pests of the waters, and it is necessary to be exceedingly cautious about either swimming or wading where they are found. if cattle are driven into, or of their own accord enter, the water, they are commonly not molested; but if by chance some unusually big or ferocious specimen of these fearsome fishes does bite an animal--taking off part of an ear, or perhaps of a teat from the udder of a cow--the blood brings up every member of the ravenous throng which is anywhere near, and unless the attacked animal can immediately make its escape from the water it is devoured alive. here on the paraguay the natives hold them in much respect, whereas the caymans are not feared at all. the only redeeming feature about them is that they are themselves fairly good to eat, although with too many bones. at daybreak of the third day, finding we were still moored off concepcion, we were rowed ashore and strolled off through the streets of the quaint, picturesque old town; a town which, like asuncion, was founded by the conquistadores three-quarters of a century before our own english and dutch forefathers landed in what is now the united states. the jesuits then took practically complete possession of what is now paraguay, controlling and christianizing the indians, and raising their flourishing missions to a pitch of prosperity they never elsewhere achieved. they were expelled by the civil authorities (backed by the other representatives of ecclesiastical authority) some fifty years before spanish south america became independent. but they had already made the language of the indians, guarany, a culture- tongue, reducing it to writing, and printing religious books in it. guarany is one of the most wide-spread of the indian tongues, being originally found in various closely allied forms not only in paraguay but in uruguay and over the major part of brazil. it remains here and there, as a lingua general at least, and doubtless in cases as an original tongue, among the wild tribes. in most of brazil, as around para and around sao paulo, it has left its traces in place-names, but has been completely superseded as a language by portuguese. in paraguay it still exists side by side with spanish as the common language of the lower people and as a familiar tongue among the upper classes. the blood of the people is mixed, their language dual; the lower classes are chiefly of indian blood but with a white admixture; while the upper classes are predominantly white, with a strong infusion of indian. there is no other case quite parallel to this in the annals of european colonization, although the goanese in india have a native tongue and a portuguese creed, while in several of the spanish-american states the indian blood is dominant and the majority of the population speak an indian tongue, perhaps itself, as with the quichuas, once a culture-tongue of the archaic type. whether in paraguay one tongue will ultimately drive out the other, and, if so, which will be the victor, it is yet too early to prophesy. the english missionaries and the bible society have recently published parts of the scriptures in guarany and in asuncion a daily paper is published with the text in parallel columns, spanish and guarany--just as in oklahoma there is a similar paper published in english and in the tongue which the extraordinary cherokee chief sequoia, a veritable cadmus, made a literary language. the guarany-speaking paraguayan is a christian, and as much an inheritor of our common culture as most of the peasant populations of europe. he has no kinship with the wild indian, who hates and fears him. the indian of the chaco, a pure savage, a bow-bearing savage, will never come east of the paraguay, and the paraguayan is only beginning to venture into the western interior, away from the banks of the river--under the lead of pioneer settlers like rickard, whom, by the way, the wild indians thoroughly trust, and for whom they work eagerly and faithfully. there is a great development ahead for paraguay, as soon as they can definitely shake off the revolutionary habit and establish an orderly permanence of government. the people are a fine people; the strains of blood--white and indian--are good. we walked up the streets of concepcion, and interestedly looked at everything of interest: at the one-story houses, their windows covered with gratings of fretted ironwork, and their occasional open doors giving us glimpses into cool inner courtyards, with trees and flowers; at the two-wheel carts, drawn by mules or oxen; at an occasional rider, with spurs on his bare feet, and his big toes thrust into the small stirrup-rings; at the little stores, and the warehouses for matte and hides. then we came to a pleasant little inn, kept by a frenchman and his wife, of old spanish style, with its patio, or inner court, but as neat as an inn in normandy or brittany. we were sitting at coffee, around a little table, when in came the colonel of the garrison--for concepcion is the second city in paraguay. he told me that they had prepared a reception for me! i was in my rough hunting- clothes, but there was nothing to do but to accompany my kind hosts and trust to their good nature to pardon my shortcomings in the matter of dress. the colonel drove me about in a smart open carriage, with two good horses and a liveried driver. it was a much more fashionable turnout than would be seen in any of our cities save the largest, and even in them probably not in the service of a public official. in all the south american countries there is more pomp and ceremony in connection with public functions than with us, and at these functions the liveried servants, often with knee-breeches and powdered hair, are like those seen at similar european functions; there is not the democratic simplicity which better suits our own habits of life and ways of thought. but the south americans often surpass us, not merely in pomp and ceremony but in what is of real importance, courtesy; in civility and courtesy we can well afford to take lessons from them. we first visited the barracks, saw the troops in the setting-up exercises, and inspected the arms, the artillery, the equipment. there was a german lieutenant with the paraguayan officers; one of several german officers who are now engaged in helping the paraguayans with their army. the equipments and arms were in good condition; the enlisted men evidently offered fine material; and the officers were doing hard work. it is worth while for anti-militarists to ponder the fact that in every south american country where a really efficient army is developed, the increase in military efficiency goes hand in hand with a decrease in lawlessness and disorder, and a growing reluctance to settle internal disagreements by violence. they are introducing universal military service in paraguay; the officers, many of whom have studied abroad, are growing to feel an increased esprit de corps, an increased pride in the army, and therefore a desire to see the army made the servant of the nation as a whole and not the tool of any faction or individual. if these feelings grow strong enough they will be powerful factors in giving paraguay what she most needs, freedom from revolutionary disturbance and therefore the chance to achieve the material prosperity without which as a basis there can be no advance in other and even more important matters. then i was driven to the city hall, accompanied by the intendente, or mayor, a german long settled in the country and one of the leading men of the city. there was a breakfast. when i had to speak i impressed into my service as interpreter a young paraguayan who was a graduate of the university of pennsylvania. he was able to render into spanish my ideas--on such subjects as orderly liberty and the far-reaching mischief done by the revolutionary habit--with clearness and vigor, because he thoroughly understood not only how i felt but also the american way of looking at such things. my hosts were hospitality itself, and i enjoyed the unexpected greeting. we steamed on up the river. now and then we passed another boat--a steamer, or, to my surprise, perhaps a barkentine or schooner. the paraguay is a highway of traffic. once we passed a big beef-canning factory. ranches stood on either bank a few leagues apart, and we stopped at wood-yards on the west bank. indians worked around them. at one such yard the indians were evidently part of the regular force. their squaws were with them, cooking at queer open-air ovens. one small child had as pets a parrot and a young coati--a kind of long- nosed raccoon. loading wood, the indians stood in a line, tossing the logs from one to the other. these indians wore clothes. on this day we got into the tropics. even in the heat of the day the deck was pleasant under the awnings; the sun rose and set in crimson splendor; and the nights, with the moon at the full, were wonderful. at night orion blazed overhead; and the southern cross hung in the star-brilliant heavens behind us. but after the moon rose the constellations paled; and clear in her light the tree-clad banks stood on either hand as we steamed steadily against the swirling current of the great river. at noon on the twelfth we were at the brazilian boundary. on this day we here and there came on low, conical hills close to the river. in places the palm groves broke through the belts of deciduous trees and stretched for a mile or so right along the river's bank. at times we passed cattle on the banks or sand-bars, followed by their herders; or a handsome ranch-house, under a cluster of shady trees, some bearing a wealth of red and some a wealth of yellow blossoms; or we saw a horse- corral among the trees close to the brink, with the horses in it and a barefooted man in shirt and trousers leaning against the fence; or a herd of cattle among the palms; or a big tannery or factory or a little native hamlet came in sight. we stopped at one tannery. the owner was a spaniard, the manager an "oriental," as he called himself, a uruguayan, of german parentage. the peons, or workers, who lived in a long line of wooden cabins back of the main building, were mostly paraguayans, with a few brazilians, and a dozen german and argentine foremen. there were also some wild indians, who were camped in the usual squalid fashion of indians who are hangers-on round the white man but have not yet adopted his ways. most of the men were at work cutting wood for the tannery. the women and children were in camp. some individuals of both sexes were naked to the waist. one little girl had a young ostrich as a pet. water-fowl were plentiful. we saw large flocks of wild muscovy ducks. our tame birds come from this wild species and its absurd misnaming dates back to the period when the turkey and guinea-pig were misnamed in similar fashion--our european forefathers taking a large and hazy view of geography, and including turkey, guinea, india, and muscovy as places which, in their capacity of being outlandish, could be comprehensively used as including america. the muscovy ducks were very good eating. darters and cormorants swarmed. they waddled on the sand- bars in big flocks and crowded the trees by the water's edge. beautiful snow-white egrets also lit in the trees, often well back from the river. a full-foliaged tree of vivid green, its round surface crowded with these birds, as if it had suddenly blossomed with huge white flowers, is a sight worth seeing. here and there on the sand- bars we saw huge jabiru storks, and once a flock of white wood-ibis among the trees on the bank. on the brazilian boundary we met a shallow river steamer carrying colonel candido mariano da silva rondon and several other brazilian members of the expedition. colonel rondon immediately showed that he was all, and more than all, that could be desired. it was evident that he knew his business thoroughly, and it was equally evident that he would be a pleasant companion. he was a classmate of mr. lauro muller at the brazilian military academy. he is of almost pure indian blood, and is a positivist--the positivists are a really strong body in brazil, as they are in france and indeed in chile. the colonel's seven children have all been formally made members of the positivist church in rio janeiro. brazil possesses the same complete liberty in matters religious, spiritual, and intellectual as we, for our great good fortune, do in the united states, and my brazilian companions included catholics and equally sincere men who described themselves as "libres penseurs." colonel rondon has spent the last twenty-four years in exploring the western highlands of brazil, pioneering the way for telegraph-lines and railroads. during that time he has travelled some fourteen thousand miles, on territory most of which had not previously been traversed by civilized man, and has built three thousand miles of telegraph. he has an exceptional knowledge of the indian tribes and has always zealously endeavored to serve them and indeed to serve the cause of humanity wherever and whenever he was able. thanks mainly to his efforts, four of the wild tribes of the region he has explored have begun to tread the road of civilization. they have taken the first steps toward becoming christians. it may seem strange that among the first-fruits of the efforts of a positivist should be the conversion of those he seeks to benefit to christianity. but in south america christianity is at least as much a status as a theology. it represents the indispensable first step upward from savagery. in the wilder and poorer districts men are divided into the two great classes of "christians" and "indians." when an indian becomes a christian he is accepted into and becomes wholly absorbed or partly assimilated by the crude and simple neighboring civilization, and then he moves up or down like any one else among his fellows. among colonel rondon's companions were captain amilcar de magalhaes, lieutenant joao lyra, lieutenant joaquin de mello filho, and doctor euzebio de oliveira, a geologist. the steamers halted; colonel rondon and several of his officers, spick and span in their white uniforms, came aboard; and in the afternoon i visited him on his steamer to talk over our plans. when these had been fully discussed and agreed on we took tea. i happened to mention that one of our naturalists, miller, had been bitten by a piranha, and the man-eating fish at once became the subject of conversation. curiously enough, one of the brazilian taxidermists had also just been severely bitten by a piranha. my new companions had story after story to tell of them. only three weeks previously a twelve-year-old boy who had gone in swimming near corumba was attacked, and literally devoured alive by them. colonel rondon during his exploring trips had met with more than one unpleasant experience in connection with them. he had lost one of his toes by the bite of a piranha. he was about to bathe and had chosen a shallow pool at the edge of the river, which he carefully inspected until he was satisfied that none of the man-eating fish were in it; yet as soon as he put his foot into the water one of them attacked him and bit off a toe. on another occasion while wading across a narrow stream one of his party was attacked; the fish bit him on the thighs and buttocks, and when he put down his hands tore them also; he was near the bank and by a rush reached it and swung himself out of the water by means of an overhanging limb of a tree; but he was terribly injured, and it took him six months before his wounds healed and he recovered. an extraordinary incident occurred on another trip. the party were without food and very hungry. on reaching a stream they dynamited it, and waded in to seize the stunned fish as they floated on the surface. one man, lieutenant pyrineus, having his hands full, tried to hold one fish by putting its head into his mouth; it was a piranha and seemingly stunned, but in a moment it recovered and bit a big section out of his tongue. such a hemorrhage followed that his life was saved with the utmost difficulty. on another occasion a member of the party was off by himself on a mule. the mule came into camp alone. following his track back they came to a ford, where in the water they found the skeleton of the dead man, his clothes uninjured but every particle of flesh stripped from his bones. whether he had drowned, and the fishes had then eaten his body, or whether they had killed him it was impossible to say. they had not hurt the clothes, getting in under them, which made it seem likely that there had been no struggle. these man-eating fish are a veritable scourge in the waters they frequent. but it must not be understood by this that the piranhas--or, for the matter of that, the new-world caymans and crocodiles--ever become such dreaded foes of man as for instance the man-eating crocodiles of africa. accidents occur, and there are certain places where swimming and bathing are dangerous; but in most places the people swim freely, although they are usually careful to find spots they believe safe or else to keep together and make a splashing in the water. during his trips colonel rondon had met with various experiences with wild creatures. the paraguayan caymans are not ordinarily dangerous to man; but they do sometimes become man-eaters and should be destroyed whenever the opportunity offers. the huge caymans and crocodiles of the amazon are far more dangerous, and the colonel knew of repeated instances where men, women and children had become their victims. once while dynamiting a stream for fish for his starving party he partially stunned a giant anaconda, which he killed as it crept slowly off. he said that it was of a size that no other anaconda he had ever seen even approached, and that in his opinion such a brute if hungry would readily attack a full-grown man. twice smaller anacondas had attacked his dogs; one was carried under water--for the anaconda is a water- loving serpent--but he rescued it. one of his men was bitten by a jararaca; he killed the venomous snake, but was not discovered and brought back to camp until it was too late to save his life. the puma colonel rondon had found to be as cowardly as i have always found it, but the jaguar was a formidable beast, which occasionally turned man- eater, and often charged savagely when brought to bay. he had known a hunter to be killed by a jaguar he was following in thick grass cover. all such enemies, however, he regarded as utterly trivial compared to the real dangers of the wilderness--the torment and menace of attacks by the swarming insects, by mosquitoes and the even more intolerable tiny gnats, by the ticks, and by the vicious poisonous ants which occasionally cause villages and even whole districts to be deserted by human beings. these insects, and the fevers they cause, and dysentery and starvation and wearing hardship and accidents in rapids are what the pioneer explorers have to fear. the conversation was to me most interesting. the colonel spoke french about to the extent i did; but of course he and the others preferred portuguese; and then kermit was the interpreter. in the evening, soon after moonrise, we stopped for wood at the little brazilian town of porto martinho. there are about twelve hundred inhabitants. some of the buildings were of stone; a large private house with a castellated tower was of stone; there were shops, and a post-office, stores, a restaurant and billiard-hall, and warehouses for matte, of which much is grown in the region roundabout. most of the houses were low, with overhanging, sloping caves; and there were gardens with high walls, inside of which trees rose, many of them fragrant. we wandered through the wide, dusty streets, and along the narrow sidewalks. it was a hot, still evening; the smell of the tropics was on the heavy december air. through the open doors and windows we caught dim glimpses of the half-clad inmates of the poorer houses; women and young girls sat outside their thresholds in the moonlight. all whom we met were most friendly: the captain of the little brazilian garrison; the intendente, a local trader; another trader and ranchman, a uruguayan, who had just received his newspaper containing my speech in montevideo, and who, as i gathered from what i understood of his rather voluble spanish, was much impressed by my views on democracy, honesty, liberty, and order (rather well-worn topics); and a catalan who spoke french, and who was accompanied by his pretty daughter, a dear little girl of eight or ten, who said with much pride that she spoke three languages--brazilian, spanish, and catalan! her father expressed strongly his desire for a church and for a school in the little city. when at last the wood was aboard we resumed our journey. the river was like glass. in the white moonlight the palms on the edge of the banks stood mirrored in the still water. we sat forward and as we rounded the curves the long silver reaches of the great stream stretched ahead of us, and the ghostly outlines of hills rose in the distance. here and there prairie fires burned, and the red glow warred with the moon's radiance. next morning was overcast. occasionally we passed a wood-yard, or factory, or cabin, now on the eastern, the brazilian, now on the western, the paraguayan, bank. the paraguay was known to men of european birth, bore soldiers and priests and merchants as they sailed and rowed up and down the current of its stream, and beheld little towns and forts rise on its banks, long before the mississippi had become the white man's highway. now, along its upper course, the settlements are much like those on the mississippi at the end of the first quarter of the last century; and in the not distant future it will witness a burst of growth and prosperity much like that which the mississippi saw when the old men of today were very young. in the early forenoon we stopped at a little paraguayan hamlet, nestling in the green growth under a group of low hills by the river- brink. on one of these hills stood a picturesque old stone fort, known as fort bourbon in the spanish, the colonial, days. now the paraguayan flag floats over it, and it is garrisoned by a handful of paraguayan soldiers. here father zahm baptized two children, the youngest of a large family of fair-skinned, light-haired small people, whose father was a paraguayan and the mother an "oriental," or uruguayan. no priest had visited the village for three years, and the children were respectively one and two years of age. the sponsors included the local commandante and a married couple from austria. in answer to what was supposed to be the perfunctory question whether they were catholics, the parents returned the unexpected answer that they were not. further questioning elicited the fact that the father called himself a "free- thinking catholic," and the mother said she was a "protestant catholic," her mother having been a protestant, the daughter of an immigrant from normandy. however, it appeared that the older children had been baptized by the bishop of asuncion, so father zahm at the earnest request of the parents proceeded with the ceremony. they were good people; and, although they wished liberty to think exactly as they individually pleased, they also wished to be connected and to have their children connected with some church, by preference the church of the majority of their people. a very short experience of communities where there is no church ought to convince the most heterodox of the absolute need of a church. i earnestly wish that there could be such an increase in the personnel and equipment of the catholic church in south america as to permit the establishment of one good and earnest priest in every village or little community in the far interior. nor is there any inconsistency between this wish and the further wish that there could be a marked extension and development of the native protestant churches, such as i saw established here and there in brazil, uruguay, and argentina, and of the y. m. c. associations. the bulk of these good people who profess religion will continue to be catholics, but the spiritual needs of a more or less considerable minority will best be met by the establishment of protestant churches, or in places even of a positivist church or ethical culture society. not only is the establishment of such churches a good thing for the body politic as a whole, but a good thing for the catholic church itself; for their presence is a constant spur to activity and clean and honorable conduct, and a constant reflection on sloth and moral laxity. the government in each of these commonwealths is doing everything possible to further the cause of education, and the tendency is to treat education as peculiarly a function of government and to make it, where the government acts, non- sectarian, obligatory, and free--a cardinal doctrine of our own great democracy, to which we are committed by every principle of sound americanism. there must be absolute religious liberty, for tyranny and intolerance are as abhorrent in matters intellectual and spiritual as in matters political and material; and more and more we must all realize that conduct is of infinitely greater importance than dogma. but no democracy can afford to overlook the vital importance of the ethical and spiritual, the truly religious, element in life; and in practice the average good man grows clearly to understand this, and to express the need in concrete form by saying that no community can make much headway if it does not contain both a church and a school. we took breakfast--the eleven-o'clock brazilian breakfast--on colonel rondon's boat. caymans were becoming more plentiful. the ugly brutes lay on the sand-flats and mud-banks like logs, always with the head raised, sometimes with the jaws open. they are often dangerous to domestic animals, and are always destructive to fish, and it is good to shoot them. i killed half a dozen, and missed nearly as many more-- a throbbing boat does not improve one's aim. we passed forests of palms that extended for leagues, and vast marshy meadows, where storks, herons, and ibis were gathered, with flocks of cormorants and darters on the sand-bars, and stilts, skimmers, and clouds of beautiful swaying terns in the foreground. about noon we passed the highest point which the old spanish conquistadores and explorers, irala and ayolas, had reached in the course of their marvellous journeys in the first half of the sixteenth century--at a time when there was not a settlement in what is now the united states, and when hardly a single english sea captain had ventured so much as to cross the atlantic. by the following day the country on the east bank had become a vast marshy plain dotted here and there by tree-clad patches of higher land. the morning was rainy; a contrast to the fine weather we had hitherto encountered. we passed wood-yards and cattle-ranches. at one of the latter the owner, an argentine of irish parentage, who still spoke english with the accent of the land of his parents' nativity, remarked that this was the first time the american flag had been seen on the upper paraguay; for our gunboat carried it at the masthead. early in the afternoon, having reached the part where both banks of the river were brazilian territory, we came to the old colonial portuguese fort of coimbra. it stands where two steep hills rise, one on either side of the river, and it guards the water-gorge between them. it was captured by the paraguayans in the war of nearly half a century ago. some modern guns have been mounted, and there is a garrison of brazilian troops. the white fort is perched on the hillside, where it clings and rises, terrace above terrace, with bastion and parapet and crenellated wall. at the foot of the hill, on the riverine plain, stretches the old-time village with its roofs of palm. in the village dwell several hundred souls, almost entirely the officers and soldiers and their families. there is one long street. the one-story, daub-and-wattle houses have low eaves and steep sloping roofs of palm-leaves or of split palm-trunks. under one or two old but small trees there are rude benches; and for a part of the length of the street there is a rough stone sidewalk. a little graveyard, some of the tombs very old, stands at one end. as we passed down the street the wives and the swarming children of the garrison were at the doors and windows; there were women and girls with skins as fair as any in the northland, and others that were predominantly negro. most were of intervening shades. all this was paralleled among the men; and the fusion of the colors was going on steadily. around the village black vultures were gathered. not long before reaching it we passed some rounded green trees, their tops covered with the showy wood-ibis; at the same time we saw behind them, farther inland, other trees crowded with the more delicate forms of the shining white egrets. the river now widened so that in places it looked like a long lake; it wound in every direction through the endless marshy plain, whose surface was broken here and there by low mountains. the splendor of the sunset i never saw surpassed. we were steaming east toward clouds of storm. the river ran, a broad highway of molten gold, into the flaming sky; the far-off mountains loomed purple across the marshes; belts of rich green, the river banks stood out on either side against the rose-hues of the rippling water; in front, as we forged steadily onward, hung the tropic night, dim and vast. on december we reached corumba. for three or four miles before it is reached the west bank, on which it stands, becomes high rocky ground, falling away into cliffs. the country roundabout was evidently well peopled. we saw gauchos, cattle-herders--the equivalent of our own cowboys--riding along the bank. women were washing clothes, and their naked children bathing, on the shore; we were told that caymans and piranhas rarely ventured near a place where so much was going on, and that accidents generally occurred in ponds or lonely stretches of the river. several steamers came out to meet us, and accompanied us for a dozen miles, with bands playing and the passengers cheering, just as if we were nearing some town on the hudson. corumba is on a steep hillside, with wide, roughly paved streets, some of them lined with beautiful trees that bear scarlet flowers, and with well-built houses, most of them of one story, some of two or three stories. we were greeted with a reception by the municipal council, and were given a state dinner. the hotel, kept by an italian, was as comfortable as possible--stone floors, high ceilings, big windows and doors, a cool, open courtyard, and a shower-bath. of course corumba is still a frontier town. the vehicles ox-carts and mule-carts; there are no carriages; and oxen as well as mules are used for riding. the water comes from a big central well; around it the water-carts gather, and their contents are then peddled around at the different houses. the families showed the mixture of races characteristic of brazil; one mother, after the children had been photographed in their ordinary costume, begged that we return and take them in their sunday clothes, which was accordingly done. in a year the railway from rio will reach corumba; and then this city, and the country roundabout, will see much development. at this point we rejoined the rest of the party, and very glad we were to see them. cherrie and miller had already collected some eight hundred specimens of mammals and birds. iii. a jaguar-hunt on the taquary the morning after our arrival at corumba i asked colonel rondon to inspect our outfit; for his experience of what is necessary in tropical travelling has been gained through a quarter of a century of arduous exploration in the wilderness. it was fiala who had assembled our food-tents, cooking-utensils, and supplies of all kinds, and he and sigg, during their stay in corumba, had been putting everything in shape for our start. colonel rondon at the end of his inspection said he had nothing whatever to suggest; that it was extraordinary that fiala, without personal knowledge of the tropics, could have gathered the things most necessary, with the minimum of bulk and maximum of usefulness. miller had made a special study of the piranhas, which swarmed at one of the camps he and cherrie had made in the chaco. so numerous were they that the members of the party had to be exceedingly careful in dipping up water. miller did not find that they were cannibals toward their own kind; they were "cannibals" only in the sense of eating the flesh of men. when dead piranhas, and even when mortally injured piranhas, with the blood flowing, were thrown among the ravenous living, they were left unmolested. moreover, it was miller's experience, the direct contrary of which we had been told, that splashing and a commotion in the water attracted the piranhas, whereas they rarely attacked anything that was motionless unless it was bloody. dead birds and mammals, thrown whole and unskinned into the water were permitted to float off unmolested, whereas the skinned carcass of a good-sized monkey was at once seized, pulled under the water, and completely devoured by the blood-crazy fish. a man who had dropped something of value waded in after it to above the knees, but went very slowly and quietly, avoiding every possibility of disturbance, and not venturing to put his hands into the water. but nobody could bathe, and even the slightest disturbance in the water, such as that made by scrubbing the hands vigorously with soap, immediately attracted the attention of the savage little creatures, who darted to the place, evidently hoping to find some animal in difficulties. once, while miller and some indians were attempting to launch a boat, and were making a great commotion in the water, a piranha attacked a naked indian who belonged to the party and mutilated him as he struggled and splashed, waist-deep in the stream. men not making a splashing and struggling are rarely attacked; but if one is attacked by any chance, the blood in the water maddens the piranhas, and they assail the man with frightful ferocity. at corumba the weather was hot. in the patio of the comfortable little hotel we heard the cicadas; but i did not hear the extraordinary screaming whistle of the locomotive cicada, which i had heard in the gardens of the house in which i stayed at asuncion. this was as remarkable a sound as any animal sound to which i have listened, except only the batrachian-like wailing of the tree hyrax in east africa; and like the east african mammal this south american insect has a voice, or rather utters a sound which, so far as it resembles any other animal sound, at the beginning remotely suggests batrachian affinities. the locomotive-whistle part of the utterance, however, resembles nothing so much as a small steam siren; when first heard it seems impossible that it can be produced by an insect. on december colonel rondon and several members of our party started on a shallow river steamer for the ranch of senhor de barros, "las palmeiras," on the rio taquary. we went down the paraguay for a few miles, and then up the taquary. it was a beautiful trip. the shallow river--we were aground several times--wound through a vast, marshy plain, with occasional spots of higher land on which trees grew. there were many water-birds. darters swarmed. but the conspicuous and attractive bird was the stately jabiru stork. flocks of these storks whitened the marshes and lined the river banks. they were not shy, for such big birds; before flying they had to run a few paces and then launch themselves on the air. once, at noon, a couple soared round overhead in wide rings, rising higher and higher. on another occasion, late in the day, a flock passed by, gleaming white with black points in the long afternoon lights, and with them were spoonbills, showing rosy amid their snowy companions. caymans, always called jacares, swarmed; and we killed scores of the noxious creatures. they were singularly indifferent to our approach and to the sound of the shots. sometimes they ran into the water erect on their legs, looking like miniatures of the monsters of the prime. one showed by its behavior how little an ordinary shot pains or affects these dull-nerved, cold- blooded creatures. as it lay on a sand-bank, it was hit with a long bullet. it slid into the water but found itself in the midst of a school of fish. it at once forgot everything except its greedy appetite, and began catching the fish. it seized fish after fish, holding its head above water as soon as its jaws had closed on a fish; and a second bullet killed it. some of the crocodiles when shot performed most extraordinary antics. our weapons, by the way, were good, except miller's shotgun. the outfit furnished by the american museum was excellent--except in guns and cartridges; this gun was so bad that miller had to use fiala's gun or else my fox -bore. in the late afternoon we secured a more interesting creature than the jacares. kermit had charge of two hounds which we owed to the courtesy of one of our argentine friends. they were biggish, nondescript animals, obviously good fighters, and they speedily developed the utmost affection for all the members of the expedition, but especially for kermit, who took care of them. one we named "shenzi," the name given the wild bush natives by the swahili, the semi-civilized african porters. he was good-natured, rough, and stupid--hence his name. the other was called by a native name, "trigueiro." the chance now came to try them. we were steaming between long stretches of coarse grass, about three feet high, when we spied from the deck a black object, very conspicuous against the vivid green. it was a giant ant-eater, or tamandua bandeira, one of the most extraordinary creatures of the latter-day world. it is about the size of a rather small black bear. it has a very long, narrow, toothless snout, with a tongue it can project a couple of feet; it is covered with coarse, black hair, save for a couple of white stripes; it has a long, bushy tail and very powerful claws on its fore feet. it walks on the sides of its fore feet with these claws curved in under the foot. the claws are used in digging out ant-hills; but the beast has courage, and in a grapple is a rather unpleasant enemy, in spite of its toothless mouth, for it can strike a formidable blow with these claws. it sometimes hugs a foe, gripping him tight; but its ordinary method of defending itself is to strike with its long, stout, curved claws, which, driven by its muscular forearm, can rip open man or beast. several of our companions had had dogs killed by these ant-eaters; and we came across one man with a very ugly scar down his back, where he had been hit by one, which charged him when he came up to kill it at close quarters. as soon as we saw the giant tamandua we pushed off in a rowboat, and landed only a couple of hundred yards distant from our clumsy quarry. the tamandua throughout most of its habitat rarely leaves the forest, and it is a helpless animal in the open plain. the two dogs ran ahead, followed by colonel rondon and kermit, with me behind carrying the rifle. in a minute or two the hounds overtook the cantering, shuffling creature, and promptly began a fight with it; the combatants were so mixed up that i had to wait another minute or so before i could fire without risk of hitting a dog. we carried our prize back to the bank and hoisted it aboard the steamer. the sun was just about to set, behind dim mountains, many miles distant across the marsh. soon afterward we reached one of the outstations of the huge ranch we were about to visit, and hauled up alongside the bank for the night. there was a landing-place, and sheds and corrals. several of the peons or gauchos had come to meet us. after dark they kindled fires, and sat beside them singing songs in a strange minor key and strumming guitars. the red firelight flickered over their wild figures as they squatted away from the blaze, where the light and the shadow met. it was still and hot. there were mosquitoes, of course, and other insects of all kinds swarmed round every light; but the steamboat was comfortable, and we passed a pleasant night. at sunrise we were off for the "fazenda," the ranch of m. de barros. the baggage went in an ox-cart--which had to make two trips, so that all of my belongings reached the ranch a day later than i did. we rode small, tough ranch horses. the distance was some twenty miles. the whole country was marsh, varied by stretches of higher ground; and, although these stretches rose only three or four feet above the marsh, they were covered with thick jungle, largely palmetto scrub, or else with open palm forest. for three or four miles we splashed through the marsh, now and then crossing boggy pools where the little horses labored hard not to mire down. our dusky guide was clad in a shirt, trousers, and fringed leather apron, and wore spurs on his bare feet; he had a rope for a bridle, and two or three toes of each foot were thrust into little iron stirrups. the pools in the marsh were drying. they were filled with fish, most of them dead or dying; and the birds had gathered to the banquet. the most notable dinner guests were the great jabiru storks; the stately creatures dotted the marsh. but ibis and herons abounded; the former uttered queer, querulous cries when they discovered our presence. the spurred lapwings were as noisy as they always are. the ibis and plover did not pay any heed to the fish; but the black carrion vultures feasted on them in the mud; and in the pools that were not dry small alligators, the jacare-tinga, were feasting also. in many places the stench from the dead fish was unpleasant. then for miles we rode through a beautiful open forest of tall, slender caranda palms, with other trees scattered among them. green parakeets with black heads chattered as they flew; noisy green and red parrots climbed among the palms; and huge macaws, some entirely blue, others almost entirely red, screamed loudly as they perched in the trees or took wing at our approach. if one was wounded its cries kept its companions circling around overhead. the naturalists found the bird fauna totally different from that which they had been collecting in the hill country near corumba, seventy or eighty miles distant; and birds swarmed, both species and individuals. south america has the most extensive and most varied avifauna of all the continents. on the other hand, its mammalian fauna, although very interesting, is rather poor in number of species and individuals and in the size of the beasts. it possesses more mammals that are unique and distinctive in type than does any other continent save australia; and they are of higher and much more varied types than in australia. but there is nothing approaching the majesty, beauty, and swarming mass of the great mammalian life of africa and, in a less degree, of tropical asia; indeed, it does not even approach the similar mammalian life of north america and northern eurasia, poor though this is compared with the seething vitality of tropical life in the old world. during a geologically recent period, a period extending into that which saw man spread over the world in substantially the physical and cultural stage of many existing savages, south america possessed a varied and striking fauna of enormous beasts--sabre-tooth tigers, huge lions, mastodons, horses of many kinds, camel-like pachyderms, giant ground- sloths, mylodons the size of the rhinoceros, and many, many other strange and wonderful creatures. from some cause, concerning the nature of which we cannot at present even hazard a guess, this vast and giant fauna vanished completely, the tremendous catastrophe (the duration of which is unknown) not being consummated until within a few thousand or a few score thousand years. when the white man reached south america he found the same weak and impoverished mammalian fauna that exists practically unchanged to-day. elsewhere civilized man has been even more destructive than his very destructive uncivilized brothers of the magnificent mammalian life of the wilderness; for ages he has been rooting out the higher forms of beast life in europe, asia, and north africa; and in our own day he has repeated the feat, on a very large scale, in the rest of africa and in north america. but in south america, although he is in places responsible for the wanton slaughter of the most interesting and the largest, or the most beautiful, birds, his advent has meant a positive enrichment of the wild mammalian fauna. none of the native grass-eating mammals, the graminivores, approach in size and beauty the herds of wild or half- wild cattle and horses, or so add to the interest of the landscape. there is every reason why the good people of south america should waken, as we of north america, very late in the day, are beginning to waken, and as the peoples of northern europe--not southern europe-- have already partially wakened, to the duty of preserving from impoverishment and extinction the wild life which is an asset of such interest and value in our several lands; but the case against civilized man in this matter is gruesomely heavy anyhow, when the plain truth is told, and it is harmed by exaggeration. after five or six hours' travelling through this country of marsh and of palm forest we reached the ranch for which we were heading. in the neighborhood stood giant fig-trees, singly or in groups, with dense, dark green foliage. ponds, overgrown with water-plants, lay about; wet meadow, and drier pastureland, open or dotted with palms and varied with tree jungle, stretched for many miles on every hand. there are some thirty thousand head of cattle on the ranch, besides herds of horses and droves of swine, and a few flocks of sheep and goats. the home buildings of the ranch stood in a quadrangle, surrounded by a fence or low stockade. one end of the quadrangle was formed by the ranch-house itself, one story high, with whitewashed walls and red- tiled roof. inside, the rooms were bare, with clean, whitewashed walls and palm-trunk rafters. there were solid wooden shutters on the unglazed windows. we slept in hammocks or on cots, and we feasted royally on delicious native brazilian dishes. on another side of the quadrangle stood another long, low white building with a red-tiled roof; this held the kitchen and the living-rooms of the upper-grade peons, the headmen, the cook, and jaguar-hunters, with their families: dark-skinned men, their wives showing varied strains of white, indian, and negro blood. the children tumbled merrily in the dust, and were fondly tended by their mothers. opposite the kitchen stood a row of buildings, some whitewashed daub and wattle, with tin roofs, others of erect palm-logs with palm-leaf thatch. these were the saddle-room, storehouse, chicken-house, and stable. the chicken-house was allotted to kermit and miller for the preparation of the specimens; and there they worked industriously. with a big skin, like that of the giant ant-eater, they had to squat on the ground; while the ducklings and wee chickens scuffled not only round the skin but all over it, grabbing the shreds and scraps of meat and catching flies. the fourth end of the quadrangle was formed by a corral and a big wooden scaffolding on which hung hides and strips of drying meat. extraordinary to relate, there were no mosquitoes at the ranch; why i cannot say, as they ought to swarm in these vast "pantanals," or swamps. therefore, in spite of the heat, it was very pleasant. near by stood other buildings: sheds, and thatched huts of palm-logs in which the ordinary peons lived, and big corrals. in the quadrangle were flamboyant trees, with their masses of brilliant red flowers and delicately cut, vivid-green foliage. noisy oven-birds haunted these trees. in a high palm in the garden a family of green parakeets had taken up their abode and were preparing to build nests. they chattered incessantly both when they flew and when they sat or crawled among the branches. ibis and plover, crying and wailing, passed immediately overhead. jacanas frequented the ponds near by; the peons, with a familiarity which to us seems sacrilegious, but to them was entirely inoffensive and matter of course, called them "the jesus christ birds," because they walked on the water. there was a wealth of strange bird life in the neighborhood. there were large papyrus- marshes, the papyrus not being a fifth, perhaps not a tenth, as high as in africa. in these swamps were many blackbirds. some uttered notes that reminded me of our own redwings. others, with crimson heads and necks and thighs, fairly blazed; often a dozen sat together on a swaying papyrus-stem which their weight bent over. there were all kinds of extraordinary bird's-nests in the trees. there is still need for the work of the collector in south america. but i believe that already, so far as birds are concerned, there is infinitely more need for the work of the careful observer, who to the power of appreciation and observation adds the power of vivid, truthful, and interesting narration--which means, as scientists no less than historians should note, that training in the writing of good english is indispensable to any learned man who expects to make his learning count for what it ought to count in the effect on his fellow men. the outdoor naturalist, the faunal naturalist, who devotes himself primarily to a study of the habits and of the life-histories of birds, beasts, fish, and reptiles, and who can portray truthfully and vividly what he has seen, could do work of more usefulness than any mere collector, in this upper paraguay country. the work of the collector is indispensable; but it is only a small part of the work that ought to be done; and after collecting has reached a certain point the work of the field observer with the gift for recording what he has seen becomes of far more importance. the long days spent riding through the swamp, the "pantanal," were pleasant and interesting. several times we saw the tamandua bandeira, the giant ant-bear. kermit shot one, because the naturalists eagerly wished for a second specimen; afterward we were relieved of all necessity to molest the strange, out-of-date creatures. it was a surprise to us to find them habitually frequenting the open marsh. they were always on muddy ground, and in the papyrus-swamp we found them in several inches of water. the stomach is thick-walled, like a gizzard; the stomachs of those we shot contained adult and larval ants, chiefly termites, together with plenty of black mould and fragments of leaves, both green and dry. doubtless the earth and the vegetable matter had merely been taken incidentally, adhering to the viscid tongue when it was thrust into the ant masses. out in the open marsh the tamandua could neither avoid observation, nor fight effectively, nor make good its escape by flight. it was curious to see one lumbering off at a rocking canter, the big bushy tail held aloft. one, while fighting the dogs, suddenly threw itself on its back, evidently hoping to grasp a dog with its paws; and it now and then reared, in order to strike at its assailants. in one patch of thick jungle we saw a black howler monkey sitting motionless in a tree top. we also saw the swamp-deer, about the size of our blacktail. it is a real swamp animal, for we found it often in the papyrus-swamps, and out in the open marsh, knee-deep in the water, among the aquatic plants. the tough little horses bore us well through the marsh. often in crossing bayous and ponds the water rose almost to their backs; but they splashed and waded and if necessary swam through. the dogs were a wild-looking set. some were of distinctly wolfish appearance. these, we were assured, were descended in part from the big red wolf of the neighborhood, a tall, lank animal, with much smaller teeth than a big northern wolf. the domestic dog is undoubtedly descended from at least a dozen different species of wild dogs, wolves, and jackals, some of them probably belonging to what we style different genera. the degree of fecundity or lack of fecundity between different species varies in extraordinary and inexplicable fashion in different families of mammals. in the horse family, for instance, the species are not fertile inter se; whereas among the oxen, species seemingly at least as widely separated as the horse, ass, and zebra species such as the domestic ox, bison, yak, and gaur breed freely together and their offspring are fertile; the lion and tiger also breed together, and produce offspring which will breed with either parent stock; and tame dogs in different quarters of the world, although all of them fertile inter se, are in many cases obviously blood kin to the neighboring wild, wolf-like or jackal-like creatures which are specifically, and possibly even generically, distinct from one another. the big red wolf of the south american plains is not closely related to the northern wolves; and it was to me unexpected to find it interbreeding with ordinary domestic dogs. in the evenings after dinner we sat in the bare ranch dining-room, or out under the trees in the hot darkness, and talked of many things: natural history with the naturalists, and all kinds of other subjects both with them and with our brazilian friends. colonel rondon is not simply "an officer and a gentleman" in the sense that is honorably true of the best army officers in every good military service. he is also a peculiarly hardy and competent explorer, a good field naturalist and scientific man, a student and a philosopher. with him the conversation ranged from jaguar-hunting and the perils of exploration in the "matto grosso," the great wilderness, to indian anthropology, to the dangers of a purely materialistic industrial civilization, and to positivist morality. the colonel's positivism was in very fact to him a religion of humanity, a creed which bade him be just and kindly and useful to his fellow men, to live his life bravely, and no less bravely to face death, without reference to what he believed, or did not believe, or to what the unknown hereafter might hold for him. the native hunters who accompanied us were swarthy men of mixed blood. they were barefooted and scantily clad, and each carried a long, clumsy spear and a keen machete, in the use of which he was an expert. now and then, in thick jungle, we had to cut out a path, and it was interesting to see one of them, although cumbered by his unwieldy spear, handling his half-broken little horse with complete ease while he hacked at limbs and branches. of the two ordinarily with us one was much the younger; and whenever we came to an unusually doubtful- looking ford or piece of boggy ground the elder man always sent the younger one on and sat on the bank until he saw what befell the experimenter. in that rather preposterous book of our youth, the "swiss family robinson," mention is made of a tame monkey called nips, which was used to test all edible-looking things as to the healthfulness of which the adventurers felt doubtful; and because of the obvious resemblance of function we christened this younger hunter nips. our guides were not only hunters but cattle-herders. the coarse dead grass is burned to make room for the green young grass on which the cattle thrive. every now and then one of the men, as he rode ahead of us, without leaving the saddle, would drop a lighted match into a tussock of tall dead blades; and even as we who were behind rode by tongues of hot flame would be shooting up and a local prairie fire would have started. kermit took nips off with him for a solitary hunt one day. he shot two of the big marsh-deer, a buck and a doe, and preserved them as museum specimens. they were in the papyrus growth, but their stomachs contained only the fine marsh-grass which grows in the water and on the land along the edges of the swamps; the papyrus was used only for cover, not for food. the buck had two big scent-glands beside the nostrils; in the doe these were rudimentary. on this day kermit also came across a herd of the big, fierce white-lipped peccary; at the sound of their grunting nips promptly spurred his horse and took to his heels, explaining that the peccaries would charge them, hamstring the horses, and kill the riders. kermit went into the jungle after the truculent little wild hogs on foot and followed them for an hour, but never was able to catch sight of them. in the afternoon of this same day one of the jaguar-hunters--merely ranch hands, who knew something of the chase of the jaguar--who had been searching for tracks, rode in with the information that he had found fresh sign at a spot in the swamp about nine miles distant. next morning we rose at two, and had started on our jaguar-hunt at three. colonel rondon, kermit, and i, with the two trailers or jaguar- hunters, made up the party, each on a weedy, undersized marsh pony, accustomed to traversing the vast stretches of morass; and we were accompanied by a brown boy, with saddle-bags holding our lunch, who rode a long-horned trotting steer which he managed by a string through its nostril and lip. the two trailers carried each a long, clumsy spear. we had a rather poor pack. besides our own two dogs, neither of which was used to jaguar-hunting, there were the ranch dogs, which were well-nigh worthless, and then two jaguar hounds borrowed for the occasion from a ranch six or eight leagues distant. these were the only hounds on which we could place any trust, and they were led in leashes by the two trailers. one was a white bitch, the other, the best one we had, was a gelded black dog. they were lean, half-starved creatures with prick ears and a look of furtive wildness. as our shabby little horses shuffled away from the ranch-house the stars were brilliant and the southern cross hung well up in the heavens, tilted to the right. the landscape was spectral in the light of the waning moon. at the first shallow ford, as horses and dogs splashed across, an alligator, the jacare-tinga, some five feet long, floated unconcernedly among the splashing hoofs and paws; evidently at night it did not fear us. hour after hour we slogged along. then the night grew ghostly with the first dim gray of the dawn. the sky had become overcast. the sun rose red and angry through broken clouds; his disk flamed behind the tall, slender columns of the palms, and lit the waste fields of papyrus. the black monkeys howled mournfully. the birds awoke. macaws, parrots, parakeets screamed at us and chattered at us as we rode by. ibis called with wailing voices, and the plovers shrieked as they wheeled in the air. we waded across bayous and ponds, where white lilies floated on the water and thronging lilac-flowers splashed the green marsh with color. at last, on the edge of a patch of jungle, in wet ground, we came on fresh jaguar tracks. both the jaguar hounds challenged the sign. they were unleashed and galloped along the trail, while the other dogs noisily accompanied them. the hunt led right through the marsh. evidently the jaguar had not the least distaste for water. probably it had been hunting for capybaras or tapirs, and it had gone straight through ponds and long, winding, narrow ditches or bayous, where it must now and then have had to swim for a stroke or two. it had also wandered through the island-like stretches of tree-covered land, the trees at this point being mostly palms and tarumans; the taruman is almost as big as a live-oak, with glossy foliage and a fruit like an olive. the pace quickened, the motley pack burst into yelling and howling; and then a sudden quickening of the note showed that the game had either climbed a tree or turned to bay in a thicket. the former proved to be the case. the dogs had entered a patch of tall tree jungle, and as we cantered up through the marsh we saw the jaguar high among the forked limbs of a taruman tree. it was a beautiful picture-- the spotted coat of the big, lithe, formidable cat fairly shone as it snarled defiance at the pack below. i did not trust the pack; the dogs were not stanch, and if the jaguar came down and started i feared we might lose it. so i fired at once, from a distance of seventy yards. i was using my favorite rifle, the little springfield with which i have killed most kinds of african game, from the lion and elephant down; the bullets were the sharp, pointed kind, with the end of naked lead. at the shot the jaguar fell like a sack of sand through the branches, and although it staggered to its feet it went but a score of yards before it sank down, and when i came up it was dead under the palms, with three or four of the bolder dogs riving at it. the jaguar is the king of south american game, ranking on an equality with the noblest beasts of the chase of north america, and behind only the huge and fierce creatures which stand at the head of the big game of africa and asia. this one was an adult female. it was heavier and more powerful than a full-grown male cougar, or african panther or leopard. it was a big, powerfully built creature, giving the same effect of strength that a tiger or lion does, and that the lithe leopards and pumas do not. its flesh, by the way, proved good eating, when we had it for supper, although it was not cooked in the way it ought to have been. i tried it because i had found cougars such good eating; i have always regretted that in africa i did not try lion's flesh, which i am sure must be excellent. next day came kermit's turn. we had the miscellaneous pack with us, all much enjoying themselves; but, although they could help in a jaguar-hunt to the extent of giving tongue and following the chase for half a mile, cowing the quarry by their clamor, they were not sufficiently stanch to be of use if there was any difficulty in the hunt. the only two dogs we could trust were the two borrowed jaguar hounds. this was the black dog's day. about ten in the morning we came to a long, deep, winding bayou. on the opposite bank stood a capybara, looking like a blunt-nosed pig, its wet hide shining black. i killed it, and it slid into the water. then i found that the bayou extended for a mile or two in each direction, and the two hunter-guides said they did not wish to swim across for fear of the piranhas. just at this moment we came across fresh jaguar tracks. it was hot, we had been travelling for five hours, and the dogs were much exhausted. the black hound in particular was nearly done up, for he had been led in a leash by one of the horsemen. he lay flat on the ground, panting, unable to catch the scent. kermit threw water over him, and when he was thoroughly drenched and freshened, thrust his nose into the jaguar's footprints. the game old hound at once and eagerly responded. as he snuffed the scent he challenged loudly, while still lying down. then he staggered to his feet and started on the trail, going stronger with every leap. evidently the big cat was not far distant. soon we found where it had swum across the bayou. piranhas or no piranhas, we now intended to get across; and we tried to force our horses in at what seemed a likely spot. the matted growth of water-plants, with their leathery, slippery stems, formed an unpleasant barrier, as the water was swimming-deep for the horses. the latter were very unwilling to attempt the passage. kermit finally forced his horse through the tangled mass, swimming, plunging, and struggling. he left a lane of clear water, through which we swam after him. the dogs splashed and swam behind us. on the other bank they struck the fresh trail and followed it at a run. it led into a long belt of timber, chiefly composed of low-growing nacury palms, with long, drooping, many- fronded branches. in silhouette they suggest coarse bamboos; the nuts hang in big clusters and look like bunches of small, unripe bananas. among the lower palms were scattered some big ordinary trees. we cantered along outside the timber belt, listening to the dogs within; and in a moment a burst of yelling clamor from the pack told that the jaguar was afoot. these few minutes are the really exciting moments in the chase, with hounds, of any big cat that will tree. the furious baying of the pack, the shouts and cheers of encouragement from the galloping horsemen, the wilderness surroundings, the knowledge of what the quarry is--all combine to make the moment one of fierce and thrilling excitement. besides, in this case there was the possibility the jaguar might come to bay on the ground, in which event there would be a slight element of risk, as it might need straight shooting to stop a charge. however, about as soon as the long-drawn howling and eager yelping showed that the jaguar had been overtaken, we saw him, a huge male, up in the branches of a great fig-tree. a bullet behind the shoulder, from kermit's winchester, brought him dead to the ground. he was heavier than the very big male horse-killing cougar i shot in colorado, whose skull hart merriam reported as the biggest he had ever seen; he was very nearly double the weight of any of the male african leopards we shot; he was nearly or quite the weight of the smallest of the adult african lionesses we shot while in africa. he had the big bones, the stout frame, and the heavy muscular build of a small lion; he was not lithe and slender and long like a cougar or leopard; the tail, as with all jaguars, was short, while the girth of the body was great; his coat was beautiful, with a satiny gloss, and the dark-brown spots on the gold of his back, head, and sides were hardly as conspicuous as the black of the equally well-marked spots against his white belly. this was a well-known jaguar. he had occasionally indulged in cattle- killing; on one occasion during the floods he had taken up his abode near the ranch-house and had killed a couple of cows and a young steer. the hunters had followed him, but he had made his escape, and for the time being had abandoned the neighborhood. in these marshes each jaguar had a wide irregular range and travelled a good deal, perhaps only passing a day or two in a given locality, perhaps spending a week where game was plentiful. jaguars love the water. they drink greedily and swim freely. in this country they rambled through the night across the marshes and prowled along the edges of the ponds and bayous, catching the capybaras and the caymans; for these small pond caymans, the jacare-tinga, form part of their habitual food, and a big jaguar when hungry will attack and kill large caymans and crocodiles if he can get them a few yards from the water. on these marshes the jaguars also followed the peccary herds; it is said that they always strike the hindmost of a band of the fierce little wild pigs. elsewhere they often prey on the tapir. if in timber, however, the jaguar must kill it at once, for the squat, thick-skinned, wedge- shaped tapir has no respect for timber, as colonel rondon phrased it, and rushes with such blind, headlong speed through and among branches and trunks that if not immediately killed it brushes the jaguar off, the claws leaving long raking scars in the tough hide. cattle are often killed. the jaguar will not meddle with a big bull; and is cautious about attacking a herd accompanied by a bull; but it will at times, where wild game is scarce, kill every other domestic animal. it is a thirsty brute, and if it kills far from water will often drag its victim a long distance toward a pond or stream; colonel rondon had once come across a horse which a jaguar had thus killed and dragged for over a mile. jaguars also stalk and kill the deer; in this neighborhood they seemed to be less habitual deer-hunters than the cougars; whether this is generally the case i cannot say. they have been known to pounce on and devour good-sized anacondas. in this particular neighborhood the ordinary jaguars molested the cattle and horses hardly at all except now and then to kill calves. it was only occasionally that under special circumstances some old male took to cattle-killing. there were plenty of capybaras and deer, and evidently the big spotted cats preferred the easier prey when it was available; exactly as in east africa we found the lions living almost exclusively on zebra and antelope, and not molesting the buffalo and domestic cattle, which in other parts of africa furnish their habitual prey. in some other neighborhoods, not far distant, our hosts informed us that the jaguars lived almost exclusively on horses and cattle. they also told us that the cougars had the same habits as the jaguars except that they did not prey on such big animals. the cougars on this ranch never molested the foals, a fact which astonished me, as in the rockies they are the worst enemies of foals. it was interesting to find that my hosts, and the mixed-blood hunters and ranch workers, combined special knowledge of many of the habits of these big cats with a curious ignorance of other matters concerning them and a readiness to believe fables about them. this was precisely what i had found to be the case with the old-time north american hunters in discussing the puma, bear, and wolf, and with the english and boer hunters of africa when they spoke of the lion and rhinoceros. until the habit of scientific accuracy in observation and record is achieved and until specimens are preserved and carefully compared, entirely truthful men, at home in the wilderness, will whole-heartedly accept, and repeat as matters of gospel faith, theories which split the grizzly and black bears of each locality in the united states, and the lions and black rhinos of south africa, or the jaguars and pumas of any portion of south america, into several different species, all with widely different habits. they will, moreover, describe these imaginary habits with such sincerity and minuteness that they deceive most listeners; and the result sometimes is that an otherwise good naturalist will perpetuate these fables, as hudson did when he wrote of the puma. hudson was a capital observer and writer when he dealt with the ordinary birds and mammals of the well-settled districts near buenos aires and at the mouth of the rio negro; but he knew nothing of the wilderness. this is no reflection on him; his books are great favorites of mine, and are to a large degree models of what such books should be; i only wish that there were hundreds of such writers and observers who would give us similar books for all parts of america. but it is a mistake to accept him as an authority on that concerning which he was ignorant. an interesting incident occurred on the day we killed our first jaguar. we took our lunch beside a small but deep and obviously permanent pond. i went to the edge to dip up some water, and something growled or bellowed at me only a few feet away. it was a jacare-tinga or small cayman about five feet long. i paid no heed to it at the moment. but shortly afterward when our horses went down to drink it threatened them and frightened them; and then colonel rondon and kermit called me to watch it. it lay on the surface of the water only a few feet distant from us and threatened us; we threw cakes of mud at it, whereupon it clashed its jaws and made short rushes at us, and when we threw sticks it seized them and crunched them. we could not drive it away. why it should have shown such truculence and heedlessness i cannot imagine, unless perhaps it was a female, with eggs near by. in another little pond a jacare-tinga showed no less anger when another of my companions approached. it bellowed, opened its jaws, and lashed its tail. yet these pond jacares never actually molested even our dogs in the ponds, far less us on our horses. this same day others of our party had an interesting experience with the creatures in another pond. one of them was commander da cunha (of the brazilian navy), a capital sportsman and delightful companion. they found a deepish pond a hundred yards or so long and thirty or forty across. it was tenanted by the small caymans and by capybaras-- the largest known rodent, a huge aquatic guinea-pig, the size of a small sheep. it also swarmed with piranhas, the ravenous fish of which i have so often spoken. undoubtedly the caymans were subsisting largely on these piranhas. but the tables were readily turned if any caymans were injured. when a capybara was shot and sank in the water, the piranhas at once attacked it, and had eaten half the carcass ten minutes later. but much more extraordinary was the fact that when a cayman about five feet long was wounded the piranhas attacked and tore it, and actually drove it out on the bank to face its human foes. the fish first attacked the wound; then, as the blood maddened them, they attacked all the soft parts, their terrible teeth cutting out chunks of tough hide and flesh. evidently they did not molest either cayman or capybara while it was unwounded; but blood excited them to frenzy. their habits are in some ways inexplicable. we saw men frequently bathing unmolested; but there are places where this is never safe, and in any place if a school of the fish appear swimmers are in danger; and a wounded man or beast is in deadly peril if piranhas are in the neighborhood. ordinarily it appears that an unwounded man is attacked only by accident. such accidents are rare; but they happen with sufficient frequency to justify much caution in entering water where piranhas abound. we frequently came across ponds tenanted by numbers of capybaras. the huge, pig-like rodents are said to be shy elsewhere. here they were tame. the water was their home and refuge. they usually went ashore to feed on the grass, and made well-beaten trails in the marsh immediately around the water; but they must have travelled these at night, for we never saw them more than a few feet away from the water in the daytime. even at midday we often came on them standing beside a bayou or pond. the dogs would rush wildly at such a standing beast, which would wait until they were only a few yards off and then dash into and under the water. the dogs would also run full tilt into the water, and it was then really funny to see their surprise and disappointment at the sudden and complete disappearance of their quarry. often a capybara would stand or sit on its haunches in the water, with only its blunt, short-eared head above the surface, quite heedless of our presence. but if alarmed it would dive, for capybaras swim with equal facility on or below the surface; and if they wish to hide they rise gently among the rushes or water-lily leaves with only their nostrils exposed. in these waters the capybaras and small caymans paid no attention to one another, swimming and resting in close proximity. they both had the same enemy, the jaguar. the capybara is a game animal only in the sense that a hare or rabbit is. the flesh is good to eat, and its amphibious habits and queer nature and surroundings make it interesting. in some of the ponds the water had about gone, and the capybaras had become for the time being beasts of the marsh and the mud; although they could always find little slimy pools, under a mass of water-lilies, in which to lie and hide. our whole stay on this ranch was delightful. on the long rides we always saw something of interest, and often it was something entirely new to us. early one morning we came across two armadillos--the big, nine-banded armadillo. we were riding with the pack through a dry, sandy pasture country, dotted with clumps of palms, round the trunks of which grew a dense jungle of thorns and spanish bayonets. the armadillos were feeding in an open space between two of these jungle clumps, which were about a hundred yards apart. one was on all fours; the other was in a squatting position, with its fore legs off the ground. their long ears were very prominent. the dogs raced at them. i had always supposed that armadillos merely shuffled along, and curled up for protection when menaced; and i was almost as surprised as if i had seen a turtle gallop when these two armadillos bounded off at a run, going as fast as rabbits. one headed back for the nearest patch of jungle, which it reached. the other ran at full speed--and ran really fast, too--until it nearly reached the other patch, a hundred yards distant, the dogs in full cry immediately behind it. then it suddenly changed its mind, wheeled in its tracks, and came back like a bullet right through the pack. dog after dog tried to seize it or stop it and turned to pursue it; but its wedge-shaped snout and armored body, joined to the speed at which it was galloping, enabled it to drive straight ahead through its pursuers, not one of which could halt it or grasp it, and it reached in safety its thorny haven of refuge. it had run at speed about a hundred and fifty yards. i was much impressed by this unexpected exhibition; evidently this species of armadillo only curls up as a last resort, and ordinarily trusts to its speed, and to the protection its build and its armor give it while running, in order to reach its burrow or other place of safety. twice, while laying railway tracks near sao paulo, kermit had accidentally dug up armadillos with a steam-shovel. there were big ant-hills, some of them of huge dimensions, scattered through the country. sometimes they were built against the stems of trees. we did not here come across any of the poisonous or biting ants which, when sufficiently numerous, render certain districts uninhabitable. they are ordinarily not very numerous. those of them that march in large bodies kill nestling birds, and at once destroy any big animal unable to get out of their way. it has been suggested that nestlings in their nests are in some way immune from the attack of these ants. the experiments of our naturalists tended to show that this was not the case. they plundered any nest they came across and could get at. once we saw a small herd of peccaries, one a sow followed by three little pigs--they are said to have only two young, but we saw three, although of course it is possible one belonged to another sow. the herd galloped into a mass of thorny cover the hounds could not penetrate; and when they were in safety we heard them utter, from the depths of the jungle, a curious moaning sound. on one ride we passed a clump of palms which were fairly ablaze with bird color. there were magnificent hyacinth macaws; green parrots with red splashes; toucans with varied plumage, black, white, red, yellow; green jacmars; flaming orioles and both blue and dark-red tanagers. it was an extraordinary collection. all were noisy. perhaps there was a snake that had drawn them by its presence; but we could find no snake. the assembly dispersed as we rode up; the huge blue macaws departed in pairs, uttering their hoarse "ar-rah-h, ar-rah-h." it has been said that parrots in the wilderness are only noisy on the wing. they are certainly noisy on the wing; and those that we saw were quiet while they were feeding; but ordinarily when they were perched among the branches, and especially when, as in the case of the little parakeets near the house, they were gathering materials for nest-building, they were just as noisy as while flying. the water-birds were always a delight. we shot merely the two or three specimens the naturalists needed for the museum. i killed a wood-ibis on the wing with the handy little springfield, and then lost all the credit i had thus gained by a series of inexcusable misses, at long range, before i finally killed a jabiru. kermit shot a jabiru with the luger automatic. the great, splendid birds, standing about as tall as a man, show fight when wounded, and advance against their assailants, clattering their formidable bills. one day we found the nest of a jabiru in a mighty fig-tree, on the edge of a patch of jungle. it was a big platform of sticks, placed on a horizontal branch. there were four half-grown young standing on it. we passed it in the morning, when both parents were also perched alongside; the sky was then overcast, and it was not possible to photograph it with the small camera. in the early afternoon when we again passed it the sun was out, and we tried to get photographs. only one parent bird was present at this time. it showed no fear. i noticed that, as it stood on a branch near the nest, its bill was slightly open. it was very hot, and i suppose it had opened its bill just as a hen opens her bill in hot weather. as we rode away the old bird and the four young birds were standing motionless, and with gliding flight the other old bird was returning to the nest. it is hard to give an adequate idea of the wealth of bird life in these marshes. a naturalist could with the utmost advantage spend six months on such a branch as that we visited. he would have to do some collecting, but only a little. exhaustive observation in the field is what is now most needed. most of this wonderful and harmless bird life should be protected by law; and the mammals should receive reasonable protection. the books now most needed are those dealing with the life-histories of wild creatures. near the ranch-house, walking familiarly among the cattle, we saw the big, deep-billed ani blackbirds. they feed on the insects disturbed by the hoofs of the cattle, and often cling to them and pick off the ticks. it was the end of the nesting season, and we did not find their curious communal nests, in which half a dozen females lay their eggs indiscriminately. the common ibises in the ponds near by--which usually went in pairs, instead of in flocks like the wood ibis--were very tame, and so were the night herons and all the small herons. in flying, the ibises and storks stretch the neck straight in front of them. the jabiru--a splendid bird on the wing--also stretches his neck out in front, but there appears to be a slight downward curve at the base of the neck, which may be due merely to the craw. the big slender herons, on the contrary, bend the long neck back in a beautiful curve, so that the head is nearly between the shoulders. one day i saw what i at first thought was a small yellow-bellied kingfisher hovering over a pond, and finally plunging down to the surface of the water after a school of tiny young fish; but it proved to be a bien-te-vì king-bird. curved-bill wood-hewers, birds the size and somewhat the coloration of veeries, but with long, slender sickle-bills, were common in the little garden back of the house; their habits were those of creepers, and they scrambled with agility up, along, and under the trunks and branches, and along the posts and rails of the fence, thrusting the bill into crevices for insects. the oven-birds, which had the carriage and somewhat the look of wood-thrushes, i am sure would prove delightful friends on a close acquaintance; they are very individual, not only in the extraordinary domed mud nests they build, but in all their ways, in their bright alertness; their interest in and curiosity about whatever goes on, their rather jerky quickness of movement, and their loud and varied calls. with a little encouragement they become tame and familiar. the parakeets were too noisy, but otherwise were most attractive little birds, as they flew to and fro and scrambled about in the top of the palm behind the house. there was one showy kind of king-bird or tyrant flycatcher, lustrous black with a white head. one afternoon several score cattle were driven into a big square corral near the house, in order to brand the calves and a number of unbranded yearlings and two-year-olds. a special element of excitement was added by the presence of a dozen big bulls which were to be turned into draught-oxen. the agility, nerve, and prowess of the ranch workmen, the herders or gauchos, were noteworthy. the dark-skinned men were obviously mainly of indian and negro descent, although some of them also showed a strong strain of white blood. they wore the usual shirt, trousers, and fringed leather apron, with jim-crow hats. their bare feet must have been literally as tough as horn; for when one of them roped a big bull he would brace himself, bending back until he was almost sitting down and digging his heels into the ground, and the galloping beast would be stopped short and whirled completely round when the rope tautened. the maddened bulls, and an occasional steer or cow, charged again and again with furious wrath; but two or three ropes would settle on the doomed beast, and down it would go; and when it was released and rose and charged once more, with greater fury than ever, the men, shouting with laughter, would leap up the sides of the heavy stockade. we stayed at the ranch until a couple of days before christmas. hitherto the weather had been lovely. the night before we left there was a torrential tropic downpour. it was not unexpected, for we had been told that the rainy season was overdue. the following forenoon the baggage started, in a couple of two-wheeled ox-carts, for the landing where the steamboat awaited us. each cart was drawn by eight oxen. the huge wheels were over seven feet high. early in the afternoon we followed on horseback, and overtook the carts as darkness fell, just before we reached the landing on the river's bank. the last few miles, after the final reaches of higher, tree-clad ground had been passed, were across a level plain of low ground on which the water stood, sometimes only up to the ankles of a man on foot, sometimes as high as his waist. directly in front of us, many leagues distant, rose the bold mountains that lie west of corumba. behind them the sun was setting and kindled the overcast heavens with lurid splendor. then the last rose tints faded from the sky; the horses plodded wearily through the water; on every side stretched the marsh, vast, lonely, desolate in the gray of the half-light. we overtook the ox-carts. the cattle strained in the yokes; the drivers wading alongside cracked their whips and uttered strange cries; the carts rocked and swayed as the huge wheels churned through the mud and water. as the last light faded we reached the small patches of dry land at the landing, where the flat-bottomed side-wheel steamboat was moored to the bank. the tired horses and oxen were turned loose to graze. water stood in the corrals, but the open shed was on dry ground. under it the half-clad, wild-looking ox-drivers and horse- herders slung their hammocks; and close by they lit a fire and roasted, or scorched, slabs and legs of mutton, spitted on sticks and propped above the smouldering flame. next morning, with real regret, we waved good-by to our dusky attendants, as they stood on the bank, grouped around a little fire, beside the big, empty ox-carts. a dozen miles down-stream a rowboat fitted for a sprit-sail put off from the bank. the owner, a countryman from a small ranch, asked for a tow to corumba, which we gave. he had with him in the boat his comely brown wife--who was smoking a very large cigar--their two children, a young man, and a couple of trunks and various other belongings. on christmas eve we reached corumba, and rejoined the other members of the expedition. iv. the headwaters of the paraguay at corumba our entire party, and all their belongings, came aboard our good little river boat, the nyoac. christmas day saw us making our way steadily up-stream against the strong current, and between the green and beautiful banks of the upper paraguay. the shallow little steamer was jammed with men, dogs, rifles, partially cured skins, boxes of provisions, ammunition, tools, and photographic supplies, bags containing tents, cots, bedding, and clothes, saddles, hammocks, and the other necessaries for a trip through the "great wilderness," the "matto grosso" of western brazil. it was a brilliantly clear day, and, although of course in that latitude and at that season the heat was intense later on, it was cool and pleasant in the early morning. we sat on the forward deck, admiring the trees on the brink of the sheer river banks, the lush, rank grass of the marshes, and the many water-birds. the two pilots, one black and one white, stood at the wheel. colonel rondon read thomas a kempis. kermit, cherrie, and miller squatted outside the railing on the deck over one paddle-wheel and put the final touches on the jaguar skins. fiala satisfied himself that the boxes and bags were in place. it was probable that hardship lay in the future; but the day was our own, and the day was pleasant. in the evening the after-deck, open all around, where we dined, was decorated with green boughs and rushes, and we drank the health of the president of the united states and of the president of brazil. now and then we passed little ranches on the river's edge. this is a fertile land, pleasant to live in, and any settler who is willing to work can earn his living. there are mines; there is water-power; there is abundance of rich soil. the country will soon be opened by rail. it offers a fine field for immigration and for agricultural, mining, and business development; and it has a great future. cherrie and miller had secured a little owl a month before in the chaco, and it was travelling with them in a basket. it was a dear little bird, very tame and affectionate. it liked to be handled and petted; and when miller, its especial protector, came into the cabin, it would make queer little noises as a signal that it wished to be taken up and perched on his hand. cherrie and miller had trapped many mammals. among them was a tayra weasel, whitish above and black below, as big and blood-thirsty as a fisher-martin; and a tiny opossum no bigger than a mouse. they had taken four species of opossum, but they had not found the curious water-opossum which they had obtained on the rivers flowing into the caribbean sea. this opossum, which is black and white, swims in the streams like a muskrat or otter, catching fish and living in burrows which open under water. miller and cherrie were puzzled to know why the young throve, leading such an existence of constant immersion; one of them once found a female swimming and diving freely with four quite well-grown young in her pouch. we saw on the banks screamers--big, crested waders of archaic type, with spurred wings, rather short bills, and no especial affinities with other modern birds. in one meadow by a pond we saw three marsh- deer, a buck and two does. they stared at us, with their thickly haired tails raised on end. these tails are black underneath, instead of white as in our whitetail deer. one of the vagaries of the ultraconcealing-colorationists has been to uphold the (incidentally quite preposterous) theory that the tail of our deer is colored white beneath so as to harmonize with the sky and thereby mislead the cougar or wolf at the critical moment when it makes its spring; but this marsh-deer shows a black instead of a white flag, and yet has just as much need of protection from its enemies, the jaguar and the cougar. in south america concealing coloration plays no more part in the lives of the adult deer, the tamandua, the tapir, the peccary, the jaguar, and the puma than it plays in africa in the lives of such animals as the zebra, the sable antelope, the wildebeeste, the lion, and the hunting hyena. next day we spent ascending the sao lourenco. it was narrower than the paraguay, naturally, and the swirling brown current was, if anything, more rapid. the strange tropical trees, standing densely on the banks, were matted together by long bush ropes--lianas, or vines, some very slender and very long. sometimes we saw brilliant red or blue flowers, or masses of scarlet berries on a queer palm-like tree, or an array of great white blossoms on a much larger tree. in a lagoon bordered by the taquara bamboo a school of big otters were playing; when they came to the surface, they opened their mouths like seals, and made a loud hissing noise. the crested screamers, dark gray and as large as turkeys, perched on the very topmost branches of the tallest trees. hyacinth macaws screamed harshly as they flew across the river. among the trees was the guan, another peculiar bird as big as a big grouse, and with certain habits of the wood-grouse, but not akin to any northern game-bird. the windpipe of the male is very long, extending down to the end of the breast-bone, and the bird utters queer guttural screams. a dead cayman floated down-stream, with a black vulture devouring it. capybaras stood or squatted on the banks; sometimes they stared stupidly at us; sometimes they plunged into the river at our approach. at long intervals we passed little clearings. in each stood a house of palm-logs, with a steeply pitched roof of palm thatch; and near by were patches of corn and mandioc. the dusky owner, and perhaps his family, came out on the bank to watch us as we passed. it was a hot day--the thermometer on the deck in the shade stood at nearly degrees fahrenheit. biting flies came aboard even when we were in midstream. next day we were ascending the cuyaba river. it had begun raining in the night, and the heavy downpour continued throughout the forenoon. in the morning we halted at a big cattle-ranch to get fresh milk and beef. there were various houses, sheds, and corrals near the river's edge, and fifty or sixty milch cows were gathered in one corral. spurred plover, or lapwings, strolled familiarly among the hens. parakeets and red-headed tanagers lit in the trees over our heads. a kind of primitive houseboat was moored at the bank. a woman was cooking breakfast over a little stove at one end. the crew were ashore. the boat was one of those which are really stores, and which travel up and down these rivers, laden with what the natives most need, and stopping wherever there is a ranch. they are the only stores which many of the country-dwellers see from year's end to year's end. they float down-stream, and up-stream are poled by their crew, or now and then get a tow from a steamer. this one had a house with a tin roof; others bear houses with thatched roofs, or with roofs made of hides. the river wound through vast marshes broken by belts of woodland. always the two naturalists had something of interest to tell of their past experience, suggested by some bird or beast we came across. black and golden orioles, slightly crested, of two different species were found along the river; they nest in colonies, and often we passed such colonies, the long pendulous nests hanging from the boughs of trees directly over the water. cherrie told us of finding such a colony built round a big wasp-nest, several feet in diameter. these wasps are venomous and irritable, and few foes would dare venture near bird's- nests that were under such formidable shelter; but the birds themselves were entirely unafraid, and obviously were not in any danger of disagreement with their dangerous protectors. we saw a dark ibis flying across the bow of the boat, uttering his deep, two- syllabled note. miller told how on the orinoco these ibises plunder the nests of the big river-turtles. they are very skilful in finding where the female turtle has laid her eggs, scratch them out of the sand, break the shells, and suck the contents. it was astonishing to find so few mosquitoes on these marshes. they did not in any way compare as pests with the mosquitoes on the lower mississippi, the new jersey coast, the red river of the north, or the kootenay. back in the forest near corumba the naturalists had found them very bad indeed. cherrie had spent two or three days on a mountain-top which was bare of forest; he had thought there would be few mosquitoes, but the long grass harbored them (they often swarm in long grass and bush, even where there is no water), and at night they were such a torment that as soon as the sun set he had to go to bed under his mosquito-netting. yet on the vast marshes they were not seriously troublesome in most places. i was informed that they were not in any way a bother on the grassy uplands, the high country north of cuyaba, which from thence stretches eastward to the coastal region. it is at any rate certain that this inland region of brazil, including the state of matto grosso, which we were traversing, is a healthy region, excellently adapted to settlement; railroads will speedily penetrate it, and then it will witness an astonishing development. on the morning of the th we reached the home buildings of the great sao joao fazenda, the ranch of senhor joao da costa marques. our host himself, and his son, dom joao the younger, who was state secretary of agriculture, and the latter's charming wife, and the president of matto grosso, and several other ladies and gentlemen, had come down the river to greet us, from the city of cuyaba, several hundred miles farther up-stream. as usual, we were treated with whole-hearted and generous hospitality. some miles below the ranch-house the party met us, on a stern-wheel steamboat and a launch, both decked with many flags. the handsome white ranch-house stood only a few rods back from the river's brink, in a grassy opening dotted with those noble trees, the royal palms. other trees, buildings of all kinds, flower-gardens, vegetable-gardens, fields, corrals, and enclosures with high white walls stood near the house. a detachment of soldiers or state police, with a band, were in front of the house, and two flagpoles, one with the brazilian flag already hoisted. the american flag was run up on the other as i stepped ashore, while the band played the national anthems of the two countries. the house held much comfort; and the comfort was all the more appreciated because even indoors the thermometer stood at degrees f. in the late afternoon heavy rain fell, and cooled the air. we were riding at the time. around the house the birds were tame: the parrots and parakeets crowded and chattered in the tree tops; jacanas played in the wet ground just back of the garden; ibises and screamers called loudly in the swamps a little distance off. until we came actually in sight of this great ranch-house we had been passing through a hot, fertile, pleasant wilderness, where the few small palm-roofed houses, each in its little patch of sugar-cane, corn, and mandioc, stood very many miles apart. one of these little houses stood on an old indian mound, exactly like the mounds which form the only hillocks along the lower mississippi, and which are also of indian origin. these occasional indian mounds, made ages ago, are the highest bits of ground in the immense swamps of the upper paraguay region. there are still indian tribes in this neighborhood. we passed an indian fishing village on the edge of the river, with huts, scaffoldings for drying the fish, hammocks, and rude tables. they cultivated patches of bananas and sugar-cane. out in a shallow place in the river was a scaffolding on which the indians stood to spear fish. the indians were friendly, peaceable souls, for the most part dressed like the poorer classes among the brazilians. next morning there was to have been a great rodeo or round-up, and we determined to have a hunt first, as there were still several kinds of beasts of the chase, notably tapirs and peccaries, of which the naturalists desired specimens. dom joao, our host, and his son accompanied us. theirs is a noteworthy family. born in matto grosso, in the tropics, our host had the look of a northerner and, although a grandfather, he possessed an abounding vigor and energy such as very few men of any climate or surroundings do possess. all of his sons are doing well. the son who was with us was a stalwart, powerful man, a pleasant companion, an able public servant, a finished horseman, and a skilled hunter. he carried a sharp spear, not a rifle, for in matto grosso it is the custom in hunting the jaguar for riflemen and spearmen to go in at him together when he turns at bay, the spearman holding him off if the first shot fails to stop him, so that another shot can be put in. altogether, our host and his son reminded one of the best type of american ranchmen and planters, of those planters and ranchmen who are adepts in bold and manly field sports, who are capital men of business, and who also often supply to the state skilled and faithful public servants. the hospitality the father and son extended to us was patriarchal: neither, for instance, would sit at table with their guests at the beginning of the formal meals; instead they exercised a close personal supervision over the feast. our charming hostess, however, sat at the head of the table. at six in the morning we started, all of us on fine horses. the day was lowering and overcast. a dozen dogs were with us, but only one or two were worth anything. three or four ordinary countrymen, the ranch hands, or vaqueiros, accompanied us; they were mainly of indian blood, and would have been called peons, or caboclos, in other parts of brazil, but here were always spoken to and of as "camaradas." they were, of course, chosen from among the men who were hunters, and each carried his long, rather heavy and clumsy jaguar-spear. in front rode our vigorous host and his strapping son, the latter also carrying a jaguar-spear. the bridles and saddles of the big ranchmen and of the gentlefolk generally were handsome and were elaborately ornamented with silver. the stirrups, for instance, were not only of silver, but contained so much extra metal in ornamented bars and rings that they would have been awkward for less-practised riders. indeed, as it was, they were adapted only for the tips of boots with long, pointed toes, and were impossible for our feet; our hosts' stirrups were long, narrow silver slippers. the camaradas, on the other hand, had jim-crow saddles and bridles, and rusty little iron stirrups into which they thrust their naked toes. but all, gentry and commonalty alike, rode equally well and with the same skill and fearlessness. to see our hosts gallop at headlong speed over any kind of country toward the sound of the dogs with their quarry at bay, or to see them handle their horses in a morass, was a pleasure. it was equally a pleasure to see a camarada carrying his heavy spear, leading a hound in a leash, and using his machete to cut his way through the tangled vine-ropes of a jungle, all at the same time and all without the slightest reference to the plunges, and the odd and exceedingly jerky behavior, of his wild, half-broken horse--for on such a ranch most of the horses are apt to come in the categories of half-broken or else of broken-down. one dusky tatterdemalion wore a pair of boots from which he had removed the soles, his bare, spur-clad feet projecting from beneath the uppers. he was on a little devil of a stallion, which he rode blindfold for a couple of miles, and there was a regular circus when he removed the bandage; but evidently it never occurred to him that the animal was hardly a comfortable riding-horse for a man going out hunting and encumbered with a spear, a machete, and other belongings. the eight hours that we were out we spent chiefly in splashing across the marshes, with excursions now and then into vine-tangled belts and clumps of timber. some of the bayous we had to cross were uncomfortably boggy. we had to lead the horses through one, wading ahead of them; and even so two of them mired down, and their saddles had to be taken off before they could be gotten out. among the marsh plants were fields and strips of the great caete rush. these caete flags towered above the other and lesser marsh plants. they were higher than the heads of the horsemen. their two or three huge banana- like leaves stood straight up on end. the large brilliant flowers-- orange, red, and yellow--were joined into a singularly shaped and solid string or cluster. humming-birds buzzed round these flowers; one species, the sickle-billed hummer, has its bill especially adapted for use in these queerly shaped blossoms and gets its food only from them, never appearing around any other plant. the birds were tame, even those striking and beautiful birds which under man's persecution are so apt to become scarce and shy. the huge jabiru storks, stalking through the water with stately dignity, sometimes refused to fly until we were only a hundred yards off; one of them flew over our heads at a distance of thirty or forty yards. the screamers, crying curu-curu, and the ibises, wailing dolefully, came even closer. the wonderful hyacinth macaws, in twos and threes, accompanied us at times for several hundred yards, hovering over our heads and uttering their rasping screams. in one wood we came on the black howler monkey. the place smelt almost like a menagerie. not watching with sufficient care i brushed against a sapling on which the venomous fire-ants swarmed. they burnt the skin like red-hot cinders, and left little sores. more than once in the drier parts of the marsh we met small caymans making their way from one pool to another. my horse stepped over one before i saw it. the dead carcasses of others showed that on their wanderings they had encountered jaguars or human foes. we had been out about three hours when one of the dogs gave tongue in a large belt of woodland and jungle to the left of our line of march through the marsh. the other dogs ran to the sound, and after a while the long barking told that the thing, whatever it was, was at bay or else in some refuge. we made our way toward the place on foot. the dogs were baying excitedly at the mouth of a huge hollow log, and very short examination showed us that there were two peccaries within, doubtless a boar and sow. however, just at this moment the peccaries bolted from an unsuspected opening at the other end of the log, dove into the tangle, and instantly disappeared with the hounds in full cry after them. it was twenty minutes later before we again heard the pack baying. with much difficulty, and by the incessant swinging of the machetes, we opened a trail through the network of vines and branches. this time there was only one peccary, the boar. he was at bay in a half-hollow stump. the dogs were about his head, raving with excitement, and it was not possible to use the rifle; so i borrowed the spear of dom joao the younger, and killed the fierce little boar therewith. this was an animal akin to our collared peccary, smaller and less fierce than its white-jawed kinsfolk. it is a valiant and truculent little beast, nevertheless, and if given the chance will bite a piece the size of a teacup out of either man or dog. it is found singly or in small parties, feeds on roots, fruits, grass, and delights to make its home in hollow logs. if taken young it makes an affectionate and entertaining pet. when the two were in the hollow log we heard them utter a kind of moaning, or menacing, grunt, long drawn. an hour or two afterward we unexpectedly struck the fresh tracks of two jaguars and at once loosed the dogs, who tore off yelling, on the line of the scent. unfortunately, just at this moment the clouds burst and a deluge of rain drove in our faces. so heavy was the downpour that the dogs lost the trail and we lost the dogs. we found them again only owing to one of our caboclos; an indian with a queer mongolian face, and no brain at all that i could discover, apart from his special dealings with wild creatures, cattle, and horses. he rode in a huddle of rags; but nothing escaped his eyes, and he rode anything anywhere. the downpour continued so heavily that we knew the rodeo had been abandoned, and we turned our faces for the long, dripping, splashing ride homeward. through the gusts of driving rain we could hardly see the way. once the rain lightened, and half a mile away the sunshine gleamed through a rift in the leaden cloud-mass. suddenly in this rift of shimmering brightness there appeared a flock of beautiful white egrets. with strong, graceful wing-beats the birds urged their flight, their plumage flashing in the sun. they then crossed the rift and were swallowed in the gray gloom of the day. on the marsh the dogs several times roused capybaras. where there were no ponds of sufficient size the capybaras sought refuge in flight through the tangled marsh. they ran well. kermit and fiala went after one on foot, full-speed, for a mile and a half, with two hounds which then bayed it--literally bayed it, for the capybara fought with the courage of a gigantic woodchuck. if the pack overtook a capybara, they of course speedily finished it; but a single dog of our not very valorous outfit was not able to overmatch its shrill-squeaking opponent. near the ranch-house, about forty feet up in a big tree, was a jabiru's nest containing young jabirus. the young birds exercised themselves by walking solemnly round the edge of the nest and opening and shutting their wings. their heads and necks were down-covered, instead of being naked like those of their parents. fiala wished to take a moving-picture of them while thus engaged, and so, after arranging his machine, he asked harper to rouse the young birds by throwing a stick up to the nest. he did so, whereupon one young jabiru hastily opened its wings in the desired fashion, at the same time seizing the stick in its bill! it dropped it at once, with an air of comic disappointment, when it found that the stick was not edible. there were many strange birds round about. toucans were not uncommon. i have never seen any other bird take such grotesque and comic attitudes as the toucan. this day i saw one standing in the top of a tree with the big bill pointing straight into the air and the tail also cocked perpendicularly. the toucan is a born comedian. on the river and in the ponds we saw the finfoot, a bird with feet like a grebe and bill and tail like those of a darter, but, like so many south american birds, with no close affiliations among other species. the exceedingly rich bird fauna of south america contains many species which seem to be survivals from a very remote geologic past, whose kinsfolk have perished under the changed conditions of recent ages; and in the case of many, like the hoatzin and screamer, their like is not known elsewhere. herons of many species swarmed in this neighborhood. the handsomest was the richly colored tiger bittern. two other species were so unlike ordinary herons that i did not recognize them as herons at all until cherrie told me what they were. one had a dark body, a white-speckled or ocellated neck, and a bill almost like that of an ibis. the other looked white, but was really mauve-colored, with black on the head. when perched on a tree it stood like an ibis; and instead of the measured wing-beats characteristic of a heron's flight, it flew with a quick, vigorous flapping of the wings. there were queer mammals, too, as well as birds. in the fields miller trapped mice of a kind entirely new. next morning the sky was leaden, and a drenching rain fell as we began our descent of the river. the rainy season had fairly begun. for our good fortune we were still where we had the cabins aboard the boat, and the ranch-house, in which to dry our clothes and soggy shoes; but in the intensely humid atmosphere, hot and steaming, they stayed wet a long time, and were still moist when we put them on again. before we left the house where we had been treated with such courteous hospitality--the finest ranch-house in matto grosso, on a huge ranch where there are some sixty thousand head of horned cattle--the son of our host, dom joao the younger, the jaguar-hunter, presented me with two magnificent volumes on the palms of brazil, the work of doctor barboso rodriguez, one-time director of the botanical gardens at rio janeiro. the two folios were in a box of native cedar. no gift more appropriate, none that i would in the future value more as a reminder of my stay in matto grosso, could have been given me. all that afternoon the rain continued. it was still pouring in torrents when we left the cuyaba for the sao lourenco and steamed up the latter a few miles before anchoring; dom joao the younger had accompanied us in his launch. the little river steamer was of very open build, as is necessary in such a hot climate; and to keep things dry necessitated also keeping the atmosphere stifling. the german taxidermist who was with colonel rondon's party, reinisch, a very good fellow from vienna, sat on a stool, alternately drenched with rain and sweltering with heat, and muttered to himself: "ach, schweinerei!" two small caymans, of the common species, with prominent eyes, were at the bank where we moored, and betrayed an astonishing and stupid tameness. neither the size of the boat nor the commotion caused by the paddles in any way affected them. they lay inshore, not twenty feet from us, half out of water; they paid not the slightest heed to our presence, and only reluctantly left when repeatedly poked at, and after having been repeatedly hit with clods of mud and sticks; and even then one first crawled up on shore, to find out if thereby he could not rid himself of the annoyance we caused him. next morning it was still raining, but we set off on a hunt, anyway, going afoot. a couple of brown camaradas led the way, and colonel rondon, dom joao, kermit, and i followed. the incessant downpour speedily wet us to the skin. we made our way slowly through the forest, the machetes playing right and left, up and down, at every step, for the trees were tangled in a network of vines and creepers. some of the vines were as thick as a man's leg. mosquitoes hummed about us, the venomous fire-ants stung us, the sharp spines of a small palm tore our hands--afterward some of the wounds festered. hour after hour we thus walked on through the brazilian forest. we saw monkeys, the common yellowish kind, a species of cebus; a couple were shot for the museum and the others raced off among the upper branches of the trees. then we came on a party of coatis, which look like reddish, long-snouted, long-tailed, lanky raccoons. they were in the top of a big tree. one, when shot at and missed, bounced down to the ground, and ran off through the bushes; kermit ran after it and secured it. he came back, to find us peering hopelessly up into the tree top, trying to place where the other coatis were. kermit solved the difficulty by going up along some huge twisted lianas for forty or fifty feet and exploring the upper branches; whereupon down came three other coatis through the branches, one being caught by the dogs and the other two escaping. coatis fight savagely with both teeth and claws. miller told us that he once saw one of them kill a dog. they feed on all small mammals, birds, and reptiles, and even on some large ones; they kill iguanas; cherrie saw a rattling chase through the trees, a coati following an iguana at full speed. we heard the rush of a couple of tapirs, as they broke away in the jungle in front of the dogs and headed, according to their custom, for the river; but we never saw them. one of the party shot a bush deer--a very pretty, graceful creature, smaller than our whitetail deer, but kin to it and doubtless the southernmost representative of the whitetail group. the whitetail deer--using the word to designate a group of deer which can neither be called a subgenus with many species, nor a widely spread species diverging into many varieties--is the only north american species which has spread down into and has outlying representatives in south america. it has been contended that the species has spread from south america northward. i do not think so; and the specimen thus obtained furnished a probable refutation of the theory. it was a buck, and had just shed its small antlers. the antlers are, therefore, shed at the same time as in the north, and it appears that they are grown at the same time as in the north. yet this variety now dwells in the tropics south of the equator, where the spring, and the breeding season for most birds, comes at the time of the northern fall in september, october, and november. that the deer is an intrusive immigrant, and that it has not yet been in south america long enough to change its mating season in accordance with the climate, as the birds--geologically doubtless very old residents--have changed their breeding season, is rendered probable by the fact that it conforms so exactly in the time of its antler growth to the universal rule which obtains in the great arctogeal realm, where deer of many species abound and where the fossil forms show that they have long existed. the marsh-deer, which has diverged much further from the northern type than this bush deer (its horns show a likeness to those of a blacktail), often keeps its antlers until june or july, although it begins to grow them again in august; however, too much stress must not be laid on this fact, inasmuch as the wapiti and the cow caribou both keep their antlers until spring. the specialization of the marsh- deer, by the way, is further shown in its hoofs, which, thanks to its semi-aquatic mode of life, have grown long, like those of such african swamp antelopes as the lechwe and situtunga. miller, when we presented the monkeys to him, told us that the females both of these monkeys and of the howlers themselves took care of the young, the males not assisting them, and moreover that when the young one was a male he had always found the mother keeping by herself, away from the old males. on the other hand, among the marmosets he found the fathers taking as much care of the young as the mothers; if the mother had twins, the father would usually carry one, and sometimes both, around with him. after we had been out four hours our camaradas got lost; three several times they travelled round in a complete circle; and we had to set them right with the compass. about noon the rain, which had been falling almost without interruption for forty-eight hours, let up, and in an hour or two the sun came out. we went back to the river, and found our rowboat. in it the hounds--a motley and rather worthless lot--and the rest of the party were ferried across to the opposite bank, while colonel rondon and i stayed in the boat, on the chance that a tapir might be roused and take to the river. however, no tapir was found; kermit killed a collared peccary, and i shot a capybara representing a color-phase the naturalists wished. next morning, january , , we were up at five and had a good new year's day breakfast of hardtack, ham, sardines, and coffee before setting out on an all day's hunt on foot. i much feared that the pack was almost or quite worthless for jaguars, but there were two or three of the great spotted cats in the neighborhood and it seemed worth while to make a try for them anyhow. after an hour or two we found the fresh tracks of two, and after them we went. our party consisted of colonel rondon, lieutenant rogaciano--an excellent man, himself a native of matto grosso, of old matto grosso stock--two others of the party from the sao joao ranch, kermit, and myself, together with four dark-skinned camaradas, cowhands from the same ranch. we soon found that the dogs would not by themselves follow the jaguar trail; nor would the camaradas, although they carried spears. kermit was the one of our party who possessed the requisite speed, endurance, and eyesight, and accordingly he led. two of the dogs would follow the track half a dozen yards ahead of him, but no farther; and two of the camaradas could just about keep up with him. for an hour we went through thick jungle, where the machetes were constantly at work. then the trail struck off straight across the marshes, for jaguars swim and wade as freely as marsh-deer. it was a hard walk. the sun was out. we were drenched with sweat. we were torn by the spines of the innumerable clusters of small palms with thorns like needles. we were bitten by the hosts of fire-ants, and by the mosquitoes, which we scarcely noticed where the fire-ants were found, exactly as all dread of the latter vanished when we were menaced by the big red wasps, of which a dozen stings will disable a man, and if he is weak or in bad health will seriously menace his life. in the marsh we were continually wading, now up to our knees, now up to our hips. twice we came to long bayous so deep that we had to swim them, holding our rifles above water in our right hands. the floating masses of marsh grass, and the slimy stems of the water-plants, doubled our work as we swam, cumbered by our clothing and boots and holding our rifles aloft. one result of the swim, by the way, was that my watch, a veteran of cuba and africa, came to an indignant halt. then on we went, hampered by the weight of our drenched clothes while our soggy boots squelched as we walked. there was no breeze. in the undimmed sky the sun stood almost overhead. the heat beat on us in waves. by noon i could only go forward at a slow walk, and two of the party were worse off than i was. kermit, with the dogs and two camaradas close behind him, disappeared across the marshes at a trot. at last, when he was out of sight, and it was obviously useless to follow him, the rest of us turned back toward the boat. the two exhausted members of the party gave out, and we left them under a tree. colonel rondon and lieutenant rogaciano were not much tired; i was somewhat tired, but was perfectly able to go for several hours more if i did not try to go too fast; and we three walked on to the river, reaching it about half past four, after eleven hours' stiff walking with nothing to eat. we were soon on the boat. a relief party went back for the two men under the tree, and soon after it reached them kermit also turned up with his hounds and his camaradas trailing wearily behind him. he had followed the jaguar trail until the dogs were so tired that even after he had bathed them, and then held their noses in the fresh footprints, they would pay no heed to the scent. a hunter of scientific tastes, a hunter-naturalist, or even an outdoors naturalist, or faunal naturalist interested in big mammals, with a pack of hounds such as those with which paul rainey hunted lion and leopard in africa, or such a pack as the packs of johnny goff and jake borah with which i hunted cougar, lynx, and bear in the rockies, or such packs as those of the mississippi and louisiana planters with whom i have hunted bear, wild-cat, and deer in the cane-brakes of the lower mississippi, would not only enjoy fine hunting in these vast marshes of the upper paraguay, but would also do work of real scientific value as regards all the big cats. only a limited number of the naturalists who have worked in the tropics have had any experience with the big beasts whose life- histories possess such peculiar interest. of all the biologists who have seriously studied the south american fauna on the ground, bates probably rendered most service; but he hardly seems even to have seen the animals with which the hunter is fairly familiar. his interests, and those of the other biologists of his kind, lay in other directions. in consequence, in treating of the life-histories of the very interesting big game, we have been largely forced to rely either on native report, in which acutely accurate observation is invariably mixed with wild fable, or else on the chance remarks of travellers or mere sportsmen, who had not the training to make them understand even what it was desirable to observe. nowadays there is a growing proportion of big-game hunters, of sportsmen, who are of the schilling, selous, and shiras type. these men do work of capital value for science. the mere big-game butcher is tending to disappear as a type. on the other hand, the big-game hunter who is a good observer, a good field naturalist, occupies at present a more important position than ever before, and it is now recognized that he can do work which the closest naturalist cannot do. the big-game hunter of this type and the outdoors, faunal naturalist, the student of the life-histories of big mammals, have open to them in south america a wonderful field in which to work. the fire-ants, of which i have above spoken, are generally found on a species of small tree or sapling, with a greenish trunk. they bend the whole body as they bite, the tail and head being thrust downward. a few seconds after the bite the poison causes considerable pain; later it may make a tiny festering sore. there is certainly the most extraordinary diversity in the traits by which nature achieves the perpetuation of species. among the warrior and predaceous insects the prowess is in some cases of such type as to render the possessor practically immune from danger. in other cases the condition of its exercise may normally be the sacrifice of the life of the possessor. there are wasps that prey on formidable fighting spiders, which yet instinctively so handle themselves that the prey practically never succeeds in either defending itself or retaliating, being captured and paralyzed with unerring efficiency and with entire security to the wasp. the wasp's safety is absolute. on the other hand, these fighting ants, including the soldiers even among the termites, are frantically eager for a success which generally means their annihilation; the condition of their efficiency is absolute indifference to their own security. probably the majority of the ants that actually lay hold on a foe suffer death in consequence; certainly they not merely run the risk of but eagerly invite death. the following day we descended the sao lourenco to its junction with the paraguay, and once more began the ascent of the latter. at one cattle-ranch where we stopped, the troupials, or big black and yellow orioles, had built a large colony of their nests on a dead tree near the primitive little ranch-house. the birds were breeding; the old ones were feeding the young. in this neighborhood the naturalists found many birds that were new to them, including a tiny woodpecker no bigger than a ruby-crowned kinglet. they had collected two night monkeys--nocturnal monkeys, not as agile as the ordinary monkey; these two were found at dawn, having stayed out too late. the early morning was always lovely on these rivers, and at that hour many birds and beasts were to be seen. one morning we saw a fine marsh buck, holding his head aloft as he stared at us, his red coat vivid against the green marsh. another of these marsh-deer swam the river ahead of us; i shot at it as it landed, and ought to have got it, but did not. as always with these marsh-deer--and as with so many other deer--i was struck by the revealing or advertising quality of its red coloration; there was nothing in its normal surroundings with which this coloration harmonized; so far as it had any effect whatever it was always a revealing and not a concealing effect. when the animal fled the black of the erect tail was an additional revealing mark, although not of such startlingly advertising quality as the flag of the whitetail. the whitetail, in one of its forms, and with the ordinary whitetail custom of displaying the white flag as it runs, is found in the immediate neighborhood of the swamp-deer. it has the same foes. evidently it is of no survival consequence whether the running deer displays a white or a black flag. any competent observer of big game must be struck by the fact that in the great majority of the species the coloration is not concealing, and that in many it has a highly revealing quality. moreover, if the spotted or striped young represent the ancestral coloration, and if, as seems probable, the spots and stripes have, on the whole, some slight concealing value, it is evident that in the life history of most of these large mammals, both among those that prey and those that are preyed on, concealing coloration has not been a survival factor; throughout the ages during which they have survived they have gradually lost whatever of concealing coloration they may once have had--if any--and have developed a coloration which under present conditions has no concealing and perhaps even has a revealing quality, and which in all probability never would have had a concealing value in any "environmental complex" in which the species as a whole lived during its ancestral development. indeed, it seems astonishing, when one observes these big beasts--and big waders and other water-birds--in their native surroundings, to find how utterly non-harmful their often strikingly revealing coloration is. evidently the various other survival factors, such as habit, and in many cases cover, etc., are of such overmastering importance that the coloration is generally of no consequence whatever, one way or the other, and is only very rarely a factor of any serious weight. the junction of the sao lourenco and the paraguay is a day's journey above corumba. from corumba there is a regular service by shallow steamers to cuyaba, at the head of one fork, and to sao luis de caceres, at the head of the other. the steamers are not powerful and the voyage to each little city takes a week. there are other forks that are navigable. above cuyaba and caceres launches go up-stream for several days' journey, except during the dryest parts of the season. north of this marshy plain lies the highland, the plan alto, where the nights are cool and the climate healthy. but i wish emphatically to record my view that these marshy plains, although hot, are also healthy; and, moreover, the mosquitoes, in most places, are not in sufficient numbers to be a serious pest, although of course there must be nets for protection against them at night. the country is excellently suited for settlement, and offers a remarkable field for cattle-growing. moreover, it is a paradise for water-birds and for many other kinds of birds, and for many mammals. it is literally an ideal place in which a field naturalist could spend six months or a year. it is readily accessible, it offers an almost virgin field for work, and the life would be healthy as well as delightfully attractive. the man should have a steam-launch. in it he could with comfort cover all parts of the country from south of corumbra to north of cuyaba and caceres. there would have to be a good deal of collecting (although nothing in the nature of butchery should be tolerated), for the region has only been superficially worked, especially as regards mammals. but if the man were only a collector he would leave undone the part of the work best worth doing. the region offers extraordinary opportunities for the study of the life-histories of birds which, because of their size, their beauty, or their habits, are of exceptional interest. all kinds of problems would be worked out. for example, on the morning of the rd, as we were ascending the paraguay, we again and again saw in the trees on the bank big nests of sticks, into and out of which parakeets were flying by the dozen. some of them had straws or twigs in their bills. in some of the big globular nests we could make out several holes of exit or entrance. apparently these parakeets were building or remodelling communal nests; but whether they had themselves built these nests, or had taken old nests and added to or modified them, we could not tell. there was so much of interest all along the banks that we were continually longing to stop and spend days where we were. mixed flocks of scores of cormorants and darters covered certain trees, both at sunset and after sunrise. although there was no deep forest, merely belts or fringes of trees along the river, or in patches back of it, we frequently saw monkeys in this riverine tree-fringe--active common monkeys and black howlers of more leisurely gait. we saw caymans and capybaras sitting socially near one another on the sandbanks. at night we heard the calling of large flights of tree-ducks. these were now the most common of all the ducks, although there were many muscovy ducks also. the evenings were pleasant and not hot, as we sat on the forward deck; there was a waxing moon. the screamers were among the most noticeable birds. they were noisy; they perched on the very tops of the trees, not down among the branches; and they were not shy. they should be carefully protected by law, for they readily become tame, and then come familiarly round the houses. from the steamer we now and then saw beautiful orchids in the trees on the river bank. one afternoon we stopped at the home buildings or headquarters of one of the great outlying ranches of the brazil land and cattle company, the farquahar syndicate, under the management of murdo mackenzie--than whom we have in the united states no better citizen or more competent cattleman. on this ranch there are some seventy thousand head of stock. we were warmly greeted by mclean, the head of the ranch, and his assistant ramsey, an old texan friend. among the other assistants, all equally cordial, were several belgians and frenchmen. the hands were paraguayans and brazilians, and a few indians--a hard-bit set, each of whom always goes armed and knows how to use his arms, for there are constant collisions with cattle thieves from across the bolivian border, and the ranch has to protect itself. these cowhands, vaqueiros, were of the type with which we were now familiar: dark- skinned, lean, hard-faced men, in slouch-hats, worn shirts and trousers, and fringed leather aprons, with heavy spurs on their bare feet. they are wonderful riders and ropers, and fear neither man nor beast. i noticed one indian vaqueiro standing in exactly the attitude of a shilluk of the white nile, with the sole of one foot against the other leg, above the knee. this is a region with extraordinary possibilities of cattle-raising. at this ranch there was a tannery; a slaughter-house; a cannery; a church; buildings of various kinds and all degrees of comfort for the thirty or forty families who made the place their headquarters; and the handsome, white, two-story big house, standing among lemon-trees and flamboyants on the river-brink. there were all kinds of pets around the house. the most fascinating was a wee, spotted fawn which loved being petted. half a dozen curassows of different species strolled through the rooms; there were also parrots of several different species, and immediately outside the house four or five herons, with unclipped wings, which would let us come within a few feet and then fly gracefully off, shortly afterward returning to the same spot. they included big and little white egrets and also the mauve and pearl-colored heron, with a partially black head and many- colored bill, which flies with quick, repeated wing-flappings, instead of the usual slow heron wing-beats. in the warehouse were scores of skins of jaguar, puma, ocelot, and jaguarundi, and one skin of the big, small-toothed red wolf. these were all brought in by the cowhands and by friendly indians, a price being put on each, as they destroyed the stock. the jaguars occasionally killed horses and full-grown cows, but not bulls. the pumas killed the calves. the others killed an occasional very young calf, but ordinarily only sheep, little pigs, and chickens. there was one black jaguar-skin; melanism is much more common among jaguars than pumas, although once miller saw a black puma that had been killed by indians. the patterns of the jaguar-skins, and even more of the ocelot-skins, showed wide variation, no two being alike. the pumas were for the most part bright red, but some were reddish gray, there being much the same dichromatism that i found among their colorado kinsfolk. the jaguarundis were dark brownish gray. all these animals, the spotted jaguars and ocelots, the monochrome black jaguars, red pumas, and dark-gray jaguarundis, were killed in the same locality, with the same environment. a glance at the skins and a moment's serious thought would have been enough to show any sincere thinker that in these cats the coloration pattern, whether concealing or revealing, is of no consequence one way or the other as a survival factor. the spotted patterns conferred no benefit as compared with the nearly or quite monochrome blacks, reds, and dark grays. the bodily condition of the various beasts was equally good, showing that their success in life, that is, their ability to catch their prey, was unaffected by their several color schemes. except white, there is no color so conspicuously advertising as black; yet the black jaguar had been a fine, well-fed, powerful beast. the spotted patterns in the forests, and perhaps even in the marshes which the jaguars so frequently traversed, are probably a shade less conspicuous than the monochrome red and gray, but the puma and jaguarundi are just as hard to see, and evidently find it just as easy to catch prey, as the jaguar and ocelot. the little fawn which we saw was spotted; the grown deer had lost the spots; if the spots do really help to conceal the wearer, it is evident that the deer has found the original concealing coloration of so little value that it has actually been lost in the course of the development of the species. when these big cats and the deer are considered, together with the dogs, tapirs, peccaries, capybaras, and big ant-eaters which live in the same environment, and when we also consider the difference between the young and the adult deer and tapirs (both of which when adult have substituted a complete or partial monochrome for the ancestral spots and streaks), it is evident that in the present life and in the ancestral development of the big mammals of south america coloration is not and has not been a survival factor; any pattern and any color may accompany the persistence and development of the qualities and attributes which are survival factors. indeed, it seems hard to believe that in their ordinary environments such color schemes as the bright red of the marsh-deer, the black of the black jaguar, and the black with white stripes of the great tamandua, are not positive detriments to the wearers. yet such is evidently not the case. evidently the other factors in species- survival are of such overwhelming importance that the coloration becomes negligible from this standpoint, whether it be concealing or revealing. the cats mould themselves to the ground as they crouch or crawl. they take advantage of the tiniest scrap of cover. they move with extraordinary stealth and patience. the other animals which try to sneak off in such manner as to escape observation approach more or less closely to the ideal which the cats most nearly realize. wariness, sharp senses, the habit of being rigidly motionless when there is the least suspicion of danger, and ability to take advantage of cover, all count. on the bare, open, treeless plain, whether marsh, meadow, or upland, anything above the level of the grass is seen at once. a marsh-deer out in the open makes no effort to avoid observation; its concern is purely to see its foes in time to leave a dangerous neighborhood. the deer of the neighboring forest skulk and hide and lie still in dense cover to avoid being seen. the white- lipped peccaries make no effort to escape observation by being either noiseless or motionless; they trust for defence to their gregariousness and truculence. the collared peccary also trusts to its truculence, but seeks refuge in a hole where it can face any opponent with its formidable biting apparatus. as for the giant tamandua, in spite of its fighting prowess i am wholly unable to understand how such a slow and clumsy beast has been able through the ages to exist and thrive surrounded by jaguars and pumas. speaking generally, the animals that seek to escape observation trust primarily to smell to discover their foes or their prey, and see whatever moves and do not see whatever is motionless. by the morning of january we had left the marsh region. there were low hills here and there, and the land was covered with dense forest. from time to time we passed little clearings with palm-thatched houses. we were approaching caceres, where the easiest part of our trip would end. we had lived in much comfort on the little steamer. the food was plentiful and the cooking good. at night we slept on deck in cots or hammocks. the mosquitoes were rarely troublesome, although in the daytime we were sometimes bothered by numbers of biting horse- flies. the bird life was wonderful. one of the characteristic sights we were always seeing was that of a number of heads and necks of cormorants and snake-birds, without any bodies, projecting above water, and disappearing as the steamer approached. skimmers and thick- billed tern were plentiful here right in the heart of the continent. in addition to the spurred lapwing, characteristic and most interesting resident of most of south america, we found tiny red- legged plover which also breed and are at home in the tropics. the contrasts in habits between closely allied species are wonderful. among the plovers and bay snipe there are species that live all the year round in almost the same places, in tropical and subtropical lands; and other related forms which wander over the whole earth, and spend nearly all their time, now in the arctic and cold temperate regions of the far north, now in the cold temperate regions of the south. these latter wide-wandering birds of the seashore and the river bank pass most of their lives in regions of almost perpetual sunlight. they spend the breeding season, the northern summer, in the land of the midnight sun, during the long arctic day. they then fly for endless distances down across the north temperate zone, across the equator, through the lands where the days and nights are always of equal length, into another hemisphere, and spend another summer of long days and long twilights in the far south, where the antarctic winds cool them, while their nesting home, at the other end of the world, is shrouded beneath the iron desolation of the polar night. in the late afternoon of the th we reached the quaint old-fashioned little town of sao luis de caceres, on the outermost fringe of the settled region of the state of matto grosso, the last town we should see before reaching the villages of the amazon. as we approached we passed half-clad black washerwomen on the river's edge. the men, with the local band, were gathered at the steeply sloping foot of the main street, where the steamer came to her moorings. groups of women and girls, white and brown, watched us from the low bluff; their skirts and bodices were red, blue, green, of all colors. sigg had gone ahead with much of the baggage; he met us in an improvised motor-boat, consisting of a dugout to the side of which he had clamped our evinrude motor; he was giving several of the local citizens of prominence a ride, to their huge enjoyment. the streets of the little town were unpaved, with narrow brick sidewalks. the one-story houses were white or blue, with roofs of red tiles and window-shutters of latticed woodwork, come down from colonial days and tracing back through christian and moorish portugal to a remote arab ancestry. pretty faces, some dark, some light, looked out from these windows; their mothers' mothers, for generations past, must thus have looked out of similar windows in the vanished colonial days. but now even here in caceres the spirit of the new brazil is moving; a fine new government school has been started, and we met its principal, an earnest man doing excellent work, one of the many teachers who, during the last few years, have been brought to matto grosso from sao paulo, a centre of the new educational movement which will do so much for brazil. father zahm went to spend the night with some french franciscan friars, capital fellows. i spent the night at the comfortable house of lieutenant lyra; a hot-weather house with thick walls, big doors, and an open patio bordered by a gallery. lieutenant lyra was to accompany us; he was an old companion of colonel rondon's explorations. we visited one or two of the stores to make some final purchases, and in the evening strolled through the dusky streets and under the trees of the plaza; the women and girls sat in groups in the doorways or at the windows, and here and there a stringed instrument tinkled in the darkness. from caceres onward we were entering the scene of colonel rondon's explorations. for some eighteen years he was occupied in exploring and in opening telegraph lines through the eastern or north middle part of the great forest state, the wilderness state of the "matto grosso"-- the "great wilderness," or, as australians would call it, "the bush." then, in , he began to penetrate the unknown region lying to the north and west. he was the head of the exploring expeditions sent out by the brazilian government to traverse for the first time this unknown land; to map for the first time the courses of the rivers which from the same divide run into the upper portions of the tapajos and the madeira, two of the mighty affluents of the amazon, and to build telegraph-lines across to the madeira, where a line of brazilian settlements, connected by steamboat lines and a railroad, again occurs. three times he penetrated into this absolutely unknown, indian-haunted wilderness, being absent for a year or two at a time and suffering every imaginable hardship, before he made his way through to the madeira and completed the telegraph-line across. the officers and men of the brazilian army and the civilian scientists who followed him shared the toil and the credit of the task. some of his men died of beriberi; some were killed or wounded by the indians; he himself almost died of fever; again and again his whole party was reduced almost to the last extremity by starvation, disease, hardship, and the over-exhaustion due to wearing fatigues. in dealing with the wild, naked savages he showed a combination of fearlessness, wariness, good judgment, and resolute patience and kindliness. the result was that they ultimately became his firm friends, guarded the telegraph- lines, and helped the few soldiers left at the isolated, widely separated little posts. he and his assistants explored, and mapped for the first time, the juruena and the gy-parana, two important affluents of the tapajos and the madeira respectively. the tapajos and the madeira, like the orinoco and rio negro, have been highways of travel for a couple of centuries. the madeira (as later the tapajos) was the chief means of ingress, a century and a half ago, to the little portuguese settlements of this far interior region of brazil; one of these little towns, named matto grosso, being the original capital of the province. it has long been abandoned by the government, and practically so by its inhabitants, the ruins of palace, fortress, and church now rising amid the rank tropical luxuriance of the wild forest. the mouths of the main affluents of these highway rivers were as a rule well known. but in many cases nothing but the mouth was known. the river itself was not known, and it was placed on the map by guesswork. colonel rondon found, for example, that the course of the gy-parana was put down on the map two degrees out of its proper place. he, with his party, was the first to find out its sources, the first to traverse its upper course, the first to map its length. he and his assistants performed a similar service for the juruena, discovering the sources, discovering and descending some of the branches, and for the first time making a trustworthy map of the main river itself, until its junction with the tapajos. near the watershed between the juruena and the gy-parana he established his farthest station to the westward, named jose bonofacio, after one of the chief republican patriots of brazil. a couple of days' march northwestward from this station, he in came across a part of the stream of a river running northward between the gy-parana and the juruena; he could only guess where it debouched, believing it to be into the madeira, although it was possible that it entered the gy-parana or tapajos. the region through which it flows was unknown, no civilized man having ever penetrated it; and as all conjecture as to what the river was, as to its length, and as to its place of entering into some highway river, was mere guess-work, he had entered it on his sketch maps as the rio da duvida, the river of doubt. among the officers of the brazilian army and the scientific civilians who have accompanied him there have been not only expert cartographers, photographers, and telegraphists, but astronomers, geologists, botanists, and zoologists. their reports, published in excellent shape by the brazilian government, make an invaluable series of volumes, reflecting the highest credit on the explorers, and on the government itself. colonel rondon's own accounts of his explorations, of the indian tribes he has visited, and of the beautiful and wonderful things he has seen, possess a peculiar interest. v. up the river of tapirs after leaving caceres we went up the sepotuba, which in the local indian dialect means river of tapirs. this river is only navigable for boats of size when the water is high. it is a swift, fairly clear stream, rushing down from the plan alto, the high uplands, through the tropical lowland forest. on the right hand, or western bank, and here and there on the left bank, the forest is broken by natural pastures and meadows, and at one of these places, known as porto campo, sixty or seventy miles above the mouth, there is a good-sized cattle-ranch. here we halted, because the launch, and the two pranchas--native trading-boats with houses on their decks--which it towed, could not carry our entire party and outfit. accordingly most of the baggage and some of the party were sent ahead to where we were to meet our pack- train, at tapirapoan. meanwhile the rest of us made our first camp under tents at porto campo, to wait the return of the boats. the tents were placed in a line, with the tent of colonel rondon and the tent in which kermit and i slept, in the middle, beside one another. in front of these two, on tall poles, stood the brazilian and american flags; and at sunrise and sunset the flags were hoisted and hauled down while the trumpet sounded and all of us stood at attention. camp was pitched beside the ranch buildings. in the trees near the tents grew wonderful violet orchids. many birds were around us; i saw some of them, and cherrie and miller many, many more. they ranged from party-colored macaws, green parrots, and big gregarious cuckoos down to a brilliant green-and-chestnut kingfisher, five and a quarter inches long, and a tiny orange-and- green manakin, smaller than any bird i have ever seen except a hummer. we also saw a bird that really was protectively colored; a kind of whippoorwill which even the sharp-eyed naturalists could only make out because it moved its head. we saw orange-bellied squirrels with showy orange tails. lizards were common. we killed our first poisonous snake (the second we had seen), an evil lance-headed jararaca that was swimming the river. we also saw a black-and-orange harmless snake, nearly eight feet long, which we were told was akin to the mussurama; and various other snakes. one day while paddling in a canoe on the river, hoping that the dogs might drive a tapir to us, they drove into the water a couple of small bush deer instead. there was no point in shooting them; we caught them with ropes thrown over their heads; for the naturalists needed them as specimens, and all of us needed the meat. one of the men was stung by a single big red maribundi wasp. for twenty-four hours he was in great pain and incapacitated for work. in a lagoon two of the dogs had the tips of their tails bitten off by piranhas as they swam, and the ranch hands told us that in this lagoon one of their hounds had been torn to pieces and completely devoured by the ravenous fish. it was a further illustration of the uncertainty of temper and behavior of these ferocious little monsters. in other lagoons they had again and again left us and our dogs unmolested. they vary locally in aggressiveness just as sharks and crocodiles in different seas and rivers vary. on the morning of january th we started out for a tapir-hunt. tapirs are hunted with canoes, as they dwell in thick jungle and take to the water when hounds follow them. in this region there were extensive papyrus-swamps and big lagoons, back from the river, and often the tapirs fled to these for refuge, throwing off the hounds. in these places it was exceedingly difficult to get them; our best chance was to keep to the river in canoes, and paddle toward the spot in the direction of which the hounds, by the noise, seemed to be heading. we started in four canoes. three of them were indian dugouts, very low in the water. the fourth was our canadian canoe, a beauty; light, safe, roomy, made of thin slats of wood and cement-covered canvas. colonel rondon, fiala with his camera, and i went in this canoe, together with two paddlers. the paddlers were natives of the poorer class. they were good men. the bowsman was of nearly pure white blood; the steersman was of nearly pure negro blood, and was evidently the stronger character and better man of the two. the other canoes carried a couple of fazendeiros, ranchmen, who had come up from caceres with their dogs. these dugouts were manned by indian and half-caste paddlers, and the fazendeiros, who were of nearly pure white blood, also at times paddled vigorously. all were dressed in substantially similar clothes, the difference being that those of the camaradas, the poorer men or laborers, were in tatters. in the canoes no man wore anything save a shirt, trousers, and hat, the feet being bare. on horseback they wore long leather leggings which were really simply high, rather flexible boots with the soles off; their spurs were on their tough bare feet. there was every gradation between and among the nearly pure whites, negroes, and indians. on the whole, there was the most white blood in the upper ranks, and most indian and negro blood among the camaradas; but there were exceptions in both classes, and there was no discrimination on account of color. all alike were courteous and friendly. the hounds were at first carried in two of the dugouts, and then let loose on the banks. we went up-stream for a couple of hours against the swift current, the paddlers making good headway with their pointed paddles--the broad blade of each paddle was tipped with a long point, so that it could be thrust into the mud to keep the low dugout against the bank. the tropical forest came down almost like a wall, the tall trees laced together with vines, and the spaces between their trunks filled with a low, dense jungle. in most places it could only be penetrated by a man with a machete. with few exceptions the trees were unknown to me, and their native names told me nothing. on most of them the foliage was thick; among the exceptions were the cecropias, growing by preference on new-formed alluvial soil bare of other trees, whose rather scanty leaf bunches were, as i was informed, the favorite food of sloths. we saw one or two squirrels among the trees, and a family of monkeys. there were few sand-banks in the river, and no water-fowl save an occasional cormorant. but as we pushed along near the shore, where the branches overhung and dipped in the swirling water, we continually roused little flocks of bats. they were hanging from the boughs right over the river, and when our approach roused them they zigzagged rapidly in front of us for a few rods, and then again dove in among the branches. at last we landed at a point of ground where there was little jungle, and where the forest was composed of palms and was fairly open. it was a lovely bit of forest. the colonel strolled off in one direction, returning an hour later with a squirrel for the naturalists. meanwhile fiala and i went through the palm wood to a papyrus-swamp. many trails led through the woods, and especially along the borders of the swamp; and, although their principal makers had evidently been cattle, yet there were in them footprints of both tapir and deer. the tapir makes a footprint much like that of a small rhinoceros, being one of the odd-toed ungulates. we could hear the dogs now and then, evidently scattered and running on various trails. they were a worthless lot of cur-hounds. they would chase tapir or deer or anything else that ran away from them as long as the trail was easy to follow; but they were not stanch, even after animals that fled, and they would have nothing whatever to do with animals that were formidable. while standing by the marsh we heard something coming along one of the game paths. in a moment a buck of the bigger species of bush deer appeared, a very pretty and graceful creature. it stopped and darted back as soon as it saw us, giving us no chance for a shot; but in another moment we caught glimpses of it running by at full speed, back among the palms. i covered an opening between two tree-trunks. by good luck the buck appeared in the right place, giving me just time to hold well ahead of him and fire. at the report he went down in a heap, the "umbrella-pointed" bullet going in at one shoulder, and ranging forward, breaking the neck. the leaden portion of the bullet, in the proper mushroom or umbrella shape, stopped under the neck skin on the farther side. it is a very effective bullet. miller particularly wished specimens of these various species of bush deer, because their mutual relationships have not yet been satisfactorily worked out. this was an old buck. the antlers were single spikes, five or six inches long; they were old and white and would soon have been shed. in the stomach were the remains of both leaves and grasses, but especially the former; the buck was both a browser and grazer. there were also seeds, but no berries or nuts such as i have sometimes found in deer's stomachs. this species, which is abundant in this neighborhood, is solitary in its habits, not going in herds. at this time the rut was past, the bucks no longer sought the does, the fawns had not been born, and the yearlings had left their mothers; so that each animal usually went by itself. when chased they were very apt to take to the water. this instinct of taking to the water, by the way, is quite explicable as regards both deer and tapir, for it affords them refuge against their present day natural foes, but it is a little puzzling to see the jaguar readily climbing trees to escape dogs; for ages have passed since there were in its habitat any natural foes from which it needed to seek safety in trees. but it is possible that the habit has been kept alive by its seeking refuge in them on occasion from the big peccaries, which are among the beasts on which it ordinarily preys. we hung the buck in a tree. the colonel returned, and not long afterward one of the paddlers who had been watching the river called out to us that there was a tapir in the water, a good distance up- stream, and that two of the other boats were after it. we jumped into the canoe and the two paddlers dug their blades in the water as they drove her against the strong current, edging over for the opposite bank. the tapir was coming down-stream at a great rate, only its queer head above water, while the dugouts were closing rapidly on it, the paddlers uttering loud cries. as the tapir turned slightly to one side or the other the long, slightly upturned snout and the strongly pronounced arch of the crest along the head and upper neck gave it a marked and unusual aspect. i could not shoot, for it was directly in line with one of the pursuing dugouts. suddenly it dived, the snout being slightly curved downward as it did so. there was no trace of it; we gazed eagerly in all directions; the dugout in front came alongside our canoe and the paddlers rested, their paddles ready. then we made out the tapir clambering up the bank. it had dived at right angles to the course it was following and swum under water to the very edge of the shore, rising under the overhanging tree-branches at a point where a drinking-trail for game led down a break in the bank. the branches partially hid it, and it was in deep shadow, so that it did not offer a very good shot. my bullet went into its body too far back, and the tapir disappeared in the forest at a gallop as if unhurt, although the bullet really secured it, by making it unwilling to trust to its speed and leave the neighborhood of the water. three or four of the hounds were by this time swimming the river, leaving the others yelling on the opposite side; and as soon as the swimmers reached the shore they were put on the tapir's trail and galloped after it, giving tongue. in a couple of minutes we saw the tapir take to the water far up-stream, and after it we went as fast as the paddles could urge us through the water. we were not in time to head it, but fortunately some of the dogs had come down to the river's edge at the very point where the tapir was about to land, and turned it back. two or three of the dogs were swimming. we were more than half the breadth of the river away from the tapir, and somewhat down-stream, when it dived. it made an astonishingly long swim beneath the water this time, almost as if it had been a hippopotamus, for it passed completely under our canoe and rose between us and the hither bank. i shot it, the bullet going into its brain, while it was thirty or forty yards from shore. it sank at once. there was now nothing to do but wait until the body floated. i feared that the strong current would roll it down-stream over the river bed, but my companions assured me that this was not so, and that the body would remain where it was until it rose, which would be in an hour or two. they were right, except as to the time. for over a couple of hours we paddled, or anchored ourselves by clutching branches close to the spot, or else drifted down a mile and paddled up again near the shore, to see if the body had caught anywhere. then we crossed the river and had lunch at the lovely natural picnic-ground where the buck was hung up. we had very nearly given up the tapir when it suddenly floated only a few rods from where it had sunk. with no little difficulty the big, round black body was hoisted into the canoe, and we all turned our prows down-stream. the skies had been lowering for some time, and now--too late to interfere with the hunt or cause us any annoyance--a heavy downpour of rain came on and beat upon us. little we cared, as the canoe raced forward, with the tapir and the buck lying in the bottom, and a dry, comfortable camp ahead of us. when we reached camp, and father zahm saw the tapir, he reminded me of something i had completely forgotten. when, some six years previously, he had spoken to me in the white house about taking this south american trip, i had answered that i could not, as i intended to go to africa, but added that i hoped some day to go to south america and that if i did so i should try to shoot both a jaguar and a tapir, as they were the characteristic big-game animals of the country. "well," said father zahm, "now you've shot them both!" the storm continued heavy until after sunset. then the rain stopped and the full moon broke through the cloud-rack. father zahm and i walked up and down in the moonlight, talking of many things, from dante, and our own plans for the future, to the deeds and the wanderings of the old-time spanish conquistadores in their search for the gilded king, and of the portuguese adventurers who then divided with them the mastery of the oceans and of the unknown continents beyond. this was an attractive and interesting camp in more ways than one. the vaqueiros with their wives and families were housed on the two sides of the field in which our tents were pitched. on one side was a big, whitewashed, tile-roofed house in which the foreman dwelt--an olive- skinned, slightly built, wiry man, with an olive-skinned wife and eight as pretty, fair-haired children as one could wish to see. he usually went barefoot, and his manners were not merely good but distinguished. corrals and outbuildings were near this big house. on the opposite side of the field stood the row of steep-roofed, palm- thatched huts in which the ordinary cowhands lived with their dusky helpmeets and children. each night from these palm-thatched quarters we heard the faint sounds of a music that went far back of civilization to a savage ancestry near by in point of time and otherwise immeasurably remote; for through the still, hot air, under the brilliant moonlight, we heard the monotonous throbbing of a tomtom drum, and the twanging of some old stringed instrument. the small black turkey-buzzards, here always called crows, were as tame as chickens near the big house, walking on the ground or perched in the trees beside the corral, waiting for the offal of the slaughtered cattle. two palm-trees near our tent were crowded with the long, hanging nests of one of the cacique orioles. we lived well, with plenty of tapir beef, which was good, and venison of the bush deer, which was excellent; and as much ordinary beef as we wished, and fresh milk, too--a rarity in this country. there were very few mosquitoes, and everything was as comfortable as possible. the tapir i killed was a big one. i did not wish to kill another, unless, of course, it became advisable to do so for food; whereas i did wish to get some specimens of the big, white-lipped peccary, the "queixa" (pronounced "cashada") of the brazilians, which would make our collection of the big mammals of the brazilian forests almost complete. the remaining members of the party killed two or three more tapirs. one was a bull, full grown but very much smaller than the animal i had killed. the hunters said that this was a distinct kind. the skull and skin were sent back with the other specimens to the american museum, where after due examination and comparison its specific identify will be established. tapirs are solitary beasts. two are rarely found together, except in the case of a cow and its spotted and streaked calf. they live in dense cover, usually lying down in the daytime and at night coming out to feed, and going to the river or to some lagoon to bathe and swim. from this camp sigg took lieutenant lyra back to caceres to get something that had been overlooked. they went in a rowboat to which the motor had been attached, and at night on the way back almost ran over a tapir that was swimming. but in unfrequented places tapirs both feed and bathe during the day. the stomach of the one i shot contained big palm-nuts; they had been swallowed without enough mastication to break the kernel, the outer pulp being what the tapir prized. tapirs gallop well, and their tough hide and wedge shape enable them to go at speed through very dense cover. they try to stamp on, and even to bite, a foe, but are only clumsy fighters. the tapir is a very archaic type of ungulate, not unlike the non- specialized beasts of the oligocene. from some such ancestral type the highly specialized one-toed modern horse has evolved, while during the uncounted ages that saw the horse thus develop the tapir has continued substantially unchanged. originally the tapirs dwelt in the northern hemisphere, but there they gradually died out, the more specialized horse, and even for long ages the rhinoceros, persisting after they had vanished; and nowadays the surviving tapirs are found in malaysia and south america, far from their original home. the relations of the horse and tapir in the paleontological history of south america are very curious. both were, geologically speaking, comparatively recent immigrants, and if they came at different dates it is almost certain that the horse came later. the horse for an age or two, certainly for many hundreds of thousands of years, throve greatly and developed not only several different species but even different genera. it was much the most highly specialized of the two, and in the other continental regions where both were found the horse outlasted the tapir. but in south america the tapir outlasted the horse. from unknown causes the various genera and species of horses died out, while the tapir has persisted. the highly specialized, highly developed beasts, which represented such a full evolutionary development, died out, while their less specialized remote kinsfolk, which had not developed, clung to life and throve; and this although the direct reverse was occurring in north america and in the old world. it is one of the innumerable and at present insoluble problems in the history of life on our planet. i spent a couple of days of hard work in getting the big white-lipped peccaries--white-lipped being rather a misnomer, as the entire under jaw and lower cheek are white. they were said to be found on the other side of, and some distance back from, the river. colonel rondon had sent out one of our attendants, an old follower of his, a full-blood parecis indian, to look for tracks. this was an excellent man, who dressed and behaved just like the other good men we had, and was called antonio parecis. he found the tracks of a herd of thirty or forty cashadas, and the following morning we started after them. on the first day we killed nothing. we were rather too large a party, for one or two of the visiting fazendeiros came along with their dogs. i doubt whether these men very much wished to overtake our game, for the big peccary is a murderous foe of dogs (and is sometimes dangerous to men). one of their number frankly refused to come or to let his dogs come, explaining that the fierce wild swine were "very badly brought up" (a literal translation of his words) and that respectable dogs and men ought not to go near them. the other fazendeiros merely feared for their dogs; a groundless fear, i believe, as i do not think that the dogs could by any exertion have been dragged into dangerous proximity with such foes. the ranch foreman, benedetto, came with us, and two or three other camaradas, including antonio, the parecis indian. the horses were swum across the river, each being led beside a dugout. then we crossed with the dogs; our horses were saddled, and we started. it was a picturesque cavalcade. the native hunters, of every shade from white to dark copper, all wore leather leggings that left the soles of their feet bare, and on their bare heels wore spurs with wheels four inches across. they went in single file, for no other mode of travel was possible; and the two or three leading men kept their machetes out, and had to cut every yard of our way while we were in the forest. the hunters rode little stallions, and their hounds were gelded. most of the time we were in forest or swampy jungle. part of the time we crossed or skirted marshy plains. in one of them a herd of half- wild cattle was feeding. herons, storks, ducks, and ibises were in these marshes, and we saw one flock of lovely roseate spoonbills. in one grove the fig-trees were killing the palms, just as in africa they kill the sandalwood-trees. in the gloom of this grove there were no flowers, no bushes; the air was heavy; the ground was brown with mouldering leaves. almost every palm was serving as a prop for a fig- tree. the fig-trees were in every stage of growth. the youngest ones merely ran up the palms as vines. in the next stage the vine had thickened and was sending out shoots, wrapping the palm stem in a deadly hold. some of the shoots were thrown round the stem like the tentacles of an immense cuttlefish. others looked like claws, that were hooked into every crevice, and round every projection. in the stage beyond this the palm had been killed, and its dead carcass appeared between the big, winding vine-trunks; and later the palm had disappeared and the vines had united into a great fig-tree. water stood in black pools at the foot of the murdered trees, and of the trees that had murdered them. there was something sinister and evil in the dark stillness of the grove; it seemed as if sentient beings had writhed themselves round and were strangling other sentient beings. we passed through wonderfully beautiful woods of tall palms, the ouaouaca palm--wawasa palm, as it should be spelled in english. the trunks rose tall and strong and slender, and the fronds were branches twenty or thirty feet long, with the many long, narrow green blades starting from the midrib at right angles in pairs. round the ponds stood stately burity palms, rising like huge columns, with great branches that looked like fans, as the long, stiff blades radiated from the end of the midrib. one tree was gorgeous with the brilliant hues of a flock of party-colored macaws. green parrots flew shrieking overhead. now and then we were bitten and stung by the venomous fire-ants, and ticks crawled upon us. once we were assailed by more serious foes, in the shape of a nest of maribundi wasps, not the biggest kind, but about the size of our hornets. we were at the time passing through dense jungle, under tall trees, in a spot where the down timber, holes, tangled creepers, and thorns made the going difficult. the leading men were not assailed, although they were now and then cutting the trail. colonel rondon and i were in the middle of the column, and the swarm attacked us; both of us were badly stung on the face, neck, and hands, the colonel even more severely than i was. he wheeled and rode to the rear and i to the front; our horses were stung too; and we went at a rate that a moment previously i would have deemed impossible over such ground. at the close of the day, when we were almost back at the river, the dogs killed a jaguar kitten. there was no trace of the mother. some accident must have befallen her, and the kitten was trying to shift for herself. she was very emaciated. in her stomach were the remains of a pigeon and some tendons from the skeleton or dried carcass of some big animal. the loathsome berni flies, which deposit eggs in living beings--cattle, dogs, monkeys, rodents, men--had been at it. there were seven huge, white grubs making big abscess-like swellings over its eyes. these flies deposit their grubs in men. in , on colonel rondon's hardest trip, every man of the party had from one to five grubs deposited in him, the fly acting with great speed, and driving its ovipositor through clothing. the grubs cause torture; but a couple of cross cuts with a lancet permit the loathsome creatures to be squeezed out. in these forests the multitude of insects that bite, sting, devour, and prey upon other creatures, often with accompaniments of atrocious suffering, passes belief. the very pathetic myth of "beneficent nature" could not deceive even the least wise being if he once saw for himself the iron cruelty of life in the tropics. of course "nature"-- in common parlance a wholly inaccurate term, by the way, especially when used as if to express a single entity--is entirely ruthless, no less so as regards types than as regards individuals, and entirely indifferent to good or evil, and works out her ends or no ends with utter disregard of pain and woe. the following morning at sunrise we started again. this time only colonel rondon and i went with benedetto and antonio the indian. we brought along four dogs which it was fondly hoped might chase the cashadas. two of them disappeared on the track of a tapir and we saw them no more; one of the others promptly fled when we came across the tracks of our game, and would not even venture after them in our company; the remaining one did not actually run away and occasionally gave tongue, but could not be persuaded to advance unless there was a man ahead of him. however, colonel rondon, benedetto, and antonio formed a trio of hunters who could do fairly well without dogs. after four hours of riding, benedetto, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and pointed downward. we were riding along a grassy intervale between masses of forest, and he had found the fresh track of a herd of big peccaries crossing from left to right. there were apparently thirty or forty in the herd. the small peccaries go singly or in small parties, and when chased take refuge in holes or hollow logs, where they show valiant fight; but the big peccaries go in herds of considerable size, and are so truculent that they are reluctant to run, and prefer either to move slowly off chattering their tusks and grunting, or else actually to charge. where much persecuted the survivors gradually grow more willing to run, but their instinct is not to run but to trust to their truculence and their mass-action for safety. they inflict a fearful bite and frequently kill dogs. they often charge the hunters and i have heard of men being badly wounded by them, while almost every man who hunts them often is occasionally forced to scramble up a tree to avoid a charge. but i have never heard of a man being killed by them. they sometimes surround the tree in which the man has taken refuge and keep him up it. cherrie, on one occasion in costa rica, was thus kept up a tree for several hours by a great herd of three or four hundred of these peccaries; and this although he killed several of them. ordinarily, however, after making their charge they do not turn, but pass on out of sight. their great foe is the jaguar, but unless he exercises much caution they will turn the tables on him. cherrie, also in costa rica, came on the body of a jaguar which had evidently been killed by a herd of peccaries some twenty-four hours previously. the ground was trampled up by their hoofs, and the carcass was rent and slit into pieces. benedetto, as soon as we discovered the tracks, slipped off his horse, changed his leggings for sandals, threw his rifle over his arm, and took the trail of the herd, followed by the only dog which would accompany him. the peccaries had gone into a broad belt of forest, with a marsh on the farther side. at first antonio led the colonel and me, all of us on horseback, at a canter round this belt to the marsh side, thinking the peccaries had gone almost through it. but we could hear nothing. the dog only occasionally barked, and then not loudly. finally we heard a shot. benedetto had found the herd, which showed no fear of him; he had backed out and fired a signal shot. we all three went into the forest on foot toward where the shot had been fired. it was dense jungle and stiflingly hot. we could not see clearly for more than a few feet, or move easily without free use of the machetes. soon we heard the ominous groaning of the herd, in front of us, and almost on each side. then benedetto joined us, and the dog appeared in the rear. we moved slowly forward, toward the sound of the fierce moaning grunts which were varied at times by a castanet chattering of the tusks. then we dimly made out the dark forms of the peccaries moving very slowly to the left. my companions each chose a tree to climb at need and pointed out one for me. i fired at the half-seen form of a hog, through the vines, leaves, and branches; the colonel fired; i fired three more shots at other hogs; and the indian also fired. the peccaries did not charge; walking and trotting, with bristles erect, groaning and clacking their tusks, they disappeared into the jungle. we could not see one of them clearly; and not one was left dead. but a few paces on we came across one of my wounded ones, standing at bay by a palm trunk; and i killed it forthwith. the dog would not even trail the wounded ones; but here antonio came to the front. with eyes almost as quick and sure as those of a wild beast he had watched after every shot, and was able to tell the results in each case. he said that in addition to the one i had just killed i had wounded two others so seriously that he did not think they would go far, and that colonel rondon and he himself had each badly wounded one; and, moreover, he showed the trails each wounded animal had taken. the event justified him. in a few minutes we found my second one dead. then we found antonio's. then we found my third one alive and at bay, and i killed it with another bullet. finally we found the colonel's. i told him i should ask the authorities of the american museum to mount his and one or two of mine in a group, to commemorate our hunting together. if we had not used crippling rifles the peccaries might have gotten away, for in the dark jungle, with the masses of intervening leaves and branches, it was impossible to be sure of placing each bullet properly in the half-seen moving beast. we found where the herd had wallowed in the mud. the stomachs of the peccaries we killed contained wild figs, palm nuts, and bundles of root fibres. the dead beasts were covered with ticks. they were at least twice the weight of the smaller peccaries. on the ride home we saw a buck of the small species of bush deer, not half the size of the kind i had already shot. it was only a patch of red in the bush, a good distance off, but i was lucky enough to hit it. in spite of its small size it was a full-grown male, of a species we had not yet obtained. the antlers had recently been shed, and the new antler growth had just begun. a great jabiru stork let us ride by him a hundred and fifty yards off without thinking it worth while to take flight. this day we saw many of the beautiful violet orchids; and in the swamps were multitudes of flowers, red, yellow, lilac, of which i did not know the names. i alluded above to the queer custom these people in the interior of brazil have of gelding their hunting-dogs. this absurd habit is doubtless the chief reason why there are so few hounds worth their salt in the more serious kinds of hunting, where the quarry is the jaguar or big peccary. thus far we had seen but one dog as good as the ordinary cougar hound or bear hound in such packs as those with which i had hunted in the rockies and in the cane-brakes of the lower mississippi. it can hardly be otherwise when every dog that shows himself worth anything is promptly put out of the category of breeders--the theory apparently being that the dog will then last longer. all the breeding is from worthless dogs, and no dog of proved worth leaves descendants. the country along this river is a fine natural cattle country, and some day it will surely see a great development. it was opened to development by colonel rondon only five or six years ago. already an occasional cattle ranch is to be found along the banks. when railroads are built into these interior portions of matto grosso the whole region will grow and thrive amazingly--and so will the railroads. the growth will not be merely material. an immense amount will be done in education; using the word education in its broadest and most accurate sense, as applying to both mind and spirit, to both the child and the man. colonel rondon is not merely an explorer. he has been and is now a leader in the movement for the vital betterment of his people, the people of matto grosso. the poorer people of the back country everywhere suffer because of the harsh and improper laws of debt. in practice these laws have resulted in establishing a system of peonage, such as has grown up here and there in our own nation. a radical change is needed in this matter; and the colonel is fighting for the change. in school matters the colonel has precisely the ideas of our wisest and most advanced men and women in the united states. cherrie-- who is not only an exceedingly efficient naturalist and explorer in the tropics, but is also a thoroughly good citizen at home--is the chairman of the school board of the town of newfane, in vermont. he and the colonel, and kermit and i, talked over school matters at length, and were in hearty accord as to the vital educational needs of both brazil and the united states: the need of combining industrial with purely mental training, and the need of having the wide-spread popular education, which is and must be supported and paid for by the government, made a purely governmental and absolutely nonsectarian function, administered by the state alone, without interference with, nor furtherance of, the beliefs of any reputable church. the colonel is also head of the indian service of brazil, being what corresponds roughly with our commissioner of indian affairs. here also he is taking the exact view that is taken in the united states by the staunchest and wisest friends of the indians. the indians must be treated with intelligent and sympathetic understanding, no less than with justice and firmness; and until they become citizens, absorbed into the general body politic, they must be the wards of the nation, and not of any private association, lay or clerical, no matter how well-meaning. the sepotuba river was scientifically explored and mapped for the first time by colonel rondon in , as head of the brazilian telegraphic commission. this was during the second year of his exploration and opening of the unknown northwestern wilderness of matto grosso. most of this wilderness had never previously been trodden by the foot of a civilized man. not only were careful maps made and much other scientific work accomplished, but posts were established and telegraph-lines constructed. when colonel rondon began the work he was a major. he was given two promotions, to lieutenant- colonel and colonel, while absent in the wilderness. his longest and most important exploring trip, and the one fraught with most danger and hardship, was begun by him in , on may rd, the anniversary of the discovery of brazil. he left tapirapoan on that day, and he reached the madeira river on christmas, december , of the same year, having descended the gy-parana. the mouth of this river had long been known, but its upper course for half its length was absolutely unknown when rondon descended it. among those who took part under him in this piece of exploration were the present captain amilcar and lieutenant lyra; and two better or more efficient men for such wilderness work it would be impossible to find. they acted as his two chief assistants on our trip. in the party exhausted all their food, including even the salt, by august. for the last four months they lived exclusively on the game they killed, on fruits, and on wild honey. their equipage was what the men could carry on their backs. by the time the party reached the madeira they were worn out by fatigue, exposure, and semi- starvation, and their enfeebled bodies were racked by fever. the work of exploration accomplished by colonel rondon and his associates during these years was as remarkable as, and in its results even more important than, any similar work undertaken elsewhere on the globe at or about the same time. its value was recognized in brazil. it received no recognition by the geographical societies of europe or the united states. the work done by the original explorers of such a wilderness necessitates the undergoing of untold hardship and danger. their successors, even their immediate successors, have a relatively easy time. soon the road becomes so well beaten that it can be traversed without hardship by any man who does not venture from it--although if he goes off into the wilderness for even a day, hunting or collecting, he will have a slight taste of what his predecessors endured. the wilderness explored by colonel rondon is not yet wholly subdued, and still holds menace to human life. at caceres he received notice of the death of one of his gallant subordinates, captain cardozo. he died from beriberi, far out in the wilderness along our proposed line of march. colonel rondon also received news that a boat ascending the gy- parana, to carry provisions to meet those of our party who were to descend that stream, had been upset, the provisions lost, and three men drowned. the risk and hardship are such that the ordinary men, the camaradas, do not like to go into the wilderness. the men who go with the telegraphic commission on the rougher and wilder work are paid seven times as much as they earn in civilization. on this trip of ours colonel rondon met with much difficulty in securing some one who could cook. he asked the cook on the little steamer nyoac to go with us; but the cook with unaffected horror responded: "senhor, i have never done anything to deserve punishment!" five days after leaving us, the launch, with one of the native trading-boats lashed alongside, returned. on the th we broke camp, loaded ourselves and all our belongings on the launch and the house- boat, and started up-stream for tapirapoan. all told there were about thirty men, with five dogs and tents, bedding and provisions; fresh beef, growing rapidly less fresh; skins--all and everything jammed together. it rained most of the first day and part of the first night. after that the weather was generally overcast and pleasant for travelling; but sometimes rain and torrid sunshine alternated. the cooking--and it was good cooking--was done at a funny little open-air fireplace, with two or three cooking-pots placed at the stern of the house-boat. the fireplace was a platform of earth, taken from anthills, and heaped and spread on the boards of the boat. around it the dusky cook worked with philosophic solemnity in rain and shine. our attendants, friendly souls with skins of every shade and hue, slept most of the time, curled up among boxes, bundles, and slabs of beef. an enormous land turtle was tethered toward the bow of the house-boat. when the men slept too near it, it made futile efforts to scramble over them; and in return now and then one of them gravely used it for a seat. slowly the throbbing engine drove the launch and its unwieldy side- partner against the swift current. the river had risen. we made about a mile and a half an hour. ahead of us the brown water street stretched in curves between endless walls of dense tropical forest. it was like passing through a gigantic greenhouse. wawasa and burity palms, cecropias, huge figs, feathery bamboos, strange yellow-stemmed trees, low trees with enormous leaves, tall trees with foliage as delicate as lace, trees with buttressed trunks, trees with boles rising smooth and straight to lofty heights, all woven together by a tangle of vines, crowded down to the edge of the river. their drooping branches hung down to the water, forming a screen through which it was impossible to see the bank, and exceedingly difficult to penetrate to the bank. rarely one of them showed flowers--large white blossoms, or small red or yellow blossoms. more often the lilac flowers of the begonia-vine made large patches of color. innumerable epiphytes covered the limbs, and even grew on the roughened trunks. we saw little bird life--a darter now and then, and kingfishers flitting from perch to perch. at long intervals we passed a ranch. at one the large, red-tiled, whitewashed house stood on a grassy slope behind mango- trees. the wooden shutters were thrown back from the unglazed windows, and the big rooms were utterly bare--not a book, not an ornament. a palm, loaded with scores of the pendulous nests of the troupials, stood near the door. behind were orange-trees and coffee-plants, and near by fields of bananas, rice, and tobacco. the sallow foreman was courteous and hospitable. his dark-skinned women-folk kept in the furtive background. like most of the ranches, it was owned by a company with headquarters at caceres. the trip was pleasant and interesting, although there was not much to do on the boat. it was too crowded to move around save with a definite purpose. we enjoyed the scenery; we talked--in english, portuguese, bad french, and broken german. some of us wrote. fiala made sketches of improved tents, hammocks, and other field equipment, suggested by what he had already seen. some of us read books. colonel rondon, neat, trim, alert, and soldierly, studied a standard work on applied geographical astronomy. father zahm read a novel by fogazzaro. kermit read camoens and a couple of brazilian novels, "o guarani" and "innocencia." my own reading varied from "quentin durward" and gibbon to the "chanson de roland." miller took out his little pet owl moses, from the basket in which moses dwelt, and gave him food and water. moses crooned and chuckled gratefully when he was stroked and tickled. late the first evening we moored to the bank by a little fazenda of the poorer type. the houses were of palm-leaves. even the walls were made of the huge fronds or leafy branches of the wawasa palm, stuck upright in the ground and the blades plaited together. some of us went ashore. some stayed on the boats. there were no mosquitoes, the weather was not oppressively hot, and we slept well. by five o'clock next morning we had each drunk a cup of delicious brazilian coffee, and the boats were under way. all day we steamed slowly up-stream. we passed two or three fazendas. at one, where we halted to get milk, the trees were overgrown with pretty little yellow orchids. at dark we moored at a spot where there were no branches to prevent our placing the boats directly alongside the bank. there were hardly any mosquitoes. most of the party took their hammocks ashore, and the camp was pitched amid singularly beautiful surroundings. the trees were wawasa palms, some with the fronds cresting very tall trunks, some with the fronds--seemingly longer--rising almost from the ground. the fronds were of great length; some could not have been less than fifty feet long. bushes and tall grass, dew-drenched and glittering with the green of emeralds, grew in the open spaces between. we left at sunrise the following morning. one of the sailors had strayed inland. he got turned round and could not find the river; and we started before discovering his absence. we stopped at once, and with much difficulty he forced his way through the vine-laced and thorn-guarded jungle toward the sound of the launch's engines and of the bugle which was blown. in this dense jungle, when the sun is behind clouds, a man without a compass who strays a hundred yards from the river may readily become hopelessly lost. as we ascended the river the wawasa palms became constantly more numerous. at this point, for many miles, they gave their own character to the forest on the river banks. everywhere their long, curving fronds rose among the other trees, and in places their lofty trunks made them hold their heads higher than the other trees. but they were never as tall as the giants among the ordinary trees. on one towering palm we noticed a mass of beautiful violet orchids growing from the side of the trunk, half-way to the top. on another big tree, not a palm, which stood in a little opening, there hung well over a hundred troupials' nests. besides two or three small ranches we this day passed a large ranch. the various houses and sheds, all palm-thatched, stood by the river in a big space of cleared ground, dotted with wawasa palms. a native house-boat was moored by the bank. women and children looked from the unglazed windows of the houses; men stood in front of them. the biggest house was enclosed by a stockade of palm- logs, thrust end-on into the ground. cows and oxen grazed round about; and carts with solid wheels, each wheel made of a single disk of wood, were tilted on their poles. we made our noonday halt on an island where very tall trees grew, bearing fruits that were pleasant to the taste. other trees on the island were covered with rich red and yellow blossoms; and masses of delicate blue flowers and of star-shaped white flowers grew underfoot. hither and thither across the surface of the river flew swallows, with so much white in their plumage that as they flashed in the sun they seemed to have snow-white bodies, borne by dark wings. the current of the river grew swifter; there were stretches of broken water that were almost rapids; the laboring engine strained and sobbed as with increasing difficulty it urged forward the launch and her clumsy consort. at nightfall we moored beside the bank, where the forest was open enough to permit a comfortable camp. that night the ants ate large holes in miller's mosquito-netting, and almost devoured his socks and shoe-laces. at sunrise we again started. there were occasional stretches of swift, broken water, almost rapids, in the river; everywhere the current was swift, and our progress was slow. the prancha was towed at the end of a hawser, and her crew poled. even thus we only just made the riffle in more than one case. two or three times cormorants and snake-birds, perched on snags in the river or on trees alongside it, permitted the boat to come within a few yards. in one piece of high forest we saw a party of toucans, conspicuous even among the tree tops because of their huge bills and the leisurely expertness with which they crawled, climbed, and hopped among the branches. we went by several fazendas. shortly before noon--january --we reached tapirapoan, the headquarters of the telegraphic commission. it was an attractive place, on the river-front, and it was gayly bedecked with flags, not only those of brazil and the united states, but of all the other american republics, in our honor. there was a large, green square, with trees standing in the middle of it. on one side of this square were the buildings of the telegraphic commission, on the other those of a big ranch, of which this is the headquarters. in addition, there were stables, sheds, outhouses, and corrals; and there were cultivated fields near by. milch cows, beef-cattle, oxen, and mules wandered almost at will. there were two or three wagons and carts, and a traction automobile, used in the construction of the telegraph-line, but not available in the rainy season, at the time of our trip. here we were to begin our trip overland, on pack-mules and pack-oxen, scores of which had been gathered to meet us. several days were needed to apportion the loads and arrange for the several divisions in which it was necessary that so large a party should attempt the long wilderness march, through a country where there was not much food for man or beast, and where it was always possible to run into a district in which fatal cattle or horse diseases were prevalent. fiala, with his usual efficiency, took charge of handling the outfit of the american portion of the expedition, with sigg as an active and useful assistant. harper, who like the others worked with whole-hearted zeal and cheerfulness, also helped him, except when he was engaged in helping the naturalists. the two latter, cherrie and miller, had so far done the hardest and the best work of the expedition. they had collected about a thousand birds and two hundred and fifty mammals. it was not probable that they would do as well during the remainder of our trip, for we intended thenceforth to halt as little, and march as steadily, as the country, the weather, and the condition of our means of transportation permitted. i kept continually wishing that they had more time in which to study the absorbingly interesting life-histories of the beautiful and wonderful beasts and birds we were all the time seeing. every first-rate museum must still employ competent collectors; but i think that a museum could now confer most lasting benefit, and could do work of most permanent good, by sending out into the immense wildernesses, where wild nature is at her best, trained observers with the gift of recording what they have observed. such men should be collectors, for collecting is still necessary; but they should also, and indeed primarily, be able themselves to see, and to set vividly before the eyes of others, the full life-histories of the creatures that dwell in the waste spaces of the world. at this point both cherrie and miller collected a number of mammals and birds which they had not previously obtained; whether any were new to science could only be determined after the specimens reached the american museum. while making the round of his small mammal traps one morning, miller encountered an army of the formidable foraging ants. the species was a large black one, moving with a well-extended front. these ants, sometimes called army-ants, like the driver-ants of africa, move in big bodies and destroy or make prey of every living thing that is unable or unwilling to get out of their path in time. they run fast, and everything runs away from their advance. insects form their chief prey; and the most dangerous and aggressive lower- life creatures make astonishingly little resistance to them. miller's attention was first attracted to this army of ants by noticing a big centipede, nine or ten inches long, trying to flee before them. a number of ants were biting it, and it writhed at each bite, but did not try to use its long curved jaws against its assailants. on other occasions he saw big scorpions and big hairy spiders trying to escape in the same way, and showing the same helpless inability to injure their ravenous foes, or to defend themselves. the ants climb trees to a great height, much higher than most birds' nests, and at once kill and tear to pieces any fledglings in the nests they reach. but they are not as common as some writers seem to imagine; days may elapse before their armies are encountered, and doubtless most nests are never visited or threatened by them. in some instances it seems likely that the birds save themselves and their young in other ways. some nests are inaccessible. from others it is probable that the parents remove the young. miller once, in guiana, had been watching for some days a nest of ant-wrens which contained young. going thither one morning, he found the tree, and the nest itself, swarming with foraging ants. he at first thought that the fledglings had been devoured, but he soon saw the parents, only about thirty yards off, with food in their beaks. they were engaged in entering a dense part of the jungle, coming out again without food in their beaks, and soon reappearing once more with food. miller never found their new nests, but their actions left him certain that they were feeding their young, which they must have themselves removed from the old nest. these ant- wrens hover in front of and over the columns of foraging ants, feeding not only on the other insects aroused by the ants, but on the ants themselves. this fact has been doubted; but miller has shot them with the ants in their bills and in their stomachs. dragon-flies, in numbers, often hover over the columns, darting down at them; miller could not be certain he had seen them actually seizing the ants, but this was his belief. i have myself seen these ants plunder a nest of the dangerous and highly aggressive wasps, while the wasps buzzed about in great excitement, but seemed unable effectively to retaliate. i have also seen them clear a sapling tenanted by their kinsmen, the poisonous red ants, or fire-ants; the fire-ants fought and i have no doubt injured or killed some of their swarming and active black foes; but the latter quickly did away with them. i have only come across black foraging ants; but there are red species. they attack human beings precisely as they attack all animals, and precipitate flight is the only resort. around our camp here butterflies of gorgeous coloring swarmed, and there were many fungi as delicately shaped and tinted as flowers. the scents in the woods were wonderful. there were many whippoorwills, or rather brazilian birds related to them; they uttered at intervals through the night a succession of notes suggesting both those of our whippoorwill and those of our big chuck-will's-widow of the gulf states, but not identical with either. there were other birds which were nearly akin to familiar birds of the united states: a dull- colored catbird, a dull-colored robin, and a sparrow belonging to the same genus as our common song-sparrow and sweetheart sparrow; miller had heard this sparrow singing by day and night, fourteen thousand feet up on the andes, and its song suggested the songs of both of our sparrows. there were doves and woodpeckers of various species. other birds bore no resemblance to any of ours. one honey-creeper was a perfect little gem, with plumage that was black, purple, and turquoise, and brilliant scarlet feet. two of the birds which cherrie and miller procured were of extraordinary nesting habits. one, a nunlet, in shape resembles a short-tailed bluebird. it is plumbeous, with a fulvous belly and white tail coverts. it is a stupid little bird, and does not like to fly away even when shot at. it catches its prey and ordinarily acts like a rather dull flycatcher, perching on some dead tree, swooping on insects and then returning to its perch, and never going on the ground to feed or run about. but it nests in burrows which it digs itself, one bird usually digging, while the other bird perches in a bush near by. sometimes these burrows are in the side of a sand-bank, the sand being so loose that it is a marvel that it does not cave in. sometimes the burrows are in the level plain, running down about three feet, and then rising at an angle. the nest consists of a few leaves and grasses, and the eggs are white. the other bird, called a nun or waxbill, is about the size of a thrush, grayish in color, with a waxy red bill. it also burrows in the level soil, the burrow being five feet long; and over the mouth of the burrow it heaps a pile of sticks and leaves. at this camp the heat was great--from to fahrenheit--and the air very heavy, being saturated with moisture; and there were many rain-storms. but there were no mosquitoes, and we were very comfortable. thanks to the neighborhood of the ranch, we fared sumptuously, with plenty of beef, chickens, and fresh milk. two of the brazilian dishes were delicious: canja, a thick soup of chicken and rice, the best soup a hungry man ever tasted; and beef chopped in rather small pieces and served with a well-flavored but simple gravy. the mule allotted me as a riding-beast was a powerful animal, with easy gaits. the brazilian government had waiting for me a very handsome silver-mounted saddle and bridle; i was much pleased with both. however, my exceedingly rough and shabby clothing made an incongruous contrast. at tapirapoan we broke up our baggage--as well as our party. we sent forward the canadian canoe--which, with the motor-engine and some kerosene, went in a cart drawn by six oxen--and a hundred sealed tin cases of provisions, each containing rations for a day for six men. they had been put up in new york under the special direction of fiala, for use when we got where we wished to take good and varied food in small compass. all the skins, skulls, and alcoholic specimens, and all the baggage not absolutely necessary, were sent back down the paraguay and to new york, in charge of harper. the separate baggage-trains, under the charge of captain amilcar, were organized to go in one detachment. the main body of the expedition, consisting of the american members, and of colonel rondon, lieutenant lyra, and doctor cajazeira, with their baggage and provisions, formed another detachment. vi. through the highland wilderness of western brazil we were now in the land of the bloodsucking bats, the vampire bats that suck the blood of living creatures, clinging to or hovering against the shoulder of a horse or cow, or the hand or foot of a sleeping man, and making a wound from which the blood continues to flow long after the bat's thirst has been satiated. at tapirapoan there were milch cattle; and one of the calves turned up one morning weak from loss of blood, which was still trickling from a wound, forward of the shoulder, made by a bat. but the bats do little damage in this neighborhood compared to what they do in some other places, where not only the mules and cattle but the chickens have to be housed behind bat-proof protection at night or their lives may pay the penalty. the chief and habitual offenders are various species of rather small bats; but it is said that other kinds of brazilian bats seem to have become, at least sporadically and locally, affected by the evil example and occasionally vary their customary diet by draughts of living blood. one of the brazilian members of our party, hoehne, the botanist, was a zoologist also. he informed me that he had known even the big fruit-eating bats to take to bloodsucking. they did not, according to his observations, themselves make the original wound; but after it had been made by one of the true vampires they would lap the flowing blood and enlarge the wound. south america makes up for its lack, relatively to africa and india, of large man-eating carnivores by the extraordinary ferocity or bloodthirstiness of certain small creatures of which the kinsfolk elsewhere are harmless. it is only here that fish no bigger than trout kill swimmers, and bats the size of the ordinary "flittermice" of the northern hemisphere drain the life-blood of big beasts and of man himself. there was not much large mammalian life in the neighborhood. kermit hunted industriously and brought in an occasional armadillo, coati, or agouti for the naturalists. miller trapped rats and a queer opossum new to the collection. cherrie got many birds. cherrie and miller skinned their specimens in a little open hut or shed. moses, the small pet owl, sat on a cross-bar overhead, an interested spectator, and chuckled whenever he was petted. two wrens, who bred just outside the hut, were much excited by the presence of moses, and paid him visits of noisy unfriendliness. the little white-throated sparrows came familiarly about the palm cabins and whitewashed houses and trilled on the rooftrees. it was a simple song, with just a hint of our northern white-throat's sweet and plaintive melody, and of the opening bars of our song-sparrow's pleasant, homely lay. it brought back dear memories of glorious april mornings on long island, when through the singing of robin and song-sparrow comes the piercing cadence of the meadowlark; and of the far northland woods in june, fragrant with the breath of pine and balsam-fir, where sweetheart sparrows sing from wet spruce thickets and rapid brooks rush under the drenched and swaying alder- boughs. from tapirapoan our course lay northward up to and across the plan alto, the highland wilderness of brazil. from the edges of this highland country, which is geologically very ancient, the affluents of the amazon to the north, and of the plate to the south, flow, with immense and devious loops and windings. two days before we ourselves started with our mule-train, a train of pack-oxen left, loaded with provisions, tools, and other things, which we would not need until, after a month or six weeks, we began our descent into the valley of the amazon. there were about seventy oxen. most of them were well broken, but there were about a score which were either not broken at all or else very badly broken. these were loaded with much difficulty, and bucked like wild broncos. again and again they scattered their loads over the corral and over the first part of the road. the pack-men, however--copper-colored, black, and dusky- white--were not only masters of their art, but possessed tempers that could not be ruffled; when they showed severity it was because severity was needed, and not because they were angry. they finally got all their longhorned beasts loaded and started on the trail with them. on january we ourselves started, with the mule-train. of course, as always in such a journey, there was some confusion before the men and the animals of the train settled down to the routine performance of duty. in addition to the pack-animals we all had riding-mules. the first day we journeyed about twelve miles, then crossing the sepotuba and camping beside it, below a series of falls, or rather rapids. the country was level. it was a great natural pasture, covered with a very open forest of low, twisted trees, bearing a superficial likeness to the cross-timbers of texas and oklahoma. it is as well fitted for stock-raising as oklahoma; and there is also much fine agricultural land, while the river will ultimately yield electric power. it is a fine country for settlement. the heat is great at noon; but the nights are not uncomfortable. we were supposed to be in the middle of the rainy season, but hitherto most of the days had been fine, varied with showers. the astonishing thing was the absence of mosquitoes. insect pests that work by day can be stood, and especially by settlers, because they are far less serious foes in the clearings than in the woods. the mosquitoes and other night foes offer the really serious and unpleasant problem, because they break one's rest. hitherto, during our travels up the paraguay and its tributaries, in this level, marshy tropical region of western brazil, we had practically not been bothered by mosquitoes at all, in our home camps. out in the woods they were at times a serious nuisance, and cherrie and miller had been subjected to real torment by them during some of their special expeditions; but there were practically none on the ranches and in our camps in the open fields by the river, even when marshes were close by. i was puzzled--and delighted--by their absence. settlers need not be deterred from coming to this region by the fear of insect foes. this does not mean that there are not such foes. outside of the clearings, and of the beaten tracks of travel, they teem. there are ticks, poisonous ants, wasps--of which some species are really serious menaces--biting flies and gnats. i merely mean that, unlike so many other tropical regions, this particular region is, from the standpoint of the settler and the ordinary traveller, relatively free from insect pests, and a pleasant place of residence. the original explorer, and to an only less degree the hardworking field naturalist or big-game hunter, have to face these pests, just as they have to face countless risks, hardships, and difficulties. this is inherent in their several professions or avocations. many regions in the united states where life is now absolutely comfortable and easygoing offered most formidable problems to the first explorers a century or two ago. we must not fall into the foolish error of thinking that the first explorers need not suffer terrible hardships, merely because the ordinary travellers, and even the settlers who come after them, do not have to endure such danger, privation, and wearing fatigue--although the first among the genuine settlers also have to undergo exceedingly trying experiences. the early explorers and adventurers make fairly well-beaten trails; but it is incumbent on them neither to boast of their own experiences nor to misjudge the efforts of the pioneers because, thanks to these very efforts, their own lines fall in pleasant places. the ordinary traveller, who never goes off the beaten route and who on this beaten route is carried by others, without himself doing anything or risking anything, does not need to show much more initiative and intelligence than an express package. he does nothing; others do all the work, show all the forethought, take all the risk--and are entitled to all the credit. he and his valise are carried in practically the same fashion; and for each the achievement stands about on the same plane. if this kind of traveller is a writer, he can of course do admirable work, work of the highest value; but the value comes because he is a writer and observer, not because of any particular credit that attaches to him as a traveller. we all recognize this truth as far as highly civilized regions are concerned: when bryce writes of the american commonwealth, or lowell of european legislative assemblies, our admiration is for the insight and thought of the observer, and we are not concerned with his travels. when a man travels across arizona in a pullman car, we do not think of him as having performed a feat bearing even the most remote resemblance to the feats of the first explorers of those waterless wastes; whatever admiration we feel in connection with his trip is reserved for the traffic-superintendent, engineer, fireman, and brakeman. but as regards the less-known continents, such as south america, we sometimes fail to remember these obvious truths. there yet remains plenty of exploring work to be done in south america, as hard, as dangerous, and almost as important as any that has already been done; work such as has recently been done, or is now being done, by men and women such as haseman, farrabee, and miss snethlage. the collecting naturalists who go into the wilds and do first-class work encounter every kind of risk and undergo every kind of hardship and exertion. explorers and naturalists of the right type have open to them in south america a field of extraordinary attraction and difficulty. but to excavate ruins that have already long been known, to visit out-of-the-way towns that date from colonial days, to traverse old, even if uncomfortable, routes of travel, or to ascend or descend highway rivers like the amazon, the paraguay, and the lower orinoco--all of these exploits are well worth performing, but they in no sense represent exploration or adventure, and they do not entitle the performer, no matter how well he writes and no matter how much of real value he contributes to human knowledge, to compare himself in anyway with the real wilderness wanderer, or to criticise the latter. such a performance entails no hardship or difficulty worth heeding. its value depends purely on observation, not on action. the man does little; he merely records what he sees. he is only the man of the beaten routes. the true wilderness wanderer, on the contrary, must be a man of action as well as of observation. he must have the heart and the body to do and to endure, no less than the eye to see and the brain to note and record. let me make it clear that i am not depreciating the excellent work of so many of the men who have not gone off the beaten trails. i merely wish to make it plain that this excellent work must not be put in the class with that of the wilderness explorer. it is excellent work, nevertheless, and has its place, just as the work of the true explorer has its place. both stand in sharpest contrast with the actions of those alleged explorers, among whom mr. savage landor stands in unpleasant prominence. from the sepotuba rapids our course at the outset lay westward. the first day's march away from the river lay through dense tropical forest. away from the broad, beaten route every step of a man's progress represented slashing a trail with the machete through the tangle of bushes, low trees, thorny scrub, and interlaced creepers. there were palms of new kinds, very tall, slender, straight, and graceful, with rather short and few fronds. the wild plantains, or pacovas, thronged the spaces among the trunks of the tall trees; their boles were short, and their broad, erect leaves gigantic; they bore brilliant red-and-orange flowers. there were trees whose trunks bellied into huge swellings. there were towering trees with buttressed trunks, whose leaves made a fretwork against the sky far overhead. gorgeous red-and-green trogons, with long tails, perched motionless on the lower branches and uttered a loud, thrice-repeated whistle. we heard the calling of the false bellbird, which is gray instead of white like the true bellbirds; it keeps among the very topmost branches. heavy rain fell shortly after we reached our camping-place. next morning at sunrise we climbed a steep slope to the edge of the parecis plateau, at a level of about two thousand feet above the sea. we were on the plan alto, the high central plain of brazil, the healthy land of dry air, of cool nights, of clear, running brooks. the sun was directly behind us when we topped the rise. reining in, we looked back over the vast paraguayan marshes, shimmering in the long morning lights. then, turning again, we rode forward, casting shadows far before us. it was twenty miles to the next water, and in hot weather the journey across this waterless, shadeless, sandy stretch of country is hard on the mules and oxen. but on this day the sky speedily grew overcast and a cool wind blew in our faces as we travelled at a quick, running walk over the immense rolling plain. the ground was sandy; it was covered with grass and with a sparse growth of stunted, twisted trees, never more than a few feet high. there were rheas--ostriches--and small pampas-deer on this plain; the coloration of the rheas made it difficult to see them at a distance, whereas the bright red coats of the little deer, and their uplifted flags as they ran, advertised them afar off. we also saw the footprints of cougars and of the small-toothed, big, red wolf. cougars are the most inveterate enemies of these small south american deer, both those of the open grassy plain and those of the forest. it is not nearly as easy to get lost on these open plains as in the dense forest; and where there is a long, reasonably straight road or river to come back to, a man even without a compass is safe. but in these thick south american forests, especially on cloudy days, a compass is an absolute necessity. we were struck by the fact that the native hunters and ranchmen on such days continually lost themselves and, if permitted, travelled for miles through the forest either in circles or in exactly the wrong direction. they had no such sense of direction as the forest-dwelling 'ndorobo hunters in africa had, or as the true forest-dwelling indians of south america are said to have. on certainly half a dozen occasions our guides went completely astray, and we had to take command, to disregard their assertions, and to lead the way aright by sole reliance on our compasses. on this cool day we travelled well. the air was wonderful; the vast open spaces gave a sense of abounding vigor and freedom. early in the afternoon we reached a station made by colonel rondon in the course of his first explorations. there were several houses with whitewashed walls, stone floors, and tiled or thatched roofs. they stood in a wide, gently sloping valley. through it ran a rapid brook of cool water, in which we enjoyed delightful baths. the heavy, intensely humid atmosphere of the low, marshy plains had gone; the air was clear and fresh; the sky was brilliant; far and wide we looked over a landscape that seemed limitless; the breeze that blew in our faces might have come from our own northern plains. the midday sun was very hot; but it was hard to realize that we were in the torrid zone. there were no mosquitoes, so that we never put up our nets when we went to bed; but wrapped ourselves in our blankets and slept soundly through the cool, pleasant nights. surely in the future this region will be the home of a healthy highly civilized population. it is good for cattle-raising, and the valleys are fitted for agriculture. from june to september the nights are often really cold. any sound northern race could live here; and in such a land, with such a climate, there would be much joy of living. on these plains the telegraphic commission uses motor-trucks; and these now to relieve the mules and oxen; for some of them, especially among the oxen, already showed the effects of the strain. travelling in a wild country with a pack-train is not easy on the pack-animals. it was strange to see these big motor-vans out in the wilderness where there was not a settler, not a civilized man except the employees of the telegraphic commission. they were handled by lieutenant lauriado, who, with lieutenant mello, had taken special charge of our transport service; both were exceptionally good and competent men. the following day we again rode on across the plan alto. in the early afternoon, in the midst of a downpour of rain, we crossed the divide between the basins of the paraguay and the amazon. that evening we camped on a brook whose waters ultimately ran into the tapajos. the rain fell throughout the afternoon, now lightly, now heavily, and the mule-train did not get up until dark. but enough tents and flies were pitched to shelter all of us. fires were lit, and--after a fourteen hours' fast we feasted royally on beans and rice and pork and beef, seated around ox-skins spread upon the ground. the sky cleared; the stars blazed down through the cool night; and wrapped in our blankets we slept soundly, warm and comfortable. next morning the trail had turned, and our course led northward and at times east of north. we traversed the same high, rolling plains of coarse grass and stunted trees. kermit, riding a big, iron-mouthed, bull-headed white mule, rode off to one side on a hunt, and rejoined the line of march carrying two bucks of the little pampas-deer, or field deer, behind his saddle. these deer are very pretty and graceful, with a tail like that of the colombian blacktail. standing motionless facing one, in the sparse scrub, they are hard to make out; if seen sideways the reddish of their coats, contrasted with the greens and grays of the landscape, betrays them; and when they bound off the upraised white tail is very conspicuous. they carefully avoid the woods in which their cousins the little bush deer are found, and go singly or in couples. their odor can be made out at quite a distance, but it is not rank. they still carried their antlers. their venison was delicious. we came across many queer insects. one red grasshopper when it flew seemed as big as a small sparrow; and we passed in some places such multitudes of active little green grasshoppers that they frightened the mules. at our camping-place we saw an extraordinary colony of spiders. it was among some dwarf trees, standing a few yards apart from one another by the water. when we reached the camping-place, early in the afternoon--the pack-train did not get in until nearly sunset, just ahead of the rain--no spiders were out. they were under the leaves of the trees. their webs were tenantless, and indeed for the most part were broken down. but at dusk they came out from their hiding-places, two or three hundred of them in all, and at once began to repair the old and spin new webs. each spun its own circular web, and sat in the middle; and each web was connected on several sides with other webs, while those nearest the trees were hung to them by spun ropes, so to speak. the result was a kind of sheet of web consisting of scores of wheels, in each of which the owner and proprietor sat; and there were half a dozen such sheets, each extending between two trees. the webs could hardly be seen; and the effect was of scores of big, formidable-looking spiders poised in midair, equidistant from one another, between each pair of trees. when darkness and rain fell they were still out, fixing their webs, and pouncing on the occasional insects that blundered into the webs. i have no question that they are nocturnal; they certainly hide in the daytime, and it seems impossible that they can come out only for a few minutes at dusk. in the evenings, after supper or dinner--it is hard to tell by what title the exceedingly movable evening meal should be called--the members of the party sometimes told stories of incidents in their past lives. most of them were men of varied experiences. rondon and lyra told of the hardship and suffering of the first trips through the wilderness across which we were going with such comfort. on this very plateau they had once lived for weeks on the fruits of the various fruit-bearing trees. naturally they became emaciated and feeble. in the forests of the amazonian basin they did better because they often shot birds and plundered the hives of the wild honey-bees. in cutting the trail for the telegraph-line through the juruena basin they lost every single one of the hundred and sixty mules with which they had started. those men pay dear who build the first foundations of empire! fiala told of the long polar nights and of white bears that came round the snow huts of the explorers, greedy to eat them, and themselves destined to be eaten by them. of all the party cherrie's experiences had covered the widest range. this was partly owing to the fact that the latter-day naturalist of the most vigorous type who goes into the untrodden wastes of the world must see and do many strange things; and still more owing to the character of the man himself. the things he had seen and done and undergone often enabled him to cast the light of his own past experience on unexpected subjects. once we were talking about the proper weapons for cavalry, and some one mentioned the theory that the lance is especially formidable because of the moral effect it produces on the enemy. cherrie nodded emphatically; and a little cross-examination elicited the fact that he was speaking from lively personal recollection of his own feelings when charged by lancers. it was while he was fighting with the venezuelan insurgents in an unsuccessful uprising against the tyranny of castro. he was on foot, with five venezuelans, all cool men and good shots. in an open plain they were charged by twenty of castro's lancers, who galloped out from behind cover two or three hundred yards off. it was a war in which neither side gave quarter and in which the wounded and the prisoners were butchered--just as president madero was butchered in mexico. cherrie knew that it meant death for him and his companions if the charge came home; and the sight of the horsemen running in at full speed, with their long lances in rest and the blades glittering, left an indelible impression on his mind. but he and his companions shot deliberately and accurately; ten of the lancers were killed, the nearest falling within fifty yards; and the others rode off in headlong haste. a cool man with a rifle, if he has mastered his weapon, need fear no foe. at this camp the auto-vans again joined us. they were to go direct to the first telegraph station, at the great falls of the utiarity, on the rio papagaio. of course they travelled faster than the mule-train. father zahm, attended by sigg, started for the falls in them. cherrie and miller also went in them, because they had found that it was very difficult to collect birds, and especially mammals, when we were moving every day, packing up early each morning and the mule-train arriving late in the afternoon or not until nightfall. moreover, there was much rain, which made it difficult to work except under the tents. accordingly, the two naturalists desired to get to a place where they could spend several days and collect steadily, thereby doing more effective work. the rest of us continued with the mule-train, as was necessary. it was always a picturesque sight when camp was broken, and again at nightfall when the laden mules came stringing in and their burdens were thrown down, while the tents were pitched and the fires lit. we breakfasted before leaving camp, the aluminum cups and plates being placed on ox-hides, round which we sat, on the ground or on camp- stools. we fared well, on rice, beans, and crackers, with canned corned beef, and salmon or any game that had been shot, and coffee, tea, and matte. i then usually sat down somewhere to write, and when the mules were nearly ready i popped my writing-materials into my duffel-bag/war-sack, as we would have called it in the old days on the plains. i found that the mules usually arrived so late in the afternoon or evening that i could not depend upon being able to write at that time. of course, if we made a very early start i could not write at all. at night there were no mosquitoes. in the daytime gnats and sand-flies and horse-flies sometimes bothered us a little, but not much. small stingless bees lit on us in numbers and crawled over the skin, making a slight tickling; but we did not mind them until they became very numerous. there was a good deal of rain, but not enough to cause any serious annoyance. colonel rondon and lieutenant lyra held many discussions as to whither the rio da duvida flowed, and where its mouth might be. its provisional name--"river of doubt"--was given it precisely because of this ignorance concerning it; an ignorance which it was one of the purposes of our trip to dispel. it might go into the gy-parana, in which case its course must be very short; it might flow into the madeira low down, in which case its course would be very long; or, which was unlikely, it might flow into the tapajos. there was another river, of which colonel rondon had come across the head-waters, whose course was equally doubtful, although in its case there was rather more probability of its flowing into the juruena, by which name the tapajos is known for its upper half. to this unknown river colonel rondon had given the name ananas, because when he came across it he found a deserted indian field with pineapples, which the hungry explorers ate greedily. among the things the colonel and i hoped to accomplish on the trip was to do a little work in clearing up one or the other of these two doubtful geographical points, and thereby to push a little forward the knowledge of this region. originally, as described in the first chapter, my trip was undertaken primarily in the interest of the american museum of natural history of new york, to add to our knowledge of the birds and mammals of the far interior of the western brazilian wilderness; and the labels of our baggage and scientific equipment, printed by the museum, were entitled "colonel roosevelt's south american expedition for the american museum of natural history." but, as i have already mentioned, at rio the brazilian government, through the secretary of foreign affairs, doctor lauro muller, suggested that i should combine the expedition with one by colonel rondon, which they contemplated making, and thereby make both expeditions of broader scientific interest. i accepted the proposal with much pleasure; and we found, when we joined colonel rondon and his associates, that their baggage and equipment had been labelled by the brazilian government "expedicao scientifica roosevelt- rondon." this thenceforth became the proper and official title of the expedition. cherrie and miller did the chief zoological work. the geological work was done by a brazilian member of the expedition, euzebio oliveira. the astronomical work necessary for obtaining the exact geographical location of the rivers and points of note was to be done by lieutenant lyra, under the supervision of colonel rondon; and at the telegraph stations this astronomical work would be checked by wire communications with one of colonel rondon's assistants at cuyaba, lieutenant caetano, thereby securing a minutely accurate comparison of time. the sketch-maps and surveying and cartographical work generally were to be made under the supervision of colonel rondon by lyra, with assistance from fiala and kermit. captain amilcar handled the worst problem--transportation; the medical member was doctor cajazeira. at night around the camp-fire my brazilian companions often spoke of the first explorers of this vast wilderness of western brazil--men whose very names are now hardly known, but who did each his part in opening the country which will some day see such growth and development. among the most notable of them was a portuguese, ricardo franco, who spent forty years at the work, during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the opening years of the nineteenth centuries. he ascended for long distances the xingu and the tapajos, and went up the madeira and guapore, crossing to the head-waters of the paraguay and partially exploring there also. he worked among and with the indians, much as mungo park worked with the natives of west africa, having none of the aids, instruments, and comforts with which even the hardiest of modern explorers are provided. he was one of the men who established the beginnings of the province of matto grosso. for many years the sole method of communication between this remote interior province and civilization was by the long, difficult, and perilous route which led up the amazon and madeira; and its then capital, the town of matto grosso, the seat of the captain-general, with its palace, cathedral, and fortress, was accordingly placed far to the west, near the guapore. when less circuitous lines of communication were established farther eastward the old capital was abandoned, and the tropic wilderness surged over the lonely little town. the tomb of the old colonial explorer still stands in the ruined cathedral, where the forest has once more come to its own. but civilization is again advancing to reclaim the lost town and to revive the memory of the wilderness wanderer who helped to found it. colonel rondon has named a river after franco; a range of mountains has also been named after him; and the colonel, acting for the brazilian government, has established a telegraph station in what was once the palace of the captain-general. our northward trail led along the high ground a league or two to the east of the northward-flowing rio sacre. each night we camped on one of the small tributary brooks that fed it. fiala, kermit, and i occupied one tent. in the daytime the "pium" flies, vicious little sand-flies, became bad enough to make us finally use gloves and head- nets. there were many heavy rains, which made the travelling hard for the mules. the soil was more often clay than sand, and it was slippery when wet. the weather was overcast, and there was usually no oppressive heat even at noon. at intervals along the trail we came on the staring skull and bleached skeleton of a mule or ox. day after day we rode forward across endless flats of grass and of low open scrubby forest, the trees standing far apart and in most places being but little higher than the head of a horseman. some of them carried blossoms, white, orange, yellow, pink; and there were many flowers, the most beautiful being the morning-glories. among the trees were bastard rubber-trees, and dwarf palmetto; if the latter grew more than a few feet high their tops were torn and dishevelled by the wind. there was very little bird or mammal life; there were few long vistas, for in most places it was not possible to see far among the gray, gnarled trunks of the wind-beaten little trees. yet the desolate landscape had a certain charm of its own, although not a charm that would be felt by any man who does not take pleasure in mere space, and freedom and wildness, and in plains standing empty to the sun, the wind, and the rain. the country bore some resemblance to the country west of redjaf on the white nile, the home of the giant eland; only here there was no big game, no chance of seeing the towering form of the giraffe, the black bulk of elephant or buffalo, the herds of straw-colored hartebeests, or the ghostly shimmer of the sun glinting on the coats of roan and eland as they vanished silently in the gray sea of withered scrub. one feature in common with the african landscape was the abundance of ant-hills, some as high as a man. they were red in the clay country, gray where it was sandy; and the dirt houses were also in trees, while their raised tunnels traversed trees and ground alike. at some of the camping-places we had to be on our watch against the swarms of leaf- carrying ants. these are so called in the books--the brazilians call them "carregadores," or porters--because they are always carrying bits of leaves and blades of grass to their underground homes. they are inveterate burden-bearers, and they industriously cut into pieces and carry off any garment they can get at; and we had to guard our shoes and clothes from them, just as we had often had to guard all our belongings against the termites. these ants did not bite us; but we encountered huge black ants, an inch and a quarter long, which were very vicious, and their bite was not only painful but quite poisonous. praying-mantes were common, and one evening at supper one had a comical encounter with a young dog, a jovial near-puppy, of colonel rondon's, named cartucho. he had been christened the jolly-cum-pup, from a character in one of frank stockton's stories, which i suppose are now remembered only by elderly people, and by them only if they are natives of the united states. cartucho was lying with his head on the ox-hide that served as table, waiting with poorly dissembled impatience for his share of the banquet. the mantis flew down on the ox-hide and proceeded to crawl over it, taking little flights from one corner to another; and whenever it thought itself menaced it assumed an attitude of seeming devotion and real defiance. soon it lit in front of cartucho's nose. cartucho cocked his big ears forward, stretched his neck, and cautiously sniffed at the new arrival, not with any hostile design, but merely to find out whether it would prove to be a playmate. the mantis promptly assumed an attitude of prayer. this struck cartucho as both novel and interesting, and he thrust his sniffing black nose still nearer. the mantis dexterously thrust forward first one and then the other armed fore leg, touching the intrusive nose, which was instantly jerked back and again slowly and inquiringly brought forward. then the mantis suddenly flew in cartucho's face, whereupon cartucho, with a smothered yelp of dismay, almost turned a back somersault; and the triumphant mantis flew back to the middle of the ox-hide, among the plates, where it reared erect and defied the laughing and applauding company. on the morning of the th we were rather late in starting, because the rain had continued through the night into the morning, drenching everything. after nightfall there had been some mosquitoes, and the piums were a pest during daylight; where one bites it leaves a tiny black spot on the skin which lasts for several weeks. in the slippery mud one of the pack-mules fell and injured itself so that it had to be abandoned. soon after starting we came on the telegraph-line, which runs from cuyaba. this was the first time we had seen it. two parecis indians joined us, leading a pack-bullock. they were dressed in hat, shirt, trousers, and sandals, precisely like the ordinary brazilian caboclos, as the poor backwoods peasants, usually with little white blood in them, are colloquially and half-derisively styled--caboclo being originally a guarany word meaning "naked savage." these two indians were in the employ of the telegraphic commission, and had been patrolling the telegraph-line. the bullock carried their personal belongings and the tools with which they could repair a break. the commission pays the ordinary indian worker cents a day; a very good worker gets $ , and the chief $ . . no man gets anything unless he works. colonel rondon, by just, kindly, and understanding treatment of these indians, who previously had often been exploited and maltreated by rubber-gatherers, has made them the loyal friends of the government. he has gathered them at the telegraph stations, where they cultivate fields of mandioc, beans, potatoes, maize, and other vegetables, and where he is introducing them to stock-raising; and the entire work of guarding and patrolling the line is theirs. after six hours' march we came to the crossing of the rio sacre at the beautiful waterfall appropriately called the salto bello. this is the end of the automobile road. here there is a small parecis village. the men of the village work the ferry by which everything is taken across the deep and rapid river. the ferry-boat is made of planking placed on three dugout canoes, and runs on a trolley. before crossing we enjoyed a good swim in the swift, clear, cool water. the indian village, where we camped, is placed on a jutting tongue of land round which the river sweeps just before it leaps from the over-hanging precipice. the falls themselves are very lovely. just above them is a wooded island, but the river joins again before it races forward for the final plunge. there is a sheer drop of forty or fifty yards, with a breadth two or three times as great; and the volume of water is large. on the left or hither bank a cliff extends for several hundred yards below the falls. green vines have flung themselves down over its face, and they are met by other vines thrusting upward from the mass of vegetation at its foot, glistening in the perpetual mist from the cataract, and clothing even the rock surfaces in vivid green. the river, after throwing itself over the rock wall, rushes off in long curves at the bottom of a thickly wooded ravine, the white water churning among the black boulders. there is a perpetual rainbow at the foot of the falls. the masses of green water that are hurling themselves over the brink dissolve into shifting, foaming columns of snowy lace. on the edge of the cliff below the falls colonel rondon had placed benches, giving a curious touch of rather conventional tourist- civilization to this cataract far out in the lonely wilderness. it is well worth visiting for its beauty. it is also of extreme interest because of the promise it holds for the future. lieutenant lyra informed me that they had calculated that this fall would furnish thirty-six thousand horse-power. eight miles off we were to see another fall of much greater height and power. there are many rivers in this region which would furnish almost unlimited motive force to populous manufacturing communities. the country round about is healthy. it is an upland region of good climate; we were visiting it in the rainy season, the season when the nights are far less cool than in the dry season, and yet we found it delightful. there is much fertile soil in the neighborhood of the streams, and the teeming lowlands of the amazon and the paraguay could readily--and with immense advantage to both sides--be made tributary to an industrial civilization seated on these highlands. a telegraph-line has been built to and across them. a rail-road should follow. such a line could be easily built, for there are no serious natural obstacles. in advance of its construction a trolley-line could be run from cuyaba to the falls, using the power furnished by the latter. once this is done the land will offer extraordinary opportunities to settlers of the right kind: to home-makers and to enterprising business men of foresight, coolness, and sagacity who are willing to work with the settlers, the immigrants, the home-makers, for an advantage which shall be mutual. the parecis indians, whom we met here, were exceedingly interesting. they were to all appearance an unusually cheerful, good-humored, pleasant-natured people. their teeth were bad; otherwise they appeared strong and vigorous, and there were plenty of children. the colonel was received as a valued friend and as a leader who was to be followed and obeyed. he is raising them by degrees--the only way by which to make the rise permanent. in this village he has got them to substitute for the flimsy indian cabins houses of the type usual among the poorer field laborers and back-country dwellers in brazil. these houses have roofs of palm thatch, steeply pitched. they are usually open at the sides, consisting merely of a framework of timbers, with a wall at the back; but some have the ordinary four walls, of erect palm-logs. the hammocks are slung in the houses, and the cooking is also done in them, with pots placed on small open fires, or occasionally in a kind of clay oven. the big gourds for water, and the wicker baskets, are placed on the ground, or hung on the poles. the men had adopted, and were wearing, shirts and trousers, but the women had made little change in their clothing. a few wore print dresses, but obviously only for ornament. most of them, especially the girls and young married women, wore nothing but a loin-cloth in addition to bead necklaces and bracelets. the nursing mothers--and almost all the mothers were nursing--sometimes carried the child slung against their side of hip, seated in a cloth belt, or sling, which went over the opposite shoulder of the mother. the women seemed to be well treated, although polygamy is practised. the children were loved by every one; they were petted by both men and women, and they behaved well to one another, the boys not seeming to bully the girls or the smaller boys. most of the children were naked, but the girls early wore the loin-cloth; and some, both of the little boys and the little girls, wore colored print garments, to the evident pride of themselves and their parents. in each house there were several families, and life went on with no privacy but with good humor, consideration, and fundamentally good manners. the man or woman who had nothing to do lay in a hammock or squatted on the ground leaning against a post or wall. the children played together, or lay in little hammocks, or tagged round after their mothers; and when called they came trustfully up to us to be petted or given some small trinket; they were friendly little souls, and accustomed to good treatment. one woman was weaving a cloth, another was making a hammock; others made ready melons and other vegetables and cooked them over tiny fires. the men, who had come in from work at the ferry or along the telegraph-lines, did some work themselves, or played with the children; one cut a small boy's hair, and then had his own hair cut by a friend. but the absorbing amusement of the men was an extraordinary game of ball. in our family we have always relished oliver herford's nonsense rhymes, including the account of willie's displeasure with his goat: "i do not like my billy goat, i wish that he was dead; because he kicked me, so he did, he kicked me with his head." well, these parecis indians enthusiastically play football with their heads. the game is not only native to them, but i have never heard or read of its being played by any other tribe or people. they use a light hollow rubber ball, of their own manufacture. it is circular and about eight inches in diameter. the players are divided into two sides, and stationed much as in association football, and the ball is placed on the ground to be put in play as in football. then a player runs forward, throws himself flat on the ground, and butts the ball toward the opposite side. this first butt, when the ball is on the ground, never lifts it much and it rolls and bounds toward the opponents. one or two of the latter run toward it; one throws himself flat on his face and butts the ball back. usually this butt lifts it, and it flies back in a curve well up in the air; and an opposite player, rushing toward it, catches it on his head with such a swing of his brawny neck, and such precision and address that the ball bounds back through the air as a football soars after a drop-kick. if the ball flies off to one side or the other it is brought back, and again put in play. often it will be sent to and fro a dozen times, from head to head, until finally it rises with such a sweep that it passes far over the heads of the opposite players and descends behind them. then shrill, rolling cries of good-humored triumph arise from the victors; and the game instantly begins again with fresh zest. there are, of course, no such rules as in a specialized ball-game of civilization; and i saw no disputes. there may be eight or ten, or many more, players on each side. the ball is never touched with the hands or feet, or with anything except the top of the head. it is hard to decide whether to wonder most at the dexterity and strength with which it is hit or butted with the head, as it comes down through the air, or at the reckless speed and skill with which the players throw themselves headlong on the ground to return the ball if it comes low down. why they do not grind off their noses i cannot imagine. some of the players hardly ever failed to catch and return the ball if it came in their neighborhood, and with such a vigorous toss of the head that it often flew in a great curve for a really astonishing distance. that night a pack-ox got into the tent in which kermit and i were sleeping, entering first at one end and then at the other. it is extraordinary that he did not waken us; but we slept undisturbed while the ox deliberately ate our shirts, socks, and underclothes! it chewed them into rags. one of my socks escaped, and my undershirt, although chewed full of holes, was still good for some weeks' wear; but the other things were in fragments. in the morning colonel rondon arranged for us to have breakfast over on the benches under the trees by the waterfall, whose roar, lulled to a thunderous murmur, had been in our ears before we slept and when we waked. there could have been no more picturesque place for the breakfast of such a party as ours. all travellers who really care to see what is most beautiful and most characteristic of the far interior of south america should in their journey visit this region, and see the two great waterfalls. they are even now easy of access; and as soon as the traffic warrants it they will be made still more so; then, from sao luis caceres, they will be speedily reached by light steamboat up the sepotuba and by a day or two's automobile ride, with a couple of days on horse-back in between. the colonel held a very serious council with the parecis indians over an incident which caused him grave concern. one of the commission's employees, a negro, had killed a wild nhambiquara indian; but it appeared that he had really been urged on and aided by the parecis, as the members of the tribe to which the dead indian belonged were much given to carrying off the parecis women and in other ways making themselves bad neighbors. the colonel tried hard to get at the truth of the matter; he went to the biggest indian house, where he sat in a hammock--an indian child cuddling solemnly up to him, by the way-- while the indians sat in other hammocks, and stood round about; but it was impossible to get an absolutely frank statement. it appeared, however, that the nhambiquaras had made a descent on the parecis village in the momentary absence of the men of the village; but the latter, notified by the screaming of the women, had returned in time to rescue them. the negro was with them and, having a good rifle, he killed one of the aggressors. the parecis were, of course, in the right, but the colonel could not afford to have his men take sides in a tribal quarrel. it was only a two hours' march across to the papagaio at the falls of utiarity, so named by their discoverer, colonel rondon, after the sacred falcon of the parecis. on the way we passed our indian friends, themselves bound thither; both the men and the women bore burdens--the burdens of some of the women, poor things, were heavy--and even the small naked children carried the live hens. at utiarity there is a big parecis settlement and a telegraph station kept by one of the employees of the commission. his pretty brown wife is acting as schoolmistress to a group of little parecis girls. the parecis chief has been made a major and wears a uniform accordingly. the commission has erected good buildings for its own employees and has superintended the erection of good houses for the indians. most of the latter still prefer the simplicity of the loin-cloth, in their ordinary lives, but they proudly wore their civilized clothes in our honor. when in the late afternoon the men began to play a regular match game of head- ball, with a scorer or umpire to keep count, they soon discarded most of their clothes, coming down to nothing but trousers or a loin-cloth. two or three of them had their faces stained with red ochre. among the women and children looking on were a couple of little girls who paraded about on stilts. the great waterfall was half a mile below us. lovely though we had found salto bello, these falls were far superior in beauty and majesty. they are twice as high and twice as broad; and the lay of the land is such that the various landscapes in which the waterfall is a feature are more striking. a few hundred yards above the falls the river turns at an angle and widens. the broad, rapid shallows are crested with whitecaps. beyond this wide expanse of flecked and hurrying water rise the mist columns of the cataract; and as these columns are swayed and broken by the wind the forest appears through and between them. from below the view is one of singular grandeur. the fall is over a shelving ledge of rock which goes in a nearly straight line across the river's course. but at the left there is a salient in the cliff-line, and here accordingly a great cataract of foaming water comes down almost as a separate body, in advance of the line of the main fall. i doubt whether, excepting, of course, niagara, there is a waterfall in north america which outranks this if both volume and beauty are considered. above the fall the river flows through a wide valley with gently sloping sides. below, it slips along, a torrent of white-green water, at the bottom of a deep gorge; and the sides of the gorge are clothed with a towering growth of tropical forest. next morning the cacique of these indians, in his major's uniform, came to breakfast, and bore himself with entire propriety. it was raining heavily--it rained most of the time--and a few minutes previously i had noticed the cacique's two wives, with three or four other young women, going out to the mandioc fields. it was a picturesque group. the women were all mothers, and each carried a nursing child. they wore loin-cloths or short skirts. each carried on her back a wickerwork basket supported by a head-strap which went around her forehead. each carried a belt slung diagonally across her body, over her right shoulder; in this the child was carried, against and perhaps astride of her left hip. they were comely women, who did not look jaded or cowed; and they laughed cheerfully and nodded to us as they passed through the rain, on their way to the fields. but the contrast between them and the chief in his soldier's uniform seated at breakfast was rather too striking; and incidentally it etched in bold lines the folly of those who idealize the life of even exceptionally good and pleasant-natured savages. although it was the rainy season, the trip up to this point had not been difficult, and from may to october, when the climate is dry and at its best, there would be practically no hardship at all for travellers and visitors. this is a healthy plateau. but, of course, the men who do the first pioneering, even in country like this, encounter dangers and run risks; and they make payment with their bodies. at more than one halting-place we had come across the forlorn grave of some soldier or laborer of the commission. the grave-mound lay within a rude stockade; and an uninscribed wooden cross, gray and weather-beaten, marked the last resting-place of the unknown and forgotten man beneath, the man who had paid with his humble life the cost of pushing the frontier of civilization into the wild savagery of the wilderness. farther west the conditions become less healthy. at this station colonel rondon received news of sickness and of some deaths among the employees of the commission in the country to the westward, which we were soon to enter. beriberi and malignant malarial fever were the diseases which claimed the major number of the victims. surely these are "the men who do the work for which they draw the wage." kermit had with him the same copy of kipling's poems which he had carried through africa. at these falls there was one sunset of angry splendor; and we contrasted this going down of the sun, through broken rain-clouds and over leagues of wet tropical forest, with the desert sunsets we had seen in arizona and sonora, and along the guaso nyiro north and west of mount kenia, when the barren mountains were changed into flaming "ramparts of slaughter and peril" standing above "the wine-dark flats below." it rained during most of the day after our arrival at utiarity. whenever there was any let-up the men promptly came forth from their houses and played head-ball with the utmost vigor; and we would listen to their shrill undulating cries of applause and triumph until we also grew interested and strolled over to look on. they are more infatuated with the game than an american boy is with baseball or football. it is an extraordinary thing that this strange and exciting game should be played by, and only by, one little tribe of indians in what is almost the very centre of south america. if any traveller or ethnologist knows of a tribe elsewhere that plays a similar game, i wish he would let me know. to play it demands great activity, vigor, skill, and endurance. looking at the strong, supple bodies of the players, and at the number of children roundabout, it seemed as if the tribe must be in vigorous health; yet the parecis have decreased in numbers, for measles and smallpox have been fatal to them. by the evening the rain was coming down more heavily than ever. it was not possible to keep the moisture out of our belongings; everything became mouldy except what became rusty. it rained all that night; and day-light saw the downpour continuing with no prospect of cessation. the pack-mules could not have gone on with the march; they were already rather done up by their previous ten days' labor through rain and mud, and it seemed advisable to wait until the weather became better before attempting to go forward. moreover, there had been no chance to take the desired astronomical observations. there was very little grass for the mules; but there was abundance of a small-leaved plant eight or ten inches high--unfortunately, not very nourishing--on which they fed greedily. in such weather and over such muddy trails oxen travel better than mules. in spite of the weather cherrie and miller, whom, together with father zahm and sigg, we had found awaiting us, made good collections of birds and mammals. among the latter were opossums and mice that were new to them. the birds included various forms so unlike our home birds that the enumeration of their names would mean nothing. one of the most interesting was a large black-and-white woodpecker, the white predominating in the plumage. several of these woodpeckers were usually found together. they were showy, noisy, and restless, and perched on twigs, in ordinary bird fashion, at least as often as they clung to the trunks in orthodox woodpecker style. the prettiest bird was a tiny manakin, coal-black, with a red-and-orange head. on february the rain let up, although the sky remained overcast and there were occasional showers. i walked off with my rifle for a couple of leagues; at that distance, from a slight hillock, the mist columns of the falls were conspicuous in the landscape. the only mammal i saw on the walk was a rather hairy armadillo, with a flexible tail, which i picked up and brought back to miller--it showed none of the speed of the nine-banded armadillos we met on our jaguar-hunt. judging by its actions, as it trotted about before it saw me, it must be diurnal in habits. it was new to the collection. i spent much of the afternoon by the waterfall. under the overcast sky the great cataract lost the deep green and fleecy-white of the sunlit falling waters. instead it showed opaline hues and tints of topaz and amethyst. at all times, and under all lights, it was majestic and beautiful. colonel rondon had given the indians various presents, those for the women including calico prints, and, what they especially prized, bottles of scented oil, from paris, for their hair. the men held a dance in the late afternoon. for this occasion most, but not all, of them cast aside their civilized clothing, and appeared as doubtless they would all have appeared had none but themselves been present. they were absolutely naked except for a beaded string round the waist. most of them were spotted and dashed with red paint, and on one leg wore anklets which rattled. a number carried pipes through which they blew a kind of deep stifled whistle in time to the dancing. one of them had his pipe leading into a huge gourd, which gave out a hollow, moaning boom. many wore two red or green or yellow macaw feathers in their hair, and one had a macaw feather stuck transversely through the septum of his nose. they circled slowly round and round, chanting and stamping their feet, while the anklet rattles clattered and the pipes droned. they advanced to the wall of one of the houses, again and again chanting and bowing before it; i was told this was a demand for drink. they entered one house and danced in a ring around the cooking- fire in the middle of the earth floor; i was told that they were then reciting the deeds of mighty hunters and describing how they brought in the game. they drank freely from gourds and pannikins of a fermented drink made from mandioc which were brought out to them. during the first part of the dance the women remained in the houses, and all the doors and windows were shut and blankets hung to prevent the possibility of seeing out. but during the second part all the women and girls came out and looked on. they were themselves to have danced when the men had finished, but were overcome with shyness at the thought of dancing with so many strangers looking on. the children played about with unconcern throughout the ceremony, one of them throwing high in the air, and again catching in his hands, a loaded feather, a kind of shuttlecock. in the evening the growing moon shone through the cloud-rack. anything approaching fair weather always put our men in good spirits; and the muleteers squatted in a circle, by a fire near a pile of packs, and listened to a long monotonously and rather mournfully chanted song about a dance and a love-affair. we ourselves worked busily with our photographs and our writing. there was so much humidity in the air that everything grew damp and stayed damp, and mould gathered quickly. at this season it is a country in which writing, taking photographs, and preparing specimens are all works of difficulty, at least so far as concerns preserving and sending home the results of the labor; and a man's clothing is never really dry. from here father zahm returned to tapirapoan, accompanied by sigg. vii. with a mule train across nhambiquara land from this point we were to enter a still wilder region, the land of the naked nhambiquaras. on february the weather cleared and we started with the mule-train and two ox-carts. fiala and lieutenant lauriado stayed at utiarity to take canoes and go down the papagaio, which had not been descended by any scientific party, and perhaps by no one. they were then to descend the juruena and tapajos, thereby performing a necessary part of the work of the expedition. our remaining party consisted of colonel rondon, lieutenant lyra, the doctor, oliveira, cherrie, miller, kermit, and myself. on the juruena we expected to meet the pack ox-train with captain amilcar and lieutenant mello; the other brazilian members of the party had returned. we had now begun the difficult part of the expedition. the pium flies were becoming a pest. there was much fever and beriberi in the country we were entering. the feed for the animals was poor; the rains had made the trails slippery and difficult; and many, both of the mules and the oxen, were already weak, and some had to be abandoned. we left the canoe, the motor, and the gasolene; we had hoped to try them on the amazonian rivers, but we were obliged to cut down everything that was not absolutely indispensable. before leaving we prepared for shipment back to the museum some of the bigger skins, and also some of the weapons and utensils of the indians, which kermit had collected. these included woven fillets, and fillets made of macaw feathers, for use in the dances; woven belts; a gourd in which the sacred drink is offered to the god enoerey; wickerwork baskets; flutes or pipes; anklet rattles; hammocks; a belt of the kind used by the women in carrying the babies, with the weaving-frame. all these were parecis articles. he also secured from the nhambiquaras wickerwork baskets of a different type and bows and arrows. the bows were seven feet long and the arrows five feet. there were blunt-headed arrows for birds, arrows with long, sharp wooden blades for tapir, deer, and other mammals; and the poisoned war- arrows, with sharp barbs, poison-coated and bound on by fine thongs, and with a long, hollow wooden guard to slip over the entire point and protect it until the time came to use it. when people talk glibly of "idle" savages they ignore the immense labor entailed by many of their industries, and the really extraordinary amount of work they accomplish by the skilful use of their primitive and ineffective tools. it was not until early in the afternoon that we started into the "sertao,"[*] as brazilians call the wilderness. we drove with us a herd of oxen for food. after going about fifteen miles we camped beside the swampy headwaters of a little brook. it was at the spot where nearly seven years previously rondon and lyra had camped on the trip when they discovered utiarity falls and penetrated to the juruena. when they reached this place they had been thirty-six hours without food. they killed a bush deer--a small deer--and ate literally every particle. the dogs devoured the entire skin. for much of the time on this trip they lived on wild fruit, and the two dogs that remained alive would wait eagerly under the trees and eat the fruit that was shaken down. [*] pronounced "sairtown," as nearly as, with our preposterous methods of spelling and pronunciation, i can render it. in the late afternoon the piums were rather bad at this camp, but we had gloves and head-nets, and were not bothered; and although there were some mosquitoes we slept well under our mosquito-nets. the frogs in the swamp uttered a peculiar, loud shout. miller told of a little tree-frog in colombia which swelled itself out with air until it looked like the frog in aesop's fables, and then brayed like a mule; and cherrie told of a huge frog in guiana that uttered a short, loud roar. next day the weather was still fair. our march lay through country like that which we had been traversing for ten days. skeletons of mules and oxen were more frequent; and once or twice by the wayside we passed the graves of officers or men who had died on the road. barbed wire encircled the desolate little mounds. we camped on the west bank of the burity river. here there is a balsa, or ferry, run by two parecis indians, as employees of the telegraphic commission, under the colonel. each had a thatched house, and each had two wives--all these indians are pagans. all were dressed much like the poorer peasants of the brazilian back country, and all were pleasant and well-behaved. the women ran the ferry about as well as the men. they had no cultivated fields, and for weeks they had been living only on game and honey; and they hailed with joy our advent and the quantities of beans and rice which, together with some beef, the colonel left with them. they feasted most of the night. their houses contained their hammocks, baskets, and other belongings, and they owned some poultry. in one house was a tiny parakeet, very much at home, and familiar, but by no means friendly, with strangers. there are wild nhambiquaras in the neighborhood, and recently several of these had menaced the two ferrymen with an attack, even shooting arrows at them. the ferrymen had driven them off by firing their rifles in the air; and they expected and received the colonel's praise for their self-restraint; for the colonel is doing all he can to persuade the indians to stop their blood feuds. the rifles were short and light winchester carbines, of the kind so universally used by the rubber-gatherers and other adventurous wanderers in the forest wilderness of brazil. there were a number of rubber-trees in the neighborhood, by the way. we enjoyed a good bath in the burity, although it was impossible to make headway by swimming against the racing current. there were few mosquitoes. on the other hand, various kinds of piums were a little too abundant; they vary from things like small gnats to things like black flies. the small stingless bees have no fear and can hardly be frightened away when they light on the hands or face; but they never bite, and merely cause a slight tickling as they crawl over the skin. there were some big bees, however, which, although they crawled about harmlessly after lighting if they were undisturbed, yet stung fiercely if they were molested. the insects were not ordinarily a serious bother, but there were occasional hours when they were too numerous for comfort, and now and then i had to do my writing in a head-net and gauntlets. the night we reached the burity it rained heavily, and next day the rain continued. in the morning the mules were ferried over, while the oxen were swum across. half a dozen of our men--whites, indians, and negroes, all stark naked and uttering wild cries, drove the oxen into the river and then, with powerful overhand strokes, swam behind and alongside them as they crossed, half breasting the swift current. it was a fine sight to see the big, long-horned, staring beasts swimming strongly, while the sinewy naked men urged them forward, utterly at ease in the rushing water. we made only a short day's journey, for, owing to the lack of grass, the mules had to be driven off nearly three miles from our line of march, in order to get them feed. we camped at the headwaters of a little brook called huatsui, which is parecis for "monkey." accompanying us on this march was a soldier bound for one of the remoter posts. with him trudged his wife. they made the whole journey on foot. there were two children. one was so young that it had to be carried alternately by the father and mother. the other, a small boy of eight, and much the best of the party, was already a competent wilderness worker. he bore his share of the belongings on the march, and when camp was reached sometimes himself put up the family shelter. they were mainly of negro blood. struck by the woman's uncomplaining endurance of fatigue, we offered to take her and the baby in the automobile, while it accompanied us. but, alas! this proved to be one of those melancholy cases where the effort to relieve hardship well endured results only in showing that those who endure the adversity cannot stand even a slight prosperity. the woman proved a querulous traveller in the auto, complaining that she was not made as comfortable as apparently she had expected; and after one day the husband declared he was not willing to have her go unless he went too; and the family resumed their walk. in this neighborhood there were multitudes of the big, gregarious, crepuscular or nocturnal spiders which i have before mentioned. on arriving in camp, at about four in the afternoon, i ran into a number of remains of their webs, and saw a very few of the spiders themselves sitting in the webs midway between trees. i then strolled a couple of miles up the road ahead of us under the line of telegraph-poles. it was still bright sunlight and no spiders were out; in fact, i did not suspect their presence along the line of telegraph-poles, although i ought to have done so, for i continually ran into long strings of tough fine web, which got across my face or hands or rifle barrel. i returned just at sunset and the spiders were out in force. i saw dozens of colonies, each of scores or hundreds of individuals. many were among the small trees alongside the broad, cleared trail. but most were dependent from the wire itself. their webs had all been made or repaired since i had passed. each was sitting in the middle of his own wheel, and all the wheels were joined to one another; and the whole pendent fabric hung by fine ropes from the wire above, and was in some cases steadied by guy-ropes, thrown thirty feet off to little trees alongside. i watched them until nightfall, and evidently, to them, after their day's rest, their day's work had just begun. next morning--owing to a desire to find out what the facts were as regards the ox-carts, which were in difficulties--cherrie, miller, kermit, and i walked back to the burity river, where colonel rondon had spent the night. it was a misty, overcast morning, and the spiders in the webs that hung from the telegraph-wire were just going to their day homes. these were in and under the big white china insulators on the telegraph-poles. hundreds of spiders were already climbing up into these. when, two or three hours later, we returned, the sun was out, and not a spider was to be seen. here we had to cut down our baggage and rearrange the loads for the mule-train. cherrie and miller had a most workmanlike equipment, including a very light tent and two light flies. one fly they gave for the kitchen use, one fly was allotted to kermit and me, and they kept only the tent for themselves. colonel rondon and lyra went in one tent, the doctor and oliveira in another. each of us got rid of everything above the sheer necessities. this was necessary because of the condition of the baggage-animals. the oxen were so weak that the effort to bring on the carts had to be abandoned. nine of the pack- mules had already been left on the road during the three days' march from utiarity. in the first expeditions into this country all the baggage animals had died; and even in our case the loss was becoming very heavy. this state of affairs is due to the scarcity of forage and the type of country. good grass is scanty, and the endless leagues of sparse, scrubby forest render it exceedingly difficult to find the animals when they wander. they must be turned absolutely loose to roam about and pick up their scanty subsistence, and must be given as long a time as possible to feed and rest; even under these conditions most of them grow weak when, as in our case, it is impossible to carry corn. they cannot be found again until after daylight, and then hours must be spent in gathering them; and this means that the march must be made chiefly during the heat of the day, the most trying time. often some of the animals would not be brought in until so late that it was well on in the forenoon, perhaps midday, before the bulk of the pack- train started; and they reached the camping-place as often after night fall as before it. under such conditions many of the mules and oxen grew constantly weaker and ultimately gave out; and it was imperative to load them as lightly as possible, and discard all luxuries, especially heavy or bulky luxuries. travelling through a wild country where there is little food for man or beast is beset with difficulties almost inconceivable to the man who does not himself know this kind of wilderness, and especially to the man who only knows the ease of civilization. a scientific party of some size, with the equipment necessary in order to do scientific work, can only go at all if the men who actually handle the problems of food and transportation do their work thoroughly. our march continued through the same type of high, nearly level upland, covered with scanty, scrubby forest. it is the kind of country known to the brazilians as chapadao--pronounced almost as if it were a french word and spelled shapadon. our camp on the fourth night was in a beautiful spot, an open grassy space, beside a clear, cool, rushing little river. we ourselves reached this, and waded our beasts across the deep, narrow stream in the late afternoon; and we then enjoyed a bath and swim. the loose bullocks arrived at sunset, and with shrill cries the mounted herdsmen urged them into and across the swift water. the mule-train arrived long after night fall, and it was not deemed wise to try to cross the laden animals. accordingly the loads were taken off and brought over on the heads of the men; it was fine to see the sinewy, naked figures bearing their burdens through the broken moonlit water to the hither bank. the night was cool and pleasant. we kindled a fire and sat beside the blaze. then, healthily hungry, we gathered around the ox-hides to a delicious dinner of soup, beef, beans, rice, and coffee. next day we made a short march, crossed a brook, and camped by another clear, deep, rapid little river, swollen by the rains. all these rivers that we were crossing run actually into the juruena, and therefore form part of the headwaters of the tapajos; for the tapajos is a mighty river, and the basin which holds its headwaters covers an immense extent of country. this country and the adjacent regions, forming the high interior of western brazil, will surely some day support a large industrial population; of which the advent would be hastened, although not necessarily in permanently better fashion, if colonel rondon's anticipations about the development of mining, especially gold mining, are realized. in any event the region will be a healthy home for a considerable agricultural and pastoral population. above all, the many swift streams with their numerous waterfalls, some of great height and volume, offer the chance for the upgrowth of a number of big manufacturing communities, knit by rail- roads to one another and to the atlantic coast and the valleys of the paraguay, madeira, and amazon, and feeding and being fed by the dwellers in the rich, hot, alluvial lowlands that surround this elevated territory. the work of colonel rondon and his associates of the telegraphic commission has been to open this great and virgin land to the knowledge of the world and to the service of their nation. in doing so they have incidentally founded the brazilian school of exploration. before their day almost all the scientific and regular exploration of brazil was done by foreigners. but, of course, there was much exploration and settlement by nameless brazilians, who were merely endeavoring to make new homes or advance their private fortunes: in recent years by rubber-gatherers, for instance, and a century ago by those bold and restless adventurers, partly of portuguese and partly of indian blood, the paolistas, from one of whom colonel rondon is himself descended on his father's side. the camp by this river was in some old and grown-up fields, once the seat of a rather extensive maize and mandioc cultivation by the nhambiquaras. on this day cherrie got a number of birds new to the collection, and two or three of them probably new to science. we had found the birds for the most part in worn plumage, for the breeding season, the southern spring and northern fall, was over. but some birds were still breeding. in the tropics the breeding season is more irregular than in the north. some birds breed at very different times from that chosen by the majority of their fellows; some can hardly be said to have any regular season; cherrie had found one species of honey-creeper breeding in every month of the year. just before sunset and just after sunrise big, noisy, blue-and-yellow macaws flew over this camp. they were plentiful enough to form a loose flock, but each pair kept to itself, the two individuals always close together and always separated from the rest. although not an abundant, it was an interesting, fauna which the two naturalists found in this upland country, where hitherto no collections of birds and mammals had been made. miller trapped several species of opossums, mice and rats which were new to him. cherrie got many birds which he did not recognize. at this camp, among totally strange forms, he found an old and familiar acquaintance. before breakfast he brought in several birds; a dark colored flycatcher, with white forehead and rump and two very long tail-feathers; a black and slate-blue tanager; a black ant-thrush with a concealed white spot on its back, at the base of the neck, and its dull-colored mate; and other birds which he believed to be new to science, but whose relationships with any of our birds are so remote that it is hard to describe them save in technical language. finally, among these unfamiliar forms was a veery, and the sight of the rufous- olive back and faintly spotted throat of this singer of our northern junes made us almost homesick. next day was brilliantly clear. the mules could not be brought in until quite late in the morning, and we had to march twenty miles under the burning tropical sun, right in the hottest part of the day. from a rise of ground we looked back over the vast, sunlit landscape, the endless rolling stretches of low forest. midway on our journey we crossed a brook. the dogs minded the heat much. they continually ran off to one side, lay down in a shady place, waited until we were several hundred yards ahead, and then raced after us, overtook us, and repeated the performance. the pack-train came in about sunset; but we ourselves reached the juruena in the middle of the afternoon. the juruena is the name by which the tapajos goes along its upper course. where we crossed, it was a deep, rapid stream, flowing in a heavily wooded valley with rather steep sides. we were ferried across on the usual balsa, a platform on three dugouts, running by the force of the current on a wire trolley. there was a clearing on each side with a few palms, and on the farther bank were the buildings of the telegraph station. this is a wild country, and the station was guarded by a few soldiers under the command of lieutenant marino, a native of rio grande do sul, a blond man who looked like an englishman--an agreeable companion, and a good and resolute officer, as all must be who do their work in this wilderness. the juruena was first followed at the end of the eighteenth century by the portuguese explorer franco, and not again until over a hundred years had elapsed, when the telegraphic commission not only descended, but for the first time accurately placed and mapped its course. there were several houses on the rise of the farther bank, all with thatched roofs, some of them with walls of upright tree-trunks, some of them daub and wattle. into one of the latter, with two rooms, we took our belongings. the sand-flies were bothersome at night, coming through the interstices in the ordinary mosquito-nets. the first night they did this i got no sleep until morning, when it was cool enough for me to roll myself in my blanket and put on a head-net. afterward we used fine nets of a kind of cheese-cloth. they were hot, but they kept out all, or almost all, of the sand-flies and other small tormentors. here we overtook the rearmost division of captain amilcar's bullock- train. our own route had diverged, in order to pass the great falls. captain amilcar had come direct, overtaking the pack-oxen, which had left tapirapoan before we did, laden with material for the duvida trip. he had brought the oxen through in fine shape, losing only three beasts with their loads, and had himself left the juruena the morning of the day we reached there. his weakest animals left that evening, to make the march by moonlight; and as it was desirable to give them thirty-six hours' start, we halted for a day on the banks of the river. it was not a wasted day. in addition to bathing and washing our clothes, the naturalists made some valuable additions to the collection--including a boldly marked black, blue, and white jay--and our photographs were developed and our writing brought abreast of the date. travelling through a tropical wilderness in the rainy season, when the amount of baggage that can be taken is strictly limited, entails not only a good deal of work, but also the exercise of considerable ingenuity if the writing and photographing, and especially the preservation, of the specimens are to be done in satisfactory shape. at the telegraph office we received news that the voyage of lauriado and fiala down the papagaio had opened with a misadventure. in some bad rapids, not many miles below the falls, two of the canoes had been upset, half of their provisions and all of fiala's baggage lost, and fiala himself nearly drowned. the papagaio is known both at the source and the mouth; to descend it did not represent a plunge into the unknown, as in the case of the duvida or the ananas; but the actual water work, over the part that was unexplored, offered the same possibilities of mischance and disaster. it is a hazardous thing to descend a swift, unknown river rushing through an uninhabited wilderness. to descend or ascend the ordinary great highway rivers of south america, such as the amazon, paraguay, tapajos, and, in its lower course, the orinoco, is now so safe and easy, whether by steam- boat or big, native cargo-boat, that people are apt to forget the very serious difficulties offered by the streams, often themselves great rivers, which run into or form the upper courses of these same water highways. few things are easier than the former feat, and few more difficult than the latter; and experience in ordinary travelling on the lower courses of the rivers is of no benefit whatever in enabling a man to form a judgement as to what can be done, and how to do it, on the upper courses. failure to remember this fact is one of the obstacles in the way of securing a proper appreciation of the needs and the results, of south american exploration. at the juruena we met a party of nhambiquaras, very friendly and sociable, and very glad to see colonel rondon. they were originally exceedingly hostile and suspicious, but the colonel's unwearied thoughtfulness and good temper, joined with his indomitable resolution, enabled him to avoid war and to secure their friendship and even their aid. he never killed one. many of them are known to him personally. he is on remarkably good terms with them, and they are very fond of him--although this does not prevent them from now and then yielding to temptation, even at his expense, and stealing a dog or something else which strikes them as offering an irresistible attraction. they cannot be employed at steady work; but they do occasional odd jobs, and are excellent at hunting up strayed mules or oxen; and a few of the men have begun to wear clothes, purely for ornament. their confidence and bold friendliness showed how well they had been treated. probably half of our visitors were men; several were small boys; one was a woman with a baby; the others were young married women and girls. nowhere in africa did we come across wilder or more absolutely primitive savages, although these indians were pleasanter and better- featured than any of the african tribes at the same stage of culture. both sexes were well-made and rather good-looking, with fairly good teeth, although some of them seemed to have skin diseases. they were a laughing, easy-tempered crew, and the women were as well-fed as the men, and were obviously well-treated, from the savage standpoint; there was no male brutality like that which forms such a revolting feature in the life of the australian black fellows and, although to a somewhat less degree, in the life of so many negro and indian tribes. they were practically absolutely naked. in many savage tribes the men go absolutely naked, but the women wear a breech-clout or loincloth. in certain tribes we saw near lake victoria nyanza, and on the upper white nile, both men and women were practically naked. among these nhambiquaras the women were more completely naked than the men, although the difference was not essential. the men wore a string around the waist. most of them wore nothing else, but a few had loosely hanging from this string in front a scanty tuft of dried grass, or a small piece of cloth, which, however, was of purely symbolic use so far as either protection or modesty was concerned. the women did not wear a stitch of any kind anywhere on their bodies. they did not have on so much as a string, or a bead, or even an ornament in their hair. they were all, men and women, boys and well-grown young girls, as entirely at ease and unconscious as so many friendly animals. all of them--men, women, and children, laughing and talking-- crowded around us, whether we were on horseback or on foot. they flocked into the house, and when i sat down to write surrounded me so closely that i had to push them gently away. the women and girls often stood holding one another's hands, or with their arms over one another's shoulders or around one another's waists, offering an attractive picture. the men had holes pierced through the septum of the nose and through the upper lip, and wore a straw through each hole. the women were not marked or mutilated. it seems like a contradiction in terms, but it is nevertheless a fact that the behavior of these completely naked women and men was entirely modest. there was never an indecent look or a consciously indecent gesture. they had no blankets or hammocks, and when night came simply lay down in the sand. colonel rondon stated that they never wore a covering by night or by day, and if it was cool slept one on each side of a small fire. their huts were merely slight shelters against the rain. the moon was nearly full, and after nightfall a few of the indians suddenly held an improvised dance for us in front of our house. there were four men, a small boy, and two young women or grown girls. two of the men had been doing some work for the commission, and were dressed, one completely and one partially, in ordinary clothes. two of the men and the boy were practically naked, and the two young women were absolutely so. all of them danced in a circle, without a touch of embarrassment or impropriety. the two girls kept hold of each other's hands throughout, dancing among the men as modestly as possible, and with the occasional interchange of a laugh or jest, in as good taste and temper as in any dance in civilization. the dance consisted in slowly going round in a circle, first one way then the other, rhythmically beating time with the feet to the music of the song they were chanting. the chants--there were three of them, all told--were measured and rather slowly uttered melodies, varied with an occasional half-subdued shrill cry. the women continually uttered a kind of long- drawn wailing or droning; i am not enough of a musician to say whether it was an overtone or the sustaining of the burden of the ballad. the young boy sang better than any of the others. it was a strange and interesting sight to see these utterly wild, friendly savages circling in their slow dance, and chanting their immemorial melodies, in the brilliant tropical moonlight, with the river rushing by in the background, through the lonely heart of the wilderness. the indians stayed with us, feasting, dancing, and singing until the early hours of the morning. they then suddenly and silently disappeared in the darkness, and did not return. in the morning we discovered that they had gone off with one of colonel rondon's dogs. probably the temptation had proved irresistible to one of their number, and the others had been afraid to interfere, and also afraid to stay in or return to our neighborhood. we had not time to go after them; but rondon remarked that as soon as he again came to the neighborhood he would take some soldiers, hunt up the indians, and reclaim the dog. it has been his mixture of firmness, good nature, and good judgment that has enabled him to control these bold, warlike savages, and even to reduce the warfare between them and the parecis. in spite of their good nature and laughter, their fearlessness and familiarity showed how necessary it was not to let them get the upper hand. they are always required to leave all their arms a mile or two away before they come into the encampment. they are much wilder and more savage, and at a much lower cultural level, than the parecis. in the afternoon of the day following our arrival there was a heavy rain-storm which drove into the unglazed windows, and here and there came through the roof and walls of our daub-and-wattle house. the heat was intense and there was much moisture in this valley. during the downpour i looked out at the dreary little houses, showing through the driving rain, while the sheets of muddy water slid past their door- sills; and i felt a sincere respect for the lieutenant and his soldiers who were holding this desolate outpost of civilization. it is an unhealthy spot; there has been much malarial fever and beriberi--an obscure and deadly disease. next morning we resumed our march. it soon began to rain and we were drenched when, some fifteen miles on, we reached the river where we were to camp. after the great heat we felt quite cold in our wet clothes, and gladly crowded round a fire which was kindled under a thatched shed, beside the cabin of the ferryman. this ferry-boat was so small that it could only take one mule, or at most two, at a time. the mules and a span of six oxen dragging an ox-cart, which we had overtaken, were ferried slowly to the farther side that afternoon, as there was no feed on the hither bank, where we ourselves camped. the ferryman was a soldier in the employ of the telegraphic commission. his good-looking, pleasant-mannered wife, evidently of both indian and negro blood, was with him, and was doing all she could do as a housekeeper, in the comfortless little cabin, with its primitive bareness of furniture and fittings. here we saw captain amilcar, who had come back to hurry up his rear- guard. we stood ankle-deep in mud and water, by the swollen river, while the rain beat on us, and enjoyed a few minutes' talk with the cool, competent officer who was doing a difficult job with such workman-like efficiency. he had no poncho, and was wet through, but was much too busy in getting his laden oxen forward to think of personal discomfort. he had had a good deal of trouble with his mules, but his oxen were still in fair shape. after leaving the juruena the ground became somewhat more hilly, and the scrubby forest was less open, but otherwise there was no change in the monotonous, and yet to me rather attractive, landscape. the ant- hills, and the ant-houses in the trees--arboreal ant-hills, so to speak were as conspicuous as ever. the architects of some were red ants, of others black ants; and others, which were on the whole the largest, had been built by the white ants, the termites. the latter were not infrequently taller than a horseman's head. that evening round the camp-fire colonel rondon happened to mention how the brother of one of the soldiers with us--a parecis indian--had been killed by a jararaca snake. cherrie told of a narrow escape he had from one while collecting in guiana. at night he used to set traps in camp for small mammals. one night he heard one of these traps go off under his hammock. he reached down for it, and as he fumbled for the chain he felt a snake strike at him, just missing him in the darkness, but actually brushing his hand. he lit a light and saw that a big jararaca had been caught in the trap; and he preserved it as a specimen. snakes frequently came into his camp after nightfall. he killed one rattlesnake which had swallowed the skinned bodies of four mice he had prepared as specimens; which shows that rattlesnakes do not always feed only on living prey. another rattlesnake which he killed in central america had just swallowed an opossum which proved to be of a species new to science. miller told how once on the orinoco he saw on the bank a small anaconda, some ten feet long, killing one of the iguanas, big, active, truculent, carnivorous lizards, equally at home on the land and in the water. evidently the iguanas were digging out holes in the bank in which to lay their eggs; for there were several such holes, and iguanas working at them. the snake had crushed its prey to a pulp; and not more than a couple of feet away another iguana was still busily, and with entire unconcern, engaged in making its burrow. at miller's approach the anaconda left the dead iguana and rushed into the water, and the live iguana promptly followed it. miller also told of the stone gods and altars and temples he had seen in the great colombian forests, monuments of strange civilizations which flourished and died out ages ago, and of which all memory has vanished. he and cherrie told of giant rivers and waterfalls, and of forests never penetrated, and mountains never ascended by civilized man; and of bloody revolutions that devastated the settled regions. listening to them i felt that they could write "tales of two naturalists" that would be worth reading. they were short of literature, by the way--a party such as ours always needs books--and as kermit's reading-matter consisted chiefly of camoens and other portuguese, or else brazilian, writers, i strove to supply the deficiency with spare volumes of gibbon. at the end of our march we were usually far ahead of the mule-train, and the rain was also usually falling. accordingly we would sit about under trees, or under a shed or lean-to, if there was one, each solemnly reading a volume of gibbon--and no better reading can be found. in my own case, as i had been having rather a steady course of gibbon, i varied him now and then with a volume of arsene lupin lent me by kermit. there were many swollen rivers to cross at this point of our journey. some we waded at fords. some we crossed by rude bridges. the larger ones, such as the juina, we crossed by ferry, and when the approaches were swampy, and the river broad and swift, many hours might be consumed in getting the mule-train, the loose bullocks, and the ox- cart over. we had few accidents, although we once lost a ferry-load of provisions, which was quite a misfortune in a country where they could not be replaced. the pasturage was poor, and it was impossible to make long marches with our weakened animals. at one camp three nhambiquaras paid us a visit at breakfast time. they left their weapons behind them before they appeared, and shouted loudly while they were still hid by the forest, and it was only after repeated answering calls of welcome that they approached. always in the wilderness friends proclaim their presence; a silent advance marks a foe. our visitors were men, and stark naked, as usual. one seemed sick; he was thin, and his back was scarred with marks of the grub of the loathsome berni fly. indeed, all of them showed scars, chiefly from insect wounds. but the other two were in good condition, and, although they ate greedily of the food offered them, they had with them a big mandioc cake, some honey, and a little fish. one of them wore a high helmet of puma-skin, with the tail hanging down his back-- handsome head-gear, which he gladly bartered for several strings of bright coral-red beads. around the upper arms of two of them were bands bound so tightly as to cut into and deform the muscles--a singular custom, seemingly not only purposeless but mischievous, which is common among this tribe and many others. the nhambiquaras are a numerous tribe, covering a large region. but they have no general organization. each group of families acts for itself. half a dozen years previously they had been very hostile, and colonel rondon had to guard his camp and exercise every precaution to guarantee his safety, while at the same time successfully endeavoring to avoid the necessity of himself shedding blood. now they are, for the most part, friendly. but there are groups or individuals that are not. several soldiers have been killed at these little lonely stations; and while in some cases the attack may have been due to the soldiers having meddled with nhambiquara women, in other cases the killing was entirely wanton and unprovoked. sooner or later these criminals or outlaws will have to be brought to justice; it will not do to let their crimes go unpunished. twice soldiers have deserted and fled to the nhambiquaras. the runaways were well received, were given wives, and adopted into the tribe. the country when opened will be a healthy abode for white settlers. but pioneering in the wilderness is grim work for both man and beast. continually, as we journeyed onward, under the pitiless glare of the sun or through blinding torrents of rain, we passed desolate little graves by the roadside. they marked the last resting places of men who had died by fever, or dysentery, or nhambiquara arrows. we raised our hats as our mules plodded slowly by through the sand. on each grave was a frail wooden cross, and this and the paling round about were already stained by the weather as gray as the tree trunks of the stunted forest that stretched endlessly on every side. the skeletons of mules and oxen were frequent along the road. now and then we came across a mule or ox which had been abandoned by captain amilcar's party, ahead of us. the animal had been left with the hope that when night came it would follow along the trail to water. sometimes it did so. sometimes we found it dead, or standing motionless waiting for death. from time to time we had to leave behind one of our own mules. it was not always easy to recognize what pasturage the mules would accept as good. one afternoon we pitched camp by a tiny rivulet, in the midst of the scrubby upland forest; a camp, by the way, where the piums, the small, biting flies, were a torment during the hours of daylight, while after dark their places were more than taken by the diminutive gnats which the brazilians expressively term "polvora," or powder, and which get through the smallest meshes of a mosquito-net. the feed was so scanty, and the cover so dense, at this spot that i thought we would have great difficulty in gathering the mules next morning. but we did not. a few hours later, in the afternoon, we camped by a beautiful open meadow; on one side ran a rapid brook, with a waterfall eight feet high, under which we bathed and swam. here the feed looked so good that we all expressed pleasure. but the mules did not like it, and after nightfall they hiked back on the trail, and it was a long and arduous work to gather them next morning. i have touched above on the insect pests. men unused to the south american wilderness speak with awe of the danger therein from jaguars, crocodiles, and poisonous snakes. in reality, the danger from these sources is trivial, much less than the danger of being run down by an automobile at home. but at times the torment of insect plagues can hardly be exaggerated. there are many different species of mosquitoes, some of them bearers of disease. there are many different kinds of small, biting flies and gnats, loosely grouped together under various titles. the ones more especially called piums by my companions were somewhat like our northern black flies. they gorged themselves with blood. at the moment their bites did not hurt, but they left an itching scar. head-nets and gloves are a protection, but are not very comfortable in stifling hot weather. it is impossible to sleep without mosquito-biers. when settlers of the right type come into a new land they speedily learn to take the measures necessary to minimize the annoyance caused by all these pests. those that are winged have plenty of kinsfolk in so much of the northern continent as has not yet been subdued by man. but the most noxious of the south american ants have, thank heaven, no representatives in north america. at the camp of the piums a column of the carnivorous foraging ants made its appearance before nightfall, and for a time we feared it might put us out of our tents, for it went straight through camp, between the kitchen-tent and our own sleeping tents. however, the column turned neither to the right nor the left, streaming uninterruptedly past for several hours, and doing no damage except to the legs of any incautious man who walked near it. on the afternoon of february we reached campos novos. this place was utterly unlike the country we had been traversing. it was a large basin, several miles across, traversed by several brooks. the brooks ran in deep swampy valleys, occupied by a matted growth of tall tropical forest. between them the ground rose in bold hills, bare of forest and covered with grass, on which our jaded animals fed eagerly. on one of these rounded hills a number of buildings were ranged in a quadrangle, for the pasturage at this spot is so good that it is permanently occupied. there were milch cows, and we got delicious fresh milk; and there were goats, pigs, turkeys, and chickens. most of the buildings were made of upright poles with roofs of palm thatch. one or two were of native brick, plastered with mud, and before these there was an enclosure with a few ragged palms, and some pineapple plants. here we halted. our attendants made two kitchens: one was out in the open air, one was under a shelter of ox-hide. the view over the surrounding grassy hills, riven by deep wooded valleys, was lovely. the air was cool and fresh. we were not bothered by insects, although mosquitoes swarmed in every belt of timber. yet there has been much fever at this beautiful and seemingly healthy place. doubtless when settlement is sufficiently advanced a remedy will be developed. the geology of this neighborhood was interesting--oliveira found fossil tree-trunks which he believed to be of cretaceous age. here we found amilcar and mello, who had waited for us with the rear- guard of their pack-train, and we enjoyed our meeting with the two fine fellows, than whom no military service of any nation could produce more efficient men for this kind of difficult and responsible work. next morning they mustered their soldiers, muleteers, and pack- ox men and marched off. reinisch the taxidermist was with them. we followed in the late afternoon, camping after a few miles. we left the oxcart at campos novos; from thence on the trail was only for pack- animals. in this neighborhood the two naturalists found many birds which we had not hitherto met. the most conspicuous was a huge oriole, the size of a small crow, with a naked face, a black-and-red bill, and gaudily variegated plumage of green, yellow, and chestnut. very interesting was the false bellbird, a gray bird with loud, metallic notes. there was also a tiny soft-tailed woodpecker, no larger than a kinglet; a queer humming-bird with a slightly flexible bill; and many species of ant-thrush, tanager, manakin, and tody. among these unfamiliar forms was a vireo looking much like our solitary vireo. at one camp cherrie collected a dozen perching birds; miller a beautiful little rail; and kermit, with the small luger belt-rifle, a handsome curassow, nearly as big as a turkey--out of which, after it had been skinned, the cook made a delicious canja, the thick brazilian soup of fowl and rice than which there is nothing better of its kind. all these birds were new to the collection--no naturalists had previously worked this region--so that the afternoon's work represented nine species new to the collection, six new genera, and a most excellent soup. two days after leaving campos novos we reached vilhena, where there is a telegraph station. we camped once at a small river named by colonel rondon the "twelfth of october," because he reached it on the day columbus discovered america--i had never before known what day it was!--and once at the foot of a hill which he had named after lyra, his companion in the exploration. the two days' march--really one full day and part of two others--was through beautiful country, and we enjoyed it thoroughly, although there were occasional driving rain- storms, when the rain came in almost level sheets and drenched every one and everything. the country was like that around campos novos, and offered a striking contrast to the level, barren, sandy wastes of the chapadao, which is a healthy region, where great industrial centres can arise, but not suited for extensive agriculture as are the lowland flats. for these forty-eight hours the trail climbed into and out of steep valleys and broad basins and up and down hills. in the deep valleys were magnificent woods, in which giant rubber-trees towered, while the huge leaves of the low-growing pacova, or wild banana, were conspicuous in the undergrowth. great azure butterflies flitted through the open, sunny glades, and the bellbirds, sitting motionless, uttered their ringing calls from the dark stillness of the columned groves. the hillsides were grassy pastures or else covered with low, open forest. a huge frog, brown above, with a light streak down each side, was found hiding under some sticks in a damp place in one of the improvised kitchens; and another frog, with disks on his toes, was caught on one of the tents. a coral-snake puzzled us. some coral- snakes are harmless; others are poisonous, although not aggressive. the best authorities give an infallible recipe for distinguishing them by the pattern of the colors, but this particular specimen, although it corresponded exactly in color pattern with the description of the poisonous snakes, nevertheless had no poison-fangs that even after the most minute examination we could discover. miller and one of the dogs caught a sariema, a big, long-legged, bustard-like bird, in rather a curious way. we were on the march, plodding along through as heavy a tropic downpour as it was our ill fortune to encounter. the sariema, evidently as drenched and uncomfortable as we were, was hiding under a bush to avoid the pelting rain. the dog discovered it, and after the bird valiantly repelled him, miller was able to seize it. its stomach contained about half a pint of grass-hoppers and beetles and young leaves. at vilhena there was a tame sariema, much more familiar and at home than any of the poultry. it was without the least fear of man or dog. the sariema (like the screamer and the curassow) ought to be introduced into our barnyards and on our lawns, at any rate in the southern states; it is a good-looking, friendly, and attractive bird. another bird we met is in some places far more intimate, and domesticates itself. this is the pretty little honey-creeper. in colombia miller found the honey-creepers habitually coming inside the houses and hotels at meal-times, hopping about the table, and climbing into the sugar-bowl. along this part of our march there was much of what at a hasty glance seemed to be volcanic rock; but oliveira showed me that it was a kind of conglomerate, with bubbles or hollows in it, made of sand and iron- bearing earth. he said it was a superficial quaternary deposit formed by erosion from the cretaceous rocks, and that there were here no tertiary deposits. he described the geological structure of the lands through which we had passed as follows: the pantanals were of pleistocene age. along the upper sepotuba, in the region of the rapids, there were sandstones, shales, and clays of permian age. the rolling country east of this contained eruptive rocks--a porphyritic disbase, with zeolite, quartz, and agate of triassic age. with the chapadao of the parecis plateau we came to a land of sand and clay, dotted with lumps of sandstone and pieces of petrified wood; this, according to oliveira, is of mesozoic age, possibly cretaceous and similar to the south african formation. there are geologists who consider it as of permian age. at vilhena we were on a watershed which drained into the gy-parana, which itself runs into the madeira nearly midway between its sources and its mouth. a little farther along and northward we again came to streams running ultimately into the tapajos; and between them, and close to them, were streamlets which drained into the duvida and ananas, whose courses and outlets were unknown. this point is part of the divide between the basins of the madeira and tapajos. a singular topographical feature of the plan alto, the great interior sandy plateau of brazil, is that at its westernmost end the southward flowing streams, instead of running into the paraguay as they do farther east, form the headwaters of the guapore, which may, perhaps, be called the upper main stream of the madeira. these westernmost streams from the southern edge of the plateau, therefore, begin by flowing south; then for a long stretch they flow southwest; then north, and finally northeast into the amazon. according to some exceptionally good geological observers, this is probably due to the fact that in a remote geologic past the ocean sent in an arm from the south, between the plan alto and what is now the andean chain. these rivers then emptied into the andean sea. the gradual upheaval of the soil has resulted in substituting dry land for this arm of the ocean and in reversing the course of what is now the madeira, just as, according to these geologists, in somewhat familiar fashion the amazon has been reversed, it having once been, at least for the upper two thirds of its course, an affluent of the andean sea. from vilhena we travelled in a generally northward direction. for a few leagues we went across the chapadao, the sands or clays of the nearly level upland plateau, grassy or covered with thin, stunted forest, the same type of country that had been predominant ever since we ascended the parecis table-land on the morning of the third day after leaving the sepotuba. then, at about the point where the trail dipped into a basin containing the head-springs of the ananas, we left this type of country and began to march through thick forest, not very high. there was little feed for the animals on the chapadao. there was less in the forest. moreover, the continual heavy rains made the travelling difficult and laborious for them, and they weakened. however, a couple of marches before we reached tres burity, where there is a big ranch with hundreds of cattle, we were met by ten fresh pack-oxen, and our serious difficulties were over. there were piums in plenty by day, but neither mosquitoes nor sand-flies by night; and for us the trip was very pleasant, save for moments of anxiety about the mules. the loose bullocks furnished us abundance of fresh beef, although, as was inevitable under the circumstances, of a decidedly tough quality. one of the biggest of the bullocks was attacked one night by a vampire bat, and next morning his withers were literally bathed in blood. with the chapadao we said good-by to the curious, gregarious, and crepuscular or nocturnal spiders which we found so abundant along the line of the telegraph wire. they have offered one of the small problems with which the commission has had to deal. they are not common in the dry season. they swarm during the rains; and, when their tough webs are wet, those that lead from the wire to the ground sometimes effectually short circuit the wire. they have on various occasions caused a good deal of trouble in this manner. the third night out from vilhena we emerged for a moment from the endless close-growing forest in which our poor animals got such scanty pickings, and came to a beautiful open country, where grassy slopes, dotted with occasional trees, came down on either side of a little brook which was one of the headwaters of the duvida. it was a pleasure to see the mules greedily bury their muzzles in the pasturage. our tents were pitched in the open, near a shady tree, which sent out its low branches on every side. at this camp cherrie shot a lark, very characteristic of the open upland country, and miller found two bats in the rotten wood of a dead log. he heard them squeaking and dug them out; he could not tell by what method they had gotten in. here kermit, while a couple of miles from our tents, came across an encampment of nhambiquaras. there were twenty or thirty of them--men, women, and a few children. kermit, after the manner of honest folk in the wilderness, advanced ostentatiously in the open, calling out to give warning of his coming. like surroundings may cause like manners. the early saxons in england deemed it legal to kill any man who came through the woods without shouting or blowing a horn; and in nhambiquara land at the present time it is against etiquette, and may be very unhealthy, to come through the woods toward strangers without loudly announcing one's presence. the nhambiquaras received kermit with the utmost cordiality, and gave him pineapple-wine to drink. they were stark naked as usual; they had no hammocks or blankets, and their huts were flimsy shelters of palm-branches. yet they were in fine condition. half a dozen of the men and a couple of boys accompanied kermit back to our camp, paying not slightest heed to the rain which was falling. they were bold and friendly, good-natured--at least superficially--and very inquisitive. in feasting, the long reeds thrust through holes in their lips did not seem to bother them, and they laughed at the suggestion of removing them; evidently to have done so would have been rather bad manners--like using a knife as an aid in eating ice-cream. they held two or three dances, and we were again struck by the rhythm and weird, haunting melody of their chanting. after supper they danced beside the camp-fire; and finally, to their delight, most of the members of our own party, americans and brazilians, enthusiastically joined the dance, while the colonel and i furnished an appreciative and applauding audience. next morning, when we were awakened by the chattering and screaming of the numerous macaws, parrots, and parakeets, we found that nearly all the indians, men and women, were gathered outside the tent. as far as clothing was concerned, they were in the condition of adam and eve before the fall. one of the women carried a little squirrel monkey. she put it up the big tree some distance from the tents; and when she called, it came scampering to her across the grass, ran up her, and clung to her neck. they would have liked to pilfer; but as they had no clothes it was difficult for them to conceal anything. one of the women was observed to take a fork; but as she did not possess a rag of clothing of any kind all she did do was to try to bury the fork in the sand and then sit on it; and it was reclaimed without difficulty. one or two of the children wore necklaces and bracelets made of the polished wood of the tucum palm, and of the molars of small rodents. next day's march led us across a hilly country of good pastureland. the valleys were densely wooded, palms of several kinds being conspicuous among the other trees; and the brooks at the bottoms we crossed at fords or by the usual rude pole bridges. on the open pastures were occasional trees, usually slender bacaba palms, with heads which the winds had dishevelled until they looked like mops. it was evidently a fine natural cattle country, and we soon began to see scores, perhaps hundreds, of the cattle belonging to the government ranch at tres burity, which we reached in the early afternoon. it is beautifully situated: the view roundabout is lovely, and certainly the land will prove healthy when settlements have been definitely established. here we revelled in abundance of good fresh milk and eggs; and for dinner we had chicken canja and fat beef roasted on big wooden spits; and we even had watermelons. the latter were from seeds brought down by the american engineers who built the madeira marmore railroad--a work which stands honorably distinguished among the many great and useful works done in the development of the tropics of recent years. amilcar's pack-oxen, which were nearly worn out, had been left in these fertile pastures. most of the fresh oxen which he took in their places were unbroken, and there was a perfect circus before they were packed and marched off; in every direction, said the gleeful narrators, there were bucking oxen and loads strewed on the ground. this cattle ranch is managed by the colonel's uncle, his mother's brother, a hale old man of seventy, white-haired but as active and vigorous as ever; with a fine, kindly, intelligent face. his name is miguel evangalista. he is a native of matto grosso, of practically pure indian blood, and was dressed in the ordinary costume of the caboclo--hat, shirt, trousers, and no shoes or stockings. within the last year he had killed three jaguars, which had been living on the mules; as long as they could get mules they did not at this station molest the cattle. it was with this uncle's father, colonel rondon's own grandfather, that colonel rondon as an orphan spent the first seven years of his life. his father died before he was born, and his mother when he was only a year old. he lived on his grandfather's cattle-ranch, some fifty miles from cuyaba. then he went to live in cuyaba with a kinsman on his father's side, from whom he took the name of rondon; his own father's name was dasilva. he studied in the cuyaba government school, and at sixteen was inscribed as one of the instructors. then he went to rio, served for a year in the army as an enlisted man in the ranks, and succeeded finally in getting into the military school. after five years as pupil he served three years as professor of mathematics in this school; and then, as a lieutenant of engineers in the brazilian army, he came back to his home in matto grosso and began his life-work of exploring the wilderness. next day we journeyed to the telegraph station at bonofacio, through alternate spells of glaring sunshine and heavy rain. on the way we stopped at an aldea-village of nhambiquaras. we first met a couple of men going to hunt, with bows and arrows longer than themselves. a rather comely young woman, carrying on her back a wickerwork basket, or creel, supported by a forehead band, and accompanied by a small child, was with them. at the village there were a number of men, women, and children. although as completely naked as the others we had met, the members of this band were more ornamented with beads, and wore earrings made from the inside of mussel-shells or very big snail- shells. they were more hairy than the ones we had so far met. the women, but not the men, completely remove the hair from their bodies-- and look more, instead of less, indecent in consequence. the chief, whose body was painted red with the juice of a fruit, had what could fairly be styled a mustache and imperial; and one old man looked somewhat like a hairy ainu, or perhaps even more like an australian black fellow. my companion told me that this probably represented an infusion of negro blood, and possibly of mulatto blood, from runaway slaves of the old days, when some of the matto grosso mines were worked by slave labor. they also thought it possible that this infiltration of african negroes might be responsible for the curious shape of the bigger huts, which were utterly unlike their flimsy, ordinary shelters, and bore no resemblance in shape to those of the other indian tribes of this region; whereas they were not unlike the ordinary beehive huts of the agricultural african negroes. there were in this village several huts or shelters open at the sides, and two of the big huts. these were of closely woven thatch, circular in outline, with a rounded dome, and two doors a couple of feet high opposite each other, and no other opening. there were fifteen or twenty people to each hut. inside were their implements and utensils, such as wicker baskets (some of them filled with pineapples), gourds, fire-sticks, wooden knives, wooden mortars, and a board for grating mandioc, made of a thick slab of wood inset with sharp points of a harder wood. from the brazilians one or two of them had obtained blankets, and one a hammock; and they had also obtained knives, which they sorely needed, for they are not even in the stone age. one woman shielded herself from the rain by holding a green palm-branch down her back. another had on her head what we at first thought to be a monkey-skin head- dress. but it was a little, live, black monkey. it stayed habitually with its head above her forehead, and its arms and legs spread so that it lay moulded to the shape of her head; but both woman and monkey showed some reluctance about having their photographs taken. bonofacio consisted of several thatched one-room cabins, connected by a stockade which was extended to form an enclosure behind them. a number of tame parrots and parakeets, of several different species, scrambled over the roofs and entered the houses. in the open pastures near by were the curious, extensive burrows of a gopher rat, which ate the roots of grass, not emerging to eat the grass but pulling it into the burrows by the roots. these burrows bore a close likeness to those of our pocket gophers. miller found the animals difficult to trap. finally, by the aid of colonel rondon, several indians, and two or three of our men, he dug one out. from the central shaft several surface galleries radiated, running for many rods about a foot below the surface, with, at intervals of half a dozen yards, mounds where the loose earth had been expelled. the central shaft ran straight down for about eight feet, and then laterally for about fifteen feet, to a kind of chamber. the animal dug hard to escape, but when taken and put on the surface of the ground it moved slowly and awkwardly. it showed vicious courage. in looks it closely resembled our pocket gophers, but it had no pockets. this was one of the most interesting small mammals that we secured. after breakfast at bonofacio a number of nhambiquaras--men, women, and children--strolled in. the men gave us an exhibition of not very good archery; when the bow was bent, it was at first held so that the arrow pointed straight upwards and was then lowered so that the arrow was aimed at the target. several of the women had been taken from other tribes, after their husbands or fathers had been killed; for the nhambiquaras are light-hearted robbers and murderers. two or three miserable dogs accompanied them, half-starved and mangy, but each decorated with a collar of beads. the headmen had three or four wives apiece, and the women were the burden-bearers, but apparently were not badly treated. most of them were dirty, although well-fed looking, and their features were of a low type; but some, especially among the children, were quite attractive. from bonofacio we went about seven miles, across a rolling prairie dotted with trees and clumps of shrub. there, on february , we joined amilcar, who was camped by a brook which flowed into the duvida. we were only some six miles from our place of embarkation on the duvida, and we divided our party and our belongings. amilcar, miller, mello, and oliveira were to march three days to the gy-parana, and then descend it, and continue down the madeira to manaos. rondon, lyra, the doctor, cherrie, kermit, and i, with sixteen paddlers, in seven canoes, were to descend the duvida, and find out whether it led into the gy-parana, our purpose was to return and descend the ananas, whose outlet was also unknown. having this in view, we left a fortnight's provisions for our party of six at bonofacio. we took with us provisions for about fifty days; not full rations, for we hoped in part to live on the country--on fish, game, nuts, and palm-tops. our personal baggage was already well cut down: cherrie, kermit, and i took the naturalist's fly to sleep under, and a very light little tent extra for any one who might fall sick. rondon, lyra, and the doctor took one of their own tents. the things that we carried were necessities--food, medicines, bedding, instruments for determining the altitude and longitude and latitude--except a few books, each in small compass: lyra's were in german, consisting of two tiny volumes of goethe and schiller; kermit's were in portuguese; mine, all in english, included the last two volumes of gibbon, the plays of sophocles, more's "utopia," marcus aurelius, and epictetus, the two latter lent me by a friend, major shipton of the regulars, our military attaché at buenos aires. if our canoe voyage was prosperous we would gradually lighten the loads by eating the provisions. if we met with accidents, such as losing canoes and men in the rapids, or losing men in encounters with indians, or if we encountered overmuch fever and dysentery, the loads would lighten themselves. we were all armed. we took no cartridges for sport. cherrie had some to be used sparingly for collecting specimens. the others were to be used--unless in the unlikely event of having to repel an attack--only to procure food. the food and the arms we carried represented all reasonable precautions against suffering and starvation; but, of course, if the course of the river proved very long and difficult, if we lost our boats over falls or in rapids, or had to make too many and too long portages, or were brought to a halt by impassable swamps, then we would have to reckon with starvation as a possibility. anything might happen. we were about to go into the unknown, and no one could say what it held. note: the first four days, before we struck the upper rapids, and during which we made nearly seventy kilometres, are of course not included when i speak of our making our way down the rapids. i hope that this year the ananas, or pineapple, will also be put on the map. one of colonel rondon's subordinates is to attempt the descent of the river. we passed the headwaters of the pineapple on the high plateau, very possibly we passed its mouth, although it is also possible that it empties into the canama or tapajos. but it will not be "put on the map" until some one descends and finds out where, as a matter of fact, it really does go. it would be well if a geographical society of standing would investigate the formal and official charges made by colonel rondon, an officer and gentleman of the highest repute, against mr. savage landor. colonel rondon, in an official report to the brazilian government, has written a scathing review of mr. landor. he states that mr. savage landor did not perform, and did not even attempt to perform, the work he had contracted to do in exploration for the brazilian government. mr. landor had asserted and promised that he would go through unknown country along the line of eleven degrees latitude south, and, as colonel rondon states, it was because of this proposal of his that the brazilian government gave him material financial assistance in advance. however, colonel rondon sets forth that mr. landor did not keep his word or make any serious effort to fulfil his moral obligation to do as he had said he would do. in a letter to me under date of may , --a letter which has been published in full in france--colonel rondon goes at length into the question of what territory mr. landor had traversed. colonel rondon states that--excepting on one occasion, when mr. landor, wandering off a beaten trail, immediately got lost and shortly returned to his starting-point without making any discoveries--he kept to old, well- travelled routes. one sentence of the colonel's letter to me runs as follows: "i can guarantee to you that in brazil mr. landor did not cross a hand's breadth of land that had not been explored, the greater part of it many centuries ago." as regards mr. landor's sole and brief experience in leaving a beaten route, colonel rondon states that at sao manoel mr. landor engaged from senhor jose sotero barreto (the revenue officer of matto grosso, at sao manoel) a guide to lead him across a well-travelled trail which connects the tapajos with the madeira via the canama. the guide, however, got lost, and after a few days they all returned to the point of departure instead of going through to the canama. senhor barreto, a gentleman of high standing, related this last incident to fiala when fiala descended the tapajos (and, by the way, fiala's trip down the papagaio, juruena, and tapajos was infinitely more important than all the work mr. landor did in south america put together). lieutenants pyrineus and mello, mentioned in the body of this work, informed me that they accompanied mr. landor on most of his overland trip before he embarked on the arinos, and that he simply followed the highroad or else the telegraph-line, and furthermore, colonel rondon states that the indians whom mr. landor encountered and photographed were those educated at the missions. colonel rondon's official report to the brazilian government and his letter to me are of interest to all geographers and other scientific men who have any concern with the alleged discoveries of mr. landor. they contain very grave charges, with which it is not necessary for me to deal. suffice it to say that mr. landor's accounts of his alleged exploration cannot be considered as entitled to the slightest serious consideration until he has satisfactorily and in detail answered colonel rondon; and this he has thus far signally failed to do. fortunately, there are numerous examples of exactly the opposite type of work. from the days of humboldt and spix and martius to the present time, german explorers have borne a conspicuous part in the exploration of south america. as representatives of the men and women who have done such capital work, who have fronted every hazard and hardship and labored in the scientific spirit, and who have added greatly to our fund of geographic, biologic, and ethnographic knowledge, i may mention miss snethlage and herr karl von den steinen. viii. the river of doubt on february , , shortly after midday, we started down the river of doubt into the unknown. we were quite uncertain whether after a week we should find ourselves in the gy-parana, or after six weeks in the madeira, or after three months we knew not where. that was why the river was rightly christened the duvida. we had been camped close to the river, where the trail that follows the telegraph line crosses it by a rough bridge. as our laden dugouts swung into the stream, amilcar and miller and all the others of the gy-parana party were on the banks and the bridge to wave farewell and wish us good-by and good luck. it was the height of the rainy season, and the swollen torrent was swift and brown. our camp was at about degrees minute latitude south and degrees minutes longitude west of greenwich. our general course was to be northward toward the equator, by waterway through the vast forest. we had seven canoes, all of them dugouts. one was small, one was cranky, and two were old, waterlogged, and leaky. the other three were good. the two old canoes were lashed together, and the cranky one was lashed to one of the others. kermit with two paddlers went in the smallest of the good canoes; colonel rondon and lyra with three other paddlers in the next largest; and the doctor, cherrie, and i in the largest with three paddlers. the remaining eight camaradas--there were sixteen in all--were equally divided between our two pairs of lashed canoes. although our personal baggage was cut down to the limit necessary for health and efficiency, yet on such a trip as ours, where scientific work has to be done and where food for twenty-two men for an unknown period of time has to be carried, it is impossible not to take a good deal of stuff; and the seven dugouts were too heavily laden. the paddlers were a strapping set. they were expert rivermen and men of the forest, skilled veterans in wilderness work. they were lithe as panthers and brawny as bears. they swam like waterdogs. they were equally at home with pole and paddle, with axe and machete; and one was a good cook and others were good men around camp. they looked like pirates in the pictures of howard pyle or maxfield parrish; one or two of them were pirates, and one worse than a pirate; but most of them were hard-working, willing, and cheerful. they were white,--or, rather, the olive of southern europe,--black, copper-colored, and of all intermediate shades. in my canoe luiz the steersman, the headman, was a matto grosso negro; julio the bowsman was from bahia and of pure portuguese blood; and the third man, antonio, was a parecis indian. the actual surveying of the river was done by colonel rondon and lyra, with kermit as their assistant. kermit went first in his little canoe with the sighting-rod, on which two disks, one red and one white, were placed a metre apart. he selected a place which commanded as long vistas as possible up-stream and down, and which therefore might be at the angle of a bend; landed; cut away the branches which obstructed the view; and set up the sighting-pole--incidentally encountering maribundi wasps and swarms of biting and stinging ants. lyra, from his station up-stream, with his telemetre established the distance, while colonel rondon with the compass took the direction, and made the records. then they moved on to the point kermit had left, and kermit established a new point within their sight. the first half-day's work was slow. the general course of the stream was a trifle east of north, but at short intervals it bent and curved literally toward every point of the compass. kermit landed nearly a hundred times, and we made but nine and a third kilometres. my canoe ran ahead of the surveying canoes. the height of the water made the going easy, for most of the snags and fallen trees were well beneath the surface. now and then, however, the swift water hurried us toward ripples that marked ugly spikes of sunken timber, or toward uprooted trees that stretched almost across the stream. then the muscles stood out on the backs and arms of the paddlers as stroke on stroke they urged us away from and past the obstacle. if the leaning or fallen trees were the thorny, slender-stemmed boritana palms, which love the wet, they were often, although plunged beneath the river, in full and vigorous growth, their stems curving upward, and their frond- crowned tops shaken by the rushing water. it was interesting work, for no civilized man, no white man, had ever gone down or up this river or seen the country through which we were passing. the lofty and matted forest rose like a green wall on either hand. the trees were stately and beautiful. the looped and twisted vines hung from them like great ropes. masses of epiphytes grew both on the dead trees and the living; some had huge leaves like elephants' ears. now and then fragrant scents were blown to us from flowers on the banks. there were not many birds, and for the most part the forest was silent; rarely we heard strange calls from the depths of the woods, or saw a cormorant or ibis. my canoe ran only a couple of hours. then we halted to wait for the others. after a couple of hours more, as the surveyors had not turned up, we landed and made camp at a spot where the bank rose sharply for a hundred yards to a level stretch of ground. our canoes were moored to trees. the axemen cleared a space for the tents; they were pitched, the baggage was brought up, and fires were kindled. the woods were almost soundless. through them ran old tapir trails, but there was no fresh sign. before nightfall the surveyors arrived. there were a few piums and gnats, and a few mosquitoes after dark, but not enough to make us uncomfortable. the small stingless bees, of slightly aromatic odor, swarmed while daylight lasted and crawled over our faces and hands; they were such tame, harmless little things that when they tickled too much i always tried to brush them away without hurting them. but they became a great nuisance after a while. it had been raining at intervals, and the weather was overcast; but after the sun went down the sky cleared. the stars were brilliant overhead, and the new moon hung in the west. it was a pleasant night, the air almost cool, and we slept soundly. next morning the two surveying canoes left immediately after breakfast. an hour later the two pairs of lashed canoes pushed off. i kept our canoe to let cherrie collect, for in the early hours we could hear a number of birds in the woods near by. the most interesting birds he shot were a cotinga, brilliant turquoise-blue with a magenta- purple throat, and a big woodpecker, black above and cinnamon below with an entirely red head and neck. it was almost noon before we started. we saw a few more birds; there were fresh tapir and paca tracks at one point where we landed; once we heard howler monkeys from the depth of the forest, and once we saw a big otter in midstream. as we drifted and paddled down the swirling brown current, through the vivid rain-drenched green of the tropic forest, the trees leaned over the river from both banks. when those that had fallen in the river at some narrow point were very tall, or where it happened that two fell opposite each other, they formed barriers which the men in the leading canoes cleared with their axes. there were many palms, both the burity with its stiff fronds like enormous fans, and a handsome species of bacaba, with very long, gracefully curving fronds. in places the palms stood close together, towering and slender, their stems a stately colonnade, their fronds an arched fretwork against the sky. butterflies of many hues fluttered over the river. the day was overcast, with showers of rain. when the sun broke through rifts in the clouds, his shafts turned the forest to gold. in mid-afternoon we came to the mouth of a big and swift affluent entering from the right. it was undoubtedly the bandeira, which we had crossed well toward its head, some ten days before, on our road to bonofacio. the nhambiquaras had then told colonel rondon that it flowed into the duvida. after its junction, with the added volume of water, the river widened without losing its depth. it was so high that it had overflowed and stood among the trees on the lower levels. only the higher stretches were dry. on the sheer banks where we landed we had to push the canoes for yards or rods through the branches of the submerged trees, hacking and hewing. there were occasional bays and ox-bows from which the current had shifted. in these the coarse marsh grass grew tall. this evening we made camp on a flat of dry ground, densely wooded, of course, directly on the edge of the river and five feet above it. it was fine to see the speed and sinewy ease with which the choppers cleared an open space for the tents. next morning, when we bathed before sunrise, we dived into deep water right from the shore, and from the moored canoes. this second day we made sixteen and a half kilometres along the course of the river, and nine kilometres in a straight line almost due north. the following day, march , there was much rain--sometimes showers, sometimes vertical sheets of water. our course was somewhat west of north and we made twenty and a half kilometres. we passed signs of indian habitation. there were abandoned palm-leaf shelters on both banks. on the left bank we came to two or three old indian fields, grown up with coarse fern and studded with the burned skeletons of trees. at the mouth of a brook which entered from the right some sticks stood in the water, marking the site of an old fish-trap. at one point we found the tough vine hand-rail of an indian bridge running right across the river, a couple of feet above it. evidently the bridge had been built at low water. three stout poles had been driven into the stream-bed in a line at right angles to the current. the bridge had consisted of poles fastened to these supports, leading between them and from the support at each end to the banks. the rope of tough vines had been stretched as a hand-rail, necessary with such precarious footing. the rise of the river had swept away the bridge, but the props and the rope hand-rail remained. in the afternoon, from the boat, cherrie shot a large dark-gray monkey with a prehensile tail. it was very good eating. we camped on a dry level space, but a few feet above, and close beside, the river--so that our swimming-bath was handy. the trees were cleared and camp was made with orderly hurry. one of the men almost stepped on a poisonous coral-snake, which would have been a serious thing, as his feet were bare. but i had on stout shoes, and the fangs of these serpents--unlike those of the pit-vipers--are too short to penetrate good leather. i promptly put my foot on him, and he bit my shoe with harmless venom. it has been said that the brilliant hues of the coral-snake when in its native haunts really confer on it a concealing coloration. in the dark and tangled woods, and to an only less extent in the ordinary varied landscape, anything motionless, especially if partially hidden, easily eludes the eye. but against the dark-brown mould of the forest floor on which we found this coral- snake its bright and varied coloration was distinctly revealing; infinitely more so than the duller mottling of the jararaca and other dangerous snakes of the genus lachecis. in the same place, however, we found a striking example of genuine protective or mimetic coloration and shape. a rather large insect larva--at least we judged it to be a larval form, but we were none of us entomologists--bore a resemblance to a partially curled dry leaf which was fairly startling. the tail exactly resembled the stem or continuation of the midrib of the dead leaf. the flattened body was curled up at the sides, and veined and colored precisely like the leaf. the head, colored like the leaf, projected in front. we were still in the brazilian highlands. the forest did not teem with life. it was generally rather silent; we did not hear such a chorus of birds and mammals as we had occasionally heard even on our overland journey, when more than once we had been awakened at dawn by the howling, screaming, yelping, and chattering of monkeys, toucans, macaws, parrots, and parakeets. there were, however, from time to time, queer sounds from the forest, and after nightfall different kinds of frogs and insects uttered strange cries and calls. in volume and frequency these seemed to increase until midnight. then they died away and before dawn everything was silent. at this camp the carregadores ants completely devoured the doctor's undershirt, and ate holes in his mosquito-net; and they also ate the strap of lyra's gun-case. the little stingless bees, of many kinds, swarmed in such multitudes, and were so persevering, that we had to wear our head-nets when we wrote or skinned specimens. the following day was almost without rain. it was delightful to drift and paddle slowly down the beautiful tropical river. until mid- afternoon the current was not very fast, and the broad, deep, placid stream bent and curved in every direction, although the general course was northwest. the country was flat, and more of the land was under than above water. continually we found ourselves travelling between stretches of marshy forest where for miles the water stood or ran among the trees. once we passed a hillock. we saw brilliantly colored parakeets and trogons. at last the slow current quickened. faster it went, and faster, until it began to run like a mill-race, and we heard the roar of rapids ahead. we pulled to the right bank, moored the canoes, and while most of the men pitched camp two or three of them accompanied us to examine the rapids. we had made twenty kilometres. we soon found that the rapids were a serious obstacle. there were many curls, and one or two regular falls, perhaps six feet high. it would have been impossible to run them, and they stretched for nearly a mile. the carry, however, which led through woods and over rocks in a nearly straight line, was somewhat shorter. it was not an easy portage over which to carry heavy loads and drag heavy dugout canoes. at the point where the descent was steepest there were great naked flats of friable sandstone and conglomerate. over parts of these, where there was a surface of fine sand, there was a growth of coarse grass. other parts were bare and had been worn by the weather into fantastic shapes--one projection looked like an old-fashioned beaver hat upside down. in this place, where the naked flats of rock showed the projection of the ledge through which the river had cut its course, the torrent rushed down a deep, sheer-sided, and extremely narrow channel. at one point it was less than two yards across, and for quite a distance not more than five or six yards. yet only a mile or two above the rapids the deep, placid river was at least a hundred yards wide. it seemed extraordinary, almost impossible, that so broad a river could in so short a space of time contract its dimensions to the width of the strangled channel through which it now poured its entire volume. this has for long been a station where the nhambiquaras at intervals built their ephemeral villages and tilled the soil with the rude and destructive cultivation of savages. there were several abandoned old fields, where the dense growth of rank fern hid the tangle of burnt and fallen logs. nor had the nhambiquaras been long absent. in one trail we found what gypsies would have called a "pateran," a couple of branches arranged crosswise, eight leaves to a branch; it had some special significance, belonging to that class of signals, each with some peculiar and often complicated meaning, which are commonly used by many wild peoples. the indians had thrown a simple bridge, consisting of four long poles, without a hand-rail, across one of the narrowest parts of the rock gorge through which the river foamed in its rapid descent. this sub-tribe of indians was called the navaite; we named the rapids after them, navaite rapids. by observation lyra found them to be (in close approximation to) latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes west from greenwich. we spent march and and the morning of the th in portaging around the rapids. the first night we camped in the forest beside the spot where we had halted. next morning we moved the baggage to the foot of the rapids, where we intended to launch the canoes, and pitched our tents on the open sandstone flat. it rained heavily. the little bees were in such swarms as to be a nuisance. many small stinging bees were with them, which stung badly. we were bitten by huge horse-flies, the size of bumblebees. more serious annoyance was caused by the pium and boroshuda flies during the hours of daylight, and by the polvora, the sand-flies, after dark. there were a few mosquitoes. the boroshudas were the worst pests; they brought the blood at once, and left marks that lasted for weeks. i did my writing in head-net and gauntlets. fortunately we had with us several bottles of "fly dope"--so named on the label--put up, with the rest of our medicine, by doctor alexander lambert; he had tested it in the north woods and found it excellent. i had never before been forced to use such an ointment, and had been reluctant to take it with me; but now i was glad enough to have it, and we all of us found it exceedingly useful. i would never again go into mosquito or sand-fly country without it. the effect of an application wears off after half an hour or so, and under many conditions, as when one is perspiring freely, it is of no use; but there are times when minute mosquitoes and gnats get through head-nets and under mosquito-bars, and when the ointments occasionally renewed may permit one to get sleep or rest which would otherwise be impossible of attainment. the termites got into our tent on the sand- flat, ate holes in cherrie's mosquito-net and poncho, and were starting to work at our duffel-bags, when we discovered them. packing the loads across was simple. dragging the heavy dugouts was labor. the biggest of the two water-logged ones was the heaviest. lyra and kermit did the job. all the men were employed at it except the cook, and one man who was down with fever. a road was chopped through the forest and a couple of hundred stout six-foot poles, or small logs, were cut as rollers and placed about two yards apart. with block and tackle the seven dugouts were hoisted out of the river up the steep banks, and up the rise of ground until the level was reached. then the men harnessed themselves two by two on the drag-rope, while one of their number pried behind with a lever, and the canoe, bumping and sliding, was twitched through the woods. over the sandstone flats there were some ugly ledges, but on the whole the course was down-hill and relatively easy. looking at the way the work was done, at the good-will, the endurance, and the bull-like strength of the camaradas, and at the intelligence and the unwearied efforts of their commanders, one could but wonder at the ignorance of those who do not realize the energy and the power that are so often possessed by, and that may be so readily developed in, the men of the tropics. another subject of perpetual wonder is the attitude of certain men who stay at home, and still more the attitude of certain men who travel under easy conditions, and who belittle the achievements of the real explorers of, the real adventures in, the great wilderness. the impostors and romancers among explorers or would-be explorers and wilderness wanderers have been unusually prominent in connection with south america (although the conspicuous ones are not south americans, by the way); and these are fit subjects for condemnation and derision. but the work of the genuine explorer and wilderness wanderer is fraught with fatigue, hardship, and danger. many of the men of little knowledge talk glibly of portaging as if it were simple and easy. a portage over rough and unknown ground is always a work of difficulty and of some risk to the canoe; and in the untrodden, or even in the unfrequented, wilderness risk to the canoe is a serious matter. this particular portage at navaite rapids was far from being unusually difficult; yet it not only cost two and a half days of severe and incessant labor, but it cost something in damage to the canoes. one in particular, the one in which i had been journeying, was split in a manner which caused us serious uneasiness as to how long, even after being patched, it would last. where the canoes were launched, the bank was sheer, and one of the water-logged canoes filled and went to the bottom; and there was more work in raising it. we were still wholly unable to tell where we were going or what lay ahead of us. round the camp-fire, after supper, we held endless discussions and hazarded all kinds of guesses on both subjects. the river might bend sharply to the west and enter the gy-parana high up or low down, or go north to the madeira, or bend eastward and enter the tapajos, or fall into the canuma and finally through one of its mouths enter the amazon direct. lyra inclined to the first, and colonel rondon to the second, of these propositions. we did not know whether we had one hundred or eight hundred kilometres to go, whether the stream would be fairly smooth or whether we would encounter waterfalls, or rapids, or even some big marsh or lake. we could not tell whether or not we would meet hostile indians, although no one of us ever went ten yards from camp without his rifle. we had no idea how much time the trip would take. we had entered a land of unknown possibilities. we started down-stream again early in the afternoon of march . our hands and faces were swollen from the bites and stings of the insect pests at the sand-flat camp, and it was a pleasure once more to be in the middle of the river, where they did not come, in any numbers, while we were in motion. the current was swift, but the river was so deep that there were no serious obstructions. twice we went down over slight riffles, which in the dry season were doubtless rapids; and once we struck a spot where many whirlpools marked the presence underneath of boulders which would have been above water had not the river been so swollen by the rains. the distance we covered in a day going down-stream would have taken us a week if we had been going up. the course wound hither and thither, sometimes in sigmoid curves; but the general direction was east of north. as usual, it was very beautiful; and we never could tell what might appear around any curve. in the forest that rose on either hand were tall rubber-trees. the surveying canoes, as usual, went first, while i shepherded the two pairs of lashed cargo canoes. i kept them always between me and the surveying canoes--ahead of me until i passed the surveying canoes, then behind me until, after an hour or so, i had chosen a place to camp. there was so much overflowed ground that it took us some little time this afternoon before we found a flat place high enough to be dry. just before reaching camp cherrie shot a jacu, a handsome bird somewhat akin to, but much smaller than, a turkey; after cherrie had taken its skin, its body made an excellent canja. we saw parties of monkeys; and the false bellbirds uttered their ringing whistles in the dense timber around our tents. the giant ants, an inch and a quarter long, were rather too plentiful around this camp; one stung kermit; it was almost like the sting of a small scorpion, and pained severely for a couple of hours. this half-day we made twelve kilometres. on the following day we made nineteen kilometres, the river twisting in every direction, but in its general course running a little west of north. once we stopped at a bee-tree, to get honey. the tree was a towering giant, of the kind called milk-tree, because a thick milky juice runs freely from any cut. our camaradas eagerly drank the white fluid that flowed from the wounds made by their axes. i tried it. the taste was not unpleasant, but it left a sticky feeling in the mouth. the helmsman of my boat, luiz, a powerful negro, chopped into the tree, balancing himself with springy ease on a slight scaffolding. the honey was in a hollow, and had been made by medium-sized stingless bees. at the mouth of the hollow they had built a curious entrance of their own, in the shape of a spout of wax about a foot long. at the opening the walls of the spout showed the wax formation, but elsewhere it had become in color and texture indistinguishable from the bark of the tree. the honey was delicious, sweet and yet with a tart flavor. the comb differed much from that of our honey-bees. the honey-cells were very large, and the brood-cells, which were small, were in a single instead of a double row. by this tree i came across an example of genuine concealing coloration. a huge tree-toad, the size of a bullfrog, was seated upright--not squatted flat--on a big rotten limb. it was absolutely motionless; the yellow brown of its back, and its dark sides, exactly harmonized in color with the light and dark patches on the log; the color was as concealing, here in its natural surroundings, as is the color of our common wood-frog among the dead leaves of our woods. when i stirred it up it jumped to a small twig, catching hold with the disks of its finger-tips, and balancing itself with unexpected ease for so big a creature, and then hopped to the ground and again stood motionless. evidently it trusted for safety to escaping observation. we saw some monkeys and fresh tapir sign, and kermit shot a jacu for the pot. at about three o'clock i was in the lead, when the current began to run more quickly. we passed over one or two decided ripples, and then heard the roar of rapids ahead, while the stream began to race. we drove the canoe into the bank, and then went down a tapir trail, which led alongside the river, to reconnoiter. a quarter of a mile's walk showed us that there were big rapids, down which the canoes could not go; and we returned to the landing. all the canoes had gathered there, and rondon, lyra, and kermit started down-stream to explore. they returned in an hour, with the information that the rapids continued for a long distance, with falls and steep pitches of broken water, and that the portage would take several days. we made camp just above the rapids. ants swarmed, and some of them bit savagely. our men, in clearing away the forest for our tents, left several very tall and slender accashy palms; the bole of this palm is as straight as an arrow and is crowned with delicate, gracefully curved fronds. we had come along the course of the river almost exactly a hundred kilometres; it had twisted so that we were only about fifty-five kilometres north of our starting-point. the rock was porphyritic. the th, th, and th we spent in carrying the loads and dragging and floating the dugouts past the series of rapids at whose head we had stopped. the first day we shifted camp a kilometre and a half to the foot of this series of rapids. this was a charming and picturesque camp. it was at the edge of the river, where there was a little, shallow bay with a beach of firm sand. in the water, at the middle point of the beach, stood a group of three burity palms, their great trunks rising like columns. round the clearing in which our tents stood were several very big trees; two of them were rubber-trees. kermit went down-stream five or six kilometres, and returned, having shot a jacu and found that at the point which he had reached there was another rapids, almost a fall, which would necessitate our again dragging the canoes over a portage. antonio, the parecis, shot a big monkey; of this i was glad because portaging is hard work, and the men appreciated the meat. so far cherrie had collected sixty birds on the duvida, all of them new to the collection, and some probably new to science. we saw the fresh sign of paca, agouti, and the small peccary, and kermit with the dogs roused a tapir, which crossed the river right through the rapids; but no one got a shot at it. except at one or perhaps two points a very big dugout, lightly loaded, could probably run all these rapids. but even in such a canoe it would be silly to make the attempt on an exploring expedition, where the loss of a canoe or of its contents means disaster; and moreover such a canoe could not be taken, for it would be impossible to drag it over the portages on the occasions when the portages became inevitable. our canoes would not have lived half a minute in the wild water. on the second day the canoes and loads were brought down to the foot of the first rapids. lyra cleared the path and laid the logs for rollers, while kermit dragged the dugouts up the bank from the water with block and tackle, with strain of rope and muscle. then they joined forces, as over the uneven ground it needed the united strength of all their men to get the heavy dugouts along. meanwhile the colonel with one attendant measured the distance, and then went on a long hunt, but saw no game. i strolled down beside the river for a couple of miles, but also saw nothing. in the dense tropical forest of the amazonian basin hunting is very difficult, especially for men who are trying to pass through the country as rapidly as possible. on such a trip as ours getting game is largely a matter of chance. on the following day lyra and kermit brought down the canoes and loads, with hard labor, to the little beach by the three palms where our tents were pitched. many pacovas grew round about. the men used their immense leaves, some of which were twelve feet long and two and a half feet broad, to roof the flimsy shelters under which they hung their hammocks. i went into the woods, but in the tangle of vegetation it would have been a mere hazard had i seen any big animal. generally the woods were silent and empty. now and then little troops of birds of many kinds passed--wood-hewers, ant-thrushes, tanagers, flycatchers; as in the spring and fall similar troops of warblers, chickadees, and nuthatches pass through our northern woods. on the rocks and on the great trees by the river grew beautiful white and lilac orchids, the sobralia, of sweet and delicate fragrance. for the moment my own books seemed a trifle heavy, and perhaps i would have found the day tedious if kermit had not lent me the oxford book of french verse. eustache deschamp, joachim du bellay, ronsard, the delightful la fontaine, the delightful but appalling villon, victor hugo's "guitare," madame desbordes-valmore's lines on the little girl and her pillow, as dear little verses about a child as ever were written--these and many others comforted me much, as i read them in head-net and gauntlets, sitting on a log by an unknown river in the amazonian forest. on the th we again embarked and made a kilometre and a half, spending most of the time in getting past two more rapids. near the first of these we saw a small cayman, a jacare-tinga. at each set of rapids the canoes were unloaded and the loads borne past on the shoulders of the camaradas; three of the canoes were paddled down by a couple of naked paddlers apiece; and the two sets of double canoes were let down by ropes, one of one couple being swamped but rescued and brought safely to shore on each occasion. one of the men was upset while working in the swift water, and his face was cut against the stones. lyra and kermit did the actual work with the camaradas. kermit, dressed substantially like the camaradas themselves, worked in the water, and, as the overhanging branches were thronged with crowds of biting and stinging ants, he was marked and blistered over his whole body. indeed, we all suffered more or less from these ants; while the swarms of biting flies grew constantly more numerous. the termites ate holes in my helmet and also in the cover of my cot. every one else had a hammock. at this camp we had come down the river about kilometres, according to the surveying records, and in height had descended nearly metres, as shown by the aneroid--although the figure in this case is only an approximation, as an aneroid cannot be depended on for absolute accuracy of results. next morning we found that during the night we had met with a serious misfortune. we had halted at the foot of the rapids. the canoes were moored to trees on the bank, at the tail of the broken water. the two old canoes, although one of them was our biggest cargo-carrier, were water-logged and heavy, and one of them was leaking. in the night the river rose. the leaky canoe, which at best was too low in the water, must have gradually filled from the wash of the waves. it sank, dragging down the other; they began to roll, bursting their moorings; and in the morning they had disappeared. a canoe was launched to look for them; but, rolling over the boulders on the rocky bottom, they had at once been riven asunder, and the big fragments that were soon found, floating in eddies, or along the shore, showed that it was useless to look farther. we called these rapids broken canoe rapids. it was not pleasant to have to stop for some days; thanks to the rapids, we had made slow progress, and with our necessarily limited supply of food, and no knowledge whatever of what was ahead of us, it was important to make good time. but there was no alternative. we had to build either one big canoe or two small ones. it was raining heavily as the men started to explore in different directions for good canoe trees. three--which ultimately proved not very good for the purpose--were found close to camp; splendid-looking trees, one of them five feet in diameter three feet from the ground. the axemen immediately attacked this one under the superintendence of colonel rondon. lyra and kermit started in opposite directions to hunt. lyra killed a jacu for us, and kermit killed two monkeys for the men. toward night fall it cleared. the moon was nearly full, and the foaming river gleamed like silver. our men were "regional volunteers," that is, they had enlisted in the service of the telegraphic commission especially to do this wilderness work, and were highly paid, as was fitting, in view of the toil, hardship, and hazard to life and health. two of them had been with colonel rondon during his eight months' exploration in , at which time his men were regulars, from his own battalion of engineers. his four aides during the closing months of this trip were lieutenants lyra, amarante, alencarliense, and pyrineus. the naturalist miranda ribeiro also accompanied him. this was the year when, marching on foot through an absolutely unknown wilderness, the colonel and his party finally reached the gy-parana, which on the maps was then (and on most maps is now) placed in an utterly wrong course, and over a degree out of its real position. when they reached the affluents of the gy-parana a third of the members of the party were so weak with fever that they could hardly crawl. they had no baggage. their clothes were in tatters, and some of the men were almost naked. for months they had had no food except what little game they shot, and especially the wild fruits and nuts; if it had not been for the great abundance of the brazil-nuts they would all have died. at the first big stream they encountered they built a canoe, and alencarliense took command of it and descended to map the course of the river. with him went ribeiro, the doctor tanageira, who could no longer walk on account of the ulceration of one foot, three men whom the fever had rendered unable longer to walk, and six men who were as yet well enough to handle the canoe. by the time the remainder of the party came to the next navigable river eleven more fever-stricken men had nearly reached the end of their tether. here they ran across a poor devil who had for four months been lost in the forest and was dying of slow starvation. he had eaten nothing but brazil-nuts and the grubs of insects. he could no longer walk, but could sit erect and totter feebly for a few feet. another canoe was built, and in it pyrineus started down-stream with the eleven fever patients and the starving wanderer. colonel rondon kept up the morale of his men by still carrying out the forms of military discipline. the ragged bugler had his bugle. lieutenant pyrineus had lost every particle of his clothing except a hat and a pair of drawers. the half-naked lieutenant drew up his eleven fever patients in line; the bugle sounded; every one came to attention; and the haggard colonel read out the orders of the day. then the dugout with its load of sick men started down-stream, and rondon, lyra, amarante, and the twelve remaining men resumed their weary march. when a fortnight later they finally struck a camp of rubber-gatherers three of the men were literally and entirely naked. meanwhile amilcar had ascended the jacyparana a month or two previously with provisions to meet them; for at that time the maps incorrectly treated this river as larger, instead of smaller, than the gy-parana, which they were in fact descending; and colonel rondon had supposed that they were going down the former stream. amilcar returned after himself suffering much hardship and danger. the different parties finally met at the mouth of the gy-parana, where it enters the madeira. the lost man whom they had found seemed on the road to recovery, and they left him at a ranch, on the madeira, where he could be cared for; yet after they had left him they heard that he had died. on the th the men were still hard at work hollowing out the hard wood of the big tree, with axe and adze, while watch and ward were kept over them to see that the idlers did not shirk at the expense of the industrious. kermit and lyra again hunted; the former shot a curassow, which was welcome, as we were endeavoring in all ways to economize our food supply. we were using the tops of palms also. i spent the day hunting in the woods, for the most part by the river, but saw nothing. in the season of the rains game is away from the river and fish are scarce and turtles absent. yet it was pleasant to be in the great silent forest. here and there grew immense trees, and on some of them mighty buttresses sprang from the base. the lianas and vines were of every size and shape. some were twisted and some were not. some came down straight and slender from branches a hundred feet above. others curved like long serpents around the trunks. others were like knotted cables. in the shadow there was little noise. the wind rarely moved the hot, humid air. there were few flowers or birds. insects were altogether too abundant, and even when travelling slowly it was impossible always to avoid them--not to speak of our constant companions the bees, mosquitoes, and especially the boroshudas or bloodsucking flies. now while bursting through a tangle i disturbed a nest of wasps, whose resentment was active; now i heedlessly stepped among the outliers of a small party of the carnivorous foraging ants; now, grasping a branch as i stumbled, i shook down a shower of fire- ants; and among all these my attention was particularly arrested by the bite of one of the giant ants, which stung like a hornet, so that i felt it for three hours. the camarades generally went barefoot or only wore sandals; and their ankles and feet were swollen and inflamed from the bites of the boroshudas and ants, some being actually incapacitated from work. all of us suffered more or less, our faces and hands swelling slightly from the boroshuda bites; and in spite of our clothes we were bitten all over our bodies, chiefly by ants and the small forest ticks. because of the rain and the heat our clothes were usually wet when we took them off at night, and just as wet when we put them on again in the morning. all day on the th the men worked at the canoe, making good progress. in rolling and shifting the huge, heavy tree-trunk every one had to assist now and then. the work continued until ten in the evening, as the weather was clear. after nightfall some of the men held candles and the others plied axe or adze, standing within or beside the great, half-hollowed logs, while the flicker of the lights showed the tropic forest rising in the darkness round about. the night air was hot and still and heavy with moisture. the men were stripped to the waist. olive and copper and ebony, their skins glistened as if oiled, and rippled with the ceaseless play of the thews beneath. on the morning of the th the work was resumed in a torrential tropic downpour. the canoe was finished, dragged down to the water, and launched soon after midday, and another hour or so saw us under way. the descent was marked, and the swollen river raced along. several times we passed great whirlpools, sometimes shifting, sometimes steady. half a dozen times we ran over rapids, and, although they were not high enough to have been obstacles to loaded canadian canoes, two of them were serious to us. our heavily laden, clumsy dugouts were sunk to within three or four inches of the surface of the river, and, although they were buoyed on each side with bundles of burity-palm branch-stems, they shipped a great deal of water in the rapids. the two biggest rapids we only just made, and after each we had hastily to push ashore in order to bail. in one set of big ripples or waves my canoe was nearly swamped. in a wilderness, where what is ahead is absolutely unknown, alike in terms of time, space, and method--for we had no idea where we would come out, how we would get out, or when we would get out--it is of vital consequence not to lose one's outfit, especially the provisions; and yet it is of only less consequence to go as rapidly as possible lest all the provisions be exhausted and the final stages of the expedition be accomplished by men weakened from semi-starvation, and therefore ripe for disaster. on this occasion, of the two hazards, we felt it necessary to risk running the rapids; for our progress had been so very slow that unless we made up the time, it was probable that we would be short of food before we got where we could expect to procure any more except what little the country in the time of the rains and floods, might yield. we ran until after five, so that the work of pitching camp was finished in the dark. we had made nearly sixteen kilometres in a direction slightly east of north. this evening the air was fresh and cool. the following morning, the th of march, we started in good season. for six kilometres we drifted and paddled down the swift river without incident. at times we saw lofty brazil-nut trees rising above the rest of the forest on the banks; and back from the river these trees grow to enormous proportions, towering like giants. there were great rubber-trees also, their leaves always in sets of threes. then the ground on either hand rose into boulder-strewn, forest-clad hills and the roar of broken water announced that once more our course was checked by dangerous rapids. round a bend we came on them; a wide descent of white water, with an island in the middle, at the upper edge. here grave misfortune befell us, and graver misfortune was narrowly escaped. kermit, as usual, was leading in his canoe. it was the smallest and least seaworthy of all. he had in it little except a week's supply of our boxed provisions and a few tools; fortunately none of the food for the camaradas. his dog trigueiro was with him. besides himself, the crew consisted of two men: joao, the helmsman, or pilot, as he is called in brazil, and simplicio, the bowsman. both were negroes and exceptionally good men in every way. kermit halted his canoe on the left bank, above the rapids, and waited for the colonel's canoe. then the colonel and lyra walked down the bank to see what was ahead. kermit took his canoe across to the island to see whether the descent could be better accomplished on the other side. having made his investigation, he ordered the men to return to the bank he had left, and the dugout was headed up-stream accordingly. before they had gone a dozen yards, the paddlers digging their paddles with all their strength into the swift current, one of the shifting whirlpools of which i have spoken came down-stream, whirled them around, and swept them so close to the rapids that no human power could avoid going over them. as they were drifting into them broadside on, kermit yelled to the steersman to turn her head, so as to take them in the only way that offered any chance whatever of safety. the water came aboard, wave after wave, as they raced down. they reached the bottom with the canoe upright, but so full as barely to float, and the paddlers urged her toward the shore. they had nearly reached the bank when another whirlpool or whirling eddy tore them away and hurried them back to midstream, where the dugout filled and turned over. joao, seizing the rope, started to swim ashore; the rope was pulled from his hand, but he reached the bank. poor simplicio must have been pulled under at once and his life beaten out on the boulders beneath the racing torrent. he never rose again, nor did we ever recover his body. kermit clutched his rifle, his favorite winchester with which he had done most of his hunting both in africa and america, and climbed on the bottom of the upset boat. in a minute he was swept into the second series of rapids, and whirled away from the rolling boat, losing his rifle. the water beat his helmet down over his head and face and drove him beneath the surface; and when he rose at last he was almost drowned, his breath and strength almost spent. he was in swift but quiet water, and swam toward an overhanging branch. his jacket hindered him, but he knew he was too nearly gone to be able to get it off, and, thinking with the curious calm one feels when death is but a moment away, he realized that the utmost his failing strength could do was to reach the branch. he reached, and clutched it, and then almost lacked strength to haul himself out on the land. good trigueiro had faithfully swum alongside him through the rapids, and now himself scrambled ashore. it was a very narrow escape. kermit was a great comfort and help to me on the trip; but the fear of some fatal accident befalling him was always a nightmare to me. he was to be married as soon as the trip was over; and it did not seem to me that i could bear to bring bad tidings to his betrothed and to his mother. simplicio was unmarried. later we sent to his mother all the money that would have been his had he lived. the following morning we put on one side of the post erected to mark our camping-spot the following inscription, in portuguese: "in these rapids died poor simplicio." on an expedition such as ours death is one of the accidents that may at any time occur, and narrow escapes from death are too common to be felt as they would be felt elsewhere. one mourns sincerely, but mourning cannot interfere with labor. we immediately proceeded with the work of the portage. from the head to the tail of this series of rapids the distance was about six hundred yards. a path was cut along the bank, over which the loads were brought. the empty canoes ran the rapids without mishap, each with two skilled paddlers. one of the canoes almost ran into a swimming tapir at the head of the rapids; it went down the rapids, and then climbed out of the river. kermit accompanied by joao, went three or four miles down the river, looking for the body of simplicio and for the sunk canoe. he found neither. but he found a box of provisions and a paddle, and salvaged both by swimming into midstream after them. he also found that a couple of kilometres below there was another stretch of rapids, and following them on the left-hand bank to the foot he found that they were worse than the ones we had just passed, and impassable for canoes on this left-hand side. we camped at the foot of the rapids we had just passed. there were many small birds here, but it was extremely difficult to see or shoot them in the lofty tree tops, and to find them in the tangle beneath if they were shot. however, cherrie got four species new to the collection. one was a tiny hummer, one of the species known as woodstars, with dainty but not brilliant plumage; its kind is never found except in the deep, dark woods, not coming out into the sunshine. its crop was filled with ants; when shot it was feeding at a cluster of long red flowers. he also got a very handsome trogon and an exquisite little tanager, as brilliant as a cluster of jewels; its throat was lilac, its breast turquoise, its crown and forehead topaz, while above it was glossy purple-black, the lower part of the back ruby-red. this tanager was a female; i can hardly imagine that the male is more brilliantly colored. the fourth bird was a queer hawk of the genus ibycter, black, with a white belly, naked red cheeks and throat and red legs and feet. its crop was filled with the seeds of fruits and a few insect remains; an extraordinary diet for a hawk. the morning of the th was dark and gloomy. through sheets of blinding rain we left our camp of misfortune for another camp where misfortune also awaited us. less than half an hour took our dugouts to the head of the rapids below. as kermit had already explored the left- hand side, colonel rondon and lyra went down the right-hand side and found a channel which led round the worst part, so that they deemed it possible to let down the canoes by ropes from the bank. the distance to the foot of the rapids was about a kilometre. while the loads were being brought down the left bank, luiz and antonio correa, our two best watermen, started to take a canoe down the right side, and colonel rondon walked ahead to see anything he could about the river. he was accompanied by one of our three dogs, lobo. after walking about a kilometre he heard ahead a kind of howling noise, which he thought was made by spider-monkeys. he walked in the direction of the sound and lobo ran ahead. in a minute he heard lobo yell with pain, and then, still yelping, come toward him, while the creature that was howling also approached, evidently in pursuit. in a moment a second yell from lobo, followed by silence, announced that he was dead; and the sound of the howling when near convinced rondon that the dog had been killed by an indian, doubtless with two arrows. probably the indian was howling to lure the spider-monkeys toward him. rondon fired his rifle in the air, to warn off the indian or indians, who in all probability had never seen a civilized man, and certainly could not imagine that one was in the neighborhood. he then returned to the foot of the rapids, where the portage was still going on, and, in company with lyra, kermit, and antonio parecis, the indian, walked back to where lobo's body lay. sure enough he found him, slain by two arrows. one arrow-head was in him, and near by was a strange stick used in the very primitive method of fishing of all these indians. antonio recognized its purpose. the indians, who were apparently two or three in number, had fled. some beads and trinkets were left on the spot to show that we were not angry and were friendly. meanwhile cherrie stayed at the head and i at the foot of the portage as guards. luiz and antonio correa brought down one canoe safely. the next was the new canoe, which was very large and heavy, being made of wood that would not float. in the rapids the rope broke, and the canoe was lost, luiz being nearly drowned. it was a very bad thing to lose the canoe, but it was even worse to lose the rope and pulleys. this meant that it would be physically impossible to hoist big canoes up even small hills or rocky hillocks, such as had been so frequent beside the many rapids we had encountered. it was not wise to spend the four days necessary to build new canoes where we were, in danger of attack from the indians. moreover, new rapids might be very near, in which case the new canoes would hamper us. yet the four remaining canoes would not carry all the loads and all the men, no matter how we cut the loads down; and we intended to cut everything down at once. we had been gone eighteen days. we had used over a third of our food. we had gone only kilometres, and it was probable that we had at least five times, perhaps six or seven times, this distance still to go. we had taken a fortnight to descend rapids amounting in the aggregate to less than seventy yards of fall; a very few yards of fall makes a dangerous rapid when the river is swollen and swift and there are obstructions. we had only one aneroid to determine our altitude, and therefore could make merely a loose approximation to it, but we probably had between two and three times this descent in the aggregate of rapids ahead of us. so far the country had offered little in the way of food except palm-tops. we had lost four canoes and one man. we were in the country of wild indians, who shot well with their bows. it behooved us to go warily, but also to make all speed possible, if we were to avoid serious trouble. the best plan seemed to be to march thirteen men down along the bank, while the remaining canoes, lashed two and two, floated down beside them. if after two or three days we found no bad rapids, and there seemed a reasonable chance of going some distance at decent speed, we could then build the new canoes--preferably two small ones, this time, instead of one big one. we left all the baggage we could. we were already down as far as comfort would permit; but we now struck off much of the comfort. cherrie, kermit, and i had been sleeping under a very light fly; and there was another small light tent for one person, kept for possible emergencies. the last was given to me for my cot, and all five of the others swung their hammocks under the big fly. this meant that we left two big and heavy tents behind. a box of surveying instruments was also abandoned. each of us got his personal belongings down to one box or duffel-bag--although there was only a small diminution thus made; because we had so little that the only way to make a serious diminution was to restrict ourselves to the clothes on our backs. the biting flies and ants were to us a source of discomfort and at times of what could fairly be called torment. but to the camaradas, most of whom went barefoot or only wore sandals--and they never did or would wear shoes--the effect was more serious. they wrapped their legs and feet in pieces of canvas or hide; and the feet of three of them became so swollen that they were crippled and could not walk any distance. the doctor, whose courage and cheerfulness never flagged, took excellent care of them. thanks to him, there had been among them hitherto but one or two slight cases of fever. he administered to each man daily a half-gram--nearly eight grains--of quinine, and every third or fourth day a double dose. the following morning colonel rondon, lyra, kermit, cherrie, and nine of the camaradas started in single file down the bank, while the doctor and i went in the two double canoes, with six camaradas, three of them the invalids with swollen feet. we halted continually, as we went about three times as fast as the walkers; and we traced the course of the river. after forty minutes' actual going in the boats we came to some rapids; the unloaded canoes ran them without difficulty, while the loads were portaged. in an hour and a half we were again under way, but in ten minutes came to other rapids, where the river ran among islands, and there were several big curls. the clumsy, heavily laden dugouts, lashed in couples, were unwieldy and hard to handle. the rapids came just round a sharp bend, and we got caught in the upper part of the swift water and had to run the first set of rapids in consequence. we in the leading pair of dugouts were within an ace of coming to grief on some big boulders against which we were swept by a cross current at the turn. all of us paddling hard-- scraping and bumping--we got through by the skin of our teeth, and managed to make the bank and moor our dugouts. it was a narrow escape from grave disaster. the second pair of lashed dugouts profited by our experience, and made the run--with risk, but with less risk--and moored beside us. then all the loads were taken out, and the empty canoes were run down through the least dangerous channels among the islands. this was a long portage, and we camped at the foot of the rapids, having made nearly seven kilometres. here a little river, a rapid stream of volume equal to the duvida at the point where we first embarked, joined from the west. colonel rondon and kermit came to it first, and the former named it rio kermit. there was in it a waterfall about six or eight feet high, just above the junction. here we found plenty of fish. lyra caught two pacu, good-sized, deep-bodied fish. they were delicious eating. antonio the parecis said that these fish never came up heavy rapids in which there were falls they had to jump. we could only hope that he was correct, as in that case the rapids we would encounter in the future would rarely be so serious as to necessitate our dragging the heavy dugouts overland. passing the rapids we had hitherto encountered had meant severe labor and some danger. but the event showed that he was mistaken. the worst rapids were ahead of us. while our course as a whole had been almost due north, and sometimes east of north, yet where there were rapids the river had generally, although not always, turned westward. this seemed to indicate that to the east of us there was a low northward projection of the central plateau across which we had travelled on mule-back. this is the kind of projection that appears on the maps of this region as a sierra. probably it sent low spurs to the west, and the farthest points of these spurs now and then caused rapids in our course (for the rapids generally came where there were hills) and for the moment deflected the river westward from its general downhill trend to the north. there was no longer any question that the duvida was a big river, a river of real importance. it was not a minor affluent of some other affluent. but we were still wholly in the dark as to where it came out. it was still possible, although exceedingly improbable, that it entered the gy-parana, as another river of substantially the same size, near its mouth. it was much more likely, but not probable, that it entered the tapajos. it was probable, although far from certain, that it entered the madeira low down, near its point of junction with the amazon. in this event it was likely, although again far from certain, that its mouth would prove to be the aripuanan. the aripuanan does not appear on the maps as a river of any size; on a good standard map of south america which i had with me its name does not appear at all, although a dotted indication of a small river or creek at about the right place probably represents it. nevertheless, from the report of one of his lieutenants who had examined its mouth, and from the stories of the rubber-gatherers, or seringueiros, colonel rondon had come to the conclusion that this was the largest affluent of the madeira, with such a body of water that it must have a big drainage basin. he thought that the duvida was probably one of its head streams--although every existing map represented the lay of the land to be such as to render impossible the existence of such a river system and drainage basin. the rubber-gatherers reported that they had gone many days' journey up the river, to a point where there was a series of heavy rapids with above them the junction point of two large rivers, one entering from the west. beyond this they had difficulties because of the hostility of the indians; and where the junction point was no one could say. on the chance colonel rondon had directed one of his subordinate officers, lieutenant pyrineus, to try to meet us, with boats and provisions, by ascending the aripuanan to the point of entry of its first big affluent. this was the course followed when amilcar had been directed to try to meet the explorers who in came down the gy-parana. at that time the effort was a failure, and the two parties never met; but we might have better luck, and in any event the chance was worth taking. on the morning following our camping by the mouth of the rio kermit, colonel rondon took a good deal of pains in getting a big post set up at the entry of the smaller river into the duvida. then he summoned me, and all the others, to attend the ceremony of its erection. we found the camaradas drawn up in line, and the colonel preparing to read aloud "the orders of the day." to the post was nailed a board with "rio kermit" on it; and the colonel read the orders reciting that by the direction of the brazilian government, and inasmuch as the unknown river was evidently a great river, he formally christened it the rio roosevelt. this was a complete surprise to me. both lauro miller and colonel rondon had spoken to me on the subject, and i had urged, and kermit had urged, as strongly as possible, that the name be kept as rio da duvida. we felt that the "river of doubt" was an unusually good name; and it is always well to keep a name of this character. but my kind friends insisted otherwise, and it would have been churlish of me to object longer. i was much touched by their action, and by the ceremony itself. at the conclusion of the reading colonel rondon led in cheers for the united states and then for me and for kermit; and the camaradas cheered with a will. i proposed three cheers for brazil and then for colonel rondon, and lyra, and the doctor, and then for all the camaradas. then lyra said that everybody had been cheered except cherrie; and so we all gave three cheers for cherrie, and the meeting broke up in high good humor. immediately afterward the walkers set off on their march downstream, looking for good canoe trees. in a quarter of an hour we followed with the canoes. as often as we overtook them we halted until they had again gone a good distance ahead. they soon found fresh indian sign, and actually heard the indians; but the latter fled in panic. they came on a little indian fishing village, just abandoned. the three low, oblong huts, of palm leaves, had each an entrance for a man on all fours, but no other opening. they were dark inside, doubtless as a protection against the swarms of biting flies. on a pole in this village an axe, a knife, and some strings of red beads were left, with the hope that the indians would return, find the gifts, and realize that we were friendly. we saw further indian sign on both sides of the river. after about two hours and a half we came on a little river entering from the east. it was broad but shallow, and at the point of entrance rushed down, green and white, over a sharply inclined sheet of rock. it was a lovely sight and we halted to admire it. then on we went, until, when we had covered about eight kilometres, we came on a stretch of rapids. the canoes ran them with about a third of the loads, the other loads being carried on the men's shoulders. at the foot of the rapids we camped, as there were several good canoe trees near, and we had decided to build two rather small canoes. after dark the stars came out; but in the deep forest the glory of the stars in the night of the sky, the serene radiance of the moon, the splendor of sunrise and sunset, are never seen as they are seen on the vast open plains. the following day, the th, the men began work on the canoes. the ill-fated big canoe had been made of wood so hard that it was difficult to work, and so heavy that the chips sank like lead in the water. but these trees were araputangas, with wood which was easier to work, and which floated. great buttresses, or flanges, jutted out from their trunks at the base, and they bore big hard nuts or fruits which stood erect at the ends of the branches. the first tree felled proved rotten, and moreover it was chopped so that it smashed a number of lesser trees into the kitchen, overthrowing everything, but not inflicting serious damage. hardworking, willing, and tough though the camaradas were, they naturally did not have the skill of northern lumberjacks. we hoped to finish the two canoes in three days. a space was cleared in the forest for our tents. among the taller trees grew huge-leafed pacovas, or wild bananas. we bathed and swam in the river, although in it we caught piranhas. carregadores ants swarmed all around our camp. as many of the nearest of their holes as we could we stopped with fire; but at night some of them got into our tents and ate things we could ill spare. in the early morning a column of foraging ants appeared, and we drove them back, also with fire. when the sky was not overcast the sun was very hot, and we spread out everything to dry. there were many wonderful butterflies round about, but only a few birds. yet in the early morning and late afternoon there was some attractive bird music in the woods. the two best performers were our old friend the false bellbird, with its series of ringing whistles, and a shy, attractive ant-thrush. the latter walked much on the ground, with dainty movements, curtseying and raising its tail; and in accent and sequence, although not in tone or time, its song resembled that of our white-throated sparrow. it was three weeks since we had started down the river of doubt. we had come along its winding course about kilometres, with a descent of somewhere in the neighborhood of metres. it had been slow progress. we could not tell what physical obstacles were ahead of us, nor whether the indians would be actively hostile. but a river normally describes in its course a parabola, the steep descent being in the upper part; and we hoped that in the future we should not have to encounter so many and such difficult rapids as we had already encountered, and that therefore we would make better time--a hope destined to failure. ix. down an unknown river into the equatorial forest the mightiest river in the world is the amazon. it runs from west to east, from the sunset to the sunrise, from the andes to the atlantic. the main stream flows almost along the equator, while the basin which contains its affluents extends many degrees north and south of the equator. the gigantic equatorial river basin is filled with an immense forest, the largest in the world, with which no other forest can be compared save those of western africa and malaysia. we were within the southern boundary of this great equatorial forest, on a river which was not merely unknown but unguessed at, no geographer having ever suspected its existence. this river flowed northward toward the equator, but whither it would go, whether it would turn one way or another, the length of its course, where it would come out, the character of the stream itself, and the character of the dwellers along its banks--all these things were yet to be discovered. one morning while the canoes were being built kermit and i walked a few kilometres down the river and surveyed the next rapids below. the vast still forest was almost empty of life. we found old indian signs. there were very few birds, and these in the tops of the tall trees. we saw a recent tapir track; and under a cajazeira tree by the bank there were the tracks of capybaras which had been eating the fallen fruit. this fruit is delicious and would make a valuable addition to our orchards. the tree although tropical is hardy, thrives when domesticated, and propagates rapidly from shoots. the department of agriculture should try whether it would not grow in southern california and florida. this was the tree from which the doctor's family name was taken. his parental grandfather, although of portuguese blood, was an intensely patriotic brazilian. he was a very young man when the independence of brazil was declared, and did not wish to keep the portuguese family name; so he changed it to that of the fine brazilian tree in question. such change of family names is common in brazil. doctor vital brazil, the student of poisonous serpents, was given his name by his father, whose own family name was entirely different; and his brother's name was again different. there were tremendous downpours of rain, lasting for a couple of hours and accompanied by thunder and lightning. but on the whole it seemed as if the rains were less heavy and continuous than they had been. we all of us had to help in building the canoes now and then. kermit, accompanied by antonio the parecis and joao, crossed the river and walked back to the little river that had entered from the east, so as to bring back a report of it to colonel rondon. lyra took observations, by the sun and by the stars. we were in about latitude degrees minutes south, and due north of where we had started. the river had wound so that we had gone two miles for every one we made northward. our progress had been very slow; and until we got out of the region of incessant rapids, with their attendant labor and hazard, it was not likely that we should go much faster. on the morning of march we started in our six canoes. we made ten kilometres. twenty minutes after starting we came to the first rapids. here every one walked except the three best paddlers, who took the canoes down in succession--an hour's job. soon after this we struck a bees' nest in the top of a tree overhanging the river; our steersman climbed out and robbed it, but, alas! lost the honey on the way back. we came to a small steep fall which we did not dare run in our over- laden, clumsy, and cranky dugouts. fortunately, we were able to follow a deep canal which led off for a kilometre, returning just below the falls, fifty yards from where it had started. then, having been in the boats and in motion only one hour and a half, we came to a long stretch of rapids which it took us six hours to descend, and we camped at the foot. everything was taken out of the canoes, and they were run down in succession. at one difficult and perilous place they were let down by ropes; and even thus we almost lost one. we went down the right bank. on the opposite bank was an indian village, evidently inhabited only during the dry season. the marks on the stumps of trees showed that these indians had axes and knives; and there were old fields in which maize, beans, and cotton had been grown. the forest dripped and steamed. rubber-trees were plentiful. at one point the tops of a group of tall trees were covered with yellow- white blossoms. others bore red blossoms. many of the big trees, of different kinds, were buttressed at the base with great thin walls of wood. others, including both palms and ordinary trees, showed an even stranger peculiarity. the trunk, near the base, but sometimes six or eight feet from the ground, was split into a dozen or twenty branches or small trunks which sloped outward in tent-like shape, each becoming a root. the larger trees of this type looked as if their trunks were seated on the tops of the pole frames of indian tepees. at one point in the stream, to our great surprise, we saw a flying fish. it skimmed the water like a swallow for over twenty yards. although we made only ten kilometres we worked hard all day. the last canoes were brought down and moored to the bank at nightfall. our tents were pitched in the darkness. next day we made thirteen kilometres. we ran, all told, a little over an hour and three-quarters. seven hours were spent in getting past a series of rapids at which the portage, over rocky and difficult ground, was a kilometre long. the canoes were run down empty--a hazardous run, in which one of them upset. yet while we were actually on the river, paddling and floating downstream along the reaches of swift, smooth water, it was very lovely. when we started in the morning the day was overcast and the air was heavy with vapor. ahead of us the shrouded river stretched between dim walls of forest, half seen in the mist. then the sun burned up the fog, and loomed through it in a red splendor that changed first to gold and then to molten white. in the dazzling light, under the brilliant blue of the sky, every detail of the magnificent forest was vivid to the eye: the great trees, the network of bush ropes, the caverns of greenery, where thick-leaved vines covered all things else. wherever there was a hidden boulder the surface of the current was broken by waves. in one place, in midstream, a pyramidal rock thrust itself six feet above the surface of the river. on the banks we found fresh indian sign. at home in vermont cherrie is a farmer, with a farm of six hundred acres, most of it woodland. as we sat at the foot of the rapids, watching for the last dugouts with their naked paddlers to swing into sight round the bend through the white water, we talked of the northern spring that was just beginning. he sells cream, eggs, poultry, potatoes, honey, occasionally pork and veal; but at this season it was the time for the maple sugar crop. he has a sugar orchard, where he taps twelve hundred trees and hopes soon to tap as many more in addition. said cherrie: "it's a busy time now for fred rice"--fred rice is the hired man, and in sugar time the cherrie boys help him with enthusiasm, and, moreover, are paid with exact justice for the work they do. there is much wild life about the farm, although it is near brattleboro. one night in early spring a bear left his tracks near the sugar house; and now and then in summer cherrie has had to sleep in the garden to keep the deer away from the beans, cabbages, and beets. there was not much bird life in the forest, but cherrie kept getting species new to the collection. at this camp he shot an interesting little ant-thrush. it was the size of a warbler, jet-black, with white under-surfaces of the wings and tail, white on the tail-feathers, and a large spot of white on the back, normally almost concealed, the feathers on the back being long and fluffy. when he shot the bird, a male, it was showing off before a dull-colored little bird, doubtless the female; and the chief feature of the display was this white spot on the back. the white feathers were raised and displayed so that the spot flashed like the "chrysanthemum" on a prongbuck whose curiosity has been aroused. in the gloom of the forest the bird was hard to see, but the flashing of this patch of white feathers revealed it at once, attracting immediate attention. it was an excellent example of a coloration mark which served a purely advertising purpose; apparently it was part of a courtship display. the bird was about thirty feet up in the branches. in the morning, just before leaving this camp, a tapir swam across stream a little way above us; but unfortunately we could not get a shot at it. an ample supply of tapir beef would have meant much to us. we had started with fifty days' rations; but this by no means meant full rations, in the sense of giving every man all he wanted to eat. we had two meals a day, and were on rather short commons--both our mess and the camaradas'--except when we got plenty of palm-tops. for our mess we had the boxes chosen by fiala, each containing a day's rations for six men, our number. but we made each box last a day and a half, or at times two days, and in addition we gave some of the food to the camaradas. it was only on the rare occasions when we had killed some monkeys or curassows, or caught some fish, that everybody had enough. we would have welcomed that tapir. so far the game, fish, and fruit had been too scarce to be an element of weight in our food supply. in an exploring trip like ours, through a difficult and utterly unknown country, especially if densely forested, there is little time to halt, and game cannot be counted on. it is only in lands like our own west thirty years ago, like south africa in the middle of the last century, like east africa to-day that game can be made the chief food supply. on this trip our only substantial food supply from the country hitherto had been that furnished by the palmtops. two men were detailed every day to cut down palms for food. a kilometre and a half after leaving this camp we came on a stretch of big rapids. the river here twists in loops, and we had heard the roaring of these rapids the previous afternoon. then we passed out of earshot of them; but antonio correa, our best waterman, insisted all along that the roaring meant rapids worse than any we had encountered for some days. "i was brought up in the water, and i know it like a fish, and all its sounds," said he. he was right. we had to carry the loads nearly a kilometre that afternoon, and the canoes were pulled out on the bank so that they might be in readiness to be dragged overland next day. rondon, lyra, kermit, and antonio correa explored both sides of the river. on the opposite or left bank they found the mouth of a considerable river, bigger than the rio kermit, flowing in from the west and making its entrance in the middle of the rapids. this river we christened the taunay, in honor of a distinguished brazilian, an explorer, a soldier, a senator, who was also a writer of note. kermit had with him two of his novels, and i had read one of his books dealing with a disastrous retreat during the paraguayan war. next morning, the th, the canoes were brought down. a path was chopped for them and rollers laid; and half-way down the rapids lyra and kermit, who were overseeing the work as well as doing their share of the pushing and hauling, got them into a canal of smooth water, which saved much severe labor. as our food supply lowered we were constantly more desirous of economizing the strength of the men. one day more would complete a month since we had embarked on the duvida as we had started in february, the lunar and calendar months coincided. we had used up over half our provisions. we had come only a trifle over kilometres, thanks to the character and number of the rapids. we believed we had three or four times the distance yet to go before coming to a part of the river where we might hope to meet assistance, either from rubber-gatherers, or from pyrineus, if he were really coming up the river which we were going down. if the rapids continued to be as they had been it could not be much more than three weeks before we were in straits for food, aside from the ever-present danger of accident in the rapids; and if our progress were no faster than it had been--and we were straining to do our best--we would in such event still have several hundreds of kilometres of unknown river before us. we could not even hazard a guess at what was in front. the river was now a really big river, and it seemed impossible that it could flow either into the gy-parana or the tapajos. it was possible that it went into the canuma, a big affluent of the madeira low down, and next to the tapajos. it was more probable that it was the headwaters of the aripuanan, a river which, as i have said, was not even named on the excellent english map of brazil i carried. nothing but the mouth had been known to any geographer; but the lower course had long been known to rubber-gatherers, and recently a commission from the government of amazonas had partway ascended one branch of it--not as far as the rubber-gatherers had gone, and, as it turned out, not the branch we came down. two of our men were down with fever. another man, julio, a fellow of powerful frame, was utterly worthless, being an inborn, lazy shirk with the heart of a ferocious cur in the body of a bullock. the others were good men, some of them very good indeed. they were under the immediate supervision of pedrinho craveiro, who was first-class in every way. this camp was very lovely. it was on the edge of a bay, into which the river broadened immediately below the rapids. there was a beach of white sand, where we bathed and washed our clothes. all around us, and across the bay, and on both sides of the long water-street made by the river, rose the splendid forest. there were flocks of parakeets colored green, blue, and red. big toucans called overhead, lustrous green-black in color, with white throats, red gorgets, red-and-yellow tail coverts, and huge black-and-yellow bills. here the soil was fertile; it will be a fine site for a coffee-plantation when this region is open to settlement. surely such a rich and fertile land cannot be permitted to remain idle, to lie as a tenantless wilderness, while there are such teeming swarms of human beings in the overcrowded, over-peopled countries of the old world. the very rapids and waterfalls which now make the navigation of the river so difficult and dangerous would drive electric trolleys up and down its whole length and far out on either side, and run mills and factories, and lighten the labor on farms. with the incoming of settlement and with the steady growth of knowledge how to fight and control tropical diseases, fear of danger to health would vanish. a land like this is a hard land for the first explorers, and perhaps for their immediate followers, but not for the people who come after them. in mid-afternoon we were once more in the canoes; but we had paddled with the current only a few minutes, we had gone only a kilometre, when the roar of rapids in front again forced us to haul up to the bank. as usual, rondon, lyra, and kermit, with antonio correa, explored both sides while camp was being pitched. the rapids were longer and of steeper descent than the last, but on the opposite or western side there was a passage down which we thought we could get the empty dugouts at the cost of dragging them only a few yards at one spot. the loads were to be carried down the hither bank, for a kilometre, to the smooth water. the river foamed between great rounded masses of rock, and at one point there was a sheer fall of six or eight feet. we found and ate wild pineapples. wild beans were in flower. at dinner we had a toucan and a couple of parrots, which were very good. all next day was spent by lyra in superintending our three best watermen as they took the canoes down the west side of the rapids, to the foot, at the spot to which the camp had meantime been shifted. in the forest some of the huge sipas, or rope vines, which were as big as cables, bore clusters of fragrant flowers. the men found several honey-trees, and fruits of various kinds, and small cocoanuts; they chopped down an ample number of palms, for the palm-cabbage; and, most important of all, they gathered a quantity of big brazil-nuts, which when roasted tasted like the best of chestnuts and are nutritious; and they caught a number of big piranhas, which were good eating. so we all had a feast, and everybody had enough to eat and was happy. by these rapids, at the fall, cherrie found some strange carvings on a bare mass of rock. they were evidently made by men a long time ago. as far as is known, the indians thereabouts make no such figures now. they were in two groups, one on the surface of the rock facing the land, the other on that facing the water. the latter were nearly obliterated. the former were in good preservation, the figures sharply cut into the rock. they consisted, upon the upper flat part of the rock, of four multiple circles with a dot in the middle (o), very accurately made and about a foot and a half in diameter; and below them, on the side of the rock, four multiple m's or inverted w's (m). what these curious symbols represented, or who made them, we could not, of course, form the slightest idea. it may be that in a very remote past some indian tribes of comparatively advanced culture had penetrated to this lovely river, just as we had now come to it. before white men came to south america there had already existed therein various semi-civilizations, some rude, others fairly advanced, which rose, flourished, and persisted through immemorial ages, and then vanished. the vicissitudes in the history of humanity during its stay on this southern continent have been as strange, varied, and inexplicable as paleontology shows to have been the case, on the same continent, in the history of the higher forms of animal life during the age of mammals. colonel rondon stated that such figures as these are not found anywhere else in matto grosso where he has been, and therefore it was all the more strange to find them in this one place on the unknown river, never before visited by white men, which we were descending. next morning we went about three kilometers before coming to some steep hills, beautiful to look upon, clad as they were in dense, tall, tropical forest, but ominous of new rapids. sure enough, at their foot we had to haul up and prepare for a long portage. the canoes we ran down empty. even so, we were within an ace of losing two, the lashed couple in which i ordinarily journeyed. in a sharp bend of the rapids, between two big curls, they were swept among the boulders and under the matted branches which stretched out from the bank. they filled, and the racing current pinned them where they were, one partly on the other. all of us had to help get them clear. their fastenings were chopped asunder with axes. kermit and half a dozen of the men, stripped to the skin, made their way to a small rock island in the little falls just above the canoes, and let down a rope which we tied to the outermost canoe. the rest of us, up to our armpits and barely able to keep our footing as we slipped and stumbled among the boulders in the swift current, lifted and shoved while kermit and his men pulled the rope and fastened the slack to a half-submerged tree. each canoe in succession was hauled up the little rock island, baled, and then taken down in safety by two paddlers. it was nearly four o'clock before we were again ready to start, having been delayed by a rain- storm so heavy that we could not see across the river. ten minutes' run took us to the head of another series of rapids; the exploring party returned with the news that we had an all day's job ahead of us; and we made camp in the rain, which did not matter much, as we were already drenched through. it was impossible, with the wet wood, to make a fire sufficiently hot to dry all our soggy things, for the rain was still falling. a tapir was seen from our boat, but, as at the moment we were being whisked round in a complete circle by a whirlpool, i did not myself see it in time to shoot. next morning we went down a kilometre, and then landed on the other side of the river. the canoes were run down, and the loads carried to the other side of a little river coming in from the west, which colonel rondon christened cherrie river. across this we went on a bridge consisting of a huge tree felled by macario, one of our best men. here we camped, while rondon, lyra, kermit, and antonio correa explored what was ahead. they were absent until mid-afternoon. then they returned with the news that we were among ranges of low mountains, utterly different in formation from the high plateau region to which the first rapids, those we had come to on the nd of march, belonged. through the first range of these mountains the river ran in a gorge, some three kilometres long, immediately ahead of us. the ground was so rough and steep that it would be impossible to drag the canoes over it and difficult enough to carry the loads; and the rapids were so bad, containing several falls, one of at least ten metres in height, that it was doubtful how many of the canoes we could get down them. kermit, who was the only man with much experience of rope work, was the only man who believed we could get the canoes down at all; and it was, of course, possible that we should have to build new ones at the foot to supply the place of any that were lost or left behind. in view of the length and character of the portage, and of all the unpleasant possibilities that were ahead, and of the need of keeping every pound of food, it was necessary to reduce weight in every possible way and to throw away everything except the barest necessities. we thought we had reduced our baggage before; but now we cut to the bone. we kept the fly for all six of us to sleep under. kermit's shoes had gone, thanks to the amount of work in the water which he had been doing; and he took the pair i had been wearing, while i put on my spare pair. in addition to the clothes i wore, i kept one set of pajamas, a spare pair of drawers, a spare pair of socks, half a dozen handkerchiefs, my wash-kit, my pocket medicine-case, and a little bag containing my spare spectacles, gun-grease, some adhesive plaster, some needles and thread, the "fly-dope," and my purse and letter of credit, to be used at manaos. all of these went into the bag containing my cot, blanket, and mosquito-net. i also carried a cartridge-bag containing my cartridges, head-net, and gauntlets. kermit cut down even closer; and the others about as close. the last three days of march we spent in getting to the foot of the rapids in this gorge. lyra and kermit, with four of the best watermen, handled the empty canoes. the work was not only difficult and laborious in the extreme, but hazardous; for the walls of the gorge were so sheer that at the worst places they had to cling to narrow shelves on the face of the rock, while letting the canoes down with ropes. meanwhile rondon surveyed and cut a trail for the burden- bearers, and superintended the portage of the loads. the rocky sides of the gorge were too steep for laden men to attempt to traverse them. accordingly the trail had to go over the top of the mountain, both the ascent and the descent of the rock-strewn, forest-clad slopes being very steep. it was hard work to carry loads over such a trail. from the top of the mountain, through an opening in the trees on the edge of a cliff, there was a beautiful view of the country ahead. all around and in front of us there were ranges of low mountains about the height of the lower ridges of the alleghenies. their sides were steep and they were covered with the matted growth of the tropical forest. our next camping-place, at the foot of the gorge, was almost beneath us, and from thence the river ran in a straight line, flecked with white water, for about a kilometre. then it disappeared behind and between mountain ridges, which we supposed meant further rapids. it was a view well worth seeing; but, beautiful although the country ahead of us was, its character was such as to promise further hardships, difficulty, and exhausting labor, and especially further delay; and delay was a serious matter to men whose food supply was beginning to run short, whose equipment was reduced to the minimum, who for a month, with the utmost toil, had made very slow progress, and who had no idea of either the distance or the difficulties of the route in front of them. there was not much life in the woods, big or little. small birds were rare, although cherrie's unwearied efforts were rewarded from time to time by a species new to the collection. there were tracks of tapir, deer, and agouti; and if we had taken two or three days to devote to nothing else than hunting them we might perchance have killed something; but the chance was much too uncertain, the work we were doing was too hard and wearing, and the need of pressing forward altogether too great to permit us to spend any time in such manner. the hunting had to come in incidentally. this type of well nigh impenetrable forest is the one in which it is most difficult to get even what little game exists therein. a couple of curassows and a big monkey were killed by the colonel and kermit. on the day the monkey was brought in lyra, kermit, and their four associates had spent from sunrise to sunset in severe and at moments dangerous toil among the rocks and in the swift water, and the fresh meat was appreciated. the head, feet, tail, skin, and entrails were boiled for the gaunt and ravenous dogs. the flesh gave each of us a few mouthfuls; and how good those mouthfuls tasted! cherrie, in addition to being out after birds in every spare moment, helped in all emergencies. he was a veteran in the work of the tropic wilderness. we talked together often, and of many things, for our views of life, and of a man's duty to his wife and children, to other men, and to women, and to the state in peace and war, were in all essentials the same. his father had served all through the civil war, entering an iowa cavalry regiment as a private and coming out as a captain; his breast-bone was shattered by a blow from a musket-butt, in hand-to-hand fighting at shiloh. during this portage the weather favored us. we were coming toward the close of the rainy season. on the last day of the month, when we moved camp to the foot of the gorge, there was a thunder-storm; but on the whole we were not bothered by rain until the last night, when it rained heavily, driving under the fly so as to wet my cot and bedding. however, i slept comfortably enough, rolled in the damp blanket. without the blanket i should have been uncomfortable; a blanket is a necessity for health. on the third day lyra and kermit, with their daring and hard-working watermen, after wearing labor, succeeded in getting five canoes through the worst of the rapids to the chief fall. the sixth, which was frail and weak, had its bottom beaten out on the jagged rocks of the broken water. on this night, although i thought i had put my clothes out of reach, both the termites and the carregadores ants got at them, ate holes in one boot, ate one leg of my drawers, and riddled my handkerchief; and i now had nothing to replace anything that was destroyed. next day lyra, kermit, and their camaradas brought the five canoes that were left down to camp. they had in four days accomplished a work of incredible labor and of the utmost importance; for at the first glance it had seemed an absolute impossibility to avoid abandoning the canoes when we found that the river sank into a cataract broken torrent at the bottom of a canyon-like gorge between steep mountains. on april we once more started, wondering how soon we should strike other rapids in the mountains ahead, and whether in any reasonable time we should, as the aneroid indicated, be so low down that we should necessarily be in a plain where we could make a journey of at least a few days without rapids. we had been exactly a month going through an uninterrupted succession of rapids. during that month we had come only about kilometres, and had descended nearly metres--the figures are approximate but fairly accurate. we had lost four of the canoes with which we started, and one other, which we had built, and the life of one man; and the life of a dog which by its death had in all probability saved the life of colonel rondon. in a straight line northward, toward our supposed destination, we had not made more than a mile and a quarter a day; at the cost of bitter toil for most of the party, of much risk for some of the party, and of some risk and some hardship for all the party. most of the camaradas were downhearted, naturally enough, and occasionally asked one of us if we really believed that we should ever get out alive; and we had to cheer them up as best we could. there was no change in our work for the time being. we made but three kilometres that day. most of the party walked all the time; but the dugouts carried the luggage until we struck the head of the series of rapids which were to take up the next two or three days. the river rushed through a wild gorge, a chasm or canyon, between two mountains. its sides were very steep, mere rock walls, although in most places so covered with the luxuriant growth of the trees and bushes that clung in the crevices, and with green moss, that the naked rock was hardly seen. rondon, lyra, and kermit, who were in front, found a small level spot, with a beach of sand, and sent back word to camp there, while they spent several hours in exploring the country ahead. the canoes were run down empty, and the loads carried painfully along the face of the cliffs; so bad was the trail that i found it rather hard to follow, although carrying nothing but my rifle and cartridge bag. the explorers returned with the information that the mountains stretched ahead of us, and that there were rapids as far as they had gone. we could only hope that the aneroid was not hopelessly out of kilter, and that we should, therefore, fairly soon find ourselves in comparatively level country. the severe toil, on a rather limited food supply, was telling on the strength as well as on the spirits of the men; lyra and kermit, in addition to their other work, performed as much actual physical labor as any of them. next day, the rd of april, we began the descent of these sinister rapids of the chasm. colonel rondon had gone to the summit of the mountain in order to find a better trail for the burden-bearers, but it was hopeless, and they had to go along the face of the cliffs. such an exploring expedition as that in which we were engaged of necessity involves hard and dangerous labor, and perils of many kinds. to follow down-stream an unknown river, broken by innumerable cataracts and rapids, rushing through mountains of which the existence has never been even guessed, bears no resemblance whatever to following even a fairly dangerous river which has been thoroughly explored and has become in some sort a highway, so that experienced pilots can be secured as guides, while the portages have been pioneered and trails chopped out, and every dangerous feature of the rapids is known beforehand. in this case no one could foretell that the river would cleave its way through steep mountain chains, cutting narrow clefts in which the cliff walls rose almost sheer on either hand. when a rushing river thus "canyons," as we used to say out west, and the mountains are very steep, it becomes almost impossible to bring the canoes down the river itself and utterly impossible to portage them along the cliff sides, while even to bring the loads over the mountain is a task of extraordinary labor and difficulty. moreover, no one can tell how many times the task will have to be repeated, or when it will end, or whether the food will hold out; every hour of work in the rapids is fraught with the possibility of the gravest disaster, and yet it is imperatively necessary to attempt it; and all this is done in an uninhabited wilderness, or else a wilderness tenanted only by unfriendly savages, where failure to get through means death by disease and starvation. wholesale disasters to south american exploring parties have been frequent. the first recent effort to descend one of the unknown rivers to the amazon from the brazilian highlands resulted in such a disaster. it was undertaken in by a party about as large as ours under a brazilian engineer officer, colonel telles peres. in descending some rapids they lost everything-- canoes, food, medicine, implements--everything. fever smote them, and then starvation. all of them died except one officer and two men, who were rescued months later. recently, in guiana, a wilderness veteran, andre, lost two-thirds of his party by starvation. genuine wilderness exploration is as dangerous as warfare. the conquest of wild nature demands the utmost vigor, hardihood, and daring, and takes from the conquerors a heavy toll of life and health. lyra, kermit, and cherrie, with four of the men, worked the canoes half-way down the canyon. again and again it was touch and go whether they could get by a given point. at one spot the channel of the furious torrent was only fifteen yards across. one canoe was lost, so that of the seven with which we had started only two were left. cherrie labored with the other men at times, and also stood as guard over them, for, while actually working, of course no one could carry a rifle. kermit's experience in bridge building was invaluable in enabling him to do the rope work by which alone it was possible to get the canoes down the canyon. he and lyra had now been in the water for days. their clothes were never dry. their shoes were rotten. the bruises on their feet and legs had become sores. on their bodies some of the insect bites had become festering wounds, as indeed was the case with all of us. poisonous ants, biting flies, ticks, wasps, bees were a perpetual torment. however, no one had yet been bitten by a venomous serpent, a scorpion, or a centipede, although we had killed all of the three within camp limits. under such conditions whatever is evil in men's natures comes to the front. on this day a strange and terrible tragedy occurred. one of the camaradas, a man of pure european blood, was the man named julio, of whom i have already spoken. he was a very powerful fellow and had been importunately eager to come on the expedition; and he had the reputation of being a good worker. but, like so many men of higher standing, he had had no idea of what such an expedition really meant, and under the strain of toil, hardship, and danger his nature showed its true depths of selfishness, cowardice, and ferocity. he shirked all work. he shammed sickness. nothing could make him do his share; and yet unlike his self-respecting fellows he was always shamelessly begging for favors. kermit was the only one of our party who smoked; and he was continually giving a little tobacco to some of the camaradas, who worked especially well under him. the good men did not ask for it; but julio, who shirked every labor, was always, and always in vain, demanding it. colonel rondon, lyra, and kermit each tried to get work out of him, and in order to do anything with him had to threaten to leave him in the wilderness. he threw all his tasks on his comrades; and, moreover, he stole their food as well as ours. on such an expedition the theft of food comes next to murder as a crime, and should by rights be punished as such. we could not trust him to cut down palms or gather nuts, because he would stay out and eat what ought to have gone into the common store. finally, the men on several occasions themselves detected him stealing their food. alone of the whole party, and thanks to the stolen food, he had kept in full flesh and bodily vigor. one of our best men was a huge negro named paixao paishon--a corporal and acting sergeant in the engineer corps. he had, by the way, literally torn his trousers to pieces, so that he wore only the tatters of a pair of old drawers until i gave him my spare trousers when we lightened loads. he was a stern disciplinarian. one evening he detected julio stealing food and smashed him in the mouth. julio came crying to us, his face working with fear and malignant hatred; but after investigation he was told that he had gotten off uncommonly lightly. the men had three or four carbines, which were sometimes carried by those who were not their owners. on this morning, at the outset of the portage, pedrinho discovered julio stealing some of the men's dried meat. shortly afterward paishon rebuked him for, as usual, lagging behind. by this time we had reached the place where the canoes were tied to the bank and then taken down one at a time. we were sitting down, waiting for the last loads to be brought along the trail. pedrinho was still in the camp we had left. paishon had just brought in a load, left it on the ground with his carbine beside it, and returned on the trail for another load. julio came in, put down his load, picked up the carbine, and walked back on the trail, muttering to himself but showing no excitement. we thought nothing of it, for he was always muttering; and occasionally one of the men saw a monkey or big bird and tried to shoot it, so it was never surprising to see a man with a carbine. in a minute we heard a shot; and in a short time three or four of the men came up the trail to tell us that paishon was dead, having been shot by julio, who had fled into the woods. colonel rondon and lyra were ahead; i sent a messenger for them, directed cherrie and kermit to stay where they were and guard the canoes and provisions, and started down the trail with the doctor--an absolutely cool and plucky man, with a revolver but no rifle--and a couple of the camaradas. we soon passed the dead body of poor paishon. he lay in a huddle, in a pool of his own blood, where he had fallen, shot through the heart. i feared that julio had run amuck, and intended merely to take more lives before he died, and that he would begin with pedrinho, who was alone and unarmed in the camp we had left. accordingly i pushed on, followed by my companions, looking sharply right and left; but when we came to the camp the doctor quietly walked by me, remarking, "my eyes are better than yours, colonel; if he is in sight i'll point him out to you, as you have the rifle." however, he was not there, and the others soon joined us with the welcome news that they had found the carbine. the murderer had stood to one side of the path and killed his victim, when a dozen paces off, with deliberate and malignant purpose. then evidently his murderous hatred had at once given way to his innate cowardice; and, perhaps hearing some one coming along the path, he fled in panic terror into the wilderness. a tree had knocked the carbine from his hand. his footsteps showed that after going some rods he had started to return, doubtless for the carbine, but had fled again, probably because the body had then been discovered. it was questionable whether or not he would live to reach the indian villages, which were probably his goal. he was not a man to feel remorse--never a common feeling; but surely that murderer was in a living hell, as, with fever and famine leering at him from the shadows, he made his way through the empty desolation of the wilderness. franca, the cook, quoted out of the melancholy proverbial philosophy of the people the proverb: "no man knows the heart of any one"; and then expressed with deep conviction a weird ghostly belief i had never encountered before: "paishon is following julio now, and will follow him until he dies; paishon fell forward on his hands and knees, and when a murdered man falls like that his ghost will follow the slayer as long as the slayer lives." we did not attempt to pursue the murderer. we could not legally put him to death, although he was a soldier who in cold blood had just deliberately killed a fellow soldier. if we had been near civilization we would have done our best to bring him in and turn him over to justice. but we were in the wilderness, and how many weeks' journey were ahead of us we could not tell. our food was running low, sickness was beginning to appear among the men, and both their courage and their strength were gradually ebbing. our first duty was to save the lives and the health of the men of the expedition who had honestly been performing, and had still to perform, so much perilous labor. if we brought the murderer in he would have to be guarded night and day on an expedition where there were always loaded firearms about, and where there would continually be opportunity and temptation for him to make an effort to seize food and a weapon and escape, perhaps murdering some other good man. he could not be shackled while climbing along the cliff slopes; he could not be shackled in the canoes, where there was always chance of upset and drowning; and standing guard would be an additional and severe penalty on the weary, honest men already exhausted by overwork. the expedition was in peril, and it was wise to take every chance possible that would help secure success. whether the murderer lived or died in the wilderness was of no moment compared with the duty of doing everything to secure the safety of the rest of the party. for the two days following we were always on the watch against his return, for he could have readily killed some one else by rolling rocks down on any of the men working on the cliff sides or in the bottom of the gorge. but we did not see him until the morning of the third day. we had passed the last of the rapids of the chasm, and the four boats were going down-stream when he appeared behind some trees on the bank and called out that he wished to surrender and be taken aboard; for the murderer was an arrant craven at heart, a strange mixture of ferocity and cowardice. colonel rondon's boat was far in advance; he did not stop nor answer. i kept on in similar fashion with the rear boats, for i had no intention of taking the murderer aboard, to the jeopardy of the other members of the party, unless colonel rondon told me that it would have to be done in pursuance of his duty as an officer of the army and a servant of the government of brazil. at the first halt colonel rondon came up to me and told me that this was his view of his duty, but that he had not stopped because he wished first to consult me as the chief of the expedition. i answered that for the reasons enumerated above i did not believe that in justice to the good men of the expedition we should jeopardize their safety by taking the murderer along, and that if the responsibility were mine i should refuse to take him; but that he, colonel rondon, was the superior officer of both the murderer and of all the other enlisted men and army officers on the expedition, and in return was responsible for his actions to his own governmental superiors and to the laws of brazil; and that in view of this responsibility he must act as his sense of duty bade him. accordingly, at the next camp he sent back two men, expert woodsmen, to find the murderer and bring him in. they failed to find him. note: the above account of all the circumstances connected with the murder was read to and approved as correct by all six members of the expedition. i have anticipated my narrative because i do not wish to recur to the horror more than is necessary. i now return to my story. after we found that julio had fled, we returned to the scene of the tragedy. the murdered man lay with a handkerchief thrown over his face. we buried him beside the place where he fell. with axes and knives the camaradas dug a shallow grave while we stood by with bared heads. then reverently and carefully we lifted the poor body which but half an hour before had been so full of vigorous life. colonel rondon and i bore the head and shoulders. we laid him in the grave, and heaped a mound over him, and put a rude cross at his head. we fired a volley for a brave and loyal soldier who had died doing his duty. then we left him forever, under the great trees beside the lonely river. that day we got only half-way down the rapids. there was no good place to camp. but at the foot of one steep cliff there was a narrow, boulder-covered slope where it was possible to sling hammocks and cook; and a slanting spot was found for my cot, which had sagged until by this time it looked like a broken-backed centipede. it rained a little during the night, but not enough to wet us much. next day lyra, kermit, and cherrie finished their job, and brought the four remaining canoes to camp, one leaking badly from the battering on the rocks. we then went down-stream a few hundred yards, and camped on the opposite side; it was not a good camping-place, but it was better than the one we left. the men were growing constantly weaker under the endless strain of exhausting labor. kermit was having an attack of fever, and lyra and cherrie had touches of dysentery, but all three continued to work. while in the water trying to help with an upset canoe i had by my own clumsiness bruised my leg against a boulder; and the resulting inflammation was somewhat bothersome. i now had a sharp attack of fever, but thanks to the excellent care of the doctor, was over it in about forty-eight hours; but kermit's fever grew worse and he too was unable to work for a day or two. we could walk over the portages, however. a good doctor is an absolute necessity on an exploring expedition in such a country as that we were in, under penalty of a frightful mortality among the members; and the necessary risks and hazards are so great, the chances of disaster so large, that there is no warrant for increasing them by the failure to take all feasible precautions. the next day we made another long portage round some rapids, and camped at night still in the hot, wet, sunless atmosphere of the gorge. the following day, april , we portaged past another set of rapids, which proved to be the last of the rapids of the chasm. for some kilometres we kept passing hills, and feared lest at any moment we might again find ourselves fronting another mountain gorge; with, in such case, further days of grinding and perilous labor ahead of us, while our men were disheartened, weak, and sick. most of them had already begun to have fever. their condition was inevitable after over a month's uninterrupted work of the hardest kind in getting through the long series of rapids we had just passed; and a long further delay, accompanied by wearing labor, would have almost certainly meant that the weakest among our party would have begun to die. there were already two of the camaradas who were too weak to help the others, their condition being such as to cause us serious concern. however, the hills gradually sank into a level plain, and the river carried us through it at a rate that enabled us during the remainder of the day to reel off thirty-six kilometres, a record that for the first time held out promise. twice tapirs swam the river while we passed, but not near my canoe. however, the previous evening, cherrie had killed two monkeys and kermit one, and we all had a few mouthfuls of fresh meat; we had already had a good soup made out of a turtle kermit had caught. we had to portage by one short set of rapids, the unloaded canoes being brought down without difficulty. at last, at four in the afternoon, we came to the mouth of a big river running in from the right. we thought it was probably the ananas, but, of course, could not be certain. it was less in volume than the one we had descended, but nearly as broad; its breadth at this point being ninety-five yards as against one hundred and twenty for the larger river. there were rapids ahead, immediately after the junction, which took place in latitude degrees minutes south. we had come kilometres all told, and were nearly north of where we had started. we camped on the point of land between the two rivers. it was extraordinary to realize that here about the eleventh degree we were on such a big river, utterly unknown to the cartographers and not indicated by even a hint on any map. we named this big tributary rio cardozo, after a gallant officer of the commission who had died of beriberi just as our expedition began. we spent a day at this spot, determining our exact position by the sun, and afterward by the stars, and sending on two men to explore the rapids in advance. they returned with the news that there were big cataracts in them, and that they would form an obstacle to our progress. they had also caught a huge iluroid fish, which furnished an excellent meal for everybody in camp. this evening at sunset the view across the broad river, from our camp where the two rivers joined, was very lovely; and for the first time we had an open space in front of and above us, so that after nightfall the stars, and the great waxing moon, were glorious over-head, and against the rocks in midstream the broken water gleamed like tossing silver. the huge catfish which the men had caught was over three feet and a half long, with the usual enormous head, out of all proportions to the body, and the enormous mouth, out of all proportion to the head. such fish, although their teeth are small, swallow very large prey. this one contained the nearly digested remains of a monkey. probably the monkey had been seized while drinking from the end of a branch; and once engulfed in that yawning cavern there was no escape. we americans were astounded at the idea of a catfish making prey of a monkey; but our brazilian friends told us that in the lower madeira and the part of the amazon near its mouth there is a still more gigantic catfish which in similar fashion occasionally makes prey of man. this is a grayish-white fish over nine feet long, with the usual disproportionately large head and gaping mouth, with a circle of small teeth; for the engulfing mouth itself is the danger, not the teeth. it is called the piraiba--pronounced in four syllables. while stationed at the small city of itacoatiara, on the amazon, at the mouth of the madeira, the doctor had seen one of these monsters which had been killed by the two men it had attacked. they were fishing in a canoe when it rose from the bottom--for it is a ground fish--and raising itself half out of the water lunged over the edge of the canoe at them, with open mouth. they killed it with their falcons, as machetes are called in brazil. it was taken round the city in triumph in an oxcart; the doctor saw it, and said it was three metres long. he said that swimmers feared it even more than the big cayman, because they could see the latter, whereas the former lay hid at the bottom of the water. colonel rondon said that in many villages where he had been on the lower madeira the people had built stockaded enclosures in the water in which they bathed, not venturing to swim in the open water for fear of the piraiba and the big cayman. next day, april , we made five kilometres only, as there was a succession of rapids. we had to carry the loads past two of them, but ran the canoes without difficulty, for on the west side were long canals of swift water through the forest. the river had been higher, but was still very high, and the current raced round the many islands that at this point divided the channel. at four we made camp at the head of another stretch of rapids, over which the canadian canoes would have danced without shipping a teaspoonful of water, but which our dugouts could only run empty. cherrie killed three monkeys and lyra caught two big piranhas, so that we were again all of us well provided with dinner and breakfast. when a number of men, doing hard work, are most of the time on half-rations, they grow to take a lively interest in any reasonably full meal that does arrive. on the th we repeated the proceedings: a short quick run; a few hundred metres' portage, occupying, however, at least a couple of hours; again a few minutes' run; again other rapids. we again made less than five kilometres; in the two days we had been descending nearly a metre for every kilometre we made in advance; and it hardly seemed as if this state of things could last, for the aneroid showed that we were getting very low down. how i longed for a big maine birch-bark, such as that in which i once went down the mattawamkeag at high water! it would have slipped down these rapids as a girl trips through a country dance. but our loaded dugouts would have shoved their noses under every curl. the country was lovely. the wide river, now in one channel, now in several channels, wound among hills; the shower-freshened forest glistened in the sunlight; the many kinds of beautiful palm-fronds and the huge pacova-leaves stamped the peculiar look of the tropics on the whole landscape--it was like passing by water through a gigantic botanical garden. in the afternoon we got an elderly toucan, a piranha, and a reasonably edible side-necked river- turtle; so we had fresh meat again. we slept as usual in earshot of rapids. we had been out six weeks, and almost all the time we had been engaged in wearily working our own way down and past rapid after rapid. rapids are by far the most dangerous enemies of explorers and travellers who journey along these rivers. next day was a repetition of the same work. all the morning was spent in getting the loads to the foot of the rapids at the head of which we were encamped, down which the canoes were run empty. then for thirty or forty minutes we ran down the swift, twisting river, the two lashed canoes almost coming to grief at one spot where a swirl of the current threw them against some trees on a small submerged island. then we came to another set of rapids, carried the baggage down past them, and made camp long after dark in the rain--a good exercise in patience for those of us who were still suffering somewhat from fever. no one was in really buoyant health. for some weeks we had been sharing part of the contents of our boxes with the camaradas; but our food was not very satisfying to them. they needed quantity and the mainstay of each of their meals was a mass of palmitas; but on this day they had no time to cut down palms. we finally decided to run these rapids with the empty canoes, and they came down in safety. on such a trip it is highly undesirable to take any save necessary risks, for the consequences of disaster are too serious; and yet if no risks are taken the progress is so slow that disaster comes anyhow; and it is necessary perpetually to vary the terms of the perpetual working compromise between rashness and over-caution. this night we had a very good fish to eat, a big silvery fellow called a pescada, of a kind we had not caught before. one day trigueiro failed to embark with the rest of us, and we had to camp where we were next day to find him. easter sunday we spent in the fashion with which we were altogether too familiar. we only ran in a clear course for ten minutes all told, and spent eight hours in portaging the loads past rapids down which the canoes were run; the balsa was almost swamped. this day we caught twenty-eight big fish, mostly piranhas, and everybody had all he could eat for dinner, and for breakfast the following morning. the forenoon of the following day was a repetition of this wearisome work; but late in the afternoon the river began to run in long quiet reaches. we made fifteen kilometres, and for the first time in several weeks camped where we did not hear the rapids. the silence was soothing and restful. the following day, april , we made a good run of some thirty-two kilometres. we passed a little river which entered on our left. we ran two or three light rapids, and portaged the loads by another. the river ran in long and usually tranquil stretches. in the morning when we started the view was lovely. there was a mist, and for a couple of miles the great river, broad and quiet, ran between the high walls of tropical forest, the tops of the giant trees showing dim through the haze. different members of the party caught many fish, and shot a monkey and a couple of jacare-tinga birds kin to a turkey, but the size of a fowl--so we again had a camp of plenty. the dry season was approaching, but there were still heavy, drenching rains. on this day the men found some new nuts of which they liked the taste; but the nuts proved unwholesome and half of the men were very sick and unable to work the following day. in the balsa only two were left fit to do anything, and kermit plied a paddle all day long. accordingly, it was a rather sorry crew that embarked the following morning, april . but it turned out a red-letter day. the day before, we had come across cuttings, a year old, which were probably but not certainly made by pioneer rubbermen. but on this day--during which we made twenty-five kilometres--after running two hours and a half we found on the left bank a board on a post, with the initials j. a., to show the farthest up point which a rubberman had reached and claimed as his own. an hour farther down we came on a newly built house in a little planted clearing; and we cheered heartily. no one was at home, but the house, of palm thatch, was clean and cool. a couple of dogs were on watch, and the belongings showed that a man, a woman, and a child lived there, and had only just left. another hour brought us to a similar house where dwelt an old black man, who showed the innate courtesy of the brazilian peasant. we came on these rubbermen and their houses in about latitude degrees minutes. in mid-afternoon we stopped at another clean, cool, picturesque house of palm thatch. the inhabitants all fled at our approach, fearing an indian raid; for they were absolutely unprepared to have any one come from the unknown regions up-stream. they returned and were most hospitable and communicative; and we spent the night there. said antonio correa to kermit: "it seems like a dream to be in a house again, and hear the voices of men and women, instead of being among those mountains and rapids." the river was known to them as the castanho, and was the main affluent or rather the left or western branch, of the aripuanan; the castanho is a name used by the rubber- gatherers only; it is unknown to the geographers. we were, according to our informants, about fifteen days' journey from the confluence of the two rivers; but there were many rubbermen along the banks, some of whom had become permanent settlers. we had come over three hundred kilometres, in forty-eight days, over absolutely unknown ground; we had seen no human being, although we had twice heard indians. six weeks had been spent in steadily slogging our way down through the interminable series of rapids. it was astonishing before, when we were on a river of about the size of the upper rhine or elbe, to realize that no geographer had any idea of its existence. but, after all, no civilized man of any grade had ever been on it. here, however, was a river with people dwelling along the banks, some of whom had lived in the neighborhood for eight or ten years; and yet on no standard map was there a hint of the river's existence. we were putting on the map a river, running through between five and six degrees of latitude--of between seven and eight if, as should properly be done, the lower aripuanan is included as part of it--of which no geographer, in any map published in europe, or the united states, or brazil had even admitted the possibility of the existence; for the place actually occupied by it was filled, on the maps, by other--imaginary--streams, or by mountain ranges. before we started, the amazonas boundary commission had come up the lower aripuanan and then the eastern branch, or upper aripuanan, to degrees minutes, following the course which for a couple of decades had been followed by the rubbermen, but not going as high. an employee, either of this commission or of one of the big rubbermen, had been up the castanho, which is easy of ascent in its lower course, to about the same latitude, not going nearly as high as the rubbermen had gone; this we found out while we ourselves were descending the lower castanho. the lower main stream, and the lower portion of its main affluent, the castanho, had been commercial highways for rubbermen and settlers for nearly two decades, and, as we speedily found, were as easy to traverse as the upper stream, which we had just come down, was difficult to traverse; but the governmental and scientific authorities, native and foreign, remained in complete ignorance; and the rubbermen themselves had not the slightest idea of the headwaters, which were in country never hitherto traversed by civilized men. evidently the castanho was, in length at least, substantially equal, and probably superior, to the upper aripuanan; it now seemed even more likely that the ananas was the headwaters of the main stream than of the cardozo. for the first time this great river, the greatest affluent of the madiera, was to be put on the map; and the understanding of its real position and real relationship, and the clearing up of the complex problem of the sources of all these lower right-hand affluents of the madiera, was rendered possible by the seven weeks of hard and dangerous labor we had spent in going down an absolutely unknown river, through an absolutely unknown wilderness. at this stage of the growth of world geography i esteemed it a great piece of good fortune to be able to take part in such a feat--a feat which represented the capping of the pyramid which during the previous seven years had been built by the labor of the brazilian telegraphic commission. we had passed the period when there was a chance of peril, of disaster, to the whole expedition. there might be risk ahead to individuals, and some difficulties and annoyances for all of us; but there was no longer the least likelihood of any disaster to the expedition as a whole. we now no longer had to face continual anxiety, the need of constant economy with food, the duty of labor with no end in sight, and bitter uncertainty as to the future. it was time to get out. the wearing work, under very unhealthy conditions, was beginning to tell on every one. half of the camaradas had been down with fever and were much weakened; only a few of them retained their original physical and moral strength. cherrie and kermit had recovered; but both kermit and lyra still had bad sores on their legs, from the bruises received in the water work. i was in worse shape. the after effects of the fever still hung on; and the leg which had been hurt while working in the rapids with the sunken canoe had taken a turn for the bad and developed an abscess. the good doctor, to whose unwearied care and kindness i owe much, had cut it open and inserted a drainage tube; an added charm being given the operation, and the subsequent dressings, by the enthusiasm with which the piums and boroshudas took part therein. i could hardly hobble, and was pretty well laid up. but "there aren't no 'stop, conductor,' while a battery's changing ground." no man has any business to go on such a trip as ours unless he will refuse to jeopardize the welfare of his associates by any delay caused by a weakness or ailment of his. it is his duty to go forward, if necessary on all fours, until he drops. fortunately, i was put to no such test. i remained in good shape until we had passed the last of the rapids of the chasms. when my serious trouble came we had only canoe-riding ahead of us. it is not ideal for a sick man to spend the hottest hours of the day stretched on the boxes in the bottom of a small open dugout, under the well-nigh intolerable heat of the torrid sun of the mid-tropics, varied by blinding, drenching downpours of rain; but i could not be sufficiently grateful for the chance. kermit and cherrie took care of me as if they had been trained nurses; and colonel rondon and lyra were no less thoughtful. the north was calling strongly to the three men of the north--rocky dell farm to cherrie, sagamore hill to me; and to kermit the call was stronger still. after nightfall we could now see the dipper well above the horizon--upside down, with the two pointers pointing to a north star below the world's rim; but the dipper, with all its stars. in our home country spring had now come, the wonderful northern spring of long glorious days, of brooding twilights, of cool delightful nights. robin and bluebird, meadow-lark and song sparrow, were singing in the mornings at home; the maple-buds were red; windflowers and bloodroot were blooming while the last patches of snow still lingered; the rapture of the hermithrush in vermont, the serene golden melody of the woodthrush on long island, would be heard before we were there to listen. each man to his home, and to his true love! each was longing for the homely things that were so dear to him, for the home people who were dearer still, and for the one who was dearest of all. x. to the amazon and home; zoological and geographical results of the expedition our adventures and our troubles were alike over. we now experienced the incalculable contrast between descending a known and travelled river, and one that is utterly unknown. after four days we hired a rubberman to go with us as guide. we knew exactly what channels were passable when we came to the rapids, when the canoes had to unload, and where the carry-trails were. it was all child's play compared to what we had gone through. we made long days' journeys, for at night we stopped at some palm-thatched house, inhabited or abandoned, and therefore the men were spared the labor of making camp; and we bought ample food for them, so there was no further need of fishing and chopping down palms for the palmtops. the heat of the sun was blazing; but it looked as if we had come back into the rainy season, for there were many heavy rains, usually in the afternoon, but sometimes in the morning or at night. the mosquitoes were sometimes rather troublesome at night. in the daytime the piums swarmed, and often bothered us even when we were in midstream. for four days there were no rapids we could not run without unloading. then, on the th, we got a canoe from senhor barboso. he was a most kind and hospitable man, who also gave us a duck and a chicken and some mandioc and six pounds of rice, and would take no payment; he lived in a roomy house with his dusky, cigar-smoking wife and his many children. the new canoe was light and roomy, and we were able to rig up a low shelter under which i could lie; i was still sick. at noon we passed the mouth of a big river, the rio branco, coming in from the left; this was about in latitude degrees minutes. soon afterward we came to the first serious rapids, the panela. we carried the boats past, ran down the empty canoes, and camped at the foot in a roomy house. the doctor bought a handsome trumpeter bird, very friendly and confiding, which was thenceforth my canoe companion. we had already passed many inhabited--and a still larger number of uninhabited--houses. the dwellers were rubbermen, but generally they were permanent settlers also, homemakers, with their wives and children. some, both of the men and women, were apparently of pure negro blood, or of pure indian or south european blood; but in the great majority all three strains were mixed in varying degrees. they were most friendly, courteous, and hospitable. often they refused payment for what they could afford, out of their little, to give us. when they did charge, the prices were very high, as was but just, for they live back of the beyond, and everything costs them fabulously, save what they raise themselves. the cool, bare houses of poles and palm thatch contained little except hammocks and a few simple cooking utensils; and often a clock or sewing machine, or winchester rifle, from our own country. they often had flowers planted, including fragrant roses. their only live stock, except the dogs, were a few chickens and ducks. they planted patches of mandioc, maize, sugarcane, rice, beans, squashes, pineapples, bananas, lemons, oranges, melons, peppers; and various purely native fruits and vegetables, such as the kniabo--a vegetable-fruit growing on the branches of a high bush-- which is cooked with meat. they get some game from the forest, and more fish from the river. there is no representative of the government among them--indeed, even now their very existence is barely known to the governmental authorities; and the church has ignored them as completely as the state. when they wish to get married they have to spend several months getting down to and back from manaos or some smaller city; and usually the first christening and the marriage ceremony are held at the same time. they have merely squatter's right to the land, and are always in danger of being ousted by unscrupulous big men who come in late, but with a title technically straight. the land laws should be shaped so as to give each of these pioneer settlers the land he actually takes up and cultivates, and upon which he makes his home. the small homemaker, who owns the land which he tills with his own hands, is the greatest element of strength in any country. these are real pioneer settlers. they are the true wilderness-winners. no continent is ever really conquered, or thoroughly explored, by a few leaders, or exceptional men, although such men can render great service. the real conquest, the thorough exploration and settlement, is made by a nameless multitude of small men of whom the most important are, of course, the home-makers. each treads most of the time in the footsteps of his predecessors, but for some few miles, at some time or other, he breaks new ground; and his house is built where no house has ever stood before. such a man, the real pioneer, must have no strong desire for social life and no need, probably no knowledge, of any luxury, or of any comfort save of the most elementary kind. the pioneer who is always longing for the comfort and luxury of civilization, and especially of great cities, is no real pioneer at all. these settlers whom we met were contented to live in the wilderness. they had found the climate healthy and the soil fruitful; a visit to a city was a very rare event, nor was there any overwhelming desire for it. in short, these men, and those like them everywhere on the frontier between civilization and savagery in brazil, are now playing the part played by our backwoodsmen when over a century and a quarter ago they began the conquest of the great basin of the mississippi; the part played by the boer farmers for over a century in south africa, and by the canadians when less than half a century ago they began to take possession of their northwest. every now and then some one says that the "last frontier" is now to be found in canada or africa, and that it has almost vanished. on a far larger scale this frontier is to be found in brazil--a country as big as europe or the united states--and decades will pass before it vanishes. the first settlers came to brazil a century before the first settlers came to the united states and canada. for three hundred years progress was very slow--portuguese colonial government at that time was almost as bad as spanish. for the last half-century and over there has been a steady increase in the rapidity of the rate of development; and this increase bids fair to be constantly more rapid in the future. the paolistas, hunting for lands, slaves, and mines, were the first native brazilians who, a hundred years ago, played a great part in opening to settlement vast stretches of wilderness. the rubber hunters have played a similar part during the last few decades. rubber dazzled them, as gold and diamonds have dazzled other men and driven them forth to wander through the wide waste spaces of the world. searching for rubber they made highways of rivers the very existence of which was unknown to the governmental authorities, or to any map-makers. whether they succeeded or failed, they everywhere left behind them settlers, who toiled, married, and brought up children. settlement began; the conquest of the wilderness entered on its first stage. on the th we stopped at the first store, where we bought, of course at a high price, sugar and tobacco for the camaradas. in this land of plenty the camaradas over-ate, and sickness was as rife among them as ever. in cherrie's boat he himself and the steersman were the only men who paddled strongly and continuously. the storekeeper's stock of goods was very low, only what he still had left from that brought in nearly a year before; for the big boats, or batelaos-batelons--had not yet worked as far up-stream. we expected to meet them somewhere below the next rapids, the inferno. the trader or rubberman brings up his year's supply of goods in a batelao, starting in february and reaching the upper course of the river early in may, when the rainy season is over. the parties of rubber-explorers are then equipped and provisioned; and the settlers purchase certain necessities, and certain things that strike them as luxuries. this year the brazil-nut crop on the river had failed, a serious thing for all explorers and wilderness wanderers. on the th we made the longest run we had made, fifty-two kilometres. lyra took observations where we camped; we were in latitude degrees minutes. at this camping-place the great, beautiful river was a little over three hundred metres wide. we were in an empty house. the marks showed that in the high water, a couple of months back, the river had risen until the lower part of the house was flooded. the difference between the level of the river during the floods and in the dry season is extraordinary. on the st we made another good run, getting down to the inferno rapids, which are in latitude degrees minutes south. until we reached the cardozo we had run almost due north; since then we had been running a little west of north. before we reached these rapids we stopped at a large, pleasant thatch house, and got a fairly big and roomy as well as light boat, leaving both our two smaller dugouts behind. above the rapids a small river, the madeirainha, entered from the left. the rapids had a fall of over ten metres, and the water was very wild and rough. met with for the first time, it would doubtless have taken several days to explore a passage and, with danger and labor, get the boats down. but we were no longer exploring, pioneering, over unknown country. it is easy to go where other men have prepared the way. we had a guide; we took our baggage down by a carry three-quarters of a kilometre long; and the canoes were run through known channels the following morning. at the foot of the rapids was a big house and store; and camped at the head were a number of rubber-workers, waiting for the big boats of the head rubbermen to work their way up from below. they were a reckless set of brown daredevils. these men lead hard lives of labor and peril; they continually face death themselves, and they think little of it in connection with others. it is small wonder that they sometimes have difficulties with the tribes of utterly wild indians with whom they are brought in contact, although there is a strong indian strain in their own blood. the following morning, after the empty canoes had been run down, we started, and made a rather short afternoon's journey. we had to take the baggage by one rapids. we camped in an empty house, in the rain. next day we ran nearly fifty kilometres, the river making a long sweep to the west. we met half a dozen batelaos making their way up-stream, each with a crew of six or eight men; and two of them with women and children in addition. the crew were using very long poles, with crooks, or rather the stubs of cut branches which served as crooks, at the upper end. with these they hooked into the branches and dragged themselves up along the bank, in addition to poling where the depth permitted it. the river was as big as the paraguay at corumba; but, in striking contrast to the paraguay, there were few water-birds. we ran some rather stiff rapids, the infernino, without unloading, in the morning. in the evening we landed for the night at a large, open, shed-like house, where there were two or three pigs, the first live stock we had seen other than poultry and ducks. it was a dirty place, but we got some eggs. the following day, the th, we ran down some fifty kilometres to the carupanan rapids, which by observation lyra found to be in latitude degrees minutes. we met several batelaos, and the houses on the bank showed that the settlers were somewhat better off than was the case farther up. at the rapids was a big store, the property of senhor caripe, the wealthiest rubberman who works on this river; many of the men we met were in his employ. he has himself risen from the ranks. he was most kind and hospitable, and gave us another boat to replace the last of our shovel-nosed dugouts. the large, open house was cool, clean, and comfortable. with these began a series of half a dozen sets of rapids, all coming within the next dozen kilometres, and all offering very real obstacles. at one we saw the graves of four men who had perished therein; and many more had died whose bodies were never recovered; the toll of human life had been heavy. had we been still on an unknown river, pioneering our own way, it would doubtless have taken us at least a fortnight of labor and peril to pass. but it actually took only a day and a half. all the channels were known, all the trails cut. senhor caripe, a first-class waterman, cool, fearless, and brawny as a bull, came with us as guide. half a dozen times the loads were taken out and carried down. at one cataract the canoes were themselves dragged overland; elsewhere they were run down empty, shipping a good deal of water. at the foot of the cataract, where we dragged the canoes overland, we camped for the night. here kermit shot a big cayman. our camp was alongside the graves of three men who at this point had perished in the swift water. senhor caripe told us many strange adventures of rubber-workers he had met or employed. one of his men, working on the gy-parana, got lost and after twenty-eight days found himself on the madeirainha, which he thus discovered. he was in excellent health, for he had means to start a fire, and he found abundance of brazil-nuts and big land-tortoises. senhor caripe said that the rubbermen now did not go above the ninth degree, or thereabouts, on the upper aripuanan proper, having found the rubber poor on the reaches above. a year previously five rubbermen, mundurucu indians, were working on the corumba at about that level. it is a difficult stream to ascend or descend. they made excursions into the forest for days at a time after caoutchouc. on one such trip, after fifteen days they, to their surprise, came out on the aripuanan. they returned and told their "patron" of their discovery; and by his orders took their caoutchouc overland to the aripuanan, built a canoe, and ran down with their caoutchouc to manaos. they had now returned and were working on the upper aripuanan. the mundurucus and brazilians are always on the best terms, and the former are even more inveterate enemies of the wild indians than are the latter. by mid-forenoon on april we had passed the last dangerous rapids. the paddles were plied with hearty good will, cherrie and kermit, as usual, working like the camaradas, and the canoes went dancing down the broad, rapid river. the equatorial forest crowded on either hand to the water's edge; and, although the river was falling, it was still so high that in many places little islands were completely submerged, and the current raced among the trunks of the green trees. at one o'clock we came to the mouth of the castanho proper, and in sight of the tent of lieutenant pyrineus, with the flags of the united states and brazil flying before it; and, with rifles firing from the canoes and the shore, we moored at the landing of the neat, soldierly, well kept camp. the upper aripuanan, a river of substantially the same volume as the castanho, but broader at this point, and probably of less length, here joined the castanho from the east, and the two together formed what the rubbermen called the lower aripuanan. the mouth of this was indicated, and sometimes named, on the maps, but only as a small and unimportant stream. we had been two months in the canoes; from the th of february to the th of april. we had gone over kilometres. the river from its source, near the thirteenth degree, to where it became navigable and we entered it, had a course of some kilometres--probably more, perhaps kilometres. therefore we had now put on the map a river nearly , kilometres in length of which the existence was not merely unknown but impossible if the standard maps were correct. but this was not all. it seemed that this river of , kilometres in length was really the true upper course of the aripuanan proper, in which case the total length was nearly , kilometres. pyrineus had been waiting for us over a month, at the junction of what the rubbermen called the castanho and of what they called the upper aripuanan. (he had no idea as to which stream we would appear upon, or whether we would appear upon either.) on march he had measured the volume of the two, and found that the castanho, although the narrower, was the deeper and swifter, and that in volume it surpassed the other by cubic metres a second. since then the castanho had fallen; our measurements showed it to be slightly smaller than the other; the volume of the river after the junction was about , cubic metres a second. this was in degrees minutes. we were glad indeed to see pyrineus and be at his attractive camp. we were only four hours above the little river hamlet of sao joao, a port of call for rubber-steamers, from which the larger ones go to manaos in two days. these steamers mostly belong to senhor caripe. from pyrineus we learned that lauriado and fiala had reached manaos on march . on the swift water in the gorge of the papagaio fiala's boat had been upset and all his belongings lost, while he himself had narrowly escaped with his life. i was glad indeed that the fine and gallant fellow had escaped. the canadian canoe had done very well. we were no less rejoiced to learn that amilcar, the head of the party that went down the gy-parana, was also all right, although his canoe too had been upset in the rapids, and his instruments and all his notes lost. he had reached manaos on april . fiala had gone home. miller was collecting near manaos. he had been doing capital work. the piranhas were bad here, and no one could bathe. cherrie, while standing in the water close to the shore, was attacked and bitten; but with one bound he was on the bank before any damage could be done. we spent a last night under canvas, at pyrineus' encampment. it rained heavily. next morning we all gathered at the monument which colonel rondon had erected, and he read the orders of the day. these recited just what had been accomplished: set forth the fact that we had now by actual exploration and investigation discovered that the river whose upper portion had been called the duvida on the maps of the telegraphic commission and the unknown major part of which we had just traversed, and the river known to a few rubbermen, but to no one else, as the castanho, and the lower part of the river known to the rubbermen as the aripuanan (which did not appear on the maps save as its mouth was sometimes indicated, with no hint of its size) were all parts of one and the same river; and that by order of the brazilian government this river, the largest affluent of the madeira, with its source near the th degree and its mouth a little south of the th degree, hitherto utterly unknown to cartographers and in large part utterly unknown to any save the local tribes of indians, had been named the rio roosevelt. we left rondon, lyra, and pyrineus to take observations, and the rest of us embarked for the last time on the canoes, and, borne swiftly on the rapid current, we passed over one set of not very important rapids and ran down to senhor caripe's little hamlet of sao joao, which we reached about one o'clock on april , just before a heavy afternoon rain set in. we had run nearly eight hundred kilometres during the sixty days we had spent in the canoes. here we found and boarded pyrineus's river steamer, which seemed in our eyes extremely comfortable. in the senhor's pleasant house we were greeted by the senhora, and they were both more than thoughtful and generous in their hospitality. ahead of us lay merely thirty-six hours by steamer to manaos. such a trip as that we had taken tries men as if by fire. cherrie had more than stood every test; and in him kermit and i had come to recognize a friend with whom our friendship would never falter or grow less. early the following afternoon our whole party, together with senhor caripe, started on the steamer. it took us a little over twelve hours' swift steaming to run down to the mouth of the river on the upper course of which our progress had been so slow and painful; from source to mouth, according to our itinerary and to lyra's calculations, the course of the stream down which we had thus come was about , kilometres in length--about miles, perhaps nearly , miles-- from its source near the th degree in the highlands to its mouth in the madeira, near the th degree. next morning we were on the broad sluggish current of the lower madeira, a beautiful tropical river. there were heavy rainstorms, as usual, although this is supposed to be the very end of the rainy season. in the afternoon we finally entered the wonderful amazon itself, the mighty river which contains one tenth of all the running water of the globe. it was miles across, where we entered it; and indeed we could not tell whether the farther bank, which we saw, was that of the mainland or an island. we went up it until about midnight, then steamed up the rio negro for a short distance, and at one in the morning of april reached manaos. manaos is a remarkable city. it is only three degrees south of the equator. sixty years ago it was a nameless little collection of hovels, tenanted by a few indians and a few of the poorest class of brazilian peasants. now it is a big, handsome modern city, with opera house, tramways, good hotels, fine squares and public buildings, and attractive private houses. the brilliant coloring and odd architecture give the place a very foreign and attractive flavor in northern eyes. its rapid growth to prosperity was due to the rubber trade. this is now far less remunerative than formerly. it will undoubtedly in some degree recover; and in any event the development of the immensely rich and fertile amazonian valley is sure to go on, and it will be immensely quickened when closer connections are made with the brazilian highland country lying south of it. here we found miller, and glad indeed we were to see him. he had made good collections of mammals and birds on the gy-parana, the madeira, and in the neighborhood of manaos; his entire collection of mammals was really noteworthy. among them was the only sloth any of us had seen on the trip. the most interesting of the birds he had seen was the hoatzin. this is a most curious bird of very archaic type. its flight is feeble, and the naked young have spurs on their wings, by the help of which they crawl actively among the branches before their feathers grow. they swim no less easily, at the same early age. miller got one or two nests, and preserved specimens of the surroundings of the nests; and he made exhaustive records of the habits of the birds. near megasso a jaguar had killed one of the bullocks that were being driven along for food. the big cat had not seized the ox with its claws by the head, but had torn open its throat and neck. every one was most courteous at manaos, especially the governor of the state and the mayor of the city. mr. robiliard, the british consular representative, and also the representative of the booth line of steamers, was particularly kind. he secured for us passages on one of the cargo boats of the line to para, and thence on one of the regular cargo-and-passenger steamers to barbados and new york. the booth people were most courteous to us. i said good-by to the camaradas with real friendship and regret. the parting gift i gave to each was in gold sovereigns; and i was rather touched to learn later that they had agreed among themselves each to keep one sovereign as a medal of honor and token that the owner had been on the trip. they were a fine set, brave, patient, obedient, and enduring. now they had forgotten their hard times; they were fat from eating, at leisure, all they wished; they were to see rio janeiro, always an object of ambition with men of their stamp; and they were very proud of their membership in the expedition. later, at belen, i said good-by to colonel rondon, doctor cajazeira, and lieutenant lyra. together with my admiration for their hardihood, courage, and resolution, i had grown to feel a strong and affectionate friendship for them. i had become very fond of them; and i was glad to feel that i had been their companion in the performance of a feat which possessed a certain lasting importance. on may we left manaos for belen-para, as until recently it was called. the trip was interesting. we steamed down through tempest and sunshine; and the towering forest was dwarfed by the giant river it fringed. sunrise and sunset turned the sky to an unearthly flame of many colors above the vast water. it all seemed the embodiment of loneliness and wild majesty. yet everywhere man was conquering the loneliness and wresting the majesty to his own uses. we passed many thriving, growing towns; at one we stopped to take on cargo. everywhere there was growth and development. the change since the days when bates and wallace came to this then poor and utterly primitive region is marvellous. one of its accompaniments has been a large european, chiefly south european, immigration. the blood is everywhere mixed; there is no color line, as in most english-speaking countries, and the negro and indian strains are very strong; but the dominant blood, the blood already dominant in quantity, and that is steadily increasing its dominance, is the olive-white. only rarely did the river show its full width. generally we were in channels or among islands. the surface of the water was dotted with little islands of floating vegetation. miller said that much of this came from the lagoons such as those where he had been hunting, beside the solimoens--lagoons filled with the huge and splendid victoria lily, and with masses of water hyacinths. miller, who was very fond of animals and always took much care of them, had a small collection which he was bringing back for the bronx zoo. an agouti was so bad- tempered that he had to be kept solitary; but three monkeys, big, middle-sized, and little, and a young peccary formed a happy family. the largest monkey cried, shedding real tears, when taken in the arms and pitied. the middle-sized monkey was stupid and kindly, and all the rest of the company imposed on it; the little monkey invariably rode on its back, and the peccary used it as a head pillow when it felt sleepy. belen, the capital of the state of para, was an admirable illustration of the genuine and almost startling progress which brazil has been making of recent years. it is a beautiful city, nearly under the equator. but it is not merely beautiful. the docks, the dredging operations, the warehouses, the stores and shops, all tell of energy and success in commercial life. it is as clean, healthy, and well policed a city as any of the size in the north temperate zone. the public buildings are handsome, the private dwellings attractive; there are a fine opera-house, an excellent tramway system, and a good museum and botanical gardens. there are cavalry stables, where lights burn all night long to protect the horses from the vampire bats. the parks, the rows of palms and mango-trees, the open-air restaurants, the gay life under the lights at night, all give the city its own special quality and charm. belen and manaos are very striking examples of what can be done in the mid-tropics. the governor of para and his charming wife were more than kind. cherrie and miller spent the day at the really capital zoological gardens, with the curator, miss snethlage. miss snethlage, a german lady, is a first rate field and closet naturalist, and an explorer of note, who has gone on foot from the xingu to the tapajos. most wisely she has confined the belen zoo to the animals of the lower amazon valley, and in consequence i know of no better local zoological gardens. she has an invaluable collection of birds and mammals of the region; and it was a privilege to meet her and talk with her. we also met professor farrabee, of the university of pennsylvania, the ethnologist. he had just finished a very difficult and important trip, from manaos by the rio branco to the highlands of guiana, across them on foot, and down to the seacoast of british guiana. he is an admirable representative of the men who are now opening south america to scientific knowledge. on may we bade good-by to our kind brazilian friends and sailed northward for barbados and new york. zoologically the trip had been a thorough success. cherrie and miller had collected over twenty-five hundred birds, about five hundred mammals, and a few reptiles, batrachians, and fishes. many of them were new to science; for much of the region traversed had never previously been worked by any scientific collector. of course, the most important work we did was the geographic work, the exploration of the unknown river, undertaken at the suggestion of the brazilian government, and in conjunction with its representatives. no piece of work of this kind is ever achieved save as it is based on long continued previous work. as i have before said, what we did was to put the cap on the pyramid that had been built by colonel rondon and his associates of the telegraphic commission during the six previous years. it was their scientific exploration of the chapadao, their mapping the basin of the juruena, and their descent of the gy- parana that rendered it possible for us to solve the mystery of the river of doubt. the work of the commission, much the greatest work of the kind ever done in south america, is one of the many, many achievements which the republican government of brazil has to its credit. brazil has been blessed beyond the average of her spanish-american sisters because she won her way to republicanism by evolution rather than revolution. they plunged into the extremely difficult experiment of democratic, of popular, self-government, after enduring the atrophy of every quality of self-control, self-reliance, and initiative throughout three withering centuries of existence under the worst and most foolish form of colonial government, both from the civil and the religious standpoint, that has ever existed. the marvel is not that some of them failed, but that some of them have eventually succeeded in such striking fashion. brazil, on the contrary, when she achieved independence, first exercised it under the form of an authoritative empire, then under the form of a liberal empire. when the republic came, the people were reasonably ripe for it. the great progress of brazil--and it has been an astonishing progress--has been made under the republic. i could give innumerable examples and illustrations of this. the change that has converted rio janeiro from a picturesque pest-hole into a singularly beautiful, healthy, clean, and efficient modern great city is one of these. another is the work of the telegraphic commission. we put upon the map a river some fifteen hundred kilometres in length, of which the upper course was not merely utterly unknown to, but unguessed at by, anybody; while the lower course, although known for years to a few rubbermen, was utterly unknown to cartographers. it is the chief affluent of the madeira, which is itself the chief affluent of the amazon. the source of this river is between the th and th parallels of latitude south and the th and th degrees of longitude west from greenwich. we embarked on it at about latitude degrees minute south, and about longitude degrees minutes west. after that its entire course lay between the th and st degrees of longitude, approaching the latter most closely about latitude degrees minutes. the first rapids we encountered were in latitude degrees minutes, and in uninterrupted succession they continued for about a degree, without a day's complete journey between any two of them. at degrees minutes the rio kermit entered from the left, at degrees minutes the rio marciano avila from the right, at degrees minutes the taunay from the left, at degrees minutes the cardozo from the right. in degrees minutes we encountered the first rubbermen. the rio branco entered from the left at degrees minutes. our camp at degrees minutes was nearly on the boundary between matto grosso and amazonas. the confluence with the aripuanan, which joined from the right, took place at degrees minutes. the entrance into the madeira was at about degrees minutes (this point we did not determine by observation, as it is already on the maps). the stream we had followed down was from the river's highest sources; we had followed its longest course. appendix a. the work of the field zoologist and field geographer in south america portions of south america are now entering on a career of great social and industrial development. much remains to be known, so far as the outside world is concerned, of the social and industrial condition in the long-settled interior regions. more remains to be done, in the way of pioneer exploring and of scientific work, in the great stretches of virgin wilderness. the only two other continents where such work, of like volume and value, remains to be done are africa and asia; and neither africa nor asia offers a more inviting field for the best kind of field worker in geographical exploration and in zoological, geological, and paleontological investigation. the explorer is merely the most adventurous kind of field geographer; and there are two or three points worth keeping in mind in dealing with the south american work of the field geographer and field zoologist. roughly, the travellers who now visit (like those who for the past century have visited) south america come in three categories-- although, of course, these categories are not divided by hard-and-fast lines. first, there are the travellers who skirt the continent in comfortable steamers, going from one great seaport to another, and occasionally taking a short railway journey to some big interior city not too far from the coast. this is a trip well worth taking by all intelligent men and women who can afford it; and it is being taken by such men and women with increasing frequency. it entails no more difficulty than a similar trip to the mediterranean--than such a trip which to a learned and broad-minded observer offers the same chance for acquiring knowledge and, if he is himself gifted with wisdom, the same chance of imparting his knowledge to others that is offered by a trip of similar length through the larger cities of europe or the united states. probably the best instance of the excellent use to which such an observer can put his experience is afforded by the volume of mr. bryce. of course, such a trip represents travelling of essentially the same kind as travelling by railroad from atlanta to calgary or from madrid to moscow. next there are the travellers who visit the long-settled districts and colonial cities of the interior, travelling over land or river highways which have been traversed for centuries but which are still primitive as regards the inns and the modes of conveyance. such travelling is difficult in the sense that travelling in parts of spain or southern italy or the balkan states is difficult. men and women who have a taste for travel in out-of-way places and who, therefore, do not mind slight discomforts and inconveniences have the chance themselves to enjoy, and to make others profit by, travels of this kind in south america. in economic, social, and political matters the studies and observations of these travellers are essential in order to supplement, and sometimes to correct, those of travellers of the first category; for it is not safe to generalize overmuch about any country merely from a visit to its capital or its chief seaport. these travellers of the second category can give us most interesting and valuable information about quaint little belated cities; about backward country folk, kindly or the reverse, who show a mixture of the ideas of savagery with the ideas of an ancient peasantry; and about rough old highways of travel which in comfort do not differ much from those of mediaeval europe. the travellers who go up or down the highway rivers that have been travelled for from one to four hundred years--rivers like the paraguay and parana, the amazon, the tapajos, the madeira, the lower orinoco--come in this category. they can add little to our geographical knowledge; but if they are competent zoologists or archaeologists, especially if they live or sojourn long in a locality, their work may be invaluable from the scientific standpoint. the work of the archaeologists among the immeasurably ancient ruins of the low-land forests and the andean plateaux is of this kind. what agassiz did for the fishes of the amazon and what hudson did for the birds of the argentine are other instances of the work that can thus be done. burton's writings on the interior of brazil offer an excellent instance of the value of a sojourn or trip of this type, even without any especial scientific object. of course travellers of this kind need to remember that their experiences in themselves do not qualify them to speak as wilderness explorers. exactly as a good archaeologist may not be competent to speak of current social or political problems, so a man who has done capital work as a tourist observer in little-visited cities and along remote highways must beware of regarding himself as being thereby rendered fit for genuine wilderness work or competent to pass judgment on the men who do such work. to cross the andes on mule-back along the regular routes is a feat comparable to the feats of the energetic tourists who by thousands traverse the mule trails in out-of-the-way nooks of switzerland. an ordinary trip on the highway portions of the amazon, paraguay, or orinoco in itself no more qualifies a man to speak of or to take part in exploring unknown south american rivers than a trip on the lower saint lawrence qualifies a man to regard himself as an expert in a canoe voyage across labrador or the barren grounds west of hudson bay. a hundred years ago, even seventy or eighty years ago, before the age of steamboats and railroads, it was more difficult than at present to define the limits between this class and the next; and, moreover, in defining these limits i emphatically disclaim any intention of thereby attempting to establish a single standard of value for books of travel. darwin's "voyage of the beagle" is to me the best book of the kind ever written; it is one of those classics which decline to go into artificial categories, and which stand by themselves; and yet darwin, with his usual modesty, spoke of it as in effect a yachting voyage. humboldt's work had a profound effect on the thought of the civilized world; his trip was one of adventure and danger; and yet it can hardly be called exploration proper. he visited places which had been settled and inhabited for centuries and traversed places which had been travelled by civilized men for years before he followed in their footsteps. but these places were in spanish colonies, and access to them had been forbidden by the mischievous and intolerant tyranny-- ecclesiastical, political, and economic--which then rendered spain the most backward of european nations; and humboldt was the first scientific man of intellectual independence who had permission to visit them. to this day many of his scientific observations are of real value. bates came to the amazon just before the era of amazonian steamboats. he never went off the native routes of ordinary travel. but he was a devoted and able naturalist. he lived an exceedingly isolated, primitive, and laborious life for eleven years. now, half a century after it was written, his "naturalist on the amazon" is as interesting and valuable as it ever was, and no book since written has in any way supplanted it. travel of the third category includes the work of the true wilderness explorers who add to our sum of geographical knowledge and of the scientific men who, following their several bents, also work in the untrodden wilds. colonel rondon and his associates have done much in the geographical exploration of unknown country, and cherrie and miller have penetrated and lived for months and years in the wastes, on their own resources, as incidents to their mammalogical and ornithological work. professor farrabee, the anthropologist, is a capital example of the man who does this hard and valuable type of work. an immense amount of this true wilderness work, geographical and zoological, remains to be done in south america. it can be accomplished with reasonable thoroughness only by the efforts of very many different workers, each in his own special field. it is desirable that here and there a part of the work should be done in outline by such a geographic and zoological reconnaissance as ours; we would, for example, be very grateful for such work in portions of the interior of the guianas, on the headwaters of the xingu, and here and there along the eastern base of the andes. but as a rule the work must be specialized; and in its final shape it must be specialized everywhere. the first geographical explorers of the untrodden wilderness, the first wanderers who penetrate the wastes where they are confronted with starvation, disease, and danger and death in every from, cannot take with them the elaborate equipment necessary in order to do the thorough scientific work demanded by modern scientific requirements. this is true even of exploration done along the courses of unknown rivers; it is more true of the exploration, which must in south america become increasingly necessary, done across country, away from the rivers. the scientific work proper of these early explorers must be of a somewhat preliminary nature; in other words the most difficult and therefore ordinarily the most important pieces of first-hand exploration are precisely those where the scientific work of the accompanying cartographer, geologist, botanist, and zoologist must be furthest removed from finality. the zoologist who works to most advantage in the wilderness must take his time, and therefore he must normally follow in the footsteps of, and not accompany, the first explorers. the man who wishes to do the best scientific work in the wilderness must not try to combine incompatible types of work nor to cover too much ground in too short a time. there is no better example of the kind of zoologist who does first- class field-work in the wilderness than john d. haseman, who spent from to in painstaking and thorough scientific investigation over a large extent of south american territory hitherto only partially known or quite unexplored. haseman's primary object was to study the characteristics and distribution of south american fishes, but as a matter of fact he studied at first hand many other more or less kindred subjects, as may be seen in his remarks on the indians and in his excellent pamphlet on "some factors of geographical distribution in south america." haseman made his long journey with a very slender equipment, his extraordinarily successful field-work being due to his bodily health and vigor and his resourcefulness, self-reliance, and resolution. his writings are rendered valuable by his accuracy and common sense. the need of the former of these two attributes will be appreciated by whoever has studied the really scandalous fictions which have been published as genuine by some modern "explorers" and adventurers in south america; and the need of the latter by whoever has studied some of the wild theories propounded in the name of science concerning the history of life on the south american continent. there is, however, one serious criticism to be made on haseman: the extreme obscurity of his style--an obscurity mixed with occasional bits of scientific pedantry, which makes it difficult to tell whether or not on some points his thought is obscure also. modern scientists, like modern historians and, above all, scientific and historical educators, should ever keep in mind that clearness of speech and writing is essential to clearness of thought and that a simple, clear, and, if possible, vivid style is vital to the production of the best work in either science or history. darwin and huxley are classics, and they would not have been if they had not written good english. the thought is essential, but ability to give it clear expression is only less essential. ability to write well, if the writer has nothing to write about, entitles him to mere derision. but the greatest thought is robbed of an immense proportion of its value if expressed in a mean or obscure manner. mr. haseman has such excellent thought that it is a pity to make it a work of irritating labor to find out just what the thought is. surely, if he will take as much pains with his writing as he has with the far more difficult business of exploring and collecting, he will become able to express his thought clearly and forcefully. at least he can, if he chooses, go over his sentences until he is reasonably sure that they can be parsed. he can take pains to see that his whole thought is expressed, instead of leaving vacancies which must be filled by the puzzled and groping reader. his own views and his quotations from the views of others about the static and dynamic theories of distribution are examples of an important principle so imperfectly expressed as to make us doubtful whether it is perfectly apprehended by the writer. he can avoid the use of those pedantic terms which are really nothing but offensive and, fortunately, ephemeral scientific slang. there has been, for instance, a recent vogue for the extensive misuse, usually tautological misuse, of the word "complexus"--an excellent word if used rarely and for definite purposes. mr. haseman drags it in continually when its use is either pointless and redundant or else serves purely to darken wisdom. he speaks of the "antillean complex" when he means the antilles, of the "organic complex" instead of the characteristic or bodily characteristics of an animal or species, and of the "environmental complex" when he means nothing whatever but the environment. in short, mr. haseman and those whose bad example he in this instance follows use "complexus" in much the same spirit as that displayed by the famous old lady who derived religious--instead of scientific-- consolation from the use of "the blessed word mesopotamia." the reason that it is worth while to enter this protest against mr. haseman's style is because his work is of such real and marked value. the pamphlet on the distribution of south american species shows that to exceptional ability as a field worker he adds a rare power to draw, with both caution and originality, the necessary general conclusions from the results of his own observations and from the recorded studies of other men; and there is nothing more needed at the present moment among our scientific men than the development of a school of men who, while industrious and minute observers and collectors and cautious generalizers, yet do not permit the faculty of wise generalization to be atrophied by excessive devotion to labyrinthine detail. haseman upholds with strong reasoning the theory that since the appearance of all but the lowest forms of life on this globe there have always been three great continental masses, sometimes solid sometimes broken, extending southward from the northern hemisphere, and from time to time connected in the north, but not in the middle regions or the south since the carboniferous epoch. he holds that life has been intermittently distributed southward along these continental masses when there were no breaks in their southward connection, and intermittently exchanged between them when they were connected in the north; and he also upholds the view that from a common ancestral form the same species has been often developed in entirely disconnected localities when in these localities the conditions of environment were the same. the opposite view is that there have been frequent connections between the great land masses, alike in the tropics, in the south temperate zone, and in the antarctic region. the upholders of this theory base it almost exclusively on the distribution of living and fossil forms of life; that is, it is based almost exclusively on biological and not geological considerations. unquestionably, the distribution of many forms of life, past and present, offers problems which with our present paleontological knowledge we are wholly unable to solve. if we consider only the biological facts concerning some one group of animals it is not only easy but inevitable to conclude that its distribution must be accounted for by the existence of some former direct land bridge extending, for instance, between patagonia and australia, or between brazil and south africa, or between the west indies and the mediterranean, or between a part of the andean region and northeastern asia. the trouble is that as more groups of animals are studied from the standpoint of this hypothesis the number of such land bridges demanded to account for the existing facts of animal distribution is constantly and indefinitely extended. a recent book by one of the most learned advocates of this hypothesis calls for at least ten such land bridges between south america and all the other continents, present and past, of the world since a period geologically not very remote. these land bridges, moreover, must, many of them, have been literally bridges; long, narrow tongues of land thrust in every direction across the broad oceans. according to this view the continental land masses have been in a fairly fluid condition of instability. by parity of reasoning, the land bridges could be made a hundred instead of merely ten in number. the facts of distribution are in many cases inexplicable with our present knowledge; yet if the existence of widely separated but closely allied forms is habitually to be explained in accordance with the views of the extremists of this school we could, from the exclusive study of certain groups of animals, conclude that at different periods the united states and almost every other portion of the earth were connected by land and severed from all other regions by water--and, from the study of certain other groups of animals, arrive at directly opposite and incompatible conclusions. the most brilliant and unsafe exponent of this school was ameghino, who possessed and abused two gifts, both essential to the highest type of scientist, and both mischievous unless this scientist possess a rare and accurate habit of thought joined to industry and mastery of detail:--namely, the gift of clear and interesting writing, and the gift of generalization. ameghino rendered marked services to paleontology. but he generalized with complete recklessness from the slenderest data; and even these data he often completely misunderstood or misinterpreted. his favorite thesis included the origin of mammalian life and of man himself in southernmost south america, with, as incidents, the belief that the mammalian-bearing strata of south america were of much greater age than the strata with corresponding remains elsewhere; that in south america various species and genera of men existed in tertiary times, some of them at least as advanced as fairly well advanced modern savages; that there existed various land bridges between south america and other southern continents, including africa; and that the ancestral types of modern mammals and of man himself wandered across one of these bridges to the old world, and that thence their remote descendants, after ages of time, returned to the new. in addition to valuable investigations of fossil-bearing beds in the argentine, he made some excellent general suggestions, such as that the pithecoid apes, like the baboons, do not stand in the line of man's ancestral stem but represent a divergence from it away from humanity and toward a retrogressive bestialization. but of his main theses he proves none, and what evidence we have tells against them. at the museum of la plata i found that the authorities were practically a unit in regarding his remains of tertiary men and proto- men as being either the remains of tertiary american monkeys or of american indians from strata that were long post-tertiary. the extraordinary discovery, due to that eminent scientist and public servant doctor moreno, of the remains of man associated with the remains of the great extinct south american fauna, of the mylodon, of a giant ungulate, of a huge cat like the lion, and of an extraordinary aberrant horse (of a wholly different genus from the modern horse) conclusively shows that in its later stages the south american fauna consisted largely of types that elsewhere had already disappeared and that these types persisted into what was geologically a very recent period only some tens of thousands of years ago, when savage man of practically a modern type had already appeared in south america. the evidence we have, so far as it goes, tends to show that the south american fauna always has been more archaic in type than the arctogeal fauna of the same chronological level. to loose generalizations, and to elaborate misinterpretations of paleontological records, the kind of work done by mr. haseman furnishes an invaluable antiscorbutic. to my mind, he has established a stronger presumption in favor of the theory he champions than has been established in favor of the theories of any of the learned and able scientific men from whose conclusions he dissents. further research, careful, accurate, and long extended, can alone enable us to decide definitely in the matter; and this research, to be effective, must be undertaken by many men, each of whom shall in large measure possess mr. haseman's exceptional power of laborious work both in the field and in the study, his insight and accuracy of observation, and his determination to follow truth with inflexible rectitude wherever it may lead--one of the greatest among the many great qualities which lifted huxley and darwin above their fellows. appendix b. the outfit for travelling in the south american wilderness south america includes so many different kinds of country that it is impossible to devise a scheme of equipment which shall suit all. a hunting-trip in the pantanals, in the swamp country of the upper paraguay, offers a simple problem. an exploring trip through an unknown tropical forest region, even if the work is chiefly done by river, offers a very difficult problem. all that i can pretend to do is to give a few hints as the results of our own experience. for bedding there should be a hammock, mosquito-net, and light blanket. these can be obtained in brazil. for tent a light fly is ample; ours were brought with us from new york. in exploring only the open fly should be taken; but on trips where weight of luggage is no objection, there can be walls to the tent and even a canvas floor- cloth. camp-chairs and a camp table should be brought--any good outfitter in the united states will supply them--and not thrown away until it becomes imperative to cut everything down. on a river trip, first-class pulleys and ropes--preferably steel, and at any rate very strong--should be taken. unless the difficulties of transportation are insuperable, canvas-and-cement canoes, such as can be obtained from various firms in canada and the united states, should by all means be taken. they are incomparably superior to the dugouts. but on different rivers wholly different canoes, of wholly different sizes, will be needed; on some steam or electric launches may be used; it is not possible to lay down a general rule. as regards arms, a good plain -bore shotgun with a - rifle- barrel underneath the others is the best weapon to have constantly in one's hand in the south american forests, where big game is rare and yet may at any time come in one's path. when specially hunting the jaguar, marsh-deer, tapir, or big peccary, an ordinary light repeating rifle--the - , - , or --is preferable. no heavy rifle is necessary for south america. tin boxes or trunks are the best in which to carry one's spare things. a good medicine-chest is indispensable. nowadays doctors know so much of tropical diseases that there is no difficulty in fitting one out. it is better not to make the trip at all than to fail to take an ample supply of quinine pills. cholera pills and cathartic pills come next in importance. in liquid shape there should be serum to inject for the stoppage of amoebic dysentery, and anti-snake-venom serum. fly-dope should be taken in quantities. for clothing kermit and i used what was left over from our african trip. sun helmets are best in the open; slouch-hats are infinitely preferable in the woods. there should be hobnailed shoes--the nails many and small, not few and large; and also moccasins or rubber-soled shoes; and light, flexible leggings. tastes differ in socks; i like mine of thick wool. a khaki-colored shirt should be worn, or, as a better substitute, a khaki jacket with many pockets. very light underclothes are good. if one's knees and legs are unfortunately tender, knickerbockers with long stockings and leggings should be worn; ordinary trousers tend to bind the knee. better still, if one's legs will stand the exposure, are shorts, not coming down to the knee. a kilt would probably be best of all. kermit wore shorts in the brazilian forest, as he had already worn them in africa, in mexico, and in the new brunswick woods. some of the best modern hunters always wear shorts; as for example, that first-class sportsman the duke of alva. mr. fiala, after the experience of his trip down the papagaio, the juruena, and the tapajos, gives his judgment about equipment and provisions as follows: the history of south american exploration has been full of the losses of canoes and cargoes and lives. the native canoe made from the single trunk of a forest giant is the craft that has been used. it is durable and if lost can be readily replaced from the forest by good men with axes and adzes. but, because of its great weight and low free-board, it is unsuitable as a freight carrier and by reason of the limitations of its construction is not of the correct form to successfully run the rapid and bad waters of many of the south american rivers. the north american indian has undoubtedly developed a vastly superior craft in the birch-bark canoe and with it will run rapids that a south american indian with his log canoe would not think of attempting, though, as a general thing, the south american indian is a wonderful waterman, the equal and, in some ways, the superior of his northern contemporary. at the many carries or portages the light birch-bark canoe or its modern representative, the canvas-covered canoe, can be picked up bodily and carried by from two to four men for several miles, if necessary, while the log canoe has to be hauled by ropes and back-breaking labor over rollers that have first to be cut from trees in the forest, or at great risk led along the edge of the rapids with ropes and hooks and poles, the men often up to their shoulders in the rushing waters, guiding the craft to a place of safety. the native canoe is so long and heavy that it is difficult to navigate without some bumps on the rocks. in fact, it is usually dragged over the rocks in the shallow water near shore in preference to taking the risk of a plunge through the rushing volume of deeper water, for reasons stated above. the north american canoe can be turned with greater facility in critical moments in bad water. many a time i heard my steersman exclaim with delight as we took a difficult passage between two rocks with our loaded canadian canoe. in making the same passage the dugout would go sideways toward the rapid until by a supreme effort her three powerful paddlers and steersman would right her just in time. the native canoe would ship great quantities of water in places the canadian canoe came through without taking any water on board. we did bump a few rocks under water, but the canoe was so elastic that no damage was done. our nineteen-foot canvas-covered freight canoe, a type especially built for the purpose on deep, full lines with high free-board, weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds and would carry a ton of cargo with ease--and also take it safely where the same cargo distributed among two or three native thirty or thirty-five foot canoes would be lost. the native canoes weigh from about nine hundred to two thousand five hundred pounds and more. in view of the above facts the explorer-traveller is advised to take with him the north american canoe if he intends serious work. two canoes would be a good arrangement for from five to seven men, with at least one steersman and two paddlers to each canoe. the canoes can be purchased in two sizes and nested for transportation, an arrangement which would save considerable expense in freight bills. at least six paddles should be packed with each boat, in length four and one half, four and three fourths, and five feet. other paddles from six and one half feet to eight and one half feet should be provided for steering oars. the native paddler, after he has used the light canadian paddle, prefers it to the best native make. my own paddlers lost or broke all of their own paddles so as to get the north american ones, which they marked with their initials and used most carefully. to each canoe it would be well to have two copper air tanks, one fore, one aft, a hand-hole in each with a water-tight screw cover on hatch. in these tanks could be kept a small supply of matches, the chronometer or watch which is used for position, and the scientific records and diary. of course, the fact should be kept in mind that these are air tanks, not to be used so as to appreciably diminish their buoyancy. each canoe should also carry a small repair kit attached to one of the thwarts, containing cement, a piece of canvas same as cover of canoe, copper tacks, rivets, and some galvanized nails; a good hatchet and a hammer; a small can of canoe paint, spar varnish, and copper paint for worn places would be a protection against termites and torrential downpours. in concluding the subject of canoes i can state that the traveller in south america will find no difficulty in disposing of his craft at the end of his trip. motors--we had with us a three and one half horse-power motor which could be attached to stern or gunwale of canoe or boat. it was made by the evinrude motor company, who had a magneto placed in the flywheel of the engine so that we never had to resort to the battery to run the motor. though the motor was left out in the rain and sun, often without a cover, by careless native help, it never failed us. we found it particularly valuable in going against the strong current of the sepotuba river where several all-night trips were made up-stream, the motor attached to a heavy boat. for exploration up-stream it would be valuable, particularly as it is easily portable, weighing for the two horse-power motor fifty pounds, for three and one half horse-power one hundred pounds. if a carburetor could be attached so that kerosene could be used it would add to its value many times, for kerosene can be purchased almost anywhere in south america. tents--there is nothing better for material than the light waterproof sea island cotton of american manufacture, made under the trade name of waterproof silk. it keeps out the heaviest rain and is very light. canvas becomes water-soaked, and cravenetted material lets the water through. a waterproof canvas floor is a luxury, and, though it adds to the weight, it may with advantage be taken on ordinary trips. the tent should be eight by eight or eight by nine feet, large enough to swing a comfortable hammock. a waterproof canvas bag, a loose-fitting envelope for the tent should be provided. native help is, as a rule, careless, and the bag would save wear and tear. hammocks--the hammock is the south american bed, and the traveller will find it exceedingly comfortable. after leaving the larger cities and settlements a bed is a rare object. all the houses are provided with extra hammock hooks. the traveller will be entertained hospitably and after dinner will be given two hooks upon which to hang his hammock, for he will be expected to have his hammock and, in insect time, his net, if he has nothing else. as a rule, a native hammock and net can be procured in the field. but it is best to take a comfortable one along, arranged with a fine-meshed net. in regard to the folding cot: it is heavy and its numerous legs form a sort of highway system over which all sorts of insects can crawl up to the sleeper. the ants are special pests and some of them can bite with the enthusiastic vigor of beasts many times their size. the canvas floor in a tent obviates to a degree the insect annoyance. the headwaters of the rivers are usually reached by pack-trains of mules and oxen. the primitive ox-cart also comes in where the trail is not too bad. one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty pounds is a good load for the pack-animals, and none of the cases should weigh more than fifty or sixty pounds. each case should be marked with its contents and gross and net weight in kilos. for personal baggage the light fibre sample case used by travelling men in the united states does admirably. the regulation fibre case with its metal binding sold for the purpose is too heavy and has the bad feature of swelling up under the influence of rain and dampness, often necessitating the use of an axe or heavy hammer to remove cover. the ordinary fibre trunk is good for rail and steamer travel, but it is absolutely unpractical for mule-back or canoe. the fibre sample case could be developed into a container particularly fitted for exploration. the fibre should be soaked in hot paraffin and then hot- calendered or hot-pressed. this case could then be covered with waterproof canvas with throat opening like a duffel-bag. the waterproof duffel-bags usually sold are too light in texture and wear through. a heavier grade should be used. the small duffel-bag is very convenient for hammock and clothing, but generally the thing wanted will be at the bottom of the bag! we took with us a number of small cotton bags. as cotton is very absorbent, i had them paraffined. each bag was tagged and all were placed in the large duffel-bag. the light fibre case described above, made just the right size for mule pack, divided by partitions, and covered with a duffel-bag, would prove a great convenience. the light steel boxes made in england for travellers in india and africa would prove of value in south american exploration. they have the advantage of being insect and water proof and the disadvantage of being expensive. it would be well if the traveller measured each case for personal equipment and computed the limit of weight that it could carry and still float. by careful distribution of light and heavy articles in the different containers, he could be sure of his belongings floating if accidentally thrown into the water. it is not always possible to get comfortable native saddles. they are all constructed on heavy lines with thick padding which becomes water- soaked in the rainy season. a united states military saddle, with whitman or mcclellan tree, would be a positive luxury. neither of them is padded, so would be the correct thing for all kinds of weather. the regulation army saddle-blanket is also advised as a protection for the mule's back. the muleteer should wash the saddle-blanket often. for a long mule-back trip through a game country, it would be well to have a carbine boot on the saddle (united states army) and saddle-bags with canteen and cup. in a large pack-train much time and labor are lost every morning collecting the mules which strayed while grazing. it would pay in the long run to feed a little corn at a certain hour every morning in camp, always ringing a bell or blowing a horn at the time. the mules would get accustomed to receiving the feed and would come to camp for it at the signal. all the rope that came to my attention in south america was three- strand hemp, a hard material, good for standing rigging but not good for tackle or for use aboard canoes. a four-ply bolt rope of best manilla, made in new bedford, mass., should be taken. it is the finest and most pliable line in the world, as any old whaler will tell you. get a sailor of the old school to relay the coils before you go into the field so that the rope will be ready for use. five eighths to seven eighths inch diameter is large enough. a few balls of marline come in conveniently as also does heavy linen fish-line. a small-sized duffel-bag should be provided for each of the men as a container for hammock and net, spare clothing, and mess-kit. a very small waterproof pouch or bag should be furnished also for matches, tobacco, etc. the men should be limited to one duffel-bag each. these bags should be numbered consecutively. in fact, every piece in the entire equipment should be thus numbered and a list kept in detail in a book. the explorer should personally see that each of his men has a hammock, net, and poncho; for the native, if left unsupervised, will go into the field with only the clothing he has on. food--though south america is rich in food and food possibilities, she has not solved the problem of living economically on her frontiers. the prices asked for food in the rubber districts we passed through were amazing. five milreis (one dollar and fifty cents) was cheap for a chicken, and eggs at five hundred reis (fifteen cents) apiece were a rarity. sugar was bought at the rate of one to two milreis a kilo--in a country where sugar-cane grows luxuriantly. the main dependence is the mandioc, or farina, as it is called. it is the bread of the country and is served at every meal. the native puts it on his meat and in his soup and mixes it with his rice and beans. when he has nothing else he eats the farina, as it is called, by the handful. it is seldom cooked. the small mandioc tubers when boiled are very good and are used instead of potatoes. native beans are nutritious and form one of the chief foods. in the field the native cook wastes much time. generally provided with an inadequate cooking equipment, hours are spent cooking beans after the day's work, and then, of course, they are often only partially cooked. a kettle or aluminum dutch oven should be taken along, large enough to cook enough beans for both breakfast and dinner. the beans should be cooked all night, a fire kept burning for the purpose. it would only be necessary then to warm the beans for breakfast and dinner, the two south american meals. for meat the rubber hunter and explorer depends upon his rifle and fish-hook. the rivers are full of fish which can readily be caught, and, in brazil, the tapir, capybara, paca, agouti, two or three varieties of deer, and two varieties of wild pig can occasionally be shot; and most of the monkeys are used for food. turtles and turtle eggs can be had in season and a great variety of birds, some of them delicious in flavor and heavy in meat. in the hot, moist climate fresh meat will not keep and even salted meat has been known to spoil. for use on the roosevelt expedition i arranged a ration for five men for one day packed in a tin box; the party which went down the duvida made each ration do for six men for a day and a half, and in addition gave over half the bread or hardtack to the camaradas. by placing the day's allowance of bread in this same box, it was lightened sufficiently to float if dropped into water. there were seven variations in the arrangement of food in these boxes and they were numbered from to , so that a different box could be used every day of the week. in addition to the food, each box contained a cake of soap, a piece of cheese-cloth, two boxes of matches, and a box of table salt. these tin boxes were lacquered to protect from rust and enclosed in wooden cases for transportation. a number in large type was printed on each. no. was cased separately; nos. and , and , and were cased together. for canoe travel the idea was to take these wooden cases off. i did not have an opportunity personally to experience the management of these food cases. we had sent them all ahead by pack- train for the explorers of the duvida river. the exploration of the papagaio was decided upon during the march over the plateau of matto grosso and was accomplished with dependence upon native food only. daily ration for five men sun. mon. tues. wed. thur. fri. sat. rice oatmeal bread tea-biscuits gingersnaps dehydrated potatoes dehydrated onions erbswurst evaporated soups baked beans condensed milk bacon roast beef braised beef corned beef ox tongue curry and chicken boned chicken fruits: evaporated berries figs dates sugar coffee tea salt sweet chocolate each box also contained muslin, one yard matches, boxes soap, one cake above weights of food are net in avoirdupois ounces. each complete ration with its tin container weighed nearly twenty-seven pounds. the five pounds over net weight of daily ration was taken up in tin necessary for protection of food. the weight of component parts of daily ration had to be governed to some extent by the size of the commercial package in which the food could be purchased on short notice. austin, nichols & co., of new york, who supplied the food stores for my polar expedition, worked day and night to complete the packing of the rations on time. the food cases described above were used on colonel roosevelt's descent of the rio da duvida and also by the party who journeyed down the gy-parana and madeira rivers. leo miller, the naturalist, who was a member of the last-named party, arrived in manaos, brazil, while i was there and, in answer to my question, told me that the food served admirably and was good, but that the native cooks had a habit of opening a number of cases at a time to satisfy their personal desire for special delicacies. bacon was the article most sought for. speaking critically, for a strenuous piece of work like the exploration of the duvida, the food was somewhat bulky. a ration arrangement such as i used on my sledge trips north would have contained more nutritious elements in a smaller space. we could have done without many of the luxuries. but the exploration of the duvida had not been contemplated and had no place in the itinerary mapped out in new york. the change of plan and the decision to explore the duvida river came about in rio janeiro, long after our rations had been made out and shipped. "matte" the tea of brazil and paraguay, used in most of the states of south america, should not be forgotten. it is a valuable beverage. with it a native can do a wonderful amount of work on little food. upon the tired traveller it has a very refreshing effect. doctor peckolt, celebrated chemist of rio de janeiro, has compared the analysis of matte with those of green tea, black tea, and coffee and obtained the following result: in , parts of green tea black tea coffee matte natural oil . . . . chlorophyl . . . . resin . . . . tannin . . . . alkaloids: mateina . . . . extractive substances . . . . cellulose and fibres . . . . ashes . . . . manner of preparation: the matte tea is prepared in the same manner as the indian tea, that is to say, by pouring upon it boiling water during ten to fifteen minutes before using. to obtain a good infusion five spoonfuls of matte are sufficient for a litre of water. some experiments have been made lately with the use of matte in the german army, and probably it would be a valuable beverage for the use of our own troops. two plates and a cup, knife, fork, and spoon should be provided for each member of the party. the united states army mess- kit would serve admirably. each man's mess-kit should be numbered to correspond with the number on his duffel-bag. an aluminum (for lightness) cooking outfit, or the dutch oven mentioned, with three or four kettles nested within, a coffee pot or a teapot would suffice. the necessary large spoons and forks for the cook, a small meat grinder, and a half dozen skinning knives could all be included in the fibre case. these outfits are usually sold with the cups, plates, etc., for the table. as before suggested, each member of the party should have his own mess-kit. it should not be carried with the general cooking outfit. by separating the eating equipments thus, one of the problems of hygiene and cleanliness is simplified. rifles--ammunition--a heavy rifle is not advised. the only animals that can be classed as dangerous are the jaguar and white-jawed peccary, and a - or calibre is heavy enough for such game. the -calibre winchester or remington carbine is the arm generally used throughout south america, and calibre is the only ammunition that one can depend upon securing in the field. every man has his own preference for an arm. however, there is no need of carrying a nine or ten pound weapon when a rifle weighing only from six and three fourths to seven and one half pounds will do all that is necessary. i, personally, prefer the small-calibre rifle, as it can be used for birds also. the three-barrelled gun, combining a double shotgun and a rifle, is an excellent weapon, and it is particularly valuable for the collector of natural-history specimens. a new gun has just come on the market which may prove valuable in south america where there is such a variety of game, a four-barrel gun, weighing only eight and one fourth pounds. it has two shotgun barrels, one to calibre rifle and the rib separating the shotgun barrels is bored for a -calibre rifle cartridge. the latter is particularly adapted for the large food birds, which a heavy rifle bullet might tear. twenty-two calibre ammunition is also very light and the long calibre exceedingly powerful. unless in practice it proves too complicated, it would seem to be a good arm for all-round use--sixteen to twenty gauge is large enough for the shotgun barrels. too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the need of being provided with good weapons. after the loss of all our arms in the rapids we secured four poor, rusty rifles which proved of no value. we lost three deer, a tapir, and other game, and finally gave up the use of the rifles, depending upon hook and line. a or calibre high power automatic pistol with six or seven inch barrel would prove a valuable arm to carry always on the person. it could be used for large game and yet would not be too large for food birds. it is to be regretted that there is nothing in the market of this character. we had our rifle ammunition packed by the u. m. c. co. in zinc cases of one hundred rounds each, a metallic strip with pull ring closing the two halves of the box. shot-cartridge, sixteen gauge, were packed the same way, twenty-five to the box. the explorer would do well always to have on his person a compass, a light waterproof bag containing matches, a waterproof box of salt, and a strong, light, linen or silk fish-line with several hooks, a knife, and an automatic at his belt, with several loaded magazines for the latter in his pocket. thus provided, if accidentally lost for several days in the forest (which often happens to the rubber hunters in brazil), he will be provided with the possibility of getting game and making himself shelter and fire at night. fish--for small fish like the pacu and piranha an ordinary bass hook will do. for the latter, because of its sharp teeth, a hook with a long shank and phosphor-bronze leader is the best; the same character of leader is best on the hook to be used for the big fish. a tarpon hook will hold most of the great fish of the rivers. a light rod and reel would be a convenience in catching the pacu. we used to fish for the latter variety in the quiet pools while allowing the canoe to drift, and always saved some of the fish as bait for the big fellows. we fished for the pacu as the native does, kneading a ball of mandioc farina with water and placing it on the hook as bait. i should not be surprised, though, if it were possible, with carefully chosen flies, to catch some of the fish that every once in a while we saw rise to the surface and drag some luckless insect under. clothing--even the experienced traveller when going into a new field will commit the crime of carrying too much luggage. articles which he thought to be camp necessities become camp nuisances which worry his men and kill his mules. the lighter one can travel the better. in the matter of clothing, before the actual wilderness is reached the costume one would wear to business in new york in summer is practical for most of south america, except, of course, the high mountain regions, where a warm wrap is necessary. a white or natural linen suit is a very comfortable garment. a light blue unlined serge is desirable as a change and for wear in rainy weather. strange to relate, the south american seems to have a fondness for stiff collars. even in corumba, the hottest place i have ever been in, the native does not think he is dressed unless he wears one of these stiff abominations around his throat. a light negligee shirt with interchangeable or attached soft collars is vastly preferable. in the frontier regions and along the rivers the pajama seems to be the conventional garment for day as well as night wear. several such suits of light material should be carried--the more ornamented and beautifully colored the greater favor will they find along the way. a light cravenetted mackintosh is necessary for occasional cool evenings and as a protection against the rain. it should have no cemented rubber seams to open up in the warm, moist climate. yachting oxfords and a light pair of leather slippers complete the outfit for steamer travel. for the field, two or three light woollen khaki-colored shirts, made with two breast pockets with buttoned flaps, two pairs of long khaki trousers, two pairs of riding breeches, a khaki coat cut military fashion with four pockets with buttoned flaps, two suits of pajamas, handkerchiefs, socks, etc., would be necessary. the poncho should extend to below the knees and should be provided with a hood large enough to cover the helmet. it should have no cemented seams; the material recently adopted by the united states army for ponchos seems to be the best. for footgear the traveller needs two pairs of stout, high hunting shoes, built on the moccasin form with soles. hob nails should be taken along to insert if the going is over rocky places. it is also advisable to provide a pair of very light leather slipper boots to reach to just under the knee for wear in camp. they protect the legs and ankles from insect stings and bites. the traveller who enters tropical south america should protect his head with a wide-brimmed soft felt hat with ventilated headband, or the best and lightest pith helmet that can be secured, one large enough to shade the face and back of neck. there should be a ventilating space all around the head-band; the wider the space the better. these helmets can be secured in rio and buenos aires. head-nets with face plates of horsehair are the best protection against small insect pests. they are generally made too small and the purchaser should be careful to get one large enough to go over his helmet and come down to the breast. several pairs of loose gloves rather long in the wrist will be needed as protection against the flies, piums and boroshudas which draw blood with every bite and are numerous in many parts of south america. a waterproof sun umbrella, with a jointed handle about six feet long terminating in a point, would be a decided help to the scientist at work in the field. a fine-meshed net fitting around the edge of the umbrella would make it insect proof. when folded it would not be bulky and its weight would be negligible. such an umbrella could also be attached, with a special clamp, to the thwart of a canoe and so prove a protection from both sun and rain. there are little personal conveniences which sometimes grow into necessities. one of these in my own case was a little electric flash- light taken for the purpose of reading the verniers of a theodolite or sextant in star observations. it was used every night and for many purposes. as a matter of necessity, where insects are numerous one turns to the protection of his hammock and net immediately after the evening meal. it was at such times that i found the electric lamp so helpful. reclining in the hammock, i held the stock of the light under my left arm and with diary in my lap wrote up my records for the day. i sometimes read by its soft, steady light. one charge of battery, to my surprise, lasted nearly a month. when forced to pick out a camping spot after dark, an experience which comes to every traveller in the tropics in the rainy season, we found its light very helpful. neither rain nor wind could put it out and the light could be directed wherever needed. the charges should be calculated on the plan of one for every three weeks. the acetylene lamp for camp illumination is an advance over the kerosene lantern. it has been found that for equal weight the carbide will give more light than kerosene or candle. the carbide should be put in small containers, for each time a box is opened some of the contents turns into gas from contact with the moist air. tools--three or four good axes, several bill-hooks, a good hatchet with hammer head and nail-puller should be in the tool kit. in addition, each man should be provided with a belt knife and a machete with sheath. collins makes the best machetes. his axes, too, are excellent. the bill-hook, called foice in brazil, is a most valuable tool for clearing away small trees, vines, and under-growths. it is marvellous how quickly an experienced hand can clear the ground in a forest with one of these instruments. all of these tools should have handles of second-growth american hickory of first quality; and several extra handles should be taken along. the list of tools should be completed with a small outfit of pliers, tweezers, files, etc.--the character, of course, depending upon the mechanical ability of the traveller and the scientific instruments he has with him that might need repairs. survey instruments--the choice of instruments will depend largely upon the character of the work intended. if a compass survey will suffice, there is nothing better than the cavalry sketching board used in the united states army for reconnaissance. with a careful hand it approaches the high degree of perfection attained by the plane-table method. it is particularly adapted for river survey and, after one gets accustomed to its use, it is very simple. if the prismatic compass is preferred, nothing smaller than two and one half inches in diameter should be used. in the smaller sizes the magnet is not powerful enough to move the dial quickly or accurately. several good pocket compasses must be provided. they should all have good-sized needles with the north end well marked and degrees engraved in metal. if the floating dial is preferred it should be of aluminum and nothing smaller than two and one half inches, for the same reason as mentioned above regarding the prismatic compass. expense should not be spared if it is necessary to secure good compasses. avoid paper dials and leather cases which absorb moisture. the compass case should allow taking apart for cleaning and drying. the regular chronometer movement, because of its delicacy, is out of the question for rough land or water travel. we had with us a small- sized half-chronometer movement recently brought out by the waltham company as a yacht chronometer. it gave a surprisingly even rate under the most adverse conditions. i was sorry to lose it in the rapids of the papagaio when our canoes went down. the watches should be waterproof with strong cases, and several should be taken. it would be well to have a dozen cheap but good watches and the same number of compasses for use around camp and for gifts or trade along the line of travel. money is of no value after one leaves the settlements. i was surprised to find that many of the rubber hunters were not provided with compasses, and i listened to an american who told of having been lost in the depths of the great forest where for days he lived on monkey meat secured with his rifle until he found his way to the river. he had no compass and could not get one. i was sorry i had none to give; i had lost mine in the rapids. for the determination of latitude and longitude there is nothing better than a small four or five inch theodolite not over fifteen pounds in weight. it should have a good prism eyepiece with an angle tube attached so it would not be necessary to break one's neck in reading high altitudes. for days we travelled in the direction the sun was going, with altitudes varying from ° to °. because of these high altitudes of the sun the sextant with artificial horizon could not be used unless one depended upon star observations altogether, an uncertain dependence because of the many cloudy nights. barometers--the goldsmith form of direct-reading aneroid is the most accurate portable instrument and, of course, should be compared with a standard mercurial at the last weather-bureau station. thermometers--a swing thermometer, with wet and dry bulbs for determination of the amount of moisture in the air, and the maximum and minimum thermometer of the signal-service or weather-bureau type should be provided, with a case to protect them from injury. a tape measure with metric scale of measurements on one side and feet and inches on the other is most important. two small, light waterproof cases could be constructed and packed with scientific instruments, data, and spare clothing and yet not exceed the weight limit of flotation. in transit by pack-train these two cases would form but one mule load. photographic--from the experience gained in several fields of exploration it seems to me that the voyager should limit himself to one small-sized camera, which he can always have with him, and then carry a duplicate of it, soldered in tin, in the baggage. the duplicate need not be equipped with as expensive a lens and shutter as the camera carried for work; / x / is a good size. nothing larger than / x / is advised. we carried the a special kodak and found it a light, strong, and effective instrument. it seems to me that the ideal form of instrument would be one with a front board large enough to contain an adapter fitted for three lenses. for the / x / : one lens or / focus one lens or focus one lens telephoto or telecentric to focus the camera should be made of metal and fitted with focal-plane shutter and direct view-finder. a sole leather case with shoulder-strap should contain the camera and lenses, with an extra roll of films, all within instant reach, so that a lens could be changed without any loss of time. plates, of course, are the best, but their weight and frailty, with difficulty of handling, rule them out of the question. the roll film is the best, as the film pack sticks together and the stubs pull off in the moist, hot climate. the films should be purchased in rolls of six exposures, each roll in a tin, the cover sealed with surgical tape. twelve of these tubes should be soldered in a tin box. in places where the air is charged with moisture a roll of films should not be left in a camera over twenty-four hours. tank development is best for the field. the tanks provided for developing by the kodak company are best for fixing also. a nest of tanks would be a convenience; one tank should be kept separate for the fixing-bath. as suggested in the kodak circular, for tropical development a large-size tank can be used for holding the freezing mixture of hypo. this same tank would become the fixing tank after development. in the rainy season it is a difficult matter to dry films. development in the field, with washing water at degrees f., is a patience-trying operation. it has occurred to me that a small air-pump with a supply of chloride of calcium in small tubes might solve the problem of preserving films in the tropics. the air-pump and supply of chloride of calcium would not be as heavy or bulky as the tanks and powders needed for development. by means of the air-pump the films could be sealed in tin tubes free from moisture and kept thus until arrival at home or at a city where the air was fairly dry and cold water for washing could be had. while i cordially agree with most of the views expressed by mr. fiala, there are some as to which i disagree; for instance, we came very strongly to the conclusion, in descending the duvida, where bulk was of great consequence, that the films should be in rolls of ten or twelve exposures. i doubt whether the four-barrel gun would be practical; but this is a matter of personal taste. appendix c. my letter of may to general lauro muller the first report on the expedition, made by me immediately after my arrival at manaos, and published in rio janeiro upon its receipt, is as follows: may st, . to his excellency the minister of foreign affairs, rio-de-janeiro. my dear general lauro muller: i wish first to express my profound acknowledgments to you personally and to the other members of the brazilian government whose generous courtesy alone rendered possible the expedicao scientifica roosevelt- rondon. i wish also to express my high admiration and regard for colonel rondon and his associates who have been my colleagues in this work of exploration. in the third place i wish to point out that what we have just done was rendered possible only by the hard and perilous labor of the brazilian telegraphic commission in the unexplored western wilderness of matto grosso during the last seven years. we have had a hard and somewhat dangerous but very successful trip. no less than six weeks were spent in slowly and with peril and exhausting labor forcing our way down through what seemed a literally endless succession of rapids and cataracts. for forty-eight days we saw no human being. in passing these rapids we lost five of the seven canoes with which we started and had to build others. one of our best men lost his life in the rapids. under the strain one of the men went completely bad, shirked all his work, stole his comrades' food and when punished by the sergeant he with cold-blooded deliberation murdered the sergeant and fled into the wilderness. colonel rondon's dog running ahead of him while hunting, was shot by two indians; by his death he in all probability saved the life of his master. we have put on the map a river about kilometres in length running from just south of the th degree to north of the th degree and the biggest affluent of the madeira. until now its upper course has been utterly unknown to every one, and its lower course although known for years to the rubbermen utterly unknown to all cartographers. its source is between the th and th parallels of latitude south, and between longitude degrees and longitude degrees west from greenwich. we embarked on it about at latitude degrees minute south and longitude degrees west. after that its entire course was between the th and st degrees of longitude approaching the latter most closely about in latitude degrees minutes. the first rapids were at navaite in degrees minutes and after that they were continuous and very difficult and dangerous until the rapids named after the murdered sergeant paishon in degrees minutes. at degrees minutes the river received the rio kermit from the left. at degrees minutes the marciano avila entered it from the right. at degrees minutes the taunay entered from the left. at degrees minutes the cardozo entered from the right. at degrees minutes we encountered the first rubberman. the rio branco entered from the left at degrees minutes. we camped at degrees minutes or approximately the boundary line between matto grosso and amazonas. the confluence with the upper aripuanan, which entered from the right, was in degrees minutes. the mouth where it entered the madeira was in about degrees minutes. the stream we have followed down is that which rises farthest away from the mouth and its general course is almost due north. my dear sir, i thank you from my heart for the chance to take part in this great work of exploration. with high regard and respect, believe me very sincerely yours, theodore roosevelt. none the naturalist in la plata by w. h. hudson, c.m.z.s. joint author of "argentine ornithology" with illustrations by j. smit third edition. new york d. appleton and company preface. the plan i have followed in this work has been to sift and arrange the facts i have gathered concerning the habits of the animals best known to me, preserving those only, which, in my judgment, appeared worth recording. in some instances a variety of subjects have linked themselves together in my mind, and have been grouped under one heading; consequently the scope of the book is not indicated by the list of contents: this want is, however, made good by an index at the end. it is seldom an easy matter to give a suitable name to a book of this description. i am conscious that the one i have made choice of displays a lack of originality; also, that this kind of title has been used hitherto for works constructed more or less on the plan of the famous _naturalist on the amazons._ after i have made this apology the reader, on his part, will readily admit that, in treating of the natural history of a district so well known, and often described as the southern portion of la plata, which has a temperate climate, and where nature is neither exuberant nor grand, a personal narrative would have seemed superfluous. the greater portion of the matter contained in this volume has already seen the light in the form of papers contributed to the _field,_ with other journals that treat of natural history; and to the monthly magazines:--_longmans', the nineteenth century, the gentleman's magazine,_ and others: i am indebted to the editors and proprietors of these periodicals for kindly allowing me to make use of this material. of all animals, birds have perhaps afforded me most pleasure; but most of the fresh knowledge i have collected in this department is contained in a larger work _(argentine ornithology),_ of which dr. p. l. sclater is part author. as i have not gone over any of the subjects dealt with in that work, bird-life has not received more than a fair share of attention in the present volume. contents. chapter i. the desert pampas chapter ii. cub puma, or lion of america chapter iii. wave of life chapter iv. some curious animal weapons chapter v. fear in birds chapter vi. parental and early instincts chapter vii. the mephitic skunk chapter viii. mimicry and warning colours in grasshoppers chapter ix. dragon-fly storms chapter x. mosquitoes and parasite problems chapter xi. humble-bees and other matters chapter xii. a noble wasp chapter xiii. nature's night-lights chapter xiv. facts and thoughts about spiders chapter xv. the death-feigning instinct chapter xvi. humming-birds chapter xvii. the crested screamer chapter xviii. the woodhewer family chapter xix. music and dancing in nature chapter xx. biography of the vizcacha chapter xxi. the dying huanaco chapter xxii. the strange instincts of cattle chapter xxiii. horse and man chapter xxiv. seen and lost appendix index the naturalist in la plata, chapter i. the desert pampas. during recent years we have heard much about the great and rapid changes now going on in the plants and animals of all the temperate regions of the globe colonized by europeans. these changes, if taken merely as evidence of material progress, must be a matter of rejoicing to those who are satisfied, and more than satisfied, with our system of civilization, or method of outwitting nature by the removal of all checks on the undue increase of our own species. to one who finds a charm in things as they exist in the unconquered provinces of nature's dominions, and who, not being over-anxious to reach the end of his journey, is content to perform it on horseback, or in a waggon drawn by bullocks, it is permissible to lament the altered aspect of the earth's surface, together with the disappearance of numberless noble and beautiful forms, both of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. for he cannot find it in his heart to love the forms by which they are replaced; these are cultivated and domesticated, and have only become useful to man at the cost of that grace and spirit which freedom and wildness give. in numbers they are many--twenty-five millions of sheep in this district, fifty millions in that, a hundred millions in a third--but how few are the species in place of those destroyed? and when the owner of many sheep and much wheat desires variety--for he possesses this instinctive desire, albeit in conflict with and overborne by the perverted instinct of destruction--what is there left to him, beyond his very own, except the weeds that spring up in his fields under all skies, ringing him round with old-world monotonous forms, as tenacious of their undesired union with him as the rats and cockroaches that inhabit his house? we hear most frequently of north america, new zealand, and australia in this connection; but nowhere on the globe has civilization "written strange defeatures" more markedly than on that great area of level country called by english writers _the pampas_, but by the spanish more appropriately _la pampa_--from the quichua word signifying open space or country--since it forms in most part one continuous plain, extending on its eastern border from the river parana, in latitude degrees, to the patagonian formation on the river colorado, and comprising about two hundred thousand square miles of humid, grassy country. this district has been colonized by europeans since the middle of the sixteenth century; but down to within a very few years ago immigration was on too limited a scale to make any very great change; and, speaking only of the pampean country, the conquered territory was a long, thinly-settled strip, purely pastoral, and the indians, with their primitive mode of warfare, were able to keep back the invaders from the greater portion of their ancestral hunting-grounds. not twenty years ago a ride of two hundred miles, starting from the capital city, buenos ayres, was enough to place one well beyond the furthest south-western frontier outpost. in the argentine government determined to rid the country of the aborigines, or, at all events, to break their hostile and predatory spirit once for all; with the result that the entire area of the grassy pampas, with a great portion of the sterile pampas and patagonia, has been made available to the emigrant. there is no longer anything to deter the starvelings of the old world from possessing themselves of this new land of promise, flowing, like australia, with milk and tallow, if not with honey; any emasculated migrant from a genoese or neapolitan slum is now competent to "fight the wilderness" out there, with his eight-shilling fowling-piece and the implements of his trade. the barbarians no longer exist to frighten his soul with dreadful war cries; they have moved away to another more remote and shadowy region, called in their own language _alhuemapu_, and not known to geographers. for the results so long and ardently wished for have swiftly followed on general roca's military expedition; and the changes witnessed during the last decade on the pampas exceed in magnitude those which had been previously effected by three centuries of occupation. in view of this wave of change now rapidly sweeping away the old order, with whatever beauty and grace it possessed, it might not seem inopportune at the present moment to give a rapid sketch, from the field naturalist's point of view, of the great plain, as it existed before the agencies introduced by european colonists had done their work, and as it still exists in its remoter parts. the humid, grassy, pampean country extends, roughly speaking, half-way from the atlantic ocean and the plata and paraná rivers to the andes, and passes gradually into the "monte formation," or _sterile pampa_--a sandy, more or less barren district, producing a dry, harsh, ligneous vegetation, principally thorny bushes and low trees, of which the chañar (gurliaca decorticans) is the most common; hence the name of "chañar-steppe" used by some writers: and this formation extends southwards down into patagonia. scientists have not yet been able to explain why the pampas, with a humid climate, and a soil exceedingly rich, have produced nothing but grass, while the dry, sterile territories on their north, west, and south borders have an arborescent vegetation. darwin's conjecture that the extreme violence of the _pampero,_ or south-west wind, prevented trees from growing, is now proved to have been ill-founded since the introduction of the eucalyptus globulus; for this noble tree attains to an extraordinary height on the pampas, and exhibits there a luxuriance of foliage never seen in australia. to this level area--my "parish of selborne," or, at all events, a goodly portion of it--with the sea on one hand, and on the other the practically infinite expanse of grassy desert--another sea, not "in vast fluctuations fixed," but in comparative calm--i should like to conduct the reader in imagination: a country all the easier to be imagined on account of the absence of mountains, woods, lakes, and rivers. there is, indeed, little to be imagined--not even a sense of vastness; and darwin, touching on this point, in the _journal of a naturalist,_ aptly says:--"at sea, a person's eye being six feet above the surface of the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths distant. in like manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly does the horizon approach within these narrow limits; and this, in my opinion, entirely destroys the grandeur which one would have imagined that a vast plain would have possessed." i remember my first experience of a hill, after having been always shut within "these narrow limits." it was one of the range of sierras near cape corrientes, and not above eight hundred feet high; yet, when i had gained the summit, i was amazed at the vastness of the earth, as it appeared to me from that modest elevation. persons born and bred on the pampas, when they first visit a mountainous district, frequently experience a sensation as of "a ball in the throat" which seems to prevent free respiration. in most places the rich, dry soil is occupied by a coarse grass, three or four feet high, growing in large tussocks, and all the year round of a deep green; a few slender herbs and trefoils, with long, twining stems, maintain a frail existence among the tussocks; but the strong grass crowds out most plants, and scarcely a flower relieves its uniform everlasting verdure. there are patches, sometimes large areas, where it does not grow, and these are carpeted by small creeping herbs of a livelier green, and are gay in spring with flowers, chiefly of the composite and papilionaceous kinds; and verbenas, scarlet, purple, rose, and white. on moist or marshy grounds there are also several lilies, yellow, white, and red, two or three flags, and various other small flowers; but altogether the flora of the pampas is the poorest in species of any fertile district on the globe. on moist clayey ground flourishes the stately pampa grass, gynerium argenteum, the spears of which often attain a height of eight or nine feet. i have ridden through many leagues of this grass with the feathery spikes high as my head, and often higher. it would be impossible for me to give anything like an adequate idea of the exquisite loveliness, at certain times and seasons, of this queen of grasses, the chief glory of the solitary pampa. everyone is familiar with it in cultivation; but the garden-plant has a sadly decaying, draggled look at all times, and to my mind, is often positively ugly with its dense withering mass of coarse leaves, drooping on the ground, and bundle of spikes, always of the same dead white or dirty cream-colour. now colour--the various ethereal tints that give a blush to its cloud-like purity--is one of the chief beauties of this grass on its native soil; and travellers who have galloped across the pampas at a season of the year when the spikes are dead, and white as paper or parchment, have certainly missed its greatest charm. the plant is social, and in some places where scarcely any other kind exists it covers large areas with a sea of fleecy-white plumes; in late summer, and in autumn, the tints are seen, varying from the most delicate rose, tender and illusive as the blush on the white under-plumage of some gulls, to purple and violaceous. at no time does it look so perfect as in the evening, before and after sunset, when the softened light imparts a mistiness to the crowding plumes, and the traveller cannot help fancying that the tints, which then seem richest, are caught from the level rays of the sun, or reflected from the coloured vapours of the afterglow. the last occasion on which i saw the pampa grass in its full beauty was at the close of a bright day in march, ending in one of those perfect sunsets seen only in the wilderness, where no lines of house or hedge mar the enchanting disorder of nature, and the earth and sky tints are in harmony. i had been travelling all day with one companion, and for two hours we had ridden through the matchless grass, which spread away for miles on every side, the myriads of white spears, touched with varied colour, blending in the distance and appearing almost like the surface of a cloud. hearing a swishing sound behind us, we turned sharply round, and saw, not forty yards away in our rear, a party of five mounted indians, coming swiftly towards us: but at the very moment we saw them their animals came to a dead halt, and at the same instant the five riders leaped up, and stood erect on their horses' backs. satisfied that they had no intention of attacking us, and were only looking out for strayed horses, we continued watching them for some time, as they stood gazing away over the plain in different directions, motionless and silent, like bronze men on strange horse-shaped pedestals of dark stone; so dark in their copper skins and long black hair, against the far-off ethereal sky, flushed with amber light; and at their feet, and all around, the cloud of white and faintly-blushing plumes. that farewell scene was printed very vividly on my memory, but cannot be shown to another, nor could it be even if a ruskin's pen or a turner's pencil were mine; for the flight of the sea-mew is not more impossible to us than the power to picture forth the image of nature in our souls, when she reveals herself in one of those "special moments" which have "special grace" in situations where her wild beauty has never been spoiled by man. at other hours and seasons the general aspect of the plain is monotonous, and in spite of the unobstructed view, and the unfailing verdure and sunshine, somewhat melancholy, although never sombre: and doubtless the depressed and melancholy feeling the pampa inspires in those who are unfamiliar with it is due in a great measure to the paucity of life, and to the profound silence. the wind, as may well be imagined on that extensive level area, is seldom at rest; there, as in the forest, it is a "bard of many breathings," and the strings it breathes upon give out an endless variety of sorrowful sounds, from the sharp fitful sibilations of the dry wiry grasses on the barren places, to the long mysterious moans that swell and die in the tall polished rushes of the marsh. it is also curious to note that with a few exceptions the resident birds are comparatively very silent, even those belonging to groups which elsewhere are highly loquacious. the reason of this is not far to seek. in woods and thickets, where birds abound most, they are continually losing sight of each other, and are only prevented from scattering by calling often; while the muffling effect on sound of the close foliage, to' which may be added a spirit of emulation where many voices are heard, incites most species, especially those that are social, to exert their voices to the utmost pitch in singing, calling, and screaming. on the open pampas, birds, which are not compelled to live concealed on the surface, can see each other at long distances, and perpetual calling is not needful: moreover, in that still atmosphere sound travels far. as a rule their voices are strangely subdued; nature's silence has infected them, and they have become silent by habit. this is not the case with aquatic species, which are nearly all migrants from noisier regions, and mass themselves in lagoons and marshes, where they are all loquacious together. it is also noteworthy that the subdued bird-voices, some of which are exceedingly sweet and expressive, and the notes of many of the insects and batrachians have a great resemblance, and seem to be in accord with the aeolian tones of the wind in reeds and grasses: a stranger to the pampas, even a naturalist accustomed to a different fauna, will often find it hard to distinguish between bird, frog, and insect voices. the mammalia is poor in species, and with the single exception of the well-known vizcacha (lagostomus trichodactylus), there is not one of which it can truly be said that it is in any special way the product of the pampas, or, in other words, that its instincts are better suited to the conditions of the pampas than to those of other districts. as a fact, this large rodent inhabits a vast extent of country, north, west, and south of the true pampas, but nowhere is he so thoroughly on his native heath as on the great grassy plain. there, to some extent, he even makes his own conditions, like the beaver. he lives in a small community of twenty or thirty members, in a village of deep-chambered burrows, all with their pit-like entrances closely grouped together; and as the village endures for ever, or for an indefinite time, the earth constantly being brought up forms a mound thirty or forty feet in diameter; and this protects the habitation from floods on low or level ground. again, he is not swift of foot, and all rapacious beasts are his enemies; he also loves to feed on tender succulent herbs and grasses, to seek for which he would have to go far afield among the giant grass, where his watchful foes are lying in wait to seize him; he saves himself from this danger by making a clearing all round his abode, on which a smooth turf is formed; and here the animals feed and have their evening pastimes in comparative security: for when an enemy approaches, he is easily seen; the note of alarm is sounded, and the whole company scuttles away to their refuge. in districts having a different soil and vegetation, as in patagonia, the vizcachas' curious, unique instincts are of no special advantage, which makes it seem probable that they have been formed on the pampas. how marvellous a thing it seems that the two species of mammalians--the beaver and the vizcacha--that most nearly simulate men's intelligent actions in their social organizing instincts, and their habitations, which are made to endure, should belong to an order so low down as the rodents! and in the case of the latter species, it adds to the marvel when we find that the vizcacha, according to water-house, is the lowest of the order in its marsupial affinities. the vizcacha is the most common rodent on the pampas, and the rodent order is represented by the largest number of species. the finest is the so-called patagonian hare--dolichotis patagonica--a beautiful animal twice as large as a hare, with ears shorter and more rounded, and legs relatively much longer. the fur is grey and chestnut brown. it is diurnal in its habits, lives in kennels, and is usually met with in pairs, or small flocks. it is better suited to a sterile country like patagonia than to the grassy humid plain; nevertheless it was found throughout the whole of the pampas; but in a country where the wisdom of a sir william harcourt was never needed to slip the leash, this king of the rodentia is now nearly extinct. a common rodent is the coypú--myiopotamus coypú--yellowish in colour with bright red incisors; a rat in shape, and as large as an otter. it is aquatic, lives in holes in the banks, and where there are no banks it makes a platform nest among the rushes. of an evening they are all out swimming and playing in the water, conversing together in their strange tones, which sound like the moans and cries of wounded and suffering men; and among them the mother-coypú is seen with her progeny, numbering eight or nine, with as many on her back as she can accommodate, while the others swim after her, crying for a ride. with reference to this animal, which, as we have seen, is prolific, a strange thing once happened in buenos ayres. the coypú was much more abundant fifty years ago than now, and its skin, which has a fine fur under the long coarse hair, was largely exported to europe. about that time the dictator rosas issued a decree prohibiting the hunting of the coypú. the result was that the animals increased and multiplied exceedingly, and, abandoning their aquatic habits, they became terrestrial and migratory, and swarmed everywhere in search of food. suddenly a mysterious malady fell on them, from which they quickly perished, and became almost extinct. what a blessed thing it would be for poor rabbit-worried australia if a similar plague should visit that country, and fall on the right animal! on the other hand, what a calamity if the infection, wide-spread, incurable, and swift as the wind in its course, should attack the too-numerous sheep! and who knows what mysterious, unheard-of retributions that revengeful deity nature may not be meditating in her secret heart for the loss of her wild four-footed children slain by settlers, and the spoiling of her ancient beautiful order! a small pampa rodent worthy of notice is the cavia australis, called _cui_ in the vernacular from its voice: a timid, social, mouse-coloured little creature, with a low gurgling language, like running babbling waters; in habits resembling its domestic pied relation the guinea pig. it loves to run on clean ground, and on the pampas makes little rat-roads all about its hiding-place, which little roads tell a story to the fox, and such like; therefore the little cavy's habits, and the habits of all cavies, i fancy, are not so well suited to the humid grassy region as to other districts, with sterile ground to run and play upon, and thickets in which to hide. a more interesting animal is the ctenomys magellanica, a little less than the rat in size, with a shorter tail, pale grey fur, and red incisors. it is called _tuco-tuco_ from its voice, and _oculto_ from its habits; for it is a dweller underground, and requires a loose, sandy soil in which, like the mole, it may _swim_ beneath the surface. consequently the pampa, with its heavy, moist mould, is not the tuco's proper place; nevertheless, wherever there is a stretch of sandy soil, or a range of dunes, there it is found living; not seen, but heard; for all day long and all night sounds its voice, resonant and loud, like a succession of blows from a hammer; as if a company of gnomes were toiling far down underfoot, beating on their anvils, first with strong measured strokes, then with lighter and faster, and with a swing and rhythm as if the little men were beating in time to some rude chant unheard above the surface. how came these isolated colonies of a species so subterranean in habits, and requiring a sandy soil to move in, so far from their proper district--that sterile country from which they are separated by wide, unsuitable areas? they cannot perform long overland journeys like the rat. perhaps the dunes have travelled, carrying their little cattle with them. greatest among the carnivores are the two cat-monarchs of south america, the jaguar and puma. whatever may be their relative positions elsewhere, on the pampas the puma is mightiest, being much more abundant and better able to thrive than its spotted rival. versatile in its preying habits, its presence on the pampa is not surprising; but probably only an extreme abundance of large mammalian prey, which has not existed in recent times, could have, tempted an animal of the river and forest-loving habits of the jaguar to colonize this cold, treeless, and comparatively waterless desert. there are two other important cats. the grass-cat, not unlike felis catus in its robust form and dark colour, but a larger, more powerful animal, inexpressibly savage in disposition. the second, felis geoffroyi, is a larger and more beautiful animal, coloured like a leopard; it is called wood-cat, and, as the name would seem to indicate, is an intruder from wooded districts north of the pampas. there are two canines: one is azara's beautiful grey fox-like dog, purely a fox in habits, and common everywhere. the other is far more interesting and extremely rare; it is called _aguará,_ its nearest ally being the _aguará-guazú,_ the canis jubatus or maned wolf of naturalists, found north of the pampean district. the aguará is smaller and has no mane; it is like the dingo in size, but slimmer and with a sharper nose, and lias a much brighter red colour. at night when camping out i have heard its dismal screams, but the screamer was sought in vain; while from the gauchos of the frontier i could only learn that it is a harmless, shy, solitary animal, that ever flies to remoter wilds from its destroyer, man. they offered me a skin--what more could i want? simple souls! it was no more to me than the skin of a dead dog, with long, bright red hair. those who love dead animals may have them in any number by digging with a. spade in that vast sepulchre of the pampas, where perished the hosts of antiquity. i love the living that are above the earth; and how small a remnant they are in south america we know, and now yearly becoming more precious as it dwindles away. the pestiferous skunk is universal; and there are two quaint-looking weasels, intensely black in colour, and grey on the back and flat crown. one, the galictis barbara, is a large bold animal that hunts in companies; and when these long-bodied creatures sit up erect, glaring with beady eyes, grinning and chattering at the passer-by, they look like little friars in black robes and grey cowls; but the expression on their round faces is malignant and bloodthirsty beyond anything in nature, and it would perhaps be more decent to liken them to devils rather than to humans. on the pampas there is, strictly speaking, only one ruminant, the cervus campestris, which is common. the most curious thing about this animal is that the male emits a rank, musky odour, so powerful that when the wind blows from it the effluvium comes in nauseating gusts to the nostrils from a distance exceeding two miles. it is really astonishing that only one small ruminant should be found on this immense grassy area, so admirably suited to herbivorous quadrupeds, a portion of which at the present moment affords sufficient pasture to eighty millions of sheep, cattle, and horses. in la plata the author of _the mammoth and the flood_ will find few to quarrel with his doctrine. of edentates there are four. the giant armadillo does not range so far, and the delicate little pink fairy armadillo, the truncated chlamydophorus, is a dweller in the sand-dunes of mendoza, and has never colonized the grassy pampas. the tatusia hybrida, called "little mule" from the length of its ears, and the dasypus tricinctus, which, when disturbed, rolls itself into a ball, the wedge-shaped head and wedge-shaped tail admirably fitting into the deep-cut shell side by side; and the _quirquincho_ (dasypus minutus), all inhabit the pampa, are diurnal, and feed exclusively on insects, chiefly ants. wherever the country becomes settled, these three disappear, owing to the dulness of their senses, especially that of sight, and to the diurnal habit, which was an advantage to them, and enabled them to survive when rapacious animals, which are mostly nocturnal, were their only enemies. the fourth, and most important, is the hairy armadillo, with habits which are in strange contrast to those of its perishing congeners, and which seem to mock many hard-and-fast rules concerning animal life. it is omnivorous, and will thrive on anything from grass to flesh, found dead and in all stages of decay, or captured by means of its own strategy. furthermore, its habits change to suit its conditions: thus, where nocturnal carnivores are its enemies, it is diurnal; but where man appears as a chief persecutor, it becomes nocturnal. it is much hunted for its flesh, dogs being trained for the purpose; yet it actually becomes more abundant as population increases in any district; and, if versatility in habits or adaptiveness can be taken as a measure of intelligence, this poor armadillo, a survival of the past, so old on the earth as to have existed contemporaneously with the giant glyptodon, is the superior of the large-brained cats and canines. to finish with the mammalia, there are two interesting opossums, both of the genus didelphys, but in habits as wide apart as cat from otter. one of these marsupials appears so much at home on the plains that i almost regret having said that the vizcacha alone gives us the idea of being in its habits the _product_ of the pampas. this animal--didelphys crassicaudata--has a long slender, wedge-, shaped head and body, admirably adapted for pushing through the thick grass and rushes; for it is both terrestrial and aquatic, therefore well suited to inhabit low, level plains liable to be flooded. on dry land its habits are similar to those of a weasel; in lagoons, where it dives and swims with great ease, it constructs a globular nest suspended from the rushes. the fur is soft, of a rich yellow, reddish above, and on the sides and under surfaces varying in some parts to orange, in others exhibiting beautiful copper and terra-cotta tints. these lovely tints and the metallic lustre soon fade from the fur, otherwise this animal would be much sought after in the interests of those who love to decorate themselves with the spoils of beautiful dead animals--beast and bird. the other opossum is the black and white didelphys azarae; and it is indeed strange to find this animal on the pampas, although its presence there is not so mysterious as that of the tuco-tuco. it shuffles along slowly and awkwardly on the ground, but is a great traveller nevertheless. tschudi met it mountaineering on the andes at an enormous altitude, and, true to its lawless nature, it confronted me in patagonia, where the books say no marsupial dwells. in every way it is adapted to an arboreal life, yet it is everywhere found on the level country, far removed from the conditions which one would imagine to be necessary to its existence. for how many thousands of years has this marsupial been a dweller on the plain, all its best faculties unexercised, its beautiful grasping hands pressed to the ground, and its prehensile tail dragged like an idle rope behind it! yet, if one is brought to a tree, it will take to it as readily as a duck to water, or an armadillo to earth, climbing up the trunk and about the branches with a monkey-like agility. how reluctant nature seems in some cases to undo her own work! how long she will allow a specialized organ, with the correlated instinct, to rest without use, yet ready to flash forth on the instant, bright and keen-edged, as in the ancient days of strife, ages past, before peace came to dwell on earth! the avi-fauna is relatively much richer than the mammalia, owing to the large number of aquatic species, most of which are migratory with their "breeding" or "subsistence-areas" on the pampas. in more senses than one they constitute a "floating population," and their habits have in no way been modified by the conditions of the country. the order, including storks, ibises, herons, spoonbills, and flamingoes, counts about eighteen species; and the most noteworthy birds in it are two great ibises nearly as large as turkeys, with mighty resonant voices. the duck order is very rich, numbering at least twenty species, including two beautiful upland geese, winter visitors from magellanic lands, and two swans, the lovely black-necked, and the pure white with rosy bill. of rails, or ralline birds, there are ten or twelve, ranging from a small spotted creature no bigger than a thrush to some large majestic birds. one is the courlan, called "crazy widow" from its mourning plumage and long melancholy screams, which on still evenings may be heard a league away. another is the graceful variegated _ypicaha,_ fond of social gatherings, where the birds perform a dance and make the desolate marshes resound with their insane humanlike voices. a smaller kind, porphyriops melanops, has a night-cry like a burst of shrill hysterical laughter, which has won for it the name of "witch;" while another, rallus rythyrhynchus, is called "little donkey" from its braying cries. strange eerie voices have all these birds. of the remaining aquatic species, the most important is the spur-winged crested screamer; a noble bird as large as a swan, yet its favourite pastime is to soar upwards until it loses itself to sight in the blue ether, whenca it pours forth its resounding choral notes, which reach the distant earth clarified, and with a rhythmic swell and fall as of chiming bells. it also sings by night, "counting the hours," the gauchos say, and where they have congregated together in tens of thousands the mighty roar of their combined voices produces an astonishingly grand effect. the largest aquatic order is that of the limicolse--snipes, plover, and their allies--which has about twenty-five species. the vociferous spur-winged lapwing; the beautiful black and white stilt; a true snipe, and a painted snipe, are, strictly speaking, the only residents; and it is astonishing to find, that, of the five-and-twenty species, at least thirteen are visitors from north america, several of them having their breeding-places quite away in the arctic regions. this is one of those facts concerning the annual migration of birds which almost stagger belief; for among them are species with widely different habits, upland, marsh and sea-shore birds, and in their great biannual journey they pass through a variety of climates, visiting many countries where the conditions seem suited to their requirements. nevertheless, in september, and even as early as august, they begin to arrive on the pampas, the golden plover often still wearing his black nuptial dress; singly and in pairs, in small flocks, and in clouds they come--curlew, godwit, plover, tatler, tringa--piping the wild notes to which the greenlander listened in june, now to the gaucho herdsman on the green plains of la plata, then to the wild indian in his remote village; and soon, further south, to the houseless huanaco-hunter in the grey wilderness of patagonia. here is a puzzle for ornithologists. in summer on the pampas we have a godwit--limosa hudsonica; in march it goes north to breed; later in the season flocks of the same species arrive from the south to winter on the pampas. and besides this godwit, there are several other north american species, which have colonies in the southern hemi-spere, with a reversed migration and breeding season. why do these southern birds winter so far south? do they really breed in patagonia? if so, their migration is an extremely limited one compared with that of the northern birds--seven or eight hundred miles, on the outside, in one case, against almost as many thousands of miles in the other. considering that some species which migrate as far south as patagonia breed in the arctic regions as far north as latitude degrees, and probably higher still, it would be strange indeed if none of the birds which winter in patagonia and on the pampas were summer visitors to that great austral continent, which has an estimated area twice as large as that of europe, and a climate milder than the arctic one. the migrants would have about six hundred miles of sea to cross from tierra del fuego; but we know that the golden plover and other species, which sometimes touch at the bermudas when travelling, fly much further than that without resting. the fact that a common argentine titlark, a non-migrant and a weak flyer, has been met with at the south shetland islands, close to the antarctic continent, shows that the journey may be easily accomplished by birds with strong flight; and that even the winter climate of that unknown land is not too severe to allow an accidental colonist, like this small delicate bird, to survive. the godwit, already mentioned, has been observed in flocks at the falkland islands in may, that is, three months after the same species had taken its autumal departure from the neighbouring mainland. can it be believed that these late visitors to the falklands were breeders in patagonia, and had migrated east to winter in so bleak a region? it is far more probable that they came from the south. officers of sailing ships beating round cape horn might be able to settle this question definitely by looking out, and listening at night, for flights of birds, travelling north from about the first week in january to the end of february; and in september and october travelling south. probably not fewer than a dozen species of the plover order are breeders on the great austral continent; also other aquatic birds--ducks and geese; and many passerine birds, chiefly of the tyrant family. should the long projected australasian expedition to the south polar regions ever be carried to a successful issue, there will probably be important results for ornithology, in spite of the astounding theory which has found a recent advocate in canon tristram, that all life originated at the north pole, whence it spread over the globe, but never succeeded in crossing the deep sea surrounding the antarctic continent, which has consequently remained till now desolate, "a giant ash (and ice) of death." nor is it unlikely that animals of a higher class than birds exist there; and the discovery of new mammalians, differing in type from those we know, would certainly be glad tidings to most students of nature. land birds on the pampas are few in species and in numbers. this may be accounted for by the absence of trees and other elevations on which birds prefer to roost and nest; and by the scarcity of food. insects are few in dry situations; and the large perennial grasses, which occupy most of the ground, yield a miserable yearly harvest of a few minute seeds; so that this district is a poor one both for soft and hard billed birds. hawks of several genera, in moderate numbers, are there, but generally keep to the marshes. eagles and vultures are somewhat unworthily represented by carrion-hawks (polyborinae); the lordly carancho, almost eagle-like in size, black and crested, with a very large, pale blue, hooked beak--his battle axe: and his humble follower and jackal, the brown and harrier-like chimango. these nest on the ground, are versatile in their habits, carrion-eaters, also killers on their own account, and, like wild dogs, sometimes hunt in bands, which gives them an advantage. they are the unfailing attendants of all flesh-hunters, human or feline; and also furiously pursue and persecute all eagles and true vultures that venture on that great sea of grass, to wander thereafter, for ever lost and harried, "the hagars and ishmaels of their kind." the owls are few and all of wide-ranging species. the most common is the burrowing-owl, found in both americas. not a retiring owl this, but all day long, in cold and in heat, it stands exposed at the mouth of its kennel, or on the vizcacha's mound, staring at the passer-by with an expression of grave surprise and reprehension in its round yellow eyes; male and female invariably together, standing stiff and erect, almost touching--of all birds that pair for life the most darby and joan like. of the remaining land birds, numbering about forty species, a few that are most attractive on account of their beauty, engaging habits, or large size, may be mentioned here. on the southern portion of the pampas the military starling (sturnella) is found, and looks like the european starling, with the added beauty of a scarlet breast: among resident pampas birds the only one with a touch of brilliant colouring. it has a pleasing, careless song, uttered on the wing, and in winter congregates in great flocks, to travel slowly northwards over the plains. when thus travelling the birds observe a kind of order, and the flock feeding along the ground shows a very extended front--a representation in bird-life of the "thin red line"--and advances by the hindmost birds constantly flying over the others and alighting in the front ranks. among the tyrant-birds are several species of the beautiful wing-banded genus, snow-white in colour, with black on the wings and tail: these are extremely graceful birds, and strong flyers, and in desert places, where man seldom intrudes, they gather to follow the traveller, calling to each other with low whistling notes, and in the distance look like white flowers as they perch on the topmost stems of the tall bending grasses. the most characteristic pampean birds are the tinamous--called partridges in the vernacular--the rufous tinamou, large as a fowl, and the spotted tinamou, which is about the size of the english partridge. their habits are identical: both lay eggs of a beautiful wine-purple colour, and in both species the young acquire the adult plumage and power of flight when very small, and fly better than the adults. they have small heads, slender curved beaks, unfeathered legs and feet, and are tailless; the plumage is deep yellowish, marked with black and brown above. they live concealed, skulking like rails through the tall grass, fly reluctantly, and when driven up, their flight is exceedingly noisy and violent, the bird soon exhausting itself. they are solitary, but many live in proximity, frequently calling to each other with soft plaintive voices. the evening call-notes of the larger bird are flute-like in character, and singularly sweet and expressive. the last figure to be introduced into this sketch--which is not a catalogue--is that of the rhea. glyptodon, toxodon, mylodon, megatherium, have passed away, leaving no descendants, and only pigmy representatives if any; but among the feathered inhabitants of the pampa the grand archaic ostrich of america survives from a time when there were also giants among the avians. vain as such efforts usually are, one cannot help trying to imagine something of the past history of this majestic bird, before man came to lead the long chase now about to end so mournfully. its fleetness, great staying powers, and beautiful strategy when hunted, make it seem probable that it was not without pursuers, other than the felines, among its ancient enemies, long-winded and tenacious of their quarry; and these were perhaps of a type still represented by the wolf or hound-like aguará and aguara-guazú. it might be supposed that when almost all the larger forms, both mammal and bird, were overtaken by destruction, and when the existing rhea was on the verge of extinction, these long-legged swift canines changed their habits and lost their bold spirit, degenerating at last into hunters of small birds and mammals, on which they are said to live. the rhea possesses a unique habit, which is a puzzle to us, although it probably once had some significance--namely, that of running, when hunted, with one wing raised vertically, like a great sail--a veritable "ship of the wilderness." in every way it is adapted to the conditions of the pampas in a far greater degree than other pampean birds, only excepting the rufous and spotted tinamous. its commanding stature gives it a wide horizon; and its dim, pale, bluish-grey colour assimilates to that of the haze, and renders it invisible at even a moderate distance. its large form fades out of sight mysteriously, and the hunter strains his eyes in vain to distinguish it on the blue expanse. its figure and carriage have a quaint majestic grace, somewhat unavian in character, and peculiar to itself. there are few more strangely fascinating sights in nature than that of the old black-necked cock bird, standing with raised agitated wings among the tall plumed grasses, and calling together his scattered hens with hollow boomings and long mysterious suspira-tions, as if a wind blowing high up in the void sky had found a voice. rhea-hunting with the bolas, on a horse possessing both speed and endurance, and trained to follow the bird in all his quick doublings, is unquestionably one of the most fascinating forms of sport ever invented, by man. the quarry has even more than that fair chance of escape, without which all sport degenerates into mere butchery, unworthy of rational beings; moreover, in this unique method of hunting the ostrich the capture depends on a preparedness for all the shifts and sudden changes of course practised by the bird when closely followed, which is like instinct or intuition; and, finally, in a dexterity in casting the bolas at the right moment, with a certain aim, which no amount of practice can give to those who are not to the manner born. this 'wild mirth of the desert,' which the gaucho has known for the last three centuries, is now passing away, for the rhea's fleetness can no longer avail him. he may scorn the horse and his rider, what time he lifts himself up, but the cowardly murderous methods of science, and a systematic war of extermination, have left him no chance. and with the rhea go the flamingo, antique and splendid; and the swans in their bridal plumage; and the rufous tinamou--sweet and mournful melodist of the eventide; and the noble crested screamer, that clarion-voiced watch-bird of the night in the wilderness. those, and the other large avians, together with the finest of the mammalians, will shortly be lost to the pampas utterly as the great bustard is to england, and as the wild turkey and bison and many other species will shortly be lost to north america. what a wail there would be in the world if a sudden destruction were to fall on the accumulated art-treasures of the national gallery, and the marbles in the british museum, and the contents of the king's library--the old prints and' mediaeval illuminations! and these are only the work of human hands and brains--impressions of individual genius on perishable material, immortal only in the sense that the silken cocoon of the dead moth is so, because they continue to exist and shine when the artist's hands and brain are dust:--and man has the long day of life before him in which to do again things like these, and better than these, if there is any truth in evolution. but the forms of life in the two higher vertebrate classes are nature's most perfect work; and the life of even a single species is of incalculably greater value to mankind, for what it teaches and would continue to teach, than all the chiselled marbles and painted canvases the world contains; though doubtless there are many persons who are devoted to art, but blind to some things greater than art, who will set me down as a philistine for saying so. and, above all others, we should protect and hold sacred those types, nature's masterpieces, which are first singled out for destruction on account of their size, or splendour, or rarity, and that false detestable glory which is accorded to their most successful slayers. in ancient times the spirit of life shone brightest in these; and when others that shared the earth with them were taken by death they were left, being more worthy of perpetuation. like immortal flowers they have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where man was not: and when they perish, something of gladness goes out from nature, and the sunshine loses something of its brightness. nor does their loss affect us and our times only. the species now being exterminated, not only in south america but everywhere on the globe, are, so far as we know, untouched by decadence. they are links in a chain, and branches on the tree of life, with their roots in a past inconceivably remote; and but for our action they would continue to flourish, reaching outward to an equally distant future, blossoming into higher and more beautiful forms, and gladdening innumerable generations of our descendants. but we think nothing of all this: we must give full scope to our passion for taking life, though by so doing we "ruin the great work of time;" not in the sense in which the poet used those words, but in one truer, and wider, and infinitely sadder. only when this sporting rage has spent itself, when there are no longer any animals of the larger kinds remaining, the loss we are now inflicting on this our heritage, in which we have a life-interest only, will be rightly appreciated. it is hardly to be supposed or hoped that posterity will feel satisfied with our monographs of extinct species, and the few crumbling bones and faded feathers, which may possibly survive half a dozen centuries in some happily-placed museum. on the contrary, such dreary mementoes will only serve to remind them of their loss; and if they remember us at all, it will only be to hate our memory, and our age--this enlightened, scientific, humanitarian age, which should have for a motto "let us slay all noble and beautiful things, for tomorrow we die." chapter ii. the puma, ob lion of america. the puma has been singularly unfortunate in its biographers. formerly it often happened that writers were led away by isolated and highly exaggerated incidents to attribute very shining qualities to their favourite animals; the lion of the old world thus came to be regarded as brave and i magnanimous above all beasts of the field--the bayard of the four-footed kind, a reputation which these prosaic and sceptical times have not suffered it to keep. precisely the contrary has happened with the puma of literature; for, although to those personally acquainted with the habits of this lesser lion of the new world it is known to possess a marvellous courage and daring, it is nevertheless always spoken of in books of natural history as the most pusillanimous of the larger carnivores. it does not attack man, and azara is perfectly correct when he affirms that it never hurts, or threatens to hurt, man or child, even when it finds them sleeping. this, however, is not a full statement of the facts; the puma will not even defend itself against man. how natural, then, to conclude that it is too timid to attack a human being, or to defend itself, but scarcely philosophical; for even the most cowardly carnivores we know--dogs and hyaenas, for instance--will readily attack a disabled or sleeping man when pressed by hunger; and when driven to desperation no animal is too small or too feeble to make a show of resistance. in such a case "even the armadillo defends itself," as the gaucho proverb says. besides, the conclusion is in contradiction to many other well-known facts. putting-aside the puma's passivity in the presence of man, it is a bold hunter that invariably prefers large to small game; in desert places killing peccary, tapir, ostrich, deer, huanaco, &c., all powerful, well-armed, or swift animals. huanaco skeletons seen in patagonia almost invariably have the neck dislocated, showing that the puma was the executioner. those only who have hunted the huanaco on the sterile plains and mountains it inhabits know how wary, keen-scented, and fleet of foot it is. i once spent several weeks with a surveying party in a district where pumas were very abundant, and saw not less than half a dozen deer every day, freshly killed in most cases, and all with dislocated necks. where prey is scarce and difficult to capture, the puma, after satisfying its hunger, invariably conceals the animal it has killed, covering it over carefully with grass and brushwood; these deer, however, had all been left exposed to the caracaras and foxes after a portion of the breast had been eaten, and in many cases the flesh had not been touched, the captor having satisfied itself with sucking the blood. it struck me very forcibly that the puma of the desert pampas is, among mammals, like the peregrine falcon of the same district among birds; for there this wide-ranging raptor only attacks comparatively large birds, and, after fastidiously picking a meal from the flesh of the head and neck, abandons the untouched body to the polybori and other hawks of the more ignoble sort. in pastoral districts the puma is very destructive to the larger domestic animals, and has an extraordinary fondness for horseflesh. this was first noticed by molina, whose _natural history of chili_ was written a century and a half ago. in patagonia i heard on all sides that it was extremely difficult to breed horses, as the colts were mostly killed by the pumas. a native told me that on one occasion, while driving his horses home through the thicket, a puma sprang out of the bushes on to a colt following behind the troop, killing it before his eyes and not more than six yards from his horse's head. in this instance, my informant said, the puma alighted directly on the colt's back, with one fore foot grasping its bosom, while with the other it seized the head, and, giving it a violent wrench, dislocated the neck. the colt fell to the earth as if shot, and he affirmed that it was dead before it touched the ground. naturalists have thought it strange that the horse, once common throughout america, should have become extinct over a continent apparently so well suited to it and where it now multiplies so greatly. as a fact wherever pumas abound the wild horse of the present time, introduced from europe, can hardly maintain its existence. formerly in many places horses ran wild and multiplied to an amazing extent, but this happened, i believe, only in districts where the puma was scarce or had already been driven out by man. my own experience is that on the desert pampas wild horses are exceedingly scarce, and from all accounts it is the same throughout patagonia. next to horseflesh, sheep is preferred, and where the puma can come at a flock, he will not trouble himself to attack horned cattle. in patagonia especially i found this to be the case. i resided for some time at an estancia close to the town of el carmen, on the rio negro, which during my stay was infested by a very bold and cunning puma. to protect the sheep from his attacks an enclosure was made of upright willow-poles fifteen feet long, while the gate, by which he would have to enter, was close to the house and nearly six feet high. in spite of the difficulties thus put in the way, and of the presence of several large dogs, also of the watch we kept in the hope of shooting him, every cloudy night he came, and after killing one or more sheep got safely away. one dark night he killed four sheep; i detected him in the act, and going up to the gate, was trying to make out his invisible form in the gloom as he flitted about knocking the sheep over, when suddenly he leaped clear over my head and made his escape, the bullets i sent after him in the dark failing to hit him. yet at this place twelve or fourteen calves, belonging to the milch cows, were every night shut into a small brushwood pen, at a distance from the house where the enemy could easily have destroyed every one of them. when i expressed surprise at this arrangement, the owner said that the puma was not fond of calves' flesh, and came only for the sheep. frequently after his nocturnal visits we found, by tracing his footprints in the loose sand, that he had actually used the calves' pen as a place of concealment while waiting to make his attack on the sheep. the puma often kills full-grown cows and horses, but exhibits a still greater daring when attacking the jaguar, the largest of american carnivores, although, compared with its swift, agile enemy, as heavy as a rhinoceros. azara states that it is generally believed in la plata and paraguay that the puma attacks and conquers the jaguar; but he did not credit what he heard, which was not strange, since he had already set the puma down as a cowardly animal, because it does not attempt to harm man or child. nevertheless, it is well known that where the two species inhabit the same district they are at enmity, the puma being the persistent persecutor of the jaguar, following and harassing it as a tyrant-bird harasses an eagle or hawk, moving about it with such rapidity as to confuse it, and, when an opportunity occurs, springing upon its back and inflicting terrible wounds with teeth and claws. jaguars with scarred backs are frequently killed, and others, not long escaped from their tormentors, have been found so greatly lacerated that they were easily overcome by the hunters. in kingsley's american _standard natural history_, it is stated that the puma in north california has a feud with the grizzly bear similar to that of the southern animal with the jaguar. in its encounter with the grizzly it is said to be always the victor; and this is borne out by the finding of the bodies of bears, which have evidently perished in the struggle. how strange that this most cunning, bold, and bloodthirsty of the felidae, the persecutor of the jaguar and the scourge of the ruminants in the regions it inhabits, able to kill its prey with the celerity of a rifle bullet, never attacks a human being! even the cowardly, carrion-feeding dog will attack a man when it can do so with impunity; but in places where the puma is the only large beast of prey, it is notorious that it is there perfectly safe for even a small child to go out and sleep on the plain. at the same time it will not fly from man (though the contrary is always stated in books of natural history) except in places where it is continually persecuted. nor is this all: it will not, as a rule, even defend itself against man, although in some rare instances it has been known to do so. the mysterious, gentle instinct of this ungentle species, which causes the gauchos of the pampas to name it man's friend--"amigo del cristiano"--has been persistently ignored by all travellers and naturalists who have mentioned the puma. they have thus made it a very incongruous creature, strong enough to kill a horse, yet so cowardly withal that it invariably flies from a human being--even from a sleeping child! possibly its real reputation was known to some of those who havo spoken about it; if so, they attributed what they heard to the love of the marvellous and the romantic, natural to the non-scientific mind; or else preferred not to import into their writings matter which has so great a likeness to fable, and might have the effect of imperilling their reputation for sober-mindedness. it is, however, possible that the singular instinct of tho southern puma, which is unique among animals in a state of nature, is not possessed by the entire species, ranging as it does over a hundred degrees of latitude, from british north america to tierra del fuego. the widely different conditions of life in the various regions it inhabits must necessarily have caused some divergence. concerning its habits in the dense forests of the amazonian region, where it must have developed special instincts suited to its semi-arboreal life, scarcely anything has been recorded. everyone is, however, familiar with the dreaded cougar, catamount, or panther--sometimes called "painter"--of north american literature, thrilling descriptions of encounters with this imaginary man-eating monster being freely scattered through the backwoods or border romances, many of them written by authors who have the reputation of being true to nature. it may be true that this cougar of a cold climate did occasionally attack man, or, as it is often stated, follow him in the forest with the intention of springing on him unawares; but on this point nothing definite will ever be known, as the pioneers hunters of the past were only anxious to shoot cougar and not to study its instinct and disposition. it is now many years since audubon and bachman wrote, "this animal, which has excited so much terror in the minds of the ignorant and timid, has been nearly exterminated in all the atlantic states, and we do not recollect a single well-authenticated instance where any hunter's life fell a sacrifice in a cougar hunt." it might be added, i believe, that no authentic instance has been recorded of the puma making an unprovoked attack on any human being. in south america also the traveller in the wilderness is sometimes followed by a puma; but he would certainly be very much surprised if told that it follows with the intention of springing on him unawares and devouring his flesh. i have spoken of the comparative ease with which the puma overcomes even large animals, comparing it in this respect with the peregrine falcon; but all predacious species are liable to frequent failures, sometimes to fatal mishaps, and even the cunning, swift-killing puma is no exception. its attacks are successfully resisted by the ass, which does not, like the horse, lose his presence of mind, but when assaulted thrusts his head well down between its fore-legs and kicks violently until the enemy is thrown or driven off. pigs, when in large herds, also safely defy the puma, massing themselves together for defence in their well-known manner, and presenting a serried line of tusks to the aggressor. during my stay in patagonia a puma met its fate in a manner so singular that the incident caused considerable sensation among the settlers on the rio negro at the time. a man named linares, the chief of the tame indians settled in the neighbourhood of el carmen, while riding near the river had his curiosity aroused by the appearance and behaviour of a young cow standing alone in the grass, her head, armed with long and exceedingly sharp horns, much raised, and watching his approach in a manner which betokened a state of dangerous excitement. she had recently dropped her calf, and he at once conjectured that it had been attacked, and perhaps killed, by some animal of prey. to satisfy himself on this point he began to search for it, and while thus engaged the cow repeatedly charged him with the greatest fury. presently he discovered the calf lying dead among the long grass; and by its side lay a full-grown puma, also dead, and with a large wound in its side, just behind the shoulder. the calf had been killed by the puma, for its throat showed the wounds of large teeth, and the puma had been killed by the cow. when he saw it he could, he affirmed, scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses, for was an unheard-of thing that a puma should be injured by any other animal. his opinion was that it had come down from the hills in a starving condition, and having sprung upon the calf, the taste of blood had made it for a moment careless of its own safety, and during that moment the infuriated cow had charged, and driving one of her long sharp horns into some vital part, killed it instantly. the puma is, with the exception of some monkeys, the most playful animal in existence. the young of all the felidae spend a large portion of their time in characteristic gambols; the adults, however, acquire a grave and dignified demeanour, only the female playing on occasions with her offspring; but this she always does with a certain formality of manner, as if the relaxation were indulged in not spontaneously, but for the sake of the young and as being a necessary part of their education. some writer has described the lion's assumption of gaiety as more grim than its most serious moods. the puma at heart is always a kitten, taking unmeasured delight in its frolics, and when, as often happens, one lives alone in the desert, it will amuse itself by the hour fighting mock battles or playing at hide-and-seek with imaginary companions, and lying in wait and putting all its wonderful strategy in practice to capture a passing butterfly. azara kept a young male for four months, which spent its whole time playing with the slaves. this animal, he says, would not refuse any food offered to it; but when not hungry it would bury the meat in the sand, and when inclined to eat dig it up, and, taking it to the water-trough, wash it clean. i have only known one puma kept as a pet, and this animal, in seven or eight years had never shown a trace of ill-temper. when approached, he would lie down, purring loudly, and twist himself about a person's legs, begging to be caressed. a string or handkerchief drawn about was sufficient to keep him in a happy state of excitement for an hour; and when one person was tired of playing with him he was ready for a game with the next comer. i was told by a person who had spent most of his life on the pampas that on one occasion, when travelling in the neighbourhood of cape corrientes, his horse died under him, and he was compelled to continue his journey on foot, burdened with his heavy native horse-gear. at night he made his bed under the shelter of a rock, on the slope of a stony sierra; a bright moon was shining, and about nine o'clock in the evening four pumas appeared, two adults with their two half-grown young. not feeling the least alarm at their presence, he did not stir; and after a while they began to gambol together close to him, concealing themselves from each other among the rocks, just as kittens do, and frequently while pursuing one another leaping over him. he continued watching them until past midnight, then fell asleep, and did not wake until morning, when they had left him. this man was an englishman by birth, but having gone very young to south america he had taken kindly to the semi-barbarous life of the gauchos, and had imbibed all their peculiar notions, one of which is that human life is not worth very much. "what does it matter?" they often say, and shrug their shoulders, when told of a comrade's death; "so many beautiful horses die!" i asked him if he had ever killed a puma, and he replied that he had killed only one and had sworn never to kill another. he said that while out one day with another gaucho looking for cattle a puma was found. it sat up with its back against a stone, and did not move even when his companion threw the noose of his lasso over its neck. my informant then dismounted, and, drawing his knife, advanced to kill it: still the puma made no attempt to free itself from the lasso, but it seemed to know, he said, what was coming, for it began to tremble, the tears ran from its eyes, and it whined in the most pitiful manner. he killed it as it sat there unresisting before him, but after accomplishing the deed felt that he had committed a murder. it was the only thing ho had ever done in his life, he added, which filled him with remorse when he remembered it. this i thought a rather startling declaration, as i knew that he had killed several individuals of his own species in duels, fought with knives, in the fashion of the gauchos. all who have killed or witnessed the killing of the puma--and i have questioned scores of hunters on this point--agree that it resigns itself in this unresisting, pathetic manner to death at the hands of man. claudio gay, in his _natural history of chili,_ says, "when attacked by man its energy and daring at once forsake it, and it becomes a weak, inoffensive animal, and trembling, and uttering piteous moans, and shedding abundant tears, it seems to implore compassion from a generous enemy." the enemy is not often generous; but many gauchos have assured me, when speaking on this subject, that although they kill the puma readily to protect their domestic animals, they consider it an evil thing to take its life in desert places, where it is man's only friend among the wild animals. when the hunter is accompanied by dogs, then the puma, instead of drooping and shedding tears, is roused to a sublime rage: its hair stands erect; its eyes shine like balls of green flame; it spits and snarls like a furious torn cat. the hunter's presence seems at such times to be ignored altogether, its whole attention being given to the dogs and its rage directed against them. in patagonia a sheep-farming scotchman, with whom i spent some days, showed me the skulls of five pumas which he had shot in the vicinity of his ranche. one was of an exceptionally large individual, and i here relate what he told me of his encounter with this animal, as it shows just how the puma almost invariably behaves when attacked by man and dogs. he was out on foot with his flock, when the dogs discovered the animal concealed among the bushes. he had left his gun at home, and having no weapon, and finding that the dogs dared not attack it where it sat in a defiant attitude with its back against a thorny bush, he looked about and found a large dry stick, and going boldly up to it tried to stun it with a violent blow on the head. but though it never looked at him, its fiery eyes gazing steadily at the dogs all the time, he could not hit it, for with a quick side movement it avoided every blow. the small heed the puma paid him, and the apparent ease with which it avoided his best-aimed blows, only served to rouse his spirit, and at length striking with increased force his stick came to the ground and was broken to pieces. for some moments he now stood within two yards of the animal perfectly defenceless and not knowing what to do. suddenly it sprang past him, actually brushing against his arm with its side, and began pursuing the dogs round and round among the bushes. in the end my informant's partner appeared on the scene with his rifle, and the puma was shot. in encounters of this kind the most curious thing is that the puma steadfastly refuses to recognize an enemy in man, although it finds him acting in concert with its hated canine foe, about whose hostile intentions it has no such delusion. several years ago a paragraph, which reached me in south america, appeared in the english papers relating an incident characteristic of the puma in a wild beast show in this country. the animal was taken out of its cage and led about the grounds by its keeper, followed by a large number of spectators. suddenly it was struck motionless by some object in the crowd, at which it gazed steadily with a look of intense excitement; then springing violently away it dragged the chain from the keeper's hand and dashed in among the people, who immediately fled screaming in all directions. their fears were, however, idle, the object of the puma's rage being a dog which it had spied among the crowd. it is said that when taken adult pumas invariably pine away and die; when brought up in captivity they invariably make playful, affectionate pets, and are gentle towards all human beings, but very seldom overcome their instinctive animosity towards the dog. one of the very few authentic instances i have met with of this animal defending itself against a human being was related to me at a place on the pampas called saladillo. at the time of my visit there jaguars and pumas were very abundant and extremely destructive to the cattle and horses. sheep it had not yet been considered worth while to introduce, but immense herds of pigs were kept at every estancia, these animals being able to protect themselves. one gaucho had so repeatedly distinguished himself by his boldness and dexterity in killing jaguars that he was by general consent made the leader of every tiger-hunt. one day the comandante of the district got twelve or fourteen men together, the tiger-slayer among them, and started in search of a jaguar which had been seen that morning in the neighbourhood of his estancia. the animal was eventually found and surrounded, and as it was crouching among some clumps of tall pampas grass, where throwing a lasso over its neck would be a somewhat difficult and dangerous operation, all gave way to the famous hunter, who at once uncoiled his lasso and proceeded in a leisurely manner to form the loop. while thus engaged he made the mistake of allowing his horse, which had grown restive, to turn aside from the hunted animal. the jaguar, instantly taking advantage of the oversight, burst from its cover and sprang first on to the haunches of the horse, then seizing the hunter by his poncho dragged him to the earth, and would no doubt have quickly despatched him if a lasso, thrown by one of the other men, had not closed round its neck at this critical moment. it was quickly dragged off, and eventually killed. but the discomfited hunter did not stay to assist at the finish. he arose from the ground unharmed, but in a violent passion and blaspheming horribly, for he knew that his reputation, which he priced above everything, had suffered a great blow, and that he would be mercilessly ridiculed by his associates. getting on his horse he rode away by himself from the scene of his misadventure. of what happened to him on his homeward ride there were no witnesses; but his own account was as follows, and inasmuch as it told against his own prowess it was readily believed: before riding a league, and while his bosom was still burning with rage, a puma started up from the long grass in his path, but made no attempt to run away; it merely sat up, he said, and looked at him in a provokingly fearless manner. to slay this animal with his knife, and so revenge himself on it for the defeat he had just suffered, was his first thought. he alighted and secured his horse by tying its fore feet together, then, drawing his long, heavy knife, rushed at the puma. still it did not stir. raising his weapon he struck with a force which would have split the animal's skull open if the blow had fallen where it was intended to fall, but with a quick movement the puma avoided it, and at the same time lifted a foot and with lightning rapidity dealt the aggressor a blow on the face, its unsheathed claws literally dragging down the flesh from his cheek, laying the bone bare. after inflicting this terrible punishment and eyeing its fallen foe for a few seconds it trotted quietly away. the wounded man succeeded in getting on to his horse and reaching his home. the hanging flesh was restored to its place and the ghastly rents sewn up, and in the end he recovered: but he was disfigured for life; his temper also completely changed; he became morose and morbidly sensitive to the ridicule of his neighbours, and he never again ventured to join them in their hunting expeditions. i inquired of the comandante, and of others, whether any case had come to their knowledge in that district in which the puma had shown anything beyond a mere passive friendliness towards man; in reply they related the following incident, which had occurred at the saladillo a few years before my visit: the men all went out one day beyond the frontier to form a _cerco,_ as it is called, to hunt ostriches and other game. the hunters, numbering about thirty, spread themselves round in a vast ring and, advancing towards the centre, drove the animals before them. during the excitement of the chase which followed, while they were all engaged in preventing the ostriches, deer, &c., from doubling back and escaping, it was not noticed that one of the hunters had disappeared; his horse, however, returned to its home during the evening, and on the next morning a fresh hunt for the lost man was organized. he was eventually found lying on the ground with a broken leg, where he had been thrown at the beginning of the hunt. he related that about an hour after it had become dark a puma appeared and sat near him, but did not seem to notice him. after a while it became restless, frequently going away and returning, and finally it kept away so long, that he thought it had left him for good. about midnight he heard the deep roar of a jaguar, and gave himself up for lost. by raising himself on his elbow he was able to see the outline of the beast crouching near him, but its face was turned from him, and it appeared to be intently watching some object on which it was about to spring. presently it crept out of sight, then he heard snarlings and growlings and the sharp yell of a puma, and he knew that the two beasts were fighting. before morning he saw the jaguar several times, but the puma renewed the contest with it again and again until morning appeared, after which he saw and heard no more of them. extraordinary as this story sounds, it did not seem so to me when i heard it, for i had already met with many anecdotes of a similar nature in various parts of the country, some of them vastly more interesting than the one i have just narrated; only i did not get them at first hand, and am consequently not able to vouch for their accuracy; but in this case it seemed to me that there was really no room for doubt. all that i had previously heard had compelled me to believe that the puma really does possess a unique instinct of friendliness for man, the origin of which, like that of many other well-known instincts of animals, must remain a mystery. the fact that the puma never makes an unprovoked attack on a human being, or eats human flesh, and that it refuses, except in some very rare cases, even to defend itself, does not seem really less wonderful in an animal of its bold and sanguinary temper thau that it should follow the traveller in the wilderness, or come near him when he lies sleeping or disabled, and even occasionally defend him from its enemy the jaguar. we know that certain sounds, colours, or smells, which are not particularly noticed by most animals, produce an extraordinary effect on some species; and it is possible to believe, i think, that the human form or countenance, or the odour of the human body, may also have the effect on the puma of suspending its predatory instincts and inspiring it with a gentleness towards man, which we are only accustomed to see in our domesticated carnivores or in feral animals towards those of their own species. wolves, when pressed with hunger, will sometimes devour a fellow wolf; as a rule, however, rapacious animals will starve to death rather than prey on one of their own kind, nor is it a common thing for them to attack other species possessing instincts similar to their own. the puma, we have seen, violently attacks other large carnivores, not to feed on them, but merely to satisfy its animosity; and, while respecting man, it is, within the tropics, a great hunter and eater of monkeys, which of all animals most resemble men. we can only conclude with humboldt that there is something mysterious in the hatreds and affections of animals. the view here taken of the puma's character imparts, i think, a fresh interest to some things concerning the species, which have appeared in historical and other works, and which i propose to discuss briefly in this place. there is a remarkable passage in byron's _narrative of the loss of the wager,_ which was quoted by admiral fitzroy in his _voyage of the beagle,_ to prove that tho puma inhabits tierra del fuego and the adjacent islands; no other large beast of prey being known in that part of america. "i heard," he says, "a growling close by me, which made me think it advisable to retire as soon as possible: the woods were, so gloomy i could see nothing; but, as i retired, this noise followed me close till i got out of them. some of our men did assure me that they had seen a very large beast in the woods. . . i proposed to four of the people to go to the end of the bay, about two miles distant from the bell tent, to occupy the skeleton of an old indian wigwam, which i had discovered in a walk that way on our first landing. this we covered to windward with seaweed; and, lighting a fire, laid ourselves down in hopes of finding a remedy for our hunger in sleep; but we had not long composed ourselves before one of our company was disturbed by the blowing of some animal at his face; and, upon opening his eyes, was not a little astonished to see by the glimmering of the fire, a large beast standing over him. he had presence of mind enough to snatch a brand from the fire, which was now very low, and thrust it at the nose of tho animal, which thereupon made off. . . . in the morning we were not a little anxious to know how our companions had fared; and this anxiety was increased upon our tracing the footsteps of the beast in the sand, in a direction towards the bell tent. the impression was deep and plain, of a large round foot well furnished with claws. upon acquainting the people in the tent with the circumstances of our story, we found that they had been visited by the same unwelcome guest." mr. andrew murray, in his work on the geographical distribution of mammals, gives the straits of magellan as the extreme southern limit of the puma's range, and in discussing the above passage from byron he writes: "this reference, however, gives no support to the notion of the animal alluded to having been a puma. . . . the description of the footprints clearly shows that the animal could not have been a puma. none of the cat tribe leave any trace of a claw in their footprints. . . the dogs, on the other hand, leave a very well-defined claw-mark. . . . commodore byron and his party had therefore suffered a false alarm. the creature which had disturbed them was, doubtless, one of the harmless domestic dogs of the natives." the assurance that the bold hardy adventurer and his men suffered a false alarm, and were thrown into a great state of excitement at the appearance of one of the wretched domestic dogs of the fuegians, with which they were familiar, comes charmingly, it must be said, from a closet naturalist, who surveys the world of savage beasts from his london study. he apparently forgets that commodore byron lived in a time when the painful accuracy and excessive minuteness we are accustomed to was not expected from a writer, whenever he happened to touch on any matters connected with zoology. this kind of criticism, which seizes on a slight inaccuracy in one passage, and totally ignores an important statement in another--as, for instance, that of the "great beast" seen in the woods--might be extended to other portions of the book, and byron's entire narrative made to appear as purely a work of the imagination as peter wilkin's adventures in those same antarctic seas. mr. j. w. boddam whetham, in his work _across central america_ ( ), gives an anecdote of the puma, which he heard at sacluk, in guatemala, and which strangely resembles some of the stories i have heard on the pampas. he writes: "the following event, most extraordinary if true, is said to have occurred in this forest to a mahogany-cutter, who had been out marking trees. as he was returning to his hut, he suddenly felt a soft body pressing against him, and on looking down saw a cougar, which, with tail erect, and purring like a cat, twisted itself in and out of his legs, and glided round him, turning up its fierce eyes as if with laughter. horror-stricken and with faltering steps he kept on, and the terrible animal still circled about, now rolling over, and now touching him with a paw like a cat playing with a mouse. at last the suspense became too great, and with a loud shout he struck desperately at the creature with his axe. it bounded on one side and crouched snarling and showing its teeth. just as it was about to spring, the man's companion, who had heard his call, appeared in the distance, and with a growl the beast vanished into the thick bushes." now, after allowing for exaggeration, if there is no foundation for stories of this character, it is really a very wonderful coincidence that they should be met with in countries so widely separated as patagonia and central america. pumas, doubtless, are scarce in guatemala; and, as in other places where they have met with nothing but persecution from man, they are shy of him; but had this adventure occurred on the pampas, where they are better known, the person concerned in it would not have said that the puma played with him as a cat with a mouse, but rather as a tame cat plays with a child; nor, probably, would he have been terrified into imagining that the animal, even after its caresses had met with so rough a return, was about to spring on him. in clavigero's _history of lower california,_ it is related that a very extraordinary state of things was discovered to exist in that country by the first missionaries who settled there at the end of the seventeenth century, and which was actually owing to the pumas. the author says that there were no bears or tigers (jaguars); these had most probably been driven out by their old enemies; but the pumas had increased to a prodigious extent, so that the whole peninsula was overrun by them; and this was owing to the superstitious regard in which they were held by the natives, who not only did not kill them, but never ventured to disturb them in any way. the indians were actually to some extent dependent on the puma's success in hunting for their subsistence; they watched the movements of the vultures in order to discover the spot in which the remains of any animal it had captured had been left by the puma, and whenever the birds were seen circling about persistently over one place, they hastened to take possession of the carcass, discovered in this way. the domestic animals, imported by the missionaries, were quickly destroyed by the virtual masters of the country, and against these enemies the jesuits preached a crusade in vain: for although the indians readily embraced christianity and were baptized, they were not to be shaken in their notions concerning the sacred _chimbicá,_ as the puma was called. the missions languished in consequence; the priests existed in a state of semi-starvation, depending on provisions sent to them at long intervals from the distant mexican settlements; and for many years all their efforts to raise the savages from their miserable condition were thrown away. at length, in , the mission of loreto was taken charge of by one padre ugarte, described by clavigero as a person of indomitable energy, and great physical strength and courage, a true muscular christian, who occasionally varied his method of instruction by administering corporal chastisements to his hearers when they laughed at his doctrines, or at the mistakes he made in their language, while preaching to them. ugarte, like his predecessors, could not move the indians to hunt the puma, but he was a man of action, with a wholesome belief in the efficacy of example, and his opportunity came at last. one day, while riding in the wood, he saw at a distance a puma walking deliberately towards him. alighting from his mule, he took up a large stone and advanced to meet the animal, and when sufficiently near hurled the missile with such precision and force that he knocked ifc down senseless. after killing it, he found that the heaviest part of his task remained, as it was necessary for the success of his project to carry the beast, still warm and bleeding, to the indian village; but mow his mule steadfastly refused to approach it. father ugarte was not, however, to be defeated, and partly by stratagem, partly by force, he finally succeeded in getting the puma on to the mule's back, after which he rode in triumph to the settlement. the indians at first thought it all a trick of their priest, who was so anxious to involve them in a conflict with the pumas, and standing at a distance they began jeering at him, and exclaiming that he had found the animal dead! but when they were induced to approach, and saw that it was still warm and bleeding, they were astonished beyond measure, and began to watch the priest narrowly, thinking that he would presently drop down and die in sight of them all. it was their belief that death would quickly overtake the slayer of a puma. as this did not happen, the priest gained a great influence over them, and in the end they were persuaded to turn their weapons against the chimbicá. clavigero has nothing to say concerning the origin of this californian superstition; but with some knowledge of the puma's character, it is not difficult to imagine what it may have been. no doubt these savages had been very well acquainted from ancient times with the animal's instinct of friendliness toward man, and its extreme hatred of other carnivores, which prey on the human species; and finding it ranged on their side, as it were, in the hard struggle of life in the desert, they were induced to spare it, and even to regard it as a friend; and such a feeling, among primitive men, might in the course of time degenerate into such a superstition as that of the californians. i shall, in conclusion, relate here the story of maldonada, which is not generally known, although familiar to buenos ayreans as the story of lady godiva's ride through coventry is to the people of that town. the case of maldonada is circumstantially narrated by rui diaz de guzman, in his history of the colonization of the plata: he was a person high in authority in the young colonies, and is regarded by students of south american history as an accurate and sober-minded chronicler of the events of his own times. he relates that in the year the settlers at buenos ayres, having exhausted their provisions, and being compelled by hostile indians to keep within their pallisades, were reduced to the verge of starvation. the governor mendoza went off to seek help from the other colonies up the river, deputing his authority to one captain ruiz, who, according to all accounts, displayed an excessively tyrannous and truculent disposition while in power. the people were finally reduced to a ration of sis ounces of flour per day for each person; but as the flour was putrid and only made them ill, they were forced to live on any small animals they could capture, including snakes, frogs and toads. some horrible details are given by rui diaz, and other writers; one, del barco centenera, affirms that of two thousand persons in the town eighteen hundred perished of hunger. during this unhappy time, beasts of prey in large numbers were attracted to the settlement by the effluvium of the corpses, buried just outside the pallisades; and this made the condition of the survivors more miserable still, since they could venture into the neighbouring woods only at the risk of a violent death. nevertheless, many did so venture, and among these was the young woman maldonada, who, losing herself in the forest, strayed to a distance, and was eventually found by a party of indians, and carried by them to their village. some months later, captain ruiz discovered her whereabouts, and persuaded the savages to bring her to the settlement; then, accusing her of having gone to the indian village in order to betray the colony, he condemned her to be devoured by wild beasts. she was taken to a wood at a distance of a league from the town, and left there, tied to a tree, for the space of two nights and a day. a party of soldiers then went to the spot, expecting to find her bones picked clean by the beasts, but were greatly astonished to find maldonada still alive, without hurt or scratch. she told them that a puma had come to her aid, and had kept at her side, defending her life against all the other beasts that approached her. she was instantly released, and taken back to the town, her deliverance through the action of the puma probably being looked on as direct interposition of providence to save her. rui diaz concludes with the following paragraph, in which he affirms that he knew the woman maldonada, which may be taken as proof that she was among the few that survived the first disastrous settlement and lived on to more fortunate times: his pious pun on her name would be lost in a translation:--"de esta manera quedo libre la que ofrecieron a las fieras: la cual mujer yo la conoci, y la llamaban la maldonada, que mas bien se le podia llamar la biendonada; pues por este suceso se ha de ver no haber merecido el castigo á que la ofrecieron." if such a thing were to happen now, in any portion of southern south america, where the puma's disposition is best known, it would not be looked on as a miracle, as it was, and that unavoidably, in the case of maldonada. chapter iii. a wave of life, for many years, while living in my own home on the pampas, i kept a journal, in which all my daily observations on the habits of animals and kindred matters were carefully noted. turning back to - , i find my jottings for that season contain a history of one of those waves of life--for i can think of no better name for the phenomenon in question--that are of such frequent occurrence in thinly-settled regions, though in countries like england, seen very rarely, and on a very limited scale. an exceptionally bounteous season, the accidental mitigation of a check, or other favourable circumstance, often causes an increase so sudden and inordinate of small prolific species, that when we actually witness it we are no longer surprised at the notion prevalent amongst the common people that mice, frogs, crickets, &c., are occasionally rained down from the clouds. in the summer of - we had plenty of sunshine, with frequent showers; so that the hot months brought no dearth of wild flowers, as in most years. the abundance of flowers resulted in a wonderful increase of humble bees. i have never known them so plentiful before; in and about the plantation adjoining my house i found, during the season, no fewer than seventeen nests. the season was also favourable for mice; that is, of course, favourable for the time being, unfavourable in the long run, since the short-lived, undue preponderance of a species is invariably followed by a long period of undue depression. these prolific little creatures were soon so abundant that the dogs subsisted almost exclusively on them; the fowls also, from incessantly pursuing and killing them, became quite rapacious in their manner; whilst the sulphur tyrant-birds (pitangus) and the guira cuckoos preyed on nothing but mice. the domestic cats, as they invariably do in such plentiful seasons, absented themselves from the house, assuming all the habits of their wild congeners, and slinking from the sight of man--even of a former fireside companion--with a shy secrecy in their motions, an apparent affectation of fear, almost ludicrous to see. foxes, weasels, and opossums fared sumptuously. even for the common armadillo (dasypus villosus) it was a season of affluence, for this creature is very adroit in capturing mice. this fact might seem surprising to anyone who marks the uncouth figure, toothless gums, and the motions--anything but light and graceful--of the armadillo and perhaps fancying that, to be a dexterous mouser, an animal should bear some resemblance in habits and structure to the felidas. but animals, like men, are compelled to adapt themselves to their surroundings; new habits are acquired, and the exact co-relation between habit and structure is seldom maintained. i kept an armadillo at this time, and good cheer and the sedentary life he led in captivity made him excessively fat; but the mousing exploits of even this individual were most interesting. occasionally i took him into the fields to give him a taste of liberty, though at such times i always took the precaution to keep hold of a cord fastened to one of his hind legs; for as often as he came to a kennel of one of his wild fellows, he would attempt to escape into it. he invariably travelled with an ungainly trotting gait, carrying his nose, beagle-like, close to the ground. his sense of smell was exceedingly acute, and when near his prey he became agitated, and quickened his motions, pausing frequently to sniff the earth, till, discovering the exact spot where the mouse lurked, he would stop and creep cautiously to it; then, after slowly raising himself to a sitting posture, spring suddenly forwards, throwing his body like a trap over the mouse, or nest of mice, concealed beneath the grass. a curious instance of intelligence in a cat was brought to my notice at this time by one of my neighbours, a native. his children had made the discovery that some excitement and fun was to be had by placing a long hollow stalk of the giant thistle with a mouse in it--and every hollow stalk at this time had one for a tenant--before a cat, and then watching her movements. smelling her prey, she would spring at one end of the stalk--the end towards which the mouse would be moving at the same time, but would catch nothing, for the mouse, instead of running out, would turn back to run to the other end; whereupon the cat, all excitement, would jump there to seize it; and so the contest would continue for a long time, an exhibition of the cleverness and the stupidity of instinct, both of the pursuer and the pursued. there were several cats at the house, and all acted in the same way except one. when a stalk was placed before this cat, instead of becoming excited like the others, it went quickly to one end and smelt' at the opening, then, satisfied that its prey was inside, it deliberately bit a long piece out of the stalk with its teeth, then another strip, and so on progressively, until the entire stick had been opened up to within six or eight inches of the further end, when the mouse came out and was caught. every stalk placed before this cat was demolished in the same businesslike way; but the other cats, though they were made to look on while the stick was being broken up by their fellow, could never learn the trick. in the autumn of the year countless numbers of storks (ciconia maguari) and of short-eared owls (otus brachyotus) made their appearance. they had also come to assist at the general feast. remembering the opinion of mr. e. newman, quoted by darwin, that two-thirds of the humble bees in england are annually destroyed by mice, i determined to continue observing these insects, in order to ascertain whether the same thing occurred on the pampas. i carefully revisited all the nests i had found, and was amazed at the rapid disappearance of all the bees. i was quite convinced that the mice had devoured or driven them out, for the weather was still warm, and flowers and fruit on which humble bees feed were very abundant. after cold weather set in the storks went away, probably on account of the scarcity of water, for the owls remained. so numerous were they during the winter, that any evening after sunset i could count forty or fifty individuals hovering over the trees about my house. unfortunately they did not confine their attentions to the mice, but became destructive to the birds as well. i frequently watched them at dusk, beating about the trees and bushes in a systematic manner, often a dozen or more of them wheeling together about one tree, like so many moths about a candle, and one occasionally dashing through the branches until a pigeon--usually the zenaida maculata--or other bird was scared from its perch. the instant the bird left the tree they would all give chase, disappearing in the darkness. i could not endure to see the havoc they were making amongst the ovenbirds (furnarius rufus--a species for which i have a regard and affection almost superstitious), so i began to shoot the marauders. very soon, however, i found it was impossible to protect my little favourites. night after night the owls mustered in their usual numbers, so rapidly were the gaps i made in their ranks refilled. i grew sick of the cruel war in which i had so hopelessly joined, and resolved, not without pain, to let things take their course. a singular circumstance was that the owls began to breed in the middle of winter. the field-labourers and boys found many nests with eggs and young birds in the neighbourhood. i saw one nest in july, our coldest month, with three half-grown young birds in it. they were excessively fat, and, though it was noon-day, had their crops full. there were three mice and two young cavies (cavia australis) lying untouched in the nest. the short-eared owl is of a wandering disposition, ard performs long journeys at all seasons of the year in search of districts where food is abundant; and perhaps these winter-breeders came from a region where scarcity of prey, or some such cause, had prevented them from nesting at their usual time in summer. the gradual increase or decrease continually going on in many species about us is little remarked; but the sudden infrequent appearance in vast numbers of large and comparatively rare species is regarded by most people as a very wonderful phenomenon, not easily explained. on the pampas, whenever grasshoppers, mice, frogs or crickets become excessively abundant we confidently look for the appearance of multitudes of the birds that prey on them. however obvious may be the cause of the first phenomenon--the sudden inordinate increase during a favourable year of a species always prolific--the attendant one always creates astonishment: for how, it is asked, do these largo birds, seldom seen at other times, receive information in the distant regions they inhabit of an abundance of food in any particular locality? years have perhaps passed during which, scarcely an individual of these kinds has been seen: all at once armies of the majestic white storks are seen conspicuously marching about the plain in all directions; while the night air resounds with the solemn hootings of innumerable owls. it is plain that these birds have been drawn from over an immense area to one spot; and the question is how have they been drawn? many large birds possessing great powers of flight are, when not occupied with the business of propagation, incessantly wandering from place to place in search of food. they are not, as a rule, regular migrants, for their wanderings begin and end irrespective of seasons, and where they find abundance they remain the whole year. they fly at a very great height, and traverse immense distances. when the favourite food of any one of these species is plentiful in any particular region all the individuals that discover it remain, and attract to them all of their kind passing overhead. this happens on the pampas with the stork, the short-eared owl, the hooded gull and the dominican or black-backed gull--the leading species among the feathered nomads: a few first appear like harbingers; these are presently joined by new comers in considerable numbers, and before long they are in myriads. inconceivable numbers of birds are, doubtless, in these regions, continually passing over us unseen. it was once a subject of very great wonder to me that flocks of black-necked swans should almost always appear flying by immediately after a shower of rain, even when none had been visible for a long time before, and when they must have come from a very great distance. when the reason at length occurred to me, i felt very much disgusted with myself for being puzzled over so very simple a matter. after rain a flying swan may be visible to the eye at a vastly greater distance than during fair weather; the sun shining on its intense white plumage against the dark background of a rain-cloud making it exceedingly conspicuous. the fact that swans are almost always seen after rain shows only that they are almost always passing. whenever we are visited by a dust-storm on the pampas myriads of hooded gulls--larus macnlipen-nis--appear flying before the dark dust-cloud, even when not a gull has been seen for months. dust-storms are of rare occurrence, and come only after a long drought, and, the water-courses being all dry, the gulls cannot have been living in the region over which the storm passes. yet in seasons of drought gulls must be continually passing by at a great height, seeing but not seen, except when driven together and forced towards the earth by the fury of the storm. by august ( ) the owls had vanished, and they had, indeed, good cause for leaving. the winter had been one of continued drought; the dry grass and herbage of the preceding year had been consumed by the cattle and wild animals, or had turned to dust, and with the disappearance of their food and cover the mice had ceased to be. the famine-stricken cats sneaked back to the house. it was pitiful to see the little burrowing owls; for these birds, not having the powerful wings and prescient instincts of the vagrant otus brachyotus, are compelled to face the poverty from which the others escape. just as abundance had before made the domestic cats wild, scarcity now made the burrowing owls tame and fearless of man. they were so reduced as scarcely to be able to fly, and hung about the houses all day long on the look-out for some stray morsel of food. i have frequently seen one alight and advance within two or three yards of the door-step, probably attracted by the smell of roasted meat. the weather continued dry until late in spring, so reducing the sheep and cattle that incredible numbers perished during a month of cold and rainy weather that followed the drought. how clearly we can see in all this that the tendency to multiply rapidly, so advantageous in normal seasons, becomes almost fatal to a species in seasons of exceptional abundance. cover and food without limit enabled the mice to increase at such an amazing rate that the lesser checks interposed by predatory species were for a while inappreciable. but as the mice increased, so did their enemies. insectivorous and other species acquired the habits of owls and weasels, preying exclusively on them; while to this innumerable army of residents was shortly added multitudes of wandering birds coming from distant regions. no sooner had the herbage perished, depriving the little victims of cover and food, than the effects of the war became apparent. in autumn the earth so teemed with them that one could scarcely walk anywhere without treading on mice; while out of every hollow weed-stalk lying on the ground dozens could be shaken; but so rapidly had they devoured, by the trained army of persecutors, that in spring it was hard to find a survivor, even in the barns and houses. the fact that species tend to increase in a geometrical ratio makes these great and sudden changes frequent in many regions of the earth; but it is not often they present themselves so vividly as in the foregoing instance, for here, scene after scene in one of nature's silent passionless tragedies opens before us, countless myriads of highly organized beings rising into existence only to perish almost immediately, scarcely a hard-pressed remnant remaining after the great reaction to continue the species. chapter iv. some curious animal weapons. strictly speaking, the only weapons of vertebrates are teeth, claws, horns, and spurs. horns belong only to the ruminants, and the spur is a rare weapon. there are also many animals in which teeth and claws are not suited to inflict injury, or in which the proper instincts and courage to use and develop them are wanted; and these would seem, to be in a very defenceless condition. defenceless they are in one sense, but as a fact they are no worse off than the well-armed species, having either a protective colouring or a greater swiftness or cunning to assist them in escaping from their enemies. and there are also many of these practically toothless and clawless species which have yet been provided with other organs and means of offence and defence out of nature's curious armoury, and concerning a few of these species i propose to speak in this place. probably such distinctive weapons as horns, spurs, tusks and spines would be much more common in nature if the conditions of life always remained the same. but these things are long in fashioning; meanwhile, conditions are changing; climate, soil, vegetation vary; foes and rivals diminish or increase; the old go, and others with different weapons and a new strategy take their place; and just as a skilful man "fighting the wilderness" fashions a plough from a hunting-knife, turns his implements into weapons of war, and for everything he possesses discovers a use never contemplated by its maker, so does nature--only with an ingenuity exceeding that of man--use the means she has to meet all contingencies, and enable her creatures, seemingly so ill-provided, to maintain their fight for life. natural selection, like an angry man, can make a weapon of anything; and, using the word in this wide sense, the mucous secretions the huanaco discharges into the face of an adversary, and the pestilential drops "distilled" by the skunk, are weapons, and may be as effectual in defensive warfare as spines, fangs and tushes. i do not know of a more striking instance in the animal kingdom of adaptation of structure to habit than is afforded by the hairy armadillo--dasypus villosus. he appears to us, roughly speaking, to resemble an ant-eater saddled with a dish cover; yet this creature, with the cunning avhich nature has given it to supplement all deficiencies, has discovered in its bony encumbrance a highly efficient weapon of offence. most other edentates are diurnal and almost exclusively insectivorous, some feeding only on ants; they have unchangeable habits, very limited intelligence, and vanish before civilization. the hairy armadillo alone has struck out a line for itself. like its fast disappearing congeners, it is an insect-eater still, but does not like them seek its food on the surface and in the ant-hill only; all kinds of insects are preyed on, and by means of its keen scent it discovers worms and larvae several inches beneath the surface. its method of taking worms and grubs resembles that of probing birds, for it throws up no earth, but forces its sharp snout and wedge-shaped head down to the required depth; and probably while working it moves round in a circle, for the hole is conical, though the head of the animal is flat. where it has found a rich hunting-ground, the earth is seen pitted with hundreds of these neat symmetrical bores. it is also an enemy to ground-nesting birds, being fond of eggs and fledglings; and when unable to capture prey it will feed on carrion as readily as a wild dog or vulture, returning night after night to the carcase of a horse or cow as long as the flesh lasts. failing animal food, it subsists on vegetable diet; and i have frequently found their stomachs stuffed with clover, and, stranger still, with the large, hard grains of the maize, swallowed entire. it is not, therefore, strange that at all seasons, and even when other animals are starving, the hairy armadillo is always fat and vigorous. in the desert it is diurnal; but where man appears it becomes more and more nocturnal, and in populous districts does not go abroad until long after dark. yet when a district becomes thickly settled it increases in numbers; so readily does it adapt itself to new conditions. it is not to be wondered at that the gauchos, keen observers of nature as they are, should make this species the hero of many of their fables of the "uncle remus" type, representing it as a versatile creature, exceedingly fertile in expedients, and duping its sworn friend the fox in various ways, just as "brer rabbit" serves the fox in the north american fables. the hairy armadillo will, doubtless, long survive all the other armadillos, and on this account alone it will have an ever-increasing interest for the naturalist. i have elsewhere described how it captures mice; when preying on snakes it proceeds in another manner. a friend of mine, a careful observer, who was engaged in cattle-breeding amongst the stony sierras near cape corrientes, described to me an encounter he witnessed between an armadillo and a poisonous snake. while seated on the hillside one day he observed a snake, about twenty inches in length, lying coiled up on a stoue five or six yards beneath him. by-and-by, a hairy armadillo appeared trotting directly towards it. apparently the snake perceived and feared its approach, for it quickly uncoiled itself and began gliding away. instantly the armadillo rushed on to it, and, squatting close down, began swaying its body backward and forward with a regular sawing motion, thus lacerating its victim with the sharp, deep-cut edges of its bony covering. the snake struggled to free itself, biting savagely at its aggressor, for its head and neck were disengaged. its bites made no impression, and very soon it dropped its head, and when its enemy drew off, it was dead and very much mangled. the armadillo at once began its meal, taking the tail in its mouth and slowly progressing towards the head; but when about a third of the snake still remained it seemed satisfied, and, leaving that portion, trotted away. altogether, in its rapacious and varied habits this armadillo appears to have some points of resemblance with the hedgehog; and possibly, like the little european mammal it resembles, it is not harmed by the bite of venomous snakes. i once had a cat that killed every snake it found, purely for sport, since it never ate them. it would jump nimbly round and across its victim, occasionally dealing it a blow with its cruel claws. the enemies of the snake are legion. burrowing owls feed largely on them; so do herons and storks, killing them with a blow of their javelin beaks, and swallowing them entire. the sulphur tyrant-bird picks up the young snake by the tail, and, flying to a branch or stone, uses it like a flail till its life is battered out. the bird is highly commended in consequence, reminding one of very ancient words: "happy shall he be that taketh thy little ones and dasheth them against the stones." in arraying such a variety of enemies against the snake, nature has made ample amends for having endowed it with deadly weapons. besides, the power possessed by venomous snakes only seems to us disproportionate; it is not really so, except in occasional individual encounters. venomous snakes are always greatly outnumbered by non-venomous ones in the same district; at any rate this is the case on the pampas. the greater activity of the latter counts for more in the result than the deadly weapons of the former. the large teguexin lizard of the pampas, called iguana by the country people, is a notable snake-killer. snakes have in fact, no more formidable enemy, for he is quick to see, and swift to overtake them. he is practically invulnerable, and deals them sudden death with his powerful tail. the gauchos say that dogs attacking the iguana are sometimes known to have their legs broken, and i do not doubt it. a friend of mine was out riding one day after his cattle, and having attached one end of his lasso to the saddle, he let it trail on the ground. he noticed a large iguana lying apparently asleep in the sun, and though he rode by it very closely, it did not stir; but no sooner had he passed it, than it raised its head, and fixed its attention on the forty feet of lasso slowly trailing by. suddenly it rushed after the rope, and dealt it a succession of violent blows with its tail. when the whole of the lasso, several yards of which had been pounded in vain, had been dragged by, the lizard, with uplifted head, continued gazing after it with the greatest astonishment. never had such a wonderful snake crossed its path before! molina, in his _natural history of chill,_ says the vizcacha uses its tail as a weapon; but then molina is not always reliable. i have observed vizcachas all my life, and never detected them making use of any weapon except their chisel teeth. the tail is certainly very curious, being straight at the base, then curving up outwardly, and slightly down again at the tip, resembling the spout of a china teapot. the under surface of the straight portion of the base is padded with a thick, naked, corneous skin; and, when the animal performs the curious sportive antics in which it occasionally indulges, it gives rapid loud-sounding blows on the ground with this part of the tail. the peculiar form of the tail also makes it a capital support, enabling the vizcacha to sit erect, with ease and security. the frog is a most timid, inoffensive creature, saving itself, when pursued, by a series of saltatory feats unparalleled amongst vertebrates. consequently, when i find a frog, i have no hesitation in placing my hands upon it, and the cold sensation it gives one is the worse result i fear. it came to pass, however, that i once encountered a frog that was not like other frogs, for it possessed an instinct and weapons of offence which greatly astonished me. i was out snipe shooting one day when, peering into an old disused burrow, two or three feet deep, i perceived a burly-looking frog sitting it. it was larger and stouter-looking than our common rana, though like it in colour, and i at once dropped on to my knees and set about its capture. though it watched me attentively, the frog remained perfectly motionless, and this greatly surprised me. before i was sufficiently near to make a grab, it sprang straight at my hand, and, catching two of my fingers round with its fore legs, administered a hug so sudden and violent as to cause an acute sensation of pain; then, at the very instant i experienced this feeling, which made me start back quickly, it released its hold and bounded out and away. i flew after it, and barely managed to overtake it before it could gain the water. holding it firmly pressed behind the shoulders, it was powerless to attack me, and i then noticed the enormous development of the muscles of the fore legs, usually small in frogs, bulging out in this individual, like a second pair of thighs, and giving-it a strangely bold and formidable appearance. on holding my gun within its reach, it clasped the barrel with such energy as to bruise the skin of its breast and legs. after allowing it to partially exhaust itself in these fruitless huggings, i experimented by letting it seize my hand again, and i noticed that invariably after each squeeze it made a quick, violent attempt to free itself. believing that i had discovered a frog differing in structure from all known species, and possessing a strange unique instinct of self-preservation, i carried my captive home, intending to show it to dr. burmeister, the director of the national museum at buenos ayres-unfortunately, after i had kept it some days, it effected its escape by pushing up the glass cover of its box, and i have never since met with another individual like it. that this singular frog has it in its power to seriously injure an opponent is, of course, out of the question; but its unexpected attack must be of great advantage. the effect of the sudden opening of an umbrella in the face of an angry bull gives, i think, only a faint idea of the astonishment and confusion it must cause an adversary by its leap, quick as lightning, and the violent hug it administers; and in the confusion it finds time to escape. i cannot for a moment believe that an instinct so admirable, correlated as it is with the structure of the fore legs, can be merely an individual variation; and i confidently expect that all i have said about my lost frog will some day be confirmed by others. rana luctator would be a good name for this species. the toad is a slow-moving creature that puts itself in the way of persecution; yet, strange to say, the acrid juice it exudes when irritated is a surer protection to it than venomous fangs are to the deadliest snake. toads are, in fact, with a very few exceptions, only attacked and devoured by snakes, by lizards, and by their own venomous relative, ceratophrys ornata. possibly the cold sluggish natures of all these creatures protects them against the toad's secretion, which would be poison to most warm-blooded animals, but i am not so sure that all fish enjoy a like immunity. i one day noticed a good-sized fish (bagras) floating, belly upmost, on the water. it had apparently just died, and had such a glossy, well-nourished look about it, and appeared so full, i was curious to know the cause of its death. on opening it i found its stomach quite filled with a very large toad it had swallowed. the toad looked perfectly fresh, not even a faint discoloration of the skin showing that the gastric juices had begun to take effect; the fish, in fact, must have died immediately after swallowing the toad. the country people in south america believe that the milky secretion exuded by the toad possesses wonderful curative properties; it is their invariable specific for shingles--a painful, dangerous malady common amongst them, and to cure it living toads are applied to the inflamed parb. i dare say learned physicians would laugh at this cure, but then, if i mistake not, the learned have in past times laughed at other specifics used by the vulgar, but which now have honourable places in the pharmacopoeia--pepsine, for example. more than two centuries ago (very ancient times for south america) the gauchos were accustomed to take the lining of the rhea's stomach, dried and powdered, for ailments caused by impaired digestion; and the remedy is popular still. science has gone over to them, and the ostrich-hunter now makes a double profit, one from the feathers, and the other from the dried stomachs which he supplies to the chemists of buenos ayres. yet he was formerly told that to take the stomach of the ostrich to improve his digestion was as wild an idea as it would be to swallow birds' feathers in order to fly. i just now called ceratophrys ornata venomous, though its teeth are not formed to inject poison into the veins, like serpents' teeth. it is a singular creature, known as _escuerzo_ in the vernacular, and though beautiful in colour, is in form hideous beyond description. the skin is of a rich brilliant green, with chocolate-coloured patches, oval in form, and symmetrically disposed. the lips are bright yellow, the cavernous mouth pale flesh colour, the throat and under-surface dull white. the body is lumpy, and about the size of a large man's fist. the eyes, placed on the summit of a disproportionately large head, are embedded in horn-like protuberances, capable of being elevated or depressed at pleasure. when the creature is undisturbed, the eyes, which are of a pale gold colour, look out as from a couple of watch towers, but when touched on the head or menaced, the prominences sink down to a level with the head, closing the eyes completely, and giving the creature the appearance of being eyeless. the upper jaw is armed with minute teeth, and there are two teeth in the centre of the lower jaw, the remaining portions of the jaw being armed with two exceedingly sharp-edged bony plates. in place of a tongue, it has a round muscular process with a rough flat disc the size of a halfpenny. it is common all over the pampas, ranging as far south as the rio colorado in patagonia. in the breeding season it congregates in pools, and one is then struck by their extraordinary vocal powers, which they exercise by night. the performance in no way resembles the series of percussive sounds uttered by most batrachians. the notes it utters are long, as of a wind instrument, not unmelodious, and so powerful as to make themselves heard distinctly a mile off on still evenings. after the amorous period these toads retire to moist places and sit inactive, buried just deep enough to leave the broad green back on a level with the surface, and it is then very difficult to detect them. in this position they wait for their prey--frogs, toads, birds, and small mammals. often they capture and attempt to swallow things too large for them, a mistake often made by snakes. in very wet springs they sometimes come about houses and lie in wait for chickens and ducklings. in disposition they are most truculent, savagely biting at anything that comes near them; and when they bite they hang on with the tenacity of a bulldog, poisoning the blood with their glandular secretions. when teased, the creature swells itself out to such an extent one almost expects to see him burst; he follows his tormentors about with slow awkward leaps, his vast mouth wide open, and uttering an incessant harsh croaking sound. a gaucho i knew was once bitten by one. he sat down on the grass, and, dropping his hand at his side, had it seized, and only freed himself by using his hunting knife to force the creature's mouth open. he washed and bandaged the wound, and no bad result followed; but when the toad cannot be shaken off, then the result is different. one summer two horses were found dead on the plain near my home. one, while lying down, had been seized by a fold in the skin near the belly; the other had been grasped by the nose while cropping grass. in both instances the vicious toad was found dead, with jaws tightly closed, still hanging to the dead horse. perhaps they are sometimes incapable of letting go at will, and like honey bees, destroy themselves in these savage attacks. chapter v. fear in birds. the statement that birds instinctively fear man is frequently met with in zoological works written since the _origin of species_ appeared; but almost the only reason--absolutely the only plausible reason, all the rest being mere supposition--given in support of such a notion is that birds in desert islands show at first no fear of man, but afterwards, finding him a dangerous neighbour, they become wild; and their young also grow up wild. it is thus assumed that the habit acquired by the former has become hereditary in the latter--or, at all events, that in time it becomes hereditary. instincts, which are few in number in any species, and practically endure for ever, are not, presumably, acquired with such extraordinary facility. birds become shy where persecuted, and the young, even when not disturbed, learn a shy habit from the parents, and from other adults they associate with. i have found small birds shyer in desert places, where the human form was altogether strange to them, than in thickly-settled districts. large birds are actually shyer than the small ones, although, to the civilized or shooting man they seem astonishingly tame where they have never been fired at. i have frequently walked quite openly to within twenty-five or thirty yards of a flock of flamingoes without alarming them. this, however, was when they were in the water, or on the opposite side of a stream. having no experience of guns, they fancied themselves secure as long as a strip of water separated them from the approaching object. when standing on dry land they would not allow so near an approach. sparrows in england aro very much tamer than the sparrows i have observed in desert places, where they seldom see a human being. nevertheless young sparrows in england are very much tamer than old birds, as anyone may see for himself. during the past summer, while living near kew gardens, i watched the sparrows a great deal, and fed forty or fifty of them every day from a back window. the bread and seed was thrown on to a low roof just outside the window, and i noticed that the young birds when first able to fly were always brought by the parents to this feeding place, and that after two or three visits they would begin to come of their own accord. at such times they would venture quite close to me, showing as little suspicion as young chickens. the adults, however, although so much less shy than birds of other species, were extremely suspicious, snatching up the bread and flying away; or, if they remained, hopping about in a startled manner, craning their necks to view me, and making so many gestures and motions, and little chirps of alarm, that presently the young would become infected with fear. the lesson was taught them in a surprisingly short time; their suspicion was seen to increase day by day, and about a week later they were scarcely to be distinguished, in behaviour from the adults. it is plain that, with these little birds, fear of man is an associate feeling, and that, unless it had been taught them, his presence would trouble them as little as does that of horse, sheep, or cow. but how about the larger species, used as food, and which have had a longer and sadder experience of man's destructive power? the rhea, or south american ostrich, philosophers tell us, is a very ancient bird on the earth; and from its great size and inability to escape by flight, and its excellence as food, especially to savages, who prefer fat rank-flavoured flesh, it must have been systematically persecuted by man as long as, or longer than, any bird now existing on the globe. if fear of man ever becomes hereditary in birds, we ought certainly to find some trace of such an instinct in this species. i have been unable to detect any, though i have observed scores of young rheas in captivity, taken before the parent bird had taught them what to fear. i also once kept a brood myself, captured just after they had hatched out. with regard to food they were almost, or perhaps quite, independent, spending most of the time catching flies, grasshoppers, and other insects with surprising dexterity; but of the dangers encompassing the young rhea they knew absolutely frothing. they would follow me about as if they took me for their parent; and, whenever i imitated the loud snorting or rasping warning-call emitted the old bird in moments of danger, they would to me in the greatest terror, though no animal was in sight, and, squatting at my feet, endeavour to conceal themselves by thrusting their heads and long necks up my trousers. if i had caused a person to dress in white or yellow clothes for several consecutive days, and had then uttered the warning cry each time he showed himself to the birds, i have no doubt that they would soon have acquired a habit of running in terror from him, even without the warning cry, and that the fear of a person in white or yellow would have continued all their lives. up to within about twenty years ago, rheas were seldom or never shot in la plata and patagonia, but were always hunted on horseback and caught with the bolas. the sight of a mounted man would set them off at once, while a person on foot could walk quite openly to within easy shooting distance of them; yet their fear of a horseman dates only two hundred years back--a very short time, when we consider that, before the indian borrowed the horse from the invader, he must have systematically pursued the rhea on foot for centuries. the rhea changed its habits when the hunter changed his, and now, if an _estanciero_ puts down ostrich hunting on his estate, in a very few years the birds, although wild birds still, become as fearless and familiar as domestic animals. i have known old and ill-tempered males to become a perfect nuisance on some estancias, running after and attacking every person, whether on foot or on horseback, that ventured near them. an old instinct of a whole race could not be thus readily lost here and there on isolated estates wherever a proprietor chose to protect his birds for half a dozen years. i suppose the talegallus--the best-known brush-turkey--must be looked on as an exception to all other birds with regard to the point i am considering; for this abnormal form buries its eggs in the huge mound made by the male, and troubles herself no more about them. when the young is fully developed it simply kicks the coffin to pieces in which its mother interred it, and, burrowing its way up to the sunshine, enters on the pleasures and pains of an independent existence from earliest infancy--that is, if a species born into the world in full possession of all the wisdom of the ancients, can be said ever to know infancy. at all events, from mr. bartlett's observations on the young hatched in the zoological gardens, it appears that they took no notice of the old birds, but lived quite independently from the moment they came out of the ground, even flying up into a tree and roosting separately at night. i am not sure, however, that these observations are quite conclusive; for it is certain that captivity plays strange pranks with the instincts of some species, and it is just possible that in a state of nature the old birds exercise at first some slight parental supervision, and, like all other species, have a peculiar cry to warn the young of the dangers to be avoided. if this is not so, then the young talegallus must fly or hide with instinctive tear from every living thing that approaches it. i, at any rate, find it hard to believe that it has a knowledge, independent of experience, of the different habits of man and kangaroo, and dis-criminates at first sight between animals that are dangerous to it and those that are not. this interesting point will probably never be determined, as, most unhappily, the australians are just now zealously engaged in exterminating their most wonderful bird for the sake of its miserable flesh; and with less excuse than the maories could plead with regard to the moa, since they cannot deny that they have mutton and rabbit enough to satisfy hunger. whether birds fear or have instinctive knowledge of any of their enemies is a much larger question. species that run freely on the ground from the time of quitting the shell know their proper food, and avoid whatever is injurious. have all young birds a similarly discriminating instinct with regard to their enemies? darwin says, "fear of any particular enemy is certainly an instinctive quality, as may be seen in nestling birds." here, even man seems to be included among the enemies feared instinctively; and in another passage he says, "young chickens have lost, wholly from habit, that fear of the dog and cat which, no doubt, was originally instinctive in them." my own observations point to a contrary conclusion; and i may say that i have had unrivalled opportunities for studying the habits of young birds. animals of all classes, old and young, shrink with instinctive fear from any strange object approaching them. a piece of newspaper carried accidentally by the wind is as great an object of terror to an inexperienced young bird as a buzzard sweeping down with death in its talons. among birds not yet able to fly there are, however, some curious exceptions; thus the young of most owls and pigeons are excited to anger rather than fear, and, puffing themselves up, snap and strike at an intruder with their beaks. other fledglings simply shrink down in the nest or squat close on the ground, their fear, apparently, being in proportion to the suddenness with which the strange animal or object comes on them; but, if the deadliest enemy approaches with slow caution, as snakes do--and snakes must be very ancient enemies to birds--there is no fear or suspicion shown, even when the enemy is in full view and about to strike. this, it will be understood, is when no warning-cry is uttered by the parent bird. this shrinking, and, in some cases, hiding from an object corning swiftly towards them, is the "wildness_"_ of young birds, which, darwin says again, is greater in wild than in domestic species. of the extreme tameness of the young rhea i have already spoken; i have also observed young tinamous, plovers, coots, &c., hatched by fowls, and found them as incapable of distinguishing friend from foe as the young of domestic birds. the only difference between the young of wild and tame is that the former are, as a rule, much more sprightly and active. but there are many exceptions; and if this greater alertness and activity is what is meant by "wildness," then the young of some wild birds--rhea, crested screamer, &c.--are actually much tamer than our newly-hatched chickens and ducklings. to return to what may be seen in nestling birds, n very young, and before their education has begun, if quietly approached and touched, they open their bills and take food as readily from a man as from the parent bird. but if while being thus fed the parent returns and emits the warning note, they instantly cease their hunger-cries, close their gaping mouths, and crouch down frightened in the nest. this fear caused by the parent bird's warning note begins to manifest itself even before the young are hatched--and my observations on this point refer to several species in three widely separated orders. when the little prisoner is hammering at its shell, and uttering its feeble _peep,_ as if begging to be let out, if the warning note is uttered, even at a considerable distance, the strokes and complaining instantly cease, and the chick will then remain quiescent in the shell for a long time, or until the parent, by a changed note, conveys to it an intimation that the danger is over. another proof that the nestling has absolutely no instinctive knowledge of particular enemies, but is taught to fear them by the parents, is to be found in the striking contrast between the habits of parasitical and genuine young in the nest, and after they have left it, while still unable to find their own food. i have had no opportunities of observing the habits of the young cuckoo in england with regard to this point, and do not know whether other observers have paid any attention to the matter or not, but i am very familiar with the manners of the parasitical starling or cow-bird of south america. the warning cries of the foster parent have no effect on the young cow-bird at any time. until they are able to fly they will readily devour worms from the hand of a man, even when the old birds are hovering close by and screaming their danger notes, and while their own young, if the parasite has allowed any to survive in the nest, are crouching down in the greatest fear. after the cow-bird has left the nest it is still stupidly tame, and more than once i have seen one carried off from its elevated perch by a milvago hawk, when, if it had understood the warning cry of the foster parent, it would have dropped down into the bush or grass and escaped. but as soon as the young cow-birds are able to shift for themselves, and begin to associate with their own kind, their habits change, and they become suspicious and wild like other birds. on this point--the later period at which the parasitical young bird acquires fear of man--and also bearing on the whole subject under discussion, i shall add here some observations i once made on a dove hatched and reared by a pigeon at my home on the pampas. a very large ombú tree grew not far from the dove-cote, and some of the pigeons used to make their nests on the lower horizontal branches. one summer a dove of the most common species, zenaida maculata, in size a third less than the domestic pigeon, chanced to drop an egg in one of these nests, and a young dove was hatched and reared; and, in due time, when able to fly, it was brought to the dove-cote. i watched it a great deal, and it was evident that this foster-young, though' with the pigeons, was not nor ever would be of them, for it could not take kiudly to their flippant flirty ways. whenever a male approached it, and with guttural noises and strange gestures made a pompous declaration of amorous feelings, the dove would strike vigorously at its undesirable lover, and drive him off, big as he was; and, as a rule, it would sit apart, afoot or so, from the others. the dove was also a male; but its male companions, with instinct tainted by domestication, were ignorant alike of its sex and different species. now, it chanced that my pigeons, never being fed and always finding their own living on the plain like wild birds, were, although still domestic, not nearly so tame as pigeons usually are in england. they would not allow a person to approach within two or three yards of them without flying, and if grain was thrown to them they would come to it very suspiciously, or not at all. and, of course, the young pigeons always acquired the exact degree of suspicion shown by the adults as soon as they were able to fly and consort with the others. but the foundling zenaida did not know what their startled gestures and notes of fear meant when a person approached too near, and as he saw none of his own kind, he did not acquire their suspicious habit. on the contrary, he was perfectly tame, although by parentage a wild bird, and showed no more fear of a man than of a horse. throughout the winter it remained with the pigeons, going afield every day with them, and returning to the dove-cote; but as spring approached the slight tie which united him to them began to be loosened; their company grew less and less congenial, and he began to lead a solitary life. but he did not go to the trees yet. he came to the house, and his favourite perch was on the low overhanging roof of a vine-covered porch, just over the main entrance. here he would pass several hours every day, taking no notice of the people passing in and out at all times; and when the weather grew warm he would swell out his breast and coo mournfully by the hour for our pleasure. we can, no doubt, learn best by observing the behaviour of nestlings and young birds; nevertheless, i find much even in the confirmed habits of adults to strengthen me in the belief that fear of particular enemies is in nearly all cases--for i will not say all--the result of experience and tradition. hawks are the most open, violent, and persistent enemies birds have; and it is really wonderful to see how well the persecuted kinds appear to know the power for mischief possessed by different raptorial species, and how exactly the amount of alarm exhibited is in proportion to the extent of the danger to be apprehended. some raptors never attack birds, others only occasionally; still others prey only on the young and feeble; and, speaking of la plata district, where i have observed hawks, from the milvago chimango--chiefly a carrion-eater--to the destructive peregrine falcon, there is a very great variety of predatory habits, and all degrees of courage to be found; yet all these raptors are treated differently by species liable to be preyed on, and have just as much respect paid them as their strength and daring entitles them to, and no more, so much discrimination must seem almost incredible to those who are not very familiar with the manners of wild birds; i do not think it could exist if the fear shown resulted from instinct or inherited habit. there would be no end to the blunders of such an instinct as that; and in regions where hawks are extremely abundant most of the birds would be in a constant state of trepidation. on the pampas the appearance of the comparatively harmless chimango excites not the least alarm among small birds, yet at a distance it closely resembles a henharrier, and it also readily attacks young, sick, and wounded birds; all others know how little they have to fear from it. when it appears unexpectedly, sweeping over a hedge or grove with a rapid flight, it is sometimes mistaken for a more dangerous species; there is then a little flutter of alarm, some birds springing into the air, but in two or three seconds of time they discover their mistake, and settle down quietly again, taking no further notice of the despised carrion-eater. on the other hand, i have frequently mistaken a harrier (circus cinereus, in the brown state of plumage) for a chimango, and have only discovered my mistake by seeing the commotion among the small birds. the harrier i have mentioned, also the c. macropterus, feed partly on small birds, which they flush from the ground and strike down with their claws. when the harrier appears moving along with a loitering flight near the surface, it is everywhere attended by a little whirlwind of alarm, small birds screaming or chirping excitedly and diving into the grass or bushes; but the alarm does not spread far, and subsides as soon as the hawk has passed on its way. buzzards (buteo and urubitinga) are much more feared, and create a more widespread alarm, and they ars certainly more destructive to birds than harriers. another curious instance is that of the sociable hawk (rostrhanrus sociabilis). this bird spends the summer and breeds in marshes in la plata, and birds pay no attention to it, for it feeds exclusively on water-snails (ampullaria). but when it visits woods and plantations to roost, during migration, its appearance creates as much alarm as that of a true buzzard, which it closely resembles. wood-birds, unaccustomed to see it, do not know its peculiar preying habits, and how little they need fear its presence. i may also mention that the birds of la plata seem to fear the kite-like elanus less than other hawks, and i believe that its singular resemblance to the common gull of the district in its size, snowy-white plumage and manner of flight, has a deceptive effect on most species, and makes them so little suspicious of it. the wide-ranging peregrine falcon is a common species in la plata, although, oddly enough, not included in any notice of the avifauna of that region before . the consternation caused among birds by its appearance is vastly greater than that produced by any of the raptors i have mentioned: and it is unquestionably very much more destructive to birds, since it preys exclusively on them, and, as a rule, merely picks the flesh from the head and neck, and leaves the untouched body to its jackal, the carrion-hawk. when the peregrine appears speeding through the air in a straight line at a great height, the feathered world, as far as one able to see, is thrown into the greatest commo-tion, all birds, from the smallest up to species large as duck, ibis, and curlew, rushing about in the air as if distracted. when the falcon has disappeared in the sky, and the wave of terror attending its progress subsides behind it, the birds still continue wild and excited for some time, showing how deeply they have been moved; for, as a rule, fear is exceedingly transitory in its effects on animals. i must, before concluding this part of my subject, mention another raptor, also a true falcon, but differing from the peregrine in being exclusively a marsh-hawk. in size it is nearly a third less than the male peregrine, which it resembles in its sharp wings and manner of flight, but its flight is much more rapid. the whole plumage, is uniformly of a dark grey colour. unfortunately, though i have observed it not fewer than a hundred times, i have never been able to procure a specimen, nor do i find that it is like any american falcon already described; so that for the present it must remain nameless. judging solely from the effect produced by the appearance of this hawk, it must be even more daring and destructive than its larger relation, the peregrine. it flies at a great height, and sometimes descends vertically and with extraordinary velocity, the wings producing a sound like a deep-toned horn. the sound is doubtless produced at will, and is certainly less advantageous to the hawk than to the birds it pursues. no doubt it can afford to despise the wing-power of its quarry; and i have sometimes thought that it takes a tyrannous delight in witnessing the consternation caused by its hollow trumpeting sound. this may be only a fancy, but some hawks do certainly take pleasure in pursuing and striking birds when not seeking prey. the peregrine has been observed, baird says, capturing birds, only to kill and drop them. many of the felidae, we know, evince a similar habit; only these prolong their pleasure by practising a more refined and deliberate cruelty. the sudden appearance overhead of this hawk produces an effect wonderful to witness. i have frequently seen all the inhabitants of a marsh struck with panic, acting as if demented, and suddenly grown careless to all other dangers; and on such occasions i have looked up confident of seeing the sharp-winged death, suspended above them in the sky. all birds that happen to be on the wing drop down as if shot into the reeds or water; ducks away from the margin stretch out their necks horizontally and drag their bodies, as if wounded, into closer cover; not one bird is found bold enough to rise up and wheel about the marauder--a usual proceeding in the case of other hawks; while, at every sudden stoop the falcon makes, threatening to dash down on his prey, a low cry of terror rises from the birds beneath; a sound expressive of an emotion so contagious that it quickly runs like a murmur all over the marsh, as if a gust of wind had swept moaning through, the rushes. as long as the falcon hangs overhead, always at a height of about forty yards, threatening at intervals to dash down, this murmuring sound, made up of many hundreds of individual cries, is heard swelling and dying away, and occasionally, when he drops lower than usual, rising to a sharp scream of terror. sometimes when i have been riding over marshy ground, one of these hawks has placed himself directly over my head, within fifteen or twenty yards of me; and it has perhaps acquired the habit of following a horseman in this way in order to strike at any birds driven up. on one occasion my horse almost trod on a couple of snipe squatting terrified in the short grass. the instant they rose the hawk struck at one, the end of his wing violently smiting my cheek as he stooped, and striking at the snipe on a level with the knees of my horse. the snipe escaped by diving under the bridle, and immediately dropped down on the other side of me, and the hawk, rising up, flew away. to return. i think i am justified in believing that fear of hawks, like fear of men, is, in very nearly all cases, the result of experience and tradition. nevertheless, i think it probable that in some species which have always lived in the open, continually exposed to attack, and which are preferred as food by raptors, such as duck, snipe, and plover, the fear of the falcon may be an inherited habit. among passerine birds i am also inclined to think that swallows show inherited fear of hawks. swallows and humming-birds have least to fear from raptors; yet, while humming-birds readily pursue and tease hawks, thinking as little of them as of pigeons or herons, swallows everywhere manifest the greatest terror at the approach of a true falcon; and they also fear other birds of prey, though in a much less degree. it has been said that the european hobby occasionally catches swal-lows on the wing, but this seems a rare and exceptional habit, and in south america i have never seen any bird of prey attempt the pursuit of a swallow. the question then arises, how did this unnecessary fear, so universal in swallows, originate? can it be a survival of a far past--a time when some wide-ranging small falcon, aerial in habits as the swallow itself, preyed by preference on hirundines only? [note.-herbert spencer, who accepts darwin's inference, explains how the fear of man, acquired by experience, becomes instinctive in birds, in the following passage: "it is well known that in newly-discovered lands not inhabited by man, birds are so devoid of fear as to allow themselves to be knocked over with sticks; but that, in the course of generations, they acquire such a dread of man as to fly on his approach: and that this dread is manifested by young as well as by old. now unless this change be ascribed to the killing-off of the least fearful, and the preservation and multiplication of the most fearful which, considering the comparatively small number killed by man, is an inadequate cause, it must be ascribed to accumulated experience; and each experience must be held to have a share in producing it. we must conclude that in each bird that escapes with injuries inflicted by man, or is alarmed by the outcries of other members of the flock (gregarious creatures of any intelligence being necessarily more or less sympathetic), there is established an association of ideas between the human aspect and the pains, direct and in-direct, suffered from human agency. and we must further con-clude, that the state of consciousness which compels the bird to take flight, is at first nothing more than an ideal reproduction of those painful impressions which before followed man's approach; that such ideal reproduction becomes more vivid and more massive as the painful experiences, direct or sympathetic, increase; and that thus the emotion, in its incipient state, is nothing else than an aggregation of the revived pains before experience. "as, in the course of generations, the young birds of this race begin to display a fear of man before yet they have been injured by him, it is an unavoidable inference that the nervous system of the race has been organically modified by these experiences, we have no choice but to conclude, that when a young bird is led to fly, it is because the impression produced in its senses by the approaching man entails, through an incipiently reflex action, a partial excitement of all those nerves which in its ancestors had been excited under the like conditions; that this partial excitement has its accompanying painful consciousness, and that the vague painful consciousness thus arising constitutes emotion proper--_emotion undecomposable into specific experiences, and, therefore, seemingly homogeneous"_ (essays, vol. i. p. .)] it is comforting to know that the "unavoidable inference" is, after all, erroneous, and that the nervous system in birds has not yet been organically altered as a result of man's persecution; for in that case it would take long to undo the mischief, and we should be indeed far from that "better friendship" with the children of the air which many of us would like to see. chapter vi. parental and early instincts. under this heading i have put together several notes from my journals on subjects which have no connection with each other, except that they relate chiefly to the parental instincts of some animals i have observed, and to the instincts of the young at a very early period of life. while taking bats one day in december, i captured a female of our common buenos ayrean species (molossus bonariensis), with her two young attached to her, so large that it seemed incredible she should be able to fly and take insects with such a weight to drag her down. the young were about a third less in size than the mother, so that she had to carry a weight greatly exceeding that of her own body. they were fastened to her breast and belly, one on each side, as when first born; and, possibly, the young bat does not change its position, or move, like the young developed opossum, to other parts of the body, until mature enough to begin an independent life. on forcibly separating them from their parent, i found that they were not yet able to fly, but when set free fluttered feebly to the ground. this bat certainly appeared more burdened with its young than any animal i had ever observed. i have seen an old female opossum (didelphys azarae) with eleven young, large as old rats--the mother being less than a cat in size--all clinging to various parts of her body; yet able to climb swiftly and with the greatest agility in the higher branches of a tree. the actual weight was in this case relatively much greater than in that of the female bat: but then the opossum never quitted its hold on the tree, and it also supplemented its hand-like feet, furnished with crooked claws, with its teeth and long prehensile tail. the poor bat had to seek its living in the empty air, pursuing its prey with the swiftness of a swallow, and it seemed wonderful to me that she should have been able to carry about that great burden with her one pair of wings, and withal to be active enough to supply herself and her young with food. in the end i released her, and saw her fly away and disappear among the trees, after which i put back the two young bats in the place i had taken them from, among the thick-clustering foliage of a small acacia tree. when set free they began to work their way upwards through the leaves and slender twigs in the most adroit manner, catching a twig with their teeth, then embracing a whole cluster of leaves with their wings, just as a person would take up a quantity of loose clothes and hold them tight by pressing them against the chest. the body would then emerge above the clasped leaves, and a higher twig would be caught by the teeth; and so on successively, until they had got as high as they wished, when they proceeded to hook themselves to a twig and assume the inverted position side by side; after which, one drew in its head and went to sleep, while the other began licking the end of its wing, where my finger and thumb had pressed the delicate membrane. later in the day i attempted to feed them with small insects, but they rejected my friendly attentions in the most unmistakable manner, snapping viciously at me every time i approached them. in the evening, i stationed myself close to the tree, and presently had the satisfaction of seeing the mother return, flying straight to the spot where i had taken her, and in a few moments she was away again and over the trees with her twins. assuming that these two young bats had, before i found them, existed like parasites clinging to the parent, their adroit actions when liberated, and their angry demonstrations at my approach, were very astonishing; for in all other mammals born in a perfectly helpless state, like rodents, weasels, edentates, and even marsupials, the instincts of self-preservation are gradually developed after the period of activity begins, when the mother leads them out, and they play with her and avith each other. in the bat the instincts must ripen to perfection without exercise or training, and while the animal exists as passively as a fruit on its stem. i have observed that the helpless young of some of the mammals i have just mentioned seem at first to have no instinctive understanding of the language of alarm and fear in the parent, as all young-birds have, even before their eyes are open. nor is it necessary that they should have such an instinct, since, in most cases, they are well concealed in kennels or other safe places; but when, through some accident, they are exposed, the want of such an instinct makes the task of protecting them doubly hard for the parent. i once surprised a weasel (galictis barbara) in the act of removing her young, or conducting them, rather; and when she was forced to quit them, although still keeping close by, and uttering the most piercing cries of anger and solicitude, the young continued piteously crying out in their shrill voices and moving about in circles, without making the slightest attempt to escape, or to conceal themselves, as young birds do. some field mice breed on the surface of the ground in ill-constructed nests, and their young are certainly the most helpless things in nature. it is possible that where this dangerous habit exists, the parent has some admirable complex instincts to safeguard her young, in addition to the ordinary instincts of most animals of this kind. this idea was suggested to me by the action of a female mouse which i witnessed by chance. while walking in a field of stubble one day in autumn, near buenos ayres, i suddenly heard, issuing from near my feet, a chorus of shrill squealing voices--the familiar excessively sharp little needles of sound emitted by young, blind and naked mice, when they are disturbed or in pain. looking down, i saw close to my foot a nest of them--there were nine in all, wriggling about and squealing; for the parent, frightened at my step, had just sprung from them, overturning in her hurry to escape the slight loosely-felted dome of fine grass and thistledown which had covered them. i saw her running away, but after going six or seven yards she stopped, and, turning partly round so as to watch me, waited in fear and trembling. i remained perfectly motionless--a sure way to allay fear and suspicion in any wild creature,--and in a few moments she returned, but with the utmost caution, frequently pausing to start and tremble, and masking her approach with corn stumps and little inequalities in the surface of the ground, until, reaching the nest, she took one of the young in her mouth, and ran rapidly away to a distance of eight or nine yards and concealed it in a tuft of dry grass. leaving it, she returned a second time, in the same cautious manner, and taking another, ran with it to the same spot, and concealed it along with the first. it was curious that the first young mouse had continued squealing after being hidden by the mother, for i could hear it distinctly, the air being very still, but when the second mouse had been placed with it, the squealing ceased. a third time the old mouse came, and then instead of going to the same spot, as i had expected, she ran off in an opposite direction and disappeared among the dry weeds; a fourth was carried to the same place as the third; and in this way they were all removed to a distance of some yards from the nest, and placed in couples, until the last and odd one remained. in due time she came for it, and ran away with it in a new direction, and was soon out of sight; and although i waited fully ten minutes, she did not return; nor could i afterwards find any of the young mice when i looked for them, or even hear them squeal. i have frequently observed newly-born lambs on the pampas, and have never failed to be surprised at the extreme imbecility they display in their actions; although this may be due partly to inherited degeneracy caused by domestication. this imbecile condition continues for two, sometimes for three days, during which time the lamb apparently acts purely from instincts, which are far from perfect; but after that, experience and its dam teach it a better way. when born its first impulse is to struggle up on to its feet; its second to suck, but here it does not discriminate like the newly-hatched bird that picks up its proper food, or it does not know what to suck. it will take into its mouth whatever comes near, in most cases a tuft of wool on its dam's neck; and at this it will continue sucking for an indefinite time. it is highly probable that the strong-smelling secretion of the sheep's udder attracts the lamb at length to that part; and that without something of the kind to guide it, in many cases it would actually starve without finding the teats. i have often seen lambs many hours after birth still confining their attention to the most accessible locks of wool on the neck or fore legs of the dams, and believe that in such cases the long time it took them to find the source of nourishment arose from a defective sense of smell. its next important instinct, which comes into play from the moment it can stand on its feet, impels it to follow after any object receding from it, and, on the other hand, to run from anything approaching it. if the dam turns round and approaches it from even a very short distance, it will start back and run from her in fear, and will not understand her voice when she bleats to it: at the same time it will confidently follow after a man, dog, horse, or any other animal moving from it. a very common experience on the pampas, in the sheep-country, is to see a lamb start up from sleep and follow the rider, running along close to the heels of the horse. this is distressing to a merciful man, tor he cannot shake the little simpleton off, and if he rides on, no matter how fast, it will keep up him, or keep him in sight, for half a mile or a mile, and never recover its dam. the gaucho, who is not merciful, frequently saves himself all trouble and delay by knocking it senseless with a blow of his whip-handle, and without checking his horse. i have seen a lamb, about two days old, start up from sleep, and immediately start off in pursuit of a puff ball about as big as a man's head, carried past it over the smooth turf by the wind, and chase it for a distance of five hundred yards, until the dry ball was brought to a stop by a tuft of coarse grass. this blundering instiuct is quickly laid aside when the lamb has learned to distinguish its dam from other objects, and its dam's voice from other sounds. when four or five days old it will start from sleep, but instead of rushing blindly away after any receding object, it first looks about it, and will then recognize and run to its dam. i have often been struck with the superiority of the pampa or creolla--the old native breed of sheep--in the greater vigour of the young when born over the improved european varieties. the pampa descends to us from the first sheep introduced into la plata about three centuries ago, and is a tall, gaunt bony animal, with lean dry flesh, like venison, and long straight wool, like goats' hair. in their struggle for existence in a country subject to sudden great changes of temperature, to drought, and failure of grass, they have in a great measure lost the qualities which make the sheep valuable to man as a food and wool-producing animal; but on the other hand they have to some extent recovered the vigour of a wild animal, being hardy enough to exist without any shelter, and requiring from their master man only protection from the larger carnivores. they are keen-scented, swift of foot and wonderfully active, and thrive where other breeds would quickly starve. i have often seen a lamb dropped on the frosty ground in bitterly cold windy weather in midwinter, and in less than five seconds struggle to its feet, and seem as vigorous as any day-old lamb of other breeds. the dam, impatient at the short delay, and not waiting to give it suck, has then started off at a brisk trot after the flock, scattered and galloping before the wind like huanacos rather than sheep, with the lamb, scarcely a minute in the world, running freely at her side. notwithstanding its great vigour it has been proved that the pampa sheep has not so far outgrown the domestic taint as to be able to maintain its own existence when left entirely to itself. during the first half of this century, when cattle-breeding began to be profitable, and wool was not worth the trouble of shearing, and the gaucho workman would not eat mutton when beef was to be had, some of the estancieros on the southern pampas determined to get rid of their sheep, which were of no value to them; and many flocks were driven a distance out and lost in the wilds. out of many thousands thus turned loose to shift for themselves, not one pair survived to propagate a new race of feral sheep; in a short time pumas, wild dogs, and other beasts of prey, had destroyed them all. the sterling qualities of the pampa sheep had their value in other times; at present the improved kinds are alone considered worth having, and the original sheep of the country is now rapidly disappearing, though still found in remote and poor districts, especially in the province of cordova; and probably before long it will become extinct, together with the curious pug-nosed cow of the pampas. i have had frequent opportunities of observing the young, from one to three days old, of the cervus campestris--the common deer of the pampas, and the perfection of its instincts at that tender age seem very wonderful in a ruminant. when the doe with, fawn is approached by a horseman, even when accompanied with dogs, she stands perfectly motionless, gazing fixedly at the enemy, the fawn motionless at her side; and suddenly, as if at a preconcerted signal, the fawn rushes directly away from her at its utmost speed; and going to a distance of six hundred to a thousand yards conceals itself in a hollow in the ground or among the long grass, lying down very close with neck stretched out horizontally, and will thus remain until sought by the dam. when very young if found in its hiding-place it will allow itself to be taken, making no further effort to escape. after the fawn has run away the doe still maintains her statuesque attitude, as if resolved to await the onset, and only when the dogs are close to her she also rushes away, but invariably in a direction as nearly opposite to that taken by the fawn as possible. at first she runs slowly, with a limping gait, and frequently pausing, as if to entice her enemies on, like a partridge, duck or plover when driven from its young; but as they begin to press her more closely her speed increases, becoming greater the further she succeeds in leading them from the starting-point. the alarm-cry of this deer is a peculiar whistling bark, a low but far-reaching sound; but when approaching a doe with young i have never been able to hear it, nor have i seen any movement on the part of the doe. yet it is clear that in some mysterious way she inspires the fawn with sudden violent fear; while the fawn, on its side, instead of being affected like the young in other mammals, and sticking closer to its mother, acts in a contrary way, and runs from her. of the birds i am acquainted with, the beautiful jacana (parra jacana) appears to come into the world with its faculties and powers in the most advanced state. it is, in fact, ready to begin active life from the very moment of leaving the shell, as i once accidentally observed. i found a nest on a small mound of earth in a shallow lagoon, containing four eggs, with the shells already chipped by the birds in them. two yards from the small nest mound there was a second mound covered with coarse grass. i got off my horse to examine the nest, and the old birds, excited beyond measure, fluttered round me close by pouring out their shrill rapidly-reiterated cries in an unbroken stream, sounding very much like a policeman's rattle. while i was looking closely at one of the eggs lying on the palm of my hand, all at once the cracked shell parted, and at the same moment the young bird leaped from my hand and fell into the water. i am quite sure that the young bird's sudden escape from the shell and my hand was the result of a violent effort on its part to free itself; and it was doubtless inspired to make the effort by the loud persistent screaming of the parent birds, which it heard while in the shell. stooping to pick it up to save it from perishing, i soon saw that my assistance was not required, for immediately on dropping into the water, it put out its neck, and with the body nearly submerged, like a wounded duck trying to escape observation, it swam rapidly to the second small mound i have mentioned, and, escaping from the water, concealed itself in the grass, lying close and perfectly motionless like a young plover. in the case of the pampa or creolla sheep, i have shown that during its long, rough life in la plata, this variety has in some measure recovered the natural vigour and ability to maintain existence in adverse circumstances of its wild ancestors. as much can be said of the creolla fowl of the pampas; and some observations of mine on the habits of this variety will perhaps serve to throw light on a vexed question of natural history--namely, the cackling of the hen after laying, an instinct which has been described as "useless" and "disadvantageous." in fowls that live unconfined, and which are allowed to lay where they like, the instinct, as we know it, is certainly detrimental, since egg-eating dogs and pigs soon learn the cause of the outcry, and acquire a habit of rushing off to find the egg when they hear it. the question then arises: does the wild jungle fowl possess the same pernicious instinct? the creolla is no doubt the descendant of the fowl originally introduced about three centuries ago by the first colonists in la plata, and has probably not only been uncrossed with any other improved variety, such as are now fast taking its place, and has lived a much freer life than is usual with the fowl in europe. it is a rather small, lean, extremely active bird, lays about a dozen eggs, and hatches them all, and is of a yellowish red colour--a hue which is common, i believe, in the old barn-door fowl of england. the creolla fowl is strong on the wing, and much more carnivorous and rapacious in habits than other breeds; mice, frogs, and small snakes are eagerly hunted and devoured by it. at my home on the pampas a number of these fowls were kept, and were allowed to range freely about the plantation, which was large, and the adjacent grounds, where there were thickets of giant cardoon thistle, red-weed, thorn apple, &c. they always nested at a distance from the house, and it was almost impossible ever to find their eggs, on account of the extreme circumspection they observed in going to and from their nests; and when they succeeded in escaping foxes, skunks, weasels, and opossums, which, strange to say, they often did, they would rear their chickens away out of sight and hearing of the house, and only bring them home when winter deprived them of their leafy covering and made food scarce. during the summer, in my rambles about the plantation, t would occasionally surprise one of these half-wild hens with her brood; her distracted screams and motions would then cause her chicks to scatter and vanish in all directions, and, until the supposed danger was past, they would lie as close and well-concealed as young partridges. these fowls in summer always lived in small parties, each party composed of one cock and as many hens as he could collect--usually three or four. each family occupied its own feeding ground, where it would pass a greater portion of each day. the hen would nest at a considerable distance from the feeding ground, sometimes as far as four or five hundred yards away. after laying an egg she would quit the nest, not walking from it as other fowls do, but flying, the flight extending to a distance of from fifteen to about fifty yards; after which, still keeping silence, she would walk or run, until, arrived at the feeding ground, she would begin to cackle. at once the cock, if within hearing, would utter a responsive cackle, whereupon she would run to him and cackle no more. frequently the cackling call-note would not be uttered more than two or three times, sometimes only once, and in a much lower tone than in fowls of other breeds. if we may assume that these fowls, in their long, semi-independent existence in la plata, have reverted to the original instincts of the wild gallus bankiva, we can see here how advantageous the cackling instinct must be in enabling the hen in dense tropical jungles to rejoin the flock after laying an egg. if there are egg-eating animals in the jungle intelligent enough to discover the meaning of such a short, subdued cackling call, they would still be unable to find the nest by going back on the bird's scent, since she flies from the nest in the first place; and the wild bird probably flies further than the creolla hen of la plata. the clamorous cackling of our fowls would appear then to be nothing more than a perversion of a very useful instinct. chapter vii. the mephitic skunk. it might possibly give the reader some faint conception of the odious character of this creature (for adjectives are weak to describo it) when i say that, in talking to strangers from abroad, i have never thought it necessary to speak of sunstroke, jaguars, or the assassin's knife, but have never omitted to warn them of the skunk, minutely describing its habits and personal appearance. i knew an englishman who, on taking a first gallop across the pampas, saw one, and, quickly dismounting, hurled himself bodily on to it to effect its capture. poor man! he did not know that the little animal is never unwilling to be caught. men have been blinded for ever by a discharge of the fiery liquid full in their faces. on a mucous membrane it burns like sulphuric acid, say the unfortunates who have had the experience. how does nature protect the skunk itself from the injurious effects of its potent fluid? i have not unfrequently found individuals stone-blind, sometimes moving so briskly about that the blindness must have been of long standing--very possibly in some cases an accidental drop discharged by the animal itself has caused the loss of sight. when coming to close quarters with a skunk, by covering up the face, one's clothes only are ruined. but this is not all one has to fear from an encounter; the worst is that effluvium, after which crushed garlic is lavender, which tortures the olfactory nerves, and appears to pervade the whole system like a pestilent ether, nauseating one until sea-sickness seems almost a pleasant sensation in comparison. to those who know the skunk only from reputation, my words might seem too strong; many, however, who have come to close quarters with the little animal will think them ridiculously weak. and consider what must the feelings be of one who has had the following experience--not an uncommon experience on the pampas. there is to be a dance at a neighbouring house a few miles away; he has been looking forward to it, and, dressing himself with due care, mounts his horse and sets out full of joyous anticipations. it is a dark windy evening, but there is a convenient bridle-path through the dense thicket of giant thistles, and striking it he puts his horse into a swinging gallop. unhappily the path is already occupied by a skunk, invisible in the darkness, that, in obedience to the promptings of its insane instinct, refuses to get out of it, until the flying hoofs hit it and sand it like a well-kicked football into the thistles. but the forefoot of the horse, up as high as his knees perhaps, have been sprinkled, and the rider, after coming out into the open, dismounts and walks away twenty yards from his animal, and literally _smells_ himself all over, and with a feeling of profound relief pronounces himself not the minutest drop of the diabolical spray has touched his dancing shoes! springing into the saddle he proceeds to his journey's end, is warmly welcomed by his host, and speedily forgetting his slight misadventure, mingles with a happy crowd of friends. in a little while people begin exchanging whispers and significant glances; men are seen smiling at nothing in particular; the hostess wears a clouded face; the ladies cough and put their scented handkerchiefs to their noses, and presently they begin to feel faint and retire from the room. our hero begins to notice that there is something wrong, and presently discovers its cause; he, unhappily, has been the last person in the room to remark that familiar but most abominable odour, rising like a deadly exhalation from the floor, conquering all other odours, and every moment becoming more powerful. a drop _has_ touched his shoe after all; and fearing to be found out, and edging towards the door, he makes his escape, and is speedily riding home again; knowing full well that his sudden and early departure from the scene will be quickly discovered and set down to the right cause. in that not always trustworthy book _the natural history of chili,_ molina tells us how they deal with the animal in the trans-andine regions. "when one appears," he says, "some of the company begiu by caressing it, until an opportunity offers for one of them to seize it by the tail. in this position the muscles become contracted, the animal is unable to eject its fluid, and is quickly despatched." one might just as well talk of caressing a cobra de capello; yet this laughable fiction finds believers all over south and north america. professor baird gravely introduces it into his great work on the mammalia. i was once talking about animals in a rancho, when a person present (an argentine officer) told that, while visiting an indian encampment, he had asked the savages how they contrived to kill skunks without making even a life in the desert intolerable. a grave old cacique informed him that the secret was to go boldly up to the animal, take it by the tail, and despatch it; for, he said, when you fear it not at all, then it respects your courage and dies like a lamb--sweetly. the officer, continuing his story, said that on quitting the indian camp he started a skunk, and, glad of an opportunity to test the truth of what he had heard, dismounted and proceeded to put the indian plan in practice. here the story abruptly ended, and when i eagerly demanded to hear the sequel, the amateur hunter of furs lit a cigarette and vacantly watched the ascending smoke. the indians aro grave jokers, they seldom smile; and this old traditional skunk-joke, which has run the length of a continent, finding its way into many wise books, is their revenge on a superior race. i have shot a great many eagles, and occasionally a carancho (polyborus tharus), with the plumage smelling strongly of skunk, which shows that these birds, pressed by hunger, often commit the fearful mistake of attacking the animal. my friend mr. ernest gibson, of buenos ayres, in a communication to the _ibis,_ describes an encounter he actually witnessed between a carancho and a skunk. riding home one afternoon, he spied a skunk "shuffling along in the erratic manner usual to that odoriferous quadruped;" following it at a very short distance was an eagle-vulture, evidently bent on mischief. every time the bird came near the bushy tail rose menacingly; then the carancho would fall behind, and, after a few moments' hesitation, follow on again. at length, growing bolder, it sprung forward, seizing the threatening tail with its claw, but immediately after "began staggering about with dishevelled plumage, tearful eyes, and a profoundly woe-begone expression on its vulture face. the skunk, after turning and regarding its victim with an i-told-you-so look for a few moments, trotted unconcernedly off." i was told in patagonia by a man named molinos, who was frequently employed by the government as guide to expeditions in the desert, that everywhere throughout that country the skunk is abundant. some years ago he was sent with two other men to find and treat with an indian chief whose whereabouts were not known. far in the interior molinos was overtaken by a severe winter, his horses died of thirst and fatigue, and during the three bitterest months of the year he kept himself and his followers alive by eating the flesh of skunks, the only wild animal that never failed them. no doubt, on those vast sterile plains where the skunk abounds, and goes about by day and by night careless of enemies, the terrible nature of its defensive weapon is the first lesson experience teaches to every young eagle, fox, wild cat, and puma. dogs kill skunks when made to do so, but it is not a sport they delight in. one moonlight night, at home, i went out to where the dogs, twelve in number, were sleeping: while i stood there a skunk appeared and deliberately came towards me, passing through the dogs where they lay, and one by one as he passed them they rose up, and, with their tails between their legs, skulked off. when made to kill skunks often they become seasoned; but always perform the loathsome task expeditiously, then rush away with frothing mouths to rub their faces in the wet clay and rid themselves of the fiery sensation. at one time i possessed only one dog that could be made to face a skunk, and as the little robbers were very plentiful, and continually coining about the house in their usual open, bold way, it was rather hard for the poor brute. this dog detested them quite as strongly as the others, only he was more obedient, faithful, and brave. whenever i bade him attack one of them he would come close up to me and look up into my face with piteous pleading eyes, then, finding that he was not to be let off from the repulsive task, he would charge upon the doomed animal with a blind fury wonderful to see. seizing it between his teeth, he would shake it madly, crushing its bones, then hurl it several feet from him, only to rush again and again upon it to repeat the operation, doubtless with a caligula-like wish in his frantic breast that all the skunks on the globe had but one backbone. i was once on a visit to a sheep-farming brother, far away on the southern frontier of buenos ayres, and amongst the dogs i found there was one most interesting creature, he was a great, lumbering, stupid, good-tempered brute, so greedy that when you offered him a piece of meat he would swallow half your arm, and so obedient that at a word he would dash himself against the horns of a bull, and face death and danger in any shape. but, my brother told me, he would not face a skunk--he would die first. one day i took him out and found a skunk, and for upwards of half an hour i sat on my horse vainly cheering on my cowardly follower, and urging him to battle. the very sight of the enemy gave him a fit of the shivers; and when the irascible little enemy began to advance against us, going through the performance by means of which he generally puts his foes to flight without resorting to malodorous measures--stamping his little feet in rage, jumping up, spluttering and hissing and flourishing his brush like a warlike banner above his head--then hardly could i restrain my dog from turning tail and flying home in abject terror. my cruel persistence was rewarded at last. continued shouts, cheers, and hand-clappings began to stir the brute to a kind of frenzy. torn by conflicting emotions, he began to revolve about the skunk at a lumbering gallop, barking, howling, and bristling up his hair; and at last, shutting his eyes, and with a yell of desperation, he charged. i fully expected to see the enemy torn to pieces in a few seconds, but when the dog was still four or five feet from him the fatal discharge came, and he dropped down as if shot dead. for some time he lay on the earth perfectly motionless, watched and gently bedewed by the victorious skunk; then he got up and crept whining away. gradually he quickened his pace, finally breaking into a frantic run. in vain i followed him, shouting at the top of my lungs; he stayed not to listen, and very speedily vanished from sight--a white speck on the vast level plain. at noon on the following day he made his appearance, gaunt and befouled with mud, staggering forward like a galvanized skeleton. too worn out even to eat, he flung himself down, and for hours lay like a dead thing, sleeping off the effects of those few drops of perfume. dogs, i concluded, like men, have their idiosyncrasies; but i had gained my point, and proved once more--if any proof were needed--the truth of that noble panegyric of bacon's on our faithful servant and companion. chapter viii. mimicry and warning colours in grasshoppers. there is in la plata a large handsome grasshopper (zoniopoda tarsata), the habits of which in its larva and imago stages are in strange contrast, like those in certain lepidoptera, in which the caterpillars form societies and act in concert. the adult has a greenish protective colouring, brown and green banded thighs, bright red hind wings, seen only during flight. it is solitary and excessively shy in its habits, living always in concealment among the dense foliage near the surface of the ground. the yonng are intensely black, like grasshoppers cut out of jet or ebony, and gregarious in habit, living in bands of forty or fifty to three or four hundred; and so little shy, that they may sometimes be taken up by handfuls before they begin to scatter in alarm. their gregarious habits and blackness--of all hues in nature the most obvious to the sight--would alone be enough to make them the most conspicuous of insects; but they have still other habits which appear as if specially designed to bring them more prominently into notice. thus, they all keep so close together at all times as to have their bodies actually touching, and when travelling, move so slowly that the laziest snail might easily overtake and pass one of their bands, and even disappear beyond their limited horizon in a very short time. they often select an exposed weed to feed on, clustering together on its summit above the surrounding verdure, an exceedingly conspicuous object to every eye in the neighbourhood. they also frequently change their feeding-ground; at such times they deliberately cross wide roads and other open spaces, barren of grass, where, moving so slowly that they scarcely seem to move at all, they look at a distance like a piece of black velvet lying on the ground. thus in every imaginable way they expose themselves and invite attack; yet, in spite of it all, i have never detected birds preying on them, and i have sometimes kept one of these black societies under observation near my house for several days, watching them at intervals, in places where the trees overhead were the resort of icterine and tyrant birds, guira cuckoos, and other species, all great hunters after grasshoppers. a young grasshopper is, moreover, a morsel that seldom comes amiss to any bird, whether insect or seed eater; and, as a rule, it is extremely shy, nimble, and inconspicuous. it seems clear that, although the young zoniopoda does not mimic in its form any black protected insect, it nevertheless owes its safety to its blackness, together with the habit it possesses of exposing itself in so open and bold a manner. blackness is so common in large protected insects, as, for instance, in the un-palatable leaf-cutting ants, scorpions, mygale spiders, wasps, and other dangerous kinds, that it is manifestly a "warning colour," the most universal and best known in nature; and the grasshopper, i believe, furthermore mimics the fearless demeanour of the protected or venomous species, which birds and other insect-eaters know and respect. it might be supposed that the young zoniopoda is itself unpalatable; but this is scarcely probable, for when the deceptive black mask is once dropped, the excessive shyness, love of concealment, and protective colouring of the insect show that it is much sought after by birds. while setting this down as an undoubted case of "mimicry," although it differs in some respects from all other cases i have seen reported, i cannot help remarking that this most useful word appears to be in some danger of losing the meaning originally attached to it in zoology. there are now very few cases of an accidental resemblance found between two species in nature which are not set down by someone to "mimicry," some in which even the wildest imagination might well fail to see any possible benefit to the supposed mimic. in cases where the outward resemblance of some feeble animal to a widely different and well-protected species, or to some object like a leaf or stick, and where such resemblance is manifestly advantageous and has reacted on and modified the life habits, it is conceivable that slight spontaneous variations in the structure and colouring of the unprotected species have been taken advantage of by the principle of natural selection, and a case of "mimicry" set up, to become more and more perfect in time, as successive casual variations in the same direction increased the resemblance. the stick-insect is perhaps the most perfect example where resemblance to an inanimate object has been the result aimed at, so to speak, by nature; the resemblance of the volucella fly to the humble-bee, on which it is parasitical, is the most familiar example of one species growing like another to its own advantage, since only by means of its deceptive likeness to the humble-bee is it able to penetrate into the nest with impunity. these two cases, with others of a similar character, were first called cases of "mimicry" by kirby and spence, in their ever-delightful _introduction to entomology--_an old book, but, curiously enough in these days of popular treatises on all matters of the kind, still the only general work on insects in the english language which one who is not an entomologist can read with pleasure. a second case of mimicry not yet noticed by any naturalist is seen in another grasshopper, also common in la plata (rhomalea speciosa of thun-berg). this is an extremely elegant insect; the head and thorax chocolate, with cream-coloured markings; the abdomen steel-blue or purple, a colour i have not seen in any other insects of this family. the fore wings have a protective colouring; the hind wings are bright red. when at rest, with the red and purple tints concealed, it is only a very pretty grasshopper, but the instant it takes wing it becomes the fac-simile of a very common wasp of the genus pepris. these wasps vary greatly in size, some being as large as the hornet; they are solitary, and feed on the honey of flowers and on fruit, and, besides being furnished with stings like other wasps--though their sting is nok so venomous as in other genera--they also, when angry, emit a most abominable odour, and are thus doubly protected against their enemies. their excessive tameness, slow flight, and indolent motions serve to show that they are not accustomed to be interfered with. all these strong-smelling wasps have steel-blue or purple bodies, and bright red wings. so exactly does the rhomalea grasshopper mimic the pepris when flying, that i have been deceived scores of times. i have even seen it on the leaves, and, after it has flown and settled once more, i have gone to look at it again, to make sure that my eyes had not deceived me. it is curious to see how this resemblance has reacted on and modified the habits of the grasshopper. it is a great flyer, and far more aerial in its habits than any other insect i am acquainted with in this family, living always in trees, instead of on or near the surface of the ground. it is abundant in orchards and plantations round buenos ayres, where its long and peculiarly soft, breezy note may be heard all summer. if the ancient athenians possessed so charming an insect as this, their great regard for the grasshopper was not strange: i only wish that the "athenians of south america," as my fellow-townsmen sometimes call themselves in moments of exaltation, had a feeling of the samo kind--the regard which does _not_ impale its object on a pin--for the pretty light-hearted songster of their groves and gardens. when taken in the hand, it has the habit, common to most grasshoppers, of pouring out an inky fluid from its mouth; only the discharge is unusually copious in this species. it has another habit in defending itself which is very curious. when captured it instantly curls its body round, as a wasp does to sting. the suddenness of this action has more than once caused me to drop an insect i had taken, actually thinking for the moment that i had taken hold of a wasp. whether birds would be deceived and made to drop it or not is a question it would not be easy to settle; but the instinct certainly looks like 'one of a series of small adaptations, all tending to make the resemblance to a wasp more complete and effective. chapter ix. dragon-fly storms. one of the most curious things i have encountered in my observations on animal life relates to a habit of the larger species of dragon-flies inhabiting the pampas and patagonia. dragon-flies are abundant throughout the country wherever there is water. there are several species, all more or less brilliantly coloured. the kinds that excited my wonder, from their habits, are twice as large as the common widely distributed insects, being three inches to four inches in length, and as a rule they are sober-coloured, although there is one species--the largest among them--entirely of a brilliant scarlet. this kind is, however, exceedingly rare. all the different kinds (of the large dragon-flies) when travelling associate together, and occasionally, in a flight composed of countless thousands, one of these brilliant-hued individuals will catch the eye, appearing as conspicuous among the others as a poppy or scarlet geranium growing alone in an otherwise flowerless field. the most common species--and in some cases the entire flight seems to be composed of this kind only--is the aeschna bonariensis raml, the prevailing colour of which is pale blue. but the really wonderful thing about them all alike is, that they appear only when flying before the southwest wind, called _pampero_--the wind that blows from the interior of the pampas. the pampero is a dry, cold wind, exceedingly violent. it bursts on the plains very suddenly, and usually lasts only a short time, sometimes not more than ten minutes; it comes irregularly, and at all seasons of the year, but is most frequent in the hot season, and after exceptionally sultry weather. it is in summer and autumn that the large dragon-flies appear; not _with_ the wind, but--and this is the most curious part of the matter--in advance of it; and inasmuch as these insects are not seen in the country at other times, and frequently appear in seasons of prolonged drought, when all the marshes and watercourses for many hundreds of miles are dry, they must of course traverse immense distances, flying before the wind at a speed of seventy or eighty miles an hour. on some occasions they appear almost simultaneously with the wind, going by like a flash, and instantly disappearing from sight. you have scarcely time to see them before the wind strikes you. as a rule, however, they make their appearance from five to fifteen minutes before the wind strikes; and when they are in great numbers the air, to a height of ten or twelve feet above the surface of the ground, is all at once seen to be full of them, rushing past with extraordinary velocity in a north-easterly direction. in very oppressive weather, and when the swiftly advancing pampero brings no moving mountains of mingled cloud and dust, and is consequently not expected, the sudden apparition of the dragon-fly is a most welcome one, for then an immediate burst of cold wind is confidently looked for. in the expressive vernacular of the gauchos the large dragon-fly is called _hijo del pampero_--son of the south-west wind. it is clear that these great and frequent dragonfly movements are not explicable on any current hypothesis regarding the annual migrations of birds, the occasional migrations of butterflies, or the migrations of some mammals, like the reindeer and buffalo of arctic america, which, according to rae and other observers, perform long journeys north and south at regular seasons, "from a sense of polarity." neither this hypothetical sense in animals, nor "historical memory" will account for the dragon-fly storms, as the phenomenon of the pampas might be called, since the insects do not pass and repass between "breeding and subsistence areas," but all journey in a north-easterly direction; and of the countless millions flying like thistledown before the great pampero wind, not one solitary traveller ever returns. the cause of the flight is probably dynamical, affecting the insects with a sudden panic, and compelling them to rush away before the approaching tempest. the mystery is that they should fly from the wind before it reaches them, and yet travel in the same direction with it. when they pass over the level, treeless country, not one insect lags behind, or permits the wind to overtake it; but, on arriving at a wood or large plantation they swarm into it, as if seeking shelter from some swift-pursuing enemy, and on such occasions they sometimes remain clinging to the trees while the wind spends its force. this is particularly the case when the wind blows up at a late hour of the day; then, on the following morning, the dragon-flies are seen clustering to the foliage in such numbers that many trees are covered with them, a large tree often appearing as if hung with curtains of some brown glistening material, too thick to show the green leaves beneath. in patagonia, where the phenomenon of dragon-fly storms is also known, an englishman residing at the rio negro related to me the following occurrence which he witnessed there. a race meeting was being held near the town of el carmen, on a high exposed piece of ground, when, shortly before sunset, a violent pampero wind came up, laden with dense dust-clouds. a few moments before the storm broke, the air all at once became obscured with a prodigious cloud of dragon-flies. about a hundred men, most of them on horseback, were congregated on the course at the time, and the insects, instead of rushing by in their usual way, settled on the people in such quantities that men and horses were quickly covered with clinging masses of them. my informant said--and this agrees with my own observation--that he was greatly impressed by the appearance of terror shown by the insects; they clung to him as if for dear life, so that he had the greatest difficulty in ridding himself of them. weissenborn, in london's _magazine of natural history_ (n. s. vol. iii.) describes a great migration of dragon-flies which he witnessed in germany in , and also mentions a similar phenomenon occurring in , and extending over a large portion of europe. but in these cases the movement took place at the end of may, and the insects travelled due south; their migrations were therefore similar to those of birds and butterflies, and were probably due to the same cause. i have been unable to find any mention of a phenomenon resembling the one with which we are so familiar on the pampas, and which, strangely enough, has not been recorded by any european naturalists who have travelled there. chapter x. mosquitoes and parasite problems. there cannot be a doubt that some animals possess an instinctive knowledge of their enemies--or, at all events, of some of their enemies--though i do not believe that this faculty is so common as many naturalists imagine. the most striking example i am acquainted with is seen in gnats or mosquitoes, and in the minute south american sandflies (simulia), when a dragon-fly appears in a place where they are holding their aerial pastimes. the sudden appearance of a ghost among human revellers could not produce a greater panic. i have spoken in the last chapter of periodical storms or waves of dragon-flies in the plata region, and mentioned incidentally that the appearance of these insects is most welcome in oppressively hot weather, since they are known to come just in advance of a rush of cool wind. in la plata we also look for the dragon-fly, and rejoice at its coming, for another reason. we know that the presence of this noble insect will cause the clouds of stinging gnats and flies, which make life a burden, to vanish like smoke. when a flight of dragon-flies passes over the country many remain along the route, as i have said, sheltering themselves wherever trees occur; and, after the storm blows over, these strangers and stragglers remain for some days hawking for prey in the neighbourhood. it is curious to note that they do not show any disposition to seek for watercourses. it may be that they feel lost in a strange region, or that the panic they have suffered, in their long flight before the wind, has unsettled their instincts; for it is certain that they do not, like the dragon-fly in mrs. browning's poem, "return to dream upon the river." they lead instead a kind of vagabond existence, hanging about the plantations, and roaming over the surrounding plains. it is then remarked that gnats and sand-flies apparently cease to exist, even in places where they have been most abundant. they have not been devoured by the dragon-flies, which are perhaps very few in number; they have simply got out of the way, and will remain in close concealment until their enemies take their departure, or have all been devoured by martins, tyrant birds, and the big robber-flies or devil's dykes--no name is bad enough for them--of the family asilidaa. during these peaceful gnatless days, if a person thrusts himself into the bushes or herbage in some dark sheltered place, he will soon begin to hear the thin familiar sounds, as of "horns of elf-land faintly blowing"; and presently, from the ground and the under surface of every leaf, the ghost-like withered little starvelings will appear in scores and in hundreds to settle on him, fear not having blunted their keen appetites. when riding over the pampas on a hot still day, with a pertinacious cloud of gnats or sandflies hovering just above my head and keeping me company for miles, i have always devoutly wished for a stray dragon-fly to show himself. frequently the wish has been fulfilled, the dragon-fly, apparently "sagacious of his quarry from afar," sweeping straight at his prey, and instantly, as if by miracle, the stinging rain has ceased and the noxious cloud vanished from overhead, to be re-formed no more. this has always seemed very extraordinary to me; for in other matters gnats do not appear to possess even that proverbial small dose of intellect for which we give most insects credit. before the advent of the dragon-fly it has perhaps happened that i have been vigorously striking at them, making it very unpleasant for them, and also killing and disabling many hundreds--a larger number than the most voracious dragon-fly could devour in the course of a whole day; and yet, after brushing and beating them off until my arms have ached with the exertion, they have continued to rush blindly on their fate, exhibiting not the faintest symptom of fear. i suppose that for centuries mosquitoes have, in this way, been brushed and beaten away with hands and with tails, without learning caution. it is not in their knowledge that there are hands and tails. a large animal is simply a field on which they confidently settle to feed, sounding shrill flourishes on their little trumpets to show how fearless they are. but the dragon-fly is very ancient on the earth, and if, during the devonian epoch, when it existed, it preyed on some blood-sucking insect from which or culicidae have come, then these stupid little insects have certainly had ample time in which to learn well at least one lesson. there is not in all organic nature, to my mind, any instance of wasted energy comparable in magnitude with the mosquito's thirst for blood, and the instincts and elaborate blood-pumping apparatus with which it is related. the amount of pollen given off by some wind-fertilized trees--so great in some places that it covers hundreds of square miles of earth and water with a film of yellow dust---strikes us as an amazing waste of material on the part of nature; but in these cases we readily see that this excessive prodigality is necessary to continue the species, and that a sufficient number of flowers would not be impregnated unless the entire trees were bathed for days in the fertilizing cloud, in which only one out of many millions of floating particles can ever hit the mark. the mosquito is able to procreate without ever satisfying its ravenous appetite for blood. to swell its grey thread-like abdomen to a coral bead is a delight to the insect, but not necessary to its existence, like food and water to ours; it is the great prize in the lottery of life, which few can ever succeed in drawing. in a hot summer, when one has ridden perhaps for half a day over a low-lying or wet district, through an atmosphere literally obscured with a fog of mosquitoes, this fact strikes the mind very forcibly, for in such places it frequently is the case that mammals do not exist, or are exceedingly rare. in europe it is different. there, as reaumur said, possibly one gnat in every hundred may be able to gratify its appetite for blood; but of the gnats in many districts in south america it would be nearer the mark to say that only one in a hundred millions can ever do so. curtis discovered that only the female mosquito bites or sucks blood, the male being without tongue or mandibles; and he asks, what, then, does the male feed on? he conjectures that it feeds on flowers; but, had he visited some swampy places in hot countries, where flowers are few and the insects more numerous than the sands on the seashore, he would most probably have said that the males subsist on decaying vegetable matter and moisture of slime. it is, however, more important to know what the female subsists on. we know that she thirsts for warm mammalian blood, that she seeks it with avidity, and is provided with an admirable organ for its extraction--only, unfortunately for her, she does not get it, or, at all events, the few happy individuals that do get it are swamped in the infinite multitude of those that are doomed by nature to total abstinence. i should like to know whether this belief of curtis, shared by westwood and other distinguished entomologists, but originally put forward merely as a conjecture, has ever been tested by careful observation and experiment. if not, then it is strange that it should have crept into many important works, where it is stated not as a mere guess, but as an established fact. thus, van beneden, in his work on parasites, while classing female mosquitoes with his "miserable wretches," yet says, "if blood fails them, they live, like the males, on the juices of flowers." if this be so, it is quite certain that the juices fail to satisfy them; and that, like dr. tanner, who was ravenously hungry during his forty days' fast, in spite of his frequent sips of water, the mosquito still craves for something better than a cool vegetarian diet. i cannot help thinking, though the idea may seem fanciful, that mosquitoes feed on nothing. we know that the ephemerae take no refreshment in the imago state, the mouth being aborted or atrophied in these short-lived creatures; but we also know that they belong to an exceedingly ancient tribe, and possibly, after the earth had ceased to produce their proper nourishment there came in their history a long hungry period, which did not kill them, but lasted until their feeding instincts became obsolete, the mouth lost its use, and their life in its perfect state dwindled to its present length. in any case, how unsatisfactory is the mosquitoes' existence, and what a curious position they occupy in nature! let us suppose that, owing to some great change in the conditions of the earth, rapacious birds were no longer able to capture prey, and that, by a corresponding change in their organizations, they were able to subsist on the air they breathed, with perhaps an occasional green leaf and a sip of water, and yet retained the old craving for solid food, and the old predatory instincts and powers undiminished; they would be in the position of mosquitoes in the imago state. and if then fifty or a hundred individuals were to succeed every year in capturing something and making one hearty meal, these few fortunate diners would bear about the same proportion to all the raptors on the globe as the mosquitoes that succeed in sucking blood to their unsuccessful fellows. in the case of the hawks, the effect of the few meals on the entire rapacious family or order would certainly be _nil;_ and it is impossible to believe for a moment that the comparatively infinitesimal amount of blood sucked by mosquitoes can. serve to invigorate the species. the wonder is that the machinery, which accomplishes nothing, should continue in such perfect working order. when we consider the insect's delicate organ, so admirably fitted for the purpose to which it is applied, it becomes difficult to believe that it could have been so perfected except in a condition of things utterly unlike the present. there must have been a time when mosquitoes found their proper nourishment, and when warm mammalian blood was as necessary to their existence as honey is to that of the bee, or insect food to the dragon-fly. this applies to many blood-sucking insects besides mosquitoes, and with special force to the tick tribes (ixodes), which swarm throughout central and south america; for in these degraded spiders the whole body has been manifestly modified to fit it for a parasitical life; while the habits of the insect during its blind, helpless, waiting existence on trees, and its sudden great development when it succeeds in attaching itself to an animal body, also point irresistibly to the same conclusion. in the sunny uplands they act (writes captain burton) like the mosquitoes of the hot, humid beiramar. "the nuisance is general; it seems to be in the air; every blade of grass has its colony; clusters of hundreds adhere to the twigs; myriads are found in the bush clumps. lean and flat when growing to the leaves, the tick catches man or beast brushing by, fattens rapidly, and, at the end-of a week's good living, drops off, _plena cruoris."_ when on trees, belt says, they instinctively place themselves on the extreme tips of leaves and shoots, with their hind legs stretching out, each foot armed with two hooks or claws, with which to lay hold of any animal brushing by. during this wretched, incom-plete existence (from which, in most cases, it is never destined to emerge), its greatest length is about one-fourth of an inch; but where it fastens itself to an animal the abdomen increases to a globe as big as a medium-sized barcelona nut. being silvery-grey or white in colour, it becomes, when thus distended, very conspicuous on any dark surface. i have frequently seen black, smooth-haired dogs with their coats, turned into a perfect garden of these white spider-flowers or mushrooms. the white globe is leathery, and nothing can injure it; and the poor beast cannot rub, bite, or scratch it off, as it is anchored to his flesh by eight sets of hooks and a triangle of teeth. the ticks inhabiting regions rich in bird and insect life, but with few mammals, are in the same condition as mosquitoes, as far as the supply of blood goes; and, like the mosquitoes, they are compelled and able to exist without the nourishment best suited to them. they are nature's miserable castaways, parasitical tribes lost in a great dry wilderness where no blood is; and every marsh-born mosquito, piping of the hunger gnawing its vitals, and every forest tick, blindly feeling with its grappling-irons for the beast that never brushes by, seems to tell us of a world peopled with gigantic forms, mammalian and reptilian, which once afforded abundant pasture to the parasite, and which the parasite perhaps assisted to overthrow. it is almost necessary to transport oneself to the vast tick-infested wilderness of the new world to appreciate the full significance of a passage in belt's _naturalist in nicaragua,_ in which it is suggested that man's hairless condition was perhaps brought about by natural selection in tropical regions, where he was greatly troubled with parasites of this kind. it is certain that if in such a country as brazil he possessed a hairy coat, affording cover to the tick and enabling it to get a footing on the body, his condition would be a very sad one. savages abhor hairs on the body, and even pluck them off their faces. this seems like a survival of an ancient habit acquired when the whole body was clothed with hair; and if primitive man ever possessed such a habit, nature only followed his lead in giving him a hairless offspring. is it not also probable that the small amount of mammalian life in south america, and the aquatic habits of nearly all the large animals in the warmer districts, is due to the persecutions of the tick? the only way in which a large animal can rid itself of the pest is by going into the water or wallowing in the mud; and this perhaps accounts for the more or less aquatic habits of the jaguar, aguará-guazú, the large cervus paluclosus, tapir, capybara, and peccary. monkeys, which are most abundant, are a notable exception; but these animals have the habit of attending to each other's skins, and spend a great deal of their time in picking off the parasites. but how do birds escape the ticks, since these parasites do not confine their attacks to any one class of aninials, but attach themselves impartially to any living thing coming within reach of their hooks, from snake to man? my own observations bearing on this point refer less to the ixodes than to the minute bete-rouge, which is excessively abundant in the plata district, where it is known as _bicho colorado,_ and in size and habits resembles the english leptus autumnalis. it is so small that, notwithstanding its bright scarlet colour, it can only be discerned by bringing the eye close to it; and being, moreover, exceedingly active and abundant in all shady places in summer--making life a misery to careless human beings--it must be very much more dangerous to birds than the larger sedentary ixodes. the bete-rouge invariably lodges beneath the wings of birds, where the loose scanty plumage affords easy access to the skin. domestic birds suffer a great deal from its persecutions, and their young, if allowed to run about in shady places, die of the irritation. wild birds, however, seem to be very little troubled, and most of those i have examined have been almost entirely free from parasites. probably they are much more sensitive than the domestic birds, and able to feel and pick off the insects with their beaks before they have penetrated into the skin. i believe they are also able to protect themselves in another way, namely, by preventing the parasites from reaching their bodies at all. i was out under the trees one day with a pet oven-bird (furnarius rufus), which had full liberty to range about at will, and noticed that at short intervals it went through the motions of picking something from its toes or legs, though i could see nothing on them. at length i approached my eyes to within a few inches of the bird's feet, and discovered that the large dry branch on which it stood was covered with a multitude of parasites, all running rapidly about like foraging ants, and whenever one came to the bird's feet it at once ran up the leg. every time this happened, so far as i could see, the bird felt it. and quickly and deftly picked it off with the point of its bill. it seemed very astonishing that the horny covering of the toes and legs should be so exquisitely sensitive, for the insects are so small and light that they cannot be felt on the hand, even when a score of them are running over it; but the fact is as i have stated, and it is highly probable, i think, that most wild birds keep themselves free from these little torments in the same way. some observations of mine on a species of orni-thomyia--a fly parasitical on birds--might possibly be of use in considering the question of the anomalous position in nature of insects possessing the instincts and aptitudes of parasites, and organs manifestly modified to suit a parasitical mode of life, yet compelled and able to exist free, feeding, perhaps, on vegetable juices, or, like the ephemerae, on nothing at all. for it must be borne in mind that i do not assert that these "occasional" or "accidental" parasites, as some one calls them, explaining nothing, do not feed on such juices. i do not know what they feed on. i only know that the joyful alacrity with which gnats and stinging flies of all kinds abandon the leaves, supposed to afford them pasture, to attack a warm-blooded animal, serves to show how strong the impulse is, and how ineradicable the instinct, which must have had an origin. perhaps the habits of the bird-fly i have mentioned will serve to show how, in some cases, the free life of some blood-sucking flies and other insects might have originated. kirby and spence, in their _introduction,_ mention that one or two species of ornithomyia have been observed flying about and alighting on men; and in one case the fly extracted blood and was caught, the species being thus placed beyond doubt. this circumstance led the authors to believe that the insect, when the bird it is parasitical on dies, takes to flight and migrates from body to body, occasionally tasting blood until, coming to the right body--to wit, that of a bird, or of a particular species of bird--it once more establishes itself permanently in the plumage. i fancy that the insect sometimes leads a freer life and ranges much more than the authors imagined; and i refer to kirby and spence, with apologies to those who regard the _introduction_ as out of date, only because i am not aware that we have any later observations on the subject. there is in la plata a small very common dendrocolaptine bird--anumbius acuticaudatus--much infested by an ornithomyia, a pretty, pale insect, half the size of a house-fly, and elegantly striped with green. it is a very large parasite for so small a bird, yet so cunning and alert is it, and so swiftly is it able to swim through the plumage, that the bird is unable to rid itself of so undesirable a companion. the bird lives with its mate all the year round, much of the time with its grown-up young, in its nest--a large structure, in which so much building-material is used that the bird is called in the vernacular leñatero, or firewood-gatherer. on warm bright days without wind, during the absence of the birds, i have frequently seen a company of from half a dozen to a dozen or fifteen of the parasitical fly wheeling about in the air above the nest, hovering and gambolling together, just like house-flies in a room in summer; but always on the appearance of the birds, returning from their feeding-ground, they would instantly drop down and disappear into the nest. how curious this instinct seems! the fly regards the bird, which affords it the warmth and food essential to life, as its only deadly enemy; and with an inherited wisdom, like that of the mosquito with regard to the dragon-fly, or of the horse-fly with regard to the monedula wasp, vanishes like smoke from its presence, and only approaches the bird secretly from a place of concealment. the parasitical habit tends inevitably to degrade the species acquiring it, dulling its senses and faculties, especially those of sight and locomotion; but the ornithomyia seems an exception, its dependent life having had a contrary effect; the extreme sensitiveness, keenness of sight, and quickness of the bird having reacted on the insect, giving it a subtlety in its habits and motions almost without a parallel even among free insects. a man with a blood-sucking flat-bodied flying squirrel, concealing itself among his clothing and gliding and dodging all over his body with so much artifice and rapidity as to defeat all efforts made to capturo it or knock it off, would be a case parallel to that of the bird-fly on the small bird. it might be supposed that the firewood-gatherer, like some ants that keep domestic pets, makes a pet of the fly; for it is a very pretty insect, barred with green, and with rainbow reflections on its wings--and birds are believed by some theorists to possess aesthetic tastes; but the discomfort of having such a vampire on the body would, i imagine, be too great to allow a kindly instinct of that nature to grow up. moreover, i have on several occasions seen the bird making frantic efforts to capture one of the flies, which had incautiously flown up from the nest at the wrong moment. bird and fly seem to know each other wonderfully well. here, then, we have a parasitical insect specialized in the highest degree, yet retaining all its pristine faculties unimpaired, its love of liberty, and of associating in numbers together for sportive exercises, and well able to take care of itself during its free intervals. and probably when thrown on the world, as when nests are blown down, or the birds get killed, or change their quarters, as they often do, it is able to exist for some time without avian blood. let us then imagine some of these orphaned colonies, unable to find birds, but through a slight change in habits or organization able to exist in the imago state without sucking blood until they laid their eggs; and succeeding generations, still better able to stand the altered conditions of life until they become practically independent (like gnats), multiplying greatly, and disporting themselves in clouds over forests, yet still retaining the old hunger for blood and the power to draw it, and ready at any moment to return to the ancestral habit. it might be said that if such a result were possible it would have occurred, but that we find no insect like the ornithomyia existing independently. with the bird-fly it has not occurred, as far as we know; but in the past history of some independent parasites it is possible that something similar to the imaginary case i have sketched may have taken place. the bush-tick is a more highly specialized, certainly a more degraded, creature than the bird-fly, and the very fact of its existence seems to show that it is possible for even the lowest of the fallen race of parasites to start afresh in life under new conditions, and to reascend in the scale of being, although still bearing about it the marks of former degeneracy. the connection between the flea and the mammal it feeds on is even less close than that which exists between the ornithomyia and bird. the fact that fleas are so common and universal--for in all lands we have them, like the poor, always with us; and that they are found on all mammals, from the king of beasts to the small modest mouse--seems to show a great amount of variability and adaptiveness, as well as a very high antiquity. it has often been reported that fleas have been found hopping on the ground in desert places, where they could not have been dropped by man or beast; and it has been assumed that these "independent" fleas must, like gnats and ticks, subsist on vegetable juices. there is no doubt that they are able to exist and propagate for one or two years after being deprived of their proper aliment; houses shut up for a year or longer are sometimes found infested with them; possibly in the absence of "vegetable juices" they flourish on dust. i have never detected them hopping on the ground in uninhabited places, although i once found them in patagonia, in a hamlet which had been attacked and depopulated by the indians about twenty months before my visit. on entering one of the deserted huts i found the floor literally swarming with fleas, and in less than ten seconds my legs, to the height of my knees, were almost black with their numbers. this proves that they are able toincrease greatly for a period without blood; but i doubt that they can go on existing and increasing for an indefinite time; perhaps their true position, with regard to the parasitical habit, is midway between that of the strict parasite which never leaves the body, and that of independent parasites like the culex and the ixodes, and all those which are able to exist free for ever, and are parasitical only when the opportunity offers. entomologists regard the flea as a degraded fly. certainly it is very much more degraded than the bird-borne ornithomyia, with its subtle motions and instinct, its power of flight and social pastimes. the poor pulex has lost every trace of wings; nevertheless, in its fallen condition it has developed some remarkable qualities and saltatory powers, which give it a lower kind of glory; and, compared with another parasite with which it shares the human species, it is almost a noble insect. darwin has some remarks about the smallness of the brain of an ant, assuming that this insect possesses a very high intelligence, but i doubt very much that the ant, which moves in a groove, is mentally the superior of the unsocial flea. the last is certainly the most teachable; and if fleas were generally domesticated and made pets of, probably there would be as many stories about their marvellous intelligence and fidelity to man as we now hear about our over-praised "friend" the dog. with regard to size, the flea probably started on its downward course as a comparatively large insect, probably larger than the ornithomyia. that insect has been able to maintain its existence, without dwindling like the leptus into a mere speck, through the great modification in organs and instinct, which adapt it so beautifully to the feathery element in which it moves. the bush-tick, wingless from the beginning, and diverging in another direction, has probably been greatly increased in size by its parasitical habit; this seems proven by the fact, that as long as it is parasitical on nothing it remains small, but when able to fasten itself to an animal it rapidly developes to a great size. again, the big globe of its abdomen is coriaceous and elastic, and is probably as devoid of sensation as a ball of india-rubber. the insect, being made fast by hooks and teeth to its victim, all efforts to remove it only increase the pain it causes; and animals that know it well do not attempt to rub, scratch, or bite it off, therefore the great size and the conspicuous colour of the tick are positive advantages to it. the flea, without the subtlety and highly-specialized organs of the ornithomyia, or the stick-fast powers and leathery body of the ixodes, can only escape its vigilant enemies by making itself invisible; hence every variation, i.e. increase in jumping-power and diminished bulk, tending towards this result, has been taken advantage of by natural selection. chapter xi humble-bees and other matters. two humble-bees, bombus thoracicus and b. violaceus, are found on the pampas; the first, with a primrose yellow thorax, and the extremity of the abdomen bright rufous, slightly resembles the english b. terrestris; the rarer species, which is a trifle smaller than the first, is of a uniform intense black, the body having the appearance of velvet, the wings being of a deep violaceous blue. a census of the humble-bees in any garden or field always shows that the yellow bees outnumber the black in the proportion of about seven to one; and i have also found their nests for many years in the same proportion; about seven nests of the yellow to one nest of the black species. in habits they are almost identical, and when two species so closely allied are found inhabiting the same locality, it is only reasonable to infer that one possesses some advantage over the other, and that the least favoured species will eventually disappear. in this case, where one so greatly outnumbers the other, it might be thought that the rarer species is dying out, or that, on the contrary, it is a new-comer destined to supplant the older more numerous species. yet, during the twenty years i have observed them, there has occurred no change in their relative positions; though both have greatly increased in numbers during that time, owing to the spread of cultivation. and yet it would scarcely be too much to expect some marked change in a period so long as that, even through the slow-working agency of natural selection; for it is not as if there had been an exact balance of power between them. in the same period of time i have seen several species, once common, almost or quite disappear, while others, very low down as to numbers, have been exalted to the first rank. in insect life especially, these changes have been numerous, rapid, and widespread. in the district where, as a boy, i chased and caught tinamous, and also chased ostriches, but failed to catch them, the continued presence of our two humble-bees, sucking the same flowers and making their nests in the same situations, has remained a puzzle to my mind. the site of the nest is usually a slight depression in the soil in the shelter of a cardoon bush. the bees deepen the hollow by burrowing in the earth; and when the spring foliage sheltering it withers up, they construct a dome-shaped covering of small sticks, thorns, and leaves bitten into extremely minute pieces. they sometimes take possession of a small hole or cavity in the ground, and save themselves the labour of excavation. their architecture closely resembles that of b. terrestris. they make rudely-shaped oval honey-cells, varying from half an inch to an inch and a half in length, the smaller ones being the first made; later in the season the old cocoons are utilized for storing honey. the wax is chocolate-coloured, and almost the only difference i can find in the economy of the two species is that the black bee uses a large quantity of wax in plastering the interior of its nest. the egg-cell of the yellow bee always contains from twelve to sixteen eggs; that of the black bee from ten to fourteen; and the eggs of this species are the largest though the bee is smallest. at the entrance on the edge of the mound one bee is usually stationed, and, when approached, it hums a shrill challenge, and throws itself into a menacing attitude. the sting is exceedingly painful. one summer i was so fortunate as to discover two nests of the two kinds within twelve yards of each other, and i resolved to watch them very carefully, in order to see whether the two species ever came into collision, as sometimes happens with ants of different species living close together. several times i saw a yellow bee leave its own nest and hover round or settle on the neighbouring one, upon which the sentinel black bee would attack and drive it off. one day, while watching, i was delighted to see a yellow bee actually enter its neighbour's nest, the sentinel being off duty. in about five minutes' time it came out again and flew away unmolested. i concluded from this that humble-bees, like their relations of the hive, occasionally plunder each other's sweets. on another occasion i found a black bee dead at the entrance of the yellow bees' nest; doubtless this individual had been caught in the act of stealing honey, and, after it had been stung to death, it had been dragged out and left there as a warning to others with like felonious intentions. there is one striking difference between the two species. the yellow bee is inodorous; the black bee, when angry and attacking, emits an exceedingly powerful odour: curiously enough, this smell is identical in character with that made when angry by all the wasps of the south american genus pepris--dark blue wasps with red wings. this odour at first produces a stinging sensation on the nerve of smell, but when inhaled in large measure becomes very nauseating. on one occasion, while i was opening a nest, several of the bees buzzing round my head and thrusting their stings through the veil i wore for protection, gave out so pungent a smell that i found it unendurable, and was compelled to retreat. it seems strange that a species armed with a venomous sting and possessing the fierce courage of the humble-bee should also have this repulsive odour for a protection. it is, in fact, as incongruous as it would be were our soldiers provided with guns and swords first, and after with phials of assafoatida to be uncorked in the face of an enemy. why, or how, animals came to be possessed of the power of emitting pestiferous odours is a mystery; we only see that natural selection has, in some mstances, chiefly among insects, taken advantage of it to furnish some of the weaker, more unprotected species with a means of escape from their enemies. the most stinking example i know is that of a large hairy caterpillar i have found on dry wood in patagonia, and which, when touched, emits an intensely nauseous effluvium. happily it is very volatile, but while it lasts it is even more detestable than that of the skunk. the skunk itself offers perhaps the one instance amongst the higher vertebrates of an animal in which all the original instincts of self-preservation have died out, giving place to this lower kind of protection. all the other members of the family it belongs to are cunning, swift of foot, and, when overtaken, fierce-tempered and well able to defend themselves with their powerful well-armed jaws. for some occult reason they are provided with a gland charged with a malodorous secretion; and out of this mysterious liquor nature has elaborated the skunk's inglorious weapon. the skunk alone when attacked makes no attempt to escape or to defend itself by biting; but, thrown by its agitation into a violent convulsion, involuntarily discharges its foetid liquor into the face of an opponent. when this animal had once ceased to use so good a weapon as its teeth in defending itself, degenerating at the same time into a slow-moving creature, without fear and without cunning, the strength and vileness of its odour would be continually increased by the cumulative process of natural selection: and how effective the protection has become is shown by the abundance of the species throughout the whole american continent. it is lucky for mankind--especially for naturalists and sportsmen--that other species have not been improved in the same direction. but what can we say of the common deer of the pampas (cervus campestris), the male of which gives out an effluvium quite as far-reaching although not so abominable in character as that of the mephitis? it comes in disagreeable whiffs to the human nostril when the perfumer of the wilderness is not even in sight. yet it is not a protection; on the contrary, it is the reverse, and, like the dazzling white plumage so attractive to birds of prey, a direct disadvantage, informing all enemies for leagues around of its whereabouts. it is not, therefore, strange that wherever pumas are found, deer are never very abundant; the only wonder is that, like the ancient horse of america, they have not become extinct. the gauchos of the pampas, however, give _a reason_ for the powerful smell of the male deer; and, after some hesitation, i have determined to set it down here, for the reader to accept or reject, as he thinks proper. i neither believe nor disbelieve it; for although i do not put great faith in gaucho natural history, my own observations have not infrequently confirmed statements of theirs, which a sceptical person would have regarded as wild indeed. to give one instance: i heard a gaucho relate that while out riding he had been pursued for a considerable distance by a large spider; his hearers laughed at him for a romancer; but as i myself had been attacked and pursued, both when on foot and on horseback, by a large wolf-spider, common on the pampas, i did not join in the laugh. they say that the effluvium of c. campestris is abhorrent to snakes of all kinds, just as pyrethrum powder is to most insects, and even go so far as to describe its effect as fatal to them; according to this, the smell is therefore a protection to the deer. in places where venomous snakes are extremely abundant, as in the sierra district on the southern pampas of buenos ayres, the gaucho frequently ties a strip of the male deer's skin, which retains its powerful odour for an indefinite time, round the neck of a valuable horse as a protection. it is certain that domestic animals are frequently lost here through snake-bites. the most common poisonous species--the craspedo-cephalus alternatus, called _vivora de la cruz_ in the vernacular--has neither bright colour nor warning rattle to keep off heavy hoofs, and is moreover of so sluggish a temperament that it will allow itself to be trodden on before stirring, with the result that its fangs are not infrequently struck into the nose or foot of browsing beast. considering, then, the conditions in which c. campestris is placed--and it might also be supposed that venomous snakes have in past times been much more numerous than they are now--it is not impossible to believe that the powerful smell it emits has been made protective, especially when we see in other species how repulsive odours have been turned to account by the principle of natural selection. after all, perhaps the wild naturalist of the pampas knows what he is about when he ties a strip of deer-skin to the neck of his steed and turns him loose to graze among the snakes. the gaucho also affirms that the deer cherishes a wonderful animosity against snakes; that it becomes greatly excited when it sees one, and proceeds at once to destroy it; _they say,_ by running round and round it in a circle, emitting its violent smell in larger measure, until the snake dies of suffocation. it is hard to believe that the effect can be so great; but that the deer is a snake hater and killer is certainly true: in north america, ceylon, and other districts deer have been observed excitedly leaping on serpents, and killing them with their sharp cutting hoofs. chapter xii. a noble wasp. _(monedula punctata.)_ naturalists, like kings and emperors, have their favourites, and as my zoological sympathies, which are wider than my knowledge, embrace all classes of beings, there are of course several insects for which i have a special regard; a few in each of the principal orders. my chief favourite among the hymenopteras is the one representative of the curious genus monedula known in la plata. it is handsome and has original habits, but it is specially interesting to me for another reason: i can remember the time when it was extremely rare on the pampas, so rare that in boyhood the sight of one used to be a great event to me; and i have watched its rapid increase year by year till it has come to be one of our commonest species. its singular habits and intelligence give it a still better claim to notice. it is a big, showy, loud-buzzing insect, with pink head and legs, wings with brown reflections, and body encircled with alternate bands of black and pale gold, and has a preference for large composite flowers, on the honey of which it feeds. its young is, however, an insect-eater; but the monedula does not, like other burrowing or sand wasps, put away a store of insects or spiders, partially paralyzed, as a provision for the grub till it reaches the pupa state; it actually supplies the grub with fresh-caught insects as long as food is required, killing the prey it captures outright, and bringing it in to its young; so that its habits, in this particular, are more bird- than wasp-like. the wasp lays its solitary egg at the extremity of a hole it excavates for itself on a bare hard piece of ground, and many holes are usually found close together. when the grub--for i have never been able to find more than one in a hole--has come out from the egg, the parent begins to bring in insects, carefully filling up the mouth of the hole with loose earth after every visit. without this precaution, which entails a vast amount of labour, i do not believe one grub out of every fifty would survive, so overrun are these barren spots of ground used as breeding-places with hunting spiders, ants, and tiger-beetles. the grub is a voracious eater, but the diligent mother brings in as much as it can devour. i have often found as many as six or seven insects, apparently fresh killed, and not yet touched by the pampered little glutton, coiled up in the midst of them waiting for an appetite. the monedula is an adroit fly-catcher, for though it kills numbers of fire-flies and other insects, flies are always preferred, possibly because they are so little encumbered with wings, and are also more easily devoured. it occasionally captures insects on the wing, but the more usual method is to pounce down on its prey when it is at rest. at one time, before i had learnt their habits, i used frequently to be startled by two or three or more of these wasps rushing towards my face, and continuing hovering before it, loudly buzzing, attending me in my walks about the fields. the reason of this curious proceeding is that the monedula preys largely on stinging flies, having learnt from experience that the stinging fly will generally neglect its own safety when it has once fastened on a good spot to draw blood from. when a man or horse stands perfectly motionless the wasps take no notice, but the moment any movement is made of hand, tail, or stamping hoof, they rush to the rescue, expecting to find a stinging fly. on the other hand, the horse has learnt to know and value this fly-scourge, and will stand very quietly with half a dozen loud avasps hovering in an alarming manner close to his head, well knowing that every fly that settles on him will be instantly snatched away, and that the boisterous monedula is a better protection even than the tail--which, by the way, the horse wears very long in buenos ayres. i have, in conclusion, to relate an incident i onco witnessed, and which does not show the monedula in a very amiable light. i was leaning over a gate watching one of these wasps feeding on a sunflower. a small leaf-cutting bee was hurrying about with its shrill busy hum in the vicinity, and in due time came to the sunflower and settled on it. the monedula became irritated, possibly at the shrill voice and bustling manner of its neighbour, and, after watching it for a few moments on the flower, deliberately rushed at and drove it off. the leaf-cutter quickly returned, however--for bees are always extremely averse to leaving a flower unexplored--but was again driven away with threats and demonstrations on the part of the monedula. the little thing went off and sunned itself on a leaf for a time, then returned to the flower, only to be instantly ejected again. other attempts were made, but the big wasp now kept a jealous watch on its neighbour's movements, and would not allow it to come within several inches of the flower without throwing itself into a threatening attitude. the defeated bee retired to sun itself once more, apparently determined to wait for the big tyrant to go away; but the other seemed to know what was wanted, and spitefully made up its mind to stay where it was. the leaf-cutter then gave up the contest. suddenly rising up into the air, it hovered, hawk-like, above the monedula for a moment, then pounced down on its back, and clung there, furiously biting, until its animosity was thoroughly appeased; then it flew off, leaving the other master of the field certainly, but greatly discomposed, and perhaps seriously injured about the base of the wings. i was rather surprised that they were not cut quite off, for a leaf-cutting bee can use its teeth as deftly as a tailor can his shears. doubtless to bees, as to men, revenge is sweeter than honey. but, in the face of mental science, can a creature as low down in the scale of organization as a leaf-cutting bee be credited with anything so intelligent and emotional as deliberate anger and revenge, "which implies the need of retaliation to satisfy the feelings of the person (or bee) offended?" according to bain _(mental and moral science)_ only the highest animals--stags and bulls he mentions-can be credited with the developed form of anger, which, he describes as an excitement caused by pain, reaching the centres of activity, and containing an impulse knowingly to inflict suffering on another sentient being. here, if man only is meant, the spark is perhaps accounted for, but not the barrel of gunpowder. the explosive material is, however, found in the breast of nearly every living creature. the bull--ranking high according to bain, though i myself should place him nearly on a level mentally with the majority of the lower animals, both vertebrate and insect--is capable of a wrath exceeding that of achilles; and yet the fact that a red rag can manifestly have no associations, personal or political, for the bull, shows how uniutcllectual his anger must be. another instance of misdirected anger in nature, not quite so familiar as that of the bull and red rag, is used as an illustration by one of the prophets: "my heritage is unto me as a speckled bird; the birds round, about are against it." i have frequently seen the birds of a thicket gather round some singularly marked accidental visitor, and finally drive him with great anger from the neighbourhood. possibly association comes in a little here, since any bird, even a small one, strikingly coloured or marked, might be looked on as a bird of prey. the flesh-fly laying its eggs on the carrion-flower is only a striking instance of the mistakes all instincts are liable to, never more markedly than in the inherited tendency to fits of frenzied excitement: the feeling is frequently excited by the wrong object, and explodes at inopportune moments. chapter xiii. nature's night lights. _(remarks about fireflies and other matters.)_ it was formerly supposed that the light of the firefly (in any family possessing the luminous power) was a safeguard against the attacks of other insects, rapacious and nocturnal in their habits. this was kirby and spence's notion, but it might just as well be pliny's for all the attention it would receive from modern entomologists: just at present any observer who lived in the pre-darwin days is regarded as one of the ancients. the reasons given for the notion or theory in the celebrated _introduction to entomology_ were not conclusive; nevertheless it was not an improbable supposition of the authors'; while the theory which has taken its place in recent zoological writings seems in every way even less satisfactory. let us first examine the antiquated theory, as it must now be called. by bringing a raptorial insect and a firefly together, we find that the flashing light of the latter does actually scare away the former, and is therefore, for the moment, a protection as effectual as the camp-fire the traveller lights in a district abounding with beasts of prey. notwithstanding this fact, and assuming that we have here the whole reason of the existence of the light-emitting power, a study of the firefly's habits compels us to believe that the insect would be just as well off without the power as with it. probably it experiences some pleasure in emitting flashes of light during its evening pastimes, but this could scarcely be considered an advantage in its struggle for existence, and it certainly does not account for the possession of the faculty. about the habits of pyrophorus, the large tropical firefly which has the seat of its luminosity on the upper surface of the thorax, nothing definite appears to be known; but it has been said that this instinct is altogether nocturnal. the pyrophorus is only found in the sub-tropical portion of the argentine country, and i have never met with it. with the widely-separated cratomorphus, and the tortoise-shaped aspisoma, which emit the light from the abdomen, i am familiar; one species of cratomorphus--a long slender insect with yellow wing-cases marked with two parallel black lines--is "the firefly" known to every one and excessively abundant in the southern countries of la plata. this insect is strictly diurnal in its habits--as much so, in fact, as diurnal butterflies. they are seen flying about, wooing their mates, and feeding on composite and umbelliferous flowers at all hours of the day, and are as active as wasps during the full glare of noon. birds do not feed on them, owing to the disagreeable odour, resembling that of phosphorus, they emit, and probably because they are to be uneatable; but their insect enemies are not so squeamish, and devour them readily, just as they also do the blister-fly, which one would imagine a morsel fitted to disagree with any stomach. one of their enemies is the monedula wasp; another, a fly, of the rapacious asilidas family; and this fly is also a wasp in appearance, having a purple body and bright red wings, like a pepris, and this mimetic resemblance doubtless serves it as a protection against birds. a majority of raptorial insects are, however, nocturnal, and from all these enemies that go about under cover of night, the firefly, as kirby and spence rightly conjectured, protects itself, or rather is involuntarily protected, by means of its frequent flashing light. we are thus forced to the conclusion that, while the common house fly and many other diurnal insects spend a considerable portion of the daylight in purely sportive exercises, the firefly, possessing in its light a protection from nocturnal enemies, puts off its pastimes until the evening; then, when its carnival of two or three hours' duration is over, retires also to rest, putting out its candle, and so exposing itself to the dangers which surround other diurnal species during the hours of darkness. i have spoken of the firefly's pastimes advisedly, for i have really never been able to detect it doing anything in the evening beyond flitting aimlessly about, like house flies in a room, hovering and revolving in company by the hour, apparently for amusement. thus, the more closely we look at the facts, the more unsatisfactory does the explanation seem. that the firefly should have become possessed of so elaborate a machinery, producing incidentally such splendid results, merely as a protection against one set of enemies for a portion only of the period during which they are active, is altogether incredible. the current theory, which we owe to belt, is a prettier one. certain insects (also certain batrachians, reptiles, &c.) are unpalatable to the rapacious kinds; it is therefore a direct advantage to these unpalatable species to be distinguishable from all the persecuted, and the more conspicuous and well-known they are, the less likely are they to be mistaken by birds, insectivorous mammals, &c., for eatable kinds and caught or injured. hence we find that many such species have acquired for their protection very brilliant or strongly-contrasted colours--warning colours--which insect-eaters come to know. the firefly, a soft-bodied, slow-flying insect, is easily caught and injured, but it is not fit for food, and, therefore, says the theory, lest it should be injured or killed by mistake, it has a fiery spark to warn enemies---birds, bats, and rapacious insects--that it is uneatable. the theory of warning colours is an excellent one, but it has been pushed too far. we have seen that one of the most common fireflies is diurnal in habits, or, at any rate, that it performs all the important business of its life by day, when it has neither bright colour nor light to warn its bird enemies; and out of every hundred species of insect-eating birds at least ninety-nine are diurnal. raptorial insects, as i have said, feed freely on fireflies, so that the supposed warning is not for them, and it would be hard to believe that the magnificent display made by luminous insects is useful only in preventing accidental injuries to them from a few crepuscular bats and goatsuckers. and to believe even this we should first have to assume that bats and goatsuckers are differently constituted from all other creatures; for in other animals--insects, birds, and mammalians--the appearance of fire by night seems to confuse and frighten, but it certainly cannot be said to _warn,_ in the sense in which that word is used when we speak of the brilliant colours of some butterflies, or even of the gestures of some venomous snakes, and of the sounds they emit. thus we can see that, while the old theory of kirby and spence had some facts to support it, the one now in vogue is purely fanciful. until some better suggestion is made, it would perhaps be as well to consider the luminous organ as having "no very close and direct relation to present habits of life." about their present habits, however, especially their crepuscular habits, there is yet much to learn. one thing i have observed in them has always seemed very strange to me. occasionally an individual insect is seen shining with a very large and steady light, or with a light which very gradually decreases and increases in power, and at such times it is less active than at others, remaining for long intervals motionless on the leaves, or moving with a very slow flight. in south america a firefly displaying this abnormal splendour is said to be dying, and it is easy to imagine how such a notion originated. the belief is, however, erroneous, for sometimes, on very rare occasions, all the insects in one place are simultaneously affected in the same way, and at such times they mass themselves together in myriads, as if for migration, or for some other great purpose. mr. bigg-wither, in south brazil, and d'albertis, in new guinea, noticed these firefly gatherings; i also once had the rare good fortune to witness a phenomenon of the kind on a very grand scale. riding on the pampas one dark evening an hour after sunset, and passing from high ground overgrown with giant thistles to a low plain covered with long grass, bordering a stream of water, i found it all ablaze with myriads of fireflies. i noticed that all the insects gave out an exceptionally large, brilliant light, which shone almost steadily. the long grass was thickly studded with them, while they literally swarmed in the air, all moving up the valley with a singularly slow and languid flight. when i galloped down into this river of phosphorescent fire, my horse plunged and snorted with alarm. i succeeded at length in quieting him, and then rode slowly through, compelled to keep my mouth and eyes closed, so thickly did the insects rain on to my face. the air was laden with the sickening phosphorous smell they emit, but when i had once got free of the broad fiery zone, stretching away on either hand for miles along the moist valley, i stood still and gazed back for some time on a scene the most wonderful and enchanting i have ever witnessed. the fascinating and confusing effect which the appearance of fire at night has on animals is a most interesting subject; and although it is not probable that anything very fresh remains to be said about it, i am tempted to add here the results of my own experience. when travelling by night, i have frequently been struck with the behaviour of my horse at the sight of natural fire, or appearance of fire, always so different from that caused by the sight of fire artificially created. the steady gleam from the open window or door of a distant house, or even the unsteady wind-tossed flame of some lonely camp-fire, has only served to rouse a fresh spirit in him and the desire to reach it; whereas those infrequent displays of fire which nature exhibits, such as lightning, or the ignis fatuus, or even a cloud of fireflies, has always produced a disquieting effect. experience has evidently taught the domestic horse to distinguish a light kindled by man from all others; and, knowing its character, he is just as well able as his rider to go towards it without experiencing that confusion of mind caused by a glare in the darkness, the origin and nature of which is a mystery. the artificially-lighted fire is to the horse only the possible goal of the journey, and is associated with the thought of rest and food. wild animals, as a rule, at any rate in thinly-settled districts, do not know the meaning of any fire; it only excites curiosity and fear in them; and they are most disturbed at the sight of fires made by man, which are brighter and steadier than most natural fires. we can understand this sensation in animals, since we ourselves experience a similar one (although in a less degree and not associated with fear) in the effect which mere brightness has on us, both by day and night. on riding across the monotonous grey patagonian uplands, where often for hours one sees not the faintest tinge of bright colour, the intense glowing crimson of a cactus-fruit, or the broad shining white bosom of the patagonian eagle-buzzard (buteo erythronotus), perched on the summit of a distant bush, has had a strangely fascinating effect on me, so that i have been unable to take my eyes off it as long as it continued before me. or in passing through extensive desolate marshes, the dazzling white plumage of a stationary egret has exercised the same attraction. at night we experience the sensation in a greater degree, when the silver sheen of the moon makes a broad path on the water; or when a meteor leaves a glowing track across the sky; while a still more familiar instance is seen in the powerful attraction on the sight of glowing embers in a darkened room. the mere brightness, or vividness of the contrast, fascinates the mind; but the effect on man is comparatively weak, owing to his fiery education and to his familiarity with brilliant dyes artificially obtained from nature. how strong this attraction of mere brightness, even where there is no mystery about it, is to wild animals is shown by birds of prey almost invariably singling out white or bright-plumaged birds for attack where bright and sober-coloured kinds are mingled together. by night the attraction is immeasurably greater than by day, and the light of a fire steadily gazed at quickly confuses the mind. the fires which, travellers make for their protection actually serve to attract the beasts of prey, but the confusion and fear caused by the bright glare makes it safe for the traveller to lie down and sleep in the light. mammals do not lose their heads altogether, because they are walking on firm ground where muscular exertion and an exercise of judgment are necessary at every step; whereas birds floating buoyantly and with little effort through the air are quickly bewildered. incredible numbers of migratory birds kill them-selves by dashing against the windows of lighthouses; on bright moonlight nights the voyagers are comparatively safe; but during dark cloudy weather the slaughter is very great; over six hundred birds were killed by striking a lighthouse in central america in a single night. on insects the effect is the same as on the higher animals: on the ground they are attracted by the light, but keep, like wolves and tigers, at a safe distance from it; when rushing through the air and unable to keep their eyes from it they fly into it, or else revolve about it, until, coming too close, their wings are singed. i find that when i am on horseback, going at a swinging gallop, a bright light affects me far more powerfully than when i am trudging along on foot. a person mounted on a bicycle and speeding over a level plain on a dark night, with nothing to guide him except the idea of the direction in his mind, would be to some extent in the position of the migratory bird. an exceptionally brilliant ignis fatuus flying before him would affect him as the gleam of a lamp placed high above the surface affects the migrants: he would not be able to keep his eyes from it, but would quickly lose the sense of direction, and probably end his career much as the bird does, by breaking his machine and perhaps his bones against some unseen obstruction in the way. chapter xiv. facts and thoughts about spiders. some time ago, while turning over a quantity of rubbish in a little-used room, i disturbed a large black spider. rushing forth, just in time to save itself from destruction through the capsizing of a pile of books, it paused for one moment, took a swift comprehensive glance at the position, then scuttled away across the floor, and was lost in an obscure corner of the room. this incident served to remind me of a fact i was nearly forgetting, that england is not a spiderless country. a foreigner, however intelligent, coming from warmer regions, might very easily make that mistake. in buenos ayres, the land of my nativity, earth teems with these interesting little creatures. they abound in and on the water, they swarm in the grass and herbage, which everywhere glistens with the silvery veil they spin over it. indeed it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that there is an atmosphere of spiders, for they are always floating about invisible in the air; their filmy threads are unfelt when they fly against you; and often enough you are not even aware of the little arrested aeronaut hurrying over your face with feet lighter than the lightest thistledown. it is somewhat strange that although, where other tribes of living creatures are concerned, i am something of a naturalist, spiders i have always observed and admired in a non-scientific spirit, and this must be my excuse for mentioning the habits of some spiders without giving their specific names--an omission always vexing to the severely-technical naturalist. they have ministered to the love of the beautiful, the grotesque, and the marvellous in me; but i have never _collected_ a spider, and if i wished to preserve one should not know how to do it. i have been "familiar with the face" of these monsters so long that i have even learnt to love them; and i believe that if emerson rightly predicts that spiders are amongst the things to be expelled from earth by the perfected man of the future, then a great charm and element of interest will be lost to nature. though loving them, i cannot, of course, feel the same degree of affection towards all the members of so various a family. the fairy gossamer, scarce seen, a creature of wind and sunshine; the gem-like epeira in the centre of its starry web; even the terrestrial salticus, with its puma-like strategy, certainly appeal more to our aesthetic feelings than does the slow heavy mygale, looking at a distance of twenty yards away, as he approaches you, like a gigantic cockroach mounted on stilts. the rash fury with which the female wolf-spider defends her young is very admirable; but the admiration she excites is mingled with other feelings when we remember that the brave mother proves to her consort a cruel and cannibal spouse. possibly my affection for spiders is due in a great measure to the compassion i have always felt for them. pity, 'tis said, is akin to love; and who can help experiencing that tender emotion that considers the heavy affliction nature has laid on the spiders in compensation for the paltry drop of venom with which she, unasked, endowed them! and here, of course, i am alluding to the wasps. these insects, with a refinement of cruelty, prefer not to kill their victims outright, but merely maim them, then house them in cells where the grubs can vivisect them at leisure. this is one of those revolting facts the fastidious soul cannot escape from in warm climates; for in and out of open windows and doors, all day long, all the summer through, comes the busy beautiful mason-wasp. a long body, wonderfully slim at the waist, bright yellow legs and thorax, and a dark crimson abdomen,--what object can be prettier to look at? but in her life this wasp is not beautiful. at home in summer they were the pests of my life, for nothing would serve to keep them out. one day, while we were seated at dinner, a clay nest, which a wasp had succeeded in completing unobserved, detached itself from the ceiling and fell with a crash on to the table, where it was shattered to pieces, scattering a shower of green half-living spiders round it. i shall never forget the feeling of intense repugnance i experienced at the sight, coupled with detestation of the pretty but cruel little architect. there is, amongst our wasps, even a more accomplished spider-scourge than the mason-wasp, and i will here give a brief account of its habits. on the grassy pampas, dry bare spots of soil are resorted to by a class of spiders that either make or take little holes in the ground to reside in, and from which they rush forth to seize their prey. they also frequently sit inside their dens and patiently wait there for the intrusion of some bungling insect. now, in summer, to a dry spot of ground like this, comes a small wasp, scarcely longer than a blue-bottle fly, body and wings of a deep shining purplish blue colour, with only a white mark like a collar on the thorax. it flirts its blue wings, hurrying about here and there, and is extremely active, and of a slender graceful figure--the type of an assassin. it visits and explores every crack and hole in the ground, and, if you watch it attentively, you will at length see it, on arriving at a hole, give a little start backwards. it knows that a spider lies concealed within. presently, having apparently matured a plan of attack, it disappears into the hole and remains there for some time. then, just when you are beginning to think that the little blue explorer has been trapped, out it rushes, flying in terror, apparently, from the spider who issues close behind in hot pursuit; but, before they are three inches away from the hole, quick as lightning the wasp turns on its follower, and the two become locked together in a deadly embrace. looking like one insect, they spin rapidly round for a few moments, then up springs the wasp--victorious. the wretched victim is not dead; its legs move a little, but its soft body is paralyzed, and lies collapsed, flabby, and powerless as a stranded jellyfish. and this is the invariable result of every such conflict. in other classes of beings, even the weakest hunted thing occasionally succeeds in inflicting pain on its persecutor, and the small trembling mouse, unable to save itself, can sometimes make the cat shriek with paiu; but there is no weak spot in the wasp's armour, no fatal error of judgment, not even an accident, ever to save the wretched victim from its fate. and now comes the most iniquitous part of the proceeding. when the wasp has sufficiently rested after the struggle, it deliberately drags the disabled spider back into its own hole, and, having packed it away at the extremity, lays an egg alongside of it, then, coming out again, gathers dust and rubbish with which it fills up and obliterates the hole; and, having thus concluded its machiavellian task, it flies cheerfully off in quest of another victim. the extensive epeira family supply the mason-wasps and other spider-killers with the majority of their victims. these spiders have soft, plump, succulent bodies like pats of butter; they inhabit trees and bushes chiefly, where their geometric webs-betray their whereabouts; they are timid, comparatively innocuous, and reluctant to quit the shelter of their green bower, made of a rolled-up leaf; so that there are many reasons why they should be persecuted. they exhibit a great variety of curious forms; many are also very richly coloured; but even their brightest hues--orange, silver, scarlet--have not been given without regard to the colouring of their surroundings. green-leafed bushes arc frequented by vividly green epeiras, but the imitative resemblance does not quite end here. the green spider's method of escape, when the bush is roughly shaken, is to drop itself down on the earth, where it lies simulating death. in falling, it drops just as a green leaf would drop, that is, not quite so rapidly as a round, solid body like a beetle or spider. now in the bushes there is another epeira, in size and form like the last, but differing in colour; for instead of a vivid green, it is of a faded yellowish white--the exact hue of a dead, dried-up leaf. this spider, when it lets itself drop--for it has the same protective habit as the other--falls not so rapidly as a green freshly broken off leaf or as the green spider would fall, but with a slower motion, precisely like a leaf withered up till it has become almost light as a feather. it is not difficult to imagine how this comes about: either a thicker line, or a greater stiffness or tenacity of the viscid fluid composing the web and attached to the point the spider drops from, causes one to fall slower than the other. but how many tentative variations in the stiffness of the web material must there have been before the precise degree was attained enabling the two distinct species, differing in colour, to complete their resemblance to falling leaves--a fresh green leaf in one case and a dead, withered leaf in the other! the tetragnatha--a genus of the epeira family, and known also in england--are small spiders found on the margin of streams. their bodies are slender, oblong, and resembling a canoe in shape; and when they sit lengthwise on a stem or blade of grass, their long, hair-like legs arranged straight before and behind them, it is difficult to detect them, so closely do they resemble a discoloured stripe on the herbage. a species of tetragnatha with a curious modification of structure abounds on the pampas. the long leg of this spider is no thicker than a bristle from a pig's back, but at the extremity it is flattened and broad, giving it a striking resemblance to an oar. these spiders are only found in herbage overhanging the borders of streams: they are very numerous, and, having a pugnacious temper, are incessantly quarrelling; and it frequently happens that in these encounters, or where they are pursuing each other through the leaves, they drop into the water below. i believe, in fact, that they often drop themselves purposely into it as the readiest means of escape when hard pressed. when this happens, the advantage of the modified structure of the legs is seen. the fallen spider, sitting boat-like on the surface, throws out its long legs, and, dipping the broad ends into the water, literally rows itself rapidly to land. the gossamer-spider, most spiritual of living things, of which there are numerous species, some extremely beautiful in colouring and markings, is the most numerous of our spiders. only when the declining sun flings a broad track of shiny silver light on the plain does one get some faint conception of the unnumbered millions of these buoyant little creatures busy weaving their gauzy veil over the earth and floating unseen, like an ethereal vital dust, in the atmosphere. this spider carries within its diminutive abdomen a secret which will possibly serve to vex subtle intellects for a long time to come; for it is hard to believe that merely by mechanical force, even aided by currents of air, a creature half as big as a barley grain can instantaneously snoot out filaments twenty or thirty inches long, and by means of which it floats itself in the air. naturalists are now giving a great deal of attention to the migrations of birds in different parts of the world: might not insect and spider migrations be included with advantage to science in their observations? the common notion is that the gossamer makes use of its unique method of locomotion, only to shift its quarters, impelled by want of food or unfavourable conditions--perhaps only by a roving disposition. i believe that besides these incessant flittings about from place to place throughout the summer the gossamer-spiders have great periodical migrations which are, as a rule, in-visible, since a single floating web cannot be remarked, and each individual rises and floats away by itself from its own locality when influenced by the instinct. when great numbers of spiders rise up simultaneously over a large area, then, sometimes, the movement forces itself on our attention; for at such times the whole sky may be filled with visible masses of floating web. all the great movements of gossamers i have observed have occurred in the autumn, or, at any rate, several weeks after the summer solstice; and, like the migrations of birds at the same season of the year, have been in a northerly direction. i do not assert or believe that the migratory instinct in the gossamer is universal. in a moist island, like england, for instance, where the condition of the atmosphere is seldom favourable, and where the little voyagers would often be blown by adverse winds to perish far out at sea, it is difficult to believe that such migrations take place. but where they inhabit a vast area of land, as in south america, extending without interruption from the equator to the cold magellanic regions, and where there is a long autumn of dry, hot weather, then such an instinct as migration might have been developed. for this is not a faculty merely of a few birds: the impulse to migrate at certain seasons affects birds, insects, and even mammals. in a few birds only is it highly developed, but the elementary feeling, out of which the wonderful habit of the swallow has grown, exists widely throughout animated nature. on the continent of europe it also seems probable that a great autumnal movement of these spiders takes place; although, i must confess, i have no grounds for this statement, except that the floating gossamer is called in germany "der fliegender summer"--the flying or departing summer. i have stated that all migrations of gossamers i have witnessed have been in the autumn; excepting in one instance, these flights occurred when the weather was still hot and dry. the exceptionally late migration was on march --a full month after the departure of martins, humming-birds, flycatchers, and most other true bird-migrants. it struck me as being so remarkable, and seems to lend so much force to the idea i have suggested, that i wish to give here an exact copy of the entries made at the time and on the spot in my notebook. "march . this afternoon, while i was out shooting, the gossamer-spiders presented an appearance quite new to me. walking along a stream (the conchitas, near buenos ayres), i noticed a broad white line skirting the low wet ground. this i found was caused by gossamer web lying in such quantities over the earth as almost to hide the grass ad thistles under it. the white zone was about twenty yards wide, and outside it only a few scattered webs were visible on the grass; its exact length i did not ascertain, but followed it for about two miles without finding the end. the spiders were so numerous that they continually baulked one another in their efforts to rise in the air. as soon as one threw out its lines they would become entangled with those of another spider, lanced out at the same moment; both spiders would immediately seem to know the cause of the trouble, for as soon as their lines fouled they would rush angrily towards each other, each trying to drive the other from the elevation. notwithstanding these difficulties, numbers were continually floating off on the breeze which blew from the south. "i noticed three distinct species: one with a round scarlet body; another, velvet black, with large square cephalothorax and small pointed abdomen; the third and most abundant kind were of different shades of olive green, and varied greatly in size, the largest being fully a quarter of an inch in length. apparently these spiders had been driven up from the low ground along the stream where it was wet, and had congregated along the borders of the dry ground in readiness to migrate. " th. went again to visit the spiders, scarcely expecting to find them, as, since first seeing them, we have had much wind and rain. to my surprise i found them in greatly increased numbers: on the tops of cardoons, posts, and other elevated situations they were literally lying together in heaps. most of them were large and of the olive-coloured species; their size had probably prevented them from getting away earlier, but they were now floating off in great numbers, the weather being calm and tolerably dry. to-day i noticed a new species with a grey body, elegantly striped with black, and pink legs--a very pretty spider. " th. went again to-day and found that the whole vast army of gossamers, with the exception of a few stragglers sitting on posts and dry stalks, had vanished. they had taken advantage of the short spell of fine weather we are now having, after an unusually wet and boisterous autumn, to make their escape." here it seemed to me that a conjunction of circumstances--first, the unfavourable season preventing migration at the proper time, and secondly, the strip of valley out of which the spiders had been driven to the higher ground till they were massed together--only served to make visible and evident that a vast annual migration takes place which we have only to look closely for to discover. one of the most original spiders in buenos ayres--mentally original, i mean--is a species of pholcus; a quiet, inoffensive creature found in houses, and so abundant that they literally swarm where they are not frequently swept away from ceilings and obscure corners. certainly it seems a poor spider after the dynamical and migratory gossamer; but it happens, curiously enough, that a study of the habits of this dusty domestic creature leads us incidentally into the realms of fable and romance. it is remarkable for the extreme length of its legs, and resembles in colour and general appearance a crane fly, but is double the size of that insect. it has a singular method of protecting itself: when attacked or approached even, gathering its feet together and fastening them to the centre of its web, it swings itself round and round with the velocity of a whirligig, so that it appears like a mist on the web, offering no point for an enemy to strike at. "when a fly is captured the spider approaches it cautiously and spins a web round it, continually narrowing the circle it describes, until the victim is inclosed in a cocoon-like covering. this is a common method with spiders; but the intelligence--for i can call it by no other word--of the pholcus has supplemented this instinctive procedure with a very curious and unique habit. the pholcus, in spite of its size, is a weak creature, possessing little venom to despatch its prey with, so that it makes a long and laborious task of killing a fly. a fly when caught in a web is a noisy creature, and it thus happens that when the daddylonglegs--as anglo-argentines have dubbed this species--succeeds in snaring a captive the shrill outrageous cries of the victim are heard for a long time--often for ten or twelve minutes. this noise greatly excites other spiders in the vicinity, and presently they are seen quitting their webs and flurrying to the scene of conflict. sometimes the captor is driven off, and then the strongest or most daring spider carries away the fly. but where a large colony are allowed to continue for a long time in undisturbed possession of a ceiling, when one has caught a fly he proceeds rapidly to throw a covering of web over it, then, cutting it away, drops it down and lets it hang suspended by a line at a distance of two or three feet from the ceiling. the other spiders arrive on the scene, and after a short investigation retreat to their own webs, and when the coast is clear our spider proceeds to draw up the captive fly, which is by this time exhausted with its struggles." now, i have repeatedly remarked that all spiders, when the shrill humming of an insect caught in a web is heard near them, become agitated, like the pholcus, and will, in the same way, quit their own webs and hurry to the point the sound proceeds from. this fact convinced me many years ago that spiders are attracted by the sound of musical instruments, such as violins, concertinas, guitars, &c., simply because the sound produces the same effect on them as the shrill buzzing of a captive fly. i have frequently seen spiders come down walls or from ceilings, attracted by the sound of a guitar, softly played; and by gently touching metal strings, stretched on a piece of wood, i have succeeded in attracting spiders on to the strings, within two or three inches of my fingers; and i always noticed that the spiders seemed to be eagerly searching for something which they evidently expected to find there, moving about in an excited manner and looking very hungry and fierce. i have no doubt that pelisson's historical spider in the bastille came down in a mood and with a manner just as ferocious when the prisoner called it with musical sounds to be fed. the spiders i have spoken of up till now are timid, inoffensive creatures, chiefly of the epeira family; but there are many others exceedingly high-spirited and, like some of the most touchy hymenopteras, always prepared to "greatly quarrel" over matters of little moment. the mygales, of which we have several species, are not to be treated with contempt. one is extremely abundant on the pampas, the mygale fusca, a veritable monster, covered with dark brown hair, and called in the vernacular _aranea peluda_--hairy spider. in the hot month of december these spiders take to roaming about on the open plain, and are then everywhere seen travelling in a straight line with a slow even pace. they are very great in attitudes, and when one is approached it immediately throws itself back, like a pugilist preparing for an encounter, and stands up so erect on its four hind feet that the under surface of its body is displayed. humble-bees are commonly supposed to carry the palm in attitudinizing; and it is wonderful to see the grotesque motions of these irascible insects when their nest is approached, elevating their abdomens and two or three legs at a time, so that they resemble a troupe of acrobats balancing themselves on their heads or hands, and kicking their legs about in the air. and to impress the intruder with the dangerous significance of this display they hum a shrill warning or challenge, and stab at the air with their naked stings, from which limpid drops of venom are seen to exude. these threatening gestures probably have an effect. in the case of the hairy spider, i do not think any creature, however stupid, could mistake its meaning when it stands suddenly up, a figure horribly grotesque; then, dropping down on all eights, charges violently forwards. their long, shiny black, sickle-shaped falces are dangerous weapons. i knew a native woman who had been bitten on the leg, and who, after fourteen years, still suffered at intervals acute pains in the limb. the king of the spiders on the pampas is, however, not a mygale, but a lycosa of extraordinary size, light grey in colour, with a black ring round its middle. it is active and swift, and irritable to such a degree that one can scarcely help thinking that in this species nature has overshot her mark. when a person passes near one--say, within three or four yards of its lurking-place--it starts up and gives chase, and will often follow for a distance of thirty or forty yards. i came once very nearly being bitten by one of these savage creatures riding at an easy trot over the dry grass, i suddenly observed a spider pursuing me, leaping swiftly along and keeping up with my beast. i aimed a blow with my whip, and the point of the lash struck the ground close to it, when it instantly leaped upon and ran up the lash, and was actually within three or four inches of my hand when i flung the whip from me. the gauchos have a very quaint ballad which tells that the city of cordova was once invaded by an army of monstrous spiders, and that the townspeople went out with beating drums and flags flying to repel the invasion, and that after firing several volleys they were forced to turn and fly for their lives. i have no doubt that a sudden great increase of the man-chasing spiders, in a year exceptionally favourable to them, suggested this fable to some rhyming satirist of the town. in conclusion of this part of my subject, i will describe a single combat of a very terrible nature i once witnessed between two little spiders belong-ing to the same species. one had a small web against a wall, and of this web the other coveted possession. after vainly trying by a series of strategic movements to drive out the lawful owner, it rushed on to the web, and the two envenomed httle duellists closed in mortal combat. they did nothing so vulgar and natural as to make use of their falces, and never once actually touched each other, but the fight was none the less deadly. rapidly revolving about, or leaping over, or passing under, each other, each endeavoured to impede or entangle his adversary, and the dexterity with which each avoided the cunningly thrown snare, trying at the same time to entangle its opponent, was wonderful to see. at length, after this equal battle had raged for some time, one of the combatants made some fatal mistake, and for a moment there occurred a break in his motions; instantly the other perceived his advantage, and began leaping backwards and forwards across his struggling adversary with such rapidity as to confuse the sight, producing the appearance of two spiders attacking a third one lying between them. he then changed his tactics, and began revolving round and round his prisoner, and very soon the poor vanquished wretch--the aggressor, let us hope, in the interests of justice--was closely wrapped in a silvery cocoon, which, unlike the cocoon the caterpillar weaves for itself, was also its winding-sheet. in the foregoing pages i have thrown together some of the most salient facts i have noted; but the spider-world still remains to me a wonderland of which i know comparatively nothing. nor is any very intimate knowledge of spiders to be got from books, though numberless lists of new species are constantly being printed; for they have not yet had, like the social bees and ants, many loving and patient chroniclers of their ways. the hubens and lubbocks have been many; the moggridges few. but even a very slight study of these most versatile and accomplished of nature's children gives rise to some interesting reflections. one fact that strikes the mind very forcibly is the world-wide distribution of groups of species possessing highly developed instincts. one is the zebra-striped salticus, with its unique strategy--that is to say, unique amongst spiders. it is said that the australian savage approaches a kangaroo in the open by getting up in sight of its prey and standing perfectly motionless till he is regarded as an inanimate object, and every time the animal's attention wanders advancing a step or two until sufficiently near to hurl his spear. the salticus approaches a fly in the same manner, till near enough to make its spring. another is the trapdoor spider. another the dolomedes, that runs over the surface of the water in pursuit of its prey, and dives down to escape from its enemies; and, strangest of all, the argyroneta, that has its luminous dwelling at the bottom of streams; and just as a mason carries bricks and mortar to its building, so does this spider carry down bubbles of air from the surface to enlarge its mysterious house, in which it lays its eggs and rears its young. community of descent must be supposed of species having such curious and complex instincts; but how came these feeble creatures, unable to transport themselves over seas and continents like the aerial gossamer, to be so widely distributed, and inhabiting regions with such different conditions? this can only be attributed to the enormous antiquity of the species, and of this antiquity the earliness in which the instinct manifests itself in the young spiders is taken as evidence. a more important matter, the intelligence of spiders, has not yet received the attention it deserves. the question of insect intelligence--naturalists are agreed that insects do possess intelligence--is an extremely difficult one; probably some of our conclusions on this matter will have to be reconsidered. for instance, we regard the order hymenoptera as the most intelligent because most of the social insects are included in it; but it has not yet been proved, probably never will be proved, that the social instincts resulted from intelligence which has "lapsed." whether ants and bees were more intelligent than other insects during the early stages of their organic societies or not, it will hardly be disputed by any naturalist who has observed insects for long that many solitary species display more intelligence in their actions than those that live in communities. the nature of the spider's food and the difficulties in the way of providing for their wants impose on them a life of solitude: hunger, perpetual watchfulness, and the sense of danger have given them a character of mixed ferocity and timidity. but these very conditions, which have made it impossible for them to form societies like some insects and progress to a state of things resembling civilization in men, have served to develop the mind that is in a spider, making of him a very clever barbarian-the spider's only weapon of defence---his falces--are as poor a protection against the assaults of his insect foes as are teeth and finger-nails in man employed against wolves, bears, and tigers. and the spider is here even worse off than man, since his enemies are winged and able to sweep down instantly on him from above; they are also protected with an invulnerable shield, and are armedwith deadly stings. like man, also, the spider has a soft, unprotected body, while his muscular strength, compared with that of the insects he has to contend with, is almost _nil._ his position in nature then, with relation to his enemies, is like that of man; only the spider has this disadvantage, that he cannot combine with others for protection. that he does protect himself and maintains his place in nature is due, not to special instincts, which are utterly insufficient, but to the intelligence which supplements them. at the same time this superior cunning is closely related with, and probably results indirectly from, the web he is provided with, and which is almost of the nature of an artificial aid. let us take the imaginary case of a man-like monkey, or of an arboreal man, born with a cord of great length attached to his waist, which could be either dragged after him or carried in a coil. after many accidents, experience would eventually teach him to put it to some use; practice would make him more and more skilful in handling it, and, indirectly, it would be the means of developing his latent mental faculties. he would begin by using it, as the monkey does its prehensile tail, to swing himself from branch to branch, and finally, to escape from an enemy or in pursuit of his prey, he would be able by means of his cord to drop himself with safety from the tallest trees, or fly down the steepest precipices. he would coil up his cord to make a bed to lie on, and also use it for binding branches together when building himself a refuge. in a close fight, he would endeavour to entangle an adversary, and at last he would learn to make a snare with it to capture his prey. to all these, and to a hundred other uses, the spider has put his web. and when we see him spread his beautiful geometric snare, held by lines fixed to widely separated points, while he sits concealed in his web-lined retreat amongst the leaves where every touch on the far-reaching structure is telegraphed to him by the communicating line faithfully as if a nerve had been touched, we must admire the wonderful perfection to which he has attained in the use of his cord. by these means he is able to conquer creatures too swift and strong for him, and make them his prey. when we see him repairing damages, weighting his light fabric in windy weather with pebbles or sticks, as a fisher weights his net, and cutting loose a captive whose great strength threatens the destruction of the web, then we begin to suspect that he has, above his special instinct, a reason that guides, modifies, and in many ways supplements it. it is not, however, only on these great occasions, when the end is sought by unusual means, that spiders show their intelligence; for even these things might be considered by some as merely parts of one great complex instinct; but at all times, in all things, the observer who watches them closely cannot fail to be convinced that they possess a guiding principle which is not mere instinct. what the stick or stone was to primitive man, when he had made the discovery that by holding it in his hand he greatly increased the force of his blow, the possession of a web has been to the spider in developing that spark of intellect which it possesses in common with all animal organisms. chapter xv. the death-feigning instinct. most people are familiar with the phenomenon of "death-feigning," commonly seen in coleopterous insects, and in many spiders. this highly curious instinct is also possessed by some vertebrates. in insects it is probably due to temporary paralysis occasioned by sudden concussion, for when beetles alight abruptly, though voluntarily, they assume that appearance of death, which lasts for a few moments. some species, indeed, are so highly sensitive that the slightest touch, or even a sudden menace, will instantly throw them into this motionless, death-simulating condition. curiously enough, the same causes which produce this trance in slow-moving species, like those of scarabseus for example, have a precisely contrary effect on species endowed with great activity. rapacious beetles, when disturbed, scuttle quickly out of sight, and some water-beetles spin about the surface, in circles or zigzag lines, so rapidly as to confuse the eye. our common long-legged spiders (pholcus) when approached draw their feet together in the middle of the web, and spin the body round with such velocity as to resemble a whirligig. certain mammals and birds also possess the death-simulating instinct, though it is hardly possible to believe that the action springs from the same immediate cause in vertebrates and in insects. in the latter it appears to be a purely physical instinct, the direct result of an extraneous cause, and resembling the motions of a plant. in mammals and birds it is evident that violent emotion, and not the rough handling experienced, is the final cause of the swoon. passing over venomous snakes, skunks, and a few other species in which the presence of danger excites only anger, fear has a powerful, and in some cases a disabling, effect on animals; and it is this paralyzing effect of fear on which the death-feigning instinct, found only in a few widely-separated species, has probably been built up by the slow cumulative process of natural selection. i have met with some curious instances of the paralyzing effect of fear. i was told by some hunters in an outlying district of the pampas of its effect on a jaguar they started, and which took refuge in a dense clump of dry reeds. though they could see it, it was impossible to throw the lasso over its head, and, after vainly trying to dislodge it, they at length set fire to the reeds. still it refused to stir, but lay with head erect, fiercely glaring at them through the flames. finally it disappeared from sight in the black smoke; and when the fire had burnt itself out, it was found, dead and charred, in the same spot. on the pampas the gauchos frequently take the black-necked swan by frightening it. when the birds are feeding or resting on the grass, two or three men or boys on horseback go quietly to leeward of the flock, and when opposite to it suddenly wheel and charge it at full speed, uttering loud shouts, by which the birds are thrown into such terror that they are incapable of flying, and are quickly despatched. i have also seen gaucho boys catch the silver-bill (lichenops perspicillata) by hurling a stick or stone at the bird, then rushing at it, when it sits perfectly still, disabled by fear, and allows itself to be taken. i myself once succeeded in taking a small bird of another species in the same way. amongst mammals our common fox (canis azarae), and one of the opossums (didelphys azarae), are strangely subject to the death-simulating swoon. for it does indeed seem strange that animals so powerful, fierce, and able to inflict such terrible injury with their teeth should also possess this safeguard, apparently more suited to weak inactive creatures that cannot resist or escape from an enemy and to animals very low down in the scale of being. when a fox is caught in a trap or run down by dogs he fights savagely at first, but by-and-by relaxes his efforts, drops on the ground, and apparently yields up the ghost. the deception is so well carried out, that dogs are constantly taken in by it, and no one, not previously acquainted with this clever trickery of nature, but would at once pronounce the creature dead, and worthy of some praise for having perished in so brave a spirit. now, when in this condition of feigning death, i am quite sure that the animal does not altogether lose consciousness. it is exceedingly difficult to discover any evidence of life in the opossum; but when one withdraws a little way from the feigning fox, and watches him very attentively, a slight opening of the eye may be detected; and, finally, when left to himself, he does not recover and start up like an animal that has been stunned, but slowly and cautiously raises his head first, and only gets up when his foes are at a safe distance. yet i have seen gauchos, who are very cruel to animals, practise the most barbarous experiments on a captive fox without being able to rouse it into exhibiting any sign of life. this has greatly puzzled me, since, if death-feigning is simply a cunning habit, the animal could not suffer itself to be mutilated without wincing. i can only believe that the fox, though not insensible, as its behaviour on being left to itself appears to prove, yet has its body thrown by extreme terror into that benumbed condition which simulates death, and during which it is unable to feel the tortures practised on it. the swoon sometimes actually takes place before the animal has been touched, and even when the exciting cause is at a considerable distance. i was once riding with a gaucho, when we saw, on the open level ground before us, a fox, not yet fully grown, standing still and watching our approach. all at once it dropped, and when we came up to the spot it was lying stretched out, with eyes closed, and apparently dead. before passing on my companion, who said it was not the first time he had seen such a thing, lashed it vigorously with his whip for some moments, but without producing the slightest effect. the death-feigning instinct is possessed in a very marked degree by the spotted tinamou or common partridge of the pampas (nothura maculosa). when captured, after a few violent struggles to escape, it drops its head, gasps two or three times, and to all appearances dies. if, when you have seen this, you release your hold, the eyes open instantly, and, with startling suddenness and a noise of wings, it is up and away, and beyond your reach for ever. possibly, while your grasp is on the bird it does actually become insensible, though its recovery from that condition is almost instantaneous. birds when captured do sometimes die in the hand, purely from terror. the tinamou is excessively timid, and sometimes when birds of this species are chased--for gaucho boys frequently run them down on horseback--and when they find no burrows or thickets to escape into, they actually drop down dead on the plain. probably, when they feign death in their captor's hand, they are in reality very near to death. chapter xvi. humming-birds. humming-birds are perhaps the very loveliest things in nature, and many celebrated writers have exhausted their descriptive powers in vain efforts to picture them to the imagination. the temptation was certainly great, after describing the rich setting of tropical foliage and flower, to speak at length of the wonderful gem contained within it; but they would in this case have been wise to imitate that modest novel-writer who introduced a blank space on the page where the description of his matchless heroine should have appeared. after all that has been written, the first sight of a living humming-bird, so unlike in its beauty all other beautiful things, comes like a revelation to the mind. to give any true conception of it by means of mere word-painting is not more impossible than it would be to bottle up a supply of the "living sunbeams" themselves, and convey them across the atlantic to scatter them in a sparkling shower over the face of england. doubtless many who have never seen them in a state of nature imagine that a tolerably correct idea of their appearance can be gained from gould's colossal monograph. the pictures there, however, only represent dead humming-birds. a dead robin is, for purposes of bird-portraiture, as good as a live robin; the same may be said of even many brilliant-plumaged species less aerial in their habits than humming-birds. in butterflies the whole beauty is seldom seen until the insect is dead, or, at any rate, captive. it was not when wallace saw the ornithoptera croesus flying about, but only when he held it in his hands, and opened its glorious wings, that the sight of its beauty overcame him so powerfully. the special kind of beauty which makes the first sight of a humming-bird a revelation depends on the swift singular motions as much as on the intense gem-like and metallic brilliancy of the plumage. the minute exquisite form, when the bird hovers on misty wings, probing the flowers with its coral spear, the fan-like tail expanded, and poising motionless, exhibits the feathers shot with many hues; and the next moment vanishes, or all but vanishes, then reappears at another flower only to vanish again, and so on successively, showing its splendours not continuously, but like the intermitted flashes of the firefly--this forms a picture of airy grace and loveliness that baffles description. all this glory disappears when the bird is dead, and even when it alights to rest on a bough. sitting still, it looks like an exceedingly attenuated kingfisher, without the pretty plumage of that bird, but retaining its stiff artificial manner. no artist has been so bold as to attempt to depict the bird as it actually appears, when balanced before a flower the swift motion of the wings obliterates their form, making them seem like a mist encircling the body; yet it is precisely this formless cloud on which the glittering body hangs suspended, which contributes most to give the humming-bird its wonderful sprite-like or extra-natural appearance. how strange, then, to find bird-painters persisting in their efforts to show the humming-bird flying! when they draw it stiff and upright on its perch the picture is honest, if ugly; the more ambitious representation is a delusion and a mockery. coming to the actual colouring--the changeful tints that glow with such intensity on the scale-like feathers, it is curious to find that gould seems to have thought that all difficulties here had been successfully overcome. the "new process" he spoke so confidently about might no doubt be used with advantage in reproducing the coarser metallic reflections on a black plumage, such as we see in the corvine birds; but the glittering garment of the humming-bird, like the silvery lace woven by the epeira, gemmed with dew and touched with rainbow-coloured light, has never been and never can be imitated by art. on this subject one of the latest observers of humming-birds, mr. everard im thurn, in his work on british guiana, has the following passage:--"hardly more than one point of colour is in reality ever visible in any one humming-bird at one and the same time, for each point only shows its peculiar and glittering colour when the light falls upon it from a particular direction. a true representation of one of these birds would show it in somewhat sombre colours, except just at the one point which, when the bird is in the position chosen for representation, meets the light at the requisite angle, and that point alone should be shown in full brilliance of colour. a flowery shrub is sometimes seen surrounded by a cloud of humming-birds, all of one species, and each, of course, in a different position. if someone would draw such a scene as that, showing a different detail of colour in each bird, according to its position, then some idea of the actual appearance of the bird might be given to one who had never seen an example." it is hardly to be expected that anyone will carry out the above suggestion, and produce a monograph with pages ten or fifteen feet wide by eighteen feet long, each one showing a cloud of humming-birds of one species flitting about a flowery bush; but even in such a picture as that would be, the birds, suspended on unlovely angular projections instead of "hazy semicircles of indistinctness," and each with an immovable fleck of brightness on the otherwise sombre plumage, would be as unlike living humming-birds as anything in the older monographs. whether the glittering iridescent tints and singular ornaments for which this family is famous result from the cumulative process of conscious or voluntary sexual selection, as darwin thought, or are merely the outcome of a superabundant vitality, as dr. a. r.. wallace so strongly maintains, is a question which science has not yet answered satisfactorily. the tendency to or habit of varying in the direction of rich colouring and beautiful or fantastic ornament, might, for all we know to the contrary, have descended to humming-birds from some diminutive, curiously-shaped, bright-tinted, flying reptile of arboreal habits that lived in some far-off epoch in the world's history. it is not, at all events, maintained by anyone that _all_ birds sprang originally from one reptilian stock; and the true position of humming-birds in a natural classification has not yet been settled, for no intermediate forms exist connecting them with any other group, to the ordinary mind they appear utterly unlike all other feathered creatures, and as much entitled to stand apart as, for instance, the pigeon and ostrich families. it has been maintained by some writers that they are anatomically related to the swifts, although the differences separating the two families appear so great as almost to stagger belief in this notion. now, however, the very latest authority on this subject, dr. schufeldt, has come to the conclusion that swifts are only greatly modified passeres, and that the humming-birds should form an order by themselves. leaving this question, and regarding them simply with the ornithological eye that does not see far below the surface of things, when we have sufficiently admired the unique beauty and marvellous velocity of humming-birds, there is little more to be said about them. they are lovely to the eye--indescribably so; and it is not strange that gould wrote rapturously of the time when he was at length "permitted to revel in the delight of seeing the humming-bird in a state of nature." the feeling, he wrote, which animated him with regard to these most wonderful works of creation it was impossible to describe, and could only be appreciated by those who have made natural history a study, and who "pursue the investigations of her charming mysteries with ardour and delight." this we can understand; but to what an astonishing degree the feeling was carried in him, when, after remarking that enthusiasm and excitement with regard to most things in life become lessened and eventually deadened by time in most of us, he was able to add, "not so, however, i believe, with those who take up the study of the family of humming-birds!" it can only be supposed that he regarded natural history principally as a "science of dead animals--a _necrology_," and collected humming-birds just as others collect roman coins, birds' eggs, old weapons, or blue china, their zeal in the pursuit and faith in its importance increasing with the growth of their treasures, until they at last come to believe that though all the enthusiasms and excitements which give a zest to the lives of other men fade and perish with time, it is not so with their particular pursuit. the more rational kind of pleasure experienced by the ornithologist in studying habits and disposition no doubt results in a great measure from the fact that the actions of the feathered people have a savour of intelligence in them. whatever his theory or conviction about the origin of instincts may happen to be, or even if he has no convictions on the subject, it must nevertheless seem plain to him that intelligence is, after all, in most cases, the guiding principle of life, supplementing and modifying habits to bring them into closer harmony with the environment, and enlivening every day with countless little acts which result from judgment and experience, and form no part of the inherited complex instincts. the longer he observes any one species or individual, the more does he find in it to reward his attention; this is not the case, however, with humming-birds, which possess the avian body but do not rank mentally with birds. the pleasure one takes in their beauty soon evaporates, and is succeeded by no fresh interest, so monotonous and mechanical are all their actions; and we accordingly find that those who are most familiar with them from personal observation have very little to say about them. a score of hummingbirds, of as many distinct species, are less to the student of habits than one little brown-plurnaged bird haunting his garden or the rush-bed of a neighbouring stream; and, doubtless, for a reason similar to that which makes a lovely human face uninformed by intellect seem less permanently attractive than many a homelier countenance. he grows tired of seeing the feathered fairies perpetually weaving their aerial ballet-dance about the flowers, and finds it a relief to watch the little finch or wren or flycatcher of shy temper and obscure protective colouring. perhaps it possesses a graceful form and melodious voice to give it aesthetic value, but even without such accessories he can observe it day by day with increasing interest and pleasure; and it only adds piquancy to the feeling to know that the little bird also watches him with a certain amount of intelligent curiosity and a great deal of suspicion, and that it studiously endeavours to conceal from him all the little secrets its life which he is bent on discovering. it has frequently been remarked that humming birds are more like insects than birds in disposition. some species, on quitting their perch, perform wide bee-like circles about the tree before shooting away in a straight line. their aimless attacks on other species approaching or passing near them, even on large birds like hawks and pigeons, is a habit they have in common with many solitary wood-boring bees. they also, like dragon-flies and other insects, attack each other when they come together while feeding; and in this case their action strangely resembles that of a couple of butterflies, as they revolve about each other and rise vertically to a great height in the air. again, like insects, they are undisturbed at the presence of man while feeding, or even when engaged in building and incubation; and like various solitary bees, wasps, &c., they frequently come close to a person walking or standing, to hover suspended in the air within a few inches of his face; and if then struck at they often, insect-like, return to circle round his head. all other birds, even those which display the least versatility, and in districts where man is seldom seen, show as much caution as curiosity in his presence; they recognize in the upright unfamiliar form a living being and a possible enemy. mr. whiteley, who observed humming-birds in peru, says it is an amusing sight to watch the lesbia nuna attempting to pass to a distant spot in a straight line during a high wind, which, acting on the long tail feathers, carries it quite away from the point aimed at. insects presenting a large surface to the wind are always blown from their course in the same way, for even in the most windy districts they never appear to learn to guide themselves; and i have often seen a butterfly endeavouring to reach an isolated flower blown from it a dozen times before it finally succeeded or gave up the contest. birds when shaping their course, unless young and inexperienced, always make allowance for the force of the wind. humming-birds often fly into open rooms, impelled apparently by a fearless curiosity, and may then be chased about until they drop exhausted or are beaten down and caught, and, as gould says, "if then taken into the hand, they almost immediately feed on any sweet, or pump up any liquid that may be offered to them, without betraying either fear or resentment at the previous treatment." wasps and bees taken in the same way endeavour to sting their captor, as most people know from experience, nor do they cease struggling violently to free themselves; but the dragon-fly is like the humming-bird, and is no sooner caught after much ill-treatment, than it will greedily devour as many flies and mosquitoes as one likes to offer it. only in beings very low in the scale of nature do we see the instinct of self-preservation in this extremely simple condition, unmixed with reason or feeling, and so transient in its effects. the same insensibility to danger is seen when humming-birds are captured and confined in a room, and when, before a day is over, they will flutter about their captor's face and even take nectar from his lips. some observers have thought that hummingbirds come nearest to humble-bees in their actions. i do not think so. mr. bates writes: "they do not proceed in that methodical manner which bees follow, taking the flowers seriatim, but skip about from one part of a tree to another in the most capricious manner." i have observed humble-bees a great deal, and feel convinced that they arc among the most highly intelligent of the social hymenoptera. humming-birds, to my mind, have a much closer resemblance to the solitary wood-boring bees and to dragon-flies. it must also be borne in mind that insects have very little time in which to acquire experience, and that a large portion of their life, in the imago state, is taken up with the complex business of reproduction. the trochilidae, although confined to one continent, promise to exceed all other families--even the cosmopolitan finches and warblers--in number of species. at present over five hundred are known, or as many as all the species of birds in europe together; and good reasons exist for believing that very many more--not less perhaps than one or two hundred species--yet remain to be discovered. the most prolific region, and where humming-birds are most highly developed, is known to be west brazil and the eastern slopes of the bolivian and peruvian andes. this is precisely the least known portion of south america; the few naturalists and collectors who have reached it have returned laden with spoil, to tell us of a region surpassing all others in the superabundance and beauty of its bird life. nothing, however, which can be said concerning these vast unexplored areas of tropical mountain and forest so forcibly impresses us with the idea of the unknown riches contained in them as the story of the loddigesia mirabilis. this is perhaps the most wonderful humming-bird known, and no one who had not previously seen it figured could possibly form an idea of what it is like from a mere description. an outline sketch of it would probably be taken by most people as a fantastic design representing a bird-form in combination with leaves, in size and shape resembling poplar leaves, but on leaf-stalks of an impossible length, curving and crossing each other so as to form geometrical figures unlike anything in nature. yet this bird (a single specimen) was obtained in peru half a century ago, and for upwards of twenty years after its discovery gould tried to obtain others, offering as much as fifty pounds for one; but no second specimen ever gladdened his eyes, nor was anything more heard of it until stolzmann refound it in the year . the addition of many new species to the long list would, however, be a matter of small interest, unless fresh facts concerning their habits and structure were at the same time brought to light; but we can scarcely expect that the as yet unknown species will supply any link connecting the trochilidae with other existing families of birds. the eventual conclusion will perhaps be that this family has come down independently from an exceedingly remote past, and with scarcely any modification. while within certain very narrow limits humming-birds vary more than other families, outside of these limits they appear relatively stationary; and, conversely, other birds exhibit least variability in the one direction in which humming-birds vary excessively. on account of a trivial difference in habit they have sometimes been separated in two sub-families: the phaethornithinae, found in shady tropical forests; and the trochilinae, comprising humming-birds which inhabit open sunny places--and to this division they mostly belong. in both of these purely arbitrary groups, however, the aerial habits and manner of feeding poised in the air are identical, although the birds living in shady forests, where flowers are scarce, obtain their food principally from the under surfaces of leaves. in their procreant habits the uniformity is also very great. in all cases the nest is small, deep, cup-shaped, or conical, composed of soft felted materials, and lined inside with vegetable down. the eggs are white, and never exceed two in number. broadly speaking, they resemble each other as closely in habits as in structure; the greatest differences in habit in the most widely separated genera being no greater than may be found in two wrens or sparrows of the same genus. this persistence of character in humming-birds, both as regards structure and habit, seems the more remarkable when we consider their very wide distribution over a continent so varied in its conditions, and where they range from the lowest levels to the limit of perpetual snow on the andes, and from the tropics to the wintry magellanic district; also that a majority of genera inhabit very circumscribed areas--these facts, as dr. wallace remarks, clearly pointing to a very high antiquity. it is perhaps a law of nature that when a species (or group) fits itself to a place not previously occupied, and in which it is subject to no opposition from beings of its own class, or where it attains so great a perfection as to be able easily to overcome all opposition, the character eventually loses its original plasticity, or tendency to vary, since improvement in such a case would be superfluous, and becomes, so to speak, crystallized in that form which continues thereafter unaltered. it is, at any rate, clear that while all other birds rub together in the struggle for existence, the humming-bird, owing to its aerial life and peculiar manner of seeking its food, is absolutely untouched by this kind of warfare, and is accordingly as far removed from all competition with other birds as the solitary savage is removed from the struggle of life affecting and modifying men in crowded communities. the lower kind of competition affecting hummingbirds, that with insects and, within the family, of species with species, has probably only served to intensify their unique characteristics, and, perhaps, to lower their intelligence. not only are they removed from that indirect struggle for existence which acts so powerfully on other families, but they are also, by their habits and the unequalled velocity of their flight, placed out of reach of that direct war waged on all other small birds by the rapacious kinds--birds, mammals, and reptiles. one result of this immunity is that humming-birds are excessively numerous, albeit such slow breeders; for, as we have seen, they only lay two eggs, and not only so, but the second egg is often dropped so long after incubation has begun in the first that only one is really hatched. yet belt expressed the opinion that in nicaragua, where he observed humming-birds, they out-numbered all the other birds together. considering how abundant birds of all kinds are in that district, and that most of them have a protective colouring and lay several eggs, it would be impossible to accept such a statement unless we believed that humming-birds have, practically, no enemies. another result of their immunity from persecution is the splendid colouring and strange and beautiful feather ornaments distinguishing them above all other birds; and excessive variation in this direction is due, it seems to me, to the very causes which serve to check variation in all other directions. in their plumage, as martin long ago wrote, nature has strained at every variety of effect and revelled in an infinitude of modifications. how wonderful their garb is, with colours so varied, so intense, yet seemingly so evanescent!--the glittering mantle of powdered gold; the emerald green that changes to velvet black; ruby reds and luminous scarlets; dull bronze that brightens and burns like polished brass, and pale neutral tints that kindle to rose and lilac-coloured flame. and to the glory of prismatic colouring are added feather decorations, such as the racket-plumes and downy muffs of spathura, the crest and frills of lophornis, the sapphire gorget burning on the snow-white breast of oreotrochilus, the fiery tail of cometes, and, amongst grotesque forms, the long pointed crest-feathers, representing horns, and flowing-white beard adorning the piebald goat-like face of oxypogon. excessive variation in this direction is checked in nearly all other birds by the need of a protective colouring, few kinds so greatly excelling in strength and activity as to be able to maintain their existence without it. bright feathers constitute a double danger, for not only do they render their possessor conspicuous, but, just as the butterfly chooses the gayest flower, so do hawks deliberately single out from many obscure birds the one with brilliant plumage; but the rapacious kinds do not waste their energies in the vain pursuit of hummingbirds. these are in the position of neutrals, free to range at will amidst the combatants, insulting all alike, and flaunting their splendid colours with impunity. they are nature's favourites, endowed with faculties bordering on the miraculous, and all other kinds, gentle or fierce, ask only to be left alone by them. chapter xvii. the crested screamer. _(chalina chavarria.)_ amongst the feathered notables from all parts of the world found gathered at the zoological gardens in london is the crested screamer from south america. it is in many respects a very singular species, and its large size, great strength, and majestic demeanour, with the surprising docility and intelligence it displays when domesticated, give it a character amongst birds somewhat like that of the elephant amongst mammals. briefly and roughly to describe it: in size it is like a swan, in shape like a lapwing, only with a powerful curved gallinaceous beak. it is adorned with a long pointed crest and a black neck-ring, the plumage being otherwise of a pale slaty blue, while the legs and the naked skin about the eyes are bright red. on each wing, in both sexes, there are two formidable spurs; the first one, on the second joint, is an inch and a half long, nearly straight, triangular, and exceedingly sharp; the second spur, on the last joint, being smaller, broad, and curved, and roughly resembling in shape and size a lion's claw. there is another stinking peculiarity. the skin is _emphysematous_--that is, bloated and yielding to pressure. it crackles when touched, and the surface, when the feathers are removed, presents a swollen bubbly appearance; for under the skin there is a layer of air-bubbles extending over the whole body and even down the legs under the horny tesselated skin to the toes, the legs thus having a somewhat massive appearance. and now just a few words about the position of the screamer in systematic zoology. it is placed in the family palamedeidae, which contains only three species, but about the order it belongs to there is much disagreement. it was formerly classed with the rails, and in popular books of natural history still keeps its place with them. "now the rail-tribe," says professor parker, speaking on this very matter, "has for a long time been burdened (on paper) with a very false army list. everything alive that has had the misfortune to be possessed of large unwieldy feet has been added to this feeble-minded cowardly group, until it has become a mixed multitude with discordant voices and with manners and customs having no consonance or relation." he takes the screamer from the rail-tribe and classes it with the geese (as also does professor huxley), and concludes his study with these words:--"amongst living birds there is not one possessing characters of higher interest, none that i am acquainted with come nearer, in some important points, to the lizard; and there are parts of the organization which make it very probable that it is one of the nearest living relations of the marvellous _archaeopteryx_"--an intermediate form between birds and reptiles belonging to the upper jurassic period. the screamer's right to dwell with the geese has not been left unchallenged. the late professor garrod finds that "from considerations of pterylosis, visceral anatomy, myology, and osteology the screamer cannot be placed along with the anserine birds." he finds that in some points it resembles the ostrich and rhea, and concludes: "it seems therefore to me that, summing these results, the screamer must have sprung from the primary avian stock as an independent offshoot at much the same time as did most of the other important families." this time, he further tells us, was when there occurred a general break-up of the ancient terrestrial bird-type, when the acquisition of wings brought many intruders into domains already occupied, calling forth a new struggle for existence, and bringing out many special qualities by means of natural selection. with this archaeological question i have little to do, and only quote the above great authorities to show that the screamer appears to be nearly the last descendant of an exceedingly ancient family, with little or no relationship to other existing families, and that its pedigree has been hopelessly lost in the night of an incalculable antiquity. i have only to speak of the bird as a part of the visible world and as it appears to the non-scientific lover of nature; for, curiously enough, while anatomists nave been laboriously seeking for the screamer's affinities in that "biological field which is as wide as the earth and deep as the sea," travellers and ornithologists have told us almost nothing about its strange character and habits. though dressed with quaker-like sobriety, and without the elegance of form distinguishing the swan or peacock, this bird yet appeals to the aesthetic feelings in man more than any species i am acquainted with. voice is one of its strong points, as one might readily infer from the name: nevertheless the name is not an appropriate one, for though the bird certainly does scream, and that louder than the peacock, its scream is only a powerful note of alarm uttered occasionally, while the notes uttered at intervals in the night, or in the day-time, when it soars upwards like the lark of some far-off imaginary epoch in the world's history when all tilings, larks included, were on a gigantic scale, are. properly speaking, singing notes and in quality utterly unlike screams. sometimes when walking across regent's park i bear the resounding cries of the bird confined there attempting to sing; above the concert of cranes, the screams of eagles and macaws, the howling of dogs and wolves and the muffled roar of lions, one can hear it all over the park. but those loud notes only sadden me. exile and captivity have taken all joyousness from the noble singer, and a moist climate has made him hoarse; the long clear strains are no more, and he hurries through his series of confused shrieks as quickly as possible, as if ashamed of the performance. a lark singing high up in a sunny sky and a lark singing in a small cage hanging against a shady wall in a london street produce very different effects; and the spluttering medley of shrill and harsh sounds from the street singer scarcely seems to proceed from the same kind of bird as that matchless melody filling the blue heavens. there is even a greater difference in the notes of the crested screamer when heard in regent's park and when heard on the pampas, where the bird soars upwards until its bulky body disappears from sight, and from that vast elevation pours down a perpetual rain of jubilant sound. _screamer_ being a misnomer, i prefer to call the bird by its vernacular name of _chajá,_ or _chakar_, a more convenient spelling. with the chakar the sexes are faithful, even in very large flocks the birds all being ranged in couples. when one bird begins to sing its partner immediately joins, but with notes entirely different in quality. both birds have some short deep notes, the other notes of the female being long powerful notes with a trill in them; but over them sounds the clear piercing voice of the male, ringing forth at the close with great strength and purity. the song produces the effect of harmony, but, comparing it with human singing, it is less like a _duo_ than a _terzetto_ composed of bass, contralto, and soprano. at certain times, in districts favourable to them, the chakars often assemble in immense flocks, thousands of individuals being sometimes seen congregated together, and in these gatherings the birds frequently all sing in concert. they invariably--though without rising--sing at intervals during the night, "counting the hours," as the gauchos say; the first song being at about nine o'clock, the second at midnight, and the third just before dawn, but the hours vary in different districts. i was once travelling with a party of gauchos when, about midnight, it being intensely dark, a couple of chakars broke out singing right ahead of us, thus letting us know that we were approaching a watercourse, where we intended refreshing our horses. we found it nearly dry, and when we rode down to the rill of water meandering over the broad dry bed of the river, a flock of about a thousand chakars set up a perfect roar of alarm notes, all screaming together, with intervals of silence after; then they rose up with a mighty rush of wings. they settled down again a few hundred yards off, and all together burst forth in one of their grand midnight songs, making the plains echo for miles around. there is something strangely impressive in these spontaneous outbursts of a melody so powerful from one of these large flocks, and though accustomed to hear these birds from childhood, i have often been astonished at some new effect produced by a large multitude singing under certain conditions. travelling alone one summer day, i carne at noon to a lake on the pampas called kakel--a sheet of water narrow enough for one to see across. chakars in countless numbers were gathered along its shores, but they were all ranged in well-defined flocks, averaging about five hundred birds in each flock. these flocks seemed to extend all round the lake, and had probably been driven by the drought from all the plains around to this spot. presently one flock near me began singing, and continued their powerful chant for three or four minutes; when they ceased the next flock took up the strains, and after it the next, and so on until the notes of the flocks on the opposite shore came floating strong and clear across the water--then passed away, growing fainter and fainter, until once more the sound approached me travelling round to my side again. the effect was very curious, and i was astonished at the orderly way with which each flock waited its turn to sing, instead of a general outburst taking place after the first flock had given the signal. on another occasion i was still more impressed, for here the largest number of birds i have ever found congregated at one place all sung together. this was on the southern pampas, at a place called gualicho, where i had ridden for an hour before sunset over a marshy plain where there was still much standing water in the rushy pools, though it was at the height of the dry season. this whole plain was covered with an endless flock of chakars, not in close order, but scattered about in pairs and small groups. in this desolate spot i found a small rancho inhabited by a gaucho and his family, and i spent the night with them. the birds were all about the house, apparently as tame as the domestic fowls, and when i went out to look for a spot for my horse to feed on, they would not fly away from me, but merely moved, a few steps out of my path about nine o'clock we were eating supper in the rancho when suddenly the entire multitude of birds covering the marsh for miles around burst forth into a tremendous evening song. it is impossible to describe the effect of this mighty rush of sound; but let the reader try to imagine half-a-million voices, each far more powerful than that one which makes itself heard all over regent's park, bursting forth on the silent atmosphere of that dark lonely plain. one peculiarity was that in this mighty noise, which sounded louder than the sea thundering on a rocky coast, i seemed to be able to distinguish hundreds, even thousands, of individual voices. forgetting my supper, i sat motionless and overcome with astonishment, while the air, and even the frail rancho, seemed to be trembling in that tempest of sound. when it ceased my host remarked with a smile, "we are accustomed to this, señor--every evening we have this concert." it was a concert well worth riding a hundred miles to hear. but the chakar country is just now in a transitional state, and the precise conditions which made it possible for birds so large in size to form such immense congregations are rapidly passing away. in desert places, the bird subsists chiefly on leaves and seeds of aquatic plants; but when the vast level area of the pampas was settled by man, the ancient stiff grass-vegetation gave place to the soft clovers and grasses of europe, and to this new food the birds took very kindly. other circumstances also favoured their increase. they were never persecuted, for the natives do not eat them, though they are really very good--the flesh being something like wild goose in flavour. a _higher_ civilization is changing all this: the country is becoming rapidly overrun with emigrants, especially by italians, the pitiless enemies of all bird-life. the chakars, like the skylark, love to soar upwards when singing, and at such times when they have risen till their dark bulky bodies appear like floating specks on the blue sky, or until they disappear from sight altogether, the notes become wonderfully etherealized by distance to a soft silvery sound, and it is then very delightful to listen to them. it seems strange that so ponderous a fowl with only six feet and a half spread of wings should possess a power of soaring equal to that of vultures and eagles. even the vulture with its marvellous wing power soars chiefly from necessity, and when its crop is full finds no pleasure in "scaling the heavens by invisible stairs." the chakar leaves its grass-plot after feeding and soars purely for recreation, taking so much pleasure in its aerial exercises that in bright warm weather, in winter and spring, it spends a great part of the day in the upper regions of the air. on the earth its air is grave and its motions measured and majestic, and it rises with immense labour, the wings producing a sound like a high wind. but as the bird mounts higher, sweeping round as it ascends, just as vultures and eagles do, it gradually appears to become more buoyant, describing each succeeding circle with increasing grace. i can only account for this magnificent flight, beginning so laboriously, by supposing that the bubble space under the skin becomes inflated with an air lighter than atmospheric air, enabling a body so heavy with wings disproportionately short to float with such ease and evident enjoyment at the vast heights to which the bird ascends. the heavenward flight of a large bird is always a magnificent spectacle; that of the chakar is peculiarly fascinating on account of the resounding notes it sings while soaring, and in which the bird seems to exult in its sublime power and freedom. i was once very much surprised at the behaviour of a couple of chakars during a thunderstorm. on a still sultry day in summer i was standing watching masses of black cloud coming rapidly over the sky, while a hundred yards from me stood the two birds also apparently watching the approaching storm with interest. presently the edge of the cloud touched the sun, and a twilight gloom fell on the earth. the very moment the sun disappeared the birds rose up and soon began singing their long' resounding notes, though it was loudly thundering at the time, while vivid flashes of lightning lit the black cloud overhead at short intervals. i watched their flight and listened to their notes, till suddenly as they made a wide sweep upwards they disappeared in the cloud, and at the same moment their voices became muffled, and seemed to come from an immense distance. the cloud continued emitting sharp flashes of lightning, but the birds never reappeared, and after six or seven minutes once more their notes sounded loud and clear above the muttering thunder. i suppose they had passed through the cloud into the clear atmosphere above it, but i was extremely surprised at their fearlessness; for as a rule when soaring birds see a storm coming they get out of its way, flying before it or stooping to the earth to seek shelter of some kind, for most living things appear to have a wholesome dread of thunder and lightning. when taken young the chakar becomes very tame and attached to man, showing no inclination to go back to a wild life. there was one kept at an estancia called mangrullos, on the western frontier of buenos ayres, and the people of the house gave me a very curious account of it. the bird was a male, and had been reared by a soldier's wife at a frontier outpost called la esperanza, about twenty-five miles from mangrullos. four years before i saw the bird the indians had invaded the frontier, destroying the esperanza settlement and all the estancias for some leagues around. for some weeks after the invasion the chakar wandered about the country, visiting all the ruined estancias, apparently in quest of human beings, and on arriving at mangrullos, which had not been burnt and was still inhabited, it settled down at ones and never afterwards showed any disposition to go away. it was extremely tame, associating by day with the poultry, and going to roost with them at night oh a high perch, probably for the sake of companionship, for in a wild state the bird roosts on the ground. it was friendly towards all the members of the household except one, a peon, and against this person from the first the bird always displayed the greatest antipathy, threatening him with its wings, puffing itself out, and hissing like an angry goose. the man had a swarthy, beardless face, and it was conjectured that the chakar associated him in its mind with the savages who had destroyed its early home. close to the house there was a lagoon, never dry, which was frequently visited by flocks of wild chakars. whenever a flock appeared the tame bird would go out to join them; and though the chakars are mild-tempered birds and very rarely quarrel, albeit so well provided with formidable weapons, they invariably attacked the visitor with great fury, chasing him back to the house, and not ceasing their persecutions till the poultry-yard was reached. they appeared to regard this tame bird that dwelt with man as a kind of renegade, and hated him accordingly. before he had been long at the estancia it began to be noticed that he followed the broods of young chickens about very assiduously, apparently taking great interest in their welfare, and even trying to entice them to follow him. a few newly-hatched chickens were at length offered to him as an experiment, and he immediately took charge of them with every token of satisfaction, conducting them about in search of food and imitating all the actions of a hen. finding him so good a nurse, large broods were given to him, and the more the foster-chickens were the better he seemed pleased. it was very curious to see this big bird with thirty or forty little animated balls of yellow cotton following him about, while he moved majestically along, setting down his feet with the greatest care not to tread on them, and swelling himself up with jealous anger at the approach of a cat or dog. the intelligence, docility, and attachment to man displayed by the chakar in a domestic state, with perhaps other latent aptitudes only waiting to be developed by artificial selection, seem to make this species one peculiarly suited for man's protection, without which it must inevitably perish. it is sad to reflect that all our domestic animals have descended to us from those ancient times which we are accustomed to regard as dark or barbarous, while the effect of our modern so-called humane civilization has been purely destructive to animal life. not one type do we rescue from the carnage going on at an ever-increasing rate over all the globe. to australia and america, north and south, we look in vain for new domestic species, while even from africa, with its numerous fine mammalian forms, and where england has been the conquering colonizing power for nearly a century, we take nothing. even the sterling qualities of the elephant, the unique beauty of the zebra, appeal to us in vain. we are only teaching the tribes of that vast continent to exterminate a hundred noble species they would not tame. with grief and shame, even with dismay, we call to mind that our country is now a stupendous manufactory of destructive engines, which we are rapidly placing in the hands of all the savage and semi-savage peoples of the earth, thus ensuring the speedy destruction of all the finest types in the animal kingdom. chapter xviii. the woodhewer family. _(dendrocolaptidae.)_ the south american tree-creepers, or woodhewers, as they are sometimes called, although confined exclusively to one continent, their range extending from southern mexico to the magellanic islands, form one of the largest families of the order passeres; no fewer than about two hundred and ninety species (referable to about forty-six genera) having been already described. as they are mostly small, inconspicuous, thicket-frequenting birds, shy and fond of concealment to excess, it is only reasonable to suppose that our list of this family is more incomplete than of any other family of birds known. thus, in the southern plata and north pata-gonian districts, supposed to be exhausted, where my observations have been made, and where, owing to the open nature of the country, birds are more easily remarked than in the forests and marshes of the tropical region, i have made notes on the habits of five species, of which i did not preserve specimens, and which, as far as i know, have never been described and named. probably long before the whole of south america has been "exhausted," there will be not less than four to five hundred dendrocolaptine species known. and yet with the exception of that dry husk of knowledge, concerning size, form and colouration, which classifiers and cataloguers obtain from specimens, very little indeed--scarcely anything, in fact--is known about the tree-creepers; and it would not be too much to say that there are many comparatively obscure and uninteresting species in europe, any one of which has a larger literature than the entire tree-creeper family. no separate work about these birds has seen the light, even in these days of monographs; but the reason of this comparative neglect is not far to seek. in the absence of any knowledge, except of the most fragmentary kind, of the life-habits of exotic species, the monograph-makers of the old world naturally take up only the most important groups--i.e. the groups which most readily attract the traveller's eye with their gay conspicuous colouring, and which have acquired a wide celebrity. we thus have a succession of splendid and expensive works dealing separately with such groups as woodpeckers, trogons, humming-birds, tanagers, king-fishers, and birds of paradise; for with these, even if there be nothing to record beyond the usual dreary details and technicalities concerning geographical distribution, variations in size and markings of different species, &c., the little interest of the letter-press is compensated for in the accompanying plates, which are now produced on a scale of magnitude, and with so great a degree of perfection, as regards brilliant colouring, spirited attitudes and general fidelity to nature, that leaves little further improvement in this direction to be looked for. the tree-creepers, being without the inferior charm of bright colour, offer no attraction to the bird-painter, whose share in the work of the pictorial monograph is, of course, all-important. yet even the very slight knowledge we possess of this family is enough to show that in many respects it is one richly endowed, possessing characters of greater interest to the student of the instincts and mental faculties of birds, than any of |the gaily-tinted families i have mentioned. there is, in the dendrocolaptidae, a splendid harvest for future observers of the habits of south american birds: some faint idea of its richness may perhaps be gathered from the small collection of the most salient facts known to us about them i have brought together and put in order in this place. and i am here departing a little from the plan usually observed in this book, which is chiefly occupied with matters of personal knowledge, seasoned with a little speculation; but in this case i have thought it best to supplement my own observations with those of others [footnote: azara; d'orbigny; darwin; bridges; frazer; leotaud; gaumer; wallace; bates; cunningham; stolzmann; jelski; durnford; gibson; burrows; doering; white, &c.] who have collected and observed birds in south america, so as to give as comprehensive a survey of the family as i could. it is strange to find a passerine family, numerous as the tree-creepers, uniformly of one colour, or nearly so; for, with few exceptions, these birds have a brown plumage, without a particle of bright colour. but although they possess no brilliant or metallic tints, in some species, as we shall see, there are tints approaching to brightness. notwithstanding this family likeness in colour, any person, not an ornithologist, looking at a collection of specimens comprising many genera, would hear with surprise and almost incredulity that they all belonged to one family, so great is the diversity exhibited in their structure. in size they vary from species smaller than the golden-crested wren to others larger than the woodcock; but the differences in size are as nothing compared with those shown in the form of the beak. between the minute, straight, conical, tit-like beaks of the laptasthenura--a tit in appearance and habits--and the extravagantly long, sword-shaped bill of nasica, or the excessively attenuated, sickle-shaped organ in xiphorynchus, the divergence is amazing, compared with what is found in other families; while between these two extremes there is a heterogeneous assemblage of birds with beaks like creepers, nuthatches, finches, tyrant-birds, woodpeckers, crows, and even curlews and ibises. in legs, feet and tails, there are corresponding differences. there are tails of all lengths and all forms; soft and stiff, square, acuminated, broad and fan-like, narrow and spine-like, and many as in the woodpeckers, and used as in that bird to support the body in climbing. an extremely curious modification is found in sittosoma: the tail-feathers in this genus are long and graduated, and the shafts, projecting beyond the webs at the ends, curve downwards and form stiff hooks. concerning the habits of these birds, it has only been reported that they climb on the trunks of trees: probably they are able to run vertically up or down with equal facility, and even to suspend themselves by their feather-hooks when engaged in dislodging insects. another curious variation is found in sylviothorhynchus, a small wren-like bird and the only member known of the genus, with a tail resembling that of the lyre-bird, the extravagantly long feathers being so narrow as to appear almost like shafts destitute of webs. this tail appears to be purely ornamental. this extreme variety in structure indicates a corresponding diversity in habits; and, assuming it to be a true doctrine that habits vary first and structure afterwards, anyone might infer from a study of their forms alone that these birds possess a singular plasticity, or tendency to vary, in their habits--or, in other words, that they are exceptionally intelligent; and that such a conclusion would be right i believe a study of their habits will serve to show. the same species is often found to differ in its manner of life in different localities. some species of xenops and magarornis, like woodpeckers, climb vertically on tree-trunks in search of insect prey, but also, like tits, explore the smaller twigs and foliage at the extremity of the branches; so that the whole tree, from its root to its topmost foliage, is hunted over by them. the sclerurus, although an inhabitant of the darkest forest, and provided with sharply-curved claws, never seeks its food on trees, but exclusively on the ground, among the decaying fallen leaves; but, strangely enough, when alarmed it flies to the trunk of the nearest tree, to which it clings in a vertical position, and, remaining silent and motionless, escapes observation by means of its dark protective colour. the drymornis, a large bird, with feet and tail like a woodpecker, climbs on tree-trunks to seek its food; but also possesses the widely-different habit of resorting to the open plain, especially after a shower, to feed on larvae and earthworms, extracting them from a depth of three or four inches beneath the surface with its immense curved probing beak. again, when we consider a large number of species of different groups, we find that there is not with the tree-creepers, as with most families, any special habit or manner of life linking them together; but that, on the contrary, different genera, and, very frequently, different species belonging to one genus, possess habits peculiarly their own. in other families, even where the divergence is greatest, what may be taken as the original or ancestral habit is seldom or never quite obsolete in any of the members. this we see, for instance, in the woodpeckers, some of which have acquired the habit of seeking their food exclusively on the ground in open places, and even of nesting in the banks of streams. yet all these wanderers, even those which have been structurally modified in accordance with their altered way of life, retain the primitive habit of clinging vertically to the trunks of trees, although the habit has lost its use. with the tyrant birds--a family showing an extraordinary amount of variation--it is the same; for the most divergent kinds are frequently seen reverting to the family habit of perching on an elevation, from which to make forays after passing insects, returning after each capture to the same stand. the thrushes, ranging all over the globe, afford another striking example. without speaking of their nesting habits, their relationship appears in their love of fruit, in their gait, flight, statuesque attitudes, and abrupt motions. with the numerous dendrocolaptine groups, so widely separated and apparently unrelated, it would be difficult indeed to say which, of their most striking habits is the ancestral one. many of the smaller species live in trees or bushes, and in their habits resemble tits, warblers, wrens, and other kinds that subsist on small caterpillars, spiders, &c., gleaned from the leaves and smaller twigs. the anumbius nests on trees, but feeds exclusively on the ground in open places; while other ground-feeders seek their food among dead leaves in dense gloomy forests. coryphistera resembles the lark and pipit in its habits; cinclodes, the wagtail; geobates a saxicola; limnornis lives in reed beds growing in the water; henicornis in reed beds growing out of the water; and many other ground species exist concealed in the grass on dry plains; homorus seeks its food by digging in the loose soil and dead leaves about the roots of trees; while geo-sitta, furnarius, and upercerthia obtain a livelihood chiefly by probing in the soil. it would not be possible within the present limits to mention in detail all the different modes of life of those species or groups which do not possess the tree-creeping habit; after them comes a long array of genera in which this habit is ingrained, and in which the greatly modified feet and claws are suited to a climbing existence. as these genera comprise the largest half of the family, also the largest birds in it, we might expect to find in the tree-creeping the parental habit of the dendrocolaptidae, and that from these tropical forest groups have sprung the widely-diverging thicket, ground, marsh, sea-beach, and rock-frequenting groups. it happens, however, that these birds resemble each other only in their climbing feet; in the form of their beaks they are as wide apart as are nuthatches, woodpeckers, crows, and curlews. they also differ markedly in the manner of seeking their food. some dig like woodpeckers in decayed wood; others probe only in soft rotten wood; while the humming-bird-billed xiphorhynchus, with a beak too long and slender for probing, explores the interior of deep holes in the trunks to draw out nocturnal insects, spiders, and centipedes from their concealment. xiphoco-laptes uses its sword-like beak as a lever, thrusting it under and forcing up the loose bark; while dendrornis, with its stout corvine beak, tears the bark off. in the nesting habits the diversity is greatest. some ground species excavate in the earth like kingfishers, only with greater skill, making cylindrical burrows often four to five feet deep, and terminating in a round chamber. others build a massive oven-shaped structure of clay on a branch or other elevated site. many of those that creep on trees nest in holes in the wood. the marsh-frequenting kinds attach spherical or oval domed nests to the reeds; and in some cases woven grass and clay are so ingeniously combined that the structure, while light as a basket, is perfectly impervious to the wet and practically indestructible. the most curious nests, however, are the large stick structures on trees and bushes, in the building and repairing of which the birds are in many cases employed more or less constantly all the year round. these stick nests vary greatly in form, size, and in other respects. some have a spiral passage-way leading from the entrance to the nest cavity, and the cavity is in many cases only large enough to accommodate the bird; but in the gigantic structure of homorus gutturalis it is so large that, if the upper half of the nest or dome were removed, a condor could comfortably hatch her eggs and rear her young in it. this nest is spherical. the allied homorus lophotis builds a nest equally large, but with a small cavity for the eggs inside, and outwardly resembling a gigantic powder-flask, lying horizontally among the lower branches of a spreading tree. pracellodomtis sibila-trix, a bird in size like the english house sparrow, also makes a huge nest, and places it on the twigs at the terminal end of a horizontal branch from twelve to fifteen feet above the ground; but when finished, the weight of the structure bears down the branch-end to within one or two feet of the surface. mr. barrows, who describes this nest, says: "when other branches of the same tree are similarly loaded, and other trees close at hand bear the same kind of fruit, the result is very picturesque." synallaxis phryganophila makes a stick nest about a foot in depth, and from the top a tubular passage, formed of slender twigs interlaced, runs down the entire length of the nest, like a rain-pipe on the wall of a house, and then becoming external slopes upward, ending at a distance of two to three feet from the nest. throughout south america there are several varieties of these fruit-and-stem or watering-pot shaped nests; they are not, however, all built by birds of one genus, while in the genus synallaxis many species have no tubular passageways attached to their nests. one species--erythro thorax--in yucatan, makes so large a nest of sticks, that the natives do not believe that so small a bird can be the builder. they say that when the _tzapatan_ begins to sing, all the birds in the forest repair to it, each one carrying a stick to add to the structure; only one, a tyrant-bird, brings two sticks, one for itself and one for the _urubú_ or vulture, that bird being considered too large, heavy, and ignorant of architecture to assist personally in the work. in the southern part of south america, where scattered thorn trees grow on a dry soil, these big nests are most abundant. "there are plains," mr. barrows writes, "within two miles of the centre of this town (concepcion, argentine republic), where i have stood and counted, from one point within a radius of twenty rods, over two hundred of these curious nests, varying in size from that of a small pumpkin to more than the volume of a barrel. often a single tree will contain half a dozen nests or more; and, not unfrequently, the nests of several different species are seen crowding each other out of shape on the same bush or tree." it would be a mistake to think that the widely different nesting habits i have mentioned are found in different genera. i have just spoken of the big stick nests, with or without passage-ways, of the synallaxes, yet the nest of one member of this group is simply a small straight tube of woven grass, the aperture only large enough to admit the finger, and open at both ends, so that the bird can pass in and out without turning round. another species scoops a circular hollow in the soil, and builds over it a dome of fine woven grass. it should be mentioned that the nesting habits of only about fifteen out of the sixty-five species comprised in this genus are known to us. in the genus furnarius the oven-shaped clay structure is known to be made by three species; a fourth builds a nest of sticks in a tree; a fifth burrows in the side of a bank, like a kingfisher. the explanation of the most striking features of the dendrocolaptidae, their monotonous brown plumage, diversity of structure, versatile habits, and the marvellous development of the nest-making instinct which they exhibit is to be found, it appears to me, in the fact that they are the most defenceless of birds. they are timid, unresisting creatures, without strength or weapons; their movements arc less quick and vigorous than those of other kinds, and their flight is exceedingly feeble. the arboreal species flit at intervals from one tree to another; those that frequent thickets refuse to leave their chosen shelter; while those inhabiting grassy plains or marshes study concealment, and, when forced to rise, flutter away just above the surface, like flying-fish frightened from the water, and, when they have gone thirty or forty yards, dip into the grass or reeds again. their life is thus one of perpetual danger in a far greater degree than with other passerine families, such as warblers, tyrants, finches, thrushes, &c.; while an exclusively insect diet, laboriously extracted from secret places, and inability to change their climate, contribute to make their existence a hard one. it has been with these birds as with human beings, bred in "misfortune's school," and subjected to keen competition. one of their most striking characteristics is a methodical, plodding, almost painful diligence of manner while seeking their food, so that when viewed side by side with other species, rejoicing in a gayer plumage and stronger flight, they seem like sober labourers that never rest among holiday people bent only on enjoyment. that they are able not only to maintain their existence, but to rise to the position of a dominant family, is due to an intelligence and adaptiveness exceeding that of other kinds, and which has been strengthened, and perhaps directly results from the hard conditions of their life. how great their adaptiveness and variability must be when we find that every portion of the south american continent is occupied by them; for there is really no climate, and no kind of soil or vegetation, which does not possess its appropriate species, modified in colour, form, and habits to suit the surrounding conditions. in the tropical region, so rich in bird life of all kinds, in forest, marsh, and savanna, they are everywhere abundant--food is plentiful there; but when we go to higher elevations avd cold sterile deserts, where their companion families of the tropics dwindle away and disappear, the creepers are still present, for they are evidently able to exist where other kinds would starve. on the stony plateaus of the andes, and on the most barren spots in patagonia, where no other bird is seen, there are small species of synallaxis, which, in their obscure colour and motions on the ground, resemble mice rather than birds; indeed, the quichua name for one of these synallaxes is _ukatchtuka,_ or mouse-bird. how different is the life habit here from what we see in the tropical groups--the large birds with immense beaks, that run vertically on the trunks of the great forest trees! at the extreme southern extremity of the south american continent we find several species of cin-clodes, seeking a subsistence like sandpipers on the beach; they also fly out to sea, and run about on the floating kelp, exploring the fronds for the small marine animals on which they live. in the dreary forests of tierra del fuego another creeper, uxyurus, is by far the commonest bird. "whether high up or low down, in the most gloomy, wet, and scarcely penetrable ravines," says darwin, "this little bird is to be met with;" and dr. cunningham also relates that in these wintry, savage woods he was always attended in his walks by parties of these little creepers, which assembled to follow him out of curiosity. to birds placed at so great a disadvantage, by a feeble flight and other adverse circumstances, in the race of life bright colours would certainly prove fatal. it is true that brown is not in itself a protective colour, and the clear, almost silky browns and bright chestnut tints in several species are certainly not protective; but these species are sufficiently protected in other ways, and can afford to be without a strictly adaptive colour, so long as they are not conspicuous. in a majority of cases, however, the colour is undoubtedly protective, the brown hue being of a shade that assimilates very closely to the surroundings. there are pale yellowish browns, lined and mottled, in species living amidst a sere, scanty vegetation; earthy browns, in those frequenting open sterile or stony places; while the species that creep on trees in forests are dark brown in colour, and in many cases the feathers are mottled in such a manner as to make them curiously resemble the bark of a tree. the genera lochmias and sclerurus are the darkest, the plumage in these birds being nearly or quite black, washed or tinged with rhubarb yellow. their black plumage would render them conspicuous in the sunshine, but they pass their lives in dense tropical forests, where the sun at noon sheds only a gloomy twilight. if "colour is ever tending to increase and to appear where it is absent," as dr. wallace believes, then we ought to find it varying in the direction of greater brightness in some species in a family so numerous and variable as the dendrocolaptidae, however feeble and in need of a protective colouring these birds may be in a majority of pases. and this in effect we do find. in many of the dark-plumaged species that live in perpetual shade some parts are a very bright chestnut; while in a few that live in such close concealment as to be almost independent of protective colouring, the lower plumage has become pure white. a large number of species have a bright or nearly bright guiar spot. this is most remarkable in synallaxis phryganophila, the chin being sulphur-yellow, beneath which is a spot of velvet-black, and on either side a white patch, the throat thus having three strongly contrasted colours, arranged in four divisions. the presence of this bright throat spot in so many species cannot very well be attributed to voluntary sexual selection, although believers in that theory are of course at liberty to imagine that when engaged in courtship, the male bird, or rather male and female both, as both sexes possess the spot, hold up their heads vertically to exhibit it. perhaps it would be safer to look on it as a mere casual variation, which, like the exquisitely pencilled feathers and delicate tints on the concealed sides and under surfaces of the wings of many species possessing outwardly an obscure protective colouring, is neither injurious nor beneficial in any way, either to the birds or to the theory. it is more than probable, however, that in such small feeble-winged, persecuted birds, this spot of colour would prove highly dangerous on any conspicuous part of the body. in some of the more vigorous, active species, we can see a tendency towards a brighter colouring on large, exposed surfaces. in auto-malus the tail is bright satiny rufous; in pseudo-colaptes the entire under surface is rufous of a peculiar vivid tint, verging on orange or red; in magarornis the bosom is black, and beautifully ornamented with small leaf-shaped spots of a delicate straw-colour. there are several other very pretty birds in this homely family; but the finest of all is thripodectes flammulatus, the whole body being tortoise-shell colour, the wings and tail bright chesnut. the powerful tanager-like beak of this species seems also to show that it has diverged from its timid shade-loving congeners in another direction by becoming a seed and fruit eater. probably the sober and generally protective colouring of the tree-creepers, even with the variability and adaptiveness displayed in their habits superadded, would be insufficient to preserve such feeble birds in the struggle of life without the further advantage derived from their wonderful nests. it has been said of domed nests that they are a danger rather than a protection, owing to their large size, which makes it easy for carnivorous species that prey on eggs and young birds to find them; while small open nests are usually well concealed. this may be the case with covered nests made of soft materials, loosely put together; but it cannot be said of the solid structure the tree-creeper bnilds, and which, as often as not, the bird erects in the most conspicuous place it can find, as if, writes azara, it desired all the world to admire its work. the annual destruction of adult birds is very great--more than double that, i believe, which takes place in other passerine families. their eggs and young are, however, practically safe in their great elaborate nests or deep burrows, and, as a rule, they lay more eggs than other kinds, the full complement being seldom less than five in the species i am acquainted with, while some lay as many as nine. their nests are also made so as to keep out a greater pest than their carnivorous or egg-devouring enemies--namely, the parasitical starlings (molo-thrus), which are found throughout south america, and are excessively abundant and destructive to birds' nests in some districts. in most cases, in the big, strong-domed nest or deep burrow, all the eggs are hatched and all the young reared, the thinning, out process commencing only after the brood has been led forth into a world beset with perils. with other families, on the contrary, the greatest amount of destruction falls on the eggs or fledglings. i have frequently kept a dozen or twenty pairs of different species--warblers, finches, tyrants, starlings, &c.--under observation during the breeding season, and have found that in some cases no young-were reared at all; in other cases one or two young; while, as often as not, the young actually reared were only parasitical starlings after all. i have still to speak of the voice of the tree-creepers, an important point in the study of these birds; for, though not accounted singers, some species emit remarkable sounds; moreover, language in birds is closely related to the social instinct. they seem to be rather solitary than gregarious; and this seems only natural in birds so timid, weak-winged, and hard pressed. it would also be natural to conclude from what has been said concerning their habits that they are comparatively silent; for, as a rule, vigorous social birds are loquacious and loud-voiced, while shy solitary kinds preservo silence, except in the love season. nevertheless the creepers are loquacious and have loud resonant voices; this fact, however, does not really contradict a well-known principle, for the birds possess the social disposition in an eminent degree, only the social habit is kept down in them by the conditions of a life which makes solitude necessary. thus, a large proportion of species are found to pair for life; and the only reasonable explanation of this habit in birds--one which is not very common in the mammalia--is that such species possess the social temper or feeling, and live in pairs only because they cannot afford to live in flocks. strictly gregarious species pair only for the breeding season. in the creepers the attachment between the birds thus mated for life is very great, and, as azara truly says of anumbius, so fond of each other's society are these birds, that when one incubates the other sits at the entrance to the nest, and when one carries food to its young the other accompanies it, even if it has found nothing to cany. in these species that live in pairs, when the two birds are separated they are perpetually calling to each other, showing how impatient of solitude they are; while even from the more solitary kind, a high-pitched call-note is constantly heard in the woods, for these birds, debarred from associating together, satisfy their instinct by conversing with one another over long distances. the foregoing remarks apply to the dendrocolap-tidae throughout the temperate countries of south america--the birds inhabiting extensive grassy plains and marshes, and districts with a scanty or scattered tree and bush vegetation. in the forest areas of the hotter regions it is different; there the birds form large gatherings or "wandering bands," composed of all the different species found in each district, associated with birds of other families--wood-peckers, tyrant-birds, bush shrikes, and many others. these miscellaneous gatherings are not of rare occurrence, but out of the breeding season are formed daily, the birds beginning to assemble at about nine or ten o'clock in the morning, their number increasing through the day until it reaches its maximum between two and four o'clock in the afternoon, after which it begins to diminish, each bird going off to its customary shelter or dwelling-place. mr. bates, who first described these wandering bands, says that he could always find the particular band belonging to a district any day he wished, for when he failed to meet with it in one part of the forest he would try other paths, until he eventually found it. the great amazonian forests, he tells us, appear strangely silent and devoid of bird life, and it is possible to ramble about for whole days without seeing or hearing birds. but now and then the surrounding trees and bushes appear suddenly swarming with them. "the bustling crowd loses no time, and, always moving in concert, each bird is occupied on its own account in searching bark, or leaf, or twig. in a few moments the host is gone, and the forest path remains deserted and silent as before." stolzmann, who observed them in peru, says that the sound caused by the busy crowd searching through the foliage, and the falling of dead leaves and twigs, resembles that produced by a shower of rain. the indians of the amazons, mr. bates writes, have a curious belief to explain these bird armies; they say that the papa-uira, supposed to be a small grey bird, fascinates all the others, and leads them on a weary perpetual dance through the forest. it seems very wonderful that birds, at other times solitary, should thus combine daily in large numbers, including in their bands scores of widely different species, and in size ranging from those no larger than a wren to others as big as a magpie. it is certainly very advantageous to them. as belt remarks, they play into each other's hands; for while the larger creepers explore the trunks of big trees, others run over the branches and cling to the lesser twigs, so that every tree in their route, from its roots to the topmost foliage, is thoroughly examined, and every spider and caterpillar taken, while the winged insects, driven from their lurking-places, are seized where they settle, or caught flying by the tyrant birds. i have observed the wandering bands only in patagonia, where they are on a very small scale compared with those of the tropical forests. in the patagonia thickets the small tit-like creeper, laptas-thenura, is the prime mover; and after a considerable number of these have gathered, creepers of other species and genera unite with them, and finally the band, as it moves through the thickets, draws to itself other kinds--flycatchers, finches, &c.--many of the birds running or hopping on the ground to search for insects in the loose soil or under dead leaves, while others explore the thorny bushes. my observations of these small bands lead me to believe that everywhere in south america the dendrocolaptidae are the first in combining to act in concert, and that the birds of other families follow their march and associate with them, knowing from experience that a rich harvest may be thus reaped. in the same way birds of various kinds follow the movements of a column of hunting ants, to catch the insects flying up from the earth to escape from their enemies; swallows also learn to keep company with the traveller on horseback, and, crossing and recrossing just before the hoofs, they catch the small twilight moths driven up from the grass. to return to the subject of voice. the tree-creepers do not possess melodious, or at any rate mellow notes, although in so numerous a family there is great variety of tone, ranging from a small reedy voice like the faint stridulation of a grasshopper, to the resounding, laughter-like, screaming concerts of homorus, which may be heard distinctly two miles away. as a rule, the notes are loud ringing calls; and in many species the cry, rapidly reiterated, resembles a peal of laughter. with scarcely an exception, they possess no set song; but in most species that live always in pairs there are loud, vehement, gratulatory notes uttered by the two birds in concert when they meet after a brief separation. this habit they possess in common with birds of other families, as, for instance, the tyrants; but, in some creepers, out of this confused outburst of joyous sound has been developed a. musical performance very curious, and perhaps unique among birds. on meeting, the male and female, standing close together and facing each other, utter their clear ringing concert, one emitting loud single measured notes, while the notes of its fellow are rapid, rhythmical triplets; their voices have a joyous character, and seem to accord, thus producing a kind of harmony. this manner of singing is perhaps most perfect in the oven-bird, furnarias, and it is very curious that the young birds, when only partially fledged, are constantly heard in the nest or oven apparently practising these duets in the intervals when the parents are absent; single measured notes, triplets, and long concluding trills are all repeated with wonderful fidelity, although these notes are in character utterly unlike the hunger cry, which is like that of other fledglings. i cannot help thinking that this fact of the young birds beginning to sing like the adults, while still confined in their dark cradle, is one of very considerable significance, especially when we consider the singular character of the performance; and that it might even be found to throw some light on the obscure question of the comparative antiquity of the different and widely separated dendrocolaptine groups. it is a doctrine in evolutionary science that the early maturing of instincts in the young indicates a high antiquity for the species or group; and there is no reason why this principle should not be extended, in the case of birds at any rate, to language. it is true that daines barrington's notion that young song-birds learn to sing only by imitating the adults still holds its ground; and darwin gives it his approval in his _descent of man._ it is perhaps one of those doctrines which are partially true, or which do not contain the whole truth; and it is possible to believe that, while many singing birds do so learn their songs, or acquire a greater proficiency in them from hearing the adults, in other species the song comes instinctively, and is, like other instincts and habits, purely an "inherited memory." the case of a species in another order of birds--crypturi--strikes me as being similar to this of the oven-bird, and seems to lend some force to the suggestion i have made concerning the early development of voice in the young. birds peculiar to south america are said by anatomists to be less specialized, lower, more ancient, than the birds of the northern continents, and among those which are considered lowest and most ancient are the tinamous (rail and partridge like in their habits), birds that lead a solitary, retiring life, and in most cases have sweet melancholy voices. rhynchotus rufescens, a bird the size of a fowl, inhabiting the pampas, is perhaps the sweetest-voiced, and sings with great frequency. its song or call is heard oftenest towards the evening, and is composed of five modulated notes, flute-like in character, very expressive, and uttered by many individuals answering each other as they sit far apart concealed in the grass. as we might have expected, the faculties and instincts of the young of this species mature at a very early period; when extremely small, they abandon their parents to shift for themselves in solitude; and when not more than one-fourth the size they eventually attain, they acquire the adult plumage and are able to fly as well as an old bird. i observed a young bird of this species, less than a quail in size, at a house on the pampas, and was told that it had been taken from the nest when just breaking the shell; it had, therefore, never seen or heard the parent birds. yet this small chick, every day at the approach of evening, would retire to the darkest corner of the dining room, and, concealed under a piece of furniture, would continue uttering its evening song for an hour or longer at short intervals, and rendering it so perfectly that i was greatly surprised to hear it; for a thrush or other songster at the same period of life, when attempting to sing, only produces a chirping sound. the early singing of the oven-bird fledgling is important, owing to the fact that the group it belongs to comprises the least specialized forms in the family. they are strong-legged, square-tailed, terrestrial birds, generally able to perch, have probing beaks, and build the most perfect mud or stick nests, or burrow in the ground. in the numerous tree-creeping groups, which, seem as unrelated to the oven-bird as the woodpecker is to the hoopoe, we find a score of wonderfully different forms of beak; but many of them retain the probing character, and are actually used to probe in rotten wood on trees, and to explore the holes and deep crevices in the trunk. we have also seen that some of these tree-creepers revert to the ancestral habit (if i may so call it) of seeking their food by probing in the soil. in others, like dendrornis, in which the beak has lost this character, and is used to dig in the wood or to strip off the bark, it has not been highly specialized, and, compared with the woodpecker's beak, is a very imperfect organ, considering the purpose for which it is used. yet, on the principle that "similar functional requirements frequently lead to the development of similar structures in animals which are otherwise very distinct"--as we see in the tubular tongue in honey-eaters and humming birds--we might have expected to find in the dendrocolaptidae a better imitation of the woodpecker in so variable an organ as the beak, if not in the tongue. probably the oven-birds, and their nearest relations--generalized, hardy, builders of strong nests, and prolific--represent the parental form; and when birds of this type had spread over the entire continent they became in different districts frequenters of marshes, forests, thickets and savannas. with altered life-habits the numerous divergent forms originated; some, like xiphorynchus, retaining a probing beak in a wonderfully modified form, attenuated in an extreme degree, and bent like a sickle; others diverging more in the direction of nuthatches and woodpeckers. this sketch of the dendrocolaptidae, necessarily slight and imperfect, is based on a knowledge of the habits of about sixty species, belonging to twenty-eight genera: from personal observation i am acquainted with less than thirty species. it is astonishing to find how little has been written about these most interesting birds in south america. one tree-creeper only, furnarius rufus, the oven-bird _par excellence,_ has been mentioned, on account of its wonderful architecture, in almost every general work of natural history published during the present century; yet the oven-bird does not surpass, or even equal in interest, many others in this family of nearly three hundred members. chapter xix. music and dancing in nature. in reading books of natural history we meet with numerous instances of birds possessing the habit of assembling together, in many cases always at the same spot, to indulge in antics and dancing performances, with or without the accompaniment of music, vocal or instrumental; and by instrumental music is here meant all sounds other than vocal made habitually and during the more or less orderly performances; as, for instance, drumming and tapping noises; smiting of wings; and humming, whip-cracking, fan-shutting, grinding, scraping, and horn-blowing sounds, produced as a rule by the quills. there are human dances, in which only one person performs at a time, the rest of the company looking on; and some birds, in widely separated genera, have dances of this kind. a striking example is the rupicola, or cock of-the-rock, of tropical south america. a mossy level spot of earth surrounded by bushes is selected for a dancing-place, and kept well cleared of sticks and stones; round this area the birds assemble, when a cock-bird, with vivid orange-scarlet crest and plumage, steps into it, and, with spreading wings and tail, begins a series of movements as if dancing a minuet; finally, carried away with excitement, he leaps and gyrates in the most astonishing manner, until, becoming exhausted, he retires, and another bird takes his place. in other species all the birds in a company unite in the set performances, and seem to obey an impulse which affects them simultaneously and in the same degree; but sometimes one bird prompts the others and takes a principal part. one of the most curious instances i have come across in reading is contained in mr. bigg-wither's _pioneering in south brazil._ he relates that one morning in the dense forest his attention was roused by the unwonted sound of a bird singing--songsters being rare in that district. his men, immediately they caught the sound, invited him to follow them, hinting that he would probably witness a very curious sight. cautiously making their way through the dense undergrowth, they finally came in sight of a small stony spot of ground, at the end of a tiny glade; and on this spot, some on the stone and some on the shrubs, were assembled a number of little birds, about the size of tom-tits, with lovely blue plumage and red top-knots. one was perched quite still on a twig, singing merrily, while the others were keeping time with wings and feet in a kind of dance, and all twittering an accompaniment. he watched them for some time, and was satisfied that they were having a ball and concert, and thoroughly enjoying themselves; they then became alarmed, and the performance abruptly terminated, the birds all going off in different directions. the natives told him that these little creatures were known as the "dancing birds." this species was probably solitary, except when assembling for the purpose of display; but in a majority of cases, especially in the passerine order, the solitary species performs its antics alone, or with no witness but its mate. azara, describing a small finch, which he aptly named _oscilador,_ says that early and late in the day it mounts up vertically to a moderate height; then, flies off to a distance of twenty yards, describing a perfect curve in its passage; turning, it flies back over the imaginary line it has traced, and so on repeatedly, appearing like a pendulum swung in space by an invisible thread. those who seek to know the cause and origin of this kind of display and of song in animals are referred to darwin's _descent of man_ for an explanation. the greater part of that work is occupied with a laborious argument intended to prove that the love-feeling inspires the animals engaged in these exhibitions, and that sexual selection, or the voluntary selection of mates by the females, is the final cause of all set musical and dancing performances, as well as of bright and harmonious colouring, and of ornaments. the theory, with regard to birds is, that in the love-season, when the males are excited and engage in courtship, the females do not fall to the strongest and most active, nor to those that are first in the field; but that in a large number of species they are endowed with a faculty corresponding to the aesthetic feeling or taste in man, and deliberately select males for their superiority in some aesthetic quality, such as graceful or fantastic motions, melody of voice, brilliancy of colour, or perfection of ornaments. doubtless all birds were originally plain-coloured, without ornaments and without melody, and it is assumed that so it would always have been in many cases but for the action of this principle, which, like natural selection, has gone on accumulating countless small variations, tending to give a greater lustre to the species in each case, and resulting in all that we most admire in the animal world--the rupicola's flame-coloured mantle, the peacock's crest and starry train, the joyous melody of the lark, and the pretty or fantastic dancing performances of birds. my experience is that mammals and birds, with few exceptions--probably there are really no exceptions--possess the habit of indulging frequently in more or less regular or set performances, with or without sound, or composed of sound exclusively; and that these performances, which in many animals are only discordant cries and choruses, and uncouth, irregular motions, in the more aerial, graceful, and melodious kinds take immeasurably higher, more complex, and more beautiful forms. among the mammalians the instinct appears almost universal; but their displays are, as a rule, less admirable than those seen in birds. there are some kinds, it is true, like the squirrels and monkeys, of arboreal habits, almost birdlike in their restless energy, and in the swiftness and certitude of their motions, in which the slightest impulse can be instantly expressed in graceful or fantastic action; others, like the chinchillidae family, have greatly developed vocal organs, and resemble birds in loquacity; but mammals generally, compared with birds, are slow and heavy, and not so readily moved to exhibitions of the kind i am discussing. the terrestrial dances, often very elaborate, of heavy birds, like those of the gallinaceous kind, are represented in the more volatile species by performances in the air, and these are very much more beautiful; while a very large number of birds--hawks, vultures, swifts, swallows, nightjars, storks, ibises, spoonbills, and gulls--circle about in the air, singly or in flocks. sometimes, in serene weather, they rise to a vast altitude, and float about in one spot for an hour or longer at a stretch, showing a faint bird-cloud in the blue, that does not change its form, nor grow lighter and denser like a flock of starlings; but in the seeming confusion there is perfect order, and amidst many hundreds each swift- or slow-gliding figure keeps its proper distance with such exactitude that no two ever touch, even with the extremity of the long-wings, flapping or motionless:--such a multitude, and such miraculous precision in the endless curving motions of all the members of it, that the spectator can lie for an hour on his back without weariness watching this mystic cloud-dance in the empyrean. the black-faced ibis of patagonia, a bird nearly as large as a turkey, indulges in a curious mad performance, usually in the evening when feeding-time is over. the birds of a flock, while winging their way to the roosting-place, all at once seem possessed with frenzy, simultaneously dashing downwards with amazing violence, doubling about in the most eccentric manner; and when close to the surface rising again to repeat the action, all the while making the air palpitate for miles around with their hard, metallic cries. other ibises, also birds of other genera, have similar aerial performances. the displays of most ducks known to me take the form of mock fights on the water; one exception is the handsome and loquacious whistling widgeon of la plata, which has a pretty aerial performance. a dozen or twenty birds rise up until they appear like small specks in the sky, and sometimes disappear from sight altogether; and at that great altitude they continue hovering in one spot, often for an hour or longer, alternately closing and separating; the fine, bright, whistling notes and flourishes of the male curiously harmonizing with the grave, measured notes of the female; and every time they close they slap each other on the wings so smartly that the sound can be distinctly heard, like applauding hand-claps, even after the birds have ceased to be visible. the rails, active, sprightly birds with powerful and varied voices, are great performers; but owing to the nature of the ground they inhabit and to their shy, suspicious character, it is not easy to observe their antics. the finest of the platan rails is the ypecaha, a beautiful, active bird about the size of the fowl. a number of ypecahas have their assembling place on a small area of smooth, level ground, just above the water, and hemmed in by dense rush beds. first, one bird among the rushes emits a powerful cry, thrice repeated; and this is a note of invitation, quickly responded to by other birds from all sides as they hurriedly repair to the usual place. in a few moments they appear, to the number of a dozen or twenty, bursting from the rushes and running into the open space, and instantly beginning the performance. this is a tremendous screaming concert. the screams they utter have a certain resemblance to the human voice, exerted to its utmost pitch and expressive of extreme terror, frenzy, and despair. a long, piercing shriek, astonishing for its vehemence and power, is succeeded by a lower note, as if in the first the creature had well nigh exhausted itself: this double scream is repeated several times, and followed by other sounds, resembling, as they rise and fall, half smothered cries of pains and moans of anguish. suddenly the unearthly shrieks are renewed in all their power. while screaming the birds rush from side to side, as if possessed with madness, the wings spread and vibrating, the long-beak wide open and raised vertically. this exhibition lasts three or four minntes, after which the assembly peacefully breaks up. the singular wattled, wing-spurred, and long-, toed jacana has a remarkable performance, which seems specially designed to bring out the concealed beauty of the silky, greenish-golden wing-quills-the birds go singly or in pairs, and a dozen or fifteen individuals may be found in a marshy place feeding within sight of each other. occasionally, in response to a note of invitation, they all in a moment leave off feeding and fly to one spot, and, forming a close cluster, and emitting short, excited, rapidly repeated notes, display their wings, like beautiful flags grouped loosely together: some hold the wings up vertically and motionless; others, half open and vibrating rapidly, while still others wave them up and down with a slow, measured motion. in the ypecaha and jacana displays both sexes take part. a stranger performance is that of the spur-winged lapwing of the same region--a species resembling the lapwing of europe, but a third larger, brighter coloured, and armed with spurs. the lapwing display, called by the natives its "dance," or "serious dance"--by which they mean square dance--requires three birds for its performance, and is, so far as i know, unique in this respect. the birds are so fond of it that they indulge in it all the year round, and at frequent intervals during the day, also on moonlight nights. if a person watches any two birds for some time--for they live in pairs--he will see another lapwing, one of a neighbouring couple, rise up and fly to them, leaving his own mate to guard their chosen ground; and instead of resenting this visit as an unwarranted intrusion on their domain, as they would certainly resent the approach of almost any other bird, they welcome it with notes and signs of pleasure. advancing to the visitor, they place themselves behind it; then all three, keeping step, begin a rapid march, uttering resonant drumming notes in time with their movements; the notes of the pair behind being emitted in a stream, like a drum-roll, while the leader utters loud single notes at regular intervals. the march ceases; the leader elevates his wings and stands erect and motionless, still uttering loud notes; while the other two, with puffed-out plumage and standing exactly abreast stoop forward and downward until the tips of their beaks touch the ground, and, sinking their rhythmical voices to a murmur, remain for some time in this posture. the performance is then over and the visitor goes back to his own ground and mate, to receive a visitor himself later on. in the passerine order, not the least remarkable displays are witnessed in birds that are not accounted songsters, as they do not possess the highly developed vocal organ confined to the suborder oscines. the tyrant-birds, which represent in south america the fly-catchers of the old world, all have displays of some kind; in a vast majority of cases these are simply joyous, excited duets between male and female, composed of impetuous and more or less confused notes and screams, accompanied with beating of wings and other gestures. in some species choruses take the place of duets, while in others entirely different forms of display have been developed. in one group--cnipolegus--the male indulges in solitary antics, while the silent, modest-coloured female keeps in hiding. thus, the male of cnipolegus hudsoni, an intensely black-plumaged species with a concealed white wing-band, takes his stand on a dead twig on the summit of a bush. at intervals he leaves his perch, displaying the intense white on the quills, and producing, as the wings are thrown open and shut alternately, the effect of successive flashes of light. then suddenly the bird begins revolving in the air about its perch, like a moth wheeling round and close to the flame of a candle, emitting a series of sharp clicks and making a loud humming with the wings. while performing this aerial waltz the black and white on the quills mix, the wings appearing like a grey mist encircling the body. the fantastic dance over, the bird drops suddenly on to its perch again; and, until moved to another display, remains as stiff and motionless as a bird carved out of jet. the performance of the scissors-tail, another tyrant-bird, is also remarkable. this species is grey and white, with black head and tail and a crocus-yellow crest. on the wing it looks like a large swallow, but with the two outer tail-feathers a foot long. the scissors-tails always live in pairs, but at sunset several pairs assemble, the birds calling excitedly to each other; they then mount upwards, like rockets, to a great height in the anand, after wheeling about for a few moments, pro-cipitate themselves downwards with amazing violence in a wild zigzag, opening and shutting the long tail-feathers like a pair of shears, and producing loud whirring sounds, as of clocks being wound rapidly up, with a slight pause after each turn of the key. this aerial dance over, they alight in separate couples on the tree tops, each couple joining in a kind of duet of rapidly repeated, castanet-like sounds. the displays of the wood-hewers, or dendrocolap-tidae, another extensive family, resemble those of the tyrant-birds in being chiefly duets, male and female singing excitedly in piercing or resonant voices, and with much action. the habit varies somewhat in the cachalote, a patagonian species of the genus homorus, about the size of the missel-thrush. old and young birds live in a family together, and at intervals, on any fine day, they engage in a grand screaming contest, which may be heard distinctly at a distance of a mile and a half. one bird mounts on to a bush and calls, and instantly all the others hurry to the spot, and burst out into a chorus of piercing cries that sound like peals and shrieks of insane laughter. after the chorus, they all pursue each other wildly about among the bushes for some minutes. in some groups the usual duet-like performances have developed into a kind of harmonious singing, which is very curious and pleasant to hear. this is pre-eminently the case with the oven-birds, as d'orbigney first remarked. thus, in the red oven-bird, the first bird, on the appearance of its mate flying to join it, begins to emit loud, measured notes, and sometimes a continuous trill, somewhat metallic in sound; but immediately on the other bird striking in this introductory passage is changed to triplets, strongly accented on the first note, in a _tempo vivace;_ while the second bird utters loud single notes in the same time. while thus singing they stand facing each other, necks outstretched and tails expanded, the wings of the first bird vibrating rapidly to the rapid utterance, while those of the second bird beat measured time. the finale consists of three or four notes, uttered by the second bird alone, strong and clear, in an ascending scale, the last very piercing. in the melodists proper the displays, in a majority of cases, are exclusively vocal, the singer sitting still on his perch. in the troupials, a family of starling-like birds numbering about one hundred and forty species, there are many that accompany singing with pretty or grotesque antics. the male screaming cow-bird of la plata, when perched, emits a hollow-sounding internal note that swells at the end into a sharp metallic ring, almost bell-like: this is uttered with wings and tail spread and depressed, the whole plumage being puffed out as in a strutting turkey-cock, while the bird hops briskly up and down on its perch as if dancing. the bell-like note of the male is followed by an impetuous scream from the female, and the dance ends. another species, the common argentine cow-bird of la plata, when courting puffs out his glossy rich violet plumage, and, with wings vibrating, emits a succession of deep internal notes, followed by a set song in clear, ringing tones; and then, suddenly taking wing, he flies straight away, close to the surface, fluttering like a moth, and at a distance of twenty to thirty yards turns and flies in a wide circle round the female, singing loudly all the time, hedging her in with melody as it were. many songsters in widely different families possess the habit of soaring and falling alternately while singing, and in some cases all the aerial postures and movements, the swift or slow descent, vertical, often, with oscillations, or in a spiral, and sometimes with a succession of smooth oblique lapses, seem to have an admirable correspondence with the changing and falling voice--melody and motion being united in a more intimate and beautiful way than in the most perfect and poetic forms of human dancing. one of the soaring singers is a small yellow field-finch of la plata--sycalis luteola; and this species, like some others, changes the form of its display with the seasons. it lives in immense flocks, and during the cold season it has, like most finches, only aerial pastimes, the birds wheeling about in a cloud, pursuing each other with lively chirpings. in august, when the trees begin to blossom, the flock betakes itself to a plantation, and, sitting on the branches, the birds sing in a concert of innumerable voices, producing a great volume of sound, as of a high wind when heard at a distance. heard near, it is a great mass of melody; not a confused tangle of musical sounds as when a host of troupials sing in concert, but the notes, although numberless, seem to flow smoothly and separately, producing an effect on the ear similar to that which rain does on the sight, when the sun shines on and lightens up the myriads of falling drops all falling one way. in this manner the birds sing for hours, without intermission, every day. then the passion of love infects them; the pleasant choir breaks up, and its ten thousand members scatter wide over the surrounding fields and pasture lands. during courtship the male has a feeble, sketchy music, but his singing is then accompanied with very charming love antics. his circlings about the hen-bird; his numberless advances and retreats, and little soarings above her when his voice swells with importunate passion; his fluttering lapses back to earth, where he lies prone with outspread, tremulous wings, a suppliant at her feet, his languishing voice meanwhile dying down to lispings--all these apt and graceful motions seem to express the very sickness of the heart. but the melody during this emotional period is nothing. after the business of pairing and nest-building is over, his musical displays take a new and finer form. he sits perched on a stalk above the grass, and at intervals soars up forty or fifty yards high; rising, he utters a series of long melodious notes; then he descends in a graceful spiral, the set of the motionless wings giving him the appearance of a slowly-falling parachute; the voice then also falls, the notes coming lower, sweeter, and more expressive until he reaches the surface. after alighting the song continues, the strains becoming longer, thinner, and clearer, until they dwindle to the finest threads of sound and faintest tinklings, as from a cithern touched by fairy fingers. the great charm of the song is in this slow gradation from the somewhat throaty notes emitted by the bird when ascendino-to the excessively attenuated sounds at the close. in conclusion of this part i shall speak of one species more--the white-banded mocking-bird of patagonia, which greatly excels all other songsters known to me in the copiousness, variety and brilliant character of its music. concealed in the foliage this bird will sing by the half-hour, reproducing with miraculous fidelity the more or less melodious set songs of a score of species--a strange and beautiful performance; but wonderful as it seems while it lasts, one almost ceases to admire this mimicking bird-art when the mocker, as if to show by contrast his unapproachable superiority, bursts into his own divine song, uttered with a power, abandon and joyousness resembling, but greatly exceeding, that of the skylark "singing at heaven's gate;" the notes issuing in a continuous torrent; the voice so brilliant and infinitely varied, that if "rivalry and emulation" have as large a place in feathered breasts as some imagine all that hear this surpassing melody might well languish ever after in silent despair. in a vast majority of the finest musical performances the same notes are uttered in the same order, and after an interval the song is repeated without any variation: and it seems impossible that we could in any other way have such beautiful contrasts and harmonious lights and shades--the whole song, so to speak, like a "melody sweetly played in tune." this seeming impossibility is accomplished in the mocking-bird's song: the notes never come in the same order again and again, but, as if inspired, in a changed order, with variations and new sounds: and here again it has some resemblance to the skylark's song, and might be described as the lark's song with endless variations and brightened and spiritualized in a degree that cannot be imagined. this mocking-bird is one of those species that accompany music with appropriate motions. and just as its song is, so to speak, inspired and an im-provization, unlike any song the bird has ever uttered, so its motions all have the same character of spontaneity, and follow no order, and yet have a grace and passion and a perfect harmony with the music unparalleled among birds possessing a similar habit. while singing he passes from bush to bush, sometimes delaying a few moments on and at others just touching the summits, and at times sinking out of sight in the foliage: then, in an access of rapture, soaring vertically to a height of a hundred feet, with measured wing-beats, like those of a heron: or, mounting suddenly in a wild, hurried zigzag, then slowly circling downwards, to sit at last with tail outspread fanwise, and vans, glistening white in the sunshine, expanded and vibrating, or waved languidly up and down, with, a motion like that of some broad-winged butterfly at rest on a flower. i wish now to put this question: what relation that we can see or imagine to the passion of love and the business of courtship, have these dancing and vocal performances in nine cases out of ten? in such cases, for instance, as that of the scissors-tail tyrant-bird, and its pyrotechnic evening displays, when a number of couples leave their nests containing eggs and young to join in a wild aerial dance: the mad exhibitions of ypecahas and ibises, and the jacanas' beautiful exhibition of grouped wings: the triplet dances of the spur-winged lapwing, to perform which two birds already mated are compelled to call in a third bird to complete the set: the harmonious duets of the oven-birds, and the duets and choruses of nearly all the wood-hewers, and the wing-slapping aerial displays of the whistling widgeons--will it be seriously contended that the female of this species makes choice of the male able to administer the most vigorous and artistic slaps? the believer in the theory would put all these cases lightly aside, to cite that of the male cow-bird practising antics before the female and drawing a wide circle of melody round her; or that of the jet-black, automaton-like, dancing tyrant-bird; and concerning this species he would probably say that the plain-plumaged female went about unseen, critically watching the dancing of different males, to discover the most excellent performer according to the traditional standard. and this was, in substance, what darwin did. there are many species in which the male, singly or with others, practises antics or sings during the love-season before the female; and when all such cases, or rather those that are most striking and bizarre, are brought together, and when it is gratuitously asserted that the females _do_ choose the males that show off in the best manner or that sing best, a case for sexual selection seems to be made out. how unfair the argument is, based on these carefully selected cases gathered from all regions of the globe, and often not properly reported, is seen when we turn from the book to nature and closely consider the habits and actions of all the species inhabiting any _one_ district. we see then that such cases as those described and made so much of in the _descent of man,_ and cases like those mentioned in this chapter, are not essentially different in character, but are manifestations of one instinct, which appears to be almost universal among the animals. the explanation i have to offer lies very much on the surface and is very simple indeed, and, like that of dr. wallace with regard [footnote: it is curious to find that dr. wallace's idea about colour has been independently hit upon by ruskin. of stones he writes in _frondes agrestis_:--"i have often had occasion to allude to the apparent connection of brilliancy of colour with vigour of life and purity of substance. this is pre-eminently the case in the mineral kingdom. the perfection with which the particles of any substance unite in crystallization, corresponds in that kingdom to the vital power in organic nature."] to colour and ornaments covers the whole of the facts. we see that the inferior animals, when the conditions of life are favourable, are subject to periodical fits of gladness affecting them powerfully and standing out in vivid contrast to their ordinary temper. and we know what this feeling is--this periodic intense elation which even civilized man occasionally experiences when in perfect health, more especially when young. there are moments when he is mad with joy, when he cannot keep still, when his impulse is to sing and shout aloud and laugh at nothing, to run and leap and exert himself in some extravagant way. among the heavier mammalians the feeling is manifested in loud noises, bellowings and screamings, and in lumbering, uncouth motions--throwing up of heels, pretended panics, and ponderous mock battles. in smaller and livelier animals, with greater celerity and certitude in their motions, the feeling shows itself in more regular and often in more complex ways. thus, felidae when young, and, in very agile, sprightly species like the puma, throughout life, simulate all the actions of an animal hunting its prey--sudden, intense excitement of discovery, concealment, gradual advance, masked by intervening objects, with intervals of watching, when they crouch motionless, the eyes flashing and tail waved from side to side; finally, the rush and spring, when the playfellow is captured, rolled over on his back and worried to imaginary death. other species of the most diverse kinds, in which voice is greatly developed, join in noisy concerts and choruses; many of the cats may be mentioned, also dogs and foxes, capybaras and other loquacious rodents; and in the howling monkeys this kind of performance rises to the sublime uproar of the tropical forest at eventide. birds are more subject to this universal joyous instinct than mammals, and there are times when some species are constantly overflowing with it; and as they are so much freer than mammals, more buoyant and graceful in action, more loquacious, and have voices so much finer, their gladness shows itself in a greater variety of ways, with more regular and beautiful motions, and with melody. but every species, or group of species, has its own inherited form or style of performance; and, however rude and irregular this may be, as in the case of the pretended stampedes and fights of wild cattle, that is the form in which the feeling will always be expressed. if all men, at some exceedingly remote period in their history, had agreed to express the common glad impulse, which they now express in such an infinite variety of ways or do not express at all, by dancing a minuet, and minuet-dancing had at last come to be instinctive, and taken to spontaneously by children at an early period, just as they take to walking "on their hind legs," man's case would be like that of the inferior animals. i was one day watching a flock of plovers, quietly feeding on the ground, when, in a moment, all the birds were seized by a joyous madness, and each one, after making a vigorous peck at his nearest neighbour, began running wildly about, each trying in passing to peck other birds, while seeking by means of quick doublings to escape being pecked in turn. this species always expresses its glad impulse in the same way; but how different in form is this simple game of touch-who-touch-can from the triplet dances of the spur-winged lapwings, with their drumming music, pompous gestures, and military precision of movement! how different also from the aerial performance of another bird of the same family--the brazilian stilt--in which one is pursued by the others, mounting upwards in a wild, eccentric flight until they are all but lost to view; and back to earth again, and then, skywards once more; the pursued bird when overtaken giving place to another individual, and the pursuing pack making the air ring with their melodious barking cries! how different again are all these from the aerial pastimes of the snipe, in which the bird, in its violent descent, is able to produce such wonderful, far-reaching sounds with its tail-feathers! the snipe, as a rule, is a solitary bird, and, like the oscillating finch mentioned early in this paper, is content to practise its pastimes without a witness. in the gregarious kinds all perform together: for this feeling, like fear, is eminently contagious, and the sight of one bird mad with joy will quickly make the whole flock mad. there are also species that always live in pairs, like the scissors-tails already mentioned, that periodically assemble in numbers for the purpose of display. the crested screamer, a very large bird, may also be mentioned: male and female sing somewhat harmoniously together, with voices of almost unparalleled power: but these birds also congregate in large numbers, and a thousand couples, or even several thousands, may be assembled together: and, at intervals, both by day and night, all sing in concert, their combined voices producing a thunderous melody which seems to shake the earth. as a rule, however, birds that live always in pairs do not assemble for the purpose of display, but the joyous instinct is expressed by duet-like performances between male and female. thus, in the three south american passerine families, the tyrant-birds, wood-hewers, and ant-thrushes, numbering together between eight and nine hundred species, a very large majority appear to have displays of this description. in my own experience, in cases where the male and female together, or assembled with others, take equal parts in the set displays, the sexes arc similar, or differ little; but where the female takes no part in the displays the superiority of the male in brightness of colour is very marked. one or two instances bearing on this point may be given. a scarlet-breasted troupial of la plata perches conspicuously on a tall plant in afield, and at intervals soars up vertically, singing, and, at the highest ascending point, flight and song end in a kind of aerial somersault and vocal flourish at the same moment. meanwhile, the dull-plumaged female is not seen and not heard: for not even a skulking crake lives in closer seclusion under the herbage--so widely have the sexes diverged in this species. is the female, then, without an instinct so common r--has she no sudden fits of irrepressible gladness? doubtless she has them, and manifests them down in her place of concealment in lively chirpings and quick motions--the simple, primitive form in which gladness is expressed in the class of birds. in the various species of the genus cnipolegus, already mentioned, the difference in the sexes is just as great as in the case of the troupial: the solitary, intensely black, statuesque male has, we have seen, a set and highly fantastic performance; but on more than one occasion i have seen four or five females of one species meet together and have a little simple performance all to themselves--in form a kind of lively mock fight. it might be objected that when a bird takes its stand and repeats a set finished song at intervals for an hour at a stretch, remaining quietly perched, such a performance appears to be different in character from the irregular and simple displays which are unmistakably caused by a sudden glad impulse. but we are familiar with the truth that in organic nature great things result from small beginnings--a common flower, and our own bony skulls, to say nothing of the matter contained within them, are proofs of it. only a limited number of species sing in a highly finished manner. looking at many species, we find every gradation, every shade, from the simple joyous chirp and cry to the most perfect melody. even in a single branch of the true vocalists we may see it--from the chirping bunting, and noisy but tuneless sparrow, to linnet and goldfinch and canary. not only do a large majority of species show the singing instinct, or form of display, in a primitive, undeveloped state, but in that state it continues to show itself in the young of many birds in which melody is most highly developed in the adult. and where the development has been solely in the male the female never rises above that early stage; in her lively chirpings and little mock fights and chases, and other simple forms which gladness takes in birds, as well as in her plainer plumage, and absence of ornament, she represents the species at some remote period. and as with song so with antics and all set performances aerial or terrestrial, from those of the whale and the elephant to those of the smallest insect. another point remains to be noticed, and that is the greater frequency and fulness in displays of all kinds, including song, during the love season. and here dr. wallace's colour and ornament theory helps us to an explanation. at the season of courtship, when the conditions of life are most favourable vitality is at its maximum, and naturally it is then that the proficiency in all kinds of dancing-antics, aerial and terrestrial, appears greatest, and that melody attains its highest perfection. this applies chiefly to birds, but even among birds there are exceptions, as we have seen in the case of the field-finch, sycalis luteola. the love-excitement is doubtless pleasurable to them, and it takes the form in which keenly pleasurable emotions are habitually expressed, although not infrequently with variations due to the greater intensity of the feeling. in some migrants the males arrive before the females, and no sooner have they recovered from the effects of their journey than they burst out into rapturous singing; these are not love-strains, since the females have not yet arrived, and pairing-time is perhaps a mouth distant; their singing merely expresses their overflowing gladness. the forest at that season is vocal, not only with the fine melody of the true songsters, but with hoarse cawings, piercing cries, shrill duets, noisy choruses, drummings, boomings, trills, wood-tappings--every sound with which different species express the glad impulse; and birds like the parrot that only exert their powerful voices in screamings--because "they can do no other"--then scream their loudest. when courtship begins it has in many cases the effect of increasing the beauty of the performance, giving added sweetness, verve, and brilliance to the song, and freedom and grace to the gestures and motions. but, as i have said, there are exceptions. thus, some birds that are good melodists at other times sing in a feeble, disjointed manner during courtship. in patagonia i found that several of the birds with good voices--one a mocking bird--were, like the robin at home, autumn and winter songsters. the argument has been stated very binefly: but little would be gained by the mere multiplication of instances, since, however many, they would bo selected instances--from a single district, it is true, while those in the _descent of man_ were brought together from an immeasurably wider field; but the principle is the same in both cases, and to what i have written it may be objected that, if, instead of twenty-five, i had given a hundred cases, taking them as they came, they might have shown a larger proportion of instances like that of the cow-bird, in which the male has a set performance practised only during the love-season and in the presence of the female. it is, no doubt, true that all collections of facts relating to animal life present nature to us somewhat as a "fantastic realm"--unavoidably so, in a measure, since the writing would be too bulky, or too dry, or too something inconvenient, if we did not take only the most prominent facts that come before us, remove them from their places, where alone they can be seen in their proper relations to numerous other less prominent facts, and rearrange them patch work-wise to make up our literature. but i am convinced that any student of the subject who will cast aside his books--supposing that they have not already bred a habit in his mind of seeing only "in accordance with verbal statement"--and go directly to nature to note the actions of animals for himself--actions which, in many cases, appear to lose all significance when set down in writing--the result of such independent investigation will be a conviction that conscious sexual selection on the part of the female is not the cause of music and dancing performances in birds, nor of the brighter colours and ornaments that distinguish the male. it is true that the females of some species, both in the vertebrate and insect kingdoms, do exercise a preference; but in a vast majority of species the male takes the female he finds, or that he is able to win from other competitors; and if we go to the reptile class we find that in the ophidian order, which excels in variety and richness of colour, there is no such thing as preferential mating; and if we go to the insect class, we find that in butterflies, which surpass all creatures in their glorious beauty, the female gives herself up to the embrace of the first male that appears, or else is captured by the strongest male, just as she might be by a mantis or some other rapacious insect. chapter xx. biography of the vizcacha. _(lagostomus trichodactylus.)_ the vizcacha is perhaps the most characteristic of the south american rodentia, [footnote: "according to mr. waterhouse, of all rodents the vizcacha is most nearly related to marsupials; but in the points in which it approaches this order its relations are general, that is, not to any one marsupial species more than to another. as these points of affinity are believed to be real and not merely adaptive, they must be due in accordance with our view to inheritance from a common progenitor. therefore wo must suppose either that all rodents, including the vizcacha, branched off from some ancient marsupial, which will naturally have been more or less intermediate in character with respect to all existing marsupials; or, that both lodents and marsupials branched off from a common progenitor. ... on either view we must suppose that the vizcacha has retained, by inheritance, more of the characters of its ancient progenitor than have other rodents."--darwin; _origin of species._] while its habits, in some respects, are more interesting than those of any other rodent known: it is, moreover, the most common mammal we have on the pampas; and all these considerations have induced me to write a very full account of its customs. it is necessary to add that since the following pages were written at my home on the pampas a great war of extermination has been waged against this animal by the landowners, which has been more fortunate in its results--or unfortunate if one's sympathies are with the vizcacha--than the war of the australians against their imported rodent--the smaller and more prolific rabbit. the vizcachas on the pampas of buenos ayres live in societies, usually numbering twenty or thirty members. the village, which is called vizcachera, is composed of a dozen or fifteen burrows or mouths; for one entrance often serves for two or more distinct holes. often, where the ground is soft, there are twenty or thirty or more burrows in an old vizcachera; but on stony, or "tosca" soil even an old one may have no more than four or five burrows. they are deep wide-mouthed holes, placed very close together, the entire village covering an area of from one hundred to two hundred square feet of ground. the burrows vary greatly in extent; and usually in a vizcachera there are several that, at a distance of from four to six feet from the entrance, open into large circular chambers. from these chambers other burrows diverge in all directions, some running horizontally, others obliquely downwards to a maximum depth of six feet from the surface: some of these burrows or galleries communicate with those of other burrows. a vast amount of loose earth is thus brought up, and forms a very irregular mound, fifteen to thirty inches above the surrounding level. it will afford some conception of the numbers of these vizcacheras on the settled pampas when i say that, in some directions, a person might ride five hundred miles and never advance half a mile without seeing one or more of them. in districts where, as far as the eye can see, the plains are as level and smooth as a bowling-green, especially in winter when the grass is close-cropped, and where the rough giant-thistle has not sprung up, these mounds appear like brown or dark spots on a green surface. they are the only irregularities that occur to catch the eye, and consequently form an important feature in the scenery. in some places they are so near together that a person on horseback may count a hundred of them from one point of view. the sites of which the vizcacha invariably makes choice to work on, as well as his manner of burrow-ing, adapt him peculiarly to live and thrive on the open pampas. other burrowing species seem always to fix upon some spot where there is a bank or a sudden depression in the soil, or where there is rank herbage, or a bush or tree, about the roots of which to begin their kennel. they are averse to commence digging on a clear level surface, either because it is not easy for them where they have nothing to rest their foreheads against while scratching, or because they possess a wary instinct that impels them to place the body in concealment whilst working on the surface, thus securing the concealment of the burrow after it is made. certain it is that where large hedges have been planted on the pampas, multitudes of opossums, weasels, skunks, armadillos, &c., come and make their burrows beneath them; and where there are no hedges or trees, all these species make their kennels under bushes of the perennial thistle, or where there is a shelter of some kind. the vizcacha, on the contrary, chooses an open level spot, the cleanest he can find to burrow on. the first thing that strikes the observer when viewing the vizcachera closely is the enormous size of the entrance of the burrows, or, at least, of several of the central ones in the mound; for there are usually several smaller outside burrows. the pit-like opening to some of these principal burrows is often four to six feet across the mouth, and sometimes deep enough for a tall man to stand up waist-deep in. how these large entrances can be made on a level surface may be seen when the first burrow or burrows of an incipient vizcachera are formed. it is not possible to tell what induces a vizcacha to be the founder of a new community; for they increase very slowly, and furthermore are extremely fond of each other's society; and it is invariably one individual that leaves his native village to found a new and independent one. if it were to have better pasture at hand, then he would certainly remove to a considerable distance; but he merely goes from forty to fifty or sixty yards off to begin his work. thus it is that in desert places, where these animals are rare, a solitary vizcachera is never seen; but there are always several close together, though there may be no others on the surrounding plain for leagues. when the vizcacha has made his habitation, it is but a single burrow, with only himself for an inhabitant, perhaps for many months. sooner or later, however, others join him: and these will be the parents of innumerable generations; for they construct no temporary lodging-place, as do the armadillos and other species, but their posterity continues in the quiet possession of the habitations bequeathed to it; how long, it is impossible to say. old men who have lived all their lives in one district remember that many of the vizcacheras around them existed when they were children. it is invariably a male that begins a new village, and makes his burrow in the following manner, though he does not always observe the same method. he works very straight into the earth, digging a hole twelve or fourteen inches wide, but not so deep, at an angle of about degrees with the surface. but after he has progressed inwards a few feet, the vizcacha is no longer satisfied with merely scattering away the loose earth he fetches up, but cleans it away so far in a straight line from the entrance, and scratches so much on this line (apparently to make the slope gentler), that he soon forms a trench a foot or more in depth, and often three or four feet in length. its use is, as i have inferred, to facilitate the conveying of the loose earth as far as possible from the entrance of the burrow. but after a while the animal is unwilling that it should accumulate even at the end of this long passage; he therefore proceeds to make two additional trenches, that form an acute, sometimes a right angle, converging into the first, so that when the whole is completed it takes the form of a capital y. these trenches are continually deepened and lengthened as the burrow progresses, the angular segment of earth between them, scratched away, until by degrees it has been entirely conveyed off, and in its place is the one deep great unsymmetrical mouth i have already described. there are soils that will not admit of the animals working in this manner. where there are large cakes of "tosca" near the surface, as in many localities on the southern pampas, the vizcacha makes its burrow as best he can, and without the regular trenches. in earths that crumble much, sand or gravel, he also works under great disadvantages. the burrows are made best in the black and red moulds of the pampas; but even in such soils the entrances of many burrows are made differently. in some the central trench is wanting, or is so short that there appear but two passages converging directly into the burrow; or these two trenches may be so curved inwards as to form the segment of a circle. many other forms may also be noticed, but usually they appear to be only modifications of the most common y-shaped system. as i have remarked that its manner of burrowing has peculiarly adapted the vizcacha to the pampas, it may be asked what particular advantage a species that makes a wide-mouthed burrow possesses over those that excavate in the usual way. on a declivity, or at the base of rocks or trees, there would be none; but on the perfectly level and shelterless pampas, the durability of the burrow, a circumstance favourable to the animal's preservation, is owing altogether to its being made in this way, and to several barrows being made together. the two outer trenches diverge so widely from the mouth that half the earth brought out is cast behind instead of before it, thus creating a mound of equal height about the entrance, by which it is secured from water during great rainfalls, while the cattle avoid treading over the great pit-like entrances. but the burrows of the dolichotis, armadillo, and other species, when made on perfectly level ground, are soon trod on and broken in by cattle; in summer they are choked up with dust and rubbish; and, the loose earth having all been thrown up together in a heap on one side, there is no barrier to the water which in every great rainfall flows in and obliterates the kennel, drowning or driving out the tenant. i have been minute in describing the habitations of the vizcacha, as i esteem the subject of prime importance in considering the zoology of this portion of america. the vizcacha does not benefit himself alone by his perhaps unique style of burrowing; but this habit has proved advantageous to several other species, and has been so favourable to two of our birds that they are among the most common species found here, whereas without these burrows they would have been exceedingly rare, since the natural banks in which they breed are scarcely found anywhere on the pampas. i refer to the minera (geositta cunicularia), which makes its breeding-holes in the bank-like sides of the vizcacha's burrow, and to the little swallow (atticora cyanoleuca) which breeds in these excavations when forsaken by the minera. few old vizcacheras are seen without some of these little parasitical burrows in them. birds are not the only beings in this way related to the vizcachas: the fox and the weasel of the pampas live almost altogether in them. several insects also frequent these burrows that are seldom found anywhere else. of these the most interesting are:--a large predacious nocturnal bug, shining black, with red wings; a nocturnal cicindela, a beautiful insect, with dark green striated wing-cases and pale red legs; also several diminutive wingless wasps. of the last i have counted six species, most of them marked with strongly contrasted colours, black, red, and white. there are also other wasps that prey on the spiders found on the vizcachera. all these and others are so numerous on the mounds that dozens of them might there be collected any summer day; but if sought for in other situations they are exceedingly rare. if the dry mound of soft earth which the vizcacha elevates amidst a waste of humid, close-growing grass is not absolutely necessary to the existence of all these species, it supplies them with at least one favourable condition, and without doubt thereby greatly increases their numbers: they, too, whether predacious or preyed on, have so many relations with other outside species, and these again with still others, that it would be no mere fancy to say that probably hundreds of species are either directly or indirectly affected in their struggle for existence by the vizcacheras so abundantly sprinkled over the pampas. in winter the vizcachas seldom leave their burrows till dark, but in summer come out before sunset; and the vizcachera is then a truly interesting spectacle. usually one of the old males first appears, and sits on some prominent place on the mound, apparently in no haste to begin his evening meal. when approached from the front he stirs not, but eyes the intruder with a bold indifferent stare. if the person passes to one side, he deigns not to turn his head. other vizcachas soon begin to appear, each one quietly taking up his station at his burrow's mouth, the females, known by their greatly inferior size and lighter grey colour, sitting upright on their haunches, as if to command a better view, and indicating by divers sounds and gestures that fear and curiosity struggles in them for mastery; for they are always wilder and sprightlier in their motions than the males. with eyes fixed on the intruder, at intervals they dodge the head, emitting at the same time an internal note with great vehemence; and suddenly, as the danger comes nearer, they plunge simultaneously, with a startled cry, into their burrows. but in some curiosity is the strongest emotion; for, in spite of their fellow's contagious example, and already half down the entrance, again they start up to scrutinize the stranger, and will then often permit him to walk within five or six paces of them. standing on the mound there is frequently a pair of burrowing owls (pholeoptynx cunicularia). these birds generally make their own burrows to breed in, or sometimes take possession of one of the lesser outside burrows of the village; but their favourite residence, when not engaged in tending their eggs or young, is on the vizcachera. here a pair will sit all day; and i have often remarked a couple close together on the edge of the burrow; and when the vizcacha came out in the evening, though but a hand's breadth from them, they did not stir, nor did he notice them, so accustomed are these creatures to each other. usually a couple of the little burrowing geositta are also present. they are lively creatures, running with great rapidity about the mound and bare space that surrounds it, suddenly stopping and jerking their tails in a slow deliberate manner, and occasionally uttering their cry, a trill, or series of quick short clear notes, resembling somewhat the shrill excessive laughter of a child. among the grave, stationary vizcachas, of which they take no heed, perhaps half a dozen or more little swallows (atticora cyanoleuca) are seen, now clinging altogether to the bank-like entrance of a burrow, now hovering over it in a moth-like manner, as if uncertain where to alight, and anon sweeping about in circles, but never ceasing their low and sorrowful notes. the vizcachera with all its incongruous inhabitants thus collected upon it is to a stranger one of the most novel sights the pampas afford. the vizcacha appears to be a rather common species over all the extensive argentine territory; but they are so exceedingly abundant on the pampas inhabited by man, and comparatively so rare in the desert places i have been in, that i was at first much surprised at finding them so unequally distributed. i have also mentioned that the vizcacha is a tame familiar creature. this is in the pastoral districts, where they are never disturbed; but in wild regions, where he is scarce, he is exceedingly wary, coming forth long after dark, and plunging into his burrow on the slightest alarm, so that it is a rare thing to get a sight of him. the reason is evident enough; in desert regions the vizcacha has several deadly enemies in the larger rapacious mammals. of these the puma or lion (felis concolor) is the most numerous, as it is also the swiftest, most subtle, and most voracious; for, as regards these traits, the jaguar (f. onca) is an inferior animal. to the insatiable bloody appetite of this creature nothing comes amiss; he takes the male ostrich by surprise, and slays that wariest of wild things on his nest; he captures little birds with the dexterity of a cat, and hunts for diurnal armadillos; he comes unawares upon the deer and huanaco, and, springing like lightning on them, dislocates their necks before their bodies touch the earth. often after he has thus slain them, he leaves their bodies untouched for the polyborus and vulture to feast on, so great a delight does he take in destroying life. the vizcacha falls an easy victim to this subtle creature; and it is not to be wondered at that it becomes wild to excess, and rare in regions hunted over by such an enemy, even when all other conditions are favourable to its increase. but as soon as these wild regions are settled by man the pumas are exterminated, and the sole remaining foe of the vizcacha is the fox, comparatively an insignificant one. the fox takes up his residence in a vizcachera, and succeeds, after some quarrelling (manifested in snarls, growls, and other subterranean warlike sounds), in ejecting the rightful owners of one of the burrows, which forthwith becomes his. certainly the vizcachas are not much injured by being compelled to relinquish the use of one of their kennels for a season or permanently; for, if the locality suits him, the fox remains with them always. soon they grow accustomed to the unwelcome stranger; he is quiet and unassuming in demeanour, and often in the evening sits on the mound in their company, until they regard him with the same indifference they do the burrowing owl. but in spring, when the young vizcachas are large enough to leave their cells, then the fox makes them his prey; and if it is a bitch fox, with a family of eight or nine young to provide for, she will grow so bold as to hunt her helpless quarry from hole to hole, and do battle with the old ones, and carry off the young in spite of them, so that all the young animals in the village are eventually destroyed. often when the young foxes are large enough to follow their mother, the whole family takes leave of the vizcachera where such cruel havoc has been made to settle in another, there to continue their depredations. but the fox has ever a relentless foe in man, and meets with no end of bitter persecutions; it is consequently much more abundant in desert or thinly settled districts than in such as are populous, so that in these the check the vizcachas receive from the foxes is not appreciable. the abundance of cattle on the pampas has made it unnecessary to use the vizcacha as an article of food. his skin is of no value; therefore man, the destroyer of his enemies, has hitherto been the greatest benefactor of his species. thus they have been permitted to multiply and spread themselves to an amazing extent, so that the half-domestic cattle on the pampas are not nearly so familiar with man, or so fearless of his presence as are the vizcachas. it is not that they do him no injury, but because they do it indirectly, that they have so long enjoyed immunity from persecution. it is amusing to see the sheep-farmer, the greatest sufferer from the vizcachas, regarding them with such indifference as to permit them to swarm on his "run," and burrow within a stone's throw of his dwelling with impunity, and yet going a distance from home to persecute with unreasonable animosity a fox, skunk, or opossum on account of the small annual loss it inflicts on the poultry-yard. that the vizcacha has comparatively no adverse conditions to war with wherever man is settled is evident when we consider its very slow rate of increase, and yet see them in such incalculable numbers. the female has but one litter in the year of two young, sometimes of three. she becomes pregnant late in april, and brings forth in september; the period of gestation is, i think, rather less than five months. the vizcacha is about two years growing. a full-sized male measures to the root of the tail twenty-two inches, and weighs from fourteen to fifteen pounds; the female is nineteen inches in length, and her greatest weight nine pounds. probably it is a long-lived, and certainly it is a very hardy animal. where it has any green substance to eat it never drinks water; but after a long summer drought, when for months it has subsisted on bits of dried thistle-stalks and old withered grass, if a shower falls it will come out of its burrows even at noonday and drink eagerly from the pools. it has been erroneously stated that vizcachas subsist on roots. their food is grass and seeds; but they may also sometimes eat roots, as the ground is occasionally seen scratched up about the burrows. in march, when the stalks of the perennial cardoon or castile thistle (cynara cardunculus) are dry, the vizcachas fell them by gnawing about their roots, and afterwards tear to pieces the great dry flower-heads to get the seeds imbedded deeply in them, of which they seem very fond. large patches of thistle are often found served thus, the ground about them literally white with the silvery bristles they have scattered. this cutting down tall plants to get the seeds at the top seems very like an act of pure intelligence; but the fact is, the vizcachas cut down every tall plant they can. i have seen whole acres of maize destroyed by them, yet the plants cut down were left untouched. if posts be put into the ground within range of their nightly rambles they will gnaw till they have felled them, unless of a wood hard enough to resist their chisel-like incisors. the strongest instinct of this animal is to clear the ground thoroughly about its burrows; and it is this destructive habit that makes it necessary for cultivators of the soil to destroy all the vizcachas in or near their fields. on the uninhabited pampas, where the long grasses grow, i have often admired the vizcachera; for it is there the centre of a clean space, often of half an acre in extent, on which there is an even close-shaven turf: this clearing is surrounded by the usual rough growth of herbs and giant grasses. in such situations this habit of clearing the ground is eminently advantageous to them, as it affords them a comparatively safe spot to feed and disport themselves on, and over which they can fly to their burrows without meeting any obstruction, on the slightest alarm. of course the instinct continues to operate where it is no longer of any advantage. in summer, when the thistles are green, even when growing near the burrows, and the giant thistle (carduus mariana) springs up most luxuriantly right on the mound, the vizcachas will not touch them, either disliking the strong astringent sap, or repelled by the thorns with which they are armed. as soon as they dry, and the thorns become brittle, they are levelled; afterwards, when the animal begins to drag them about and cut them up, as his custom is, he accidentally discovers and feasts on the seed: for vizcachas are fond of exercising their teeth on hard substances, such as sticks and bones, just as cats are of "sharpening their claws" on trees. another remarkable habit of the vizcacha, that of dragging to and heaping about the mouth of his burrow every stalk he cuts down, and every portable object that by dint of great strength he can carry, has been mentioned by azara, darwin, and others. on the level plains it is a useful habit; for as the vizcachas are continually deepening and widening their burrows, the earth thrown out soon covers up these materials, and so assists in raising the mound. on the buenos-ayrean pampas numbers of vizcacheras would annually be destroyed by water in the great sudden rainfalls were the mounds loss high. but this is only an advantage when the animals inhabit a perfectly level country subject to flooding rains; for where the surface is unequal they invariably prefer high to low ground to burrow on, and are thus secured from destruction by water; yet the instinct is as strong in such situations as on the level plains. the most that can be said of a habit apparently so obscure in its origin and uses is, that it appears to be part of the instinct of clearing the ground about the village. every tall stalk the vizcacha cuts down, every portable object he finds, must be removed to make the surface clean and smooth; but while encumbered with it he does not proceed further from his burrows, but invariably re-tires towards them, and so deposits it upon the mound. so well known is this habit, that whatever article is lost by night--whip, pistol, or knife--the loser next morning visits the vizcacheras in the vicinity, quite sure of finding it there. people also visit the vizcacheras to pick up sticks for firewood. the vizcachas are cleanly in their habits; and the fur, though it has a strong earthy smell, is kept exceedingly neat. the hind leg and foot afford a very beautiful instance of adaptation. propped by the hard curved tail, they sit up erect, and as firmly on the long horny disks on the undersides of the hind legs as a man stands on his feet. most to be admired, on the middle toe the skin thickens into a round cushion, in which the curved teeth-like bristles are set; nicely graduated in length, so that "each particular hair" may come into contact with the skin when the animal scratches or combs itself. as to the uses of this appendage there can be no difference of opinion, as there is about the serrated claw in birds. it is quite obvious that the animal cannot scratch himself with his hind paw (as all mammals do) without making use of this natural comb. then the entire foot is modified, so that this comb shall be well protected, and yet not be hindered from performing its office: thus the inner toe is pressed close to the middle one, and so depressed that it comes under the cushion of skin, and cannot possibly get before the bristles, or interfere their coming against the skin in scratching, as certainly be the case if this toe were free as outer one. again, the vizcachas appear to form the deep trenches before the burrows by scratching the earth violently backwards with the hind claws. now these straight, sharp, dagger-shaped claws, and especially the middle one, are so long that the vizcacha is able to perform all this rough work without the bristles coming into contact with the ground, and so getting worn by the friction. the tehuelcho indians in patagonia comb their hair with a brush-comb very much like that on the vizcacha's toe, but in their case it does not properly fulfil its office, or else the savages make little use of it. vizcachas have a remarkable way of dusting themselves: the animal suddenly throws himself on his back, and, bringing over his hind legs towards his head, depresses them till his feet touch the ground. in this strange posture he scratches up the earth with great rapidity, raising a little cloud of dust, then rights himself with a jerk, and, after an interval, repeats the dusting. usually they scratch a hole in the ground to deposit their excrements in. whilst opening one of the outside burrows that had no communication with the others, i once discovered a vast deposit of their dung (so great that it must have been accumulating for years) at the extremity. to ascertain whether this be a constant, or only a casual habit, it would be necessary to open up entirely a vast number of vizcacheras. when a vizcacha dies in his burrow the carcass is, after some days, dragged out and left upon the mound. the language of the vizcacha is wonderful for its variety. when the male is feeding he frequently pauses to utter a succession of loud, percussive, and somewhat jarring cries; these he utters in a leisurely manner, and immediately after goes on feeding. often he utters this cry in a low grunting tone. one of his commonest expressions sounds like the violent hawking of a man clearing his throat. at other times he bursts into piercing tones that may be heard a mile off, beginning like the excited and quick-repeated squeals of a young pig, and growing longer, more attenuated, and quavering towards the end. after retiring alarmed into the burrows, he repeats at intervals a deep internal moan. all these, and many other indescribable guttural, sighing, shrill, and deep tones, are varied a thousand ways in strength and intonation, according to the age, sex, or emotions of the individual; and i doubt if there is in the world any other four-footed thing so loquacious, or with a dialect so extensive. i take great pleasure in going to some spot where they are abundant, and sitting quietly to listen to them; for they are holding a perpetual discussion, all night long, which the presence of a human being will not interrupt. at night, when the vizcachas are all out feeding, in places where they are very abundant (and in some districts they literally swarm) any very loud and sudden sound, as the report of a gun, or a clap of unexpected thunder, will produce a most extraordinary effect. no sooner has the report broken on the stillness of night than a perfect storm of cries bursts forth over the surrounding country. after eight or nine seconds there is in the storm a momentary hill or pause; and then it breaks forth again, apparently louder than before. there is so much difference in the tones of different animals that the cries of individuals close at hand may be distinguished amidst the roar of blended voices coming from a distance. it sounds as if thousands and tens of thousands of them were striving to express every emotion at the highest pitch of their voices; so that the effect is indescribable, and fills a stranger with astonishment. should a gun be fired off several times, their cries become less each time; and after the third or fourth time it produces no effect. they have a peculiar, sharp, sudden, "far-darting" alarm-note when a dog is spied, that is repeated by all that hear it, and produces an instantaneous panic, sending every vizcacha flying to his burrow. but though they manifest such a terror of dogs when out feeding at night (for the slowest dog can overtake them), in the evening, when sitting upon their mounds, they treat them with tantalizing contempt. if the dog is a novice, the instant he spies the animal he rushes violently at it; the vizcacha waits the charge with imperturbable calmness till his enemy is within one or two yards, and then disappears into the burrow. after having been foiled in this way many times, the dog resorts to stratagem: he crouches down as if transformed for the nonce into a felis, and steals on with wonderfully slow and cautious steps, his hair bristling, tail hanging, and eyes intent on his motionless intended victim; when within seven or eight yards he makes a sudden rush, but invariably with the same dis-appointing result. the persistence with which the dogs go on hoping against hope in this unprofitable game, in which they always act the stupid part, is highly amusing, and is very interesting to the naturalist; for it shows that the native dogs on the pampas have developed a very remarkable instinct, and one that might be perfected by artificial selection; but dogs with the hunting habits of the cat would, i think, be of little use to man. when it is required to train dogs to hunt the nocturnal armadillo (dasypus villosus), then this deep-rooted (and, it might be added, hereditary) passion for vizcachas is excessively annoying, and it is often necessary to administer hundreds of blows and rebukes before a dog is induced to track an armadillo without leaving the scent every few moments to make futile grabs at his old enemies. the following instance will show how little suspicion of man the vizcachas have. a few years ago i went out shooting them on three consecutive evenings. i worked in a circle, constantly revisiting the same burrows, never going a greater distance from home than could be walked in four or five minutes. during the three evenings i shot sixty vizcachas dead; and probably as many more escaped badly wounded into their burrows; for they are hard to kill, and however badly wounded, if sitting near the burrow when struck, are almost certain to escape into it. but on the third evening i found them no wilder, and killed about as many as on the first. after this i gave up shooting them in disgust; it was dull sport, and to exterminate or frighten them away with a gun seemed an impossibility. it is a very unusual thing to eat the vizcacha, most people, and especially the gauchos, having a silly unaccountable prejudice against their flesh. i have found it very good, and while engaged writing this chapter have dined on it served up in various ways. the young animals are rather insipid, the old males tough, but the mature females are excellent--the flesh being tender, exceedingly white, fragrant to the nostrils, and with a very delicate game-flavour. within the last ten years so much new land has been brought under cultivation that farmers have been compelled to destroy incredible numbers of vizcachas: many large "estancieros" (cattle-breeders) have followed the example set by the grain-growers, and have had them exterminated on their estates. now all that azara, on hearsay, tells about the vizcachas perishing in their burrows, when these are covered up, but that they can support life thus buried for a period of ten or twelve days, and that during that time animals will come from other villages and disinter them, unless frightened off with dogs, is strictly true. country workmen are so well acquainted with these facts that they frequently undertake to destroy all the vizcacheras on an estate for so paltry a sum as ten-pence in english money for each one, and yet will make double the money at this work than they can at any other. by day they partly open up, then cover up the burrows with a great quantity of earth, and by night go round with dogs to drive away the vizcachas from the still open burrows that come to dig out their buried friends. after all the vizcacheras on an estate have been thus served, the workmen are usually bound by previous agreement to keep guard over them for a space of eight or ten days before they receive their hire: for the animals covered up are then supposed to be all dead. some of these men i have talked with have assured me that living vizcachas have been found after fourteen days--a proof of their great endurance. there is nothing strange, i think, in the mere fact of the vizcacha being unable to work his way out when thus buried alive; for, for all i know to the contrary, other species may, when their burrows are well covered up, perish in the same manner; but it certainly is remarkable that other vizcachas should come from a distance to dig out those that are buried alive. in this good office they are exceedingly zealous; and i have frequently surprised them after sunrise, at a considerable distance from their own burrows, diligently scratching at those that had been covered up. the vizcachas are fond of each other's society, and live peaceably together; but their goodwill is not restricted to the members of their own little community; it extends to the whole species, so that as soon as night comes many animals leave their own and go to visit the adjacent villages. if one approaches a vizcachera at night, usually some of the vizcachas on it scamper off to distant burrows: these are neighbours merely come to pay a friendly visit. this intercourse is so frequent that little straight paths are formed from one vizcachera to another. the extreme attachment between members of different communities makes it appear less strange that they should assist each other: either the desire to see, as usual, their buried neighbours becomes intense enough to impel them to work their way to them; or cries of distress from the prisoners reach and incite them to attempt their deliverance. many social species are thus powerfully affected by cries of distress from one of their fellows; and some will attempt a rescue in the face of great danger--the weasel and the peccary for example. mild and sociable as the vizcachas are towards each other, each one is exceedingly jealous of any intrusion into his particular burrow, and indeed always resents such a breach of discipline with the utmost fury. several individuals may reside in the compartments of the same burrow; but beyond themselves not even their next-door neighbour is permitted to enter; their hospitality ends where it begins, at the entrance. it is difficult to compel a vizcacha to enter a burrow not his own; even when hotly pursued by dogs they often refuse to do so. when driven into one, the instant their enemies retire a little space they rush out of it, as if they thought the hiding-place but little less dangerous than the open plain. i have frequently seen vizcachas, chased into the wrong burrows, summarily ejected by those inside: and sometimes they make their escape only after being well bitten for their offence. i have now stated the most interesting facts i have collected concerning the vizcacha: when others rewrite its history they doubtless will, according to the opportunities of observation they enjoy, be able to make some additions to it, but probably none of great consequence. i have observed this species in patagonia and buenos ayres only; and as i have found that its habits are considerably modified by circumstances in the different localities where i have met with it, i am sure that other variations will occur in the more distant regions, where the conditions vary. the most remarkable thing to be said about the vizcacha is, that although regarded by mr. waterhouse, and others who have studied its affinities, as one of the lowest of the rodents, exhibiting strong marsupial characters, the living animal appears to be more intelligent than other rodents, not of south america only, but also of those of a higher type in other continents. a parallel case is, perhaps, to be found in the hairy armadillo, an extremely versatile and intelligent animal, although only an edentate. and among birds the ypecaha--a large la plata rail--might also be mentioned as an example of what ought not to be; for it is a bold and intelligent bird, more than a match for the fowl, both in courage and in cunning; and yet it is one of the family which professor parker--from the point of view of the anatomist--characterizes as a "feeble-minded, cowardly group." chapter xxi. the dying huanaco. lest any one should misread the title to this chapter, i hasten to say that the huanaco, or guanaco as it is often spelt, is not a perishing species; nor, as things are, is it likely to perish soon, despite the fact that civilized men, britons especially, are now enthusiastically engaged in the extermination of all the nobler mammalians:--a very glorious crusade, the triumphant conclusion of which will doubtless be witnessed by the succeeding generation, more favoured in this respect than ours. the huanaco, happily for it, exists in a barren, desolate region, in its greatest part waterless and uninhabitable to human beings; and the chapter-heading refers to a singular instinct of the dying animals, in very many cases allowed, by the exceptional conditions in which they are placed, to die naturally. and first, a few words about its place in nature and general habits. the huanaco is a small camel--small, that is, compared with its existing relation--without a hump, and, unlike the camel of the old world, non-specializad; doubtless it is a very ancient animal on the earth, and for all we know to the contrary, may have existed contemporaneously with some of the earliest known representatives of the camel type, whose remains occur in the lower and upper miocene deposits--poebrotherium, protolabis, procamelus, pliauchenia, and macrauchenia. it ranges from tierra del fuego and the adjacent islands, northwards over the whole of patagonia, and along the andes into peru and bolivia. on the great mountain chain it is both a wild and a domestic animal, since the llama, the beast of burden of the ancient peruvians, is no doubt only a variety: but as man's slave it has changed so greatly from the original form that some naturalists have regarded the llama as a distinct species, which, like the camel of the east, exists only in a domestic state. it has had time enough to vary, as it is more than probable that the tamed and useful animal was inherited by the children of the sun from races and nations that came before them: and how far back andean civilization extends may be inferred from the belief expressed by the famous american archaeologist, squiers, that the ruined city of tiahuanaco, in the vicinity of lake titicaca, is as old as thebes and the pyramids. it is, however, with the wild animal, the huanaco, that i am concerned. a full-grown male measures seven to eight feet in length, and four feet high to the shoulder; it is well clothed in a coat of thick woolly hair, of a pale reddish colour, longest and palest on the under parts. in appearance it is very unlike the camel, in spite of the long legs and neck; in its finely-shaped head and long ears, and its proud and graceful carriage, it resembles an antelope rather than its huge and, from an aesthetic point of view, deformed asiatic relation. in habits it is gregarious, and is usually seen in small herds, but herds numbering several hundreds or even a thousand are occasionally met with on the stony, desolate plateaus of southern patagonia; but the huanaco is able to thrive and grow fat where almost any other herbivore would starve. while the herd feeds one animal acts as sentinel, stationed on the hillside, and on the appearance of danger utters a shrill neigh of alarm, and instantly all take to flight. but although excessively shy and wary they are also very inquisitive, and have enough intelligence to know that a single horseman can do them no harm, for they will not only approach to look closely at him, but will sometimes follow him for miles. they are also excitable, and at times indulge in strange freaks. darwin writes:--"on the mountains of tierra del fuego i have more than once seen a huanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in a most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge." and captain king relates that while sailing into port desire he witnessed a chase of a huanaco after a fox, both animals evidently going at their greatest speed, so that they soon passed out of sight. i have known some tame huanacos, and in that state they make amusing intelligent pets, fond of being caressed, but often so frolicsome and mischievous as to be a nuisance to their master. it is well known that at the southern extremity of patagonia the huanacos have a dying place, a spot to which all individuals inhabiting the surrounding plains repair at the approach of death to deposit their bones. darwin and fitzroy first recorded this strange instinct in their personal narratives, and their observations have since been fully confirmed by others. the best known of these dying or burial-places are on the banks of the santa cruz and gallegos rivers, where the river valleys are covered with dense primeval thickets of bushes and trees of stunted growth; there the ground is covered with the bones of countless dead generations. "the animals," says darwin, "in most cases must have crawled, before dying, beneath and among the bushes." a strange instinct in a creature so preeminently social in its habits; a dweller all its life long on the open, barren plateaus and mountain sides! what a subject for a painter! the grey wilderness of dwarf thorn trees, aged and grotesque and scanty-leaved, nourished for a thousand years on the bones that whiten the stony ground at their roots; the interior lit faintly with the rays of the departing sun, chill and grey, and silent and motionless--the huanacos' golgotha. in the long centuries, stretching back into a dim immeasurable past, so many of this race have journeyed hither from the mountain and the plain to suffer the sharp pang of death, that, to the imagination, something of it all seems to have passed into that hushed and mournful nature. and now one more, the latest pilgrim, has come, all his little strength spent in his struggle to penetrate the close thicket; looking old and gaunt and ghostly in the twilight; with long ragged hair; staring into the gloom out of death-dimmed sunken eyes. england has one artist who might show it to us on canvas, who would be able to catch the feeling of such a scene--of that mysterious, passionless tragedy of nature--i refer to j. m. swan, the painter of the "prodigal son" and the "lioness defending her cubs." to his account of the animal's dying place and instinct, darwin adds: "i do not at all understand the reason of this, but i may observe that the wounded huanacos at the santa cruz invariably walked towards the river." it would, no doubt, be rash to affirm of any instinct that it is absolutely unique; but, putting aside some doubtful reports about a custom of the asiatic elephant, which may have originated in the account of sindbad the sailor's discovery of an elephant's burial place, we have no knowledge of an instinct similar to that of the huanaco in any other animal. so far as we know, it stands alone and apart, with nothing in the actions of other species leading up, or suggesting any family likeness to it. but what chiefly attracts the mind to it is its strangeness. it looks, in fact, less like an instinct of one of the inferior creatures than the superstitious observance of human beings, who have knowledge of death, and believe in a continued existence after dissolution; of a triba that in past times had conceived the idea that the liberated spirit is only able to find its way to its future abode by starting at death from the ancient dying-place of the tribe or family, and thence moving westward, or skyward, or underground, over the well-worn immemorial track, invisible to material eyes. but, although alone among animal instincts-in its strange and useless purpose--for it is as absolutely useless to the species or race as to the dying individual--it is not the only useless instinct we know of: there are many others, both simple and complex; and of such instincts we believe, with good reason, that they once played an important part in the life of the species, and were only rendered useless by changes in the condition of life, or in the organism, or in both. in other words, when the special conditions that gave them value no longer existed, the correlated and perfect instinct was not, in these cases, eradicated, but remained, in abeyance and still capable of being called into activity by a new and false stimulus simulating the old and true. viewed in this way, the huanaco's instinct might be regarded as something remaining to the animal from a remote past, not altogether unaffected by time perhaps; and like some ceremonial usage among men that has long ceased to have any significance, or like a fragment of ancient history, or a tradition, which in the course of time has received some new and false interpretation. the false interpretation, to continue the metaphor, is, in this case, that the _purpose_ of the animal in going to a certain spot, to which it has probably never previously resorted, is to die there. a false interpretation, because, in the first place, it is incredible that an instinct of no advantage to the species, in its struggle for existence and predominance should arise and become permanent; and, in the second place, it is equally incredible that it could ever have been to the advantage of the species or race to, have a dying place. we must, then, suppose that there is in the sensations preceding death, when death comes slowly, some resemblance to the sensations experienced by the animal at a period when its curious instinct first took form and crystallized; these would be painful sensations that threatened life; and freedom from them, and safety to the animal, would only exist in a certain well-remembered spot. further, we might assume that it was at first only the memory of a few individuals that caused the animals to seek the place of safety; that a habit was thus formed; that in time this traditional habit became instinctive, so that the animals, old and young, made their way unerringly to the place of refuge whenever the old danger returned. and such an instinct, slowly matured and made perfect to enable this animal to escape extinction during periods of great danger to mammalian life, lasting hundreds or even thousands of years, and destructive of numberless other species less hardy and adaptive than the generalized huanaco, might well continue to exist, to be occasionally called into life by a false stimulus, for many centuries after it had ceased to be of any advantage. once we accept this explanation as probable--namely, that the huanaco, in withdrawing from the herd to drop down and die in the ancient dying ground, is in reality only seeking an historically remembered place of refuge, and not of death--the action of the animal loses much of its mysterious character; we come on to firm ground, and find that we are no longer considering an instinct absolutely unique, with no action or instinct in any other animal leading up or suggesting any family likeness to it, as i said before. we find, in fact, that there is at least one very important and very well-known instinct in another class of creatures, which has a strong resemblance to that of the huanaco, as i have interpreted it, and which may even serve to throw a side light on the origin of the huanaco's instinct. i refer to a habit of some ophidians, in temperate and cold countries, of returning annually to hybernate in the saine den. a typical instance is that of the rattlesnake in the colder parts of north america. on the approach of winter these reptiles go into hiding, and it has been observed that in some districts a very large number of individuals, hundreds, and even thousands, will repair from the surrounding country to the ancestral den. here the serpents gather in a mass to remain in a wholly or semi-torpid condition until the return of spring brings them out again, to scatter abroad to their usual summer haunts. clearly in this case the knowledge of the hyberna-ting den is not merely traditional--that is, handed down from generation to generation, through the young each year following the adults, and so forming the habit of repairing at certain seasons to a certain place; for the young serpent soon abandons its parent to lead an independent life; and on the approach of cold weather the hybernating den may be a long distance away, ten or twenty, or even thirty miles from the spot in which it was born. the annual return to the hybernating den is then a fixed unalterable instinct, like the autumnal migration of some birds to a warmer latitude. it is doubtless favourable to the serpents to hybernate in large numbers massed together; and the habit of resorting annually to the same spot once formed, we can imagine that the individuals--perhaps a single couple in the first place--frequenting some very deep, dry, and well-sheltered cavern, safe from enemies, would have a great advantage over others of their race; that they would be stronger and increase more, and spread during the summer months further and further from the cavern on all sides; and that the further afield they went the more would the instinct be perfected; since all the young serpents that did not have the instinct of returning unerringly to the ancestral refuge, and that, like the outsiders of their race, to put it in that way, merely crept into the first hole they found on the approach of the cold season, would be more liable to destruction. probably most snakes get killed long before a natural decline sets in; to say that not one in a thousand dies of old age would probably be no exaggeration; but if they were as safe from enemies and accidents as some less prolific and more highly-organized animals, so that many would reach the natural term of life, and death came slowly, we can imagine that in such a heat-loving creature the failure of the vital powers would simulate the sensations caused by a falling temperature, and cause the old or sick serpent, even in midsummer, to creep instinctively away to the ancient refuge, where many a long life-killing frost had been safely tided over in the past. the huanaco has never been a hybernating animal; but we must assume that, like the crotalus of the north, he had formed a habit of congregating with his fellows at certain seasons at the same spot; further, that these were seasons of suffering to the animal--the suffering, or discomfort and danger, having in the first place given rise to the habit. assuming again that the habit had existed so long as to become, like that of the reptile, a fixed, immutable instinct, a hereditary knowledge, so that the young huanacos, untaught by the adults, would go alone and unerringly to the meeting-place from any distance, it is but an easy step to the belief, that after the conditions had changed, and the refuges were no longer needed, this instinctive knowledge would still exist in them, and that they would take the old road when stimulated by the pain of a wound; or the miserable sensations experienced in disease or during the decay of the life-energy, when the senses grow dim, and the breath fails, and the blood is thin and cold. i presume that most persons who have observed animals a great deal have met with cases in which the animal has acted automatically, or instinctively, when the stimulus has been a false one. i will relate one such case, observed by myself, and which strikes me as being apposite to the question i am considering. it must be premised that this is an instance of an acquired habit; but this does not affect my argument, since i have all along assumed that the huanaco--a highly sagacious species in the highest class of vertebrates--first acquired a habit from experience of seeking a remembered refuge, and that such habit was the parent, as it were, or the first clay model, of the perfect and indestructible instinct that was to be. it is not an uncommon thing in the argentino pampas--i have on two occasions witnessed it myself--for a riding-horse to come home, or to the gate of his owner's house, to die. i am speaking of riding-horses that are never doctored, nor treated mercifully; that look on their master as an enemy rather than a friend; horses that live out in the open, and have to be hunted to the corral or enclosure, or roughly captured with a lasso as they run, when their services are required. i retain a very vivid recollection of the first occasion of witnessing an action of this kind in a horse, although i was only a boy at the time. on going out one summer evening i saw one of the horses of the establishment standing unsaddled and unbridled leaning his head over the gate. going to the spot, i stroked his nose, and then, turning to an old native who happened to be near, asked him what could be the meaning of such a thing. "i think he is going to die," he answered; "horses often come to the house to die." and next morning the poor beast was found lying dead not twenty yards from the gate; although he had not appeared ill when i stroked his nose on the previous evening; but when i saw him lying there dead, and remembered the old native's words, it seemed to me as marvellous and inexplicable that a horse should act in that way, as if some wild creature--a rhea, a fawn, or dolichotes--had come to exhale his last breath at the gates of his enemy and constant persecutor, man. i now believe that the sensations of sickness and approaching death in the riding-horse of the pampas resemble or similate the pains, so often experienced, of hunger, thirst and fatigue combined, together with the oppressive sensations caused by the ponderous native saddle, or recado, with its huge surcingle of raw hide drawn up so tightly as to hinder free respiration. the suffering animal remembers how at the last relief invariably came, when the twelve or fifteen hours' torture were over, the toil and the want, and when the great iron bridle and ponderous gear were removed, and he had freedom and food and drink and rest. at the gate or at the door of his master's house, the sudden relief had always come to him; and there does he sometimes go in his sickness, his fear overmastered by his suffering, to find it again. discussing this question with a friend, who has a subtle mind and great experience of the horse in semi-barbarous countries, and of many other animals, wild and tame, in many regions of the globe, he put forward a different explanation of the action of the horse in coming home to die, which he thinks simpler and more probable than mine. it is, that a dying or ailing animal instinctively withdraws itself from its fellows--an action of self-preservation in the individual in opposition to the well-known instincts of the healthy animals, which impels the whole herd to turn upon and persecute the sickly member, thus destroying its chances of recovery. the desire of the suffering animal is not only to leave its fellows, but to get to some solitary place where they cannot follow, or would never find him, to escape at once from a great and pressing danger. but on the pastoral pampas, where horses are so numerous that on that level, treeless area they are always and everywhere visible, no hiding-place is discoverable. in such a case, the animal, goaded by its instinctive fear, turns to the one spot that horses avoid; and although that spot has hitherto been fearful to him, the old fear is forgotten in the present and far more vivid one; the vicinity of his master's house represents a solitary place to him, and he seeks it, just as the stricken deer seeks the interior of some close forest, oblivious for the time, in its anxiety to escape from the herd, of the dangers lurking in it, and which he formerly avoided. i have not set this explanation down merely because it does credit to my friend's ingenuity, but because it strikes me that it is the only alternative explanation that can be given of the animal's action in coming home to die. another fact concerning the ill-tamed and barbarously treated horses of the pampas, which, to my mind, strengthens the view i have taken, remains to be mentioned. it is not an uncommon thing for one of these horses, after escaping, saddled and bridled, and wandering about for anight or night and day on the plains, to return of its own accord to the house. it is clear that in a case of this kind the animal comes home to seek relief. i have known one horse that always had to be hunted like a wild animal to be caught, and that invariably after being saddled tried to break loose, to return in this way to the gate after wandering about, saddled and bridled, for over twenty hours in uncomfortable freedom. the action of the riding-horse returning to a master he is accustomed to fly from, as from an enemy, to be released of saddle and bridle, is, no doubt more intelligent than that of the dying horse coming home to be relieved from his sufferings, but the motive is the same in both cases; at the gate the only pain the animal has ever experienced has invariably begun, and there it has ended, and when the spur of some new pain afflicts him--new and yet like the old--it is to the well-remembered hated gate that it urges him. to return to the huanaco. after tracing the dying instinct back to its hypothetical origin--namely, a habit acquired by the animal in some past period of seeking refuge from some kind of pain and danger at a certain spot, it is only natural to speculate a little further as to the nature of that danger and of the conditions the animal existed in. if the huanaco is as old on the earth as its antique generalized form have led naturalists to suppose, we can well believe that it has survived not only a great many lost mammalian types, but many changes in the conditions of its life. let us then imagine that at some remote period a change took place in the climate of patagonia, and that it became colder and colder, owing to some cause affecting only that portion of the antarctic region; such a cause, for instance, as a great accumulation of icebergs on the northern shores of the antarctic continent, extending century by century until a large portion of the now open sea became blocked up with solid ice. if the change was gradual and the snow became deeper each winter and lasted longer, an intelligent, gregarious, and exceedingly hardy and active animal like the huanaco, able to exist on the driest woody fibres, would stand the beat chance of maintaining its existence in such altered conditions, and would form new habits to meet the new danger. one would be that at the approach of a period of deep snow and deadly cold, all the herds frequenting one place would gather together at the most favourable spots in the river valleys, where the vegetation is dense and some food could be had while the surrounding country continued covered with deep snow. they would, in fact, make choice of exactly such localities as are now used for dying places. there they would be sheltered from the cutting-winds, the twigs and bark would supply them with food, the warmth from a great many individuals massed together would serve to keep the snow partially melted under foot, and would prevent their being smothered, while the stiff and closely interlaced branches would keep a roof of snow above them, and thus protected they would keep alive until the return of mild weather released them. in the course of many generations all weakly animals, and all in which the habit of seeking the refuge at the proper time was weak or uncertain in its action would perish, but their loss would be an advantage to the survivors. it is worthy of remark that it is only at the southern extremity of patagonia that the huanacos have dying places. in northern patagonia, and on the chilian and peruvian andes no such instinct has been observed. chapter xxii. the strange instincts of cattle. my purpose in this paper is to discuss a group of curious and useless emotional instincts of social animals, which have not yet been properly explained. excepting two of the number, placed first and last in the list, they are not related in their origin; consequently they are here grouped together arbitrarily, only for the reason that we are very familiar with them on account of their survival in our domestic animals, and because they are, as i have said, useless; also because they resemble each other, among the passions and actions of the lower animals, in their effect on our minds. this is in all cases unpleasant, and sometimes exceedingly painful, as when species that rank next to ourselves in their developed intelligence and organized societies, such as elephants, monkeys, dogs, and cattle, are seen under the domination of impulses, in some cases resembling insanity, and in others simulating the darkest passions of man. these instincts are:-- ( ) the excitement caused by the smell of blood, noticeable in horses and cattle among our domestic animals, and varying greatly in degree, from an emotion so slight as to be scarcely perceptible to the greatest extremes of rage or terror. ( ) the angry excitement roused in some animals when a scarlet or bright-red cloth is shown to them. so well known is this apparently insane instinct in our cattle that it has given rise to a proverb and metaphor familiar in a variety of forms to everyone. ( ) the persecution of a sick or weakly animal by its companions. ( ) the sudden deadly fury that seizes on the herd or family at the sight of a companion in extreme distress. herbivorous mammals at such times will trample and gore the distressed one to death. in the case of wolves, and other savage-tempered carnivorous species, the distressed fellow is frequently torn to pieces and devoured on the spot. to take the first two together. when we consider that blood is red; that the smell of it is, or may be, or has been, associated with that vivid hue in the animal's mind; that blood, seen and smelt is, or has been, associated with the sight of wounds and with cries of pain and rage or terror from the wounded or captive animal, there appears at first sight to be some reason for connecting these two instinctive passions as having the same origin--namely, terror and rage caused by the sight of a member of the herd struck down and bleeding, or struggling for life in the grasp of an enemy. i do not mean to say that such an image is actually present in the animal's mind, but that the inherited or instinctive passion is one in kind and in its working with the passion of the animal when experience and reason were its guides. but the more i consider the point the more am i inclined to regard these two instincts as separate in their origin, although i retain the belief that cattle and horses and several wild animals are violently excited by the smell of blood for the reason just given--namely, their inherited memory associates the smell of blood with the presence among them of some powerful enemy that threatens their life. to this point i shall return when dealing with the last and most painful of the instincts i am considering. the following incident will show how violently this blood passion sometimes affects cattle, when they are permitted to exist in a half-wild condition, as on the pampas. i was out with my gun one day, a few miles from home, when i came across a patch on the ground where the grass was pressed or trodden down and stained with blood. i concluded that some thievish gauchos had slaughtered a fat cow there on the previous night, and, to avoid detection, had somehow managed to carry the whole of it away on their horses. as i walked on, a herd of cattle, numbering about three hundred, appeared moving slowly on towards a small stream a mile away; they were travelling in a thin long line, and would pass the blood-stained spot at a distance of seven to eight hundred yards, but the wind from it would blow across their track. when the tainted wind struck the leaders of the herd they instantly stood still, raising their heads, then broke out into loud excited bellowings; and finally turning they started off at a fast trot, following up the scent in a straight line, until they arrived at the place where one of their kind had met its death. the contagion spread, and before long all the cattle were congregated on the fatal spot, and began moving round in a dense mass, bellowing continually. it may be remarked here that the animal has a peculiar language on occasions like this; it emits a succession of short bellowing cries, like excited exclamations, followed by a very loud cry, alternately sinking into a hoarse murmur, and rising to a kind of scream that grates harshly on the sense. of the ordinary "cow-music" i am a great admirer, and take as much pleasure in it as in the cries and melody of birds and the sound of the wind in trees; but this performance of cattle excited by the smell of blood is most distressing to hear. the animals that had forced their way into the centre of the mass to the spot where the blood was, pawed the earth, and dug it up with their horns, and trampled each other down in their frantic excitement. it was terrible to see and hear them. the action of those on the border of the living mass in perpetually moving round in a circle with dolorous bellowings, was like that of the women in an indian village when a warrior dies, and all night they shriek and howl with simulated grief, going round and round the dead man's hut in an endless procession. the "bull and red rag" instinct, as it may be called, comes next in order. it is a familiar fact that brightness in itself powerfully attracts most if not all animals. the higher mammalians are affected in the same way as birds and insects, although not in the same degree. this fact partly explains the rage of the bull. a scarlet flag fluttering in the wind or lying on the grass attracts his attention powerfully, as it does that of other animals; but though curious about the nature of the bright object, it does not anger him. his anger is excited--and this is the whole secret of the matter--when the colour is flaunted by a man; when it forces him to fix his attention on a man, i.e. an animal of another species that rules or drives him, and that he fears, but with only a slight fear, which may at any moment be overcome by his naturally bold aggressive disposition, not only does the vivid colour compel him to fix his attention on the being that habitually interferes with his liberty, and is consequently regarded with unfriendly eyes, but it also produces the illusion on his mind that the man is near him, that he is approaching him in an aggressive manner: it is an insult, a challenge, which, being of so explosive a temper, he is not slow to accept. on the pampas i was once standing with some gauchos at the gate of a corral into which a herd of half-wild cattle had just been driven. one of the men, to show his courage and agility, got off his horse and boldly placed himself in the centre of the open gate. his action attracted the attention of one of the nearest cows, and lowering her horns she began watching him in a threatening manner. he then suddenly displayed the scarlet lining of his poncho, and instantly she charged him furiously: with a quick movement to one side he escaped her horns, and after we had driven her back, resumed his former position and challenged her again in the same way. the experiment was repeated not less than half a dozen times, and always with the same result. the cattle were all in a savage temper, and would have instantly charged him on his placing himself before them on foot without the display of scarlet cloth, but their fear of the mounted men, standing with lassos in their hand on either side of him, kept them in check. but whenever the attention of any one individual among them was forcibly drawn to him by the display of vivid colour, and fixed on him alone, the presence of the horsemen was forgotten and fear was swallowed by rage. it is a fact, i think, that most animals that exhibit angry excitement when a scarlet rag is flourished aggressively at them, are easily excited to anger at all times. domestic geese and turkeys may be mentioned among birds: they do not fly at a grown person, but they will often fly at a child that challenges them in this way; and it is a fact that they do not at any time fear a child very much and will sometimes attack him without being challenged. i think that the probability of the view i have taken is increased by another fact--namely, that the sudden display of scarlet colour sometimes affects timid animals with an extreme fear, just as, on the other hand, it excites those that are bold and aggressive to anger. domestic sheep, forinstance, that vary greatly in disposition in different races or breeds, and even in different individuals, may be affected in the two opposite ways, some exhibiting extreme terror and others only anger at a sudden display of scarlet colour by the shepherd or herder. the persecution of a sick animal by its companions comes next under consideration. it will have been remarked, with surprise by some readers, no doubt, that i have set down as two different instincts this persecution of a sick or weakly individual by its fellows, and the sudden deadly rage that sometimes impels the herd to turn upon and destroy a wounded or distressed companion. it is usual for writers on the instincts of animals to speak of them as one: and i presume that they regard this sudden deadly rage of several individuals against a companion as merely an extreme form of the common persecuting instinct or impulse. they are not really one, but are as distinct in origin and character as it is possible for any two instincts to be. the violent and fatal impulse starts simultaneously into life and action, and is contagious, affecting all the members of the herd like a sudden madness. the other is neither violent nor contagious: the persecution is intermittent: it is often confined to one or to a very few members of the herd, and seldom joined in by the chief member, the leader or head to whom all the others give way. concerning this head of the herd, or flock, or pack, it is necessary to say something more. some gregarious animals, particularly birds, live together in the most perfect peace and amity; and here no leader is required, because in their long association together as a species in flocks, they have attained to a oneness of mind, so to speak, which causes them to move or rest, and to act at all times harmoniously together, as if controlled and guided by an extrane-ous force. i may mention that the kindly instinct in animals, which is almost universal between male and female in the vertebrates, is most apparent in these harmoniously acting birds. thus, in la plata, i have remarked, in more than one species, that a lame or sick individual, unable to keop pace with the flock and find its food, has not only been waited for, but in some cases some of the flock have constantly attended it, keeping close to it both when flying and on the ground; and, i have no doubt, feeding it just as they would have fed their young. naturally among such kinds no one member is of more consideration than another. but among mammals such equality and harmony is rare. the instinct of one and all is to lord it over the others, with the result that one more powerful or domineering gets the mastery, to keep it thereafter as long as he can. the lower animals are, in this respect, very much like us; and in all kinds that are at all fierce-tempered the mastery of one over all, and of a few under him over the others, is most salutary; indeed, it is inconceivable that they should be able to exist together under any other system. on cattle-breeding establishments on the pampas, where it is usual to keep a large number of fierce-tempered dogs, i have observed these animals a great deal, and presume that they are very much like feral dogs and wolves in their habits. their quarrels are incessant; but when a fight begins the head of the pack as a rule rushes to the spot, whereupon the fighters separate and march off in different directions, or else cast themselves down and deprecate their tyrant's wrath with abject gestures and whines. if the combatants are both strong and have worked themselves into a mad rage before their head puts in an appearance, it may go hard with him: they know him no longer, and all he can do is to join in the fray; then, if the fighters turn on him, he may be so injured that his power is gone, and the next best dog in the pack takes his place. the hottest contests are always between dogs that are well matched; neither will give place to the other, and so they fight it out; but from the foremost in strength and power down to the weakest there is a gradation of authority; each one knows just how far he can go, which companion he can bully when he is in a bad temper or wishes to assert himself, and to which he must humbly yield in his turn. in such a state the weakest one must always yield to all the others, and cast himself down, seeming to call himself a slave and worshipper of any other member of the pack that chooses to snarl at him, or command him to give up his bone with a good grace. this masterful or domineering temper, so common among social mammals, is the cause of the persecution of the sick and weakly. when an animal begins to ail he can no longer hold his own; he ceases to resent the occasional ill-natured attacks made on him; his non-combative condition is quickly discovered, and he at once drops down to a place below the lowest; it is common knowledge in the herd that he may be buffeted with impunity by all, even by those that have hitherto suffered buffets but have given none. but judging from my own observation, this persecution, is not, as a rule, severe, and is seldom fatal. it is often the case that a sick or injured animal withdraws and hides himself from the herd; the instinct of the "stricken deer" this might be called. but i do not think that we need assume that the ailing individual goes away to escape the danger of being ill-used by his companions. he is sick and drooping and consequently unfit to be with the healthy and vigorous; that is the simplest and probably the true explanation of his action; although in some cases he might be driven from them by persistent rough usage. however peaceably gregarious mammals may live together, and however fond of each other's company they may be, they do not, as a rule, treat each other gently. furthermore, their games are exceedingly rough and require that they shall be in a vigorous state of health to escape injury. horned animals have no buttons to the sharp weapons they prod and strike each other with in a sportive spirit. i have often witnessed the games of wild and half-wild horses with astonishment; for it seemed that broken bones must result from the sounding kicks they freely bestowed on one another. this roughness itself would be a sufficient cause for the action of the individual, sick and out of tune and untouched by the glad contagion of the others, in escaping from them; and to leave them would be to its advantage (and to that of the race) since, if not fatally injured or sick unto death, its chances of recovery to perfect health would be thereby greatly increased. it remains now to speak of that seemingly most cruel of instincts which stands last on my list. it is very common among gregarious animals that are at all combative in disposition, and still survives in our domestic cattle, although very rarely witnessed in england. my first experience of it was just before i had reached the age of five years. i was not at that early period trying to find out any of nature's secrets, but the scene i witnessed printed itself very vividly on my mind, so that i can recall it as well as if my years had been five-and-twenty; perhaps better. it was on a summer's evening, and i was out by myself at some distance from the house, playing about the high exposed roots of some old trees; on the other side of the trees the cattle, just returned from pasture, were gathered on the bare level ground. hearing a great commotion among them, i climbed on to one of the high exposed roots, and, looking over, saw a cow on the ground, apparently unable to rise, moaning and bellowing in a distressed way, while a number of her companions were crowding round and goring her. what is the meaning of such an instinct? darwin has but few words on the subject. "can we believe," he says, in his posthumous _essay on instinct, "_when a wounded herbivorous animal returns to its own herd and is then attacked and gored, that this cruel and very common instinct is of any service to the species?" at the same time, he hints that such an instinct might in some circumstances be useful, and his hint has been developed into the current belief among naturalists on the subject. here it is, in dr. romanes' words: "we may readily imagine that the instinct displayed by many herbivorous animals of goring sick and wounded companions, is really of use in countries where the presence of weak members in a herd is a source of danger to the herd from the prevalence of wild beasts." here it is assumed that the sick are set upon and killed, but this is not the fact; sickness and decay from age or some other cause are slow things, and increase imperceptibly, so that the sight of a drooping member grows familiar to the herd, as does that of a member with some malformation, or unusual shade of colour, or altogether white, as in the case of an albino. sick and weak members, as we have seen, while subject to some ill-treatment from their companions (only because they can be ill-treated with impunity), do not rouse the herd to a deadly animosity; the violent and fatal attack is often as not made on a member in perfect health and vigour and unwounded, although, owing to some accident, in great distress, and perhaps danger, at the moment. the instinct is, then, not only useless but actually detrimental; and, this being so, the action of the herd in destroying one of its members is not even to be regarded as an instinct proper, but rather as an aberration of an instinct, a blunder, into which animals sometimes fall when excited to action in unusual circumstances. the first thing that strikes us is that in these wild abnormal moments of social animals, they are acting in violent contradiction to the whole tenor of their lives; that in turning against a distressed fellow they oppose themselves to the law of their being, to the whole body of instincts, primary and secondary, and habits, which have made it possible for them to exist together in communities. it is, i think, by reflecting on the abnormal character of such an action that we are led to a true interpretation of this "dark saying of nature." every one is familiar with bacon's famous passage about the dog, and the noble courage which that animal puts on when "maintained by a man; who is to him in place of a god, or _melior natura;_ which courage is manifestly such as that creature, without the confidence of a better nature than its own, could never attain." not so. the dog is a social animal, and acts instinctively in concert with his fellows; and the courage he manifests is of the family, not the individual. in the domestic state the man he is accustomed to associate with and obey stands to him in the place of the controlling pack, and to his mind, which is canine and not human, _is_ the pack. a similar "noble courage," greatly surpassing that exhibited on all other occasions, is displayed by an infinite number of mammals and birds of gregarious habits, when repelling the attacks of some powerful and dangerous enemy, or when they rush to the rescue of one of their captive fellows. concerning this rage and desperate courage of social animals in the face of an enemy, we see ( ) that it is excited by the distressed cries, or by the sight of a member of the herd or family dying from or struggling in the clutches of an enemy; ( ) that it affects animals when a number af individuals are together, and is eminently contagious, like fear, that communicates itself, quick as lightning, from one to another until all are in a panic, and like the joyous emotion that impels the members of a herd or flock to rush simultaneously into play. now, it is a pretty familiar fact that animals acting instinctively, as well as men acting intelligently, have at times their delusions and their illusions, and see things falsely, and are moved to action by a false stimulus to their own disadvantage. when the individuals of a herd or family are excited to a sudden deadly rage by the distressed cries of one of their fellows, or by the sight of its bleeding wounds and the smell of its blood, or when they see it frantically struggling on the ground, or in the cleft of a tree or rock, as if in the clutches of a powerful enemy, they do not turn on it to kill but to rescue it. in whatever way the rescuing instinct may have risen, whether simply through natural selection or, as is more probable, through an intelligent habit becoming fixed and hereditary, its effectiveness depends altogether on the emotion of overmastering rage excited in the animal--rage against a tangible visible enemy, or invisible, and excited by the cries or struggles of a suffering companion; clearly, then, it could not provide against the occasional rare accidents that animals meet with, which causes them to act precisely in the way they do when seized or struck down by an enemy. an illusion is the result of the emotion similar to the illusion produced by vivid expectation in ourselves, which has caused many a man to see in a friend and companion the adversary he looked to see, and to slay him in his false-seeing anger. an illusion just as great, leading to action equally violent, but ludicrous rather than painful to witness, may be seen in dogs, when encouraged by a man to the attack, and made by his cries and gestures to expect that some animal they are accustomed to hunt is about to be unearthed or overtaken; and if, when they are in this disposition, he cunningly exhibits and sets them on a dummy, made perhaps of old rags and leather and stuffed with straw, they will seize, worry, and tear it to pieces with the greatest fury, and without the faintest suspicion of its true character. that wild elephants will attack a distressed fellow seemed astonishing to darwin, when he remembered the case of an elephant after escaping from a pit helping its fellow to escape also. but it is precisely the animals, high or low in the organic scale, that are social, and possess the instinct of helping each other, that will on occasions attack a fellow in misfortune--such an attack being no more than a blunder of the helping instinct. felix de azara records a rather cruel experiment on the temper of some tame rats confined in a cage. the person who kept them caught the tail of one of the animals and began sharply pinching it, keeping his hand concealed under the cage. its cries of pain and struggles to free itself greatly excited the other rats; and after rushing wildly round for some moments they flew at their distressed companion, and fixing their teeth in its throat quickly dispatched it. in this case if the hand that held the tail had been visible and in the cage, the bites would undoubtedly have been inflicted on it; but no enemy was visible; yet the fury and impulse to attack an enemy was present in the animals. in such circumstances, the excitement must be discharged--the instinct obeyed, and in the absence of any other object of attack the illusion is produced and it discharges itself on the struggling companion. it is sometimes seen in dogs, when three or four or five are near together, that if one suddenly utters a howl or cry of pain, when no man is near it and no cause apparent, the others run to it, and seeing nothing, turn round and attack each other. here the exciting cause--the cry for help--is not strong enough to produce the illusion which is sometimes fatal to the suffering member; but each dog mistakingly thinks that the others, or one of the others, inflicted the injury, and his impulse is to take the part of the injured animal. if the cry for help--caused perhaps by a sudden cramp or the prick of a thorn--is not very sharp or intense, the other dogs will not attack, but merely look and growl at each other in a suspicious way. to go back to azara's anecdote. why, it may be asked--and this question has been put to me in conversation--if killing a distressed companion is of no advantage to the race, and if something must be attacked--why did not these rats in this instance attack the cage they were shut in, and bite at the woodwork and wires? or, in the case related by mr. andrew lang in _longman's magazine_ some time ago, in which the members of a herd of cattle in scotland turned with sudden amazing fury on one of the cows that had got wedged between two rocks and was struggling with distressed bellowings to free itself--why did they not attack the prisoning rocks instead of goring their unfortunate comrade to death? for it is well known that animals will, on occasions, turn angrily upon and attack inanimate objects that cause them injury or hinder their freedom of action. and we know that this mythic faculty--the mind's projection of itself into visible nature--survives in ourselves, that there are exceptional moments in our lives when it comes back to us; no one, for instance, would be astonished to hear that any man, even a philosopher, had angrily kicked away or imprecated a stool or other inanimate object against which he had accidentally barked his shins. the answer is, that there is no connection between these two things--the universal mythic faculty of the mind, and that bold and violent instinct of social animals of rushing to the rescue of a stricken or distressed companion, which has a definite, a narrow, purpose--namely, to fall upon an enemy endowed not merely with the life and intelligence common to all things, including rocks, trees, and waters, but with animal form and motion. i had intended in this place to give other instances, observed in several widely-separated species, including monkeys; but it is not necessary, as i consider that all the facts, however varied, are covered by the theory i have suggested--even a fact i like the one mentioned in this chapter of cattle bellowing and madly digging up the ground where the blood of one of their kind had been spilt: also such a fact as that of wild cattle and other animals caught in a trap or enclosure attacking and destroying each other in their frenzy; and the fact that some fierce-tempered carnivorous mammals will devour the companion they have killed. it is an instinct of animals like wolves and peccaries to devour the enemy they have overcome and slain: thus, when the jaguar captures a peccary out of a drove, and does not quickly escape with his prize into a tree, he is instantly attacked and slain and then consumed, even to the skin and bones. this is the wolf's and the peccary's instinct; and the devouring of one of their own companions is an inevitable consequence of the mistake made in the first place of attacking and killing it. in no other circumstances, not even when starving, do they prey on their own species. if the explanation i have offered should seem a true or highly probable one, it will, i feel sure, prove acceptable to many lovers of animals, who, regarding tins seemingly ruthless instinct, not as an aberration but as in some vague way advantageous to animals in their struggle for existence, are yet unable to think of it without pain and horror; indeed, i know those who refuse to think of it at all, who would gladly disbelieve it if they could. it should be a relief to them to be able to look on it no longer as something ugly and hateful, a blot on nature, but as an illusion, a mistake, an unconscious crime, so to speak, that has for its motive the noblest passion that animals know--that sublime courage and daring which they exhibit in defence of a distressed companion. this fiery spirit in animals, which makes them forget their own safety, moves our hearts by its close resemblance to one of the most highly-prized human virtues; just as we are moved to intellectual admiration by the wonderful migratory instinct in birds that simulates some of the highest achievements of the mind of man. and we know that this beautiful instinct is also liable to mistakes--that many travellers leave us annually never to return. such a mistake was undoubtedly the cause of the late visitation of pallas' sand-grouse: owing perhaps to some unusual atmospheric or dynamic condition, or to some change in the nervous system of the birds, they deviated widely from their usual route, to scatter in countless thousands over the whole of europe and perish slowly in climates not suited to them; while others, overpassing the cold strange continent, sped on over colder, stranger seas, to drop at last like aerolites, quenching their lives in the waves. whether because it is true, as professor freeman and some others will have it, that humanity is a purely modern virtue; or because the doctrine of darwin, by showing that we are related to other forms of life, that our best feelings have their roots low down in the temper and instincts of the social species, has brought us nearer in spirit to the inferior animals, it is certain that our regard for them has grown, and is growing, and that new facts and fresh inferences that make us think more highly of them are increasingly welcome. chapter xxiii. horse and man. there is no mode of progression so delightful as riding on horseback. walking, rowing, bicycling are pleasant exercises in their way, but the muscular exertion and constant exercise of judgment they call for occupy the mind partly to the exclusion of other things; so that a long walk may sometimes be only a long walk and nothing more. in riding we are not conscious of exertion, and as for that close observation and accurate discernment necessary in traversing the ground with speed and safety, it is left to the faithful servant that carries us. pitfalls, hillocks, slippery places, the thousand little inequalities of the surface that have to be measured with infallible eye, these disturb us little. to fly or go slowly at will, to pass unshaken over rough and smooth alike, fording rivers without being wet, and mounting hills without climbing, this is indeed unmixed delight. it is the nearest approach to bird-life we seem capable of, since all the monster bubbles and flying fabrics that have been the sport of winds from the days of montgolfier downwards have brought us no nearer to it. the aeronaut gasping for breath above the clouds offers only a sad spectacle of the imbecility of science and man's shattered hopes. to the free inhabitants of air we can only liken the mounted arab, vanishing, hawklike, over the boundless desert. in riding there is always exhilarating motion; yet, if the scenery encountered be charming, you are apparently sitting still, while, river-like, it flows toward and past you, ever giving place to fresh visions of beauty. above all, the mind is free, as when one lies idly on the grass gazing up into the sky. and, speaking of myself, there is even more than this immunity from any tax on the understanding such as we require in walking; the rhythmic motion, the sensation as of night, acting on the brain like a stimulus. that anyone should be able to think better lying, sitting, or standing, than when speeding along on horseback, is to me incomprehensible. this is doubtless due to early training and long use; for on those great pampas where i first saw the light and was taught at a tender age to ride, we come to look on man as a parasitical creature, fitted by nature to occupy the back of a horse, in which position only he has full and free use of all his faculties. possibly the gaucho--the horseman of the pampas--is born with this idea in his brain; if so, it would only be reasonable to suppose that its correlative exists in a modification of structure. certain it is that an intoxicated gaucho lifted on to the back of his horse is perfectly safe in his seat. the horse may do his best to rid himself of his burden; the rider's legs--or posterior arms as they might appropriately be called--retain their iron grip, notwithstanding the fuddled brain. the gaucho is more or less bow-legged; and, of course, the more crooked his legs are, the better for him in his struggle for existence. off his horse his motions are awkward, like those of certain tardigrade mammals of arboreal habits when removed from their tree. he waddles in his walk; his hands feel for the reins; his toes turn inwards like a duck's. and here, perhaps, we can see why foreign travellers, judging him from their own standpoint, invariably bring against him the charge of laziness. on horseback he is of all men most active. his patient endurance under privations that would drive other men to despair, his laborious days and feats of horsemanship, the long journeys he performs without rest or food, seem to simple dwellers on the surface of the earth almost like miracles. deprive him of his horse, and he can do nothing but sit on the ground cross-legged, or _en cuclillas_,--on his heels. you have, to use his own figurative language, cut off his feet. darwin in his earlier years appears not to have possessed the power of reading men with that miraculous intelligence always distinguishing his researches concerning other and lower orders of beings. in the _voyage of a naturalist,_ speaking of this supposed indolence of the gauchos, he tells that in one place where workmen were in great request, seeing a poor gaucho sitting in a listless attitude, he asked him why he did not work. the man's answer was that _he was too poor to work!_ the philosopher was astonished and amused at the reply, but failed to understand it. and yet, to one acquainted with these lovers of brief phrases, what more intelligible answer could have been returned? the poor fellow simply meant to say that his horses had been stolen--a thing of frequent occurrence in that country, or, perhaps, that some minion of the government of the moment had seized them for the use of the state. to return to the starting point, the pleasures of riding do not flow exclusively from the agreeable sensations attendant on flight-like motion; there is also the knowledge, sweet in itself, that not a mere cunningly fashioned machine, like that fabled horse of brass "on which the tartar king did ride," sustains us; but a something with life and thought, like ourselves, that feels what we feel, understands us, and keenly participates in our pleasures. take, for example, the horse on which some quiet old country gentleman is accustomed to travel; how soberly and evenly he jogs along, picking his way over the ground. but let him fall into the hands of a lively youngster, and how soon he picks up a frisky spirit! were horses less plastic, more the creatures of custom than they are, it would always be necessary, before buying one, to inquire into the disposition of its owner. when i was thirteen years old i was smitten with love for a horse i once saw--an untamable-looking brute, that rolled his eyes, turbulently, under a cloud of black mane tumbling over his forehead. i could not take my sight off this proud, beautiful creature, and i longed to possess him with a great longing. his owner--a worthless vagabond, as it happened--marked my enthusiastic admiration, and a day or two afterwards, having lost all his money at cards, he came to me, offering to sell me the horse. having obtained my father's consent, i rushed off to the man with all the money i possessed--about thirty or thirty-five shillings, i believe. after some grumbling, and finding he could get no more, he accepted the money. my new possession filled me with unbounded delight, and i spent the time caressing him and leading him about the grounds in search of succulent grasses and choice leaves to feed him on. i am sure this horse understood and loved me, for, in spite of that savage look, which his eyes never quite lost, he always displayed a singular gentleness towards me. he never attempted to upset me, though he promptly threw--to my great delight, i must confess--anyone else who ventured to mount him. probably the secret of his conduct was that he hated the whip. of this individual, if not of the species, the celebrated description held true:--"the horse is a docile animal, but if you flog him he will not do so." after he had been mine a few days, i rode on him one morning to witness a cattle-marking on a neighbouring estate. i found thirty or forty gauchos on the ground engaged in catching and branding the cattle. it was rough, dangerous work, but apparently not rough enough to satisfy the men, so after branding an animal and releasing him from their lassos, several of the mounted gauchos would, purely for sport, endeavour to knock it down as it rushed away, by charging furiously on to it. as i sat there enjoying the fun, my horse stood very quietly under me, also eagerly watching the sport. at length a bull was released, and, smarting from the fiery torture, lowered his horns and rushed away towards the open plain. three horsemen in succession shot out from the crowd, and charged the bull at full speed; one by one, by suddenly swerving his body round, he avoided them, and was escaping scot-free. at this moment my horse--possibly interpreting a casual touch of my hand on his neck, or some movement of my body, as a wish to join in the sport--suddenly sprang forward and charged on the flying bull like a thunderbolt, striking him full in the middle of his body, and hurling him with a tremendous shock to earth. the stricken beast rolled violently over, while my horse stood still as a stone watching him. strange to say, i was not unseated, but, turning-round, galloped back, greeted by a shout of applause from the spectators--the only sound of that description i have ever had the privilege of listening to. they little knew that my horse had accomplished the perilous feat without his rider's guidance. no doubt he had been accustomed to do such things, and, perhaps, for the moment, had forgotten that he had passed into the hands of a new owner--one of tender years. he never voluntarily attempted an adventure of that kind again; he knew, i suppose, that he no longer carried on his back a reckless dare-devil, who valued not life. poor picáso! he was mine till he died. i have had scores of horses since, but never one i loved so well. with the gauchos the union between man and horse is not of so intimate a nature as with the indians of the pampas. horses are too cheap, where a man without shoes to his feet may possess a herd of them, for the closest kind of friendship to ripen. the indian has also less individuality of character. the immutable nature of the conditions he is placed in, and his savage life, which is a perpetual chase, bring him nearer to the level of the beast he rides. and probably the acquired sagacity of the horse in the long co-partnership of centuries has become hereditary, and of the nature of an instinct. the indian horse is more docile, he understands his master better; the slightest touch of the hand on his neck, which seems to have developed a marvellous sensitiveness, is sufficient to guide him. the gaucho labours to give his horse "a silken mouth," as he aptly calls it; the indian's horse has it from birth. occasionally the gaucho sleeps in the saddle; the indian can die on his horse. during frontier warfare one hears at times of a dead warrior being found and removed with difficulty from the horse that carried him out of the fight, and about whose neck his rigid fingers were clasped in death. even in the gaucho country, however, where, i grieve to confess, the horse is not deservedly esteemed, there are very remarkable instances of equine attachment and fidelity to man, and of a fellowship between horse and rider of the closest kind. one only i will relate. when rosas, that man of "blood and iron," was dictator of the argentine country--a position which he held for a quarter of a century--desertors from the army were inexorably shot when caught, as they generally were. but where my boyhood was spent there was a deserter, a man named santa anna, who for seven years, without ever leaving the neighbourhood of his home, succeeded in eluding his pursuers by means of the marvellous sagacity and watchful care exercised by his horse. when taking his rest on the plain--for he seldom slept under a roof--his faithful horse kept guard. at the first sight of mounted men on the horizon he would fly to his master, and, seizing his cloak between his teeth, rouse him with a vigorous shake. the hunted man would start up, and in a moment man and horse would vanish into one of the dense reed-beds abounding in the place, and where no man could follow. i have not space to tell more about this horse; but at last, in the fulness of time, when the figs were ripe--literally as well as figuratively, for it happened in the autumn of the year--the long tyrannous rule ended, and santa anna came out of the reed-beds, where he had lived his wild-animal life, to mix with his fellows. i knew him some years later. he was a rather heavy-looking man, with little to say, and his reputation for honesty was not good in the place; but i dare say there was something good in him. students of nature are familiar with the modifying effects of new conditions on man and brute. take, for example, the gaucho: he must every day traverse vast distances, see quickly, judge rapidly, be ready at all times to encounter hunger and fatigue, violent changes of temperature, great and sudden perils. these conditions have made him differ widely from the peasant of the peninsula; he has the endurance and keen sight of a wolf, is fertile in expedients, quick in action, values human life not at all, and is in pain or defeat a stoic. unquestionably the horse he rides has also suffered a great change. he differs as much from the english hunter, for instance, as one animal can well differ from another of the same species. he never pounds the earth and wastes his energies in vain parade. he has not the dauntless courage that performs such brilliant feats in the field, and that often as not attempts the impossible. in the chase he husbands all his strength, carrying his head low, and almost grazing the ground with his hoofs, so that he is not a showy animal. constant use, or the slow cumulative process of natural selection, has served to develop a keenness of sense almost preternatural. the vulture's eye, with all the advantage derived from the vulture's vast elevation above the scene surveyed, is not so far-reaching as the sense of smell in the pampa horse. a common phenomenon on the pampas is a sudden migration of the horses of a district to some distant place. this occurs in seasons of drought, when grass or water fails. the horses migrate to some district where, from showers having fallen or other circumstances, there is a better supply of food and drink. a slight breeze blowing from the more favoured region, which may be forty or fifty miles away, or even much further, is enough to start them off. yet, during the scorching days of midsummer, very little moisture or smell of grass can possibly reach them from such a distance. another phenomenon, even more striking, is familiar to every frontiersman. for some reason, the gaucho horse manifests the greatest terror at an indian invasion. no doubt his fear is, in part at any rate, an associate feeling, the coming of the indians being always a time of excitement and com-motion, sweeping like a great wave over the country; houses are in flames, families flying, cattle being driven at frantic speed to places of greater safety. be this as it may, long before the marauders reach the settlement (often when they are still a whole day's journey from it) the horses take the alarm and come wildly flying in: the contagion quickly spreads to the horned cattle, and a general stampede ensues. the gauchos maintain that the horses _smell_ the indians. i believe they are right, for when passing a distant indian camp, from which the wind blew, the horses driven before me have suddenly taken fright and run away, leading me a chase of many miles. the explanation that ostriches, deer, and other fleet animals driven in before the invaders might be the cause of the stampede cannot be accepted, since the horses are familiar with the sight of these animals flying from their gaucho hunters. there is a pretty fable of a cat and dog lying in a dark room, aptly illustrating the fine senses of these two species. "listen! i heard a feather drop!" said the dog. "oh, no!" said the cat, "it was a needle; i saw it." the horse is not commonly believed to have senses keen as that, and a dog tracing his master's steps over the city pavement is supposed to be a feat no other animal can equal. no doubt the artificial life a horse lives in england, giving so little play to many of his most important faculties, has served to blunt them. he is a splendid creature; but the noble bearing, the dash and reckless courage that distinguish him from the modest horse of the desert, have not been acquired without a corresponding loss in other things. when ridden by night the indian horse--and sometimes the same habit is found in the gaucho's animal--drops his head lower and lower as the darkness increases, with the danger arising from the presence of innumerable kennels concealed in the grass, until his nose sweeps the surface like a foxhound's. that this action is dictated by a powerful instinct of self-preservation is plain; for, when i have attempted to forcibly drag the animal's head up, he has answered such an experiment by taking the bit in his teeth, and violently pulling the reins out of my hand. his miraculous sense of smell measures the exact position of every hidden kennel, every treacherous spot, and enables him to pass swiftly and securely over it. on the desert pampa the gaucho, for a reason that he knows, calls the puma the "friend of man." the arab gives this designation to his horse; but in europe, where we do not associate closely with the horse, the dog naturally takes the foremost place in our affections. the very highest praise yet given to this animal is probably to be found in bacon's essay on atheism. "for take an example of a dog," he says, "and mark what a generosity and courage he will put on when he finds himself maintained by a man, who is to him in place of a god, or _melior natura,_ which courage is manifestly such as that creature, without the confidence of a better nature than its own, could never attain!" can we not say as much of the horse? the very horses that fly terror-stricken from the smell of an indian will, when "maintained by a man," readily charge into a whole host of yelling savages. i once had a horse at home, born and bred on the place, so docile that whenever i required him i could go to him where the horses were at pasture, and, though they all galloped off at my approach, he would calmly wait to be caught. springing on to his back, i would go after the other horses, or gallop home with only my hand on his neck to guide him. i did not often ride him, as he was slow and lazy, but with timid women and children he was a favourite; he was also frequently used for farm work, in or out of harness, and i could shoot from his back. in the peach season he would roam about the plantation, getting the fruit, of which he was very fond, by tugging at the lower branches of the trees and shaking it down in showers. one intensely dark night i was riding home on this horse. i came through a road with a wire fence on each side, two miles in length, and when i had got nearly to the end of this road my horse suddenly stopped short, uttering a succession of loud terrified snorts. i could see nothing but the intense blackness of the night before me and tried to encourage him to go on. touching him on the neck, i found his hair wet with the sudden profuse sweat of extreme fear. the whip made no impression on him. he continued to back away, his eyes apparently fixed on some object of horror just before him, while he trembled to such a degree that i was shaken in the saddle. he attempted several times to wheel round and run away, but i was determined not to yield to him, and continued the contest. suddenly, when i was beginning to despair of getting home by that road, he sprang forward, and regularly charged the (to me) invisible object before him, and in another moment, when he had apparently passed it, taking the bit between his teeth he almost flew over the ground, never pausing till he brought me to my own door. when i dismounted his terror seemed gone, but he hung his head in a dejected manner, like a horse that has been under the saddle all day. i have never witnessed another such instance of almost maddening fear. his terror and apprehension were like what we can imagine a man experiencing at sight of a ghost in some dark solitary place. yet he did not forcibly carry me away from it, as he might so easily have done; but, finding himself maintained by a "nature superior to his own," he preferred to face it. i have never met in the dog a more striking example of this noblest kind of brute courage. the incident did not impress me very much at the moment, but when i came to reflect that my sight was mere blindness compared with that of my horse, and that it was not likely his imagination clothed any familiar natural object with fantastic terrors, it certainly did impress me very deeply. i am loth to finish with, my subject, in which, to express myself in the manner of the gauchos, i have passed over many matters, like good grass and fragrant herbs the galloping horse sniffs at but cannot stay to taste; and especially loth to conclude with this last incident, which has in it an element of gloom. i would rather first go back for a few moments to my original theme--the pleasures of riding, for the sake of mentioning a species of pleasure my english reader has probably never tasted or even heard of. when riding by night on the pampas, i used to enjoy lying back on my horse till my head and shoulders rested well on his back, my feet also being raised till they pressed against his neck; and in this position, which practice can make both safe and comfortable, gaze up into the starry sky. to enjoy this method of riding thoroughly, a sure-footed unshod horse with perfect confidence in his rider is necessary; and he must be made to go at a swift and smooth pace over level grassy ground. with these conditions the sensation is positively delightful. nothing of earth is visible, only the vast circle of the heavens glittering with innumerable stars; the muffled sound of the hoofs on the soft sward becomes in fancy only the rushing of the wings of our pegasus, while the enchanting illusion that we are soaring through space possesses the mind. unfortunately, however, this method of riding is impracticable in england. and, even if people with enthusiasm enough could be found to put it in practice by importing swift light-footed arabian or pampa horses, and careering about level parks on dark starry nights, probably a shout of derision would be raised against so undignified a pastime. _apropos_ of dignity, i will relate, in conclusion, an incident in my london life which may possibly interest psychologists. some time ago in oxford street i got on top of an omnibus travelling west. my mind was preoccupied, i was anxious to get home, and, in an absent kind of way, i became irritated at the painfully slow rate of progress. it was all an old familiar experience, the deep thought, lessening pace, and consequent irritation. the indolent brute i imagined myself riding was, as usual, taking advantage of his rider's abstraction; but i would soon "feelingly persuade" him that i was not so far gone as to lose sight of the difference between a swinging gallop and a walk. so, elevating my umbrella, i dealt the side of the omnibus a sounding blow, very much to the astonishment of my fellow-passengers. so overgrown are we with usages, habits, tricks of thought and action springing from the soil we inhabit; and when we have broken away and removed ourselves far from it, so long do the dead tendrils still cling to us! chapter xxiv, seen and lost, we can imagine what the feelings of a lapidary would be--an enthusiast whose life is given to the study of precious stones, and whose sole delight is in the contemplation of their manifold beauty--if a stranger should come in to him, and, opening his hand, exhibit a new unknown gem, splendid as ruby or as sapphire, yet manifestly no mere variety of any familiar stone, but differing as widely from all others as diamond from opal or cat's-eye; and then, just when he is beginning to rejoice in that strange exquisite loveliness, the hand should close and the stranger, with a mocking smile on his lips, go forth and disappear from sight in the crowd. a feeling such as that would be is not unfrequently experienced by the field naturalist whose favoured lot it is to live in a country not yet "thoroughly worked out," with its every wild inhabitant scientifically named, accurately described, and skilfully figured in some colossal monograph. one swift glance of the practised eye, ever eagerly searching for some new-thing, and he knows that here at length is a form never previously seen by him; but his joy is perhaps only for a few moments, and the prize is snatched from sight for ever. the lapidary might have some doubts; he might think that the stranger had, after all, only mocked him with the sight of a wonderful artificial gem, and that a close examination would have proved its worthlessness; but the naturalist can have no doubts: if he is an enthusiast, well acquainted with the fauna of his district, and has good eyesight, he knows that there is no mistake; for there it is, the new strange form, photographed by instantaneous process on his mind, and there it will remain, a tantalizing image, its sharp lines and fresh colouring unblurred by time. walking in some open forest glade, he may look up just in time to see a great strange butterfly--a blue morpho, let us say, wandering in some far country where this angel insect is unknown--passing athwart his vision with careless, buoyant flight, the most sylph-like thing in nature, and all blue and pure like its aerial home, but with a more delicate and wonderful brilliance in its cerulean colour, giving such unimaginable glory to its broad airy wings; and then, almost before his soul has had time to feel its joy, it may soar away unloitering over the tall trees, to be seen no more. but the admiration, the delight, and the desire are equally great, and the loss just as keenly felt, whether the strange species seen happens to be one surpassingly beautiful or not. its newness is to the naturalist its greatest attraction. how beautiful beyond all others seems a certain small unnamed brown bird to my mind! so many years have passed and its image has not yet grown dim; yet i saw it only for a few moments, when it hopped out from, the thick foliage and perched within two or three yards of me, not afraid, but only curious; and after peering at me first with one eye and then the other, and wiping its small dagger on a twig, it flew away and was seen no more. for many days i sought for it, and for years waited its reappearance, and it was more to me than ninety and nine birds which i had always known; yet it was very modest, dressed in a brown suit, very pale on the breast and white on the throat, and for distinction a straw-coloured stripe over the eye--that ribbon which queen nature bestows on so many of her feathered subjects, in recognition, i suppose, of some small and common kind of merit. if i should meet with it in a collection i should know it again; only, in that case it would look plain and homely to me--this little bird that for a time made all others seem unbeautiful. even a richer prize may come in sight for a brief period--one of the nobler mammalians, which are fewer in number, and bound to earth like ourselves, and therefore so much better known than the wandering children of air. in. some secluded spot, resting amidst luxuriant herbage or forest undergrowth, a slight rustling makes us start, and, lo! looking at us from the clustering leaves, a strange face; the leaf-like ears erect, the dark eyes round with astonishment, and the sharp black nose twitching and sniffing audibly, to take in the unfamiliar flavour of a human presence from the air, like the pursed-up and smacking lips of a wine-drinker tasting a new vintage. no sooner seen than gone, like a dream, a phantom, the quaint furry face to be thereafter only an image in memory. sometimes the prize may be a very rich one, and actually within reach of the hand--challenging the hand, as it were, to grasp it, and yet presently slip away to be seen no more, although it maybe sought for day after day, with a hungry longing comparable to that of some poor tramp who finds a gold doubloon in the forest, and just when he is beginning to realize all that it means to him drops it in the grass and cannot find it again. there is not the faintest motion in the foliage, no rustle of any dry leaf, and yet we know that something has moved--something has come or has gone; and, gazing fixedly at one spot, we suddenly see that it is still there, close to us, the pointed ophidian head and long neck, not drawn back and threatening, but sloping forward, dark and polished as the green and purple weed-stems springing from marshy soil, and with an irregular chain of spots extending down the side. motionless, too, as the stems it is; but presently the tongue, crimson and glistening, darts out and flickers, like a small jet of smoke and flame, and is withdrawn; then the smooth serpent head drops down, and the thing is gone. how i saw and lost the noble wrestling frog has been recounted in chapter iv.: other tantalizing experiences of the same kind remain to be told in the present chapter, which is not intended for the severe naturalist, but rather for such readers as may like to hear something about the pains and pleasures of the seeker as well as the result of the seeking. one of my earliest experiences of seeing and losing relates to a humming-bird--a veritable "jewel of ornithology." i was only a boy at the time, but already pretty well acquainted with the birds of the district i lived in, near la plata river, and among them were three species of the hummingbird. one spring day i saw a fourth--a wonderful little thing, only half as big as the smallest of the other three--the well-known phaithornis splendens--and scarcely larger than a bumble-bee. i was within three feet of it as it sucked at the flowers, suspended motionless in the air, the wings appearing formless and mist-like from their rapid vibratory motion, but the rest of the upper plumage was seen distinctly as anything can be seen. the head and neck and upper part of the back were emerald green, with the metallic glitter usually seen in the burnished scale-like feathers of these small birds; the lower half of the back was velvet-black; the tail and tail-coverts white as snow. on two other occasions, at intervals of a few days, i saw this brilliant little stranger, always very near, and tried without success to capture it, after which, it disappeared from the plantation. four years later i saw it once again not far from the same place. it was late in summer, and i was out walking on the level plain where the ground was carpeted with short grass, and nothing else grew there except a solitary stunted cardoou thistle-bush with one flower on its central stem above the grey-green artichoke-like leaves. the disc of the great thorny blossom was as broad as that of a sunflower, purple in colour, delicately frosted with white; on this flat disc several insects were feeding--flies, fireflies, and small wasps--and i paused for a few minutes in my walk to watch them. suddenly a small misty object flew swiftly downwards past my face, and paused motionless in the air an inch or two above the rim of the flower. once more my lost humming-bird, which i remembered so well! the exquisitely graceful form, half circled by the misty moth-like wings, the glittering green and velvet-black mantle, and snow-white tail spread open like a fan--there it hung like a beautiful bird-shaped gem suspended by an invisible gossamer thread. one--two--three moments passed, while i gazed, trembling with rapturous excitement, and then, before i had time to collect my faculties and make a forlorn attempt to capture it with my hat, away it flew, gliding so swiftly on the air that form and colour were instantly lost, and in appearance it was only an obscure grey line traced rapidly along the low sky and fading quickly out ol sight. and that was the last i ever saw of it. the case of this small "winged gem," still wandering nameless in the wilds, reminds me of yet another bird seen and lost, also remarkable for its diminutive size. for years i looked for it, and when the wished-for opportunity came, and it was in my power to secure it, i refrained; and fate punished me by never permitting me to see it again. on several occasions while riding on the pampas i had caught glimpses of this minute bird flitting up mothlike, with uncertain tremulous flight, and again dipping into the weeds, tall grass, or thistles. its plumage was yellowish in hue, like sere dead herbage, and its extremely slender body looked longer and slimmer than it was, owing to the great length of its tail, or of the two middle tail-feathers. i knew that it was a synallaxis--a genus of small birds of the woodhewer family. now, as i have said in a former chapter, these are wise little birds, more interesting--i had almost said more beautiful--in their wisdom, or wisdom-simulating instincts, than the quatzel in its resplendent green, or the cock-of-the-rock in its vivid scarlet and orange mantle. wrens and mocking-birds have melody for their chief attraction, and the name of each kind is, to our minds, also the name of a certain kind of sweet music; we think of swifts and swallows in connection with the mysterious migratory instinct; and humming-birds have a glittering mantle, and the miraculous motions necessary to display its ever-changing iridescent beauty. in like manner, the homely dendrocolaptidae possess the genius for building, and an account of one of these small birds without its nest would be like a biography of sir christopher wren that made no mention of his works. it was not strange then that when i saw this small bird the question rose to my mind, what kind of nest does it build? one morning in the month of october, the great breeding-time for birds in the southern hemisphere, while cautiously picking my way through a bed of eardoon bushes, the mysterious little creature flitted up and perched among the clustering leaves quite near to me. it uttered a feeble grasshopper-like chirp; and then a second individual, smaller, paler-coloured, and if possible shyer than the first, showed itself for two or three seconds, after which both birds dived once more into concealment. how glad i was to see them! for here they were, male and female, in a suitable spot in my own fields, where they evidently meant to breed. every day after that i paid them one cautious visit, and by waiting from five to fifteen minutes, standing motionless among the thistles, i always succeeded in getting them to show themselves for a few moments. i could easily have secured them then, but my wish was to discover their nesting habits; and after watching for some days, i was rewarded by finding their nest; then for three days more i watched it slowly progressing towards completion, and each time i approached it one of the small birds would flit out to vanish into the herbage. the structure was about six inches long, and not more than two inches in diameter, and was placed horizontally on a broad stiff eardoon leaf, sheltered by other leaves above. it was made of the finest dry grass loosely woven, and formed a simple perfectly straight tube, open at both ends. the aperture was so small that i could only insert my little finger, and the bird could not, of course, have turned round in so narrow a passage, and so always went in at one end and left by the other. on visiting the spot on the fourth day i found, to my intense chagrin, that the delicate fabric had been broken and thrown down by some animal; also, that the birds had utterly vanished--for i sought them in vain, both there and in every weedy and thistly spot in the neighbourhood. the bird without the nest had seemed a useless thing to possess; now, for all my pains, i had only a wisp of fine dry grass in my hand, and no bird. the shy, modest little creature, dwelling violet-like amidst clustering leaves, and even when showing itself still "half-hidden from the eye," was thereafter to be only a tantalizing image in memory. still, my case was not so hopeless as that of the imagined lapidary; for however rare a species may be, and near to its final extinction, there must always be many individuals existing, and i was cheered by the thought that i might yet meet with one at some future time. and, even if this particular species was not to gladden my sight again, there were others, scores and hundreds more, and at any moment i might expect to see one shining, a living gem, on nature's open extended palm. sometimes it has happened that an animal would have been overlooked or passed by with scant notice, to be forgotten, perhaps, but for some singular action or habit which has instantly given it a strange importance, and made its possession desirable. i was once engaged in the arduous and monotonous task of driving a large number of sheep a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, in excessively hot weather, when sheep prefer standing still to travelling. five or six gauchos were with me, and we were on the southern pampas of buenos ayres, near to a long precipitous stony sierra which rose to a height of five or six hundred feet above the plain. who that has travelled for eighteen days on a dead level in a broiling sun can resist a hill? that sierra was more sublime to us than conon-dagua, than illimani. leaving the sheep, i rode to it with three of the men; aad after securing our horses on the lower slope, we began our laborious ascent. now the gaucho when taken from his horse, on which he lives like a kind of parasite, is a very slow-moving creature, and i soon left my friends far behind. coming to a place where ferns and flowering herbage grew thick, i began to hear all about me sounds of a character utterly unlike any natural sound i was acquainted with--innumerable low clear voices tinkling or pealing like minute sweet-toned, resonant bells--for the sounds were purely metallic and perfectly bell-like. i was completely ringed round with the mysterious music, and as i walked it rose and sank rhythmically, keeping time to my steps. i stood still, and immediately the sounds ceased. i took a step forwards, and again the fairy-bells were set ringing, as if at each step my foot touched a central meeting point of a thousand radiating threads, each thread attached to a peal of little bells hanging concealed among the herbage. i waited for my companions, and called their attention to the phenomenon, and to them also it was a thing strange and perplexing. "it is the bell-snake!" cried one excitedly. this is the rattle-snake; but although at that time i had no experience of this reptile, i knew that he was wrong. yet how natural the mistake! the spanish name of "bell-snake" had made him imagine that the whirring sound of the vibrating rattles, resembling muffled cicada music, is really bell-like in character. eventually we discovered that the sound was made by grasshoppers; but they were seen only to be lost, for i could not capture one, so excessively shy and cunning had the perpetual ringing of their own little tocsins made them. and presently i had to return to my muttons; and afterwards there was no opportunity of revisiting the spot to observe so singular a habit again and collect specimens. it was a very slender grasshopper, about an inch and a half long, of a uniform, tawny, protective colour--the colour of an old dead leaf. it also possessed a protective habit common to most grasshoppers, of embracing a slender vertical stem with its four fine front legs, and moving cunningly round so as to keep the stem always in front of it to screen itself from sight. only other grasshoppers are silent when alarmed, and the silence and masking action are related, and together prevent the insect from being detected. but this particular species, or race, or colony, living on the sides of the isolated sierra, had acquired a contrary habit, resembling a habit of gregarious birds and mammals. for this informing sound (unless it mimicked some _warning-sound,_ as of a rattlesnake, which it didn't) could not possibly be beneficial to individuals living alone, as grasshoppers generally do, but, on the contrary, only detrimental; and such a habit was therefore purely for the public good, and could only have arisen in a species that always lived in communities. on another occasion, in the middle of the hot season, i was travelling alone across-country in a locality which was new to me, a few leagues east of la plata river, in its widest part. about eleven o'clock in the morning i came to a low-lying level plain where the close-cropped grass was vivid green, although elsewhere all over the country the vegetation was scorched and dead, and dry as ashes. the ground being so favourable, i crossed this low plain at a swinging gallop, and in about thirty minutes' time. in that half-hour i saw a vast number of snakes, all of one kind, and a species new to me; but my anxiety to reach my destination before the oppressive heat of the afternoon made me hurry on. so numerous were the snakes in that green place that frequently i had as many as a dozen in sight at one time. it looked to me like a coronelia--harmless colubrine snakes--but was more than twice as large as either of the two species of that genus i was already familiar with. in size they varied greatly, ranging from two to fully five feet in length, and the colour was dull yellow or tan, slightly lined and mottled with shades of brown. among dead or partially withered grass and herbage they would have been undistinguishable at even a very short distance, but on the vivid green turf they were strangely conspicuous, some being plainly visible forty or fifty yards away; and not one was seen coiled up. they were all lying motionless, stretched out full length, and looking like dark yellow or tan-coloured ribbons, thrown on to the grass. it was most unusual to see so many snakes together, although not surprising in the circumstances. the december heats had dried up all the watercourses and killed the vegetation, and made the earth hard and harsh as burnt bricks; and at such times snakes, especially the more active non-venomous kinds, will travel long distances, in their slow way, in search of water. those i saw during my ride had probably been attracted by the moisture from a large area of country; and although there was no water, the soft fresh grass must have been grateful to them. snakes are seen coiled up when they are at home; when travelling and far afield, they lie as a rule extended full length, even when resting--and they are generally resting. pausing at length, before quitting this green plain, to give my horse a minute's rest, i got off and approached a large snake; but when i was quite twelve yards from it, it lifted its head, and, turning deliberately round, came rather swiftly at me. i retreated, and it followed, until, springing on to my horse, i left it, greatly surprised at its action, and beginning to think that it must be venomous. as i rode on the feeling of surprise increased, conquering haste; and in the end, seeing more snakes, i dismounted and approached the largest, when exactly the same thing occurred again, the snake rousing itself and coming angrily at me when i was still (considering the dull lethargic character of the deadliest kinds) at an absurd distance from it. again and again i repeated the experiment, with the same result. and at length i stunned one with a blow of my whip to examine its mouth, but found no poison-fangs in it. i then resumed my journey, expecting to meet with more snakes of the same kind at my destination; but there were none, and very soon business called me to a distant place, and i never met with this species afterwards. but when i rode away from that green spot, and was once more on the higher, desolate, wind-swept plain surrounding it--a rustling sea of giant thistles, still erect, although dead, and red as rust, and filling the hot blue sky with silvery down--it was with a very strange feeling. the change from the green and living to the dead and dry and dusty was so great! there seemed to be something mysterious, extra-natural, in that low level plain, so green and fresh and snaky, where my horse's hoofs had made no sound--a place where no man dwelt, and no cattle pastured, and no wild bird folded its wing. and the serpents there were not like others--the mechanical coiled-up thing we know, a mere bone-and-muscle man-trap, set by the elements, to spring and strike when trodden on: but these had a high intelligence, a lofty spirit, and were filled with a noble rage and astonishment that any other kind of creature, even a man, should venture there to disturb their sacred peace. it was a fancy, born of that sense of mystery which the unknown and the unusual in nature wakes in us--an obsolescent feeling that still links us to the savage. but the simple fact was wonderful enough, and that has been set down simply and apart from all fancies. if the reader happens not to be a naturalist, it is right to tell him that a naturalist cannot exaggerate consciously; and if he be capable of unconscious exaggeration, then ho is no naturalist. he should hasten "to join the innumerable caravan that moves" to the fantastic realms of romance. looking at the simple fact scientifically, it was a case of mimicry--the harmless snake mimicking the fierce threatening gestures and actions proper to some deadly kind. only with this difference: the venomous snake, of all deadly things in nature, is the slowest to resentment, the most reluctant to enter into a quarrel; whereas in this species angry demonstrations were made when the intruder was yet far off, and before he had shown any hostile intentions. my last case--the last, that is, of the few i have selected--relates to a singular variation in the human species. on this occasion i was again travelling alone in a strange district on the southern frontier of buenos ayres. on a bitterly cold midwinter day, shortly before noon, i arrived, stiff and tired, at one of those pilgrims' rests on the pampas--a wayside _pulperia,_ or public house, where the traveller can procure anything he may require or desire, from a tumbler of brazilian rum to make glad his heart, to a poncho, or cloak of blue cloth with fluffy scarlet lining, to keep him warm o' nights; and, to speed him on his way, a pair of cast-iron spurs weighing six pounds avoirdupois, with rowels eight inches in diameter, manufactured in this island for the use of barbarous men beyond the sea. the wretched mud-and-grass building was surrounded by a foss crossed by a plank drawbridge; outside of the enclosure twelve or fourteen saddled horses were standing, and from the loud noise of talk and laughter in the bar i conjectured that a goodly company of rough frontiersmen were already making merry at that early hour. it was necessary for me to go in among them to see the proprietor of the place and ask permission to visit his kitchen in order to make myself a "tin of coffee," that being the refreshment i felt inclined for. when i went in and made my salutation, one man wheeled round square before me, stared straight into my oyes, and in an exceedingly high-pitched reedy or screechy voice and a sing-song tone returned my "good morning," and bade me call for the liquid i loved best at his expense. i declined with thanks, and in accordance with gaucho etiquette added that i was prepared to pay for his liquor. it was then for him to say that he had already been served and so let the matter drop, but he did not do so: he screamed out in his wild animal voice that he would take gin. i paid for his drink, and would, i think, have felt greatly surprised at his strange insolent behaviour, so unlike that of the usually courteous gaucho, but this thing affected me not at all, so profoundly had his singular appearance and voice impressed me; and for the rest of the time i remained in the place i continued to watch him narrowly. professor huxley has somewhere said, "a variation frequently occurs, but those who notice it take no care about noting down the particulars." that is not a failing of mine, and this is what i noted down while the man's appearance was still fresh in memory. he was about five feet eleven inches in height--very tall for a gaucho--straight and athletic, with exceedingly broad shoulders, which made his round head look small; long arms and huge hands. the round flat face, coarse black hair, swarthy reddish colour, and smooth hairless cheeks seemed to show that he had more indian than spanish blood in him, while his round black eyes were even more like those of a rapacious animal in expression than in the pure-blooded indian. he also had the indian or half-breed's moustache, when that natural ornament is permitted to grow, and which is composed of thick bristles standing out like a cat's whiskers. the mouth was the marvellous feature, for it was twice the size of an average mouth, and the two lips were alike in thickness. this mouth did not smile, but snarled, both when he spoke and when he should have smiled; and when he snarled the wliolo of his teeth and a part of the gums were displayed. the teeth were not as in other human beings--incisors, canines, and molars: they were all exactly alike, above and below, each tooth a gleaming white triangle, broad at the gum where it touched its companion teeth, and with a point sharp as the sharpest-pointed dagger. they were like the teeth of a shark or crocodile. i noticed that when he showed them, which was very often, they were not set together as in dogs, weasels, and other savage snarling animals, but apart, showing the whole terrible serration in the huge red mouth. after getting his gin he joined in the boisterous conversation with the others, and this gave me an opportunity of studying his face for several minutes, all the time with a curious feeling that i had put myself into a cage with a savage animal of horrible aspect, whose instincts were utterly unknown to me, and were probably not very pleasant. it was interesting to note that whenever one of the others addressed him directly, or turned to him when speaking, it was with a curious expression, not of fear, but partly amusement and partly something else which i could not fathom. now, one might think that this was natural enough purely on account of the man's extraordinary appearance. i do not think that a sufficient explanation; for however strange a man's appearance may be, his intimate friends and associates soon lose all sense of wonder at his strangeness, and even forget that he is unlike others. my belief is that this curiosity, or whatever it was they showed in their faces, was due to something in his character--a mental strangeness, showing itself at unexpected times, and which might flash, out at any moment to amuse or astonish them. there was certainly a correspondence between the snarling action of the mouth and the dangerous form of the teeth, perfect as that in any snarling animal; and such animals, it should be remembered, snarl not only when angry and threatening, but in their playful moods as well. other and more important correspondences or correlations might have existed; and the voice was certainly unlike any human voice i have ever heard, whether in white, red, or black man. but the time i had for observation was short, the conversation revealed nothing further, and by-and-by i went away in search of the odorous kitchen, where there would be hot water for coffee, or at all events cold water and a kettle, and materials for making a fire--to wit, bones of dead cattle, "buffalo chips," and rancid fat. i have never been worried with the wish, or ambition to be a head-hunter in the dyak sense, but on this one occasion i did wish that it had been possible, without violating any law, or doing anything to a fellow-creature which i should not like done to myself, to have obtained possession of this man's head, with its set of unique and terrible teeth. for how, in the name of evolution, did he come by them, and by other physical peculiarities--the snarling habit and that high-pitched animal voice, for instance--which made him a being different from others--one separate and far apart? was he, so admirably formed, so complete and well-balanced, merely a freak of nature, to use an old-fashioned phrase--a sport, or spontaneous individual variation--an experiment for a new human type, imagined by nature in some past period, inconceivably long ago, but which she had only now, too late, found time to carry out? or rather was he like that little hairy maiden exhibited not long ago in london, a reproduction of the past, the mystery called reversion--a something in the life of a species like memory in the life of an individual, the memory which suddenly brings back to the old man's mind the image of his childhood? for no dream-monster in human form ever appeared to me with so strange and terrible a face; and this was no dream but sober fact, for i saw and spoke with this man; and unless cold steel has given him his quietus, or his own horse has crushed him, or a mad bull sored him--all natural forms of death in that wild land--he is probably still living and in the prime of life, and perhaps at this very moment drinking gin at some astonished traveller's expense at that very bar where i met him. the old palaeolithic man, judging from the few remains we have of him, must have had an unspeakably savage and, to our way of thinking, repulsive and horrible aspect, with his villainous low receding forehead, broad nose, great projecting upper jaw, and retreating chin; to meet such a man face to face in piccadilly would frighten a nervous person of the present time. but his teeth were not unlike our own, only very much larger and more powerful, and well adapted to their work of masticating the flesh, underdone and possibly raw, of mammoth and rhinoceros. if, then, this living man recalls a type of the past, it is of a remoter past, a more primitive man, the volume of whose history is missing from the geological record. to speculate on such a subject seems idle and useless; and when i coveted possession of that head it was not because i thought that it might lead to any fresh discovery. a lower motive inspired the feeling. i wished for it only that i might bring it over the sea, to drop it like a new apple of discord, suited to the spirit of the times, among the anthropologists and evolutionists generally of this old and learned world. inscribed, of course, "to the most learned," but giving no locality and no particulars. i wished to do that for the pleasure--not a very noble kind of pleasure, i allow--of witnessing from some safe hiding-place the stupendous strife that would have ensued--a battle more furious, lasting and fatal to many a brave knight of biology, than was ever yet fought over any bone or bony fragment or fabric ever picked up, including the celebrated cranium of the neanderthal. appendix. the puma, or lion of america. the following passage occurs in an article on "the naturalist in la plata," by the late professor piomanes, which appeared in the _nineteenth century,_ may, . after quoting the account of the puma's habits and character given in the book, the writer says:--"i have received corroboration touching all these points from a gentleman who, when walking alone and unarmed on the skirts of a forest, was greatly alarmed by a large puma coming out to meet him. deeming it best not to stand, he advanced to meet the animal, which thereupon began to gambol around his feet and rub against his legs, after the manner of an affectionate cat. at first he thought these movements must have been preliminary to some peculiar mode of attack, and therefore he did not respond, but walked quietly on, until the puma suddenly desisted and re-entered the forest. this gentleman says that, until the publication of mr. hudson's book, he had always remained under the impression that that particular puma must have been insane." music and dancing in nature. i have found among my papers the following mislaid note on the subject of sportive displays of mammalians, which should have been used on page , where the subject is briefly treated:--most mammalians are comparatively silent and live on the ground, and not having the power to escape easily, which birds have, and being more persecuted by man, they do not often disport themselves unrestrainedly in his presence; it is difficult to watch any wild animal without the watcher's presence being known or suspected. nevertheless, their displays are not so rare as we might imagine. i have more than once detected species, with which i was, or imagined myself to be, well acquainted, disporting themselves in a manner that took me completely by surprise. while out tinamou shooting one day in autumn, near my own home in la plata, i spied a troop of about a dozen weasels racing madly about over a vizcacha village--the mound and group of pit-like burrows inhabited by a community of vizcachas. these weasels were of the large common species, galictis barbara, about the size of a cat; and were engaged in a pastime resembling a complicated dance, and so absorbed were they on that occasion that they took no notice of me when i walked up to within nine or ten yards of them, and stood still to watch the performance. they were all swiftly racing about and leaping over the pits, always doubling quickly back when the limit of the mound was reached, and although apparently carried away with excitement, and crossing each other's tracks at all angles, and this so rapidly and with so many changes of direction that i became confused when trying to keep any one animal in view, they never collided nor even came near enough to touch one another. the whole performance resembled, on a greatly magnified scale and without its beautiful smoothness and lightning swiftness, the fantastic dance of small black water-beetles, frequently seen on the surface of a pool or stream, during which the insects glide about in a limited area with such celerity as to appear like black curving lines traced by flying invisible pens; and as the lines everywhere cross and intersect, they form an intricate pattern on the surface, after watching the weasel dance for some minutes, i stepped up to the mound, whereupon the animals became alarmed and rushed pell-mell into the burrows, but only to reappear in a few seconds, thrusting up their long ebony-black necks and flat grey-capped heads, snarling chattering at me, glaring with fierce, beady eyes. the strange instincts of cattle. in november and december, , a short correspondence appeared in the _field_ on the curious subject of "dogs burying their dead." it arose through a letter from a mr. gould, of albany, western australia, relating the following incident:-- a settler shot a bitch from a neighbouring estate that had formed the habit of coming on to his land to visit and play with his dog. the dog, finding his companion dead, was observed to dig a large hole in the ground, into which he dragged the carcase; but he did not cover it with earth. the writer wished to know if any reader of the _field_ had met with a similar case. some notes, which i contributed in reply to this letter, bear on one of the subjects treated in the chapter on "strange instincts," namely, the instinct of social animals to protect and shield their fellows; and for this reason i have thought it best to reproduce them in this place. i remember on one occasion watching at intervals, for an entire day, a large and very savage dog keeping watch over the body of a dead bitch that had been shot. he made no attempt to bury the dead animal, but he never left it. he was observed more than once trying to drag the body away, doubtless with the intention of hiding it; not succeeding in these attempts, he settled down by its side again, although it was evident that he was suffering greatly from thirst and heat. it was at last only with the greatest trouble that the people of the house succeeded in getting the body away and burying it out of his sight. another instance, more to the point, occurred at my own house on the pampas, and i was one of several persons who witnessed it. a small, red, long-haired bitch--a variety of the common native cur--gave birth to four or five pups. a peon was told to destroy them, and, waiting until the bitch was out of sight, he carried them off to the end of the orchard, some or yards from the house, and threw them into a pool of water which was only two to three feet deep. the bitch passed the rest of the day in rushing frantically about, searching for her young, and in the evening, a little after dark, actually succeeded in finding them, although they were lying at the bottom of the pool. she got them all out, and carried them, one by one, to another part of the grounds, where she passed the night with them, uttering at intervals the most piercing cries. in the morning she carried them to still another spot, where there was a soft mould, and then dug a hole large and deep enough to bury them all, covering them over with the loose earth. her task done, she returned to the house to sleep all day, but when night came again the whole piteous performance was repeated: the pups were dug up, and she passed the long, piercingly cold night--for it was in the depth of winter--trying to keep them warm, and uttering, as before, distressing cries. yet a third time the whole thing was repeated; but after the third night, when the dog came home to sleep, the dead pups were taken out of the ground and buried at a distance. such an action as this strikes one with astonishment only because we have the custom of burying our dead, and are too ready at all times to regard the dog as human-like. but the explanation of the action in this case is to be found in the familiar fact that very many animals, including the dog, have the habit or instinct of burying or concealing the thing they wish to leave in safety. thus, the dog buries the bone it does not want to eat, and when hungry digs it up again. when a dog buries or hides the dead body of the she dog it was attached to, or the she dog buries her dead young, it is with the same motive--namely, to conceal the animal that cannot be roused, and that it would not be safe to leave exposed. it is plain to all who observe their actions that the lower animals have no comprehension of death. in the case of two animals that are accustomed to play or to be much together, if one dies, or is killed, and its body left, the other will come to sniff at, touch, and at last try to rouse it; but finding all attempts vain, it will at length go away to seek companionship elsewhere. in cases where the attachment is much stronger, the dead body may be watched over for an indefinite period. a brother of mine once related to me a very pathetic incident which occurred at an estancia on the pampas where he was staying. a large portion of the land was a low, level, marshy plain, partly overgrown with reeds and rushes; and one day, in this wilderness, a little boy of eight or nine, from the estancia, lost himself. a small dog, his invariable attendant, had gone out with him, but did not return. seven days later the poor boy was found, at a great distance from the house, lying on the grass, where he had died of exhaustion. the dog was lying coiled up at his side, and appeared to be sleeping; but, when spoken to, he did not stir, and was presently found to be dead too. the dog could have gone back at any moment to the estancia, but his instinct of attachment overcame all others; he kept guard over his little master, who slept so soundly and so long, until he, too, slept in the same way. a still more remarkable case of this kind was given in one of my books, of a gaucho, accompanied by his dog, who was chased and overtaken by a troop of soldiers during one of the civil wars in uruguay. suspecting him of being a spy, or, at all events, an enemy, his captors cut his throat, then rode away, calling to the dog to follow them; but the animal refused to leave his dead master's side. returning to the spot a few days later, they saw the body of the man they had killed surrounded by a large number of vultures, which the dog, in a frenzy of excitement, was occupied in keeping at a respectable distance. it was observed that the dog, after making one of his sallies, driving the birds away with furious barkings, would set out at a run to a small stream not far from the spot; but when half way to it he would look back, and, seeing the vultures advancing once more to the corpse, would rush back to protect it. the soldiers watched him for some time with great interest, and once more they tried in vain to get him to follow them. two days afterwards they revisited the spot, to find the dog lying dead by the side of his dead master. i had this story from the lips of one of the witnesses. in all such cases, whether the dog watches over, conceals, or buries a dead body, he is doubtless moved by the same instinct which leads him to safeguard the animal he is attached to--another dog or his human master. but, as the dead animal is past help, it is, of course, a blunder of the instinct; and the blunder must be of very much less frequent occurrence among wild than among domestic animals. in a state of nature, when a gregarious animal dies, he dies, as a rule, alone; his body is not seen by his former companions, and he is not missed. when he dies by violence--which is the common fate--the body is carried off or devoured by the killer. this being the usual order, there is no instinct, except in a very few species, relating to the disposal of the dead among mammals and other vertebrates, such as is found in ants and other social insects. there are a few mammalians that live together in small communities, in a habitation made to last for many generations, in which such an instinct would appear necessary, and it accordingly exists, but is very imperfect. this is the case with the vizcacha, the large rodent of the pampas, which lives with its fellows, to the number of twenty or thirty, in a cluster of huge burrows. when a vizcacha dies in a burrow, the body is dragged out and thrown on to the mound among the mass of rubbish collected on it--but not until he has been dead a long time, and there is nothing left of him but the dry bones held together by the skin. in that condition the other members of the community probably cease to look on him as one of their companions who has fallen into a long sleep; he is no more than so much rubbish, which must be cleared out of an old disused burrow. probably the beaver possesses some rude instinct similar to that of the vizcacha. _apropos_ of animals burying their treasures (or connections) for safety, it is worth mentioning that the skunk of the pampas occasionally buries her young in the kennel, when hunger compels her to go out foraging. i had often heard of this habit of the female skunk from the gauchos, and one day had the rare good fortune to witness an animal engaged in obliterating her own kennel. the senses of the skunk are so defective that one is able at times to approach very near to without alarming them. in this instance i sat on my horse at a distance of twenty yards, and watched the animal at work, drawing in the loose earth with her fore feet until the entrance to the kennel was filled up to within three inches of the surface; then, dropping into the shallow cavity, she pressed the loose mould down with her nose. her task finished, she trotted away, and the hollow in the soil, when i examined it closely, looked only like the mouth of an ancient choked-up burrow. the young inhabit a circular chamber, lined with fine dry grass, at the end of a narrow passage from ft. to ft. long, and no doubt have air enough to serve them until their parent returns; but i believe the skunk only buries her young when they are very small. transcriber's note on page are macrons for the letters "o" and "e"; these are represented by [=o] and [=e] respectively. printer errors have been changed and are listed at the end. the author's spelling has been maintained. [illustration: elephants at work from a photograph copyrighted by the keystone view co.] _heath supplementary readers_ the wonders of the jungle prince sarath ghosh book two [illustration] d. c. heath and company boston new york chicago atlanta dallas san francisco london copyright, , by d. c. heath & co. b printed in u.s.a. to the children my dear, i am now going to tell you many more wonders of the jungle, as i promised to do in book i. in that book, as you will remember, i promised to tell you more about the elephants and about the laws of their herd. so i shall do so now. then i shall tell you about some animals which i did not describe in book i. among these you may like to know especially about the tiger, the lion, the leopard, and the wolf. you may like to know how really _clever_ some of these animals are, and how some of them have _affections_, just as we have. but while you are reading about them, you must try to _think_. then you will understand _why_ these animals do certain things. and that will show how clever _you_ are! i have used a few new words in this book. but i am sure you know them already. now i shall begin with the laws of the elephants. contents chapter page i. the elephant herd a republic the duties of the president he must provide daily food he must provide daily drink he must keep order in the herd he must avoid danger from outside ii. war and neutrality in the jungle wise elephant leader avoids war wise elephant leader keeps neutral when it is impossible to remain neutral iii. the policemen of the elephant herd iv. the punishment of the wicked elephant the princes and the bad elephant the trial of the criminal elephant--as in a court of law the infliction of the punishment the rogue elephant the brand of the rogue the reward of repentance v. flesh-eating animals: the felines, or the cat tribe the feline has strong fangs the feline's tongue is rough the feline's claws are retractile the feline has padded paws vi. the tiger the life history of the tiger family the tiger's family dinner vii. the tiger cubs' lessons tiger cubs learn to kill prey, after their parents have caught it tiger cubs take part in hunt to catch prey tiger cubs learn to catch prey by themselves viii. the tigress mother's special duties the truce of the water hole ix. the special qualities of tiger and tigress both tiger and tigress defend their cubs the tiger family's lost dinner the tiger as a heroic husband x. the lion the lion has the fangs, the tongue, the claws, and the paws of a cat how the lion is different from other cats xi. the lion's daily life xii. the lion a noble animal androcles and the lion the lady and the lioness xiii. the leopard the leopard's ground color and spots why the leopard has spots xiv. the leopard's habits the panther: popular name for large leopard how the leopard seizes his prey the leopard's one amiable quality--he loves perfumes the leopard and the lavender xv. american leopard: the jaguar xvi. the dog tribe the american gray wolf the american wolf learns to evade the gun the american wolf learns to evade the trap the american wolf learns to evade the poison illustrations elephants at work _frontispiece_ page elephant leading herd through the jungle trained elephants at the court of a king elephants guarding a bad elephant policemen elephants arresting a criminal elephant good elephant heading off a criminal elephant tiger tiger protecting his cub tiger charging hunting party group of lions puma african lion giraffes kangaroo androcles and the lion leopard jaguar the chain of conflict in the jungle gray wolf the wonders of the jungle chapter i the elephant herd a republic an elephant herd is a kind of republic, something like the united states of america, only much smaller and much simpler. so its leader is a sort of president. he is usually the wisest elephant in the herd. you may like to know how the elephants choose their president. i shall tell you how they do that. but you must first consider how the people of the united states choose _their_ president. they find out who among their important men is best able to lead them in all the great duties of the nation. then they choose _him_. but if afterward they find that he is _not_ leading the nation in the wisest manner, then the people of the united states choose another man to be their president the next time. the elephants in a herd do something like that. they first follow the elephant who, they think, is best able to lead them. but if afterward they find that he is not leading them through the jungle in the right way, and that another elephant could lead them in a better manner, then they follow him instead. he then becomes the president of the herd. "but what is the best way of leading the herd through the jungle?" you may ask. i shall now tell you about that. the best way to lead the herd is _to satisfy all their needs_. so the president of the herd has four great duties. _the duties of the president_ first duty: he must lead the herd in such a manner that all the elephants will get enough _food to eat_ every day. second duty: he must lead the herd in such a manner that all the elephants will get enough _water to drink_ every day. third duty: he must _keep order_ in the herd, and not allow any naughty elephant to fight or quarrel. fourth duty: he must guide the elephants in such a manner as to _avoid all danger from outside_; and if such danger does happen to come, he must guard the herd from that danger. i shall now tell you about these four duties more fully. _he must provide daily food_ elephants are such large animals that they need a great amount of food. so they have to walk a long way every day, munching the leaves of the trees as they go. they walk in line, one behind another, as that is the easiest method of walking through the thick jungle; for then one gap through the jungle is enough for all the elephants to go through, one at a time, and they need not make a different gap for each elephant. now you will understand that if that one gap is big enough for the _largest_ elephant to go through, it is of course big enough for _all_ the elephants to go through. so, if the largest elephant walks first, in front of the line of elephants, he can force a way through the thick jungle that will be big enough for all the other elephants who come behind him. so usually the largest and strongest bull elephant is the leader of the herd--if he also has the other qualities of a president, which i shall presently describe more fully. to have all the qualities of a president, he must not only be strong, but also wise and clever. why? because even in merely going through the jungle a wise leader avoids many difficulties. it might be that the jungle straight ahead was very thick, and it would be hard to force a way through it; but by turning a little to the right or to the left, an easier passage could be made. this a wise leader would find out, and then turn in that direction. again, in the jungle, the ground is sometimes too soft; it might be made of clay which had become soft owing to rain a few days before. but elephants are such heavy animals that they cannot go far over soft ground, as their feet would sink in too deep. and the ground might be covered with bushes or tall grass, so that the elephants could not _see_ to what distance the ground was soft. they might not mind going over soft ground for a few yards, but they would not like to go over such ground for a whole mile. so a wise leader would know by glancing around how far the ground was likely to be soft; and if he learned that it was likely to be soft for a large area, he would turn at once and go around it. but a foolish leader might take the herd right into the soft ground, and they would all be stuck in the mud, and have a lot of trouble getting out of it again. [illustration: elephant leading herd through the jungle] so if the herd has chosen merely the biggest and strongest elephant to be their president and he makes such mistakes as that, they soon depose him; that is, they no longer follow him. they look around for some other leader who can discover a better way, and they follow him instead. and if afterward they find that he is wise and clever, and does not make mistakes, they follow him as their leader every day after that, even if he is not quite so big and strong as the other elephant was. he then becomes the new president, if he is at least strong enough to make a good gap through the jungle. most of the elephants could pass through that; only the biggest bull, the deposed president, would have the trouble of enlarging the gap with his body in going through it. and this would serve him right! in the same manner the leader of the herd must not go over ground that is _too hard_, for elephants are such heavy animals that it jars the bones of their feet to go over hard ground for a great distance. if there has been no rain for several weeks, then in a hot country the ground gets very hard in some places. so if there has been no rain near a herd for some time, a wise leader avoids these hard places. so, as you see, an elephant leader has to be quite clever in merely avoiding difficulties, in the daily search for food. and that is not all! the food itself may be plentiful in one part of the jungle, and rather scarce in another; for in one direction there may have been just enough showers recently to bring out the fresh leaves on the trees; but in another direction there may have been no rain at all for some time, and so there would be no fresh leaves there. why, even in your own town there may be a good shower of rain in one part of the town, and no rain at all in another part. so it might be in the jungle; a wise leader would know this by instinct, and he would take the herd along that part of the jungle where there had been recent showers of rain, and where there would be enough fresh leaves. _he must provide daily drink_ after the elephants have had enough to eat for the day, they must have enough clear water to drink. and to get this is _the hardest daily duty of the leader_. in the jungle, even if the leader makes a little mistake and goes the wrong way, there may still be enough to eat, because the elephants can always find enough trees in the end by going a little farther: so they would have only a little more trouble in getting their food, if the leader made a mistake. but with _water_ it is quite different--the leader may find no water at all, if he makes a mistake and leads the herd the wrong way. "then how must he lead the herd so as to find water, as well as food?" you may ask. i shall tell you. in most jungles there is a river or even a small stream from which the elephants can drink. but the river or stream may go winding in and out of the jungle, so that it is in one part of the jungle but not in another part. so a wise leader tries to keep his herd near one of those parts of the jungle through which the river flows. in fact, if the elephants and even the other wild animals are lucky enough to find a fairly big river, and the jungle near that river has plenty of food in it, then the animals stay near there almost all the time. they eat from the jungle and drink from the river; and sometimes they come to the very same place to drink--as at the midnight pool, which i described to you in book i. so if the leader of the elephant herd is lucky enough to find such a jungle, with plenty of food and a big river in it, he keeps the herd there all the time; and then they have no more trouble about food or drink. but suppose the leader cannot find such a place? suppose there is a river, but not enough food near the river? then what does a wise leader do? he leads the herd in such a way as to make _a kind of curve_. he goes into the jungle by the easiest way in the beginning; then, after the elephants have eaten a little, he starts turning slightly toward the direction in which the river flows. when the elephants have eaten a little more, he turns still more in that direction. in this manner he leads the herd in a kind of curve toward the river, browsing all the way from the trees near by. so, at the end of the day, when the elephants have had enough to eat, they reach the river and have also enough to drink. is not that a very clever method of providing both food and drink for the herd? if the herd sleep near the bank that night, they start from there the next morning in their search for food; and they usually go into the jungle by the same path by which they came. but on _returning_ to the river to drink that night, the leader need not bring them back by exactly the same path. the fact that they did not have enough to eat right near the river shows that the jungle is not very thick there; so the elephants will have no trouble in making a fresh path, a little higher up the river, or a little lower down. a wise leader usually does that: he leads the herd to the river slightly higher up or lower down, and so he makes a slightly different curve through the jungle. why? because if he kept to exactly the same curve from the jungle to the river every day, the herd would eat up all the leaves along that path in a few days. so, by changing the curve a little from time to time, he allows fresh leaves to grow there meanwhile. you now understand why the president of the elephant herd must be wise and clever to do all that i have told you so far. even among men the president of a republic has similar duties to attend to, though in a different manner: he too has to govern his country in such a manner as to provide the people with their daily wants, if they obey the laws and do honest labor. in the elephant herd everyone has to do honest work, as he has to gather his own food; and he has also to obey the laws of the herd. i shall now tell you about that. _he must keep order in the herd_ the third duty of the elephant leader is to keep order in the herd. most elephants are by nature gentle, docile, and obedient. that is why men can tame them and make them work; otherwise, if elephants were by nature fierce and disobedient, men could not train them so perfectly as to perform at a circus, or carry people in a procession. so even in the jungle, where the elephants are wild, they usually obey the leader and keep the laws of the herd. these laws chiefly concern their daily food and drink. as i have told you, in their daily search for food the elephants march in a line, one behind another. a selfish elephant in the middle of the line might want to stop and eat up _all_ the leaves on a tree near him; and if he did so, he would block the way for those behind him, and besides, there would be no leaves on that tree for them to eat when they came to it. so there is a general rule in the herd that each elephant must take just a few of the leaves from a tree, and then _move on_; and if instead he does block the way, the elephants behind him may push him forward and make him move on. "but," you may ask, "why can't the other elephants behind him also stop and eat up all the leaves on the trees near them?" because then all the trees on that line of march would be bare of leaves, and it might take a whole month for fresh leaves to grow there again. but if the herd took only a portion of the leaves from each tree, there would be enough food for them along that path if they happened to visit it again in a few days. in fact, the elephants need make only a few such paths through the jungle, if they eat only part of the leaves at a time along any of the paths. then they can visit these paths in turn on other days, and always find enough food there--because the fresh leaves constantly growing on the trees would make up for the small portion they had eaten. so you understand how wise the elephants are in having that law in the herd. "but," you may say, "if they were to eat _all_ the leaves on a tree, their path would be a short one; while if they eat only a portion of the leaves, their path would be much longer, as they must nibble from many more trees to satisfy their hunger." that is quite true. but there is no advantage in having a short path, because at the end of their march in search of food they must find water to drink, as i have already told you--and they may have to go several miles to reach the nearest stream. so they might as well nibble from the trees all the way to the stream, especially as elephants can easily march ten or twelve miles in that manner every day. besides, after taking a bunch of leaves from a tree, they must chew it before taking the next bite; so, meanwhile, they might just as well walk on to the next tree. in fact, if they have not quite finished chewing, most elephants pass by one or two trees before taking the next bite. that shows how really wise they are. for then they are _sure_ of finding enough food along that path when they visit it again a few days later. it is the president of the herd who sets a good example to the others in doing all these wise things. as he walks at the head of the line, he sees at a glance what is the best thing to do in that particular path, whether to nibble a little from every tree, or to pass by a few trees without nibbling from them at all. and whatever he does, all the other elephants do after him. my dear children, it is exactly the same among us. when food is scarce in a country and people must be careful, then it is the president who tells us how to portion out the food supply in the country. otherwise, some people would be wasteful and throw food away--and others would not have enough to eat. it is very important to learn from your childhood to be careful of food. do you know that in the united states every man, woman, and child on an average throws away every year seven dollars' worth of food _on the plate_? that would be enough to feed all the people in the poorhouses and the hospitals. elephants are most careful of their food. their president is all the time thinking of the best method of making the food supply of the jungle last them from season to season. but the other elephants must help him to do that, by following his good example. if any particular elephant is selfish and wants to eat up at once all the food near him, he is pushed out of the line by the other elephants, as i have already told you. if he is naughty again, he is more severely punished. how he is punished, i shall tell you in another chapter. i shall then tell you how all sorts of naughty elephants are punished; for, just like people in a country, i am sorry to say that there are in the jungle a few elephants that do not obey the law. an elephant can be selfish not only in eating, but also in drinking. you will remember what i told you in book i--how all the elephants stand in a line along the bank of a stream and drink; and after they have all satisfied their thirst, they may jump into the water to bathe and swim. it would be very selfish for an elephant to jump into the water before the others had finished drinking; for then he would muddy the water which some of the others were still drinking. and for such conduct an elephant is very severely punished. but the very worst offense in an elephant herd is quarrelling and fighting; for, sometimes, two elephants do quarrel and fight, just like a couple of naughty boys in school. but there is never any real need to quarrel in an elephant herd; for if one of the elephants has done wrong or broken the rules of the herd, he will be punished by the president of the herd--just as in school a naughty boy would be punished by the teacher or by the head of the school. it is not necessary for any other elephant in the herd to quarrel or fight with the naughty elephant, even if he has been injured by him; the president of the herd will punish the naughty elephant soon enough. so if two elephants do fight, _both_ of them are punished; of course the one who began the fight is punished more severely than the other. _he must avoid danger from outside_ the president of the herd must lead the elephants in such a manner as to avoid any danger that may come to the herd from outside. in the jungle there are other wild animals; most of them are, of course, too small to be able to hurt so large an animal as an elephant; but a tiger is so strong and so fierce that he could kill a small, half-grown elephant. the tiger could hide in the jungle, and if the small elephant happened to stray from the herd, the tiger could spring upon it and kill it. so the president of the herd usually keeps the elephants away from any part of the jungle which he knows to be infested by tigers. how does he know that? by the paw marks made on the ground by the tigers. for the tigers leave plenty of paw marks on the ground in coming in and out of their dens to hunt their prey every day. so if the president of the elephant herd comes across a line of such paw marks, he turns aside and leads the herd in another direction. of course, if the herd happened to meet a tiger quite suddenly, they would at once face the tiger. and the tiger would never dare to attack even the smallest elephant if the big ones were near, for they could drive him off with their tusks or trample upon him. but the greatest danger that can come to an elephant herd from outside is from men. men sometimes go into the jungle to shoot wild elephants with guns, or to catch them alive in huge traps. so the leader of the herd must find out where the traps are, or where the hunters are hiding; and then he must avoid such places. you will remember what i told you about salar and his father in book i. salar was the boy elephant who nearly fell into a most tricky trap, but his wise old father suspected the trap and called to salar to halt; and because salar obeyed his father and halted at once, he just escaped falling into that awful trap. well, in the jungle hunters lay all kinds of traps to catch wild elephants alive; and sometimes for several years the hunters try over and over again to catch the elephants, if they fail to catch them at once. so the president of an elephant herd has to look out for traps all the time; and the herd that has the wisest president escapes capture for the longest time. in fact, as salar is an actual elephant, not an imaginary one, i may tell you that his father was such a wily leader of his herd that he kept them from capture for ten years longer than the leader of any other elephant herd in that jungle. as for hunters who seek to kill wild elephants with guns, the leader of the herd has to be even more careful in avoiding them. these hunters usually hide behind bushes, and try to creep up to the elephants; and when they are within a hundred yards of the elephants, they begin shooting them. then the leader of the herd has to prove his wisdom. a foolish leader would stand still, or even try to charge the hunters; and then more of the elephants would get killed. but a wise leader gives the signal to _run away_ as soon as he hears the sound of the first gun; then at most only one or two of the elephants are killed--and sometimes none at all. why? because to kill an elephant with a gun a hunter must hit him exactly in one particular place on the body--behind the elephant's ear, where the skin is thin. at the first shot the hunter may not hit the elephant just there, but inflict only a trifling wound elsewhere on his thick skin. so by running away at once an elephant may save his life. but as all leaders are not so wise, the hunters usually manage to kill one or two of the elephants. i may tell you that these hunters kill the elephants merely to get their tusks, which they sell as ivory. it is a shame to kill such wonderful animals just for money; and you ought to know that in some parts of africa almost all the elephants have now been killed. if the hunters continue to do that, there will be no elephants left in africa in a few years. then the hunters will not be able to get the very ivory for the sake of which they now kill the elephants. but you will be pleased to know that in india and other countries of asia nobody is allowed to kill a wild elephant; for if anyone did so, he would be put into jail. special hunters are allowed to catch wild elephants alive, as i have already told you; and then the elephants are tamed and trained to do all kinds of useful work, such as to pile logs, build bridges, make roads, and lay water-pipes (see frontispiece). some of these elephants are also taught to do tricks in a circus, or to carry grand people in a procession. "then how do people in india get their ivory, if they never kill an elephant?" you may ask. they get the ivory when the elephant dies naturally; and the ivory is just as good then as before. is not that very wise? the people of india first get the help of the elephants in doing all their heavy work, and at last they get the ivory also. there are huge buildings in india, some of which are more than two thousand years old, which are so wonderful that engineers in america and europe do not know exactly how those buildings were erected. there is a particular temple on the top of a mountain; and that mountain is feet high. the ceiling over the center of the temple is a huge circular piece of marble; and that marble ceiling is so large that for a long time people in america and europe did not know how it was dragged up to the top of the mountain, and then placed over the temple. but now we know that a team of trained elephants was used to do that. you will be pleased to know, too, that the people who built that temple are called jains, whom i mentioned in book i, page (footnote), as the people who are kind to all animals, and who never hurt even the smallest insect. instead, these mild and gentle people have taught dumb animals to help them build one of the greatest wonders of the world. [illustration: trained elephants at the court of a king] how the elephants were taught to do that, i shall tell you in the next book. chapter ii war and neutrality in the jungle now i must tell you about another duty of the president of the elephant herd: he must avoid another kind of danger that may come to the herd from outside. i am sorry to say that herds of elephants sometimes fight with one another, just as nations of people do. alas, although elephants are usually such wise animals, they are sometimes as foolish as men! two herds of elephants may find the same feeding ground, which has plenty of trees to eat from, and a convenient stream of water to drink from. then the two herds may start fighting for that new feeding ground--just as two nations sometimes fight for a new land. among elephants the herd that first finds the feeding ground usually keeps it; but another herd may come there at about the same time, and claim to have found it first--and may fight the other herd for that new feeding ground. or it may happen that the second herd really came there later, but is stronger than the first herd, as it has more bull elephants in it. then the second herd may try to drive away the other herd, which really found that feeding ground first. _wise elephant leader avoids war_ then what does the president of the first herd do? alas, he usually stays there to fight it out. but he gains nothing by it; instead, some of his bulls get killed or wounded--and in the end his herd has to flee just the same. a very wise leader would have done that from the first; for he might find another feeding ground just as good somewhere near. and besides, the quarrelsome herd will be punished soon enough! "how will it be punished?" you may ask. i shall tell you. a quarrelsome herd gets into the _habit_ of quarrelling with other herds, just as a quarrelsome boy gets into the habit of quarrelling with everybody--or even as a quarrelsome military nation gets into the habit of quarrelling with other nations. then that quarrelsome boy might meet a stronger boy some day--and get a good thrashing! and the quarrelsome nation might attack a more powerful nation some day--and get a good thrashing! so also that quarrelsome herd of elephants might some day attack a herd which proves to be stronger. then that naughty herd would also get a good thrashing. so it is foolish, indeed, for the president of a herd to domineer over weaker herds in the jungle. indeed, there is a still greater punishment for a quarrelsome herd. i have already told you that there are hunters who lay traps to catch wild elephants alive. well, these hunters try specially to catch a quarrelsome herd first! why? because quarrelsome herds kill or injure other wild elephants with whom they fight. but the hunters do not want to have any of the elephants killed or injured, as they want to catch as many of them as possible in order to teach them to do useful work. so they catch the quarrelsome herd first, before it can kill or injure many of the other elephants. of course, the hunters know which is a quarrelsome herd, because they send men into the jungle from time to time to watch different herds and keep track of them. _the wise elephant leader keeps neutral_ there is still another duty that the leader of the elephant herd must do. sometimes it happens that as he is taking his herd through the jungle, he meets two other herds that are fighting. then what must he do? he must lead his herd by another path. he must not take part in the fighting between the two other herds. he must keep _neutral_. what does that mean? it means that he must not meddle with other peoples' fights and quarrels. he must not take sides; that is, he must not help either of the herds to beat the other. that is the usual rule in the jungle which a wise elephant leader tries to keep. but there is an exception to that rule. it sometimes happens that it is impossible for the president of an elephant herd _not_ to take sides. when does that happen? i shall tell you. _when it is impossible to remain neutral_ when two herds are fighting, they may get very reckless. when men make war, they knock down houses with their guns, and trample on growing corn. in the same manner, when two herds of elephants fight they knock down trees, and trample on shrubs and bushes--sometimes the very trees and shrubs and bushes for which they are fighting! _there never is a fight of any kind without a lot of damage being done._ so it may happen that one of the fighting herds gets so reckless that it comes into the ground of the herd that has kept neutral, and does a lot of damage there. then what must the president of the neutral herd do? he must defend his own ground from damage. so long as the fighting herds kept to their grounds, he must not interfere. but when one of the fighting herds comes into _his_ ground and does damage, he must defend his rights. a wise elephant leader always does that; for he has bull elephants of his own who can drive out the intruders. chapter iii the policemen of the elephant herd i have already told you that the president of an elephant herd must keep order within his own herd; that is, he must not allow a naughty elephant to commit a crime, such as to attack any other member of the herd. and if a naughty elephant does commit a crime, it is the duty of the president to punish him. i shall now tell you how he does these things. _there is a wonderful police system in an elephant herd._ you will understand that better if i tell you first about an old police system among men. you will read in history books about the anglo-saxons, who were the forefathers of most of the people of england and of the united states of to-day. these anglo-saxons had a police system like this:-- in a village or in a town all the grown-up men were divided into groups of ten men; and if any man tried to commit a crime, all the other nine men of his group tried to prevent him. if he committed the crime _before_ the other nine men could prevent him, they at least arrested him. then they took him before the judge for punishment. it is something like that in an elephant herd in the jungle; only, as there are not so many bull elephants in a herd as there are men in a village, it is not necessary to divide the bulls into different groups. as there are only twenty or thirty grown-up bulls in an average elephant herd, it is the duty of _all_ the grown-up bulls to prevent a bad elephant among them from committing a crime; and usually it is the bulls nearest to him who actually stop him from committing the crime. if he manages to commit the crime _before_ they can prevent him, they surround him immediately and keep him there like a prisoner, till the president of the herd comes to punish him. my dear children, that is a great lesson for us. a good citizen always helps to keep the law; if he sees anyone breaking the law, he tries to prevent him from doing so. some men do nothing, if they see a person breaking the law; they say, "it is no business of ours." elephants are much better citizens of the jungle in that respect; they always try to prevent a bad elephant from breaking the law. [illustration: elephants guarding a bad elephant] now i am going to tell you something that will astonish you--as it has astonished a good many clever scientific men. do you know why people are at all able to use elephants in a circus, and give you pleasure by making them do tricks? suppose one of the elephants suddenly went mad? then he could kill a dozen people in a minute by just rushing at them and trampling on them. no _men_ could stop him, even if they had guns ready all the time; for it might take several minutes to kill an elephant even with a special kind of gun. and meanwhile the mad elephant could trample upon scores of people in a crowded circus. and it is just the same in a procession, when elephants are used to carry grand people--kings and queens, princes and princesses, lords and ladies. an elephant in a sudden fit of rage could kill many of them. then why do people use elephants in a circus or in a procession? why do they trust themselves with such large and strong animals? just think! "because an elephant is naturally docile and gentle," you may say. that is quite true. but still a bull elephant might get into a _sudden_ fit of rage about something, just like a naughty boy; and as a naughty boy in a sudden fit of rage might break things, so also that bull elephant might rush about and trample on people. then why do people trust themselves with elephants? think again! it is because of the _police system among the elephants themselves_. because if any elephant in a circus or a procession tried to do any mischief, even in a sudden fit of temper, all the other elephants there would prevent him! the _men_ there might not be able to prevent him; but the other _elephants_ could, and they would. nobody need tell the other elephants to do that. without being told to do so, they would rush to him, surround him, and prevent him from doing any mischief. and if only one bull elephant happened to be near enough to him at that time, he would at least head him off--that is, throw himself in the way of the angry elephant. i shall tell you a wonderful story about that presently. i have said that nobody need tell the other elephants to prevent a bad elephant from committing a crime. the other elephants would do that themselves, because _they have got into the habit of doing so in the jungle_. i must tell you that almost all the elephants you see in a zoo or a circus were once wild in the jungle; they have been caught, then tamed, then trained. but they still remember the laws of the jungle; and they follow those laws whenever necessary--just as children who get into the habit of keeping the rules of their school also form the habit of keeping the law when they grow up. so the men who use elephants allow them to practice this particular law; that is, they allow and encourage the elephants to continue this police system among themselves. from this you will understand that people do not usually use a bull elephant singly; that is, they usually use a number of bull elephants together, so that all the others would prevent a bad elephant from doing any sudden mischief. wise people who know the habits of elephants usually use a number of them at a time. but there have been many foolish people who have used a bull elephant by himself; then somebody has ill-treated that elephant, and in his rage he has done a lot of harm. that actually happened in a big zoo recently. then they had to shoot the elephant. that shows that the people at that zoo knew very little about the habits of elephants. they should have kept that elephant with a few other elephants. you may like to know how wise people in europe and america have learned the habits of elephants. they learned them from the people of india many centuries ago. the people of india first observed wild elephants in the jungle; and they discovered that the elephants had wonderful laws in their herds--which i have described to you. then the people of india caught the wild elephants, and tamed them, then trained them to do tricks and also useful work. about years ago there was a famous king in europe named alexander, who went to india. there he and his followers saw the wonderful things that the people of india had taught the elephants to do. so they brought some of these people to europe, with their elephants. that is how the people of europe first learned about the wonderful habits of elephants. in our own times, wise people who bring elephants to europe and america also bring a few men who know the habits of elephants. that is why it is such fun to watch the elephants at a circus. chapter iv the punishment of the wicked elephant now i shall tell you how naughty elephants are punished. i have already told you that if a naughty elephant attacks any other elephant in the herd, all the other bulls surround him and keep him there, till the president of the herd comes and punishes him. now i shall tell you how that is done. the bull elephants stand in a ring a few yards away from the culprit; but they all face him, so that they can watch him all the time. then the president of the herd steps into the ring, and walks toward the back of the culprit. "but if the culprit keeps turning round, so that the president cannot get behind him?" you may ask. then two of the bulls forming the ring step in; and they come and dig the culprit in the ribs with their tusks, one on the right side and the other on the left side. then the culprit cannot turn; he must stand still and take his punishment. and this is the way the punishment is given. the president gores him with his tusks on the hind quarter, just as a father spanks his naughty boy--only much harder! in fact, after two or three blows from the president's tusks, the culprit's back is very sore. how long does this punishment last? well, just about as long as the spanking of a naughty boy by his father. how long is that? "till he says he is sorry, and won't be naughty again," you may say. that is exactly what happens to the bad elephant. the president goes on goring him till he _says_ and _shows_ that he won't be wicked any more. yes, an elephant can _say_ that he won't be wicked again by whining; and he can _show_ it by the way he holds his head and trunk. you will understand that better from the story i shall now tell you. it is a true story. it is about a bad elephant in the service of men after the elephant had been tamed; but the punishment for being wicked would have been just the same if he had been a wild elephant in the jungle. _the princes and the bad elephant_ it happened a few years ago, when king george and queen mary of england went to india. at that time a young reigning prince in india had just succeeded to his father's throne. so there were many ceremonies at the palace, and festivities among the people. these functions lasted a whole week, and several elephants were used in processions. one day the elephants were taken to a place ten miles away to do useful work, such as to pile timber for building a bridge. among these elephants was one called mukna. mukna was a bad-tempered elephant. his tusks never grew more than half-size. bull elephants whose tusks do not grow to their full size are sometimes bad-tempered; they seem to have a grudge against everybody. such elephants are always treated with special kindness, as if to make up to them for their loss. but in spite of all the kindness mukna received, his temper grew worse and worse. he was punished for that, though very lightly; he was merely deprived of delicacies in his food. elephants in the service of men usually get hay, grass, and leaves to eat; but on special days they get sugar cane, bananas, and a kind of pancake, all of which are great delicacies to an elephant. mukna's keeper had deprived him of these delicacies for his bad temper, just as a naughty boy's father may deprive the boy of ice-cream. that should have been a lesson to mukna to be good. but it was not. instead, he got worse. one morning, when all the elephants were working, mukna's keeper ordered him to lift a log. mukna did not obey. he merely stood still. now, disobedience is a serious fault in an elephant--just as it is in a child. in fact, it is the beginning of all faults on earth, as the bible says. if people once allowed even an elephant to be disobedient, they could not control him any more--just as if a naughty boy were to be left unpunished for disobeying his parents or teacher, he would get worse, and disobey his superiors, and even the law, when he grew up. so mukna's keeper looked at him sternly and said, "i command you for the second time to lift that log!" but mukna would not yet obey. he merely stood still. then all the other elephants looked up from their work, just as grown-up men in a workshop look up if they hear the foreman scolding a bad workman. those other elephants knew what an awful crime disobedience was. then in a deep and stern voice mukna's keeper said to him, "i command you for the third and last time to lift that log!" but for the third time mukna refused to obey. "then you shall hear about this!" the keeper said, just as if he were talking to a disobedient workman. the keeper did not say anything more. but two of the nearest bull elephants stepped up to mukna, one on each side of him--just like a couple of policemen arresting a criminal. then a third bull came up in front of mukna, and stood with his back to him, so that all three police elephants faced the same way as mukna--as you see in the picture on page . then at the same time the three police elephants stepped _backward_, so that mukna also was forced to step backward. step by step the three police elephants went backward till mukna's hind legs came against the trunk of a tree. there mukna was held for a moment, so that he could not wriggle away. for the elephant in front prevented him from moving forward, and the tree prevented him from moving backward; and the two elephants on the sides prevented him from moving sideways. then the keeper stepped to the tree and fastened one of mukna's hind legs to the tree with a chain--so that he could not run away. the three police elephants then went back to their work. now i must tell you that in a herd in the jungle a bad elephant is punished at once by the president. but it is slightly different among elephants in the service of men, because there they have no elephant president, but a man president, who might be away at that time. that man is called the elephant master. that is just what happened when mukna was disobedient. the elephant master happened to have gone to the palace on a visit. so mukna's keeper called a messenger and sent him to the palace to report mukna's disobedience. the messenger had to ride on another elephant to go that distance. mukna saw that elephant going toward the palace with the messenger. mukna knew why! it was to fetch the elephant master, who would punish him! even a dog that has been naughty will cringe and whine at the sight of a whip, because it knows that its punishment is coming. [illustration: policemen elephants arresting a criminal elephant] but mukna did not cringe and whine. instead he became defiant--just like a very bad boy. he held up his head and curled his trunk tight in a spiral in front of his chest. in an elephant that is a sign that he is defiant or determined, just like a man who folds his arms tight across his chest. mukna was unrepentant. the messenger reached the palace and reported mukna's disobedience; and the elephant master said that he would come that afternoon to punish mukna. the reigning prince said that he also would come. as he had just ascended his throne, he wanted to teach a lesson to all criminals in his domain from the beginning of his reign, and mukna was the first to commit a crime in the prince's reign. for, i must tell you, all elephants in service in india are treated just like men; they are rewarded as good citizens or punished as criminals. so mukna was regarded as a criminal. the prince asked three other young princes, his cousins, to come with him. a young american was then staying in the palace as a guest, and he also was invited to come. that afternoon the royal party went with the elephant master to the place where the elephants were; there were about thirty bulls, besides mukna. the place was a clear space, about a hundred yards across, with a lot of trees along the sides. mukna was tied by the hind leg to one of those trees. the royal party got out of their carriages and entered the open space on foot, quite near the spot where mukna was tied up. they were not thinking of mukna just at that moment, as they were talking of the grand feasts at the palace. so they did not notice mukna at once. meanwhile mukna had been brooding all day. he knew that his punishment would come very soon. "i will do it--i will do it!" he must have been saying to himself all the time. in that way he had worked himself into a fury. when the royal party entered the open space, the young american happened to be nearest to mukna. as he had just arrived from america, he did not know much about elephants; so the young american did not notice that mukna was chained up to the tree by the hind leg, and that _he_ was the bad elephant they had come to punish. instead, the young american thought that mukna was just one of the ordinary tame elephants working there. so as the royal party happened to pass about ten yards in front of mukna, the young american stepped aside and said, "hello, i must pat you!" saying that, he raised his hand and stepped toward mukna to pat him. but meanwhile, when mukna had seen the elephant master arrive with the royal party, he knew that the moment of his punishment had come! "i will do it--i will do it!" he had kept saying before. so when the young american raised his hand, mukna suddenly made up his mind _to do it now_! mukna gave just one short trumpet. the next instant he gave a vicious tug with his hind leg--and snapped the chain! with a huge stride he came toward the american and the royal party. he would "do it" now! _he would kill them all!_ nothing could stop him from doing it, it seemed. he would knock them down and trample them to death. but meanwhile the elephant master had heard the trumpet mukna had given a moment before he broke the chain. and in an instant the elephant master realized what would happen. "run for your lives!" he shouted to the young american and the four princes. and he ran himself. but an elephant can run much faster than any man. it seemed that nothing could save those six men; they would all be trampled to death. the only direction in which they could run was toward the middle of the open space--away from mukna. even if they reached it, they would still have to run toward the trees on the far side. could they reach the trees in time? no! mukna was gaining upon them. it seemed that in a few more strides mukna would hurl himself upon them, and there was nobody to stop him. but yes--there was! for meanwhile, just as the elephant master had heard the trumpet mukna had given, all the thirty bull elephants had also heard it. most of them were too far off, near the line of trees; but there happened to be a bull a little nearer the middle of the open space. he saw at once that he could not overtake mukna, if he merely chased him. so, how could he stop mukna from murdering the six men? i shall tell you. this is what that bull elephant did. as soon as the men had started running, he saw in what direction they were going. so he turned slightly, and ran also _in that direction_. as mukna gained upon the men, he too came nearer and nearer to the men. [illustration: good elephant heading off a criminal elephant] mukna had come within three yards of the young american and the reigning prince, who were running together. "now i have got them!" mukna must have thought. one more stride, and he would trample them to death! but that instant the other bull elephant also ran close up to the two men--and hurled himself _between_ mukna and the two men. mukna's blow fell upon the bull elephant's side, and knocked him down. but mukna tripped over him, and also fell. the two elephants rolled over and over upon the ground. meanwhile the young american and the reigning prince and all the other men, ran on to safety behind the trees. when mukna regained his feet, he realized that the men he had attempted to kill had escaped. and he also realized that now his punishment would be most terrible--first for the disobedience, then for the attempted murder. so in an instant he made up his mind to run away; he would escape to the jungle and become a wild elephant once more--even if he had to be a solitary wanderer in the jungle. sometimes in the wild west of america in the past, men who had committed crimes would escape from the sheriff into the wilds and become outlaws. mukna wanted to do just that. so he turned toward the trees on the side of the open space, to run away into the jungle. but a most wonderful thing had happened. without a word of command from anyone, all the other bull elephants had stepped to the gaps between the trees, each to the gap nearest him--as they would have done when they were wild elephants in a herd, to stop a criminal among them. and all of them were now facing mukna. mukna turned to the right to find a way of escape to the jungle; but all the gaps on the right were guarded by bull elephants. mukna turned to the left; but all the gaps on the left were guarded likewise. mukna turned in all directions; but in all directions the gaps were guarded. he could not escape. then the elephant master recovered from his fright. he stepped out from behind the tree where he had hidden. for the first time he gave a command. "march!" he cried to the elephants. and the elephants marched toward mukna. they came nearer and nearer, till they formed a ring around mukna near the middle of the open space. mukna looked frantically this way and that way; but he saw a ring of elephants all round him, a dozen yards away; and the tusks of all were pointed toward him like a row of bayonets. then the elephant master and the royal party came and stood just outside the ring, at the back of the elephants. _the trial of the criminal elephant--as in a court of law_ there they held a trial, just as in a court of law. mukna was accused of two crimes: first, disobedience; second, attempted murder. a man was appointed to defend him at the trial, just as in a court of law a criminal may have a lawyer to defend him. the elephant master presided at the trial of mukna. he was the judge. when the trial began, mukna's keeper first gave evidence; that is, he said that mukna had disobeyed his order, not only once, but three times. then several other keepers came forward as witnesses, and gave evidence; that is, they said that they _saw_ mukna disobey the order. then the man who was appointed to defend mukna spoke for him; he was called the elephant counsel. the elephant counsel argued that mukna must have been ill-treated to make him disobedient. so he questioned all the keepers. but all the keepers said that mukna had not been ill-treated to make him disobedient. "he may not have been ill-treated just that minute," the elephant counsel still argued. "but was he not ill-treated before? _an elephant has a long memory; he never forgets an injury, or an act of kindness._ an elephant has been known to remember both injury and kindness for more than twenty years. then did not mukna's keeper _ever_ ill-treat him?" but all the other men who were in charge of all the elephants gave evidence that mukna's keeper had never ill-treated him; nor had anybody else ill-treated him--except that mukna had been punished before for bad temper by being deprived of delicacies in his food. so mukna had no true cause for disobeying the order that day. thus the charge of disobedience was proved against mukna. then came the second crime of which mukna was accused, namely, attempted murder. and that was very quickly proved, as everybody there had just seen that crime. so the elephant master, who was the judge, pronounced sentence of punishment on mukna. mukna was ordered to receive ten blows for the disobedience, and ten blows more for the attempted murder. _the infliction of the punishment_ now among the bull elephants forming the ring around mukna was one who had huge tusks. so the elephant master ordered him to give mukna the twenty blows. of course the elephant could not _count_ the number of blows he was to give. so the elephant master was to count for him, and tell him when to stop. the elephant who had the huge tusks stepped into the ring, and tried to get behind mukna, but mukna turned around to prevent him from doing so. then the elephant master ordered two other elephants to step into the ring. these two came and pointed their tusks at mukna's ribs on each side. so mukna could not turn. in defiance he held up his head, and curled his trunk tight before him. "hit me, if you like, but i won't give in!" he seemed to say. five blows he took from the other elephant's tusks without flinching. but at the sixth blow he stumbled forward, and fell to the ground. the elephant master stepped into the ring. "arise!" he commanded. but mukna would not rise. then the elephant master made a sign to the two bulls. they came to mukna from each side, and prodded him in the ribs with their tusks. so mukna was forced to stand up. he steadied himself and received four more blows. then at the next blow, which was the eleventh, he fell again. "arise!" the elephant master commanded. mukna again refused to arise. so the two bulls on the sides prodded him again, and forced him to arise. this time mukna stood only two more blows; then he fell again. the place where he was receiving the blows was now raw and bleeding. so the elephant master gave him a chance. "is it enough?" he asked. but mukna defiantly arose to his feet, without waiting to be prodded. and he defiantly held up his head and curled up his trunk. "you may hit me as much as you like, but i won't give in!" he seemed to say. at the next blow, which was the fourteenth, mukna again fell. he was getting weaker and weaker, and now he could not stand more than one blow at a time. seeing his weakness, the elephant master allowed him to lie there for five minutes. then he asked mukna, "is it _now_ enough?" slowly, painfully, mukna got up. he looked around with bleary, bloodshot eyes; he thought, "can i not yet escape?" but a row of tusks, like a row of bayonets, faced him on all sides. still he would not give in. with a fierce resolution he tried to curl up his trunk in defiance. he could not do so at once, but after an effort he succeeded. "i won't give in, even if i die!" he seemed to say, though he was rocking unsteadily in growing weakness. "then we shall break your obstinate spirit!" the elephant master cried. so mukna received the next blow, which was the fifteenth. he fell. but after a while he rose again in defiance, and received the sixteenth blow. then he fell in a heap. the side of his head hit the ground, and he rolled over. "is it enough at last?" the elephant master asked. he waited. three times mukna tried to raise his head in defiance, even as he lay on the ground; and three times he tried to curl up his trunk. his head went half-way up, and his trunk curled half-way. he lay on the ground just like that for a minute or two, his whole body quivering with pain and weakness. then perhaps the memory of all the kindnesses he had formerly received came back to his mind. yes, an elephant never forgets an injury, but he never forgets a kindness either. perhaps mukna remembered at that moment all the petting he had received when he was a good elephant, all the sugar-canes and bananas and pancakes--and all the rewards for being gentle and docile and obedient. and now he realized that, instead of receiving these good things, he was receiving a most terrible punishment for being wicked, and for being _obstinate in wickedness_. how foolish he was! he saw it all clearly in that moment, as he lay in shame and disgrace before all his comrades, all the other elephants. then mukna's head began to droop and droop; and his trunk began to unwind. the trunk hung loose and limp before him; and his head sank lower and lower, till it lay humbly in the dust. a low cry, almost like a moan, escaped his lips. it seemed to say, "i am sorry for being wicked and obstinate! i repent! forgive me!" immediately the elephant master gave a sign. all the other elephants fell back. their task was done. they returned to their usual work. then several of the keepers came with buckets of water, and bathed mukna's wounds. afterward they put on the wounds a poultice of herbs, to cure the wounds in due time. so mukna received only sixteen blows, instead of the twenty, because he repented of his crime. "but if he had not repented?" you may ask. then he would have received the four remaining blows later on, when he was strong enough again to receive them. for the sentence of punishment must be carried out fully, like the sentence of a court of law, unless the criminal repents. _the rogue elephant_ among wild elephants in the jungle it sometimes happens that an elephant becomes so wicked that he does not repent when he is being punished by the president of the herd. then the president gives him as many blows as he can bear; that is, till he _cannot_ rise from the ground. then he is left there to recover by himself. sometimes such an elephant goes from bad to worse. for a few months his wounds may hurt him; and so he may be on his good behavior. but afterward, when the wounds have healed completely, he may commit a fresh crime. then, of course, he is punished again. and now the place gets so sore and raw that it takes much longer to heal, and even then the place is full of scars. if he should get unruly and commit a crime once more, would he be punished just the same? yes, he would be. but i must tell you that a herd of elephants does not want a criminal among them. so after the third or fourth crime all the other elephants drive him out of the herd. then this very bad elephant meets a most awful fate. he becomes a solitary wanderer in the jungle. no other elephant will have anything to do with him. he is a _rogue elephant_. "but could he not go to another part of the jungle and join some other herd of elephants who don't _know_ that he is a rogue?" you may ask. he could. but those elephants would find out _at once_ that he had been driven out of his own herd for being a rogue. _the brand of the rogue_ how would they find that out at once? by seeing the scars of the wounds on the place where he had been repeatedly punished. those scars are _the brand of the rogue elephant_. so the new herd also would drive him out, for neither do they want a rogue among them. thus, no matter what herd the rogue elephant tried to join, he would be driven out. then he would be fated to roam the jungle by himself all his life--which is a most awful punishment. an outlaw among men has a similar fate, as he is shunned by all honest people. a rogue elephant, being the _outlaw of the jungle_, does not live long. just as an outlaw among men gets shot by the sheriff's men sooner or later, so also a rogue elephant gets shot by hunters. for, although the hunters must not shoot an ordinary wild elephant that is a member of a herd, they may shoot at sight a rogue elephant that is roaming in solitude. so, my dear children, remember that such a terrible fate comes to a rogue elephant who may have _begun_ his downward path by just one act of disobedience or some other fault--and who obstinately persisted in his wickedness, and _would not repent_. _the reward of repentance_ on the other hand, how much wiser it is to repent, even if one has been so foolish as to do wrong! mukna committed the most terrible crime--he actually tried to kill people; and then he tried to run away into the jungle and perhaps become a rogue elephant. but afterward, when he was being punished, he repented of his crimes. so, what happened? i shall tell you. mukna was put on probation for a year; that is, the keepers watched him for a year to see if he would behave well. and for the whole year mukna was on his best behavior; he was gentle and docile and obedient, and he did whatever he was ordered to do, even the hardest work. and he did that willingly, as if to prove that he had truly repented. then those very princes whom he had tried to kill felt sure that mukna had begun a new life, and would always be good in the future. so the princes took him back into favor. and today mukna wears a cloth-of-gold, with gold rings on his tusks, and he walks in a royal procession. sometimes he carries grand people on his back, and sometimes children. and no elephant is more gentle and thoughtful with little children than he is. for he actually curls the end of his trunk near the ground for them to sit upon--and then he lifts them up to his back, three at a time! chapter v flesh-eating animals: the felines, or the cat tribe so far most of the animals i have described to you are vegetarians, that is, they eat vegetables of all kinds, for even leaves, herbs, and grass may be classed as vegetables. these animals are the elephant, the buffalo, the deer, the antelope, and others. the bear is the only animal i have so far described to you (in book i) that eats both vegetables--that is, the roots of trees--and the flesh of other animals as well. but now i shall describe to you quite a different class of animals, namely, animals that eat only meat. among these animals the most important group is the cat tribe, or the _felines_, as they are sometimes called. they possess many of the qualities of the ordinary cat. the principal felines are the tiger, the lion, the leopard, the puma, and the jaguar. all felines have a special kind of fangs, tongue, claws, and paws, which i shall now describe in detail. _the feline has strong fangs_ besides the ordinary teeth, every feline has two pairs of strong fangs which look like big projecting teeth. one pair of fangs is placed on the upper jaw, pointing downward; they are wide apart. the other pair of fangs is placed in the lower jaw, pointing upward; they are not quite so far apart as the fangs of the upper jaw. why? so that the animal can close its mouth comfortably without striking the lower fangs against the upper fangs. these fangs are three to four inches long in a tiger or a lion; they are not quite so big in a leopard or other feline. the fangs of the tiger or the lion are so strong that he can hold down a heavy bullock by gripping it with his fangs. he can also drag the bullock along the ground by gripping it in that way, and can use the fangs to tear out a large piece of meat from the body of his prey. when the tiger or the lion gets a piece of meat into his mouth, he uses the upper fangs to pierce the meat: that is, the meat lies on the ordinary teeth on the under jaw, and the two fangs of the upper jaw come down on the meat and cut it into two or three pieces. the tiger or the lion could chew the meat a little more, with the help of his ordinary teeth, but he does not need to. every animal of the cat tribe has a strong digestion; so the tiger or the lion merely cuts up the meat a few times with his fangs and then swallows it. _the feline's tongue is rough_ a feline's fangs, however, are too big to tear off _small_ pieces of meat from a bone. so it uses its _tongue_ to scrape off the small pieces of meat. that is the reason why a feline's tongue is very rough. so again you see, as i told you in book i, that every animal has the gift it needs. if the feline did not have a rough tongue, it could not eat the small pieces of meat on a bone; and so a portion of its food would be wasted. no inhabitant of the jungle wastes food. it is only _we_ who waste food. _the feline's claws are retractile_ the claws of every feline are _retractile_. that is, the claws can be _drawn in_, or sheathed, whenever the animal desires; also, the claws can be thrust out, whenever the animal desires to do that. why is it necessary for a feline to be able to do both--to draw in its claws, and to thrust them out? because when the animal needs food, it must thrust out the claws to seize it. but in just running about in the jungle, it does not need to use its claws; so it draws them in. in fact, if it did not draw in its claws then, the claws would soon be worn out by rubbing against the ground. and even if the claws were growing all the time, they would be also wearing off all the time. so to keep the claws sharp for use only when the animal wants to seize something, it keeps the claws drawn in at other times. here i ought to tell you that a dog's claws are quite different from the claws of a feline, even from those of an ordinary cat. the cat's claws are of course retractile, as i have just described to you. but a dog's claws are _rigid_; that is, they are stiff and thrust out all the time. why? because the dog does not use its claws. it seizes its food with its mouth, not with its claws. it even defends itself with its mouth, that is, with its teeth. but a feline uses its claws to seize its food, and even to defend itself. you may have noticed that even an ordinary cat defends itself with its claws. when a dog chases a cat and corners it, the cat turns and defends itself with its claws. once upon a time, many, many hundred years ago, the dog did use its claws; they were then retractile. but the dog stopped using its claws; then they became rigid. the dog lost the power of drawing in its claws. in our own bodies, if we do not use a particular gift for a long time, we lose the power of using that gift. when we are born, our left hand is just as good as our right hand. but because we do not use the left hand much in doing things, we lose the power of using it quite as well as we use the right hand. little boys and girls should practice using the left hand. then if by some accident the right hand is lost, they would not be quite helpless. as for the felines, they retain the full power of their claws by constant use. so, because the claws are very useful, every feline takes care of its claws,--especially the tiger. why, _the tiger cleans his claws every day_! in the jungle there are many trees that have a soft bark. so the tiger goes to one of these trees every day, and digs his claws into the bark. then he draws his claws sideways along the bark, and that cleans out the claws. the tigress also cleans her claws every day in the same manner. some little boys and girls do not clean their nails every day. then sometimes a piece of dirt gets in under a nail and causes a sore. but the tiger and tigress are wiser. if part of a piece of meat that they have torn up were to remain under a claw, it would fester and cause a sore. so the tiger and tigress clean their claws every day. _the feline has padded paws_ the paws of every feline have also a special quality. the under part of each paw is thickly padded with powerful muscles. that gives the feline three advantages. first advantage: it enables the feline to _stalk_ its prey. that is, the feline can creep up to its prey quite silently. as its paws are padded, they make no sound on the ground--just as your footfall makes no sound when you wear rubbers over your shoes. second advantage: the padded paw enables the feline to strike down its prey with a severe blow. when it wants to strike down its prey, the feline hardens the muscles under its paw; the blow of its paw is then something like that of a hammer. a tiger has often been known to smash the skull of a buffalo with a single blow of its paw. third advantage: the padded paws enable a feline to leap farther. after a feline has crept up as near to its prey as it can, it has still to leap upon its prey to seize it. then the muscles under the paws act like springs, and enable the feline to give a big leap. even in running, the muscles act somewhat like springs. you must have noticed that, in running, a dog _gallops_, but a cat _bounds_. that is, the dog moves its legs very quickly, but each space of ground it covers is not very long. a cat moves its legs not quite so quickly, but the space of ground it covers at each bound is much longer. the cat and all felines can give a bigger bound because of the muscles under their paws. having told you all the qualities common to animals of the cat tribe, i shall now describe some of these animals in detail. chapter vi the tiger the tiger lives in most of the countries along the south coast of asia, that is, all the way from persia to china. some tigers are also found in the northern countries of asia, such as siberia; but there are very few of them there. and, of course, these few tigers in the cold northern countries of asia are a little different from those in the hot southern countries. for the tigers in the cold countries have thick fur on their skin, and a layer of fat under their skin--just to keep them warm. so they are too fat to be as muscular and active as the slim and lithe tigers that live in the hot countries in the south of asia. now please remember one thing more about the dwelling place of the tiger: _there is no tiger in africa_. even clever people do not always know that. when ex-president roosevelt went on a hunting trip to africa a few years ago, he shot many wild and ferocious animals there, and some newspapers said that he had shot several tigers. that was a mistake. the animals that he shot were leopards, not tigers. you can at once tell the difference between a leopard and a tiger: a leopard is _spotted_, but a tiger is _striped_. i shall tell you all about that presently. even as regards the habits and character of the tiger, people often make mistakes. there is no animal that has been so much abused as the tiger. most people call the tiger a "cruel" and "bloodthirsty" animal. but that is not true. by "bloodthirsty" people usually mean that the tiger kills his prey for the mere sake of killing, and that he kills more animals than he can eat, just for the mere fun of killing. that is not true. a tiger is not really "bloodthirsty" in that way, as i shall explain to you presently. a tiger never kills for the mere fun of killing. some men and some naughty boys do that! they think it great sport to kill harmless wild animals, which they cannot possibly eat or use in any way; and some naughty boys kill frogs and lizards and other small animals, just for the mere "fun" of killing, as they call it. [illustration: tiger] a tiger never does that--and he is supposed to be the worst animal of all! for one thing, a tiger is not such a fool as to kill his prey for the mere sake of killing. men formerly ate the flesh of the american bison, or buffalo, as it was generally called. but then they killed off whole herds of these buffaloes. so now there are no more buffaloes left for food in those places. a tiger is wiser. he does not destroy his own food supply needlessly. people are also wrong when they say that a tiger is "cruel," and that he tortures his prey before killing it outright. that is not true of the tiger. in fact, hardly any animal is _needlessly_ cruel, as some men and naughty boys are--for instance, naughty boys who torture frogs and lizards and then kill them. it is true that a _tigress_ does worry her prey before killing it. but why does she do so? simply to teach her cubs how to catch and kill the prey, so as to provide food for themselves when they grow up. i shall explain that fully presently. so please remember this once for all: hardly any animal is _needlessly_ cruel or bloodthirsty. "but a cat does worry a mouse, before killing it," you may object. "is not that needless cruelty?" that seems quite true. but there is a reason for it: the cat first began to do that to teach her kittens how to catch mice, when she was a wild animal in the fields. once upon a time the cat was a wild animal, but now people have tamed it into a domestic animal. so the cat still retains some of its wild habits. but you will understand all that when i tell you more fully about the tiger, which is the largest and strongest animal of the cat tribe. _the life history of the tiger family_ i shall describe to you the actual life of a tiger family in the jungle. a tiger family consists of the father, the mother, and from two to four cubs. three is the usual number of children that a tiger and tigress have. when the cubs are only a few days old, they are quite helpless. so the mother stays with them in the den, while the father goes in search of food. the den is usually a hollow under a large tree. if the father tiger catches a prey which he can carry, such as a deer, he brings it home with him. then he and the tigress eat it together. but if the prey is too large to carry, such as a bullock or a buffalo? then the tiger first eats a good portion right after catching it. then he comes home to the den and sends out the tigress to eat her share, while he stays home in the den and takes care of the cubs. but here is something for you to think of. in sending the tigress out to eat her share of the prey, the tiger must _tell_ her where the prey is lying; otherwise she might go the wrong way. why? because the prey might be lying a mile or more from the den, so that she could not possibly trace it merely by its _scent_. and the prey might have been caught in any direction, especially if the tiger had to chase it or stalk it for a long distance. so nobody could tell beforehand in what direction a tiger might catch its prey. the tigress could not merely follow the tiger's _paw marks_ to get to the prey, as the tiger may have gone out several times that day or the day before; and so there would be several lines of paw marks, and she would have to search very long by following all the paw marks in turn. yet she always takes the right direction, and gets to the prey quickly. hunters in the jungle have found that out. how does she do it? the only way to explain it is this--the tiger _tells_ her where the prey has been caught and is now lying. that is what hunters believe from the actual facts they have observed. then that shows that animals have a method of communicating with one another. of course they do not use _our_ words. they must have words or sounds, or even signs, of their own. now i shall go on with the tiger family. the cubs, of course, drink their mother's milk. they do that till they are three months old. but meanwhile, when they are six weeks old, they can walk and trot. they are then very playful, and they leap and gambol and tumble over one another. they are then able to go about with their father and mother for a short distance. so if food gets scarce for the tiger and tigress, they leave their old den altogether, and go to live elsewhere in the jungle where food may be more plentiful. in this house-moving the cubs can trot behind their father and mother for a mile or two. then, for fear of tiring the cubs, the tiger and tigress scoop a hollow under a tree, and place them there. the tiger and tigress go on ahead till they find the new home. then they come back to fetch the cubs. if the cubs are now two months old, the father and mother need have no fear in leaving them for a few hours. so in their new home the tigress may go hunting with the tiger every day. if food gets very scarce, the tiger goes out alone for a long distance for two or three days at a time. in his absence, the tigress makes a short trip from time to time in another direction, in case any other kind of food may by chance be found there. tigers prefer to eat deer or antelope, just as you may prefer to eat roast turkey. but if tigers cannot get deer or antelope, they have to catch a bullock or a buffalo--which is just plain beef! as even that may be scarce, tigers have to be satisfied with the wild pigs, which are plentiful in the jungle,--that is, just pork! as a change now and again, they may have mutton, because there are also wild sheep and wild goats in the jungle. but when the tiger and tigress are both away from the den in search of food, are the cubs quite safe in the den? they usually are, after they are two months old, when they are as big as house dogs; and, until then, either the tiger or the tigress stays with them all the time. when the cubs are two months old, they may stay by themselves in the den; then a wolf or a hyena may perhaps come to the den, and try to kill one of the cubs; but all the cubs would stand together, facing the enemy, and would defend themselves. they would change at once from being playful like kittens; they would become little tigers in their nature. and woe to the wolf or hyena when the mother returns! she would know at once by the cubs' actions that they had been annoyed. then the tigress would track down the intruder and kill it. at the age of three months the cubs can eat meat, but they cannot chew it as yet, as their teeth are only beginning to grow. so the mother chews the meat for them. if she or the tiger has caught a deer, she chooses the tenderest part of the meat, and chews it into mincemeat. then she puts a little of it into the mouth of each cub. she does that several times, till the cubs have had enough to eat. when the cubs are four months old, their teeth have grown enough to enable them to feed entirely by themselves--but only on very tender meat. _the tiger's family dinner_ it is very interesting to watch a tiger family having their dinner. i may remind you again that some hunters who go into the jungle sometimes hide in trees and watch the family life of different animals. so this is what they have observed at the tiger's family dinner. suppose that the tiger has brought home a blue deer, which is a great delicacy among tigers. he drops the blue deer in front of the den. he and the tigress lie down and watch the cubs, who eat first. the tiger or the tigress will not tell the cubs which portion of the deer is the tenderest; they must find that out by themselves. that will be their _first lesson_ in life. so the tiger and tigress keep aside, and see what their children do. one of the cubs makes a sudden grab at a leg of the deer, and tries to tear out a mouthful; but to its disgust the cub finds that it cannot bite the leg of the deer at all. i suppose then the father tiger gives a sort of wink at the mother tigress; at any rate, the tiger and tigress just look on, and say nothing. then another cub has a bite; perhaps it tries the back of the deer's neck. but this cub also finds to its disgust that its teeth will not go through the meat there. in this way the cubs jump about the deer, and try to bite it in different parts. they get more and more disgusted; but still the father tiger and mother tigress say nothing. then at last one of the cubs dives in, and makes a grab at the _throat_ of the deer--and to its delight it finds that the meat there is quite tender, and that it can tear out a piece very easily. of course that cub eats it quite greedily, and then has several more mouthfuls. but then-- "you have had enough!" says its father. "give brother and sister a chance!" of course the father tiger does not say that in _our_ words; and he need not say it in any kind of words. he just comes to that cub and tumbles it over with a gentle pat. then the other cubs come to the throat of the deer, and have their dinner also. as there is not sufficient meat there to satisfy all of them, they soon find that the under part of the deer is also tender enough for them to eat. the father tiger and mother tigress eat last, when all the children are satisfied. the tiger and tigress of course can eat any kind of meat, so they eat the legs of the deer. and if it is a deer of ordinary size, the tiger family finishes it altogether at one meal! so you see how kind the tiger and tigress are to their children. suppose that among us there was a family of five people, father and mother, and three children; and suppose they were having a turkey dinner. then if the father and mother were as kind to their children as the tiger and tigress are, they would give to their children the breast and all the nicest titbits of the turkey--and after that the father and mother would eat what remained of the turkey. that shows that a tiger is an affectionate father, whatever faults he may have. among animals, the mothers, of course, are nearly always affectionate to their children; but very often the fathers are not. in fact, among some kinds of animals in the jungle, the fathers do not care much for their children; they desert them. but the tiger is different; he is usually a good father. that is an important thing to remember. it shows that even if an animal is supposed to be very bad generally, it may yet have some special virtues of its own. that is a lesson for us. we may know people who are supposed to be bad; but even then we should try to find out if they have some good quality. chapter vii the tiger cubs' lessons do tiger children have lessons? of course they have! almost all animal children have. you will remember the lessons in book i which the elephant child had to learn. in the same manner other animal children must learn how to make a living in the jungle, and also how to avoid dangers. among tiger children, their lessons begin even when the father and mother are providing them with the food; for, as i have just told you, the children must learn at least which part of the meat to eat, and which not to eat. but the most important thing they have to learn is how to catch the prey, and how to kill it for themselves--that is, how to provide their own food. their parents teach them to do that gradually from time to time, in many lessons. _tiger cubs learn to kill prey, after their parents have caught it_ as they are not yet big enough to _catch_ the prey, they are first taught how to _kill_ the prey, after their father or mother has caught it alive for them. and that is another wonder of the jungle, and another good quality of the tiger. if the tiger catches a deer, even the largest kind of deer, he could kill it at one blow, so as to eat it at once. but if the tiger is the father of a young family, he thinks of his family all the time; he remembers that he must not only provide his young children with food, but he must also _teach them their lessons_. so when he finds a big red stag, he jumps upon it, but he does not kill it outright. instead, he merely breaks its hind legs, so that the stag cannot run away. then he calls the cubs and the mother tigress. the tiger and tigress stand aside, and tell their children to kill the stag. they will not at first show the children how to do it. the children must try first to find that out for themselves. so the cubs first prowl around the stag, and try to seize it anywhere. but the cubs cannot get their teeth deep enough into the stag's body; and as the stag is still alive, it shakes them off. the cubs try to seize the stag at other parts of its body, but each time they fail to hold on; instead, the stag shakes them off. and if the cubs dare to come in front of the stag, the stag can still use its antlers to drive them off. then how can the tiger cubs manage to seize the prey at all with their teeth? well, one of the cubs may remember the very first lesson it had several weeks before: that was to eat the _throat_ of the prey, because it was the softest part--as i have already described to you. so it remembers that the throat is the softest part. then that cub comes to the side of the stag, makes a sudden plunge downward, and seizes it by the throat. even then the stag tries to shake off the cub--but the other two cubs then come to their brother's help; they also seize the stag by the throat, one from each side. thus the three cubs begin to _worry_ the prey, that is, they shake it, and pull it, while their father and mother watch them. the prey holds up its head and struggles, but gets more and more exhausted with the weight of the three cubs. at last the prey is unable to hold up its head any more. its head sinks to the ground. then the three cubs kill it easily. _tiger cubs take part in hunt to catch prey_ when the cubs are six months old, they can take part in the actual hunt for the prey. so they go into the jungle with their father and mother. when they sight the prey, the cubs stay a little behind, while the father and mother stalk the prey. suppose the prey is an antelope. you will remember what i told you in book i, that an antelope looks like a deer; but it is a little different from a deer, because an antelope has horns, and a deer has antlers. well, the tiger creeps around to the side, then more and more around, till he gets behind the antelope. meanwhile the tigress creeps around the opposite way. so when the tiger makes a sudden jump at the antelope, and the antelope tries to run away in either direction, the tiger or the tigress is there to catch it. and meanwhile the cubs also have crept nearer and nearer, hiding behind shrubs and bushes. they can take part in catching the prey by preventing it from escaping in their direction. _tiger cubs learn to catch prey by themselves_ "but when do the tiger cubs actually learn to _catch_ the prey?" you may ask. well, that takes a little longer to learn. for when the cubs have learned to catch different kinds of prey--wild pigs, wild sheep, wild goats, deer, antelope, cattle--their education is almost finished, just as in the case of a boy who has learned to earn his living in several different ways. so it takes the tiger cubs at least the next four months, from the age of six months to ten months, to learn to catch different kinds of prey, as i shall now describe to you. in the beginning the cubs learn by example; that is, they watch and see how their father or mother catches the prey. some kinds of prey are very easy to catch, such as wild pigs or wild sheep, as they cannot run fast, and are also very stupid. a tiger can just rush at a wild pig or a wild sheep, and catch it. so the cubs soon learn to do the same. and as i have already told you that wild pigs and wild sheep are the usual food of tigers, the cubs soon learn to earn their _ordinary_ living. but then they have to learn a little more difficult lesson--to catch animals which are not so easily caught; and these animals supply them with a more tasty kind of food than just pork or mutton. these animals may be divided into two classes. first, the prey may be weak, but it can run fast--even faster than the tiger. the deer and the antelope belong to this class. the second class of prey is just the opposite; it is strong, but it cannot run fast--at least, not as fast as the tiger. buffaloes, bullocks, and all kinds of cattle belong to this class. in catching these two different kinds of prey, the tiger or the tigress uses different methods. first i shall describe to you how a tiger catches an animal of the first kind, that is, an animal that is weak, but which can run faster than the tiger, such as a deer. can you think how the tiger does that? he cannot _chase_ the deer and run it down in the open country, because the deer can run faster than the tiger. "the tiger can hide in the tall grass near a river, and wait for a deer to come to drink," you may say. "then the tiger can jump on it." that is quite true. and the black stripes on the tiger's yellow body make him appear very much like the tall grass where he is hiding. so the deer does not notice the tiger, and it often comes quite close to the tiger to drink--and then the tiger jumps on it and catches it. but a tiger may also catch a deer by _stalking_ it. if he sees a deer browsing at a distance, he tries to creep quietly toward the deer. he hides behind bushes and thickets every few minutes, then he creeps on again toward the deer. he does that very cleverly. if the deer is bent on feeding, the tiger creeps on for a few yards. but if for a moment the deer stops feeding, the tiger hides at once. in this manner the tiger sometimes creeps to within a few yards of the deer. then he gives a sudden spring and falls on the deer. if he cannot approach the deer near enough to fall on it with just a spring, he first makes a swift rush and _then_ he gives the spring. when a tiger or a tigress is teaching the cubs to stalk a prey in that manner, the cubs of course stay in the rear and hide behind a bush, and from there they watch. so they see how their father or mother stalks the prey--as i have just described to you. of course, they have to watch their father or mother several times before they learn that lesson fully. now i shall tell you how a tiger catches prey of the other kind--that is, an animal that is strong, but which cannot run fast, such as a bullock. the tiger comes toward the prey from the side or from the back, but never from the front. why? because the prey has horns, and if the tiger tried to attack it from the front, the prey would gore the tiger with its horns and perhaps kill the tiger. so the tiger creeps toward the prey from the side or the back. as the prey cannot run very fast, the tiger does not trouble to stalk it all the way. instead, the tiger creeps up to within a hundred yards of the prey; then he gives a number of quick rushes, till he reaches the prey. and he is always careful to reach the prey from the side or the back. "but if the prey turns in time and faces the tiger with its horns?" you may ask. then the tiger turns also. he dodges from side to side. a tiger can always turn faster than any horned cattle. a tiger may even come to within a few yards of the prey, and jump clear over it! then on landing on the ground, the tiger can turn at once and reach the prey from the side. then he gives a quick blow with his paw on the neck of the prey. one blow is usually enough to stun the prey and knock it down. sometimes the prey is so frightened when it first sees the tiger, that it does not try to face the tiger with its horns at all. instead, the prey stands trembling with terror, and lets the tiger come right up to it from the side. then the tiger gets up on his hind legs, places one paw on the prey's shoulder, and with the other paw he gives a terrific blow on its neck. but if the prey is not too frightened, and it struggles when the tiger is trying to strike it, then the tiger uses a different method. he plunges downward and seizes the prey from underneath by the _throat_. he plants his hind legs firmly on the ground, a little bit away from the side of the prey. in that way he gets a little more "leverage," as it is called. you have seen a man tilt a heavy box over on its side by placing a crowbar under it, then lifting up the crowbar. well, the tiger acts somewhat like that. while still holding the prey by its throat in his jaws, he gives a sudden jerk upward with his head. in that way the prey loses its balance and topples over on its side, just like the box. when the tiger or the tigress is teaching the cubs to catch horned cattle in these different ways, the cubs of course stay a little behind and watch how their father or mother does it. so in every case, as you will understand, the tiger cubs have to learn from their parents how to get their living in the jungle. chapter viii the tigress mother's special duties so far i have described to you how the tiger cubs learn the lessons of the jungle from their father and mother. but sometimes they have to learn some of their lessons from their mother alone. food may be scarce in that part of the jungle. a tiger family eats so much that even if they catch a large wild pig or a deer every day, it will hardly provide more than a single meal for a tiger, a tigress, and two or three growing cubs. and as they do not usually catch prey every day, the family eats only about two or three times a week. when the cubs are from six to ten months old and need more and more food, one prey at a time is not enough to provide for the whole family--if they all live together. so it is better for the family that the father should go away and catch his own food, while the mother catches food for herself and the cubs. but before going to earn his living elsewhere, the tiger takes his family to the _easiest_ hunting ground there is near their jungle, where there is at least some kind of prey to catch. then the tiger himself goes to a more difficult hunting ground. so even in that a tiger is kind to his family, and he does the best he can for them. at first he returns to the family every few days; i suppose he does that to see how they are getting along in his absence. by that time the cubs have learned most of their lessons, and the mother tigress continues the lessons during the tiger's absence. but after the cubs are ten months old, they have learned all their lessons; they only need to _practice_ what they have learned. as they can do that with their mother, they do not need their father any more. so the tiger then goes on his travels to distant parts. as the cubs practice with their mother the different ways of catching and killing the prey, she must provide them with many chances of doing so. it is then that she helps the cubs to kill more animals than they can eat. that is why people give the tiger a bad name and call him a "bloodthirsty" animal. it is not he at all, but the tigress mother. and she helps to kill a large number of animals only at this time--when she must provide her cubs with the chance of practicing their lessons. the tiger cubs do not need even their mother when they are two years old. by that time they are quite able to get their own living by catching every kind of prey. but still they usually stay on with their mother for about six months more. then they leave their mother, and roam the jungle alone, each cub separately. but each cub still continues to grow in _size_ till the age of four years. a male tiger may even grow in _strength_ till he is six years old. but you may want to know if a tiger family ever meet again after they have all separated. that may sometimes happen. it may be in the dry season, when nearly all the water in the jungle is dried up. then by some wonderful instinct _all_ the animals in the different parts of that dry region know that there may be one place where there is water. so a general migration begins toward that place; that is, _all_ the animals begin to travel to that place with their families. these animals may start from different places a hundred miles apart, and yet after a few days they will get to that same water hole. of course they do not all reach it on the same day; but many of the animals stay near there for a few days, till the rain comes and there is water in other places. so it does happen that a tiger family may meet again at the water hole, and then there is a happy reunion among them. _the truce of the water hole_ but the tiger family must not kill a prey at the water hole. and all other flesh-eating animals--lions and leopards, and wolves and hyenas--must also abstain from killing prey there. hundreds of pigs and sheep and deer may have come to drink at the water hole--- and every flesh-eating animal must abstain from killing any one of the pigs or sheep or deer. this "truce of the water hole" is one of the greatest wonders of the jungle. it means that in other parts of the jungle there may be a kind of war, because flesh-eating animals may kill and eat their prey, but when all the different animals meet to quench their thirst at the water hole, there must be no war--no killing, no fighting. there must be peace at that place while the different animals are there. at the water hole the tiger and the lamb may drink together in peace; and hungry as the tiger may be, he must not hurt the lamb. and the wonder of it is that the tiger knows that law, and always keeps it. likewise all other flesh-eating animals always keep that law; they never hurt even the weakest and most timid animal at the water hole. they all feel that they have come there for a greater need than _hunger_--they have come there to quench their _thirst_; and the pain of thirst is greater than the pain of hunger. they feel that the pain of thirst is common to them all; that is, they all suffer from that pain. different animals _eat_ different things; but they must all _drink water_. and in that fellow feeling there is peace among them all. my dear children, let me impress this upon your minds, while you are still young. when you grow up, you may sometimes be tempted to doubt that an all-merciful providence watches over us. then remember these wonders of the jungle that i have described to you. and remember especially the water hole, where all animals are like brothers, where even the tiger and the lamb drink and lie down together in peace. chapter ix the special qualities of tiger and tigress now i am going to tell you a few more things about the tiger, from which you will realize what a wonderful animal he is. first, the tiger's _size_. the finest specimen of the tiger is the royal bengal tiger. such a tiger, when full grown, is sometimes seven feet long, without including the tail; the tail is usually half as long as the body. the tigress is slightly smaller. in height a bengal tiger often measures three and a half feet from the shoulder to the ground; so his head would be more than four feet from the ground. hence, if you take his length into account, you will understand that the tiger is really the largest feline or animal of the cat tribe. i do not think that you have often seen a really large tiger in the zoo. most of the tigers in a zoo were caught as cubs; that is, the mother or the father was shot by hunters, and the cubs were captured alive. now, just think. if a human child were locked up in a room all his life, without any exercise, then he would be very stunted and small, even when he had reached the age of a man. so a tiger cub, brought up in a cage all its life, never grows to its proper size. for this reason most of the tigers in a zoo are much smaller than those tigers that grow up in the jungle. the most wonderful thing about the tiger is his strength; he is the strongest animal of the cat tribe. that is proved by the way in which he carries his prey. if the prey be a deer or a man, he seizes the prey in his jaws by the middle of the body--just as a cat seizes a mouse! and the tiger carries such a prey in that manner to his den, which may be more than a mile away. but a heavy animal, such as a cow, he carries in a different manner. yes, a tiger _carries_ away a cow; he does not merely _drag_ it along the ground, as a lion does. this is the way the tiger carries a cow, after killing it: he first seizes the cow in his jaws by the back of its neck. then he rears up on his hind legs and swings the cow over his shoulder on to his back--just as a man swings a loaded sack on to his back. then the tiger stands on all four legs again, and trots along with his burden. of course, he still holds the neck of the cow in his jaws, just as the man carrying the sack holds the upper end of the sack in his hand. i shall now finish with tigers by telling you three stories,--true stories, of course. from these stories you will understand that tigers and tigresses sometimes have the same kind of feelings that _we_ have. _both tiger and tigress defend their cubs_ i have told you that in a tiger family, when the cubs are very young, they must be guarded all the time by either their father or their mother. one day it happened that a tiger had killed a bullock. as he could not carry it to his den, he first ate enough of the bullock to satisfy his hunger. then he came home to his den, and sent the tigress out to eat her share, while he guarded their two cubs in the den. but three english officers had gone hunting in the jungle, each of them on an elephant; and it so happened that they came toward the tiger's den. the three hunters saw the tiger and the two cubs he was guarding. the hunters knew that if they killed the tiger they could catch the two cubs alive. so they fired their guns at once at the tiger; and as they were then only about a hundred yards away, they all hit the tiger. now, if the tiger had not had the cubs to defend, there would not have been much of a fight. why? because, as i shall tell you later, it usually takes much more than three hunters on three elephants to hunt one tiger. each of the three wounds the tiger got might have killed or disabled any other wild animal; but instead, the three wounds together only made the tiger furious. if he had been alone, he would have come like a flash of lightning at the nearest elephant, leaped upon its back, and killed the hunter on it--before the hunter could shoot again. of course, the other two hunters could then kill the tiger; but the tiger would at least have killed _one_ of the hunters. that is exactly what the tiger would have done, if he had been alone. but the tiger had his children to defend. he must try to guard them as well as he could. so he just took one of the cubs in his mouth--as you have seen a cat take up her kitten--and leaped with the cub over a thicket and hid the cub there. then he leaped back to the den to take away the second cub. that gave the three hunters enough time to load and take aim again. so all three of the hunters fired at the tiger again, just as he was lifting up the second cub; and the bullets went through his heart. if he had been any other animal, he would have dropped dead right there. but a tiger lives about three seconds after he _ought_ to be dead; and in those three seconds he can give just one leap and kill anything. but the hunters were beyond his reach. so he gave that one leap toward them, and tore up the ground instead, as he could not tear up the men; then he agreed to lie down and be truly dead. the three hunters got down from their elephants and came to the den. they found that one of the last bullets had passed right through the tiger's body, and had killed the cub he was trying to carry to safety. the hunters were sorry that the cub had been killed. so they searched for the first cub, which the tiger had hidden behind the thicket. they found the cub and took it with them. [illustration: tiger protecting his cub] the hunters mounted their elephants and came back to their tent, where they had been staying. they put a dog's steel collar around the neck of the cub, and tied him up to the tent post by a chain. the cub was so frightened and helpless that it lay down on the ground and was very quiet. the three men sat down in the tent and chatted for a while. suddenly they heard a terrible roar outside. they snatched up their guns, but they could not tell from which side the roar came--just as when you hear a terrible clap of thunder close by, you cannot tell from which side the thunder comes. and hearing this roar, the cub jumped up and yelped in answer; and he tugged at his chain furiously. he had become a little tiger in his nature. suddenly a huge yellow form shot into the tent. it was a tigress. she seized the cub's collar in her mouth, and snapped the chain with a tug, like a piece of thread. the next second she leaped out of the tent with the cub, and vanished. and the three men had not had time to aim a gun. none of them really wished to. yes, she was the mother of the cub. when she had returned home from dinner, she had found her home broken up--her husband killed, one of her children killed, and the other child stolen. so, all that she could do was to regain her lost child by tracing it by its scent. this she did. she regained her cub even by facing the same guns that had killed her husband. for a tigress mother, like any other mother in the jungle, will face death to save her child. _the tiger family's lost dinner_ now i shall tell you another true story. it will show you what sort of a husband and father in everyday life a tiger is. near a jungle there was a river. at a special place in the river there was a bend. it was a good place for fishing, as the water there had plenty of fish. one afternoon two men went to fish there with fishing rods. as there was a jungle about a mile from the place, the men took their guns with them, in case any wild animals came from the jungle to attack them. after a time one of the men hooked a fish. it must have been a big fish, as it tugged at the line furiously. the man who had hooked the fish had to run along the bank of the river to _play_ the fish, while his friend kept shouting to him to advise him what to do. in this way both the men were busy, and forgot to think of anything else. suddenly they saw a flash of yellow. it came straight from a bush toward the man who had hooked the fish. it was a tiger! the tiger must have stalked the two men silently from the jungle; and in that way he must have crept up to the bush, while the two men were busy trying to land the fish. the tiger gave a rush and a leap, and fell upon the man who had hooked the fish. he grabbed the man and leaped back with him into the bush, before the other man could snatch up his gun and take aim to save his friend. now you will remember what i told you: that a tiger carries a man in his jaws just as a cat carries a mouse; that is, the tiger holds the man by the middle of his body, about the waist. luckily the man was wearing a waistband of thick cloth; so the tiger's fangs did not hurt the man very severely, as the fangs happened to bite the thick waistband. but still the man had been stunned by the shock when the tiger had leaped upon him. and the tiger thought that he had killed the man outright. that was very lucky for the man--as you will understand presently. the man regained his senses while the tiger was still carrying him. he knew at once that he was in the jaws of a tiger. that is perhaps the most terrible danger for a man to be in. few men have ever been in the very jaws of a tiger in the heart of the jungle--and yet have escaped. the man knew that, and so he was terribly frightened. but life is so precious that one must never despair of saving his life. if you are in the most terrible danger, _you must never give up hope_. you must try to find some way of escape. so the man began thinking, even while the tiger was carrying him. he made up his mind at once. he must pretend to be dead. so he did not move or make the least bit of sound. even then he did not see how he could escape, as the tiger would soon start _eating_ him! but still he would not despair. the tiger carried the man to his den in the jungle. the den was just a hollow in the ground under a large tree. the tiger dumped the man into the hollow. the man thought his end had now come. he could not escape from right in front of the tiger's eyes. and he thought that the tiger would start eating him at once. even though he was really alive, the tiger would eat him just the same. but, to his surprise, the tiger did not start eating him at once. instead, the tiger looked around, and gave a purr, and then a growl. what did that mean? the man could not tell. then the tiger just flung upon the man some of the sand from the side of the hollow. the man understood _that_: the tiger was trying to hide or _cache_ his food--as some wild animals do. but luckily the tiger only flung the sand loosely over the man, just enough to cover him; he did not quite bury the man; or else the man might have been smothered. then the tiger ran off into the jungle. the man was puzzled to know what the tiger meant by that. but you may be sure the man did not wait to work out the puzzle in his mind. instead, he jumped up from the hollow. here was his chance to escape! but he was afraid to run far; for the tiger might return at any moment and catch him again. so the man just climbed up the tree under which the den was. and he went up the tree as high as he could, and hid himself among the leaves. after a while he heard a sound below, at a little distance. he looked down and saw the tiger returning. but now there was a tigress with him, and two cubs. then the man understood the puzzle. when the tiger had brought home the dinner, he had found that his wife and children were out. so he waited a while; and as they still did not come home, he first looked around for them, and then he gave a loud _call_ to his family to come to dinner. that was the purr and growl he gave. as they still did not come home, the tiger just hid the dinner to keep it safe, and then he went out to _fetch_ his family home to dinner. but when he did fetch them, the dinner had run away! then the tiger family set up such a wail and lament over the lost dinner! "i felt quite sorry for them," said the man up in the tree, afterward. "they kept up the wailing and growling and lamenting for a long time. only, as it was _i_ who was to have been the tigers' dinner, i wasn't so very sorry that the dinner had escaped!" meanwhile, the other man who had been fishing with him had run to the nearest village. the villagers got together a herd of bull buffaloes, and started tracking the tiger by the paw marks he had made on the ground. in this way the villagers brought the bull buffaloes to the tiger's den. the bull buffaloes soon drove away the tiger family. the villagers expected to see only the man's bones or half-eaten body. but still they had come to make quite sure of the man's fate. what was their delight, then, to hear a shout, as soon as the tiger family had been driven away! the shout came from the tree. it was from the man who had been carried away by the tiger. you may be quite sure that he was very glad to climb down and go home with the villagers. now, my dear children, i have told you this story--and it is a true story--for two reasons. first, it shows you that you must never give up hope, even in the worst danger. if a man can escape from the very jaws of a tiger in the heart of the jungle, he may be able to escape from other dangers. the second thing i want you to learn is that, bad as he is supposed to be, a tiger is really a good husband and a good father, even in ordinary everyday life. when he had earned the dinner, and had brought it home, he found that his family was out. he might have started eating the dinner himself. instead, he waited for his family to return, then he called out to them, and then he went to fetch them--without eating a bite himself. how many _men_ would do that? _the tiger as a heroic husband_ now i shall tell you another true story, which will show you in a different manner what a wonderful animal the tiger is. it is the story of a great tiger hunt. a few years ago prince henry of orleans was one of the greatest hunters in the world. he had hunted lions and wild elephants in africa, and also other big wild animals. then he went to india, hoping to hunt tigers. there he was the guest of a rajah, that is, a sort of king. so the rajah arranged a tiger hunt for prince henry. in a jungle near by there were many wild animals. on the north side of the jungle there was a shallow ravine, only about ten feet deep, and as wide as a street. the ravine started from the jungle and went northward. beyond the jungle the ravine ran for only about a hundred yards; beyond that the ground was level again. it was right there on the level ground, in front of the ravine, that the rajah placed the hunters. the hunters were mounted on thirty elephants, two hunters on each elephant; so there were sixty hunters altogether. the two hunters on each elephant sat in a kind of big box, called a _howdah_. the box was tied fast on the elephant's back with strong ropes passed all round the elephant. meanwhile about a thousand men started toward the jungle from the fields on the south side of the jungle. as they came near the jungle, the men made a loud noise with drums. so all the timid animals in the jungle took fright and began to run away. these timid animals were the deer, the antelope, the wild pigs, the wild goats, and other small animals. they ran away into the open country on the right side and left side, that is, toward the east and the west. then as the thousand men came still nearer the jungle from the south side, they began to stretch out in a long line to the right and to the left. and then the men bent forward the two ends of the line in a curve toward the jungle. in that way they began to enclose the jungle, as fishermen enclose fish in a net. the men now made a still louder noise by firing their guns. at this the bigger and more obstinate animals in the jungle began to run away. by this time the men had enclosed the jungle on three sides--the south, the east, and the west--until only the north side of the jungle was still open. and that was where the ravine started from the jungle northward. the big animals ran along the ravine to escape from the jungle. but they did not know that the sixty hunters on the thirty elephants were waiting for them at the end of the ravine. so as each animal emerged at the far end of the ravine, it was shot by the hunters. at first these animals were leopards, bears, wolves, and a few small tigers. then something wonderful happened, as i shall now tell you. in that jungle there was a big tiger and a tigress. they had recently been married, that is, the tigress had chosen the tiger as her husband--for in the jungle it is usually the wife who chooses the husband. so the tiger was very attentive to the tigress. wherever she went, he always walked with her to protect her. he also caught the prey for her, sometimes alone and sometimes with her help. this big tiger and tigress were in the jungle, when they heard the noise of drums and guns that the men were making. being the most obstinate animal in the jungle, the big tiger did not want to move at all. but perhaps he thought that it would be best for his wife to go away from that jungle. so she and he went into the ravine, hoping to escape. but they too did not know that the sixty hunters were waiting at the end of the ravine to shoot them as soon as they emerged. so the tiger and tigress walked calmly through the ravine, and emerged into the open country at the end of it. now i must tell you that in a tiger hunt of this kind the guest of honor has the place of danger, which was in this case right in front of the ravine. so prince henry waited right there on his elephant, and the hunters on the other elephants were placed in a line on his right side and left side. this is what happened. when the tiger and tigress emerged from the ravine, they suddenly saw the line of hunters blocking their path. at the same time the hunters also saw the tiger and tigress. now i must tell you that it is a rule that only the front man on each elephant may fire his gun at once, and the man with him must reserve his shot, in case the front man misses and the tiger comes nearer. so, as soon as they saw the tiger and tigress, the thirty front men on the thirty elephants fired their guns. but it takes at least a second for the quickest man to aim his gun and fire; and a tiger can make up his mind to do something, and do it, in less than a second. so in that time the tiger told his wife what to do. i do not know what language tigers use among themselves, but she understood what he meant. and she did it! this is what she did. like a flash of lightning she leaped toward the side. so when the hail of thirty bullets came, she was not there where the hunters had aimed. not a single bullet hit her. and in the same instant the tiger had also leaped--but onward. some of the bullets wounded him, but not very severely, as the hunters did not have time to aim exactly. [illustration: tiger charging hunting party] he knew that he must engage the attention of all the sixty men to give his wife enough time to escape. so, wounded as he was, he leaped again, straight onward. then the thirty men who had reserved their shot saw a terrible sight. they saw the tiger coming straight toward the nearest elephant--prince henry's elephant, right in front of the ravine. the thirty men pointed their guns at the tiger. they may have vaguely seen that the tigress was escaping; but their whole anxiety was about the terrible tiger leaping straight toward them. all the thirty men fired at him. but as the tiger was leaping onward all the time, they could not take aim properly. so if any of the bullets wounded the tiger again, the wounds were not severe. the tiger came to the elephant on which prince henry was. with a huge bound the tiger leaped upward toward the box on the elephant. so far the elephant had stood still. being well trained, he knew that he must not move while the men on him were firing; _they_ must do the fighting. but when the tiger had apparently beaten all the men and was actually leaping on him, the elephant had a new duty to do: he must swerve aside. so the elephant swerved aside just as the tiger was alighting on the box on his back. so the tiger missed his aim; instead of landing right upon the box and killing the two men instantly, his paws only reached the elephant's head. into the elephant's head he dug his claws, and tried to scramble up. on the neck of the elephant the mahout had been seated. he was not a hunter, but only the man who guides the elephant. so when he saw the tiger leaping upon the elephant, the mahout just dropped off on the other side, and escaped into the bushes. the tiger could have jumped down on him and killed him; but the tiger scorned to touch so humble a prey. he wanted instead to get at the hunters, who had tried to kill him and his wife. so the tiger dug his claws on the elephant's head, paw over paw, and tried to climb up to the elephant's back. maddened with the pain, the elephant began to rock and sway. the two men on the box could not use their guns again, as they had to clutch the box with both hands, or else they would have been thrown to the ground--then the tiger would have fallen on them and killed them in an instant. the two men could do nothing to save themselves. the fifty-eight other hunters had now reloaded their guns. those who were nearest pointed their guns at the tiger. "don't shoot!" the rajah cried out. "you might hit the two men!" that was quite true. for now the elephant was so maddened with terror and with the pain, that he was swaying, bucking, rearing. nobody could take correct aim at the tiger. span by span the tiger climbed up, nearer and nearer to the box. the two helpless men in it saw the tiger's flaming eyes a yard in front of them, and they saw the tiger's fangs crashing together as if to crunch their bones. a minute more, and these two men must die--in sight of the fifty-eight other hunters. then again something wonderful happened. the men could do nothing. but not so the elephant! he could do something! the elephant recovered from his fright. he remembered all the clever tricks he had learned in his youth in the jungle, like salar, of whom i have told you in book i. this elephant remembered what he too could do with his trunk. so the elephant began to curl his trunk around the tiger's neck. the tiger _felt_ the end of the trunk creeping around his neck. then the tiger knew that in the next minute the elephant's trunk would grip him by the neck and tear him off from the elephant's head; and then the elephant would bring him to the ground and trample him to death. the tiger did not wait for that. he had scorned the sixty men--some of whom were the best hunters of the world--but he was too wise to scorn the elephant. and the tiger knew that by this time his wife must be safe. so the tiger dropped to the ground, ran past the rear of the elephant, and vanished into the bushes. and while he did that, not one of the hunters had time even to point a gun at him. once only did the hunters catch sight of the tiger again. after the tigress had escaped, she must have worked her way around to the thick bushes behind the hunters; and there she must have been waiting for her husband. a few minutes later the men caught a glimpse of the tiger and tigress, husband and wife, walking together leisurely beyond those bushes, across a short open space, toward the next jungle. there they would live in the future. and as the hunters saw that sight of the tiger and tigress walking away with stately steps beyond the reach of their guns, prince henry took off his hat to the tiger! "gentlemen, i am glad that he got away!" he said to the other hunters. "i do not think that any man in history has ever charged sixty enemies single-handed, and has gained his purpose--to save the life of one dear to him." then prince henry wiped his forehead, pretending that he had taken off his hat to do that! and so the famous tiger hunt was over. it often happens like that, in spite of sixty hunters and a thousand other men: five minutes of thrilling excitement--and then it is all over! i must tell you that if you go to hunt a tiger, even with all that preparation, you never really know whether you are going to hunt the tiger, or the tiger is going to _hunt you_! and if you do not have elephants to help you, the chances are that the tiger will hunt you. men, with all their guns and other inventions, can in some cases be saved from some animals only by other animals--from tigers by elephants and buffaloes, as i have described to you. chapter x the lion i shall now tell you about other felines or animals of the cat tribe. the _lion_ looks the grandest of all such animals--i suppose just because he has a _mane_. most lions live in africa. there are some lions in arabia and persia, which are the two countries in asia nearest to africa. a few lions are also found in a jungle on the west side of india. these lions in the countries of asia are not as big as the african lion. then there is also a species of lion in america, though he has no mane. he is called the _puma_; but people in the western states often call him a _cougar_ or mountain lion. the puma is found chiefly in north america; he is also found in central and south america, but not so often. in the united states the puma lives mostly in the mountains of the far west. he is very fond of deer flesh; and as there are still plenty of deer in the forest reserves in the far west, the puma has managed to survive there. but in the middle west, where there are fewer deer, there are hardly any pumas. [illustration: group of lions] [illustration: puma] the puma is seldom able to attack cattle. but when pressed by hunger in the winter, he sometimes descends from the mountains to the plains below, and tries at least to steal sheep from the farms. the puma usually avoids men, especially as the men there often carry guns. but still, when made desperate by hunger, the puma has even been known to attack a man on a lonely farm. in size this american lion, like the lions that live in asia, is much smaller than the african lion. the african lion is the finest specimen of a lion. so i shall describe the african lion in particular. the african lion grows to be about three feet six inches high at the shoulders; but his big head stands up quite a foot higher, and makes him look very imposing. his body, without the tail, is about five and a half to six feet long. so the african lion is not quite so long as the bengal tiger. still, the lion is a splendid specimen of the cat tribe. "but why is the lion a member of the cat tribe at all?" you may ask. "the lion does not _look_ like a cat. the tiger does look like a cat, though much bigger than an ordinary cat." that is quite true. but still the lion is a true cat. why? _the lion has the fangs, the tongue, the claws, and the paws of a cat_ you will remember what i said on page : that all animals of the cat tribe have a special kind of fangs, tongue, claws, and paws. the lion, too, has that special kind of fangs, tongue, claws, and paws; so he is a true cat. and of course the lioness has them also; so she too is a cat. now i shall describe these four things as possessed by the lion--or lioness. first, the fangs. the lion or lioness has two pairs of strong fangs--one pair in the upper jaw, pointing downward, the other pair in the lower jaw, pointing upward. the lion uses these fangs in the same way that the tiger does, to hold down or to drag his prey. [illustration: african lion photograph from the american museum of natural history, new york] also, in chewing his food, the lion uses his fangs in the same manner that the tiger does. the lion, too, has ordinary teeth, besides the fangs. so the meat lies on the lower teeth, and the upper fangs come down on the meat and pierce it. and just like the tiger, the lion, too, needs to chew his food only a few times, as the lion also has a strong digestion. but in one thing the lion uses his fangs in a different manner from the tiger. in killing a weak prey, such as a deer or an antelope, _the lion usually bites it with his fangs on the back of the neck_. the tiger seldom kills his prey in that manner. as you will remember, the tiger usually kills an animal by striking it with his paw; and if he uses his fangs at all to kill the prey, he seizes it by the _throat_ and bites it there, not at the back of the neck. the second catlike quality that the lion has is that his tongue is rough. he can use his tongue, as the tiger does, to scrape off small pieces of meat from a bone. the third quality of the lion like that of other cats is that the lion's claws also are retractile: that is, the lion can draw in his claws, or thrust them out, just as he pleases. the fourth quality the lion has like all other felines is that his paws also are padded with thick muscles underneath. so the lion, too, can stalk his prey silently, or harden the muscles to strike down and stun the prey with his paw, or use the muscles like springs in leaping--as i have already described to you on pages - . the lion can run with a series of leaps or bounds, like any other feline. but there is a fifth quality which all felines have, though i did not mention it before, because a few other animals also have it. this quality is that they have _sensitive whiskers_. you have noticed the whiskers of an ordinary cat. if the cat were asleep, and you touched a hair of the whiskers, the cat would wake up at once. why? because each hair of the whiskers is very sensitive. all felines have sensitive whiskers; that is, each hair can _feel_ any object it touches. this is a very useful quality in a feline in going about in the jungle, especially in darkness; for then the whiskers give warning of any object close at hand, by just touching it. but, as i said, a few other animals besides felines have sensitive whiskers. in the same manner there is another quality which all felines have, as well as a few other animals. and that quality is to be able _to see in the dark_. but it must not be totally dark. it is a mistake to suppose that a cat can see in absolute darkness. no animal can. for a cat or any other feline to see, there must be at least a tiny bit of light--even if the light is not sufficient for a human being. the eyes of the cat tribe are formed in such a manner as to catch the tiniest bit of light. that is why the lion, the tiger, and all other felines can see at night in the jungle. for there are usually a few stars visible, even when there are passing clouds. or, if the whole sky is covered with one big cloud, then the cloud itself may reflect a little light coming from various parts of the land. but, as i said, a few other animals besides felines are able to see in partial darkness. these other animals are also night feeders or night prowlers--such as the deer, the antelope, and the hyena. lastly, i ought to mention one special quality which all felines have--at least they possess it more than other animals. and that is the quality of _cleanliness_. you have noticed a cat licking itself to keep clean. a lion and all other felines do that. a lion even keeps his face clean. and as he cannot lick his own face, he uses his paws to clean it--just like an ordinary cat. _how the lion is different from other cats_ i have told you the many qualities which the lion has like all other animals of the cat tribe. but can you see in what qualities the lion is _different_ from all other felines? i shall tell you. first, the lion has a mane; that is, the male animal has; the lioness has no mane. _no other member of the cat tribe, male or female, has a mane._ also, the tail of the lion has a _tuft_ of hair at the end; _no other animal of the cat tribe has the tuft_. moreover, the tail of the lion or lioness hangs straight out from the body; it is not naturally _curled_, like the tail of the ordinary cat or other feline. but of course the lion can curl his tail for a moment, if he wants to,--for instance, in order to whisk off a fly. i shall now describe to you more fully these special qualities of the lion. the lion's mane is composed of long, bushy hair. the hair grows all around his neck, and upon his shoulders. it begins to grow when he is three years old, and continues to grow till he is about five years old. a shorter growth of hair extends to the under part of the body of those lions that live in colder regions. you may have read in your geography that in the interior of africa there is a table-land, a part of which is about , feet high. there it is generally cold, and especially at night. so, to protect them from the cold, the lions that live there have a much thicker mane and more hair on the under part of their bodies than the lions that live in the hot lowlands nearer the sea. when the lion lives in forest regions where there is plenty of vegetation, his mane is usually brown in color and much darker than his tawny yellow body. why is that? because the vegetation has both dark and yellow patches, and so the lion looks very much like his surroundings, and finds it easier to stalk his prey without being detected. but when the lion lives in sandy or stony regions, the color of his mane is more like that of his body, that is, yellow; so he appears to be very much like the color of the sand or stones around him. once a lion and a lioness were drinking the water from a little pool in the stony region. two hunters happened to approach the place from behind a large boulder. they were standing about twenty yards from the lion and lioness, and yet they could not distinguish the animals. they _heard_ the lapping of the water, and that is how they knew that the animals were somewhere close to them. as for the tuft of hair at the end of a lion's tail, nobody seems to know why the lion has that tuft. the end of the tail has a hard nail, or claw, and the tuft of hair may be meant to enclose the nail, and to prevent it from being worn out against the ground. but nobody seems to know why the nail itself is there, as the lion never uses it now. perhaps the nail had a use many generations ago, and the lion has forgotten that use now. the tail itself, as i have already told you, hangs down straight, and does not naturally curl. it may be so because the lion does not use his tail constantly, as other animals of the cat tribe do, such as the tiger and the leopard. why? because those other animals live in denser jungles, and so they constantly use their tail as a feeler; that is, as the animal walks through the jungle his tail _feels_ the objects which it touches, just like a hand; and in that way the tail gives warning of any danger coming from behind. so these felines that live in the dense jungles have got used to keeping their tail stretched out like a hand; and the tail is curled upward so as not to rub against the ground. but as the lion usually lives amid scantier vegetation, he does not need to feel his surroundings quite so constantly; and so his tail has lost the power of curling itself upward. of course, the lion still uses his tail to express his love or hate, as many animals do. he can express his affection by wagging his tail, just like a dog, though he seldom has any reason to show his affection for men; a tame lion, however, has actually been known to do that. but he may very often have reason to express his anger, in fact, whenever a hunter tries to kill him. then the lion lashes his tail in anger from side to side, before leaping at the hunter. chapter xi the lion's daily life now i shall tell you about the remaining habits of the lion, and how he lives every day. lion cubs at birth are usually twins or triplets. sometimes four or even five cubs are born together; but then they are very difficult to rear, and one or two of them usually die. so a lioness has generally a family of two or three cubs to take care of. she brings them up in almost the same way that a tigress rears her cubs, as i have already described. the lioness feeds her cubs with her milk for about the first three months, and after that she gives them a little tender meat. when the lion cubs are six months old, they are able to eat all kinds of meat and to follow their mother to hunt the prey. she teaches them the tricks of the jungle, just as the tigress teaches _her_ cubs. so, by the time the lion cubs are about a year old, they can kill the prey by themselves. their mother just looks on, and _criticizes_ their work! that is, she tells them if they have done their work well, or if they have done it badly! how does she tell them that? in this way: if she is satisfied with their work, she does nothing in particular; she just joins the cubs in eating the prey after they have killed it. but if she is _not_ satisfied with the way in which they have caught or killed the prey, she cuffs them with her paw! hunters have actually observed lionesses doing that! and of course the lion cubs practice their lessons more thoroughly the next time. in the jungle, the children of animals do not need to be punished more than once or twice! you will notice that i have said nothing about the cubs' _father_, the lion. i am sorry to say that the lion is not usually so good a father as the tiger is. you will remember that the tiger helps his wife to provide food for the children, and also to teach them the tricks of the jungle. a lion seldom does that; he usually deserts his family, and lets them take care of themselves. a lion that does stay with his family, after the cubs are born, has usually more than one wife. in that respect also the tiger is far finer than the lion. a tiger has only _one wife_; and he takes care of her and the cubs. but when a lion does stay with his family, the family usually consists of two or three lionesses, who are his wives, and their cubs. in that case they hunt the prey in a pack; that is, the lion and the lionesses all hunt the prey together; and they are even helped by the older cubs. they need to hunt in a pack when the prey happens to be large, such as a buffalo or a giraffe. a lion by himself could seldom kill a buffalo or a giraffe. many a fight has been observed in the jungle between a lion and a buffalo--and almost every time the buffalo has succeeded in driving off the lion with its horns. even if the lion managed to leap upon the buffalo from the back, he could not kill the buffalo by _biting it on the neck_ because of the thick hair there. and if the lion tried to stun the buffalo with a blow of his paw on the buffalo's head, the blow would not be enough, because of the thick hair which grows on the african buffalo's head. and meanwhile the buffalo would rear and buck, and throw off the lion. but if the lion has one or two lionesses to help him, they can all attack the buffalo at the same time, and pull it down and stun it with many blows. on the other hand, as you will remember, in a fight between a single tiger and a single buffalo, the tiger always wins; he dodges the buffalo's horns, then seizes the buffalo by the _throat_ from underneath. in that way he always kills the buffalo. it is only a herd of buffaloes that can beat a tiger, not just one buffalo. a lion by himself is also unable to kill a giraffe in most cases; for if the giraffe sees the lion coming, it will kick out with its hind legs or its fore legs; and a kick from a giraffe has been known to disable a lion completely. so if a lion by himself wants to attack a giraffe, he must first stalk the giraffe stealthily, and then jump on it suddenly. but as the lion cannot usually come near enough to do that, he generally attacks a giraffe with the help of one or two lionesses. for then they can all attack the giraffe from different sides; and as the giraffe cannot kick different ways at once, one of them is sure to jump upon the giraffe's back and bite it on the neck. as i have just said, a lion cannot often stalk his prey near enough to leap upon it. there is a reason for that. compared with his size, _the lion's leap is the shortest of all members of the cat tribe_. the farthest that a lion has been known to leap, even with a run, is about thirty feet--whereas a tiger has been seen to leap a distance of forty-eight feet! the lion's body is not meant for leaping far. his chest and fore legs are very strong, but his hind legs are not quite so strong--and in leaping an animal uses its hind legs most. for instance, the kangaroo has the biggest leap of all four-legged animals of its size; and it has very large hind legs and very small fore legs. "but if the lion cannot leap very far, how does he catch his prey at all?" you may ask. i shall tell you. like all other felines, he usually hunts at night. he hides near a pool or a stream, and waits for his prey to come to drink. then he tries to approach the prey noiselessly on his padded feet. if he succeeds in creeping near enough to leap upon it, he certainly has his meal that night. but if he does not succeed in doing that, he tries another plan. he roars! [illustration: giraffes] [illustration: kangaroo] and that is an advantage a lion has over all other animals. none of them can roar like him. even a tiger's roar is not so loud, and so he seldom tries to roar. but very often a lion _must_ roar to catch his prey, and so by constant practice he has made his roar very terrible indeed. yes, the lion really catches his prey by roaring. when the animals are drinking at the pool, the lion puts his mouth to the ground and roars. it sounds just like thunder. when you hear a roll of thunder, it sometimes happens that you cannot tell from which direction the thunder is coming. in the same way, when the animals hear the lion's roar, they cannot always tell from which side the roar is coming, because by putting his mouth to the ground the lion sends the roar in all directions. so in their terror some of the animals run the wrong way, and actually run toward the lion. then the lion finds it easy to leap upon at least one of them. the lion seldom hunts in the daytime. but when he does, he uses a different method. he chooses a pool amid sandy or stony ground. then he half buries himself in the sand, or lies low among the stones and boulders. so if any animal comes to drink from the pool, it does not notice the lion because the lion's tawny color makes him look like the sand or stones. then the lion leaps upon the animal and catches it. after having his meal, the lion drinks from the pool. if the prey is rather large, so that he cannot finish it at one meal, he keeps it for the next day's meal. he drags the animal's body to some hiding place and covers it up with sand or leaves. of course, he stays somewhere near that place, as otherwise _the thieves of the jungle_ would eat up the food. the thieves of the jungle are the jackal and the hyena. but as the lion usually hunts his prey in the night, he generally sleeps in the daytime. he is not really dangerous except at night. if a man meets a lion suddenly in the daytime, the lion will not usually attack him, unless very hungry. many a man who has met a lion in the jungle by day has escaped in safety by just standing still, making no sound and no motion. after a glance at the man, the lion has walked off. _most wild animals are afraid of man._ perhaps that is because they do not quite understand him, or how he can hurt them from a distance--by shooting them with a gun or even with an arrow. that is why most wild animals try to avoid man, unless they are wounded or are very hungry. but i must tell you here that a tiger attacks a man much more readily than a lion does. even in the daytime a tiger will usually attack any man he meets--like the fisherman that the tiger carried off from the river, as told on page . at night, however, _all_ animals of the cat tribe are dangerous, and many a night a lion has been known to creep into an encampment and carry off a sleeping man. that is, the lion first killed the man, then _dragged_ him away. in that respect a lion is different from a tiger. a lion usually takes away his prey by _dragging_ it; he grips his victim in his jaws by an arm, or by the shoulder, or by the neck, so that the victim trails along the ground. a lion once seized a sleeping man by the wrist, and dragged him away. the lion thought that he had killed the man. but the man was still alive. he got up on his feet as he was being dragged away. he _walked_ by the side of the lion for a few yards; meanwhile he drew his revolver from his pocket with the other hand, and then shot the lion through the head, killing him instantly. a lion seldom carries his prey _bodily_ as a cat carries a mouse. a tiger always does that, if the prey is light, like a man; and a heavier prey he actually carries over his shoulder--as i have said on page . from all the facts i have told you so far, you will understand that a tiger is stronger than a lion. it has been reckoned that the strength of a lion is equal to that of five men, but a tiger's strength is equal to that of eight men. how that was calculated i shall tell you in another book. a tiger is also much more ferocious and terrible an animal than a lion. the lion can be hunted on horseback; the tiger must never be hunted in this way. a hunter riding a horse has often come to within a hundred yards of a lion, and has killed the lion with one or two shots from his gun--and the horse has stood quite still while he took aim. but a horse will never face a tiger or stand still before a tiger. the horse will be in a panic at the very sight of a tiger--and will flee in terror. even if a band of horsemen meet a tiger, all the horses will stampede in terror. it needs an elephant--a trained elephant--to face a tiger, as i have already described to you. and usually it needs several elephants to _hunt_ a tiger. the tiger has also many more of the catlike qualities than the lion has. the tiger is more active than the lion, can leap farther, and can make up his mind more quickly. above all, like a cat, the tiger has "nine lives." many a time a hunter has killed a lion with a single shot. but usually it needs half a dozen shots even to disable a tiger. if a lion is mortally wounded through the heart or through the head, he usually drops to the ground at once. but if a tiger were mortally wounded in the same manner, he would at least leap toward the hunter, and try to kill his slayer, before he himself agreed to drop down and die. the lion has sometimes been called the king of the jungle--i suppose because in those countries where he lives there are no tigers. so the lion is the "monarch of all he surveys" in his own jungle. of course, the lion looks grander and more imposing because he has a mane, and the tiger has none. perhaps that is the reason why some people have given the lion that title. the lion has also been called a noble animal, but accounts differ as to his real character. sometimes a lion has behaved very splendidly, as in the two stories i shall tell you presently. but, on the other hand, there have been occasions when a lion has behaved like a coward and a sneak, as people have declared. so i suppose that lions are like other creatures: there are good lions, and there are bad lions. in one respect, however, the lion is much finer than the tiger: the lion can be tamed, but the tiger cannot. at least, we can say for certain that many a lion has been known to become quite tame, but never a tiger. there was an actual case where a tiger was caught as a small cub and brought up on milk, and then on clean meat without any blood on it. the tiger grew up, and was thought to be quite tame. then one day, as he was licking his master's hand, his rough tongue drew blood from the hand--and in a moment, at the sight of the blood, the tiger became a ferocious wild animal. luckily, a faithful servant crept from behind with a gun, and suddenly shot the tiger through the head. the master leaped out of the room at once, before the tiger could reach him in his dying struggles. but as for the lion, not only can he be tamed, but even a wild lion has been known to behave as if quite tame, when moved by his love. i shall now tell you two stories about that. chapter xii the lion a noble animal _androcles and the lion_ many, many years ago, the romans ruled a large part of the world; for they were a great nation. their territories included the north of africa. a rich roman, who lived there, had many slaves. one of his slaves was called androcles (an´ dr[=o] cl[=e]z). the roman treated androcles very cruelly. so androcles ran away from him. but the roman sent out many soldiers to capture androcles. so after hiding in many places, androcles was at last compelled to flee into wild regions, where there were few inhabitants. as the soldiers followed him even there, he had to go still farther into the interior of the country, till he came to the jungle. there he lived by eating fruits. one day, toward evening, he was sitting on the ground, when suddenly he saw a lion before him. poor androcles gave himself up for lost, as he had no weapon with him with which even to try to fight the lion. he knew it was useless to try to run away, as the lion could catch him with a couple of bounds. so he thought that his only chance was to sit quite still, for then the lion _might_ go away. but the lion looked at him, and then came toward him. the animal did not rush toward him or leap. instead, the lion just walked toward androcles. that was strange, androcles thought. the lion came nearer and nearer--and then androcles noticed that the lion walked in a peculiar manner. that puzzled androcles. but he sat quite still, hoping that the lion would yet go away. but instead the lion came right up to him. _now_ he would be eaten up, poor androcles thought. then a wonderful thing happened. instead of eating him, the lion held out a paw toward him. then androcles understood. he looked at the lion's paw closely. he saw that the paw was swollen. yes, that is why the lion had been _limping_. androcles took the paw in his hands and examined it. on the under side he found a large thorn embedded deep in the flesh. it must have been there for several days, and must have caused the lion intense pain. androcles pulled out the thorn carefully; then he squeezed down the swelling. that relieved the lion's pain. immediately the lion showed his gratitude. he wagged his tail, fawned on androcles, and gambolled around him playfully like a dog. he could not do more to show his feelings. after a time the lion went away to the jungle. a year passed. androcles still lived in hiding. then at last he was captured by the soldiers, and brought before the judge. it used to be the law in those days to condemn runaway slaves to death. also, it used to be the custom to put to death christians and condemned slaves by casting them to lions. so one afternoon all the romans in that place were gathered to make a holiday. it was a kind of circus they had come to see, only, instead of having the usual clever tricks which you now see in a circus, the romans had fights between men and men, between men and animals--and finally, as a grand finish, the christians and the condemned slaves were thrown to wild lions. many of the lions had recently been captured from the jungle; so they were quite wild. and as they had been kept without food for two or three days on purpose, they were very ferocious and quite eager to eat the christians and the condemned slaves. when it came androcles' turn to be eaten, he was thrown into the enclosure, which was called an arena. then a wild lion, which had been recently caught from the jungle, was let loose into the arena from a cage. ten thousand romans looked on to see androcles die. and androcles looked up to the romans, and found no mercy in them. he looked at the famished and furious lion--and knew that he must die. for the lion crouched ten yards before him, lashing his tail in fury. the lion gave a bound, and came within five yards of androcles. there the lion crouched again for a moment--then made a rush at androcles. everyone thought that _now_ the lion would kill androcles. but a still more wonderful thing happened. instead of killing androcles, the lion gambolled around him, and fawned on him--as if he were glad to meet again an old friend. then androcles understood. he had forgotten all about the lion he had met in the jungle the year before, whose pain he had relieved. but the lion had not forgotten _him_. who says that animals have no memory? this lion had a memory! he carried in his memory the gratitude of his heart for the pain that androcles had relieved. although androcles was now dressed differently--in fact, most of his clothes had been stripped from him--the moment the lion had drawn near enough to him, he had recognized androcles as his old friend and benefactor of the jungle. famished as he was, and furious at being kept without food, the lion would gladly suffer the pangs of hunger rather than injure a hair of his friend's head. instead, the lion fawned on him, then lay down before him like a lamb. then something melted in the cruel romans' hearts; perhaps they realized that there was some great power beyond them, who had inspired a raging beast of the jungle to be as gentle as a lamb. the romans asked androcles to explain this marvel. he told the story of his adventure with that lion in the jungle--just as i have told it to you. [illustration: androcles and the lion] then androcles was pardoned, and given his freedom, in memory of this great wonder. my dear children, this story has a special meaning for us. we are told that if we cast our bread upon the waters, it shall be returned to us. that means that if we do an act of kindness, we shall have our reward. androcles did an act of kindness to the lion in the jungle. in return androcles was given back his life in the arena. _the lady and the lioness_ i shall close this chapter by telling you another true story. it happened quite recently, in america. in a zoo there was a lioness. she had two little cubs. she was very fond of them, and she used to lick them with her tongue many times every day to keep them clean. they used to trot around her and scramble over her, then lie down beside her, one on each side, to have another cleaning with her tongue. one day the lioness and her two cubs were lying like that quite close to the bars of the cage. one of the visitors there happened to be a man who had an umbrella. very foolishly he poked one of the cubs with the umbrella. he did not mean to hurt the cub; i suppose he only wanted to _feel_ it. but still it was very foolish to poke the cub with the umbrella. in an instant the lioness jumped up with an angry roar, and thrust out her paw between the bars. luckily for the man, she could not quite reach his arm; otherwise she would have dragged him to the bars of the cage and killed him instantly. instead, she could only reach the umbrella. so she seized the umbrella, and wreaked her vengeance on it. she smashed it to a thousand bits. the man, of course, ran away. then gradually the lioness quieted down. she lay down as before in front of the bars, with the cubs beside her, one on each side. now and again she gave them an affectionate lick with her tongue, first one, then the other. that helped to sooth her feelings somewhat. still, as you may well understand, she was bitter at heart at the foolishness of some people. now it so happened that a lady had observed the whole incident. she had been standing all the time in front of the cage, a few yards away. and this lady had two little girls with her, one four years old, and the other six years old. you may be sure that the lioness saw the lady and the two little children. after a time the lady came a little nearer to the cage, the two little girls standing beside her, one on each side. the lady tried to catch the lioness's eye. presently their eyes met. while the lioness was still looking at her, the lady patted her two little girls on the cheek. then the lady came a step nearer the cage. as the lioness licked her cubs, the lady patted her own little children; and she smoothed their cheeks and hair. _the lioness saw that._ the lady was just waiting for that. she came still nearer to the cage. each time the lioness licked her cubs, the lady stroked the cheeks of her own children affectionately. then the lady began to speak. she spoke in a very soft voice, very gently and very slowly. she spoke softly as if she meant only the lioness to hear her. this is what she said: "i at least understand you. i too am a mother, like you. see, these are _my_ two children! i love them as you love yours." then the lady took up the children, one on each arm. she kissed the children, first one, and then the other--and the kiss seemed almost like the act of the lioness in licking the faces of her own cubs. by that the lady meant the lioness to understand that the children were just the same to her as the cubs were to the lioness. then the lady spoke again, as softly and tenderly as before: "my children also love your children. wouldn't it be nice if they could play together!" then the lady held the smaller girl in front of her. very timidly the little girl held out her hand--while her mother looked into the lioness's eyes. well, my dear children, i cannot tell how it happened. perhaps some message of love and sympathy and understanding passed between the two mothers--the mother of the two little girls, and the mother of the two little cubs. at any rate, this is what actually happened: very timidly and very slowly the lady stepped to the cage. the little girl put her hand between the bars, and petted the cub nearest to her. the lady moved a little, and the girl petted the other cub. the lioness looked on all the time. then something still more wonderful happened. as the little girl was petting the cub, the lioness also began to lick the cub; then the lioness's tongue passed over the cub's body and came to the child's hand--and _the lioness began to lick the child's hand as if the child were her own_. remember that this was a wild lioness, and untamed. nobody had ever dared before even to come within her reach. then the lady turned a little, and brought the other girl to the bars of the cage--and she too petted the cubs. lastly, the lady put the girls down, and passed her own hand through the bars. she too petted the cubs, then finally she stroked the lioness herself. and that was like a kind of handshake as a good-bye. they parted friends--like two mothers who had met by chance on the roadside, and each had admired the children of the other. chapter xiii the leopard the _leopard_ is another animal of the cat tribe. you may know him at once by the _spots_ on his body; and of course the female leopard also has the spots. these spots are usually black in color, or sometimes very dark brown. but the color of the body, or "ground color" as it is called, is different among the several kinds of leopards. for, i must tell you, the leopard lives in so many countries that he varies in size and in ground color in different countries. he is found in almost all parts of africa. in asia he lives mostly in the hot countries in the south; but a special kind of leopard, called the snow leopard, is found in the cold countries in the north of asia. on the american continent there is also a kind of leopard, called the jaguar. now i shall describe in detail all the qualities of these different kinds of leopards. first, as leopards are felines, they have the fangs, the tongue, the claws, and the paws of the cat tribe, which i have already described to you. _the leopard's ground color and spots_ the ground color of the leopard's skin is usually yellow, but the shade of yellow varies in different leopards; sometimes it is a bright yellow, sometimes a brownish yellow. there are leopards whose skin is even darker than that,--some actually black. "but why do different kinds of leopards have different ground colors?" you may ask. because they live on different kinds of soil and amidst different kinds of vegetation. you will remember what i have already told you: that _the color of an animal's body is very often the same as the color of the place where he lives_. then the animal's prey or enemy is not able to distinguish him from his surroundings. so the animal finds it easier to catch the prey, or to escape from the enemy. and, because the color of the soil and vegetation in different countries varies from yellow to brown, the color of the leopard's body also varies in that manner, at least as a rule. now i shall tell you about his spots, which are always of a dark color. but they vary in shape in different kinds of leopards. in some leopards the spot is a solid round disc, like the shape of a coin. in other leopards the spot is like a thick ring; that is, there is a gap at the center. in some leopards the ring is broken up in parts; that is, the ring is not a complete line, but is made up of a number of short lines. the spot then looks like a rosette, because these lines spread outward like rose petals. all these that i have just mentioned are regular shapes. but in many leopards the spots are quite irregular. the spots also vary in _size_. in some leopards the spots are larger than a silver dollar, and in some they are as small as a quarter-dollar. _why the leopard has spots_ now you may wonder why different kinds of leopards have different kinds of spots, both in shape and in size. i shall tell you. each has the kind of spot that is most useful to him. how is that? how can the spots on the leopard's skin be _useful_ to him? why does the leopard have spots at all? [illustration: leopard] [illustration: jaguar photographs from the american museum of natural history, n. y.] first, i must mention that all leopards can climb trees, just like cats. people believe that once upon a time lions and tigers could also climb trees. of course, they climbed only big trees, which have a very thick bark into which they could dig their claws deep enough to bear their weight. but now the lion and the tiger have forgotten how to climb trees. perhaps they did not keep up the use of their power to climb trees. but the leopard has kept up his habit of climbing trees. in fact that is the way _he usually catches his prey_. does not that seem wonderful? i shall explain how he catches his prey in that way. he chooses a tree near a stream, or near a pool of water, where different animals come to drink. the leopard climbs up to a bough of the tree, about ten or twelve feet from the ground. he lies flat on the bough and waits. presently a deer comes to the water to drink. the leopard waits till the deer is quite near, perhaps actually passing under the bough. then suddenly the leopard jumps down on the deer and catches it. the leopard often does that in the daytime, as well as at night. and in the daytime the sun may be shining, and on some nights the moon may be shining. it is _then_ that the spots are useful to the leopard. can you tell why? because when the sun or the moon is shining, a little of the light peeps down between the leaves of the tree and reaches the ground. have you ever noticed that? if so, you have seen that the light reaches the ground like little _bright_ spots, but that there are little _dark_ spots also--the bright spots being the little patches of light peeping down, and the dark spots being the shadows where the light is shut off by the leaves. in the same way there are bright patches and dark patches on the bough of the tree, where the light also falls in that manner. and that is what a leopard's body looks like--bright patches and dark patches. the dark patches are his spots, and the bright patches are the ground color of his skin. so if the deer did happen to look up to the bough when approaching the tree, it would not be able to distinguish the leopard from the natural patches of light and shadow near by. so the deer would not notice the leopard, and would be caught. and that is why the leopard finds his spots so useful to him in catching his prey. but why do different kinds of leopards have different kinds of spots? because they live in different countries, which have different kinds of trees; and so the patches of brightness and darkness made by the sunlight or moonlight are also different. chapter xiv the leopard's habits now i shall tell you the other qualities and habits of the leopard. first, his _size_. the leopard is smaller than the tiger; he is not quite three feet high at the shoulders. the length of the leopard's body, without the tail, is about five feet. that is the average size of the _male_ leopard. in describing each kind of animal i am usually telling you about the male, because he is generally larger and stronger than the female. why? because the male has to do the fighting to protect the family, especially when the children are very young. the leopard's _strength_ is so great that he can break a steer's neck with a blow of his paw. he cannot carry a steer on his back, which a tiger can do, but still the leopard can drag the steer for some distance. as for a deer, the leopard can easily carry it. that has been discovered in a strange manner. as i have told you, a leopard lies on the bough of a tree and waits for a deer to pass under the tree. one time a leopard happened to kill a deer in that way. as he was not very hungry, he ate only a few mouthfuls from the throat and from the under part of the deer. he wanted to keep the deer for his next big meal. but if he kept it on the ground, the jackals and hyenas would find it in his absence and eat it up. so what did the leopard do? can you guess? well, the leopard carried the deer up that tree, and placed it crosswise on the fork of the bough. then he climbed down and went for a prowl. he knew that the thieves of the jungle--the jackals and the hyenas--could not climb the tree and steal his dinner. but a party of hunters passed that way and saw the deer's body on the fork of the tree; and they knew that a leopard had carried it up there. how could they know that? very easily. the hunters brought down the deer's body and examined it. they found that the deer's throat and under part had been eaten. now i must tell you that hunters know from the study of the jungle that each wild animal has a different way of eating its prey. a leopard always eats first the throat and the under part; but a tiger always eats a hind leg first. so these hunters knew that it must be a leopard that had eaten the deer's throat and under part. and the hunters also knew before, from their study of the jungle, that a leopard can climb trees; but they knew that more certainly after this incident. how? because they knew from the deer's throat that a leopard had killed it and partly eaten it; and they _found the deer in the tree_. so they concluded that the leopard must have climbed the tree and hidden the deer there. this also proves the fact that the leopard is really an intelligent animal. the lion and the tiger hide their prey by merely placing it in a hollow in the ground, and covering it loosely with sand or leaves. but unless the lion and the tiger are very watchful, the thieves of the jungle often steal their dinner; that is, the jackals and the hyenas smell the flesh, and uncover it and eat it up. but the leopard hides his prey more securely. as he has the power of climbing trees, he uses that power to carry his prey to the fork of a tree, where the thieves of the jungle cannot reach it. my dear children, there are many people who do not use the natural gifts they have. the leopard does better than that. he uses his gift of climbing trees in two ways: first to _catch_ an animal passing beneath, and then to _hide_ the prey in the tree. had the lion and the tiger continued to use their former gift of climbing trees, they too would have been able to hide their dinner safe from the thieves. instead, they now find it stolen many a time, and have to go hungry. the leopard, of course, uses his other gifts in catching his prey in various ways. being a feline, he too can give a big bound like a cat, and as he also has padded feet, he can catch his prey by stalking it. he creeps silently through the jungle, till he comes near his prey; then he gives a sudden bound and falls upon it. the leopard has splendid muscles; the muscles are not big, but they are hard. the leopard leads such an active life that he is generally slim, without any flabbiness. in fact, the leopard is a perfect type of feline grace, beauty, and agility. the lion is the laziest animal of the cat tribe; the leopard is the most active. the leopard is even more active than the tiger. _the panther: popular name for large leopard_ there is no such animal as the _panther_. that is only the popular name for a large leopard--particularly a large and ferocious leopard. some people fear a large leopard even more than they do a tiger, because a large leopard attacks a man even more often than a tiger does. other wild animals as a rule avoid man, as i have told you before. but a tiger very often attacks man, and a large leopard does so almost every time he can. he is by nature even more ferocious than a tiger. the leopard has this very bad quality: he is perhaps the only animal that kills for the mere "fun" of killing--just like some men who call themselves "sportsmen." if a large leopard gets among a herd of cattle, he kills several of them, one after another. he does the same with wild pigs, wild goats, and wild sheep. he kills many more than he can possibly eat. in fact, the bad name some people give to the tiger in that respect really belongs to the panther or large leopard. when a large number of animals are found killed, a tiger is usually blamed for it. but wise people, who have studied the ways of animals, never make that mistake. of course, they cannot always tell by the paw marks on the ground whether a small tiger or a large leopard did the killing--because the paw marks of a large leopard look so much like those of a small tiger. but if a single one of the animals killed has been eaten, then they know whether it was a tiger or a leopard that did the killing. how do they know that? by examining the part eaten--as i have already described to you on page . _how the leopard seizes his prey_ a leopard usually seizes his prey by the throat. he grips the throat in his jaws, and holds on till the animal cannot breathe and is suffocated. if the prey is large, such as a big stag, the leopard's grip on the throat may not suffocate it completely; then the leopard uses another method. he keeps his grip on the throat of the prey, and _pulls downward_ with his full weight. the prey tries to rear up on its hind legs to throw off the leopard--but then the leopard pulls downward with a sudden jerk. this breaks either the animal's spine or its neck, and it falls to the ground. the leopard seizes his prey by the throat when it is a swift-footed animal, like the deer. but when it is a slow-footed animal, like cattle, the leopard uses another method--at least on some occasions. he rushes to the prey from the side or the back, and kills it by a blow of his paw on the neck from above--as a tiger does. if one blow only stuns the prey, and it falls, the leopard just starts _eating_ the throat, which of course kills the prey. _the leopard's one amiable quality--he loves perfumes_ the leopard is said to have at least one amiable quality. it is said that he is so fond of beautiful perfumes that he can be tamed with them! that is, if you use some beautiful perfume which the leopard likes, you can tame him with it for a time. but i cannot tell you whether that is _always_ true. there are many things said about animals that are not always true, for instance, that every animal can be charmed with music--if only we use the particular kind of music which that particular animal likes. no doubt, particular kinds of animal _have_ been charmed in that way for thousands of years; and even the most terrible kind of snake, called the cobra, is regularly charmed in india with a flute. you must have read of these serpent-charmers in storybooks, as they charm even _wild_ cobras in that way. so it is quite true that several kinds of animals can be charmed with particular kinds of _soft_ music, such as the music of the flute and the violin. i shall tell you all about that in my next book. but about taming leopards with perfumes--we are not sure that _all_ wild leopards can be tamed with beautiful perfumes. it is at least true that _some_ wild leopards have been tamed in that way. i shall now tell you a true story, to show you how that once happened. _the leopard and the lavender_ once a wild leopard had been caught in a trap in the jungle. he was put into a cage and carried overland to a seaport. there the leopard in his cage was put on a ship to be taken to england. the cage was placed on the deck of the ship. the leopard was very wild and ferocious. if any of the passengers or crew came anywhere near the cage, he snarled with rage and leaped at the bars of the cage. he shook and bit the iron bars, as if he wanted to get out and attack the people. he was well fed all the time, but still nothing seemed to lessen his ferocity. then, one day, a lady happened to take out her handkerchief. she was standing about three or four yards from the cage, and a fresh breeze was blowing from her direction toward the cage. immediately a change came over the leopard. a minute before he had been snarling with rage at sight of her, and trying to get out to attack her. but as soon as she took out her handkerchief, the leopard ceased to snarl and to bite the bars. instead, he tried to put his head through the bars, as if to get his _nose_ as near her as possible. of course the lady did not understand that. she merely wondered why the leopard had changed his behavior so suddenly. she now noticed that the leopard was bending down, and scratching the floor of the cage near the front of the bars--just as a pet cat or dog will scratch the floor outside your door to be let in. the lady wondered still more, and came a little nearer to the cage. immediately the leopard got up, and began pacing the cage in joy. the lady now stood about two yards away. then the leopard put his paw through the bars and began to _snatch_ with it. the lady was a little frightened at first, but presently she noticed that the leopard was not snatching at _her_, but at the _handkerchief_, which was still in her hand. and the leopard was not snatching ferociously, but almost playfully, like a great big cat. after a moment's thought the lady realized that the leopard wanted the handkerchief--but why he wanted it, she did not know. so she threw the handkerchief at the bars. the leopard caught it in his paw, and pulled it into the cage. then you should have seen how that wild and ferocious leopard behaved! he played with that handkerchief more joyously than any kitten ever played with a ball. he put the handkerchief on the floor of the cage, leaped upon it, rubbed his nose on it, and even rolled over it. gradually the lady began to understand why he did that. the handkerchief had been scented with lavender. she wondered if it could be the _lavender_ that he loved, and not the handkerchief itself? struck by this idea, the lady went to her cabin and brought out a small bottle of lavender scent. she opened the stopper, and splashed a few drops of the scent through the bars. then the leopard simply went crazy with delight. he leaped upon the places on the floor where the drops had fallen, and he rubbed his nose on them, and rolled over them. then the lady knew that it was the scent that the leopard loved. after that she gave him the lavender to smell every day, and the leopard became so tame that he allowed her to come to the bars and pat his body. but as this is a true story, i must tell you the ending. one of the men passengers on that ship gave the leopard a large piece of cotton-wool soaked in lavender. that was unfortunate--i mean it was unfortunate that the man used cotton-wool instead of a handkerchief or even a piece of cloth. the leopard played with the cotton-wool in delight, and rubbed his nose and face on it. in doing so he must have got the cotton-wool into his mouth--and then he must have taken in a deep breath. we don't know whether he meant to do that, as he liked the perfume so much, or whether he took the breath without meaning to do so. in any case, the cotton-wool got into his windpipe, and he tried to cough it out; but he could not. the foolish passenger did not know what was the matter; and so he did nothing. then in a few days an inflammation set in, and the poor leopard died. some people are so thoughtless! chapter xv american leopard: the jaguar now i shall tell you about an american leopard. he is called the _jaguar_. he lives mostly in central america and south america. his favorite country is brazil, near the amazon and other rivers that flow into the amazon. some people call the jaguar the american _tiger_. this is a mistake, because a tiger is striped, not spotted; and the jaguar is spotted, like a leopard. so it is more correct to call the jaguar the american _leopard_. he has all the qualities of other leopards that i have already described to you. but his spots are a little larger and not quite so completely round; they are more nearly square, with rounded corners. all four-footed animals can swim naturally in some fashion, but leopards can swim especially well. and the jaguar, who lives near the amazon and other rivers, is a champion swimmer. he swims as easily as he climbs trees. so he eats fish as often as he eats monkeys! yes, he actually catches a monkey sleeping on the bough of a tree! he climbs up so silently that the monkey does not awake. at least, those monkeys that do not cultivate the keenest sense of hearing, even in their sleep, get eaten by the jaguar. but a jaguar that is clumsy in his movements awakes the sleeping monkey--and then that jaguar has to go without his dinner. so, again, life is like a competition or trial in the jungle, as i have told you in book i, pages - . those animals that cultivate their gifts escape their enemies and they get enough to eat. those that do not cultivate their gifts are either killed by their enemies, or are themselves starved to death. the jaguar is very fond of monkey for his dinner, just as you are fond of roast turkey. the things he likes next best are fish and turtle. he catches a fish by pouncing on it from the bank. turtles that he finds on the bank he merely turns over on their backs, so that they cannot run away. then he leisurely scoops out the flesh with his paws and eats it. but when the jaguar is in the water pouncing on fish, he in turn has an enemy that wants to eat _him_. when the jaguar has pounced on a fish, a silent snout may come up to him from behind--and grab him! yes, an alligator! and the alligator needs only to hold the jaguar in his jaws, and drag him down, and keep him under water till the jaguar is drowned. then the alligator can have jaguar flesh for _his_ dinner. here again we have an example of competition in the jungle. the jaguar must cultivate not only quickness in catching fish, but also his own sense of hearing, so as to escape from the alligator in time. "but what about the alligator?" you may ask. "doesn't _he_ need to cultivate some gift to escape his enemy? is there no enemy that tries to eat the alligator in his turn?" no! there is no other animal in the water that wants to eat the alligator, or that can do so. but still the alligator may have an enemy near by, who wants to kill him. there may be a hunter on the bank who wants to shoot the alligator to provide you with purses, handbags, or satchels. so the alligator too must be on his guard against his own enemy. [illustration: the chain of conflict in the jungle] you can understand the whole story by supposing that there are in that place: a small fish, a bigger fish, a jaguar, an alligator, and a hunter. then let us suppose that the small fish is trying to catch some tiny creature of the water on which it feeds. but while the small fish is catching the tiny creature, the fish itself must look out for its own danger. otherwise: a bigger fish comes, and eats the small fish. but the bigger fish also must look out for its own danger. otherwise: the jaguar comes, and eats the bigger fish. but the jaguar also must look out for his own danger. otherwise: the alligator comes, and eats the jaguar. but the alligator also must look out for his own danger. otherwise: the hunter comes, and shoots the alligator. so you see that the animals that dwell in the jungle have to cultivate all their gifts to get on in life. chapter xvi the dog tribe i have told you of several flesh-eating animals that are of the cat tribe. but there are some flesh-eating animals that are of the dog tribe. the most important one of these in the jungle is the _wolf_. how can you tell the difference between the cat tribe and the dog tribe? by the four qualities that the cat tribe has, and which the dog tribe does not have. i. the members of the cat tribe have four fangs. those of the dog tribe do not have fangs. they have special teeth of their own kind. ii. the members of the cat tribe have a rough tongue. those of the dog tribe have a tongue which is not quite so rough. they do not need a very rough tongue, as they can scrape the meat from a bone with their teeth. iii. the members of the cat tribe have retractile claws. the dog tribe's claws are rigid and stiff; that is, they are thrust out all the time. the members of the dog tribe do not use their claws in seizing or holding their prey; they hold the prey in their jaws. iv. all of the cat tribe have padded paws: they have them for many reasons, which i have mentioned on pages - . but the paws of the dog tribe are not so thickly padded with muscles. the dog tribe do not need the thick padding of muscles, because: . they do not need to stalk their prey silently. they catch their prey by running it down, as a greyhound catches a hare. . they do not strike down their prey with their paws, but seize it in their jaws. . they do not need to give a _bound_ in catching their prey, so the muscles under their feet need not act like _springs_. the members of the dog tribe gain on their prey by moving their legs _quickly_, not by covering a large amount of ground with each movement of their legs. but the cat tribe do just the opposite: they do not move their legs so quickly, but they cover a larger amount of ground at each movement of their legs. as i have told you already, a dog _gallops_, but a cat _bounds_. the dog's legs move much faster than the cat's, but the cat gives a bigger jump than the dog each time. _the american gray wolf_ i have said that the most important wild animal of the dog tribe is the wolf. wolves are found in every continent--europe, america, asia, and africa. and there are many species of wolves in these continents. i shall tell you more about them in another book, but now i must tell you about the american gray wolf. there is in the united states one of the most wonderful animals in the world--the american gray wolf. he is perhaps the only animal in the world _that has beaten man_! i mean this: man has killed off many four-footed wild animals; that is, he has killed so many of those animals in a place, that they have _died out_ in that place. he has not succeeded in killing off the american gray wolf. in some places man has almost killed off certain animals, even when he did not _want_ to do so. he killed the animal merely for sport or for profit--but he did not want that species of animal to die out altogether; for then he could not have any more sport or profit from it. and yet, the hunter killed so many of that species of animal that it has almost died out in some places. in this manner, as i have already told you, almost all the elephants have been killed off in parts of africa, for the sake of sport or for the sake of the tusks. in the same way, the buffalo has almost disappeared from the united states. [illustration: gray wolf from a photograph copyrighted by the new york zoological society.] but in the case of the american wolf, man _wanted_ to kill him off altogether as a race of animals; and yet he has not been able to do so. at first the hunter may have killed the wolf only for the sake of its fur; but in the last few years the american farmer and the ranchman have tried to wipe out the wolf altogether as a _pest_--because the wolf kills their sheep and cattle. and yet, the wolf flourishes in the west. he has beaten the farmer and the ranchman. the wonderful part of it is that the american wolf has beaten man _by his own efforts_. and for an animal to beat man in that manner is a great achievement. i have told you before that one animal has to use its gifts against another animal, to protect itself from danger; for instance, the fish has to look out for the jaguar, and the jaguar in his turn has to look out for the alligator. but in that competition of the jungle, the animal has generally to use its wits merely against another animal--not against man. but the american wolf had to use his wits against man; and he has beaten man, as i shall describe to you. _the american wolf learns to evade the gun_ about a hundred years ago, when people began to go west, they shot many buffaloes, wolves, antelopes, and deer. they did that for sport or for profit; they made a profit, because they sold the skins and other parts of the animals' bodies. at that time the hunters did not want the animals to be killed off altogether, but they actually killed so many of these animals in a few years that the buffalo, the deer, and the antelope became scarce. these particular animals, of course, tried to use their wits to escape from the hunters. they did not succeed in doing so. they fell as victims of the gun. but not so the wolf. he began to use his wits against man and his gun. he soon realized that man was his enemy and also that man could kill him from a considerable distance. a wolf saw a man at a distance; then the wolf heard a bang, and immediately felt a sharp pain in his body. that wolf fell and died. but another wolf saw his brother die like that. he set his wits to work. he concluded that the man had caused the bang which made his brother fall and die. hence the wolf realized that man was dangerous to him, even at a distance. so after that the wolf resolved to run away from man. and other wolves learned to do the same. of course, the whole race of wolves did not learn this lesson so quickly. many hundreds of wolves meanwhile fell victims to man's gun; but a few wolves escaped. these few wolves also saw repeatedly that if any of their brothers allowed a man to approach anywhere near him, he was killed. so after seeing that happen many times, the surviving wolves learned that they must always run away from the presence of man. these few surviving wolves taught their children to do the same. some of these wolf children did not heed that lesson when they grew up; so they too were killed. but a few of the wolf children remembered the lesson when they grew up; so they escaped getting killed. in turn these wolves also taught _their_ children to run away from the presence of man. so in a few generations a race of wolves grew up in the west that the hunter _did not even get the chance to shoot_. that in itself was a great achievement for the wolf. why? because some species of animals as a race do not learn so quickly to run away from the mere presence of man; one or two animals personally may learn quickly to do that, but not all the animals of a species. that is why the buffaloes and some of the antelopes and deer in the west were wiped out; they did not learn in those same few years to run away from the presence of man. the wolves alone learned this, and they have survived as a race. _the american wolf learns to evade the trap_ but the battle was not yet over. seeing that his gun had now failed, man used his wits to kill the wolf in another way. he set _traps_ for the wolf; and he cunningly baited the traps with tempting food. then the man went away from the traps. he thought that because he was not himself anywhere near the traps, the wolf would not be afraid to approach them. well, at first some wolves did go up to the traps, and were caught by them. but a few other wolves saw that fate of their unwary brothers. so those surviving wolves again set their wits to work to discover the cause of this new danger. and after a time they saw the steel traps. "so, _this_ is our new enemy!" they said. after that they avoided the traps, even if the traps were baited with the most tempting food. and they taught their children to do the same. so again man was beaten in this battle of wits. he found that the trap could catch the wolf no more. but man tried again. he _hid_ the trap cunningly under leaves or under snow; only the tempting bait was placed in sight. he thought that because the wolf could not now _see_ the trap, he would fall into it. well, some wolves did fall into it. but a few other wolves saw the fate of their unwary brothers. so these surviving wolves again set their wits to work to discover a way of detecting the traps. perhaps they saw the hunter's footprints; or perhaps they realized that the snow or the leaves covering the trap did not look _natural_. you remember, in book i, how salar's father detected a very tricky trap because the ground there did not look natural. well, in some way, the surviving american wolves detected the traps, even when the traps were covered up. so after that they began to avoid these _hidden_ traps, and they taught their children to do the same. man found himself beaten once more by the wolf in this battle of wits. he found that the american wolf could not be caught even by a hidden trap. that again was a great achievement for the american wolf. why? because even the elephant, clever as he is, gets caught at last by a tricky trap, even if he avoids it for a long time. to do better than the elephant is a triumph indeed! so far the hunter had tried to kill the wolf for the sake of the fur; and the wolf took no revenge for these years of persecution. he bore no grudge against man, and did not try to pay him off. the wolf merely wanted to live, and to be let alone. man would not let him alone. he wanted to kill the wolf just for the sake of money. then a new thing happened. many people began to go west; farms and ranches began to be started. these farms and ranches had many sheep and cattle. then the wolf had _his_ turn! he found that sheep and cattle were far easier to kill than the wild animals on which he had made a living so far. so the wolf began to raid farms and ranches at night. he still avoided man; he never let a man come near enough to shoot him; and he never touched a hidden trap. but still he began to kill sheep and cattle. man now found the tables turned on him! formerly he had persecuted the wolf; now the wolf persecuted, or at least tormented, _him_! so man made one last desperate effort to beat the wolf in this battle of wits. _the american wolf learns to evade the poison_ man set his wits to work, and at last devised the use of _poison_. he selected different kinds of poison, with different tastes and different smells,--or no taste and no smell at all! he chose the nicest kinds of meat, on which to put the poison. then he cunningly placed pieces of the poisoned meat all over the paths by which the wolves must come to raid the sheep and cattle. he thought that _now_ he would beat the wolf! well, some of the wolves did eat the poisoned meat; they died. but a few of the wolves saw the fate of their unwary brothers. so these surviving wolves once more set their wits to work to discover the cause of this new danger. it may have taken them some time to suspect that the meat was the cause of this new danger; and a few more wolves may have died meanwhile from eating the meat. but some of the wolves did detect the new danger. we do not know exactly how they did so. perhaps this time they used one of their other gifts to save their lives; that is, they used their power of _smell_. they recognized man's scent in or about the meat. so they knew that man had put the meat there. they had long known that anything that had to do with man was dangerous to wolves. so the wolves resolved to leave the meat untouched. instead, they went on raiding the sheep and the cattle. and they taught their children, and their children's children, to do the same. and now the american wolf has beaten man, finally and absolutely. the farmer and the ranchman can think of no other method of killing the wolf. so the american wolf continues to flourish merrily. the marvel of all this is that the wolf is not naturally a very intelligent animal. most animals have far more natural intelligence than the american wolf; and yet none of these animals seem to be able to beat man in the battle of wits. the american wolf alone has done it, though he naturally has very little brains. but _he has used all his brains_. he has concentrated his efforts to save his life by beating man. he has not only used all his brains, but he has done so _all the time_. he determined to overcome each new danger as it arose. and he _worked hard all the time_. my dear children, that is a great lesson for us. all children, or all men and women, do not have great talents; but everybody can use all the brains he or she has. some few people prosper in life because they have talents and use them. other people of talent are lazy, and do not use all their gifts; these people do _not_ prosper. but many people, who have no talent at all, prosper just the same; they do what the american wolf has done. . they first decide on something _worth doing_, just as the wolf decided on saving his life. . then they _use all the brains they have_ to do that thing. . they _concentrate_ their efforts on it. . they _work hard all the time_ to do that thing. . as they meet each difficulty or danger or trap, they devise a method of _overcoming_ that difficulty or danger or trap. if you learn this much from the american wolf, you will learn the secret of success in the battle of life, when you grow up. meanwhile, remember all that i have told you, till i come back and tell you in the next book many more wonders of the jungle. till then, as they say in the orient, god and his peace be with you! * * * * * transcriber's note the following changes have been made to the text: page vi: "as heroic husband" changed to "as a heroic husband". page vi: "why the leopard has spots" in the toc changed from page to . page : "heading off criminal elephant" changed to "heading off a criminal elephant". secrets of the woods wood folk series book three by william j. long to ch'geegee-lokh-sis, "little friend ch'geegee," whose coming makes the winter glad. preface this little book is but another chapter in the shy 'wild life of the fields and woods' of which "ways of wood folk" and "wilderness ways" were the beginning. it is given gladly in answer to the call for more from those who have read the previous volumes, and whose letters are full of the spirit of kindness and appreciation. many questions have come of late with these same letters; chief of which is this: how shall one discover such things for himself? how shall we, too, read the secrets of the wood folk? there is no space here to answer, to describe the long training, even if one could explain perfectly what is more or less unconscious. i would only suggest that perhaps the real reason why we see so little in the woods is the way we go through them--talking, laughing, rustling, smashing twigs, disturbing the peace of the solitudes by what must seem strange and uncouth noises to the little wild creatures. they, on the other hand, slip with noiseless feet through their native coverts, shy, silent, listening, more concerned to hear than to be heard, loving the silence, hating noise and fearing it, as they fear and hate their natural enemies. we would not feel comfortable if a big barbarian came into our quiet home, broke the door down, whacked his war-club on the furniture, and whooped his battle yell. we could hardly be natural under the circumstances. our true dispositions would hide themselves. we might even vacate the house bodily. just so wood folk. only as you copy their ways can you expect to share their life and their secrets. and it is astonishing how little the shyest of them fears you, if you but keep silence and avoid all excitement, even of feeling; for they understand your feeling quite as much as your action. a dog knows when you are afraid of him; when you are hostile; when friendly. so does a bear. lose your nerve, and the horse you are riding goes to pieces instantly. bubble over with suppressed excitement, and the deer yonder, stepping daintily down the bank to your canoe in the water grasses, will stamp and snort and bound away without ever knowing what startled him. but be quiet, friendly, peace-possessed in the same place, and the deer, even after discovering you, will draw near and show his curiosity in twenty pretty ways ere he trots away, looking back over his shoulder for your last message. then be generous--show him the flash of a looking-glass, the flutter of a bright handkerchief, a tin whistle, or any other little kickshaw that the remembrance of a boy's pocket may suggest--and the chances are that he will come back again, finding curiosity so richly rewarded. that is another point to remember: all the wood folk are more curious about you than you are about them. sit down quietly in the woods anywhere, and your coming will occasion the same stir that a stranger makes in a new england hill town. control your curiosity, and soon their curiosity gets beyond control; they must come to find out who you are and what you are doing. then you have the advantage; for, while their curiosity is being satisfied, they forget fear and show you many curious bits of their life that you will never discover otherwise. as to the source of these sketches, it is the same as that of the others years of quiet observation in the woods and fields, and some old notebooks which hold the records of summer and winter camps in the great wilderness. my kind publishers announced, some time ago, a table of contents, which included chapters on jay and fish-hawk, panther, and musquash, and a certain savage old bull moose that once took up his abode too near my camp for comfort. my only excuse for their non-appearance is that my little book was full before their turn came. they will find their place, i trust, in another volume presently. stamford, conn., june, . wm. j. long. contents tookhees the 'fraid one a wilderness byway keeonekh the fisherman koskomenos the outcast meeko the mischief-maker the ol' beech pa'tridge following the deer summer woods still hunting winter trails snow bound glossary of indian names secrets of the woods tookhees the 'fraid one little tookhees the wood mouse, the 'fraid one, as simmo calls him, always makes two appearances when you squeak to bring him out. first, after much peeking, he runs out of his tunnel; sits up once on his hind legs; rubs his eyes with his paws; looks up for the owl, and behind him for the fox, and straight ahead at the tent where the man lives; then he dives back headlong into his tunnel with a rustle of leaves and a frightened whistle, as if kupkawis the little owl had seen him. that is to reassure himself. in a moment he comes back softly to see what kind of crumbs you have given him. no wonder tookhees is so timid, for there is no place in earth or air or water, outside his own little doorway under the mossy stone, where he is safe. above him the owls watch by night and the hawks by day; around him not a prowler of the wilderness, from mooween the bear down through a score of gradations, to kagax the bloodthirsty little weasel, but will sniff under every old log in the hope of finding a wood mouse; and if he takes a swim, as he is fond of doing, not a big trout in the river but leaves his eddy to rush at the tiny ripple holding bravely across the current. so, with all these enemies waiting to catch him the moment he ventures out, tookhees must needs make one or two false starts in order to find out where the coast is clear. that is why he always dodges back after his first appearance; why he gives you two or three swift glimpses of himself, now here, now there, before coming out into the light. he knows his enemies are so hungry, so afraid he will get away or that somebody else will catch him, that they jump for him the moment he shows a whisker. so eager are they for his flesh, and so sure, after missing him, that the swoop of wings or the snap of red jaws has scared him into permanent hiding, that they pass on to other trails. and when a prowler, watching from behind a stump, sees tookhees flash out of sight and hears his startled squeak, he thinks naturally that the keen little eyes have seen the tail, which he forgot to curl close enough, and so sneaks away as if ashamed of himself. not even the fox, whose patience is without end, has learned the wisdom of waiting for tookhees' second appearance. and that is the salvation of the little 'fraid one. from all these enemies tookhees has one refuge, the little arched nest beyond the pretty doorway under the mossy stone. most of his enemies can dig, to be sure, but his tunnel winds about in such a way that they never can tell from the looks of his doorway where it leads to; and there are no snakes in the wilderness to follow and find out. occasionally i have seen where mooween the bear has turned the stone over and clawed the earth beneath; but there is generally a tough root in the way, and mooween concludes that he is taking too much trouble for so small a mouthful, and shuffles off to the log where the red ants live. on his journeys through the woods tookhees never forgets the dangerous possibilities. his progress is a series of jerks, and whisks, and jumps, and hidings. he leaves his doorway, after much watching, and shoots like a minnow across the moss to an upturned root. there he sits up and listens, rubbing his whiskers nervously. then he glides along the root for a couple of feet, drops to the ground and disappears. he is hiding there under a dead leaf. a moment of stillness and he jumps like a jack-in-abox. now he is sitting on the leaf that covered him, rubbing his whiskers again, looking back over his trail as if he heard footsteps behind him. then another nervous dash, a squeak which proclaims at once his escape, and his arrival, and he vanishes under the old moss-grown log where his fellows live, a whole colony of them. all these things, and many more, i discovered the first season that i began to study the wild things that lived within sight of my tent. i had been making long excursions after bear and beaver, following on wild-goose chases after old whitehead the eagle and kakagos the wild woods raven that always escaped me, only to find that within the warm circle of my camp-fire little wild folk were hiding whose lives were more unknown and quite as interesting as the greater creatures i had been following. one day, as i returned quietly to camp, i saw simmo quite lost in watching something near my tent. he stood beside a great birch tree, one hand resting against the bark that he would claim next winter for his new canoe; the other hand still grasped his axe, which he had picked up a moment before to quicken the tempo of the bean kettle's song. his dark face peered behind the tree with a kind of childlike intensity written all over it. i stole nearer without his hearing me; but i could see nothing. the woods were all still. killooleet was dozing by his nest; the chickadees had vanished, knowing that it was not meal time; and meeko the red squirrel had been made to jump from the fir top to the ground so often that now he kept sullenly to his own hemlock across the island, nursing his sore feet and scolding like a fury whenever i approached. still simmo watched, as if a bear were approaching his bait, till i whispered, "quiee, simmo, what is it?" "nodwar k'chee toquis, i see little 'fraid one'" he said, unconsciously dropping into his own dialect, which is the softest speech in the world, so soft that wild things are not disturbed when they hear it, thinking it only a louder sough of the pines or a softer tunking of ripples on the rocks.--"o bah cosh, see! he wash-um face in yo lil cup." and when i tiptoed to his side, there was tookhees sitting on the rim of my drinking cup, in which i had left a new leader to soak for the evening's fishing, scrubbing his face diligently, like a boy who is watched from behind to see that he slights not his ears or his neck. remembering my own boyhood on cold mornings, i looked behind him to see if he also were under compulsion, but there was no other mouse in sight. he would scoop up a double handful of water in his paws, rub it rapidly up over nose and eyes, and then behind his ears, on the spots that wake you up quickest when you are sleepy. then another scoop of water, and another vigorous rub, ending behind his ears as before. simmo was full of wonder, for an indian notices few things in the woods beside those that pertain to his trapping and hunting; and to see a mouse wash his face was as incomprehensible to him as to see me read a book. but all wood mice are very cleanly; they have none of the strong odors of our house mice. afterwards, while getting acquainted, i saw him wash many times in the plate of water that i kept filled near his den; but he never washed more than his face and the sensitive spot behind his ears. sometimes, however, when i have seen him swimming in the lake or river, i have wondered whether he were going on a journey, or just bathing for the love of it, as he washed his face in my cup. i left the cup where it was and spread a feast for the little guest, cracker crumbs and a bit of candle end. in the morning they were gone, the signs of several mice telling plainly who had been called in from the wilderness byways. that was the introduction of man to beast. soon they came regularly. i had only to scatter crumbs and squeak a few times like a mouse, when little streaks and flashes would appear on the moss or among the faded gold tapestries of old birch leaves, and the little wild things would come to my table, their eyes shining like jet, their tiny paws lifted to rub their whiskers or to shield themselves from the fear under which they lived continually. they were not all alike--quite the contrary. one, the same who had washed in my cup, was gray and old, and wise from much dodging of enemies. his left ear was split from a fight, or an owl's claw, probably, that just missed him as he dodged under a root. he was at once the shyest and boldest of the lot. for a day or two he came with marvelous stealth, making use of every dead leaf and root tangle to hide his approach, and shooting across the open spaces so quickly that one knew not what had happened--just a dun streak which ended in nothing. and the brown leaf gave no sign of what it sheltered. but once assured of his ground, he came boldly. this great man-creature, with his face close to the table, perfectly still but for his eyes, with a hand that moved gently if it moved at all, was not to be feared--that tookhees felt instinctively. and this strange fire with hungry odors, and the white tent, and the comings and goings of men who were masters of the woods kept fox and lynx and owl far away--that he learned after a day or two. only the mink, who crept in at night to steal the man's fish, was to be feared. so tookhees presently gave up his nocturnal habits and came out boldly into the sunlight. ordinarily the little creatures come out in the dusk, when their quick movements are hidden among the shadows that creep and quiver. but with fear gone, they are only too glad to run about in the daylight, especially when good things to eat are calling them. besides the veteran there was a little mother-mouse, whose tiny gray jacket was still big enough to cover a wonderful mother love, as i afterwards found out. she never ate at my table, but carried her fare away into hiding, not to feed her little ones-they were, too small as yet--but thinking in some dumb way, behind the bright little eyes, that they needed her and that her life must be spared with greater precaution for their sakes. she would steal timidly to my table, always appearing from under a gray shred of bark on a fallen birch log, following the same path, first to a mossy stone, then to a dark hole under a root, then to a low brake, and along the underside of a billet of wood to the mouse table. there she would stuff both cheeks hurriedly, till they bulged as if she had toothache, and steal away by the same path, disappearing at last under the shred of gray bark. for a long time it puzzled me to find her nest, which i knew could not be far away. it was not in the birch log where she disappeared--that was hollow the whole length--nor was it anywhere beneath it. some distance away was a large stone, half covered by the green moss which reached up from every side. the most careful search here had failed to discover any trace of tookhees' doorway; so one day when the wind blew half a gale and i was going out on the lake alone, i picked up this stone to put in the bow of my canoe. that was to steady the little craft by bringing her nose down to grip the water. then the secret was out, and there it was in a little dome of dried grass among some spruce roots under the stone. the mother was away foraging, but a faint sibilant squeaking within the dome told me that the little ones were there, and hungry as usual. as i watched there was a swift movement in a tunnel among the roots, and the mother-mouse came rushing back. she paused a moment, lifting her forepaws against a root to sniff what danger threatened. then she saw my face bending over the opening--et tu brute! and she darted into the nest. in a moment she was out again and disappeared into her tunnel, running swiftly with her little ones hanging to her sides by a grip that could not be shaken,--all but one, a delicate pink creature that one could hide in a thimble, and that snuggled down in the darkest corner of my hand confidently. it was ten minutes before the little mother came back, looking anxiously for the lost baby. when she found him safe in his own nest, with the man's face still watching, she was half reassured; but when she threw herself down and the little one began to drink, she grew fearful again and ran away into the tunnel, the little one clinging to her side, this time securely. i put the stone back and gathered the moss carefully about it. in a few days mother mouse was again at my table. i stole away to the stone, put my ear close to it, and heard with immense satisfaction tiny squeaks, which told me that the house was again occupied. then i watched to find the path by which mother mouse came to her own. when her cheeks were full, she disappeared under the shred of bark by her usual route. that led into the hollow center of the birch log, which she followed to the end, where she paused a moment, eyes, ears, and nostrils busy; then she jumped to a tangle of roots and dead leaves, beneath which was a tunnel that led, deep down under the moss, straight to her nest beneath the stone. besides these older mice, there were five or six smaller ones, all shy save one, who from the first showed not the slightest fear but came straight to my hand, ate his crumbs, and went up my sleeve, and proceeded to make himself a warm nest there by nibbling wool from my flannel shirt. in strong contrast to this little fellow was another who knew too well what fear meant. he belonged to another tribe that had not yet grown accustomed to man's ways. i learned too late how careful one must be in handling the little creatures that live continually in the land where fear reigns. a little way behind my tent was a great fallen log, mouldy and moss-grown, with twin-flowers shaking their bells along its length, under which lived a whole colony of wood mice. they ate the crumbs that i placed by the log; but they could never be tolled to my table, whether because they had no split-eared old veteran to spy out the man's ways, or because my own colony drove them away, i could never find out. one day i saw tookhees dive under the big log as i approached, and having nothing more important to do, i placed one big crumb near his entrance, stretched out in the moss, hid my hand in a dead brake near the tempting morsel, and squeaked the call. in a moment tookhees' nose and eyes appeared in his doorway, his whiskers twitching nervously as he smelled the candle grease. but he was suspicious of the big object, or perhaps he smelled the man too and was afraid, for after much dodging in and out he disappeared altogether. i was wondering how long his hunger would battle with his caution, when i saw the moss near my bait stir from beneath. a little waving of the moss blossoms, and tookhees' nose and eyes appeared out of the ground for an instant, sniffing in all directions. his little scheme was evident enough now; he was tunneling for the morsel that he dared not take openly. i watched with breathless interest as a faint quiver nearer my bait showed where he was pushing his works. then the moss stirred cautiously close beside his objective; a hole opened; the morsel tumbled in, and tookhees was gone with his prize. i placed more crumbs from my pocket in the same place, and presently three or four mice were nibbling them. one sat up close by the dead brake, holding a bit of bread in his forepaws like a squirrel. the brake stirred suddenly; before he could jump my hand closed over him, and slipping the other hand beneath him i held him up to my face to watch him between my fingers. he made no movement to escape, but only trembled violently. his legs seemed too weak to support his weight now; he lay down; his eyes closed. one convulsive twitch and he was dead--dead of fright in a hand which had not harmed him. it was at this colony, whose members were all strangers to me, that i learned in a peculiar way of the visiting habits of wood mice, and at the same time another lesson that i shall not soon forget. for several days i had been trying every legitimate way in vain to catch a big trout, a monster of his kind, that lived in an eddy behind a rock up at the inlet. trout were scarce in that lake, and in summer the big fish are always lazy and hard to catch. i was trout hungry most of the time, for the fish that i caught were small, and few and far between. several times, however, when casting from the shore at the inlet for small fish, i had seen swirls in a great eddy near the farther shore, which told me plainly of big fish beneath; and one day, when a huge trout rolled half his length out of water behind my fly, small fry lost all their interest and i promised myself the joy of feeling my rod bend and tingle beneath the rush of that big trout if it took all summer. flies were no use. i offered him a bookful, every variety of shape and color, at dawn and dusk, without tempting him. i tried grubs, which bass like, and a frog's leg, which no pickerel can resist, and little frogs, such as big trout hunt among the lily pads in the twilight,--all without pleasing him. and then waterbeetles, and a red squirrel's tail-tip, which makes the best hackle in the world, and kicking grasshoppers, and a silver spoon with a wicked "gang" of hooks, which i detest and which, i am thankful to remember, the trout detested also. they lay there in their big cool eddy, lazily taking what food the stream brought down to them, giving no heed to frauds of any kind. then i caught a red-fin in the stream above, hooked it securely, laid it on a big chip, coiled my line upon it, and set it floating down stream, the line uncoiling gently behind it as it went. when it reached the eddy i raised my rod tip; the line straightened; the red-fin plunged overboard, and a two-pound trout, thinking, no doubt, that the little fellow had been hiding under the chip, rose for him and took him in. that was the only one i caught. his struggle disturbed the pool, and the other trout gave no heed to more red-fins. then, one morning at daybreak, as i sat on a big rock pondering new baits and devices, a stir on an alder bush across the stream caught my eye. tookhees the wood mouse was there, running over the bush, evidently for the black catkins which still clung to the tips. as i watched him he fell, or jumped from his branch into the quiet water below and, after circling about for a moment, headed bravely across the current. i could just see his nose as he swam, a rippling wedge against the black water with a widening letter v trailing out behind him. the current swept him downward; he touched the edge of the big eddy; there was a swirl, a mighty plunge beneath, and tookhees was gone, leaving no trace but a swift circle of ripples that were swallowed up in the rings and dimples behind the rock.--i had found what bait the big trout wanted. hurrying back to camp, i loaded a cartridge lightly with a pinch of dust shot, spread some crumbs near the big log behind my tent, squeaked the call a few times, and sat down to wait. "these mice are strangers to me," i told conscience, who was protesting a little, "and the woods are full of them, and i want that trout." in a moment there was a rustle in the mossy doorway and tookhees appeared. he darted across the open, seized a crumb in his mouth, sat up on his hind legs, took the crumb in his paws, and began to eat. i had raised the gun, thinking he would dodge back a few times before giving me a shot; his boldness surprised me, but i did not recognize him. still my eye followed along the barrels and over the sight to where tookhees sat eating his crumb. my finger was pressing the trigger--"o you big butcher," said conscience, "think how little he is, and what a big roar your gun will make! aren't you ashamed?" "but i want the trout," i protested. "catch him then, without killing this little harmless thing," said conscience sternly. "but he is a stranger to me; i never--" "he is eating your bread and salt," said conscience. that settled it; but even as i looked at him over the gun sight, tookhees finished his crumb, came to my foot, ran along my leg into my lap, and looked into my face expectantly. the grizzled coat and the split ear showed the welcome guest at my table for a week past. he was visiting the stranger colony, as wood mice are fond of doing, and persuading them by his example that they might trust me, as he did. more ashamed than if i had been caught potting quail, i threw away the hateful shell that had almost slain my friend and went back to camp. there i made a mouse of a bit of muskrat fur, with a piece of my leather shoestring sewed on for a tail. it served the purpose perfectly, for within the hour i was gloating over the size and beauty of the big trout as he stretched his length on the rock beside me. but i lost the fraud at the next cast, leaving it, with a foot of my leader, in the mouth of a second trout that rolled up at it the instant it touched his eddy behind the rock. after that the wood mice were safe so far as i was concerned. not a trout, though he were big as a salmon, would ever taste them, unless they chose to go swimming of their own accord; and i kept their table better supplied than before. i saw much of their visiting back and forth, and have understood better what those tunnels mean that one finds in the spring when the last snows are melting. in a corner of the woods, where the drifts lay, you will often find a score of tunnels coming in from all directions to a central chamber. they speak of tookhees' sociable nature, of his long visits with his fellows, undisturbed by swoop or snap, when the packed snow above has swept the summer fear away and made him safe from hawk and owl and fox and wildcat, and when no open water tempts him to go swimming where skooktum the big trout lies waiting, mouse hungry, under his eddy. the weeks passed all too quickly, as wilderness weeks do, and the sad task of breaking camp lay just before us. but one thing troubled me--the little tookhees, who knew no fear, but tried to make a nest in the sleeve of my flannel shirt. his simple confidence touched me more than the curious ways of all the other mice. every day he came and took his crumbs, not from the common table, but from my, hand, evidently enjoying its warmth while he ate, and always getting the choicest morsels. but i knew that he would be the first one caught by the owl after i left; for it is fear only that saves the wild things. occasionally one finds animals of various kinds in which the instinct of fear is lacking--a frog, a young partridge, a moose calf--and wonders what golden age that knew no fear, or what glorious vision of isaiah in which lion and lamb lie down together, is here set forth. i have even seen a young black duck, whose natural disposition is wild as the wilderness itself, that had profited nothing by his mother's alarms and her constant lessons in hiding, but came bobbing up to my canoe among the sedges of a wilderness lake, while his brethren crouched invisible in their coverts of bending rushes, and his mother flapped wildly off, splashing and quacking and trailing a wing to draw me away from the little ones. such an one is generally abandoned by its mother, or else is the first to fall in the battle with the strong before she gives him up as hopeless. little tookhees evidently belonged to this class, so before leaving i undertook the task of teaching him fear, which had evidently been too much for nature and his own mother. i pinched him a few times, hooting like an owl as i did so,--a startling process, which sent the other mice diving like brown streaks to cover. then i waved a branch over him, like a hawk's wing, at the same time flipping him end over end, shaking him up terribly. then again, when he appeared with a new light dawning in his eyes, the light of fear, i would set a stick to wiggling like a creeping fox among the ferns and switch him sharply with a hemlock tip. it was a hard lesson, but he learned it after a few days. and before i finished the teaching, not a mouse would come to my table, no matter how persuasively i squeaked. they would dart about in the twilight as of yore, but the first whish of my stick sent them all back to cover on the instant. that was their stern yet, practical preparation for the robber horde that would soon be prowling over my camping ground. then a stealthy movement among the ferns or the sweep of a shadow among the twilight shadows would mean a very different thing from wriggling stick and waving hemlock tip. snap and swoop, and teeth and claws,--jump for your life and find out afterwards. that is the rule for a wise wood mouse. so i said good-by, and left them to take care of themselves in the wilderness. a wilderness byway one day in the wilderness, as my canoe was sweeping down a beautiful stretch of river, i noticed a little path leading through the water grass, at right angles to the stream's course. swinging my canoe up to it, i found what seemed to be a landing place for the wood folk on their river journeyings. the sedges, which stood thickly all about, were here bent inward, making a shiny green channel from the river. on the muddy shore were many tracks of mink and muskrat and otter. here a big moose had stood drinking; and there a beaver had cut the grass and made a little mud pie, in the middle of which was a bit of musk scenting the whole neighborhood. it was done last night, for the marks of his fore paws still showed plainly where he had patted his pie smooth ere he went away. but the spot was more than a landing place; a path went up the bank into the woods, as faint as the green waterway among the sedges. tall ferns bent over to hide it; rank grasses that had been softly brushed aside tried their best to look natural; the alders waved their branches thickly, saying: there is no way here. but there it was, a path for the wood folk. and when i followed it into the shade and silence of the woods, the first mossy log that lay across it was worn smooth by the passage of many little feet. as i came back, simmo's canoe glided into sight and i waved him to shore. the light birch swung up beside mine, a deep water-dimple just under the curl of its bow, and a musical ripple like the gurgle of water by a mossy stone--that was the only sound. "what means this path, simmo?" his keen eyes took in everything at a glance, the wavy waterway, the tracks, the faint path to the alders. there was a look of surprise in his face that i had blundered onto a discovery which he had looked for many times in vain, his traps on his back. "das a portash," he said simply. "a portage! but who made a portage here?" "well, musquash he prob'ly make-um first. den beaver, den h'otter, den everybody in hurry he make-um. you see, river make big bend here. portash go 'cross; save time, jus' same indian portash." that was the first of a dozen such paths that i have since found cutting across the bends of wilderness rivers,--the wood folk's way of saving time on a journey. i left simmo to go on down the river, while i followed the little byway curiously. there is nothing more fascinating in the woods than to go on the track of the wild things and see what they have been doing. but alas! mine were not the first human feet that had taken the journey. halfway across, at a point where the path ran over a little brook, i found a deadfall set squarely in the way of unwary feet. it was different from any i had ever seen, and was made like this: {drawing omitted} that tiny stick (trigger, the trappers call it) with its end resting in air three inches above the bed log, just the right height so that a beaver or an otter would naturally put his foot on it in crossing, looks innocent enough. but if you look sharply you will see that if it were pressed down ever so little it would instantly release the bent stick that holds the fall-log, and bring the deadly thing down with crushing force across the back of any animal beneath. such are the pitfalls that lie athwart the way of keeonekh the otter, when he goes a-courting and uses musquash's portage to shorten his journey. at the other end of the portage i waited for simmo to come round the bend, and took him back to see the work, denouncing the heartless carelessness of the trapper who had gone away in the spring and left an unsprung deadfall as a menace to the wild things. at the first glance he pronounced it an otter trap. then the fear and wonder swept into his face, and the questions into mine. "das noel waby's trap. nobody else make-um tukpeel stick like dat," he said at last. then i understood. noel waby had gone up river trapping in the spring, and had never come back; nor any word to tell how death met him. i stooped down to examine the trap with greater interest. on the underside of the fall-log i found some long hairs still clinging in the crevices of the rough bark. they belonged to the outer waterproof coat with which keeonekh keeps his fur dry. one otter at least had been caught here, and the trap reset. but some sense of danger, some old scent of blood or subtle warning clung to the spot, and no other creature had crossed the bed log, though hundreds must have passed that way since the old indian reset his trap, and strode away with the dead otter across his shoulders. what was it in the air? what sense of fear brooded here and whispered in the alder leaves and tinkled in the brook? simmo grew uneasy and hurried away. he was like the wood folk. but i sat down on a great log that the spring floods had driven in through the alders to feel the meaning of the place, if possible, and to have the vast sweet solitude all to myself for a little while. a faint stir on my left, and another! then up the path, twisting and gliding, came keeonekh, the first otter that i had ever seen in the wilderness. where the sun flickered in through the alder leaves it glinted brightly on the shiny puter hairs of his rough coat. as he went his nose worked constantly, going far ahead of his bright little eyes to tell him what was in the path. i was sitting very still, some distance to one side, and he did not see me. near old noel's deadfall he paused an instant with raised head, in the curious snake-like attitude that all the weasels take when watching. then he glided round the end of the trap, and disappeared down the portage. when he was gone i stole out to examine his tracks. then i noticed for the first time that the old path near the deadfall was getting moss-grown; a faint new path began to show among the alders. some warning was there in the trap, and with cunning instinct all the wood dwellers turned aside, giving a wide berth to what they felt was dangerous but could not understand. the new path joined the old again, beyond the brook, and followed it straight to the river. again i examined the deadfall carefully, but of course i found nothing. that is a matter of instinct, not of eyes and ears, and it is past finding out. then i went away for good, after driving a ring of stout stakes all about the trap to keep heedless little feet out of it. but i left it unsprung, just as it was, a rude tribute of remembrance to keeonekh and the lost indian. keeonekh the fisherman wherever you find keeonekh the otter you find three other things: wildness, beauty, and running water that no winter can freeze. there is also good fishing, but that will profit you little; for after keeonekh has harried a pool it is useless to cast your fly or minnow there. the largest fish has disappeared--you will find his bones and a fin or two on the ice or the nearest bank--and the little fish are still in hiding after their fright. conversely, wherever you find the three elements mentioned you will also find keeonekh, if your eyes know how to read the signs aright. even in places near the towns, where no otter has been seen for generations, they are still to be found leading their shy wild life, so familiar with every sight and sound of danger that no eye of the many that pass by ever sees them. no animal has been more persistently trapped and hunted for the valuable fur that he bears; but keeonekh is hard to catch and quick to learn. when a family have all been caught or driven away from a favorite stream, another otter speedily finds the spot in some of his winter wanderings after better fishing, and, knowing well from the signs that others of his race have paid the sad penalty for heedlessness, he settles down there with greater watchfulness, and enjoys his fisherman's luck. in the spring he brings a mate to share his rich living. soon a family of young otters go a-fishing in the best pools and explore the stream for miles up and down. but so shy and wild and quick to hide are they that the trout fishermen who follow the river, and the ice fishermen who set their tilt-ups in the pond below, and the children who gather cowslips in the spring have no suspicion that the original proprietors of the stream are still on the spot, jealously watching and resenting every intrusion. occasionally the wood choppers cross an unknown trail in the snow, a heavy trail, with long, sliding, down-hill plunges which look as if a log had been dragged along. but they too go their way, wondering a bit at the queer things that live in the woods, but not understanding the plain records that the queer things leave behind them. did they but follow far enough they would find the end of the trail in open water, and on the ice beyond the signs of keeonekh's fishing. i remember one otter family whose den i found, when a boy, on a stream between two ponds within three miles of the town house. yet the oldest hunter could barely remember the time when the last otter had been caught or seen in the county. i was sitting very still in the bushes on the bank, one day in spring, watching for a wood duck. wood duck lived there, but the cover was so thick that i could never surprise them. they always heard me coming and were off, giving me only vanishing glimpses among the trees, or else quietly hiding until i went by. so the only way to see them--a beautiful sight they were--was to sit still in hiding, for hours if need be, until they came gliding by, all unconscious of the watcher. as i waited a large animal came swiftly up stream, just his head visible, with a long tail trailing behind. he was swimming powerfully, steadily, straight as a string; but, as i noted with wonder, he made no ripple whatever, sliding through the water as if greased from nose to tail. just above me he dived, and i did not see him again, though i watched up and down stream breathlessly for him to reappear. i had never seen such an animal before, but i knew somehow that it was an otter, and i drew back into better hiding with the hope of seeing the rare creature again. presently another otter appeared, coming up stream and disappearing in exactly the same way as the first. but though i stayed all the afternoon i saw nothing more. after that i haunted the spot every time i could get away, creeping down to the river bank and lying in hiding hours long at a stretch; for i knew now that the otters lived there, and they gave me many glimpses of a life i had never seen before. soon i found their den. it was in a bank opposite my hiding place, and the entrance was among the roots of a great tree, under water, where no one could have possibly found it if the otters had not themselves shown the way. in their approach they always dived while yet well out in the stream, and so entered their door unseen. when they came out they were quite as careful, always swimming some distance under water before coming to the surface. it was several days before my eye could trace surely the faint undulation of the water above them, and so follow their course to their doorway. had not the water been shallow i should never have found it; for they are the most wonderful of swimmers, making no ripple on the surface, and not half the disturbance below it that a fish of the same weight makes. those were among the happiest watching hours that i have ever spent in the woods. the game was so large, so utterly unexpected; and i had the wonderful discovery all to myself. not one of the half dozen boys and men who occasionally, when the fever seized them, trapped muskrat in the big meadow, a mile below, or the rare mink that hunted frogs in the brook, had any suspicion that such splendid fur was to be had for the hunting. sometimes a whole afternoon would go slowly by, filled with the sounds and sweet smells of the woods, and not a ripple would break the dimples of the stream before me. but when, one late afternoon, just as the pines across the stream began to darken against the western light, a string of silver bubbles shot across the stream and a big otter rose to the surface with a pickerel in his mouth, all the watching that had not well repaid itself was swept out of the reckoning. he came swiftly towards me, put his fore paws against the bank, gave a wriggling jump,--and there he was, not twenty feet away, holding the pickerel down with his fore paws, his back arched like a frightened cat, and a tiny stream of water trickling down from the tip of his heavy pointed tail, as he ate his fish with immense relish. years afterward, hundreds of miles away on the dungarvon, in the heart of the wilderness, every detail of the scene came back to me again. i was standing on snowshoes, looking out over the frozen river, when keeonekh appeared in an open pool with a trout in his mouth. he broke his way, with a clattering tinkle of winter bells, through the thin edge of ice, put his paws against the heavy snow ice, threw himself out with the same wriggling jump, and ate with his back arched--just as i had seen him years before. this curious way of eating is, i think, characteristic of all otters; certainly of those that i have been fortunate enough to see. why they do it is more than i know; but it must be uncomfortable for every mouthful--full of fish bones, too--to slide uphill to one's stomach. perhaps it is mere habit, which shows in the arched backs of all the weasel family. perhaps it is to frighten any enemy that may approach unawares while keeonekh is eating, just as an owl, when feeding on the ground, bristles up all his feathers so as to look as big as possible. but my first otter was too keen-scented to remain long so near a concealed enemy. suddenly he stopped eating and turned his head in my direction. i could see his nostrils twitching as the wind gave him its message. then he left his fish, glided into the stream as noiselessly as the brook entered it below him, and disappeared without leaving a single wavelet to show where he had gone down. when the young otters appeared, there was one of the most interesting lessons to be seen in the woods. though keeonekh loves the water and lives in it more than half the time, his little ones are afraid of it as so many kittens. if left to themselves they would undoubtedly go off for a hunting life, following the old family instinct; for fishing is an acquired habit of the otters, and so the fishing instinct cannot yet be transmitted to the little ones. that will take many generations. meanwhile the little keeonekhs must be taught to swim. one day the mother-otter appeared on the bank among the roots of the great tree under which was their secret doorway. that was surprising, for up to this time both otters had always approached it from the river, and were never seen on the bank near their den. she appeared to be digging, but was immensely cautious about it, looking, listening, sniffing continually. i had never gone near the place for fear of frightening them away; and it was months afterward, when the den was deserted, before i examined it to understand just what she was doing. then i found that she had made another doorway from her den leading out to the bank. she had selected the spot with wonderful cunning,--a hollow under a great root that would never be noticed,--and she dug from inside, carrying the earth down to the river bottom, so that there should be nothing about the tree to indicate the haunt of an animal. long afterwards, when i had grown better acquainted with keeonekh's ways from much watching, i understood the meaning of all this. she was simply making a safe way out and in for the little ones, who were afraid of the water. had she taken or driven them out of her own entrance under the river, they might easily have drowned ere they reached the surface. when the entrance was all ready she disappeared, but i have no doubt she was just inside, watching to be sure the coast was clear. slowly her head and neck appeared till they showed clear of the black roots. she turned her nose up stream--nothing in the wind. eyes and ears searched below--nothing harmful there. then she came out, and after her toddled two little otters, full of wonder at the big bright world, full of fear at the river. there was no play at first, only wonder and investigation. caution was born in them; they put their little feet down as if treading on eggs, and they sniffed every bush before going behind it. and the old mother noted their cunning with satisfaction while her own nose and ears watched far away. the outing was all too short; some uneasiness was in the air down stream. suddenly she rose from where she was lying, and the little ones, as if commanded, tumbled back into the den. in a moment she had glided after them, and the bank was deserted. it was fully ten minutes before my untrained cars caught faint sounds, which were not of the woods, coming up stream; and longer than that before two men with fish poles appeared, making their slow way to the pond above. they passed almost over the den and disappeared, all unconscious of beast or man that wished them elsewhere, resenting their noisy passage through the solitudes. but the otters did not come out again, though i watched till nearly dark. it was a week before i saw them again, and some good teaching had evidently been done in the meantime; for all fear of the river was gone. they toddled out as before, at the same hour in the afternoon, and went straight to the bank. there the mother lay down, and the little ones, as if enjoying the frolic, clambered up to her back. whereupon she slid into the stream and swam slowly about with the little keeonekhs clinging to her desperately, as if humpty-dumpty had been played on them before, and might be repeated any moment. i understood their air of anxious expectation a moment later, when mother otter dived like a flash from under them, leaving them to make their own way in the water. they began to swim naturally enough, but the fear of the new element was still upon them. the moment old mother otter appeared they made for her whimpering, but she dived again and again, or moved slowly away, and so kept them swimming. after a little they seemed to tire and lose courage. her eyes saw it quicker than mine, and she glided between them. both little ones turned in at the same instant and found a resting place on her back. so she brought them carefully to land again, and in a few moments they were all rolling about in the dry leaves like so many puppies. i must confess here that, besides the boy's wonder in watching the wild things, another interest brought me to the river bank and kept me studying keeonekh's ways. father otter was a big fellow,--enormous he seemed to me, thinking of my mink skins,--and occasionally, when his rich coat glinted in the sunshine, i was thinking what a famous cap it would make for the winter woods, or for coasting on moonshiny nights. more often i was thinking what famous things a boy could buy for the fourteen dollars, at least, which his pelt would bring in the open market. the first saturday after i saw him i prepared a board, ten times bigger than a mink-stretcher, and tapered one end to a round point, and split it, and made a wedge, and smoothed it all down, and hid it away--to stretch the big otter's skin upon when i should catch him. when november came, and fur was prime, i carried down a half-bushel basket of heads and stuff from the fish market, and piled them up temptingly on the bank, above a little water path, in a lonely spot by the river. at the lower end of the path, where it came out of the water, i set a trap, my biggest one, with a famous grip for skunks and woodchucks. but the fish rotted away, as did also another basketful in another place. whatever was eaten went to the crows and mink. keeonekh disdained it. then i set the trap in some water (to kill the smell of it) on a game path among some swamp alders, at a bend of the river where nobody ever came and where i had found keeonekh's tracks. the next night he walked into it. but the trap that was sure grip for woodchucks was a plaything for keeonekh's strength. he wrenched his foot out of it, leaving me only a few glistening hairs--which was all i ever caught of him. years afterward, when i found old noel's trap on keeonekh's portage, i asked simmo why no bait had been used. "no good use-um bait," he said, "keeonekh like-um fresh fish, an' catch-um self all he want." and that is true. except in starvation times, when even the pools are frozen, or the fish die from one of their mysterious epidemics, keeonekh turns up his nose at any bait. if a bit of castor is put in a split stick, he will turn aside, like all the fur-bearers, to see what this strange smell is. but if you would toll him with a bait, you must fasten a fish in the water in such a way that it seems alive as the current wiggles it, else keeonekh will never think it worthy of his catching. the den in the river bank was never disturbed, and the following year another litter was raised there. with characteristic cunning--a cunning which grows keener and keener in the neighborhood of civilization--the mother-otter filled up the land entrance among the roots with earth and driftweed, using only the doorway under water until it was time for the cubs to come out into the world again. of all the creatures of the wilderness keeonekh is the most richly gifted, and his ways, could we but search them out, would furnish a most interesting chapter. every journey he takes, whether by land or water, is full of unknown traits and tricks; but unfortunately no one ever sees him doing things, and most of his ways are yet to be found out. you see a head holding swiftly across a wilderness lake, or coming to meet your canoe on the streams; then, as you follow eagerly, a swirl and he is gone. when he comes up again he will watch you so much more keenly than you can possibly watch him that you learn little about him, except how shy he is. even the trappers who make a business of catching him, and with whom i have often talked, know almost nothing of keeonekh, except where to set their traps for him living and how to care for his skin when he is dead. once i saw him fishing in a curious way. it was winter, on a wilderness stream flowing into the dugarvon. there had been a fall of dry snow that still lay deep and powdery over all the woods, too light to settle or crust. at every step one had to lift a shovelful of the stuff on the point of his snowshoe; and i was tired out, following some caribou that wandered like plover in the rain. just below me was a deep open pool surrounded by double fringes of ice. early in the winter, while the stream was higher, the white ice had formed thickly on the river wherever the current was not too swift for freezing. then the stream fell, and a shelf of new black ice formed at the water's level, eighteen inches or more below the first ice, some of which still clung to the banks, reaching out in places two or three feet and forming dark caverns with the ice below. both shelves dipped towards the water, forming a gentle incline all about the edges of the open places. a string of silver bubbles shooting across the black pool at my feet roused me out of a drowsy weariness. there it was again, a rippling wave across the pool, which rose to the surface a moment later in a hundred bubbles, tinkling like tiny bells as they broke in the keen air. two or three times i saw it with growing wonder. then something stirred under the shelf of ice across the pool. an otter slid into the water; the rippling wave shot across again; the bubbles broke at the surface; and i knew that he was sitting under the white ice below me, not twenty feet away. a whole family of otters, three or four of them, were fishing there at my feet in utter unconsciousness. the discovery took my breath away. every little while the bubbles would shoot across from my side, and watching sharply i would see keeonekh slide out upon the lower shelf of ice on the other side and crouch there in the gloom, with back humped against the ice above him, eating his catch. the fish they caught were all small evidently, for after a few minutes he would throw himself flat on the ice, slide down the incline into the water, making no splash or disturbance as he entered, and the string of bubbles would shoot across to my side again. for a full hour i watched them breathlessly, marveling at their skill. a small fish is nimble game to follow and catch in his own element. but at every slide keeonekh did it. sometimes the rippling wave would shoot all over the pool, and the bubbles break in a wild tangle as the fish darted and doubled below, with the otter after him. but it always ended the same way. keeonekh would slide out upon the ice shelf, and hump his back, and begin to eat almost before the last bubble had tinkled behind him. curiously enough, the rule of the salmon fishermen prevailed here in the wilderness: no two rods shall whip the same pool at the same time. i would see an otter lying ready on the ice, evidently waiting for the chase to end. then, as another otter slid out beside him with his fish, in he would go like a flash and take his turn. for a while the pool was a lively place; the bubbles had no rest. then the plunges grew fewer and fewer, and the otters all disappeared into the ice caverns. what became of them i could not make out; and i was too chilled to watch longer. above and below the pool the stream was frozen for a distance; then there was more open water and more fishing. whether they followed along the bank under cover of the ice to other pools, or simply slept where they were till hungry again, i never found out. certainly they had taken up their abode in an ideal spot, and would not leave it willingly. the open pools gave excellent fishing, and the upper ice shelf protected them perfectly from all enemies. once, a week later, i left the caribou and came back to the spot to watch awhile; but the place was deserted. the black water gurgled and dimpled across the pool, and slipped away silently under the lower edge of ice undisturbed by strings of silver bubbles. the ice caverns were all dark and silent. the mink had stolen the fish heads, and there was no trace anywhere to show that it was keeonekh's banquet hall. the swimming power of an otter, which was so evident there in the winter pool, is one of the most remarkable things in nature. all other animals and birds, and even the best modeled of modern boats, leave more or less wake behind them when moving through the water. but keeonekh leaves no more trail than a fish. this is partly because he keeps his body well submerged when swimming, partly because of the strong, deep, even stroke that drives him forward. sometimes i have wondered if the outer hairs of his coat--the waterproof covering that keeps his fur dry, no matter how long he swims--are not better oiled than in other animals, which might account for the lack of ripple. i have seen him go down suddenly and leave absolutely no break in the surface to show where he was. when sliding also, plunging down a twenty-foot clay bank, he enters the water with an astonishing lack of noise or disturbance of any kind. in swimming at the surface he seems to use all four feet, like other animals. but below the surface, when chasing fish, he uses only the fore-paws. the hind legs then stretch straight out behind and are used, with the heavy tail, for a great rudder. by this means he turns and doubles like a flash, following surely the swift dartings of frightened trout, and beating them by sheer speed and nimbleness. when fishing a pool he always hunts outward from the center, driving the fish towards the bank, keeping himself within their circlings, and so having the immense advantage of the shorter line in heading off his game. the fish are seized as they crouch against the bank for protection, or try to dart out past him. large fish are frequently caught from behind as they lie resting in their spring-holes. so swift and noiseless is his approach that they are seized before they become aware of danger. this swimming power of keeonekh is all the more astonishing when one remembers that he is distinctively a land animal, with none of the special endowments of the seal, who is his only rival as a fisherman. nature undoubtedly intended him to get his living, as the other members of his large family do, by hunting in the woods, and endowed him accordingly. he is a strong runner, a good climber, a patient tireless hunter, and his nose is keen as a brier. with a little practice he could again get his living by hunting, as his ancestors did. if squirrels and rats and rabbits were too nimble at first, there are plenty of musquash to be caught, and he need not stop at a fawn or a sheep, for he is enormously strong, and the grip of his jaws is not to be loosened. in severe winters, when fish are scarce or his pools frozen over, he takes to the woods boldly and shows himself a master at hunting craft. but he likes fish, and likes the water, and for many generations now has been simply a fisherman, with many of the quiet lovable traits that belong to fishermen in general. that is one thing to give you instant sympathy for keeonekh--he is so different, so far above all other members of his tribe. he is very gentle by nature, with no trace of the fisher's ferocity or the weasel's bloodthirstiness. he tames easily, and makes the most docile and affectionate pet of all the wood folk. he never kills for the sake of killing, but lives peaceably, so far as he can, with all creatures. and he stops fishing when he has caught his dinner. he is also most cleanly in his habits, with no suggestion whatever of the evil odors that cling to the mink and defile the whole neighborhood of a skunk. one cannot help wondering whether just going fishing has not wrought all this wonder in keeonekh's disposition. if so, 't is a pity that all his tribe do not turn fishermen. his one enemy among the wood folk, so far as i have observed, is the beaver. as the latter is also a peaceable animal, it is difficult to account for the hostility. i have heard or read somewhere that keeonekh is fond of young beaver and hunts them occasionally to vary his diet of fish; but i have never found any evidence in the wilderness to show this. instead, i think it is simply a matter of the beaver's dam and pond that causes the trouble. when the dam is built the beavers often dig a channel around either end to carry off the surplus water, and so prevent their handiwork being washed away in a freshet. then the beavers guard their preserve jealously, driving away the wood folk that dare to cross their dam or enter their ponds, especially the musquash, who is apt to burrow and cause them no end of trouble. but keeonekh, secure in his strength, holds straight through the pond, minding his own business and even taking a fish or two in the deep places near the dam. he delights also in running water, especially in winter when lakes and streams are mostly frozen, and in his journeyings he makes use of the open channels that guard the beavers' work. but the moment the beavers hear a splashing there, or note a disturbance in the pond where keeonekh is chasing fish, down they come full of wrath. and there is generally a desperate fight before the affair is settled. once, on a little pond, i saw a fierce battle going on out in the middle, and paddled hastily to find out about it. two beavers and a big otter were locked in a death struggle, diving, plunging, throwing themselves out of water, and snapping at each other's throats. as my canoe halted the otter gripped one of his antagonists and went under with him. there was a terrible commotion below the surface for a few moments. when it ended the beaver rolled up dead, and keeonekh shot up under the second beaver to repeat the attack. they gripped on the instant, but the second beaver, an enormous fellow, refused to go under where he would be at a disadvantage. in my eagerness i let the canoe drift almost upon them, driving them wildly apart before the common danger. the otter held on his way up the lake; the beaver turned towards the shore, where i noticed for the first time a couple of beaver houses. in this case there was no chance for intrusion on keeonekh's part. he had probably been attacked when going peaceably about his business through the lake. it is barely possible, however, that there was an old grievance on the beavers' part, which they sought to square when they caught keeonekh on the lake. when beavers build their houses on the lake shore, without the necessity for making a dam, they generally build a tunnel slanting up from the lake's bed to their den or house on the bank. now keeonekh fishes under the ice in winter more than is generally supposed. as he must breathe after every chase he must needs know all the air-holes and dens in the whole lake. no matter how much he turns and doubles in the chase after a trout, he never loses his sense of direction, never forgets where the breathing places are. when his fish is seized he makes a bee line under the ice for the nearest place where he can breathe and eat. sometimes this lands him, out of breath, in the beaver's tunnel; and the beaver must sit upstairs in his own house, nursing his wrath, while keeonekh eats fish in his hallway; for there is not room for both at once in the tunnel, and a fight there or under the ice is out of the question. as the beaver eats only bark--the white inner layer of "popple" bark is his chief dainty--he cannot understand and cannot tolerate this barbarian, who eats raw fish and leaves the bones and fins and the smell of slime in his doorway. the beaver is exemplary in his neatness, detesting all smells and filth; and this may possibly account for some of his enmity and his savage attacks upon keeonekh when he catches him in a good place. not the least interesting of keeonekh's queer ways is his habit of sliding down hill, which makes a bond of sympathy and brings him close to the boyhood memories of those who know him. i remember one pair of otters that i watched for the better part of a sunny afternoon sliding down a clay bank with endless delight. the slide had been made, with much care evidently, on the steep side of a little promontory that jutted into the river. it was very steep, about twenty feet high, and had been made perfectly smooth by much sliding and wetting-down. an otter would appear at the top of the bank, throw himself forward on his belly and shoot downward like a flash, diving deep under water and reappearing some distance out from the foot of the slide. and all this with marvelous stillness, as if the very woods had ears and were listening to betray the shy creatures at their fun. for it was fun, pure and simple, and fun with no end of tingle and excitement in it, especially when one tried to catch the other and shot into the water at his very heels. this slide was in perfect condition, and the otters were careful not to roughen it. they never scrambled up over it, but went round the point and climbed from the other side, or else went up parallel to the slide, some distance away, where the ascent was easier and where there was no danger of rolling stones or sticks upon the coasting ground to spoil its smoothness. in winter the snow makes better coasting than the clay. moreover it soon grows hard and icy from the freezing of the water left by the otter's body, and after a few days the slide is as smooth as glass. then coasting is perfect, and every otter, old and young, has his favorite slide and spends part of every pleasant day enjoying the fun. when traveling through the woods in deep snow, keeonekh makes use of his sliding habit to help him along, especially on down grades. he runs a little way and throws himself forward on his belly, sliding through the snow for several feet before he runs again. so his progress is a series of slides, much as one hurries along in slippery weather. i have spoken of the silver bubbles that first drew my attention to the fishing otters one day in the wilderness. from the few rare opportunities that i have had to watch them, i think that the bubbles are seen only after keeonekh slides swiftly into the stream. the air clings to the hairs of his rough outer coat and is brushed from them as he passes through the water. one who watches him thus, shooting down the long slide belly-bump into the black winter pool, with a string of silver bubbles breaking and tinkling above him, is apt to know the hunter's change of heart from the touch of nature which makes us all kin. thereafter he eschews trapping--at least you will not find his number-three trap at the foot of keeonekh's slide any more, to turn the shy creature's happiness into tragedy--and he sends a hearty good-luck after his fellow-fisherman, whether he meet him on the wilderness lakes or in the quiet places on the home streams where nobody ever comes. koskomenos the outcast koskomenos the kingfisher is a kind of outcast among the birds. i think they regard him as a half reptile, who has not yet climbed high enough in the bird scale to deserve recognition; so they let him severely alone. even the goshawk hesitates before taking a swoop at him, not knowing quite whether the gaudy creature is dangerous or only uncanny. i saw a great hawk once drop like a bolt upon a kingfisher that hung on quivering wings, rattling softly, before his hole in the bank. but the robber lost his nerve at the instant when he should have dropped his claws to strike. he swerved aside and shot upward in a great slant to a dead spruce top, where he stood watching intently till the dark beak of a brooding kingfisher reached out of the hole to receive the fish that her mate had brought her. whereupon koskomenos swept away to his watchtower above the minnow pool, and the hawk set his wings toward the outlet, where a brood of young sheldrakes were taking their first lessons in the open water. no wonder the birds look askance at kingfisher. his head is ridiculously large; his feet ridiculously small. he is a poem of grace in the air; but he creeps like a lizard, or waddles so that a duck would be ashamed of him, in the rare moments when he is afoot. his mouth is big enough to take in a minnow whole; his tongue so small that he has no voice, but only a harsh klr-rr-r-ik-ik-ik, like a watchman's rattle. he builds no nest, but rather a den in the bank, in which he lives most filthily half the day; yet the other half he is a clean, beautiful creature, with never a suggestion of earth, but only of the blue heavens above and the color-steeped water below, in his bright garments. water will not wet him, though he plunge a dozen times out of sight beneath the surface. his clatter is harsh, noisy, diabolical; yet his plunge into the stream, with its flash of color, its silver spray, and its tinkle of smitten water, is the most musical thing in the wilderness. as a fisherman he has no equal. his fishy, expressionless eye is yet the keenest that sweeps the water, and his swoop puts even the fish-hawk to shame for its certainty and its lightning quickness. besides all these contradictions, he is solitary, unknown, inapproachable. he has no youth, no play, no joy except to eat; he associates with nobody, not even with his own kind; and when he catches a fish, and beats its head against a limb till it is dead, and sits with head back-tilted, swallowing his prey, with a clattering chuckle deep down in his throat, he affects you as a parrot does that swears diabolically under his breath as he scratches his head, and that you would gladly shy a stone at, if the owner's back were turned for a sufficient moment. it is this unknown, this uncanny mixture of bird and reptile that has made the kingfisher an object of superstition among all savage peoples. the legends about him are legion; his crested head is prized by savages above all others as a charm or fetish; and even among civilized peoples his dried body may still sometimes be seen hanging to a pole, in the hope that his bill will point out the quarter from which the next wind will blow. but koskomenos has another side, though the world as yet has found out little about it. one day in the wilderness i cheered him quite involuntarily. it was late afternoon; the fishing was over, and i sat in my canoe watching by a grassy point to see what would happen next. across the stream was a clay bank, near the top of which a hole as wide as a tea-cup showed where a pair of kingfishers had dug their long tunnel. "there is nothing for them to stand on there; how did they begin that hole?" i wondered lazily; "and how can they ever raise a brood, with an open door like that for mink and weasel to enter?" here were two new problems to add to the many unsolved ones which meet you at every turn on the woodland byways. a movement under the shore stopped my wondering, and the long lithe form of a hunting mink shot swiftly up stream. under the hole he stopped, raised himself with his fore paws against the bank, twisting his head from side to side and sniffing nervously. "something good up there," he thought, and began to climb. but the bank was sheer and soft; he slipped back half a dozen times without rising two feet. then he went down stream to a point where some roots gave him a foothold, and ran lightly up till under the dark eaves that threw their shadowy roots over the clay bank. there he crept cautiously along till his nose found the nest, and slipped down till his fore paws rested on the threshold. a long hungry sniff of the rank fishy odor that pours out of a kingfisher's den, a keen look all around to be sure the old birds were not returning, and he vanished like a shadow. "there is one brood of kingfishers the less," i thought, with my glasses focused on the hole. but scarcely was the thought formed, when a fierce rumbling clatter sounded in the bank. the mink shot out, a streak of red showing plainly across his brown face. after him came a kingfisher clattering out a storm of invective and aiding his progress by vicious jabs at his rear. he had made a miscalculation that time; the old mother bird was at home waiting for him, and drove her powerful beak at his evil eye the moment it appeared at the inner end of the tunnel. that took the longing for young kingfisher all out of cheokhes. he plunged headlong down the bank, the bird swooping after him with a rattling alarm that brought another kingfisher in a twinkling. the mink dived, but it was useless to attempt escape in that way; the keen eyes above followed his flight perfectly. when he came to the surface, twenty feet away, both birds were over him and dropped like plummets on his head. so they drove him down stream and out of sight. years afterward i solved the second problem suggested by the kingfisher's den, when i had the good fortune, one day, to watch a pair beginning their tunneling. all who have ever watched the bird have, no doubt, noticed his wonderful ability to stop short in swift flight and hold himself poised in midair for an indefinite time, while watching the movements of a minnow beneath. they make use of this ability in beginning their nest on a bank so steep as to afford no foothold. as i watched the pair referred to, first one then the other would hover before the point selected, as a hummingbird balances for a moment at the door of a trumpet flower to be sure that no one is watching ere he goes in, then drive his beak with rapid plunges into the bank, sending down a continuous shower of clay to the river below. when tired he rested on a watch-stub, while his mate made a battering-ram of herself and kept up the work. in a remarkably short time they had a foothold and proceeded to dig themselves in out of sight. kingfisher's tunnel is so narrow that he cannot turn around in it. his straight, strong bill loosens the earth; his tiny feet throw it out behind. i would see a shower of dirt, and perchance the tail of koskomenos for a brief instant, then a period of waiting, and another shower. this kept up till the tunnel was bored perhaps two feet, when they undoubtedly made a sharp turn, as is their custom. after that they brought most of the earth out in their beaks. while one worked, the other watched or fished at the minnow pool, so that there was steady progress as long as i observed them. for years i had regarded koskomenos, as the birds and the rest of the world regard him, as a noisy, half-diabolical creature, between bird and lizard, whom one must pass by with suspicion. but that affair with the mink changed my feelings a bit. koskomenos' mate might lay her eggs like a reptile, but she could defend them like any bird hero. so i took to watching more carefully; which is the only way to get acquainted. the first thing i noticed about the birds--an observation confirmed later on many waters--was that each pair of kingfishers have their own particular pools, over which they exercise unquestioned lordship. there may be a dozen pairs of birds on a single stream; but, so far as i have been able to observe, each family has a certain stretch of water on which no other kingfishers are allowed to fish. they may pass up and down freely, but they never stop at the minnow pools; they are caught watching near them, they are promptly driven out by the rightful owners. the same thing is true on the lake shores. whether there is some secret understanding and partition among them, or whether (which is more likely) their right consists in discovery or first arrival, there is no means of knowing. a curious thing, in this connection, is that while a kingfisher will allow none of his kind to poach on his preserves, he lives at peace with the brood of sheldrakes that occupy the same stretch of river. and the sheldrake eats a dozen fish to his one. the same thing is noticeable among the sheldrakes also, namely, that each pair, or rather each mother and her brood, have their own piece of lake or river on which no others are allowed to fish. the male sheldrakes meanwhile are far away, fishing on their own waters. i had not half settled this matter of the division of trout streams when another observation came, which was utterly unexpected. koskomenos, half reptile though he seem, not only recognizes riparian rights, but he is also capable of friendship--and that, too, for a moody prowler of the wilderness whom no one else cares anything about. here is the proof. i was out in my canoe alone looking for a loon's nest, one midsummer day, when the fresh trail of a bull caribou drew me to shore. the trail led straight from the water to a broad alder belt, beyond which, on the hillside, i might find the big brute loafing his time away till evening should come, and watch him to see what he would do with himself. as i turned shoreward a kingfisher sounded his rattle and came darting across the mouth of the bay where hukweem the loon had hidden her two eggs. i watched him, admiring the rippling sweep of his flight, like the run of a cat's-paw breeze across a sleeping lake, and the clear blue of his crest against the deeper blue of summer sky. under him his reflection rippled along, like the rush of a gorgeous fish through the glassy water. opposite my canoe he checked himself, poised an instant in mid-air, watching the minnows that my paddle had disturbed, and dropped bill first--plash! with a silvery tinkle in the sound, as if hidden bells down among the green water weeds had been set to ringing by this sprite of the air. a shower of spray caught the rainbow for a brief instant; the ripples gathered and began to dance over the spot where koskomenos had gone down, when they were scattered rudely again as he burst out among them with his fish. he swept back to the stub whence he had come, chuckling on the way. there he whacked his fish soundly on the wood, threw his head back, and through the glass i saw the tail of a minnow wriggling slowly down the road that has for him no turning. then i took up the caribou trail. i had gone nearly through the alders, following the course of a little brook and stealing along without a sound, when behind me i heard the kingfisher coming above the alders, rattling as if possessed, klrrr, klrrr, klrrr-ik-ik-ik! on the instant there was a heavy plunge and splash just ahead, and the swift rush of some large animal up the hillside. over me poised the kingfisher, looking down first at me, then ahead at the unknown beast, till the crashing ceased in a faint rustle far away, when he swept back to his fishing-stub, clacking and chuckling immoderately. i pushed cautiously ahead and came presently to a beautiful pool below a rock, where the hillside shelved gently towards the alders. from the numerous tracks and the look of the place, i knew instantly that i had stumbled upon a bear's bathing pool. the water was still troubled and muddy; huge tracks, all soppy and broken, led up the hillside in big jumps; the moss was torn, the underbrush spattered with shining water drops. "no room for doubt here," i thought; "mooween was asleep in this pool, and the kingfisher woke him up--but why? and did he do it on purpose?" i remembered suddenly a record in an old notebook, which reads: "sugarloaf lake, july.--tried to stalk a bear this noon. no luck. he was nosing alongshore and i had a perfect chance; but a kingfisher scared him." i began to wonder how the rattle of a kingfisher, which is one of the commonest sounds on wilderness waters, could scare a bear, who knows all the sounds of the wilderness perfectly. perhaps koskomenos has an alarm note and uses it for a friend in time of need, as gulls go out of their way to alarm a flock of sleeping ducks when danger is approaching. here was a new trait, a touch of the human in this unknown, clattering suspect of the fishing streams. i resolved to watch him with keener interest. somewhere above me, deep in the tangle of the summer wilderness, mooween stood watching his back track, eyes, ears, and nose alert to discover what the creature was who dared frighten him out of his noonday bath. it would be senseless to attempt to surprise him now; besides, i had no weapon of any kind.--"to-morrow, about this time, i shall be coming back; then look out, mooween," i thought as i marked the place and stole away to my canoe. but the next day when i came to the place, creeping along the upper edge of the alders so as to make no noise, the pool was clear and quiet, as if nothing but the little trout that hid under the foam bubbles had ever disturbed its peace. koskomenos was clattering about the bay below as usual. spite of my precaution he had seen me enter the alders; but he gave me no attention whatever. he went on with his fishing as if he knew perfectly that the bear had deserted his bathing pool. it was nearly a month before i again camped on the beautiful lake. summer was gone. all her warmth and more than her fragrant beauty still lingered on forest and river; but the drowsiness had gone from the atmosphere, and the haze had crept into it. here and there birches and maples flung out their gorgeous banners of autumn over the silent water. a tingle came into the evening air; the lake's breath lay heavy and white in the twilight stillness; birds and beasts became suddenly changed as they entered the brief period of sport and of full feeding. i was drifting about a reedy bay (the same bay in which the almost forgotten kingfisher had cheated me out of my bear, after eating a minnow that my paddle had routed out for him) shooting frogs for my table with a pocket rifle. how different it was here, i reflected, from the woods about home. there the game was already harried; the report of a gun set every living creature skulking. here the crack of my little rifle was no more heeded than the plunge of a fish-hawk, or the groaning of a burdened elm bough. a score of fat woodcock lay unheeding in that bit of alder tangle yonder, the ground bored like a colander after their night's feeding. up on the burned hillside the partridges said, quit, quit! when i appeared, and jumped to a tree and craned their necks to see what i was. the black ducks skulked in the reeds. they were full-grown now and strong of wing, but the early hiding habit was not yet broken up by shooting. they would glide through the sedges, and double the bogs, and crouch in a tangle till the canoe was almost upon them, when with a rush and a frightened hark-ark! they shot into the air and away to the river. the mink, changing from brown to black, gave up his nest-robbing for honest hunting, undismayed by trap or deadfall; and up in the inlet i could see grassy domes rising above the bronze and gold of the marsh, where musquash was building thick and high for winter cold and spring floods. truly it was good to be here, and to enter for a brief hour into the shy, wild but unharried life of the wood folk. a big bullfrog showed his head among the lily pads, and the little rifle, unmindful of the joys of an unharried existence, rose slowly to its place. my eye was glancing along the sights when a sudden movement in the alders on the shore, above and beyond the unconscious head of chigwooltz the frog, spared him for a little season to his lily pads and his minnow hunting. at the same moment a kingfisher went rattling by to his old perch over the minnow pool. the alders swayed again as if struck; a huge bear lumbered out of them to the shore, with a disgruntled woof! at some twig that had switched his ear too sharply. i slid lower in the canoe till only my head and shoulders were visible. mooween went nosing along-shore till something--a dead fish or a mussel bed--touched his appetite, when he stopped and began feeding, scarcely two hundred yards away. i reached first for my heavy rifle, then for the paddle, and cautiously "fanned" the canoe towards shore till an old stump on the point covered my approach. then the little bark jumped forward as if alive. but i had scarcely started when--klrrrr! klrrr! ik-ik--ik! over my head swept koskomenos with a rush of wings and an alarm cry that spoke only of haste and danger. i had a glimpse of the bear as he shot into the alders, as if thrown by a catapult; the kingfisher wheeled in a great rattling circle about the canoe before he pitched upon the old stump, jerking his tail and clattering in great excitement. i swung noiselessly out into the lake, where i could watch the alders. they were all still for a space of ten minutes; but mooween was there, i knew, sniffing and listening. then a great snake seemed to be wriggling through the bushes, making no sound, but showing a wavy line of quivering tops as he went. down the shore a little way was a higher point, with a fallen tree that commanded a view of half the lake. i had stood there a few days before, while watching to determine the air paths and lines of flight that sheldrakes use in passing up and down the lake,--for birds have runways, or rather flyways, just as foxes do. mooween evidently knew the spot; the alders showed that he was heading straight for it, to look out on the lake and see what the alarm was about. as yet he had no idea what peril had threatened him; though, like all wild creatures, he had obeyed the first clang of a danger note on the instant. not a creature in the woods, from mooween down to tookhees the wood mouse, but has learned from experience that, in matters of this kind, it is well to jump to cover first and investigate afterwards. i paddled swiftly to the point, landed and crept to a rock from which i could just see the fallen tree. mooween was coming. "my bear this time," i thought, as a twig snapped faintly. then koskomenos swept into the woods, hovering over the brush near the butt of the old tree, looking down and rattling--klrrrik, clear out! klrrr-ik, clear out! there was a heavy rush, such as a bear always makes when alarmed; koskomenos swept back to his perch; and i sought the shore, half inclined to make my next hunting more even-chanced by disposing of one meddlesome factor. "you wretched, noisy, clattering meddler!" i muttered, the front sight of my rifle resting fair on the blue back of koskomenos, "that is the third time you have spoiled my shot, and you won't have another chance.--but wait; who is the meddler here?" slowly the bent finger relaxed on the trigger. a loon went floating by the point, all unconscious of danger, with a rippling wake that sent silver reflections glinting across the lake's deep blue. far overhead soared an eagle, breeze-borne in wide circles, looking down on his own wide domain, unheeding the man's intrusion. nearer, a red squirrel barked down his resentment from a giant spruce trunk. down on my left a heavy splash and a wild, free tumult of quacking told where the black ducks were coming in, as they had done, undisturbed, for generations. behind me a long roll echoed through the woods--some young cock partridge, whom the warm sun had beguiled into drumming his spring love-call. from the mountain side a cow moose rolled back a startling answer. close at hand, yet seeming miles away, a chipmunk was chunking sleepily in the sunshine, while a nest of young wood mice were calling their mother in the grass at my feet. and every wild sound did but deepen the vast, wondrous silence of the wilderness. "after all, what place has the roar of a rifle or the smell of sulphurous powder in the midst of all this blessed peace?" i asked half sadly. as if in answer, the kingfisher dropped with his musical plash, and swept back with exultant rattle to his watchtower.--"go on with your clatter and your fishing. the wilderness and the solitary place shall still be glad, for you and mooween, and the trout pools would be lonely without you. but i wish you knew that your life lay a moment ago in the bend of my finger, and that some one, besides the bear, appreciates your brave warning." then i went back to the point to measure the tracks, and to estimate how big the bear was, and to console myself with the thought of how i would certainly have had him, if something had not interfered--which is the philosophy of all hunters since esau. it was a few days later that the chance came of repaying koskomenos with coals of fire. the lake surface was still warm; no storms nor frosts had cooled it. the big trout had risen from the deep places, but were not yet quickened enough to take my flies; so, trout hungry, i had gone trolling for them with a minnow. i had taken two good fish, and was moving slowly by the mouth of the bay, simmo at the paddle, when a suspicious movement on the shore attracted my attention. i passed the line to simmo, the better to use my glasses, and was scanning the alders sharply, when a cry of wonder came from the indian. "o bah cosh, see! das second time i catchum, koskomenos." and there, twenty feet above the lake, a young kingfisher--one of koskomenos' frowzy-headed, wild-eyed-youngsters--was whirling wildly at the end of my line. he had seen the minnow trailing a hundred feet astern and, with more hunger than discretion, had swooped for it promptly. simmo, feeling the tug but seeing nothing behind him, had struck promptly, and the hook went home. i seized the line and began to pull in gently. the young kingfisher came most unwillingly, with a continuous clatter of protest that speedily brought koskomenos and his mate, and two or three of the captive's brethren, in a wild, clamoring about the canoe. they showed no lack of courage, but swooped again and again at the line, and even at the man who held it. in a moment i had the youngster in my hand, and had disengaged the hook. he was not hurt at all, but terribly frightened; so i held him a little while, enjoying the excitement of the others, whom the captive's alarm rattle kept circling wildly about the canoe. it was noteworthy that not another bird heeded the cry or came near. even in distress they refused to recognize the outcast. then, as koskomenos hovered on quivering wings just over my head, i tossed the captive close up beside him. "there, koskomenos, take your young chuckle-head, and teach him better wisdom. next time you see me stalking a bear, please go on with your fishing." but there was no note of gratitude in the noisy babel that swept up the bay after the kingfishers. when i saw them again, they were sitting on a dead branch, five of them in a row, chuckling and clattering all at once, unmindful of the minnows that played beneath them. i have no doubt that, in their own way, they were telling each other all about it. meeko the mischief-maker there is a curious indian legend about meeko the red squirrel--the mischief-maker, as the milicetes call him--which is also an excellent commentary upon his character. simmo told it to me, one day, when we had caught meeko coming out of a woodpecker's hole with the last of a brood of fledgelings in his mouth, chuckling to himself over his hunting. long ago, in the days when clote scarpe ruled the animals, meeko was much larger than he is now, large as mooween the bear. but his temper was so fierce, and his disposition so altogether bad that all the wood folk were threatened with destruction. meeko killed right and left with the temper of a weasel, who kills from pure lust of blood. so clote scarpe, to save the little woods-people, made meeko smaller--small as he is now. unfortunately, clote scarpe forgot meeko's disposition; that remained as big and as bad as before. so now meeko goes about the woods with a small body and a big temper, barking, scolding, quarreling and, since he cannot destroy in his rage as before, setting other animals by the ears to destroy each other. when you have listened to meeko's scolding for a season, and have seen him going from nest to nest after innocent fledgelings; or creeping into the den of his big cousin, the beautiful gray squirrel, to kill the young; or driving away his little cousin, the chipmunk, to steal his hoarded nuts; or watching every fight that goes on in the woods, jeering and chuckling above it,--then you begin to understand the indian legend. spite of his evil ways, however, he is interesting and always unexpected. when you have watched the red squirrel that lives near your camp all summer, and think you know all about him, he does the queerest thing, good or bad, to upset all your theories and even the indian legends about him. i remember one that greeted me, the first living thing in the great woods, as i ran my canoe ashore on a wilderness river. meeko heard me coming. his bark sounded loudly, in a big spruce, above the dip of the paddles. as we turned shoreward, he ran down the tree in which he was, and out on a fallen log to meet us. i grasped a branch of the old log to steady the canoe and watched him curiously. he had never seen a man before; he barked, jeered, scolded, jerked his tail, whistled, did everything within his power to make me show my teeth and my disposition. suddenly he grew excited--and when meeko grows excited the woods are not big enough to hold him. he came nearer and nearer to my canoe till he leaped upon the gunwale and sat there chattering, as if he were adjidaumo come back again and i were hiawatha. all the while he had poured out a torrent of squirrel talk, but now his note changed; jeering and scolding and curiosity went out of it; something else crept in. i began to feel, somehow, that he was trying to make me understand something, and found me very stupid about it. i began to talk quietly, calling him a rattle-head and a disturber of the peace. at the first sound of my voice he listened with intense curiosity, then leaped to the log, ran the length of it, jumped down and began to dig furiously among the moss and dead leaves. every moment or two he would stop, and jump to the log to see if i were watching him. presently he ran to my canoe, sprang upon the gunwale, jumped back again, and ran along the log as before to where he had been digging. he did it again, looking back at me and saying plainly: "come here; come and look." i stepped out of the canoe to the old log, whereupon meeko went off into a fit of terrible excitement.--i was bigger than he expected; i had only two legs; kut-e-k'chuck, kut-e-k'chuck! whit, whit, whit, kut-e-k'chuck! i stood where i was until he got over his excitement. then he came towards me, and led me along the log, with much chuckling and jabbering, to the hole in the leaves where he had been digging. when i bent over it he sprang to a spruce trunk, on a level with my head, fairly bursting with excitement, but watching me with intensest interest. in the hole i found a small lizard, one of the rare kind that lives under logs and loves the dusk. he had been bitten through the back and disabled. he could still use legs, tail and head feebly, but could not run away. when i picked him up and held him in my hand, meeko came closer with loud-voiced curiosity, longing to leap to my hand and claim his own, but held back by fear.--"what is it? he's mine; i found him. what is it?" he barked, jumping about as if bewitched. two curiosities, the lizard and the man, were almost too much for him. i never saw a squirrel more excited. he had evidently found the lizard by accident, bit him to keep him still, and then, astonished by the rare find, hid him away where he could dig him out and watch him at leisure. i put the lizard back into the hole and covered him with leaves; then went to unloading my canoe. meeko watched me closely. and the moment i was gone he dug away the leaves, took his treasure out, watched it with wide bright eyes, bit it once more to keep it still, and covered it up again carefully. then he came chuckling along to where i was putting up my tent. in a week he owned the camp, coming and going at his own will, stealing my provisions when i forgot to feed him, and scolding me roundly at every irregular occurrence. he was an early riser and insisted on my conforming to the custom. every morning he would leap at daylight from a fir tip to my ridgepole, run it along to the front and sit there, barking and whistling, until i put my head out of my door, or until simmo came along with his axe. of simmo and his axe meeko had a mortal dread, which i could not understand till one day when i paddled silently back to camp and, instead of coming up the path, sat idly in my canoe watching the indian, who had broken his one pipe and now sat making another out of a chunk of black alder and a length of nanny bush. simmo was as interesting to watch, in his way, as any of the wood folk. presently meeko came down, chattering his curiosity at seeing the indian so still and so occupied. a red squirrel is always unhappy unless he knows all about everything. he watched from the nearest tree for a while, but could not make up his mind what was doing. then he came down on the ground and advanced a foot at a time, jumping up continually but coming down in the same spot, barking to make simmo turn his head and show his hand. simmo watched out of the corner of his eye until meeko was near a solitary tree which stood in the middle of the camp ground, when he jumped up suddenly and rushed at the squirrel, who sprang to the tree and ran to a branch out of reach, snickering and jeering. simmo took his axe deliberately and swung it mightily at the foot of the tree, as if to chop it down; only he hit the trunk with the head, not the blade of his weapon. at the first blow, which made his toes tingle, meeko stopped jeering and ran higher. simmo swung again and meeko went up another notch. so it went on, simmo looking up intently to see the effect and meeko running higher after each blow, until the tiptop was reached. then simmo gave a mighty whack; the squirrel leaped far out and came to the ground, sixty feet below; picked himself up, none the worse for his leap, and rushed scolding away to his nest. then simmo said umpfh! like a bear, and went back to his pipemaking. he had not smiled nor relaxed the intent expression of his face during the whole little comedy. i found out afterwards that making meeko jump from a tree top is one of the few diversions of indian children. i tried it myself many times with many squirrels, and found to my astonishment that a jump from any height, however great, is no concern to a squirrel, red or gray. they have a way of flattening the body and bushy tail against the air, which breaks their fall. their bodies, and especially their bushy tails, have a curious tremulous motion, like the quiver of wings, as they come down. the flying squirrel's sailing down from a tree top to another tree, fifty feet away, is but an exaggeration, due to the membrane connecting the fore and hind legs, of what all squirrels practice continually. i have seen a red squirrel land lightly after jumping from an enormous height, and run away as if nothing unusual had happened. but though i have watched them often, i have never seen a squirrel do this except when compelled to do so. when chased by a weasel or a marten, or when the axe beats against the trunk below--either because the vibration hurts their feet, or else they fear the tree is being cut down--they use the strange gift to save their lives. but i fancy it is a breathless experience, and they never try it for fun, though i have seen them do all sorts of risky stumps in leaping from branch to branch. it is a curious fact that, though a squirrel leaps from a great height without hesitation, it is practically impossible to make him take a jump of a few feet to the ground. probably the upward rush of air, caused by falling a long distance, is necessary to flatten the body enough to make him land lightly. it would be interesting to know whether the raccoon also, a large, heavy animal, has the same way of breaking his fall when he jumps from a height. one bright moonlight night, when i ran ahead of the dogs, i saw a big coon leap from a tree to the ground, a distance of some thirty or forty feet. the dogs had treed him in an evergreen, and he left them howling below while he stole silently from branch to branch until a good distance away, when to save time he leaped to the ground. he struck with a heavy thump, but ran on uninjured as swiftly as before, and gave the dogs a long run before they treed him again. the sole of a coon's foot is padded thick with fat and gristle, so that it must feel like landing on springs when he jumps; but i suspect that he also knows the squirrel trick of flattening his body and tail against the air so as to fall lightly. the chipmunk seems to be the only one of the squirrel family in whom this gift is wanting. possibly he has it also, if the need ever comes. i fancy, however, that he would fare badly if compelled to jump from a spruce top, for his body is heavy and his tail small from long living on the ground; all of which seems to indicate that the tree-squirrel's bushy tail is given him, not for ornament, but to aid his passage from branch to branch, and to break his fall when he comes down from a height. by way of contrast with meeko, you may try a curious trick on the chipmunk. it is not easy to get him into a tree; he prefers a log or an old wall when frightened; and he is seldom more than two or three jumps from his den. but watch him as he goes from his garner to the grove where the acorns are, or to the field where his winter corn is ripening. put yourself near his path (he always follows the same one to and fro) where there is no refuge close at hand. then, as he comes along, rush at him suddenly and he will take to the nearest tree in his alarm. when he recovers from his fright--which is soon over; for he is the most trustful of squirrels and looks down at you with interest, never questioning your motives--take a stick and begin to tap the tree softly. the more slow and rhythmical your tattoo the sooner he is charmed. presently he comes down closer and closer, his eyes filled with strange wonder. more than once i have had a chipmunk come to my hand and rest upon it, looking everywhere for the queer sound that brought him down, forgetting fright and cornfield and coming winter in his bright curiosity. meeko is a bird of another color. he never trusts you nor anybody else fully, and his curiosity is generally of the vulgar, selfish kind. when the autumn woods are busy places, and wings flutter and little feet go pattering everywhere after winter supplies, he also begins garnering, remembering the hungry days of last winter. but he is always more curious to see what others are doing than to fill his own bins. he seldom trusts to one storehouse--he is too suspicious for that--but hides his things in twenty different places; some shagbarks in the old wall, a handful of acorns in a hollow tree, an ear of corn under the eaves of the old barn, a pint of chestnuts scattered about in the trees, some in crevices in the bark, some in a pine crotch covered carefully with needles, and one or two stuck firmly into the splinters of every broken branch that is not too conspicuous. but he never gathers much at a time. the moment he sees anybody else gathering he forgets his own work and goes spying to see where others are hiding their store. the little chipmunk, who knows his thieving and his devices, always makes one turn, at least, in the tunnel to his den too small for meeko to follow. he sees a blue jay flitting through the woods, and knows by his unusual silence that he is hiding things. meeko follows after him, stopping all his jabber and stealing from tree to tree, watching patiently, for hours it need be, until he knows that deedeeaskh is gathering corn from a certain field. then he watches the line of flight, like a bee hunter, and sees deedeeaskh disappear twice by an oak on the wood's edge, a hundred yards away. meeko rushes away at a headlong pace and hides himself in the oak. there he traces the jay's line of flight a little farther into the woods; sees the unconscious thief disappear by an old pine. meeko hides in the pine, and so traces the jay straight to one of his storehouses. sometimes meeko is so elated over the discovery that, with all the fields laden with food, he cannot wait for winter. when the jay goes away meeko falls to eating or to carrying away his store. more often he marks the spot and goes away silently. when he is hungry he will carry off deedeeaskh's corn before touching his own. once i saw the tables turned in a most interesting fashion. deedeeaskh is as big a thief in his way as is meeko, and also as vile a nest-robber. the red squirrel had found a hoard of chestnuts--small fruit, but sweet and good--and was hiding it away. part of it he stored in a hollow under the stub of a broken branch, twenty feet from the ground, so near the source of supply that no one would ever think of looking for it there. i was hidden away in a thicket when i discovered him at his work quite by accident. he seldom came twice to the same spot, but went off to his other storehouses in succession. after an unusually long absence, when i was expecting him every moment, a blue jay came stealing into the tree, spying and sneaking about, as if a nest of fresh thrush's eggs were somewhere near. he smelled a mouse evidently, for after a moment's spying he hid himself away in the tree top, close up against the trunk. presently meeko came back, with his face bulging as if he had toothache, uncovered his store, emptied in the half dozen chestnuts from his cheek pockets and covered them all up again. the moment he was gone the blue jay went straight to the spot, seized a mouthful of nuts and flew swiftly away. he made three trips before the squirrel came back. meeko in his hurry never noticed the loss, but emptied his pockets and was off to the chestnut tree again. when he returned, the jay in his eagerness had disturbed the leaves which covered the hidden store. meeko noticed it and was all suspicion in an instant. he whipped off the covering and stood staring down intently into the garner, evidently trying to compute the number he had brought and the number that were there. then a terrible scolding began, a scolding that was broken short off when a distant screaming of jays came floating through the woods. meeko covered his store hurriedly, ran along a limb and leaped to the next tree, where he hid in a knot hole, just his eyes visible, watching his garner keenly out of the darkness. meeko, has no patience. three or four times he showed himself nervously. fortunately for me, the jay had found some excitement to keep his rattle-brain busy for a moment. a flash of blue, and he came stealing back, just as meeko had settled himself for more watching. after much pecking and listening the jay flew down to the storehouse, and meeko, unable to contain himself a moment longer at sight of the thief, jumped out of his hiding and came rushing along the limb, hurling threats and vituperation ahead of him. the jay fluttered off, screaming derision. meeko followed, hurling more abuse, but soon gave up the chase and came back to his chestnuts. it was curious to watch him there, sitting motionless and intent, his nose close down to his treasure, trying to compute his loss. then he stuffed his cheeks full and began carrying his hoard off to another hiding place. the autumn woods are full of such little comedies. jays, crows, and squirrels are all hiding away winter's supplies, and no matter how great the abundance, not one of them can resist the temptation to steal or to break into another's garner. meeko is a poor provider; he would much rather live on buds and bark and apple seeds and fir cones, and what he can steal from others in the winter, than bother himself with laying up supplies of his own. when the spring comes he goes a-hunting, and is for a season the most villainous of nest-robbers. every bird in the woods then hates him, takes a jab at him, and cries thief, thief! wherever he goes. on a trout brook once i had a curious sense of comradeship with meeko. it was in the early spring, when all the wild things make holiday, and man goes a-fishing. near the brook a red squirrel had tapped a maple tree with his teeth and was tasting the sweet sap as it came up scantily. seeing him and remembering my own boyhood, i cut a little hollow into the bark of a black birch tree and, when it brimmed full, drank the sap with immense satisfaction. meeko stopped his own drinking to watch, then to scold and denounce me roundly. while my cup was filling again i went down to the brook and took a wary old trout from his den under the end of a log, where the foam bubbles were dancing merrily. when i went back, thirsting for another sweet draught from the same spring, meeko had emptied it to the last drop and had his nose down in the bottom of my cup, catching the sap as it welled up with an abundance that must have surprised him. when i went away quietly he followed me through the wood to the pool at the edge of the meadow, to see what i would do next. wherever you go in the wilderness you find meeko ahead of you, and all the best camping grounds preempted by him. even on the islands he seems to own the prettiest spots, and disputes mightily your right to stay there; though he is generally glad enough of your company to share his loneliness, and shows it plainly. once i found one living all by himself on an island in the middle of a wilderness lake, with no company whatever except a family of mink, who are his enemies. he had probably crossed on the ice in the late spring, and while he was busy here and there with his explorations the ice broke up, cutting off his retreat to the mainland, which was too far away for his swimming. so he was a prisoner for the long summer, and welcomed me gladly to share his exile. he was the only red squirrel i ever met that never scolded me roundly at least once a day. his loneliness had made him quite tame. most of the time he lived within sight of my tent door. not even simmo's axe, though it made him jump twice from the top of a spruce, could keep him long away. he had twenty ways of getting up an excitement, and whenever he barked out in the woods i knew that it was simply to call me to see his discovery,--a new nest, a loon that swam up close, a thieving muskrat, a hawk that rested on a dead stub, the mink family eating my fish heads,--and when i stole out to see what it was, he would run ahead, barking and chuckling at having some one to share his interests with him. in such places squirrels use the ice for occasional journeys to the mainland. sometimes also, when the waters are calm, they swim over. hunters have told me that when the breeze is fair they make use of a floating bit of wood, sitting tip straight with tail curled over their backs, making a sail of their bodies--just as an indian, with no knowledge of sailing whatever, puts a spruce bush in a bow of his canoe and lets the wind do his work for him. that would be the sight of a lifetime, to see meeko sailing his boat; but i have no doubt whatever that it is true. the only red squirrel that i ever saw in the water fell in by accident. he swam rapidly to a floating board, shook himself, sat up with his tail raised along his back, and began to dry himself. after a little he saw that the slight breeze was setting him farther from shore. he began to chatter excitedly, and changed his position two or three times, evidently trying to catch the wind right. finding that it was of no use, he plunged in again and swam easily to land. that he lives and thrives in the wilderness, spite of enemies and hunger and winter cold, is a tribute to his wits. he never hibernates, except in severe storms, when for a few days he lies close in his den. hawks and owls and weasels and martens hunt him continually; yet he more than holds his own in the big woods, which would lose some of their charm if their vast silences were not sometimes broken by his petty scoldings. as with most wild creatures, the squirrels that live in touch with civilization are much keener witted than their wilderness brethren. the most interesting one i ever knew lived in the trees just outside my dormitory window, in a new england college town. he was the patriarch of a large family, and the greatest thief and rascal among them. i speak of the family, but, so far as i could see, there was very little family life. each one shifted for himself the moment he was big enough, and stole from all the others indiscriminately. it was while watching these squirrels that i discovered first that they have regular paths among the trees, as well defined as our own highways. not only has each squirrel his own private paths and ways, but all the squirrels follow certain courses along the branches in going from one tree to another. even the strange squirrels, which ventured at times into the grove, followed these highways as if they had been used to them all their lives. on a recent visit to the old dormitory i watched the squirrels for a while, and found that they used exactly the same paths,--up the trunk of a big oak to a certain boss, along a branch to a certain crook, a jump to a linden twig and so on, making use of one of the highways that i had watched them following ten years before. yet this course was not the shortest between two points, and there were a hundred other branches that they might have used. i had the good fortune one morning to see meeko, the patriarch, make a new path for himself that none of the others ever followed so long as i was in the dormitory. he had a home den over a hallway, and a hiding place for acorns in a hollow linden. between the two was a driveway; but though the branches arched over it from either side, the jump was too great for him to take. a hundred times i saw him run out on the farthest oak twig and look across longingly at the maple that swayed on the other side. it was perhaps three feet away, with no branches beneath to seize and break his fall in case he missed his spring, altogether too much for a red squirrel to attempt. he would rush out as if determined to try it, time after time, but always his courage failed him; he had to go down the oak trunk and cross the driveway on the ground, where numberless straying dogs were always ready to chase him. one morning i saw him run twice in succession at the jump, only to turn back. but the air was keen and bracing, and he felt its inspiration. he drew farther back, then came rushing along the oak branch and, before he had time to be afraid, hurled himself across the chasm. he landed fairly on the maple twig, with several inches to spare, and hung there with claws and teeth, swaying up and down gloriously. then, chattering his delight at himself, he ran down the maple, back across the driveway, and tried the jump three times in succession to be sure he could do it. after that he sprang across frequently. but i noticed that whenever the branches were wet with rain or sleet he never attempted it; and he never tried the return jump, which was uphill, and which he seemed to know by instinct was too much to attempt. when i began feeding him, in the cold winter days, he showed me many curious bits of his life. first i put some nuts near the top of an old well, among the stones of which he used to hide things in the autumn. long after he had eaten all his store he used to come and search the crannies among the stones to see if perchance he had overlooked any trifles. when he found a handful of shagbarks, one morning, in a hole only a foot below the surface, his astonishment knew no bounds. his first thought was that he had forgotten them all these hungry days, and he promptly ate the biggest of the store within sight, a thing i never saw a squirrel do before. his second thought--i could see it in his changed attitude, his sudden creepings and hidings--was that some other squirrel had hidden them there since his last visit. whereupon he carried them all off and hid them in a broken linden branch. then i tossed him peanuts, throwing them first far away, then nearer and nearer till he would come to my window-sill. and when i woke one morning he was sitting there looking in at the window, waiting for me to get up and bring his breakfast. in a week he had showed me all his hiding places. the most interesting of these was over a roofed piazza in a building near by. he had gnawed a hole under the eaves, where it would not be noticed, and lived there in solitary grandeur during stormy days in a den four by eight feet, and rain-proof. in one corner was a bushel of corncobs, some of them two or three years old, which he had stolen from a cornfield near by in the early autumn mornings. with characteristic improvidence he had fallen to eating the corn while yet there was plenty more to be gathered. in consequence he was hungry before february was half over, and living by his wits, like his brother of the wilderness. the other squirrels soon noticed his journeys to my window, and presently they too came for their share. spite of his fury in driving them away, they managed in twenty ways to circumvent him. it was most interesting, while he sat on my window-sill eating peanuts, to see the nose and eyes of another squirrel peering over the crotch of the nearest tree, watching the proceedings from his hiding place. then i would give meeko five or six peanuts at once. instantly the old hiding instinct would come back; he would start away, taking as much of his store as he could carry with him. the moment he was gone, out would come a squirrel--sometimes two or three from their concealment--and carry off all the peanuts that remained. meeko's wrath when he returned was most comical. the indian legend is true as gospel to squirrel nature. if he returned unexpectedly and caught one of the intruders, there was always a furious chase and a deal of scolding and squirrel jabber before peace was restored and the peanuts eaten. once, when he had hidden a dozen or more nuts in the broken linden branch, a very small squirrel came prowling along and discovered the store. in an instant he was all alertness, peeking, listening, exploring, till quite sure that the coast was clear, when he rushed away headlong with a mouthful. he did not return that day; but the next morning early i saw him do the same thing. an hour later meeko appeared and, finding nothing on the window-sill, went to the linden. half his store of yesterday was gone. curiously enough, he did not suspect at first that they were stolen. meeko is always quite sure that nobody knows his secrets. he searched the tree over, went to his other hiding places, came back, counted his peanuts, then searched the ground beneath, thinking, no doubt, the wind must have blown them out--all this before he had tasted a peanut of those that remained. slowly it dawned upon him that he had been robbed and there was an outburst of wrath. but instead of carrying what were left to another place, he left them where they were, still without eating, and hid himself near by to watch. i neglected a lecture in philosophy to see the proceedings, but nothing happened. meeko's patience soon gave out, or else he grew hungry, for he ate two or three of his scanty supply of peanuts, scolding and threatening to himself. but he left the rest carefully where they were. two or three times that day i saw him sneaking about, keeping a sharp eye on the linden; but the little thief was watching too, and kept out of the way. early next morning a great hubbub rose outside my window, and i jumped up to see what was going on. little thief had come back, and big thief caught him in the act of robbery. away they went pell-mell, jabbering like a flock of blackbirds, along a linden branch, through two maples, across a driveway, and up a big elm where little thief whisked out of sight into a knot hole. after him came big thief, swearing vengeance. but the knot hole was too small; he couldn't get in. twist and turn and push and threaten as he would, he could not get in; and little thief sat just inside jeering maliciously. meeko gave it up after a while and went off, nursing his wrath. but ten feet from the tree a thought struck him. he rushed away out of sight, making a great noise, then came back quietly and hid under an eave where he could watch the knot hole. presently little thief came out, rubbed his eyes, and looked all about. through my glass i could see meeko blinking and twitching under the dark eave, trying to control his anger. little thief ventured to a branch a few feet away from his refuge, and big thief, unable to hold himself a moment longer, rushed out, firing a volley of direful threats ahead of him. in a flash little thief was back in his knot hole and the comedy began all over again. i never saw how it ended; but for a day or two there was an unusual amount of chasing and scolding going on outside my windows. it was this same big squirrel that first showed me a curious trick of biding. whenever he found a handful of nuts on my windowsill and suspected that other squirrels were watching to share the bounty, he had a way of hiding them all very rapidly. he would never carry them direct to his various garners; first, because these were too far away, and the other squirrels would steal while he was gone; second, because, with hungry eyes watching somewhere, they might follow and find out where he habitually kept things. so he used to bide them all on the ground, under the leaves in autumn, under snow in winter, and all within sight of the window-sill, where he could watch the store as he hurried to and fro. then, at his leisure, he would dig them up and carry them off to his den, two cheekfuls at a time. each nut was hidden by itself; never so much as two in one spot. for a long time it puzzled me to know how he remembered so many places. i noticed first that he would always start from a certain point, a tree or a stone, with his burden. when it was hidden he would come back by the shortest route to the windowsill; but with his new mouthful he would always go first to the tree or stone he had selected, and from there search out a new hiding place. it was many days before i noticed that, starting from one fixed point, he generally worked toward another tree or stone in the distance. then his secret was out; he hid things in a line. next day he would come back, start from his fixed point and move slowly towards the distant one till his nose told him he was over a peanut, which he dug up and ate or carried away to his den. but he always seemed to distrust himself; for on hungry days he would go over two or three of his old lines in the hope of finding a mouthful that he had overlooked. this method was used only when he had a large supply to dispose of hurriedly, and not always then. meeko is a careless fellow and soon forgets. when i gave him only a few to dispose of, he hid them helter-skelter among the leaves, forgetting some of them afterwards and enjoying the rare delight of stumbling upon them when he was hungriest--much like a child whom i saw once giving himself a sensation. he would throw his penny on the ground, go round the house, and saunter back with his hands in his pockets till he saw the penny, which he pounced upon with almost the joy of treasure-trove in the highway. meeko made a sad end--a fate which he deserved well enough, but which i had to pity, spite of myself. when the spring came on, he went back to evil ways. sap was sweet and buds were luscious with the first swelling of tender leaves; spring rains had washed out plenty of acorns in the crannies under the big oak, and there were fresh-roasted peanuts still at the corner window-sill within easy jump of a linden twig; but he took to watching the robins to see where they nested, and when the young were hatched he came no more to my window. twice i saw him with fledgelings in his mouth; and i drove him day after day from a late clutch of robin's eggs that i could watch from my study. he had warnings enough. once some students, who had been friendly all winter, stoned him out of a tree where he was nestrobbing; once the sparrows caught him in their nest under the high eaves, and knocked him off promptly. a twig upon which he caught in falling saved his life undoubtedly, for the sparrows were after him and he barely escaped into a knot hole, leaving the angry horde clamoring outside. but nothing could reform him. one morning at daylight a great crying of robins brought me to the window. meeko was running along a limb, the first of the fledgelings in his mouth. after him were five or six robins whom the parents' danger cry had brought to the rescue. they were all excited and tremendously in earnest. they cried thief! thief! and swooped at him like hawks. their cries speedily brought a score of other birds, some to watch, others to join in the punishment. meeko dropped the young bird and ran for his den; but a robin dashed recklessly in his face and knocked him fair from the tree. that and the fall of the fledgeling excited the birds more than ever. this thieving bird-eater was not invulnerable. a dozen rushed at him on the ground and left the marks of their beaks on his coat before he could reach the nearest tree. again he rushed for his den, but wherever he turned now angry wings fluttered over him and beaks jabbed in his face. raging but frightened, he sat up to snarl wickedly. like a flash a robin hurled himself down, caught the squirrel just under his ear and knocked him again to the ground. things began to look dark for meeko. the birds grew bolder and angrier every minute. when he started to climb a tree he was hurled off twice ere he reached a crotch and drew himself down into it. he was safe there with his back against a big limb; they could not get at him from behind. but the angry clamor in front frightened him, and again he started for his place of refuge. his footing was unsteady now and his head dizzy from the blows he had received. before he had gone half a limb's length he was again on the ground, with a dozen birds pecking at him as they swooped over. with his last strength he snapped viciously at his foes and rushed to the linden. my window was open, and he came creeping, hurrying towards it on the branch over which he had often capered so lightly in the winter days. over him clamored the birds, forgetting all fear of me in their hatred of the nestrobber. a dozen times he was struck on the way, but at every blow he clung to the branch with claws and teeth, then staggered on doggedly, making no defense. his whole thought now was to reach the window-sill. at the place where he always jumped he stopped and began to sway, gripping the bark with his claws, trying to summon strength for the effort. he knew it was too much, but it was his last hope. at the instant of his spring a robin swooped in his face; another caught him a side blow in mid-air, and he fell heavily to the stones below.--sic semper tyrannis! yelled the robins, scattering wildly as i ran down the steps to save him, if it were not too late. he died in my hands a moment later, with curious maliciousness nipping my finger sharply at the last gasp. he was the only squirrel of the lot who knew how to hide in a line; and never a one since his day has taken the jump from oak to maple over the driveway. the ol' beech pa'tridge of all the wild birds that still haunt our remaining solitudes, the ruffed grouse--the pa'tridge of our younger days--is perhaps the wildest, the most alert, the most suggestive of the primeval wilderness that we have lost. you enter the woods from the hillside pasture, lounging a moment on the old gray fence to note the play of light and shadow on the birch bolls. your eye lingers restfully on the wonderful mixture of soft colors that no brush has ever yet imitated, the rich old gold of autumn tapestries, the glimmering gray-green of the mouldering stump that the fungi have painted. what a giant that tree must have been, generations ago, in its days of strength; how puny the birches that now grow out of its roots! you remember the great canoe birches by the wilderness river, whiter than the little tent that nestled beneath them, their wide bark banners waving in the wind, soft as the flutter of owls' wings that swept among them, shadow-like, in the twilight. a vague regret steals over you that our own wilderness is gone, and with it most of the shy folk that loved its solitudes. suddenly there is a rustle in the leaves. something stirs by the old stump. a moment ago you thought it was only a brown root; now it runs, hides, draws itself erect--kwit, kwit, kwit! and with a whirring rush of wings and a whirling eddy of dead leaves a grouse bursts up, and darts away like a blunt arrow, flint-tipped, gray-feathered, among the startled birch stems. as you follow softly to rout him out again, and to thrill and be startled by his unexpected rush, something of the indian has come unbidden into your cautious tread. all regret for the wilderness is vanished; you are simply glad that so much wildness still remains to speak eloquently of the good old days. it is this element of unconquerable wildness in the grouse, coupled with a host of early, half-fearful impressions, that always sets my heart to beating, as to an old tune, whenever a partridge bursts away at my feet. i remember well a little child that used to steal away into the still woods, which drew him by an irresistible attraction while as yet their dim arches and quiet paths were full of mysteries and haunting terrors. step by step the child would advance into the shadows, cautious as a wood mouse, timid as a rabbit. suddenly a swift rustle and a thunderous rush of something from the ground that first set the child's heart to beating wildly, and then reached his heels in a fearful impulse which sent him rushing out of the woods, tumbling headlong over the old gray wall, and scampering halfway across the pasture before he dared halt from the terror behind. and then, at last, another impulse which always sent the child stealing back into the woods again, shy, alert, tense as a watching fox, to find out what the fearful thing was that could make such a commotion in the quiet woods. and when he found out at last--ah, that was a discovery beside which the panther's kittens are as nothing as i think of them. one day in the woods, near the spot where the awful thunder used to burst away, the child heard a cluck and a kwitkwit, and saw a beautiful bird dodging, gliding, halting, hiding in the underbrush, watching the child's every motion. and when he ran forward to put his cap over the bird, it burst away, and then--whirr! whirr! whirr! a whole covey of grouse roared up all about him. the terror of it weakened his legs so that he fell down in the eddying leaves and covered his ears. but this time he knew what it was at last, and in a moment he was up and running, not away, but fast as his little legs could carry him after the last bird that he saw hurtling away among the trees, with a birch branch that he had touched with his wings nodding good-by behind him. there is another association with this same bird that always gives an added thrill to the rush of his wings through the startled woods. it was in the old school by the cross-roads, one sleepy september afternoon. a class in spelling, big boys and little girls, toed a crack in front of the waster's desk. the rest of the school droned away on appointed tasks in the drowsy interlude. the fat boy slept openly on his arms; even the mischief-maker was quiet, thinking dreamily of summer days that were gone. suddenly there was a terrific crash, a clattering tinkle of broken glass, a howl from a boy near the window. twenty knees banged the desks beneath as twenty boys jumped. then, before any of us had found his wits, jimmy jenkins, a red-headed boy whom no calamity could throw off his balance and from whom no opportunity ever got away free, had jumped over two forms and was down on the floor in the girls' aisle, gripping something between his knees-- "i've got him," he announced, with the air of a general. "got what?" thundered the master. "got a pa'tridge; he's an old buster," said jimmy. and he straightened up, holding by the legs a fine cock partridge whose stiffening wings still beat his sides spasmodically. he had been scared-up in the neighboring woods, frightened by some hunter out of his native coverts. when he reached the unknown open places he was more frightened still and, as a frightened grouse always flies straight, he had driven like a bolt through the schoolhouse window, killing himself by the impact. rule-of-three and cube root and the unmapped wilderness of partial payments have left but scant impression on one of those pupils, at least; but a bird that could wake up a drowsy schoolroom and bring out a living lesson, full of life and interest and the subtile call of the woods, from a drowsy teacher who studied law by night, but never his boys by day,--that was a bird to be respected. i have studied him with keener interest ever since. yet however much you study the grouse, you learn little except how wild he is. occasionally, when you are still in the woods and a grouse walks up to your hiding place, you get a fair glimpse and an idea or two; but he soon discovers you, and draws himself up straight as a string and watches you for five minutes without stirring or even winking. then, outdone at his own game, he glides away. a rustle of little feet on leaves, a faint kwit-kwit with a question in it, and he is gone. nor will he come back, like the fox, to watch from the other side and find out what you are. civilization, in its first advances, is good to the grouse, providing him with an abundance of food and driving away his enemies. grouse are always more numerous about settlements than in the wilderness. unlike other birds, however, he grows wilder and wilder by nearness to men's dwellings. i suppose that is because the presence of man is so often accompanied by the rush of a dog and the report of a gun, and perhaps by the rip and sting of shot in his feathers as he darts away. once, in the wilderness, when very hungry, i caught two partridges by slipping over their heads a string noose at the end of a pole. here one might as well try to catch a bat in the twilight as to hope to snare one of our upland partridges by any such invention, or even to get near enough to meditate the attempt. but there was one grouse--and he the very wildest of all that i have ever met in the woods--who showed me unwittingly many bits of his life, and with whom i grew to be very well acquainted after a few seasons' watching. all the hunters of the village knew him well; and a half-dozen boys, who owned guns and were eager to join the hunters' ranks, had a shooting acquaintance with him. he was known far and wide as "the ol' beech pa'tridge." that he was old no one could deny who knew his ways and his devices; and he was frequently scared-up in a beech wood by a brook, a couple of miles out of the village. spite of much learned discussion as to different varieties of grouse, due to marked variations in coloring, i think personally that we have but one variety, and that differences in color are due largely to the different surroundings in which they live. of all birds the grouse is most invisible when quiet, his coloring blends so perfectly with the roots and leaves and tree stems among which he hides. this wonderful invisibility is increased by the fact that he changes color easily. he is darker in summer, lighter in winter, like the rabbit. when he lives in dark woods he becomes a glossy red-brown; and when his haunt is among the birches he is often a decided gray. this was certainly true of the old beech partridge. when he spread his tail wide and darted away among the beeches, his color blended so perfectly with the gray tree trunks that only a keen eye could separate him. and he knew every art of the dodger perfectly. when he rose there was scarcely a second of time before he had put a big tree between you and him, so as to cover his line of flight. i don't know how many times he had been shot at on the wing. every hunter i knew had tried it many times; and every boy who roamed the woods in autumn had sought to pot him on the ground. but he never lost a feather; and he would never stand to a dog long enough for the most cunning of our craft to take his position. when a brood of young partridges hear a dog running in the woods, they generally flit to the lower branches of a tree and kwit-kwit at him curiously. they have not yet learned the difference between him and the fox, who is the ancient enemy of their kind, and whom their ancestors of the wilderness escaped and tantalized in the same way. but when it is an old bird that your setter is trailing, his actions are a curious mixture of cunning and fascination. as old don draws to a point, the grouse pulls himself up rigidly by a stump and watches the dog. so both stand like statues; the dog held by the strange instinct which makes him point, lost to sight, sound and all things else save the smell in his nose, the grouse tense as a fiddlestring, every sense alert, watching the enemy whom he thinks to be fooled by his good hiding. for a few moments they are motionless; then the grouse skulks and glides to a better cover. as the strong scent fades from don's nose, he breaks his point and follows. the grouse hears him and again hides by drawing himself up against a stump, where he is invisible; again don stiffens into his point, one foot lifted, nose and tail in a straight line, as if he were frozen and could not move. so it goes on, now gliding through the coverts, now still as a stone, till the grouse discovers that so long as he is still the dog seems paralyzed, unable to move or feel. then he draws himself up, braced against a root or a tree boll; and there they stand, within twenty feet of each other, never stirring, never winking, till the dog falls from exhaustion at the strain, or breaks it by leaping forward, or till the hunter's step on the leaves fills the grouse with a new terror that sends him rushing away through the october woods to deeper solitudes. once, at noon, i saw old ben, a famous dog, draw to a perfect point. just ahead, in a tangle of brown brakes, i could see the head and neck of a grouse watching the dog keenly. old ben's master, to test the splendid training of his dog, proposed lunch on the spot. we withdrew a little space and ate deliberately, watching the bird and the dog with an interest that grew keener and keener as the meal progressed, while old ben stood like a rock, and the grouse's eye shone steadily out of the tangle of brakes. nor did either move so much as an eyelid while we ate, and ben's master smoked his pipe with quiet confidence. at last, after a full hour, he whacked his pipe on his boot heel and rose to reach for his gun. that meant death for the grouse; but i owed him too much of keen enjoyment to see him cut down in swift flight. in the moment that the master's back was turned i hurled a knot at the tangle of brakes. the grouse burst away, and old ben, shaken out of his trance by the whirr of wings, dropped obediently to the charge and turned his head to say reproachfully with his eyes: "what in the world is the matter with you back there--didn't i hold him long enough?" the noble old fellow was trembling like a leaf after the long strain when i went up to him to pat his head and praise his steadiness, and share with him the better half of my lunch. but to this day ben's master does not know what started the grouse so suddenly; and as he tells you about the incident will still say regretfully: "i ought to a-started jest a minute sooner, 'fore he got tired. then i'd a had 'im." the old beech partridge, however, was a bird of a different mind. no dog ever stood him for more than a second; he had learned too well what the thing meant. the moment he heard the patter of a dog's feet on leaves he would run rapidly, and skulk and hide and run again, keeping dog and hunter on the move till he found the cover he wanted,--thick trees, or a tangle of wild grapevines,--when he would burst out on, the farther side. and no eye, however keen, could catch more than a glimpse of a gray tail before he was gone. other grouse make short straight flights, and can be followed and found again; but he always drove away on strong wings for an incredible distance, and swerved far to right or left; so that it was a waste of time to follow him up. before you found him he had rested his wings and was ready for another flight; and when you did find him he would shoot away like an arrow out of the top of a pine tree and give you never a glimpse of himself. he lived most of the time on a ridge behind the 'fales place,' an abandoned farm on the east of the old post road. this was his middle range, a place of dense coverts, bullbrier thickets and sunny open spots among the ledges, where you might, with good-luck, find him on special days at any season. but he had all the migratory instincts of a newfoundland caribou. in winter he moved south, with twenty other grouse, to the foot of the ridge, which dropped away into a succession of knolls and ravines and sunny, well-protected little valleys, where food was plenty. here, fifty years ago, was the farm pasture; but now it had grown up everywhere with thickets and berry patches, and wild apple trees of the birds' planting. all the birds loved it in their season; quail nested on its edges; and you could kick a brown rabbit out of almost any of its decaying brush piles or hollow moss-grown logs. in the spring he crossed the ridge northward again, moving into the still dark woods, where he had two or three wives with as many broods of young partridges; all of whom, by the way, he regarded with astonishing indifference. across the whole range--stealing silently out of the big woods, brawling along the foot of the ridge and singing through the old pasture--ran a brook that the old beech partridge seemed to love. a hundred times i started him from its banks. you had only to follow it any november morning before eight o'clock, and you would be sure to find him. but why he haunted it at this particular time and season i never found out. i used to wonder sometimes why i never saw him drink. other birds had their regular drinking places and bathing pools there, and i frequently watched them from my hiding; but though i saw him many times, after i learned his haunts, he never touched the water. one early summer morning a possible explanation suggested itself. i was sitting quietly by the brook, on the edge of the big woods, waiting for a pool to grow quiet, out of which i had just taken a trout and in which i suspected there was a larger one hiding. as i waited a mother-grouse and her brood--one of the old beech partridge's numerous families for whom he provided nothing--came gliding along the edge of the woods. they had come to drink, evidently, but not from the brook. a sweeter draught than that was waiting for their coming. the dew was still clinging to the grass blades; here and there a drop hung from a leaf point, flashing like a diamond in the early light. and the little partridges, cheeping, gliding, whistling among the drooping stems, would raise their little bills for each shining dewdrop that attracted them, and drink it down and run with glad little pipings and gurglings to the next drop that flashed an invitation from its bending grass blade. the old mother walked sedately in the midst of them, now fussing over a laggard, now clucking them all together in an eager, chirping, jumping little crowd, each one struggling to be first in at the death of a fat slug she had discovered on the underside of a leaf; and anon reaching herself for a dewdrop that hung too high for their drinking. so they passed by within a few yards, a shy, wild, happy little family, and disappeared into the shadow of the big woods. perhaps that is why i never saw the old beech partridge drink from the brook. nature has a fresher draught, of her own distilling, that is more to his tasting. earlier in the season i found another of his families near the same spot. i was stealing along a wood road when i ran plump upon them, scratching away at an ant hill in a sunny open spot. there was a wild flurry, as if a whirlwind had struck the ant hill; but it was only the wind of the mother bird's wings, whirling up the dust to blind my eyes and to hide the scampering retreat of her downy brood. again her wings beat the ground, sending up a flurry of dead leaves, in the midst of which the little partridges jumped and scurried away, so much like the leaves that no eye could separate them. then the leaves settled slowly and the brood was gone, as if the ground had swallowed them up; while mother grouse went fluttering along just out of my reach, trailing a wing as if broken, falling prone on the ground, clucking and kwitting and whirling the leaves to draw my attention and bring me away from where the little ones were hiding. i knelt down just within the edge of woods, whither i had seen the last laggard of the brood vanish like a brown streak, and began to look for them carefully. after a time i found one. he was crouched flat on a dead oak leaf, just under my nose, his color hiding him wonderfully. something glistened in a tangle of dark roots. it was an eye, and presently i could make out a little head there. that was all i could find of the family, though a dozen more were close beside me, under the leaves mostly. as i backed away i put my hand on another before seeing him, and barely saved myself from hurting the little sly-boots, who never stirred a muscle, not even when i took away the leaf that covered him and put it back again softly. across the pathway was a thick scrub oak, under which i sat down to watch. ten long minutes passed, with nothing stirring, before mother grouse came stealing back. she clucked once--"careful!" it seemed to say; and not a leaf stirred. she clucked again--did the ground open? there they were, a dozen or more of them, springing up from nowhere and scurrying with a thousand cheepings to tell her all about it. so she gathered them all close about her, and they vanished into the friendly shadows. it was curious how jealously the old beech partridge watched over the solitudes where these interesting little families roamed. though he seemed to care nothing about them, and was never seen near one of his families, he suffered no other cock partridge to come into his woods, or even to drum within hearing. in the winter he shared the southern pasture peaceably with twenty other grouse; and on certain days you might, by much creeping, surprise a whole company of them on a sunny southern slope, strutting and gliding, in and out and round about, with spread tails and drooping wings, going through all the movements of a grouse minuet. once, in indian summer, i crept up to twelve or fifteen of the splendid birds, who were going through their curious performance in a little opening among the berry bushes; and in the midst of them-more vain, more resplendent, strutting more proudly and clucking more arrogantly than any other--was the old beech partridge. but when the spring came, and the long rolling drum-calls began to throb through the budding woods, he retired to his middle range on the ridge, and marched from one end to the other, driving every other cock grouse out of hearing, and drubbing him soundly if he dared resist. then, after a triumph, you would hear his loud drum-call rolling through the may splendor, calling as many wives as possible to share his rich living. he had two drumming logs on this range, as i soon discovered; and once, while he was drumming on one log, i hid near the other and imitated his call fairly well by beating my hands on a blown bladder that i had buttoned under my jacket. the roll of a grouse drum is a curiously muffled sound; it is often hard to determine the spot or even the direction whence it comes; and it always sounds much farther away than it really is. this may have deceived the old beech partridge at first into thinking that he heard some other bird far away, on a ridge across the valley where he had no concern; for presently he drummed again on his own log. i answered it promptly, rolling back a defiance, and also telling any hen grouse on the range that here was another candidate willing to strut and spread his tail and lift the resplendent ruff about his neck to win his way into her good graces, if she would but come to his drumming log and see him. some suspicion that a rival had come to his range must have entered the old beech partridge's head, for there was a long silence in which i could fancy him standing up straight and stiff on his drumming log, listening intently to locate the daring intruder, and holding down his bubbling wrath with difficulty. without waiting for him to drum again, i beat out a challenge. the roll had barely ceased when he came darting up the ridge, glancing like a bolt among the thick branches, and plunged down by his own log, where he drew himself up with marvelous suddenness to listen and watch for the intruder. he seemed relieved that the log was not occupied, but he was still full of wrath and suspicion. he glided and dodged all about the place, looking and listening; then he sprang to his log and, without waiting to strut and spread his gorgeous feathers as usual, he rolled out the long call, drawing himself up straight the instant it was done, turning his head from side to side to catch the first beat of his rival's answer--"come out, if you dare; drum, if you dare. oh, you coward!" and he hopped, five or six high, excited hops, like a rooster before a storm, to the other end of the log, and again his quick throbbing drumcall rolled through the woods. though i was near enough to see him clearly without, my field glasses, i could not even then, nor at any other time when i have watched grouse drumming, determine just how the call is given. after a little while the excitement of a suspected rival's presence wore away, and he grew exultant, thinking that he had driven the rascal out of his woods. he strutted back and forth on the log, trailing his wings, spreading wide his beautiful tail, lifting his crest and his resplendent ruff. suddenly he would draw himself up; there would be a flash of his wings up and down that no eye could follow, and i would hear a single throb of his drum. another flash and another throb; then faster and faster, till he seemed to have two or three pairs of wings, whirring and running together like the spokes of a swift-moving wheel, and the drumbeats rolled together into a long call and died away in the woods. generally he stood up on his toes, as a rooster does when he flaps his wings before crowing; rarely he crouched down close to the log; but i doubt if he beat the wood with his wings, as is often claimed. yet the two logs were different; one was dry and hard, the other mouldy and moss-grown; and the drumcalls were as different as the two logs. after a time i could tell by the sound which log he was using at the first beat of his wings; but that, i think, was a matter of resonance, a kind of sounding-board effect, and not because the two sounded differently as he beat them. the call is undoubtedly made either by striking the wings together over his back or, as i am inclined to believe, by striking them on the down beat against his own sides. once i heard a wounded bird give three or four beats of his drum-call, and when i went into the grapevine thicket, where he had fallen, i found him lying flat on his back, beating his sides with his wings. whenever he drums he first struts, because he knows not how many pairs of bright eyes are watching him shyly out of the coverts. once, when i had watched him strut and drum a few times, the leaves rustled, and two hen grouse emerged from opposite sides into the little opening where his log was. then he strutted with greater vanity than before, while the two hen grouse went gliding about the place, searching for seeds apparently, but in reality watching his every movement out of their eye corners, and admiring him to his heart's content. in winter i used to follow his trail through the snow to find what he had been doing, and what he had found to eat in nature's scarce time. his worst enemies, the man and his dog, were no longer to be feared, being restrained by law, and he roamed the woods with greater freedom than ever. he seemed to know that he was safe at this time, and more than once i trailed him up to his hiding and saw him whirr away through the open woods, sending down a shower of snow behind him, as if in that curious way to hide his line of flight from my eyes. there were other enemies, however, whom no law restrained, save the universal wood-laws of fear and hunger. often i found the trail of a fox crossing his in the snow; and once i followed a double trail, fox over grouse, for nearly half a mile. the fox had struck the trail late the previous afternoon, and followed it to a bullbrier thicket, in the midst of which was a great cedar in which the old beech partridge roosted. the fox went twice around the tree, halting and looking up, then went straight away to the swamp, as if he knew it was of no use to watch longer. rarely, when the snow was deep, i found the place where he, or some other grouse, went to sleep on the ground. he would plunge down from a tree into the soft snow, driving into it headfirst for three or four feet, then turn around and settle down in his white warm chamber for the night. i would find the small hole where he plunged in at evening, and near it the great hole where he burst out when the light waked him. taking my direction from his wing prints in the snow, i would follow to find where he lit, and then trace him on his morning wanderings. one would think that this might be a dangerous proceeding, sleeping on the ground with no protection but the snow, and a score of hungry enemies prowling about the woods; but the grouse knows well that when the storms are out his enemies stay close at home, not being able to see or smell, and therefore afraid each one of his own enemies. there is always a truce in the woods during a snowstorm; and that is the reason why a grouse goes to sleep in the snow only while the flakes are still falling. when the storm is over and the snow has settled a bit, the fox will be abroad again; and then the grouse sleeps in the evergreens. once, however, the old beech partridge miscalculated. the storm ceased early in the evening, and hunger drove the fox out on a night when, ordinarily, he would have stayed under cover. sometime about daybreak, before yet the light had penetrated to where the old beech partridge was sleeping, the fox found a hole in the snow, which told him that just in front of his hungry nose a grouse was hidden, all unconscious of danger. i found the spot, trailing the fox, a few hours later. how cautious he was! the sly trail was eloquent with hunger and anticipation. a few feet away from the promising hole he had stopped, looking keenly over the snow to find some suspicious roundness on the smooth surface. ah! there it was, just by the edge of a juniper thicket. he crouched down, stole forward, pushing a deep trail with his body, settled himself firmly and sprang. and there, just beside the hole his paws had made in the snow, was another hole where the grouse had burst out, scattering snow all over his enemy, who had miscalculated by a foot, and thundered away to the safety and shelter of the pines. there was another enemy, who ought to have known better, following the old beech partridge all one early spring when snow was deep and food scarce. one day, in crossing the partridge's southern range, i met a small boy,--a keen little fellow, with the instincts of a fox for hunting. he had always something interesting afoot,--minks, or muskrats, or a skunk, or a big owl,--so i hailed him with joy. "hello, johnnie! what you after to-day--bears?" but he only shook his head--a bit sheepishly, i thought--and talked of all things except the one that he was thinking about; and presently he vanished down the old road. one of his jacket pockets bulged more than the other, and i knew there was a trap in it. late that afternoon i crossed his trail and, having nothing more interesting to do, followed it. it led straight to the bullbrier thicket where the old beech partridge roosted. i had searched for it many times in vain before the fox led me to it; but johnnie, in some of his prowlings, had found tracks and a feather or two under a cedar branch, and knew just what it meant. his trap was there, in the very spot where, the night before, the old beech partridge had stood when he jumped for the lowest limb. corn was scattered liberally about, and a bluejay that had followed johnnie was already fast in the trap, caught at the base of his bill just under the eyes. he had sprung the trap in pecking at some corn that was fastened cunningly to the pan by fine wire. when i took the jay carefully from the trap he played possum, lying limp in my hand till my grip relaxed, when he flew to a branch over my head, squalling and upbraiding me for having anything to do with such abominable inventions. i hung the trap to a low limb of the cedar, with a note in its jaws telling johnnie to come and see me next day. he came at dusk, shamefaced, and i read him a lecture on fair play and the difference between a thieving mink and an honest partridge. but he chuckled over the bluejay, and i doubted the withholding power of a mere lecture; so, to even matters, i hinted of an otter slide i had discovered, and of a saturday afternoon tramp together. twenty times, he told me, he had tried to snare the old beech partridge. when he saw the otter slide he forswore traps and snares for birds; and i left the place, soon after, with good hopes for the grouse, knowing that i had spiked the guns of his most dangerous enemy. years later i crossed the old pasture and went straight to the bullbrier tangle. there were tracks of a grouse in the snow,--blunt tracks that rested lightly on the soft whiteness, showing that nature remembered his necessity and had caused his new snowshoes to grow famously. i hurried to the brook, a hundred memories thronging over me of happy days and rare sights when the wood folk revealed their little secrets. in the midst of them--kwit! kwit! and with a thunder of wings a grouse whirred away, wild and gray as the rare bird that lived there years before. and when i questioned a hunter, he said: "that ol' beech pa'tridge? oh, yes, he's there. he'll stay there, too, till he dies of old age; 'cause you see, mister, there ain't nobody in these parts spry enough to ketch 'im." following the deer i was camping one summer on a little lake--deer pond, the natives called it--a few miles back from a quiet summer resort on the maine coast. summer hotels and mackerel fishing and noisy excursions had lost their semblance to a charm; so i made a little tent, hired a canoe, and moved back into the woods. it was better here. the days, were still and long, and the nights full of peace. the air was good, for nothing but the wild creatures breathed it, and the firs had touched it with their fragrance. the faraway surge of the sea came up faintly till the spruces answered it, and both sounds went gossiping over the hills together. on all sides were the woods, which, on the north especially, stretched away over a broken country beyond my farthest explorations. over against my tenting place a colony of herons had their nests in some dark hemlocks. they were interesting as a camp of gypsies, some going off in straggling bands to the coast at daybreak, others frogging in the streams, and a few solitary, patient, philosophical ones joining me daily in following the gentle art of izaak walton. and then, when the sunset came and the deep red glowed just behind the hemlocks, and the gypsy bands came home, i would see their sentinels posted here and there among the hemlock tips--still, dark, graceful silhouettes etched in sepia against the gorgeous after-glow--and hear the mothers croaking their ungainly babies to sleep in the tree tops. down at one end of the pond a brood of young black ducks were learning their daily lessons in hiding; at the other end a noisy kingfisher, an honest blue heron, and a thieving mink shared the pools and watched each other as rival fishermen. hares by night, and squirrels by day, and wood mice at all seasons played round my tent, or came shyly to taste my bounty. a pair of big owls lived and hunted in a swamp hard by, who hooted dismally before the storms came, and sometimes swept within the circle of my fire at night. every morning a raccoon stopped at a little pool in the brook above my tent, to wash his food carefully ere taking it home. so there was plenty to do and plenty to learn, and the days passed all too swiftly. i had been told by the village hunters that there were no deer; that they had vanished long since, hounded and crusted and chevied out of season, till life was not worth the living. so it was with a start of surprise and a thrill of new interest that i came upon the tracks of a large buck and two smaller deer on the shore one morning. i was following them eagerly when i ran plump upon old wally, the cunningest hunter and trapper in the whole region. "sho! mister, what yer follerin?" "why, these deer tracks," i said simply. wally gave me a look, of great pity. "guess you're green--one o' them city fellers, ain't ye, mister? them ere's sheep tracks--my sheep. wandered off int' th' woods a spell ago, and i hain't seen the tarnal critters since. came up here lookin' for um this mornin'." i glanced at wally's fish basket, and thought of the nibbled lily pads; but i said nothing. wally was a great hunter, albeit jealous; apt to think of all the game in the woods as being sent by providence to help him get a lazy living; and i knew little about deer at that time. so i took him to camp, fed him, and sent him away. "kinder keep a lookout for my sheep, will ye, mister, down 't this end o' the pond?" he said, pointing away from the deer tracks. "if ye see ary one, send out word, and i'll come and fetch 'im.--needn't foller the tracks though; they wander like all possessed this time o' year," he added earnestly as he went away. that afternoon i went over to a little pond, a mile distant from my camp, and deeper in the woods. the shore was well cut up with numerous deer tracks, and among the lily pads everywhere were signs of recent feeding. there was a man's track here too, which came cautiously out from a thick point of woods, and spied about on the shore, and went back again more cautiously than before. i took the measure of it back to camp, and found that it corresponded perfectly with the boot tracks of old wally. there were a few deer here, undoubtedly, which he was watching jealously for his own benefit in the fall hunting. when the next still, misty night came, it found me afloat on the lonely little pond with a dark lantern fastened to an upright stick just in front of me in the canoe. in the shadow of the shores all was black as egypt; but out in the middle the outlines of the pond could be followed vaguely by the heavy cloud of woods against the lighter sky. the stillness was intense; every slightest sound,--the creak of a bough or the ripple of a passing musquash, the plunk of a water drop into the lake or the snap of a rotten twig, broken by the weight of clinging mist,--came to the strained ear with startling suddenness. then, as i waited and sifted the night sounds, a dainty plop, plop, plop! sent the canoe gliding like a shadow toward the shore whence the sounds had come. when the lantern opened noiselessly, sending a broad beam of gray, full of shadows and misty lights, through the even blackness of the night, the deer stood revealed--a beautiful creature, shrinking back into the forest's shadow, yet ever drawn forward by the sudden wonder of the light. she turned her head towards me, and her eyes blazed like great colored lights in the lantern's reflection. they fascinated me; i could see nothing but those great glowing spots, blazing and scintillating with a kind of intense fear and wonder out of the darkness. she turned away, unable to endure the glory any longer; then released from the fascination of her eyes, i saw her hurrying along the shore, a graceful living shadow among the shadows, rubbing her head among the bushes as if to brush away from her eyes the charm that dazzled them. i followed a little way, watching every move, till she turned again, and for a longer time stared steadfastly at the light. it was harder this time to break away from its power. she came nearer two or three times, halting between dainty steps to stare and wonder, while her eyes blazed into mine. then, as she faltered irresolutely, i reached forward and closed the lantern, leaving lake and woods in deeper darkness than before. at the sudden release i heard her plunge out of the water; but a moment later she was moving nervously among the trees, trying to stamp herself up to the courage point of coming back to investigate. and when i flashed my lantern at the spot she threw aside caution and came hurriedly down the bank again. later that night i heard other footsteps in the pond, and opened my lantern upon three deer, a doe, a fawn and a large buck, feeding at short intervals among the lily pads. the buck was wild; after one look he plunged into the woods, whistling danger to his companions. but the fawn heeded nothing, knew nothing for the moment save the fascination of the wonderful glare out there in the darkness. had i not shut off the light, i think he would have climbed into the canoe in his intense wonder. i saw the little fellow again, in a curious way, a few nights later. a wild storm was raging over the woods. under its lash the great trees writhed and groaned; and the "voices"--that strange phenomenon of the forest and rapids--were calling wildly through the roar of the storm and the rush of rain on innumerable leaves. i had gone out on the old wood road, to lose myself for a little while in the intense darkness and uproar, and to feel again the wild thrill of the elements. but the night was too dark, the storm too fierce. every few moments i would blunder against a tree, which told me i was off the road; and to lose the road meant to wander all night in the storm-swept woods. so i went back for my lantern, with which i again started down the old cart path, a little circle of wavering, jumping shadows about me, the one gray spot in the midst of universal darkness. i had gone but a few hundred yards when there was a rush--it was not the wind or the rain--in a thicket on my right. something jumped into the circle of light. two bright spots burned out of the darkness, then two more; and with strange bleats a deer came close to me with her fawn. i stood stockstill, with a thrill in my spine that was not altogether of the elements, while the deer moved uneasily back and forth. the doe wavered between fear and fascination; but the fawn knew no fear, or perhaps he knew only the great fear of the uproar around him; for he came close beside me, rested his nose an instant against the light, then thrust his head between my arm and body, so as to shield his eyes, and pressed close against my side, shivering with cold and fear, pleading dumbly for my protection against the pitiless storm. i refrained from touching the little thing, for no wild creature likes to be handled, while his mother called in vain from the leafy darkness. when i turned to go he followed me close, still trying to thrust his face under my arm; and i had to close the light with a sharp click before he bounded away down the road, where one who knew better than i how to take care of a frightened innocent was, no doubt, waiting to receive him. i gave up everything else but fishing after that, and took to watching the deer; but there was little to be learned in the summer woods. once i came upon the big buck lying down in a thicket. i was following his track, trying to learn the indian trick of sign-trailing, when he shot up in front of me like jack-in-a-box, and was gone before i knew what it meant. from the impressions in the moss, i concluded that he slept with all four feet under him, ready to shoot up at an instant's notice, with power enough in his spring to clear any obstacle near him. and then i thought of the way a cow gets up, first one end, then the other, rising from the fore knees at last with puff and grunt and clacking of joints; and i took my first lesson in wholesome respect for the creature whom i already considered mine by right of discovery, and whose splendid head i saw, in anticipation, adorning the hall of my house--to the utter discomfiture of old wally. at another time i crept up to an old road beyond the little deer pond, where three deer, a mother with her fawn, and a young spike-buck, were playing. they kept running up and down, leaping over the trees that lay across the road with marvelous ease and grace--that is, the two larger deer. the little fellow followed awkwardly; but he had the spring in him, and was learning rapidly to gather himself for the rise, and lift his hind feet at the top of his jump, and come down with all fours together, instead of sprawling clumsily, as a horse does. i saw the perfection of it a few days later. i was sitting before my tent door at twilight, watching the herons, when there was a shot and a sudden crash over on their side. in a moment the big buck plunged out of the woods and went leaping in swift bounds along the shore, head high, antlers back, the mighty muscles driving him up and onward as if invisible wings were bearing him. a dozen great trees were fallen across his path, one of which, as i afterwards measured, lay a clear eight feet above the sand. but he never hesitated nor broke his splendid stride. he would rush at a tree; rise light and swift till above it, where he turned as if on a pivot, with head thrown back to the wind, actually resting an instant in air at the very top of his jump; then shoot downward, not falling but driven still by the impulse of his great muscles. when he struck, all four feet were close together; and almost quicker than the eye could follow he was in the air again, sweeping along the water's edge, or rising like a bird over the next obstacle. just below me was a stream, with muddy shores on both sides. i looked to see if he would stog himself there or turn aside; but he knew the place better than i, and that just under the soft mud the sand lay firm and, sure. he struck the muddy place only twice, once on either side the fifteen-foot stream, sending out a light shower of mud in all directions; then, because the banks on my side were steep, he leaped for the cover of the woods and was gone. i thought i had seen the last of him, when i heard him coming, bump! bump! bump! the swift blows of his hoofs sounding all together on the forest floor. so he flashed by, between me and my tent door, barely swerved aside for my fire, and gave me another beautiful run down the old road, rising and falling light as thistle-down, with the old trees arching over him and brushing his antlers as he rocketed along. the last branch had hardly swished behind him when, across the pond, the underbrush parted cautiously and old wally appeared, trailing a long gun. he had followed scarcely a dozen of the buck's jumps when he looked back and saw me watching him from beside a great maple. "just a-follerin one o' my tarnal sheep. strayed off day 'fore yesterday. hain't seen 'im, hev ye?" he bawled across. "just went along; ten or twelve points on his horns. and say, wally--" the old sinner, who was glancing about furtively to see if the white sand showed any blood stains,--looked up quickly at the changed tone. "you let those sheep of yours alone till the first of october; then i'll help you round 'em up. just now they're worth forty dollars apiece to the state. i'll see that the warden collects it, too, if you shoot another." "sho! mister, i ain't a-shootin' no deer. hain't seen a deer round here in ten year or more. i just took a crack at a pa'tridge 'at kwitted at me, top o' a stump"-- but as he vanished among the hemlocks, trailing his old gun, i knew that he understood the threat. to make the matter sure i drove the deer out of the pond that night, giving them the first of a series of rude lessons in caution, until the falling leaves should make them wild enough to take care of themselves. still hunting october, the superb month for one who loves the forest, found me again in the same woods, this time not to watch and, learn, but to follow the big buck to his death. old wally was ahead of me; but the falling leaves had done their work well. the deer had left the pond at his approach. here and there on the ridges i found their tracks, and saw them at a distance, shy, wild, alert, ready to take care of themselves in any emergency. the big buck led them everywhere. already his spirit, grown keen in long battle against his enemies, dominated them all. even the fawns had learned fear, and followed it as their salvation. then began the most fascinating experience that comes to one who haunts the woods--the first, thrilling, glorious days of the still-hunter's schooling, with the frost-colored october woods for a schoolroom, and nature herself for the all-wise teacher. daylight found me far afield, while the heavy mists hung low and the night smells still clung to the first fallen leaves, moving swift and silent through the chill fragrant mistiness of the lowlands, eye and ear alert for every sign, and face set to the heights where the deer were waiting. noon found me miles away on the hills, munching my crust thankfully in a sunny opening of the woods, with a brook's music tinkling among the mossy stones at my feet, and the gorgeous crimson and green and gold of the hillside stretching down and away, like a vast oriental rug of a giant's weaving, to the flash and blue gleam of the distant sea. and everywhere--nature's last subtle touches to her picture--the sense of a filmy veil let down ere the end was reached, a soft haze on the glowing hilltops, a sheen as of silver mist along the stream in the valley, a fleecy light-shot cloud on the sea, to suggest more, and more beautiful, beyond the veil. evening found me hurrying homeward through the short twilight, along silent wood roads from which the birds had departed, breathing deep of the pure air with its pungent tang of ripened leaves, sniffing the first night smells, listening now for the yap of a fox, now for the distant bay of a dog to guide me in a short cut over the hills to where my room in the old farmhouse was waiting. it mattered little that, far behind me (though not so far from where the trail ended), the big buck began his twilight wandering along the ridges, sniffing alertly at the vanishing scent of the man on his feeding ground. the best things that a hunter brings home are in his heart, not in his game bag; and a free deer meant another long glorious day following him through the october woods, making the tyro's mistakes, to be sure, but feeling also the tyro's thrill and the tyro's wonder, and the consciousness of growing power and skill to read in a new language the secrets that the moss and leaves hide so innocently. there was so much to note and learn and remember in those days! a bit of moss with that curiously measured angular cut in it, as if the wood folk had taken to studying euclid,--how wonderful it was at first! the deer had been here; his foot drew that sharp triangle; and i must measure and feel it carefully, and press aside the moss, and study the leaves, to know whether it were my big buck or no, and how long since he had passed, and whether he were feeding or running or just nosing about and watching the valley below. and all that is much to learn from a tiny triangle in the moss, with imaginary a, b, c's clinging to the dried moss blossoms. how careful one had to be! every shift of wind, every cloud shadow had to be noted. the lesson of a dewdrop, splashed from a leaf in the early morning; the testimony of a crushed flower, or a broken brake, or a bending grass blade; the counsel of a bit of bark frayed from a birch tree, with a shred of deer-velvet clinging to it,--all these were vastly significant and interesting. every copse and hiding place and cathedral aisle of the big woods in front must be searched with quiet eyes far ahead, as one glided silently from tree to tree. that depression in the gray moss of a fir thicket, with two others near it--three deer lay down there last night; no, this morning; no, scarcely an hour ago, and the dim traces along the ridge show no sign of hurry or alarm. so i move on, following surely the trail that, only a few days since, would have been invisible as the trail of a fish in the lake to my unschooled eyes, searching, searching everywhere for dim forms gliding among the trees, till--a scream, a whistle, a rush away! and i know that the bluejay, which has been gliding after me curiously the last ten minutes,--has fathomed my intentions and flown ahead to alarm the deer, which are now bounding away for denser cover. i brush ahead heedlessly, knowing that caution here only wastes time, and study the fresh trail where the quarry jumped away in alarm. straight down the wind it goes. cunning old buck! he has no idea what bluejay's alarm was about, but a warning, whether of crow or jay or tainted wind or snapping twig, is never lost on the wood folk. now as he bounds along, cleaving the woods like a living bolt, yet stopping short every hundred yards or so to whirl and listen and sort the messages that the wood wires bring to him, he is perfectly sure of himself and his little flock, knowing that if danger follow down wind, his own nose will tell him all about it. i glance at the sun; only another hour of light, and i am six miles from home. i glance at the jay, flitting about restlessly in a mixture of mischief and curiosity, whistling his too-loo-loo loudly as a sign to the fleeing game that i am right here and that he sees me. then i take up the back trail, planning another day. so the days went by, one after another; the big buck, aided by his friends the birds, held his own against my craft and patience. he grew more wild and alert with every hunt, and kept so far ahead of me that only once, before the snow blew, did i have even the chance of stalking him, and then the cunning old fellow foiled me again masterfully. old wally was afield too; but, so far as i could read from the woods' record, he fared no better than i on the trail of the buck. once, when i knew my game was miles ahead, i heard the longdrawn whang of wally's old gun across a little valley. presently the brush began to crackle, and a small doe came jumping among the trees straight towards me. within thirty feet she saw me, caught herself at the top of her jump, came straight down, and stood an instant as if turned to stone, with a spruce branch bending over to hide her from my eyes. then, when i moved not, having no desire to kill a doe but only to watch the beautiful creature, she turned, glided a few steps, and went bounding away along the ridge. old wally came in a little while, not following the trail,--he had no skill nor patience for that,--but with a woodsman's instinct following up the general direction of his game. not far from where the doe had first appeared he stopped, looked all around keenly, then rested his hands on the end of his long gun barrel, and put his chin on his hands. "drat it all! never tetched 'im again. that paowder o' mine hain't wuth a cent. you wait till snow blows,"--addressing the silent woods at large,--"then i'll get me some paowder as is paowder, and foller the critter, and i'll show ye--" old wally said never a word, but all this was in his face and attitude as he leaned moodily on his long gun. and i watched him, chuckling, from my hiding among the rocks, till with curious instinct he vanished down the ridge behind the very thicket where i had seen the doe flash out of sight a moment before. when i saw him again he was deep in less creditable business. it was a perfect autumn day,--the air full of light and color, the fragrant woods resting under the soft haze like a great bouquet of nature's own culling, birds, bees and squirrels frolicking all day long amidst the trees, yet doing an astonishing amount of work in gathering each one his harvest for the cold dark days that were coming. at daylight, from the top of a hill, i looked down on a little clearing and saw the first signs of the game i was seeking. there had been what old people call a duck-frost. in the meadows and along the fringes of the woods the white rime lay thick and powdery on grass and dead leaves; every foot that touched it left a black mark, as if seared with a hot iron, when the sun came up and shone upon it. across the field three black trails meandered away from the brook; but alas! under the fringe of evergreen was another trail, that of a man, which crept and halted and hid, yet drew nearer and nearer the point where the three deer trails vanished into the wood. then i found powder marks, and some brush that was torn by buck shot, and three trails that bounded away, and a tiny splash of deeper red on a crimson maple leaf. so i left the deer to the early hunter and wandered away up the hill for a long, lazy, satisfying day in the woods alone. presently i came to a low brush fence running zigzag through the woods, with snares set every few yards in the partridge and rabbit runs. at the third opening a fine cock partridge swung limp and lifeless from a twitch-up. the cruel wire had torn his neck under his beautiful ruff; the broken wing quills showed how terrible had been his struggle. hung by the neck till dead!--an atrocious fate to mete out to a noble bird. i followed the hedge of snares for a couple of hundred yards, finding three more strangled grouse and a brown rabbit. then i sat down in a beautiful spot to watch the life about me, and to catch the snarer at his abominable work. the sun climbed higher and blotted out the four trails in the field below. red squirrels came down close to my head to chatter and scold and drive me out of the solitude. a beautiful gray squirrel went tearing by among the branches, pursued by one of the savage little reds that nipped and snarled at his heels. the two cannot live together, and the gray must always go. jays stopped spying on the squirrels--to see and remember where their winter stores were hidden--and lingered near me, whistling their curiosity at the silent man below. none but jays gave any heed to the five grim corpses swinging by their necks over the deadly hedge, and to them it was only a new sensation. then a cruel thing happened,--one of the many tragedies that pass unnoticed in the woods. there was a scurry in the underbrush, and strange cries like those of an agonized child, only tiny and distant, as if heard in a phonograph. over the sounds a crow hovered and rose and fell, in his intense absorption seeing nothing but the creature below. suddenly he swooped like a hawk into a thicket, and out of the cover sprang a leveret (young hare), only to crouch shivering in the open space under a hemlock's drooping branches. there the crow headed him, struck once, twice, three times, straight hard blows with his powerful beak; and when i ran to the spot the leveret lay quite dead with his skull split, while the crow went flapping wildly to the tree tops, giving the danger cry to the flock that was gossiping in the sunshine on the ridge across the valley. the woods were all still after that; jays and squirrels seemed appalled at the tragedy, and avoided me as if i were responsible for the still little body under the hemlock tips. an hour passed; then, a quarter-mile away, in the direction that the deer had taken in the early morning, a single jay set up his cry, the cry of something new passing in the woods. two or three others joined him; the cry came nearer. a flock of crossbills went whistling overhead, coming from the same direction. then, as i slipped away into an evergreen thicket, a partridge came whirring up, and darted by me like a brown arrow driven by the bending branches behind him, flicking the twigs sharply with his wings as he drove along. and then, on the path of his last forerunner, old wally appeared, his keen eyes searching his murderous gibbetline expectantly. now old wally was held in great reputation by the nimrods of the village, because he hunted partridges, not with "scatter-gun" and dog,--such amateurish bungling he disdained and swore against,--but in the good old-fashioned way of stalking with a rifle. and when he brought his bunch of birds to market, his admirers pointed with pride to the marks of his wondrous skill. here was a bird with the head hanging by a thread of skin; there one with its neck broken; there a furrow along the top of the head; and here--perfect work!--a partridge with both eyes gone, showing the course of his unerring bullet. not ten yards from my hiding place he took down a partridge from its gallows, fumbled a pointed stick out of his pocket, ran it through the bird's neck, and stowed the creature that had died miserably, without a chance for its life, away in one of his big pockets, a self-satisfied grin on his face as he glanced down the hedge and saw another bird swinging. so he followed his hangman's hedge, treating each bird to his pointed stick, carefully resetting the snares after him and clearing away the fallen leaves from the fatal pathways. when he came to the rabbit he harled him dexterously, slipped him over his long gun barrel, took his bearings in a quick look, and struck over the ridge for another southern hillside. here, at last, was the secret of wally's boasted skill in partridge hunting with a rifle. spite of my indignation at the snare line, the cruel death which gaped day and night for the game as it ran about heedlessly in the fancied security of its own coverts, a humorous, half shame-faced feeling of admiration would creep in as i thought of the old sinner's cunning, and remembered his look of disdain when he met me one day, with a "scatter-gun" in my hands and old don following obediently at heel. thinking that in his long life he must have learned many things in the woods that i would be glad to know, i had invited him cordially to join me. but he only withered me with the contempt in his hawk eyes, and wiggled his toe as if holding back a kick from my honest dog with difficulty. "go hunting with ye? not much, mister. scarin' a pa'tridge to death with a dum dog, and then turnin' a handful o' shot loose on the critter, an' call it huntin'! that's the way to kill a pa'tridge, the on'y decent way"--and he pulled a bird out of his pocket, pointing to a clean hole through the head where the eyes had been. when he had gone i kicked the hedge to pieces quickly, cut the twitch-ups at the butts and threw them with their wire nooses far into the thickets, and posted a warning in a cleft stick on the site of the last gibbet. then i followed wally to a second and third line of snares, which were treated in the same rough way, and watched him with curiously mingled feelings of detestation and amusement as he sneaked down the dense hillside with tread light as leatherstocking, the old gun over his shoulder, his pockets bulging enormously, and a string of hanged rabbits swinging to and fro on his gun barrel, as if in death they had caught the dizzy motion and could not quit it while the woods they had loved and lived in threw their long sad shadows over them. so they came to the meadow, into which they had so often come limping down to play or feed among the twilight shadows, and crossed it for the last time on wally's gun barrel, swinging, swinging. the leaves were falling thickly now; they formed a dry, hard carpet over which it was impossible to follow game accurately, and they rustled a sharp warning underfoot if but a wood mouse ran over them. it was of little use to still-hunt the wary old buck till the rains should soften the carpet, or a snowfall make tracking like boys' play. but i tried it once more; found the quarry on a ridge deep in the woods, and followed--more by good-luck than by good management--till, late in the afternoon, i saw the buck with two smaller deer standing far away on a half-cleared hillside, quietly watching a wide stretch of country below. beyond them the ridge narrowed gradually to a long neck, ending in a high open bluff above the river. there i tried my last hunter's dodge--manoeuvered craftily till near the deer, which were hidden by dense thickets, and rushed straight at them, thinking they would either break away down the open hillside, and so give me a running shot, or else rush straightaway at the sudden alarm and be caught on the bluff beyond. was it simple instinct, i wonder, or did the buck that had grown old in hunter's wiles feel what was passing in my mind, and like a flash take the chance that would save, not only his own life, but the lives of the two that followed him? at the first alarm they separated; the two smaller deer broke away down the hillside, giving me as pretty a shot as one could wish. but i scarcely noticed them; my eyes were following eagerly a swift waving of brush tops, which told me that the big buck was jumping away, straight into the natural trap ahead. i followed on the run till the ridge narrowed so that i could see across it on either side, then slowly, carefully, steadying my nerves for the shot. the river was all about him now, too wide to jump, too steep-banked to climb down; the only way out was past me. i gripped the rifle hard, holding it at a ready as i moved forward, watching either side for a slinking form among the scattered coverts. at last, at last! and how easy, how perfectly i had trapped him! my heart was singing as i stole along. the tracks moved straight on; first an easy run, then a swift, hard rush as they approached the river. but what was this? the whole end of the bluff was under my eye, and no buck standing at bay or running wildly along the bank to escape. the tracks moved straight on to the edge in great leaps; my heart quickened its beat as if i were nerving myself for a supreme effort. would he do it? would he dare? a foot this side the brink the lichens were torn away where the sharp hoofs had cut down to solid earth. thirty feet away, well over the farther bank and ten feet below the level where i stood, the fresh earth showed clearly among the hoof-torn moss. far below, the river fretted and roared in a white rush of rapids. he had taken the jump, a jump that made one's nostrils spread and his breath come hard as he measured it with his eye. somewhere, over in the spruces' shadow there, he was hiding, watching me no doubt to see if i would dare follow. that was the last of the autumn woods for me. if i had only seen him--just one splendid glimpse as he shot over and poised in mid-air, turning for the down plunge! that was my only regret as i turned slowly away, the river singing beside me and the shadows lengthening along the home trail. winter trails the snow had come, and with it a christmas holiday. for weeks i had looked longingly out of college windows as the first tracking-snows came sifting down, my thoughts turning from books and the problems of human wisdom to the winter woods, with their wide white pages written all over by the feet of wild things. then the sun would shine again, and i knew that the records were washed clean, and the hard-packed leaves as innocent of footmarks as the beach where plover feed when a great wave has chased them away. on the twentieth a change came. outside the snow fell heavily, two days and a night; inside, books were packed away, professors said merry christmas, and students were scattering, like a bevy of flushed quail, to all points of the compass for the holidays. the afternoon of the twenty-first found me again in my room under the eaves of the old farmhouse. before dark i had taken a wide run over the hills and through the woods to the place of my summer camp. how wonderful it all was! the great woods were covered deep with their pure white mantle; not a fleck, not a track soiled its even whiteness; for the last soft flakes were lingering in the air, and fox and grouse and hare and lucivee were still keeping the storm truce, hidden deep in their coverts. every fir and spruce and hemlock had gone to building fairy grottoes as the snow packed their lower branches, under which all sorts of wonders and beauties might be hidden, to say nothing of the wild things for whom nature had been building innumerable tents of white and green as they slept. the silence was absolute, the forest's unconscious tribute to the wonder worker. even the trout brook, running black as night among its white-capped boulders and delicate arches of frost and fern work, between massive banks of feathery white and green, had stopped its idle chatter and tinkled a low bell under the ice, as if only the angelus could express the wonder of the world. as i came back softly in the twilight a movement in an evergreen ahead caught my eye, and i stopped for one of the rare sights of the woods,--a partridge going to sleep in a warm room of his own making. he looked all about among the trees most carefully, listened, kwit-kwitted in a low voice to himself, then, with a sudden plunge, swooped downward head-first into the snow. i stole to the spot where he had disappeared, noted the direction of his tunnel, and fell forward with arms outstretched, thinking perhaps to catch him under me and examine his feet to see how his natural snowshoes (nature's winter gift to every grouse) were developing, before letting him go again. but the grouse was an old bird, not to be caught napping, who had thought on the possibilities of being followed ere he made his plunge. he had ploughed under the snow for a couple of feet, then swerved sharply to the left and made a little chamber for himself just under some snow-packed spruce tips, with a foot of snow for a blanket over him. when i fell forward, disturbing his rest most rudely ere he had time to wink the snow out of his eyes, he burst out with a great whirr and sputter between my left hand and my head, scattering snow all over me, and thundered off through the startled woods, flicking a branch here and there with his wings, and shaking down a great white shower as he rushed away for deeper solitudes. there, no doubt, he went to sleep in the evergreens, congratulating himself on his escape and preferring to take his chances with the owl, rather than with some other ground-prowler that might come nosing into his hole before the light snow had time to fill it up effectually behind him. next morning i was early afield, heading for a ridge where i thought the deer of the neighborhood might congregate with the intention of yarding for the winter. at the foot of a wild little natural meadow, made centuries ago by the beavers, i found the trail of two deer which had been helping themselves to some hay that had been cut and stacked there the previous summer. my big buck was not with them; so i left the trail in peace to push through a belt of woods and across a pond to an old road that led for a mile or two towards the ridge i was seeking. early as i was, the wood folk were ahead of me. their tracks were everywhere, eager, hungry tracks, that poked their noses into every possible hiding place of food or game, showing how the two-days' fast had whetted their appetites and set them to running keenly the moment the last flakes were down and the storm truce ended. a suspicious-looking clump of evergreens, where something had brushed the snow rudely from the feathery tips, stopped me as i hurried down the old road. under the evergreens was a hole in the snow, and at the bottom of the hole hard inverted cups made by deer's feet. i followed on to another hole in the snow (it could scarcely be called a trail) and then to another, and another, some twelve or fifteen feet apart, leading in swift bounds to some big timber. there the curious track separated into three deer trails, one of which might well be that of a ten-point buck. here was luck,--luck to find my quarry so early on the first day out, and better luck that, during my long absence, the cunning animal had kept himself and his consort clear of old wally and his devices. when i ran to examine the back trail more carefully, i found that the deer had passed the night in a dense thicket of evergreen, on a hilltop overlooking the road. they had come down the hill, picking their way among the stumps of a burned clearing, stepping carefully in each other's tracks so as to make but a single trail. at the road they had leaped clear across from one thicket to another, leaving never a trace on the bare even whiteness. one might have passed along the road a score of times without noticing that game had crossed. there was no doubt now that these were deer that had been often hunted, and that had learned their cunning from long experience. i followed them rapidly till they began feeding in a little valley, then with much caution, stealing from tree to thicket, giving scant attention to the trail, but searching the woods ahead; for the last "sign" showed that i was now but a few minutes behind the deer. there they were at last, two graceful forms gliding like gray shadows among the snow-laden branches. but in vain i searched for a lordly head with wide rough antlers sweeping proudly over the brow; my buck was not there. scarcely had i made the discovery when there was a whistle and a plunge up on the hill on my left, and i had one swift glimpse of him, a splendid creature, as he bounded away. by way of general precaution, or else led by some strange sixth sense of danger, he had left his companions feeding and mounted the hill, where he could look back on his own track. there he had been watching me for half an hour, till i approached too near, when he sounded the alarm and was off. i read it all from the trail a few moments later. it was of no use to follow him, for he ran straight down wind. the two others had gone quartering off at right angles to his course, obeying his signal promptly, but having as yet no idea of what danger followed them. when alarmed in this way, deer never run far before halting to sniff and listen. then, if not disturbed, they run off again, circling back and down wind so as to catch from a distance the scent of anything that follows on their trail. i sat still where i was for a good hour, watching the chickadees and red squirrels that found me speedily, and refusing to move for all the peekings and whistlings of a jay that would fain satisfy his curiosity as to whether i meant harm to the deer, or were just benumbed by the cold and incapable of further mischief. when i went on i left some scattered bits of meat from my lunch to keep him busy in case the deer were near; but there was no need of the precaution. the two had learned the leader's lesson of caution well, and ran for a mile, with many haltings and circlings, before they began to feed again. even then they moved along at a good pace as they fed, till a mile farther on, when, as i had forelayed, the buck came down from a hill to join them, and all three moved off toward the big ridge, feeding as they went. then began a long chase, a chase which for the deer meant a straightaway game, and for me a series of wide circles--never following the trail directly, but approaching it at intervals from leeward, hoping to circle ahead of the deer and stalk them at last from an unexpected quarter. once, when i looked down from a bare hilltop into a valley where the trail ran, i had a most interesting glimpse of the big buck doing the same thing from a hill farther on too far away for a shot, but near enough to see plainly through my field glass. the deer were farther ahead than i supposed. they had made a run for it, intending to rest after first putting a good space between them and anything that might follow. now they were undoubtedly lying down in some far-away thicket, their minds at rest, but their four feet doubled under them for a jump at short notice. trust your nose, but keep your feet under you--that is deer wisdom on going to sleep. meanwhile, to take no chances, the wary old leader had circled back, to wind the trail and watch it awhile from a distance before joining them in their rest. he stood stock-still in his hiding, so still that one might have passed close by without noticing him. but his head was above the low evergreens; eyes, ears, and nose were busy giving him perfect report of everything that passed in the woods. i started to stalk him promptly, creeping up the hill behind him, chuckling to myself at the rare sport of catching a wild thing at his own game. but before i sighted him again he grew uneasy (the snow tells everything), trotted down hill to the trail, and put his nose into it here and there to be sure it was not polluted. then--another of his endless devices to make the noonday siesta full of contentment--he followed the back track a little way, stepping carefully in his own footprints; branched off on the other side of the trail, and so circled swiftly back to join his little flock, leaving behind him a sad puzzle of disputing tracks for any novice that might follow him. so the interesting chase went on all day, skill against keener cunning, instinct against finer instinct, through the white wonder of the winter woods, till, late in the afternoon, it swung back towards the starting point. the deer had undoubtedly intended to begin their yard that day on the ridge i had selected; for at noon i crossed the trail of the two from the haystack, heading as if by mutual understanding in that direction. but the big buck, feeling that he was followed, cunningly led his charge away from the spot, so as to give no hint of the proposed winter quarters to the enemy that was after him. just as the long shadows were stretching across all the valleys from hill to hill, and the sun vanished into the last gray bank of clouds on the horizon, my deer recrossed the old road, leaping it, as in the morning, so as to leave no telltale track, and climbed the hill to the dense thicket where they had passed the previous night. here was my last chance, and i studied it deliberately. the deer were there, safe within the evergreens, i had no doubt, using their eyes for the open hillside in front and their noses for the woods behind. it was useless to attempt stalking from any direction, for the cover was so thick that a fox could hardly creep through without alarming ears far less sensitive than a deer's. skill had failed; their cunning was too much for me. i must now try an appeal to curiosity. i crept up the hill flat on my face, keeping stump or scrub spruce always between me and the thicket on the hilltop. the wind was in my favor; i had only their eyes to consider. somewhere, just within the shadow, at least one pair were sweeping the back track keenly; so i kept well away from it, creeping slowly up till i rested behind a great burned stump within forty yards of my game. there i fastened a red bandanna handkerchief to a stick and waved it slowly above the stump. almost instantly there was a snort and a rustle of bushes in the thicket above me. peeking out i saw the evergreens moving nervously; a doe's head appeared, her ears set forward, her eyes glistening. i waved the handkerchief more erratically. my rifle lay across the stump's roots, pointing straight at her; but she was not the game i was hunting. some more waving and dancing of the bright color, some more nervous twitchings and rustlings in the evergreens, then a whistle and a rush; the doe disappeared; the movement ceased; the thicket was silent as the winter woods behind me. "they are just inside," i thought, "pawing the snow to get their courage up to come and see." so the handkerchief danced on--one, two, five minutes passed in silence; then something made me turn round. there in plain sight behind me, just this side the fringe of evergreen that lined the old road, stood my three deer in a row--the big buck on the right--like three beautiful statues, their ears all forward, their eyes fixed with intensest curiosity on the man lying at full length in the snow with the queer red flag above his head. my first motion broke up the pretty tableau. before i could reach for my rifle the deer whirled and vanished like three winks, leaving the heavy evergreen tips nodding and blinking behind them in a shower of snow. tired as i was, i took a last run to see from the trail how it all happened. the deer had been standing just within the thicket as i approached. all three had seen the handkerchief; the tracks showed that they had pawed the snow and moved about nervously. when the leader whistled they had bounded straightaway down the steep on the other side. but the farms lay in that direction, so they had skirted the base of the hill, keeping within the fringe of woods and heading back for their morning trail, till the red flag caught their eye again, and strong curiosity had halted them for another look. thus the long hunt ended at twilight within sight of the spot where it began in the gray morning stillness. with marvelous cunning the deer circled into their old tracks and followed them till night turned them aside into a thicket. this i discovered at daylight next morning. that day a change came; first a south wind, then in succession a thaw, a mist, a rain turning to snow, a cold wind and a bitter frost. next day when i entered the woods a brittle crust made silent traveling impossible, and over the rocks and bare places was a sheet of ice covered thinly with snow. i was out all day, less in hope of finding deer than of watching the wild things; but at noon, as i sat eating my lunch, i heard a rapid running, crunch, crunch, crunch, on the ridge above me. i stole up, quietly as i could, to find the fresh trails of my three deer. they were running from fright evidently, and were very tired, as the short irregular jumps showed. once, where the two leaders cleared a fallen log, the third deer had fallen heavily; and all three trails showed blood stains where the crust had cut into their legs. i waited there on the trail to see what was following--to give right of way to any hunter, but with a good stout stick handy, for dealing with dogs, which sometimes ran wild in the woods and harried the deer. for a long quarter-hour the woods were all still; then the jays, which had come whistling up on the trail, flew back screaming and scolding, and a huge yellow mongrel, showing hound's blood in his ears and nose, came slipping, limping, whining over the crust. i waited behind a tree till he was up with me, when i jumped out and caught him a resounding thump on the ribs. as he ran yelping away i fired my rifle over his head, and sent the good club with a vengeance to knock his heels from under him. a fresh outburst of howls inspired me with hope. perhaps he would remember now to let deer alone for the winter. above the noise of canine lamentation i caught the faint click of snowshoes, and hid again to catch the cur's owner at his contemptible work. but the sound stopped far back on the trail at the sudden uproar. through the trees i caught glimpses of a fur cap and a long gun and the hawk face of old wally, peeking, listening, creeping on the trail, and stepping gingerly at last down the valley, ashamed or afraid of being caught at his unlawful hunting. "an ill wind, but it blows me good," i thought, as i took up the trail of the deer, half ashamed myself to take advantage of them when tired by the dog's chasing. there was no need of commiseration, however; now that the dog was out of the way they could take care of themselves very well. i found them resting only a short distance ahead; but when i attempted to stalk them from leeward the noise of my approach on the crust sent them off with a rush before i caught even a glimpse of them in their thicket. i gave up caution then and there. i was fresh and the deer were tired,--why not run them down and get a fair shot before the sun went down and left the woods too dark to see a rifle sight? i had heard that the indians used sometimes to try running a deer down afoot in the old days; here was the chance to try a new experience. it was fearfully hard traveling without snowshoes, to be sure; but that seemed only to even-up chances fairly with the deer. at the thought i ran on, giving no heed when the quarry jumped again just ahead of me, but pushing them steadily, mile after mile, till i realized with a thrill that i was gaining rapidly, that their pauses grew more and more frequent, and i had constant glimpses of deer ahead among the trees--never of the big buck, but of the two does, who were struggling desperately to follow their leader as he kept well ahead of them breaking the way. then realizing, i think, that he was followed by strength rather than by skill or cunning, the noble old fellow tried a last trick, which came near being the end of my hunting altogether. the trail turned suddenly to a high open ridge with scattered thickets here and there. as they labored up the slope i had the does in plain sight. on top the snow was light, and they bounded ahead with fresh strength. the trail led straight along the edge of a cliff, beyond which the deer had vanished. they had stopped running here; i noticed with amazement that they had walked with quick short steps across the open. eager for a sight of the buck i saw only the thin powdering of snow; i forgot the glare ice that covered the rock beneath. the deer's sharp hoofs had clung to the very edge securely. my heedless feet had barely struck the rock when they slipped and i shot over the cliff, thirty feet to the rocks below. even as i fell and the rifle flew from my grasp, i heard the buck's loud whistle from the thicket where he was watching me, and then the heavy plunge of the deer as they jumped away. a great drift at the foot of the cliff saved me. i picked myself up, fearfully bruised but with nothing broken, found my rifle and limped away four miles through the woods to the road, thinking as i went that i was well served for having delivered the deer "from the power of the dog," only to take advantage of their long run to secure a head that my skill had failed to win. i wondered, with an extra twinge in my limp, whether i had saved old wally by taking the chase out of his hands unceremoniously. above all, i wondered--and here i would gladly follow another trail over the same ground--whether the noble beast, grown weary with running, his splendid strength failing for the first time, and his little, long-tended flock ready to give in and have the tragedy over, knew just what he was doing in mincing along the cliff's edge with his heedless enemy close behind. what did he think and feel, looking back from his hiding, and what did his loud whistle mean? but that is always the despair of studying the wild things. when your problem is almost solved, night comes and the trail ends. when i could walk again easily vacation was over, the law was on, and the deer were safe. snow bound march is a weary month for the wood folk. one who follows them then has it borne in upon him continually that life is a struggle,--a keen, hard, hunger-driven struggle to find enough to keep a-going and sleep warm till the tardy sun comes north again with his rich living. the fall abundance of stored food has all been eaten, except in out-of-the-way corners that one stumbles upon in a long day's wandering; the game also is wary and hard to find from being constantly hunted by eager enemies. it is then that the sparrow falleth. you find him on the snow, a wind-blown feather guiding your eye to the open where he fell in mid-flight; or under the tree, which shows that he lost his grip in the night. his empty crop tells the whole pitiful story, and why you find him there cold and dead, his toes curled up and his body feather-light. you would find more but for the fact that hunger-pointed eyes are keener than yours and earlier abroad, and that crow and jay and mink and wildcat have greater interest than you in finding where the sparrow fell. it is then, also, that the owl, who hunts the sparrow o' nights, grows so light from scant feeding that he cannot fly against the wind. if he would go back to his starting point while the march winds are out, he must needs come down close to the ground and yewyaw towards his objective, making leeway like an old boat without ballast or centerboard. the grouse have taken to bud-eating from necessity--birch buds mostly, with occasional trips to the orchards for variety. they live much now in the trees, which they dislike; but with a score of hungry enemies prowling for them day and night, what can a poor grouse do? when a belated snow falls, you follow their particular enemy, the fox, where he wanders, wanders, wander's on his night's hunting. across the meadow, to dine on the remembrance of field mice--alas! safe now under the crust; along the brook, where he once caught frogs; through the thicket, where the grouse were hatched; past the bullbrier tangle, where the covey of quail once rested nightly; into the farmyard, where the dog is loose and the chickens are safe under lock and key, instead of roosting in trees; across the highway, and through the swamp, and into the big bare empty woods; till in the sad gray morning light he digs under the wild apple tree and sits down on the snow to eat a frozen apple, lest his stomach cry too loudly while he sleeps the day away and tries to forget that he is hungry. everywhere it is the same story: hard times and poor hunting. even the chickadees are hard pressed to keep up appearances and have their sweet love note ready at the first smell of spring in the air. this was the lesson that the great woods whispered sadly when a few idle march days found me gliding on snowshoes over the old familiar ground. wild geese had honked an invitation from the south shore; but one can never study a wild goose; the only satisfaction is to see him swing in on broad wings over the decoys--one glorious moment ere the gun speaks and the dog jumps and everything is spoiled. so i left gun and rifle behind, and went off to the woods of happy memories to see how my deer were faring. the wonder of the snow was gone; there was left only its cold bitterness and a vague sense that it ought no longer to cumber the ground, but would better go away as soon as possible and spare the wood folk any more suffering. the litter of a score of storms covered its soiled rough surface; every shred of bark had left its dark stain where the decaying sap had melted and spread in the midday sun. the hard crust, which made such excellent running for my snowshoes, seemed bitterly cruel when i thought of the starving wild things and of the abundance of food on the brown earth, just four feet below their hungry bills and noses. the winter bad been unusually severe. reports had come to me from the north woods of deep snows, and of deer dying of starvation and cold in their yards. i confess that i was anxious as i hurried along. now that the hunt was over and the deer had won, they belonged to me more than ever more even than if the stuffed head of the buck looked down on my hall, instead of resting proudly over his own strong shoulders. my snowshoes clicked a rapid march through the sad gray woods, while the march wind thrummed an accompaniment high up among the bare branches, and the ground-spruce nodded briskly, beating time with their green tips, as if glad of any sound or music that would break the chill silence until the birds came back. here and there the snow told stories; gay stories, tragic stories, sad, wandering, patient stories of the little woods-people, which the frost had hardened into crust, as if nature would keep their memorials forever, like the records on the sunhardened bricks of babylon. but would the deer live? would the big buck's cunning provide a yard large enough for wide wandering, with plenty of browse along the paths to carry his flock safely through the winter's hunger? that was a story, waiting somewhere ahead, which made me hurry away from the foot-written records that otherwise would have kept me busy for hours. crossbills called welcome to me, high overhead. nothing can starve them out. a red squirrel rushed headlong out of his hollow tree at the first click of my snowshoes. nothing can check his curiosity or his scolding except his wife, whom he likes, and the weasel, whom he is mortally afraid of. chickadees followed me shyly with their blandishments--tsic-a-deeee? with that gentle up-slide of questioning. "is the spring really coming? are--are you a harbinger?" but the snowshoes clicked on, away from the sweet blarney, leaving behind the little flatterers who were honestly glad to see me in the woods again, and who would fain have delayed me. other questions, stern ones, were calling ahead. would the cur dogs find the yard and exterminate the innocents? would old wally--but no; wally had the "rheumatiz," and was out of the running. ill-wind blew the deer good that time; else he would long ago have run them down on snowshoes and cut their throats, as if they were indeed his "tarnal sheep" that had run wild in the woods. at the southern end of a great hardwood ridge i found the first path of their yard. it was half filled with snow, unused since the last two storms. a glance on either side, where everything eatable within reach of a deer's neck had long ago been cropped close, showed plainly why the path was abandoned. i followed it a short distance before running into another path, and another, then into a great tangle of deer ways spreading out crisscross over the eastern and southern slopes of the ridge. in some of the paths were fresh deer tracks and the signs of recent feeding. my heart jumped at sight of one great hoof mark. i had measured and studied it too often to fail to recognize its owner. there was browse here still, to be had for the cropping. i began to be hopeful for my little flock, and to feel a higher regard for their leader, who could plan a yard, it seemed, as well as a flight, and who could not be deceived by early abundance into outlining a small yard, forgetting the late snows and the spring hunger. i was stooping to examine the more recent signs, when a sharp snort made me raise my head quickly. in the path before me stood a doe, all a-quiver, her feet still braced from the suddenness with which she had stopped at sight of an unknown object blocking the path ahead. behind her two other deer checked themselves and stood like statues, unable to see, but obeying their leader promptly. all three were frightened and excited, not simply curious, as they would have been had they found me in their path unexpectedly. the widespread nostrils and heaving sides showed that they had been running hard. those in the rear (i could see them over the top of the scrub spruce, behind which i crouched in the path) said in every muscle: "go on! no matter what it is, the danger behind is worse. go on, go on!" insistence was in the air. the doe felt it and bounded aside. the crust had softened in the sun, and she plunged through it when she struck, cr-r-runch, cr-r-runch, up to her sides at every jump. the others followed, just swinging their heads for a look and a sniff at me, springing from hole to hole in the snow, and making but a single track. a dozen jumps and they struck another path and turned into it, running as before down the ridge. in the swift glimpses they gave me i noticed with satisfaction that, though thin and a bit ragged in appearance, they were by no means starved. the veteran leader had provided well for his little family. i followed their back track up the ridge for perhaps half a mile, when another track made me turn aside. two days before, a single deer had been driven out of the yard at a point where three paths met. she had been running down the ridge when something in front met her and drove her headlong out of her course. the soft edges of the path were cut and torn by suspicious claw marks. i followed her flight anxiously, finding here and there, where the snow had been softest, dog tracks big and little. the deer was tired from long running, apparently; the deep holes in the snow, where she had broken through the crust, were not half the regular distance apart. a little way from the path i found her, cold and stiff, her throat horribly torn by the pack which had run her to death. her hind feet were still doubled under her, just as she had landed from her last despairing jump, when the tired muscles could do no more, and she sank down without a struggle to let the dogs do their cruel work. i had barely read all this, and had not yet finished measuring the largest tracks to see if it were her old enemy that, as dogs frequently do, had gathered a pirate band about him and led them forth to the slaughter of the innocents, when a far-away cry came stealing down through the gray woods. hark! the eager yelp of curs and the leading hoot of a hound. i whipped out my knife to cut a club, and was off for the sounds on a galloping run, which is the swiftest possible gait on snowshoes. there were no deer paths here; for the hardwood browse, upon which deer depend for food, grew mostly on the other sides of the ridge. that the chase should turn this way, out of the yard's limits showed the dogs' cunning, and that they were not new at their evil business. they had divided their forces again, as they had undoubtedly done when hunting the poor doe whose body i had just found. part of the pack hunted down the ridge in full cry, while the rest lay in wait to spring at the flying game as it came on and drive it out of the paths into the deep snow, where it would speedily be at their mercy. at the thought i gripped the club hard, promising to stop that kind of hunting for good, if only i could get half a chance. presently, above the scrape of my snowshoes, i heard the deer coming, cr-r-runch! cr-r-runch! the heavy plunges growing shorter and fainter, while behind the sounds an eager, whining trail-cry grew into a fierce howl of canine exultation. something was telling me to hurry, hurry; that the big buck i had so often hunted was in my power at last, and that, if i would square accounts, i must beat the dogs, though they were nearer to him now than i. the excitement of a new kind of hunt, a hunt to save, not to kill, was tingling all over me when i circled a dense thicket of firs with a rush, and there he lay, up to his shoulders in the snow before me. he had taken his last jump. the splendid strength which had carried him so far was spent now to the last ounce. he lay resting easily in the snow, his head outstretched on the crust before him, awaiting the tragedy that had followed him for years, by lake and clearing and winter yard, and that burst out behind him now with a cry to make one's nerves shudder. the glory of his antlers was gone; he had dropped them months before; but the mighty shoulders and sinewy neck and perfect head showed how well, how grandly he had deserved my hunting. he threw up his head as i burst out upon him from an utterly unexpected quarter--the very thing that i had so often tried to do, in vain, in the old glorious days. "hast thou found me, o mine enemy? well, here am i." that is what his eyes, great, sad, accusing eyes, were saying as he laid his head down on the snow again, quiet as an indian at the torture, too proud to struggle where nothing was to be gained but pity or derision. a strange, uncanny silence had settled over the woods. wolves cease their cry in the last swift burst of speed that will bring the game in sight. then the dogs broke out of the cover behind him with a fiercer howl that was too much for even his nerves to stand. nothing on earth could have met such a death unmoved. no ears, however trained, could hear that fierce cry for blood without turning to meet it face to face. with a mighty effort the buck whirled in the snow and gathered himself for the tragedy. far ahead of the pack came a small, swift bulldog that, with no nose of his own for hunting, had followed the pirate leader for mere love of killing. as he jumped for the throat, the buck, with his last strength, reared on his hind legs, so as to get his fore feet clear of the snow, and plunged down again with a hard, swift sabre-cut of his right hoof. it caught the dog on the neck as he rose on the spring, and ripped him from ear to tail. deer and dog came down together. then the buck rose swiftly for his last blow, and the knife-edged hoofs shot down like lightning; one straight, hard drive with the crushing force of a ten-ton hammer behind it--and his first enemy was out of the hunt forever. before he had time to gather himself again the big yellow brindle, with the hound's blood showing in nose and ears,--old wally's dog,--leaped into sight. his whining trail-cry changed to a fierce growl as he sprang for the buck's nose. i had waited for just this moment in hiding, and jumped to meet it. the club came down between the two heads; and there was no reserve this time in the muscles that swung it. it caught the brute fair on the head, where the nose begins to come up into the skull,--and he too had harried his last deer. two other curs had leaped aside with quick instinct the moment they saw me, and vanished into the thickets, as if conscious of their evil doing and anxious to avoid detection. but the third, a large collie,--a dog that, when he does go wrong, becomes the most cunning and vicious of brutes,--flew straight at my throat with a snarl like a gray wolf cheated of his killing. i have faced bear and panther and bull moose when the red danger-light blazed into their eyes; but never before or since have i seen such awful fury in a brute's face. it swept over me in an instant that it was his life or mine; there was no question or alternative. a lucky cut of the club disabled him, and i finished the job on the spot, for the good of the deer and the community. the big buck had not moved, nor tried to, after his last great effort. now he only turned his head and lifted it wearily, as if to get away from the intolerable smell of his dog enemies that lay dying under his very nose. his great, sorrowful, questioning eyes were turned on me continually, with a look that only innocence could possibly meet. no man on earth, i think, could have looked into them for a full moment and then raised his hand to slay. i approached very quietly, and dragged the dogs away from him, one by one. his eyes followed me always. his nostrils spread, his head came up with a start when i flung the first cur aside to leeward. but he made no motion; only his eyes had a wonderful light in them when i dragged his last enemy, the one he had killed himself, from under his very head and threw it after the others. then i sat down quietly in the snow, and we were face to face at last. he feared me--i could hardly expect otherwise, while a deer has memory--but he lay perfectly still, his head extended on the snow, his sides heaving. after a little while he made a few bounds forward, at right angles to the course he had been running, with marvelous instinct remembering the nearest point in the many paths out of which the pack had driven him. but he stopped and lay quiet at the first sound of my snowshoes behind him. "the chase law holds. you have caught me; i am yours,"--this is what his sad eyes were saying. and sitting down quietly near him again, i tried to reassure him. "you are safe. take your own time. no dog shall harm you now."--that is what i tried to make him feel by the very power of my own feeling, never more strongly roused than now for any wild creature. i whistled a little tune softly, which always rouses the wood folk's curiosity; but as he lay quiet, listening, his ears shot back and forth nervously at a score of sounds that i could not hear, as if above the music he caught faint echoes of the last fearful chase. then i brought out my lunch and, nibbling a bit myself, pushed a slice of black bread over the crust towards him with a long stick. it was curious and intensely interesting to watch the struggle. at first he pulled away, as if i would poison him. then a new rich odor began to steal up into his hungry nostrils. for weeks he had not fed full; he had been running hard since daylight, and was faint and exhausted. and in all his life he had never smelled anything so good. he turned his head to question me with his eyes. slowly his nose came down, searching for the bread. "if he would only eat!-that is a truce which i would never break," i kept thinking over and over, and stopped eating in my eagerness to have him share with me the hunter's crust. his nose touched it; then through his hunger came the smell of the man--the danger smell that had followed him day after day in the beautiful october woods, and over white winter trails when he fled for his life, and still the man followed. the remembrance was too much. he raised his head with an effort and bounded away. i followed slowly, keeping well out to one side of his trail, and sitting quietly within sight whenever he rested in the snow. wild animals soon lose their fear in the presence of man if one avoids all excitement, even of interest, and is quiet in his motions. his fear was gone now, but the old wild freedom and the intense desire for life--a life which he had resigned when i appeared suddenly before him, and the pack broke out behind--were coming back with renewed force. his bounds grew longer, firmer, his stops less frequent, till he broke at last into a deer path and shook himself, as if to throw off all memory of the experience. from a thicket of fir a doe, that had been listening in hiding to the sounds of his coming and to the faint unknown click, which was the voice of my snowshoes, came out to meet him. together they trotted down the path, turning often to look and listen, and vanished at last, like gray shadows, into the gray stillness of the march woods. glossary of indian names cheokhes, the mink. ch'geegee-lokh, the chickadee. cheplahgan, the bald eagle. chigwooltz, the bullfrog. clote scarpe, a legendary hero, like hiawatha, of the northern indians. pronounced variously, clote scarpe, groscap, gluscap, etc. deedeeaskh, the blue jay. hukweem, the great northern diver, or loon. ismaques, the fish-hawk. kagax, the weasel. kakagos, the raven. keeokuskh, the muskrat. keeonekh, the otter. killooleet, the white-throated sparrow. kookooskoos, the great horned owl. koskomenos, the kingfisher. kupkawis, the barred owl. kwaseekho, the sheldrake. lhoks, the panther. malsun, the wolf. meeko,the red squirrel. megaleep, the caribou. milicete, the name of an indian tribe; written also malicete. mitches, the birch partridge, or ruffed grouse. moktaques, the hare. mooween, the black bear. musquash, the muskrat. nemox, the fisher. pekquam, the fisher. seksagadagee, the canada grouse, or spruce partridge. skooktum, the trout. tookhees, the wood grouse. upweekis, the canada lynx. wanderings in south america by charles waterton preface to the first edition i offer this book of "wanderings" with a hesitating hand. it has little merit, and must make its way through the world as well as it can. it will receive many a jostle as it goes along, and perhaps is destined to add one more to the number of slain in the field of modern criticism. but if it fall, it may still, in death, be useful to me; for should some accidental rover take it up and, in turning over its pages, imbibe the idea of going out to explore guiana in order to give the world an enlarged description of that noble country, i shall say, "fortem ad fortia misi," and demand the armour; that is, i shall lay claim to a certain portion of the honours he will receive, upon the plea that i was the first mover of his discoveries; for, as ulysses sent achilles to troy, so i sent him to guiana. i intended to have written much more at length; but days and months and years have passed away, and nothing has been done. thinking it very probable that i shall never have patience enough to sit down and write a full account of all i saw and examined in those remote wilds, i give up the intention of doing so, and send forth this account of my "wanderings" just as it was written at the time. if critics are displeased with it in its present form, i beg to observe that it is not totally devoid of interest, and that it contains something useful. several of the unfortunate gentlemen who went out to explore the congo were thankful for the instructions they found in it; and sir joseph banks, on sending back the journal, said in his letter: "i return your journal with abundant thanks for the very instructive lesson you have favoured us with this morning, which far excelled, in real utility, everything i have hitherto seen." and in another letter he says: "i hear with particular pleasure your intention of resuming your interesting travels, to which natural history has already been so much indebted." and again: "i am sorry you did not deposit some part of your last harvest of birds in the british museum, that your name might become familiar to naturalists and your unrivalled skill in preserving birds be made known to the public." and again: "you certainly have talents to set forth a book which will improve and extend materially the bounds of natural science." sir joseph never read the third adventure. whilst i was engaged in it, death robbed england of one of her most valuable subjects and deprived the royal society of its brightest ornament. contents introduction preface to the first edition first journey remarks second journey third journey fourth journey on preserving birds for cabinets of natural history glossary index wanderings in south america first journey ----nec herba, nec latens in asperis radix fefellit me locis. in the month of april i left the town of stabroek to travel through the wilds of demerara and essequibo, a part of _ci-devant_ dutch guiana, in south america. the chief objects in view were to collect a quantity of the strongest wourali poison and to reach the inland frontier-fort of portuguese guiana. it would be a tedious journey for him who wishes to travel through these wilds to set out from stabroek on foot. the sun would exhaust him in his attempts to wade through the swamps, and the mosquitos at night would deprive him of every hour of sleep. the road for horses runs parallel to the river, but it extends a very little way, and even ends before the cultivation of the plantations ceases. the only mode then that remains is to proceed by water; and when you come to the high-lands, you may make your way through the forest on foot or continue your route on the river. after passing the third island in the river demerara there are few plantations to be seen, and those not joining on to one another, but separated by large tracts of wood. the loo is the last where the sugar-cane is growing. the greater part of its negroes have just been ordered to another estate, and ere a few months shall have elapsed all signs of cultivation will be lost in underwood. higher up stand the sugar-works of amelia's waard, solitary and abandoned; and after passing these there is not a ruin to inform the traveller that either coffee or sugar have ever been cultivated. from amelia's waard an unbroken range of forest covers each bank of the river, saving here and there where a hut discovers itself, inhabited by free people of colour, with a rood or two of bared ground about it; or where the wood-cutter has erected himself a dwelling and cleared a few acres for pasturage. sometimes you see level ground on each side of you for two or three hours at a stretch; at other times a gently sloping hill presents itself; and often, on turning a point, the eye is pleased with the contrast of an almost perpendicular height jutting into the water. the trees put you in mind of an eternal spring, with summer and autumn kindly blended into it. here you may see a sloping extent of noble trees whose foliage displays a charming variety of every shade, from the lightest to the darkest green and purple. the tops of some are crowned with bloom of the loveliest hue, while the boughs of others bend with a profusion of seeds and fruits. those whose heads have been bared by time or blasted by the thunderstorm strike the eye, as a mournful sound does the ear in music, and seem to beckon to the sentimental traveller to stop a moment or two and see that the forests which surround him, like men and kingdoms, have their periods of misfortune and decay. the first rocks of any considerable size that are observed on the side of the river are at a place called saba, from the indian word which means a stone. they appear sloping down to the water's edge, not shelvy, but smooth, and their exuberances rounded off and, in some places, deeply furrowed, as though they had been worn with continual floods of water. there are patches of soil up and down, and the huge stones amongst them produce a pleasing and novel effect. you see a few coffee-trees of a fine luxuriant growth, and nearly on the top of saba stands the house of the post-holder. he is appointed by government to give in his report to the protector of the indians of what is going on amongst them and to prevent suspicious people from passing up the river. when the indians assemble here, the stranger may have an opportunity of seeing the aborigines dancing to the sound of their country music and painted in their native style. they will shoot their arrows for him with an unerring aim and send the poisoned dart, from the blow-pipe, true to its destination: and here he may often view all the different shades, from the red savage to the white man; and from the white man to the sootiest son of africa. beyond this post there are no more habitations of white men or free people of colour. in a country so extensively covered with wood as this is, having every advantage that a tropical sun and the richest mould, in many places, can give to vegetation, it is natural to look for trees of very large dimensions. but it is rare to meet with them above six yards in circumference. if larger have ever existed they have fallen a sacrifice either to the axe or to fire. if, however, they disappoint you in size, they make ample amends in height. heedless, and bankrupt in all curiosity, must he be who can journey on without stopping to take a view of the towering mora. its topmost branch, when naked with age or dried by accident, is the favourite resort of the toucan. many a time has this singular bird felt the shot faintly strike him from the gun of the fowler beneath, and owed his life to the distance betwixt them. the trees which form these far-extending wilds are as useful as they are ornamental. it would take a volume of itself to describe them. the green-heart, famous for its hardness and durability; the hackea for its toughness; the ducalabali surpassing mahogany; the ebony and letter-wood vying with the choicest woods of the old world; the locust-tree yielding copal; and the hayawa- and olou-trees furnishing a sweet-smelling resin, are all to be met with in the forest betwixt the plantations and the rock saba. beyond this rock the country has been little explored, but it is very probable that these, and a vast collection of other kinds, and possibly many new species, are scattered up and down, in all directions, through the swamps and hills and savannas of _ci-devant_ dutch guiana. on viewing the stately trees around him, the naturalist will observe many of them bearing leaves and blossoms and fruit not their own. the wild fig-tree, as large as a common english apple-tree, often rears itself from one of the thick branches at the top of the mora, and when its fruit is ripe, to it the birds resort for nourishment. it was to an undigested seed passing through the body of the bird which had perched on the mora that the fig-tree first owed its elevated station there. the sap of the mora raised it into full bearing, but now, in its turn, it is doomed to contribute a portion of its own sap and juices towards the growth of different species of vines, the seeds of which also the birds deposited on its branches. these soon vegetate, and bear fruit in great quantities; so what with their usurpation of the resources of the fig-tree, and the fig-tree of the mora, the mora, unable to support a charge which nature never intended it should, languishes and dies under its burden; and then the fig-tree, and its usurping progeny of vines, receiving no more succour from their late foster-parent, droop and perish in their turn. a vine called the bush-rope by the wood-cutters, on account of its use in hauling out the heaviest timber, has a singular appearance in the forests of demerara. sometimes you see it nearly as thick as a man's body, twisted like a corkscrew round the tallest trees and rearing its head high above their tops. at other times three or four of them, like strands in a cable, join tree and tree and branch and branch together. others, descending from on high, take root as soon as their extremity touches the ground, and appear like shrouds and stays supporting the mainmast of a line-of-battle ship; while others, sending out parallel, oblique, horizontal and perpendicular shoots in all directions, put you in mind of what travellers call a matted forest. oftentimes a tree, above a hundred feet high, uprooted by the whirlwind, is stopped in its fall by these amazing cables of nature, and hence it is that you account for the phenomenon of seeing trees not only vegetating, but sending forth vigorous shoots, though far from their perpendicular, and their trunks inclined to every degree from the meridian to the horizon. their heads remain firmly supported by the bush-rope; many of their roots soon refix themselves in the earth, and frequently a strong shoot will sprout out perpendicularly from near the root of the reclined trunk, and in time become a fine tree. no grass grows under the trees and few weeds, except in the swamps. the high grounds are pretty clear of underwood, and with a cutlass to sever the small bush-ropes it is not difficult walking among the trees. the soil, chiefly formed by the fallen leaves and decayed trees, is very rich and fertile in the valleys. on the hills it is little better than sand. the rains seem to have carried away and swept into the valleys every particle which nature intended to have formed a mould. four-footed animals are scarce considering how very thinly these forests are inhabited by men. several species of the animal commonly called tiger, though in reality it approaches nearer to the leopard, are found here, and two of their diminutives, named tiger-cats. the tapir, the lobba and deer afford excellent food, and chiefly frequent the swamps and low ground near the sides of the river and creeks. in stating that four-footed animals are scarce, the peccari must be excepted. three or four hundred of them herd together and traverse the wilds in all directions in quest of roots and fallen seeds. the indians mostly shoot them with poisoned arrows. when wounded they run about one hundred and fifty paces; they then drop, and make wholesome food. the red monkey, erroneously called the baboon, is heard oftener than it is seen, while the common brown monkey, the bisa, and sacawinki rove from tree to tree, and amuse the stranger as he journeys on. a species of the polecat, and another of the fox, are destructive to the indian's poultry, while the opossum, the guana and salempenta afford him a delicious morsel. the small ant-bear, and the large one, remarkable for his long, broad, bushy tail, are sometimes seen on the tops of the wood-ants' nests; the armadillos bore in the sand-hills, like rabbits in a warren; and the porcupine is now and then discovered in the trees over your head. this, too, is the native country of the sloth. his looks, his gestures and his cries all conspire to entreat you to take pity on him. these are the only weapons of defence which nature hath given him. while other animals assemble in herds, or in pairs range through these boundless wilds, the sloth is solitary and almost stationary; he cannot escape from you. it is said his piteous moans make the tiger relent and turn out of the way. do not then level your gun at him or pierce him with a poisoned arrow--he has never hurt one living creature. a few leaves, and those of the commonest and coarsest kind, are all he asks for his support. on comparing him with other animals you would say that you could perceive deficiency, deformity and superabundance in his composition. he has no cutting-teeth, and though four stomachs, he still wants the long intestines of ruminating animals. he has only one inferior aperture, as in birds. he has no soles to his feet nor has he the power of moving his toes separately. his hair is flat, and puts you in mind of grass withered by the wintry blast. his legs are too short; they appear deformed by the manner in which they are joined to the body, and when he is on the ground, they seem as if only calculated to be of use in climbing trees. he has forty-six ribs, while the elephant has only forty, and his claws are disproportionably long. were you to mark down, upon a graduated scale, the different claims to superiority amongst the four-footed animals, this poor ill-formed creature's claim would be the last upon the lowest degree. demerara yields to no country in the world in her wonderful and beautiful productions of the feathered race. here the finest precious stones are far surpassed by the vivid tints which adorn the birds. the naturalist may exclaim that nature has not known where to stop in forming new species and painting her requisite shades. almost every one of those singular and elegant birds described by buffon as belonging to cayenne are to be met with in demerara, but it is only by an indefatigable naturalist that they are to be found. the scarlet curlew breeds in innumerable quantities in the muddy islands on the coasts of pomauron; the egrets and crabiers in the same place. they resort to the mud-flats at ebbing water, while thousands of sandpipers and plovers, with here and there a spoonbill and flamingo, are seen amongst them. the pelicans go farther out to sea, but return at sundown to the courada-trees. the humming-birds are chiefly to be found near the flowers at which each of the species of the genus is wont to feed. the pie, the gallinaceous, the columbine and passerine tribes resort to the fruit-bearing trees. you never fail to see the common vulture where there is carrion. in passing up the river there was an opportunity of seeing a pair of the king of the vultures; they were sitting on the naked branch of a tree, with about a dozen of the common ones with them. a tiger had killed a goat the day before; he had been driven away in the act of sucking the blood, and not finding it safe or prudent to return, the goat remained in the same place where he had killed it; it had begun to putrefy, and the vultures had arrived that morning to claim the savoury morsel. at the close of day the vampires leave the hollow trees, whither they had fled at the morning's dawn, and scour along the river's banks in quest of prey. on waking from sleep the astonished traveller finds his hammock all stained with blood. it is the vampire that hath sucked him. not man alone, but every unprotected animal, is exposed to his depredations; and so gently does this nocturnal surgeon draw the blood that, instead of being roused, the patient is lulled into a still profounder sleep. there are two species of vampire in demerara, and both suck living animals: one is rather larger than the common bat, the other measures above two feet from wing to wing extended. snakes are frequently met with in the woods betwixt the sea-coast and the rock saba, chiefly near the creeks and on the banks of the river. they are large, beautiful and formidable. the rattlesnake seems partial to a tract of ground known by the name of canal number-three: there the effects of his poison will be long remembered. the camoudi snake has been killed from thirty to forty feet long; though not venomous, his size renders him destructive to the passing animals. the spaniards in the oroonoque positively affirm that he grows to the length of seventy or eighty feet and that he will destroy the strongest and largest bull. his name seems to confirm this: there he is called "matatoro," which literally means "bull-killer." thus he may be ranked amongst the deadly snakes, for it comes nearly to the same thing in the end whether the victim dies by poison from the fangs, which corrupts his blood and makes it stink horribly, or whether his body be crushed to mummy, and swallowed by this hideous beast. the whipsnake of a beautiful changing green, and the coral, with alternate broad traverse bars of black and red, glide from bush to bush, and may be handled with safety; they are harmless little creatures. the labarri snake is speckled, of a dirty brown colour, and can scarcely be distinguished from the ground or stump on which he is coiled up; he grows to the length of about eight feet and his bite often proves fatal in a few minutes. unrivalled in his display of every lovely colour of the rainbow, and unmatched in the effects of his deadly poison, the counacouchi glides undaunted on, sole monarch of these forests; he is commonly known by the name of the bush-master. both man and beast fly before him, and allow him to pursue an undisputed path. he sometimes grows to the length of fourteen feet. a few small caymen, from two to twelve feet long, may be observed now and then in passing up and down the river; they just keep their heads above the water, and a stranger would not know them from a rotten stump. lizards of the finest green, brown and copper colour, from two inches to two feet and a half long, are ever and anon rustling among the fallen leaves and crossing the path before you, whilst the chameleon is busily employed in chasing insects round the trunks of the neighbouring trees. the fish are of many different sorts and well-tasted, but not, generally speaking, very plentiful. it is probable that their numbers are considerably thinned by the otters, which are much larger than those of europe. in going through the overflowed savannas, which have all a communication with the river, you may often see a dozen or two of them sporting amongst the sedges before you. this warm and humid climate seems particularly adapted to the producing of insects; it gives birth to myriads, beautiful past description in their variety of tints, astonishing in their form and size, and many of them noxious in their qualities. he whose eye can distinguish the various beauties of uncultivated nature, and whose ear is not shut to the wild sounds in the woods, will be delighted in passing up the river demerara. every now and then the maam or tinamou sends forth one long and plaintive whistle from the depth of the forest, and then stops; whilst the yelping of the toucan and the shrill voice of the bird called pi-pi-yo is heard during the interval. the campanero never fails to attract the attention of the passenger; at a distance of nearly three miles you may hear this snow-white bird tolling every four or five minutes, like the distant convent-bell. from six to nine in the morning the forests resound with the mingled cries and strains of the feathered race; after this they gradually die away. from eleven to three all nature is hushed as in a midnight silence, and scarce a note is heard, saving that of the campanero and the pi-pi-yo; it is then that, oppressed by the solar heat, the birds retire to the thickest shade and wait for the refreshing cool of evening. at sundown the vampires, bats and goat-suckers dart from their lonely retreat and skim along the trees on the river's bank. the different kinds of frogs almost stun the ear with their hoarse and hollow-sounding croaking, while the owls and goat-suckers lament and mourn all night long. about two hours before daybreak you will hear the red monkey moaning as though in deep distress; the houtou, a solitary bird, and only found in the thickest recesses of the forest, distinctly articulates "houtou, houtou," in a low and plaintive tone an hour before sunrise; the maam whistles about the same hour; the hannaquoi, pataca and maroudi announce his near approach to the eastern horizon, and the parrots and paroquets confirm his arrival there. the crickets chirp from sunset to sunrise, and often during the day when the weather is cloudy. the bête-rouge is exceedingly numerous in these extensive wilds, and not only man, but beasts and birds, are tormented by it. mosquitos are very rare after you pass the third island in the demerara, and sand-flies but seldom appear. courteous reader, here thou hast the outlines of an amazing landscape given thee; thou wilt see that the principal parts of it are but faintly traced, some of them scarcely visible at all, and that the shades are wholly wanting. if thy soul partakes of the ardent flame which the persevering mungo park's did, these outlines will be enough for thee; they will give thee some idea of what a noble country this is; and if thou hast but courage to set about giving the world a finished picture of it, neither materials to work on nor colours to paint it in its true shades will be wanting to thee. it may appear a difficult task at a distance, but look close at it, and it is nothing at all; provided thou hast but a quiet mind, little more is necessary, and the genius which presides over these wilds will kindly help thee through the rest. she will allow thee to slay the fawn and to cut down the mountain-cabbage for thy support, and to select from every part of her domain whatever may be necessary for the work thou art about; but having killed a pair of doves in order to enable thee to give mankind a true and proper description of them, thou must not destroy a third through wantonness or to show what a good marksman thou art: that would only blot the picture thou art finishing, not colour it. though retired from the haunts of men, and even without a friend with thee, thou wouldst not find it solitary. the crowing of the hannaquoi will sound in thine ears like the daybreak town-clock; and the wren and the thrush will join with thee in thy matin hymn to thy creator, to thank him for thy night's rest. at noon the genius will lead thee to the troely, one leaf of which will defend thee from both sun and rain. and if, in the cool of the evening, thou hast been tempted to stray too far from thy place of abode, and art deprived of light to write down the information thou hast collected, the fire-fly, which thou wilt see in almost every bush around thee, will be thy candle. hold it over thy pocket-book, in any position which thou knowest will not hurt it, and it will afford thee ample light. and when thou hast done with it, put it kindly back again on the next branch to thee. it will want no other reward for its services. when in thy hammock, should the thought of thy little crosses and disappointments, in thy ups and downs through life, break in upon thee and throw thee into a pensive mood, the owl will bear thee company. she will tell thee that hard has been her fate, too; and at intervals "whip-poor-will" and "willy come go" will take up the tale of sorrow. ovid has told thee how the owl once boasted the human form and lost it for a very small offence; and were the poet alive now he would inform thee that "whip-poor-will" and "willy come go" are the shades of those poor african and indian slaves who died worn out and broken-hearted. they wail and cry "whip-poor-will," "willy come go," all night long; and often, when the moon shines, you see them sitting on the green turf near the houses of those whose ancestors tore them from the bosom of their helpless families, which all probably perished through grief and want after their support was gone. about an hour above the rock of saba stands the habitation of an indian called simon, on the top of a hill. the side next the river is almost perpendicular, and you may easily throw a stone over to the opposite bank. here there was an opportunity of seeing man in his rudest state. the indians who frequented this habitation, though living in the midst of woods, bore evident marks of attention to their persons. their hair was neatly collected and tied up in a knot; their bodies fancifully painted red, and the paint was scented with hayawa. this gave them a gay and animated appearance. some of them had on necklaces composed of the teeth of wild boars slain in the chase; many wore rings, and others had an ornament on the left arm midway betwixt the shoulder and the elbow. at the close of day they regularly bathed in the river below, and the next morning seemed busy in renewing the faded colours of their faces. one day there came into the hut a form which literally might be called the wild man of the woods. on entering he laid down a ball of wax which he had collected in the forest. his hammock was all ragged and torn, and his bow, though of good wood, was without any ornament or polish: "erubuit domino, cultior esse suo." his face was meagre, his looks forbidding and his whole appearance neglected. his long black hair hung from his head in matted confusion; nor had his body, to all appearance, ever been painted. they gave him some cassava bread and boiled fish, which he ate voraciously, and soon after left the hut. as he went out you could observe no traces in his countenance or demeanour which indicated that he was in the least mindful of having been benefited by the society he was just leaving. the indians said that he had neither wife nor child nor friend. they had often tried to persuade him to come and live amongst them, but all was of no avail. he went roving on, plundering the wild bees of their honey and picking up the fallen nuts and fruits of the forest. when he fell in with game he procured fire from two sticks and cooked it on the spot. when a hut happened to be in his way he stepped in and asked for something to eat, and then months elapsed ere they saw him again. they did not know what had caused him to be thus unsettled: he had been so for years; nor did they believe that even old age itself would change the habits of this poor harmless, solitary wanderer. from simon's the traveller may reach the large fall, with ease, in four days. the first falls that he meets are merely rapids, scarce a stone appearing above the water in the rainy season; and those in the bed of the river barely high enough to arrest the water's course, and by causing a bubbling show that they are there. with this small change of appearance in the stream, the stranger observes nothing new till he comes within eight or ten miles of the great fall. each side of the river presents an uninterrupted range of wood, just as it did below. all the productions found betwixt the plantations and the rock saba are to be met with here. from simon's to the great fall there are five habitations of the indians: two of them close to the river's side; the other three a little way in the forest. these habitations consist of from four to eight huts, situated on about an acre of ground which they have cleared from the surrounding woods. a few pappaw, cotton and mountain-cabbage trees are scattered round them. at one of these habitations a small quantity of the wourali poison was procured. it was in a little gourd. the indian who had it said that he had killed a number of wild hogs with it, and two tapirs. appearances seemed to confirm what he said, for on one side it had been nearly taken out to the bottom, at different times, which probably would not have been the case had the first or second trial failed. its strength was proved on a middle-sized dog. he was wounded in the thigh, in order that there might be no possibility of touching a vital part. in three or four minutes he began to be affected, smelt at every little thing on the ground around him, and looked wistfully at the wounded part. soon after this he staggered, laid himself down, and never rose more. he barked once, though not as if in pain. his voice was low and weak; and in a second attempt it quite failed him. he now put his head betwixt his fore-legs, and raising it slowly again he fell over on his side. his eye immediately became fixed, and though his extremities every now and then shot convulsively, he never showed the least desire to raise up his head. his heart fluttered much from the time he laid down, and at intervals beat very strong; then stopped for a moment or two, and then beat again; and continued faintly beating several minutes after every other part of his body seemed dead. in a quarter of an hour after he had received the poison he was quite motionless. a few miles before you reach the great fall, and which indeed is the only one which can be called a fall, large balls of froth come floating past you. the river appears beautifully marked with streaks of foam, and on your nearer approach the stream is whitened all over. at first you behold the fall rushing down a bed of rocks with a tremendous noise, divided into two foamy streams which, at their junction again, form a small island covered with wood. above this island, for a short space, there appears but one stream, all white with froth, and fretting and boiling amongst the huge rocks which obstruct its course. higher up it is seen dividing itself into a short channel or two, and trees grow on the rocks which cause its separation. the torrent, in many places, has eaten deep into the rocks, and split them into large fragments by driving others against them. the trees on the rocks are in bloom and vigour, though their roots are half bared and many of them bruised and broken by the rushing waters. this is the general appearance of the fall from the level of the water below to where the river is smooth and quiet above. it must be remembered that this is during the periodical rains. probably, in the dry season, it puts on a very different appearance. there is no perpendicular fall of water of any consequence throughout it, but the dreadful roaring and rushing of the torrent, down a long rocky and moderately sloping channel, has a fine effect; and the stranger returns well pleased with what he has seen. no animal, nor craft of any kind, could stem this downward flood. in a few moments the first would be killed, the second dashed in pieces. the indians have a path alongside of it, through the forest, where prodigious crabwood trees grow. up this path they drag their canoes and launch them into the river above; and on their return bring them down the same way. about two hours below this fall is the habitation of an acoway chief called sinkerman. at night you hear the roaring of the fall from it. it is pleasantly situated on the top of a sand-hill. at this place you have the finest view the river demerara affords: three tiers of hills rise in slow gradation, one above the other, before you, and present a grand and magnificent scene, especially to him who has been accustomed to a level country. here, a little after midnight, on the first of may, was heard a most strange and unaccountable noise: it seemed as though several regiments were engaged and musketry firing with great rapidity. the indians, terrified beyond description, left their hammocks and crowded all together like sheep at the approach of the wolf. there were no soldiers within three or four hundred miles. conjecture was of no avail, and all conversation next morning on the subject was as useless and unsatisfactory as the dead silence which succeeded to the noise. he who wishes to reach the macoushi country had better send his canoe over-land from sinkerman's to the essequibo. there is a pretty good path, and meeting a creek about three-quarters of the way, it eases the labour, and twelve indians will arrive with it in the essequibo in four days. the traveller need not attend his canoe; there is a shorter and a better way. half an hour below sinkerman's he finds a little creek on the western bank of the demerara. after proceeding about a couple of hundred yards up it, he leaves it, and pursues a west-north-west direction by land for the essequibo. the path is good, though somewhat rugged with the roots of trees, and here and there obstructed by fallen ones; it extends more over level ground than otherwise. there are a few steep ascents and descents in it, with a little brook running at the bottom of them, but they are easily passed over, and the fallen trees serve for a bridge. you may reach the essequibo with ease in a day and a half; and so matted and interwoven are the tops of the trees above you that the sun is not felt once all the way, saving where the space which a newly-fallen tree occupied lets in his rays upon you. the forest contains an abundance of wild hogs, lobbas, acouries, powisses, maams, maroudis and waracabas for your nourishment, and there are plenty of leaves to cover a shed whenever you are inclined to sleep. the soil has three-fourths of sand in it till you come within half an hour's walk of the essequibo, where you find a red gravel and rocks. in this retired and solitary tract nature's garb, to all appearance, has not been injured by fire nor her productions broken in upon by the exterminating hand of man. here the finest green-heart grows, and wallaba, purple-heart, siloabali, sawari, buletre, tauronira and mora are met with in vast abundance, far and near, towering up in majestic grandeur, straight as pillars, sixty or seventy feet high, without a knot or branch. traveller, forget for a little while the idea thou hast of wandering farther on, and stop and look at this grand picture of vegetable nature: it is a reflection of the crowd thou hast lately been in, and though a silent monitor, it is not a less eloquent one on that account. see that noble purple-heart before thee! nature has been kind to it. not a hole, not the least oozing from its trunk, to show that its best days are past. vigorous in youthful blooming beauty, it stands the ornament of these sequestered wilds and tacitly rebukes those base ones of thine own species who have been hardy enough to deny the existence of him who ordered it to flourish here. behold that one next to it! hark how the hammerings of the red-headed woodpecker resound through its distempered boughs! see what a quantity of holes he has made in it, and how its bark is stained with the drops which trickle down from them. the lightning, too, has blasted one side of it. nature looks pale and wan in its leaves, and her resources are nearly dried up in its extremities: its sap is tainted; a mortal sickness, slow as a consumption and as sure in its consequences, has long since entered its frame, vitiating and destroying the wholesome juices there. step a few paces aside and cast thine eye on that remnant of a mora behind it. best part of its branches, once so high and ornamental, now lie on the ground in sad confusion, one upon the other, all shattered and fungus-grown and a prey to millions of insects which are busily employed in destroying them. one branch of it still looks healthy! will it recover? no, it cannot; nature has already run her course, and that healthy-looking branch is only as a fallacious good symptom in him who is just about to die of a mortification when he feels no more pain, and fancies his distemper has left him; it is as the momentary gleam of a wintry sun's ray close to the western horizon. see! while we are speaking a gust of wind has brought the tree to the ground and made room for its successor. come farther on and examine that apparently luxuriant tauronira on thy right hand. it boasts a verdure not its own; they are false ornaments it wears. the bush-rope and bird-vines have clothed it from the root to its topmost branch. the succession of fruit which it hath borne, like good cheer in the houses of the great, has invited the birds to resort to it, and they have disseminated beautiful, though destructive, plants on its branches which, like the distempers vice brings into the human frame, rob it of all its health and vigour. they have shortened its days, and probably in another year they will finally kill it, long before nature intended that it should die. ere thou leavest this interesting scene, look on the ground around thee, and see what everything here below must come to. behold that newly-fallen wallaba! the whirlwind has uprooted it in its prime, and it has brought down to the ground a dozen small ones in its fall. its bark has already begun to drop off! and that heart of mora close by it is fast yielding, in spite of its firm, tough texture. the tree which thou passedst but a little ago, and which perhaps has laid over yonder brook for years, can now hardly support itself, and in a few months more it will have fallen into the water. put thy foot on that large trunk thou seest to the left. it seems entire amid the surrounding fragments. mere outward appearance, delusive phantom of what it once was! tread on it and, like the fuss-ball, it will break into dust. sad and silent mementos to the giddy traveller as he wanders on! prostrate remnants of vegetable nature, how incontestably ye prove what we must all at last come to, and how plain your mouldering ruins show that the firmest texture avails us naught when heaven wills that we should cease to be! the cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea, all which it inhabit, shall dissolve, and, like the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a wreck behind. cast thine eye around thee and see the thousands of nature's productions. take a view of them from the opening seed on the surface sending a downward shoot, to the loftiest and the largest trees rising up and blooming in wild luxuriance: some side by side, others separate; some curved and knotty, others straight as lances; all, in beautiful gradation, fulfilling the mandates they had received from heaven and, though condemned to die, still never failing to keep up their species till time shall be no more. reader, canst thou not be induced to dedicate a few months to the good of the public, and examine with thy scientific eye the productions which the vast and well-stored colony of demerara presents to thee? what an immense range of forest is there from the rock saba to the great fall! and what an uninterrupted extent before thee from it to the banks of the essequibo! no doubt there is many a balsam and many a medicinal root yet to be discovered, and many a resin, gum and oil yet unnoticed. thy work would be a pleasing one, and thou mightest make several useful observations in it. would it be thought impertinent in thee to hazard a conjecture that, with the resources the government of demerara has, stones might be conveyed from the rock saba to stabroek to stem the equinoctial tides which are for ever sweeping away the expensive wooden piles round the mounds of the fort? or would the timber-merchant point at thee in passing by and call thee a descendant of la mancha's knight, because thou maintainest that the stones which form the rapids might be removed with little expense, and thus open the navigation to the wood-cutter from stabroek to the great fall? or wouldst thou be deemed enthusiastic or biassed because thou givest it as thy opinion that the climate in these high-lands is exceedingly wholesome, and the lands themselves capable of nourishing and maintaining any number of settlers? in thy dissertation on the indians thou mightest hint that possibly they could be induced to help the new settlers a little; and that, finding their labours well requited, it would be the means of their keeping up a constant communication with us which probably might be the means of laying the first stone towards their christianity. they are a poor harmless, inoffensive set of people, and their wandering and ill-provided way of living seems more to ask for pity from us than to fill our heads with thoughts that they would be hostile to us. what a noble field, kind reader, for thy experimental philosophy and speculations, for thy learning, for thy perseverance, for thy kindheartedness, for everything that is great and good within thee! the accidental traveller who has journeyed on from stabroek to the rock saba, and from thence to the banks of the essequibo, in pursuit of other things, as he told thee at the beginning, with but an indifferent interpreter to talk to, no friend to converse with, and totally unfit for that which he wishes thee to do, can merely mark the outlines of the path he has trodden, or tell thee the sounds he has heard, or faintly describe what he has seen in the environs of his resting-places; but if this be enough to induce thee to undertake the journey, and give the world a description of it, he will be amply satisfied. it will be two days and a half from the time of entering the path on the western bank of the demerara till all be ready and the canoe fairly afloat on the essequibo. the new rigging it, and putting every little thing to rights and in its proper place, cannot well be done in less than a day. after being night and day in the forest, impervious to the sun's and moon's rays, the sudden transition to light has a fine heart-cheering effect. welcome as a lost friend, the solar beam makes the frame rejoice, and with it a thousand enlivening thoughts rush at once on the soul and disperse, as a vapour, every sad and sorrowful idea which the deep gloom had helped to collect there. in coming out of the woods you see the western bank of the essequibo before you, low and flat. here the river is two-thirds as broad as the demerara at stabroek. to the northward there is a hill higher than any in the demerara; and in the south-south-west quarter a mountain. it is far away, and appears like a bluish cloud in the horizon. there is not the least opening on either side. hills, valleys and low-lands are all linked together by a chain of forest. ascend the highest mountain, climb the loftiest tree, as far as the eye can extend, whichever way it directs itself, all is luxuriant and unbroken forest. in about nine or ten hours from this you get to an indian habitation of three huts, on the point of an island. it is said that a dutch post once stood here. but there is not the smallest vestige of it remaining and, except that the trees appear younger than those on the other islands, which shows that the place has been cleared some time or other, there is no mark left by which you can conjecture that ever this was a post. the many islands which you meet with in the way enliven and change the scene, by the avenues which they make, which look like the mouths of other rivers, and break that long-extended sameness which is seen in the demerara. proceeding onwards you get to the falls and rapids. in the rainy season they are very tedious to pass, and often stop your course. in the dry season, by stepping from rock to rock, the indians soon manage to get a canoe over them. but when the river is swollen, as it was in may , it is then a difficult task, and often a dangerous one, too. at that time many of the islands were over-flowed, the rocks covered and the lower branches of the trees in the water. sometimes the indians were obliged to take everything out of the canoe, cut a passage through the branches which hung over into the river, and then drag up the canoe by main force. at one place the falls form an oblique line quite across the river impassable to the ascending canoe, and you are forced to have it dragged four or five hundred yards by land. it will take you five days, from the indian habitation on the point of the island, to where these falls and rapids terminate. there are no huts in the way. you must bring your own cassava bread along with you, hunt in the forest for your meat and make the night's shelter for yourself. here is a noble range of hills, all covered with the finest trees rising majestically one above the other, on the western bank, and presenting as rich a scene as ever the eye would wish to look on. nothing in vegetable nature can be conceived more charming, grand and luxuriant. how the heart rejoices in viewing this beautiful landscape when the sky is serene, the air cool and the sun just sunk behind the mountain's top! the hayawa-tree perfumes the woods around: pairs of scarlet aras are continually crossing the river. the maam sends forth its plaintive note, the wren chants its evening song. the caprimulgus wheels in busy flight around the canoe, while "whip-poor-will" sits on the broken stump near the water's edge, complaining as the shades of night set in. a little before you pass the last of these rapids two immense rocks appear, nearly on the summit of one of the many hills which form this far-extending range where it begins to fall off gradually to the south. they look like two ancient stately towers of some gothic potentate rearing their heads above the surrounding trees. what with their situation and their shape together, they strike the beholder with an idea of antiquated grandeur which he will never forget. he may travel far and near and see nothing like them. on looking at them through a glass the summit of the southern one appeared crowned with bushes. the one to the north was quite bare. the indians have it from their ancestors that they are the abode of an evil genius, and they pass in the river below with a reverential awe. in about seven hours from these stupendous sons of the hill you leave the essequibo and enter the river apoura-poura, which falls into it from the south. the apoura-poura is nearly one-third the size of the demerara at stabroek. for two days you see nothing but level ground richly clothed in timber. you leave the siparouni to the right hand, and on the third day come to a little hill. the indians have cleared about an acre of ground on it and erected a temporary shed. if it be not intended for provision-ground alone, perhaps the next white man who travels through these remote wilds will find an indian settlement here. two days after leaving this you get to a rising ground on the western bank where stands a single hut, and about half a mile in the forest there are a few more: some of them square and some round, with spiral roofs. here the fish called pacou is very plentiful: it is perhaps the fattest and most delicious fish in guiana. it does not take the hook, but the indians decoy it to the surface of the water by means of the seeds of the crab-wood tree and then shoot it with an arrow. you are now within the borders of macoushia, inhabited by a different tribe of people called macoushi indians, uncommonly dexterous in the use of the blow-pipe and famous for their skill in preparing the deadly vegetable-poison commonly called wourali. it is from this country that those beautiful paroquets named kessi-kessi are procured. here the crystal mountains are found; and here the three different species of the ara are seen in great abundance. here too grows the tree from which the gum-elastic is got: it is large and as tall as any in the forest. the wood has much the appearance of sycamore. the gum is contained in the bark: when that is cut through it oozes out very freely; it is quite white and looks as rich as cream; it hardens almost immediately as it issues from the tree, so that it is very easy to collect a ball by forming the juice into a globular shape as fast as it comes out. it becomes nearly black by being exposed to the air, and is real india-rubber without undergoing any other process. the elegant crested bird called cock-of-the-rock, admirably described by buffon, is a native of the woody mountains of macoushia. in the daytime it retires amongst the darkest rocks, and only comes out to feed a little before sunrise and at sunset: he is of a gloomy disposition and, like the houtou, never associates with the other birds of the forest. the indians in the just-mentioned settlement seemed to depend more on the wourali poison for killing their game than upon anything else. they had only one gun, and it appeared rusty and neglected, but their poisoned weapons were in fine order. their blow-pipes hung from the roof of the hut, carefully suspended by a silk-grass cord, and on taking a nearer view of them no dust seemed to have collected there, nor had the spider spun the smallest web on them, which showed that they were in constant use. the quivers were close by them, with the jaw-bone of the fish pirai tied by a string to their brim and a small wicker-basket of wild cotton, which hung down to the centre; they were nearly full of poisoned arrows. it was with difficulty these indians could be persuaded to part with any of the wourali poison, though a good price was offered for it: they gave to understand that it was powder and shot to them, and very difficult to be procured. on the second day after leaving this settlement, in passing along, the indians show you a place where once a white man lived. his retiring so far from those of his own colour and acquaintance seemed to carry something extraordinary along with it, and raised a desire to know what could have induced him to do so. it seems he had been unsuccessful, and that his creditors had treated him with as little mercy as the strong generally show to the weak. seeing his endeavours daily frustrated and his best intentions of no avail, and fearing that when they had taken all he had they would probably take his liberty too, he thought the world would not be hardhearted enough to condemn him for retiring from the evils which pressed so heavily on him, and which he had done all that an honest man could do to ward off. he left his creditors to talk of him as they thought fit, and, bidding adieu for ever to the place in which he had once seen better times, he penetrated thus far into these remote and gloomy wilds and ended his days here. according to the new map of south america, lake parima, or the white sea, ought to be within three or four days' walk from this place. on asking the indians whether there was such a place or not, and describing that the water was fresh and good to drink, an old indian, who appeared to be about sixty, said that there was such a place, and that he had been there. this information would have been satisfactory in some degree had not the indians carried the point a little too far. it is very large, said another indian, and ships come to it. now these unfortunate ships were the very things which were not wanted: had he kept them out, it might have done, but his introducing them was sadly against the lake. thus you must either suppose that the old savage and his companion had a confused idea of the thing, and that probably the lake parima they talked of was the amazons, not far from the city of para, or that it was their intention to deceive you. you ought to be cautious in giving credit to their stories, otherwise you will be apt to be led astray. many a ridiculous thing concerning the interior of guiana has been propagated and received as true merely because six or seven indians, questioned separately, have agreed in their narrative. ask those who live high up in the demerara, and they will, every one of them, tell you that there is a nation of indians with long tails; that they are very malicious, cruel and ill-natured; and that the portuguese have been obliged to stop them off in a certain river to prevent their depredations. they have also dreadful stories concerning a horrible beast called the water-mamma which, when it happens to take a spite against a canoe, rises out of the river and in the most unrelenting manner possible carries both canoe and indians down to the bottom with it, and there destroys them. ludicrous extravagances! pleasing to those fond of the marvellous, and excellent matter for a distempered brain. the misinformed and timid court of policy in demerara was made the dupe of a savage who came down the essequibo and gave himself out as king of a mighty tribe. this naked wild man of the woods seemed to hold the said court in tolerable contempt, and demanded immense supplies, all which he got; and moreover, some time after, an invitation to come down the ensuing year for more, which he took care not to forget. this noisy chieftain boasted so much of his dynasty and domain that the government was induced to send up an expedition into his territories to see if he had spoken the truth, and nothing but the truth. it appeared, however, that his palace was nothing but a hut, the monarch a needy savage, the heir-apparent nothing to inherit but his father's club and bow and arrows, and his officers of state wild and uncultivated as the forests through which they strayed. there was nothing in the hut of this savage, saving the presents he had received from government, but what was barely sufficient to support existence; nothing that indicated a power to collect a hostile force; nothing that showed the least progress towards civilisation. all was rude and barbarous in the extreme, expressive of the utmost poverty and a scanty population. you may travel six or seven days without seeing a hut, and when you reach a settlement it seldom contains more than ten. the farther you advance into the interior, the more you are convinced that it is thinly inhabited. the day after passing the place where the white man lived you see a creek on the left-hand, and shortly after the path to the open country. here you drag the canoe up into the forest, and leave it there. your baggage must now be carried by the indians. the creek you passed in the river intersects the path to the next settlement; a large mora has fallen across it and makes an excellent bridge. after walking an hour and a half you come to the edge of the forest, and a savanna unfolds itself to the view. the finest park that england boasts falls far short of this delightful scene. there are about two thousand acres of grass, with here and there a clump of trees and a few bushes and single trees scattered up and down by the hand of nature. the ground is neither hilly nor level, but diversified with moderate rises and falls, so gently running into one another that the eye cannot distinguish where they begin nor where they end; while the distant black rocks have the appearance of a herd at rest. nearly in the middle there is an eminence which falls off gradually on every side, and on this the indians have erected their huts. to the northward of them the forest forms a circle, as though it had been done by art; to the eastward it hangs in festoons; and to the south and west it rushes in abruptly, disclosing a new scene behind it at every step as you advance along. this beautiful park of nature is quite surrounded by lofty hills, all arrayed in superbest garb of trees: some in the form of pyramids, others like sugar-loaves, towering one above the other, some rounded off, and others as though they had lost their apex. here two hills rise up in spiral summits, and the wooded line of communication betwixt them sinks so gradually that it forms a crescent; and there the ridges of others resemble the waves of an agitated sea. beyond these appear others, and others past them, and others still farther on, till they can scarcely be distinguished from the clouds. there are no sand-flies nor bête-rouge nor mosquitos in this pretty spot. the fire-flies, during the night, vie in numbers and brightness with the stars in the firmament above; the air is pure, and the north-east breeze blows a refreshing gale throughout the day. here the white-crested maroudi, which is never found in the demerara, is pretty plentiful; and here grows the tree which produces the moran, sometimes called balsam-capivi. your route lies south from this place; and at the extremity of the savanna you enter the forest and journey along a winding path at the foot of a hill. there is no habitation within this day's walk. the traveller, as usual, must sleep in the forest; the path is not so good the following day. the hills over which it lies are rocky, steep and rugged; and the spaces betwixt them swampy and mostly knee-deep in water. after eight hours' walk you find two or three indian huts, surrounded by the forest; and in little more than half an hour from these you come to ten or twelve others, where you pass the night. they are prettily situated at the entrance into a savanna. the eastern and western hills are still covered with wood; but on looking to the south-west quarter you perceive it begins to die away. in these forests you may find plenty of the trees which yield the sweet-smelling resin called accaiari, and which, when pounded and burnt on charcoal, gives a delightful fragrance. from hence you proceed, in a south-west direction, through a long swampy savanna. some of the hills which border on it have nothing but a thin coarse grass and huge stones on them: others quite wooded; others with their summits crowned and their base quite bare; and others again with their summits bare and their base in thickest wood. half of this day's march is in water nearly up to the knees. there are four creeks to pass: one of them has a fallen tree across it. you must make your own bridge across the other three. probably, were the truth known, these apparently four creeks are only the meanders of one. the jabiru, the largest bird in guiana, feeds in the marshy savanna through which you have just passed. he is wary and shy, and will not allow you to get within gunshot of him. you sleep this night in the forest, and reach an indian settlement about three o'clock the next evening, after walking one-third of the way through wet and miry ground. but bad as the walking is through it, it is easier than where you cross over the bare hills, where you have to tread on sharp stones, most of them lying edgewise. the ground gone over these two last days seems condemned to perpetual solitude and silence. there was not one four-footed animal to be seen, nor even the marks of one. it would have been as silent as midnight, and all as still and unmoved as a monument, had not the jabiru in the marsh and a few vultures soaring over the mountain's top shown that it was not quite deserted by animated nature. there were no insects, except one kind of fly about one-fourth the size of the common house-fly. it bit cruelly, and was much more tormenting than the mosquito on the sea-coast. this seems to be the native country of the arrowroot. wherever you passed through a patch of wood in a low situation, there you found it growing luxuriantly. the indian place you are now at is not the proper place to have come to in order to reach the portuguese frontiers. you have advanced too much to the westward. but there was no alternative. the ground betwixt you and another small settlement (which was the right place to have gone to) was overflowed; and thus, instead of proceeding southward, you were obliged to wind along the foot of the western hills, quite out of your way. but the grand landscape this place affords makes you ample amends for the time you have spent in reaching it. it would require great descriptive powers to give a proper idea of the situation these people have chosen for their dwelling. the hill they are on is steep and high, and full of immense rocks. the huts are not all in one place, but dispersed wherever they have found a place level enough for a lodgment. before you ascend the hill you see at intervals an acre or two of wood, then an open space with a few huts on it; then wood again, and then an open space, and so on, till the intervening of the western hills, higher and steeper still, and crowded with trees of the loveliest shades, closes the enchanting scene. at the base of this hill stretches an immense plain which appears to the eye, on this elevated spot, as level as a bowling-green. the mountains on the other side are piled one upon the other in romantic forms, and gradually retire, till they are undiscernible from the clouds in which they are involved. to the south-southwest this far-extending plain is lost in the horizon. the trees on it, which look like islands on the ocean, add greatly to the beauty of the landscape, while the rivulet's course is marked out by the æta-trees which follow its meanders. not being able to pursue the direct course from hence to the next indian habitation, on account of the floods of water which fall at this time of the year, you take a circuit westerly along the mountain's foot. at last a large and deep creek stops your progress: it is wide and rapid, and its banks very steep. there is neither curial nor canoe nor purple-heart tree in the neighbourhood to make a wood-skin to carry you over, so that you are obliged to swim across; and by the time you have formed a kind of raft composed of boughs of trees and coarse grass to ferry over your baggage, the day will be too far spent to think of proceeding. you must be very cautious before you venture to swim across this creek, for the alligators are numerous and near twenty feet long. on the present occasion the indians took uncommon precautions lest they should be devoured by this cruel and voracious reptile. they cut long sticks and examined closely the side of the creek for half a mile above and below the place where it was to be crossed; and as soon as the boldest had swum over he did the same on the other side, and then all followed. after passing the night on the opposite bank, which is well wooded, it is a brisk walk of nine hours before you reach four indian huts, on a rising ground, a few hundred paces from a little brook whose banks are covered over with coucourite- and æta-trees. this is the place you ought to have come to two days ago, had the water permitted you. in crossing the plain at the most advantageous place you are above ankle-deep in water for three hours; the remainder of the way is dry, the ground gently rising. as the lower parts of this spacious plain put on somewhat the appearance of a lake during the periodical rains, it is not improbable but that this is the place which hath given rise to the supposed existence of the famed lake parima, or el dorado; but this is mere conjecture. a few deer are feeding on the coarse, rough grass of this far-extending plain; they keep at a distance from you, and are continually on the look-out. the spur-winged plover and a species of the curlew, black with a white bar across the wings, nearly as large again as the scarlet curlew on the sea-coast, frequently rise before you. here too the muscovy duck is numerous, and large flocks of two other kinds wheel round you as you pass on, but keep out of gunshot. the milk-white egrets and jabirus are distinguished at a great distance, and in the æta- and coucourite-trees you may observe flocks of scarlet and blue aras feeding on the seeds. it is to these trees that the largest sort of toucan resorts. he is remarkable by a large black spot on the point of his fine yellow bill. he is very scarce in demerara, and never seen except near the sea-coast. the ants' nests have a singular appearance on this plain; they are in vast abundance on those parts of it free from water, and are formed of an exceeding hard yellow clay. they rise eight or ten feet from the ground, in a spiral form, impenetrable to the rain and strong enough to defy the severest tornado. the wourali poison procured in these last-mentioned huts seemed very good, and proved afterwards to be very strong. there are now no more indian settlements betwixt you and the portuguese frontiers. if you wish to visit their fort, it would be advisable to send an indian with a letter from hence and wait his return. on the present occasion a very fortunate circumstance occurred. the portuguese commander had sent some indians and soldiers to build a canoe not far from this settlement; they had just finished it, and those who did not stay with it had stopped here on their return. the soldier who commanded the rest said he durst not, upon any account, convey a stranger to the fort: but he added, as there were two canoes, one of them might be despatched with a letter, and then we could proceed slowly on in the other. about three hours from this settlement there is a river called pirarara, and here the soldiers had left their canoes while they were making the new one. from the pirarara you get into the river maou, and then into the tacatou; and just where the tacatou falls into the rio branco there stands the portuguese frontier-fort called fort st. joachim. from the time of embarking in the river pirarara it takes you four days before you reach this fort. there was nothing very remarkable in passing down these rivers. it is an open country, producing a coarse grass and interspersed with clumps of trees. the banks have some wood on them, but it appears stinted and crooked, like that on the bleak hills in england. the tapir frequently plunged into the river; he was by no means shy, and it was easy to get a shot at him on land. the kessi-kessi paroquets were in great abundance, and the fine scarlet aras innumerable in the coucourite-trees at a distance from the river's bank. in the tacatou was seen the troupiale. it was charming to hear the sweet and plaintive notes of this pretty songster of the wilds. the portuguese call it the nightingale of guiana. towards the close of the fourth evening the canoe which had been sent on with a letter met us with the commander's answer. during its absence the nights had been cold and stormy, the rain had fallen in torrents, the days cloudy, and there was no sun to dry the wet hammocks. exposed thus, day and night, to the chilling blast and pelting shower, strength of constitution at last failed and a severe fever came on. the commander's answer was very polite. he remarked, he regretted much to say that he had received orders to allow no stranger to enter the frontier, and this being the case he hoped i would not consider him as uncivil: "however," continued he, "i have ordered the soldier to land you at a certain distance from the fort, where we can consult together." we had now arrived at the place, and the canoe which brought the letter returned to the fort to tell the commander i had fallen sick. the sun had not risen above an hour the morning after when the portuguese officer came to the spot where we had landed the preceding evening. he was tall and spare, and appeared to be from fifty to fifty-five years old; and though thirty years of service under an equatorial sun had burnt and shrivelled up his face, still there was something in it so inexpressibly affable and kind that it set you immediately at your ease. he came close up to the hammock, and taking hold of my wrist to feel the pulse, "i am sorry, sir," said he, "to see that the fever has taken such hold of you. you shall go directly with me," continued he, "to the fort; and though we have no doctor there, i trust," added he, "we shall soon bring you about again. the orders i have received forbidding the admission of strangers were never intended to be put in force against a sick english gentleman." as the canoe was proceeding slowly down the river towards the fort, the commander asked with much more interest than a question in ordinary conversation is asked, where was i on the night of the first of may? on telling him that i was at an indian settlement a little below the great fall in the demerara, and that a strange and sudden noise had alarmed all the indians, he said the same astonishing noise had roused every man in fort st. joachim, and that they remained under arms till morning. he observed that he had been quite at a loss to form any idea what could have caused the noise; but now learning that the same noise had been heard at the same time far away from the rio branco, it struck him there must have been an earthquake somewhere or other. good nourishment and rest, and the unwearied attention and kindness of the portuguese commander, stopped the progress of the fever and enabled me to walk about in six days. fort st. joachim was built about five and forty years ago under the apprehension, it is said, that the spaniards were coming from the rio negro to settle there. it has been much neglected; the floods of water have carried away the gate and destroyed the wall on each side of it, but the present commander is putting it into thorough repair. when finished it will mount six nine- and six twelve-pounders. in a straight line with the fort, and within a few yards of the river, stand the commander's house, the barracks, the chapel, the father-confessor's house and two others, all at little intervals from each other; and these are the only buildings at fort st. joachim. the neighbouring extensive plains afford good pasturage for a fine breed of cattle, and the portuguese make enough of butter and cheese for their own consumption. on asking the old officer if there were such a place as lake parima, or el dorado, he replied he looked upon it as imaginary altogether. "i have been above forty years," added he, "in portuguese guiana, but have never yet met with anybody who has seen the lake." so much for lake parima, or el dorado, or the white sea. its existence at best seems doubtful: some affirm that there is such a place and others deny it. grammatici certant, et adhuc sub judice lis est. having now reached the portuguese inland frontier and collected a sufficient quantity of the wourali poison, nothing remains but to give a brief account of its composition, its effects, its uses and its supposed antidotes. it has been already remarked that in the extensive wilds of demerara and essequibo, far away from any european settlement, there is a tribe of indians who are known by the name of macoushi. though the wourali poison is used by all the south american savages betwixt the amazons and the oroonoque, still this tribe makes it stronger than any of the rest. the indians in the vicinity of the rio negro are aware of this, and come to the macoushi country to purchase it. much has been said concerning this fatal and extraordinary poison. some have affirmed that its effects are almost instantaneous, provided the minutest particle of it mixes with the blood; and others again have maintained that it is not strong enough to kill an animal of the size and strength of a man. the first have erred by lending a too willing ear to the marvellous and believing assertions without sufficient proof. the following short story points out the necessity of a cautious examination. one day, on asking an indian if he thought the poison would kill a man, he replied that they always go to battle with it; that he was standing by when an indian was shot with a poisoned arrow, and that he expired almost immediately. not wishing to dispute this apparently satisfactory information the subject was dropped. however, about an hour after, having purposely asked him in what part of the body the said indian was wounded, he answered without hesitation that the arrow entered betwixt his shoulders and passed quite through his heart. was it the weapon or the strength of the poison that brought on immediate dissolution in this case? of course the weapon. the second have been misled by disappointment caused by neglect in keeping the poisoned arrows, or by not knowing how to use them, or by trying inferior poison. if the arrows are not kept dry the poison loses its strength, and in wet or damp weather it turns mouldy and becomes quite soft. in shooting an arrow in this state, upon examining the place where it has entered, it will be observed that, though the arrow has penetrated deep into the flesh, still by far the greatest part of the poison has shrunk back, and thus, instead of entering with the arrow, it has remained collected at the mouth of the wound. in this case the arrow might as well have not been poisoned. probably it was to this that a gentleman, some time ago, owed his disappointment when he tried the poison on a horse in the town of stabroek, the capital of demerara; the horse never betrayed the least symptom of being affected by it. wishful to obtain the best information concerning this poison, and as repeated inquiries, in lieu of dissipating the surrounding shade, did but tend more and more to darken the little light that existed, i determined to penetrate into the country where the poisonous ingredients grow, where this pernicious composition is prepared and where it is constantly used. success attended the adventure, and the information acquired made amends for one hundred and twenty days passed in the solitudes of guiana, and afforded a balm to the wounds and bruises which every traveller must expect to receive who wanders through a thorny and obstructed path. thou must not, courteous reader, expect a dissertation on the manner in which the wourali poison operates on the system: a treatise has been already written on the subject, and, after all, there is probably still reason to doubt. it is supposed to affect the nervous system, and thus destroy the vital functions; it is also said to be perfectly harmless provided it does not touch the blood. however, this is certain: when a sufficient quantity of it enters the blood, death is the inevitable consequence; but there is no alteration in the colour of the blood, and both the blood and flesh may be eaten with safety. all that thou wilt find here is a concise, unadorned account of the wourali poison. it may be of service to thee some time or other shouldst thou ever travel through the wilds where it is used. neither attribute to cruelty, nor to a want of feeling for the sufferings of the inferior animals, the ensuing experiments. the larger animals were destroyed in order to have proof positive of the strength of a poison which hath hitherto been doubted, and the smaller ones were killed with the hope of substantiating that which has commonly been supposed to be an antidote. it makes a pitying heart ache to see a poor creature in distress and pain; and too often has the compassionate traveller occasion to heave a sigh as he journeys on. however, here, though the kind-hearted will be sorry to read of an unoffending animal doomed to death in order to satisfy a doubt, still it will be a relief to know that the victim was not tortured. the wourali poison destroys life's action so gently that the victim appears to be in no pain whatever; and probably, were the truth known, it feels none, saving the momentary smart at the time the arrow enters. a day or two before the macoushi indian prepares his poison he goes into the forest in quest of the ingredients. a vine grows in these wilds which is called wourali. it is from this that the poison takes its name, and it is the principal ingredient. when he has procured enough of this he digs up a root of a very bitter taste, ties them together, and then looks about for two kinds of bulbous plants which contain a green and glutinous juice. he fills a little quake which he carries on his back with the stalks of these; and lastly ranges up and down till he finds two species of ants. one of them is very large and black, and so venomous that its sting produces a fever: it is most commonly to be met with on the ground. the other is a little red ant which stings like a nettle, and generally has its nest under the leaf of a shrub. after obtaining these he has no more need to range the forest. a quantity of the strongest indian pepper is used, but this he has already planted round his hut. the pounded fangs of the labarri snake and those of the counacouchi are likewise added. these he commonly has in store, for when he kills a snake he generally extracts the fangs and keeps them by him. having thus found the necessary ingredients, he scrapes the wourali vine and bitter root into thin shavings and puts them into a kind of colander made of leaves. this he holds over an earthen pot, and pours water on the shavings: the liquor which comes through has the appearance of coffee. when a sufficient quantity has been procured the shavings are thrown aside. he then bruises the bulbous stalks and squeezes a proportionate quantity of their juice through his hands into the pot. lastly the snakes' fangs, ants and pepper are bruised and thrown into it. it is then placed on a slow fire, and as it boils more of the juice of the wourali is added, according as it may be found necessary, and the scum is taken off with a leaf: it remains on the fire till reduced to a thick syrup of a deep brown colour. as soon as it has arrived at this state a few arrows are poisoned with it, to try its strength. if it answer the expectations it is poured out into a calabash, or little pot of indian manufacture, which is carefully covered with a couple of leaves, and over them a piece of deer's skin tied round with a cord. they keep it in the most dry part of the hut, and from time to time suspend it over the fire to counteract the effects of dampness. the act of preparing this poison is not considered as a common one: the savage may shape his bow, fasten the barb on the point of his arrow and make his other implements of destruction either lying in his hammock or in the midst of his family; but if he has to prepare the wourali poison, many precautions are supposed to be necessary. the women and young girls are not allowed to be present, lest the yabahou, or evil spirit, should do them harm. the shed under which it has been boiled is pronounced polluted, and abandoned ever after. he who makes the poison must eat nothing that morning, and must continue fasting as long as the operation lasts. the pot in which it is boiled must be a new one, and must never have held anything before, otherwise the poison would be deficient in strength: add to this that the operator must take particular care not to expose himself to the vapour which arises from it while on the fire. though this and other precautions are taken, such as frequently washing the face and hands, still the indians think that it affects the health; and the operator either is, or, what is more probable, supposes himself to be, sick for some days after. thus it appears that the making the wourali poison is considered as a gloomy and mysterious operation; and it would seem that they imagine it affects others as well as him who boils it, for an indian agreed one evening to make some for me, but the next morning he declined having anything to do with it, alleging that his wife was with child! here it might be asked, are all the ingredients just mentioned necessary in order to produce the wourali poison? though our opinions and conjectures may militate against the absolute necessity of some of them, still it would be hardly fair to pronounce them added by the hand of superstition till proof positive can be obtained. we might argue on the subject, and by bringing forward instances of indian superstition draw our conclusion by inference, and still remain in doubt on this head. you know superstition to be the offspring of ignorance, and of course that it takes up its abode amongst the rudest tribes of uncivilised man. it even too often resides with man in his more enlightened state. the augustan age furnishes numerous examples. a bone snatched from the jaws of a fasting bitch, and a feather from the wing of a night-owl--"ossa ab ore rapta jejunæ canis, plumamque nocturnæ strigis"--were necessary for canidia's incantations. and in after-times parson evans, the welshman, was treated most ungenteelly by an enraged spirit solely because he had forgotten a fumigation in his witch-work. if, then, enlightened man lets his better sense give way, and believes, or allows himself to be persuaded, that certain substances and actions, in reality of no avail, possess a virtue which renders them useful in producing the wished-for effect, may not the wild, untaught, unenlightened savage of guiana add an ingredient which, on account of the harm it does him, he fancies may be useful to the perfection of his poison, though in fact it be of no use at all? if a bone snatched from the jaws of a fasting bitch be thought necessary in incantation; or if witchcraft have recourse to the raiment of the owl because it resorts to the tombs and mausoleums of the dead and wails and hovers about at the time that the rest of animated nature sleeps; certainly the savage may imagine that the ants, whose sting causes a fever, and the teeth of the labarri and counacouchi snakes, which convey death in a very short space of time, are essentially necessary in the composition of his poison; and being once impressed with this idea, he will add them every time he makes the poison and transmit the absolute use of them to his posterity. the question to be answered seems not to be if it is natural for the indians to mix these ingredients, but if they are essential to make the poison. so much for the preparing of this vegetable essence: terrible importer of death, into whatever animal it enters. let us now see how it is used; let us examine the weapons which bear it to its destination, and take a view of the poor victim from the time he receives his wound till death comes to his relief. when a native of macoushia goes in quest of feathered game or other birds he seldom carries his bow and arrows. it is the blow-pipe he then uses. this extraordinary tube of death is, perhaps, one of the greatest natural curiosities of guiana. it is not found in the country of the macoushi. those indians tell you that it grows to the south-west of them, in the wilds which extend betwixt them and the rio negro. the reed must grow to an amazing length, as the part the indians use is from ten to eleven feet long, and no tapering can be perceived in it, one end being as thick as the other. it is of a bright yellow colour, perfectly smooth both inside and out. it grows hollow, nor is there the least appearance of a knot or joint throughout the whole extent. the natives call it ourah. this of itself is too slender to answer the end of a blow-pipe, but there is a species of palma, larger and stronger, and common in guiana, and this the indians make use of as a case in which they put the ourah. it is brown, susceptible of a fine polish, and appears as if it had joints five or six inches from each other. it is called samourah, and the pulp inside is easily extracted by steeping it for a few days in water. thus the ourah and samourah, one within the other, form the blow-pipe of guiana. the end which is applied to the mouth is tied round with a small silk-grass cord to prevent its splitting, and the other end, which is apt to strike against the ground, is secured by the seed of the acuero fruit cut horizontally through the middle, with a hole made in the end through which is put the extremity of the blow-pipe. it is fastened on with string on the outside, and the inside is filled up with wild-bees' wax. the arrow is from nine to ten inches long. it is made out of the leaf of a species of palm-tree called coucourite, hard and brittle, and pointed as sharp as a needle. about an inch of the pointed end is poisoned. the other end is burnt to make it still harder, and wild cotton is put round it for about an inch and a half. it requires considerable practice to put on this cotton well. it must just be large enough to fit the hollow of the tube and taper off to nothing downwards. they tie it on with a thread of the silk-grass to prevent its slipping off the arrow. the indians have shown ingenuity in making a quiver to hold the arrows. it will contain from five to six hundred. it is generally from twelve to fourteen inches long, and in shape resembles a dice-box used at backgammon. the inside is prettily done in basket-work with wood not unlike bamboo, and the outside has a coat of wax. the cover is all of one piece formed out of the skin of the tapir. round the centre there is fastened a loop large enough to admit the arm and shoulder, from which it hangs when used. to the rim is tied a little bunch of silk-grass and half of the jaw-bone of the fish called pirai, with which the indian scrapes the point of his arrow. before he puts the arrows into the quiver he links them together by two strings of cotton, one string at each end, and then folds them round a stick which is nearly the length of the quiver. the end of the stick, which is uppermost, is guarded by two little pieces of wood crosswise, with a hoop round their extremities, which appears something like a wheel, and this saves the hand from being wounded when the quiver is reversed in order to let the bunch of arrows drop out. there is also attached to the quiver a little kind of basket to hold the wild cotton which is put on the blunt end of the arrow. with a quiver of poisoned arrows slung over his shoulder, and with his blow-pipe in his hand, in the same position as a soldier carries his musket, see the macoushi indian advancing towards the forest in quest of powises, maroudis, waracabas and other feathered game. these generally sit high up in the tall and tufted trees, but still are not out of the indian's reach, for his blow-pipe, at its greatest elevation, will send an arrow three hundred feet. silent as midnight he steals under them, and so cautiously does he tread the ground that the fallen leaves rustle not beneath his feet. his ears are open to the least sound, while his eye, keen as that of the lynx, is employed in finding out the game in the thickest shade. often he imitates their cry, and decoys them from tree to tree, till they are within range of his tube. then taking a poisoned arrow from his quiver, he puts it in the blow-pipe and collects his breath for the fatal puff. about two feet from the end through which he blows there are fastened two teeth of the acouri, and these serve him for a sight. silent and swift the arrow flies, and seldom fails to pierce the object at which it is sent. sometimes the wounded bird remains in the same tree where it was shot, and in three minutes falls down at the indian's feet. should he take wing his flight is of short duration, and the indian, following the direction he has gone, is sure to find him dead. it is natural to imagine that when a slight wound only is inflicted the game will make its escape. far otherwise; the wourali poison almost instantaneously mixes with blood or water, so that if you wet your finger and dash it along the poisoned arrow in the quickest manner possible you are sure to carry off some of the poison. though three minutes generally elapse before the convulsions come on in the wounded bird, still a stupor evidently takes place sooner, and this stupor manifests itself by an apparent unwillingness in the bird to move. this was very visible in a dying fowl. having procured a healthy full-grown one, a short piece of a poisoned blow-pipe arrow was broken off and run up into its thigh, as near as possible betwixt the skin and the flesh, in order that it might not be incommoded by the wound. for the first minute it walked about, but walked very slowly, and did not appear the least agitated. during the second minute it stood still, and began to peck the ground; and ere half another had elapsed it frequently opened and shut its mouth. the tail had now dropped and the wings almost touched the ground. by the termination of the third minute it had sat down, scarce able to support its head, which nodded, and then recovered itself, and then nodded again, lower and lower every time, like that of a weary traveller slumbering in an erect position; the eyes alternately open and shut. the fourth minute brought on convulsions, and life and the fifth terminated together. the flesh of the game is not in the least injured by the poison, nor does it appear to corrupt sooner than that killed by the gun or knife. the body of this fowl was kept for sixteen hours in a climate damp and rainy, and within seven degrees of the equator, at the end of which time it had contracted no bad smell whatever and there were no symptoms of putrefaction, saving that just round the wound the flesh appeared somewhat discoloured. the indian, on his return home, carefully suspends his blow-pipe from the top of his spiral roof, seldom placing it in an oblique position, lest it should receive a cast. here let the blow-pipe remain suspended while you take a view of the arms which are made to slay the larger beasts of the forest. when the indian intends to chase the peccari, or surprise the deer, or rouse the tapir from his marshy retreat, he carries his bow and arrows, which are very different from the weapons already described. the bow is generally from six to seven feet long and strung with a cord spun out of the silk-grass. the forests of guiana furnish many species of hard wood, tough and elastic, out of which beautiful and excellent bows are formed. the arrows are from four to five feet in length, made of a yellow reed without a knot or joint. it is found in great plenty up and down throughout guiana. a piece of hard wood about nine inches long is inserted into the end of the reed, and fastened with cotton well waxed. a square hole an inch deep is then made in the end of this piece of hard wood, done tight round with cotton to keep it from splitting. into this square hole is fitted a spike of coucourite-wood, poisoned, and which may be kept there or taken out at pleasure. a joint of bamboo, about as thick as your finger, is fitted on over the poisoned spike to prevent accidents and defend it from the rain, and is taken off when the arrow is about to be used. lastly, two feathers are fastened the other end of the reed to steady it in its flight. besides his bow and arrows, the indian carries a little box made of bamboo which holds a dozen or fifteen poisoned spikes six inches long. they are poisoned in the following manner: a small piece of wood is dipped in the poison, and with this they give the spike a first coat. it is then exposed to the sun or fire. after it is dry it receives another coat, and then dried again; after this a third coat, and sometimes a fourth. they take great care to put the poison on thicker at the middle than at the sides, by which means the spike retains the shape of a two-edged sword. it is rather a tedious operation to make one of these arrows complete, and as the indian is not famed for industry, except when pressed by hunger, he has hit upon a plan of preserving his arrows which deserves notice. about a quarter of an inch above the part where the coucourite spike is fixed into the square hole he cuts it half through, and thus, when it has entered the animal, the weight of the arrow causes it to break off there, by which means the arrow falls to the ground uninjured, so that, should this be the only arrow he happens to have with him and should another shot immediately occur, he has only to take another poisoned spike out of his little bamboo box, fit it on its arrow, and send it to its destination. thus armed with deadly poison, and hungry as the hyæna, he ranges through the forest in quest of the wild-beasts' track. no hound can act a surer part. without clothes to fetter him or shoes to bind his feet, he observes the footsteps of the game where an european eye could not discern the smallest vestige. he pursues it through all its turns and windings with astonishing perseverance, and success generally crowns his efforts. the animal, after receiving the poisoned arrow, seldom retreats two hundred paces before it drops. in passing over-land from the essequibo to the demerara we fell in with a herd of wild hogs. though encumbered with baggage and fatigued with a hard day's walk, an indian got his bow ready and let fly a poisoned arrow at one of them. it entered the cheek-bone and broke off. the wild hog was found quite dead about one hundred and seventy paces from the place where he had been shot. he afforded us an excellent and wholesome supper. thus the savage of guiana, independent of the common weapons of destruction, has it in his power to prepare a poison by which he can generally ensure to himself a supply of animal food: and the food so destroyed imbibes no deleterious qualities. nature has been bountiful to him. she has not only ordered poisonous herbs and roots to grow in the unbounded forests through which he strays, but has also furnished an excellent reed for his arrows, and another still more singular for his blow-pipe, and planted trees of an amazing hard, tough and elastic texture out of which he forms his bows. and in order that nothing might be wanting, she has superadded a tree which yields him a fine wax and disseminated up and down a plant not unlike that of the pine-apple which affords him capital bow-strings. having now followed the indian in the chase and described the poison, let us take a nearer view of its action and observe a large animal expiring under the weight of its baneful virulence. many have doubted the strength of the wourali poison. should they ever by chance read what follows, probably their doubts on that score will be settled for ever. in the former experiment on the dog some faint resistance on the part of nature was observed, as if existence struggled for superiority, but in the following instance of the sloth life sunk in death without the least apparent contention, without a cry, without a struggle and without a groan. this was an ai, or three-toed sloth. it was in the possession of a gentleman who was collecting curiosities. he wished to have it killed in order to preserve the skin, and the wourali poison was resorted to as the easiest death. of all animals, not even the toad and tortoise excepted, this poor ill-formed creature is the most tenacious of life. it exists long after it has received wounds which would have destroyed any other animal, and it may be said, on seeing a mortally-wounded sloth, that life disputes with death every inch of flesh in its body. the ai was wounded in the leg, and put down on the floor about two feet from the table; it contrived to reach the leg of the table, and fastened itself on it, as if wishful to ascend. but this was its last advancing step: life was ebbing fast though imperceptibly, nor could this singular production of nature, which has been formed of a texture to resist death in a thousand shapes, make any stand against the wourali poison. first one fore-leg let go its hold, and dropped down motionless by its side; the other gradually did the same. the fore-legs having now lost their strength, the sloth slowly doubled its body and placed its head betwixt its hind-legs, which still adhered to the table; but when the poison had affected these also it sunk to the ground, but sunk so gently that you could not distinguish the movement from an ordinary motion, and had you been ignorant that it was wounded with a poisoned arrow you would never have suspected that it was dying. its mouth was shut, nor had any froth or saliva collected there. there was no _subsultus tendinum_ or any visible alteration in its breathing. during the tenth minute from the time it was wounded it stirred, and that was all; and the minute after life's last spark went out. from the time the poison began to operate you would have conjectured that sleep was overpowering it, and you would have exclaimed: "pressitque jacentem, dulcis et alta quies, placidæque simillima morti." there are now two positive proofs of the effect of this fatal poison: viz. the death of the dog and that of the sloth. but still these animals were nothing remarkable for size, and the strength of the poison in large animals might yet be doubted were it not for what follows. a large well-fed ox, from nine hundred to a thousand pounds weight, was tied to a stake by a rope sufficiently strong to allow him to move to and fro. having no large coucourite spikes at hand, it was judged necessary, on account of his superior size, to put three wild-hog arrows into him: one was sent into each thigh just above the hock in order to avoid wounding a vital part, and the third was shot traversely into the extremity of the nostril. the poison seemed to take effect in four minutes. conscious as though he would fall, the ox set himself firmly on his legs and remained quite still in the same place till about the fourteenth minute, when he smelled the ground and appeared as if inclined to walk. he advanced a pace or two, staggered and fell, and remained extended on his side, with his head on the ground. his eye, a few minutes ago so bright and lively, now became fixed and dim, and though you put your hand close to it, as if to give him a blow there, he never closed his eyelid. his legs were convulsed and his head from time to time started involuntarily, but he never showed the least desire to raise it from the ground. he breathed hard and emitted foam from his mouth. the startings, or _subsultus tendinum_, now became gradually weaker and weaker; his hinder parts were fixed in death, and in a minute or two more his head and fore-legs ceased to stir. nothing now remained to show that life was still within him except that his heart faintly beat and fluttered at intervals. in five and twenty minutes from the time of his being wounded he was quite dead. his flesh was very sweet and savoury at dinner. on taking a retrospective view of the two different kinds of poisoned arrows, and the animals destroyed by them, it would appear that the quantity of poison must be proportioned to the animal, and thus those probably labour under an error who imagine that the smallest particle of it introduced into the blood has almost instantaneous effects. make an estimate of the difference in size betwixt the fowl and the ox, and then weigh a sufficient quantity of poison for a blow-pipe arrow, with which the fowl was killed, and weigh also enough poison for three wild-hog arrows, which destroyed the ox, and it will appear that the fowl received much more poison in proportion than the ox. hence the cause why the fowl died in five minutes and the ox in five and twenty. indeed, were it the case that the smallest particle of it introduced into the blood has almost instantaneous effects, the indian would not find it necessary to make the large arrow: that of the blow-pipe is much easier made and requires less poison. and now for the antidotes, or rather the supposed antidotes. the indians tell you, that if the wounded animal be held for a considerable time up to the mouth in water the poison will not prove fatal; also that the juice of the sugar-cane poured down the throat will counteract the effects of it. these antidotes were fairly tried upon full-grown healthy fowls, but they all died, as though no steps had been taken to preserve their lives. rum was recommended, and given to another, but with as little success. it is supposed by some that wind introduced into the lungs by means of a small pair of bellows would revive the poisoned patient, provided the operation be continued for a sufficient length of time. it may be so; but this is a difficult and a tedious mode of cure, and he who is wounded in the forest, far away from his friends, or in the hut of the savages, stands but a poor chance of being saved by it. had the indians a sure antidote, it is likely they would carry it about with them or resort to it immediately after being wounded, if at hand; and their confidence in its efficacy would greatly diminish the horror they betray when you point a poisoned arrow at them. one day, while we were eating a red monkey erroneously called the baboon, in demerara, an arowack indian told an affecting story of what happened to a comrade of his. he was present at his death. as it did not interest this indian in any point to tell a falsehood, it is very probable that his account was a true one. if so, it appears that there is no certain antidote, or at least an antidote that could be resorted to in a case of urgent need, for the indian gave up all thoughts of life as soon as he was wounded. the arowack indian said it was but four years ago that he and his companion were ranging in the forest in quest of game. his companion took a poisoned arrow and sent it at a red monkey in a tree above him. it was nearly a perpendicular shot. the arrow missed the monkey, and in the descent struck him in the arm a little above the elbow. he was convinced it was all over with him. "i shall never," said he to his companion, in a faltering voice, and looking at his bow as he said it, "i shall never," said he, "bend this bow again." and having said that, he took off his little bamboo poison-box, which hung across his shoulder, and putting it together with his bow and arrows on the ground, he laid himself down close by them, bid his companion farewell, and never spoke more. he who is unfortunate enough to be wounded by a poisoned arrow from macoushia had better not depend upon the common antidotes for a cure. many who have been in guiana will recommend immediate immersion in water, or to take the juice of the sugar-cane, or to fill the mouth full of salt; and they recommend these antidotes because they have got them from the indians. but were you to ask them if they ever saw these antidotes used with success, it is ten to one their answer would be in the negative. wherefore let him reject these antidotes as unprofitable and of no avail. he has got an active and deadly foe within him which, like shakespeare's fell serjeant death, is strict in his arrest, and will allow him but little time--very, very little time. in a few minutes he will be numbered with the dead. life ought, if possible, to be preserved, be the expense ever so great. should the part affected admit of it, let a ligature be tied tight round the wound, and have immediate recourse to the knife: continuo, culpam ferro compesce, priusquam dira per infaustum serpant contagia corpus. and now, kind reader, it is time to bid thee farewell. the two ends proposed have been obtained. the portuguese inland frontier-fort has been reached and the macoushi wourali poison acquired. the account of this excursion through the interior of guiana has been submitted to thy perusal in order to induce thy abler genius to undertake a more extensive one. if any difficulties have arisen, or fevers come on, they have been caused by the periodical rains which fall in torrents as the sun approaches the tropic of cancer. in dry weather there would be no difficulties or sickness. amongst the many satisfactory conclusions which thou wouldest be able to draw during the journey there is one which, perhaps, would please thee not a little, and that is with regard to dogs. many a time, no doubt, thou hast heard it hotly disputed that dogs existed in guiana previously to the arrival of the spaniards in those parts. whatever the spaniards introduced, and which bore no resemblance to anything the indians had been accustomed to see, retains its spanish name to this day. thus the warow, the arowack, the acoway, the macoushi and carib tribes call a hat _sombrero_; a shirt or any kind of cloth _camisa_; a shoe _zapalo_; a letter _carta_; a fowl _gallina_; gunpowder _colvora_ (spanish _polvora_); ammunition _bala_; a cow _vaca_; and a dog _perro_. this argues strongly against the existence of dogs in guiana before it was discovered by the spaniards, and probably may be of use to thee in thy next canine dispute. in a political point of view this country presents a large field for speculation. a few years ago there was but little inducement for any englishman to explore the interior of these rich and fine colonies, as the british government did not consider them worth holding at the peace of amiens. since that period their mother-country has been blotted out from the list of nations, and america has unfolded a new sheet of politics. on one side the crown of braganza, attacked by an ambitious chieftain, has fled from the palace of its ancestors, and now seems fixed on the banks of the janeiro. cayenne has yielded to its arms, la plata has raised the standard of independence and thinks itself sufficiently strong to obtain a government of its own. on the other side the caraccas are in open revolt, and should santa fé join them in good earnest they may form a powerful association. thus on each side of _ci-devant_ dutch guiana most unexpected and astonishing changes have taken place. will they raise or lower it in the scale of estimation at the court of st. james's? will they be of benefit to these grand and extensive colonies? colonies enjoying perpetual summer. colonies of the richest soil. colonies containing within themselves everything necessary for their support. colonies, in fine, so varied in their quality and situation as to be capable of bringing to perfection every tropical production, and only want the support of government, and an enlightened governor, to render them as fine as the finest portions of the equatorial regions. kind reader, fare thee well! * * * * * _letter to the portuguese commander_ muy seÃ�or, como no tengo el honor, de ser conocido de vm. lo pienso mejor, y mas decoroso, quedarme aqui, hastaque huviere recibido su respuesta. haviendo caminado hasta la choza, adonde estoi, no quisiere volverme, antes de haver visto la fortaleza de los portugueses; y pido licencia de vm. para que me adelante. honradissimos son mis motivos, ni tengo proyecto ninguno, o de comercio, o de la soldadesca, no siendo yo, o comerciante, o oficial. hidalgo catolico soy, de hacienda in ynglatierra, y muchos años de mi vida he pasado en caminar. ultimamente, de demeraria vengo, la quai dexé el dia de abril, para ver este hermoso pais, y coger unas curiosidades, especialmente, el veneno, que se llama wourali. las mas recentes noticias que tenian en demeraria, antes di mi salida, eran medias tristes, medias alegres. tristes digo, viendo que valencia ha caido en poder del enemigo comun, y el general blake, y sus valientes tropas quedan prisioneros de guerra. alegres, al contrario, porque milord wellington se ha apoderado de ciudad rodrigo. a pesar de la caida de valencia, parece claro al mundo, que las cosas del enemigo, estan andando, de pejor a pejor cada dia. nosotros debemos dar gracias al altissimo, por haver sido servido dexarnos castigar ultimamente, a los robadores, de sus santas yglesias. se vera vm. que yo no escribo portugues ni aun lo hablo, pero, haviendo aprendido el castellano, no nos faltará medio de communicar y tener conversacion. ruego se escuse esta carta escrita sin tinta, porque un indio dexo caer mi tintero y quebrose. dios le dé a vm. muchos años de salud. entretanto, tengo el honor de ser su mas obedeciente servidor, carlos waterton. * * * * * remarks incertus, quo fata ferant, ubi sistere detur. kind and gentle reader, if the journey in quest of the wourali poison has engaged thy attention, probably thou mayest recollect that the traveller took leave of thee at fort st. joachim, on the rio branco. shouldest thou wish to know what befell him afterwards, excuse the following uninteresting narrative. having had a return of fever, and aware that the farther he advanced into these wild and lonely regions the less would be the chance of regaining his health, he gave up all idea of proceeding onwards, and went slowly back towards the demerara, nearly by the same route he had come. on descending the falls in the essequibo, which form an oblique line quite across the river, it was resolved to push through them, the downward stream being in the canoe's favour. at a little distance from the place a large tree had fallen into the river, and in the meantime the canoe was lashed to one of its branches. the roaring of the water was dreadful: it foamed and dashed over the rocks with a tremendous spray, like breakers on a lee-shore, threatening destruction to whatever approached it. you would have thought, by the confusion it caused in the river and the whirlpools it made, that scylla and charybdis, and their whole progeny, had left the mediterranean and come and settled here. the channel was barely twelve feet wide, and the torrent in rushing down formed traverse furrows which showed how near the rocks were to the surface. nothing could surpass the skill of the indian who steered the canoe. he looked steadfastly at it, then at the rocks, then cast an eye on the channel, and then looked at the canoe again. it was in vain to speak. the sound was lost in the roar of waters, but his eye showed that he had already passed it in imagination. he held up his paddle in a position as much as to say that he would keep exactly amid channel, and then made a sign to cut the bush-rope that held the canoe to the fallen tree. the canoe drove down the torrent with inconceivable rapidity. it did not touch the rocks once all the way. the indian proved to a nicety: "medio tutissimus ibis." shortly after this it rained almost day and night, the lightning flashing incessantly and the roar of thunder awful beyond expression. the fever returned, and pressed so heavy on him that to all appearance his last day's march was over. however, it abated, his spirits rallied, and he marched again; and after delays and inconveniences he reached the house of his worthy friend mr. edmonstone, in mibiri creek, which falls into the demerara. no words of his can do justice to the hospitality of that gentleman, whose repeated encounters with the hostile negroes in the forest have been publicly rewarded and will be remembered in the colony for years to come. here he learned that an eruption had taken place in st. vincent's, and thus the noise heard in the night of the first of may, which had caused such terror amongst the indians and made the garrison at fort st. joachim remain under arms the rest of the night, is accounted for. after experiencing every kindness and attention from mr. edmonstone he sailed for granada, and from thence to st. thomas's, a few days before poor captain peake lost his life on his own quarter-deck bravely fighting for his country on the coast of guiana. at st. thomas's they show you a tower, a little distance from the town, which they say formerly belonged to a bucanier chieftain. probably the fury of besiegers has reduced it to its present dismantled state. what still remains of it bears testimony of its former strength and may brave the attack of time for centuries. you cannot view its ruins without calling to mind the exploits of those fierce and hardy hunters, long the terror of the western world. while you admire their undaunted courage, you lament that it was often stained with cruelty; while you extol their scrupulous justice to each other, you will find a want of it towards the rest of mankind. often possessed of enormous wealth, often in extreme poverty, often triumphant on the ocean and often forced to fly to the forests, their life was an ever-changing scene of advance and retreat, of glory and disorder, of luxury and famine. spain treated them as outlaws and pirates, while other european powers publicly disowned them. they, on the other hand, maintained that injustice on the part of spain first forced them to take up arms in self-defence, and that, whilst they kept inviolable the laws which they had framed for their own common benefit and protection, they had a right to consider as foes those who treated them as outlaws. under this impression they drew the sword and rushed on as though in lawful war, and divided the spoils of victory in the scale of justice. after leaving st. thomas's, a severe tertian ague every now and then kept putting the traveller in mind that his shattered frame, "starting and shivering in the inconstant blast, meagre and pale, the ghost of what it was," wanted repairs. three years elapsed after arriving in england before the ague took its final leave of him. during that time, several experiments were made with the wourali poison. in london an ass was inoculated with it and died in twelve minutes. the poison was inserted into the leg of another, round which a bandage had been previously tied a little above the place where the wourali was introduced. he walked about as usual and ate his food as though all were right. after an hour had elapsed the bandage was untied, and ten minutes after death overtook him. a she-ass received the wourali poison in the shoulder, and died apparently in ten minutes. an incision was then made in its windpipe and through it the lungs were regularly inflated for two hours with a pair of bellows. suspended animation returned. the ass held up her head and looked around, but the inflating being discontinued she sunk once more in apparent death. the artificial breathing was immediately recommenced, and continued without intermission for two hours more. this saved the ass from final dissolution: she rose up and walked about; she seemed neither in agitation nor in pain. the wound through which the poison entered was healed without difficulty. her constitution, however, was so severely affected that it was long a doubt if ever she would be well again. she looked lean and sickly for above a year, but began to mend the spring after, and by midsummer became fat and frisky. the kind-hearted reader will rejoice on learning that earl percy, pitying her misfortunes, sent her down from london to walton hall, near wakefield. there she goes by the name of wouralia. wouralia shall be sheltered from the wintry storm; and when summer comes she shall feed in the finest pasture. no burden shall be placed upon her, and she shall end her days in peace. for three revolving autumns, the ague-beaten wanderer never saw without a sigh the swallow bend her flight towards warmer regions. he wished to go too, but could not for sickness had enfeebled him, and prudence pointed out the folly of roving again too soon across the northern tropic. to be sure, the continent was now open, and change of air might prove beneficial, but there was nothing very tempting in a trip across the channel, and as for a tour through england!--england has long ceased to be the land for adventures. indeed, when good king arthur reappears to claim his crown, he will find things strangely altered here; and may we not look for his coming? for there is written upon his gravestone: hic jacet arturus, rex quondam rexque futurus. here arthur lies, who formerly was king--and king again to be. don quixote was always of opinion that this famous king did not die, but that he was changed into a raven by enchantment and that the english are momentarily expecting his return. be this as it may, it is certain that when he reigned here all was harmony and joy. the browsing herds passed from vale to vale, the swains sang from the bluebell-teeming groves, and nymphs, with eglantine and roses in their neatly-braided hair, went hand in hand to the flowery mead to weave garlands for their lambkins. if by chance some rude, uncivil fellow dared to molest them, or attempted to throw thorns in their path, there was sure to be a knight-errant not far off ready to rush forward in their defence. but alas! in these degenerate days it is not so. should a harmless cottage-maid wander out of the highway to pluck a primrose or two in the neighbouring field, the haughty owner sternly bids her retire; and if a pitying swain hasten to escort her back, he is perhaps seized by the gaunt house-dog ere he reach her! Ã�neas's route on the other side of styx could not have been much worse than this, though, by his account, when he got back to earth, it appears that he had fallen in with "bellua lernæ, horrendum stridens, flammisque, armata chimæra." moreover, he had a sibyl to guide his steps; and as such a conductress nowadays could not be got for love or money, it was judged most prudent to refrain from sauntering through this land of freedom, and wait with patience the return of health. at last this long-looked-for, ever-welcome stranger came. second journey in the year , two days before the vernal equinox, i sailed from liverpool for pernambuco, in the southern hemisphere, on the coast of brazil. there is little at this time of the year, in the european part of the atlantic, to engage the attention of the naturalist. as you go down the channel you see a few divers and gannets. the middle-sized gulls, with a black spot at the end of the wings, attend you a little way into the bay of biscay. when it blows a hard gale of wind the stormy petrel makes its appearance. while the sea runs mountains high, and every wave threatens destruction to the labouring vessel, this little harbinger of storms is seen enjoying itself, on rapid pinion, up and down the roaring billows. when the storm is over it appears no more. it is known to every english sailor by the name of mother carey's chicken. it must have been hatched in Ã�olus's cave, amongst a clutch of squalls and tempests, for whenever they get out upon the ocean it always contrives to be of the party. though the calms and storms and adverse winds in these latitudes are vexatious, still, when you reach the trade-winds, you are amply repaid for all disappointments and inconveniences. the trade-winds prevail about thirty degrees on each side of the equator. this part of the ocean may be called the elysian fields of neptune's empire; and the torrid zone, notwithstanding ovid's remark, "non est habitabilis æstu," is rendered healthy and pleasant by these gently-blowing breezes. the ship glides smoothly on, and you soon find yourself within the northern tropic. when you are on it cancer is just over your head, and betwixt him and capricorn is the high-road of the zodiac, forty-seven degrees wide, famous for phaeton's misadventure. his father begged and entreated him not to take it into his head to drive parallel to the five zones, but to mind and keep on the turnpike which runs obliquely across the equator. "there you will distinctly see," said he, "the ruts of my chariot wheels, 'manifesta rotæ vestigia cernes.'" "but," added he, "even suppose you keep on it, and avoid the by-roads, nevertheless, my dear boy, believe me, you will be most sadly put to your shifts; 'ardua prima via est,' the first part of the road is confoundedly steep! 'ultima via prona est,' and after that, it is all down-hill! moreover, 'per insidias iter est, formasque ferarum,' the road is full of nooses and bull-dogs, 'hæmoniosque arcus,' and spring guns, 'sævaque circuitu, curvantem brachia longo, scorpio,' and steel traps of uncommon size and shape." these were nothing in the eyes of phaeton; go he would, so off he set, full speed, four in hand. he had a tough drive of it, and after doing a prodigious deal of mischief, very luckily for the world he got thrown out of the box, and tumbled into the river po. some of our modern bloods have been shallow enough to try to ape this poor empty-headed coachman on a little scale, making london their zodiac. well for them if tradesmen's bills and other trivial perplexities have not caused them to be thrown into the king's bench. the productions of the torrid zone are uncommonly grand. its plains, its swamps, its savannas and forests abound with the largest serpents and wild beasts; and its trees are the habitation of the most beautiful of the feathered race. while the traveller in the old world is astonished at the elephant, the tiger, the lion and rhinoceros, he who wanders through the torrid regions of the new is lost in admiration at the cotingas, the toucans, the humming-birds and aras. the ocean likewise swarms with curiosities. probably the flying-fish may be considered as one of the most singular. this little scaled inhabitant of water and air seems to have been more favoured than the rest of its finny brethren. it can rise out of the waves and on wing visit the domain of the birds. after flying two or three hundred yards, the intense heat of the sun has dried its pellucid wings, and it is obliged to wet them in order to continue its flight. it just drops into the ocean for a moment, and then rises again and flies on; and then descends to remoisten them, and then up again into the air; thus passing its life, sometimes wet, sometimes dry, sometimes in sunshine, and sometimes in the pale moon's nightly beam, as pleasure dictates or as need requires. the additional assistance of wings is not thrown away upon it. it has full occupation both for fins and wings, as its life is in perpetual danger. the bonito and albicore chase it day and night, but the dolphin is its worst and swiftest foe. if it escape into the air, the dolphin pushes on with proportional velocity beneath, and is ready to snap it up the moment it descends to wet its wings. you will often see above one hundred of these little marine aerial fugitives on the wing at once. they appear to use every exertion to prolong their flight, but vain are all their efforts, for when the last drop of water on their wings is dried up their flight is at an end, and they must drop into the ocean. some are instantly devoured by their merciless pursuer, part escape by swimming, and others get out again as quick as possible, and trust once more to their wings. it often happens that this unfortunate little creature, after alternate dips and flights, finding all its exertions of no avail, at last drops on board the vessel, verifying the old remark: incidit in scyllam, cupiens vitare charybdim. there, stunned by the fall, it beats the deck with its tail and dies. when eating it you would take it for a fresh herring. the largest measure from fourteen to fifteen inches in length. the dolphin, after pursuing it to the ship, sometimes forfeits his own life. in days of yore the musician used to play in softest, sweetest strain, and then take an airing amongst the dolphins: "inter delphinas arion." but nowadays our tars have quite capsized the custom, and instead of riding ashore on the dolphin, they invite the dolphin aboard. while he is darting and playing around the vessel a sailor goes out to the spritsail yard-arm, and with a long staff, leaded at one end, and armed at the other with five barbed spikes, he heaves it at him. if successful in his aim there is a fresh mess for all hands. the dying dolphin affords a superb and brilliant sight: mille trahit moriens, adverse sole colores. all the colours of the rainbow pass and repass in rapid succession over his body, till the dark hand of death closes the scene. from the cape de verd islands to the coast of brazil you see several different kinds of gulls, which, probably, are bred in the island of st. paul. sometimes the large bird called the frigate pelican soars majestically over the vessel, and the tropic bird comes near enough to let you have a fair view of the long feathers in his tail. on the line, when it is calm, sharks of a tremendous size make their appearance. they are descried from the ship by means of the dorsal fin, which is above the water. on entering the bay of pernambuco, the frigate pelican is seen watching the shoals of fish from a prodigious height. it seldom descends without a successful attack on its numerous prey below. as you approach the shore the view is charming. the hills are clothed with wood, gradually rising towards the interior, none of them of any considerable height. a singular reef of rocks runs parallel to the coast and forms the harbour of pernambuco. the vessels are moored betwixt it and the town, safe from every storm. you enter the harbour through a very narrow passage, close by a fort built on the reef. the hill of olinda, studded with houses and convents, is on your right-hand, and an island thickly planted with cocoa-nut trees adds considerably to the scene on your left. there are two strong forts on the isthmus betwixt olinda and pernambuco, and a pillar midway to aid the pilot. pernambuco probably contains upwards of fifty thousand souls. it stands on a flat, and is divided into three parts: a peninsula, an island and the continent. though within a few degrees of the line, its climate is remarkably salubrious and rendered almost temperate by the refreshing sea-breeze. had art and judgment contributed their portion to its natural advantages, pernambuco at this day would have been a stately ornament to the coast of brazil. on viewing it, it will strike you that everyone has built his house entirely for himself, and deprived public convenience of the little claim she had a right to put in. you would wish that this city, so famous for its harbour, so happy in its climate and so well situated for commerce, could have risen under the flag of dido, in lieu of that of braganza. as you walk down the streets the appearance of the houses is not much in their favour. some of them are very high, and some very low; some newly whitewashed, and others stained and mouldy and neglected, as though they had no owner. the balconies, too, are of a dark and gloomy appearance. they are not, in general, open as in most tropical cities, but grated like a farmer's dairy-window, though somewhat closer. there is a lamentable want of cleanliness in the streets. the impurities from the houses and the accumulation of litter from the beasts of burden are unpleasant sights to the passing stranger. he laments the want of a police as he goes along, and when the wind begins to blow his nose and eyes are too often exposed to a cloud of very unsavoury dust. when you view the port of pernambuco, full of ships of all nations; when you know that the richest commodities of europe, africa and asia are brought to it; when you see immense quantities of cotton, dye-wood and the choicest fruits pouring into the town, you are apt to wonder at the little attention these people pay to the common comforts which one always expects to find in a large and opulent city. however, if the inhabitants are satisfied, there is nothing more to be said. should they ever be convinced that inconveniences exist, and that nuisances are too frequent, the remedy is in their own hands. at present, certainly, they seem perfectly regardless of them; and the captain-general of pernambuco walks through the streets with as apparent content and composure as an english statesman would proceed down charing cross. custom reconciles everything. in a week or two the stranger himself begins to feel less the things which annoyed him so much upon his first arrival, and after a few months' residence he thinks no more about them, while he is partaking of the hospitality and enjoying the elegance and splendour within doors in this great city. close by the river-side stands what is called the palace of the captain-general of pernambuco. its form and appearance altogether strike the traveller that it was never intended for the use it is at present put to. reader, throw a veil over thy recollection for a little while, and forget the cruel, unjust and unmerited censures thou hast heard against an unoffending order. this palace was once the jesuits' college, and originally built by those charitable fathers. ask the aged and respectable inhabitants of pernambuco, and they will tell thee that the destruction of the society of jesus was a terrible disaster to the public, and its consequences severely felt to the present day. when pombal took the reins of power into his own hands, virtue and learning beamed bright within the college walls. public catechism to the children, and religious instruction to all, flowed daily from the mouths of its venerable priests. they were loved, revered and respected throughout the whole town. the illuminating philosophers of the day had sworn to exterminate christian knowledge, and the college of pernambuco was doomed to founder in the general storm. to the long-lasting sorrow and disgrace of portugal, the philosophers blinded her king and flattered her prime minister. pombal was exactly the tool these sappers of every public and private virtue wanted. he had the naked sword of power in his own hand, and his heart was hard as flint. he struck a mortal blow and the society of jesus, throughout the portuguese dominions, was no more. one morning all the fathers of the college in pernambuco, some of them very old and feeble, were suddenly ordered into the refectory. they had notice beforehand of the fatal storm, in pity, from the governor, but not one of them abandoned his charge. they had done their duty and had nothing to fear. they bowed with resignation to the will of heaven. as soon as they had all reached the refectory they were there locked up, and never more did they see their rooms, their friends, their scholars, or acquaintance. in the dead of the following night a strong guard of soldiers literally drove them through the streets to the water's edge. they were then conveyed in boats aboard a ship and steered for bahia. those who survived the barbarous treatment they experienced from pombal's creatures, were at last ordered to lisbon. the college of pernambuco was plundered, and some time after an elephant was kept there. thus the arbitrary hand of power, in one night, smote and swept away the sciences: to which succeeded the low vulgar buffoonery of a showman. virgil and cicero made way for a wild beast from angola! and now a guard is on duty at the very gate where, in times long past, the poor were daily fed! trust not, kind reader, to the envious remarks which their enemies have scattered far and near; believe not the stories of those who have had a hand in the sad tragedy. go to brazil, and see with thine own eyes the effect of pombal's short-sighted policy. there vice reigns triumphant and learning is at its lowest ebb. neither is this to be wondered at. destroy the compass, and will the vessel find her far-distant port? will the flock keep together, and escape the wolves, after the shepherds are all slain? the brazilians were told that public education would go on just as usual. they might have asked government, who so able to instruct our youth as those whose knowledge is proverbial? who so fit as those who enjoy our entire confidence? who so worthy as those whose lives are irreproachable? they soon found that those who succeeded the fathers of the society of jesus had neither their manner nor their abilities. they had not made the instruction of youth their particular study. moreover, they entered on the field after a defeat where the officers had all been slain; where the plan of the campaign was lost; where all was in sorrow and dismay. no exertions of theirs could rally the dispersed, or skill prevent the fatal consequences. at the present day the seminary of olinda, in comparison with the former jesuits' college, is only as the waning moon's beam to the sun's meridian splendour. when you visit the places where those learned fathers once flourished, and see with your own eyes the evils their dissolution has caused; when you hear the inhabitants telling you how good, how clever, how charitable they were; what will you think of our poet laureate for calling them, in his _history of brazil_, "missioners whose zeal the most fanatical was directed by the coolest policy"? was it _fanatical_ to renounce the honours and comforts of this transitory life in order to gain eternal glory in the next, by denying themselves, and taking up the cross? was it _fanatical_ to preach salvation to innumerable wild hordes of americans? to clothe the naked? to encourage the repenting sinner? to aid the dying christian? the fathers of the society of jesus did all this. and for this their zeal is pronounced to be the most fanatical, directed by the coolest policy. it will puzzle many a clear brain to comprehend how it is possible, in the nature of things, that _zeal_ the most _fanatical_ should be directed by the _coolest policy_. ah, mr. laureate, mr. laureate, that "quidlibet audendi" of yours may now and then gild the poet at the same time that it makes the historian cut a sorry figure! could father nobrega rise from the tomb, he would thus address you: "ungrateful englishman, you have drawn a great part of your information from the writings of the society of jesus, and in return you attempt to stain its character by telling your countrymen that 'we taught the idolatry we believed'! in speaking of me, you say it was my happy fortune to be stationed in a country where _none_ but the good principles of my order were called into action. ungenerous laureate, the narrow policy of the times has kept your countrymen in the dark with regard to the true character of the society of jesus; and you draw the bandage still tighter over their eyes by a malicious insinuation. i lived and taught and died in brazil, where you state that _none_ but the good principles of my order were called into action, and still, in most absolute contradiction to this, you remark we believed the _idolatry_ we taught in brazil. thus we brought none but good principles into action, and still taught idolatry! "again, you state there is no individual to whose talents brazil is so greatly and permanently indebted as mine, and that i must be regarded as the founder of that system so successfully pursued by the jesuits in paraguay: a system productive of as much good as is compatible with pious fraud. thus you make me, at one and the same time, a teacher of none but good principles, and a teacher of idolatry, and a believer in idolatry, and still the founder of a system for which brazil is greatly and permanently indebted to me, though, by the by, the system was only productive of as much good as is compatible with pious fraud! "what means all this? after reading such incomparable nonsense, should your countrymen wish to be properly informed concerning the society of jesus, there are in england documents enough to show that the system of the jesuits was a system of christian charity towards their fellow-creatures administered in a manner which human prudence judged best calculated to ensure success; and that the idolatry which you uncharitably affirm they taught was really and truly the very same faith which the catholic church taught for centuries in england, which she still teaches to those who wish to hear her, and which she will continue to teach, pure and unspotted, till time shall be no more." the environs of pernambuco are very pretty. you see country houses in all directions, and the appearance of here and there a sugar-plantation enriches the scenery. palm-trees, cocoanut-trees, orange and lemon groves, and all the different fruits peculiar to brazil, are here in the greatest abundance. at olinda there is a national botanical garden: it wants space, produce and improvement. the forests, which are several leagues off, abound with birds, beasts, insects and serpents. besides a brilliant plumage, many of the birds have a very fine song. the troupiale, noted for its rich colours, sings delightfully in the environs of pernambuco. the red-headed finch, larger than the european sparrow, pours forth a sweet and varied strain, in company with two species of wrens, a little before daylight. there are also several species of the thrush, which have a song somewhat different from that of the european thrush; and two species of the linnet, whose strain is so soft and sweet that it dooms them to captivity in the houses. a bird called here sangre-do-buey, blood of the ox, cannot fail to engage your attention: he is of the passerine tribe, and very common about the houses; the wings and tail are black and every other part of the body a flaming red. in guiana there is a species exactly the same as this in shape, note and economy, but differing in colour, its whole body being like black velvet; on its breast a tinge of red appears through the black. thus nature has ordered this little tangara to put on mourning to the north of the line and wear scarlet to the south of it. for three months in the year the environs of pernambuco are animated beyond description. from november to march the weather is particularly fine; then it is that rich and poor, young and old, foreigners and natives, all issue from the city to enjoy the country till lent approaches, when back they hie them. villages and hamlets, where nothing before but rags was seen, now shine in all the elegance of dress; every house, every room, every shed become eligible places for those whom nothing but extreme necessity could have forced to live there a few weeks ago: some join in the merry dance, others saunter up and down the orange groves; and towards evening the roads become a moving scene of silk and jewels. the gaming-tables have constant visitors: there thousands are daily and nightly lost and won--parties even sit down to try their luck round the outside of the door as well as in the room: vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus aulæ luctus et ultrices, posucre sedilia curæ. about six or seven miles from pernambuco stands a pretty little village called monteiro. the river runs close by it, and its rural beauties seem to surpass all others in the neighbourhood. there the captain-general of pernambuco resides during this time of merriment and joy. the traveller who allots a portion of his time to peep at his fellow-creatures in their relaxations, and accustoms himself to read their several little histories in their looks and gestures as he goes musing on, may have full occupation for an hour or two every day at this season amid the variegated scenes around the pretty village of monteiro. in the evening groups sitting at the door, he may sometimes see with a sigh how wealth and the prince's favour cause a booby to pass for a solon, and be reverenced as such, while perhaps a poor neglected camoens stands silent at a distance, awed by the dazzling glare of wealth and power. retired from the public road he may see poor maria sitting under a palm-tree, with her elbow in her lap and her head leaning on one side within her hand, weeping over her forbidden bans. and as he moves on "with wandering step and slow," he may hear a broken-hearted nymph ask her faithless swain: how could you say my face was fair, and yet that face forsake? how could you win my virgin heart, yet leave that heart to break? one afternoon, in an unfrequented part not far from monteiro, these adventures were near being brought to a speedy and a final close: six or seven blackbirds, with a white spot betwixt the shoulders, were making a noise and passing to and fro on the lower branches of a tree in an abandoned, weed-grown orange-orchard. in the long grass underneath the tree apparently a pale green grasshopper was fluttering, as though it had got entangled in it. when you once fancy that the thing you are looking at is really what you take it for, the more you look at it the more you are convinced it is so. in the present case this was a grasshopper beyond all doubt, and nothing more remained to be done but to wait in patience till it had settled, in order that you might run no risk of breaking its legs in attempting to lay hold of it while it was fluttering--it still kept fluttering; and having quietly approached it, intending to make sure of it --behold, the head of a large rattlesnake appeared in the grass close by: an instantaneous spring backwards prevented fatal consequences. what had been taken for a grasshopper was, in fact, the elevated rattle of the snake in the act of announcing that he was quite prepared, though unwilling, to make a sure and deadly spring. he shortly after passed slowly from under the orange-tree to the neighbouring wood on the side of a hill: as he moved over a place bare of grass and weeds he appeared to be about eight feet long; it was he who had engaged the attention of the birds and made them heedless of danger from another quarter: they flew away on his retiring--one alone left his little life in the air, destined to become a specimen, mute and motionless, for the inspection of the curious in a far distant clime. it was now the rainy season. the birds were moulting--fifty-eight specimens of the handsomest of them in the neighbourhood of pernambuco had been collected; and it was time to proceed elsewhere. the conveyance to the interior was by horses, and this mode, together with the heavy rains, would expose preserved specimens to almost certain damage. the journey to maranham by land would take at least forty days. the route was not wild enough to engage the attention of an explorer, or civilised enough to afford common comforts to a traveller. by sea there were no opportunities, except slave-ships. as the transporting poor negroes from port to port for sale pays well in brazil, the ships' decks are crowded with them. this would not do. excuse here, benevolent reader, a small tribute of gratitude to an irish family whose urbanity and goodness have long gained it the esteem and respect of all ranks in pernambuco. the kindness and attention i received from dennis kearney, esq., and his amiable lady will be remembered with gratitude to my dying day. after wishing farewell to this hospitable family, i embarked on board a portuguese brig, with poor accommodations, for cayenne in guiana. the most eligible bedroom was the top of a hen-coop on deck. even here an unsavoury little beast, called bug, was neither shy nor deficient in appetite. the portuguese seamen are famed for catching fish. one evening, under the line, four sharks made their appearance in the wake of the vessel. the sailors caught them all. on the fourteenth day after leaving pernambuco, the brig cast anchor off the island of cayenne. the entrance is beautiful. to windward, not far off, there are two bold wooded islands called the father and mother, and near them are others, their children, smaller, though as beautiful as their parents. another is seen a long way to leeward of the family, and seems as if it had strayed from home and cannot find its way back. the french call it "l'enfant perdu." as you pass the islands the stately hills on the main, ornamented with ever-verdant foliage, show you that this is by far the sublimest scenery on the sea-coast from the amazons to the oroonoque. on casting your eye towards dutch guiana you will see that the mountains become unconnected and few in number, and long before you reach surinam the atlantic wave washes a flat and muddy shore. considerably to windward of cayenne, and about twelve leagues from land, stands a stately and towering rock called the constable. as nothing grows on it to tempt greedy and aspiring man to claim it as his own, the sea-fowl rest and raise their offspring there. the bird called the frigate is ever soaring round its rugged summit. hither the phaeton bends his rapid flight, and flocks of rosy flamingos here defy the fowler's cunning. all along the coast, opposite the constable, and indeed on every uncultivated part of it to windward and leeward, are seen innumerable quantities of snow-white egrets, scarlet curlews, spoonbills and flamingos. cayenne is capable of being a noble and productive colony. at present it is thought to be the poorest on the coast of guiana. its estates are too much separated one from the other by immense tracts of forest; and the revolutionary war, like a cold eastern wind, has chilled their zeal and blasted their best expectations. the clove-tree, the cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg, and many other choice spices and fruits of the eastern and asiatic regions, produce abundantly in cayenne. the town itself is prettily laid out, and was once well fortified. they tell you it might easily have been defended against the invading force of the two united nations; but victor hugues, its governor, ordered the tri-coloured flag to be struck; and ever since that day the standard of braganza has waved on the ramparts of cayenne. he who has received humiliations from the hand of this haughty, iron-hearted governor may see him now, in cayenne, stripped of all his revolutionary honours, broken down and ruined, and under arrest in his own house. he has four accomplished daughters, respected by the whole town. towards the close of day, when the sun's rays are no longer oppressive, these much-pitied ladies are seen walking up and down the balcony with their aged parent, trying, by their kind and filial attention, to remove the settled gloom from his too guilty brow. this was not the time for a traveller to enjoy cayenne. the hospitality of the inhabitants was the same as ever, but they had lost their wonted gaiety in public, and the stranger might read in their countenances, as the recollection of recent humiliations and misfortunes every now and then kept breaking in upon them, that they were still in sorrow for their fallen country: the victorious hostile cannon of waterloo still sounded in their ears: their emperor was a prisoner amongst the hideous rocks of st. helena; and many a frenchman who had fought and bled for france was now amongst them begging for a little support to prolong a life which would be forfeited on the parent soil. to add another handful to the cypress and wormwood already scattered amongst these polite colonists, they had just received orders from the court of janeiro to put on deep mourning for six months, and half-mourning for as many more, on account of the death of the queen of portugal. about a day's journey in the interior is the celebrated national plantation. this spot was judiciously chosen, for it is out of the reach of enemies' cruisers. it is called la gabrielle. no plantation in the western world can vie with la gabrielle. its spices are of the choicest kind, its soil particularly favourable to them, its arrangements beautiful, and its directeur, monsieur martin, a botanist of first-rate abilities. this indefatigable naturalist ranged through the east, under a royal commission, in quest of botanical knowledge; and during his stay in the western regions has sent over to europe from twenty to twenty-five thousand specimens in botany and zoology. la gabrielle is on a far-extending range of woody hills. figure to yourself a hill in the shape of a bowl reversed, with the buildings on the top of it, and you will have an idea of the appearance of la gabrielle. you approach the house through a noble avenue, five hundred toises long, of the choicest tropical fruit-trees, planted with the greatest care and judgment; and should you chance to stray through it, after sunset, when the clove-trees are in blossom, you would fancy yourself in the idalian groves or near the banks of the nile, where they were burning the finest incense as the queen of egypt passed. on la gabrielle there are twenty-two thousand clove-trees in full bearing. they are planted thirty feet asunder. their lower branches touch the ground. in general the trees are topped at five and twenty feet high, though you will see some here towering up above sixty. the black pepper, the cinnamon and nutmeg are also in great abundance here, and very productive. while the stranger views the spicy groves of la gabrielle, and tastes the most delicious fruits which have been originally imported hither from all parts of the tropical world, he will thank the government which has supported, and admire the talents of the gentleman who has raised to its present grandeur, this noble collection of useful fruits. there is a large nursery attached to la gabrielle where plants of all the different species are raised and distributed gratis to those colonists who wish to cultivate them. not far from the banks of the river oyapoc, to windward of cayenne, is a mountain which contains an immense cavern. here the cock-of-the-rock is plentiful. he is about the size of a fantail pigeon, his colour a bright orange and his wings and tail appear as though fringed; his head is ornamented with a superb double-feathery crest edged with purple. he passes the day amid gloomy damps and silence, and only issues out for food a short time at sunrise and sunset. he is of the gallinaceous tribe. the south-american spaniards call him "gallo del rio negro" (cock of the black river), and suppose that he is only to be met with in the vicinity of that far-inland stream; but he is common in the interior of demerara, amongst the huge rocks in the forests of macoushia, and he has been shot south of the line, in the captainship of para. the bird called by buffon grand gobe-mouche has never been found in demerara, although very common in cayenne. he is not quite so large as the jackdaw, and is entirely black, except a large spot under the throat, which is a glossy purple. you may easily sail from cayenne to the river surinam in two days. its capital, paramaribo, is handsome, rich and populous: hitherto it has been considered by far the finest town in guiana, but probably the time is not far off when the capital of demerara may claim the prize of superiority. you may enter a creek above paramaribo and travel through the interior of surinam till you come to the nicari, which is close to the large river coryntin. when you have passed this river there is a good public road to new amsterdam, the capital of berbice. on viewing new amsterdam, it will immediately strike you that something or other has intervened to prevent its arriving at that state of wealth and consequence for which its original plan shows it was once intended. what has caused this stop in its progress to the rank of a fine and populous city remains for those to find out who are interested in it; certain it is that new amsterdam has been languid for some years, and now the tide of commerce seems ebbing fast from the shores of berbice. gay and blooming is the sister colony of demerara. perhaps, kind reader, thou hast not forgot that it was from stabroek, the capital of demerara, that the adventurer set out, some years ago, to reach the portuguese frontier-fort and collect the wourali poison. it was not intended, when this second sally was planned in england, to have visited stabroek again by the route here described. the plan was to have ascended the amazons from para and got into the rio negro, and from thence to have returned towards the source of the essequibo, in order to examine the crystal mountains and look once more for lake parima, or the white sea; but on arriving at cayenne the current was running with such amazing rapidity to leeward that a portuguese sloop, which had been beating up towards para for four weeks, was then only half-way. finding, therefore, that a beat to the amazons would be long, tedious and even uncertain, and aware that the season for procuring birds in fine plumage had already set in, i left cayenne in an american ship for paramaribo, went through the interior to the coryntin, stopped a few days in new amsterdam, and proceeded to demerara. if, gentle reader, thy patience be not already worn out, and thy eyes half-closed in slumber by perusing the dull adventures of this second sally, perhaps thou wilt pardon a line or two on demerara; and then we will retire to its forests to collect and examine the economy of its most rare and beautiful birds, and give the world a new mode of preserving them. stabroek, the capital of demerara, has been rapidly increasing for some years back; and if prosperity go hand in hand with the present enterprising spirit, stabroek, ere long, will be of the first colonial consideration. it stands on the eastern bank at the mouth of the demerara, and enjoys all the advantages of the refreshing sea-breeze; the streets are spacious, well bricked and elevated, the trenches clean, the bridges excellent, and the houses handsome. almost every commodity and luxury of london may be bought in the shops at stabroek: its market wants better regulations. the hotels are commodious, clean and well-attended. demerara boasts as fine and well-disciplined militia as any colony in the western world. the court of justice, where in times of old the bandage was easily removed from the eyes of the goddess and her scales thrown out of equilibrium, now rises in dignity under the firmness, talents and urbanity of mr. president rough. the plantations have an appearance of high cultivation; a tolerable idea may be formed of their value when you know that last year demerara numbered , slaves. they made above , , pounds of sugar, near , , gallons of rum, above , , pounds of coffee, and , , pounds of cotton; the receipt into the public chest was , guilders; the public expenditure , guilders. slavery can never be defended. he whose heart is not of iron can never wish to be able to defend it: while he heaves a sigh for the poor negro in captivity, he wishes from his soul that the traffic had been stifled in its birth; but unfortunately the governments of europe nourished it, and now that they are exerting themselves to do away the evil, and ensure liberty to the sons of africa, the situation of the plantation-slaves is depicted as truly deplorable and their condition wretched. it is not so. a briton's heart, proverbially kind and generous, is not changed by climate or its streams of compassion dried up by the scorching heat of a demerara sun: he cheers his negroes in labour, comforts them in sickness, is kind to them in old age, and never forgets that they are his fellow-creatures. instances of cruelty and depravity certainly occur here as well as all the world over, but the edicts of the colonial government are well calculated to prevent them, and the british planter, except here and there one, feels for the wrongs done to a poor ill-treated slave, and shows that his heart grieves for him by causing immediate redress and preventing a repetition. long may ye flourish, peaceful and liberal inhabitants of demerara. your doors are ever open to harbour the harbourless; your purses never shut to the wants of the distressed: many a ruined fugitive from the oroonoque will bless your kindness to him in the hour of need, when flying from the woes of civil discord, without food or raiment, he begged for shelter underneath your roof. the poor sufferer in trinidad who lost his all in the devouring flames will remember your charity to his latest moments. the traveller, as he leaves your port, casts a longing, lingering look behind: your attentions, your hospitality, your pleasantry and mirth are uppermost in his thoughts; your prosperity is close to his heart. let us now, gentle reader, retire from the busy scenes of man and journey on towards the wilds in quest of the feathered tribe. leave behind you your high-seasoned dishes, your wines and your delicacies: carry nothing but what is necessary for your own comfort and the object in view, and depend upon the skill of an indian, or your own, for fish and game. a sheet about twelve feet long, ten wide, painted, and with loop-holes on each side, will be of great service: in a few minutes you can suspend it betwixt two trees in the shape of a roof. under this, in your hammock, you may defy the pelting shower, and sleep heedless of the dews of night. a hat, a shirt and a light pair of trousers will be all the raiment you require. custom will soon teach you to tread lightly and barefoot on the little inequalities of the ground, and show you how to pass on unwounded amid the mantling briers. snakes, in these wilds, are certainly an annoyance, though perhaps more in imagination than reality, for you must recollect that the serpent is never the first to offend: his poisonous fang was not given him for conquest--he never inflicts a wound with it but to defend existence. provided you walk cautiously and do not absolutely touch him, you may pass in safety close by him. as he is often coiled up on the ground, and amongst the branches of the trees above you, a degree of circumspection is necessary lest you unwarily disturb him. tigers are too few, and too apt to fly before the noble face of man, to require a moment of your attention. the bite of the most noxious of the insects, at the very worst, only causes a transient fever with a degree of pain more or less. birds in general, with a few exceptions, are not common in the very remote parts of the forest. the sides of rivers, lakes and creeks, the borders of savannas, the old abandoned habitations of indians and wood-cutters, seem to be their favourite haunts. though least in size, the glittering mantle of the humming-bird entitles it to the first place in the list of the birds of the new world. it may truly be called the bird of paradise: and had it existed in the old world, it would have claimed the title instead of the bird which has now the honour to bear it. see it darting through the air almost as quick as thought!--now it is within a yard of your face!--in an instant gone!--now it flutters from flower to flower to sip the silver dew--it is now a ruby--now a topaz --now an emerald--now all burnished gold! it would be arrogant to pretend to describe this winged gem of nature after buffon's elegant description of it. cayenne and demerara produce the same hummingbirds. perhaps you would wish to know something of their haunts. chiefly in the months of july and august, the tree called bois immortel, very common in demerara, bears abundance of red blossom which stays on the tree for some weeks; then it is that most of the different species of humming-birds are very plentiful. the wild red sage is also their favourite shrub, and they buzz like bees round the blossom of the wallaba tree. indeed, there is scarce a flower in the interior, or on the sea-coast, but what receives frequent visits from one or other of the species. on entering the forests, on the rising land in the interior, the blue and green, the smallest brown, no bigger than the humble-bee, with two long feathers in the tail, and the little forked-tail purple-throated humming-birds, glitter before you in ever-changing attitudes. one species alone never shows his beauty to the sun: and were it not for his lovely shining colours, you might almost be tempted to class him with the goat-suckers, on account of his habits. he is the largest of all the humming-birds, and is all red and changing gold-green, except the head, which is black. he has two long feathers in the tail which cross each other, and these have gained him the name of karabimiti, or ara humming-bird, from the indians. you never find him on the sea-coast, or where the river is salt, or in the heart of the forest, unless fresh water be there. he keeps close by the side of woody fresh-water rivers and dark and lonely creeks. he leaves his retreat before sunrise to feed on the insects over the water; he returns to it as soon as the sun's rays cause a glare of light, is sedentary all day long, and comes out again for a short tune after sunset. he builds his nest on a twig over the water in the unfrequented creeks: it looks like tanned cow-leather. as you advance towards the mountains of demerara other species of humming-birds present themselves before you. it seems to be an erroneous opinion that the humming-bird lives entirely on honey-dew. almost every flower of the tropical climates contains insects of one kind or other. now the humming-bird is most busy about the flowers an hour or two after sunrise and after a shower of rain, and it is just at this time that the insects come out to the edge of the flower in order that the sun's rays may dry the nocturnal dew and rain which they have received. on opening the stomach of the humming-bird dead insects are almost always found there. next to the humming-birds, the cotingas display the gayest plumage. they are of the order of passer, and you number five species betwixt the sea-coast and the rock saba. perhaps the scarlet cotinga is the richest of the five, and is one of those birds which are found in the deepest recesses of the forest. his crown is flaming red; to this abruptly succeeds a dark shining brown, reaching half-way down the back: the remainder of the back, the rump and tail, the extremity of which is edged with black, are a lively red; the belly is a somewhat lighter red; the breast reddish-black; the wings brown. he has no song, is solitary, and utters a monotonous whistle which sounds like "quet." he is fond of the seeds of the hitia-tree and those of the siloabali- and bastard siloabali-trees, which ripen in december and continue on the trees for above two months. he is found throughout the year in demerara; still nothing is known of his incubation. the indians all agree in telling you that they have never seen his nest. the purple-breasted cotinga has the throat and breast of a deep purple, the wings and tail black, and all the rest of the body a most lovely shining blue. the purple-throated cotinga has black wings and tail, and every other part a light and glossy blue, save the throat, which is purple. the pompadour cotinga is entirely purple, except his wings, which are white, their four first feathers tipped with brown. the great coverts of the wings are stiff, narrow and pointed, being shaped quite different from those of any other bird. when you are betwixt this bird and the sun, in his flight, he appears uncommonly brilliant. he makes a hoarse noise which sounds like "wallababa." hence his name amongst the indians. none of these three cotingas have a song. they feed on the hitia, siloabali- and bastard siloabali-seeds, the wild guava, the fig, and other fruit-trees of the forest. they are easily shot in these trees during the months of december, january and part of february. the greater part of them disappear after this, and probably retire far away to breed. their nests have never been found in demerara. the fifth species is the celebrated campanero of the spaniards, called dara by the indians, and bell-bird by the english. he is about the size of the jay. his plumage is white as snow. on his forehead rises a spiral tube nearly three inches long. it is jet black, dotted all over with small white feathers. it has a communication with the palate, and when filled with air looks like a spire; when empty it becomes pendulous. his note is loud and clear, like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of three miles. in the midst of these extensive wilds, generally on the dried top of an aged mora, almost out of gun-reach, you will see the campanero. no sound or song from any of the winged inhabitants of the forest, not even the clearly pronounced "whip-poor-will" from the goat-sucker, cause such astonishment as the toll of the campanero. with many of the feathered race he pays the common tribute of a morning and an evening song; and even when the meridian sun has shut in silence the mouths of almost the whole of animated nature the campanero still cheers the forest. you hear his toll, and then a pause for a minute, then another toll, and then a pause again, and then a toll, and again a pause. then he is silent for six or eight minutes, and then another toll, and so on. acteon would stop in mid-chase, maria would defer her evening song, and orpheus himself would drop his lute to listen to him, so sweet, so novel and romantic is the toll of the pretty snow-white campanero. he is never seen to feed with the other cotingas, nor is it known in what part of guiana he makes his nest. while the cotingas attract your attention by their superior plumage, the singular form of the toucan makes a lasting impression on your memory. there are three species of toucans in demerara, and three diminutives, which may be called toucanets. the largest of the first species frequents the mangrove trees on the sea-coast. he is never seen in the interior till you reach macoushia, where he is found in the neighbourhood of the river tacatou. the other two species are very common. they feed entirely on the fruits of the forest and, though of the pie kind, never kill the young of other birds or touch carrion. the larger is called bouradi by the indians (which means nose), the other scirou. they seem partial to each other's company, and often resort to the same feeding-tree and retire together to the same shady noon-day retreat. they are very noisy in rainy weather at all hours of the day, and in fair weather at morn and eve. the sound which the bouradi makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy-dog, and you fancy he says "pia-po-o-co," and thus the south-american spaniards call him piapoco. all the toucanets feed on the same trees on which the toucan feeds, and every species of this family of enormous bill lays its eggs in the hollow trees. they are social, but not gregarious. you may sometimes see eight or ten in company, and from this you would suppose they are gregarious; but upon a closer examination you will find it has only been a dinner-party, which breaks up and disperses towards roosting-time. you will be at a loss to conjecture for what ends nature has overloaded the head of this bird with such an enormous bill. it cannot be for the offensive, as it has no need to wage war with any of the tribes of animated nature, for its food is fruits and seeds, and those are in superabundance throughout the whole year in the regions where the toucan is found. it can hardly be for the defensive, as the toucan is preyed upon by no bird in south america and, were it obliged to be at war, the texture of the bill is ill-adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see in dissecting it. it cannot be for any particular protection to the tongue, as the tongue is a perfect feather. the flight of the toucan is by jerks: in the action of flying it seems incommoded by this huge disproportioned feature, and the head seems as if bowed down to the earth by it against its will. if the extraordinary form and size of the bill expose the toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends. were a specimen of each species of the toucan presented to you, you would pronounce the bill of the bouradi the most rich and beautiful: on the ridge of the upper mandible a broad stripe of most lovely yellow extends from the head to the point; a stripe of the same breadth, though somewhat deeper yellow, falls from it at right angles next the head down to the edge of the mandible; then follows a black stripe, half as broad, falling at right angles from the ridge and running narrower along the edge to within half an inch of the point. the rest of the mandible is a deep bright red. the lower mandible has no yellow: its black and red are distributed in the same manner as on the upper one, with this difference, that there is black about an inch from the point. the stripe corresponding to the deep yellow stripe on the upper mandible is sky-blue. it is worthy of remark that all these brilliant colours of the bill are to be found in the plumage of the body and the bare skin round the eye. all these colours, except the blue, are inherent in the horn: that part which appears blue is in reality transparent white, and receives its colour from a thin piece of blue skin inside. this superb bill fades in death, and in three or four days' time has quite lost its original colours. till within these few years no idea of the true colours of the bill could be formed from the stuffed toucans brought to europe. about eight years ago, while eating a boiled toucan, the thought struck me that the colours in the bill of a preserved specimen might be kept as bright as those in life. a series of experiments proved this beyond a doubt. if you take your penknife and cut away the roof of the upper mandible, you will find that the space betwixt it and the outer shell contains a large collection of veins and small osseous fibres running in all directions through the whole extent of the bill. clear away all these with your knife, and you will come to a substance more firm than skin, but of not so strong a texture as the horn itself. cut this away also, and behind it is discovered a thin and tender membrane: yellow where it has touched the yellow part of the horn, blue where it has touched the red part, and black towards the edge and point; when dried this thin and tender membrane becomes nearly black; as soon as it is cut away nothing remains but the outer horn, red and yellow, and now become transparent. the under mandible must undergo the same operation. great care must be taken and the knife used very cautiously when you are cutting through the different parts close to where the bill joins on to the head: if you cut away too much the bill drops off; if you press too hard the knife comes through the horn; if you leave too great a portion of the membrane it appears through the horn and, by becoming black when dried, makes the horn appear black also, and has a bad effect. judgment, caution, skill and practice will ensure success. you have now cleared the bill of all those bodies which are the cause of its apparent fading, for, as has been said before, these bodies dry in death and become quite discoloured, and appear so through the horn; and reviewing the bill in this state, you conclude that its former bright colours are lost. something still remains to be done. you have rendered the bill transparent by the operation, and that transparency must be done away to make it appear perfectly natural. pound some clean chalk and give it enough water till it be of the consistency of tar, add a proportion of gum-arabic to make it adhesive, then take a camel-hair brush and give the inside of both mandibles a coat; apply a second when the first is dry, then another, and a fourth to finish all. the gum-arabic will prevent the chalk from cracking and falling off. if you remember, there is a little space of transparent white in the lower mandible which originally appeared blue, but which became transparent white as soon as the thin piece of blue skin was cut away: this must be painted blue inside. when all this is completed the bill will please you: it will appear in its original colours. probably your own abilities will suggest a cleverer mode of operating than the one here described. a small gouge would assist the penknife and render the operation less difficult. the houtou ranks high in beauty amongst the birds of demerara. his whole body is green, with a bluish cast in the wings and tail; his crown, which he erects at pleasure, consists of black in the centre, surrounded with lovely blue of two different shades; he has a triangular black spot, edged with blue, behind the eye extending to the ear, and on his breast a sable tuft consisting of nine feathers edged also with blue. this bird seems to suppose that its beauty can be increased by trimming the tail, which undergoes the same operation as our hair in a barber's shop, only with this difference, that it uses its own beak, which is serrated, in lieu of a pair of scissors. as soon as his tail is full grown, he begins about an inch from the extremity of the two longest feathers in it and cuts away the web on both sides of the shaft, making a gap about an inch long. both male and female adonise their tails in this manner, which gives them a remarkable appearance amongst all other birds. while we consider the tail of the houtou blemished and defective, were he to come amongst us he would probably consider our heads, cropped and bald, in no better light. he who wishes to observe this handsome bird in his native haunts must be in the forest at the morning's dawn. the houtou shuns the society of man: the plantations and cultivated parts are too much disturbed to engage it to settle there; the thick and gloomy forests are the places preferred by the solitary houtou. in those far-extending wilds, about daybreak, you hear him articulate, in a distinct and mournful tone, "houtou, houtou." move cautious on to where the sound proceeds from, and you will see him sitting in the underwood about a couple of yards from the ground, his tail moving up and down every time he articulates "houtou." he lives on insects and the berries amongst the underwood, and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees, except the bastard siloabali-tree, the fruit of which is grateful to him. he makes no nest, but rears his young in a hole in the sand, generally on the side of a hill. while in quest of the houtou, you will now and then fall in with the jay of guiana, called by the indians ibibirou. its forehead is black, the rest of the head white, the throat and breast like the english magpie; about an inch of the extremity of the tail is white, the other part of it, together with the back and wings, a greyish changing purple; the belly is white. there are generally six or eight of them in company: they are shy and garrulous, and tarry a very short time in one place. they are never seen in the cultivated parts. through the whole extent of the forest, chiefly from sunrise till nine o'clock in the morning, you hear a sound of "wow, wow, wow, wow." this is the bird called boclora by the indians. it is smaller than the common pigeon, and seems, in some measure, to partake of its nature: its head and breast are blue; the back and rump somewhat resemble the colour on the peacock's neck; its belly is a bright yellow. the legs are so very short that it always appears as if sitting on the branch: it is as ill-adapted for walking as the swallow. its neck, for above an inch all round, is quite bare of feathers, but this deficiency is not seen, for it always sits with its head drawn in upon its shoulders. it sometimes feeds with the cotingas on the guava- and hitia-trees, but its chief nutriment seems to be insects, and, like most birds which follow this prey, its chaps are well armed with bristles: it is found in demerara at all times of the year, and makes a nest resembling that of the stock-dove. this bird never takes long nights, and when it crosses a river or creek it goes by long jerks. the boclora is very unsuspicious, appearing quite heedless of danger: the report of a gun within twenty yards will not cause it to leave the branch on which it is sitting, and you may often approach it so near as almost to touch it with the end of your bow. perhaps there is no bird known whose feathers are so slightly fixed to the skin as those of the boclora. after shooting it, if it touch a branch in its descent, or if it drop on hard ground, whole heaps of feathers fall off: on this account it is extremely hard to procure a specimen for preservation. as soon as the skin is dry in the preserved specimen the feathers become as well fixed as those in any other bird. another species, larger than the boclora, attracts much of your notice in these wilds: it is called cuia by the indians, from the sound of its voice. its habits are the same as those of the boclora, but its colours different: its head, breast, back and rump are a shining, changing green; its tail not quite so bright; a black bar runs across the tail towards the extremity, and the outside feathers are partly white, as in the boclora; its belly is entirely vermilion, a bar of white separating it from the green on the breast. there are diminutives of both these birds: they have the same habits, with a somewhat different plumage, and about half the size. arrayed from head to tail in a robe of richest sable hue, the bird called rice-bird loves spots cultivated by the hand of man. the woodcutter's house on the hills in the interior, and the planter's habitation on the sea-coast, equally attract this songless species of the order of pie, provided the indian-corn be ripe there. he is nearly of the jackdaw's size and makes his nest far away from the haunts of men. he may truly be called a blackbird: independent of his plumage, his beak, inside and out, his legs, his toes and claws are jet black. mankind, by clearing the ground and sowing a variety of seeds, induces many kinds of birds to leave their native haunts and come and settle near him: their little depredations on his seeds and fruits prove that it is the property, and not the proprietor, which has the attractions. one bird, however, in demerara is not actuated by selfish motives: this is the cassique. in size he is larger than the starling: he courts the society of man, but disdains to live by his labours. when nature calls for support he repairs to the neighbouring forest, and there partakes of the store of fruits and seeds which she has produced in abundance for her aerial tribes. when his repast is over he returns to man, and pays the little tribute which he owes him for his protection. he takes his station on a tree close to his house, and there, for hours together, pours forth a succession of imitative notes. his own song is sweet, but very short. if a toucan be yelping in the neighbourhood, he drops it, and imitates him. then he will amuse his protector with the cries of the different species of the woodpecker, and when the sheep bleat he will distinctly answer them. then comes his own song again; and if a puppy-dog or a guinea-fowl interrupt him, he takes them off admirably, and by his different gestures during the time you would conclude that he enjoys the sport. the cassique is gregarious, and imitates any sound he hears with such exactness that he goes by no other name than that of mocking bird amongst the colonists. at breeding-time a number of these pretty choristers resort to a tree near the planter's house, and from its outside branches weave their pendulous nests. so conscious do they seem that they never give offence, and so little suspicious are they of receiving any injury from man, that they will choose a tree within forty yards from his house, and occupy the branches so low down that he may peep into the nests. a tree in waratilla creek affords a proof of this. the proportions of the cassique are so fine that he may be said to be a model of symmetry in ornithology. on each wing he has a bright yellow spot, and his rump, belly and half the tail are of the same colour. all the rest of the body is black. his beak is the colour of sulphur, but it fades in death, and requires the same operation as the bill of the toucan to make it keep its colours. up the rivers, in the interior, there is another cassique, nearly the same size and of the same habits, though not gifted with its powers of imitation. except in breeding-time, you will see hundreds of them retiring to roost amongst the moca-moca-trees and low shrubs on the banks of the demerara, after you pass the first island. they are not common on the sea-coast. the rump of this cassique is a flaming scarlet. all the rest of the body is a rich glossy black. his bill is sulphur-colour. you may often see numbers of this species weaving their pendulous nests on one side of a tree, while numbers of the other species are busy in forming theirs on the opposite side of the same tree. though such near neighbours, the females are never observed to kick up a row or come to blows! another species of cassique, as large as a crow, is very common in the plantations. in the morning he generally repairs to a large tree, and there, with his tail spread over his back and shaking his lowered wings, he produces notes which, though they cannot be said to amount to a song, still have something very sweet and pleasing in them. he makes his nest in the same form as the other cassiques. it is above four feet long, and when you pass under the tree, which often contains fifty or sixty of them, you cannot help stopping to admire them as they wave to and fro, the sport of every storm and breeze. the rump is chestnut; ten feathers of the tail are a fine yellow, the remaining two, which are the middle ones, are black, and an inch shorter than the others. his bill is sulphur-colour; all the rest of the body black, with here and there shades of brown. he has five or six long narrow black feathers on the back of his head, which he erects at pleasure. there is one more species of cassique in demerara which always prefers the forests to the cultivated parts. his economy is the same as that of the other cassiques. he is rather smaller than the last described bird. his body is greenish, and his tail and rump paler than those of the former. half of his beak is red. you would not be long in the forests of demerara without noticing the woodpeckers. you meet with them feeding at all hours of the day. well may they do so. were they to follow the example of most of the other birds, and only feed in the morning and evening, they would be often on short allowance, for they sometimes have to labour three or four hours at the tree before they get to their food. the sound which the largest kind makes in hammering against the bark of the tree is so loud that you would never suppose it to proceed from the efforts of a bird. you would take it to be the woodman, with his axe, trying by a sturdy blow, often repeated, whether the tree were sound or not. there are fourteen species here: the largest the size of a magpie, the smallest no bigger than the wren. they are all beautiful, and the greater part of them have their heads ornamented with a fine crest, movable at pleasure. it is said, if you once give a dog a bad name, whether innocent or guilty, he never loses it. it sticks close to him wherever he goes. he has many a kick and many a blow to bear on account of it; and there is nobody to stand up for him. the woodpecker is little better off. the proprietors of woods in europe have long accused him of injuring their timber by boring holes in it and letting in the water, which soon rots it. the colonists in america have the same complaint against him. had he the power of speech, which ovid's birds possessed in days of yore, he could soon make a defence: "mighty lord of the woods," he would say to man, "why do you wrongfully accuse me? why do you hunt me up and down to death for an imaginary offence? i have never spoiled a leaf of your property, much less your wood. your merciless shot strikes me at the very time i am doing you a service. but your shortsightedness will not let you see it, or your pride is above examining closely the actions of so insignificant a little bird as i am. if there be that spark of feeling in your breast which they say man possesses, or ought to possess, above all other animals, do a poor injured creature a little kindness and watch me in your woods only for one day. i never wound your healthy trees. i should perish for want in the attempt. the sound bark would easily resist the force of my bill; and were i even to pierce through it, there would be nothing inside that i could fancy or my stomach digest. i often visit them it is true, but a knock or two convince me that i must go elsewhere for support; and were you to listen attentively to the sound which my bill causes, you would know whether i am upon a healthy or an unhealthy tree. wood and bark are not my food. i live entirely upon the insects which have already formed a lodgment in the distempered tree. when the sound informs me that my prey is there, i labour for hours together till i get at it, and by consuming it for my own support, i prevent its further depredations in that part. thus i discover for you your hidden and unsuspected foe, which has been devouring your wood in such secrecy that you had not the least suspicion it was there. the hole which i make in order to get at the pernicious vermin will be seen by you as you pass under the tree. i leave it as a signal to tell you that your tree has already stood too long. it is past its prime. millions of insects, engendered by disease, are preying upon its vitals. ere long it will fall a log in useless ruins. warned by this loss, cut down the rest in time, and spare, o spare the unoffending woodpecker." in the rivers and different creeks you number six species of the kingfisher. they make their nest in a hole in the sand on the side of the bank. as there is always plenty of foliage to protect them from the heat of the sun, they feed at all hours of the day. though their plumage is prettily varied, still it falls far short of the brilliancy displayed by the english kingfisher. this little native of britain would outweigh them altogether in the scale of beauty. a bird called jacamar is often taken for a kingfisher, but it has no relationship to that tribe. it frequently sits in the trees over the water, and as its beak bears some resemblance to that of the kingfisher, this may probably account for its being taken for one; it feeds entirely upon insects; it sits on a branch in motionless expectation, and as soon as a fly, butterfly, or moth pass by, it darts at it, and returns to the branch it had just left. it seems an indolent, sedentary bird, shunning the society of all others in the forest. it never visits the plantations, but is found at all times of the year in the woods. there are four species of jacamar in demerara. they are all beautiful: the largest, rich and superb in the extreme. its plumage is of so fine a changing blue and golden-green that it may be ranked with the choicest of the humming-birds. nature has denied it a song, but given a costly garment in lieu of it. the smallest species of jacamar is very common in the dry savannas. the second size, all golden-green on the back, must be looked for in the wallaba-forest. the third is found throughout the whole extent of these wilds, and the fourth, which is the largest, frequents the interior, where you begin to perceive stones in the ground. when you have penetrated far into macoushia, you hear the pretty songster called troupiale pour forth a variety of sweet and plaintive notes. this is the bird which the portuguese call the nightingale of guiana. its predominant colours are rich orange and shining black, arrayed to great advantage. his delicate and well-shaped frame seems unable to bear captivity. the indians sometimes bring down troupiales to stabroek, but in a few months they languish and die in a cage. they soon become very familiar, and if you allow them the liberty of the house, they live longer than in a cage and appear in better spirits, but when you least expect it they drop down and die in epilepsy. smaller in size, and of colour not so rich and somewhat differently arranged, another species of troupiale sings melodiously in demerara. the woodcutter is particularly favoured by him, for while the hen is sitting on her nest, built in the roof of the woodcutter's house, he sings for hours together close by. he prefers the forests to the cultivated parts. you would not grudge to stop for a few minutes, as you are walking in the plantations, to observe a third species of troupiale: his wings, tail and throat are black; all the rest of the body is a bright yellow. there is something very sweet and plaintive in his song, though much shorter than that of the troupiale in the interior. a fourth species goes in flocks from place to place, in the cultivated parts, at the time the indian-corn is ripe; he is all black, except the head and throat, which are yellow. his attempt at song is not worth attending to. wherever there is a wild fig-tree ripe, a numerous species of birds called tangara is sure to be on it. there are eighteen beautiful species here. their plumage is very rich and diversified. some of them boast six separate colours; others have the blue, purple, green and black so kindly blended into each other that it would be impossible to mark their boundaries; while others again exhibit them strong, distinct and abrupt. many of these tangaras have a fine song. they seem to partake much of the nature of our linnets, sparrows and finches. some of them are fond of the plantations; others are never seen there, preferring the wild seeds of the forest to the choicest fruits planted by the hand of man. on the same fig-trees to which they repair, and often accidentally up and down the forest, you fall in with four species of manikin. the largest is white and black, with the feathers on the throat remarkably long; the next in size is half red and half black; the third black, with a white crown; the fourth black, with a golden crown, and red feathers at the knee. the half-red and half-black species is the scarcest. there is a creek in the demerara called camouni. about ten minutes from the mouth you see a common-sized fig-tree on your right hand, as you ascend, hanging over the water; it bears a very small fig twice a year. when its fruit is ripe this manikin is on the tree from morn till eve. on all the ripe fig-trees in the forest you see the bird called the small tiger-bird. like some of our belles and dandies, it has a gaudy vest to veil an ill-shaped body. the throat, and part of the head, are a bright red; the breast and belly have black spots on a yellow ground; the wings are a dark green, black, and white; and the rump and tail black and green. like the manikin, it has no song: it depends solely upon a showy garment for admiration. devoid, too, of song, and in a still superber garb, the yawaraciri comes to feed on the same tree. it has a bar like black velvet from the eyes to the beak; its legs are yellow; its throat, wings and tail black; all the rest of the body a charming blue. chiefly in the dry savannas, and here and there accidentally in the forest, you see a songless yawaraciri still lovelier than the last: his crown is whitish blue, arrayed like a coat of mail; his tail is black, his wings black and yellow; legs red; and the whole body a glossy blue. whilst roving through the forest, ever and anon you see individuals of the wren species busy amongst the fallen leaves, or seeking insects at the roots of the trees. here, too, you find six or seven species of small birds whose backs appear to be overloaded with silky plumage. one of these, with a chestnut breast, smoke-coloured back, tail red, white feathers like horns on his head, and white narrow-pointed feathers under the jaw, feeds entirely upon ants. when a nest of large light-brown ants emigrates, one following the other in meandering lines above a mile long, you see this bird watching them and every now and then picking them up. when they disappear he is seen no more: perhaps this is the only kind of ant he is fond of. when these ants are stirring, you are sure to find him near them. you cannot well mistake the ant after you have once been in its company, for its sting is very severe, and you can hardly shoot the bird and pick it up without having five or six upon you. parrots and paroquets are very numerous here, and of many different kinds. you will know when they are near you in the forest not only by the noise they make, but also by the fruits and seeds which they let fall while they are feeding. the hia-hia parrot, called in england the parrot of the sun, is very remarkable: he can erect at pleasure a fine radiated circle of tartan feathers quite round the back of his head from jaw to jaw. the fore-part of his head is white; his back, tail and wings green; and his breast and belly tartan. superior in size and beauty to every parrot of south america, the ara will force you to take your eyes from the rest of animated nature and gaze at him: his commanding strength, the flaming scarlet of his body, the lovely variety of red, yellow, blue and green in his wings, the extraordinary length of his scarlet and blue tail, seem all to join and demand for him the title of emperor of all the parrots. he is scarce in demerara till you reach the confines of the macoushi country: there he is in vast abundance. he mostly feeds on trees of the palm species. when the coucourite-trees have ripe fruit on them they are covered with this magnificent parrot. he is not shy or wary: you may take your blow-pipe and quiver of poisoned arrows and kill more than you are able to carry back to your hut. they are very vociferous, and, like the common parrots, rise up in bodies towards sunset and fly two and two to their place of rest. it is a grand sight in ornithology to see thousands of aras flying over your head, low enough to let you have a full view of their flaming mantle. the indians find their flesh very good, and the feathers serve for ornaments in their head-dresses. they breed in the holes of trees, are easily reared and tamed, and learn to speak pretty distinctly. another species frequents the low-lands of demerara. he is nearly the size of the scarlet ara, but much inferior in plumage. blue and yellow are his predominant colours. along the creeks and river-sides, and in the wet savannas, six species of the bittern will engage your attention. they are all handsome, the smallest not so large as the english water-hen. in the savannas, too, you will sometimes surprise the snow-white egret, whose back is adorned with the plumes from which it takes its name. here, too, the spur-winged water-hen, the blue and green water-hen and two other species of ordinary plumage are found. while in quest of these, the blue heron, the large and small brown heron, the boatbill and muscovy duck now and then rise up before you. when the sun has sunk in the western woods, no longer agitated by the breeze; when you can only see a straggler or two of the feathered tribe hastening to join its mate, already at its roosting-place, then it is that the goat-sucker comes out of the forest, where it has sat all day long in slumbering ease, unmindful of the gay and busy scenes around it. its eyes are too delicately formed to bear the light, and thus it is forced to shun the flaming face of day and wait in patience till night invites him to partake of the pleasures her dusky presence brings. the harmless, unoffending goat-sucker, from the time of aristotle down to the present day, has been in disgrace with man. father has handed down to son, and author to author, that this nocturnal thief subsists by milking the flocks. poor injured little bird of night, how sadly hast thou suffered, and how foul a stain has inattention to facts put upon thy character! thou hast never robbed man of any part of his property nor deprived the kid of a drop of milk. when the moon shines bright you may have a fair opportunity of examining the goat-sucker. you will see it close by the cows, goats and sheep, jumping up every now and then under their bellies. approach a little nearer--he is not shy: "he fears no danger, for he knows no sin." see how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with what dexterity he springs up and catches them as fast as they alight on the belly, legs and udder of the animals. observe how quiet they stand, and how sensible they seem of his good offices, for they neither strike at him nor hit him with their tail, nor tread on him, nor try to drive him away as an uncivil intruder. were you to dissect him, and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk there. it is full of the flies which have been annoying the herd. the prettily-mottled plumage of the goat-sucker, like that of the owl, wants the lustre which is observed in the feathers of the birds of day. this at once marks him as a lover of the pale moon's nightly beams. there are nine species here. the largest appears nearly the size of the english wood-owl. its cry is so remarkable that, having once heard it, you will never forget it. when night reigns over these immeasurable wilds, whilst lying in your hammock you will hear this goat-sucker lamenting like one in deep distress. a stranger would never conceive it to be the cry of a bird. he would say it was the departing voice of a midnight murdered victim or the last wailing of niobe for her poor children before she was turned into stone. suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow, begin with a high loud note, and pronounce "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the largest goat-sucker in demerara. four other species of the goat-sucker articulate some words so distinctly that they have received their names from the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger on his arrival in these parts. the most common one sits down close by your door, and flies and alights three or four yards before you, as you walk along the road, crying, "who-are-you, who-who-who-are-you." another bids you "work-away, work-work-work-away." a third cries, mournfully, "willy-come-go, willy-willy-willy-come-go." and high up in the country a fourth tells you to "whip-poor-will, whip-whip-whip-poor-will." you will never persuade the negro to destroy these birds or get the indian to let fly his arrow at them. they are birds of omen and reverential dread. jumbo, the demon of africa, has them under his command, and they equally obey the yabahou, or demerara indian devil. they are the receptacles for departed souls, who come back again to earth, unable to rest for crimes done in their days of nature; or they are expressly sent by jumbo, or yabahou, to haunt cruel and hard-hearted masters and retaliate injuries received from them. if the largest goat-sucker chance to cry near the white man's door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside: and they expect to see the master waste away with a slow consuming sickness. if it be heard close to the negro's or indian's hut, from that night misfortune sits brooding over it: and they await the event in terrible suspense. you will forgive the poor indian of guiana for this. he knows no better; he has nobody to teach him. but shame it is that in our own civilised country the black cat and broomstaff should be considered as conductors to and from the regions of departed spirits. many years ago i knew poor harmless mary: old age had marked her strongly, just as he will mark you and me, should we arrive at her years and carry the weight of grief which bent her double. the old men of the village said she had been very pretty in her youth, and nothing could be seen more comely than mary when she danced on the green. he who had gained her heart left her for another, less fair, though richer, than mary. from that time she became sad and pensive; the rose left her cheek, and she was never more seen to dance round the maypole on the green. her expectations were blighted; she became quite indifferent to everything around her, and seemed to think of nothing but how she could best attend her mother, who was lame and not long for this life. her mother had begged a black kitten from some boys who were going to drown it, and in her last illness she told mary to be kind to it for her sake. when age and want had destroyed the symmetry of mary's fine form, the village began to consider her as one who had dealings with spirits: her cat confirmed the suspicion. if a cow died, or a villager wasted away with an unknown complaint, mary and her cat had it to answer for. her broom sometimes served her for a walking-stick: and if ever she supported her tottering frame with it as far as the maypole, where once, in youthful bloom and beauty, she had attracted the eyes of all, the boys would surround her and make sport of her, while her cat had neither friend nor safety beyond the cottage-wall. nobody considered it cruel or uncharitable to torment a witch; and it is probable, long before this, that cruelty, old age and want have worn her out, and that both poor mary and her cat have ceased to be. would you wish to pursue the different species of game, well-stored and boundless is your range in demerara. here no one dogs you, and afterwards clandestinely inquires if you have a hundred a year in land to entitle you to enjoy such patrician sport. here no saucy intruder asks if you have taken out a licence, by virtue of which you are allowed to kill the birds which have bred upon your own property. here you are as free as when god first made man, ere the vile laws of servitude began, and wild in woods the noble savage ran. before the morning's dawn you hear a noise in the forest which sounds like "duraquaura" often repeated. this is the partridge, a little smaller than and differing somewhat in colour from the english partridge: it lives entirely in the forest, and probably the young brood very soon leaves its parents, as you never flush more than two birds in the same place, and in general only one. about the same hour, and sometimes even at midnight, you hear two species of maam, or tinamou, send forth their long and plaintive whistle from the depth of the forest. the flesh of both is delicious. the largest is plumper, and almost equals in size the blackcock of northumberland. the quail is said to be here, though rare. the hannaquoi, which some have compared to the pheasant, though with little reason, is very common. here are also two species of the powise, or hocco, and two of the small wild turkeys called maroudi: they feed on the ripe fruits of the forest and are found in all directions in these extensive wilds. you will admire the horned screamer as a stately and majestic bird: he is almost the size of the turkey-cock, on his head is a long slender horn, and each wing is armed with a strong, sharp, triangular spur an inch long. sometimes you will fall in with flocks of two or three hundred waracabas, or trumpeters, called so from the singular noise they produce. their breast is adorned with beautiful changing blue and purple feathers; their head and neck like velvet; their wings and back grey, and belly black. they run with great swiftness, and when domesticated attend their master in his walks with as much apparent affection as his dog. they have no spurs, but still, such is their high spirit and activity, they browbeat every dunghill fowl in the yard and force the guinea-birds, dogs and turkeys to own their superiority. if, kind and gentle reader, thou shouldst ever visit these regions with an intention to examine their productions, perhaps the few observations contained in these wanderings may be of service to thee. excuse their brevity: more could have been written, and each bird more particularly described, but it would have been pressing too hard upon thy time and patience. soon after arriving in these parts thou wilt find that the species here enumerated are only as a handful from a well-stored granary. nothing has been said of the eagles, the falcons, the hawks and shrikes; nothing of the different species of vultures, the king of which is very handsome, and seems to be the only bird which claims regal honours from a surrounding tribe. it is a fact beyond all dispute that, when the scent of carrion has drawn together hundreds of the common vultures, they all retire from the carcass as soon as the king of the vultures makes his appearance. when his majesty has satisfied the cravings of his royal stomach with the choicest bits from the most stinking and corrupted parts, he generally retires to a neighbouring tree, and then the common vultures return in crowds to gobble down his leavings. the indians, as well as the whites, have observed this, for when one of them, who has learned a little english, sees the king, and wishes you to have a proper notion of the bird, he says: "there is the governor of the carrion-crows." now the indians have never heard of a personage in demerara higher than that of governor; and the colonists, through a common mistake, call the vultures carrion-crows. hence the indian, in order to express the dominion of this bird over the common vultures, tells you he is governor of the carrion-crows. the spaniards have also observed it, for through all the spanish main he is called rey de zamuros, king of the vultures. the many species of owls, too, have not been noticed; and no mention made of the columbine tribe. the prodigious variety of water-fowl on the sea-shore has been but barely hinted at. there, and on the borders and surface of the inland waters, in the marshes and creeks, besides the flamingos, scarlet curlews and spoonbills already mentioned, will be found greenish-brown curlews, sandpipers, rails, coots, gulls, pelicans, jabirus, nandapoas, crabiers, snipes, plovers, ducks, geese, cranes and anhingas; most of them in vast abundance; some frequenting only the sea-coast, others only the interior, according to their different natures; all worthy the attention of the naturalist, all worthy of a place in the cabinet of the curious. should thy comprehensive genius not confine itself to birds alone, grand is the appearance of other objects all around. thou art in a land rich in botany and mineralogy, rich in zoology and entomology. animation will glow in thy looks and exercise will brace thy frame in vigour. the very time of thy absence from the tables of heterogeneous luxury will be profitable to thy stomach, perhaps already sorely drenched with londo-parisian sauces, and a new stock of health will bring thee an appetite to relish the wholesome food of the chase. never-failing sleep will wait on thee at the time she comes to soothe the rest of animated nature, and ere the sun's rays appear in the horizon thou wilt spring from thy hammock fresh as the april lark. be convinced also that the dangers and difficulties which are generally supposed to accompany the traveller in his journey through distant regions are not half so numerous or dreadful as they are commonly thought to be. the youth who incautiously reels into the lobby of drury lane after leaving the table sacred to the god of wine is exposed to more certain ruin, sickness and decay than he who wanders a whole year in the wilds of demerara. but this will never be believed because the disasters arising from dissipation are so common and frequent in civilised life that man becomes quite habituated to them, and sees daily victims sink into the tomb long before their time without ever once taking alarm at the causes which precipitated them headlong into it. but the dangers which a traveller exposes himself to in foreign parts are novel, out-of-the-way things to a man at home. the remotest apprehension of meeting a tremendous tiger, of being carried off by a flying dragon, or having his bones picked by a famished cannibal: oh, that makes him shudder. it sounds in his ears like the bursting of a bombshell. thank heaven he is safe by his own fireside. prudence and resolution ought to be the traveller's constant companions. the first will cause him to avoid a number of snares which he will find in the path as he journeys on; and the second will always lend a hand to assist him if he has unavoidably got entangled in them. the little distinctions which have been shown him at his own home ought to be forgotten when he travels over the world at large, for strangers know nothing of his former merits, and it is necessary that they should witness them before they pay him the tribute which he was wont to receive within his own doors. thus to be kind and affable to those we meet, to mix in their amusements, to pay a compliment or two to their manners and customs, to respect their elders, to give a little to their distressed and needy, and to feel, as it were, at home amongst them, is the sure way to enable you to pass merrily on, and to find other comforts as sweet and palatable as those which you were accustomed to partake of amongst your friends and acquaintance in your own native land. we will now ascend in fancy on icarian wing and take a view of guiana in general. see an immense plain! betwixt two of the largest rivers in the world, level as a bowling-green, save at cayenne, and covered with trees along the coast quite to the atlantic wave, except where the plantations make a little vacancy amongst the foliage. though nearly in the centre of the torrid zone, the sun's rays are not so intolerable as might be imagined, on account of the perpetual verdure and refreshing north-east breeze. see what numbers of broad and rapid rivers intersect it in their journey to the ocean, and that not a stone or a pebble is to be found on their banks, or in any part of the country, till your eye catches the hills in the interior. how beautiful and magnificent are the lakes in the heart of the forests, and how charming the forests themselves, for miles after miles on each side of the rivers! how extensive appear the savannas or natural meadows, teeming with innumerable herds of cattle, where the portuguese and spaniards are settled, but desert as saara where the english and dutch claim dominion! how gradually the face of the country rises! see the sandhills all clothed in wood first emerging from the level, then hills a little higher, rugged with bold and craggy rocks, peeping out from amongst the most luxuriant timber. then come plains and dells and far-extending valleys, arrayed in richest foliage; and beyond them mountains piled on mountains, some bearing prodigious forests, others of bleak and barren aspect. thus your eye wanders on over scenes of varied loveliness and grandeur, till it rests on the stupendous pinnacles of the long-continued cordilleras de los andes, which rise in towering majesty and command all america. how fertile must the low-lands be from the accumulation of fallen leaves and trees for centuries! how propitious the swamps and slimy beds of the rivers, heated by a downward sun, to the amazing growth of alligators, serpents and innumerable insects! how inviting the forests to the feathered tribes, where you see buds, blossoms, green and ripe fruit, full grown and fading leaves all on the same tree! how secure the wild beasts may rove in endless mazes! perhaps those mountains, too, which appear so bleak and naked, as if quite neglected, are, like potosi, full of precious metals. let us now return the pinions we borrowed from icarus, and prepare to bid farewell to the wilds. the time allotted to these wanderings is drawing fast to a close. every day for the last six months has been employed in paying close attention to natural history in the forests of demerara. above two hundred specimens of the finest birds have been collected and a pretty just knowledge formed of their haunts and economy. from the time of leaving england, in march , to the present day, nothing has intervened to arrest a fine flow of health, saving a quartan ague which did not tarry, but fled as suddenly as it appeared. and now i take leave of thee, kind and gentle reader. the new mode of preserving birds heretofore promised thee shall not be forgotten. the plan is already formed in imagination, and can be penned down during the passage across the atlantic. if the few remarks in these wanderings shall have any weight in inciting thee to sally forth and explore the vast and well-stored regions of demerara, i have gained my end. adieu. charles waterton. _april , ._ * * * * * third journey desertosque videre locos, littusque relictum. gentle reader, after staying a few months in england, i strayed across the alps and the apennines, and returned home, but could not tarry. guiana still whispered in my ear, and seemed to invite me once more to wander through her distant forests. shouldst thou have a leisure hour to read what follows, i pray thee pardon the frequent use of that unwelcome monosyllable _i_. it could not well be avoided, as will be seen in the sequel. in february i sailed from the clyde, on board the _glenbervie_, a fine west-indiaman. she was driven to the north-west of ireland, and had to contend with a foul and wintry wind for above a fortnight. at last it changed, and we had a pleasant passage across the atlantic. sad and mournful was the story we heard on entering the river demerara. the yellow fever had swept off numbers of the old inhabitants, and the mortal remains of many a new-comer were daily passing down the streets in slow and mute procession to their last resting-place. after staying a few days in the town, i went up the demerara to the former habitation of my worthy friend mr. edmonstone, in mibiri creek. the house had been abandoned for some years. on arriving at the hill, the remembrance of scenes long past and gone naturally broke in upon the mind. all was changed: the house was in ruins and gradually sinking under the influence of the sun and rain; the roof had nearly fallen in; and the room, where once governors and generals had caroused, was now dismantled and tenanted by the vampire. you would have said: 'tis now the vampire's bleak abode, 'tis now the apartment of the toad: 'tis here the painful chegoe feeds, 'tis here the dire labarri breeds conceal'd in ruins, moss, and weeds. on the outside of the house nature had nearly reassumed her ancient right: a few straggling fruit-trees were still discernible amid the varied hue of the near-approaching forest; they seemed like strangers lost and bewildered and unpitied in a foreign land, destined to linger a little longer, and then sink down for ever. i hired some negroes from a woodcutter in another creek to repair the roof; and then the house, or at least what remained of it, became headquarters for natural history. the frogs, and here and there a snake, received that attention which the weak in this world generally experience from the strong, and which the law commonly denominates an ejectment. but here neither the frogs nor serpents were ill-treated: they sallied forth, without buffet or rebuke, to choose their place of residence--the world was all before them. the owls went away of their own accord, preferring to retire to a hollow tree rather than to associate with their new landlord. the bats and vampires stayed with me, and went in and out as usual. it was upon this hill in former days that i first tried to teach john, the black slave of my friend mr. edmonstone, the proper way to do birds. but john had poor abilities, and it required much time and patience to drive anything into him. some years after this his master took him to scotland, where, becoming free, john left him, and got employed in the glasgow, and then the edinburgh, museum. mr. robert edmonstone, nephew to the above gentleman, had a fine mulatto capable of learning anything. he requested me to teach him the art. i did so. he was docile and active, and was with me all the time in the forest. i left him there to keep up this new art of preserving birds and to communicate it to others. here, then, i fixed my headquarters, in the ruins of this once gay and hospitable house. close by, in a little hut which, in times long past, had served for a store to keep provisions in, there lived a coloured man and his wife, by name backer. many a kind turn they did to me; and i was more than once a service to them and their children, by bringing to their relief in time of sickness what little knowledge i had acquired of medicine. i would here, gentle reader, wish to draw thy attention, for a few minutes, to physic, raiment and diet. shouldst thou ever wander through these remote and dreary wilds, forget not to carry with thee bark, laudanum, calomel and jalap, and the lancet. there are no druggist-shops here, nor sons of galen to apply to in time of need. i never go encumbered with many clothes. a thin flannel waistcoat under a check shirt, a pair of trousers and a hat were all my wardrobe: shoes and stockings i seldom had on. in dry weather they would have irritated the feet and retarded me in the chase of wild beasts; and in the rainy season they would have kept me in a perpetual state of damp and moisture. i eat moderately, and never drink wine, spirits or fermented liquors in any climate. this abstemiousness has ever proved a faithful friend; it carried me triumphant through the epidemia at malaga, where death made such havoc about the beginning of the present century; and it has since befriended me in many a fit of sickness brought on by exposure to the noon-day sun, to the dews of night, to the pelting shower and unwholesome food. perhaps it will be as well here to mention a fever which came on, and the treatment of it: it may possibly be of use to thee, shouldst thou turn wanderer in the tropics; a word or two also of a wound i got in the forest, and then we will say no more of the little accidents which sometimes occur, and attend solely to natural history. we shall have an opportunity of seeing the wild animals in their native haunts, undisturbed and unbroken in upon by man. we shall have time and leisure to look more closely at them, and probably rectify some errors which, for want of proper information or a near observance, have crept into their several histories. it was in the month of june, when the sun was within a few days of cancer, that i had a severe attack of fever. there had been a deluge of rain, accompanied with tremendous thunder and lightning, and very little sun. nothing could exceed the dampness of the atmosphere. for two or three days i had been in a kind of twilight state of health, neither ill nor what you may call well: i yawned and felt weary without exercise, and my sleep was merely slumber. this was the time to have taken medicine, but i neglected to do so, though i had just been reading: "o navis, referent in mare te novi fluctus, o quid agis? fortiter occupa portum." i awoke at midnight: a cruel headache, thirst and pain in the small of the back informed me what the case was. had chiron himself been present he could not have told me more distinctly that i was going to have a tight brush of it, and that i ought to meet it with becoming fortitude. i dozed and woke and startled, and then dozed again, and suddenly awoke thinking i was falling down a precipice. the return of the bats to their diurnal retreat, which was in the thatch above my hammock, informed me that the sun was now fast approaching to the eastern horizon. i arose in languor and in pain, the pulse at one hundred and twenty. i took ten grains of calomel and a scruple of jalap, and drank during the day large draughts of tea, weak and warm. the physic did its duty, but there was no remission of fever or headache, though the pain of the back was less acute. i was saved the trouble of keeping the room cool, as the wind beat in at every quarter. at five in the evening the pulse had risen to one hundred and thirty, and the headache almost insupportable, especially on looking to the right or left. i now opened a vein, and made a large orifice, to allow the blood to rush out rapidly; i closed it after losing sixteen ounces. i then steeped my feet in warm water and got into the hammock. after bleeding the pulse fell to ninety, and the head was much relieved, but during the night, which was very restless, the pulse rose again to one hundred and twenty, and at times the headache was distressing. i relieved the headache from time to time by applying cold water to the temples and holding a wet handkerchief there. the next morning the fever ran very high, and i took five more grains of calomel and ten of jalap, determined, whatever might be the case, this should be the last dose of calomel. about two o'clock in the afternoon the fever remitted, and a copious perspiration came on: there was no more headache nor thirst nor pain in the back, and the following night was comparatively a good one. the next morning i swallowed a large dose of castor-oil: it was genuine, for louisa backer had made it from the seeds of the trees which grew near the door. i was now entirely free from all symptoms of fever, or apprehensions of a return; and the morning after i began to take bark, and continued it for a fortnight. this put all to rights. the story of the wound i got in the forest and the mode of cure are very short. i had pursued a redheaded woodpecker for above a mile in the forest without being able to get a shot at it. thinking more of the woodpecker, as i ran along, than of the way before me, i trod upon a little hardwood stump which was just about an inch or so above the ground; it entered the hollow part of my foot, making a deep and lacerated wound there. it had brought me to the ground, and there i lay till a transitory fit of sickness went off. i allowed it to bleed freely, and on reaching headquarters washed it well and probed it, to feel if any foreign body was left within it. being satisfied that there was none, i brought the edges of the wound together and then put a piece of lint on it, and over that a very large poultice, which was changed morning, noon and night. luckily backer had a cow or two upon the hill; now as heat and moisture are the two principal virtues of a poultice, nothing could produce those two qualities better than fresh cow-dung boiled: had there been no cows there i could have made out with boiled grass and leaves. i now took entirely to the hammock, placing the foot higher than the knee: this prevented it from throbbing, and was, indeed, the only position in which i could be at ease. when the inflammation was completely subdued i applied a wet cloth to the wound, and every now and then steeped the foot in cold water during the day, and at night again applied a poultice. the wound was now healing fast, and in three weeks from the time of the accident nothing but a scar remained: so that i again sallied forth sound and joyful, and said to myself: i, pedes quo te rapiunt et aurae dum favet sol, et locus, i secundo omine, et conto latebras, ut olim, rumpe ferarum. now this contus was a tough, light pole eight feet long, on the end of which was fixed an old bayonet. i never went into the canoe without it: it was of great use in starting the beasts and snakes out of the hollow trees, and in case of need was an excellent defence. in i had the last conversation with sir joseph banks. i saw with sorrow that death was going to rob us of him. we talked much of the present mode adopted by all museums in stuffing quadrupeds, and condemned it as being very imperfect: still we could not find out a better way, and at last concluded that the lips and nose ought to be cut off and replaced with wax, it being impossible to make those parts appear like life, as they shrink to nothing and render the stuffed specimens in the different museums horrible to look at. the defects in the legs and feet would not be quite so glaring, being covered with hair. i had paid great attention to this subject for above fourteen years; still it would not do. however, one night, while i was lying in the hammock and harping on the string on which hung all my solicitude, i hit upon the proper mode by inference: it appeared clear to me that it was the only true way of going to work, and ere i closed my eyes in sleep i was able to prove to myself that there could not be any other way that would answer. i tried it the next day, and succeeded according to expectation. by means of this process, which is very simple, we can now give every feature back again to the animal's face after it has been skinned; and when necessary stamp grief or pain, or pleasure, or rage, or mildness upon it. but more of this hereafter. let us now turn our attention to the sloth, whose native haunts have hitherto been so little known and probably little looked into. those who have written on this singular animal have remarked that he is in a perpetual state of pain, that he is proverbially slow in his movements, that he is a prisoner in space, and that, as soon as he has consumed all the leaves of the tree upon which he had mounted, he rolls himself up in the form of a ball and then falls to the ground. this is not the case. if the naturalists who have written the history of the sloth had gone into the wilds in order to examine his haunts and economy, they would not have drawn the foregoing conclusions. they would have learned that, though all other quadrupeds may be described while resting upon the ground, the sloth is an exception to this rule, and that his history must be written while he is in the tree. this singular animal is destined by nature to be produced, to live and to die in the trees; and to do justice to him naturalists must examine him in this his upper element. he is a scarce and solitary animal, and being good food he is never allowed to escape. he inhabits remote and gloomy forests where snakes take up their abode, and where cruelly-stinging ants and scorpions and swamps and innumerable thorny shrubs and bushes obstruct the steps of civilised man. were you to draw your own conclusions from the descriptions which have been given of the sloth, you would probably suspect that no naturalist has actually gone into the wilds with the fixed determination to find him out and examine his haunts, and see whether nature has committed any blunder in the formation of this extraordinary creature, which appears to us so forlorn and miserable, so ill put together, and so totally unfit to enjoy the blessings which have been so bountifully given to the rest of animated nature; for, as it has formerly been remarked, he has no soles to his feet, and he is evidently ill at ease when he tries to move on the ground, and it is then that he looks up in your face with a countenance that says: "have pity on me, for i am in pain and sorrow." it mostly happens that indians and negroes are the people who catch the sloth and bring it to the white man: hence it may be conjectured that the erroneous accounts we have hitherto had of the sloth have not been penned down with the slightest intention to mislead the reader or give him an exaggerated history, but that these errors have naturally arisen by examining the sloth in those places where nature never intended that he should be exhibited. however, we are now in his own domain. man but little frequents these thick and noble forests, which extend far and wide on every side of us. this, then, is the proper place to go in quest of the sloth. we will first take a near view of him. by obtaining a knowledge of his anatomy we shall be enabled to account for his movements hereafter, when we see him in his proper haunts. his fore-legs, or, more correctly speaking, his arms, are apparently much too long, while his hind-legs are very short, and look as if they could be bent almost to the shape of a corkscrew. both the fore-and hind-legs, by their form and by the manner in which they are joined to the body, are quite incapacitated from acting in a perpendicular direction, or in supporting it on the earth, as the bodies of other quadrupeds are supported by their legs. hence, when you place him on the floor, his belly touches the ground. now, granted that he supported himself on his legs like other animals, nevertheless he would be in pain, for he has no soles to his feet, and his claws are very sharp and long and curved; so that were his body supported by his feet, it would be by their extremities, just as your body would be were you to throw yourself on all-fours and try to support it on the ends of your toes and fingers--a trying position. were the floor of glass, or of a polished surface, the sloth would actually be quite stationary; but as the ground is generally rough, with little protuberances upon it, such as stones, or roots of grass, etc., this just suits the sloth, and he moves his fore-legs in all directions, in order to find something to lay hold of; and when he has succeeded he pulls himself forward, and is thus enabled to travel onwards, but at the same time in so tardy and awkward a manner as to acquire him the name of sloth. indeed his looks and his gestures evidently betray his uncomfortable situation: and as a sigh every now and then escapes him, we may be entitled to conclude that he is actually in pain. some years ago i kept a sloth in my room for several months. i often took him out of the house and placed him upon the ground, in order to have an opportunity of observing his motions. if the ground were rough, he would pull himself forwards by means of his fore-legs at a pretty good pace, and he invariably immediately shaped his course towards the nearest tree. but if i put him upon a smooth and well-trodden part of the road, he appeared to be in trouble and distress. his favourite abode was the back of a chair and, after getting all his legs in a line upon the topmost part of it, he would hang there for hours together, and often with a low and inward cry would seem to invite me to take notice of him. the sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole life in trees, and never leaves them but through force or by accident. an all-ruling providence has ordered man to tread on the surface of the earth, the eagle to soar in the expanse of the skies, and the monkey and squirrel to inhabit the trees: still these may change their relative situations without feeling much inconvenience; but the sloth is doomed to spend his whole life in the trees, and, what is more extraordinary, not _upon_ the branches, like the squirrel and the monkey, but _under_ them. he moves suspended from the branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps suspended from it. to enable him to do this he must have a very different formation from that of any other known quadruped. hence his seemingly bungled conformation is at once accounted for; and in lieu of the sloth leading a painful life, and entailing a melancholy and miserable existence on its progeny, it is but fair to surmise that it just enjoys life as much as any other animal, and that its extraordinary formation and singular habits are but further proofs to engage us to admire the wonderful works of omnipotence. it must be observed that the sloth does not hang head-downwards like the vampire. when asleep he supports himself from a branch parallel to the earth. he first seizes the branch with one arm, and then with the other; and after that brings up both his legs, one by one, to the same branch; so that all four are in a line: he seems perfectly at rest in this position. now had he a tail, he would be at a loss to know what to do with it in this position: were he to draw it up within his legs it would interfere with them, and were he to let it hang down it would become the sport of the winds. thus his deficiency of tail is a benefit to him; it is merely an apology for a tail, scarcely exceeding an inch and a half in length. i observed, when he was climbing, he never used his arms both together, but first one and then the other, and so on alternately. there is a singularity in his hair, different from that of all other animals, and, i believe, hitherto unnoticed by naturalists. his hair is thick and coarse at the extremity, and gradually tapers to the root, where it becomes fine as a spider's web. his fur has so much the hue of the moss which grows on the branches of the trees that it is very difficult to make him out when he is at rest. the male of the three-toed sloth has a longitudinal bar of very fine black hair on his back, rather lower than the shoulder-blades; on each side of this black bar there is a space of yellow hair, equally fine; it has the appearance of being pressed into the body, and looks exactly as if it had been singed. if we examine the anatomy of his fore-legs, we shall immediately perceive by their firm and muscular texture how very capable they are of supporting the pendent weight of his body, both in climbing and at rest; and, instead of pronouncing them a bungled composition, as a celebrated naturalist has done, we shall consider them as remarkably well calculated to perform their extraordinary functions. as the sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the tropics, where the trees touch each other in the greatest profusion, there seems to be no reason why he should confine himself to one tree alone for food, and entirely strip it of its leaves. during the many years i have ranged the forests i have never seen a tree in such a state of nudity; indeed, i would hazard a conjecture that, by the time the animal had finished the last of the old leaves, there would be a new crop on the part of the tree he had stripped first, ready for him to begin again, so quick is the process of vegetation in these countries. there is a saying amongst the indians that, when the wind blows, the sloth begins to travel. in calm weather he remains tranquil, probably not liking to cling to the brittle extremity of the branches, lest they should break with him in passing from one tree to another; but as soon as the wind rises the branches of the neighbouring trees become interwoven, and then the sloth seizes hold of them and pursues his journey in safety. there is seldom an entire day of calm in these forests. the tradewind generally sets in about ten o'clock in the morning, and thus the sloth may set off after breakfast, and get a considerable way before dinner. he travels at a good round pace; and were you to see him pass from tree to tree, as i have done, you would never think of calling him a sloth. thus it would appear that the different histories we have of this quadruped are erroneous on two accounts: first, that the writers of them, deterred by difficulties and local annoyances, have not paid sufficient attention to him in his native haunts; and secondly, they have described him in a situation in which he was never intended by nature to cut a figure: i mean on the ground. the sloth is as much at a loss to proceed on his journey upon a smooth and level floor as a man would be who had to walk a mile in stilts upon a line of feather-beds. one day, as we were crossing the essequibo, i saw a large two-toed sloth on the ground upon the bank. how he had got there nobody could tell: the indian said he had never surprised a sloth in such a situation before. he would hardly have come there to drink, for both above and below the place the branches of the trees touched the water, and afforded him an easy and safe access to it. be this as it may, though the trees were not above twenty yards from him, he could not make his way through the sand time enough to escape before we landed. as soon as we got up to him he threw himself upon his back, and defended himself in gallant style with his fore-legs. "come, poor fellow," said i to him, "if thou hast got into a hobble to-day, thou shalt not suffer for it. i'll take no advantage of thee in misfortune; the forest is large enough both for thee and me to rove in: go thy ways up above, and enjoy thyself in these endless wilds; it is more than probable thou wilt never have another interview with man. so fare thee well." on saying this, i took a long stick which was lying there, held it for him to hook on, and then conveyed him to a high and stately mora. he ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in about a minute he was almost at the top of the tree. he now went off in a side direction, and caught hold of the branch of a neighbouring tree; he then proceeded towards the heart of the forest. i stood looking on, lost in amazement at his singular mode of progress. i followed him with my eye till the intervening branches closed in betwixt us; and then i lost sight for ever of the two-toed sloth. i was going to add that i never saw a sloth take to his heels in such earnest: but the expression will not do, for the sloth has no heels. that which naturalists have advanced of his being so tenacious of life is perfectly true. i saw the heart of one beat for half an hour after it was taken out of the body. the wourali poison seems to be the only thing that will kill it quickly. on reference to a former part of these wanderings, it will be seen that a poisoned arrow killed the sloth in about ten minutes. so much for this harmless, unoffending animal. he holds a conspicuous place in the catalogue of the animals of the new world. though naturalists have made no mention of what follows, still it is not less true on that account. the sloth is the only quadruped known which spends its whole life from the branch of a tree, suspended by his feet. i have paid uncommon attention to him in his native haunts. the monkey and squirrel will seize a branch with their fore-feet, and pull themselves up, and rest or run upon it; but the sloth, after seizing it, still remains suspended, and suspended moves along under the branch, till he can lay hold of another. whenever i have seen him in his native woods, whether at rest or asleep or on his travels, i have always observed that he was suspended from the branch of a tree. when his form and anatomy are attentively considered, it will appear evident that the sloth cannot be at ease in any situation where his body is higher, or above, his feet. we will now take our leave of him. in the far-extending wilds of guiana the traveller will be astonished at the immense quantity of ants which he perceives on the ground and in the trees. they have nests in the branches four or five times as large as that of the rook; and they have a covered way from them to the ground. in this covered way thousands are perpetually passing and repassing; and if you destroy part of it, they turn to and immediately repair it. other species of ants again have no covered way, but travel exposed to view upon the surface of the earth. you will sometimes see a string of these ants a mile long, each carrying in its mouth, to its nest, a green leaf the size of a sixpence. it is wonderful to observe the order in which they move, and with what pains and labour they surmount the obstructions of the path. the ants have their enemies as well as the rest of animated nature. amongst the foremost of these stand the three species of ant-bears. the smallest is not much larger than a rat; the next is nearly the size of a fox; and the third a stout and powerful animal, measuring about six feet from the snout to the end of the tail. he is the most inoffensive of all animals, and never injures the property of man. he is chiefly found in the inmost recesses of the forest, and seems partial to the low and swampy parts near creeks, where the troely-tree grows. there he goes up and down in quest of ants, of which there is never the least scarcity; so that he soon obtains a sufficient supply of food with very little trouble. he cannot travel fast; man is superior to him in speed. without swiftness to enable him to escape from his enemies, without teeth, the possession of which would assist him in self-defence, and without the power of burrowing in the ground, by which he might conceal himself from his pursuers, he still is capable of ranging through these wilds in perfect safety; nor does he fear the fatal pressure of the serpent's fold or the teeth of the famished jaguar. nature has formed his fore-legs wonderfully thick and strong and muscular, and armed his feet with three tremendous sharp and crooked claws. whenever he seizes an animal with these formidable weapons he hugs it close to his body, and keeps it there till it dies through pressure or through want of food. nor does the ant-bear, in the meantime, suffer much from loss of aliment, as it is a well-known fact that he can go longer without food than, perhaps, any other animal, except the land-tortoise. his skin is of a texture that perfectly resists the bite of a dog; his hinder-parts are protected by thick and shaggy hair, while his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole body. the indians have a great dread of coming in contact with the ant-bear and, after disabling him in the chase, never think of approaching him till he be quite dead. it is perhaps on account of this caution that naturalists have never yet given to the world a true and correct drawing of this singular animal, or described the peculiar position of his fore-feet when he walks or stands. if, in taking a drawing from a dead ant-bear, you judge of the position in which he stands from that of all other terrestrial animals, the sloth excepted, you will be in error. examine only a figure of this animal in books of natural history, or inspect a stuffed specimen in the best museums, and you will see that the fore-claws are just in the same forward attitude as those of a dog, or a common bear when he walks or stands. but this is a distorted and unnatural position, and in life would be a painful and intolerable attitude for the ant-bear. the length and curve of his claws cannot admit of such a position. when he walks or stands his feet have somewhat the appearance of a club-hand. he goes entirely on the outer side of his fore-feet, which are quite bent inwards, the claws collected into a point, and going under the foot. in this position he is quite at ease, while his long claws are disposed of in a manner to render them harmless to him and are prevented from becoming dull and worn, like those of the dog, which would inevitably be the case did their points come in actual contact with the ground; for his claws have not that retractile power which is given to animals of the feline species, by which they are enabled to preserve the sharpness of their claws on the most flinty path. a slight inspection of the fore-feet of the ant-bear will immediately convince you of the mistake artists and naturalists have fallen into by putting his fore-feet in the same position as those of other quadrupeds, for you will perceive that the whole outer side of his foot is not only deprived of hair, but is hard and callous: proof positive of its being in perpetual contact with the ground. now, on the contrary, the inner side of the bottom of his foot is soft and rather hairy. there is another singularity in the anatomy of the ant-bear, i believe as yet unnoticed in the page of natural history. he has two very large glands situated below the root of the tongue. from these is emitted a glutinous liquid, with which his long tongue is lubricated when he puts it into the ants' nests. these glands are of the same substance as those found in the lower jaw of the woodpecker. the secretion from them, when wet, is very clammy and adhesive, but on being dried it loses these qualities, and you can pulverise it betwixt your finger and thumb; so that in dissection, if any of it has got upon the fur of the animal or the feathers of the bird, allow it to dry there, and then it may be removed without leaving the least stain behind. the ant-bear is a pacific animal. he is never the first to begin the attack. his motto may be "noli me tangere." as his habits and his haunts differ materially from those of every other animal in the forest, their interests never clash, and thus he might live to a good old age, and die at last in peace, were it not that his flesh is good food. on this account the indian wages perpetual war against him and, as he cannot escape by flight, he falls an easy prey to the poisoned arrow shot from the indian's bow at a distance. if ever he be closely attacked by dogs, he immediately throws himself on his back, and if he be fortunate enough to catch hold of his enemy with his tremendous claws, the invader is sure to pay for his rashness with the loss of life. we will now take a view of the vampire. as there was a free entrance and exit to the vampire in the loft where i slept, i had many a fine opportunity of paying attention to this nocturnal surgeon. he does not always live on blood. when the moon shone bright, and the fruit of the banana-tree was ripe, i could see him approach and eat it. he would also bring into the loft, from the forest, a green round fruit something like the wild guava and about the size of a nutmeg. there was something also in the blossom of the sawarri nut-tree which was grateful to him, for on coming up waratilla creek, in a moonlight night, i saw several vampires fluttering round the top of the sawarri-tree, and every now and then the blossoms, which they had broken off, fell into the water. they certainly did not drop off naturally, for on examining several of them they appeared quite fresh and blooming. so i concluded the vampires pulled them from the tree either to get at the incipient fruit or to catch the insects which often take up their abode in flowers. the vampire, in general, measures about twenty-six inches from wing to wing extended, though i once killed one which measured thirty-two inches. he frequents old abandoned houses and hollow trees; and sometimes a cluster of them may be seen in the forest hanging head downwards from the branch of a tree. goldsmith seems to have been aware that the vampire hangs in clusters; for in the _deserted village_, speaking of america, he says: and matted woods, where birds forget to sing, but silent bats in drowsy clusters cling. the vampire has a curious membrane which rises from the nose, and gives it a very singular appearance. it has been remarked before that there are two species of vampire in guiana, a larger and a smaller. the larger sucks men and other animals; the smaller seems to confine himself chiefly to birds. i learnt from a gentleman high up in the river demerara that he was completely unsuccessful with his fowls on account of the small vampire. he showed me some that had been sucked the night before, and they were scarcely able to walk. some years ago i went to the river paumaron with a scotch gentleman, by name tarbet. we hung our hammocks in the thatched loft of a planter's house. next morning i heard this gentleman muttering in his hammock, and now and then letting fall an imprecation or two just about the time he ought to have been saying his morning prayers. "what is the matter, sir?" said i softly. "is anything amiss?" "what's the matter?" answered he surlily; "why, the vampires have been sucking me to death." as soon as there was light enough i went to his hammock and saw it much stained with blood. "there," said he, thrusting his foot out of the hammock, "see how these infernal imps have been drawing my life's blood." on examining his foot i found the vampire had tapped his great toe: there was a wound somewhat less than that made by a leech; the blood was still oozing from it; i conjectured he might have lost from ten to twelve ounces of blood. whilst examining it, i think i put him into a worse humour by remarking that a european surgeon would not have been so generous as to have blooded him without making a charge. he looked up in my face, but did not say a word: i saw he was of opinion that i had better have spared this piece of ill-timed levity. it was not the last punishment of this good gentleman in the river paumaron. the next night he was doomed to undergo a kind of ordeal unknown in europe. there is a species of large red ant in guiana sometimes called ranger, sometimes coushie. these ants march in millions through the country in compact order, like a regiment of soldiers: they eat up every insect in their march; and if a house obstruct their route, they do not turn out of the way, but go quite through it. though they sting cruelly when molested, the planter is not sorry to see them in his house, for it is but a passing visit, and they destroy every kind of insect-vermin that has taken shelter under his roof. now in the british plantations of guiana, as well as in europe, there is always a little temple dedicated to the goddess cloacina. our dinner had chiefly consisted of crabs dressed in rich and different ways. paumaron is famous for crabs, and strangers who go thither consider them the greatest luxury. the scotch gentleman made a very capital dinner on crabs; but this change of diet was productive of unpleasant circumstances: he awoke in the night in that state in which virgil describes caeleno to have been, viz. "faedissima ventris proluvies." up he got to verify the remark: serius aut citius, sedem properamus ad unam. now, unluckily for himself and the nocturnal tranquillity of the planter's house, just at that unfortunate hour the coushie-ants were passing across the seat of cloacina's temple. he had never dreamed of this; and so, turning his face to the door, he placed himself in the usual situation which the votaries of the goddess generally take. had a lighted match dropped upon a pound of gunpowder, as he afterwards remarked, it could not have caused a greater recoil. up he jumped and forced his way out, roaring for help and for a light, for he was worried alive by ten thousand devils. the fact is he had sat down upon an intervening body of coushie-ants. many of those which escaped being crushed to death turned again, and in revenge stung the unintentional intruder most severely. the watchman had fallen asleep, and it was some time before a light could be procured, the fire having gone out; in the meantime the poor gentleman was suffering an indescribable martyrdom, and would have found himself more at home in the augean stable than in the planter's house. i had often wished to have been once sucked by the vampire in order that i might have it in my power to say it had really happened to me. there can be no pain in the operation, for the patient is always asleep when the vampire is sucking him; and as for the loss of a few ounces of blood, that would be a trifle in the long run. many a night have i slept with my foot out of the hammock to tempt this winged surgeon, expecting that he would be there, but it was all in vain; the vampire never sucked me, and i could never account for his not doing so, for we were inhabitants of the same loft for months together. the armadillo is very common in these forests; he burrows in the sandhills like a rabbit. as it often takes a considerable time to dig him out of his hole, it would be a long and laborious business to attack each hole indiscriminately without knowing whether the animal were there or not. to prevent disappointment the indians carefully examine the mouth of the hole, and put a short stick down it. now if, on introducing the stick, a number of mosquitos come out, the indians know to a certainty that the armadillo is in it: whenever there are no mosquitos in the hole there is no armadillo. the indian having satisfied himself that the armadillo is there by the mosquitos which come out, he immediately cuts a long and slender stick and introduces it into the hole. he carefully observes the line the stick takes, and then sinks a pit in the sand to catch the end of it: this done, he puts it farther into the hole, and digs another pit, and so on, till at last he comes up with the armadillo, which had been making itself a passage in the sand till it had exhausted all its strength through pure exertion. i have been sometimes three-quarters of a day in digging out one armadillo, and obliged to sink half a dozen pits seven feet deep before i got up to it. the indians and negroes are very fond of the flesh, but i considered it strong and rank. on laying hold of the armadillo you must be cautious not to come in contact with his feet: they are armed with sharp claws, and with them he will inflict a severe wound in self-defence. when not molested he is very harmless and innocent: he would put you in mind of the hare in gay's fables: whose care was never to offend, and every creature was her friend. the armadillo swims well in time of need, but does not go into the water by choice. he is very seldom seen abroad during the day; and when surprised, he is sure to be near the mouth of his hole. every part of the armadillo is well protected by his shell, except his ears. in life this shell is very limber, so that the animal is enabled to go at full stretch or roll himself up into a ball, as occasion may require. on inspecting the arrangement of the shell, it puts you very much in mind of a coat of armour; indeed, it is a natural coat of armour to the armadillo, and being composed both of scale and bone it affords ample security, and has a pleasing effect. often, when roving in the wilds, i would fall in with the land-tortoise; he too adds another to the list of unoffending animals. he subsists on the fallen fruits of the forest. when an enemy approaches he never thinks of moving, but quietly draws himself under his shell and there awaits his doom in patience. he only seems to have two enemies who can do him any damage: one of these is the boa-constrictor--this snake swallows the tortoise alive, shell and all. but a boa large enough to do this is very scarce, and thus there is not much to apprehend from that quarter. the other enemy is man, who takes up the tortoise and carries him away. man also is scarce in these never-ending wilds, and the little depredations he may commit upon the tortoise will be nothing, or a mere trifle. the tiger's teeth cannot penetrate its shell, nor can a stroke of his paws do it any damage. it is of so compact and strong a nature that there is a common saying, a london waggon might roll over it and not break it. ere we proceed, let us take a retrospective view of the five animals just enumerated: they are all quadrupeds, and have some very particular mark or mode of existence different from all other animals. the sloth has four feet, but never can use them to support his body on the earth: they want soles, which are a marked feature in the feet of other animals. the ant-bear has not a tooth in his head, still he roves fearless on in the same forests with the jaguar and boa-constrictor. the vampire does not make use of his feet to walk, but to stretch a membrane which enables him to go up into an element where no other quadruped is seen. the armadillo has only here and there a straggling hair, and has neither fur nor wool nor bristles, but in lieu of them has received a movable shell on which are scales very much like those of fishes. the tortoise is oviparous, entirely without any appearance of hair, and is obliged to accommodate itself to a shell which is quite hard and inflexible, and in no point of view whatever obedient to the will or pleasure of the bearer. the egg of the tortoise has a very hard shell, while that of the turtle is quite soft. in some parts of these forests i saw the vanilla growing luxuriantly. it creeps up the trees to the height of thirty or forty feet. i found it difficult to get a ripe pod, as the monkeys are very fond of it, and generally took care to get there before me. the pod hangs from the tree in the shape of a little scabbard. _vayna_ is the spanish for a scabbard, and _vanilla_ for a little scabbard. hence the name. in mibiri creek there was a cayman of the small species, measuring about five feet in length; i saw it in the same place for months, but could never get a shot at it, for, the moment i thought i was sure of it, it dived under the water before i could pull the trigger. at last i got an indian with his bow and arrow: he stood up in the canoe with his bow ready bent, and as we drifted past the place he sent his arrow into the cayman's eye, and killed it dead. the skin of this little species is much harder and stronger than that of the large kind; it is good food, and tastes like veal. my friend mr. edmonstone had very kindly let me have one of his old negroes, and he constantly attended me: his name was daddy quashi. he had a brave stomach for heterogeneous food; it could digest and relish, too, caymen, monkeys, hawks and grubs. the daddy made three or four meals on this cayman while it was not absolutely putrid, and salted the rest. i could never get him to face a snake; the horror he betrayed on seeing one was beyond description. i asked him why he was so terribly alarmed. he said it was by seeing so many dogs from time to time killed by them. here i had a fine opportunity of examining several species of the caprimulgus. i am fully persuaded that these innocent little birds never suck the herds, for when they approach them, and jump up at their udders, it is to catch the flies and insects there. when the moon shone bright i would frequently go and stand within three yards of a cow, and distinctly see the caprimulgus catch the flies on its udder. on looking for them in the forest during the day, i either found them on the ground, or else invariably sitting _longitudinally_ on the branch of a tree, not _crosswise_, like all other birds. the wasps, or maribuntas, are great plagues in these forests, and require the naturalist to be cautious as he wanders up and down. some make their nests pendent from the branches; others have them fixed to the underside of a leaf. now, in passing on, if you happen to disturb one of these, they sally forth and punish you severely. the largest kind is blue: it brings blood where its sting enters, and causes pain and inflammation enough to create a fever. the indians make a fire under the nest, and, after killing or driving away the old ones, they roast the young grubs in the comb and eat them. i tried them once by way of dessert after dinner, but my stomach was offended at their intrusion; probably it was more the idea than the taste that caused the stomach to rebel. time and experience have convinced me that there is not much danger in roving amongst snakes and wild beasts, provided only that you have self-command. you must never approach them abruptly; if so, you are sure to pay for your rashness, because the idea of self-defence is predominant in every animal, and thus the snake, to defend himself from what he considers an attack upon him, makes the intruder feel the deadly effect of his poisonous fangs. the jaguar flies at you, and knocks you senseless with a stroke of his paw; whereas, if you had not come upon him too suddenly, it is ten to one but that he had retired in lieu of disputing the path with you. the labarri-snake is very poisonous, and i have often approached within two yards of him without fear. i took care to move very softly and gently, without moving my arms, and he always allowed me to have a fine view of him without showing the least inclination to make a spring at me. he would appear to keep his eye fixed on me as though suspicious, but that was all. sometimes i have taken a stick ten feet long and placed it on the labarri's back. he would then glide away without offering resistance. but when i put the end of the stick abruptly to his head, he immediately opened his mouth, flew at it, and bit it. one day, wishful to see how the poison comes out of the fang of the snake, i caught a labarri alive. he was about eight feet long. i held him by the neck, and my hand was so near his jaw that he had not room to move his head to bite it. this was the only position i could have held him in with safety and effect. to do so it only required a little resolution and coolness. i then took a small piece of stick in the other hand and pressed it against the fang, which is invariably in the upper jaw. towards the point of the fang there is a little oblong aperture on the convex side of it. through this there is a communication down the fang to the root, at which lies a little bag containing the poison. now, when the point of the fang is pressed, the root of the fang also presses against the bag, and sends up a portion of the poison therein contained. thus, when i applied a piece of stick to the point of the fang, there came out of the hole a liquor thick and yellow, like strong camomile-tea. this was the poison which is so dreadful in its effects as to render the labarri-snake one of the most poisonous in the forests of guiana. i once caught a fine labarri and made it bite itself. i forced the poisonous fang into its belly. in a few minutes i thought it was going to die, for it appeared dull and heavy. however, in half an hour's time he was as brisk and vigorous as ever, and in the course of the day showed no symptoms of being affected. is then the life of the snake proof against its own poison? this subject is not unworthy of the consideration of the naturalist. in guiana there is a little insect in the grass and on the shrubs which the french call bête-rouge. it is of a beautiful scarlet colour, and so minute that you must bring your eye close to it before you can perceive it. it is most numerous in the rainy season. its bite causes an intolerable itching. the best way to get rid of it is to rub the part affected with oil or rum. you must be careful not to scratch it. if you do so, and break the skin, you expose yourself to a sore. the first year i was in guiana the bête-rouge and my own want of knowledge, and, i may add, the little attention i paid to it, created an ulcer above the ankle which annoyed me for six months, and if i hobbled out into the grass a number of bête-rouge would settle on the edges of the sore and increase the inflammation. still more inconvenient, painful and annoying is another little pest called the chegoe. it looks exactly like a very small flea, and a stranger would take it for one. however, in about four and twenty hours he would have several broad hints that he had made a mistake in his ideas of the animal. it attacks different parts of the body, but chiefly the feet, betwixt the toe-nails and the flesh. there it buries itself, and at first causes an itching not unpleasant. in a day or so, after examining the part, you perceive a place about the size of a pea, somewhat discoloured, rather of a blue appearance. sometimes it happens that the itching is so trivial, you are not aware that the miner is at work. time, they say, makes great discoveries. the discoloured part turns out to be the nest of the chegoe, containing hundreds of eggs, which, if allowed to hatch there, the young ones will soon begin to form other nests, and in time cause a spreading ulcer. as soon as you perceive that you have got the chegoe in your flesh, you must take a needle or a sharp-pointed knife and take it out. if the nest be formed, great care must be taken not to break it, otherwise some of the eggs remain in the flesh, and then you will soon be annoyed with more chegoes. after removing the nest it is well to drop spirit of turpentine into the hole: that will most effectually destroy any chegoe that may be lurking there. sometimes i have taken four nests out of my feet in the course of the day. every evening, before sundown, it was part of my toilette to examine my feet and see that they were clear of chegoes. now and then a nest would escape the scrutiny, and then i had to smart for it a day or two after. a chegoe once lit upon the back of my hand; wishful to see how he worked, i allowed him to take possession. he immediately set to work, head foremost, and in about half an hour he had completely buried himself in the skin. i then let him feel the point of my knife, and exterminated him. more than once, after sitting down upon a rotten stump, i have found myself covered with ticks. there is a short and easy way to get quit of these unwelcome adherents. make a large fire and stand close to it, and if you be covered with ticks they will all fall off. let us now forget for awhile the quadrupeds, serpents and insects, and take a transitory view of the native indians of these forests. there are five principal nations or tribes of indians in _ci-devant_ dutch guiana, commonly known by the name of warow, arowack, acoway, carib and macoushi. they live in small hamlets, which consist of a few huts, never exceeding twelve in number. these huts are always in the forest, near a river or some creek. they are open on all sides (except those of the macoushi), and covered with a species of palm-leaf. their principal furniture is the hammock. it serves them both for chair and bed. it is commonly made of cotton; though those of the warows are formed from the æta-tree. at night they always make a fire close to it. the heat keeps them warm, and the smoke drives away the mosquitos and sand-flies. you sometimes find a table in the hut; but it was not made by the indians, but by some negro or mulatto carpenter. they cut down about an acre or two of the trees which surround the huts, and there plant pepper, papaws, sweet and bitter cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes, yams, pine-apples and silk-grass. besides these, they generally have a few acres in some fertile part of the forest for their cassava, which is as bread to them. they make earthen pots to boil their provisions in; and they get from the white men flat circular plates of iron on which they bake their cassava. they have to grate the cassava before it is pressed preparatory to baking; and those indians who are too far in the wilds to procure graters from the white men make use of a flat piece of wood studded with sharp stones. they have no cows, horses, mules, goats, sheep or asses. the men hunt and fish, and the women work in the provision-ground and cook their victuals. in each hamlet there is the trunk of a large tree hollowed out like a trough. in this, from their cassava, they make an abominable ill-tasted and sour kind of fermented liquor called piwarri. they are very fond of it, and never fail to get drunk after every brewing. the frequency of the brewing depends upon the superabundance of cassava. both men and women go without clothes. the men have a cotton wrapper, and the women a bead-ornamented square piece of cotton about the size of your hand for the fig-leaf. those far away in the interior use the bark of a tree for this purpose. they are a very clean people, and wash in the river or creek at least twice every day. they paint themselves with the roucou, sweetly perfumed with hayawa or accaiari. their hair is black and lank, and never curled. the women braid it up fancifully, something in the shape of diana's head-dress in ancient pictures. they have very few diseases. old age and pulmonary complaints seem to be the chief agents for removing them to another world. the pulmonary complaints are generally brought on by a severe cold, which they do not know how to arrest in its progress by the use of the lancet. i never saw an idiot amongst them, nor could i perceive any that were deformed from their birth. their women never perish in childbed, owing, no doubt, to their never wearing stays. they have no public religious ceremony. they acknowledge two superior beings--a good one and a bad one. they pray to the latter not to hurt them, and they are of opinion that the former is too good to do the man injury. i suspect, if the truth were known, the individuals of the village never offer up a single prayer or ejaculation. they have a kind of a priest called a pee-ay-man, who is an enchanter. he finds out things lost. he mutters prayers to the evil spirit over them and their children when they are sick. if a fever be in the village, the pee-ay-man goes about all night long howling and making dreadful noises, and begs the bad spirit to depart. but he has very seldom to perform this part of his duty, as fevers seldom visit the indian hamlets. however, when a fever does come, and his incantations are of no avail, which i imagine is most commonly the case, they abandon the place for ever and make a new settlement elsewhere. they consider the owl and the goat-sucker as familiars of the evil spirit, and never destroy them. i could find no monuments or marks of antiquity amongst these indians; so that, after penetrating to the rio branco from the shores of the western ocean, had anybody questioned me on this subject i should have answered, i have seen nothing amongst these indians which tells me that they have existed here for a century; though, for aught i know to the contrary, they may have been here before the redemption, but their total want of civilisation has assimilated them to the forests in which they wander. thus an aged tree falls and moulders into dust and you cannot tell what was its appearance, its beauties, or its diseases amongst the neighbouring trees; another has shot up in its place, and after nature has had her course it will make way for a successor in its turn. so it is with the indian of guiana. he is now laid low in the dust; he has left no record behind him, either on parchment or on a stone or in earthenware to say what he has done. perhaps the place where his buried ruins lie was unhealthy, and the survivors have left it long ago and gone far away into the wilds. all that you can say is, the trees where i stand appear lower and smaller than the rest, and from this i conjecture that some indians may have had a settlement here formerly. were i by chance to meet the son of the father who moulders here, he could tell me that his father was famous for slaying tigers and serpents and caymen, and noted in the chase of the tapir and wild boar, but that he remembers little or nothing of his grandfather. they are very jealous of their liberty, and much attached to their own mode of living. though those in the neighbourhood of the european settlements have constant communication with the whites, they have no inclination to become civilised. some indians who have accompanied white men to europe, on returning to their own land have thrown off their clothes and gone back into the forests. in georgetown, the capital of demerara, there is a large shed, open on all sides, built for them by order of government. hither the indians come with monkeys, parrots, bows and arrows, and pegalls. they sell these to the white men for money, and too often purchase rum with it, to which they are wonderfully addicted. government allows them annual presents in order to have their services when the colony deems it necessary to scour the forests in quest of runaway negroes. formerly these expeditions were headed by charles edmonstone, esq., now of cardross park, near dumbarton. this brave colonist never returned from the woods without being victorious. once, in an attack upon the rebel-negroes' camp, he led the way and received two balls in his body; at the same moment that he was wounded two of his indians fell dead by his side; he recovered, after his life was despaired of, but the balls could never be extracted. since the above appeared in print i have had the account of this engagement with the negroes in the forest from mr. edmonstone's own mouth. he received four slugs in his body, as will be seen in the sequel. the plantations of demerara and essequibo are bounded by an almost interminable extent of forest. hither the runaway negroes repair, and form settlements from whence they issue to annoy the colonists, as occasion may offer. in the runaway slaves had increased to an alarming extent. the governor gave orders that an expedition should be immediately organised and proceed to the woods under the command of charles edmonstone, esq. general hislop sent him a corporal, a sergeant and eleven men, and he was joined by a part of the colonial militia and by sixty indians. with this force mr. edmonstone entered the forest and proceeded in a direction towards mahaica. he marched for eight days through swamps and over places obstructed by fallen trees and the bush-rope; tormented by myriads of mosquitos, and ever in fear of treading on the poisonous snakes which can scarcely be distinguished from the fallen leaves. at last he reached a wooded sandhill, where the maroons had entrenched themselves in great force. not expecting to come so soon upon them, mr. edmonstone, his faithful man coffee and two indian chiefs found themselves considerably ahead of their own party. as yet they were unperceived by the enemy, but unfortunately one of the indian chiefs fired a random shot at a distant maroon. immediately the whole negro camp turned out and formed themselves in a crescent in front of mr. edmonstone. their chief was an uncommonly fine negro, above six feet in height; and his head-dress was that of an african warrior, ornamented with a profusion of small shells. he advanced undauntedly with his gun in his hand, and, in insulting language, called out to mr. edmonstone to come on and fight him. mr. edmonstone approached him slowly in order to give his own men time to come up; but they were yet too far off for him to profit by this manoeuvre. coffee, who carried his master's gun, now stepped up behind him, and put the gun into his hand, which mr. edmonstone received without advancing it to his shoulder. he was now within a few yards of the maroon chief, who seemed to betray some symptoms of uncertainty, for, instead of firing directly at mr. edmonstone, he took a step sideways, and rested his gun against a tree; no doubt with the intention of taking a surer aim. mr. edmonstone, on perceiving this, immediately cocked his gun and fired it off, still holding it in the position in which he had received it from coffee. the whole of the contents entered the negro's body, and he dropped dead on his face. the negroes, who had formed in a crescent, now in their turn fired a volley, which brought mr. edmonstone and his two indian chiefs to the ground. the maroons did not stand to reload, but, on mr. edmonstone's party coming up, they fled precipitately into the surrounding forest. four slugs had entered mr. edmonstone's body. after coming to himself, on looking around he saw one of the fallen indian chiefs bleeding by his side. he accosted him by name and said he hoped he was not much hurt. the dying indian had just strength enough to answer, "oh no,"--and then expired. the other chief was lying quite dead. he must have received his mortal wound just as he was in the act of cocking his gun to fire on the negroes; for it appeared that the ball which gave him his death-wound had carried off the first joint of his thumb and passed through his forehead. by this time his wife, who had accompanied the expedition, came up. she was a fine young woman, and had her long black hair fancifully braided in a knot on the top of her head, fastened with a silver ornament. she unloosed it, and, falling on her husband's body, covered it with her hair, bewailing his untimely end with the most heart-rending cries. the blood was now running out of mr. edmonstone's shoes. on being raised up, he ordered his men to pursue the flying maroons, requesting at the same time that he might be left where he had fallen, as he felt that he was mortally wounded. they gently placed him on the ground, and, after the pursuit of the maroons had ended, the corporal and sergeant returned to their commander and formed their men. on his asking what this meant, the sergeant replied, "i had the general's orders, on setting out from town, not to leave you in the forest, happen what might." by slow and careful marches, as much as the obstructions in the woods would admit of, the party reached plantation alliance, on the bank of the demerara, and from thence it crossed the river to plantation vredestein. the news of the rencounter had been spread far and wide by the indians, and had already reached town. the general, captains macrai and johnstone and doctor dunkin proceeded to vredestein. on examining mr. edmonstone's wounds, four slugs were found to have entered the body: one was extracted, the rest remained there till the year , when another was cut out by a professional gentleman of port glasgow. the other two still remain in the body; and it is supposed that either one or both have touched a nerve, as they cause almost continual pain. mr. edmonstone has commanded fifteen different expeditions in the forest in quest of the maroons. the colonial government has requited his services by freeing his property from all taxes and presenting him a handsome sword and a silver urn, bearing the following inscription: presented to charles edmonstone, esq., by the governor and court of policy of the colony of demerara, as a token of their esteem and the deep sense they entertain of the very great activity and spirit manifested by him, on various occasions, in his successful exertions for the internal security of the colony. --_january st, _. i do not believe that there is a single indian in _ci-devant_ dutch guiana who can read or write, nor am i aware that any white man has reduced their language to the rules of grammar; some may have made a short manuscript vocabulary of the few necessary words, but that is all. here and there a white man, and some few people of colour, talk the language well. the temper of the indian of guiana is mild and gentle, and he is very fond of his children. some ignorant travellers and colonists call these indians a lazy race. man in general will not be active without an object. now when the indian has caught plenty of fish, and killed game enough to last him for a week, what need has he to range the forest? he has no idea of making pleasure-grounds. money is of no use to him, for in these wilds there are no markets for him to frequent, nor milliners' shops for his wife and daughters; he has no taxes to pay, no highways to keep up, no poor to maintain, nor army nor navy to supply; he lies in his hammock both night and day (for he has no chair or bed, neither does he want them), and in it he forms his bow and makes his arrows and repairs his fishing-tackle. but as soon as he has consumed his provisions, he then rouses himself and, like the lion, scours the forest in quest of food. he plunges into the river after the deer and tapir, and swims across it; passes through swamps and quagmires, and never fails to obtain a sufficient supply of food. should the approach of night stop his career while he is hunting the wild boar, he stops for the night and continues the chase the next morning. in my way through the wilds to the portuguese frontier i had a proof of this: we were eight in number, six indians, a negro and myself. about ten o'clock in the morning we observed the feet-mark of the wild boars; we judged by the freshness of the marks that they had passed that way early the same morning. as we were not gifted, like the hound, with scent, and as we had no dog with us, we followed their track by the eye. the indian after game is as sure with his eye as the dog is with his nose. we followed the herd till three in the afternoon, then gave up the chase for the present, made our fires close to a creek where there was plenty of fish, and then arranged the hammocks. in an hour the indians shot more fish with their arrows than we could consume. the night was beautifully serene and clear, and the moon shone as bright as day. next morn we rose at dawn, got breakfast, packed up, each took his burden, and then we put ourselves on the track of the wild boars which we had been following the day before. we supposed that they too would sleep that night in the forest, as we had done; and thus the delay on our part would be no disadvantage to us. this was just the case, for about nine o'clock their feet-marks became fresher and fresher: we now doubled, our pace, but did not give mouth like hounds. we pushed on in silence, and soon came up with them: there were above one hundred of them. we killed six and the rest took off in different directions. but to the point. amongst us the needy man works from light to dark for a maintenance. should this man chance to acquire a fortune, he soon changes his habits. no longer under "strong necessity's supreme command," he contrives to get out of bed betwixt nine and ten in the morning. his servant helps him to dress, he walks on a soft carpet to his breakfast-table, his wife pours out his tea, and his servant hands him his toast. after breakfast the doctor advises a little gentle exercise in the carriage for an hour or so. at dinner-time he sits down to a table groaning beneath the weight of heterogeneous luxury: there he rests upon a chair for three or four hours, eats, drinks and talks (often unmeaningly) till tea is announced. he proceeds slowly to the drawing-room, and there spends best part of his time in sitting, till his wife tempts him with something warm for supper. after supper he still remains on his chair at rest till he retires to rest for the night. he mounts leisurely upstairs upon a carpet, and enters his bedroom: there, one would hope that at least he mutters a prayer or two, though perhaps not on bended knee. he then lets himself drop in to a soft and downy bed, over which has just passed the comely jenny's warming-pan. now, could the indian in his turn see this, he would call the white men a lazy, indolent set. perhaps, then, upon due reflection you would draw this conclusion: that men will always be indolent where there is no object to rouse them. as the indian of guiana has no idea whatever of communicating his intentions by writing, he has fallen upon a plan of communication sure and simple. when two or three families have determined to come down the river and pay you a visit, they send an indian beforehand with a string of beads. you take one bead off every day, and on the day that the string is beadless they arrive at your house. in finding their way through these pathless wilds the sun is to them what ariadne's clue was to theseus. when he is on the meridian they generally sit down, and rove onwards again as soon as he has sufficiently declined to the west; they require no other compass. when in chase, they break a twig on the bushes as they pass by, every three or four hundred paces, and this often prevents them from losing their way on their return. you will not be long in the forests of guiana before you perceive how very thinly they are inhabited. you may wander for a week together without seeing a hut. the wild beasts, snakes, the swamps, the trees, the uncurbed luxuriance of everything around you conspire to inform you that man has no habitation here--man has seldom passed this way. let us now return to natural history. there was a person making shingles with twenty or thirty negroes not far from mibiri hill. i had offered a reward to any of them who would find a good-sized snake in the forest and come and let me know where it was. often had these negroes looked for a large snake, and as often been disappointed. one sunday morning i met one of them in the forest, and asked him which way he was going: he said he was going towards waratilla creek to hunt an armadillo; and he had his little dog with him. on coming back, about noon, the dog began to bark at the root of a large tree which had been upset by the whirlwind and was lying there in a gradual state of decay. the negro said he thought his dog was barking at an acouri which had probably taken refuge under the tree, and he went up with an intention to kill it; he there saw a snake, and hastened back to inform me of it. the sun had just passed the meridian in a cloudless sky; there was scarcely a bird to be seen, for the winged inhabitants of the forest, as though overcome by heat, had retired to the thickest shade: all would have been like midnight silence were it not for the shrill voice of the pi-pi-yo, every now and then resounded from a distant tree. i was sitting with a little horace in my hand, on what had once been the steps which formerly led up to the now mouldering and dismantled building. the negro and his little dog came down the hill in haste, and i was soon informed that a snake had been discovered; but it was a young one, called the bush-master, a rare and poisonous snake. i instantly rose up, and laying hold of the eight-foot lance which was close by me, "well, then, daddy," said i, "we'll go and have a look at the snake." i was barefoot, with an old hat, and check shirt, and trousers on, and a pair of braces to keep them up. the negro had his cutlass, and as we ascended the hill another negro, armed with a cutlass, joined us, judging from our pace that there was something to do. the little dog came along with us, and when we had got about half a mile in the forest the negro stopped and pointed to the fallen tree: all was still and silent. i told the negroes not to stir from the place where they were, and keep the little dog in, and that i would go in and reconnoitre. i advanced up to the place slow and cautious. the snake was well concealed, but at last i made him out; it was a coulacanara, not poisonous, but large enough to have crushed any of us to death. on measuring him afterwards he was something more than fourteen feet long. this species of snake is very rare, and much thicker in proportion to his length than any other snake in the forest. a coulacanara of fourteen feet in length is as thick as a common boa of twenty-four. after skinning this snake i could easily get my head into his mouth, as the singular formation of the jaws admits of wonderful extension. a dutch friend of mine, by name brouwer, killed a boa twenty-two feet long with a pair of stag's horns in his mouth. he had swallowed the stag, but could not get the horns down; so he had to wait in patience with that uncomfortable mouthful till his stomach digested the body, and then the horns would drop out. in this plight the dutchman found him as he was going in his canoe up the river, and sent a ball through his head. on ascertaining the size of the serpent which the negro had just found, i retired slowly the way i came, and promised four dollars to the negro who had shown it to me, and one to the other who had joined us. aware that the day was on the decline, and that the approach of night would be detrimental to the dissection, a thought struck me that i could take him alive. i imagined if i could strike him with the lance behind the head, and pin him to the ground, i might succeed in capturing him. when i told this to the negroes they begged and entreated me to let them go for a gun and bring more force, as they were sure the snake would kill some of us. i had been at the siege of troy for nine years, and it would not do now to carry back to greece "nil decimo nisi dedecus anno." i mean i had been in search of a large serpent for years, and now having come up with one it did not become me to turn soft. so, taking a cutlass from one of the negroes, and then ranging both the sable slaves behind me, i told them to follow me, and that i would cut them down if they offered to fly. i smiled as i said this, but they shook their heads in silence and seemed to have but a bad heart of it. when we got up to the place the serpent had not stirred, but i could see nothing of his head, and i judged by the folds of his body that it must be at the farthest side of his den. a species of woodbine had formed a complete mantle over the branches of the fallen tree, almost impervious to the rain or the rays of the sun. probably he had resorted to this sequestered place for a length of time, as it bore marks of an ancient settlement. i now took my knife, determining to cut away the woodbine and break the twigs in the gentlest manner possible, till i could get a view of his head. one negro stood guard close behind me with the lance; and near him the other with a cutlass. the cutlass which i had taken from the first negro was on the ground close by me in case of need. after working in dead silence for a quarter of an hour, with one knee all the time on the ground, i had cleared away enough to see his head. it appeared coming out betwixt the first and second coil of his body, and was flat on the ground. this was the very position i wished it to be in. i rose in silence and retreated very slowly, making a sign to the negroes to do the same. the dog was sitting at a distance in mute observance. i could now read in the face of the negroes that they considered this as a very unpleasant affair; and they made another attempt to persuade me to let them go for a gun. i smiled in a good-natured manner, and made a feint to cut them down with the weapon i had in my hand. this was all the answer i made to their request, and they looked very uneasy. it must be observed we were now about twenty yards from the snake's den. i now ranged the negroes behind me, and told him who stood next to me to lay hold of the lance the moment i struck the snake, and that the other must attend my movements. it now only remained to take their cutlasses from them, for i was sure if i did not disarm them they would be tempted to strike the snake in time of danger, and thus for ever spoil his skin. on taking their cutlasses from them, if i might judge from their physiognomy, they seemed to consider it as a most intolerable act of tyranny in me. probably nothing kept them from bolting but the consolation that i was to be betwixt them and the snake. indeed, my own heart, in spite of all i could do, beat quicker than usual; and i felt those sensations which one has on board a merchant-vessel in war-time, when the captain orders all hands on deck to prepare for action, while a strange vessel is coming down upon us under suspicious colours. we went slowly on in silence without moving our arms or heads, in order to prevent all alarm as much as possible, lest the snake should glide off or attack us in self-defence. i carried the lance perpendicularly before me, with the point about a foot from the ground. the snake had not moved; and on getting up to him i struck him with the lance on the near-side, just behind the neck, and pinned him to the ground. that moment the negro next to me seized the lance and held it firm in its place, while i dashed head foremost into the den to grapple with the snake and to get hold of his tail before he could do any mischief. on pinning him to the ground with the lance he gave a tremendous loud hiss, and the little dog ran away, howling as he went. we had a sharp fray in the den, the rotten sticks flying on all sides, and each party struggling for superiority. i called out to the second negro to throw himself upon me, as i found i was not heavy enough. he did so, and the additional weight was of great service. i had now got firm hold of his tail; and after a violent struggle or two he gave in, finding himself overpowered. this was the moment to secure him. so while the first negro continued to hold the lance firm to the ground, and the other was helping me, i contrived to unloose my braces and with them tied up the snake's mouth. the snake, now finding himself in an unpleasant situation, tried to better himself, and set resolutely to work, but we overpowered him. we contrived to make him twist himself round the shaft of the lance, and then prepared to convey him out of the forest. i stood at his head and held it firm under my arm, one negro supported the belly and the other the tail. in this order we began to move slowly towards home, and reached it after resting ten times: for the snake was too heavy for us to support him without stopping to recruit our strength. as we proceeded onwards with him he fought hard for freedom, but it was all in vain. the day was now too far spent to think of dissecting him. had i killed him, a partial putrefaction would have taken place before morning. i had brought with me up into the forest a strong bag large enough to contain any animal that i should want to dissect. i considered this the best mode of keeping live wild animals when i was pressed for daylight; for the bag yielding in every direction to their efforts, they would have nothing solid or fixed to work on, and thus would be prevented from making a hole through it. i say fixed, for after the mouth of the bag was closed the bag itself was not fastened or tied to anything, but moved about wherever the animal inside caused it to roll. after securing afresh the mouth of the coulacanara, so that he could not open it, he was forced into this bag and left to his fate till morning. i cannot say he allowed me to have a quiet night. my hammock was in the loft just above him, and the floor betwixt us half gone to decay, so that in parts of it no boards intervened betwixt his lodging-room and mine. he was very restless and fretful; and had medusa been my wife, there could not have been more continued and disagreeable hissing in the bed-chamber that night. at daybreak i sent to borrow ten of the negroes who were cutting wood at a distance; i could have done with half that number, but judged it most prudent to have a good force, in case he should try to escape from the house when we opened the bag. however, nothing serious occurred. we untied the mouth of the bag, kept him down by main force, and then i cut his throat. he bled like an ox. by six o'clock the same evening he was completely dissected. on examining his teeth i observed that they were all bent like tenter-hooks, pointing down his throat, and not so large or strong as i expected to have found them; but they are exactly suited to what they are intended by nature to perform. the snake does not masticate his food, and thus the only service his teeth have to perform is to seize his prey and hold it till he swallows it whole. in general, the skins of snakes are sent to museums without the head: for when the indians and negroes kill a snake they seldom fail to cut off the head, and then they run no risk from its teeth. when the skin is stuffed in the museum a wooden head is substituted, armed with teeth which are large enough to suit a tiger's jaw; and this tends to mislead the spectator and give him erroneous ideas. during this fray with the serpent the old negro, daddy quashi, was in georgetown procuring provisions, and just returned in time to help to take the skin off. he had spent best part of his life in the forest with his old master, mr. edmonstone, and amused me much in recounting their many adventures amongst the wild beasts. the daddy had a particular horror of snakes, and frankly declared he could never have faced the one in question. the week following his courage was put to the test, and he made good his words. it was a curious conflict, and took place near the spot where i had captured the large snake. in the morning i had been following a new species of paroquet, and, the day being rainy, i had taken an umbrella to keep the gun dry, and had left it under a tree; in the afternoon i took daddy quashi with me to look for it. whilst he was searching about, curiosity took me towards the place of the late scene of action. there was a path where timber had formerly been dragged along. here i observed a young coulacanara, ten feet long, slowly moving onwards. i saw he was not thick enough to break my arm, in case he got twisted round it. there was not a moment to be lost. i laid hold of his tail with the left hand, one knee being on the ground; with the right i took off my hat, and held it as you would hold a shield for defence. the snake instantly turned and came on at me, with his head about a yard from the ground, as if to ask me what business i had to take liberties with his tail. i let him come, hissing and open-mouthed, within two feet of my face, and then with all the force i was master of i drove my fist, shielded by my hat, full in his jaws. he was stunned and confounded by the blow, and ere he could recover himself i had seized his throat with both hands in such a position that he could not bite me. i then allowed him to coil himself round my body, and marched off with him as my lawful prize. he pressed me hard, but not alarmingly so. in the meantime daddy quashi, having found the umbrella and having heard the noise which the fray occasioned, was coming cautiously up. as soon as he saw me and in what company i was, he turned about and ran off home, i after him, and shouting to increase his fear. on scolding him for his cowardice, the old rogue begged that i would forgive him, for that the sight of the snake had positively turned him sick at stomach. when i had done with the carcass of the large snake it was conveyed into the forest, as i expected that it would attract the king of the vultures as soon as time should have rendered it sufficiently savoury. in a few days it sent forth that odour which a carcass should send forth, and about twenty of the common vultures came and perched on the neighbouring trees. the king of the vultures came, too; and i observed that none of the common ones seemed inclined to begin breakfast till his majesty had finished. when he had consumed as much snake as nature informed him would do him good, he retired to the top of a high mora-tree, and then all the common vultures fell to and made a hearty meal. the head and neck of the king of the vultures are bare of feathers; but the beautiful appearance they exhibit fades in death. the throat and the back of the neck are of a fine lemon colour; both sides of the neck, from the ears downwards, of a rich scarlet; behind the corrugated part there is a white spot. the crown of the head is scarlet; betwixt the lower mandible and the eye and close by the ear there is a part which has a fine silvery-blue appearance; the corrugated part is of a dirty light brown; behind it and just above the white spot a portion of the skin is blue, and the rest scarlet; the skin which juts out behind the neck, and appears like an oblong caruncle, is blue in part and part orange. the bill is orange and black, the caruncles on his forehead orange, and the cere orange; the orbits scarlet, and the irides white. below the bare part of the neck there is a cinereous ruff. the bag of the stomach, which is only seen when distended with food, is of a most delicate white, intersected with blue veins, which appear on it just like the blue veins on the arm of a fair-complexioned person. the tail and long wing-feathers are black, the belly white, and the rest of the body a fine satin colour. i cannot be persuaded that the vultures ever feed upon live animals, not even upon lizards, rats, mice or frogs. i have watched them for hours together, but never could see them touch any living animals, though innumerable lizards, frogs and small birds swarmed all around them. i have killed lizards and frogs, and put them in a proper place for observation; as soon as they began to stink the aura vulture invariably came and took them off. i have frequently observed that the day after the planter had burnt the trash in a cane-field the aura vulture was sure to be there, feeding on the snakes, lizards and frogs which had suffered in the conflagration. i often saw a large bird (very much like the common gregarious vulture, at a distance) catch and devour lizards; after shooting one it turned out to be not a vulture but a hawk, with a tail squarer and shorter than hawks have in general. the vultures, like the goat-sucker and woodpecker, seem to be in disgrace with man. they are generally termed a voracious, stinking, cruel and ignoble tribe. under these impressions the fowler discharges his gun at them, and probably thinks he has done well in ridding the earth of such vermin. some governments impose a fine on him who kills a vulture. this is a salutary law, and it were to be wished that other governments would follow so good an example. i would fain here say a word or two in favour of this valuable scavenger. kind providence has conferred a blessing on hot countries in giving them the vulture; he has ordered it to consume that which, if left to dissolve in putrefaction, would infect the air and produce a pestilence. when full of food the vulture certainly appears an indolent bird; he will stand for hours together on the branch of a tree, or on the top of a house, with his wings drooping, and, after rain, with them spread and elevated to catch the rays of the sun. it has been remarked by naturalists that the flight of this bird is laborious. i have paid attention to the vulture in andalusia and to those in guiana, brazil, and the west indies, and conclude that they are birds of long, even and lofty flight. indeed, whoever has observed the aura vulture will be satisfied that his flight is wonderfully majestic and of long continuance. this bird is above five feet from wing to wing extended. you will see it soaring aloft in the aerial expanse on pinions which never flutter, and which at the same time carry him through the fields of ether with a rapidity equal to that of the golden eagle. in paramaribo the laws protect the vulture, and the spaniards of angustura never think of molesting him. in i saw the vultures in that city as tame as domestic fowls; a person who had never seen a vulture would have taken them for turkeys. they were very useful to the spaniards. had it not been for them, the refuse of the slaughter-houses in angustura would have caused an intolerable nuisance. the common black, short, square-tailed vulture is gregarious, but the aura vulture is not so; for though you may see fifteen or twenty of them feeding on the dead vermin in a cane-field, after the trash has been set fire to, still, if you have paid attention to their arrival, you will have observed that they came singly and retired singly; and thus their being altogether in the same field was merely accidental and caused by each one smelling the effluvia as he was soaring through the sky to look out for food. i have watched twenty come into a cane-field; they arrived one by one, and from different parts of the heavens. hence we may conclude that, though the other species of vulture are gregarious, the aura vulture is not. if you dissect a vulture that has just been feeding on carrion, you must expect that your olfactory nerves will be somewhat offended with the rank effluvia from his craw; just as they would be were you to dissect a citizen after the lord mayor's dinner. if, on the contrary, the vulture be empty at the time you commence the operation, there will be no offensive smell, but a strong scent of musk. i had long wished to examine the native haunts of the cayman, but as the river demerara did not afford a specimen of the large kind, i was obliged to go to the river essequibo to look for one. i got the canoe ready, and went down in it to georgetown, where, having put in the necessary articles for the expedition, not forgetting a couple of large shark-hooks with chains attached to them, and a coil of strong new rope, i hoisted a little sail which i had got made on purpose, and at six o'clock in the morning shaped our course for the river essequibo. i had put a pair of shoes on to prevent the tar at the bottom of the canoe from sticking to my feet. the sun was flaming hot, and from eleven o'clock till two beat perpendicularly upon the top of my feet, betwixt the shoes and the trousers. not feeling it disagreeable, or being in the least aware of painful consequences, as i had been barefoot for months, i neglected to put on a pair of short stockings which i had with me. i did not reflect that sitting still in one place, with your feet exposed to the sun, was very different from being exposed to the sun while in motion. we went ashore in the essequibo about three o'clock in the afternoon, to choose a place for the night's residence, to collect firewood, and to set the fish-hooks. it was then that i first began to find my legs very painful: they soon became much inflamed and red and blistered; and it required considerable caution not to burst the blisters, otherwise sores would have ensued. i immediately got into the hammock, and there passed a painful and sleepless night, and for two days after i was disabled from walking. about midnight, as i was lying awake and in great pain, i heard the indian say, "massa, massa, you no hear tiger?" i listened attentively, and heard the softly sounding tread of his feet as he approached us. the moon had gone down, but every now and then we could get a glance of him by the light of our fire. he was the jaguar, for i could see the spots on his body. had i wished to have fired at him i was not able to take a sure aim, for i was in such pain that i could not turn myself in my hammock. the indian would have fired, but i would not allow him to do so, as i wanted to see a little more of our new visitor, for it is not every day or night that the traveller is favoured with an undisturbed sight of the jaguar in his own forests. whenever the fire got low the jaguar came a little nearer, and when the indian renewed it he retired abruptly. sometimes he would come within twenty yards, and then we had a view of him sitting on his hind-legs like a dog; sometimes he moved slowly to and fro, and at other times we could hear him mend his pace, as if impatient. at last the indian, not relishing the idea of having such company in the neighbourhood, could contain himself no longer, and set up a most tremendous yell. the jaguar bounded off like a racehorse, and returned no more. it appeared by the print of his feet the next morning that he was a full-grown jaguar. in two days after this we got to the first falls in the essequibo. there was a superb barrier of rocks quite across the river. in the rainy season these rocks are for the most part under water, but it being now dry weather we had a fine view of them, while the water from the river above them rushed through the different openings in majestic grandeur. here, on a little hill jutting out into the river, stands the house of mrs. peterson, the last house of people of colour up this river. i hired a negro from her and a coloured man who pretended that they knew the haunts of the cayman and understood everything about taking him. we were a day in passing these falls and rapids, celebrated for the pacou, the richest and most delicious fish in guiana. the coloured man was now in his element: he stood in the head of the canoe, and with his bow and arrow shot the pacou as they were swimming in the stream. the arrow had scarcely left the bow before he had plunged headlong into the river and seized the fish as it was struggling with it. he dived and swam like an otter, and rarely missed the fish he aimed at. did my pen, gentle reader, possess descriptive powers, i would here give thee an idea of the enchanting scenery of the essequibo; but that not being the case, thou must be contented with a moderate and well-intended attempt. nothing could be more lovely than the appearance of the forest on each side of this noble river. hills rose on hills in fine gradation, all covered with trees of gigantic height and size. here their leaves were of a lively purple, and there of the deepest green. sometimes the caracara extended its scarlet blossoms from branch to branch, and gave the tree the appearance as though it had been hung with garlands. this delightful scenery of the essequibo made the soul overflow with joy, and caused you to rove in fancy through fairyland; till, on turning an angle of the river, you were recalled to more sober reflections on seeing the once grand and towering mora now dead and ragged in its topmost branches, while its aged trunk, undermined by the rushing torrent, hung as though in sorrow over the river, which ere long would receive it and sweep it away for ever. during the day the trade-wind blew a gentle and refreshing breeze, which died away as the night set in, and then the river was as smooth as glass. the moon was within three days of being full, so that we did not regret the loss of the sun, which set in all its splendour. scarce had he sunk behind the western hills when the goat-suckers sent forth their soft and plaintive cries; some often repeating, "who are you--who, who, who are you?" and others "willy, willy, willy come go." the indian and daddy quashi often shook their head at this, and said they were bringing talk from yabahou, who is the evil spirit of the essequibo. it was delightful to sit on the branch of a fallen tree near the water's edge and listen to these harmless birds as they repeated their evening song; and watch the owls and vampires as they every now and then passed up and down the river. the next day, about noon, as we were proceeding onwards, we heard the campanero tolling in the depth of the forest. though i should not then have stopped to dissect even a rare bird, having a greater object in view, still i could not resist the opportunity offered of acquiring the campanero. the place where he was tolling was low and swampy, and my legs not having quite recovered from the effects of the sun, i sent the indian to shoot the campanero. he got up to the tree, which he described as very high, with a naked top, and situated in a swamp. he fired at the bird, but either missed it or did not wound it sufficiently to bring it down. this was the only opportunity i had of getting a campanero during this expedition. we had never heard one toll before this morning, and never heard one after. about an hour before sunset we reached the place which the two men who had joined us at the falls pointed out as a proper one to find a cayman. there was a large creek close by and a sandbank gently sloping to the water. just within the forest, on this bank, we cleared a place of brushwood, suspended the hammocks from the trees, and then picked up enough of decayed wood for fuel. the indian found a large land-tortoise, and this, with plenty of fresh fish which we had in the canoe, afforded a supper not to be despised. the tigers had kept up a continual roaring every night since we had entered the essequibo. the sound was awfully fine. sometimes it was in the immediate neighbourhood; at other times it was far off, and echoed amongst the hills like distant thunder. it may, perhaps, not be amiss to observe here that when the word tiger is used it does not mean the bengal tiger. it means the jaguar, whose skin is beautifully spotted, and not striped like that of the tiger in the east. it is, in fact, the tiger of the new world, and receiving the name of tiger from the discoverers of south america it has kept it ever since. it is a cruel, strong and dangerous beast, but not so courageous as the bengal tiger. we now baited a shark-hook with a large fish, and put it upon a board about a yard long and one foot broad which we had brought on purpose. this board was carried out in the canoe, about forty yards into the river. by means of a string long enough to reach the bottom of the river, and at the end of which string was fastened a stone, the board was kept, as it were, at anchor. one end of the new rope i had bought in town was reeved through the chain of the shark-hook and the other end fastened to a tree on the sandbank. it was now an hour after sunset. the sky was cloudless, and the moon shone beautifully bright. there was not a breath of wind in the heavens, and the river seemed like a large plain of quicksilver. every now and then a huge fish would strike and plunge in the water; then the owls and goat-suckers would continue their lamentations, and the sound of these was lost in the prowling tiger's growl. then all was still again and silent as midnight. the caymen were now upon the stir, and at intervals their noise could be distinguished amid that of the jaguar, the owls, the goat-suckers and frogs. it was a singular and awful sound. it was like a suppressed sigh bursting forth all of a sudden, and so loud that you might hear it above a mile off. first one emitted this horrible noise, and then another answered him; and on looking at the countenances of the people round me i could plainly see that they expected to have a cayman that night. we were at supper when the indian, who seemed to have had one eye on the turtle-pot and the other on the bait in the river, said he saw the cayman coming. upon looking towards the place there appeared something on the water like a black log of wood. it was so unlike anything alive that i doubted if it were a cayman; but the indian smiled and said he was sure it was one, for he remembered seeing a cayman some years ago when he was in the essequibo. at last it gradually approached the bait, and the board began to move. the moon shone so bright that we could distinctly see him open his huge jaws and take in the bait. we pulled the rope. he immediately let drop the bait; and then we saw his black head retreating from the board to the distance of a few yards; and there it remained quite motionless. he did not seem inclined to advance again; and so we finished our supper. in about an hour's time he again put himself in motion, and took hold of the bait. but probably suspecting that he had to deal with knaves and cheats, he held it in his mouth but did not swallow it. we pulled the rope again, but with no better success than the first time. he retreated as usual, and came back again in about an hour. we paid him every attention till three o'clock in the morning, when, worn out with disappointment, we went to the hammocks, turned in and fell asleep. when day broke we found that he had contrived to get the bait from the hook, though we had tied it on with string. we had now no more hopes of taking a cayman till the return of night. the indian took off into the woods and brought back a noble supply of game. the rest of us went into the canoe and proceeded up the river to shoot fish. we got even more than we could use. as we approached the shallows we could see the large sting-rays moving at the bottom. the coloured man never failed to hit them with his arrow. the weather was delightful. there was scarcely a cloud to intercept the sun's rays. i saw several scarlet aras, anhingas and ducks, but could not get a shot at them. the parrots crossed the river in innumerable quantities, always flying in pairs. here, too, i saw the sun-bird, called tirana by the spaniards in the oroonoque, and shot one of them. the black and white scarlet-headed finch was very common here. i could never see this bird in the demerara, nor hear of its being there. we at last came to a large sandbank, probably two miles in circumference. as we approached it we could see two or three hundred fresh-water turtle on the edge of the bank. ere we could get near enough to let fly an arrow at them they had all sunk into the river and appeared no more. we went on the sandbank to look for their nests, as this was the breeding-season. the coloured man showed us how to find them. wherever a portion of the sand seemed smoother than the rest there was sure to be a turtle's nest. on digging down with our hands about nine inches deep we found from twenty to thirty white eggs; in less than an hour we got above two hundred. those which had a little black spot or two on the shell we ate the same day, as it was a sign that they were not fresh, and of course would not keep; those which had no speck were put into dry sand, and were good some weeks after. at midnight two of our people went to this sandbank while the rest stayed to watch the cayman. the turtle had advanced on to the sand to lay their eggs, and the men got betwixt them and the water; they brought off half a dozen very fine and well-fed turtle. the eggshell of the fresh-water turtle is not hard like that of the land-tortoise, but appears like white parchment, and gives way to the pressure of the fingers; but it is very tough, and does not break. on this sandbank, close to the forest, we found several guana's nests; but they had never more than fourteen eggs apiece. thus passed the day in exercise and knowledge, till the sun's declining orb reminded us it was time to return to the place from whence we had set out. the second night's attempt upon the cayman was a repetition of the first, quite unsuccessful. we went a-fishing the day after, had excellent sport, and returned to experience a third night's disappointment. on the fourth evening, about four o'clock, we began to erect a stage amongst the trees close to the water's edge. from this we intended to shoot an arrow into the cayman: at the end of this arrow was to be attached a string which would be tied to the rope, and as soon as the cayman was struck we were to have the canoe ready and pursue him in the river. while we were busy in preparing the stage a tiger began to roar. we judged by the sound that he was not above a quarter of a mile from us, and that he was close to the side of the river. unfortunately the indian said it was not a jaguar that was roaring, but a couguar. the couguar is of a pale, brownish-red colour, and not as large as the jaguar. as there was nothing particular in this animal i thought it better to attend to the apparatus for catching the cayman than to go in quest of the couguar. the people, however, went in the canoe to the place where the couguar was roaring. on arriving near the spot they saw it was not a couguar, but an immense jaguar, standing on the trunk of an aged mora-tree which bended over the river; he growled and showed his teeth as they approached; the coloured man fired at him with a ball, but probably missed him, and the tiger instantly descended and took off into the woods. i went to the place before dark, and we searched the forest for about half a mile in the direction he had fled, but we could see no traces of him or any marks of blood; so i concluded that fear had prevented the man from taking steady aim. we spent best part of the fourth night in trying for the cayman, but all to no purpose. i was now convinced that something was materially wrong. we ought to have been successful, considering our vigilance and attention, and that we had repeatedly seen the cayman. it was useless to tarry here any longer; moreover, the coloured man began to take airs, and fancied that i could not do without him. i never admit of this in any expedition where i am commander; and so i convinced the man, to his sorrow, that i could do without him, for i paid him what i had agreed to give him, which amounted to eight dollars, and ordered him back in his own curial to mrs. peterson's, on the hill at the first falls. i then asked the negro if there were any indian settlements in the neighbourhood; he said he knew of one, a day and a half off. we went in quest of it, and about one o'clock the next day the negro showed us the creek where it was. the entrance was so concealed by thick bushes that a stranger would have passed it without knowing it to be a creek. in going up it we found it dark, winding, and intricate beyond any creek that i had ever seen before. when orpheus came back with his young wife from styx his path must have been similar to this, for ovid says it was arduus, obliquus, caligine densus opaca, and this creek was exactly so. when we had got about two-thirds up it we met the indians going a-fishing. i saw by the way their things were packed in the curial that they did not intend to return for some days. however, on telling them what we wanted, and by promising handsome presents of powder, shot and hooks, they dropped their expedition and invited us up to the settlement they had just left, and where we laid in a provision of cassava. they gave us for dinner boiled ant-bear and red monkey: two dishes unknown even at beauvilliers in paris or at a london city feast. the monkey was very good indeed, but the ant-bear had been kept beyond its time: it stunk as our venison does in england; and so, after tasting it, i preferred dining entirely on monkey. after resting here we went back to the river. the indians, three in number, accompanied us in their own curial, and, on entering the river, pointed to a place a little way above well calculated to harbour a cayman. the water was deep and still, and flanked by an immense sandbank; there was also a little shallow creek close by. on this sandbank, near the forest, the people made a shelter for the night. my own was already made, for i always take with me a painted sheet about twelve feet by ten. this thrown over a pole, supported betwixt two trees, makes you a capital roof with very little trouble. we showed one of the indians the shark-hook. he shook his head and laughed at it, and said it would not do. when he was a boy he had seen his father catch the caymen, and on the morrow he would make something that would answer. in the meantime we set the shark-hook, but it availed us naught: a cayman came and took it, but would not swallow it. seeing it was useless to attend the shark-hook any longer, we left it for the night and returned to our hammocks. ere i fell asleep a reflection or two broke in upon me. i considered that as far as the judgment of civilised man went, everything had been procured and done to ensure success. we had hooks and lines and baits and patience; we had spent nights in watching, had seen the cayman come and take the bait, and after our expectations had been wound up to the highest pitch all ended in disappointment. probably this poor wild man of the woods would succeed by means of a very simple process, and thus prove to his more civilised brother that, notwithstanding books and schools, there is a vast deal of knowledge to be picked up at every step, whichever way we turn ourselves. in the morning, as usual, we found the bait gone from the shark-hook. the indians went into the forest to hunt, and we took the canoe to shoot fish and get another supply of turtle's eggs, which we found in great abundance on this large sandbank. we went to the little shallow creek, and shot some young caymen about two feet long. it was astonishing to see what spite and rage these little things showed when the arrow struck them; they turned round and bit it: and snapped at us when we went into the water to take them up. daddy quashi boiled one of them for his dinner, and found it very sweet and tender. i do not see why it should not be as good as frog or veal. the day was now declining apace, and the indian had made his instrument to take the cayman. it was very simple. there were four pieces of tough, hardwood a foot long, and about as thick as your little finger, and barbed at both ends; they were tied round the end of the rope in such a manner that if you conceive the rope to be an arrow, these four sticks would form the arrow's head; so that one end of the four united sticks answered to the point of the arrowhead, while the other end of the sticks expanded at equal distances round the rope, thus: [illustration] now it is evident that, if the cayman swallowed this (the other end of the rope, which was thirty yards long, being fastened to a tree), the more he pulled the faster the barbs would stick into his stomach. this wooden hook, if you may so call it, was well-baited with the flesh of the acouri, and the entrails were twisted round the rope for about a foot above it. nearly a mile from where we had our hammocks the sandbank was steep and abrupt, and the river very still and deep; there the indian pricked a stick into the sand. it was two feet long, and on its extremity was fixed the machine: it hung suspended about a foot from the water, and the end of the rope was made fast to a stake driven well into the sand. the indian then took the empty shell of a land-tortoise and gave it some heavy blows with an axe. i asked why he did that. he said it was to let the cayman hear that something was going on. in fact, the indian meant it as the cayman's dinner-bell. [illustration: cayman bait] having done this we went back to the hammocks, not intending to visit it again till morning. during the night the jaguars roared and grumbled in the forest as though the world was going wrong with them, and at intervals we could hear the distant cayman. the roaring of the jaguars was awful, but it was music to the dismal noise of these hideous and malicious reptiles. about half-past five in the morning the indian stole off silently to take a look at the bait. on arriving at the place he set up a tremendous shout. we all jumped out of our hammocks and ran to him. the indians got there before me, for they had no clothes to put on, and i lost two minutes in looking for my trousers and in slipping into them. we found a cayman ten feet and a half long fast to the end of the rope. nothing now remained to do but to get him out of the water without injuring his scales: "hoc opus, hic labor." we mustered strong: there were three indians from the creek, there was my own indian yan, daddy quashi, the negro from mrs. peterson's, james, mr. r. edmonstone's man, whom i was instructing to preserve birds, and lastly myself. i informed the indians that it was my intention to draw him quietly out of the water and then secure him. they looked and stared at each other, and said i might do it myself, but they would have no hand in it; the cayman would worry some of us. on saying this, "consedere duces," they squatted on their hams with the most perfect indifference. the indians of these wilds have never been subject to the least restraint, and i knew enough of them to be aware that if i tried to force them against their will they would take off and leave me and my presents unheeded, and never return. daddy quashi was for applying to our guns, as usual, considering them our best and safest friends. i immediately offered to knock him down for his cowardice, and he shrunk back, begging that i would be cautious, and not get myself worried, and apologising for his own want of resolution. my indian was now in conversation with the others, and they asked if i would allow them to shoot a dozen arrows into him, and thus disable him. this would have ruined all. i had come above three hundred miles on purpose to get a cayman uninjured, and not to carry back a mutilated specimen. i rejected their proposition with firmness, and darted a disdainful eye upon the indians. daddy quashi was again beginning to remonstrate, and i chased him on the sandbank for a quarter of a mile. he told me afterwards he thought he should have dropped down dead with fright, for he was firmly persuaded if i had caught him i should have bundled him into the cayman's jaws. here, then, we stood in silence like a calm before a thunderstorm. "hoc res summa loco. scinditur in contraria vulgus." they wanted to kill him, and i wanted to take him alive. i now walked up and down the sand, revolving a dozen projects in my head. the canoe was at a considerable distance, and i ordered the people to bring it round to the place where we were. the mast was eight feet long, and not much thicker than my wrist. i took it out of the canoe and wrapped the sail round the end of it. now it appeared clear to me that, if i went down upon one knee and held the mast in the same position as the soldier holds his bayonet when rushing to the charge, i could force it down the cayman's throat should he come open-mouthed at me. when this was told to the indians they brightened up, and said they would help me to pull him out of the river. "brave squad!" said i to myself. "'audax omnia perpeti,' now that you have got me betwixt yourselves and danger." i then mustered all hands for the last time before the battle. we were four south american savages, two negroes from africa, a creole from trinidad, and myself a white man from yorkshire. in fact, a little tower of babel group, in dress, no dress, address, and language. daddy quashi hung in the rear. i showed him a large spanish knife which i always carried in the waistband of my trousers: it spoke volumes to him, and he shrugged up his shoulders in absolute despair. the sun was just peeping over the high forests on the eastern hills, as if coming to look on and bid us act with becoming fortitude. i placed all the people at the end of the rope, and ordered them to pull till the cayman appeared on the surface of the water, and then, should he plunge, to slacken the rope and let him go again into the deep. i now took the mast of the canoe in my hand (the sail being tied round the end of the mast) and sunk down upon one knee, about four yards from the water's edge, determining to thrust it down his throat in case he gave me an opportunity. i certainly felt somewhat uncomfortable in this situation, and i thought of cerberus on the other side of the styx ferry. the people pulled the cayman to the surface; he plunged furiously as soon as he arrived in these upper regions, and immediately went below again on their slackening the rope. i saw enough not to fall in love at first sight. i now told them we would run all risks and have him on land immediately. they pulled again, and out he came--"monstrum horrendum, informe." this was an interesting moment. i kept my position firmly, with my eye fixed steadfast on him. by the time the cayman was within two yards of me i saw he was in a state of fear and perturbation. i instantly dropped the mast, sprung up and jumped on his back, turning half round as i vaulted, so that i gained my seat with my face in a right position. i immediately seized his fore-legs, and by main force twisted them on his back; thus they served me for a bridle. he now seemed to have recovered from his surprise, and probably fancying himself in hostile company he began to plunge furiously, and lashed the sand with his long and powerful tail. i was out of reach of the strokes of it by being near his head. he continued to plunge and strike and made my seat very uncomfortable. it must have been a fine sight for an unoccupied spectator. the people roared out in triumph, and were so vociferous that it was some time before they heard me tell them to pull me and my beast of burden farther inland. i was apprehensive the rope might break, and then there would have been every chance of going down to the regions under water with the cayman. that would have been more perilous than arion's marine morning ride: delphini insidens vada cærula sulcat arion. the people now dragged us above forty yards on the sand: it was the first and last time i was ever on a cayman's back. should it be asked how i managed to keep my seat, i would answer, i hunted some years with lord darlington's fox-hounds. after repeated attempts to regain his liberty the cayman gave in and became tranquil through exhaustion. i now managed to tie up his jaws and firmly secured his fore-feet in the position i had held them. we had now another severe struggle for superiority, but he was soon overcome and again remained quiet. while some of the people were pressing upon his head and shoulders i threw myself on his tail, and by keeping it down to the sand prevented him from kicking up another dust. he was finally conveyed to the canoe, and then to the place where we had suspended our hammocks. there i cut his throat; and after breakfast was over commenced the dissection. now that the affray had ceased, daddy ouashi played a good finger and thumb at breakfast: he said he found himself much revived, and became very talkative and useful, as there was no longer any danger. he was a faithful, honest negro. his master, my worthy friend mr. edmonstone, had been so obliging as to send out particular orders to the colony that the daddy should attend me all the time i was in the forest. he had lived in the wilds of demerara with mr. edmonstone for many years, and often amused me with the account of the frays his master had had in the woods with snakes, wild beasts and runaway negroes. old age was now coming fast upon him; he had been an able fellow in his younger days, and a gallant one, too, for he had a large scar over his eyebrow caused by the stroke of a cutlass from another negro while the daddy was engaged in an intrigue. the back of the cayman may be said to be almost impenetrable to a musket-ball, but his sides are not near so strong, and are easily pierced with an arrow; indeed, were they as strong as the back and the belly, there would be no part of the cayman's body soft and elastic enough to admit of expansion after taking in a supply of food. the cayman has no grinders; his teeth are entirely made for snatch and swallow: there are thirty-two in each jaw. perhaps no animal in existence bears more decided marks in his countenance of cruelty and malice than the cayman. he is the scourge and terror of all the large rivers in south america near the line. one sunday evening, some years ago, as i was walking with don felipe de ynciarte, governor of angustura, on the bank of the oroonoque, "stop here a minute or two, don carlos," said he to me, "while i recount a sad accident. one fine evening last year, as the people of angustura were sauntering up and down here in the alameda, i was within twenty yards of this place when i saw a large cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down before anybody had it in his power to assist him. the screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the cayman was running off with him. he plunged into the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more." i was a day and a half in dissecting our cayman, and then we got all ready to return to demerara. it was much more perilous to descend than to ascend the falls in the essequibo. the place we had to pass had proved fatal to four indians about a month before. the water foamed and dashed and boiled amongst the steep and craggy rocks, and seemed to warn us to be careful how we ventured there. i was for all hands to get out of the canoe, and then, after lashing a long rope ahead and astern, we might have climbed from rock to rock and tempered her in her passage down, and our getting out would have lightened her much. but the negro who had joined us at mrs. peterson's said he was sure it would be safer to stay in the canoe while she went down the fall. i was loath to give way to him, but i did so this time against my better judgment, as he assured me that he was accustomed to pass and repass these falls. accordingly we determined to push down: i was at the helm, the rest at their paddles. but before we got half-way through the rushing waters deprived the canoe of all power of steerage, and she became the sport of the torrent; in a second she was half-full of water, and i cannot comprehend to this day why she did not go down; luckily the people exerted themselves to the utmost, she got headway, and they pulled through the whirlpool: i being quite in the stern of the canoe, part of a wave struck me, and nearly knocked me overboard. we now paddled to some rocks at a distance, got out, unloaded the canoe and dried the cargo in the sun, which was very hot and powerful. had it been the wet season almost everything would have been spoiled. after this the voyage down the essequibo was quick and pleasant till we reached the sea-coast: there we had a trying day of it; the wind was dead against us, and the sun remarkably hot; we got twice aground upon a mud-flat, and were twice obliged to get out, up to the middle in mud, to shove the canoe through it. half-way betwixt the essequibo and demerara the tide of flood caught us, and, after the utmost exertions, it was half-past six in the evening before we got to georgetown. we had been out from six in the morning in an open canoe on the sea-coast, without umbrella or awning, exposed all day to the fiery rays of a tropical sun. my face smarted so that i could get no sleep during the night, and the next morning my lips were all in blisters. the indian yan went down to the essequibo a copper-colour, but the reflection of the sun from the sea and from the sandbanks in the river had turned him nearly black. he laughed at himself, and said the indians in the demerara would not know him again. i stayed one day in georgetown, and then set off the next morning for headquarters in mibiri creek, where i finished the cayman. here the remaining time was spent in collecting birds and in paying particular attention to their haunts and economy. the rainy season having set in, the weather became bad and stormy; the lightning and thunder were incessant; the days cloudy, and the nights cold and misty. i had now been eleven months in the forests, and collected some rare insects, two hundred and thirty birds, two land-tortoises, five armadillos, two large serpents, a sloth, an ant-bear and a cayman. i left the wilds and repaired to georgetown to spend a few days with mr. r. edmonstone previous to embarking for europe. i must here return my sincerest thanks to this worthy gentleman for his many kindnesses to me; his friendship was of the utmost service to me, and he never failed to send me supplies up into the forest by every opportunity. i embarked for england on board the _dee_, west-indiaman, commanded by captain grey. sir joseph banks had often told me he hoped that i would give a lecture in public on the new mode i had discovered of preparing specimens in natural history for museums. i always declined to do so, as i despaired of ever being able to hit upon a proper method of doing quadrupeds; and i was aware that it would have been an imperfect lecture to treat of birds only. i imparted what little knowledge i was master of at sir joseph's, to the unfortunate gentlemen who went to africa to explore the congo; and that was all that took place in the shape of a lecture. now that i had hit upon the way of doing quadrupeds, i drew up a little plan on board the _dee_, which i trusted would have been of service to naturalists, and by proving to them the superiority of the new plan they would probably be induced to abandon the old and common way, which is a disgrace to the present age, and renders hideous every specimen in every museum that i have as yet visited. i intended to have given three lectures: one on insects and serpents; one on birds; and one on quadrupeds. but, as it will be shortly seen, this little plan was doomed not to be unfolded to public view. illiberality blasted it in the bud. we had a pleasant passage across the atlantic, and arrived in the mersey in fine trim and good spirits. great was the attention i received from the commander of the _dee_. he and his mate, mr. spence, took every care of my collection. on our landing the gentlemen of the liverpool custom house received me as an old friend and acquaintance, and obligingly offered their services. twice before had i landed in liverpool, and twice had i reason to admire their conduct and liberality. they knew i was incapable of trying to introduce anything contraband, and they were aware that i never dreamed of turning to profit the specimens i had procured. they considered that i had left a comfortable home in quest of science; and that i had wandered into far-distant climes, and gone barefooted, ill-clothed and ill-fed, through swamps and woods, to procure specimens, some of which had never been seen in europe. they considered that it would be difficult to fix a price upon specimens which had never been bought or sold, and which never were to be, as they were intended to ornament my own house. it was hard, they said, to have exposed myself for years to danger, and then be obliged to pay on returning to my native land. under these considerations they fixed a moderate duty which satisfied all parties. however, this last expedition ended not so. it taught me how hard it is to learn the grand lesson, "æquam memento rebus in arduis, servare mentem." but my good friends in the custom house of liverpool were not to blame. on the contrary, they did all in their power to procure balm for me instead of rue. but it would not answer. they appointed a very civil officer to attend me to the ship. while we were looking into some of the boxes to see that the specimens were properly stowed, previous to their being conveyed to the king's depôt, another officer entered the cabin. he was an entire stranger to me, and seemed wonderfully aware of his own consequence. without preface or apology he thrust his head over my shoulder and said we had no business to have opened a single box without his permission. i answered they had been opened almost every day since they had come on board, and that i considered there was no harm in doing so. he then left the cabin, and i said to myself as he went out, i suspect i shall see that man again at philippi. the boxes, ten in number, were conveyed in safety from the ship to the depôt. i then proceeded to the custom house. the necessary forms were gone through, and a proportionate duty, according to circumstances, was paid. this done, we returned from the custom house to the depôt, accompanied by several gentlemen who wished to see the collection. they expressed themselves highly gratified. the boxes were closed, and nothing now remained but to convey them to the cart, which was in attendance at the door of the depôt. just as one of the inferior officers was carrying a box thither, in stepped the man whom i suspected i should see again at philippi. he abruptly declared himself dissatisfied with the valuation which the gentlemen of the customs had put upon the collection, and said he must detain it. i remonstrated, but it was all in vain. after this pitiful stretch of power and bad compliment to the other officers of the customs, who had been satisfied with the valuation, this man had the folly to take me aside, and after assuring me that he had a great regard for the arts and sciences, he lamented that conscience obliged him to do what he had done, and he wished he had been fifty miles from liverpool at the time that it fell to his lot to detain the collection. had he looked in my face as he said this he would have seen no marks of credulity there. i now returned to the custom house, and after expressing my opinion of the officer's conduct at the depôt, i pulled a bunch of keys (which belonged to the detained boxes) out of my pocket, laid them on the table, took my leave of the gentlemen present, and soon after set off for yorkshire. i saved nothing from the grasp of the stranger officer but a pair of live malay fowls, which a gentleman in georgetown had made me a present of. i had collected in the forest several eggs of curious birds in hopes of introducing the breed into england, and had taken great pains in doing them over with gum arabic, and in packing them in charcoal, according to a receipt i had seen in the gazette from the _edinburgh philosophical journal_. but these were detained in the depôt, instead of being placed under a hen; which utterly ruined all my hopes of rearing a new species of birds in england. titled personages in london interested themselves in behalf of the collection, but all in vain. and vain also were the public and private representations of the first officer of the liverpool custom house in my favour. at last there came an order from the treasury to say that any specimens mr. waterton intended to present to public institutions might pass duty free; but those which he intended to keep for himself must pay the duty! a friend now wrote to me from liverpool requesting that i would come over and pay the duty in order to save the collection, which had just been detained there six weeks. i did so. on paying an additional duty (for the moderate duty first imposed had already been paid), the man who had detained the collection delivered it up to me, assuring me that it had been well taken care of, and that a fire had been frequently made in the room. it is but justice to add that on opening the boxes there was nothing injured. i could never get a clue to these harsh and unexpected measures, except that there had been some recent smuggling discovered in liverpool, and that the man in question had been sent down from london to act the part of argus. if so, i landed in an evil hour: "nefasto die," making good the spanish proverb, "pagan a las veces, justos por pecadores": at times the innocent suffer for the guilty. after all, a little encouragement, in the shape of exemption from paying the duty on this collection, might have been expected, but it turned out otherwise; and after expending large sums in pursuit of natural history, on my return home i was doomed to pay for my success: hic finis, caroli fatorum, hic exitus illum, sorte tulit! thus my fleece, already ragged and torn with the thorns and briers which one must naturally expect to find in distant and untrodden wilds, was shorn, i may say, on its return to england. however, this is nothing new. sancho panza must have heard of similar cases, for he says, "muchos van por lana, y vuelven trasquilados": many go for wool and come home shorn. in order to pick up matter for natural history i have wandered through the wildest parts of south america's equatorial regions. i have attacked and slain a modern python, and rode on the back of a cayman close to the water's edge; a very different situation from that of a hyde park dandy on his sunday prancer before the ladies. alone and barefoot i have pulled poisonous snakes out of their lurking-places; climbed up trees to peep into holes for bats and vampires, and for days together hastened through sun and rain to the thickest parts of the forest to procure specimens i had never got before. in fine, i have pursued the wild beasts over hill and dale, through swamps and quagmires, now scorched by the noon-day sun, now drenched by the pelting shower, and returned to the hammock to satisfy the cravings of hunger, often on a poor and scanty supper. these vicissitudes have turned to chestnut hue a once english complexion, and changed the colour of my hair before father time had meddled with it. the detention of the collection after it had fairly passed the customs, and the subsequent order from the treasury that i should pay duty for the specimens unless they were presented to some public institution, have cast a damp upon my energy, and forced, as it were, the cup of lethe to my lips, by drinking which i have forgot my former intention of giving a lecture in public on preparing specimens to adorn museums. in fine, it is this ungenerous treatment that has paralysed my plans, and caused me to give up the idea i once had of inserting here the newly-discovered mode of preparing quadrupeds and serpents; and without it the account of this last expedition to the wilds of guiana is nothing but a--fragment. farewell, gentle reader. * * * * * fourth journey nunc huc, nunc illuc et utrinque sine ordine curro. courteous reader, when i bade thee last farewell i thought these wanderings were brought to a final close; afterwards i often roved in imagination through distant countries famous for natural history, but felt no strong inclination to go thither, as the last adventure had terminated in such unexpected vexation. the departure of the cuckoo and swallow and summer birds of passage for warmer regions, once so interesting to me, now scarcely caused me to turn my face to the south; and i continued in this cold and dreary climate for three years. during this period i seldom or never mounted my hobby-horse; indeed, it may be said, with the old song, the saddle and bridle were laid on the shelf, and only taken down once, on the night that i was induced to give a lecture in the philosophical hall of leeds. a little after this wilson's _ornithology of the united states_ fell into my hands. the desire i had of seeing that country, together with the animated description which wilson had given of the birds, fanned up the almost-expiring flame. i forgot the vexations already alluded to, and set off for new york in the beautiful packet _john wells_, commanded by captain harris. the passage was long and cold, but the elegant accommodations on board and the polite attention of the commander rendered it very agreeable; and i landed in health and merriment in the stately capital of the new world. we will soon pen down a few remarks on this magnificent city, but not just now. i want to venture into the north-west country, and get to their great canal, which the world talks so much about, though i fear it will be hard work to make one's way through bugs, bears, brutes and buffaloes, which we europeans imagine are so frequent and ferocious in these never-ending western wilds. i left new york on a fine morning in july, without one letter of introduction, for the city of albany, some hundred and eighty miles up the celebrated hudson. i seldom care about letters of introduction, for i am one of those who depend much upon an accidental acquaintance. full many a face do i see as i go wandering up and down the world whose mild eye and sweet and placid features seem to beckon to me and say, as it were, "speak but civilly to me, and i will do what i can for you." such a face as this is worth more than a dozen letters of introduction; and such a face, gentle reader, i found on board the steamboat from new york to the city of albany. there was a great number of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen in the vessel, all entire strangers to me. i fancied i could see several whose countenances invited an unknown wanderer to come and take a seat beside them; but there was one who encouraged me more than the rest. i saw clearly that he was an american, and i judged by his manners and appearance that he had not spent all his time upon his native soil. i was right in this conjecture, for he afterwards told me that he had been in france and england. i saluted him as one stranger gentleman ought to salute another when he wants a little information; and soon after i dropped in a word or two by which he might conjecture that i was a foreigner, but i did not tell him so; i wished him to make the discovery himself. he entered into conversation with the openness and candour which is so remarkable in the american, and in a little time observed that he presumed i was from the old country. i told him that i was, and added that i was an entire stranger on board. i saw his eye brighten up at the prospect he had of doing a fellow-creature a kind turn or two, and he completely won my regard by an affability which i shall never forget. this obliging gentleman pointed out everything that was grand and interesting as the steamboat plied her course up the majestic hudson. here the catskill mountains raised their lofty summit; and there the hills came sloping down to the water's edge. here he pointed to an aged and venerable oak which, having escaped the levelling axe of man, seemed almost to defy the blasting storm and desolating hand of time; and there he bade me observe an extended tract of wood by which i might form an idea how rich and grand the face of the country had once been. here it was that, in the great and momentous struggle, the colonists lost the day; and there they carried all before them: they closed full fast, on every side no slackness there was found; and many a gallant gentleman lay gasping on the ground. here, in fine, stood a noted regiment; there moved their great captain; here the fleets fired their broadsides; and there the whole force rushed on to battle: hic dolopum manus, hic magnus tendebat achilles, classibus hic locus, hic acies certare solebat. at teatime we took our tea together, and the next morning this worthy american walked up with me to the inn in albany, shook me by the hand, and then went his way. i bade him farewell and again farewell, and hoped that fortune might bring us together again once more. possibly she may yet do so; and should it be in england, i will take him to my house as an old friend and acquaintance, and offer him my choicest cheer. it is at albany that the great canal opens into the hudson and joins the waters of this river to those of lake erie. the hudson, at the city of albany, is distant from lake erie about miles. the level of the lake is feet higher than the hudson, and there are eighty-one locks on the canal. it is to the genius and perseverance of de witt clinton that the united states owe the almost incalculable advantages of this inland navigation: "exegit monumentum ære perennius." you may either go along it all the way to buffalo on lake erie or by the stage; or sometimes on one and then in the other, just as you think fit. grand indeed is the scenery by either route and capital the accommodations. cold and phlegmatic must he be who is not warmed into admiration by the surrounding scenery, and charmed with the affability of the travellers he meets on the way. this is now the season of roving and joy and merriment for the gentry of this happy country. thousands are on the move from different parts of the union for the springs and lakes and the falls of niagara. there is nothing haughty or forbidding in the americans; and wherever you meet them they appear to be quite at home. this is exactly what it ought to be, and very much in favour of the foreigner who journeys amongst them. the immense number of highly-polished females who go in the stages to visit the different places of amusement and see the stupendous natural curiosities of this extensive country incontestably proves that safety and convenience are ensured to them, and that the most distant attempt at rudeness would by common consent be immediately put down. by the time i had got to schenectady i began strongly to suspect that i had come into the wrong country to look for bugs, bears, brutes and buffaloes. it is an enchanting journey from albany to schenectady, and from thence to lake erie. the situation of the city of utica is particularly attractive: the mohawk running close by it, the fertile fields and woody mountains, and the falls of trenton forcibly press the stranger to stop a day or two here before he proceeds onward to the lake. at some far distant period, when it will not be possible to find the place where many of the celebrated cities of the east once stood, the world will have to thank the united states of america for bringing their names into the western regions. it is, indeed, a pretty thought of these people to give to their rising towns the names of places so famous and conspicuous in former times. as i was sitting one evening under an oak in the high grounds behind utica, i could not look down upon the city without thinking of cato and his misfortunes. had the town been called crofton, or warmfield, or dewsbury, there would have been nothing remarkable in it; but utica at once revived the scenes at school long past and half-forgotten, and carried me with full speed back again to italy, and from thence to africa. i crossed the rubicon with cæsar; fought at pharsalia; saw poor pompey into larissa, and tried to wrest the fatal sword from cato's hand in utica. when i perceived he was no more, i mourned over the noble-minded man who took that part which he thought would most benefit his country. there is something magnificent in the idea of a man taking by choice the conquered side. the roman gods themselves did otherwise. _victrix_ causa diis placuit, sed _victa_ catoni. in this did cato with the gods divide, _they_ chose the conquering, _he_ the conquer'd side. the whole of the country from utica to buffalo is pleasing; and the intervening of the inland lakes, large and deep and clear, adds considerably to the effect. the spacious size of the inns, their excellent provisions, and the attention which the traveller receives in going from albany to buffalo, must at once convince him that this country is very much visited by strangers; and he will draw the conclusion that there must be something in it uncommonly interesting to cause so many travellers to pass to and fro. nature is losing fast her ancient garb and putting on a new dress in these extensive regions. most of the stately timber has been carried away; thousands of trees are lying prostrate on the ground; while meadows, cornfields, villages and pastures are ever and anon bursting upon the traveller's view as he journeys on through the remaining tracts of wood. i wish i could say a word or two for the fine timber which is yet standing. spare it, gentle inhabitants, for your country's sake. these noble sons of the forest beautify your landscapes beyond all description; when they are gone, a century will not replace their loss; they cannot, they must not fall; their vernal bloom, their summer richness, and autumnal tints, please and refresh the eye of man; and even when the days of joy and warmth are fled, the wintry blast soothes the listening ear with a sublime and pleasing melancholy as it howls through their naked branches. around me trees unnumber'd rise, beautiful in various dyes. the gloomy pine, the poplar blue, the yellow beech, the sable yew; the slender fir, that taper grows, the sturdy oak, with broad-spread boughs. a few miles before you reach buffalo the road is low and bad, and in stepping out of the stage i sprained my foot very severely; it swelled to a great size, and caused me many a day of pain and mortification, as will be seen in the sequel. buffalo looks down on lake erie, and possesses a fine and commodious inn. at a little distance is the black rock, and there you pass over to the canada side. a stage is in waiting to convey you some sixteen or twenty miles down to the falls. long before you reach the spot you hear the mighty roar of waters and see the spray of the far-famed falls of niagara rising up like a column to the heavens and mingling with the passing clouds. at this stupendous cascade of nature the waters of the lake fall feet perpendicular. it has been calculated, i forget by whom, that the quantity of water discharged down this mighty fall is , tons per minute. there are two large inns on the canada side; but after you have satisfied your curiosity in viewing the falls, and in seeing the rainbow in the foam far below where you are standing, do not, i pray you, tarry long at either of them. cross over to the american side, and there you will find a spacious inn which has nearly all the attractions: there you meet with great attention and every accommodation. the day is passed in looking at the falls and in sauntering up and down the wooded and rocky environs of the niagara; and the evening is often enlivened by the merry dance. words can hardly do justice to the unaffected ease and elegance of the american ladies who visit the falls of niagara. the traveller need not rove in imagination through circassia in search of fine forms, or through england, france and spain to meet with polished females. the numbers who are continually arriving from all parts of the union confirm the justness of this remark. i was looking one evening at a dance, being unable to join in it on account of the accident i had received near buffalo, when a young american entered the ballroom with such a becoming air and grace that it was impossible not to have been struck with her appearance. her bloom was like the springing flower that sips the silver dew, the rose was budded in her cheek, just opening to the view. i could not help feeling a wish to know where she had into such beauty spread, and blown so fair. upon inquiry i found that she was from the city of albany. the more i looked at the fair albanese the more i was convinced that in the united states of america may be found grace and beauty and symmetry equal to anything in the old world. i now for good and all (and well i might) gave up the idea of finding bugs, bears, brutes and buffaloes in this country, and was thoroughly satisfied that i had laboured under a great mistake in suspecting that i should ever meet with them. i wished to join in the dance where the fair albanese was "to brisk notes in cadence beating," but the state of my unlucky foot rendered it impossible; and as i sat with it reclined upon a sofa, full many a passing gentleman stopped to inquire the cause of my misfortune, presuming at the same time that i had got an attack of gout. now this surmise of theirs always mortified me; for i never had a fit of gout in my life, and, moreover, never expect to have one. in many of the inns in the united states there is an album on the table in which travellers insert their arrival and departure, and now and then indulge in a little flash or two of wit. i thought under existing circumstances that there would be no harm in briefly telling my misadventure; and so taking up the pen i wrote what follows, and was never after asked a single question about the gout. c. waterton, of walton hall, in the county of york, england, arrived at the falls of niagara in july , and begs leave to pen down the following dreadful accident: he sprained his foot, and hurt his toe, on the rough road near buffalo. it quite distresses him to stagger a- long the sharp rocks of famed niagara. so thus he's doomed to drink the measure of pain, in lieu of that of pleasure. on hope's delusive pinions borne he came for wool, and goes back shorn. _n.b._--here he alludes to nothing but th' adventure of his toe and foot; save this,--he sees all that which can delight and charm the soul of man, but feels it not,--because his toe and foot together plague him so. i remember once to have sprained my ankle very violently many years ago, and that the doctor ordered me to hold it under the pump two or three times a day. now in the united states of america all is upon a grand scale, except taxation; and i am convinced that the traveller's ideas become much more enlarged as he journeys through the country. this being the case, i can easily account for the desire i felt to hold my sprained foot under the fall of niagara. i descended the winding-staircase which has been made for the accommodation of travellers, and then hobbled on to the scene of action. as i held my leg under the fall i tried to meditate on the immense difference there was betwixt a house-pump and this tremendous cascade of nature, and what effect it might have upon the sprain; but the magnitude of the subject was too overwhelming, and i was obliged to drop it. perhaps, indeed, there was an unwarrantable tincture of vanity in an unknown wanderer wishing to have it in his power to tell the world that he had held his sprained foot under a fall of water which discharges , tons per minute. a gentle purling stream would have suited better. now it would have become washington to have quenched his battle-thirst in the fall of niagara; and there was something royal in the idea of cleopatra drinking pearl-vinegar made from the grandest pearl in egypt; and it became caius marius to send word that he was sitting upon the ruins of carthage. here we have the person suited to the thing, and the thing to the person. if, gentle reader, thou wouldst allow me to indulge a little longer in this harmless pen-errantry, i would tell thee that i have had my ups and downs in life as well as other people: for i have climbed to the point of the conductor above the cross on the top of st. peter's in rome and left my glove there; i have stood on one foot upon the guardian angel's head on the castle of st. angelo; and, as i have just told thee, i have been low down under the fall of niagara. but this is neither here nor there; let us proceed to something else. when the pain of my foot had become less violent, and the swelling somewhat abated, i could not resist the inclination i felt to go down ontario, and so on to montreal and quebec, and take lakes champlain and george in my way back to albany. just as i had made up my mind to it, a family from the bowling-green in new york, who was going the same route, politely invited me to join their party. nothing could be more fortunate. they were highly accomplished. the young ladies sang delightfully; and all contributed their portion to render the tour pleasant and amusing. travellers have already filled the world with descriptions of the bold and sublime scenery from lake erie to quebec: the fountain's fall, the river's flow, the woody valleys, warm and low; the windy summit, wild and high, roughly rushing to the sky. and there is scarce one of them who has not described the achievements of former and latter times on the different battle-grounds. here great wolfe expired. brave montcalm was carried, mortally wounded, through yonder gate. here fell the gallant brock; and there general sheaffee captured all the invaders. and in yonder harbour may be seen the mouldering remnants of british vessels. their hour of misfortune has long passed away. the victors have now no use for them in an inland lake. some have already sunk, while others, dismantled and half-dismasted, are just above the water, waiting in shattered state that destiny which must sooner or later destroy the fairest works of man. the excellence and despatch of the steamboats, together with the company which the traveller is sure to meet with at this time of the year, render the trip down to montreal and quebec very agreeable. the canadians are a quiet and apparently a happy people. they are very courteous and affable to strangers. on comparing them with the character which a certain female traveller, a journalist, has thought fit to give them, the stranger might have great doubts whether or not he were amongst the canadians. montreal, quebec and the falls of montmorency are well worth going to see. they are making tremendous fortifications at quebec. it will be the gibraltar of the new world. when one considers its distance from europe, and takes a view of its powerful and enterprising neighbour, virgil's remark at once rushes into the mind: sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves. i left montreal with regret. i had the good fortune to be introduced to the professors of the college. these fathers are a very learned and worthy set of gentlemen, and on my taking leave of them i felt a heaviness at heart in reflecting that i had not more time to cultivate their acquaintance. in all the way from buffalo to quebec i only met with one bug; and i cannot even swear that it belonged to the united states. in going down the st. lawrence in the steamboat i felt something crossing over my neck, and on laying hold of it with my finger and thumb it turned out to be a little half-grown, ill-conditioned bug. now whether it were going from the american to the canada side, or from the canada to the american, and had taken the advantage of my shoulders to ferry itself across, i could not tell. be this as it may, i thought of my uncle toby and the fly; and so, in lieu of placing it upon the deck, and then putting my thumb-nail vertically upon it, i quietly chucked it amongst some baggage that was close by and recommended it to get ashore by the first opportunity. when we had seen all that was worth seeing in quebec and at the falls of montmorency, and had been on board the enormous ship _columbus_, we returned for a day or two to montreal, and then proceeded to saratoga by lakes champlain and george. the steamboat from quebec to montreal had above five hundred irish emigrants on board. they were going "they hardly knew whither," far away from dear ireland. it made one's heart ache to see them all huddled together, without any expectation of ever revisiting their native soil. we feared that the sorrow of leaving home for ever, the miserable accommodations on board the ship which had brought them away, and the tossing of the angry ocean in a long and dreary voyage would have rendered them callous to good behaviour. but it was quite otherwise. they conducted themselves with great propriety. every american on board seemed to feel for them. and then "they were so full of wretchedness. need and oppression starved in their eyes. upon their backs hung ragged misery. the world was not their friend." poor dear ireland, exclaimed an aged female as i was talking to her, i shall never see it any more! and then her tears began to flow. probably the scenery on the banks of the st. lawrence recalled to her mind the remembrance of spots once interesting to her: the lovely daughter,--lovelier in her tears, the fond companion of her father's years, here silent stood,--neglectful of her charms. and left her lover's for her father's arms. with louder plaints the mother spoke her woes, and blessed the cot where every pleasure rose; and pressed her thoughtless babes, with many a tear, and clasped them close, in sorrow doubly dear. while the fond husband strove to lend relief. in all the silent manliness of grief. we went a few miles out of our route to take a look at the once formidable fortress of ticonderoga. it has long been in ruins, and seems as if it were doomed to moulder quite away. ever and anon there falls huge heaps of hoary moulder'd walls. but time has seen, that lifts the low and level lays the lofty brow, has seen this ruin'd pile complete, big with the vanity of state, but transient is the smile of fate. the scenery of lake george is superb, the inn remarkably spacious and well attended, and the conveyances from thence to saratoga very good. he must be sorely afflicted with spleen and jaundice who, on his arrival at saratoga, remarks there is nothing here worth coming to see. it is a gay and fashionable place; has four uncommonly fine hotels; its waters for medicinal virtues are surpassed by none in the known world; and it is resorted to throughout the whole of the summer by foreigners and natives of the first consideration. saratoga pleased me much; and afforded a fair opportunity of forming a pretty correct idea of the gentry of the united states. there is a pleasing frankness and ease and becoming dignity in the american ladies, and the good humour and absence of all haughtiness and puppyism in the gentlemen must, no doubt, impress the traveller with elevated notions of the company who visit this famous spa. during my stay here all was joy and affability and mirth. in the mornings the ladies played and sang for us; and the evenings were generally enlivened with the merry dance. here i bade farewell to the charming family in whose company i had passed so many happy days, and proceeded to albany. the stage stopped a little while in the town of troy. the name alone was quite sufficient to recall to the mind scenes long past and gone. poor king priam! napoleon's sorrows, sad and piercing as they were, did not come up to those of this ill-fated monarch. the greeks first set his town on fire and then began to bully: incensâ danai dominantur in urbe. one of his sons was slain before his face: "ante ora parentum, concidit." another was crushed to mummy by boa-constrictors: "immensis orbibus angues." his city was razed to the ground, "jacet ilion ingens." and pyrrhus ran him through with his sword, "capulo tenus abdidit ensem." this last may be considered as a fortunate stroke for the poor old king. had his life been spared at this juncture he could not have lived long. he must have died broken-hearted. he would have seen his son-in-law, once master of a noble stud, now, for want of a horse, obliged to carry off his father up-hill on his own back, "cessi et sublato, montem genitore petivi." he would have heard of his grandson being thrown neck and heels from a high tower, "mittitur astyanax illis de turribus." he would have been informed of his wife tearing out the eyes of king odrysius with her finger-nails, "digitos in perfida lumina condit." soon after this, losing all appearance of woman, she became a bitch, perdidit infelix, hominis post omnia formam, and rent the heavens with her howlings, externasque novo latratu terruit auras. then, becoming distracted with the remembrance of her misfortunes, "veterum memor illa malorum," she took off howling into the fields of thrace: tum quoque sithonios, ululavit moesta per agros. juno, jove's wife and sister, was heard to declare that poor hecuba did not deserve so terrible a fate: ipsa jovis conjuxque sororque, eventus hecubam meruisse negaverit illos. had poor priam escaped from troy, one thing, and only one thing, would have given him a small ray of satisfaction, viz. he would have heard of one of his daughters nobly preferring to leave this world rather than live to become servant-maid to old grecian ladies: non ego myrmidonum sedes, dolopumve superbas, adspiciam, aut graiis servitum matribus ibo. at some future period, should a foreign armed force, or intestine broils (all which heaven avert), raise troy to the dignity of a fortified city, virgil's prophecy may then be fulfilled: atque iterum ad trojam magnus mittetur achilles. after leaving troy i passed through a fine country to albany, and then proceeded by steam down the hudson to new york. travellers hesitate whether to give the preference to philadelphia or to new york. philadelphia is certainly a noble city and its environs beautiful, but there is a degree of quiet and sedateness in it which, though no doubt very agreeable to the man of calm and domestic habits, is not so attractive to one of speedy movements. the quantity of white marble which is used in the buildings gives to philadelphia a gay and lively appearance, but the sameness of the streets and their crossing each other at right angles are somewhat tiresome. the waterworks which supply the city are a proud monument of the skill and enterprise of its inhabitants, and the market is well worth the attention of the stranger. when you go to philadelphia be sure not to forget to visit the museum. it will afford you a great treat. some of mr. peale's family are constantly in it, and are ever ready to show the curiosities to strangers and to give them every necessary information. mr. peale has now passed his eightieth year, and appears to possess the vivacity and, i may almost add, the activity of youth. to the indefatigable exertions of this gentleman is the western world indebted for the possession of this splendid museum. mr. peale is, moreover, an excellent artist. look attentively, i pray you, at the portrait he has taken of himself, by desire of the state of pennsylvania. on entering the room he appears in the act of holding up a curtain to show you his curiosities. the effect of the light upon his head is infinitely striking. i have never seen anything finer in the way of light and shade. the skeleton of the mammoth is a national treasure. i could form but a faint idea of it by description until i had seen it. it is the most magnificent skeleton in the world. the city ought never to forget the great expense mr. peale was put to, and the skill and energy he showed during the many months he spent in searching the swamps where these enormous bones had been concealed from the eyes of the world for centuries. the extensive squares of this city are ornamented with well-grown and luxuriant trees. its unremitting attention to literature might cause it to be styled the athens of the united states. here learning and science have taken up their abode. the literary and philosophical associations, the enthusiasm of individuals, the activity of the press and the cheapness of the publications ought to raise the name of philadelphia to an elevated situation in the temple of knowledge. from the press of this city came wilson's famous _ornithology_. by observing the birds in their native haunts he has been enabled to purge their history of numberless absurdities which inexperienced theorists had introduced into it. it is a pleasing and a brilliant work. we have no description of birds in any european publication that can come up to this. by perusing wilson's _ornithology_ attentively before i left england i knew where to look for the birds, and immediately recognised them in their native land. since his time i fear that the white-headed eagles have been much thinned. i was perpetually looking out for them, but saw very few. one or two came now and then and soared in lofty flight over the falls of niagara. the americans are proud of this bird in effigy, and their hearts rejoice when its banner is unfurled. could they not then be persuaded to protect the white-headed eagle, and allow it to glide in safety over its own native forests? were i an american i should think i had committed a kind of sacrilege in killing the white-headed eagle. the ibis was held sacred by the egyptians; the hollanders protect the stork; the vulture sits unmolested on the top of the houses in the city of angustura; and robin redbreast, for his charity, is cherished by the english: no burial these pretty babes of any man receives, till robin-red-breast painfully. did cover them with leaves. [footnote] [footnote: the fault against grammar is lost in the beauty of the idea.] poor wilson was smote by the hand of death before he had finished his work. prince charles buonaparte, nephew to the late emperor napoleon, aided by some of the most scientific gentlemen of pennsylvania, is continuing this valuable and interesting publication. new york, with great propriety, may be called the commercial capital of the new world: urbs augusta potens, nulli cessura. ere long it will be on the coast of north america what tyre once was on that of syria. in her port are the ships of all nations, and in her streets is displayed merchandise from all parts of the known world. and then the approach to it is so enchanting! the verdant fields, the woody hills, the farms and country-houses form a beautiful landscape as you sail up to the city of new york. broadway is the principal street. it is three miles and a half long. i am at a loss to know where to look for a street in any part of the world which has so many attractions as this. there are no steam-engines to annoy you by filling the atmosphere full of soot and smoke; the houses have a stately appearance; while the eye is relieved from the perpetual sameness, which is common in most streets, by lofty and luxuriant trees. nothing can surpass the appearance of the american ladies when they take their morning walk from twelve to three in broadway. the stranger will at once see that they have rejected the extravagant superfluities which appear in the london and parisian fashions, and have only retained as much of those costumes as is becoming to the female form. this, joined to their own just notions of dress, is what renders the new york ladies so elegant in their attire. the way they wear the leghorn hat deserves a remark or two. with us the formal hand of the milliner binds down the brim to one fixed shape, and that none of the handsomest. the wearer is obliged to turn her head full ninety degrees before she can see the person who is standing by her side. but in new york the ladies have the brim of the hat not fettered with wire or tape or ribbon, but quite free and undulating; and by applying the hand to it they can conceal or expose as much of the face as circumstances require. this hiding and exposing of the face, by the by, is certainly a dangerous movement, and often fatal to the passing swain. i am convinced, in my own mind, that many a determined and unsuspecting bachelor has been shot down by this sudden manoeuvre before he was aware that he was within reach of the battery. the american ladies seem to have an abhorrence (and a very just one, too) of wearing caps. when one considers for a moment that women wear the hair long, which nature has given them both for an ornament and to keep the head warm, one is apt to wonder by what perversion of good taste they can be induced to enclose it in a cap. a mob-cap, a lace-cap, a low cap, a high cap, a flat cap, a cap with ribbons dangling loose, a cap with ribbons tied under the chin, a peak-cap, an angular cap, a round cap and a pyramid cap! how would canova's venus look in a mob-cap? if there be any ornament to the head in wearing a cap, it must surely be a false ornament. the american ladies are persuaded that the head can be ornamented without a cap. a rosebud or two, a woodbine, or a sprig of eglantine look well in the braided hair; and if there be raven locks, a lily or a snowdrop may be interwoven with effect. now that the packets are so safe, and make such quick passages to the united states, it would be as well if some of our head milliners would go on board of them in lieu of getting into the diligence for paris. they would bring back more taste and less caricature. and if they could persuade a dozen or two of the farmer's servant-girls to return with them, we should soon have proof-positive that as good butter and cheese may be made with the hair braided up, and a daisy or primrose in it, as butter and cheese made in a cap of barbarous shape, washed, perhaps, in soapsuds last new moon. new york has very good hotels and genteel boarding-houses. all charges included, you do not pay above two dollars a day. little enough, when you consider the capital accommodations and the abundance of food. in this city, as well as in others which i visited, everybody seemed to walk at his ease. i could see no inclination for jostling, no impertinent staring at you, nor attempts to create a row in order to pick your pocket. i would stand for an hour together in broadway to observe the passing multitude. there is certainly a gentleness in these people both to be admired and imitated. i could see very few dogs, still fewer cats, and but a very small proportion of fat women in the streets of new york. the climate was the only thing that i had really to find fault with; and as the autumn was now approaching i began to think of preparing for warmer regions. strangers are apt to get violent colds on account of the sudden change of the atmosphere. the noon would often be as warm as tropical weather and the close of day cold and chilly. this must sometimes act with severity upon the newly-arrived stranger, and it requires more care and circumspection than i am master of to guard against it. i contracted a bad and obstinate cough which did not quite leave me till i had got under the regular heat of the sun near the equator. i may be asked, was it all good-fellowship and civility during my stay in the united states? did no forward person cause offence? was there no exhibition of drunkenness or swearing or rudeness? or display of conduct which disgraces civilised man in other countries? i answer, very few indeed: scarce any worth remembering, and none worth noticing. these are a gentle and a civil people. should a traveller now and then in the long run witness a few of the scenes alluded to, he ought not, on his return home, to adduce a solitary instance or two as the custom of the country. in roving through the wilds of guiana i have sometimes seen a tree hollow at heart, shattered and leafless, but i did not on that account condemn its vigorous neighbours, and put down a memorandum that the woods were bad; on the contrary, i made allowances: a thunderstorm, the whirlwind, a blight from heaven might have robbed it of its bloom and caused its present forbidding appearance. and in leaving the forest i carried away the impression that, though some few of the trees were defective, the rest were an ornament to the wilds, full of uses and virtues, and capable of benefiting the world in a superior degree. a man generally travels into foreign countries for his own ends, and i suspect there is scarcely an instance to be found of a person leaving his own home solely with the intention of benefiting those amongst whom he is about to travel. a commercial speculation, curiosity, a wish for information, a desire to reap benefit from an acquaintance with our distant fellow-creatures are the general inducements for a man to leave his own fireside. this ought never to be forgotten, and then the traveller will journey on under the persuasion that it rather becomes him to court than expect to be courted, as his own interest is the chief object of his travels. with this in view he will always render himself pleasant to the natives; and they are sure to repay his little acts of courtesy with ample interest, and with a fund of information which will be of great service to him. while in the united states i found our western brother a very pleasant fellow; but his portrait has been drawn in such different shades by different travellers who have been through his territory, that it requires a personal interview before a correct idea can be formed of his true colours. he is very inquisitive; but it is quite wrong on that account to tax him with being of an impertinent turn. he merely interrogates you for information, and, when you have satisfied him on that score, only ask him in your turn for an account of what is going on in his own country and he will tell you everything about it with great good humour and in excellent language. he has certainly hit upon the way (but i could not make out by what means) of speaking a much purer english language than that which is in general spoken on the parent soil. this astonished me much; but it is really the case. amongst his many good qualities he has one unenviable and, i may add, a bad propensity: he is immoderately fond of smoking. he may say that he learned it from his nurse, with whom it was once much in vogue. in dutch william's time (he was a man of bad taste) the english gentleman could not do without his pipe. during the short space of time that corporal trim was at the inn inquiring after poor lefevre's health, my uncle toby had knocked the ashes out of three pipes. "it was not till my uncle toby had knocked the ashes out of his third pipe," etc. now these times have luckily gone by, and the custom of smoking amongst genteel englishmen has nearly died away with them. it is a foul custom; it makes a foul mouth, and a foul place where the smoker stands. however, every nation has its whims. john bull relishes stinking venison; a frenchman depopulates whole swamps in quest of frogs; a dutchman's pipe is never out of his mouth; a russian will eat tallow-candles; and the american indulges in the cigar. "de gustibus non est disputandum." our western brother is in possession of a country replete with everything that can contribute to the happiness and comfort of mankind. his code of laws, purified by experience and common-sense, has fully answered the expectations of the public. by acting up to the true spirit of this code he has reaped immense advantages from it. his advancement as a nation has been rapid beyond all calculation, and, young as he is, it may be remarked without any impropriety that he is now actually reading a salutary lesson to the rest of the civilised world. it is but some forty years ago that he had the dispute with his nurse about a dish of tea. she wanted to force the boy to drink it according to her own receipt. he said he did not like it, and that it absolutely made him ill. after a good deal of sparring she took up the birch-rod and began to whip him with an uncommon degree of asperity. when the poor lad found that he must either drink the nauseous dish of tea or be flogged to death, he turned upon her in self-defence, showed her to the outside of the nursery-door, and never more allowed her to meddle with his affairs. since the independence the population has increased from three to ten millions. a fine navy has been built, and everything attended to that could ensure prosperity at home and respect abroad. the former wilds of north america bear ample testimony to the achievements of this enterprising people. forests have been cleared away, swamps drained, canals dug and flourishing settlements established. from the shores of the atlantic an immense column of knowledge has rolled into the interior. the mississippi, the ohio, the missouri and their tributary streams have been wonderfully benefited by it. it now seems as if it were advancing towards the stony mountains, and probably will not become stationary till it reaches the pacific ocean. this almost immeasurable territory affords a shelter and a home to mankind in general: jew or gentile, king's-man or republican, he meets with a friendly reception in the united states. his opinions, his persecutions, his errors or mistakes, however they may have injured him in other countries, are dead and of no avail on his arrival here. provided he keeps the peace he is sure to be at rest. politicians of other countries imagine that intestine feuds will cause a division in this commonwealth; at present there certainly appears to be no reason for such a conjecture. heaven forbid that it should happen. the world at large would suffer by it. for ages yet to come may this great commonwealth continue to be the united states of north america. the sun was now within a week or two of passing into the southern hemisphere, and the mornings and evenings were too cold to be comfortable. i embarked for the island of antigua with the intention of calling at the different islands in the caribbean sea on my way once more towards the wilds of guiana. we were thirty days in making antigua, and thanked providence for ordering us so long a passage. a tremendous gale of wind, approaching to a hurricane, had done much damage in the west indies. had our passage been of ordinary length we should inevitably have been caught in the gale. st. john's is the capital of antigua. in better times it may have had its gaieties and amusements. at present it appears sad and woebegone. the houses, which are chiefly of wood, seem as if they have not had a coat of paint for many years; the streets are uneven and ill-paved; and as the stranger wanders through them, he might fancy that they would afford a congenial promenade to the man who is about to take his last leave of surrounding worldly misery before he hangs himself. there had been no rain for some time, so that the parched and barren pastures near the town might, with great truth, be called rosinante's own. the mules feeding on them put you in mind of ovid's description of famine: dura cutis, per quam spectari viscera possent. it is somewhat singular that there is not a single river or brook in the whole island of antigua. in this it differs from tartary in the other world, which, according to old writers, has five rivers--viz. acheron, phlegeton, cocytus, styx and lethe. in this island i found the redstart, described in wilson's _ornithology of the united states_. i wished to learn whether any of these birds remain the whole year in antigua and breed there, or whether they all leave it for the north when the sun comes out of the southern hemisphere; but upon inquiry i could get no information whatever. after passing a dull week here i sailed for guadaloupe, whose bold and cloud-capped mountains have a grand appearance as you approach the island. basseterre, the capital, is a neat town, with a handsome public walk in the middle of it, well shaded by a row of fine tamarind trees on each side. behind the town la souffrière raises its high romantic summit, and on a clear day you may see the volcanic smoke which issues from it. nearly midway betwixt guadaloupe and dominica you escry the saintes. though high and bold and rocky, they have still a diminutive appearance when compared with their two gigantic neighbours. you just see marigalante to windward of them, some leagues off, about a yard high in the horizon. dominica is majestic in high and rugged mountains. as you sail along it you cannot help admiring its beautiful coffee-plantations, in places so abrupt and steep that you would pronounce them almost inaccessible. roseau, the capital, is but a small town, and has nothing attractive except the well-known hospitality of the present harbour-master, who is particularly attentive to strangers and furnishes them with a world of information concerning the west indies. roseau has seen better days, and you can trace good taste and judgment in the way in which the town has originally been laid out. some years ago it was visited by a succession of misfortunes which smote it so severely that it has never recovered its former appearance. a strong french fleet bombarded it; while a raging fire destroyed its finest buildings. some time after an overwhelming flood rolled down the gullies and fissures of the adjacent mountains and carried all before it. men, women and children, houses and property, were all swept away by this mighty torrent. the terrible scene was said to beggar all description, and the loss was immense. dominica is famous for a large species of frog which the inhabitants keep in readiness to slaughter for the table. in the woods of this island the large rhinoceros-beetle is very common: it measures above six inches in length. in the same woods is found the beautiful humming-bird, the breast and throat of which are of a brilliant changing purple. i have searched for this bird in brazil and through the whole of the wilds from the rio branco, which is a branch of the amazons, to the river paumaron, but never could find it. i was told by a man in the egyptian hall in piccadilly that this humming-bird is found in mexico; but upon questioning him more about it his information seemed to have been acquired by hearsay; and so i concluded that it does not appear in mexico. i suspect that it is never found out of the antilles. after leaving dominica you soon reach the grand and magnificent island of martinico. st. pierre, its capital, is a fine town, and possesses every comfort. the inhabitants seem to pay considerable attention to the cultivation of the tropical fruits. a stream of water runs down the streets with great rapidity, producing a pleasing effect as you pass along. here i had an opportunity of examining a cuckoo which had just been shot. it was exactly the same as the metallic cuckoo in wilson's _ornithology_. they told me it is a migratory bird in martinico. it probably repairs to this island after its departure from the united states. at a little distance from martinico the celebrated diamond rock rises in insulated majesty out of the sea. it was fortified during the last war with france, and bravely defended by an english captain. in a few hours from martinico you are at st. lucie, whose rough and towering mountains fill you with sublime ideas, as you approach its rocky shore. the town castries is quite embayed. it was literally blown to pieces by the fatal hurricane in which the unfortunate governor and his lady lost their lives. its present forlorn and gloomy appearance, and the grass which is grown up in the streets, too plainly show that its hour of joy is passed away and that it is in mourning, as it were, with the rest of the british west indies. from st. lucie i proceeded to barbadoes in quest of a conveyance to the island of trinidad. near bridgetown, the capital of barbadoes, i saw the metallic cuckoo already alluded to. barbadoes is no longer the merry island it was when i visited it some years ago: infelix habitum, temporis hujus habet. there is an old song, to the tune of "la belle catharine," which must evidently have been composed in brighter times: come let us dance and sing, while barbadoes bells do ring; quashi scrapes the fiddle-string, and venus plays the lute. quashi's fiddle was silent, and mute was the lute of venus during my stay in barbadoes. the difference betwixt the french and british islands was very striking. the first appeared happy and content; the second were filled with murmurs and complaints. the late proceedings in england concerning slavery and the insurrection in demerara had evidently caused the gloom. the abolition of slavery is a question full of benevolence and fine feelings, difficulties and danger: tantum ne noceas, dum vis prodesse videto. it requires consummate prudence and a vast fund of true information in order to draw just conclusions on this important subject. phaeton, by awkward driving, set the world on fire: "sylvæ cum montibus ardent." dædalus gave his son a pair of wings without considering the consequence; the boy flew out of all bounds, lost his wings, and tumbled into the sea: icarus, icariis nomina fecit aquis. when the old man saw what had happened, he damned his own handicraft in wing-making: "devovitque suas artes." prudence is a cardinal virtue: omnia consulta mente gerenda tegens. foresight is half the battle. "hombre apercebido, medio combatido," says don quixote, or sancho, i do not remember which. had queen bess weighed well in her own mind the probable consequences of this lamentable traffic, it is likely she would not have been owner of two vessels in sir john hawkins's squadron, which committed the first robbery in negro flesh on the coast of africa. as philanthropy is the very life and soul of this momentous question on slavery, which is certainly fraught with great difficulties and danger, perhaps it would be as well at present for the nation to turn its thoughts to poor ill-fated ireland, where oppression, poverty and rags make a heart-rending appeal to the feelings of the benevolent. but to proceed. there was another thing which added to the dullness of barbadoes and which seemed to have considerable effect in keeping away strangers from the island. the legislature had passed a most extraordinary bill, by virtue of which every person who arrives at barbadoes is obliged to pay two dollars, and two dollars more on his departure from it. it is called the alien bill; and every barbadian who leaves or returns to the island, and every englishman too, pays the tax! finding no vessel here for trinidad, i embarked in a schooner for demerara, landed there after being nearly stranded on a sandbank, and proceeded without loss of time to the forests in the interior. it was the dry season, which renders a residence in the woods very delightful. there are three species of jacamar to be found on the different sandhills and dry savannas of demerara; but there is another much larger and far more beautiful to be seen when you arrive in that part of the country where there are rocks. the jacamar has no affinity to the woodpecker or kingfisher (notwithstanding what travellers affirm) either in its haunts or anatomy. the jacamar lives entirely on insects, but never goes in search of them. it sits patiently for hours together on the branch of a tree, and when the incautious insect approaches it flies at it with the rapidity of an arrow, seizes it, and generally returns to eat it on the branch which it had just quitted. it has not the least attempt at song, is very solitary, and so tame that you may get within three or four yards of it before it takes flight. the males of all the different species which i have examined have white feathers on the throat. i suspect that all the male jacamars hitherto discovered have this distinctive mark. i could learn nothing of its incubation. the indians informed me that one species of jacamar lays its eggs in the wood-ants' nests, which are so frequent in the trees of guiana, and appear like huge black balls. i wish there had been proof positive of this; but the breeding-time was over, and in the ants' nests which i examined i could find no marks of birds having ever been in them. early in january the jacamar is in fine plumage for the cabinet of the naturalist. the largest species measures ten inches and a half from the point of the beak to the end of the tail. its name amongst the indians is una-waya-adoucati, that is, grandfather of the jacamar. it is certainly a splendid bird, and in the brilliancy and changeableness of its metallic colours it yields to none of the asiatic and african feathered tribe. the colours of the female are nearly as bright as those of the male, but she wants the white feathers on the throat. the large jacamar is pretty common about two hundred miles up the river demerara. here i had a fine opportunity once more of examining the three-toed sloth. he was in the house with me for a day or two. had i taken a description of him as he lay sprawling on the floor i should have misled the world and injured natural history. on the ground he appeared really a bungled composition, and faulty at all points; awkwardness and misery were depicted on his countenance; and when i made him advance he sighed as though in pain. perhaps it was that by seeing him thus out of his element, as it were, that the count de buffon, in his history of the sloth, asks the question: "why should not some animals be created for misery, since, in the human species, the greatest number of individuals are devoted to pain from the moment of their existence?" were the question put to me i would answer, i cannot conceive that any of them are created for misery. that thousands live in misery there can be no doubt; but then misery has overtaken them in their path through life, and wherever man has come up with them i should suppose they have seldom escaped from experiencing a certain proportion of misery. after fully satisfying myself that it only leads the world into error to describe the sloth while he is on the ground or in any place except in a tree, i carried the one i had in my possession to his native haunts. as soon as he came in contact with the branch of a tree all went right with him. i could see as he climbed up into his own country that he was on the right road to happiness; and felt persuaded more than ever that the world has hitherto erred in its conjectures concerning the sloth, on account of naturalists not having given a description of him when he was in the only position in which he ought to have been described, namely, clinging to the branch of a tree. as the appearance of this part of the country bears great resemblance to cayenne, and is so near to it, i was in hopes to have found the grande gobe-mouche of buffon and the septi-coloured tangara, both of which are common in cayenne; but after many diligent searches i did not succeed, nor could i learn from the indians that they had ever seen those two species of birds in these parts. here i procured the gross-beak with a rich scarlet body and black head and throat. buffon mentions it as coming from america. i had been in quest of it for years, but could never see it, and concluded that it was not to be found in demerara. this bird is of a greenish brown before it acquires its rich plumage. amongst the bare roots of the trees, alongside of this part of the river, a red crab sometimes makes its appearance as you are passing up and down. it is preyed upon by a large species of owl which i was fortunate enough to procure. its head, back, wings and tail are of so dark a brown as almost to appear black. the breast is of a somewhat lighter brown. the belly and thighs are of a dirty yellow-white. the feathers round the eyes are of the same dark brown as the rest of the body; and then comes a circle of white which has much the appearance of the rim of a large pair of spectacles. i strongly suspect that the dirty yellow-white of the belly and thighs has originally been pure white, and that it has come to its present colour by means of the bird darting down upon its prey in the mud. but this is mere conjecture. here, too, close to the river, i frequently saw the bird called sun-bird by the english colonists and tirana by the spaniards in the oroonoque. it is very elegant, and in its outward appearance approaches near to the heron tribe; still, it does not live upon fish. flies and insects are its food, and it takes them just as the heron takes fish, by approaching near and then striking with its beak at its prey so quick that it has no chance to escape. the beautiful mixture of grey, yellow, green, black, white and chestnut in the plumage of this bird baffles any attempt to give a description of the distribution of them which would be satisfactory to the reader. there is something remarkable in the great tinamou which i suspect has hitherto escaped notice. it invariably roosts in trees, but the feet are so very small in proportion to the body of this bulky bird that they can be of no use to it in grasping the branch; and, moreover, the hind-toe is so short that it does not touch the ground when the bird is walking. the back part of the leg, just below the knee, is quite flat and somewhat concave. on it are strong pointed scales, which are very rough, and catch your finger as you move it along from the knee to the toe. now, by means of these scales and the particular flatness of that part of the leg, the bird is enabled to sleep in safety upon the branch of a tree. at the close of day the great tinamou gives a loud, monotonous, plaintive whistle, and then immediately springs into the tree. by the light of the full-moon the vigilant and cautious naturalist may see him sitting in the position already described. the small tinamou has nothing that can be called a tail. it never lays more than one egg, which is of a chocolate colour. it makes no nest, but merely scratches a little hollow in the sand, generally at the foot of a tree. here we have an instance of a bird the size of a partridge, and of the same tribe, laying only one egg, while the rest of the family, from the peahen to the quail, are known to lay a considerable number. the foot of this bird is very small in proportion, but the back part of the leg bears no resemblance to that of the larger tinamou; hence one might conclude that it sleeps upon the ground. independent of the hollow trees, the vampires have another hiding-place. they clear out the inside of the large ants' nests and then take possession of the shell. i had gone about half a day down the river to a part of the forest where the wallaba-trees were in great plenty. the seeds had ripened, and i was in hopes to have got the large scarlet ara, which feeds on them. but unfortunately the time had passed away, and the seeds had fallen. while ranging here in the forest we stopped under an ants' nest, and, by the dirt below, conjectured that it had got new tenants. thinking it no harm to dislodge them, "vi et armis," an indian boy ascended the tree, but before he reached the nest out flew above a dozen vampires. i have formerly remarked that i wished to have it in my power to say that i had been sucked by the vampire. i gave them many an opportunity, but they always fought shy; and though they now sucked a young man of the indian breed very severely, as he was sleeping in his hammock in the shed next to mine, they would have nothing to do with me. his great toe seemed to have all the attractions. i examined it minutely as he was bathing it in the river at daybreak. the midnight surgeon had made a hole in it almost of a triangular shape, and the blood was then running from it apace. his hammock was so defiled and stained with clotted blood that he was obliged to beg an old black woman to wash it. as she was taking it down to the river-side she spread it out before me, and shook her head. i remarked that i supposed her own toe was too old and tough to invite the vampire-doctor to get his supper out of it, and she answered, with a grin, that doctors generally preferred young people. nobody has yet been able to inform me how it is that the vampire manages to draw such a large quantity of blood, generally from the toe, and the patient all the time remains in a profound sleep. i have never heard of an instance of a man waking under the operation. on the contrary, he continues in a sound sleep, and at the time of rising his eyes first inform him that there has been a thirsty thief on his toe. the teeth of the vampire are very sharp and not unlike those of a rat. if it be that he inflicts the wound with his teeth (and he seems to have no other instruments), one would suppose that the acuteness of the pain would cause the person who is sucked to awake. we are in darkness in this matter, and i know of no means by which one might be enabled to throw light upon it. it is to be hoped that some future wanderer through the wilds of guiana will be more fortunate than i have been and catch this nocturnal depredator in the fact. i have once before mentioned that i killed a vampire which measured thirty-two inches from wing to wing extended, but others which i have since examined have generally been from twenty to twenty-six inches in dimension. the large humming-bird, called by the indians kara-bimiti, invariably builds its nest in the slender branches of the trees which hang over the rivers and creeks. in appearance it is like brown tanned leather, and without any particle of lining. the rim of the nest is doubled inwards, and i always conjectured that it had taken this shape on account of the body of the bird pressing against it while she was laying her eggs. but this was quite a wrong conjecture. instinct has taught the bird to give it this shape in order that the eggs may be prevented from rolling out. the trees on the river's bank are particularly exposed to violent gusts of wind, and while i have been sitting in the canoe and looking on, i have seen the slender branch of the tree which held the humming-bird's nest so violently shaken that the bottom of the inside of the nest has appeared, and had there been nothing at the rim to stop the eggs they must inevitably have been jerked out into the water. i suspect the humming-bird never lays more than two eggs. i never found more than two in any of the many nests which have come in my way. the eggs were always white without any spots on them. probably travellers have erred in asserting that the monkeys of south america throw sticks and fruit at their pursuers. i have had fine opportunities of narrowly watching the different species of monkeys which are found in the wilds betwixt the amazons and the oroonoque. i entirely acquit them of acting on the offensive. when the monkeys are in the high trees over your head the dead branches will now and then fall down upon you, having been broken off as the monkeys pass along them; but they are never hurled from their hands. monkeys, commonly so called, both in the old and new continent, may be classed into three grand divisions: namely, the ape, which has no tail whatever; the baboon, which has only a short tail; and the monkey, which has a long tail. there are no apes and no baboons as yet discovered in the new world. its monkeys may be very well and very briefly ranged under two heads: namely, those with hairy and bushy tails; and those whose tails are bare of hair underneath about six inches from the extremity. those with hairy and bushy tails climb just like the squirrel, and make no use of the tail to help them from branch to branch. those which have the tail bare underneath towards the end find it of infinite advantage to them in their ascent and descent. they apply it to the branch of the tree, as though it were a supple finger, and frequently swing by it from the branch like the pendulum of a clock. it answers all the purposes of a fifth hand to the monkey, as naturalists have already observed. the large red monkey of demerara is not a baboon, though it goes by that name, having a long pensile tail. [footnote: i believe _pensile_ is a new-coined word. i have seen it, but do not remember where.] nothing can sound more dreadful than its nocturnal howlings. while lying in your hammock in these gloomy and immeasurable wilds, you hear him howling at intervals from eleven o'clock at night till daybreak. you would suppose that half the wild beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of carnage. now it is the tremendous roar of the jaguar as he springs on his prey: now it changes to his terrible and deep-toned growlings as he is pressed on all sides by superior force: and now you hear his last dying moan beneath a mortal wound. some naturalists have supposed that these awful sounds which you would fancy are those of enraged and dying wild beasts proceed from a number of the red monkeys howling in concert. one of them alone is capable of producing all these sounds; and the anatomists on an inspection of his trachea will be fully satisfied that this is the case. when you look at him, as he is sitting on the branch of a tree, you will see a lump in his throat the size of a large hen's egg. in dark and cloudy weather, and just before a squall of rain, this monkey will often howl in the daytime; and if you advance cautiously, and get under the high and tufted tree where he is sitting, you may have a capital opportunity of witnessing his wonderful powers of producing these dreadful and discordant sounds. his flesh is good food; but when skinned his appearance is so like that of a young one of our own species that a delicate stomach might possibly revolt at the idea of putting a knife and fork into it. however, i can affirm from experience that, after a long and dreary march through these remote forests, the flesh of this monkey is not to be sneezed at when boiled in cayenne-pepper or roasted on a stick over a good fire. a young one tastes not unlike kid, and the old ones have somewhat the flavour of he-goat. i mentioned, in a former adventure, that i had hit upon an entirely new plan of making the skins of quadrupeds retain their exact form and feature. intense application to the subject has since that period enabled me to shorten the process and hit the character of an animal to a very great nicety, even to the preservation of the pouting lip, dimples, warts and wrinkles on the face. i got a fine specimen of the howling monkey, and took some pains with it in order to show the immense difference that exists betwixt the features of this monkey and those of man. i also procured an animal which has caused not a little speculation and astonishment. in my opinion, his thick coat of hair and great length of tail put his species out of all question, but then his face and head cause the inspector to pause for a moment before he ventures to pronounce his opinion of the classification. he was a large animal, and as i was pressed for daylight, and moreover, felt no inclination to have the whole weight of his body upon my back, i contented myself with his head and shoulders, which i cut off, and have brought them with me to europe. [footnote: my young friend mr. j. h. foljambe, eldest son of thomas foljambe, esq., of wakefield, has made a drawing of the head and shoulders of this animal, and it is certainly a most correct and striking likeness of the original.] i have since found that i acted quite right in doing so, having had enough to answer for the head alone, without saying anything of his hands and feet, and of his tail, which is an appendage, lord kames asserts, belongs to us. the features of this animal are quite of the grecian cast, and he has a placidity of countenance which shows that things went well with him when in life. some gentlemen of great skill and talent, on inspecting his head, were convinced that the whole series of its features has been changed. others again have hesitated, and betrayed doubts, not being able to make up their minds whether it be possible that the brute features of the monkey can be changed into the noble countenance of man: "scinditur vulgus." one might argue at considerable length on this novel subject; and perhaps, after all, produce little more than prolix pedantry: "vox et praeterea nihil." let us suppose for an instant that it is a new species. well; "una golondrina no hace verano": one swallow does not make summer, as sancho panza says. still, for all that, it would be well worth while going out to search for it; and these times of pasco-peruvian enterprise are favourable to the undertaking. perhaps, gentle reader, you would wish me to go in quest of another. i would beg leave respectfully to answer that the way is dubious, long and dreary; and though, unfortunately, i cannot allege the excuse of "me pia conjux detinet," still i would fain crave a little repose. i have already been a long while errant: longa mihi exilia, et vastum maris æquor aravi, ne mandate mihi, nam ego sum defessus agendo. should anybody be induced to go, great and innumerable are the discoveries yet to be made in those remote wilds; and should he succeed in bringing home even a head alone, with features as perfect as those of that which i have brought, far from being envious of him, i should consider him a modern alcides, fully entitled to register a thirteenth labour. now if, on the other hand, we argue that this head in question has had all its original features destroyed, and a set of new ones given to it, by what means has this hitherto unheard-of change been effected? nobody in any of our museums has as yet been able to restore the natural features to stuffed animals; and he who has any doubts of this, let him take a living cat or dog and compare them with a stuffed cat or dog in any of the first-rate museums. a momentary glance of the eye would soon settle his doubts on this head. if i have succeeded in effacing the features of a brute, and putting those of a man in their place, we might be entitled to say that the sun of proteus has risen to our museums: unius hic faciem, facies transformat in omnes; nunc homo, nunc tigris; nunc equa, nunc mulier. if i have effected this, we can now give to one side of the skin of a man's face the appearance of eighty years and to the other side that of blooming seventeen. we could make the forehead and eyes serene in youthful beauty and shape the mouth and jaws to the features of a malicious old ape. here is a new field opened to the adventurous and experimental naturalist: i have trodden it up and down till i am almost weary. to get at it myself i have groped through an alley which may be styled in the words of ovid: arduus, obliquus, caligine densus opaca. i pray thee, gentle reader, let me out awhile. time passes on apace; and i want to take thee to have a peep at the spots where mines are supposed to exist in guiana. as the story of this singular head has probably not been made out to thy satisfaction, perhaps (i may say it nearly in corporal trim's words), on some long and dismal winter's evening, but not now, i may tell thee more about it; together with that of another head which is equally striking. it is commonly reported, and i think there is no reason to doubt the fact, that when demerara and essequibo were under the dutch flag there were mines of gold and silver opened near to the river essequibo. the miners were not successful in their undertaking, and it is generally conjectured that their failure proceeded from inexperience. now, when you ascend the essequibo, some hundred miles above the place where these mines are said to be found, you get into a high, rocky and mountainous country. here many of the mountains have a very barren aspect, producing only a few stinted shrubs, and here and there a tuft of coarse grass. i could not learn that they have ever been explored, and at this day their mineralogy is totally unknown to us. the indians are so thinly scattered in this part of the country that there would be no impropriety in calling it uninhabited: apparent rari errantes in gurgite vasto. it remains to be yet learnt whether this portion of guiana be worth looking after with respect to its supposed mines. the mining speculations at present are flowing down another channel. the rage in england for working the mines of other states has now risen to such a pitch, that it would require a considerable degree of caution in a mere wanderer of the woods in stepping forward to say anything that might tend to raise or depress the spirits of the speculators. a question or two, however, might be asked. when the revolted colonies shall have repaired in some measure the ravages of war, and settled their own political economy upon a firm foundation, will they quietly submit to see foreigners carrying away those treasures which are absolutely part of their own soil, and which necessity (necessity has no law) forced them to barter away in their hour of need? now, if it should so happen that the masters of the country begin to repent of their bargain and become envious of the riches which foreigners carry off, many a teasing law might be made and many a vexatious enaction might be put in force that would in all probability bring the speculators into trouble and disappointment. besides this consideration there is another circumstance which ought not to be overlooked. i allude to the change of masters nearly throughout the whole of america. it is a curious subject for the european philosopher to moralise upon and for the politician to examine. the more they consider it, the more they will be astonished. if we may judge by what has already taken place, we are entitled to predict that in a very few years more no european banner will be seen to float in any part of the new world. let us take a cursory view of it. england some years ago possessed a large portion of the present united states. france had louisiana; spain held the floridas, mexico, darien, terra firma, buenos ayres, paraguay, chili, peru and california; and portugal ruled the whole of brazil. all these immense regions are now independent states. england, to be sure, still has canada, nova scotia and a few creeks on the coast of labrador; also a small settlement in honduras, and the wilds of demerara and essequibo; and these are all. france has not a foot of ground, except the forests of cayenne. portugal has lost every province; spain is blockaded in nearly her last citadel; and the dutch flag is only seen in surinam. nothing more now remains to europe of this immense continent where but a very few years ago she reigned triumphant. with regard to the west india islands, they may be considered as the mere outposts of this mammoth domain. st. domingo has already shaken off her old masters and become a star of observation to the rest of the sable brethren. the anti-slavery associations of england, full of benevolence and activity, have opened a tremendous battery upon the last remaining forts which the lords of the old continent still hold in the new world; and in all probability will not cease firing till they shall have caused the last flag to be struck of europe's late mighty empire in the transatlantic regions. it cannot well be doubted but that the sable hordes in the west indies will like to follow good example whenever they shall have it in their power to do so. now with st. domingo as an example before them, how long will it be before they try to raise themselves into independent states? and if they should succeed in crushing us in these our last remaining tenements, i would bet ten to one that none of the new governments will put on mourning for our departure out of the new world. we must well remember that our own government was taxed with injustice and oppression by the united states during their great struggle; and the british press for years past has, and is still, teeming with every kind of abuse and unbecoming satire against spain and portugal for their conduct towards the now revolted colonies. france also comes in for her share of obloquy. now this being the case, will not america at large wish most devoutly for the day to come when europe shall have no more dominion over her? will she not say to us: our new forms of government are very different from your old ones. we will trade with you, but we shall always be very suspicious of you as long as you retain possession of the west indies, which are, as we may say, close to our door-steads. you must be very cautious how you interfere with our politics; for, if we find you meddling with them, and by that means cause us to come to loggerheads, we shall be obliged to send you back to your own homes three or four thousand miles across the atlantic; and then with that great ditch betwixt us we may hope we shall be good friends. he who casts his eye on the east indies will there see quite a different state of things. the conquered districts have merely changed one european master for another; and i believe there is no instance of any portion of the east indies throwing off the yoke of the europeans and establishing a government of their own. ye who are versed in politics, and study the rise and fall of empires, and know what is good for civilised man and what is bad for him, or, in other words, what will make him happy and what will make him miserable--tell us how comes it that europe has lost almost her last acre in the boundless expanse of territory which she so lately possessed in the west, and still contrives to hold her vast property in the extensive regions of the east? but whither am i going? i find myself on a new and dangerous path. pardon, gentle reader, this sudden deviation. methinks i hear thee saying to me: tramite quo tendis, majoraque viribus audes. i grant that i have erred, but i will do so no more. in general i avoid politics; they are too heavy for me, and i am aware that they have caused the fall of many a strong and able man; they require the shoulders of atlas to support their weight. when i was in the rocky mountains of macoushia, in the month of june , i saw four young cock-of-the-rocks in an indian's hut; they had been taken out of the nest that week. they were of a uniform dirty brown colour, and by the position of the young feathers upon the head you might see that there would be a crest there when the bird arrived at maturity. by seeing young ones in the month of june i immediately concluded that the old cock-of-the-rock would be in fine plumage from the end of november to the beginning of may; and that the naturalist who was in quest of specimens for his museum ought to arrange his plans in such a manner as to be able to get into macoushia during these months. however, i find now that no exact period can be fixed; for in december an indian in the river demerara gave me a young cock-of-the-rock not a month old, and it had just been brought from the macoushi country. by having a young specimen at this time of the year it puts it out of one's power to say at what precise time the old birds are in full plumage. i took it on board a ship with me for england, but it was so very susceptible of cold that it shivered and died three days after we had passed antigua. if ever there should be a great demand for large supplies of gum-elastic, commonly called india-rubber, it may be procured in abundance far away in the wilds of demerara and essequibo. some years ago, when i was in the macoushi country, there was a capital trick played upon me about india-rubber. it is, almost too good to be left out of these wanderings, and it shows that the wild and uneducated indian is not without abilities. weary and sick and feeble through loss of blood, i arrived at some indian huts which were about two hours distant from the place where the gum-elastic trees grew. after a day and a night's rest i went to them, and with my own hands made a fine ball of pure india-rubber; it hardened immediately as it became exposed to the air, and its elasticity was almost incredible. while procuring it, exposure to the rain, which fell in torrents, brought on a return of inflammation in the stomach, and i was obliged to have recourse again to the lancet, and to use it with an unsparing hand. i wanted another ball, but was not in a state the next morning to proceed to the trees. a fine interesting young indian, observing my eagerness to have it, tendered his services, and asked two handfuls of fish-hooks for his trouble. off he went, and to my great surprise returned in a very short time. bearing in mind the trouble and time it had cost me to make a ball, i could account for this indian's expedition in no other way except that, being an inhabitant of the forest, he knew how to go about his work in a much shorter way than i did. his ball, to be sure, had very little elasticity in it. i tried it repeatedly, but it never rebounded a yard high. the young indian watched me with great gravity, and when i made him understand that i expected the ball would dance better, he called another indian who knew a little english to assure me that i might be quite easy on that score. the young rogue, in order to render me a complete dupe, brought the new moon to his aid. he gave me to understand that the ball was like the little moon which he pointed to, and by the time it grew big and old the ball would bounce beautifully. this satisfied me, and i gave him the fish-hooks, which he received without the least change of countenance. i bounced the ball repeatedly for two months after, but i found that it still remained in its infancy. at last i suspected that the savage (to use a vulgar phrase) had "come yorkshire" over me; and so i determined to find out how he had managed to take me in. i cut the ball in two, and then saw what a taught trick he had played me. it seems he had chewed some leaves into a lump the size of a walnut, and then dipped them in the liquid gum-elastic. it immediately received a coat about as thick as a sixpence. he then rolled some more leaves round it and gave it another coat. he seems to have continued this process till he made the ball considerably larger than the one i had procured; and in order to put his roguery out of all chance of detection he made the last and outer coat thicker than a dollar. this indian would, no doubt, have thriven well in some of our great towns. finding that the rainy season was coming on, i left the wilds of demerara and essequibo with regret towards the close of december , and reached once more the shores of england after a long and unpleasant passage. ere we part, kind reader, i could wish to draw a little of thy attention to the instructions which are to be found at the end of this book. twenty years have now rolled away since i first began to examine the specimens of zoology in our museums. as the system of preparation is founded in error, nothing but deformity, distortion and disproportion will be the result of the best intentions and utmost exertions of the workman. canova's education, taste and genius enabled him to present to the world statues so correct and beautiful that they are worthy of universal admiration. had a common stonecutter tried his hand upon the block out of which these statues were sculptured, what a lamentable want of symmetry and fine countenance there would have been. now when we reflect that the preserved specimens in our museums and private collections are always done upon a wrong principle, and generally by low and illiterate people whose daily bread depends upon the shortness of time in which they can get through their work, and whose opposition to the true way of preparing specimens can only be surpassed by their obstinacy in adhering to the old method, can we any longer wonder at their want of success or hope to see a single specimen produced that will be worth looking at? with this i conclude, hoping that thou hast received some information, and occasionally had a smile upon thy countenance, while perusing these _wanderings_; and begging at the same time to add that: well i know thy penetration many a stain and blot will see, in the languid long narration, of my sylvan errantry. for the pen too oft was weary, in the wandering writer's hand, as he roved through deep and dreary forests, in a distant land. show thy mercy, gentle reader, let him not entreat in vain; it will be his strength's best feeder, should he ever go again. and who knows, how soon complaining of a cold and wifeless home, he may leave it, and again in equatorial regions roam. c.w. * * * * * on preserving birds for cabinets of natural history were you to pay as much attention to birds as the sculptor does to the human frame, you would immediately see, on entering a museum, that the specimens are not well done. this remark will not be thought severe when you reflect that that which once was a bird has probably been stretched, stuffed, stiffened and wired by the hand of a common clown. consider, likewise, how the plumage must have been disordered by too much stretching or drying, and perhaps sullied, or at least deranged, by the pressure of a coarse and heavy hand--plumage which, ere life had fled from within it, was accustomed to be touched by nothing rougher than the dew of heaven and the pure and gentle breath of air. in dissecting, three things are necessary to ensure success: viz. a penknife, a hand not coarse or clumsy, and practice. the first will furnish you with the means; the second will enable you to dissect; and the third cause you to dissect well. these may be called the mere mechanical requisites. in stuffing, you require cotton, a needle and thread, a little stick the size of a common knitting-needle, glass eyes, a solution of corrosive sublimate, and any kind of a common temporary box to hold the specimen. these also may go under the same denomination as the former. but if you wish to excel in the art, if you wish to be in ornithology what angelo was in sculpture, you must apply to profound study and your own genius to assist you. and these may be called the scientific requisites. you must have a complete knowledge of ornithological anatomy. you must pay close attention to the form and attitude of the bird, and know exactly the proportion each curve, or extension, or contraction, or expansion of any particular part bears to the rest of the body. in a word, you must possess promethean boldness and bring down fire and animation, as it were, into your preserved specimen. repair to the haunts of birds on plains and mountains, forests, swamps and lakes, and give up your time to examine the economy of the different orders of birds. then you will place your eagle in attitude commanding, the same as nelson stood in in the day of battle on the _victory's_ quarter-deck. your pie will seem crafty and just ready to take flight, as though fearful of being surprised in some mischievous plunder. your sparrow will retain its wonted pertness by means of placing his tail a little elevated and giving a moderate arch to the neck. your vulture will show his sluggish habits by having his body nearly parallel to the earth, his wings somewhat drooping, and their extremities under the tail instead of above it--expressive of ignoble indolence. your dove will be in artless, fearless innocence; looking mildly at you with its neck not too much stretched, as if uneasy in its situation; or drawn too close into the shoulders, like one wishing to avoid a discovery; but in moderate, perpendicular length, supporting the head horizontally, which will set off the breast to the best advantage. and the breast ought to be conspicuous, and have this attention paid to it--for when a young lady is sweet and gentle in her manners, kind and affable to those around her, when her eyes stand in tears of pity for the woes of others, and she puts a small portion of what providence has blessed her with into the hand of imploring poverty and hunger, then we say she has the breast of a turtle-dove. you will observe how beautifully the feathers of a bird are arranged: one falling over the other in nicest order; and that where this charming harmony is interrupted, the defect, though not noticed by an ordinary spectator, will appear immediately to the eye of a naturalist. thus a bird not wounded and in perfect feather must be procured if possible, for the loss of feathers can seldom be made good; and where the deficiency is great, all the skill of the artist will avail him little in his attempt to conceal the defect, because in order to hide it he must contract the skin, bring down the upper feathers, and shove in the lower ones, which would throw all the surrounding parts into contortion. you will also observe that the whole of the skin does not produce feathers, and that it is very tender where the feathers do not grow. the bare parts are admirably formed for expansion about the throat and stomach, and they fit into the different cavities of the body at the wings, shoulders, rump and thighs with wonderful exactness; so that, in stuffing the bird, if you make an even, rotund surface of the skin where these cavities existed, in lieu of re-forming them, all symmetry, order and proportion are lost for ever. you must lay it down as an absolute rule that the bird is to be entirely skinned, otherwise you can never succeed in forming a true and pleasing specimen. you will allow this to be just, after reflecting a moment on the nature of the fleshy parts and tendons, which are often left in: first, they require to be well seasoned with aromatic spices; secondly, they must be put into the oven to dry; thirdly, the heat of the fire, and the natural tendency all cured flesh has to shrink and become hard, render the specimen withered, distorted and too small; fourthly, the inside then becomes like a ham, or any other dried meat. ere long the insects claim it as their own, the feathers begin to drop off, and you have the hideous spectacle of death in ragged plumage. wire is of no manner of use, but, on the contrary, a great nuisance; for where it is introduced a disagreeable stiffness and derangement of symmetry follow. the head and neck can be placed in any attitude, the body supported, the wings closed, extended or elevated, the tail depressed, raised or expanded, the thighs set horizontal or oblique, without any aid from wire. cotton will effect all this. a very small proportion of the skull-bone, say from the forepart of the eyes to the bill, is to be left in; though even this is not absolutely necessary. part of the wing-bones, the jaw-bones and half of the thigh-bones remain. everything else--flesh, fat, eyes, bones, brains and tendons --is all to be taken away. while dissecting it will be of use to keep in mind that, in taking off the skin from the body by means of your fingers and a little knife, you must try to shove it, in lieu of pulling it, lest you stretch it. that you must press as lightly as possible on the bird, and every now and then take a view of it to see that the feathers, etc., are all right. that when you come to the head you must take care that the body of the skin rests on your knee; for if you allow it to dangle from your hand its own weight will stretch it too much. that, throughout the whole operation, as fast as you detach the skin from the body you must put cotton immediately betwixt the body and it; and this will effectually prevent any fat, blood or moisture from coming in contact with the plumage. here it may be observed that on the belly you find an inner skin, which keeps the bowels in their place. by a nice operation with the knife you can cut through the outer skin and leave the inner skin whole. attention to this will render your work very clean; so that with a little care in other parts you may skin a bird without even soiling your finger-ends. as you can seldom get a bird without shooting it, a line or two on this head will be necessary. if the bird be still alive, press it hard with your finger and thumb just behind the wings, and it will soon expire. carry it by the legs, and then the body being reversed the blood cannot escape down the plumage through the shot-holes. as blood will often have issued out before you have laid hold of the bird, find out the shot-holes by dividing the feathers with your fingers, and blowing on them, and then with your penknife, or the leaf of a tree, carefully remove the clotted blood and put a little cotton on the hole. if, after all, the plumage has not escaped the marks of blood, or if it has imbibed slime from the ground, wash the part in water, without soap, and keep gently agitating the feathers with your fingers till they are quite dry. were you to wash them and leave them to dry by themselves, they would have a very mean and shrivelled appearance. in the act of skinning a bird you must either have it upon a table or upon your knee. probably you will prefer your knee; because when you cross one knee over the other and have the bird upon the uppermost, you can raise it to your eye, or lower it at pleasure, by means of the foot on the ground, and then your knee will always move in unison with your body, by which much stooping will be avoided and lassitude prevented. with these precautionary hints in mind, we will now proceed to dissect a bird. suppose we take a hawk. the little birds will thank us with a song for his death, for he has oppressed them sorely; and in size he is just the thing. his skin is also pretty tough, and the feathers adhere to it. we will put close by us a little bottle of the solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol; also a stick like a common knitting-needle and a handful or two of cotton. now fill the mouth and nostrils of the bird with cotton, and place it upon your knee on its back, with its head pointing to your left shoulder. take hold of the knife with your two first fingers and thumb, the edge upwards. you must not keep the point of the knife perpendicular to the body of the bird, because, were you to hold it so, you would cut the inner skin of the belly, and thus let the bowels out. to avoid this let your knife be parallel to the body, and then, you will divide the outer skin with great ease. begin on the belly below the breastbone, and cut down the middle, quite to the vent. this done, put the bird in any convenient position, and separate the skin from the body till you get at the middle joint of the thigh. cut it through, and do nothing more there at present, except introducing cotton all the way on that side, from the vent to the breastbone. do exactly the same on the opposite side. now place the bird perpendicular, its breast resting on your knee, with its back towards you. separate the skin from the body on each side at the vent, and never mind at present the part from the vent to the root of the tail. bend the tail gently down to the back, and while your finger and thumb are keeping down the detached parts of the skin on each side of the vent, cut quite across and deep, till you see the backbone, near the oil-gland at the root of the tail. sever the backbone at the joint, and then you have all the root of the tail, together with the oil-gland, dissected from the body. apply plenty of cotton. after this seize the end of the backbone with your finger and thumb: and now you can hold up the bird clear of your knee and turn it round and round as occasion requires. while you are holding it thus, contrive, with the help of your other hand and knife, by cutting and shoving, to get the skin pushed up till you come to where the wing joins on to the body. forget not to apply cotton; cut this joint through; do the same at the other wing, add cotton, and gently push the skin over the head; cut out the roots of the ears, which lie very deep in the head, and continue skinning till you reach the middle of the eye; cut the nictitating membrane quite through, otherwise you would tear the orbit of the eye; and after this nothing difficult intervenes to prevent your arriving at the root of the bill. when this is effected cut away the body, leaving a little bit of skull, just as much as will reach to the fore-part of the eye; clean well the jaw-bones, fasten a little cotton at the end of your stick, dip it into the solution, and touch the skull and corresponding part of the skin, as you cannot well get to these places afterwards. from the time of pushing the skin over the head you are supposed to have had the bird resting upon your knee; keep it there still, and with great caution and tenderness return the head through the inverted skin, and when you see the beak appearing pull it very gently till the head comes out unruffled and unstained. you may now take the cotton out of the mouth; cut away all the remaining flesh at the palate, and whatever may have remained at the under-jaw. here is now before you the skin without loss of any feathers, and all the flesh, fat and uncleaned bones out of it, except the middle joint of the wings, one bone of the thighs, and the fleshy root of the tail. the extreme point of the wing is very small, and has no flesh on it, comparatively speaking, so that it requires no attention except touching it with the solution from the outside. take all in the flesh from the remaining joint of the wing, and tie a thread about four inches long to the end of it; touch all with the solution, and put the wing-bone back into its place. in baring this bone you must by no means pull the skin; you would tear it to pieces beyond all doubt, for the ends of the long feathers are attached to the bone itself; you must push off the skin with your thumb-nail and forefinger. now skin the thigh quite to the knee; cut away all flesh and tendons, and leave the bone; form an artificial thigh round it with cotton; apply the solution and draw back the skin over the artificial thigh: the same to the other thigh. lastly, proceed to the tail: take out the inside of the oil-gland, remove all the remaining flesh from the root till you see the ends of the tail-feathers; give it the solution and replace it. now take out all the cotton which you have been putting into the body from time to time to preserve the feathers from grease and stains. place the bird upon your knee on its back; tie together the two threads which you had fastened to the end of the wing-joints, leaving exactly the same space betwixt them as your knowledge in anatomy informs you existed there when the bird was entire; hold the skin open with your finger and thumb, and apply the solution to every part of the inside. neglect the head and neck at present; they are to receive it afterwards. fill the body moderately with cotton, lest the feathers on the belly should be injured whilst you are about the following operation. you must recollect that half of the thigh, or in other words, one joint of the thigh-bone, has been cut away. now, as this bone never moved perpendicular to the body, but, on the contrary, in an oblique direction, of course, as soon as it is cut off, the remaining part of the thigh and leg having nothing now to support them obliquely, must naturally fall to their perpendicular. hence the reason why the legs appear considerably too long. to correct this, take your needle and thread, fasten the end round the bone inside, and then push the needle through the skin just opposite to it. look on the outside, and after finding the needle amongst the feathers, tack up the thigh under the wing with several strong stitches. this will shorten the thigh and render it quite capable of supporting the weight of the body without the help of wire. this done, take out every bit of cotton except the artificial thighs, and adjust the wing-bones (which are connected by the thread) in the most even manner possible, so that one joint does not appear to lie lower than the other; for unless they are quite equal, the wings themselves will be unequal when you come to put them in their proper attitude. here, then, rests the shell of the poor hawk, ready to receive from your skill and judgment the size, the shape, the features and expression it had, ere death and your dissecting hand brought it to its present still and formless state. the cold hand of death stamps deep its mark upon the prostrate victim. when the heart ceases to beat, and the blood no longer courses through the veins, the features collapse, and the whole frame seems to shrink within itself. if then you have formed your idea of the real appearance of the bird from a dead specimen, you will be in error. with this in mind, and at the same time forming your specimen a trifle larger than life, to make up for what it will lose in drying, you will reproduce a bird that will please you. it is now time to introduce the cotton for an artificial body by means of the little stick like a knitting-needle; and without any other aid or substance than that of this little stick and cotton, your own genius must produce those swellings and cavities, that just proportion, that elegance and harmony of the whole, so much admired in animated nature, so little attended to in preserved specimens. after you have introduced the cotton, sew up the orifice you originally made in the belly, beginning at the vent. and from time to time, till you arrive at the last stitch, keep adding a little cotton in order that there may be no deficiency there. lastly, dip your stick into the solution, and put it down the throat three or four times, in order that every part may receive it. when the head and neck are filled with cotton quite to your liking, close the bill as in nature. a little bit of bees' wax at the point of it will keep the mandibles in their proper place. a needle must be stuck into the lower mandible perpendicularly. you will shortly see the use of it. bring also the feet together by a pin, and then run a thread through the knees, by which you may draw them to each other as near as you judge proper. nothing now remains to be added but the eyes. with your little stick make a hollow in the cotton within the orbit, and introduce the glass eyes through the orbit. adjust the orbit to them as in nature, and that requires no other fastener. your close inspection of the eyes of animals will already have informed you that the orbit is capable of receiving a much larger body than that part of the eye which appears within it when in life. so that, were you to proportion your eye to the size the orbit is capable of receiving, it would be far too large. inattention to this has caused the eyes of every specimen in the best cabinets of natural history to be out of all proportion. to prevent this, contract the orbit by means of a very small delicate needle and thread at that part of it farthest from the beak. this may be done with such nicety that the stitch cannot be observed; and thus you have the artificial eye in true proportion. after this touch the bill, orbits, feet and former oil-gland at the root of the tail with the solution, and then you have given to the hawk everything necessary, except attitude and a proper degree of elasticity, two qualities very essential. procure any common ordinary box, fill one end of it about three-fourths up to the top with cotton, forming a sloping plane. make a moderate hollow in it to receive the bird. now take the hawk in your hands and, after putting the wings in order, place it in the cotton with its legs in a sitting posture. the head will fall down. never mind. get a cork and run three pins into the end, just like a three-legged stool. place it under the bird's bill, and run the needle which you formerly fixed there into the head of the cork. this will support the bird's head admirably. if you wish to lengthen the neck, raise the cork by putting more cotton under it. if the head is to be brought forward, bring the cork nearer to the end of the box. if it requires to be set backwards on the shoulders, move back the cork. as in drying the back part of the neck will shrink more than the fore part, and thus throw the beak higher than you wish it to be, putting you in mind of a stargazing horse, prevent this fault by tying a thread to the beak and fastening it to the end of the box with a pin or needle. if you choose to elevate the wings, do so, and support them with cotton; and should you wish to have them particularly high, apply a little stick under each wing, and fasten the end of them to the side of the box with a little bees' wax. if you would have the tail expanded, reverse the order of the feathers, beginning from the two middle ones. when dry, replace them in their true order, and the tail will preserve for ever the expansion you have given it. is the crest to be erect? move the feathers in a contrary direction to that in which they lie for a day or two, and it will never fall down after. place the box anywhere in your room out of the influence of the sun, wind and fire; for the specimen must dry very slowly if you wish to reproduce every feature. on this account the solution of corrosive sublimate is uncommonly serviceable; for at the same time that it totally prevents putrefaction, it renders the skin moist and flexible for many days. while the bird is drying, take it out, and replace it in its position once every day. then, if you see that any part begins to shrink into disproportion, you can easily remedy it. the small covert-feathers of the wings are apt to rise a little, because the skin will come in contact with the bone which remains in the wing. pull gently the part that rises with your finger and thumb for a day or two. press the feathers down. the skin will adhere no more to the bone, and they will cease to rise. every now and then touch and retouch all the different parts of the features in order to render them distinct and visible, correcting at the same time any harshness or unnatural risings or sinkings, flatness or rotundity. this is putting the last finishing hand to it. in three or four days the feet lose their natural elasticity, and the knees begin to stiffen. when you observe this, it is time to give the legs any angle you wish, and arrange the toes for a standing position, or curve them to your finger. if you wish to set the bird on a branch, bore a little hole under each foot a little way up the leg; and having fixed two proportional spikes on the branch, you can, in a moment, transfer the bird from your finger to it, and from it to your finger at pleasure. when the bird is quite dry, pull the thread out of the knees, take away the needle, etc., from under the bill, and all is done. in lieu of being stiff with wires, the cotton will have given a considerable elasticity to every part of your bird; so that, when perching on your finger, if you press it down with the other hand, it will rise again. you need not fear that your hawk will alter, or its colours fade. the alcohol has introduced the sublimate into every part and pore of the skin, quite to the roots of the feathers. its use is twofold: firstly, it has totally prevented all tendency to putrefaction; and thus a sound skin has attached itself to the roots of the feathers. you may take hold of a single one, and from it suspend five times the weight of the bird. you may jerk it; it will still adhere to the skin, and after repeated trials often break short. secondly, as no part of the skin has escaped receiving particles of sublimate contained in the alcohol, there is not a spot exposed to the depredation of insects: for they will never venture to attack any substance which has received corrosive sublimate. you are aware that corrosive sublimate is the most fatal poison to insects that is known. it is anti-putrescent; so is alcohol; and they are both colourless, of course; they cannot leave a stain behind them. the spirit penetrates the pores of the skin with wonderful velocity, deposits invisible particles of the sublimate and flies off. the sublimate will not injure the skin, and nothing can detach it from the parts where the alcohol has left it. [footnote: all the feathers require to be touched with the solution, in order that they may be preserved from the depredation of the moth. the surest way of proceeding is to immerse the bird in the solution of corrosive sublimate, and then dry it before you begin to dissect it.] furs of animals immersed in this solution will retain their pristine brightness and durability in any climate. take the finest curled feather from a lady's head, dip it in the solution, and shake it gently till it be dry; you will find that the spirit will fly off in a few minutes, not a curl in the feather will be injured, and the sublimate will preserve it from the depredation of the insect. perhaps it may be satisfactory to add here that some years ago i did a bird upon this plan in demerara. it remained there two years. it was then conveyed to england, where it stayed five months, and returned to demerara. after being four years more there it was conveyed back again through the west indies to england, where it has now been near five years, unfaded and unchanged. on reflecting that this bird has been twice in the temperate and torrid zone, and remained some years in the hot and humid climate of demerara, only six degrees from the line, and where almost everything becomes a prey to the insect, and that it is still as sound and bright as when it was first done, it will not be thought extravagant to surmise that this specimen will retain its pristine form and colours for years after the hand that stuffed it has mouldered into dust. i have shown this art to the naturalists in brazil, cayenne, demerara, oroonoque and rome, and to the royal cabinets of turin and florence. a severe accident prevented me from communicating it to the cabinet of paris, according to my promise. a word or two more, and then we will conclude. a little time and experience will enable you to produce a finished specimen: "mox similis volucri, mox vera volucris." if your early performance should not correspond with your expectations, do not let that cast you down. you cannot become an adept all at once. the poor hawk itself, which you have just been dissecting, waited to be fledged before it durst rise on expanded pinion, and had parental aid and frequent practice ere it could soar with safety and ease beyond the sight of man. little more remains to be added, except that what has been penned down with regard to birds may be applied in some measure to serpents, insects and four-footed animals. should you find these instructions too tedious, let the wish to give you every information plead in their defence. they might have been shorter; but horace says, by labouring to be brief you become obscure. if by their means you should be enabled to procure specimens from foreign parts in better preservation than usual, so that the naturalist may have it in his power to give a more perfect description of them than has hitherto been the case; should they cause any unknown species to be brought into public view, and thus add a little more to the page of natural history, it will please me much. but should they unfortunately tend to cause a wanton expense of life; should they tempt you to shoot the pretty songster warbling near your door, or destroy the mother as she is sitting on the nest to warm her little ones, or kill the father as he is bringing a mouthful of food for their support--oh, then! deep indeed will be the regret that i ever wrote them. adieu, charles waterton. finis glossary acaiari, _the resinous gum of the hiawa-tree_. acouri, _one of the agutis_; a rodent about the size of a rabbit. acuero, _a species of palm_. Ã�ta, _a palm of great size_; it may reach a hundred feet before the leaves begin. ai, _the three-toed sloth_. albicore, _a fish closely related to the tunny_. anhinga, _the darter or snake-bird_; a cormorant-like bird. ant-bear, _now called the ant-eater_. ara, _a macaw_. ara, scarlet, _the scarlet macaw_. bisa, _one of the saki monkeys_. cabbage mountain, _one of the most beautiful of the palm-trees_. camoudi, _the anaconda._ campanero, _the bell-bird._ caprimulgus, _one of the goat-suckers._ cassique, _a bird of the hang-nest family._ cayman, _an alligator, as here used._ cotingas, _chatterers._ couguar, _the puma._ coulacanara, _the boa-constrictor._ courada, _the white mangrove tree._ crabier, _the boat-bill--a small heron._ crickets, _cicadas._ cuia, _one of the trojans._ curlew, scarlet, _the scarlet ibis._ dolphin, _a coryphene--a true fish--not a cetacean._ guana, _the iguana lizard._ hannaquoi, _one of the curassows._ houtou, _one of the motmots._ humming-bird ara or karabimiti, _the crimson topaz._ jacamar, _jacana_, as anglicized--_the spur-winged waterhen._ labba, _a rodent allied to the cavies._ naudapoa, _an ibis._ patasa, _unidentified._ phaeton, _the tropic bird._ pi-pi-yo, _unidentified._ porcupine, _the tree-porcupine._ quake, _a basket of open-work, very elastic and expansive._ redstart, _quite distinct from the english redstart._ sacawinki, _one of the squirrel monkeys._ sangre-do-buey, _the scarlet tanager._ tangara, _now called tanager. see sangre-do-buey._ waracaba, _the trumpeter._ whip-poor-will, _one of the goat-suckers._ who-are-you? _one of the goat-suckers._ willy-come-go, _one of the goat-suckers._ work-away, _one of the goat-suckers._ yawaraciri, _one of the blue creepers._ acaiari ai, _see_ sloths alligators american cities, classical names of american ladies, praise of; their attire american manners ant-bears ant-eating birds antigua ants; an ingredient of wourali poison; nests of apoura-poura, river ara (macaw) armadillo arrowroot, wild arrows, indian arthur, king asses, effect of wourali poison on aura vulture banks, sir joseph barbadoes basseterre bête-rouge birds, demeraran; brazilian, bitterns blow-pipe, indian boa-constrictor boclora bois immortel bow, indian broadway bucaniers buffalo bug, encounter with a buonaparte, prince charles bush-master bush-rope camoudi snake campanero canadians characterised caprimulgus, _see_ goat-suckers caps, a diatribe against cassava cassique castries cayenne cayman; expedition in search of; fishing for; ridden by author chegoe clove-trees cock-of-the-rock constable rock coral snake cotingas couguar coulacanara snake, capture of a counacouchi, _see_ bush-master coushie-ant cuia curlew, scarlet custom house difficulties demerara, falls of the river potentialities of the colony _deserted village_, goldsmith's, quoted dog, effect of wourali poison on a; probably not native to guiana dolphin dominica eagle, white-headed edmonstone, charles edmonstone, robert egret erie canal; lake essequibo river; falls of the; scenery europe, future american independence of fever, treatment of fig-tree, wild fire-fly fish, demeraran fishing, indian method of, flying-fish, forest-trees, demeraran; destruction of north american, fort st. joachim, fowl, effect of wourali poison on a, frigate pelican, goat-suckers; superstitious fear of, grand gobe-mouche, gross-beak, guadalope, guiana, future of; bird's-eye view of, hannaquoi, hermit, a white, hia-hia, _history of brazil_, southey's, horned screamer, houtou, howling monkey, _see_ monkeys hudson, journey up the, hugues, victor, humming-birds, ibibirou, impostor, an indian, indians; mode of life; religion, _see also_ macoushi indians india-rubber, inn-album, inscription in an, insects, demeraran, irish emigrants, jabiru, jacamar, jaguar, jay, guianan, jesuits, expulsion of the, kearney, dennis, kessi-kessi paroquet, kingfishers, king of the vultures, labarri snake, la gabrielle, national plantation at, land-tortoise, lizards, maam, _see_ tinamou macoushi indians; their methods of hunting; trick played by one on the author, manikins, maroudis, martin, m., martinico, metallic-cuckoo, mibiri creek, mines in guiana, monkeys; red, or howling; a specimen with grecian features, monteiro, montreal, mora-tree, museum at philadelphia, new amsterdam, new york, niagara, falls of, nobrega, father, olinda; botanic garden at, _ornithology of the united states_, wilson's, otters, owl, a crab-eating, ox, effect of wourali poison on an, pacou, paramaribo, parasitic plants, parima, lake, park, mungo, parrots, partridge, peccari, pelican, percy, earl, pernambuco; environs, petrel, stormy, philadelphia, phaeton, pi-pi-yo, pombal, preservation of colours of toucan's bill; of quadrupeds; of zoological specimens generally; of birds, purple-heart, quadrupeds, forest, quashi, daddy, quebec, quiver, indian, rattlesnake, red-headed finch, red monkey, _see_ monkeys redstart, rhinoceros-beetle, rice-bird, roseau, rubber-tree, saba, st. john's, st. lucie, st. pierre, saintes, the, sangre-de-buey, saratoga, savanna, a demerara, slavery in demerara; in west indies, slaves, encounter with runaway, sloths; three-toed, or ai; two-toed, smoking, snakes; hunting, spice plantations, spikes, poisoned, stabroek, southey, robert, sun-bird, superstition, reflections on, surinam, tangaras, tapir, tarbet, misadventures of mr., tauronina, taxidermy, _see_ preservation ticks, ticonderoga, tiger, _see_ jaguar tiger-bird, small, tinamou, toucans, travellers, advice to, travellers' tales, troupiales, troy, trumpeters, turtle, united states, progress of the, utica, vampires, vanilla, vultures, wallaba-tree, wasps, water-hens, water-mamma, weapons, indian, whip-poor-will, _see_ goat-suckers whipsnake, wild boars, hunting, wild man of the woods, a, wilson, alexander, woodpeckers, wound, treatment of a, wourali poison; its effects; ingredients; preparation; method of using: antidotes; experiments in england, yabahou, the evil spirit, yawaraciri, http://www.archive.org/details/friendsinfeather johorich [illustration: baby and chickens.] natural history series--book second. friends in feathers and fur, and other neighbors, for young folks. by james johonnot. [illustration: black swan] new york: d. appleton and company. . [illustration: good morning] good-morning! good-morning! the birdies sing; good-by to the windy days of spring! the sun is so bright, that we must be gay! good-morning! good-morning! this glad summer day. copyright, , by d. appleton and company. the aim and method. [illustration] a machine, turned by a crank, has been made to speak words, but nothing below a human being has been able to get thought from a written or printed page and convey it to others. to make the machine requires a vast amount of labor expended upon matter; to get the thought requires the awakening of a human spirit. the work of the machine is done when the crank stops; the mental work, through internal volition, goes on to ever higher achievements. in schools much labor has been spent in trying to produce human speaking-machines. words are built up out of letters; short words are grouped into inane sentences such as are never used; and sentences are arranged into unnatural and insipid discourse. to grasp the thin ghost of the thought, the little human spirit must reverse its instinct to reach toward the higher, and, mole-like, burrow downward. the amount of effort spent in this way, if given to awakening thought, would much more effectively secure the mechanical ends sought, and at the same time would yield fruit in other fields of mental activity. the matter selected for these higher and better purposes must possess a human interest. the thoughts that bear fruit are those with roots set in past experiences, but which, outgrowing these experiences, reach out toward new light. in this little book we have again given the initial steps of science rather than the expression of scientific results. beginning with familiar forms of life, the pupil is led to see more clearly that which is about him, and then to advance into the realm of the unknown with assured steps, in the tried paths of investigation and comparison. while giving prominence to the facts that inform, we have not been unmindful of the fancy that stimulates. the steady flow of description is frequently interrupted by the ripple of story and verse. while we have made no effort to secure the favor of mr. gradgrind by looking at facts only on their lower side, we trust that our effort may prove of some service in the anxious work of parent and teacher. [illustration: decoration] contents. lesson page i. how fowls look. ii. what fowls do. iii. chickens' ways. iv. stories about chickens. v. how ducks look and live. vi. stories about ducks. vii. how geese look and live. viii. how geese behave. ix. what geese can do. x. about turkeys. xi. about swans. xii. doves and pigeons. three little doves. xiii. the little wren. xiv. the singing thrush. xv. robin-redbreast. xvi. the blackbird and the cat. xvii. how canaries live and sing. xviii. a song of summer. xix. how parrots look and talk. xx. stories about parrots. xxi. birds of prey. xxii. long legs with feathers. xxiii. bo-peep and the rook. xxiv. the mouse and its ways. xxv. stories about mice. xxvi. white-paw starts to see the world. xxvii. what the mice saw in the farm-yard. xxviii. what white-paw saw in the kitchen. xxix. white-paw's account of the great world. xxx. the death of poor puss. xxxi. field-mice. xxxii. how the rat looks and lives. xxxiii. stories about the rat. xxxiv. about rabbits. xxxv. more about rabbits. xxxvi. how the hare lives. alice's bunny. xxxvii. something about squirrels. xxxviii. more about squirrels. xxxix. the flying squirrel. the owl. xl. bo-peep and the squirrel. xli. how the mole looks. xlii. how the mole works and lives. xliii. about the porcupine. xliv. about the woodchuck. xlv. mrs. brindle's cowslip feast. xlvi. the frog and its home. xlvii. from tadpole to frog. xlviii. more about frogs. xlix. the friendly toad. l. the snail and its house. li. the fly and its ways. lii. the animals' ball. nursery rhyme. [illustration] goosey, goosey, gander! where shall i wander? up-stairs, down-stairs, in the lady's chamber! there sits the lady, folding up the clothes; in comes a blackbird, and nips off her nose! [illustration: chickens at home.] lesson i. _how fowls look._ [illustration] . here we find the hen and chickens, a new company of our farm-yard friends. we see that they are very unlike the other friends we have been studying, and, though we know them well, we may find out something new about them. . instead of a coat of hair or fur, the hen is covered with feathers, all pointing backward and lying over each other, so that the rain falls off as from the shingles of a house. . when we studied the cat, we found that she had four legs for walking and running, and that she used the paws on her front legs for scratching and catching her prey. . we have but two legs for walking or running, our fore legs being arms, and our paws, hands. . these new friends, the chickens, have but two legs, and in this way are more like boys and girls than are cats and dogs. [illustration] . but the chicken has the same number of limbs as the others, only those in front are wings instead of fore legs or arms. . here is a picture of the legs and feet of a hen. we see that the legs are covered with scales, and that each foot has four toes, three pointing forward and one back. each toe has a long, sharp, and strong nail. . let us look at the hen when she is walking slowly! as she lifts up each foot, her toes curl up, very much as our fingers do when we double them up to make a fist. [illustration] . when the chicken is about a year old, a spur, hard like horn, begins to grow on the inside of each leg. upon the old cocks these spurs are long and sharp, and he can strike savage blows with them. . it is when we look a hen in the face that we see how much it differs from all the animals we have studied before. [illustration] . the head stands up straight, and the eyes are placed on each side, so that it can look forward, to the side, and partly backward. . two little ears are just back and below the eyes; at first we would hardly know what they are, they are so small and unlike the other ears which we have seen. . all the lower part of the face is a bill, hard like horn, and running out to a point. the bill opens and makes the mouth, and two holes in the upper part make the nose. . as the whole bill is hard like bone, the hen does not need teeth, and does not have any. she was never known to complain with the tooth-ache. . large bits of food she scratches apart with her feet, or breaks up with her bill; but, as she can not chew, the pieces she takes into her mouth she swallows whole. . upon the top of the head is a red, fleshy comb, which is much larger on cocks than on hens. this comb is sometimes single, and sometimes double. . under the bill on each side there hangs down a wattle of red flesh that looks very much like the comb. . the tail of the cock has long feathers, which curl over the rest and give him a very graceful appearance. lesson ii. _what fowls do._ [illustration] . when the hen walks, she folds her wings close by her side; but when she flies, she spreads them out like a fan. her body is so heavy that she can fly but a little ways without resting. . at night fowls find a place to roost upon a tree, or a piece of timber placed high on purpose for them. their toes cling around the stick that they stand on, so that they do not fall off. . fowls live upon grain, bugs, and worms. with their long nails and strong toes they scratch in the earth, and with their sharp bills they pick up anything which they find good to eat. . if the morsel of food found is too large to be swallowed whole, they pick it to pieces with their bills. the old hen always picks the food to pieces for her chickens. . the hen lays eggs, usually one every day, until she has laid from fifteen to twenty. if her eggs are carried away, she will continue to lay for a longer time. . when she has a nest full of eggs, she sits upon them, keeping them warm with her body for three weeks. at the end of that time the eggs hatch out into little chicks. . when the hatching time comes, the chick inside the egg picks a little hole in his shell, so that he can get his bill out, and then he breaks the shell so that he can step out. . when first hatched, the chickens are covered with a fine down, which stays on until their feathers grow. they are able to run about the moment they are out of the shell. . the hen is a careful mother. she goes about searching and scratching for food, and, when she finds it, she calls her chickens, and does not eat any herself until they are supplied. [illustration: coming out in the world.] . at night, and whenever it is cold, she calls them together and broods them, by lifting her wings a little and letting them cuddle under her to keep warm. . when anything disturbs her chicks, the old hen is ready to fight, picking with her bill and striking with her wings with all her might. . the cock is a fine gentleman. he walks about in his best clothes, which he brushes every day and keeps clean. he struts a little, to show what a fine bird he is. . in the morning he crows long and loud, to let people know it is time to get up; and every little while during the day he crows, to tell the neighbors that all is well with him and his family. lesson iii. _chickens' ways._ [illustration] . when first hatched, chickens look about for something to eat, and they at once snap at a fly or bug which comes in their way. here we have the picture of three little chickens reaching for a spider that hangs on its thread. . then the little chick knows how to say a great many things. before he is a week old, if we offer him a fly, he gives a little pleasant twitter, which says, "that is good!" but present to him a bee or a wasp, and a little harsh note says, "away with it!" . when running about, the chick has a little calling note, which says, "here i am!" and the old hen clucks back in answer; but, when there is danger, he calls for help in a quick, sharp voice, which brings the old hen to him at once. . the hen has also her ways of speech. she cackles long and loud, to let her friends know that she has just laid an egg; she clucks, to keep up a talk with her chicks; she calls them when she has found something to eat; and she softly coos over them when she broods them under her wings. . but, should she see a strange cat or a hawk about, she gives a shriek of alarm, which all the little ones understand, for they run and hide as quickly as possible. when the danger is past she gives a cluck, which brings them all out of their hiding-places. lesson iv. stories about chickens. [illustration] . sometimes ducks' eggs are placed under the hen, and she hatches out a brood of young ducks. as soon as they are out of the shell they make for the water, and plunge in and have a swim. . the old hen can not understand this. she keeps out of the water when she can. she thinks her chicks will be drowned, and she flies about in great distress until they come out. . at an inn in scotland a brood of chickens was hatched out in cold weather, and they all died. the old hen at once adopted a little pig, not old enough to take care of himself, that was running about the farm-yard. . she would cluck for him to come when she had round something to eat, and, when he shivered with cold, she would warm him under her wings. the pig soon learned the hen's ways, and the two kept together, the best of friends, until the pig grew up, and did not need her help any more. . there is another story of a hen that adopted three little kittens, and kept them under her wings for a long time, not letting their mother go near them. the old cat, however, watched her chance, and carried off the kittens one by one to a place of safety. . hens do not always agree, and sometimes they are badly treated by one another, as is shown in this story: . an old hen had been sitting on a nest full of eggs, in a quiet place in the garden, until they were nearly ready to hatch. one day she left her nest a few moments to get something to eat, and, while she was gone, a bantam hen, on the watch, took possession of it. . when the real mother came back, she was in great distress; but the bantam kept the nest, and in a few days hatched out as many of the eggs as she could cover. . she then strutted about at the head of her company of chickens, and passed them off upon her feathered friends as her own. . hens are usually timid, and they run or fly away when they see any danger. but in defence of their chicks they are often very bold. . a rat one day went into a chicken-house where there was a brood of young chickens. the old hen pounced upon him, and a fierce battle took place. . the rat soon had enough of it, and tried to get away; but the hen kept at him until one of the family came and killed him. . one day a sparrow-hawk flew down into a farm-yard to catch a chicken. a cock about a year old at once darted at him and threw him on his back. . while lying there he could defend himself with his talons and beak; but when he rose and tried to take wing, the cock rushed at him and upset him the second time. . the hawk by this time thought more of getting away than he did of his dinner; but the cock kept him down until somebody came and caught him. . the cock looks after the hens and chicks, and is ready to fight for them in time of danger. he scratches for them, and, when he finds something good to eat, like the gentleman he is, he calls them to the feast before he touches it himself. . he also has his own fun. sometimes he will find a tempting worm and call all the hens, and, just as they are about to seize it, he will swallow it, and give a sly wink, as much as to say, "don't you wish you may get it!" [illustration] [illustration: a cozy home.] lesson v. _how ducks look and live._ . here comes a duck waddling along, another of our feathered friends on two legs. let us take a good look at her. . in shape she is like the hen, only her legs are shorter and her body flatter. her feathers are very thick, and next her skin she has a coat of soft down, which helps to keep her warm. [illustration] . the duck's wings are strong, and she can fly to a great distance without being tired. wild ducks fly a great many miles without resting. . the duck has no comb or wattles on its head, and its long bill is broad and blunt at the end. its tail is short and pointed, and it has no drooping tail feathers. the duck has the same number of toes as a chicken, but its foot is webbed by a strong skin, which binds the toes together. . the duck is formed for swimming. it pushes itself along in the water, using its webbed feet for paddles. the down on its breast is filled with oil, so that no water can get through to the skin. . when in the water we will see the duck often dive, and stay under so long that we begin to fear it will never come up, and we wonder what it does that for. [illustration] . if we could watch it under the water, we would see that it thrusts its broad bill into the mud at the bottom, and brings out worms, water-bugs, and roots of plants, which it eats. . should a frog or a tadpole come within reach, the duck would snap it up in an instant; and even fish are sometimes caught. . the old mother duck every morning leads her brood to the water. as she waddles along on the land, her gait is very awkward, but the moment she and her little ones get to the water they sail out in the most graceful way. lesson vi. _stories about ducks._ [illustration] . dame bridson had several families of ducklings, and one day as i watched her feeding them she told me this story: . "i once put a number of duck's eggs under a hen, and they all hatched out nicely. when the ducks were a few days old, the hen left them for a few minutes to pick up some food. . "when she came back i heard a furious cackling, and ran to see what was the matter. and what do you think i saw? . "there lay my old tabby cat, who had just lost her kittens, and there were the little ducklings all cuddled up around her. . "the old cat purred over them and licked them just as though she thought they were her own kittens. . "the poor hen was wild with fright and rage, and a little way back stood toby, the old watch-dog, trying to find out what was the trouble. . "from that time, until they were big enough to take care of themselves, tabby came and slept with the ducklings every night. . "the old hen took her loss very much to heart, and i had to comfort her by giving her another batch of eggs to sit on." . another story is told of an old dog who took a fancy to a brood of young ducks, who had lost their mother. they followed him about everywhere, and, when he lay down, the ducklings nestled all about him. . one duckling used to scramble upon the dog's head and sit down upon his eye; but the old dog never moved, though the pressure upon the eye must have hurt him. he seemed to think more of his little friends than of himself. . one day a young lady was sitting in a room close by a farm-yard, in which there were chickens, ducks, and geese feeding and playing together. . while busy with her sewing, a drake came into the room, took hold of her dress, and tried to pull her toward the door. . she was afraid at first, and pushed him away; but he came back again and again, and she soon saw that he was not angry, but was trying to get her to follow him. . she got up, and he led her to the side of a pond, where she found a duck with its head caught in a railing. she made haste to set the poor creature free, and the drake flapped his wings and gave a joyous quack of thanks. [illustration: "quack! quack! quack!"] lesson vii. _how geese look and live._ . the goose and the duck are much alike in looks and ways. the legs of the goose are longer, so that it stands higher and can walk better on land. . the goose is larger than the duck, its neck longer, and its wings broader. its feet are webbed, so that it can swim well in the water. [illustration] . its bill is broad and more pointed than that of a duck. its wings are very strong, and it is able to fly a great distance without rest. . when in the water it does not dive like the duck, but it thrusts its bill down into the water or mud the length of its long neck. . the feathers of the goose are white or gray, and very light and soft, and are used for making beds and pillows. not a great while ago pens were made of the quills that come out of the wings of the goose, and everybody who wrote used them. . geese make their nests on the ground, where the old mother goose lays about a dozen eggs before she begins to sit. these eggs are twice the size of hens' eggs. . the goslings are covered with a thick coat of down, and are able to run on the land or swim in the water when they first come out of the shell. . the goose and the gander together take good care of their goslings. when anything comes near, they stretch out their necks and give a loud hiss. . should a strange dog venture too near, they will take hold of him with their bills and beat him with their wings until he is glad to get away. [illustration] lesson viii. _how geese behave._ [illustration] . the feathers of the goose are of great value. they are plucked out three or four times a year, at times when the weather is warm and fair. . the goose likes cold water. great flocks of wild geese live in the swamps and lakes in the cold northern regions, and we can see them flying overhead in the spring and fall. . a miller once had a flock of geese, and he lost them all except one old goose, that for a long time swam round alone on the mill-pond. . now, the miller's wife placed a number of duck's eggs under a hen, and, as soon as they were hatched, the ducklings ran to the water. . the old goose, seeing the fright and flurry of the hen, sailed up with a noisy gabble, and took the ducklings in charge, and swam about with them. . when they were tired, she led them to the shore and gave them back to the care of the hen, who, to her great joy, found that they were all safe and sound. . the next day down came the ducklings to the pond, with the hen fussing and fretting as before. the goose was waiting near the shore. . when the ducklings had taken to the water, the hen, to get near them, flew upon the back of the goose, and the two sailed up and down the pond after the ducklings. . so, day after day, away sailed the ducklings, and close behind them came the mother hen, now quite at her ease on the back of the friendly goose, watching her gay little brood. . a lady tells this story of a gander: "my grandfather was fond of pets, and he had once a droll one, named swanny. this was a gander he had raised near the house, because he had been left alone by the other geese. . "this gander would follow him about like a dog, and would be very angry if anyone laid a hand upon him. . "swanny sometimes tried to make himself at home with the flock of geese; but they always drove him away, and then he would run and lay his head on my grandfather's knee, as though sure of finding comfort there. . "at last he found a friend of his own kind. an old gray goose became blind, and the flock turned her out. swanny took pity on her, led her about, and provided for her all the food she needed. . "when he thought she needed a swim, he took her neck in his bill and led her to the water, and then guided her about by arching his neck over hers. . "when she hatched out a brood of goslings, swanny took the best of care of them, as well as of their mother. in this way they lived together for several years." . here is another story, showing that geese have good sense: . a flock of geese, living by a river, built their nests on the banks; but the water-rats came and stole the eggs. . then the geese made their nests in the trees, where the rats could not get at them; and when the goslings were hatched, they brought them down one by one under their wings. lesson ix. _what geese can do._ [illustration] . to show that the goose has a great deal of good sense, this story is told: . at a small country church a poor blind woman used to come in every sunday morning, as regular as the clock, a minute or two behind the pastor. . she was always alone, came in the last and went away the first of any. the pastor, who was a new-comer, was puzzled to know how she got about so well. . one day he set out to visit her, and found that she lived in a small cottage, more than a mile away. . on his way to her home, he crossed a stream on a narrow rustic bridge, with a railing on only one side. . he rapped at the door, and asked of the woman who opened it, "does the blind woman who comes to church every sunday live here?" "yes, that she does! but she's out in the field now." . "why do you let the poor creature come all the way by herself, and across the bridge, too? she will fall into the water some day and be drowned!" . the woman laughed softly. "sure, she doesn't go alone--the goose takes her!" said she. . "what do you mean by the goose taking her?" said the pastor. . "sure," said the woman, "it is the goose whose life she saved when it was a little gosling. and now it comes every sunday at the same minute to take her to church. . "it gets her skirt into its mouth, and leads her along quite safely. when it comes to the bridge it puts her next the rail, and keeps between her and the water. . "it stays about the church-door till the service is out, and then it takes her by the gown and brings her home just the same." . the pastor was greatly pleased with this story, and soon after he preached a sermon on kindness to animals. lesson x. _about turkeys._ [illustration] . the turkey is about as large as a goose, but its legs are longer, and it stands up higher. its feet are partly webbed, so that it can swim a little. . its bill is short, thick, and pointed, and upon its head, above and between the eyes, grows a fleshy wattle, which does not stand up like the comb of a cock, but hangs down over the bill. upon the breast is a tuft of long, coarse hair. . the tail is broad and rounded, and hangs downward; but the turkey can raise it and spread it out like a fan. [illustration] . the turkey can fly but a little way, but it can run very fast. at night, it roosts on trees or high places. . the hen-turkey is timid, but the old gobbler rather likes to quarrel. he is a vain bird, and it is funny to see him strut up and down, with his tail spread out, and his wings drawn down, his feathers ruffled, and his neck drawn back, and to hear him puff, and cry, "gobble! gobble!" . great flocks of wild turkeys are found in the west, where they live in the woods upon nuts and insects. the eagles sometimes pounce down and carry off young turkeys, as is shown in this picture. lesson xi. _about swans._ [illustration] . here we have the picture of the swan, the largest bird of the goose kind. it is not often seen in this country, but is found in the central park, new york, and in a few other places. . it has short, stout legs, and webbed feet, like the duck, and it waddles along on the land in a slow and awkward way. it is clothed with feathers of a fine quality, like the goose, and those we see in this country are pure white. black swans are found in some countries. . its neck is much longer than that of the goose, and when it swims, sitting high in the water, with its long neck arched, it is one of the most graceful birds in the world. it has strong wings, and wild swans can fly a long distance without tiring. tame swans do not fly far. . the bill of the swan is broad, and pointed like that of the goose, but a little longer. below the eyes, and at the base of the bill, a narrow band of black extends across the front of the head. . the swans run in pairs. the mother swan lays from five to eight eggs, and hatches them in six weeks. the young swans are called cygnets. they are covered with down, and are able to walk and swim when first out of the shell. . the father swan watches the nest, and helps take care of the young ones. he will fly at anything that comes near, and he is able to strike terrible blows with his wings. he can drive away any bird, even the eagle. . swans usually build nests of a few coarse sticks, and a lining of grass or straw. they have a curious habit, however, of raising their nests higher, and of raising the eggs at the same time. . at times they seem to know that some danger threatens them, and then they turn their instinct for raising their nests to some purpose. a person who observed all the facts tells this story: . for many years an old swan had built her nest on the border of a park, by the river-side. from time to time she had raised her nest, but never more than a few inches. . once, when there had been no rain for a long time, and the river was very low, she began to gather sticks and grasses to raise her nest, and she would scarcely stop long enough to eat. . she seemed so anxious to get materials for nest-building that she attracted the attention of the family living near by, and a load of straw was carried to her. this she worked all into her nest, and never stopped until the eggs had been raised two and a half feet. . in the night a heavy rain fell, the river flowed over its banks, and the water came over the spot where the eggs had been; but it did not quite come up to the top of the new nest, and so the swan saved them. lesson xii. _doves and pigeons._ [illustration: the bath.] . everybody likes the dove; it is such a pretty bird, and is always so clean. it flies all about the yard, the garden, and the street. even the rudest boys do not often disturb it. . it is about the size of a half-grown chicken, and looks more like a chicken than any of the other birds we have studied. . the doves about our houses are usually white, or a bluish gray. they live in pairs, each pair having its own nest, or home; but where doves are kept, many pairs live in the same house or dove-cote. . they have a short, pointed bill, like a chicken, and strong legs and toes, so that they can walk and scratch easily. [illustration] . the mother dove lays but two eggs before sitting, and then her mate sits on the nest half of the time until the eggs are hatched. the young doves, called squabs, are covered with down like chickens, but, unlike chickens, the old ones must feed them a week or two before they are able to go about by themselves. . both the father and mother dove feed the young ones with a kind of milky curd which comes from their own crops. . when the chicken drinks, it sips its bill full, and then raises its head and swallows; but the dove does not raise its head until it has drank enough. . the pigeon--which is another name for the dove--has very strong wings, and can fly far and fast without tiring. when taken from their home a great distance, pigeons will fly straight back. . before we had railroads and telegraphs, people would take pigeons away from home, and send them back with a letter tied under their wings. these were called carrier-pigeons. . the doves in each home are very fond of each other. we can hear the father dove softly cooing to his mate at almost any time when they are about. . one day a farmer shot a male dove, and tied the body to a stake to scare away other birds. the poor widow was in great distress. she first tried to call him away, and then she brought him food. when she saw he did not eat, her cries were pitiable. . she would not leave the body, but day after day she continued to walk about the stake, until she had worn a beaten track around it. the farmer's wife took pity on her, and took away the dead bird, and then she went back to the dove-cote. _three little doves._ three little doves put on their gloves, and then sat down to dine; these little doves, they soiled their gloves, and soon were heard to whine-- "oh, mother dear, come here, come here, for we have soiled our gloves!" "soiled your gloves, you naughty doves, you shan't sit up till nine." "coo, coo, coo!" these little doves, they washed their gloves, and hung them on the line; these little doves, they dried their gloves, and thought it very fine. "oh, mother dear, come here, come here, for we have washed our gloves!" "washed your gloves, you loves of doves, then you shall stay till nine!" "coo, coo, coo!" [illustration: the wren and her nest.] lesson xiii. _the little wren._ [illustration] . one of the prettiest birds that fly about our doors in summer is the friendly little wren. it makes its home near the house, and its glad song can be heard throughout the whole day. . one kind of wren builds its nest under the eaves, as shown in the picture; but the common house-wren builds in almost any hole it can find in a shed or stable. . they have been known to choose an old boot left standing in a corner, an old hat hanging against the wall, and one time a workman, taking down a coat which he had left for two or three days, found a wren's nest in the sleeve. . the wren flies low, and but a little way at a time. its legs, like most of the singing birds, are small and weak, and it does not walk, but when on the ground it goes forward by little hops. . it flies with a little tremor of its wings, but without any motion of its body or tail. while its mate is sitting, the father wren will flutter slowly through the air, singing all the time. . the mother wren lays from six to ten eggs, and hatches them out in ten days. the young birds are naked of feathers, and seem to have only mouths, which open for something to eat. . the old birds are busy in bringing the young ones worms and insects, until they are old enough to fly. in this way a single pair of wrens will destroy many hundred insects every day. . the wren quarrels with other birds if they try to build nests too near it. it will often take the nest of the martin or bluebird when the owner is away, and hold on to it. . at one time a wren was seen to go into the nest which a pair of martins had just finished. when the martins came back, it beat them off. the martins kept watch, and, when the wren was out, they went back into their box, and built up a strong door, so the wren could not get in. . for two days the wren tried to force its way in; but the martins held on, and went without food during that time. at last the wren gave up, and built a nest elsewhere, leaving the martins in quiet possession of their own nest. lesson xiv. _the singing thrush._ [illustration] . the thrush is one of our best singing birds. it does not come near the house, like the wren, but it builds its nest in thickets and quiet places, where it is not liable to be disturbed. . it lives on berries and insects. it is a shy bird; but in the edge of the wood its song may be heard often during the day, becoming more frequent toward evening. . the mother bird lays from four to six eggs, and both father and mother sit on the eggs and take care or the young. . the thrush is double the size of the wren, and nearly all the kinds are brown in color, some having their wings tipped with red or yellow. [illustration] . the brown thrush, or brown thrasher as it is sometimes called, is bold and strong, and when a cat or fox comes prowling about near its nest it flies at him so savagely that he is glad to get out of the way. . it is not afraid of hawks, and it has a special spite against snakes that come around to rob its nest. when it sees a snake, it flies at him with great rage, and kills him or drives him off. . the hermit thrush lives in the dark, thick woods, and many people think its song, which is heard in the evening twilight, is sweeter than that of any other bird. lesson xv. _robin-redbreast._ [illustration] . "o robin, robin-redbreast, o robin, robin dear! o robin sings so sweetly in the falling of the year!" so says the old song, but robin sings just as sweetly all the summer long. . the robin is better known than most birds. it comes earliest in the spring, and goes away late in the fall. it builds its nest near houses, and every day flies about the garden and yard, picking up such crumbs as may be thrown to it. it is the special favorite of children. . it is three times as large as the wren. its color is a dark olive-gray above, with a red breast. its head and throat are streaked with black and white. [illustration] . it has a pleasant, home-like little song, and its notes vary with the weather, being much more joyous on bright, warm days. . the english robin is about half the size of ours, but has the same gray coat, and a somewhat redder breast. . it lives about yards and gardens, and wakes people up in the morning with its charming little song. it does not like to have other birds, or cats, come too near its nest; and when they do, it flies at them with great rage. . when the robin has once built its nest it is not easily driven away. once, a wagon loaded for a journey was left standing a few days in a yard. under the canvas covering of this wagon a pair of robins built their nest. . after the wagoner started, he found the nest, with the young just hatched. the old birds went along, taking turns in brooding the young ones and in flying about for worms. . the wagon went a hundred miles and back, and, by the time it came back to the place of starting, the young birds were pretty well grown. you may be sure that the wagoner did not let any one disturb the birds on the route. . one spring a pair of thrushes were seen about the garden of a country house. one of them seemed ill, and could hardly get about. it would hop a little way, and then stop, too tired to go farther. . her mate took good care of her. he got her into a safe place in a tree, brought her worms and insects, and cheered her with his music. . in the course of three or four days she got better; and one day, when he came with her dinner, she flew a little way to meet him, and in a short time they went off together, each singing a joyous song. lesson xvi. _the blackbird and the cat._ [illustration] . the english blackbird is about the size of our robin. it is a cousin to the thrush, and sings a sweet little song. . it builds its nest in trees and hedges near houses, and all day long you can hear its song as it goes about busy in taking care of its family. . one spring, a couple of blackbirds built their nest on a tree that stood by the garden fence, near a cottage. all went well with them until the eggs were hatched, and four little birds filled the nest. . but the old cat had been on the watch, and had found out where the nest was. one morning, while the mother bird was out after worms, the cat thought it a good time to make her breakfast on young birds. so she climbed to the top of the fence, and crept along on its narrow edge until she came almost in reach of the nest. . but mr. blackbird, who had been watching her for some time, with a loud cry of rage now made a dash at her and hit her square in the face. . the cat tried to strike him with her claw; but she had to hold on to the fence to keep from falling, and so could not spring upon him. . after hitting her several times, the bird lit upon her back, and struck her with his wings, and pecked her with all his might. . the cat tried to turn and get at him, but lost her hold and rolled off the fence. but the bird kept flying at her until she ran away. then he perched on a rail and sang a joyous song. . the next day the cat came creeping along again toward the nest; but the blackbird was ready for her, and gave her another good drubbing until she again fell off the fence and ran away. . afterward, the bird took to hunting the cat every time she came about, until he finally drove her entirely out of the garden. lesson xvii. _how canaries live and sing._ [illustration] . canary-birds were first found in a warm region, and they can not live out-of-doors in our country. they have lived so long in cages, and been taken care of, that now they have lost the power to get their own living, and, if turned out, would soon starve to death. . the canary is one of the sweetest of all the bird singers, and it is so pretty in its ways, and so clean, that it is more often made a pet than any other bird. it has a sweet song of its own, but it is easily taught to sing a great many new notes. the songs of the canary, as we hear them, are very different from its song when wild. [illustration] . a canary will often become so tame that it will fly about the room, come when called, perch on its mistress's finger, and eat out of her mouth. . the canary lays from four to six eggs, and hatches them in about two weeks. both father and mother bird take care of the young. . in a large cage with two parts, two finches were in one end and two canaries in the other. the finches hatched out their eggs, but did not feed their young ones enough. the father canary, hearing their hungry cries, forced himself between the bars into their part of the cage, and fed them. this he did every day, till the finches were shamed into feeding the little ones themselves. lesson xviii. _a song of summer._ [illustration] a cuckoo sat on a tree and sang, "summer is coming, coming"; and a bee crept out from the hive and began lazily humming, humming. the frogs, from out the rushes and reeds, into the water went splashing; and the dragon-fly, with his body of green, through the flags went flashing, flashing. the dormouse put out her head and said, "really the sun shines brighter"; but the butterfly answered, "not yet, not yet," and folded his wings up tighter. but the thrush and the blackbird began to sing ever sweeter and sweeter, and the grasshopper chirped, and hopped, and skipped ever fleeter and fleeter. the gnats and the chafers began to buzz; and the swallows began to chatter: "we have come from abroad with the summer at last. how lazy you are! what's the matter?" then the dormouse said, "summer's really here, since the swallows are homeward coming"; and the butterfly spread out his wings, and the bee went louder and louder humming. and suddenly brighter the sun shone out, and the clouds away went sailing, and the sheep nibbled peacefully at the grass, and the cow looked over the paling. yes, summer had come, and the cuckoo sang his song through woodland and hollow: "the summer is come; if you don't believe me, you have only to ask the swallow." lesson xix. _how parrots look and talk._ [illustration] . next to the canary, the parrot is the pet bird of the house-hold. it is kept for its bright colors, its curious ways, and its power to talk. . the parrot is about the size of the dove. in color, those that we see most often are green or gray. some parrots are of a bright red, and others are gay with bright green, red, and yellow. . the parrot has a thick, strong, and hooked bill. it is so strong that it can take hold of the branch of a tree and hold itself up, and with it it can crack the hardest nuts. [illustration] . it came from a warm region, and must have a warm room in winter, or it will die. it lives on nuts and seeds, but when kept in the house it will sometimes eat meat. . the parrot learns to love its master and those that take care of it; but it is often cross to strangers, and will give them a terrible bite with its hooked bill if they come too near. [illustration] . like other birds, the parrot has four toes on each foot; but two of these are in front and two behind. the toes are very strong, and with them it can grasp things as we do with our hands. . with these toes it climbs easily, reaching up first one foot and then the other, and sometimes taking hold with its bill. when eating, it holds its food in its claw, biting off pieces to suit it. . when wild, the voice of the parrot is a loud, unpleasant scream, and it does not forget this scream in its new home. but it also learns to talk, and it may be taught to say many words as plainly as boys or girls speak. . parrots can whistle, and some have been taught to sing. they need good care, which they repay by their pleasant ways and curious tricks. some of the parrot kind are called paroquets, and some are called cockatoos. . this curious story is told of a parrot: one day, sarah, a little girl of eight years, had been reading about secret writing with lemon-juice. . not having any lemon, she thought she would try vinegar. so, after dinner, she took a cruet, and was just pouring the vinegar into a spoon, when her parrot sang out, "i'll tell mother! turn it out! turn it out!" . the child, thinking the parrot would really tell her mother, threw down the cruet and the spoon, and ran away to the nursery as fast as her legs could carry her. lesson xx. _stories about parrots._ [illustration: paroquets.] . a green parrot, kept in a family for a long time, became so tame that she had the free run of the house. when hungry, polly would call out, "look! cook! i want potato!" . she was very fond of potatoes, and if anything else was put in her pan she would throw it out, and scream at the top of her voice, "won't have it! turn it out!" . the children in the house were all girls, and polly for some reason had taken a great dislike to boys. one day some boys came on a visit, and, as boys do, made a great noise. this was too much for polly, who screamed out, "sarah! sarah! here's a hullaballoo!" [illustration] . polly was very fond of the mistress of the house, and was always on the lookout for her at the breakfast-table. . if she did not come down before the meal was begun, polly would say, in the most piteous tone, "where's dear mother? is not dear mother well?" . another parrot had learned to sing "buy a broom" just like a child. if she made a mistake, she would cry out, "o la!" burst out laughing, and begin again on another key. . this parrot laughed in such a hearty way that for your life you could not help joining with her, and then she would cry out, "don't make me laugh! i shall die! i shall die!" . next she will cry; and if you say, "poor poll, what is the matter?" she says, "so bad! so bad! got a bad cold!" after crying some time, she grows more quiet, makes a noise like drawing a long breath, and says, "better now," and then begins to laugh. . if any one vexes her, she begins to cry; if pleased, she laughs. if she hears any one cough or sneeze, she says, "what a bad cold!" . here is a story which a boy tells of a parrot: "poll was a great friend of mine, and had been in the house ever since i could remember. . "offy was a pug-dog, so fat that a little way off he looked like a muff to which some one had tied a tail. i hated offy, for he was always barking at me, and i think he knew i was afraid of him. poll hated offy, too, and with good reason. . "the pug was always sneaking round, and stealing the cake which poll had laid aside for her supper. poll missed her cake and was furious, but the dog licked his chops and laughed. . "one day poll hid herself on the top of the cupboard and watched. offy came as usual to steal her cake, when she pounced on his back and gave him such a drubbing that he never stole any more from her." [illustration: birds of prey.] lesson xxi. _birds of prey._ [illustration] . sometimes we see a bird come sweeping down into the farm-yard and seize a chicken and fly away with it, and sometimes we see the same bird pounce down upon a robin, a wren, or a dove, and carry it off. [illustration] . this robber is the hawk. another robber, larger and stronger than the hawk, is the eagle, which we see on the opposite page. let us look at them. . they are covered with mottled black and white feathers, which make them look gray. in some kinds of hawks, the breast is nearly white. [illustration] . they have very strong wings, and can fly far and fast without being tired. the beak is short, strong, and pointed, and hooked at the end. it is made so that it can easily tear flesh from the bones of animals. . the claws, or talons, are strong, sharp, and hooked, and the leg above is short and strong. . the hawk preys upon chickens, the smaller birds, squirrels, and other small animals. the eagle will carry off hens, turkeys, rabbits, lambs, and the like. they have been known to carry off a baby. . the hawk and the eagle seize their prey, not with their beaks, but with their talons. they drive their long, sharp nails into the flesh, and the chicken or rabbit is dead in a few minutes. . they carry their prey to their nests, and there they hold it in their talons, and, with their beaks, tear off the flesh, which they eat, and feed to their young. . both the hawk and the eagle have sharp eyes, and they can see a long distance. if we should see an eagle in a cage, we would find that its eyes are bright and a deep yellow in color; but they look wild and cruel, and we do not like to go very near it. . the fish-hawk preys upon fish. he sails slowly over the water until his sharp eyes see a fish, and then he dives down so straight and swift that he rarely misses. . sometimes, when he comes up from the water, an old eagle that has been on the watch pounces upon him. the hawk tries to get away, but the eagle soon overtakes him. . with an angry scream the hawk drops the fish, and the eagle swoops downward so quickly that he catches the fish before it reaches the water. with his prey in his talons, he then soars away to his nest in the tree-tops, or high up among the rocks on the mountain-side. lesson xxii. _long legs with feathers._ [illustration] . we have here the picture of a heron, a very curious bird. it has long legs, a large body, a long neck, and a long pointed bill. . its toes are long and pointed, and when spread out they cover a large space. it can turn its neck and bill so that sometimes it looks as if it would wring its own neck off. . the heron lives on frogs and fish. with its long legs it can wade out in the shallow water, and its toes spread out so it does not sink in the mud. . when ready for breakfast, it wades in where the water is half-leg deep. then it stands so still that the fish, the frogs, and the water-rats will swim all about its legs. . all at once, as quick as a flash, down plunges the beak, and up comes a frog from the water, and down it goes, whole, into the long throat. another comes along, and goes the same way. [illustration] . when it has had enough, it steps ashore, cleans its feathers with its long bill, and goes to sleep standing on one leg. its middle toe has a double nail, and with this it scratches off the down that sticks to its bill after cleaning its feathers. . the heron flies high in the air. when flying, its legs extend out straight behind, and its neck curls over and rests on its back. . the stork is another bird with long legs that wades in the water and eats frogs and fish. in holland, the stork is so tame that it lives in the farm-yard, and often builds its nest on the house-tops. lesson xxiii. _bo-peep and the rook._ [illustration] little bo-peep sat down on a heap of hay--she was tired with running; when up came a rook, who at her did look, and nodded his head and looked cunning. little bo-peep said, "why do you keep so near to me every day, sir? with your very sharp beak, pray what do you seek, for you always seem just in my way, sir?" "little bo-peep, it is your sheep, not you, that i come to see, ma'am; their wool is so soft, that i want it oft in my nest for my young ones and me, ma'am." said little bo-peep, "the wool you may sweep from the hedges and many a thorn, sir; but don't make your attacks upon my sheep's backs, for i will not have their wool torn, sir." the rook he cawed, and he hummed and hawed, and muttered, "what matter, what matter?" bo-peep she said, "go--i have said no, no; so it's useless for you to chatter." * * * * * "there's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree; he's singing to me! he's singing to me!" "and what does he say, little girl, little boy?" "'oh, the world's running over with joy! don't you hear? don't you see? hush! look! in my tree i'm as happy as happy can be.'" lesson xxiv. _the mouse and its ways._ [illustration] . here are some of our near neighbors, little fellows in fur, who are so very friendly that they visit us by night and by day, and seem as much at home in our house as we are. . when, in the night, we hear tiny feet as they patter over the floor, or scamper across the pillow, or we find in the morning that the loaf for breakfast has been gnawed and spoiled, we are not apt to feel friendly toward the mouse. [illustration] . but, as he stands here by the trap, let us take a good look at him. we find that he has a coat of fine fur, which he always keeps clean, and a long tail that has no hair. he has whiskers like the cat; sharp claws, so that he can run up the side of a house, or climb anything that is a little rough; and eyes that can see in the night. . he has large ears, so that he can hear the faintest sound; and short legs, so that he can creep into the smallest hole. . his nose is pointed, and his under jaw is shorter than the upper one. in front, on each jaw, he has two sharp teeth, shaped like the edge of a chisel, and these he uses to gnaw with. . these teeth are growing all the while; and if he does not gnaw something hard nearly every day, so as to wear them off, they will soon become so long that he can not use them. lesson xxv. _stories about mice._ [illustration: when the cat's away the mice will play.] . mice increase so fast that, if we did not have some way to destroy them, they would soon overrun the house, so that we could not live in it. . they have their homes in the hollow walls, and can go about from one part of the house to the other without being seen; and when they smell food they gnaw a hole through the wall to get at it. . they are playful little animals, and may easily be tamed. when a mouse comes into the room where people live, it is ready to run away at once if anything moves. . but if all are still, it will scamper about the floor, and look over and smell everything in the room. the next day it will come back, and finally it will play about the room as if no one were there. . the mice that run about the house have gray coats; but some mice are white, with pink eyes, and these are often tamed and kept as pets. . a lady once tamed a common gray mouse, so that it would eat out of her hand. she also had a while mouse in a cage. . the gray mouse was very angry when he saw the lady pet the white mouse; and one day he some way got into the cage, and when the lady came back into the room, she found the white mouse was dead. . music sometimes seems to have a strange effect upon a mouse. at one time, when a man was playing upon his violin, a mouse came out of his hole and danced about the floor. he seemed almost frantic with delight, and kept time to the music for several minutes. at last he stopped, fell over on the floor, and they found he was dead. lesson xxvi. _white-paw starts to see the world._ [illustration] . white-paw was a young mouse that lived with his mother. their home was in a barn, behind some sacks of corn, and a very nice home it was. . when a sunbeam flashed in upon them at midday, "that was the sun," said mrs. mouse. when a ray of the moon stole quietly in, "that is the moon," said the simple-minded creature, and thought she was very wise to know so much. . but little white-paw was not so contented as his mother. as he frisked and played in his one ray of sunshine or one gleam of moonlight, he had queer little fancies. . one morning, while at breakfast on some kernels of corn and sweet apples which his mother had brought home, he asked: . "mother, what is the world?" . "a great, terrible place!" was the answer, and mrs. mouse looked very grave indeed. . "how do you know, mother? have you ever been there?" asked the youngster. . "no, child; but your father was lost in the great world, my son," and mrs. mouse's voice had a little shake in it. . "ah!" said the son, "that was for want of knowing better." . "knowing better! why, he was the wisest mouse alive!" said the faithful mrs. mouse. . "i could not have been alive then," thought white-paw to himself. then he said aloud, "mother, i have made up my mind to go and see the world; so good-by!" . his mother wept. she tried to have him stay at home and be content--but all in vain; so she gave him a great hug, and he was off. lesson xxvii. _what the mice saw in the farm-yard._ [illustration] . he had not gone many steps when he met mr. gaffer graybeard, a wise old mouse, and a great friend to the family. . "well, where are you off to, mr. pertnose?" he asked, as the young traveler was whisking by. "i'm off to see the world," was the answer. . "then good-by, for i never expect to see you again; but take an old mouse's advice, and beware of mouse-traps." "what are mouse-traps?" asked white-paw. "you will know when you see them," was the answer. . white-paw went on his way, and just outside he met another young mouse who had also started to see the world, and the two went on together. . "oh, how big the world is!" said white-paw, as they went into the farm-yard, and began to look about them. . "and what queer creatures live in the world!" said the other, as the cocks crowed, the hens clucked, the chickens peeped, the cow lowed, the sheep bleated, the pigs grunted, and the old house-dog barked. . "if we are to find out about the world, we must ask questions," said white-paw. . so the two friends went about, stopping every now and then to admire or wonder at the new things they saw every moment. . soon they came across a friendly-looking pig. "please, sir," asked the wee simple things, "are you a mouse?" . the pig looked down to them through his "specs" as he heard the question in the tiny little squeaking voice, and he grunted a little as he replied: . "yes, if you like to call me so," and the two friends went on. . in a little while they came up where the old cow was feeding; and white-paw, taking off his hat, said, "please, are you a mouse?" . the old cow was too busy to answer such questions, but she shook her head in such a way that the travelers were glad to get off safe. . "there are great friendly mice, and great unfriendly mice, in the world!" said white-paw, as they went on their way. . next they met a motherly old hen, who was busy in scratching up food for her chickens; and white-paw asked, "please, ma'am, are you a mouse?" "we don't mind what folks call us," said the old hen, giving them a friendly wink. . as they went on they learned a great many things about the world; but as yet white-paw had not heard one word about a mouse-trap. . having gone around the farm-yard, white-paw and his friend went through the gate toward the house. here they met the dog, and asked the same question that they had asked before. . but the dog barked and snapped so that they could not make him hear, and they ran away in terror. lesson xxviii. _what white-paw saw in the kitchen._ [illustration] . in their haste the two friends bolted into the kitchen of the farm-house, where an old tabby-cat lay dozing before the fire. but when they came in she arose to meet them. . "what a polite fat mouse!" thought white-paw. "please, ma'am--" but pussy's eyes were fixed upon him with a horrid glare, and he could not go on. . alas! his poor little friend! there was a cry and a crunching of bones, and white-paw just escaped through a hole into the pantry. . when he had in part got over his fright, he smelled toasted cheese--something he had heard of but never tasted. he sniffed about, and soon saw it in a little round hole. . by this time he was very hungry, and he reached out for the dainty morsel; but there was a sudden click, and he turned back--but too late! his tail and one of his legs were caught by the cruel teeth of a trap. . he pulled with all his might, but could not get away. he heard a little squeak, and an old mouse came limping up with only three legs. . "pull hard, my son; better lose a leg and tail than your life. see! i was caught like you. how came you here?" he asked. . "i came to see the world, and 'tis a terrible place!" as white-paw spoke, he pulled himself free, but left one paw and the point of his tail in the trap. . the two hopped off together, and, after some friendly advice from the old mouse, white-paw limped away to his home, and soon found himself by his mother's side, where he could have his wounds dressed, and rest in peace. lesson xxix. _white-paw's account of the great world._ [illustration] . "my dear son, what is the world like?" asked mrs. mouse, after she had hugged white-paw, and set his supper before him. . "oh, it's a grand place! there are great black mice, and great white ones, and great spotted ones, and great friendly mice with long noses, and great uncivil mice with horns. . "then there are queer mice with only two legs, and some terrible mice that make a great noise." at this moment, gaffer graybeard came in, and white-paw said, "sir, i've learned what a mouse-trap is." "ah! then," said the sage, "you've not seen the world in vain." _three blind mice._ [illustration] three blind mice! three blind mice! see how they run! see how they run! they all ran after the farmer's wife; she cut off their tails with a carving-knife. did you ever see such a thing in your life as three blind mice? lesson xxx. _the death of poor puss._ "here lies poor puss!"-- "who saw her die?" asked grandmother mouse, just peeping forth from her hole of a house. "i," said tommy titmouse, "i saw her die; i think she was choked while eating a fly." "who'll dig her grave?" asked granny again; in her voice, strange to say, there was no tone of pain. "the honest old dormouse, out in the wood, he'd dig a good grave, if any one could." "who'll be the bearers?" the grandchildren all were ready at once, at sound of the call. "we'll carry puss, since she can't carry us, and bury her deep, without any fuss." one seized her fore paw, another her tail, another her ear, to make sure not to fail. then off they all ran, for puss winked her eye, and sprang to her feet, as the mice squeaked "good-by." [illustration] lesson xxxi. _field-mice._ . some kinds of mice live in the fields and woods, and never come into the house. the tiny little harvest-mouse has its home in the grain or thick grass, and feeds upon grain and insects. . it makes a nest of grass neatly woven together, and places it on the stalks, about a foot from the ground, where it is out of the way of the wet. . the nest is round, and about the size of a large orange. when the mother mouse goes away, she closes up the door of her nest, so no one can see her little ones. . the harvest-mouse runs up the corn and grass stalks easily. in climbing, it holds on by its tail as well as by its claws. the way it comes down from its nest is very curious. it twists its tail about the stalk and slides down. . another of the field-mice is the dormouse, that lives in the woods. it has a bushy tail, and makes its nest in hollow trees. it lives upon nuts and fruit. as cold weather comes on, it rolls itself up in a ball, and sleeps until spring. . once a dormouse was caught and kept in a cage, when it became quite tame, and a great pet with the children. one day it got out of its cage, and the children hunted all over the house, but could not find it, and gave it up as lost. [illustration] . the next day, as they sat down to dinner, a cold meat-pie was put upon the table. when it was cut open, there was the dormouse in the middle, curled up, and fast asleep. . the deer-mouse lives mostly in the fields, but it also makes its home in barns and houses. its back and sides are of a slate color, but the under part of its body, and its legs and feet, are white. it is sometimes called the white-footed mouse, or wood-mouse. it builds a round nest in trees, that looks like a bird's nest, and it lives upon grain, seeds, and nuts. . this mouse seems fond of music, and once in a while one sings. its song is very sweet, somewhat like that of a canary, but not so loud. mr. lockwood's singing mouse would keep up its wonderful little song ten minutes without stopping. lesson xxxii. _how the rat looks and lives._ [illustration] . the rat looks like a very large mouse. it has the same kind of chisel-teeth, sharp claws, and long tail, and it lives very much in the same way as a mouse. . it eats all kinds of food, and will live where most other animals would starve. its teeth are strong, and it can gnaw its way into the hardest nuts, or through thick boards. . the claws of the rat are sharp, so that it can run up the side of a house, or up any steep place where its claws will take hold. when at the bottom of a barrel, or kettle of iron, brass, or tin, it can not climb out. . the hind feet of the rat are made in a curious way: they can turn round so that the claws point back. this enables a rat, when it runs down the side of a house, to turn its feet around and hold on, while it goes down head foremost. . the tail of the rat is made up of rings, and is covered with scales and very short hair. the rat uses it like a hand to hold himself up and to take hold of things. . rats live in houses and barns, or wherever they can get enough to eat. in cities, they get into drains, and eat up many things which would be harmful if left to decay. . they are great pests in the house, running about in the walls, gnawing through the ceilings, and destroying food and clothing. . when rats get into a barn, they are very destructive. they eat up grain, and kill young chickens; and they often come in droves, when the pigs are fed, to share the food. . rats increase very fast. each mother rat produces fifty young ones in a year; and if we did not take great pains to destroy them, they would drive us out of our homes. lesson xxxiii. _stories about the rat._ [illustration] . rats are very fond of eggs; but they do not like to be disturbed while eating, and so they contrive to carry the eggs to their nests, where they can enjoy their feast in safety. . in carrying off eggs, several rats will often go together. a rat will curl his tail around an egg, and roll it along. coming to a staircase, they will hand the egg one to another so carefully as not to break it. . a lady once watched the rats, which were at work at her egg-basket. one rat lay down on his back, and took an egg in his arms. the other rats then seized him by the head, and dragged him off, egg and all. . rats can easily be tamed, and even a dog can scarcely love its master better than a rat does when it is treated kindly. mr. wood tells this story of some tame rats: . "some young friends of mine have a couple of rats which they have tamed. one, quite white, with pink eyes, is called 'snow,' and the other, which is white, with a brown head and breast, is named 'brownie.' . "the rats know their names as well as any dog could do, and answer to them quite as readily. . "they are not kept shut up in a cage, but are as free to run about the house as if they were dogs or cats. . "they have been taught a great number of pretty tricks. they play with their young master and mistress, and run about with them in the garden. . "they sit on the table at meal-times, and take anything that is offered to them, holding the food in their fore paws and nibbling it; but never stealing from the plates. . "they are very fond of butter, and they will allow themselves to be hung up by the hind feet and lick a piece of butter from a plate, or a finger. . "sometimes these rats play a funny game. they are placed on the hat-stand in the hall, or put into a hat and left there until their owners go up-stairs. . "they wait until they are called, when they scramble down to the floor, gallop across the hall and up the stairs as fast as they can go. . "they then hunt until they find their master, climb to his shoulder, and search every pocket for a piece of bread and butter, which they know is there for them. . "they are very clean in their ways, and they are always washing their faces and brushing their mouths and fur with their paws, just as cats do. . "it is very amusing to see them search the pockets of those they know: diving into them, sniffing at every portion, and climbing out in search of another. . "they will not come at the call of a stranger, nor play any of their tricks with him; but they will allow themselves to be stroked and patted, and they never try to bite." lesson xxxiv. _about rabbits._ [illustration] . we here come to the rabbit, one of our innocent and harmless friends that is a great pet with children. it is very timid and easily scared, but when treated kindly it becomes tame. . the rabbit is about the size of a cat, and has a short tail. the wild gray rabbit is not so large as the tame rabbit which we have about the house. . the rabbit has sharp gnawing-teeth like the rat and mouse, and it gets its food and eats it in the same way. . it eats the leaves and stalks of plants, and is very fond of cabbage, lettuce, and the tender leaves of beets and turnips. it sometimes does much damage by gnawing the bark of young fruit-trees. . it has whiskers like the cat, so that it can crawl into holes without making a noise. . its fore feet are armed with strong, blunt claws. it can not climb, but it is able to dig holes in the earth. . our wild rabbit lives in the grass, or in holes which it finds in stumps and hollow trees, and among stones; but the english rabbit digs a hole in the soft ground for its home. . the holes that the rabbits dig are called _burrows_; and where a great many rabbits have burrows close together, the place where they live is called a _warren_. . the burrows have two or more doors, so that if a weasel or some other enemy goes in at one door, the rabbit runs out at the other. in a warren, many burrows open into one another, forming quite a village under ground. . the rabbits choose a sandy place for a warren, near a bank, where they can dig easily, and where the water will run off. in these homes they sleep most of the time during the day, and come out by night to feed on such plants as they can find. when wild, the dew gives them drink enough; but when fed with dry grain food, they need water. lesson xxxv. _more about rabbits._ [illustration] . the rabbit has large ears, and can hear the slightest sound. when feeding or listening, the ears stand up or lean forward; but when running, the ears lie back on its neck. . when the rabbit hears any sound to alarm it, it never stops to see what is the matter, but scuds away to its hole, plunges in, and waits there until it thinks the danger has passed away. . then it comes to the mouth of the burrow, and puts out its long ears. if it does not hear anything, it raises its head a little more, and peeps out. then, if it does not see anything out of the way, it comes out again and begins to feed. . rabbits increase so fast that if they were not kept down they would soon eat up all the plants of our gardens and fields. so a great many animals and birds feed upon them, and a great many are killed for their meat and fur. . when first born, the little rabbits are blind, like puppies and kittens, and their bodies are naked. the mother rabbit makes a warm nest for them of dried leaves, and she lines it with fur from her own body. . in about ten or twelve days the little rabbits are able to see, and in a few weeks more they are quite able to take care of themselves. . the rabbits that we have for pets are of various colors, but mostly white or black, or part white and part black. they do not dig into the earth as the wild ones do, but they love to have their homes in snug little places, like holes. . the hind legs of the rabbit are longer than its fore ones, and, instead of walking, it hops along. when it runs, it springs forward with great leaps, and gets over the ground very fast. . pet rabbits that have large ears sell most readily. one of the rabbits, in the picture, looks very curious with one long ear lopped down over his eye, and the other standing up straight. . when they live out in the woods and fields, rabbits have many cruel foes. one of the worst of these is the owl, who, prowling about in the dark, springs upon the poor rabbit, and breaks its neck with one fierce stroke of its sharp bill. . as a rabbit can not defend itself by fighting, it has long ears to detect danger, and swift feet to get away from an enemy. when alarmed, away it goes, with a hop, skip, and jump, and like a flash passes out of sight. [illustration] lesson xxxvi. _how the hare lives._ [illustration] . the hare looks very much like a large rabbit. it has the same kind of teeth, and eats the same kind of food. its legs are longer than those of the rabbit, and it runs in the same way, only faster. . it does not burrow in the ground nor crawl into holes, but it makes its home in tufts of long grass. as it lies in the same place for a long time, it makes a little hollow, which is called its _form_. . it has larger ears than the rabbit, and seems always listening. it is very timid, and, when it hears any strange sound, away it goes like the wind, running with long leaps. . when at rest in its form, it folds its legs under its body, lays its ears back flat on its neck; and, as it is of the color of dried grass, a person may pass by within a few feet of it and not see it. . its upper lip is divided in the middle, as is also that of the rabbit. it sometimes will fight, and then it hits hard blows with its fore feet, and strikes so fast that its blows sound like the roll of a drum. . when the snow falls, the hare sits in its form, and is covered up. but its fur keeps it warm, and the heat of its body melts the snow next to its skin, so that it sits in a kind of snow-cave, the snow keeping off the cold wind. . when dogs chase a hare, it runs very fast until the dogs are close to it, when it stops suddenly. this it can do, as it runs by leaping with its long hind legs. . the dogs can not stop so quickly, and run past. the hare then starts off in another direction, or _doubles_, as we say, and so gains upon the dog. in this way it often escapes, and then it goes back to its form. . the hare is sometimes tamed, and it soon learns to know its friends; but it is a troublesome pet, as it gnaws the legs of the chairs and tables, and destroys the trees in the yard by gnawing off the bark near the roots. _alice's bunny._ would you hear about my bunny, all his little ways so funny? first of all, then, you must know, he has coat as white as snow, staring eyes of pink so pale, and a tiny, dumpy tail. once, he had a pretty mate, but she met a cruel fate. now quite by himself he stays, and contented spends his days. he runs about the nursery floor, the chairs and table clambers o'er, and nestles down upon my lap beside the cat, to take a nap; and once, when i was in disgrace, he licked the tear-drops from my face. now, don't you think my little bunny must be kind as well as funny? lesson xxxvii. _something about squirrels._ [illustration] . here comes the squirrel--the little fellow that frisks and gambols so prettily over trees and hedges, and that chatters to us as we take a walk in the woods or fields. he is afraid to let us touch him; but he will let us come quite near, as he knows he can easily get away. . as we see him scampering along on the fences or trees, the first thing that we notice is his long bushy tail, which he coils up over his back. . but we will find one in a cage, and then we will take a closer look. we find that he has chisel-teeth, like the rat and rabbit, and then we know that mr. squirrel eats something that he must gnaw. . his toes are not strong, like those of the rat or rabbit, but they are long and slender, and we know that he does not dig holes in the ground. the nails are not strong enough to catch prey, but are long, thin, sharp, and bent at their tips. . then we find that the squirrel can turn all his toes around so that the nails point backward, and we see that he is made for running up and down trees, where he has his home. . now we see what he does with his sharp cutting-teeth. he lives upon nuts, and his teeth are for gnawing through the hard shell, to get at the kernel inside. . the ears of the squirrel are of moderate size. the rabbit and hare live upon the ground, and, if they did not have large ears and sharp hearing, they would be killed by dogs and other enemies. but the squirrel has his home in trees, out of reach of animals that can not climb; so it does not need such sharp hearing to save itself. . when in his home in the trees, the squirrel feels safe; so he curls his tail over his body and head to keep warm, and goes to sleep. lesson xxxviii. _more about squirrels._ [illustration] . as the squirrel is made to climb trees and live on nuts, he builds his nest there, and makes the tree his home. he finds some hollow place in the tree, or he builds where some large limb branches off, so that his nest can not well be seen from below. . his nest is made of dried leaves and bits of moss. his summer home is high up on the tree, where he has plenty at air; but his winter nest is as snug in some hole as he can make it. . in the fall, the squirrel gathers nuts and corn, and stores them up near his winter nest. then, when cold weather comes on, he crawls into his bed of leaves, curls up, and goes to sleep. . now and then, in the winter, he wakes, crawls to his store and has a dinner, and then goes to sleep again. when the warm days of spring come on, he wakes up fully, and is ready for his summer's work and play. . when the squirrel eats a nut, he takes it in his paws, sits up straight, with his tail curled over his back, and nips off the shell in little bites, turning it about as easily as we could with our hands. . the squirrels that we see most often are the little chattering red squirrel, and the gray squirrel, which is about twice as large. in the west and south, a large squirrel, that is partly red and partly gray, is called a fox-squirrel. all these squirrels have fine little rounded ears, and large eyes, so placed that they can look all around. . the english squirrel is most like our red squirrel. it is of the same color, but a little larger, and has pointed ears, with a long tuft of hair standing up from the top. . the teeth of the squirrel grow, and he wears them off by gnawing nuts. if, when not in his winter's sleep, he should stop gnawing something hard for a week or two, his teeth would become so long that he could not use them again. [illustration] [illustration] lesson xxxix. _the flying squirrel._ [illustration] . here we have the most curious squirrel of all--one that can fly or sail through the air. it is about the size of the common red squirrel, and nearly of the same color, but lighter upon the lower part of its body. . it has a loose skin on each side, running from its fore legs to its hind ones. when it is at rest, or when it walks and runs, this skin hangs like a ruffle. but when mr. squirrel wants to go fast, or on a long journey, he scampers to the top of a tree and spreads out his legs, drawing the loose skin tight like a sail. . he then gives a leap, and away he sails into the air, striking near the foot of another tree a long distance away. he runs up to the top of this tree, and away he goes again, so fast that nothing can catch him. . as he sails through the air, he falls toward the ground; but he can carry his legs and tail in such a way that, just before he strikes, he shoots upward a little way, and lands on a tree, some distance above the ground. . the flying squirrel is covered with soft, fine fur, but the covering of the flying-sail is finer than that of any other part. it has large eyes, for seeing in the night. it sleeps most of the day, and comes out after sunset in search of food. . a squirrel makes a pretty pet, and sometimes it becomes so tame that it runs about like a dog. a squirrel was once found in its nest before its eyes were opened, and brought to the house. . it became very tame, and, after it grew up, it would watch its master when he went out, and get into his pocket, where it would stay and peep out to the people it met. . when they came to a country place, the squirrel would leap out, run along the road, climb to the tops of the trees, nibble the leaves and bark, and then scamper after his master, and nestle down into his pocket again. _the owl._ an owl sat in a hollow tree, and cried the whole day through: "i can not see; the sun blinds me. ah, what am i to do?" when night was dark, the owl looked out, and thought he'd leave his house: for "light," said he, "has come to me-- i'll go and catch a mouse." the mouse he caught, and then he cried: "what next am i to do? the woods shall ring, i'll sit and sing, too-whit, too-whit, too-whoo!" lesson xl. _bo-peep and the squirrel._ [illustration] little bo-peep said to her sheep, "in the wood there is tender grass growing; and as you're so good, you shall dine in the wood, by the brook that is quietly flowing." then a squirrel hard by looked down with a sigh, and said, "oh, please go away, ma'am! the acorns are mine, and the nuts too, so fine; and in the woods always i play, ma'am." then little bo-peep at the squirrel did peep: "no harm we are going to do, sir; my sheep are not thieves, and, under the leaves of the wood, there is room for us too, sir. "but i wish to be just: so here's a soft crust of white bread of my mother's own baking; and i'll give you a slice, which you'll find very nice, if you'll join us in our merry-making." * * * * * if you saw a goat buttoned in a coat; if you saw a rat dressed up in a hat; if you saw a lamb take a slice of ham; if you saw a bear combing out its hair; if you saw an ox opening a box; if you saw a pig eat a nice new fig; if you saw a mouse throwing down a house; if you saw a stag picking up a rag; if you saw a cow make a pretty bow; if you saw a fly take its slate and cry-- you would surely say, "what peculiar play!" or would surely sing, "what a funny thing!" lesson xli. _how the mole looks._ [illustration] . here we have the mole--a very curious animal. it is about the size of a rat, and is covered with a dark brown coat of fine fur. the fur does not lie back, as on the cat, but stands out straight from the body. . the legs of the mole are short, and are so formed that it can not stand upon them and raise its body from the ground. . the fore legs are large and strong, and each paw has five toes, armed with strong nails. when its toes are together, its fore paw is like a spade; and when they are spread apart, it is like a fork. . it has small ears, which are out of sight in the fur; and something like eyes, also deep in the fur, so that it can not see, or at most it can only tell when it is light and when it is dark. . its nose is pointed, and its teeth are all sharp, like those of the cat, but are so small that they look like the points of white needles. . what does this little blind animal, that can only creep along, do? how can he get a living? and how does it get away from enemies? . we see that all its limbs are so small and set so close to its body that it can easily creep through small holes. its hair stands out, so that it can crawl both ways. . it has no eyes, because it lives in the dark, and does not need to see to get its food. . its nose is pointed and keen, so that it gets its food by scent instead of sight. by scent, too, it can tell when danger is nigh. . its fur is fine and close, so that it is able to live in very damp places, and the wet does not get through to the skin. . its ears and eyes are deep down in the fur, so that, in crawling through a hole, no dirt or dust can get into them. . its teeth are not chisel-shaped, for gnawing, but are sharp and pointed, like the teeth of animals that live on flesh; but they are so small that they would break in trying to eat the bones of even a mouse. lesson xlii. _how the mole works and lives._ [illustration] . as the mole is not made for the sunlight, it must live below ground. with its strong fore paws it digs into the earth, and it can dig so fast that anywhere in the grass it will get out of sight in about a minute. . when it is above ground and it scents any danger, it does not run or climb, but it digs; and, when once under ground, it can keep out of the way of almost any enemy. . as it digs forward, it pushes the dirt backward, and it will go a long way in a little while. its hind legs drag behind, and, as they have little to do, they are weak. . it digs along in the dark when its keen little nose scents a worm or a grub; this it pushes into its mouth with its paw, and eats in an instant. . the meat which it finds below ground has no bones; so its small teeth are all that it needs to chew with. in some safe place, nearly always at the foot of a tree, the mole throws up a little mound of dirt, and in the middle of it builds its nest of dried grass. . then it makes tunnels all around, not any one leading straight up to the nest. in the picture we see the mole's nest and the tunnels leading to it. the mole drinks a great deal, and in its tunnels it digs wells where it can go down and find water. . in the summer it keeps near the top of the ground; but in winter it digs down deeper, to find grubs, and because it is warmer. . in digging under ground, the mole destroys the roots of grass and plants, and does some damage; but it does much more good, by destroying the grubs which live on the roots of plants. lesson xliii. _about the porcupine._ [illustration] . we find in the woods a curious animal called a hedgehog, but which is really a porcupine. the hedgehog is found in europe, and lives upon insects; the porcupine lives in quite a different way. . the porcupine is a little larger than the rabbit. it has short legs, sharp claws, and a short, broad tail. like the rabbit, it has chisel-teeth for gnawing. . it climbs easily; but it moves slowly, both in walking and climbing. its food is mostly the inside bark of trees. it climbs a tree, and seldom leaves until it has stripped off most of the bark. . as it can not run, it has a curious way of defending itself. besides a coat of warm, soft fur, its back and sides are covered thick with sharp-pointed quills, from two to three inches long. . when the porcupine is feeding or going about, these quills lie back flat, like hair; but when there is any danger, they stand out straight. upon the approach of an enemy, it folds up its paws, curls its head under its fore legs, and shows itself a bundle of sharp quills. . should a dog or hungry wolf then snap at it, the quills get into his mouth, and stick there. each quill has barbs like a fish-hook, and many an animal has died from the quills working into its flesh after having tried to bite a porcupine. . the porcupine can also throw up its back or strike a heavy blow with its tail, driving the quills into the flesh of its enemies. . the quills easily break off at their blunt end, and they grow like the hair; so the porcupine has a plenty for use at all times. . when men hunt the porcupine, they take care not to get a blow from the tail, and then they watch their chance, and strike the animal on the nose with a club, which kills it at once. . the porcupine builds its nest in hollow trees. in the winter it sleeps most of the time, only coming out once in a while to get something to eat. lesson xliv. _about the woodchuck._ [illustration] . the woodchuck is about twice the size of the common rabbit. its body is thick, and it has short legs, armed with long, naked nails. . it has small, round ears, and a short, bushy tail. it has a thick coat of coarse fur, long whiskers, like a cat, and chisel-teeth for gnawing. it lives upon fruit and the leaves of plants, and is very fond of red clover. . when walking, its hind legs do not stand up like those of a cat or dog; but the leg up to the first joint comes down flat upon the ground. . with its strong claws it digs a hole in the ground for a home. it chooses a soft place in a bank, where, at first, it can dig up, so that it will not be disturbed by water. its home has several entrances, so that, if pursued, it can escape by running in or out. in one of its driest rooms it makes its nest of dried grass; and here it stays in stormy weather, only coming out on pleasant days. [illustration] . woodchucks are very timid, and, when they come out to feed, one sits up and keeps watch. should it spy any danger, it gives a kind of whistle, and away they all scud to their holes. . when winter comes, the woodchuck rolls himself up in his nest and goes to sleep until spring. he is very fat when he takes to his bed in the fall, but is lean when he comes out ready for his next summer's work. . the prairie-dog, found upon the plains in the west, is very much like a small woodchuck. in a prairie-dog town there are hundreds of holes close together. when we go to look at them, we see a little head at every door-way, which dives out of sight as we come near. owls and rattle-snakes live in the same holes with the prairie-dogs. lesson xlv. _mrs. brindle's cowslip feast._ a cow lived in a pleasant field, where cowslips bloomed in spring. said she, "i think a cowslip feast would be a pleasant thing." so mrs. brindle sent a calf around the farm, to say that she should give a cowslip feast at four o'clock that day. at four o'clock she sat in state beside the flowing brook; the cowslips, with their golden heads, did most inviting look. the brindle calf in apron stood to ope the five-barred gate; and then his mother said that he upon the guests must wait. the company at length drew near: first mrs. blossom came, and mrs. dun, and mr. bull, who seemed to-day quite tame. red, spotted, white, a goodly band of cows and calves came nigh; and mr. donkey said that he would cowslips like to try. and mrs. mare came with her foal, and mr. horse came too, and several sheep with frisky lambs, in woolen dresses new. then mrs. brindle bade her guests the cowslips sweet to eat; and if they wished to drink, she said, the brook was clear and sweet. they ate and drank, and chatted too; and, when they went away, said, "thank you for your cowslip feast, dear brindle cow, to-day." * * * * * i thought the sparrow's note from heaven, singing at dawn on the elder bough; i brought him home; in his nest, at even, he sings the song, but it pleases not now: for i did not bring home the river and sky-- he sang to my ear; they sang to my eye. lesson xlvi. _the frog and its home._ [illustration] . here is a strange-looking creature--the frog. at first sight we would say that it is entirely unlike all the animals we have studied; but let us look a little closer. . we see that, like all the others, this little friend of ours has a body with a head, four limbs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. . but how curious it is in form! its body is short and round; its head is set on to its body without any neck; and its limbs are placed on its sides, so that it can not stand, but only squat. . it has large staring eyes, that can look about on all sides; and when it opens its mouth its whole head seems to split apart. . it has webbed feet, and can swim well in the water. it has no teeth, but lives upon grubs and flies and other insects. [illustration: frog's head, showing tongue] . when a fly comes within reach, the frog does not jump at it, but just darts out its long tongue, covered with slime, so quickly that the fly is caught before it has time to stir. . it lives both upon land and in the water. when in the water, it can open and shut its webbed feet like a fan, and so can swim rapidly. . when upon the land, it can not walk or run, but it gets along by hops. it sits on its hind feet, and suddenly straightens out its hind legs, and away it goes in a great leap. . when the cold weather comes, the frog crawls into some hole, or under the bank near the water, and goes to sleep for the winter. . the cold does not kill him, and, when the warm spring days come, he wakes up and comes out ready for the work which he is to do. lesson xlvii. _from tadpole to frog._ [illustration] . in the spring of the year the frog lays its eggs in the water. these eggs are small and round, but soon swell out to the size of a large pea. each egg has in it a black speck, not much larger than a pin's head. . this speck grows, and in the course of a few days out comes a tadpole about half an inch long. now, a tadpole has a round head, with a flat tail on one side, but no body. . the tadpole can swim with its tail, like a fish. on each side of the head is a small tuft of soft pink threads. these are gills, through which it can breathe the air which is in the water. . then the body grows, and in a short time two little legs come out right where the tail joins the body. in a few days more two other legs come out just back of the eyes, and then we have a tadpole with four legs. . but now another change takes place. lungs for breathing air begin to grow inside, and the gills become smaller. for a time the tadpole breathes partly in the water, with his gills, and partly in the air, with his lungs. . next the gills dry up, and then it comes to the top of the water to breathe; and it looks very much like a frog, except that it has a tail. . at last the tail shrinks away, and the tadpole has become a perfect frog. in hot weather all these changes take place in a few weeks; but when it is cold, they take a longer time. . the frog, when full grown, can live on the land or in the water. it can stay under water some time, but must come to the top to breathe. lesson xlviii. _more about frogs._ [illustration] . each mrs. frog lays about one thousand eggs, and if they all hatched and grew, every swampy country would soon be overrun with frogs. . but fish, birds, and serpents eat them in such numbers that they only about hold their own year by year. some kinds of frogs are also found to be good food for men, and are caught for that purpose. . frogs are lively and noisy in the first warm days of spring and summer. the little peeping frogs keep up their shrill music all night and day, and with it we hear the deep voice of the bull-frog, like a bass-drum heard at a distance. . the bull-frog is the largest of the frog kind. it eats worms, insects, and snails, and sometimes it even eats its own tadpoles. [illustration] . in summer, we hear among the trees a shrill kind of whirring sound, which is kept up for a long time without any pause. this is the song of the tree-frog, sometimes called the tree-toad. . this is a very small frog. it is born in the water, like other frogs; but when it comes out in the spring, it climbs into the trees and lives there. . its feet spread out into broad, flat toes, from the bottom of which comes out a sticky fluid. by means of these toes, which partly act as suckers, the frog can crawl along on the under side of branches without falling. . the color of the tree-frog is so much like that of the wood it clings to that it can not be seen unless we look very closely for it. lesson xlix. _the friendly toad._ [illustration] . the toad, which we find in our gardens and yards slowly crawling about, or making short hops, is a cousin of the frog, and is made very much like him. . the frog has a smooth skin; but the skin of the toad is thick, and is covered with warts. it has a larger mouth than the frog, and, on the whole, it can not be called handsome. . the toad, like the frog, is usually born in the water, and is at first a tadpole. when it loses its gills and tail, it comes out of the water and lives upon the land, until it goes into the water again in the spring to lay its eggs. . sometimes the toad can not reach the water at the proper time, and then the tadpole changes to a perfect toad soon after it is hatched. . the toad feeds on insects, and is very useful about the garden, as it picks off the grubs and beetles that destroy the fruit and flowers. . it eats only living insects, and it never chases its prey. it will sit motionless until a fly or other insect comes within reach, and then it darts out its tongue so rapidly that the little victim can not escape. . it swallows its food whole. when it seizes a worm, it crams fold after fold into its mouth with its fore feet, and, when all is in, it gives one great gulp, and the worm disappears down the wide throat. the toad sleeps in some hole, or out-of-the-way place, during the day; but it comes out about sunset and searches for food all night. . every few months the toad gets a new coat. its old skin gets hard and dry, and cracks open on the back, showing a new skin under it. then the toad pulls his head out, and pushes the old skin off his body and legs. when he has got it all off, he rolls it up into a ball and swallows it. . toads live thirty or forty years, and often become quite tame. they will come at a call, and they seem to enjoy a gentle scratching. when held by the legs, they will catch the flies brought within their reach as readily as when at liberty. lesson l. _the snail and its house._ [illustration] . in summer, when walking out in country places, we often find pretty little snail-shells. some of these are empty, and some have a live snail within. . the shell is the snail's house. it is a queer house, as it grows on him, as hair grows on a cat; and he carries it about on his back when he walks. . the snail lives upon plants. in the day he finds some safe place under a stone, or in a hole, draws himself into his house, and goes to sleep. in the night he comes out and feeds. . when we catch a snail, and wish to look at him, we find that he has gone into his house, where we can not see him. . to make him come out, put a plate in warm water until it is about as warm as the hand. then dip the shell into the water, and put it on the warm, wet plate. . then the snail will come out. first, he will put his head out. then from the front part of his head he win put out four soft horns, two long ones and two short ones. . his eyes are in the ends of his long horns. when the horns are out, if you watch close, you will see the eyes move up to the tips. . next comes the body, which is soft, long, and flat. the shell is on the back, nearer the tail than to the head. it has a spiral twist, as is shown in the picture. . the snail's body, where it touches the ground when he moves, is called the foot. when he moves, the head reaches forward first and takes a firm hold, then the other parts come forward in turn, the tail last. . the snail can not crawl over a dry place; so, when he moves, a thick fluid comes out of his foot, moistening the surface as he passes along. . as he must be saving of this fluid, in dry weather he stays at home most of the time, and comes out only when it is wet enough to crawl about. . when the cold weather comes, the snail crawls away to some quiet place, usually under a log or a stone, draws himself into his house, makes a door to keep out the cold, and goes to sleep until spring. lesson li. _the fly and its ways._ [illustration] . here is one of our friends that we know very well--the common house-fly. it is here drawn large on purpose, so that we can better see how it is made. . the fly is an insect. its body is divided into three parts; and it has three pairs of legs. upon its head are two large eyes, each of which is made up of about two thousand small eyes. when we look through a glass that makes things look large, we can see and count these little eyes of the fly. . its feet are made in such a way that they will stick wherever it places them, so that it can crawl up the walls of the house, or on the ceiling, with its back down. . the fly's wings are light and thin, and made up of fine network. it has no jaws or teeth; and, instead of lips, it has a tube, or trunk, through which it sucks up its food, as we can suck milk through a straw. . when a fly lights on a lump of sugar, it puts out its trunk, and lets fall a drop of fluid, which is clear like water. this moistens the sugar, and then the fly sucks it up. [illustration: a fly's leg, magnified.] . the fly keeps himself very clean. after each meal it brushes its head, first on one side, and then on the other, with its first pair of legs. then it will rub the two legs together to get off the dirt. . the fly lays its eggs in the kind of food its young can eat. in a short time a little white grub hatches out, which does nothing but eat until it is of full size. . then its skin becomes hard, and shrinks. it lies still, and does not eat anything for several days; but, inside its hard shell, wings are growing, and by-and-by the shell cracks open, and a full-grown fly comes out. . the blue-bottle fly has but two wings, while the common house-fly has four. this fly lays its eggs wherever it can find putrid meat, and the grubs which hatch out eat it all up, and so save us from evil odors and from breathing foul air. lesson lii. _the animals' ball._ [illustration: "'we'll dance all night,' cried the ants with delight."] "we'll dance all night," cried the ants, with delight. "pray tell me why?" inquired a fly. "because it's nice," explained the mice. "oh, very well!" laughed the gazelle. "yes; but where?" demanded a hare. "somewhere near," suggested the deer. "why not here?" crowed chanticleer. "yes, this will do," said the kangaroo. [illustration: "'don't step on my tail!' pleaded the whale."] "let's be smart!" remarked the hart. "fetch our gloves," cried the doves. "and my glass," brayed the ass. "where's my brooch?" howled the roach. "curl my back hair," ordered the mare. "don't step on my tail!" pleaded the whale. "please take care!" begged the hare. "oh, my cravat!" screamed a gnat. "i've lost my wig," sobbed the pig. "give me a chain!" cried the crane. "my shirt's too narrow," complained a sparrow. "what will you do?" sighed the kangaroo. "none fine as i," remarked the fly. [illustration: "'i'll play the horn,' said the unicorn."] "who will play for us to-day?" "i'll play the horn," said the unicorn. "who will pipe?" asked the snipe. "why, i!" said a fly. "and i'll play the harp," added the carp. "we are all ready now," spoke out the cow. "then form a row," said the buffalo. "and now we'll dance," again said the ants. then danced the cuckoo with the kangaroo, the cat with the rat, the cow with the sow, the dog with the hog, the snail with the whale, the wren with the hen, the bear with the hare, [illustration: "the cow with the sow."] the lark with the shark, the ram with the lamb, the fox and the mare made the last pair. "now we will feast," remarked a beast. "take an ice!" begged the mice. "do drink this wine," invited the swine. "not just now," objected the sow. "let's have some beer," said the deer. "but i prefer cider," whispered a spider. "you must not think so much about drink," said the cow with a bow. "it's a bad habit," shouted the rabbit. at last the fly, with a tear in his eye, gave his arm to the lark and went off in the dark. away in a trice scampered the mice. [illustration: "the rat donned his hat."] then the skate said, "'tis late." "i must go now," remarked the sow. "it is too soon," growled a baboon. "not a bit, not a bit," chirped a little tom-tit. and all the rest agreed it was best, to say good-by, and homeward hie. so the cow made her bow, the rat donned his hat, the whale fetched her veil; "now, all farewell," sighed the gazelle. farewell, echoed all at the animals' ball. james johonnot's educational works. the sentence and word book; a guide to writing, spelling, and composition by the word and sentence methods. mo. cloth. a geographical reader. a collection of geographical descriptions and narrations, from the best writers in english literature. classified and arranged to meet the wants of geographical students, and the higher grades of reading classes. mo. cloth. 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[_the right of translation is reserved._] preface to volume ii. the present volume completes my treatise on comparative embryology. the first eleven chapters deal with the developmental history of the chordata. these are followed by three comparative chapters completing the section of the work devoted to systematic embryology. the remainder of the treatise, from chapter xiv. onwards, is devoted to organogeny. for the reasons stated in the introduction to this part the organogeny of the chordata has been treated with much greater fulness than that of the other groups of metazoa. my own investigations have covered the ground of the present volume much more completely than they did that of the first volume; a not inconsiderable proportion of the facts recorded having been directly verified by me. the very great labour of completing this volume has been much lightened by the assistance i have received from my friends and pupils. had it not been for their co-operation a large number of the disputed points, which i have been able to investigate during the preparation of the work, must have been left untouched. my special thanks are due to mr sedgwick, who has not only devoted a very large amount of time and labour to correcting the proofs, but has made for me an index of this volume, and has assisted me in many other ways. dr allen thomson and professor kleinenberg of messina have undertaken the ungrateful task of looking through my proof-sheets, and have made suggestions which have proved most valuable. to professors parker, turner, and bridge, i am also greatly indebted for their suggestions with reference to special chapters of the work. contents of volume ii. chapter i. cephalochorda. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . central nervous system, pp. , . mesoblast, p. . general history of larva, pp. - . chapter ii. urochorda. pp. - . _solitaria_, pp. - . development of embryo, pp. - . growth and structure of free larva, pp. - . retrogressive metamorphosis, pp. - . _sedentaria_, p. . _natantia_, pp. - . _doliolidæ_, pp. , . _salpidæ_, pp. - . _appendicularia_, p. . metagenesis, pp. - . chapter iii. elasmobranchii. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . epiblast, p. . mesoblast, pp. - . hypoblast and notochord, pp. - . general features of the embryo at successive stages, pp. - . the yolk-sack, pp. - . chapter iv. teleostei. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . general history of the layers, pp. - . general development of the embryo, pp. - . chapter v. cyclostomata. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . mesoblast and notochord, pp. , . general history of the development, pp. - . metamorphosis, pp. - . myxine, p. . chapter vi. ganoidei. pp. - . _acipenser_, pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . general development of the embryo and larva, pp. - . _lepidosteus_, pp. - . segmentation, pp. , . general development of embryo and larva, pp. - . general observations on the embryology of ganoids, p. . chapter vii. amphibia. pp. - . oviposition and impregnation, pp. , . formation of the layers, pp. - . epiblast, pp. - . mesoblast and notochord, pp. , . hypoblast, pp. - . _general growth of the embryo_, pp. - . anura, pp. - . urodela, pp. - . gymnophiona, p. . chapter viii. aves. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . general history of the germinal layers, pp. - . general development of the embryo, pp. - . _foetal membranes_, pp. - . amnion, pp. - . allantois, pp. - . yolk-sack, pp. - . chapter ix. reptilia. pp. - . _lacertilia_, pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . general development of the embryo, p. . embryonic membranes and yolk-sack, pp. - . _ophidia_, p. . _chelonia_, pp. - . chapter x. mammalia. pp. - . segmentation and formation of the layers, pp. - . general growth of the embryo, pp. - . embryonic membranes and yolk-sack, pp. - . comparative history of the mammalian foetal membranes, pp. - . comparative histology of the placenta, pp. - . evolution of the placenta, pp. - . development of the guinea-pig, pp. - . the human embryo, pp. - . chapter xi. comparison of the formation of the germinal layers and of the early stages in the development of vertebrates. pp. - . formation of the gastrula, pp. - . the formation of the mesoblast and of the notochord, pp. - . _the epiblast_, pp. - . formation of the central nervous system, pp. - . formation of the organs of special sense, p. . summary of organs derived from the three germinal layers, pp. - . growth in length of the vertebrate embryo, pp. - . the evolution of the allantois and amnion, pp. , . chapter xii. observations on the ancestral form of the chordata. pp. - . general considerations, pp. - . the medullary canal, pp. , . the origin and nature of the mouth, pp. - . the cranial flexure, pp. , . the postanal gut and neurenteric canal, pp. - . the body-cavity and mesoblastic somites, p. . the notochord, pp. , . gill clefts, pp. , . phylogeny of the chordata, pp. - . chapter xiii. general conclusions. pp. - . i. mode of origin and homologies of the germinal layers, pp. - . formation of the primary germinal layers, pp. , . invagination, pp. - . delamination, pp. - . phylogenetic significance of delamination and invagination, pp. - . homologies of the germinal layers, pp. , . the origin of the mesoblast, pp. - . ii. larval forms: their nature, origin, and affinities. preliminary considerations, pp. - . types of larvæ, pp. - . phylogenetic conclusions, pp. , . general conclusions and summary, pp. , . part ii. organogeny; introduction. pp. , . chapter xiv. the epidermis and its derivatives. pp. - . protective epidermic structures, pp. - . dermal skeletal structures, p. . glands, pp. , . chapter xv. the nervous system. pp. - . the origin of the nervous system, pp. - . nervous system of the invertebrata, pp. - . _central nervous system of the vertebrata_, pp. - . spinal chord, pp. - . general development of the brain, pp. - . hind-brain, pp. - . mid-brain, pp. , . general development of fore-brain, pp. - . thalamencephalon, pp. - . pituitary body, pp. - . cerebral hemispheres, pp. - . olfactory lobes, pp. , . general conclusions as to the central nervous system of the vertebrata, pp. - . _development of the cranial and spinal nerves_, pp. - . spinal nerves, pp. - . cranial nerves, pp. - . _sympathetic nervous system_, pp. - . chapter xvi. organs of vision. pp. - . coelenterata, pp. , . mollusca, pp. - . chætopoda, p. . chætognatha, p. . arthropoda, pp. - . vertebrata general, pp. - . retina, pp. - . optic nerve, pp. , . choroid fissure, p. . lens, pp. , . vitreous humour, pp. , . cornea, pp. - . aqueous humour, p. . _comparative development of vertebrate eye_, pp. - . ammocoete eye, pp. , . optic vesicles, p. . lens, p. . cornea, p. . optic nerve and choroid fissure, pp. - . iris and ciliary processes, p. . accessory organs connected with the eye, p. . eyelids, p. . lacrymal glands, p. . lacrymal duct, pp. , . _eye of the tunicata_, pp. - . accessory eyes in the vertebrata, pp. , . chapter xvii. auditory organ, olfactory organ, and sense organs of the lateral line. pp. - . auditory organs, pp. - . general structure of auditory organs, pp. , . auditory organs of the coelenterata, pp. - . auditory organs of the mollusca, pp. , . auditory organs of the crustacea, p. . _auditory organs of the vertebrata_, pp. - . auditory vesicle, pp. - . organ of corti, pp. - . accessory structures connected with the organ of hearing of terrestrial vertebrata, pp. - . auditory organ of the tunicata, pp. , . bibliography of auditory organs, p. . olfactory organs, pp. - . bibliography of olfactory organs, p. . sense organs of the lateral line, pp. - . bibliography of sense organs of lateral line, pp. , . chapter xviii. the notochord, the vertebral column, the ribs, and the sternum. pp. - . introductory remarks on the origin of the skeleton, pp. - . bibliography of the origin of the skeleton, pp. , . the notochord and its cartilaginous sheath, pp. - . _the vertebral arches and the vertebral bodies_, pp. - . cyclostomata, p. . elasmobranchii, pp. - . ganoidei, p. . teleostei, p. . amphibia, pp. - . reptilia, pp. , . aves, pp. , . mammalia, pp. , . bibliography of the notochord and vertebral column, p. . _ribs_, pp. - . _sternum_, pp. , . bibliography of the ribs and sternum, p. . chapter xix. the skull. pp. - . preliminary remarks, pp. , . the cartilaginous cranium, pp. - . the parachordals and notochord, pp. , . the trabeculæ, pp. - . the sense capsules, pp. , . the branchial skeleton, pp. - . general structure of, pp. - . _mandibular and hyoid arches_, pp. - . elasmobranchii, pp. - . teleostei, pp. - . amphibia, pp. - . sauropsida, pp. , . mammalia, pp. - . membrane bones and ossifications of the cranium, pp. - . membrane bones, pp. - . ossifications of the cartilaginous cranium, pp. - . labial cartilages, p. . bibliography of the skull, p. . chapter xx. pectoral and pelvic girdles and the skeleton of the limbs. pp. - . the pectoral girdle, pp. - . pisces, pp. - . _amphibia and amniota_, pp. , . lacertilia, p. . chelonia, p. . aves, pp. , . mammalia, p. . amphibia, p. . bibliography of pectoral girdle, pp. , . the pelvic girdle, pp. - . pisces, pp. , . _amphibia and amniota_, pp. , . amphibia, p. . lacertilia, p. . mammalia, p. . bibliography of pelvic girdle, p. . _comparison of pectoral and pelvic girdles_, pp. , . limbs, pp. - . the piscine fin, pp. - . the cheiropterygium, pp. - . bibliography of limbs, p. . chapter xxi. the body cavity, the vascular system and the vascular glands. pp. - . the body cavity, pp. - . general, pp. , . _chordata_, pp. - . abdominal pores, pp. , . pericardial cavities, pleural cavities and diaphragm, pp. - . bibliography of body cavity, p. . the vascular system, pp. - . general, pp. , . the heart, pp. - . bibliography of the heart, p. . arterial system, pp. - . bibliography of the arterial system, p. . venous system, pp. - . bibliography of the venous system, p. . lymphatic system and spleen, p. . bibliography of spleen, p. . suprarenal bodies, pp. - . bibliography of suprarenal bodies, p. . chapter xxii. the muscular system. pp. - . evolution of muscle-cells, pp. , . _voluntary muscular system of the chordata_, pp. - . muscular fibres, pp. , . muscular system of the trunk and limbs, pp. - . the somites and muscular system of the head, pp. - . bibliography of muscular system, p. . chapter xxiii. excretory organs. pp. - . platyelminthes, pp. , . mollusca, pp. , . polyzoa, pp. , . branchiopoda, p. . chætopoda, pp. - . gephyrea, pp. , . discophora, pp. , . arthropoda, pp. , . nematoda, p. . excretory organs and generative ducts of the craniata, pp. - . general, pp. , . elasmobranchii, pp. - . cyclostomata, pp. , . teleostei, pp. - . ganoidei, pp. - . dipnoi, p. . amphibia, pp. - . amniota, pp. - . general conclusions and summary, pp. - . pronephros, pp. , . mesonephros, pp. - . genital ducts, pp. - . metanephros, pp. , . _comparison of the excretory organs of the chordata and invertebrata_, pp. , . bibliography of excretory organs, pp. - . chapter xxiv. generative organs and genital ducts. pp. - . generative organs, pp. - . porifera, p. . coelenterata, pp. - . chætopoda and gephyrea, p. . chætognatha, pp. - . polyzoa, p. nematoda, p. . insecta, p. . crustacea, pp. , . chordata, pp. - . bibliography of generative organs, p. . genital ducts, pp. - . chapter xxv. the alimentary canal and its appendages in the chordata. pp. - . mesenteron, pp. - . subnotochordal rod, pp. - . splanchnic mesoblast and mesentery, pp. - . _respiratory division of the mesenteron_, pp. - . thyroid body, pp. - . thymus gland, pp. , . swimming bladder and lungs, pp. - , _the middle division of the mesenteron_, pp. - . cloaca, pp. , . intestine, pp. , . liver, pp. , . pancreas, pp. , . _postanal section of the mesenteron_, pp. - . the stomodæum, pp. - . comparative development of oral cavity, pp. - . teeth, pp. - . the proctodæum, pp. - . bibliography of alimentary canal, p. . embryology. chapter i. cephalochorda. the developmental history of the chordata has been studied far more completely than that of any of the groups so far considered; and the results which have been arrived at are of striking interest and importance. three main subdivisions of this group can be recognized: ( ) the cephalochorda containing the single genus amphioxus; ( ) the urochorda or tunicata; and ( ) the vertebrata[ ]. the members of the second and probably of the first of these groups have undergone degeneration, but at the same time the members of the first group especially undergo a less modified development than that of other chordata. [ ] the term vertebrata is often used to include the cephalochorda. it is in many ways convenient to restrict its use to the forms which have at any rate some indications of vertebræ; a restriction which has the further convenience of restoring to the term its original limitations. in the first volume of this work the term craniata was used for the forms which i now propose to call vertebrata. cephalochorda. our knowledge of the development of amphioxus is mainly due to kowalevsky (nos. and ). the ripe eggs appear to be dehisced into the branchial or atrial cavity, and to be transported thence through the branchial clefts into the pharynx, and so through the mouth to the exterior. (kowalevsky, no. , and marshall, no. .) [fig. . the segmentation of amphioxus. (copied from kowalevsky.) b. stage with four equal segments. c. stage after the four segments have become divided by an equatorial furrow into eight equal segments. d. stage in which a single layer of cells encloses a central segmentation cavity. e. somewhat older stage in optical section. _sg._ segmentation cavity.] when laid the egg is about . mm. in diameter. it is invested by a delicate membrane, and is somewhat opaque owing to the presence of yolk granules, which are however uniformly distributed through it, and proportionately less numerous than in the ova of most chordata. impregnation is external and the segmentation is nearly regular (fig. ). a small segmentation cavity is visible at the stage with four segments, and increases during the remainder of the segmentation; till at the close (fig. e) the embryo consists of a blastosphere formed of a single layer of cells enclosing a large segmentation cavity. one side of the blastosphere next becomes invaginated, and during the process the embryo becomes ciliated, and commences to rotate. the cells forming the invaginated layer become gradually more columnar than the remaining cells, and constitute the hypoblast; and a structural distinction between the epiblast and hypoblast is thus established. in the course of the invagination the segmentation cavity becomes gradually obliterated, and the embryo first assumes a cup-shaped form with a wide blastopore, but soon becomes elongated, while the communication of the archenteron, or cavity of invagination, with the exterior is reduced to a small blastopore (fig. a), placed at the pole of the long axis which the subsequent development shews to be _the hinder end of the embryo_. the blastopore is often known in other chordata as the anus of rusconi. before the invagination is completed the larva throws off the egg-membrane, and commences to lead a free existence. [fig. . embryos of amphioxus. (after kowalevsky.) the parts in black with white lines are epiblastic; the shaded parts are hypoblastic. a. gastrula stage in optical section. b. slightly later stage after the neural plate _np_ has become differentiated, seen as a transparent object from the dorsal side. c. lateral view of a slightly older larva in optical section. d. dorsal view of an older larva with the neural canal completely closed except for a small pore (_no_) in front. e. older larva seen as a transparent object from the side. _bl._ blastopore (which becomes in d the neurenteric canal); _ne._ neurenteric canal; _np._ neural or medullary plate; _no._ anterior opening of neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _so^i_, _so^{ii}._ first and second mesoblastic somites.] up to this stage the larva, although it has acquired a cylindrical elongated form, has only the structure of a simple two-layered gastrula; but the changes which next take place give rise on the one hand to the formation of the central nervous system, and on the other to the formation of the notochord and mesoblastic somites[ ]. the former structure is developed from the epiblast and the two latter from the hypoblast. [ ] the protovertebræ of most embryologists will be spoken of as mesoblastic somites. the formation of the central nervous system commences with the flattening of the dorsal surface of the embryo. the flattened area forms a plate (fig. b and fig. a, _np_), extending backwards to the blastopore, which has in the meantime passed round to the dorsal surface. the sides of the plate become raised as two folds, which are most prominent posteriorly, and meet behind the blastopore, but shade off in front. the two folds next unite dorsally, so as to convert the previous groove into a canal[ ]--the neural or medullary canal. they unite first of all over the blastopore, and their line of junction extends from this point forwards (fig. c, d, e). there is in this way formed a tube on the floor of which the blastopore opens behind, and which is itself open in front. finally the medullary canal is formed for the whole length of the embryo. the anterior opening persists however for some time. the communication between the neural and alimentary tracts becomes interrupted when the caudal fin appears and the anus is formed. the neural canal then extends round the end of the notochord to the ventral side, but subsequently retreats to the dorsal side and terminates in a slight dilatation. [ ] the details of this process are spoken of below. in the formation of the medullary canal there are two points deserving notice--viz. ( ) the connection with the blastopore; ( ) the relation of the walls of the canal to the adjoining epiblast. with reference to the first of these points it is clear that the fact of the blastopore opening on the floor of the neural canal causes a free communication to exist between the archenteron or gastrula cavity and the neural canal; and that, so long as the anterior pore of the neural canal remains open, the archenteron communicates indirectly with the exterior (_vide_ fig. e). it must not however be supposed (as has been done by some embryologists) that the pore at the front end of the neural canal represents the blastopore carried forwards. it is even probable that what kowalevsky describes as the carrying of the blastopore to the dorsal side is really the commencement of the formation of the neural canal, the walls of which are continuous with the lips of the blastopore. this interpretation receives support from the fact that at a later stage, when the neural and alimentary canals become separated, the neural canal extends round the posterior end of the notochord to the ventral side. the embryonic communication between the neural and alimentary canals is common to most chordata; and the tube connecting them will be called the neurenteric canal. it is always formed in fundamentally the same manner as in amphioxus. with reference to the second point it is to be noted that amphioxus is exceptional amongst the chordata in the fact that, before the closure of the neural groove, the layer of cells which will form the neural tube becomes completely separated from the adjoining epiblast (fig. a), and forms a structure which may be spoken of as the medullary plate; and that in the closure of the neural canal the lateral epiblast forms a complete layer above this plate before the plate itself is folded over into a closed canal. this peculiarity will be easily understood from an examination of fig. a, b and c. [fig. . sections of an amphioxus embryo at three stages. (after kowalevsky.) a. section at gastrula stage. b. section of an embryo slightly younger than that represented in fig. d. c. section through the anterior part of an embryo at the stage represented in fig. e. _np._ neural plate; _nc._ neural canal; _mes._ archenteron in a and b, and mesenteron in c; _ch._ notochord; _so._ mesoblastic somite.] the formation of the mesoblastic somites commences, at about the same time as that of the neural canal, as a pair of hollow outgrowths of the walls of the archenteron. these outgrowths, which are shewn in surface view in fig. b and d, _so_, and in section in fig. b and c, _so_, arise near the front end of the body and gradually extend backwards as wing-like diverticula of the archenteric cavity. as they grow backwards their dorsal part becomes divided by transverse constrictions into cubical bodies (fig. d and e), which, with the exception of the foremost, soon cease to open into what may now be called the mesenteron, and form the mesoblastic somites. each mesoblastic somite, after its separation from the mesenteron, is constituted of two layers, an inner one--the splanchnic--and an outer--the somatic, and a cavity between the two which was originally continuous with the cavity of the mesenteron. eventually the dorsal parts of the outgrowths become separated from the ventral, and form the muscle-plates, while their cavities atrophy. the cavity of the ventral part, which is not divided into separate sections by the above described constrictions, remains as the true body cavity. the ventral part of the inner layer of the mesoblastic outgrowths gives rise to the muscular and connective tissue layers of the alimentary tract, and the dorsal part to a section of the voluntary muscular system. the ventral part of the outer layer gives rise to the somatic mesoblast, and the dorsal to a section of the voluntary muscular system. the anterior mesoblastic somite long retains its communication with the mesenteron, and was described by max schultze, and also at first by kowalevsky, as a glandular organ. while the mesoblastic somites are becoming formed the dorsal wall of the mesenteron develops a median longitudinal fold (fig. b, _ch_), which is gradually separated off from before backwards as a rod (fig. c, _ch_), underlying the central nervous system. this rod is the notochord. after the separation of those parts the remainder of the hypoblast forms the wall of the mesenteron. with the formation of the central nervous system, the mesoblastic somites, the notochord, and the alimentary tract the main systems of organs are established, and it merely remains briefly to describe the general changes of form which accompany the growth of the larva into the adult. by the time the larva is but twenty-four hours old there are formed about seventeen mesoblastic somites. the body, during the period in which these are being formed, remains cylindrical, but shortly afterwards it becomes pointed at both ends, and the caudal fin appears. the fine cilia covering the larva also become replaced by long cilia, one to each cell. the mesenteron is still completely closed, but on the right side of the body, at the level of the front end of the mesenteron, the hypoblast and epiblast now grow together, and a perforation becomes formed through their point of contact, which becomes the mouth. the anus is probably formed about the same time if not somewhat earlier[ ]. [ ] the lateral position of the mouth in the embryo amphioxus has been regarded as proving that the mouth represents a branchial cleft, but the general asymmetry of the organs is such that no great stress can, i think, be laid on the position of the mouth. [fig. . sections through two advanced embryos of amphioxus to shew the formation of the peribranchial cavity. (after kowalevsky.) in a are seen two folds of the body wall with a prolongation of the body cavity. in b the two folds have coalesced ventrally, forming a cavity into which a branchial cleft is seen to open. _mes._ mesenteron; _br.c._ branchial cavity; _pp._ body cavity.] of the subsequent changes the two most important are ( ) the formation of the gill slits or clefts; ( ) the formation of the peribranchial or atrial cavity. the formation of the gill slits is, according to kowalevsky's description, so peculiar that one is almost tempted to suppose that his observations were made on pathological specimens. the following is his account of the process. shortly after the formation of the mouth there appears on the ventral line a coalescence between the epiblast and hypoblast. here an opening is formed, and a visceral cleft is thus established, which passes to the left side, viz. the side opposite the mouth. a second and apparently a third slit are formed in the same way. the stages immediately following were not observed, but in the next stage twelve slits were present, no longer however on the left side, but in the median ventral line. there now appears on the side opposite the mouth, and the same therefore as that originally occupied by the first three clefts, a series of fresh clefts, which in their growth push the original clefts over to the same side as the mouth. each of the fresh clefts becomes divided into two, which form the permanent clefts of their side. the gill slits at first open freely to the exterior, but during their formation two lateral folds of the body wall, containing a prolongation of the body cavity, make their appearance (fig. a), and grow downwards over the gill clefts, and finally meet and coalesce along the ventral line, leaving a widish cavity between themselves and the body wall. into this cavity, which is lined by epiblast, the gill clefts open (fig. b, _br.c_). this cavity--which forms a true peribranchial cavity--is completely closed in front, but owing to the folds not uniting completely behind it remains in communication with the exterior by an opening known as the atrial or abdominal pore. the vascular system of amphioxus appears at about the same time as the first visceral clefts. bibliography. ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte des amphioxus lanceolatus." _mém. acad. impér. des sciences de st pétersbourg_, series vii. tom. xi. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien über die entwicklungsgeschichte des amphioxus lanceolatus." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiii. . ( ) leuckart u. pagenstecher. "untersuchungen über niedere seethiere." _müller's archiv_, . ( ) max schultze. "beobachtung junger exemplare von amphioxus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. iii. . ( ) a. m. marshall. "on the mode of oviposition of amphioxus." _jour. of anat. and phys._, vol. x. . chapter ii. urochorda[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the urochorda is adopted in the present chapter. i. caducichordata. {solitaria _ex. ascidia_. a. simplicia {socialia _ex. clavellina_. {sedentaria _ex. botryllus_. b. composita {natantia _ex. pyrosoma_. {salpidæ. c. conserta {doliolidæ. ii. perennichordata. _ex. appendicularia_. in the solitaria, except cynthia, the eggs are generally laid, and impregnation is effected sometimes before and sometimes after the eggs have left the atrial cavity. in cynthia and most caducichordata development takes place within the body of the parent, and in the salpidæ a vascular connection is established between the parent and the single foetus, forming a structure physiologically comparable with the mammalian placenta. solitaria. the development of the solitary ascidians has been more fully studied than that of the other groups, and appears moreover to be the least modified. it has been to a great extent elucidated by the splendid researches of kowalevsky (nos. and ), whose statements have been in the main followed in the account below. their truth seems to me to be established, in spite of the scepticism they have met with in some quarters, by the closeness of their correspondence with the developmental phenomena in amphioxus. the type most fully investigated by kowalevsky is ascidia (phallusia) mammillata; and the following description must be taken as more especially applying to this type. the segmentation is complete and regular. a small segmentation cavity appears fairly early, and is surrounded, according to kowalevsky, by a single layer of cells, though on this point kupffer (no. ) and giard (no. ) are at variance with him. [fig. . transverse section through the front end of an embryo of phallusia mammillata. (after kowalevsky.) the embryo is slightly younger than that represented in fig. iii. _mg._ medullary groove; _al._ alimentary tract.] the segmentation is followed by an invagination of nearly the same character as in amphioxus. the blastosphere resulting from the segmentation first becomes flattened on one side, and the cells on the flatter side become more columnar (fig. i.). very shortly a cup-shaped form is assumed, the concavity of which is lined by the more columnar cells. the mouth of the cup or blastopore next becomes narrowed; while at the same time the embryo becomes oval. the blastopore is situated not quite at a pole of the oval but in a position which subsequent development shews to _be on the dorsal side close to the posterior end of the embryo_. the long axis of the oval corresponds with the long axis of the embryo. at this stage the embryo consists of two layers; a columnar hypoblast lining the central cavity or archenteron, and a thinner epiblastic layer. the dorsal side of the embryo next becomes flattened (fig. ii.), and the epiblast covering it is shortly afterwards marked by an axial groove continued forwards from the blastopore to near the front end of the body (fig. , _mg_). this is the medullary groove, and it soon becomes converted into a closed canal--the medullary or neural canal--below the external skin (fig. , _n.c_). the closure is effected by the folds on each side of the furrow meeting and coalescing dorsally. the original medullary folds fall into one another behind the blastopore so that the blastopore is situated on the floor of the groove, and, on the conversion of the groove into a canal, the blastopore connects the canal with the archenteric cavity, and forms a short neurenteric canal. the closure of the medullary canal commences at the blastopore and is thence continued forwards, the anterior end of the canal remaining open. the above processes are represented in longitudinal section in fig. iii, _n_. when the neural canal is completed for its whole length, it still communicates by a terminal pore with the exterior. in the relation of the medullary canal to the blastopore, as well as in the closure of the medullary groove from behind forwards, the solitary ascidians agree closely with amphioxus. [fig. . transverse optical section of the tail of an embryo of phallusia mammillata. (after kowalevsky.) the section is from an embryo of the same age as fig. iv. _ch._ notochord; _n.c._ neural canal; _me._ mesoblast; _al._ hypoblast of tail.] the cells of the dorsal wall of the archenteron immediately adjoining the front and sides of the blastopore have in the meantime assumed a somewhat different character from the remaining cells of the archenteron, and give rise to a body which, when viewed from the dorsal surface, has somewhat the form of a horseshoe. this body was first observed by metschnikoff. on the elongation of the embryo and the narrowing of the blastopore the cells forming this body arrange themselves as a broad linear cord, two cells wide, underlying about the posterior half of the neural canal (fig. , _ch_). they form the rudiment of the notochord, which, as in amphioxus, is derived from the dorsal wall of the archenteron. they are seen in longitudinal section in fig. ii. and iii. _ch_. with the formation of the notochord the body of the embryo becomes divided into two distinct regions--a posterior region where the notochord is present, and an anterior region into which it is not prolonged. these two regions correspond with the tail and the trunk of the embryo at a slightly later stage. the section of the archenteric cavity in the trunk dilates and constitutes the permanent mesenteron (figs. , _al_, and iii. and iv. _dd_). it soon becomes shut off from the slit-like posterior part of the archenteron. the nervous system in this part also dilates and forms what may be called the cephalic swelling (fig. iv.), and the pore at its anterior extremity gradually narrows and finally disappears. in the region of the tail we have seen that the dorsal wall of the archenteron becomes converted into the notochord, which immediately underlies the posterior part of the medullary canal, and soon becomes an elongated cord formed of a single or double row of flattened cells. the lateral walls of the archenteron (fig. , _me_) in the tail become converted into elongated cells arranged longitudinally, which form powerful lateral muscles (fig. iv. _m_). after the formation of the notochord and of the lateral muscles there remains of the archenteron in the tail only the ventral wall, which according to kowalevsky forms a simple cord of cells (fig. , _al_). it is however not always present, or else has escaped the attention of other observers. it is stated by kowalevsky to be eventually transformed into blood corpuscles. the neurenteric canal leads at first into the narrow space between the above structures, which is the remnant of the posterior part of the lumen of the archenteron. soon both the neurenteric canal and the caudal remnant of the archenteron become obliterated. [fig. . optical section of an embryo of phallusia mammillata. (after kowalevsky.) the embryo is of the same age as fig. iii, but is seen in longitudinal horizontal section. part of body; _ch._ notochord; _me._ mesoblast.] during the above changes the tail becomes considerably elongated and, owing to the larva being still in the egg-shell, is bent over to the ventral side of the trunk. [fig. . various stages in the development of phallusia mammillata. (from huxley; after kowalevsky.) the embryos are represented in longitudinal vertical section. i. commencing gastrula stage. _fh._ segmentation cavity. ii. late gastrula stage with flattened dorsal surface. _eo._ blastopore; _ch._ notochord; _dd._ hypoblast. iii. a more advanced embryo with a partially-formed neural tube. _ch._ and _dd._ as before; _n._ neural tube; _c._ epiblast. iv. older embryo in which the formation of the neural tube is completed. _dd._ hypoblast enclosing persistent section of alimentary tract; _dd´._ hypoblast in the tail; _m._ muscles. v. larva just hatched. the end of the tail is not represented. _a._ eye; _gb._ dilated extremity of neural tube with otolith projecting into it; _rg._ anterior swelling of the spinal division of the neural tube; _f_. anterior pore of neural tube; _rm._ posterior part of neural tube; _o._ mouth; _chs._ notochord; _kl._ atrial invagination; _dd._ branchial region of alimentary tract; d. commencement of oesophagus and stomach; _dd´._ hypoblast in the tail; _m._ muscles; _hp._ papilla for attachment. vi. body and anterior part of the tail of a two days' larva. _klm._ atrial aperture; en. endostyle; _ks._ branchial sack; _ ks. ks._ branchial slits; _bb._ branchial vessel between them; _ch._ axial portion of notochord; _chs._ peripheral layer of cells. other reference letters as before.] the larva at this stage is represented in a side view in fig. iv. the epidermis is formed throughout of a single layer of cells. in the trunk the mesenteron is shewn at _dd_ and the dilated part of the nervous system, no longer communicating with the exterior, at _n_. in the tail the notochord is shewn at _ch_, the muscles at _m_, and the solid remnant of the ventral wall of the archenteron at _dd´_. the delicate continuation of the neural canal in the tail is seen above the notochord at _n_. an optical section of the tail is shewn in fig. . it is worthy of notice that the notochord and muscles are formed in the same manner as in amphioxus, except that the process is somewhat simplified. the mode of disappearance of the archenteric cavity in the tail, by the employment of the whole of its walls in the formation of various organs, is so peculiar, that i feel some hesitation in accepting kowalevsky's statements on this head[ ]. [ ] it is more probable that this part of the alimentary tract is equivalent to the postanal gut of many vertebrata, which is at first a complete tube, but disappears later by the simple absorption of the walls. the larva continues to grow in length, and the tail becomes further curled round the ventral side of the body within the egg-membrane. before the tail has nearly reached its full length the test becomes formed as a cuticular deposit of the epiblast cells (o. hertwig, no. , semper, no. ). it appears first in the tail and gradually extends till it forms a complete investment round both tail and trunk, and is at first totally devoid of cells. shortly after the establishment of the test there grow out from the anterior end of the body three peculiar papillæ, developed as simple thickenings of the epidermis. at a later stage, after the hatching of the larva, these papillæ develop glands at their extremities, secreting a kind of glutinous fluid[ ]. after these papillæ have become formed cells first make their appearance in the test; and there is simultaneously formed a fresh inner cuticular layer of the test, to which at first the cells are confined, though subsequently they are found in the outer layer also. on the appearance of cells in the test the latter must be regarded as a form, though a very abnormal one, of connective tissue. when the tail of the larva has reached a very considerable length the egg-membrane bursts, and the larva becomes free. the hatching takes place in asc. canina about - hours after impregnation. the free larva (fig. v.) has a swollen trunk, and a very long tail, which soon becomes straightened out. it has a striking resemblance to a tadpole (_vide_ fig. ). [ ] it is probable that these papillæ are very primitive organs of the chordata. structures, which are probably of the same nature, are formed behind the mouth in the larvæ of amphibia, and in front of the mouth in the larvæ of ganoids (acipenser, lepidosteus), and are used by these larvæ for attaching themselves. in the free larval condition the ascidians have in many respects a higher organization than in the adult state. it is accordingly convenient to divide the subsequent development into two periods, the first embracing the stages from the condition represented in fig. v. up to the full development of the free larva, and the second the period from the full development of the larva to the attainment of the fixed adult condition. _growth and structure of the free larva._ the nervous system. the nervous system was left as a closed tube consisting of a dilated anterior division, and a narrow posterior one. the former may be spoken of as the brain, and the latter as the spinal cord; although the homologies of these two parts are quite uncertain. the anterior part of the spinal cord lying within the trunk dilates somewhat (fig. v. and vi. _rg_) and there may thus be distinguished a trunk and a caudal section of the spinal cord. [fig. . larva of ascidia mentula. (from gegenbaur; after kupffer.) only the anterior part of the tail is represented. _n´_. anterior swelling of neural tube; _n._ anterior swelling of spinal portion of neural tube; _n._ hinder part of neural tube; _ch._ notochord; _k._ branchial region of alimentary tract; _d._ oesophageal and gastric region of alimentary tract; _o._ eye; _a._ otolith; _o._ mouth; _s._ papilla for attachment.] the original single vesicle of the brain becomes divided by the time the larva is hatched into two sections (fig. )--( ) an anterior vesicle with, for the most part, thin walls, in which unpaired auditory and optic organs make their appearance, and ( ) a posterior nearly solid cephalic ganglion, through which there passes a narrow continuation of the central canal of the nervous system. this ganglion consists of a dorsal section formed of distinct cells, and a ventral section formed of a punctated material with nuclei. the auditory organ[ ] consists of a 'crista acustica' (fig. ), in the form of a slight prominence of columnar cells on the ventral side of the anterior cerebral vesicle; to the summit of which a spherical otolith is attached by fine hairs. in the crista is a cavity containing clear fluid. the dorsal half of the otolith is pigmented: the ventral half is without pigment. the crista is developed _in situ_, but the otolith is formed from a single cell on the dorsal side of the cerebral vesicle, which forms a projection into the cavity of the vesicle, and then travels (in a manner not clearly made out) round the right side of the vesicle till it comes to the crista; to which it is at first attached by a narrow pedicle. the fully developed eye (figs. vi. and , _o_) consists of a cup-shaped retina, which forms a prominence slightly on the right side of the posterior part of the dorsal wall of the anterior cerebral vesicle, and of refractive media. the retina is formed of columnar cells, the inner ends of which are imbedded in pigment. the refractive media of the eye are directed towards the cavity of the cerebral vesicle, and consist of a biconvex lens and a meniscus. half the lens is imbedded in the cavity of the retina and surrounded by the pigment, and the other half is turned toward a concavo-convex meniscus which corresponds in position with the cornea. the development of the meniscus and lens is unknown, but the retina is formed (fig. v. _a_) as an outgrowth of the wall of the brain. at the inner ends of the cells of this outgrowth a deposit of pigment appears. [ ] for a fuller account of the organs of sense _vide_ the chapters on the eye and ear. the trunk section of the spinal cord (fig. , _n_) is separated by a sharp constriction from the brain. it is formed of a superficial layer of longitudinal nervous fibres, and a central core of ganglion cells. the layer of fibres diminishes in thickness towards the tail, and finally ceases to be visible. kupffer detected three pairs of nerves passing off from the spinal cord to the muscles of the tail. the foremost of these arises at the boundary between the trunk and the tail, and the two others at regular intervals behind this point. the mesoblast and muscular system. it has already been stated that the lateral walls of the archenteron in the tail give rise to muscular cells. these cells lie about three abreast, and appear not to increase in number; so that with the growth of the tail they grow enormously in length, and eventually become imperfectly striated. the mesoblast cells at the hinder end of the trunk, close to its junction with the tail, do not become converted into muscle cells, but give rise to blood corpuscles; and the axial remnant of the archenteron undergoes a similar fate. according to kowalevsky the heart is formed during larval life as an elongated closed sack on the right side of the endostyle. the notochord. the notochord was left as a rod formed of a single row of cells, or in as. canina and some other forms of two rows, extending from just within the border of the trunk to the end of the tail. according to kowalevsky, kupffer, giard, etc. the notochord undergoes a further development which finds its only complete parallel amongst chordata in the doubtful case of amphioxus. there appear between the cells peculiar, highly refractive discs (fig. v. _chs_). these become larger and larger, and finally, after pushing the remnants of the cells with their nuclei to the sides, coalesce together to form a continuous axis of hyaline substance. the remnants of the cells with their nuclei form a sheath round the hyaline axis (fig. vi. _ch._). whether the axis is to be regarded as formed of an intercellular substance, or of a differentiation of parts of the cells is still doubtful. kupffer inclines to the latter view: the analogy of the notochord of higher types appears to me to tell in favour of the former one. the alimentary tract. the anterior part of the primitive archenteron alone retains a lumen, and from this part the whole of the permanent alimentary tract (mesenteron) becomes developed. the anterior part of it grows upwards, and before hatching an involution of the epiblast on the dorsal side, just in front of the anterior extremity of the nervous system, meets and opens into this upgrowth, and gives rise to the permanent mouth (fig. v. _o_). kowalevsky states that a pore is formed at the front end of the nervous tube leading into the mouth (fig. v. and vi. _f_) which eventually gives rise to the ciliated sack, which lies in the adult at the junction between the mouth and the branchial sack. kupffer however was unable to find this opening; but kowalevsky's observations are confirmed by those of salensky on salpa. from the hinder end of the alimentary sack an outgrowth directed dorsalwards makes its appearance (figs. v. and , _d_), from which the oesophagus, stomach and intestine become developed. it at first ends blindly. the remainder of the primitive alimentary sack gives rise to the branchial sack of the adult. just after the larva has become hatched, the outgrowth to form the stomach and oesophagus, etc. bends ventralwards and to the right, and then turns again in a dorsal and left direction till it comes close to the dorsal surface, somewhat to the left of and close to the hinder end of the trunk. the first ventral loop of this part gives rise to the oesophagus, which opens into the stomach; from this again the dorsally directed intestine passes off. on the ventral wall of the branchial sack there is formed a narrow fold with thickened walls, which forms the endostyle. it ends anteriorly at the stomodæum and posteriorly at the point where the solid remnant of the archenteron in the tail was primitively continuous with the branchial sack. the whole of the alimentary wall is formed of a single layer of hypoblast cells. a most important organ connected with the alimentary system still remains to be dealt with, viz. the atrial or peribranchial cavity. the first rudiments of it appear at about the time of hatching, in the form of a pair of dorsal epiblastic involutions (fig. v. _kl_), at the level of the junction between the brain and the spinal cord. these involutions grow inwards, and meet corresponding outgrowths of the branchial sack, with which they fuse. at the junction between them is formed an elongated ciliated slit, leading from the branchial sack into the atrial cavity of each side. the slits so formed are the first pair of branchial clefts. behind the first pair of branchial clefts a second pair is formed during larval life by a second outgrowth of the branchial sack meeting the epiblastic atrial involutions (fig. vi. _ ks_ and _ ks_). the intestine at first ends blindly close to the left atrial involution, but the anus becomes eventually formed by an opening being established between the left atrial involution and the intestine. during the above described processes the test remains quite intact, and is not perforated at the oral or the atrial openings. _the retrogressive metamorphosis of the larva._ the development of the adult from the larva is, as has already been stated, in the main a retrogressive metamorphosis. the stages in this metamorphosis are diagrammatically shewn in figs. and . it commences with the attachment of the larva (fig. a) which takes place by one of the three papillæ. simultaneously with the attachment the larval tail undergoes a complete atrophy (fig. b), so that nothing is left of it but a mass of fatty cells situated close to the point of the previous insertion of the tail in the trunk. fig. . diagram shewing the mode of attachment and subsequent retrogressive metamorphosis of a larval ascidian. (from lankester.) the nervous system also undergoes a very rapid retrogressive metamorphosis; and the only part of it which persists would seem to be the dilated portion of the spinal cord in the trunk (kupffer, no. ). the three papillæ, including that serving for attachment, early disappear, and the larva becomes fixed by a growth of the test to foreign objects. an opening appears in the test some time after the larva is fixed, leading into the mouth, which then becomes functional. the branchial sack at the same time undergoes important changes. in the larva it is provided with only two ciliated slits, which open into the, at this stage, paired atrial cavity (fig. ). the openings of the atrial cavity at first are shut off from communication with the exterior by the test, but not long after the larva becomes fixed, two perforations are formed in the test, which lead into the openings of the two atrial cavities. at the same time the atrial cavities dilate so as gradually to embrace the whole branchial sack to which their inner walls attach themselves. shortly after this the branchial clefts rapidly increase in number[ ]. [ ] the account of the multiplication of the branchial clefts is taken from krohn's paper on phallusia mammillata (no. ), but there is every reason to think that it holds true in the main for simple ascidians. the increase of the branchial clefts is somewhat complicated. between the two primitive clefts two new ones appear, and then a third appears behind the last cleft. in the interval between each branchial cleft is placed a vascular branchial vessel (fig. vi. _bb_). soon a great number of clefts become added in a row on each side of the branchial sack. these clefts are small ciliated openings placed transversely with reference to the long axis of the branchial sack, but only occupying a small part of the breadth of each side. the intervals dorsal and ventral to them are soon filled by series of fresh rows of slits, separated from each other by longitudinal bars. each side of the branchial sack becomes in this way perforated by a number of small openings arranged in rows, and separated by transverse and longitudinal bars. the whole structure forms the commencement of the branchial basketwork of the adult; the arrangement of which differs considerably in structure and origin from the simple system of branchial clefts of normal vertebrate types. at the junction of the transverse and longitudinal bars papillæ are formed projecting into the lumen of the branchial sack. [fig. . diagram of a very young ascidian. (from lankester.)] after the above changes are far advanced towards completion, the openings of the two atrial sacks gradually approximate in the dorsal line, and finally coalesce to form the single atrial opening of the adult. the two atrial cavities at the same time coalesce dorsally to form a single cavity, which is continuous round the branchial sack, except along the ventral line where the endostyle is present. the atrial cavity, from its mode of origin as a pair of epiblastic involutions[ ], is clearly a structure of the same nature as the branchial or atrial cavity of amphioxus; and has nothing whatever to do with the true body cavity. [ ] in the asexually produced buds of ascidians the atrial cavity appears, with the exception of the external opening, to be formed from the primitive branchial sack. in the buds of pyrosoma however it arises independently. these peculiarities in the buds cannot weigh against the embryonic evidence that the atrial cavity arises from involutions of the epiblast, and they may perhaps be partially explained by the fact that in the formation of the visceral clefts outgrowths of the branchial sack meet the atrial involutions. it has already been stated that the anus opens into the original left atrial cavity; when the two cavities coalesce the anus opens into the atrial cavity in the median dorsal line. two of the most obscure points in the development are the origin of the mesoblast in the trunk, and of the body cavity. of the former subject we know next to nothing, though it seems that the cells resulting from the atrophy of the tail are employed in the nutrition of the mesoblastic structures of the trunk. the body cavity in the adult is well developed in the region of the intestine, where it forms a wide cavity lined by an epithelioid mesoblastic layer. in the region of the branchial sack it is reduced to the vascular channels in the walls of the sack. kowalevsky believes the body cavity to be the original segmentation cavity, but this view can hardly be regarded as admissible in the present state of our knowledge. in some other ascidian types a few more facts about the mesoblast will be alluded to. with the above changes the retrogressive metamorphosis is completed; and it only remains to notice the change in position undergone in the attainment of the adult state. the region by which the larva is attached grows into a long process (fig. b), and at the same time the part carrying the mouth is bent upwards so as to be removed nearly as far as possible from the point of attachment. by this means the condition in the adult (fig. ) is gradually brought about; the original dorsal surface with the oral and atrial openings becoming the termination of the long axis of the body, and the nervous system being placed between the two openings. the genus molgula presents a remarkable exception amongst the simple ascidians in that, in some if not all the species belonging to it, development takes place (lacaze duthiers and , kupffer ) quite directly and without larval metamorphosis. the ova are laid either singly or adhering together, and are very opaque. the segmentation (lacaze duthiers) commences by the formation of four equal spheres, after which a number of small clear spheres are formed which envelope the large spheres. the latter give rise to a closed enteric sack, and probably also to a mass of cells situated on the ventral side, which appear to be mesoblastic. the epiblast is constituted of a single layer of cells which completely envelopes the enteric sack and the mesoblast. while the ovum is still within the chorion five peculiar processes of epiblast grow out; four of which usually lie in the same sectional plane of the embryo. they are contractile and contain prolongations of the body cavity. their relative size is very variable. the nervous system is formed on the dorsal side of the embryo before the above projections make their appearance, but, though it seems probable that it originates in the same manner as in the more normal forms, its development has not been worked out. as soon as it is formed it consists of a nervous ganglion similar to that usually found in the adult. the history of the mass of mesoblast cells has been inadequately followed, but it continuously disappears as the heart, excretory organs, muscles, etc. become formed. so far as can be determined from kupffer's descriptions the body cavity is primitively parenchymatous--an indication of an abbreviated development--and does not arise as a definite split in the mesoblast. the primitive enteric cavity becomes converted into the branchial sack, and from its dorsal and posterior corner the oesophagus, stomach and intestine grow out as in the normal forms. the mouth is formed by the invagination of a disc-like thickening of the epidermis in front of the nervous system on the dorsal side of the body; and the atrial cavity arises behind the nervous system by a similar process at a slightly later period. the gill clefts opening into the atrial cavity are formed as in the type of simple ascidians described by krohn. the embryo becomes hatched not long after the formation of the oral and atrial openings, and the five epiblastic processes undergo atrophy. they are not employed in the attachment of the adult. the larva when hatched agrees in most important points with the adult; and is without the characteristic provisional larval organs of ordinary forms; neither organs of special sense nor a tail becoming developed. it has been suggested by kupffer that the ventrally situated mesoblastic mass is the same structure as the mass of elements which results in ordinary types from the degeneration of the tail. if this suggestion is true it is difficult to believe that this mass has any other than a nutritive function. the larva of ascidia ampulloides described by p. van beneden is regarded by kupffer as intermediate between the molgula larva and the normal type, in that the larval tail and notochord and a pigment spot are first developed, while after the atrophy of these organs peculiar processes like those of molgula make their appearance. sedentaria. the development of the fixed composite ascidians is, so far as we know, in the main similar to that of the simple ascidians. the larvæ of botryllus sometimes attain, while still in the free state, a higher stage of development with reference to the number of gill slits, etc. than that reached by the simple ascidians, and in some instances (botryllus auratus _metschnikoff_) eight conical processes are found springing in a ring-like fashion around the trunk. the presence of these processes has led to somewhat remarkable views about the morphology of the group; in that they were regarded by kölliker, sars, etc. as separate individuals, and it was supposed that the product of each ovum was not a single individual, but a whole system of individuals with a common cloaca. the researches of metschnikoff (no. ), krohn (no. ), and giard (no. ), etc. demonstrate that this paradoxical view is untenable, and that each ovum only gives rise to a single embryo, while the stellate systems are subsequently formed by budding. natantia. our knowledge of the development of pyrosoma is mainly due to huxley (no. ) and kowalevsky (no. ). in each individual of a colony of pyrosoma only a single egg comes to maturity at one time. this egg is contained in a capsule formed of a structureless wall lined by a flattened epithelioid layer. from this capsule a duct passes to the atrial cavity, which, though called the oviduct, functions as an afferent duct for the spermatozoa. the segmentation is meroblastic, and the germinal disc adjoins the opening of the oviduct. the segmentation is very similar to that which occurs in teleostei, and at its close the germinal disc has the form of a cap of cells, without a trace of stratification or of a segmentation cavity, resting upon the surface of the yolk, which forms the main mass of the ovum. after segmentation the blastoderm, as we may call the layer of cells derived from the germinal disc, rapidly spreads over the surface of the yolk, and becomes divided into two layers, the epiblast and the hypoblast. at the same time it exhibits a distinction into a central clearer and a peripheral more opaque region. at one end of the blastoderm, which for convenience sake may be spoken of as the posterior end, a disc of epiblast appears, which is the first rudiment of the nervous system, and on each side of the middle of the blastoderm there arises an epiblastic involution. the epiblastic involutions give rise to the atrial cavity. these involutions rapidly grow in length, and soon form longish tubes, opening at the surface by pores situated not far from the posterior end of the blastoderm. the blastoderm at this stage, as seen on the surface of the yolk, is shewn in fig. a. it is somewhat broader than long. the nervous system is shewn at _n_, and _at_ points to an atrial tube. a transverse section, through about the middle of this blastoderm, is represented in fig. b. the epiblast is seen above. on each side is the section of an atrial tube (_at_). below is the hypoblast which is separated from the yolk especially in the middle line; at each side it is beginning to grow in below, on the surface of the yolk. the space below the hypoblast is the alimentary cavity, the ventral wall of which is formed by the cells growing in at the sides. between the epiblast and hypoblast are placed scattered mesoblast cells, the origin of which has not been clearly made out. [fig. . a. surface view of the ovum of pyrosoma not far advanced in development. the embryonic structures are developed from a disc-like blastoderm. b. transverse section through the middle part of the same blastoderm. _at._ atrial cavity; _hy._ hypoblast; _n._ nervous disc in the region of the future cyathozooid.] in a later stage the openings of the two atrial tubes gradually travel backwards, and at the same time approximate, till finally they meet and coalesce at the posterior end of the blastoderm behind the nervous disc (fig. , _cl_). the tubes themselves at the same time become slightly constricted not far from their hinder extremities, and so divided into a posterior region nearly coterminous with the nervous system (fig. ), and an anterior region. these two regions have very different histories in the subsequent development. the nervous disc has during these changes become marked by a median furrow (fig. , _ng_), which is soon converted into a canal by the same process as in the simple ascidians. the closure of the groove commences posteriorly and travels forwards. these processes are clearly of the same nature as those which take place in chordata generally in the formation of the central nervous system. in the region of the germinal disc which contains the anterior part of the atrial tubes, the alimentary cavity becomes, by the growth of the layer of cells described in the last stage, a complete canal, on the outer wall of which the endostyle is formed as a median fold. the whole anterior part of the blastoderm becomes at the same time gradually constricted off from the yolk. [fig. . blastoderm of pyrosoma shortly before its division into cyathozooid and ascidiozooids. (after kowalevsky.) _cl._ cloacal (atrial) opening; _en._ endostyle; _at._ atrial cavity; _ng._ nervous groove. the heart and pericardial cavity are seen to the left.] the fate of the anterior and posterior parts of the blastoderm is very different. the anterior part becomes segmented into four zooids or individuals, called by huxley ascidiozooids, which give rise to a fresh colony of pyrosoma. the posterior part forms a rudimentary zooid, called by huxley cyathozooid, which eventually atrophies. these five zooids are formed by a process of embryonic fission. this fission commences by the appearance of four transverse constrictions in the anterior part of the blastoderm; by which the whole blastoderm becomes imperfectly divided into five regions, fig. a. the hindermost constriction (uppermost in my figure) lies just in front of the pericardial cavity; and separates the cyathozooid from the four ascidiozooids. the three other constrictions mark off the four ascidiozooids. the cyathozooid remains for its whole length attached to the blastoderm, which has now nearly enveloped the yolk. it contains the whole of the nervous system (_ng_), which is covered behind by the opening of the atrial tubes (_cl_). the alimentary tract in the cyathozooid forms a tube with very delicate walls. the pericardial cavity is completely contained within the cyathozooid, and the heart itself (_ht_) has become formed by an involution of the walls of the cavity. the ascidiozooids are now completely separated from the yolk. they have individually the same structure as the undivided rudiment from which they originated; so that the organs they possess are simply two atrial tubes, an alimentary tract with an endostyle, and undifferentiated mesoblast cells. in the following stages the ascidiozooids grow with great rapidity. they soon cease to lie in a straight line, and eventually form a ring round the cyathozooid and attached yolk sack. while these changes are being accomplished in the external form of the colony, both the cyathozooids and the ascidiozooids progress considerably in development. in the cyathozooid the atrial spaces gradually atrophy, with the exception of the external opening, which becomes larger and more conspicuous. the heart at the same time comes into full activity and drives the blood through the whole colony. the yolk becomes more and more enveloped by the cyathozooid, and is rapidly absorbed; while the nutriment derived from it is transported to the ascidiozooids by means of the vascular connection. the nervous system retains its previous condition; and round the cyathozooid is formed the test into which cells migrate, and arrange themselves in very conspicuous hexagonal areas. the delicate alimentary tract of the cyathozooid is still continuous with that of the first ascidiozooid. after the cyathozooid has reached the development just described it commences to atrophy. [fig. . two stages in the development of pyrosoma in which the cyathozooid and four ascidiozooids are already distinctly formed. (after kowalevsky.) _cy._ cyathozooid; _as._ ascidiozooid; _ng._ nervous groove; _ht._ heart of cyathozooid; _cl._ cloacal opening.] the changes in the ascidiozooids are even more considerable than those in the cyathozooid. a nervous system appears as a fresh formation close to the end of each ascidiozooid turned towards the cyathozooid. it forms a tube of which the open front end eventually develops into the ciliated pit of the mouth, and the remainder into the actual nervous ganglion. between the nervous system and the endostyle an involution appears, which gives rise to the mouth. on each side of the primitive alimentary cavity of each ascidiozooid branchial slits make their appearance, leading into the atrial tubes; so that the primitive alimentary tract becomes converted into the branchial sacks of the ascidiozooids. the remainder of the alimentary tract of each zooid is formed as a bud from the hind end of the branchial sack in the usual way. the alimentary tracts of the four ascidiozooids are at first in free communication by tubes opening from the hinder extremity of one zooid into the dorsal side of the branchial sack of the next zooid. at the hinder end of each ascidiozooid is developed a mass of fatty cells known as the elæoblast, which probably represents a rudiment of the larval tail of simple ascidians. (cf. pp. - .) the further changes consist in the gradual atrophy of the cyathozooid, which becomes more and more enclosed within the four ascidiozooids. these latter become completely enveloped in a common test, and form a ring round the remains of the yolk and of the cyathozooid, the heart of which continues however to beat vigorously. the cloacal opening of the cyathozooid persists through all these changes, and, after the cyathozooid itself has become completely enveloped in the ascidiozooids and finally absorbed, deepens to form the common cloacal cavity of the pyrosoma colony. the main parts of the ascidiozooids were already formed during the last stage. the zooids long remain connected together, and united by a vascular tube with the cyathozooid, and these connections are not severed till the latter completely atrophies. finally, after the absorption of the cyathozooid, the ascidiozooids form a rudimentary colony of four individuals enveloped in a common test. the two atrial tubes of each zooid remain separate in front but unite posteriorly. an anus is formed leading from the rectum into the common posterior part of the atrial cavity; and an opening is established between the posterior end of the atrial cavity of each ascidiozooid and the common axial cloacal cavity of the whole colony. the atrial cavities in pyrosoma are clearly lined by epiblast, just as in simple ascidians. when the young colony is ready to become free, it escapes from the atrial cavity of the parent, and increases in size by budding. doliolidæ. the sexually developed embryos of doliolum have been observed by krohn (no. ), gegenbaur (no. ), and keferstein and ehlers (no. ); but the details of the development have been very imperfectly investigated. the youngest embryo observed was enveloped in a large oval transparent covering, the exact nature of which is not clear. it is perhaps a larval rudiment of the test which would seem to be absent in the adult. within this covering is the larva, the main organs of which are already developed; and which primarily differs from the adult in the possession of a larval tail similar to that of simple ascidians. in the body both oral and atrial openings are present, the latter on the dorsal surface; and the alimentary tract is fully established. the endostyle is already formed on the ventral wall of the branchial sack, but the branchial slits are not present. nine muscular rings are already visible. the tail, though not so developed as in the simple ascidians, contains an axial notochord of the usual structure, and lateral muscles. it is inserted on the ventral side, and by its slow movements the larva progresses. in succeeding stages the tail gradually atrophies, and the gill slits, four in number, develop; at the same time a process or stolon, destined to give rise by budding to a second non-sexual generation, makes its appearance on the dorsal side in the seventh intermuscular space. this stolon is comparable with that which appears in the embryo of salpa. when the tail completely atrophies the larva leaves its transparent covering, and becomes an asexual doliolum with a dorsal stolon. salpidæ. as is well known the chains of salpa alone are sexual, and from each individual of the chain only a single embryo is produced. the ovum from which this embryo takes its origin is visible long before the separate salps of the chain have become completely developed. it is enveloped in a capsule continuous with a duct, which opens into the atrial cavity, and is usually spoken of as the oviduct. the capsule with the ovum is enveloped in a maternal blood sinus. embryonic development commences after the chain has become broken up, and the spermatozoa derived from another individual would seem to be introduced to the ovum through the oviduct. at the commencement of embryonic development the oviduct and ovicapsule undergo peculiar changes; and in part at least give rise to a structure subservient to the nutrition of the embryo, known as the placenta. these changes commence with the shortening of the oviduct, and the disappearance of a distinction between oviduct and ovicapsule. the cells lining the innermost end of the capsule, _i.e._ that at the side of the ovum turned away from the atrial cavity, become at the same time very columnar. the part of the oviduct between the ovum and the atrial cavity dilates into a sack, communicating on the one hand with the atrial cavity, and on the other by a very narrow opening with the chamber in which the egg is contained. this sack next becomes a prominence in the atrial cavity, and eventually constitutes a brood-pouch. the prominence it forms is covered by the lining of the atrial cavity, immediately within which is the true wall of the sack. the external opening of the sack becomes gradually narrowed, and finally disappears. in the meantime the chamber in which the embryo is at first placed acquires a larger and larger opening into the sack; till finally the two chambers unite, and a single brood-pouch containing the embryo is thus produced. the inner wall of the chamber is formed by the columnar cells already spoken of. they form the rudiment of the placenta. the double wall of the outer part of the brood-pouch becomes stretched by the growth of the embryo; the inner of its two layers then atrophies. the outer layer subsequently gives way, and becomes rolled back so as to lie at the inner end of the embryo, leaving the latter projecting freely into the atrial cavity. while these changes are taking place the placenta becomes fully developed. the first rudiment of it consists, according to salensky, of the thickened cells of the ovicapsule only, though this view is dissented from by brooks, todaro, etc. its cells soon divide to form a largish mass, which becomes attached to a part of the epiblast of the embryo. on the formation of the body cavity of the embryo a central axial portion of the placenta becomes separated from a peripheral layer; and a channel is left between them which leads from a maternal blood sinus into the embryonic body cavity. the peripheral layer of the placenta is formed of cells continuous with the epiblast of the embryo; while the axial portion is constituted of a disc of cells adjoining the embryo, with a column of fibres attached to the maternal side. the fibres of this column are believed by salensky to be products of the original rudiment of the placenta. the placenta now assumes a more spherical form, and its cavity becomes shut off from the embryonic body cavity. the fibrous column breaks up into a number of strands perforating the lumen of the organ, and the cells of the wall become stalked bodies projecting into the lumen. when the larva is nearly ready to become free the placenta atrophies. the placenta functions in the nutrition of the embryo in the following way. it projects from its first formation into a maternal blood sinus, and, on the appearance of a cavity in it continuous with the body cavity of the embryo, the blood of the mother fully intermingles with that of the embryo. at a later period the communication with the body cavity of the embryo is shut off, but the cavity of the placenta is supplied with a continuous stream of maternal blood, which is only separated from the foetal blood by a thin partition. it is now necessary to turn to the embryonic development about which it is unfortunately not as yet possible to give a completely satisfactory account. the statements of the different investigators contradict each other on most fundamental points. i have followed in the main salensky (no. ), but have also called attention to some points where his observations diverge most from those of other writers, or where they seem unsatisfactory. the development commences at about the period when the brood-pouch is becoming formed; and the ovum passes entirely into the brood-pouch before the segmentation is completed. the segmentation is regular, and the existence of a segmentation cavity is denied by salensky, though affirmed by kowalevsky and todaro[ ]. [ ] from todaro's latest paper (no. ) it would seem the segmentation cavity has very peculiar relations. at a certain stage in the segmentation the cells of the ovum become divided into two layers, an epiblast investing the whole of the ovum with the exception of a small area adjoining the placenta, where the inner layer or hypoblast, which forms the main mass of the ovum, projects at the surface. the epiblast soon covers the whole of the hypoblast, so that there would seem (according to salensky's observations) to be a kind of epibolic invagination: a conclusion supported by todaro's figures. at a later stage, on one side of the free apex of the embryo, a mesoblastic layer makes its appearance between the epiblast and hypoblast. this layer is derived by salensky, as it appears to me on insufficient grounds, from the epiblast. nearly at the same time there arises not far from the same point of the embryo, but on the opposite side, a solid thickening of epiblast which forms the rudiment of the nervous system. the nervous system is placed close to the front end of the body; and nearly at the opposite pole, and therefore at the hind end, there appears immediately below the epiblast a mass of cells forming a provisional organ known as the elæoblast. todaro regards this organ as mesoblastic in origin, and salensky as hypoblastic. the organ is situated in the position which would be occupied by the larval tail were it developed. it may probably be regarded (salensky) as a disappearing rudiment of the tail, and be compared in this respect with the more or less similar mass of cells described by kupffer in molgula, and with the elæoblast in pyrosoma. after the differentiation of these organs a cavity makes its appearance between the epiblast and hypoblast, which is regarded by salensky as the body cavity. it appears to be equivalent to the segmentation cavity of todaro. according to todaro's statements, it is replaced by a second cavity, which appears between the splanchnic and somatic layers of mesoblast, and constitutes the true body cavity. the embryo now begins to elongate, and at the same time a cavity makes its appearance in the centre of the hypoblast cells. this cavity is the rudiment of the branchial and alimentary cavities: on its dorsal wall is a median projection, the rudiment of the so-called gill of salpa. at two points this cavity comes into close contact with the external skin. at one of these, situated immediately ventral to the nervous system, the mouth becomes formed at a later period. at the other, placed on the dorsal surface between the nervous system and the elæoblast, is formed the cloacal aperture. by the stage under consideration the more important systems of organs are established, and the remaining embryonic history may be very briefly narrated. the embryo at this stage is no longer covered by the walls of the brood-pouch but projects freely into the atrial cavity, and is only attached to its parent by means of the placenta. the epiblast cells soon give rise to a deposit which forms the mantle. the deposit appears however to be formed not only on the outer side of the epiblast but also on the inner side; so that the epiblast becomes cemented to the subjacent parts, branchial sack, etc., by an intercellular layer, which would seem to fill up the primitive body cavity with the exception of the vascular channels (salensky). the nervous system, after its separation from the epiblast, acquires a central cavity, and subsequently becomes divided into three lobes, each with an internal protuberance. at its anterior extremity it opens into the branchial sack; and from this part is developed the ciliated pit of the adult. the nervous ganglion at a later period becomes solid, and a median eye is subsequently formed as an outgrowth from it. according to todaro there are further formed two small auditory (? olfactory) sacks on the ventral surface of the brain, each of them placed in communication with the branchial cavity by a narrow canal. the mesoblast gives rise to the muscles of the branchial sack, to the heart, and to the pericardium. the two latter are situated on the ventral side of the posterior extremity of the branchial cavity. _branchial sack and alimentary tract._ the first development of the enteric cavity has already been described. the true alimentary tract is formed as a bud from the hinder end of the primitive cavity. the remainder of the primitive cavity gives rise to the branchial sack. the so-called gill has at first the form of a lamella attached dorsally to the walls of the branchial sack; but its attachment becomes severed except at the two ends, and it then forms a band stretching obliquely across the branchial cavity, which subsequently becomes hollow and filled with blood corpuscles. the whole structure is probably homologous with the peculiar fold, usually prolonged into numerous processes, which normally projects from the dorsal wall of the ascidian branchial sack. on the completion of the gill the branchial sack becomes divided into a region dorsal to the gill, and a region ventral to it. into the former the single atrial invagination opens. no gill slits are formed comparable with those in simple ascidians, and the only representative of these structures is the simple communication which becomes established between the dorsal division of the branchial sack and the atrial opening. the whole branchial sack of salpa, including both the dorsal and ventral divisions, corresponds with the branchial sack of simple ascidians. on its ventral side the endostyle is formed in the normal way. the mouth arises at the point already indicated near the front end of the nervous system[ ]. [ ] brooks takes a very different view of the nature of the parts in salpa. he says, no. , p. , "the atrium of salpa, when first observed, was composed of two broad lateral atria within the body cavity, one on each side of the branchial sack, and a very small mid-atrium.... the lateral atria do not however, as in most tunicata, remain connected with the mid-atrium, and unite with the wall of the branchial sack to form the branchial slits, but soon become entirely separated, and the two walls of each unite so as to form a broad sheet of tissue, which soon splits up to form the muscular bands of the branchial sack." again, p. , "during the changes which have been described as taking place in the lateral atria, the mid-atrium has increased in size.... the branchial and atrial tunics now unite upon each side, so that the sinus is converted into a tube which communicates, at its posterior end, with the heart and perivisceral sinus, and at the anterior end with the neural sinus. this tube is the gill.... the centres of the two regions upon the sides of the gill, where these two tissues have become united, are now absorbed, so that a single long and narrow branchial slit is produced on each side of the gill. the branchial cavity is thus thrown into communication with the atrium, and the upper surface of the latter now unites with the outer tunic, and the external atrial opening is formed by absorption." the above description would imply that the atrial cavity is a space lined by mesoblast, a view which would upset the whole morphology of the ascidians. salensky's account, which implies only an immense reduction in the size of the atrial cavity as compared with other types, appears to me far more probable. the lateral atria of brooks appear to be simply parts of the body cavity, and have certainly no connection with the lateral atria of simple ascidians or pyrosoma. the observations of todaro upon salpa (no. ) are very remarkable, and illustrated by beautifully engraved plates. his interpretations do not however appear quite satisfactory. the following is a brief statement of some of his results. during segmentation there arises a layer of small superficial cells (epiblast) and a central layer of larger cells, which becomes separated from the former by a segmentation cavity, except at the pole adjoining the free end of the brood-pouch. at this point the epiblast cells become invaginated into the central cells and form the alimentary tract, while the primitive central cells remain as the mesoblast. a fold arises from the epiblast which todaro compares to the vertebrate amnion, but the origin of it is unfortunately not satisfactorily described. the folds of the amnion project towards the placenta, and enclose a cavity which, as the folds never completely meet, is permanently open to the maternal blood sinus. this cavity corresponds with the cavity of the true amnion of higher vertebrates. it forms the cavity of the placenta already described. between the two folds of the amnion is a cavity corresponding with the vertebrate false amnion. a structure regarded by todaro as the notochord is formed on the neck, connecting the involution of the alimentary tract with the exterior. it has only a very transitory existence. in the later stages the segmentation cavity disappears and a true body cavity is formed by a split in the mesoblast. todaro's interpretations, and in part his descriptions also, both with reference to the notochord and amnion, appear to me quite inadmissible. about some other parts of his descriptions it is not possible to form a satisfactory judgment. he has recently published a short paper on this subject (no. ) preliminary to a larger memoir, which is very difficult to understand in the absence of plates. he finds however in the placenta various parts which he regards as homologous with the decidua vera and reflexa of mammalia. development of the chain of sexual salps. my description of the embryonic development of salpa would not be complete without some reference to the development of the stolon of the solitary generation of salps by the segmentation of which a chain of sexual salps originates. the asexual salp, the embryonic development of which has just been described, may be compared to the cyathozooid of pyrosoma, from which it mainly differs in being fully developed. while still in an embryonic condition it gives rise to a process or stolon, which becomes divided into a number of zooids by transverse constrictions, in the same manner that part of the germ of the ovum of pyrosoma is divided by transverse constrictions into four ascidiozooids. the stolon arises as a projection on the right side of the body of the embryo close to the heart. it is formed (salensky, no. ) of an outgrowth of the body wall, into which there grow the following structures: ( ) a central hollow process from the end of the respiratory sack. ( ) a right and left lateral prolongation of the pericardial cavity. ( ) a solid process of cells on the ventral side derived from the same mass of the cells as the elæoblast. ( ) a ventral and a dorsal blood sinus. besides these parts there appears on the dorsal side a hollow tube, the origin of which is unknown, which gives rise to the nervous system. the hollow process of the respiratory sack is purely provisional, and disappears without giving rise to any permanent structure. the right and left prolongations of the pericardial cavity become solid and eventually give origin to the mesoblast. the ventral process of cells is the most important structure in the stolon in that it gives rise both to the alimentary and respiratory sacks, and to the generative organs of the sexual salps. the stolon containing the organs just enumerated becomes divided by transverse constrictions into a number of rings. these rings do not long remain complete, but become interrupted dorsally and ventrally. the imperfect rings so formed soon overlap, and each of them eventually gives rise to a sexual salp. although the stolon arises while the asexual salp is still in an embryonic condition, it does not become fully developed till long after the asexual salp has attained maturity. appendicularia. our only knowledge of the development of appendicularia is derived from fol's memoir on the group (no. ). he simply states that it develops, as far as he was able to follow, like other ascidians; and that the extremely minute size of the egg prevented him from pursuing the subject. he also states that the pair of pores leading from the branchial cavity to the exterior is developed from epiblastic involutions meeting outgrowths of the wall of the branchial sack. _metagenesis._ one of the most remarkable phenomena in connection with the life history of many ascidians is the occurrence of an alternation of sexual and gemmiparous generations. this alternation appears to have originated from a complication of the process of reproduction by budding, which is so common in this group. the mode in which this very probably took place will be best understood by tracing a series of transitional cases between simple budding and complete alternations of generations. in the simpler cases, which occur in some composita sedentaria, the process of budding commences with an outgrowth of the body wall into the common test, containing a prolongation of part of the alimentary tract[ ]. [ ] it is not within the scope of this work to enter into details with reference to the process of budding. the reader is referred on this head more especially to the papers of huxley (no. ) and kowalevsky (no. ) on pyrosoma, of salensky (no. ) on salpa, and kowalevsky (no. ) on ascidians generally. it is a question of very great interest how budding first arose, and then became so prevalent in these degenerate types of chordata. it is possible to suppose that budding may have commenced by the division of embryos at an early stage of development, and have gradually been carried onwards by the help of natural selection till late in life. there is perhaps little in the form of budding of the ascidians to support this view--the early budding of didemnum as described by gegenbaur being the strongest evidence for it--but it fits in very well with the division of the embryo in lumbricus trapezoides described by kleinenberg, and with the not unfrequent occurrence of double monsters in vertebrata which may be regarded as a phenomenon of a similar nature (rauber). the embryonic budding of pyrosoma, which might perhaps be viewed as supporting the hypothesis, appears to me not really in favour of it; since the cyathozooid of pyrosoma is without doubt an extremely modified form of zooid, which has obviously been specially developed in connection with the peculiar reproduction of the pyrosomidæ. between the epiblastic and hypoblastic layers of the bud so formed, a mesoblastic and sometimes a generative outgrowth of the parent also appears. the systems of organs of the bud are developed from the corresponding layers to those in the embryo[ ]. the bud eventually becomes detached, and in its turn gives rise to fresh buds. both the bud and its parent reproduce sexually as well as by budding: the new colonies being derived from sexually produced embryos. [ ] the atrial spaces form somewhat doubtful exceptions to the rule. the next stage of complication is that found in botryllus (krohn, nos. and ). the larva produced sexually gives rise to a bud from the right side of the body close to the heart. on the bud becoming detached the parent dies away without developing sexual organs. the bud of the second generation gives rise to two buds, a right one and a left one, and like the larva dies without reaching sexual maturity. the buds of the third generation each produce two buds and then suffer the same fate as their parent. the buds of the third generation arrange themselves with their cloacal extremities in contact, and in the fourth generation a common cloaca is formed, and so a true radial system of zooids is established; the zooids of which are not however sexual. the buds of the fourth generation in their turn produce two or three buds and then die away. fresh systems become formed by a continuation of the process of budding, but the zooids of the secondary systems so formed are sexual. the ova come to maturity before the spermatozoa, so that cross fertilization takes place. in botryllus we have clearly a rudimentary form of alternations of generations, in that the sexually produced larva is asexual, and, after a series of asexual generations, produced gemmiparously, there appear sexual generations, which however continue to reproduce themselves by budding. the type of alternations of generations observable in botryllus becomes, as pointed out by huxley, still more marked in pyrosoma. the true product of the ovum is here (_vide_ p. ) a rudimentary individual called by huxley the cyathozooid. this gives rise, while still an embryo, by a process equivalent to budding to four fully developed zooids (ascidiozooids) similar to the parent form, and itself dies away. the four ascidiozooids form a fresh colony, and reproduce ( ) sexually, whereby fresh colonies are formed, and ( ) by ordinary budding, whereby the size of the colony is increased. all the individuals of the colony are sexual. the alternation of generations in pyrosoma widely differs from that in botryllus in the fact of the cyathozooid differing so markedly in its anatomical characters from the ordinary zooids. in salpa the process is slightly different[ ]. the sexual forms are _now incapable of budding_, and, although at first a series of sexual individuals are united together in the form of a chain, so as to form a colony like pyrosoma or botryllus, yet they are so loosely connected that they separate in the adult state. as in botryllus, the ova are ripe before the spermatozoa. each sexual individual gives rise to a single offspring, which, while still in the embryonic condition, buds out a 'stolon' from its right ventral side. this stolon is divided into a series of lateral buds after the solitary asexual salp has begun to lead an independent existence. the solitary asexual salp clearly corresponds with the cyathozooid of pyrosoma, though it has not, like the cyathozooid, undergone a retrogressive metamorphosis. [ ] _vide_ p. . by far the most complicated form of alternation of generations known amongst the ascidians is that in doliolum. the discovery of this metamorphosis was made by gegenbaur (no. ). the sexual form of doliolum is somewhat cask-shaped, with ring-like muscular bands, and the oral and atrial apertures placed at opposite ends of the cask. the number of gill slits varies according to the species. the ovum gives rise, as already described, to a tailed embryo which subsequently develops into a cask-shaped asexual form. on attaining its full size it loses its branchial sack and alimentary tract. while still in the embryonic condition, a stolon grows out from its dorsal side in the seventh intermuscular space. the stolon, like that in salpa, contains a prolongation of the branchial sack[ ]. [ ] i draw this conclusion from gegenbaur's fig. (no. ), pl. xvi., fig. . the body (_x_) in the figure appears to me without doubt the rudiment of the stolon, and not, as believed by gegenbaur, the larval tail. on this stolon there develop two entirely different types of buds, ( ) lateral buds, ( ) dorsal median buds. the lateral buds are developed in regular order on the two sides of the stolon, and the most advanced buds are those furthest removed from the base. they give rise to forms with a very different organization to that of the parent. they are compared by gegenbaur to a spoon, the bowl of which is formed by the branchial sack, and the handle by the stalk attaching the bud to the stolon. the oral opening into the branchial sack is directed upwards: _an atrial opening is remarkably enough not present_. the branchial sack is perforated by numerous openings. it leads into an alimentary tract which opens directly to the exterior by an anus opposite the mouth. the stalks attaching the more mature buds to the stolon are provided with ventrally directed scales, which completely hide the stolon in a view from the ventral surface. these buds have, even after their detachment, no trace of generative organs, and shew no signs of reproducing themselves by budding. their eventual fate is unknown. the median dorsal buds have no such regular arrangement as the lateral buds, but arise in irregular bunches, those furthest removed from the base of the stolon being however the oldest. these buds are almost exactly similar to the original sexual form; they do not acquire sexual organs, but are provided with a stolon attached on the ventral side, in the sixth intermuscular space. this stolon is simply the stalk by which each median bud was primitively attached to the stolon of the first asexual form. from the stolon of the median buds of the second generation buds are developed which grow into the sexual forms. the generations of doliolum may be tabulated in the following way. sexual generation, | st asexual form with dorsal stolon, _________________|_____________________ | | spoon-like forms developed as nd asexual forms developed as lateral buds (eventual history median buds with ventral stolon, unknown). | sexual generation. bibliography. ( ) p. j. van beneden. "recherches s. l'embryogénie, l'anat. et la physiol. des ascidies simples." _mém. acad. roy. de belgique_, tom. xx. ( ) w. k. brooks. "on the development of salpa." _bull. of the museum of comp. anat. at harvard college, cambridge, mass._ ( ) h. fol. _etudes sur les appendiculaires du détroit de messine_. genève et bâle, . ( ) ganin. "neue thatsachen a. d. entwicklungsgeschichte d. ascidien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xx. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueber den entwicklungscyclus von doliolum nebst bemerkungen über die larven dieser thiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. vii. . ( ) a. giard. "etudes critiques des travaux d'embryogénie relatifs à la parenté des vertebrés et des tuniciers." _archiv zool. expériment._, vol. i. . ( ) a. giard. "recherches sur les synascidies." _archiv zool. expér._, vol. i. . ( ) o. hertwig. "untersuchungen üb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung des cellulose-mantels d. tunicaten." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. vii. . ( ) th. h. huxley. "remarks upon appendicularia and doliolum." _phil. trans._, . ( ) th. h. huxley. "observations on the anatomy and physiology of salpa and pyrosoma." _phil. trans._, . ( ) th. h. huxley. "anatomy and development of pyrosoma." _linnean trans._, , vol. xxiii. ( ) keferstein u. ehlers. _zoologische beiträge_, . doliolum. ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. einfachen ascidien." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, vii. série, t. x. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "beitrag z. entwick. d. tunicaten." _nachrichten d. königl. gesell. zu göttingen._ . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien üb. d. entwicklung d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "ueber knospung d. ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. x. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "ueber die entwicklungsgeschichte d. pyrosoma." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. . ( ) a. krohn. "ueber die gattung doliolum u. ihre arten." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, bd. xviii. . ( ) a. krohn. "ueber die entwicklung d. ascidien." _müller's archiv_, . ( ) a. krohn. "ueber die fortpflanzungsverhältnisse d. botrylliden." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, vol. xxxv. . ( ) a. krohn. "ueber die früheste bildung d. botryllenstöcke." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, vol. xxxv. . ( ) c. kupffer. "die stammverwandschaft zwischen ascidien u. wirbelthieren." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vi. . ( ) c. kupffer. "zur entwicklung d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. viii. . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. "recherches sur l'organisation et l'embryogénie des ascidies (molgula tubulosa)." _comptes rendus_, may , , p. . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. "les ascidies simples des côtes de france" (development of molgula). _archiv zool. expér._, vol. iii. . ( ) r. leuckart. "salpa u. verwandte." _zoologische untersuchungen_, heft ii. ( ) e. metschnikoff. "observations sur le développement de quelques animaux (botryllus and simple ascidians)." _bull. d. l'acad. pétersbourg_, vol. xiii. . ( ) h. milne-edwards. "observations s. l. ascidies composées des côtes de la manche." _mémoires d. l'institut_, t. xviii. . ( ) w. salensky. "ueber d. embryonale entwicklungsgeschichte der salpen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, b. xxvii. . ( ) w. salensky. "ueber die knospung d. salpen." _morphol. jahrbuch_, bd. iii. . ( ) w. salensky. "ueber die entwicklung d. hoden u. über den generationswechsel d. salpen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxx. suppl. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber die entstehung d. geschichteten cellulose-epidermis d. ascidien." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) fr. todaro. _sopra lo sviluppo e l'anatomia delle salpe._ roma, . ( ) fr. todaro. "sui primi fenomeni dello sviluppo delle salpe." _reale accademia dei lincei_, vol. iv. . chapter iii. elasmobranchii. the impregnation of the ovum is effected in the oviduct. in most forms the whole of the subsequent development, till the time when the embryo is capable of leading a free existence, takes place in the uterus; but in other cases the egg becomes enveloped, during its passage down the oviduct, first in a layer of fluid albumen, and finally in a dense horny layer, which usually takes the form of a quadrilateral capsule with characters varying according to the species. after the formation of this capsule the egg is laid, and the whole of the development, with the exception of the very first stages, takes place externally. in many of the viviparous forms (mustelus, galeus, carcharias, sphyrna) the egg is enclosed, during the early stages of development at any rate, in a very delicate shell homologous with that of the oviparous forms; there is usually also a scanty albuminous layer. both of these are stated by gerbe (no. ) to be absent in squalus spinax. the following are examples of viviparous genera: hexanchus, notidanus, acanthias, scymnus, galeus, squalus, mustelus, carcharias, sphyrna, squatina, torpedo; and the following of oviparous genera: scyllium, pristiurus, cestracion, raja[ ]. [ ] for further details, _vide_ müller (no. ). the ovum at the time of impregnation has the form of a large spherical mass, similar to the yolk of a bird's egg, but without a vitelline membrane[ ]. the greater part of it is formed of peculiar oval spherules of food-yolk, held together by a protoplasmic network. the protoplasm is especially concentrated in a small lens-shaped area, known as the germinal disc, which is not separated by a sharp line from the remainder of the ovum. yolk spherules are present in this disc as elsewhere, but are much smaller and of a different character. the segmentation has the normal meroblastic character (fig. ) and is confined to the germinal disc. before it commences the germinal disc exhibits amoeboid movements. during the segmentation nuclei make their appearance spontaneously (?) in the yolk adjoining the germinal disc (fig. , _nx´_), and around them portions of the yolk with its protoplasmic network become segmented off. cells are thus formed which are added to those resulting from the segmentation proper. even after the segmentation numerous nuclei are present in the granular matter below the blastoderm (fig. a, _n´_); and around these cells are being continually formed, which enter the blastoderm, and are more especially destined to give rise to the hypoblast. the special destination of many of these cells is spoken of in detail below. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii., p. . [fig. . section through germinal disc of a pristiurus embryo during the segmentation. _n._ nucleus; _nx._ nucleus modified prior to division; _nx´._ modified nucleus in the yolk; _f._ furrow appearing in the yolk adjacent to the germinal disc.] at the close of segmentation the blastoderm forms a somewhat lens-shaped disc, thicker at one end than at the other; the thicker end being the embryonic end. it is divided into two strata--an upper one, the epiblast--formed of a single row of columnar cells; and a lower one, the primitive hypoblast, consisting of the remaining cells of the blastoderm, and forming a mass several strata deep. these cells will be spoken of as the lower layer cells, to distinguish them from the true hypoblast which is one of their products. [fig. . two longitudinal sections of the blastoderm of a pristiurus embryo during stages prior to the formation of the medullary groove. _ep._ epiblast; _ll._ lower layer cells or primitive hypoblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _sc._ segmentation cavity; _es._ embryo swelling; _n´._ nuclei of yolk; _er._ embryonic rim. _c._ lower layer cells at the non-embryonic end of the blastoderm.] a cavity very soon appears in the lower layer cells, near the non-embryonic end of the blastoderm, but the cells afterwards disappear from the floor of this cavity, which then lies between the yolk and the lower layer cells (fig. a, _sc_). this cavity is the segmentation cavity equivalent to that present in amphioxus, amphibia, etc. the chief peculiarity about it is the relatively late period at which it makes its appearance, and the fact that its roof is formed both by the epiblast and by the lower layer cells. owing to the large size of the segmentation cavity the blastoderm forms a thin layer above the cavity and a thickened ridge round its edge. [fig. . longitudinal section through the blastoderm of a pristiurus embryo of the same age as fig. b. _ep._ epiblast; _er._ embryonic rim; _m._ mesoblast; _al._ mesenteron.] the epiblast in the next stage is inflected for a small arc at the embryonic end of the blastoderm, where it becomes continuous with the lower layer cells; at the same time some of the lower layer cells of the embryonic end of the blastoderm assume a columnar form, and constitute the true hypoblast. the portion of the blastoderm, where epiblast and hypoblast are continuous, forms a projecting structure which will be called the embryonic rim (fig. b, _er_). this rim is a very important structure, since it represents the dorsal portion of the lip of the blastopore of amphioxus. the space between it and the yolk represents the commencing mesenteron, of which the hypoblast on the under side of the lip is the dorsal wall. the ventral wall of the mesenteron is at first formed solely of yolk held together by a protoplasmic network with numerous nuclei. the cavity under the lip becomes rapidly larger (fig. , _al_), owing to the continuous conversion of lower layer cells into columnar hypoblast along an axial line passing from the middle of the embryonic rim towards the centre of the blastoderm. the continuous differentiation of the hypoblast towards the centre of the blastoderm corresponds with the invagination in amphioxus. during the formation of the embryonic rim the blastoderm grows considerably larger, but, with the exception of the formation of the embryonic rim, retains its primitive constitution. the segmentation cavity undergoes however important changes. there is formed below it a floor of lower layer cells, derived partly from an ingrowth from the two sides, but mainly from the formation of cells around the nuclei of the yolk (fig. ). shortly after the floor of cells has appeared, the whole segmentation cavity becomes obliterated (fig. ). the disappearance of the segmentation cavity corresponds in point of time with the formation of the hypoblast by the pseudo-invagination above described; and is probably due to this pseudo-invagination, in the same way that the disappearance of the segmentation cavity in amphioxus is due to the true invagination of the hypoblast. when the embryonic rim first appears there are no external indications of the embryo as distinguished from the blastoderm, but when it has attained to some importance the position of the embryo becomes marked out by the appearance of a shield-like area extending inwards from the edge of the embryonic rim, and formed of two folds with a groove between them (fig. b, _mg_), which is deepest at the edge of the blastoderm, and shallows out as it extends inwards. this groove is the medullary groove; and its termination at the edge of the blastoderm is placed at the hind end of the embryo. at about the time of its appearance the mesoblast becomes first definitely established. [fig. . two transverse sections of an embryo of the same age as fig. . a. anterior section. b. posterior section. _mg._ medullary groove; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _n.al._ cells formed round the nuclei of the yolk which have entered the hypoblast; _m._ mesoblast. the sections shew the origin of the mesoblast.] at the edge of the embryonic rim the epiblast and lower layer cells are continuous. immediately underneath the medullary groove, as is best seen in transverse section (fig. ), the whole of the lower layer cells become converted into hypoblast, and along this line the columnar hypoblast is in contact with the epiblast above. at the sides however this is not the case; but at the junction of the epiblast and lower layer cells the latter remain undifferentiated. a short way from the edge the lower layer cells become divided into two distinct layers, a lower one continuous with the hypoblast in the middle line, and an upper one between this and the epiblast (fig. b). the upper layer is the commencement of the mesoblast (_m_). the mesoblast thus arises as two independent lateral plates, one on each side of the medullary groove, which are continuous behind with the undifferentiated lower layer cells at the edge of the embryonic rim. the mesoblast plates are at first very short, and do not extend to the front end of the embryo. they soon however grow forwards as two lateral ridges, attached to the hypoblast, one on each side of the medullary groove (fig. a, _m_). these ridges become separate from the hypoblast, and form two plates, thinner in front than behind; but still continuous at the edge of the blastoderm with the undifferentiated cells of the lip of the blastopore, and laterally with the lower layer cells of the non-embryonic part of the blastoderm. it results from the above mode of development of the mesoblast, that it may be described as arising in the form of a pair of solid outgrowths of the wall of the alimentary tract; which differ from the mesoblastic outgrowths of the wall of the archenteron in amphioxus in not containing a prolongation of the alimentary cavity. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an elasmobranch embryo. _epiblast_ without shading. _mesoblast_ black with clear outlines to the cells. _lower layer cells_ and _hypoblast_ with simple shading. _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _al._ alimentary cavity; _sg._ segmentation cavity; _nc._ neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous at the posterior end of the embryo; _n._ nuclei of yolk. a. section of young blastoderm, with segmentation cavity enclosed in the lower layer cells. b. older blastoderm with embryo in which hypoblast and mesoblast are distinctly formed, and in which the alimentary slit has appeared. the segmentation cavity is still represented as being present, though by this stage it has in reality disappeared. c. older blastoderm with embryo in which the neural canal has become formed, and is continuous posteriorly with the alimentary canal. the notochord, though shaded like mesoblast, belongs properly to the hypoblast.] a general idea of the structure of the blastoderm at this stage may be gathered from the diagram representing a longitudinal section through the embryo (fig. b). in this figure the epiblast is represented in white and is seen to be continuous at the lip of the blastopore (_x_) with the shaded hypoblast. between the epiblast and hypoblast is seen one of the lateral plates of mesoblast, represented by black cells with clear outlines. the non-embryonic lower layer cells of the blastoderm are represented in the same manner as the mesoblast of the body. the alimentary cavity is shewn at _al_, and below it is seen the yolk with nuclei (_n_). the segmentation cavity is represented as still persisting, though by this stage it would have disappeared. [fig. . three sections through a pristiurus embryo somewhat younger than fig. c. a. section through the cephalic plate. b. section through the posterior part of the cephalic plate. c. section through the trunk. _ch._ notochord; _mg._ medullary groove; _al._ alimentary tract; _lp._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _pp._ body cavity.] as to the growth of the blastoderm it may be noted that it has greatly extended itself over the yolk. its edge in the meantime forms a marked ridge, which is due not so much to a thickening as to an arching of the epiblast. this ridge is continuous with the embryonic rim, which gradually concentrates itself into two prominences, one on each side of the tail of the embryo, mainly formed of masses of undifferentiated lower layer cells. these prominences will be called the caudal swellings. by this stage the three layers of the body, the epiblast, mesoblast, and hypoblast, have become definitely established. the further history of these layers may now be briefly traced. epiblast. while the greater part of the epiblast becomes converted into the external epidermis, from which involutions give rise to the olfactory and auditory pits, the lens of the eye, the mouth cavity, and anus, the part of it lining the medullary groove becomes converted into the central nervous system and optic cup. the medullary groove is at first continued to the front end of the medullary plate; but the anterior part of this plate soon enlarges, and the whole plate assumes a spatula form (fig. c, _h_, and fig. a and b). the enlarged part becomes converted into the brain, and may be called the cephalic plate. the posterior part of the canal deepens much more rapidly than the rest (fig. c), and the medullary folds unite dorsally and convert the posterior end of the medullary groove into a closed canal, while the groove is still widely open elsewhere. the medullary canal does not end blindly behind, but simply forms a tube not closed at either extremity. the importance of this fact will appear later. shortly after the medullary folds have met behind the whole canal becomes closed in. this occurs in the usual way by the junction and coalescence of the medullary folds. in the course of the closing of the medullary groove the edges of the cephalic plate, which have at first a ventral curvature, become bent up in the normal manner, and enclose the dilated cephalic portion of the medullary canal. the closing of the medullary canal takes place earlier in the head and neck than in the back. an anterior pore at the front end of the canal, like that in amphioxus and the ascidians, is not found. the further differentiation of the central nervous system is described in a special chapter: it may however here be stated that the walls of the medullary canal give rise not only to the central nervous system but to the peripheral also. mesoblast. the mesoblast was left as two lateral plates continuous behind with the undifferentiated cells of the caudal swellings. the cells composing them become arranged in two layers (fig. c, _lp_), a splanchnic layer adjoining the hypoblast, and a somatic layer adjoining the epiblast. between these two layers there is soon developed in the region of the head a well-marked cavity (fig. a, _pp_) which is subsequently continued into the region of the trunk, and forms the primitive body cavity, equivalent to the cavity originating as an outgrowth of the archenteron in amphioxus. the body cavities of the two sides are at first quite independent. [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of an embryo slightly older than fig. e. _nc._ neural canal; _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sc._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate converted into muscle; _vv._ portion of the vertebral plate which will give rise to the vertebral bodies; _al._ alimentary tract.] coincidentally with the appearance of differentiation into somatic and splanchnic layers the mesoblast plates become in the region of the trunk partially split by a series of transverse lines of division into mesoblastic somites. only the dorsal parts of the plates become split in this way, their ventral parts remaining quite intact. as a result of this each plate becomes divided into a dorsal portion adjoining the medullary canal, which is divided into somites, and may be called the _vertebral plate_, and a ventral portion not so divided, which may be called the _lateral plate_. these two parts are at this stage quite continuous with each other; and the body cavity originally extends uninterruptedly to the summit of the vertebral plates (fig. ). [fig. . horizontal section through the trunk of an embryo of scyllium considerably younger than f. the section is taken at the level of the notochord, and shews the separation of the cells to form the vertebral bodies from the muscle-plates. _ch._ notochord; _ep._ epiblast; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate already differentiated into longitudinal muscles.] the next change results in the complete separation of the vertebral portion of the plate from the lateral portion; thereby the upper segmented part of the body cavity becomes isolated, and separated from the lower and unsegmented part. as a consequence of this change the vertebral plate comes to consist of a series of rectangular bodies, the mesoblastic somites, each composed of two layers, a somatic and a splanchnic, between which is the cavity originally continuous with the body cavity (fig. , _mp_). the splanchnic layer of the plates buds off cells to form the rudiments of the vertebral bodies which are at first segmented in the same planes as the mesoblastic somites (fig. , _vr_). the plates themselves remain as the muscle-plates (_mp_), and give rise to the whole of the voluntary muscular system of the body. between the vertebral and lateral plates there is left a connecting isthmus, with a narrow prolongation of the body cavity (fig. b, _st_), which gives rise (as described in a special chapter) to the segmental tubes and to other parts of the excretory system. in the meantime the lateral plates of the two sides unite ventrally throughout the intestinal and cardiac regions of the body, and the two primitively isolated cavities contained in them coalesce. in the tail however the plates do not unite ventrally till somewhat later, and their contained cavities remain distinct till eventually obliterated. at first the pericardial cavity is quite continuous with the body cavity; but it eventually becomes separated from the body cavity by the attachment of the liver to the abdominal wall, and by a horizontal septum in which run the two ductus cuvieri (fig. a, _sv_). two perforations in this septum (fig. a) leave the cavities in permanent communication. the parts derived from the two layers of the mesoblast (not including special organs or the vascular system) are as follows:-- from the somatic layer are formed ( ) a considerable part of the voluntary muscular system of the body. ( ) the dermis. ( ) a large part of the intermuscular connective tissue. ( ) part of the peritoneal epithelium. from the splanchnic layer are formed ( ) a great part of the voluntary muscular system. ( ) part of the intermuscular connective tissue. ( ) the axial skeleton and surrounding connective tissue. ( ) the muscular and connective-tissue wall of the alimentary tract. ( ) part of the peritoneal epithelium. [fig. . sections through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. figure a shews the separation of the body cavity from the pericardial cavity by a horizontal septum in which runs the ductus cuvieri; on the left side is seen the narrow passage which remains connecting the two cavities. fig. b through a posterior part of the trunk shews the origin of the segmental tubes and of the primitive ova. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ commissure connecting the posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sv._ sinus venosus; _cav._ cardinal vein; _ht._ heart; _pp._ body cavity; _pc._ pericardial cavity; _oes._ solid oesophagus; _l._ liver; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein.] in the region of the head the mesoblast does not at first become divided into somites; but on the formation of the gill clefts a division takes place, which is apparently equivalent to the segmentation of the mesoblast in the trunk. this division causes the body cavity of the head to be divided up into a series of separate segments, one of which is shewn in fig. , _pp_. the walls of the segments eventually give rise to the main muscles of the branchial clefts, and probably also to the muscles of the mandibular arch, of the eye, and of other parts. the cephalic sections of the body cavity will be spoken of as head cavities. [fig. . horizontal section through the last visceral arch but one of an embryo of pristiurus. _ep._ epiblast; _vc._ pouch of hypoblast which will form the walls of a visceral cleft; _pp._ segment of body-cavity in visceral arch; _aa._ aortic arch.] in addition to the parts already mentioned the mesoblast gives rise to the whole of the vascular system, and to the generative system. the heart is formed from part of the splanchnic mesoblast, and the generative system from a portion of the mesoblast of the dorsal part of the body cavity. the hypoblast. very shortly after the formation of the mesoblastic plates as lateral differentiations of the lower layer cells, an axial differentiation of the hypoblast appears, which gives rise to the notochord very much in the same way as in amphioxus. at first the hypoblast along the axial line forms a single layer in contact with the epiblast. along this line a rod-like thickening of the hypoblast very soon appears (fig. , b and c, _ch´_) at the head end of the embryo, and gradually extends backwards. this is the rudiment of the notochord; it remains attached for some time to the hypoblast, and becomes separated from it first at the head end of the embryo (fig. a, _ch_): the separation is then carried backwards. a series of sections taken through an embryo shortly after the first differentiation of the notochord presents the following characters. in the hindermost sections the hypoblast retains a perfectly normal structure and uniform thickness throughout. in the next few sections (fig. c, _ch´_) a slight thickening is to be observed in it, immediately below the medullary groove. the layer, which elsewhere is composed of a single row of cells, here becomes two cells deep, but no sign of a division into two layers is exhibited. in the next few sections the thickening of the hypoblast becomes much more pronounced; we have, in fact, a ridge projecting from the hypoblast towards the epiblast (fig. b, _ch´_). this ridge is pressed firmly against the epiblast, and causes in it a slight indentation. the hypoblast in the region of the ridge is formed of two layers of cells, the ridge being entirely due to the uppermost of the two. [fig. . three sections of a pristiurus embryo slightly older than fig. b. the sections shew the development of the notochord. _ch._ notochord; _ch´._ developing notochord; _mg._ medullary groove; _lp._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] in sections in front of this a cylindrical rod, which can at once be recognized as the notochord, and is continuous with the ridge just described, begins to be split off from the hypoblast (fig. a, _ch_). it is difficult to say at what point the separation of this rod from the hypoblast is completed, since all intermediate gradations between complete separation and complete attachment are to be seen. shortly after the separation takes place, a fairly thick bridge is found connecting the two lateral halves of the hypoblast, but this bridge is anteriorly excessively delicate and thin, and in some cases is barely visible except with high powers. in some sections i have observed possible indications of the process like that described by calberla for petronyzon, by which the lateral parts of the hypoblast grow in underneath the axial part, and so isolate it bodily as the notochord. it is not absolutely clear whether the notochord is to be regarded as an axial differentiation of the hypoblast, or as an axial differentiation of the lower layer cells. the facts of development both in amphioxus and elasmobranchii tend towards the former view; but the nearly simultaneous differentiation of the notochord and the mesoblastic plates lends some support to the supposition that the notochord may be merely a median plate of mesoblast developed slightly later than the two lateral plates. the alimentary canal or mesenteron was left as a space between the hypoblast and the yolk, ending blindly in front, but opening behind by a widish aperture, the blastopore or anus of rusconi (_vide_ fig. b). [fig. . section through the anterior part of a pristiurus embryo to shew the formation of the alimentary tract. _ch._ notochord; _hy._ hypoblast; _al._ alimentary tract; _na._ cells passing in from the yolk to form the ventral wall of the alimentary tract.] the conversion of this irregular cavity into a closed canal commences first of all at the anterior extremity. in this conversion two distinct processes are concerned. one of these is a process of folding off of the embryo from the blastoderm. the other is a simple growth of cells independent of any fold. to the first of these processes the depth and narrowness of the alimentary cavity is due; the second is concerned in forming its ventral wall. the process of the folding off of the embryo from the blastoderm resembles exactly the similar process in the embryo bird. the fold is a perfectly continuous one round the front end of the embryo, but may be conveniently spoken of as composed of a head-fold and two lateral folds. of far greater interest than the nature of these folds is the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. this originates in a growth of cells from the two sides to the middle line (fig. ). the cells for it are not however mainly derived from pre-existing hypoblast cells, but are formed _de novo_ around the nuclei of the yolk which have already been spoken of (fig. , _na_). the ventral wall of the mesenteron is in fact, to a large extent at any rate, formed as a differentiation of the primitive yolk floor. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section of an embryo slightly younger than that in fig. d. the section shews the communication which exists between the neural and alimentary canals. _nc._ neural canal; _al._ alimentary tract; _ch._ notochord; _ts._ tail swelling.] the folding off and closing of the alimentary canal in the anterior part of the body proceeds rapidly, and not only is a considerable tract of the alimentary canal formed, but a great part of the head is completely folded off from the yolk before the medullary groove is closed. the posterior part of the alimentary canal retains for a longer time its primitive condition. finally however it also becomes closed in, by the lips of the blastopore at the hind end of the embryo meeting and uniting. the peculiarity of the closing in of the posterior part of the alimentary canal consists in the fact that a similar continuity to that in amphioxus obtains between the neural and alimentary canals. this is due to the medullary folds being continuous at the end of the tail with the lips of the blastopore, which close in the hind end of the alimentary canal; so that, when the medullary folds unite to form a canal, this canal becomes continuous with the alimentary canal, which is closed in at the same time. in other words, the medullary folds assist in enveloping the blastopore which does not therefore become absolutely closed, but opens into the floor of the neural canal. it will afterwards be shewn that it is only the posterior part of the blastopore that becomes closed during the above process, and that the anterior and ventral part long remains open. the general arrangement of the parts, at the time when the hind end of the mesenteron is first closed, is shewn in fig. . the same points may be seen in the diagrammatic longitudinal section fig. c. the middle portion of the alimentary tract is the last to be closed in since it remains till late in embryonic life as the umbilical or vitelline canal, connecting the yolk-sack with the alimentary cavity. the umbilical canal falls into the alimentary tract immediately behind the entrance of the hepatic duct. [fig. *. transverse section through the tail region of a pristiurus embryo of the same age as fig. e. _df_. dorsal fin; _sp.c_. spinal cord; _pp_. body cavity; _sp_. splanchnic layer of mesoblast; so. somatic layer of mesoblast; _mp_. commencing differentiation of muscles; _ch_. notochord; _x_. subnotochordal rod arising as an outgrowth of the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract; _al_. alimentary tract.] at a fairly early stage of development a rod is constricted off from the dorsal wall of the alimentary canal (figs. * and _x_), which is known as the subnotochordal rod. it is placed immediately below the notochord, and disappears during embryonic life. _general features of the elasmobranch embryo at successive stages._ shortly after the three germinal layers become definitely established, the rudiment of the embryo, as visible from the surface, consists of an oblong plate, which extends inwards from the periphery of the blastoderm, and is bounded on its inner side by a head-fold and two lateral folds (fig. b). this plate is the medullary plate; along its axial line is a shallow groove--the medullary groove (_mg_). the rudiment of the embryo rapidly increases in length, and takes a spatula-like form (fig. c). the front part of it, turned away from the edge of the blastoderm, soon becomes dilated into a broad plate,--the cephalic plate (_h_)--while the tail end at the edge of the blastoderm is also enlarged, being formed of a pair of swellings--the tail swellings (_ts_)--derived from the lateral parts of the original embryonic rim. by this stage a certain number of mesoblastic somites have become formed but are not shewn in my figure. they are the foremost somites of the trunk, and those behind them continue to be added, like the segments in chætopods, between the last formed somite and the end of the body. the increase in length of the body mainly takes place by growth in the region between the last mesoblastic somite and the end of the tail. the anterior part of the body is now completely folded off from the blastoderm, and the medullary groove of the earlier stage has become converted into a closed canal. by the next stage (fig. d) the embryo has become so much folded off from the yolk both in front and behind that the separate parts of it begin to be easily recognizable. the embryo is attached to the yolk by a distinct stalk or cord, which in the succeeding stages gradually narrows and elongates, and is known as the umbilical cord (_so. s_.). the medullary canal has now become completely closed. the anterior region constitutes the brain; and in this part slight constrictions, not perceptible in views of the embryo as a transparent object, mark off three vesicles. these vesicles are known as the fore, mid, and hind brain. from the fore-brain there is an outgrowth on each side, the first rudiment of the optic vesicles (_op_). the tail swellings are still conspicuous. [fig. . views of elasmobranch embryos. a-f. pristiurus. g. and h. scyllium. a. a blastoderm before the formation of the medullary plate. _sc._ segmentation cavity; _es._ embryonic swelling. b. a somewhat older blastoderm in which the medullary groove has been established. _mg._ medullary groove. c. an embryo from the dorsal surface, as an opaque object, after the medullary groove has become posteriorly converted into a tube. _mg._ medullary groove: the reference line points very nearly to the junction between the open medullary groove with the medullary tube; _h._ cephalic plate; _ts._ tail swelling. d. side view of a somewhat older embryo as a transparent object. _ch._ notochord; _op._ optic vesicle; _ .v.c._ st visceral cleft; _al._ alimentary tract; _so.s._ stalk connecting the yolk-sack with the embryo. e. side view of an older embryo as a transparent object. _mp._ muscle-plates; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _vc._ visceral cleft; _ht._ heart; _m._ mouth invagination; _an._ anal diverticulum; _al.v._ posterior vesicle of postanal gut. f. g. h. older embryos as opaque objects.] the tissues of the body have now become fairly transparent, and there may be seen at the sides of the body seventeen mesoblastic somites. the notochord, which was formed long before the stage represented in figure d, is now also distinctly visible. it extends from almost the extreme posterior to the anterior end of the embryo, and lies between the ventral wall of the spinal canal and the dorsal wall of the intestine. round its posterior end the neural and alimentary tracts become continuous with each other. anteriorly the termination of the notochord cannot be seen, it can only be traced into a mass of mesoblast at the base of the brain, which there separates the epiblast from the hypoblast. the alimentary canal (_al_) is completely closed anteriorly and posteriorly, though still widely open to the yolk-sack in the middle part of its course. in the region of the head it exhibits on each side a slight bulging outwards, the rudiment of the first visceral cleft. this is represented in the figure by two lines ( . _v.c._). the embryo represented in fig. e is far larger than the one just described, but it has not been convenient to represent this increase of size in the figure. accompanying this increase in size, the folding off from the yolk has considerably progressed, and the stalk which unites the embryo with the yolk is proportionately narrower and longer than before. the brain is now very distinctly divided into the three lobes, the rudiments of which appeared during the last stage. from the foremost of these the optic vesicles now present themselves as well-marked lateral outgrowths, towards which there has appeared an involution from the external skin (_op_) to form the lens. a fresh organ of sense, the auditory sack, now for the first time becomes visible as a shallow pit in the external skin on each side of the hind-brain (_au.v_). the epiblast which is involuted to form this pit becomes much thickened, and thereby the opacity, indicated in the figure, is produced. the mesoblastic somites have greatly increased in number by the formation of fresh somites in the tail. thirty-eight of them were present in the embryo figured. the mesoblast at the base of the brain is more bulky, and there is still a mass of unsegmented mesoblast which forms the tail swellings. the first rudiment of the heart (_ht_) becomes visible during this stage as a cavity between the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure and the hypoblast. the fore and hind guts are now longer than they were. an invagination from the exterior to form the mouth has appeared (_m_) on the ventral side of the head close to the base of the thalamencephalon. the upper end of this eventually becomes constricted off as the pituitary body, and an indication of the future position of the anus is afforded by a slight diverticulum of the hind gut towards the exterior, some little distance from the posterior end of the embryo (_an_). the portion of the alimentary canal behind this point, though at this stage large, and even dilated into a vesicle at its posterior end (_al.v_), becomes eventually completely atrophied. it is known as the postanal gut. in the region of the throat the rudiment of a second visceral cleft has appeared behind the first; neither of them is as yet open to the exterior. in a somewhat older embryo the first spontaneous movements take place, and consist in somewhat rapid excursions of the embryo from side to side, produced by a serpentine motion of the body. [fig. *. four sections through the postanal part of the tail of an embryo of the same age as fig. f. a is the posterior section. _nc._ neural canal; _al._ postanal gut; _alv._ caudal vesicle of postanal gut; _x._ subnotochord rod; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _cl.al._ cloaca; _ao._ aorta; _v.cau._ caudal vein.] a ventral flexure of the præoral part of the head, known as the cranial flexure, which commenced in earlier stages (fig. d and e), has now become very evident, and the mid-brain[ ] begins to project in the same manner as in the embryo fowl on the third day, and will soon form the anterior termination of the long axis of the embryo. the fore-brain has increased in size and distinctness, and the anterior part of it may now be looked on as the unpaired rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres. [ ] the part of the brain which i have here called mid-brain, and which unquestionably corresponds to the part called mid-brain in the embryos of higher vertebrates, becomes in the adult what miklucho-maclay and gegenbaur called the vesicle of the third ventricle or thalamencephalon. further changes have taken place in the organs of sense, especially in the eye, in which the involution for the lens has made considerable progress. the number of the muscle-plates has again increased, but there is still a region of unsegmented mesoblast in the tail. the thickened portions of mesoblast, which caused the tail swellings, are still to be seen, and would seem to act as the reserve from which is drawn the matter for the rapid growth of the tail, which occurs soon after this. the mass of the mesoblast at the base of the brain has again increased. no fresh features of interest are to be seen in the notochord. the heart is very much more conspicuous than before, and its commencing flexure is very apparent. it now beats actively. the postanal gut is much longer than during the last stage; and the point where the anus will appear is very easily detected by a bulging out of the gut towards the external skin. the alimentary vesicle at the end of the postanal gut, first observable during the last stage, is now a more conspicuous organ. there are three visceral clefts, none of which are as yet open to the exterior. figure f represents a considerably older embryo viewed as an opaque object, and fig. a is a view of the head as a transparent object. the stalk connecting it with the yolk is now, comparatively speaking, quite narrow, and is of sufficient length to permit the embryo to execute considerable movements. the tail has grown immensely, but is still dilated terminally. the terminal dilatation is mainly due to the alimentary vesicle (fig. * _alv_), but the postanal section of the alimentary tract in front of this is now a solid cord of cells. both the alimentary vesicle and this cord very soon disappear. their relations are shewn in section in fig. *. the two pairs of limbs have appeared as differentiations of a continuous but not very conspicuous epiblastic thickening, which is probably the rudiment of a lateral fin. the anterior pair is situated just at the front end of the umbilical stalk; and the posterior pair, which is the later developed and less conspicuous of the two, is situated some little distance behind the stalk. [fig. . views of the head of elasmobranch embryos at two stages as transparent objects. a. pristiurus embryo of the same stage as fig. f. b. somewhat older scyllium embryo. _iii._ third nerve; _v._ fifth nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve; _vg._ vagus nerve; _fb._ fore-brain; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _iv.v._ fourth ventricle; _cb._ cerebellum; _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ eye; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _m._ mesoblast at base of brain; _ch._ notochord; _ht._ heart; _vc._ visceral clefts; _eg._ external gills; _pp._ sections of body cavity in the head.] the cranial flexure has greatly increased, and the angle between the long axis of the front part of the head and of the body is less than a right angle. the conspicuous mid-brain ( a, _mb_) forms the anterior termination of the long axis of the body. the thin roof of the fourth ventricle (_hb_) may be noticed in the figure behind the mid-brain. the auditory sack (_au.v_) is nearly closed, and its opening is not shewn in the figure. in the eye (_op_) the lens is completely formed. the olfactory pit (_ol_) is seen a little in front of the eye. owing to the opacity of the embryo, the muscle-plates are only indistinctly indicated in fig. f, and no other features of the mesoblast are to be seen. the mouth is now a deep pit, the hind borders of which are almost completely formed by a thickening in front of the first branchial or visceral cleft, which may be called the first branchial arch or mandibular arch. four branchial clefts are now visible, all of which are open to the exterior, but in the embryo, viewed as a transparent object, two more, not open to the exterior, are visible behind the last of these. between each of these and behind the last one there is a thickening of the mesoblast which gives rise to a branchial arch. the arch between the first and second cleft is known as the hyoid arch. fig. b is a representation of the head of a slightly older embryo in which papillæ may be seen in the front wall of the second, third, and fourth branchial clefts; these papillæ are the commencements of filiform processes which grow out from the gill-clefts and form external gills. the peculiar ventral curvature of the anterior end of the notochord (_ch_) both in this and in the preceding figure deserves notice. a peculiar feature in the anatomy makes its appearance at this period, viz. the replacement of the original hollow oesophagus by a solid cord of cells (fig. a, _oes_) in which a lumen does not reappear till very much later. i have found that in some teleostei (the salmon) long after they are hatched a similar solidity in the oesophagus is present. it appears not impossible that this feature in the oesophagus may be connected with the fact that in the ancestors of the present types the oesophagus was perforated by gill slits; and that in the process of embryonic abbreviation the stage with the perforated oesophagus became replaced by a stage with a cord of indifferent cells (the oesophagus being in the embryo quite functionless) out of which the non-perforated oesophagus was directly formed. in the higher types the process of development appears to have become quite direct. by this stage all the parts of the embryo have become established, and in the succeeding stages the features characteristic of the genus and species are gradually acquired. two embryos of scyllium are represented in fig. g and h, the head and anterior part of the trunk being represented in fig. g, and the whole embryo at a much later stage in fig. h. in both of these, and especially in the second, an apparent diminution of the cranial flexure is very marked. this diminution is due to the increase in the size of the cerebral hemispheres, which grow upwards and forwards, and press the original fore-brain against the mid-brain behind. in fig. g the rudiments of the nasal sacks are clearly visible as small open pits. the first cleft is no longer similar to the rest, but by the closure of the lower part has commenced to be metamorphosed into the spiracle. accompanying the change in position of the first cleft, the mandibular arch has begun to bend round so as to enclose the front as well as the sides of the mouth. by this change in the mandibular arch the mouth becomes narrowed in an antero-posterior direction. in fig. h are seen the long filiform external gills which now project out from all the visceral clefts, including the spiracle. they are attached to the front wall of the spiracle, to both walls of the next four clefts, and to the front wall of the last cleft. they have very possibly become specially developed to facilitate respiration within the egg; and they disappear before the close of larval life. when the young of scyllium and other sharks are hatched they have all the external characters of the adult. in raja and torpedo the early stages, up to the acquirement of a shark-like form, are similar to those in the selachoidei, but during the later embryonic stages the body gradually flattens out, and assumes the adult form, which is thus clearly shewn to be a secondary acquirement. an embryonic gill cleft behind the last present in the adult is found (wyman, no. ) in the embryo of raja batis. the unpaired fins are developed in elasmobranchs as a fold of skin on the dorsal side, which is continued round the end of the tail along the ventral side to the anus. local developments of this give rise to the dorsal and anal fins. the caudal fin is at first symmetrical, but a special lower lobe grows out and gives to it a heterocercal character. _enclosure of the yolk-sack and its relation to the embryo._ the blastoderm at the stage represented in fig. a and b forms a small and nearly circular patch on the surface of the yolk, composed of epiblast and lower layer cells. while the body of the embryo is gradually being moulded this patch grows till it envelopes the yolk; the growth is not uniform, but is less rapid in the immediate neighbourhood of the embryonic part of the blastoderm than elsewhere. as a consequence of this, that part of the edge, to which the embryo is attached, forms a bay in the otherwise regular outline of the edge of the blastoderm, and by the time that about two-thirds of the yolk is enclosed this bay is very conspicuous. it is shewn in fig. a, where _bl_ points to the blastoderm, and _yk_ to the part of the yolk not yet covered by the blastoderm. the embryo at this time is only connected with the yolk-sack by a narrow umbilical cord; but, as shewn in the figure, is still attached to the edge of the blastoderm. [fig. . three views of the vitellus of an elasmobranch, shewing the embryo, the blastoderm, and the vessels of the yolk-sack. the shaded part (_bl_) is the blastoderm; the white part the uncovered yolk. a. young stage with the embryo still attached at the edge of the blastoderm. b. older stage with the yolk not quite enclosed by the blastoderm. c. stage after the complete enclosure of the yolk. _yk._ yolk; _bl._ blastoderm; _v._ venous trunks of yolk-sack; _a._ arterial trunks of yolk-sack; _y._ point of closure of the yolk blastopore; _x._ portion of the blastoderm outside the arterial sinus terminalis.] shortly subsequent to this the bay in the blastoderm, at the head of which the embryo is attached, becomes obliterated by its two sides coming together and coalescing. the embryo then ceases to be attached at the edge of the blastoderm. but a linear streak formed by the coalesced edges of the blastoderm is left connecting the embryo with the edge of the blastoderm. this streak is probably analogous to (though not genetically related with) the primitive streak in the amniota. this stage is represented in fig. b. in this figure there is only a small patch of yolk (_yk_) not yet enclosed, which is situated at some little distance behind the embryo. throughout all this period the edge of the blastoderm has remained thickened: a feature which persists till the complete investment of the yolk, which takes place shortly after the stage last described. in this thickened edge a circular vein arises which brings back the blood from the yolk-sack to the embryo. the opening in the blastoderm, exposing the portion of the yolk not yet covered, may be conveniently called the yolk blastopore. it is interesting to notice that, owing to the large size of the yolk in elasmobranchs, the posterior part of the primitive blastopore becomes encircled by the medullary folds and tail swellings, and is so closed long before the anterior and more ventral part, which is represented by the uncovered portion of the yolk. it is also worth remarking that, owing to the embryo becoming removed from the edge of the blastoderm, the final closure of the yolk blastopore takes place _at some little distance from the embryo_. the blastoderm enclosing the yolk is formed of an external layer of epiblast, a layer of mesoblast below in which the blood-vessels are developed, and within this a layer of hypoblast, which is especially well marked and ciliated (leydig, no. ) in the umbilical stalk, where it lines the canal leading from the yolk-sack to the intestine. in the region of the yolk-sack proper the blastoderm is so thin that it is not easy to be quite sure that a layer of hypoblast is throughout distinct. both the hypoblast and mesoblast of the yolk-sack are formed by a differentiation of the primitive lower layer cells. nutriment from the yolk-sack is brought to the embryo partly through the umbilical canal and so into the intestine, and partly by means of blood-vessels in the mesoblast of the sack. the blood-vessels arise before the blastoderm has completely covered the yolk. fig. a represents the earliest stage of the circulation of the yolk-sack. at this stage there is visible a single arterial trunk (_a_) passing forwards from the embryo and dividing into two branches. no venous trunk could be detected with the simple microscope, but probably venous channels were present in the thickened edge of the blastoderm. in fig. b the circulation is greatly advanced. the blastoderm has now nearly completely enveloped the yolk, and there remains only a small circular space (_yk_) not enclosed by it. the arterial trunk is present as before, and divides in front of the embryo into two branches which turn backwards and form a nearly complete ring round the embryo. in general appearance this ring resembles the sinus terminalis of the area vasculosa of the bird, but in reality bears quite a different relation to the circulation. it gives off branches on its inner side only. a venous system of returning vessels is now fully developed, and its relations are very remarkable. there is a main venous ring in the thickened edge of the blastoderm, which is connected with the embryo by a single stem running along the seam where the edges of the blastoderm have coalesced. since the venous trunks are only developed behind the embryo, it is only the posterior part of the arterial ring that gives off branches. the succeeding stage (fig. c) is also one of considerable interest. the arterial ring has greatly extended, and now embraces nearly half the yolk, and sends off trunks on its inner side along its whole circumference. more important changes have taken place in the venous system. the blastoderm has now completely enveloped the yolk, and the venous ring is therefore reduced to a point. the small veins which originally started from it may be observed diverging in a brush-like fashion from the termination of the unpaired trunk, which originally connected the venous ring with the heart. at a still later stage the arterial ring embraces the whole yolk, and, as a result of this, vanishes in its turn, as did the venous ring before it. there is then present a single arterial and a single venous trunk. the arterial trunk is a branch of the dorsal aorta, and the venous trunk originally falls into the heart together with the subintestinal or splanchnic vein. on the formation of the liver the proximal end of the subintestinal vein becomes the portal vein, and it is joined just as it enters the liver by the venous trunk from the yolk-sack. the venous trunk leaves the body on the right side, and the arterial on the left. the yolk-sack persists during the whole of embryonic life, and in the majority of elasmobranch embryos there arises within the body walls an outgrowth from the umbilical canal into which a large amount of the yolk passes. this outgrowth forms an internal yolk-sack. in mustelus vulgaris the internal yolk-sack is very small, and in mustelus lævis it is absent. the latter species, which is one of those in which development takes place within the uterus, presents a remarkable peculiarity in that the vascular surface of the yolk-sack becomes raised into a number of folds, which fit into corresponding depressions in the vascular walls of the uterus. the yolk-sack becomes in this way firmly attached to the walls of the uterus, and the two together constitute a kind of placenta. a similar placenta is found in carcharias. after the embryo is hatched or born, as the case may be, the yolk-sack becomes rapidly absorbed. bibliography. ( ) f. m. balfour. "a preliminary account of the development of the elasmobranch fishes." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xiv. . ( ) f. m. balfour. "a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes." london, . reprinted from the _journal of anat. and physiol._ for , , and . ( ) z. gerbe. "_recherches sur la segmentation de la cicatrule et la formation des produits adventifs de l'oeuf des plagiostomes et particulièrement des raies._" vide also _journal de l'anatomie et de la physiologie_, . ( ) w. his. "ueb. d. bildung v. haifischenembryonen." _zeit. für anat. u. entwick._, vol. ii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "development of acanthias vulgaris and mustelus lævis." (_russian._) _transactions of the kiew society of naturalists_, vol. i. . ( ) r. leuckart. "ueber die allmählige bildung d. körpergestalt bei d. rochen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. ii., p. . ( ) fr. leydig. _rochen u. haie._ leipzig, . ( ) a. w. malm. "bidrag till kännedom om utvecklingen af rajæ." _kongl. vetenskaps akademiens förhandlingar._ stockholm, . ( ) joh. müller. _glatter haie des aristoteles und über die verschiedenheiten unter den haifischen und rochen in der entwicklung des eies._ berlin, . ( ) s. l. schenk. "die eier von raja quadrimaculata innerhalb der eileiter." _sitz. der k. akad. wien_, vol. lxxiii. . ( ) alex. schultz. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte des selachiereies." _archiv für micro. anat._, vol. xi. . ( ) alex. schultz. "beitrag zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. knorpelfische." _archiv für micro. anat._, vol. xiii. . ( ) c. semper. "die stammesverwandschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen, etc." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) wyman. "observations on the development of raja batis." _memoirs of the american academy of arts and sciences_, vol. ix. . chapter iv. teleostei. the majority of the teleostei deposit their eggs before impregnation, but some forms are viviparous, _e.g._ blennius viviparus. not a few carry their eggs about; but this operation is with a few exceptions performed by the male. in syngnathus the eggs are carried in a brood-pouch of the male situated behind the anus. amongst the siluroids the male sometimes carries the eggs in the throat above the gill clefts. ostegeniosus militaris, arius falcarius, and arius fissus have this peculiar habit. the ovum when laid is usually invested in the zona radiata only, though a vitelline membrane is sometimes present in addition, _e.g._ in the herring. it is in most cases formed of a central yolk mass, which may either be composed of a single large vitelline sphere, or of distinct yolk spherules. the yolk mass is usually invested by a granular protoplasmic layer, which is especially thickened at one pole to form the germinal disc. in the herring's ovum the germinal disc is formed, as in many crustacea, at impregnation; the protoplasm which was previously diffused through the egg becoming aggregated at the germinal pole and round the periphery. impregnation is external, and on its occurrence a contraction of the vitellus takes place, so that a space is formed between the vitellus and the zona radiata, which becomes filled with fluid. the peculiarities in the development of the teleostean ovum can best be understood by regarding it as an elasmobranch ovum very much reduced in size. it seems in fact very probable that the teleostei are in reality derived from a type of fish with a much larger ovum. the occurrence of a meroblastic segmentation, in spite of the ovum being usually smaller than that of amphibia and acipenser, etc., in which the segmentation is complete, as well as the solid origin of many of the organs, receives its most plausible explanation on this hypothesis. the proportion of the germinal disc to the whole ovum varies considerably. in very small eggs, such as those of the herring, the disc may form as much as a fifth of the whole. the segmentation, which is preceded by active movements of the germinal disc, is meroblastic. there is nothing very special to note with reference to its general features, but while in large ova like those of the salmon the first furrows only penetrate for a certain depth through the germinal disc, in small ova like those of the herring they extend through the whole thickness of the disc. during the segmentation a great increase in the bulk of the blastoderm takes place. in hardened specimens a small cavity amongst the segmentation spheres may be present at any early stage; but it is probably an artificial product, and in any case has nothing to do with the true segmentation cavity, which does not appear till near the close of segmentation. the peripheral layer of granular matter, continuous with the germinal disc, does not undergo division, but it becomes during the segmentation specially thickened and then spreads itself under the edge of the blastoderm; and, while remaining thicker in this region, gradually grows inwards so as to form a continuous sub-blastodermic layer. in this layer nuclei appear, which are equivalent to those in the elasmobranch ovum. a considerable number of these nuclei often become visible simultaneously (van beneden, no. ) and they are usually believed to arise spontaneously, though this is still doubtful[ ]. around these nuclei portions of protoplasm are segmented off, and cells are thus formed, which enter the blastoderm, and have nearly the same destination as the homologous cells of the elasmobranch ovum. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii. p. . during the later stages of segmentation one end of the blastoderm becomes thickened and forms the embryonic swelling; and a cavity appears between the blastoderm and the yolk which is excentrically situated near the non-embryonic part of the blastoderm. this cavity is the true segmentation cavity. both the cavity and the embryonic swelling are seen in section in fig. a and b. in leuciscus rutilus bambeke describes a cavity as appearing in the middle of the blastoderm during the later stages of segmentation. from his figures it might be supposed that this cavity was equivalent to the segmentation cavity of elasmobranchs in its earliest condition, but bambeke states that it disappears and that it has no connection with the true segmentation cavity. bambeke and other investigators have failed to recognize the homology of the segmentation cavity in teleostei with that in elasmobranchii, amphibia, etc. with the appearance of the segmentation cavity the portion of the blastoderm which forms its roof becomes thinned out, so that the whole blastoderm consists of ( ) a thickened edge especially prominent at one point where it forms the embryonic swelling, and ( ) a thinner central portion. the changes which now take place result in the differentiation of the embryonic layers, and in the rapid extension of the blastoderm round the yolk, accompanied by a diminution in its thickness. [fig. . longitudinal sections through the blastoderm of the trout at an early stage of development. a. at the close of the segmentation; b. after the differentiation of the germinal layers. _ep´._ epidermic layer of the epiblast; _sc._ segmentation cavity.] the first differentiation of the layers consists in a single row of cells on the surface of the blastoderm becoming distinctly marked off as a special layer (fig. a); which however does not constitute the whole epiblast but only a small part of it, which will be spoken of as the epidermic layer. the complete differentiation of the epiblast is effected by the cells of the thickened edge of the blastoderm becoming divided into two strata (fig. b). the upper stratum constitutes the epiblast. it is divided into two layers, viz., the external epidermic layer already mentioned, and an internal layer known as the nervous layer, formed of several rows of vertically arranged cells. according to the unanimous testimony of investigators the roof of the segmentation cavity is formed of epiblast cells only. the lower stratum in the thickened rim of the blastoderm is several rows of cells deep, and corresponds with the lower layer cells or primitive hypoblast in elasmobranchii. it is continuous at the edge of the blastoderm with the nervous layer of the epiblast. in smaller teleostean eggs there is formed, before the blastoderm becomes differentiated into epiblast and lower layer cells, a complete stratum of cells around the nuclei in the granular layer underneath the blastoderm. this layer is the hypoblast; and in these forms the lower layer cells of the blastoderm are stated to become converted into mesoblast only. in the larger teleostean eggs, such as those of the salmonidæ, the hypoblast, as in elasmobranchs, appears to be only partially formed from the nuclei of the granular layer. in these forms however, as in the smaller teleostean ova and in elasmobranchii, the cells derived from the granular stratum give rise to a more or less complete cellular floor for the segmentation cavity. the segmentation cavity thus becomes enclosed between an hypoblastic floor and an epiblastic roof several cells deep. it becomes obliterated shortly after the appearance of the medullary plate. at about the time when the three layers become established the embryonic swelling takes a somewhat shield-like form (fig. a). posteriorly it terminates in a caudal prominence (_ts_) homologous with the pair of caudal swellings in elasmobranchs. the homologue of the medullary groove very soon appears as a shallow groove along the axial line of the shield. after these changes there takes place in the embryonic layers a series of differentiations leading to the establishment of the definite organs. these changes are much more difficult to follow in the teleostei than in the elasmobranchii, owing partly to the similarity of the cells of the various layers, and partly to the primitive solidity of all the organs. the first changes in the epiblast give rise to the central nervous system. the epiblast, consisting of the nervous and epidermic strata already indicated, becomes thickened along the axis of the embryo and forms a keel projecting towards the yolk below: so great is the size of this keel in the front part of the embryo that it influences the form of the whole body and causes the outline of the surface adjoining the yolk to form a strong ridge moulded on the keel of the epiblast (fig. a and b). along the dorsal line of the epiblast keel is placed the shallow medullary groove; and according to calberla (no. ) the keel is formed by the folding together of the two sides of the primitively uniform epiblastic layer. the keel becomes gradually constricted off from the external epiblast and then forms a _solid cord_ below it. subsequently there appears in this cord a median slit-like canal, which forms the permanent central canal of the cerebrospinal cord. the peculiarity in the formation of the central nervous system of teleostei consists in the fact that it is not formed by the folding over of the sides of the medullary groove into a canal, but by the separation, below the medullary groove, of a solid cord of epiblast in which the central canal is subsequently formed. various views have been put forward to explain the apparently startling difference between teleostei, with which lepidosteus and petromyzon agree, and other vertebrate forms. the explanations of götte and calberla appear to me to contain between them the truth in this matter. the groove above in part represents the medullary groove; but the closure of the groove is represented by the folding together of the lateral parts of the epiblast plate to form the medullary keel. according to götte this is the whole explanation, but calberla states for syngnathus and salmo that the epidermic layer of the epiblast is carried down into the keel as a double layer just as if it had been really folded in. this ingrowth of the epidermic layer is shewn in fig. a where it is just commencing to pass into the keel; and at a later stage in fig. b where the keel has reached its greatest depth. götte maintains that calberla's statements are not to be trusted, and i have myself been unable to confirm them for teleostei or lepidosteus; but if they could be accepted the difference in the formation of the medullary canal in teleostei and in other vertebrata would become altogether unimportant and consist simply in the fact that the ordinary open medullary groove is in teleostei obliterated in its inner part by the two sides of the groove coming together. both layers of epiblast would thus have a share in the formation of the central nervous system; the epidermic layer giving rise to the lining epithelial cells of the central canal, and the nervous layer to the true nervous tissue. the separation of the solid nervous system from the epiblast takes place relatively very late; and, before it has been completed, the first traces of the auditory pits, of the optic vesicles, and of the olfactory pits are visible. the auditory pit arises as a solid thickening of the nervous layer of the epiblast at its point of junction with the medullary keel; and the optic vesicles spring as solid outgrowths from part of the keel itself. the olfactory pits are barely indicated as thickenings of the nervous layer of the epiblast. [fig. . two transverse sections of syngnathus. (after calberla.) a. younger stage before the definite establishment of the notochord. b. older stage. the epidermic layer of the epiblast is represented in black. _ep._ epidermic layer of epiblast; _mc._ neural cord; _hy._ hypoblast; _me._ mesoblast; _ch._ notochord.] at this early stage all the organs of special sense are attached to a layer continuous with or forming part of the central nervous system; and this fact has led götte (no. ) to speak of a special-sense plate, belonging to the central nervous system and not to the skin, from which all the organs of special sense are developed; and to conclude that a serial homology exists between these organs in their development. a comparison between teleostei and other forms shews that this view cannot be upheld; even in teleostei the auditory and olfactory rudiments arise rather from the epiblast at the sides of the brain than from the brain itself, while the optic vesicles spring from the first directly from the medullary keel, and are therefore connected with the central nervous system rather than with the external epiblast. in a slightly later stage the different connections of the two sets of sense organs is conclusively shewn by the fact that, on the separation of the central nervous system from the epiblast, the optic vesicles remain attached to the former, while the auditory and olfactory vesicles are continuous with the latter. after its separation from the central nervous system the remainder of the epiblast gives rise to the skin, etc., and most probably the epidermic stratum develops into the outer layer of the epidermis and the nervous stratum into the mucous layer. the parts of the organs of special sense, which arise from the epiblast, are developed from the nervous layer. in the trout (oellacher, no. ) both layers are continued over the yolk-sack; but in clupeus and gasterosteus only the epidermic has this extension. according to götte the distinction between the two layers becomes lost in the later embryonic stages. although it is thoroughly established that the mesoblast originates from the lower of the two layers of the thickened embryonic rim, it is nevertheless not quite certain whether it is a continuous layer between the epiblast and hypoblast, or whether it forms two lateral masses as in elasmobranchs. the majority of observers take the former view, while calberla is inclined to adopt the latter. in the median line of the embryo underneath the medullary groove there are undoubtedly from the first certain cells which eventually give rise to the notochord; and it is these cells the nature of which is in doubt. they are certainly at first very indistinctly separated from the mesoblast on the two sides, and calberla also finds that there is no sharp line separating them from the secondary hypoblast (fig. a). whatever may be the origin of the notochord the mesoblast very soon forms two lateral plates, one on each side of the body, and between them is placed the notochord (fig. b). the general fate of the two mesoblast plates is the same as in elasmobranchs. they are at first quite solid and exhibit relatively late a division into splanchnic and somatic layers, between which is placed the primitive body cavity. the dorsal part of the plates becomes transversely segmented in the region of the trunk; and thus gives rise to the mesoblastic somites, from which the muscle plates and the perichordal parts of the vertebral column are developed. the ventral or outer part remains unsegmented. the cavity of the ventral section becomes the permanent body cavity. it is continued forward into the head (oellacher), and part of it becomes separated off from the remainder as the pericardial cavity. the hypoblast forms a continuous layer below the mesoblast, and, in harmony with the generally confined character of the development of the organs in teleostei, there is no space left between it and the yolk to represent the primitive alimentary cavity. the details of the formation of the true alimentary tube have not been made out; it is not however formed by a folding in of the lateral parts of the hypoblast, but arises as a solid or nearly solid cord in the axial line, between the notochord and the yolk, in which a lumen is gradually established. in the just hatched larva of an undetermined freshwater fish with a very small yolk-sack i found that the yolk extended along the ventral side of the embryo from almost the mouth to the end of the gut. the gut had, except in the hinder part, the form of a solid cord resting in a concavity of the yolk. in the hinder part of the gut a lumen was present, and below this part the amount of yolk was small and the yolk nuclei numerous. near the limit of its posterior extension the yolk broke up into a mass of cells, and the gut ended behind by falling into this mass. these incomplete observations appear to shew that the solid gut owes its origin in a large measure to nuclei derived from the yolk. when the yolk has become completely enveloped a postanal section of gut undoubtedly becomes formed; and although, owing to the solid condition of the central nervous system, a communication between the neural and alimentary canals cannot at first take place, yet the terminal vesicle of the postanal gut of elasmobranchii is represented by a large vesicle, originally discovered by kupffer (no. ), which can easily be seen in the embryos of most teleostei, but the relations of which have not been satisfactorily worked out (_vide_ fig. , _hyv_). as the tail end of the embryo becomes separated off from the yolk the postanal vesicle atrophies. general development of the embryo. attention has already been called to the fact that the embryo first appears as a thickening of the edge of the blastoderm which soon assumes a somewhat shield-like form (fig. a). the hinder end of the embryo, which is placed at the edge of the blastoderm, is somewhat prominent, and forms the caudal swelling (_ts_). the axis of the embryo is marked by a shallow groove. [fig. . three stages in the development of the salmon. (after his.) _ts._ tail swelling; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _oc._ optic vesicle; _ce._ cerebral rudiment; _m.b._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _md._ medulla oblongata; _m.so._ mesoblastic somite.] the body now rapidly elongates, and at the same time becomes considerably narrower, while the groove along the axis becomes shallower and disappears. the anterior, and at first proportionately a very large part, soon becomes distinguished as the cephalic region (fig. b). the medullary cord in this region becomes very early divided into three indistinctly separated lobes, representing the fore, the mid, and the hind brains: of these the anterior is the smallest. with it are connected the optic vesicles (_oc_)--solid at first--which are pushed back into the region of the mid-brain. the trunk grows in the usual way by the addition of fresh somites behind. after the yolk has become completely enveloped by the blastoderm the tail becomes folded off, and the same process takes place at the front end of the embryo. the free tail end of the embryo continues to grow, remaining however closely applied to the yolk-sack, round which it curls itself to an extent varying with the species (_vide_ fig. ). the general growth of the embryo during the later stages presents a few special features of interest. the head is remarkable for the small apparent amount of the cranial flexure. this is probably due to the late development of the cerebral hemispheres. the flexure of the floor of the brain is however quite as considerable in the teleostei as in other types. the gill clefts develop from before backwards. the first cleft is the hyomandibular, and behind this there are the hyobranchial and four branchial clefts. simultaneously with the clefts there are developed the branchial arches. the postoral arches formed are the mandibular, hyoid and five branchial arches. in the case of the salmon all of these appear before hatching. [fig. . view of an advanced embryo of a herring in the egg. (after kupffer.) _oc._ eye; _ht._ heart; _hyv._ postanal vesicle; _ch._ notochord.] the first cleft closes up very early (about the time of hatching in the salmon); and about the same time there springs a membranous fold from the hyoid arch, which gradually grows backwards over the arches following, and gives rise to the operculum. there appear in the salmon shortly before hatching double rows of papillæ on the four anterior arches behind the hyoid. they are the rudiments of the branchiæ. they reach a considerable length before they are covered in by the opercular membrane. in cobitis (götte, no. ) they appear in young larvæ as filiform processes equivalent to the external gills of elasmobranchs. the extremities of these processes atrophy; while the basal portions became the permanent gill lamellæ. the general relation of the clefts, after the closure of the hyomandibular, is shewn in fig. . the air-bladder is formed as a dorsal outgrowth of the alimentary tract very slightly in front of the liver. it grows in between the two limbs of the mesentery, in which it extends itself backwards. it appears in the salmon, carp, and other types to originate rather on the right side of the median dorsal line, but whether this fact has any special significance is rather doubtful. in the salmon and trout it is formed considerably later than the liver, but the two are stated by von baer to arise in the carp nearly at the same time. the absence of a pneumatic duct in the physoclisti is due to a post-larval atrophy. the region of the stomach is reduced almost to nothing in the larva. the oesophagus becomes solid, like that of elasmobranchs, and remains so for a considerable period after hatching. the liver, in the earliest stage in which i have met with it in the trout ( days after impregnation), is a solid ventral diverticulum of the intestine, which in the region of the liver is itself without a lumen. [fig. . diagrammatic view of the head of an embryo teleostean, with the primitive vascular trunks. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ auricle; _v._ ventricle; _abr._ branchial artery; _c´._ carotid; _ad._ aorta; _s._ branchial clefts; _sv._ sinus venosus; _dc._ ductus cuvieri; _n._ nasal pit.] the excretory system commences with the formation of a segmental duct, formed by a constriction of the parietal wall of the peritoneal cavity. the anterior end remains open to the body cavity, and forms a pronephros (head kidney). on the inner side of and opposite this opening a glomerulus is developed, and the part of the body cavity containing both the glomerulus and the opening of the pronephros becomes shut off from the remainder of the body cavity, and forms a completely closed malpighian capsule. the mesonephros (wolffian body) is late in developing. the unpaired fins arise as simple folds of the skin along the dorsal and ventral edges, continuous with each other round the end of the tail. the ventral fold ends anteriorly at the anus. the dorsal and anal fins are developed from this fold by local hypertrophy. the caudal fin[ ], however, undergoes a more complicated metamorphosis. it is at first symmetrical or nearly so on the dorsal and ventral sides of the hinder end of the notochord. this symmetry is not long retained, but very soon the ventral part of the fin with its fin rays becomes much more developed than the dorsal part, and at the same time the posterior part of the notochord bends up towards the dorsal side. [ ] in addition to the paper by alex. agassiz (no. ) _vide_ papers by huxley, kölliker, vogt, etc. in some few cases, _e.g._ gadus, salmo, owing to the simultaneous appearance of a number of fin rays on the dorsal and ventral side of the notochord the external symmetry of the tail is not interfered with in the above processes. in most instances this is far from being the case. [fig. . three stages in the development of the tail of the flounder (pleuronectes). (after agassiz.) a. stage in which the permanent caudal fin has commenced to be visible as an enlargement of the ventral side of the embryonic caudal fin. b. ganoid-like stage in which there is a true external heterocercal tail. c. stage in which the embryonic caudal fin has almost completely atrophied. _c._ embryonic caudal fin; _f._ permanent caudal fin; _n._ notochord; _u._ urostyle.] in the flounder, which may serve as a type, the primitive symmetry is very soon destroyed by the appearance of fin rays on the ventral side. the region where they are present soon forms a lobe; and an externally heterocercal tail is produced (fig. a). the ventral lobe with its rays continues to grow more prominent and causes the tail fin to become bilobed (fig. b); there being a dorsal embryonic lobe without fin rays (_c_), which contains the notochord, and a ventral lobe with fin rays, which will form the permanent caudal fin. in this condition the tail fin resembles the usual elasmobranch form or still more that of some ganoids, _e.g._ the sturgeon. the ventral lobe continues to develop; and soon projects beyond the dorsal, which gradually atrophies together with the notochord contained in it, and finally disappears, leaving hardly a trace on the dorsal side of the tail (fig. c, _c_). in the meantime the fin rays of the ventral lobe gradually become parallel to the axis of the body; and this lobe, together with a few accessory dorsal and ventral fin rays supported by neural and hæmal processes, forms the permanent tail fin, which though internally unsymmetrical, assumes an externally symmetrical form. the upturned end of the notochord which was originally continued into the primitive dorsal lobe becomes ensheathed in a bone without a division into separate vertebræ. this bone forms the urostyle (_u_). the hæmal processes belonging to it are represented by two cartilaginous masses, which subsequently ossify, forming the hypural bones, and supporting the primary fin rays of the tail (fig. c). the ultimate changes of the notochord and urostyle vary very considerably in the different types of teleostei. teleostei may fairly be described as passing through an elasmobranch stage or a stage like that of most pre-jurassic ganoids or the sturgeon as far as concerns their caudal fin. the anterior paired fins arise before the posterior; and there do not appear to be any such indications as in elasmobranchii of the paired fins arising as parts of a continuous lateral fin. most osseous fishes pass through more or less considerable post-embryonic changes, the most remarkable of which are those undergone by the pleuronectidæ[ ]. these fishes, which in the adult state have the eyes unsymmetrically placed on one side of the head, leave the egg like normal teleostei. in the majority of cases as they become older the eye on the side, which in the adult is without an eye, travels a little forward and then gradually rotates over the dorsal side of the head, till finally it comes to lie on the same side as the other eye. during this process the rotating eye always remains at the surface and continues functional; and on the two eyes coming to the same side of the head the side of the body without an organ of vision loses its pigment cells, and becomes colourless. [ ] _vide_ agassiz (no. ) and steenstrup, malm. the dorsal fin, after the rotation of the eye, grows forward beyond the level of the eyes. in the genus plagusia (steenstrup, agassiz, no. ) the dorsal fin grows forward before the rotation of the eye (the right eye in this form), and causes some modifications in the process. the eye in travelling round gradually sinks into the tissues of the head, at the base of the fin above the frontal bone; and in this process the original large opening of the orbit becomes much reduced. soon a fresh opening on the opposite and left side of the dorsal fin is formed; so that the orbit has two external openings, one on the left and one on the right side. the original one on the right soon atrophies, and the eye passes through the tissues at the base of the dorsal fin completely to the left side. the rotating eye may be either the right or the left according to the species. the most remarkable feature in which the young of a large number of teleostei differ from the adults is the possession of provisional spines, very often formed as osseous spinous projections the spaces between which become filled up in the adult. these processes are probably, as suggested by günther, secondary developments acquired, like the zooea spines of larval crustaceans, for purposes of defence. the yolk-sack varies greatly in size in the different types of teleostei. according as it is enclosed within the body-wall, or forms a distinct ventral appendage, it is spoken of by von baer as an internal or external yolk-sack. by von baer the yolk-sack is stated to remain in communication with the intestine immediately behind the liver, while lereboullet states that there is a vitelline pedicle opening between the stomach and the liver which persists till the absorption of the yolk-sack. my own observations do not fully confirm either of these statements for the salmon and trout. so far as i have been able to make out, all communication between the yolk-sack and the alimentary tract is completely obliterated very early. in the trout the communication between the two is shut off before hatching, and in the just-hatched salmon i can find no trace of any vitelline pedicle. the absorption of the yolk would seem therefore to be effected entirely by blood-vessels. the yolk-sack persists long after hatching, and is gradually absorbed. there is during the stages either just before hatching or shortly subsequent to hatching (cyprinus) a rich vascular development in the mesoblast of the yolk-sack. the blood is at first contained in lacunar spaces, but subsequently it becomes confined to definite channels. as to its exact relations to the vascular system of the embryo more observations seem to be required. the following account is given by rathke (no. *) and lereboullet (no. ). at first a subintestinal vein (_vide_ chapter on circulation) falls into the lacunæ of the yolk-sack, and the blood from these is brought back direct to the heart. at a later period, when the liver is developed, the subintestinal vessel breaks up into capillaries in the liver, thence passes into the yolk-sack, and from this to the heart. an artery arising from the aorta penetrates the liver, and there breaks up into capillaries continuous with those of the yolk-sack. this vessel is perhaps the equivalent of the artery which supplies the yolk-sack in elasmobranchii, but it seems possible that there is some error in the above description. bibliography. ( ) al. agassiz. "on the young stages of some osseous fishes. i. development of the tail." _proceedings of the american academy of arts and sciences_, vol. xiii. presented oct. , . ( ) al. agassiz. "ii. development of the flounders." _proceedings of the american acad. of arts and sciences_, vol. xiv. presented june, . ( ) k. e. v. baer. _untersuchungen über die entwicklungsgeschichte der fische._ leipzig, . ( ) ch. van bambeke. "premiers effets de la fécondation sur les oeufs de poissons: sur l'origine et la signification du feuillet muqueux ou glandulaire chez les poissons osseux." _comptes rendus des séances de l'académie des sciences_, tome lxxiv. . ( ) ch. van bambeke. "recherches sur l'embryologie des poissons osseux." _mém. couronnés et mém. de savants étrangers de l'académie roy. belgique_, vol. xl. . ( ) e. v. beneden. "a contribution to the history of the embryonic development of the teleosteans." _quart. j. of micr. sci._, vol. xviii. . ( ) e. calberla. "zur entwicklung des medullarrohres u. d. chorda dorsalis d. teleostier u. d. petromyzonten." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte der wirbelthiere." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. ix. . ( ) a. götte. "ueber d. entwicklung d. central-nervensystems der teleostier." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xv. . ( ) a. götte. "entwick. d. teleostierkeime." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. . . ( ) w. his. "untersuchungen über die entwicklung von knochenfischen, etc." _zeit. f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte_, vol. i. . ( ) w. his. "untersuchungen über die bildung des knochenfischembryo (salmen)." _archiv f. anat. u. physiol._, . ( ) e. klein. "observations on the early development of the common trout." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xvi. . ( ) c. kupffer. "beobachtungen über die entwicklung der knochenfische." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, bd. iv. . ( ) c. kupffer. _ueber laichen u. entwicklung des ostsee-herings._ berlin, . ( ) m. lereboullet. "recherches sur le développement du brochet de la perche et de l'écrevisse." _annales des sciences nat._, vol. i., series iv. . ( ) m. lereboullet. "recherches d'embryologie comparée sur le développement de la truite." _an. sci. nat._, quatrième série, vol. xvi. . ( ) t. oellacher. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte der knochenfische nach beobachtungen am bachforellenei." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxii., , and vol. xxiii., . ( *) h. rathke. _abh. z. bildung u. entwick. d. menschen u. thiere._ leipzig, - . part ii. blennius. ( ) reineck. "ueber die schichtung des forellenkeims." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, bd. v. . ( ) s. stricker. "untersuchungen über die entwicklung der bachforelle." _sitzungsberichte der wiener k. akad. d. wiss._, . vol. li. abth. . ( ) carl vogt. "embryologie des salmones." _histoire naturelle des poissons de l'europe centrale._ l. agassiz. . ( ) c. weil. "beiträge zur kenntniss der knochenfische." _sitzungsber. der wiener kais. akad. der wiss._, bd. lxvi. . chapter v. cyclostomata[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the cyclostomata is employed in the present chapter: i. hyperoartia ex. petromyzon. ii. hyperotreta ex. myxine, bdellostoma. petromyzon is the only type of this degenerated but primitive group of fishes the development of which has been as yet studied[ ]. [ ] the present chapter is in the main founded upon observations which i was able to make in the spring of upon the development of petromyzon planeri. mr scott very kindly looked over my proof-sheets and made a number of valuable suggestions, and also sent me an early copy of his preliminary note (no. ), which i have been able to make use of in correcting my proof-sheets. the development does not however throw any light on the relationships of the group. the similarity of the mouth and other parts of petromyzon to those of the tadpole probably indicates that there existed a common ancestral form for the cyclostomata and amphibia. embryology does not however add anything to the anatomical evidence on this subject. the fact of the segmentation being complete was at one time supposed to indicate an affinity between the two groups; but the discovery that the segmentation is also complete in the ganoids deprives this feature in the development of any special weight. in the formation of the layers and in most other developmental characters there is nothing to imply a special relationship with the amphibia, and in the mode of formation of the nervous system petromyzon exhibits a peculiar modification, otherwise only known to occur in teleostei and lepidosteus. dohrn[ ] was the first to bring into prominence the degenerate character of the cyclostomata. i cannot however assent to his view that they are descended from a relatively highly-organized type of fish. it appears to me almost certain that they belong to a group of fishes in which a true skeleton of branchial bars had not become developed, the branchial skeleton they possess being simply an extra-branchial system; while i see no reason to suppose that a true branchial skeleton has disappeared. if the primitive cyclostomata had not true branchial bars, they could not have had jaws, because jaws are essentially developed from the mandibular branchial bar. these considerations, which are supported by numerous other features of their anatomy, such as the character of the axial skeleton, the straightness of the intestinal tube, the presence of a subintestinal vein etc., all tend to prove that these fishes are remnants of a primitive and prægnathostomatous group. the few surviving members of the group have probably owed their preservation to their parasitic or semiparasitic habits, while the group as a whole probably disappeared on the appearance of gnathostomatous vertebrata. [ ] _der ursprung d. wirbelthiere_, etc. leipzig, . the ripe ovum of petromyzon planeri is a slightly oval body of about mm. in diameter. it is mainly formed of an opaque nearly white yolk, invested by a membrane composed of an inner perforated layer, and an outer structureless layer. there appears to be a pore perforating the inner layer at the formative pole, which may be called a micropyle (kupffer and benecke, no. ). enclosing the egg-membranes there is present a mucous envelope, which causes the egg, when laid, to adhere to stones or other objects. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through an embryo of petromyzon planeri of hours. _me._ mesoblast; _yk._ yolk-cells; _al._ alimentary tract; _bl._ blastopore; _s.c._ segmentation cavity.] impregnation is effected by the male attaching itself by its suctorial mouth to the female. the attached couple then shake together; and, as they do so, they respectively emit from their abdominal pores ova and spermatozoa which pass into a hole previously made[ ]. [ ] artificial impregnation may be effected without difficulty by squeezing out into the same vessel the ova and spermatozoa of a ripe female and male. the fertilized eggs are easily reared. petromyzon planeri breeds during the second half of april. the segmentation is total and unequal, and closely resembles that in the frog's egg (vol. ii. p. ). the upper pole is very slightly whiter than the lower. a segmentation cavity is formed very early, and is placed between the small cells of the upper pole and the large cells of the lower pole. it is proportionately larger than in the frog; and the roof eventually thins out so as to be formed of a single row of small cells. at the sides of the segmentation cavity there are always several rows of small cells, which gradually merge into the larger cells of the lower pole of the egg. the segmentation is completed in about fifty hours. [fig. . transverse section through a petromyzon embryo hours after impregnation. _ep._ epiblast; _al._ mesenteron; _yk._ yolk-cells; _ms._ mesoblast.] the segmentation is followed by an asymmetrical invagination (fig. ) which leads to a mode of formation of the hypoblast fundamentally similar to that in the frog. the process has been in the main correctly described by m. schultze (no. ). on the border between the large and small cells of the embryo, at a point slightly below the segmentation cavity, a small circular pit appears; the roof of which is formed by an infolding of the small cells, while the floor is formed of the large cells. this pit is the commencing mesenteron. it soon grows deeper (fig. , _al_) and extends as a well-defined tube (shewn in transverse section in fig. , _al_) in the direction of the segmentation cavity. in the course of the formation of the mesenteron the segmentation cavity gradually becomes smaller, and is finally (about the th hour) obliterated. the roof of the mesenteron is formed by the continued invagination of small cells, and its floor is composed of large yolk-cells. the wide external opening is arched over dorsally by a somewhat prominent lip--the homologue of the embryonic rim. the opening persists till nearly the time of hatching; but eventually becomes closed, and is not converted into the permanent anus. on the formation of the mesenteron the hypoblast is composed of two groups of cells, ( ) the yolk-cells, and ( ) the cells forming the roof of the mesenteron. while the above changes are taking place, the small cells, or as they may now be called the epiblast cells, gradually spread over the large yolk-cells, as in normal types of epibolic invagination. the growth over the yolk-cells is not symmetrical, but is most rapid in the meridian opposite the opening of the alimentary cavity, so that the latter is left in a bay (cf. elasmobranchii, p. ). the epibolic invagination takes place as in molluscs and many other forms, not simply by the division of pre-existing epiblast cells, but by the formation of fresh epiblast cells from the yolk-cells (fig. ); and till after the complete enclosure of the yolk-cells there is never present a sharp line of demarcation between the two groups of cells. by the time that the segmentation cavity is obliterated the whole yolk is enclosed by the epiblast. the yolk-cells adjoining the opening of the mesenteron are the latest to be covered in, and on their enclosure this opening constitutes the whole of the blastopore. the epiblast is composed of a single row of columnar cells. mesoblast and notochord. during the above changes the mesoblast becomes established. it arises, as in elasmobranchs, in the form of two plates derived from the primitive hypoblast. during the invagination to form the mesenteron some of the hypoblast cells on each side of the invaginated layer become smaller, and marked off as two imperfect plates (fig. , _ms_). it is difficult to say whether these plates are entirely derived from invaginated cells, or are _in part_ directly formed from the pre-existing yolk-cells, but i am inclined to adopt the latter view; the ventral extension of the mesoblast plates undoubtedly takes place at the expense of the yolk-cells. the mesoblast plates soon become more definite, and form (fig. , _ms_) well-defined structures, triangular in section, on the two sides of the middle line. [fig. . transverse section through an embryo of petromyzon planeri of hours. the figure illustrates the formation of the neural cord and of the notochord. _ms._ mesoblast; _nc._ neural cord; _ch._ notochord; _yk._ yolk-cells; _al._ alimentary canal.] at the time the mesoblast is first formed the hypoblast cells, which roof the mesenteron, are often imperfectly two layers thick (fig. ). they soon however become constituted of a single layer only. when the mesoblast is fairly established, the lateral parts of the hypoblast grow inwards underneath the axial part, so that the latter (fig. , _ch_) first becomes isolated as an axial cord, and is next inclosed between the medullary cord (_nc_) (which has by this time been formed) and a continuous sheet of hypoblast below (fig. ). here its cells divide and it becomes the notochord. the notochord is thus bodily formed out of the axial portion of the primitive hypoblast. its mode of origin may be compared with that in amphioxus, in which an axial fold of the archenteric wall is constricted off as the notochord. the above features in the development of the notochord were first established by calberla[ ] (no. ). [ ] in calberla's figure, shewing the development of the notochord, the limits of mesoblast and hypoblast are wrongly indicated. [fig. . transverse section through part of an embryo of petromyzon planeri of hours. _m.c_. medullary cord; _ch_. notochord; _al_. alimentary canal; _ms_. mesoblastic plate.] _general history of the development._ up to about the time when the enclosure of the hypoblast by the epiblast is completed, no external traces are visible of any of the organs of the embryo; but about this time, _i.e._ about hours after impregnation, the rudiment of the medullary plate becomes established, as a linear streak extending forwards from the blastopore over fully one half the circumference of the embryo. the medullary plate first contains a shallow median groove, but it is converted into the medullary cord, not in the usual vertebrate fashion, but, as first shewn by calberla, in a manner much more closely resembling the formation of the medullary cord in teleostei. along the line of the median groove the epiblast becomes thickened and forms a kind of keel projecting inwards towards the hypoblast (fig. , _nc_). this keel is the rudiment of the medullary cord. it soon becomes more prominent, the median groove in it disappears, and it becomes separated from the epiblast as a solid cord (fig. , _mc_). by this time the whole embryo has become more elongated, and on the dorsal surface is placed a ridge formed by the projection of the medullary cord. at the lip of the blastopore the medullary cord is continuous with the hypoblast, thus forming the rudiment of a neurenteric canal. calberla gives a similar account of the formation of the neural canal to that which he gives for the teleostei (_vide_ p. ). he states that the epiblast becomes divided into two layers, of which the outer is involuted into the neural cord, a median slit in the involution representing the neural groove. the eventual neural canal is stated to be lined by the involuted cells. scott (no. ) fully confirms calberla on this point, and, although my own sections do not clearly shew an involution of the outer layer of epiblast cells, the testimony of these two observers must no doubt be accepted on this point. shortly after the complete establishment of the neural cord the elongation of the embryo proceeds with great rapidity. the processes in this growth are shewn in fig. , a, b, and c. the cephalic portion (a, _c_) first becomes distinct, forming an anterior protuberance free from yolk. about the time it is formed the mesoblastic plates begin to be divided into somites, but the embryo is so opaque that this process can only be studied in sections. shortly afterwards an axial lumen appears in the centre of the neural cord, in the same manner as in teleostei. the general elongation of the embryo continues rapidly, and, as shewn in my figures, the anterior end is applied to the ventral surface of the yolk (b). with the growth of the embryo the yolk becomes entirely confined to the posterior part. this part is accordingly greatly dilated, and might easily be mistaken for the head. the position of the yolk gives to the embryo a very peculiar appearance. the apparent difference between it and the embryos of other fishes in the position of the yolk is due in the main to the fact that the postanal portion of the tail is late in developing, and always small. as the embryo grows longer it becomes spirally coiled within the egg-shell. before hatching the mesoblastic somites become distinctly marked (c). the hatching takes place at between - days after impregnation; the period varying according to the temperature. [fig. . four stages in the development of petromyzon. (after owsjannikoff.) _c._ cephalic extremity; _bl._ blastopore; _op._ optic vesicle; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _br.c._ branchial clefts.] during the above changes in the external form of the embryo, the development of the various organs makes great progress. this is especially the case in the head. the brain becomes distinct from the spinal cord, and the auditory sacks and the optic vesicles of the eye become formed. the branchial region of the mesenteron becomes established, and causes a dilatation of the anterior part of the body, and the branchial pouches grow out from the throat. the anus becomes formed, and a neurenteric canal is also established (scott). the nature of these and other changes will best be understood by a description of the structure of the just-hatched larva. the general appearance of the larva immediately after hatching is shewn in fig. , d. the body is somewhat curved; the posterior extremity being much dilated with yolk, while the anterior is very thin. all the cells still contain yolk particles, which render the embryo very opaque. the larva only exhibits slow movements, and is not capable of swimming about. the structure of the head is shewn in figs. and . fig. is a section through a very young larva, while fig. is taken from a larva three days after hatching, and shews the parts with considerably greater detail. [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section of a just-hatched larva of petromyzon. (from gegenbaur; after calberla.) _o._ mouth; _o´._ olfactory pit; _v._ septum between stomodæum and mesenteron; _h._ thyroid involution; _n._ spinal cord; _ch._ notochord; _c._ heart; _a._ auditory vesicle.] on the ventral side of the head is placed the oral opening (fig. , _m_) leading into a large stomodæum which is still without a communication with the mesenteron. ventrally the stomodæum is prolonged for a considerable distance under the anterior part of the mesenteron. immediately behind the stomodæum is placed the branchial region of the mesenteron. laterally it is produced on each side into seven or perhaps eight branchial pouches (fig. , _br.c_), which extend outwards nearly to the skin but are not yet open. between the successive pouches are placed mesoblastic segments, of the same nature and structure as the walls of the head cavities in the embryos of elasmobranchs, and like them enclosing a central cavity. a similar structure is placed behind the last, and two similar structures in front of the first persistent pouch. this pouch is situated in the same vertical line as the auditory sack (_au.v_), and would appear therefore to be the hyobranchial cleft; and this identification is confirmed by the fact of two head cavities being present in front of it. at the front end of the branchial region of the mesenteron is placed a thickened ridge of tissue, which, on the opening of the passage between the stomodæum and the mesenteron, forms a partial septum between the two, and is known as the velum (fig. , _tv_). [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section through the head of a larva of petromyzon. the larva had been hatched three days, and was . mm. in length. the optic and auditory vesicles are supposed to be seen through the tissues. the letter _tv_ pointing to the base of the velum is where scott believes the hyomandibular cleft to be situated. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _th._ optic thalamus; _in._ infundibulum; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _md._ medulla oblongata; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _op._ optic vesicle; _ol._ olfactory pit; _m._ mouth; _br.c._ branchial pouches; _th._ thyroid involution; _v.ao._ ventral aorta; _ht._ ventricle of heart; _ch._ notochord.] according to scott (no. ) a hyomandibular pouch forming the eighth pouch is formed in front of the pouch already defined as the hyobranchial. it disappears early and does not acquire gill folds[ ]. the tissue forming the line of insertion of the velum appears to me to represent the mandibular arch. the grounds for this view are the following: ( ) the structure in question has _exactly_ the position usually occupied by the mandibular arch. ( ) there is present in late larvæ (about days after hatching) an arterial vessel, continued from the ventral prolongation of the bulbus arteriosus along the insertion of the velum towards the dorsal aorta, which has the relations of a true branchial artery. [ ] scott informs me that he has been unable to find the hyomandibular pouch in larvæ larger than . mm. my material of the stages when it should be present is somewhat scanty, but i have as yet, very likely owing to the imperfection of my material, been unable to find scott's hyomandibular pouch either in my sections or surface-views. huxley describes this pouch as present in the form of a cleft in later stages; i have failed to find his cleft also. the vessel interpreted below as the branchial artery of the mandibular arch was only imperfectly investigated by me, and i was not sure of my interpretations about it. scott however informs me by letter that it is undoubtedly present. on the ventral aspect of the branchial region is placed a sack (figs. , _h_, and , _th_), which extends from the front end of the branchial region to the fourth cleft. at first it constitutes a groove opening into the throat above (fig. ), but soon the opening becomes narrowed to a pore placed between the second and third of the _permanent_ branchial pouches (fig. , _th_). in ammocoetes[ ] the simple tube becomes divided, and assumes a very complicated form, though still retaining its opening into the branchial region of the throat. in the adult it forms a glandular mass underneath the branchial region of the throat equivalent to the thyroid gland of higher vertebrates. [ ] schneider (no. ) states that in the full-grown ammocoetes the opening is situated between the third and fourth pouches. this is certainly not true for the young larva. on the ventral aspect of the head, and immediately in front of the mouth, is placed the olfactory pit (fig. , _ol_). it is from the first _unpaired_, and in just-hatched larvæ simply forms a shallow groove of thickened epiblast at the base of the front of the brain. by the stage represented in fig. the ventral part of the original groove is prolonged into a pit, extending backwards beneath the brain nearly up to the infundibulum. [fig. . diagrammatic transverse sections through the branchial region of a young larva of petromyzon. (from gegenbaur; after calberla.) _d._ branchial region of throat.] on the side of the head, nearly on a level with the front end of the notochord, is placed the eye (fig. , _op_). it is constituted (figs. and ) of a very shallow optic cup with a thick outer (retinal) layer, and a thin inner choroid layer. in contact with the retinal layer is placed the lens. the latter is formed as an invagination of the skin; to which it is still attached in the just-hatched larva (fig. ). the eye only differs at this stage from that of other vertebrata in its extraordinarily small size, and the rudimentary character of its constituent parts. the auditory sack is a large vesicle (fig. , _au.v._), placed at the side of the brain opposite the first persistent branchial pouch. the brain is formed of the usual vertebrate parts[ ], but is characterized by the very slight cranial flexure. the fore-brain consists (fig. ) of a thalamencephalon (_th_) and an undivided cerebral rudiment (_ch_). to the roof of the thalamencephalon is attached a flattened sack (_pn_) which is probably the pineal gland. the floor is prolonged into an infundibulum (_in_) which contains a prolongation of the third ventricle. the lateral walls of the cerebral rudiment are much thickened. [ ] max schultze's statements as to the structure and histology of the brain are very inadequate in the present state of our knowledge. behind the thalamencephalon follows the mid-brain (_mb_), the sides of which form the optic lobes, and behind this again the hind-brain (_md_); the front border of the roof of which is thickened to form the cerebellum (_cb_). the medulla passes without any marked line of demarcation into the spinal cord. [fig. . horizontal section through the head of a just-hatched larva of petromyzon shewing the development of the lens of the eye. _th.c._ thalamencephalon; _op.v._ optic vesicle; _l._ lens of eye; _h.c._ head cavity.] the histological differentiation of the brain has already proceeded to some extent; and it has in the main the same character as the spinal cord. before the larva has been hatched very long a lateral investment of white matter is present throughout. the notochord (_ch_) is continued forwards in the head to the hinder border of the infundibulum. it is slightly flexed anteriorly. from the hinder border of the auditory region to the end of the branchial region the mesoblast is dorsally divided into myotomes, which nearly, though not quite, correspond in number with the branchial pouches. the growth of the myotomes would seem, as might be anticipated from their independent innervation, not to be related to that of the branchial pouches, so that there is a want of correspondence between these parts, the extent of which varies at different periods of life. the relation between the two in an old larva is shewn in fig. . [fig. . eye of a larva of petromyzon nine days after hatching. _l._ lens; _r._ retina. the section passes through one side of the lens.] the head of the larva of petromyzon differs very strikingly in general appearance from that of the normal vertebrata. this is at once shewn by a comparison of fig. with fig. . the most important difference between the two is due to the absence of a pronounced cranial flexure in petromyzon; an absence which is in its turn probably caused by the small development of the fore-brain. the stomodæum of petromyzon is surprisingly large, and its size and structure in this type militate against the view of some embryologists that the stomodæum originated from the coalescence of a pair of branchial pouches. in the region of the trunk there is present an uninterrupted dorsal fin continuous with a ventral fin round the end of the tail. there is a well-developed body cavity, which is especially dilated in front, in the part which afterwards becomes the pericardium. in this region is placed the nearly straight heart, divided into an auricle and ventricle (figs. and ), the latter continued forwards into a bulbus arteriosus. the myotomes are now very numerous (about , including those of the head, in a three days' larva). they are separated by septa, but do not fill up the whole space between the septa, and have a peculiar wavy outline. the notochord is provided with a distinct sheath, and below it is placed a subnotochordal rod. the alimentary canal consists of a narrow anterior section free from yolk, and a posterior region, the walls of which are largely swollen with yolk. the anterior section corresponds to the region of the oesophagus and stomach, but exhibits no distinction of parts. immediately behind this point the alimentary canal dilates considerably, and on the ventral side is placed the opening of a single large sack, which forms the commencement of the liver. the walls of the hepatic sack are posteriorly united to the yolk-cells. at the region where the hepatic sack opens into the alimentary tract the latter dilates considerably. the posterior part of the alimentary tract still constitutes a kind of yolk-sack, the ventral wall being enormously thick and formed of several layers of yolk-cells. the dorsal wall is very thin. the excretory system is composed of two segmental ducts, each connected in front with a well-developed pronephros (head-kidney), with about five ciliated funnels opening into the pericardial region of the body cavity. the segmental ducts in the larvæ open behind into the cloacal section of the alimentary tract. [fig. . head of a larva of petromyzon six weeks old. (altered from max schultze.) _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _op._ optic vesicle; _ol._ olfactory pit; _ul._ upper lip; _ll._ lower lip; _or.p._ papillæ at side of mouth; _v._ velum; _br.s._ extra branchial skeleton; - . branchial clefts.] the development of the larva takes place with considerable rapidity. the yolk becomes absorbed and the larva becomes accordingly more transparent. it generally lies upon its side, and resembles in general appearance and habit a minute amphioxus. it is soon able to swim with vigour, but usually, unless disturbed, is during the day quite quiescent, and chooses by preference the darkest situations. it soon straightens out, and, with the disappearance of the yolk, the tail becomes narrower than the head. a large caudal fin becomes developed. when the larva is about twenty days old, it bears in most anatomical features a close resemblance to an ammocoetes; though the histological differences between my oldest larva ( days) and even very young ammocoetes are considerable. the mouth undergoes important changes. the upper lip becomes much more prominent, forming of itself the anterior end of the body (fig. , _ul_). the opening of the nasal pit is in this way relatively thrown back, and at the same time is caused to assume _a dorsal position_. this will be at once understood by a comparison of fig. with fig. . on the inner side of the oral cavity a ring of papillæ is formed (fig. , _or.p_). dorsally these papillæ are continued forward as a linear streak on the under side of the upper lip. a communication between the oral cavity and the branchial sack is very soon established. the gill pouches gradually become enlarged; but it is some time before their small external openings are established. their walls, which are entirely lined by hypoblast, become raised in folds, forming the branchial lamellæ. the walls of the head cavities between them become resolved into the contractors and dilators of the branchial sacks. the extra-branchial basketwork becomes established very early (it is present in the larva of millimetres, about days after hatching) and is shewn in an older larva in fig. , _br.s_. it is not so complicated in these young larvæ as in the ammocoetes, but in max schultze's figure, which i have reproduced, the dorsal elements of the system are omitted. on the dorsal wall of the branchial region a ciliated ridge is formed, which may be homologous with the ridge on the dorsal wall of the branchial sack of ascidians. it has been described by schneider in ammocoetes. with reference to the remainder of the alimentary canal there is but little to notice. the primitive hepatic diverticulum rapidly sprouts out and forms a tubular gland. the opening into the duodenum changes from a ventral to a lateral or even dorsal position. the duct leads into a gall-bladder imbedded in the substance of the liver. ventrally the liver is united with the abdominal wall, but laterally passages are left by which the pericardial and body cavities continue to communicate. the greater part of the yolk becomes employed in the formation of the intestinal wall. this part of the intestine in a nine days' larva ( mm.) has the form of a cylindrical tube with very thick columnar cells entirely filled with yolk particles. the dorsal wall is no longer appreciably thinner than the ventral. in the later stages the cells of this part of the intestine become gradually less columnar as the yolk is absorbed. the fate of the yolk-cells in the lamprey is different from that in most other vertebrata with an equally large amount of yolk. they no doubt supply nutriment for the growth of the embryo, and although in the anterior part of the intestine they become to some extent enclosed in the alimentary tract and break up, yet in the posterior part they become wholly transformed into the regular epithelium of the intestine. on the ninth day a slight fold filled with mesoblastic tissue is visible on the dorsal wall of the intestine. this fold appears to travel towards the ventral side; at any rate a similar but better-marked fold is visible in a ventro-lateral position at a slightly later period. this fold is the commencement of the fold which in the adult makes a half spiral, and is no doubt equivalent to the spiral valve of elasmobranchs and ganoids. it contains a prolongation of the coeliac artery, which constitutes at first the vitelline artery. the nervous system does not undergo during the early larval period changes which require a description. the opening of the olfactory sack becomes narrowed and ciliated (fig. , _ol_). it is carried by the process already mentioned to the dorsal surface of the head. the lumen of the sack is well developed; and lies in contact with the base of the fore part of the brain. the vascular system presents no very remarkable features. the heart is two-chambered and straight. the ventricle is continued forwards as a bulbus arteriosus, which divides into two arteries at the thyroid body. from the bulbus and its continuations eight branches are given off to the gills; and, as mentioned above, a vessel, probably of the same nature, is given off in the region of the velum. the blood from the branchial sacks is collected into the dorsal aorta. some of it is transmitted to the head, but the greater part flows backwards under the notochord. the venous system consists of the usual anterior and posterior cardinal veins which unite on each side into a ductus cuvieri, and of a great subintestinal vessel of the same nature as that in embryo elasmobranchs, which persists however in the adult. it breaks up into capillaries in the liver, and constitutes therefore the portal vein. from the liver the blood is brought by the hepatic vein into the sinus venosus. in addition to these vessels there is a remarkable unpaired sub-branchial vein, which brings back the blood directly to the heart from the ventral part of the branchial region. metamorphosis. the larva just described does not grow directly into the adult, but first becomes a larval form, known as ammocoetes, which was supposed to be a distinct species till aug. müller (no. ) made the brilliant discovery of its nature. the ammocoetes does not differ to any marked extent from the larva just described. the histological elements become more differentiated, and a few organs reach a fuller development. the branchial skeleton becomes more developed, and capsules for the olfactory sack and auditory sacks are established. the olfactory sack is nearly divided into two by a ventral septum. the eye (fig. ) is much more fully developed, but lies a long way below the surface. the optic cup forms a deep pit, in the mouth of which is placed the lens. the retinal layers are well developed (cf. langerhans), and the outer layer of the optic cup or layer of retinal pigment (_rp_) contains numerous pigment granules, especially on its dorsal side. at the edge of the optic cup the two layers fall into each other. they constitute the commencement of the pigment layer of the iris; but at this stage they are not pigmented. the mesoblast of the iris is hardly differentiated. the lens (_l_) has the normal structure of the embryonic lens of vertebrata. the inner wall is thick and doubly convex, while the outer wall, which will form the anterior epithelium, is very thin. there is a large space between the lens and the retina containing the vitreous humour (_v.h_). there is no aqueous humour, and the tissues in front of the lens bear but little resemblance to those in higher vertebrata. the cornea is represented by ( ) the epidermis (_ep_); ( ) the dermis (_d.c_); ( ) the subdermal connective tissue (_s.d.c_) which passes without any sharp line of demarcation into the dermis; ( ) a thick membrane continuous with the choroid which represents descemet's membrane. the subdermal connective tissue is continued as an investment round the whole eye. there is no specially differentiated sclerotic, and a choroid is only imperfectly indicated[ ]. the peculiar features of the eye of the young larva of the ammocoetes are probably due to degeneration. [ ] langerhans _loc. cit._ describes the eye of the ammocoetes in some respects very differently from the above. very probably his description applies to an older ammocoetes. the most important points of difference appear to be ( ) that the vitreous humour is all but obliterated; ( ) that the iris is much better developed. [fig. . eye of an ammocoetes lying beneath the skin. _ep._ epidermis; _d.c._ dermal connective tissue continuous with the subdermal connective tissue (_s.d.c_), which is also shaded. there is no definite boundary to this tissue where it surrounds the eye. _m._ muscles; _dm._ membrane of descemet; _l._ lens; _v.h._ vitreous humour; _r._ retina; _rp._ retinal pigment.] in the brain the two cerebral hemispheres lie one on each side of the anterior end of the thalamencephalon. there are well-defined olfactory lobes, and two distinct olfactory nerves are present. the excretory system has undergone great changes. a series of segmental tubes, which first appear in a larva of about mm., becomes established behind the pronephros, and in an ammocoetes of mm. the pronephros has begun to atrophy. the generative organs are formed in a larva of about mm. shortly before the metamorphosis the portion of the cloaca into which the segmental tubes open becomes separated off as a distinct urinogenital sinus, the walls of which become perforated by the two abdominal pores. the ammocoetes of petromyzon planeri lives in the mud in streams. without undergoing any marked changes in structure it gradually grows larger, and after three or four years undergoes a metamorphosis. the full-grown larva may be as large or even larger than the adult. the metamorphosis takes place from august till january. the breeding season sets in during the second half of april; and shortly after depositing its generative products the lamprey dies. the changes which take place in the metamorphosis are of a most striking kind. the dome-shaped mouth of the larva is replaced (fig. ) by a more definitely suctorial mouth with horny cuticular teeth (fig. ). the eyes appear on the surface; and the dorsal fin becomes more prominent, and is divided into two parts. [fig. . mouth of petromyzon marinus with its horny teeth. (from gegenbaur; after heckel and kner.)] besides these obvious external changes very great modifications are effected in almost all the organs, which may be very briefly enumerated. . very profound changes take place in the skeleton. an elaborate system of cartilages is developed in connection with the mouth; the cranium itself undergoes important modifications; and neural arches become formed. . considerable changes are effected in the gill pouches, and, according to schneider, whose statements must however be received with some caution, the branchial sack becomes detached posteriorly from the oesophagus, the oesophagus then sends forwards a prolongation above the branchial sack which is at first solid. this prolongation forms the anterior part of the oesophagus of the adult, and joins the primitive oral cavity at the velum. the so-called bronchus of the adult is thus the whole branchial region of the ammocoetes, and the anterior part of the oesophagus of the adult is an entirely new formation. . the posterior part of the alimentary tract of the ammocoetes undergoes partial atrophy. the gall-bladder of the liver is absorbed; and the liver itself ceases to communicate with the intestine. . the eye undergoes important changes in that it travels to the surface, and acquires all the characters of the normal vertebrate eye. . the brain becomes relatively larger but more compact, and the optic lobes (corpora bigemina) become more distinct. . the pericardial cavity becomes completely separated from the body cavity, and a distinct pericardium is formed. . the mesonephros of the larva disappears, and a fresh posterior part is formed. myxine. the ovum of myxine when ready to be laid is inclosed, as shewn by allen thomson[ ], in an oval horny shell in many respects similar to that of elasmobranchii; from its ends there project a number of trumpet-shaped tubular processes, which no doubt serve to attach it to marine objects. no observations have been made on the development. [ ] _cyclopædia of anat. and phys._ article 'ovum.' bibliography. ( ) e. calberla. "der befruchtungsvorgang beim petromyzon planeri." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxx. . ( ) e. calberla. "ueb. d. entwicklung d. medullarrohres u. d. chorda dorsalis d. teleostier u. d. petromyzonten." _morpholog. jahrbuch_, vol. iii. . ( ) c. kupffer u. b. benecke. _der vorgang d. befruchtung am ei d. neunaugen._ königsberg, . ( ) aug. müller. "ueber die entwicklung d. neunaugen." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) aug. müller. _beobachtungen üb. d. befruchtungserscheinungen im ei d. neunaugen._ königsberg, . ( ) w. müller. "das urogenitalsystem d. amphioxus u. d. cyclostomen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . ( ) ph. owsjannikoff. "die entwick. von d. flussneunaugen." vorläuf. mittheilung. _mélanges biologiques tirés du bulletin de l'acad. imp. st pétersbourg_, vol. vii. . ( ) ph. owsjannikoff. _on the development of petromyzon fluviatilis_ (russian). ( ) anton schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ quarto. berlin, . ( ) m. s. schultze. "die entwickl. v. petromyzon planeri." gekrönte preisschrift. haarlem, . ( ) w. b. scott. "vorläufige mittheilung üb. d. entwicklungsgeschichte d. petromyzonten." _zoologischer anzeiger_, nos. and . iii. jahrg. . chapter vi. ganoidei[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the ganoidei is employed in the present chapter: i. selachoidei. {acipenseridæ. {polyodontidæ. {polypteridæ. ii. teleostoidei. {amiidæ. {lepidosteidæ. it is only within quite recent times that any investigations have been made on the embryology of this heterogeneous, but primitive group of fishes. much still remains to be done, but we now know the main outlines of the development of acipenser and lepidosteus, which are representatives of the two important subdivisions of the ganoids. both types have a complete segmentation, but lepidosteus presents in its development some striking approximations to the teleostei. i have placed at the end of the chapter a few remarks with reference to the affinities indicated by the embryology. acipenser[ ]. [ ] our knowledge of the development of acipenser is in the main derived from salensky's valuable observations. his full memoir is unfortunately published in russian, and i have been obliged to satisfy myself with the abstract (no. ), and with what could be gathered from his plates. prof. salensky very kindly supplied me with some embryos; and i have therefore been able to some extent to work over the subject myself. this is more especially true for the stages after hatching. the embryos of the earlier stages were not sufficiently well preserved for me to observe more than the external features and a few points with reference to the formation of the layers. the freshly laid ovum is mm. in diameter and is invested by a two-layered shell, covered by a cellular layer derived from the follicle[ ]. the segmentation, though complete, approaches the meroblastic type more nearly than the segmentation of the frog's egg. the first furrow appears at the formative pole, at which the germinal vesicle was situated. the earlier phases of the segmentation are like those of meroblastic ova, in that the furrows only penetrate for a certain distance into the egg. eight vertical furrows appear before the first equatorial furrow; which is somewhat irregular, and situated close to the formative pole. [ ] seven micropylar apertures, six of which form a circle round the seventh, are stated by kowalevsky, wagner, and owsjannikoff (no. ) to be present at one of the poles of the inner egg membrane. they are stated by salensky to vary in number from five to thirteen. in the later stages the vertical furrows extend through the whole egg, and a segmentation cavity appears between the small and the large spheres. the segmentation is thus in the main similar to that of a frog, from which it diverges in the fact that there is a greater difference in size between the small and the large segments. [fig. . embryos of acipenser viewed from the dorsal surface. (after salensky.) a. stage before the appearance of the mesoblastic somites. b. stage with five somites. _mg._ medullary groove; _bl.p._ blastopore; _s.d._ segmental duct; _fb._ fore-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _m.s._ mesoblastic somite.] in the final stages of the segmentation the cells become distinctly divided into two layers. a layer of small cells is placed at the formative pole, and constitutes the epiblast. the cells composing it are divided, like those of teleostei, etc., into a superficial epidermic and a deeper nervous layer. the remaining cells constitute the primitive hypoblast (the eventual hypoblast and mesoblast); they form a great mass of yolk-cells at the lower pole, and also spread along the roof of the segmentation cavity, on the inner side of the epiblast. a process of unsymmetrical invagination now takes place, which is in its essential features exactly similar to that in the frog or the lamprey, and i must refer the reader for the details of the process to the chapter on the amphibia. the edge of the cap of epiblast forms an equatorial line. for the greater extent of this line the epiblast cells grow over the hypoblast, as in an epibolic gastrula, but for a small arc they are inflected. at the inflected edge an invagination of cells takes place, underneath the epiblast, towards the segmentation cavity, and gives rise to the dorsal wall of the mesenteron and the main part of the dorsal mesoblast. the slit below the invaginated layer gradually dilates to form the alimentary cavity; the ventral wall of which is at first formed of yolk-cells. the epiblast along the line of the invaginated cells soon becomes thickened, and forms a medullary plate, which is not very distinct in surface views. the cephalic extremity of this plate, which is furthest removed from the edge, dilates, and the medullary plate then assumes a spatula form (fig. a, _mg_). by the continued extension of the epiblast the uncovered part of the hypoblast has in the meantime become reduced to a small circular pore--the blastopore--and in surface views of the embryo has the form represented in fig. a, _bl.p_. the invagination of the mesenteron has in the meantime extended very far forwards, and the segmentation cavity has become obliterated. the lip of the blastopore has moreover become inflected for its whole circumference. the invaginated cells forming the dorsal wall of the mesenteron soon become divided into a pigmented hypoblastic epithelium adjoining the lumen of the mesenteron (fig. , _en_) and a mesoblastic layer (_sgp_), between the hypoblast and the epiblast. the mesoblast is divided into two plates, between which is placed the notochord[ ] (_ch_). [ ] salensky believes that the notochord is derived from the mesoblast. i could not satisfy myself on this point. with the completion of the medullary plate and the germinal layers, the first embryonic period may be considered to come to a close. the second period ends with the hatching of the embryo. during it the rudiments of the greater number of organs make their appearance. the general form of the embryo during this period is shewn in figs. b and a and b. one of the first changes to take place is the conversion of the medullary plate into the medullary canal. this, as shewn in fig. , is effected in the usual vertebrate fashion, by the establishment of a medullary groove which is then converted into a closed canal by the folding over of the sides. the uncovered patch of yolk in the blastoporic area soon becomes closed over; and on the formation of the medullary canal the usual neurenteric canal becomes established. [fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of an acipenser embryo. (after salensky.) _rf._ medullary groove; _mp._ medullary plate; _wg._ segmental duct; _ch._ notochord; _en._ hypoblast; _sgp._ mesoblastic somite; _sp._ parietal part of mesoblastic plate.] the further changes which take place are in the main similar to those in other ichthyopsida, but in some ways the appearance of the embryo is, as may be gathered from fig. , rather strange. this is mainly due to the fact that the embryo does not become folded off from the yolk in the manner usual in vertebrates; and as will be shewn in the sequel, the relation of the yolk to the embryo is unlike that in any other known vertebrate. the appearance of the embryo is something like that of an ordinary embryo slit open along the ventral side and then flattened out. organs which properly belong to the ventral side appear on the lateral parts of the dorsal surface. owing to the great forward extension of the yolk the heart (fig. b) appears to be placed directly in front of the head. even before the formation of the medullary canal the cephalic portion of the nervous system becomes marked out. this part, after the closure of the medullary groove, becomes divided into two (fig. b), and then three lobes--the fore-, the mid-, and the hind-brain (fig. , a and b). from the lateral parts of the at first undivided fore-brain the optic vesicles (fig. b, _op_) soon sprout out; and in the hind-brain a dilatation to form the fourth ventricle appears in the usual fashion. [fig. . embryos of acipenser belonging to two stages viewed from the dorsal surface. (after salensky.) _fb._ fore-brain; _mb._ mid-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _cp._ cephalic plate; _op._ optic vesicle; _auv._ auditory vesicle; _olp._ olfactory pit; _ht._ heart; _md._ mandibular arch; _ha._ hyoid arch; _br´._ first branchial arch; _sd._ segmental duct.] the epiblast at the sides of the brain constitutes a more or less well-defined structure, which may be spoken of as a cephalic plate (fig. a, _cp_). from this plate are formed the essential parts of the organs of special sense. anteriorly the olfactory pits arise (fig. b, _olp_) as invaginations of both layers of the epiblast. the lens of the eye is formed as an ingrowth of the nervous layer only, and opposite the hind-brain the auditory sack (fig. a and b, _auv_) is similarly formed from the nervous layer of the epiblast. at the sides of the cephalic plate the visceral arches make their appearance; and in fig. a and b there are shewn the mandibular (_md_), hyoid (_ha_) and first branchial (_br´_) arches, with the hyomandibular (spiracle) and hyobranchial clefts between them. they constitute peculiar concentric circles round the cephalic plate; their shape being due to the flattened form of the embryo, already alluded to. while the above structures are being formed in the head the changes in the trunk have also been considerable. the mesoblastic plates at the junction of the head and trunk become very early segmented, the segments being formed from before backwards (fig. b). with their formation the trunk rapidly increases in length. at their outer border the segmental duct (fig. b, and fig. a, _sd_) is very early established. it is formed, as in elasmobranchs, as a solid outgrowth of the mesoblast (fig. , _wg_); but its anterior extremity becomes converted into a pronephros (fig. , _pr.n_). before hatching, the embryo has to a small extent become folded off from the yolk both anteriorly and posteriorly; and has also become to some extent vertically compressed. as a result of these changes, the general form of its body becomes much more like that of an ordinary teleostean embryo. the general features of the larva after hatching are illustrated by figs. , and . fig. represents a larva of about mm. and fig. a lateral and fig. a ventral view of the head of a larva of about mm. [fig. . larva of acipenser of mm., shortly after hatching. _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ optic vesicle; _sp._ spiracle; _br.c._ branchial clefts; _an._ anus.] there are only a few points which call for special attention in the general form of the body. in the youngest larva figured the ventral part of the hyomandibular cleft is already closed: the dorsal part of the cleft is destined to form the spiracle (_sp_). the arch behind is the hyoid: on its posterior border is a membranous outgrowth, which will develop into the operculum. in older larvæ, a very rudimentary gill appears to be developed on the front walls of the spiracular cleft (parker), but i have not succeeded in satisfying myself about its presence; and rows of gill papillæ appear on the hyoid and the true branchial arches (figs. and , _g_). the biserially-arranged gill papillæ of the true branchial arches are of considerable length, and are not at first covered by the operculum; but they do not form elongated thread-like external gills similar to those of the elasmobranchii. the oral cavity is placed on the ventral side of the head; it has at first a more or less rhomboidal form. it soon however (fig. ) becomes narrowed to a slit with projecting lips, and eventually becomes converted into the suctorial mouth of the adult. the most remarkable feature connected with the mouth is the development of provisional teeth (fig. ) on both jaws. these teeth were first discovered by knock (no. ). they do not appear to be calcified, and might be supposed to be of the same nature as the horny teeth of the lamprey. they are however developed like true teeth, as a deposit between a papilla of subepidermic tissue and an epidermic cap. the substance of which they are formed corresponds morphologically to the enamel of ordinary teeth. as they grow they pierce the epidermis, and form hollow spine-like structures with a central axis filled with subepidermic (mesoblastic) cells. they disappear after the third month of larval life. in front of the mouth two pairs of papillæ grow out, which appear to be of the same nature as the papillæ on the suctorial disc in the embryo of lepidosteus (_vide_ p. ). they are very short in the embryo represented in fig. ; soon however they grow in length (figs. and , _st_); and it is probable that they become the barbels, since these occupy a precisely similar position[ ]. [ ] if these identifications are correct the barbels of fishes must be phylogenetically derived from the papillæ of a suctorial disc adjoining the mouth. [fig. . side view of a larva of acipenser of millimetres. _op._ eye; _ol._ olfactory pit; _st._ suctorial (?) processes; _m._ mouth; _sp._ spiracle; _g._ gills.] the openings of the nasal pits are at first single; but the opening of each becomes gradually divided into two by the growth of a flap on the outer side (fig. , _ol_). it is probable that this flap is equivalent to the fold of the superior maxillary process of the amniota, which by its growth roofs over the open groove which originally leads from the external to the internal nares; so that the two openings of each nasal sack, so established in these and in other fishes, correspond to the external and internal nares of higher vertebrata. [fig. . ventral view of a larva of acipenser of millimetres. _m._ mouth; _st._ suctorial (?) processes; _op._ eye; _g._ gills.] at the time of hatching there is a continuous dorso-ventral fin, which, by atrophy in some parts, and hypertrophy in other parts, gives rise to all the unpaired fins of the adult, except the first dorsal and the abdominal. the caudal part of the fin is at first symmetrical, and the heterocercal tail is produced by the special growth of the ventral part of the fin. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the anterior part of the trunk of a larva of acipenser to shew the position occupied by the yolk. _in._ intestine; _st._ stomach filled with yolk; _oes._ oesophagus; _l._ liver; _ht._ heart; _ch._ notochord; _sp.c._ spinal cord.] of the internal features of development in the sturgeon the most important concern the relation of the yolk to the alimentary tract. in most vertebrata the yolk-cells form a protuberance of the part of the alimentary canal, immediately behind the duodenum. the yolk may either, as in the lamprey or frog, form a simple thickening of the alimentary wall in this region, or it may constitute a well-developed yolk-sack as in elasmobranchii and the amniota. in either case the liver is placed in front of the yolk. in the sturgeon on the contrary the yolk is placed almost entirely in front of the liver, and the sturgeon appears to be also peculiar in that the yolk, instead of constituting an appendage of the alimentary tract, is completely enclosed in a dilated portion of the tract which becomes the stomach (figs. and ). it dilates this portion to such extent that it might be supposed to form a true external yolk-sack. in the stages before hatching the glandular hypoblast, which was established on the dorsal side of the primitive mesenteron, envelops the yolk-cells, which fuse together into a yolk-mass, and lose all trace of their original cellular structure. the peculiar flattening out of the embryo over the yolk (_vide_ p. ) is no doubt connected with the mode in which the yolk becomes enveloped by the hypoblast. [fig. . transverse section through the region of the stomach of a larva of acipenser mm. in length. _st._ epithelium of stomach; _yk._ yolk; _ch._ notochord, below which is a subnotochordal rod; _pr.n._ pronephros; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate formed of large cells, the outer parts of which are differentiated into contractile fibres; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _b.c._ body cavity.] as the posterior part of the trunk, containing the intestine, becomes formed, the yolk is gradually confined to the anterior part of the alimentary tract, which, as before stated, becomes the stomach. the epithelial cells of the stomach, as well as those of the intestine, are enormously dilated with food-yolk (fig. , _st_). behind the stomach is formed the liver. the subintestinal vein bringing back the blood to the liver appears to have the same course as in teleostei, in that the blood, after passing through the liver, is distributed to the walls of the stomach and is again collected into a venous trunk which falls into the sinus venosus. as the yolk becomes absorbed, the liver grows forwards underneath the stomach till it comes in close contact with the heart. the relative position of the parts at this stage is shewn diagrammatically in fig. . at the commencement of the intestine there arises in the larva of about mm. a great number of diverticula, which are destined to form the compact glandular organ, which opens at this spot in the adult. at this stage there is also a fairly well developed pancreas opening into the duodenum at the same level as the liver. no trace of the air-bladder was present at the stage in question. the spiral valve is formed, as in elasmobranchii, as a simple fold in the wall of the intestine. there is a well developed subnotochordal rod (fig. ) which, according to salensky, becomes the subvertebral ligament of the adult; a statement which confirms an earlier suggestion of bridge. the pronephros (head-kidney) resembles in the main that of teleostei (fig. ); while the front end of the mesonephros, which is developed considerably later than the pronephros, is placed some way behind it. in my oldest larva ( mm.) the mesonephros did not extend backwards into the posterior part of the abdominal cavity. bibliography. ( ) knock. "die beschr. d. reise z. wolga behufs d. sterlettbefruchtung." _bull. soc. nat._ moscow, . ( ) a. kowalevsky, ph. owsjannikoff, and n. wagner. "die entwick. d. störe." vorläuf. mittheilung. _mélanges biologiques tirés du bulletin d. l'acad. imp. st pétersbourg_, vol. vii. . ( ) w. salensky. "development of the sterlet (acipenser ruthenus)." parts. _proceedings of the society of naturalists in the imperial university of kasan._ and (russian). part i., abstracted in hoffmann and schwalbe's _jahresbericht_ for . ( ) w. salensky. "zur embryologie d. ganoiden (acipenser)." _zoologischer anzeiger_, vol. i., nos. , , . lepidosteus[ ]. [ ] alexander agassiz was fortunate enough to succeed in procuring and rearing a batch of eggs of this interesting form. he has given an adequate account of the external characters of the post-embryonic stages, and very liberally placed his preserved material of the stages both before and after hatching at prof. w. k. parker's and my disposal. the account of the stages prior to hatching is the result of investigations carried on by professor parker's son, mr w. n. parker, and myself on the material supplied to us by agassiz. this material was not very satisfactorily preserved, but i trust that our results are not without some interest. the ova of lepidosteus are spherical bodies of about mm. in diameter. they are invested by a tough double membrane, composed of ( ) an outer layer of somewhat pyriform bodies, radiately arranged, which appear to be the remains of the follicular cells; and ( ) of an inner zona radiata, the outer part of which is radiately striated, while the inner part is homogeneous. [fig. . surface view of the ovum of lepidosteus with the membranes removed on the third day after impregnation.] the segmentation, as in the sturgeon, is complete, but approaches closely the meroblastic type. it commences with a vertical furrow at the animal pole, extending through about one-fifth of the circumference. before this furrow has proceeded further a second furrow is formed at right angles to it. the next stages have not been observed, but on the third day after impregnation (fig. ), the animal pole is completely divided into small segments, which form a disc similar to the blastoderm of meroblastic ova; while the vegetative pole, which subsequently forms a large yolk-sack, is divided by a few vertical furrows, four of which nearly meet at the pole opposite the blastoderm. the majority of the vertical furrows extend only a short way from the edge of the small spheres, and are partially intercepted by imperfect equatorial furrows. the stages immediately following the segmentation are still unknown, and in the next stage satisfactorily observed, on the fifth day after impregnation, the body of the embryo is distinctly differentiated. the lower pole of the ovum is then formed of a mass in which no traces of segments or segmentation furrows can be detected. the embryo (fig. ) has a dumbbell-shaped outline, and is composed of ( ) an outer area, with some resemblance to the area pellucida of an avian embryo, forming the lateral part of the body; and ( ) a central portion consisting of the vertebral plates and medullary plate. the medullary plate is dilated in front to form the brain (_br_). two lateral swellings in the brain are the commencing optic vesicles. the caudal extremity of the embryo is somewhat swollen. [fig. . surface view of a lepidosteus embryo on the fifth day after impregnation. _br._ dilated extremity of medullary plate which forms the rudiment of the brain.] sections of this stage (fig. ) are interesting as shewing a remarkable resemblance between lepidosteus and teleostei. the three layers are fully established. the epiblast (_ep_) is formed of a thicker inner nervous stratum, and an outer flattened epidermic stratum. along the axial line there is a solid keel-like thickening of the nervous layer of the epidermis, which projects towards the hypoblast. this thickening (_mc_) is the medullary cord; and there is no evidence of the epidermic layer being at this or any subsequent period concerned in its formation (_vide_ chapter on teleostei, p. ). in the region of the brain the medullary cord is so thick that it gives rise, as in teleostei, to a projection of the whole body of the embryo towards the yolk. posteriorly it is flatter. the mesoblast (_me_) in the trunk has the form of two plates, which thin out laterally. the hypoblast (_hy_) is a single layer of cells, and is nowhere folded in to form a closed alimentary canal. the hypoblast is separated from the neural cord by the notochord (_ch_), which throughout the greater part of the embryo is a distinct structure. [fig. . section through an embryo of lepidosteus on the fifth day after impregnation. _mc._ medullary cord; _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord.] in the region of the tail, the axial part of the hypoblast, the notochord, and the neural cord fuse together, the fused part so formed is the homologue of the neurenteric canal of other types. quite at the hinder end of the embryo the mesoblastic plates cease to be separable from the axial structures between them. in a somewhat later stage the embryo is considerably more elongated, embracing half the circumference of the ovum. the brain is divided into three distinct vesicles. anteriorly the neural cord has now become separated from the epidermis. the whole of the thickened nervous layer of the epiblast appears to remain united with the cerebrospinal cord, so that the latter organ is covered dorsally by the epidermic layer of the epiblast only. the nervous layer soon however grows in again from the two sides. where the neural cord is separated from the epidermis, it is already provided with a well-developed lumen. posteriorly it remains in its earlier condition. in the region of the hind-brain traces of the auditory vesicles are present in the form of slightly involuted thickenings of the nervous layer of the epidermis. [fig. . embryo of lepidosteus on the sixth day after impregnation. _op._ optic vesicles; _br.c._ branchial clefts (?); _s.d._ segmental duct. n.b. the branchial clefts and segmental duct are somewhat too prominent.] the mesoblast of the trunk is divided anteriorly into splanchnic and somatic layers. in the next stage, on the sixth day after impregnation (fig. ), there is a great advance in development. the embryo is considerably longer, and a great number of mesoblastic somites are visible. the body is now laterally compressed and raised from the yolk. the region of the head is more distinct, and laterally two streaks are visible (_br.c_), which, by comparison with the sturgeon, would seem to be the two first visceral clefts[ ]: they are not yet perforated. in the lateral regions of the trunk the two segmental ducts are visible in surface views (fig. , _sd_) occupying the same situation as in the sturgeon. their position in section is shewn in fig. , _sg_. [ ] i have as yet been unable to make out these structures in section. [fig. . section through the trunk of a lepidosteus embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. _mc._ medullary cord; _ms._ mesoblast; _sg._ segmental duct; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _hy._ hypoblast.] with reference to the features in development, visible in sections, a few points may be alluded to. the optic vesicles are very prominent outgrowths of the brain, but are still solid, though the anterior cerebral vesicle has a well-developed lumen. the auditory vesicles are now deep pits of the nervous layer of the epiblast, the openings of which are covered by the epidermic layer. they are shewn for a slightly later stage in fig. (_au.v_). there is now present a subnotochordal rod, which develops as in other types from a thickening of the hypoblast (fig. , _x_). [fig. . section through the head of a lepidosteus embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _ch._ notochord; _hy._ hypoblast.] in an embryo of the seventh day after impregnation, the features of the preceding stage become generally more pronounced. the optic vesicles are now provided with a lumen (fig. ), and have approached close to the epidermis. adjoining them a thickening (_l_) of _the nervous layer_ of the epidermis has appeared, which will form the lens. the cephalic extremity of the segmental duct, which, as shewn in fig. , is bent inwards towards the middle line, has now become slightly convoluted, and forms the rudiment of a pronephros (head-kidney). [fig. . section through the front part of the head of a lepidosteus embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. _al._ alimentary tract; _fb._ thalamencephalon; _l._ lens of eye; _op.v._ optic vesicle. the mesoblast is not represented.] during the next few days the folding off of the embryo from the yolk commences, and proceeds till the embryo acquires the form represented in fig. . both the head and tail are quite free from the yolk; and the embryo presents a general resemblance to that of a teleostean. on the ventral surface of the front of the head there is a disc (figs. , , _sd_), which is beset with a number of processes, formed as thickenings of the epiblast. as shewn by agassiz, these eventually become short suctorial papillæ[ ]. immediately behind this disc is placed a narrow depression which forms the rudiment of the mouth. [ ] these papillæ are very probably sensitive structures; but i have not yet investigated their histological characters. the olfactory pits are now developed, and are placed near the front of the head. a great advance has taken place in the development of the visceral clefts and arches. the oral region is bounded behind by a well-marked mandibular arch, which is separated by a shallow depression from a still more prominent hyoid arch (fig. , _hy_). between the hyoid and mandibular arches a double lamella of hypoblast, which represents the hyomandibular cleft, is continued from the throat to the external skin, but does not, at this stage at any rate, contain a lumen. the hyoid arch is prolonged backwards into a considerable opercular fold, which to a great extent overshadows the branchial clefts behind. the hyobranchial cleft is widely open. behind the hyobranchial cleft are four pouches of the throat on each side, not yet open to the exterior. they are the rudiments of the four branchial clefts of the adult. the trunk has the usual compressed piscine form, and there is a well-developed dorsal fin continuous round the end of the tail, with a ventral fin. there is no trace of the paired fins. the anterior and posterior portions of the alimentary tract are closed in, but the middle region is still open to the yolk. the circulation is now fully established, and the vessels present the usual vertebrate arrangement. there is a large subintestinal vein. [fig. . embryo of lepidosteus shortly before hatching. _ol._ olfactory pit; _sd._ suctorial disc; _hy._ hyoid arch.] the first of agassiz' embryos was hatched about ten days after impregnation. the young fish on hatching immediately used its suctorial disc to attach itself to the sides of the vessel in which it was placed. [fig. . ventral view of the head of a lepidosteus embryo shortly before hatching, to shew the large suctorial disc. _m._ mouth; _op._ eye; _s.d._ suctorial disc.] the general form of lepidosteus shortly after hatching is shewn in fig. . on the ventral part of the front of the head is placed the large suctorial disc. at the side of the head are seen the olfactory pit, the eye and the auditory vesicle; while the projecting vesicle of the mid-brain is very prominent above. behind the mouth follow the visceral arches. the mandibular arch (_md_) is placed on the hinder border of the mouth, and is separated by a deep groove from the hyoid arch (_hy_). this groove is connected with the hyomandibular cleft, but i have not determined whether it is now perforated. the posterior border of the hyoid arch is prolonged into an opercular fold. behind the hyoid arch are seen the true branchial arches. [fig. . larva of lepidosteus shortly after hatching. (after parker.) _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ optic vesicle; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _mb._ mid-brain; _sd._ suctorial disc; _md._ mandibular arch; _hy._ hyoid arch with operculum; _br._ branchial arches; _an._ anus.] there is still a continuous dorso-ventral fin, in which there are as yet no fin-rays, and the anterior paired fins are present. the yolk-sack is very large, but its communication with the alimentary canal is confined to a narrow vitelline duct, which opens into the commencement of the intestine _immediately behind_ the duct of the liver, which is now a compact gland. the yolk in lepidosteus thus behaves very differently from that in the sturgeon. in the first place it forms a special external yolk-sack, instead of an internal dilatation of part of the alimentary tract; and in the second place it is placed behind instead of in front of the liver. i failed to find any trace of a pancreas. there is however, _opening on the dorsal side of the throat_, a well-developed appendage continued backwards beyond the level of the commencement of the intestine. this appendage is no doubt the air-bladder. in the course of the further growth of the young lepidosteus, the yolk-sack is rapidly absorbed, and has all but disappeared after three weeks. a rich development of pigment early takes place; and the pigment is specially deposited on the parts of the embryonic fin which will develop into the permanent fins. the notochord in the tail bends slightly upwards, and by the special development of a caudal lobe an externally heterocercal tail like that of acipenser is established. the ventral paired fins are first visible after about the end of the third week, and by this time the operculum has grown considerably, and the gills have become well developed. the most remarkable changes in the later periods are those of the mouth. [fig. . head of an advanced larva of lepidosteus. (after parker.) _ol._ openings of the olfactory pit; _sd._ remains of the larval suctorial disc.] the upper and lower jaws become gradually prolonged, till they eventually form a snout; while at the end of the upper jaw is placed the suctorial disc, which is now considerably reduced in size (fig. , _sd_). the "fleshy globular termination of the upper jaw of the adult lepidosteus is the remnant of this embryonic sucking disc." (agassiz, no. .) the fin-rays become formed as in teleostei, and parts of the continuous embryonic fin gradually undergo atrophy. the dorsal limb of the embryonic tail, as has been shewn by wilder, is absorbed in precisely the same manner as in teleostei, leaving the ventral lobe to form the whole of the permanent tail-fin. bibliography. ( ) al. agassiz. "the development of lepidosteus." _proc. amer. acad. of arts and sciences_, vol. xiii. . _general observations on the embryology of the ganoids._ the very heterogeneous character of the ganoid group is clearly shewn both in its embryology and its anatomy. the two known types of formation of the central nervous system are exemplified in the two species which have been studied, and these two species, though in accord in having a holoblastic segmentation, yet differ in other important features of development, such as the position of the yolk etc. both types exhibit teleostean affinities in the character of the pronephros; but as might have been anticipated lepidosteus presents in the origin of the nervous system, the relations of the hypoblast, and other characters, closer approximations to the teleostei than does acipenser. there are no very prominent amphibian characters in the development of either type, other than a general similarity in the segmentation and formation of the layers. in the young of polypterus an interesting amphibian and dipnoid character is found in the presence of a pair of true external gills covered by epiblast. these gills are attached at the hinder end of the operculum, and receive their blood from the hyoid arterial arch[ ]. in the peculiar suctorial disc of lepidosteus, and in the more or less similar structure in the sturgeon, these fishes retain, i believe, a very primitive vertebrate organ, which has disappeared in the adult state of almost all the vertebrata; but it is probable that further investigations will shew that the teleostei, and especially the siluroids, are not without traces of a similar structure. [ ] vide steindachner, _polypterus lapradei_, &c., and hyrtl, "ueber d. blutgefässe, &c." _sitz. wiener akad._, vol. lx. chapter vii. amphibia[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the amphibia is employed in the present chapter: i. anura. {aglossa. {phaneroglossa. {perennibranchiata {trachystomata. { {proteidæ. ii. urodela. {caducibranchiata {amphiumidæ. { {menopomidæ. {myctodera {amblystomidæ. {salamandridæ. iii. gymnophiona. the eggs of most amphibia[ ] are laid in water. they are smallish nearly spherical bodies, and in the majority of known anura (all the european species), and in many urodela (amblystoma, axolotl, though not in the common newt) part of the surface is dark or black, owing to the presence of a superficial layer of pigment, while the remainder is unpigmented. the pigmented part is at the upper pole of the egg, and contains the germinal vesicle till the time of its atrophy; and the yolk-granules in it are smaller than those in the unpigmented part. the ovum is closely surrounded by a vitelline membrane[ ], and receives, in its passage down the oviduct, a gelatinous investment of varying structure. [ ] i am under great obligations to mr parker for having kindly supplied me, in answer to my questions, with a large amount of valuable information on the development of the amphibia. [ ] within the vitelline membrane there appears to be present, in the anura at any rate, a very delicate membrane closely applied to the yolk. in the anura the eggs are fertilized as they leave the oviduct. in some of the urodela the mode of fertilization is still imperfectly understood. in salamanders and probably newts it is internal[ ]; but in amblystoma punctatum (clark, no. ), the male deposits the semen in the water. the eggs are laid by the anura in masses or strings. by newts they are deposited singly in the angle of a bent blade of grass or leaf of a water-plant, and by amblystoma punctatum in masses containing from four eggs to two hundred. salamandra atra and salamandra maculosa are viviparous. the period of gestation for the latter species lasts a whole year. [ ] allen thomson informs me that he has watched the process of fertilization in the newt, and that the male deposits the semen in the water close to the female. from the water it seems to enter the female generative aperture. von siebold has shewn that there is present in female newts and salamanders a spermatic bursa. in this bursa the spermatozoa long (three months) retain their vitality in some salamanders. various peculiarities in the gestation are to be explained by this fact. a good many exceptions to the above general statements have been recorded[ ]. [ ] for a summary of these and the literature of the subject _vide_ "amphibia," by c. k. hoffmann, in bronn's _classen und ordnungen d. thier-reichs_. in notodelphis ovipara the eggs are transported (by the male?) into a peculiar dorsal pouch of the skin of the female, which has an anterior opening, but is continued backwards into a pair of diverticula. the eggs are very large, and in this pouch, which they enormously distend, they undergo their development. a more or less similar pouch is found in nototrema marsupiatum. in the surinam toad (pipa dorsigera) the eggs are placed by the male on the back of the female. a peculiar pocket of skin becomes developed round each egg, the open end of which is covered by a gelatinous operculum. the larvæ are hatched, and actually undergo their metamorphosis, in these pockets. the female during this period lives in water. pipa americana (if specifically distinct from p. dorsigera) presents nearly the same peculiarities. the female of a tree frog of ceylon (polypedates reticulatus) carries the eggs attached to the abdomen. rhinoderma darwinii[ ] behaves like some of the siluroid fishes, in that the male carries the eggs during their development in an enormously developed laryngeal pouch. [ ] _vide_ spengel, "die fortpflanzung des rhinoderma darwinii." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxix., . this paper contains a translation of a note by jiminez de la espada on the development of the species. some anura do not lay their eggs in water. chiromantis guineensis attaches them to the leaves of trees; and cystignathus mystacius lays them in holes near ponds, which may become filled with water after heavy rains. the eggs of hylodes martinicensis are laid under dead leaves in moist situations. _formation of the layers._ anura. the formation of the germinal layers has so far only been studied in some anura and in the newt. the following description applies to the anura, and i have called attention, at the end of the section, to the points in which the newt is peculiar. the segmentation of the frog's ovum has already been described (vol. ii. pp. - ), but i may remind the reader that the segmentation (fig. ) results in the formation of a vesicle, the cavity of which is situated excentrically; the roof of the cavity being much thinner than the floor. the cavity is the segmentation cavity. the roof is formed of two or three layers of smallish pigmented cells, and the floor of large cells, which form the greater part of the ovum. these large cells, which are part of the primitive hypoblast, will be spoken of in the sequel as yolk-cells: they are equivalent to the food-yolk of the majority of vertebrate ova. [fig. . segmentation of common frog. rana temporaria. (after ecker.) the numbers above the figures refer to the number of segments at the stage figured.] the cells forming the roof of the cavity pass without any sharp boundary into the yolk-cells, there being at the junction of the two a number of cells of an intermediate character. the cells both of the roof and the floor continue to increase in number, and those of the roof become divided into two distinct strata (fig. , _ep_). the upper of these is formed of a single row of somewhat cubical cells, and the lower of several rows of more rounded cells. both of these strata eventually become the epiblast, of which they form the epidermic and nervous layers. the roof of the segmentation cavity appears therefore to be entirely constituted of epiblast. the next changes which take place lead ( ) to the formation of the mesenteron[ ], and ( ) to the enclosure of the yolk-cells by the epiblast. [ ] since the body cavity is not developed as diverticula from the cavity of invagination, the latter cavity may conveniently be called the mesenteron and not the archenteron. the mesenteron is formed as in petromyzon and lepidosteus by an unsymmetrical form of invagination. the invagination first commences by an inflection of the epiblast-cells for a small arc on the equatorial line which marks the junction between the epiblastic cells and the yolk-cells (fig. , _x_). the inflected cells become continuous with the adjoining cells; and the region where the inflection is formed constitutes a kind of lip, below which a slit-like cavity is soon established. this lip is equivalent to the embryonic rim of the elasmobranch blastoderm, and the cavity beneath it is the rudiment of the mesenteron. [fig. . section through frog's ovum at the close of segmentation. (after götte.) _sg._ segmentation cavity; _ll._ large yolk-containing cells; _ep._ small cells at formative pole (epiblast); _x._ point of inflection of epiblast; _y._ small cells close to junction of the epiblast and yolk.] the mesenteron now rapidly extends by the invagination of the cells on its dorsal side. these cells grow inwards towards the segmentation cavity as a layer of cells several rows deep. at its inner end, this layer is continuous with the yolk-cells; and is divided into two strata (fig. a), viz. ( ) a stratum of several rows of cells adjoining the epiblast, which becomes the mesoblast (_m_), and ( ) a stratum of a single row of more columnar cells lining the cavity of the mesenteron, which forms the hypoblast (_hy_). the growth inwards of the dorsal wall of the mesenteron is no doubt in part a true invagination, but it seems probable that it is also due in a large measure to an actual differentiation of yolk-cells along the line of growth. the mesenteron is at first a simple slit between the yolk and the hypoblast (fig. a), but as the involution of the hypoblast and mesoblast extends further inwards, this slit enlarges, especially at its inner end, into a considerable cavity; the blind end of which is separated by a narrow layer of yolk-cells from the segmentation cavity (fig. b). in the course of the involution, the segmentation cavity becomes gradually pushed to one side and finally obliterated. before obliteration, it appears in some forms (pelobates fuscus) to become completely enclosed in the yolk-cells. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections through the embryo of a frog at two stages, to shew the formation of the germinal layers. (modified from götte.) _ep._ epiblast; _m._ dorsal mesoblast; _m´._ ventral mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _yk._ yolk; _x._ point of junction of the epiblast and hypoblast at the dorsal side of the blastopore; _al._ mesenteron; _sg._ segmentation cavity.] while the invagination to form the mesenteron takes place as above described, the enclosure of the yolk has been rapidly proceeding. it is effected by the epiblast growing over the yolk at all points of its circumference. the nature of the growth is however very different at the embryonic rim and elsewhere. at the embryonic rim it takes place by the simple growth of the rim, so that the point _x_ in figs. and is carried further and further over the surface of the yolk. elsewhere the epiblast at first extends over the yolk as in a typical epibolic gastrula, without being inflected to form a definite lip. while a considerable patch of yolk is still left uncovered, the whole of the edge of the epiblast becomes however inflected, as at the embryonic rim (fig. a); and a circular blastopore is established, round the whole edge of which the epiblast and intermediate cells are continuous. from the ventral lip of the blastopore the mesoblast (fig. , _m´_), derived from the small intermediate cells, grows inwards till it comes to the segmentation cavity; the growth being not so much due to an actual invagination of cells at the lip of the blastopore, as to a differentiation of yolk-cells _in situ_. shortly after the stage represented in fig. b, the plug of yolk, which fills up the opening of the blastopore, disappears, and the mesenteron communicates freely with the exterior by a small circular blastopore (fig. ). the position of the blastopore is the same as in other types, viz. at the hinder end of the embryo. by this stage the three layers of the embryo are definitely established. the epiblast, consisting from the first of two strata, arises from the small cells forming the roof of the segmentation-cavity. it becomes continuous at the lip of the blastopore with cells intermediate in size between the cells of which it is formed and the yolk-cells. these latter, increasing in number by additions from the yolk-cells, give rise to the mesoblast and to part of the hypoblast; while to the latter layer the yolk-cells, as mentioned above, must also be considered as appertaining. their history will be dealt with in treating of the general fate of the hypoblast. urodela. the early stages of the development of the newt have been adequately investigated by scott and osborn (no. ). the segmentation and formation of the layers is in the main the same as in the frog. the ovum is without black pigment. there is a typical unsymmetrical invagination, but the dorsal lip of the blastopore is somewhat thickened. the most striking feature in which the newt differs from the frog is the fact that _the epiblast is at first constituted of a single layer of cells_ (fig. , _ep_). the roof of the segmentation cavity is constituted, during the later stages of segmentation, of several rows of cells (bambeke, no. ), but subsequently it would appear to be formed of a single row of cells only (scott and osborn, no. ). _general history of the layers._ epiblast: anura. at the completion of the invagination the epiblast forms a continuous layer enclosing the whole ovum, and constituted throughout of two strata. the formation of the medullary canal commences by the nervous layer along the axial dorsal line becoming thickened, and giving rise to a somewhat pyriform medullary plate, the sides of which form the projecting medullary folds (fig. a). the medullary plate is thickened at the two sides, and is grooved in the median line by a delicate furrow (fig. , _r_). the dilated extremity of the medullary plate, situated at the end of the embryo opposite the blastopore, is the cerebral part of the plate, and the remainder the spinal. the medullary folds bend upwards, and finally meet above, enclosing a central cerebrospinal canal (fig. ). the point at which they first meet is nearly at the junction of the brain and spinal cord, and from this point their junction extends backwards and forwards; but the whole process is so rapid that the closure of the medullary canal for its whole length is effected nearly simultaneously. in front the medullary canal ends blindly, but behind it opens freely into the still persisting blastopore, with the lips of which the medullary folds become, as in other types, continuous. fig. represents a longitudinal section through an embryo, shortly after the closure of the medullary canal (_nc_); the opening of which into the blastopore (_x_) is clearly seen. [fig. . transverse section through the posterior cephalic region of an early embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _l._ medullary groove; _r._ axial furrow in the medullary groove; _h._ nervous layer of epidermis; _as._ outer portion of vertebral plate; _is._ inner portion of vertebral plate; _s._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _g._ notochord; _e._ hypoblast.] on the closure of the medullary canal, its walls become separated from the external epiblast, which extends above it as a continuous layer. in the formation of the central nervous system both strata of the epiblast have a share, though the main mass is derived from the nervous layer. after the central nervous tube has become separated from the external skin, the two layers forming it fuse together; but there can be but little doubt that at a later period the epidermic layer separates itself again as the central epithelium of the nervous system. both the nervous and epidermic strata have a share in forming the general epiblast; and though eventually they partially fuse together yet the horny layer of the adult epidermis, where such can be distinguished, is probably derived from the epidermic layer of the embryo, and the mucous layer of the epidermis from the embryonic nervous layer. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of the embryo of a frog. (modified from götte.) _nc._ neural canal; _x._ point of junction of epiblast and hypoblast at the dorsal lip of the blastopore; _al._ alimentary tract; _yk._ yolk-cells; _m._ mesoblast. for the sake of simplicity the epiblast is represented as if composed of a single row of cells.] in the formation of the organs of sense the nervous layer shews itself throughout as the active layer. the lens of the eye and the auditory sack are derived exclusively from it, the latter having no external opening. the nervous layer also plays the more important part in the formation of the olfactory sack. the outer layer of epiblast-cells becomes ciliated after the close of the segmentation, but the cilia gradually disappear on the formation of the internal gills. the cilia cause a slow rotatory movement of the embryo within the egg, and probably assist in the respiration after it is hatched. they are especially developed on the external gills. urodela. in the newt (scott and osborn, no. ) the medullary plate becomes established, while the epiblast is still formed of a single row of cells; and it is not till after the closure of the neural groove that any distinction is observable between the epithelium of the central canal, and the remaining cells of the cerebrospinal cord (fig. ). before the closure of the medullary folds the lateral epiblast becomes divided into the two strata present from the first in the frog; and in the subsequent development the inner layer behaves as the active layer, precisely as in the anura. the mesoblast and notochord: anura. after the disappearance of the segmentation cavity, the mesoblast is described by most observers, including götte, as forming a continuous sheet round the ovum, underneath the epiblast. the first important differentiations in it take place, as in the case of the epiblast, in the axial dorsal line. along this line a central cord of the mesoblast becomes separated from the two lateral sheets to form the notochord. calberla states, however, that when the mesoblast is distinctly separated from the hypoblast it does not form a continuous sheet, but two sheets one on each side, between which is placed a ridge of cells continuous with the hypoblastic sheet. this ridge subsequently becomes separated from the hypoblast as the notochord. against this view götte has recently strongly protested, and given a series of careful representations of his sections which certainly support his original account. my own observations are in favour of calberla's statement, and so far as i can determine from my sections the mesoblast never appears as a perfectly continuous sheet, but is always deficient in the dorsal median line. my observations are unfortunately not founded on a sufficient series of sections to settle the point definitely. [fig. . section through the anterior part of the trunk of a young embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _as´´´._ medulla oblongata; _is^x._ splanchnopleure; _as^x._ somatopleure in the vertebral part of the mesoblastic plate; _s._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _f._ throat; _e._ passage of epithelial cells into yolk-cells; _d._ yolk-cells; _r._ dorsal groove along the line of junction of the medullary folds.] after the formation of the notochord (fig. ), the mesoblast may be regarded as consisting of two lateral plates, continuous ventrally, but separated in the median dorsal line. by the division of the dorsal parts of these plates into segments, which commences in the region of the neck and thence extends backwards, the mesoblast of the trunk becomes divided into a vertebral portion, cleft into separate somites, and a lateral unsegmented portion (fig. ). the history of these two parts and of the mesoblast is generally the same as in elasmobranchs. the mesoblast in the head becomes, according to götte, divided into four segments, equivalent to the trunk somites. owing to a confusion into which götte has fallen from not recognizing the epiblastic origin of the cranial nerves, his statements on this head must, i think, be accepted with considerable reserve; but some part of his segments appears to correspond with the head-cavities of elasmobranchii. urodela. scott and osborn (no. ) have shewn that in the newt the mesoblast (fig. ) is formed of two lateral plates, split off from the hypoblast, and that the ventral growth of these plates is largely effected by the conversion of yolk-cells into mesoblast-cells. they have further shewn that the notochord is formed of an _axial portion of the hypoblast_, as in the types already considered (fig. ). the body cavity is continued into the region of the head; and the mesoblast lining the cephalic section of the body cavity is divided into the same number of head cavities as in elasmobranchii, viz. one in front of the mouth, and one in the mandibular and one in each of the following arches. the hypoblast. there are no important points of difference in the relations of the hypoblast between the anura and urodela. the mesenteron, at the stage represented in fig. , forms a wide cavity lined dorsally by a layer of invaginated hypoblast, and ventrally by the yolk-cells. the hypoblast is continuous laterally and in front with the yolk-cells (figs. , and ). at an earlier stage, when the mesenteron has a less definite form, such a continuity between the true hypoblast and the yolk-cells does not exist at the sides of the cavity. [fig. . transverse section through the cephalic region of a young newt embryo. (after scott and osborn.) _in.hy._ invaginated hypoblast, the dorsal part of which will form the notochord; _ep._ epiblast of neural plate; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _al._ alimentary tract; _yk._ and _y.hy._ yolk-cells.] the definite closing in of the mesenteron by the true hypoblast-cells commences in front and behind, and takes place last of all in the middle (fig. ). in front this process takes place with the greatest rapidity. the cells of the yolk-floor become continuously differentiated into hypoblast-cells, and very soon the whole of the front end becomes completely lined by true hypoblastic cells, while the yolk-cells become confined to the floor of the middle part. the front portion of the mesenteron gives rise to the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. close to its hinder boundary there appears a ventral outgrowth, which is the commencement of the hepatic diverticulum (fig. , _l_). the yolk is thus post-hepatic, as in vertebrates generally. the stomodæum is formed comparatively late by an epiblastic invagination (fig. , _m_). [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _l._ liver; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _pn._ pineal gland.] it should be noticed that the conversion of the yolk-cells into hypoblast-cells to form the ventral wall of the anterior region of the alimentary tract is a closely similar occurrence to the formation of cells in the yolk-floor of the anterior part of the alimentary tract in elasmobranchii. this conversion is apparently denied by götte, but since i find cells in all stages of transition between yolk-cells and hypoblast-cells i cannot doubt the fact of its occurrence. at first, the mesenteron freely communicates with the exterior by the opening of the blastopore. the lips of the blastopore gradually approximate, and form a narrow passage on the dorsal side of which the neural tube opens, as has already been described (fig. ). the external opening of this passage finally becomes obliterated, and the passage itself is left as a narrow diverticulum leading from the hind end of the mesenteron into the neural canal (fig. ). it forms the postanal gut, and gradually narrows and finally atrophies. at its front border, on the ventral side, there may be seen a slight ventrally directed diverticulum of the alimentary tract, which first becomes visible at a somewhat earlier stage (fig. ). this diverticulum becomes longer and meets an invagination of the skin (fig. , _an_), which arises in rana temporaria at a somewhat earlier period than represented by götte in bombinator. this epiblastic invagination is the proctodæum, and an anal perforation eventually appears at its upper extremity. the differentiation of the hinder end of the præanal gut proceeds in the same fashion as that of the front end, though somewhat later. it gives rise to the cloacal and intestinal part of the alimentary tract. from the ventral wall of the cloacal section, there grows out the bifid allantoic bladder, which is probably homologous with the allantois of the higher vertebrata. after the differentiation of the ventral wall of the fore and hind ends of the alimentary tract has proceeded for a certain distance, the yolk only forms a floor for a restricted median region of the alimentary cavity, which corresponds to the umbilical canal of the amniota. the true hypoblastic epithelium then grows over the outer side of the yolk, which thus constitutes a true, though small, and internal yolk-sack. the yolk-cells enclosed in this sack become gradually absorbed, and the walls of the sack form part of the intestine. _general growth of the embryo._ anura. the pyriform medullary plate, already described, is the first external indication of the embryo. this plate appears about the stage represented in longitudinal section in fig. b. the feature most conspicuous in it at first is the axial groove. it soon becomes more prominent (fig. a), and ends behind at the blastopore (_bl_), the lips of which are continuous with the two medullary folds. as the sides of this plate bend upwards to form the closed medullary canal, the embryo elongates itself and assumes a somewhat oval form. at the same time the cranial flexure becomes apparent (fig. ), and the blastopore shortly afterwards becomes shut off from the exterior. the embryo now continues to grow in length (fig. b), and the mesoblast becomes segmented. the somites are first formed in the neck, and are added successively behind in the unsegmented posterior region of the embryo. the hind end of the embryo grows out into a rounded prominence, which rapidly elongates, and becomes a well-marked tail entirely formed by the elongation of the postanal section of the body. the whole body has a very decided dorsal flexure, the ventral surface being convex. fig. represents an embryo of bombinator in side view, with the tail commencing to project. the longitudinal section (fig. ) is taken through an embryo of about the same age. in the cephalic region important changes have taken place. the cranial flexure has become more marked, but is not so conspicuous a feature in the amphibia as in most other types, owing to the small size of the cerebral rudiment. the mid-brain is shewn at fig. _a_ forming the termination of the long axis of the body, and the optic vesicles (_a´_) are seen at its sides. [fig. . embryos of the common frog. (after remak.) a. young stage represented enclosed in the egg-membrane. the medullary plate is distinctly formed, but no part of the medullary canal is closed. _bl._ blastopore. b. older embryo after the closure of the medullary canal. _oc._ optic vesicle. behind the optic vesicle are seen two visceral arches.] [fig. . lateral view of an advanced embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _a._ mid-brain, _a´._ eye; _b._ hind-brain; _d._ mandibular arch; _d´._ gasserian ganglion; _e._ hyoid arch; _e´._ first branchial arch; _f._ seventh nerve; _f´._ glossopharyngeal and vagus nerve; _g._ auditory vesicle; _i._ boundary between liver and yolk-sack; _k._ suctorial disc; _l._ pericardial prominence; _m._ prominence formed by the pronephros.] the rudiments of the mandibular (_d_), hyoid (_e_), and first branchial (_e´_) arches project as folds at the side of the head, but the visceral clefts are not yet open. rudiments of the proctodæum and stomodæum have appeared, but neither of them as yet communicates with the mesenteron. below the hyoid arch is seen a peculiar disc (_k_) which is an embryonic suctorial organ, formed of a plate of thickened epiblast. there is a pair of these discs, one on each side, but only one of them is shewn in the figure. at a later period they meet each other in the middle line, though they separate again before their final atrophy. they are found in the majority of the anura, but are absent according to parker in the aglossa (pipa and dactylethra (fig. )). they are probably remnants of the same primitive organs as the suctorial disc of lepidosteus. [fig. . transverse section through a very young tadpole of bombinator at the level of the anterior end of the yolk-sack. (after götte.) _a._ fold of epiblast continuous with the dorsal fin; _is^x._ neural cord; _m._ lateral muscle; _as^x._ outer layer of muscle-plate; _s._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _b._ mesentery; _u._ fold of the peritoneal epithelium which forms the segmental duct; _f._ alimentary tract; _f´._ ventral diverticulum which becomes the liver; _e._ junction of yolk-cells and hypoblast-cells; _d._ yolk-cells.] the embryo continues to grow in length, while the tail becomes more and more prominent, and becomes bent round to the side owing to the confinement of the larva within the egg-membrane. at the front of the head the olfactory pits become distinct. the stomodæum deepens, though still remaining blind, and three fresh branchial arches become formed; the last two being very imperfectly differentiated, and not visible from the exterior. there are thus six arches in all, viz. the mandibular, the hyoid and four branchial arches. between the mandibular and the hyoid, and between each of the following arches, pouches of the mesenteron push their way towards the external skin. of these pouches there are five, there being no pouch behind the last branchial arch. the first of these will form the hyomandibular cleft, the second the hyobranchial, and the third, fourth and fifth the three branchial clefts. although the pouches of the throat meet the external skin, an external opening is not formed in them till after the larva is hatched. before this takes place there grow, in the majority of forms, from the outer side of the first and second branchial arches small processes, each forming the rudiment of an external gill; a similar rudiment is formed, either before or after hatching, on the third arch; but the fourth arch is without it (figs. and ). these external gills, which differ fundamentally from the external gills of elasmobranchii in being covered by epiblast, soon elongate and form branched ciliated processes floating freely in the medium around the embryo (fig. ). before hatching the excretory system begins to develop. the segmental duct is formed as a fold of the somatic wall at the dorsal side of the body cavity (fig. , _u_). its anterior end alone remains open to the body cavity, and gives rise to a pronephros with two or three peritoneal openings, opposite to which a glomerulus is formed. the mesonephros (permanent kidney of amphibia) is formed as a series of segmental tubes much later than the pronephros, during late larval life. its anterior end is situated some distance behind the pronephros, and during its formation the pronephros atrophies. the period of hatching varies in different larvæ, but in most cases, at the time of its occurrence, the mouth has not yet become perforated. the larva, familiarly known as a tadpole, is at first enclosed in the detritus of the gelatinous egg envelopes. the tail, by the development of a dorsal and ventral fin, very soon becomes a powerful swimming organ. growth, during the period before the larva begins to feed, is no doubt carried on at the expense of the yolk, which is at this time enclosed within the mesenteron. the mouth and anal perforations are not long in making their appearance, and the tadpole is then able to feed. the gill slits also become perforated, but the hyomandibular diverticulum in most species never actually opens to the exterior, and in all cases becomes very soon closed. there can be but little doubt that the hyomandibular diverticulum gives rise, as in the amniota, to the eustachian tube and tympanic cavity, except when these are absent (_i.e._ bombinatoridæ). götte holds however that these parts are derived from the hyobranchial cleft, but his statements on this head, which would involve us in great morphological difficulties, stand in direct contradiction to the careful researches of parker. [fig. . tadpoles with external branchiÆ. (from huxley; after ecker.) a. lateral view of a young tadpole. b. ventral view of a somewhat older tadpole. _kb._ external branchiæ; _m._ mouth; _n._ nasal sack; _a._ eye; _o._ auditory vesicle; _z._ horny jaws; _s._ ventral sucker; _d._ opercular fold. c. more advanced larva, in which the opercular fold has nearly covered the branchiæ. _s._ ventral sucker; _ks._ external branchiæ; _y._ rudiment of hind limb.] shortly after hatching, there grows out from the hyoid arch on each side an opercular fold of skin, which gradually covers over the posterior branchial arches and the external gills (fig. _d_). it fuses with the skin at the upper part of the gill arches, and also with that of the pericardial wall below them; but is free in the middle, and so assists in forming a cavity, known as the branchial cavity, in which the gills are placed. each branchial cavity at first opens by a separate widish pore behind (fig. ), and in dactylethra both branchial apertures are preserved (huxley). in the larva of bombinator, and it would seem also that of alytes and pelodytes, the original widish openings of the two branchial chambers meet together in the ventral line, and form a single branchial opening or spiracle. in most other forms, _i.e._ rana, bufo, pelobates, etc., the two branchial chambers become united by a transverse canal, and the opening of the right sack then vanishes, while that of the left remains as the single unsymmetrical spiracle. in breathing the water is taken in at the mouth, passes through the branchial clefts into the branchial cavities, and is thence carried out by the spiracle. immediately after the formation of the branchial cavities, the original external gills atrophy, but in their place fresh gills, usually called internal gills, appear on the outer side of the middle region of the four branchial arches. there is a single row of these on the first and fourth branchial arches, and two rows on the second and third. in addition to these gills, which are vascular processes of the mesoblast, covered, according to götte, with an epiblastic (?) epithelium, branchial processes appear on the hypoblastic walls of the three branchial clefts. the last-named branchial processes would appear to be homologous with the gills of lampreys. in dactylethra no other gills but these are formed (parker). [fig. . tadpole of bombinator from the ventral side, with the abdominal wall removed. (after götte.) behind the mouth are placed the two suckers, and behind these are seen the gills projecting through the spiracles.] the mouth, even before the tadpole begins to feed, acquires a transversely oval form (fig. ), and becomes armed with provisional structures in the form of a horny beak and teeth, which are in use during larval life. the beak is formed of a pair of horny plates moulded on the upper and lower pairs of labial cartilages. the upper valve of the beak is the larger of the two, and covers the lower. the beak is surrounded by a projecting lip formed of a circular fold of skin, the free edge of which is covered by papillæ. between the papillæ and the beak rows of horny teeth are placed on the inner surface of the lip. there are usually two rows of these on the upper side, the inner one not continuous across the middle line, and three or four rows on the lower side, the inner one or two divided into two lateral parts. as the tadpole attains its full development, the suctorial organs behind the mouth gradually atrophy. the alimentary canal, which is (fig. ) at first short, rapidly elongates, and fills up with its numerous coils the large body cavity. in the meantime, the lungs develop as outgrowths from the oesophagus. various features in the anatomy of the tadpole point to its being a repetition of a primitive vertebrate type. the nearest living representative of this type appears to be the lamprey. the resemblance between the mouths of the tadpole and lamprey is very striking, and many of the peculiarities of the larval skull of the anura, especially the position of the meckelian cartilages and the subocular arch, perhaps find their parallel in the skull of the lamprey[ ]. the internal hypoblastic gill-sacks of the frog, with their branchial processes, are probably equivalent to the gill-sacks of the lamprey[ ]; and it is not impossible that the common posterior openings of the gill-pouches in myxine are equivalent to the originally paired openings of the branchial sack of the tadpole. [ ] _vide_ huxley, "craniofacial apparatus of petromyzon." _journ. of anat. and phys._ vol. x. . huxley's views about the meckelian arch, etc., are plausible, but it seems probable from scott's observations that true branchial bars are not developed in the lamprey. how far this fact necessarily disproves huxley's views is still doubtful. [ ] conf. huxley and götte. the resemblances between the lamprey and the tadpole appear to me to be sufficiently striking not to be merely the results of more or less similar habits; but at the same time there are no grounds for supposing that the lamprey itself is closely related to an ancestral form of the amphibia. in dealing with the ganoids and other types arguments have been adduced to shew that there was a primitive vertebrate stock provided with a perioral suctorial disc; and of this stock the cyclostomata are the degraded, but at the same time the nearest living representatives. the resemblances between the tadpole and the lamprey are probably due to both of them being descended from this stock. the ganoids, as we have seen, also shew traces of a similar descent; and the resemblance between the larva of dactylethra (fig. ), the old red sandstone ganoids[ ] and chimæra, probably indicates that an extension of our knowledge will bring to light further affinities between the primitive ganoid and holocephalous stocks and the amphibia. [ ] cf. parker (no. ). metamorphosis. the change undergone by the tadpole in its passage into the frog is so considerable as to deserve the name of a metamorphosis. this metamorphosis essentially consists in the reduction and atrophy of a series of provisional embryonic organs, and the appearance of adult organs in their place. the stages of this metamorphosis are shewn in fig. , , , , . the two pairs of limbs appear nearly simultaneously as small buds; the hinder pair at the junction of the tail and body (fig. , ), and the anterior pair concealed under the opercular membrane. the lungs acquire a greater and greater importance, and both branchial and pulmonary respirations go on together for some time. [fig. . tadpoles and young of the common frog. (from mivart.) . recently-hatched tadpoles twice the natural size. . tadpole with external gills. _a_. same enlarged. and . later stages after the enclosure of the gills by the opercular membrane. . stage with well-developed hind-limbs visible. . stage after the ecdysis, with both pairs of limbs visible. . stage after partial atrophy of the tail. . young frog.] when the adult organs are sufficiently developed an ecdysis takes place, in which the gills are completely lost, the provisional horny beak is thrown off, and the mouth loses its suctorial form. the eyes, hitherto concealed under the skin, become exposed on the surface, and the front limbs appear (fig. , ). with these external changes important internal modifications of the mouth, the vascular system, and the visceral arches take place. a gradual atrophy of the tail, commencing at the apex, next sets in, and results in the complete absorption of this organ. the long alimentary canal becomes shortened, and the, in the main, herbivorous tadpole gradually becomes converted into the carnivorous frog (fig. , , , ). the above description of the metamorphosis of the frog applies fairly to the majority of the anura, but it is necessary to notice a few of the more instructive divergences from the general type. in the first place, several forms are known, which are hatched in the condition of the adult. the exact amount of metamorphosis which these forms pass through in the egg is still a matter of some doubt. hylodes martinicensis is one of these forms. the larva no doubt acquires within the egg a long tail; but while bavay[ ] states that it is provided with external gills, which however are not covered by an operculum, peters[ ] was unable to see any traces of such structures. [ ] _annal. de sciences nat._, th series, vol. xvii., . [ ] _berlin. monatsbericht_, , p. , and _nature_, april , . in pipa americana, and apparently in pipa dorsigera also if a distinct species, the larva leaves the cells on the back of the mother in a condition closely resembling the adult. the embryos of both species develop a long tail in the egg, which is absorbed before hatching, and according to wyman[ ] p. americana is also temporarily provided with gills, which atrophy early. [ ] _proceed. of boston nat. hist. society_, vol. v., . the larva of rhinoderma darwinii is stated by jiminez de la espada to be without external gills, and it appears to be hatched while still in the laryngeal pouch of the male. in nototrema marsupiatum the larvæ are also stated to be without external gills. amongst the forms with remarkable developments pseudis paradoxa deserves especial mention, in that the tadpole of this form attains an immensely greater bulk than the adult; a peculiarity which may be simply a question of nutrition, or may perhaps be explained by supposing that the larva resembles a real ancestral form, which was much larger than the existing frog. another form of perhaps still greater morphological interest is the larva of dactylethra. the chief peculiarities of this larva (fig. ) have been summarized by parker (no. , p. ), from whom i quote the following passage: _a._ "the mouth is not inferior in position, suctorial and small, but is very wide like that of the 'siluroids and lophius;' has an underhung lower jaw, an immensely long tentacle from each upper lip, and possesses no trace of the primordial horny jaws of the ordinary kind. _b._ "in conformity with these characters the head is extremely flat or depressed, instead of being high and thick. _c._ "there are no claspers beneath the chin. _d._ "the branchial orifice is not confined to the left side, but exists on the right side also. _e._ "the tail, like the skull, is remarkably chimæroid; it terminates in a long thin pointed lash, and the whole caudal region is narrow and elongated as compared with that of our ordinary batrachian larvæ. _f._ "the fore-limbs are not hidden beneath the opercular fold." [fig. . larva of dactylethra. (after parker.)] although most anurous embryos are not provided with a sufficient amount of yolk to give rise to a yolk-sack as an external appendage of the embryo, yet in some forms a yolk-sack, nearly as large as that of teleostei, is developed. one of these forms, alytes obstetricans, belongs to a well-known european genus allied to pelobates. the embryos of pipa dorsigera (parker) are also provided with a very large yolk-sack, round which they are coiled like a teleostean embryo. a large yolk-sack is also developed in the embryo of pseudophryne australis. the actual complexity of the organization of different tadpoles, and their relative size, as compared with the adult, vary considerably. the tadpoles of toads are the smallest, pseudophryne australis excelling in this respect; those of pseudis are the largest known. the external gills reach in certain forms, which are hatched in late larval stages, a very great development. it seems however that this development is due to these gills being especially required in the stages before hatching. thus in alytes, in which the larva leaves the egg in a stage after the loss of the external gills, these structures reach in the egg a very great development. in notodelphis ovipara, in which the eggs are carried in a dorsal pouch of the mother, the embryos are provided with long vesicular gills attached to the neck by delicate threads. the fact (if confirmed) that some of the forms which are not hatched till post-larval stages are without external gills, probably indicates that there may be various contrivances for embryonic respiration[ ]; and that the external gills only attain a great development in those instances in which respiration is mainly carried on by their means. the external gills of elasmobranchii are probably, as stated in a previous chapter, examples of secondarily developed structures, which have been produced by the same causes as the enlarged gills of alytes, notodelphis, etc. [ ] in confirmation of this view it may be mentioned that in pipa americana the tail appears to function as a respiratory organ in the later stages of development (peters). urodela. up to the present time complete observations on the development of the urodela are confined to the myctodera[ ]. [ ] the recent observations on this subject are those of scott and osborn (no. ) on triton, of bambeke (no. ) on various species of triton and the axolotl, and of clark (no. ) on amblystoma punctatum. the early stages are in the main similar to those of the anura. the body of the embryo is, as pointed out by scott and osborn, ventrally instead of dorsally flexed. the metamorphosis is much less complete than in the anura. the larva of triton may be taken as typical. at hatching, it is provided with a powerful swimming tail bearing a well-developed fin: there are three pairs of gills placed on the three anterior of the true branchial arches. between the hyoid and first branchial arch, and between the other branchial arches, slits are developed, there being four slits in all. at the period just before hatching, only three of these have made their appearance. the hyomandibular cleft is not perforated. stalked suckers, of the same nature as the suckers of the anura, are formed on the ventral surface behind the mouth. a small opercular fold, developed from the lower part of the hyoid arch, covers over the bases of the gills. the suctorial mouth and the provisional horny beak of the anura have no counterpart in these larvæ. the skin is ciliated, and the cilia cause a rotation in the egg. even before hatching, a small rudiment of the anterior pair of limbs is formed, but the hind-limbs are not developed till a later stage, and the limbs do not attain to any size till the larva is well advanced. in the course of the subsequent metamorphosis lungs become developed, and a pulmonary respiration takes the place of the branchial one. the branchial slits at the same time close and the branchiæ atrophy. the other types of myctodera, so far investigated, agree fairly with the newt. the larva of amblystoma punctatum (fig. ) is provided with two very long processes (_s_), like the suctorial processes in triton, placed on the throat in front of the external gills. they are used to support the larva when it sinks to the bottom, and have been called by clarke (no. ) balancers. on the development of the limbs, these processes drop off. the external gills atrophy about one hundred days after hatching. it might have been anticipated that the axolotl, being a larval form of amblystoma, would agree in development with amblystoma punctatum. the conspicuous suctorial processes of the latter form are however represented by the merest rudiments in the axolotl. [fig. . larvÆ of amblystoma punctatum. (after clarke.) _n._ nasal pit; _f._ oral invagination; _op._ eye; _s._ balancers; _f.l._ front limb; _br._ branchiæ.] the young of salamandra maculata leave the uterus with external gills, but those of the alpine salamander (salamandra atra) are born in the fully developed condition without gills. in the uterus they pass through a metamorphosis, and are provided (in accordance with the principle already laid down) with very long gill-filaments[ ]. [ ] allen thomson informs me that the crested newt, triton cristatus, is in rare instances viviparous. salamandra atra has only two embryos, but there are originally a larger number of eggs (von siebold), of which all but two fail to develop, while their remains are used as pabulum by the two which survive. both species of salamander have a sufficient quantity of food-yolk to give rise to a yolk-sack. spelerpes only develops three post-hyoid arches, between which slits are formed as in ordinary types. menobranchus and proteus agree with spelerpes in the number of post-hyoid arches. one of the most remarkable recent discoveries with reference to the metamorphosis of the urodela was made by dumeril[ ]. he found that some of the larvæ of the axolotl, bred in the jardin des plantes, left the water, and in the course of about a fortnight underwent a similar metamorphosis to that of the newt, and became converted into a form agreeing in every particular with the american genus amblystoma. during this metamorphosis a pulmonary respiration takes the place of a branchial one, the gills are lost, and the gill slits close. the tail loses its fin and becomes rounded, the colour changes, and alterations take place in the gums, teeth, and lower jaw. [ ] _comptes rendus_, , p. . madame von chauvin[ ] was able, by gradually accustoming axolotl larvæ to breathe, artificially to cause them to undergo the above metamorphosis. [ ] _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . it seems very possible, as suggested by weismann[ ], that the existing axolotls are really descendants of amblystoma forms, which have reverted to a lower stage. in favour of this possibility a very interesting discovery of filippi's[ ] may be cited. he found in a pond in a marsh near andermat some examples of triton alpestris, which, though they had become sexually mature, still retained the external gills and the other larval characters. similar sexually mature larval forms of triton tæniatus have been described by jullien. these discoveries would seem to indicate that it might be possible artificially to cause the newt to revert to a perennibranchiate condition. [ ] _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. sup. . [ ] _archivio per la zoologia, l'anatomia e la fisiologia_, vol. . genoa, . conf. also von siebold, "ueber die geschlechtliche entwicklung d. urodelen-larven." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxviii., . gymnophiona. the development of the gymnophiona is almost unknown, but it is certain that some larval forms are provided with a single gill-cleft, while others have external gills. a gill-cleft has been noticed in epicrium glutinosum (müller), and in coecilia oxyura. in coecilia compressicauda, peters (no. ) was unable to find any trace of a gill-cleft, but he observed in the larvæ within the uterus two elongated vesicular gills. bibliography. _amphibia._ ( ) ch. van bambeke. "recherches sur le développement du pélobate brun." _mémoires couronnés, etc. de l'acad. roy. de belgique_, . ( ) ch. van bambeke. "recherches sur l'embryologie des batraciens." _bulletin de l'acad. roy. de belgique_, . ( ) ch. van bambeke. "nouvelles recherches sur l'embryologie des batraciens." _archives de biologie_, vol. . . ( ) k. e. von baer. "die metamorphose des eies der batrachier." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) b. benecke. "ueber die entwicklung des erdsalamanders." _zoologischer anzeiger_, . ( ) s. f. clarke. "development of amblystoma punctatum," part i., external. _studies from the biological laboratory of the johns hopkins university_, no. ii. . ( ) h. cramer. "bemerkungen üb. d. zellenleben in d. entwick. d. froscheies." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. ecker. _icones physiolog._ - . ( ) a. götte. _die entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ leipzig, . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "amphibia." _klassen u. ordnungen d. thierreichs_, - . ( ) t. h. huxley. article "amphibia" in the _encyclopædia britannica_. ( ) a. moquin-tandon. "développement des batraciens anures." _annales des sciences naturelles_, iii. . ( ) g. newport. "on the impregnation of the ovum in amphibia" (three memoirs). _phil. trans._ , , and . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the common frog." _phil. trans._, clxi. . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the batrachia." _phil. trans._, vol. cxlvi., part . . ( ) w. c. h. peters. "ueber die entwicklung der coecilien und besonders von coecilia compressicauda." _berlin monatsbericht_, p. , . ( ) w. c. h. peters. "ueber die entwicklung der coecilien." _berl. monatsbericht_, p. , . ( ) j. l. prevost and j. b. dumas. "deuxième mém. s. l. génération. développement de l'oeuf d. batraciens." _ann. sci. nat._ ii. . ( ) r. remak. _untersuchungen über die entwicklung der wirbelthiere_, - . ( ) m. rusconi. _développement de la grenouille commune depuis le moment de sa naissance jusqu'à son état parfait_, . ( ) m. rusconi. _histoire naturelle, développement et métamorphose de la salamandre terrestre_, . ( ) w. b. scott and h. f. osborn. "on the early development of the common newt." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xxix. . ( ) s. stricker. "entwicklungsgeschichte von bufo cinereus." _sitzb. der kaiserl. acad. zu wien_, . ( ) s. stricker. "untersuchungen über die ersten anlagen in batrachier-eiern." _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, bd. xi. . chapter viii. aves. introduction. the variations in the character of the embryonic development of the amniota are far less important than in the case of the ichthyopsida. there are, it is true, some very special features in the early developmental history of the mammalia, but apart from these there is such a striking uniformity in the embryos of all the groups that it would, in many cases, be difficult to assign a young embryo to its proper class. amongst the sauropsida the aves have for obvious reasons received a far fuller share of attention than any other group; and an account of their embryology forms a suitable introduction to this part of our subject. for the convenience of the student many parts of their developmental history will be dealt with at greater length than in the case of the previous groups. _the development of the aves._ comparatively few types of birds have been studied embryologically. the common fowl has received a disproportionately large share of attention; although within quite recent times the duck, the goose, the pigeon, the starling, and a parrot (melopsittacus undulatus) have also been studied. the result of these investigations has been to shew that the variations in the early development of different birds are comparatively unimportant. in the sequel the common fowl will be employed as type, attention being called when necessary to the development of the other forms. [fig. . yolk elements from the egg of the fowl. _a._ yellow yolk. _b._ white yolk.] the ovum of the fowl, at the time when it is clasped by the expanded extremity of the oviduct, is a large yellow body enclosed in a vitelline membrane. it is mainly formed of spherules of food-yolk. of these there are two varieties; one known as yellow yolk, and the other as white. the white yolk spherules form a small mass at the centre of the ovum, which is continued to the surface by a narrow stalk, and there expands into a somewhat funnel-shaped disc, the edges of which are continued over the surface of the ovum as a delicate layer. the major part of the ovum is formed of yellow yolk. the yellow yolk consists of large delicate spheres, filled with small granules (fig. a); while the white yolk is formed of vesicles of a smaller size than the yellow yolk spheres, in which are a variable number of highly refractive bodies (fig. b). [fig. . section through the germinal disc of the ripe ovarian ovum of a fowl while yet enclosed in its capsule. _a._ connective-tissue capsule of the ovum; _b._ epithelium of the capsule, at the surface of which nearest the ovum lies the vitelline membrane; _c._ granular material of the germinal disc, which becomes converted into the blastoderm. (this is not very well represented in the woodcut. in sections which have been hardened in chromic acid it consists of fine granules.) _w.y._ white yolk, which passes insensibly into the fine granular material of the disc; _x._ germinal vesicle enclosed in a distinct membrane, but shrivelled up; _y._ space originally completely filled up by the germinal vesicle, before the latter was shrivelled up.] in addition to the yolk there is present in the ovum a small protoplasmic region, containing the remains of the germinal vesicle, which forms the germinal disc (fig. ). it overlies the funnel-shaped disc of white yolk, into which it is continued without any marked line of demarcation. it contains numerous minute spherules of the same nature as the smallest white yolk spherules. impregnation takes place at the upper extremity of the oviduct. in its passage outwards the ovum gradually receives its accessory coverings in the form of albumen, shell-membrane, and shell (fig. ). [fig. . diagrammatic section of an unincubated fowl's egg. (modified from allen thomson.) _bl._ blastoderm; _w.y._ white yolk. this consists of a central flask-shaped mass and a number of layers concentrically arranged around it. _y.y._ yellow yolk; _v.t._ vitelline membrane; _x._ layer of more fluid albumen immediately surrounding the yolk; _w._ albumen consisting of alternate denser and more fluid layers; _ch.l._ chalaza; _a.ch._ air-chamber at the broad end of the egg. this chamber is merely a space left between the two layers of the shell-membrane. _i.s.m._ internal layer of shell-membrane; _s.m._ external layer of shell-membrane; _s._ shell.] [fig . surface views of the early stages of the segmentation in a fowl's egg. (after coste.) _a._ edge of germinal disc; _b._ vertical furrow; _c._ small central segment; _d._ larger peripheral segment.] [fig. . surface view of the germinal disc of fowl's egg during a late stage of the segmentation. _c._ small central segmentation spheres; _b._ larger segments outside these; _a._ large, imperfectly circumscribed, marginal segments; _e._ margin of germinal disc.] the segmentation commences in the lower part of the oviduct, shortly before the shell has begun to be formed. it is meroblastic, being confined to the germinal disc, through the full depth of which however the earlier furrows do not extend. it is mainly remarkable for being constantly somewhat unsymmetrical (kölliker)--a feature which is not represented in fig. , copied from coste. owing to the absence of symmetry the cells at one side of the germinal disc are larger than those at the other, but the relations between the disc and the axis of the embryo are not known. during the later stages the segmentation is irregular, and not confined to the surface; and towards its close the germinal disc becomes somewhat lenticular in shape; and is formed of segments, which are smallest in the centre and increase in size towards the periphery (figs. and ). the superficial segments in the centre of the germinal disc are moreover smaller than those below, and more or less separated as a distinct layer (fig. ). as development proceeds the segmentation reaches its limits in the centre, but continues at the periphery; and thus eventually the masses at the periphery become of the same size as those at the centre. at the time when the ovum is laid (fig. ) the uppermost layer of segments has given rise to a distinct membrane, the epiblast, formed of a single row of columnar nar cells (_ep_). the lower or hypoblast segments are larger, in some cases very much larger, than those of the epiblast, and are so granular that their nuclei can only with difficulty be seen. they form a somewhat irregular mass, several layers deep, and thicker at the periphery than at the centre: they rest on a bed of white yolk, from which they are in parts separated by a more or less developed cavity, which is probably filled with fluid yolk matter about to be absorbed. in the bed of white yolk nuclei are present, which are of the same character, and have the same general fate, as those in elasmobranchii. they are generally more numerous in the neighbourhood of the thickened periphery of the blastoderm than elsewhere. peculiar large spherical bodies are to be found amongst the lower layer cells, which superficially resemble the larger cells around them, and have been called formative cells [_vide_ foster and balfour (no. )]. their real nature is still very doubtful, and though some are no doubt true cells, others are perhaps only nutritive masses of yolk. in a surface view the blastoderm, as the segmented germinal disc may now be called, appears as a circular disc; the central part of which is distinguished from the peripheral by its greater transparency, and forms what is known in the later stages as the area pellucida. the narrow darker ring of blastoderm, outside the area pellucida, is the commencing area opaca. [fig. . section of the germinal disc of a fowl during the later stages of segmentation. the section, which represents rather more than half the breadth of the blastoderm (the middle line being shewn at _c_), shews that the upper and central parts of the disc segment faster than those below and towards the periphery. at the periphery the segments are still very large. one of the larger segments is shewn at _a_. in the majority of segments a nucleus can be seen; and it seems probable that the nucleus is present in them all. most of the segments are filled with highly refracting spherules, but these are more numerous in some cells (especially the larger cells near the yolk) than in others. in the central part of the blastoderm the upper cells have commenced to form a distinct layer. no segmentation cavity is present. _a._ large peripheral cell; _b._ larger cells of the lower parts of the blastoderm; _c._ middle line of blastoderm; _e._ edge of the blastoderm adjoining the white yolk; _w._ white yolk.] [fig. . section of a blastoderm of a fowl's egg at the commencement of incubation. the thin epiblast _ep_ composed of columnar cells rests on the incomplete lower layer _l_, composed of larger and more granular hypoblast cells. the lower layer is thicker in some places than in others, and is especially thick at the periphery. the line below the under layer marks the upper surface of the white yolk. the larger so-called formative cells are seen at _b_, lying on the white yolk. the figure does not take in quite the whole breadth of the blastoderm; but the reader must understand that both to the right hand and to the left _ep_ is continued farther than _l_, so that at the extreme edge it rests directly on the white yolk.] as a result of incubation the blastoderm undergoes a series of changes, which end in the definite formation of three germinal layers, and in the establishment of the chief systems of organs of the embryo. the more important of these changes are accomplished in the case of the common fowl during the first day and the early part of the second day of incubation. there is hardly any question in development which has been the subject of so much controversy as the mode of formation of the germinal layers in the common fowl. the differences in the views of authors have been caused to a large extent by the difficulties of the investigation, but perhaps still more by the fact that many of the observations were made at a time when the methods of making sections were very inferior to those of the present day. the subject itself is by no means of an importance commensurate with the attention it has received. the characters which belong to the formation of the layers in the sauropsida are secondarily derived from those in the ichthyopsida, and are of but little importance for the general questions which concern the nature and origin of the germinal layers. in the account in the sequel i have avoided as much as possible discussion of controverted points. my statements are founded in the main on my own observations, more especially on a recent investigation carried on in conjunction with my pupil, mr deighton. it is to kölliker (no. ), and to gasser (no. ) that the most important of the more recent advances in our knowledge are due. kölliker, in his great work on embryology, definitely established the essential connection between the primitive streak and the formation of the mesoblast; but while confirming his statement on this head, i am obliged to differ from him with reference to some other points. gasser's work, especially that part of it which relates to the passages leading from the neural to the alimentary canal, which he was the first to discover, is very valuable. the blastoderm gradually grows in size, and extends itself over the yolk; the growth over the yolk being very largely effected by an increase in the size of the area opaca, which during this process becomes more distinctly marked off from the area pellucida. the area pellucida gradually assumes an oval form, and at the same time becomes divided into a posterior opaque region and an anterior transparent region. the posterior opacity is named by some authors the embryonic shield. [fig. . transverse section through the blastoderm of a chick before the appearance of the primitive streak. the epiblast is represented somewhat diagrammatically. the hyphens shew the points of junction of the two halves of the section.] during these changes the epiblast (fig. ) becomes two layers deep over the greater part of the area pellucida, though still only one cell deep in the area opaca. the irregular hypoblast spheres of the unincubated blastoderm flatten themselves out, and unite into a definite hypoblastic membrane (fig. ). between this membrane and the epiblast there remain a number of scattered cells (fig. ) which cannot however be said to form a definite layer altogether distinct from the hypoblast. they are almost entirely confined to the posterior part of the area pellucida, and give rise to the opacity of that part. at the edge of the area pellucida the hypoblast becomes continuous with a thickened rim of material, underlying the epiblast, and derived from the original thickened edge of the blastoderm and the subjacent yolk. it is mainly formed of yolk granules, with a varying number of cells and nuclei imbedded in it. it is known as the germinal wall, and is spoken of more in detail on pp. and . [fig. . diagrams illustrating the position of the blastopore, and the relation of the embryo to the yolk in various meroblastic vertebrate ova. a. type of frog. b. elasmobranch type. c. amniotic vertebrate. _mg._ medullary plate; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _bl._ portion of blastopore adjoining the neurenteric canal. in b this part of the blastopore is formed by the edges of the blastoderm meeting and forming a linear streak behind the embryo; and in c it forms the structure known as the primitive streak. _yk._ part of yolk not yet enclosed by the blastoderm.] the changes which next take place result in the complete differentiation of the embryonic layers, a process which is intimately connected with the formation of the structure known as the primitive streak. the meaning of the latter structure, and its relation to the embryo, can only be understood by comparison with the development of the forms already considered. the most striking peculiarity in the first formation of the embryo bird, as also in that of the embryos of all amniota, consists in the fact that _they do not occupy a position at the edge of the blastoderm, but are placed near its centre_. behind the embryo there is however a peculiar structure--the primitive streak above mentioned--which is a linear body placed in the posterior region of the blastoderm. this body, the nature of which will be more fully explained in the chapter on the comparative development of vertebrates, is really a rudimentary part of the blastopore, of the same nature as the linear streak behind the embryo in elasmobranchii formed by the concrescence of the edges of the blastoderm (_vide_ p. ); although there is no ontogenetic process in the amniota, like the concrescence in elasmobranchii. the relations of the blastopore in elasmobranchii and aves is shewn in figs. b and c of the diagram (fig. ). [fig. . area pellucida of a very young blastoderm of a chick, shewing the primitive streak at its first appearance. _pr.s._ primitive streak; _ap._ area pellucida; _a.op._ area opaca.] [fig. . transverse section through a blastoderm of about the age represented in fig. , shewing the first differentiation of the primitive streak. the section passes through about the middle of the primitive streak. _pvs._ primitive streak; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _yk._ yolk of the germinal wall.] in describing in detail the succeeding changes we may at first confine our attention to the area pellucida. as this gradually assumes an oval form the posterior opacity becomes replaced by a very dark median streak, which extends forwards some distance from the posterior border of the area (fig. ). this is the first rudiment of the primitive streak. in the region in front of it the blastoderm is still formed of two layers only, but in the region of the streak itself the structure of the blastoderm is greatly altered. the most important features in it are represented in fig. . this figure shews that the median portion of the blastoderm has become very much thickened (thus producing the opacity of the primitive streak), and that this thickening is caused by a proliferation of rounded cells from the epiblast. in the very young primitive streak, of which fig. is a section, the rounded cells are still continuous throughout with the epiblast, but they form nevertheless the rudiment of the greater part of a sheet of mesoblast, which will soon arise in this region. in addition to the cells clearly derived from the epiblast, there are certain other cells (_vide_ fig. ), closely adjoining the hypoblast, which appear to me to be the derivatives of the cells interposed between the epiblast and hypoblast, which gave rise to the posterior opacity in the blastoderm during the previous stage. in my opinion these cells also have a share in forming the future mesoblast. the number and distribution of these cells is subject to not inconsiderable variations. in a fair number of cases they are entirely congregated along the line of the primitive streak, leaving the sides of the blastoderm quite free. they then form a layer, which can only with difficulty be distinguished from the cells derived from the epiblast by slight peculiarities of staining, and by the presence of a considerable proportion of large granular cells. it is, i believe, by the study of such blastoderms that kölliker has been led to deny to the intermediate cells of the previous stage any share in the formation of the mesoblast. in other instances, of which fig. is a fairly typical example, they are more widely scattered. to follow with absolute certainty the history of these cells, and to prove that they join the mesoblast is not, i believe, possible by means of sections, and i must leave the reader to judge how far the evidence given in the sequel is sufficient to justify my opinions on this subject. [fig. . surface view of the area pellucida of a chick's blastoderm shortly after the formation of the primitive groove. _pr._ primitive streak with primitive groove; _af._ amniotic fold. the darker shading round the primitive streak shews the extension of the mesoblast.] in the course of further growth the area pellucida soon becomes pyriform, the narrower extremity being the posterior. the primitive streak (fig. ) elongates considerably, so as to occupy about two-thirds of the length of the area pellucida; but its hinder end in many instances does not extend to the posterior border of the area pellucida. the median line of the primitive streak becomes marked by a shallow groove, known as the primitive groove. [fig. . transverse section through the front end of the primitive streak of a blastoderm of the same age as fig. . _pv._ primitive groove; _m._ mesoblast; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _yh._ yolk of germinal wall.] during these changes in external appearance there grow from the sides of the primitive streak two lateral wings of mesoblast cells, which gradually extend till they reach the sides of the area pellucida (fig. ). the mesoblast still remains attached to the epiblast along the line of the primitive streak. during this extension many sections through the primitive streak give an impression of the mesoblast being involuted at the lips of a fold, and so support the view above propounded, that the primitive streak is the rudiment of the coalesced lips of the blastopore. the hypoblast below the primitive streak is always quite independent of the mesoblast above, though much more closely attached to it in the median line than at the sides. the part of the mesoblast, which i believe to be derived from the primitive hypoblast, can generally be distinctly traced. in many cases, especially at the front end of the primitive streak, it forms, as in fig. , a distinct layer of stellate cells, quite unlike the rounded cells of the mesoblastic involution of the primitive streak. [fig. . longitudinal section through the axial line of the primitive streak, and the part of the blastoderm in front of it, of an embryo chick somewhat younger than fig. . _pr.s._ primitive streak; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast of region in front of primitive streak; _n._ nuclei; _yk._ yolk of germinal wall.] in the region in front of the primitive streak, where the first trace of the embryo will shortly appear, the layers at first undergo no important changes, except that the hypoblast becomes somewhat thicker. soon, however, as shewn in longitudinal section in fig. , the hypoblast along the axial line becomes continuous behind with the front end of the primitive streak. thus at this point, which is the future hind end of the embryo, the mesoblast, the epiblast, and the hypoblast all unite together; just as they do in all the types of ichthyopsida. shortly afterwards, at a slightly later stage than that represented in fig. , an important change takes place in the constitution of the hypoblast in front of the primitive streak. the rounded cells, of which it is at first composed (fig. ), break up into ( ) a layer formed of a single row of more or less flattened elements below--the hypoblast--and ( ) into a layer formed of several rows of stellate elements, between the hypoblast and the epiblast--the mesoblast (fig. ). a separation between these two layers is at first hardly apparent, and before it has become at all well marked, especially in the median line, an axial opaque line makes its appearance in surface views, continued forwards from the front end of the primitive streak, but stopping short at a semicircular fold--the future head-fold--near the front end of the area pellucida. in section (fig. ) this opaque line is seen to be due to a special concentration of cells in the form of a cord. this cord is the commencement of the notochord (_ch_). in some instances the commencing notochord remains attached to the hypoblast, while the mesoblast is laterally quite distinct (_vide_ fig. ), and is therefore formed in the same manner as in most ichthyopsida; while in other instances, and always apparently in the goose (gasser, no. ), the notochord appears to become differentiated in the already separated layer of mesoblast. in all cases _the notochord and the hypoblast below it unite with the front end of the primitive streak_; with which also the two lateral plates of mesoblast become continuous. [fig. . transverse section through the embryonic region of the blastoderm of a chick shortly prior to the formation of the medullary groove and notochord. _m._ median line of the section; _ep._ epiblast; _ll._ lower layer cells (primitive hypoblast) not yet completely differentiated into mesoblast and hypoblast; _n._ nuclei of germinal wall.] from what has just been said it is clear that in the region of the embryo the mesoblast originates as two lateral plates split off from the hypoblast, and that the notochord originates as a median plate, simultaneously with the mesoblast, with which it may sometimes be at first continuous. kölliker holds that the mesoblast of the region of the embryo is derived from a forward growth from the primitive streak. there is no theoretical objection to this view, and i think it would be impossible to shew for certain by sections whether or not there is a growth such as he describes; but such sections as that represented in fig. (and i have series of similar sections from several embryos) appear to me to be conclusive in favour of the view that the mesoblast of the region of the embryo is to a large extent derived from a differentiation of the primitive hypoblast. i am however inclined to believe that some of the mesoblast cells of the embryonic region have the derivation which kölliker ascribes to all of them. [fig. . transverse section through the embryonic region of the blastoderm of a chick at the time of the formation of the notochord, but before the appearance of the medullary groove. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord; _me._ mesoblast; _n._ nuclei of the germinal wall _yk._ yolk.] as regards the mesoblast of the primitive streak, in a purely objective description like that given above, the greater part of it may fairly be described as being derived from the epiblast. but if it is granted that the primitive streak corresponds with the blastopore, it is obvious to the comparative embryologist that the mesoblast derived from it really originates from the lips of the blastopore, as in so many other cases; and that to describe it, without explanation, as arising from the epiblast, would give an erroneous impression of the real nature of the process. [fig. . transverse section of a blastoderm incubated for hours. the section passes through the medullary groove _mc._, at some distance behind its front end. a. epiblast. b. mesoblast. c. hypoblast. _m.c._ medullary groove; _m.f._ medullary fold; _ch._ notochord.] the differentiation of the embryo may be said to commence with the formation of the notochord and the lateral plates of mesoblast. very shortly after the formation of these structures the axial part of the epiblast, above the notochord and in front of the primitive streak, which is somewhat thicker than the lateral parts, becomes differentiated into a distinct medullary plate, the sides of which form two folds--the medullary folds--enclosing between them a medullary groove (fig. ). in front the two medullary folds meet, while posteriorly they thin out and envelop between them the front end of the primitive streak. on the formation of the medullary folds the embryo assumes a form not unlike that of the embryos of many ichthyopsida at a corresponding stage. the appearance of the embryo, and its relation to the surrounding parts is somewhat diagrammatically represented in fig. . the primitive streak now ends with an anterior swelling (not represented in the figure), and is usually somewhat unsymmetrical. in most cases its axis is more nearly continuous with the left, or sometimes the right, medullary fold than with the medullary groove. in sections its front end appears as a ridge on one side or on the middle of the floor of the widened end of the medullary groove. [fig. . surface view of the pellucid area of a blastoderm of hours. none of the opaque area is shewn, the pear-shaped outline indicating the limits of the pellucid area. at the hinder part of the area is seen the primitive groove _pr._, with its nearly parallel walls, fading away behind, but curving round and meeting in front so as to form a distinct anterior termination to the groove, about halfway up the pellucid area. above the primitive groove is seen the medullary groove _m.c._, with the medullary folds _a._ these, diverging behind, slope away on either side of the primitive groove, while in front they curve round and meet each other close upon a curved line which represents the head-fold. the second curved line in front of and concentric with the first is the commencing fold of the amnion.] the mesoblast and hypoblast, within the area pellucida, do not give rise to the whole of these two layers in the surrounding area opaca; but the whole of the hypoblast of the area opaca, and a large portion of the mesoblast, and possibly even some of the epiblast, take their origin from the peculiar material already spoken of, which forms the germinal wall, and is continuous with the hypoblast at the edge of the area opaca (_vide_ figs. , , , , , ). the exact nature of this material has been the subject of many controversies. into these controversies it is not my purpose to enter, but subjoined are the results of my own examination. the germinal wall first consists, as already mentioned, of the lower cells of the thickened edge of the blastoderm, and of the subjacent yolk material with nuclei. during the period before the formation of the primitive streak the epiblast extends itself over the yolk, partly, it appears, at the expense of the cells of the germinal wall, and possibly even of cells formed around the nuclei in this part. this mode of growth of the epiblast is very similar to that in the epibolic gastrulas of many invertebrata, of the lamprey, etc.; but how far this process is continued in the subsequent extension of the epiblast i am unable to say. the cells of the germinal wall, which are at first well separated from the yolk below, become gradually absorbed in the growth of the hypoblast, and the remaining cells and yolk then become mingled together, and constitute a compound structure, continuous at its inner border with the hypoblast. this structure is the germinal wall usually so described. it is mainly formed of yolk granules with numerous nuclei, and a somewhat variable number of largish cells imbedded amongst them. the nuclei typically form a special layer immediately below the epiblast, some of which are probably enclosed by a definite cell-body. a special mass of nuclei (_vide_ figs. and , _n_) is usually present at the junction of the hypoblast with the germinal wall. the germinal wall at this stage corresponds in many respects with the granular material, forming a ring below the edge of the blastoderm in teleostei. it retains the characters above enumerated till near the close of the first day of incubation, _i.e._ till several mesoblastic somites have become established. it then becomes more distinctly separated from the subjacent yolk, and its component parts change very considerably in character. the whole wall becomes much less granular. it is then mainly formed of large vesicles, which often assume a palisade-like arrangement, and contain granular balls, spherules of white yolk, and in an early stage a good deal of granular matter (_vide_ fig. ). these bodies have some resemblance to cells, and have been regarded as such by kölliker (no. ) and virchow (no. ): they contain however nothing which can be considered as a nucleus. between them however nuclei[ ] may easily be seen in specimens hardened in picric acid, and stained with hæmatoxylin (these nuclei are not shewn in fig. ). these nuclei are about the same size as those of the hypoblast cells, and are surrounded by a thin layer of granular protoplasm, which is continuous with a mesh-work of granular protoplasm enveloping the above described vesicles. the germinal wall is still continuous with the hypoblast at its edge; and close to the junction of the two the hypoblast at first forms a layer of moderately columnar cells, one or two deep and directly continuous with the germinal wall, and at a later period usually consists of a mass of rounder cells lying above the somewhat abrupt inner edge of the germinal wall. [ ] the presence of numerous nuclei in the germinal wall was, i believe, first clearly proved by his (no. ). i cannot however accept the greater number of his interpretations. the germinal wall certainly gives rise to the hypoblast cells, which mainly grow at its expense. they arise at the edge of the area pellucida, and when first formed are markedly columnar, and enclose in their protoplasm one of the smaller vesicles of the germinal wall. in the later stages (fourth day and onwards) the whole germinal wall is stated to break up into columnar hypoblast cells, each of them mainly formed of one of the vesicles just spoken of. after the commencing formation of the embryo the mesoblast becomes established at the inner edge of the area opaca, between the germinal wall and the epiblast; and gives rise to the tissue which eventually forms the area vasculosa. it seems probable that the mesoblast in this situation is mainly derived from cells formed around the nuclei of the germinal wall, which are usually specially aggregated close below the epiblast. disse (no. ) has especially brought evidence in favour of this view, and my own observations also support it. the mesoblastic somites begin to be formed in the lateral plates of the mesoblast before the closure of the medullary folds. the first somite arises close to the foremost extremity of the primitive streak, but the next is stated to arise in front of this, so that the first formed somite corresponds to the second permanent vertebra[ ]. the region of the embryo in front of the second formed somite--at first the largest part of the embryo--is the cephalic region. the somites following the second are formed in the regular manner, from before backwards, out of the unsegmented posterior part of the embryo, which rapidly grows in length to supply the necessary material (fig. ). as the somites retain during the early stages of development an approximately constant breadth, their number is a fair test of the length of the trunk. with the growth of the embryo the primitive streak is continually carried back, the lengthening of the embryo always taking place between the front end of the primitive streak and the last somite; and during this process the primitive streak undergoes important changes both in itself and in its relation to the embryo. its anterior thicker part, which is enveloped in the diverging medullary folds, soon becomes distinguished in structure from the part behind this, and placed symmetrically in relation to the axis of the embryo (fig. , _a.pr_), and at the same time the medullary folds, which at first simply diverge on each side of the primitive streak, bend in again and meet behind so as completely to enclose the front part of the primitive streak. the region of the embryo bird, where the medullary folds diverge, is known as the sinus rhomboidalis, though it has no connection with the similarly named structure in the adult. by the time that ten somites are formed the sinus rhomboidalis is completely established, and the medullary groove has become converted into a tube till close up to the front end of the sinus. in the following stages the closure of the medullary canal extends to the sinus rhomboidalis, and the folding off of the hind end of the embryo from the yolk commences. coincidently with the last-named changes the sides of the front part of the primitive streak become thickened, and give rise to conspicuous caudal swellings; in which the layers of the embryo are indistinguishably fused. the apparently hinder part of the primitive streak becomes, as more particularly explained in the sequel, folded downwards and forwards on the ventral side. [ ] further investigations in confirmation of this widely accepted statement are very desirable. [fig. . dorsal view of the hardened blastoderm of a chick with five mesoblastic somites. the medullary folds have met for part of their extent, but have not united. _a.pr._ anterior part of the primitive streak; _p.pr._ posterior part of the primitive streak.] this is a convenient place to notice remarkable appearances which present themselves close to the junction of the neural plate and the primitive streak. these are temporary passages leading from the hinder end of the neural tube into the alimentary canal. they vary somewhat in different species of birds, and it appears that in the same species there may be several openings of the kind, which appear one after the other and then close again. they were first discovered by gasser (no. ). in all cases[ ] they lead round the posterior end of the notochord, or through the point where the notochord falls into the primitive streak. [ ] this does not appear to be the case with the anterior opening in melopsittacus undulatus, though its relations are not clear from braun's description (no. ). if the primitive streak is, as i believe, formed of the lips of the blastopore, there can be but little doubt that these structures are disappearing, and functionless rudiments of the opening of the blastopore, and they thus lend support to my view as to the nature of the primitive streak. that, in part, they correspond with the neurenteric canal of the ichthyopsida is clear from the detailed statements below. till their relations have been more fully worked out it is not possible to give a more definite explanation of them. according to braun (no. ) three independent communications are to be distinguished in birds. these are best developed in the duck. the first of these is a small funnel-shaped diverticulum leading from the neural groove through the hypoblast. it is visible when eight mesoblastic somites are present, and soon disappears. the second, which is the only one i have myself investigated, is present in the embryo duck with twenty-six mesoblastic somites, and is represented in the series of sections (fig. ). the passage leads obliquely backwards and ventralwards from the hind end of the neural tube into the notochord, where the latter joins the primitive streak (b). a narrow diverticulum from this passage is continued forwards for a short distance along the axis of the notochord (a, _ch_). after traversing the notochord, the passage is continued into a hypoblastic diverticulum, which opens ventrally into the future lumen of the alimentary tract (c). shortly behind the point where the neurenteric passage communicates with the neural tube the latter structure opens dorsally, and a groove on the surface of the primitive streak is continued backwards from it for a short distance (c). the first part of this passage to appear is the hypoblastic diverticulum above mentioned. this passage does not long remain open, but after its closure, when the tail-end of the embryo has become folded off from the yolk, a third passage is established, and leads round the end of the notochord from the closed medullary canal into the postanal gut. it is shewn diagrammatically in fig. , _ne_, and, as may be gathered from that figure, has the same relations as the neurenteric canal of the ichthyopsida. in the goose a passage has been described by gasser, which appears when about fourteen or fifteen somites are present, and lasts till twenty-three are formed. behind its opening the medullary canal is continued back as a small diverticulum, which follows the course of the primitive groove and is apparently formed by the conversion of this groove into a canal. it is at first open to the exterior, but soon becomes closed, and then atrophies. [fig. . four transverse sections through the neurenteric passage and adjoining parts in a duck embryo with twenty-six mesoblastic somites. a. section in front of the neurenteric canal shewing a lumen in the notochord. b. section through the passage from the medullary canal into the notochord. c. section shewing the hypoblastic opening of the neurenteric canal, and the groove on the surface of the primitive streak, which opens in front into the medullary canal. d. primitive streak immediately behind the opening of the neurenteric passage. _mc._ medullary canal; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord; _pr._ primitive streak.] in the chick there is a perforation on the floor of the neural canal, which is not so marked as those in the goose or duck, and never results in a complete continuity between the neural and alimentary tracts; but simply leads from the floor of the neural canal into the tissues of the tail swelling, and thence into a cavity in the posterior part of the notochord. the hinder diverticulum of the neural canal along the line of the primitive groove is, moreover, very considerable in the chick, and is not so soon obliterated as in the goose. the incomplete passage in the chick arises when about twelve somites are present. it is regarded by braun as equivalent to the first formed passage in the duck, but i very much doubt whether there is a very exact equivalence between the openings in different types, and think it more probable that they are variable remnants of a primitive neurenteric canal, which in the ancestors of those forms persisted through the whole period of the early development. the third passage is formed in the chick (kupffer) during the third day of incubation. in melopsittacus undulatus the two first communications are stated by braun (no. ) to be present at the same time, the one in front of the other. it is probable, from the above description, that the front portion of the primitive streak in the bird corresponds with that part of the lips of the blastopore in elasmobranchii which becomes converted into the tail swelling and the lining of the neurentic canal; while the original groove of the front part of the primitive streak appears to be converted into the posterior diverticulum of the neural canal. the hinder part of the primitive streak of the bird corresponds, in a very general way, with the part of the blastopore in elasmobranchii, which shuts off the embryo from the edge of the blastoderm (_vide_ p. ), though there is of course no genetic relation between the two structures. when the anterior part of the streak is becoming converted into the tail swelling, the groove of the posterior part gradually shallows and finally disappears. the hinder part itself atrophies from behind forwards, and in the course of the folding off of the embryo from the yolk the part of the blastoderm where it was placed becomes folded in, so as to form part of the ventral wall of the embryo. the apparent hinder part of the primitive streak is therefore in reality the ventral and anterior part[ ]. [ ] this nomenclature may seem a little paradoxical. but on reflection it will appear that so long as the embryo is simply extended on the yolk-sphere, the point where the ventral surface begins has to be decided on purely morphological grounds. that point may fairly be considered to be close to the junction of the medullary plate and primitive streak. to use a mathematical expression the sign will change when we pass from the dorsal to the ventral surface, so that in strict nomenclature we ought in continuing round the egg in the same direction to speak of passing backwards along the medullary, but forwards along the primitive streak. thus the apparent hind end of the primitive streak is really the front end, and _vice versâ_. i have avoided using this nomenclature to simplify my description, but it is of the utmost importance that the morphological fact should be grasped. if any reader fails to understand my point, a reference to fig. b will, i trust, make everything quite clear. the heart of acipenser (_ht_) is there seen apparently in front of the head. it is of course really ventral, and its apparent position is due to the extension of the embryo on a sphere. the apparent front end of the heart is really the hind end, and _vice versâ_. it has generally been maintained that the primitive streak and groove become wholly converted into the dorsal portion of the trunk of the embryo, _i.e._ into the posterior part of the medullary plate and subjacent structures. this view appears to me untenable in itself, and quite incompatible with the interpretation of the primitive streak given above. to shew how improbable it is, apart from any theoretical considerations, i have compiled two tables of the relative lengths of the primitive streak and the body of the embryo, measured by the number of sections made through them, in a series of examples from the data in gasser's important memoir (no. ). in these tables each horizontal line relates to a single embryo. the first column shews the number of somites, and the second the number of sections through the primitive streak. where the primitive streak becomes divided into two parts the sections through the two parts are given separately: the left column (a) referring to the anterior part of the streak; the right column (p) to the posterior part. the third column gives the number of sections through the embryo. the first table is for fowl embryos, the second for goose embryos. +--------+--------------+----------+ | no. of | no. of | no. of | |somites.| sections | sections | | | through | through | | | the | the | | | primitive | embryo. | | | streak. | | +--------+--------------+----------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | a p | | | or | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | +--------+--------------+----------+ +--------+--------------+----------+ | no. of | no. of | no. of | |somites.| sections | sections | | | through | through | | | the | the | | | primitive | embryo. | | | streak. | | +--------+--------------+----------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | a p | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | | | + = | | +--------+--------------+----------+ an inspection of these two tables shews that an actual diminution in the length of the primitive streak takes place just about the time when the first somites are being formed, but there is no ground for thinking that the primitive streak becomes then converted into the medullary plate. subsequently the primitive streak does not for a considerable time become markedly shorter, and certainly its curtailment is not really sufficient to account for the increased length of the embryo--an increase in length, which (with the exception of the head) takes place entirely by additions at the hind end. at the stage with fourteen somites the primitive streak is still pretty long. in the later stages, as is clearly demonstrated by the tables, the diminution in the length of the primitive streak mainly concerns the posterior part and not that adjoining the embryo. _general history of the germinal layers._ the epiblast. the epiblast of the body of the embryo, though several rows of cells deep, does not become divided into two strata till late in embryonic life; so that the organs of sense formed from the epiblast, which are the same as in the types already described, are not specially formed from an inner nervous stratum. the medullary canal is closed in the same manner as in elasmobranchii, the frog, etc., by the simple conversion of an open groove into a closed canal. the closure commences first of all in the region of the mid-brain, and extends rapidly backwards and more slowly forwards. it is completed in the fowl by about the time that twelve mesoblastic somites are formed. the mesoblast. the general changes of this layer do not exhibit any features of special interest--the division into lateral and vertebral plates, etc., being nearly the same as in the lower forms. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the axis of an embryo bird. the section is supposed to be made at a time when the head-fold has commenced but the tail-fold has not yet appeared. _f.so._ head-fold of the somatopleure. _f.sp._ head-fold of the splanchnopleure. _pp._ pleuroperitoneal cavity; _am._ commencing (head-) fold of the amnion; _d._ alimentary tract; _n.c._ neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _a._ epiblast; _b._ mesoblast; _c._ hypoblast.] [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the posterior end of an embryo bird at the time of the formation of the allantois. _ep._ epiblast; _sp.c._ spinal canal; _ch._ notochord; _n.e._ neurenteric canal; _hy._ hypoblast; _p.a.g._ postanal gut; _pr._ remains of primitive streak folded in on the ventral side; _al._ allantois; _me._ mesoblast; _an._ point where anus will be formed; _p.c._ perivisceral cavity; _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure.] the hypoblast. the closure of the alimentary canal is entirely effected by a process of tucking in or folding off of the embryo from the yolk-sack. the general nature of the process is seen in the diagrams figs. and . the folds by which it is effected are usually distinguished as the head-, the tail- and the lateral folds. the head-fold (fig. ) is the first to appear; and in combination with the lateral folds gives rise to the anterior part of the mesenteron (_d_) (including the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum), which by its mode of formation clearly ends blindly in front. the tail-fold, in combination with the two lateral folds, gives rise to the hinder part of the alimentary tract, including the cloaca, which is a true part of the mesenteron. at the junction between the two folds there is present a circular opening leading into the yolk-sack, which becomes gradually narrowed as development proceeds. the opening is completely closed long before the embryo is hatched. certain peculiarities in reference to the structure of the tail-fold are caused by the formation of the allantois, and are described with the embryonic appendages. the stomodæum and proctodæum are formed by epiblastic invaginations. the communication between the stomodæum and the mesenteron is effected comparatively early (on the th day in the chick), while that between the proctodæum and mesenteron does not take place till very late ( th day in the chick). the proctodæum gives rise to the bursa fabricii, as well as to the anus. although the opening of the anus is so late in being formed, the proctodæum itself is very early apparent. soon after the hinder part of the primitive streak becomes tucked in on the ventral side of the embryo, an invagination may be noticed where the tail of the embryo is folded off. this gradually becomes deeper, and finally comes into contact with the hypoblast at the front (primitively the apparent hind) border of the posterior section of the primitive streak. an early stage in the invagination is shewn in the diagram (fig. , _an_). it deserves to be noted that the anus lies some way in front of the blind end of the mesenteron, so that there is in fact a well-developed postanal section of the gut (fig. , _p.a.g_), which corresponds with that in the ichthyopsida. for a short period, as mentioned above (p. ), a neurenteric canal is present connecting the postanal gut with the medullary tube in the duck, fowl, and other birds. on the ventral wall of the postanal gut there are at first two prominences. the posterior of these is formed of part of the tail swelling, and is therefore derived from the apparent anterior part of the primitive streak. the anterior is formed from what was originally the apparent posterior part of the primitive streak. the postanal gut becomes gradually less and less prominent, and finally atrophies. _general development of the embryo._ it will be convenient to take the fowl as a type for the general development of the sauropsida. the embryo occupies a fairly constant position with reference to the egg-shell. its long axis is placed at right angles to that of the egg, and the broad end of the egg is on the left side of the embryo. the general history of the embryo has already been traced up to the formation of the first formed mesoblastic somites (fig. ). this stage is usually reached at about the close of the first day. after this stage the embryo rapidly grows in length, and becomes, especially in front and to the sides, more and more definitely folded off from the yolk-sack. the general appearance of the embryo between the th and th hours of incubation is shewn in fig. from the upper surface, and in fig. from the lower. the outlines of the embryo are far bolder than during the earlier stages. fig. shews the nature of the folding, by which the embryo is constricted off from the yolk-sack. the folds are complicated by the fact that the mesoblast has already become split into two layers--a splanchnic layer adjoining the hypoblast and a somatic layer adjoining the epiblast--and that the body cavity between these two layers has already become pretty wide in the lateral parts of the body of the embryo and the area pellucida. the fold by which the embryo is constricted off from the yolk-sack is in consequence a double one, formed of two limbs or laminæ, an inner limb constituted by the splanchnopleure, and an outer limb by the somatopleure. the relation of these two limbs is shewn in the diagrammatic longitudinal section (fig. ), and in the surface view (fig. ) the splanchnic limb being shewn at _sf_ and the somatic at _so_. between the two limbs, and closely adjoining the splanchnopleure, is seen the heart (_ht_). at the stage figured the head is well marked off from the trunk, but the first separation between the two regions was effected at an earlier period, on the appearance of the foremost somite (fig. ). very shortly after the cephalic region is established, and before the closure of the medullary folds, the anterior part of the neural canal becomes enlarged to form the first cerebral vesicle, from which two lateral diverticula--rudiments of the optic lobes--are almost at once given off (fig. , _op.v_). by the stage figured the cephalic part of the neural canal has become distinctly differentiated into a fore- (_f.b_), a mid- (_m.b_) and a hind-brain (_h.b_); and the hind-brain is often subdivided into successive lobes. in the region of the hind-brain two shallow epiblastic invaginations form the rudiments of the auditory pits (_au.p_). [fig. . dorsal view of the hardened blastoderm of a chick with five mesoblastic somites. the medullary folds have met for part of their extent, but have not united. _a.pr._ anterior part of the primitive streak; _p.pr._ posterior part of the primitive streak.] a section through the posterior part of the head of an embryo of hours is represented in fig. . the enlarged part of the neural tube, forming the hind-brain, is shewn at (_hb_). it is still connected with the epidermis, and at its dorsal border an outgrowth on each side forming the root of the vagus nerve is present (_vg_). the notochord (_ch_) is seen below the brain, and below this again the crescentic foregut (_al_). the commencing heart (_ht_), formed at this stage of two distinct tubes, is attached to the ventral side of the foregut. on the dorsal side of the foregut immediately below the notochord is seen a small body (_x_) formed as a thickening of the hypoblast. this may possibly be a rudiment of the subnotochordal rod of the ichthyopsida. [fig. . embryo of the chick between and hours viewed from above as an opaque object. (chromic acid preparation.) _f.b._ front-brain; _m.b._ mid-brain; _h.b._ hind-brain; _op.v._ optic vesicle; _au.p._ auditory pit; _o.f._ vitelline vein; _p.v._ mesoblastic somite; _m.f._ line of junction of the medullary folds above the medullary canal; _s.r._ sinus rhomboidalis; _t._ tail-fold; _p.r._ remains of primitive groove (not satisfactorily represented); _a.p._ area pellucida. the line to the side between _p.v._ and _m.f._ represents the true length of the embryo. the fiddle-shaped outline indicates the margin of the pellucid area. the head, which reaches as far back as _o.f._, is distinctly marked off; but neither the somatopleuric nor splanchnopleuric folds are shewn in the figure; the latter diverge at the level of _o.f._, the former considerably nearer the front, somewhere between the lines _m.b._ and _h.b._ the optic vesicles _op.v._ are seen bulging out beneath the superficial epiblast. the heart lying underneath the opaque body cannot be seen. the tail-fold _t._ is just indicated; no distinct lateral folds are as yet visible in the region midway between head and tail. at _m.f._ the line of junction between the medullary folds is still visible, being lost forwards over the cerebral vesicles, while behind may be seen the remains of the sinus rhomboidalis, _s.r._] in the trunk (fig. ) the chief point to be noticed is the complete closure of the neural canal, though in the posterior part, where the open sinus rhomboidalis was situated at an earlier stage, there may still be seen a dilatation of the canal (fig. , _s.r_), on each side of which are the tail swellings; while the mesoblastic somites stop short somewhat in front of it. underneath the neural canal may be seen the notochord (fig. , _ch_) extending into the head, as far as the base of the mid-brain. at the sides of the trunk are seen the mesoblastic somites (_p.v_), the outer edges of which mark the boundary between the vertebral and lateral plates. a fainter line can be seen marking off the part of the lateral plates which will become part of the body-wall, from that which pertains to the yolk-sack. [fig. . an embryo chick of about thirty-six hours viewed from below as a transparent object. _fb._ the fore-brain or first cerebral vesicle, projecting from the sides of which are seen the optic vesicles _op_. a definite head is now constituted, the backward limit of the somatopleure fold being indicated by the faint line _s.o._ around the head are seen the two limbs of the amniotic head-fold: one, the true amnion _a_, closely enveloping the head, the other, the false amnion _a´_, at some distance from it. the head is seen to project beyond the anterior limit of the pellucid area. the splanchnopleure fold extends as far back as _sp_. along its diverging limbs are seen the conspicuous venous roots of the vitelline veins, uniting to form the heart _h_, already established by the coalescence of two lateral halves which, continuing forward as the bulbus arteriosus _b.a_, is lost in the substance of the head just in front of the somatopleure fold. _hb._ hind-brain; _mb._ mid-brain; _p.v._ and _v.pl._ mesoblastic somites; _ch._ front end of notochord; _mc._ posterior part of notochord; _e._ parietal mesoblast; _pl._ outline of area pellucida; _pv._ primitive streak.] [fig. . transverse section through the posterior part of the head of an embryo chick of thirty hours. _hb._ hind-brain; _vg._ vagus nerve; _ep._ epiblast; _ch._ notochord; _x._ thickening of hypoblast (possibly a rudiment of the subnotochordal rod); _al._ throat; _ht._ heart; _pp._ body cavity; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _sf._ splanchnic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . chick of the third day ( hours) viewed from underneath as a transparent object. _a´._ the outer amniotic fold or false amnion. this is very conspicuous around the head, but may also be seen at the tail. _a._ the true amnion, very closely enveloping the head, and here seen only between the projections of the several cerebral vesicles. it may also be traced at the tail, _t_. in the embryo of which this is a drawing the head-fold of the amnion reached a little farther backward than the reference _u_, but its limit cannot be distinctly seen through the body of the embryo. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _f.b._ vesicle of the third ventricle; _m.b._ mid-brain; _h.b._ hind-brain; _op._ eye; _ot._ auditory vesicle. _ofv._ vitelline veins forming the venous roots of the heart. the trunk on the right hand (left trunk when the embryo is viewed in its natural position from above) receives a large branch, shewn by dotted lines, coming from the anterior portion of the sinus terminalis. _ht._ the heart, now completely twisted on itself. _ao._ the bulbus arteriosus, the three aortic arches being dimly seen stretching from it across the throat, and uniting into the aorta, still more dimly seen as a curved dark line running along the body. the other curved dark line by its side, ending near the reference _y_, is the notochord _ch_. about opposite the line of reference _x_ the aorta divides into two trunks, which running in the line of the somewhat opaque somites on either side, are not clearly seen. their branches however, _of.a_, the vitelline arteries, are conspicuous and are seen to curve round the commencing side-folds. _pv._ mesoblastic somites. _x_ is placed at the "point of divergence" of the splanchnopleure folds. the blind foregut begins here and extends about up to near _y_, the more transparent space marked by that letter is however mainly due to the presence there of investing mass at the base of the brain. _x_ marks the hind limit of the splanchnopleure folds. the limit of the more transparent somatopleure folds cannot be seen. it will be of course understood that all the body of the embryo above the level of the reference _x_, is seen through the portion of the yolk-sack (vascular and pellucid area), which has been removed with the embryo from the egg, as well as through the double amniotic fold. the view being from below, whatever is described in the natural position as being to the right appears here to the left, and _vice versâ_.] during the latter half of the second day, and during the third day, great progress is made in the folding off of the embryo. both the head- and tail-ends of the embryo become quite distinct, and the side-folds make such considerable progress that the embryo is only connected with the yolk by a broad stalk. this stalk is double, and consists of an inner splanchnic stalk, continuous with the walls of the alimentary canal, and an outer somatic stalk, continuous with the body-walls of the embryo. the somatic stalk is very much wider than the splanchnic. (compare fig. e and f, which may be taken as diagrammatic longitudinal and transverse sections of the embryo on the third day.) a change also takes place in the position of the embryo. up to the third day it is placed symmetrically, on the yolk, with its ventral face downwards. during this day it turns so as partially to lie on its left side. this rotation affects first the head (fig. ), but in the course of the fourth day gradually extends to the rest of the body (fig. ). coincidently with this change in position the whole embryo undergoes a ventral and somewhat spiral flexure. during the latter part of the second day and during the third day important changes take place in the head. one of these is the cranial flexure. this, which must not be confounded with the curvature of the body just referred to, commences by the bending downwards of the front part of the head round a point which may be considered as the extreme end either of the notochord or of the alimentary canal. the cranial flexure progresses rapidly, the front-brain being more and more folded down till, at the end of the third day, it is no longer the first vesicle or fore-brain, but the second cerebral vesicle or mid-brain, which occupies the extreme front of the long axis of the embryo. in fact a straight line through the long axis of the embryo would now pass through the mid-brain instead of, as at the beginning of the second day, through the fore-brain, so completely has the front end of the neural canal been folded over the end of the notochord. the commencement of this cranial flexure gives the body of an embryo of the third day somewhat the appearance of a chemist's retort, the head of the embryo corresponding to the bulb. on the fourth day the flexure is still greater than on the third, but on the fifth and succeeding days it becomes less obvious. the anterior part of the fore-brain has now become greatly dilated, and may be distinguished from the posterior part as the unpaired rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres. it soon bulges out laterally into two lobes, which do not however become separated by a median partition till a much later period. [fig. . side view of the head of an embryo chick of the third day as an opaque object. (chromic acid preparation.) _ch._ cerebral hemispheres; _f.b._ vesicle of third ventricle; _m.b._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _h.b._ medulla oblongata; _n._ nasal pit; _ot._ auditory vesicle in the stage of a pit with the opening not yet closed up; _op._ optic vesicle, with _l._ lens and _ch.f._ choroidal fissure. the choroidal fissure, though formed entirely underneath the superficial epiblast, is distinctly visible from the outside. _ f._ the first visceral fold; above it is seen a slight indication of the superior maxillary process. _ _, _ _, _ f._ second, third and fourth visceral folds, with the visceral clefts between them.] owing to the development of the cerebral rudiment the posterior part of the fore-brain no longer occupies the front position (fig. , and _fb_), and ceases to be the conspicuous object that it was. inasmuch as its walls will hereafter be developed into the parts surrounding the so-called third ventricle of the brain, it is known as the vesicle of the third ventricle, or the thalamencephalon. on the summit of the thalamencephalon there may now be seen a small conical projection, the rudiment of the _pineal gland_, while the centre of the floor is produced into a funnel-shaped process, the infundibulum, which, stretching towards the extreme end of the alimentary canal, joins the pituitary body. beyond an increase in size, which it shares with nearly all parts of the embryo, and the change of position which has already been referred to, the mid-brain undergoes no great alterations during the third day. its sides will ultimately become developed into the corpora bigemina or optic lobes, its floor will form the crura cerebri, and its cavity will be reduced to the narrow canal known as the iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum and two diverticula leading from this into the optic lobes. in the hind-brain, or third cerebral vesicle, the roof of the part which lies nearest to the mid-brain, becomes during the third day marked off from the rest by a slight constriction. this distinction, which becomes much more evident later on by a thickening of the walls and roof of the front portion, separates the hind-brain into the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata (fig. _cb_ and _hb_). while the walls of the cerebellar portion of the hind-brain become very much thickened as well at the roof as at the sides, the roof of the posterior portion or medulla oblongata thins out into a mere membrane, forming a delicate covering to the cavity of the vesicle (fig. _iv_), which here becoming broad and shallow with greatly thickened floor and sides, is known as the fourth ventricle, subsequently overhung by the largely-developed posterior portion of the cerebellum. [fig. . head of an embryo chick of the fourth day viewed as an opaque object: from the front in a, and from the side in b. (chromic acid preparation.) _ch._ cerebral hemispheres; _fb._ vesicle of the third ventricle; _op._ eyeball; _nf._ nasofrontal process; _m._ cavity of mouth; _sm._ superior maxillary process of _f. _, the first visceral fold (inferior maxillary process); _f. _, _f. _, second and third visceral folds; _n._ nasal pit; _ot._ otic vesicle. in order to gain the view here given the neck was cut across between the third and fourth visceral folds. in the section _e_ thus made, are seen the alimentary canal _al_, the neural canal _n.c._, the notochord _ch_, the dorsal aorta _ao_, and the vertebral veins _v_.] the third day, therefore, marks the distinct differentiation of the brain into five distinct parts: the cerebral hemispheres, the central masses round the third ventricle, the corpora bigemina, the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata; the original cavity of the neural canal at the same time passing from its temporary division of three single cavities into the permanent arrangement of a series of connected ventricles, viz. the lateral ventricles, the third ventricle, the iter (with a prolongation into the optic lobe on each side), and the fourth ventricle. by the third day the lens of the eye has become formed by an invagination of the epiblast, and other changes in the eye have taken place. the external opening of the auditory pit is closed before the completion of the third day (fig. , _rl_); and the rudiments of the external parts of the organ of smell have become formed as small pits on the under surface of the fore-brain (fig. , _n_). like the lens and the labyrinth of the ear, they are formed as invaginations of the external epiblast; unlike them they are never closed up. [fig. . section through the hind-brain of a chick at the end of the third day of incubation. _iv._ fourth ventricle. the section shews the very thin roof and thicker sides of the ventricle. _ch._ notochord; _cv._ anterior cardinal vein; _cc._ involuted auditory vesicle; _cc_ points to the end which will form the cochlear canal; _rl._ recessus labyrinthi (remains of passage connecting the vesicle with the exterior); _hy._ hypoblast lining the alimentary canal; _ao._, _aoa._ aorta, and aortic arch.] during the second and third days there are formed the visceral or branchial clefts, homologous with those of the ichthyopsida, though never developing branchial processes from their walls. they are however real clefts or slits passing right through the walls of the throat, and are placed in series on either side across the axis of the alimentary canal, lying not quite at right angles to that axis nor parallel to each other, but converging somewhat to the middle of the throat in front (fig. and fig. ). four in number on either side, the anterior is the first to be formed, the other three following in succession. they originate as pouches of the hypoblast, which meet the epiblast. at the junction of the epiblast and hypoblast an absorption of the tissue is effected, placing the pouches in communication with the exterior. no sooner has a cleft been formed than its anterior border (_i.e._ the border nearer the head) becomes raised into a thick lip or fold, the _visceral_ or _branchial fold_. each cleft has its own fold on its anterior border, and in addition the posterior border of the fourth or last visceral cleft is raised into a similar fold. there are thus _five_ visceral folds to _four_ visceral clefts (figs. and ). the last two folds however, and especially the last, are not nearly so thick and prominent as the other three, the second being the broadest and most conspicuous of all. the first fold meets, or nearly meets, its fellow in the middle line in front, but the second falls short of reaching the middle line, and the third, fourth and fifth do so in an increasing degree. thus in front views of the neck a triangular space with its apex directed towards the head is observed between the ends of the several folds (fig. a). into this space the pleuroperitoneal cavity extends, the somatopleure separating from the splanchnopleure along the ends of the folds; and it is here that the aorta plunges into the mesoblast of the body. the history of these most important visceral folds and clefts will be dealt with in detail hereafter; meanwhile i may say that in the chick and higher vertebrates the first three pairs of folds are those which call for most notice. the first fold on either side, increasing rapidly in size and prominence, does not, like the others, remain single, but sends off in the course of the third day a branch or bud-like process from its upper edge (fig. ). this branch, starting from near the outer end of the fold, runs forwards and upwards in front of the stomodæum, tending to meet the corresponding branch from the fold on the other side, at a point in the middle line nearer the front of the head than the junction of the main folds (fig. , _sm_). the two branches do not quite meet, being separated by a median process, which at the same time grows down from the extreme front of the head, and against which they abut (fig. , _k_). between the main folds, which are directed somewhat downwards and their branches which slant upwards, the somewhat lozenge-shaped stomodæum is placed, which, as the folds become more and more prominent, grows deeper and deeper (fig. a). the main folds form the mandibular arch, and their branches the maxillary processes, and the descending process which helps to complete the anterior margin of the stomodæum or oral cavity is called, from the parts which will be formed out of it, the _frontonasal process_. [fig. . transverse section through the dorsal region of an embryo chick of hours. _m.c._ medullary canal; _p.v._ mesoblastic somite; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _so._ somatopleure; _s.p._ splanchnopleure; _p.p._ pleuroperitoneal cavity; _ao._ aorta; _v._ blood-vessels; _w._ germinal wall; _ch._ notochord; _op._ junction between area opaca and area pellucida.] in two succeeding pairs of visceral folds, which correspond with the hyoid and first branchial arches of the ichthyopsida, are developed the parts of the hyoid bone, which will be best considered in connection with the development of the skull. the last two disappear in the chick without giving rise to any permanent structures. the external opening of the first visceral _i.e._ hyomandibular cleft becomes closed[ ], but the inner part of the cleft, opening into the mouth, gives rise to the eustachian tube and the tympanic cavity, the latter being formed as a special diverticulum. [ ] _vide_ moldenhauer, "die entwicklung des mittleren und des äusseren ohres." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. . part of the membranous mandibular and hyoid arches form a wall round the dorsal part of the original opening of this cleft, and so give rise to the meatus auditorius externus. at the bottom of this is placed the tympanic membrane, which is probably derived from the tissue which grows over the dorsal part of the opening of the first cleft. it is formed of an external epiblast epithelium, a middle layer of mesoblast, and an internal hypoblastic epithelium. [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of a duck embryo with about twenty-four mesoblastic somites. _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _wd._ wolffian duct; _st._ segmental tube; _ca.v._ cardinal vein; _ms._ muscle-plate; _sp.g._ spinal ganglion; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _hy._ hypoblast.] the general nature of the changes, which take place in the trunk between the commencement of the second half of the second day and the end of the third day, is illustrated by the sections figs. , , . [fig. . section through the dorsal region of an embryo chick at the end of the third day. _am._ amnion; _m.p._ muscle-plate. _c.v._ cardinal vein. _ao._ dorsal aorta. the section passes through the point where the dorsal aorta is just commencing to divide into two branches. _ch._ notochord; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _w.b._ commencing differentiation of the mesoblast cells to form the wolffian body; _ep._ epiblast; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _hy._ hypoblast. the section passes through the point where the digestive canal communicates with the yolk-sack, and is consequently still _open_ below.] in the earliest of these sections there is not a trace of a folding off of the embryo from the yolk, and the body walls are quite horizontal. in the second section (fig. ), from an embryo of about two days, the body walls are already partially inclined, and the splanchnopleure is very distinctly folded inwards. there is a considerable space between the notochord and the hypoblast, which forms the rudiment of the mesentery. in the third section (fig. ) the body walls have become nearly vertical, the folding of the splanchnopleure is nearly completed, and it is only for a small region that the alimentary tract is open, by the vitelline duct, to the yolk-sack. [fig. . embryo chick at the end of the fourth day seen as a transparent object. the amnion has been completely removed, the cut end of the somatic stalk is shewn at _s.s._ with the allantois (_al_) protruding from it. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _f.b._ vesicle of the third ventricle with the pineal gland (_pn_) projecting from its summit; _m.b._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum. _iv. v._ fourth ventricle; _l._ lens; _ch.s._ choroid slit. owing to the growth of the optic cup the two layers of which it is composed cannot any longer be seen from the surface, but the retinal surface of the layer alone is visible. _cen. v._ auditory vesicle; _s.m._ superior maxillary process; _ f_, _ f_, etc. first, second, third and fourth visceral arches; _v._ fifth nerve sending one branch to the eye, the ophthalmic branch, and another to the first visceral arch; _vii._ seventh nerve passing to the second visceral arch; _g.ph._ glossopharyngeal nerve passing towards the third visceral arch; _pg._ pneumogastric nerve passing towards the fourth visceral arch; _iv._ investing mass. no attempt has been made in the figure to indicate the position of the dorsal wall of the throat, which cannot be easily made out in the living embryo; _ch._ notochord. the front end of this cannot be seen in the living embryo. it does not end however as shewn in the figure, but takes a sudden bend downwards and then terminates in a point. _ht._ heart seen through the walls of the chest; _m.p._ muscle-plates. _w._ wing; _h.l._ hind limb. beneath the hind limb is seen the curved tail.] these three sections further illustrate ( ) the gradual differentiation of the mesoblastic somites (fig. , _p.v_) into (_a_) the muscle-plates (figs. , _ms_ and , _m.p_), and (_b_) the tissue to form the vertebral bodies and adjacent connective tissue; ( ) the formation of a mass of tissue between the lateral plates and the mesoblastic somites (fig. ), known as the intermediate cell mass, on the dorsal side of which the wolffian duct is formed, while the intermediate cell mass itself breaks up into the segmental tubes (fig. , _st_) and connective tissue of the wolffian body. [fig. . section through the lumbar region of an embryo chick at the end of the fourth day. _n.c._ neural canal; _p.r._ posterior root of spinal nerve with ganglion; _a.r._ anterior root of spinal nerve; _a.g.c._ anterior grey column of spinal cord; _a.w.c._ anterior white column of spinal cord just commencing to be formed, and not very distinctly marked in the figure; _m.p._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _w.r._ wolffian ridge; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _v.c.a._ posterior cardinal vein; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _w.b._ wolffian body, consisting of tubules and malpighian bodies; _g.e._ germinal epithelium; _d._ alimentary canal; _m._ commencing mesentery; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _v._ blood-vessels; _pp._ pleuroperitoneal cavity.] various other features in the development of the vascular system, general mesoblast, etc., are also represented in these sections. it may more especially be noted that there are at first two widely separated dorsal aortæ, which gradually approach (figs. and ); and meeting first of all in front finally coalesce (figs. and ) for their whole length. the general appearance of the embryo of the fourth day may be gathered from fig. . [fig. . head of a chick from below on the sixth and seventh days of incubation. (from huxley.) _i^a._ cerebral vesicles; _a._ eye, in which the remains of the choroid slit can still be seen in a; _g._ nasal pits; _k._ frontonasal process; _l._ superior maxillary process; _ ._ inferior maxillary process or first visceral arch; _ ._ second visceral arch; _x._ first visceral cleft. in a the cavity of the mouth is seen enclosed by the frontonasal process, the superior maxillary processes and the first pair of visceral arches. at the back of it is seen the opening leading into the throat. the nasal grooves leading from the nasal pits to the mouth are already closed over and converted into canals. in b the external opening of the mouth has become much constricted, but it is still enclosed by the frontonasal process and superior maxillary processes above, and by the inferior maxillary processes (first pair of visceral arches) below. the superior maxillary processes have united with the frontonasal process, along nearly the whole length of the latter.] the changes which have taken place consist for the most part in the further development of the parts already present, and do not need to be specified in detail. the most important event of the day is perhaps the formation of the limbs. they appear as outgrowths from a slightly marked lateral ridge (fig. , _wr_), which runs on the level of the lower end of the muscle-plates for nearly the whole length of the trunk. this ridge is known as the wolffian ridge. the first trace of the limbs can be seen towards the end of the third day; and their appearance at the end of the fourth day is shown in fig. , _w_ and _hl_. a section through the trunk of the embryo on the fourth day is represented in fig. . the section passes through the region of the trunk behind the vitelline duct. the mesentery (_m_) is very much deeper and thinner than on the previous day. the notochord has become invested by a condensed mesoblastic tissue, which will give rise to the vertebral column. the two dorsal aortæ have now completely coalesced into the single dorsal aorta, and the wolffian body has reached a far more complete development. in the course of the fifth day the face begins to assume a less embryonic character, and by the sixth and succeeding days presents distinctive avian characters. the general changes which take place between the sixth day and the time of hatching do not require to be specified in detail. _foetal membranes._ the reptilia, aves and mammalia are distinguished from the ichthyopsida by the possession of certain provisional foetal membranes, known as the amnion and allantois. as the mode of development of these membranes may be most conveniently studied in the chick, i have selected this type for their detailed description. the amnion. the amnion is a peculiar sack which envelopes and protects the embryo. at the end of the first day of incubation, when the cleavage of the mesoblast has somewhat advanced, there appears, a little way in front of the semilunar head-fold, a second fold (fig. , also fig. c, _af_ and fig. , _am_), running more or less parallel or rather concentric with the first and not unlike it in general appearance, though differing widely from it in nature. this second fold gives rise to the amnion, and is limited entirely to the somatopleure. rising up as a semilunar fold with its concavity directed towards the embryo (fig. c, _af_), as it increases in height it is gradually drawn backwards over the developing head of the embryo. the fold thus covering the head is in due time accompanied by similar folds of somatopleure, starting at some little distance behind the tail, and at some little distance from the side (fig. c, d, e, f, and , _am_). in this way the embryo becomes surrounded by a series of folds of thin somatopleure, which form a continuous wall all round it. all are drawn gradually over the body of the embryo, and at last meet and completely coalesce (fig. , h, i, and , _am_), all traces of their junction being removed. beneath these united folds there is therefore a cavity, within which the embryo lies (fig. h, _ae_). this cavity is the cavity of the amnion. [fig. . a to n forms a series of purely diagrammatic representations introduced to facilitate the comprehension of the manner in which the body of the embryo is formed, and of the various relations of the yolk-sack, amnion, and allantois. in all _vt_ is the vitelline membrane, placed, for convenience sake, at some distance from its contents, and represented as persisting in the later stages; in reality it is in direct contact with the blastoderm or yolk, and early ceases to have a separate existence. in all _e_ indicates the embryo proper; _pp_ the general pleuroperitoneal space with its extension between the membranes; _af_ the folds of the amnion; _a_ the amnion proper; _ae_ or _ac_ the cavity holding the liquor amnii; _al_ the allantois; _a´_ the alimentary canal; _y_ or _ys_ the yolk or yolk-sack. a, which may be considered as a vertical section taken longitudinally along the axis of the embryo, represents the relations of the parts of the egg at the time of the first appearance of the head-fold, seen on the right-hand side of the embryo _e_. the blastoderm is spreading both behind (to the left hand in the figure), and in front (to right hand) of the head-fold, its limits being indicated by the shading and thickening for a certain distance of the margin of the yolk _y_. as yet there is no fold on the left side of _e_ corresponding to the head-fold on the right. b is a vertical transverse section of the same period drawn for convenience sake on a larger scale (it should have been made flatter and less curved). it shews that the blastoderm (vertically shaded) is extending laterally as well as fore and aft, in fact in all directions; but there are no lateral folds, and therefore no lateral limits to the body of the embryo as distinguished from the blastoderm. incidentally it shews the formation of the medullary groove by the rising up of the laminæ dorsales. beneath the section of the groove is seen the rudiment of the notochord. on either side a line indicates the cleavage of the mesoblast just commencing. in c, which represents a vertical longitudinal section of later date, both head-fold (on the right) and tail-fold (on the left) have advanced considerably. the alimentary canal is therefore closed in, both in front and behind, but is in the middle still widely open to the yolk _y_ below. though the axial parts of the embryo have become thickened by growth, the body-walls are still thin; in them however is seen the cleavage of the mesoblast, and the divergence of the somatopleure and splanchnopleure. the splanchnopleure both at the head and at the tail is folded in to a greater extent than the somatopleure, and forms the still wide splanchnic stalk. at the end of the stalk, which is as yet short, it bends outwards again and spreads over the surface of the yolk. the somatopleure, folded in less than the splanchnopleure to form the wider somatic stalk, sooner bends round and runs outwards again. at a little distance from both the head and the tail it is raised up into a fold, _af_, _af_, that in front of the head being the highest. these are the amniotic folds. descending from either fold, it speedily joins the splanchnopleure again, and the two, once more united into an uncleft membrane, extend some way downwards over the yolk, the limit or outer margin of the opaque area not being shewn. all the space between the somatopleure and the splanchnopleure is shaded with dots, _pp_. close to the body this space may be called the pleuroperitoneal cavity; but outside the body it runs up into either amniotic fold, and also extends some little way over the yolk. d represents the tail end at about the same stage on a more enlarged scale, in order to illustrate the position of the allantois _al_ (which was for the sake of simplicity omitted in c), shewn as a bud from the splanchnopleure, stretching downwards into the pleuroperitoneal cavity _pp_. the dotted area representing as before the whole space between the splanchnopleure and the somatopleure, it is evident that a way is open for the allantois to extend from its present position into the space between the two limbs of the amniotic fold _af_. e, also a longitudinal section, represents a stage still farther advanced. both splanchnic and somatic stalks are much narrowed, especially the former, the cavity of the alimentary canal being now connected with the cavity of the yolk by a mere canal. the folds of the amnion are spreading over the top of the embryo and nearly meet. each fold consists of two walls or limbs, the space between which (dotted) is as before merely a part of the space between the somatopleure and splanchnopleure. between these arched amniotic folds and the body of the embryo is a space not as yet entirely closed in. f represents on a different scale a transverse section of e taken through the middle of the splanchnic stalk. the dark ring in the body of the embryo shews the position of the neural canal, below which is a black spot, marking the notochord. on either side of the notochord the divergence of somatopleure and splanchnopleure is obvious. the splanchnopleure, more or less thickened, is somewhat bent in towards the middle line, but the two sides do not unite, the alimentary canal being as yet open below at this spot; after converging somewhat they diverge again and run outwards over the yolk. the somatopleure, folded in to some extent to form the body-walls, soon bends outwards again, and is almost immediately raised up into the lateral folds of the amnion _af_. the continuity of the pleuroperitoneal cavity, within the body, with the interior of the amniotic fold, outside the body, is evident; both cavities are dotted. g, which corresponds to d at a later stage, is introduced to shew the manner in which the allantois, now a considerable hollow body, whose cavity is continuous with that of the alimentary canal, becomes directed towards the amniotic fold. in h a longitudinal, and i a transverse section of later date, great changes have taken place. the several folds of the amnion have met and coalesced above the body of the embryo. the inner limbs of the several folds have united into a single membrane (_a_), which encloses a space (_ae_ or _ac_) round the embryo. this membrane _a_ is the amnion proper, and the cavity within it, _i.e._ between it and the embryo, is the cavity of the amnion containing the liquor amnii. the allantois is omitted for the sake of simplicity. it will be seen that the amnion _a_ now forms in every direction the termination of the somatopleure; the peripheral portions of the somatopleure, the united outer or descending limbs of the folds _af_ in c, d, f, g having been cut adrift, and now forming an independent continuous membrane, the serous membrane, immediately underneath the vitelline membrane. in i the splanchnopleure is seen converging to complete the closure of the alimentary canal _a´_ even at the stalk (elsewhere the canal has of course long been closed in), and then spreading outwards as before over the yolk. the point at which it unites with the somatopleure, marking the extreme limit of the cleavage of the mesoblast, is now much nearer the lower pole of the diminished yolk. as a result of these several changes, a great increase in the dotted space has taken place. it is now possible to pass from the actual peritoneal cavity within the body, on the one hand round a great portion of the circumference of the yolk, and on the other hand above the amnion _a_, in the space between it and the serous envelope. into this space the allantois is seen spreading in k at _al_. in l the splanchnopleure has completely invested the yolk-sack, but at the lower pole of the yolk is still continuous with that peripheral remnant of the somatopleure now called the serous membrane. in other words, cleavage of the mesoblast has been carried all round the yolk (_ys_) except at the very lower pole. in m the cleavage has been carried through the pole itself; the peripheral portion of the splanchnopleure forms a complete investment of the yolk quite unconnected with the peripheral portion of the somatopleure, which now exists as a continuous membrane lining the interior of the shell. the yolk-sack (_ys_) is therefore quite loose in the pleuroperitoneal cavity, being connected only with the alimentary canal (_a´_) by a solid pedicle. lastly, in n the yolk-sack (_ys_) is shewn being withdrawn into the cavity of the body of the embryo. the allantois is as before, for the sake of simplicity, omitted; its pedicle would of course lie by the side of _ys_ in the somatic stalk marked by the usual dotted shading. it may be repeated that the above are diagrams, the various spaces being shewn distended, whereas in many of them in the actual egg the walls have collapsed, and are in near juxtaposition.] [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the axis of an embryo. the section is supposed to be made at a time when the head-fold has commenced but the tail-fold has not yet appeared. _f.so._ fold of the somatopleure. _f.sp._ fold of the splanchnopleure; _d._ foregut. _pp._ pleuroperitoneal cavity between somatopleure and splanchnopleure; _am._ commencing (head) fold of the amnion. for remaining reference letters _vide_ p. .] each fold is necessarily formed of two limbs, both limbs consisting of epiblast and a very thin layer of mesoblast; but in one limb the epiblast looks towards the embryo, while in the other it looks away from it. the space between the two limbs of the fold, as can easily be seen in fig. , is really part of the space between the somatopleure and splanchnopleure; it is therefore continuous with the general space, part of which afterwards becomes the pleuroperitoneal cavity of the body, shaded with dots in the figure and marked (_pp_); so that it is possible to pass from the cavity between the two limbs of the amniotic folds into the cavity which surrounds the alimentary canal. when the several folds meet and coalesce together above the embryo, they unite in such a way that all their inner limbs unite to form a continuous inner membrane or sack, and all their outer limbs a similarly continuous outer membrane or sack. the inner membrane thus built up forms a completely closed sack round the body of the embryo, and is called the amniotic sack, or _amnion proper_ (fig. , h, i, &c., _a_), and the fluid which it afterwards contains is called the amniotic fluid, or _liquor amnii_. the space between the inner and outer sack is, from the mode of its formation, simply a part of the general cavity found everywhere between somatopleure and splanchnopleure. the outer sack over the embryo lies close under the vitelline membrane, and the cavity between it and the true amnion is gradually extended over the whole yolk-sack. the actual manner in which the amniotic folds meet is somewhat peculiar (his and kölliker). the head-fold of the amnion is the earliest formed, and completely covers over the head before the end of the second day. the side and tail folds are later in developing. the side-folds finally meet in the dorsal line, and their coalescence proceeds backwards from the head-fold in a linear direction, till there is only a small opening left over the tail. this also becomes closed early on the third day. the allantois[ ] is essentially a diverticulum of the alimentary tract into which it opens immediately in front of the anus. its walls are formed of splanchnic mesoblast with blood-vessels, within which is a lining of hypoblast. it becomes a conspicuous object on the third day of incubation, but its first development takes place at an earlier period, and is intimately connected with the formation of the posterior section of the gut. [ ] for details on the development of the allantois the reader is referred to the works of kölliker (no. ), gasser (no. ), and for a peculiar view on the subject kupffer (no. ). in addition to these works he may refer to dobrynin "ueber die erste anlage der allantois." _sitz. der k. akad. wien_, bd. , . e. gasser, _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. allantois_, etc. at the time of the folding in of the hinder end of the mesenteron the splitting of the mesoblast into somatopleure and splanchnopleure has extended up to the border of the hinder division of the primitive streak. as has been already mentioned, the ventral wall of the postanal section of the alimentary tract is formed by the primitive streak. immediately in front of this is the involution which forms the proctodæum; while the wall of the hindgut in front of the anus owes its origin to a folding in of the splanchnopleure. the allantois first appears as a protuberance of the splanchnopleure just in front of the anus. this protuberance arises, however, before the splanchnopleure has begun to be tucked in so as to form the ventral wall of the hindgut; and it then forms a diverticulum (fig. a, _all_) the open end of which is directed forward, while its blind end points somewhat upwards and towards the peritoneal space behind the embryo. [fig. . two longitudinal sections of the tail-end of an embryo chick to shew the origin of the allantois. a at the beginning of the third day; b at the middle of the third day. (after dobrynin.) _t._ the tail; _m._ the mesoblast of the body, about to form the mesoblastic somites; _x´._ the roof of _x´´._ the neural canal; _dd._ the hind end of the hindgut; _so._ somatopleure; _spl._ splanchnopleure; _u._ the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure carrying the vessels of the yolk-sack; _pp._ pleuroperitoneal cavity; _df._ the epithelium lining the pleuroperitoneal cavity; _all._ the commencing allantois; _w._ projection formed by anterior and posterior divisions of the primitive streak; _y._ hypoblast which will form the ventral wall of the hindgut; _v._ anal invagination; _g._ cloaca.] as the hindgut becomes folded in the allantois shifts its position, and forms (figs. b and ) a rather wide vesicle lying immediately below the hind end of the digestive canal, with which it communicates freely by a still considerable opening; its blind end projects into the pleuroperitoneal cavity below. still later the allantois grows forward, and becomes a large spherical vesicle, still however remaining connected with the cloaca by a narrow canal which forms its neck or stalk (fig. g, _al_). from the first the allantois lies in the pleuroperitoneal cavity. in this cavity it grows forwards till it reaches the front limit of the hindgut, where the splanchnopleure turns back to enclose the yolk-sack. it does not during the third day project beyond this point; but on the fourth day begins to pass out beyond the body of the chick, along the as yet wide space between the splanchnic and somatic stalks of the embryo, on its way to the space between the external and internal folds of the amnion, which it will be remembered is directly continuous with the pleuroperitoneal cavity (fig. k). in this space it eventually spreads out over the whole body of the chick. on the first half of the fourth day the vesicle is still very small, and its growth is not very rapid. its mesoblast wall still remains very thick. in the latter half of the day its growth becomes very rapid, and it forms a very conspicuous object in a chick of that date (fig. , _al_). at the same time its blood-vessels become important. it receives its supply of blood from two branches of the iliac arteries known as the allantoic arteries[ ], and the blood is brought back from it by two allantoic veins which run along in the body walls (fig. ) and after uniting into a single trunk fall into the vitelline vein close behind the liver. [ ] i propose to call these arteries and the corresponding veins the allantoic arteries and veins, instead of using the confusing term 'umbilical.' [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the posterior end of an embryo bird at the time of the formation of the allantois. _ep._ epiblast; _sp.c._ spinal canal; _ch._ notochord; _n.e._ neurenteric canal; _hy._ hypoblast; _p.a.g._ postanal gut; _pr._ remains of primitive streak folded in on the ventral side; _al._ allantois; _me._ mesoblast; _an._ point where anus will be formed; _p.c._ perivisceral cavity; _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure.] before dealing with the later history of the foetal membranes, it will be convenient to complete the history of the yolk-sack. yolk-sack. the origin of the area opaca has already been described. it rapidly extends over the yolk underneath the vitelline membrane; and is composed of epiblast and of the hypoblast of the germinal wall continuous with that of the area pellucida, which on the fourth day takes the form of a more or less complete layer of columnar cells[ ]. between the epiblast and hypoblast there is a layer of mesoblast, which does not extend as far as the two other layers. the yolk is completely surrounded by the seventh day. [ ] further investigations are required as to the character of this layer. [fig. . diagram of the circulation of the yolk-sack at the end of the third day of incubation. _h._ heart; _aa._ the second, third and fourth aortic arches; the first has become obliterated in its median portion, but is continued at its proximal end as the external carotid, and at its distal end as the internal carotid; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _l.of.a._ left vitelline artery; _r.of.a._ right vitelline artery; _s.t._ sinus terminalis; _l.of._ left vitelline vein; _r.of._ right vitelline vein; _s.v._ sinus venosus; _d.c._ ductus cuvieri; _s.ca.v._ superior cardinal vein; _v.ca._ inferior cardinal vein. the veins are marked in outline and the arteries are black. the whole blastoderm has been removed from the egg and is supposed to be viewed from below. hence the left is seen on the right, and _vice versâ_.] towards the end of the first day blood-vessels begin to be developed in the inner part of the mesoblast of the area opaca. their development is completed on the second day; and the region through which they extend is known as the area vasculosa. the area vasculosa also grows round the yolk, and completely encloses it not long after the area opaca. the part of the blastoderm which thus encloses the yolk forms the yolk-sack. the splitting of the mesoblast gradually extends to the mesoblast of the yolk-sack, and eventually the somatopleure of the sack, which is continuous, it will be remembered, with the outer limb of the amnion, separates completely from the splanchnopleure; and between the two the allantois inserts itself. these features are represented in fig. e, k, and l. the circulation of the yolk-sack is most important during the third day of incubation. the arrangement of the vessels during that day is shewn in fig. . the blood leaving the body of the embryo by the vitelline arteries (fig. , _r.of.a_, _l.of.a_), which are branches of the dorsal aortæ, is carried to the small vessels and capillaries of the vascular area, a small portion only being appropriated by the pellucid area. from the vascular area part of the blood returns directly to the sinus venosus by the main lateral trunks of the vitelline veins (_r.of_, _l.of_), and so to the heart. during the second day these venous trunks join the body of the embryo considerably in front of, that is nearer, the head than the corresponding arterial ones. towards the end of the third day, owing to the continued lengthening of the heart, the veins and arteries run not only parallel to each other, but almost in the same line, the points at which they respectively join and leave the body being nearly at the same distance from the head. the rest of the blood brought by the vitelline arteries finds its way into the lateral portions of a venous trunk bounding the vascular area, which is known as the sinus terminalis, _s.t._, and there divides on each side into two streams. of these, the two which, one on either side, flow backward, meet at a point about opposite to the tail of the embryo, and are conveyed along a distinct vein which, running straight forward parallel to the axis of the embryo, empties itself into the left vitelline vein. the two forward streams reaching a gap in the front part of the sinus terminalis fall into either one, or in some cases two veins, which run straight backwards parallel to the axis of the embryo, and so reach the roots of the heart. when one such vein only is present it joins the left vitelline trunk; where there are two they join the left and right vitelline trunks respectively. the left vein is always considerably larger than the right; and the latter when present rapidly gets smaller and speedily disappears. after the third day, although the vascular area goes on increasing in size until it finally all but encompasses the yolk, the prominence of the sinus terminalis becomes less and less. the foetal membranes and the yolk-sack may conveniently be treated of together in the description of their later changes and final fate. on the sixth and seventh days they exhibit changes of great importance. the amnion, at its complete closure on the fourth day, very closely invested the body of the chick: the true cavity of the amnion was then therefore very small. on the fifth day fluid begins to collect in the cavity, and raises the membrane of the amnion to some distance from the embryo. the cavity becomes still larger by the sixth day, and on the seventh day is of very considerable dimensions, the fluid increasing with it. on the sixth day von baer observed movements of the embryo, chiefly of the limbs; he attributes them to the stimulation of the cold air on opening the egg. by the seventh day very obvious movements begin to appear in the amnion itself; slow vermicular contractions creeping rhythmically over it. the amnion in fact begins to pulsate slowly and rhythmically, and by its pulsation the embryo is rocked to and fro in the egg. this pulsation is probably due to the contraction of involuntary muscular fibres, which seem to be present in the attenuated portion of the mesoblast, forming part of the amniotic fold. similar movements are also seen in the allantois at a considerably later period. the growth of the allantois has been very rapid, and it forms a flattened bag, covering the right side of the embryo, and rapidly spreading out in all directions between the primitive folds of the amnion, that is, between the amnion proper and the false amnion or serous envelope. it is filled with fluid, so that in spite of its flattened form its opposite walls are distinctly separated from each other. the vascular area has become still further extended than on the fifth day, but with a corresponding loss in the definite character of its blood-vessels. the sinus terminalis has indeed by the end of the seventh day lost all its previous distinctness; and the vessels which brought back the blood from it to the heart are no longer to be seen. both the vitelline arteries and veins now pass to and from the body of the chick as single trunks, assuming more and more the appearance of being merely branches of the mesenteric vessels. the yolk is still more fluid than on the previous day, and its bulk has (according to von baer) increased. this can only be due to its absorbing the white of the egg, which indeed is diminishing rapidly. during the eighth, ninth, and tenth days, the amnion does not undergo any very important changes. its cavity is still filled with fluid, and on the eighth day its pulsations are at their height, henceforward diminishing in intensity. the splitting of the mesoblast has now extended to the outer limit of the vascular area, _i.e._ over about three-quarters of the yolk-sack. the somatopleure at this point is continuous (as can be easily seen by reference to fig. ) with the original outer fold of the amnion. it thus comes about that the further splitting of the mesoblast merely enlarges the cavity in which the allantois lies. the growth of this organ keeps pace with that of the cavity in which it is placed. spread out over the greater part of the yolk-sack as a flattened bag filled with fluid, it now serves as the chief organ of respiration. it is indeed very vascular and a marked difference may be observed between the colour of the blood in the outgoing and the returning vessels. the yolk now begins to diminish rapidly in bulk. the yolk-sack becomes flaccid, and on the eleventh day is thrown into a series of internal folds, abundantly supplied by large venous trunks. by this means the surface of absorption is largely increased, and the yolk is more and more rapidly taken up by the blood-vessels, and in a partially assimilated condition transferred to the body of the embryo[ ]. [ ] for details on this subject _vide_ a. courty, "structure des appendices vitellins chez le poulet." _an. sci. nat._ ser. iii. vol. ix. . by the eleventh day the abdominal parietes, though still much looser and less firm than the walls of the chest, may be said to be definitely established; and the loops of intestine, which have hitherto been hanging down into the somatic stalk, are henceforward confined within the cavity of the abdomen. the body of the embryo is therefore completed; but it still remains connected with its various appendages by a narrow somatic umbilicus, in which run the stalk of the allantois and the solid cord suspending the yolk-sack. the cleavage of the mesoblast is still progressing, and the yolk is completely invested by a splanchnopleural sack. the allantois meanwhile spreads out rapidly, and lies over the embryo close under the shell, being separated from the shell membrane by nothing more than the attenuated serous envelope, formed out of the outer primitive fold of the amnion and the remains of the vitelline membrane. with this membrane the allantois partially coalesces, and in opening an egg at the later stages of incubation, unless care be taken, the allantois is in danger of being torn in the removal of the shell-membrane. as the allantois increases in size and importance, the allantoic vessels are correspondingly developed. on about the sixteenth day, the white having entirely disappeared, the cleavage of the mesoblast is carried right over the pole of the yolk opposite the embryo, and is thus completed (fig. ). the yolk-sack now, like the allantois which closely wraps it all round, lies loose in a space bounded outside the body by the serous membrane, and continuous with the pleuroperitoneal cavity of the body of the embryo. deposits of urates now become abundant in the allantoic fluid. the loose and flaccid walls of the abdomen enclose a space which the empty intestines are far from filling, and on the nineteenth day the yolk-sack, diminished greatly in bulk but still of some considerable size, is withdrawn through the somatic stalk into the abdominal cavity, which it largely distends. outside the embryo there now remains nothing but the highly vascular allantois and the bloodless serous membrane and amnion. the amnion, whose fluid during the later days of incubation rapidly diminishes, is continuous at the umbilicus with the body-walls of the embryo. the serous membrane (or outer primitive amniotic fold) is, by the completion of the cleavage of the mesoblast and the withdrawal of the yolk-sack, entirely separated from the embryo. the cavity of the allantois, by means of its stalk passing through the umbilicus, is of course continuous with the cloaca. when the chick is about to be hatched it thrusts its beak through the egg-membranes and begins to breathe the air contained in the air chamber. thereupon the pulmonary circulation becomes functionally active, and at the same time blood ceases to flow through the allantoic arteries. the allantois shrivels up, the umbilicus becomes completely closed, and the chick, piercing the shell at the broad end of the egg with repeated blows of its beak, casts off the dried remains of allantois, amnion and serous membrane, and steps out into the world. bibliography. ( ) k. e. von baer. _ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere._ königsberg, - . ( ) f. m. balfour. "the development and growth of the layers of the blastoderm," and "on the disappearance of the primitive groove in the embryo chick." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xiii. . ( ) m. braun. "die entwicklung d. wellenpapagei's." part i. _arbeit. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg._ vol. v. . ( ) m. braun. "aus d. entwick. d. papageien; i. rückenmark; ii. entwicklung d. mesoderms; iii. die verbindungen zwischen rückenmark u. darm bei vögeln." _verh. d. phys.-med. ges. zu würzburg._ n. f. bd. xiv. and xv. and . ( ) j. disse. "die entwicklung des mittleren keimblattes im hühnerei." _archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. xv. . ( ) j. disse. "die entstehung d. blutes u. d. ersten gefässe im hühnerei." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvi. . ( ) fr. durante. "sulla struttura della macula germinativa delle uova di gallina." _ricerche nel laboratorio di anatomia della r. università di roma._ ( ) e. dursy. _der primitivstreif des hühnchens._ . ( ) m. duval. "etude sur la ligne primitive de l'embryon de poulet." _annales des sciences naturelles_, vol. vii. . ( ) m. foster and f. m. balfour. _elements of embryology._ part i. london, . ( ) gasser. "der primitivstreifen bei vogelembryonen." _schriften d. gesell. zur beförd. d. gesammten naturwiss. zu marburg_, vol. ii. supplement i. . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. wirbelthiere. ii. die bildung d. keimblatter u. d. blutes im hühnerei." _archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. x. . ( ) v. hensen. "embryol. mitth." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. iii. . ( ) w. his. _untersuch. üb. d. erste anlage d. wirbelthierleibes._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. _unsere körperform und das physiol. problem ihrer entstehung._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. "der keimwall des hühnereies u. d. entstehung d. parablastischen zellen." _zeit. f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte._ bd. i. . ( ) w. his. "neue untersuchungen üb. die bildung des hühnerembryo i." _archiv f. anat. u. phys._ . ( ) e. klein. "das mittlere keimblatt in seiner bezieh. z. entwick. d. ers. blutgefässe und blutkörp. im hühnerembryo." _sitzungsber. wien. akad._, vol. lxiii. . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. d. höheren thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) c. kupffer. "die entsteh. d. allantois u. d. gastrula d. wirbelth." _zoolog. anzeiger_, vol. ii. , pp. , , . ( ) c. kupffer and b. benecke. "photogramme z. ontogenie d. vögel." _nov. act. d. k. leop.-carol.-deutschen akad. d. naturforscher_, vol. xli. . ( ) j. oellacher. "untersuchungen über die furchung u. blatterbildung im hühnerei." _stricker's studien._ . ( ) c. h. pander. _beiträge z. entwick. d. hühnchens im eie._ würzburg, . ( ) a. rauber. 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( ) h. virchow. _ueber d. epithel d. dottersackes im hühnerei._ inaug. diss. berlin, . ( ) w. waldeyer. "ueber die keimblätter und den primitivstreifen bei der entwicklung des hühnerembryo." _zeitschrift für rationelle medicin._ . ( ) c. f. wolff. _theoria generationis._ halæ, . ( ) c. f. wolff. _ueb. d. bildung d. darmcanals im bebrüteten hünchen._ halle, . chapter ix. reptilia. the formation of the germinal layers in the reptilia is very imperfectly known. the lizard has been studied in this respect more completely than other types, and there are a few scattered observations on turtles and snakes. the ovum has in all reptilia a very similar structure to that in birds. impregnation is effected in the upper part of the oviduct, and the early stages of development invariably take place in the oviduct. a few forms are viviparous, viz. some of the blindworms amongst lizards (anguis, seps), and some of the viperidæ and hydrophidæ amongst the serpents. in the majority of cases, however, the eggs are laid in moist earth, sand, &c. around the true ovum an egg-shell (of the same general nature as that in birds, though usually soft), and a variable quantity of albumen, are deposited in the oviduct. the extent to which development has proceeded in the oviparous forms before the eggs are laid varies greatly in different species. the general features of the development (for a knowledge of which we are mainly indebted to rathke's beautiful memoirs), the structure of the amnion and allantois, &c. are very much the same as in birds. the lizards will be taken as type of the class, and a few noteworthy points in the development of other groups will be dealt with at the close of the chapter. the following description, taken in the main from my own observations, applies to lacerta muralis. the segmentation is meroblastic, and similar to that in birds. at its close the resulting blastoderm becomes divided into two layers, a superficial epiblast formed of a single row of cells, and a layer below this several rows deep. below this layer fresh segments continue for some time to be added to the blastoderm from the subjacent yolk. [fig. . sections through an embryo of lacerta muralis represented in fig. . _m.g._ medullary groove; _mep._ mesoblastic plate; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch´._ notochordal thickening of hypoblast; _ch._ notochord; _ne._ neurenteric canal (blastopore). in e. _ne_ points a diverticulum of the neurenteric canal into the primitive streak.] the blastoderm, which is thickened at its edge, spreads rapidly over the yolk. shortly before the yolk is half enclosed a small embryonic shield (area pellucida) makes its appearance near the centre of the blastoderm. the embryonic shield is mainly distinguished from the remainder of the blastoderm by the more columnar character of its constituent epiblast cells. it is somewhat pyriform in shape, the narrower end corresponding with the future posterior end of the embryo. at the hind end of the shield a somewhat triangular primitive streak is formed, consisting of epiblast continuous below with a great mass of rounded mesoblast cells, probably mainly formed, as in the bird, by a proliferation of the epiblast. to this mass of cells the hypoblast is also partially adherent. at the front end of the streak an epiblastic involution appears, which soon becomes extended into a passage open at both extremities, leading obliquely forwards through the epiblast to the space below the hypoblast. the walls of the passage are formed of a layer of columnar cells continuous both with epiblast and hypoblast. in front of the primitive streak the body of the embryo becomes first differentiated by the formation of a medullary plate; and at the same time there grows out from the primitive streak a layer of mesoblast, which spreads out in all directions between the epiblast and hypoblast. in the region of the embryo the mesoblast plate is stated by kupffer and benecke to be continuous across the middle line, but this appears very improbable. in a slightly later stage the medullary plate becomes marked by a shallow groove, and the mesoblast of the embryo is then undoubtedly constituted of two lateral plates, one on each side of the median line. in the median line the notochord arises as a ridge-like thickening of the hypoblast, which is continued posteriorly into the front wall of the passage mentioned above. the notochord does not long remain attached to the hypoblast, and the separation between the two is already effected for the greater part of the length of the embryo by the stage represented in fig. . fig. represents a series of sections through this embryo. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of an embryo of lacerta. _pp._ body cavity; _am._ amnion; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _ch._ notochord; _hy._ hypoblast; _ep._ epiblast of the medullary plate; _pr._ primitive streak. in the primitive streak all the layers are partially fused.] in a section (a) through the trunk of the embryo a short way in front of the primitive streak, there is a medullary plate with a shallow groove (_mg_), well-developed mesoblastic plates (_mep_), already divided into somatic and splanchnic layers, and a completely formed notochord independent of the hypoblast (_hy_). in the next section (b), taken just in front of the primitive streak, the notochord is attached to the hypoblast, and the medullary groove is deeper; while in the section following (c), which passes through the front border of the primitive streak, the notochord and hypoblast have become fused with the epiblast. the section behind (d) shews the neurenteric passage leading through the floor of the medullary groove and through the hypoblast (_ne_). on the right side the mesoblastic plate has become continuous with the walls of the passage. the last section (e) passes through the front part of the primitive streak behind the passage. the mesoblast, epiblast, and to some extent the hypoblast, are now fused together in the axial line, and in the middle of the fused mass is seen a narrow diverticulum (_ne_) which is probably equivalent to the posterior diverticulum of the neural canal in birds (_vide_ p. ). the general features of the stage will best be understood by an examination of the diagrammatic longitudinal section represented in fig. . in front is shewn the amnion (_am_), growing over the head of the embryo. the notochord (_ch_) is seen as an independent cord for the greater part of the length of the embryo, but falls into the hypoblast shortly in front of the neurenteric passage. the neurenteric passage is shewn at _ne_, and behind it is the front part of the primitive streak. it is interesting to notice the remarkable relations of the notochord to the walls of the neurenteric passage. more or less similar relations are also well marked in the case of the goose and the fowl, and support the conclusion, deducible from the lower forms of vertebrata, that the notochord is essentially hypoblastic. the passage at the front end of the primitive streak forms the posterior boundary of the medullary plate, though the medullary groove is not at first continued back to it. the anterior wall of this passage connects together the medullary plate and the notochordal ridge of the hypoblast. in the stage represented in fig. and the medullary groove has become continued back to the opening of the passage, which thus becomes enclosed in the medullary folds, and forms a true neurenteric passage[ ]. [ ] kupffer and benecke (no. ) give a very different account from the above of the early lacertilian development, more especially in what concerns the so-called neurenteric passage. they believe this structure to be closed below, and to form therefore a blind sack open externally. the open end of this sack they regard as the blastopore--an interpretation which accords with my own, but they regard the sack as the rudiment of the allantois, and hold that it is equivalent to the invaginated archenteron of amphioxus. i need scarcely say that i believe kupffer and benecke to have made a mistake in denying the existence of the ventral opening of this organ. kupffer in a subsequent paper (no. ) states that my descriptions of the structure of this organ do not correspond with the fact. i have perfect confidence in leaving the decision of this point to future observers, and may say that my observations have already been fully confirmed by strahl (no. ), who has also added some observations on the later stages to which i shall hereafter have occasion to allude. it will be convenient at this point to say a few words as to what is known of the further fate of the neurenteric canal, and the early development of the allantois. according to strahl, who has worked on lacerta vivipara, the canal gradually closes from below upwards, and is obliterated before the completion of the neural canal. the hind end of the alimentary tract appears also to become a closed canal before this stage. [fig. . four transverse sections through the hinder end of a young embryo of lacerta muralis. sections a and b pass through the whole embryo, while c and d only pass through the allantois, which at this stage projects backwards into the section of the body cavity behind the primitive streak. _ne._ neurenteric canal; _pr._ primitive streak; _hg._ hindgut; _hy._ hypoblast; _pp._ body cavity; _am._ amnion; _se._ serous envelope (outer limb of the amnion fold not yet separated from the inner limb or true amnion); _al._ allantois; _me._ mesoblastic wall of the allantois; _v._ vessels passing to the allantois.] in lacerta muralis the history appears to be somewhat different, and it is more especially to be noticed that in this species the hindgut does not become closed till considerably after the completion of the neural canal. in a stage shortly after that last described, the neurenteric passage becomes narrower. the next stage which i have observed is considerably later. the neural canal has become completely closed, and the flexure of the embryo has already made its appearance. there is still a well-developed, though somewhat slit-like, neurenteric passage, but from the analogy of birds, it is not impossible that it may have in the meantime closed up and opened again. it has, in any case, the same relations as in the previous stage. it leads from the end of the medullary canal (at the point where its walls are continuous with the cells of the primitive streak) round the end of the notochord, which here becomes continuous with the medullary cord, and so through the hypoblast. the latter layer is still a flat sheet without any lateral infolding; but it gives rise, behind the neurenteric passage, to a blind posteriorly directed diverticulum, placed in the body cavity behind the embryo, and opening at the ventral face of the apparent hind end of the primitive streak. there is very little doubt that this diverticulum is the commencing allantois. at a somewhat later stage the arrangement of these parts has undergone some changes. their relations are shewn in the sections represented in fig. . the foremost section (a) passes through the alimentary opening of the neurenteric passage (_ne_). above this opening the section passes through the primitive streak (_pr_) close to its junction with the walls of the medullary canal. the hypoblast is folded in laterally, but the gut is still open below. the amnion is completely established. in the next section figured (b), the fourth of my series, the gut is completely closed in; and the mesoblast has united laterally with the axial tissue of the primitive streak. vessels to supply the allantois are shewn at _v_. the three following sections are not figured, but they present the same features as b, except that the primitive streak gets rapidly smaller, and the lumen of the gut narrower. the section following (c) represents, i believe, only the stalk of the allantoic diverticulum. this diverticulum appears to be formed as usual of hypoblast (_hy_) enveloped by splanchnic mesoblast (_me_), and projects into the section of the body cavity present behind the embryo. its position in the body cavity is the cause of its somewhat peculiar appearance in the figure. had the whole section been represented the allantois would have been enclosed in a space between the serous membrane (_se_) and a layer of splanchnic mesoblast below which has also been omitted in fig. b[ ]. it still points directly backwards, as it primitively does in the chick, _vide_ fig. a, and gasser, no. , pl. v. figs. and . i do not understand the apparently double character of the lumen of the allantois. in the next section (not figured) the lumen of the allantoic stalk is larger, but still apparently double, while in the last section (d) the lumen is considerably enlarged and single. the neurenteric canal appears to close shortly after the stage last described, though its further history has not been followed in detail. [ ] owing to the difficulty of procuring material i have only been able to prepare the two sets of sections just described, and in the absence of a fuller series there are some points in the interpretation of the sections which must remain doubtful.] _general development of the embryo._ the formation of the embryo commences with the appearance of the medullary plate, the sides of which soon grow up to form the medullary folds. the medullary groove is developed anteriorly before any trace of it is visible behind. in a general way the closure of the groove takes place as in birds, but the anterior part of the body is very early folded off, sinks into the yolk, and becomes covered over by the amnion as by a hood (figs. and ). all this takes place before the closure of the medullary canal; and the changes of this part are quite concealed from view. [fig. . surface view of a young embryo of lacerta muralis. _am._ amnion; _pr._ primitive streak.] the closure of the medullary canal commences in the neck, and extends forwards and backwards; and the whole region of the brain becomes closed in, while the groove is still largely open behind. the later stages in the development of the lacertilian embryo do not require a detailed description, as they present the closest analogy with those already described for aves. the embryo soon turns on to its left side; and then, becoming continuously folded off from the yolk, passes through the series of changes of form with which the reader is already familiar. an advanced embryo is represented in fig. . the early development and great length of the tail, which is spirally coiled on the ventral surface, is a special feature to which the attention of the reader may be called. _embryonic membranes and yolk-sack._ the early development of the cephalic portion of the amnion has already been alluded to. the first traces of it become apparent while the medullary groove is still extremely shallow. the medullary plate in the region of the head forms an axial strip of a thickish plate of epiblast. the edge of this plate coincides with the line of the amniotic fold, and as this fold rises up the two sides of the plate become bent over the embryo and give rise to the inner limb of the amnion or amnion proper. the section (fig. ), representing the origin of the amniotic hood of the head, shews very well how the space between the two limbs of the amnion is continuous with the body cavity. the amnion very early completely encloses the embryo (fig. a and b), and its external limb or serous membrane, after separating from the true amnion, soon approaches and fuses with the vitelline membrane. [fig. . advanced embryo of lacerta muralis as an opaque object[ ]. the embryo was mm. in length in the curled up state. _fb._ fore-brain; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _au._ auditory vesicle (closed); _ol._ olfactory pit; _md._ mandible; _hy._ hyoid arch; _br._ branchial arches; _fl._ fore-limb; _hl._ hind-limb.] [ ] this figure was drawn for me by professor haddon. the first development of the allantois as a diverticulum of the hypoblast covered by splanchnic mesoblast, at the apparent posterior end of the primitive streak, has been described on p. . the allantois continues for some time to point directly backwards; but gradually assumes a more ventral direction; and, as it increases in size, extends into the space between the serous membrane and amnion, eventually to form a large, highly vascular, flattened sack immediately below the serous membrane. the yolk-sack. the blastoderm spreads in the lizard with very great rapidity over the yolk to form the yolk-sack. the early appearance of the area pellucida, or as it has been called by kupffer and benecke the embryonic shield, has already been noted. outside this a vascular area, which has the same function as in the chick, is not long in making its appearance. in all reptilia the vascular channels which arise in the vascular area, and the vessels carrying the blood to and from the vascular area, are very similar to those in the chick. in the snake the sinus terminalis never attains so conspicuous a development and in chelonia the stage with a pair of vitelline arteries is preceded by a stage in which the vascular area is supplied, as it permanently is in many mammals, by numerous transverse arterial trunks, coming off from the dorsal aorta (agassiz, no. ). the vascular area gradually envelops the whole yolk, although it does so considerably more slowly than the general blastoderm. ophidia. there is, as might have been anticipated, a very close correspondence in general development between the lacertilia and ophidia. the embryos of all the amniota are, during part of their development, more or less spirally coiled about their long axis. this is well marked in the chick of the third day; it is still more pronounced in the lizard (fig. ); but it reaches its maximum in the snake. the whole snake embryo has at the time when most coiled (dutrochet, rathke) somewhat the form of a trochus. the base of the spiral is formed by the head, while the majority of the coils are supplied by the tail. there are in all at this stage seven coils, and the spiral is right-handed. another point, which deserves notice in the snake, is the absence in the embryo of all external trace of the limbs. it might have been anticipated, on the analogy of the branchial arches, that rudiments of the limbs would be preserved in the embryo even when limbs were absent in the adult. such, however, is not the case. it is however very possible that rudiments of the branchial arches and clefts have been preserved because these structures were functional in the larva (amphibia) after they ceased to have any importance in the adult; and that the limbs have disappeared even in the embryo because in the course of their gradual atrophy there was no advantage to the organism in their being specially preserved at any period of life[ ]. [ ] it is very probable that in those ophidia in which traces of limbs are still preserved, that more conspicuous traces would be found in the embryos than in the adults. [fig. . chelone midas, first stage. _au._ auditory capsule; _br. _ and _ _, branchial arches; _c._ carapace; _e._ eye; _f.b._ fore-brain; _f.l._ fore-limb; _h._ heart; _h.b._ hind-brain; _h.l._ hind-limb; _hy._ hyoid; _m.b._ mid-brain; _mn._ mandible; _mx.p._ maxillopalatine; _n._ nostril; _u._ umbilicus.] [fig. . chelone midas, second stage. letters as in fig. .] chelonia[ ]. in their early development the chelonia resemble, so far as is known, the lacertilia. the amnion arises early, and soon forms a great cephalic hood. before development has proceeded very far the embryo turns over on to its left side. the tail in many species attains a very considerable development (fig. ). the chief peculiarity in the form of the embryo (figs. , , and ) is caused by the development of the carapace. the first rudiment of the carapace appears in the form of two longitudinal folds, extending above the line of insertion of the fore- and hind-limbs, which have already made their appearance (fig. ). these folds are subsequently prolonged so as to mark out the area of the carapace on the dorsal surface. on the surface of this area there are formed the horny plates (tortoise shell), and in the mesoblast below the bony elements of the carapace (figs. and ). [ ] _vide_ agassiz (no. ), kupffer and benecke (no. ), and parker (no. ). [fig. . chelone midas, third stage. letters as in fig. . _r._ rostrum.] immediately after hatching the yolk-sack becomes withdrawn into the body; while the external part of the allantois shrivels up. bibliography. _general._ ( ) c. kupffer and benecke. _die erste entwicklung am ei d. reptilien._ königsberg, . ( ) c. kupffer. "die entstehung d. allantois u. d. gastrula d. wirbelthiere." _zoologischer anzeiger_, vol. ii. , pp. , , . _lacertilia._ ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the early development of the lacertilia, together with some observations, etc." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) emmert u. hochstetter. "untersuchung üb. d. entwick. d. eidechsen in ihren eiern." reil's _archiv_, vol. x. . ( ) m. lereboullet. "développement de la truite, du lézard et du limnée. ii. embryologie du lézard." _an. sci. nat._, ser. iv., vol. xxvii. . ( ) w. k. parker. "structure and devel. of the skull in lacertilia." _phil. trans._, vol. , p. . . ( ) h. strahl. "ueb. d. canalis myeloentericus d. eidechse." _schrift. d. gesell. z. beför. d. gesam. naturwiss._ marburg. july , . _ophidia._ ( ) h. dutrochet. "recherches s. l. enveloppes du foetus." _mém. d. soc. méd. d'emulation_, paris, vol. viii. . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the skull of the common snake." _phil. trans._, vol. , part ii. . ( ) h. rathke. _entwick. d. natter._ königsberg, . _chelonia._ ( ) l. agassiz. _contributions to the natural history of the united states_, vol. ii. . _embryology of the turtle._ ( ) w. k. parker. "on the development of the skull and nerves in the green turtle." _proc. of the roy. soc._, vol. xxviii. . _vide_ also _nature_, april , , and _challenger reports_, vol. i. . ( ) h. rathke. _ueb. d. entwicklung d. schildkröten._ braunschweig, . _crocodilia._ ( ) h. rathke. _ueber die entwicklung d. krokodile._ braunschweig, . chapter x. mammalia. the classical researches of bischoff on the embryology of several mammalian types, as well as those of other observers, have made us acquainted with the general form of the embryos of the placentalia, and have shewn that, except in the earliest stages of development, there is a close agreement between them. more recently hensen, schäfer, kölliker, van beneden and lieberkühn have shed a large amount of light on the obscurer points of the earliest developmental periods, especially in the rabbit. for the early stages the rabbit necessarily serves as type; but there are grounds for thinking that not inconsiderable variations are likely to be met with in other species, and it is not at present easy to assign to some of the developmental features their true value. we have no knowledge of the early development of the ornithodelphia or marsupialia. the ovum on leaving the ovary is received by the fimbriated extremity of the fallopian tube, down which it slowly travels. it is still invested by the zona radiata, and in the rabbit an albuminous envelope is formed around it in its passage downwards. impregnation takes place in the upper part of the fallopian tube, and is shortly followed by the segmentation, which is remarkable amongst the amniota for being complete. although this process (the details of which have been made known by the brilliant researches of ed. van beneden) has already been shortly dealt with as it occurs in the rabbit (vol. ii. p. ) it will be convenient to describe it again with somewhat greater detail. the ovum first divides into two nearly equal spheres, of which one is slightly larger and more transparent than the other. the larger sphere and its products will be spoken of as the epiblastic spheres, and the smaller one and its products as the hypoblastic spheres, in accordance with their different destinations. both the spheres are soon divided into two, and each of the four so formed into two again; and thus a stage with eight spheres ensues. at the moment of their first separation these spheres are spherical, and arranged in two layers, one of them formed of the four epiblastic spheres, and the other of the four hypoblastic. this position is not long retained, but one of the hypoblastic spheres passes to the centre; and the whole ovum again takes a spherical form. in the next phase of segmentation each of the four epiblastic spheres divides into two, and the ovum thus becomes constituted of twelve spheres, eight epiblastic and four hypoblastic. the epiblastic spheres have now become markedly smaller than the hypoblastic. the four hypoblastic spheres next divide, giving rise, together with the eight epiblastic spheres, to sixteen spheres in all; which are nearly uniform in size. of the eight hypoblastic spheres four soon pass to the centre, while the eight superficial epiblastic spheres form a kind of cup partially enclosing the hypoblastic spheres. the epiblastic spheres now divide in their turn, giving rise to sixteen spheres which largely enclose the hypoblastic spheres. the segmentation of both epiblastic and hypoblastic spheres continues, and in the course of it the epiblastic spheres spread further and further over the hypoblastic, so that at the close of segmentation the hypoblastic spheres constitute a central solid mass almost entirely surrounded by the epiblastic spheres. in a small circular area however the hypoblastic spheres remain for some time exposed at the surface (fig. a). the whole process of segmentation is completed in the rabbit about seventy hours after impregnation. at its close the epiblast cells, as they may now be called, are clear, and have an irregularly cubical form; while the hypoblast cells are polygonal and granular, and somewhat larger than the epiblast cells. the opening in the epiblastic layer where the hypoblast cells are exposed on the surface may for convenience be called with van beneden the blastopore, though it is highly improbable that it in any way corresponds with the blastopore of other vertebrate ova[ ]. [ ] it is stated by bischoff that shortly after impregnation, and before the commencement of the segmentation, the ova of the rabbit and guinea-pig are covered with cilia and exhibit the phenomenon of rotation. this has not been noticed by other observers. [fig. . optical sections of a rabbit's ovum at two stages closely following upon the segmentation. (after e. van beneden.) _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ primary hypoblast; _bp._ van beneden's blastopore. the shading of the epiblast and hypoblast is diagrammatic.] after its segmentation the ovum passes into the uterus. the epiblast cells soon grow over the blastopore and thus form a complete superficial layer. a series of changes next take place which result in the formation of what has been called the blastodermic vesicle. to ed. van beneden we owe the fullest account of these changes; to hensen and kölliker however we are also indebted for valuable observations, especially on the later stages in the development of this vesicle. the succeeding changes commence with the appearance of a narrow cavity between the epiblast and hypoblast, which extends so as completely to separate these two layers except in the region adjoining the original site of the blastopore (fig. b)[ ]. the cavity so formed rapidly enlarges, and with it the ovum also; which soon takes the form of a thin-walled vesicle with a large central cavity. this vesicle is the blastodermic vesicle. the greater part of its walls are formed of a single row of flattened epiblast cells; while the hypoblast cells form a small lens-shaped mass attached to the inner side of the epiblast cells (fig. ). [ ] van beneden regards it as probable that the blastopore is situated somewhat excentrically in relation to the area of attachment of the hypoblastic mass to the epiblast. in the vespertilionidæ van beneden and julin have shewn that the ovum undergoes at the close of segmentation changes of a more or less similar nature to those in the rabbit; the blastopore would however appear to be wider, and to persist even after the cavity of the blastodermic vesicle has commenced to be developed. [fig. . rabbit's ovum between - hours after impregnation. (after e. van beneden.) _bv._ cavity of blastodermic vesicle (yolk-sack); _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ primitive hypoblast; _zp._ mucous envelope (zona pellucida).] although by this stage, which occurs in the rabbit between seventy and ninety hours after impregnation, the blastodermic vesicle has by no means attained its greatest dimensions, it has nevertheless grown from about . mm.--the size of the ovum at the close of segmentation--to about . . it is enclosed by a membrane formed from the zona radiata and the mucous layer around it. the blastodermic vesicle continues to enlarge rapidly, and during the process the hypoblastic mass undergoes important changes. it spreads out on the inner side of the epiblast and at the same time loses its lens-like form and becomes flattened. the central part of it remains however thicker, and is constituted of two rows of cells, while the peripheral part, the outer boundary of which is irregular, is formed of an imperfect layer of amoeboid cells which continually spread further and further within the epiblast. the central thickening of the hypoblast forms an opaque circular spot on the blastoderm, which constitutes the commencement of the embryonic area. the history of the stages immediately following, from about the commencement of the fifth day to the seventh day, when a primitive streak makes its appearance, is imperfectly understood, and has been interpreted very differently by van beneden (no. ) on the one hand and by kölliker ( ), rauber ( ) and lieberkühn ( ) on the other. i have myself in conjunction with my pupil, mr heape, also conducted some investigations on these stages, which have unfortunately not as yet led me to a completely satisfactory reconciliation of the opposing views. van beneden states that about five days after impregnation the hypoblast cells in the embryonic area become divided into two distinct strata, an upper stratum of small cells adjoining the epiblast and a lower stratum of flattened cells which form the true hypoblast. at the edge of the embryonic area the hypoblast is continuous with a peripheral ring of the amoeboid cells of the earlier stage, which now form, except at the edge of the ring, a continuous layer of flattened cells in contact with the epiblast. during the sixth day the flattened epiblast cells are believed by van beneden to become columnar. the embryonic area gradually extends itself, and as it does so becomes oval. a central lighter portion next becomes apparent, which gradually spreads, till eventually the darker part of the embryonic area forms a crescent at the posterior part of the now somewhat pyriform embryonic area. the lighter part is formed of columnar epiblast and hypoblast only, while in the darker area a layer of the mesoblast, derived from the intermediate layer of the fifth day, is also found. in this darker area the primitive streak originates early on the seventh day. kölliker, following the lines originally laid down by rauber, has arrived at very different results. he starts from the three-layered condition described by van beneden for the fifth day, but does not give any investigations of his own as to the origin of the middle layer. he holds the outer layer to be a provisional layer of protective cells, forming part of the wall of the original vesicle, the middle layer he regards as the true epiblast and the inner layer as the hypoblast. during the sixth day he finds that the cells of the outer layer gradually cease to form a continuous layer and finally disappear; while the cells of the middle layer become columnar, and form the columnar epiblast present in the embryonic area at the end of the sixth day. the mesoblast first takes its origin in the region and on the formation of the primitive streak. the investigations of heape and myself do not extend to the first formation of the intermediate layer found on the fifth day. we find on the sixth day in germinal vesicles of about . - . millimetres in diameter with embryonic areas of about . mm. that the embryonic area (fig. ) is throughout composed of: ( ) a layer of flattened hypoblast cells; ( ) a somewhat irregular layer of more columnar elements, in some places only a single row deep and in other places two or more rows deep. ( ) flat elements on the surface, which do not, however, form a continuous layer, and are intimately attached to the columnar cells below. our results as to the structure of the blastoderm at this stage closely correspond therefore with those of kölliker, but on one important point we have arrived at a different conclusion. kölliker states that he has never found the flattened elements in the act of becoming columnar. we believe that we have in many instances been able to trace them in the act of undergoing this change, and have attempted to shew this in our figure. our next oldest embryonic areas were somewhat pyriform measuring about . mm. in length and . in breadth. of these we have several, some from a rabbit in which we also met with younger still nearly circular areas. all of them had a distinctly marked posterior opacity forming a commencing primitive streak, though decidedly less advanced than in the blastoderm represented in fig. . in the younger specimens the epiblast in front of the primitive streak was formed of a single row of columnar cells (fig. a), no mesoblast was present and the hypoblast formed a layer of flattened cells. in the region immediately in front of the primitive streak, an irregular layer of mesoblast cells was interposed between the epiblast and hypoblast. in the anterior part of the primitive streak itself (fig. b) there was a layer of mesoblast with a considerable lateral extension, while in the median line there was a distinct mesoblastic proliferation of epiblast cells. in the posterior sections the lateral extension of the mesoblast was less, but the mesoblast cells formed a thicker cord in the axial line. owing to the unsatisfactory character of our data the following attempt to fill in the history of the fifth and sixth days must be regarded as tentative[ ]. at the commencement of the fifth day the central thickening, of what has been called above the primitive hypoblast, becomes divided into two layers: the lower of these is continuous with the peripheral hypoblast and is formed of flattened cells, while the upper one is formed of small rounded elements. the superficial epiblast again is formed of flattened cells. [ ] the attempt made below to frame a consecutive history out of the contradictory data at my disposal is not entirely satisfactory. should kölliker's view turn out to be quite correct, the origin of the middle layer of the fifth day, which kölliker believes to become the permanent epiblast, will have to be worked out again, in order to determine whether it really comes, as it is stated by van beneden to do, from the primitive hypoblast. during the fifth day remarkable changes take place in the epiblast of the embryonic area. it is probable that its constituent cells increase in number and become one by one columnar; and that in the process they press against the layer of rounded elements below them, so that the two layers cease to be distinguishable, and the _whole_ embryonic area acquires in section the characters represented in fig. [ ]. towards the end of the sixth day the embryonic area becomes oval, but the changes which next take place are not understood. in the front part of the area only two layers of cells are found, ( ) an hypoblast, and ( ) an epiblast of columnar cells probably derived from the flattened epiblast cells of the earlier stages. in the posterior part of the blastoderm a middle layer is present (van beneden) in addition to the two other layers; and this layer probably originates from the middle layer which extended throughout the area at the beginning of the fifth day, and then became fused with the epiblast. the middle layer does not give rise to the whole of the eventual mesoblast, but only to part of it. from its origin it may be called the hypoblastic mesoblast, and it is probably equivalent to the hypoblastic mesoblast already described in the chick (pp. and ). the stage just described has only been met with by van beneden[ ]. [ ] the section figured may perhaps hardly appear to justify this view; the examination of a larger number of sections is, however, more favourable to it, but it must be admitted that the interpretation is by no means thoroughly satisfactory. [ ] kölliker does not believe in the existence of this stage, having never met with it himself. it appears to me, however, more probable that kölliker has failed to obtain it, than that van beneden has been guilty of such an extraordinary blunder as to have described a stage which has no existence. [fig. . section through the nearly circular embryonic area of a rabbit's ovum of six days, nine hours and . mm. in diameter. the section shews the peculiar character of the upper layer with a certain number of superficial flattened cells; and represents about half the breadth of the area.] a diagrammatic view of the whole blastodermic vesicle at about the beginning of the seventh day is given in fig. . the embryonic area is represented in white. the line _ge_ in b shews the extension of the hypoblast round the inner side of the vesicle. the blastodermic vesicle is therefore formed of three areas, ( ) the embryonic area with three layers: this area is placed where the blastopore was originally situated. ( ) the ring around the embryonic area where the walls of the vesicle are formed of epiblast and hypoblast. ( ) the area beyond this again where the vesicle is formed of epiblast only[ ]. [ ] schäfer describes the blastodermic vesicle of the cat as being throughout in a bilaminar condition before the formation of a definite primitive streak or of the mesoblast. [fig. . views of the blastodermic vesicle of a rabbit on the seventh day without the zona. a. from above, b. from the side. (from kölliker.) _ag._ embryonic area; _ge._ boundary of the hypoblast.] the changes which next take place begin with the formation of a primitive streak, homologous with, and in most respects similar to, the primitive streak in birds. the formation of the streak is preceded by that of a clear spot near the middle of the blastoderm, forming the nodal point of hensen. this spot subsequently constitutes the front end of the primitive streak. the history of the primitive streak was first worked out in a satisfactory manner by hensen (no. ), from whom however i differ in admitting the existence of a certain part of the mesoblast before its appearance. early on the seventh day the embryonic area becomes pyriform, and at its posterior and narrower end a primitive streak makes its appearance, which is due to a proliferation of rounded cells from the epiblast. at the time when this proliferation commences the layer of hypoblastic mesoblast is present, especially just in front of, and at the sides of, the anterior part of the streak; but no mesoblast is found in the anterior part of the embryonic area. these features are shewn in fig. a and b. the mesoblast derived from the proliferation of the epiblast soon joins the mesoblast already present; though in many sections it seems possible to trace a separation between the two parts (fig. b) of the mesoblast. [fig. . two sections through oval blastoderms of a rabbit on the seventh day. the length of the area was about . mm. and its breadth about . mm. a. through the region of the blastoderm in front of the primitive streak; b. through the front part of the primitive streak; _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _pr._ primitive streak.] [fig. . two transverse sections through the embryonic area of an embryo rabbit of seven days. the embryo has nearly the structure represented in fig. . a. is taken through the anterior part of the embryonic area. it represents about half the breadth of the area, and there is no trace of a medullary groove or of the mesoblast. b. is taken through the posterior part of the primitive streak. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] during the seventh day the primitive streak becomes a more pronounced structure, the mesoblast in its neighbourhood increases in quantity, while an axial groove--the primitive groove--is formed on its upper surface. the mesoblastic layer in front of the primitive streak becomes thicker, and, in the two-layered region in front, the epiblast becomes several rows deep (fig. a). in the part of the embryonic area in front of the primitive streak there arise during the eighth day two folds bounding a shallow median groove, which meet in front, but diverge behind, and enclose between them the foremost end of the primitive streak (fig. ). these folds are the medullary folds and they constitute the first definite traces of the embryo. the medullary plate bounded by them rapidly grows in length, the primitive streak always remaining at its hinder end. while the lateral epiblast is formed of several rows of cells, that of the medullary plate is at first formed of but a single row (fig. , _mg_). the mesoblast, which appears to grow forward from the primitive streak, is stated to be at first a continuous sheet between the epiblast and hypoblast (hensen). the evidence on this point does not however appear to me to be quite conclusive. in any case, as soon as ever the medullary groove is formed, the mesoblast becomes divided, exactly as in lacerta and elasmobranchii, into two independent lateral plates, which are not continuous across the middle line (fig. , _me_). the hypoblast cells are flattened laterally, but become columnar beneath the medullary plate (fig. ). [fig. . embryonic area of an eight days' rabbit. (after kölliker.) _arg._ embryonic area; _pr._ primitive streak.] in tracing the changes which take place in the relations of the layers, in passing from the region of the embryo to that of the primitive streak, it will be convenient to follow the account given by schäfer for the guinea-pig (no. ), which on this point is far fuller and more satisfactory than that of other observers. in doing so i shall leave out of consideration the fact (fully dealt with later in this chapter) that the layers in the guinea-pig are inverted. fig. represents a series of sections through this part in the guinea-pig. the anterior section (d) passes through the medullary groove near its hinder end. the commencement of the primitive streak is marked by a slight prominence on the floor of the medullary groove between the two diverging medullary folds (fig. c, _ae_). where this prominence becomes first apparent the epiblast and hypoblast are united together. the mesoblast plates at the two sides remain in the meantime quite free. slightly further back, but before the primitive groove is reached, the epiblast and hypoblast are connected together by a cord of cells (fig. b. _f_), which in the section next following becomes detached from the hypoblast and forms a solid keel projecting from the epiblast. in the following section the hitherto independent mesoblast plates become united with this keel (fig. a); and in the posterior sections, through the part of the primitive streak with the primitive groove, the epiblast and mesoblast continue to be united in the axial line, but the hypoblast remains distinct. these peculiar relations may shortly be described by saying that in the axial line the hypoblast becomes _united with the epiblast at the posterior end of the embryo_; and that the cells which connect the hypoblast and epiblast are posteriorly continuous with the fused epiblast and mesoblast of the primitive streak, the hypoblast in the region of the primitive streak having become distinct from the other layers. [fig. . embryonic area of a seven days' embryo rabbit. (from kölliker.) _o._ place of future area vasculosa; _rf._ medullary groove; _pr._ primitive streak; _ag._ embryonic area.] [fig. . transverse section through an embryo rabbit of eight days. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _mg._ medullary groove.] [fig. . a series of transverse sections through the junction of the primitive streak and medullary groove of a young guinea-pig. (after schäfer.) a. is the posterior section. _e._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _h._ hypoblast; _ae._ axial epiblast of the primitive streak; _ah._ axial hypoblast attached in b. and c. to the epiblast at the rudimentary blastopore; _mg._ medullary groove; _f._ rudimentary blastopore.] the peculiar relations just described, which hold also for the rabbit, receive their full explanation by a comparison of the mammal with the bird and the lizard, but before entering into this comparison, it will be well to describe the next stage in the rabbit, which is in many respects very instructive. in this stage the thickened axial portion of the hypoblast in the region of the embryo becomes separated from the lateral part as the notochord. very shortly after the formation of the notochord, the hypoblast grows in from the two sides, and becomes quite continuous across the middle line. the formation of the notochord takes place from before backwards; and at the hinder end of the embryo the notochord is continued into the mass of cells which forms the axis of the primitive streak, becoming therefore at this point continuous with the epiblast. the notochord in fact behaves exactly as did the axial hypoblast in the earlier stage. in comparison with lacerta (pp. - ) it is obvious that the axial hypoblast and the notochord derived from it have exactly the same relations in mammalia and lacertilia. in both they are continued at the hind end of the embryo into the epiblast; and close to where they join it, the mesoblast and epiblast fuse together to form the primitive streak. the difference between the two types consists in the fact that in reptilia there is formed a passage connecting the neural and alimentary canals, the front wall of which is constituted by the cells which form the above junction between the notochord and epiblast; and that in mammalia this passage--which is only a rudimentary structure in reptilia--has either been overlooked or else is absent. in any case the axial junction of the epiblast and hypoblast in mammalia is shewn by the above comparison with lacertilia to represent the dorsal lip of the true vertebrate blastopore. the presence of this blastopore seems to render it clear that the blastopore discovered by ed. van beneden cannot have the meaning he assigned to it in comparing it with the blastopore of the frog. kölliker adduces the fact that the notochord is continuous with the axial cells of the primitive streak as an argument against its hypoblastic origin. the above comparison with lacertilia altogether deprives this argument of any force. at the stage we have now reached the three layers are definitely established. the epiblast (on the view adopted above) clearly originates from epiblastic segmentation cells. the hypoblast without doubt originates from the hypoblastic segmentation spheres which give rise to the lenticular mass within the epiblast on the appearance of the cavity of the blastodermic vesicle; while, though the history of the mesoblast is still obscure, part of it appears to originate from the hypoblastic mass, and part is undoubtedly formed from the epiblast of the primitive streak. while these changes have been taking place the rudiments of a vascular area become formed, and it is very possible that part of the hypoblastic mesoblast passes in between the epiblast and hypoblast, immediately around the embryonic area, to give rise to the area vasculosa. from hensen's observation it seems at any rate clear that the mesoblast of the vascular area arises independently of the primitive streak: an observation which is borne out by the analogy of birds. _general growth of the embryo._ we have seen that the blastodermic vesicle becomes divided at an early stage of development into an embryonic area, and a non-embryonic portion. the embryonic area gives rise to the whole of the body of the embryo, while the non-embryonic part forms an appendage, known as the umbilical vesicle, which becomes gradually folded off from the embryo, and has precisely the relations of the yolk-sack of the sauropsida. it is almost certain that the placentalia are descended from ancestors, the embryos of which had large yolk-sacks, but that the yolk has become reduced in quantity owing to the nutriment received from the wall of the uterus taking the place of that originally supplied by the yolk. a rudiment of the yolk-sack being retained in the umbilical vesicle, this structure may be called indifferently umbilical vesicle or yolk-sack. the yolk which fills the yolk-sack in birds is replaced in mammals by a coagulable fluid; while the gradual extension of the hypoblast round the wall of the blastodermic vesicle, which has already been described, is of the same nature as the growth of the hypoblast round the yolk-sack in birds. the whole embryonic area would seem to be employed in the formation of the body of the embryo. its long axis has no very definite relation to that of the blastodermic vesicle. the first external trace of the embryo to appear is the medullary plate, bounded by the medullary folds, and occupying at first the anterior half of the embryonic area (fig. ). the two medullary folds diverge behind and enclose the front end of the primitive streak. as the embryo elongates, the medullary folds nearly meet behind and so cut off the front portion of the primitive streak, which then appears as a projection in the hind end of the medullary groove. in an embryo rabbit, eight days after impregnation, the medullary groove is about . mm. in length. at this stage a division may be clearly seen in the lateral plates of mesoblast into a vertebral zone adjoining the embryo and a more peripheral lateral zone; and in the vertebral zone indications of two somites, about . mm. from the hinder end of the embryo, become apparent. the foremost of these somites marks the junction, or very nearly so, of the cephalic region and trunk. the small size of the latter as compared with the former is very striking, but is characteristic of vertebrates generally. the trunk gradually elongates relatively to the head, by the addition behind of fresh somites. the embryo has not yet begun to be folded off from the yolk-sack. in a slightly older embryo of nine days there appears (hensen, kölliker) round the embryonic area a delicate clear ring which is narrower in front than behind (fig. a, _ap_). this ring is regarded by these authors as representing the peripheral part of the area pellucida of birds, which does not become converted into the body of the embryo. outside the area pellucida, an area vasculosa has become very well defined. in the embryo itself (fig. a) the disproportion between head and trunk is less marked than before; the medullary plate dilates anteriorly to form a spatula-shaped cephalic enlargement; and three or four somites are established. in the lateral parts of the mesoblast of the head there may be seen on each side a tube-like structure (_hz_). each of these is part of the heart, which arises as two independent tubes. the remains of the primitive streak (_pr_) are still present behind the medullary groove. in somewhat older embryos (fig. b) with about eight somites, in which the trunk considerably exceeds the head in length, the first distinct traces of the folding-off of the head end of the embryo become apparent, and somewhat later a fold also appears at the hind end. in the formation of the hind end of the embryo the primitive streak gives rise to a tail swelling and to part of the ventral wall of the postanal gut. in the region of the head the rudiments of the heart (_h_) are far more definite. the medullary groove is still open for its whole length, but in the head it exhibits a series of well-marked dilatations. the foremost of these (_vh_) is the rudiment of the fore-brain, from the sides of which there project the two optic vesicles (_ab_); the next is the mid-brain (_mh_), and the last is the hind-brain (_hh_), which is again divided into smaller lobes by successive constrictions. the medullary groove behind the region of the somites dilates into an embryonic sinus rhomboidalis like that of the bird. traces of the amnion (_af_) are now apparent both in front of and behind the embryo. [fig. . embryo rabbits of about nine days from the dorsal side. (from kölliker.) a. magnified times, and b. times. _ap._ area pellucida; _rf._ medullary groove; _h´._ medullary plate in the region of the future fore-brain; _h´´._ medullary plate in the region of the future mid-brain; _vh._ fore-brain; _ab._ optic vesicle; _mh._ mid-brain; _hh._ and _h´´._ hind-brain; _uw._ mesoblastic somite; _stz._ vertebral zone; _pz._ lateral zone; _hz._ and _h._ heart; _ph._ pericardial section of body cavity; _vo._ vitelline vein; _af._ amnion fold.] the structure of the head and the formation of the heart at this age are illustrated in fig. . the widely-open medullary groove (_rf_) is shewn in the centre. below it the hypoblast is thickened to form the notochord _dd´_; and at the sides are seen the two tubes, which, on the folding-in of the foregut, give rise to the unpaired heart. each of these is formed of an outer muscular tube of splanchnic mesoblast (_ahh_), not quite closed towards the hypoblast, and an inner epithelioid layer (_ihh_); and is placed in a special section of the body cavity (_ph_), which afterwards forms the pericardial cavity. [fig. . transverse section through the head of a rabbit of the same age as fig. b. (from kölliker.) b. is a more highly magnified representation of part of a. _rf._ medullary groove; _mp._ medullary plate; _rw._ medullary fold; _h._ epiblast; _dd._ hypoblast; _dd´._ notochordal thickening of hypoblast; _sp._ undivided mesoblast; _hp._ somatic mesoblast; _dfp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _ph._ pericardial section of body cavity; _ahh._ muscular wall of heart; _ihh._ epithelioid layer of heart; _mes._ lateral undivided mesoblast; _sw._ fold of hypoblast which will form the ventral wall of the pharynx; _sr._ commencing throat.] before the ninth day is completed great external changes are usually effected. the medullary groove becomes closed for its whole length with the exception of a small posterior portion. the closure commences, as in birds, in the region of the mid-brain. anteriorly the folding-off of the embryo proceeds so far that the head becomes quite free, and a considerable portion of the throat, ending blindly in front, becomes established. in the course of this folding the, at first widely separated, halves of the heart are brought together, coalesce on the ventral side of the throat, and so give rise to a median undivided heart. the fold at the tail end of the embryo progresses considerably, and during its advance the allantois is formed in the same way as in birds. the somites increase in number to about twelve. the amniotic folds nearly meet above the embryo. [fig. . advanced embryo of a rabbit (about twelve days)[ ]. _mb_. mid-brain; _th._ thalamencephalon; _ce._ cerebral hemisphere; _op._ eye; _iv.v._ fourth ventricle; _mx._ maxillary process; _md._ mandibular arch; _hy._ hyoid arch; _fl._ fore-limb; _hl._ hind-limb; _um._ umbilical stalk.] [ ] this figure was drawn for me by my pupil, mr weldon. the later stages in the development proceed in the main in the same manner as in the bird. the cranial flexure soon becomes very marked, the mid-brain forming the end of the long axis of the embryo (fig. ). the sense organs have the usual development. under the fore-brain appears an epiblastic involution giving rise both to the mouth and to the pituitary body. behind the mouth are three well-marked pairs of visceral arches. the first of these is the mandibular arch (fig. , _md_), which meets its fellow in the middle line, and forms the posterior boundary of the mouth. it sends forward on each side a superior maxillary process (_mx_) which partially forms the anterior margin of the mouth. behind the mandibular arch are present a well-developed hyoid (_hy_) and a first branchial arch (not shewn in fig. ). there are four clefts, as in other amniota, but the fourth is not bounded behind by a definite arch. only the first of these clefts persists as the tympanic cavity and eustachian tube. at the time when the cranial flexure appears, the body also develops a sharp flexure immediately behind the head, which is thus bent forwards upon the posterior straight part of the body (fig. ). the amount of this flexure varies somewhat in different forms. it is very marked in the dog (bischoff). at a later period, and in some species even before the stage figured, the tail end of the body also becomes bent (fig. ), so that the whole dorsal side assumes a convex curvature, and the head and tail become closely approximated. in most cases the embryo, on the development of the tail, assumes a more or less definite spiral curvature (fig. ); which however never becomes nearly so marked a feature as it commonly is in lacertilia and ophidia. with the more complete development of the lower wall of the body the ventral flexure partially disappears, but remains more or less persistent till near the close of intra-uterine life. the limbs are formed as simple buds in the same manner as in birds. the buds of the hind-limbs are directed somewhat forwards, and those of the fore-limb backwards. _embryonic membranes and yolk-sack._ the early stages in the development of the embryonic membranes are nearly the same as in aves; but during the later stages in the placentalia the allantois enters into peculiar relations with the uterine walls, and the two, together with the interposed portion of the subzonal membrane or false amnion, give rise to a very characteristic mammalian organ--the placenta--into the structure of which it will be necessary to enter at some length. the embryonic membranes vary so considerably in the different forms that it will be advantageous to commence with a description of their development in an ideal case. we may commence with a blastodermic vesicle, closely invested by the delicate remnant of the zona radiata, at the stage in which the medullary groove is already established. around the embryonic area a layer of mesoblast would have extended for a certain distance; so as to give rise to an area vasculosa, in which however the blood-vessels would not have become definitely established. such a vesicle is represented diagrammatically in fig. , . somewhat later the embryo begins to be folded off, first in front and then behind (fig. , ). these folds result in a constriction separating the embryo and the yolk-sack (_ds_), or as it is known in mammalian embryology, the umbilical vesicle. the splitting of the mesoblast into a splanchnic and a somatic layer has taken place, and at the front and hind end of the embryo a fold (_ks_) of the somatic mesoblast and epiblast begins to rise up and grow over the head and tail of the embryo. these two folds form the commencement of the amnion. the head and tail folds of the amnion are continued round the two sides of the embryo, till they meet and unite into a continuous fold. this fold grows gradually upwards, but before it has completely enveloped the embryo, the blood-vessels of the area vasculosa become fully developed. they are arranged in a manner not very different from that in the chick. the following is a brief account of their arrangement in the rabbit:-- the outer boundary of the area, which is continually extending further and further round the umbilical vesicle, is marked by a venous sinus terminalis (fig. , _st_). the area is not, as in the chick, a nearly complete circle, but is in front divided by a deep indentation extending inwards to the level of the heart. in consequence of this indentation the sinus terminalis ends in front in two branches, which bend inwards and fall directly into the main vitelline veins. the blood is brought from the dorsal aortæ by a series of lateral vitelline arteries, and not by a single pair as in the chick. these arteries break up into a more deeply situated arterial network, from which the blood is continued partly into the sinus terminalis, and partly into a superficial venous network. the hinder end of the heart is continued into two vitelline veins, each of which divides into an anterior and a posterior branch. the anterior branch is a limb of the sinus terminalis, and the posterior and smaller branch is continued towards the hind part of the sinus, near which it ends. on its way it receives, on its outer side, numerous branches from the venous network, which connect by their anastomoses the posterior branch of the vitelline vein and the sinus terminalis. [fig. . five diagrammatic figures illustrating the formation of the foetal membranes of a mammal. (from kölliker.) in , , , the embryo is represented in longitudinal section. . ovum with zona pellucida, blastodermic vesicle, and embryonic area. . ovum with commencing formation of umbilical vesicle and amnion. . ovum with amnion about to close, and commencing allantois. . ovum with villous subzonal membrane, larger allantois, and mouth and anus. . ovum in which the mesoblast of the allantois has extended round the inner surface of the subzonal membrane and united with it to form the chorion. the cavity of the allantois is aborted. this fig. is a diagram of an early human ovum. _d._ zona radiata; _d´._ processes of zona; _sh._ subzonal membrane; _ch._ chorion; _ch.z._ chorionic villi; _am._ amnion; _ks._ head-fold of amnion; _ss._ tail-fold of amnion; _a._ epiblast of embryo; _a´._ epiblast of non-embryonic part of the blastodermic vesicle; _m._ embryonic mesoblast; _m´._ non-embryonic mesoblast; _df._ area vasculosa; _st._ sinus terminalis; _dd._ embryonic hypoblast; _i._ non-embryonic hypoblast; _kh._ cavity of blastodermic vesicle, the greater part of which becomes the cavity of the umbilical vesicle _ds._; _dg._ stalk of umbilical vesicle; _al._ allantois; _e._ embryo; _r._ space between chorion and amnion containing albuminous fluid; _vl._ ventral body wall; _hh._ pericardial cavity.] while the above changes have been taking place the whole blastodermic vesicle, still enclosed in the zona, has become attached to the walls of the uterus. in the case of the typical uterus with two tubular horns, the position of each embryo, when there are several, is marked by a swelling in the walls of the uterus, preparatory to the changes which take place on the formation of the placenta. in the region of each swelling the zona around the blastodermic vesicle is closely embraced, in a ring-like fashion, by the epithelium of the uterine wall. the whole vesicle assumes an oval form, and it lies in the uterus with its two ends free. the embryonic area is placed close to the mesometric attachment of the uterus. in many cases peculiar processes or villi grow out from the ovum (fig. , , _sz_), which fit into the folds of the uterine epithelium. the nature of these processes requires further elucidation, but in some instances they appear to proceed from the zona (the rabbit) and in other instances from the subzonal membrane (the dog). in any case the attachment between the blastodermic vesicle and the uterine wall becomes so close at the time when the body of the embryo is first formed out of the embryonic area, that it is hardly possible to separate them without laceration; and at this period--from the th to the th day in the rabbit--it requires the greatest care to remove the ovum from the uterus without injury. it will be understood of course that the attachment above described is at first purely superficial and not vascular. shortly after the establishment of the circulation of the yolk-sack the folds of the amnion meet and coalesce above the embryo (fig. , and , _am_). after this the inner or true amnion becomes severed from the outer or false amnion, though the two sometimes remain connected by a narrow stalk. between the true and false amnion is a continuation of the body cavity. the true amnion consists of a layer of epiblastic epithelium and generally also of somatic mesoblast, while the false amnion consists, as a rule, of epiblast only; though it is possible that in some cases (the rabbit?) the mesoblast may be continued along its inner face. [fig. *. diagram of the foetal membranes of a mammal. (from turner.) structures which either are or have been at an earlier period of development continuous with each other are represented by the same character of shading. _pc._ zona with villi; _sz._ subzonal membrane; _e._ epiblast of embryo; _am._ amnion; _ac._ amniotic cavity; _m._ mesoblast of embryo; _h._ hypoblast of embryo; _uv._ umbilical vesicle; _al._ allantois; _alc._ allantoic cavity.] before the two limbs of the amnion are completely severed, the epiblast of the umbilical vesicle becomes separated from the mesoblast and hypoblast of the vesicle (fig. , ), and, together with the false amnion (_sh_), with which it is continuous, forms a complete lining for the inner face of the zona radiata. the space between this membrane and the umbilical vesicle with the attached embryo is obviously continuous with the body cavity (_vide_ figs. , and *). to this membrane turner has given the appropriate name of subzonal membrane: by von baer it was called the serous envelope. it soon fuses with the zona radiata, or at any rate the zona ceases to be distinguishable. while the above changes are taking place in the amnion, the allantois grows out from the hind gut as a vesicle lined by hypoblast, but covered externally by a layer of splanchnic mesoblast (fig. , and , _al_)[ ]. the allantois soon becomes a flat sack, projecting into the now largely developed space between the subzonal membrane and the amnion, on the dorsal side of the embryo (fig. *, _alc_). in some cases it extends so as to cover the whole inner surface of the subzonal membrane; in other cases again its extension is much more limited. its lumen may be retained or may become nearly or wholly aborted. a fusion takes place between the subzonal membrane and the adjoining mesoblastic wall of the allantois, and the two together give rise to a secondary membrane round the ovum, known as the chorion. since however the allantois does not always come in contact with the whole inner surface of the subzonal membrane, the term chorion is apt to be somewhat vague; and in the rabbit, for instance, a considerable part of the so-called chorion is formed by a fusion of the wall of the yolk-sack with the subzonal membrane (fig. ). the placental region of the chorion may in such cases be distinguished as the true chorion, from the remaining part which will be called the false chorion. [ ] the hypoblastic element in the allantois is sometimes very much reduced, so that the allantois may be mainly formed of a vascular layer of mesoblast. the mesoblast of the allantois, especially that part of it which assists in forming the chorion, becomes highly vascular; the blood being brought to it by two allantoic arteries continued from the terminal bifurcation of the dorsal aorta, and returned to the body by one, or rarely two, allantoic veins, which join the vitelline veins from the yolk-sack. from the outer surface of the true chorion (fig. , , _d_, ) villi grow out and fit into crypts or depressions which have in the meantime made their appearance in the walls of the uterus[ ]. the villi of the chorion are covered by an epithelium derived from the subzonal membrane, and are provided with a connective tissue core containing an artery and vein and a capillary plexus connecting them. in most cases they assume a more or less arborescent form, and have a distribution on the surface of the chorion varying characteristically in different species. the walls of the crypts into which the villi are fitted also become highly vascular, and a nutritive fluid passes from the maternal vessels of the placenta to the foetal vessels by a process of diffusion; while there is probably also a secretion by the epithelial lining of the walls of the crypts, which becomes absorbed by the vessels of the foetal villi. the above maternal and foetal structures constitute together the organ known as the placenta. the maternal portion consists essentially of the vascular crypts in the uterine walls, and the foetal portion of more or less arborescent villi of the true chorion fitting into these crypts. [ ] these crypts have no connection with the openings of glands in the walls of the uterus. they are believed by ercolani to be formed to a large extent by a regeneration of the lining tissue of the uterine walls. while the placenta is being developed, the folding-off of the embryo from the yolk-sack becomes more complete; and the yolk-sack remains connected with the ileal region of the intestine by a narrow stalk, the vitelline duct (fig. , and and fig. *), consisting of the same tissues as the yolk-sack, viz. hypoblast and splanchnic mesoblast. while the true splanchnic stalk of the yolk-sack is becoming narrow, a somatic stalk connecting the amnion with the walls of the embryo is also formed, and closely envelops the stalk both of the allantois and the yolk-sack. the somatic stalk together with its contents is known as the umbilical cord. the mesoblast of the somatopleuric layer of the cord develops into a kind of gelatinous tissue, which cements together the whole of the contents. the allantoic arteries in the cord wind in a spiral manner round the allantoic vein. the yolk-sack in many cases atrophies completely before the close of intra-uterine life, but in other cases it is only removed with the other embryonic membranes at birth. the intra-embryonic portion of the allantoic stalk gives rise to two structures, viz. to ( ) the urinary bladder formed by a dilatation of its proximal extremity, and to ( ) a cord known as the urachus connecting the bladder with the wall of the body at the umbilicus. the urachus, in cases where the cavity of the allantois persists till birth, remains as an open passage connecting the intra- and extra-embryonic parts of the allantois. in other cases it gradually closes, and becomes nearly solid before birth, though a delicate but interrupted lumen would appear to persist in it. it eventually gives rise to the ligamentum vesicæ medium. at birth the foetal membranes, including the foetal portion of the placenta, are shed; but in many forms the interlocking of the foetal villi with the uterine crypts is so close that the uterine mucous membrane is carried away with the foetal part of the placenta. it thus comes about that in some placentæ the maternal and foetal parts simply separate from each other at birth, and in others the two remain intimately locked together, and both are shed together as the afterbirth. these two forms of placenta are distinguished as non-deciduate and deciduate, but it has been shewn by ercolani and turner that no sharp line can be drawn between the two types; moreover, a larger part of the uterine mucous membrane than that forming the maternal part of the placenta is often shed in the deciduate mammalia, and in the non-deciduate mammalia it is probable that the mucous membrane (not including vascular parts) of the maternal placenta either peels or is absorbed. _comparative history of the mammalian foetal membranes._ two groups of mammalia--the monotremata and the marsupialia--are believed not to be provided with a true placenta. the nature of the foetal membranes in the monotremata is not known. ova, presumably in an early stage of development, have been found free in the uterus of ornithorhyncus by owen. the lining membrane of the uterus was thickened and highly vascular. the females in which these were found were killed early in october[ ]. [ ] the following is owen's account of the young after birth (_comp. anat. of vertebrates_, vol. iii. p. ): "on the eighth of december dr bennet discovered in the subterranean nest of ornithorhyncus three living young, naked, not quite two inches in length." on the th of august, , "a female echidna hystrix was captured ... having a young one with its head buried in a mammary or marsupial fossa. this young one was naked, of a bright red colour, and one inch two lines in length." marsupialia. our knowledge of the foetal membranes of the marsupialia is almost entirely due to owen. in macropus major he found that birth took place thirty-eight days after impregnation. a foetus at the twentieth day of gestation measured eight lines from the mouth to the root of the tail. the foetus was enveloped in a large subzonal membrane, with folds fitting into uterine furrows, but _not adhering to the uterus, and without villi_. the embryo was enveloped in an amnion reflected over the stalk of the yolk-sack, which was attached by a filamentary pedicle to near the end of the ileum. the yolk-sack was large and vascular, and was connected with the foetal vascular system by a vitelline artery and two veins. the yolk-sack was partially adherent, especially at one part, to the subzonal membrane. no allantois was observed. in a somewhat older foetus of ten lines in length there was a small allantois supplied by two allantoic arteries and one vein. the allantois was quite free and not attached to the subzonal membrane. the yolk-sack was more closely attached to the subzonal membrane than in the younger embryo[ ]. [ ] owen quotes in the _anatomy of vertebrates_, vol. iii. p. , a description from rengger of the development of didelphis azaræ, which would seem to imply that a vascular adhesion arises between the uterine walls and the subzonal membrane, but the description is too vague to be of any value in determining the nature of the foetal membranes. all mammalia, other than the monotremata and marsupialia, have a true allantoic placenta. the placenta presents a great variety of forms, and it will perhaps be most convenient first to treat these varieties in succession, and then to give a general exposition of their mutual affinities[ ]. [ ] numerous contributions to our knowledge of the various types of placenta have been made during the last few years, amongst which those of turner and ercolani may be singled out, both from the variety of forms with which they deal, and the important light they have thrown on the structure of the placenta. amongst the existing mammals provided with a true placenta, the most primitive type is probably retained by those forms in which the placental part of the chorion is confined to a comparatively restricted area on the dorsal side of the embryo; while the false chorion is formed by the vascular yolk-sack fusing with the remainder of the subzonal membrane. in all the existing forms with this arrangement of foetal membranes, the placenta is deciduate. this, however, was probably not the case in more primitive forms from which these are descended[ ]. the placenta would appear from ercolani's description to be simpler in the mole (talpa) than in other species. the insectivora, cheiroptera, and rodentia are the groups with this type of placenta; and since the rabbit, amongst the latter, has been more fully worked out than other species, we may take it first. [ ] _vide_ ercolani, no. , and harting, no. , and also von baer, _entwicklungsgeschichte_ table on p. , part i., where the importance of the limited area of attachment of the allantois as compared with the yolk-sack is distinctly recognised. the rabbit. in the pregnant female rabbit several ova are generally found in each horn of the uterus. the general condition of the egg-membranes at the time of their full development is shewn in fig. . [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of a rabbit's ovum at an advanced stage of pregnancy. (from kölliker after bischoff.) _e._ embryo; _a._ amnion; _a._ urachus; _al._ allantois with blood-vessels; _sh._ subzonal membrane; _pl._ placental villi; _fd._ vascular layer of yolk-sack; _ed._ hypoblastic layer of yolk-sack; _ed´._ inner portion of hypoblast, and _ed´´._ outer portion of hypoblast lining the compressed cavity of the yolk-sack; _ds._ cavity of yolk-sack; _st._ sinus terminalis; _r._ space filled with fluid between the amnion, the allantois and the yolk-sack.] the embryo is surrounded by the amnion, which is comparatively small. the yolk-sack (_ds_) is large and attached to the embryo by a long stalk. it has the form of a flattened sack closely applied to about two-thirds of the surface of the subzonal membrane. the outer wall of this sack, adjoining the subzonal membrane, is formed of hypoblast only; but the inner wall is covered by the mesoblast of the area vasculosa, as indicated by the thick black line (_fd_). the vascular area is bordered by the sinus terminalis (_st_). in an earlier stage of development the yolk-sack had not the compressed form represented in the figure. it is, however, remarkable that the vascular area never extends over the whole yolk-sack; but the inner vascular wall of the yolk-sack fuses with the outer, and with the subzonal membrane, and so forms a false chorion, which receives its blood supply from the yolk-sack. this part of the chorion does not develop vascular villi. the allantois (_al_) is a simple vascular sack with a large cavity. part of its wall is applied to the subzonal membrane, and gives rise to the true chorion, from which there project numerous vascular villi. these fit into corresponding uterine crypts. it seems probable, from bischoff's and kölliker's observations, that the subzonal membrane in the area of the placenta becomes attached to the uterine wall, by means of villi, even before its fusion with the allantois. in the later periods of gestation the intermingling of the maternal and foetal parts of the placenta becomes very close, and the placenta is truly deciduate. the cavity of the allantois persists till birth. between the yolk-sack, the allantois, and the embryo, there is left a large cavity filled with an albuminous fluid. the hare does not materially differ in the arrangement of its foetal membranes from the rabbit. [fig. . section through the placenta and adjacent parts of a rat one inch and a quarter long. (from huxley.) _a._ uterine vein; _b_. uterine wall; _c._ cavernous portion of uterine wall; _d._ deciduous portion of uterus with cavernous structure; _i._ large vein passing to the foetal portion of the placenta; _f._ false chorion supplied by vitelline vessels; _k._ vitelline vessel; _l._ allantoic vessel; _g._ boundary of true placenta; _e_, _m_, _m_, _e_. line of junction of the deciduate and non-deciduate parts of the uterine wall.] in the rat (mus decumanus) (fig. ) the sack of the allantois completely atrophies before the close of foetal life[ ], and there is developed, at the junction of the maternal part of the placenta and the unaltered mucous membrane of the uterus, a fold of the mucous membrane which completely encapsules the whole chorion, and forms a separate chamber for it, distinct from the general lumen of the uterus. folds of this nature, which are specially developed in man and apes, are known as a decidua reflexa. the decidua reflexa of the rat is reduced to extreme tenuity, or even vanishes before the close of gestation. [ ] this is denied by nasse; _vide_ kölliker, no. , p. . guinea-pig. the development of the guinea-pig is dealt with elsewhere, but, so far as its peculiarities permit a comparison with the rabbit, the agreement between the two types appears to be fairly close. the blastodermic vesicle of the guinea-pig becomes completely enveloped in a capsule of the uterine wall (decidua reflexa) (fig. ). the epithelium of the blastodermic vesicle in contact with the uterine wall is not epiblastic, but corresponds with the hypoblast of the yolk-sack of other forms, and the mesoblast of the greater part of the inner side of this becomes richly vascular (_yk_); the vascular area being bounded by a sinus terminalis. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of an ovum of a guinea-pig and the adjacent uterine walls at an advanced stage of pregnancy. (after bischoff.) _yk._ yolk-sack (umbilical vesicle) formed of an external hypoblastic layer (shaded) and an internal mesoblastic vascular layer (black). at the end of this layer is placed the sinus terminalis; _all._ allantois; _pl._ placenta. the external shaded parts are the uterine walls.] the blastodermic vesicle is so situated within its uterine capsule that the embryo is attached to the part of it adjoining the free side of the uterus. from the opposite side of the uterus, viz. that to which the mesometrium is attached, there grow into the wall of the blastodermic vesicle numerous vascular processes of the uterine wall, which establish at this point an organic connection between the two (_pl_). the blood-vessels of the blastodermic vesicle (yolk-sack) stop short immediately around the area of attachment to the uterus; but at a late period the allantois grows towards, and fuses with this area. the blood-vessels of the allantois and of the uterus become intertwined, and a disc-like placenta more or less similar to that in the rabbit becomes formed (_pl_). the cavity of the allantois, if developed, vanishes completely. in all the rodentia the placenta appears to be situated on the mesometric side of the uterus. insectivora. in the mole (talpa) and the shrew (sorex), the foetal membranes are in the main similar to those in the rabbit, and a deciduate discoidal placenta is always present. it may be situated anywhere in the circumference of the uterine tube. the allantoic cavity persists (owen), but the allantois only covers the placental area of the chorion. the yolk-sack is persistent, and fuses with the non-allantoic part of the subzonal membrane; which is rendered vascular by its blood-vessels. there would seem to be (owen) a small decidua reflexa. a similar arrangement is found in the hedgehog (erinaceus europæus) (rolleston), in which the placenta occupies the typical dorsal position. it is not clear from rolleston's description whether the yolk-sack persists till the close of foetal life, but it seems probable that it does so. there is a considerable reflexa which does not, however, cover the whole chorion. in the tenrec (centetes) the yolk-sack and non-placental part of the chorion are described by rolleston as being absent, but it seems not impossible that this may have been owing to the bad state of preservation of the specimen. the amnion is large. in the cheiroptera (_vespertilio_ and _pteropus_), the yolk-sack is large, and coalesces with part of the chorion. the large yolk-sack has been observed in pteropus by rolleston, and in vespertilio by owen. the allantoic vessels supply the placenta only. the cheiroptera are usually uniparous. simiadæ and anthropidæ. the foetal membranes of apes and man, though in their origin unlike those of the rodentia and insectivora, are in their ultimate form similar to them, and may be conveniently dealt with here. the early stages in the development of these membranes in the human embryo have not been satisfactorily observed; but it is known that the ovum, shortly after its entrance into the uterus, becomes attached to the uterine wall, which in the meantime has undergone considerable preparatory changes. a fold of the uterine wall appears to grow round the blastodermic vesicle, and to form a complete capsule for it, but the exact mode of formation of this capsule is a matter of inference and not of observation. during the first fortnight of pregnancy villi grow out, according to allen thomson over its whole surface, but according to reichert in a ring-like fashion round the edge of the somewhat flattened ovum, and attach it to the uterus. the further history of the early stages is extremely obscure, and to a large extent a matter of speculation: what is known with reference to it will be found in a special section, but i shall here take up the history at about the fourth week. at this stage a complete chorion has become formed, and is probably derived from a growth of the mesoblast of the allantois (unaccompanied by the hypoblast) round the whole inner surface of the subzonal membrane. from the whole surface of the chorion there project branched vascular processes, covered by an epithelium. the allantois is without a cavity, but a hypoblastic epithelium is present in the allantoic stalk, through which it does not, however, form a continuous tube. the blood-vessels of the chorion are derived from the usual allantoic arteries and vein. the general condition of the embryo and of its membranes at this period is shewn diagrammatically in fig. , . around the embryo is seen the amnion, already separated by a considerable interval from the embryo. the yolk-sack is shewn at _ds_. relatively to the other parts it is considerably smaller than it was at an earlier stage. the allantoic stalk is shewn at _al_. both it and the stalk of the yolk-sack are enveloped by the amnion (_am_). the chorion with its vascular processes surrounds the whole embryo. it may be noted that the condition of the chorion at this stage is very similar to that of the normal diffused type of placenta, described in the sequel. while the above changes are taking place in the embryonic membranes, the blastodermic vesicle greatly increases in size, and forms a considerable projection from the upper wall of the uterus. three regions of the uterine wall, in relation to the blastodermic vesicle, are usually distinguished; and since the superficial parts of all of these are thrown off with the afterbirth, each of them is called a decidua. they are represented at a somewhat later stage in fig. . there is ( ) the part of the wall reflected over the blastodermic vesicle, called the decidua reflexa (_dr_); ( ) the part of the wall forming the area round which the reflexa is inserted, called the decidua serotina (_ds_); ( ) the general wall of the uterus, not related to the embryo, called the decidua vera (_du_). the decidua reflexa and serotina together envelop the chorion, the processes of which fit into crypts in them. at this period both of them are highly and nearly uniformly vascular. the general cavity of the uterus is to a large extent obliterated by the ovum, but still persists as a space filled with mucus, between the decidua reflexa and the decidua vera. [fig. . diagrammatic section of pregnant human uterus with contained foetus. (from huxley after longet.) _al._ allantoic stalk; _nb._ umbilical vesicle; _am._ amnion; _ch._ chorion; _ds._ decidua serotina; _du._ decidua vera; _dr._ decidua reflexa; _l_ fallopian tube; _c._ cervix uteri; _u._ uterus; z. foetal villi of true placenta; _z´._ villi of non-placental part of chorion.] the changes which ensue from this period onwards are fully known. the amnion continues to dilate (its cavity being intensely filled with amniotic fluid) till it comes very close to the chorion (fig. , _am_); from which, however, it remains separated by a layer of gelatinous tissue. the villi of the chorion in the region covered by the decidua reflexa, gradually cease to be vascular, and partially atrophy, but in the region in contact with the decidua serotina increase and become more vascular and more arborescent (fig. , _z_). the former region becomes known as the chorion læve, and the latter as the chorion frondosum. _the chorion frondosum, together with the decidua serotina, gives rise to the placenta._ although the vascular supply is cut off from the chorion læve, the processes on its surface do not completely abort. it becomes, as the time of birth approaches, more and more closely united with the reflexa, till the union between the two is so close that their exact boundaries cannot be made out. the umbilical vesicle (fig. , _nb_), although it becomes greatly reduced in size and flattened, persists in a recognisable form till the time of birth. as the embryo enlarges, the space between the decidua vera and decidua reflexa becomes reduced, and finally the two parts unite together. the decidua vera is mainly characterised by the presence of peculiar roundish cells in its subepithelial tissue, and by the disappearance of a distinct lining of epithelial cells. during the whole of pregnancy it remains highly vascular. the decidua reflexa, on the disappearance of the vessels in the chorion læve, becomes non-vascular. its tissue undergoes changes in the main similar to those of the decidua vera, and as has been already mentioned, it fuses on the one hand with the chorion, and on the other with the decidua vera. the membrane resulting from its fusion with the latter structure becomes thinner and thinner as pregnancy advances, and is reduced to a thin layer at the time of birth. the placenta has a somewhat discoidal form, with a slightly convex uterine surface and a concave embryonic surface. at its edge it is continuous both with the decidua reflexa and decidua vera. near the centre of the embryonic surface is implanted the umbilical cord. as has already been mentioned, the placenta is formed of the decidua serotina and the foetal villi of the chorion frondosum. the foetal and maternal tissues are far more closely united (fig. ) than in the forms described above. the villi of the chorion, which were originally comparatively simple, become more and more complicated, and assume an extremely arborescent form. each of them contains a vein and an artery, which subdivide to enter the complicated ramifications; and are connected together by a rich anastomosis. the villi are formed mainly of connective tissue, but are covered by an epithelial layer generally believed to be derived from the subzonal membrane; but, as was first stated by goodsir, and has since been more fully shewn by ercolani and turner, this epithelial layer is really a part of the cellular decidua serotina of the uterine wall, which has become adherent to the villi in the development of the placenta (fig. , _g_). the placenta is divided into a number of lobes, usually called cotyledons, by septa which pass towards the chorion. these septa, which belong to the serotina, lie between the arborescent villi of the chorion. the cotyledons themselves consist of a network of tissue permeated by large vascular spaces, formed by the dilatation of the maternal blood-vessels of the serotina, into which the ramifications of the foetal villi project. in these spaces they partly float freely, and partly are attached to delicate trabeculæ of the maternal tissue (fig. , _g_). they are, of course, separated from the maternal blood by the uterine epithelial layer before mentioned. the blood is brought to the maternal part of the placenta by spirally coiled arteries, which do not divide into capillaries, but open into the large blood-spaces already spoken of. from these spaces there pass off oblique utero-placental veins, which pierce the serotina, and form a system of large venous sinuses in the adjoining uterine wall (fig. , _f_), and eventually fall into the general uterine venous system. at birth the whole placenta, together with the fused decidua vera, and reflexa, with which it is continuous, is shed; and the blood-vessels thus ruptured are closed by the contraction of the uterine wall. [fig. . section of the human uterus and placenta at the thirtieth week of pregnancy. (from huxley after ecker.) _a._ umbilical cord; _b._ chorion; _c._ foetal villi separated by processes of the decidua serotina, _d_; _e_, _f_, _g_. walls of uterus.] the foetal membranes and the placenta of the simiadæ (turner, no. ) are in most respects closely similar to those in man; but the placenta is, in most cases, divided into two lobes, though in the chimpanzee, cynocephalus, and the apes of the new world, it appears to be single. the types of deciduate placenta so far described, are usually classified by anatomists as discoidal placentæ, although it must be borne in mind that they differ very widely. in the rodentia, insectivora, and cheiroptera there is a (usually) dorsal placenta, which is co-extensive with the area of contact between the allantois and the subzonal membrane, while the yolk-sack adheres to a large part of the subzonal membrane. in apes and man the allantois spreads over the whole inner surface of the subzonal membrane; the placenta is on the ventral side of the embryo, and occupies only a small part of the surface of the allantois. the placenta of apes and man might be called metadiscoidal, in order to distinguish it from the primitive discoidal placenta of the rodentia and insectivora. in the armadilloes (dasypus) the placenta is truly discoidal and deciduate (owen and kölliker). alf. milne edwards states that in dasypus novemcinctus the placenta is zonary, and both kölliker and he found four embryos in the uterus, each with its own amnion, but the placenta of all four united together; and all four enclosed in a common chorion. a reflexa does not appear to be present. in the sloths the placenta approaches the discoidal type (turner, no. ). it occupies in cholæpus hoffmanni about four-fifths of the surface of the chorion, and is composed of about thirty-four discoid lobes. it is truly deciduate, and the maternal capillaries are replaced by a system of sinuses (fig. ). the amnion is close to the inner surface of the chorion. a dome-shaped placenta is also found amongst the edentata in myrmecophaga and tamandua (milne edwards, no. ). zonary placenta. another form of deciduate placenta is known as the zonary. this form of placenta occupies a broad zone of the chorion, leaving the two poles free. it is found in the carnivora, hyrax, elephas, and orycteropus. it is easy to understand how the zonary placenta may be derived from the primitive arrangement of the membranes (_vide_ p. ) by the extension of a _discoidal_ placental area to a _zonary_ area, but it is possible that some of the types of zonary placenta may have been evolved from the concentration of a diffused placenta (_vide_ p. ) to a zonary area. the absence of the placenta at the extreme poles of the chorion is explained by the fact of their not being covered by a reflection of the uterine mucous membrane. in the later periods of pregnancy the placental area becomes, however, in most forms much more restricted than the area of contact between the uterus and chorion. in the dog[ ], which may be taken as type, there is a large vascular yolk-sack formed in the usual way, which does not however fuse with the chorion. it extends at first quite to the end of the citron-shaped ovum, and persists till birth. the allantois first grows out on the dorsal side of the embryo, where it coalesces with the subzonal membrane, over a small discoidal area. [ ] _vide_ bischoff, no. . before the fusion of the allantois with the subzonal membrane, there grow out from the whole surface of the external covering of the ovum, except the poles, numerous non-vascular villi, which fit into uterine crypts. when the allantois adheres to the subzonal membrane vascular processes grow out from it into these villi. the vascular villi so formed are of course at first confined to the disc-shaped area of adhesion between the allantois and the subzonal membrane; _and there is thus formed a rudimentary discoidal placenta_, closely resembling that of the rodentia. the view previously stated, that the zonary placenta is derived from the discoidal one, receives from this fact a strong support. the cavity of the allantois is large, and its inner part is in contact with the amnion. the area of adhesion between the outer part of the allantois and subzonal membrane gradually spreads over the whole interior of the subzonal membrane, and vascular villi are formed over the whole area of adhesion except at the two extreme poles of the egg. the last part to be covered is the ventral side where the yolk-sack adjoins the subzonal membrane. during the extension of the allantois its cavity persists, and its inner part covers not only the amnion, but also the yolk-sack. it adheres to the amnion and supplies it with blood-vessels (bischoff). with the full growth of the allantois there is formed a broad placental zone, with numerous branched villi, fitting into corresponding pits which become developed in the uterine walls. the maternal and foetal structures become closely interlocked and highly vascular; and at birth a large part of the maternal part is carried away with the placenta; some of it however still remains attached to the muscular wall of the uterus. the villi of the chorion do not fit into uterine glands. the zone of the placenta diminishes greatly in proportion to the chorion as the latter elongates, and at the full time the breadth of the zone is not more than about one-fifth of the whole length of the chorion. at the edge of the placental zone there is a very small portion of the uterine mucous membrane reflected over the non-placental part of the chorion, which forms a small reflexa analogous with the reflexa in man. the carnivora generally closely resemble the dog, but in the cat the whole of the maternal part of the placenta is carried away with the foetal parts, so that the placenta is more completely deciduate than in the dog. in the grey seal (_halichoerus gryphus_, turner, no. ) the general arrangement of the foetal membranes is the same as in the other groups of the carnivora, but there is a considerable reflexa developed at the edge of the placenta. the foetal part of the placenta is divided by a series of primary fissures which give off secondary and tertiary fissures. into the fissures there pass vascular laminæ of the uterine wall. the general surface of the foetal part of the placenta between the fissures is covered by a greyish membrane formed of the coalesced terminations of the foetal villi. the structure of the placenta in hyrax is stated by turner (no. ) to be very similar to that in the felidæ. the allantoic sack is large, and covers the whole surface of the subzonal membrane. the amnion is also large, but the yolk-sack would seem to disappear at an early stage, instead of persisting, as in the carnivora, till the close of foetal life. the elephant (owen, turner, chapman) is provided with a zonary deciduate placenta, though a villous patch is present near each pole of the chorion. turner (no. ) has shewn that in orycteropus there is present a zonary placenta, which differs however in several particulars from the normal zonary placenta of the carnivora; and it is even doubtful whether it is truly deciduate. there is a single embryo, which fills up the body of the uterus and also projects into only one of the horns. the placenta forms a broad median zone, leaving the two poles free. the breadth of the zone is considerably greater than is usual in carnivora, one-half or more of the whole longitudinal diameter of the chorion being occupied by the placenta. the chorionic villi are arborescent, and diffusely scattered, and though the maternal and foetal parts are closely interwoven, it has not been ascertained whether the adhesion between them is sufficient to cause the maternal subepithelial tissue to be carried away with the foetal part of the placenta at birth. the allantois is adherent to the whole chorion, the non-placental parts of which are vascular. in the umbilical cord a remnant of the allantoic vesicle was present in the embryos observed by turner, but in the absence of a large allantoic cavity the cape ant-eater differs greatly from the carnivora. the amnion and allantois were in contact, but no yolk sack was observed. non-deciduate placenta. the remaining mammalia are characterized by a non-deciduate placenta; or at least by a placenta in which only parts of the maternal epithelium and no vascular maternal structures are carried away at parturition. the non-deciduate placentæ are divided into two groups: ( ) the polycotyledonary placenta, characteristic of the true ruminantia (cervidæ, antilopidæ, bovidæ, camelopardalidæ); ( ) the diffused placenta found in the other non-deciduate mammalia, viz. the perissodactyla, the suidæ, the hippopotamidæ, the tylopoda, the tragulidæ, the sirenia, the cetacea, manis amongst the edentata, and the lemuridæ. the polycotyledonary form is the most differentiated; and is probably a modification of the diffused form. the diffused non-deciduate placenta is very easily derived from the primitive type (p. ) by an extension of the allantoic portion of the chorion; and the exclusion of the yolk-sack from any participation in forming the chorion. the possession in common of a diffused type of placenta is by no means to be regarded as a necessary proof of affinity between two groups, and there are often, even amongst animals possessing a diffused form of placenta, considerable differences in the general arrangement of the embryonic membranes. ungulata. although the ungulata include forms with both cotyledonary and diffused placentæ, the general arrangement of the embryonic membranes is so similar throughout the group, that it will be convenient to commence with a description of them, which will fairly apply both to the ruminantia and to the other forms. the blastodermic vesicle during the early stages of development lies freely in the uterus; and no non-vascular villi, similar to those of the dog or the rabbit, are formed before the appearance of the allantois. the blastodermic vesicle has at first the usual spherical form, but it grows out at an early period, and with prodigious rapidity, into two immensely long horns; which in cases where there is only one embryo are eventually prolonged for the whole length of the two horns of the uterus. the embryonic area is formed in the usual way, and its long axis is placed at right angles to that of the vesicle. on the formation of an amnion there is formed the usual subzonal membrane, which soon becomes separated by a considerable space from the yolk-sack (fig. ). the yolk-sack is, however, continued into two elongated processes (_yk_), which pass to the two extremities of the subzonal membrane. it is supplied with the normal blood-vessels. as soon as the allantois appears (fig. _all_), it grows out into a right and a left process, which rapidly fill the whole free space within the subzonal membrane and in many cases, _e.g._ the pig (von baer), break through the ends of the membrane, from which they project as the diverticula allantoidis. the cavity of the allantois remains large, but the lining of hypoblast becomes separated from the mesoblast, owing to the more rapid growth of the latter. the mesoblast of the allantois applies itself externally to the subzonal membrane to form the chorion[ ], and internally to the amnion, the cavity of which remains very small. the chorionic portion of the allantoic mesoblast is very vascular, and that applied to the amnion also becomes vascular in the later developmental periods. [ ] according to bischoff the subzonal membrane atrophies, leaving the allantoic mesoblast to constitute the whole chorion. [fig. . embryo and foetal membranes of a young embryo roe-deer. (after bischoff.) _yk._ yolk-sack; _all._ allantois just sprouting as a bilobed sack.] the horns of the yolk-sack gradually atrophy, and the whole yolk-sack disappears some time before birth. where two or more embryos are present in the uterus, the chorions of the several embryos may unite where they are in contact. from the chorion there grow out numerous vascular villi, which fit into corresponding pits in the uterine walls. according to the distribution of these villi, the allantois is either diffused or polycotyledonary. [fig. . portion of the injected chorion of a pig, slightly magnified. (from turner.) the figure shews a minute circular spot (_b_) (enclosed by a vascular ring) from which villous ridges (_r_) radiate.] [fig. . surface-view of the injected uterine mucosa of a gravid pig. (from turner.) the fig. shews a circular non-vascular spot where a gland opens (_g_) surrounded by numerous vascular crypts (_cr_).] the pig presents the simplest type of diffused placenta. the villi of the surface of the chorion cover a broad zone, leaving only the two poles free; their arrangement differs therefore from that in a zonary placenta in the greater breadth of the zone covered by them. the villi have the form of simple papillæ, arranged on a series of ridges, which are highly vascular as compared with the intervening valleys. if an injected chorion is examined (fig. ), certain clear non-vascular spots are to be seen (_b_), from which the ridges of villi radiate. the surface of the uterus adapts itself exactly to the elevations of the chorion; and the furrows which receive the chorionic ridges are highly vascular (fig. ). on the other hand, there are non-vascular circular depressions corresponding to the non-vascular areas on the chorion; and in these areas, and in these alone, the glands of the uterus open (fig. _g_) (turner). the maternal and foetal parts of the placenta in the pig separate with very great ease. [fig. . vertical section through the injected placenta of a mare. (from turner.) _ch._ chorion with its villi partly _in situ_ and partly drawn out of the crypts (_cr_); _e._ loose epithelial cells which formed the lining of the crypt; _g._ uterine glands; _v._ blood-vessels.] in the mare (turner), the foetal villi are arranged in a less definite zonary band than in the pig, though still absent for a very small area at both poles of the chorion, and also opposite the os uteri. the filiform villi, though to the naked eye uniformly scattered, are, when magnified, found to be clustered together in minute cotyledons, which fit into corresponding uterine crypts (fig. ). surrounding the uterine crypts are reticulate ridges on which are placed the openings of the uterine glands. the remaining ungulata with diffused placentæ do not differ in any important particulars from those already described. the polycotyledonary form of placenta is found in the ruminantia alone. its essential character consists in the foetal villi not being uniformly distributed, but collected into patches or cotyledons which form as it were so many small placentæ (fig. ). the foetal villi of these patches fit into corresponding pits in thickened patches of the wall of the uterus (figs. and ). in many cases (turner), the interlocking of the maternal and foetal structures is so close that large parts of the maternal epithelium are carried away when the foetal villi are separated from the uterus. the glands of the uterus open in the intervals between the cotyledons. the character of the cotyledons differs greatly in different types. the maternal parts are cup-shaped in the sheep, and mushroom-shaped in the cow. there are from - in the cow and sheep, but only about five or six in the roe-deer. in the giraffe there are, in addition to larger and smaller cotyledons, rows and clusters of short villi, so that the placenta is more or less intermediate between the polycotyledonary and diffused types (turner). a similarly intermediate type of placenta is found in cervus mexicanus (turner). [fig. . uterus of a cow in the middle of pregnancy laid open. (from huxley after colin.) _v._ vagina; _u._ uterus; _ch._ chorion; _c^ ._ uterine cotyledons; _c^ ._ foetal cotyledons.] [fig. . cotyledon of a cow, the foetal and maternal parts half separated. (from huxley after colin.) _u._ uterus; _ch._ chorion; _c^ ._ maternal part of cotyledon; _c^ ._ foetal part.] [fig. . semi-diagrammatic vertical section through a portion of a maternal cotyledon of a sheep. (from turner.) _cr._ crypts; _e._ epithelial lining of crypts; _v._ veins and _c._ curling arteries of subepithelial connective tissue.] the groups not belonging to the ungulata which are characterized by the possession of a diffused placenta are the sirenia, the cetacea, manis, and the lemuridæ. sirenia. of the sirenia, the placentation of the dugong is known from some observations of harting (no. ). it is provided with a diffuse and non-deciduate placenta; with the villi generally scattered except at the poles. the umbilical vesicle vanishes early. cetacea. in the cetacea, if we may generalize from turner's observations on orca gladiator and the narwhal, and those of anderson (no. ) on platanista and orcella, the blastodermic vesicle is very much elongated, and prolonged unsymmetrically into two horns. the mesoblast (fig. ) of the allantois would appear to grow round the whole inner surface of the subzonal membrane, but the cavity of the allantois only persists as a widish sack on the ventral aspect of the embryo (_al_). the amnion (_am_) is enormous, and is dorsally in apposition with, and apparently coalesces with the chorion, and ventrally covers the inner wall of the persistent allantoic sack. the chorion, except for a small area at the two poles and opposite the os uteri, is nearly uniformly covered with villi, which are more numerous than in fig. . in the large size of the amnion, and small dimensions of the persistent allantoic sack, the cetacea differ considerably from the ungulata. [fig. . diagram of the foetal membranes in orca gladiator. (from turner.) _ch._ chorion; _am._ amnion; _al._ allantois; _e._ embryo.] manis. manis amongst the edentata presents a type of diffused placenta[ ]. the villi are arranged in ridges which radiate from a non-villous longitudinal strip on the concave surface of the chorion. [ ] the observations on this head were made by sharpey, and are quoted by huxley (no. ) and with additional observations by turner in his memoir on the placentation of the sloths. anderson (no. ) has also recently confirmed sharpey's account of the diffused character of the placenta of manis. manis presents us with the third type of placenta found amongst the edentata. on this subject, i may quote the following sentence from turner (_journal of anat. and phys._, vol. x., p. ). "the armadilloes (dasypus), according to professor owen, possess a single, thin, oblong, disc-shaped placenta; a specimen, probably dasypus gymnurus, recently described by kölliker[ ], had a transversely oval placenta, which occupied the upper / rds of the uterus. in manis, as dr sharpey has shewn, the placenta is diffused over the surfaces of the chorion and uterine mucosa. in myrmecophaga and tamandua, as mm. milne edwards have pointed out, the placenta is set on the chorion in a dome-like manner. in the sloths, as i have elsewhere described, the placenta is dome-like in its general form, and consists of a number of aggregated, discoid lobes. in orycteropus, as i have now shewn, the placenta is broadly zonular." [ ] _entwicklungsgeschichte des menschen_, _etc._, nd ed., p. . leipzig, . lemuridæ. the lemurs in spite of their affinities with the primates and insectivora have, as has been shewn by milne edwards and turner, an apparently very different form of placenta. there is only one embryo, which occupies the body and one of the cornua of the uterus. the yolk-sack disappears early, and the allantois (turner) bulges out into a right and left lobe, which meet above the back of the embryo. the cavity of the allantois persists, and the mesoblast of the outer wall fuses with the subzonal membrane (the hypoblastic epithelium remaining distinct) to give rise to the chorion. on the surface of the chorion are numerous vascular villi, which fit into uterine crypts. they are generally distributed, though absent at the two ends of the chorion and opposite the os uteri. their distribution accords with turner's diffused type. patches bare of villi correspond with smooth areas on the surface of the uterine mucosa in which numerous utricular glands open. there is no reflexa. although the lemurian type of placenta undoubtedly differs from that of the primates, it must be borne in mind that the placenta of the primates may easily be conceived to be derived from a lemurian form of placenta. it will be remembered that in man, before the true placenta becomes developed, there is a condition with simple vascular villi scattered over the chorion. it seems very probable that this is a repetition of the condition of the placenta of the ancestors of the primates which has probably been more or less retained by the lemurs. it was mentioned above that the resemblance between the metadiscoidal placenta of man and that of the cheiroptera, insectivora and rodentia is rather physiological than morphological. _comparative histology of the placenta._ it does not fall within the province of this work to treat from a histological standpoint the changes which take place in the uterine walls during pregnancy. it will, however, be convenient to place before the reader a short statement of the relations between the maternal and foetal tissues in the different varieties of placenta. this subject has been admirably dealt with by turner (no. ), from whose paper fig. illustrating this subject is taken. the simplest known condition of the placenta is that found in the pig (b). the papilla-like foetal villi fit into the maternal crypts. the villi (_v_) are formed of a connective tissue cone with capillaries, and are covered by a layer of very flat epithelium (_e_) derived from the subzonal membrane. the maternal crypts are lined by the uterine epithelium (_e´_), immediately below which is a capillary flexus. the maternal and foetal vessels are here separated by a double epithelial layer. the same general arrangement holds good in the diffused placentæ of other forms, and in the polycotyledonary placenta of the ruminantia, but the foetal villi (c) in the latter acquire an arborescent form. the maternal vessels retain the form of capillaries. in the deciduate placenta a considerably more complicated arrangement is usually found. in the typical zonary placenta of the fox and cat (d and e), the maternal tissue is broken up into a complete trabecular mesh-work, and in the interior of the trabeculæ there run dilated maternal capillaries (_d´_). the trabeculæ are covered by a more or less columnar uterine epithelium (_e´_), and are in contact on every side with foetal villi. the capillaries of the foetal villi preserve their normal size, and the villi are covered by a flat epithelial layer (_e_). in the sloth (f) the maternal capillaries become still more dilated, and the epithelium covering them is formed of very flat polygonal cells. [fig. . diagrammatic representations of the minute structure of the placenta. (from turner.) _f._ the foetal; _m._ the maternal placenta; _e._ epithelium of chorion; _e´._ epithelium of maternal placenta; _d._ foetal blood-vessels; _d´._ maternal blood-vessels; _v._ villus. a. placenta in its most generalized form. b. structure of placenta of a pig. c. structure of placenta of a cow. d. structure of placenta of a fox. e. structure of placenta of a cat. f. structure of placenta of a sloth. on the right side of the figure the flat maternal epithelial cells are shewn _in situ_. on the left side they are removed, and the dilated maternal vessel with its blood-corpuscles is exposed. g. structure of human placenta. in addition to the letters already referred to _ds_, _ds_. represents the decidua serotina of the placenta; _t_, _t_. trabeculæ of serotina passing to the foetal villi; _ca._ curling artery; _up._ utero-placental vein; _x._ a prolongation of maternal tissue on the exterior of th villus outside the cellular layer _e´_, which may represent either the endothelium of the maternal blood-vessel or delicate connective tissue belonging to the serotina, or both. the layer _e´_ represents maternal cells derived from the serotina. the layer of foetal epithelium cannot be seen on the villi of the fully-formed human placenta.] in the human placenta (g), as in that of apes, the greatest modification is found in that the maternal vessels have completely lost their capillary form, and have become expanded into large freely communicating sinuses (_d´_). in these sinuses the foetal villi hang for the most part freely, though occasionally attached to their walls (_t_). in the late stages of foetal life there is only one epithelial layer (_e´_) between the maternal and foetal vessels, which closely invests the foetal villi, but, as shewn by turner and ercolani, is part of the uterine tissue. in the foetal villi the vessels retain their capillary form. _evolution of the placenta._ from owen's observations on the marsupials it is clear that the yolk-sack in this group plays an important, if not the most important part, in absorbing the maternal nutriment destined for the foetus. the fact that in marsupials both the yolk-sack and the allantois are functional in rendering the chorion vascular makes it _à priori_ probable that this was also the case in the primitive types of the placentalia, and this deduction is supported by the fact that in the rodentia, insectivora and cheiroptera this peculiarity of the foetal membranes is actually found. in the primitive placentalia there was probably present a _discoidal_ allantoic region of the chorion, from which simple foetal villi, like those of the pig (fig. b), projected into uterine crypts; but it is not certain how far the umbilical part of the chorion, which was no doubt vascular, may also have been villous. from such a primitive type of foetal membranes divergences in various directions have given rise to the types of foetal membranes now existing. in a general way it may be laid down that variations in any direction which tended to increase the absorbing capacities of the chorion would be advantageous. there are two obvious ways in which this might be done, viz. ( ) by increasing the complexity of the foetal villi and maternal crypts over a limited area, ( ) by increasing the area of the part of the chorion covered by placental villi. various combinations of the two processes would also of course be advantageous. the most fundamental change which has taken place in all the existing placentalia is the exclusion of the umbilical vesicle from any important function in the nutrition of the foetus. the arrangement of the foetal parts in the rodentia, insectivora and cheiroptera may be directly derived from the primitive form by supposing the villi of the discoidal placental area to have become more complex, so as to form a _deciduate_ discoidal placenta; while the yolk-sack still plays a part, though physiologically an unimportant part, in rendering the chorion vascular. in the carnivora again we have to start from the discoidal placenta, as shewn by the fact that the allantoic region of the placenta is at first discoidal (p. ). a zonary _deciduate_ placenta indicates an increase both in area and in complexity. the relative diminution of the breadth of the placental zone in late foetal life in the zonary placenta of the carnivora is probably due to its being on the whole advantageous to secure the nutrition of the foetus by insuring a more intimate relation between the foetal and maternal parts, than by increasing their area of contact. the reason of this is not obvious, but as mentioned below, there are other cases where it can be shewn that a diminution in the area of the placenta has taken place, accompanied by an increase in the complexity of its villi. the second type of differentiation from the primitive form of discoidal placenta is illustrated by the lemuridæ, the suidæ, and manis. in all these cases the area of the placental villi appears to have increased so as to cover nearly the whole subzonal membrane, without the villi increasing to any great extent in complexity. from the diffused placenta covering the whole surface of the chorion, differentiations appear to have taken place in various directions. the _metadiscoidal_ placenta of man and apes, from its mode of ontogeny (p. ), is clearly derived from a diffused placenta--very probably similar to that of lemurs--by a concentration of the foetal villi, which are originally spread over the whole chorion, to a disc-shaped area, and by an increase in their arborescence. the polycotyledonary forms of placenta are due to similar concentrations of the foetal villi of an originally diffused placenta. in the edentata we have a group with very varying types of placenta. very probably these may all be differentiations within the group itself from a diffused placenta, such as that found in manis. the zonary placenta of orycteropus is capable of being easily derived from that of manis, by the disappearance of the foetal villi at the two poles of the ovum. the small size of the umbilical vesicle in orycteropus indicates that its discoidal placenta is not, like that in carnivora, directly derived from a type with both allantoic and umbilical vascularization of the chorion. the discoidal and dome-shaped placentæ of the armadilloes, myrmecophaga, and the sloths may easily have been formed from a diffused placenta, just as the discoidal placenta of the simiadæ and anthropidæ appears to have been formed from a diffused placenta like that of the lemuridæ. the presence of zonary placentæ in hyrax and elephas does not necessarily afford any proof of affinity of these types with the carnivora. a zonary placenta may quite easily be derived from a diffused placenta; and the presence of two villous patches at the poles of the chorion in elephas indicates that this was very probably the case with the placenta of this form. although it is clear from the above considerations that the placenta is capable of being used to some extent in classification, yet at the same time the striking resemblances which can exist between such essentially different forms of placenta, as for instance those of man and the rodentia, are likely to prevent it being employed, except in conjunction with other characters. _special types of development._ the guinea-pig, cavia cobaya. many years ago bischoff (no. ) shewed that the development of the guinea-pig was strikingly different from that of other mammalia. his statements, which were at first received with some doubt, have been in the main fully confirmed by hensen (no. ) and schäfer (no. ), but we are still as far as ever from explaining the mystery of the phenomenon. the ovum, enclosed by the zona radiata, passes into the fallopian tube and undergoes a segmentation which has not been studied with great detail. on the close of segmentation, about six days after impregnation, it assumes (hensen) a vesicular form not unlike that of other mammalia. to the inner side of one wall of this vesicle is attached a mass of granular cells similar to the hypoblastic mass in the blastodermic vesicle of the rabbit. the egg still lies freely in the uterus, and is invested by its zona radiata. the changes which next take place are in spite of bischoff's, reichert's (no. ) and hensen's observations still involved in great obscurity. it is certain, however, that during the course of the seventh day a ring-like thickening of the uterine mucous membrane, on the free side of the uterus, gives rise to a kind of diverticulum of the uterine cavity, in which the ovum becomes lodged. opposite the diverticulum the mucous membrane of the mesometric side of the uterus also becomes thickened, and this thickening very soon (shortly after the seventh day) unites with the wall of the diverticulum, and completely shuts off the ovum in a closed capsule. the history of the ovum during the earlier period of its inclusion in the diverticulum of the uterine wall is not satisfactorily elucidated. there appears in the diverticulum during the eighth and succeeding days a cylindrical body, one end of which is attached to the uterine walls at the mouth of the diverticulum. the opposite end of the cylinder is free, and contains a solid body. with reference to the nature of this cylinder two views have been put forward. reichert and hensen regard it as an outgrowth of the uterine wall, while the body within its free apex is regarded as the ovum. bischoff and schäfer maintain that the cylinder itself is the ovum attached to the uterine wall. the observations of the latter authors, and especially those of schäfer, appear to me to speak for the correctness of their view[ ]. [ ] schäfer's and hensen's statements are in more or less direct contradiction as to the structure of the ovum after the formation of the embryo; and it is not possible to decide between the two views about the ovum till these points of difference have been cleared up. the cylinder gradually elongates up to the twelfth day. before this period it becomes attached by its base to the mesometric thickening of the uterus, and enters into vascular connection with it. during its elongation it becomes hollow, and is filled with a fluid not coagulable in alcohol, while the body within its apex remains unaltered till the tenth day. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the embryo of a guinea-pig with its membranes. (after schäfer.) _e._ epiblast; _h._ hypoblast; _m´._ amniotic mesoblast; _m´´._ splanchnic mesoblast; _am._ amnion; _ev._ cavity of amnion; _all._ allantois; _f._ rudimentary blastopore; _mc._ cavity of vesicle continuous with body cavity; _mm._ mucous membrane of uterus; _m´m´._ parts where vascular uterine tissue perforates hypoblast of blastodermic vesicle; _vt._ uterine vascular tissue; _l._ limits of uterine tissue.] on this day a cavity develops in the interior of this body which at the same time enlarges itself. the greater part of its wall next attaches itself to the free end of the cylinder, and becomes considerably thickened. the remainder of the wall adjoining the cavity of the cylinder becomes a comparatively thin membrane. at the free end of the cylinder there appears on the thirteenth day an embryonic area similar to that of other mammalia. it is at first round but soon becomes pyriform, and in it there appear a primitive streak and groove; and on their appearance it becomes obvious _that the outer layer of the cylinder is the hypoblast[ ], instead of, as in all other mammalia, the epiblast; and that the epiblast is formed by the wall of the inner vesicle, i.e. the original solid body placed at the end of the cylinder_. thus the dorsal surface of the embryo is turned inwards, and the ventral surface outwards, and the ordinary position of the layers is completely inverted. [ ] according to hensen the hypoblast grows round the inside of the wall of the cylinder from the body which he regards as the ovum. the original wall of the cylinder persists as a very thin layer separated from the hypoblast by a membrane. the previously cylindrical egg next assumes a spherical form, and the mesoblast arises in connection with the primitive streak in the manner already described. a splanchnic layer of mesoblast attaches itself to the inner side of the outer hypoblastic wall of the egg, a somatic layer to the epiblast of the inner vesicle, and a mass of mesoblast grows out into the cavity of the larger vesicle forming the commencement of the allantois. the general structure of the ovum at this stage is represented on fig. , copied from schäfer; and the condition of the whole ovum will best be understood by a description of this figure. it is seen to consist of two vesicles, ( ) an outer larger one (_h_)--the original egg-cylinder--united to the mesometric wall of the uterus by a vascular connection at _m´m´_, and ( ) an inner smaller one (_ev_)--the originally solid body at the free end of the egg-cylinder. the outer vesicle is formed of ( ) an external lining of columnar hypoblast (_h_) which is either pierced or invaginated at the area of vascular connection with the uterus, and ( ) of an inner layer of splanchnic mesoblast (_m´´_) which covers without a break the vascular uterine growth. at the upper pole of the ovum is placed the smaller epiblastic vesicle, and where the two vesicles come together is situated the embryonic area with the primitive streak (_f_), and the medullary plate seen in longitudinal section. the thinner wall of the inner vesicle is formed of epiblast and somatic mesoblast, and covers over the dorsal face of the embryo just like the amnion. it is in fact usually spoken of as the amnion. the large cavity of the outer vesicle is continuous with the body cavity, and into it projects the solid mesoblastic allantois (_all_), so far without hypoblast[ ]. [ ] hensen states that the hypoblast never grows into the allantois; while bischoff, though not very precise on the point, implies that it does; he states however that it soon disappears. the outer vesicle corresponds exactly with the yolk-sack, and its mesoblastic layer receives the ordinary vascular supply. the embryo becomes folded off from the yolk-sack in the usual way, but comes to lie _not outside_ it as in the ordinary form, but _in its interior_, and is connected with it by an umbilical stalk. the yolk-sack forms the substitute for part of the subzonal membrane of other mammalia. the so-called amnion appears to me from its development and position rather to correspond with the non-embryonic part of the epiblastic wall (true subzonal membrane) of the blastodermic vesicle of the ordinary mammalian forms than with the true amnion; and a true amnion would seem not to be developed. the allantois meets the yolk-sack on about the seventeenth day at the region of its vascular connection with the uterine wall, and gives rise to the placenta. a diagrammatic representation of the structure of the embryo at this stage is given in fig. . the peculiar inversion of the layers in the guinea-pig has naturally excited the curiosity of embryologists, but as yet no satisfactory explanation has been offered of it. at the time when the ovum first becomes fixed it will be remembered that it resembles the early blastodermic vesicle of the rabbit, and it is natural to suppose that the apparently hypoblastic mass attached to the inner wall of the vesicle becomes the solid body at the end of the egg-cylinder. this appears to be bischoff's view, but, as shewn above, the solid mass is really the epiblast! is it conceivable that the hypoblast in one species becomes the epiblast in a closely allied species? to my mind it is not conceivable, and i am reduced to the hypothesis, put forward by hensen, that in the course of the attachment of the ovum to the wall of the uterus a rupture of walls of the blastodermic vesicle takes place, and that they become completely turned inside out. it must be admitted, however, that in the present state of our knowledge of the development of the ovum on the seventh and eighth days it is not possible to frame a satisfactory explanation how such an inversion can take place. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of an ovum of a guinea-pig and the adjacent uterine walls at an advanced stage of pregnancy. (after bischoff.) _yk._ inverted yolk-sack (umbilical vesicle) formed of an external hypoblastic layer (shaded) and an internal vascular layer (black). at the end of this layer is placed the sinus terminalis; _all._ allantois; _pl._ placenta. the external shaded parts are the uterine walls.] the human embryo. our knowledge as to the early development of the human embryo is in an unsatisfactory state. the positive facts we know are comparatively few, and it is not possible to construct from them a history of the development which is capable of satisfactory comparison with that in other forms, unless all the early embryos known are to be regarded as abnormal. the most remarkable feature in the development, which was first clearly brought to light by allen thomson in , is the very early appearance of branched villi. in the last few years several ova, even younger than those described by allen thomson, have been met with, which exhibit this peculiarity. the best-preserved of these ova is one described by reichert (no. ). this ovum, though probably not more than thirteen days old, was completely enclosed by a decidua reflexa. it had (fig. a and b) a flattened oval form, measuring in its two diameters . mm. and . mm. the edge was covered with branched villi, while in the centre of each of the flattened surfaces there was a spot free from villi. on the surface adjoining the uterine wall was a darker area (_e_) formed of two layers of cells, which is interpreted by reichert as the embryonic area, while the membrane forming the remainder of the ovum, including the branched villi, was stated by reichert to be composed of a single row of epithelial cells. whether or no reichert is correct in identifying his darker spot as the embryonic area, it is fairly certain from the later observations of beigel and löwe (no. ), ahlfeld (no. ), and kollmann (no. ) on ova nearly as young as that of reichert, that the wall of very young ova has a more complicated structure than reichert is willing to admit. these authors do not however agree amongst themselves, but from kollmann's description, which appears to me the most satisfactory, it is probable that it is composed of an outer epithelial layer, and an inner layer of connective tissue, and that the connective tissue extends at a very early period into the villi; so that the latter are not hollow, as reichert supposed them to be. [fig. . the human ova during early stages of development. (from quain's _anatomy_.) a. and b. front and side view of an ovum figured by reichert, supposed to be about thirteen days. _e._ embryonic area. c. an ovum of about four or five weeks shewing the general structure of the ovum before the formation of the placenta. part of the wall of the ovum is removed to shew the embryo _in situ_. (after allen thomson.)] the villi, which at first leave the flattened poles free, seem soon to extend first over one of the flat sides, and finally over the whole ovum (fig. c). unless the two-layered region of reichert's ovum is the embryonic area, nothing which can clearly be identified as an embryo has been detected in these early ova. in an ovum described by breus (no. ), and in one described long ago by wharton-jones a mass found in the interior of the egg may perhaps be interpreted (his) as the remains of the yolk. it is, however, very probable that all the early ova so far discovered are more or less pathological. the youngest ovum with a distinct embryo is one described by his (no. ). this ovum, which is diagrammatically represented in fig. in longitudinal section, had the form of an oval vesicle completely covered by villi, and about . mm. and . mm. in its two diameters, and flatter on one side than on the other. an embryo with a yolk-sack was attached to the inner side of the flatter wall of the vesicle by a stalk, which must be regarded as the allantoic stalk[ ], and the embryo and yolk-sack filled up but a very small part of the whole cavity of the vesicle. [ ] allen thomson informs me that he is very confident that such a form of attachment between the hind end of the embryo and the wall of the vesicle, as that described and figured by his in this embryo, did not exist in any of the younger embryos examined by him. the embryo, which was probably not quite normal (fig. a), was very imperfectly developed; a medullary plate was hardly indicated, and, though the mesoblast was unsegmented, the head fold, separating the embryo from the yolk-sack (_um_), was already indicated. the amnion (_am_) was completely formed, and vitelline vessels had made their appearance. [fig. . three early human embryos. (copied from his.) a. an early embryo described by his from the side. _am._ amnion; _um._ umbilical vesicle; _ch._ chorion, to which the embryo is attached by a stalk. b. embryo described by allen thomson about - days. _um._ umbilical vesicle; _md._ medullary groove. c. young embryo described by his. _um._ umbilical vesicle.] two embryos described by allen thomson (no. ) are but slightly older than the above embryos of his. both of them probably belong to the first fortnight of pregnancy. in both cases the embryo was more or less folded off from the yolk-sack, and in one of them the medullary groove was still widely open, except in the region of the neck (fig. b). the allantoic stalk, if present, was not clearly made out, and the condition of the amnion was also not fully studied. the smaller of the two ova was just mm. in its largest diameter, and was nearly completely covered with simple villi, more developed on one side than on the other. in a somewhat later period, about the stage of a chick at the end of the second day, the medullary folds are completely closed, the region of the brain already marked, and the cranial flexure commencing. the mesoblast is divided up into numerous somites, and the mandibular and first two branchial arches are indicated. the embryo is still but incompletely folded off from the yolk-sack below. in a still older stage the cranial flexure becomes still more pronounced, placing the mid-brain at the end of the long axis of the body. the body also begins to be ventrally curved (fig. c). externally human embryos at this age are characterised by the small size of the anterior end of the head. [fig. . two views of a human embryo of between the third and fourth week. a. side view. (from kölliker; after allen thomson.) _a._ amnion; _b._ umbilical vesicle; _c._ mandibular arch; _e._ hyoid arch; _f._ commencing anterior limb; _g._ primitive auditory vesicle; _h._ eye; _i._ heart. b. dorsal view to shew the attachment of the dilated allantoic stalk to the chorion. (from a sketch by allen thomson.) _am._ amnion; _all._ allantois; _ys._ yolk-sack.] the flexure goes on gradually increasing, and in the third week of pregnancy in embryos of about mm. the limbs make their appearance. the embryo at this stage (fig. ), which is about equivalent to that of a chick on the fourth day, resembles in almost every respect the normal embryos of the amniota. the cranial flexure is as pronounced as usual, and the cerebral region has now fully the normal size. the whole body soon becomes flexed ventrally, and also somewhat spirally. the yolk-sack (_b_) forms a small spherical appendage with a long wide stalk, and the embryo (b) is attached by an allantoic stalk with a slight swelling (_all_), probably indicating the presence of a small hypoblastic diverticulum, to the inner face of the chorion. a remarkable exception to the embryos generally observed is afforded by an embryo which has been described by krause (no. ). in this embryo, which probably belongs to the third week of pregnancy, the limbs were just commencing to be indicated, and the embryo was completely covered by an amnion, but instead of being attached to the chorion by an allantoic cord, it was quite free, and was provided with a small spherical sack-like allantois, very similar to that of a fourth-day chick, projected from its hind end. [fig. . figures shewing the early changes in the form of the human head. (from quain's _anatomy_.) a. head of an embryo of about four weeks. (after allen thomson.) b. head of an embryo of about six weeks. (after ecker.) c. head of an embryo of about nine weeks. . mandibular arch; ´. persistent part of hyomandibular cleft; _a._ auditory vesicle.] no details are given as to the structure of the chorion or the presence of villi upon it. the presence of such an allantois at this stage in a human embryo is so unlike what is usually found that krause's statements have been received with considerable scepticism. his even holds that the embryo is a chick embryo, and not a human one; while kölliker regards krause's allantois as a pathological structure. the significance to be attached to this embryo is dealt with below. a detailed history of the further development of the human embryo does not fall within the province of this work; while the later changes in the embryonic membranes have already been dealt with (pp. - ). for the changes which take place on the formation of the face i may refer the reader to fig. . the most obscure point connected with the early history of the human ovum concerns the first formation of the allantois, and the nature of the villi covering the surface of the ovum. the villi, if really formed of mesoblast covered by epiblast, have the true structure of chorionic villi; and can hardly be compared to the early villi of the dog which are derived from the subzonal membrane, and still less to those of the rabbit formed from the zona radiata. unless all the early ova so far described are pathological, it seems to follow that the mesoblast of the chorion is formed before the embryo is definitely established, and even if the pathological character of these ova is admitted, it is nevertheless probable (leaving krause's embryo out of account), as shewn by the early embryos of allen thomson and his, that it is formed before the closure of the medullary groove. in order to meet this difficulty his supposes that the embryo never separates from the blastodermic vesicle, but that the allantoic stalk of the youngest embryo (fig. ) represents the persistent attachment between the two[ ]. his' view has a good deal to be said for it. i would venture, however, to suggest that reichert's embryonic area is probably not in the two-layered stage, but that a mesoblast has already become established, and that it has grown round the inner face of the blastodermic vesicle from the (apparent) posterior end of the primitive streak. this growth i regard as _a precocious formation of the mesoblast of the allantois_--an exaggeration of the early formation of the allantoic mesoblast which is characteristic of the guinea-pig (_vide_ p. ). this mesoblast, together with the epiblast, forms a true chorion, so that in fig. , and probably also in fig. a and b, a true chorion has already become established. the stalk connecting the embryo with the chorion in his' earliest embryo (fig. ) is therefore a true allantoic stalk into which the hypoblastic allantoic diverticulum grows in for some distance. how the yolk-sack (umbilical vesicle) is formed is not clear. perhaps, as suggested by his, it arises from the conversion of a solid mass of primitive hypoblast directly into a yolk-sack. the amnion is probably formed as a fold over the head end of the embryo in the manner indicated in his' diagram (fig. _am_). [ ] for a fuller explanation of his' views i must refer the reader to his memoir (no. ), pp. , , and to the diagrams contained in it. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of the ovum to which the embryo (fig. a) belonged. (after his.) _am._ amnion; _nb._ umbilical vesicle.] these speculations have so far left krause's embryo out of account. how is this embryo to be treated? krause maintains that all the other embryos shewing an allantoic stalk at an early age are pathological. this, though not impossible, appears to me, to say the least of it, improbable; especially when it is borne in mind that embryos, which have every appearance of being normal, of about the same age and younger than krause's, have been frequently observed, and have always been found attached to the chorion by an allantoic stalk. we are thus provisionally reduced to suppose either that the structure figured by krause is not the allantois, or that it is a very abnormal allantois. it is perhaps just possible that it may be an abnormally developed hypoblastic vesicle of the allantois artificially detached from the mesoblastic layer,--the latter having given rise to the chorion at an earlier date. bibliography. _general._ ( ) k. e. von baer. _ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere._ königsberg, - . 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"beschreibung einer frühzeitigen menschlichen frucht im bläschenformigen bildungszustande (sackformiger keim von baer) nebst vergleichenden untersuchungen über die bläschenformigen früchte der säugethiere und des menschen." _abhandlungen der königl. akad. d. wiss. zu berlin_, . ( ) allen thomson. "contributions to the history of the structure of the human ovum and embryo before the third week after conception; with a description of some early ova." _edinburgh med. surg. journal_, vol. lii. . chapter xi. comparison of the formation of the germinal layers and of the early stages in the development of vertebrates. although the preceding chapters of this volume contain a fairly detailed account of the early developmental stages of different groups of the chordata, it will nevertheless be advantageous to give at this place a short comparative review of the whole subject. in this review only the most important points will be dwelt upon, and the reader is referred for the details of the processes to the sections on the development of the individual groups. the subject may conveniently be treated under three heads. ( ) the formation of the gastrula and behaviour of the blastopore: together with the origin of the hypoblast. ( ) the mesoblast and notochord. ( ) the epiblast. at the close of the chapter is a short summary of the organs derived from the several layers, together with some remarks on the growth in length of the vertebrate embryo, and some suggestions as to the origin of the allantois and amnion. formation of the gastrula. amphioxus is the type in which the developmental phenomena are least interfered with by the presence of food-yolk. in this form the segmentation results in a uniform, or nearly uniform, blastosphere, one wall of which soon becomes thickened and invaginated, giving rise to the hypoblast; while the larva takes the form of a gastrula, with an archenteric cavity opening by a blastopore. the blastopore rapidly narrows, while the embryo assumes an elongated cylindrical form with the blastopore at its hinder extremity (fig. a). the blastopore now passes to the dorsal surface, and by the flattening of this surface a medullary plate is formed extending forwards from the blastopore (fig. b). on the formation of the medullary groove and its conversion into a canal, the blastopore opens into this canal, and gives rise to a neurenteric passage, leading from the neural canal into the alimentary tract (fig. c and e). at a later period this canal closes, and the neural and alimentary canals become separated. [fig. . embryos of amphioxus. (after kowalevsky.) the parts in black with white lines are epiblastic; the shaded parts are hypoblastic. a. gastrula stage in optical section. b. slightly later stage after the neural plate _np_ has become differentiated, seen as a transparent object from the dorsal side. c. lateral view of a slightly older larva in optical section. d. dorsal view of an older larva with the neural canal completely closed except for a small pore (_no_) in front. e. older larva seen as a transparent object from the side. _bl._ blastopore (which becomes in d the neurenteric canal); _ne._ neurenteric canal; _np._ neural or medullary plate; _no._ anterior opening of neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _so´_, _so´´_. first and second mesoblastic somites.] such is the simple history of the layers in amphioxus. in the simplest types of ascidians the series of phenomena is almost the same, but the blastopore assumes a more definitely dorsal position. here also the blastopore lies at the hinder end of the medullary groove, and on the closure of the groove becomes converted into a neurenteric passage. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections through the embryo of bombinator at two stages, to shew the formation of the germinal layers. (modified from götte.) _ep._ epiblast; _m._ dorsal mesoblast; _m´._ ventral mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _yk._ yolk; _x._ point of junction of the epiblast and hypoblast at the dorsal side of the blastopore; _al._ mesenteron; _sg._ segmentation cavity.] in the true vertebrates the types which most approach amphioxus are the amphibia, acipenser and petromyzon. we may take the first of these as typical (though petromyzon is perhaps still more so) and fig. a b c d represents four diagrammatic longitudinal vertical sections through a form belonging to this group (bombinator). the food-yolk is here concentrated in what i shall call the lower pole of the egg, which becomes the ventral aspect of the future embryo. the part of the egg containing the stored-up food-yolk is, as has already been explained in the chapter on segmentation (vol. ii. pp. and ), to be regarded as equivalent to part of those eggs which do not contain food-yolk; a fact which requires to be borne in mind in any attempt to deal comparatively with the formation of the layers in the vertebrata. it may be laid down as a general law, which holds very accurately for the vertebrata, that in eggs in which the distribution of food-yolk is not uniform, the size of the cells resulting from segmentation is proportional to the quantity of food-material they contain. in accordance with this law the cells of the amphibian ovum are of unequal size even at the close of segmentation. they may roughly be divided into two categories, viz. the smaller cells of the upper pole and the larger of the lower (fig. a). the segmentation cavity (_sg_) lies between the two, but is unsymmetrically placed near the upper pole of the egg, owing to the large bulk of the ventrally placed yolk-segments. in the inequality of the cells at the close of segmentation the amphibia stand in contrast with amphioxus. the upper cells are mainly destined to form the epiblast, and the lower the hypoblast and mesoblast. the next change which takes place is an invagination, the earliest traces of which are observable in fig. a. the invagination is not however so simple as in amphioxus. owing in fact to the presence of the food-yolk it is a mixture of invagination by epibole and by embole. at the point marked _x_ in fig. a, which corresponds with the future hind end of the embryo, and is placed on the equatorial line marking the junction of the large and small cells, there takes place a normal invagination, which gives rise solely to the hypoblast of the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract and to part of the dorsal mesoblast. the invaginated layer grows inwards from the point _x_ along what becomes the dorsal side of the embryo; and between it and the yolk-cells below is formed a slit-like space (fig. b and c). this space is the mesenteron. it is even better shewn in fig. representing the process of invagination in petromyzon. the point _x_ in fig. where epiblast, mesoblast and hypoblast are continuous, is homologous with the dorsal lip of the blastopore in amphioxus. in the course of the invagination the segmentation cavity, as in amphioxus, becomes obliterated. while the above invagination has been taking place, the epiblast cells have been simply growing in an epibolic fashion round the yolk; and by the stage represented in fig. c and d the exposed surface of yolk has become greatly diminished; and an obvious blastopore is thus established. along the line of the growth a layer of mesoblast cells (_m´_), continuous at the sides with the invaginated mesoblast layer, has become differentiated from the small cells (fig. a) intermediate between the epiblast cells and the yolk. owing to the nature of the above process of invagination the mesenteron is at first only provided with an epithelial wall on its dorsal side, its ventral wall being formed of yolk-cells (fig. ). at a later period some of the yolk-cells become transformed into the epithelial cells of the ventral wall, while the remainder become enclosed in the alimentary cavity and employed as pabulum. the whole of the yolk-cells, after the separation of the mesoblast, are however morphologically part of the hypoblast. the final fate of the blastopore is nearly the same as in amphioxus. it gradually narrows, and the yolk-cells which at first plug it up disappear (fig. c and d). the neural groove, which becomes formed on the dorsal surface of the embryo, is continued forwards from the point _x_ in fig. c. on the conversion of this groove into a canal the canal freely opens behind into the blastopore; and a condition is reached in which the blastopore still opens to the exterior and also into the neural canal fig. d. in a later stage (fig. ) the external opening of the blastopore becomes closed by the medullary folds meeting behind it, but the passage connecting the neural and alimentary canals is left. there is one small difference between the frog and amphioxus in the relation of the neural canal to the blastopore. in both types the medullary folds embrace and meet behind it, so that it comes to occupy a position at the hind extremity of the medullary groove. in amphioxus the closure of the medullary folds commences behind, so that the external opening of the blastopore is obliterated simultaneously with the commencing formation of the medullary canal; but in the frog the closure of the medullary folds commences anteriorly and proceeds backwards, so that the obliteration of the external opening of the blastopore is a late event in the formation of the medullary canal. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through an embryo of petromyzon of hours. _me._ mesoblast; _yk._ yolk-cells; _al._ alimentary tract; _bl._ blastopore; _s.c._ segmentation cavity.] the anus is formed (_vide_ fig. ) some way in front of the blastopore, and a postanal gut, continuous with the neurenteric canal, is thus established. both the postanal gut and the neurenteric canal eventually disappear. [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _l._ liver; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _pn._ pineal gland.] the two other types classed above with the amphibia, viz. petromyzon and acipenser, agree sufficiently closely with them to require no special mention; but with reference to both types it may be pointed out that the ovum contains relatively more food-yolk than that of the amphibian type just described, and that this leads amongst other things to the lower layer cells extending up the sides of the segmentation cavity, and assisting in forming its roof. the next type to be considered is that of elasmobranchii. the yolk in the ovum of these forms is enormously bulky, and the segmentation is in consequence a partial one. at first sight the differences between their development and that of amphibia would appear to be very great. in order fully to bridge over the gulf which separates them i have given three diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an ideal form intermediate between amphibia and elasmobranchii, which differs however mainly from the latter in the smaller amount of food-yolk; and by their aid i trust it will be made clear that the differences between the amphibia and elasmobranchii are of an insignificant character. in fig. a b c are represented three diagrammatic longitudinal sections of elasmobranch embryos, and in fig. a b c three longitudinal sections of the ideal intermediate form. the diagrams correspond with the amphibian diagrams already described (fig. ). in the first stage figured there is present in all of these forms a segmentation cavity (_sg_) situated not centrally but near the surface of the egg. the roof of the cavity is thin, being composed in the amphibian embryo of epiblast alone, and in the elasmobranch of epiblast and _lower layer cells_. the floor of the cavity is formed of so-called yolk, which forms the main mass of the embryo. in amphibia the yolk is segmented. in elasmobranchii there is at first a layer of primitive hypoblast cells separating the segmentation cavity from the yolk proper; this however soon disappears, and an unsegmented yolk with _free nuclei_ fills the place of the segmented yolk of the amphibia. the small cells at the sides of the segmentation cavity in amphibia correspond exactly in function and position with the lower layer cells of the elasmobranch blastoderm. the relation of the yolk to the blastoderm in the elasmobranch embryo at this stage of development very well suits the view of its homology with the yolk-cells of the amphibian embryo. the only essential difference between the two embryos arises from the roof of the segmentation cavity being formed in the elasmobranch embryo of lower layer cells, which are absent in the amphibian embryo. this difference no doubt depends upon the greater quantity of yolk in the elasmobranch ovum, and a similar distribution of the lower layer cells is found in acipenser and in petromyzon. [fig. . three diagrammatic longitudinal sections through an ideal type of vertebrate embryo intermediate in the mode of formation of its layers between amphibia or petromyzon and elasmobranchii. _sg._ segmentation cavity; _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _nc._ neural canal; _al._ mesenteron; _n._ nuclei of the yolk.] in the next stage for the elasmobranch (fig. and b) and for the amphibian (fig. c) or better still petromyzon (fig. ) the agreement between the three types is again very close. for a small arc (_x_) of the edge of the blastoderm the epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, while at all other parts the epiblast, accompanied by lower layer cells, grows round the yolk or round the large cells which correspond to it. the yolk-cells of the amphibian embryo form a comparatively small mass, and are therefore rapidly enveloped; while in the case of the elasmobranch embryo, owing to the greater mass of the yolk, the same process occupies a long period. the portion of the blastoderm, where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, forms the dorsal lip of an opening--the blastopore--which leads into the alimentary cavity. this cavity has the same relation in all the three cases. it is lined dorsally by lower layer cells, and ventrally by yolk-cells or what corresponds with yolk-cells; a large part of the ventral epithelium of the alimentary canal being in both cases eventually derived from the yolk. in amphibia this epithelium is formed directly from the existing cells, while in elasmobranchii it is derived from cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk. as in the earlier stage, so in the present one, the anatomical relations of the yolk to the blastoderm in the one case (elasmobranchii) are nearly identical with those of the yolk-cells to the blastoderm in the other (amphibia). the main features in which the two embryos differ, during the stage under consideration, arise from the same cause as the solitary point of difference during the preceding stage. in amphibia the alimentary cavity is formed coincidently with a true ingrowth of cells from the point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous; and from this ingrowth the dorsal wall of the alimentary cavity is formed. the same ingrowth causes the obliteration of the segmentation cavity. in elasmobranchs, owing probably to the larger bulk of the lower layer cells, the primitive hypoblast cells arrange themselves in their final position during segmentation, and no room is left for a true invagination; but instead of this there is formed a simple space between the blastoderm and the yolk. the homology of this space with the primitive invagination cavity is nevertheless proved by the survival of a number of features belonging to the ancestral condition in which a true invagination was present. amongst the more important of these are the following:--( ) the continuity of epiblast and hypoblast at the dorsal lip of the blastopore. ( ) the continuous conversion of primitive hypoblast cells into permanent hypoblast, which gradually extends inwards towards the segmentation cavity, and exactly represents the course of the invagination whereby in amphibia the dorsal wall of the alimentary cavity is formed. ( ) the obliteration of the segmentation cavity during the period when the pseudo-invagination is occurring. in the next stage there appear more important differences between the two types than in the preceding stages, though here again the points of resemblance predominate. figs. d and c represent longitudinal sections through embryos after the closure of the medullary canal. the neurenteric canal is established; and in front and behind the epithelium of the ventral wall of the mesenteron has begun to be formed. the mesoblast is represented as having grown in between the medullary canal and the superjacent epiblast. there are at this stage two points in which the embryo elasmobranch differs from the corresponding amphibian embryo. ( ) in the formation of the neurenteric canal, there is no free passage leading into the mesenteron from the exterior as in amphibia (fig. d). ( ) the whole yolk is not enclosed by the epiblast, and therefore part of the blastopore is still open. the difference between amphibia and elasmobranchii in the first of these points is due to the fact that in elasmobranchii, as in amphioxus, the neural canal becomes first closed behind; and simultaneously with its closure the lateral parts of the lips of the blastopore, which are continuous with the medullary folds, meet together and shut in the hindmost part of the alimentary tract. the second point is of some importance for understanding the relations of the formation of the layers in the amniotic and the non-amniotic vertebrates. owing to its large size the whole of the yolk in elasmobranchii is not enclosed by the epiblast at the time when the neurenteric canal is established; in other words a small posterior and dorsal portion of the blastopore is shut off in the formation of the neurenteric canal. the remaining ventral portion becomes closed at a later period. its closure takes place in a linear fashion, commencing at the hind end of the embryo, and proceeding apparently backwards; though, as this part eventually becomes folded in to form the ventral wall of the embryo, the closure of it really travels forwards. the process causes however the embryo to cease to lie at the edge of the blastoderm, and while situated at some distance from the edge, to be connected with it by a linear streak, representing the coalesced lips of the blastopore. the above process is diagrammatically represented in fig. b; while as it actually occurs it is shewn in fig. , p. . the whole closure of the blastopore in elasmobranchii is altogether unlike what takes place in amphibia, where the blastopore remains as a circular opening which gradually narrows till it becomes completely enveloped in the medullary folds (fig. a). [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an elasmobranch embryo. _epiblast_ without shading. _mesoblast_ black with clear outlines to the cells. _lower layer cells_ and _hypoblast_ with simple shading. _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _al._ alimentary cavity; _sg._ segmentation cavity; _nc._ neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous at the posterior end of the embryo; _n._ nuclei of yolk. a. section of young blastoderm, with the segmentation cavity enclosed in the lower layer cells (primitive hypoblast). b. older blastoderm with embryo in which hypoblast and mesoblast are distinctly formed, and in which the alimentary cavity has appeared. the segmentation cavity is still represented, though by this stage it has in reality disappeared. c. older blastoderm with embryo in which the neural canal is formed, and is continuous posteriorly with the alimentary canal. the notochord, though shaded like mesoblast, belongs properly to the hypoblast.] on the formation of the neurenteric canal the body of the embryo elasmobranch becomes gradually folded off from the yolk, which, owing to its great size, forms a large sack appended to the ventral side of the body. the part of the somatopleure, which grows round it, is to be regarded as a modified portion of the ventral wall of the body. the splanchnopleure also envelops it, so that, morphologically speaking, the yolk lies within the mesenteron. the teleostei, so far as the first formation of the layers is concerned, resemble in all essential features the elasmobranchii, but the neurenteric canal is apparently not developed (?), owing to the obliteration of the neural canal; and the roof of the segmentation cavity is formed of epiblast only. * * * * * in the preceding pages i have attempted to shew that the amphibia, acipenser, petromyzon, the elasmobranchii and the teleostei agree very closely in the mode of formation of the gastrula. the unsymmetrical gastrula or pseudo-gastrula which is common to them all is, i believe, to be explained by the form of the vertebrate body. in amphioxus, where the small amount of food-yolk present is distributed uniformly, there is no reason why the invagination and resulting gastrula should not be symmetrical. in true vertebrates, where more food-yolk is present, the shape and structure of the body render it necessary for the food-yolk to be stored away on the ventral side of the alimentary canal. it is this fact which causes the asymmetry of the gastrula, since it is not possible for the part of the ovum, which will become the ventral wall of the alimentary tract, and which is loaded with food-yolk, to be invaginated in the same fashion as the dorsal wall. sauropsida. the comparison of the different types of the ichthyopsida is fairly simple, but the comparison of the sauropsida with the ichthyopsida is a far more difficult matter. in all the sauropsida there is a large food-yolk, and the segmentation agrees closely with that in the elasmobranchii. it might have been anticipated that the resemblance would continue in the subsequent development. this however is far from being the case. the medullary plate, instead of lying at the edge of the blastoderm, lies in the centre, and its formation is preceded by that of a peculiar structure, the primitive streak, which, on the formation of the medullary plate, is found to lie at the hinder end of the latter and to connect it with the edge of the blastoderm. [fig. . diagrams illustrating the position of the blastopore, and the relation of the embryo to the yolk in various meroblastic vertebrate ova. a. type of frog. b. elasmobranch type. c. amniotic vertebrate. _mg._ medullary plate; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _bl._ portion of blastopore adjoining the neurenteric canal. in b this part of the blastopore is formed by the edges of the blastoderm meeting and forming a linear streak behind the embryo; and in c it forms the structure known as the primitive streak. _yk._ part of the yolk not yet enclosed by the blastoderm.] the possibility of a comparison between the sauropsida and the elasmobranchii depends upon the explanation being possible of ( ) the position of the embryo near the centre of the blastoderm, and ( ) the nature of the primitive streak. the answers to these two questions are, according to my view, intimately bound together. i consider that the embryos of the sauropsida have come to occupy a central position in the blastoderm owing to the abbreviation of a process similar to that by which, in elasmobranchii, the embryo is removed from the edge of the blastoderm; and that the primitive streak represents the linear streak connecting the elasmobranch embryo with the edge of the blastoderm after it has become removed from its previous peripheral position, as well as the true neurenteric part of the elasmobranch blastopore. this view of the nature of the primitive streak, which is diagrammatically illustrated in fig. , will be rendered more clear by a brief review of the early developmental processes in the sauropsida. after segmentation the blastoderm becomes divided, as in elasmobranchii, into two layers. it is doubtful whether there is any true representative of the segmentation cavity. the first structure to appear in the blastoderm is a linear streak placed at the hind end of the blastoderm, known as the primitive streak (figs. c, _bl_ and , _pr_). at the front end of the primitive streak the epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, just as they do at the dorsal lip of the blastopore in elasmobranchii. continued back from this point is a streak of fused mesoblast and epiblast to the under side of which a linear thin layer of hypoblast is more or less definitely attached. a further structure, best developed in the lacertilia, appears in the form of a circular passage perforating the blastoderm at the front end of the primitive streak (fig. , _ne_). this passage is bounded anteriorly by the layer of cells forming the continuation of the hypoblast into the epiblast. in the next stage the medullary plate becomes formed in front of the primitive streak (fig. c), and the medullary folds are continued backwards so as to enclose the upper opening of the passage through the blastoderm. on the closure of the medullary canal (fig. ) this passage leads from the medullary canal into the alimentary tract, and is therefore the neurenteric canal; and a postanal gut also becomes formed. the latter part of the above description applies especially to the lizard: but in chelonia and most birds distinct remnants (_vide_ pp. - ) of the neurenteric canal are developed. on the hypothesis that the sauropsidan embryos have come to occupy their central position, owing to an abbreviation of a process analogous to the linear closing of the blastopore behind the embryos of elasmobranchii, all the appearances above described receive a satisfactory explanation. the passage at the front end of the primitive streak is the dorsal part of the blastopore, which in elasmobranchii becomes converted into the neurenteric canal. the remainder of the primitive streak represents, in a rudimentary form, the linear streak in elasmobranchii, formed by the coalesced edges of the blastoderm, which connects the hinder end of the embryo with the still open yolk blastopore. that it is in later stages not continued to the edge of the blastoderm, as in elasmobranchii, is due to its being a rudimentary organ. the more or less complete fusion of the layers in the primitive streak is simply to be explained by this structure representing the coalesced edges of the blastopore; and the growth outwards from it of the mesoblast is probably a remnant of a primitive dorsal invagination of the mesoblast and hypoblast like that in the frog. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of an embryo of lacerta. _pp._ body cavity; _am._ amnion; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _ch._ notochord; _hy._ hypoblast; _ep._ epiblast; _pr._ primitive streak. in the primitive streak all the layers are partially fused.] the final enclosure of the yolk in the sauropsida takes place at the pole of the yolk-sack opposite the embryo, so that the blastopore is formed of three parts, ( ) the neurenteric canal, ( ) the primitive streak behind this, ( ) the blastopore at the pole of the yolk-sack opposite the embryo. mammalia. the features of the development of the placental mammalia receive their most satisfactory explanation on the hypothesis that their ancestors were provided with a large-yolked ovum like that of the sauropsida. the food-yolk must be supposed to have ceased to be developed on the establishment of a maternal nutrition through the uterus. on this hypothesis all the developmental phenomena subsequently to the formation of the blastodermic vesicle receive a satisfactory explanation. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the posterior end of an embryo bird at the time of the formation of the allantois. _ep._ epiblast; _sp.c._ spinal canal; _ch._ notochord; _n.e._ neurenteric canal; _hy._ hypoblast; _p.a.g._ postanal gut; _pr._ remains of primitive streak folded in on the ventral side; _al._ allantois; _me._ mesoblast; _an._ point where anus will be formed; _p.c._ perivisceral cavity; _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure.] the whole of the blastodermic vesicle, except the embryonic area, represents the yolk-sack, and the growth of the hypoblast and then of the mesoblast round its inner wall represents the corresponding growths in the sauropsida. as in the sauropsida it becomes constricted off from the embryo, and the splanchnopleuric stalk of the sack opens into the ileum in the usual way. [fig. . optical sections of a rabbit's ovum at two stages closely following upon the segmentation. (after e. van beneden.) _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ primary hypoblast; _bp._ van beneden's so-called blastopore. the shading of the epiblast and hypoblast is diagrammatic.] in the formation of the embryo out of the embryonic area the phenomena which distinguish the sauropsida from the ichthyopsida are repeated. the embryo lies in the centre of the area; and before it is formed there appears a primitive streak, from which there grows out the greater part of the mesoblast. at the front end of the primitive streak the hypoblast and epiblast become continuous, though a perforated neurenteric blastopore has not yet been detected. all these sauropsidan features are so obvious that they need not be insisted on further. the embryonic evidence of the common origin of mammalia and sauropsida, both as concerns the formation of the layers and of the embryonic membranes, is as clear as it can be. the only difficulty about the early development of mammalia is presented by the epibolic gastrula and the formation of the blastodermic vesicle (figs. and ). that the segmentation is a complete one is no doubt a direct consequence of the reduction of the food-yolk, but the growth of the epiblast cells round the hypoblast and the final enclosure of the latter, which i have spoken of as giving rise to the epibolic gastrula, are not so easily explained. [fig. . rabbit's ovum between - hours after impregnation. (after e. van beneden.) _bv._ cavity of blastodermic vesicle (yolk-sack); _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ primitive hypoblast; _zp._ mucous envelope.] it might have been supposed that this process was equivalent to the growth of the blastoderm round the yolk in the sauropsida, but then the blastopore ought to be situated at the pole of the egg opposite to the embryonic area, while, according to van beneden, the embryonic area corresponds approximately to the blastopore. van beneden regards the mammalian blastopore as equivalent to that in the amphibia, but if the position previously adopted about the primitive streak is to be maintained, van beneden's view must be abandoned. no satisfactory phylogenetic explanation of the mammalian gastrula by epibole has in my opinion as yet been offered. the formation of the blastodermic vesicle may perhaps be explained on the view that in the proto-mammalia the yolk-sack was large, and that its blood-vessels took the place of the placenta of higher forms. on this view a reduction in the bulk of the _ovarian ovum_ might easily have taken place at the same time that the presence of _a large yolk-sack_ was still necessary for the purpose of affording surface of contact with the uterus. _the formation of the mesoblast and of the notochord._ [fig. . sections of an amphioxus embryo at three stages. (after kowalevsky.) a. section at gastrula stage. b. section of an embryo slightly younger than that represented in fig. d. c. section through the anterior part of an embryo at the stage represented in fig. e. _np._ neural plate; _nc._ neural canal; _mes._ archenteron in a and b, and mesenteron in c; _ch._ notochord; _so._ mesoblastic somite.] amphioxus. the mesoblast originates in amphioxus, as in several primitive invertebrate types, from a pair of lateral diverticula, constricted off from the archenteron (fig. ). their formation commences at the front end of the body and is thence carried backwards, and each diverticulum contains a prolongation of the cavity of the archenteron. after their separation from the archenteron the dorsal parts of these diverticula become divided by transverse septa into successive somites, the cavities of which eventually disappear; while the walls become mainly converted into the muscle-plates, but also into the tissue around the notochord which corresponds with the vertebral tissue of the higher chordata. the ventral part of each diverticulum, which is prolonged so as to meet its fellow in the middle ventral line, does not become divided into somites, but contains a continuous cavity, which becomes the body cavity of the adult. the inner layer of this part forms the splanchnic mesoblast, and the outer layer the somatic mesoblast. the notochord would almost appear to arise as a third median and dorsal diverticulum of the archenteron (fig. _ch_). at any rate it arises as a central fold of the wall of this cavity, which is gradually constricted off from before backwards. urochorda. in simple ascidians the above processes undergo a slight modification, which is mainly due ( ) to a general simplification of the organization, and ( ) to the non-continuation of the notochord into the trunk. [fig. . transverse optical section of the tail of an embryo of phallusia mammillata. (after kowalevsky.) the section is from an embryo of the same age as fig. iv. _ch._ notochord; _n.c._ neural canal; _me._ mesoblast; _al´._ hypoblast of tail.] the whole dorsal wall of the posterior part of the archenteron is converted into the notochord (fig. _ch_), and the lateral walls into the mesoblast (_me_); so that the original lumen of the posterior part of the archenteron ceases to be bounded by hypoblast cells, and disappears as such. part of the ventral wall remains as a solid cord of cells (_al´_) the anterior part of the archenteron in front of the notochord passes wholly into the permanent alimentary tract. the derivation of the mesoblast from the lateral walls of the posterior part of the archenteron is clearly comparable with the analogous process in amphioxus. vertebrata. in turning from amphioxus to the true vertebrata we find no form in which diverticula of the primitive alimentary tract give rise to the mesoblast. there is reason to think that the type presented by the elasmobranchii in the formation of the mesoblast is as primitive as that of any other group. in this group the mesoblast is formed, nearly coincidently with the hypoblast of the dorsal wall of the mesenteron, as two lateral sheets, one on each side of the middle line (fig. _m_). these two sheets are at first solid masses; and their differentiation commences in front and is continued backwards. after their formation the notochord arises from the axial portion of the hypoblast (which had no share in giving rise to the two mesoblast plates) as a solid thickening (fig. _ch´_), which is separated from it as a circular rod. its differentiation, like that of the mesoblastic plates, commences in front. the mesoblast plates subsequently become divided for their whole length into two layers, between which a cavity is developed (fig. ). the dorsal parts of the plates become divided by transverse partitions into somites, and these somites with their contained cavities are next separated from the more ventral parts of the plates (fig. _mp_). in the somites the cavities become eventually obliterated, and from their inner sides plates of tissue for the vertebral bodies (fig. _vr_) are separated; while the outer parts, consisting of two sheets, containing the remains of the original cavity, form the muscle-plates (_mp_). [fig. . two transverse sections of an embryo pristiurus of the same age as fig. . a. anterior section. b. posterior section. _mg._ medullary groove; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _n.al._ cells formed round the nuclei of the yolk which have entered the hypoblast; _m._ mesoblast. the sections shew the origin of the mesoblast.] [fig. . three sections of a pristiurus embryo slightly older than fig. b. the sections shew the development of the notochord. _ch._ notochord; _ch´._ developing notochord; _mg._ medullary groove; _lp._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . transverse section through the tail-region of a pristiurus embryo of the same age as fig. e. _df._ dorsal fin; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _pp._ body cavity; _sp._ splanchnic layer of mesoblast; _so._ somatic layer of mesoblast; _mp´._ commencing differentiation of muscles; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod arising as an outgrowth of the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract; _al._ alimentary tract.] the undivided ventral portion gives rise to the general somatic and splanchnic mesoblast (fig. ), and the cavity between its two layers constitutes the body cavity. the originally separate halves of the body cavity eventually meet and unite in the ventral median line throughout the greater part of the body, though in the tail they remain distinct and are finally obliterated. dorsally they are separated by the mesentery. from the mesoblast at the junction of the dorsal and ventral parts of the primitive plates is formed the urinogenital system. that the above mode of origin of the mesoblast and notochord is to be regarded as a modification of that observable in amphioxus seems probable from the following considerations:-- in the first place, the mesoblast is split off from the hypoblast not as a single mass but as a pair of distinct masses, comparable with the paired diverticula in amphioxus. secondly, the body cavity, when it appears in the mesoblast plates, _does not arise as a single cavity, but as a pair of cavities, one for each plate of mesoblast_; and these cavities remain permanently distinct in some parts of the body, and nowhere unite till a comparatively late period. thirdly, the primitive body cavity of the embryo is not confined to the region in which a body cavity exists in the adult, _but extends to the summit of the muscle-plates_, at first separating parts which become completely fused in the adult to form the great lateral muscles of the body. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] it is difficult to understand how the body cavity could thus extend into the muscle-plates on the supposition that it represents a primitive split in the mesoblast between the wall of the gut and the body-wall; but its extension to this part is quite intelligible, on the hypothesis that it represents the cavities of two diverticula of the alimentary tract, from the muscular walls of which the voluntary muscular system has been derived; and it may be pointed out that the derivation of part of the muscular system from what is apparently splanchnic mesoblast is easily explained on the above hypothesis, but not, so far as i see, on any other. such are the main features, presented by the mesoblast in elasmobranchii, which favour the view of its having originally formed the walls of the alimentary diverticula. against this view of its nature are the facts ( ) of the mesoblast plates being at first solid, and ( ) of the body cavity as a consequence of this never communicating with the alimentary canal. these points, in view of our knowledge of embryological modifications, cannot be regarded as great difficulties in my hypothesis. we have many examples of organs, which, though in most cases arising as involutions, yet appear in other cases as solid ingrowths. such examples are afforded by the optic vesicle, auditory vesicle, and probably also by the central nervous system of osseous fishes. in most vertebrates these organs are formed as hollow involutions from the exterior; in osseous fishes, however, as solid involutions, in which a cavity is secondarily established. [fig. . horizontal section through the trunk of an embryo of scyllium considerably younger than f. the section is taken at the level of the notochord, and shews the separation of the cells to form the vertebral bodies from the muscle-plates. _ch._ notochord; _ep._ epiblast; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate already differentiated into longitudinal muscles.] there are strong grounds for thinking that in all vertebrates the mesoblast plates on each side of the notochord originate independently, much as in elasmobranchii, and that the notochord is derived from the axial hypoblast; but there are some difficulties in the application of this general statement to all cases. in amphibia, ganoids, and petromyzon, where the dorsal hypoblast is formed by a process of invagination as in amphioxus, the dorsal mesoblast also owes its origin to this invagination, in that the indifferent invaginated layer becomes divided into hypoblast and mesoblast. amongst these forms the mesoblast sheet, when separated from the hypoblast, is certainly _not_ continuous across the middle line in petromyzon (calberla) and the newt (scott and osborn), and doubtfully so in the other forms. it arises, in fact, as in elasmobranchii, as two independent plates. the fact of these plates originating from an invaginated layer can only be regarded in the light of an approximation to the primitive type found in amphioxus. in petromyzon and the newt the whole axial plate of dorsal hypoblast becomes separated off from the rest of the hypoblast as the notochord, and this mode of origin for the notochord resembles more closely that in amphioxus than the mode of origin in elasmobranchii. in teleostei, there is reason to think that the processes in the formation of the mesoblast accord closely with what has been described as typical for the ichthyopsida, but there are still some points involved in obscurity. [fig. . transverse section through an embryo rabbit of eight days. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _mg._ medullary groove.] leaving the ichthyopsida, we may pass to the consideration of the sauropsida and mammalia. in both of these types there is evidence to shew that a part of the mesoblast is formed _in situ_ at the same time as the hypoblast, from the lower strata of segmentation spheres. this mesoblast is absent in the front part of the area pellucida, and on the formation of the primitive streak (blastopore), an outgrowth of mesoblast arises from it as in amphibia, etc. from this region the mesoblast spreads as a continuous sheet to the sides and posterior part of the blastoderm. in the region of the embryo, its exact behaviour has not in some cases been quite satisfactorily made out. there are reasons for thinking that it appears as two sheets _not united_ in the axial line in both lacertilia (fig. ) and mammalia (fig. ), and this to some extent holds true for aves (_vide_ p. ). in lacertilia (fig. ) and mammalia, the axial hypoblast becomes wholly converted into the notochord, which at the posterior end of the body is continued into the epiblast at the dorsal lip of the blastopore; while in birds the notochord is formed by a very similar (fig. _ch_) process. the above processes in the formation of the mesoblast are for the most part easily explained by a comparison with the lower types. the outgrowth of the mesoblast from the sides of the primitive streak is a rudiment of the dorsal invagination of hypoblast and mesoblast found in amphibia; and the apparent outgrowth of the mesoblast from the epiblast in the primitive streak is no more to be taken as a proof of the epiblastic origin of the mesoblast, than the continuity of the epiblast with the invaginated hypoblast and mesoblast at the lips of the blastopore in the frog of the derivation of these layers from the epiblast in this type. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through an embryo lizard to shew the relations of the neurenteric canal (_ne_) and of the primitive streak (_pr_). _am._ amnion; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord; _pp._ body cavity; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _pr._ primitive streak.] [fig. . transverse section through the embryonic region of the blastoderm of a chick at the time of the formation of the notochord, but before the appearance of the medullary groove. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord; _me._ mesoblast; _n._ nuclei in the yolk of the germinal wall _yk._] the division of the mesoblast into two plates along the dorsal line of the embryo, and the formation of the notochord from the axial hypoblast, are intelligible without further explanation. the appearance of part of the mesoblast before the formation of the primitive streak is a process of the same nature as the differentiation of hypoblast and mesoblast in elasmobranchii without an invagination. in the sauropsida, some of the mesoblast of the vascular area would appear to be formed _in situ_ out of the germinal wall, by a process of cell-formation similar to that which takes place in the yolk adjoining the blastoderm in elasmobranchii and teleostei. the mesoblast so formed is to be compared with that which arises on the ventral side of the embryo in the frog, by a direct differentiation of the yolk-cells. what was stated for the elasmobranchii with reference to the general fate of the mesoblast holds approximately for all the other forms. _the epiblast._ the epiblast in a large number of chordata arises as a single row of more or less columnar cells. since the epidermis, into which it becomes converted, is formed of two more or less distinct strata in all chordata except amphioxus and ascidians, the primitive row of epiblast cells, when single, necessarily becomes divided in the course of development into two layers. in some of the vertebrata, viz. the anurous amphibia, teleostei, acipenser, and lepidosteus, the epiblast is from the first formed of two distinct strata. the upper of these, formed of a single row of cells, is known as the epidermic stratum, and the lower, formed of several rows, as the nervous stratum. in these cases the two original strata of the epiblast are equivalent to those which appear at a later period in the other forms. thus vertebrates may be divided into groups according to the primitive condition of their epiblast, viz. a larger group with but a single stratum of cells at first; and a smaller group with two strata. while there is no great difficulty in determining the equivalent parts of the epidermis in these two groups, it still remains an open question in which of them the epiblast retains its primitive condition. though it is not easy to bring conclusive proofs on the one side or the other, the balance of argument appears to me to be decidedly in favour of regarding the condition of the epiblast in the larger group as primitive, and its condition in the smaller group as secondary, and due to the throwing back of the differentiation of the epiblast to a very early period of development. in favour of this view may be urged ( ) the fact that the simple condition is retained in amphioxus through life. ( ) the correlation in amphibia, and the other forms belonging to this group, between a closed auditory pit and the early division of the epiblast into two strata; there being no doubt that the auditory pit was at first permanently open, a condition of the epiblast which necessitates its never having an external opening must clearly be secondary. ( ) it appears more likely that a particular genetic feature should be thrown back in development, than that such an important feature, as a distinction between two primary layers, should be absolutely lost during an early period of development, and then reappear in later stages. the fact of the epiblast of the neural canal being divided, like the remainder of the layer, into nervous and epidermic parts, cannot, i think, be used as an argument in favour of the opposite view to that here maintained. it seems probable that the central canal of the nervous system arose phylogenetically as an involution from the exterior, and that the epidermis lining it is merely part of the original epidermis, which has retained its primitive structure as a simple stratum, but is naturally distinguishable from the nervous structures adjacent to it. where the epiblast is divided at an early period into two strata, the nervous stratum is always the active one, and takes the main share in forming all the organs derived from the layer. formation of the central nervous system. in all chordata an axial strip of the dorsal epiblast, extending from the lip of the blastopore to the anterior extremity of the head, and known as the medullary plate, becomes isolated from the remainder of the layer to give rise to the central nervous axis. according to the manner in which this takes place, three types may, however, be distinguished. in amphioxus the axial strip becomes first detached from the adjoining epiblast, which then meets and forms a continuous layer above it (fig. a and b _np_). the sides of the medullary plate, which is thus shut off from the surface, bend over and meet so as to convert the plate into a canal (fig. c _nc_). in the second and ordinary type the sides of the medullary plate fold over and meet so as to form a canal before the plate becomes isolated from the external epiblast. [fig. . sections of an amphioxus embryo at three stages. (after kowalevsky.) a. section at gastrula stage. b. section of an embryo slightly younger than that represented in fig. d. c. section through the anterior part of an embryo at the stage represented in fig. e. _np._ neural plate; _nc._ neural canal; _mes._ archenteron in a and b, and mesenteron in c; _ch._ notochord; _so._ mesoblastic somite.] the third type is characteristic of lepidosteus, teleostei, and petromyzon. here the axial plate becomes narrowed in such a way that it forms a solid keel-like projection towards the ventral surface (fig. _me_). this keel subsequently becomes separated from the remainder of the epidermis, and a central canal is afterwards developed in it. calberla and scott hold that the epidermic layer of the skin is involuted into this keel in petromyzon, and calberla maintains the same view for teleostei (fig. ), but further observations on this subject are required. in the teleostei a very shallow depression along the axis of the keel is the only indication of the medullary groove of other forms. in amphioxus (fig. ), the tunicata, petromyzon (?), elasmobranchii (fig. ), the urodela and mammalia (fig. ), the epiblast of the medullary plate is only formed of a single row of cells at the time when the formation of the central nervous system commences; but, except in amphioxus and the tunicata, it becomes several cells deep before the completion of the process. in other types the epiblast is several cells deep even before the differentiation of a medullary plate. in the anura, the nervous layer of the epidermis alone is thickened in the formation of the central nervous system (fig. ); and after the closure of the medullary canal, the epidermic layer fuses for a period with the nervous layer, though on the subsequent formation of the central epithelium of the nervous canal, there can be little doubt that it becomes again distinct. [fig. . section through an embryo of lepidosteus on the fifth day after impregnation. _mc._ medullary cord; _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ch._ notochord.] it seems almost certain that the formation of the central nervous system from a solid keel-like thickening of the epidermis is a derived and secondary mode; and that the folding of the medullary plate into a canal is primitive. apart from its greater frequency the latter mode of formation of the central nervous system is shewn to be the primitive type by the fact that it offers a simple explanation of the presence of the central canal of the nervous system; while the existence of such a canal cannot easily be explained on the assumption that the central nervous system was originally developed as a keel-like thickening of the epiblast. it is remarkable that the primitive medullary plate rarely exhibits any indication of being formed of two symmetrical halves. such indications are, however, found in the amphibia (fig. and fig. ); and, since in the adult state the nervous cord exhibits nearly as distinct traces of being formed of two united strands as does the ventral nerve-cord of many chætopods, it is quite possible that the structure of the medullary plate in amphibia may be more primitive than that in other types[ ]. [ ] a parallel to the unpaired medullary plate of most chordata is supplied by the embryologically unpaired ventral cord of most gephyrea and some crustacea. in these forms there can be little doubt that the ventral cord has arisen from the fusion of two originally independent strands, so that it is not an extremely improbable hypothesis to suppose that the same may have been the case in the chordata. formation of the organs of special sense. the more important parts of the organs of smell, sight, and hearing are derived from the epiblast; and it has been asserted that the olfactory pit, optic vesicles and auditory pit take their origin from a special sense plate, continuous at first with this medullary plate. in my opinion this view cannot be maintained. [fig. . transverse section through the cephalic region of a young newt embryo. (after scott and osborn.) _in.hy._ invaginated hypoblast, the dorsal part of which will form the notochord; _ep._ epiblast of neural plate; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _al._ alimentary tract; _yk._ and _y.hy._ yolk-cells.] in the case of the group of forms in which the epiblast is early divided into nervous and epidermic layers, the former layer alone becomes involuted in the formation of the auditory pit and the lens, the external openings of which are never developed, while it is also mainly concerned in the formation of the olfactory pit. _summary of the more important organs derived from the three germinal layers._ the epiblast primarily gives origin to two very important parts of the body, viz. the central nervous system and the epidermis. it is from the involuted epiblast of the neural tube that the whole of the grey and white matter of the brain and spinal cord appears to be developed, the simple columnar cells of the epiblast being directly transformed into the characteristic multipolar nerve cells. the whole of the sympathetic nervous system and the peripheral nervous elements of the body, including both the spinal and the cranial nerves and ganglia, are epiblastic in origin. the epithelium (ciliated in the young animal) lining the canalis centralis of the spinal cord, together with that lining the ventricles of the brain, is the undifferentiated remnant of the primitive epiblast. the epiblast also forms the epidermis; not however the dermis, which is of mesoblastic origin. the line of junction between the epiblast and the mesoblast coincides with that between the epidermis and the dermis. from the epiblast are formed all such tegumentary organs or parts of organs as are epidermic in nature. in addition to the above, the epiblast plays an important part in the formation of the organs of special sense. according to their mode of formation, these organs may be arranged into two divisions. in the first come the organs where the sensory expansion is derived from the involuted epiblast of the medullary canal. to this class belongs the retina, including the pigment epithelium of the choroid, which is formed from the original optic vesicle budded out from the fore-brain. to the second class belong the epithelial expansions of the membranous labyrinth of the ear, and the cavity of the nose, which are formed by an involution of the epiblast covering the external surface of the embryo. these accordingly have no primary connection with the brain. 'taste bulbs' and other terminal nervous organs, such as those of the lateral line in fishes, are also structures formed from the external epiblast. in addition to these we have the crystalline lens formed of involuted epiblast as well as the cavity of the mouth and anus, and the glands derived from them. the pituitary body is also epiblastic in origin. from the hypoblast are derived the epithelium of the digestive canal, the epithelium of the trachea, bronchial tubes and air cells, the cylindrical epithelium of the ducts of the liver, pancreas, thyroid body, and other glands of the alimentary canal, as well as the hepatic cells constituting the parenchyma of the liver, developed from the hypoblast cylinders given off around the primary hepatic diverticula. homologous probably with the hepatic cells, and equally of hypoblastic origin, are the spheroidal 'secreting cells' of the pancreas and other glands. the epithelium of the salivary glands, though these so closely resemble the pancreas, is probably of epiblastic origin, inasmuch as the cavity of the mouth is entirely lined by epiblast. the hypoblast also lines the allantois. to these parts must be added the notochord and subnotochordal rod. from the mesoblast are formed all the remaining parts of the body. the muscles, the bones, the connective tissue and the vessels, both arteries, veins, capillaries and lymphatics with their appropriate epithelium, are entirely formed from the mesoblast. the generative and urinary organs are entirely derived from the mesoblast. it is worthy of notice that the epithelium of the urinary glands, though resembling the hypoblastic epithelium of the alimentary canal, is undoubtedly mesoblastic. from the mesoblast are lastly derived all the muscular, connective tissue, and vascular elements, as well of the alimentary canal and its appendages as of the skin and the tegumentary organs. just as it is only the epidermic moiety of the latter which is derived from the epiblast, so it is only the epithelium of the former which comes from the hypoblast. _growth in length of the vertebrate embryo._ with reference to the formation and growth in length of the body of the vertebrate embryo two different views have been put forward, which can be best explained by taking the elasmobranch embryo as our type. one of these views, generally held by embryologists and adopted in the previous pages, is that the elasmobranch embryo arises from a differentiation of the edge of the blastoderm; which extends inwards from the edge for some little distance. this differentiation is supposed to contain within itself the rudiments of the whole of the embryo with the exception of the yolk-sack; and the hinder extremity of it, at the edge of the blastoderm, is regarded as corresponding with the hind end of the body of the adult. the growth in length takes place by a process of intussusception, and, till there are formed the full number of mesoblastic somites, it is effected, as in chætopods, by the continual addition of fresh somites between the last-formed somite and the hind end of the body. a second and somewhat paradoxical view has been recently brought into prominence by his and rauber. this view has moreover since been taken up by many embryologists, and has led to strange comparisons between the formation of the mesoblastic plates of the chætopods and the medullary folds of vertebrata. according to this view the embryo grows in length by the coalescence of the two halves of the thickened edges of the blastoderm in the dorsal median line. the groove between the coalescing edges is the medullary groove, which increases in length by the continued coalescence of fresh portions of the edge of the blastoderm. the following is his' own statement of his view: "i have shewn that the embryo of osseous fishes grows together in length from two symmetrically-placed structures in the thickened edge of the blastoderm. only the foremost end of the head and the hindermost end of the tail undergo no concrescence, since they are formed out of that part of the edge of the blastoderm which, together with the two lateral halves, completes the ring. the whole edge of the blastoderm is used in the formation of the embryo." the edges of the blastoderm which meet to form the body of the embryo are regarded as the blastopore, so that, on this view, the blastopore primitively extends for the whole length of the dorsal side of the embryo, and the groove between the coalesced lips becomes the medullary groove. it is not possible for me to enter at any great length into the arguments used to support this position. they may be summarised as ( ) the general appearance; _i.e._ that the thickened edge of the blastoderm is continuous with the medullary fold. ( ) certain measurements (his) which mainly appear to me to prove that the growth takes place by the addition of fresh somites between that last formed and the end of the body. ( ) some of the phenomena of double monsters (rauber). none of these arguments appear to be very forcible, but as the view of his and rauber, if true, would certainly be important, i shall attempt shortly to state the arguments against it, employing as my type the elasmobranchii, by the development of which, according to his, the view which he adopts is more conclusively proved than by that of any other group. ( ) the general appearance of the thickened edge of the blastoderm becoming continuous with the medullary folds has been used as an argument for the medullary folds being merely the coalesced thickened edges of the blastoderm. since, however, the medullary folds are merely parts of the medullary plate, and since the medullary plate is continuous with the adjoining epiblast of the embryonic rim, the latter structure must be continuous with the medullary folds however they are formed, and the mere fact of their being so continuous cannot be used as an argument either way. moreover, were the concrescence theory true, the coalescing edges of the blastoderm might be expected to form an acute angle with each other, which they are far from doing. ( ) the medullary groove becomes closed behind earlier than in front, and the closure commences while the embryo is still quite short, and _before the hind end has begun to project over the yolk_. after the medullary canal becomes closed, and is continued behind into the alimentary canal by the neurenteric passage, it is clearly impossible for any further increase in length to take place by concrescence. if therefore his' and rauber's view is accepted, it will have to be maintained that only a small part of the body is formed by concrescence, while the larger posterior part grows by intussusception. the difficulty involved in this supposition is much increased by the fact that long after the growth by concrescence must have ceased the yolk blastopore still remains open, and the embryo is still attached to the edge of the blastoderm; so that it cannot be maintained that the growth by concrescence has come to an end because the thickened edges of the blastoderm have completely coalesced. the above are arguments derived simply from a consideration of the growth of the embryo; and they prove ( ) that the points adduced by his and rauber are not at all conclusive; ( ) that the growth in length of the greater part of the body takes place by the addition of fresh somites behind, as in chætopods, and it would therefore be extremely surprising that a small middle part of the body should grow in quite a different way. many minor arguments used by his might be replied to, but it is hardly necessary to do so, and some of them depend upon erroneous views as to the course of development, such as an argument about the notochord, which depends for its validity upon the assumption that the notochord ridge appears at the same time as the medullary plate, while, as a matter of fact, the ridge does not appear till considerably later. in addition to the arguments of the class hitherto used, there may be brought against the his-rauber view a series of arguments from comparative embryology. ( ) were the vertebrate blastopore to be co-extensive with the dorsal surface, as his and rauber maintain, clear evidence of this ought to be apparent in amphioxus. in amphioxus, however, the blastopore is at first placed exactly at the hind end of the body, though later it passes up just on to the dorsal side (_vide_ p. ). it nearly closes before the appearance of the medullary groove or mesoblastic somites; and the medullary folds have nothing to do with its lips, except in so far as they are continuous with them behind, just as in elasmobranchii. ( ) the food-yolk in the vertebrata is placed on the ventral side of the body, and becomes enveloped by the blastoderm; so that in all large-yolked vertebrates the ventral walls of the body are obviously completed by the closure of the lips of the blastopore, on the ventral side. if his and rauber are right the dorsal walls are also completed by the closure of the blastopore, so that the whole of the dorsal, as well as of the ventral wall of the embryo, must be formed by the concrescence of the lips of the blastopore; which is clearly a _reductio ad absurdum_ of the whole theory. to my own arguments on the subject i may add those of kupffer, who has very justly criticised his' statements, and has shewn that growth of the blastoderm in clupea and gasterosteus is absolutely inconsistent with the concrescence theory. the more the theory of his and rauber is examined by the light of comparative embryology, the more does it appear quite untenable; and it may be laid down as a safe conclusion from a comparative study of vertebrate embryology that the blastopore of vertebrates is primitively situated at the hind end of the body, but that, owing to the development of a large food-yolk, it also extends, in most cases, over a larger or smaller part of the ventral side. _the origin of the allantois and amnion._ the development and structure of the allantois and amnion have already been dealt with at sufficient length in the chapters on aves and mammalia; but a few words as to the origin of these parts will not be out of place here. the allantois. the relations of the allantois to the adjoining organs, and the conversion of its stalk into the bladder, afford ample evidence that it has taken its origin from a urinary bladder such as is found in amphibia. we have in tracing the origin of the allantois to deal with a case of what dohrn would call 'change of function.' the allantois is in fact a urinary bladder which, _precociously_ developed and enormously extended in the embryo, has acquired respiratory (sauropsida) and nutritive (mammalia) functions. no form is known to have been preserved with the allantois in a transitional state between an ordinary bladder and a large vascular sack. the advantage of secondary respiratory organs during foetal life, in addition to the yolk-sack, is evinced by the fact that such organs are very widely developed in the ichthyopsida. thus in elasmobranchii we have the external gills (cf. p. ). amongst amphibia we have the tail modified to be a respiratory organ in pipa americana; and in notodelphis, alytes and cæcilia compressicanda the external gills are modified and enlarged for respiratory purposes within the egg (cf. pp. and ). the amnion. the origin of the amnion is more difficult to explain than that of the allantois; and it does not seem possible to derive it from any pre-existing organ. it appears to me, however, very probable that it was evolved _pari passu_ with the allantois, as a simple fold of the somatopleure round the embryo, into which the allantois extended itself as it increased in size and became a respiratory organ. it would be obviously advantageous for such a fold, having once started, to become larger and larger in order to give more and more room for the allantois to spread into. the continued increase of this fold would lead to its edges meeting on the dorsal side of the embryo, and it is easy to conceive that they might then coalesce. to afford room for the allantois close to the surface of the egg, where respiration could most advantageously be carried on, it would be convenient that the two laminæ of the amnion--the true and false amnion--should then separate and leave a free space above the embryo, and thus it may have come about that a separation finally takes place between the true and false amnion. this explanation of the origin of the amnion, though of course hypothetical, has the advantage of suiting itself in most points to the actual ontogeny of the organ. the main difficulty is the early development of the head-fold of the amnion, since, from the position of the allantois, it might have been anticipated that the tail-fold would be the first formed and most important fold of the amnion. bibliography. ( ) f. m. balfour. "a comparison of the early stages in the development of vertebrates." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xv. . ( ) f. m. balfour. "a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes." london, . ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the early development of the lacertilia together with some observations, etc." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) a. götte. _die entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. "ueb. d. bildung d. haifischembryonen." _zeit. f. anat. u. entwick._, vol. ii. . cf. also his' papers on teleostei, nos. and . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwick. d. amphioxus lanceolatus." _mém. acad. des sciences st pétersbourg_, ser. vii. tom. xi. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien üb. d. entwick. d. amphioxus lanceolatus." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiii. . ( ) c. kupffer. "die entstehung d. allantois u. d. gastrula d. wirbelthiere." _zool. anzeiger_, vol. ii. , pp. , , . ( ) r. remak. _untersuchungen üb. d. entwicklung d. wirbelthiere_, - . ( ) a. rauber. _primitivstreifen u. neurula d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, . chapter xii. observations on the ancestral form of the chordata. the present section of this work would not be complete without some attempt to reconstruct, from the materials recorded in the previous chapters, and from those supplied by comparative anatomy, the characters of the ancestors of the chordata; and to trace as far as possible from what invertebrate stock this ancestor was derived. the second of these questions has been recently dealt with in a very suggestive manner by both dohrn (no. ) and semper (nos. and ), but it is still so obscure that i shall refrain from any detailed discussion of it. while differing very widely in many points both dohrn and semper have arrived at the view, already tentatively put forward by earlier anatomists, that the nearest allies of the chordata are to be sought for amongst the chætopoda, and that the dorsal surface of the chordata with the spinal cord corresponds morphologically with the ventral surface of the chætopods with the ventral ganglion chain. in discussing this subject some time ago[ ] i suggested that we must look for the ancestors of the chordata, not in allies of the present chætopoda, but in a stock of segmented forms descended from the same unsegmented types as the chætopoda, but in which two lateral nerve-cords, like those of nemertines, coalesced dorsally, instead of ventrally to form a median nervous cord. this group of forms, if my suggestion as to its existence is well founded, appears now to have perished. the recent researches of hubrecht on the anatomy of the nemertines[ ] have, however, added somewhat to the probability of my views, in that they shew that in some existing nemertines the nerve-cords approach each other very closely in the dorsal line. [ ] _monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_, pp. - . [ ] hubrecht, "zur anat. u. phys. d. nervensystems der nemertinen." _kön. akad. wiss. amsterdam_; and "researches on the nervous system of nemertines." _quart. journ. of micr. science_, . with reference to the characters of the ancestor of the chordata the following pages contain a few tentative suggestions rather than an attempt to deal with the whole subject; while the origin of certain of the organs is dealt with in a more special manner in the chapters on organogeny which form the second part of this work. before entering upon the more special subject of this chapter, it will be convenient to clear the ground by insisting on a few morphological conclusions to be drawn from the study of amphioxus,--a form which, although probably in some respects degenerate, is nevertheless capable of furnishing on certain points very valuable evidence. ( ) in the first place it is clear from amphioxus that the ancestors of the chordata were segmented, and that their mesoblast was divided into myotomes which extended even into the region in front of the mouth. the mesoblast of the greater part of what is called the head in the vertebrata proper was therefore segmented like that of the trunk. ( ) the only internal skeleton present was the unsegmented notochord--a fact which demonstrates that the skeleton is of comparatively little importance for the solution of a large number of fundamental questions, as for example the point which has been mooted recently as to whether gill-clefts existed at one time in front of the present mouth; and for this reason:--that from the evidence of amphioxus and the lower vertebrata[ ] it is clear that such clefts, if they ever existed, _had atrophied completely_ before the formation of cartilaginous branchial bars; so that any skeletal structures in front of the mouth, which have been interpreted by morphologists as branchial bars, can never have acted in supporting the walls of branchial clefts. [ ] the greater part of the branchial skeleton of petromyzon appears clearly to belong to an extra-branchial system much more superficially situated than the true branchial bars of the higher forms. at the same time there is no doubt that certain parts of the skeleton of the adult lamprey have, as pointed out by huxley, striking points of resemblance to parts of a true mandibular and hyoid arches. further embryological evidence is required on the subject, but the statements on this head on p. ought to be qualified. should huxley's views on this subject be finally proved correct, it is probable that, taking into consideration the resemblance of these skeletal parts in the tadpole to those in the lamprey, the cartilaginous mandibular bar, before being in any way modified to form true jaws, became secondarily adapted to support a suctorial mouth, and that it subsequently became converted into the true jaws. thus the evolution of this bar in the frog would be a true repetition of the ancestral history, while its ontogeny in elasmobranchii and other types would be much abbreviated. for a fuller statement on this point i must refer the reader to the chapter on the skull. it is difficult to believe that the posterior branchial bars could have coexisted with such a highly developed branchial skeleton as that in petromyzon, so that the absence of the posterior branchial bars in petromyzon receives by far its most plausible explanation on the supposition that petromyzon is descended from a vertebrate stock in which true branchial bars had not been evolved. ( ) the region which, in the vertebrata, forms the oesophagus and stomach, was, in the ancestors of the chordata, perforated by gill-clefts. this fact, which has been clearly pointed out by gegenbaur, is demonstrated by the arrangement of the gill-clefts in amphioxus, and by the distribution of the vagus nerve in the vertebrata[ ]. on the other hand the insertion of the liver, which was probably a very primitive organ, appears to indicate with approximate certainty the posterior limit of the branchial clefts. [ ] the extension forwards in the vertebrata of an uninterrupted body-cavity into the region previously occupied by visceral clefts presents no difficulty. in amphioxus the true body cavity extends forwards, more or less divided by the branchial clefts, for the whole length of the branchial region, and in embryos of the lower vertebrata there is a section of the body cavity--the so-called head-cavities--between each pair of pouches. on the disappearance of the pouches all these parts would naturally coalesce into a continuous whole. with these few preliminary observations we may pass to the main subject of this section. a fundamental question which presents itself on the threshold of our enquiries is the differentiation of the head. in the chætopoda the head is formed of a præoral lobe and of the oral segment; while in arthropods a somewhat variable number of segments are added behind to this primitive head, and form with it what may be called a secondary compound head. it is fairly clear that the section of the trunk, which, in amphioxus, is perforated by the visceral clefts, has become the head in the vertebrates proper, so that the latter forms are provided with a secondary head like that of arthropods. there remain however difficult questions ( ) as to the elements of which this head is composed, and ( ) as to the extent of its differentiation in the ancestors of the chordata. in arthropods and chætopods there is a very distinct element in the head known as the procephalic lobe in the case of arthropods, and the præoral lobe in that of chætopods; and this lobe is especially characterized by the fact that the supraoesophageal ganglia and optic organs are formed as differentiations of part of the epiblast covering it. is such an element to be recognized in the head of the chordata? from a superficial examination of amphioxus the answer would undoubtedly be no; but then it has to be borne in mind that amphioxus, in correlation with its habit of burying itself in sand, is especially degenerate in the development of its sense-organs; so that it is not difficult to believe that its præoral lobe may have become so reduced as not to be recognizable. in the true vertebrata there is a portion of the head which has undoubtedly many features of the præoral lobe in the types already alluded to, viz. the part containing the cerebral hemispheres and the thalamencephalon. if there is any part of the brain homologous with the supraoesophageal ganglia of the invertebrates, and it is difficult to believe there is not such a part, it must be part of, or contain, the fore-brain. the fore-brain resembles the supraoesophageal ganglia in being intimately connected in its development with the optic organs, and in supplying with nerves only organs of sense. its connection with the olfactory organs is an argument in the same direction. even in amphioxus there is a small bulb at the end of the nervous tube supplying what is very probably the homologue of the olfactory organ of the vertebrata; and it is quite possible that this bulb is the reduced rudiment of what forms the fore-brain in the vertebrata. the evidence at our disposal appears to me to indicate that the third nerve belongs to the cranio-spinal series of segmental nerves, while the optic and olfactory nerves appear to me equally clearly not to belong to this series[ ]. the mid-brain, as giving origin to the third nerve, would appear not to have been part of the ganglion of the præoral lobe. [ ] marshall, in his valuable paper on the development of the olfactory organ, takes a very different view of this subject. for a discussion of this view i must refer the reader to the chapter on the nervous system. these considerations indicate with fair probability that the part of the head containing the fore-brain is the equivalent of the præoral lobe of many invertebrate forms; and the primitive position of the vertebrate mouth on the ventral side of the head affords a distinct support for this view. it must however be admitted that this part of the head is not sharply separated in development from that behind; and, though the fore-brain is usually differentiated very early as a distinct lobe of the primitive nervous tube, yet that such differentiation is hardly more marked than in the other parts of the brain. the termination of the notochord immediately behind the fore-brain is, however, an argument in favour of the morphological distinctness of the latter structure. the evidence at our disposal appears to indicate that the posterior part of the head was not differentiated from the trunk in lower chordata; but that, as the chordata rose in the scale of development, more and more centralizing work became thrown on the anterior part of the nervous cord, and _pari passu_ this part became differentiated into the mid- and hind-brain. an analogy for such a differentiation is supplied in the compound suboesophageal ganglion of many arthropods; and, as will be shewn in the chapter on the nervous system, there is strong embryological evidence that the mid- and hind-brains had primitively the same structure as the spinal cord. the head appears however to have suffered in the course of its differentiation a great concentration in its posterior part, which becomes progressively more marked, even within the limits of the surviving vertebrata. this concentration is especially shewn in the structure of the vagus nerve, which, as first pointed out by gegenbaur, bears evidence of having been originally composed of a great series of nerves, each supplying a visceral cleft. rudiments of the posterior nerves still remain as the branches to the oesophagus and stomach[ ]. [ ] the lateral branch of the vagus nerve probably became differentiated in connection with the lateral line, which seems to have been first formed in the head, and subsequently to have extended into the trunk (_vide_ section on lateral line). the atrophy of the posterior visceral clefts seems to have taken place simultaneously with the concentration of the neural part of the head; but the former process did not proceed so rapidly as the latter, so that the visceral region of the head is longer in the lower vertebrata than the neural region, and is dorsally overlapped by the anterior part of the spinal cord and the anterior muscle-plates (_vide_ fig. ). on the above view the posterior part of the head must have been originally composed of a series of somites like those of the trunk, but in existing vertebrata all trace of these, except in so far as they are indicated by the visceral clefts, has vanished in the adult. the cranial nerves however, especially in the embryo, still indicate the number of anterior somites; and an embryonic segmentation of the mesoblast has also been found in many lower forms in the region of the head, giving rise to a series of cavities known as head-cavities, enclosed by mesoblastic walls which afterwards break up into muscles. these cavities correspond with the nerves, and it appears that there is a præmandibular cavity corresponding with the third nerve (fig. , _ pp_) and a mandibular cavity (_ pp_) and a cavity in each of the succeeding visceral arches. the fifth nerve, the seventh nerve, the glossopharyngeal nerve, and the successive elements of the vagus nerve correspond with the posterior head-cavities. [fig. . transverse section through the front part of the head of a young pristiurus embryo. the section, owing to the cranial flexure, cuts both the fore- and the hind-brain. it shews the præmandibular and mandibular head-cavities _ pp_ and _ pp_, etc. _fb._ fore-brain; _l._ lens of eye; _m._ mouth; _pt._ upper end of mouth, forming pituitary involution; _ ao._ mandibular aortic arch; _ pp._ and _ pp._ first and second head-cavities; _ vc._ first visceral cleft; _v._ fifth nerve; _aun._ ganglion of auditory nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _aa._ dorsal aorta; _acv._ anterior cardinal vein; _ch._ notochord.] the medullary canal. the general history of the medullary plate seems to point to the conclusion that the central canal of the nervous system has been formed by a groove having appeared in the ancestor of the chordata along the median dorsal line, which caused the sides of the nervous plate, which was placed immediately below the skin, or may perhaps at that stage not have been distinctly differentiated from the skin, to be bent upwards; and that this groove subsequently became converted into a canal. this view is not only supported by the actual development of the central canal of the nervous system (the types of teleostei, lepidosteus and petromyzon being undoubtedly secondary), but also ( ) by the presence of cilia in the epithelium lining the canal, probably inherited from cilia coating the external skin, and ( ) by the posterior roots arising from the extreme dorsal line (fig. ), a position which can most easily be explained on the supposition that the two sides of the plate, from which the nerves originally proceeded have been folded up so as to meet each other in the median dorsal line[ ]. [ ] _vide_ for further details the chapter on the nervous system. the medullary plate, before becoming folded to form the medullary groove, is (except in amphibia) without any indication of being composed of two halves. in both the embryo and adult the walls of the tube have however a structure which points to their having arisen from the coalescence of two lateral, and most probably at one time independent, cords; and as already indicated this is the view i am myself inclined to adopt; _vide_ pp. and . [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of an embryo slightly older than fig. e. _nc._ neural canal; _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sc._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate converted into muscle; _vv._ portion of the vertebral plate which will give rise to the vertebral bodies; _al._ alimentary tract.] the origin and nature of the mouth. the most obvious point connected with the development of the mouth is the fact that in all vertebrate embryos it is placed ventrally, at some little distance from the front end of the body. this feature is retained in the adult stage in elasmobranchii, the myxinoids, and some ganoids, but is lost in other vertebrate forms. a mouth, situated as is the embryonic vertebrate mouth, is very ill adapted for biting; and though it acquires in this position a distinctly biting character in the elasmobranchii, yet it is almost certain that it had not such a character in the ancestral chordata, and that its terminal position in higher types indicates a step in advance of the elasmobranchii. on the structure of the primitive mouth there appears to me to be some interesting embryological evidence, to which attention has already been called in the preceding chapters. in a large number of the larvæ or embryos of the lower vertebrates the mouth has a more or less distinctly suctorial character, and is connected with suctorial organs which may be placed either in front of or behind it. the more important instances of this kind are ( ) the tadpoles of the anura, with their posteriorly placed suctorial disc, ( ) lepidosteus larva (fig. ) with its anteriorly placed suctorial disc, ( ) the adhesive papillæ of the larvæ of the tunicata. to these may be added the suctorial mouth of the myxinoid fishes[ ]. [ ] the existing myxinoid fishes are no doubt degenerate types, as was first clearly pointed out by dohrn; but at the same time (although dohrn does not share this view) it appears to me almost certain that they are the remnants of a large and very primitive group, which have very likely been preserved owing to their parasitic or semiparasitic habits; much in the same way as many of the insectivora have been preserved owing to their subterranean habits. i am acquainted with no evidence, embryological or otherwise, that they are degraded gnathostomatous forms, and the group probably disappeared as a whole from its incapacity to compete successfully with vertebrata in which true jaws had become developed. all these considerations point to the conclusion that in the ancestral chordata the mouth had a more or less definitely suctorial character[ ], and was placed on the ventral surface immediately behind the præoral lobe; and that this mouth has become in the higher types gradually modified for biting purposes, and has been carried to the front end of the head. [ ] i do not conceive that the existence of suctorial structures necessarily implies parasitic habits. they might be used for various purposes, especially by predaceous forms not provided with jaws. the mouth in elasmobranchii and other vertebrates is originally a wide somewhat rhomboidal cavity (fig. g); on the development of the mandibular and its maxillary (pterygo-quadrate) process the opening of the mouth becomes narrowed to a slit. the wide condition of the mouth may not improbably be interpreted as a remnant of the suctorial state. the fact that no more definite remnants of the suctorial mouth are found in so primitive a group as the elasmobranchii is probably to be explained by the fact that the members of this group undergo an abbreviated development within the egg. while the embryological data appear to me to point to the existence of a primitive suctorial mouth, very different conclusions have been put forward by other embryologists, more especially by dohrn, which are sufficiently striking and suggestive to merit a further discussion. as mentioned above, both dohrn and semper hold that the vertebrata are descended from chætopod-like forms, in which the ventral surface has become the dorsal. in consequence of this view dohrn has arrived at the following conclusions: ( ) that primitively the alimentary canal perforated the nervous system in the region of the original oesophageal nerve-ring; ( ) that there was therefore an original dorsal mouth (the present ventral mouth of the chætopoda); and ( ) that the present mouth was secondary and derived from two visceral clefts which have ventrally coalesced. [fig. . ventral view of the head of a lepidosteus embryo shortly before hatching, to shew the large suctorial disc. _m._ mouth; _op._ eye; _sd._ suctorial disc.] a full discussion of these views[ ] is not within the scope of this work; but, while recognizing that there is much to be said in favour of the interchange of the dorsal and ventral surfaces, i am still inclined to hold that the difficulties involved in this view are so great that it must, provisionally at least, be rejected; and that there are therefore no reasons against supposing the present vertebrate mouth to be the primitive mouth. there is no embryological evidence in favour of the view adopted by dohrn that the present mouth was formed by the coalescence of two clefts. [ ] for a partial discussion of this subject i would refer the reader to my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_, pp. - . if it is once admitted that the present mouth is the primitive mouth, and is more or less nearly in its original situation, very strong evidence will be required to shew that any structures originally situated in front of it are the remnants of visceral clefts; and if it should be proved that such remnants of visceral clefts were present, the views so far arrived at in this section would, i think, have to be to a large extent reconsidered. the nasal pits have been supposed by dohrn to be remnants of visceral clefts, and this view has been maintained in a very able manner by marshall. the arguments of marshall do not, however, appear to me to have any great weight unless it is previously granted that there is an antecedent probability in favour of the presence of a pair of gill-clefts in the position of the nasal pits; and even then the development of the nasal pits as epiblastic involutions, instead of hypoblastic outgrowths, is a serious difficulty which has not in my opinion been successfully met. a further argument of marshall from the supposed segmental nature of the olfactory nerve has already been spoken of. while most of the structures supposed to be remains of gill-clefts in front of the mouth do not appear to me to be of this nature, there is one organ which stands in a more doubtful category. this organ is the so-called choroid gland. the similarity of this organ to the pseudobranch of the mandibular or hyoid arch was pointed out to me by dohrn, and the suggestion was made by him that it is the remnant of a præmandibular gill which has been retained owing to its functional connection with the eye[ ]. admitting this explanation to be true (which however is by no means certain) are we necessarily compelled to hold that the choroid gland is the remnant of a gill-cleft originally situated in front of the mouth? i believe not. it is easy to conceive that there may originally have been a præmandibular cleft _behind_ the suctorial mouth, but that this cleft gradually atrophied (for the same reasons that the mandibular cleft shews a tendency to atrophy in existing fishes, &c.), the rudiment of the gill (choroid gland) alone remaining to mark its situation. after the disappearance of this cleft the suctorial mouth may have become relatively shifted backwards. in the meantime the branchial bars became developed, and as the mouth was changed into a biting one, the bar (the mandibular arch) supporting the then first cleft became gradually modified and converted into a supporting apparatus for the mouth, and finally formed the skeleton of the jaws. in the hyostylic vertebrata the hyoid arch also became modified in connection with the formation of the jaws. [ ] the probability of the choroid gland having the meaning attributed to it by dohrn is strengthened by the existence of a præmandibular segment as evidenced by the presence of a præmandibular head-cavity, the walls of which as shewn by marshall and myself give rise to the majority of the eye-muscles and of a nerve (the third nerve, cf. marshall) corresponding to it; so that these parts together with the choroid gland may be rudiments belonging to the same segment. on the other hand the absence of the choroid gland in ganoidei and elasmobranchii, where a mandibular pseudobranch is present, coupled with the absence of a mandibular pseudobranch in teleostei where alone a choroid gland is present, renders the above view about the choroid gland somewhat doubtful. a thorough investigation of the ontogeny of the choroid gland might throw further light on this interesting question, but i think it not impossible that the choroid gland may be nothing else but the modified _mandibular_ pseudobranch, a view which fits in very well with the relations of the vessels of the elasmobranch mandibular pseudobranch to the choroid. for the relations and structure of the choroid gland _vide_ f. müller, _vergl. anat. myxinoiden_, part iii. p. . it is possible that the fourth nerve and the superior oblique muscle of the eye which it supplies may be the last remaining remnants of a second præmandibular segment originally situated between the segment of the third nerve and that of the fifth nerve (mandibular segment). the conclusions arrived at may be summed up as follows: the relations which exist in all jaw-bearing vertebrates between the mandibular arch and the oral aperture are secondary, and arose _pari passu_ with the evolution of the jaws[ ]. [ ] i do not mean to exclude the possibility of the mandibular arch having supported a suctorial mouth before it became converted into a pair of jaws. [fig. . the heads of elasmobranch embryos at two stages viewed as transparent objects. a. pristiurus embryo of the same stage as fig. f. b. somewhat older scyllium embryo. _iii._ third nerve; _v._ fifth nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve; _vg._ vagus nerve; _fb._ fore-brain; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _iv.v._ fourth ventricle; _cb._ cerebellum; _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ eye; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _m._ mesoblast at base of brain; _ch._ notochord; _ht._ heart; _vc._ visceral clefts; _eg._ external gills; _pp._ sections of body cavity in the head.] the cranial flexure and the form of the head in vertebrate embryos. all embryologists who have studied the embryos of the various vertebrate groups have been struck with the remarkable similarity which exists between them, more especially as concerns the form of the head. this similarity is closest between the members of the amniota, but there is also a very marked resemblance between the amniota and the elasmobranchii. the peculiarity in question, which is characteristically shewn in fig. , consists in the cerebral hemispheres and thalamencephalon being ventrally flexed to such an extent that the mid-brain forms the termination of the long axis of the body. at a later period in development the cerebral hemispheres come to be placed at the front end of the head; but the original nick or bend of the floor of the brain is never got rid of. it is obvious that in dealing with the light thrown by embryology on the ancestral form of the chordata the significance of this peculiar character of the head of many vertebrate embryos must be discussed. is the constancy of this character to be explained by supposing that at one period vertebrate ancestors had a head with the same features as the embryonic head of existing vertebrata? this is the most obvious explanation, but it does not at the same time appear to me satisfactory. in the first place the mouth is so situated at the time of the maximum cranial flexure that it could hardly have been functional; so that it is almost impossible to believe that an animal with a head such as that of these embryos can have existed. then again, this type of embryonic head is especially characteristic of the amniota, all of which are developed in the egg. it is not generally so marked in the ichthyopsida. in amphibia, teleostei, ganoidæ and petromyzontidæ, the head never completely acquires the peculiar characteristic form of the head of the amniota, and all these forms are hatched at a relatively much earlier phase of development, so that they are leading a free existence at a stage when the embryos of the amniota are not yet hatched. the only ichthyopsidan type with a head like that of the amniota is the elasmobranchii, and the elasmobranchii are the only ichthyopsida which undergo the major part of their development within the egg. these considerations appear to shew that the peculiar characters of the embryonic head above alluded to are in some way connected with an embryonic as opposed to a larval development; and for reasons which are explained in the section on larval forms, it is probable that a larval development is a more faithful record of ancestral history than an embryonic development. the flexure at the base of the brain appears however to be a typical vertebrate character, but this flexure never led to a conformation of the head in the adult state similar to that of the embryos of the amniota. the form of the head in these embryos is probably to be explained by supposing that some advantage is gained by a relatively early development of the brain, which appears to be its proximate cause; and since these embryos had not to lead a free existence (for which such a form of the head would have been unsuited) there was nothing to interfere with the action of natural selection in bringing about this form of head during foetal life. postanal gut and neurenteric canal. one of the most remarkable structures in the trunk is the postanal gut (fig. ). its structure is fully dealt with in the chapter on the alimentary tract, but attention may here be called to the light which it appears to throw on the characters of the ancestor of the chordata. in face of the facts which are known with reference to the postanal section of the alimentary tract, it can hardly be doubted that this portion of the alimentary tract must have been at one time functional. this seems to me to be shewn ( ) by the constancy and persistence of this obviously now functionless rudiment, ( ) by its greater development in the lower than in the higher forms, ( ) by its relation to the formation of the notochord and subnotochordal rod. [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _l._ liver; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _pn._ pineal gland.] if the above position be admitted, it is not permissible to shirk the conclusions which seem necessarily to follow, however great the difficulties may be which are involved in their acceptance. these conclusions have in part already been dealt with by dohrn in his suggestive tract (no. ). in the first place the alimentary canal must primitively have been continued to the end of the tail; and if so, it is hardly credible that the existing anus can have been the original one. although, therefore, it is far from easy, on the physiological principles involved in the darwinian theory, to understand the formation of a new anus[ ]; it is nevertheless necessary to believe that the present vertebrate anus is a formation acquired within the group of the chordata, and not inherited from some older group. this involves a series of further consequences. the opening of the urinogenital ducts into the cloaca must also be secondary, and it is probable that the segmental tubes were primitively continued along the whole postanal region of the vertebrate tail, opening into the body cavity which embryology proves to have been originally present there. they are in fact continued in many existing forms for some distance behind the present anus. if the present anus is secondary, there must have been a primitive anus, which was probably situated behind the postanal vesicle; and therefore in the region of the neurenteric canal. the neurenteric canal is, however, the remnant of the blastopore (_vide_ p. ). it follows, therefore, _that the vertebrate blastopore is probably almost, if not exactly identical in position with the primitive anus_. this consideration may assist in explaining the remarkable phenomenon of the existence of the neurenteric canal. the attempt has already been made to shew that the central canal of the nervous system is really a groove converted into a tube and lined by the external epidermis. this tube (as may be concluded from embryological considerations) was probably at first open posteriorly, and no doubt terminated at the primitive anus. on the closure of the primitive anal opening, the terminal portions of the postanal gut and the neural tube, may conceivably have been so placed that both of them opened into a common cavity, which previously had communication with the exterior by the anus. such an arrangement would necessarily result in the formation of a neurenteric canal. it seems not impossible that a dilated vesicle, often present at the end of the postanal gut (_vide_ fig. *, p. ), may have been the common cavity into which both neural and alimentary tubes opened[ ]. till further light is thrown by fresh discoveries upon the primitive condition of the posterior continuation of the vertebrate alimentary tract, it is perhaps fruitless to attempt to work out more in detail the above speculation. [ ] dohrn (no. , p. ) gives an explanation of the origin of the new anus which does not appear to me quite satisfactory. [ ] as pointed out in vol. ii. p. , there is a striking similarity between the history of the neurenteric canal in vertebrates, and the history of the blastopore and ventral groove as described by kowalevsky in the larva of chiton. mr a. sedgwick has pointed out to me that the ciliated ventral groove in protoneomenia, which contains the anus, is probably the homologue of the groove found in the larva of chiton, and not, as usually supposed, simply the foot. were this groove to be converted into a canal, on the sides of which were placed the nervous cords, there would be formed a precisely similar neurenteric canal to that in vertebrata, though i do not mean to suggest that there is any homology between the two (_vide_ hubrecht, _zool. anzeiger_, , p. ). body cavity and mesoblastic somites. the chordata, or at least the most primitive existing members of the group, are characterized by the fact that the body cavity arises as a pair of outgrowths of the archenteric cavity. this feature[ ] in the development is a nearly certain indication that the chordata are a very primitive stock. the most remarkable point with reference to the development of the two outgrowths is, however, the fact that the dorsal part of each outgrowth becomes separated from the ventral. its walls become _segmented_ and form the mesoblastic somites, which eventually, on the obliteration of their cavity, give rise to the muscle-plates and to the tissue surrounding the notochord. it is not easy to understand the full significance of the processes concerned in the formation of the mesoblastic somites (_vide_ p. ). the mesoblastic somites have no doubt a striking resemblance to the mesoblastic somites of the chætopods, and most probably the segmentation of the mesoblast in the two groups is a phenomenon of the same nature; but the difference in origin between the two types of mesoblastic somites is so striking, and the development of the muscular system from them is so dissimilar in the two groups, as to render a direct descent of the chordata from the chætopoda very improbable. the ventral parts of the original outgrowth give rise to the permanent body cavity, which appears originally to have been divided into two parts by a dorsal and a ventral mesentery. [ ] _vide_ the chapter on the germinal layers. the notochord. the most characteristic organ of the chordata is without doubt the notochord. the ontogenetic development of this organ probably indicates that it arose as a differentiation of the dorsal wall of the archenteron; at the same time it is not perhaps safe to lay too much stress upon its mode of development. embryological and anatomical evidence demonstrate, however, in the clearest manner that the early chordata were provided with this organ as their sole axial skeleton; and no invertebrate group can fairly be regarded as genetically related to the chordata till it can be shewn to possess some organ either derived from a notochord, or capable of having become developed into a notochord. no such organ has as yet been recognized in any invertebrate group[ ]. [ ] in the chætopods various organs have been interpreted as rudiments of a notochord, but none of these interpretations will bear examination. gill-clefts. the gill-clefts, which are essentially pouches of the throat opening externally, constitute extremely characteristic organs of the chordata, and have always been taken into consideration in any comparison between the chordata and the invertebrata. amongst the invertebrata organs of undoubtedly the same nature are, so far as i know, only found in balanoglossus, where they were discovered by kowalevsky. the resemblance in this case is very striking; but although it is quite possible that the gill-clefts in balanoglossus are genetically connected with those of the chordata, yet the organization of balanoglossus is as a whole so different from that of the chordata that no comparison can be instituted between the two groups in the present state of our knowledge. other organs of the invertebrata have some resemblance to the gill-clefts. the lateral pits of the nemertines, which appear to grow out as a pair of oesophageal diverticula, which are eventually placed in communication with the exterior by a pair of ciliated canals (_vide_ vol. ii. pp. and ), are such organs. semper (no. ) has made the interesting discovery that in the budding of nais and chætogaster two lateral masses of cells, in each of which a lumen may be formed, unite with the oral invagination and primitive alimentary canal to form the permanent cephalic gut. the lateral masses of cells are regarded by him as branchial passages homologous in some way with those in the chordata. the somewhat scanty observations on this subject which he has recorded do not appear to me to lend much support to this interpretation. it is probable that the part of the alimentary tract in which gill-clefts are present was originally a simple unperforated tube provided with highly vascular walls; and that respiration was carried on in it by the alternate introduction and expulsion of sea water. a more or less similar mode of respiration has been recently shewn by eisig[ ] to take place in the fore part of the alimentary tract of many chætopods. this part of the alimentary tract was probably provided with paired cæcal pouches with their blind ends in contiguity with the skin. [ ] "ueb. d. vorkommen eines schwimmblasenähnlichen organs bei anneliden." _mittheil. a. d. zool. station zu neapel_, vol. ii. . perforations placing these pouches in communication with the exterior must be supposed to have been formed; and the existence of openings into the alimentary tract at the end of the tentacles of many actiniæ and of the hepatic diverticula of some nudibranchiate molluscs (eolis, &c.[ ]) shews that such perforations may easily be made. on the formation of such perforations the water taken in at the mouth would pass out by them; and the respiration would be localized in the walls of the pouches leading to them, and thus the typical mode of respiration of the chordata would be established. [ ] the openings of the hepatic diverticula through the sacks lined with thread cells are described by hancock and embleton, _ann. and mag. of nat. history_, vol. xv. , p. . von jhering has also recently described these openings (_zool. anzeiger_, no. ) and apparently attributes their discovery to himself. phylogeny of the chordata. it may be convenient to shew in a definite way the bearing of the above speculations on the phylogeny of the chordata. for this purpose, i have drawn up the subjoined table, which exhibits what i believe to be the relationships of the existing groups of the chordata. such a table cannot of course be constructed from embryological data alone, and it does not fall within the scope of this work to defend its parts in detail. mammalia sauropsida | | ----------------------------- | proto-amniota amphibia | | ---------------------------------- | teleostei proto-pentadactyloidei | | ganoidei | ---- dipnoi | | --------------------| proto-ganoidei | |-- holocephali |------- elasmobranchii | proto-gnathostomata | --------------------------| | | _cyclostomata_ proto-vertebrata | --------------------------|------------------------- | | _cephalochorda_ protochordata _urochorda_ in the above table the names printed in large capitals are hypothetical groups. the other groups are all in existence at the present day, but those printed in italics are probably degenerate. the ancestral forms of the chordata, which may be called the protochordata, must be supposed to have had ( ) a notochord as their sole axial skeleton, ( ) a ventral mouth, surrounded by suctorial structures, and ( ) very numerous gill-slits. two degenerate offshoots of this stock still persist in amphioxus (cephalochorda), and the ascidians (urochorda). the direct descendants of the ancestral chordata, were probably a group which may be called the protovertebrata, of which there is no persisting representative. in this group, imperfect neural arches were probably present; and a ventral suctorial mouth without a mandible and maxillæ was still persistent. the branchial clefts had, however, become reduced in number, and were provided with gill-folds; and a secondary head (_vide_ p. ), with brain and organs of sense like those of the higher vertebrata, had become formed. the cyclostomata are probably a degenerate offshoot of this group. with the development of the branchial bars, and the conversion of the mandibular bar into the skeleton of the jaws, we come to the proto-gnathostomata. the nearest living representatives of this group are the elasmobranchii, which still retain in the adult state the ventrally placed mouth. owing to the development of food-yolk in the elasmobranch ovum the early stages of development are to some extent abbreviated, and almost all trace of a stage with a suctorial mouth has become lost. we next come to an hypothetical group which we may call the proto-ganoidei. bridge, in his memoir on polyodon[ ], which contains some very interesting speculations on the affinities of the ganoids, has called this group the pneumatocoela, from the fact that we find for the first time a full development of the air-bladder, though it is possible that a rudiment of this organ, in the form of a pouch opening on the dorsal side of the stomachic extremity of the oesophagus, was present in the earlier type. [ ] _phil. trans._ . part ii. existing ganoids are descendants of the proto-ganoidei. some of them at all events retain in larval life the suctorial mouth of the protovertebrata; and the mode of formation of their germinal layers, resembling as it does that in the lamprey and the amphibia, probably indicates that they are not descended from forms with a large food-yolk like that of elasmobranchii, and that the latter group is therefore a lateral offshoot from the main line of descent. of the two groups into which the ganoidei may be divided it is clear that certain members of the one (telcostoidei), viz. lepidosteus and amia, shew approximations to the teleostei, which no doubt originated from the ganoids; while the other (selachoidei or sturiones) is more nearly related to the dipnoi. polypterus has also marked affinities in this direction, _e.g._ the external gills of the larva (_vide_ p. ). the teleostei, which have in common a meroblastic segmentation, had probably a ganoid ancestor, the ova of which were provided with a large amount of food-yolk. in most existing teleostei, the ovum has become again reduced in size, but the meroblastic segmentation has been preserved. it is quite possible that amia may also be a descendant of the ganoid ancestor of the teleostei; but lepidosteus, as shewn by its complete segmentation, is clearly not so. the dipnoi as well as all the higher vertebrata are descendants of the proto-ganoidei. the character of the limbs of higher vertebrata indicates that there was an ancestral group, which may be called the proto-pentadactyloidei, in which the pentadactyle limb became established; and that to this group the common ancestor of the amphibia and amniota belonged. it is possible that the plesiosauri and ichthyosauri of mesozoic times may have been more nearly related to this group than either to the amniota or the amphibia. the proto-pentadactyloidei were probably much more closely related to the amphibia than to the amniota. they certainly must have been capable of living in water as well as on land, and had of course persistent branchial clefts. it is also fairly certain that they were not provided with large-yolked ova, otherwise the mode of formation of the layers in amphibia could not be easily explained. the mammalia and sauropsida are probably independent offshoots from a common stem which may be called the protoamniota. bibliography. ( ) f. m. balfour. _a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_. london, . ( ) a. dohrn. _der ursprung d. wirbelthiere und d. princip. d. functionswechsel._ leipzig, . ( ) e. haeckel. _schöpfungsgeschichte._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _the history of creation._ king and co., london, . ( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _anthropogeny._ kegan paul and co., london, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. amphioxus lanceolatus." _mém. acad. d. scien. st pétersbourg_, ser. vii. tom. xi. , and _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere stud. üb. d. entwick. d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) c. semper. "die stammesverwandschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) c. semper. "die verwandschaftbeziehungen d. gegliederten thiere." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. iii. - . chapter xiii. general conclusions. i. the mode of origin and homologies of the germinal layers. it has already been shewn in the earlier chapters of the work that during the first phases of development the history of all the metazoa is the same. they all originate from the coalescence of two cells, the ovum and spermatozoon. the coalesced product of these cells--the fertilized ovum--then undergoes a process known as the segmentation, in the course of which it becomes divided in typical cases into a number of uniform cells. an attempt was made from the point of view of evolution to explain these processes. the ovum and spermatozoon were regarded as representing phylogenetically two physiologically differentiated forms of a protozoon; their coalescence was equivalent to conjugation: the subsequent segmentation of the fertilized ovum was the multiplication by division of the organism resulting from the conjugation; the resulting organisms, remaining, however, united to form a fresh organism in a higher state of aggregation. in the systematic section of this work the embryological history of the metazoa has been treated. the present chapter contains a review of the cardinal features of the various histories, together with an attempt to determine how far there are any points common to the whole of these histories; and the phylogenetic interpretation to be given to such points. some years ago it appeared probable that a definite answer would be given to the questions which must necessarily be raised in the present chapter; but the results of the extended investigations made during the last few years have shewn that these expectations were premature, and in spite of the numerous recent valuable contributions to this branch of embryology, amongst which special attention may be called to those of kowalevsky (no. ), lankester (nos. and ), and haeckel (no. ), there are few embryologists who would venture to assert that any answers which can be given are more than tentative gropings towards the truth. in the following pages i aim more at summarising the facts, and critically examining the different theories which can be held, than at dogmatically supporting any definite views of my own. in all the metazoa, the development of which has been investigated, the first process of differentiation, which follows upon the segmentation, consists in the cells of the organism becoming divided into two groups or layers, known respectively as epiblast and hypoblast. these two layers were first discovered in the young embryos of vertebrated animals by pander and von baer, and have been since known as the germinal layers, though their cellular nature was not at first recognised. they were shewn, together with a third layer, or mesoblast, which subsequently appears between them, to bear throughout the vertebrata constant relations to the organs which became developed from them. a very great step was subsequently made by remak (no. ), who successfully worked out the problem of vertebrate embryology on the cellular theory. rathke in his memoir on the development of astacus (no. ) attempted at a very early period to extend the doctrine of the derivation of the organs from the germinal layers to the invertebrata. in huxley made an important step towards the explanation of the nature of these layers by comparing them with the ectoderm and endoderm of the hydrozoa; while the brilliant researches of kowalevsky on the development of a great variety of invertebrate forms formed the starting point of the current views on this subject. the differentiation of the epiblast and hypoblast may commence during the later phases of the segmentation, but is generally not completed till after its termination. not only do the cells of the blastoderm become differentiated into two layers, but these two layers, in the case of a very large number of ova with but little food-yolk, constitute a double-walled sack--the gastrula (fig. )--the characters of which are too well known to require further description. following the lines of phylogenetic speculation above indicated, it may be concluded that the two-layered condition of the organism represents in a general way the passage from the protozoon to the metazoon condition. it is probable that we may safely go further, and assert that the gastrula reproduces, with more or less fidelity, a stage in the evolution of the metazoa, permanent in the simpler hydrozoa, during which the organism was provided with ( ) a fully developed digestive cavity (fig. _b_) lined by the hypoblast with digestive and assimilative functions, ( ) an oral opening (_a_), and ( ) a superficial epiblast (_d_). these generalisations, which are now widely accepted, are no doubt very valuable, but they leave unanswered the following important questions: ( ) by what steps did the compound protozoon become differentiated into a metazoon? ( ) are there any grounds for thinking that there is more than one line along which the metazoa have become independently evolved from the protozoa? ( ) to what extent is there a complete homology between the two primary germinal layers throughout the metazoa? [fig. . diagram of a gastrula. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ mouth; _b._ archenteron; _c._ hypoblast; _d._ epiblast.] ontogenetically there is a great variety of processes by which the passage from the segmented ovum to the two-layered or diploblastic condition is arrived at. these processes may be grouped under the following heads: . invagination. under this term a considerable number of closely connected processes are included. when the segmentation results in the formation of a blastosphere, one half of the blastosphere may be pushed in towards the opposite half, and a gastrula be thus produced (fig. , a and b). this process is known as embolic invagination. another process, known as epibolic invagination, consists in epiblast cells growing round and enclosing the hypoblast (fig. ). this process replaces the former process when the hypoblast cells are so bulky from being distended by food-yolk that their invagination is mechanically impossible. [fig. . two stages in the development of holothuria tubulosa, viewed in optical section. (after selenka.) a. stage at the close of segmentation. b. gastrula stage. _mr._ micropyle; _fl._ chorion; _s.c._ segmentation cavity; _bl._ blastoderm; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ms._ amoeboid cells derived from hypoblast; _a.e._ archenteron.] there are various peculiar modifications of invagination which cannot be dealt with in detail. invagination in one form or other occurs in some or all the members of the following groups: [fig. . transverse section through the ovum of euaxes during an early stage of development, to shew the nature of epibolic invagination. (after kowalevsky.) _ep._ epiblast; _ms._ mesoblastic band; _hy._ hypoblast.] the dicyemidæ, calcispongiæ (after the amphiblastula stage) and silicispongiæ, coelenterata, turbellaria, nemertea, rotifera, mollusca, polyzoa, brachiopoda, chætopoda, discophora, gephyrea, chætognatha, nematelminthes, crustacea, echinodermata, and chordata. the gastrula of the crustacea is peculiar, as is also that of many of the chordata (reptilia, aves, mammalia), but there is every reason to suppose that the gastrulæ of these groups are simply modifications of the normal type. . delamination. three types of delamination may be distinguished: _a._ delamination where the cells of a solid morula become divided into a superficial epiblast, and a central solid mass in which the digestive cavity is subsequently hollowed out (fig. ). [fig. . two stages in the development of stephanomia pictum, to illustrate the formation of the layers by delamination. (after metschnikoff.) a. stage after the delamination; _ep._ epiblastic invagination to form pneumatocyst. b. later stage after the formation of the gastric cavity in the solid hypoblast. _po._ polypite; _t._ tentacle; _pp._ pneumatocyst; _ep._ epiblast of pneumatocyst; _hy._ hypoblast surrounding pneumatocyst.] _b._ delamination where the segmented ovum has the form of a blastosphere, the cells of which give rise by budding to scattered cells in the interior of the vesicle, which, though they may at first form a solid mass, finally arrange themselves in the form of a definite layer around a central digestive cavity (fig. ). _c._ delamination where the segmented ovum has the form of a blastosphere in the cells of which the protoplasm is differentiated into an inner and an outer part. by a subsequent process the inner parts of the cells become separated from the outer, and the walls of the blastosphere are so divided into two distinct layers (fig. ). although the third of these processes is usually regarded as the type of delamination, it does not, so far as i know, occur in nature, but is most nearly approached in geryonia (fig. ). the first type of delamination is found in the ceratospongiæ, some silicispongiæ (?), and in many hydrozoa and actinozoa, and in nemertea and nematelminthes (_gordioidea?_). the second type occurs in many porifera [_calcispongiæ_ (_ascetta_), _myxospongiæ_], and in some coelenterata, and brachiopoda (_thecidium_). [fig. . three larval stages of eucope polystyla. (after kowalevsky.) a. blastosphere stage with hypoblast spheres becoming budded off into central cavity. b. planula stage with solid hypoblast. c. planula stage with a gastric cavity. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _al._ gastric cavity.] delamination and invagination are undoubtedly the two most frequent modes in which the layers are differentiated, but there are in addition several others. in the first place the whole of the tracheata (with the apparent exception of the scorpion) develop, so far as is known, on a plan peculiar to them, which approaches delamination. this consists in the appearance of a superficial layer of cells enclosing a central yolk mass, which corresponds to the hypoblast (figs. and ). this mode of development might be classed under delamination, were it not for the fact that the early development of many crustacea is almost the same, but is subsequently followed by an invagination (fig. ), which apparently corresponds to the normal invagination of other types. there are strong grounds for thinking that the tracheate type of formation of the epiblast and hypoblast is a _secondary modification of an invaginate type_ (_vide_ vol. ii. p. ). [fig. . diagrammatic figures shewing the delamination of the embryo of geryonia. (after fol.) a. stage at the commencement of the delamination; the dotted lines _x_ shew the course of the next planes of division. b. stage at the close of the delamination. _cs._ segmentation cavity; _a._ endoplasm; _b._ ectoplasm; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . segmentation and formation of the blastoderm in chelifer. (after metschnikoff.) in a the ovum is divided into a number of separate segments. in b a number of small cells have appeared (_bl_) which form a blastoderm enveloping the large yolk-spheres. in c the blastoderm has become divided into two layers.] the type of some turbellaria (_stylochopsis ponticus_) and that of nephelis amongst the discophora is not capable of being reduced to the invaginate type. the development of almost all the parasitic groups, _i.e._ the trematoda, the cestoda, the acanthocephala, and the linguatulida, and also of the tardigrada, pycnogonida, and other minor groups, is too imperfectly known to be classed with either the delaminate or invaginate types. it will, i think, be conceded on all sides that, if any of the ontogenetic processes by which a gastrula form is reached are repetitions of the process by which a simple two-layered gastrula was actually evolved from a compound protozoon, these processes are most probably of the nature either of invagination or of delamination. the much disputed questions which have been raised about the gastrula and planula theories, originally put forward by haeckel and lankester, resolve themselves then into the simple question, whether any, and if so which, of the ontogenetic processes by which the gastrula is formed are repetitions of the phylogenetic origin of the gastrula. it is very difficult to bring forward arguments of a conclusive kind in favour of either of these processes. the fact that delaminate and invaginate gastrulæ are in several instances found coexisting in the same group renders it certain that there are not two independent phyla of the metazoa, derived respectively from an invaginate and a delaminate gastrula[ ]. [ ] it is not difficult to picture a possible derivation of delamination from invagination; while a comparison of the formation of the inner layers (mesoblast and hypoblast) in ascetta (amongst the sponges), and in the echinodermata, shews a very simple way in which it is possible to conceive of a passage of delamination into invagination. in ascetta the cells, which give rise to the mesoblast and hypoblast, are budded off from the inner wall of the blastosphere, especially at one point; while in echinodermata (fig. ) there is a small invaginated sack which gives rise to the hypoblast, while from the walls of this sack amoeboid cells are budded off which give rise to a large part of the mesoblast. if we suppose the hypoblast cells budded off at one point in ascetta gradually to form an invaginated sack, while the mesoblast cells continued to be budded off as before, we should pass from the delaminate type of ascetta to the invaginate type of an echinoderm. the four most important cases in which the two processes coexist are the porifera, the coelenterata, the nemertea, and the brachiopoda. in the cases of the porifera and coelenterata, there do not appear to me to be any means of deciding which of these processes is derived from the other; but in the nemertea and the brachiopoda the case is different. in all the types of nemertea in which the development is relatively not abbreviated there is an invaginate gastrula, while in the types with a greatly abbreviated development there is a delaminate gastrula. it would seem to follow from this that a delaminate gastrula has here been a secondary result of an abbreviation in the development. in the brachiopoda, again, the majority of types develop by a process of invagination, while thecidium appears to develop by delamination; here also the delaminate type would appear to be secondarily derived from the invaginate. if these considerations are justified, delamination must be in some instances secondarily derived from invagination; and this fact is so far an argument in favour of the more primitive nature of invagination; though it by no means follows that in the invaginate process the steps by which the metazoa were derived from the protozoa are preserved. it does not, therefore, seem possible to decide conclusively in favour of either of these processes by a comparison of the cases where they occur in the same groups. the relative frequency of the two processes supplies us with another possible means for deciding between them; and there is no doubt that here again the scale inclines towards invagination. it must, however, be borne in mind that the frequency of the process of invagination admits of another possible explanation. there is a continual tendency for the processes of development to be abbreviated and simplified, and it is quite possible that the frequent occurrence of invagination is due to the fact of its being, in most cases, the simplest means by which the two-layered condition can be reached. but this argument can have but little weight until it can be shewn in each case that invagination is a simpler process than delamination; and it is rendered improbable by the cases already mentioned in which delamination has been secondarily derived from invagination. if it were the case that the blastopore had _in all types_ the same relation to the adult mouth, there would be strong grounds for regarding the invaginate gastrula as an ancestral form; but the fact that this is by no means so is an argument of great weight in favour of some other explanation of the frequency of invagination. the force of this consideration can best be displayed by a short summary of the fate of the blastopore in different forms. the fate of the blastopore is so variable that it is difficult even to classify the cases which have been described. ( ) it becomes the permanent mouth in the following forms[ ]: _coelenterata._--pelagia, cereanthus. _turbellaria._--leptoplana (?), thysanozoon. _nemertea._--pilidium, larvæ of the type of desor. _mollusca._--in numerous examples of most molluscan groups, except the cephalopoda. _chætopoda._--most oligochæta, and probably many polychæta. _gephyrea._--phascolosoma, phoronis. _nematelminthes._--cucullanus. ( ) it closes in the position where the mouth is subsequently formed. _coelenterata._--ctenophora (?). _mollusca._--in numerous examples of most molluscan groups, except the cephalopoda. _crustacea._--cirripedia (?), some cladocera (moina) (?). ( ) it becomes the permanent anus. _mollusca._--paludina. _chætopoda._--serpula and some other types. _echinodermata._--almost universally, except amongst the crinoidea. ( ) it closes in the position where the anus is subsequently formed. _echinodermata._--crinoidea. ( ) it closes in a position which does not correspond or is not known to correspond[ ] either with the future mouth or anus.--_porifera_--sycandra. _coelenterata_--chrysaora*, aurelia*. _nemertea*_--some larvæ which develop without a metamorphosis. _rotifera*. mollusca_--cephalopoda. _polyzoa*._ _brachiopoda_--argiope, terebratula, terebratulina. _chætopoda_--euaxes. _discophora_--clepsine. _gephyrea_--bonellia*. _chætognatha. crustacea_--decapoda. _chordata._ [ ] the above list is somewhat tentative; and future investigations will probably shew that many of the statements at present current about the position of the blastopore are inaccurate. [ ] the forms in which the position of the blastopore in relation to the mouth or anus is not known are marked with an asterisk. the forms which have been classed together under the last heading vary considerably in the character of the blastopore. in some cases the fact of its not coinciding either with the mouth or anus appears to be due simply to the presence of a large amount of food-yolk. the cases of the cephalopoda, of euaxes, and perhaps of clepsine and bonellia, are to be explained in this way: in the case of all these forms, except bonellia, the blastopore has the form of an elongated slit along the ventral surface. this type of blastopore is characteristic of the mollusca generally, of the polyzoa, of the nematelminthes, and very possibly of the chætopoda and discophora. in the chætognatha (fig. b) the blastopore is situated, so far as can be determined, behind the future anus. in many decapoda the blastopore is placed behind, but not far from, the anus. in the chordata it is also placed posteriorly to the anus, and, remarkably enough, remains, in a large number of forms, for some time in connection with the neural tube by a neurenteric canal. the great variations in the character of the gastrula, indicated in the above summary, go far to shew that if the gastrulæ, as we find them in most types, have any ancestral characters, these characters can only be of the most general kind. this may best be shewn by the consideration of a few striking instances. the blastopore in mollusca has an elongated slit-like form, extending along the ventral surface from the mouth to the anus. in echinodermata it is a narrow pore, remaining as the anus. in most chætopoda it is a pore remaining as the mouth, but in some as the anus. in chordata it is a posteriorly-placed pore, opening into both the archenteron and the neural canal. it is clearly out of the question to explain all these differences as having connection with the characters of ancestral forms. many of them can only be accounted for as secondary adaptations for the convenience of development. the epibolic gastrula of mammalia (_vide_ pp. and ) is a still more striking case of a secondary embryonic process, and is not directly derived from the gastrula of the lower chordata. it probably originated in connection with the loss of food-yolk which took place on the establishment of a placental nutrition for the foetus. the epibolic gastrula of the scorpion, of isopods, and of other arthropoda, seems also to be a derived gastrula. these instances of secondary gastrulæ are very probably by no means isolated, and should serve as a warning against laying too much stress upon the frequency of the occurrence of invagination. the great influence of the food-yolk upon the early development might be illustrated by numerous examples, especially amongst the chordata (_vide_ chapter xi.). if the descendants of a form with a large amount of food-yolk in its ova were to produce ova with but little food-yolk, the type of formation of the germinal layers which would thereby result would be by no means the same as that of the ancestors of the forms with much food-yolk, but would probably be something very different, as in the case of mammalia. yet amongst the countless generations of ancestors of most existing forms, such oscillations in the amount of the food-yolk must have occurred in a large number of instances. the whole of the above considerations point towards the view that the formation of the hypoblast by invagination, as it occurs in most forms at the present day, can have in many instances no special phylogenetic significance, and that the argument from frequency, in favour of invagination as opposed to delamination, is not of prime importance. a third possible method of deciding between delamination and invagination is to be found in the consideration as to which of these processes occurs in the most primitive forms. if there were any agreement amongst primitive forms as to the type of their development this argument might have some weight. on the whole, delamination is, no doubt, characteristic of many primitive types, but the not infrequent occurrence of invagination in both the coelenterata and the porifera--the two groups which would on all hands be admitted to be amongst the most primitive--deprives this argument of much of the value it might otherwise have. to sum up--considering the almost indisputable fact that both the processes above dealt with have in many instances had a purely secondary origin, no valid arguments can be produced to shew that either of them reproduces the mode of passage between the protozoa and the ancestral two-layered metazoa. these conclusions do not, however, throw any doubt upon the fact that the gastrula, however evolved, was a primitive form of the metazoa; since this conclusion is founded upon the actual existence of adult gastrula forms independently of their occurrence in development. [fig. . diagram shewing the formation of a gastrula by delamination. (from lankester.) fig. , ovum; fig. , stage in segmentation; fig. , commencement of delamination after the appearance of a central cavity; fig. , delamination completed, mouth forming at _m._ in figs. , , and , _ec._ is ectoplasm, and _en._ is endoplasm. in fig. , _ec._ is epiblast, and _en._ hypoblast. _e._ and _f._ food particles.] though embryology does not at present furnish us with a definite answer to the question how the metazoa became developed from the protozoa, it is nevertheless worth while reviewing some of the processes by which this can be conceived to have occurred. on purely _à priori_ grounds there is in my opinion more to be said for invagination than for any other view. on this view we may suppose that the colony of protozoa in the course of conversion into metazoa had the form of a blastosphere; and that at one pole of this a depression appeared. the cells lining this depression we may suppose to have been amoeboid, and to have carried on the work of digestion; while the remaining cells were probably ciliated. the digestion may be supposed to have been at first carried on in the interior of the cells, as in the protozoa; but, as the depression became deeper (in order to increase the area of nutritive cells and to retain the food) a digestive secretion probably became poured out from the cells lining it, and the mode of digestion generally characteristic of the metazoa was thereby inaugurated. it may be noted that an intracellular protozoon type of digestion persists in the porifera, and appears also to occur in many coelenterata, turbellaria, &c., though in most of these cases both kinds of digestion probably go on simultaneously[ ]. [ ] j. parker, "on the histology of _hydra fusca_," _quart. journ. micr. science_, vol. xx. ; and el. metschnikoff, "ueb. die intracelluläre verdauung bei coelenteraten," _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , vol. iii. and lankester, "on the intracellular digestion and endoderm of limnocodium," _quart. journ. micr. science_, vol. xxi. . another hypothetical mode of passage, which fits in with delamination, has been put forward by lankester, and is illustrated by fig. . he supposes that at the blastosphere stage the fluid in the centre of the colony acquired special digestive properties; the inner ends of the cells having at this stage somewhat different properties from the outer, and the food being still incepted by the surface of the cells (fig. , ). in a later stage of the process the inner portions of the cells became separated off as the hypoblast; while the food, though still ingested in the form of solid particles by the superficial cells, was carried through the protoplasm into the central digestive cavity. later (fig. , ), the point where the food entered became localised, and eventually a mouth became formed at this point. the main objection which can be raised against lankester's view is that it presupposes a type of delamination which does not occur in nature except in geryonia. metschnikoff has propounded a third view with reference to delamination. he starts as before with a ciliated blastosphere. he next supposes the cells from the walls of this to become budded off into the central cavity, as in eucope (fig. ), and to lose their cilia. these cells give rise to an internal parenchyma, which carries on an intracellular digestion. at a later stage a central digestive cavity is supposed to be formed. this view of the passage from the protozoon to the metazoon state, though to my mind improbable in itself, fits in very well with the ontogeny of the lower hydrozoa. another view has been put forward by myself in the chapter on the porifera[ ], to the effect that the amphiblastula larva of calcispongiæ may be a transitional form between the protozoa and the metazoa, composed of a hemisphere of nutritive amoeboid cells, and a hemisphere of ciliated cells. the absence of such a larval form in the coelenterata and higher metazoa is opposed, however, to this larva being regarded as a transitional form, except for the porifera. [ ] vol. ii. p. . it is obvious that so long as there is complete uncertainty as to the value to be attached to the early developmental processes, it is not possible to decide from these processes whether there is only a single metazoon phylum or whether there may not be two or more such phyla. at the same time there appear to be strong arguments for regarding the porifera as a phylum of the metazoa derived independently from the protozoa. this seems to me to be shewn ( ) by the striking larval peculiarities of the porifera; ( ) by the early development of the mesoblast in the porifera, which stands in strong contrast to the absence of this layer in the embryos of most coelenterata; and above all, ( ) by the remarkable characters of the system of digestive channels. a further argument in the same direction is supplied by the fact that the germinal layers of the sponges very probably do not correspond physiologically to the germinal layers of other types. the embryological evidence is insufficient to decide whether the amphiblastula larva is, as suggested above, to be regarded as the larval ancestor of the porifera. homologies of the germinal layers. the question as to how far there is a complete homology between the two primary germinal layers throughout the metazoa was the third of the questions proposed to be discussed here. since there are some metazoa with only two germinal layers, and other metazoa with three, and since, as is shewn in the following section, the third layer or mesoblast can only be regarded as a derivative of one or both the primary layers, it is clear that a complete homology between the two primary germinal layers does not exist. that there is a general homology appears on the other hand hardly open to doubt. the primary layers are usually continuous with each other, near one or both (when both are present) the openings of the alimentary tract. as a rule an oral and anal section of the alimentary tract--the stomodæum and proctodæum--are derived from the epiblast; but the limits of both these sections are so variable, sometimes even in closely allied forms, that it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that there is a border-land between the epiblast and hypoblast, which appears by its development to belong in some forms to the epiblast and in other forms to the hypoblast. if this is not the case it is necessary to admit that there are instances in which a very large portion of the alimentary canal is phylogenetically an epiblastic structure. in some of the isopods, for example, the stomodæum and proctodæum give rise to almost the whole of the alimentary canal with its appendages, except the liver. the origin of the mesoblast. a diploblastic condition of the organism preceded, as we have seen, the triploblastic. the epiblast during the diploblastic condition was, as appears from such forms as hydra, especially the sensory and protective layer, while the hypoblast was the secretory and assimilating layer; both layers giving rise to muscular elements. it must not, however, be supposed that in the early diploblastic ancestors there was a complete differentiation of function, but there is reason to think that both the primary layers retained an indefinite capacity for developing into any form of tissue[ ]. the fact of the triploblastic condition being later than the diploblastic proves in a conclusive way that the mesoblast is a derivative of one or both the primary layers. in the coelenterata we can study the actual origin from the two primary layers of various forms of tissue which in the higher types are derived from the mesoblast[ ]. this fact, as well as general _à priori_ considerations, conclusively prove that the mesoblast did not at first originate as a mass of independent cells between the two primary layers, but that in the first instance it gradually arose as differentiations of the two layers, and that its condition in the embryo as an independent layer of undifferentiated cells is a secondary condition, brought about by the general tendency towards a simplification of development, and a retardation of histological differentiation[ ]. [ ] the hertwigs (no. ) have for instance shewn that nervous structures are developed in the hypoblast in the actinozoa and other coelenterata. [ ] there is considerable confusion in the use of the names for the embryonic layers. in some cases various tissues formed by differentiations of the primary layers have been called mesoblast. schultze, and more recently the hertwigs, have pointed out the inconvenience of this nomenclature. in the case of the coelenterata it is difficult to decide in certain instances (_e.g._ sympodium) whether the cells which give rise to a particular tissue of the adult are to be regarded as forming a mesoblast, _i.e._ a middle undifferentiated layer of cells, or whether they arise as already histologically differentiated elements from one of the primary layers. the attempt to distinguish by a special nomenclature the epiblast and hypoblast after and before the separation of the mesoblast, which has been made by allen thomson (no. ), appears incapable of being consistently applied, though it is convenient to distinguish a primary and a secondary hypoblast. a proposal of the hertwigs to adopt special names for the outer and inner limiting membranes of the adult, and for the interposed mass of organs, appears to me unnecessary. [ ] the causes which give rise to a retardation of histological differentiation will be dealt with in the second part of this chapter which deals with larval characters and larval forms. the hertwigs have recently attempted (no. ) to distinguish two types of differentiation of the mesoblast, viz. ( ) a direct differentiation from the primitive epithelial cells; ( ) a differentiation from primitively indifferent cells budded off into the gelatinous matter between the two primary layers. it is quite possible that this distinction may be well founded, but no conclusive evidence of the occurrence of the second process has yet been adduced. the ctenophora are the type upon which special stress is laid, but the early passage of amoeboid cells into the gelatinous tissue, which subsequently become muscular, is very probably an embryonic abbreviation; and it is quite possible that these cells may phylogenetically have originated from epithelial cells provided with contractile processes passing through the gelatinous tissue. the conversion of non-embryonic connective-tissue cells into muscle cells in the higher types has been described, but very much more evidence is required before it can be accepted as a common occurrence. in addition to the probably degraded dicyemidæ and orthonectidæ, the coelenterata are the only group in which a true mesoblast is not always present. in other words, the coelenterata are the only group in which there is not found in the embryo an undifferentiated group of cells from which the majority of the organs situated between the epidermis and the alimentary epithelium are developed. the organs invariably derived, in the triploblastic forms, from the mesoblast, are the vascular and lymphatic systems, the muscular system, and the greater part of the connective tissue and the excretory and generative (?) systems. on the other hand, the nervous systems (with a few possible exceptions) and organs of sense, the epithelium of most glands, and a few exceptional connective-tissue organs, as for example the notochord, are developed from the two primary layers. the fact of the first-named set of organs being invariably derived from the mesoblast points to the establishment of the two following propositions:--( ) that with the differentiation of the mesoblast as a distinct layer by the process already explained, the two primary layers lost for the most part the capacity they primitively possessed of giving rise to muscular and connective-tissue differentiations[ ], to the epithelium of the excretory organs, and to generative cells. ( ) that the mesoblast throughout the triploblastic metazoa, in so far as these forms have sprung from a common triploblastic ancestor, is an homologous structure. [ ] the connective-tissue test of the tunicata, though derived from the epiblast, is not really an example of such a differentiation. the second proposition follows from the first. the mesoblast can only have ceased to be homologous throughout the triploblastica by additions from the two primary layers, and the existence of such additions is negatived by the first proposition. these two propositions, which hang together, are possibly only approximately true, since it is quite possible that future investigations may shew that differentiations of the two primary layers are not so rare as has been hitherto imagined. ranvier[ ] finds that the muscles of the sweat-glands are developed from the inner part of the layer of epiblast cells, invaginated to form these glands. [ ] m. l. ranvier. "sur la structure des glandes sudoripares." _comptes rendus_, dec. , . götte[ ] describes the epiblast cells of the larva of comatula as being at a certain stage contractile and compares them with the epithelio-muscular cells of hydra. these cells would appear subsequently to be converted into a simple cuticular structure. [ ] a. götte, "vergleich. entwick. d. comatula mediterranea." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xii. p. . it is moreover quite possible that fresh differentiations from the two primary layers may have arisen after the triploblastic condition had been established, and by the process of simplification of development and precocious segregation, as lankester calls it, have become indistinguishable from the normal mesoblast. in spite of these exceptions it is probable that the major part of the muscular system of all existing triploblastic forms has been differentiated from the muscular system of the ancestor or ancestors (if there is more than one phylum) of the triploblastica. in the case of other tissues there are a few instances which might be regarded as examples of an organ primitively developed in one of the two primary layers having become secondarily carried into the mesoblast. the notochord has sometimes been cited as such an organ, but, as indicated in a previous chapter, it is probable that its hypoblastic origin can always be demonstrated. [fig. . epibolic gastrula of bonellia. (after spengel.) a. stage when the four hypoblast cells are nearly enclosed. b. stage after the formation of the mesoblast has commenced by an infolding of the lips of the blastopore. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _bl._ blastopore.] the nervous system, although imbedded in mesoblastic derivates in the adults of all the higher triploblastica, retains with marvellous constancy its epiblastic origin (though it is usually separated from the epiblast prior to its histogenic differentiation); yet in the cephalopoda, and some other mollusca, the evidence is in favour of its developing in the mesoblast. should future investigations confirm these conclusions, a good example will be afforded of an organ changing the layer from which it usually develops[ ]. the explanation of such a change would be precisely the same as that already given for the mesoblast as a whole. [ ] the hertwigs hold that there is a distinct part of the nervous system which was at first differentiated in the mesoblast in many types, amongst others the mollusca. the evidence in favour of this view is extremely scanty and the view itself appears to me highly improbable. the actual mode of origin of various tissues, which in the true triploblastic forms arise in mesoblast, can be traced in the coelenterata[ ]. in this group the epiblast and hypoblast both give rise to muscular and connective-tissue elements; and although the main part of the nervous system is formed in the epiblast, it seems certain that in some types nerves may be derived from the hypoblast[ ]. these facts are extremely interesting, but it is by no means certain that any conclusions can be directly drawn from them as to the actual origin of the mesoblast in the triploblastic forms, till we know from what diploblastic forms the triploblastica originated. all that they shew is that any of the constituents of the mesoblast may have originated from either of the primitive layers. [ ] the reader is referred for this subject to the valuable memoirs which have been recently published by the hertwigs, especially to no. . he will find a general account of the subject written before the appearance of the hertwigs' memoir in pp. - of volume ii. of this treatise. [ ] it would be interesting to know the history of the various nervous structures found in the walls of the alimentary tract in the higher forms. i have shewn (_development of elasmobranch fishes_, p. ) that the central part of the sympathetic system is derived from the epiblast. it would however be well to work over the development of auerbach's plexus. [fig. . two transverse sections through embryos of hydrophilus piceus. (after kowalevsky.) a. section through an embryo at the point where the two germinal folds most approximate. b. section through an embryo, in the anterior region where the folds of the amnion have not united. _gg._ germinal groove; _me._ mesoblast; _am._ amnion; _yk._ yolk.] for further light as to the origin of the mesoblast, it is necessary to turn to its actual development. the following summary illustrates the more important modes in which the mesoblast originates. [fig. . figures illustrating the development of astacus. (from parker; after reichenbach.) a. section through part of the ovum during segmentation. _n._ nuclei; _w.y._ white yolk; _y.p._ yolk pyramids; _c._ central yolk mass. b. and c. longitudinal sections of the gastrula stage. _a._ _en._ archenteron; _b._ blastopore; _ms._ mesoblast; _ec._ epiblast; hypoblast, distinguished from epiblast by shading. d. highly magnified view of anterior lip of blastopore, to shew the origin of the primary mesoblast from the wall of the archenteron. _p.ms._ primary mesoblast; _ec._ epiblast; _en._ hypoblast. e. two hypoblast cells to shew the amoeba-like absorption of yolk spheres. _y._ yolk; _n._ nucleus; _p._ pseudopodial process. f. hypoblast cells giving rise endogenously to the secondary mesoblast (_s.ms._); _n._ nucleus.] . it grows inwards from the lips of the blastopore as a pair of bands. in these cases it may originate (_a_) from cells which are clearly hypoblastic, (_b_) from cells which are clearly epiblastic, (_c_) from cells which cannot be regarded as belonging to either layer. mollusca.--gasteropoda, cephalopoda, and lamellibranchiata. in gasteropoda and lamellibranchiata the mesoblast sometimes originates from a pair of cells at the lips of the blastopore, though very probably some of the elements subsequently come from the epiblast; and in cephalopoda it begins as a ring of cells round the edge of the blastoderm. polyzoa entoprocta.--it originates from a pair of cells at the lips of the blastopore. chætopoda.--euaxes. it arises as a ridge of cells at the lips of the blastopore (fig. ). gephyrea.--bonellia. it arises (fig. ) as an infolding of the epiblastic lips of the blastopore. nematelminthes.--cucullanus. it grows backwards from the hypoblast cells at the persistent oral opening of the blastopore. tracheata.--insecta. it grows inwards from the lips of the germinal groove (fig. ), which probably represent the remains of a blastopore. part of the mesoblast is probably also derived from the yolk-cells. a similar though more modified development of the mesoblast occurs in the araneina (fig. ). crustacea.--decapoda. it partly grows in from the hypoblastic lips of the blastopore, and is partly derived from the yolk-cells (fig. ). [fig. . three stages in the development of sagitta. (a. and c. after bütschli, and b. after kowalevsky.) the three embryos are represented in the same positions. a. represents the gastrula stage. b. represents a succeeding stage, in which the primitive archenteron is commencing to be divided into three. c. represents a later stage, in which the mouth involution (_m_) has become continuous with the alimentary tract, and the blastopore has become closed. _m._ mouth; _al._ alimentary canal; _ae._ archenteron; _bl.p._ blastopore; _pv._ perivisceral cavity; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _ge._ generative organs.] . the mesoblast is developed from the walls of hollow outgrowths of the archenteron, the cavities of which become the body cavity. brachiopoda.--the walls of a pair of outgrowths form the whole of the mesoblast. chætognatha.--the mesoblast arises in the same manner as in the brachiopoda (fig. ). echinodermata.--the lining of the peritoneal cavity is developed from the walls of outgrowths of the archenteron, but the greater part of the mesoblast is derived from the amoeboid cells budded off from the walls of the archenteron (fig. ). [fig. . longitudinal section through an embryo of cucumaria doliolum at the end of the fourth day. _vpv._ vaso-peritoneal vesicle; _me._ mesenteron; _blp._, _ptd._ blastopore, proctodæum.] enteropneusta (balanoglossus).--the body cavity is derived from two pairs of alimentary diverticula, the walls of which give rise to the greater part of the mesoblast. chordata.--paired archenteric outgrowths give rise to the whole mesoblast in amphioxus (fig. ), and the mode of formation of the mesoblast in other chordata is probably secondarily derived from this. . the cells which will form the mesoblast become marked out very early, and cannot be regarded as definitely springing from either of the primary layers. turbellaria.--leptoplana (fig. ), planaria polychroa (?). chætopoda.--lumbricus, &c. discophora. it is very possible that the cases quoted under this head ought more properly to belong to group . . the mesoblast cells are split off from the epiblast. nemertea.--larva of desor. the mesoblast is stated to be split off from the four invaginated discs. . the mesoblast is split off from the hypoblast. nemertea.--some of the types without a metamorphosis. mollusca.--scaphopoda. it is derived from the lateral and ventral cells of the hypoblast. gephyrea.--phascolosoma. vertebrata.--in most of the ichthyopsida the mesoblast is derived from the hypoblast (fig. ). in some types (_i.e._ most of the amniota) the mesoblast might be described as originating at the lips of the blastopore (primitive streak). . the mesoblast is derived from both germinal layers. tracheata.--araneina (fig. ). it is derived partly from cells split off from the epiblast and partly from the yolk-cells; but it is probable that the statement that the mesoblast is derived from both the germinal layers is only formally accurate; and that the derivation of part of the mesoblast from the yolk-cells is not to be interpreted as a derivation from the hypoblast. amniota.--the derivation of the mesoblast of the amniota from both the primary germinal layers is without doubt a secondary process. the conclusions to be drawn from the above summary are by no means such as might have been anticipated. the analogy of the coelenterata would lead us to expect that the mesoblast would be derived partly from the epiblast and partly from the hypoblast. such, however, is not for the most part the case, though more complete investigations may shew that there are a greater number of instances in which the mesoblast has a mixed origin than might be supposed from the above summary. [fig. . sections of an amphioxus embryo at three stages. (after kowalevsky.) a. section at gastrula stage. b. section of a somewhat older embryo. c. section through the anterior part of still older embryo. _np._ neural plate; _nc._ neural canal; _mes._ archenteron in a, and mesenteron in b and c; _ch._ notochord; _so._ mesoblastic somite.] i have attempted to reduce the types of development of the mesoblast to six; but owing to the nature of the case it is not always easy to distinguish the first of these from the last four. of the six types the second will on most hands be admitted to be the most remarkable. the formation of hollow outgrowths of the archenteron, the cavities of which give rise to the body cavity, can only be explained on the supposition that the body cavity of the types in which such outgrowths occur is derived from diverticula cut off from the alimentary tract. the lining epithelium of the diverticula--the peritoneal epithelium--is clearly part of the primitive hypoblast, and this part of the mesoblast is clearly hypoblastic in origin. [fig. . sections through the ovum of leptoplana tremellaris in three stages of development. (after hallez.) _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ yolk-cells (hypoblast); _bl._ blastopore.] in the case of the chætognatha (sagitta), brachiopoda, and amphioxus, the whole of the mesoblast originates from the walls of the diverticula; while in the echinodermata the walls of the diverticula only give rise to the vaso-peritoneal epithelium, the remainder of the mesoblast being derived from amoeboid cells which spring from the walls of the archenteron before the origin of the vaso-peritoneal outgrowths (figs. and ). reserving for the moment the question as to what conclusions can be deduced from the above facts as to the origin of the mesoblast, it is important to determine how far the facts of embryology warrant us in supposing that in the whole of the triploblastic forms the body cavity originated from the alimentary diverticula. there can be but little doubt that the mode of origin of the mesoblast in many vertebrata, as two solid plates split off from the hypoblast, in which a cavity is secondarily developed, is an abbreviation of the process observable in amphioxus; but this process approaches in some forms of vertebrata to the ingrowth of the mesoblast from the lips of the blastopore. it is, therefore, highly probable that the paired ingrowths of the mesoblast from the lips of the blastopore may have been in the first instance derived from a pair of archenteric diverticula. this process of formation of the mesoblast is, as may be seen by reference to the summary, the most frequent, including as it does the chætopoda, the mollusca, the arthropoda, &c.[ ] [ ] the wide occurrence of this process was first pointed out by rabl. he holds, however, a peculiar modification of the gastræa theory, for which i must refer the reader to his paper (no. ); according to this theory the mesoblast has sprung from a zone of cells of the blastosphere, at the junction between the cells which will be invaginated and the epiblast cells. in the bilateral blastosphere, from which he holds that all the higher forms (bilateralia) have originated, these cells had a bilateral arrangement, and thus the bilateral origin of the mesoblast is explained. the origin of the mesoblast from the lips of the blastopore is explained by the position of its mother-cells in the blastosphere. it need scarcely be said that the views already put forward as to the probable mode of origin of the mesoblast, founded on the analogy of the coelenterata, are quite incompatible with rabl's theories. [fig. . two sections of a young elasmobranch embryo, to shew the mesoblast split off as two lateral masses from the hypoblast. _mg._ medullary groove; _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _n.al._ cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk which have entered the hypoblast.] while there is no difficulty in the view that the body cavity may have originated from a pair of enteric diverticula in the case of the forms where a body cavity is present, there is a considerable difficulty in holding this view, for forms in which there is no body cavity distinct from the alimentary diverticula. of these types the platyelminthes are the most striking. it is, no doubt, possible that a body cavity may have existed in the platyelminthes, and become lost; and the case of the discophora, which in their muscular and connective tissue systems as well as in the absence of a body cavity resemble the platyelminthes, may be cited in favour of this view, in that, being closely related to the chætopoda, they are almost certainly descended from ancestors with a true body cavity. the usual view of the primitive character of the platyelminthes, which has much to support it, is, however, opposed to the idea that the body cavity has disappeared. if kowalevsky[ ] is right in stating that he has found a form intermediate between the coelenterata and the platyelminthes, there will be strong grounds for holding that the platyelminthes are, like the coelenterata, forms the ancestors of which were not provided with a body cavity. [ ] _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , p. . this form has been named by kowalevsky _coeloplana metschnikowii_. kowalevsky's description appears, however, to be quite compatible with the view that this form is a creeping ctenophor, in no way related to the turbellarians. perhaps the triploblastica are composed of two groups, viz. ( ) a more ancestral group (the platyelminthes), in which there is no body cavity as distinct from the alimentary, and ( ) a group descended from these, in which two of the alimentary diverticula have become separated from the alimentary tract to form a body cavity (remaining triploblastica). however this may be, the above considerations are sufficient to shew how much there is that is still obscure with reference even to the body cavity. [fig. . section through an embryo of agelena labyrinthica. the section is represented with the ventral plate upwards. in the ventral plate is seen a keel-like thickening, which gives rise to the main mass of the mesoblast. _yk._ yolk divided into large polygonal cells, in several of which are nuclei.] if embryology gives no certain sound as to the questions just raised with reference to the body cavity, still less is it to be hoped that the remaining questions with reference to the origin of the mesoblast can be satisfactorily answered. it is clear, in the first place, from an inspection of the summary given above, that the process of development of the mesoblast is, in all the higher forms, very much abbreviated and modified. not only is its differentiation relatively deferred, but it does not in most cases originate, as it must have done to start with, as a more or less continuous sheet, split off from parts of one or both the primary layers. it originates in most cases from the hypoblast, and although the considerations already urged preclude us from laying very great stress on this mode of origin, yet the derivation of the mesoblast from the walls of archenteric outgrowths suggests the view that the whole, or at any rate the greater part, of the mesoblast primitively arose by a process of histogenic differentiation from the walls of the archenteron or rather from diverticula of these walls. this view, which was originally put forward by myself (no. ), appears at first sight very improbable, but if the statement of the hertwigs (no. ), that there is a large development of a hypoblastic muscular system in the actinozoa, is well founded, it cannot be rejected as impossible. lankester (no. ), on the other hand, has urged that the mode of origin of the mesoblast in the echinodermata is more primitive; and that the amoeboid cells which here give rise to the muscular and connective tissues represent cells which originally arose from the whole inner surface of the epiblast. it is, however, to be noted that even in the echinodermata the amoeboid cells actually arise from the _hypoblast_, and their mode of origin may, therefore, be used to support the view that the main part of the muscular system of higher types is derived from the primitive hypoblast. the great changes which have taken place in the development of the mesoblast would be more intelligible on this view than on the view that the major part of the mesoblast primitively originated from the epiblast. the presence of food-yolk is much more frequent in the hypoblast than in the epiblast; and it is well known that a large number of the changes in early development are caused by food-yolk. if, therefore, the mesoblast has been derived from the hypoblast, many more changes might be expected to have been introduced into its early development than if it had been derived from the epiblast. at the same time the hypoblastic origin of the mesoblast would assist in explaining how it has come about that the development of the nervous system is almost always much less modified than that of the mesoblast, and that the nervous system is not, as might, on the grounds of analogy, have been anticipated, as a rule secondarily developed in the mesoblast. the hertwigs have recently suggested in their very interesting memoir (no. ) that the triploblastica are to be divided into two phyla, ( ) the enterocoela, and ( ) the pseudocoela; the former group containing the chætopoda, gephyrea, brachiopoda, nematoda, arthropoda, echinodermata, enteropneusta and chordata; and the latter the mollusca, polyzoa, the rotifera, and platyelminthes. the enterocoela are forms in which the primitive alimentary diverticula have given origin to the body cavity, while the major part of the muscular system has originated from the epithelial walls of these diverticula, part however being in many cases also derived from the amoeboid cells, called by them mesenchyme, by the second process of mesoblastic differentiation mentioned on p. . in the pseudocoela the muscular system has become differentiated from mesenchyme cells; while the body cavity, where it exists, is merely a split in the mesenchyme. it is impossible for me to attempt in this place to state fully, or do justice to, the original and suggestive views contained in this paper. the general conclusion i cannot however accept. the views of the hertwigs depend to a large extent upon the supposition that it is possible to distinguish histologically muscle cells derived from epithelial cells, from those derived from mesenchyme cells. that in many cases, and strikingly so in the chordata, the muscle cells retain clear indications of their primitive origin from epithelial cells, i freely admit; but i do not believe either that its histological character can ever be conclusive as to the non-epithelial origin of a muscle cell, or that its derivation in the embryo from an indifferent amoeboid cell is any proof that it did not, to start with, originate from an epithelial cell. i hold, as is clear from the preceding statements, that such immense secondary modifications have taken place in the development of the mesoblast, that no such definite conclusions can be deduced from its mode of development as the hertwigs suppose. in support of the view that the early character of embryonic cells is no safe index as to their phylogenetic origin, i would point to the few following facts. ( ) in the porifera and many of the coelenterata (eucope polystyla, geryonia, &c.) the hypoblast (endoderm) originates from cells, which according to the hertwigs' views ought to be classed as mesenchyme. ( ) in numerous instances muscles which have, phylogenetically, an undoubted epithelial origin, are ontogenetically derived from cells which ought to be classed as mesenchyme. the muscles of the head in all the higher vertebrata, in which the head cavities have disappeared, are examples of this kind; the muscles of many of the tracheata, notably the araneina, must also be placed in the same category. ( ) the mollusca are considered by the hertwigs to be typical pseudocoela. a critical examination of the early development of the mesoblast in these forms demonstrates however that with reference to the mesoblast they must be classed in the same group as the chætopoda. the mesoblast (vol. ii. p. ) clearly originates as two bands of cells which grow inwards from the blastopore, and in some forms (paludina, vol. ii. fig. ) become divided into a splanchnic and somatic layer, with a body cavity between them. all these processes are such as are, in other instances, admitted to indicate enterocoelous affinities. the subsequent conversion of the mesoblast elements into amoeboid cells, out of which branched muscles are formed, is in my opinion simply due to the envelopment of the soft molluscan body within a hard shell. in addition to these instances i may point out that the distinction between the pseudocoela and enterocoela utterly breaks down in the case of the discophora, and the hertwigs have made no serious attempt to discuss the characters of this group in the light of their theory, and that the derivation of the echinoderm muscles from mesenchyme cells is a difficulty which is very slightly treated. ii. larval forms: their nature, origin and affinities. preliminary considerations. in a general way two types of development may be distinguished, viz. a foetal type and a larval type. in the foetal type animals undergo the whole or nearly the whole of their development within the egg or within the body of the parent, and are hatched in a condition closely resembling the adult; and in the larval type they are born at an earlier stage of development, in a condition differing to a greater or less extent from the adult, and reach the adult state either by a series of small steps, or by a more or less considerable metamorphosis. the satisfactory application of embryological data to morphology depends upon a knowledge of the extent to which the record of ancestral history has been preserved in development. unless secondary changes intervened this record would be complete; it becomes therefore of the first importance to the embryologist to study the nature and extent of the secondary changes likely to occur in the foetal or the larval state. the principles which govern the perpetuation of variations which occur in either the larval or the foetal state are the same as those for the adult condition. variations favourable to the survival of the species are equally likely to be perpetuated, at whatever period of life they occur, prior to the loss of the reproductive powers. the possible nature and extent of the secondary changes which may have occurred in the developmental history of forms, which have either a long larval existence, or which are born in a nearly complete condition, is primarily determined by the nature of the favourable variations which can occur in each case. where the development is a foetal one, the favourable variations which can most easily occur are--( ) abbreviations, ( ) an increase in the amount of food-yolk stored up for the use of the developing embryo. abbreviations take place because direct development is always simpler, and therefore more advantageous; and, owing to the fact of the foetus not being required to lead an independent existence till birth, and of its being in the meantime nourished by food-yolk, or directly by the parent, there are no physiological causes to prevent the characters of any stage of the development, _which are of functional importance during a free but not during a foetal existence_, from disappearing from the developmental history. all organs of locomotion and nutrition not required by the adult will, for this reason, obviously have a tendency to disappear or to be reduced in foetal developments; and a little consideration will shew that the ancestral stages in the development of the nervous and muscular systems, organs of sense, and digestive system will be liable to drop out or be modified, _when a simplification can thereby be effected_. the circulatory and excretory systems will not be modified to the same extent, because both of them are usually functional during foetal life. the mechanical effects of food-yolk are very considerable, and numerous instances of its influence will be found in the earlier chapters of this work[ ]. it mainly affects the early stages of development, _i.e._ the form of the gastrula, &c. [ ] for numerous instances of this kind, _vide_ chapter xi. of vol. iii. the favourable variations which may occur in the free larva are much less limited than those which can occur in the foetus. secondary characters are therefore very numerous in larvæ, and there may even be larvæ with secondary characters only, as, for instance, the larvæ of insects. in spite of the liability of larvæ to acquire secondary characters, there is a powerful counterbalancing influence tending towards the preservation of ancestral characters, in that larvæ are necessarily compelled at all stages of their growth to retain _in a functional state_ such systems of organs, at any rate, as are essential for a free and independent existence. it thus comes about that, in spite of the many causes tending to produce secondary changes in larvæ, there is always a better chance of larvæ repeating, in an unabbreviated form, their ancestral history, than is the case with embryos, which undergo their development within the egg. it may be further noted as a fact which favours the relative retention by larvæ of ancestral characters, that a secondary larval stage is less likely to be repeated in development than an ancestral stage, because there is always a strong tendency for the former, which is a secondarily intercalated link in the chain of development, to drop out by the occurrence of a _reversion_ to the original type of development. the relative chances of the ancestral history being preserved in the foetus or the larva may be summed up in the following way:--there is a greater chance of the ancestral history being _lost_ in forms which develop in the egg; and of its being _masked_ in those which are hatched as larvæ. the evidence from existing forms undoubtedly confirms the _a priori_ considerations just urged[ ]. this is well shewn by a study of the development of echinodermata, nemertea, mollusca, crustacea, and tunicata. the free larvæ of the four first groups are more similar amongst themselves than the embryos which develop directly, and since this similarity cannot be supposed to be due to the larvæ having been modified by living under precisely similar conditions, it must be due to their retaining common ancestral characters. in the case of the _tunicata_ the free larvæ retain much more completely than the embryos certain characters such as the notochord, the cerebrospinal canal, etc., which are known to be ancestral. [ ] it has long been known that land and freshwater forms develop without a metamorphosis much more frequently than marine forms. this is probably to be explained by the fact that there is not the same possibility of a land or freshwater species extending itself over a wide area by the agency of free larvæ, and there is, therefore, much less advantage in the existence of such larvæ; while the fact of such larvæ being more liable to be preyed upon than eggs, which are either concealed, or carried about by the parent, might render a larval stage absolutely disadvantageous. types of larvæ.--although there is no reason to suppose that all larval forms are ancestral, yet it seems reasonable to anticipate that a certain number of the known types of larvæ would retain the characters of the ancestors of the more important phyla of the animal kingdom. before examining in detail the claims of various larvæ to such a character, it is necessary to consider somewhat more at length the kind of variations which are most likely to occur in larval forms. it is probable _a priori_ that there are two kinds of larvæ, which may be distinguished as primary and secondary larvæ. primary larvæ are more or less modified ancestral forms, which have continued uninterruptedly to develop as free larvæ from the time when they constituted the adult form of the species. secondary larvæ are those which have become introduced into the ontogeny of species, the young of which were originally hatched with all the characters of the adult; such secondary larvæ may have originated from a diminution of food-yolk in the egg and a consequently earlier commencement of a free existence, or from a simple adaptive modification in the just hatched young. secondary larval forms may resemble the primary larval forms in cases where the ancestral characters were retained by the embryo in its development within the egg; but in other instances their characters are probably entirely adaptive. _causes tending to produce secondary changes in larvæ._--the modes of action of natural selection on larvæ may probably be divided more or less artificially into two classes. . the changes in development directly produced by the existence of a larval stage. . the adaptive changes in a larva acquired in the ordinary course of the struggle for existence. the changes which come under the first head consist essentially in a displacement in the order of development of certain organs. there is always a tendency in development to throw back the differentiation of the embryonic cells into definite tissues to as late a date as possible. this takes place in order to enable the changes of form, which every organ undergoes, in repeating even in an abbreviated way its phylogenetic history, to be effected with the least expenditure of energy. owing to this tendency it comes about that when an organism is hatched as a larva many of the organs are still in an undifferentiated state, although the ancestral form which this larva represents had all its organs fully differentiated. in order, however, that the larva may be enabled to exist as an independent organism, certain sets of organs, _e.g._ the muscular, nervous, and digestive systems, have to be histologically differentiated. if the period of foetal life is shortened, an earlier differentiation of certain organs is a necessary consequence; and in almost all cases the existence of a larval stage causes a displacement in order of development of organs, the complete differentiation of many organs being retarded relatively to the muscular, nervous, and digestive systems. the possible changes under the second head appear to be unlimited. there is, so far as i see, no possible reason why an indefinite number of organs should not be developed in larvæ to protect them from their enemies, and to enable them to compete with larvæ of other species, and so on. the only limit to such development appears to be the shortness of larval life, which is not likely to be prolonged, since, _ceteris paribus_, the more quickly maturity is reached the better it is for the species. a very superficial examination of marine larvæ shews that there are certain peculiarities common to most of them, and it is important to determine how far such peculiarities are to be regarded as adaptive. almost all marine larvæ are provided with well-developed organs of locomotion, and transparent bodies. these two features are precisely those which it is most essential for such larvæ to have. organs of locomotion are important, in order that larvæ may be scattered as widely as possible, and so disseminate the species; and transparency is very important in rendering larvæ invisible, and so less liable to be preyed upon by their numerous enemies[ ]. [ ] the phosphorescence of many larvæ is very peculiar. i should have anticipated that phosphorescence would have rendered them much more liable to be captured by the forms which feed upon them; and it is difficult to see of what advantage it can be to them. these considerations, coupled with the fact that almost all free-swimming animals, which have not other special means of protection, are transparent, seem to shew that the transparency of larvæ at all events is adaptive; and it is probable that organs of locomotion are in many cases specially developed, and not ancestral. various spinous processes on the larvæ of crustacea and teleostei are also examples of secondarily acquired protective organs. these general considerations are sufficient to form a basis for the discussion of the characters of the known types of larvæ. the following table contains a list of the more important of such larval forms: dicyemidÆ.--the infusoriform larva (vol. ii. fig. ). porifera.--(_a_) the amphiblastula larva (fig. ), with one-half of the body ciliated, and the other half without cilia; (_b_) an oval uniformly ciliated larva, which may be either solid or have the form of a vesicle. coelenerata.--the planula (fig. ). turbellaria.--(_a_) the eight-lobed larva of müller (fig. ); (_b_) the larva of götte and metschnikoff, with some pilidium characters. nemertea.--the pilidium (fig. ). trematoda.--the cercaria. rotifera.--the trochosphere-like larvæ of brachionus (fig. ) and lacinularia. mollusca.--the trochosphere larva (fig. ), and the subsequent veliger larva (fig. ). brachiopoda.--the three-lobed larva, with a postoral ring of cilia (fig. ). polyzoa.--a larval form with a single ciliated ring surrounding the mouth, and an aboral ciliated ring or disc (fig. ). chÆtopoda.--various larval forms with many characters like those of the molluscan trochosphere, frequently with distinct transverse bands of cilia. they are classified as atrochæ, mesotrochæ, telotrochæ (fig. a and fig. ), polytrochæ, and monotrochæ (fig. b). gephyrea nuda.--larval forms like those of preceding groups. a specially characteristic larva is that of echiurus (fig. ). gephyrea tubicola.--actinotrocha (fig. ), with a postoral ciliated ring of arms. myriapoda.--a functionally hexapodous larval form is common to all the chilognatha (vol. ii. fig. ). insecta.--various secondary larval forms. crustacea.--the nauplius (vol. ii. fig. ) and the zoæa (vol. ii. fig. ). echinodermata.--the auricularia (fig. a), the bipinnaria (fig. b), and the pluteus (fig. ), and the transversely-ringed larvæ of crinoidea (vol. ii. fig. ). the three first of which can be reduced to a common type (fig. c). enteropneusta.--tornaria (fig. ). urochorda (tunicata).--the tadpole-like larva (vol. iii. fig. ). ganoidei.--a larva with a disc with adhesive papillæ in front of the mouth (vol. iii. fig. ). anurus amphibia.--the tadpole (vol. iii. fig. ). [fig. . two free stages in the development of sycandra raphanus. (after schultze.) a. amphiblastula stage. b. stage after the ciliated cells have commenced to be invaginated. _c.s._ segmentation cavity; _ec._ granular epiblast cells; _en._ ciliated hypoblast cells.] [fig. . three larval stages of eucope ploystyla. (after kowalevsky.) a. blastosphere stage with hypoblast spheres becoming budded into the central cavity. b. planula stage with solid hypoblast. c. planula stage with a gastric cavity. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _al._ gastric cavity.] of the larval forms included in the above list a certain number are probably without affinities outside the group to which they belong. this is the case with the larvæ of the myriapoda, the crustacean larvæ, and with the larval forms of the chordata. i shall leave these forms out of consideration. there are, again, some larval forms which may possibly turn out hereafter to be of importance, but from which, in the present state of our knowledge, we cannot draw any conclusions. the infusoriform larva of the dicyemidæ, and the cercaria of the trematodes, are such forms. excluding these and certain other forms, we have finally left for consideration the larvæ of the coelenterata, the turbellaria, the rotifera, the nemertea, the mollusca, the polyzoa, the brachiopoda, the chætopoda, the gephyrea, the echinodermata, and the enteropneusta. the larvæ of these forms can be divided into two groups. the one group contains the larva of the coelenterata or planula, the other group the larvæ of all the other forms. the planula (fig. ) is characterised by its extreme simplicity. it is a two-layered organism, with a form varying from cylindrical to oval, and usually a radial symmetry. so long as it remains free it is not usually provided with a mouth, and it is as yet uncertain whether or no the absence of a mouth is to be regarded as an ancestral character. the planula is very probably the ancestral form of the coelenterata. [fig. . embryo of brachionus urceolaris, shortly before it is hatched. (after salensky.) _m._ mouth; _ms._ masticatory apparatus; _me._ mesenteron; _an._ anus; _ld._ lateral gland; _ov._ ovary; _t._ tail (foot); _tr._ trochal disc; _sg._ supraoesophageal ganglion.] the larvæ of almost all the other groups, although they may be subdivided into a series of very distinct types, yet agree in the possession of certain common characters[ ]. there is a more or less dome-shaped dorsal surface, and a flattened or concave ventral surface, containing the opening of the mouth, and usually extending posteriorly to the opening of the anus, when such is present. [ ] the larva of the brachiopoda does not possess most of the characters mentioned below. it is probably, all the same, a highly differentiated larval form belonging to this group. the dorsal dome is continued in front of the mouth to form a _large præoral lobe_. there is usually present at first an uniform covering of cilia; but in the later larval stages there are almost always formed definite bands or rings of long cilia, by which locomotion is effected. these bands are often produced into arm-like processes. the alimentary canal has, typically, the form of a bent tube with a ventral concavity, constituted (when an anus is present) of three sections, viz. an oesophagus, a stomach, and a rectum. the oesophagus and sometimes the rectum are epiblastic in origin, while the stomach always and the rectum usually are derived from the hypoblast[ ]. [ ] there is some uncertainty as to the development of the oesophagus in the echinodermata, but recent researches appear to indicate that it is developed from the hypoblast. [fig. . diagram of an embryo of pleurobranchidium. (from lankester.) _f._ foot; _ot._ otocyst; _m._ mouth; _v._ velum; _ng._ nerve ganglion; _ry._ residual yolk spheres; _shs._ shell-gland; _i._ intestine.] to the above characters may be added a glass-like transparency; and the presence of a widish space possibly filled with gelatinous tissue, and often traversed by contractile cells, between the alimentary tract and the body wall. considering the very profound differences which exist between many of these larvæ, it may seem that the characters just enumerated are hardly sufficient to justify my grouping them together. it is, however, to be borne in mind that my grounds for doing so depend quite as much upon the fact that they constitute a series without any great breaks in it, as upon the existence of characters common to the whole of them. it is also worth noting that most of the characters which have been enumerated as common to the whole of these larvæ are not such secondary characters as (in accordance with the considerations used above) might be expected to arise from the fact of their being subjected to nearly similar conditions of life. their transparency is, no doubt, such a secondary character, and it is not impossible that the existence of ciliated bands may be so also; but it is quite possible that if, as i suppose, these larvæ reproduce the characters of some ancestral form, this form may have existed at a time when all marine animals were free-swimming, and that it may, therefore, have been provided with at least one ciliated band. [fig. . larvÆ of cephalophorous mollusca in the veliger stage. (from gegenbaur.) a. and b. earlier and later stage of gasteropod. c. pteropod (cymbulia). _v._ velum; _c._ shell; _p._ foot; _op._ operculum; _t._ tentacle.] [fig. . larva of argiope. (from gegenbaur; after kowalevsky.) _m._ mantle; _b._ setæ; _d._ archenteron.] the detailed consideration of the characters of these larvæ, given below, supports this view. this great class of larvæ may, as already stated, be divided into a series of minor subdivisions. these subdivisions are the following: . the pilidium group.--this group is characterised by the mouth being situated nearly in the centre of the ventral surface, and by the absence of an anus. it includes the pilidium of the nemertines (fig. ), and the various larvæ of marine dendrocoela (fig. ). at the apex of the præoral lobe a thickening of epiblast may be present, from which (fig. ) a contractile cord sometimes passes to the oesophagus. [fig. . two stages in the development of pilidium. (after metschnikoff.) _ae._ archenteron; _oe._ oesophagus; _st._ stomach; _am._ amnion; _pr.d._ prostomial disc; _po.d._ metastomial disc; _c.s._ cephalic sack (lateral pit).] . the echinoderm group.--this group (figs. , and c) is characterised by the presence of a longitudinal _postoral_ band of cilia, by the absence of special sense organs in the præoral region, and by the development of the body cavity as an outgrowth of the alimentary tract. the three typical divisions of the alimentary tract are present, and there is a more or less developed præoral lobe. this group only includes the larvæ of the echinodermata. . the trochosphere group.--this group (figs. , ) is characterised by the presence of a præoral ring of long cilia, the region in front of which forms a great part of the præoral lobe. the mouth opens immediately behind the præoral ring of cilia, and there is very often a second ring of short cilia parallel to the main ring, immediately behind the mouth. the function of the ring of short cilia is nutritive, in that its cilia are employed in bringing food to the mouth; while the function of the main ring is locomotive. a perianal patch or ring of cilia is often present (fig. a), and in many forms intermediate rings are developed between the præoral and perianal rings. [fig. . a. larva of eurylepta auriculata immediately after hatching. viewed from the side. (after hallez.) _m._ mouth. b. mÜller's turbellarian larva (probably thysanozoon). viewed from the ventral surface. (after müller.) the ciliated band is represented by the black line. _m._ mouth; _u.l._ upper lip.] the præoral lobe is usually the seat of a special thickening of epiblast, which gives rise to the supraoesophageal ganglion of the adult. on this lobe optic organs are very often developed in connection with the supraoesophageal ganglion, and a contractile band frequently passes from this region to the oesophagus. the alimentary tract is formed of the three typical divisions. the body cavity is not developed directly as an outgrowth of the alimentary tract, though the process by which it originates is very probably secondarily modified from a pair of alimentary outgrowths. paired excretory organs, opening to the exterior and into the body cavity, are often present (fig. _nph_). this type of larva is found in the rotifera (fig. ) (in which it is preserved in the adult state), the chætopoda (figs. and ), the mollusca (fig. ), the gephyrea nuda (fig. ), and the polyzoa (fig. )[ ]. [ ] for a discussion as to the structure of the polyzoon larva, _vide_ vol. ii. p. . [fig. . a. the larva of a holothuroid. b. the larva of an asteroid. _m._ mouth; _st._ stomach; _a._ anus; _l.c._ primitive longitudinal ciliated band; _pr.c._ præoral ciliated band.] . tornaria.--this larva (fig. ) is intermediate in most of its characters between the larvæ of the echinodermata (more especially the bipinnaria) and the trochosphere. it resembles echinoderm larvæ in the possession of a longitudinal ciliated band (divided into a præoral and a postoral ring), and in the derivation of the body cavity and water-vascular vesicle from alimentary diverticula; and it resembles the trochosphere in the presence of sense organs on the præoral lobe, in the existence of a perianal ring of cilia, and in the possession of a contractile band passing from the præoral lobe to the oesophagus. [fig. . a larva of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) _m._ mouth; _a._ anus; _o._ oesophagus; _d._ stomach; _c._ intestine; _['v]._ and _v._ ciliated ridges; _w._ water-vascular tube; _r._ calcareous rods.] . actinotrocha.--the remarkable larva of phoronis (fig. ), known as actinotrocha, is characterised by the presence of ( ) a postoral and somewhat longitudinal ciliated ring produced into tentacles, and ( ) a perianal ring. it is provided with a præoral lobe, and a terminal or somewhat dorsal anus. . the larva of the brachiopoda articulata (fig. ). the relationships of the six types of larval forms thus briefly characterised have been the subject of a considerable amount of controversy, and the following suggestions on their affinities must be viewed as somewhat speculative. the pilidium type of larva is in some important respects less highly differentiated than the larvæ of the five other groups. it is, in the first place, without an anus; and there are no grounds for supposing that the anus has become lost by retrogressive changes. if for the moment it is granted that the pilidium larva represents more nearly than the larvæ of the other groups the ancestral type of larva, what characters are we led to assign to the ancestral form which this larva repeats? [fig. . two chÆtopod larvÆ. (from gegenbaur.) _o._ mouth; _i._ intestine; _a._ anus; _v._ præoral ciliated band; _w._ perianal ciliated band.] in the first place, this ancestral form, of which fig. a is an ideal representation, would appear to have had a dome-shaped body, with a flattened oral surface and a rounded aboral surface. its symmetry was radial, and in the centre of the flattened oral surface was placed the mouth, and round its edge was a ring of cilia. the passage of a pilidium-like larva into the vermiform bilateral platyelminth form, and therefore it may be presumed of the ancestral form which this larva repeats, is effected by the larva becoming more elongated, and by the region between the mouth and one end of the body becoming the præoral region, and by an outgrowth between the mouth and the opposite end developing into the trunk, an anus becoming placed at its extremity in the higher forms. if what has been so far postulated is correct, it is clear that this primitive larval form bears a very close resemblance to a simplified free-swimming coelenterate (medusa), and that the conversion of such a radiate form into the bilateral took place, not by the elongation of the aboral surface, and the formation of an anus there, but by the unequal elongation of the oral face, an anterior part, together with the dome above it, forming a præoral lobe, and a posterior outgrowth the trunk (figs. and ); while the aboral surface became the dorsal surface. [fig. . polygordius larva. (after hatschek.) _m._ mouth; _sg._ supraoesophageal ganglion; _nph._ nephridion; _me.p._ mesoblastic band; _an._ anus; _ol._ stomach.] this view fits in very well with the anatomical resemblances between the coelenterata and the turbellaria[ ], and shews, if true, that the ventral and median position of the mouth in many turbellaria is the primitive one. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii. pp. and . in this connection attention may be called to _coeloplana metschnikowii_, a form described by kowalevsky, _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , p. , as being intermediate between the ctenophora and the turbellaria. as already mentioned, there does not appear to me to be sufficient evidence to prove that this form is not merely a creeping ctenophor. [fig. . larva of echiurus. (after salensky.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _sg._ supraoesophageal ganglion (?).] [fig. . diagram of a larva of the polyzoa. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _st._ stomach; _s._ ciliated disc.] the above suggestion as to the mode of passage from the radial into the bilateral form differs largely from that usually held. lankester[ ], for instance, gives the following account of this passage: [ ] _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xvii. pp. - . "it has been recognised by various writers, but notably by gegenbaur and haeckel, that a condition of radiate symmetry must have preceded the condition of bilateral symmetry in animal evolution. the diblastula may be conceived to have been at first absolutely spherical with spherical symmetry. the establishment of a mouth led necessarily to the establishment of a structural axis passing through the mouth, around which axis the body was arranged with radial symmetry. this condition is more or less perfectly maintained by many coelenterates, and is reassumed by degradation of higher forms (echinoderms, some cirrhipedes, some tunicates). the next step is the differentiation of an upper and a lower surface in relation to the horizontal position, with mouth placed anteriorly, assumed by the organism in locomotion. with the differentiation of a superior and inferior surface, a right and a left side, complementary one to the other, are necessarily also differentiated. thus the organism becomes bilaterally symmetrical. the coelentera are not wanting in indications of this bilateral symmetry, but for all other higher groups of animals it is a fundamental character. probably the development of a region in front of, and dorsal to the mouth, forming the _prostomium_, was accomplished _pari passu_ with the development of bilateral symmetry. in the radially symmetrical coelentera we find very commonly a series of lobes of the body-wall or tentacles produced _equally_--with radial symmetry, that is to say--all round the mouth, the mouth terminating the main axis of the body--that is to say, the organism being 'telostomiate.' the later fundamental form, common to all animals above the coelentera, is attained by shifting what was the main axis of the body--so that it may be described now as the 'enteric' axis; whilst the new main axis, that parallel with the plane of progression, passes through the dorsal region of the body running obliquely in relation to the enteric axis. only one lobe or outgrowth of those radially disposed in the telostomiate organisms now persists. this lobe lies dorsally to the mouth, and through it runs the new main axis. this lobe is the _prostomium_, and all the organisms which thus develop a new main axis, oblique to the old main axis, may be called prostomiate." it will be seen from this quotation that the aboral part of the body is supposed to elongate to form the trunk, while the præoral region is derived from one of the tentacles. before proceeding to further considerations as to the origin of the bilateralia, suggested by the pilidium type of larva, it is necessary to enter into a more detailed comparison between our larval forms. a very superficial consideration of the characters of these forms brings to light two important features in which they differ, viz.: ( ) in the presence or absence of sense organs on the præoral lobe. [fig. . two stages in the development of tornaria. (after metschnikoff.) the black lines represent the ciliated bands. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _br._ branchial cleft; _ht._ heart; _c._ body cavity between splanchnic and somatic mesoblast layers; _w._ so-called water-vascular vesicle; _v._ circular blood-vessel.] ( ) in the presence or absence of outgrowths from the alimentary tract to form the body cavity. the larvæ of the echinodermata and actinotrocha (?) are without sense organs on the præoral lobe, while the other types of larvæ are provided with them. alimentary diverticula are characteristic of the larvæ of the echinodermata and of tornaria. if the conclusion already arrived at to the effect that the prototype of the six larval groups was descended from a radiate ancestor is correct, it appears to follow that the nervous system, in so far as it was differentiated, had primitively a radiate form; and it is also probably true that there were alimentary diverticula in the form of radial pouches, _two_ of which may have given origin to the paired diverticula which become the body cavity in such types as the echinodermata, sagitta, etc. if these two points are granted, the further conclusions seem to follow--( ) that the ganglion and sense organs of the præoral lobe were secondary structures, which arose (perhaps as differentiations of an original circular nerve ring) after the assumption of a bilateral form; and ( ) that the absence of these organs in the larvæ of the echinodermata and actinotrocha (?) implies that these larvæ retain, so far, more primitive characters than the pilidium. the same may be said of the alimentary diverticula. there are thus indications that in two important points the echinoderm larvæ are more primitive than the pilidium. [fig. . actinotrocha. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus.] the above conclusions with reference to the pilidium and echinoderm larvæ involve some not inconsiderable difficulties, and suggest certain points for further discussion. in the first place it is to be noted that the above speculations render it probable that the type of nervous system from which that found in the adults of the echinodermata, platyelminthes, chætopoda, mollusca, etc., is derived, was a circumoral ring, like that of medusæ, with which radially arranged sense organs may have been connected; and that in the echinodermata _this form of nervous system has been retained_, while in the other types it has been modified. its anterior part may have given rise to supraoesophageal ganglia and organs of vision; these being developed on the assumption of a bilaterally symmetrical form, and the consequent necessity arising for the sense organs to be situated at the anterior end of the body. if this view is correct, the question presents itself as to how far the posterior part of the nervous system of the bilateralia can be regarded as derived from the primitive radiate ring. [fig. . three diagrams representing the ideal evolution of various larval forms. a. ideal ancestral larval form. b. larval form from which the trochosphere larva may have been derived. c. larval form from which the typical echinoderm larva may have been derived. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _st._ stomach; _s.g._ supraoesophageal ganglion. the black lines represent the ciliated bands.] a circumoral nerve-ring, if longitudinally extended, might give rise to a pair of nerve-cords united _in front and behind_--exactly such a nervous system, in fact, as is present in many nemertines[ ] (the enopla and pelagonemertes), in peripatus[ ], and in primitive molluscan types (chiton, fissurella, etc.). from the lateral parts of this ring it would be easy to derive the ventral cord of the chætopoda and arthropoda. it is especially deserving of notice in connection with the nervous system of the above-mentioned nemertines and peripatus, that the commissure connecting the two nerve-cords behind is placed on the _dorsal_ side of the intestine. as is at once obvious, by referring to the diagram (fig. b), this is the position this commissure ought, undoubtedly, to occupy if derived from part of a nerve-ring which originally followed more or less closely the ciliated edge of the body of the supposed radiate ancestor. [ ] _vide_ hubrecht, "zur anat. und phys. d. nerven-system. d. nemertinen," _kön. akad. wiss._, amsterdam; and "researches on the nervous system of nemertines," _quart. journ. of micr. science_, . [ ] _vide_ f. m. balfour, "on some points in the anat. of peripatus capensis," _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . the fact of this arrangement of the nervous system being found in so primitive a type as the nemertines tends to establish the views for which i am arguing; the absence or imperfect development of the two longitudinal cords in turbellarians may very probably be due to the posterior part of the nerve-ring having atrophied in this group. it is by no means certain that this arrangement of the nervous system in some mollusca and in peripatus is primitive, though it may be so. in the larvæ of the turbellaria the development of sense organs in the præoral region is very clear (fig. b); but this is by no means so obvious in the case of the true pilidium. there is in pilidium (fig. a) a thickening of epiblast at the summit of the dorsal dome, which might seem, from the analogy of mitraria, etc. (fig. ), to correspond to the thickening of the præoral lobe, which gives rise to the supraoesophageal ganglion; but, as a matter of fact, this part of the larva does not apparently enter into the formation of the young nemertine (fig. ). the peculiar metamorphosis, which takes place in the development of the nemertine out of the pilidium[ ], may, perhaps, eventually supply an explanation of this fact; but at present it remains as a still unsolved difficulty. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii. p. . the position of the flagellum in pilidium, and of the supraoesophageal ganglion in mitraria, suggests a different view of the origin of the supraoesophageal ganglion from that adopted above. the position of the ganglion in mitraria corresponds closely with that of the auditory organ in ctenophora; and it is not impossible that the two structures may have had a common origin. if this view is correct, we must suppose that the apex of the aboral lobe has become the centre of the præoral field of the pilidium and trochosphere larval forms[ ]--a view which fits in very well with their structure (figs. and ). the whole of the questions concerning the nervous system are still very obscure, and until further facts are brought to light no definite conclusions can be arrived at. [ ] the independent development of the supraoesophageal ganglion and ventral nerve-cord in chætopoda (_vide_ kleinenberg, _development of lumbricus trapezoides_) agrees very satisfactorily with this view. the absence of sense organs on the præoral lobe of larval echinodermata, coupled with the structure of the nervous system of the adult, points to the conclusion that the adult echinodermata _have retained_, and not, as is now usually held, secondarily acquired, their radial symmetry; and if this is admitted it follows that the obvious bilateral symmetry of echinoderm larvæ is a secondary character. [fig. . a. pilidium with an advanced nemertine worm. b. ripe embryo of nemertes in the position it occupies in pilidium. (both after bütschli.) _oe._ oesophagus; _st._ stomach; _i._ intestine; _pr._ proboscis; _lp._ lateral pit (cephalic sack); _an._ amnion; _n._ nervous system.] the bilateral symmetry of many coelenterate larvæ (the larva of Æginopsis, of many acraspeda, of actinia, &c.), coupled with the fact that a bilateral symmetry is obviously advantageous to a free-swimming form, is sufficient to shew that this supposition is by no means extravagant; while the presence of only two alimentary diverticula in echinoderm larvæ is quite in accord with the presence of a single pair of perigastric chambers in the early larva of actinia, though it must be admitted that the derivation of the water-vascular system from the left diverticulum is not easy to understand on this view. a difficulty in the above speculation is presented by the fact of the anus of the echinodermata being the permanent blastopore, and arising prior to the mouth. if this fact has any special significance, it becomes difficult to regard the larva of echinoderms and that of the other types as in any way related; but if the views already urged, in a previous section on the germinal layers, as to the unimportance of the blastopore, are admitted, the fact of the anus coinciding with the blastopore ceases to be a difficulty. as may be seen, by referring to fig. c, the anus is placed on the dorsal side of the ciliated band. this position for the anus adapts itself to the view that the echinoderm larva had originally a radial symmetry, _with the anus placed at the aboral apex_, and that, with the elongation of the larva on the attainment of a bilateral symmetry, the aboral apex became shifted to the present position of the anus. it may be noticed that the obscure points connected with the absence of a body cavity in most adult platyelminthes, which have already been dealt with in the section of this chapter devoted to the germinal layers, present themselves again here; and that it is necessary to assume either that alimentary diverticula, like those in the echinodermata, were primitively present in the platyelminthes, but have now disappeared from the ontogeny of this group, or that the alimentary diverticula have not become separated from the alimentary tract. so far the conclusion has been reached that the archetype of the six types of larvæ had a radiate form, and that amongst existing larvæ it is most nearly approached in general shape and in the form of the alimentary canal by the pilidium group, and in certain other particulars by the echinoderm larvæ. the edge of the oral disc of the larval archetype was probably armed with a ciliated ring, from which the ciliated ring of the pilidium type and of the echinodermata was most likely derived. the ciliated ring of the pilidium varies greatly in its characters, and has not always the form of a complete ring. in pilidium proper (fig. a) it is a simple ring surrounding the edge of the oral disc. in müller's larva of thysanozoon (fig. b) it is inclined at an axis to the oral disc, and might be called præoral, but such a term cannot be properly used in the absence of an anus. [fig. . two stages in the development of mitraria. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _sg._ supraoesophageal ganglion; _br._ and _b._ provisional bristles; _pr.b._ præoral ciliated band.] [fig. . cyphonautes (larva of membranipora). (after hatschek.) _m._ mouth; _a´._ anus; _f.g._ foot gland; _x._ problematical body (probably a bud). the aboral apex is turned downwards.] the echinoderm ring is oblique to the axis of the body, and, owing to the fact of its passing ventrally in front of the anus, must be called postoral. the next point to be considered is that of the affinities of the other larval types to these two types. the most important of all the larval types is the trochosphere, and this type is undoubtedly more closely related to the pilidium than to the echinoderm larva. mitraria amongst the chætopods (fig. ) has, indeed, nearly the form of a pilidium, and mainly differs from a pilidium in the possession of an anus and of provisional bristles; the same may be said of cyphonautes (fig. ) amongst the polyzoa. the existence of these two forms appears to shew that the præoral ciliated ring of the trochosphere may very probably be derived directly from the circumoral ciliated ring of the pilidium; the other ciliated rings or patches of the trochosphere having a secondary origin. the larva of the brachiopoda (fig. ), in spite of its peculiar characters, is, in all probability, more closely related to the chætopod trochosphere than to any other larval type. the most conspicuous point of agreement between them is, however, the possession in common of provisional setæ. echinoderm larvæ differ from the trochosphere, not only in the points already alluded to, but in the character of the ciliated band. the echinoderm band is longitudinal and postoral. as just stated, there is reason to think that the præoral band of the trochosphere and the postoral band of the echinoderm larva are both derived from a ciliated ring surrounding the oral disc of the prototype of these larvæ (_vide_ fig. ). in the case of the echinodermata the anus must have been formed on the _dorsal side_ of this ring, and in the case of the trochosphere on the _ventral side_; and so the difference in position between the two rings was brought about. another view with reference to these rings has been put forward by gegenbaur and lankester, to the effect that the præoral ring of the trochosphere is derived from the breaking up of the single band of most echinoderm larvæ into the two bands found in bipinnaria (_vide_ fig. ) and the atrophy of the posterior band. there is no doubt a good deal to be said for this origin of the præoral ring, and it is strengthened by the case of tornaria; but the view adopted above appears to me more probable. actinotrocha (fig. ) undoubtedly resembles more closely echinoderm larvæ than the trochosphere. its ciliated ring has echinoderm characters, and the growth along the line of the ciliated ring of a series of arms is very similar to what takes place in many echinoderms. it also agrees with the echinoderm larvæ in the absence of sense organs on the præoral lobe. tornaria (fig. ) cannot be definitely united either with the trochosphere or with the echinoderm larval type. it has important characters in common with both of these groups, and the mixture of these characters renders it a very striking and well-defined larval form. phylogenetic conclusions. the phylogenetic conclusions which follow from the above views remain to be dealt with. the fact that all the larvæ of the groups above the coelenterata can be reduced to a common type seems to indicate that all the higher groups are descended from a single stem. considering that the larvæ of comparatively few groups have persisted, no conclusions as to affinities can be drawn from the absence of a larva in any group; and the presence in two groups of a common larval form may be taken as proving a common descent, but does not necessarily shew any close affinity. there is every reason to believe that the types with a trochosphere larva, viz. the rotifera, the mollusca, the chætopoda, the gephyrea, and the polyzoa, are descended from a common ancestral form; and it is also fairly certain there was a remote ancestor common to these forms and to the platyelminthes. a general affinity of the brachiopoda with the chætopoda is more than probable. all these types, together with various other types which are nearly related to them, but have not preserved an early larval form, are descended from a bilateral ancestor. the echinodermata, on the other hand, are probably directly descended from a radial ancestor, and have more or less completely retained their radial symmetry. how far actinotrocha[ ] is related to the echinoderm larvæ cannot be settled. its characters may possibly be secondary, like those of the mesotrochal larvæ of chætopods, or they may be due to its having branched off very early from the stock common to the whole of the forms above the coelenterata. the position of tornaria is still more obscure. it is difficult, in the face of the peculiar water-vascular vesicle with a dorsal pore, to avoid the conclusion that it has some affinities with the echinoderm larvæ. such affinities would seem, on the lines of speculation adopted in this section, to prove that its affinities to the trochosphere, striking as they appear to be, are secondary and adaptive. from this conclusion, if justified, it would follow that the echinodermata and enteropneusta have a remote ancestor in common, but not that the two groups are in any other way related. [ ] it is quite possible that phoronis is in no way related to the other gephyrea. general conclusions and summary. starting from the demonstrated fact that the larval forms of a number of widely separated types above the coelenterata have certain characters in common, it has been _provisionally_ assumed that the characters have been inherited from a common ancestor; and an attempt has been made to determine ( ) the characters of the prototype of all these larvæ, and ( ) the mutual relations of the larval forms in question. this attempt started with certain more or less plausible suggestions, the truth of which can only be tested by the coherence of the results which follow from them, and their capacity to explain all the facts. the results arrived at may be summarised as follows: . the larval forms above the coelenterata may be divided into six groups enumerated on pages to . . the prototype of all these groups was an organism something like a medusa, with a radial symmetry. the mouth was placed in the centre of a flattened ventral surface. the aboral surface was dome-shaped. round the edge of the oral surface was a ciliated ring, and probably a nervous ring provided with sense organs. the alimentary canal was prolonged into two or more diverticula, and there was no anus. . the bilaterally symmetrical types were derived from this larval form by the larva becoming oval, and the region in front of the mouth forming a præoral lobe, and that behind the mouth growing out to form the trunk. the aboral dome became the dorsal surface. on the establishment of a bilateral symmetry the anterior part of the nervous ring gave rise (?) to the supraoesophageal ganglia, and the optic organs connected with them; while the posterior part of the nerve-ring formed (?) the ventral nerve-cords. the body cavity was developed from two of the primitive alimentary diverticula. the usual view that radiate forms have become bilateral by the elongation of the aboral dome into the trunk is probably erroneous. . pilidium is the larval form which most nearly reproduces the characters of the larval prototype in the course of its conversion into a bilateral form. . the trochosphere is a completely differentiated bilateral form, in which an anus has become developed. the præoral ciliated ring of the trochosphere is probably directly derived from the ciliated ring of pilidium, which is itself the original ring of the prototype of all these larval forms. . echinoderm larvæ, in the absence of a nerve-ganglion or special organs of sense on the præoral lobe, and in the presence of alimentary diverticula, which give rise to the body cavity, retain some characters of the prototype larva which have been lost in pilidium. the ciliated ring of echinoderm larvæ is probably derived directly from that of the prototype by the formation of an anus on the dorsal side of the ring. the anus was very probably originally situated at the aboral apex. adult echinoderms have probably retained the radial symmetry of the forms from which they are descended, their nervous ring being directly derived from the circular nervous ring of their ancestors. they have not, as is usually supposed, secondarily acquired their radial symmetry. the bilateral symmetry of the larva is, on this view, secondary, like that of so many coelenterate larvæ. . the points of similarity between tornaria and ( ) the trochosphere and ( ) the echinoderm larvæ are probably adaptive in the one case or the other; and, while there is no difficulty in believing that those to the trochosphere are adaptive, the presence of a water-vascular vesicle with a dorsal pore renders probable a real affinity with echinoderm larvæ. . it is not possible in the present state of our knowledge to decide how far the resemblances between actinotrocha and echinoderm larvæ are adaptive or primary. bibliography. ( ) allen thomson. _british association address_, . ( ) a. agassiz. "embryology of the ctenophoræ." _mem. amer. acad. of arts and sciences_, vol. x. . ( ) k. e. von baer. _ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere._ königsberg, - . ( ) f. m. balfour. "a comparison of the early stages in the development of vertebrates." _quart. journ. of micr. sci._, vol. xv. . ( ) c. claus. _die typenlehre u. e. haeckel's sg. gastræa-theorie._ wien, . ( ) c. claus. _grundzüge d. zoologie._ marburg und leipzig, . ( ) a. dohrn. _der ursprung d. wirbelthiere u. d. princip des functionswechsels._ leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _grundriss d. vergleichenden anatomie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also translation. _elements of comparative anatomy._ macmillan & co., . ( ) a. götte. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) e. haeckel. _studien z. gastræa-theorie_, jena, ; and also _jenaische zeitschrift_, vols. viii. and ix. - . ( ) e. haeckel. _schöpfungsgeschichte._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation, _the history of creation_. king & co., london, . ( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation, _anthropogeny_. kegan paul & co., london, . ( ) b. hatschek. "studien üb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. anneliden." _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. d. univer. wien._ . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. "die actinien." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vols. xiii. and xiv. . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. _die coelomtheorie._ jena, [ ]. ( ) o. hertwig. _die chætognathen._ jena, . ( ) r. hertwig. _ueb. d. bau d. ctenophoren._ jena, . ( ) t. h. huxley. _the anatomy of invertebrated animals._ churchill, . ( *) t. h. huxley. "on the classification of the animal kingdom." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xv. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra, eine anatomisch-entwicklungsgeschichtliche untersuchung._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. d. höh. thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, series vii. vol. xvi. . ( ) e. r. lankester. "on the germinal layers of the embryo as the basis of the genealogical classification of animals." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._ . ( ) e. r. lankester. "notes on embryology and classification." _quart. journ. of micr. sci._, vol. xvii. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. kalkschwämme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiv. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "spongiologische studien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxii. . ( ) a. s. p. packard. _life histories of animals, including man, or outlines of comparative embryology._ holt and co., new york, . ( ) c. rabl. "ueb. d. entwick. d. malermuschel." _jenaische zeitsch._, vol. x. . ( ) c. rabl. "ueb. d. entwicklung. d. tellerschnecke (planorbis)." _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) h. rathke. _abhandlungen z. bildung und entwicklungsgesch. d. menschen u. d. thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) h. rathke. _ueber die bildung u. entwicklungs. d. flusskrebses._ leipzig, . ( ) r. remak. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . ( ) salensky. "bemerkungen üb. haeckels gastræa-theorie." _archiv. f. naturgeschichte_, . ( ) e. schäfer. "some teachings of development." _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) c. semper. "die verwandtschaftbeziehungen d. gegliederten thiere." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. iii. - . [ ] this important memoir only came into my hands after this chapter was already in type. part ii. _organogeny._ part ii. organogeny. introduction. our knowledge of the development of the organs in most of the invertebrate groups is so meagre that it would not be profitable to attempt to treat systematically the organogeny of the whole animal kingdom. for this reason the plan adopted in this section of the work has been to treat somewhat fully the organogeny of the chordata, which is comparatively well known; and merely to indicate a few salient facts with reference to the organogeny of other groups. in the case of the nervous system, and of some other organs which especially lend themselves to this treatment, such as the organs of special sense and the excretory system, a wider view of the subject has been taken; and certain general principles underlying the development of other organs have also been noticed. the classification of the organs is a matter of some difficulty. considering the character of this treatise it seemed desirable to arrange the organs according to the layers from which they are developed. the compound nature of many organs, _e.g._ the eye and ear, renders it, however, impossible to carry out consistently such a mode of treatment. i have accordingly adopted a rough classification of the organs according to the layers, dropping the principle where convenient, as, for instance, in the case of the stomodæum and proctodæum. the organs which may be regarded as mainly derived from the epiblast are ( ) the skin; ( ) the nervous system; ( ) the organs of special sense. those from the mesoblast are ( ) the general connective tissue and skeleton; ( ) the vascular system and body cavity; ( ) the muscular system; ( ) the urinogenital system. those from the hypoblast are the alimentary tract and its derivates; with which the stomodæum and proctodæum and their respective derivates are also dealt with. bibliography. _general works dealing with the development of the organs of the chordata._ ( ) k. e. von baer. _ueber entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere._ königsberg, - . ( ) f. m. balfour. _a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes._ london, . ( ) th. c. w. bischoff. _entwicklungsgesch. d. säugethiere u. d. menschen._ leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _grundriss d. vergleichenden anatomie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also english translation, _elements of comp. anatomy_. london, . ( ) m. foster and f. m. balfour. _the elements of embryology._ part i. london, . ( ) alex. götte. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. _untersuch. üb. d. erste anlage d. wirbelthierleibes._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. der höheren thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) h. rathke. _abhandlungen ü. bildung und entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. d. thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) h. rathke. _entwicklungs. d. natter._ königsberg, . ( ) h. rathke. _entwicklungs. d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, . ( ) r. remak. _untersuchungen üb. d. entwicklung d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, - . ( ) s. l. schenk. _lehrbuch d. vergleich. embryologie d. wirbelthiere._ wien, . chapter xiv. the epidermis and its derivatives. in many of the coelenterata the outermost layer of the blastoderm is converted as a whole into the skin or ectoderm. the cells composing it become no doubt in part differentiated into muscular elements and in part into nervous elements, &c.; but still it may remain through life as a simple external membrane. this membrane contains in itself indefinite potentialities for developing into various organs, and in all the true triploblastica these potentialities are more or less realized. the embryonic epiblast ceases in fact, in the higher forms, to become converted as a whole into the epidermis, but first gives rise to parts of the nervous system, organs of special sense, and other parts. after the formation of these parts the remnant of the epiblast gives rise to the epidermis, and often unites more or less intimately with a subjacent layer of mesoblast, known as the dermis, to form with it the skin. various differentiations may arise in the epidermis forming protective or skeletal structures, terminal sense organs, or glands. the structure of the epidermis itself varies greatly, and for vertebrates its general modifications have been already sufficiently dealt with in chapter xii. of its special differentiations those of a protective or skeletal nature and those of a glandular nature may be considered in this place. protective epidermal structures. these structures constitute a general cuticle or an exoskeleton of scales, hairs, feathers, nails, hoofs, &c. they may be entirely formed from the epidermis either as ( ) a cuticular deposit, or as ( ) a chitinization, a cornification, or calcification of its constituent cells. these two processes run into each other, and are in many cases not easily distinguished. the protective structures of the epidermis may be divided into two groups according as they are formed on the _outer_ or the _inner_ side of the epidermis. dermal skeletal structures are in many cases added to them. amongst the invertebrata the most widely distributed type of exoskeleton is a cuticle formed on the outer surface of the epidermis, which reaches its highest development in the arthropoda. in the same class with this cuticle must be placed the molluscan and brachiopod shells, which are developed as cuticular plates on special regions of the epidermis. they differ, however, from the more usual form of cuticle in their slighter adhesion to the subjacent epidermis, and in their more complicated structure. the test of ascidians is an abnormal form of exoskeleton belonging to this type. it is originally formed (hertwig and semper) as a cuticle on the surface of the epidermis; but subsequently epidermic cells migrate into it, and it then constitutes a tissue similar to connective tissue, but differing from ordinary epidermic cuticles in that the cells which deposit it do so over their whole surface, instead of one surface, as is usually the case with epithelial cells. in the vertebrata the two types of exoskeleton mentioned above are both found, but that developed on the inner surface of the epidermis is always associated with a dermal skeleton, and that on the outer side frequently so. the type of exoskeleton developed on the _inner side_ of the general epidermis is confined to the pisces, where it appears as the scales; but a primitive form of these structures persists as the teeth in the amphibia and amniota. the type developed on the _outer_ side of the epidermis is almost entirely[ ] confined to the amphibia and amniota, where it appears as scales, feathers, hairs, claws, nails, &c. for the histological details as to the formation of these various organs i must refer the reader to treatises on histology, confining my attention here to the general embryological processes which take place in their development. [ ] the horny teeth of the cyclostomata are structures belonging to this group. the most primitive form of the first type of dermal structures is that of the placoid scales of elasmobranchii[ ]. these consist, when fully formed, of a plate bearing a spinous projection. they are constituted of an outer enamel layer on the projecting part, developed as a cuticular deposit of the epidermis (epiblast), and an underlying basis of dentine (the lower part of which may be osseous) with a vascular pulp in its axis. the development (fig. ) is as follows (hertwig, no. ). a papilla of the dermis makes its appearance, the outer layer of which gradually calcifies to form the dentine and osseous tissue. this papilla is covered by the columnar mucous layer of the epidermis (_e_), from which it is separated by a basement membrane, itself a product of the epidermis. this membrane gradually thickens and calcifies, and so gives rise to the enamel cap (_o_). the spinous point gradually forces its way through the epidermis, so as to project freely at the surface. [ ] for the most important contributions on this subject from which the facts and views here expressed are largely derived, _vide_ o. hertwig, nos. - . [fig. . vertical section through the skin of an embryonic shark, to shew a developing placoid scale. (from gegenbaur; after o. hertwig.) _e._ epidermis; _c._ layers of dermis; _d._ uppermost layer of dermis; _p._ papilla of dermis; _e._ mucous layer of epidermis; _o._ enamel layer.] the scales of other forms of fishes are to be derived from those of elasmobranchii. the great dermal plates of many fishes have been formed by the concrescence of groups of such scales. the dentine in many cases partially or completely atrophies, leaving the major part of the scale formed of osseous tissue; such plates often become parts of the internal skeleton. the teeth, as will be more particularly described in the section on the alimentary tract, are formed by a modification of the same process as the placoid scales, in which a ridge of the epithelium grows inwards to meet a connective tissue papilla, so that the development of the teeth takes place entirely below the superficial layer of epidermis. in most teleostei the enamel and dentine layers have disappeared, and the scales are entirely formed of a peculiar calcified tissue developed in the dermis. the cuticle covering the scales of reptiles is the simplest type of protective structure formed on the outer surface of the epidermis. the scales consist of papillæ of the dermis and epidermis; and are covered by a thickened portion of a two-layered cuticle, formed over the whole surface of the body from a cornification of the superficial part of the epidermis. dermal osseous plates may be formed in connection with these scales, but are never of course united with the superficial cuticle. feathers are probably special modifications of such scales. they arise from an induration of the epidermis of papillæ containing a vascular core. the provisional down, usually present at the time of hatching, is formed by the cornification of longitudinal ridges of the mucous layer of the epidermis of the papillæ; each cornified ridge giving rise to a barb of the feather. the horny layer of the epidermis forms a provisional sheath for the developing feather below. when the barbs are fully formed this sheath is thrown off, the vascular core dries up, and the barbs become free except at their base. without entering into the somewhat complicated details of the formation of the permanent feathers, it may be mentioned that the calamus or quill is formed by a cornification in the form of a tube of both layers of the epidermis at the base of the papilla. the quill is open at both ends, and to it is attached the vexillum or plume of the feather. in a typical feather this is formed at the apex of the papilla from ridge-like thickenings of the mucous layer of the epidermis, arranged in the form of a longitudinal axis, continuous with the cornified mucous layer of the quill, and from lateral ridges. these subsequently become converted into the axis and barbs of the plume. the external epidermic layer becomes converted into a provisional horny sheath for the true feather beneath. on the completion of the plume of the feather the external sheath is thrown off, leaving it quite free, and the vascular core belonging to it shrivels up. the papilla in which the feather is formed becomes at a very early period secondarily enveloped in a pit or follicle which gradually deepens as the development of the feather is continued. hairs (kölliker, no. ) are formed in solid processes of the mucous layer of the epidermis, which project into the subjacent dermis. the hair itself arises from a cornification of the cells of the axis of one of the above processes; and is invested by a sheath similarly formed from the more superficial epidermic cells. a small papilla of the dermis grows into the inner end of the epidermic process when the hair is first formed. the first trace of the hair appears close to this papilla, but soon increases in length, and when the end of the hair projects from the surface, the original solid process of the epidermis becomes converted into an open pit, the lumen of which is filled by the root of the hair. hairs differ in their mode of formation from scales in a manner analogous to that in which the teeth differ from ordinary placoid scales; _i.e._ they are formed in inwardly directed projections of the epidermis instead of upon free papillæ at the surface. nails (kölliker, no. ) are developed on special regions of the epidermis, known as the primitive nail beds. they are formed by the cornification of a layer of cells which makes its appearance between the horny and mucous layers of the epidermis. the distal border of the nail soon becomes free, and the further growth is effected by additions to the under side and attached extremity of the nail. although the nail at first arises in the interior of the epidermis, yet its position on the outer side of the mucous layer clearly indicates with which group of epidermic structures it should be classified. dermal skeletal structures. we have seen that in the chordata skeletal structures, which were primitively formed of both an epidermic and dermic element, may lose the former element and be entirely developed in the dermis. amongst the invertebrata there are certain dermal skeletal structures which are evolved wholly independently of the epidermis. the most important of these structures are the skeletal plates of the echinodermata. glands. the secretory part of the various glandular structures belonging to the skin is invariably formed from the epidermis. in mammalia it appears that these glands are always formed as solid ingrowths of the mucous layer (kölliker, no. ). the ends of these ingrowths dilate to form the true glandular part of the organs, while the stalks connecting the glandular portions with the surface form the ducts. in the case of the sweat-glands the lumen of the duct becomes first established. its formation is inaugurated by the appearance of the cuticle, and appears first at the inner end of the duct and thence extends outwards (ranvier, no. ). in the sebaceous glands the first secretion is formed by a fatty modification of the whole of the central cells of the gland. the muscular layer of the secreting part of the sweat-glands is formed, according to ranvier (no. ), from a modification of the deeper layer of the epidermic cells. the mammary glands arise in essentially the same manner as the other glands of the skin[ ]. the glands of each side are formed as a solid bud of the mucous layer of the epidermis. from this bud processes sprout out, each of which gives rise to one of the numerous glands of which the whole organ is formed. two very distinct types in the relation of the ducts of the glands to the nipple are found (gegenbaur, no. ). bibliography of epidermis. _general._ ( ) t. h. huxley. "tegumentary organs." todd's _cyclopædia of anat. and physiol._ ( ) p. z. unna. "histol. u. entwick. d. oberhaut." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xv. . _vide_ also kölliker (no. ). _scales of the pisces._ ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber bau u. entwicklung d. placoidschuppen u. d. zähne d. selachier." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. viii. . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber d. hautskelet d. fische." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . (siluroiden u. acipenseridæ.) ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber d. hautskelet d. fische (lepidosteus u. polypterus)." _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . _feathers._ ( ) th. studer. _die entwick. d. federn._ inaug. diss. bern, . ( ) th. studer. "beiträge z. entwick. d. feder." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxx. . _sweat-glands._ ( ) m. s. ranvier. "sur la structure des glandes sudoripares." _comptes rendus_, dec. , . _mammary glands._ ( ) c. creighton. "on the development of the mamma and the mammary function." _jour. of anat. and phys._, vol. xi. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "bemerkungen üb. d. milchdrüsen-papillen d. säugethiere." _jenaische zeit._, vol. vii. . ( ) m. huss. "beitr. z. entwick. d. milchdrüsen b. menschen u. b. wiederkäuern." _jenaische zeit._, vol. vii. . ( ) c. langer. "ueber d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. milchdrüsen." _denk. d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. iii. . [ ] for a very different view on this subject _vide_ creighton (no. ). chapter xv. nervous system. _origin of the nervous system._ one of the most important recent embryological discoveries is the fact that the central nervous system, in all the metazoa in which it is fully established, is (with a few doubtful exceptions) derived from the primitive epiblast[ ]. as we have already seen that the epiblast represents to a large extent the primitive epidermis, the fact of the nervous system being derived from the epiblast implies that the functions of the central nervous system, which were originally taken by the whole skin, became gradually concentrated in a special part of the skin which was step by step removed from the surface, and has finally become in the higher types a well-defined organ imbedded in the subdermal tissues. [ ] whether there is any part of it in many types not so derived requires further investigation, now that it has been shewn by the hertwigs that part of the system develops from the endoderm in some coelenterata. o. hertwig holds that part of it has a mesoblastic origin in sagitta, but his observations on this point appear to me very inconclusive. it would be very advantageous to investigate the origin of auerbach's plexus in mammalia. before considering in detail the comparative development of the nervous system, it will be convenient shortly to review the present state of our knowledge on the general process of its evolution. this process may be studied either embryologically, or by a comparison of the various stages in its evolution preserved in living forms. both the methods have led to important results. the embryological evidence shews that the ganglion-cells of the central part of the nervous system are originally derived from the simple undifferentiated epithelial cells of the surface of the body, while the central nervous system itself has arisen from the concentration of such cells in special tracts. in the chordata at any rate the nerves arise as outgrowths of the central organ. another important fact shewn by embryology is that the central nervous system, and percipient portions of the organs of special sense, especially of optic organs, are often formed from the same part of the primitive epidermis. thus the retina of the vertebrate eye is formed from the two lateral lobes of the primitive fore-brain. the same is true for the compound eyes of some crustacea. the supraoesophageal ganglia of these animals are formed in the embryo from two thickened patches of the epiblast of the procephalic lobes. these thickened patches become gradually detached from the surface, remaining covered by a layer of epidermis. they then constitute the supraoesophageal ganglia; but they form not only the ganglia, but also the retinulæ of the eye--the parts in fact which correspond to the rods and cones in our own retina. the accessory parts of these organs of special sense, viz. the crystalline lens of the vertebrate eye, and the corneal lenses and crystalline cones of the crustacean eye, are independently formed from the epiblast after the separation of the part which becomes the central nervous system. in the acraspedote medusæ the rudimentary central nervous system has the form of isolated rings, composed of sense-cells prolonged into nervous fibres, surrounding the stalks of tentacle-like organs, at the ends of which are placed the sense-organs. this close connection between certain organs of special sense and ganglia is probably to be explained by supposing that the two sets of structures actually originated _pari passu_. we may picture the process as being somewhat as follows:-- it is probable that in simple ancestral organisms the whole body was sensitive to light, but that with the appearance of pigment-cells in certain parts of the body, the sensitiveness to light became localised to the areas where the pigment-cells were present. since, however, it was necessary that stimuli received by such organs should be communicated to other parts of the body, some of the epidermic cells in the neighbourhood of the pigment-spots, which were at first only sensitive in the same manner as other cells of the epidermis, became gradually differentiated into special nerve-cells. as to the details of this differentiation embryology does not as yet throw any great light; but from the study of comparative anatomy there are grounds for thinking that it was somewhat as follows:--cells placed on the surface sent protoplasmic processes of a nervous nature inwards, which came into connection with nervous processes from similar cells placed in other parts of the body. the cells with such processes then became removed from the surface, forming a deeper layer of the epidermis below the sensitive cells of the organ of vision. with the latter cells they remained connected by protoplasmic filaments, and thus they came to form a thickening of the epidermis underneath the organ of vision, the cells of which received their stimuli from those of the organ of vision, and transmitted the stimuli so received to other parts of the body. such a thickening would obviously be the rudiment of a central nervous system, and is in fact very similar to the rudimentary ganglia of the acraspeda mentioned above. it is easy to see by what steps it might become larger and more important, and might gradually travel inwards, remaining connected with the sense-organ at the surface by protoplasmic filaments, which would then constitute nerves. the rudimentary eye would at first merely consist of cells sensitive to light, and of ganglion-cells connected with them; while at a later period optical structures, constituting a lens capable of throwing an image of external objects upon it, would be developed, and so convert the whole structure into a true organ of vision. it has thus come about that, in the development of the individual, the retina is often first formed in connection with the central nervous system, while the lenses of the eye are independently evolved from the epidermis at a later period. a series of forms of the coelenterata and platyelminthes affords us examples of various stages in the differentiation of a central nervous system[ ]. [ ] our knowledge on this subject is especially due to the brothers hertwig (nos. and ), eimer (no. ), claus (no. ), schäfer (no. ), and hubrecht (no. ). in sea-anemones (hertwigs, no. ) there are, for instance, no organs of special sense, and no definite central nervous system. there are, however, scattered throughout the skin, and also throughout the lining of the digestive tract, a number of specially modified epithelial cells, which are no doubt delicate organs of sense. they are provided at their free extremity with a long hair, and are prolonged on their inner side into fine processes which penetrate into the deeper part of the epithelial layer of the skin or digestive wall. they eventually join a fine network of protoplasmic fibres which forms a special layer immediately within the epithelium. the fibres of this network are no doubt essentially nervous. in addition to fibres there are, moreover, present in the network cells of the same character as the multipolar ganglion-cells in the nervous system of vertebrates, and some of these cells are characterised by sending a process into the superjacent epithelium. such cells are obviously intermediate between neuro-epithelial cells and ganglion-cells; and it is probable that the nerve-cells are, in fact, sense-cells which have travelled inwards and lost their epithelial character. in the craspedote medusæ (hertwigs, no. ) the differentiation of the nervous system is carried somewhat further. there is here a definite double ring, placed at the insertion of the velum, and usually connected with sense-organs. the two parts of the ring belong respectively to the epithelial layers on the upper and lower surfaces of the velum, and are not separated from these layers; they are formed of fine nerve-fibres and ganglion-cells. the epithelium above the nerve rings contains sense-cells (fig. ) with a stiff hair at their free extremity, and a nervous prolongation at the opposite end, which joins the nerve-fibres of the ring. between such cells and true ganglion-cells an intermediate type of cell has been found (fig. b) which sends a process upwards amongst the epithelial cells, but does not reach the surface. such cells, as the hertwigs have pointed out, are clearly sense-cells partially transformed into ganglion-cells. a still higher type of nervous system has been met with amongst some primitive nemertines (hubrecht, no. ), consisting of a pair of large cephalic ganglia, and two well-developed lateral ganglionic cords placed close beneath the epidermis. these cords, instead of giving off definite nerves, as in animals with a fully differentiated nervous system, are connected with a continuous subdermal nervous plexus. [fig. . neuro-epithelial sense-cells of aurelia aurita. (from lankester; after schäfer.)] the features of the embryology and the anatomy of the nervous system, to which attention has just been called, point to the following general conclusions as to the evolution of the nervous system. ( ) the nervous system of the higher metazoa appears to have been evolved in the course of a long series of generations from a differentiation of some of the superficial epithelial cells of the body, though it is possible that some parts of the system may have been formed by a differentiation of the alimentary epithelium. ( ) an early feature in the differentiation consisted in the growth of a series of delicate processes of the inner ends of certain epithelial cells, which became at the same time especially differentiated as sense-cells (figs. and ). [fig. . isolated cells belonging to the upper nerve-ring of carmarina hastata. (after o. and r. hertwig.) a. neuro-epithelial sense-cell. _c._ sense-hair. b. transitional cell between a neuro-epithelial cell and a ganglion-cell.] ( ) these processes gave rise to a subepithelial nervous plexus, in which ganglion-cells, formed from sense-cells which travelled inwards and lost their epithelial character (fig. b), soon formed an important part. ( ) local differentiations of the nervous network, which was no doubt distributed over the whole body, took place partly in the formation of organs of special sense, and partly in other ways, and such differentiations gave rise to a central nervous system. the central nervous system was at first continuous with the epidermis, but became separated from it and travelled inwards. ( ) nerves, such as we find them in the higher types, originated from special differentiations of the nervous network, radiating from the parts of the central nervous system. the following points amongst others are still very obscure:-- ( ) the steps by which the protoplasmic processes from the primitive epidermic cells became united together so as to form a network of nerve-fibres, placing the various parts of the body in nervous communication. ( ) the process by which nerves became connected with muscles, so that a stimulus received by a nerve-cell could be communicated to and cause a contraction in a muscle. it is probable, as stated in the above summary, that the nervous network took its origin from processes of the sense-cells. the processes of the different cells probably first met and then fused together, and, becoming more arborescent, finally gave rise to a complicated network. [fig. . myoepithelial cells of hydra. (from gegenbaur; after kleinenberg.) _m._ contractile fibres; processes of cells.] the primitive relations between the nervous network and the muscular system are matters of pure speculation. the primitive muscular cells consist of epithelial cells with muscular processes (fig. ), but the branches of the nervous network have not been traced into connection with the muscles in any coelenterata except ctenophora. in the higher types a continuity between nerves and muscles in the form of motorial end plates has been widely observed. even in the case of the coelenterata it is quite clear from romanes' experiments that stimuli received by the nerves are capable of being transmitted to the muscles, and that there must therefore be some connection between nerves and muscles. how did this connection originate? epithelial cells with muscular processes (fig. ) were discovered by kleinenberg (no. ) in hydra before epithelial cells with nervous processes were known, and kleinenberg pointed out that hydra shewed the possibility of nervous and muscular tissues existing without a central nervous system, and suggested that the epithelial part of the myoepithelial cells was a sense-organ, and that the connecting part between this and the contractile processes was a rudimentary nerve. he further supposed that in the subsequent evolution of these elements the epithelial part of the cell became a ganglion-cell, while the part connecting this with the muscular tail became prolonged so as to form a true nerve. the discovery of neuro-epithelial cells existing side by side with myoepithelial cells demonstrates that this theory must in part be abandoned, and that some other explanation must be given of the continuity between nerves and muscles. the hypothetical explanation which most obviously suggests itself is that of fusion. it seems quite possible that many of the epithelial cells of the epidermis and walls of the alimentary tract were originally provided with processes, the protoplasm of which, like that of the protozoa, carried on the functions of nerves and muscles at the same time, and that these processes united amongst themselves into a network. such cells would be very similar to kleinenberg's neuro-muscular cells. by a subsequent differentiation some of the cells forming this network may have become specially contractile, the epithelial parts of the cells ceasing to have a nervous function, and other cells may have lost their contractility and become solely nervous. in this way we should get neuro-epithelial cells and myoepithelial cells both differentiated from the primitive network, and the connection between the two would also be explained. this hypothesis fits in moreover very well with the condition of the neuro-muscular system as we find it in the coelenterata. bibliography. _origin of the nervous system._ ( ) f. m. balfour. "address to the department of anat. and physiol. of the british association." . ( ) c. claus. "studien üb. polypen u. quallen d. adria. . acalephen, discomedusen," _denk. d. math.-naturwiss. classe d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. xxxviii. . ( ) th. eimer. _zoologische studien a. capri. . ueber beroë ovatus. ein beitrag z. anat. d. rippenquallen._ leipzig, . ( ) v. hensen. "zur entwicklung d. nervensystems." _virchow's archiv_, vol. xxx. . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. _das nervensystem u. d. sinnesorgane d. medusen._ leipzig, . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. "die actinien anat. u. histol. mit besond. berücksichtigung d. nervenmuskelsystem untersucht." _jenaische zeit._, vol. xiii. . ( ) r. hertwig. "ueb. d. bau d. ctenophoren." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xiv. . ( ) a. w. hubrecht. "the peripheral nervous system in palæo- and schizonemertini, one of the layers of the body-wall." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra, eine anatomisch-entwicklungsgeschichtliche untersuchung._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, series vii., vol. xvi. . ( ) e. a. schäfer. "observations on the nervous system of aurelia aurita." _phil. trans._ . nervous system of the invertebrata. our knowledge of the development of the central nervous system is still very imperfect in the case of many invertebrate groups. in the echinodermata and some of the chætopoda it is never detached from the epidermis, and in such cases its origin is clear without embryological evidence. in the majority of groups the central nervous system may be reduced to the type of a pair of cephalic ganglia, continued posteriorly into two cords provided with nerve-cells, which may coalesce ventrally or be more or less widely separated, and be unsegmented or segmented. various additional visceral ganglia may be added, and in different instances parts of the system may be much reduced, or peculiarly modified. the nervous system of the platyelminthes (when present), of the rotifera, brachiopoda, polyzoa (?), the mollusca, the chætopoda, the discophora, the gephyrea, the tracheata, and the crustacea, the various small arthropodan phyla (poecilopoda, pycnognida, tardigrada, &c.), the chætognatha (?), and the myzostomea, probably belongs to this type. the nervous system of the echinodermata cannot be reduced to this form; nor in the present state of our knowledge can that of the nematelminthes or enteropneusta. it is only in the case of members of the former set of groups that any adequate observations have yet been made on the development of the nervous system, and even in the case of these groups observations which have any claim to completeness are confined to certain members of the chætopoda, the arthropoda and the mollusca. an account of imperfect observations on other forms, where such have been made, will be found in the systematic part of this work. chætopoda. we are indebted to kleinenberg (no. ) for the most detailed account which we have of the development of the central nervous system in the chætopoda. [fig. . section through the head of a young embryo of lumbricus trapezoides. (after kleinenberg.) _c.g._ cephalic ganglion; _cc._ cephalic portion of the body cavity; _x._ oesophagus.] the supraoesophageal ganglion with the oesophageal commissure developes independently of the ventral cord. it arises as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast, close to the dorsal side of the oesophagus at the front end of the head (fig. ), which becomes separated from the epiblast, and extends obliquely backwards and downwards in a somewhat arched form; its lower extremities being somewhat swollen. the inner portion of this curved rudiment becomes converted into commissural nerve-fibres, while the cells of the outer and upper portion assume the characters of ganglion-cells. the commissural fibres are continued downwards to meet the ventral chord, but their junction with the latter structure is not effected till late in embryonic life. the ventral cord is formed by the coalescence of a pair of linear cords, the development of which takes place from before backwards, so that when their anterior part is well developed their posterior part is hardly differentiated. these cords arise, one on each side of a ventral ciliated furrow, first as a single row of epiblast cells, and subsequently as several rows (fig. , _vg_). while still united to the external epiblast, they extend themselves below the cells lining the ventral furrow, and unite into a single nervous band, which however exhibits its double origin by its bilobed section. before the two cords unite, the groove between them becomes somewhat deep, but subsequently shallows out and disappears. the nervous band, before separating from the epiblast, exhibits, in correspondence with the mesoblastic segments, alternate swellings and constrictions. the former become the ganglia, and the latter the connecting trunks. [fig. . section through part of the ventral wall of the trunk of an embryo of lumbricus trapezoides. (after kleinenberg.) _m._ longitudinal muscles; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _vg._ ventral nerve-cord; _vv._ ventral vessel.] as soon as the cord becomes free from the epiblast, it becomes surrounded by a sheath, formed of somatic mesoblast. in each of the ganglionic enlargements there next appears on the dorsal surface a pair of areas of punctiform material, the substance of which soon differentiates itself into nerve-fibres. these areas, by uniting from side to side, give rise to the transverse commissures, and also by a linear coalescence to the longitudinal commissures of the cord. the cellular parts of the band surrounding them become converted into a ganglionic covering of the cord. in each ganglion the cells of this ganglionic investment penetrate as a median septum into the cord. a fissure is next formed, dividing this septum into two; it is subsequently continued for the whole length of the cord. arthropoda. in the tracheata and the crustacea the development of the ventral cord is in the main similar to that in the chætopods, while that of the supraoesophageal ganglia is as a rule somewhat more complicated. no such clear evidence of an independent development of these two parts, as in the case of the chætopods, has as yet been produced. the most primitive type of nervous system amongst the tracheata is that of peripatus, where it consists of large supraoesophageal ganglia, continuous with a pair of widely separated but large ventral cords united posteriorly above the anus. these cords have an investment of ganglion-cells for their whole length, and are imperfectly divided into ganglia corresponding in number with the feet. [fig. . section through the trunk of an embryo of peripatus. the embryo from which the section is taken was somewhat younger than that of fig. . _sp.m._ splanchnic mesoblast; _s.m._ somatic mesoblast; _mc._ median section of body cavity; _lc._ lateral section of body cavity; _v.n._ ventral nerve cord; _me._ mesenteron.] the ventral cords are formed as two separate epiblastic ridges (fig. , _v.n_), continued in front into a pair of thickenings of the procephalic lobes, which are at first independent of each other, and from which a large part of the supraoesophageal ganglia takes its origin. after the latter have become separated from the epiblast an invagination of the epiblast covering them grows into each lobe (fig. ), and becoming constricted from the superficial epiblast, which remains as the epidermis, forms a not unimportant part of the permanent supraoesophageal ganglia. in the arachnida the mode of development of the nervous system is essentially the same, and the reader will find a detailed account of it for spiders in vol. ii. pp. - . the ventral cords are here formed as independent and at first widely separated strands (fig. , _vn_), which for a long time remain far apart; they are subsequently divided into ganglia and become united by transverse commissures. the supraoesophageal ganglia are formed as two independent thickenings of the procephalic lobes (fig. ), which eventually separate from the superficial skin. there is formed however in each of them a semicircular groove (fig. , _gr_) lined by the superficial epiblast, which becomes detached from the skin, and is involuted to form part of the ganglia. [fig. . head of an embryo peripatus. (from moseley.) the figure shews the jaws (mandibles), and close to them epiblastic involutions, which grow into the supraoesophageal ganglia. the antennæ, oral cavity, and oral papillæ are also shewn.] [fig. . transverse section through the ventral plate of agelena labyrinthica. the ventral cords have begun to be formed as thickenings of the epiblast, and the limbs are established. _me.s._ mesoblastic somite; _vn._ ventral nerve-cord; _yk._ yolk.] a similar mode of formation of both the ventral cords and the supraoesophageal ganglia obtains in insects (fig. ). the ventral cords are however much less widely separated than in spiders, and early unite in the median line. in the supraoesophageal ganglia the invaginated epiblast has in lepidoptera (hatschek) the form of a pit on the dorsal border of the antennæ. hatschek states that there takes place an invagination of a median part of the skin between the two ventral cords, for the details of which i must refer the reader to vol. ii. p. . he has made more or less similar statements for the earthworm, but his observations in both instances are open to serious doubt. [fig. . section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of agelena labyrinthica. _st._ stomadæum; _gr._ section through semicircular groove in procephalic lobe; _ce.s._ cephalic section of body cavity.] [fig. . two transverse sections through the embryo of hydrophilus. (after kowalevsky.) a. transverse section through an embryo in the region of one of the stigmata. b. transverse section through an older embryo. _vn._ ventral nerve-cord; _am._ amnion and serous membrane; _me._ mesoblast; _me.s._ somatic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast (?); _yk._ yolk-cells (true hypoblast); _st._ stigma of trachea.] full details as to the development of the nervous system in the crustacea are still wanting; a fairly complete account of what is known on the subject is given in vol. ii. pp. - . it appears that the ventral cord may either arise as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast (isopoda), marked however by a shallow median furrow, or from two cords which eventually coalesce[ ]. it is not certain how far the supraoesophageal ganglia are usually in the first instance continuous with the ventral cord. in astacus, the early stages of which have been elaborately investigated by reichenbach (no. ), they are stated to be so; the supraoesophageal ganglia are moreover described by this author as having a somewhat complicated origin. five elements enter into their composition. there is first formed a pair of pits on the procephalic lobes, which become very deep during the nauplius stage, and are continuous with a pair of epiblastic ridges which pass round the mouth, and join the ventral cords just described. the walls of the pits are believed to form a part of the embryonic ganglia which gives rise to the retina as well as to the optic ganglia. the ridges form the remainder of the ganglia and the oesophageal commissures; while the fifth element is supplied by a median invagination in front of the mouth, which appears at a much later date than the other parts. [ ] reichenbach (no. ) holds that the walls of the groove between the two strands of the ventral cords become invaginated and assist in the formation of the ventral cord. in the isopoda supraoesophageal ganglia are stated to arise as thickenings of the procephalic lobes, which become eventually detached from the epidermis. the ventral cord is at first unsegmented, but soon becomes partially divided by a series of constrictions into a number of ganglia, corresponding with the segments. the development of the commissural and ganglionic portions takes place much as in the chætopoda. the gephyrea approach closely the types so far dealt with, but the ventral cord in the inermia is formed as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast. in echiurus, as has been shewn by hatschek in an interesting paper on the larva of this species, published since the appearance of the first volume, there is a pair of ventral cords[ ]. in correspondence with a general segmentation of the body, which is subsequently lost, these cords become segmented. the two cords unite in the median line, and hatschek, in accordance with his general view on this subject, states that their junction is effected by means of a median cord of invaginated epiblast. the segmentation of the cords subsequently becomes lost. the supraoesophageal ganglia arise as an unpaired median thickening of the procephalic lobe. no traces of segmentation in the ventral cord have been observed by spengel in bonellia, and the supraoesophageal ganglion is formed in this genus as an unpaired band. [ ] "ueber entwicklungsgeschichte d. echiurus." _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. wien_, vol. iii. . in all the groups above considered the nervous system clearly presents the same type of development with various modifications. it is formed of two parts, viz. ( ) the supraoesophageal ganglia, and ( ) the ventral cord. in the simpler forms, chætopoda and gephyrea, the supraoesophageal ganglia are usually stated to be formed as an unpaired thickening at the apex of the præoral lobe, which in most cases becomes subsequently bilobed. in the arthropoda the unpaired præoral lobe of the chætopoda is replaced by the so-called procephalic lobes, which are themselves bilobed; and the supraoesophageal ganglia are formed of two independent halves; further complications in development are also generally found. there is not as yet sufficient evidence to decide whether the supraoesophageal ganglia were primitively developed continuously with, or independently of, the ventral cords. the ventral cord appears in the embryo as _two independent unsegmented strands_, although in a few cases (some crustacea and gephyrea) these cords, by an abbreviation in development, arise as an unpaired median thickening of the epiblast. the form of nervous system of the chætopoda, arthropoda, and gephyrea is clearly therefore to be derived, as was first pointed out by gegenbaur, from a more or less similar type to that now found in the nemertines; and as suggested in the chapter on larval forms (_vide_ p. ) may perhaps be derived from the elongation of a circular ring, of which the anterior end has become developed into the supraoesophageal ganglia, the lateral parts into the two lateral strands, while the posterior part persists in some forms in the junction of the ventral cords above the anus (enopla and peripatus). mollusca. while study of the anatomy of the nervous system of the mollusca, especially of certain primitive genera (chiton, haliotis, fissurella, &c.) leaves little doubt that it is formed on the same type as that of the groups just spoken of, the development, so far as our imperfect knowledge enables us to make definite statements on the subject, is somewhat abnormal[ ]. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii., pp. , . in the gasteropoda and pteropoda the supraoesophageal ganglia appear most probably to be developed either as paired thickenings of the epiblast of the velar area, or as invaginated pits of the velar area, which become detached from the surface, and then become solid (hyaleacea and limax). in either case the supraoesophageal ganglia appear to be developed quite independently of the pedal ganglia. the latter, as might be anticipated, are earlier in their development and more constant than the various visceral ganglia; and, if the views above expressed are correct, are homologous with the ventral cord of the chætopods and arthropods. their actual development is very imperfectly known. the most precise statements on the subject, viz. those of bobretzky and fol, would lead us to suppose that they arise in the mesoblast, but it seems more probable that they are formed as thickenings of the sides of the foot. in the cephalopods all the ganglia are stated to be differentiated in the mesoblast (lankester, bobretzky). hatschek[ ] has recently given a detailed description of the development of the supraoesophageal and pedal ganglia of teredo. he finds that the former ganglia arise as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast in the centre of the velar area, and the latter as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast of the ventral side of the body between the mouth and the anus. the two ganglia would thus seem to be disconnected with each other in their development. [ ] "ueber entwicklungsgeschichte von teredo." _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. wien_, vol. iii. . ( ) f. m. balfour. "notes on the development of the araneina." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) b. hatschek. "beitr. z. entwicklung d. lepidopteren." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xi. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. "the development of the earthworm, lumbricus trapezoides." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, series viii., vol. xvi. . ( ) h. reichenbach. "die embryonalanlage u. erste entwick. d. flusskrebses." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxix. . the central nervous system of the vertebrata[ ]. [ ] for the development of the central nervous system in amphioxus and the tunicata the reader is referred to the chapters dealing with those two groups. the formation of the cerebrospinal axis of the chordata from the medullary plate has already been treated at length (pp. - ). before entering into the consideration of the morphological value of the various parts of this cord, it will be convenient to describe the more important features of its ontogeny. for this purpose the two parts into which the nervous axis becomes at an early period divided, viz. the spinal cord and the brain, may be dealt with separately. the spinal cord, shortly after the closure of the medullary canal, has, in all the true vertebrata, the form of an oval tube; the walls of which are of a fairly uniform thickness, and are composed of several rows of elongated cells. this cord, as development proceeds, usually becomes vertically prolonged in transverse section, and the central canal which it contains also becomes vertically elongated. the variations in shape of the spinal canal are very great at different periods and in different parts of the body, and an attempt to chronicle them would appear, in the present state of our knowledge, to be quite valueless[ ]. fig. , in which the spinal cord of the chick of the third day is shewn in transverse section, illustrates the character of the cord at the stage just described. up to this time the walls of the spinal canal have exhibited an uniform structure. a series of changes now however takes place, which results in the differentiation ( ) of the epithelium of the central canal, ( ) of the grey matter of the cord, and ( ) of the external coating of white matter. [ ] löwe (no. ) holds that at an early stage of development three regions can always be distinguished in any section of the central canal, viz. ( ) a ventral narrow slit, ( ) a median enlargement, and ( ) a dorsal slit. such a form can no doubt often be observed, but my own observations do not lead me to attach any special importance to it. the relative time at which each of these parts becomes developed is not constant in the different forms. [fig. . section through the spinal cord of a seven days' chick. _pcw._ dorsal white column; _lcw._ lateral white column; _acw._ ventral white column; _c._ dorsal tissue filling up the part where the dorsal fissure will be formed; _pc._ dorsal grey cornu; _ac._ anterior grey cornu; _ep._ epithelial cells; _agc._ anterior commissure; _pf._ dorsal part of spinal canal; _spc._ ventral part of spinal canal; _af._ anterior fissure.] the white matter is apparently the result of a differentiation of the outermost parts of the superficial cells of the cord into longitudinal nerve-fibres, which remain for a long period without a medullary sheath. these fibres appear in transverse sections as small dots. the white matter forms a transparent investment of the grey matter and would seem to contain neither nuclei nor cells[ ]. the white matter may from the first form only two masses, one on each side, forming a layer on the _ventral and lateral_ parts of the spinal cord but not extending to the dorsal surface (elasmobranchii, fig. , _w_); or it may form four patches, viz. an anterior and a posterior white column on each side, which lie on a level with the origin of the anterior and posterior nerve-roots (the fowl, human embryo, etc.). in whichever of these forms the white matter appears, it is always, at first, a layer of extreme tenuity, which rapidly increases in thickness in the subsequent stages, and extends so as gradually to cover the whole cord (fig. ). [ ] this holds true at first for elasmobranchii, but at a later stage there are present numerous nerve-cells in the white matter, so that the distinction between the white and grey matter becomes much less marked than in higher types; in this respect elasmobranchii present an approximation to amphioxus. the anterior white commissure is formed very shortly after the first appearance of the white matter. the grey matter and the central epithelium are formed by a differentiation of the main mass of the spinal cord. the outer cells lose their epithelial-like arrangement, and, becoming prolonged into fibres, give rise to the grey matter, while the innermost cells retain their primitive arrangement, and constitute the epithelium of the canal. the process of formation of the grey matter would appear to proceed from without inwards, so that some of the cells, which have, on the formation of the grey matter, an epithelial-like arrangement, subsequently become converted into true nerve-cells. as has already been mentioned, the central epithelium of the nervous system probably corresponds with the so-called epidermic layer of the epiblast. the grey matter soon becomes prolonged dorsally and ventrally into the posterior and anterior horns. its fibres may especially be traced in two directions:--( ) round the anterior end of the spinal canal, immediately outside its epithelium and so to the grey matter on the opposite side, forming in this way an anterior grey commissure, through which a decussation of the fibres from the opposite sides is effected: ( ) dorsalwards along the outside of the lateral walls of the canal. there is at this period no trace of the ventral or dorsal fissure, and the shape of the central canal is not very different to what it was at an earlier period. this condition of the spinal cord is especially instructive, as it is very nearly that which is permanent in amphioxus. the next event of importance is the formation of the ventral or anterior fissure. this owes its origin to a downgrowth of the anterior horns of the cord on each side of the middle line. the two downgrowths enclose between them a somewhat linear space--the anterior fissure--which increases in depth in the succeeding stages (fig. , _af_). the dorsal or posterior fissure is formed at a later period than the anterior, and accompanies the atrophy of the dorsal section of the embryonically large canal of the spinal cord. the exact mode of its formation appears to me to be still involved in some obscurity. in the _elements of embryology_ the development of the posterior fissure was described in the following way: "on the seventh day the most important event is the formation of the _posterior fissure_. "this is brought about by the absorption of the roof of the posterior of the two parts into which the neural canal has become divided. "between the posterior horns of the cord, the epithelium forming the roof of the, so to speak, posterior canal is along the middle line covered neither by grey nor by white matter, and on the seventh day is partially absorbed, thus transforming the canal into a wedge-shaped fissure, whose mouth however is seen in section to be partially closed by a triangular clump of elongated cells (fig. , _c_). below this mass of cells the fissure is open. it is separated from the 'true spinal canal' by a very narrow space along which the side walls have coalesced. in the lumbar and sacral regions the two still communicate. "we thus find, as was first pointed out by lockhart clarke, that the anterior and posterior fissures of the spinal cord are, morphologically speaking, entirely different. the anterior fissure is merely the space left between two lateral downward growths of the cord, while the posterior fissure is part of the original neural canal separated from the rest of the cavity (which goes to form the true spinal canal) by a median coalescence of the side walls." i confess that i have some doubts as to the complete accuracy of the above statement. kölliker gives a full account of the gradual atrophy of the central canal; but i do not fully understand his statements with reference to the formation of the posterior fissure, which in fact appears to be only incidentally mentioned. it would seem from his account that a shallow and somewhat wide dorsal fissure is formed to start with, in the human embryo, by two projections of the posterior white horns. on the atrophy of the central canal this furrow becomes narrowed, but kölliker does not definitely state how it becomes deepened so as to give rise to the permanent dorsal fissure. it seems to me probable, though further investigations on the point are still required, that the dorsal fissure is a direct result of the atrophy of the dorsal part of the central canal of the spinal cord. the walls of the canal coalesce dorsally, and the coalescence gradually extends ventralwards, so as finally to reduce the central canal to a minute tube, formed of the ventral part of the original canal. the epithelial wall formed by the coalesced walls on the dorsal side of the canal is gradually absorbed. the epithelium of the central canal, at the period when its atrophy commences, is not covered dorsally either by grey or white matter, so that, with the gradual reduction of the dorsal part of the canal, and the absorption of the epithelial wall formed by the fusion of its two sides, a fissure between the two halves of the spinal cord becomes formed. this fissure is the posterior or dorsal fissure. in the process of its formation the white matter of the dorsal horns becomes prolonged so as to line its walls; and shortly after its formation the dorsal grey commissure makes its appearance, which is not improbably derived from part of the epithelium of the original central canal. _development of the brain._ the brain is formed from the anterior portion of the medullary plate. when the medullary plate first becomes differentiated it is not possible to distinguish between the region of the brain and that of the spinal cord. the brain region is however usually very early indicated by a widening of the medullary plate, but does not become sharply marked off from the region of the spinal cord. in many ichthyopsida (elasmobranchii (fig. , c) and amphibia (fig. , a)) the anterior dilatation gives to the medullary plate, before its sides meet to form a canal, a spatula-like form; which is either not present or less marked in reptilia, aves and mammalia. the length of the brain as compared to the spinal cord is always very great in the embryo, and in the earliest developmental periods the disproportion in the size of the brain is specially marked, owing to the full number of the somites of the trunk not having been formed. in elasmobranchii the brain is about one-third of the whole length of the embryo at the stage immediately following the closure of the medullary canal. the first differentiation of the brain into distinct parts is a very early occurrence, and may take place before (mammalia) or during the closure of the medullary folds. the brain first becomes divided into two successive lobes or vesicles by a single transverse constriction, and subsequently the posterior of these again becomes divided into two, so that three lobes are formed--known as the fore- the mid- and the hind-brain; of these the hind-brain is usually the longest. in some instances a bilobed stage can hardly be recognised. this primitive division of the brain is shewn in many of the figures already given. the reader may perhaps best refer to fig. . on the closure of the medullary groove the lumen of the medullary canal is continued uninterruptedly through the brain, but dilates considerably in each of the cerebral vesicles. the anterior lobe of the brain becomes converted into the cerebral hemispheres, the thalamencephalon, the primary optic vesicles, and the parts connected with them. the middle lobe becomes the optic lobes (corpora bigemina or corpora quadrigemina in mammalia) and the crura cerebri; while the posterior lobe becomes converted into the cerebellum and medulla oblongata. before describing in detail the changes by which the primary vesicles of the brain become converted into the above parts, it will be convenient to say a few words about the general development of the brain. the most striking peculiarity with reference to the general development of the brain is a curvature which appears in its axis, known as the cranial flexure. the flexure takes place through the mid-brain, and causes the fore-brain to be gradually bent downwards so that the axis of its floor forms, first, a right angle with that of the hinder part of the brain, and subsequently, as a rule, an acute angle. [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of a young pristiurus embryo. _cer._ commencement of the cerebral hemisphere; _pn._ pineal gland; _in._ infundibulum; _pt._ ingrowth from mouth to form the pituitary body; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _ch._ notochord; _al._ alimentary tract; _iaa._ artery of mandibular arch.] during these changes the brain, in most amniota at any rate, becomes in the first instance retort-shaped, the cerebral vesicle forming the swollen part of the retort, but subsequently the retort-shape is lost owing to the great development of the vesicle of the mid-brain, which forms the termination of the long axis of the embryo. figs. , , and , are representative figures of embryos of various vertebrate forms at a period when the mid-brain forms the termination of the long axis of the body. it is generally stated that the cranial flexure is at its maximum at the stage represented in these figures, and there can be no doubt that viewed from the exterior the cranial flexure ceases to be so marked a feature, and finally disappears as the embryo gradually grows older; but though the mid-brain ceases to form the termination of the long axis of the embryo, the flexure of the brain becomes in many forms absolutely more marked; while in other forms, though stated to diminish, it does not entirely vanish. [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of scyllium canicula at an advanced stage of development. _cer._ cerebral hemisphere; _pn._ pineal gland; _op.th._ optic thalamus, connected with its fellow by a commissure (the middle commissure). in front of it is seen a fold of the roof of the fore-brain, which is connected with the choroid plexus of the third ventricle; _op._ optic chiasma; _pt._ pituitary body; _in._ infundibulum; _cb._ cerebellum; _au.v._ passage leading from the auditory vesicle to the exterior; _mel._ medulla oblongata; _c.in._ internal carotid artery.] the general nature of the changes which take place will perhaps best be understood by a comparison of figs. and representing longitudinal sections at two stages through the brain of an embryo elasmobranch. the actual cranial flexure, _i.e._ flexure of the floor of the brain, is obviously greater in the older of the two brains, though viewed from the exterior the axis of this brain appears to be quite straight. in the younger stage, fig. , the mid-brain (_mb_) forms the end of the long axis of the body, while in the older one the cerebral hemispheres (_cer_) have grown very greatly, especially forwards and dorsalwards. they have thus come to lie in front of the mid-brain, and to form the end of the long axis of the body, and have at the same time compressed the originally large thalamencephalon against the mid-brain. the same general features may be seen in fig. representing a longitudinal section of the brain of an embryo fowl, and fig. representing a longitudinal section of the brain of a mammal. the infundibulum or perhaps rather the point of origin of the optic nerves is to be regarded as the anterior termination of the axis of the base of the brain. the cranial flexure is least marked in cyclostomata (fig. ), teleostei, ganoidei, and amphibia, while it is very pronounced in elasmobranchii, reptilia, aves, and mammalia. in teleostei, and still more in cyclostomata, it permanently remains slight, owing to the small development of the cerebral hemispheres. in addition to the cranial flexures, two other flexures make their appearance in the base of the brain. a posterior at the junction of the brain and spinal cord, and an anterior at the boundary between the cerebellum and medulla oblongata, just at the point where the pons varolii is formed in mammalia. the anterior of these is the most marked and constant; it is shewn in fig. . it arises considerably later than the main cranial flexure, and since it is turned the opposite way it assists to a considerable extent in causing the apparent straightening of the cranial axis. histogenetic changes[ ]. the walls of the brain are at first very thin and, like those of the spinal cord, are formed of a number of ranges of spindle-shaped cells. the processes of each of these cells are stated to be continued through the whole thickness of the wall. in the floor of the hind- and mid-brain a superficial layer of delicate nerve-fibres is formed at an early period. this layer appears in the first instance on the floor and sides of the hind-brain, and very slightly, if at all, later on the floor and the sides of the mid-brain. the cells internal to the nerve-fibres become differentiated into an innermost epithelial layer lining the cavities of the ventricles, and an outer layer of grey matter. [ ] it is not within the scope of this work to give an account of the histogenesis of the brain; in the statement in the text only a few points, of some morphological importance, are touched on. the similarity of the primitive arrangement and histological character of the parts of the brain behind the cerebral hemispheres to that of the spinal cord is very conclusively shewn by the examination of any good series of sections. in both brain and spinal cord the white matter forms a cap on the ventral and lateral parts considerably before it extends to the dorsal surface. in the medulla the white matter does not eventually extend to the roof owing to the peculiar degeneration which that part undergoes. in the case of the fore-brain the earliest histological changes, except possibly in mammals, take place on the same general plan as those of the remainder of the central nervous system[ ]; but though the general plan is the same, yet the early histological distinction between the fore-brain, and the mid- and hind-brain is more marked than the distinction between the latter and the spinal cord. [ ] i have worked out these changes in elasmobranchii, amphibia (salamandra) and aves. on the floor and sides of the thalamencephalon, and apparently the whole of the hemispheres of the lower types, there is formed, somewhat later than in the remainder of the brain, a very delicate layer of white matter. the inner part of the wall, which still remains comparatively thin, is not at first clearly divided into an epithelial and nervous layer. this distinction soon however becomes more or less apparent, though it is not so marked as in most other parts of the brain; and it appears that in the subsequent growth the greater part of the original epithelial layer becomes converted into nervous tissue. in mammals the same plan of differentiation would seem to be followed, though somewhat less obviously than in the lower types. the walls of the hemispheres become first divided (kölliker) into a superficial thinner layer of rounded elements, and a deeper and thicker epithelial layer, and between these the fibres of the crura cerebri soon interpose themselves. at a slightly later period a thin superficial layer of white matter, homologous with that of the remainder of the brain, becomes established. the inner layer, together with the fibres from the crura cerebri, gives rise to the major part of the white matter of the hemispheres and to the epithelium lining the lateral ventricles. the outer layer of rounded cells becomes divided into ( ) a superficial part with comparatively few cells, which, together with its coating of white matter, forms the cortical part of the grey matter, and ( ) a deeper layer with numerous cells which forms the main mass of the grey matter of the hemispheres. the development of the several parts of the brain will now be described. the hind-brain. the hind-brain is at first an elongated, funnel-shaped tube, the walls of which are of a nearly uniform thickness, though the roof and floor are somewhat thinner than the sides. it forms a direct continuation of the spinal cord, into which it passes without any sharp line of demarcation. the ventricle it contains is known as the fourth ventricle. the sides become in the chick marked by a series of transverse constrictions, dividing it into lobes, which are somewhat indefinite in number. the first of these remains permanent, and its roof gives rise to the cerebellum. it is uncertain whether the other constrictions have any morphological significance. more or less similar constrictions are present in teleostei. in elasmobranchii the medulla presents on its inner face at a late period a series of lobes corresponding with the roots of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves, and it is possible that the earlier constrictions may potentially correspond to so many nerve-roots. [fig. . section through the hind-brain of a chick at the end of the third day of incubation.] _iv._ fourth ventricle. the section shews the very thin roof and thicker sides of the ventricle. _ch._ notochord; _cv._ anterior cardinal vein; _cc._ involuted auditory vesicle; _cc_ points to the end which will form the cochlear canal; _rl_. recessus labyrinthi (remains of passage connecting the vesicle with the exterior); _hy._ hypoblast lining the alimentary canal; _ao._, _aoa._ aorta, and aortic arch.] throughout the vertebrata an anterior lobe of the hind-brain becomes very early marked off, so that the primitive hind-brain becomes divided into two regions which may be conveniently spoken of as the cerebellum (figs. and , _cb_) and medulla oblongata. the floor of these regions is quite continuous and is also prolonged without any break into the floor of the mid-brain. the posterior section of the hind-brain, which forms the medulla, undergoes changes of a somewhat complicated character. in the first place its roof becomes in front very much extended and thinned out. at the raphe, where the two lateral halves of the brain originally united, a separation, as it were, takes place, and the two sides of the brain become pushed apart, remaining united by only a very thin layer of nervous matter, consisting of a single row of flattened cells (fig. ). as a result of this peculiar growth in the brain, the roots of the nerves of the two sides, which were originally in contact at the dorsal summit of the brain, become carried away from one another, and appear to arise at the sides of the brain. the thin roof of the fourth ventricle is triangular, or, in mammalia, somewhat rhomboidal in shape. the apex of the triangle is directed backwards. at a later period the blood-vessels of the pia mater form a rich plexus over the anterior part of the thin roof of the medulla, which becomes at the same time somewhat folded. the whole structure is known as the tela vasculosa, or choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle (fig. , _chd_ ). the floor of the whole hind-brain becomes thickened, and there very soon appears on its outer surface a layer of non-medullated nerve-fibres, similar to those which first appear on the spinal cord. they are continuous with a similar layer of fibres on the floor of the mid-brain, where they constitute the crura cerebri. on the ventral floor of the medulla is a shallow continuation of the anterior fissure of the spinal cord. in elasmobranchii and many teleostei the restiform tracts are well developed, and are anteriorly continued into the cerebellum, of which they form the peduncles. near their junction with the cerebellum they form prominent bodies, which are regarded by miklucho-maclay as representing the true cerebellum of elasmobranchii. in elasmobranchii a dorsal pair of ridges projects into the cavity of the fourth ventricle, corresponding apparently with the fasciculi teretes of the mammalia. in mammalia there develop, subsequently to the longitudinal fibres already spoken of, first the olivary bodies of the ventral side of the medulla, and at a still later period the pyramids. the fasciculi teretes in the cavity of the fourth ventricle are developed shortly before the pyramids. when the hind-brain becomes divided into two regions the roof of the anterior part does not become thinned out like that of the posterior, but on the contrary, becomes somewhat thickened and forms a band-like structure roofing over the anterior part of the fourth ventricle (fig. and fig. , _cb_). this is a rudiment of the cerebellum, and in all craniate vertebrates it at first presents this simple structure and insignificant size. in cyclostomata, amphibia and many reptilia this condition is permanent. in elasmobranchii, on the other hand, the cerebellum assumes in the course of development a greater and greater prominence (fig. , _cb_), and eventually overlaps both the optic lobes in front and the medulla behind. in the later embryonic stages it exhibits in surface-views the appearance of a median constriction, and the portion of the ventricle contained in it is prolonged into two lateral outgrowths. miklucho-maclay, from his observations on the brains of adult elasmobranchii, was led to regard what is here called the cerebellum as identical with the mid-brain, and the true mid-brain as part of the thalamencephalon. miklucho-maclay was no doubt misled by the large size of the cerebellum, but, as we have seen, this body does not begin to be conspicuous till late in embryonic life. the mid-brain and thalamencephalon (according to the ordinary interpretations) have in the embryo of elasmobranchs exactly the same relations as in the embryos of other vertebrates; so that the embryological evidence appears to me to be conclusive against miklucho-maclay's view. in birds the cerebellum attains a very considerable development (fig. , _cbl_), consisting of a folded central lobe with an arbor vitæ, into which the fourth ventricle is prolonged. there are two small lateral lobes, apparently equivalent to the flocculi. anteriorly the cerebellum is connected with the roof of the mid-brain by a delicate membrane, the velum medullæ anterius, or valve of vieussens (fig. , _vma_). the pons varolii of mammalia is represented by a small number of transverse fibres on the floor of the hind-brain immediately below the cerebellum. in mammalia the cerebellum attains a still greater development. the median lobe or vermiform process is first developed. in the higher mammalia the lateral parts forming the hemispheres of the cerebellum become formed as swellings at the sides at a considerably later period, and are hardly developed in the monotremata and marsupialia. [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of a chick of ten days. (after mihalkovics.) _hms._ cerebral hemispheres; _alf._ olfactory lobe; _alf_{{ }}. olfactory nerve; _ggt._ corpus striatum; _oma._ anterior commissure; _chd{{ }}_. choroid plexus of the third ventricle; _pin._ pineal gland; _cmp._ posterior commissure; _trm._ lamina terminalis; _chm._ optic chiasma; _inf._ infundibulum; _hph._ pituitary body; _bgm._ commissure of sylvius (roof of iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum); _vma._ velum medullæ anterius (valve of vieussens); _cbl._ cerebellum; _chd{{ }}_. choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle; _obl{{ }}_. roof of fourth ventricle; _obl._ medulla oblongata; _pns._ commissural part of medulla; _inv._ sheath of brain; _bls._ basilar artery; _crts._ internal carotid.] the cerebellum is connected with the roof of the mid-brain in front and with the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle behind by delicate membranous structures, known as the velum medullæ anterius (valve of vieussens) and the velum medullæ posterius. the pons varolii is formed on the ventral side of the floor of the cerebellar region as a bundle of transverse fibres at about the same time as the olivary bodies. the mid-brain. the changes undergone by the mid-brain are simpler than those of any other part of the brain. we have already seen that the mid-brain, on the appearance of the cranial flexure, forms _an unpaired vesicle_ with a vaulted roof and curved floor, at the front end of the long axis of the body (fig. , _mb_). it is at this period in most vertebrates relatively much larger than in the adult; and it is only in the teleostei that it more or less retains in the adult its embryonic proportions. the cavity of the mid-brain, greatly reduced in size in the higher forms, is known as the iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum, or aqueductus sylvii. the roof of the mid-brain is sharply constricted off from the divisions of the brain in front of and behind it, but these constrictions do not extend to the floor. in some vertebrates the region of the mid-brain is stated to undergo hardly any further development. in the axolotl it remains according to stieda[ ] as a simple tube with nearly uniformly thick walls. in the majority of forms it undergoes, however, a more complicated development. [ ] "ueb. d. bau d. centralen nervensystems d. axolotl." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxv. . in elasmobranchs the sides become thickened to form the optic lobes, which are soon separated by a median longitudinal groove. the floor becomes thickened to form the crura cerebri. the primitive simple median cavity becomes imperfectly divided into a median portion below, and two lateral diverticula in the optic lobes. in teleostei the changes, resulting in the formation of ( ) a pair of longitudinal ridges projecting from the roof into the cavity of the iter, constituting the fornix of gottsche, and ( ) of the two swellings on the floor, forming the tori semicirculares, are more complicated, but have not been satisfactorily worked out. in bombinator and the anura generally the changes are of the same nature as those in elasmobranchii, except that the prolongations of the ventricle into the optic lobes are still further constricted off from the median portion, which forms the true iter. in reptilia and aves the development of the mid-brain takes place on the same type as in elasmobranchii and the anura. in birds the optic lobes are pushed very much aside, and the roof of the iter is greatly thinned out. in mammalia the sides of the mid-brain give rise to two pairs of prominences--the corpora quadrigemina--instead of the two optic lobes of other vertebrata. the prominences, which do not contain prolongations of the iter, become first visible on the appearance of an oblique transverse furrow, while the anterior pair alone are separated by a longitudinal furrow. in the later stages of development the longitudinal furrow is continued so as to bisect the posterior pair. the floor, which is bounded posteriorly by the pons varolii, becomes the crura cerebri. the corpora geniculata interna also belong to this division of the brain. fore-brain. in its earliest condition the fore-brain forms a single vesicle without a trace of separate divisions, but very early it buds off the optic vesicles, whose history is described with that of the eye. [fig. . section through the front part of the head of a lepidosteus embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. _al._ alimentary tract; _fb._ thalamencephalon; _l._ lens of eye; _op.v._ optic vesicle. the mesoblast is not represented.] [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of a young pristiurus embryo. _cer._ commencement of cerebral hemisphere; _pn._ pineal gland; _in._ infundibulum; _pt._ ingrowth of mouth to form the pituitary body; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _ch._ notochord; _al._ alimentary tract; _iaa._ artery of mandibular arch.] the optic vesicles become gradually constricted off from the fore-brain in a direction obliquely backwards and downwards. they remain, however, attached to it at the anterior extremity of the base of the fore-brain (fig. , _op.v._). while the above changes are taking place in the optic vesicles the anterior part of the fore-brain becomes prolonged, and at the same time somewhat dilated. at first there is no sharp boundary between the primitive fore-brain and its anterior prolongation, but there shortly appears a constriction which passes from above obliquely forwards and downwards. this constriction is shallow at first, but soon becomes much deeper, leaving however the cavities of the two divisions of the fore-brain united ventrally by a somewhat wide canal (fig. ). of these two divisions the posterior becomes the thalamencephalon, while the anterior and larger division (_cer_) forms the rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres and olfactory lobes. for a considerable period this rudiment remains perfectly simple, and exhibits no signs, either externally or internally, of a longitudinal constriction dividing it into two lobes. from the above description it may be concluded that the rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres is contained in the original fore-brain. in spite however of their great importance in all the craniata, it is probable that the hemispheres were either not present as distinct structures, or only imperfectly separated from the thalamencephalon, in the primitive vertebrate stock. the thalamencephalon. the thalamencephalon varies so slightly in structure throughout the vertebrate series that a general description will suffice for all the types. it forms at first a simple vesicle, the walls of which are of a nearly uniform thickness and formed of the usual spindle-shaped cells. [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section through the head of a larva of petromyzon. the larva had been hatched three days, and was . mm. in length. the optic and auditory vesicles are supposed to be seen through the tissues. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _th._ optic thalamus; _in._ infundibulum; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _md._ medulla oblongata; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _op._ optic vesicle; _ol._ olfactory pit; _m._ mouth; _br.c._ branchial pouches; _th._ thyroid involution; _v.ao._ ventral aorta; _ht._ ventricle of heart; _ch._ notochord.] the cavity it contains is known as the third ventricle. anteriorly it opens widely into the cerebral rudiment, and posteriorly into the ventricle of the mid-brain. the opening into the cerebral rudiment becomes the foramen of munro. for convenience of description i shall divide it into three regions, viz. ( ) the floor, ( ) the sides, and ( ) the roof. the floor becomes divided into two parts, an anterior part, giving origin to the optic nerves, in which is formed the optic chiasma; and a posterior part, which becomes produced into an at first inconspicuous prominence--the rudiment of the infundibulum (fig. , _in_). this comes in contact with an involution from the mouth, which gives rise to the pituitary body (fig. , _pt_), the development of which will be dealt with separately. in the later stages of development the infundibulum becomes gradually prolonged, and forms an elongated diverticulum of the third ventricle, the apex of which is in contact with the pituitary body (figs. , , _in_, and figs. and , _inf_). along the sides of the infundibulum run the commissural fibres connecting the floor of the mid-brain with the cerebrum. in its later stages the infundibular region presents considerable variations in the different vertebrate types. in fishes it generally remains very large, and permanently forms a marked diverticulum of the floor of the thalamencephalon. in elasmobranchii the distal end becomes divided into three lobes--a median and two lateral. the lateral lobes appear to become the sacci vasculosi of the adult. in teleostei peculiar bodies known as the lobi inferiores (hypoaria) make their appearance at the sides of the infundibulum. they appear to correspond in position with the tuber cinereum of mammalia[ ]. in birds, reptiles, and amphibia the lower part of the embryonic infundibulum becomes atrophied and reduced to a mere finger-like process--the processus infundibuli. [ ] for the relations of these bodies, _vide_ l. stieda, "stud. üb. d. centrale nervensystem d. knochenfische." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xviii. . in mammalia the posterior part of the primitive infundibulum becomes the corpus albicans, which is double in man and the higher apes; the ventral part of the posterior wall forms the tuber cinereum. laterally, at the junction of the optic thalami and infundibulum, there are placed the fibres of the crura cerebri, which are probably derived from the walls of the infundibulum. a special process grows out from the base of the infundibulum, which undergoes peculiar changes, and becomes intimately united with the pituitary body; in which connection it will be more fully described. [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of scyllium canicula at an advanced stage of development. _cer._ cerebral hemisphere; _pn._ pineal gland; _op. th._ optic thalamus, connected with its fellow by a commissure (the middle commissure). in front of it is seen a fold of the roof of the fore-brain, which is the choroid plexus of the third ventricle; _op._ optic chiasma; _pt._ pituitary body; _in._ infundibulum; _cb._ cerebellum; _au.v._ passage leading from the auditory vesicle to the exterior; _mel._ medulla oblongata; _c.in._ internal carotid artery.] the sides of the thalamencephalon become very early thickened to form the optic thalami, which constitute the most important section of the thalamencephalon. they are separated, in mammalia at all events, on their inner aspect from the infundibular region by a somewhat s-shaped groove, known as the sulcus of munro, which ends in the foramen of munro. they also become in mammalia secondarily united by a transverse commissure, the grey or middle commissure, which passes across the cavity of the third ventricle. this commissure is probably homologous with, and derived from, a commissural band in the roof of the thalamencephalon, placed immediately in front of the pineal gland which is well developed in elasmobranchii (fig. ). the roof undergoes more complicated changes. it becomes divided, on the appearance of the pineal gland as a small papilliform outgrowth (the development of which is dealt with separately), into two regions--a longer anterior in front of the pineal gland and a shorter posterior. the anterior region becomes at an early period excessively thin, and at a later period, when the roof of the thalamencephalon is shortened by the approach of the cerebral hemispheres to the mid-brain, it becomes (_vide_ figs. and , _chd_ , and ) considerably folded, while at the same time a vascular plexus is formed in the pia mater above it. on the accomplishment of these changes it is known as the tela choroidea of the third ventricle. in the roof of the third ventricle behind the pineal gland there appear in elasmobranchii, the sauropsida and mammalia transverse commissural fibres, forming a structure known as the posterior commissure, which connects together the two optic thalami. the most remarkable organ in the roof of the thalamencephalon is the pineal gland, which is developed in most vertebrates as a simple papilliform outgrowth of the roof, and is at first composed of cells similar to those of the other parts of the central nervous system (figs. , , and , _pn_ or _pin_). in the lower vertebrata it is directed forwards, but in mammalia, and to some extent in aves, it is directed backwards. in amphibia it is described by götte (no. ) as being a product of the point where the roof of the brain remains latest attached to the external skin. the figure which götte gives to prove this does not appear to me fully to bear out his conclusion; which if true is very important. although i directed my attention specially to this point, i could find no indication in elasmobranchii of a process similar to that described by götte, and his observations have not as yet been confirmed for other vertebrates. götte compares the pineal gland to the long-persisting pore which leads into the cavity of the brain in the embryo of amphioxus, and we might add the ascidians, and, should his facts be confirmed, the conclusion he draws from them would appear to be well founded. the later stages in the development of the pineal gland in different vertebrates have not in all cases been fully worked out[ ]. [ ] for a full account of this subject _vide_ ehlers (no. ). [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through the anterior part of the brain of an embryo rabbit of four centimetres. (after mihalkovics.) the section passes through the median line so that the cerebral hemispheres are not cut; their position is however indicated in outline. _spt._ septum lucidum formed by the coalescence of the inner walls of part of the cerebral hemispheres; _cna._ anterior commissure; _frx._ vertical pillars of the fornix; _cal._ genu of corpus callosum; _trm._ lamina terminalis; _hms._ cerebral hemispheres; _olf._ olfactory lobes; _acl._ artery of corpus callosum; _fmr._ position of foramen of munro; _chd{{ }}._ choroid plexus of third ventricle; _pin._ pineal gland; _cmp._ posterior commissure; _bgm._ lamina uniting the lobes of the mid-brain; _chm._ optic chiasma; _hph._ pituitary body; _inf._ infundibulum; _pns_. pons varolii; _pde._ cerebral peduncles; _agd._ iter.] in elasmobranchii the pineal gland becomes in time very long, and extends far forwards over the roof of the cerebral hemispheres (fig. _pn_). its distal extremity dilates somewhat, and in the adult the whole organ forms (ehlers, no. ) an elongated tube, enlarged at its free extremity, and opening at its base into the brain. the enlarged extremity may either be lodged in a cavity in the cartilage of the cranium (acanthias), or be placed outside the cranium (raja). in petromyzon its form is very different. it arises (fig. _pn_) as a sack-like diverticulum of the thalamencephalon extending at first both backwards and forwards. in the ammocoete the walls of this sack are deeply infolded. the embryonic form of the pineal gland in amphibia is very much like that which remains permanent in elasmobranchii; the stalk connecting the enlarged terminal portion with the brain soon however becomes solid and very thin except at its proximal extremity. the enlarged portion also becomes solid, and is placed in the adult externally to the skull, where it forms a mass originally described by stieda as the cerebral gland. in birds the primitive outgrowth to form the pineal gland becomes, according to mihalkovics, deeply indented by vascular connective tissue ingrowths, so that it assumes a dendritic structure (fig. _pin_). the proximal extremity attached to the roof of the thalamencephalon forms a special section, known as the infra-pineal process. the central lumen of the free part of the gland finally atrophies, but the branches still remain hollow. the infra-pineal process becomes reduced to a narrow stalk, connecting the branched portion of the body with the brain. the branched terminal portion and the stalk obviously correspond with the vesicle and distal part of the stalk of the types already described. in mammalia the development of the pineal gland is, according to mihalkovics, generally similar to that of birds. the original outgrowth becomes branched, but the follicles or lobes to which the branching gives rise eventually become solid (fig. _pin_). an infra-pineal process is developed comparatively late, and is not sharply separated from the roof of the brain. no satisfactory suggestions have yet been offered as to the nature of the pineal gland, unless the view of götte be regarded as such. it appears to possess in all forms an epithelial structure, but, except at the base of the stalk (infra-pineal process) in mammalia, in the wall of which there are nerve-fibres, no nervous structures are present in it in the adult state. the pituitary body. although the pituitary body is not properly a nervous structure, yet from its intimate connection with the brain it will be convenient to describe its development here. the pituitary body is in fact an organ derived from the epiblast of the stomodæum. this fact has been demonstrated for mammalia, aves, amphibia and elasmobranchii, and may be accepted as holding good for all the craniata[ ]. the epiblast in the angle formed by the cranial flexure becomes involuted to form the cavity of the mouth. this cavity is bordered on its posterior surface by the front wall of the alimentary tract, and on its anterior by the base of the fore-brain. its uppermost end does not at first become markedly constricted off from the remainder, but is nevertheless the rudiment of the pituitary body. [ ] scott states that in the larva of petromyzon the pituitary body is derived from the walls of the nasal pit; _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xxi. p. . i have not myself completely followed its development in petromyzon, but i have observed a slight diverticulum of the stomodæum which i believe gives origin to it. fuller details are in any case required before we can admit so great a divergence from the normal development as is indicated by scott's statements. fig. represents a transverse section through the head of an elasmobranch embryo, in which, owing to the cranial flexure, the fore part of the head is cut longitudinally and horizontally, and the section passes through both the fore-brain (_fb_) and the hind-brain. close to the base of the fore-brain are seen the mouth (_m_), and the pituitary involution from this (_pt_). in contact with the pituitary involution is the blind anterior termination of the throat (_al_) which a little way back opens to the exterior by the first visceral cleft ( _v.c._). this figure alone suffices to demonstrate the correctness of the above account of the pituitary body; but its truth is still further confirmed by fig. ; in which the mouth involution (_pt_) is in contact with, but still separated from, the front end of the alimentary tract. very shortly after the septum between the mouth and throat becomes pierced, and the two are placed in communication, the pituitary involution becomes very partially constricted off from the mouth involution, though still in direct communication with it. in later stages the pituitary involution becomes longer and is dilated terminally; while the passage connecting it with the mouth becomes narrower and narrower, and is finally reduced to a solid cord, which in its turn disappears. before the connection between the pituitary vesicle and the mouth is obliterated the cartilaginous cranium becomes developed, and it may then be seen that the infundibulum projects through the pituitary space to come into close juxtaposition with the pituitary body. after the pituitary vesicle has lost its connection with the mouth it lies just in front of the infundibulum (figs. and _hph_ and fig. _pt_); and soon becomes surrounded by vascular mesoblast, which grows in and divides it into a number of branching tubes. in many forms the cavity of the vesicle completely disappears, and the branches become for the most part solid [cyclostomata and some mammalia (the rabbit), elasmobranchii, teleostei and amphibia]. in reptilia, aves and most mammalia the lumen of the organ is more or less retained (w. müller, no. ). [fig. . transverse section through the front part of the head of a young pristiurus embryo. the section, owing to the cranial flexure, cuts both the fore- and the hind-brain. it shews the premandibular and mandibular head cavities _ pp_ and _ pp_, etc. the section is moreover somewhat oblique from side to side. _fb._ fore-brain; _l._ lens of eye; _m._ mouth; _pt._ upper end of mouth, forming pituitary involution; _ ao._ mandibular aortic arch; _ pp._ and _ pp._ first and second head cavities; _ vc._ first visceral cleft; _v._ fifth nerve; _aun._ auditory nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _aa._ roots of dorsal aorta; _acv._ anterior cardinal vein; _ch._ notochord.] although in the majority of the vertebrata there is a close connection between the pituitary body and the infundibulum, there is no actual fusion between the two. in mammalia the case is different. the part of the infundibulum which lies at the hinder end of the pituitary body is at first a simple finger-like process of the brain (fig. _inf_), but its end becomes swollen, and the lumen in this part becomes obliterated. its cells, originally similar to those of the other parts of the nervous system and even (kölliker) containing differentiated nerve-fibres, partly atrophy, and partly assume an indifferent form, while at the same time there grow in amongst them numerous vascular and connective-tissue elements. the process of the infundibulum thus metamorphosed becomes inseparably connected with the true pituitary body, of which it is usually described as the posterior lobe. the part of the infundibulum which undergoes this change is very probably homologous with the saccus vasculosus of fishes. the true nature of the pituitary body has not yet been made out. it is clearly a rudimentary organ in existing craniate vertebrates, and its development indicates that when functional it was probably a sense organ opening into the mouth, its blind end reaching to the base of the brain. no similar organ has as yet been found in amphioxus, but it seems possible perhaps to identify it with the peculiar ciliated sack placed at the opening of the pharynx in the tunicata, the development of which was described at p. . if the suggestion is correct, the division of the body into lobes in existing vertebrata must be regarded as a step towards a retrogressive metamorphosis. another possible view is to regard the pituitary body as a glandular structure which originally opened into the mouth in the lower chordata, but which has in all existing forms ceased to be functional. the intimate relation of the organ to the brain appears to me opposed to this view of its nature, while on the other hand its permanent structure is more easily explained on this view than on that previously stated. in the ascidians a glandular organ has been described by lacaze duthiers[ ] in juxtaposition to the ciliated sack, and it is possible that this organ as well as the ciliated sack may be related to the pituitary body. in view of this possibility further investigations ought to be carried out in order to determine whether the whole pituitary body is derived from the oral involution, or whether there may not be a nervous part and a glandular part of the organ. [ ] "les ascidies simples des côtes de france." _archives de biologie expér. et générale_, vol. iii. , p. . the cerebral hemispheres. it will be convenient to treat separately the development of the cerebral hemispheres proper, and that of the olfactory lobes. although the cerebral hemispheres vary more than any other part of the brain, they are nevertheless developed from the unpaired cerebral rudiment in a nearly similar manner throughout the series of vertebrata. in the cerebral rudiment two parts may be distinguished, viz. the floor and the roof. the former gives rise to the ganglia at the base of the hemispheres--corpora striata, etc.--the latter to the hemispheres proper. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal horizontal section through the fore-brain. _ .v._ third ventricle; _lv._ lateral ventricle; _lt._ lamina terminalis; _ce._ cerebral hemisphere; _op.th._ optic thalamus.] the first change which takes place consists in the roof growing out into two lobes, between which a shallow median constriction makes its appearance (fig. ). the two lobes thus formed are the rudiments of the two hemispheres. the cavity of each of them opens by a widish aperture into the vestibule at the base of the cerebral rudiment, which again opens directly into the cavity of the third ventricle (_ v_). the y-shaped aperture thus formed, which leads from the cerebral hemispheres into the third ventricle, is the foramen of munro. the cavity (_lv_) in each of the rudimentary hemispheres is a lateral ventricle. the part of the cerebrum which lies between the two hemispheres, and passes forwards from the roof of the third ventricle round the end of the brain to the optic chiasma, is the rudiment of the lamina terminalis (figs. _lt_ and _trm_). up to this point the development of the cerebrum is similar in all vertebrata, but in some forms it practically does not proceed much further. in elasmobranchii, although the cerebrum reaches a considerable size (fig. _cer_), and grows some way backwards over the thalamencephalon, yet it is not in many forms divided into two distinct lobes, but its paired nature is only marked by a shallow constriction on the surface. the lamina terminalis in the later stages of development grows backwards as a thick median septum which completely separates the two lateral ventricles[ ] (fig. ). [ ] a comparison of the mode of development of this septum with that of the septum lucidum with its contained commissures in mammalia clearly shews that the two structures are not homologous, and that miklucho-maclay is in error in attempting to treat them as being so. there are, it may be mentioned, considerable variations in the structure of the cerebrum in elasmobranchii into which it is not however within the scope of this work to enter. in the teleostei the vesicles of the cerebral hemispheres appear at first to have a wide lumen, but it subsequently becomes almost or quite obliterated, and the cerebral rudiment forms a small bilobed nearly solid body. in petromyzon (fig. _ch_) the cerebral rudiment is at first an unpaired anterior vesicle, which subsequently becomes bilobed in the normal manner. the walls of the hemispheres become much thickened, but the lateral ventricles persist. in all the higher vertebrates the division of the cerebral rudiment into two distinct hemispheres is quite complete, and with the deepening of the furrow between the two hemispheres the lamina terminalis is carried backwards till it forms a thin layer bounding the third ventricle anteriorly, while the lateral ventricles open directly into the third ventricle. in amphibians the two hemispheres become united together immediately in front of the lamina terminalis by commissural fibres, forming the anterior commissure. they also send out anteriorly two solid prolongations, usually spoken of as the olfactory lobes, which subsequently fuse together. in all reptilia and aves there is formed an anterior commissure, and in the higher members of the group, especially aves (fig. ), the hemispheres may obtain a considerable development. their outer walls are much thickened, while their inner walls become very thin; and a well-developed ganglionic mass, equivalent to the corpus striatum, is formed at their base. the cerebral hemispheres undergo in mammalia the most complicated development. the primitive unpaired cerebral rudiment becomes, as in lower vertebrates, bilobed, and at the same time divided by the ingrowth of a septum of connective tissue into two distinct hemispheres (figs. and _f_ and ). from this septum is formed the falx cerebri and other parts. the hemispheres contain at first very large cavities, communicating by a wide foramen of munro with the third ventricle (fig. ). they grow rapidly in size, and extend, _especially backwards_, and gradually cover the thalamencephalon and the mid-brain (fig. , _f_). the foramen of munro becomes very much narrowed and reduced to a mere slit. [fig. . brain of a three months' human embryo: natural size. (from kölliker.) . from above with the dorsal part of hemispheres and mid-brain removed; . from below. _f._ anterior part of cut wall of the hemisphere; _f´._ cornu ammonis; _tho._ optic thalamus; _cst._ corpus striatum; _to._ optic tract; _cm._ corpora mammillaria; _p._ pons varolii.] the walls are originally nearly uniformly thick, but the floor becomes thickened on each side, and gives rise to the corpus striatum (figs. and _st_). the corpus striatum projects upwards into each lateral ventricle, giving to it a somewhat semilunar form, the two horns of which constitute the permanent anterior and descending cornua of the lateral ventricles (fig. _st_). [fig. . transverse section through the brain of a rabbit of five centimetres. (after mihalkovics.) the section passes through nearly the posterior border of the septum lucidum, immediately in front of the foramen of munro. _hms._ cerebral hemispheres; _cal._ corpus callosum; _amm._ cornu ammonis (hippocampus major); _cms._ superior commissure of the cornua ammonis; _spt._ septum lucidum; _frx ._ vertical fibres of the fornix; _cma._ anterior commissure; _trm._ lamina terminalis; _str._ corpus striatum; _ltf._ nucleus lenticularis of corpus striatum; _vtr ._ lateral ventricle; _vtr ._ third ventricle; _ipl._ slit between cerebral hemispheres.] with the further growth of the hemisphere the corpus striatum loses its primitive relations to the descending cornu. the reduction in size of the foramen of munro above mentioned is, to a large extent, caused by the growth of the corpora striata. [fig. . transverse section through the brain of a sheep's embryo of . cm. in length. (from kölliker.) the section passes through the level of the foramen of munro. _st._ corpus striatum; _m._ foramen of munro; _t._ third ventricle; _pl._ choroid plexus of lateral ventricle; _f._ falx cerebri; _th._ anterior part of optic thalamus; _ch._ optic chiasma; _o._ optic nerve; _c._ fibres of the cerebral peduncles; _h._ cornu ammonis; _p._ pharynx; _sa._ presphenoid bone; _a._ orbitosphenoid bone; _s._ points to part of the roof of the brain at the junction between the roof of the third ventricle and the lamina terminalis; _l._ lateral ventricle.] the corpora striata are united at their posterior border with the optic thalami. in the later stages of development the area of contact between these two pairs of ganglia increases to an immense extent (fig. ), and the boundary between them becomes somewhat obscure, so that the sharp distinction which exists in the embryo between the thalamencephalon and cerebral hemispheres becomes lost. this change is usually (mihalkovics, kölliker) attributed to a fusion between the corpora striata and optic thalami, but it has recently been attributed by schwalbe (no. ), with more probability, to a growth of the original surface of contact, and an accompanying change in the relations of the parts. the outer wall of the hemispheres gradually thickens, while the inner wall becomes thinner. in the latter, two curved folds, projecting towards the interior of the lateral ventricle, become formed. these folds extend from the foramen of munro along nearly the whole of what afterwards becomes the descending cornu of the lateral ventricle. the upper fold becomes the hippocampus major (cornu ammonis) (figs. _amm_, and _h_, and _am_). when the rudiment of the descending cornu has become transformed into a simple process of the lateral ventricle the hippocampus major forms a prominence upon its floor. [fig. . transverse section through the brain of a sheep's embryo of . cm. in length. (from kölliker.) the section is taken a short distance behind the section represented in fig. , and passes through the posterior part of the hemispheres and the third ventricle. _st._ corpus striatum; _th._ optic thalamus; _to._ optic tract; _t._ third ventricle; _d._ roof of third ventricle; _c._ fibres of cerebral peduncles; _c´._ divergence of these fibres into the walls of the hemispheres; _e._ lateral ventricle with choroid plexus _pl_; _h._ cornu ammonis; _f._ primitive falx; _am._ alisphenoid; _a._ orbitosphenoid; _sa._ presphenoid; _p._ pharynx; _mk._ meckel's cartilage.] the wall of the lower fold becomes very thin, and a vascular plexus, derived from the connective-tissue septum between the hemispheres, and similar to that of the roof of the third ventricle, is formed outside it. it constitutes a fold projecting far into the cavity of the lateral ventricle, and together with the vascular connective tissue in it gives rise to the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle (figs. and _pl_). it is clear from the above description that a marginal fissure leading into the cavity of the lateral ventricle does not exist in the sense often implied in works on human anatomy, in that the epithelium covering the choroid plexus, which forms the true wall of the brain, is a continuous membrane. the _epithelium_ of the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle is quite independent of that of the choroid plexus of the third ventricle, though at the foramen of munro the roof of the third ventricle is of course continuous with the inner wall of the lateral ventricle (fig. _s_). the _vascular elements_ of the two plexuses form however a continuous structure. the most characteristic parts of the mammalian cerebrum are the commissures connecting the two hemispheres. these commissures are ( ) the anterior commissure, ( ) the fornix, and ( ) the corpus callosum, the two latter being peculiar to mammalia. by the fusion of the inner walls of the hemispheres in front of the lamina terminalis a solid septum is formed, known as the septum lucidum, continuous behind with the lamina terminalis, and below with the corpora striata (figs. and _spt_). it is by a series of differentiations within this septum that the above commissures originate. in man there is a closed cavity left in the septum known as the fifth ventricle, which has however no communication with the true ventricles of the brain. in the septum lucidum there become first formed, below, the transverse fibres of the anterior commissure (fig. and fig. _cma_), and in the upper part the vertical fibres of the fornix (fig. and fig. _frx _). the vertical fibres meet above the foramen of munro, and thence diverge backwards, as the posterior pillars, to lose themselves in the cornu ammonis (fig. _amm_). ventrally they are continued, as the descending or anterior pillars of the fornix, into the corpus albicans, and thence into the optic thalami. the corpus callosum is not formed till after the anterior commissure and fornix. it arises in the upper part of the region (septum lucidum) formed by the fusion of the lateral walls of the hemispheres (figs. and _cal_), and at first only its curved anterior portion--the genu or rostrum--is developed. this portion is alone found in monotremes and marsupials. the posterior portion, which is present in all the monodelphia, is gradually formed as the hemispheres are prolonged further backwards. [fig. . lateral view of the brain of a calf embryo of cm. (after mihalkovics.) the outer wall of the hemisphere is removed, so as to give a view of the interior of the left lateral ventricle. _hs._ cut wall of hemisphere; _st._ corpus striatum; _am._ hippocampus major (cornu ammonis); _d._ choroid plexus of lateral ventricle; _fm._ foramen of munro; _op._ optic tract; _in._ infundibulum; _mb._ mid-brain; _ch._ cerebellum; _iv.v._ roof of fourth ventricle; _ps._ pons varolii, close to which is the fifth nerve with gasserian ganglion.] primitively the mammalian cerebrum, like that of the lower vertebrata, is quite smooth. in many of the mammalia, _monotremata_, _insectivora, etc._, this condition is nearly retained through life, while in the majority of mammalia a more or less complicated system of fissures is developed on the surface. the most important, and first formed, of these is the sylvian fissure. it arises at the time when the hemispheres, owing to their growth in front of and behind the corpora striata, have assumed a somewhat bean-shaped form. at the root of the hemispheres--the hilus of the bean--there is formed a shallow depression, which constitutes the first trace of the sylvian fissure. the part of the brain lying in this fissure is known as the island of reil. the olfactory lobes. the olfactory lobes, or rhinencephala, are secondary outgrowths of the cerebral hemispheres, and contain prolongations of the lateral ventricles, but may however be solid in the adult state. according to marshall they develop in birds and elasmobranchs and presumably other forms later than the olfactory nerves, so that the olfactory region of the hemispheres is indicated before the appearance of the olfactory lobes. in most vertebrates the olfactory lobes arise at a fairly early stage of development from the under and anterior part of the hemispheres (fig. _olf_). in elasmobranchs they arise, not from the base, but from the lateral parts of the brain (fig. ), and become subsequently divided into a bulbous portion and a stalk. they vary considerably in their structure in the adult. [fig. . section through the brain and olfactory organ of an embryo of scyllium. (modified from figures by marshall and myself.) _ch._ cerebral hemispheres; _ol.v._ olfactory vesicle; _olf._ olfactory pit; _sch._ schneiderian folds; _i._ olfactory nerve. the reference line has been accidentally taken through the nerve to the brain; _pn._ anterior prolongation of pineal gland.] in amphibia the solid anterior prolongations of the cerebral hemispheres already spoken of are usually regarded as the olfactory lobes, but according to götte, whose view appears to me well founded, small papillæ, situated at the base of these prolongations, from which olfactory nerves spring, and which contain a process of the lateral ventricle, should properly be regarded as the olfactory lobes. these papillæ arise prior to the solid anterior prolongations of the hemispheres. in birds the olfactory lobes are small. in the chick they arise (marshall) on the seventh day of incubation. _general conclusions as to the central nervous system._ it has been shewn above that both the brain and spinal cord are primitively composed of a uniform wall of epithelial cells, and that the first differentiation results in the formation of an external layer of white matter, a middle layer of grey matter (ganglion cells), and an inner epithelial layer. this primitive histological arrangement, which in many parts of the brain at any rate, is only to be observed in the early developmental stages, has a simple phylogenetic explanation. as has been already explained in an earlier part of this chapter the central nervous system was originally a differentiated part of the superficial epidermis. this differentiation (as may be concluded from the character of the nervous system in the coelenterata and echinodermata) consisted in the conversion of the inner ends of the epithelial cells into nerve-fibres; that is to say, that the first differentiation resulted in the formation of a layer of white matter on the inner side of the epidermis. the next stage was the separation of a deeper layer of the epidermis as a layer of ganglion cells from the superficial epithelial layer, _i.e._ the formation of a middle layer of ganglion cells and an outer epithelial layer. thus, phylogenetically, the same three layers as those which first make their appearance in the ontogeny of the vertebrate nervous system became successively differentiated, and in both cases they are clearly placed in the same positions, because the central canal of the vertebrate nervous system, as formed by an involution, is at the true outer surface, and the external part of the cord is at the true inner surface. it is probable that a very sharp distinction between the white and grey matter is a feature acquired in the higher vertebrata, since in amphioxus there is no such sharp separation; though the nerve-fibres are mainly situated externally and the nerve-cells internally. as already stated in chapter xii. the primitive division of the nervous axis was probably not into brain and spinal cord, but into ( ) a fore-brain, representing the ganglion of the præoral lobe, and ( ) the posterior part of the nervous axis, consisting of the mid- and hind-brains and the spinal cord. this view of the division of the central nervous system fits in fairly satisfactorily with the facts of development. the fore-brain is, histologically, more distinct from the posterior part of the nervous system than the posterior parts are from each other; the front end of the notochord forms the boundary between these two parts of the central nervous system (_vide_ fig. ), ending as it does at the front termination of the floor of the mid-brain, and finally, the nerves of the fore-brain have a different character to those of the mid- and hind-brain. this primitive division of the central nervous system is lost in all the true vertebrata, and in its place there is a secondary division--corresponding with the secondary vertebrate head--into a brain and spinal cord. the brain, as it is established in these forms, is again divided into a fore-brain, a mid-brain and a hind-brain. the fore-brain is, as we have already seen, the original ganglion of the præoral lobe. the mid-brain appears to be the lobe, or ganglion, of the third pair of nerves (first pair of segmental nerves), while the hind-brain is a more complex structure, each section of which (perhaps indicated by the constrictions which often appear at an early stage of development) giving rise to a pair of segmental nerves is, roughly speaking, homologous with the whole mid-brain. the type of differentiation of each of the primitively simple vesicles forming the fore-, the mid- and the hind-brains is very uniform throughout the vertebrate series, but it is highly instructive to notice the great variations in the relative importance of the parts of the brain in the different types. this is especially striking in the case of the fore-brain, where the cerebral hemispheres, which on embryological grounds we may conclude to have been hardly differentiated as distinct parts of the fore-brain in the most primitive types now extinct, gradually become more and more prominent, till in the highest mammalia they constitute a more important section of the brain than the whole of the remaining parts put together. the little that is known with reference to the significance of the more or less corresponding outgrowths of the floor and roof of the thalamencephalon, constituting the infundibulum and pineal gland, has already been mentioned in connection with the development of these parts. bibliography. ( ) c. j. carus. _versuch einer darstellung d. nervensystems, etc._ leipzig, . ( ) j. l. clark. "researches on the development of the spinal cord in man, mammalia and birds." _phil. trans._, . ( ) e. dursy. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte des hirnanhanges." _centralblatt f. d. med. wissenschaften_, . nr. . ( ) e. dursy. _zur entwicklungsgeschichte des kopfes des menschen und der höheren wirbelthiere._ tübingen, . ( ) a. ecker. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte der furchen und windungen der grosshirn-hemisphären im foetus des menschen." _archiv f. anthropologie_, v. ecker und lindenschmidt. vol. iii. . ( ) e. ehlers. "die epiphyse am gehirn d. plagiostomen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool_. vol. xxx., suppl. . ( ) p. flechsig. _die leitungsbahnen im gehirn und rückenmark des menschen. auf grund entwicklungsgeschichtlicher untersuchungen._ leipzig, . ( ) v. hensen. "zur entwicklung des nervensystems." _virchow's archiv_, bd. xxx. . ( ) l. löwe. "beiträge z. anat. u. z. entwick. d. nervensystems d. säugethiere u. d. menschen." berlin, . ( ) l. löwe. "beiträge z. vergleich. morphogenesis d. centralen nervensystems d. wirbelthiere." _mittheil. a. d. embryol. instit. wien_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. m. marshall. "the morphology of the vertebrate olfactory organ." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) v. v. mihalkovics. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. gehirns_. leipzig, . ( ) w. müller. "ueber entwicklung und bau der hypophysis und des processus infundibuli cerebri." _jenaische zeitschrift_. bd. vi. . ( ) h. rahl-rückhard. "die gegenseitigen verhältnisse d. chorda, hypophysis etc. bei haifischembryonen, nebst bemerkungen üb. d. deutung d. einzelnen theile d. fischgehirns." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vi. . ( ) h. rathke. "ueber die entstehung der glandula pituitaria." _müller's archiv f. anat. und physiol._, bd. v. . ( ) c. b. reichert. _der bau des menschlichen gehirns._ leipzig, u. . ( ) f. schmidt. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte des gehirns." _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, . bd. xi. ( ) g. schwalbe. "beitrag z. entwick. d. zwischenhirns." _sitz. d. jenaischen gesell. f. med. u. naturwiss._ jan. , . ( ) fried. tiedemann. _anatomie und bildungsgeschichte des gehirns im foetus des menschen._ nürnberg, . the development of the cranial and spinal nerves[ ]. [ ] remak derived the posterior ganglia from the tissue of the mesoblastic somites, and following in remak's steps most authors believed the peripheral nervous system to have a mesoblastic origin. this view, which had however been rejected on theoretical grounds by hensen and others, was finally attacked on the ground of observation by his (no. ). his (no. , p. ) found that in the fowl "the spinal ganglia of the head and trunk arose from a small band of matter which is placed between the medullary plate and epiblast, and the material of which he called the 'intermediate cord'." he further states that: "before the closure of the medullary tube this band forms a special groove--the 'intermediate groove'--placed close to the border of the medullary plate. as the closure of the medullary plate into a tube is completed, the earlier intermediate groove becomes a compact cord. in the head of the embryo a longitudinal ridge arises in this way, which separates the suture of the brain from that of the epiblast. in the parts of the neck and in the remaining region of the neck the intermediate cord does not lie over the line of junction of the medullary tube, but laterally from this and forms a ridge, triangular in section, with a slight indrawing." this intermediate ridge gives rise to four ganglia in the head, viz. the g. trigemini, g. acousticum, g. glossopharyngei, and g. vagi, and in the trunk to the spinal ganglia. in both cases it unites first with the spinal cord. i have given in the above account, as far as possible, a literal translation of his' own words, because the reader will thus be enabled fairly to appreciate his meaning. subsequently to his' memoir (no. ) i gave an account of some researches of my own on this subject (no. ), stating the whole of the nerves to be formed as cellular outgrowths of the spinal cord. i failed fully to appreciate that some of the stages i spoke of had been already accurately described by his, though interpreted by him very differently. marshall, and afterwards kölliker, arrived at results in the main similar to my own, and hensen, independently of and nearly simultaneously with myself, published briefly some observations on the nerves of mammals in harmony with my results. his has since worked over the subject again (no. ), and has reaffirmed as a result of his work his original statements. i cannot, however, accept his interpretations on the subject, and must refer the reader who is anxious to study them more fully, to his' own paper. all the nerves are outgrowths of the central nervous system, but the differences in development between the cranial and spinal nerves are sufficiently great to make it convenient to treat them separately. spinal nerves. the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, as well as certain of the cranial nerves, arise in the same manner, and from the same structure, and are formed considerably before the anterior roots. elasmobranch fishes may be taken as the type to illustrate the mode of formation of the spinal nerves. the whole of the nerves in question arise as outgrowths of a median ridge of cells, which makes its appearance on the dorsal side of the spinal cord (fig. a, _pr_). this ridge has been called by marshall the neural crest. at each point, where a pair of nerves will be formed, two pear-shaped outgrowths project from it, one on each side; and apply themselves closely to the walls of the spinal cord (fig. b, _pr_). these outgrowths are the rudiments of the posterior nerves. while still remaining attached to the dorsal summit of the neural cord they grow to a considerable size (fig. b, _pr_). [fig. a. transverse section through a pristiurus embryo shewing the proliferation of cells to form the neural crest. _pr._ neural crest; _nc._ neural canal; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta.] [fig. b. transverse section through the trunk of an embryo slightly older than fig. e. _nc._ neural canal; _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sc._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate converted into muscle; _vv._ portion of the vertebral plate which will give rise to the vertebral bodies; _al._ alimentary tract.] [fig. . vertical longitudinal section through part of the trunk of a young scyllium embryo. _com._ commissure uniting the dorsal ends of the posterior nerve-roots; _pr._ ganglia of posterior roots; _ar._ anterior roots; _st._ segmental tubes; _sd._ segmental duct; _g.e._ epithelium lining the body cavity in the region of the future germinal ridge.] the attachment to the dorsal summit is not permanent, but before describing the further fate of the nerve-rudiments it is necessary to say a few words as to the neural crest. at the period when the nerves have begun to shift their attachment to the spinal cord, there makes its appearance, in elasmobranchii, a longitudinal commissure connecting the dorsal ends of all the spinal nerves (figs. , _com_), as well as those of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves. this commissure has as yet only been found in a complete form in elasmobranchii; but it is nevertheless to be regarded as a very important morphological structure. [fig. . spinal nerves of scyllium in longitudinal section to shew the commissure connecting them. a. section through a series of nerves. b. highly magnified view of the dorsal part of a single nerve, and of the commissure connected with it. _com._ commissure; _sp.g._ ganglion of posterior root; _ar._ anterior root.] it is probable, though the point has not yet been definitely made out, that this commissure is derived from the neural crest, which appears therefore to separate into two cords, one connected with each set of dorsal roots. [fig. . section through the dorsal part of the trunk of a torpedo embryo. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _g._ spinal ganglion; _n._ nerve; _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve; _ch._ notochord; _nc._ neural canal; _mp._ muscle-plate.] returning to the original attachment of the nerve-rudiments to the medullary wall, it has been already stated that this attachment is not permanent. it becomes, in fact, at about the time of the appearance of the above commissure, either extremely delicate or absolutely interrupted. the nerve-rudiment now becomes divided into three parts (figs. and ), ( ) a proximal rounded portion, to which is attached the longitudinal commissure (_pr_); ( ) an enlarged portion, forming the rudiment of a ganglion (_g_ and _sp g_); ( ) a distal portion, forming the commencement of the nerve (_n_). the proximal portion may very soon be observed to be united with the side of the spinal cord at a very considerable distance from its original point of attachment. moreover the proximal portion of the nerve is attached, not by its extremity, but by its side, to the spinal cord (fig. _x_). the dorsal extremities of the posterior roots are therefore free. this attachment of the posterior nerve-root to the spinal cord is, on account of its small size, very difficult to observe. in favourable specimens there may however be seen a distinct cellular prominence from the spinal cord, which becomes continuous with a small prominence on the lateral border of the nerve-root near its proximal extremity. the proximal extremity of the nerve is composed of cells, which, by their small size and circular form, are easily distinguished from those which form the succeeding or ganglionic portion of the nerve. this part has a swollen configuration, and is composed of large elongated cells with oval nuclei. the remainder of the rudiment forms the commencement of the true nerve. this also is, at first, composed of elongated cells[ ]. [ ] the cellular structure of embryonic nerves is a point on which i should have anticipated that a difference of opinion was impossible, had it not been for the fact that his and kölliker, following remak and other older embryologists, absolutely deny the fact. i feel quite sure that no one studying the development of the nerves in elasmobranchii with well-preserved specimens could for a moment be doubtful on this point, and i can only explain his' denial on the supposition that his specimens were utterly unsuited to the investigation of the nerves. i do not propose in this work entering into the histogenesis of nerves, but may say that for the earlier stages of their growth, at any rate, my observations have led me in many respects to the same results as götte (_entwick. d. unke_, pp. - ), except that i hold that adequate proof is supplied by my investigations to demonstrate that the nerves are for their whole length originally formed as outgrowths of the central nervous system. as the nerve-fibres become differentiated from the primitive spindle-shaped cells, the nuclei become relatively more sparse, and this fact has probably misled kölliker. löwe, while admitting the existence of nuclei in the nerves, states that they belong to mesoblastic cells which have wandered into the nerves. this is a purely gratuitous assumption, not supported by observation of the development. it is extremely difficult to decide whether the permanent attachment of the posterior nerve-roots to the spinal cord is entirely a new formation, or merely due to the shifting of the original point of attachment. i am inclined to adopt the former view, which is also held by marshall and his, but may refer to fig. , shewing the roots after they have become attached to the side, as distinct evidence in favour of the view that the attachment simply becomes shifted, a process which might perhaps be explained by a growth of the dorsal part of the spinal cord. the change of position in the case of some of the cranial nerves is, however, so great that i do not think that it is possible to account for it without admitting the formation of a new attachment. [fig. . section through the dorsal region of a pristiurus embryo. _pr._ posterior root; _sp.g._ spinal ganglion; _n._ nerve; _x._ attachment of ganglion to spinal cord; _nc._ neural canal; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _i._ investment of spinal cord.] the anterior roots of the spinal nerves appear somewhat later than the posterior roots, but while the latter are still quite small. each of them (fig. _ar_) arises as a small but distinct conical outgrowth from a ventral corner of the spinal cord, before the latter has acquired its covering of white matter. from the very first the rudiments of the anterior roots have a somewhat fibrous appearance and an indistinct form of peripheral termination, while the protoplasm of which they are composed becomes attenuated towards its end. they differ from the posterior roots in never shifting their point of attachment to the spinal cord, in not being united with each other by a commissure, and in never developing a ganglion. the anterior roots grow rapidly, and soon form elongated cords of spindle-shaped cells with wide attachments to the spinal cord (fig. ). at first they pass obliquely and nearly horizontally outwards, but, before reaching the muscle-plates, they take a bend downwards. one feature of some interest with reference to the anterior roots is the fact that they arise not vertically below, but alternately with the posterior roots: a condition which persists in the adult. they are at first quite separate from the posterior roots; but about the stage represented in fig. a junction is effected between each posterior root and the corresponding anterior root. the anterior root joins the posterior at some little distance below its ganglion (figs. and ). although i have made some efforts to determine the eventual fate of the commissure uniting the dorsal roots, i have not hitherto met with success. it grows thinner and thinner, becoming at the same time composed of fibrous protoplasm with imbedded nuclei, and finally ceases to be recognisable. i can only conclude that it gradually atrophies, and ultimately vanishes. after the junction of the posterior and anterior roots the compound nerve extends downwards, and may easily be traced for a considerable distance. a special dorsal branch is given off from the ganglion on the posterior root (fig. _dn_). according to löwe the fibres of the anterior and posterior roots can easily be distinguished in the higher types by their structure and behaviour towards colouring reagents, and can be separately traced in the compound nerve. [fig. . transverse section through the dorsal region of a young torpedo embryo to shew the origin of the anterior and posterior roots of the spinal nerves. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _vr._ mesoblast cells which will form the vertebral bodies.] so far as has been made out, the development of the spinal nerves of other vertebrates agrees in the main with that in elasmobranchii, but _no dorsal commissure has yet been discovered_, except in the case of the first two or three spinal nerves of the chick. in the chick (marshall, no. ) the posterior roots, during their early stages, closely resemble those in elasmobranchii, though their relatively smaller size makes them difficult to observe. they at first extend more or less horizontally outwards above the muscle-plates (as a few of the nerves also do to some extent in elasmobranchii), but subsequently lie close to the sides of the neural canal. they are shewn in this position in fig. _sp.g._ there does not appear to be a continuous crest connecting the roots of the posterior nerves. the later stages of the development are precisely like those in elasmobranchii. the anterior roots have not been so satisfactorily investigated as the posterior, but they grow out, possibly by several roots for each nerve, from the ventral corners of the spinal cord, and subsequently become attached to the posterior nerves. i have observed the development of the posterior roots in lepidosteus, in which they appear as projections from the dorsal angles of the spinal cord, extending laterally outwards and, at first, having their extremities placed dorsally to the muscle-plates. [fig. . transverse section through the posterior part of the head of an embryo chick of thirty hours. _hb._ hind-brain; _vg._ vagus nerve; _ep._ epiblast; _ch._ notochord; _x._ thickening of hypoblast (possibly a rudiment of the subnotochordal rod); _al._ throat; _ht._ heart; _pp._ body cavity; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _sf._ splanchnic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] the cranial nerves[ ]. the earliest stages in the development of the cranial nerves have been most satisfactorily studied, especially by marshall (no. ), in the chick, while the later stages have been more fully worked out in elasmobranchii, where, moreover, they present a very primitive arrangement. in the chick certain of the cranial nerves arise before the complete closure of the neural groove. these nerves are formed as paired outgrowths of a continuous band composed of two laminæ, connecting the dorsal end of the incompletely closed medullary canal with the external epiblast. this mode of development will best be understood by an examination of fig. , where the two roots of the vagus nerve (_vg_) are shewn growing out from the neural band. shortly after this stage the neural band, becoming separated from the epiblast, constitutes a crest attached to the roof of the brain, while its two laminæ become fused. the relation of the cranial nerves to the brain then becomes exactly the same as that of the posterior roots of the spinal nerves to the spinal cord. [ ] the optic nerves are for obvious reasons dealt with in connection with the development of the eye. it does not appear possible to decide whether the mode of development of the cranial nerves in the chick, or that of the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, is the more primitive. the difference in development between the two sets of nerves probably depends upon the relative time of the closure of the neural canal. the neural crest clearly belongs to the brain, from the fact of its remaining connected with the latter when the medullary tube separates from the external epiblast. it is not known whether the cranial nerves originate before the closure of the neural canal in other forms besides the chick. the neural crest of the brain is continuous with that of the spinal cord, and on its separation from the central nervous axis forms on each side a commissure, uniting the posterior cranial nerves with the spinal nerves, and continuous with the commissure connecting together the latter nerves. anteriorly, the neural crest extends as far as the roof of the mid-brain[ ]. the pairs of nerves which undoubtedly grow out from it are the third pair (marshall), the fifth, the seventh and auditory (as a single root), the glossopharyngeal, and the various elements of the vagus (as separate roots in elasmobranchii, but as a single root in aves). marshall holds that the olfactory nerve probably also originates from this crest. it will however be convenient to deal separately with this nerve, after treating of the other nerves which undoubtedly arise from the neural crest. [ ] marshall holds that the neural crest extends in front of the region of the optic vesicle. i have been unable completely to satisfy myself of the correctness of this statement. in my specimens the epiblast along the line of infolding of this part of the roof of the brain is much thickened, but what marshall represents as a pair of outgrowths from it like those of a true nerve (no. , pl. ii. fig. ) appears to me in my specimens to be part of the external epiblast; and i believe that they remain connected with the external epiblast on the complete separation of the brain from it. the cranial nerves just enumerated present in their further development many points of similarity; and the glossopharyngeal nerve, as it develops in elasmobranchii, may perhaps be taken as typical. this nerve is connected by a commissure with those behind, but this fact may for the moment be left out of consideration. springing at first from the dorsal line of the hind-brain immediately behind the level of the auditory capsule, it apparently loses this primitive attachment and acquires a secondary attachment about halfway down the side of the hind-brain. the primitive undifferentiated rudiment soon becomes divided, exactly like a true posterior root of a spinal nerve, into a root, a ganglion and a nerve. the main branch of the nerve passes ventralwards, and supplies the first branchial arch (fig. _gl_). shortly afterwards it sends forwards a smaller branch, which passes to the hyoid arch in front; so that the nerve forks over the hyobranchial cleft. a typical cranial nerve appears therefore, except as concerns its relations to the clefts, to develop precisely like the posterior root of the spinal nerve. most of the cranial nerves of the above group, in correlation with the highly differentiated character of the head, acquire secondary differentiations, and render necessary a brief description of what is known with reference to their individual development. the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. behind the ear there are formed, in scyllium, a series of five nerves which pass down to respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fifth branchial arches. for each arch there is thus one nerve, whose course lies close to the posterior margin of the preceding cleft; a second anterior branch, forking over the cleft and passing to the arch in front, being developed later. these nerves are connected with the brain by roots at first attached to the dorsal summit, but eventually situated about halfway down the sides. the foremost of them is the glossopharyngeal. the next four are, as has been shewn by gegenbaur[ ], equivalent to four independent nerves, but form together a compound nerve, which we may briefly call the vagus. [ ] "ueber d. kopfnerven von hexanchus," etc., _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. . [fig. . views of the head of elasmobranch embryos at two stages as transparent objects. a. pristiurus embryo of the same stage as fig. f. b. somewhat older scyllium embryo. _iii._ third nerve; _v._ fifth nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve; _vg._ vagus nerve; _fb._ fore-brain; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _iv.v._ fourth ventricle; _cb._ cerebellum; _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ eye; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _m._ mesoblast at base of brain; _ch._ notochord; _ht._ heart; _vc._ visceral clefts; _eg._ external gills; _pp._ sections of body cavity in the head.] this compound nerve together with the glossopharyngeal soon attains a very complicated structure, and presents several remarkable features. there are present five branches (fig. b), viz. the glossopharyngeal (_gl_) and four branches of the vagus, the latter probably arising by a considerably greater number of strands from the brain[ ]. all the strands from the brain are united together by a thin commissure (fig. b, _vg_), continuous with the commissure of the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, and from this commissure the five branches are continued obliquely ventralwards and backwards, and _each of them dilates into a ganglionic swelling_. they all become again united together by a second thick commissure, which is continued backwards as the intestinal branch of the vagus nerve. the nerves, however, are continued ventralwards each to its respective arch. from the lower commissure springs the lateral nerve, at a point whose relations to the branches of the vagus i have not certainly determined. [ ] "ueber d. kopfnerven von hexanchus," etc., _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. . with reference to the dorsal commissure, which is almost certainly derived from the original neural crest, it is to be noted that there is a longish stretch of it between the last branch of the vagus and the first spinal nerve, which is probably the remains of a part of the commissure which connected the posterior branches of the vagus, at a stage in the evolution of the vertebrata, when the posterior visceral clefts were still present. these branches of the vagus are probably partially preserved in the ramifications of the intestinal stem of the vagus (gegenbaur). the origin of the ventral commissure, continued as the intestinal branch of the vagus, has not been embryologically worked out. the lateral nerve may very probably be a dorsal sensory branch of the vagus, whose extension into the posterior part of the trunk has been due to the gradual backward elongation of the lateral line[ ], causing the nerve supplying it to elongate at the same time (_vide_ section on lateral line). [ ] the peculiar distribution of branches of the fifth and seventh nerves to the lateral line, which is not uncommon, is to be explained in the same manner. in the chick the common rudiment for the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves (marshall), which has already been spoken of, subsequently divides into two parts, an anterior forming the glossopharyngeal nerve, and a posterior forming the vagus nerve. the seventh and auditory nerves. as shewn by marshall's and my own observations there is a common rudiment for the seventh and auditory nerves. this rudiment divides almost at once into two branches. the anterior of these pursues a straight course to the hyoid arch (fig. a, _vii._) and forms the rudiment of the facial nerve; the second of the two (fig. a, _au.n_), which is the rudiment of the auditory nerve, develops a ganglionic enlargement and, turning backwards, closely hugs the ventral wall of the auditory involution (fig. ). the seventh or facial nerve soon becomes more complicated. it early develops, like the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, a branch, which forks over the cleft in front (spiracle), and supplies the mandibular arch (fig. b). this branch forms the præspiracular nerve of the adult, and is homologous with the chorda tympani of mammalia. besides however giving rise to this typical branch it gives origin, at a very early period, to two other rather remarkable branches; one of these, arising from its dorsal anterior border, passes forwards to the _front part of the head_, immediately dorsal to the ophthalmic branch of the fifth to be described directly. this nerve is the portio major or superficialis of the nerve usually known as the ramus ophthalmicus superficialis in the adult[ ]. [ ] the two branches of the ramus ophthalmicus superficialis were spoken of as the ram. opth. superficialis and ram. opth. profundus in my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_. the nomenclature in the text is schwalbe's, which is probably more correct than mine. the other branch of the seventh is the palatine branch--superficial petrosal of mammalia--the course of which has been more fully investigated by marshall than by myself. he has shewn that it arises "just below the root of the ophthalmic branch," and "runs downwards and forwards, lying parallel and immediately superficial to the maxillary branch of the fifth nerve." this branch of the seventh nerve appears to bear the same sort of relation to the superior maxillary branch of the fifth nerve, that the ophthalmic branch of the seventh does to the ophthalmic branch of the fifth. both the root of the seventh and its main branches are gangliated. the auditory nerve is probably to be regarded as a specially differentiated part of a dorsal branch of the seventh, while the ophthalmic branch may not improbably be a dorsal branch comparable to a dorsal branch of one of the spinal nerves. the fifth nerve. shortly after its development the root of the fifth nerve shifts so as to be attached about halfway down the side of the brain. a large ganglion becomes developed close to the root, which forms the rudiment of the gasserian ganglion. the main branch of the nerve grows into the mandibular arch (fig. a, _v_), maintaining towards it similar relations to those of the posterior nerves to their respective arches. two other branches very soon become developed, which were not properly distinguished in my original account. the dorsal one takes a course parallel to the ophthalmic branch of the seventh nerve, and forms, according to the nomenclature already adopted, the portio profunda of the ophthalmicus superficialis of the adult. the second nerve (fig. a) passes forwards, above the mandibular head cavity, and is directed straight towards the eye, _near which it meets and unites with the third nerve_, where the ciliary ganglion is developed (marshall). this branch is usually called the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve, but marshall rightly prefers to call it the communicating branch between the fifth and third nerves[ ]. [ ] marshall thinks that this nerve may be the remains of the commissure originally connecting the roots of the third and fifth nerves. this suggestion can only be tested by further observations. later than these two branches there is developed a third branch, passing to the front of the mouth, and forming the superior maxillary branch of the adult (fig. b). of the branches of the fifth nerve the main mandibular branch is obviously comparable to the main branch of the posterior nerves. the superficial ophthalmic branch is clearly equivalent to the ophthalmic branch of the seventh. the superior maxillary is usually held to be equivalent to that branch of the posterior nerves which forms the anterior limb of the fork over a cleft. the similarity between the course of this nerve and that of the palatine branch of the seventh, resembling as it does the similar course of the ophthalmic branches of the two nerves, suggests that it may perhaps really be the homologue of the palatine branch of the seventh, there being no homologue of the typical anterior branch of the other cranial nerves. the third nerve. our knowledge of the development of the third nerve is entirely due to marshall. he has shewn that in the chick there is developed from the neural crest, on the roof of the mid-brain, an outgrowth on each side, very similar to the rudiment of the posterior nerves. this outgrowth, the presence of which i can confirm, he believes to be the third nerve, but although he is probably right in this view, it must be borne in mind that there is no direct evidence on the point, the fate of the outgrowth in question not having been satisfactorily followed. at a very considerably later period a nerve may be found _springing from the floor of the mid-brain_, which is undoubtedly the third nerve, and which marshall supposes to be the above rudiment, which has shifted its position. it is shewn in scyllium in fig. b, _iii._ a few intermediate stages between this and the earliest condition of the nerve have been imperfectly traced by marshall. the nerve at the stage represented in fig. b arises from a ganglionic root, and "runs as a long slender stem almost horizontally backwards, then turns slightly outwards to reach the interval between the dorsal ends of the first and second head cavities, where it expands into a small ganglion." this ganglion, as first suggested by schwalbe (no. ), and subsequently proved embryologically by marshall, is the ciliary ganglion. from the ciliary ganglion two branches arise; one branch continuing the main stem of the nerve, and obviously homologous with the main branch of the other nerves, and the other passing directly forwards "along the top of the first head cavity, then along the inner side of the eye, and finally terminating at the anterior extremity of the head, just dorsal of the olfactory pit." the partial separation, in many forms, of the ciliary ganglion from the stem of the third nerve has led to the erroneous view (disproved by the researches of marshall and schwalbe) that the ciliary ganglion belongs to the fifth nerve. the connecting branch of the fifth nerve often becomes directly continuous with the anterior branch of the third nerve, and the two together probably constitute the nerve known as the ramus ophthalmicus profundus (marshall). further embryological investigations will be required to shew whether this nerve is homologous with the nasal branch of the fifth nerve in mammalia. relations of the nerves to the head-cavities. the cranial nerves, whose development has just been given, bear certain very definite relations to the mesoblastic structures in the head, of the nature of somites, which are known as the head-cavities. each cranial nerve is typically placed immediately behind the head-cavity of its somite. thus the main branch of the fifth nerve lies in contact with the posterior wall of the mandibular cavity, as shewn in section in fig. _v. pp_ and in surface view in fig. ; the main branch of the seventh nerve occupies a similar position in relation to the hyoid cavity; and, as marshall has recently shewn, the main branch of the third nerve adjoins the posterior border of the front cavity, described by me as the premandibular cavity. owing to the early conversion of the walls of the posterior head-cavities into muscles, their relations to the nerves are not quite so clear as in the case of the anterior cavities, though, as far as is known, they are precisely the same. [fig. . transverse section through the front part of the head of a young pristiurus embryo. the section, owing to the cranial flexure, cuts both the fore- and the hind-brain. it shews the præmandibular and mandibular head-cavities _ pp_ and _ pp_, etc. _fb._ fore-brain; _l._ lens of eye; _m._ mouth; _pt._ upper end of mouth, forming pituitary involution; _ ao._ mandibular aortic arch; _ pp._ and _ pp._ first and second head-cavities; _ vc._ first visceral cleft; _v._ fifth nerve; _aun._ ganglion of auditory nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _aa._ dorsal aorta; _acv._ anterior cardinal vein; _ch._ notochord.] _anterior nerve-roots in the brain._ during my investigations on the development of the cranial nerves i was unable to find any roots comparable with the anterior roots of the spinal nerves, and propounded an hypothesis (suggested by the absence of anterior spinal roots in amphioxus[ ]) that the head and trunk had become differentiated from each other at a stage when mixed motor and sensory posterior roots were the only roots present, and i supposed the cranial and spinal nerves to have been _independently_ evolved from a common ground form, the resulting types of nerves being so different that no roots strictly comparable with the anterior roots of spinal nerves were to be found in the cranial nerves. [ ] schneider holds that anterior roots are present in amphioxus, but i have been unable to satisfy myself of their presence. the views put forward by me on this subject, though accepted by schwalbe (no. ), have in other quarters not met with much favour. wiedersheim holds that it is impossible to believe that the cranial nerves are simpler than the spinal nerves. such simplicity, which is clearly not found, i have never asserted to exist; i have only stated that the cranial nerves, in acquiring the complicated character they have in the adult, do not develop anterior roots comparable with those of the spinal nerves. marshall also strongly objects to my views, and has made some observations for the purpose of testing them, leading to some very interesting results, which i proceed to state, and i will then explain my opinion concerning them. the most important observation of marshall on this subject concerns the sixth nerve. in both the chick and scyllium he has detected a nerve (the first development of which has unfortunately not been made out) arising by a series of roots from the base of the hind-brain. by tracing this nerve to the external rectus muscle of the eye he has satisfactorily identified it as the sixth nerve. "_neither in the nerve nor in its roots are there any ganglion cells._" this nerve he finds to be placed vertically below the roots of the seventh nerve; and it is not visible till much later than the cranial nerves above described. in addition to this nerve marshall has found, both in the third nerve and in the fifth nerve, a series of non-gangliated roots, which arise in a manner not yet satisfactorily elucidated, considerably later than, and in front of, the main roots. these roots join the gangliated roots on the proximal side of the ganglion or in the ganglion[ ]; and marshall believes them to be homologous with the anterior roots of spinal nerves, while he holds the sixth nerve to be an anterior root of the seventh nerve. [ ] these non-gangliated roots of the fifth nerve are not to be confounded with the motor root of the fifth nerve in higher types. they appear to form the anterior root of the adult which gives origin to the ramus ophthalmicus. in addition to these nerves marshall holds certain ventral roots, which occur in elasmobranchs close to the boundary of the spinal cord and medulla, and which probably form the hypoglossal nerve of higher types, to be anterior roots of the vagus. it is very difficult to prove anything definitely about these nerves, but, for reasons stated in my work on _elasmobranch fishes_, i am inclined to regard them as anterior roots of one or more spinal nerves. before attempting to decide how far marshall's views about the so-called anterior roots of the seventh, the fifth and the third nerves are well founded it will conduce to clearness to state the characters and relations of the two roots of spinal nerves. the posterior root is ( ) always _purely sensory_; ( ) it always develops a ganglion. the anterior root is ( ) always purely motor; ( ) it always joins the posterior root _below_ the ganglion, except in petromyzon (though not in myxine) where the two roots are stated to be independent. how far do marshall's anterior and posterior roots of the cranial nerves exhibit these respective peculiarities? with reference to the sixth and seventh nerves he states "we must regard the sixth nerve as having the same relation to the seventh that the anterior root of a spinal nerve has to the posterior root." on this i would remark ( ) that the posterior root of this nerve is a mixed sensory and motor nerve and therefore differs in a very fundamental point from that of a spinal nerve; ( ) the sixth nerve though resembling the anterior root of a spinal nerve in being motor and without a ganglion, differs from the nearly universal arrangement of spinal nerves in not uniting with the seventh. with reference to the fifth nerve it is to be observed that it is by no means certain that the whole of the motor fibres are supplied by the so-called anterior roots, and that these roots differ again in the most marked manner from the anterior roots of spinal nerves in joining the main root of the nerve _above_ (nearer the brain), and not as in a spinal nerve _below_ the ganglion. the gangliated root of the third nerve is purely motor[ ], and its so-called anterior roots again differ from the anterior roots of spinal nerves, in the same manner as those of the fifth nerve. [ ] if marshall's view about the ramus ophthalmicus profundus (p. ) is correct, the third must still be, as it no doubt was primitively, a mixed motor and sensory nerve. with reference to the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves i would merely remark that no anterior root has even been suggested for the glossopharyngeal nerve and that the posterior roots of both these nerves contain a mixture of sensory and motor fibres. in view of these facts, my original hypothesis appears to me to be confirmed by marshall's observations. the fact of all the posterior roots of the above cranial nerves (except the third which may be purely motor) being mixed motor and sensory roots appears to me to demonstrate that the starting-point of their differentiation was a mixed nerve with a single dorsal root; and that they did not therefore become differentiated from nerves built on the same type as the spinal nerves with dorsal sensory and ventral motor roots. the presence of such non-gangliated roots as those of the third and fifth nerves is not a difficulty to this view. considering that the cranial nerves are more highly differentiated than the spinal nerves, and have more complicated functions to perform, it would be surprising if there had not been developed nonganglionated roots _analogous to_, but not of course homologous with, the anterior roots of the spinal nerves[ ]. [ ] in the higher types, as is well known, the fifth nerve has its roots formed on the same type as a spinal nerve. the fact that this is not the case in the lower types, either in the embryo or the adult, is a clear indication, to my mind, that the mammalian arrangement of the roots of the fifth nerve has been secondarily acquired, a fact which is a most striking confirmation of my views as to the differences between the cranial and spinal nerves.] as to the sixth nerve further embryological investigations are requisite before its true position in the series can be determined; but it appears to me very probable that it is a product of the differentiation of the seventh nerve. the fourth nerve. no embryological investigations have been made with reference to the fourth nerve. it is possible that it is a segmental nerve comparable with the third nerve, and that the only remnant still left of the segment to which it belongs is the superior oblique muscle of the eye. if this is the case there must have been two præmandibular segments, viz. that belonging to the third nerve, and that belonging to the fourth nerve. against this view of the fourth nerve is the fact, urged with great force by marshall, that the superior oblique muscle is in front of the other eye muscles, and that the fourth nerve therefore crosses the third nerve to reach its destination. the olfactory nerve. it was shewn in my monograph on elasmobranch fishes that the olfactory nerve grew out from the brain in the same manner as other nerves; and marshall (no. ), to whom we are indebted for the greater part of our knowledge on the development of this nerve, has proved that it arises prior to the differentiation of the olfactory lobes. the earliest stages in the development of the nerve have not been made out. marshall, as already stated, finds that in the chick the neural crest is continued in front of the optic vesicles, and holds that this fact is strong _a priori_ evidence in favour of the nerve growing out from it. as mentioned above, note on p. , i cannot without further evidence accept marshall's statements on this point. in any case marshall has not yet been able again to find an olfactory nerve till long after the disappearance of the neural crest. the olfactory nerve at the next stage observed forms an outgrowth of fusiform cells springing on either side from near the summit of the fore-brain; and at fifty hours it ends close to a slight thickening of the epiblast forming the first rudiment of the olfactory pit, with the walls of which it soon becomes united. [fig. . section through the brain and olfactory organ of an embryo of scyllium. (modified from figures by marshall and myself.) _c.h._ cerebral hemispheres; _ol.v._ olfactory vesicle; _olf._ olfactory pit; _sch._ schneiderian folds; _i._ olfactory nerve. the reference line has been accidentally taken through the nerve to the brain; _pn._ pineal gland.] the growth of the cerebral hemispheres causes its point of insertion in the brain to be relatively shifted; and on the development of the olfactory lobes (_vide_ pp. , ) it arises from them (fig. ). in elasmobranchs there is a large development of ganglion cells near its root. from marshall's figures these appear also to be present in the chick, but they do not seem to have been found in other forms. in both teleostei and amphibia the olfactory nerves are at first extremely short. marshall holds that the olfactory nerve is a segmental nerve equivalent to the third, fifth, seventh etc. nerves. it has been already stated that in my opinion the origin of the olfactory nerves from the fore-brain, which i hold to be the ganglion of the præoral lobe, negatives this view. the mere fact of these nerves originating as an outgrowth from the central nervous system is no argument in favour of marshall's view of their nature; and even if marshall's opinion that they arise from the neural crest should turn out to be well founded, this fact would not prove their segmental nature, because their origin from this crest would, as indicated in the next paragraph, merely seem to imply that they primitively arose from the lateral borders of the nerve-plate from which the cerebrospinal tube has been formed. situation of the dorsal roots of the cranial and spinal nerves. the probable explanation of the origin of nerves from the neural crest has already been briefly given (p. ). it is that the neural crest represents the original lateral borders of the nervous plate, and that, in the mechanical folding of the nervous plate to form the cerebrospinal canal, its two lateral borders have become approximated in the median dorsal line to form the neural crest. the subsequent shifting of the nerves i am unable to explain, and the meaning of the transient longitudinal commissure connecting the nerves is also unknown. the folding of the neural plate must have extended to the region of the origin of the olfactory nerves, so that, as just stated, there would be no special probability of the olfactory nerves belonging to the same category as the other dorsal nerves from the fact of their springing from the neural crest. bibliography of the peripheral nervous system. ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the development of the spinal nerves in elasmobranch fishes." _philosophical transactions_, vol. clxvi. ; _vide_ also, _a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_. london, , pp. - . ( ) w. his. "ueb. d. anfänge d. peripherischen nervensystems." _archiv f. anat. u. physiol._, . ( ) a. m. marshall. "on the early stages of development of the nerves in birds." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xi. . ( ) a. m. marshall. "the development of the cranial nerves in the chick." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. . ( ) a. m. marshall. "the morphology of the vertebrate olfactory organ." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) a. m. marshall. "on the head-cavities and associated nerves in elasmobranchs." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xxi. . ( ) c. schwalbe. "das ganglion oculomotorii." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xiii. . _sympathetic nervous system._ the discovery that the spinal and cranial nerves together with their ganglia were formed from the epiblast was shortly afterwards extended to the sympathetic nervous system, which has now been shewn to arise in connection with the spinal and cranial nerves. the earliest observations on this subject were those contained in my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_ (p. ), while schenk and birdsell (no. ) have since arrived at the same result for aves and mammalia. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through part of the body wall of an elasmobranch embryo shewing part of two spinal nerves and the sympathetic ganglia belonging to them. _ar._ anterior root; _pr._ posterior root; _sy.g._ sympathetic ganglion; _mp._ part of muscle-plate.] in my account of the development of these ganglia, it is stated that they were first met with as small masses situated at the ends of short branches of the spinal nerves (fig. _sy.g_). more recent investigations have shewn me that the sympathetic ganglia are at first simply swellings on the main branches of the spinal nerves some way below the ganglia. their situation may be understood from fig. , _sy.g_, which belongs however to a somewhat later stage. subsequently the sympathetic ganglia become removed from the main stem of their respective nerves, remaining however connected with those stems by a short branch (fig. , _sy.g_). i have been unable to find a longitudinal commissure connecting them in their early stages; and i presume that they are at first independent, and become subsequently united into a continuous cord on each side. the observations of schenk and birdsell on the mammalia seem to indicate that the main parts of the sympathetic system arise in continuity with the posterior spinal ganglia: they also shew that in the neck and other parts the sympathetic cords arise as a continuous ganglionic chain. the observations on the topographical features of the development of the sympathetic system in higher types are however as yet very imperfect. the later history of the sympathetic ganglia is intimately bound up with that of the so-called suprarenal bodies, which are dealt with in another chapter. [fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the trunk of an embryo of scyllium slightly older than fig. b. the section is diagrammatic in the fact that the anterior nerve-roots have been inserted for their whole length; whereas they join the spinal cord halfway between two posterior roots. _sp.c._ spinal cord; _sp.g._ ganglion of posterior root; _ar._ anterior root; _d.n._ dorsally directed nerve springing from posterior root; _mp._ muscle plate; _mp´._ part of muscle plate already converted into muscles; _mp.l._ part of muscle plate which gives rise to the muscles of the limbs; _nl._ nervus lateralis; _ao._ aorta; _ch._ notochord; _sy.g._ sympathetic ganglion; _ca.v._ cardinal vein; _sp.n._ spinal nerve; _sd._ segmental (archinephric) duct; _st._ segmental tube; _du._ duodenum; _pan._ pancreas; _hp.d._ point of junction of hepatic duct with duodenum; _umc._ umbilical canal.] bibliography of the sympathetic nervous system. ( ) f. m. balfour. _monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes._ london, , p. . ( ) s. l. schenk and w. r. birdsell. "ueb. d. lehre von d. entwicklung d. ganglien d. sympatheticus." _mittheil. a. d. embryologischen instit. wien._ heft iii. . chapter xvi. organs of vision. in the lowest forms of animal life the whole surface is sensitive to light, and organs of vision have no doubt arisen in the first instance from limited areas becoming especially sensitive to light in conjunction with a deposit of pigment. lens-like structures, formed either as a thickening of the cuticle, or as a mass of cells, were subsequently formed; but their function was not, in the first instance, to throw an image of external objects on the perceptive part of the eye, but to concentrate the light on it. from such a simple form of visual organ it is easy to pass by a series of steps to an eye capable of true vision. there are but few groups of the metazoa which are not provided with optic organs of greater or less complexity. in a large number of instances these organs are placed on the anterior part of the head, and are innervated from the anterior ganglia. it is possible that many of the eyes so situated may be modifications of a common prototype. in other instances organs of vision are situated in different regions of the body, and it is clear that such eyes have been independently evolved in each instance. the percipient elements of the eye would invariably appear to be cells, one end of each of which is continuous with a nerve, while the other terminates in a cuticular structure, or indurated part of the cell forming what is known as the rod or cone. the presence of such percipient elements in various eyes is therefore no proof of genetic relationship between these eyes, but merely of similarity of function. embryological data as to the development of the eye do not exist except in the case of the arthropoda, mollusca and chordata. from such data as there are, combined with study of the adult structure of the eye, it can be shewn that two types of development are found. in one of these the percipient elements are formed from the central nervous system, in the other from the epidermis. the former may be called cerebral eyes. it is probable however that this distinction is not, in all cases at any rate, so fundamental as might be supposed; but that in both instances the eye may have taken its origin from the epidermis. in the eyes in which the retina is continuous with the central nervous system, these two organs were probably evolved simultaneously as differentiations of the epidermis, and continue to develop together in the ontogenetic growth of the eye. some of the eyes in which the retina is formed from the epidermis have also probably arisen simultaneously with part of the central nervous system, while in other instances they have arisen as later formations subsequently to the complete establishment of a central nervous system. coelenterata. the actual evolution of the eye is best shewn in the hydrozoa. the simplest types are those found in oceania and lizzia[ ]. in lizzia the eye is placed at the base of a tentacle and consists of (fig. ) a lens (l) and a percipient bulb (_oc_). the lens is a simple thickening of the cuticle, while the percipient part of the eye is formed of three kinds of elements:--( ) pigment cells; ( ) sense cells, forming the true retinal elements, and consisting of a central swelling with the nucleus, a peripheral process representing a hardly differentiated rod, and a central process continuous with ( ) ganglion cells at the base of the eye. in this eye there is present a commencing differentiation of a ganglion as well as of a retina. [ ] o. and r. hertwig. _das nervensystem u. sinnesorgane d. medusen._ leipzig, . [fig. . eye of lizzia koellikeri. (from lankester; after hertwig.) _l._ lens; _oc._ perceptive part of eye.] the eye of oceania is simpler than that of lizzia in the absence of a lens. claus has shewn that in charybdea amongst the acraspeda a more highly differentiated eye is present, with a lens formed of cells like the vertebrate eye. mollusca. in a large number of the odontophorous mollusca eyes, innervated by the supraoesophageal ganglia, are present on the dorsal side of the head. these eyes exhibit very various degrees of complexity, but are shewn both by their structure and development to be modifications of a common prototype. the simplest type of eye is that found in the nautilus, and although the possibility of this eye being degenerated must be borne in mind, it is at the same time very interesting to note (hensen) that it retains permanently the early embryonic structure of the eyes of the other groups. it has (fig. a) the form of a vesicle, with a small opening in the outer wall, placing the cavity of the vesicle in free communication with the exterior. the cells lining the posterior face of the vesicle form a retina (_r_); and are continuous with the fibres of the optic nerve (_n.op_). we have no knowledge of the development of this eye. [fig. . three diagrammatic sections of the eyes of mollusca. (after grenacher.) a. nautilus. b. gasteropod (limax or helix). c. dibranchiate cephalopod. _pal._ eyelid; _co._ cornea; _co.ep._ epithelium of ciliary body; _ir._ iris; _int, int^ ... int^ ._ different parts of the integument; _l._ lens; _l^ ._ outer segment of lens; _r._ retina; _n.op._ optic nerve; _g.op._ optic ganglion; _x._ inner layer of retina; _n.s._ nervous stratum of retina.] in the gasteropods the eye (fig. b) has the form of a closed vesicle: the cells lining the inner side form the retina, while the outer wall of the vesicle constitutes the cornea. a cuticular lens is placed in the cavity, on the side adjoining the cornea. this eye originates from the ectoderm, within the velar area, and close to the supraoesophageal ganglia, usually at the base of the tentacles. according to rabl (vol. ii. no. ) it is formed as an invagination, the opening of which soon closes; while according to bobretzky (vol. ii. no. ) and fol it arises as a thickening of the epiblast, which becoming detached takes the form of a vesicle. it is quite possible that both types of development may occur, the second being no doubt abbreviated. the vesicle, however formed, soon acquires a covering of pigment, except for a small area of its outer wall, where the lens becomes formed as a small body projecting into the lumen of the vesicle. the lens seems to commence as a cuticular deposit, and to grow by the addition of concentric layers. the inner wall of the vesicle gives rise to the retina. the most highly differentiated molluscan eye is that of the dibranchiate cephalopoda, which is in fact more highly organized than any other invertebrate eye. a brief description of its adult structure[ ] will perhaps render more clear my account of the development. the most important features of the eye are shewn in fig. c. the outermost layer of the optic bulb forms a kind of capsule, which may be called the sclerotic. posteriorly the sclerotic abuts on the cartilaginous orbit, which encloses the optic ganglion (_g. op_); and in front it becomes transparent and forms the cornea _co_, which may be either completely closed, or (as represented in the diagram) perforated by a larger or smaller opening. behind the cornea is a chamber known as the anterior optic chamber. this chamber is continued back on each side round a great part of the circumference of the eye, and separates the sclerotic from a layer internal to it. [ ] _vide_ hensen, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xv. in the anterior optic chamber there are placed ( ) the anterior part of the lens (_l^ _) and ( ) the folds of the iris (_ir_). the whole chamber, except the part formed by the lens, is lined by the epidermis (_int^ _ and _int^ _). bounding the inner side of the anterior optic chamber is a layer which is called the choroid (_int^ _) which is continued anteriorly into the fold of the iris (_ir_). the most superficial layer of the choroid is the epithelium already mentioned, next comes a layer of obliquely placed plates known as the argentea externa, then a layer of muscles, and finally the argentea interna. the argentea interna abuts on a cartilaginous capsule, which completely invests the inner part of the eye. the lens is a nearly spherical body composed of concentric lamellæ of a structureless material. it is formed of a small outer (_l^ _) and large inner (_l_) segment, the two being separated by a thin membrane. it is supported by a peculiar projection of the wall of the optic cup, known as the ciliary body (_co.ep_), inserted at the base of the iris, and mainly formed of a continuation of the retina. this body is however muscular, and presents a series of folds on its outer and inner surfaces, which are especially developed on the latter. the membrane dividing the lens into two parts is continuous with the ciliary body. within the lens is the inner optic chamber, bounded in front by the lens and the ciliary body, and behind by the retina. the retina is formed of two main divisions, an anterior division adjoining the inner optic chamber, and a posterior division (_n.s_) adjoining the cartilage of the choroid. the two layers are separated by a membrane. passing from within outwards the following layers in the retina may be distinguished: ( ) homogeneous membrane. } anterior division of ( ) layer of rods. } retina. ( ) layer of granules imbedded in pigment } ( ) cellular layer. } ( ) connective tissue layer. } posterior layer of retina. ( ) layer of nerve-fibres. } at the side of the optic ganglion is a peculiar body, known as the white body (not shewn in the figure), which has the histological characters of glandular tissue. [fig. . two sections through the developing eye of a cephalopod to shew the formation of the optic cup. (after lankester.)] the first satisfactory account of the development of the eye is due to lankester (no. ). the more important features in it were also independently worked out by grenacher (no. ), and are beautifully illustrated in bobretzky's paper (no. ). the eye first appears as an oval pit of the epiblast, the edge of which is formed by a projecting rim (fig. a). the epiblast layer lining the floor of the pit soon becomes considerably thickened. by the growth inwards of the rim the mouth of the pit is gradually narrowed (fig. b), resembling at this stage the eye of nautilus, and finally closed. there is thus formed a flattened sack, lined by epiblast, which may be called the primary optic vesicle. its cavity eventually forms the inner optic chamber. the anterior wall of the sack is lined by a much less columnar layer than the posterior, the former giving rise to the epithelium on the inner side of the ciliary processes, the latter to the retina. [fig. . transverse section through the head of an advanced embryo of loligo. (after bobretzky.) _gls._ salivary gland; _g.vs._ visceral ganglion; _gc._ cerebral ganglion; _g.op._ optic ganglion; _adk._ optic cartilage; _ak._ and _y._ lateral cartilage or (?) white body; _rt._ retina; _gm._ limiting membrane of retina; _vk._ ciliary region of eye; _cc._ iris; _ac._ auditory sack (the epithelium lining the auditory sacks is not represented); _vc._ vena cava; _ff._ folds of funnel; _x._ epithelium of funnel.] the cavity of the sack rapidly enlarges, and assumes a spherical form. at the same time a layer of mesoblast grows in between the walls of the sack and the external epiblast. two new structures soon arise nearly simultaneously (fig. ),--which become in the adult eye the iris (_cc_) and the posterior segment of the lens. the iris is formed as a circular fold of the skin in front of the optic vesicle. it consists both of epiblast and mesoblast, and gives rise to a pit lined by epiblast. the posterior segment of the lens arises as a structureless rod-like body, which is shewn in fig. depending from the inner side of the anterior wall of the optic vesicle. its exact mode of origin is somewhat obscure. the following is lankester's account of it[ ]: "it is formed entirely within the primitive optic chamber, and at first depends as a short cylindrical rod from the middle point of the anterior wall of that chamber, that is to say, from the point at which the chamber finally closed up. it grows subsequently by the deposition of concentric layers of a horny material round this cone. no cells appear to be immediately concerned in effecting the deposition, and it must be looked upon as an organic concretion, formed from the liquid contained in the primitive optic chamber." [ ] "devel. of cephalopoda." _q. j. micro. scien._ , p. . the lens would thus appear to be a cuticular structure. it gradually assumes a nearly spherical form; and is then composed of concentrically arranged layers (fig. , _hl_). while the lens is being formed, the ciliary epithelium of the optic vesicle becomes divided into two layers, an outer layer of large cells and an inner of small cells. both layers are at first continuous across the anterior wall of the optic chamber in front of the lens, but soon become confined to the sides (fig. a, _cc_ and _gz_). the inner layer is stated by lankester to give rise to the muscles present in the adult. the mesoblast cells also disappear from the region in front of the lens, and the outer epithelium is converted into a kind of cuticular membrane. by these changes the original layers of cells in front of the lens become reduced to mere membranes,--a change which appears to be preparatory to the appearance of the anterior segment of the lens. the formation of the latter has not been fully followed out by any investigator except bobretzky. his figures would seem to indicate that it is formed as a cuticular deposit in front of the membrane already spoken of (fig. b, _vl_). the two segments of the lens appear at any rate to be separated by a membrane continuous with the ciliary region of the optic vesicle. grenacher believes that the front part of the lens is formed in a pocket-like depression of the epiblastic layer covering the outer side of the optic cup; and lankester thinks that the lens "pushes its way through the median anterior area of the primitive optic chamber, and projects into the second or anterior optic chamber where the iridian folds lie closely upon it." while the lens is attaining its complete development there appears a fresh fold round the circumference of the eye, which gradually grows inwards so as to form a chamber outside the parts already present. this chamber is the anterior optic chamber of the adult. in most cephalopods (fig. c) the edges of the fold do not quite meet, but leave a larger or smaller aperture leading into the chamber containing the iris, outer segment of the lens, etc. in some forms however they meet and coalesce, and so shut off this chamber from communication with the exterior. the edge of the fold constitutes the cornea while the remainder of it gives rise to the sclerotic. [fig. . sections through the developing eye of loligo at two stages. (after bobretzky.) _hl._ inner segment of lens; _vl._ outer segment of lens; _a_ and _a´_. epithelium lining the anterior optic chamber; _gz._ large epiblast cells of ciliary body; _cc._ small epiblast cells of ciliary body; _ms._ layer of mesoblast between the two epiblastic layers of the ciliary body; _af._ and _if._ fold of iris; _rt._ retina; _rt´´._ inner layer of retina; _st._ rods; _aq._ cartilage of the choroid.] the retina is at first a thick layer of numerous rows of oval cells (fig. ). when the inner segment of the lens is far advanced towards its complete formation pigment becomes deposited in the anterior part of the retina, and a layer of rods grows out from the surface turned towards the cavity of the optic vesicle (fig. a, _st_). at a slightly later stage the retina becomes divided into two layers (bobretzky), a thicker anterior layer, and a thinner posterior layer (fig. , _rt_ and _rt´´_). the former is composed of two strata, ( ) the rods and ( ) a stratum with numerous rows of nuclei which becomes in the adult the granular layer with its pigment. the posterior layer gives rise to the cellular part of the posterior division of the retina, while layers of connective tissue around it give rise to the connective tissue of this portion of the retina (layer in the scheme on p. ). the nervous layer is derived from the optic ganglion which attaches itself to the inner side of the connective tissue layer. the greater part of the choroid is formed from the mesoblast adjoining the retina, but the epithelium covering its outer wall is of epiblastic origin. it is difficult to decide from development whether the molluscan eyes, so far dealt with, originated in the first instance _pari passu_ with the supraoesophageal ganglia or independently at a later period. on purely _à priori_ ground i should be inclined to adopt the former alternative. in addition to the above eyes there occur amongst mollusca highly complicated eyes, of a very different kind, in two widely separated groups, viz. certain species of a genus of slug (onchidium), and certain lamellibranchiata. these eyes, though they have no doubt been evolved independently of each other, present certain remarkable points of agreement. in both of them the rods of the retina are turned _away from the surface_, and the nerve-fibres are placed, as in the vertebrate eye, _on the side of the retina which faces outwards_. the peculiar eyes of onchidium, investigated by semper[ ], are scattered on the dorsal surface, there being normal eyes in the usual situation on the head. the eyes on the dorsal surface are formed of a cornea, a lens composed of - cells, and a retina surrounded by pigment; which is perforated in the centre by an optic nerve, the retinal elements being in the inverted position above mentioned. [ ] _ueber sehorgane von typus d. wirbelthieraugen, etc._, wiesbaden, , and _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xiv. pp. - . the development of these eyes has been somewhat imperfectly studied in the adult, in which they continue to be formed anew. they arise by a differentiation of the epidermis at the end of a papilla. at first a few glandular cells appear in the epidermis in the situation where an eye is about to be formed. then, by a further process of growth, an irregular mass of epidermic cells becomes developed, which pushes the glandular cells to one side, and constitutes the rudiment of the eye. this mass, becoming surrounded by pigment, unites with the optic nerve, and its cells then differentiate themselves, _in situ_, into the various elements of the eye. no explanation is offered by semper of the inverted position of the rods, nor is any suggested by his account of the development. as pointed out by semper these eyes are no doubt modifications of the sensory epithelium of the papillæ. the eyes of pecten and spondylus[ ] are placed on short stalks at the edge of the mantle, and are probably modifications of the tentacular processes of the mantle edge. they are provided with a cornea, a cellular lens, a vitreous chamber, and a retina. the retinal elements are inverted, and the optic nerve passes in at the side, but occupies, in reference to its ramifications, the same relative situation as the optic nerve in the vertebrate eye. the development has unfortunately not yet been studied. [ ] _vide_ hensen (no. ) and s. j. hickson, "the eye of pecten," _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . our knowledge of the structure or still more of the development of the organ of vision of the platyelminthes, rotifera, and echinodermata is too scanty to be of any general interest. chætopoda. amongst the chætopoda the cephalic eyes of alciope (fig. ) have been adequately investigated as to their anatomy by greeff. these are provided with a large cuticular lens (_l_), separated from the retina by a wide cavity containing the vitreous humour. the retina is formed of a single row of cells, with rods at their free extremities, continuous at their opposite ends with nerve-fibres. the development of this eye has not been worked out. eyes _not_ situated on the head are found in polyophthalmus, and have probably been evolved from the more indifferent type of sense-organ found by eisig in the allied capitellidæ. chætognatha[ ]. the paired cephalic eyes of sagitta are spherical bodies imbedded in the epidermis. they are formed of a central mass of pigment with three lenses partially imbedded in it. the outer covering of the eye is the retina, which is mainly composed of rod-bearing cells; the rods being placed in contact with the outer surface of each of the lenses. in the presence of three lenses the eye of sagitta approaches in some respects the eye of the arthropoda. [ ] o. hertwig. "die chætognathen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xiv. . arthropodan eye. a satisfactory elucidation of the phylogeny of arthropodan eyes has not yet been given. all the types of eyes found in the group (with exception of that of peripatus)[ ] present marked features of similarity, but i am inclined to view this similarity as due rather to the character of the exoskeleton modifying in a more or less similar way all the forms of visual organs, than to the descent of all these eyes from a common prototype. in none of these eyes is there present a chamber filled with fluid between the lens and the retina, but the space in question is filled with cells. this character sharply distinguishes them from such eyes as those of alciope (fig. ). the types of eyes which are found in the arthropoda are briefly the following: [ ] the eye of peripatus is similar neither to the eye of the arthropoda, nor to that of the chætopoda, but resembles much more closely the molluscan eye. the hypodermis and cuticle form together a highly convex cornea, within which is a large optic chamber, the posterior wall of which is formed by the retina. the optic chamber would appear to contain a structureless lens, but it is possible that what i regard as a lens may, on fuller investigation, turn out to be only a coagulum. [fig. . eye of an alciopid (neophanta celox). (from gegenbaur; after greef.) _i._ cuticle; _c._ continuation of cuticle in front of eye; _l._ lens; _h_. vitreous humour; _o._ optic nerve; _o´._ expansion of the optic nerve; _b._ layer of rods; _p._ pigment layer.] ( ) _simple eyes._ in all simple eyes the corneal lens is formed by a thickening of the cuticle. such eyes are confined to the tracheata. there are three types of simple eyes. (_a_) a type in which the retinal cells are placed immediately behind the lens, found (lowne) in the larvæ of some diptera (eristalis), and also in some chilognatha. (_b_) a type of simple eye found in some chilopoda, and in some insect larvæ (dytiscus, etc.) (fig. ), the parts of which are entirely derived from the epidermis. there is present a lens (_l_) formed as a thickening of the cuticle, a so-called vitreous humour (_gl_) formed of modified hypodermis cells, and a retina (_r_) derived from the same source. the outer ends of the retinal cells terminate in rods, and their inner ends are continuous with nerve-fibres. (_c_) a type of simple eye found in the arachnida, and apparently some chilopoda, and forming the simple eyes of most insects, which differs from type (_a_) in the cells of the retina forming _a distinct layer beneath the hypodermis_; the latter only obviously giving rise to the vitreous humour. [fig. . section through the simple eye of a young dytiscus larva. (from gegenbaur; after grenacher.) _l._ corneal lens; _g._ vitreous humour; _r._ retina; _o._ optic nerve; _h._ hypodermis.] the development of the simple eyes has not yet been studied. the simple eyes so far described are always placed on the head, and are usually rather numerous. ( ) _compound eyes._ compound eyes are almost always present in the crustacea, and are usually found in adult insects. in both groups they are paired, though in the crustacea a median much simplified compound eye may either take the place of the paired eyes in the nauplius larva and lower forms, or be present together with them during a period in the development of higher forms. the typical compound eye is formed (fig. ) of a series of corneal lenses (_c_) developed from the cuticle; below which are placed bodies known as the crystalline cones, one to each corneal lens; and below the crystalline cones are placed bodies known as the retinulæ (_r_) constituting the percipient elements of the eye, each of them being formed of an axial rod, the rhabdom, and a number of cells surrounding it. the crystalline cones are formed from the coalescence of cuticular deposits in several cells, the nuclei of which usually remain as semper's nuclei. these cells are probably simple hypodermis cells, but in some forms, _e.g._ phronima, there may be a continuous layer of hypodermis cells between them and the cuticle. in various insect eyes the cells which usually give rise to a crystalline cone may remain distinct, and such eyes have been called by grenacher aconous eyes, while eyes with incompletely formed crystalline cones are called by him pseudoconous eyes. the rhabdom of the retinulæ is, like the crystalline cone, developed by the coalescence of a series of parts, which are primitively separate rods placed each in its own cell: this condition of the retinulæ is permanently retained in the eyes of the tipulidæ. the development of the compound eye has so far only been satisfactorily studied in some crustacea by bobretzky (no. ); by whom it has been worked out in palæmon and astacus, but more fully in the latter, to which the following account refers: the eye of astacus takes its origin from two distinct parts, ( ) the external epidermis of the procephalic lobes which will be spoken of as the epidermic layer of the eye, ( ) a portion of the supraoesophageal ganglia, which will be spoken of as the neural layer of the eye. the mesoblast is moreover the source of some of the pigment between the two above layers. the epidermic layer gives rise to the corneal lenses, the crystalline cones, and the pigment around the latter. the neural layer on the other hand seems to give rise to the retinulæ with their rhabdoms, and to the optic ganglion. [fig. . diagrammatic representations of parts of a compound arthropod eye. (from gegenbaur.) a. section through the eye. b. corneal facets. c. two segments of the eye. _c._ corneal (cuticular) lenses; _r._ retinulæ with rhabdoms; _n._ optic nerve; _g._ ganglionic swelling of optic nerve.] after the separation of the supraoesophageal ganglia from the superficial epiblast, the cells of the epidermis in the region of the future eye become columnar, and so form the above-mentioned epidermic layer of the eye. this layer soon becomes two or three cells deep. at the same time the most superficial part of the adjoining supraoesophageal ganglion becomes partially constricted off from the remainder as the neural layer of the eye, but is separated by a small space from the thickened patch of epidermis. into this space some mesoblast cells penetrate at a slightly later period. both the epidermic and neural layers next become divided into two strata. the outer stratum of the epidermic layer gives rise to the crystalline cones and semper's nuclei; each crystalline cone being formed from four coalesced rods, developed as cuticular differentiations of four cells, the nuclei of which may be seen in the embryo on its outer side. the lower ends of the cones pass through the inner stratum of the epidermic disc, the cells of which become pigmented, and constitute the pigment cells surrounding the lower part of the crystalline cones in the adult. the outer end of each of the crystalline cones is surrounded by four cells, believed by bobretzky to be identical with semper's nuclei[ ]. these cells give rise in a later stage (not worked out in astacus) to the cuticular corneal lenses. [ ] there would appear to be some confusion as to the nomenclature of these parts in bobretzky's account. of the two strata of the neural layer the outer is several cells deep, while the inner is formed of elongated rod-like cells. unfortunately however the fate of the two neural layers has not been worked out, though there can be but little doubt that the retinulæ originate from the outer layer. the mesoblast which grows in between the neural and epidermic layers becomes a pigment layer, and probably also forms the perforated membrane between the crystalline cones and the retinulæ. the above observations of bobretzky would appear to indicate that the paired compound eyes of crustacea belong to the type of cerebral eyes. how far this is also the case with the compound eyes of insects is uncertain, in that it is quite possible that the latter eyes may have had an independent origin. the relation between the paired and median eye of the crustacea is also uncertain. in the genus euphausia amongst the schizopods there is present a series of eyes placed on the sides of some of the thoracic legs and on the sides of the abdomen. the structure of these eyes, though not as yet satisfactorily made out, would appear to be very different from that of other arthropodan visual organs. the eye of the vertebrata. in view of the various structures which unite to form it, the eye is undoubtedly the most complicated organ of the vertebrata; and though its mode of development is fairly constant throughout the group, it will be convenient shortly to describe what may be regarded as its typical development, and then to proceed to a comparative view of the origin of its various parts, and to enter into greater detail with reference to some of them. at the end of the section there is an account of the accessory structures connected with the eye. the formation of the eye commences with the appearance of a pair of hollow outgrowths from the anterior cerebral vesicle or thalamencephalon, which arise in many instances, even before the closure of the medullary canal. these outgrowths, known as the optic vesicles, at first open freely into the cavity of the anterior cerebral vesicle. from this they soon however become partially constricted, and form vesicles (fig. , _a_), united to the base of the brain by comparatively narrow hollow stalks, the rudiments of the optic nerves. the constriction to which the stalk or optic nerve is due takes place obliquely downwards and backwards, so that the optic nerves open into the base of the front part of the thalamencephalon (fig. , _b_). [fig. . section through the head of an embryo teleostean, to shew the formation of the optic vesicles, etc. (from gegenbaur; after schenk.) _c._ fore-brain; _a._ optic vesicle; _b._ stalk of optic vesicle; _d._ epidermis.] after the establishment of the optic nerves, there take place ( ) the formation of the lens, and ( ) the formation of the optic cup from the walls of the primary optic vesicle. the external or superficial epiblast which covers, and is in most forms in immediate contact with, the most projecting portion of the optic vesicle, becomes thickened. this thickened portion is then driven inwards in the form of a shallow open pit with thick walls (fig. a, _o_), carrying before it the front wall (_r_) of the optic vesicle. to such an extent does this involution of the superficial epiblast take place, that the front wall of the optic vesicle is pushed close up to the hind wall, and the cavity of the vesicle becomes almost obliterated (fig. b). the bulb of the optic vesicle is thus converted into a cup with double walls, containing in its cavity the portion of involuted epiblast. this cup, in order to distinguish its cavity from that of the original optic vesicle, is generally called the _secondary optic vesicle_. we may, for the sake of brevity, speak of it as the _optic cup_; in reality it never is a vesicle, since it always remains widely open in front. of its double walls the inner or anterior (fig. b, _r_) is formed from the front portion, the outer or posterior (fig. b, _u_) from the hind portion of the wall of the primary optic vesicle. the inner or anterior (_r_), which very speedily becomes thicker than the other, is converted into the retina: in the outer or posterior (_u_), which remains thin, pigment is eventually deposited, and it ultimately becomes the tesselated pigment-layer of the choroid. [fig. . diagrammatic sections illustrating the formation of the eye. (after remak.) in a the thin superficial epiblast _h_ is seen to be thickened at _x_, in front of the optic vesicle, and involuted so as to form a pit _o_, the mouth of which has already begun to close in. accompanying this involution, which forms the rudiment of the lens, the optic vesicle is doubled in, its front portion _r_ being pushed against the back portion _u_, and the original cavity of the vesicle thus reduced in size. the stalk of the vesicle is shewn as still broad. in b the optic vesicle is still further doubled in so as to form a cup with a posterior wall _u_ and an anterior wall _r_. in the hollow of this cup lies the lens _l_, now completely detached from the superficial epiblast _xh_.] by the closure of its mouth the pit of the involuted epiblast becomes a completely closed sac with thick walls and a small central cavity (fig. b, _l_). at the same time it breaks away from the external epiblast, which forms a continuous layer in front of it, all traces of the original opening being lost. there is thus left lying in the cup of the secondary optic vesicle, an isolated elliptical mass of epiblast. this is the rudiment of the lens. the small cavity within it speedily becomes still less by the thickening of the walls, especially of the hinder one. at its first appearance the lens is in immediate contact with the anterior wall of the secondary optic vesicle (fig. b). in a short time however, the lens is seen to lie in the mouth of the cup (fig. d), a space (_vh_) (which is occupied by the vitreous humour) making its appearance between the lens and anterior wall of the vesicle. in order to understand how this space is developed, the position of the optic vesicle and the relations of its stalk must be borne in mind. the vesicle lies at the side of the head, and its stalk is directed downwards, inwards and backwards. the stalk in fact slants away from the vesicle. hence, when the involution of the lens takes place, the direction in which the front wall of the vesicle is pushed in is not in a line with the axis of the stalk, as for simplicity's sake has been represented in the diagram (fig. ), but forms an obtuse angle with that axis, after the manner of fig. , where _s´_ represents the cavity of the stalk leading away from the almost obliterated cavity of the primary vesicle. fig. represents the early stage at which the lens fills the whole cup of the secondary vesicle. the subsequent condition is brought about through the rapid growth of the walls of the cup. this growth however does not take place equally in all parts of the cup. the walls of the cup rise up all round except that point of the circumference of the cup which adjoins the stalk. while elsewhere the walls increase rapidly in height, carrying so to speak the lens with them, at this spot, which in the natural position of the eye is on its under surface, there is no growth: the wall is here imperfect, and a gap is left. through this gap, which afterwards receives the name of the choroidal fissure, a way is open from the mesoblastic tissue surrounding the optic vesicle and stalk into the interior of the cavity of the cup. [fig. . diagrammatic section of the eye and the optic nerve at an early stage. (from lieberkühn.) to shew the lens _l_ occupying the whole hollow of the optic cup, the inclination of the stalk _s_ to the optic cup, and the continuity of the cavity of the stalk _s´_ with that of the primary vesicle _c_; _r_. anterior, _u_. posterior wall of the optic cup.] from the manner of its formation the gap or fissure is evidently in a line with the axis of the optic stalk, and in order to be seen must be looked for on the under surface of the optic vesicle. in this position it is readily recognised in the embryo seen as a transparent object (fig. , _chs_). bearing in mind these relations of the gap to the optic stalk, the reader will understand how sections of the optic vesicle at this stage present very different appearances according to the plane in which the sections are taken. when the head is viewed from underneath as a transparent object the eye presents very much the appearance represented in the diagram (fig. ). a section of such an eye taken along the line _y_, perpendicular to the plane of the paper, would give a figure corresponding to that of fig. d. the lens, the cavity and double walls of the secondary vesicle, the remains of the primary cavity, would all be represented (the superficial epiblast of the head would also be shewn); but there would be nothing seen of either the stalk or the fissure. if on the other hand the section were taken in a plane parallel to the plane of the paper, at some distance above the level of the stalk, some such figure would be obtained as that shewn in fig. e. here the fissure _f_ is obvious, and the communication of the cavity _vh_ of the secondary vesicle with the outside of the eye evident; the section of course would not go through the superficial epiblast. lastly, a section, taken perpendicular to the plane of the paper along the line _z_, _i.e._ through the fissure itself, would present the appearances of fig. f, where the wall of the vesicle is entirely wanting in the region of the fissure marked by the position of the letter _f_. the external epiblast has been omitted in this figure. [fig. . diagrammatic representation of the eye of the chick of about the third day as seen when the head is viewed from underneath as a transparent object. _l._ the lens; _l´._ the cavity of the lens, lying in the hollow of the optic cup; _r_. the anterior, _u._ the posterior wall of the optic cup; _c._ the cavity of the primary optic vesicle, now nearly obliterated. by inadvertence _u_ has been drawn in some places thicker than _r_, it should have been thinner throughout. _s._ the stalk of the optic cup with _s´_ its cavity, at a lower level than the cup itself and therefore out of focus; the dotted line indicates the continuity of the cavity of the stalk with that of the primary vesicle. the line _z z_, through which the section shewn in fig. f is supposed to be taken, passes through the choroidal fissure.] with reference to the above description, taken with very slight alterations from the _elements of embryology_, pt. ., two points require to be noticed. firstly it is extremely doubtful whether the invagination of the secondary optic vesicle is to be viewed as an actual mechanical result of the ingrowth of the lens. secondly it seems probable that the choroid fissure is not simply due to an inequality in the growth of the walls of the secondary optic cup, but is partly due to a doubling up of the primary vesicle from the side along the line of the fissure, at the same time that the lens is being thrust in in front. in mammalia, the doubling up involves the optic stalk, which becomes flattened (whereby its original cavity is obliterated) and then folded in on itself, so as to embrace a new central cavity continuous with the cavity of the vitreous humour. and in other forms a partial phenomenon of the same kind is usually observable, as is more particularly described in the sequel. before describing the development of the cornea, aqueous humour, etc. we may consider the further growth of the parts, whose first development has just been described, commencing with the optic cup. during the above changes the mesoblast surrounding the optic cup assumes the character of a distinct investment, whereby the outline of the eyeball is definitely formed. the internal portions of this investment, nearest to the retina, become the _choroid_ (_i.e._ the _chorio-capillaris_, and the _lamina fusca_; the pigment epithelium, as we have seen, being derived from the epiblastic optic cup), and pigment is subsequently deposited in it. the remaining external portion of the investment forms the _sclerotic_. the complete differentiation of these two coats of the eye does not however take place till a late period. the cavity of the original optic vesicle was left as a nearly obliterated space between the two walls of the optic cup. by the end of the third day the obliteration is complete, and the two walls are in immediate contact. the inner or anterior wall is, from the first, thicker than the outer or posterior; and over the greater part of the cup this contrast increases with the growth of the eye, the anterior wall becoming markedly thicker and undergoing changes of which we shall have to speak directly (fig. ). in the front portion however, along, so to speak, the lip of the cup, anterior to a line which afterwards becomes the ora serrata, both layers cease to take part in the increased thickening, accompanied by peculiar histological changes, which the rest of the cup is undergoing. thus a hind portion or true retina is marked off from a front portion. the front portion, accompanied by the mesoblast which immediately overlies it, is behind the lens thrown into folds, the ciliary ridges; while further forward it bends in between the lens and the cornea to form the iris. the original wide opening of the optic cup is thus narrowed to a smaller orifice, the pupil; and the lens, which before lay in the open mouth of the cup, is now inclosed in its cavity. while in the hind portion of the cup or retina proper no deposit of black pigment takes place in the layer formed out of the inner or anterior wall of the vesicle; in the front portion forming the region of the iris, pigment is largely deposited throughout both layers, though first of all in the outer one, so that eventually this portion seems to become nothing more than a forward prolongation of the pigment epithelium of the choroid. [fig. . d. diagrammatic section taken perpendicular to the plane of the paper, along the line _yy_, fig. . the stalk is not seen, the section falling quite out of its region. _vh._ hollow of optic cup filled with vitreous humour; other letters as in fig. b. (after remak.) e. section taken parallel to the plane of the paper through fig. , so far behind the front surface of the eye as to shave off a small portion of the posterior surface of the lens _l_, but not so far behind as to be carried at all through the stalk. letters as before; _f._ the choroidal fissure. f. section along the line _zz_, perpendicular to the plane of the paper, to shew the choroidal fissure _f_, and the continuity of the cavity of the optic stalk with that of the primary optic vesicle. had this section been taken a little to one side of the line _zz_, the wall of the optic cup would have extended up to the lens below as well as above. letters as before. the external epiblast is omitted in this section.] thus, while the hind moiety of the optic cup becomes the retina proper, including the choroid-pigment in which the rods and cones are imbedded, the front moiety is converted into the ciliary portion of the retina, covering the ciliary processes, and into the uvea of the iris; the bodies of the ciliary processes and the substance of the iris, their vessels, muscles, connective tissue and ramified pigment, being derived from the mesoblastic choroid. the margin of the pupil marks the extreme lip of the optic vesicle, where the outer or posterior wall turns round to join the inner or anterior. the ciliary muscle and the ligamentum pectinatum are both derived from the mesoblast between the cornea and the iris. [fig. . section of the eye of chick at the fourth day. _e.p._ superficial epiblast of the side of the head; _r._ true retina: anterior wall of the optic cup; _p.ch._ pigment-epithelium of the choroid: posterior wall of the optic cup. _b_ is placed at the extreme lip of the optic cup at what will become the margin of the iris. _l._ the lens. the hind wall, the nuclei of whose elongated cells are shewn at _nl_, now forms nearly the whole mass of the lens, the front wall being reduced to a layer of flattened cells _el_. _m._ the mesoblast surrounding the optic cup and about to form the choroid and sclerotic. it is seen to pass forward between the lip of the optic cup and the superficial epiblast. filling up a large part of the hollow of the optic cup is seen a hyaline mass, the rudiment of the hyaloid membrane, and of the coagulum of the vitreous humour, _y_. in the neighbourhood of the lens it seems to be continuous as at _cl_ with the tissue _a_, which appears to be the rudiment of the capsule of the lens and suspensory ligament.] the retina. at first the two walls of the optic cup do not greatly differ in thickness. on the third day the outer or posterior becomes much thinner than the inner or anterior, and by the middle of the fourth day is reduced to a single layer of flattened cells (fig. , _p.ch_). at about the th hour its cells commence to receive a deposit of pigment, and eventually form the so-called pigmentary epithelium of the choroid; from them no part of the true retina (or no other part of the retina, if the pigment-layer in question be supposed to belong more truly to the retina than to the choroid) is derived. on the fourth day, the inner (anterior) wall of the optic cup (fig. , _r_) has a perfectly uniform structure, being composed of elongated somewhat spindle-shaped cells, with distinct nuclei. on its external (posterior) surface a distinct cuticular membrane, the membrana limitans externa, early appears. as the wall increases in thickness, its cells multiply rapidly, so that it soon becomes several cells thick: each cell being however probably continued through the whole thickness of the layer. the wall at this stage corresponds closely in its structure with the brain, of which it may properly be looked upon as part. according to the usual view, which is not however fully supported by the development, the retina becomes divided in the subsequent growth into ( ) an outer part, corresponding morphologically to the epithelial lining of the cerebrospinal canal, composed of what may be called the visual cells of the eye, _i.e._ the cells forming the outer granular (nuclear) layer and the rods and cones attached to them; and ( ) an inner portion consisting of the inner granular (nuclear) layer, the inner molecular layer, the ganglionic layer and the layer of nerve-fibres corresponding morphologically to the walls of the brain. according to löwe, however, only the outer limbs of the rods and cones, which he holds to be metamorphosed cells, correspond to the epithelial layer of the brain. the actual development of the retina is not thoroughly understood. according to the usual statements (kölliker, no. , p. ) the layer of ganglion cells and the inner molecular layer are first differentiated, while the remaining cells give rise to the rest of the retina proper, and are bounded externally by the membrana limitans externa. on the inner side of the ganglionic layer the stratum of nerve-fibres is also very early established. the rods and cones are formed as prolongations (kölliker, babuchin), or cuticularizations (schultze, w. müller) of the cells which eventually form the outer granular layer. the layer of cells external to the molecular layer is not divided till comparatively late into the inner and outer granular (nuclear) layers, and the interposed outer molecular layer. löwe's account of the development of the retina in the rabbit is in many points different from the above. he finds that three stages in the differentiation of the layers of the retina may be distinguished. in the first stage, in an embryo of four or five millimetres, the following layers are present, commencing at the outer side, adjoining the external wall of the secondary optic cup. ( ) a membrane, which does not however, as usually believed, become the membrana limitans externa. ( ) a layer of clear elements, derived from metamorphosed cells, constituting the outer limbs of the rods and cones. ( ) a layer of dark rounded elements. ( ) an indistinctly striated layer, the future layer of nerve-fibres. the third of these layers gives rise to all the eventual strata of the retina proper, except the outer limbs of the rods and cones. in the next stage, when the embryo has reached a length of cm., this layer becomes divided into three strata: viz. an outer and inner layer of dark elements and a middle one of clearer elements. the two inner of these layers become respectively the inner molecular layer and the layer of ganglion cells, while the outer layer gives rise to the parts of the retina external to the inner molecular layer. in the newly born animal the outer darker layer of the previous stage has become considerably subdivided. its outermost part forms a stratum of darkly coloured elements, which develop into the inner limbs of the rods and cones. it is bounded internally by a membrane--the true membrana elastica externa. the part of the layer within this is soon divided into the outer and inner granular layers, separated from each other by the delicate outer molecular layer. thus, shortly after birth, all the layers of the retina are established in the rabbit. it is important to notice that, according to löwe's views, the outer and inner limbs of the rods and cones are metamorphosed cells. the outer limbs at first form a continuous layer, in which separate elements cannot be recognised. at a very early period there appears a membrane on the side of the retina adjoining the vitreous humour. this membrane is the hyaloid membrane. the investigations of kessler and myself lead to the conclusion that it may be formed at a time when there is no trace of mesoblastic structures in the cavity of the vitreous humour, and that it is therefore necessarily developed as a cuticular deposit of the cells of the optic cup. lieberkühn, arnold, löwe, and other authors regard it however as a mesoblastic product; and kölliker believes that a primitive membrane is developed from the cells of the optic cup, and that a true hyaloid membrane is developed much later as a product of the mesoblast. for fuller information on this subject the reader is referred to the authors quoted above. the optic nerve. the optic nerves are derived, as we have said, from the at first hollow stalks of the optic vesicles. their cavities gradually become obliterated by a thickening of the walls, the obliteration proceeding from the retinal end inwards towards the brain. while the proximal ends of the optic stalks are still hollow the rudiments of the optic chiasma are formed from fibres at the roots of the stalks, the fibres of the one stalk growing over into the attachment of the other. the decussation of the fibres would appear to be complete. the fibres arise in the remainder of the nerves somewhat later. at first the optic nerve is equally continuous with both walls of the optic cup; as must of necessity be the case, since the interval which primarily exists between the two walls is continuous with the cavity of the stalk. when the cavity within the optic nerve vanishes, and the fibres of the optic nerve appear, all connection is ruptured between the outer wall of the optic cup and the optic nerve, and the optic nerve simply perforates the outer wall, and becomes continuous with the inner one. there does not appear to me any ground for doubting (as has been done by his and kölliker) that the fibres of the optic nerve are derived from a differentiation of the epithelial cells of which the nerve is at first formed. choroid fissure. with reference to the choroid fissure we may state that its behaviour varies somewhat in the different types. it becomes for the greater part of its extent closed, though its proximal end is always perforated by the optic nerve, and in many forms by a mesoblastic process also. the lens when first formed is an oval vesicle with a small central cavity, the front and hind walls being of nearly equal thickness, and each consisting of a single layer of elongated columnar cells. in the subsequent stages the mode of growth of the hind wall is of precisely an opposite character to that of the front wall. the hind wall becomes much thicker, and tends to obliterate the central cavity by becoming convex on its front surface. at the same time its cells, still remaining as a single layer, become elongated and fibre-like. the front wall on the contrary becomes thinner and thinner and its cells flattened. these modes of growth continue until, as shewn in fig. , the hind wall _l_ is in absolute contact with the front wall _el_, and the cavity thus becomes entirely obliterated. the cells of the hind wall have by this time become veritable fibres, which, when seen in section, appear to be arranged nearly parallel to the optic axis, their nuclei _nl_ being seen in a row along their middle. the front wall, somewhat thickened at either side where it becomes continuous with the hind wall, is now a single layer of flattened cells separating the hind wall of the lens, or as we may now say the lens itself, from the front limb of the lens-capsule; of the latter it becomes the epithelium. the subsequent changes undergone consist chiefly in the continued elongation and multiplication of the lens-fibres, with the partial disappearance of their nuclei. during their multiplication they become arranged in the manner characteristic of the adult lens of the various forms. the lens-capsule, as was originally stated by kölliker, appears to be formed as a cuticular membrane deposited by the epithelial cells of the lens. the views of lieberkühn, arnold, löwe and others, according to which the lens-capsule is a mesoblastic structure, do not appear to be well founded. the contrary view, held by kölliker, kessler, etc., is supported mainly by the fact that at the time when the lens-capsule first appears there are no mesoblast cells to give rise to it. it should however be stated that w. müller has actually found cellular elements in what he believes to be the lens-capsule of the ammocoete lens. considering the degraded character of the ammocoete eye, evidence derived from its structure must be accepted with caution. the vitreous humour. the vitreous humour is derived (except in cyclostomata) from a vascular ingrowth, which differs considerably in different types, through the choroid slit. its real nature is very much disputed. according to kessler's view, it is of the nature of a fluid transudation, but the occasional presence in it of ordinary embryonic mesoblast cells, in addition to more numerous blood-corpuscles, gives it a claim to be regarded as intercellular substance. the number of cells in it is however at best extremely small and in many cases there is no trace of them. in mammals there appear to be some mesoblast cells invaginated with the lens, which are not improbably employed in the formation of the vessels of the so-called membrana capsulo-pupillaris. in the ammocoete the vitreous humour originates from a distinct mesoblastic ingrowth, though the cells which give rise to it subsequently disappear. the development of the zonula of zinn in mammalia, which ought to throw some light on the nature of the vitreous humour, has not been fully investigated. according to lieberkühn (no. , p. ), this structure appears in half-grown embryos of the sheep and calf. he says "at the point where the ciliary processes and the ciliary part of the retina are entirely removed, one sees in the meridian bundles of fine fibres, which correspond to the valleys between the ciliary processes and fill them; also between these bundles there extend, as a thin layer, similar finely striated masses, and these would have been on the top of the ciliary processes." he further states that these fibres may be traced to the anterior and posterior limb of the lens-capsule, and that amongst them are numerous cells. kölliker confirms lieberkühn's statements. there can be little doubt that the fibres of the zonula are of the nature of connective tissue: they are stated to be elastic. by löwe they are believed to be developed out of the substance of the vitreous humour, but this does not appear to me to follow from the observations hitherto made. it seems quite possible that they arise from mesoblast cells which have grown into the cavity of the vitreous humour, solely in connection with their production. the integral parts of the eye in front of the lens are the cornea, the aqueous humour, and the iris. the development of the latter has already been described, and there remain to be dealt with the cornea, and the cavity containing the aqueous humour. the cornea. the cornea is formed by the coalescence of two structures, viz. the epithelium of the cornea and the cornea proper. the former is directly derived from the external epiblast, which covers the eye after the invagination of the lens. the latter is formed in a somewhat remarkable manner, first clearly made out by kessler. [fig. . section through the eye of a fowl on the eighth day of development, to shew the iris and cornea in the process of formation. (after kessler.) _ep._ epiblastic epithelium of cornea; _cc._ corneal corpuscles growing into the structureless matrix of the cornea; _dm._ descemet's membrane; _ir._ iris; _cb._ mesoblast of the iris (this reference letter points a little too high). the space between the layers _dm._ and _ep._ is filled with the structureless matrix of the cornea.] when the lens is completely separated from the epidermis its outer wall is directly in contact with the external epiblast (future corneal epithelium). at its edge there is a small ring-shaped space bounded by the outer skin, the lens and the edge of the optic cup. in the chick, which we may take as typical, there appears at about the time when the cavity of the lens is completely obliterated a structureless layer external to the above ring-like space and immediately adjoining the inner face of the epiblast. this layer, which forms the commencement of the cornea proper, at first only forms a ring at the border of the lens, thickest at its outer edge, and gradually thinning off to nothing towards the centre. it soon however becomes broader, and finally forms a continuous stratum of considerable thickness, interposed between the external skin and the lens. as soon as this stratum has reached a certain thickness, a layer of flattened cells grows in along its inner side from the mesoblast surrounding the optic cup (fig. , _dm_). this layer is the epithelioid layer of the membrane of descemet. after it[ ] has become completely established, the mesoblast around the edge of the cornea becomes divided into two strata; an inner one (fig. , _cb_) destined to form the mesoblastic tissue of the iris already described, and an outer one (fig. , _cc_) adjoining the epidermis. the outer stratum gives rise to the corneal corpuscles, which are the only constituents of the cornea not yet developed. the corneal corpuscles make their way through the structureless corneal layer, and divide it into two strata, one adjoining the epiblast, and the other adjoining the inner epithelium. the two strata become gradually thinner as the corpuscles invade a larger and larger portion of their substance, and finally the outermost portion of them alone remains as the membrana elastica anterior and posterior (descemet's membrane) of the cornea. the corneal corpuscles, which have grown in from the sides, thus form a layer which becomes continually thicker, and gives rise to the main substance of the cornea. whether the increase in the thickness of the layer is due to the immigration of fresh corpuscles, or to the division of those already there, is not clear. after the cellular elements have made their way into the cornea, the latter becomes continuous at its edge with the mesoblast which forms the sclerotic. [ ] it appears to me possible that lieberkühn may be right in stating that the epithelium of descemet's membrane grows in between the lens and the epiblast before the formation of the cornea proper, and that kessler's account, given above, may on this point require correction. from the structure of the eye in the ammocoete it seems probable that descemet's membrane is continuous with the choroid. the derivation of the original structureless layer of the cornea is still uncertain. kessler derives it from the epiblast, but it appears to me more probable that kölliker is right in regarding it as derived from the mesoblast. the grounds for this view are, ( ) the fact of its growth inwards from the border of the mesoblast round the edge of the eye, ( ) the peculiar relations between it and the corneal corpuscles at a later period. this view would receive still further support if a layer of mesoblast between the lens and the epiblast were really present as believed by lieberkühn. it must however be admitted that the objections to kessler's view of its epiblastic nature are rather _a priori_ than founded on definite observation. the observations of kessler, which have been mainly followed in the above account, are strongly opposed by lieberkühn (no. ) and arnold (no. ), and are not entirely accepted by kölliker. it is especially on the development of these parts in mammalia (to be spoken of in the sequel) that the above authors found their objections. i have had through kessler's kindness an opportunity of looking through some of his beautiful preparations, and have no hesitation in generally accepting his conclusions, though as mentioned above i cannot agree with all his interpretations. the aqueous humour. the cavity for the aqueous humour has its origin in the ring-shaped space round the front of the lens, which, as already mentioned, is bounded by the external skin, the edge of the optic cup, and the lens. by the formation of the cornea this space is shut off from the external skin, and on the appearance of the epithelioid layer of descemet's membrane a continuous cavity is developed between the cornea and the lens. this cavity enlarges and receives its final form on the full development of the iris. _comparative view of the development of the vertebrate eye._ the organ of vision, when not secondarily aborted, contains in all vertebrata the essential parts above described. the most interesting cases of partial degeneration are those of myxine and the ammocoete. the development of such aborted eyes has as yet been studied only in the ammocoete[ ], in which it resembles in most important features that of other vertebrata. [ ] the most detailed account is that of w. müller (no. ). [fig. . horizontal section through the head of a just hatched larva of petromyzon shewing the development of the lens of the eye. _th.c._ thalamencephalon; _op.v._ optic vesicle; _l._ lens of eye; _h.c._ head cavity.] eye of ammocoetes. the optic vesicle arises as an outgrowth of the fore-brain, but the secondary optic cup is remarkable in the young larva for its small size (fig. , _opv_). the thicker outer wall gives rise to the retina, and the thinner inner wall to the choroid pigment. the lens is formed as an invagination of the single-layered epidermis (fig. , _l_). as development proceeds the parts of the eye gradually enlarge, and the mesoblast around the hinder and dorsal part of the optic cup becomes pigmented. there is at first no cavity for the vitreous humour, but eventually the growth of the optic cup gives rise to a space, into which a cellular process of mesoblast grows at a slight notch in the ventral edge of the optic cup (w. müller, no. ). this notch is the only rudiment of the choroid fissure of other types. the mesoblastic process is probably the homologue of the processus falciformis and pecten, and appears to give rise to the vitreous humour; for a long time it retains its connection with the surrounding mesoblast. its cells eventually disappear, and it never contains any vascular structures. the lens for a long time remains as an oval vesicle with a central cavity. in a later stage, when the ammocoete is fully developed, the secondary optic cup forms a deep pit (fig. , _r_); in the mouth of which is placed the lens (_l_). the two walls of the retina have now the normal vertebrate structure, though the pigment is as yet imperfectly present in the choroid layer. the lens has the embryonic forms of higher types (cf. fig. ), consisting of an inner thicker segment, the true lens, and an outer layer forming the epithelium of the lens capsule. the edge of the optic cup, which forms the rudiment of the epiblast of the iris, is imperfectly separated from the remainder of the optic cup; and a mesoblastic element of the iris, distinct from descemet's membrane (_dm_), can hardly be spoken of. there is no cavity for the aqueous humour in front of the lens; and there is no cornea as distinct from the epidermis and subepidermic tissues. the elements in front of the lens are ( ) the epidermis (_ep_); ( ) the dermis (_dc_); ( ) the subdermal connective tissue (_sdc_) which passes without any sharp line of demarcation into the dermis; ( ) a thick membrane, continuous with the mesoblastic part of the choroid, which appears to represent descemet's membrane. the subdermal connective tissue is continued as an investment round the whole eye; and there is no differentiated sclerotic and only an imperfect choroid. in a still later stage a distinct mesoblastic element for the iris is formed. when the ammocoete is becoming a lamprey, the eye approaches the surface; an anterior chamber is established; and the eye differs from that of the higher types mainly in the fact that the cornea is hardly distinguished from the remainder of the skin, and that a sclerotic is very imperfectly represented. optic vesicles. the development of the primitive optic vesicles, so far as is known, is very constant throughout the vertebrata. in teleostei and lepidosteus alone is there an important deviation from the ordinary type, dependent however upon the mode of formation of the medullary keel, the optic vesicles arising while the medullary keel is still solid, and being at first also solid. they subsequently acquire a lumen and undergo the ordinary changes. [fig. . eye of an ammocoetes lying beneath the skin. _ep._ epidermis; _d.c._ dermal connective tissue continuous with the subdermal connective tissue (_s.d.c_), which is also shaded. there is no definite boundary to this tissue where it surrounds the eye. _m._ muscles; _dm._ membrane of descemet; _l._ lens; _v.h._ vitreous humour; _r._ retina; _rp._ retinal pigment.] the lens. in the majority of groups, viz. elasmobranchii, reptilia, aves, and mammalia, the lens is formed by an open invagination of the epiblast, but in amphibia, teleostei and lepidosteus, where the nervous layer of the skin is early established, this layer alone takes part in the formation of the lens (fig. , _l_). the lens is however formed even in these types as a hollow body by an invagination; but its opening remains permanently shut off from communication with the exterior by the epidermic layer of the epiblast. götte describes the lens as formed by a solid thickening of the nervous layer in bombinator. this is probably a mistake. the cornea. the mode of formation of the cornea already described appears to be characteristic of most vertebrata except the ammocoete. it has been found by kessler in aves, reptilia and amphibia, and probably also occurs in pisces. in mammals it is not however so easy to establish. there are at first no mesoblast cells between the lens and the epiblast (fig. ) but in many mammals (_vide_ kessler, no. , pp. - ) a layer of rounded mesoblast cells, which forms descemet's membrane, grows in between the two, at a time when it is not easy to recognise a corneal lamina, as distinct from a simple coagulum. after the formation of this layer the mesoblast cells grow into the corneal lamina from the sides, and becoming flattened arrange themselves in rows between the laminæ of the cornea. the cornea continues to increase in thickness by the addition of laminæ on the side adjoining the epiblast. we have already seen that in the lamprey the cornea is nothing else but the slightly modified and more transparent epidermis and dermis. the optic nerve and the choroid fissure. it will be convenient to consider together the above structures, and with them the vascular and other processes which pass into the cavity of the optic cup through the choroid fissure. these parts present on the whole a greater amount of variation than any other parts of the eye. i commence with the fowl which is both a very convenient general type for comparison, and also that in which these structures have been most fully worked out. during the third day of incubation there passes in through the choroid slit a vascular loop, which no doubt supplies the transuded material for the growth of the vitreous humour. up to the fifth day this vascular loop is the only structure passing through the choroid slit. on this day however a new structure appears, which remains permanently through life, and is known as the pecten. it consists of a lamellar process of the mesoblast cells round the eye, passing through the choroid slit near the optic nerve, and enveloping part of the afferent branch of the vascular loop above mentioned. the proximal part of the free edge of the pecten is somewhat swollen, and sections through this part have a club-shaped form. on the sixth day the choroid slit becomes rapidly closed, so that at the end of the sixth day it is reduced to a mere seam. there are however two parts of this seam where the edges of the optic cup have not coalesced. the proximal of these adjoins the optic nerve, and permits the passage of the pecten and at a later period of the optic nerve; and the second or distal one is placed near the ciliary edge of the slit, and is traversed by the efferent branch of the above-mentioned vascular loop. this vessel soon atrophies, and with it the distal opening in the choroid slit completely vanishes. in some varieties of domestic fowl (lieberkühn) the opening however persists. the seam which marks the original site of the choroid slit is at first conspicuous by the absence of pigment, and at a later period by the deep colour of its pigment. finally, a little after the ninth day, no trace of it is to be seen. [fig. . section through the front part of the head of a lepidosteus embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. _al._ alimentary tract; _fb._ thalamencephalon; _l._ lens of eye; _op.v._ optic vesicle. the mesoblast is not represented.] up to the eighth day the pecten remains as a simple lamina; by the tenth or twelfth day it begins to be folded or rather puckered, and by the seventeenth or eighteenth day it is richly pigmented and the puckerings have become nearly as numerous as in the adult, there being in all seventeen or eighteen. the pecten is almost entirely composed of vascular coils, which are supported by a sparse pigmented connective tissue; and in the adult the pecten is still extremely vascular. the original artery which became enveloped at the formation of the pecten continues, when the latter becomes vascular, to supply it with blood. the vein is practically a fresh development after the atrophy of the distal portion of the primitive vascular loop of the vitreous humour. there are no true retinal blood-vessels. in the formation of the optic cup the extreme peripheral part of the optic nerve, which is in immediate proximity with the artery of the pecten, becomes folded. the permanent opening in the choroid fissure for the pecten is intimately related to the entrance of the optic nerve into the eyeball; the fibres of the optic nerve passing in at the inner border of the pecten, coursing along its sides to its outer border, and radiating from it as from a centre to all parts of the retina. in the lizard the choroid slit closes considerably earlier than in the fowl. the vascular loop in the vitreous humour is however more developed. the pecten long remains without vessels, and does not in fact become at all vascular till after the very late disappearance of the distal part of the vascular loop of the vitreous humour. the arrangement of the ingrowth through the choroid slit in elasmobranchii (scyllium) has been partially worked out, and so far as is at present known the agreement between the avian and elasmobranch type is fairly close. at the time when the cavity between the lens and the secondary optic cup is just commencing to be formed, a process of mesoblast accompanied by a vascular loop passes into the vitreous humour, through the choroid slit, close to the optic nerve. the vessel in this process is no doubt equivalent to the vascular loop in the avian eye, but i have not made out that it projects beyond the mesoblastic process accompanying it. as the cavity of the vitreous humour enlarges and the choroid slit elongates, the process through it takes the form of a lamina with a somewhat swollen border, and projects for some distance into the cavity of the vitreous humour. at a later stage, after the outer layer of the optic cup has become pigmented, the distal part of the choroid slit adjoining the border of the lens closes up; but along the line where it was present the walls of the optic cup remain very thin and are thrown into three folds, two lateral and one median, projecting into the cavity of the vitreous humour. the median fold is in contact with the lens, and the vascular mesoblast surrounding the eye projects into the space between the two laminæ of which it is formed. in passing from the region of the lens to that of the optic nerve the lateral folds of the optic cup disappear, and the median fold forms a considerable projection into the cavity of the vitreous humour. it consists of a core of mesoblast covered by a delicate layer derived from both strata of the optic cup. still nearer the optic nerve the choroid slit is no longer closed, and the mesoblast, which in the neighbourhood of the lens only extended into the folds of the wall of the optic cup, now projects freely into the cavity of the vitreous humour, and forms the lamina already described. it is not very vascular, but close to the optic nerve there passes into it a considerable artery. in the young animal the choroid slit is no longer perforated by a mesoblastic lamina. at its inner end it remains open to allow of the passage of the optic nerve. the line of the slit can easily be traced along the lower side of the retina; and close to the lens the retinal wall continues, as in the embryo, to be raised into a projecting fold. traces of these structures are visible even in the fully grown examples of scyllium. as has been pointed out by bergmeister the mesoblastic lamina projecting into the vitreous humour resembles the pecten at an early stage of development, and is without doubt homologous with it. the artery which supplies it is certainly equivalent to the artery of the pecten. there can be no doubt that the mesoblastic lamina projecting into the vitreous humour is equivalent to the processus falciformis of teleostei, and it seems probable that the whole of it, including the free part as well as that covered by epiblast, ought to be spoken of under this title. the optic nerve in elasmobranchii is not included in the folding to which the secondary optic vesicle owes its origin, and would seem to perforate the walls of the optic cup only at the distal end of the processus falciformis. [fig. . horizontal section through the eye of a teleostean embryo. (from gegenbaur; after schenk.) _s._ choroid fissure, with two folds forming part of the processus falciformis; _a._ choroid layer of optic cup; _b._ retinal layer of optic cup; _c._ cavity of vitreous humour; _d._ lens.] in teleostei there is at first a vascular loop like that in birds, passing through the choroid fissure. this has been noticed by kessler in the pike, and by schenk in the trout. at a later period a mesoblastic ingrowth with a blood-vessel makes its way in many forms into the cavity of the vitreous humour, accompanied by two folds in the walls of the free edges of the choroid fissure (fig. ). these structures, which constitute the processus falciformis, clearly resemble very closely the mesoblastic process and folds of the optic cup in elasmobranchii. the processus falciformis comes in contact with, and perhaps becomes attached to the wall of the lens; and persists through life. in triton there is no vascular ingrowth through the choroid fissure, but a few mesoblastic cells pass in which represent the vascular ingrowth of other types. the optic nerve perforates the proximal extremity of the original choroid slit. the absence of an embryonic blood-vessel does not however hold good for all amphibia, as there is present in the embryo alytes (lieberkühn) an artery, which breaks up into a capillary system on the retinal border of the vitreous humour. in the ammocoete the choroid slit is merely represented by a slight notch on the ventral edge of the optic cup, and the mesoblastic process which passes through the choroid slit in most types is represented by a large cellular process, from which the vitreous humour would appear to be derived. mammalia differ from all the types already described in the immense foetal development of the blood-vessels of the vitreous humour. there are however some points in connection with the development of these vessels which are still uncertain. the most important of these points concerns the presence of a prolongation of the mesoblast around the eye into the cavity of the vitreous humour. it is maintained by lieberkühn, arnold, kölliker, etc., that in the invagination of the lens a thin layer of mesoblast is carried before it; and is thus transported into the cavity of the vitreous humour. this is denied by kessler, but the layer is so clearly figured by the above embryologists, that the existence of it in some mammalia (the rabbit, etc.) must i think be accepted. in the folding in of the optic vesicle, which accompanies the formation of the lens, the optic nerve becomes included, and on the development of the cavity of the vitreous humour an artery, running in the fold of the optic nerve, passes through the choroid slit into the cavity of the vitreous humour (fig. , _acr_). the sides of the optic nerve subsequently bend over, and completely envelope this artery, which at a later period gives off branches to the retina, and becomes known as the arteria centralis retinæ. it is homologous with the arterial limb of the vascular loop projecting into the vitreous humour in birds, lizards, teleostei, etc. [fig. . section through the eye of a rabbit embryo of about twelve days.. _c._ epithelium of cornea; _l._ lens; _mec._ mesoblast growing in from the side to form the cornea; _rt._ retina; _a.c.r._ arteria centralis retinæ; _of.n._ optic nerve. the figure shews ( ) the absence at this stage of mesoblast between the lens and the epiblast: the interval between the two has however been made too great; ( ) the arteria centralis retinæ forming the vascular capsule of the lens and continuous with vascular structures round the edges of the optic cup.] before becoming enveloped in the optic nerve this artery is continued through the vitreous humour (fig. ), and when it comes in close proximity to the lens it divides into a number of radiating branches, which pass round the edge of the lens, and form a vascular sheath which is prolonged so as to cover the anterior wall of the lens. in front of the lens they anastomose with vessels, coming from the iris, many of which are venous (fig. )--and the whole of the blood from the arteria centralis is carried away by these veins. the vascular sheath surrounding the lens receives the name of the membrana capsulo-pupillaris. the posterior part of it appears (kessler, no. ) to be formed of vessels without the addition of any other structures and is either formed simply by branches of the arteria centralis, or out of the mesoblast cells involuted with the lens. the anterior part of the vascular sheath is however inclosed in a very delicate membrane, the membrana pupillaris, continuous at the sides with the epithelium of descemet's membrane. on the formation of the iris this membrane lies superficially to it, and forms a kind of continuation of the mesoblast of the iris over the front of the lens. the origin of this membrane is much disputed. by kessler, whose statements have been in the main followed, it is believed to appear comparatively late as an ingrowth of the stroma of the iris; while kölliker believes it to be derived from a mesoblastic ingrowth between the front wall of the lens and the epiblast. according to kölliker this ingrowth subsequently becomes split into two laminæ, one of which forms the cornea, and the other the anterior part of the vascular sheath of the lens with its membrana pupillaris. between the two appears the aqueous humour. the membrana capsulo-pupillaris is simply a provisional embryonic structure, subserving the nutrition of the lens. the time of its disappearance varies somewhat for the different mammalia in which this point has been investigated. in the human embryo it lasts from the second to the seventh month and sometimes longer. as a rule it is completely absorbed at the time of birth. the absorption of the anterior part commences in the centre and proceeds outwards. in addition to the vessels of the vascular capsule round the lens, there arise from the arteria centralis retinæ, just after its exit from the optic nerve, in many forms (dog, cat, calf, sheep, rabbit, man) provisional vascular branches which extend themselves in the posterior part of the vitreous humour. near the ciliary end of the vitreous humour they anastomose with the vessels of the membrana capsulo-pupillaris. in mammals the choroid slit closes very early, and is not perforated by any structure homologous with the pecten. the only part of the slit which remains open is that perforated by the optic nerve; and in the centre of the latter is situated the arteria centralis retinæ as explained above. from this artery there grow out the vessels to supply the retina, which have however nothing to do with the provisional vessels of the vitreous humour just described (kessler). on the atrophy of the provisional vessels the whole of the blood of the arteria centralis passes into the retina. it is interesting to notice (kessler, no. , p. ) that there seems to be a blood-vessel supplying the vitreous humour in the embryos of nearly all vertebrate types, which is homologous throughout the vertebrata. this vessel often exhibits a persisting and a provisional part. the latter in mammalia is the membrana capsulo-pupillaris and other vessels of the vitreous humour; in birds and lizards it is the part of the original vascular loop, not included in the pecten, and in osseous fishes that part (?) not involved in the processus falciformis. the permanent part is formed by the retinal vessels of mammalia, by the vessels of the pecten in birds and lizards, and by those of the processus falciformis in fishes. the iris and ciliary processes. the walls of the edge of the optic cup become very much thinner than those of the true retinal part. in many vertebrates (mammalia, aves, reptilia, elasmobranchii, etc.) the thinner part, together with the mesoblast covering it, becomes divided into two regions, viz. that of the iris, and that of the ciliary processes. in the newt and lamprey this differentiation does not take place, but the part in question simply becomes the iris. _accessory organs connected with the eye._ eyelids. the most important accessory structures connected with the eye are the eyelids. they are developed as simple folds of the integument with a mesoblastic prolongation between their two laminæ. they may be three in number, viz. an upper and lower, and a lateral one--the nictitating membrane--springing from the inner or anterior border of the eye. their inner face is lined by a prolongation of conjunctiva, which is the modified epiblast covering the cornea and part of the sclerotic. in teleostei and ganoidei eyelids are either not present or at most very rudimentary. in elasmobranchii they are better developed, and the nictitating membrane is frequently present. the latter is also usually found in amphibia. in the sauropsida all three eyelids are usually present, but in mammalia the nictitating membrane is rudimentary. in many mammalia the two eyelids meet together during a period of embryonic life, and unite in front of the eye. a similar arrangement is permanent through life in ophidia and some lacertilia; and there is a chamber formed between the coalesced eyelids and the surface of the cornea, into which the lacrymal ducts open. lacrymal glands. lacrymal glands are found in the sauropsida and mammalia. they arise (remak, kölliker) as solid ingrowths of the conjunctival epithelium. they appear in the chick on the eighth day. lacrymal duct. the lacrymal duct first appears in amphibia, and is present in all the higher vertebrates. its mode of development in the amphibia, lacertilia and aves has recently been very thoroughly worked out by born (nos. and ). in amphibia he finds that the lacrymal duct arises as a solid ridge of the mucous layer of the epidermis, continued from the external opening of the nasal cavity backwards towards the eye. it usually appears at about the time when the nasal capsule is beginning to be chondrified. as this ridge is gradually prolonged backwards towards the eye its anterior end becomes separated from the epidermis, and grows inwards in the mesoblast to become continuous with the posterior part of the nasal sack. the posterior end which joins the eye becomes divided into the two collecting branches of the adult. finally the whole structure becomes separated from the skin except at the external opening, and develops a lumen. in lacertilia the lacrymal duct arises very much in the same manner as in amphibia, though its subsequent growth is somewhat different. it appears as an internal ridge of the epithelium, at the junction of the superior maxillary process and the fold which gives rise to the lower eyelid. a solid process of this ridge makes its way through the mesoblast on the upper border of the maxillary process till it meets the wall of the nasal cavity, with the epithelium of which it becomes continuous. at a subsequent stage a second solid growth from the upper part of the epithelial ridge makes its way through the lower eyelid, and unites with the inner epithelium of the eyelid; and at a still later date a third growth from the lower part of the structure forms a second junction with the epithelium of the eyelid. the two latter outgrowths form the two upper branches of the duct. the ridge now loses its connection with the external skin, and, becoming hollow, forms the lacrymal duct. it opens at two points on the inner surface of the eyelid, and terminates at its opposite extremity by opening into the nasal cavity. it is remarkable, as pointed out by born, that the original epithelial ridge gives rise directly to a comparatively small part of the whole duct. in the fowl the lacrymal duct is formed as a solid ridge of the epidermis, extending along the line of the so-called lacrymal groove from the eye to the nasal pit (fig. ). at the end of the sixth day it begins to be separated from the epidermis, remaining however united with it on the inner side of the lower eyelid. after its separation from the epidermis it forms a solid cord, the lower end of which unites with the wall of the nasal cavity. the cord so formed gives rise to the whole of the duct proper and to the lower branch of the collecting tube. the upper branch of the collecting tube is formed as an outgrowth from this cord. a lumen begins to be formed on the twelfth day of incubation, and first appears at the nasal end. it arises by the formation of a space between the cells of the cord, and not by an absorption of the central cells. in mammalia kölliker states that he has been unable to observe anything similar to that described by born in the sauropsida and amphibia, and holds to the old view, originally put forward by coste, that the duct is formed by the closure of a groove leading from the eye to the nose between the outer nasal process and the superior maxillary process. the upper extremity of the duct dilates to form a sack, from which two branches pass off to open on the lacrymal papillæ. in view of born's discoveries kölliker's statements must be received with some caution. _the eye of the tunicata._ the unpaired eye of the larva of simple ascidians is situated somewhat to the right side of the posterior part of the dorsal wall of the anterior cephalic vesicle (fig. , _o_). it consists of a refractive portion, turned towards the cavity of the vesicle of the brain, and a retinal portion forming part of the wall of the brain. the refractive parts consist of a convex-concave meniscus in front, and a spherical lens behind, adjoining the concave side of the meniscus. the posterior part of this lens is imbedded in a layer of pigment. the retina is formed of columnar cells, with their inner ends imbedded in the pigment which encloses the posterior part of the lens. the retinal part of the eye arises in the first instance as a prominence of the wall of the cerebral vesicle: its cells become very columnar and pigmented at their inner extremities (fig. , _v_, _a_). the lens is developed at a later period, after the larva has become hatched, but the mode of its formation has not been made out. [fig. . larva of ascidia mentula. (from gegenbaur; after kupffer.) only the anterior part of the tail is represented. _n´._ anterior swelling of neural tube; _n._ anterior swelling of spinal portion of neural tube; _n._ hinder part of neural tube; _ch._ notochord; _k._ branchial region of alimentary tract; _d._ oesophageal and gastric region of alimentary tract; _o._ eye; _a._ otolith; _o._ mouth; _s._ papilla for attachment.] _general considerations on the eye of the chordata._ there can be but little doubt that the eye of the tunicata belongs to the same phylum as that of the true vertebrata, different as the two eyes are. the same may also be said with reference to the degenerate and very rudimentary eye of amphioxus. the peculiarity of the eye of all the chordata consists in the retina being developed from part of the wall of the brain. how is this remarkable feature of the eye of the chordata to be explained? lankester, interpreting the eye in the light of the tunicata, has made the interesting suggestion[ ] "that the original vertebrate must have been a transparent animal, and had an eye or pair of eyes inside the brain, like that of the ascidian tadpole." [ ] _degeneration_, london, , p. . this explanation may possibly be correct, but another explanation appears to me possible, and i am inclined to think that the vertebrate eyes have not been derived from eyes like those of ascidians, but that the latter is a degenerate form of vertebrate eye. the fact of the retina being derived from the fore-brain may perhaps be explained in the same way as has already been attempted in the case of the retina of the crustacea; _i.e._ by supposing that the eye was evolved simultaneously with the fore part of the brain. the peculiar processes which occur in the formation of the optic vesicle are more difficult to elucidate; and i can only suggest that the development of a primary optic vesicle, and its conversion into an optic cup, is due to the retinal part of the eye having been involved in the infolding which gave rise to the canal of the central nervous system. the position of the rods and cones on the posterior side of the retina is satisfactorily explained by this hypothesis, because, as may be easily seen from figure , the posterior face of the retina is the original external surface of the epidermis, which is infolded in the formation of the brain; so that the rods and cones are, as might be anticipated, situated on what is morphologically the external surface of the epiblast of the retina. the difficulty of this view arises in attempting to make out how the eye can have continued to be employed during the gradual change of position which the retina must have undergone in being infolded with the brain in the manner suggested. if however the successive steps in this infolding were sufficiently small, it seems to me not impossible that the eye might have continued to be used throughout the whole period of change, and a transparency of the tissues, such as lankester suggests, may have assisted in rendering this possible. the difficulty of the eye continuing to be in use when undergoing striking changes in form is also involved in lankester's view, in that if, as i suppose, he starts from the eye of the ascidian tadpole with its lenses turned _towards_ the cavity of the brain; it is necessary for him to admit that a fresh lens and other optical parts of the eye became developed on the _opposite side_ of the eye to the original lens; and it is difficult to understand such a change, unless we can believe that the refractive media on the two sides were in operation simultaneously. it may be noted that the same difficulty is involved in supposing, as i have done, that the eye of the ascidian tadpole was developed from that of a vertebrate. i should however be inclined to suggest that the eye had in this case ceased for a period to be employed; and that it has been re-developed again in some of the larval forms. its characters in the tunicata are by no means constant. _accessory eyes in the vertebrata._ in addition to the paired eyes of the vertebrata certain organs are found in the skin of a few teleostei living in very deep water, which, though clearly not organs of true vision, yet present characters which indicate that they may be used in the perception of light. the most important of such organs are those found in chauliodus, stomias, etc., the significance of which was first pointed out by leuckart, while the details of their structure have been recently worked out by leydig[ ] and ussow. they are distributed not only in the skin, but are also present in the mouth and respiratory cavity, a fact which appears to indicate that their main function must be something else than the perception of light. it has been suggested that they have the function of producing phosphorescence. another organ, probably of the same nature, is found on the head of scopelus. the organs in chauliodus are spherical or nearly spherical bodies invested in a special tunic. the larger of them, which alone can have any relation to vision, are covered with pigment except on their outer surface. the interior is filled with two masses, named by leuckart the lens and vitreous humour. according to leydig each of them is cellular and receives a nerve, the ultimate destination of which has not however been made out. according to ussow the anterior mass is structureless, but serves to support a lens, placed in the centre of the eye, and formed of a series of crystalline cones prolonged into fibres, which in the posterior part of the eye diverge and terminate by uniting with the processes of multipolar cells, placed near the pigmented sheath. these cells, together with the fibres of the crystalline cones which pass to them, are held by ussow to constitute a retina. _eye of the mollusca._ ( ) n. bobretzky. "observations on the development of the cephalopoda" (russian). _nachrichten d. kaiserlichen gesell. d. freunde der naturwiss. anthropolog. ethnogr. bei d. universität moskau._ ( ) h. grenacher. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. cephalopoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) v. hensen. "ueber d. auge einiger cephalopoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xv. . ( ) e. r. lankester. "observations on the development of the cephalopoda." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xv. . ( ) c. semper. _ueber sehorgane von typus d. wirbelthieraugen._ wiesbaden, . _eye of the arthropoda._ ( ) n. bobretzky. _development of astacus and palaemon._ kiew, . ( ) a. dohrn. "untersuchungen üb. bau u. entwicklung d. arthropoden. palinurus und scyllarus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xx. , p. et seq. ( ) e. claparède. "morphologie d. zusammengesetzten auges bei den arthropoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. x. . ( ) h. grenacher. _untersuchungen üb. d. sehorgane d. arthropoden._ göttingen, . _vertebrate eye._ ( ) j. arnold. _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte des auges._ heidelberg, . ( ) babuchin. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte des auges." _würzburger naturwissenschaftliche zeitschrift_, bd. . ( ) l. kessler. _zur entwicklung d. auges d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, . ( ) n. lieberkühn. _ueber das auge des wirbelthierembryo._ cassel, . ( ) n. lieberkühn. "beiträge z. anat. d. embryonalen auges." _archiv f. anat. und phys._, . ( ) l. löwe. "beiträge zur anatomie des auges" and "die histogenese der retina." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xv. . ( ) v. mihalkowics. "untersuchungen über den kamm des vogelauges." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. ix. . ( ) w. müller. "ueber die stammesentwickelung des schorgans der wirbelthiere." _festgabe carl ludwig._ leipzig, . ( ) s. l. schenk. "zur entwickelungsgeschichte des auges der fische." _wiener sitzungsberichte_, bd. lv. . _accessory organs of the vertebrate eye._ ( ) g. born. "die nasenhöhlen u. d. thränennasengang d. amphibien." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. ii. . ( ) g. born. "die nasenhöhlen u. d. thränennasengang d. amnioten wirbelthiere. i. lacertilia. ii. aves." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. v. . _eye of the tunicata._ ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien üb. d. entwicklung d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) c. kupffer. "zur entwicklung d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . [ ] f. leydig. "ueber nebenaugen d. chauliodus sloani." _archiv f. anat. und phys._, . m. ussow. "ueb. d. bau d. augenähnlichen flicken einiger knochenfische." _bul. d. la soc. d. naturalistes de moscou_, vol. liv. . _vide_ for general description and further literature, günther, _the study of fishes_, edinburgh, . chapter xvii. auditory organ, olfactory organ and sense organs of the lateral line. _auditory organs._ a great variety of organs, very widely distributed amongst aquatic forms, and also found, though less universally, in land forms, are usually classed together as auditory organs. in the case of all aquatic forms, or of forms which have directly inherited their auditory organs from aquatic forms, these organs are built upon a common type; although in the majority of instances the auditory organs of the several groups have no genetic relations. all the organs have their origin in specialized portions of the epidermis. some of the cells of a special region become provided at their free extremities with peculiar hairs, known as auditory hairs; while in other cells concretions, known as otoliths, are formed, which appear often to be sufficiently free to be acted upon by vibrations of the surrounding medium, and to be so placed as to be able in their turn to transmit their vibrations to the cells with auditory hairs[ ]. the auditory regions of the epidermis are usually shut off from the surface in special sacks. [ ] the function of the otoliths is not always clear. there is evidence to shew that they sometimes act as dampers. the actual function of these organs is no doubt correctly described, in the majority of instances, as being auditory; but it appears to me very possible that in some cases their function may be to enable the animals provided with them to detect the presence of other animals in their neighbourhood, through the undulatory movements in the water, caused by the swimming of the latter. auditory organs with the above characters, sometimes freely open to the external medium, but more often closed, are found in various coelenterata, vermes and crustacea, and universally or all but universally in the mollusca and vertebrata. in many terrestrial insects a different type of auditory organ has been met with, consisting of a portion of the integument modified to form a tympanum or drum, and supported at its edge by a chitinous ring. the vibrations set up in the membranous tympanum stimulate terminal nerve organs at the ends of chitinous processes, placed in a cavity bounded externally by the tympanic membrane. the tympanum of amphibia and amniota is an accessory organ added, in terrestrial vertebrata, to an organ of hearing primitively adapted to an aquatic mode of life; and it is interesting to notice the presence of a more or less similar membrane in the two great groups of terrestrial forms, _i.e._ terrestrial vertebrata and insecta. nothing is known with reference to the mode of development or evolution of the tympanic type of auditory organ found in insects, and, except in the case of vertebrates, but little is known with reference to the development of what may be called the vesicular type of auditory organ found in aquatic forms. some very interesting facts with reference to the evolution of such organs have however been brought to light by the brothers hertwig in their investigations on the coelenterata; and i propose to commence my account of the development of the auditory organs in the animal kingdom by a short statement of the results of their researches. coelenterata. three distinct types of auditory organ have been recognised in the medusæ; two of them resulting from the differentiation of a tentacle-like organ, and one from ectoderm cells on the under surface of the velum. we may commence with the latter as the simplest. it is found in the medusæ known as the vesiculata. the least differentiated form of this organ, so far discovered, is present in mitrotrocha, tiaropsis and other genera. it has the form of an open pit; and a series of such organs are situated along the attached edge of the velum with their apertures directed downwards. the majority of the cells lining the outer, _i.e._ peripheral side of the pit, contain an otolith, while a row of the cells on the inner, _i.e._ central side, are modified as auditory cells. the auditory cells are somewhat strap-shaped, their inner ends being continuous with the fibres of the lower nerve-ring, and their free ends being provided with bent auditory hairs, which lie in contact with the convex surfaces of the cells containing the otoliths. [fig. . auditory vesicle of phialidium after treatment with dilute osmic acid. (from lankester; after o. and r. hertwig.) _d^ ._ epithelium of the upper surface of the velum; _d^ ._ epithelium of the under surface of the velum; _r._ circular canal at the edge of the velum; _nr^ ._ upper nerve-ring; _h._ auditory cells; _hh._ auditory hairs; _np._ nervous cushion formed of a prolongation of the lower nerve-ring. close to the nerve-ring is seen a cell, shewn as black, containing an otolith.] by the conversion of such open pits into closed sacks a more complicated type of auditory organ, which is present in many of the vesiculata, viz. Æquorea, octorchis, phialidium, &c., is produced. a closed vesicle of this type is shewn in fig. . such organs form projections on the upper surface of the velum. they are covered by a layer of the epithelium (_d^ _) of the upper surface of the velum, but the lining of the vesicle (_d^ _) is derived from what was originally part of the epithelium of the lower surface of the velum, homologous with that lining the open pits in the type already described. the general arrangement of the cells lining such vesicles is the same as that of the cells lining the open pits. a second type of auditory organ, found in the trachymedusæ, appears in its simplest condition as a modified tentacle. it is formed of a basal portion, covered by auditory cells with long stiff auditory hairs, supporting at its apex a club-shaped body, attached to it by a delicate stalk. an endodermal axis is continued through the whole structure, and in one or more of the endoderm cells of the club-shaped body otoliths are always present. the tails of the auditory cells are directly continued into the upper nerve-ring. in more complicated forms of this organ the tentacle becomes enclosed in a kind of cup, by a wall-like upgrowth of the surrounding parts (fig. ); and in some forms, _e.g._ geryonia, by the closure of the cup, the whole structure takes the form of a completely closed vesicle, in the cavity of which the original tentacle forms an otolith-bearing projection. [fig. . auditory organ of rhopalonema. (from lankester; after o. and r. hertwig.) the organ consists of a modified tentacle (_hk_) with auditory cells and concretions, partially enclosed in a cup.] the auditory organs found in the acraspedote medusæ approach in many respects to the type of organ found in the trachymedusæ. they consist of tentacular organs placed in grooves on the under surface of the disc. they have a swollen extremity, and are provided with an endodermal axis for half the length of which there is a diverticulum of the gastrovascular canal system. the terminal portion of the endoderm is solid, and contains calcareous concretions. the ectodermal cells at the base of these organs have the form of auditory cells. mollusca. auditory vesicles are found in almost all mollusca on the ventral side of the body in close juxtaposition to the pedal ganglia. except possibly in some cephalopods, these vesicles are closed. they are provided with free otoliths, supported by the cilia of the walls of the sack, but in addition some of the cells of the sack are provided with stiff auditory hairs. in many forms these sacks have been observed to originate by an invagination of the epiblast of the foot (_paludina_, _nassa_, _heteropoda_, _limax_, _clio_, cephalopoda and lamellibranchiata). in other instances (some pteropods, lymnæus, &c.) they appear, by a secondary modification in the development, to originate by a differentiation of a solid mass of epiblast. according to fol the otocysts in gasteropods are formed by cells of the wall of the auditory sacks; and the same appears to hold good for cephalopoda (grenacher)[ ] shewing that free otoliths have in these instances originated from otoliths originally placed in cells. [ ] for the somewhat complicated details as to the development of the auditory sacks of cephalopods i must refer the reader to vol. ii., pp. , , and to grenacher (vol. i., no. ). crustacea. in the decapodous crustacea organs, which have been experimentally proved to be true organs of hearing, are usually present on the basal joint of the anterior antennæ. they may have (hensen, no. ) the form either of closed or of open sacks, lined by an invagination of the epidermis. they are provided with chitinous auditory hairs and free otoliths. in the case of the open sacks the otoliths appear to be simply stones transported into the interior of the sacks, but in the closed sacks the otoliths, though free, are no doubt developed within the sacks. the schizopods, which, as mentioned in the last chapter, are remarkable as containing a genus (euphausia) with abnormally situated eyes, distinguish themselves again with reference to their auditory organs, in that another genus (mysis) is characterized by the presence of a pair of auditory sacks in the inner plates of the tail. these sacks have curved auditory hairs supporting an otolith at their extremity. the development of the auditory organs in the crustacea has not been investigated. the vertebrata. the cephalochorda are without organs of hearing, and the auditory organ of the urochorda is constructed on a special type of its own. the primitive auditory organs of the true vertebrata have the same fundamental characters as those of the majority of aquatic invertebrate forms. they consist of a vesicle, formed by the invagination of a patch of epiblast, and usually shut off from the exterior, but occasionally (elasmobranchii) remaining open. the walls of this vesicle are always much complicated and otoliths of various forms are present in its cavity. to this vesicle accessory structures, derived from the walls of the hyomandibular cleft, are added in the majority of terrestrial vertebrata. the development of the true auditory vesicle will be considered separately from that of the accessory structures derived from the hyomandibular cleft. [fig. . section through the head of an elasmobranch embryo, at the level of the auditory involution. _aup._ auditory pit; _aun._ ganglion of auditory nerve; _iv.v._ roof of fourth ventricle; _a.c.v._ anterior cardinal vein; _aa._ aorta; _i.aa._ aortic trunk of mandibular arch; _pp._ head cavity of mandibular arch; _ivc._ alimentary pouch which will form the first visceral cleft; _th._ rudiment of thyroid body]. in all vertebrata the development of the auditory vesicle commences with the formation of a thickened patch of epiblast, at the side of the hind-brain, on the level of the second visceral cleft. this patch soon becomes invaginated in the form of a pit (fig. , _aup_), to the inner side of which the ganglion of the auditory nerve (_aun_), which as shewn in a previous chapter is primitively a branch of the seventh nerve, closely applies itself. in those vertebrata (viz. teleostei, lepidosteus and amphibia) in which the epiblast is early divided into a nervous and epidermic stratum, the auditory pit arises as an invagination of the nervous stratum only, and the mouth of the auditory pit is always closed (fig. ) by the epidermic stratum of the skin. since the opening of the pit is retained through life in elasmobranchii the closed form of pit in the above forms is clearly secondary. in teleostei the auditory pit arises as a solid invagination of the epiblast. the mouth of the auditory vesicle gradually narrows, and in most forms soon becomes closed, though in elasmobranchii it remains permanently open. in any case the vesicle is gradually removed from the surface, remaining connected with it by an elongated duct, either opening on the dorsal aspect of the head (elasmobranchii), or ending blindly close beneath the skin. [fig. . section through the head of a lepidosteus embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _ch._ notochord; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . section through the hind-brain of a chick at the end of the third day of incubation. _iv._ fourth ventricle. the section shews the very thin roof and thicker sides of the ventricle. _ch._ notochord; _cv._ anterior cardinal vein; _cc._ involuted auditory vesicle (_cc_ points to the end which will form the cochlear canal); _rl._ recessus labyrinthi (remains of passage connecting the vesicle with the exterior); _hy._ hypoblast lining the alimentary canal; _ao._, _ao.a._ aorta, and aortic arch.] in all vertebrata the auditory vesicle undergoes further changes of a complicated kind. in the cyclostomata these changes are less complicated than in other forms, though whether this is due to degeneration, or to the retention of a primitive state of the auditory organ, is not known. in the lamprey the auditory vesicle is formed in the usual way by an invagination of the epiblast, which soon becomes vesicular, and for a considerable period retains a simple character. as pointed out by max schultze, a number of otoliths appears in the vesicle during larval life, and, although such otoliths are stated by j. müller to be absent both in the full-grown ammocoete and in the adult, they have since been found by ketel (no. ). the formation of the two semicircular canals has not been investigated. in all the higher vertebrates the changes of the auditory sacks are more complicated. the ventral end of the sack is produced into a short process (fig. , _cc_); while at the dorsal end there is the canal-like prolongation of the lumen of the sack (_rl_), derived from the duct which primitively opened to the exterior, and which in most cases persists as a blind diverticulum of the auditory sack, known as the recessus labyrinthi or aqueductus vestibuli. the parts thus indicated give rise to the whole of the membranous labyrinth of the ear. the main body of the vesicle becomes the utriculus and semicircular canals, while the ventral process forms the sacculus hemisphericus and cochlear canal. the growth of these parts has been most fully studied in mammalia, where they reach their greatest complexity, and it will be convenient to describe their development in this group, pointing out how they present, during some of the stages in their growth, a form permanently retained in lower types. the auditory vesicle in mammalia is at first nearly spherical, and is imbedded in the mesoblast at the side of the hind-brain. it soon becomes triangular in section, with the apex of the triangle pointing inwards and downwards. this apex gradually elongates to form the rudiment of the cochlear canal and sacculus hemisphericus (fig. , _cc_). at the same time the recessus labyrinthi (_r.l_) becomes distinctly marked, and the outer wall of the main body of the vesicle grows out into two protuberances, which form the rudiments of the vertical semicircular canals (_v.b_). in the lower forms (fig. ) the cochlear process of the vestibule hardly reaches a higher stage of development than that found at this stage in mammalia. the parts of the auditory labyrinth thus established soon increase in distinctness (fig. ); the cochlear canal (_cc_) becomes longer and curved; its inner and concave surface being lined by a thick layer of columnar epiblast. the recessus labyrinthi also increases in length, and just below the point where the bulgings to form the vertical semicircular canals are situated, there is formed a fresh protuberance for the horizontal semicircular canal. at the same time the central parts of the walls of the flat bulgings of the vertical canals grow together, obliterating this part of the lumen, but leaving a canal round the periphery; and, on the absorption of their central parts, each of the original simple bulgings of the wall of the vesicle becomes converted into a true semicircular canal, opening at its two extremities into the auditory vesicle. the vertical canals are first established and then the horizontal canal. [fig. . transverse section of the head of a foetal sheep ( mm. in length) in the region of the hind-brain. (after böttcher.) _hb._ the hind-brain. the section is somewhat oblique, hence while on the right side the connections of the recessus vestibuli _r.l._, and of the commencing vertical semicircular canal _v.b._, and of the ductus cochlearis _cc._, with the cavity of the primary otic vesicle are seen; on the left side, only the extreme end of the ductus cochlearis _cc_, and of the semicircular canal _v.b._ are shewn. lying close to the inner side of the otic vesicle is seen the cochlear ganglion _gc_; on the left side the auditory nerve _g_ and its connection _n_ with the hind-brain are also shewn. below the otic vesicle on either side lies the jugular vein.] shortly after the formation of the rudiment of the horizontal semicircular canal a slight protuberance becomes apparent on the inner commencement of the cochlear canal. a constriction arises on each side of the protuberance, converting it into a prominent hemispherical projection, the sacculus hemisphericus (fig. , _s.r_). [fig. . section of the head of a foetal sheep mm. in length. (after böttcher.) _r.v._ recessus labyrinthi; _v.b._ vertical semicircular canal; _h.b._ horizontal semicircular canal; _c.c._ cochlear canal; _g._ cochlear ganglion.] the constrictions are so deep that the sacculus is only connected with the cochlear canal on the one hand, and with the general cavity of the auditory vesicle on the other, by, in each case, a narrow though short canal. the former of these canals (fig. , _b_) is known as the canalis reuniens. at this stage we may call the remaining cavity of the original otic vesicle, into which all the above parts open, the utriculus. soon after the formation of the sacculus hemisphericus, the cochlear canal and the semicircular canals become invested with cartilage. the recessus labyrinthi remains however still enclosed in undifferentiated mesoblast. between the cartilage and the parts which it surrounds there remains a certain amount of indifferent connective tissue, which is more abundant around the cochlear canal than around the semicircular canals. as soon as they have acquired a distinct connective-tissue coat, the semicircular canals begin to be dilated at one of their terminations to form the ampullæ. at about the same time a constriction appears opposite the mouth of the recessus labyrinthi, which causes its opening to be divided into two branches--one towards the utriculus and the other towards the sacculus hemisphericus; and the relations of the parts become so altered that communication between the sacculus and utriculus can only take place through the mouth of the recessus labyrinthi (fig. ). when the cochlear canal has come to consist of two and a half coils, the thickened epithelium which lines the lower surface of the canal forms a double ridge from which the organ of corti is subsequently developed. above the ridge there appears a delicate cuticular membrane, the membrane of corti or membrana tectoria. the epithelial walls of the utricle, the recessus labyrinthi, the semicircular canals, and the cochlear canal constitute together the highly complicated product of the original auditory vesicle. the whole structure forms a closed cavity, the various parts of which are in free communication. in the adult the fluid present in this cavity is known as the endolymph. in the mesoblast lying between these parts and the cartilage, which at this period envelopes them, lymphatic spaces become established, which are partially developed in the sauropsida, but become in mammals very important structures. they consist in mammals partly of a space surrounding the utricle and semicircular canals, and partly of two very definite channels, which largely embrace between them the cochlear canal. the latter channels form the scala vestibuli on the upper side of the cochlear canal and the scala tympani on the lower. the scala vestibuli is in free communication with the lymphatic cavity surrounding the vestibule, and opens at the apex of the cochlea into the scala tympani. the latter ends blindly at the fenestra rotunda. the fluid contained in the two scalæ, and in the remaining lymphatic cavities of the auditory labyrinth, is known as perilymph. [fig. . section through the internal ear of an embryonic sheep mm. in length. (after böttcher.) _d.m._ dura mater; _r.v._ recessus labyrinthi; _h.v.b._ posterior vertical semicircular canal; _u._ utriculus; _h.b._ horizontal semicircular canal; _b._ canalis reuniens; _a._ constriction by means of which the sacculus hemisphericus _s.r._ is formed; _f._ narrowed opening between sacculus hemisphericus and utriculus; _c.c._ cochlea; _c.c´._ lumen of cochlea; _k.k._ cartilaginous capsule of cochlea; _k.b._ basilar plate; _ch._ notochord.] the cavities just spoken of are formed by an absorption of parts of the embryonic mucous tissue between the perichondrium and the walls of the membranous labyrinth. the scala vestibuli is formed before the scala tympani, and both scalæ begin to be developed at the basal end of the cochlea: the cavity of each is continually being carried forwards towards the apex of the cochlear canal by a progressive absorption of the mesoblast. at first both scalæ are somewhat narrow, but they soon increase in size and distinctness. the cochlear canal, which is often known as the scala media of the cochlea, becomes compressed on the formation of the scalæ so as to be triangular in section, with the base of the triangle outwards. this base is only separated from the surrounding cartilage by a narrow strip of firm mesoblast, which becomes the stria vascularis, etc. at the angle opposite the base the canal is joined to the cartilage by a narrow isthmus of firm material, which contains nerves and vessels. this isthmus subsequently forms the lamina spiralis, separating the scala vestibuli from the scala tympani. the scala vestibuli lies on the upper border of the cochlear canal, and is separated from it by a very thin layer of mesoblast, bordered on the cochlear aspect by flat epiblast cells. this membrane is called the membrane of reissner. the scala tympani is separated from the cochlear canal by a thicker sheet of mesoblast, called the basilar membrane, which supports the organ of corti and the epithelium adjoining it. the upper extremity of the cochlear canal ends in a blind extremity called the cupola, to which the two scalæ do not for some time extend. this condition is permanent in birds, where the cupola is represented by a structure known as the lagena (fig. , ii. _l_). subsequently the two scalæ join at the extremity of the cochlear canal; the point of the cupola still however remains in contact with the bone, which has now replaced the cartilage, but at a still later period the scala vestibuli, growing further round, separates the cupola from the adjoining osseous tissue. the ossification around the internal ear is at first confined to the cartilage, but afterwards extends into the thick periosteum between the cartilage and the internal ear, and thus eventually makes its way into the lamina spiralis, etc. the organ of corti. in mammalia there is formed from the epithelium of the cochlear canal a very remarkable organ known as the organ of corti, the development of which is of sufficient importance to merit a brief description. a short account of this organ in the adult state may facilitate the understanding of its development. [fig. . diagrams of the membranous labyrinth. (from gegenbaur.) i. fish. ii. bird. iii. mammal. _u._ utriculus; _s._ sacculus; _us._ utriculus and sacculus; _cr._ canalis reuniens; _r._ recessus labyrinthi; _uc._ commencement of cochlea; _c._ cochlear canal; _l._ lagena; _k._ cupola at apex of cochlear canal; _v._ cæecal sack of the vestibulum of the cochlear canal.] the cochlear canal is bounded by three walls, the outer one being the osseous wall of the cochlea. the membrane of reissner bounds it towards the scala vestibuli, and the basilar membrane towards the scala tympani. this membrane stretches from the margin of the lamina spiralis to the ligamentum spirale; the latter being merely an expanded portion of the connective tissue lining the osseous cochlea. the lamina spiralis is produced into two lips, called respectively the labium tympanicum and labium vestibulare; it is to the former and longer of these that the basilar membrane is attached. at the margin of the junction of the labium tympanicum with the basilar membrane the former is perforated for the passage of the nervous fibres, and this region is called the habenula perforata. the labium vestibulare, so called from its position, is shorter than the labium tympanicum and is raised above into numerous blunt teeth. partly springing out from the labium vestibulare, and passing from near the inner attachment of the membrane of reissner towards the outer wall of the cochlea, is an elastic membrane, the membrana tectoria. resting on the basilar membrane is the organ of corti. considering for the moment that a transverse section of the cochlear canal only one cell deep is being dealt with, the organ of corti will be found to consist of a central part composed of two peculiarly shaped rods widely separated below, but in contact above. these are the rods or fibres of corti. on their outer side, _i.e._ on the side towards the osseous wall of the canal, is a reticulate membrane which passes from the inner rod of corti towards the osseous wall of the canal. with their upper extremities fixed in that membrane, and their lower resting on the basilar membrane are three (four in man) cells with auditory hairs known as the outer 'hair cells,' which alternate with three other cells known as deiters' cells. between these and the outer attachment of the basilar membrane is a series of cells gradually diminishing in height in passing outwards. on the inner side of the rods of corti is one hair cell, and then a number of peculiarly modified cells which fill up the space between the two lips of the lamina spiralis. it will not be necessary to say much in reference to the development of the labium tympanicum and the labium vestibulare. the labium vestibulare is formed by a growth of the connective tissue which fuses with and passes up between the epithelial cells. the epithelial cells which line its upper (vestibular) border become modified, and remain as its teeth. the labium tympanicum is formed by the coalescence of the connective tissue layer separating the scala tympani from the cochlear canal with part of the connective tissue of the lamina spiralis. at first these two layers are separate, and the nerve fibres to the organ of corti pass between them. subsequently however they coalesce, and the region where they are penetrated by the nervous fibres becomes the habenula perforata. the organ of corti itself is derived from the epiblast cells lining the cochlear canal, and consists in the first instance of two epithelial ridges or projections. the larger of them forms the cells on the inner side of the organ of corti, and the smaller the rods of corti together with the inner and outer hair cells and deiters' cells. at first both these ridges are composed of simple elongated epithelial cells one row deep. the smaller ridge is the first to shew any change. the cells adjoining the larger ridge acquire auditory hairs at their free extremities, and form the row of inner hair cells; the next row of cells acquires a broad attachment to the basilar membrane, and gives origin to the inner and outer rods of corti. outside the latter come several rows of cells adhering together so as to form a compact mass which is quadrilateral in section. this mass is composed of three upper cells with nuclei at the same level, which form the outer hair cells, each of them ending above in auditory hairs, and three lower cells which form the cells of deiters. beyond this the cells gradually pass into ordinary cubical epithelial cells. as just mentioned, the cells of the second row, resting with their broad bases on the basilar membrane, give rise to the rods of corti. the breadth of the bases of these cells rapidly increases, and important changes take place in the structure of the cells themselves. the nucleus of each cell divides; so that there come to be two nuclei or sometimes three which lie close together near the base of the cell. outside the nuclei on each side a fibrous cuticular band appears. the two bands pass from the base of the cell to its apex, and there meet though widely separated below. the remaining contents of the cell, between the two fibrous bands, become granular, and are soon to a great extent absorbed; leaving at first a round, and then a triangular space between the two fibres. the two nuclei, surrounded by a small amount of granular matter, come to lie, each at one of the angles between the fibrous bands and the basilar membrane. the two fibrous bands become, by changes which need not be described in detail, converted into the rods of corti--each of their upper ends growing outwards into the processes which the adult rods possess. each pair of rods of corti is thus (böttcher) to be considered as the product of one cell; and the nuclei embedded in the granular mass between them are merely the remains of the two nuclei formed by the division of the original nucleus of that cell[ ]. the larger ridge is for the most part not permanent, and from being the most conspicuous part of the organ of corti comes to be far less important than the smaller ridge. its cells undergo a partial degeneration; so that the epithelium in the hollow between the two lips of the lamina spiralis, which is derived from the larger ridge, comes to be composed of a single row of short and broad cells. in the immediate neighbourhood however of the inner hair cell, one or two of the cells derived from the larger ridge are very much elongated. [ ] it is not clear from böttcher's description how it comes about that the inner rods of corti are more numerous than the outer. the membrana reticularis is a cuticular structure derived from the parts to which it is attached. _accessory structures connected with the organ of hearing in terrestrial vertebrata._ in all the amphibia, sauropsida and mammalia, except the urodela and a few anura and reptilia, the first visceral or hyomandibular cleft enters into intimate relations with the organs of hearing, and from it and the adjoining parts are formed the tympanic cavity, the eustachian tube, the tympanic membrane and the meatus auditorius externus. the tympanic membrane serves to receive from the air the sound vibrations, which are communicated to fluids contained in the true auditory labyrinth by one ossicle or by a chain of auditory ossicles. the addition to the organ of hearing of a tympanic membrane to receive aerial sound vibrations is an interesting case of the adaptation of a structure, originally required for hearing in water, to serve for hearing in air; and as already pointed out, the similarity of this membrane to the tympanic membrane of some insects is also striking. there is much that is obscure with reference to the actual development of the above parts of the ear, which has moreover only been carefully studied in birds and mammals. the eustachian tube and tympanic cavity seem to be derived from the inner part of the first visceral or hyomandibular cleft, the external opening of which becomes soon obliterated. kölliker holds that the tympanic cavity is simply a dorsally and posteriorly directed outgrowth of the median part of the inner section of this cleft; while moldenhauer (no. ) holds, if i understand him rightly, that it is formed as an outgrowth of a cavity called by him the sulcus tubo-tympanicus, derived from the inner aperture of the first visceral cleft together with the groove of the pharynx into which it opens; and moldenhauer is of opinion that the greater part of the original cleft atrophies. the meatus auditorius externus is formed at the region of a shallow depression where the closure of the first visceral cleft takes place. it is in part formed by the tissue surrounding this depression growing up in the form of a wall, and moldenhauer believes that this is the whole process. kölliker states however that the blind end of the meatus becomes actually pushed in towards the tympanic cavity. the tympanic membrane is derived from the tissue which separates the meatus auditorius externus from the tympanic cavity. this tissue is obviously constituted of an hypoblastic epithelium on its inner aspect, an epiblastic epithelium on its outer aspect, and a layer of mesoblast between them, and these three layers give rise to the three layers of which this membrane is formed in the adult. during the greater part of foetal life it is relatively very thick, and presents a structure bearing but little resemblance to that in the adult. a proliferation of the connective tissue-cells in the vicinity of the tympanic cavity causes in mammalia the complete or nearly complete obliteration of the cavity during foetal life. the tympanic cavity is bounded on its inner aspect by the osseous investment of the internal ear, but at one point, known as the fenestra ovalis, the bone is deficient in the amphibia, sauropsida and mammalia, and its place is taken by a membrane; while in mammalia and sauropsida a second opening, the fenestra rotunda, is also present. these two fenestræ appear early, but whether they are formed by an absorption of the cartilage, or by the nonchondrification of a small area, is not certainly known. the upper of the two, or fenestra ovalis, contains the base of a bone, known in the sauropsida and amphibia as the columella. the main part of the columella is formed of a stalk which is held by parker to be derived from part of the skeleton of the visceral arches, but its nature is discussed in connection with the skeleton, while the base, forming the stapes, appears to be derived from the wall of the periotic cartilage. in all amphibia and sauropsida with a tympanic cavity, the stalk of the columella extends to the tympanic membrane; its outer end becoming imbedded in this membrane, and serving to transmit the vibrations of the membrane to the fluid in the internal ear. in mammalia there is a stapes not directly attached to the tympanic membrane by a stalk, and two additional auditory ossicles, derived from parts of the skeleton of the visceral arches, are placed between the stapes and the tympanic membrane. these ossicles are known as the malleus and incus, and the chain of the three ossicles replaces physiologically the single ossicle of the lower forms. these ossicles are at first imbedded in the connective tissue in the neighbourhood of the tympanic cavity, but on the full development of this cavity, become apparently placed within it; though really enveloped in the mucous membrane lining it. the fenestra ovalis is in immediate contiguity with the walls of the utricle, while the fenestra rotunda adjoins the scala tympani. hunt (no. ) holds, from his investigations on the embryology of the pig, that "the eustachian tube is an involution of the pharyngeal mucous membrane;" and that "the meatus is an involution of the integument" while "the drum is formed by the eustachian tube overlapping the extremity of the meatus." urbantschitsch also holds that the first visceral cleft has nothing to do with the formation of the tympanic cavity and eustachian tube, and that these parts are derived from lateral outgrowths of the oral cavity. the evolution of the accessory parts of the ear would be very difficult to explain on darwinian principles if the views of hunt and urbantschitsch were correct; and the accepted doctrine, originally proposed by huschke (no. ), according to which these structures have originated by a 'change of function' of the parts of the first visceral cleft, may fairly be held till more conclusive evidence has been brought against it than has yet been done. [fig. . larva of ascidia mentula. (from gegenbaur; after kupffer.) only the anterior part of the tail is represented. _n´._ anterior swelling of neural tube; _n._ anterior swelling of spinal portion of neural tube; _n._ hinder part of neural tube; _ch._ notochord; _k._ branchial region of alimentary tract; _d._ oesophageal and gastric region of alimentary tract; _o._ eye; _a._ otolith; _o._ mouth; _s._ papilla for attachment.] tunicata. the auditory organ of the tunicata (fig. ) is placed on the under surface of the anterior vesicle of the brain. it consists of two parts ( ) a prominence of the cells of the floor of the brain forming a crista acustica, and ( ) an otolith projecting into the cavity of the brain, and attached to the crista by delicate hairs. the crista acustica is formed of very delicate cylindrical cells, and in its most projecting part is placed a vesicle with clear contents. the otolith is an oval body with its dorsal half pigmented, and its ventral half clear and highly refractive. it is balanced on the highest point of the crista. the crista acustica would seem to be developed from the cells of the lower part of the front vesicle of the brain. the otolith however is developed from a single cell on the dorsal and right side of the brain. this cell commences to project into the cavity of the brain and its free end becomes pigmented. it gradually grows inwards till it forms a spherical prominence in the cavity of the brain, to the wall of which it is attached by a stalk. at the same time it travels round the right side of the vesicle of the brain (in a way not fully explained) till it reaches the summit of the crista, which has become in the meantime established. the auditory organ of the simple ascidians can hardly be brought into relation with that of the other chordata, and has most probably been evolved within the tunicate phylum. bibliography. _invertebrata_. ( ) v. hensen. "studien üb. d. gehörorgan d. decapoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xiii. . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. _das nervensystem u. d. sinnesorgane d. medusen._ leipzig, . _vertebrata._ ( ) a. boettcher. "bau u. entwicklung d. schnecke." _denkschriften d. kaiserl. leop. carol. akad. d. wissenschaft._, vol. xxxv. ( ) c. hasse. _die vergleich. morphologie u. histologie d. häutigen gehörorgane d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, . ( ) v. hensen. "zur morphologie d. schnecke." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xiii. . ( ) e. huschke. "ueb. d. erste bildungsgeschichte d. auges u. ohres beim bebrüteten küchlein." _isis von oken_, , and meckel's _archiv_, vol. vi. ( ) reissner. _de auris internæ formatione. inaug. diss._ dorpat, . _accessory parts of vertebrate ear._ ( ) david hunt. "a comparative sketch of the development of the ear and eye in the pig." _transactions of the international otological congress_, . ( ) w. moldenhauer. "zur entwick. d. mittleren u. äusseren ohres." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. iii. . ( ) v. urbantschitsch. "ueb. d. erste anlage d. mittelohres u. d. trommelfelles." _mittheil. a. d. embryol. instit. wien_, heft i. . _olfactory organ._ amongst the invertebrata numerous sense organs have been described under the title of olfactory organs. in aquatic animals they often have the form of ciliated pits or grooves, while in the insects and crustacea delicate hairs and other structures present on the antennæ are usually believed to be organs of smell. our knowledge of all these organs is however so vague that it would not be profitable to deal with them more fully in this place. amongst the chordata there are usually well developed olfactory organs. amongst the urochorda (tunicata) it is still uncertain what organs (if any) deserve this appellation. the organ on the dorsal side of the opening of the respiratory pharynx may very possibly have an olfactory function, but it is certainly not homologous with the olfactory pits of the true vertebrata, and as mentioned above (pp. and ), may perhaps be homologous with the pituitary body. [fig. . views of the head of elasmobranch embryos at two stages as transparent objects. a. pristiurus embryo of the same stage as fig. f. b. somewhat older scyllium embryo. _iii._ third nerve; _v._ fifth nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _au.n._ auditory nerve; _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve; _vg._ vagus nerve; _fb._ fore-brain; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _hb._ hind-brain; _iv.v._ fourth ventricle; _cb._ cerebellum; _ol._ olfactory pit; _op._ eye; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _m._ mesoblast at base of brain; _ch._ notochord; _ht._ heart; _vc._ visceral clefts; _eg._ external gills; _pp._ sections of body cavity in the head.] in the cephalochorda (amphioxus) there is a shallow ciliated pit, discovered by kölliker, which is situated on the left side of the head, and is closely connected with a special process of the front end of the brain. it is most probably the homologue of the olfactory pits of the true vertebrata. in the true vertebrata the olfactory organ has usually the form of a pair of pits, though in the cyclostomata the organ is unpaired. in all the vertebrata with two olfactory pits these organs are formed from a pair of thickened patches of the epiblast, on the under side of the fore-brain, immediately in front of the mouth (fig. , _ol_). each thickened patch of epiblast soon becomes involuted as a pit (fig. , _n_), the lining cells of which become the olfactory or schneiderian epithelium. the surface of this epithelium is usually much increased by various foldings, which in the elasmobranchii arise very early, and are bilaterally symmetrical, diverging on each side like the barbs of a feather from the median line. they subsequently become very pronounced (fig. ), serving greatly to increase the surface of the olfactory epithelium. at a very early stage the olfactory nerve attaches itself to the olfactory epithelium. in petromyzon the olfactory organ arises as an _unpaired_ thickening of the epiblast, which in the just hatched larva forms a shallow pit, on the ventral side of the head, immediately in front of the mouth. this pit rapidly deepens, and soon extends itself backwards nearly as far as the infundibulum (fig. , _ol_). by the development of the upper lip the opening of the olfactory pit is gradually carried to the dorsal surface of the head, and becomes at the same time narrowed and ciliated (fig. , _ol_). the whole organ forms an elongated sack, and in later stages becomes nearly divided by a median fold into two halves. it is probable that the unpaired condition of the olfactory organ in the lamprey has arisen from the fusion of two pits into one; there is however no evidence of this in the early development; but the division of the sack into two halves by a median fold may be regarded as an indication of such a paired character in the later stages. in myxine the olfactory organ communicates with the mouth through the palate, but the meaning of this communication, which does not appear to be of the same nature as the communication between the olfactory pits and the mouth by the posterior nares in the higher types, is not known. the opening of the olfactory pit does not retain its embryonic characters. in elasmobranchii and chimæra it becomes enclosed by a wall of integument, often deficient on the side of the mouth, so that there is formed a groove leading from the nasal pit towards the angle of the mouth. this groove is usually constricted in the middle, and the original single opening of the nasal sack thus becomes nearly divided into two. in teleostei and ganoids the division of the nasal opening into two parts becomes complete, but the ventral opening is generally carried off some distance from the mouth, and placed, by the growth of the snout, on the upper surface of the head (figs. and ). in all these instances it is probable that the dorsal opening of the external nares, and the ventral opening with the posterior nares of higher types. thus the posterior nares would in fact seem to be represented in all fishes by a ventral part of the opening of the original nasal pit which either adjoins the border of the mouth (many elasmobranchii) or is quite separate from the mouth (teleostei and ganoidei). in the dipnoi, amphibia and all the higher types the oral region becomes extended so as to enclose the posterior nares, and then each nasal pit acquires two openings; viz. one outside the mouth, the external nares, and one within the mouth, the internal or posterior nares. in the dipnoi the two nasal openings are very similar to those in ganoidei and teleostei, but both are placed on the under surface of the head, the inner one being within the mouth, and the external one is so close to the outer border of the upper lip that it also has been considered by some anatomists to lie within the mouth. [fig. . side view of the head of an embryo chick of the third day as an opaque object. (chromic acid preparation.) _c.h._ cerebral hemispheres; _f.b._ vesicle of third ventricle; _m.b._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _h.b._ medulla oblongata; _n._ nasal pit; _ot._ auditory vesicle in the stage of a pit with the opening not yet closed up; _op._ optic vesicle, with _l._ lens and _ch.f._ choroidal fissure. _ f._ the first visceral fold; above it is seen the superior maxillary process. _ , , f._ second, third and fourth visceral folds, with the visceral clefts between them.] in all the higher types the nasal pits have originally only a single opening, and the ontogenetic process by which the posterior nasal opening is formed has been studied in the amniota and amphibia. amongst the amniota we may take the chick as representing the process in a very simple form. the general history of the process was first made out by kölliker. [fig. . section through the brain and olfactory organ of an embryo of scyllium. (modified from figures by marshall and myself.) _c.h._ cerebral hemispheres; _ol.v._ olfactory vesicle; _olf._ olfactory pit; _sch._ schneiderian folds; _i._ olfactory nerve. the reference line has been accidentally taken through the nerve to the brain.] [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section through the head of a larva of petromyzon. the larva had been hatched three days, and was . mm. in length. the optic and auditory vesicles are supposed to be seen through the tissues. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _th._ optic thalamus; _in._ infundibulum; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _md._ medulla oblongata; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _op._ optic vesicle; _ol._ olfactory pit; _m._ mouth; _br.c._ branchial pouches; _th._ thyroid involution; _v.ao._ ventral aorta; _ht._ ventricle of heart; _ch._ notochord.] the opening of the nasal pit becomes surrounded by a ridge except on its oral side. the deficiency of this ridge on the side of the mouth gives rise to a kind of shallow groove leading from the nasal pit to the mouth. the ridge enveloping the opening of the nasal pit next becomes prolonged along the sides of this groove, especially on its inner one; and at the same time the superior maxillary process grows forwards so as to bound the lower part of its outer side. the inner and outer ridges, together with the superior maxillary process, enclose a deep groove, connecting the original opening of the nasal pit with the mouth. the process just described is illustrated by fig. a, and it may be seen that the ridge on the inner side of the groove forms the edge of the frontonasal process (_k_). [fig. . head of a chick from below on the sixth and seventh days of incubation. (from huxley.) _i^a._ cerebral vesicles; _a._ eye, in which the remains of the choroid slit can still be seen in a; _g._ nasal pits; _k._ frontonasal process; _l._ superior maxillary process; . inferior maxillary process or first visceral arch; . second visceral arch; _x._ first visceral cleft. in a the cavity of the mouth is seen enclosed by the frontonasal process, the superior maxillary processes and the first pair of visceral arches. at the back of it is seen the opening leading into the throat. the nasal grooves leading from the nasal pits to the mouth are already closed over. in b the external opening of the mouth has become much constricted, but it is still enclosed by the frontonasal process and superior maxillary processes above, and by the inferior maxillary processes (first pair of visceral arches) below. the superior maxillary processes have united with the frontonasal process, along nearly the whole length of the latter.] on the sixth day (born, ) the sides of this groove unite together in the middle, and convert it into a canal open at both ends--the ventral openings of the canals of the two sides being placed just within the border of the mouth, and forming the posterior nares; while the external openings form the anterior nares. the upper part of the canal, together with the original nasal pit, is alone lined by olfactory epithelium; the remaining epithelium of the nasal cavity being indifferent epiblastic epithelium. further changes subsequently take place in connection with the posterior nares, but these are described in the section dealing with the mouth. in mammalia the general formation of the anterior and posterior nares is the same as in birds; but, as shewn by dursy and kölliker, an outgrowth from the inner side of the canal between the two openings arises at an early period; and becoming separate from the posterior nares and provided with a special opening into the mouth, forms the organ of jacobson. the general relations of this organ when fully formed are shewn in fig. . in lacertilia the formation of the posterior nares differs in some particulars from that in birds (born). a groove is formed leading from the primitive nasal pit to the mouth, bordered on its inner side by the swollen edge of the frontonasal process, and on its outer by an outer-nasal process; while the superior maxillary process does not assist in bounding it. on the inner side of the narrowest part of this groove there is formed a large lateral diverticulum, which is lined by a continuation of the schneiderian epithelium, and forms the rudiment of jacobson's organ. the nasal groove continues to grow in length, but soon becomes converted into a canal by the junction of the outer-nasal process with the frontonasal process. this canal is open at both ends: at its dorsal end is placed the original opening of the nasal pit, and its ventral opening is situated within the cavity of the mouth. the latter forms the primitive posterior nares. the superior maxillary process soon grows inwards on the under side of the posterior part of the nasal passage, and assists in forming its under wall. this ingrowth of the superior maxillary process is the rudiment of the hard palate. on the conversion of the nasal groove into a closed passage, the opening of jacobson's organ into the groove becomes concealed; and at a later period jacobson's organ becomes completely shut off from the nasal cavity, and opens into the mouth at the front end of an elongated groove leading back to the posterior nares. [fig. . section through the nasal cavity and jacobson's organ. (from gegenbaur.) _sn._ septum nasi; _cn._ nasal cavity; _j._ jacobson's organ; _d._ edge of upper jaw.] in amphibia the posterior nares are formed in a manner very different from that of the amniota. at an early stage a shallow groove is formed leading from the nasal pit to the mouth; but this groove instead of forming the posterior nares soon vanishes, and by the growth of the front of the head the nasal pits are carried farther away from the mouth. the actual posterior nares are formed by a perforation in the palate, opening into the blind end of the original nasal pit. considering that the various stages in the formation of the posterior nares of the amniota are so many repetitions of the adult states of lower forms, it may probably be assumed that the mode of formation of the posterior nares in amphibia is secondary, as compared with that in the amniota. a diverticulum of the front part of the nasal cavity of the anura is probably to be regarded as a rudimentary form of jacobson's organ. bibliography. ( ) g. born. "die nasenhöhlen u. d. thränennasengang d. amnioten wirbelthiere." parts i. and ii. _morphiologisches jahrbuch_, bd. v., . ( ) a. kölliker. "ueber die jacobson'schen organe des menschen." _festschrift f. rienecker_, . ( ) a. m. marshall. "morphology of the vertebrate olfactory organ." _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xix., . _sense organs of the lateral line._ although i do not propose dealing with the general development of various sense organs of the skin, there is one set of organs, viz. that of the lateral line, which, both from its wide extension amongst the ichthyopsida and from the similarity of some of its parts to certain organs found amongst the chætopoda[ ], has a great morphological importance. [ ] the organs which resemble those of the lateral line are the remarkable sense organs found by eisig in the capitellidæ (_mittheil. a. d. zool. station zu neapel_, vol. ); but i am not inclined to think that there is a true homology between these organs and the lateral line of vertebrata. it seems to me probable that the segmentally arranged optic organs of polyophthalmus are a special modification of the more indifferent sense organs of the capitellidæ. the close affinity of these two types of chætopods is favourable to this view. the organs of the lateral line consist as a rule of canals, partly situated in the head, and partly in the trunk. these canals open at intervals on the surface, and their walls contain a series of nerve-endings. the branches of the canal in the head are innervated for the most part by the fifth pair, and those of the trunk by the nervus lateralis of the vagus nerve. there is typically but a single canal in the trunk, the openings and nerve-endings of which are segmentally arranged. two types of development of these organs have been found. one of these is characteristic of teleostei; the other of elasmobranchii. in just hatched teleostei, schulze (no. ) found that instead of the normal canals there was present a series of sense bulbs, projecting freely on the surface and partly composed of cells with stiff hairs. in most cases each bulb is enclosed in a delicate tube open at its free extremity; while the bulbs correspond in number with the myotomes. in some teleostei (gobius, esox, etc.) such sense organs persist through life; in most forms however each organ becomes covered by a pair of lobes of the adjacent tissue, one formed above and the other below it. the two lobes of each pair then unite and form a tube open at both ends. the linear series of tubes so formed is the commencement of the adult canal; while the primitive sense bulbs form the sensory organs of the tubes. the adjacent tubes partially unite into a continuous canal, but at their points of apposition pores are left, which place the canal in communication with the exterior. besides these parts, i have found that there is present in the just hatched salmon a linear streak of modified epidermis on the level of the lateral nerve, and from the analogy of the process described below for elasmobranchii it appears to me probable that these streaks play some part in the formation of the canal of the lateral line. in elasmobranchii (scyllium) the lateral line is formed as a linear thickening of the mucous layer of the epidermis. this thickening is at first very short, but gradually grows backwards, its hinder end forming a kind of enlarged growing point. the lateral nerve is formed shortly after the lateral line, and by the time that the lateral line has reached the level of the anus the lateral nerve has grown back for about two-thirds of that distance. the lateral nerve would seem to be formed as a branch of the vagus, but is at first half enclosed in the modified cells of the lateral line (fig. , _nl_)[ ], though it soon assumes a deeper position. [ ] götte and semper both hold that the lateral nerve, instead of growing in a centrifugal manner like other nerves, is directly derived from the epiblast of the lateral line. for the reasons which prevent me accepting this view i must refer the reader to my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_, pp. - . a permanent stage, more or less corresponding to the stage just described in elasmobranchii, is retained in chimæra, and echinorhinus spinosus, where the lateral line has the form of an open groove (solger, no. ). the epidermic thickening, which forms the lateral line, is converted into a canal, not as in teleostei by the folding over of the sides, but by the formation of a cavity between the mucous and epidermic layers of the epiblast, and the subsequent enclosure of this cavity by the modified cells of the mucous layer of the epiblast which constitute the lateral line. the cavity first appears at the hind end of the organ, and thence extends forwards. after its conversion into a canal the lateral line gradually recedes from the surface; remaining however connected with the epidermis at a series of points corresponding with the segments, and at these points perforations are eventually formed to constitute the segmental apertures of the system. the manner in which the lumen of the canal is formed in elasmobranchs bears the same relation to the ordinary process of conversion of a groove into a canal that the formation of the auditory involution in amphibia does to the same process in birds. in both elasmobranchii and amphibia the mucous layer of the epiblast behaves exactly as does the whole epiblast in the other types, but is shut off from the surface by the passive epidermic layer of the epiblast. the mucous canals of the head and the ampullæ are formed from the mucous layer of the epidermis in a manner very similar to the lateral line; but the nerves to them arise as simple branches of the fifth and seventh nerves, which unite with them at a series of points, but do not follow their course like the lateral nerve. it is clear that the canal of the lateral line is secondary, as compared with the open groove of chimæra or the segmentally arranged sense bulbs of young teleostei; and it is also clear that the phylogenetic mode of formation of the canal consisted in the closure of a primitively open groove. the abbreviation of this process in elasmobranchii was probably acquired after the appearance of food-yolk in the egg, and the consequent disappearance of a free larval stage. while the above points are fairly obvious it does not seem easy to decide _à priori_ whether a continuous sense groove or isolated sense bulbs were the primitive structures from which the canals of the lateral line took their origin. it is equally easy to picture the evolution of the canal of the lateral line either from ( ) a continuous unsegmented sense line, certain points of which became segmentally differentiated into special sense bulbs, while the whole subsequently formed a groove and then a canal; or from ( ) a series of isolated sense bulbs, for each of which a protective groove was developed; and from the linear fusion of which a continuous canal became formed. from the presence however of a linear streak of modified epidermis in larval teleostei, as well as in elasmobranchii, it appears to me more probable that a linear sense streak was the primitive structure from which all the modifications of the lateral line took their origin, and that the segmentally arranged sense bulbs of teleostei are secondary differentiations of this primitive structure. the, at first sight remarkable, distribution of the vagus nerve to the lateral line is probably to be explained in connection with the evolution of this organ. as is indicated both by its innervation from the vagus, as also from the region where it first becomes developed, the lateral line was probably originally restricted to the anterior part of the body. as it became prolonged backwards it naturally carried with it the vagus nerve, and thus a sensory branch of this nerve has come to innervate a region which is far beyond the limits of its original distribution. bibliography. ( ) f. m. balfour. _a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_, pp. - . london, . ( ) h. eisig. "die segmentalorgane d. capitelliden." _mittheil. a. d. zool. station zu neapel_, vol. i. . ( ) a. götte. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) fr. leydig. _lehrbuch d. histologie des menschen u. d. thiere._ hamm. . ( ) fr. leydig. _neue beiträge z. anat. kenntniss d. hautdecke u. hautsinnesorgane d. fische._ halle, . ( ) f. e. schulze. "ueb. d. sinnesorgane d. seitenlinie bei fischen und amphibien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vi. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. selachier." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. ( ) b. solger. "neue untersuchungen zur anat. d. seitenorgane d. fische." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvii. and xviii. and . chapter xviii. the notochord, the vertebral column, the ribs and the sternum. introduction. amongst the products of that part of the mesoblast which constitutes the connective tissue of the body special prominence must be given to the skeleton of the vertebrata, from its importance in relation to numerous phylogenetic and morphological problems. the development of the skeleton is however so large a subject that it cannot be satisfactorily dealt with except in a special treatise devoted to it; and the following description must be regarded as a mere sketch, from which detail has been as far as possible excluded. in the lowest chordata the sole structure present, which deserves to be called a skeleton, is the notochord. although the notochord often persists as an important organ in the true vertebrata, yet there are always added to it various skeletal structures developed in the mesoblast. before entering into a systematic description of these, it will be convenient to say a few words as to the general characters of the skeleton. two elements, distinct both in their genesis and structure, are to be recognized in the skeleton. the one, forming the true primitive internal skeleton or endoskeleton, is imbedded within the muscles and is originally formed in cartilage. in many instances it retains a cartilaginous consistency through life, but in the majority of cases it becomes gradually ossified, and converted into true bone. bones so formed are known as cartilage bones. the other element is originally formed by the fusion of the ossified bases of the dermal placoid scales already described in chapter xiv., or by the fusion of the ossified bases of teeth situated in the mucous membrane of the mouth. in both instances the plates of bone so formed may lose the teeth or spines with which they were in the first instance covered, either by absorption in the individual, or phylogenetically by their gradually ceasing to be developed. the plates of bone, which originated by the above process, become in higher types directly developed in the connective tissue beneath the skin; and gradually acquire a deeper situation, and are finally so intimately interlocked with parts of the true internal skeleton, that the two sets of elements can only be distinguished by the fact of the one set ossifying in cartilage and the other in membrane. it seems probable that in the reptilia, and possibly the extinct amphibia, dermal bones have originated in the skin without the intervention of superjacent spinous structures. in cases where a membrane bone, as the dermal ossifications are usually called, overlies a part of the cartilage, it may set up ossification in the latter, and the cartilage bone and membrane bone may become so intimately fused as to be quite inseparable. it seems probable that in cases of this kind the compound bone may in the course of further evolution entirely lose either its cartilaginous element or its membranous element; so that cases occasionally occur where the development of a bone ceases to be an absolutely safe guide to its evolution. as to the processes which take place in the ossification of cartilage there is still much to be made out. two processes are often distinguished, viz. ( ) a process known as ectostosis, in which the ossification takes place in the perichondrium, and either simply surrounds or gradually replaces the cartilage, and ( ) a process known as endostosis, where the ossification actually takes place between the cartilage cells. it seems probable however (gegenbaur, vrolik) that there is no sharp line to be drawn between these two processes; but that the ossification almost always starts from the perichondrium. in the higher types, as a rule, the vessels of the perichondrium extend into the cartilage, and the ossification takes place around these vessels within the cartilage; but in the lower types (pisces, amphibia) ossification is often entirely confined to the perichondrium; and the cartilage is simply absorbed. the regions where ossification first sets in are known as centres of ossification; and from these centres the ossification spreads outwards. there may be one or more centres for a bone. the actual causes which in the first instance gave rise to particular centres of ossification, or to the ossification of particular parts of the cartilage, are but little understood; nor have we as yet any satisfactory criterion for determining the value to be attached to the number and position of centres of ossification. in some instances such centres appear to have an important morphological significance, and in other instances they would seem to be determined by the size of the cartilage about to be ossified. there is no doubt that the membrane bones and cartilage bones can as a rule be easily distinguished by their mode of development; but it is by no means certain that this is always the case. it is necessarily very difficult to establish the homology between bones, which develop in one type from membrane and in another type from cartilage; but there are without doubt certain instances in which the homology between two bones would be unhesitatingly admitted were it not for the difference in their development. the most difficult cases of this kind are connected with the shoulder-girdle. the possible sources of confusion in the development of bones are obviously two. ( ) a cartilage bone by origin may directly ossify in membrane, without the previous development of cartilage, and ( ) a membrane bone may in the first instance be formed in cartilage. the occurrence of the first of these is much more easy to admit than that of the second; and there can be little doubt that it sometimes takes place. in a large number of cases it would moreover cause no serious difficulty to the morphologist. bibliography _of the origin of the skeleton_. ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. primäre u. secundäre knochenbildung mit besonderer beziehung auf d. lehre von dem primordialcranium." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. iii. . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber bau u. entwicklung d. placoidschuppen u. d. zähne d. selachier." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. viii. . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueb. d. zahnsystem d. amphibien u. seine bedeutung f. d. genese d. skelets d. mundhöhle." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. supplementheft, . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber d. hautskelet d. fische." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . (siluroiden u. acipenseriden.) ( ) o. hertwig. "ueber d. hautskelet d. fische (lepidosteus u. polypterus)." _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) a. kölliker. "allgemeine betrachtungen üb. die entstehung d. knöchernen schädels d. wirbelthiere." _berichte v. d. königl. zoot. anstalt z. würzburg_, . ( ) fr. leydig. "histologische bemerkungen üb. d. polypterus bichir." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. v. . ( ) h. müller. "ueber d. entwick. d. knochensubstanz nebst bemerkungen, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . ( ) williamson. "on the structure and development of the scales and bones of fishes." _phil. trans._, . ( ) vrolik. "studien üb. d. verknöcherung u. die knochen d. schädels d. teleostier." _niederländisches archiv f. zoologie_, vol. i. _notochord and vertebral column._ the primitive axial skeleton of the chordata consists of the notochord and its sheath. it persists as such in the adult in amphioxus, and constitutes, in embryos of all vertebrata, for a considerable period of their early embryonic life, the sole representative of the axial skeleton. [fig. . horizontal section through the trunk of an embryo of scyllium considerably younger than f in fig. . the section is taken at the level of the notochord, and shews the separation of the cells to form the vertebral bodies from the muscle-plates. _ch._ notochord; _ep._ epiblast; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate already differentiated into longitudinal muscles.] the notochord. the early formation of the notochord has already been described in detail (pp. - ). it is developed, in most if not all cases, as an axial differentiation of the hypoblast, and forms at first a solid cord of cells, without a sheath, placed between the nervous system and the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract, and extending from the base of the front of the mid-brain to the end of the tail. the section in the region of the brain will be dealt with by itself. that in the trunk forms the basis round which the vertebral column is moulded. the early histological changes in the cells of the notochord are approximately the same in all the craniata. there is formed by the superficial cells of the notochord a delicate sheath, which soon thickens, and becomes a well-defined structure. vacuoles (one or more to each cell) are formed in the cells of the notochord, which enlarge till the whole notochord becomes almost entirely formed of large vacuoles separated by membranous septa which form a complete sponge-like reticulum (fig. ). in the ichthyopsida most of the protoplasm with the nuclei is carried to the periphery, where it forms a special nucleated layer sometimes divided into definite epithelial-like cells (fig. ), while in the meshes of the reticulum a few nuclei surrounded by a little protoplasm still remain. in the amniotic vertebrata, probably owing to the early atrophy of the notochord, the distribution of the nuclei in the spaces of the mesh-work remains fairly uniform. [fig. . section through the spinal column of a young salmon. (from gegenbaur.) _cs._ sheath of notochord; _k._ neural arch; _k´._ hæmal arch; _m._ spinal cord; _a._ dorsal aorta; _v._ cardinal veins.] in the early stages of development the spaces in the notochordal sponge-work, each containing a nucleus and protoplasm, probably represent cells. in the types in which the notochord persists in the adult the mesh-work becomes highly complicated, and then forms a peculiar reticulum filled with gelatinous material, the spaces in which do not indicate the outlines of definite cells (figs. and ). around the sheath of the notochord there is formed in the cyclostomata, ganoidei, elasmobranchii and teleostei an elastic membrane usually known as the membrana elastica externa. in most vertebrates the notochord and its sheath either atrophy completely or become a relatively unimportant part of the axial skeleton; but in the cyclostomata (fig. ) and in the selachioidean ganoids (acipenser, etc.) they persist as the _sole representative of the true vertebral axis_. the sheath becomes very much thickened; and on the membrana elastica covering it the vertebral arches directly rest. in elasmobranchii the sheath of the notochord undergoes a more complicated series of changes, which result first of all in the formation of a definite _unsegmented_ cartilaginous tube[ ] round the notochord, and subsequently (in most forms) in the formation of true vertebral bodies. [ ] this tube consists of a peculiar form of fibrous tissue rather than true cartilage, though part of it subsequently becomes hyaline cartilage. [fig. . section through the vertebral column of ammocoetes. (from gegenbaur.) _ch._ notochord; _cs._ notochordal sheath; _m._ spinal cord; _a._ aorta; _v._ cardinal veins.] between the membrana elastica externa and the sheath of the notochord a layer of cells becomes interposed (fig. , _n_), which lie in a matrix not sharply separated from the sheath of the notochord. the cells which form this layer appear to be derived from a special investment of the notochord, and to have penetrated through the membrana elastica externa to reach their final situation. the layer with these cells soon increases in thickness, and forms a continuous unsegmented tube of fibrous tissue with flattened concentrically arranged nuclei (fig. , _vb_). externally is placed the membrana elastica externa (_mel_), while within is the cuticular sheath of the notochord. this tube is the cartilaginous tube spoken of above and is known as the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord. [fig. . longitudinal section through a small part of the notochord and adjoining parts of a scyllium embryo, at the time of the first formation of the cartilaginous sheath. _ch._ notochord; _sc._ sheath of notochord; _n._ nuclei of cartilaginous sheath; _me.e._ membrana elastica externa.] the exact origin of the cartilaginous tube just described is a question of fundamental importance with reference to the origin of the vertebral column and the homologies of its constituent parts; but is by no means easy to settle. in the account of the subject in my memoir on _elasmobranch fishes_ i held with gegenbaur that it arose from a layer of cells _outside_ the sheath of the notochord, on the exterior of which the membrana elastica externa was subsequently formed. to this view götte (no. ) also gave his adhesion. schneider has since (no. ) stated that this is not the case, but that, as described above, the membrana elastica externa is formed before the layer of cartilage. i have since worked over this subject again, and am on the whole inclined to adopt schneider's correction. it follows from the above description that the cartilaginous tube in question is an essential part of the sheath of the notochord, and that it is to some extent homologous with the notochordal sheath of the sturgeon and the lamprey, and not an entirely new formation. [fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the notochord and adjoining structures of an advanced scyllium embryo at the root of the tail. _vb._ cartilaginous sheath of the notochord; _ha._ hæmal arch; _vp._ process to which the rib is articulated; _mel._ membrana elastica externa; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _v.cau._ caudal vein.] this sheath forms the basis of the centra of the future vertebræ. in a few adult forms, _i.e._ chimæra and the dipnoi, it retains its primitive condition, except that in chimæra there are present delicate ossified rings more numerous than the arches; while in the notidani, læmargi and echinorhini the indications of vertebræ are imperfectly marked out. the further history of this sheath in the forms in which true vertebræ are formed can only be dealt with in connection with the formation of the vertebral arches. in teleostei there is present, as in elasmobranchii, an elastica externa, and an inner notochordal sheath. the elastica externa contains, according to götte, cells. these cells, if present, are however very difficult to make out, but in any case the so-called elastica externa appears to correspond with the cartilaginous sheath of elasmobranchii together with its enveloping elastica, since ossification, when it sets in, occurs in this layer. the sheath within becomes unusually thick. in the amphibia and in the amniota no membrane is present which can be identified with the membrana elastica externa of the elasmobranchii, teleostei, etc. in amphibia (götte) there is formed round the notochord a cellular sheath, which has very much the relations of the cartilaginous tube around the notochord of elasmobranchii, and is developed in the same way from the perichordal connective tissue cells. it is only necessary to suppose that the membrana elastica externa has ceased to be developed (which in view of its extreme delicacy and unimportant function in elasmobranchii is not difficult to do) and this cellular sheath would then obviously be homologous with the cartilaginous tube in question. in the amniota an external sheath of the notochord cannot be traced as a distinct structure, but the connective tissue surrounding the notochord and spinal cord is simply differentiated into the vertebral bodies and vertebral arches. _vertebral arches and vertebral bodies._ cyclostomata. the cyclostomata are the most primitive forms in which true vertebral arches are present. their ontogeny in this group has not been satisfactorily worked out. it is however noticeable in connection with them that they form for the most part isolated pieces of cartilage, the segmental arrangement of which is only imperfect. elasmobranchii. in the elasmobranchii the cells forming the vertebral arches are derived from the splanchnic layer of the mesoblastic somites. they have at first the same segmentation as the somites (fig. , _vr_), but this segmentation is soon lost, and there is formed round the notochord a continuous sheath of embryonic connective tissue cells, which gives rise to the arches of the vertebræ, the tissue forming the dura mater, the perichondrium, and the general investing connective tissue. the changes which next follow result in what has been known since remak as the secondary segmentation of the vertebral column. this segmentation, which occurs in all vertebrata with true vertebræ, is essentially the segmentation of the continuous investment of the notochord and spinal cord into vertebral bodies and vertebral arches. it does not however follow the lines of the segmentation of the muscle-plates, but is so effected that the centres of the vertebral bodies are opposite the septa between the muscle-plates. the explanation of this character in the segmentation is not difficult to find. the primary segmentation of the body is that of the muscle-plates, which were present in the primitive forms in which vertebræ had not appeared. as soon however as the notochordal sheath was required to be strong as well as flexible, it necessarily became divided into a series of segments. the condition under which the lateral muscles can best cause the flexure of the vertebral column is clearly that each myotome shall be capable of acting on two vertebræ; and this condition can only be fulfilled when the myotomes are opposite the intervals between the vertebræ. for this reason, when the vertebræ became formed, their centres were opposite not the middle of the myotomes but the intermuscular septa. these considerations fully explain the characters of the secondary segmentation of the vertebral column. on the other hand the primary segmentation (fig. ) of the vertebral rudiments is clearly a remnant of a condition when no vertebral bodies were present; and has no greater morphological significance than the fact that the cells of the vertebræ were derived from the segmented muscle-plates, and then became fused into a continuous sheath around the notochord and nervous axis; till finally they became in still higher forms differentiated into vertebræ and their arches. during the stage represented in fig. _g_, and somewhat before the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord is formed, there appear four special concentrations of the mesoblastic tissue adjoining the notochord, two of them dorsal (neural) and two of them ventral (hæmal). they are not segmented, and form four ridges, seated on the sides of the notochord. they are united with each other by a delicate layer of tissue, and constitute the substance in which the neural and hæmal arches subsequently become differentiated. at about the time when the first traces of the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord arise, differentiations take place in the neural and hæmal ridges. in the neural ridge two sets of arches are formed for each myotome, and resting on the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord in the region which will afterwards form the centrum of a vertebra, and constituting a true neural arch; and a second separate from the cartilaginous sheath, forming an intercalated piece[ ]. both of them soon become hyaline cartilage. [ ] the presence of intercalated pieces in the neural arch system of elasmobranchii, chimæra, etc. is probably not the indication of an highly differentiated type of neural arch, but of a transitional type between an imperfect investment of the spinal cord by isolated cartilaginous bars, and a complete system of neural arches like that in the higher vertebrata. there is a considerable portion of the original tissue of the neural ridge, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of the notochord, which is not employed in the formation of the neural arches. this tissue has a fibrous character and becomes converted into the perichondrium and other parts. [fig. . section through the vertebral column of an advanced embryo of scyllium in the region of the tail. _na._ neural arch; _ha._ hæmal arch; _ch._ notochord; _sh._ inner sheath of notochord; _ne._ membrana elastic externa.] the hæmal arches are formed from the hæmal ridge in precisely the same way as the neural arches, but interhæmal intercalated pieces are often present. in the region of the tail the hæmal arches are continued into ventral processes which meet below, enclosing the aorta and caudal veins. since primitively the postanal gut was placed between the aorta and the caudal vein, the hæmal arches potentially invest a caudal section of the body cavity. in the trunk region they do not meet ventrally, but give support to the ribs. the structures just described are shewn in section in fig. , in which the neural (_na_) and hæmal (_ha_) arches are shewn resting upon the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord. while these changes are being effected in the arches the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord undergoes important differentiations. in the _vertebral_ regions opposite the origin of the neural and hæmal arches (fig. ) its outer part becomes hyaline cartilage, while the inner parts adjoining the notochord undergo a somewhat different development, the notochord in this part becomes at the same time somewhat constricted. in the _intervertebral_ regions the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord becomes more definitely fibrous, while the notochord is in no way constricted. a diagrammatic longitudinal section through the vertebral column, while these changes are being effected, is shewn in fig. b. these processes are soon carried further. the notochord within the vertebral body becomes gradually constricted, especially in the median plane, till it is here reduced to a fibrous band, which gradually enlarges in either direction till it reaches its maximum thickness in the median plane of the intervertebral region. the hyaline cartilage of the vertebral region forms a vertebral body in which calcification may to some extent take place. the cartilage of the base of the arches gradually spreads over it, and on the absorption of the membrana elastica externa, which usually takes place long before the adult state is reached, the arch tissue becomes indistinguishably fused with that of the vertebral bodies, so that the latter are compound structures, partly formed of the primitive cartilaginous sheath, and partly of the tissue of the bases of the neural and hæmal arches. owing to the beaded structure of the notochord the vertebral bodies take of necessity a biconcave hourglass-shaped form. the intervertebral regions of the primitive sheath of the notochord form fibrous intervertebral ligaments enclosing the unconstricted intervertebral sections of the notochord. a peculiar fact may here be noticed with reference to the formation of the vertebral bodies in the tail of scyllium, raja, and possibly other forms, viz. that _there are double as many vertebral bodies as there are myotomes and spinal nerves_. this is not due to a secondary segmentation of the vertebræ but, as i have satisfied myself by a study of the development, takes place when the vertebral bodies first become differentiated. the possibility of such a relation of parts is probably to be explained by the fact that the segmentation of the vertebral column arose subsequently to that of the nerves and myotomes. ganoidei. in acipenser and other cartilaginous ganoids the hæmal and neural arches are formed as in elasmobranchii, and rest upon the outer sheath of the notochord. since however the sheath of the notochord is never differentiated into distinct vertebræ, this primitive condition is retained through life. teleostei. in teleostei the formation of the vertebral arches and bodies takes place in a manner, which can be reduced, except in certain minor points, to the same type as that of elasmobranchii. there are early formed (fig. _k_ and _k´_) neural and hæmal arches resting upon the outer sheath of the notochord. the latter structure, which, as mentioned on p. , corresponds to the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord of elasmobranchii, soon becomes divided into vertebral and intervertebral regions. in the former ossification directly sets in without the sheath acquiring the character of hyaline cartilage (götte, ). the latter forms the fibrous intervertebral ligaments. the notochord exhibits vertebral constrictions. the ossified outer sheath of the notochord forms but a small part of the permanent vertebræ. the remainder is derived partly from an ossification of the connective tissue surrounding the sheath, and partly from the bases of the arches, which do not spread round the primitive vertebral bodies as in elasmobranchii. the ossifications in the tissue surrounding the sheath usually (fig. ) take the form of a cross, while the bases of the arches (_k_ and _k´_) remain as four cartilaginous radii between the limbs of the osseous cross. in some instances the bases of the arches also become ossified, and are then with difficulty distinguishable from the other parts of the secondary vertebral body. the parts of the arches outside the vertebral bodies are for the most part ossified (fig. ). in correlation with the vertebral constrictions of the notochord the vertebral bodies are biconcave. amphibia. of the forms of amphibia so far studied embryologically the salamandridæ present the most primitive type of formation of the vertebral column. it has already been stated that in amphibia there is present around the notochord a cellular sheath, equivalent to the cartilaginous sheath of elasmobranchii. in the tissue on the dorsal side of this sheath a series of cartilaginous processes becomes formed. these processes are the commencing neural arches; and they rest on the cellular sheath of the notochord opposite the middle of the vertebral regions. a superficial osseous layer becomes very early formed in each vertebral region of the cellular sheath; while in each of the intervertebral regions, which are considerably shorter than the vertebral, there is developed a ring-like cartilaginous thickening of the sheath, which projects inwards so as to constrict the notochord. at a period before this thickening has attained considerable dimensions the notochord becomes sufficiently constricted in the centre of each vertebral region to give a biconcave form to the vertebræ for a very short period of foetal life. [fig. . vertical section through the middle of a vertebra of esox lucius (pike). (from gegenbaur.) _ch._ notochord; _cs._ notochordal sheath; _k._ and _k´._ cartilaginous tissue of the neural and hæmal arches; _h._ osseous hæmal process; _n._ spinal canal.] the stage with biconcave vertebræ is retained through life in the perennibranchiata and gymnophiona. the chief peculiarity which distinguishes the later history of their vertebral column from that of fishes consists in the immense development of the _intervertebral_ thickenings just mentioned, which increase to such an extent as to reduce the notochord, where it passes through them, to a mere band; while the cartilage of which they are composed becomes differentiated into two regions, one belonging to the vertebra in front, the other to that behind, the hinder one being convex, and the anterior concave. the two parts are not however absolutely separated from each other. by these changes each vertebra comes to be composed of ( ) a thin osseous somewhat hourglass-shaped cylinder with a dilated portion of the notochord in its centre, and ( and ) of two halves of two intervertebral cartilages, viz. an anterior convex half and a posterior concave half. the vertebræ thus come to be opisthocoelous. a longitudinal section through the vertebral column at this stage is diagrammatically shewn in fig. c. [fig. . diagram representing the mode of development of the vertebrÆ in the different types. (from gegenbaur.) a. ideal type in which distinct vertebræ are not established. b. type of pisces with vertebral constrictions of the notochord. c. amphibian type, with intervertebral constrictions of the notochord by the intervertebral parts of the cellular sheath. d. intervertebral constriction of the notochord as effected in reptilia and aves. e. vertebral constriction of the notochord as effected in mammalia, the intervertebral parts of the cartilaginous sheath being converted into intervertebral ligaments. _c._ notochord; _cs._ cuticular sheath of notochord; _s._ cartilaginous sheath; _v._ vertebral regions; _iv._ intervertebral regions; _g._ intervertebral joints.] to the centre of each of these vertebræ the neural arches, the origin of which was described above, become in the meantime firmly attached; and grow obliquely upwards and backwards, so as to meet and unite above the spinal cord. the transverse processes of the vertebræ would seem (fick) to be developed independently of the arches, though they very soon fuse with them. according to götte the transverse processes are double in the trunk, there being two pairs, one vertically above the other for each vertebra. the pair on each side eventually fuse together. in the tail hæmal arches are formed, which are similar in their mode of development to the neural arches. the unconstricted portion of the notochord, which persists in each vertebra, becomes in part converted into cartilage. anura. in the anura the process of formation of the vertebral column is essentially the same as that in the salamandridæ. two types may however be observed. one of these occurs in the majority of the anura, and mainly differs from that in salamandra in ( ) the earlier fusion of the arches with the cellular sheath of the notochord; ( ) the more rapid growth of the intervertebral thickenings of the cellular sheath, which results in the early and complete obliteration of the intervertebral parts of the notochord; ( ) the complete division of these intervertebral thickenings into anterior and posterior portions, which unite with and form the articular surfaces of two contiguous vertebræ. the vertebræ are moreover procoelous instead of being opisthocoelous. the unconstricted vertebral sections of the notochord always persist till the ossification of the vertebræ has taken place. in some forms they remain through life (rana), while in other cases they eventually either wholly or partially disappear. the second type of vertebral development is found in bombinator, pseudis, pipa, and pelobates. in these genera the formation of the vertebra takes place almost entirely on the dorsal side of the notochord; so that the latter forms a band on the ventral side of the vertebral column. in other respects the history of the vertebral column is the same in the two cases; the vertebral unconstricted parts of the notochord appear however to become in part converted into cartilage. the type of formation of the vertebral column in these genera has been distinguished as epichordal in contradistinction to the more normal or perichordal type. amniota. in the amniota all trace of a distinction between a cellular notochord sheath and an arch tissue is lost, and the two are developed together as a continuous whole forming an unsegmented tube round the notochord, with a neural ridge which does not at first nearly invest the neural cord. this tube becomes differentiated, in the manner already described for other types, into ( ) vertebral regions with true arches, and ( ) intervertebral regions. reptilia. in reptilia (gegenbaur, no. ) a cartilaginous tube is formed round the notochord, which is continuous with the cartilaginous neural arches. the latter are placed in the vertebral regions, and in these regions ossification very early sets in, while the notochord remains relatively unconstricted. in the intervertebral regions the cartilage becomes thickened, as in amphibia, and gradually constricts the notochord. the cartilage in each of the intervertebral regions soon becomes divided into two parts which form the articular faces of two contiguous vertebræ. the general character of the vertebral column on the completion of these changes is shewn in fig. d. the later changes are relatively unimportant. the constricted intervertebral sections of the notochord rapidly disappear, while the vertebral sections become partially converted into cartilage, and only cease to be distinguishable at a considerably later period. the ossification extends from the bodies of the vertebræ into the arches and into the articular surfaces, so that the whole vertebræ eventually become ossified. the ascalabotæ (geckos) present an exceptional type of vertebral column which has many of the characters of a developmental stage in other lizards. the body of the vertebra is formed of a slightly hourglass-shaped osseous tube, united with adjoining vertebræ by a short intervertebral cartilage. there is a persistent and continuous notochord which, owing to the small development of the intervertebral cartilages, is narrower in the vertebral than in the intervertebral regions. aves. in birds the cellular tube formed round the notochord is far thicker than in the reptilia. it is continuous in the regions of the future vertebræ with neural arches, which do not at first nearly enclose the spinal cord. on about the fifth day, in the case of the chick, it becomes differentiated into vertebral regions opposite the attachments of the neural arches, and intervertebral regions between them; the two sets of regions being only distinguished by their histological characters. very shortly afterwards each intervertebral region becomes segmented into two parts, which respectively attach themselves to the contiguous vertebral regions. a part of each intervertebral region, immediately adjoining the notochord, does not however undergo this division, and afterwards gives rise to the ligamentum suspensorium. the notochord during these changes at first remains indifferent, but subsequently, on about the seventh day in the chick, a slight constriction of each vertebral region takes place; so that the vertebræ have temporarily, as they have also in amphibia, a biconcave form which repeats the permanent condition of most fishes. by the ninth and tenth days, however, this condition has completely disappeared, and in all the intervertebral portions the notochord has become distinctly constricted, and at the same time in each vertebral portion there have also appeared two constrictions of the notochord giving rise to a central and to two terminal enlargements. on the twelfth day the ossification of the cartilaginous centra commences. the first vertebra to ossify is the second or third cervical, and the ossification gradually extends to those behind. it does not commence in the arches till somewhat later than in the bodies. for each arch there are two centres of ossification, one on each side. the notochord persists for the greater part of foetal life and even into post-foetal life. the larger vertebral portions are often the first completely to vanish. they would seem in many cases at any rate (gegenbaur) to be converted into cartilage, and so form an integral part of the permanent vertebræ. rudiments of the intervertebral portions of the notochord may long be detected in the ligamenta suspensoria. schwarck (no. ) states that in both the intervertebral and the vertebral regions, though less conspicuously in the former, the cartilage is divided into two layers, an _inner_ and an _outer_. he holds that the inner layer corresponds to the cartilaginous notochordal sheath of the lower types, and the outer to the arch tissue. ossification (gegenbaur) of the centra appears in a special inner layer of cartilage, which is probably the same as the inner layer of the earlier stage, though this point has not been definitely established. [fig. . longitudinal section through the vertebral column of an eight weeks' human embryo in the thoracic region. (from kölliker.) _v._ cartilaginous vertebral body; _li._ intervertebral ligament; _ch._ notochord.] mammalia. the early development of the perichordal cartilaginous tube and rudimentary neural arches is almost the same in mammals as in birds. the differentiation into vertebral and intervertebral regions is the same in both groups; but instead of becoming divided as in reptilia and birds into two segments attached to two adjoining vertebræ, the intervertebral regions _become in mammals wholly converted into the intervertebral ligaments_ (fig. _li_). there are three centres of ossifications for each vertebra, two in the arch and one in the centrum. [fig. . longitudinal section through the intervertebral ligament and adjacent parts of two vertebrÆ from the thoracic region of an advanced embryo of a sheep. (from kölliker.) _la._ ligamentum longitudinale anterius; _lp._ ligamentum long. posterius; _li._ ligamentum intervertebrale; _k_, k´. epiphysis of vertebra; _w._ and _w´._ anterior and posterior vertebræ; _c._ intervertebral dilatation of notochord; _c´._ and _c´´._ vertebral dilatation of notochord.] the fate of the notochord is in important respects different from that in birds. it is first constricted in the _centre of the vertebræ_ (figs. e and ) and disappears there shortly after the ossification; while in the intervertebral regions it remains relatively unconstricted (figs. e, and _c_) and after undergoing certain histological changes _remains through life as part of the nucleus pulposus in the axis of the invertebral ligaments_[ ]. there is also a slight swelling of the notochord near the two extremities of each vertebra (fig. _c´_ and _c´´_). in the persistent vertebral constriction of the notochord mammals retain a more primitive and piscine mode of formation of the vertebral column than the majority either of the reptilia or amphibia. [ ] this view was first put forward by lushka, and his surmises have been confirmed by kölliker and other embryologists. leboucq (no. ) however holds that the cells of the notochord in the intervertebral regions fuse with those of the adjoining tissue; and dursy and others deny that the nucleus pulposus is derived from the notochord. bibliography _of notochord and vertebral column_. ( ) cartier. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte der wirbelsäule." _zeitschrift für wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. suppl. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule der amphibien und reptilien._ leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueber die entwickelung der wirbelsäule des lepidosteus mit vergleichend anatomischen bemerkungen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. iii. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. skeletgewebe d. cyclostomen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. . ( ) al. götte. "beiträge zur vergleich. morphol. des skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere." ii. "die wirbelsäule u. ihre anhänge." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xv. (cyclostomen, ganoiden, plagiostomen, chimaera), and vol. xvi. (teleostier). ( ) hasse und schwarck. "studien zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule u. s. w." hasse, _anatomische studien_, . ( ) c. hasse. _das natürliche system d. elasmobranchier auf grundlage d. bau. u. d. entwick. ihrer wirbelsäule._ jena, . ( ) a. kölliker. "ueber die beziehungen der chorda dorsalis zur bildung der wirbel der selachier und einiger anderen fische." _verhandlungen der physical. medicin. gesellschaft in würzburg_, bd. x. ( ) a. kölliker. "weitere beobachtungen über die wirbel der selachier insbesondere über die wirbel der lamnoidei." _abhandlungen der senkenbergischen naturforschenden gesellschaft in frankfurt_, bd. v. ( ) h. leboucq. "recherches s. l. mode de disparition de la corde dorsale chez les vertébrés supérieurs." _archives de biologie_, vol. i. . ( ) fr. leydig. _anatomisch-histologische untersuchungen über fische und reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) aug. müller. "beobachtungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule." müller's _archiv._ . ( ) j. müller. "vergleichende anatomie der myxinoiden u. der cyklostomen mit durchbohrtem gaumen, i. osteologie und myologie." _abhandlungen der königlichen akademie der wissenschaften zu berlin._ . ( ) w. müller. "beobachtungen des pathologischen instituts zu jena, i. ueber den bau der chorda dorsalis." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. vi. . ( ) a. schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . _ribs and sternum._ ribs. embryological evidence on the development of the ribs, though somewhat inadequate, indicates that they arise as cartilaginous bars in the connective tissue of the intermuscular septa, and that they are placed, in elasmobranchii and amphibia, on the level of division between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral divisions of the muscle-plates. this does not appear to hold true for either ganoidei or teleostei. in teleostei they are entirely below the muscles along the lines of the intermuscular septa, and this is partially true for ganoidei, though not wholly so in lepidosteus. they may be attached either to the hæmal (pisces) or neural (amphibia and amniota) arches. the connective tissue from which they are formed is continuous with the processes of the vertebræ to which they are attached; but the conversion of the tissue into cartilage takes place more or less independently of that of the arches, although in many cases the cartilage of the two becomes continuous, the separation of the ribs being then effected by a subsequent process of segmentation (fick, no. ). it is possible that the ribs of pisces may not be homologous with those of amphibia and the amniota, but till the reverse can be proved it is more convenient to assume that the ribs are homologous structures throughout the vertebrate series. in elasmobranchii the ribs are relatively of less importance in the adult than in the embryo. by a careful examination of their early development, i have satisfied myself that the differentiation of the ribs is _independent_ of that of the hæmal processes to which they are attached, although the differentiation proceeds in such a manner that, when both are converted into cartilage, they are quite continuous. subsequently the ribs become segmented off from the hæmal processes. at the junction of the tail and trunk, where the hæmal processes commence to be ventrally prolonged, eventually to unite in the region of the tail below the caudal vein, the ribs are attached to short processes which spring from the sides of the hæmal arches (fig. ). the ventral hæmal arches of these fishes are therefore clearly in no part formed by the ribs. in ganoidei and teleostei there is very great difficulty in determining the homologies of the ribs. in the cartilaginous ganoidei there are well developed rib-like structures, which might be regarded as homologous with elasmobranch ribs, and indeed probably are so; but at the same time their relations are in some respects very different from those of elasmobranch ribs in the caudal region. in ganoids the ribs, in approaching the tail, become shorter and then fuse with the ends of the hæmal processes, and finally in the caudal region form together with the hæmal arches a closed hæmal canal which superficially resembles that in elasmobranchii. in lepidosteus and amia, especially the former, the same phenomenon is still more marked; and in lepidosteus it is easy, in passing backwards, to trace the ribs bending ventralwards, and uniting ventrally in the caudal region to form, with the hæmal processes, a complete hæmal canal. it might have been anticipated that the teleostean ganoids would resemble the teleostei, but, from an examination of adult teleostei, it would seem to be clear that the relations of the parts are the same as in elasmobranchii, _i.e._ that the ribs have no share in forming the hæmal canal in the tail. aug. müller and götte have however brought embryological evidence (though not of a conclusive character), to shew that in the embryo the ribs really fuse with the hæmal processes in the tail, and so assist, as in the ganoids, in forming the hæmal canal. götte moreover holds that the ribs in elasmobranchii are not homologous with those of teleostei and ganoids; but that the hæmal arches in the tail are homologous in the three groups. without necessarily following götte in these views it is worth pointing out that the undoubtedly close affinity between the bony ganoids and the teleostei is in favour of the view on the hæmal arches of teleostei at which he has arrived on embryological grounds. in amphibia the formation of the ribs from the connective tissue of the intermuscular septa, their secondary attachment to the transverse processes of the neural arches, and their subsequent separation was first clearly established by fick (no. ), whose statements have since been confirmed by hasse, born, &c., and in part by götte, who holds however that, though converted into cartilage independently of the transverse processes, they are formed in membrane as outgrowths of these processes. in the amniota the ribs are also independently established (hasse and born), though they subsequently become united to the transverse processes and to the bodies of the vertebræ, or to the transverse processes only. this junction is however stated by the majority of authorities, never to be effected by the fusion of the cartilage of the two parts, but always by fibrous tissue; though hoffmann (no. ) takes a different view on this subject, holding that the ribs are at first continuous with the intervertebral regions of the primitive cartilaginous tube surrounding the notochord. sternum. in dealing with the development of the sternum it will be convenient to leave out of consideration the interclavicle or episternum which is, properly speaking, only part of the shoulder-girdle and to confine my statements to the sternum proper. this structure is found in all the amniota except the ophidia, chelonia, and some of the amphisbænæ. from the older researches of rathke, and from the newer ones of götte, etc., it appears that the sternum is always formed from the fusion of the ventral extremities of a certain number of ribs. the extremities of the ribs unite with each other from before backwards, and thus give rise to two cartilaginous bands. these bands become segmented off from the ribs with which they are at first continuous, and subsequently fuse in the median ventral line to form an unpaired sternum. the mammalian presternum (manubrium sterni) and xiphosternum have the same origin as the main body of the sternum (ruge, no. ). in the amphibia there is no structure which admits from its mode of development of a complete comparison with the sternum of the amniota; and it must for this reason be considered doubtful whether the median structure placed behind the coracoids in the anura, which is usually known as the sternum, is really homologous with the sternum of the amniota[ ]. the remaining ichthyopsida are undoubtedly not provided with a sternum. bibliography _of ribs and sternum_. ( ) c. claus. "beiträge z. vergleich. osteol. d. vertebraten. i. rippen u. unteres bogensystem." _sitz. d. kaiserl. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxiv. . ( ) a. e. fick. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. rippen und querfortsätze." _archiv f. anat. und physiol._ . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "zur entwick. d. wirbelsäule des lepidosteus mit vergleich. anat. bemerk." _jenaische zeit._, vol. iii. . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge z. vergleich. morphol. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere brustbein u. schultergürtel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. . ( ) c. hasse u. g. born. "bemerkungen üb. d. morphologie d. rippen." _zoologischer anzeiger_, . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "beiträge z. vergl. anat. d. wirbelthiere." _niederländ. archiv zool._, vol. iv. . ( ) w. k. parker. "a monograph on the structure and development of the shoulder-girdle and sternum." _ray soc._ . ( ) h. rathke. _ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. brustbeins d. saurier._ . ( ) g. ruge. "untersuch. üb. entwick. am brustbeine d. menschen." _morphol. jahrbuch._, vol. vi. . [ ] the so-called sternum of the amphibia develops in proximity with certain rudimentary abdominal ribs, and ruge has with some force urged (against götte) that it may be for this reason a rudimentary structure of the same nature as the sternum of the higher types. chapter xix. the skull. three distinct sets of elements may enter into the composition of the skull. these are ( ) the cranium proper, composed of true endoskeletal elements originally formed in cartilage, to which are usually added exoskeletal osseous elements, formed in the manner already described p. , and known in the higher types as membrane bones. ( ) the visceral arches formed primitively as cartilaginous bars, but in the higher types largely supplemented or even replaced by exoskeletal elements. ( ) the labial cartilages. these parts present themselves in the most various forms, and their study constitutes one of the most important departments of vertebrate morphology, and one which has always been a favourite subject of study with anatomists. at the end of the last century and during the first half of the present century the morphology of the skull was handled from the point of view of the adult anatomy by goethe, oken, cuvier, owen, and many other anatomists, while dugés and, nearer to our own time, rathke, laid the foundation of an embryological study of its morphology. a new era in the study of the skull was inaugurated by huxley in his croonian lecture in , and in his lectures on comparative anatomy subsequently delivered before the royal college of surgeons. in these lectures huxley disproved the then widely accepted view that the skull was composed of four vertebræ; and laid the foundation of a more satisfactory method of dealing with the homologies of its constituent parts. since then the knowledge of the development of the skull has made great progress. in this country a number of very interesting memoirs have been published on the subject by parker, which together constitute a most striking contribution to our knowledge of the ontogeny of the skull in a series of types; and in germany gegenbaur's monograph on the cephalic skeleton of elasmobranchii has greatly promoted a scientific appreciation of the nature of the skull. in the present chapter only the most important features in the development of the skull will be touched on. it will be convenient to describe, in the first instance, the development of the cartilaginous elements of the skull. [fig. . head of embryo dogfish, second stage; basal view of cranium from above, the contents having been removed. (from parker.) _ol._ olfactory sacs; _au._ auditory capsule; _nc._ notochord; _py._ pituitary body; _pa.ch._ parachordal cartilage; _tr._ trabecula; _inf._ infundibulum; _c.tr._ cornua trabeculæ; _pn._ prenasal element; _sp._ spiracular cleft; _br._ external branchiæ; _cl._ , . visceral clefts.] the cranium. the brain is at first enveloped in a continuous layer of mesoblast known as the membranous cranium, into the base of which the anterior part of the notochord is prolonged for some distance. the primitive cartilaginous cranium is formed by a differentiation within the membranous cranium, and is always composed of the following parts (fig. ): ( ) a pair of cartilaginous plates on each side of the cephalic section of the notochord, known as the parachordals (_pa.ch_). these plates together with the notochord (_nc_) enclosed between them form a floor for the hind- and mid-brain. the continuous plate, formed by them and the notochord, is known as the basilar plate. ( ) a pair of bars forming the floor for the fore-brain, known as the trabeculæ (_tr_). these bars are continued forward from the parachordals. they meet behind and embrace the front end of the notochord; and after separating for some distance bend in again in such a way as to enclose a space--the pituitary space. in front of this space they remain in contact and generally unite. they extend forwards into the nasal region (_pn_). ( ) the cartilaginous capsules of the sense organs. of these the auditory (_au_) and olfactory capsules (_ol_) unite more or less intimately with the cranial walls; while the optic capsules, forming the usually cartilaginous sclerotics, remain distinct. the parachordals and notochord. the first of these sets of elements, viz. the parachordals and notochord, forming together the basilar plate, is always an unsegmented continuation of the axial tissue of the vertebral column. it forms the floor for that section of the brain which belongs to the primitive postoral part of the head (_vide_ p. ), and its extension is roughly that of the basioccipital of the adult skull. its mode of development is almost identical with that of the vertebral column, except that the notochord, even in many forms where it persists in the vertebral column, disappears in the basilar plate; though in a certain number of cases remnants of it are found in the adult state. it will be convenient to say a few words here with reference to the notochord in the head. it always extends along the floor of the mid- and hind-brains, but ends immediately behind the infundibulum. the limits of its anterior extension are clearly shewn in fig. . the front end of the notochord often becomes more or less ventrally flexed in correspondence with the cranial flexure; its anterior end being in some instances (elasmobranchii) almost bent backwards (fig. ). kölliker has shewn that in the rabbit[ ], and i believe that a more or less similar phenomenon may also be observed in birds, the anterior end of the notochord is united to the hypoblast of the throat in immediate contiguity with the opening of the pituitary body; but it is not clear whether this is to be looked upon as the remnant of a primitive attachment of the notochord to the hypoblast, or as a secondary attachment. [ ] "embryologische mittheilungen." _festschrift d. naturfor. gesell._, halle, . [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of a young pristiurus embryo. _cer._ commencement of the cerebral hemisphere; _pn._ pineal gland; _in._ infundibulum; _pt._ ingrowth from mouth to form the pituitary body; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _ch._ notochord; _al._ alimentary tract; _iaa._ artery of mandibular arch.] before the parachordals are formed the anterior end of the notochord has usually undergone a partial atrophy; and its front end often becomes somewhat dorsally flexed. within the basilar plate it often exhibits two or more dilatations, which have been regarded by parker and kölliker as indicative of a segmentation of this plate; but they hardly appear to me to be capable of this interpretation. in elasmobranchs where, as shewn above, a very primitive type of development of the vertebral column is retained, we find that the basilar plate is at first formed of ( ) the notochord invested by its cartilaginous sheath, and ( ) of lateral masses of cartilage, the parachordals, homologous with the arch tissue of the vertebral column. this development probably indicates that the basilar plate contains in itself the same elements as those from which the neural arches and the centra of the vertebral column are formed; but that it never passes beyond the unsegmented stage at first characteristic of the vertebral column. the hinder end of each parachordal forms a condyle articulating with the first vertebra; so that in the cartilaginous skull there are always two occipital condyles. the basilar plate always grows up behind (fig. , _so_), and gives rise to a complete cartilaginous ring enveloping the medulla oblongata, in the same manner that the neural arches envelope the spinal cord. this ring forms an occipital cartilaginous ring; in front of it the basilar plate becomes laterally continuous with the periotic cartilaginous capsules, and the occipital ring above usually spreads forward to form a roof for the part of the brain between these capsules. in the higher vertebrates the periotic cartilages may be developed continuously with the basilar plate (fig. ). the trabeculæ. the trabeculæ, so far as their mere anatomical relations are concerned, play the same part in forming the floor for the front cerebral vesicle as the parachordals for the mid- and hind-brains. they differ however from the parachordals in one important feature, viz. that, except at their hinder end (fig. ), they do not embrace between them the notochord. the notochord constitutes, as we have seen, the primitive axial skeleton of the body, and its absence in the greater part of the region of the trabeculæ would probably seem to indicate, as pointed out by gegenbaur, that these parts, in spite of their similarity to the parachordals, have not the same morphological significance. [fig. . view from above of the investing mass and of the trabeculÆ of a chick on the fourth day of incubation. (after parker.) in order to shew this, the whole of the upper portion of the head has been sliced away. the cartilaginous portions of the skull are marked with the dark horizontal shading. _cv_ . cerebral vesicle (sliced off); _e._ eye; _nc._ notochord; _iv._ investing mass; . foramen for the exit of the ninth nerve; _cl._ cochlea; _hsc._ horizontal semicircular canal; _q._ quadrate; . notch for the passage of the fifth nerve; _lg._ expanded anterior end of the investing mass; _pts._ pituitary space; _tr._ trabeculæ. the reference line _tr._ has been accidentally made to end a little short of the cartilage.] the nature of the trabeculæ has been much disputed by morphologists. the view that they cannot be regarded as the anterior section of the vertebral axis is supported by the consideration that the forward limit of the primitive skeletal axis, as marked by the notochord, coincides exactly with the distinction we have found it necessary to recognise, on entirely independent grounds, between the fore-brain, and the remainder of the nervous axis. but while this distinction between the parachordals and the trabeculæ must i think be admitted, i see no reason against supposing that the trabeculæ may be plates developed to support the floor of the fore-brain, for the same physiological reasons that the parachordals have become formed at the sides of the notochord to support the floor of the hind-brain. by some anatomists the trabeculæ have been held to be a pair of branchial bars; but this view has now been generally given up. they have also been regarded as equivalent to a complete pair of neural arches enveloping the front end of the brain. the primitive extension of the base of the fore-brain through the pituitary space is an argument, not without force, which has been appealed to in support of this view. in the majority of the lower forms the trabeculæ arise quite independently of the parachordals, though the two sets of elements soon unite; while in birds (fig. ) and mammals the parachordals and trabeculæ are formed as a continuous whole. the junction between the trabeculæ and parachordals becomes marked by a cartilaginous ridge known as the posterior clinoid. [fig. . side view of the cartilaginous cranium of a fowl on the seventh day of incubation. (after parker.) _pn._ prenasal cartilage; _aln._ alinasal cartilage; _ale._ aliethmoid; immediately below this is the aliseptal cartilage. _eth._ ethmoid; _pp._ pars plana; _ps._ presphenoid or interorbital; _pa._ palatine; _pg._ pterygoid; _z._ optic nerve; _as._ alisphenoid; _q._ quadrate; _st._ stapes; _fr._ fenestra rotunda; _hso._ horizontal semicircular canal; _psc._ posterior vertical semicircular canal: both the anterior and the posterior semicircular canals are seen shining through the cartilage. _so._ supraoccipital; _eo._ exoccipital; _oc._ occipital condyle; _nc._ notochord; _mk._ meckel's cartilage; _ch._ ceratohyal; _bh._ basihyal; _cbr._ and _ebr._ ceratobranchial; _bbr._ basibranchial.] the trabeculæ are usually somewhat lyre-shaped, meeting in front and behind, and leaving a large pituitary space between their middle parts (figs. and ). into this space there primitively projects the whole base of the fore-brain, but the space itself gradually becomes narrowed, till it usually contains only the pituitary body. the carotid arteries always pass through it in the embryo; but in the higher forms it ceases to be perforated in the adult. the trabeculæ soon unite together both in front and behind and form a complete plate underneath the fore-brain, and extending into the nasal region[ ]. a special vertical growth of this plate in the region of the orbit forms the interorbital plate of teleostei, lacertilia and aves (fig. , _ps_), on the upper surface of which the front part of the brain rests. the trabecular floor of the brain does not long remain simple. its sides grow vertically upwards, forming a lateral wall for the brain, in which in the higher types two regions may be distinguished, viz. an alisphenoidal region (fig. , _as_) behind, growing out from what is known as the basisphenoidal region of the primitive trabeculæ, and an orbitosphenoidal region in front growing out from the presphenoidal region of the trabeculæ. these plates form at first a continuous lateral wall of the cranium. at the front end of the brain they are continued inwards, and more or less completely separate the true cranial cavity from the nasal region in front. the region of the cartilage forming the anterior boundary of the cranial cavity is known as the lateral ethmoid region, and it is always perforated for the passage of the olfactory nerves. [ ] in man (kölliker) the trabeculæ form from the first a continuous plate in front of the pituitary space, and the latter very early acquires a cartilaginous floor. the cartilaginous walls which grow up from the trabecular floor of the cranium generally extend upwards so as to form a roof, though almost always an imperfect roof, for the cranial cavity. in the higher types, in mammals more especially, this roof can hardly be said to be formed at all. the region of the trabeculæ in front of the brain is the ethmoid region. the basal part of this region forms an internasal plate, from which an internasal septum may grow up (fig. ). to its sides the olfactory capsules are attached, and there are usually lateral outgrowths in front forming the trabecular cornua, while from the posterior part of the ethmoidal plate, forming the anterior boundary of the cranial cavity, there often grows out a prefrontal or lateral ethmoidal process. these and other processes growing out from the trabeculæ have occasionally been regarded as rudimentary præoral branchial arches. i have already stated it as my view that the existence of branchial arches in this region is highly improbable, and i may add that the development of these structures as outgrowths of the skull is in itself to my mind a nearly conclusive argument against their being branchial arches, in that true branchial arches hardly ever or perhaps never arise in this way. the sense capsules. the most important of these is the auditory capsule, which, as we have seen, fuses intimately with the lateral walls of the skull. in front there is usually a cleft separating it from the alisphenoid region of the skull, through which the third division of the fifth nerve passes out. this cleft becomes narrowed to a small foramen (fig. , _v_). the sclerotic cartilage is always free, but profoundly modifies the region of the cranium near which it is placed. the nasal investment forms in elasmobranchs (fig. , _na_) a capsule open below, and continuous with the ethmoid region of the trabeculæ. in most types however it becomes more closely united with the ethmoid region and the accessory parts belonging to it. [fig. . skull of adult dogfish, side view. (from parker.) _o.c._ occipital condyle; _au._ periotic capsule; _pt.o._ pterotic ridge; _sp.o._ sphenotic process; _s.or._ supraorbital ridge; _na._ nasal capsule; _p.n._ prenasal cartilage; _ii._ optic foramen; _v._ trigeminal foramen; _pl.pt., qu._ pterygo-quadrate arcade; _m.pt._ metapterygoid ligament (including a small cartilage); _pl.tr._ ethmo-palatine or palato-trabecular ligament; _mck._ lower jaw; _sp._ spiracle; _h.m._ hyomandibular; _c.hy._ ceratohyal; _m.h.l._ mandibulohyoid ligament; _ph.br._ pharyngobranchial; _e.br._ epibranchial; _c.br._ ceratobranchial; _h.br._ hypobranchial; _b.br._ basibranchial; _ex.br._ extra-branchial; _l_^ , [^ ], [^ ], [^ ], [^ ]. labial cartilages; the dotted lines within _mck._ indicate the basihyal.] the cartilaginous cranium, the development of which has been thus briefly traced, persists in the adult without even the addition of membrane bones in the cyclostomata, elasmobranchii (fig. ) and holocephali. in the selachioid ganoids it is also found in the adult, but is covered over by membrane bones. in all other types it is invariably present in the embryo, but becomes in the adult more or less replaced by osseous tissue. _branchial skeleton._ the most primitive type of branchial skeleton in any existing form would appear to be that of the petromyzonidæ, which is developed in a superficial subdermal tissue, and consists of a series of bars united by transverse pieces, so as to form a basketwork. it is known as an extra-branchial system, and an early stage of its development in the lamprey is shewn in fig. . in the higher forms this system is replaced by a series of bars, known as the branchial bars, so situated as to afford support to the successive branchial pouches. outside these bars there may be present in some primitive forms (elasmobranchii) cartilaginous elements, which are supposed to be remnants of the extra-branchial system (fig. , _ex.br_); while a series of membrane bones is also usually added to them, which will be dealt with in a separate section. the branchial bars are developed as simple cartilaginous rods in the deeper parts of the mesoblast which constitutes the primitive branchial arches. the position of the branchial bars in relation to the somatopleure and splanchnopleure can be determined from their relation to the so-called head cavities. these cavities atrophy before the formation of the cartilaginous branchial bars, but it will be observed (fig. ), that the artery of each arch (_aa_) is placed on the inner side of the head cavity (_pp_). the cartilaginous bar arises at a later period on the inner side of the artery, and therefore on the inner side of the section of the body cavity primitively present in the arches. an anterior arch, known as the mandibular arch, placed in front of the hyomandibular cleft, and a second arch, known as the hyoid arch, placed in front of the hyobranchial cleft, are developed in all types. the succeeding arches are known as the true branchial arches, and are only fully developed in the ichthyopsida. in some sharks (notidani) seven branchial arches may be present (not including the hyoid and mandibular). in other ichthyopsida five are usually present, in the embryo at any rate, while in the amniota there are usually two or three post-hyoid membranous arches, in the interior of which a cartilaginous bar is usually formed. the general form of these bars at an early stage of development is shewn in the dogfish (scyllium) in fig. . the simple condition of these bars in the embryo renders it highly probable that forms existed at one time with a simple branchial skeleton of this kind: at the present day however such forms no longer exist. the first arch has in all cases changed its function and has become converted into a supporting skeleton for the mouth; the hyoid arch, though retaining in some forms its branchial function, has in most acquired additional functions and has undergone in consequence various peculiar modifications. the true branchial arches retain their branchial functions in pisces and some amphibia, but are secondarily modified and largely aborted in the abranchiate forms. since the changes undergone by the true branchial bars are far less complicated than those of the hyoid and mandibular bars it will be convenient to treat of them in the first instance. [fig. . horizontal section through the penultimate visceral arch of an embryo of pristiurus. _ep._ epiblast; _vc._ pouch of hypoblast which will form the walls of a visceral cleft; _pp._ segment of body-cavity in visceral arch; _aa._ aortic arch.] [fig. . head of embryo dogfish, lines long. (from parker.) _tr._ trabecula; _pl.pt._ pterygo-quadrate; _m.pt._ metapterygoid region; _mn._ mandibular cartilage; _hy._ hyoid arch; _br._ . first branchial arch; _sp._ mandibulohyoid cleft; _cl_^ . hyobranchial cleft; _lch._ groove below the eye; _na._ olfactory rudiment; _e._ eyeball; _au._ auditory mass; _c_ , , . cerebral vesicles; _hm._ hemispheres; _f.n.p._ nasofrontal process.] these bars are, as already mentioned, most numerous in certain very primitive forms (seven in notidanus), while as we ascend the series there is a gradual tendency for the posterior of them to disappear. this tendency is the result of a gradual atrophy of the posterior branchial pouches, which commenced at a stage in the evolution of the chordata long prior to the appearance of cartilaginous or osseous branchial bars, and reaches its climax in the amniota. in a fully developed branchial bar the primitively simple rod of cartilage becomes divided into a series of segments, usually four, articulated so as to be more or less mobile: and either remaining cartilaginous or becoming partially or wholly ossified. each bar (fig. ) forms a somewhat curved structure, embracing the pharynx. the dorsal and somewhat horizontally placed segment is known as the pharyngobranchial (_ph.br_), the next two as the epibranchial (_e.br_) and ceratobranchial (_c.br_), and the ventral segment as the hypobranchial (_h.br_). there is also typically present a basal unpaired segment, uniting the bars of the two sides, known as the basibranchial (_b.br_). the arches often bear cartilaginous rays which support the gill lamellæ. in teleostei dental plates are usually developed as an exoskeletal covering on parts of the branchial arches. in the amphibia four or three branchial arches are present in the embryo. these parts are more or less completely retained in the perennibranchiata and caducibranchiata, but in the myctodera and anura they become largely reduced, and entirely connected with the hyoid. in the anura they never reach any considerable development, and are soon reduced to a plate (fig. )--the coalesced basihyal and basibranchial plate--the posterior processes of which represent the remnants of the branchial arches. according to parker the posterior process of this plate in the adult is a remnant of the fourth branchial bar; the next one is the third branchial bar, while the anterior lamina behind the hyoid is stated by him (though this is somewhat doubtful) to be a remnant of the first two bars. [fig. . young frog, with tail just absorbed; side view of skull. (from parker.) _au._ auditory capsule; in front of it is the cranial side wall; _a.n._ external nostril; _st._ stapes; _mck._ meckelian cartilage; _b.hy._ basihyobranchial plate; _st.hy._ stylohyal or ceratohyal; _br._ . first branchial arch. bones: _e.o._ exoccipital; _pr.o._ prootic; _pa._ parietal; _fr._ frontal; _na._ nasal; _pmx._ premaxillary; _mx._ maxillary; _pt._ pterygoid; _sq._ squamosal; _qu.ju._ quadratojugal; _art._ articular; _d._ dentary.] in the amniota, the branchial arches become still more degenerated, in correlation with the total disappearance of a branchial respiration at all periods of life. their remnants become more or less important parts of the hyoid bone, and are solely employed in support of the tongue. their basal portions are best preserved, forming parts of the body of the hyoid. the posterior (thyroid) cornua of the hyoid are remnants of the true arches. of these there are two in the chelonia and lacertilia, and one in the aves and mammalia. in aves the cornu formed from the first branchial arch (fig. , _cbr_) is always larger than that of the true hyoid arch (_ch_). mandibular and hyoid arches. the adaptations of both the mandibular and hyoid bars, to functions entirely distinct from those which they primitively served, are most remarkable; and the adaptations of the two bars are in many cases so intimately bound together, that it is not possible to treat them separately. [fig. . view from below of the branchial skeleton of the skull of a fowl on the fourth day of incubation. (after parker.) _cv_ . cerebral vesicles; _e._ eye; _fn._ frontonasal process; _n._ nasal pit; _tr._ trabeculæ; _pts._ pituitary space; _mr._ superior maxillary process; _pg._ pterygoid; _pa._ palatine; _q._ quadrate; _mk._ meckel's cartilage; _ch._ ceratohyal; _bh._ basihyal; _cbr._ ceratobranchial; _ebr._ proximal portion of the cartilage in the third visceral (first branchial) arch; _bbr._ basibranchial; . first visceral cleft; . second visceral cleft; . third visceral arch.] the most important change of function is undoubtedly that of the mandibular arch, which becomes entirely converted into a skeleton for the jaws. it may be noted as a peculiarity of the mandibular arch that it is never provided with an unpaired basal element. the simplest forms of metamorphosis are those undergone by elasmobranchii, of which the dogfish (scyllium) and skate (raja) have been studied (parker, no. ). in some of these forms, _e.g._ the skate, part of the mandibular bar is still related to the hyomandibular cleft (the spiracle). elasmobranchii. in scyllium the hyoid and mandibular arches are at first very similar to those which follow. soon however each of them sends an anteriorly directed dorsal process (fig. ). the regions which may be distinguished owing to the growth of these processes have received names from ossifications in them which are found in other types. the anterior process of the mandibular arch is known as the pterygo-quadrate bar (_pl.pt_); the dorsal end of the primitive bar from which it starts (_m.pt_) is known as the metapterygoid process; while the ventral end of the bar forms the meckelian cartilage. the upper end of the hyoid arch is known as the hyomandibular. in a somewhat later stage changes take place which cause these parts practically to assume the adult form (fig. ). the mandibular arch becomes segmented at its bend into ( ) a pterygo-quadrate bar (_pl.pt_) which grows forwards in front of the mouth and forms an upper jaw, and ( ) a meckelian cartilage (_mck_) which is placed behind the mouth, and forms a lower jaw. the two jaws are articulated together, and the cartilages of the two sides composing them meet each other distally. at the articulation of the meckelian cartilage with the quadrate part of the pterygo-quadrate is situated a ligament (_m.pt_), which takes the place of the metapterygoid process of the previous stage, and passes up on the anterior side of the spiracle, to be attached to the cranium in the front part of the auditory region. this ligament, which is supplemented by a second ligament, the ethmo-palatine ligament, passing from the pterygo-quadrate bar to the antorbital region of the skull, is not the most important support of the jaw. the main support is, on the contrary, given by the hyoid arch; the hyomandibular segment of which (_h.m_) as well as the adjoining segment (ceratohyoid _c.hy_) are firmly attached by ligament to the mandibular arch. the hyomandibular is articulated with the cranium beneath the pterotic ridge (_pt.o_). in the type just described, the hyoid and mandibular arches undergo less modification than in almost any other case. the hyoid arch has altered its form, but retains its respiratory function. it has however acquired the secondary function of supporting the mandibular arch. the mandibular arch is divided into two elements, which form respectively the upper and lower jaws. it is not directly articulated with the skull, and its mode of support by the hyoid arch has been called by huxley (no. ) hyostylic. [fig. . head of embryo skate, - / in. long. (from parker.) _tr._ trabecula; _pl.pt._ pterygo-quadrate bar; _mn._ mandibular bar; _m.pt._ metapterygoid cartilage; _h.m._ hyomandibular; _hy._ remainder of hyoid arch; _br._ . first branchial arch; _sp._ mandibulohyoid cleft or spiracle; _pn._ pineal gland; _au._ auditory vesicle; _c._ , _c._ , and _c._ . vesicles of the brain.] the development of the hyoid and mandibular arches in the skate is characterised by a few important features (fig. ). the anterior element of the hyoid arch, which forms the hyomandibular (_h.m_), becomes entirely separate from the posterior part of the arch, and only serves to support the jaws. the posterior part of the arch (_hy_) carries on the respiratory functions of the hyoid, and is closely connected with the first branchial arch. the upper or metapterygoid element of the mandibular arch (_m.pt_) has a considerable development, and, becoming separated from the remainder of the arch, forms a mass of cartilage with one or two branchial rays, in the front wall of the spiracle, and constitutes a section of the mandibular arch still retaining traces of its primitive function in supporting the wall of a branchial pouch. although the development of other elasmobranch types is not known, it is necessary to call attention to the mode of support of the mandibular arch in certain forms, notably notidanus, hexanchus and cestracion, where the pterygo-quadrate region of the mandibular arch is directly articulated to the cranium between the optic and trigeminal foramina. in the two former genera the metapterygoid region of the arch is moreover continuous with the pterygo-quadrate, and articulates with the postorbital process of the auditory region of the skull. in spite of these attachments the mandibular arch continues to be partially supported by the hyomandibular. the skulls in which the mandibular arch has this double form of support have been called by huxley amphistylic. [fig. . cranial skeleton of a salmon fry, second week after hatching; membrane bones, eyeballs, and nasal sacs removed. (from parker.) _t.cr._ tegmen cranii; _s.or._ supraorbital band; _fo._ superior fontanelle; _au._ auditory capsule; _pa.ch._ parachordal cartilage; _ch._ notochord; _tr._ trabecula; above the trabecula, the interorbital septum is seen, passing into the cranial wall above and reaching the supraorbital band; _h._ optic foramen; _v._ trigeminal foramen; _l_^ , _l_^ . labial cartilages; _pl.pt._ palatopterygoid bar; _m. pt._ metapterygoid tract; _qu._ quadrate region; _mck._ meckelian cartilage; _h.m._ hyomandibular cartilage; _sy._ symplectic tract; _i.hy._ interhyal; _c.hy._ ceratohyal; _h.hy._ hypohyal; _g.hy._ glossohyal; _br._ . first branchial arch.] considering the in many respects primitive characters of the forms with amphistylic skulls it seems not improbable that they preserve the original mode of support of the mandibular arch; from which differentiations in two directions have taken place, viz. differentiations in the direction of a complete support of the mandibular arch by the hyoid, which is characteristic of most elasmobranchii and, as will be shewn below, of ganoidei and teleostei; and differentiations towards a direct articulation or attachment of the mandibular arch to the cranium, without the intervention of the hyoid. the latter mode of attachment is called by huxley autostylic. it is found in holocephala, dipnoi, amphibia and the amniota. teleostei. in addition to that of elasmobranchii, the skull of the salmon is the only hyostylic skull in which, by the admirable investigation of parker (no. ), the ontogeny of the hyoid and mandibular bars has been satisfactorily worked out. apart from the presence of a series of membrane bones, the development of these bars agrees on the whole with the types already described. [fig. . young salmon of the first summer, about inches long; side view of skull, excluding branchial arches. (from parker.) the palato-mandibular and hyoid tracts are detached from their proper situations, a line indicating the position where the hyomandibular is articulated beneath the pterotic ridge. _ol._ olfactory fossa; _c.tr._ trabecular cornu; _ul_^a. _ul_^b. upper labial cartilages; _p.s._ presphenoid tract; _t.cr._ tegmen cranii; _s.o.b._ supraorbital band; _fo._ superior fontanelle; _n.c._ notochord; _b.o._ basilar cartilage; _tr._ trabecula; _p.c._ condyle for palatine cartilage; . trigeminal foramen; _a._ facial foramen; . foramen for glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves; _mk._ meckelian cartilage; _op.c._ opercular condyle. bones: _e.o._ exoccipital; _s.o._ supraoccipital; _e.p._ epiotic; _pt.o._ pterotic; _sp.o._ sphenotic; _op._ opisthotic; _pro._ prootic; _b.s._ basisphenoid; _al.s._ alisphenoid; _o.s._ orbitosphenoid; _l.e._ ectethmoid or lateral ethmoid; _pa._ palatine; _pg._ pterygoid; _m.pg._ mesopterygoid; _mt.pg._ metapterygoid; _qu._ quadrate; _ar._ articular; _h.m._ hyomandibular; _sy._ symplectic; _i.h._ interhyal; _ep.h._ epiceratohyal; _c.h._ ceratohyal; _h.h._ hypohyal; _g.h._ glosso- or basihyal.] the hyoid arch, though largely ossified, undergoes a process of development very similar to that in raja. it is formed as a simple cartilaginous bar, which soon becomes segmented longitudinally into an anterior and a posterior part (fig. ). the former constitutes the hyomandibular (_h.m_), while the latter, becoming more and more separated from the hyomandibular, constitutes the hyoid arch proper; owing to the disappearance of the hyobranchial cleft, it loses its primitive function, and serves on the one hand to support the operculum covering the gills, and on the other to support the tongue. it becomes segmented into a series of parts which are ossified (fig. ) as the epiceratohyal (_ep.h_) above, then a large ceratohyal (_ch_), followed by a hypohyal (_hh_), while the median ventral element forms the basi- or glossohyal (_g.h_). the hyomandibular itself is articulated with the skull below the pterotic process (fig. , _h.m_). its upper element ossifies as the hyomandibular (fig. , _h.m._), while its lower part (fig. , _sy_), which is firmly connected with the mandibular arch, ossifies as the symplectic (fig. , _sy_). a connecting element between the two parts of the hyoid bar forms an interhyal (_ih_). there are more important differences in the development of the mandibular arch in elasmobranchii and the salmon than in that of the hyoid arch, in that, instead of the whole arcade of the upper jaw being formed from the mandibular arch, a fresh element, in the form of an independently developed bar of cartilage, completes the upper arcade in front; but even with this bar the two halves of the upper branch of the arch do not meet anteriorly, but are separated by the ends of the trabeculæ. the anterior bar of the upper arcade is known as the palatine; but it appears to me as yet uncertain how far it is to be regarded as an element, primitively belonging to the upper arcade of the mandibular arch, which has become secondarily independent in its development; or as an entirely distinct structure which has no counterpart in the elasmobranch upper jaw. the latter view is adopted by parker and bridge, and a cartilage attached to the hinder wall of the nasal capsule of many elasmobranchii is identified by them with the palatine rod of the teleostei. the arch itself is at first very similar to the succeeding arches; its dorsal extremity soon however becomes broadened, and provided with an anteriorly directed process. this part (fig. , _m.pt_ and _qu_) is then segmented from the lower region, and forms what may be called the pterygo-quadrate cartilage, though not completely homologous with the similarly named cartilage in elasmobranchs; while the lower region forms the meckelian cartilage (_mck_), which has already grown inwards, so as to meet its fellow ventrally below the mouth. the whole arch becomes at the same time widely separated from the axial parts of the skull. nearly simultaneously with the first differentiation of the mandibular arch, a bar of cartilage--the palatine bar already spoken of--is formed on each side, below the eye, in front of the mouth. the dilated anterior extremity of this bar soon comes in contact with an anterior process of the trabeculæ, known as the ethmo-palatine process. in a later stage the pterygoid end of the pterygo-quadrate cartilage unites with the distal end of the palatine bar (fig. , _pl.pt_), and there is then formed a continuous cartilaginous arcade for the upper jaw, which is strikingly similar to the cartilaginous upper jaw of elasmobranchii. a large dorsal process of the primitive pterygo-quadrate now forms a large metapterygoid tract (_m.pt_); while the whole arch becomes firmly bound to the hyomandibular (_h.m_). in the later stages the parts formed in cartilage become ossified (fig. ). the palatine is first ossified, the pterygoid region of the pterygo-quadrate is next ossified as a dorsal mesopterygoid (_m.pg_) and a ventral pterygoid proper (_pg_). the quadrate region, articulating with the meckelian cartilage, becomes ossified as a distinct quadrate (_qu_), while the dorsal region becomes also ossified as a metapterygoid (_mt.pg_). in the meckelian cartilage a superficial ossification of the ventral edge and inner surface forms an articulare (_ar_); but the greater part of the cartilage persists through life. some of the above ossifications, at any rate those of the palatine and pterygoid, seem to be started by dental osseous plates adjoining the cartilage. they will be spoken of further in the section dealing with the membrane bones. amphibia. the development of the autostylic piscine skulls has unfortunately not yet been studied; and the most primitive autostylic types whose development we are acquainted with are those of the amphibia; on which a large amount of light has been shed by the researches of huxley and parker. the modifications of the hyoid arch are comparatively simple and uniform. it forms a rod of cartilage, which soon articulates in front with the quadrate element of the mandibular arch, and is subsequently attached by ligaments both to the quadrate and to the cranium. in those amphibia in which external gills and gill clefts are lost, it fuses with the basal element of the hyoid (fig. ), which, together with the basal portions of the following arches, forms a continuous cartilaginous plate. on the completion of these changes the paired parts of the hyoid arch have the form of two elongated rods, known as the anterior cornua of the hyoid, which attach the basihyal plate to the cranium behind the auditory capsule. it is still uncertain whether there is any distinct element corresponding to the hyomandibular of fishes. parker holds that the columella auris of the anura is the homologue of the hyomandibular. the columella develops comparatively late and independently of the remainder of the hyoid arch, but the similarity between its relations to the nerves and those of the hyomandibular is put forward by parker as an argument in favour of his view. the early ligamentous connection between the quadrate and the upper end of the primitive hyoid is however an argument in favour of regarding the upper end of the primitive hyoid as the hyomandibular element, not separated from the remainder of the arch. the history of the mandibular arch is more complicated than that of the hyoid. the part of it which corresponds with the upper jaw of elasmobranchii exhibits most striking variations in development; so striking indeed as to suggest that the secondary modifications it has undergone are sufficiently considerable to render great caution necessary in drawing morphological conclusions from the processes which are in some instances observable. a more satisfactory judgment on this point will be possible after the publication of a memoir with which parker is now engaged on the skulls of the different anura. the membrane bones applying themselves to the sides of the mandibular arch are relatively far more important than in the lower types. this is especially the case with the upper jaw where the maxillary and premaxillary bones functionally replace the primitive cartilaginous jaw; while membranous pterygoids and palatines apply themselves to, and largely take the place of, the cartilaginous palatine and pterygoid bars. two types worked out by parker, viz. the axolotl and the common frog, may be selected to illustrate the development of the mandibular arch. [fig. . young axolotl, - / inches long; under view of skull, dissected, the lower jaw and gill arches having been removed. (from parker.) _nc._ notochord; _oc.c._ occipital condyle; _f.o._ fenestra ovalis; _st._ stapes; _tr._ trabecular cartilage; _i.n._ internal nares; _c.tr._ cornu trabeculæ; _pd._ pedicle of quadrate; _q._ quadrate; _pg._ outline of pterygoid cartilage; ´. orbito-nasal nerve; . facial nerve. bones: _pa.s._ parasphenoid; _e.o._ exoccipital; _v._ vomer; _px._ premaxillary; _mx._ maxillary; _pa._ palatine; _pg._ pterygoid.] in the axolotl, which may be taken as the type for the urodela, the mandibular arch is constituted at a very early stage of ( ) an enlarged dorsal element, corresponding with the pterygo-quadrate of the lower types, but usually known as the quadrate; and ( ) a ventral or meckelian element. the meckelian bar very early acquires its investing bones, while the dorsal part of the quadrate becomes divided into two characteristic processes, viz. an anterior dorsal process which grows towards _and soon permanently fuses with_ the trabecular crest, and a posterior process known as the otic process, which applies itself to the outer side of the auditory region. the anterior of these processes, as pointed out by huxley, is probably homologous with the anterior process of the pterygo-quadrate bar in notidanus, which articulates with the trabecular region of the cranium, while the otic process is homologous with the metapterygoid process. hardly any trace is present of an anterior process to form a pterygoid bar, but dentigerous plates forming a dermal palatopterygoid bar have already appeared. at a somewhat later stage a fresh process, called by huxley the pedicle, grows out from the quadrate, and articulates with the ventral side of the auditory region (fig. , _pd_). shortly afterwards a rod of cartilage grows forward from the quadrate under the membranous pterygoid (_pg_), which corresponds with the cartilaginous pterygoid bar of other types (fig. ), and an independent palatine bar, arising even before the pterygoid process, is formed immediately dorsal to the dentigerous palatine plate (_pa_), and is attached to the trabecula. these two bars eventually meet, but never become firmly united to the more important membrane bones placed superficially to them. the mandibular arch in the frog stands, so far as development is concerned, in striking contrast to the mandibular arch of the axolotl, in spite of the obvious similarity in the arrangement of the adult parts in the two types. [fig. . embryo frog, just before hatching; side view of head, with skin removed. (from parker.) _na._ olfactory sack; _e._ involution for eyeball; _au._ auditory sack; _tr._ trabecula; _mn._ mandibular; _hy._ hyoid; _br.i._ first branchial arch; the gill-buds are seen on the first two branchial arches; _l._ labial cartilages.] in the earliest stage it forms a simple bar in the membranous mandibular arch, parallel to and very similar to the hyoid bar behind (fig. , _mn_). in the next stage observed, that is to say in tadpoles of four, five, to six lines long, an astonishing transformation has taken place. the mandibular arch (fig. ) is turned directly forwards parallel to the trabecula, to which it is attached in front (_p.pg_) and behind (_pd_). the proximal part of the arch thus forms a subocular bar, and the space between it and the trabecula a subocular fenestra. in front of the anterior attachment it is continued forwards for a short distance, and to the free end of this projecting part is articulated a small meckelian cartilage directed upwards (_mk_). the meckelian cartilage is at this stage placed in front of the nasal sacks, in the lower lip of the suctorial mouth. the greater part of the arch, parallel with the trabeculæ, is equivalent to what has been called in the axolotl the quadrate, while its anterior attachment to the trabeculæ is the rudiment of the palatopterygoid cartilage. the posterior attachment is known as the pedicle. [fig. . tadpole of common toad, one-third of an inch long; cranial and mandibular cartilages seen from above; the parachordal cartilages are not yet definite. (from parker.) _nc._ notochord; _ms._ muscular segments; _au._ auditory capsule; _py._ region of pituitary body; _tr._ trabecula; _c.tr._ cornu trabeculæ; _p.pg._ palatopterygoid bar; _pd._ pedicle; _q._ quadrate condyle; _mk._ meckelian piece of mandibular arch; _so.f._ subocular fenestra; _u.l._ upper labial cartilage. the dotted circle within the quadrate region indicates the position of the internal nostril.] the condition of the mandibular arch during this and the next stage (fig. ) is very perplexing. its structure appears adapted in some way to support the suctorial mouth of the tadpole. reasons have been offered in a previous part of this volume for supposing that the suctorial mouth of the tadpole is probably not simply a structure secondarily acquired by this larva, but is an organ inherited from an ancestor provided through life with a suctorial mouth. the question thus arises, is the peculiar modification of the mandibular arch of the tadpole an _inherited_ or an _acquired_ feature? if the first alternative is accepted we should have to admit that the mandibular arch became first of all modified in connection with the suctorial mouth, before it was converted into the jaws of the gnathostomata; and that the peculiar history of this arch in the tadpole is a more or less true record of its phylogenetic development. in favour of this view is the striking similarity which huxley has pointed out between the oral skeleton of the lamprey and that of the tadpole; and certain peculiarities of the mandibular arch of chimæra and the dipnoi can perhaps best be explained on the supposition that the oral skeleton of these forms has arisen in a manner somewhat similar to that in the frog; though with reference to this point further developmental data are much required. on the other hand the above suppositions would necessitate our admitting that a great abbreviation has occurred in the development of the mandibular arch of the otherwise more primitive urodela; and that the simple mode of growth of the jaws in elasmobranchii, from the primitive mandibular arch, is phylogenetically a much abbreviated and modified process, instead of being, as usually supposed, a true record of ancestral history. if the view is accepted that the characters of the mandibular arch of the tadpole are secondary, it will be necessary to admit that the adaptation of the mandibular arch to the suctorial mouth took place after the suctorial mouth had come to be merely a larval organ. in view of our imperfect knowledge of the development of most piscine skulls i would refrain from expressing a decided opinion in favour of either of these alternatives. [fig. . tadpole with tail beginning to shrink; side view of skull without the branchial arches. (from parker.) _n.c._ notochord; _au._ auditory capsule; between it and _eth._ the low cranial side wall is seen; _eth._ ethmoidal region; _st._ stapes; . trigeminal foramen; . optic foramen; _ol._ olfactory capsules, both seen owing to slight tilting of the skull; _c.tr._ cornu trabeculæ; _u.l._ upper labial, in outline; _su._ suspensorium (quadrate); _pd._ its pedicle; _ot.pr._ its otic process; _or.p._ its orbitar process; _t.m._ temporal muscle, indicated by dotted lines passing beneath the orbitar process; _pa.pg._ palatopterygoid bar; _mk._ meckelian cartilage; _l.l._ lower labial, in outline; _c.h._ ceratohyal; _b.h._ basihyal. the upper outline of the head is shewn by dotted lines.] as the tail of the tadpole gradually disappears, and the metamorphosis into the frog becomes accomplished, the mandibular arch undergoes important changes (fig. ): the palatopterygoid attachment (_pa.pg_) of the quadrate subocular bar becomes gradually elongated; and, as it is so, the front end of the subocular bar (_su_) rotates outwards and backwards, and soon forms a very considerable angle with the trabeculæ. the meckelian cartilage (_mk_) at its free end becomes at the same time considerably elongated. these processes of growth continue till (fig. ) the palatopterygoid bar (_pt_) forms a subocular bar, and is considerably longer than the original subocular region of the quadrate; while the meckelian cartilage (_mck_) has assumed its permanent position on the hinder border of the no longer suctorial mouth, and has grown forwards so as nearly to meet its fellow in the median line. [fig. . young frog, near end of first summer; upper view of skull, with left mandible removed, and the right extended outwards. (from parker.) _b.o._ basioccipital tract; _s.o._ supraoccipital tract; _fo._ frontal fontanelle; _e.n._ external nostril; internal to it, internasal plate; _a.t._ tympanic annulus. bones: _e.o._ exoccipital; _pr.o._ prootic, partly overlapped by _p._ parietal; _f._ frontal; _eth._ rudiment of sphenethmoid; _na._ nasal; _pmx._ premaxillary; _mx._ maxillary; _pg._ pterygoid, partly ensheathing the reduced cartilage; _q.j._ quadratojugal; _sq._ squamosal; _ar._ articular; _d._ dentary; _m.mk._ mento-meckelian.] the metapterygoid region of the quadrate gives rise to a posterior and dorsal process (fig. , _ot.pr_), the end of which is constricted off as the tympanic annulus (fig. , _a.t_); while the proximal part of the process remains as the otic (metapterygoid) process, articulating with the auditory cartilage. the pedicle (_pd_) retains its original attachment to the skull. the palatopterygoid soon becomes segmented into a transversely placed palatine, and a longitudinally placed pterygoid (fig. ). with the exception of a few ossifications, which present no features of special interest, the parts of the mandibular arch have now reached their final condition, which is not very different from that in the axolotl. sauropsida. in the sauropsida the modifications of the hyoid and mandibular arches are fairly uniform. the lower part of the hyoid arch, including the basihyoid, unites with the remnants of the arches behind to form the hyoid bone, to which it contributes the anterior cornu and anterior part of the body. the columella is believed by huxley and parker to represent, as in the anura, the independently developed dorsal (hyomandibular) element of the hyoid, together with the stapes with which it has become united[ ]. [ ] the strongest evidence in favour of huxley's and parker's view of the nature of the columella is the fusion in the adult sphenodon of the upper end of the hyoid with the columella (_vide_ huxley, no. ). from an examination of a specimen in the cambridge museum i do not feel satisfied that the fusion is not secondary, but have not been able to examine the junction of the hyoid and columella in section. for a different view to that of huxley _vide_ peters, "ueb. d. gehörknochelchen u. ihr verhältniss zu. zungenbeinbogen b. sphenodon." _berlin monatsberichte_, . the membranous mandibular arch gives off in the embryos of all the sauropsida an obvious bud to form the superior maxillary process, and the formation of this bud appears to represent the growth forwards of the pterygoid process in elasmobranchii, which is indeed accompanied by the formation of a similar bud; but the skeletal rod, which appears in the axis of this bud, is as a rule independent of that in the true arch (fig. , _pa_, _pg_). the former is the pterygo-palatine bar; the latter the meckelian and quadrate cartilages. the pterygo-palatine bar is usually if not always ossified directly, without the intervention of cartilage. born has recently shewn that parker was mistaken in supposing that the palatopterygoid bone is cartilaginous in birds. in the turtle a short cartilaginous pterygoid process of the quadrate would seem to be present (parker, no. ). the quadrate and meckelian cartilages are either from the first separate, or very early become so. the quadrate cartilage ossifies as the quadrate bone, and supplies the permanent articulation for the lower jaw. its upper end exhibits a tendency to divide into two processes, corresponding with the pedicle and otic processes of the amphibia. the meckelian cartilage becomes soon covered by investing bones, and its proximal end ossifies as the articulare. the remainder of the cartilage usually disappears. mammalia. the most extraordinary metamorphosis of the hyoid and mandibular arches occurs in the mammalia, and has been in part known since the publication of the memoir of reichert (no. ). [fig. . embryo pig, two-thirds of an inch long; elements of the skull seen somewhat diagrammatically from below. (from parker.) _pa. ch._ parachordal cartilage; _nc._ notochord; _au._ auditory capsule; _py._ pituitary body; _tr._ trabeculæ; _c.tr._ trabecular cornu; _pn._ prenasal cartilage; _e.n._ external nasal opening; _ol._ nasal capsule; _p.pg._ palatopterygoid tract enclosed in the maxillopalatine process; _mn._ mandibular arch; _hy._ hyoid arch; _th.h._ first branchial arch; _a._ facial nerve; _a._ glossopharyngeal; _b._ vagus; . hypoglossal.] both the hyoid and mandibular arches develop at first more completely than in any of the other types above fishes; and are articulated to each other above, while the pterygo-palatine bar is quite distinct. the main features of the subsequent development are undisputed, with the exception of that of the upper end of the hyoid, which is still controverted. the following is parker's (no. ) account for the pig, which confirms in the main the view originally put forward by huxley (no. ). the mandibular and hyoid arches are at first very similar (fig. _mn_ and _hy_), their dorsal ends being somewhat incurved, and articulating together. in a somewhat later stage (fig. ) the upper end of the mandibular bar (_mb_), without becoming segmented from the ventral part, becomes distinctly swollen, and clearly corresponds to the quadrate region of other types. the ventral part of the bar constitutes the meckelian cartilage (_mk_). [fig. . embryo pig, an inch and a third long; side view of mandibular and hyoid arches. the main hyoid arch is seen as displaced backwards after segmentation from the incus. (from parker.) _tg._ tongue; _mk._ meckelian cartilage; _ml._ body of malleus; _mb._ manubrium or handle of the malleus; _t.ty._ tegmen tympani; _i._ incus; _st._ stapes; _i.hy._ interhyal ligament; _st.h._ stylohyal cartilage; _h.h._ hypohyal; _b.h._ basibranchial; _th.h._ rudiment of first branchial arch; _ a._ facial nerve.] the hyoid arch has in the meantime become segmented into two parts, an upper part (_i_), which eventually becomes one of the small bones of the ear--the incus--and a lower part which remains permanently as the anterior cornu of the hyoid (_st.h_). the two parts continue to be connected by a ligament. the incus is articulated with the quadrate end of the mandibular arch, and its rounded head comes in contact with the stapes (fig. , _st_) which is segmented from the fenestra ovalis. the main arch of the hyoid becomes divided into a hypohyal (_h.h_) below and a stylohyal (_st.h_) above, and also becomes articulated with the basal element of the arch behind (_bh_). in the course of further development the meckelian part of the mandibular arch becomes enveloped in a superficial ossification forming the dentary. its upper end, adjoining the quadrate region, becomes calcified and then absorbed, and its lower, with the exception of the extreme point, is ossified and subsequently incorporated in the dentary. the quadrate region remains relatively stationary in growth as compared with the adjacent parts of the skull, and finally ossifies to form the malleus bone of the ear. the processus gracilis of the malleus is the primitive continuation into meckel's cartilage. the malleus and incus are at first embedded in the connective tissue adjoining the tympanic cavity (hyomandibular cleft, _vide_ p. ); and externally to them a bone known as the tympanic bone becomes developed so that they become placed between the tympanic bone and the periotic capsule. in late foetal life they become transported completely within the tympanic cavity, though covered by a reflection of the tympanic mucous membrane. the dorsal end of the part of the hyoid separated from the incus becomes ossified as the tympano-hyal, and is anchylosed with the adjacent parts of the periotic capsule. the middle part of the bar just outside the skull forms the stylohyal (styloid process in man) which is attached by ligament to the anterior cornu of the hyoid (ceratohyal). while the account of the formation of the malleus, incus, and stapes just given is that usually accepted in this country, a somewhat different view of the development of these parts has as a rule been adopted in germany. reichert (no. ) held that both the malleus and the incus were derived from the mandibular bar; and this view has been confirmed by günther, kölliker and other observers, and has recently been adopted by salensky (no. ) after a careful research especially directed towards this point. reichert also held that the stapes was derived from the hyoid bar; but, though his observations on this point have been very widely accepted, they have not met with such universal recognition as his views on the origin of the malleus and incus. salensky has recently arrived at a view, which is in accord with that of parker, in so far as the independence of the stapes of both the hyoid and mandibular arches is concerned. salensky however holds that it is formed from a mass of mesoblast surrounding the artery of the mandibular arch, and that the form of the stapes is due to its perforation by the mandibular artery. a product of this artery permanently perforates the stapes in a few mammalia, though in the majority it atrophies. in view of the different accounts of the origin of the incus the exact nature of this bone must still be considered as an open question, but should reichert's view be confirmed the identification of the incus with the columella of the amphibia and sauropsida must be abandoned. _membrane bones and ossifications of the cranium._ the membrane bones of the skull may be divided into two classes, viz. ( ) those derived from dermal osseous plates, which as explained above (p. ) are primitively formed by the coalescence of the osseous plates of scales; and ( ) those formed by the coalescence of the osseous plates of teeth lining the oral cavity. some of the bones sheathing the edge of the mouth have been formed partly by the one process and partly by the other. in the fishes there are found all grades of transition between simple dermal scutes, and true subdermal osseous plates forming an integral part of the internal skeleton. dermal scutes are best represented in acipenser and some siluroid fishes. where the membrane bones still retain the character of dermal plates, those on the dorsal surface of the cranium are usually arranged in a series of longitudinal rows, continuing in the region of the head the rows of dermal scutes of the trunk; while the remaining cranial scutes are connected with the visceral arches. the dermal bones on the dorsal surface of the head are very different in number, size, and arrangement in different types of fishes; but owing to their linear disposition it is usually possible to find a certain number both of the paired and unpaired bones which have a similar situation in the different forms. these usually receive the same names, but both from general considerations as to their origin, as well as from a comparison of different species, it appears to me probable that there is no real homology between these bones in different species, but only a kind of general correspondence[ ]. [ ] for some interesting remarks on the arrangement of these bones in fishes, _vide_ bridge, "on the osteology of polyodon folium." _phil. trans._, . it is not in fact till we get to the types above the fishes that we can find a series of homologous dorsal membrane bones covering the roof of the skull. in these types three paired sets of such bones are usually present, viz. from behind forwards the parietals, frontals and nasals, the latter bounding the posterior surface of the external nasal opening. even in the higher types these bones are liable to vary very greatly from the usual arrangement. besides these bones there is usually present in the higher forms a lacrymal bone on the anterior margin of the orbit derived from one of a series of periorbital membrane bones frequently found in fishes. various supraorbital and postorbital bones, etc. are also frequently found in lacertilia, etc. which are not impossibly phylogenetically independent of the membrane bones inherited from fishes; and may have been evolved as bony scutes in the subdermal tissue of the papillæ of the sauropsidan scales. the visceral arches of fishes, especially of the teleostei, are usually provided with a series of membrane bones. in the true branchial arches these take the form of dentigerous plates; but no such plates are found in the amphibia or amniota. the opercular flap attached to the hyoid arch is usually supported by a series of membrane bones, which attain their highest development in the teleostei. one of these bones, the præopercular, is very constant and is primitively attached along the outer edge of the hyomandibular. it seems to be retained in amphibia as a membrane bone, overlapping the attachment of the quadrate and known as the squamosal; though it is not impossible that this bone may be derived from a superficial membrane bone, widely distributed in teleostei and ganoids, which is known as the supra-temporal. in dipnoi the bone which appears to be clearly homologous with the squamosal would seem from its position to belong to the series of dorsal plates, and therefore to be the supra-temporal; but it is regarded by huxley (no. ) as the præopercular[ ]. [ ] it is not impossible that the solution of the difficulty about the præopercular is to be found by supposing that the præopercular as it exists in teleostei is derived from a dorsal dermal plate, and that in the dipnoi this plate retains more nearly than in teleostei its primitive position. in the amniota the squamosal forms an integral part of the osseous roof of the skull; but in the sauropsida it continues, as in amphibia, to be closely related to the quadrate. a larger series of persistent membrane bones are related to the mandibular, and its palato-quadrate process. overlying the palato-quadrate process are two rows of bones, one row lying at the edge of the mouth, on the outer side of the pterygo-palatine process, and the other set on the roof of the mouth superficial to the pterygo-palatine process. the outer row is formed of the præmaxilla, maxilla, jugal, and very often quadratojugal. of these bones the maxilla and præmaxilla, as is more especially demonstrated by their ontogeny in the urodela, are partly derived from dentigerous plates and partly from membrane plates outside the mouth; while the jugal, and quadratojugal when present, are entirely extra-oral. in the amphibia and amniota the præmaxillæ and maxillæ are the most important bones in the facial region, and are quite independent of any cartilaginous substratum. the second row of bones is clearly constituted in the dipnoi and amphibia by the vomer in front, then the palatine, and finally the pterygoid behind. of these bones the vomer is never related to a cartilaginous tract below, while the palatines and pterygoids usually are so. the position and growth of the three bones in many urodela (axolotl) are especially striking (hertwig. no. ). in the axolotl they form a continuous series, the vomer and palatine being covered by teeth, but the pterygoid being without teeth. the vomer and palatine originate from the united osseous plates of the bases of the teeth, while the pterygoid is in the first instance continuous with the palatine. in teleostei, amia, etc., there are dentigerous plates forming a palatine and pterygoid, which in position, at any rate, closely correspond with the similarly named bones in amphibia; and there is also a dentigerous vomer which may fairly be considered as equivalent to that in amphibia. in the amniota the three bones found in amphibia are always present, but with a few exceptions amongst the lacertilia and ophidia, are no longer dentigerous. the cartilaginous bars, which in the lower types are placed below the palatine and pterygoid membrane bones, are usually imperfectly or not at all developed. on meckel's cartilage important membrane bones are almost always grafted. on the outside and distal part of the cartilage a dentary is usually developed, which may envelope and replace the cartilage to a larger or smaller extent. its oral edge is usually dentigerous. the splenial membrane bone is the most important bone on the inner side of meckel's cartilage, but other elements known as the coronoid and angular may also be added. in mammalia the dentary is the only element present (_vide_ p. ). on the roof of the mouth a median bone, the parasphenoid, is very widely present in the amphibia and fishes, except the elasmobranchii and cyclostomata, and has no doubt the same phylogenetic origin as the vomer and membranous palatines and pterygoids. it is less important in the sauropsida, and becomes indistinguishably fused with the sphenoid in the adult, while in mammalia it is no longer found. ossification of the cartilaginous cranium. in certain fishes the cartilaginous cranium remains quite unossified, while completely enveloped in dermal bones. such for instance is its condition in the selachioid ganoids. in most instances, however, the investment of the cartilaginous cranium by membrane bones is accompanied by a more or less complete ossification of the cartilage itself. in the dipnoi this occurs to the smallest extent, the only ossifications occurring in the lateral parts of the occipital region, and forming the exoccipitals. in teleostei and bony ganoids, a considerably greater number of ossifications occur in the cartilage. in the region of the occipital cartilaginous ring there appears a basioccipital and supraoccipital and two exoccipitals. the basioccipital is the only bone on the floor of the skull ossifying that part into which the notochord is primitively continued[ ]. [ ] the notochord appears also to enter into the posterior part of the region which ossifies as the basisphenoid. in the region of the periotic cartilage a large number of bones may appear. in front there is the prootic, which often meets the exoccipital behind; behind there is above and in close connection with the supraoccipital the epiotic, and below in close connection with the exoccipital the opisthotic. on the dorsal side of the cartilage there is a projecting ridge composed mainly of a bone known as the pterotic, sometimes erroneously called the squamosal, and continued in front by the sphenotic. the pterotic, or the cartilaginous region corresponding to it, always supplies the articular surface for the hyomandibular. in the floor of the skull, in the region of the pituitary body, there is formed a basisphenoid; while in the lateral parts of the wall of this part of the cranium, there is a bone known as the alisphenoid. in front, parts of the lateral walls of the cranium ossify as the orbitosphenoids. in view of the very imperfect ossification of the cartilaginous cranium of the dipnoi, and of the fact that there is certainly no direct genetic connection between the teleostei on the one hand, and the amphibia and amniota on the other, it is very difficult to believe that most of the ossifications of the cranium in the amphibia and amniota have more than a general correspondence with those in the teleostei. in the amphibia the ossifications in the cartilage are comparatively few. in the occipital region there is a lateral ossification on each side of the exoccipital, the basioccipital region being unossified, and the supraoccipital at the utmost indurated by a calcareous deposit. the periotic capsule is ossified by a prootic centre, which meets the exoccipital behind. the front part of the cartilaginous cranium is ossified by a complete ring of bone--the sphenethmoid bone--which embraces part of the ethmoid region, and of the orbitosphenoid and presphenoid regions. in the amphibia the cartilaginous cranium, with its centres of ossification, is easily separable from the membranous investing bones. in the amniota the cartilaginous cranium, whose development in the embryo has already been described, becomes in the adult much more largely ossified, and the bones which replace the primitive cartilage unite with the membrane bones to form a continuous bony cranium. the centres of ossification become again much more numerous. in the occipital segment analogous centres to those of teleostei are again found; and it is probable that the exoccipitals are homologous throughout the series, the supraoccipital and basioccipital bones of the higher types being merely identical in position with the similarly named bones in fishes. in the periotic there are usually three centres of ossification, first recognised by huxley. these are the prootic, the epiotic and opisthotic, the situations of which have already been defined. of these the prootic is the most constant. in reptiles, the prootic and opisthotic frequently remain distinct even in the adult. in birds, the epiotic and opisthotic are early united with the supra- and exoccipital; and at a later period the prootic is also indistinguishably fused with the adjacent parts. in mammals the three ossifications fuse into a continuous whole--the periotic bone--which may be partially united with the adjacent parts. in the pituitary region of the base of the cranium a pair of osseous centres or in the higher types a single centre (parker[ ]) gives rise to the basisphenoid bone, and in front of this another basal or pair of basal ossifications forms the presphenoid, while laterally to these two centres there are formed centres of ossification in the alisphenoid and orbitosphenoid regions, which may be extremely reduced in various sauropsida, leaving the side walls of the skull almost entirely formed of membrane or cartilage. [ ] according to kölliker there are two centres in man in both the basisphenoid and presphenoid. in the ethmoid region there may arise a median ossification forming the mesethmoid and lateral ossifications forming the lateral ethmoids or prefrontals; which may assist in forming the front wall of the brain-case, or be situated quite externally to the brain-case and be only related to the olfactory capsules. the labial cartilages. in most fishes a series of skeletal structures, known as the labial cartilages, are developed at the front and sides of the mouth, and in connection with the olfactory capsules; and these cartilages still persist in connection with the olfactory capsules, though in a reduced form, in the higher types. they are more developed in the cyclostomata than in any other vertebrate type. the meaning of these cartilages is very obscure; but, from their being in part employed to support the lips and horny teeth of the cyclostomata and the tadpole, i should be inclined to regard them as remnants of a primitive skeleton supporting the suctorial mouth, with which, on the grounds already stated (p. ), i believe the ancestors of the present vertebrata to have been provided. bibliography. ( ) a. dugès. "recherches sur l'ostéologie et la myologie des batraciens à leur différents âges." paris, _mém. savans étrang._ , and _an. sci. nat._ vol. i. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere_, iii. heft. _das kopfskelet d. selachier._ leipzig, . ( ) günther. _beob. üb. die entwick. d. gehörorgans._ leipzig, . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueb. d. zahnsystem d. amphibien u. seine bedeutung f. d. genese d. skelets d. mundhöhle." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. , suppl. ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the theory of the vertebrate skull." _proc. royal soc._, vol. ix. . ( ) t. h. huxley. _the elements of comparative anatomy._ london, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the malleus and incus." _proc. zool. soc._, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on ceratodus forsteri." _proc. zool. soc._, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "the nature of the craniofacial apparatus of petromyzon." _journ. of anat. and phys._, vol. x. . ( ) t. h. huxley. _the anatomy of vertebrated animals._ london, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the common fowl (gallus domesticus)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the common frog (rana temporaria)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the salmon (salmo salar)." bakerian lecture, _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the pig (sus scrofa)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the batrachia." part ii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the urodelous amphibia." part iii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the common snake (tropidonotus natrix)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in sharks and skates." _trans. zoolog. soc._, . vol. x. pt. iv. ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the lacertilia." pt. i. lacerta agilis, l. viridis and zootoca vivipara. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "the development of the green turtle." _the zoology of the voyage of h. m. s. challenger._ vol. i. pt. v. ( ) w. k. parker. "the structure and development of the skull in the batrachia." pt. iii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker and g. t. bettany. _the morphology of the skull._ london, . ( *) h. rathke. _entwick. d. natter._ königsberg, . ( ) c. b. reichert. "ueber die visceralbogen d. wirbelthiere." _müller's archiv_, . ( ) w. salensky. "beiträge z. entwick. d. knorpeligen gehörknöchelchen." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vi. . vide also kölliker (no. ), especially for the human and mammalian skull; götte (no. ). chapter xx. the pectoral and pelvic girdles and the skeleton of the limbs. _the pectoral girdle._ pisces. amongst fishes the pectoral girdle presents itself in its simplest form in elasmobranchii, where it consists of a bent band of cartilage on each side of the body, of somewhat variable form, meeting and generally uniting with its fellow ventrally. its anterior border is in close proximity with the last visceral arch, and a transverse ridge on its outer and posterior border, forming the articular surface for the skeleton of the limb, divides it into a dorsal part, which may be called the scapula, and a ventral part which may be called the coracoid. in all the remaining groups of fishes there is added to the cartilaginous band, which may wholly or partially ossify, an osseous support composed of a series of membrane bones. in the types with such membrane bones the cartilaginous parts do not continue to meet ventrally, except in the dipnoi where there is a ventral piece of cartilage, distinct from that bearing the articulation of the limb. the cartilage is moreover produced into two ventral processes, an anterior and a posterior, below the articulation of the limb; which may be called, in accordance with gegenbaur's nomenclature, the præcoracoid and coracoid. of these the præcoracoid is far the most prominent, and in the majority of cases the coracoid can hardly be recognised. the coracoid process is however well developed in the selachioid ganoids, and the siluroid teleostei. in teleostei the scapular region often ossifies in two parts, the smaller of which is named by parker præcoracoid, though it is quite distinct from gegenbaur's præcoracoid. the membrane bones, as they present themselves in their most primitive state in acipenser and the siluroids, are dermal scutes embracing the anterior edge of the cartilaginous girdle. in acipenser there are three scutes on each side. a dorsal scute known as the supra-clavicle, connected above with the skull by the post-temporal; a middle piece or clavicle, and a ventral or infra-clavicle (interclavicle), which meets its fellow below. in most fishes the primitive dermal scutes have become subdermal membrane bones, and the infra-clavicle is usually not distinct, but the two clavicles form the most important part of the membranous elements of the girdle. additional membrane bones (post-clavicles) are often present behind the main row. the development of these parts in fishes has been but little studied. in scyllium, amongst the elasmobranchii, i find that each half of the pectoral girdle develops as a vertical bar of cartilage at the front border of the rudimentary fin, _and externally to the muscle plates_. before the tissue forming the pectoral girdle has acquired the character of true cartilage, the bars of the two sides meet ventrally by a differentiation _in situ_ of the mesoblastic cells, so that, when the girdle is converted into cartilage, it forms an undivided arc, girthing the ventral side of the body. there is developed in continuity with the posterior border of this arc on the level of the fin a horizontal bar of cartilage, which is continued backwards along the insertion of the fin, and, as will be shewn in the sequel, becomes the metapterygium of the adult (figs. , _bp_ and , _mp_). with this bar the remaining skeletal elements of the fin are also continuous. the foramina of the pectoral girdle are not in the first instance formed by absorption, but by the non-development of the cartilage in the region of pre-existing nerves and vessels. the development of these parts in teleostei has been recently investigated by 'swirski (no. ) who finds in the pike (esox) that the cartilaginous pectoral girdle is at first continuous with the skeleton of the fin. it forms a rod with a dorsal scapular and ventral coracoid process. an independent mass of cartilage gives rise to a præcoracoid, which unites with the main mass, forming a triradiate bar like that of acipenser or the siluroids. the coracoid process becomes in the course of development gradually reduced. 'swirski concludes that the so-called præcoracoid bar is to some extent a secondary element, and that the coracoid bar corresponds to the whole of the ventral part of the girdle of elasmobranchii, but his investigations do not appear to me to be as complete as is desirable. amphibia and amniota. the pectoral girdle contains a more or less constant series of elements throughout the amphibia and amniota; and the differences in structure between the shoulder girdle of these groups and that of fishes are so great that it is only possible to make certain general statements respecting the homologies of the parts in the two sets of types. the generally accepted view, founded on the researches of parker, huxley, and gegenbaur, is to the effect that there is a primitively cartilaginous coraco-scapular plate, homologous with that in fishes, and that the membrane bones in fishes are represented by the clavicle and interclavicle in the sauropsida and mammalia, which are however usually admitted to be absent in amphibia. these views have recently been challenged by götte (no. ) and hoffmann (no. ), on the ground of a series of careful embryological observations; and until the whole subject has been worked over by other observers it does not seem possible to decide satisfactorily between the conflicting views. it is on all hands admitted that the scapulo-coracoid elements of the shoulder girdle are formed as a pair of cartilaginous plates, one on each side of the body. the dorsal half of each plate becomes the scapula, which may subsequently become divided into a supra-scapula and scapula proper; while the ventral half forms the coracoid, which is not always separated from the scapula, and is usually divided into a coracoid proper, a præcoracoid, and an epicoracoid. by the conversion of parts of the primitive cartilaginous plates into membranous tissue various fenestræ may be formed in the cartilage, and the bars bounding these fenestræ both in the scapula and coracoid regions have received special names; the anterior bar of the coracoid region, forming the præcoracoid, being especially important. at the boundary between the scapula and the coracoid, on the hinder border of the plate, is placed the glenoid articular cavity to carry the head of the humerus. the grounds of difference between götte and hoffmann and other anatomists concern especially the clavicle and interclavicle. the clavicle is usually regarded as a membrane bone which may become to some extent cartilaginous. by the above anatomists, and by rathke also, it is held to be at first united with the coraco-scapular plate, of which it forms the anterior limb, free ventrally, but united dorsally with the main part of the plate; and götte and hoffmann hold that it is essentially _a cartilage bone_, which however in the majority of the reptilia ossifies directly without passing through the condition of cartilage. the interclavicle (episternum) is held by götte to be developed from a paired formation at the free ventral ends of the clavicles, but he holds views which are in many respects original as to its homologies in mammalia and amphibia. even if götte's facts are admitted, it does not appear to me necessarily to follow that his deductions are correct. the most important of these is to the effect that the dermal clavicle of pisces has no homologue in the higher types. granting that the clavicle in these groups is in its first stage continuous with the coraco-scapular plate, and that it may become in some forms cartilaginous before ossifying, yet it seems to me all the same quite possible that it is genetically derived from the clavicle of pisces, but that it has to a great extent lost even in development its primitive characters, though these characters are still partially indicated in the fact that it _usually ossifies very early and partially at least as a membrane bone_[ ]. [ ] the fact of the clavicle going out of its way, so to speak, to become cartilaginous before being ossified, may perhaps be explained by supposing that its close connection with the other parts of the shoulder girdle has caused, by a kind of infection, a change in its histological characters. in treating the development of the pectoral girdle systematically it will be convenient to begin with the amniota, which may be considered to fix the nomenclature of the elements of the shoulder girdle. lacertilia. the shoulder girdle is formed as two membranous plates, from the dorsal part of the anterior border of each of which a bar projects (rathke, götte), which is free at its ventral end. this bar, which is usually (gegenbaur, parker) held to be independent of the remaining part of the shoulder girdle, gives rise to the clavicle and interclavicle. the scapulo-coracoid plate soon becomes cartilaginous, while at the same time the clavicular bar ossifies directly from the membranous state. the ventral ends of the two clavicular bars enlarge to form two longitudinally placed plates, which unite together and ossify as the interclavicle. parker gives a very different account of the interclavicle in anguis. he states that it is formed of two pairs of bones 'strapped on to the antero-inferior part of the præsternum,' which subsequently unite into one. chelonia. the shoulder girdle of the chelonia is formed (rathke) of a triradiate cartilage on each side, with one dorsal and two ventral limbs. it is admitted on all hands that the dorsal limb is the scapular element, and the posterior ventral limb the coracoid; but, while the anterior ventral limb is usually held to be the præcoracoid, götte and hoffmann maintain that, in spite of its being formed of cartilage, it is homologous with the anterior bar of the primitive shoulder-plates of lacertilia, and therefore the homologue of the clavicle. parker and huxley (doubtfully) hold that the three anterior elements of the ventral plastron (entoplastron and epiplastra) are homologous with the interclavicle and clavicles, but considering that these plates appear to belong to a secondary system of dermal ossifications peculiar to the chelonia, this homology does not appear to me probable. aves. there are very great differences of view as to the development of the pectoral arch of aves. about the presence in typical forms of the coraco-scapular plate and two independent clavicular bars all authors are agreed. with reference to the clavicle and interclavicle parker (no. ) finds that the scapular end of the clavicle attaches itself to and ossifies a mass of cartilage, which he regards as the mesoscapula, while the interclavicle is formed of a mass of tissue between the ends of the clavicles where they meet ventrally, which becomes the dilated plate at their junction. gegenbaur holds that the two primitive clavicular bars are simply clavicles, without any element of the scapula; and states that the clavicles are not entirely ossified from membrane, but that a delicate band of cartilage precedes the osseous bars. he finds no interclavicle. götte and rathke both state that the clavicle is at first continuous with the coraco-scapular plate, but becomes early separated, and ossifies entirely as a membrane bone. götte further states that the interclavicles are formed as outgrowths of the median ends of the clavicles, which extend themselves at an early period of development along the inner edges of the two halves of the sternum. they soon separate from the clavicles, which subsequently meet to form the furculum; while the interclavicular rudiments give rise, on the junction of the two halves of the sternum, _to its keel_, and to the ligament connecting the furculum with the sternum. the observations of götte, which tend to shew the keel of the sternum is really an interclavicle, appear to me of great importance. a præcoracoid, partially separated from the coracoid by a space, is present in struthio. it is formed by a fenestration of a primitively continuous cartilaginous coracoid plate (hoffmann). in dromæus and casuarius clavicles are present (fused with the scapula in the adult dromæus), though absent in other ratitæ (parker, etc.). mammalia. the coracoid element of the coraco-scapular plate is much reduced in mammalia, forming at most a simple process (except in the ornithodelphia) which ossifies however separately[ ]. [ ] this process, known as the coracoid process, is held by sabatier to be the præcoracoid; while this author also holds that the upper third of the glenoid cavity, which ossifies by a special nucleus, is the true coracoid. the absence of a præcoracoid in the ornithodelphia is to my mind a serious difficulty in the way of sabatier's view. with reference to the clavicles the same divergencies of opinion met with in other types are found here also. the clavicle is stated by rathke to be at first continuous with the coraco-scapular plate. it is however soon separated, and ossifies very early, in the human embryo before any other bone. gegenbaur however shewed that the human clavicle is provided with a central axis of cartilage, and this observation has been confirmed by kölliker, and extended to other mammalia by götte. the mode of ossification is nevertheless in many respects intermediate between that of a true cartilage bone and a membrane bone. the ends of the clavicles remain for some time, or even permanently, cartilaginous, and have been interpreted by parker, it appears to me on hardly sufficient grounds, as parts of the mesoscapula and præcoracoid. parker's so-called mesoscapula may ossify separately. the homologies of the episternum are much disputed. götte, who has worked out the development of the parts more fully than any other anatomist, finds that paired interclavicular elements grow out backwards from the ventral ends of the clavicles, and uniting together form a somewhat t-shaped interclavicle overlying the front end of the sternum. this condition is permanent in the ornithodelphia, except that the anterior part of the sternum undergoes atrophy. but in the higher forms the interclavicle becomes almost at once divided into three parts, of which the two lateral remain distinct, while the median element fuses with the subjacent part of the sternum and constitutes with it the presternum (manubrium sterni). if götte's facts are to be trusted, and they have been to a large extent confirmed by hoffmann, his homologies appear to be satisfactorily established. as mentioned on p. ruge (no. ) holds that götte is mistaken as to the origin of the presternum. gegenbaur admits the lateral elements as parts of the interclavicle, while parker holds that they are not parts of an interclavicle but are homologous with the omosternum of the frog, which is however held by götte to be a true interclavicle. amphibia. in amphibia the two halves of the shoulder girdle are each formed as a continuous plate, the ventral or coracoid part of which is forked, and is composed of a larger posterior and a smaller anterior bar-like process, united dorsally. in the urodela the two remain permanently free at their ventral ends, but in the anura they become united, and the space between them then forms a fenestra. the anterior process is usually (gegenbaur, parker) regarded as the præcoracoid, but götte has pointed out that in its mode of development it strongly resembles the clavicle of the higher forms, and behaves quite differently to the so-called præcoracoid of lizards. it is however to be noticed that it differs from the clavicle in the fact that it is never segmented off from the coraco-scapular plate, a condition which has its only parallel in the equally doubtful case of the chelonia. parker holds that there is no clavicle present in the amphibia, while gegenbaur maintains that an ossification which appears in many of the anura (though not in the urodela) in the perichondrium on the anterior border of the cartilaginous bar above mentioned is the representative of the clavicle. götte's observations on the ossification of this bone throw doubt upon this view of gegenbaur; while the fact that the cartilaginous bar may be completely enclosed by the bone in question renders gegenbaur's view, that there is present both a clavicle and præcoracoid, highly improbable. no interclavicle is present in urodela, but in this group and in a number of the anura, a process grows out from the end of each of the bars (præcoracoids) which götte holds to be the clavicles. the two processes unite in the median line, and give rise in front to the anterior unpaired element of the shoulder girdle (omosternum of parker). they sometimes overlap the epicoracoids behind, and fusing with them bind them together in the median line. parker who has described the paired origin of the so-called omosternum, holds that it is not homologous with the interclavicle, but compares it with his omosternum in mammals. bibliography. ( ) bruch. "ueber die entwicklung der clavicula und die farbe des blutes." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, iv. . ( ) a. dugès. "recherches sur l'ostéologie et la myologie des batraciens à leurs différens âges." _mémoires des savants étrang. académie royale des sciences de l'institut de france_, vol. vi. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelthiere_, heft. _schultergürtel der wirbelthiere. brustflosse der fische._ leipzig, . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge z. vergleich. morphol. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere, brustbein u. schultergürtel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xiv. . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "beiträge z. vergleichenden anatomie d. wirbelthiere." _niederländisches archiv f. zool._, vol. v. . ( ) w. k. parker. "a monograph on the structure and development of the shoulder-girdle and sternum in the vertebrata." _ray society_, . ( ) h. rathke. _ueber die entwicklung der schildkröten._ braunschweig, . ( ) h. rathke. _ueber den bau und die entwicklung des brustbeins der saurier_, . ( ) a. sabatier. _comparaison des ceintures et des membres antérieurs et postérieurs d. la série d. vertébrés._ montpellier, . ( ) georg 'swirski. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. schultergürtels u. d. skelets d. brustflosse d. hechts._ inaug. diss. dorpat, . _pelvic girdle._ pisces. the pelvic girdle of fishes is formed of a cartilaginous band, to the outer and posterior side of which the basal element of the pelvic fin is usually articulated. this articulation divides it into a dorsal iliac, and ventral pubic section. the iliac section never articulates with the vertebral column. in elasmobranchii the two girdles unite ventrally, but the iliac section is only slightly developed. in chimæra there is a well developed iliac process, but the pubic parts of the girdle are only united by connective tissue. in the cartilaginous ganoids the pelvic girdle is hardly to be separated from the skeleton of the fin. it is not united with its fellow, and is represented by a plate with slightly developed pubic and iliac processes. in the dipnoi there is a simple median cartilage, articulated with the limb, but not provided with an iliac process. in bony ganoids and teleostei there is on each side a bone meeting its fellow in the ventral line, which is usually held to be the rudiment of the pelvic girdle; while davidoff attempts to shew that it is the basal element of the fin, and that, except in polypterus, a true pelvic girdle is absent in these types. from my own observations i find that the mode of development of the pelvic girdle in scyllium is very similar to that of the pectoral girdle. there is a bar on each side, continuous on its posterior border with the basal element of the fin (figs. and ). this bar meets and unites with its fellow ventrally before becoming converted into true cartilage, and though the iliac process (_il_) is never very considerable, yet it is better developed in the embryo than in the adult, and is at first directed nearly horizontally forwards. amphibia and amniota. the primitive cartilaginous pelvic girdle of the higher types exhibits the same division as that of pisces into a dorsal and a ventral section, which meet to form the articular cavity for the femur, known as the acetabulum. the dorsal section is always single, and is attached by means of rudimentary ribs to the sacral region of the vertebral column, and sometimes to vertebræ of the adjoining lumbar or caudal regions. it always ossifies as the ilium. the ventral section is usually formed of two more or less separated parts, an anterior which ossifies as the pubis, and a posterior which ossifies as the ischium. the space between them is known as the obturator foramen. in the amphibia the two parts are not separated, and resemble in this respect the pelvic girdle of fishes. they generally meet the corresponding elements of the opposite side ventrally, and form a symphysis with them. the symphysis pubis, and symphysis ischii may be continuous (mammalia, amphibia). the observations on the development of the pelvic girdle in the amphibia and amniota are nearly as scanty as on those of fishes. amphibia. in the amphibia (bunge, no. ) the two halves of the pelvic girdle are formed as independent masses of cartilage, which subsequently unite in the ventral line. in the urodelous amphibia (triton) each mass is a simple plate of cartilage divided into a dorsal and ventral section by the acetabulum. the ventral parts, which are not divided into two regions, unite in a symphysis comparatively late. the dorsal section ossifies as the ilium. the ventral usually contains a single ossification in its posterior part which forms the ischium; while the anterior part, which may be considered as representing the pubis, usually remains cartilaginous; though huxley (no. ) states that it has a separate centre of ossification in salamander, which however does not appear to be always present (bunge). there is a small obturator foramen between the ischium and pubis, which gives passage to the obturator nerve. it is formed by the part of the tissue where the nerve is placed not becoming converted into cartilage. there is a peculiar cartilage in the ventral median line in front of the pubis, which is developed independently of and much later than the true parts of the pelvic girdle. it may be called the præpubic cartilage. reptilia. in lacertilia the pelvic girdle is formed as a somewhat triradiate mass of cartilage on each side, with a dorsal (iliac) process, and two ventral (pubic and ischiad) processes. the acetabulum is placed on the outer side at the junction of the three processes, each of which may be considered to have a share in forming it. the distal ends of the pubis and ischium are close together when first formed, but subsequently separate. each of them unites at a late stage with the corresponding process of the opposite side in a ventral symphysis. a centre of ossification appears in each of the three processes of the primitive cartilage. aves. in birds the parts of the pelvic girdle no longer develop as a continuous cartilage (bunge). either the pubis may be distinct, or, as in the duck, all the elements. the ilium early exhibits a short anterior process, but the pubis and ischium are at first placed with their long axes at right angles to that of the ilium, but gradually become rotated so as to lie parallel with it, their distal ends pointing backwards, and not uniting ventrally excepting in one or two struthious forms. mammalia. in mammalia the pelvic girdle is formed in cartilage as in the lower forms, but in man at any rate the pubic part of the cartilage is formed independently of the remainder (rosenberg). there are the usual three centres of ossification, which unite eventually into a single bone--the innominate bone. the pubis and ischium of each side unite with each other ventrally, so as completely to enclose the obturator foramen. huxley holds that the so-called marsupial bones of monotremes and marsupials, which as shewn by gegenbaur (no. ) are performed in cartilage, are homologous with the præpubis of the urodela; but considering the great gap between the urodela and mammalia this homology can only be regarded as tentative. he further holds that the anterior prolongations of the cartilaginous ventral ends of the pubis of crocodilia are also structures of the same nature. bibliography. ( ) a. bunge. _untersuch. z. entwick. d. beckengürtels d. amphibien, reptilien u. vögel. inaug. diss._ dorpat, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueber d. ausschluss des schambeins von d. pfanne d. hüftgelenkes." _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) th. h. huxley. "the characters of the pelvis in mammalia, etc." _proc. of roy. soc._, vol. xxviii. . ( ) a. sabatier. _comparaison des ceintures et des membres antérieurs et postérieurs dans la série d. vertébrés._ montpellier, . _comparison of pectoral and pelvic girdles._ throughout the vertebrata a more or less complete serial homology may be observed between the pectoral and pelvic girdles. in the cartilaginous fishes each girdle consists of a continuous band, a dorsal and ventral part being indicated by the articulation of the fin; the former being relatively undeveloped in the pelvic girdle, while in the pectoral it may articulate with the vertebral column. in the case of the pectoral girdle secondary membrane bones become added to the primitive cartilage in most fishes, which are not developed in the case of the pelvic girdle. in the amphibia and amniota the ventral section of each girdle becomes divided into an anterior and a posterior part, the former constituting the præcoracoid and pubis, and the latter the coracoid and ischium; these parts are however very imperfectly differentiated in the pelvic girdle of the urodela. the ventral portions of the pelvic girdle usually unite below in a symphysis. they also meet each other ventrally in the case of the pectoral girdle in amphibia, but in most other types are separated by the sternum, which has no homologue in the pelvic region, unless the præpubic cartilage is to be regarded as such. the dorsal or scapular section of the pectoral girdle remains free; but that of the pelvic girdle acquires a firm articulation with the vertebral column. if the clavicle of the higher types is derived from the membrane bones of the pectoral girdle of fishes, it has no homologue in the pelvic girdle; but if, as götte and hoffmann suppose, it is a part of the primitive cartilaginous girdle, the ordinary view as to the serial homologies of the ventral sections of the two girdles in the higher types will need to be reconsidered. _limbs._ it will be convenient to describe in this place not only the development of the skeleton of the limbs but also that of the limbs themselves. the limbs of fishes are moreover so different from those of the amphibia and amniota that the development of the two types of limb may advantageously be treated separately. in fishes the first rudiments of the limbs appear as slight longitudinal ridge-like thickenings of the epiblast, which closely resemble the first rudiments of the unpaired fins. these ridges are two in number on each side, an anterior immediately behind the last visceral fold, and a posterior on the level of the cloaca. in most fishes they are in no way connected, but in some elasmobranch embryos, more especially in torpedo, they are connected together at their first development by a line of columnar epiblast cells[ ]. this connecting line of columnar epiblast is a very transitory structure, and after its disappearance the rudimentary fins become more prominent, consisting (fig. , _b_) of a projecting ridge both of epiblast and mesoblast, at the outer edge of which is a fold of epiblast only, which soon reaches considerable dimensions. at a later stage the mesoblast penetrates into this fold and the fin becomes a simple ridge of mesoblast, covered by epiblast. the pectoral fins are usually considerably ahead of the pelvic fins in development. [ ] f. m. balfour. _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_, pp. - . for the remaining history it is necessary to confine ourselves to scyllium as the only type which has been adequately studied. the direction of the original ridge which connects the two fins of each side is nearly though not quite longitudinal, sloping somewhat obliquely downwards. it thus comes about that the attachment of each pair of limbs is somewhat on a slant, and that the pelvic pair nearly meet each other in the median ventral line a little way behind the anus. [fig. . section through the ventral part of the trunk of a young embryo of scyllium at the level of the umbilical cord. _b._ pectoral fin; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _cav._ cardinal vein; _ua._ vitelline artery; _u.v._ vitelline vein; _al._ duodenum; _l._ liver; _sd._ opening of segmented duct into the body cavity; _mp._ muscle plate; _um._ umbilical canal.] the elongated ridge, forming the rudiment of each fin, gradually projects more and more, and so becomes broader in proportion to its length, but at the same time its actual attachment to the side of the body becomes shortened from behind forwards, so that what was originally the _attached border_ becomes in part converted into the _posterior border_. this process is much more completely carried out in the case of the pectoral fins than in that of the pelvic, and the changes of form undergone by the pectoral fin in its development may be gathered from figs. and . before proceeding to the development of the skeleton of the fin it may be pointed out that the connection of the two rudimentary fins by a continuous epithelial line suggests the hypothesis that they are the remnants of two continuous lateral fins[ ]. [ ] both maclise and humphry (_journal of anat. and phys._, vol. v.) had previously suggested that the paired fins were related to the unpaired fins. shortly after the view that the paired fins were remnants of continuous lateral fins had been put forward in my memoir on elasmobranch fishes, two very interesting papers were published by thacker (no. ) and mivart (no. ) advocating this view on the entirely independent grounds of the adult structure of the skeleton of the paired fins in comparison with that of the unpaired fins[ ]. [ ] davidoff in a memoir (no. ) which forms an important contribution to our knowledge of the structure of the pelvic fins has attempted from his observations to deduce certain arguments against the lateral fin theory of the limbs. his main argument is based on the fact that a variable but often considerable number of the spinal nerves in front of the pelvic fin are united, by a longitudinal commissure, with the true plexus of the nerves supplying the fin. from this he concludes that the pelvic fin has shifted its position, and that it may once therefore have been situated close behind the visceral arches. if this is the strongest argument which can be brought against the theory advocated in the text, there is i trust a considerable chance of its being generally accepted. for even granting that davidoff's deduction from the character of the pelvic plexus is correct, there is, so far as i see, no reason in the nature of the lateral fin theory why the pelvic fins should not have shifted, and on the other hand the longitudinal cord connecting some of the spinal nerves in front of the pelvic fin may have another explanation. it might for instance be a remnant of the time when the pelvic fin had a more elongated form than at present, and accordingly extended further forwards. in any case our knowledge of the nature and origin of nervous plexuses is far too imperfect to found upon their character such conclusions as those of davidoff. the development of the skeleton has unfortunately not been as yet very fully studied. i have however made some investigations on this subject on scyllium, and 'swirski has also made some on the pike. in scyllium the development of both the pectoral and pelvic fins is very similar. in both fins the skeleton in its earliest stage consists of a bar springing from the posterior side of the pectoral or pelvic girdle, and running backwards parallel to the long axis of the body. the outer side of this bar is continued into a plate which extends into the fin, and which becomes very early segmented into a series of parallel rays at right angles to the longitudinal bar. in other words, the primitive skeleton of both the fins consists of a longitudinal bar running along the base of the fin, and giving off at right angles series of rays which pass into the fin. the longitudinal bar, which may be called the basipterygium, is moreover continuous in front with the pectoral or pelvic girdle as the case may be. [fig. . pectoral fin of a young embryo of scyllium in longitudinal and horizontal section. the skeleton of the fin was still in the condition of embryonic cartilage. _b.p._ basipterygium (eventual metapterygium); _fr._ fin rays; _p.g._ pectoral girdle in transverse section; _f._ foramen in pectoral girdle; _pc._ wall of peritoneal cavity.] the primitive skeleton of the pectoral fin is shewn in longitudinal section in fig. , and that of the pelvic fin at a slightly later stage in fig. . a transverse section shewing the basipterygium (_mpt_) of the pectoral fin, and the plate passing from it into the fin, is shewn in fig. . before proceeding to describe the later history of the two fins it may be well to point out that their embryonic structure completely supports the view which has been arrived at from the consideration of the soft parts of the fin. my observations shew that the embryonic skeleton of the paired fin consists of a series of parallel rays similar to those of the unpaired fins. these rays support the soft part of the fin which has the form of a longitudinal ridge, and are continuous at their base with a longitudinal bar, which may very probably be due to secondary development. as pointed out by mivart, a longitudinal bar is also occasionally formed to support the cartilaginous rays of unpaired fins. the longitudinal bar of the paired fins is believed by both thacker and mivart to be due to the coalescence of the bases of primitively independent rays, of which they believe the fin to have been originally composed. this view is probable enough in itself, but there is no trace in the embryo of the bar in question being formed by the coalescence of rays, though the fact of its being perfectly continuous with the bases of the rays is somewhat in favour of this view[ ]. [ ] thacker more especially founds his view on the adult form of the pelvic fins in the cartilaginous ganoids; polyodon, in which the part which constitutes the basal plate in other forms is divided into separate segments, being mainly relied on. it is possible that the segmentation of this plate, as maintained by gegenbaur and davidoff, is secondary, but thacker's view that the segmentation is a primitive character seems to me, in the absence of definite evidence to the reverse, the more natural one. [fig. . pelvic fin of a very young female embryo of scyllium stellare. _bb._ basipterygium; _pu._ pubic process of pelvic girdle; _il._ iliac process of pelvic girdle.] a point may be noticed here which may perhaps appear to be a difficulty, viz. that to a considerable extent in the pectoral, and to some extent in the pelvic fin the embryonic cartilage from which the fin-rays are developed is at first a continuous lamina, which subsequently segments into rays. i am however inclined to regard this merely as a result of the mode of conversion of the indifferent mesoblast into cartilage; and in any case no conclusion adverse to the above view can be drawn from it, since i find that the rays of the unpaired fin are similarly segmented from a continuous lamina. in all cases the segmentation of the rays is to a large extent completed before the tissue in question is sufficiently differentiated to be called cartilage by an histologist. thacker and mivart both hold that the pectoral and pelvic girdles have been evolved by ventral and dorsal growths of the anterior end of the longitudinal bar supporting the fin-rays. there is, so far as i see, no theoretical objection to be taken to this view, and the fact of the pectoral and pelvic girdles originating continuously, and long remaining united with the longitudinal bars of their respective fins is in favour of rather than against this view. the same may be said of the fact that the first part of each girdle to be formed is that in the neighbourhood of the longitudinal bar (basipterygium) of the fin, the dorsal and ventral prolongations being subsequent growths. the later development of the skeleton of the two fins is more conveniently treated separately. [fig. . transverse section through the pectoral fin of a young embryo of scyllium stellare. _mpt._ basipterygial bar (metapterygium); _fr._ fin ray; _m._ muscles; _hf._ horny fibres.] the pelvic fin. the changes in the pelvic fin are comparatively slight. the fin remains through life as a nearly horizontal lateral projection of the body, and the longitudinal bar--the basipterygium--at its base always remains as such. it is for a considerable period attached to the pelvic girdle, but eventually becomes segmented from it. of the fin rays the anterior remains directly articulated with the pelvic girdle on the separation of the basipterygium (fig. ), and the remaining rays finally become segmented from the basipterygium, though they remain articulated with it. they also become to some extent transversely segmented. the posterior end of the basipterygial bar also becomes segmented off as the terminal ray. the pelvic fin thus retains in all essential points its primitive arrangement. the pectoral fin. the earliest stage of the pectoral fin differs from that of the pelvic fin only in minor points. there is the same longitudinal or basipterygial bar to which the fin-rays are attached, whose position at the base of the fin is clearly seen in the transverse section (fig. , _mpt_). in front the bar is continuous with the pectoral girdle (figs. and ). [fig. . pelvic fin of a young male embryo of scyllium stellare. _bp._ basipterygium; _m.o._ process of basipterygium continued into clasper; _il._ iliac process of pectoral girdle; _pu._ pubis.] [fig. . pectoral fin of an embryo of scyllium stellare. _mp._ metapterygium (basipterygium of earlier stage); _me.p._ rudiment of future pro- and mesopterygium; _sc._ cut surface of scapular process; _cr._ coracoid process; _fr._ foramen; _f._ horny fibres.] the changes which take place in the course of the further development are however very much more considerable in the case of the pectoral than in that of the pelvic fin. by the process spoken of above, by which the attachment of the pectoral fin to the body wall becomes shortened from behind forwards, the basipterygial bar is gradually rotated outwards, its anterior end remaining attached to the pectoral girdle. in this way this bar comes to form the posterior border of the skeleton of the fin (figs. and , _mp_), constituting what gegenbaur called the metapterygium, and eventually becomes segmented off from the pectoral girdle, simply articulating with its hinder edge. the plate of cartilage, which is continued outwards from the basipterygium, or as we may now call it, the metapterygium, into the fin, is not nearly so completely divided up into fin-rays as in the case of the pelvic fin, and this is especially the case with the basal part of the plate. this basal part becomes in fact at first only divided into two parts (fig. ) a small anterior part at the front end (_me.p_), and a larger posterior along the base of the remainder of the fin. the anterior part directly joins the pectoral girdle at its base, resembling in this respect the anterior fin-ray of the pelvic girdle. it constitutes the rudiment of the mesopterygium and propterygium of gegenbaur. it bears four fin-rays at its extremity, the anterior not being well marked. the remaining fin-rays are borne by the edge of the plate continuous with the metapterygium. the further changes in the cartilages of the limb are not important, and are easily understood by reference to fig. representing the limb of a nearly full-grown embryo. the front end of the anterior basal cartilage becomes segmented off as a propterygium, bearing a single fin-ray, leaving the remainder of the cartilage as a mesopterygium. the remainder of the now considerably segmented fin-rays are borne by the metapterygium. the mode of development of the pectoral fin demonstrates that, as supposed by mivart, the metapterygium is the homologue of the basal cartilage of the pelvic fin. from the mode of development of the fins of scyllium conclusions may be drawn adverse to the views recently put forward on the structure of the fin by gegenbaur and huxley, both of whom consider the primitive type of fin to be most nearly retained in ceratodus, and to consist of a central multisegmented axis with numerous rays. gegenbaur derives the elasmobranch pectoral fin from a form which he calls the archipterygium, nearly like that of ceratodus, with a median axis and two rows of rays; but holds that in addition to the rays attached to the median axis, which are alone found in ceratodus, there were other rays directly articulated to the shoulder-girdle. he considers that in the elasmobranch fin the majority of the lateral rays on the posterior (median or inner according to his view of the position of the limb) side have become aborted, and that the central axis is represented by the metapterygium; while the pro- and mesopterygium and their rays are, he believes, derived from those rays of the archipterygium which originally articulated directly with the shoulder-girdle. gegenbaur's view appears to me to be absolutely negatived by the facts of development of the pectoral fin in scyllium; not so much because the pectoral fin in this form is necessarily to be regarded as primitive, but because what gegenbaur holds to be the primitive axis of the biserial fin is demonstrated to be really the base, and it is only in the adult that it is conceivable that a second set of lateral rays could have existed on the posterior side of the metapterygium. if gegenbaur's view were correct we should expect to find in the embryo, if anywhere, traces of the second set of lateral rays; but the fact is that, as may easily be seen by an inspection of figs. and , such a second set of lateral rays could not possibly have existed in a type of fin like that found in the embryo[ ]. with this view of gegenbaur's it appears to me that the theory held by this anatomist to the effect that the limbs are modified gill arches also falls; in that his method of deriving the limbs from gill arches ceases to be admissible, while it is not easy to see how a limb, formed on the type of the embryonic limb of elasmobranchs, could be derived from a visceral arch with its branchial rays[ ]. [ ] if, which i very much doubt, gegenbaur is right in regarding certain rays found in some elasmobranch pectoral fins as rudiments of a second set of rays on the posterior side of the metapterygium, these rays will have to be regarded as structures in the act of being evolved, and not as persisting traces of a biserial fin. [ ] some arguments in favour of gegenbaur's theory adduced by wiedersheim as a result of his researches on protopterus are interesting. the attachment which he describes between the external gills and the pectoral girdle is no doubt remarkable, but i would suggest that the observations we have on the vascular supply of these gills demonstrate that this attachment is secondary. [fig. . skeleton of the pectoral fin and part of pectoral girdle of a nearly ripe embryo of scyllium stellare. _m.p._ metapterygium; _me.p._ mesopterygium; _pp._ propterygium; _cr._ coracoid process.] gegenbaur's older view that the elasmobranch fin retains a primitive uniserial type appears to me to be nearer the truth than his more recent view on this subject; though i hold that the fundamental point established by the development of these parts in scyllium is that the posterior border of the adult elasmobranch fin is the primitive base line, _i.e._ the line of attachment of the fin to the side of the body. huxley holds that the mesopterygium is the proximal piece of the axial skeleton of the limb of ceratodus, and derives the elasmobranch fin from that of ceratodus by the shortening of its axis and the coalescence of some of its elements. the secondary character of the mesopterygium, and its total absence in the embryo scyllium, appears to me as conclusive against huxley's view, as the character of the embryonic fin is against that of gegenbaur; and i should be much more inclined to hold that the fin of ceratodus has been derived from a fin like that of the elasmobranchii by a series of steps similar to those which huxley supposes to have led to the establishment of the elasmobranch fin, but in exactly the reverse order. with reference to the development of the pectoral fin in the teleostei there are some observations of 'swirski (no. ) which unfortunately do not throw very much light upon the nature of the limb. 'swirski finds that in the pike the skeleton of the limb is formed of a plate of cartilage, continuous with the pectoral girdle; which soon becomes divided into a proximal and a distal portion. the former is subsequently segmented into five basal rays, and the latter into twelve parts, the number of which subsequently becomes reduced. these investigations might be regarded as tending to shew that the basipterygium of elasmobranchii is not represented in teleostei, owing to the fin rays not having united into a continuous basal bar, but the observations are not sufficiently complete to admit of this conclusion being founded upon them with any certainty. _the cheiropterygium._ observations on the early development of the pentadactyloid limbs of the higher vertebrata are comparatively scanty. the limbs arise as simple outgrowths of the sides of the body, formed both of epiblast and mesoblast. in the amniota, at all events, they are processes of a special longitudinal ridge known as the wolffian ridge. in the amniota they also bear at their extremity a thickened cap of epiblast, which may be compared with the epiblastic fold at the apex of the elasmobranch fin. both limbs have at first a precisely similar position, both being directed backwards and being parallel to the surface of the body. in the urodela (götte) the ulnar and fibular sides are primitively dorsal, and the radial and tibial ventral: in mammalia however kölliker states that the radial and tibial edges are from the first anterior. the exact changes of position undergone by the limbs in the course of development are not fully understood. to suit a terrestrial mode of life the flexures of the two limbs become gradually more and more opposite, till in mammalia the corresponding joints of the two limbs are turned in completely opposite directions. within the mesoblast of the limbs a continuous blastema becomes formed, which constitutes the first trace of the skeleton of the limb. the corresponding elements of the two limbs, viz. the humerus and femur, radius and tibia, ulna and fibula, carpal and tarsal bones, metacarpals and metatarsals, and digits, become differentiated within this, by the conversion of definite regions into cartilage, which may either be completely distinct or be at first united. these cartilaginous elements subsequently ossify. the later development of the parts, more especially of the carpus and tarsus, has been made the subject of considerable study; and important results have been thereby obtained as to the homology of the various carpal and tarsal bones throughout the vertebrata; but this subject is too special to be treated of here. the early development, including the succession of the growth of the different parts, and the extent of continuity primitively obtaining between them, has on the other hand been but little investigated; recently however the development of the limbs in the urodela has been worked out in this way by two anatomists, götte (no. ) and strasser (no. ), and their results, though not on all points in complete harmony, are of considerable interest, more especially in their bearing on the derivation of the pentadactyloid limb from the piscine fin. till however further investigations of the same nature have been made upon other types, the conclusions to be drawn from götte and strasser's observations must be regarded as somewhat provisional, the actual interpretation of various ontological processes being very uncertain. the forms investigated are triton and salamandra. we may remind the reader that the hand of the urodela has four digits, and the foot five, the fifth digit being absent in the hand[ ]. in triton the proximal row of carpal bones consists (using gegenbaur's nomenclature) of ( ) a radiale, and ( and ) an intermedium and ulnare, partially united. the distal row is formed of four carpals, of which the first often does not support the first metacarpal; while the second articulates with both the first and second metacarpals. in the foot the proximal row of tarsals consists of a tibiale, an intermedium and a fibulare. the distal row is formed of four tarsals, the first, like that in the hand, often not articulating with the first metatarsal, the second supporting the first and second metatarsals; and the fourth the fourth and fifth metatarsals. [ ] this seems to me clearly to follow from götte and strasser's observations. the mode of development of the hand and foot is almost the same. the most remarkable feature of development is the order of succession of the digits. the two anterior (radial or tibial) are formed in the first instance, and then the third, fourth and fifth in succession. as to the actual development of the skeleton strasser, whose observations were made by means of sections, has arrived at the following results. the humerus with the radius and ulna, and the corresponding parts in the hind limb, are the first parts to be differentiated in the continuous plate of tissue from which the skeleton of the limb is formed. somewhat later a cartilaginous centre appears at the base of the first and second fingers (which have already appeared as prominences at the end of the limb) in the situation of the permanent second carpal of the distal row of carpals; and the process of chondrification spreads from this centre into the fingers and into the remainder of the carpus. in this way a continuous carpal plate of cartilage is established, which is on the one hand continuous with the cartilage of the two metacarpals, and on the other with the radius and ulna. in the cartilage of the carpus two special columns may be noticed, the one on the radial side, most advanced in development, being continuous with the radius; the other less developed column on the side of the ulna being continuous both with the ulna and with the radius. the ulna and radius are not united with the humerus. in the further growth the third and fourth digits, and in the foot the fifth digit also, gradually sprout out in succession from the ulnar side of the continuous carpal plate. the carpal plate itself becomes segmented from the radius and ulna, and divided up into the carpal bones. the original radial column is divided into three elements, a proximal the radiale, a middle element the first carpal, and a distal the second carpal already spoken of. the first carpal is thus situated between the basal cartilage of the second digit and the radiale, and would therefore appear to be the representative of a primitive middle row of carpal bones, of which the centrale is also another representative. the centrale and intermedium are the middle and proximal products of the segmentation of the ulnar column of the primitive carpus, the distal second carpal being common both to this column and to the radial column. the ulnar or fibular side of the carpus or tarsus becomes divided into a proximal element--the ulnare or fibulare--the ulnare remaining partially united with the intermedium. there are also formed from this plate two carpals to articulate with digits and ; while in the foot the corresponding elements articulate respectively with the third digit, and with the fourth and fifth digits. götte, whose observations were made in a somewhat different method to those of strasser, is at variance with him on several points. he finds that the primitive skeleton of the limb consists of a basal portion, the humerus, continued into a radial and an ulnar ray, which are respectively prolonged into the two first digits. the two rays next coalesce at the base of the fingers to form the carpus, and thus the division of the limb into the brachium, antebrachium and manus is effected. the ulna, which is primitively prolonged into the second digit, is subsequently separated from it and is prolonged into the third; from the side of the part of the carpus connecting the ulna with the third digit the fourth digit is eventually budded out, and in the foot the fourth and fifth digits arise from the corresponding region. each of the three columns connected respectively with the first, second, and third digits becomes divided into three successive carpal bones, so that götte holds the skeleton of the hand or foot to be formed of a proximal, a middle, and a distal row of carpal bones each containing potentially three elements. the proximal row is formed of the radiale, intermedium and ulnare; the middle row of carpal , the centrale and carpal , and the distal of carpal (consisting according to götte of two coalesced elements) and carpal . _the derivation of the cheiropterygium from the ichthyopterygium._ all anatomists are agreed that the limbs of the higher vertebrata are derived from those of fishes, but the gulf between the two types of limbs is so great that there is room for a very great diversity of opinion as to the mode of evolution of the cheiropterygium. the most important speculations on the subject are those of gegenbaur and huxley. gegenbaur holds that the cheiropterygium is derived from a uniserial piscine limb, and that it consists of a primitive stem, to which a series of lateral rays are attached on one (the radial) side; while huxley holds that the cheiropterygium is derived from a biserial piscine limb by the "lengthening of the axial skeleton, accompanied by the removal of its distal elements further away from the shoulder-girdle and by a diminution in the number of the rays." neither of these theories is founded upon ontology, and the only ontological evidence we have which bears on this question is that above recorded with reference to the development of the urodele limb. without holding that this evidence can be considered as in any way conclusive, its tendency would appear to me to be in favour of regarding the cheiropterygium as derived from a uniserial type of fin. the humerus or femur would appear to be the basipterygial bars (metapterygium), which have become directed outwards instead of retaining their original position parallel to the length of the body at the base of the fin. the anterior (proximal) fin-rays and the pro- and mesopterygium must be supposed to have become aborted, while the radius or ulna, and tibia or fibula are two posterior fin-rays (probably each representing several coalesced rays like the pro- and mesopterygium) which support at their distal extremities more numerous fin-rays consisting of the rows of carpal and tarsal bones. this view of the cheiropterygium corresponds in some respects with that put forward by götte as a result of his investigations on the development of the urodele limbs, though in other respects it is very different. a difficulty of this view is the fact that it involves our supposing that the radial edge of the limb corresponds with the metapterygial edge of the piscine fin. the difficulties of this position have been clearly pointed out by huxley, but the fact that in the primitive position of the urodele limbs the radius is ventral and the ulna dorsal shews that this difficulty is not insuperable, in that it is easy to conceive the radial border of the fin to have become rotated from its primitive elasmobranch position into the vertical position it occupies in the embryos of the urodela, and then to have been further rotated from this position into that which it occupies in the adult urodela and in all higher forms. bibliography _of the limbs_. ( ) m. v. davidoff. "beiträge z. vergleich. anat. d. hinteren gliedmaassen d. fische i." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, - . erstes heft. carpus u. tarsus. zweites heft. brustflosse d. fische. ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. skelet d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere im allgemeinen u. d. hintergliedmaassen d. selachier insbesondere." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. archipterygium." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "zur morphologie d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. götte. _ueb. entwick. u. regeneration d. gliedmaassenskelets d. molche._ leipzig, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on ceratodus forsteri, with some observations on the classification of fishes." _proc. zool. soc._ . ( ) st george mivart. "on the fins of elasmobranchii." _zoological trans._, vol. x. ( ) a. rosenberg. "ueb. d. entwick. d. extremitäten-skelets bei einigen d. reduction ihrer gliedmaassen charakterisirten wirbelthieren." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiii. . ( ) e. rosenberg. "ueb. d. entwick. d. wirbelsäule u. d. centrale carpi d. menschen." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. i. . ( ) h. strasser. "z. entwick. d. extremitätenknorpel bei salamandern u. tritonen." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) g. 'swirski. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. schultergürtels u. d. skelets d. brustflosse d. hechts._ inaug. diss. dorpat, . ( ) j. k. thacker. "median and paired fins. a contribution to the history of the vertebrate limbs." _trans. of the connecticut acad._, vol. iii. . ( ) j. k. thacker. "ventral fins of ganoids." _trans. of the connecticut acad._, vol. iv. . chapter xxi. the body cavity, the vascular system, and the vascular glands. _the body cavity._ in the coelenterata no body cavity as distinct from the alimentary cavity is present; but in the remaining invertebrata the body cavity may ( ) take the form of a wide space separating the wall of the gut from the body wall, or ( ) may be present in a more or less reduced form as a number of serous spaces, or ( ) only be represented by irregular channels between the muscular and connective-tissue cells filling up the interior of the body. the body cavity, in whatever form it presents itself, is probably filled with fluid, and the fluid in it may contain special cellular elements. a well developed body cavity may coexist with an independent system of serous spaces, as in the vertebrata and the echinodermata; the perihæmal section of the body cavity of the latter probably representing the system of serous spaces. in several of the types with a well developed body cavity it has been established that this cavity originates in the embryo from a pair of alimentary diverticula, and the cavities resulting from the formation of these diverticula may remain distinct, the adjacent walls of the two cavities fusing to form a dorsal and a ventral mesentery. it is fairly certain that some groups, _e.g._ the tracheata, with imperfectly developed body cavities are descended from ancestors which were provided with well developed body cavities, but how far this is universally the case cannot as yet be definitely decided, and for additional information on this subject the reader is referred to pp. - and to the literature there referred to. [fig. . longitudinal section through an embryo of agelina labyrinthica. the section is taken slightly to one side of the middle line so as to shew the relation of the mesoblastic somites to the limbs. in the interior are seen the yolk segments and their nuclei. - . the segments; _pr.l._ procephalic lobe; _do._ dorsal integument.] in the chætopoda and the tracheata the body cavity arises as a series of paired compartments in the somites of mesoblast (fig. ) which have at first a very restricted extension on the ventral side of the body, but eventually extend dorsalwards and ventralwards till each cavity is a half circle investing the alimentary tract; on the dorsal side the walls separating the two half cavities usually remain as the dorsal mesentery, while ventrally they are in most instances absorbed. the transverse walls, separating the successive compartments of the body cavity, generally become more or less perforated. chordata. in the chordata the primitive body cavity is either directly formed from a pair of alimentary diverticula (cephalochorda) (fig. ) or as a pair of spaces in the mesoblastic plates of the two sides of the body (fig. ). as already explained (pp. - ) the walls of the dorsal sections of the primitive body cavity soon become separated from those of the ventral, and becoming segmented constitute the muscle plates, while the cavity within them becomes obliterated: they are dealt with in a separate chapter. the ventral part of the primitive cavity alone constitutes the permanent body cavity. the primitive body cavity in the lower vertebrata is at first continued forwards into the region of the head, but on the formation of the visceral clefts the cephalic section of the body cavity becomes divided into a series of separate compartments. subsequently these sections of the body cavity become obliterated; and, since their walls give rise to muscles, they may probably be looked upon as equivalent to the dorsal sections of the body cavity in the trunk, and will be treated of in connection with the muscular system. as a result of its mode of origin the body cavity in the trunk is at first divided into two lateral halves; and part of the mesoblast lining it soon becomes distinguished as a special layer of epithelium, known as the peritoneal epithelium, of which the part bounding the outer wall forms the somatic layer, and that bounding the inner wall the splanchnic layer. between the two splanchnic layers is placed the gut. on the ventral side, in the region of the permanent gut, the two halves of the body cavity soon coalesce, the septum between them becoming absorbed, and the splanchnic layers of epithelium of the two sides uniting at the ventral side of the gut, and the somatic layers at the median ventral line of the body wall (fig. ). [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] in the lower vertebrata the body cavity is originally present even in the postanal region of the trunk, but usually atrophies early, frequently before the two halves coalesce. on the dorsal side of the gut the two halves of the body cavity never coalesce, but eventually the splanchnic layers of epithelium of the two sides, together with a thin layer of interposed mesoblast, form a delicate membrane, known as the mesentery, which suspends the gut from the dorsal wall of the body (figs. and ). on the dorsal side the epithelium lining of the body cavity is usually more columnar than elsewhere (fig. ), and its cells partly form a covering for the generative organs, and partly give rise to the primitive germinal cells. this part of the epithelium is often known as the germinal epithelium. over the greater part of the body cavity the lining epithelium becomes in the adult intimately united with a layer of the subjacent connective tissue, and constitutes with it a special lining membrane for the body cavity, known as the peritoneal membrane. abdominal pores. in the cyclostomata, the majority of the elasmobranchii, the ganoidei, a few teleostei, the dipnoi, and some sauropsida (chelonia and crocodilia) the body cavity is in communication with the exterior by a pair of pores, known as abdominal pores, the external openings of which are usually situated in the cloaca[ ]. [ ] for a full account of these structures the reader is referred to t. w. bridge, "pori abdominales of vertebrata." _journal of anat. and physiol._, vol. xiv., . the ontogeny of these pores has as yet been but very slightly investigated. in the lamprey they are formed as apertures leading from the body cavity into the excretory section of the primitive cloaca. this section would appear from scott's (no. ) observations to be derived from part of the hypoblastic cloacal section of the alimentary tract. in all other cases they are formed in a region which appears to belong to the epiblastic region of the cloaca; and from my observations on elasmobranchs it may be certainly concluded that they are formed there in this group. they may appear as perforations ( ) at the apices of papilliform prolongations of the body cavity, or ( ) at the ends of cloacal pits directed from the exterior towards the body cavity, or ( ) as simple slit-like openings. considering the difference in development between the abdominal pores of most types, and those of the cyclostomata, it is open to doubt whether these two types of pores are strictly homologous. in the cyclostomata they serve for the passage outwards of the generative products, and they also have this function in some of the few teleostei in which they are found; and gegenbaur and bridge hold that the primitive mode of exit of the generative products, prior to the development of the müllerian ducts, was probably by means of these pores. i have elsewhere suggested that the abdominal pores are perhaps remnants of the openings of segmental tubes; there does not however appear to be any definite evidence in favour of this view, and it is more probable that they may have arisen as simple perforations of the body wall. pericardial cavity, pleural cavities, and diaphragm. in all vertebrata the heart is at first placed in the body cavity (fig. a), but the part of the body cavity containing it afterwards becomes separated as a distinct cavity known as the pericardial cavity. in elasmobranchii, acipenser, etc. a passage is however left between the pericardial cavity and the body cavity; and in the lamprey a separation between the two cavities does not occur during the ammocoete stage. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. the figure shews the separation of the body cavity from the pericardial cavity by a horizontal septum in which runs the ductus cuvieri; on the left side is seen the narrow passage which remains connecting the two cavities. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ commissure connecting the posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sv._ sinus venosus; _cav._ cardinal vein; _ht._ heart; _pp._ body cavity; _pc._ pericardial cavity; _oes._ solid oesophagus; _l._ liver; _mp._ muscle-plate.] in elasmobranchii the pericardial cavity becomes established as a distinct space in front of the body cavity in the following way. when the two ductus cuvieri, leading transversely from the sinus venosus to the cardinal veins, become developed, a horizontal septum, shewn on the right side in fig. , is formed to support them, stretching across from the splanchnic to the somatic side of the body cavity, and dividing the body cavity (fig. ) in this part into ( ) a dorsal section formed of a right and left division constituting the true body cavity (_pp_), and ( ) a ventral part the pericardial cavity (_pc_). the septum is at first of a very small longitudinal extent, so that both in front and behind it (fig. on the left side) the dorsal and ventral sections of the body cavity are in free communication. the septum soon however becomes prolonged, and ceasing to be quite horizontal, is directed obliquely upwards and forwards till it meets the dorsal wall of the body. anteriorly all communication is thus early shut off between the body cavity and the pericardial cavity, but the two cavities still open freely into each other behind. the front part of the body cavity, lying dorsal to the pericardial cavity, becomes gradually narrowed, and is wholly obliterated long before the close of embryonic life, so that in adult elasmobranch fishes there is no section of the body cavity dorsal to the pericardial cavity. the septum dividing the body cavity from the pericardial cavity is prolonged backwards, till it meets the ventral wall of the body at the point where the liver is attached by its ventral mesentery (falciform ligament). in this way the pericardial cavity becomes completely shut off from the body cavity, except, it would seem, for the narrow communications found in the adult. the origin of these communications has not however been satisfactorily worked out. the septum between the pericardial cavity and the body cavity is attached on its dorsal aspect to the liver. it is at first nearly horizontal, but gradually assumes a more vertical position, and then, owing to the obliteration of the primitive anterior part of the body cavity, appears to mark the front boundary of the body cavity. the above description of the mode of formation of the pericardial cavity, and the explanation of its relations to the body cavity, probably holds true for fishes generally. in the higher types the earlier changes are precisely the same as those in elasmobranch fishes. the heart is at first placed within the body cavity attached to the ventral wall of the gut by a mesocardium (fig. a). a horizontal septum is then formed, in which the ductus cuvieri are placed, dividing the body cavity for a short distance into a dorsal (_p.p_) and ventral (_p.c_) section (fig. b). in birds and mammals, and probably also in reptilia, the ventral and dorsal parts of the body cavity are at first in free communication both in front of and behind this septum. this is shewn for the chick in fig. a and b, which are sections of the same chick, a being a little in front of b. the septum is soon continued forwards so as completely to separate the ventral pericardial and the dorsal body cavity in front, the pericardial cavity extending at this period considerably further forwards than the body cavity. since the horizontal septum, by its mode of origin, is necessarily attached to the ventral side of the gut, the dorsal part of the primitive body space is divided into two halves by a median vertical septum formed of the gut and its mesentery (fig. b). posteriorly the horizontal septum grows in a slightly ventral direction along the under surface of the liver (fig. ), till it meets the abdominal wall of the body at the insertion of the falciform ligament, and thus completely shuts off the pericardial cavity from the body cavity. the horizontal septum forms, as is obvious from the above description, the dorsal wall of the pericardial cavity[ ]. [ ] kölliker's account of this septum, which he calls the mesocardium laterale (no. , p. ), would seem to imply that in mammals it is completed posteriorly even before the formation of the liver. i doubt whether this takes place quite so early as he implies, but have not yet determined its exact period by my own observations. [fig. . transverse sections through a chick embryo with twenty-one mesoblastic somites to shew the formation of the pericardial cavity, a. being the anterior section. _p.p._ body cavity; _p.c._ pericardial cavity; _al._ alimentary cavity; _au._ auricle; _v._ ventricle; _s.v._ sinus venosus; _d.c._ ductus cuvieri; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mc._ medullary cord.] with the complete separation of the pericardial cavity from the body cavity, the first period in the development of these parts is completed, and the relations of the body cavity to the pericardial cavity become precisely those found in the embryos of elasmobranchii. the later changes are however very different. whereas in fishes the right and left sections of the body cavity dorsal to the pericardial cavity soon atrophy, in the higher types, in correlation with the relatively backward situation of the heart, they rapidly become larger, and receive the lungs which soon sprout out from the throat. the diverticula which form the lungs grow out into the splanchnic mesoblast, in front of the body cavity; but as they grow, they extend into the two anterior compartments of the body cavity, each attached by its mesentery to the mesentery of the gut (fig. , _lg_). they soon moreover extend beyond the region of the pericardium into the undivided body cavity behind. this holds not only for the embryos of the amphibia and sauropsida, but also for those of mammalia. [fig. . section through the cardiac region of an embryo of lacerta muralis of mm. to shew the mode of formation of the pericardial cavity. _ht._ heart; _pc._ pericardial cavity; _al._ alimentary tract; _lg._ lung; _l._ liver; _pp._ body cavity; _md._ open end of müllerian duct; _wd._ wolffian duct; _vc._ vena cava inferior; _ao._ aorta; _ch._ notochord; _mc._ medullary cord.] to understand the further changes in the pericardial cavity it is necessary to bear in mind its relations to the adjoining parts. it lies at this period completely ventral to the two anterior prolongations of the body cavity containing the lungs (fig. ). its dorsal wall is attached to the gut, and is continuous with the mesentery of the gut passing to the dorsal abdominal wall, forming the posterior mediastinum of human anatomy. the changes which next ensue consist essentially in the enlargement of the sections of the body cavity dorsal to the pericardial cavity. this enlargement takes place partly by the elongation of the posterior mediastinum, but still more by the two divisions of the body cavity which contain the lungs extending themselves ventrally round the outside of the pericardial cavity. this process is illustrated by fig. , taken from an embryo rabbit. the two dorsal sections of the body cavity (_pl.p_) finally extend so as completely to envelope the pericardial cavity (_pc_), remaining however separated from each other below by a lamina extending from the ventral wall of the pericardial cavity to the body wall, which forms the anterior mediastinum of human anatomy. [fig. . section through an advanced embryo of a rabbit to shew how the pericardial cavity becomes surrounded by the pleural cavities. _ht._ heart; _pc._ pericardial cavity; _pl.p_ pleural cavity; _lg._ lung; _al._ alimentary tract; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _ch._ notochord; _rp._ rib; _st._ sternum; _sp.c._ spinal cord.] by these changes the pericardial cavity is converted into a closed bag, completely surrounded at its sides by the two lateral halves of the body cavity, which were primitively placed dorsally to it. these two sections of the body cavity, which in amphibia and sauropsida remain in free communication with the undivided peritoneal cavity behind, may, from the fact of their containing the lungs, be called the pleural cavities. in mammalia a further change takes place, in that, by the formation of a vertical partition across the body cavity, known as the diaphragm, the pleural cavities, containing the lungs, become isolated from the remainder of the body or peritoneal cavity. as shewn by their development the so-called pleuræ or pleural sacks are simply the peritoneal linings of the anterior divisions of the body cavity, shut off from the remainder of the body cavity by the diaphragm. the exact mode of formation of the diaphragm is not fully made out; the account of it recently given by cadiat (no. ) not being in my opinion completely satisfactory. bibliography. ( ) m. cadiat. "du développement de la partie céphalothoracique de l'embryon, de la formation du diaphragme, des pleures, du péricarde, du pharynx et de l'oesophage." _journal de l'anatomie et de la physiologie_, vol. xiv. . _vascular system._ the actual observations bearing on the origin of the vascular system, using the term to include the lymphatic system, are very scanty. it seems probable, mainly it must be admitted on _à priori_ grounds, that vascular and lymphatic systems have originated from the conversion of indefinite spaces, primitively situated in the general connective tissue, into definite channels. it is quite certain that vascular systems have arisen independently in many types; a very striking case of the kind being the development in certain parasitic copepoda of a closed system of vessels with a red non-corpusculated blood (e. van beneden, heider), not found in any other crustacea. parts of vascular systems appear to have arisen in some cases by a canalization of cells. the blood systems may either be closed or communicate with the body cavity. in cases where the primitive body cavity is atrophied or partially broken up into separate compartments (insecta, mollusca, discophora, etc.) a free communication between the vascular system and the body cavity is usually present; but in these cases the communication is no doubt secondary. on the whole it would seem probable that the vascular system has in most instances arisen independently of the body cavity, at least in types where the body cavity is present in a well-developed condition. as pointed out by the hertwigs, a vascular system is always absent where there is not a considerable development of connective tissue. as to the ontogeny of the vascular channels there is still much to be made out both in vertebrates and invertebrates. the smaller channels often rise by a canalization of cells. this process has been satisfactorily studied by lankester in the leech[ ], and may easily be observed in the blastoderm of the chick or in the epiploon of a newly born rabbit (schäfer, ranvier). in either case the vessels arise from a network of cells, the superficial protoplasm and part of the nuclei giving rise to the walls, and the blood-corpuscles being derived either from nucleated masses set free within the vessels (the chick) or from blood-corpuscles directly differentiated in the axes of the cells (mammals). [ ] "connective and vasifactive tissues of the leech." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . larger vessels would seem to be formed from solid cords of cells, the central cells becoming converted into the corpuscles, and the peripheral cells constituting the walls. this mode of formation has been observed by myself in the case of the spider's heart, and by other observers in other invertebrata. in the vertebrata a more or less similar mode of formation appears to hold good for the larger vessels, but further investigations are still required on this subject. götte finds that in the frog the larger vessels are formed as longitudinal spaces, and that the walls are derived from the indifferent cells bounding these spaces, which become flattened and united into a continuous layer. the early formation of vessels in the vertebrata takes place in the splanchnic mesoblast; but this appears due to the fact that the circulation is at first mainly confined to the vitelline region, which is covered by splanchnic mesoblast. _the heart._ the heart is essentially formed as a tubular cavity in the splanchnic mesoblast, on the ventral side of the throat, immediately behind the region of the visceral clefts. the walls of this cavity are formed of two layers, an outer thicker layer, which has at first only the form of a half tube, being incomplete on its dorsal side; and an inner lamina formed of delicate flattened cells. the latter is the epithelioid lining of the heart, and the cavity it contains the true cavity of the heart. the outer layer gives rise to the muscular wall and peritoneal covering of the heart. though at first it has only the form of a half tube (fig. ), it soon becomes folded in on the dorsal side so as to form for the heart a complete muscular wall. its two sides, after thus meeting to complete the tube of the heart, remain at first continuous with the splanchnic mesoblast surrounding the throat, and form a provisional mesentery--the mesocardium--which attaches the heart to the ventral wall of the throat. the superficial stratum of the wall of the heart differentiates itself as the peritoneal covering. the inner epithelioid tube takes its origin at the time when the general cavity of the heart is being formed by the separation of the splanchnic mesoblast from the hypoblast. during this process (fig. ) a layer of mesoblast remains close to the hypoblast, but connected with the main mass of the mesoblast by protoplasmic processes. a second layer next becomes split from the splanchnic mesoblast, connected with the first layer by the above-mentioned protoplasmic processes. these two layers form together the epithelioid lining of the heart; between them is the cavity of the heart, which soon loses the protoplasmic trabeculæ which at first traverse it. the cavity of the heart may thus be described as being formed by a hollowing out of the splanchnic mesoblast, and resembles in its mode of origin that of other large vascular trunks. [fig. . section through the developing heart of an embryo of an elasmobranch (pristiurus). _al._ alimentary tract; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _ht._ heart.] [fig. . transverse section through the posterior part of the head of an embryo chick of thirty hours. _hb._ hind-brain; _vg._ vagus nerve; _ep._ epiblast; _ch._ notochord; _x._ thickening of hypoblast (possibly a rudiment of the subnotochordal rod); _al._ throat; _ht._ heart; _pp._ body cavity; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _sf._ splanchnic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . transverse section through the head of a rabbit of the same age as fig. b. (from kölliker.) b is a more highly magnified representation of part of a. _rf._ medullary groove; _mp._ medullary plate; _rw._ medullary fold; _h._ epiblast; _dd._ hypoblast; _dd´._ notochordal thickening of hypoblast; _sp._ undivided mesoblast; _hp._ somatic mesoblast; _dfp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _ph._ pericardial section of body cavity; _ahh._ muscular wall of heart; _ihh._ epithelioid layer of heart; _mes._ lateral undivided mesoblast; _sw._ part of the hypoblast which will form the ventral wall of the pharynx.] the above description applies only to the development of the heart in those types in which it is formed at a period _after_ the throat has become a closed tube (elasmobranchii, amphibia, cyclostomata, ganoids (?)). in a number of other cases, in which the heart is formed before the conversion of the throat into a closed tube, of which the most notable is that of mammals (hensen, götte, kölliker), the heart arises as two independent tubes (fig. ), which eventually coalesce into an unpaired structure. in mammals the two tubes out of which the heart is formed appear at the sides of the cephalic plates, opposite the region of the mid- and hind-brain (fig. ). they arise at a time when the lateral folds which form the ventral wall of the throat are only just becoming visible. each half of the heart originates in the same way as the whole heart in elasmobranchii, etc.; and the layer of the splanchnic mesoblast, which forms the muscular wall for each part (_ahh_), has at first the form of a half tube open below to the hypoblast. [fig. . two diagrammatic sections through the region of the hind-brain of an embryo chick of about hours illustrating the formation of the heart. _hb._ hind-brain; _nc._ notochord; _e._ epiblast; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _d._ alimentary tract; _hy._ hypoblast; _hz._ heart; _of._ vitelline veins.] on the formation of the lateral folds of the splanchnic walls, the two halves of the heart become carried inwards and downwards, and eventually meet on the ventral side of the throat. for a short time they here remain distinct, but soon coalesce into a single tube. in birds, as in mammals, the heart makes its appearance as two tubes, but arises at a period when the formation of the throat is very much more advanced than in the case of mammals. the heart arises immediately behind the point up to which the ventral wall of the throat is established and thus has at first a lambda-shaped form. at the apex of the lambda, which forms the anterior end of the heart, the two halves are in contact (fig. ), though they have not coalesced; while behind they diverge to be continued as the vitelline veins. as the folding in of the throat is continued backwards the two limbs of the heart are brought together and soon coalesce from before backwards into a single structure. fig. a and b shews the heart during this process. the two halves have coalesced anteriorly (a) but are still widely separated behind (b). in teleostei the heart is formed as in birds and mammals by the coalescence of two tubes, and it arises before the formation of the throat. the fact that the heart arises in so many instances as a double tube might lead to the supposition that the ancestral vertebrate had two tubes in the place of the present unpaired heart. the following considerations appear to me to prove that this conclusion cannot be accepted. if the folding in of the splanchnopleure to form the throat were deferred relatively to the formation of the heart, it is clear that a modification in the development of the heart would occur, in that the two halves of the heart would necessarily be formed widely apart, and only eventually united on the folding in of the wall of the throat. it is therefore possible to explain the double formation of the heart without having recourse to the above hypothesis of an ancestral vertebrate with two hearts. if the explanation just suggested is the true one the heart should only be formed as two tubes when it arises prior to the formation of the throat, and as a single tube when formed after the formation of the throat. since this is invariably found to be so, it may be safely concluded _that the formation of the heart as two cavities is a secondary mode of development, which has been brought about by variations in the period of the closing in of the wall of the throat_. the heart arises continuously with the sinus venosus, which in the amniotic vertebrata is directly continued into the vitelline veins. though at first it ends blindly in front, it is very soon connected with the foremost aortic arches. the simple tubular heart, connected as above described, grows more rapidly than the chamber in which it is contained, and is soon doubled upon itself, acquiring in this way an s-shaped curvature, the posterior portion being placed dorsally, and the anterior ventrally. a constriction soon appears between the dorsal and ventral portions. the dorsal section becomes partially divided off behind from the sinus venosus, and constitutes the relatively thin-walled auricular section of the heart; while the ventral portion, after becoming distinct anteriorly from a portion continued forwards from it to the origin of the branchial arteries, which may be called the truncus arteriosus, acquires very thick spongy muscular walls, and becomes the ventricular division of the heart. the further changes in the heart are but slight in the case of the pisces. a pair of simple membranous valves becomes established at the auriculo-ventricular orifice, and further changes take place in the truncus arteriosus. this part becomes divided in elasmobranchii, ganoidei, and dipnoi into a posterior section, called the conus arteriosus, provided with a series of transverse rows of valves, and an anterior section, called the bulbus arteriosus, not provided with valves, and leading into the branchial arteries. in most teleostei (except butirinus and a few other forms) the conus arteriosus is all but obliterated, and the anterior row of its valves alone preserved; and the bulbus is very much enlarged[ ]. [ ] _vide_ gegenbaur, "zur vergleich. anat. d. herzens." _jenaische zeit._, vol. ii. , and for recent important observations, j. e. v. boas, "ueb. herz u. arterienbogen bei ceratoden u. protopterus," and "ueber d. conus arter. b. butirinus, etc.," _morphol. jahrb._, vol. vi. . in the dipnoi important changes in the heart are effected, as compared with other fishes, by the development of true lungs. both the auricular and ventricular chamber may be imperfectly divided into two, and in the conus a partial longitudinal septum is developed in connection with a longitudinal row of valves[ ]. [ ] boas holds that the longitudinal septum is formed by the coalescence of a row of longitudinal valves, but this is opposed to lankester's statements, "on the hearts of ceratodus, protopterus and chimæra, etc." _zool. trans._ vol. x. . in amphibia the heart is in many respects similar to that of the dipnoi. its curvature is rather that of a screw than of a simple s. the truncus arteriosus lies to the left, and is continued into the ventricle which lies ventrally and more to the right, and this again into the dorsally placed auricular section. after the heart has reached the piscine stage, the auricular section (bombinator) becomes prolonged into a right and left auricular appendage. a septum next grows from the roof of the auricular portion of the heart obliquely backwards and towards the left, and divides it in two chambers; the right one of which remains continuous with the sinus venosus, while the left one is completely shut off from the sinus, though it soon enters into communication with the newly established pulmonary veins. the truncus arteriosus[ ] is divided into a posterior _conus arteriosus_ (pylangium) and an anterior _bulbus_ (synangium). the former is provided with a proximal row of valves at its ventricular end, and a distal row at its anterior end near the bulbus. it is also provided with a longitudinal septum, which is no doubt homologous with the septum in the conus arteriosus of the dipnoi. the bulbus is well developed in many urodela, but hardly exists in the anura. [ ] for a good description of the adult heart _vide_ huxley, article "amphibia," in the _encyclopædia britannica_. in the amniota further changes take place in the heart, resulting in the abortion of the distal rows of valves of the conus arteriosus[ ], and in the splitting up of the whole truncus arteriosus into three vessels in reptilia, and two in birds and mammals, each opening into the ventricular section of the heart, and provided with a special set of valves at its commencement. in birds and mammals the ventricle becomes moreover completely divided into two chambers, each communicating with one of the divisions of the primitive truncus, known in the higher types as the systemic and pulmonary aortæ. the character of the development of the heart in the amniota will be best understood from a description of what takes place in the chick. [ ] it is just possible that the reverse may be true, _vide_ note on p. . if however, as is most probable, the statement in the text is correct, the valves at the mouth of the ventricle in teleostei are not homologous with those of the amniota; the former being the distal row of the valves of the conus, the latter the proximal. in birds the originally straight heart (fig. ) soon becomes doubled up upon itself. the ventricular portion becomes placed on the ventral and right side, while the auricular section is dorsal and to the left. the two parts are separated from each other by a slight constriction known as the canalis auricularis. anteriorly the ventricular cavity is continued into the truncus, and the venous or auricular portion of the heart is similarly connected behind with the sinus venosus. the auricular appendages grow out from the auricle at a very early period. the general appearance of the heart, as seen from the ventral side on the fourth day, is shewn in fig. . although the external divisions of the heart are well marked even before this stage, it is not till the end of the third day that the internal partitions become apparent; and, contrary to what might have been anticipated from the evolution of these parts in the lower types, the ventricular septum is the first to be established. it commences on the third day as a crescentic ridge or fold springing from the convex or ventral side of the rounded ventricular portion of the heart, and on the fourth day grows rapidly across the ventricular cavity towards the concave or dorsal side. it thus forms an incomplete longitudinal partition, extending from the canalis auricularis to the commencement of the truncus arteriosus, and dividing the twisted ventricular tube into two somewhat curved canals, one more to the left and above, the other to the right and below. these communicate with each other, above the free edge of the partition, along its whole length. [fig. . heart of a chick on the fourth day of incubation viewed from the ventral surface. _l.a._ left auricular appendage; _c.a._ canalis auricularis; _v._ ventricle; _b._ truncus arteriosus.] externally the ventricular portion as yet shews no division into two parts. by the fifth day the venous end of the heart, though still lying somewhat to the left and above, is placed as far forwards as the arterial end, the whole organ appearing to be drawn together. the ventricular septum is complete. the apex of the ventricles becomes more and more pointed. in the auricular portion a small longitudinal fold appears as the rudiment of the auricular septum, while in the canalis auricularis, which is now at its greatest length, there is also to be seen a commencement of the valvular structures tending to separate the cavity of the auricles from those of the ventricles. about the th hour, a septum begins to make its appearance in the truncus arteriosus in the form of a longitudinal fold, which according to tonge (no. ) starts at the end of the truncus furthest removed from the heart. it takes origin from the wall of the truncus between the fourth and fifth pairs of arches, and grows downwards in such a manner as to divide the truncus into two channels, one of which leads from the heart to the third and fourth pairs of arches, and the other to the fifth pair. its course downwards is not straight but spiral, and thus the two channels into which it divides the truncus arteriosus wind spirally the one round the other. at the time when the septum is first formed, the opening of the truncus arteriosus into the ventricles is narrow or slit-like, apparently in order to prevent the flow of the blood back into the heart. soon after the appearance of the septum, however, semilunar valves (tonge, no. ) are developed from the wall of that portion of the truncus which lies between the free edge of the septum and the cavity of the ventricles[ ]. [ ] if tonge is correct in his statement that the semilunar valves develop at some distance from the mouth of the ventricle, it would seem possible that the portion of the truncus between them and the ventricle ought to be regarded as the embryonic conus arteriosus, and that the distal row of valves of the conus (and not the proximal as suggested above, p. ) has been preserved in the higher types. the ventral and the dorsal pairs of valves are the first to appear: the former as two small solid prominences separated from each other by a narrow groove; the latter as a single ridge, in the centre of which is a prominence indicating the point where the ridge will subsequently become divided into two. the outer valves appear opposite each other, at a considerably later period. [fig. . two views of the heart of a chick upon the fifth day of incubation. a. from the ventral, b. from the dorsal side. _l.a._ left auricular appendage; _r.a._ right auricular appendage; _r.v._ right ventricle; _l.v._ left ventricle; _b._ truncus arteriosus.] as the septum grows downwards towards the heart, it finally reaches the position of these valves. one of its edges then passes between the two ventral valves, and the other unites with the prominence on the dorsal valve-ridge. at the same time the growth of all the parts causes the valves to appear to approach the heart, and thus to be placed quite at the top of the ventricular cavities. the free edge of the septum of the truncus now fuses with the ventricular septum, and thus the division of the truncus into two separate channels, each provided with three valves, and each communicating with a separate side of the heart, is complete; the position of the valves not being very different from that in the adult heart. that division of the truncus which opens into the fifth pair of arches is the one which communicates with the right ventricle, while that which opens into the third and fourth pairs communicates with the left ventricle. the former becomes the pulmonary artery, the latter the commencement of the systemic aorta. the external constriction actually dividing the truncus into two vessels does not begin to appear till the septum has extended some way back towards the heart. the semilunar valves become pocketed at a period considerably later than their first formation (from the th to the th hour) in the order of their appearance. at the end of the sixth day, and even on the fifth day (figs. and ), the appearance of the heart itself, without reference to the vessels which come from it, is not very dissimilar from that of the adult. the original protuberance to the right now forms the apex of the ventricles, and the two auricular appendages are placed at the anterior extremity of the heart. the most noticeable difference (in the ventral view) is the still externally undivided condition of the truncus arteriosus. [fig. . heart of a chick upon the sixth day of incubation, from the ventral surface. _l.a._ left auricular appendage; _r.a._ right auricular appendage; _r.v._ right ventricle; _l.v._ left ventricle; _b._ truncus arteriosus.] the subsequent changes which the heart undergoes are concerned more with its internal structure than with its external shape. indeed, during the next three days, viz. the eighth, ninth, and tenth, the external form of the heart remains nearly unaltered. in the auricular portion, however, the septum which commenced on the fifth day becomes now more conspicuous. it is placed vertically, and arises from the ventral wall; commencing at the canalis auricularis and proceeding towards the opening into the sinus venosus. this latter structure gradually becomes reduced so as to become a special appendage of the right auricle. the inferior vena cava enters the sinus obliquely from the right, so that its blood has a tendency to flow towards the left auricle of the heart, which is at this time the larger of the two. the valves between the ventricles and auricles are now well developed, and it is about this time that the division of the truncus arteriosus into the aorta and pulmonary artery becomes visible from the exterior. by the eleventh to the thirteenth day the right auricle has become as large as the left, and the auricular septum much more complete, though there is still a small opening, the _foramen ovale_, by which the two cavities communicate with each other. the most important feature in which the development of the reptilian heart differs from that of birds is the division of the truncus into three vessels, instead of two. the three vessels remain bound up in a common sheath, and appear externally as a single trunk. the vessel not represented in birds is that which is continued into the left aortic arch. in mammals the early stages in the development of the heart present no important points of difference from those of aves. the septa in the truncus, in the ventricular, and in the auricular cavities are formed, so far as is known, in the same way and at the same relative periods in both groups. in the embryo man, the rabbit, and other mammals the division of the ventricles is made apparent externally by a deep cleft, which, though evanescent in these forms, is permanent in the dugong. the attachment of the auriculo-ventricular valves to the wall of the ventricle, and the similar attachment of the left auriculo-ventricular valves in birds, have been especially studied by gegenbaur and bernays (no. ), and deserve to be noticed. in the primitive state the ventricular walls have throughout a spongy character; and the auriculo-ventricular valves are simple membranous projections like the auriculo-ventricular valves of fishes. soon however the spongy muscular tissue of both the ventricular and auricular walls, which at first pass uninterruptedly the one into the other, grows into the bases of the valves, which thus become in the main muscular projections of the walls of the heart. as the wall of the ventricle thickens, the muscular trabeculæ, connected at one end with the valves, remain at the other end united with the ventricular wall, and form special bands passing between the two. the valves on the other hand lose their muscular attachment to the auricular walls. this is the condition permanent in ornithorhynchus. in higher mammalia the ends of the muscular bands inserted into the valves become fibrous, from the development of intermuscular connective tissue, and the atrophy of the muscular elements. the fibrous parts now form the chordæ tendineæ, and the muscular the musculi papillares. the sinus venosus in mammals becomes completely merged into the right auricle, and the systemic division of the truncus arteriosus is apparently not homologous with that in birds. in the embryos of all the craniata the heart is situated very far forwards in the region of the head. this position is retained in pisces. in amphibia the heart is moved further back, while in all the amniota it gradually shifts its position first of all into the region of the neck and finally passes completely within the thoracic cavity. the steps in the change of position may be gathered from figs. , , and . bibliography _of the heart_. ( ) a. c. bernays. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. atrioventricularklappen." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) e. gasser. "ueber d. entstehung d. herzens beim hühn." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. ( ) a. thomson. "on the development of the vascular system of the foetus of vertebrated animals." _edinb. new phil. journal_, vol. ix. and . ( ) m. tonge. "observations on the development of the semilunar valves of the aorta and pulmonary artery of the heart of the chick." _phil. trans._ clix. . _vide_ also von baer ( ), rathke ( ), hensen ( ), kölliker ( ), götte ( ), and balfour ( ). _arterial system._ in the embryos of vertebrata the arterial system consists of a forward continuation of the truncus arteriosus, on the ventral side of the throat (figs. , _abr_, and , _a_), which, with a few exceptions to be noticed below, divides into as many branches on each side as there are visceral arches. these branches, after traversing the visceral arches, unite on the dorsal side of the throat into a common trunk on each side. this trunk (figs. and ) after giving off one (or more) vessels to the head (_c´_ and _c_) turns backwards, and bends in towards the middle line, close to its fellow, immediately below the notochord (figs. and ) and runs backwards in this situation towards the end of the tail. the two parallel trunks below the notochord fuse very early into a single trunk, the dorsal aorta (figs. , _ad_, and , _a´´_). there is given off from each collecting trunk from the visceral arches, or from the commencement of the dorsal aorta, a subclavian artery to each of the anterior limbs; from near the anterior end of the dorsal aorta a vitelline artery (or before the dorsal aortæ have united a pair of arteries fig. , r _of_ a and l _of_ a) to the yolk-sack, which subsequently becomes the main visceral artery[ ]; and from the dorsal aorta opposite the hind limbs one (or two) arteries on each side--the iliac arteries--to the hind limbs; from these arteries the allantoic arteries are given off in the higher types, which remain as the hypogastric arteries after the disappearance of the allantois. [ ] in mammalia the superior mesenteric artery arises from the vitelline artery, which may probably be regarded as a primitive cæliaco-mesenteric artery. [fig. . diagrammatic view of the head of an embryo teleostean, with the primitive vascular trunks. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ auricle; _v._ ventricle; _abr._ branchial artery; _c´._ carotid; _ad._ dorsal aorta; _s._ branchial clefts; _sv._ sinus venosus; _dc._ ductus cuvieri; _n._ nasal pit.] the primitive arrangement of the arterial trunks is with a few modifications retained in fishes. with the development of the gills the vessels to the arches become divided into two parts connected by a capillary system in the gill folds, viz. into the branchial arteries bringing the blood to the gills from the truncus arteriosus, and the branchial veins transporting it to the dorsal aorta. the branchial vessels to those arches which do not bear gills, either wholly or partially atrophy; thus in elasmobranchii the mandibular trunk, which is fully developed in the embryo (fig. , _av_), atrophies, except for a small remnant bringing blood to the rudimentary gill of the spiracle from the branchial vein of the hyoid arch. in ganoids the mandibular artery atrophies, but the hyoid is usually preserved. in teleostei both mandibular[ ] and hyoid arteries are absent in the adult, except that there is usually left a rudiment of the hyoid, supplying the pseudobranch, which is similar to the rudiment of the mandibular artery in elasmobranchii. in dipnoi the mandibular artery atrophies, but the hyoid is sometimes preserved (protopterus), and sometimes lost. [ ] the mandibular artery is stated by götte never to be developed in teleostei, but is distinctly figured in lereboullet (no. ). in fishes provided with a well developed air-bladder this organ receives arteries, which arise sometimes from the dorsal aorta, sometimes from the cæliac arteries, and sometimes from the dorsal section of the last (fourth) branchial trunk. the latter origin is found in polypterus and amia, and seems to have been inherited by the dipnoi where the air-bladder forms a true lung. the pulmonary artery of all the air-breathing vertebrata is derived from the pulmonary artery of the dipnoi. in all the types above fishes considerable changes are effected in the primitive arrangement of the arteries in the visceral arches. in amphibia the piscine condition is most nearly retained[ ]. the mandibular artery is never developed, and the hyoid artery is imperfect, being only connected with the cephalic vessels and never directly joining the dorsal aorta. it is moreover developed later than the arteries of the true branchial arches behind. the subclavian arteries spring from the common trunks which unite to form the dorsal aorta. [ ] in my account of the amphibia, götte (no. ) has been followed. in the urodela there are developed, in addition to the hyoid, four branchial arteries. the three foremost of these at first supply gills, and in the perennibranchiate forms continue to do so through life. the fourth does not supply a gill, and very early gives off, as in the dipnoi, a pulmonary branch. the hyoid artery soon sends forward a lingual artery from its ventral end, and is at first continued to the carotid which grows forward from the dorsal part of the first branchial vessel. in the caducibranchiata, where the gills atrophy, the following changes take place. the remnant of the hyoid is continued entirely into the lingual artery. the first branchial is mainly continued into the carotid and other cephalic branches, but a narrow remnant of the trunk, which originally connected it with the dorsal aorta, remains, forming what is known as a ductus botalli. a rete mirabile on its course is the remnant of the original gill. the second and third branchial arches are continued as simple trunks into the dorsal aorta, and the blood from the fourth arch mainly passes to the lungs, but a narrow ductus botalli still connects this arch with the dorsal aorta. in the anura the same number of arches is present in the embryo as in the urodela, all four branchial arteries supplying branchiæ, but the arrangement of the two posterior trunks is different from that in the urodela. the third arch becomes at a very early period continued into a pulmonary vessel, a relatively narrow branch connecting it with the second arch. the fourth arch joins the pulmonary branch of the third. at the metamorphosis the hyoid artery loses its connection with the carotid, and the only part of it which persists is the root of the lingual artery. the first branchial artery ceases to join the dorsal aorta, and forms the root of the carotid: the so-called carotid gland placed on its course is the remnant of the gill supplied by it before the metamorphosis. the second artery forms a root of the dorsal aorta. the third, as in all the amniota, now supplies the lungs, and also sends off a cutaneous branch. the fourth disappears. the connection of the pulmonary artery with both the third and fourth branchial arches in the embryo appears to me clearly to indicate that this artery was primitively derived from the _fourth arch_ as in the urodela, and that its permanent connection with the third arch in the anura and in all the amniota is secondary. [fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the arterial arches in an embryo of one of the amniota. (from gegenbaur; after rathke.) _a._ ventral aorta; _a´´._ dorsal aorta; , , , , . arterial arches; _c._ carotid artery.] in the amniota the metamorphosis of the arteries is in all cases very similar. five arches, viz. the mandibular, hyoid, and three branchial arches are always developed (fig. ), but, owing to the absence of branchiæ, never function as branchial arteries. of these the main parts of the first two, connecting the truncus arteriosus with the collecting trunk into which the arterial arches fall, always disappear, usually before the complete development of the arteries in the posterior arches. the anterior part of the collecting trunk into which these vessels fall is not obliterated when they disappear, but is on the contrary continued forwards as a vessel supplying the brain, homologous with that found in fishes. it constitutes the internal carotid. similarly the anterior part of the trunk from which the mandibular and hyoid arteries sprang is continued forwards as a small vessel[ ], which at first passes to the oral region and constitutes in reptiles the lingual artery, homologous with the lingual artery of the amphibia; but in birds and mammals becomes more important, and is then known as the external carotid (fig. ). by these changes the roots of the external and internal carotids spring respectively from the ventral and dorsal ends of the primitive third artery, _i.e._ the artery of the first branchial arch (fig. , _c_ and _c´_); and thus this arterial arch _persists in all types_ as the common carotid, and the basal part of the internal carotid. the trunk connecting the third arterial arch with the system of the dorsal aorta persists in some reptiles (lacertilia, fig. a) as a ductus botalli, but is lost in the remaining reptiles and in birds and mammals (fig. b, c, d). it disappears earliest in mammals (fig. c), later in birds (fig. b), and still later in the majority of reptiles. [ ] his (no. ) describes in man two ventral continuations of the truncus arteriosus, one derived from the mandibular artery, forming the external maxillary artery, and one from the hyoid artery, forming the lingual artery. the vessel from which they spring is the external carotid. these observations of his will very probably be found to hold true for other types. the fourth arch always continues to give rise, as in the anura, to the system of the dorsal aorta. [fig. . development of the great arterial trunks in the embryos of a. a lizard; b. the common fowl; c. the pig. (from gegenbaur; after rathke.) the first two arches have disappeared in all three. in a and b the last three are still complete, but in c the last two are alone complete. _p._ pulmonary artery springing from the fifth arch, but still connected with the system of the dorsal aorta by a ductus botalli; _c._ external carotid; _c´._ internal carotid; _ad._ dorsal aorta; _a._ auricle; _v._ ventricle; _n._ nasal pit; _m._ rudiment of fore-limb.] in all reptiles it persists on both sides (fig. a and b), but with the division of the truncus arteriosus into three vessels one of these, _i.e._ that opening furthest to the left side of the ventricle (_e_ and _d_), is continuous with the _right_ fourth arch, and also with the common carotid arteries (_c_); while a second springing from the right side of the ventricle is continuous with the _left_ fourth arch (_h_ and _f_). the right and left divisions of the fourth arch meet however on the dorsal side of the oesophagus to give origin to the dorsal aorta (_g_). in birds (fig. c) the _left_ fourth arch (_h_) loses its connection with the dorsal aorta, though the ventral part remains as the root of the left subclavian. the truncus arteriosus is moreover only divided into two parts, one of which is continuous with all the systemic arteries. thus it comes about that in birds the right fourth arch (_e_) alone gives rise to the dorsal aorta. in mammals (fig. d) the truncus arteriosus is only divided into two, but the _left fourth arch_ (_e_), instead of the right, is that continuous with the dorsal aorta, and the right fourth arch (_i_) is only continued into the right vertebral and right subclavian arteries. the fifth arch always gives origin to the pulmonary artery (fig. , _p_) and is continuous with one of the divisions of the truncus arteriosus. in lizards (fig. a, _i_), chelonians and birds (fig. c, _i_) and probably in crocodilia, the right and left pulmonary arteries spring respectively from the right and left fifth arches, and during the greater part of embryonic life the parts of the fifth arches between the origins of the pulmonary arteries and the system of the dorsal aorta are preserved as ductus botalli. these ductus botalli persist for life in the chelonia. in ophidia (fig. b, _h_) and mammalia (fig. d, _m_) only one of the fifth arches gives origin to the two pulmonary arteries, viz. that on the right side in ophidia, and the left in mammalia. the ductus botalli of the fifth arch (known in man as the ductus arteriosus) of the side on which the pulmonary arteries are formed, may remain (_e.g._ in man) as a solid cord connecting the common stern of the pulmonary aorta with the systemic aorta. the main history of the arterial arches in the amniota has been sufficiently dealt with, and the diagram, fig. , copied from rathke, shews at a glance the character of the metamorphosis these arches undergo in the different types. it merely remains for me to say a few words about the subclavian and vertebral arteries. the subclavian arteries in fishes usually spring from the trunks connecting the branchial veins with the dorsal aorta. this origin, which is also found in amphibia, is typically found in the embryos of the amniota. in the lizards this origin persists through life, but both subclavians spring from the right side. in most other types the origin of the subclavians is carried upwards, so that they usually spring from a trunk common to them and the carotids (arteria anonyma) (birds and some mammals); or the left one, as in man and some other mammals, arises from the systemic aorta just beyond the carotids. various further modifications in the origin of the subclavians of the same general nature are found in mammalia, but they need not be specified in detail. the vertebral arteries usually arise in close connection with the subclavians, but in birds they arise from the common carotids. [fig. . diagrams illustrating the metamorphosis of the arterial arches in a lizard a, a snake b, a bird c and a mammal d. (from mivart; after rathke.) a. _a._ internal carotid; _b._ external carotid; _c._ common carotid; _d._ ductus botalli between the third and fourth arches; _e._ right aortic trunk; _f._ subclavian; _g._ dorsal aorta; _h._ left aortic trunk; _i._ pulmonary artery; _k._ rudiment of ductus botalli between the pulmonary artery and the system of the dorsal aorta. b. _a._ internal carotid; _b._ external carotid; _c._ common carotid; _d._ right aortic trunk; _e._ vertebral artery; _f._ left aortic trunk of dorsal aorta; _h._ pulmonary artery; _i._ ductus botalli of pulmonary artery. c. _a._ internal carotid; _b._ external carotid; _c._ common carotid; _d._ systemic aorta; _e._ fourth arch of right side (root of dorsal aorta); _f._ right subclavian; _g._ dorsal aorta; _h._ left subclavian (fourth arch of left side); _i._ pulmonary artery; _k._ and _l._ right and left ductus botalli of pulmonary arteries. d. _a._ internal carotid; _b._ external carotid; _c._ common carotid; _d._ systemic aorta; _e._ fourth arch of left side (root of dorsal aorta); _f._ dorsal aorta; _g._ left vertebral artery; _h._ left subclavian artery; _i._ right subclavian (fourth arch of right side); _k._ right vertebral; _l._ continuation of right subclavian; _m._ pulmonary artery; _n._ ductus botalli of pulmonary artery.] bibliography _of the arterial system_. ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. entwick. d. arterien w. bei d. säugethiere von d. bogen d. aorta ausgehen." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) h. rathke. "untersuchungen üb. d. aortenwurzeln d. saurier." _denkschriften d. k. akad. wien_, vol. xiii. . _vide_ also his (no. ) and general works on vertebrate embryology. _the venous system._ the venous system, as it is found in the embryos of fishes, consists in its earliest condition of a single large trunk, which traverses the splanchnic mesoblast investing the part of the alimentary tract behind the heart. this trunk is directly continuous in front with the heart, and underlies the alimentary canal through both its præanal and postanal sections. it is shown in section in fig. , _v_, and may be called the subintestinal vein. this vein has been found in the embryos of teleostei, ganoidei, elasmobranchii and cyclostomata, and runs parallel to the dorsal aorta above, into which it is sometimes continued behind (teleostei, ganoidei, etc.). in elasmobranch embryos the subintestinal vein terminates, as may be gathered from sections (fig. , _v.cau_), shortly before the end of the tail. the same series of sections also shews that at the cloaca, where the gut enlarges and comes in contact with the skin, this vein bifurcates, the two branches uniting into a single vein both in front of and behind the cloaca. in most fishes the anterior part of this vein atrophies, the caudal section alone remaining, but the anterior section of it persists in the fold of the intestine in petromyzon, and also remains in the spiral valve of some elasmobranchii. in amphioxus, moreover, it forms, as in the embryos of higher types, the main venous trunk, though even here it is usually broken up into two or three parallel vessels. it no doubt represents one of the primitive longitudinal trunks of the vermiform ancestors of the chordata. the heart and the branchial artery constitute a specially modified anterior continuation of this vein. the dilated portal sinus of myxine is probably also part of it; and if this is really rhythmically contractile[ ] the fact would be interesting as shewing that this quality, which is now localised in the heart, was once probably common to the subintestinal vessel for its whole length. [ ] j. müller holds that this sack is not rhythmically contractile. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] on the development of the cardinal veins (to be described below) considerable changes are effected in the subintestinal vein. its postanal section, which is known in the adult as the caudal vein, unites with the cardinal veins. on this junction being effected retrogressive changes take place in the præanal section of the original subintestinal vessel. it breaks up in front into a number of smaller vessels, the most important of which is a special vein, which lies in the fold of the spiral valve, and which is more conspicuous in some elasmobranchii than in scyllium, in which the development of the vessel has been mainly studied. the lesser of the two branches connecting it round the cloaca with the caudal vein first vanishes, and then the larger; and the two posterior cardinals are left as the sole forward continuations of the caudal vein. the latter then becomes prolonged forwards, so that the two cardinals open into it some little distance in front of the hind end of the kidneys. by these changes, and by the disappearance of the postanal section of the gut, the caudal vein is made to appear as a supraintestinal and not, as it really is, a _subintestinal vessel_. from the subintestinal vein there is given off a branch which supplies the yolk-sack. this leaves the subintestinal vein close to the liver. the liver, on its development, embraces the subintestinal vein, which then breaks up into a capillary system in the liver, the main part of its blood coming at this period from the yolk-sack. the portal system is thus established from the subintestinal vein; but is eventually joined by the various visceral, and sometimes by the genital, veins as they become successively developed. the blood from the liver is brought back to the sinus venosus by veins known as the hepatic veins, which, like the hepatic capillary system, are derivatives of the subintestinal vessel. there join the portal system in myxinoids and many teleostei a number of veins from the anterior abdominal walls, representing a commencement of the anterior abdominal or epigastric vein of higher types[ ]. [ ] stannius, _vergleich. anat._, p. . [fig. . four sections through the postanal part of the tail of an embryo of the same age as fig. f. a. is the posterior section. _nc._ neural canal; _al._ postanal gut; _alv._ caudal vesicle of postanal gut; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _cl.al._ cloaca; _ao._ aorta; _v.cau._ caudal vein.] in the higher vertebrates the original subintestinal vessel never attains a full development, even in the embryo. it is represented by ( ) the ductus venosus, which, like the true subintestinal vein, gives origin (in the amniota) to the vitelline veins to the yolk-sack, and ( ) by the caudal vein. whether the partial atrophy of the subintestinal vessel was primitively caused by the development of the cardinal veins, or for some other reason, it is at any rate a fact that in all existing fishes the cardinal veins form the main venous channels of the trunk. their later development than the subintestinal vessel as well as their absence in amphioxus, probably indicate that they became evolved, at any rate in their present form, within the vertebrate phylum. the embryonic condition of the venous system, with a single large subintestinal vein is, as has been stated, always modified by the development of a paired system of vessels, known as the cardinal veins, which bring to the heart the greater part of the blood from the trunk. [fig. . diagram of the paired venous system of a fish. (from gegenbaur.) _j._ jugular vein (anterior cardinal vein); _c._ posterior cardinal vein; _h._ hepatic veins; _sv._ sinus venosus; _dc._ ductus cuvieri.] the cardinal veins appear in fishes as four paired longitudinal trunks (figs. and ), two anterior (_j_) and two posterior (_c_). they unite into two transverse trunks on either side, known as the ductus cuvieri (_dc_), which fall into the sinus venosus, passing from the body wall to the sinus by a lateral mesentery of the heart already spoken of (p. , fig. ). the anterior pair, known as the anterior cardinal or jugular veins, bring to the heart the blood from the head and neck. they are placed one on each side above the level of the branchial arches (fig. , _a.cv_). the posterior cardinal veins lie immediately dorsal to the mesonephros (wolffian body), and are mainly supplied by the blood from this organ and from the walls of the body (fig. , _c.a.v_). in many forms (cyclostomata, elasmobranchii and many teleostei) they unite posteriorly with the caudal veins in the manner already described, and in a large number of instances the connecting branch between the two systems, in its passage through the mesonephros, breaks up into a capillary network, and so gives rise to a renal portal system. the vein from the anterior pair of fins (subclavian) usually unites with the anterior jugular vein. the venous system of the amphibia and amniota always differs from that of fishes in the presence of a new vessel, the vena cava inferior, which replaces the posterior cardinal veins; the latter only being present, in their piscine form, during embryonic life. it further differs from that of all fishes, except the dipnoi, in the presence of pulmonary veins bringing back the blood directly from the lungs. in the embryos of all the higher forms the general characters of the venous system are at first the same as in fishes, but with the development of the vena cava inferior the front sections of the posterior cardinal veins atrophy, and the ductus cuvieri, remaining solely connected with the anterior cardinals and their derivatives, constitute the superior venæ cavæ. the inferior cava receives the hepatic veins. apart from the non-development of the subintestinal vein the visceral section of the venous system is very similar to that in fishes. the further changes in the venous system must be dealt with separately for each group. amphibia. in amphibia (götte, no. ) the anterior and posterior cardinal veins arise as in pisces. from the former the internal jugular vein arises as a branch; the external jugular constituting the main stem. the subclavian with its large cutaneous branch also springs from the system of the anterior cardinal. the common trunk formed by the junction of these three veins falls into the ductus cuvieri. the posterior cardinal veins occupy the same position as in pisces, and unite behind with the caudal veins, which götte has shewn to be originally situated below the postanal gut. the iliac veins unite with the posterior cardinal veins, where the latter fall into the caudal vein. the original piscine condition of the veins is not long retained. it is first of all disturbed by the development of the _anterior_ part of the important unpaired venous trunk which forms in the adult the vena cava inferior. this is developed independently, but unites behind with the right posterior cardinal. from this point backwards the two cardinal veins coalesce for some distance, to give rise to the _posterior_ section of the vena cava inferior, situated between the kidneys[ ]. the anterior sections of the cardinal veins subsequently atrophy. the posterior part of the cardinal veins, from their junction with the vena cava inferior to the caudal veins, forms a rhomboidal figure. the iliac vein joins the outer angle of this figure, and is thus in direct communication with the inferior vena cava, but it is also connected with a longitudinal vessel on the outer border of the kidneys, which receives transverse vertebral veins and transmits their blood to the kidneys, thus forming a renal portal system. the anterior limbs of the rhomboid formed by the cardinal veins soon atrophy, so that the blood from the hind limbs can only pass to the inferior vena cava through the renal portal system. the posterior parts of the two cardinal veins (uniting in the urodela directly with the unpaired caudal vein) still persist. the iliac veins also become directly connected with a new vein, the anterior abdominal vein, which has meanwhile become developed. thus the iliac veins become united with the system of the vena cava inferior through the vena renalis advehens on the outer border of the kidney, and with the anterior abdominal veins by the epigastric veins. [ ] this statement of götte's is opposed to that of rathke for the amniota, and cannot be considered as completely established. the visceral venous system begins with the development of two vitelline veins, which at first join the sinus venosus directly. they soon become enveloped in the liver, where they break up into a capillary system, which is also joined by the other veins from the viscera. the hepatic system has in fact the same relations as in fishes. into this system the anterior abdominal vein also pours itself in the adult. this vein is originally formed of two vessels, which at first fall directly into the sinus venosus, uniting close to their opening into the sinus with a vein from the truncus arteriosus. they become prolonged backwards, and after receiving the epigastric veins above mentioned from the iliac veins, and also veins from the allantoic bladder, unite behind into a single vessel. anteriorly the right vein atrophies and the left continues forward the unpaired posterior section. a secondary connection becomes established between the anterior abdominal vein and the portal system; so that the blood originally transported by the former vein to the heart becomes diverted so as to fall into the liver. a remnant of the primitive connection is still retained in the adult in the form of a small vein, the so-called vena bulbi posterior, which brings the blood from the walls of the truncus arteriosus directly into the anterior abdominal vein. the pulmonary veins grow directly from the heart to the lungs. for our knowledge of the development of the venous system of the amniota we are mainly indebted to rathke. reptilia. as an example of the reptilia the snake may be selected, its venous system having been fully worked out by rathke in his important memoir on its development (no. ). the anterior (external jugular) and posterior cardinal veins are formed in the embryo as in all other types (fig. , _vj_ and _vc_); and the anterior cardinal, after giving rise to the anterior vertebral and to the cephalic veins, persists with but slight modifications in the adult; while the two ductus cuvieri constitute the superior venæ cavæ. the two posterior cardinals unite behind with the caudal veins. they are placed in the usual situation on the dorsal and outer border of the kidneys. with the development of the vena cava inferior, to be described below, the blood from the kidneys becomes mainly transported by this vessel to the heart; and the section of the posterior cardinals opening into the ductus cuvieri gradually atrophies, their posterior parts remaining however on the outer border of the kidneys as the venæ renales advehentes[ ]. [ ] rathke's account of the vena renalis advehens is thus entirely opposed to that which götte gives for the frog, but my own observations on the lizard incline me to accept rathke's statements, for the amniota at any rate. [fig. . anterior portion of the venous system of an embryonic snake. (from gegenbaur; after rathke.) _vc._ posterior cardinal vein; _vj._ jugular vein; _dc._ ductus cuvieri; _vu._ allantoic vein; _v._ ventricle; _ba._ truncus arteriosus; _a._ visceral clefts; _l._ auditory vesicle.] while the front part of the posterior cardinal veins is undergoing atrophy, the intercostal veins, which originally poured their blood into the posterior cardinal veins, become also connected with two longitudinal veins--the posterior vertebral veins--which are homologous with the azygos and hemiazygos veins of man; and bear the same relation to the anterior vertebral veins that the anterior and posterior cardinals do to each other. these veins are at first connected by transverse anastomoses with the posterior cardinals, but, on the disappearance of the front part of the latter, the whole of the blood from the intercostal veins falls into the posterior vertebral veins. they are united in front with the anterior vertebral veins, and the common trunk of the two veins on each side falls into the jugular vein. the posterior vertebral veins are at first symmetrical, but after becoming connected by transverse anastomoses, the right becomes the more important of the two. the vena cava inferior, though considerably later in its development than the cardinals, arises fairly early. it constitutes in front an unpaired trunk, at first very small, _opening into the right allantoic vein_, close to the heart. posteriorly it is continuous with two veins placed on the inner border of the kidneys[ ]. [ ] the vena cava inferior does not according to rathke's account unite behind with the posterior cardinal veins, as it is stated by götte to do in the anura. götte questions the accuracy of rathke's statements on this head, but my own observations are entirely in favour of rathke's observations, and lend no support whatever to götte's views. the vena cava inferior passes through the dorsal part of the liver, and in doing so receives the hepatic veins. the portal system is at first constituted by the vitelline vein, which is directly continuous with the venous end of the heart, and at first receives the two ductus cuvieri, but at a later period unites with the left ductus. it soon receives a mesenteric vein bringing the blood from the viscera, which is small at first but rapidly increases in importance. the common trunk of the vitelline and mesenteric veins, which may be called the portal vein, becomes early enveloped by the liver, and gives off branches to this organ, the blood from which passes by the hepatic veins to the vena cava inferior. as the branches in the liver become more important, less and less blood is directly transported to the heart, and finally the part of the original vitelline vein in front of the liver is absorbed, and the whole of the blood from the portal system passes from the liver into the vena cava inferior. the last section of the venous system to be dealt with is that of the anterior abdominal vein. there are originally, as in the anura, two veins belonging to this system, which owing to the precocious development of the bladder to form the allantois, constitute the allantoic veins (fig. , _vu_). these veins, running along the anterior abdominal wall, are formed somewhat later than the vitelline vein, and fall into the two ductus cuvieri. they unite with two epigastric veins (homologous with those in the anura), which connect them with the system of the posterior cardinal veins. the left of the two eventually atrophies, so that there is formed an unpaired allantoic vein. this vein at first receives the vena cava inferior close to the heart, but eventually the junction of the two takes place in the region of the liver, and finally the anterior abdominal vein (as it comes to be after the atrophy of the allantois) joins the portal system and breaks up into capillaries in the liver[ ]. [ ] the junction between the portal system and the anterior abdominal vein is apparently denied by rathke (no. , p. ), but this must be an error on his part. in lizards the iliac veins join the posterior cardinals, and so pour part of their blood into the kidneys; they also become connected by the epigastric veins with the system of the anterior abdominal or allantoic vein. the subclavian veins join the system of the superior venæ cavæ. the venous system of birds and mammals differs in two important points from that of reptilia and amphibia. firstly the anterior abdominal vein is only a foetal vessel, forming during foetal life the allantoic vein; and secondly a direct connection is established between the vena cava inferior and the veins of the hind limbs and posterior parts of the cardinal veins, so that there is no renal portal system. aves. the chick may be taken to illustrate the development of the venous system in birds. on the third day, nearly the whole of the venous blood from the body of the embryo is carried back to the heart by two main venous trunks, the anterior (fig. , _s.ca.v_) and posterior (_v.ca_) cardinal veins, joining on each side to form the short transverse ductus cuvieri (_dc_), both of which unite with the sinus venosus close to the heart. as the head and neck continue to enlarge, and the wings become developed, the single anterior cardinal or jugular vein (fig. , _j_), of each side, is joined by two new veins: the vertebral vein, bringing back blood from the head and neck, and the subclavian vein from the wing (_w_). on the third day the posterior cardinal veins are the only veins which return the blood from the hinder part of the body of the embryo. [fig. . diagram of the venous circulation in the chick at the commencement of the fifth day. _h._ heart; _d.c._ ductus cuvieri. into the ductus cuvieri of each side fall _j._ the jugular vein, _w._ the vein from the wing, and _c._ the inferior cardinal vein; _s.v._ sinus venosus; _of._ vitelline vein; _u._ allantoic vein, which at this stage gives off branches to the body-walls; _v.c.i._ inferior vena cava; _l._ liver.] about the fourth or fifth day, however, the vena cava inferior (fig. , _v.c.i._) makes its appearance. this, starting from the sinus venosus not far from the heart, is on the fifth day a short trunk running backward in the middle line below the aorta, and speedily losing itself in the tissues of the wolffian bodies. when the true kidneys are formed it also receives blood from them, and thenceforward enlarging rapidly becomes the channel by which the greater part of the blood from the hinder part of the body finds its way to the heart. in proportion as the vena cava inferior increases in size, the posterior cardinal veins diminish. the blood originally coming to them from the posterior part of the spinal cord and trunk is transported into two posterior vertebral veins, similar to those in reptilia, which are however placed dorsally to the heads of the ribs, and join the anterior vertebral veins. with their appearance the anterior parts of the posterior cardinals disappear. the blood from the hind limbs becomes transported directly through the kidney into the vena cava inferior, without forming a renal portal system[ ]. [ ] the mode in which this is effected requires further investigation. on the third day the course of the vessels from the yolk-sack is very simple. the two vitelline veins, of which the right is already the smaller, form the ductus venosus, from which, as it passes through the liver on its way to the heart, are given off the two sets of _venæ advehentes_ and _venæ revehentes_ (fig. ). with the appearance of the allantois on the fourth day, a new feature is introduced. from the ductus venosus there is given off a vein which quickly divides into two branches. these, running along the ventral walls of the body from which they receive some amount of blood, pass to the allantois. they are the _allantoic_ veins (fig. , _u_) homologous with the anterior abdominal vein of the lower types. they unite in front to form a single vein, which becomes, by reason of the rapid growth of the allantois, very long. the right branch soon diminishes in size and finally disappears. meanwhile the left on reaching the allantois bifurcates; and, its two branches becoming large and conspicuous, there still appear to be two main allantoic veins. at its first appearance the allantoic vein seems to be but a small branch of the vitelline, but as the allantois grows rapidly, and the yolk-sack dwindles, this state of things is reversed, and the less conspicuous vitelline appears as a branch of the larger allantoic vein. [fig. . diagram of the venous circulation in the chick during the later days of incubation. _h._ heart; _v.s.r._ right vena cava superior; _v.s.l._ left vena cava superior. the two venæ cavæ superiores are the original 'ductus cuvieri,' they open into the sinus venosus. _j._ jugular vein; _su.v._ anterior vertebral vein; _in.v._ inferior vertebral vein; _w._ subclavian; _v.c.i._ vena cava inferior; _d.v._ ductus venosus; _p.v._ portal vein; _m._ mesenteric vein bringing blood from the intestines into the portal vein; _o.f._ vitelline vein; _u._ allantoic vein. the three last mentioned veins unite together to form the portal vein; _l._ liver.] on the third day the blood returning from the walls of the intestine is insignificant in amount. as however the intestine becomes more and more developed, it acquires a distinct venous system, and its blood is returned by veins which form a trunk, the _mesenteric vein_ (fig. , _m_) falling into the vitelline vein at its junction with the allantoic vein. these three great veins, in fact, form a large common trunk, which enters at once into the liver, and which we may now call the _portal vein_ (fig. , _p.v_). this, at its entrance into the liver, partly breaks up into the _venæ advehentes_, and partly continues as the ductus venosus (_d.v_) straight through the liver, emerging from which it joins the vena cava inferior. before the establishment of the vena cava inferior, the venæ revehentes, carrying back the blood which circulates through the hepatic capillaries, join the ductus venosus close to its exit from the liver. by the time however that the vena cava has become a large and important vessel it is found that the venæ revehentes, or as we may now call them the _hepatic veins_, have shifted their embouchment, and now fall directly into that vein, the ductus venosus making a separate junction rather higher up (fig. ). this state of things continues with but slight changes till near the end of incubation, when the chick begins to breathe the air in the air-chamber of the shell, and respiration is no longer carried on by the allantois. blood then ceases to flow along the allantoic vessels; they become obliterated. the vitelline vein, which as the yolk becomes gradually absorbed proportionately diminishes in size and importance, comes to appear as a mere branch of the portal vein. the ductus venosus becomes obliterated; and hence the whole of the blood coming through the portal vein flows into the substance of the liver, and so by the hepatic veins into the vena cava. although the allantoic (anterior abdominal) vein is obliterated in the adult, there is nevertheless established an anastomosis between the portal system and the veins bringing the blood from the limbs to the vena cava inferior, in that the caudal vein and posterior pelvic veins open into a vessel, known as the coccygeo-mesenteric vein, which joins the portal vein; while at the same time the posterior pelvic veins are connected with the common iliac veins by a vessel which unites with them close to their junction with the coccygeo-mesenteric vein. mammalia. in mammals the same venous trunks are developed in the embryo as in other types (fig. a). the anterior cardinals or external jugulars form the primitive veins of the anterior part of the body, and the internal jugulars and anterior vertebrals are subsequently formed. the subclavians (fig. a, _s_), developed on the formation of the anterior limbs, also pour their blood into these primitive trunks. in the lower mammalia (monotremata, marsupialia, insectivora, some rodentia, etc.), the two ductus cuvieri remain as the two superior venæ cavæ, but more usually an anastomosis arises between the right and left innominate veins, and eventually the whole of the blood of the left superior cava is carried to the right side, and there is left only a single superior cava (fig. b and c). a small rudiment of the left superior cava remains however as the sinus coronarius and receives the coronary vein from the heart (figs. c, _cor_ and , _cs_). [fig. . diagram of the development of the paired venous system of mammals (man). (from gegenbaur.) _j._ jugular vein; _cs._ vena cava superior; _s._ subclavian veins; _c._ posterior cardinal vein; _v._ vertebral vein; _az._ azygos vein; _cor._ coronary vein. a. stage in which the cardinal veins have already disappeared. their position is indicated by dotted lines. b. later stage when the blood from the left jugular vein is carried into the right to form the single vena cava superior; a remnant of the left superior cava being however still left. c. stage after the left vertebral vein has disappeared; the right vertebral remaining as the azygos vein. the coronary vein remains as the last remnant of the left superior vena cava.] the posterior cardinal veins form at first the only veins receiving the blood from the posterior part of the trunk and kidneys; and on the development of the hind limbs receive the blood from them also. as in the types already described an unpaired vena cava inferior becomes eventually developed, and gradually carries off a larger and larger portion of the blood originally returned by the posterior cardinals. it unites with the common stem of the allantoic and vitelline veins in front of the liver. [fig. . diagram of the chief venous trunks of man. (from gegenbaur.) _cs._ vena cava superior; _s._ subclavian vein; _ji._ internal jugular; _je._ external jugular; _az._ azygos vein; _ha._ hemiazygos vein; _c._ dotted line shewing previous position of cardinal veins; _ci._ vena cava inferior; _r._ renal veins; _il._ iliac; _hy._ hypogastric veins; _h._ hepatic veins. the dotted lines shew the position of embryonic vessels aborted in the adult.] at a later period a pair of trunks is established bringing the blood from the posterior part of the cardinal veins and the crural veins directly into the vena cava inferior (fig. , _il_). these vessels, whose development has not been adequately investigated, form the common iliac veins, while the posterior ends of the cardinal veins which join them become the hypogastric veins (fig. , _hy_). owing to the development of the common iliac veins there is no renal portal system like that of the reptilia and amphibia. posterior vertebral veins, similar to those of reptilia and birds, are established in connection with the intercostal and lumbar veins, and unite anteriorly with the front part of the posterior cardinal veins (fig. a)[ ]. [ ] rathke, as mentioned above, holds that in the snake the front part of the posterior cardinals completely aborts. further investigations are required to shew whether there really is a difference between mammalia and reptilia in this matter. on the formation of the posterior vertebral veins, and as the inferior vena cava becomes more important, the middle part of the posterior cardinals becomes completely aborted (fig. , _c_), the anterior and posterior parts still persisting, the former as the continuations of the posterior vertebrals into the anterior vena cava (_az_), the latter as the hypogastric veins (_hy_). though in a few mammalia both the posterior vertebrals persist, a transverse connection is usually established between them, and the one (the right) becoming the more important constitutes the azygos vein (fig. , _az_), the persisting part of the left forming the hemiazygos vein (_ha_). the remainder of the venous system is formed in the embryo of the vitelline and allantoic veins, the former being eventually joined by the mesenteric vein so as to constitute the portal vein. the vitelline vein is the first part of this system established, and divides near the heart into two veins bringing back the blood from the yolk-sack (umbilical vesicle). the right vein soon however aborts. the allantoic (anterior abdominal) veins are originally paired. they are developed very early, and at first course along the still widely open somatic walls of the body, and fall into the single vitelline trunk in front. the right allantoic vein disappears before long, and the common trunk formed by the junction of the vitelline and allantoic veins becomes considerably elongated. this trunk is soon enveloped by the liver. the succeeding changes have been somewhat differently described by kölliker and rathke. according to the former the common trunk of the allantoic and vitelline veins in its passage through the liver gives off branches to the liver, and also receives branches from this organ near its anterior exit. the main trunk is however never completely aborted, as in the embryos of other types, but remains as the ductus venosus arantii. with the development of the placenta the allantoic vein becomes the main source of the ductus venosus, and the vitelline or portal vein, as it may perhaps be now conveniently called, ceases to join it directly, but falls into one of its branches in the liver. the vena cava inferior joins the continuation of the ductus venosus in front of the liver, and, as it becomes more important, it receives directly the hepatic veins which originally brought back blood into the ductus venosus. the ductus venosus becomes moreover merely a small branch of the vena cava. at the close of foetal life the allantoic vein becomes obliterated up to its place of entrance into the liver; the ductus venosus becomes a solid cord--the so-called round ligament--and the whole of the venous blood is brought to the liver by the portal vein[ ]. [ ] according to rathke the original trunk connecting the allantoic vein directly with the heart through the liver is aborted, and the ductus venosus arantii is a secondary connection established in the latter part of foetal life. owing to the allantoic (anterior abdominal) vein having merely a foetal existence an anastomosis between the iliac veins and the portal system by means of the anterior abdominal vein is not established. bibliography _of the venous system_. ( ) j. marshall. "on the development of the great anterior veins." _phil. trans._, . ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. bildung d. pfortader u. d. lebervenen b. säugethieren." _meckel's archiv_, . ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwick. d. venensystems d. wirbelthiere." _bericht. üb. d. naturh. seminar. d. univ. königsberg_, . _vide_ also von baer (no. ), götte (no. ), kölliker (no. ), and rathke (nos. , , and ). _lymphatic system._ the lymphatic system arises from spaces in the general parenchyma of the body, independent in their origin of the true body cavity, though communicating both with this cavity and with the vascular system. in all the true vertebrata certain parts of the system form definite trunks communicating with the venous system; and in the higher types the walls of the main lymphatic trunks become quite distinct. but little is known with reference to the ontogeny of the lymphatic vessels, but they originate late in larval life, and have at first the form of simple intercellular spaces. the lymphatic glands appear to originate from lymphatic plexuses, the cells of which produce lymph corpuscles. it is only in birds and mammals, and especially in the latter, that the lymphatic glands form definite structures. _the spleen._ the spleen, from its structure, must be classed with the lymphatic glands, though it has definite relations to the vascular system. it is developed in the mesoblast of the mesogastrium, usually about the same time and in close connection with the pancreas. according to müller and peremeschko the mass of mesoblast which forms the spleen becomes early separated by a groove on the one side from the pancreas and on the other from the mesentery. some of its cells become elongated, and send out processes which uniting with like processes from other cells form the trabecular system. from the remainder of the tissue are derived the cells of the spleen pulp, which frequently contain more than one nucleus. especial accumulations of these cells take place at a later period to form the so-called malpighian corpuscles of the spleen. bibliography _of spleen_. ( ) w. müller. "the spleen." _stricker's histology._ ( ) peremeschko. "ueb. d. entwick. d. milz." _sitz. d. wien. akad. wiss._, vol. lvi. . _suprarenal bodies._ in elasmobranch fishes two distinct sets of structures are found, both of which have been called suprarenal bodies. as shewn in the sequel both of these structures probably unite in the higher types to form the suprarenal bodies. one of them consists of a series of paired bodies, situated on the branches of the dorsal aorta, segmentally arranged, and forming a chain extending from close behind the heart to the hinder end of the body cavity. each body is formed of a series of lobes, and exhibits a well-marked distinction into a cortical layer of columnar cells, and a medullary substance formed of irregular polygonal cells. as first shewn by leydig, they are closely connected with the sympathetic ganglia, and usually contain numerous ganglion cells distributed amongst the proper cells of the body. the second body consists of an unpaired column of cells placed between the dorsal aorta and unpaired caudal vein, and bounded on each side by the posterior parts of the kidney. i propose to call it the interrenal body. in front it overlaps the paired suprarenal bodies, but does not unite with them. it is formed of a series of well-marked lobules, etc. in the fresh state leydig (no. ) finds that "fat molecules form the chief mass of the body, and one finds freely imbedded in them clear vesicular nuclei." as may easily be made out from hardened specimens it is invested by a tunica propria, which gives off septa dividing it into well-marked areas filled with polygonal cells. these cells constitute the true parenchyma of the body. by the ordinary methods of hardening, the oil globules, with which they are filled in the fresh state, completely disappear. the paired suprarenal bodies (balfour, no. , pp. - ) are developed from the sympathetic ganglia. these ganglia, shewn in an early stage in fig. , _sy.g_, become gradually divided into a ganglionic part and a glandular part. the former constitutes the sympathetic ganglia of the adult; the latter the true paired suprarenal bodies. the interrenal body is however developed (balfour, no. , pp. - ) from indifferent mesoblast cells between the two kidneys, in the same situation as in the adult. the development of the suprarenal bodies in the amniota has been most fully studied by braun (no. ) in the reptilia. in lacertilia they consist of a pair of elongated yellowish bodies, placed between the vena renalis revehens and the generative glands. they are formed of two constituents, viz. ( ) masses of brown cells placed on the dorsal side of the organ, which stain deeply with chromic acid, like certain of the cells of the suprarenals of mammalia, and ( ) irregular cords, in part provided with a lumen, filled with fat-like globules[ ], amongst which are nuclei. on treatment with chromic acid the fat globules disappear, and the cords break up into bodies resembling columnar cells. [ ] these globules are not formed of a true fatty substance, and this is also probably true for the similar globules of the interrenal bodies of elasmobranchii. the dorsal masses of brown cells are developed from the sympathetic ganglia in the same way as the paired suprarenal bodies of the elasmobranchii, while the cords filled with fat-like globules are formed of indifferent mesoblast cells as a thickening in the lateral walls of the inferior vena cava, and the cardinal veins continuous with it. the observations of brunn (no. ) on the chick, and kölliker (no. , pp. - ) on the mammal, add but little to those of braun. they shew that the greater part of the gland (the cortical substance) in these two types is derived from the mesoblast, and that the glands are closely connected with sympathetic ganglia; while kölliker also states that the posterior part of the organ is unpaired in the embryo rabbit of or days. the structure and development of what i have called the interrenal body in elasmobranchii so closely correspond with that of the mesoblastic part of the suprarenal bodies of the reptilia, that i have very little hesitation in regarding them as homologous[ ]; while the paired bodies in elasmobranchii, derived from the sympathetic ganglia, clearly correspond with the part of the suprarenals of reptilia having a similar origin; although the anterior parts of the paired suprarenal bodies of fishes have clearly become aborted in the higher types. [ ] the fact of the organ being unpaired in elasmobranchii and paired in the amniota is of no importance, as is shewn by the fact that part of the organ is unpaired in the rabbit. in elasmobranch fishes we thus have ( ) a series of paired bodies, derived from the sympathetic ganglia, and ( ) an unpaired body of mesoblastic origin. in the amniota these bodies unite to form the compound suprarenal bodies, the two constituents of which remain, however, distinct in their development. the mesoblastic constituent appears to form the cortical part of the adult suprarenal body, and the nervous constituent the medullary part. bibliography _of the suprarenal bodies_. ( ) m. braun. "bau u. entwick. d. nebennieren bei reptilien." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, vol. v. . ( ) a. v. brunn. "ein beitrag z. kenntniss d. feinern baues u. d. entwick. d. nebennieren." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. viii. . ( ) fr. leydig. _untersuch. üb. fische u. reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) fr. leydig. _rochen u. haie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also f. m. balfour (no. ), kölliker (no. ), remak (no. ), etc. chapter xxii. the muscular system. in all the coelenterata, except the ctenophora, the contractile elements of the body wall consist of filiform processes of ectodermal or entodermal epithelial cells (figs. and b). the elements provided with these processes, which were first discovered by kleinenberg, are known as myoepithelial cells. their contractile parts may either be striated (fig. ) or non-striated (fig. ). in some instances the epithelial part of the cell may nearly abort, its nucleus alone remaining (fig. a); and in this way a layer of muscles lying completely below the surface may be established. [fig. . myoepithelial cells of hydra. (from gegenbaur; after kleinenberg.) _m._ contractile fibres.] there is embryological evidence of the derivation of the voluntary muscular system of a large number of types from myoepithelial cells of this kind. the more important of these groups are the chætopoda, the gephyrea, the chætognatha, the nematoda, and the vertebrata[ ]. [ ] if recent statements of metschnikoff are to be trusted, the echinodermata must be added to these groups. the amoeboid cells stated in the first volume of this treatise to form the muscles in this group, on the authority of selenka, give rise, according to metschnikoff, only to the cutis, while the same naturalist states the epithelial cells of the vaso-peritoneal vesicles are provided with muscular tails. while there is clear evidence that the muscular system of a large number of types is composed of cells which had their origin in myoepithelial cells, the mode of evolution of the muscular system of other types is still very obscure. the muscles may arise in the embryo from amoeboid or indifferent cells, and the hertwigs[ ] hold that in many of these instances the muscles have also phylogenetically taken their origin from indifferent connective-tissue cells. the subject is however beset with very serious difficulties, and to discuss it here would carry me too far into the region of pure histology. [ ] o. and r. hertwig, _die coelomtheorie._ jena, . _the voluntary muscular system of the chordata._ the muscular fibres. the muscular elements of the chordata undoubtedly belong to the myoepithelial type. the embryonic muscle-cells are at first simple epithelial cells, but soon become spindle-shaped: part of their protoplasm becomes differentiated into longitudinally placed striated muscular fibrils, while part, enclosing the nucleus, remains indifferent, and constitutes the epithelial element of the cells. the muscular fibrils are either placed at one side of the epithelial part of the cell, or in other instances (the lamprey, the newt, the sturgeon, the rabbit) surround it. the latter arrangement is shewn for the sturgeon in fig. . [fig. . muscle-cells of lizzia kÖllikeri. (from lankester; after o. and r. hertwig.) a. muscle-cell from the circular fibres of the subumbrella. b. myoepithelial cells from the base of a tentacle.] the number of the fibrils of each cell gradually increases, and the protoplasm diminishes, so that eventually only the nucleus, or nuclei resulting from its division, are left. the products of each cell probably give rise, in conjunction with a further division of the nucleus, to a primitive bundle, which, except in amphioxus, petromyzon, etc., is surrounded by a special investment of sarcolemma. the voluntary muscular system. for the purposes of description the muscular system of the vertebrata may conveniently be divided into two sections, viz. that of the head and that of the trunk. the main part, if not the whole, of the muscular system of the trunk is derived from certain structures, known as the muscle-plates, which take their origin from part of the primitive mesoblastic somites. [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of an embryo slightly older than fig. e. _nc._ neural canal; _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sc._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate converted into muscle; _vr._ portion of the vertebral plate which will give rise to the vertebral bodies; _al._ alimentary tract.] it has already been stated (pp. - ) that the mesoblastic somites are derived from the dorsal segmented part of the primitive mesoblastic plates. since the history of these bodies is presented in its simplest form in elasmobranchii it will be convenient to commence with this group. each somite is composed of two layers--a somatic and a splanchnic--both formed of a single row of columnar cells. between these two layers is a cavity, which is at first directly continuous with the general body cavity, of which indeed it merely forms a specialised part (fig. ). before long the cavity becomes however completely constricted off from the permanent body cavity. very early (fig. ) the inner or splanchnic wall of the somites loses its simple constitution, owing to the middle part of it undergoing peculiar changes. the meaning of the changes is at once shewn by longitudinal horizontal sections, which prove (fig. ) that the cells in this situation (_mp´_) have become extended in a longitudinal direction, and, in fact, form typical spindle-shaped embryonic muscle-cells, each with a large nucleus. every muscle-cell extends for the whole length of a somite. the inner layer of each somite, immediately within the muscle-band just described, begins to proliferate, and produce a mass of cells, placed between the muscles and the notochord (_vr_). these cells form the commencing vertebral bodies, and have at first (fig. ) the same segmentation as the somites from which they sprang. after the separation of the vertebral bodies from the somites the remaining parts of the somites may be called muscle-plates; since they become directly converted into the whole voluntary muscular system of the trunk (fig. , _mp_). according to the statements of bambeke and götte, the amphibians present some noticeable peculiarities in the development of their muscular system, in that such distinct muscle-plates as those of other vertebrate types are not developed. each side-plate of mesoblast is divided into a somatic and a splanchnic layer, continuous throughout the vertebral and parietal portions of the plate. the vertebral portions (somites) of the plates soon become separated from the parietal, and form independent masses of cells constituted of two layers, which were originally continuous with the somatic and splanchnic layers of the parietal plates (fig. ). the outer or somatic layer of the vertebral plates is formed of a single row of cells, but the inner or splanchnic layer is made up of a kernel of cells on the side of the somatic layer and an inner layer. the kernel of the splanchnic layer and the outer or somatic layer together correspond to a muscle-plate of other vertebrata, and exhibit a similar segmentation. osseous fishes are stated to agree with amphibians in the development of their somites and muscular systems[ ], but further observations on this point are required. [ ] ehrlich, "ueber den peripher. theil d. urwirbel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. [fig. . horizontal section through the trunk of an embryo of scyllium considerably younger than f. _ch._ notochord; _ep._ epiblast; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate already differentiated into longitudinal muscles.] in birds the horizontal splitting of the mesoblast extends at first to the dorsal summit of the mesoblastic plates, but after the isolation of the somites the split between the somatic and splanchnic layers becomes to a large extent obliterated, though in the anterior somites it appears in part to persist. the somites on the second day, as seen in a transverse section (fig. , _p.v._), are somewhat quadrilateral in form but broader than they are deep. each at that time consists of a somewhat thick cortex of radiating rather granular columnar cells, enclosing a small kernel of spherical cells. they are not, as may be seen in the above figure, completely separated from the ventral (or lateral as they are at this period) parts of the mesoblastic plate, and the dorsal and outer layer of the cortex of the somites is continuous with the somatic layer of mesoblast, the remainder of the cortex, with the central kernel, being continuous with the splanchnic layer. towards the end of the second and beginning of the third day the upper and outer layer of the cortex, together probably with some of the central cells of the kernel, becomes separated off as a muscle-plate (fig. ). the muscle-plate when formed (fig. ) is found to consist of two layers, an inner and an outer, which enclose between them an almost obliterated central cavity; and no sooner is the muscle-plate formed than the middle portion of the inner layer becomes converted into longitudinal muscles. the avian muscle-plates have, in fact, precisely the same constitution as those of elasmobranchii. the central space is clearly a remnant of the _vertebral portion of the body cavity_, which, though it wholly or partially disappears in a previous stage, reappears again on the formation of the muscle-plate. the remainder of the somite, after the formation of the muscle-plate, is of very considerable bulk; the cells of the cortex belonging to it lose their distinctive characters, and the major part of it becomes the vertebral rudiment. in mammalia the history appears to be generally the same as in elasmobranchii. the split which gives rise to the body cavity is continued to the dorsal summit of the mesoblastic plates, and the dorsal portions of the plates with their contained cavities become divided into somites, and are then separated off from the ventral. the later development of the somites has not been worked out with the requisite care, but it would seem that they form somewhat cubical bodies in which all trace of the primitive slit is lost. the further development resembles that in birds. the first changes of the mesoblastic somites and the formation of the muscle-plates do not, according to existing statements, take place on quite the same type throughout the vertebrata, yet the comparison which has been instituted between elasmobranchs and other vertebrates appears to prove that there are important common features in their development, which may be regarded as primitive, and as having been inherited from the ancestors of vertebrates. these features are ( ) the extension of the body cavity into the vertebral plates, and subsequent enclosure of this cavity between the two layers of the muscle-plates; ( ) the primitive division of the vertebral plate into an outer (somatic) and an inner (splanchnic) layer, and the formation of a large part of the voluntary muscular system out of the inner layer, which in all cases is converted into muscles earlier than the outer layer. the conversion of the muscle-plates into muscles. it will be convenient to commence this subject with a description of the changes which take place in such a simple type as that of the elasmobranchii. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] at the time when the muscle-plates have become independent structures they form flat two-layered oblong bodies enclosing a slit-like central cavity (fig. , _mp_). the outer or somatic wall is formed of simple epithelial-like cells. the inner or splanchnic wall has however a somewhat complicated structure. it is composed dorsally and ventrally of a columnar epithelium, but in its middle portion of the muscle-cells previously spoken of. between these and the central cavity of the plates the epithelium forming the remainder of the layer commences to insert itself; so that between the first-formed muscle and the cavity of the muscle-plate there appears a thin layer of cells, not however continuous throughout. when first formed the muscle-plates, as viewed from the exterior, have nearly straight edges; soon however they become bent in the middle, so that the edges have an obtusely angular form, the apex of the angle being directed forwards. they are so arranged that the anterior edge of the one plate fits into the posterior edge of the one in front. in the lines of junction between the plates layers of connective-tissue cells appear, which form the commencements of the intermuscular septa. the growth of the plates is very rapid, and their upper ends soon extend to the summit of the neural canal, and their lower ones nearly meet in the median ventral line. the original band of muscles, whose growth at first is very slow, now increases with great rapidity, and forms the nucleus of the whole voluntary muscular system (fig. , _mp´_). it extends upwards and downwards by the continuous conversion of fresh cells of the splanchnic layer into muscle-cells. at the same time it grows rapidly in thickness by the addition of fresh spindle-shaped muscle-cells from the _somatic layer_ as well as by the division of the already existing cells. _thus both layers of the muscle plate are concerned in forming the great longitudinal lateral muscles, though the splanchnic layer is converted into muscles very much sooner than the somatic_[ ]. [ ] the brothers hertwig have recently maintained that only the inner layer of the muscle-plates is converted into muscles. in the elasmobranchs it is easy to demonstrate the incorrectness of this view, and in acipenser (_vide_ fig. , _mp_) the two layers of the muscle-plate retain their original relations after the cells of both of them have become converted into muscles. each muscle-plate is at first a continuous structure, extending from the dorsal to the ventral surface, but after a time it becomes divided by a layer of connective tissue, which becomes developed nearly on a level with the lateral line, into a dorso-lateral and a ventro-lateral section. the ends of the muscle-plates continue for a long time to be formed of undifferentiated columnar cells. the complicated outlines of the intermuscular septa become gradually established during the later stages of development, causing the well-known appearances of the muscles in transverse sections, which require no special notice here. the muscles of the limbs. the limb muscles are formed in elasmobranchii, coincidently with the cartilaginous skeleton, as two bands of longitudinal fibres on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the limbs (fig. ). the cells, from which these muscles originate, are derived from the muscle-plates. when the ends of the muscle-plates reach the level of the limbs they bend outwards and enter the tissue of the limbs (fig. ). small portions of several muscle-plates (_m.pl_) come in this way to be situated within the limbs, and are very soon segmented off from the remainder of the muscle-plates. the portions of the muscle-plates thus introduced soon lose their original distinctness. there can however be but little doubt that they supply the tissue for the muscles of the limbs. the muscle-plates themselves, after giving off buds to the limbs, grow downwards, and soon cease to shew any trace of having given off these buds. [fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the trunk of an embryo of scyllium slightly older than fig. b. the section is diagrammatic in so far that the anterior nerve-roots have been inserted for the whole length; whereas they join the spinal cord halfway between two posterior roots. _sp.c._ spinal cord; _sp.g._ ganglion of posterior root; _ar._ anterior root; _dn._ dorsally directed nerve springing from posterior root; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ part of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _m.pl._ part of muscle-plate which gives rise to the muscles of the limbs; _nl._ nervus lateralis; _ao._ aorta; _ch._ notochord; _sy.g._ sympathetic ganglion; _ca.v._ cardinal vein; _sp.n._ spinal nerve; _sd._ segmental (archinephric) duct; _st._ segmental tube; _du._ duodenum; _pan._ pancreas; _hp.d._ point of junction of hepatic duct with duodenum; _umc._ umbilical canal.] in addition to the longitudinal muscles of the trunk just described, which are generally characteristic of fishes, there is found in amphioxus a peculiar transverse abdominal muscle, extending from the mouth to the abdominal pore, the origin of which has not been made out. it has already been shewn that in all the higher vertebrata muscle-plates appear, which closely resemble those in elasmobranchii; so that all the higher vertebrata pass through, with reference to their muscular system, a fish-like stage. the middle portion of the inner layers of their muscle-plates becomes, as in elasmobranchii, converted into muscles at a very early period, and the outer layer for a long time remains formed of indifferent cells. that these muscle-plates give rise to the main muscular system of the trunk, at any rate to the episkeletal muscles of huxley, is practically certain, but the details of the process have not been made out. in the perennibranchiata the fish-like arrangement of muscles is retained through life in the tail and in the dorso-lateral parts of the trunk. in the tail of the amniotic vertebrata the primitive arrangement is also more or less retained, and the same holds good for the dorso-lateral trunk muscles of the lacertilia. in the other amniota and the anura the dorso-lateral muscles have become divided up into a series of separate muscles, which are arranged in two main layers. it is probable that the intercostal muscles belong to the same group as the dorso-lateral muscles. the abdominal muscles of the trunk, even in the lowest amphibia, exhibit a division into several layers. the recti abdominis are the least altered part of this system, and usually retain indications of the primitive intermuscular septa, which in many amphibia and lacertilia are also to some extent preserved in the other abdominal muscles. in the amniotic vertebrates there is formed underneath the vertebral column and the transverse processes a system of muscles, forming part of the hyposkeletal system of huxley, and called by gegenbaur the subvertebral muscles. the development of this system has not been worked out, but on the whole i am inclined to believe that it is derived from the muscle-plates. kölliker, huxley and other embryologists believe however that these muscles are independent of the muscle-plates in their origin. whether the muscle of the diaphragm is to be placed in the same category as the hyposkeletal muscles has not been made out. it is probable that the cutaneous muscles of the trunk are derived from the cells given off from the muscle-plates. kölliker however believes that they have an independent origin. the limb-muscles, both extrinsic and intrinsic, as may be concluded from their development in elasmobranchii, are derived from the muscle-plates. kleinenberg found in lacertilia a growth of the muscle-plates into the limbs, and in amphibia götte finds that the outer layer of the muscle-plates gives rise to the muscles of the limbs. in the higher vertebrata on the other hand the entrance of the muscle-plates into the limbs has not been made out (kölliker). it seems therefore probable that by an embryological modification, of which instances are so frequent, the cells which give rise to the muscles of the limbs in the higher vertebrata can no longer be traced into a direct connection with the muscle-plates. _the somites and muscular system of the head._ the extension of the somites to the anterior end of the body in amphioxus clearly proves that somites, similar to those of the trunk, were originally present in a region, which in the higher vertebrata has become differentiated into the head. in the adult condition no true vertebrate exhibits indications of such somites, but in the embryos of several of the lower vertebrata structures have been found, which are probably equivalent to the somites of the trunk: they have been frequently alluded to in the previous chapters of this volume. these structures have been most fully worked out in elasmobranchii. the mesoblast in elasmobranch embryos becomes first split into somatic and splanchnic layers in the region of the head; and between these layers there are formed two cavities, one on each side, which end in front opposite the blind anterior extremity of the alimentary canal; and are continuous behind with the general body-cavity (fig. a, _vp_). i propose calling them the head-cavities. the cavities of the two sides have no communication with each other. coincidently with the formation of an outgrowth from the throat to form the first visceral cleft, the head-cavity on each side becomes divided into a section in front of the cleft and a section behind the cleft; and at a later period it becomes, owing to the formation of a second cleft, divided into three sections: ( ) a section in front of the first or hyomandibular cleft; ( ) a section in the hyoid arch between the hyomandibular cleft and the hyobranchial or first branchial cleft; ( ) a section behind the first branchial cleft. the front section of the head-cavity grows forward, and soon becomes divided, without the intervention of a visceral cleft, into an anterior and posterior division. the anterior lies close to the eye, and in front of the commencing mouth involution. the posterior part lies completely within the mandibular arch. as the rudiments of the successive visceral clefts are formed, the posterior part of the head-cavity becomes divided into successive sections, there being one section for each arch. thus the whole head-cavity becomes on each side divided into ( ) a premandibular section; ( ) a mandibular section (_vide_ fig. a, _pp_); ( ) a hyoid section; ( ) sections in each of the branchial arches. [fig. . transverse section through the front part of the head of a young pristiurus embryo. the section, owing to the cranial flexure, cuts both the fore- and the hind-brain. it shews the premandibular and mandibular head-cavities _pp_ and _pp_, etc. the section is moreover somewhat oblique from side to side. _fb._ fore-brain; _l._ lens of eye; _m._ mouth; _pt._ upper end of mouth, forming pituitary involution; _ao._ mandibular aortic arch; _pp._ and _pp._ first and second head-cavities; _vc._ first visceral cleft; _v._ fifth nerve; _aun._ auditory nerve; _vii._ seventh nerve; _aa._ dorsal aorta; _acv._ anterior cardinal vein; _ch._ notochord.] the first of these divisions forms a space of a considerable size, with epithelial walls of somewhat short columnar cells (fig. , _pp_). it is situated close to the eye, and presents a rounded or sometimes a triangular figure in section. the two halves of the cavity are prolonged ventralwards, and meet below the base of the fore-brain. the connection between them appears to last for a considerable time. these two cavities are the only parts of the body-cavity within the head which unite ventrally. the section of the head-cavity just described is so similar to the remaining sections that it must be considered as serially homologous with them. the next division of the head-cavity, which from its position may be called the mandibular cavity, presents a spatulate shape, being dilated dorsally, and produced ventrally into a long thin process parallel to the hyomandibular gill-cleft (fig. , _pp_). like the previous space it is lined by a short columnar epithelium. [fig. . horizontal section through the penultimate visceral arch of an embryo of pristiurus. _ep._ epiblast; _vc._ pouch of hypoblast which will form the walls of a visceral cleft; _pp._ segment of body-cavity in visceral arch; _aa._ aortic arch.] the mandibular aortic arch is situated close to its inner side (fig. , _pp_). after becoming separated from the lower part (marshall), the upper part of the cavity atrophies about the time of the appearance of the external gills. its lower part also becomes much narrowed, but its walls of columnar cells persist. the outer or somatic wall becomes very thin indeed, the splanchnic wall, on the other hand, thickens and forms a layer of several rows of elongated cells. in each of the remaining arches there is a segment of the original body-cavity fundamentally similar to that in the mandibular arch (fig. ). a dorsal dilated portion appears, however, to be present in the third or hyoid section alone (fig. ), and even there disappears very soon, after being segmented off from the lower part (marshall). the cavities in the posterior parts of the head become much reduced like those in its anterior part, though at rather a later period. it has been shewn that the divisions of the body-cavity in the head, with the exception of the anterior, early become atrophied, _not so however their walls_. the cells forming the walls both of the dorsal and ventral sections of these cavities become elongated, and finally become converted into muscles. their exact history has not been followed in its details, but they almost unquestionably become the musculus constrictor superficialis and musculus interbranchialis[ ]; and probably also musculus levator mandibuli and other muscles of the front part of the head. [ ] _vide_ vetter, "die kiemen und kiefermusculatur d. fische." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. the anterior cavity close to the eye remains unaltered much longer than the remaining cavities. its further history is very interesting. in my original account of this cavity (no. , p. ) i stated my belief that its walls gave rise to the eye-muscles, and the history of this process has been to some extent worked out by marshall in his important memoir (no. ). marshall finds that the ventral portion of this cavity, where its two halves meet, becomes separated from the remainder. the eventual fate of this part has not however been followed. each dorsal section acquires a cup-like form, investing the posterior and inner surface of the eye. the cells of its outer wall subsequently give rise to three sets of muscles. the middle of these, partly also derived from the inner walls of the cup, becomes the rectus internus of the eye, the dorsal set forms the rectus superior, and the ventral the rectus inferior. the obliquus inferior appears also to be in part developed from the walls of this cavity. marshall brings evidence to shew that the rectus externus (as might be anticipated from its nerve supply) has no connection with the walls of the premandibular head-cavity, and finds that it arises close to the position originally occupied by the second and third cavities. marshall has not satisfactorily made out the mode of development of the obliquus superior. the walls of the cavities, whose history has just been recorded, have definite relations with the cranial nerves, an account of which has already been given at p. . head-cavities, in the main similar to those of elasmobranchii, have been found in the embryo of petromyzon (fig. , _hc_), the newt (osborn and scott), and various reptilia (parker). bibliography. ( ) g. m. humphry. "muscles in vertebrate animals." _journ. of anat. and phys._, vol. vi. . ( ) j. müller. "vergleichende anatomie d. myxinoiden. part i. osteologie u. myologie." _akad. wiss._, berlin, . ( ) a. m. marshall. "on the head cavities and associated nerves of elasmobranchs." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xxi. . ( ) a. schneider. "anat. u. entwick. d. muskelsystems d. wirbelthiere." _sitz. d. oberhessischen gesellschaft_, . ( ) a. schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . _vide_ also götte (no. ), kölliker (no. ), balfour (no. ), huxley, etc. chapter xxiii. excretory organs. excretory organs consist of coiled or branched and often ciliated tubes, with an excretory pore opening on the outer surface of the body, and as a rule an internal ciliated orifice placed in the body-cavity. in forms provided with a true vascular system, there is a special development of capillaries around the glandular part of the excretory organs. in many instances the glandular cells of the organs are filled with concretions of uric acid or some similar product of nitrogenous waste. there is a very great morphological and physiological similarity between almost all the forms of excretory organ found in the animal kingdom, but although there is not a little to be said for holding all these organs to be derived from some common prototype, the attempt to establish definite homologies between them is beset with very great difficulties. platyelminthes. throughout the whole of the platyelminthes these organs are constructed on a well-defined type, and in the rotifera excretory organs of a similar form to those of the platyelminthes are also present. these organs (fraipont, no. ) are more or less distinctly paired, and consist of a system of wide canals, often united into a network, which open on the one hand into a pair of large tubes leading to the exterior, and on the other into fine canals which terminate by ciliated openings, either in spaces between the connective-tissue cells (platyelminthes), or in the body-cavity (rotifera). the fine canals open directly into the larger ones, without first uniting into canals of an intermediate size. the two large tubes open to the exterior, either by means of a median _posteriorly_ placed contractile vesicle, or by a pair of vesicles, which have a ventral and _anterior_ position. the former type is characteristic of the majority of the trematoda, cestoda, and rotifera, and the latter of the nemertea and some trematoda. in the turbellaria the position of the external openings of the system is variable, and in a few cestoda (wagner) there are lateral openings on each of the successive proglottides, in addition to the terminal openings. the mode of development of these organs is unfortunately not known. mollusca. in the mollusca there are usually present two independent pairs of excretory organs--one found in a certain number of forms during early larval life only[ ], and the other always present in the adult. [ ] i leave out of consideration an external renal organ found in many marine gasteropod larvæ, _vide_ vol. ii. p. . the larval excretory organ has been found in the pulmonate gasteropoda (gegenbaur, fol[ ], rabl), in teredo (hatschek), and possibly also in paludina. it is placed in the anterior region of the body, and opens ventrally on each side, a short way behind the velum. it is purely a larval organ, disappearing before the close of the veliger stage. in the aquatic pulmonata, where it is best developed, it consists on each side of a v-shaped tube, with a dorsally-placed apex, containing an enlargement of the lumen. there is a ciliated cephalic limb, lined by cells with concretions, and terminating by an internal opening near the eye, and a non-ciliated pedal limb opening to the exterior[ ]. [ ] h. fol, "etudes sur le dével. d. mollusques." mem. iii. _archiv d. zool. expér. et génér._, vol. viii. [ ] the careful observations of fol seem to me nearly conclusive in favour of this limb having an external opening, and the statement to the reverse effect on p. of vol. ii. of this treatise, made on the authority of rabl and bütschli, must probably be corrected. two irreconcilable views are held as to the development of this system. rabl (vol. ii. no. ) and hatschek hold that it is developed in the mesoblast; and rabl states that in planorbis it is formed from the anterior mesoblast cells of the mesoblastic bands. a special mesoblast cell on each side elongates into two processes, the commencing limbs of the future organ. a lumen is developed in this cell, which is continued into each limb, while the continuations of the two limbs are formed by perforated mesoblast cells. according to fol these organs originate in aquatic pulmonata as a pair of invaginations of the epiblast, slightly behind the mouth. each invagination grows in a dorsal direction, and after a time suddenly bends on itself, and grows ventralwards and forwards. it thus acquires its v-shaped form. in the terrestrial pulmonata the provisional excretory organs are, according to fol, formed as epiblastic invaginations, in the same way as those in the aquatic pulmonata, but have the form of simple non-ciliated sacks, without internal openings. the permanent renal organ of the mollusca consists typically of a pair of tubes, although in the majority of the gasteropoda one of the two tubes is not developed. it is placed considerably behind the provisional renal organ. each tube, in its most typical form, opens by a ciliated funnel into the pericardial cavity, and has its external opening at the side of the foot. the pericardial funnel leads into a glandular section of the organ, the lining cells of which are filled with concretions. this section is followed by a ciliated section, from which a narrow duct leads to the exterior. as to the development of this organ the same divergence of opinion exists as in the case of the provisional renal organ. rabl's careful observations on planorbis (vol. ii. no. ) tend to shew that it is developed from a mass of mesoblast cells, near the end of the intestine. the mass becomes hollow, and, attaching itself to the epiblast on the left side of the anus, acquires an opening to the exterior. its internal opening is not established till after the formation of the heart. fol gives an equally precise account, but states that the first rudiment of the organ arises as a solid mass of epiblast cells. lankester finds that this organ is developed as a paired invagination of the epiblast in pisidium, and bobretzky also derives it from the epiblast in marine prosobranchiata. in cephalopoda on the other hand bobretzky's observations (i conclude this from his figures) indicate that the excretory sacks of the renal organs are derived from the mesoblast. polyzoa. simple excretory organs, consisting of a pair of ciliated canals, opening between the mouth and the anus, have been found by hatschek and joliet in the entoproctous polyzoa, and are developed, according to hatschek, by whom they were first found in the larva, from the mesoblast. brachiopoda. one or rarely two (rhynchonella) pairs of canals, with both peritoneal and external openings, are found in the brachiopoda. they undoubtedly serve as genital ducts, but from their structure are clearly of the same nature as the excretory organs of the chætopoda described below. their development has not been worked out. chætopoda. two forms of excretory organ have been met with in the chætopoda. the one form is universally or nearly universally present in the adult, and typically consists of a pair of coiled tubes repeated in every segment. each tube has an internal opening, placed as a rule in the segment in front of that in which the greater part of the organ and the external opening are situated. there are great variations in the structure of these organs, which cannot be dealt with here. it may be noted however that the internal opening may be absent, and that there may be _several internal openings for each organ_ (polynoe). in the capitellidæ moreover several pairs of excretory tubes have been shewn by eisig (no. ) to be present in each of the posterior segments. the second form of excretory organ has as yet only been found in the larva of polygordius, and will be more conveniently dealt with in connection with the development of the excretory system of this form. there is still considerable doubt as to the mode of formation of the excretory tubes of the chætopoda. kowalevsky (no. ), from his observations on the oligochæta, holds that they develop as outgrowths of the epithelial layer covering the posterior side of the dissepiments, and secondarily become connected with the epidermis. hatschek finds that in criodrilus they arise from a continuous linear thickening of the somatic mesoblast, immediately beneath the epidermis, and dorsal to the ventral band of longitudinal muscles. they break up into s-shaped cords, the anterior end of each of which is situated in front of a dissepiment, and is formed at first of a single large cell, while the posterior part is continued into the segment behind. the cords are covered by a peritoneal lining, which still envelopes them, when in the succeeding stage they are carried into the body-cavity. they subsequently become hollow, and their hinder ends acquire openings to the exterior. the formation of their internal openings has not been followed. kleinenberg is inclined to believe that the excretory tubes take their origin from the epiblast, but states that he has not satisfactorily worked out their development. the observations of eisig (no. ) on the capitellidæ support kowalevsky's view that the excretory tubes originate from the lining of the peritoneal cavity. hatschek (no. ) has given a very interesting account of the development of the excretory system in polygordius. [fig. . polygordius larva. (after hatschek.) _m._ mouth; _sg._ supraoesophageal ganglion; _nph._ nephridion; _me.p._ mesoblastic band; _an._ anus; _ol._ stomach.] the excretory system begins to be formed, while the larva is still in the trochospere stage (fig. , _nph_), and consists of a provisional excretory organ, which is placed in front of the future segmented part of the body, and occupies a position very similar to that of the provisional excretory organ found in some molluscan larvæ (_vide_ p. ). hatschek, with some shew of reason, holds that the provisional excretory organs of polygordius are homologous with those of the mollusca. in its earliest stage the provisional excretory organ of polygordius consists of a pair of simple ciliated tubes, each with an anterior funnel-like opening situated in the midst of the mesoblast cells, and a posterior external opening. the latter is placed immediately in front of what afterwards becomes the segmented region of the embryo. while the larva is still unsegmented, a second internal opening is formed for each tube (fig. , _nph_) and the two openings so formed may eventually become divided into five (fig. a), all communicating by a single pore with the exterior. when the posterior region of the embryo becomes segmented, paired excretory organs are formed in each of the posterior segments, but the account of their development, as given by hatschek, is so remarkable that i do not think it can be definitely accepted without further confirmation. from the point of junction of the two main branches of the larval kidney there grows backwards (fig. b), to the hind end of the first segment, a very delicate tube, only indicated by its ciliated lumen, its walls not being differentiated. near the front end of this tube a funnel, leading into the larval body cavity of the head, is formed, and subsequently the posterior end of the tube acquires an external opening, and the tube distinct walls. the communication with the provisional excretory organ is then lost, and thus the excretory tube of the first segment is established. the excretory tubes in the second and succeeding segments are formed in the same way as in the first, _i.e._ by the continuation of the lumen of the hind end of the excretory tube from the preceding segment, and the subsequent separation of this part as a separate tube. [fig. . diagram illustrating the development of the excretory system of polygordius. (after hatschek.)] the tube may be continued with a sinuous course through several segments without a distinct wall. the external and internal openings of the permanent excretory tubes are thus secondarily acquired. the internal openings communicate with the permanent body-cavity. the development of the permanent excretory tubes is diagrammatically represented in fig. c and d. the provisional excretory organ atrophies during larval life. if hatschek's account of the development of the excretory system of polygordius is correct, it is clear that important secondary modifications must have taken place in it, because his description implies that there sprouts from the anterior excretory organ, while it has its own external opening, a posterior duct, which does not communicate either with the exterior or with the body-cavity! such a duct could have no function. it is intelligible either ( ) that the anterior excretory organ should lead into a longitudinal duct, opening posteriorly; that then a series of secondary openings into the body-cavity should attach themselves to this, that for each internal opening an external should subsequently arise, and the whole break up into separate tubes; or ( ) that behind an anterior provisional excretory organ a series of secondary independent segmental tubes should be formed. but from hatschek's account neither of these modes of evolution can be deduced. gephyrea. the gephyrea may have three forms of excretory organs, two of which are found in the adult, and one, similar in position and sometimes also in structure, to the provisional excretory organ of polygordius, has so far only been found in the larvæ of echiurus and bonellia. in all the gephyrea the so-called 'brown tubes' are apparently homologous with the segmented excretory tubes of chætopods. their main function appears to be the transportation of the generative products to the exterior. there is but a single highly modified tube in bonellia, forming the oviduct and uterus; a pair of tubes in the gephyrea inermia, and two or three pairs in most gephyrea armata, except bonellia. their development has not been studied. in the gephyrea armata there is always present a pair of posteriorly placed excretory organs, opening in the adult into the anal extremity of the alimentary tract, and provided with numerous ciliated peritoneal funnels. these organs were stated by spengel to arise in bonellia as outgrowths of the gut; but in _echiurus_ hatschek (no. ) finds that they are developed from the somatic mesoblast of the terminal part of the trunk. they soon become hollow, and after attaching themselves to the epiblast on each side of the anus, acquire external openings. they are not at first provided with peritoneal funnels, but these parts of the organs become developed from a ring of cells at their inner extremities; and there is at first but a single funnel for each vesicle. the mode of increase of the funnels has not been observed, nor has it been made out how the organs themselves become attached to the hindgut. the provisional excretory organ of echiurus is developed at an early larval stage, and is functional during the whole of larval life. it at first forms a ciliated tube on each side, placed in front of that part of the larva which becomes the trunk of the adult. it opens to the exterior by a fine pore on the ventral side, immediately in front of one of the mesoblastic bands, and appears to be formed of perforated cells. it terminates internally in a slight swelling, which represents the normal internal ciliated funnel. the primitively simple excretory organ becomes eventually highly complex by the formation of numerous branches, each ending in a slightly swollen extremity. these branches, in the later larval stages, actually form a network, and the inner end of each main branch divides into a bunch of fine tubes. the whole organ resembles in many respects the excretory organ of the platyelminthes. in the larva of _bonellia_ spengel has described a pair of provisional excretory tubes, opening near the anterior end of the body, which are probably homologous with the provisional excretory organs of echiurus (_vide_ vol. ii., fig. c, _se_). discophora. as in many of the types already spoken of, permanent and provisional excretory organs may be present in the discophora. the former are usually segmentally arranged, and resemble in many respects the excretory tubes of the chætopoda. they may either be provided with a peritoneal funnel (nephelis, clepsine) or have no internal opening (hirudo). bourne[ ] has shewn that the cells surrounding the main duct in the medicinal leech are perforated by a very remarkable network of ductules, and the structure of these organs in the leech is so peculiar that it is permissible to state with due reserve their homology with the excretory organs of the chætopoda. [ ] "on the structure of the nephridia of the medicinal leech." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . the excretory tubes of clepsine are held by whitman to be developed in the mesoblast. there are found in the embryos of nephelis and hirudo certain remarkable provisional excretory organs the origin and history of which are not yet fully made out. in nephelis they appear as one (according to robin), or (according to bütschli) as two successive pairs of convoluted tubes on the dorsal side of the embryo, which are stated by the latter author to develop from the scattered mesoblast cells underneath the skin. at their fullest development they extend, according to robin, from close to the head to near the ventral sucker. each of them is u-shaped, with the open end of the u forwards, each limb of the u being formed by two tubes united in front. no external opening has been clearly made out. fürbringer is inclined from his own researches to believe that they open laterally. they contain a clear fluid. in hirudo, leuckart has described three similar pairs of organs, the structure of which he has fully elucidated. they are situated in the posterior part of the body, and each of them commences with an enlargement, from which a convoluted tube is continued for some distance backwards; the tube then turns forwards again, and after bending again upon itself opens to the exterior. the anterior part is broken up into a kind of labyrinthic network. the provisional excretory organs of the leeches cannot be identified with the anterior provisional organs of polygordius and echiurus. arthropoda. amongst the arthropoda _peripatus_ is the only form with excretory organs of the type of the segmental excretory organs of the chætopoda[ ]. [ ] _vide_ f. m. balfour, "on some points in the anatomy of peripatus capensis." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . these organs are placed at the bases of the feet, in the lateral divisions of the body-cavity, shut off from the main median division of the body-cavity by longitudinal septa of transverse muscles. each fully developed organ consists of three parts: ( ) a dilated vesicle opening externally at the base of a foot. ( ) a coiled glandular tube connected with this, and subdivided again into several minor divisions. ( ) a short terminal portion opening at one extremity into the coiled tube and at the other, as i believe, into the body cavity. this section becomes very conspicuous, in stained preparations, by the intensity with which the nuclei of its walls absorb the colouring matter. in the majority of the tracheata the excretory organs have the form of the so-called malpighian tubes, which always (_vide_ vol. ii.) originate as a pair of outgrowths of the epiblastic proctodæum. from their mode of development they admit of comparison with the anal vesicles of the gephyrea, though in the present state of our knowledge this comparison must be regarded as somewhat hypothetical. the antennary and shell-glands of the crustacea, and possibly also the so-called dorsal organ of various crustacean larvæ appear to be excretory, and the two former have been regarded by claus and grobben as belonging to the same system as the segmental excretory tubes of the chætopoda. nematoda. paired excretory tubes, running for the whole length of the body in the so-called lateral line, and opening in front by a common ventral pore, are present in the nematoda. they do not appear to communicate with the body cavity, and their development has not been studied. very little is known with reference either to the structure or development of excretory organs in the echinodermata and the other invertebrate types of which no mention has been so far made in this chapter. _excretory organs and generative ducts of the craniata._ although it would be convenient to separate, if possible, the history of the excretory organs from that of the generative ducts, yet these parts are so closely related in the vertebrata, in some cases the same duct having at once a generative and a urinary function, that it is not possible to do so. the excretory organs of the vertebrata consist of three distinct glandular bodies and of their ducts. these are ( ) a small glandular body, usually with one or more ciliated funnels opening into the body cavity, near the opening of which there projects into the body cavity a vascular glomerulus. it is situated very far forwards, and is usually known as the head-kidney, though it may perhaps be more suitably called, adopting lankester's nomenclature, the _pronephros_. its duct, which forms the basis for the generative and urinary ducts, will be called the _segmental duct_. ( ) the wolffian body, which may be also called the _mesonephros_. it consists of a series of, at first, segmentally (with a few exceptions) arranged glandular canals (_segmental tubes_) primitively opening at one extremity by funnel-shaped apertures into the body cavity, and at the other into the segmental duct. this duct becomes in many forms divided longitudinally into two parts, one of which then remains attached to the segmental tubes and forms the _wolffian or mesonephric duct_, while the other is known as the _müllerian duct_. ( ) the kidney proper or _metanephros_. this organ is only found in a completely differentiated form in the amniotic vertebrata. its duct is an outgrowth from the wolffian duct. the above parts do not coexist in full activity in any living adult member of the vertebrata, though all of them are found together in certain embryos. they are so intimately connected that they cannot be satisfactorily dealt with separately. elasmobranchii. the excretory system of the elasmobranchii is by no means the most primitive known, but at the same time it forms a convenient starting point for studying the modifications of the system in other groups. the most remarkable peculiarity it presents is the absence of a pronephros. the development of the elasmobranch excretory system has been mainly studied by semper and myself. the first trace of the system makes its appearance as a knob of mesoblast, springing from the intermediate cell-mass near the level of the hind end of the heart (fig. a, _pd_). this knob is the rudiment of the abdominal opening of the segmental duct, and from it there grows backwards to the level of the anus a solid column of cells, which constitutes the rudiment of the segmental duct itself (fig. b, _pd_). the knob projects towards the epiblast, and the column connected with it lies between the mesoblast and epiblast. the knob and column do not long remain solid, but the former acquires an opening into the body cavity (fig. , _sd_) continuous with a lumen, which makes its appearance in the column (fig. , _sd_). the knob forms the only structure which can be regarded as a rudiment of the pronephros. [fig. . two sections of a pristiurus embryo with three visceral clefts. the sections illustrate the development of the segmental duct (_pd_) or primitive duct of the pronephros. in a (the anterior of the two sections) this appears as a solid knob (_pd_) projecting towards the epiblast. in b is seen a section of the column which has grown backwards from the knob in a. _spn._ rudiment of a spinal nerve; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ specially developed portion of muscle-plate; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _pd._ segmental duct; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _pp._ body cavity; _ep._ epiblast; _al._ alimentary canal.] while the lumen is gradually being formed, the segmental tubes of the mesonephros become established. they appear to arise as differentiations of the parts of the primitive lateral plates of mesoblast, placed between the dorsal end of the body cavity and the muscle-plate (fig. , _st_)[ ], which are usually known as the intermediate cell-masses. [ ] in my original account of the development i held these tubes to be invaginations of the peritoneal epithelium. sedgwick (no. ) was led to doubt the accuracy of my original statement from his investigations on the chick; and from a re-examination of my specimens he arrived at the results stated above, and which i am now myself inclined to adopt. the lumen of the segmental tubes, though at first very small, soon becomes of a considerable size. it appears to be established in the position of the section of the body cavity in the intermediate cell-mass, which at first unites the part of the body cavity in the muscle-plates with the permanent body cavity. the lumen of each tube opens at its lower end into the dorsal part of the body cavity (fig. , _st_), and each tube curls obliquely backwards round the inner and dorsal side of the segmental duct, near which it at first ends blindly. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal canal; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] one segmental tube makes its appearance for each somite (fig. ), commencing with that immediately behind the abdominal opening of the segmental duct, the last tube being situated a few segments behind the anus. soon after their formation the blind ends of the segmental tubes come in contact with, and open into the segmental duct, and each of them becomes divided into four parts. these are ( ) a section carrying the peritoneal opening, known as the peritoneal funnel, ( ) a dilated vesicle into which this opens, ( ) a coiled tubulus proceeding from ( ), and terminating in ( ) a wider portion opening into the segmental duct. at the same time, or shortly before this, each segmental duct unites with and opens into one of the horns of the cloaca, and also retires from its primitive position between the epiblast and mesoblast, and assumes a position close to the epithelium lining the body cavity (fig. , _sd_). the general features of the excretory organs at this period are diagrammatically represented in the woodcut (fig. ). in this fig. _pd_ is the segmental duct and _o_ its abdominal opening; _s.t_ points to the segmental tubes, the finer details of whose structure are not represented in the diagram. the mesonephros thus forms at this period an elongated gland composed of a series of isolated coiled tubes, one extremity of each of which opens into the body cavity, and the other into the segmental duct, which forms the only duct of the system, and communicates at its front end with the body cavity, and behind with the cloaca. [fig. . diagram of the primitive condition of the kidney in an elasmobranch embryo. _pd._ segmental duct. it opens at _o_ into the body cavity and at its other extremity into the cloaca; _x._ line along which the division appears which separates the segmental duct into the wolffian duct above and the müllerian duct below; _s.t._ segmental tubes. they open at one end into the body cavity, and at the other into the segmental duct.] the next important change concerns the segmental duct, which becomes longitudinally split into two complete ducts in the female, and one complete duct and parts of a second duct in the male. the manner in which this takes place is diagrammatically represented in fig. by the clear line _x_, and in transverse section in figs. and . the resulting ducts are ( ) the wolffian duct or mesonephric duct (_wd_), dorsally, which remains continuous with the excretory tubules of the mesonephros, and ventrally ( ) the oviduct or müllerian duct in the female, and the rudiments of this duct in the male. in the female the formation of these ducts takes place (fig. ) by a nearly solid rod of cells being gradually split off from the ventral side of all but the foremost part of the original segmental duct. this nearly solid cord is the müllerian duct (_od_). a very small portion of the lumen of the original segmental duct is perhaps continued into it, but in any case it very soon acquires a wide lumen (fig. a). the anterior part of the segmental duct is not divided, but remains continuous with the müllerian duct, of which its anterior pore forms the permanent peritoneal opening[ ] (fig. ). the remainder of the segmental duct (after the loss of its anterior section, and the part split off from its ventral side) forms the wolffian duct. the process of formation of these ducts in the male differs from that in the female chiefly in the fact of the anterior undivided part of the segmental duct, which forms the front end of the müllerian duct, being shorter, and in the column of cells with which it is continuous being from the first incomplete. [ ] five or six segmental tubes belong to the region of the undivided anterior part of the segmental duct, which forms the front end of the müllerian duct; but they appear to atrophy very early, without acquiring a definite attachment to the segmental duct. [fig. . diagrammatic representation of a transverse section of a scyllium embryo illustrating the formation of the wolffian and mÜllerian ducts by the longitudinal splitting of the segmental duct. _mc._ medullary canal; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _cav._ cardinal vein; _st._ segmental tube. on the left side the section passes through the opening of a segmental tube into the body cavity. on the right this opening is represented by dotted lines, and the opening of the segmental tube into the wolffian duct has been cut through; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _m.d._ müllerian duct. the section is taken through the point where the segmental duct and wolffian duct have just become separate; _gr._ the germinal ridge with the thickened germinal epithelium; _l._ liver; _i._ intestine with spiral valve.] [fig. . four sections through the anterior part of the segmental duct of a female embryo of scyllium canicula. the figure shews how the segmental duct becomes split into the wolffian or mesonephric duct above, and müllerian duct or oviduct below. _wd._ wolffian or mesonephric duct; _od._ müllerian duct or oviduct; _sd._ segmental duct.] the segmental tubes of the mesonephros undergo further important changes. the vesicle at the termination of each peritoneal funnel sends a bud forwards towards the preceding tubulus, which joins the fourth section of it close to the opening into the wolffian duct (fig. , _px_). the remainder of the vesicle becomes converted into a malpighian body (_mg_). by the first of these changes a tube is established connecting each pair of segments of the mesonephros, and though this tube is in part aborted (or only represented by a fibrous band) in the anterior part of the excretory organs in the adult, and most probably in the hinder part, yet it seems almost certain that the secondary and tertiary malpighian bodies of the majority of segments are developed from its persisting blind end. each of these secondary and tertiary malpighian bodies is connected with a convoluted tubulus (fig. , _a.mg_), which is also developed from the tube connecting each pair of segmental tubes, and therefore falls into the primary tubulus close to its junction with the segmental duct. owing to the formation of the accessory tubuli the segments of the mesonephros acquire a compound character. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through part of the mesonephros of an embryo of scyllium. the figure contains two examples of the budding of the vesicle of a segmental tube (which forms a malpighian body in its own segment) to unite with the tubulus in the preceding segment close to its opening into the wolffian (mesonephric) duct. _ge._ epithelium of body-cavity; _st._ peritoneal funnel of segmental tube with its peritoneal opening; _mg._ malpighian body; _px._ bud from malpighian body uniting with preceding segment.] [fig. . three segments of the anterior part of the mesonephros of a nearly ripe embryo of scyllium canicula as a transparent object. the figure shews a fibrous band passing from the primary to the secondary malpighian bodies in two segments, which is the remains of the outgrowth from the primary malpighian body. _st.o._ peritoneal funnel; _p.mg._ primary malpighian body; _a.mg._ accessory malpighian body; _w.d._ mesonephric (wolffian) duct.] the third section of each tubulus becomes by continuous growth, especially in the hinder segments, very bulky and convoluted. the general character of a slightly developed segment of the mesonephros at its full growth may be gathered from fig. . it commences with ( ) a peritoneal opening, somewhat oval in form (_st.o_) and leading directly into ( ) a narrow tube, the segmental tube, which takes a more or less oblique course backwards, and, passing superficially to the wolffian duct (_w.d_), opens into ( ) a malpighian body (_p.mg_) at the anterior extremity of an isolated coil of glandular tubuli. this coil forms the third section of each segment, and starts from the malpighian body. it consists of a considerable number of rather definite convolutions, and after uniting with tubuli from one, two, or more (according to the size of the segment) accessory malpighian bodies (_a.mg_) smaller than the one into which the segmental tube falls, eventually opens by ( ) a narrowish collecting tube into the wolffian duct at the posterior end of the segment. each segment is probably completely isolated from the adjoining segments, _and never has more than one peritoneal funnel and one communication with the wolffian duct_. up to this time there has been no distinction between the anterior and posterior tubuli of the mesonephros, which alike open into the wolffian duct. the collecting tubes of a considerable number of the hindermost tubuli (ten or eleven in scyllium canicula), either in some species elongate, overlap, while at the same time their openings travel backward so that they eventually open by apertures (not usually so numerous as the separate tubes), on nearly the same level, into the hindermost section of the wolffian duct in the female, or into the urinogenital cloaca, formed by the coalesced terminal parts of the wolffian ducts, in the male; or in other species become modified, by a peculiar process of splitting from the wolffian duct, so as to pour their secretion into a single duct on each side, which opens in a position corresponding with the numerous ducts of the other species (fig. ). in both cases the modified posterior kidney-segments are probably equivalent to the permanent kidney or metanephros of the amniotic vertebrates, and for this reason the numerous collecting tubes or single collecting tube, as the case may be, will be spoken of as ureters. the anterior tubuli of the primitive excretory organ retain their early relation to the wolffian duct, and form the permanent wolffian body or mesonephros. the originally separate terminal extremities of the wolffian ducts always coalesce, and form a urinal cloaca, opening by a single aperture, situated at the extremity of the median papilla behind the anus. some of the peritoneal openings of the segmental tubes in scyllium, or in other cases all the openings, become obliterated. in the male the anterior segmental tubes undergo remarkable modifications, and become connected with the testes. branches appear to grow from the first three or four or more of them (though probably not from their peritoneal openings), which pass to the base of the testis, and there uniting into a longitudinal canal, form a network, and receive the secretion of the testicular ampullæ (fig. , _nt_). these ducts, the vasa efferentia, carry the semen to the wolffian body, but before opening into the tubuli of this body they unite into a canal known as the _longitudinal canal of the wolffian body_ (_l.c_), from which pass off ducts equal in number to the vasa efferentia, each of which normally ends in a malpighian corpuscle. from the malpighian corpuscles so connected there spring the convoluted tubuli, forming the generative segments of the wolffian body, along which the semen is conveyed to the wolffian duct (_v.d_). the wolffian duct itself becomes much contorted and acts as vas deferens. figs. and are diagrammatic representations of the chief constituents of the adult urinogenital organs in the two sexes. in the adult female (fig. ), there are present the following parts: ( ) the oviduct or müllerian duct (_m.d_) split off from the segmental duct of the kidneys. each oviduct opens at its anterior extremity into the body cavity, and behind the two oviducts have independent communications with the general cloaca. ( ) the mesonephric ducts (_w.d_), the other product of the segmental ducts of the kidneys. they end in front by becoming continuous with the tubulus of the anterior _persisting_ segment of the mesonephros on each side, and unite behind to open by a common papilla into the cloaca. the mesonephric duct receives the secretion of the anterior tubuli of the primitive mesonephros. ( ) the ureter which carries off the secretion of the kidney proper or metanephros. it is represented in my diagram in its most rare and differentiated condition as a single duct connected with the posterior segmental tubes. ( ) the segmental tubes (_s.t_) some of which retain their original openings into the body cavity, and others are without them. they are divided into two groups, an anterior forming the mesonephros or wolffian body, which pours its secretion into the wolffian duct; and a posterior group forming a gland which is probably equivalent to the kidney proper of amniotic craniata, and is connected with the ureter. [fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult female elasmobranch. _m.d._ müllerian duct; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _s.t._ segmental tubes; five of them are represented with openings into the body cavity, the posterior segmental tubes form the mesonephros; _ov._ ovary.] [fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult male elasmobranch. _m.d._ rudiment of müllerian duct; _w.d._ wolffian duct, marked _vd_ in front and serving as vas deferens; _s.t._ segmental tubes; two of them are represented with openings into the body cavity; _d._ ureter; _t._ testis; _nt._ canal at the base of the testis; _ve._ vasa efferentia; _lc._ longitudinal canal of the wolffian body.] in the male the following parts are present (fig. ): ( ) the müllerian duct (_m.d_), consisting of a small rudiment attached to the liver, representing the foremost end of the oviduct of the female. ( ) the mesonephric duct (_w.d_) which precisely corresponds to the mesonephric duct of the female, but, in addition to serving as the duct of the wolffian body, also acts as a vas deferens (_vd_). in the adult male its foremost part has a very tortuous course. ( ) the ureter (_d_), which has the same fundamental constitution as in the female. ( ) the segmental tubes (_s.t_). the posterior tubes have the same arrangement in both sexes, but in the male modifications take place in connection with the anterior tubes to fit them to act as transporters of the semen. connected with the anterior tubes there are present ( ) the vasa efferentia (_ve_), united on the one hand with ( ) the central canal in the base of the testis (_nt_), and on the other with the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body (_lc_). from the latter are seen passing off the successive tubuli of the anterior segments of the wolffian body, in connection with which malpighian bodies are typically present, though not represented in my diagram. apart from the absence of the pronephros the points which deserve notice in the elasmobranch excretory system are ( ) the splitting of the segmental duct into wolffian (mesonephric) and müllerian ducts. ( ) the connection of the former with the mesonephros, and of the latter with the abdominal opening of the segmental duct which represents the pronephros of other types. ( ) the fact that the müllerian duct serves as oviduct, and the wolffian duct as vas deferens. ( ) the differentiation of a posterior section of the mesonephros into a special gland foreshadowing the metanephros of the amniota. cyclostomata. the development of the excretory system amongst the cyclostomata has only been studied in petromyzon (müller, fürbringer, and scott). the first part of the system developed is the segmental duct. it appears in the embryo of about days (scott) as a solid cord of cells, differentiated from the somatic mesoblast near the dorsal end of the body cavity. this cord is at first placed immediately below the epiblast, and grows backwards by a continuous process of differentiation of fresh mesoblast cells. it soon acquires a lumen, and joins the cloacal section of the alimentary tract before the close of foetal life. before this communication is established, the front end of the duct sends a process towards the body cavity, the blind end of which acquires a ciliated opening into the latter. a series of about four or five successively formed outgrowths from the duct, one behind the other, give rise to as many ciliated funnels opening into the body cavity, and each communicating by a more or less elongated tube with the segmental duct. these funnels, which have a metameric arrangement, constitute the pronephros, the whole of which is situated in the pericardial region of the body cavity. on the inner side of the peritoneal openings of each pronephros there is formed a vascular glomerulus, projecting into the body cavity, and covered by peritoneal epithelium. for a considerable period the pronephros constitutes the sole functional part of the excretory system. a mesonephros is formed (fürbringer) relatively late in larval life, as a segmentally arranged series of solid cords, derived from the peritoneal epithelium. these cords constitute the rudiments of the segmental tubes. they are present for a considerable portion of the body cavity, extending backwards from a point shortly behind the pronephros. they soon separate from the peritoneal epithelium, become hollowed out into canals, and join the segmental duct. at their blind extremity (that originally connected with the peritoneal epithelium) a malpighian body is formed. the pronephros is only a provisional excretory organ, the atrophy of which commences during larval life, and is nearly completed when the ammocoete has reached mm. in length. further changes take place in connection with the excretory system on the conversion of the ammocoete into the adult. the segmental ducts in the adult fall into a common urinogenital cloaca, which opens on a papilla behind the anus. this cloaca also communicates by two apertures (abdominal pores) with the body cavity. the generative products are carried into the cloaca by these pores; so that their transportation outwards is not performed by any part of the primitive urinary system. the urinogenital cloaca is formed by the separation of the portion of the primitive cloaca containing the openings of the segmental ducts from that connected with the alimentary tract. the mesonephros of the ammocoete undergoes at the metamorphosis complete atrophy, and is physiologically replaced by a posterior series of segmental tubes, opening into the hindermost portion of the segmental duct (schneider). in myxine the excretory system consists ( ) of a highly developed pronephros with a bunch of ciliated peritoneal funnels opening into the pericardial section of the body cavity. the coiled and branched tubes of which the pronephros is composed open on the ventral side of the anterior portion of the segmental duct, which in old individuals is cut off from the posterior section of the duct. on the dorsal side of the portion of the segmental duct belonging to the pronephros there are present a small number of diverticula, terminating in glomeruli: they are probably to be regarded as anterior segmental tubes. ( ) of a mesonephros, which commences a considerable distance behind the pronephros, and is formed of straight extremely simple segmental tubes opening into the segmental duct (fig. ). the excretory system of myxine clearly retains the characters of the system as it exists in the larva of petromyzon. teleostei. in most teleostei the pronephros and mesonephros coexist through life, and their products are carried off by a duct, the nature of which is somewhat doubtful, but which is probably homologous with the mesonephric duct of other types. the system commences in the embryo (rosenberg, oellacher, götte, fürbringer) with the formation of a groove-like fold of the somatic layer of peritoneal epithelium, which becomes gradually constricted into a canal; the process of constriction commencing in the middle and extending in both directions. the canal does not however close anteriorly, but remains open to the body cavity, thus giving rise to a funnel equivalent to the pronephric funnels of petromyzon and myxine. on the inner side of this funnel there is formed a glomerulus, projecting into the body cavity; and at the same time that this is being formed the anterior end of the canal becomes elongated and convoluted. the above structures constitute a pronephros, while the posterior part of the primitive canal forms the segmental duct. [fig. . portions of the mesonephros of myxine. (from gegenbaur; after j. müller.) _a._ segmental duct; _b._ segmental tube; _c._ glomerulus; _d._ afferent, _e._ efferent artery. b represents a portion of a highly magnified.] the portion of the body cavity with the glomerulus and peritoneal funnel of the pronephros (fig. , _po_) soon becomes completely isolated from the remainder, so as to form a closed cavity (_gl_). the development of the mesonephros does not take place till long after that of the pronephros. the segmental tubes which form it are stated by fürbringer to arise from solid ingrowths of peritoneal epithelium, developed successively from before backwards, but sedgwick informs me that they arise as differentiations of the mesoblastic cells _near_ the peritoneal epithelium. they soon become hollow, and unite with the segmental duct. malpighian bodies are developed on their median portions. they grow very greatly in length, and become much convoluted, but the details of this process have not been followed out. the foremost segmental tubes are situated close behind the pronephros, while the hindermost are in many cases developed in the postanal continuations of the body cavity. the pronephros appears to form the swollen cephalic portion of the kidney of the adult, and the mesonephros the remainder; the so-called caudal portion, where present, being derived (?) from the postanal segmental tubes. in some cases the cephalic portion of the kidneys is absent in the adult, which probably implies the atrophy of the pronephros; in other instances the cephalic portion of the kidneys is the only part developed. its relation to the embryonic pronephros requires however further elucidation. [fig. . section through the pronephros of a trout and adjacent parts ten days before hatching. _pr.n._ pronephros; _po._ opening of pronephros into the isolated portion of the body cavity containing the glomerulus; _gl._ glomerulus; _ao._ aorta; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _al._ alimentary tract.] in the adult the ducts in the lower part of the kidneys lie as a rule on their outer borders, and almost invariably open into a urinary bladder, which usually opens in its turn on the urinogenital papilla immediately behind the genital pore, but in a few instances there is a common urinogenital pore. in most osseous fish there are true generative ducts continuous with the investment of the generative organs. it appears to me most probable, from the analogy of lepidosteus, to be described in the next section, that these ducts are split off from the primitive segmental duct, and correspond with the müllerian ducts of elasmobranchii, etc.; though on this point we have at present no positive embryological evidence (_vide_ general considerations at the end of the chapter). in the female salmon and the male and female eel the generative products are carried to the exterior by abdominal pores. it is possible that this may represent a primitive condition, though it is more probably a case of degeneration, as is indicated by the presence of ducts in the male salmon and in forms nearly allied to the salmonidæ. the coexistence of abdominal pores and generative ducts in mormyrus appears to me to demonstrate that the generative ducts in teleostei cannot be derived from the coalescence of the investment of the generative organs with the abdominal pores. ganoidei. the true excretory gland of the adult ganoidei resembles on the whole that of teleostei, consisting of an elongated band on each side--the mesonephros--an anterior dilatation of which probably represents the pronephros. there is in both sexes a müllerian duct, provided, except in lepidosteus, with an abdominal funnel, which is however situated relatively very far back in the abdominal cavity. _the müllerian ducts appear to serve as generative canals in both sexes._ in lepidosteus they are continuous with the investment of the generative glands, _and thus a relation between the generative ducts and glands, very similar to that in teleostei, is brought about_. [fig. . section through the trunk of a lepidosteus embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. _mc._ medullary cord; _ms._ mesoblast; _sg._ segmental duct; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _hy._ hypoblast.] posteriorly the müllerian ducts and the ducts of the mesonephros remain united. the common duct so formed on each side is clearly the primitive segmental duct. it receives the secretion of a certain number of the posterior mesonephric tubules, and usually unites with its fellow to form a kind of bladder, opening by a single pore into the cloaca, behind the anus. the duct which receives the secretion of the anterior mesonephric tubules is the true mesonephric or wolffian duct. the development of the excretory system, which has been partially worked out in acipenser and lepidosteus[ ], is on the whole very similar to that in the teleostei. the first portion of the system to be formed is the segmental duct. in lepidosteus this duct is formed as a groove-like invagination of the somatic peritoneal epithelium, precisely as in teleostei, and shortly afterwards forms a duct lying between the mesoblast and the epiblast (fig. , _sg_). in acipenser (salensky) however it is formed as a solid ridge of the somatic mesoblast, as in petromyzon and elasmobranchii (fig. , _wg_). [ ] acipenser has been investigated by fürbringer, salensky, sedgwick, and also by myself, and lepidosteus by w. n. parker and myself. [fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of an acipenser embryo. (after salensky.) _rf._ medullary groove; _mp._ medullary plate; _wg._ segmental duct; _ch._ notochord; _en._ hypoblast; _sgp._ mesoblastic somite; _sp._ parietal part of mesoblastic plate.] in both forms the ducts unite behind with the cloaca, and a pronephros of the teleostean type appears to be developed. this gland is provided with but one[ ] peritoneal opening, which together with the glomerulus belonging to it becomes encapsuled in a special section of the body cavity. the opening of the pronephros of acipenser into this cavity is shewn in fig. , _pr.n._ at this early stage of acipenser (larva of mm.) i could find no glomerulus. [ ] i have not fully proved this point, but have never found more than one opening. the mesonephros is formed some distance behind, and some time after the pronephros, both in acipenser and lepidosteus, so that in the larvæ of both these genera the pronephros is for a considerable period the only excretory organ. in lepidosteus especially the development of the mesonephros occurs very late. the development of the mesonephros has not been worked out in lepidosteus, but in acipenser the anterior segmental tubes become first established as (i believe) solid cords of cells, attached at one extremity to the peritoneal epithelium on each side of the insertion of the mesentery, and extending upwards and outwards round the segmental duct[ ]. the posterior segmental tubes arise later than the anterior, and (as far as can be determined from the sections in my possession) they are formed independently of the peritoneal epithelium, on the dorsal side of the segmental duct. [ ] whether the segmental tubes are formed as ingrowths of the peritoneal epithelium, or _in situ_, could not be determined. [fig. . transverse section through the region of the stomach of a larva of acipenser mm. in length. _st._ epithelium of stomach; _yk._ yolk; _ch._ notochord, below which is a subnotochordal rod; _pr.n._ pronephros; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate formed of large cells, the outer parts of which are differentiated into contractile fibres; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _b.c._ body cavity.] in later stages (larvæ of - mm.) the anterior segmental tubes gradually lose their attachment to the peritoneal epithelium. the extremity near the peritoneal epithelium forms a malpighian body, and the other end unites with the segmental duct. at a still later stage wide peritoneal funnels are established, for at any rate a considerable number of the tubes, leading from the body cavity to the malpighian bodies. these funnels have been noticed by fürbringer, salensky and myself, but their mode of development has not, so far as i know, been made out. the funnels appear to be no longer present in the adult. the development of the müllerian ducts has not been worked out. dipnoi. the excretory system of the dipnoi is only known in the adult, but though in some respects intermediate in character between that of the ganoidei and amphibia, it resembles that of the ganoidei in the important feature of the müllerian ducts serving as genital ducts in both sexes. amphibia. in amphibia (götte, fürbringer) the development of the excretory system commences, as in teleostei, by the formation of the segmental duct from a groove formed by a fold of the somatic layer of the peritoneal epithelium, near the dorsal border of the body cavity (fig. , _u_). the anterior end of the groove is placed immediately behind the branchial region. its posterior part soon becomes converted into a canal by a constriction which commences a short way from the front end of the groove, and thence extends backwards. this canal at first ends blindly close to the cloaca, into which however it soon opens. the anterior open part of the groove in front of the constriction (fig. , _u_) becomes differentiated into a longitudinal duct, which remains in open communication with the body cavity by two (many urodela) three (many anura) or four (coeciliidæ) canals. this constitutes the dorsal part of the pronephros. the ventral part of the gland is formed from the section of the duct immediately behind the longitudinal canal. this part grows in length, and, assuming an s-shaped curvature, becomes placed on the ventral side of the first formed part of the pronephros. by continuous growth in a limited space the convolutions of the canal of the pronephros become more numerous, and the complexity of the gland is further increased by the outgrowth of blindly ending diverticula. at the root of the mesentery, opposite the peritoneal openings of the pronephros, a longitudinal fold, lined by peritoneal epithelium, and attached by a narrow band of tissue, makes its appearance. it soon becomes highly vascular, and constitutes a glomerulus homologous with that in petromyzon and teleostei. the section of the body cavity which contains the openings of the pronephros and the glomerulus, becomes dilated, and then temporarily shut off from the remainder. at a later period it forms a special though not completely isolated compartment. for a long time the pronephros and its duct form the only excretory organs of larval amphibia. eventually however the formation of the mesonephros commences, and is followed by the atrophy of the pronephros. the mesonephros is composed, as in other types, of a series of segmental tubes, but these, except in coeciliidæ, no longer correspond in number with the myotomes, but are in all instances more numerous. moreover, in the posterior part of the mesonephros in the urodeles, and through the whole length of the gland in other types, secondary and tertiary segmental tubes are formed in addition to the primary tubes. [fig. . transverse section through a very young tadpole of bombinator at the level of the anterior end of the yolk-sack. (after götte.) _a._ fold of epiblast continuous with the dorsal fin; _is^x._ neural cord; _m._ lateral muscle; _as^x._ outer layer of muscle-plate; _s._ lateral plate of mesoblast; _b._ mesentery; _u._ open end of the segmental duct, which forms the pronephros; _f._ alimentary tract; _f´._ ventral diverticulum which becomes the liver; _e._ junction of yolk cells and hypoblast cells; _d._ yolk cells.] the development of the mesonephros commences in salamandra (fürbringer) with the formation of a series of solid cords, which in the anterior myotomes spring from the peritoneal epithelium on the inner side of the segmental duct, _but posteriorly arise independently of this epithelium in the adjoining mesoblast_. sedgwick informs me that in the frog the segmental tubes are throughout developed in the mesoblast, independently of the peritoneal epithelium. these cords next become detached from the peritoneal epithelium (in so far as they are primitively united to it), and after first assuming a vesicular form, grow out into coiled tubes, with a median limb the blind end of which assists in forming a malpighian body, and a lateral limb which comes in contact with and opens into the segmental duct, and an intermediate portion connecting the two. at the junction of the median with the intermediate portion, and therefore at the neck of the malpighian body, a canal grows out in a ventral direction, which meets the peritoneal epithelium, and then develops a funnel-shaped opening into the body cavity, which subsequently becomes ciliated. in this way the peritoneal funnels which are present in the adult are established. the median and lateral sections of the segmental tubes become highly convoluted, and the separate tubes soon come into such close proximity that their primitive distinctness is lost. the first fully developed segmental tube is formed in salamandra maculata in about the sixth myotome behind the pronephros. but in the region between the two structures rudimentary segmental tubes are developed. the number of primary segmental tubes in the separate myotomes of salamandra is as follows: in the th myotome (_i.e._ the first with a true segmental tube) - segmental tubes " " th- th myotome - " " " " th " - " " " " th " - or - " " " " th " - " " " " th- th " - " " it thus appears that the segmental tubes are not only more numerous than the myotomes, but that the number in each myotome increases from before backwards. in the case of salamandra there are formed in the region of the posterior ( - ) myotomes secondary, tertiary, etc. segmental tubes out of independent solid cords, which arise in the mesoblast dorsally to the tubes already established. the secondary segmental tubes appear to develop out of these cords exactly in the same way as the primary ones, except that they do not join the segmental duct directly, but unite with the primary segmental tubes shortly before the junction of the latter with the segmental duct. in this way compound segmental tubes are established with a common collecting tube, but with numerous malpighian bodies and ciliated peritoneal openings. the difference in the mode of origin of these compound tubes and of those in elasmobranchii is very striking. the later stages in the development of the segmental tubes have not been studied in the other amphibian types. in coeciliidæ the earliest stages are not known, but the tubes present in the adult (spengel) a truly segmental arrangement, and in the young each of them is single, and provided with only a single peritoneal funnel. in the adult however many of the segmental organs become compound, and may have as many as twenty funnels, etc. both simple and compound segmental tubes occur in all parts of the mesonephros, and are arranged in no definite order. in the anura (spengel) all the segmental tubes are compound, and an enormous number of peritoneal funnels are present on the ventral surface, but it has not yet been definitely determined into what part of the segmental tubes they open. before dealing with the further changes of the wolffian body it is necessary to return to the segmental duct, which, at the time when the pronephros is undergoing atrophy, becomes split into a dorsal wolffian and ventral müllerian duct. the process in salamandra (fürbringer) has much the same character as in elasmobranchii, the müllerian duct being formed by the gradual separation, from before backwards, of a solid row of cells from the ventral side of the segmental duct, the remainder of the duct constituting the wolffian duct. during the formation of the müllerian duct its anterior part becomes hollow, and attaching itself in front to the peritoneal epithelium acquires an opening into the body cavity. the process of hollowing is continued backwards _pari passu_ with the splitting of the segmental duct. in the female the process is continued till the müllerian duct opens, close to the wolffian duct, into the cloaca. in the male the duct usually ends blindly. it is important to notice that the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct in the amphibia (salamandra) is a formation independent of the pronephros, and placed slightly behind it; and that the undivided anterior part of the segmental duct (with the pronephros) is not, as in elasmobranchii, united with the müllerian duct, but remains connected with the wolffian duct. the development of the müllerian duct has not been satisfactorily studied in other forms besides salamandra. in coeciliidæ its abdominal opening is on a level with the anterior end of the wolffian body. in other forms it is usually placed very far forwards, close to the root of the lungs (except in proteus and batrachoseps, where it is placed somewhat further back), and some distance in front of the wolffian body. the müllerian duct is always well developed in the female, and serves as oviduct. in the male it does not (except possibly in alytes) assist in the transportation of the genital products, and is always more or less rudimentary, and in anura may be completely absent. after the formation of the müllerian duct, the wolffian duct remains as the excretory channel for the wolffian body, and, till the atrophy of the pronephros, for this gland also. its anterior section, in front of the wolffian body, undergoes a more or less complete atrophy. the further changes of the excretory system concern ( ) the junction in the male of the anterior part of the wolffian body with the testis; ( ) certain changes in the collecting tubes of the posterior part of the mesonephros. the first of these processes results in the division of the wolffian body into a sexual and a non-sexual part, and in salamandra and other urodeles the division corresponds with the distribution of the simple and compound segmental tubes. since the development of the canals connecting the testes with the sexual part of the wolffian body has not been in all points satisfactorily elucidated, it will be convenient to commence with a description of the adult arrangement of the parts (fig. b). in most instances a non-segmental system of canals--the vasa efferentia (_ve_)--coming from the testis, fall into a canal known as the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, from which there pass off transverse canals, which fall into, and are equal in number to, the primary malpighian bodies of the sexual part of the gland. the spermatozoa, brought to the malpighian bodies, are thence transported along the segmental tubes to the wolffian duct, and so to the exterior. the system of canals connecting the testis with the malpighian bodies is known as the testicular network. the number of segmental tubes connected with the testis varies very greatly. in siredon there are as many as from - (spengel). the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body is in rare instances (spelerpes, etc.) absent, where the sexual part of the wolffian body is slightly developed. in the urodela the testes are united with the anterior part of the wolffian body. in the coeciliidæ the junction takes place in an homologous part of the wolffian body, but, owing to the development of the anterior segmental tubes, which are rudimentary in the urodela, it is situated some way behind the front end. amongst the anura the connection of the testis with the tubules of the wolffian body is subject to considerable variations. in bufo cinereus the normal urodele type is preserved, and in bombinator the same arrangement is found in a rudimentary condition, in that there are transverse trunks from the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, which end blindly, while the semen is carried into the wolffian duct by canals in front of the wolffian body. in alytes and discoglossus the semen is carried away by a similar direct continuation of the longitudinal canal in front of the wolffian body, but there are no rudimentary transverse canals passing into the wolffian body, as in bombinator. in rana the transverse ducts which pass off from the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, after dilating to form (?) rudimentary malpighian bodies, enter directly into the collecting tubes near their opening into the wolffian duct. in most urodeles the peritoneal openings connected with the primary generative malpighian bodies atrophy, but in spelerpes they persist. in the coeciliidæ they also remain in the adult state. with reference to the development of these parts little is known except that the testicular network grows out from the primary malpighian bodies, and becomes united with the testis. embryological evidence, as well as the fact of the persistence of the peritoneal funnels of the generative region in the adults of some forms, proves that the testicular network is not developed from the peritoneal funnels. rudiments of the testicular network are found in the female coeciliidæ and in the females of many urodela (salamandra, triton). these rudiments may in their fullest development consist of a longitudinal canal and of transverse canals passing from this to the malpighian bodies, together with some branches passing into the mesovarium. amongst the urodela the collecting tubes of the hinder non-sexual part of the wolffian body, which probably represents a rudimentary metanephros, undergo in the male sex a change similar to that which they usually undergo in elasmobranchii. their points of junction with the wolffian duct are carried back to the hindermost end of the duct (fig. b), and the collecting tubes themselves unite together into one or more short ducts (ureters) before joining the wolffian duct. in batrachoseps only the first collecting tube becomes split off in this way; and it forms a single elongated ureter which receives all the collecting tubes of the posterior segmental tubes. in the female and in the male of proteus, menobranchus, and siren the collecting tubes retain their primitive transverse course and open laterally into the wolffian duct. in rare cases (ellipsoglossus, _spengel_) the ureters open directly into the cloaca. the urinary bladder of the amphibia is an outgrowth of the ventral wall of the cloacal section of the alimentary tract, and is homologous with the allantois of the amniotic vertebrata. the subjoined diagram (fig. ) of the urogenital system of triton illustrates the more important points of the preceding description. in the female (a) the following parts are present: ( ) the müllerian duct or oviduct (_od_) derived from the splitting of the segmental duct. ( ) the wolffian duct (_sug_) constituting the portion of the segmental duct left after the formation of the müllerian duct. ( ) the mesonephros (_r_), divided into an anterior sexual part connected with a rudimentary testicular network, and a posterior part. the collecting tubes from both parts fall transversely into the wolffian duct. ( ) the ovary (_ov_). ( ) the rudimentary testicular network. in the male (b) the following parts are present: ( ) the functionless though fairly developed müllerian duct (_m_). ( ) the wolffian duct (_sug_). ( ) the mesonephros (_r_) divided into a true sexual part, through the segmental tubes of which the semen passes, and a non-sexual part. the collecting tubes of the latter do not enter the wolffian duct directly, but bend obliquely backwards and only fall into it close to its cloacal aperture, after uniting to form one or two primary tubes (ureters). ( ) the testicular network (_ve_) consisting of ( ) transverse ducts from the testes, falling into ( ) the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, from which ( ) transverse canals are again given off to the malpighian bodies. [fig. . diagram of the urinogenital system of triton. (from gegenbaur; after spengel.) a. female. b. male. _r._ mesonephros, on the surface of which numerous peritoneal funnels are visible; _sug._ mesonephric or wolffian duct; _od._ oviduct (müllerian duct); _m._ müllerian duct of male; _ve._ vasa efferentia of testis; _t._ testis; _ov._ ovary; _up._ urinogenital pore.] amniota. the amniotic vertebrata agree, so far as is known, very closely amongst themselves in the formation of the urinogenital system. the most characteristic feature of the system is the full development of a metanephros, which constitutes the functional kidney on the atrophy of the mesonephros or wolffian body, which is a purely embryonic organ. the first part of the system to develop is a duct, which is usually spoken of as the wolffian duct, but which is really the homologue of the segmental duct. it apparently develops in all the amniota nearly on the elasmobranch type, as a solid rod, primarily derived from the somatic mesoblast of the intermediate cell mass (fig. _w.d_)[ ]. [ ] dansky and kostenitsch (no. ) describe the wolffian duct in the chick as developing from a groove opening to the peritoneal cavity, which subsequently becomes constricted into a duct. i have never met with specimens such as those figured by these authors. the first trace of it is visible in an embryo chick with eight somites, as a ridge projecting from the intermediate cell mass towards the epiblast in the region of the seventh somite. in the course of further development it continues to constitute such a ridge as far as the eleventh somite (sedgwick), but from this point it grows backwards in the space between the epiblast and mesoblast. in an embryo with fourteen somites a small lumen has appeared in its middle part and in front it is connected with rudimentary wolffian tubules, which develop in continuity with it (sedgwick). in the succeeding stages the lumen of the duct gradually extends backwards and forwards, and the duct itself also passes inwards relatively to the epiblast (fig. ). its hind-end elongates till it comes into connection with, and opens into, the cloacal section of the hindgut[ ]. [ ] the foremost extremity of the segmental duct presents, according to gasser, curious irregularities and an anterior completely isolated portion is often present. it might have been anticipated that, as in the lower types, the anterior end of the segmental duct would either open into the body cavity, or come into connection with a pronephros. neither of these occurrences takes place, though in some types (the fowl) a structure, which is probably the rudiment of a pronephros, is developed; it does not however appear till a later stage, and is then unconnected with the segmental duct. the next part of the system to appear is the mesonephros or wolffian body. this is formed in all amniota as a series of segmental tubes, which in lacertilia (braun) correspond with the myotomes, but in birds and mammalia are more numerous. in reptilia (braun, no. ), the mesonephric tubes develop as segmentally-arranged masses on the inner side of the wolffian duct, and appear to be at first united with the peritoneal epithelium. each mass soon becomes an oval vesicle, probably opening for a very short period into the peritoneal cavity by a peritoneal funnel. the vesicles become very early detached from the peritoneal epithelium, and lateral outgrowths from them give rise to the main parts of the segmental tubes, which soon unite with the segmental duct. in birds the development of the segmental tubes is more complicated[ ]. [ ] correct figures of the early stages of these structures were first given by kölliker, but the correct interpretation of them and the first satisfactory account of the development of the excretory organs of birds was given by sedgwick (no. ). [fig. . transverse section through the dorsal region of an embryo chick of hours. _m.c._ medullary canal; _p.v._ mesoblastic somite; _w.d._ wolffian duct which is in contact with the intermediate cell mass; _so._ somatopleure; _s.p._ splanchnopleure; _p.p._ pleuroperitoneal cavity; _ch._ notochord; _op._ boundary of area opaca; _v._ blood-vessel.] the tubules of the wolffian body are derived from the intermediate cell mass, shewn in fig. , between the upper end of the body cavity and the muscle-plate. in the chick the mode of development of this mass into the segmental tubules is different in the regions in front of and behind about the sixteenth segment. in front of about the sixteenth segment the intermediate cell mass becomes detached from the peritoneal epithelium at certain points, remaining attached to it at other points, there being several such to each segment. the parts of the intermediate cell mass attached to the peritoneal epithelium become converted into s-shaped cords (fig. , _st_) which soon unite with the segmental duct (_wd_). into the commencement of each of these cords the lumen of the body cavity is for a short distance prolonged, so that this part constitutes a rudimentary peritoneal funnel. in the duck the attachment of the intermediate cell mass to the peritoneal epithelium is prolonged further back than in the chick. in the foremost segmental tubes, which never reach a very complete development, the peritoneal funnels widen considerably, while at the same time they acquire a distinct lumen. the section of the tube adjoining the wide peritoneal funnel becomes partially invaginated by the formation of a glomerulus, and this glomerulus soon grows to such an extent as to project through the peritoneal funnel, the neck of which it completely fills, into the body cavity (fig. , _gl_). there is thus formed a series of free peritoneal glomeruli belonging to the anterior wolffian tubuli[ ]. these tubuli become however early aborted. [ ] these external glomeruli were originally mistaken by me (no. ) for the glomerulus of the pronephros, from their resemblance to the glomerulus of the amphibian pronephros. their true meaning was made out by sedgwick (no. ). in the case of the remaining tubules developed from the s-shaped cords the attachment to the peritoneal epithelium is very soon lost. the cords acquire a lumen, and open into the segmental duct. their blind extremities constitute the rudiments of malpighian bodies. [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of a duck embryo with about twenty-four mesoblastic somites. _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _wd._ wolffian duct; _st._ segmental tube; _ca.v._ cardinal vein; _m.s._ muscle-plate; _sp.g._ spinal ganglion; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _hy._ hypoblast.] in the posterior part of the wolffian body of the chick the intermediate cell mass becomes very early detached from the peritoneal epithelium, and at a considerably later period breaks up into oval vesicles similar to those of the reptilia, which form the rudiments of the segmental tubes. secondary and tertiary segmental tubules are formed in the chick, on the dorsal side of the primary tubules, as direct differentiations of the mesoblast. they open independently into the wolffian duct. in mammalia the segmental tubules (egli) are formed as solid masses in the same situation as in birds and reptiles. it is not known whether they are united with the peritoneal epithelium. they soon become oval vesicles, which develop into complete tubules in the manner already indicated. [fig. . section through the external glomerulus of one of the anterior segmental tubes of an embryo chick of about h. _gl._ glomerulus; _ge._ peritoneal epithelium; _wd._ wolffian duct; _ao._ aorta; _me._ mesentery. the segmental tube, and the connection between the external and internal parts of the glomerulus are not shewn in this figure.] [fig. . sections shewing two of the peritoneal invaginations which give rise to the anterior part of the mÜllerian duct (pronephros). (after balfour and sedgwick.) a is the th section of the series. b " th " " c " th " " _gr ._ second groove; _gr ._ third groove; _r ._ second ridge; _wd._ wolffian duct.] after the establishment of the wolffian body there is formed in both sexes in all the amniota a duct, which in the female becomes the oviduct, but which is functionless and disappears more or less completely in the male. this duct, in spite of certain peculiarities in its development, is without doubt homologous with the müllerian duct of the ichthyopsida. in connection with its anterior extremity certain structures have been found in the fowl, which are probably, on grounds to be hereafter stated, homologous with the pronephros (balfour and sedgwick). the pronephros, as i shall call it, consists of a slightly convoluted longitudinal canal with three or more peritoneal openings. in the earliest condition, it consists of three successive open involutions of the peritoneal epithelium, connected together by more or less well-defined ridge-like thickenings of the epithelium. it takes its origin from the layer of thickened peritoneal epithelium situated near the dorsal angle of the body cavity, and is situated some considerable distance behind the front end of the wolffian duct. [fig. . section of the wolffian body developing pronephros and genital gland of the fourth day. (after waldeyer.) magnified times. _m._ mesentery; _l._ somatopleure; _a´._ portion of the germinal epithelium from which the involution (_z_) to form the pronephros (anterior part of müllerian duct) takes place; _a._ thickened portion of the germinal epithelium in which the primitive germinal cells _c_ and _o_ are lying; _e._ modified mesoblast which will form the stroma of the ovary; _wk._ wolffian body; _y._ wolffian duct.] in a slightly later stage the ridges connecting the grooves become partially constricted off from the peritoneal epithelium, and develop a lumen. the condition of the structure at this stage is illustrated by fig. , representing three transverse sections through two grooves, and through the ridge connecting them. the pronephros may in fact now be described as a slightly convoluted duct, opening into the body cavity by three groove-like apertures, and continuous behind with the rudiment of the true müllerian duct. the stage just described is that of the fullest development of the pronephros. in it, as in all the previous stages, there appear to be only three main openings into the body cavity; but in some sections there are indications of the possible presence of one or two additional rudimentary grooves. in an embryo not very much older than the one last described the pronephros atrophies as such, its two posterior openings vanishing, and its anterior opening remaining as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. the pronephros is an extremely transitory structure, and its development and atrophy are completed between the th and th hours of incubation. [fig. . two sections shewing the junction of the terminal solid portion of the mÜllerian duct with the wolffian duct. (after balfour and sedgwick.) in a the terminal portion of the duct is quite distinct; in b it has united with the walls of the wolffian duct. _md._ müllerian duct; _wd._ wolffian duct.] the position of the pronephros in relation to the wolffian body is shewn in fig. , which probably passes through a region between two of the peritoneal openings. as long as the pronephros persists, the müllerian duct consists merely of a very small rudiment, continuous with the hindermost of the three peritoneal openings, and its solid extremity appears to unite with the walls of the wolffian duct. after the atrophy of the pronephros, the müllerian duct commences to grow rapidly, and for the first part of its course it appears to be split off as a solid rod from the outer or ventral wall of the wolffian duct (fig. ). into this rod the lumen, present in its front part, subsequently extends. its mode of development in front is thus precisely similar to that of the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii and amphibia. this mode of development only occurs however in the anterior part of the duct. in the posterior part of its course its growing point lies in a bay formed by the outer walls of the wolffian duct, but does not become definitely attached to that duct. it seems however possible that, although not actually split off from the walls of the wolffian duct, it may grow backwards from cells derived from that duct. the müllerian duct finally reaches the cloaca though it does not in the female for a long time open into it, and in the male never does so. the mode of growth of the müllerian duct in the posterior part of its course will best be understood from the following description quoted from the paper by sedgwick and myself. "a few sections before its termination the müllerian duct appears as a well-defined oval duct lying in contact with the wall of the wolffian duct on the one hand and the germinal epithelium on the other. gradually, however, as we pass backwards, the müllerian duct dilates; the external wall of the wolffian duct adjoining it becomes greatly thickened and pushed in in its middle part, so as almost to touch the opposite wall of the duct, and so form a bay in which the müllerian duct lies. as soon as the müllerian duct has come to lie in this bay its walls lose their previous distinctness of outline, and the cells composing them assume a curious vacuolated appearance. no well-defined line of separation can any longer be traced between the walls of the wolffian duct and those of the müllerian, but between the two is a narrow clear space traversed by an irregular network of fibres, in some of the meshes of which nuclei are present. the müllerian duct may be traced in this condition for a considerable number of sections, the peculiar features above described becoming more and more marked as its termination is approached. it continues to dilate and attains a maximum size in the section or so before it disappears. a lumen may be observed in it up to its very end, but is usually irregular in outline and frequently traversed by strands of protoplasm. the müllerian duct finally terminates quite suddenly, and in the section immediately behind its termination the wolffian duct assumes its normal appearance, and the part of its outer wall on the level of the müllerian duct comes into contact with the germinal epithelium." before describing the development of the müllerian duct in other amniotic types it will be well to say a few words as to the identifications above adopted. the identification of the duct, usually called the wolffian duct, with the segmental duct (exclusive of the pronephros) appears to be morphologically justified for the following reasons: ( ) that it gives rise to part of the müllerian duct as well as to the duct of the wolffian body; behaving in this respect precisely as does the segmental duct of elasmobranchii and amphibia. ( ) that it serves as the duct for the wolffian body, before the müllerian duct originates from it. ( ) that it develops in a manner strikingly similar to that of the segmental duct of various lower forms. with reference to the pronephros it is obvious that the organ identified as such is in many respects similar to the pronephros of the amphibia. both consist of a somewhat convoluted longitudinal canal, with a certain number of peritoneal openings. the main difficulties in the homology are: ( ) the fact that the pronephros in the bird is not united with the segmental duct; ( ) the fact that it is situated behind the front end of the wolffian body. it is to be remembered in connection with the first of these difficulties that in the formation of the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii the anterior undivided extremity of the primitive segmental duct, with the peritoneal opening, which probably represents the pronephros, is attached to the müllerian duct, and not to the wolffian duct; though in amphibia the reverse is the case. to explain the discontinuity of the pronephros with the segmental duct it is only necessary to suppose that the segmental duct and pronephros, which in the ichthyopsida develop as a single formation, develop in the bird as two independent structures--a far from extravagant supposition, considering that the pronephros in the bird is undoubtedly quite functionless. with reference to the posterior position of the pronephros it is only necessary to remark that a change in position might easily take place after the acquirement of an independent development, and that the shifting is probably correlated with a shifting of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct. the pronephros has only been observed in birds, and is very possibly not developed in other amniota. the müllerian duct is also usually stated to develop as a groove of the peritoneal epithelium, shewn in the lizard in fig. , _md._, which is continued backward as a primitively solid rod in the space between the wolffian duct and peritoneal epithelium, without becoming attached to the wolffian duct. on the formation of the müllerian duct, the duct of the mesonephros becomes the true mesonephric or wolffian duct. after these changes have taken place a new organ of great importance makes its appearance. this organ is the permanent kidney, or metanephros. metanephros. the mode of development of the metanephros has as yet only been satisfactorily elucidated in the chick (sedgwick, no. ). the ureter and the collecting tubes of the kidney are developed from a dorsal outgrowth of the hinder part of the wolffian duct. the outgrowth from the wolffian duct grows forwards, and extends along the outer side of a mass of mesoblastic tissue which lies mainly behind, but somewhat overlaps the dorsal aspect of the wolffian body. this mass of mesoblastic cells may be called the metanephric blastema. sedgwick, of the accuracy of whose account i have satisfied myself, has shewn that in the chick it is derived from the intermediate cell mass of the region of about the thirty-first to the thirty-fourth somite. it is at first continuous with, and indistinguishable in structure from, the portion of the intermediate cell mass of the region immediately in front of it, which breaks up into wolffian tubules. the metanephric blastema remains however quite passive during the formation of the wolffian tubules in the adjoining blastema; and on the formation of the ureter breaks off from the wolffian body in front, and, growing forwards and dorsalwards, places itself on the inner side of the ureter in the position just described. in the subsequent development of the kidney collecting tubes grow out from the ureter, and become continuous with masses of cells of the metanephric blastema, which then differentiate themselves into the kidney tubules. the process just described appears to me to prove _that the kidney of the amniota is a specially differentiated posterior section of the primitive mesonephros_. according to the view of remak and kölliker the outgrowths from the ureter give rise to the whole of the tubuli uriniferi and the capsules of the malpighian bodies, the mesoblast around them forming blood-vessels, etc. on the other hand some observers (kupffer, bornhaupt, braun) maintain, in accordance with the account given above, that the outgrowths of the ureter form only the collecting tubes, and that the secreting tubuli, etc. are formed _in situ_ in the adjacent mesoblast. braun (no. ) has arrived at the conclusion that in the lacertilia the tissue, out of which the tubuli of the metanephros are formed, is derived from irregular solid ingrowths of the peritoneal epithelium, in a region behind the wolffian body, but in a position corresponding to that in which the segmental tubes take their origin. these ingrowths, after separating from the peritoneal epithelium, unite together to form a cord into which the ureter sends the lateral outgrowths already described. these outgrowths unite with secreting tubuli and malpighian bodies, formed _in situ_. in lacertilia the blastema of the kidney extends into a postanal region. braun's account of the origin of the metanephric blastema does not appear to me to be satisfactorily demonstrated. the ureter does not long remain attached to the wolffian duct, but its opening is gradually carried back, till (in the chick between the th and th day) it opens independently into the cloaca. of the further changes in the excretory system the most important is the atrophy of the greater part of the wolffian body, and the conversion of the wolffian duct in the male sex into the vas deferens, as in amphibia and the elasmobranchii. the mode of connection of the testis with the wolffian duct is very remarkable, but may be derived from the primitive arrangement characteristic of elasmobranchii and amphibia. in the structures connecting the testis with the wolffian body two parts have to be distinguished, ( ) that equivalent to the testicular network of the lower types, ( ) that derived from the segmental tubes. the former is probably to be found in peculiar outgrowths from the malpighian bodies at the base of the testes. these were first discovered by braun in reptilia, and consist in this group of a series of outgrowths from the primary (?) malpighian bodies along the base of the testis: they unite to form an interrupted cord in the substance of the testis, from which the testicular tubuli (with the exception of the seminiferous cells) are subsequently differentiated. these outgrowths, with the exception of the first two or three, become detached from the malpighian bodies. outgrowths similar to those in the male are found in the female, but subsequently atrophy. outgrowths homologous with those found by braun have been detected by myself (no. ) in mammals. it is not certain to what parts of the testicular tubuli they give rise, but they probably form at any rate the vasa recta and rete vasculosum. in mammals they also occur in the female, and give rise to cords of tissue in the ovary, which may persist through life. the comparison of the tubuli, formed out of these structures, with the elasmobranch and amphibian testicular network is justified in that both originate as outgrowths from the primary malpighian bodies, and thence extend into the testis, and come into connection with the true seminiferous stroma. as in the lower types the semen is transported from the testicular network to the wolffian duct by parts of the glandular tubes of the wolffian body. in the case of reptilia the anterior two or three segmental tubes in the region of the testis probably have this function. in the case of mammalia the vasa efferentia, _i.e._ the coni vasculosi, appear, according to the usually accepted view, to be of this nature, though banks and other investigators believe that they are independently developed structures. further investigations on this point are required. in birds a connection between the wolffian body and the testis appears to be established as in the other types. the wolffian duct itself becomes, in the males of all amniota, the vas deferens and the convoluted canal of the epididymis--the latter structure (except the head) being entirely derived from the wolffian duct. in the female the wolffian duct atrophies more or less completely. in snakes (braun) the posterior part remains as a functionless canal, commencing at the ovary, and opening into the cloaca. in the gecko (braun) it remains as a small canal joining the ureter; in blindworms a considerable part of the canal is left, and in lacerta (braun) only interrupted portions. in mammalia the middle part of the duct, known as gaertner's canal, persists in the females of some monkeys, of the pig and of many ruminants. the wolffian body atrophies nearly completely in both sexes; though, as described above, part of it opposite the testis persists as the head of the epididymis. the posterior part of the gland from the level of the testis may be called the sexual part of the gland, the anterior part forming the non-sexual part. the latter, _i.e._ the anterior part, is first absorbed; and in some reptilia the posterior part, extending from the region of the genital glands to the permanent kidney, persists till into the second year. various remnants of the wolffian body are found in the adults of both sexes in different types. the most constant of them is perhaps the part in the female equivalent to the head of the epididymis and to parts also of the coiled tube of the epididymis, which may be called, with waldeyer, the epoophoron[ ]. this is found in reptiles, birds and mammals; though in a very rudimentary form in the first-named group. remnants of the anterior non-sexual part of the wolffian bodies have been called by waldeyer parepididymis in the male, and paroophoron in the female. such remnants are not (braun) found in reptilia, but are stated to be found in both male and female birds, as a small organ consisting of blindly ending tubes with yellow pigment. in some male mammals (including man) a parepididymis is found on the upper side of the testis. it is usually known as the organ of giraldes. [ ] this is also called parovarium (his), and rosenmüller's organ. the müllerian duct forms, as has been stated, the oviduct in the female. the two ducts originally open independently into the cloaca, but in the mammalia a subsequent modification of this arrangement occurs, which is dealt with in a separate section. in birds the right oviduct atrophies, a vestige being sometimes left. in the male the müllerian ducts atrophy more or less completely. in most reptiles and in birds the atrophy of the müllerian ducts is complete in the male, but in lacerta and anguis a rudiment of the anterior part has been detected by leydig as a convoluted canal. in the rabbit (kölliker)[ ] and probably other mammals the whole of the ducts probably disappears, but in some mammals, _e.g._ man, the lower fused ends of the müllerian ducts give rise to a pocket opening into the urethra, known as the uterus masculinus; and in other cases, _e.g._ the beaver and the ass, the rudiments are more considerable, and may be continued into horns homologous with the horns of the uterus (weber). [ ] weber (no. ) states that a uterus masculinus is present in the rabbit, but his account is by no means satisfactory, and its presence is distinctly denied by kölliker. the hydatid of morgani in the male is supposed (waldeyer) to represent the abdominal opening of the fallopian tube in the female, and therefore to be a remnant of the müllerian duct. _changes in the lower parts of the urinogenital ducts in the amniota._ the genital cord. in the monodelphia the lower part of the wolffian ducts becomes enveloped in both sexes in a special cord of tissue, known as the genital cord (fig. , _gc_), within the lower part of which the müllerian ducts are also enclosed. in the male the müllerian ducts in this cord atrophy, except at their distal end where they unite to form the uterus masculinus. the wolffian ducts, after becoming the vasa deferentia, remain for some time enclosed in the common cord, but afterwards separate from each other. the seminal vesicles are outgrowths of the vasa deferentia. in the female the wolffian ducts within the genital cord atrophy, though rudiments of them are for a long time visible or even permanently persistent. the lower parts of the müllerian ducts unite to form the vagina and body of the uterus. the junction commences in the middle and extends forwards and backwards; the stage with a median junction being retained permanently in marsupials. the urinogenital sinus and external generative organs. in all the amniota, there open at first into the common cloaca the alimentary canal dorsally, the allantois ventrally, and the wolffian and müllerian ducts and ureters laterally. in reptilia and aves the embryonic condition is retained. in both groups the allantois serves as an embryonic urinary bladder, but while it atrophies in aves, its stalk dilates to form a permanent urinary bladder in reptilia. in mammalia the dorsal part of the cloaca with the alimentary tract becomes first of all partially constricted off from the ventral, which then forms a urinogenital sinus (fig. , _ug_). in the course of development the urinogenital sinus becomes, in all mammalia but the ornithodelphia, completely separated from the intestinal cloaca, and the two parts obtain separate external openings. the ureters (fig. , ) open higher up than the other ducts into the stalk of the allantois which dilates to form the bladder ( ). the stalk connecting the bladder with the ventral wall of the body constitutes the urachus, and loses its lumen before the close of embryonic life. the part of the stalk of the allantois below the openings of the ureters narrows to form the urethra, which opens together with the wolffian and müllerian ducts into the urinogenital cloaca. in front of the urinogenital cloaca there is formed a genital prominence (fig. , _cp_), with a groove continued from the urinogenital opening; and on each side a genital fold (_ls_). in the male the sides of the groove on the prominence coalesce together, embracing between them the opening of the urinogenital cloaca; and the prominence itself gives rise to the penis, along which the common urinogenital passage is continued. the two genital folds unite from behind forwards to form the scrotum. [fig. . diagram of the urinogenital organs of a mammal at an early stage. (after allen thomson; from quain's _anatomy_.) the parts are seen chiefly in profile, but the müllerian and wolffian ducts are seen from the front. . ureter; . urinary bladder; . urachus; _ot._ genital ridge (ovary or testis); _w._ left wolffian body; _x._ part at apex from which coni vasculosi are afterwards developed; _w._ wolffian duct; _m._ müllerian duct; _gc._ genital cord consisting of wolffian and müllerian ducts bound up in a common sheath; _i._ rectum; _ug._ urinogenital sinus; _cp._ elevation which becomes the clitoris or penis; _ls._ ridge from which the labia majora or scrotum are developed.] in the female the groove on the genital prominence gradually disappears, and the prominence remains as the clitoris, which is therefore the homologue of the penis: the two genital folds form the labia majora. the urethra and vagina open independently into the common urinogenital sinus. _general conclusions and summary._ pronephros. sedgwick has pointed out that the pronephros is always present in types with a larval development, and either absent or imperfectly developed in those types which undergo the greater part of their development within the egg. thus it is practically absent in the embryos of elasmobranchii and the amniota, but present in the larvæ of all other forms. this coincidence, on the principles already laid down in a previous chapter on larval forms, affords a strong presumption that the pronephros is an ancestral organ; and, coupled with the fact that it is the first part of the excretory system to be developed, and often the sole excretory organ for a considerable period, points to the conclusion that the pronephros and its duct--the segmental duct--are the most primitive parts of the vertebrate excretory system. this conclusion coincides with that arrived at by gegenbaur and fürbringer. the duct of the pronephros is always developed prior to the gland, and there are two types according to which its development may take place. it may either be formed by the closing in of a continuous groove of the somatic peritoneal epithelium (amphibia, teleostei, lepidosteus), or as a solid knob or rod of cells derived from the somatic mesoblast, which grows backwards between the epiblast and the mesoblast (petromyzon, elasmobranchii, and the amniota). it is quite certain that the second of these processes is not a true record of the evolution of the duct, and though it is more possible that the process observable in amphibia and the teleostei may afford some indications of the manner in which the duct was established, this cannot be regarded as by any means certain. the mode of development of the pronephros itself is apparently partly dependent on that of its duct. in petromyzon, where the duct does not at first communicate with the body cavity, the pronephros is formed as a series of outgrowths from the duct, which meet the peritoneal epithelium and open into the body cavity; but in other instances it is derived from the anterior open end of the groove which gives rise to the segmental duct. the open end of this groove may either remain single (teleostei, ganoidei) or be divided into two, three or more apertures (amphibia). the main part of the gland in either case is formed by convolutions of the tube connected with the peritoneal funnel or funnels. the peritoneal funnels of the pronephros appear to be segmentally arranged. the pronephros is distinguished from the mesonephros by developmental as well as structural features. the most important of the former is the fact that the glandular tubules of which it is formed are always outgrowths of the segmental duct; while in the mesonephros they are always or almost always[ ] formed independently of the duct. [ ] according to sedgwick some of the anterior segmental tubes of aves form an exception to the general rule that there is no outgrowth from the segmental or metanephric duct to meet the segmental tubes. the chief structural peculiarity of the pronephros is the absence from it of malpighian bodies with the same relations as those in the meso- and metanephros; unless the structures found in myxine are to be regarded as such. functionally the place of such malpighian bodies is taken by the vascular peritoneal ridge spoken of in the previous pages as the glomerulus. that this body is really related functionally to the pronephros appears to be indicated ( ) by its constant occurrence with the pronephros and its position opposite the peritoneal openings of this body; ( ) by its atrophy at the same time as the pronephros; ( ) by its enclosure together with the pronephridian stoma in a special compartment of the body-cavity in teleostei and ganoids, and its partial enclosure in such a compartment in amphibia. the pronephros atrophies more or less completely in most types, though it probably persists for life in the teleostei and ganoids, and in some members of the former group it perhaps forms the sole adult organ of excretion. the cause of its atrophy may perhaps be related to the fact that it is situated in the pericardial region of the body-cavity, the dorsal part of which is aborted on the formation of a closed pericardium; and its preservation in teleostei and ganoids may on this view be due to the fact that in these types its peritoneal funnel and its glomerulus are early isolated in a special cavity. mesonephros. the mesonephros is in all instances composed of a series of tubules (segmental tubes) which are developed independently of the segmental duct. each tubule is typically formed of ( ) a peritoneal funnel opening into ( ) a malpighian body, from which there proceeds ( ) a coiled glandular tube, finally opening by ( ) a collecting tube into the segmental duct, which constitutes the _primitive_ duct for the mesonephros as well as for the pronephros. the development of the mesonephridian tubules is subject to considerable variations. ( ) they may be formed as differentiations of the intermediate cell mass, and be from the first provided with a lumen, opening into the body-cavity, and directly derived from the section of the body-cavity present in the intermediate cell mass; the peritoneal funnels often persisting for life (elasmobranchii). ( ) they may be formed as solid cords either attached to or independent of the peritoneal epithelium, which after first becoming independent of the peritoneal epithelium subsequently send downwards a process, which unites with it and forms a peritoneal funnel, which may or may not persist (acipenser, amphibia). ( ) they may be formed as in the last case, but acquire no secondary connection with the peritoneal epithelium (teleostei, amniota). in connection with the original attachment to the peritoneal epithelium, a true peritoneal funnel may however be developed (aves, lacertilia). physiological considerations appear to shew that of these three methods of development the first is the most primitive. the development of the tubes as solid cords can hardly be primary. a question which has to be answered in reference to the segmental tubes is that of the homology of the secondarily developed peritoneal openings of amphibia, with the primary openings of the elasmobranchii. it is on the one hand difficult to understand why, if the openings are homologous in the two types, the original peritoneal attachment should be obliterated in amphibia, only to be shortly afterwards reacquired. on the other hand it is still more difficult to understand what physiological gain there could be, on the assumption of the non-homology of the openings, in the replacement of the primary opening by a secondary opening exactly similar to it. considering the great variations in development which occur in undoubtedly homologous parts i incline to the view that the openings in the two types are homologous. in the majority of the lower vertebrata the mesonephric tubes have at first a segmental arrangement, and this is no doubt the primitive condition. the coexistence of two, three, or more of them in a single segment in amphibia, aves and mammalia has recently been shewn, by an interesting discovery of eisig, to have a parallel amongst chætopods, in the coexistence of several segmental organs in a single segment in some of the capitellidæ. in connection with the segmental features of the mesonephros it is perhaps worth recalling the fact that in elasmobranchii as well as other types there are traces of segmental tubes in some of the postanal segments. in the case of all the segmental tubes a malpighian body becomes established close to the extremity of the tube adjoining the peritoneal opening, or in an homologous position in tubes without such an opening. the opposite extremity of the tube always becomes attached to the segmental duct. in many of the segments of the mesonephros, especially in the hinder ones, secondary and tertiary tubes become developed in certain types, which join the collecting canals of the primary tubes, and are provided, like the primary tubes, with malpighian bodies at their blind extremities. there can it appears to me be little or no doubt that the secondary tubes in the different types are homodynamous if not homologous. under these circumstances it is surprising to find in what different ways they take their origin. in elasmobranchii a bud sprouts out from the malpighian body of one segment, and joins the collecting tube of the preceding segment, and subsequently, becoming detached from the malpighian body from which it sprouted, forms a fresh secondary malpighian body at its blind extremity. thus the secondary tubes of one segment are formed as buds from the segment behind. in amphibia (salamandra) and aves the secondary tubes develop independently in the mesoblast. these great differences in development are important in reference to the homology of the metanephros or permanent kidney, which is discussed below. before leaving the mesonephros it may be worth while putting forward some hypothetical suggestions as to its origin and relation to the pronephros, leaving however the difficult questions as to the homology of the segmental tubes with the segmental organs of chætopods for subsequent discussion. it is a peculiarity in the development of the segmental tubes that they at first end blindly, though they subsequently grow till they meet the segmental duct with which they unite directly, without the latter sending out any offshoot to meet them[ ]. it is difficult to believe that peritoneal infundibula ending blindly and unprovided with some external orifice can have had an excretory function, and we are therefore rather driven to suppose that the peritoneal infundibula which become the segmental tubes were either from the first provided each with an orifice opening to the exterior, or were united with the segmental duct. if they were from the first provided with external openings we may suppose that they became secondarily attached to the duct of the pronephros (segmental duct), and then lost their external openings, no trace of these structures being left, even in the ontogeny of the system. it would appear to me more probable that the pronephros, with its duct opening into the cloaca, was the only excretory organ of the unsegmented ancestors of the chordata, and that, on the elongation of the trunk and its subsequent segmentation, a series of metameric segmental tubes became evolved opening into the segmental duct, each tube being in a sort of way serially homologous with the primitive pronephros. with the segmentation of the trunk the latter structure itself may have acquired the more or less definite metameric arrangement of its parts. [ ] as mentioned in the note on p. sedgwick maintains that the anterior segmental tubes of the chick form an exception to this general statement. another possible view is that the segmental tubes may be modified derivatives of posterior lateral branches of the pronephros, which may at first have extended for the whole length of the body-cavity. if there is any truth in this hypothesis it is necessary to suppose that, when the unsegmented ancestor of the chordata became segmented, the posterior branches of the primitive excretory organ became segmentally arranged, and that, in accordance with the change thus gradually introduced in them, the time of their development became deferred, so as to accord to a certain extent with the time of formation of the segments to which they belonged. the change in their mode of development which would be thereby introduced is certainly not greater than that which has taken place in the case of segmental tubes, which, having originally developed on the elasmobranch type, have come to develop as they do in the posterior part of the mesonephros of salamandra, birds, etc. genital ducts. so far the origin and development of the excretory organs have been considered without reference to the modifications introduced by the excretory passages coming to serve as generative ducts. such an unmodified state of the excretory organs is perhaps found permanently in cyclostomata[ ] and transitorily in the embryos of most forms. [ ] it is by no means certain that the transportation outwards of the genital products by the abdominal pores in the cyclostomata may not be the result of degeneration. at first the generative products seem to have been discharged freely into the body-cavity, and transported to the exterior by the abdominal pores (_vide_ p. ). the secondary relations of the excretory ducts to the generative organs seem to have been introduced by an opening connected with the pronephridian extremity of the segmental duct having acquired the function of admitting the generative products into it, and of carrying them outwards; _so that primitively the segmental duct must have served as efferent duct both for the generative products and the pronephric secretion_ (just as the wolffian duct still does for the testicular products and secretion of the wolffian body in elasmobranchii and amphibia). the opening by which the generative products entered the segmental duct can hardly have been specially developed for this purpose, but must almost certainly have been one of the peritoneal openings of the pronephros. as a consequence (by a process of natural selection) of the segmental duct having both a generative and a urinary function, a further differentiation took place, by which that duct became split into two--a ventral müllerian duct and a dorsal wolffian duct. the müllerian duct was probably continuous with one or more of the abdominal openings of the pronephros which served as generative pores. at first the segmental duct was probably split longitudinally into two equal portions, and this mode of splitting is exceptionally retained in some elasmobranchii; but the generative function of the müllerian duct gradually impressed itself more and more upon the embryonic development, so that, in the course of time, the müllerian duct developed less and less at the expense of the wolffian duct. this process appears partly to have taken place in elasmobranchii, and still more in amphibia, the amphibia offering in this respect a less primitive condition than the elasmobranchii; while in aves it has been carried even further, and it seems possible that in some amniota the müllerian and segmental ducts may actually develop independently, as they do exceptionally in individual specimens of salamandra (fürbringer). the abdominal opening no doubt also became specialised. at first it is quite possible that more than one pronephric abdominal funnel may have served for the entrance of the generative products; this function being, no doubt, eventually restricted to one of them. three different types of development of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct have been observed. in amphibia (salamandra) the permanent opening of the müllerian duct is formed independently, some way behind the pronephros. in elasmobranchii the original opening of the segmental duct forms the permanent opening of the müllerian duct, and no true pronephros appears to be formed. in birds the anterior of the three openings of the rudimentary pronephros remains as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. these three modes of development very probably represent specialisations of the primitive state along three different lines. in amphibia the specialisation of the opening appears to have gone so far that it no longer has any relation to the pronephros. it was probably originally one of the posterior openings of this gland. in elasmobranchii, on the other hand, the functional opening is formed at a period when we should expect the pronephros to develop. this state is very possibly the result of a differentiation by which the pronephros gradually ceased to become developed, but one of its peritoneal openings remained as the abdominal aperture of the müllerian duct. aves, finally, appear to have become differentiated along a third line; since in their ancestors the anterior (?) pore of the head-kidney appears to have become specialised as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. the müllerian duct is usually formed in a more or less complete manner in both sexes. in ganoids, where the separation between it and the wolffian duct is not completed to the cloaca, and in the dipnoi, it probably serves to carry off the generative products of both sexes. in other cases however only the female products pass out by it, and the partial or complete formation of the müllerian duct in the male in these cases needs to be explained. this may be done either by supposing the ganoid arrangement to have been the primitive one in the ancestors of the other forms, or, by supposing characters acquired primitively by the female to have become inherited by both sexes. it is a question whether the nature of the generative ducts of teleostei can be explained by comparison with those of ganoids. the fact that the müllerian ducts of the teleostean ganoid _lepidosteus_ attach themselves to the generative organs, and thus acquire a resemblance to the generative ducts of teleostei, affords a powerful argument in favour of the view that the generative ducts of both sexes in the teleostei are modified müllerian ducts. embryology can however alone definitely settle this question. in the elasmobranchii, amphibia, and amniota the male products are carried off by the wolffian duct, and they are transported to this duct, _not_ by open peritoneal funnels of the mesonephros, _but_ by a network of ducts which sprout either from a certain number of the malpighian bodies opposite the testis (amphibia, amniota), or from the stalks connecting the malpighian bodies with the open funnels (elasmobranchii). after traversing this network the semen passes (except in certain anura) through a variable number of the segmental tubes directly to the wolffian duct. the extent of the connection of the testis with the wolffian body is subject to great variations, but it is usually more or less in the anterior region. rudiments of the testicular network have in many cases become inherited by the female. the origin of the connection between the testis and wolffian body is still very obscure. it would be easy to understand how the testicular products, after falling into the body-cavity, might be taken up by the open extremities of some of the peritoneal funnels, and how such open funnels might have groove-like prolongations along the mesorchium, which might eventually be converted into ducts. ontogeny does not however altogether favour this view of the origin of the testicular network. it seems to me nevertheless the most probable view which has yet been put forward. the mode of transportation of the semen by means of the mesonephric tubules is so peculiar as to render it highly improbable that it was twice acquired, it becomes therefore necessary to suppose that the amphibia and amniota inherited this mode of transportation of the semen from the same ancestors as the elasmobranchii. it is remarkable therefore that in the ganoidei and dipnoi this arrangement is not found. either ( ) the arrangement (found in the ganoidei and dipnoi) of the müllerian duct serving for both sexes is the primitive arrangement, and the elasmobranch is secondary, or ( ) the ganoid arrangement is a secondary condition, which has originated at a stage in the evolution of the vertebrata when some of the segmental tubes had begun to serve as the efferent ducts of the testis, and has resulted in consequence of a degeneration of the latter structures. although the second alternative is the more easy to reconcile with the affinities of the ganoid and elasmobranch types, as indicated by the other features of their organization, i am still inclined to accept the former; and consider that the incomplete splitting of the segmental duct in ganoidei is a strong argument in favour of this view. metanephros. with the employment of the wolffian duct to transport the semen there seems to be correlated ( ) a tendency of the posterior segmental tubes to have a duct of their own, in which the seminal and urinary fluids cannot become mixed, and ( ) a tendency on the part of the anterior segmental tubes to lose their excretory function. the posterior segmental tubes, when connected in this way with a more or less specialised duct, have been regarded in the preceding pages as constituting a metanephros. this differentiation is hardly marked in the anura, but is well developed in the urodela and in the elasmobranchii; and in the latter group has become inherited by both sexes. in the amniota it culminates, according to the view independently arrived at by semper and myself, ( ) in the formation of a completely distinct metanephros in both sexes, formed however, as shewn by sedgwick, from the same blastema as the wolffian body, and ( ) in the atrophy in the adult of the whole wolffian body, except the part uniting the testis and the wolffian duct. the homology between the posterior metanephridian section of the wolffian body, in elasmobranchii and urodela, and the kidney of the amniota, is only in my opinion a general one, _i.e._ in both cases a common cause, viz. the wolffian duct acting as vas deferens, has resulted in a more or less similar differentiation of parts. fürbringer has urged against semper's and my view that no satisfactory proof of it has yet been offered. this proof has however, since fürbringer wrote his paper, been supplied by sedgwick's observations. the development of the kidney in the amniota is no doubt a direct as opposed to a phylogenetic development; and the substitution of a direct for a phylogenetic development has most probably been rendered possible by the fact that the anterior part of the mesonephros continued all the while to be unaffected and to remain as the main excretory organ during foetal life. the most serious difficulty urged by fürbringer against the homology is the fact that the ureter of the metanephros develops on a type of its own, which is quite distinct from the mode of development of the ureters of the metanephros of the ichthyopsidan forms. it is however quite possible, though far from certain, that the ureter of amniota may be a special formation confined to that group, and this fact would in no wise militate against the homology i have been attempting to establish. _comparison of the excretory organs of the chordata and invertebrata._ the structural characters and development of the various forms of excretory organs described in the preceding pages do not appear to me to be sufficiently distinctive to render it possible to establish homologies between these organs on a satisfactory basis, except in closely related groups. the excretory organs of the platyelminthes are in many respects similar to the provisional excretory organ of the trochosphere of polygordius and the gephyrea on the one hand, and to the vertebrate pronephros on the other; and the platyelminth excretory organ _with an anterior opening_ might be regarded as having given origin to the trochosphere organ, while that _with a posterior opening_ may have done so for the vertebrate pronephros[ ]. [ ] this suggestion has i believe been made by fürbringer. hatschek has compared the provisional trochosphere excretory organ of polygordius to the vertebrate pronephros, and the posterior chætopod segmental tubes to the mesonephric tubes; the latter homology having been already suggested independently by both semper and myself. with reference to the comparison of the pronephros with the provisional excretory organ of polygordius there are two serious difficulties: ( ) the pronephric (segmental) duct opens directly into the cloaca, while the duct of the provisional trochosphere excretory organ opens anteriorly, and directly to the exterior. ( ) the pronephros is situated _within_ the segmented region of the trunk, and has a more or less distinct metameric arrangement of its parts; while the provisional trochosphere organ is placed _in front_ of the segmented region of the trunk, and is in no way segmented. the comparison of the mesonephric tubules with the segmental excretory organs of the chætopoda, though not impossible, cannot be satisfactorily admitted till some light has been thrown upon the loss of the supposed external openings of the tubes, and the origin of their secondary connection with the segmental duct. confining our attention to the invertebrata it appears to me fairly clear that hatschek is justified in holding the provisional trochosphere excretory organs of polygordius, echiurus and the mollusca to be homologous. the atrophy of all these larval organs may perhaps be due to the presence of a well-developed trunk region in the adult (absent in the larva), in which excretory organs, probably serially homologous with those present in the anterior part of the larva, became developed. the excretory organs in the trunk were probably more conveniently situated than those in the head, and the atrophy of the latter in the adult state was therefore brought about, while the trunk organs became sufficiently enlarged to serve as the sole excretory organs. bibliography of the excretory organs. _invertebrata._ ( ) h. eisig. 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"beiträge z. entwick. d. petromyzonten." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vii. . _teleostei._ ( ) j. hyrtl. "das uropoetische system d. knochenfische." _denkschr. d. k. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. rosenberg. _untersuchungen üb. die entwicklung d. teleostierniere._ dorpat, . _vide_ also oellacher (no. ). _amphibia._ ( ) f. h. bidder. _vergleichend-anatomische u. histologische untersuchungen ü. die männlichen geschlechts- und harnwerkzeuge d. nackten amphibien._ dorpat, . ( ) c. l. duvernoy. "fragments s. les organes genito-urinaires des reptiles," etc. _mém. acad. sciences._ paris. vol. xi. , pp. - . ( ) m. fürbringer. _zur entwicklung d. amphibienniere._ heidelberg, . ( ) f. leydig. _anatomie d. amphibien u. reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) f. leydig. _lehrbuch d. histologie._ hamm, . ( ) f. meyer. "anat. d. urogenitalsystems d. selachier u. amphibien." _sitz. d. naturfor. gesellsch._ leipzig, . ( ) j. w. spengel. "das urogenitalsystem d. amphibien." _arb. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg._ vol. iii. . ( ) von wittich. "harn- u. geschlechtswerkzeuge d. amphibien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. iv. _vide_ also götte (no. ). _amniota._ ( ) f. m. balfour and a. sedgwick. "on the existence of a head-kidney in the embryo chick," etc. _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) banks. _on the wolffian bodies of the foetus and their remains in the adult._ edinburgh, . ( ) th. bornhaupt. _untersuchungen üb. die entwicklung d. urogenitalsystems beim hühnchen._ inaug. diss. riga, . ( ) max braun. "das urogenitalsystem d. einheimischen reptilien." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg._ vol. iv. . ( ) j. dansky u. j. kostenitsch. "ueb. d. entwick. d. keimblätter u. d. wolff'schen ganges im hühnerei." _mém. acad. imp. pétersbourg_, vii. series, vol. xxvii. . ( ) th. egli. _beiträge zur anat. und entwick. d. geschlechtsorgane._ inaug. diss. zürich, . ( ) e. gasser. _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. allantois, der müller'schen gänge u. des afters._ frankfurt, . ( ) e. gasser. "beob. üb. d. entstehung d. wolff'schen ganges bei embryonen von hühnern u. gänsen." _arch. für mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. . ( ) e. gasser. "beiträge z. entwicklung d. urogenitalsystems d. hühnerembryonen." _sitz. d. gesell. zur beförderung d. gesam. naturwiss._ marburg, . ( ) c. kupffer. "untersuchung über die entwicklung des harn- und geschlechtssystems." _archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. ii. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "development of the kidney in its relation to the wolffian body in the chick." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "on the development of the structure known as the glomerulus of the head-kidney in the chick." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "early development of the wolffian duct and anterior wolffian tubules in the chick; with some remarks on the vertebrate excretory system." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xxi. . ( ) m. watson. "the homology of the sexual organs, illustrated by comparative anatomy and pathology." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiv. . ( ) e. h. weber. _zusätze z. lehre von baue u. d. verrichtungen d. geschlechtsorgane._ leipzig, . _vide_ also remak (no. ), foster and balfour (no. ), his (no. ), kölliker (no. ). [ ] the papers of fürbringer, semper and waldeyer contain full references to the literature of the vertebrate excretory organs. chapter xxiv. generative organs and genital ducts. _generative organs._ the structure and growth of the ovum and spermatozoon were given in the first chapter of this work, but their derivation from the germinal layers was not touched on, and it is this subject with which we are here concerned. if there are any structures whose identity throughout the metazoa is not open to doubt these structures are the ovum and spermatozoon; and the constancy of their relations to the germinal layers would seem to be a crucial test as to whether the latter have the morphological importance usually attributed to them. the very fragmentary state of our knowledge of the origin of the generative cells has however prevented this test being so far very generally applied. porifera. in the porifera the researches of schulze have clearly demonstrated that both the ova and the spermatozoa take their origin from indifferent cells of the general parenchyma, which may be called mesoblastic. the primitive germinal cells of the two sexes are not distinguishable; but a germinal cell by enlarging and becoming spherical gives rise to an ovum; and by subdivision forms a sperm-morula, from the constituent cells of which the spermatozoa are directly developed. coelenterata. the greatest confusion prevails as to the germinal layer from which the male and female products are derived in the coelenterata[ ]. [ ] e. van beneden (no. ) was the first to discover a different origin for the generative products of the two sexes in hydractinia, and his observations have led to numerous subsequent researches on the subject. for a summary of the observations on the hydroids _vide_ weismann (no. ). the following apparent modes of origin of these products have been observed. ( ) the generative products of both sexes originate in the ectoderm (epiblast): hydra, cordylophora, tubularia, all (?) free gonophores of hydromedusæ, the siphonophora, and probably the ctenophora. ( ) the generative products of both sexes originate in the entoderm (hypoblast): plumularia and sertularella, amongst the hydroids, and the whole of the acraspeda and actinozoa. ( ) the male cells are formed in the ectoderm, and the female in the entoderm: gonothyræa, campanularia, hydractinia, clava. in view of the somewhat surprising results to which the researches on the origin of the genital products amongst the coelenterata have led, it would seem to be necessary either to hold that there is no definite homology between the germinal layers in the different forms of coelenterata, or to offer some satisfactory explanation of the behaviour of the genital products, which would not involve the acceptance of the first alternative. though it can hardly be said that such an explanation has yet been offered, some observations of kleinenberg (no. ) undoubtedly point to such an explanation being possible. kleinenberg has shewn that in eudendrium the ova migrate freely from the ectoderm into the endoderm, and _vice versa_; but he has given strong grounds for thinking that _they originate_ in the ectoderm. he has further shewn that the migration in this type is by no means an isolated phenomenon. since it is usually only possible to recognise generative elements after they have advanced considerably in development, the mere position of a generative cell, when first observed, can afford, after what kleinenberg has shewn, no absolute proof of its origin. thus it is quite possible that there is really only one type of origin for the generative cells in the coelenterata. kleinenberg has given reasons for thinking that the migration of the ova into the entoderm may have a nutritive object. if this be so, and there are numerous facts which shew that the position of generative cells is often largely influenced by their nutritive requirements, it seems not impossible that the endodermal position of the generative organs in the actinozoa and acraspedote medusæ may have arisen by a continuously earlier migration of the generative cells from the ectoderm into the endoderm; and that the migration may now take place at so early a period of the development, that we should be justified in formally holding the generative products to be endodermal in origin. we might perhaps, on this view, formulate the origin of the generative products in the coelenterata in the following way:-- both ova and spermatozoa primitively originated in the ectoderm, but in order to secure a more complete nutrition the cells which give rise to them exhibit in certain groups a tendency to migrate into the endoderm. this migration, which may concern the generative cells of one or of both the sexes, takes place in some cases after the generative cells have become recognisable as such, and very probably in other cases at so early a period that it is impossible to distinguish the generative cells from indifferent embryonic cells. very little is known with reference to the origin of the generative cells in the triploblastic invertebrata. chætopoda and gephyrea. in the chætopoda and gephyrea, the germinal cells are always developed in the adult from the epithelial lining of the body cavity; so that their origin from the mesoblast seems fairly established. if we are justified in holding the body cavity of these forms to be a derivative of the primitive archenteron (_vide_ pp. and ) the generative cells may fairly be held to originate from a layer which corresponds to the endoderm of the coelenterata[ ]. [ ] the hertwigs (no. ) state that in their opinion the generative cells arise from the lining of the body cavity in all the forms whose body cavity is a product of the archenteron. we do not know anything of the embryonic development of the generative organs in the echinodermata, but the adult position of the generative organs in this group is very unfavourable to the hertwigs' view. chætognatha. in sagitta the history of the generative cells, which was first worked out by kowalevsky and bütschli, has been recently treated with great detail by o. hertwig[ ]. [ ] o. hertwig, _die chætognathen_. jena, . the generative cells appear during the gastrula stage, as two large cells with conspicuous nuclei, which are placed in the hypoblast lining the archenteron, at the pole opposite the blastopore. these cells soon divide, and at the same time pass out of the hypoblast, and enter the archenteric cavity (fig. a, _ge_). the division into four cells, which is not satisfactorily represented in my diagram, takes place in such a way that two cells are placed nearer the median line, and two externally. the two inner cells form the eventual testes, and the outer the ovaries, _one half of each primitive cell thus forming an ovary, and the other a testis_. [fig. . three stages in the development of sagitta. (a and c after bütschli, and b after kowalevsky.) the three embryos are represented in the same positions. a. represents the gastrula stage. b. represents a succeeding stage, in which the primitive archenteron is commencing to be divided into three. c. represents a later stage, in which the mouth involution (_m_) has become continuous with the alimentary tract, and the blastopore is closed. _m._ mouth; _al._ alimentary canal; _ae._ archenteron; _bl.p._ blastopore; _pv._ perivisceral cavity; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _ge._ generative organs.] [fig. . two views of a late embryo of sagitta. a, from the dorsal surface. b, from the side. (after bütschli.) _m._ mouth; _al._ alimentary canal; _v.g._ ventral ganglion (thickening of epiblast); _ep._ epiblast; _c.pv._ cephalic section of body cavity; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _ge._ generative organs.] when the archenteric cavity is divided into a median alimentary tract, and two lateral sections forming the body cavity, the generative organs are placed in the common vestibule into which both the body cavity and alimentary cavity at first open (fig. ). the generative organs long retain their character as simple cells. eventually (fig. ) the two ovaries travel forwards, and apply themselves to the body walls, while the two testes also become separated by a backward prolongation of the median alimentary tract. on the formation of the transverse septum dividing the tail from the body, the ovarian cells lie immediately in front of this septum, and the testicular cells in the region behind it. polyzoa. in pedicellina amongst the entoproctous polyzoa hatschek finds that the generative organs originate from a pair of specially large mesoblast cells, situated in the space between the stomach and the floor of the vestibule. the two cells undergo changes, which have an obvious resemblance to those of the generative cells of the chætognatha. they become surrounded by an investment of mesoblast cells, and divide so as to form two masses. each of these masses at a later period separates into an anterior and a posterior part. the former becomes the ovary, the latter the testis. nematoda. in the nematoda the generative organs are derived from the division of a single cell which would appear to be mesoblastic[ ]. [ ] _vide_ vol. ii. p. ; also götte, _zool. anzeiger_, no. , p. . insecta. the generative cells have been observed at a very early embryonic stage in several insect forms (vol. ii. p. ), but the observations so far recorded with reference to them do not enable us to determine with certainty from which of the germinal layers they are derived. crustacea. in moina, one of the cladocera, grobben[ ] has shewn that the generative organs are derived from a single cell, which becomes differentiated during the segmentation. this cell, which is in close contiguity with the cells from which both the mesoblast and hypoblast originate, subsequently divides; but at the gastrula stage, and after the mesoblast has become formed, the cells it gives rise to _are enclosed in the epiblast_, and do not migrate inwards till a later stage. the products of the division of the generative cell subsequently divide into two masses. it is not possible to assign the generative cell of moina to a definite germinal layer. grobben, however, thinks that it originates from the division of a cell, the remainder of which gives rise to the hypoblast. [ ] c. grobben. "die entwick. d. moina rectirostris." _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. wien._ vol. ii. . chordata. in the vertebrata, the primitive generative cells (often known as primitive ova) are early distinguishable, being imbedded amongst the cells of two linear streaks of peritoneal epithelium, placed on the dorsal side of the body cavity, one on each side of the mesentery (figs. c and , _po_). they appear to be derived from the epithelial cells amongst which they lie; and are characterized by containing a large granular nucleus, surrounded by a considerable body of protoplasm. the peritoneal epithelium in which they are placed is known as the germinal epithelium. [fig. . section through the trunk of a scyllium embryo slightly younger than f. _sp.c._ spinal cord; _w._ white matter of spinal cord; _pr._ posterior nerve-roots; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ inner layer of muscle-plate already converted into muscles; _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body; _st._ segmental tube; _sd._ segmental duct; _sp.v._ spiral valve; _v._ subintestinal vein; _p.o._ primitive generative cells.] it is at first impossible to distinguish the germinal cells which will become ova from those which will become spermatozoa. the former however remain within the peritoneal epithelium (fig. ), and become converted into ova in a manner more particularly described in vol. ii. pp. - . the history of the primitive germinal cells in the male has not been so adequately worked out as in the female. the fullest history of them is that given by semper (no. ) for the elasmobranchii, the general accuracy of which i can fully support; though with reference to certain stages in the history further researches are still required[ ]. [ ] balbiani (no. ) has also recently dealt with this subject, but i cannot bring my own observations into accord with his as to the structure of the elasmobranch testis. in elasmobranchii the male germinal cells, instead of remaining in the germinal epithelium, migrate into the adjacent stroma, accompanied i believe by some of the indifferent epithelial cells. here they increase in number, and give rise to masses of variable form, composed partly of true germinal cells, and partly of smaller cells with deeply staining nuclei, which are, i believe, derived from the germinal epithelium. [fig. . transverse section through the ovary of a young embryo of scyllium canicula, to shew the primitive germinal cells (_po_) lying in the germinal epithelium on the outer side of the ovarian ridge.] these masses next break up into ampullæ, mainly formed of germinal cells, and each provided with a central lumen; and these ampullæ attach themselves to tubes derived from the smaller cells, which are in their turn continuous with the testicular network. the spermatozoa are developed from the cells forming the walls of the primitive ampullæ; but the process of their formation does not concern us in this chapter. in the reptilia braun has traced the passage of the primitive germinal cells into the testicular tubes, and i am able to confirm his observations on this point: he has not however traced their further history. in mammalia the evidence of the origin of the spermatospores from the germinal epithelium is not quite complete, but there can be but little doubt of its occurrence[ ]. [ ] an entirely different view of the origin of the sperm cells has been adopted by balbiani, for which the reader is referred to his memoir (no. ). in amphioxus langerhans has shewn that the ova and spermatozoa are derived from similar germinal cells, which may be compared to the germinal epithelium of the vertebrata. these cells are however segmentally arranged as separate masses (_vide_ vol. ii. p. ). bibliography. ( ) g. balbiani. _leçons s. la génération des vertébrés._ paris, . ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. ( ) e. van beneden. "de la distinction originelle du tecticule et de l'ovaire, etc." _bull. ac. roy. belgique_, vol. xxxvii. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. "ueb. d. entstehung d. eier b. eudendrium." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxv. . ( ) h. ludwig. "ueb. d. eibildung im theirreiche." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. i. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen, etc." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. weismann. "zur frage nach dem ursprung d. geschlechtszellen bei den hydroiden." _zool. anzeiger_, no. , . _vide_ also o. and r. hertwig (no. ), kölliker (no. ), etc. _genital ducts._ the development and evolution of the generative ducts is as yet very incompletely worked out, but even in the light of our present knowledge a comparative review of this subject brings to light features of considerable interest, and displays a fruitful field for future research. in the coelenterata there are no generative ducts. in the hydromedusæ and siphonophora the generative products are liberated by being dehisced directly into the surrounding medium; while in the acraspeda, the actinozoa and the ctenophora, they are dehisced into parts of the gastrovascular system, and carried to the exterior through the mouth. the arrangement in the latter forms indicates the origin of the methods of transportation of the genital products to the exterior in many of the higher types. it has been already pointed out that the body cavity in a very large number of forms is probably derived from parts of a gastrovascular system like that of the actinozoa. when the part of the gastrovascular system into which the generative products were dehisced became, on giving rise to the body cavity, shut off from the exterior, it would be essential that some mode of transportation outwards of the generative products should be constituted. in some instances simple pores (probably already existing at the time of the establishment of a closed body cavity) become the generative ducts. such seems probably to have been the case in the chætognatha (sagitta) and in the primitive chordata. in the latter forms the generative products are sometimes dehisced into the peritoneal cavity, and thence transported by the abdominal pores to the exterior (cyclostomata and some teleostei, _vide_ p. ). in amphioxus they pass by dehiscence into the atrial cavity, and thence through the gill slits and by the mouth, or by the abdominal pore (?) to the exterior. the arrangement in amphioxus and the teleostei is probably secondary, as possibly also is that in the cyclostomata; so that the primitive mode of exit of the generative products in the chordata is still uncertain. it is highly improbable that the generative ducts of the tunicata are primitive structures. a better established and more frequent mode of exit of the generative products when dehisced into the body cavity is by means of the excretory organs. the generative products pass from the body cavity into the open peritoneal funnels of such organs, and thence through their ducts to the exterior. this mode of exit of the generative products is characteristic of the chætopoda, the gephyrea, the brachiopoda and the vertebrata, and probably also of the mollusca. it is moreover quite possible that it occurs in the polyzoa, some of the arthropoda, the platyelminthes and some other types. the simple segmental excretory organs of the polychæta, the gephyrea and the brachiopoda serve as generative canals, and in many instances they exhibit no modification, or but a very slight one, in connection with their secondary generative function; while in other instances, _e.g._ bonellia, such modification is very considerable. the generative ducts of the oligochæta are probably derived from excretory organs. in the terricola ordinary excretory organs are present in the generative segments in addition to the generative ducts, while in the limicola generative ducts alone are present in the adult, but before their development excretory organs of the usual type are found, which undergo atrophy on the appearance of the generative ducts (vedjovsky). from the analogy of the splitting of the segmental duct of the vertebrata into the müllerian and wolffian ducts, as a result of a combined generative and excretory function (_vide_ p. ), it seems probable that in the generative segments of the oligochæta the excretory organs had at first both an excretory and a generative function, and that, as a secondary result of this double function, each of them has become split into two parts, a generative and an excretory. the generative part has undergone in all forms great modifications. the excretory parts remain unmodified in the earthworms (terricola), but completely abort on the development of the generative ducts in the limicola. an explanation may probably be given of the peculiar arrangements of the generative ducts in saccocirrus amongst the polychæta (_vide_ marion and bobretzky), analogous to that just offered for the oligochæta. the very interesting modifications produced in the excretory organs of the vertebrata by their serving as generative ducts were fully described in the last chapter; and with reference to this part of our subject it is only necessary to call attention to the case of lepidosteus and the teleostei. in lepidosteus the müllerian duct appears to have become attached to the generative organs, so that the generative products, instead of falling directly into the body cavity and thence entering the open end of a peritoneal funnel of the excretory organs, pass directly into the müllerian duct without entering the body cavity. in most teleostei the modification is more complete, in that the generative ducts in the adult have no obvious connection with the excretory organs. the transportation of the male products to the exterior in all the higher vertebrata, without passing into the body cavity, is in principle similar to the arrangement in lepidosteus. the above instances of the peritoneal funnels of an excretory organ becoming continuous with the generative glands, render it highly probable that there may be similar instances amongst the invertebrata. as has been already pointed out by gegenbaur there are many features in the structure of the genital ducts in the more primitive mollusca, which point to their having been derived from the excretory organs. in several lamellibranchiata[ ] (spondylus, lima, pecten) the generative ducts open into the excretory organs (organ of bojanus), so that the generative products have to pass through the excretory organ on their way to the exterior. in other lamellibranchiata the genital and excretory organs open on a common papilla, and in the remaining types they are placed close together. [ ] for a summary of the facts on this subject _vide_ bronn, _klassen u. ordnungen d. thierreichs_, vol. iii. p. . in the cephalopoda again the peculiar relations of the generative organs to their ducts point to the latter having primitively had a different, probably an excretory, function. the glands are not continuous with the ducts, but are placed in special capsules from which the ducts proceed. the genital products are dehisced into these capsules and thence pass into the ducts. in the gasteropoda the genital gland is directly continuous with its duct, and the latter, especially in the pulmonata and opisthobranchiata, assumes such a complicated form that its origin from the excretory organ would hardly have been suspected. the fact however that its opening is placed near that of the excretory organ points to its being homologous with the generative ducts of the more primitive types. in the discophora, where the generative ducts are continuous with the glands, the structure both of the generative glands and ducts points to the latter having originated from excretory organs. it seems, as already mentioned, very possible that there are other types in which the generative ducts are derived from the excretory organs. in the arthropoda for instance the generative ducts, where provided with anteriorly placed openings, as in the crustacea, arachnida and the chilognathous myriapoda, the poecilopoda, etc., may possibly be of this nature, but the data for deciding this point are so scanty that it is not at present possible to do more than frame conjectures. the ontogeny of the generative ducts of the nematoda and the insecta appears to point to their having originated independently of the excretory organs. in the nematoda the generative organs of both sexes originate from a single cell (schneider, vol. i. no. ). this cell elongates and its nuclei multiply. after assuming a somewhat columnar form, it divides into ( ) a superficial investing layer, and ( ) an axial portion. in the female the superficial layer is only developed distinctly in the median part of the column. in the course of the further development the two ends of the column become the blind ends of the ovary, and the axial tissue they contain forms the germinal tissue of nucleated protoplasm. the superficial layer gives rise to the epithelium of the uterus and oviduct. the germinal tissue, which is originally continuous, is interrupted in the middle part (where the superficial layer gives rise to the uterus and oviduct), and is confined to the two blind extremities of the tube. in the male the superficial layer, which gives rise to the epithelium of the vas deferens, is only formed at the hinder end of the original column. in other respects the development takes place as in the female. in the insecta again the evidence, though somewhat conflicting, indicates that the generative ducts arise very much as in nematodes, from the same primitive mass as the generative organs. in both of these types it would seem probable that the generative organs were primitively placed in the body cavity, and attached to the epidermis, through a pore in which their products passed out; and that, acquiring a tubular form, the peripheral part of the gland gave rise to a duct, the remainder constituting the true generative gland. it is quite possible that the generative ducts of such forms as the platyelminthes may have had a similar origin to those in insecta and nematoda, but from the analogy of the mollusca there is nearly as much to be said for regarding them as modified excretory organs. in the echinodermata nothing is unfortunately known as to the ontogeny of the generative organs and ducts. the structure of these organs in the adult would however seem to indicate that the most primitive type of echinoderm generative organ consists of a blind sack, projecting into the body cavity, and opening by a pore to the exterior. the sack is lined by an epithelium, continuous with the epidermis, the cells of which give rise to the ova or spermatozoa. the duct of these organs is obviously hardly differentiated from the gland; and the whole structure might easily be derived from the type of generative organ characteristic of the hydromedusæ, where the generative cells are developed from special areas of the ectoderm, and, when ripe, pass directly into the surrounding medium. if this suggestion is correct we may suppose that the generative ducts of the echinodermata have a different origin to those of the majority of[ ] the remaining triploblastica. [ ] it would be interesting to have further information about balanoglossus. their ducts have been evolved in forms in which the generative products continued to be liberated directly to the exterior, as in the hydromedusæ; while those of other types have been evolved in forms in which the generative products were first transported, as in the actinozoa, into the gastrovascular canals[ ]. [ ] these views fit in very well with those already put forward in chapter xiii. on the affinities of the echinodermata. chapter xxv. the alimentary canal and its appendages, in the chordata. the alimentary canal in the chordata is always formed of three sections, analogous to those so universally present in the invertebrata. these sections are ( ) the mesenteron lined by hypoblast; ( ) the stomodæum or mouth lined by epiblast, and ( ) the proctodæum or anal section lined like the stomodæum by epiblast. _mesenteron._ the early development of the epithelial wall of the mesenteron has already been described (chapter xi.). it forms at first a simple hypoblastic tube extending from near the front end of the body, where it terminates blindly, to the hinder extremity where it is united with the neural tube by the neurenteric canal (fig. , _ne_). it often remains for a long time widely open in the middle towards the yolk-sack. it has already been shewn that from the dorsal wall of the mesenteron the notochord is separated off nearly at the same time as the lateral plates of mesoblast (pp. - ). the subnotochordal rod. at a period slightly subsequent to the formation of the notochord, and before any important differentiations in the mesenteron have become apparent, a remarkable rod-like body, which was first discovered by götte, becomes split off from the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract in all the ichthyopsida. this body, which has a purely provisional existence, is known as the subnotochordal rod. it develops in elasmobranch embryos in two sections, one situated in the head, and the other in the trunk. the section in the trunk is the first to appear. the wall of the alimentary canal becomes thickened along the median dorsal line (fig. , _x_), or else produced into a ridge into which there penetrates a narrow prolongation of the lumen of the alimentary canal. in either case the cells at the extreme summit become gradually constricted off as a rod, which lies immediately dorsal to the alimentary tract, and ventral to the notochord (fig. , _x_). [fig. . transverse section through the tail region of a pristiurus embryo of the same age as fig. e. _df._ dorsal fin; _sp.c._ spinal cord; _pp._ body cavity; _sp._ splanchnic layer of mesoblast; _so._ somatic layer of mesoblast; _mp´._ portion of splanchnic mesoblast commencing to be differentiated into muscles; _ch._ notochord; _x._ subnotochordal rod arising as an outgrowth of the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract; _al._ alimentary tract.] [fig. . transverse section through the trunk of an embryo slightly older than fig. e. _nc._ neural canal; _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _ao._ aorta; _sc._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ portion of muscle-plate converted into muscle; _vv._ portion of the vertebral plate which will give rise to the vertebral bodies; _al._ alimentary tract.] in the hindermost part of the body its mode of formation differs somewhat from that above described. in this part the alimentary wall is very thick, and undergoes no special growth prior to the formation of the subnotochordal rod; on the contrary, a small linear portion of the wall becomes scooped out along the median dorsal line, and eventually separates from the remainder as the rod in question. in the trunk the splitting off of the rod takes place from before backwards, so that the anterior part of it is formed before the posterior. the section of the subnotochordal rod in the head would appear to develop in the same way as that in the trunk, and the splitting off from the throat proceeds from before backwards. on the formation of the dorsal aorta, the subnotochordal rod becomes separated from the wall of the gut and the aorta interposed between the two (fig. , _x_). when the subnotochordal rod attains its fullest development it terminates anteriorly some way in front of the auditory vesicle, though a little behind the end of the notochord; posteriorly it extends very nearly to the extremity of the tail _and is almost co-extensive with the postanal section of the alimentary tract_, though it does not reach quite so far back as the caudal vesicle (fig. , _b x_). very shortly after it has attained its maximum size it begins to atrophy in front. we may therefore conclude that its atrophy, like its development, takes place from before backwards. during the later embryonic stages not a trace of it is to be seen. it has also been met with in acipenser, lepidosteus, the teleostei, petromyzon, and the amphibia, in all of which it appears to develop in fundamentally the same way as in elasmobranchii. in acipenser it appears to persist in the adult as the subvertebral ligament (bridge, salensky). it has not yet been found in a fully developed form in any amniotic vertebrate, though a thickening of the hypoblast, which may perhaps be a rudiment of it, has been found by marshall and myself in the chick (fig. , _x_). eisig has instituted an interesting comparison between it and an organ which he has found in a family of chætopods, the capitellidæ. in these forms there is a tube underlying the alimentary tract for nearly its whole length, and opening into it in front, and probably behind. a remnant of such a tube might easily form a rudiment like the subnotochordal rod of the ichthyopsida, and as eisig points out the prolongation into the latter during its formation of the lumen of the alimentary tract distinctly favours such a view of its original nature. we can however hardly suppose that there is any direct genetic connection between eisig's organ in the capitellidæ and the subnotochordal rod of the chordata. splanchnic mesoblast and mesentery. the mesenteron consists at first of a simple hypoblastic tube, which however becomes enveloped by a layer of splanchnic mesoblast. this layer, which is not at first continued over the dorsal side of the mesenteron, gradually grows in, and interposes itself between the hypoblast of the mesenteron, and the organs above. at the same time it becomes differentiated into two layers, viz. an outer epithelioid layer which gives rise to part of the peritoneal epithelium, and an inner layer of undifferentiated cells which in time becomes converted into the connective tissue and muscular walls of the mesenteron. the connective tissue layers become first formed, while of the muscular layers the circular is the first to make its appearance. coincidently with their differentiation the connective tissue stratum of the peritoneum becomes established. _the mesentery._ prior to the splanchnic mesoblast growing round the alimentary tube above, the attachment of the latter structure to the dorsal wall of the body is very wide. on the completion of this investment the layer of mesoblast suspending the alimentary tract becomes thinner, and at the same time the alimentary canal appears to be drawn downwards and away from the vertebral column. in what may be regarded as the thoracic division of the general pleuroperitoneal space, along that part of the alimentary canal which will form the oesophagus, this withdrawal is very slight, but it is very marked in the abdominal region. in the latter the at first straight digestive canal comes to be suspended from the body above by a narrow flattened band of mesoblastic tissue. this flattened band is the _mesentery_, shewn commencing in fig. , and much more advanced in fig. , _m_. it is covered on either side by a layer of flat cells, which form part of the general peritoneal epithelioid lining, while its interior is composed of indifferent tissue. the primitive simplicity in the arrangement of the mesentery is usually afterwards replaced by a more complicated disposition, owing to the subsequent elongation and consequent convolution of the intestine and stomach. the layer of peritoneal epithelium on the ventral side of the stomach is continued over the liver, and after embracing the liver, becomes attached to the ventral abdominal wall (fig. ). thus in the region of the liver the body cavity is divided into two halves by a membrane, the two sides of which are covered by the peritoneal epithelium, and which encloses the stomach dorsally and the liver ventrally. the part of the membrane between the stomach and liver is narrow, and constitutes a kind of mesentery suspending the liver from the stomach: it is known to human anatomists as the lesser omentum. the part of the membrane connecting the liver with the anterior abdominal wall constitutes the falciform or suspensory ligament of the liver. it arises by a secondary fusion, and is not a remnant of a primitive ventral mesentery (_vide_ pp. and ). the mesentery of the stomach, or mesogastrium, enlarges in mammalia to form a peculiar sack known as the greater omentum. the mesenteron exhibits very early a trifold division. an anterior portion, extending as far as the stomach, becomes separated off as the respiratory division. on the formation of the anal invagination the portion of the mesenteron behind the anus becomes marked off as the postanal division, and between the postanal section and the respiratory division is a middle portion forming an intestinal and cloacal division. _the respiratory division of the mesenteron._ this section of the alimentary canal is distinguished by the fact that its walls send out a series of paired diverticula, which meet the skin, and after a perforation has been effected at the regions of contact, form the branchial or visceral clefts. in amphioxus the respiratory region extends close up to the opening of the hepatic diverticulum, and therefore to a position corresponding with the commencement of the intestine in higher types. in the craniate vertebrata the number of visceral clefts has become reduced, but from the extension of the visceral clefts in amphioxus, combined with the fact that in the higher vertebrata the vagus nerve, which is essentially the nerve of the branchial pouches, supplies in addition the walls of the oesophagus and stomach, it may reasonably be concluded, as has been pointed out by gegenbaur, that the true respiratory region primitively included the region which in the higher types forms the oesophagus and stomach. in ascidians the respiratory sack is homologous with the respiratory tract of amphioxus. the details of the development of the branchial clefts in the different groups of vertebrata have already been described in the systematic part of this work. in all the ichthyopsida the walls of a certain number of clefts become folded; and in the mesoblast within these folds a rich capillary network, receiving its blood from the branchial arteries, becomes established. these folds constitute the true internal gills. in addition to internal gills _external branchial processes_ covered by epiblast are placed on certain of the visceral arches in the larva of polypterus, protopterus and many amphibia. the external gills have probably no genetic connection with the internal gills. the so-called external gills of the embryos of elasmobranchii are merely internal gills prolonged outwards through the gill clefts. the posterior part of the primitive respiratory division of the mesenteron becomes, in all the higher vertebrata, the oesophagus and stomach. with reference to the development of these parts the only point worth especially noting is the fact that in elasmobranchii and teleostei their lumen, though present in very young embryos, becomes at a later stage completely filled up, and thus the alimentary tract in the regions of the oesophagus and stomach becomes a solid cord of cells (fig. a, _oes_): as already suggested (p. ) it seems not impossible that this feature may be connected with the fact that the oesophageal region of the throat was at one time perforated by gill clefts. in addition to the gills two important organs, viz. the thyroid body and the lungs, take their origin from the respiratory region of the alimentary tract. [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section of a just-hatched larva of petromyzon. (from gegenbaur; after calberla.) _o._ mouth; _o´._ olfactory pit; _v._ septum between stomodæum and mesenteron; _h._ thyroid involution; _n._ spinal cord; _ch._ notochord; _c._ heart; _a._ auditory vesicle.] thyroid body. in the ascidians the origin of a groove-like diverticulum of the ventral wall of the branchial sack, bounded by two lateral folds, and known as the endostyle or hypopharyngeal groove, has already been described (p. ). this groove remains permanently open to the pharyngeal sack, and would seem to serve as a glandular organ secreting mucus. as was first pointed out by w. müller there is present in amphioxus a very similar and probably homologous organ, known as the hypopharyngeal groove. [fig. . diagrammatic transverse sections through the branchial region of young larvÆ of petromyzon. (from gegenbaur; after calberla.) _d._ branchial region of throat.] in the higher vertebrata this organ never retains its primitive condition in the adult state. in the larva of petromyzon there is, however, present a ventral groove-like diverticulum of the throat, extending from about the second to the fourth visceral cleft. this organ is shewn in longitudinal section in fig. , _h_, and in transverse section in fig. , and has been identified by w. müller (nos. and ) with the hypopharyngeal groove of amphioxus and ascidians. it does not, however, long retain its primitive condition, but its opening becomes gradually reduced to a pore, placed between the third and fourth of the permanent clefts (fig. , _th_). this opening is retained throughout the ammocoete condition, but the organ becomes highly complicated, with paired anterior and posterior horns and a median spiral portion. in the adult the connection with the pharynx is obliterated, and the organ is partly absorbed and partly divided up into a series of glandular follicles, and eventually forms _the thyroid body_. from the consideration of the above facts w. müller was led to the conclusion _that the thyroid body of the craniata was derived from the endostyle or hypopharyngeal groove_. in all the higher vertebrata the thyroid body arises as a diverticulum of the ventral wall of the throat in the region either of the mandibular or hyoid arches (fig. , _th_), which after being segmented off becomes divided up into follicles. in elasmobranch embryos it appears fairly early as a diverticulum from the ventral surface of the throat in the region of the _mandibular arch_, extending from the border of the mouth to the point where the ventral aorta divides into the two aortic branches of the mandibular arch (fig. , _th_). somewhat later it becomes in scyllium and torpedo solid, though still retaining its attachment to the wall of the oesophagus. it continues to grow in length, and becomes divided up into a number of solid branched lobules separated by connective tissue septa. eventually its connection with the throat becomes lost, and the lobules develop a lumen. in acanthias the lumen of the gland is retained (w. müller) till after its detachment from the throat. it preserves its embryonic position through life. in amphibia it originates, as in elasmobranchii, from the region of the mandibular arch; but when first visible it forms a double epithelial wall connecting the throat with the nervous layer of the epidermis. it subsequently becomes detached from the epidermis, and then has the usual form of a diverticulum from the throat. in most amphibians it becomes divided into two lobes, and so forms a paired body. the peculiar connection between the thyroid diverticulum and the epidermis in amphibia has been noted by götte in bombinator, and by scott and osborn in triton. it is not very easy to see what meaning this connection can have. [fig. . diagrammatic vertical section through the head of a larva of petromyzon. the larva had been hatched three days, and was . mm. in length. the optic and auditory vesicles are supposed to be seen through the tissues. the letter _tv_ pointing to the base of the velum is where scott believes the hyomandibular cleft to be situated. _c.h._ cerebral hemisphere; _th._ optic thalamus; _in._ infundibulum; _pn._ pineal gland; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _md._ medulla oblongata; _au.v._ auditory vesicle; _op._ optic vesicle; _ol._ olfactory pit; _m._ mouth; _br.c._ branchial pouches; _th._ thyroid involution; _v.ao._ ventral aorta; _ht._ ventricle of heart; _ch._ notochord.] in the fowl (w. müller) the thyroid body arises at the end of the second or beginning of the third day as an outgrowth from the hypoblast of the throat, opposite the point of origin of the anterior arterial arch. this outgrowth becomes by the fourth day a solid mass of cells, and by the fifth ceases to be connected with the epithelium of the throat, becoming at the same time bilobed. by the seventh day it has travelled somewhat backwards, and the two lobes have completely separated from each other. by the ninth day the whole is invested by a capsule of connective tissue, which sends in septa dividing it into a number of lobes or solid masses of cells, and by the sixteenth day it is a paired body composed of a number of hollow branched follicles, each with a 'membrana propria,' and separated from each other by septa of connective tissue. it finally travels back to the point of origin of the carotids. [fig. . section through the head of an elasmobranch embryo, at the level of the auditory involution. _th._ rudiment of thyroid body; _aup._ auditory pit; _aun._ ganglion of auditory nerve; _iv.v._ roof of fourth ventricle; _a.c.v._ anterior cardinal vein; _aa._ aorta; _i.aa._ aortic trunk of mandibular arch; _pp._ head cavity of mandibular arch; _ivc._ alimentary pouch which will form the first visceral cleft.] amongst mammalia the thyroid arises in the rabbit (kölliker) and man (his) as a hollow diverticulum of the throat at the bifurcation of the foremost pair of aortic arches. it soon however becomes solid, and is eventually detached from the throat and comes to lie on the ventral side of the larynx or windpipe. the changes it undergoes are in the main similar to those in the lower vertebrata. it becomes partially constricted into two lobes, which remain however united by an isthmus[ ]. the fact that the thyroid sometimes arises in the region of the first and sometimes in that of the second cleft is probably to be explained by its rudimentary character. [ ] wölfler (no. ) states that in the pig and calf the thyroid body is formed as a pair of epithelial vesicles, which are developed as outgrowths of the walls of the first pair of visceral clefts. he attempts to explain the contradictory observations of other embryologists by supposing that they have mistaken the ventral ends of visceral pouches for an unpaired outgrowth of the throat. stieda (no. ) also states that in the pig and sheep the thyroid arises as a paired body from the epithelium of a pair of visceral clefts, at a much later period than would appear from the observations of his and kölliker. in view of the comparative development of this organ it is difficult to accept either wölfler's or stieda's account. wölfler's attempt to explain the supposed errors of his predecessors is certainly not capable of being applied in the case of elasmobranch fishes, or of petromyzon; and i am inclined to think that the method of investigation by transverse sections, which has been usually employed, is less liable to error than that by longitudinal sections which he has adopted. the thymus gland. the thymus gland may conveniently be dealt with here, although its origin is nearly as obscure as its function. it has usually been held to be connected with the lymphatic system. kölliker was the first to shew that this view was probably erroneous, and he attempted to prove that it was derived in the rabbit from the walls of one of the visceral clefts, mainly on the ground of its presenting in the embryo an epithelial character. stieda (no. ) has recently verified kölliker's statements. he finds that in the pig and the sheep the thymus arises as a paired outgrowth from the epithelial remnants of a pair of visceral clefts. its two lobes may at first be either hollow (sheep) or solid (pig), but eventually become solid, and unite in the median line. stieda and his hold that in the adult gland, the so-called corpuscles of hassall are the remnants of the embryonic epithelial part of the gland, and that the lymphatic part of it is of mesoblastic origin; but kölliker believes the lymphatic cells to be direct products of the embryonic epithelial cells. the posterior visceral clefts in the course of their atrophy give rise to various more or less conspicuous bodies of a pseudo-glandular nature, which have been chiefly studied by remak[ ]. [ ] for details on these organs _vide_ kölliker, _entwicklungsgeschichte_, p. . swimming bladder and lungs. a swimming bladder is present in all ganoids and in the vast majority of teleostei. its development however is only imperfectly known. in the salmon and carp it arises, as was first shewn by von baer, as an outgrowth of the alimentary tract, shortly in front of the liver. in these forms it is at first placed on the dorsal side and slightly to the right, and grows backwards on the dorsal side of the gut, between the two folds of the mesentery. the absence of a pneumatic duct in the physoclisti would appear to be due to a post-larval atrophy. in lepidosteus the air-bladder appears to arise, as in the teleostei, as an invagination of the dorsal wall of the oesophagus. in advanced embryos of galeus, mustelus and acanthias, miklucho-maclay detected a small diverticulum opening on the dorsal side of the oesophagus, which he regards as a rudiment of a swimming bladder. this interpretation must however be regarded as somewhat doubtful. _the lungs._ the lungs originate in a nearly identical way in all the vertebrate forms in which their development has been observed. they are essentially buds or processes of the ventral wall of the primitive oesophagus. at a point immediately behind the region of the visceral clefts the cavity of the alimentary canal becomes compressed laterally, and at the same time constricted in the middle, so that its transverse section (fig. ) is somewhat hourglass-shaped, and shews an upper or dorsal chamber _d_, joining on to a lower or ventral chamber _l_ by a short narrow neck. the hinder end of the lower tube enlarges (fig. ), and then becomes partially divided into two lobes (fig. ). all these parts at first freely communicate, but the two lobes, partly by their own growth, and partly by a process of constriction, soon become isolated posteriorly; while in front they open into the lower chamber of the oesophagus (fig. ). [fig. . four diagrams illustrating the formation of the lungs. (after götte.) _a._ mesoblast; _b._ hypoblast; _d._ cavity of digestive canal; _l._ cavity of the pulmonary diverticulum. in ( ) the digestive canal has commenced to be constricted into an upper and lower canal; the former the true alimentary canal, the latter the pulmonary tube; the two tubes communicate with each other in the centre. in ( ) the lower (pulmonary) tube has become expanded. in ( ) the expanded portion of the tube has become constricted into two tubes, still communicating with each other and with the digestive canal. in ( ) these are completely separated from each other and from the digestive canal, and the mesoblast has also begun to exhibit externally changes corresponding to the internal changes which have been going on.] by a continuation forwards of the process of constriction the lower chamber of the oesophagus, carrying with it the two lobes above mentioned, becomes gradually transformed into an independent tube, opening in front by a narrow slit-like aperture into the oesophagus. the single tube in front is the rudiment of the trachea and larynx, while the two diverticula behind become (fig. , _lg_) the bronchial tubes and lungs. while the above changes are taking place in the hypoblastic walls of the alimentary tract, the splanchnic mesoblast surrounding these structures becomes very much thickened; but otherwise bears no marks of the internal changes which are going on, so that the above formation of the lungs and trachea cannot be seen from the surface. as the paired diverticula of the lungs grow backwards, the mesoblast around them takes however the form of two lobes, into which they gradually bore their way. there do not seem to be any essential differences in the mode of formation of the above structures in the types so far observed, viz. amphibia, aves and mammalia. writers differ as to whether the lungs first arise as paired diverticula, or as a single diverticulum; and as to whether the rudiments of the lungs are established before those of the trachea. if the above account is correct it would appear that any of these positions might be maintained. phylogenetically interpreted the ontogeny of the lungs appears however to imply that this organ was first an unpaired structure and has become secondarily paired, and that the trachea was relatively late in appearing. [fig. . section through the cardiac region of an embryo of lacerta muralis of mm. to shew the mode of formation of the pericardial cavity. _ht._ heart; _pc._ pericardial cavity; _al._ alimentary tract; _lg._ lung; _l._ liver; _pp._ body cavity; _md._ open end of müllerian duct; _wd._ wolffian duct; _vc._ vena cava inferior; _ao._ aorta; _ch._ notochord; _mc._ medullary cord.] the further development of the lungs is at first, in the higher types at any rate, essentially similar to that of a racemose gland. from each primitive diverticulum numerous branches are given off. in aves and mammalia (fig. ) they are mainly confined to the dorsal and lateral parts. these branches penetrate into the surrounding mesoblast and continue to give rise to secondary and tertiary branches. in the mesoblast around them numerous capillaries make their appearance, and the further growth of the bronchial tubes is supposed by boll to be due to the mutual interaction of the hitherto passive mesoblast and of the hypoblast. the further changes in the lungs vary somewhat in the different forms. the air sacks are the most characteristic structures of the avian lung. they are essentially the dilated ends of the primitive diverticula or of their main branches. in mammalia (kölliker, no. ) the ends of the bronchial tubes become dilated into vesicles, which may be called the primary air-cells. at first, owing to their development at the ends of the bronchial branches, these are confined to the surface of the lungs. at a later period the primary air-cells divide each into two or three parts, and give rise to secondary air-cells, while at the same time the smallest bronchial tubes, which continue all the while to divide, give rise at all points to fresh air-cells. finally the bronchial tubes cease to become more branched, and the air-cells belonging to each minute lobe come in their further growth to open into a common chamber. before the lungs assume their function the embryonic air-cells undergo a considerable dilatation. _the trachea and larynx._ the development of the trachea and larynx does not require any detailed description. the larynx is formed as a simple dilatation of the trachea. the cartilaginous structures of the larynx are of the same nature as those of the trachea. it follows from the above account that the whole pulmonary structure is the result of the growth by budding of a system of branched hypoblastic tubes in the midst of a mass of mesoblastic tissue, the hypoblastic elements giving rise to the epithelium of the tubes, and the mesoblast providing the elastic, muscular, cartilaginous, vascular, and other connective tissues of the tracheal and bronchial walls. there can be no doubt that the lungs and air-bladder are homologous structures, and the very interesting memoir of eisig on the air-bladder of the chætopoda[ ] shews it to be highly probable that they are the divergent modifications of a primitive organ, which served as a reservoir for gas secreted in the alimentary tract, the gas in question being probably employed for respiration when, for any reason, ordinary respiration by the gills was insufficient. [ ] h. eisig, "ueb. d. vorkommen eines schwimmblasenähnlichen organs bei anneliden." _mittheil. a. d. zool. station z. neapel_, vol. ii. . such an organ might easily become either purely respiratory, receiving its air from the exterior, and so form a true lung; or mainly hydrostatic, forming an air-bladder, as in ganoidei and teleostei. it is probable that in the elasmobranchii the air-bladder has become aborted, and the organ discovered by micklucho-maclay may perhaps be a last remnant of it. the middle division of the mesenteron. the middle division of the mesenteron, forming the intestinal and cloacal region, is primitively a straight tube, the intestinal region of which in most vertebrate embryos is open below to the yolk-sack. cloaca. in the elasmobranchii, the embryos of which probably retain a very primitive condition of the mesenteron, this region is not at first sharply separated from the postanal section behind. opposite the point where the anus will eventually appear a dilatation of the mesenteron arises, which comes in contact with the external skin (fig. e, _an_). this dilatation becomes the hypoblastic section of the cloaca. it communicates behind with the postanal gut (fig. d), and in front with the intestine; and _may be defined as the dilated portion of the alimentary tract which receives the genital and urinary ducts and opens externally by the proctodæum_. in acipenser and amphibia the cloacal region is indicated as a ventral diverticulum of the mesenteron even before the closure of the blastopore. it is shewn in the amphibia at an early stage in fig. , and at a later period, when in contact with the skin at the point where the anal invagination is about to appear, in fig. . [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of bombinator. (after götte.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _l._ liver; _ne._ neurenteric canal; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _pn._ pineal gland.] in the sauropsida and mammalia the cloaca appears as a dilatation of the mesenteron, which receives the opening of the allantois almost as soon as the posterior part of the mesenteron is established. the eventual changes which it undergoes have been already dealt with in connection with the urinogenital organs. intestine. the region in front of the cloaca forms the intestine. in certain vertebrata it nearly retains its primitive character as a straight tube; and in these types its anterior part is characterised by the presence of a peculiar fold, which in a highly specialised condition is known as the spiral valve. this structure appears in its simplest form in ammocoetes. it there consists of a fold in the wall of the intestine, giving to the lumen of this canal a semilunar form in section, and taking a half spiral. in elasmobranchii a similar fold to that in ammocoetes first makes its appearance in the embryo. this fold is from the first not quite straight, but winds in a long spiral round the intestine. in the course of development it becomes converted into a strong ridge projecting into the lumen of the intestine (fig. , _l_). the spiral it makes becomes much closer, and it thus acquires the form of the adult spiral valve. a spiral valve is also found in chimæra and ganoids. no rudiment of such an organ is found in the teleostei, the amphibia, or the higher vertebrata. the presence of this peculiar organ appears to be a very primitive vertebrate character. the intestine of ascidians exhibits exactly the same peculiarity as that of ammocoetes, and we may probably conclude from embryology that the ancestral chordata were provided with a straight intestine having a fold projecting into its lumen, to increase the area of the intestinal epithelium. in all forms in which there is not a spiral valve, with the exception of a few teleostei, the intestine becomes considerably longer than the cavity which contains it, and therefore necessarily more or less convoluted. the posterior part usually becomes considerably enlarged to form the rectum or in mammalia the large intestine. in elasmobranchii there is a peculiar gland opening into the dorsal side of the rectum, and in many other forms there is a cæcum at the commencement of the rectum or of the large intestine. in teleostei, the sturgeon and lepidosteus there opens into the front end of the intestine a number of cæcal pouches known as the pancreatic cæca. in the adult sturgeon these pouches unite to form a compact gland, but in the embryo they arise as a series of isolated outgrowths of the duodenum. connected with the anterior portion of the middle region of the alimentary canal, which may be called the duodenum, are two very important and constant glandular organs, the liver and the pancreas. the liver. the liver is the earliest formed and largest glandular organ in the embryo. it appears in its simplest form in amphioxus as a single unbranched diverticulum of the alimentary tract, immediately behind the respiratory region, which is directed forwards and placed on the left side of the body. [fig. . section through the ventral part of the trunk of a young embryo of scyllium at the level of the umbilical cord. _b._ pectoral fin; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _cav._ cardinal vein; _ua._ vitelline artery; _uv._ vitelline vein united with subintestinal vein; _al._ duodenum; _l._ liver; _sd._ opening of segmental duct into the body-cavity; _mp._ muscle-plate; _um._ umbilical canal.] in all true vertebrata the gland has a much more complicated structure. it arises as a ventral outgrowth of the duodenum (fig. , _l_). this outgrowth may be at first single, and then grow out into two lobes, as in elasmobranchii (fig. ) and amphibia, or have from the first the form of two somewhat unequal diverticula, as in birds (fig. ), or again as in the rabbit (kölliker) one diverticulum may be first formed, and a second one appear somewhat later. the hepatic diverticula, whatever may be their primitive form, grow into a special thickening of the splanchnic mesoblast. from the primitive diverticula there are soon given off a number of hollow buds (fig. ) which rapidly increase in length and number, and form the so-called hepatic cylinders. they soon anastomose and unite together, and so constitute an irregular network. coincidently with the formation of the hepatic network the united vitelline and visceral vein or veins (_u.v_), in their passage through the liver, give off numerous branches, and gradually break up into a plexus of channels which form a secondary network amongst the hepatic cylinders. in amphibia these channels are stated by götte to be lacunar, but in elasmobranchii, and probably vertebrata generally, they are from the first provided with distinct though delicate walls. it is still doubtful whether the hepatic cylinders are as a rule hollow or solid. in elasmobranchii they are at first provided with a large lumen, which though it becomes gradually smaller never entirely vanishes. the same seems to hold good for amphibia and some mammalia. in aves the lumen of the cylinders is even from the first much more difficult to see, and the cylinders are stated by remak to be solid, and he has been followed in this matter by kölliker. in the rabbit also kölliker finds the cylinders to be solid. the embryonic hepatic network gives rise to the parenchyma of the adult liver, with which in its general arrangement it closely agrees. the blood-channels are at first very large, and have a very irregular arrangement; and it is not till comparatively late that the hepatic lobules with their characteristic vascular structures become established. [fig. . diagram of the digestive tract of a chick upon the fourth day. (after götte.) the black line indicates the hypoblast. the shaded part around it is the splanchnic mesoblast. _lg._ lung; _st._ stomach; _p._ pancreas; _l._ liver.] the biliary ducts are formed either from some of the primitive hepatic cylinders, or, as would seem to be the case in elasmobranchii and birds (fig. ), from the larger diverticula of the two primitive outgrowths. the gall-bladder is so inconstant, and the arrangement of the ducts opening into the intestine so variable, that no general statements can be made about them. in elasmobranchii the primitive median diverticulum (fig. ) gives rise to the ductus choledochus. its anterior end dilates to form a gall-bladder. in the rabbit a ductus choledochus is formed by a diverticulum from the intestine at the point of insertion of the two primitive lobes. the gall-bladder arises as a diverticulum of the right primitive lobe. the liver is relatively very large during embryonic life and has, no doubt, important functions in connection with the circulation. the pancreas. so far as is known the development of the pancreas takes place on a very constant type throughout the series of craniate vertebrata, though absent in some of the teleostean fishes and cyclostomata, and very much reduced in most teleostei and in petromyzon. it arises nearly at the same time as the liver in the form of a hollow outgrowth from the dorsal side of the intestine nearly opposite but slightly behind the hepatic outgrowth (fig. , _p_). it soon assumes, in elasmobranchii and mammalia, somewhat the form of an inverted funnel, and from the expanded dorsal part of the funnel there grow out numerous hollow diverticula into the passive splanchnic mesoblast. as the ductules grow longer and become branched, vascular processes grow in between them, and the whole forms a compact glandular body in the mesentery on the dorsal side of the alimentary tract. the funnel-shaped receptacle loses its original form, and elongating, assumes the character of a duct. from the above mode of development it is clear that the glandular cells of the pancreas are derived from the hypoblast. into the origin of the varying arrangements of the pancreatic ducts it is not possible to enter in detail. in some cases, _e.g._ the rabbit (kölliker), the two lobes and ducts arise from a division of the primitive gland and duct. in other cases, _e.g._ the bird, a second diverticulum springs from the alimentary tract. in a large number of instances the primitive condition with a single duct is retained. postanal section of the mesenteron. in the embryos of all the chordata there is a section of the mesenteron placed behind the anus. this section invariably atrophies at a comparatively early period of embryonic life; but it is much better developed in the lower forms than in the higher. at its posterior extremity it is primitively continuous with the neural tube (fig. ), as was first shewn by kowalevsky. the canal connecting the neural and alimentary canals has already been described as the neurenteric canal, and represents the remains of the blastopore. in the tunicata the section of the mesenteron, which in all probability corresponds to the postanal gut of the vertebrata, is that immediately following the dilated portion which gives rise to the branchial cavity and permanent intestine. it has already been shewn that from the dorsal and lateral portions of this section of the primitive alimentary tract the notochord and muscles of the ascidian tadpole are derived. the remaining part of its walls forms a solid cord of cells (fig. , _al´_), which either atrophies, or, according to kowalevsky, gives rise to blood-vessels. [fig. . transverse optical section of the tail of an embryo of phallusia mammillata. (after kowalevsky.) the section is from an embryo of the same age as fig. iv. _ch._ notochord; _n.c._ neural canal; _me._ mesoblast; _al´._ hypoblast of tail.] in amphioxus the postanal gut, though distinctly developed, is not very long, and atrophies at a comparatively early period. in elasmobranchii this section of the alimentary tract is very well developed, and persists for a considerable period of embryonic life. the following is a history of its development in the genus scyllium. shortly after the stage when the anus has become marked out by the alimentary tract sending down a papilliform process towards the skin, the postanal gut begins to develop a terminal dilatation or vesicle, connected with the remainder of the canal by a narrower stalk. the walls both of the vesicle and stalk are formed of a fairly columnar epithelium. the vesicle communicates in front by a narrow passage with the neural canal, and behind is continued into two horns corresponding with the two caudal swellings previously spoken of (p. ). where the canal is continued into these two horns, its walls lose their distinctness of outline, and become continuous with the adjacent mesoblast. in the succeeding stages, as the tail grows longer and longer, the postanal section of the alimentary tract grows with it, without however undergoing alteration in any of its essential characters. at the period of the maximum development, it has a length of about / of that of the whole alimentary tract. its features at a stage shortly before the external gills have become prominent are illustrated by a series of transverse sections through the tail (fig. ). the four sections have been selected for illustration out of a fairly-complete series of about one hundred and twenty. posteriorly (a) there is present a terminal vesicle (_alv_) . mm. in diameter, which communicates dorsally by a narrow opening with the neural canal (_nc_); to this is attached a stalk in the form of a tube, also lined by columnar epithelium, and extending through about thirty sections (b _al_). its average diameter is about . mm., and its walls are very thick. overlying its front end is the subnotochordal rod (_x_), but this does not extend as far back as the terminal vesicle. the thick-walled stalk of the vesicle is connected with the cloacal section of the alimentary tract by a very narrow thin-walled tube (c _al_). this for the most part has a fairly uniform calibre, and a diameter of not more than . mm. its walls are formed of flattened epithelial cells. at a point not far from the cloaca it becomes smaller, and its diameter falls to . mm. in front of this point it rapidly dilates again, and, after becoming fairly wide, opens on the dorsal side of the cloacal section of the alimentary canal just behind the anus (d _al_). [fig. . four sections through the postanal part of the tail of an embryo of the same age as fig. f. a. is the posterior section. _nc._ neural canal; _al._ postanal gut; _alv._ caudal vesicle of postanal gut; _x._ subnotochordal rod; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _cl.al._ cloaca; _ao._ aorta; _v.cau._ caudal vein.] very shortly after the stage to which the above figures belong, at a point a little behind the anus, where the postanal section of the canal was thinnest in the previous stage, it becomes solid, and a rupture here occurs in it at a slightly later period. the atrophy of this part of the alimentary tract having once commenced proceeds rapidly. the posterior part first becomes reduced to a small rudiment near the end of the tail. there is no longer a terminal vesicle, nor a neurenteric canal. the portion of the postanal section of the alimentary tract, just behind the cloaca, is for a short time represented by a small rudiment of the dilated part which at an earlier period opened into the cloaca. in teleostei the vesicle at the end of the tail, discovered by kupffer, (fig. , _hyv_) is probably the equivalent of the vesicle at the end of the postanal gut in elasmobranchii. in petromyzon and in amphibia there is a well-developed postanal gut connected with a neurenteric canal which gradually atrophies. it is shewn in the embryo of bombinator in fig. . [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the posterior end of an embryo bird at the time of the formation of the allantois. _ep._ epiblast; _sp.c._ spinal canal; _ch._ notochord; _n.e._ neurenteric canal; _hy._ hypoblast; _p.a.g._ postanal gut; _pr._ remains of primitive streak folded in on the ventral side; _al._ allantois; _me._ splanchnic mesoblast; _an._ point where anus will be formed; _p.c._ perivisceral cavity; _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure.] amongst the amniotic vertebrata the postanal gut is less developed than in the ichthyopsida. a neurenteric canal is present for a short period in various birds (gasser, etc.) and in the lizard, but disappears very early. there is however, as has been pointed out by kölliker, a well-marked postanal gut continued as a narrow tube from behind the cloaca into the tail both in the bird (fig. , _p.a.g._) and mammals (the rabbit), but especially in the latter. it atrophies early as in lower forms. the morphological significance of the postanal gut and of the neurenteric canal has already been spoken of in chapter xii., p. . _the stomodæum._ the anterior section of the permanent alimentary tract is formed by an invagination of epiblast, constituting a more or less considerable pit, with its inner wall in contact with the blind anterior extremity of the alimentary tract. in ascidians this pit is placed on the dorsal surface (fig. , _o_), and becomes the permanent oral cavity of these forms. in the larva of amphioxus it is stated to be formed unsymmetrically (_vide_ p. ), but further observations on its development are required. [fig. . longitudinal section through the brain of a young pristiurus embryo. _cer._ unpaired rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres; _pn._ pineal gland; _in._ infundibulum; _pt._ ingrowth from mouth to form the pituitary body; _mb._ mid-brain; _cb._ cerebellum; _ch._ notochord; _al._ alimentary tract; _iaa._ artery of mandibular arch.] in the true vertebrata it is always formed on the ventral surface of the head, immediately behind the level of the fore-brain (fig. ), and is deeper in petromyzon (fig. , _m_) than in any other known form. from the primary buccal cavity or stomodæum there grows out the pituitary pit (fig. , _pt_), the development of which has already been described (p. ). the wall separating the stomodæum from the mesenteron always becomes perforated, usually at an early stage of development, and though in petromyzon the boundary between the two cavities remains indicated by the velum, yet in the higher vertebrata all trace of this boundary is lost, and the original limits of the primitive buccal cavity become obliterated; while a secondary buccal cavity, partly lined by hypoblast and partly by epiblast, becomes established. this cavity, apart from the organs which belong to it, presents important variations in structure. in most pisces it retains a fairly simple character, but in the dipnoi its outer boundary becomes extended so as to enclose the ventral opening of the nasal sack, which thenceforward constitutes the posterior nares. in amphibia and amniota the posterior nares also open well within the boundary of the buccal cavity. in the amniota further important changes take place. in the first place a plate grows inwards from each of the superior maxillary processes (fig. , _p_), and the two plates, meeting in the middle line, form a horizontal septum dividing the front part of the primitive buccal cavity into a dorsal respiratory section (_n_), containing the opening of the posterior nares, and a ventral cavity, forming the permanent mouth. the two divisions thus formed open into a common cavity behind. the horizontal septum, on the development within it of an osseous plate, constitutes the hard palate. [fig. . diagram shewing the division of the primitive buccal cavity into the respiratory section above and the true mouth below. (from gegenbaur.) _p._ palatine plate of superior maxillary process; _m._ permanent mouth; _n._ posterior part of nasal passage; _e._ internasal septum.] an internasal septum (fig. , _e_) may more or less completely divide the dorsal cavity into two canals, continuous respectively with the two nasal cavities. in mammalia a posterior prolongation of the palate, in which an osseous plate is not formed, constitutes the soft palate. the second change in the amniota, which also takes place in some amphibia, is caused by the section of the mesenteron into which the branchial pouches open, becoming, on the atrophy of these structures, converted into the posterior part of the buccal cavity. the organs derived from the buccal cavity are the tongue, the various salivary glands, and the teeth; but the latter alone will engage our attention here. the teeth. the teeth are to be regarded as a special product of the oral mucous membrane. it has been shewn by gegenbaur and hertwig that in their mode of development they essentially resemble the placoid scales of elasmobranchii, and that the latter structures extend in elasmobranchii for a certain distance into the cavity of the mouth. as pointed out by gegenbaur, the teeth are therefore to be regarded as more or less specialised placoid scales, whose presence in the mouth is to be explained by the fact that the latter structure is lined by an invagination of the epidermis; the most important developmental point of difference between teeth and placoid scales consists in the fact, that in the case of the former there is a special ingrowth of epiblast to meet a connective tissue papilla which is not found in the latter. although the teeth are to be regarded as primitively epiblastic structures, they are nevertheless found in teleostei and ganoidei on the hyoid and branchial arches; and very possibly the teeth on some other parts of the mouth are developed in a true hypoblastic region. the teeth are formed from two distinct organs, viz. an epithelial cap and a connective tissue papilla. the general mode of development, as has been more especially shewn by the extended researches of tomes, is practically the same for all vertebrata, and it will be convenient to describe it as it takes place in mammalia. along the line where the teeth are about to develop, there is formed an epithelial ridge projecting into the subjacent connective tissue, and derived from the innermost columnar layer of the oral epithelium. at the points where a tooth is about to be formed this ridge undergoes special changes. it becomes in the first place somewhat thickened by the development of a number of rounded cells in its interior; so that it becomes constituted of ( ) an external layer of columnar cells, and ( ) a central core of rounded cells; both of an epithelial nature. in the second place the organ gradually assumes a dome-shaped form (fig. , _e_), and covers over a papilla of the subepithelial connective tissue (_p_) which has in the meantime been developed. [fig. . diagram shewing the development of the teeth. (from gegenbaur.) _p._ dental papilla; _e._ enamel organ.] from the above epithelial structure, which may be called the enamel organ, and from the papilla it covers, which may be spoken of as the dental papilla, the whole tooth is developed. after these parts have become established there is formed round the rudiment of each tooth a special connective tissue capsule; known as the dental capsule. before the dental capsule has become definitely formed the enamel organ and the dental papilla undergo important changes. the rounded epithelial cells forming the core of the enamel organ undergo a peculiar transformation into a tissue closely resembling ordinary embryonic connective tissue, while at the same time the epithelium adjoining the dental papilla and covering the inner surface of the enamel organ, acquires a somewhat different structure to the epithelium on the outer side of the organ. its cells become very markedly columnar, and form a very regular cylindrical epithelium. this layer alone is concerned in forming the enamel. the cells of the outer epithelial layer of the enamel organ become somewhat flattened, and the surface of the layer is raised into a series of short papillæ which project into the highly vascular tissue of the dental sheath. between the epithelium of the enamel organ and the adjoining connective tissue there is everywhere present a delicate membrane known as the membrana præformativa. the dental papilla is formed of a highly vascular core and a non-vascular superficial layer adjoining the inner epithelium of the enamel organ. the cells of the superficial layer are arranged so as almost to resemble an epithelium. the first formation of the hard structures of the tooth commences at the apex of the dental papilla. a calcification of the outermost layer of the papilla sets in, and results in the formation of a thin layer of dentine. nearly simultaneously a thin layer of enamel is deposited over this, from the inner epithelial layer of the enamel organ (fig. ). both enamel and dentine continue to be deposited till the crown of the tooth has reached its final form, and in the course of this process the enamel organ is reduced to a thin layer, and the whole of the outer layer of the dental papilla is transformed into dentine--while the inner portion remains as the pulp. the root of the tooth is formed later than the crown, but the enamel organ is not prolonged over this part, so that it is only formed of dentine. by the formation of the root the crown of the tooth becomes pushed outwards, and breaking through its sack projects freely on the surface. the part of the sack which surrounds the root of the tooth gives rise to the cement, and becomes itself converted into the periosteum of the dental alveolus. the general development of the enamel organs and dental papillæ is shewn in the diagram (fig. ). from the epithelial ridge three enamel organs are represented as being developed. such an arrangement may occur when teeth are successively replaced. the lowest and youngest enamel organ (_e_) has assumed a cap-like form enveloping a dental papilla, but no calcification has yet taken place. in the next stage a cap of dentine has become formed, while in the still older tooth this has become covered by a layer of enamel. as may be gathered from this diagram, the primitive epithelial ridge from which the enamel organ is formed is not necessarily absorbed on the formation of a tooth, but is capable of giving rise to fresh enamel organs. when the enamel organ has reached a certain stage of development, its connection with the epithelial ridge is ruptured (fig. ). the arrangement represented in fig. , in which successive enamel organs are formed from the same epithelial ridge, is found in most vertebrata except the teleostei. in the teleostei, however (tomes), a fresh enamel organ grows inwards from the epithelium for each successively formed tooth. _the proctodæum._ in all vertebrata the cloacal section of the alimentary tract which receives the urinogenital ducts is placed in communication with the exterior by means of an epiblastic invagination, constituting a proctodæum. this invagination is not usually very deep, and in most instances the boundary wall between it and the hypoblastic cloaca is not perforated till considerably after the perforation of the stomodæum; in petromyzon, however, its perforation is effected before the mouth and pharynx are placed in communication. the mode of formation of the proctodæum, which is in general extremely simple, is illustrated by fig. _an_. in most forms the original boundary between the epiblast of the proctodæum and the hypoblast of the primitive cloaca becomes obliterated after the two have become placed in free communication. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section through the posterior end of an embryo bird at the time of the formation of the allantois. _ep._ epiblast; _sp.c._ spinal canal; _ch._ notochord; _n.e._ neurenteric canal; _hy._ hypoblast; _p.a.g._ postanal gut; _pr._ remains of primitive streak folded in on the ventral side; _al._ allantois; _me._ mesoblast; _an._ point where anus will be formed; _p.c._ perivisceral cavity; _am._ amnion; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure.] in birds the formation of the proctodæum is somewhat more complicated than in other types, owing to the outgrowth from it of the bursa fabricii. the proctodæum first appears when the folding off of the tail end of the embryo commences (fig. , _an_) and is placed near the front (originally the apparent hind) end of the primitive streak. its position marks out the front border of the postanal section of the gut. the bursa fabricii first appears on the seventh day (in the chick), as a dorsal outgrowth of the proctodæum. the actual perforation of the septum between the proctodæum and the cloacal section of the alimentary tract is not effected till about the fifteenth day of foetal life, and the approximation of the epithelial layers of the two organs, preparatory to their absorption, is partly effected by the tunneling of the mesoblastic tissue between them by numerous spaces. the hypoblastic section of the cloaca of birds, which receives the openings of the urinogenital ducts, is permanently marked off by a fold from the epiblastic section or true proctodæum, with which the bursa fabricii communicates. bibliography. _alimentary canal and its appendages._ ( ) b. afanassiew. "ueber bau u. entwicklung d. thymus d. säugeth." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ bd. xiv. . ( ) fr. boll. _das princip d. wachsthums._ berlin, . ( ) e. gasser. "die entstehung d. cloakenöffnung bei hühnerembryonen." _archiv f. anat. u. physiol., anat. abth._ . ( ) a. götte. _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. darmkanals im hühnchen._ . ( ) w. müller. "ueber die entwickelung der schilddrüse." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. . ( ) w. müller. "die hypobranchialrinne d. tunicaten." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) s. l. schenk. "die bauchspeicheldrüse d. embryo." _anatomischphysiologische untersuchungen._ . ( ) e. selenka. "beitrag zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. luftsäcke d. huhns." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ . ( ) l. stieda. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. glandula thymus, glandula thyroidea, u. glandula carotica._ leipzig, . ( ) c. fr. wolff. "de formatione intestinorum." _nov. comment. akad. petrop._ . ( ) h. wölfler. _ueb. d. entwick. u. d. bau d. schilddrüse._ berlin, . _vide_ also kölliker ( ), götte ( ), his ( and ), foster and balfour ( ), balfour ( ), remak ( ), schenk ( ), etc. _teeth._ ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the enamel and dentine of teeth." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. iii. . ( ) r. owen. _odontography._ london, - . ( ) ch. s. tomes. _manual of dental anatomy, human and comparative._ london, . ( ) ch. s. tomes. "on the development of teeth." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xvi. . ( ) w. waldeyer. "structure and development of teeth." _stricker's histology._ . _vide_ also kölliker ( ), gegenbaur ( ), hertwig ( ), etc. index to volume iii. abdominal muscles, abdominal pore, , acipenser, development of, ; affinities of, ; comparison of gastrula of, ; pericardial cavity of, actinotrocha, air-bladder of teleostei, ; lepidosteus, ; blood supply of, ; general account of, ; homologies of, alciope, eye of, alisphenoid region of skull, alimentary canal and appendages, development of, alimentary tract of ascidia, ; molgula, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; respiratory region of, ; temporary closure of oesophageal region of, allantois, development of in chick, , ; blood-vessels of in chick, ; lacerta, , ; early development of in rabbit, ; of guinea-pig, ; origin of, . _see also_ 'placenta' and 'bladder' alternation of generations in ascidians, origin of, ; in botryllus, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; doliolum, alytes, branchial chamber of, ; yolk-sack of, ; branchiæ, ; müllerian duct of, amblystoma, ovum of, ; larva of, , amia, ribs of, ammocoetes, ; metamorphosis of, ; eye of, amnion, early development of in chick, ; later history of in chick, ; lacerta, , ; rabbit, ; origin of, , amphibia, development of, ; viviparous, ; gastrula of, ; suctorial mouth of, ; cerebellum of, ; infundibulum of, ; pineal gland of, ; cerebrum of, ; olfactory lobes of, ; nares of, ; notochord and its sheath, ; vertebral column of, ; ribs of, ; branchial arches of, ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, ; columella of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; limbs of, ; heart of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, ; excretory system of, ; vasa efferentia of, ; liver of, ; postanal gut of, ; stomodæum of, amphiblastula larva of porifera, amphioxus, development of, ; gastrula of, ; formation of mesoblast of, ; development of notochord of, ; head of, ; spinal nerves of, ; olfactory organ of, ; venous system of, ; transverse abdominal muscle of, ; generative cells of, ; liver of, ; postanal gut of, ; stomodæum of, amphistylic skulls, angular bone, anterior abdominal vein, anura, development of, ; epiblast of, ; mesoblast of, ; notochord of, ; hypoblast of, ; general growth of embryo of, ; larva of, ; vertebral column of, ; mandibular arch of, anus of amphioxus, ; ascidia, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; primitive, appendicularia, development of, aqueductus vestibuli, aqueous humour, arachnida, nervous system of, ; eye of, area, embryonic, of rabbit, ; epiblast of, ; origin of embryo from, ; area opaca of chick, ; epiblast, hypoblast, and mesoblast of, ; area pellucida of chick, ; of lacerta, area vasculosa of chick, ; mesoblast of, ; of lizard, ; rabbit, , arteria centralis retinæ, arterial system of petromyzon, ; constitution of in embryo, ; of fishes, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, arthropoda, head of, ; nervous system of, ; eye of, ; excretory organs of, articular bone of teleostei, ; of sauropsida, ascidia, development of, ascidians. _see_ 'tunicata' ascidiozooids, atrial cavity of amphioxus, ; ascidia, ; pyrosoma, atrial pore of amphioxus, ; ascidia, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, auditory capsules, ossifications in, , auditory involution of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, ; chick, auditory nerve, development of, auditory organs, of ascidia, ; of salpa, ; of ammocoetes, ; ganoidei, , ; of amphibia, ; of aves, ; general development of, ; of aquatic forms, ; of land forms, ; of coelenterata, ; of mollusca, ; of crustacea, ; of vertebrata, ; of cyclostomata, , , ; of teleostei, lepidosteus and amphibia, ; of mammalia, ; accessory structures of, ; of tunicata, auriculo-ventricular valves, autostylic skulls, aves, development of, ; cerebellum of, ; mid-brain of, ; infundibulum of, ; pineal gland of, ; pituitary body of, ; cerebrum of, ; olfactory lobes of, ; spinal nerves of, ; cranial nerves of, ; vagus of, ; glossopharyngeal of, ; vertebral column of, ; ossification of vertebral column of, ; branchial arches of, , ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; heart of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, ; muscle-plates of, ; excretory organs of, ; mesonephros of, ; pronephros of, ; müllerian duct of, , ; nature of pronephros of, ; connection of müllerian duct with wolffian in, ; kidney of, ; lungs of, ; liver of, ; postanal gut of, axolotl, , ; ovum of, ; mid-brain of, ; mandibular arch of, basilar membrane, basilar plate, basipterygium, basisphenoid region of skull, bilateral symmetry, origin of, - bile duct, bladder, amphibia, ; of amniota, blastodermic vesicle, of rabbit, first development of, ; of th day, ; guinea-pig, ; meaning of, blastoderm of pyrosoma, ; elasmobranchii, ; chick, ; lacerta blastopore, of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, ; elasmobranchii, , , ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; rabbit, ; true mammalian, ; comparative history of closure of, , ; summary of fate of, ; relation of to primitive anus, blood-vessels, development of, body cavity, of ascidia, ; molgula, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; chick, ; development of in chordata, ; views on origin of, - , ; of invertebrata, ; of chordata, ; of head, bombinator, branchial chamber of, ; vertebral column of, bonellia, excretory organs of, bones, origin of cartilage bones, ; origin of membrane bones, ; development of, ; homologies of membrane bones, ; homologies of cartilage bones, brachiopoda, excretory organs of, ; generative ducts of, brain, of ascidia, , ; elasmobranchii, , , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; early development of in chick, ; flexure of in chick, ; later development of in chick, ; rabbit, ; general account of development of, ; flexure of, ; histogeny of, branchial arches, præoral, ; disappearance of posterior, ; dental plates of in teleostei, ; relation of to head cavities, ; _see_ 'visceral arches' branchial chamber of amphibia, branchial clefts, of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, , ; molgula, ; salpa, ; of elasmobranchii, , - ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, , ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; rabbit, ; præoral, , ; of invertebrata, ; origin of, branchial rays, branchial skeleton, development of, , ; of petromyzon, , , ; of ichthyopsida, ; dental plates of in teleostei, ; relation of to head cavities, branchiæ, external of elasmobranchii, , ; of teleostei, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, , , brood-pouch, of salpa, ; teleostei, ; amphibia, brown tubes of gephyrea, bulbus arteriosus, of fishes, ; amphibia, bursa fabricii, , canalis auricularis, canalis reuniens, capitellidæ, excretory organs of, carcharias, placenta of, cardinal vein, carnivora, placenta of, carpus, development of, cartilage bones of skull, ; homologies of, cat, placenta of, caudal swellings of elasmobranchii, , ; teleostei, ; chick, , cephalic plate of elasmobranchii, cephalochorda, development of, cephalopoda, eyes of, - cerebellum, petromyzon, ; chick, ; general account of development of, , cerebrum of petromyzon, , ; chick, ; general development of, , ; transverse fissure of, cestoda, excretory organs of, cetacea, placenta, chætognatha, nervous system of, ; eye of, ; generative organs of, ; generative ducts of, chætopoda, head of, ; eyes of, ; excretory organs of, ; generative organs of, ; generative ducts of, charybdæa, eye of, cheiroptera, placenta of, cheiropterygium, ; relation of to ichthyopterygium, chelonia, development of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; arterial system of, chick, development of, ; general growth of embryo of, ; rotation of embryo of, ; foetal membranes of, ; epiblast of, , ; optic nerve and choroid fissure of, chilognatha, eye of, chilopoda, eye of, chimæra, lateral line of, ; vertebral column of, ; nares of, chiromantis, oviposition of, chorda tympani, development of, chordata, ancestor of, ; branchial system of, ; evidence from ammocoetes, ; head of, ; mouth of, ; table of phylogeny of, chorion, ; villi of, , choroid coat, ammocoetes, ; general account of, choroid fissure, of vertebrate eye, , ; of ammocoetes, ; comparative development of, ; of chick, ; of lizards, ; of elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; amphibia, ; mammals, , choroid gland, choroid pigment, choroid plexus, of fourth ventricle, ; of third ventricle, ; of lateral ventricle, ciliated sack of ascidia, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ciliary ganglion, ciliary muscle, ciliary processes, ; comparative development of, clavicle, clitoris, development of, clinoid ridge, cloaca, coccygeo-mesenteric vein, cochlear canal, coecilia, development of, ; pronephros of, ; mesonephros of, ; müllerian duct of, coelenterata, larvæ of, ; eyes of, ; auditory organs of, ; generative organs of, columella auris, ; of amphibia, ; of sauropsida, commissures, of spinal cord, ; of brain, , , , coni vasculosi, conus arteriosus, of fishes, ; of amphibia, coracoid bone, cornea, of ammocoetes, ; general development of, ; corpuscles of, ; comparative development of, ; of mammals, coronoid bone, corpora geniculata interna, corpora quadrigemina, corpora striata, development of, corpus callosum, development of, corti, organ of, ; structure of, ; fibres of, ; development of, cranial flexure, of elasmobranchii, , ; of teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; of amphibia, , ; chick, ; rabbit, ; characters of, ; significance of, cranial nerves, development of, ; relation of to head cavities, ; anterior roots of, - ; view on position of roots of, crocodilia, arterial system of, crura cerebri, crustacea, nervous system of, ; eye of, ; auditory organs of, ; generative cells of, ; generative ducts of, cupola, cutaneous muscles, cyathozooid, cyclostomata, auditory organs of, ; olfactory organ of, ; notochord and vertebral column of, , ; abdominal pores of, ; segmental duct of, ; pronephros of, ; mesonephros of, ; generative ducts of, , ; venous system of, ; excretory organs of, cystignathus, oviposition of, dactylethra, branchial chamber of, ; branchiæ of, ; tadpole of, decidua reflexa, of rat, ; of insectivora, ; of man, deiter's cells, dental papilla, dental capsule, dentary bone, dentine, descemet's membrane, diaphragm, ; muscle of, dipnoi, nares of, ; vertebral column of, ; membrane bones of skull of, ; heart of, ; arterial system of, ; excretory system of, ; stomodæum of, diptera, eye of, discophora, excretory organs of, dog, placenta of, dohrn, on relations of cyclostomata, ; on ancestor of chordata, , doliolum, development of, ductus arteriosus, ductus botalli, ductus cuvieri, ductus venosus arantii, dugong, heart of, dysticus, eye of, ear, _see_ 'auditory organ' echinodermata, secondary symmetry of larva of, ; excretory organs of, ; generative ducts of, echinorhinus, lateral line of, ; vertebral column of, echiurus, excretory organs of, ectostosis, edentata, placenta of, , , eel, generative ducts of, egg-shell of elasmobranchii, ; chick, elasmobranchii, development of, ; viviparous, ; general features of development of, ; gastrula of, ; development of mesoblast of, ; notochord of, ; meaning of formation of mesoblast of, ; restiform tracts of, ; optic lobes of, ; cerebellum of, ; pineal gland of, ; pituitary body of, ; cerebrum of, ; olfactory lobes of, ; spinal nerves, ; cranial nerves of, ; sympathetic nervous system of, ; nares of, ; lateral line of, ; vertebral column of, ; ribs of, ; parachordals of, ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; limbs of, ; pericardial cavity of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, ; muscle-plates of, ; excretory organs of, ; constitution of excretory organs in adult of, ; spermatozoa of, ; swimming-bladder of, ; intestines of, ; liver of, ; postanal gut of, elæoblast of pyrosoma, ; salpa, elephant, placenta of, embolic formation of gastrula, enamel organ, endolymph of ear, endostosis, endostyle of ascidia, , ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, epiblast, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, , ; petromyzon, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; chick, , ; lacerta, ; rabbit, , ; origin of in rabbit, ; comparative account of development of, epibolic formation of gastrula, epichordal formation of vertebral column, epicrium glutinosum, epidermis, in coelenterata, ; protective structures of, epididymis, epigastric vein, episkeletal muscles, episternum, epoophoron, ethmoid bone, ethmoid region of skull, ethmo-palatine ligament of elasmobranchs, euphausia, eye of, eustachian tube, of amphibia, ; chick, ; rabbit, ; general development of, excretory organs, general constitution of, ; of platyelminthes, ; of mollusca, ; of polyzoa, ; of brachiopoda, ; of chætopoda, ; of gephyrea, ; of discophora, ; of arthropoda, ; of nematoda, ; of echinodermata, ; constitution of in craniata, ; of elasmobranchii, ; constitution of in adult elasmobranch, ; of petromyzon, ; of myxine, ; of teleostei, ; of ganoidei, ; of dipnoi, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, ; comparison of vertebrate and invertebrate, excretory system, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; amphibia, exoccipital bone, exoskeleton, dermal, - ; epidermal, - external generative organs, extra-branchial skeleton, eye, of ascidia, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, , , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; aves, ; rabbit, ; general development of, ; evolution of, , ; simple, ; compound, ; aconous, ; pseudoconous, ; of invertebrata, ; of vertebrata, ; comparative development of vertebrate, ; of ammocoetes, ; of tunicata, ; of chordata, general views on, ; accessory eyes of fishes, ; muscles of, eyelids, development of, falciform ligament, falx cerebri, fasciculi teretes, of elasmobranchii, feathers, development of, fenestra rotunda and ovalis, fertilization, of amphioxus, ; of urochorda, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; amphibia, ; chick, ; reptilia, ; meaning of, fifth nerve, development of, fifth ventricle, fins, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; relation of paired to unpaired, , ; development of pelvic, ; development of pectoral, ; views on nature of paired fins, fissures of spinal cord, foetal development, ; secondary variations in, foot, foramen of munro, , foramen ovale, fore-brain, of elasmobranchii, , , ; petromyzon, ; general development of, formative cells, of chick, fornix, development of, fornix of gottsche, fourth nerve, frontals, frontonasal process of chick, gaertner's canals, gall-bladder, ganoidei, development of, ; relations of, ; nares of, ; notochord of, ; vertebral column of, , ; ribs of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; arterial$ system of, ; excretory organs of, ; generative ducts of, gastropoda, eye of, gastrula, of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, ; elasmobranchii, , ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, ; comparative development of, in invertebrata, ; comparison of mammalian, ; phylogenetic meaning of, ; ontogeny of (general), ; phylogeny of, - ; secondary types of, geckos, vertebral column of, generative cells, development of, ; origin of in coelenterata, ; of invertebrata, ; of vertebrata, generative ducts, of teleostei, , ; of ganoids, ; of cyclostomata, ; origin of, ; of lepidosteus, , ; development and evolution of, ; of coelenterata, ; of sagitta, ; of tunicata, ; chætopoda, gephyrea, etc., ; of mollusca, ; of discophora, ; of echinodermata, generative system of elasmobranchii, gephyrea, nervous system of, ; excretory organs of, ; generative cells of, ; generative ducts of, germinal disc, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; chick, germinal epithelium, germinal layers, summary of organs derived from, in vertebrata, ; historical account of views of, ; homologies of in the metazoa, germinal wall of chick, , ; structure and changes of, geryonia, auditory organ of, gill of salpa, giraldes, organ of, glands, epidermic, development of, glomerulus, external, of chick, glossopharyngeal nerve, development of, , grey matter of spinal cord, ; of brain, growth in length of vertebrate embryo, guinea-pig, primitive streak of, ; notochord of, ; placenta of, ; development of, gymnophiona, _see_ 'coecilia' habenula perforata, hairs, development of, halichærus, placenta of, hand, head, comparative account of, ; segmentation of, head cavities, of elasmobranchii, ; petromyzon, , ; amphibia, ; general development of, head-fold of chick, , head kidney, _see_ 'pronephros' heart, of pyrosoma, ; elasmobranchii, , ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; chick, ; first appearance of in rabbit, ; general development of, ; of fishes, , ; of mammalia, ; of birds, , ; meaning of development of, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, ; change of position of, hind-brain, elasmobranchii, , , ; petromyzon, ; general account of, hippocampus major, development of, hirudo, development of blood-vessels of, ; excretory organs of, horse, placenta of, hyaloid membrane, hylodes, oviposition of, ; metamorphosis of, hyobranchial cleft, hyoid arch, of chick, ; general account of, , ; modifications of, , ; of elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; of amphibia, ; of sauropsida, ; of mammalia, hyomandibular bar of elasmobranchii, , ; of teleostei, ; of amphibia, hyomandibular cleft, of petromyzon, ; chick, ; general account of, hyostylic skulls, hypoblast of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, , ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; chick, , ; lacerta, ; rabbit, , , ; origin of in rabbit, hyposkeletal muscles, hyrax, placenta of, incus, , infraclavicle, infundibulum of petromyzon, ; chick, ; general development of, insectivora, placenta of, insects, nervous system of, ; eye of, ; generative organs of, ; generative ducts of, intercalated pieces of vertebral column, interclavicle, homologies of, intermediate cell-mass of chick, intermuscular septa, interorbital septum, interrenal bodies, iris, ; comparative development of, iris of ammocoetes, island of reil, jacobson's organ, jugal bone, kidney, _see_ 'metanephros' labia majora, development of, labial cartilages, labium tympanicum, ; vestibulare, lacertilia, general development of, ; nares of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; arterial system of, lacrymal bone, lacrymal duct, lacrymal glands, læmargus, vertebral column of, lagena, lamina spiralis, lamina terminalis, larva of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, - ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; lepidosteus, , ; amphibia, , ; types of, in the invertebrata, larvæ, nature, origin, and affinities of, - ; secondary variations of less likely to be retained, ; ancestral history more fully recorded in, ; secondary variations in development of, ; ontogenetic record of secondary variations in, ; of freshwater and land animals, ; types of, ; phosphorescence of, ; of coelenterata, ; table of, ; of invertebrata, et seq. larynx, lateral line sense organs, ; comparison of, with invertebrate, ; development of, in teleostei, ; development of, in elasmobranchii, lateral ventricle, ; anterior cornu of, ; descending cornu of, ; choroid plexus of, layers, formation of, in elasmobranchii, , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, ; chick, , ; lacerta, ; rabbit, - ; comparison of mammalia with lower forms, , ; comparison of formation of in vertebrata, ; origin and homologies of, in the metazoa, leech, _see_ 'hirudo' lemuridæ, placenta, lens, of elasmobranchii, , ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, ; chick, ; of vertebrate eyes, ; general account of, ; capsule of, ; comparative development of, ; of amphibia, teleostei, lepidosteus, lepidosteus, development of, ; larva of, ; relations of, ; spinal nerves of, ; ribs of, ; generative ducts of, , ; swimming-bladder of, ligamentum pectinatum, ligamentum suspensorium, , ligamentum vesicæ medium, limbs, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; first appearance of in chick, ; rabbit, ; muscles of, ; of fishes, ; relation of, to unpaired fins of fishes, , ; of amphibia, liver of teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; amphibia, ; general account of, lizard, development of, ; general growth of embryo of, ; müllerian duct of, lizzia, eye of, lobi inferiores, lungs of amphibia, ; development of, ; homology of, lymphatic system, malleus, , ; views on, malpighian bodies, development of accessory in elasmobranchs, mammalia, development of, ; comparison of gastrula of, ; cerebellum of, ; infundibulum of, ; pineal gland of, ; pituitary body of, ; cerebrum of, ; spinal nerves of, ; sympathetic of, ; vertebral column of, ; branchial arches of, , ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; heart of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, ; muscle-plates of, ; mesonephros of, ; testicular network of, ; urinogenital sinus of, ; spermatozoa of, ; lungs of, ; intestines of, ; liver of, ; postanal gut of, ; stomodæum of, mammary gland, development of, man, placenta of, ; general account of development of, ; characters of embryo of, mandibular arch of elasmobranchii, , ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, , ; chick, ; general account of, , ; modification of to form jaws, , ; of teleostei, ; of amphibia, ; sauropsida, ; mammalia, mandibular bar, evolution of, , manis, placenta of, marsupial bones, marsupialia, foetal membranes of, ; cerebellum of, ; corpus callosum of, ; uterus of, maxilla, meatus auditorius externus, of chick, ; development of, meckelian cartilage, of elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; of amphibia, , ; of sauropsida, ; of mammalia, mediastinum anterior and posterior, medulla oblongata, of chick, ; general development of, medullary plate of amphioxus, , ; of ascidia, ; elasmobranchii, , , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , , ; chick, ; lacerta, ; rabbit, , , ; primitive bilobed character of, , medusæ, auditory organs of, membrana capsulo-pupillaris, , , membrana elastica externa, membrana limitans of retina, membrana tectoria, , membrane bones, of amphibia, ; of sauropsida, ; of mammalia, ; of mandibular arch, ; of pectoral girdle, , ; origin of, ; homologies of, membranous labyrinth, development of in man, menobranchus, branchial arches of, mesenteron of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, , , ; chick, ; general account of, mesentery, , mesoblast, of amphioxus, ; ascidia, , ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , , ; of chick, , ; double origin of in chick, , , ; origin of from lips of blastopore in chick, ; of area vasculosa of chick, ; lacerta, ; origin of in rabbit, , ; of area vasculosa in rabbit, ; comparative account of formation of, ; discussion of development of in vertebrata, ; meaning of development of in amniota, ; phylogenetic origin of, ; summary of ontogeny of, - ; views on ontogeny of, - mesoblastic somites, of amphioxus, ; elasmobranchii, , ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; chick, , ; rabbit, ; development of in chordata, ; meaning of development of, ; of head, mesogastrium, mesonephros, of teleostei, , ; petromyzon, , , ; acipenser, , ; amphibia, , ; chick, , ; general account of, ; development of in elasmobranchs ; of cyclostomata, ; ganoidei, ; sexual and non-sexual part of in amphibia, ; of amniota, , ; summary and general conclusions as to, ; relation of to pronephros, mesopterygium, metagenesis of ascidians, metamorphosis of amphibia, , metanephros, ; development of in elasmobranchii, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, ; of chick, ; of lacertilia, ; phylogeny of, metapterygium, metapterygoid, of elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, metazoa, evolution of, , ; ancestral form of, , mid-brain, of elasmobranchii, , , ; petromyzon, ; general account of development of, moina, generative organs of, molgula, development of, mollusca, nervous system of, ; eyes of, ; auditory organs of, ; excretory organs of, monotremata, foetal membranes of, ; cerebellum of, ; corpus callosum of, ; cerebrum of, ; urinogenital sinus of, mormyrus, generative ducts of, mouth, of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, , , , ; petromyzon, , , , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , , ; rabbit, ; origin of, mouth, suctorial, of petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, , ; amphibia, , , müllerian duct, ; of elasmobranchs, ; of ganoids, ; of amphibia, ; of aves, , ; opening of into cloaca, ; origin of, ; summary of development of, ; relation of to pronephros, muscle-plates, of amphioxus, ; elasmobranchii, , ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; chick, , ; general development of, ; of amphibia, ; aves, ; of mammalia, ; origin of muscles from, muscles, of ascidia, , ; development of from muscle-plates, ; of limbs, ; of head, ; of branchial arches, ; of eye, muscular fibres, epithelial origin of, muscular system, development of, ; of chordata, mustelus, placenta of, myoepithelial cells, mysis, auditory organ of, myxine, ovum of, ; olfactory organ of, ; portal sinus of, ; excretory system of, nails, development of, nares, of acipenser, ; of ichthyopsida, ; development of in chick, ; development of in lacertilia, ; development of in amphibia, nasal bones, nasal pits, acipenser, ; chick, ; general development of, nematoda, excretory organs of, ; generative organs of, ; generative ducts of, nemertines, nervous system of, ; excretory organs of, nerve cord, origin of ventral, nerves, spinal, ; cranial, - nervous system, central, general account of development of in vertebrata, ; conclusions as to, ; sympathetic, nervous system, of amphioxus, ; ascidia, , ; molgula, ; pyrosoma, , ; salpa, , ; elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; amphibia, ; comparative account of formation of central, ; of sagitta, ; origin of in coelenterata, ; of præoral lobe, , ; evolution of, - ; development of in invertebrates, ; of arthropoda, ; of gephyrea, ; mollusca, neural canal, of ascidia, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; chick, , ; lacerta, ; closure of in frog and amphioxus, ; closure of in elasmobranchii, ; phylogenetic origin of, neural crest, , , neurenteric canal, of amphioxus, , ; ascidia, ; elasmobranchii, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; aves, ; lacerta, , ; general account of, ; meaning of, newt, ovum of, ; development of, ; general growth of, notidanus, vertebral column of, ; branchial arches of, notochord of amphioxus, ; ascidia, , ; elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; canal of, in chick, ; lacerta, , ; guinea-pig, ; comparative account of formation of, , ; sheath of, ; later histological changes in, ; cartilaginous sheath of, ; in head, ; absence of in region of trabeculæ, notodelphys, brood-pouch of, ; branchiæ of, nototrema, brood-pouch of, nucleus pulposus, oceania, eye of, occipital bone, oesophagus, solid, of elasmobranchii, , ; of teleostei, olfactory capsules, olfactory lobes, development of, olfactory nerves, ammocoetes, ; general development of, olfactory organ, of aquatic forms, ; insects and crustacea, ; of tunicata, ; of amphioxus, ; of vertebrata, ; petromyzon, ; of myxine, olfactory sacks, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, , ; lepidosteus, ; chick, oligochæta, excretory organs of, olivary bodies, omentum, lesser and greater, onchidium, eye of, opercular bones, operculum, of teleostei, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, , ; amphibia, ophidia, development of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, optic chiasma, , optic cup, retinal part of, ; ciliary portion of, optic lobes, optic nerve, development of, ; comparative development of, optic thalami, development of, optic vesicle, of elasmobranchii, - ; teleostei, , ; petromyzon, , ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; chick, ; rabbit, ; general development of, ; formation of secondary, ; obliteration of cavity of, ; comparative development of, ; of lepidosteus and teleostei, . _see also_ 'eye' ora serrata, orbitosphenoid region of skull, organs, classification of, ; derivation of from germinal layers, orycteropus, placenta of, otic process of axolotl, ; of frog, et seq. otoliths, oviposition, of amphioxus, ; elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; amphibia, ; reptilia, ovum, of amphioxus, ; pyrosoma, ; elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; myxine, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, ; chick, ; reptilia, ; mammalia, ; of porifera, ; migration of in coelenterata, ; vertebrata, palatine bone, of teleostei, ; origin of, pancreas, acipenser, ; general development of, pancreatic cæca, of teleostei, etc. papillæ, oral, of acipenser, ; lepidosteus, parachordals, , parasphenoid bone, parepididymis, parietal bones, paroophoron, parovarium, pectoral girdle, ; of elasmobranchs, ; of teleostei, ; of amphibia and amniota, ; comparison of with pelvic, pecten, eye of, pecten, of ammocoetes, ; of chick, ; lizard, ; elasmobranchs, pedicle, of axolotl, ; of frog, pelobates, branchial apertures of, ; vertebral column of, pelodytes, branchial chamber of, pelvic girdle, ; of fishes, ; amphibia and amniota, ; of lacertilia, ; of mammalia, ; comparison with pectoral, penis, development of, peribranchial cavity, of amphioxus, ; of ascidia, ; pyrosoma, pericardial cavity, of pyrosoma, ; elasmobranchii, ; petromyzon, ; general account of, ; of fishes, ; of amphibia, sauropsida and mammalia, perichordal formation of vertebral column, perilymph of ear, periotic capsules, ossifications in, , peripatus, nervous system of, ; eye of ; excretory organs of, peritoneal membrane, petromyzon, development of, ; affinities of, , ; general development of, ; hatching of, ; comparison of gastrula of, ; branchial skeleton of, , ; cerebellum of, ; pineal gland of, ; pituitary body of, ; cerebrum of, ; auditory organ of, ; olfactory organ of, ; comparison of oral skeleton of with tadpole, ; pericardial cavity of, ; abdominal pores of, ; venous system of, ; excretory organs of, ; segmental duct of, ; pronephros of, ; mesonephros of, ; thyroid body of, ; postanal gut of, ; stomodæum of, phosphorescence of larvæ, phylogeny, of the chordata, ; of the metazoa, pig, placenta of, ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, pineal gland, of petromyzon, ; chick, ; general development of, ; nature of, , pipa, brood-pouch of, ; metamorphosis of, ; yolk-sack of, ; vertebral column of, pituitary body, of rabbit, ; general development of, ; meaning of, ; placenta, of salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; of mammalia, ; villi of, ; deciduate and non-deciduate, ; comparative account of, - ; characters of primitive type of, ; zonary, ; non-deciduate, ; histology of, ; evolution of, placoid scales, planorbis, excretory organs of, planula, structure of, pleural cavities, pleuronectidæ, development of, pneumatocoela, characters of, polygordius, excretory organs of, polyophthalmus, eye of, polypedates, brood-pouch of, polyzoa, excretory organs of, ; generative cells of, ; generative ducts of, pons varolii, , pori abdominales, ammocoetes, porifera, ancestral form of, ; development of generative cells of, portal vein, postanal gut of elasmobranchii, , , ; teleostei, ; chick, ; general account of, , præmaxilla, præopercular bone, præoral lobe, ganglion of, , prefrontals, presphenoid region of skull, primitive groove of chick, primitive streak, of chick, , ; meaning of, ; origin of mesoblast form in chick, ; continuity of hypoblast with epiblast at anterior end of, in chick, ; comparison of with blastopore, ; fate of, in chick, ; of lacerta, ; of rabbit, ; of guinea-pig, ; fusion of layers at, in rabbit, ; comparison of with blastopore of lower forms, , ; of mammalia, processus falciformis of ammocoetes, ; of elasmobranch, ; of teleostei, proctodæum, pronephros, of teleostei, , ; petromyzon, , , ; acipenser, , ; amphibia, , ; general account of, ; of cyclostomata, ; of myxine, ; ganoidei, ; of amniota, ; of chick, ; summary of and general conclusions as to, ; relation of, to mesonephros, ; cause of atrophy of, prootic, , propterygium, proteus, branchial arches of, protochordata, characters of, proto-ganoidei, characters of, proto-gnathostomata, characters of, proto-pentadactyloidei, characters of, protovertebrata, characters of, pseudis, tadpole of, ; vertebral column of, pseudophryne, yolk-sack of, ; tadpole of, pterygoid bone, of teleostei, ; origin of, pterygoquadrate bar, of elasmobranchii, ; of teleostei, ; axolotl, ; frog, ; of sauropsida, ; of mammalia, pulmonary artery, origin of, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, pulmonary vein, pupil, pyrosoma, development of, quadrate bone of teleostei, ; of axolotl, ; frog, ; sauropsida, quadratojugal bone, rabbit, development of, ; general growth of embryo of, ; placenta of, radiate symmetry, passage from to bilateral symmetry, - raja, caudal vertebræ of, rat, placenta of, recessus labyrinthi, reissner's membrane, reptilia, development of, ; viviparous, ; cerebellum of, ; infundibulum of, ; pituitary body of, ; cerebrum of, ; vertebral column of, ; arterial system of, ; venous system of, ; mesonephros of, ; testicular network of, ; spermatozoa of, restiform tracts of elasmobranchii and teleostei, retina, histogenesis of, retinulæ, rhabdom, rhinoderma, brood-pouch of, ; metamorphosis of, ribs, development of, rosenmüller's organ, rotifera, excretory organs of, round ligament of liver, ruminantia, placenta of, sacci vasculosi, sacculus hemisphericus, ; of mammals, , sagitta. _see_ 'chætognatha' salpa, sexual development of, ; asexual development of, salamandra, larva of, ; vertebral column of, ; limbs of, ; mesonephros of, ; müllerian duct of, salmonidæ, hypoblast of, ; generative ducts of, sauropsida, gastrula of, ; meaning of primitive streak of, ; blastopore of, ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, ; pectoral girdle of, scala, vestibuli, ; tympani, ; media, scales, general development of, ; development of placoid scales, scapula, sclerotic, scrotum, development of, scyllium, caudal vertebræ of, ; mandibular and hyoid arches of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; limbs of, ; pelvic fin of, ; pectoral fin of, segmental duct, ; development of in elasmobranchs, ; of cyclostomata, ; of teleostei, ; of ganoidei, , ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, segmental organs, segmental tubes, ; development of in elasmobranchs, ; rudimentary anterior in elasmobranchs, ; development of secondary, segmentation cavity, of elasmobranchii, - ; teleostei, , , ; amphibia, , segmentation, meaning of, segmentation of ovum, in amphioxus, ; ascidia, ; molgula, ; pyrosoma, ; salpa, ; elasmobranchii, ; telostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, , ; newt, ; chick, ; lizard, ; rabbit, semicircular canals, sense organs, comparative account of development of, septum lucidum, serous membrane, lacerta, ; of rabbit, seventh nerve, development of, shell-gland of crustacea, shield, embryonic, of chick, ; of lacerta, simiadæ, placenta of, sinus rhomboidalis, of chick, sinus venosus, sirenia, placenta of, sixth nerve, skate, mandibular and hyoid arches of, skeleton, elements of found in vertebrata, skull, general development of, ; historical account of, ; development of cartilaginous, ; cartilaginous walls of, ; composition of primitive cartilaginous cranium, somatopleure, of chick, spelerpes, branchial arches of, spermatozoa, of porifera, ; of vertebrata, sphenoid bone, sphenodon, hyoid arch of, spinal cord, general account of, ; white matter of, ; central canal of, , ; commissures of, ; grey matter of, ; fissures of, spinal nerves, posterior roots of, ; anterior roots of, spiracle, of elasmobranchii, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, spiral valve. _see_ 'valve' spleen, splenial bone, squamosal bone, stapes, ; of mammal, sternum, development of, stolon of doliolum, ; salpa, stomodæum, stria vascularis, styloid process, subintestinal vein, ; meaning of, syngnathus, brood-pouch of, subnotochordal rod, of elasmobranchii, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; general account of, ; comparison of with siphon of chætopods, subzonal membrane, ; villi of, sulcus of munro, supraclavicle, suprarenal bodies, supra-temporal bone, swimming bladder, _see_ air bladder sylvian aqueduct, sylvian fissure, sympathetic ganglia, development of, tadpole, , , ; phylogenetic meaning of, ; metamorphosis of, ; meaning of suctorial mouth of, tail of teleostei, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, tarsus, development of, teeth, horny provisional, of amphibia, ; general development of, ; origin of, teleostei, development of, ; viviparous, ; comparison of formation of layers in, ; restiform tracts of, ; mid-brain of, ; infundibulum of, ; cerebrum of, ; nares of, ; lateral line of, ; notochord and membrana elastica of, ; vertebral column of, ; ribs of, ; hyoid and mandibular arches of, ; pectoral girdle of, ; pelvic girdle of, ; limbs of, ; heart of, ; arterial system of, ; muscle-plates of, ; excretory organs of, ; generative ducts of, , , ; swimming bladder of, ; postanal gut of, teredo, nervous system of, test of ascidia, ; salpa, testicular network, of elasmobranchs, ; of amphibia, ; reptilia, ; of mammals, testis of vertebrata, testis, connection of with wolffian body, in elasmobranchii, ; in amphibia, ; in amniota, ; origin of, thalamencephalon of chick, ; general development of, third nerve, development of, thymus gland, thyroid gland, petromyzon, ; general account of, ; nature of, ; development of in vertebrata, tooth. _see_ 'teeth' tori semicirculares, tornaria, trabeculæ, , ; nature of, trachea, trematoda, excretory organs of, triton alpestris, sexual larva of, triton, development of limbs of, ; urinogenital organs of, truncus arteriosus, ; of amphibia, ; of birds, tunicata, development of mesoblast of, ; test of, ; eye of, ; auditory organ of, ; olfactory organ of, ; generative duct of, ; intestine of ; postanal gut of, ; stomodæum of, turbellaria, excretory organs of, tympanic annulus of frog, tympanic cavity, of amphibia, ; chick, ; rabbit, ; general development of, ; of mammals, tympanic membrane, of chick, ; general development of, tympanohyal, umbilical canal of elasmobranchii, , , , umbilical cord, ; vessels of, ungulata, placenta of, urachus, , ureters, of elasmobranchii, ; development of, urethra, urinary bladder of amphibia, ; of amniota, urinogenital organs, _see_ excretory organs urinogenital sinus of petromyzon, ; of sauropsida, ; of mammalia, urochorda, development of, uterus, development of, ; of marsupials, uterus masculinus, utriculus, uvea of iris, vagus nerve, development of, , ; intestinal branch of, ; branch of to lateral line, valve, spiral, of petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; general account of, valves, semilunar, ; auriculo-ventricular, vasa efferentia, of elasmobranchs, ; of amphibia, ; general origin of, vascular system, of amphioxus, ; petromyzon, ; lepidosteus, ; general development of, vas deferens, of elasmobranchii, ; of amniota, vein, subintestinal of petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, velum of petromyzon, vena cava inferior, development of, venous system of petromyzon, ; general development of, ; of fishes, ; of amphibia and amniota, ; of reptilia, ; of ophidia, ; of aves, ; of mammalia, ventricle, fourth, of chick, ; history of, ventricle, lateral, , ; fifth, ventricle, third, of chick, vertebral bodies, of chick, vertebral column, development of, , ; epichordal and perichordal development of in amphibia, vespertilionidæ, early development of, vieussens, valve of, villi, placental, of zona radiata, ; subzonal membrane, ; chorion, ; man, ; comparative account of, ; of young human ovum, , visceral arches, amphioxus, ; elasmobranchii, - ; teleostei, ; acipenser, ; lepidosteus, ; amphibia, ; chick, ; rabbit, ; præoral, ; relation of to head cavities, ; disappearance of posterior, ; dental plates of in teleostei, visual organs, evolution of, vitelline arteries of chick, vitelline veins of chick, vitreous humour, of ammocoetes, ; general development of, ; blood-vessels of in mammals ; mesoblastic ingrowth in mammals, vomer, white matter, of spinal cord, ; of brain, wolffian body, _see_ 'mesonephros' wolffian duct, first appearance of in chick, ; general account of, ; of elasmobranchs, ; of ganoids, ; of amphibia, ; of amniota, ; atrophy of in amniota, wolffian ridge, yolk blastopore, of elasmobranchii, yolk, folding off of embryo from, in elasmobranchii, ; in teleostei, ; acipenser, ; chick, , yolk nuclei, of elasmobranchii, , ; teleostei, , yolk, of elasmobranchii, ; teleostei, ; petromyzon, ; acipenser, ; amphibia, , ; chick, ; influence of on formation of layers, ; influence of on early development, , yolk-sack, amphibia, , , ; enclosure of, yolk-sack, development of in rabbit, ; of mammalia reduced, ; circulation of in rabbit, ; enclosure of in sauropsida, yolk-sack, enclosure of, petromyzon, yolk-sack, lepidosteus, yolk-sack of chick, enclosure of, ; stalk of, ; general account of, ; circulation of, ; later history of, yolk-sack of elasmobranchii, enclosure of, , ; circulation of, yolk-sack of lacerta, ; circulation of, yolk-sack, teleostei, , ; enclosure of, ; circulation of, zona radiata, villi of, zonula of zinn, bibliography. cephalopoda. 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"beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. wirbelthiere. ii. die bildung d. keimblatter u. d. blutes im hühnerei." _archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. x. . ( ) v. hensen. "embryol. mitth." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. iii. . ( ) w. his. _untersuch. üb. d. erste anlage d. wirbelthierleibes._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. _unsere körperform and das physiol. problem ihrer entstehung._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. "der keimwall des hühnereies u. d. entstehung d. parablastischen zellen." _zeit. f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte._ bd. i. . ( ) w. his. "neue untersuchungen üb. die bildung des hühnerembryo i." _archiv f. anat. u. phys._ . ( ) e. klein. "das mittiere keimblatt in seiner bezieh. z. entwick. d. ers. blutgefässe und blutkörp. im hühnerembryo." _sitzungsber. wien. akad._, vol. lxiii. . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. d. höheren thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) c. kupffer. "die entsteh. d. allantois u. d. gastrula d. wirbelth." _zoolog. anzeiger_, vol. ii. , pp. , , . 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( ) h. rathke. _entwick. d. natter._ königsberg, . _chelonia._ ( ) l. agassiz. _contributions to the natural history of the united states_, vol. ii. . _embryology of the turtle._ ( ) w. k. parker. "on the development of the skull and nerves in the green turtle." _proc. of the roy. soc._, vol. xxviii. . _vide_ also _nature_, april , , and _challenger reports_, vol. i. . ( ) h. rathke. _ueb. d. entwicklung d. schildkröten._ braunschweig, . _crocodilia._ ( ) h. rathke. _ueber die entwicklung d. krokodile._ braunschweig, . mammalia. ( ) k. e. von baer. _ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere._ königsberg, - . ( ) barry. "researches on embryology." first series. _philosophical transactions_, , part ii. second series, ibid. , part ii. third series, ibid. . ( ) ed. van beneden. _la maturation de l'oeuf, la fécondation et les premières phases du développement embryonaire d. mammifères._ bruxelles, . ( ) ed. van beneden. 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( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie, entwicklungsgeschichte des menschen._ leipzig, . ( ) v. hensen. "beobachtungen üb. d. befrucht. u. entwick. d. kaninchens u. meerschweinchens." _zeit. f. anat. u. entwick._, vol. i. . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. d. höheren thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kölliker. "die entwick. d. keimblätter des kaninchens." _zoologischer anzeiger_, nos. , , vol. iii. . ( ) n. lieberkühn. _ueber d. keimblätter d. säugethiere. doctor-jubelfeier d. herrn h. nasse._ marburg, . ( ) n. lieberkühn. "z. lehre von d. keimblättern d. säugethiere." _sitz. d. gesell. z. beförd. d. gesam. naturwiss. marburg_, no. . . ( ) rauber. "die erste entwicklung d. kaninchens." _sitzungsber. d. naturfor. gesell. z. leipzig._ . ( ) c. b. reichert. "entwicklung des meerschweinchens." _abh. der. berl. akad._ . ( ) e. a. schäfer. "description of a mammalian ovum in an early condition of development." _proc. roy. soc._, no. . . ( ) e. a. schäfer. 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( ) g. b. ercolani. _nuove ricerche sulla placenta nei pesci cartilaginosi e nei mammiferi._ bologna, . ( ) eschricht. _de organis quae respirationi et nutritioni foetus mammalium inserviunt._ hafniae, . ( ) a. h. garrod and w. turner. "the gravid uterus and placenta of hyomoschus aquaticus." _proc. zool. soc._, london, . ( ) p. harting. _het ei en de placenta van halicore dugong. inaug. diss._ utrecht. "on the ovum and placenta of the dugong." abstract by prof. turner. _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiii. ( ) th. h. huxley. _the elements of comparative anatomy._ london, . ( ) a. kölliker. "ueber die placenta der gattung tragulus." _verh. der würzb. phys.-med. gesellschaft_, bd. x. ( ) c. d. meigs. "on the reproduction of the opossum (didelphis virginiana)." _amer. phil. soc. trans._, vol. x. . ( ) h. milne-edwards. "sur la classification naturelle." _ann. sciences nat._, sér. , vol. i. . ( ) alf. milne-edwards. 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( ) g. rolleston. "placental structure of the tenrec, etc." _transactions of the zoological society_, vol. v. . ( ) w. turner. "observations on the structure of the human placenta." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. vii. . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of the cetacea." _trans. roy. soc. edinb._, vol. xxvi. . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of sloths (choloepus hoffmanni)." _trans. of r. society of edinburgh_, vol. xxvii. . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of seals (halichoerus gryphus)." _trans. of r. society of edinburgh_, vol. xxvii. . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of the cape ant-eater (orycteropus capensis)." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. x. . ( ) w. turner. _lectures on the anatomy of the placenta._ first series. edinburgh, . ( ) w. turner. "some general observations on the placenta, with special reference to the theory of evolution." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xi. . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of the lemurs." _phil. trans._, vol. , p. . . ( ) w. turner. "on the placentation of apes." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. turner. "the cotyledonary and diffused placenta of the mexican deer (cervus americanus)." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiii. . _human embryo._ ( ) fried. ahlfeld. "beschreibung eines sehr kleinen menschlichen eies." _archiv f. gynaekologie_, bd. xiii. . ( ) herm. beigel und ludwig loewe. "beschreibung eines menschlichen eichens aus der zweiten bis dritten woche der schwangerschaft." _archiv f. gynaekologie_, bd. xii. . ( ) k. breus. "ueber ein menschliches ei aus der zweiten woche der gravidität." _wiener medicinische wochenschrift_, . ( ) m. coste. _histoire générale et particulière du développement des corps organisés_, - . ( ) a. ecker. _icones physiologicae._ leipzig, - . ( ) v. hensen. "beitrag z. morphologie d. körperform u. d. gehirns d. menschlichen embryos." _archiv f. anat. u. phys._, . ( ) w. his. _anatomie menschlicher embryonen_, part i. _embryonen d. ersten monats._ leipzig, . ( ) j. kollmann. 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( ) a. rauber. _primitivstreifen u. neurula d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, . phylogeny of the chordata. ( ) f. m. balfour. _a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_, london, . ( ) a. dohrn. _der ursprung d. wirbelthiere und d. princip. d. functionswechsel._ leipzig, . ( ) e. haeckel. _schöpfungsgeschichte._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _the history of creation._ king and co., london. . ( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _anthropogeny._ kegan paul and co., london, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. amphioxus lanceolatus." _mém. acad. d. scien. st pétersbourg_, ser. vii. tom. xi. , and _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere stud. üb. d. entwick. d. einfachen ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) c. semper. "die stammesverwandschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) c. semper. 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"allgemeine betrachtungen üb. die entstehung d. knöchernen schädels d. wirbelthiere." _berichte v. d. königl. zoot. anstalt z. würzburg_, . ( ) fr. leydig. "histologische bemerkungen üb. d. polypterus bichir." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. v. . ( ) h. müller. "ueber d. entwick. d. knochensubstanz nebst bemerkungen, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . ( ) williamson. "on the structure and development of the scales and bones of fishes." _phil. trans._, . ( ) vrolik. "studien üb. d. verknöcherung u. die knochen d. schädels d. teleostier." _niederländisches archiv f. zoologie_, vol. i. notochord and vertebral column. ( ) cartier. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte der wirbelsäule." _zeitschrift für wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. suppl. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule der amphibien und reptilien._ leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueber die entwickelung der wirbelsäule des lepidosteus mit vergleichend anatomischen bemerkungen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. iii. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. skeletgewebe d. cyclostomen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. . ( ) al. götte. "beiträge zur vergleich. morphol. des skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere." ii. "die wirbelsäule u. ihre anhänge." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xv. (cyclostomen, ganoiden, plagiostomen, chimaera), and vol. xvi. (teleostier). ( ) hasse und schwarck. "studien zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule u. s. w." hasse, _anatomische studien_, . ( ) c. hasse. _das natürliche system d. elasmobranchier auf grundlage d. bau. u. d. entwick. ihrer wirbelsäule._ jena, . ( ) a. kölliker. "ueber die beziehungen der chorda dorsalis zur bildung der wirbel der selachier und einiger anderen fische." _verhandlungen der physical. medicin. gesellschaft in würzburg_, bd. x. ( ) a. kölliker. "weitere beobachtungen über die wirbel der selachier insbesondere über die wirbel der lamnoidei." _abhandlungen der senkenbergischen naturforschenden gesellschaft in frankfurt_, bd. v. ( ) h. leboucq. "recherches s. l. mode de disparition de la corde dorsale chez les vertébrés supérieurs." _archives de biologie_, vol. i. . ( ) fr. leydig. _anatomisch-histologische untersuchungen über fische und reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) aug. müller. "beobachtungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelsäule." müller's _archiv_. . ( ) j. müller. "vergleichende anatomie der myxinoiden u. der cyklostomen mit durchbohrtem gaumen, i. osteologie und myologie." _abhandlungen der königlichen akademie der wissenschaften zu berlin._ . ( ) w. müller. "beobachtungen des pathologischen instituts zu jena, i. ueber den bau der chorda dorsalis." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. vi. . ( ) a. schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . ribs and sternum. ( ) c. claus. "beiträge z. vergleich. osteol. d. vertebraten. i. rippen u. unteres bogensystem." _sitz. d. kaiserl. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxiv. . ( ) a. e. fick. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. rippen und querfortsätze." _archiv f. anat. und physiol._ . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "zur entwick. d. wirbelsäule des lepidosteus mit vergleich. anat. bemerk." _jenaische zeit._, vol. iii. . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge z. vergleich. morphol. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere brustbein u. schultergürtel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. . ( ) c. hasse u. g. born. "bemerkungen üb. d. morphologie d. rippen." _zoologischer anzeiger_, . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "beiträge z. vergl. anat. d. wirbelthiere." _niederländ. archiv zool._, vol. iv. . ( ) w. k. parker. "a monograph on the structure and development of the shoulder-girdle and sternum." _ray soc._ . ( ) h. rathke. _ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. brustbeins d. saurier._ . ( ) g. ruge. "untersuch. üb. entwick. am brustbeine d. menschen." _morphol. jahrbuch._, vol. vi. . the skull. ( ) a. dugès. "recherches sur l'ostéologie et la myologie des batraciens à leur différents âges." paris, _mém. savans étrang._ , and _an. sci. nat._ vol. i. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere_, iii. heft. _das kopfskelet d. selachier._ leipzig, . ( ) günther. _beob. üb. die entwick. d. gehörorgans._ leipzig, . ( ) o. hertwig. "ueb. d. zahnsystem d. amphibien u. seine bedeutung f. d. genese d. skelets d. mundhöhle." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. , suppl. ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the theory of the vertebrate skull." _proc. royal soc._, vol. ix. . ( ) t. h. huxley. _the elements of comparative anatomy._ london, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the malleus and incus." _proc. zool. soc._, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on ceratodus forsteri." _proc. zool. soc._, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "the nature of the craniofacial apparatus of petromyzon." _journ. of anat. and phys._, vol. x. . ( ) t. h. huxley. _the anatomy of vertebrated animals._ london, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the common fowl (gallus domesticus)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull of the common frog (rana temporaria)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the salmon (salmo salar)." bakerian lecture, _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the pig (sus scrofa)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the batrachia." part ii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the urodelous amphibia." part iii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the common snake (tropidonotus natrix)." _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in sharks and skates." _trans. zoolog. soc._, . vol. x. pt. iv. ( ) w. k. parker. "on the structure and development of the skull in the lacertilia." pt. i. lacerta agilis, l. viridis and zootoca vivipara. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker. "the development of the green turtle." _the zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. challenger._ vol. i. pt. v. ( ) w. k. parker. "the structure and development of the skull in the batrachia." pt. iii. _phil. trans._, . ( ) w. k. parker and g. t. bettany. _the morphology of the skull._ london, . ( *) h. rathke. _entwick. d. natter._ königsberg, . ( ) c. b. reichert. "ueber die visceralbogen d. wirbelthiere." _müller's archiv_, . ( ) w. salensky. "beiträge z. entwick. d. knorpeligen gehörknöchelchen." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vi. . vide also kölliker (no. ), especially for the human and mammalian skull; götte (no. ). the pectoral girdle. ( ) bruch. "ueber die entwicklung der clavicula und die farbe des blutes." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, iv. . ( ) a. dugès. "recherches sur l'ostéologie et la myologie des batraciens à leurs différents âges." _mémoires des savants étrang. académie royale des sciences de l'institut de france_, vol. vi. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen zur vergleichenden anatomie der wirbelthiere_, heft. _schultergürtel der wirbelthiere. brustflosse der fische._ leipzig, . ( ) a. götte. "beiträge z. vergleich. morphol. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere, brustbein u. schultergürtel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xiv. . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "beiträge z. vergleichenden anatomie d. wirbelthiere." _niederländisches archiv f. zool._, vol. v. . ( ) w. k. parker. "a monograph on the structure and development of the shoulder-girdle and sternum in the vertebrata." _ray society_, . ( ) h. rathke. _ueber die entwicklung der schildkröten._ braunschweig, . ( ) h. rathke. _ueber den bau und die entwicklung des brustbeins der saurier_, . ( ) a. sabatier. _comparaison des ceintures et des membres antérieurs et postérieurs d. la série d. vertébrés._ montpellier, . ( ) georg 'swirski. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. schultergürtels u. d. skelets d. brustflosse d. hechts._ inaug. diss. dorpat, . the pelvic girdle. ( ) a. bunge. _untersuch. z. entwick. d. beckengürtels d. amphibien, reptilien u. vögel. inaug. diss._ dorpat, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueber d. ausschluss des schambeins von d. pfanne d. hüftgelenkes." _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) th. h. huxley. "the characters of the pelvis in mammalia, etc." _proc. of roy. soc._, vol. xxviii. . ( ) a. sabatier. _comparaison des ceintures et des membres antérieurs et postérieurs dans la série d. vertébrés._ montpellier, . skeleton of the limbs. ( ) m. v. davidoff. "beiträge z. vergleich. anat. d. hinteren gliedmaassen d. fische i." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _untersuchungen z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere._ leipzig, - . erstes heft. carpus u. tarsus. zweites heft. brustflosse d. fische. ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. skelet d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere im allgemeinen u. d. hintergliedmaassen d. selachier insbesondere." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. archipterygium." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "zur morphologie d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. götte. _ueb. entwick. u. regeneration d. gliedmaassenskelets d. molche._ leipzig, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on ceratodus forsteri, with some observations on the classification of fishes." _proc. zool. soc._ . ( ) st george mivart. "on the fins of elasmobranchii." _zoological trans._, vol. x. ( ) a. rosenberg. "ueb. d. entwick. d. extremitäten-skelets bei einigen d. reduction ihrer gliedmaassen charakterisirten wirbelthiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiii. . ( ) e. rosenberg. "ueb. d. entwick. d. wirbelsäule u. d. centrale carpi d. menschen." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. i. . ( ) h. strasser. "z. entwick. d. extremitätenknorpel bei salamandern u. tritonen." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. v. . ( ) g. 'swirski. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. schultergürtels u. d. skelets d. brustflosse d. hechts._ inaug. diss. dorpat, . ( ) j. k. thacker. "median and paired fins. a contribution to the history of the vertebrate limbs." _trans. of the connecticut acad._, vol. iii. . ( ) j. k. thacker. "ventral fins of ganoids." _trans. of the connecticut acad._, vol. iv. . pleural and pericardial cavities. ( ) m. cadiat. "du développement de la partie céphalothoracique de l'embryon, de la formation du diaphragme, des pleures, du péricarde, du pharynx et de l'oesophage." _journal de l'anatomie et de la physiologie_, vol. xiv. . vascular system. _the heart._ ( ) a. c. bernays. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. atrioventricularklappen." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . ( ) e. gasser. "ueber d. entstehung d. herzens beim hühn." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. ( ) a. thomson. "on the development of the vascular system of the foetus of vertebrated animals." _edinb. new phil. journal_, vol. ix. and . ( ) m. tonge. "observations on the development of the semilunar valves of the aorta and pulmonary artery of the heart of the chick." _phil. trans._ clix. . _vide_ also von baer ( ), rathke ( ), hensen ( ), kölliker ( ), götte ( ), and balfour ( ). _the arterial system._ ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. entwick. d. arterien w. bei d. säugethiere von d. bogen d. aorta ausgehen." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) h. rathke. "untersuchungen üb. d. aortenwurzeln d. saurier." _denkschriften d. k. akad. wien_, vol. xiii. . _vide_ also his (no. ) and general works on vertebrate embryology. _the venous system._ ( ) j. marshall. "on the development of the great anterior veins." _phil. trans._, . ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. bildung d. pfortader u. d. lebervenen b. säugethieren." _meckel's archiv_, . ( ) h. rathke. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwick. d. venensystems d. wirbelthiere." _bericht. üb. d. naturh. seminar. d. univ. königsberg_, . _vide_ also von baer (no. ), götte (no. ), kölliker (no. ), and rathke (nos. , , and ). the spleen. ( ) w. müller. "the spleen." _stricker's histology._ ( ) peremeschko. "ueb. d. entwick. d. milz." _sitz. d. wien. akad. wiss._, vol. lvi. . the suprarenal bodies. ( ) m. braun. "bau u. entwick. d. nebennieren bei reptilien." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, vol. v. . ( ) a. v. brunn. "ein beitrag z. kenntniss d. feinern baues u. d. entwick. d. nebennieren." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. viii. . ( ) fr. leydig. _untersuch. üb. fische u. reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) fr. leydig. _rochen u. haie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also f. m. balfour (no. ), kölliker (no. ), remak (no. ), etc. the muscular system of the vertebrata. ( ) g. m. humphry. "muscles in vertebrate animals." _journ. of anat. and phys._, vol. vi. . ( ) j. müller. "vergleichende anatomie d. myxinoiden. part i. osteologie u. myologie." _akad. wiss._, berlin, . ( ) a. m. marshall. "on the head cavities and associated nerves of elasmobranchs." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xxi. . ( ) a. schneider. "anat. u. entwick. d. muskelsystems d. wirbelthiere." _sitz. d. oberhessischen gesellschaft_, . ( ) a. schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . _vide_ also götte (no. ), kölliker (no. ), balfour (no. ), huxley, etc. excretory organs. _invertebrata._ ( ) h. eisig. "die segmentalorgane d. capitelliden." _mitth. a. d. zool. stat. z. neapel_, vol. i. . ( ) j. fraipont. "recherches s. l'appareil excréteur des trematodes et d. cestoïdes." _archives de biologie_, vol. i. . ( ) b. hatschek. "studien üb. entwick. d. anneliden." _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. wien_, vol. i. . ( ) b. hatschek. "ueber entwick. von echiurus," etc. _arbeit. a. d. zool. instit. wien_, vol. iii. . _vertebrata._ _general._ ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. x. . ( ) max. fürbringer[ ]. "zur vergleichenden anat. u. entwick. d. excretionsorgane d. vertebraten." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. iv. . ( ) h. meckel. _zur morphol. d. harn- u. geschlechtswerkz. d. wirbelthiere, etc._ halle, . ( ) joh. müller. _bildungsgeschichte d. genitalien_, etc. düsseldorf, . ( ) h. rathke. "beobachtungen u. betrachtungen ü. d. entwicklung d. geschlechtswerkzeuge bei den wirbelthieren." _n. schriften d. naturf. gesell. in dantzig_, bd. i. . ( ) c. semper[ ]. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen u. seine bedeutung f. d. übrigen wirbelthiere." _arb. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit._ würzburg, vol. ii. . ( ) w. waldeyer[ ]. _eierstock u. ei._ leipzig, . _elasmobranchii._ ( ) a. schultz. "zur entwick. d. selachiereies." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. . _vide_ also semper (no. ) and balfour (no. ). _cyclostomata._ ( ) j. müller. "untersuchungen ü. d. eingeweide d. fische." _abh. d. k. ak. wiss._ berlin, . ( ) w. müller. "ueber d. persistenz d. urniere b. myxine glutinosa." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) w. müller. "ueber d. urogenitalsystem d. amphioxus u. d. cyclostomen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . ( ) a. schneider. _beiträge z. vergleich. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere._ berlin, . ( ) w. b. scott. "beiträge z. entwick. d. petromyzonten." _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vii. . _teleostei._ ( ) j. hyrtl. "das uropoetische system d. knochenfische." _denkschr. d. k. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. rosenberg. _untersuchungen üb. die entwicklung d. teleostierniere._ dorpat, . _vide_ also oellacher (no. ). _amphibia._ ( ) f. h. bidder. _vergleichend-anatomische u. histologische untersuchungen ü. die männlichen geschlechts- und harnwerkzeuge d. nackten amphibien._ dorpat, . ( ) c. l. duvernoy. "fragments s. les organes genito-urinaires des reptiles," etc. _mém. acad. sciences._ paris. vol. xi. , pp. - . ( ) m. fürbringer. _zur entwicklung d. amphibienniere._ heidelberg, . ( ) f. leydig. _anatomie d. amphibien u. reptilien._ berlin, . ( ) f. leydig. _lehrbuch d. histologie._ hamm, . ( ) f. meyer. "anat. d. urogenitalsystems d. selachier u. amphibien." _sitz. d. naturfor. gesellsch._ leipzig, . ( ) j. w. spengel. "das urogenitalsystem d. amphibien." _arb. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg._ vol. iii. . ( ) von wittich. "harn- u. geschlechtswerkzeuge d. amphibien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. iv. _vide_ also götte (no. ). _amniota._ ( ) f. m. balfour and a. sedgwick. "on the existence of a head-kidney in the embryo chick," etc. _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) banks. _on the wolffian bodies of the foetus and their remains in the adult._ edinburgh, . ( ) th. bornhaupt. _untersuchungen üb. die entwicklung d. urogenitalsystems beim hühnchen._ inaug. diss. riga, . ( ) max braun. "das urogenitalsystem d. einheimischen reptilien." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg._ vol. iv. . ( ) j. dansky u. j. kostenitsch. "ueb. d. entwick. d. keimblätter u. d. wolff'schen ganges im hühnerei." _mém. acad. imp. pétersbourg_, vii. series vol. xxvii. . ( ) th. egli. _beiträge zur anat. und entwick. d. geschlechtsorgane._ inaug. diss. zürich, . ( ) e. gasser. _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. allantois, der müller'schen gänge u. des afters._ frankfurt, . ( ) e. gasser. "beob. üb. d. entstehung d. wolff'schen ganges bei embryonen von hühnern u. gänsen." _arch. für mikr. anat._, vol. xiv. . ( ) e. gasser. "beiträge z. entwicklung d. urogenitalsystems d. hühnerembryonen." _sitz. d. gesell. zur beförderung d. gesam. naturwiss._ marburg, . ( ) c. kupffer. "untersuchung über die entwicklung des harn- und geschlechtssystems." _archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. ii. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "development of the kidney in its relation to the wolffian body in the chick." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "on the development of the structure known as the glomerulus of the head-kidney in the chick." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) a. sedgwick. "early development of the wolffian duct and anterior wolffian tubules in the chick; with some remarks on the vertebrate excretory system." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xxi. . ( ) m. watson. "the homology of the sexual organs, illustrated by comparative anatomy and pathology." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiv. . ( ) e. h. weber. _zusätze z. lehre von baue u. d. verrichtungen d. geschlechtsorgane._ leipzig, . _vide_ also remak (no. ), foster and balfour (no. ), his (no. ), kölliker (no. ). generative organs. ( ) g. balbiani. _leçons s. la génération des vertébrés._ paris, . ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. ( ) e. van beneden. "de la distinction originelle du tecticule et de l'ovaire, etc." _bull. ac. roy. belgique_, vol. xxxvii. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. "ueb. d. entstehung d. eier b. eudendrium." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxv. . ( ) h. ludwig. "ueb. d. eibildung im theirreiche." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. i. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen, etc." _arbeit. a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . ( ) a. weismann. "zur frage nach dem ursprung d. geschlechtszellen bei den hydroiden." _zool. anzeiger_, no. , . _vide_ also o. and r. hertwig (no. ), kölliker (no. ), etc. alimentary canal and its appendages. ( ) b. afanassiew. "ueber bau u. entwicklung d. thymus d. säugeth." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, bd. xiv. . ( ) fr. boll. _das princip d. wachsthums._ berlin, . ( ) e. gasser. "die entstehung d. cloakenöffnung bei hühnerembryonen." _archiv f. anat. u. physiol., anat. abth._ . ( ) a. götte. _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. darmkanals im hühnchen._ . ( ) w. müller. "ueber die entwickelung der schilddrüse." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. . ( ) w. müller. "die hypobranchialrinne d. tunicaten." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) s. l. schenk. "die bauchspeicheldrüse d. embryo." _anatomischphysiologische untersuchungen._ . ( ) e. selenka. "beitrag zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. luftsäcke d. huhns." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ . ( ) l. stieda. _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. glandula thymus, glandula thyroidea, u. glandula carotica._ leipzig, . ( ) c. fr. wolff. "de formatione intestinorum." _nov. comment. akad. petrop._ . ( ) a. wölfler. _ueb. d. entwick. u. d. bau d. schilddrüse._ berlin, . _vide_ also kölliker ( ), götte ( ), his ( and ), foster and balfour ( ), balfour ( ), remak ( ), schenk ( ), etc. _teeth._ ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the enamel and dentine of teeth." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. iii. . ( ) r. owen. _odontography._ london, - . ( ) ch. s. tomes. _manual of dental anatomy, human and comparative._ london, . ( ) ch. s. tomes. "on the development of teeth." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xvi. . ( ) w. waldeyer. "structure and development of teeth." _stricker's histology._ . _vide_ also kölliker ( ), gegenbaur ( ), hertwig ( ), etc. [ ] the papers of fürbringer, semper and waldeyer contain full references to the literature of the vertebrate excretory organs. cambridge: printed by c. j. clay, m.a. & son, at the university press. transcriber's notes: words in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. superscripts are preceded with a carat: so^i, so^{ii}. subscripts, all of which are in the caption to figure , are enclosed in double braces: chd{{ }}. footnotes were indented, renumbered sequentially, and moved to follow the paragraph in which the related anchor occurs. in the bibliography for chapter , entries ( ), ( ), and ( ) have the same footnote anchor, [ ]; in the final bibliography, these appear as duplicate footnote anchors [ ]. illustrations and captions were indented and placed within brackets. section headers in chapter were changed from small caps to italics, for consistency with formatting in the remaining chapters. punctuation and hyphenation were standardized; missing letters were added. where the greek capital letter lambda appears, it is spelled out. changes to text: chapter - 'mesoblastis' to 'mesoblast is' ... mesoblast is divided ... chapter - 'vescicle' to 'vesicle' ... blastodermic vesicle ... chapter - added italic markup to 'e.g.' chapter - removed duplicate 'in' from ...being thrust in in front... chapter - change reference from ( ) to ( ) ...this ganglion, as first suggested by schwalbe (no. ) chapter - removed duplicate &# ;in&# ; from ... being thrust in in front ... chapter , - in the discussion of fig. , added missing close parenthesis after 'etc.' chapter - 'contrictor' to 'constrictor' ... musculus constrictor superficialis ... chapter - removed duplicate 'in' from ... and pushed in in its middle ... footnote - added final 's' to 'nervensystems' fig. - added 'yolk' as definition to abbreviation 'yk.' in caption fig. - 'mc' to 'me' in reference to ventral surface fig. - 'malphigian' to 'malpighian' in nd paragraph of caption fig. - removed italics from 'thyroid involution' for consistency bibliography item ( ) - 'hünchens' to 'hühnchens' bibliography item ( ) - 'jhiere' to 'thiere' bibliography item ( ) - 'brustbien' to 'brustbein' anomalies noted, but left unchanged: periods after abbreviations of mr., dr., st., etc. were omitted. abbreviations in the captions usually conclude with a period, which is missing in most illustrations, and is usually missing in the text discussing the illustration; occasionally, periods are used in the abbreviation in the illustration, but not in the caption. fig. - reference to 'medullary canal' in text is shown as 'neural canal' in the figure. fig. - the abbreviation for neural canal is identified in the illustration as "m.c." fig. - 'iaa' in caption doesn't match 'laa' in illustration. fig. - abbr 'a.' is used for both amnion and urachus in the caption and illustration. bibliography header is missing between footnote and reference ( ). bibliography item ( ) does not have a series or volume number identified in the original. there are no bibliography items numbered ( ) or ( ). transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). * * * * * [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury._ _printed at lyons, france._ cassowary. the female cassowary is larger than her mate, and her colouring is of equal brilliancy.] the . . living animals of the world a popular natural history an interesting description of beasts, birds, fishes reptiles, insects, etc., with authentic anecdotes vol. ii. birds, reptiles and amphibians, fishes jointed animals molluscs, etc. by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. sir herbert maxwell, f.r.s. w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. f. g. aflalo, f.z.s. w. saville-kent, f.l.s., f.z.s. john bickerdyke, m.a. theodore wood, f.e.s. with illustrations (including coloured plates) from photographs [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park_] london: hutchinson & co., paternoster row printed by hazell, watson and viney, ld., london and aylesbury. vol. ii. contents. _book ii. birds._ chap. page i. the ostrich and its kindred ii. the game-birds and rails iii. pigeons and sand-grouse iv. auks, gulls, and plovers v. bustards and cranes vi. grebes and divers, penguins, and tube-nosed birds vii. storks, herons, and pelican tribe viii. screamers, ducks, geese, and swans ix. birds of prey and owls x. night-jars, swifts, and humming-birds xi. parrots, cuckoos, and plantain-eaters xii. rollers, kingfishers, hornbills, and hoopoes xiii. bee-eaters, motmots, todies, colies, and trogons xiv. toucans, honey-guides, jacamars and puff-birds, barbets and woodpeckers xv. perching-birds xvi. larks, titmice, honey-eaters, and their kindred xvii. shrikes, thrushes and their allies, swallows, lyre-birds, chatterers, broad-bills, etc. _book iii. reptiles and amphibians._ i. crocodiles and alligators ii. tortoises and turtles iii. lizards iv. chamÆleons and tuatera v. snakes vi. frogs and toads vii. newts and salamanders _book iv. fishes._ i. lung-fishes and chimÆras ii. the perch family iii. scaly-fins, red mullets, sea-breams, scorpion-fishes, slime-heads, tassel-fish, meagres, and sword-fishes iv. hair-tails, horse-mackerels, sea-bats, dories, mackerels, sucking-fishes, weavers, frog-fishes, angler-fishes, bull-heads, and gurnards v. lump-suckers, gobies, blennies, barracudas, grey mullets, sticklebacks and their allies, garpike, and flying-fishes vi. the wrasse-like fishes vii. pipe-fishes, sea-horses, globe-fishes, sun-fishes, and their allies viii. the cod family ix. cave-fishes, sand-eels and their allies, and flat-fishes x. eels and cat-fishes xi. the carp family xii. pikes, arapaimas, beaked salmon, and scopelids xiii. the salmon family xiv. the herring and its kindred xv. bony pike, bow-fin, sturgeon, reed-fish, and bichir xvi. sharks and rays _book v. jointed animals._ i. the crab and scorpion groups ii. insects _book vi. shell-fish, lamp-shells, sea-urchins, star-fishes, moss-animals, worms, corals, jelly-fishes, and sponges._ i. shell-fish, or molluscs ii. lamp-shells iii. star-fishes, sea-urchins, etc. iv. moss-animals v. worms vi. corals, sea-anemones, and jelly-fishes vii. sponges and animalcules coloured plates. _facing page_ cassowary crowned crane australian cockatoo--macaw--male ruff in full breeding-plumage-- laughing-jackass hoopoe flying waxbills--indigo finches green and ocellated lizards the west african python western australian scarlet rock-cod-- freemantle devil-fish, or armed gurnard a salmon leaping goliath beetle--brazilian bee--grasshopper-- candle-fly--australian robber-fly-- japanese analophus croesus butterfly of batchian portion of inshore coral reef at thursday island, torres straits illustrations in the text. page rufous tinamou, brazil rhea and young rhea and young ones rhea lying down rheas in tring park white rheas ostrich standing beside her eggs ostriches ten days old an ostrich family a group of cock ostriches sclater's cassowary nest and eggs of emeu young emeus five days old young emeus emeu mantell's kiwi owen's kiwi red grouse ptarmigan capercallie common partridge texan bob-white golden pheasant , silver pheasant english pheasants reeves's pheasant amherst's pheasant peacock-pheasant temminck's tragopan chinese tragopan himalayan monal red cochins brown leghorn cock silver-spangled hamburgs dark bramas silver wyandotte hen with pheasant chicks peacock back view of peacock black-chested crested guinea-fowl nest of brush-turkey at woburn abbey turkey cock and hen wallace's painted megapode razor-billed curassow crested curassow hoatzin weka-rail water-rail a pair of young pigeons in nest southern fruit-pigeon nicobar imperial fruit-pigeons new guinea crowned pigeon wonga-wonga pigeon male black-bellied sand-grouse white tern terns on a shingle bank herring-gull young herring-gulls in the grey phase of plumage stone-curlew, or thick-knee curlew woodcock oyster-catcher on its nest denham's bustard great bustards indian bustards stanley crane common crane , manchurian crane wattled crane seriema white-backed trumpeters great crested grebe black-throated divers rock-hopper penguin black-footed penguin black-footed penguins bathing king-penguin nesting albatrosses white-capped albatross carting albatross eggs fulmar petrel whale-headed stork white storks adjutant-stork jabiru stork flamingoes , european flamingoes spoonbill sacred ibis young herons fourteen days old in nest great blue heron common night-heron young common herons green heron buff-backed heron indian cattle-egret common bittern egyptian pelican crested pelican young australian pelican young pelicans cormorant frigate-birds at home young gannets, first year gannet, second year gannet, full plumage gannets on the bass rock crested screamer, or chaka aylesbury duck pochard eider-duck sheldrake paradise-ducks cape barren goose australian pygmy goose black-necked swan trumpeter- and whooper-swans australian black swans and cygnets condor king-vulture black vultures californian vulture secretary-bird egyptian kite australian osprey bearded vulture griffon-vulture rüppell's vulture angolan vulture pondicherry vulture egyptian vulture wedge-tailed eagle american sparrow-hawk vociferous sea-eagle imperial eagle crested eagle chilian sea-eagle rough-legged buzzard martial hawk-eagle peregrine falcon spectacled owl eagle-owl virginian eagle-owl american long-eared owl tawny owl screech-owl barn-owl common night-jar pennant-winged night-jar more-porks , swift edible swift ruby-throated humming-birds kea new zealand kea new zealand kaka black cockatoo cockatoo leadbeater's cockatoo macaw blue mountain-parrots young cuckoo ejecting egg pheasant-cuckoo cuckoo one day old in hedge-sparrow's nest young cuckoo young cuckoo in reed-warbler's nest australian laughing-kingfisher kingfishers at home laughing-kingfishers kingfisher laughing-jackass crested hornbill concave-casqued hornbill, india ground-hornbill hoopoe bee-eater racket-tailed motmot trogon curl-crested toucan honey-guide a family of greater spotted woodpeckers lesser spotted woodpeckers american crow jackdaws young american blue jay a pair of magpies cornish chough king bird of paradise queensland rifle-bird red bird of paradise young starlings common starling meadow-lark (natural size) hawfinch young chaffinches house-sparrows bullfinch greenfinch linnet skylarks young skylarks nuthatch marsh-tit great tit coal-tits red-backed shrikes australian magpie reed-warbler song-thrush young thrush blackbird robin nightingale stone-chat a pair of wrens common wrens young swallows sand-martins victorian lyre-bird tail of australian lyre-bird bell-bird cock-of-the-walk young nile crocodile young broad-snouted crocodile a dead crocodile a crocodile a queensland crocodile crocodile, well illustrating the character of the dentition crocodiles and alligators, with young a crocodile from southern united states mississippi and chinese alligators asiatic tortoises european tortoise elephant-tortoises from the galapagos islands elephant-tortoise giant or elephant-tortoises from the galapagos islands giant tortoise a giant tortoise with a european tortoise on its back elephant-tortoise snapping-turtle temminck's snapper newly hatched turtles enjoying their first swim cuban terrapins blind-worm glass-snake, or scheltopusik burmese geckos madeiran geckos flying-dragon of java frilled lizard at bay with expanded frill frilled lizard with frill folded up frilled lizard running on its hind legs ( views) australian tree-lizard australian water-lizard australian jew or bearded lizards bearded lizard a young bearded lizard australian york or mountain-devil spinous lizard, or mountain-devil a group of mountain-devils of central australia horned toad , tuberculated iguana small viviparous lizard wall-lizard banded iguanas south african girdled lizard arizona heloderm (poisonous lizard) white monitor green lizard ocellated lizards at home röntgen ray photograph of ocellated lizard common skink australian stump-tailed lizards blue-tongued lizards spine-tailed lizards, western australia chamæleons asleep a chamæleon in a rage common chamæleon of south europe and north africa a chamæleon shooting out its tongue to capture a fly a photograph of a chamæleon in the act of catching a butterfly tuatera of new zealand a tame tuatera dark green snake , a small boa-constrictor seizing and devouring a rat boa-constrictor ready to strike carpet-snake Æsculapian snake a group of garter-snakes leopard-snake tesselated snake pine-snake cobra (back view) queensland sea-snake english viper african puff-adder diamond-back rattle-snake rattle-snake fer-de-lance snake bull-frog american bull-frog edible frog tiger-like frog röntgen ray photograph of common frog ornamented horned toad european green tree-frog queensland tree-frogs common toad , common or smooth newt smooth newt spotted salamanders yellow phase of spotted salamanders australian lung-fish bottle-nosed chimæra white perch sea-bass large-mouthed black bass butter-fish american "sun-fish" the miscalled archer-fish striped red mullet brown snapper red sea-bream snapper king-snapper australian groper indian weaver-fish ragged sea-scorpion stone-fish tassel-fish sword-fish snoek fringed horse mackerel horse-mackerel john dories , long-finned dory sucking-fish larger weaver angler-fish butterfly-gurnard reel-gurnard bar-tailed flat-head rock flat-head lump-sucker blenny northern mullet red mullet garpikes pipe-fish flying-fish spotted wrasse satin parrot-fish black-spotted parrot-fish a wrasse globe-fish black-spotted globe-fish trigger-fish coffer-fishes lace-finned leather-jacket spotted box- or trunk-fish sea-horses whiting pollack-whiting spotted sole halibut brill eels conger-eel cat-fish painted eels from bermuda cat-fishes carp gold-fish pike pikerel "sergeant baker" beaked salmon queensland smelt salmon-trout american salmon-trout from diamond lake, new zealand smelt ox-eyed herring queensland lung-fish australian pilchards bony pike sturgeon sterlet bicher , wollibong, or carpet-shark spotted shark basking-shark ocellated dog-fish indian sting-ray horned ox-ray, or devil-fish whip-tailed sting-ray shovel-nosed skate painted skate barnacles a pair of barnacles acorn-barnacle wood-louse shrimp fresh-water crab spider-crab blue crab fighting crabs egyptian scorpion tree trap-door spider of brazil house-spider garden-spider in web spanish tarantula giant centipede giant millipede tiger-beetle ground-beetle great brown water-beetle (male) black water-beetle two burying-beetles male stag-beetle skipjack beetle hercules beetle flying cockchafer on daisy harlequin beetle jumping-beetle, allied to the turnip-flea reed-beetle musk-beetle earwig american cockroach stick-insect walking leaf-insects house-cricket mole-cricket long-horned grasshopper cape grasshopper (female) egyptian locust wart-eating grasshopper (two views) dragon-fly queen termite termites termite's nests in queensland termites at work termites' nest scorpion-fly adult form of ant-lion large caddis-fly saw-fly marble gall-fly and gall tree-wasp tree wasp's nest pine-boring wasp (female) pine-boring wasp (male) ichneumon-fly ruby-tailed fly wood-ant solitary ant (male and female) hornet hive-bee (queen, worker, and drone) bumble-bee on everlasting-pea bees leaf-butterfly south american long-winged butterflies diana fritillary queen of spain fritillary tawny admiral caterpillar of tawny admiral blue butterfly blue morpho butterfly and humming-bird large blue butterfly mazarine blue butterfly long-tailed blue butterfly bloxworth blue butterfly large copper butterfly dusky copper butterfly new guinea golden butterfly australian butterflies bath white butterfly green-veined white butterfly black-veined white butterfly orange-tip large grizzled skipper butterfly swallow-tailed butterfly elephant hawk-moths luna moths polyphemus moth cecropia moth imperial moth cocoons of cypress-moth cypress-moths at rest cypress-moths cypress-caterpillars death's-head moth day-flying moth of madagascar convolvulus hawk-moth great peacock-moth polyphemus moth white plume-moth indian swallow-tailed moth shield-bug juniper-bug lace-wing bug masked bug great water-bug indian candle-fly aphis scale-insects cicada and pupæ brown mosquito hornet robber-fly daddy-long-legs hover-fly rat-tailed larva house-fly (male and female) blue-bottle fly, or blow-fly , tsetse-fly bee-fly an octopus crouching in a rock-pool an octopus on its back at bay, left high and dry by the retreating tide octopods a tasmanian squid, or cuttle-fish shell of the pearly nautilus shell of the argonaut, or paper-nautilus limpets, whelks, and barnacles shell beach, abrolhos islands great clam-shell on coral-reef giant clam-shells on the great barrier reef, as exposed at extreme low tide highly magnified tongue of a sea-snail a scorpion-shell rock-oysters a queensland oyster-bank southern cross pearl, valued at £ , pearl-shell with group of golden pearls queensland pearls on black-lipped pearl-shell pearl produced by operation on the animal common or short-spined sea-urchin long-spined sea-urchins thick-spined sea-urchin star-fish in water star-fish, out of water, turning over a young brittle star-fish (much magnified) a branching-armed brittle-star sea-cucumbers, some with extended tentacles sea-cucumber, or bêche-de-mer prickly sea-cucumber black sea-cucumber moss-animals tube-worms sea-worms, or nereids sea-mice portion of the great barrier reef of australia a mushroom-coral fully expanded mushroom-corals, with the anemone-like polyp expanded part of the great barrier reef of australia portion of a stag's-horn coral a clump of stag's-horn coral bleached corals from the great barrier reef a queensland star-coral a giant anemone from the great barrier reef a giant sea-anemone frilled sponge reticulated sponge portuguese bird's-nest sponge chalina sponge cup-sponges shells of forams highly magnified noctilucas polycysts the living animals of the world. ---- _book ii. birds._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. ---- chapter i. _the ostrich and its kindred._ the ostriches are a very ancient group of birds, and, judging from what we know of their anatomy, they must be regarded as representing the most primitive of living birds. with the exception of a single group, to be discussed presently, all have lost the power of flight. in some, in consequence, the wing has become reduced to a mere vestige. it is a rule in nature, we may remark, that whenever an organ, such as a wing or a leg or a tail, ceases to be useful, it undergoes forthwith a slow process of reduction or degeneration, growing smaller and smaller in each successive generation, till at last it may even disappear altogether. the loss of flight has been accompanied by a degeneration in the quality of the feathers--that is to say, their serviceability as aids to flight has been entirely lost. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ rufous tinamou, brazil. the tail-feathers of these birds are so small as to appear to be wanting.] the size of the members of this group varies much. the largest of all is the african ostrich; the smallest, of the flightless forms, the new zealand apteryx. the ostrich-like birds which have retained the power of flight are known as tinamous, and are natives of south america. all these are smaller than the flightless apteryx. [illustration: _photo by h. noble, esq._] [_henley._ rhea and young. although the wings of the rhea are large, they fit so closely to the body as to be invisible when closed.] tinamous. the tinamous should perhaps be regarded as standing at the head of the ostrich tribe, since they have reached a higher degree of development than any other of its members. they have also preserved the power of flight. in their general appearance they bear a singular resemblance to partridges, though a little careful observation will reveal many points wherein they differ therefrom. they are very confiding and unsuspicious birds--some persons call them stupid on this account--and in the early morning the species inhabiting the argentine pampas will, observers tell us, come right up to the isolated houses of the settlers, so that the boys knock them down with stones. the delicate quality of the flesh has caused these birds to be highly esteemed as food, and their trustful nature renders them an easy prey, so much so that in some districts they have been almost exterminated. large numbers are caught by riding round them in a circle and securing them with a noose. mr. hudson, who lived many years in the pampas, assures us that the great tinamou is one of the sweetest-voiced of the native birds. the song is composed of "five modulated notes, flute-like in character, and very expressive, and is uttered by many individuals answering each other as they sit far apart, concealed in the grass." the eggs of the tinamous are to be reckoned among the wonders of bird life, being so highly burnished as to look like beautifully glazed porcelain. the colour varies according to the species, ranging from wine-red, blue-green, and brown to black. the young are almost as remarkable as the eggs, being clothed with a peculiar down, of great complexity of structure, and resembling in some respects the nestling down of the true ostrich. the rhea. [illustration: _photo by h. noble, esq._] [_henley._ rhea and young ones. although frequently bred in this country, the young do not seem to be easily reared.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ rhea lying down. the breast of the larger members of the ostrich tribe is provided with a large horny plate, on which they support the body when resting.] the rhea is a native of south america. it is frequently referred to as the south american ostrich, and also as the nandu. the resemblance which it bears to the true ostrich is striking, but it may at once be distinguished therefrom by the fact that it has three toes and a feathered head and neck; furthermore, it is smaller in size, and lacks the conspicuous white wing- and tail-plumes. the tail, indeed, as may be seen from the photographs reproduced is wanting. the rhea must be regarded as standing at the head of the flightless members of the ostrich tribe. its wings, though not large enough to raise its heavy body from the ground, are yet of considerable size. in buenos aires rheas are hunted with dogs. if a breeze is blowing, the birds raise one wing, which acts as a sail. this done, they can acquire a speed which makes it absolutely impossible for either dog or horse to come up with them. the only chance of ultimately capturing them is by wearing them out by ceaseless pursuit. a chase of this kind may last an hour and a half. needless to say, for sport of this kind both horses and dogs must be the best of their kind and in "good form." the natives and indians hunt them on horseback with the "bolas." the bolas, or balls, used for this purpose consist of two round stones covered with leather, and united by a thong of about feet long. one of these is held in the hand and the other whirled round the head and suddenly released, when both go whirling madly round till they strike the rhea's legs, around which they instantly twist, and the victim is a fast prisoner. the rhea is in danger of disappearing altogether as a wild bird, owing to the ruthless slaughter which is made upon it for the sake of its feathers. for some years back, mr. harting tells us, "the number of birds killed has averaged , per annum, and, as a consequence, the species has already disappeared from nearly half the territory of the river plate." on some estates in argentina the wild birds are driven in and plucked. like most of the ostrich tribe, the male alone performs the duties of incubation, hatching some twenty eggs at a time, the produce of several different females. there are three different kinds of rhea, but they do not differ much one from another. the young are curiously striped. the egg is very large, of a cream colour, and deeply pitted. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ rheas in tring park. in spite of its large size, the rhea is not a conspicuous bird in a wild state, the grey plumage harmonising perfectly with the surrounding pampas.] darwin, in his "voyage of the beagle," tells us that when he was "at bahia blanca, in the months of september and october, the eggs, in extraordinary numbers, were found all over the country. they lie either scattered and single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by the spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a shallow excavation which forms the nest. out of the four nests which i saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. in one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found: forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining twenty scattered huachos. the gauchos unanimously affirm--and there is no reason to doubt their statement--that the male bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the young. the cock, when on the nest, lies very close: i have myself almost ridden over one. it is asserted that at such times they are occasionally fierce and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. my informer pointed out to me an old man whom he had seen much terrified by one chasing him.... i understand that the male emu in the zoological gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit, therefore, is common to the family. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ white rheas. these are only varieties of the common form, not a distinct breed.] "the gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one nest. i have been positively told that four or five hen birds have been watched to go, in the middle of the day, one after another, to the same nest.... although this habit at first appears very strange, i think the cause may be explained in a simple manner. the number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty, and even fifty; and according to azara even seventy or eighty. now, although it is most probable, from the number of the eggs found in one district being so extraordinarily great in proportion to the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of the hen, that she may, in the course of the season, lay a large number, yet the time required must be very long.... if the hen was obliged to hatch her own eggs before the last was laid, the first probably would be addled; but if each laid a few eggs at successive periods in different nests, and several hens ... combined together, then the eggs in one collection would be nearly of the same age. if the number of eggs in one of these nests is, as i believe, not greater on an average than the number laid by one female in the season, then there must be as many nests as females, and each cock bird will have its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that during a period when the females probably could not sit, from not having finished laying. i have before mentioned the great number of huachos, or deserted eggs; and that in one day's hunting twenty were found in this state. it appears odd that so many should be wasted. does it not arise from the difficulty of several females associating together, and finding a male ready to undertake the office of incubation? it is obvious that there must at first be some degree of association between at least two females, otherwise the eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances far too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest: some ... have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for the young birds to feed on. this can hardly be the case ... because huachos, although often found addled and putrid, are generally whole." the ostrich. the ostrich is the giant amongst living birds, the full-grown male standing some feet high, and weighing about lbs. it is flightless, the wings being smaller, in proportion to the size of the body, than in the rhea. but the energy which in other birds is employed in sustaining flight in the ostrich is expended in running, so that it has reached a high degree of speed--no less, in fact, than twenty-six miles an hour. when at full speed, it is generally believed the ostrich derives no small help from the wings, which are used sail-wise. nor is this belief by any means a modern one, for all of us must be familiar with job's observations on this subject: "what time she lifteth up her wings on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider." the wings are never used in running at full speed, but are of much service in turning, "enabling the bird to double abruptly, even when going at top speed." in justice to the older observers, however, it must be remarked that ostriches do run with raised wings, but only at the commencement of the run, or in covering a short distance, when the pace may be considerable; but if circumstances demand "full speed ahead," they are held close to the body, where they offer the least resistance to speed. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ ostrich standing beside her eggs. in a wild state both cock and hen take part in the preparation of the nest.] with the gradual perfection of its running powers, there has followed a gradual change in the form of the leg. this change has taken place by reduction in the number of the toes. of the original five with which its ancestors began life only two now remain--the third and fourth. the third is of great size, having apparently waxed great at the expense of the other toes, a growth which seems to be still in progress, inasmuch as the fourth toe is undoubtedly dwindling. it is very small, and gives unmistakable signs of growing smaller, since it has now become nailless. when it has quite disappeared, the ostrich, like the horse, will have but a single toe on each foot--the third. the dainty, mincing step of the ostrich is a delight to watch, and, thanks to the zoological gardens, this can be done even in smoky london. the ostrich, like its cousin of south america, the rhea, commonly associates with herds of the larger mammalia. on the south african veldt the companions of the ostrich are the zebra, wildebeest, and hartebeest, just as on the pampas of south america the rheas are found associated with herds of deer and guanaco. the egg of the ostrich weighs about lbs., and is of delicious flavour. the empty shell, it has been found by experiment, is large enough to hold the contents of eighteen eggs of the common domesticated fowl. it takes about forty minutes to boil an ostrich egg hard. about fifteen eggs represent the clutch. the nest is a mere depression in the sand. the hen sits by day, and her mate by night; but the eggs are _never_ left, as is sometimes stated, to the heat of the sun, so as to lessen the duties of the parent. such a course would infallibly destroy the eggs, for the sun's rays, especially at noon, are very powerful. the male and female ostrich differ much in coloration. in the former the trunk is clothed in a vestment of richest black, whilst the quills of the wings and tail-feathers are of pure white: they form the much-prized ostrich plumes. the female is much less splendid, being clothed in sober grey. but these colours are not merely ornamental; they render the male by night and the female by day invisible, owing to the perfect harmony they make with their surroundings, thus affording an interesting illustration of protective coloration. "all ostriches," says mr. cronwright schreiner, "adults as well as chicks, have a strange habit known as 'waltzing.' when chicks are let out from a kraal in the early morning, they will often start away at a great pace. after running for a few hundred yards they will all stop, and, with wings raised, spin round rapidly for some time, often till quite giddy, when a broken leg occasionally occurs. adult birds, when running in large camps, will often, if the veldt is good, do the same, especially if startled in the fresh of the early morning. a troop of birds waltzing, in full plumage, is a remarkably pretty sight. vicious cocks 'roll' when challenging to fight, also when wooing the hen. the cock will suddenly bump down on to his 'knees' ... open his wings, making a straight line across his breast, and then swing them alternately backwards and forwards ... as if on a pivot, each wing, as it comes forward, being raised, while that going backward is depressed. the neck is lowered until the head is on a level with the back, and the head and neck swing from side to side with the wings, the back of the head striking with a loud click against the ribs, first on the one side and then on the other. the click is produced by the skin of the neck, which then bulges loosely just under the beak and for some distance downwards. while 'rolling,' every feather over the whole body is on end, and the plumes are open, like a large white fan. at such a time the bird sees very imperfectly, if at all; in fact, he seems so preoccupied that, if pursued, one may often approach unnoticed. i have walked up to a 'rolling' cock and seized him by the neck, much to his surprise. just before rolling, a cock, especially if courting the hen, will often run slowly and daintily on the points of his toes, with neck slightly inflated, upright and rigid, the tail half drooped, and all his body-feathers fluffed up; the wings raised and expanded, the inside edges touching the sides of the neck for nearly the whole of its length, and the plumes showing separately, like an open fan ... on each side of his head. in no other attitude is the splendid beauty of his plumage displayed to such advantage." [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ ostriches ten days old. the down-feathers of young ostriches are quite different from those of other birds, the tips of each being produced into a horny ribbon.] the males are very fierce while guarding their eggs or fighting for mates, and kick with extraordinary violence with their powerful legs. as an example of their fierceness when aroused, mr. cronwright schreiner, who knows much of these birds, relates a story, told him by a railway-guard, of an old male who charged a goods-train coming at full speed down a steep gradient. the bird, as soon as he caught sight of the train, at once got on the line, "and advanced fearlessly to fight the monster. as the screeching engine approached, he rushed at it from straight in front, hissing angrily, and kicked. he was cut to pieces the next moment." [illustration: _photo by mr. glenday_] [_cape town._ an ostrich family. the cock bird is an unusually fine specimen, measuring exactly feet from head to foot.] the bedouin tribes hunt the ostrich on dromedaries, so also do the natives of somaliland, and when near enough shoot it with poisoned arrows. in the sahara, canon tristram tells us it is ridden down on horseback, a method of capture which the sahara sportsman regards as the greatest feat of hunting. "the bushmen," says mr. harting, "like the somalis, kill the ostrich with poisoned arrows, or catch it very cleverly in pit-falls or with the lasso, and the sukurieh and hadendawah tribes likewise use the lasso, with which the bird, when once fairly caught, is strangled.... a favourite plan is to wait for the birds in a place of concealment, as near as possible to the pools to which they come for water, and then, with a gun loaded with swan-shot, to fire at their necks as they stoop to drink, when perhaps half a dozen are laid low at once.... another plan to which the bushman often resorts is simpler still. having found an ostrich's nest, he removes all the eggs, and, ensconcing himself in the nest, quietly awaits the return of the bird, which he shoots with a poisoned arrow before it has time to recover from its surprise at finding him there instead of the eggs.... in senaar the abû-rôf bring it down by throwing a curved flat stick from ½ to feet long, not unlike the australian boomerang, and made of tough acacia-wood or hard zizyphus." [illustration: _photo by schroeder_] [_zurich._ a group of cock ostriches. note the conspicuous tail in these birds; it is wanting in other members of the ostrich tribe.] mr. arthur glynn, of leydenburg, gives a graphic description of an ostrich hunt, his quarry being a troop of twenty birds--"on sighting which," he tells us, "we immediately gave chase, discovering directly afterwards that a single bull wildebeeste was among them. after a stiff gallop," he says, "of half a mile, we got within seventy yards of the troop; so reining in, we both dismounted and fired, bringing down one ostrich and the wildebeeste bull.... we quickly mounted and continued the pursuit, the ostriches never running for any distance in a direct course, but always turning and twisting, which made it difficult for us to keep them in sight.... we went sailing on, neck and neck, regardless of holes or anything else, only thinking of the grandly plumaged birds in front of us, our horses straining every nerve to overtake them, as only old stagers know how to run when in pursuit of game. we had now approached within fifty yards, and, jumping down, we fired at two cock birds running separately from the troop, bringing them both down. hastily mounting, we continued on after the retreating troop; but at this juncture my friend's horse trod in a hole, sending his rider over his head, thereby completely putting him out of the run. i now continued the chase by myself. for a mile the ostriches gained on me, as they continued to run in a straight line, thereby not enabling me to cut off any point, but obliging me to keep in their rear all the time.... i got off twice, and fired several fruitless shots, and then continued the chase for certainly two miles without dismounting once.... i now got within a hundred yards, and jumped down.... the first shot i fired brought down a fine cock bird, but the second struck the ground over the others, turning them to the right along a low ridge. they appeared very much exhausted, and ran with their wings spread out.... i saw that they were coming direct for me, and waited until they were close.... when the ostriches approached within fifteen yards, i selected the best-looking bird, and put a bullet through him. he ran on for about twenty yards and fell dead." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ sclater's cassowary. this bird is not yet full grown, the horny casque on the top of the head being much larger in the adult.] cassowaries and emeus. with the cassowaries and emeus we have come as near as we can get at the present day to the representatives of the ancient type from which the ostrich tribe have sprung. but both these forms are to be regarded as having passed the prime of their development, for, like their allies which we have already considered, they have lost the power of flight. both emeu and cassowary possess, when adult, one character shared by no other living adult bird: they have what may be called double feathers, each feather possessing two shafts of equal length. they appear to follow a custom of their own in the matter of the coloration of their eggs, since these are never white, like those of the rhea or ostrich, but green, with a very rough surface. the young, like those of the rhea, are striped with alternate black and white stripes. the emeu is found only on the continent of australia; the cassowary occurs both in australia and on the neighbouring islands of new guinea, ceram, and aru. the lot of the cassowary appears to have been cast in pleasant places, making it possible to indulge in the luxury of personal decoration--a decoration, moreover, shared equally by the males and females, both sexes having the head and neck most brilliantly coloured. in some species all the hues of the rainbow are vividly reflected. to show these colours, the feathery covering, still worn by their relatives on the distant continents of africa and america, has been cast off and the skin left bare. to these gorgeous hues they have added yet other features, for the head is surmounted in many species by a huge casque, or helmet; whilst from the neck depend curious fleshy lobes, or wattles, coloured in accordance with the rest of the bare, coloured skin of this region. then, too, they have effected quite a novel transformation in the quills of the wing, for these project on either side of the body in a series of shining black spines. nor is this all, for over and above the energy which they have to spare for personal decoration is a very large reserve to be expended in fighting. the males are very pugnacious, and to give point to this pugnacity they wear a very formidable weapon on the inner toe in the shape of a huge nail, which can inflict a really dangerous wound. it is used in kicking, the foot being brought forwards and downwards with incredible speed and great force. when wounded, these powerful birds are very dangerous to approach. "on more than one occasion a wounded bird has caused a naturalist to take to a tree. the sharp nail of the inner toe is a most dangerous weapon, quite equal to the claw of a large kangaroo, and capable of doing quite as much execution." [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ nest and eggs of emeu. the feet of the old bird, which was standing near, can be seen behind the eggs.] although forest-haunting birds--wherein they differ from their allies, which are plain-dwellers--the cassowaries are adepts at swimming. there is a danger that these beautiful and interesting birds will slowly be exterminated by greedy and thoughtless settlers. the australian cassowary is already decreasing sadly, being persecuted for the sake of its skin, which is used for rugs and doormats. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ young emeus five days old. young emeus just out of the shell have the legs beautifully spotted, but these spots are rapidly lost.] the emeu, though a sort of cousin of the cassowary, boasts none of its splendour; on the contrary, it is a dull, dowdy-looking bird. in size, however, it is much larger than the cassowary. the wings, which are exceedingly small, have numerous tiny quill-feathers--not long, hard spines, as in the cassowary. when in captivity, it exhibits great curiosity; furthermore, it is swift to realise symptoms of fear in the faces of any visitor whom it may have under inspection. occasionally fear turns into flight, and then, thoroughly entering into the joke, the emeu pursues at top speed. needless to say, hunting of this kind can only be done in fairly large paddocks or parks; but emeus are frequently so kept. a very remarkable and quite unique structure in the emeu is a curious bag or pouch, formed by a sort of out-pocketing of the inner lining of the windpipe. emerging through a long slit caused by the incompleteness of some of the rings near the middle of the windpipe, the pouch comes to lie between this tube and the skin. strangely enough, it is found only in the female, and is used by her chiefly during the breeding-season, when she utters a peculiarly loud booming note, which, it is supposed, is caused by the manipulation of the air in the pouch. when moved by any gentle excitement or pleasure, especially on damp evenings or in the dead of night, she also becomes musical, giving forth a note which has been likened to a gong or muffled drum. the male, which is smaller, fleeter of foot, and more docile and inquisitive, is mute, or at most gives forth a suppressed hiss when angry, or a kind of grunt when distressed. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young emeus. after a few weeks the black and white stripes become much less conspicuous.] at one time the emeu roamed over the whole of the mainland of australia; but now, alas! it is almost exterminated, being found only far inland and in steadily diminishing numbers. swift of foot and of great powers of endurance, the emeu has afforded in the past much "sport" to the hunting-man, who followed the dogs, doubtless making comparisons the while between his two-legged prey and his four-footed friend reynard. the hunt does not end till the bird is thoroughly exhausted, when it must be seized at once by the neck, in order to prevent it kicking, for the legs are so powerful that a blow from the foot is dangerous. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ emeu. the feathers of the neck of the emeu are much longer than in the rhea; hence the neck seems shorter.] incubation is apparently performed by the male, which sits from fifty-four to sixty-four days. practically no nest is made, only a shallow hollow being scraped in the sand. the eggs, from seven to thirteen in number, are of a dark bottle-green colour, sometimes lighter, and have the surfaces curiously roughened. the male is smaller than the female, a fact which has led to some confusion, the larger female having at one time been regarded as the male. it will be noted that the emeus not only lack the brilliant colour of the cassowaries, but also the helmet, or casque. the late mr. gould's remarks on the edibility of the emeu are interesting. he says: "its flesh has been compared to coarse beef, which it resembles, according to mr. cunningham, both in appearance and taste, and is good and sweet eating; nothing, indeed, can be more delicate than the flesh of the young ones. there is little fit for culinary use upon any part of the emu, except the hindquarters, which are of such dimensions that the shouldering of the two hind legs homeward for a mile distance once proved to me as tiresome a task as i ever recollect to have encountered in the colony. i may remark that its flesh proved of the greatest service to dr. leichardt and his intrepid companions during their overland route from moreton bay to port essington, in the course of which, but more particularly between the head of the gulf of carpentaria and port essington, the sight and capture of the emu was almost a daily occurrence; so abundant, in fact, was it, that he states that he saw in the short space of eight miles at least a hundred, in flocks of three, five, ten, and even more at a time. on the continent of australia the emu was formerly abundant about botany bay and port jackson harbour, but is now only to be seen in the plains of the interior, over whose solitudes it roams in great numbers, and where it breeds, depending on the strength and swiftness of its legs to avoid the pursuit of the stockmen and their dogs. farther and farther back, however, will it be driven, until it be extirpated, unless some law be instituted to check its wanton destruction." [illustration: _photo by robert d. carson, esq._] [_philadelphia._ mantell's kiwi, new zealand, north island. when feeding, the kiwi makes a sniffing sound, distinctly audible at some distance.] in a wild state emeus take readily to the water, and have on more than one occasion been seen swimming across a wide river. the south american rhea is also known to be a good swimmer. the common emeu is restricted to eastern australia. the opposite side of this great continent is inhabited by another and very distinct species, known as the spotted emeu. the apteryx. to see the apteryx at home, we should have to travel to far new zealand, and to hunt with infinite patience when we got there. apteryx-hunting, it has been found, to be successful, must be done by the help of dogs. sir walter buller has written some very spirited accounts of such hunts. europeans, indeed, have been singularly successful in this hunting, whereby they have done much to enhance the value of this bird by hastening its fast approaching and inevitable extermination. [illustration: _photo by robert d. carson, esq._] [_philadelphia._ owen's kiwi, new zealand, south island. this is the smallest of the kiwis.] the natives call this bird the kiwi, from its call-note, "ki-i-wi." these cries are uttered during the early hours of the night, ceasing after midnight. they appear to have great penetrating power. ---- chapter ii. _the game-birds and rails._ it is not easy in a few words exactly to define a "game-bird." anatomical details aside, the most characteristic features are the small head and moderately long neck, and a compact body, in which the wings, when folded, are almost entirely concealed. the hind toe is always present, and the claws are adapted for scratching purposes--that is to say, for scratching up the surface of the ground in the search for seeds as food. the wings are hollowed so as to fit close to the body, and the flight, which is noisy and never long-sustained, is nevertheless often exceedingly rapid. the young are hatched covered with down, and able to run in a few hours after birth. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ red grouse. this is one of the species in which the toes are feathered.] grouse and ptarmigan. the birds of this group are distinguished by the feathery covering which clothes the feet. in some grouse, however, the toes are bare. this causes them to resemble the pheasant group, from which they may be distinguished by the fact that the toes are fringed with horny processes forming a sort of comb. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ ptarmigan. in winter these birds don a snow-white livery.] the red grouse is the only game-bird which is not found outside the british islands. it is the bird which perhaps heads the list in the estimation of british sportsmen, who travel north in hundreds every year for the pleasure of the sport it affords. it is furthermore remarkable for the wonderful variety of the seasonal plumages. both sexes change their dress twice during the year--the female in spring and summer, and the male in autumn and winter. its continental relative, the ryper, has no less than three changes--spring, summer, and winter. for the last season a white dress is adopted, to correspond with its snowy surroundings. the winters in the british islands are neither long enough nor severe enough to render such change necessary with the red grouse, which is sufficiently protected by its ordinary dress. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ capercallie. this was once a common british bird. the present breed was introduced some years ago, the native birds having been exterminated.] the largest and perhaps the most interesting of all the european game-birds are the capercallies, or capercailzies. the british species is also known as the cock-of-the-wood. he is a handsome black bird, nearly as big as a turkey, weighing from to lbs. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ common partridge. this is the commoner and more esteemed of the two species of british partridges.] in the spring the capercallie, like the blackcock, indulges in a remarkable "love-song," or "play," as it is called. with outstretched neck, tail expanded like a fan, drooping wings, and ruffled feathers, he commences his call, "peller, peller, peller," increasing in rapidity every moment, till he works himself up into a perfect frenzy. at this time he is perfectly unconscious of all around him, and poachers, knowing this, sometimes take advantage to creep up and shoot him. on hearing the cock, the hens assemble from all parts of the forest. the male then descends from the tree to the ground, when "he and his female friends join company" and march away. the capercallie is jealous of trespassers on his domain, and instances are on record where people have been attacked when so infringing. like the capercallie, the blackcock must be sought in the woods, whence he sallies forth to the moors and stubble-fields to feed. the grey-hen, as the female of this species is called, lays from six to ten eggs, of a buff colour, spotted with rich brown: both in number and colour they resemble those of the capercallie. the naturalist brehm gives a delightful account of the love-making of this bird. during the spring, he says, "the bird utters almost continuously the strangest noises. he holds his tail up and spreads it out like a fan, he lifts up his head and neck with all the feathers erect, and stretches his wings from the body. then he takes a few jumps in different directions, sometimes in a circle, and presses the under part of his beak so hard against the ground that the chin-feathers are rubbed off. during these movements he beats his wings and turns round and round. the more ardent he grows, the more lively he becomes, until at last the bird appears like a frantic creature. at such times the blackcocks are so absorbed that they become almost blind and deaf, but less so than the capercallie." north america is very rich in large forms of grouse; and one of the most interesting of these is the prairie-hen, remarkable for the possession of a pair of curious bags of a bright orange colour on each side of the neck, which can be inflated with air at will. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ texan bob-white (about half natural size). this bird takes its name from its note--"ah-bob-white."] "early in the morning," writes captain bendire of the prairie-hen, "you may see them assemble in parties, from a dozen to fifty together, on some dry knolls ... and their goings-on would make you laugh. the air-sacs are their ornaments, which they display ... before the gentler sex by blowing them up till they look like two ripe oranges ... projecting their long, black ears right forward, ruffling up all the feathers of the body till they stand out straight, and dropping their wings on the ground like a turkey-cock.... then it is that the proud cock, in order to complete his triumph, will rush forward at his best speed ... through the midst of the love-sick damsels, pouring out as he goes a booming noise ... which may be heard for at least two miles in the still morning air. every few minutes this display is repeated ... but they seem careful not to run against each other, for they have not yet got to the fighting-point. after a little while the lady birds begin to show an interest in the proceedings, by moving about quickly a few yards at a time, and then standing still a short time. when these actions are continued by a large number of birds at a time, it presents a funny sight, and you can easily think they are moving to the measure of music." [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ golden pheasant. this bird is often kept in aviaries, on account of its magnificent livery.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ golden pheasant. this bird is moulting. in full dress the cape seen in the upper figure is golden with blue-black bars.] the prairie-hens of america possess great economic value, as great, indeed, as the red grouse of the british islands, enormous numbers of prairie-hens being exported to europe every year, whilst still greater numbers are consumed by the american people themselves. it is said that american grouse will sometimes eat the shoots of a plant called _kalmia_, which renders the flesh poisonous. the sage-grouse is a rather large bird, attaining a weight of lbs., found in the western united states; it is, indeed, the largest of the american grouse. its courting habits resemble those of the prairie-hens. from the book containing the above lively description we cull the following:-- [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ silver pheasant. a silver pheasant is embroidered as a badge on mandarins' dresses.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ english pheasants. these birds are of the ring-necked variety.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ reeves's pheasant. this is a native of north and west china, and has been introduced into britain.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ golden pheasant. the female is soberly clad, and has no crest or cape.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ amherst's pheasant. this bird is moulting: in full dress the cape is white and the crest blood-red.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ peacock-pheasant. these pheasants take their name from the eye-like spots on the wings.] "early one morning in the first week in march, , i had the long-wished-for opportunity to observe the actions of a single cock while paying court to several females near him.... his large, pale yellow air-sacs were fully inflated, and not only extended forward but apparently upward as well, rising at least an inch above his head, which consequently was scarcely noticeable, giving the bird an exceedingly peculiar appearance. he looked decidedly top-heavy and ready to topple over on the slightest provocation." he then proceeds to describe the further preparations designed for conquest. the tail is spread fan-wise, and animated with a peculiar quivering motion, whilst the wings are trailed upon the ground. when the correct position has been assumed, he advances with stately, hesitating steps towards his mate, uttering, as he moves, "low, grunting, guttural sounds" resembling those of a purring cat, but louder. this, apparently, is the prescribed method of courting; of many suitors, he is selected who performs best. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ temminck's tragopan. tragopans are remarkable for a fleshy horn above each eye, not noticeable save when the bird is excited.] the ruffed grouse, like the prairie-hen, has the neck, in the male, ornamented with a frill of long feathers. like many other birds, the female, when danger, in the shape of prowling beasts, threatens her eggs or young, simulates lameness. so soon as the enemy approaches near enough to be dangerous, up she gets with a great noise of wings, and then flutters along the ground as though wounded. the would-be captor is thus led far from the jealously guarded treasures, and when a safe distance has been covered an end is speedily put to this will-o'-the-wisp chase by the bird suddenly taking wing. partridges, quails, and pheasants. the birds which come under this head are so many in number they may be reckoned by the hundred, and include several forms of exquisite beauty. the legs of many are armed with formidable spurs, with which the males, who are exceedingly pugnacious, fight furiously with their rivals for the possession of some coveted female. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ chinese tragopan. the scarlet plumage of some of the tragopans is most gorgeous.] of the more conspicuous forms we may mention the red-legged and common partridges. in england the former is known more generally as the french partridge--why, it is hard to say. it is a native of south-eastern europe, whence it was introduced towards the end of the eighteenth century. it is a handsome bird, but not in high favour with sportsmen, since it prefers to escape by running rather than by flight. the common partridge is the more abundant of the two species. though more sober in coloration, it is still a beautiful bird. the "horse-shoe" mark, borne on the breast, so characteristic of this bird, is _not_ confined to the males, as is generally believed. "yielding," says professor newton, "perhaps in economic importance to the red grouse, what may be called the social influence of the partridge is greater than that excited by any other wild bird." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ himalayan monal. in some parts of india this bird has been exterminated, owing to the demands of the plume-market.] this bird displays great courage and affection in defence of its eggs or young. a story illustrating this is told of a gentleman near spilsby, in lincolnshire, who, "whilst superintending his ploughmen, saw a partridge glide off her nest, so near the foot of one of his plough-horses that he thought the eggs must be crushed; this, however, was not the case.... he saw the old bird return to her nest the instant he left the spot. it was evident that the next round of the plough must bury the eggs and nest in the furrow. his surprise was great when, returning with the plough, he came to the spot and saw the nest indeed, but the eggs and bird were gone. an idea struck him that she had removed her eggs; and he found her, before he left the field, sitting under the hedge upon twenty-one eggs.... the round of ploughing had occupied about twenty minutes, in which time she, probably aided by the cock bird, had removed the twenty-one eggs to a distance of about forty yards." the red-legged partridges, their allies the francolins, and the grey partridges are all ground-birds; the tree-partridges, as the name implies, are not, or at least less completely so--hence their mention here. they are natives of the indo-chinese countries, and the islands of java, borneo, and formosa. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ himalayan monal. the female of the monal is quite soberly clad.] the quail is a little-known british bird, very like a small partridge in appearance. enormous numbers, professor newton tells us, "are netted on the continent, especially in the spring migration. the captives are exposed in the poulterers' shops, confined in long, cloth-covered cages, with a feeding-trough in front." the bulk "of these are males, which are the first to arrive, and advantage is taken of this circumstance by the bird-catchers, who decoy hundreds into their nets by imitating the call-note of the female. it has been stated that in the small island of capri, in the bay of naples, , have been netted in a single season, and even larger numbers are on record." an idea of the vast numbers which travel together in migration may be gathered from canon tristram's statement that in algeria, in april, he found the ground covered with quails for an extent of many acres at daybreak, where on the preceding afternoon not one was to be seen. these are the birds which were so eagerly seized by the israelites as a welcome change in the diet which had become so monotonous in the days of their early wanderings. the story, so vividly told in the book of exodus, is, of course, familiar to all. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ red cochins. the wings in the typical cochins are so short as to be useless.] the quail lays from nine to fifteen eggs in a feeble apology for a nest. it is said that the curious metallic note "clic-lic-lic" gave origin to the spanish castanet, for these birds are much esteemed in spain, being kept in cages for the pleasure their notes afford. there are five or six other species of quail closely related to the above. the british bird enjoys an enormous range, being found almost everywhere in europe, asia, and africa. the so-called american quails--some forty species in number--are generally regarded as belonging to a distinct group. that ornament to all rural scenery, the pheasant, is said to have been introduced from the banks of the river phasis, in colchis, transcaucasia, by the romans--at least, the original form of pheasant was. late during the eighteenth century a japanese and a chinese form were introduced, and these have freely interbred with the original form, so that pure-bred specimens of any of the three are rare. the speed of a pheasant on the wing in full flight has been estimated at thirty-eight miles an hour. occasionally pheasants will take to the water, and are said to swim well. the number of pheasants reared by hand at the present day is prodigious. in , professor newton tells us, , pheasants' eggs were sold from one estate in norfolk, while , fully grown birds were killed upon it. in olden times pheasants were taken in snares or nets, by hawking, and by the cross-bow; but on the introduction of guns these methods were superseded. yet another form of pheasant has been introduced into britain of late years. this is reeves's pheasant, a truly magnificent bird, with a tail fully feet long in adult males. these birds also interbreed with the more common forms, but not freely. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ brown leghorn cock. this breed has been derived by crossing white leghorns with game-fowl.] beautiful as these pheasants undoubtedly are, they are eclipsed by many of their relatives. among the most noteworthy of these we may notice the magnificent tragopans. rich in coloration of the feathers, these birds have added an additional feature in brilliantly coloured areas of bare skin on the head and neck, which are furthermore rendered conspicuous by being developed with "horns" and wattles. these "horns" can be erected at will, a process which causes them at the same time to be greatly increased in size. the bird, with a proud consciousness of his beauty, displays his charms to the full when wooing. mr bartlett tells us that, "after walking about rather excitedly, he places himself in front of the female, with the body slightly crouching upon the legs, and the tail bent downwards; the head is then violently jerked downwards, and the horns and wattle become conspicuous. the wings have a flapping motion, and the bright red patch on them is fully displayed. the whole of the neck appears to be larger than usual during this action, so do the horns, which, moreover, vibrate with every motion. this scene is concluded by the bird suddenly drawing himself up to his full height, with his wings expanded and quivering, the horns erect, and the wattles fully displayed." [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ silver-spangled hamburgs. this bird apparently originated in england.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ dark bramas. the brama is an asiatic breed.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ silver wyandotte hen with pheasant chicks. this is an american breed, derived by crossing with the brama.] equally splendid, some think more so, are the four species of pheasant known as monals or impeyan pheasants. the plumage in this case looks like burnished metal rather than feathers. the head is adorned with a crest either of long or beautifully curled feathers. monals are found in the same haunts as the tragopans--the highest forest regions of the himalaya. but the most gorgeous of all the pheasant tribe are perhaps the golden pheasants. the crimson body and exquisitely beautiful collar of gold barred with black constitute a perfectly royal livery. since, however, these are amongst the commonest occupants of the aviary, we need not describe them further here. they are natives of china and tibet. jungle-fowl and their domesticated descendants. these birds, of which there are four distinct species, are close allies of the domesticated fowls: the descent of these latter, indeed, is traced from the red jungle-fowl of the himalaya and central india. the characteristic features of the group are the naked head, bearing the familiar wattles and fleshy comb, and the formidable spurs on the legs. the varieties of the domesticated jungle-fowl are numerous. the pugnacity of the members known as the game-breed is well known, and in the days of cock-fighting large sums of money changed hands over the fierce battles waged by rival game-cocks pitted one against the other--the game-cock, it should be remarked, being the little-modified descendant of the red jungle-cock. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ peacock. note the perfectly symmetrical distribution of the "eyes" in the "train."] the modern game-cock is purely a show-bird, breeders having changed the type by selecting characters which would render the bird quite unable to hold its own if matched in battle with one of the original breed. very different from the wild ancestor is the huge, much-feathered cochin. this was introduced into england, not from cochin-china, as is popularly supposed, but from shanghai, some fifty years ago. at that time this bird enjoyed the reputation of being wonderfully prolific. this is, alas! no longer a feature of the breed. the show-pen is apparently responsible for this, attention having been paid rather to external appearance than to useful qualities. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ back view of peacock. note the true tail, like a stout fan, supporting the train.] the plymouth rock and dorking are both well-known breeds. the former is of american origin, made by crossing cochins with a native breed--the dominique. the black spanish, minorcas, leghorns, andalusians, etc., constitute what are known as the mediterranean breeds. they are noted for their great prolificacy. this has been gained by carefully breeding from the most productive birds, but with the result that the instinct to sit has been lost entirely. this is a matter of no consequence, however, as when chicks are required there are plenty of "broody" hens of other breeds which can be made to undertake the duties of foster-mother. the hamburgs are of two kinds--the spangled, which is of english, and the pencilled, of continental origin. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ black-chested crested guinea-fowl. at durban these birds are often hawked by kaffir hunters, the flesh being very delicate and much esteemed.] a very old breed is the polish. it figures often in the pictures of the old dutch masters. one of its chief characteristics is the huge crest of feathers rising from the crown of the head. the development of this crest has had a very extraordinary effect upon the conformation of the bones of the skull, entirely altering the shape of the brain-case. perhaps the most artificial of all breeds of fowl are the sebright bantams. these are diminutive birds, the result of a cross between the polish with "laced" feathers and a bantam. the feathers of this cross are beautifully "laced"--that is, they are white, edged with black. another interesting diminutive breed is the japanese bantam. the cock carries its tail, which is long, remarkably high, giving a very quaint effect. this breed is further interesting, since it furnishes us with an instance of the breeder's power of localising colour by selection. the tail is black and the body white. yet another interesting japanese fowl is the remarkable long-tailed breed in which the tail-coverts grow continuously, attaining a length of from feet to, it is said, feet. the birds are kept for show purposes. the greater part of their lives is passed tethered on high perches. once a day they are taken down for exercise, when the long feathers are carefully rolled up and securely fastened out of harm's way. [illustration: photo by _w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ black-chested crested guinea-fowl. this is a black bird, with light blue spots.] the argus-pheasant and peacock and their allies. the argus-pheasant most certainly demands notice, on account of the extraordinary development of the wing-quills, which are nearly a yard long, and the wondrous beauty of the pattern thereon. this pattern takes the form of a number of eyes, so shaded as to give the appearance, when fully displayed, of a number of balls lying in a socket. these enormous quills are borne only by the male, and used, like the ornamental feathers of its allies, in captivating the female. when fully displayed, the two wings are spread out to form one huge fan, producing an effect which words cannot adequately describe. the argus-pheasants are found in the forests of siam, the malay peninsula, and sumatra, and are excessively wary birds. the peacock is too well known to need a very long description. but a word as to the so-called "tail." this magnificent wealth of plumes does not represent the tail, as is popularly supposed, but is made up of the feathers of the lower part of the back and the upper tail-coverts. these gradually increase in length from before-backwards, culminating in the long and exquisite feathers which form the circumference of the huge, outspread shield. this shield is properly called the "train"; the true tail lies behind it and acts as a support. when the bird is about to display, the "train" feathers are slowly and gently raised till the well-known fan-shaped glory of green and gold and blue is exposed to the fullest possible extent. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford._ nest of brush-turkey at woburn abbey. this is made by several birds, of decaying vegetable matter, in which the eggs are laid and left to hatch.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ turkey cock and hen. the curious "tassel" depending from the breast is found in no other bird.] "watch the bird trying to do his best to persuade his chosen what a handsome fellow he is. he first places himself more or less in front of her, but at some little distance off; and then, watching his opportunity, walks rapidly backwards, going faster and faster and faster, till, arrived within a foot, he suddenly, like a flash, turns round and displays to the full his truly gorgeous vestments. this turning movement is accompanied by a violent shaking of the train, the quills of which rattle like the pattering of rain upon leaves. often this movement is followed by a loud scream. "when the train is fully erect, it will be noticed that it lies so far forward that the bird's head and neck appear as if rising from its base. in a side view the whole body, from the front of the wings backwards, appears to lie behind the train." this bird is a native of india, where it is held in great reverence by the hindus, and in the hindu states it is not allowed to be killed under any circumstances. there are two, some say three, distinct species of peacock, but they all closely resemble one another. [illustration: _photo by kerry & co._] [_sydney._ wallace's painted megapode. this bird buries its eggs in the sand, burrowing for each a slanting hole from to feet deep.] brief mention will serve for the guinea-fowls and turkeys, since they are well known to us all. guinea-fowls are african birds. the farmyard form, popularly known as "come-backs," from their peculiar cry "come-back, come-back, come-back," is a descendant of the common helmeted form, of which type there are eight distinct species. besides these are four crested species; one very beautiful species known as the vulture-like guinea-fowl; and one, the rarest of all, known as the black guinea-fowl. even in the british museum, writes mr. ogilvie grant, "there are only two examples of it, and neither of these are perfect specimens." it was discovered by m. du chaillu. "one day," he says, "i went out hunting by myself, and, to my great joy, shot another new bird, a black wild-fowl, one of the most singular birds i have seen in africa.... the head, where it is bare, is in the female of a pink hue, and in the male of a bright scarlet.... wild they are, and most difficult to approach, and rare, even in the forests where they are at home." they do not travel in huge flocks, like other guinea-fowls, but a male and two females at most. the familiar form of the turkey scarcely needs description; but most people are probably puzzled by its name. why turkey? the bird is a native of america, so it certainly cannot have anything to do with its place of origin. professor newton has it that it is on account of its call-note, "to be syllabled 'turk, turk, turk,' whereby it may almost be said to have named itself." the domesticated turkey is descended from the mexican turkey, and was probably introduced into europe during the sixteenth century. this, according to captain bendire, is a mountain-living species, and still abundant in the wilder portions of western texas and new mexico. it appears to attain greater bulk than its domesticated descendant, captain bendire having recorded a specimen shot by himself which weighed lbs. after having been drawn, and heavier birds are said to occur occasionally. the mexicans say that the coyotes catch turkeys by running in circles under the tree in which they are roosting, till the birds get dizzy with watching them, and fall down into the open mouths below! there are three distinct kinds of turkey--the mexican, american, and honduras turkey. the last is a very fine bird, with a bright blue head and neck, instead of red. the top of the head is adorned with numerous scarlet, berry-like warts, looking like holly-berries. the bob-whites, which belong to the group of tooth-billed game-birds known as american partridges and quails, demand a brief reference here. the species represented in the illustration on page is common in the lowlands of texas. it is a very unsuspicious bird, and in consequence falls an easy prey to foxes, hariers, and rattlesnakes, the last-named being the worst enemies, as many as five of these unfortunate birds having been taken at one time from the stomach of one of these monsters, and on another occasion a female and half a dozen of her eggs were similarly discovered. the megapodes and brush-turkeys, though dull and uninteresting-looking birds, are, on account of the facts connected with the propagation of their species, quite remarkable. they do not brood over their eggs, as do other birds, but instead bury them, either in sand in the neighbourhood of warm springs or in heaps of decaying vegetable matter. in the latter case the material is often collected by several birds working together. mounds of feet high and feet in circumference have been found, the work of the nicobar megapode. such have been many years in use, material being added each season. into this mass the female digs down and deposits an egg every second day, covering it up as soon as laid. there it remains till hatched, when the young, probably aided by its mother, forces its way up to the surface, and emerges, _not_ a downy nestling as one would expect, but clothed with feathers differing but slightly in texture from those worn in the adult state. owing to the precocious development, young megapodes are able to fly within an hour after birth. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ razor-billed curassow. so called from the sharp ridge along the top of the beak.] there are many different kinds of megapodes occurring in australia, samoa, and the nicobar and philippine islands. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ crested curassow. so called from its crest of curled feathers.] the curassows and guans are very handsome birds, but probably quite unknown to most of our readers, yet they may always be seen in zoological gardens. they are closely related to the megapodes, which we have just been discussing; but their nesting habits are quite different. they lay their eggs in nests, either on the ground or in trees, and brood over them like other birds. many have brilliantly coloured bare skin on the head and handsome crests. they are natives of central and south america, where they are often kept by the settlers, as they tame easily. it is said that one of the guans, when crossed with the domesticated fowl, becomes intensely pugnacious, and superior to the game-cock for fighting purposes. bustard-quail and plain-wanderers. these are small and quail-like in appearance, though they are probably only distant relatives of the game-birds. but they are, nevertheless, remarkable birds. a great authority, mr. a. o. hume, writing of the indian bustard-quail, says of them: "the most remarkable point in the life-history of these bustard-quails is the extraordinary fashion in which, amongst them, the position of the sexes is reversed. the females are the larger and handsomer birds. the females only call, the females only fight--natives say that they fight for the males, and probably this is true. the males ... only ... sit upon the eggs, the females meanwhile larking about, calling, and fighting, without any care for their obedient mates; and, lastly, the males tend ... the young brood." the group has a wide geographical range, occurring in europe, africa, madagascar, south asia, the indian archipelago, and australia. the hoatzin. this bird is one of the puzzles of the ornithologist. its pedigree is still a mystery, but it is generally believed to have some relation to the game-birds. its whole life is passed in trees overhanging water, and its flight restricted to short journeys from tree to tree. in south america, its home, it is known by a variety of names, one of which means stinking-pheasant. this is in allusion to the peculiar odour of its flesh, which smells, according to some, like musk, and to others like raw hides. another remarkable feature of this bird is the fact that it has turned its crop into a sort of gizzard, whilst the true gizzard, having been relieved of its functions, has diminished to the size of a hazel-nut. the unusual purpose to which the crop has been put has brought about considerable modification in the form of the breast-bone, which is quite different to that of any other bird. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ hoatzin. this is a native of the amazons valley, and lives entirely in the trees.] the young of these birds are quite as remarkable as the parents, for almost as soon as they are hatched they crawl out of the nest, along the boughs of the tree in which it rests, to meet the parents coming with food. in these crawling excursions they are aided by the wings, which for a time serve as fore feet. the thumb and first finger are armed with strong claws, with which a firm hold is gained on the bark of the tree. to render these claws effective so long as they are necessary, the quill-feathers of the tip of the wing have their development checked till the others have grown long enough to serve the purposes of flight. the rails. the rails are all water-loving birds, dwelling in swamps or on the borders of lakes and streams. although all swim easily, none have webbed feet. the flight is weak; several species, indeed, have lost this power altogether. the body is much compressed, enabling them to pass readily through the narrow interspaces of dense aquatic foliage. the rails appear to be related on the one hand to the game-birds, and on the other to the cranes. in size they vary from a bird as large as a fowl to one as small as a lark. one of the commonest of the rails is the corn-crake, more commonly, perhaps, known as the land-rail. its curious grating cry is one of the commonest sounds which the summer brings with it, and one possessing a charm of its own. but rarely seen, it builds its nest in hay-fields, and, when the grass is being cut, sits so closely on its treasures that it is sometimes beheaded by the swinging scythe. in the autumn it falls not infrequently to the sportsmen when partridge-shooting. the corn-crake leaves in the winter for the more congenial climate of africa, a feat that seems wonderful when its feeble powers of flight are considered. its near relative the water-rail is rather a handsome bird, but of shy and retiring habits. the weka-rail, a native of new zealand, is one of the flightless forms to which we have referred. it is about as large as a pheasant, but lacks its splendour, being soberly clad in brown and black. unlike its relative, it breeds in a burrow, which it digs for itself by the aid of its bill. the name "weka" was given it by the maoris. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ weka-rail. the wings, though fairly large, are useless for flight.] [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ water-rail. this is a common british bird, seldom seen, on account of its retiring habits.] the common water-hen, or moor-hen, is one of the most familiar birds of the london parks. although frequent enough to be seen upon streams and broads, it is, nevertheless, shy and wary; but in the sanctuary of the public parks all reserve is thrown off. the water-hen, like its allies, is an expert swimmer, in spite of the fact that the toes are not webbed; on the contrary, they are very long and slender. when alarmed, these birds will often submerge the body till only the beak projects above water. all the members of this group are easily recognised by the bare patch of skin extending from the beak on to the top of the head. in the coots this is white; in the water-hens and gallinules it is red. the coots and water-hens are clad in sober colours, grey or black; but the gallinules are gorgeously clad in purple, shaded with dark green, olive-brown, and black. mantell's gallinule of new zealand is probably now extinct, the last bird having been killed in . the fin-feet. these are little-known birds, found in africa, south america, south-east asia, and sumatra. they are closely related to the coots, but differ therefrom in many important particulars. like the coots, they are river-haunting birds, and have broad flaps of skin fringing the toes, which serve the purpose of a web; but they have much longer necks and tails than the coots and water-hens. not much is known about them. ---- chapter iii. _pigeons and sand-grouse._ pigeons, as a rule, are birds of wonderful powers of flight. the young, which never exceed two in number, are hatched perfectly blind and helpless, and but sparsely clothed. they are nourished by a peculiar milky secretion of the parents' crop known as "pigeons' milk." the operation of feeding is performed by the parent thrusting its beak into the mouth of its offspring and ejecting therein the secretion just referred to. the nest is a very simple structure, being composed of twigs, generally placed in a tree, but sometimes in a cave or hole in a bank. the eggs, which never exceed two in number, are pure white. perhaps the most beautiful species occur among the large group known as fruit-pigeons. many of these are invested in raiment of vivid green and yellow, forming a little coterie by themselves--the green pigeons. others, on account of their brilliancy, have been designated painted pigeons, of which, perhaps, the most beautiful of all is eugÈne's pigeon. try to imagine it! the head is pure white, the upper part of the breast a purple-red surrounded by a dull purple band; the under parts are greyish green, shading into white; the flanks green; whilst the upper parts are also green, but of a rich bronze tint. another group from the fiji islands includes a magnificent species, the male of which is clothed in a glorious orange, save the head and throat, which are olive-yellow. his mate is scarcely less beautiful, her plumage being rich green. another member of the group--the white nutmeg-pigeon--is clad in creamy white, with black quills, and a black tip to the tail. it is a native of borneo. the fruit-pigeons, it should be mentioned, include some of the largest of living pigeons. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ a pair of young pigeons in nest. the hair-like down of the young pigeon is quite different to any other nestling down.] whilst many of the pigeon tribe seem to have succeeded in dyeing their feathers with all the hues of the rainbow, others have secured equal glory by a covering which at first sight would rather appear to be of burnished metal than of feathers. the most striking instance of this is found in the magnificent nicobar pigeons. there are two species of these birds, which occur not only in the nicobar islands, from which they take their name, but also in the malay archipelago and the solomon and pelew islands. the general tone of the one species is black, but the upper parts are superbly glossed with bronze and copper reflections. the other, from the pelew islands, is indigo-blue in general tone. in one of the nicobar islands these birds occur in thousands. furthermore, these two pigeons stand alone, in that the neck-feathers are greatly elongated, forming "hackles" like those of the common fowl. the largest of living pigeons are the gouras, or crowned pigeons. there are six species, all of which are confined to australasia. they are characterised by a huge and very beautiful fan-shaped crest of feathers which springs from the crown of the head. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ southern fruit-pigeon. the flesh of the fruit-pigeon surpasses that of all other birds in delicacy.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ nicobar imperial fruit-pigeons. these birds lay but a single egg, which is large.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ new guinea crowned pigeon. this is the largest of living pigeons.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ wonga-wonga pigeon. this bird is found in the brush country of eastern australia.] at the other extreme stand the namaqua and scaly doves. the former is regarded by professor newton as one of the most graceful in form of all the pigeon tribe: the latter are scarcely, if at all, larger than the sparrows. the power of flight of some forms is, however, extremely limited; they bid fair in course of time to become flightless, like the dodo and the solitaire. the most interesting of these is the grey-naped ground-pigeon. pigeons for the most part display a marked preference for a life among the trees rather than on the ground; but there are some which are essentially ground-dwellers. the species in which this changed habit is most deeply rooted, and probably of longest standing, exhibit one very interesting point of difference from their neighbours of the woods. this difference consists in the very considerably longer legs which mark the ground-haunting bird. the grey-naped ground-pigeon of south-east new guinea forms an excellent example, inasmuch as the legs are much longer than in any other pigeon. these birds (for there are three species in all) resemble the megapodes in habit, and frequent hills or dense thickets. they lay one egg, which is deposited at the foot of a tree. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ male black-bellied sand-grouse. young sand-grouse run directly they are hatched, thus differing from young pigeons.] among domesticated breeds is the english pouter, a bird characterised by its enormous gullet, which can be distended with air whenever the owner wills. the carriage of the body is vertical, not, as in pigeons generally, horizontal. the carrier is a breed illustrating the result of long-sustained selection to increase, amongst other characters, the development of the bare skin surrounding the eye and beak of all pigeons, wild or tame. in the short-faced tumbler we have a breed wherein those birds with the shortest beaks have been steadily bred from. to-day so little beak is left that some individuals are hatched which, when grown up, are unable to feed themselves. an example of a radical change in the feathers is the indian frill-back. in this case the feathers all over the body are reversed, or turned forwards, giving the bird a quite extraordinary appearance. in the jacobin we have a breed--and we could cite others--wherein the feathers of the neck are much elongated, and turn upwards and forwards over the head to form a hood. in general appearance sand-grouse are small, very short-legged birds, with small heads and pointed wings and tail. their general tone of coloration may be described as sand-coloured, and this has been adopted to render them in harmony with the barren sand-wastes in which they dwell. but some may be described as quite highly coloured, being banded and splashed with chestnut, black, pearly grey, white, and yellow, according to the species. pallas's sand-grouse is a native of the kirghiz steppes, extending through central asia to mongolia and northern china, and northwards to lake baikal, and southwards to turkestan. here they may be met with in enormous numbers. in north china large numbers are often caught after a snow-storm. the snow is cleared away, and a small green bean is scattered about. young sand-grouse differ remarkably in one particular from young pigeons, inasmuch as the former are hatched covered with a thick down, and are able to run about soon after leaving the egg, whilst the pigeon comes into the world very helpless and much in need of clothing. three eggs are laid by the sand-grouse, and these are double-spotted; whilst the pigeon lays but two, which are white. the eggs of the sand-grouse are laid in a depression in the ground, without any nest. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ _printed at lyons, france._ crowned crane. the feathers of the crest of this bird look not unlike stiff hairs.] ---- chapter iv. _auks, gulls, and plovers._ the auk tribe. the guillemot is found all around britain, and breeds wherever the sea is fringed by cliffs affording ledges for the reception of the eggs. it breeds in colonies often numbering many thousands, and lays but one egg, which is large and pear-shaped. since the guillemot builds no nest, but lays its egg on the bare rock, this peculiar shape is advantageous, since it revolves on itself, when disturbed, instead of rolling off the ledge into the sea. at the same time thousands of eggs fall into the sea every year owing to the bird's leaving the egg, whilst incubating, in too great a hurry. at lundy island one of the sources of amusement for the gaping tourist was that of firing a shot to frighten the birds, with the result that, at each shot, showers of eggs were knocked off the ledges on to the rocks below. the colour of the egg varies infinitely, no two being quite alike. this, it has been suggested, is useful, as the mother is thereby enabled to identify her own egg, even when surrounded by hundreds of others. the young are covered with long down, and when big enough, but still unable to fly, are taken down by the mother to the sea, being carried, some say, on her back: others say the chick is seized by the wing and carried down. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild, tring._ white tern. there are two species of white tern, almost restricted to the southern hemisphere.] the razor-bill is nearly, if not quite, as common on the coasts of britain as the guillemot, from which it may be readily distinguished by its beak, which is much compressed from side to side--hence its name of razor-bill--and deeply grooved. in habits it very closely resembles the guillemot, but in one respect at least it is a more interesting bird, inasmuch as it is related to and closely resembles the now extinct great auk, the giant of the tribe. the smallest british representative, it should be mentioned, is the little auk, a species more nearly allied to the guillemot. it is only a winter visitant to britain, breeding in huge colonies on the inhospitable shores of greenland and iceland. so quaint a bird as the puffin most certainly finds a place here. one of its most characteristic features is its enormous bill, which is rendered more conspicuous on account of its bright colour. it is bluish at the base, yellow at the tip, and striped with orange. a very remarkable feature of this bill is the fact that it is larger in summer than winter, portions of the sheath being shed in autumn. enormous numbers of puffins breed in ireland; myriads breed on lundy island. the farne islands, the cliffs of flamborough, and scotland are also tenanted by thousands. puffins breed in holes, which they dig for themselves when occasion requires, but when rabbit-burrows are to be had they prefer these, dispossessing the owners without the slightest compunction. might, with the puffin, is right, as well as with many other animals. young puffins, like young auks and guillemots, are hatched covered with long down. the parents feed them on fish, which they deposit at the mouth of the burrow twenty at a time, and give them to the young bird one by one. when the female is sitting, her mate feeds her in a similar way. puffins lay only a single egg, which differs from that of its relatives the auks and guillemots in being white. the white colour enables the sitting-bird to see it in the dark burrow. the gull tribe. to get at the real inwardness of the gull tribe, so to speak, we must examine their anatomy very closely; then we shall be convinced that they are modified plovers, and have nothing to do with the petrels, to which they bear an undoubted resemblance. terns. terns are gulls in miniature, on which account it is probable that many a visitor to the seashore passes them unwittingly. but let him watch next time for what look like flocks of tiny, long-winged, and unusually active gulls, now hovering gracefully in the air, and now suddenly plunging headlong like an arrow to the sea, with a force and dash that will surprise him, now that attention is drawn to them. these are terns. from their vivacity and forked tails, they have been aptly named sea-swallows. [illustration: _photo by g. watmough webster & son_] [_chester._ terns on a shingle bank. terns lay their eggs among the shingle; from their coloration, these are difficult to detect among the surrounding stones.] there are several species of tern. like the gulls, they have a distinctive dress for summer and winter, but the sexes are both dressed alike. the general livery, as with the gulls, is pearly grey above and pure white below--in summer, in some species, relieved by a black head. one species, the roseate tern, has the breast suffused with a most exquisite rose-pink, which fades rapidly after death, however. young terns, in their first plumage, differ conspicuously from their parents, having much brown intermixed with grey. terns lay about three eggs, which are deposited among the shingle on the beach; and so closely do the eggs, and later on the young, resemble the surrounding stones that it is almost impossible to find them. as a rule terns breed in colonies, often numbering many thousand birds. there are exceptions to the rule just laid down as to nest-building. one species of the noddy terns, for example, builds a nest of turf and dry grass, placed in bushes or in low trees. it seems to return to the same nest year after year, adding on each return new materials, till they form masses nearly feet in height. occasionally it appears to make a mud-nest, placed in the fork of a tree; whilst the superb little white noddy often deposits its egg on the leaf of a cocoanut-palm--truly a wonderful site, and still more wonderful when we reflect that it is chosen by one of the gull tribe. about six species of tern commonly occur in the british islands, and some five or six other species occasionally visit them. skimmers. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ herring-gull. so called from its habit of following the shoals of herrings.] the skimmers are tern-like birds, with a very wide geographical distribution, occurring in india, africa, and north and south america, and remarkable for the very extraordinary form of the beak. the upper jaw is much shorter than the lower, and both are compressed to the thinness of a knife-blade. this beak is associated with, and is probably an adaptation to, an equally remarkable method of feeding, which has been admirably described by darwin, who watched them feeding in a lake near maldonado. "they kept their bills," he says, "wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water. thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course; ... and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. in their flight ... they dexterously manage with their projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills." the gulls. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young herring-gulls in the grey phase of plumage. in their dull grey plumage the young of all gulls are very unlike the adults.] gulls are larger and heavier birds than terns, with longer legs, and shorter, thicker beaks. furthermore, with one exception, the tail is never forked. like the terns, gulls generally breed in colonies, and these are often of large size. young gulls, when newly hatched, are quite active. later, when their feathers have grown, they are found to wear a dress quite different from that of the parents. sometimes the adult plumage is gained at the end of the first year of existence, sometimes not until after the third year. gulls feed on everything that comes in their way, from fish caught swimming at the surface of the sea to worms picked up at the plough-tail. one of the commonest and best known of all the gulls is perhaps the species known as the black-headed gull, which has become so common in the heart of busy london, where hundreds may be seen, during the winter months, flying up and down the river, or wheeling about over the lakes in the parks. the black-headed gull receives its popular name on account of the fact that, like some terns and some other gulls, in the spring, the feathers of the head suddenly acquire a sooty-black colour: all trace of this is lost in the winter, save for two patches, one behind each ear. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ stone-curlew, or thick-knee. the plumage so closely resembles the sandy soil on which the bird lives that concealment is easily effected by crouching close to the ground.] the eggs of this bird are collected in thousands each spring, and sold in london and other markets as plovers' eggs. as many as , have been taken in a season from the extensive gullery at scoulton mere, in norfolk. three or four eggs are laid in a nest of rushes, which is always placed on the ground in marshy and often inaccessible spots. the largest of the gull tribe is the great black-backed gull, which is, furthermore, a common british bird; indeed, it is frequently seen flying, together with the last-mentioned species, on the thames, doing its best to get a full share of the tit-bits thrown by interested spectators from the various london bridges. unlike the black-headed gull, it has no seasonal change of plumage, but is clad all the year round in the purest white, set off by a mantle of bluish black. the young of this bird has a quite distinct plumage of greyish brown, and hence has been described as a distinct species--the grey gull. this dress is gradually changed for the adult plumage, but the process takes about three years. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ curlew. so called on account of its note.] the kittiwake is another of the common british gulls, breeding in thousands in favourable localities on the coasts. its eggs are deposited on the narrowest and most inaccessible ledges of precipitous cliffs. this species sometimes falls a victim to the fashion of wearing feathers. "at clovelly," writes mr. howard saunders, "there was a regular staff for preparing plumes; and fishing-smacks, with extra boats and crews, used to commence their work of destruction at lundy island by daybreak on the st of august.... in many cases the wings were torn off the wounded birds before they were dead, the mangled victims being tossed back into the water." and he has seen, he continues, "hundreds of young birds dead or dying of starvation in the nests, through the want of their parents' care.... it is well within the mark to say that at least , of these inoffensive birds were destroyed during the fortnight." of the skua-gulls there are several species. their coloration differs from that of the gulls just described in being confined to shades of brown. one of their most remarkable traits is that of piracy. they await their cousins the gulls coming shoreward from the sea with newly swallowed fish, and then, giving chase, compel the gull, in order to lighten itself and escape, to disgorge its hard-won meal. so swift of flight is the skua that the ejected morsel is caught before it reaches the water. the plover tribe. birds of very various size, shape, and coloration are included in this group--that is to say, birds which vary much superficially, but, it must be understood, all undoubtedly closely related. in england they are to be met with almost everywhere. the seashore, the lonely moorland, the desolate marshes, the river's brink, or the woods--all these shelter some one or other of the plover tribe. like the gulls, many adopt a distinctive dress for the courting-season, which, however, is sometimes worn by the males only, and not by both sexes alike, as in the gulls. one of the most striking and familiar instances of this change is seen in the grey plover. in winter the plumage of the upper-parts of this bird is dusky grey, that of the under-parts pure white; but in the spring the former is exchanged for a beautifully variegated mantle of black and white, and the latter becomes uniformly jet-black, save the under tail-coverts, which remain white. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ woodcock. the female is larger than the male.] [illustration: _photo by a. h. p. cruickshank_] [_wellington._ oyster-catcher on its nest. three eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. the oyster-catcher is one of the most wary of the plover tribe, and very difficult to approach.] in the dunlin, again, we have a similar change, the upper-parts being in winter grey, the under-parts white: in the spring the former become black, with an admixture of rust-colour, and the latter black in so far as the breast is concerned, but the abdomen remains white. in many of that section of the plover tribe distinguished as "wading-birds," the changes which take place in the spring in the plumage of the upper-parts resemble those already instanced, but the under-parts turn to a rich chestnut instead of black. this occurs in the forms known as the godwits, knots, and sanderlings, for example. in all the instances so far quoted, both male and female are coloured alike, but, as already hinted, occasionally the change of plumage affects the male only. this is the case with the ruff. the importance of this exception is still further increased by the fact that the change in coloration is accompanied by the development of a large frill around the neck, surmounted by two large tufts called "ears," and fleshy, brightly coloured warts around the beak. the coloured picture of the male in its spring dress, which will be found on another page, gives an admirable idea of the typical ruff, but it must necessarily fail to give any indication of one very remarkable fact concerning this frill and the two "ears," and for this reason--no two individuals ever have these peculiar feathers of the same coloration and pattern. the range of colour is certainly not great--the changes being rung, so to speak, on black, white, chestnut, bay, and ash-colour. diversification is gained by contrasting the "ears" with the frill, and adding bars or streaks to the light coloration, and purple, green, and violet reflections to the dark. these ornaments are donned in a surprisingly short space of time, and are discarded as quickly, for they are scarcely completed by the month of may, and are thrown off again at the end of june. during the time that this resplendent livery is worn the males engage in mimic battles--which may occasionally develop into real ones--arranged apparently for the edification of the females, which, it seems, select as partners, at least for that season, those which please or excite most. this power of pleasing must certainly be considerable, for the ruff is a polygamous species. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ denham's bustard. this species, when "showing off," fills the gullet with air, having no special air-sac like the great bustard.] [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ great bustards. the cock on the right is "showing off."] formerly the ruff was a common bird in england, but the drainage of the fens and persecution have practically brought about its extermination. at least two groups of plovers have succeeded in reversing the usual order of things in the matter of sexual plumage. these are the phalaropes--which are british birds--and the painted snipe, in both of which the female is more brightly coloured and somewhat larger in size than the male. as is the case where this reversal occurs, the duties of incubation fall mainly or entirely upon the smaller and duller male. it is interesting to note, furthermore, that only in the phalaropes is there a seasonal change of plumage: in the painted snipe the same livery is worn all the year round. many of the plovers have no seasonal change of plumage, but both male and female wear all the year round, some a more or less markedly bright-coloured livery, as the dotterel and turnstones, others a more sober vestment, as the curlews and snipe, for example. the snipe and woodcock may be cited as especially instructive forms in this connection, showing, in regard to the beak, for instance, undoubted proof of this structural modification, the result of adaptation to the peculiar method of seeking their food. this beak constitutes an organ of touch of great sensitiveness, and is used as a probe, to thrust down into the soft soil in the search for hidden worms. [illustration: _photo by billington_] [_queensland._ indian bustards. bustards have very short toes, like many other birds which walk much on sandy soil.] of the three species of snipe which occur in britain, probably the one known as the common snipe is most familiar; but it will, perhaps, be new to some to learn that this bird ranks as a musical performer, on account of a very extraordinary "bleating" or "drumming" noise which it gives forth, especially during the spring of the year--the season of courtship. we cannot describe this noise better, perhaps, than as an unusually high-pitched "hum," produced, it is generally held, by wind driven between the outer tail-feathers by the rapid vibration of the wings as the bird descends, or rather pitches, at a fearful pace, earthwards. these feathers have the shafts peculiarly thickened; and it is interesting to note that the characteristic sound may be artificially produced if they be fastened to a stick and rapidly whirled through the air. the snipe and woodcock are not the only members of the plover tribe whose beaks have undergone marked structural modifications; indeed, many instances could be cited, but two or three must suffice. in the avocet the beak turns upwards like an awl, and the bird is in consequence known in some places as the cobbler's-awl duck. in one particular, however, the beak differs from an awl, tapering as it does to an exceedingly fine point. when the bird feeds, it walks along in shallow water with the curved tip of the beak resting on the surface and the head moving swiftly from side to side, the jaws meanwhile being opened and closed with exceeding rapidity, and seizing instantly upon such small crustacea and other organisms as come in their way. although all the plovers might be described as long-legged birds, the stilts are quite exceptionally so, and afford evidence of modification in another direction. relatively to the size of the body, the stilts have the longest legs of all living birds. they seek their prey by wading in shallow water, like the avocets, to which they are closely related. one species--the black-winged stilt--occasionally appears in britain. some other members of the plover tribe--the jacana of brazil, and the water-pheasant of india, ceylon, and china, for example--have enormously long toes, as well as claws of great length. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ stanley crane. this is a south african species.] these birds are furthermore remarkable for the possession of formidable weapons of offence, borne on the wrist-joint of the wing, in the shape of long, sharp, and powerful spurs. similar weapons are carried by certain plovers--the egyptian spur-winged plover, for instance. ---- chapter v. _bustards and cranes._ the plover tribe, bustards, cranes, and rails form a large group of diverse but probably closely related forms. of the bustards, the most interesting and important species is the great bustard. about a hundred years ago this magnificent bird might have been seen any day in such favoured localities as the yorkshire and lincolnshire wolds, the norfolk and suffolk "brecks," the heaths of newmarket, or the downs of berkshire and wiltshire. it owes its extermination to several causes, foremost among which must be reckoned the reclaiming of waste land and improved methods of agriculture. "the bulk of its body," says professor newton, "renders it a conspicuous and stately object; and when on the wing, to which it readily takes, its flight is not inferior in majesty to that of the eagle." the expanse of the outstretched wings of a great bustard is feet, or even more; and the weight of the male may even exceed lbs. the female is smaller. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ common crane. this handsome bird used to breed in britain till the end of the sixteenth century.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ manchurian crane. the piebald plumage of this species is distinctive.] to see the great bustard in a wild state to-day, one would have to travel to spain. and if one could make a pilgrimage for this purpose during the birds' courting-season, some very wonderful antics on the part of the male would be witnessed. these antics make up what is really a very elaborate love-display. in this performance the bird inflates his neck with wind, draws his head closely down on to the back, throws up his tail, so as to make the most of the pure white feathers underneath, and sticks up certain of the quill-feathers of the wing in a manner that only a great bustard can. certain long feathers projecting from each side of the head now stand out like the quills of the porcupine, forming a sort of _cheval-de-frise_ on either side of the head, and complete the picture, which, in our eyes, savours of the ludicrous. the inflation of the neck is brought about by filling a specially developed wind-bag between the gullet and the skin with air through a small hole under the tongue. for many years it was believed this bag was used as a sort of water-bottle, to enable the bird to live amid the arid wastes which were its chosen haunts. we now know what its real use is. visitors to the natural history museum in london will find, beautifully mounted, a male bustard "in the act of showing off," as it is called, and hard by a dissection of the head and neck, showing this wonderful wind-bag. cranes. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ common crane. the note of the crane is sonorous and trumpet-like.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ wattled crane. so called from the pendent lappets of the throat. it is a south african species.] one of the most beautiful of this group of peculiarly handsome birds was once numbered among british birds; now, alas! like the bustard, it is one of the rarest visitors. till the end of the sixteenth century the common crane reared its young in the fen-lands. in saxon times we read of a request being made by king ethelbert to boniface, bishop of mayence, begging him to send over two falcons suitable for flying at the cranes in kent. in one case, at a feast given by archbishop neville in the reign of edward iv., as many as cranes figured in the menu. later, it is interesting to note, they seem to have fallen somewhat into disfavour, since we read of a dr. muffet, of wiltshire, somewhere about , declaring cranes to be "distinctly unfit for sound men's tables.... yet being young, killed with a goshawk, and hanged two or three days by the heels, eaten with hot gelentine, and drowned in sack, it is permitted unto indifferent stomachs." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ seriema. a south american bird, at one time supposed to be related to the birds of prey.] the nest is placed on the ground, and contains from two to three eggs. the young are covered with down, and, like plovers and bustards, run as soon as hatched. the cranes, like many other birds, notably some of the plover tribe, occasionally indulge in spirited outbursts of dancing. mr. nelson, writing of the birds of alaska, tells how one day he was watching two cranes enjoying themselves in this manner. the male suddenly "wheeled his back towards the female and made a low bow, his head nearly touching the ground, and ending by a quick leap into the air. another pirouette brought him facing his charmer, whom he greeted with a still deeper bow, his wings meanwhile hanging loosely by his side. she replied by an answering bow and hop, and then each tried to outdo the other in a series of spasmodic hops and starts, mixed with a set of comically grave and ceremonious bows." cranes vary much in general appearance. some species have much of the skin round the head bare and brilliantly coloured, such as the sarus crane of india and the crowned crane. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ white-backed trumpeters. the trumpeters are very aberrant members of the crane tribe.] the white and whooping cranes are birds of wondrous beauty. the first-named species has been not inaptly called the "lily of birds." the whole plumage, with the exception of the black quills, is white. the legs are red, as is also the face. dr. coues, an american ornithologist of great repute, relates how he once mistook one of these birds--the whooping-crane--for an antelope. he and a companion saw what they "took to be an antelope standing quietly feeding, with his broad white stern toward us, and only about yards off. we attempted for at least fifteen minutes to 'flag' the creature up to us, waving a handkerchief on a ramrod.... this proving unavailing, my friend proceeded to stalk the game, and crawled on his belly for about half the distance before the 'antelope' unfolded his broad black-tipped wings and flapped off, revealed at length as a whooping (white) crane." [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ great crested grebe. young grebes in down are beautifully striped.] another very remarkable species is the crowned crane. this is an african species, and takes its name from the tuft of curiously modified feathers on the top of the head. the coloured plate gives a good idea of its general appearance. the seriema. this is a very hawklike-looking bird; indeed, by some ornithologists it has been regarded as closely allied to the hawks and eagles, and more especially to the secretary-bird (page ). really, however, it is a very ancient kind of crane. the trumpeters, the courlans, the kagu, and the sun-bittern are other ornithological puzzles. concerning the precise affinities of these birds much is yet to be learnt; they are, however, undoubtedly related to the cranes. the last mentioned is a small bird, with wonderfully beautiful wings, which it displays with great effect to its mate during the courting-season. ---- chapter vi. _grebes and divers, penguins, and tube-nosed birds._ the grebes and divers. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ black-throated divers. these very handsome birds breed in scotland.] the grebes and divers are representatives of an exceedingly ancient type, and are in many ways besides very interesting. both are common british birds. the greater part of their lives is spent upon the water, and to suit this aquatic existence their bodies are specially modified. one of the principal features of this modification is seen in the position of the legs. these, by a shortening of the thigh-bones in the grebes, leave the body so far back that when the bird walks the body is held vertically. with the divers walking has become an impossibility, and they can only move on land on their bellies, pushing themselves along with the feet. both grebes and divers are expert swimmers, and dive with the greatest ease, remaining long under water. the grebes haunt ponds, lakes, and broads; the divers prefer the open sea. both feed on fish. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ rock-hopper penguin. the name rock-hopper is given in allusion to the habit of hopping over boulders of rock.] grebes. of the numerous species of grebe, the most familiar are the great crested grebe and the little dabchick. the former has suffered grievous persecution for the sake of its beautiful breast-feathers, which fashion decreed should be worn by the gentler sex in the form of muffs or hats. thus a price was set upon the head of this beautiful and harmless bird, and its ranks were speedily thinned. some species wear during the nesting-season beautiful chestnut or golden "ears," "horns," or "frills" on the head and neck. the eared grebe is especially magnificent at this time. divers. these, as already remarked, are sea-loving birds, but they breed inland on the shores of lakes. there are not many species of divers, but, like the grebes, they assume a special dress during the nesting-season, more beautiful than the winter dress. the penguins. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ black-footed penguin. this bird, also known as the cape or jackass-penguin, breeds in burrows or under ledges of rock.] the penguins may justly be called wonderful birds, and they are undoubtedly of very ancient descent. for countless generations the sea has been their home and refuge, and, in consequence, flight has been abandoned in exchange for increased swimming-powers, which have been gained by transforming the wing into a paddle. this transformation has resulted in flattening the wing-bones--and so increasing the surface of the hand and arm whilst reducing its thickness--and the suppression of the quill-feathers. the result is a blade-like paddle closely resembling the paddle of the whale, the turtle, or the extinct fish-lizards. with this organ they cleave their way through the water, often far below the surface, in pursuit of food, just as of old their ancestors did through the air. in other diving-birds the wings are kept closely pressed to the side of the body when under water, whilst the locomotion is effected by the feet. the penguin's legs, in consequence of diminished use, have shortened considerably. but besides the wings and legs, the feathery covering has also undergone a certain amount of change. this has been effected by increasing the size of the shaft of the feather and diminishing the vane; as a result, on the front part of the wings these feathers look more like scales than feathers. professor moseley has vividly described the appearance of a flock of penguins at sea. he writes from tristan d'acunha: "as we approached the shore, i was astonished at seeing a shoal of what looked like extremely active, very small porpoises or dolphins.... they showed black above and white beneath, and came along in a shoal of fifty or more..towards the shore at a rapid pace, by a series of successive leaps out of the water and leaps into it again ... splash, splash, went this marvellous shoal of animals, till they went splash through the surf on to the black, stony beach, and then struggled and jumped up amongst the boulders and revealed themselves as wet and dripping penguins." like their relatives in other parts of the world, penguins breed in huge communities known as "rookeries," a rookery being peopled by tens of thousands. their nests, made of small stones, are placed among the tall grass and reached by beaten pathways, exceedingly difficult to walk through. professor moseley thus describes a "rookery": "at first you try to avoid the nests, but soon find that impossible; then, maddened almost by the pain [for they bite furiously at the legs], stench, and noise, you have recourse to brutality. thump, thump, goes your stick, and at each blow down goes a bird. thud, thud, you hear from the men behind you as they kick the birds right and left off the nests; and so you go for a bit--thump, smash, whack, thud, 'caa, caa, urr, urr,' and the path behind you is strewn with the dead and dying and bleeding. of course, it is horribly cruel thus to kill whole families of innocent birds, but it is absolutely necessary. one must cross the rookeries in order to explore the island at all, and collect the plants, or survey the coasts from the heights." penguins feed principally on crustacea, molluscs ("shell-fish"), and small fish, varied with a little vegetable matter. although the legs are very short, penguins yet walk with ease, and can, on occasion, run with considerable speed. it would appear, however, as if the largest of the tribe, the emperor-penguin, had become somewhat too bulky to run; for when speed is necessary it lies down upon the snow and propels itself with its feet, travelling, it is said, in this manner with incredible speed. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden_] [_cape town._ black-footed penguins bathing. the name jackass is bestowed because the noise made by these birds closely resembles the bray of a donkey.] penguins, though confined to the southern hemisphere, enjoy a wide range and every variety of climate. they are found on the antarctic ice, on the shores of south africa, south america, australia, new zealand, and inhabit many islands of the southern seas, notably the falklands, kerguelen, and tristan d'acunha. in size penguins vary greatly. the largest is the emperor-penguin of the antarctic seas; scarcely smaller is the king-penguin of kerguelen island. the emperor-penguin stands some ½ feet high, and may weigh as much as lbs. the gentle penguin, or "johnny" of the sailors, is next in size, being but little smaller than the king-penguin; this species inhabits kerguelen island and the falklands. the crested penguins, or rock-hoppers, of which there are several species, are much smaller; they occur in the falkland islands, new zealand, and the antarctic. the south african form is known as the black-footed penguin. its nearest allies are humboldt's penguin of western south america, and the jackass-penguin of the falklands. the smallest of all is the little blue penguin of south australia and new zealand, standing only inches high. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ king-penguin. this is one of the largest of the penguins.] the tube-nosed birds. until recently these birds were believed to be closely related to the gulls, but it is now generally agreed that they are really distant relatives of the divers and penguins. the association with the gulls was pardonable, for they certainly bear a superficial resemblance to them. the birds now under discussion may be readily distinguished from the gulls by the fact that the nostrils open into a tube on the top of the beak, or a pair of tubes, one on either side--hence the name of the group. like the gulls, they are sea-birds and web-footed. their young are downy and for a time helpless. one egg is laid, which is white, and in some cases spotted with red at the large end. as a rule no nest is made, but the egg laid on the bare ground, in a hole or burrow or in crevices of rocks. the albatrosses build a nest of earth, tufts of grass, and moss, the whole structure raising the sitting-bird well above the ground. the giant and fulmar petrels also build nests. the albatross is said by professor moseley to hold the egg in a pouch while sitting, as in the case of the king-penguin. the nature of this pouch has never been described. although occurring in the seas of all parts of the world, the southern hemisphere must be regarded as their headquarters, since here the greatest number of species are found. all are carnivorous, and--with the exception of one small group, the diving-petrels of the strait of magellan--are birds of powerful flight. a large number of species belong to this group, but an enumeration of all would be wearisome. a few of the more striking have, therefore, been selected for description. the albatrosses. it was an albatross which brought such woe upon the ancient mariner whose pitiful story is so feelingly told by coleridge. but the tables are occasionally turned, for men falling overboard in southern seas are liable to be attacked by these powerful giants. the albatross is mostly renowned for its majestic flight. mr. froude has given us a wonderful description of this flight, which is quoted with approval by professor newton. it runs as follows: "the albatross wheels in circles round and round, and for ever round the ship--now far behind, now sweeping past in a long, rapid curve, like a perfect skater on an untouched field of ice. there is no effort; watch as closely as you will, you rarely or never see a stroke of the mighty pinion. the flight is generally near the water, often close to it. you lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest; but how he rises and whence comes the propelling force is to the eye inexplicable: he alters merely the angle at which the wings are inclined; usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal; but when he turns to ascend or makes a change in his direction, the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the water." professor hutton, speaking with similar enthusiasm of the wonderful flight, gives us, however, another side to the picture. "suddenly," he says, "he sees something floating on the water, and prepares to alight; but how changed he now is from the noble bird but a moment before, all grace and symmetry! he raises his wings, his head goes back, and his back goes in; down drop two enormous webbed feet, straddled out to their full extent; and with a hoarse croak, between the cry of a raven and that of a sheep, he falls 'souse' into the water. here he is at home again, breasting the waves like a cork. presently he stretches out his neck, and with great exertion of his wings runs along the top of the water for seventy or eighty yards, until, at last, having got sufficient impetus, he tucks up his legs, and is once more fairly launched in the air." [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ nesting albatrosses on laysan island. this colony was of enormous size, and included thousands of birds.] for the wonderful photographs of the albatross at home we are indebted to the hon. walter rothschild. they are from his book on the avifauna of laysan island, in the north pacific. unfortunately for the albatrosses and other birds, traders have been attracted to laysan for the sake of the guano deposits. the birds were strictly protected during the occupation of mr. preece, but when he left they had no friend to shield them, and their eggs were taken in cart-loads, as the accompanying photograph shows. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ white-capped albatross on egg. professor moseley describes the egg of the albatross as being held in a sort of pouch.] when an albatross makes love, professor moseley tells us, he stands "by the female on the nest, raises his wings, spreads his tail and elevates it, throws up his head with the bill in the air, or stretches it straight out forwards as far as he can, and then utters a curious cry.... whilst uttering the cry the bird sways his neck up and down. the female responds with a similar note, and they bring the tips of their bills lovingly together. this sort of thing goes on for half an hour or so at a time." there are several different kinds of albatross. the largest measures over feet across the out stretched wings. they are inhabitants of the southern seas. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ carting albatross eggs on the island of laysan. at one time these birds were protected; as this photograph testifies, this is no longer the case.] after the albatrosses, the largest bird of the group is the giant petrel. the sailors call it "break-bones," "nelly," or "stinker." in habits it differs much from its aristocratic relative the albatross, haunting the coasts in search of dead seals and whales, and the bodies of other birds. professor moseley aptly likens it to the vulture: "it soars all day along the coast on the look-out for food. no sooner is an animal killed than numbers appear as if by magic, and the birds are evidently well acquainted with the usual proceedings of sealers, who kill the sea-elephant, take off the skin and blubber, and leave the carcase. the birds gorge themselves with food, just like the vultures, and are then unable to fly. i came across half a dozen at christmas harbour in this condition. we landed just opposite them; they began to run to get out of the way. the men chased them; they ran off, spreading their wings, but unable to rise. some struggled into the water and swam away, but two went running on, gradually disgorging their food, in the utmost hurry, until they were able to rise, when they made off to sea." the fulmar petrel is a british bird. on st. kilda, professor newton tells us, from , to , young are killed in one week in august, the only time when, by the custom of the community, they are allowed to be taken. these, after the oil is extracted, serve the islanders for winter food. the storm-petrel is a small bird which breeds abundantly in st. kilda and the orkneys, and so fearless that it will allow itself to be taken from the nest by hand. immediately this is done, the bird vomits a quantity of pure oil from its mouth. the wild-fowlers make use of this habit, capturing the bird, collecting the oil, and setting the prisoner free again. a story is related of a storm-petrel which was kept in a cage for three weeks. it was fed by smearing its breast with oil, which the bird swallowed by drawing the feathers separately through its beak. these birds are popularly supposed to be seen only before stormy weather, and therefore are not welcomed by sailors, who call them "devil's birds" and "witches." this bird seems to commend itself to some palates; thus the late mr. seebohm says: "cooked on toast, like snipe, we found them delicious eating, very rich, but not at all fishy." we cannot refrain from a brief mention of the remarkable little diving-petrel--remarkable because of its unlikeness to all the other petrels and its strong resemblance to the auks. but its tubular nostrils and certain anatomical characters proclaim its true affinities. "this is a petrel," says professor moseley, "that has given up the active aerial habits of its allies, and has taken to diving, and has become specially modified by natural selection to suit it for this changed habit, though still a petrel in essential structure." on two occasions professor moseley met with them in the strait of magellan, and describes the water as being covered with these birds in flocks extending over acres, which were made black with them. ---- chapter vii. _storks, herons, and pelican tribe._ the storks, herons, and pelican tribe form a group of closely allied but externally very unlike birds, distantly related to the petrels on the one hand, and the cranes and hawk tribe on the other. the storks. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ fulmar petrel. like the vulture, this bird will so gorge itself with food as to be unable, for a time, to fly.] there are few birds which have figured more prominently in the realms of fairy-tale and fable than the white stork. today it is almost universally held in affectionate regard, and in holland, denmark, and germany is afforded the strictest protection, every effort being made, in localities where it is plentiful, to induce it to build its nest upon the house-roof. sometimes, to effect this, its fondness for a stage of some sort being known, a cart-wheel is set up, and this generally proves successful, the grateful bird erecting thereon its nest. once occupied, it may be held by several generations of tenants; and year by year additions are made to the nest, so that the original shallow structure at last attains a height of several feet. the material used in its construction consists of sticks and other substances. he considers himself a fortunate man indeed who can boast a stork's nest on his house. to show how widespread is the regard in which this bird is held, we may mention that in morocco, according to colonel irby, "almost every moorish hovel has its stork's nest on the top, a pile of sticks lined with grass and palmetto-fibre," and he goes on to relate that in "morocco and fez, and some other large towns in the moorish empire, there is a regular storks' hospital, and that, should one be in any way injured or fall from the nest, it is sent to this institution, or rather enclosure, which is kept up by subscriptions from wealthy moors, who regard the stork as a sacred bird." though the nest appears to be generally placed upon buildings, it is, when these fail, built in trees, and the selection of such sites must be regarded as representing the original practice of the species. the stork is one of the very few birds which appear to be quite dumb. it supplies the want of a voice by a very remarkable clapping noise made by the long, horny beak. but even this noise is rarely made, and appears to be prompted by unusual excitement. "during the breeding-season," mr. howard saunders tells us, "storks keep up a clappering with their bills, and this sound may frequently be heard proceeding from a number of birds circling in the air at such a height as to be almost invisible." the affection displayed by storks for their young is proverbial. they feed them by thrusting their beaks down into the gaping little mouths, and injecting the half-digested remains of their last meal, which may represent reptile, frog, or fish, varied by a small mammal, young bird, worms, or insects. the white stork is a really beautiful bird. except the quill- and some of the smaller wing-feathers, which are black, the plumage is snow-white, whilst the bill and the legs are bright red. like the swallow, it performs extensive migrations, travelling in flocks, numbering many thousands, at an immense height. scarcely less beautiful is the black stork, and, like its white-plumaged ally, it is also an occasional visitant to britain. it is a handsome bird, having the plumage of the upper-parts black, richly glossed with purple, copper, and green; the under-parts pure white; and the legs and beak red. but it is far less sociable, and consequently less known, than the white stork, shunning the haunts of men, and seeking seclusion for its nest in the lofty trees of large forests. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild, tring._ whale-headed stork. a rare species, remarkable for the huge size of the beak.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ white storks. the right-hand figure shows the bird making the curious clappering with its beak.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ white stork. a parent bird returning with a frog for its young.] the largest members of the stork tribe are the adjutant-storks and jabirus. the adjutants are also, to our eyes at least, singularly ugly birds. in spite of this very natural disadvantage, they have won a very high place in the regard of the people among whom they dwell, on account of the fact that, both in africa and india, they perform, with the vultures, the work of scavengers. yet there is something of quaintness about these birds, if they are watched from a distance too great to reveal the character which imparts the ugliness to which we have referred, and their actions not seldom border on the grotesque. the name adjutant has been bestowed upon them on account of the peculiar gait, which bears a fanciful resemblance to the measured pacing of an officer on parade. like all the storks, they have large bodies and very long legs, but they have outstripped all their relatives in the enormous size of the beak. the features which have earned this unenviable reputation for ugliness are the peculiarly unkempt and unwashed appearance of the head and neck. these are but scantily clothed in very shabby, brown-looking down-feathers; and the neck is made still more, we might almost say, repulsive by the presence of a large bare pouch, which can be distended with air to an enormous size at will. the arabs, on account of this pouch, call the species resident with them "the father of the leather bottle." some, however, say that the correct translation of the native name would be "the father of the beak." but it is not only on account of their scavenging propensities that the adjutants are esteemed, for it is from the under tail-coverts of these birds that the much-prized "marabou" or "comercolly" feathers are obtained--at least the finest kinds; for some appear to be furnished by that chief of scavengers, the vulture. more precious still "is the celebrated stone called zahir mora, or poison-killer, of great virtue and repute as an antidote to all kinds of poison," to be procured only by splitting open the head of the bird before death. needless to say, the existence of this stone lives only in popular superstition, though how many poor birds have fallen victims thereto is not pleasant to contemplate. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ adjutant-stork. the curious wind-bag is well shown.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ adjutant-stork. this shows the bird in a rather unusual attitude.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ jabiru stork. this bird stands between and feet high.] adjutants choose almost inaccessible pinnacles of rock on which to build their nests, though they sometimes nest in trees. from two to four white eggs are laid, from which, if all goes well, as many young, covered with fluffy white down, are hatched. the jabirus are distant relatives of, and scarcely inferior in size to, the adjutants. there are three species, one occurring in the indian peninsula, new guinea, and australia, one in africa, and one in south america. it is to this last species that the name jabiru correctly applies. furthermore, there can be no doubt that it is one of the handsomest of its tribe. the whole plumage is pure white, and the upper-parts are made additionally resplendent by an indescribable satin-like gloss. the beautiful whiteness of its plumage is enhanced by the fact that the head and neck, bill and feet, are jet-black. some would give the palm of beauty to the african saddle-billed stork. black and white, as in the american form, are the contrasting "colours"; but the plumage of the body, instead of being pure white, is plentifully enriched with black, with beautiful purple reflections. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ flamingoes. in flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the bird a very remarkable appearance.] more or less nearly allied to the storks are several species familiar enough to the professional ornithologist, but not very well known generally. one of the rarest and most interesting of these is the whale-headed or shoe-billed stork of the nile, remarkable for its enormous boat-shaped bill. more common but equally interesting are the beautiful flamingoes. apart from the brilliancy of their colour, the most noticeable feature of these birds is the curious beak, which is bent downwards at a sharp angle, and provided on its inside with horny plates resembling those of the ducks and swans. the tongue of this bird, unlike that of the stork tribe generally, is thick and fleshy, and also resembles that of the duck. the flamingo is the only member of the stork tribe which builds a mud-nest. its foundation laid often in as much as inches of water, and rising above the surface from to inches, with a diameter at the top of inches, it forms a pile of no mean size. strangely enough, though these birds are never so happy as when wading "knee" deep in water, yet after the construction of the nest the incubation of the eggs is delayed so long that before they are hatched the water has disappeared, leaving a burning plain of sun-baked mud. on the top of this nest the parent sits with its long neck neatly curled away among the back-feathers, with its long legs doubled up, and projecting behind her for some distance beyond the tail. until quite recently it was believed that the bird incubated its eggs by sitting _astride_ the nest, the length of the legs forbidding any other position: this has now been proved beyond cavil to be an entirely erroneous opinion. [illustration: _photo by charles knight_] [_aldershot._ flamingoes. on account of the swan-like neck and "strainers" along the edges of the beak, these birds have been regarded as long-legged members of the duck tribe, but they seem more nearly related to the storks.] the eggs, two in number, are peculiar in that they are encased in a thick outer chalky coat, which on removal reveals a greenish-blue shell. the characteristic crooked beak of the adult is not at all apparent in the young bird, and only appears as it approaches maturity. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ european flamingoes. these birds breed in the south of france and spain.] the huge flocks in which these birds consort are graphically described by mr. abel chapman as follows: "in herds of to , several of which are often in sight at once, they stand feeding in the open water, all their heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water-plants from the bottom. on approaching them, which can only be done by extreme caution, their silence is first broken by the sentries, who commence walking away with low croaks; then hundreds of necks rise at once to full extent, every bird gaggling its loudest, as they walk obliquely away, looking back over their shoulders, as though to take stock of the extent of the danger. pushing a few yards forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful sight cannot be imagined than the simultaneous spreading of the crimson wings, flashing against the sky like a gleam of rosy light. in many respects these birds bear a strong resemblance to geese. like them, flamingoes feed by day; and great quantities of grass, etc., are always floating about the muddy water when a herd has been feeding. their cry is almost indistinguishable from the gaggling of geese, and they fly in the same catenarian formations." the spoonbills and ibises also belong to the stork tribe. the former are remarkable chiefly for the strange spoon-shaped bill: one species, a few hundred years ago, nested in england. this remarkable beak is associated with a peculiar method of feeding, well described by the late mr. wolley. during the operation, he says, "the beak was passed sideways through the water, and kept open till something palatable came within its grasp; but the action by which the bird effected this was most singular; for instead of turning only its head and neck, it turned its whole body from left to right and from right to left, like the balance-wheel of a watch; its neck stretched out and its beak immersed perpendicularly to about half its depth: this semicircular action was kept up with great vigour and at a tolerably quick march." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ spoonbill. so called on account of its spoon-shaped bill.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ sacred ibis. sacred to the ancient egyptians, it is known to the abyssinians to-day as "father john."] a graphic description by mr. alfred crowley of a visit to the breeding-haunts of the spoonbill, about fifteen miles from amsterdam, in , is well worth reproducing here: "taking a small boat in tow, we were punted across the open water, over which were flying numbers of sand-martins, swifts, common and black terns, and black-headed gulls, the reeds being full of coots, moorhens, sedge- and reed-warblers, etc., and in the distance we saw, rising above the reeds occasionally, a small spoonbill or purple heron. on nearing a large mass of reeds, one of the boatmen struck the side of the punt with the pole, when up rose some fifty spoonbills and eight or ten purple herons; and as we came closer to the reeds there were soon hovering over our heads, within easy shot, some of the former, and fifty or sixty of the latter. strange to say, not a note or sound escaped from the spoonbills, and only a few croaks from the herons. on reaching the reeds, we moored our punt, and two of the men, wading in the mud, took us in the small boat about fifty yards through the reeds, where we found ourselves surrounded by spoonbills' nests. they were placed on the mud among the reeds, built about foot or inches high and feet in diameter at the bottom, tapering to foot at the top, where there was a slight depression, in which lay four eggs, or in most cases four young birds, many ready to leave the nest, and several ran off as we approached. in the nests with young there was a great difference in age and size, one being about a day or so old, and the oldest nearly ready to leave the nest--some two or three weeks old--so that evidently the birds lay their four eggs at considerable intervals, and begin to sit on depositing the first. after wandering about, a matter of difficulty on account of the mud, we found a clutch of only three eggs, and one of four, which i managed to blow. we also obtained two clutches of eggs of the purple heron, but some of the latter had young." [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ young herons fourteen days old in nest. photographed in the top of a pine-tree feet from the ground, in lord clarendon's park.] the ibises, though much alike in form, are strangely diverse in colour. one species was sacred to the ancient egyptians. the reverence and affection they showed to this bird, above all others, is probably largely due to its migrating habits, which obtained in that far past just as they do to-day. the naturalist brehm says on this subject: "when the nile, after being at its lowest ebb, rose again, and the water assumed a red tinge, then the ibis appeared in the land of the pharaohs as a sure guarantee that the stream--the giver and preserver of life, which the people in their profound reverence raised to the rank of a god--would once again empty the well-spring of plenty over the thirsty land. the servant and messenger of an all-bounteous deity commanded of a necessity a reverence of a poetic and distinguished character, by reason of its importance: he too must be a god." another species, the glossy ibis, occurs sometimes in britain. perhaps the most beautiful of all is the scarlet ibis of america, numbers of which can be seen in the zoological gardens of london. on account of the curved, sickle-shaped bill the ibises were at one time believed to be related to the curlews: this, however, is now known to be quite incorrect. it was at one time believed that "the ibis [was] adopted as a part of the arms of the town of liverpool. this bird is termed a _liver_, from which that flourishing town derived its name, and is now standing on the spot where the _pool_ was, on the verge of which the _liver_ was killed." the arms of the town of liverpool, however, as mr. howard saunders points out, are "comparatively modern, and seem to have no reference to the ibis. the bird which was adopted in the arms of the [extinct] earls of liverpool was described in a former edition of 'burke's peerage' as a cormorant, holding in the beak a branch of seaweed. in the plantagenet seal of liverpool, which is believed to be of the time of king john, the bird has the appearance of a dove, bearing in its bill a sprig of olive, apparently intended to refer to the advantages that commerce would derive from peace." the glossy ibis has been found breeding in colonies of thousands in slavonia. the nests are large structures formed of sticks and a few weeds, never far from the water, and many even, in the colony referred to, were so near the surface that they appeared to be floating. the eggs, three or four in number, are of a beautiful greenish blue. the young, while still unable to fly, climb actively among the branches of the trees in which the nest is placed, clinging so firmly with the feet as to be removed with difficulty. [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ great blue heron. this bird ranges from the arctic regions to the west indies and south america.] the herons and bitterns. in the first mentioned of these two groups the common heron is the best known in the british islands. indeed, there must be few who have not encountered it in a wild state at some time or another. in suitable spots it may occasionally be met with standing mid-leg in water on the look-out for eels and other fish and frogs, a diet varied by an occasional young bird or small mammal. sometimes this prey is hunted, so to speak, the bird walking along with a slow, measured step, striking with lightning rapidity and wonderful precision the moment its victim is sighted, whilst at others it stands motionless, as when fishing, striking the instant the unsuspecting eel or flounder comes within range. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ common night-heron. this bird occasionally visits the british islands.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young common herons. these birds have not yet acquired their full plumage.] from the earliest times until the reign of william iv. the heron was specially protected by law, being held in high regard both as an object of sport and a desirable addition to the dinner-table. so late as james i.'s time an act was passed making it illegal to shoot with any gun within paces of a heronry. the favourite way of taking the heron was by hawking, a sport which has furnished material in abundance both for poet and painter. herons breed in more or less extensive colonies, the nests--somewhat bulky structures, made of sticks and lined with twigs--being placed in the tops of high trees. from four to six is the normal number of eggs, and these are of a beautiful sea-green colour. the young are thinly clad in long, hairy-looking down, and for some considerable time are quite helpless. similar in appearance to the common heron is the american great blue heron, though it is by no means the largest of the herons, as its name might seem to imply. this distinction belongs to the goliath heron. a native of africa, it is remarkable not only for its size, but for an extraordinary development of long, loose feathers hanging down from the lower part of the breast, and bearing a strange resemblance to an apron, concealing the upper part of the legs. passing over many species, we pause to descant on the egrets. these are numbered amongst the most unfortunate of birds, and this because of the gracefulness and beauty of certain parts of the plumage worn during the breeding-season, which are coveted alike by eastern magnates and western women. the feathers in question are those known as "egrets," or, more commonly, "ospreys"; and their collection, as professor newton points out, causes some of "the most abominable cruelty practised in the animal world." the wearing of these feathers can no longer be excused; for sir william flower in england, and professor w. e. d. scott in america, have given the greatest publicity to the horrible barbarities and sickening scenes which are perpetrated by the men sent to gather in this harvest. the egrets, however, are not the only victims, as a glance at the milliners' windows will show, the distorted and mangled bodies of almost every known species of the smaller birds being therein displayed! many of those who wear these "ornaments" offend unwittingly; it is certain that if they realised the suffering and waste of life that this method of decoration entails they would eschew any but ostrich feathers for ever. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ green heron. this is a north american bird of skulking and nocturnal habits.] the cattle-egret, better known as the buff-backed heron, breeds in the southern portion of the spanish peninsula, where from march to autumn it is very common in the marshes of andalusia, thousands congregating there, herding with the cattle, from the backs of which they may be often seen picking off the ticks; hence the spaniards give them a name meaning "cattle-cleaners." the night-herons are comparatively small birds, and derive their name from their habit of turning night into day, waking up only as the shades of evening fall to hunt for food; only during the breeding-season is this habit broken through, when they are obliged to hunt for food for their young during the daytime. they breed in colonies, in bushes or low trees in the neighbourhood of swamps. in some places they are protected--as, for instance, round the great honam temple at canton, where these birds are held sacred. colonel swinhoe, says mr. howard saunders, describes the nests "as placed thickly in some venerable banyans, the granite slabs that form the pavement beneath the trees being bedaubed with the droppings of old and young, while from the nests arose the chattering cry of the callow broods, for which the parent birds were catering the whole day long, becoming more active at sunset. as darkness set in, the noise and hubbub from the trees rose to a fearful pitch." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ buff-backed heron. this bird habitually picks insects from the backs of cattle.] in hungary large numbers of herons and egrets breed together in the marshes, egrets and night-herons breeding together with the common and purple herons. landbeck, an enthusiastic ornithologist, writes of such heronries: "the clamour in these breeding-places is so tremendous and singular in its character as almost to defy description; it must be heard before a person can form any idea of what it is like. at a distance these hideous noises blend with a confused roar, so as in some way to resemble the hubbub caused by a party of drunken hungarian peasants; and it is only on a nearer approach the separate notes of the two species, the common and the night-heron, can be distinguished--namely, 'craik' and 'quack,' to which the notes of the young, 'zek-zek-zek,' ... in different keys, serve as an accompaniment. when close to, the noise is tremendous and the stench unbearable. this, together with the sight of dozens of young herons in every stage of putrefaction and teeming with maggots, is perfectly sickening, though the contemplation of life and movement in this immense heronry is a matter of interest to the true ornithologist.... the tops of the highest trees are usually occupied by the nests of the common heron; a little lower down is the habitation of the shy and beautiful great egret, while in the forks of the lowest branches the night-heron takes up her abode. all these species build in one and the same tree, the nests numbering not infrequently as many as fifteen in a single tree, and yet peace invariably reigns amongst all these varieties. high over the trees appears the common heron, laden with booty, announcing his arrival with a hoarse 'craaich,' when, changing his note to a goose-like 'da-da-da-da,' he either jerks the provender down the throats of the ever-hungry youngsters or throws it up before them, when the fish are greedily swallowed, amid a desperate accompaniment of 'gohé-é-é-é, gohé-é-é-é',' a sound much resembling the frantic cry of a calf which is being lifted into a farmer's market-cart. the conduct of the more cautious egret is very different. circling far above the nest, she first satisfies herself that no foe is hidden below before she alights among her family, which are much quieter and less hasty than their cousins. the night-herons, on the contrary, approach their nests from all sides, high and low, their crops filled with frogs, fish, and insects. a deep 'quâk' or 'gowek' announces the arrival of the old bird already from some distance, to which the young answer, while feeding, with a note resembling 'queht, queht,' or 'quehaoâheh, quehoehah'. as soon as the parents have taken their departure the youngsters recommence their concert, and from every nest uninterrupted cries of 'tzik, tzik, tzik, tzek-tzek, tzek,' and 'gétt, gétt-gétt,' are the order of the day. this amusement is varied by the nestlings climbing out among the branches till they reach the top of the tree, whence they can have a good look-out, and can see the old birds returning home from a long distance, though they are in many cases often mistaken in their identity." a common north american bird is the so-called green heron, known by many local aliases, such as "fly-up-the-creek," "chalk-line," and "chuckle-head." seen at short range, its plumage is lustrous and beautiful, but this disappears as soon as the bird takes wing. the nest is of very loose construction; and a story is told of one which was such a shaky concern that every time the old birds jarred it a stick fell off, and the structure grew smaller and smaller, until the day when the young were ready to fly there were but three sticks left; finally these parted, and the little herons found themselves perching on the branch that once held the nest! the bitterns. these are birds of a remarkable type of coloration, adapted to aid their skulking habits. the coloration partakes so completely of the nature of the undergrowth among which they dwell, that, aided by certain peculiar habits described below, they succeed in harmonising so perfectly with their surroundings as to render themselves invisible to their enemies. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ indian cattle-egret. this is a species of buff-backed heron, and earns its name from its habit of hovering round cattle for the sake of picking off the ticks by which they are infested.] the best-known species is the common bittern, though this epithet is no longer applicable, for at the present time it is but an occasional visitant to britain. once it was plentiful enough, as the frequent references both in prose and poetry bear witness. these references have been inspired mainly by its very peculiar note, made apparently only during the breeding-season. this sound is variously described as "booming," "bellowing," and "bumping," and many are the theories which have been invented to account for its origin. thomson, in "the seasons," says that it is made whilst the beak is thrust into the mud:-- the bittern knows his time, with bill ingulf'd to shake the sounding marsh. chaucer, that it is caused whilst it is immersed under water; and dryden represents it as made by thrusting the bill into a reed. mr. j. e. harting is one of the few who have actually watched the bird during the production of the sound, and from him we gather that it is made by expelling the air from the throat whilst the head is held vertically upwards. the protective coloration and the peculiar habits associated therewith have only recently been recognised. these birds, when threatened, do not take flight, but immediately bring the body and the long neck and pointed head into one vertical line, and remain absolutely motionless so long as the cause of alarm persists. the peculiar coloration of the body harmonises so perfectly with the surrounding undergrowth, that, as just remarked, detection is well-nigh impossible. although the pattern and tone of the coloration vary in the various species of bittern--which occur all over the world--this principle of protection obtains in all. the drainage of the fens is answerable for the extinction of the bittern in england. we would draw special attention to the great length of the feathers on the neck, which, when the bird is excited, are extended on either side to form an enormous feather shield. this is admirably shown in the photograph below, which represents a bittern preparing to strike. it is a curious fact that, when extended, the hind part of the neck is protected only by a thin coat of down. when the excitement has passed, the elongated feathers fall again, and, curling round the unprotected area, give the bird the appearance of having a perfectly normally clothed neck. a wounded bittern will strike at either man or dog, and is extremely dangerous, owing to the sharpness of its dagger-like bill. if a dog advances on one not entirely disabled, the bird immediately turns itself upon its back, and fights with beak and claws, after the fashion of a wounded hawk or owl. owing to the way in which the neck can be tucked up, by throwing it into a series of curves, and then suddenly extended, great danger attends the approach of the unwary. the bittern is by no means particular in its choice of food, small mammals, birds, lizards, frogs, fishes, and beetles being alike palatable. the writer remembers taking from the gullet and stomach of one of these birds no less than four water-voles, three of which had apparently been killed only just before it was shot, for the process of digestion had hardly begun. on migration these birds appear to travel in flocks of considerable size, since captain kelham reports having seen as many as fifty together high up in the air, when between alexandria and cairo. curiously enough, they flew like "a gaggle" of geese--in the form of a v; but every now and then he noticed they, for some reason or other, got into great confusion. at one time the flesh of the bittern was much esteemed as food for the table, being likened in taste and colour to the leveret, with some of the flavour of wild-fowl. sir thomas browne, who flourished during the middle of the seventeenth century, says that young bitterns were considered better eating than young herons. [illustration: _photo by j. l. bonhote, esq._ common bittern. preparing to attack (side view).] in the fourteenth century it bred in considerable numbers in the fens of cambridgeshire, and was so highly esteemed as a bird for the table that the taking of its eggs was forbidden. at a court-baron of the bishop of ely, according to mr. j. e. harting, held at littleport in the eleventh year of the reign of edward ii., several people were fined for taking the eggs of the bittern and carrying them out of the fen, to the great destruction of the birds. decreasing steadily in numbers, the bittern continued to breed in britain till the middle of the nineteenth century, one of the last nests being taken in norfolk in . [illustration: _photo by henry king, sydney._ australian cockatoo. the sulphur-coloured crest of this bird is arranged in the form of a horse-shoe.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ macaw. next to the brilliancy of its colouration, the most striking feature about this bird is its huge beak.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville kent, f.z.s._ male ruff in full breeding plumage. this wonderful plumage is worn only for a few weeks in the year.] [illustration: _photo by henry king, sydney._ laughing jackass. this bird is a species of kingfisher, and has acquired its name on account of its most extraordinary cry.] _printed at lyons, france._ [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ egyptian pelican. in the pelicans the two sexes are coloured alike.] the pelican tribe. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ crested pelican. this bird derives its name from the curiously curled feathers on the top of the head and nape of the neck.] the members of the pelican tribe may be readily distinguished from other living birds by the fact that all their toes are united in a common fold of skin or web. in the ducks and other web-footed birds only the front toes are so united. the pelican tribe embraces several apparently dissimilar forms, whose only claim to be grouped together, judged from a superficial point of view, lies in the fact that they possess the peculiar type of foot above mentioned. with the general appearance of the pelican itself probably every one is familiar, but we had better mention here that the other representatives of the group with which we have now to deal are the cormorants and gannets, common on the british coasts, and the less-known darters, frigate-birds, and tropic-birds; these, as we know from their anatomy, are all closely allied forms, and with the pelicans make up a somewhat isolated group whose nearest allies appear to be the members of the stork tribe. the pelican figures largely in ecclesiastical heraldry as the type of maternal tenderness. tradition has it that the bird, in admonishing its young, occasionally did so with such violence as to slay them. remorse immediately following, the distracted parent drew blood from its own breast, and therewith sprinkled the victims of its wrath, which thereupon became restored to life again. the exhaustion following on this loss of blood was so great that the young had perforce to leave the nest to procure food for themselves and the sinking parent. if any, through lack of filial affection, refused to aid in this good work, the mother, on recovering strength, drove them from her presence, but the faithful children she permitted to follow her wherever she went. one of the most remarkable features of the pelican is the pouch which hangs suspended from the under side of the beak. this is capable of great distension, and is used, when fishing, as a sort of bag-net, of which the upper jaw serves as the lid. the young are fed by the female, which, pressing her well-filled pouch against her breast, opens her mouth and allows them to take their fill therefrom. pelicans display great sagacity when fishing, a flock often combining to form a horseshoe, and, driving the fish into a mass, take their fill. this method, of course, is only possible when fishing in the estuaries of rivers or lakes, where the fish can be "rounded up," so to speak. clumsy as the pelican looks, it is yet capable of wonderful powers of flight; indeed, it shares the honour with the vultures, storks, and adjutants as an expert in the peculiar form of flight known as "soaring." a north american species of pelican is remarkable in that during the breeding-season the beak is ornamented with a peculiar horny excrescence, which is shed as soon as that period is over. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ young australian pelican. pelicans, like gannets and cormorants, are hatched perfectly naked and quite blind.] pelicans are natives of the tropical and temperate regions of the old and new worlds, and live in flocks often numbering many thousands. the nest is placed on the ground, and therein are deposited two white eggs. the young are helpless for some time after hatching. in all some six-and-thirty species of cormorants are known to science, of which two are commonly to be met with round the british coasts, one of which also travels inland to establish itself on such lakes and rivers as may afford it support. in various parts of the world cormorants are taken when young and trained to catch fish: sometimes for sport, or--as in china--to furnish a livelihood for their owners. at one time the master of the cormorants was one of the officers in the royal household of england, the post having been created in by james i. the method of hunting is as follows:--after fastening a ring around the neck, the bird is cast off into the water, and, diving immediately, makes its way beneath the surface with incredible speed, and, seizing one fish after another, rises in a short space of time with its mouth full and throat distended by the fish, which it has been unable to swallow by reason of the restraining ring. with these captures it dutifully returns to its keeper, who deftly removes the fish, and either returns the bird to the water, or, giving it a share of the spoil, restores it to its perch. cormorants nest either in trees or on the ground; they lay from four to six eggs, and the young feed themselves by thrusting their heads far down the parents' throats and helping themselves to the half-digested fish which they find there. the cormorant has a certain sinister appearance equalled by no other bird, so that its introduction in milton's "paradise lost" (book iv., ) seems particularly appropriate. satan, it will be remembered, is likened to a cormorant:-- so clomb this first grand thief into god's fold . . . . . . . thence up he flew, and in the tree of life, the middle tree and highest there that grew, sat like a cormorant. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ young pelicans. young pelicans never develop long down-feathers, like gannets and frigate-birds.] the curious bottle-green plumage, green eyes, long hooked beak, and head surmounted by a crest of the smaller sea-loving representative of the two british species were doubtless familiar enough to milton before blindness overtook him. some of our readers may have made the acquaintance of the cormorant's nearest ally, the darter, or snake-neck, in the fish-house at the zoological gardens of london. for the sake of those who have not, we may say that the darter may be described as a long-necked cormorant, with somewhat lighter plumage. the head is small and flat, and armed with a pointed, dagger-like bill, whose edges are finely toothed, with needle-like points projecting backwards. the neck is very long and slender; hence its name of snake-neck. furthermore, it is remarkable for a very strange "kink," formed by a peculiar arrangement of the neck-bones--an arrangement intimately associated with its peculiar method of capturing its prey, which, as with the cormorant, is pursued under water. how dexterously this is done may be seen any day in the fish-house at the zoological gardens, where, as we have already mentioned, these birds are kept. at feeding-time they are turned loose into a large tank into which a number of small fish have been placed. the birds dive as soon as they reach the water, and with surprising speed chase their prey till within short range. then, by a sudden bayonet-like lunge, made possible by the peculiar "kink" in the neck, a victim is transfixed, brought to the surface, released from the bill by a series of sudden jerks, tossed into the air, and dexterously caught and swallowed. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ cormorant. in the spring a slight crest is developed, and a white patch appears on the thigh.] the darter is found in africa, india, the malay region, australia, and south america, frequenting the banks of rivers, lakes, and swamps, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs or in immense flocks. very different from either of the foregoing species, both in build and coloration, is the gannet. in its habits it is also different. the adult bird is about the size of a goose, white in colour, and armed with a powerful pointed bill. the young have a quite distinct plumage, being deep brown, speckled with white, this livery being worn for nearly three years. the greater part of a gannet's lifetime seems to be spent upon the wing, a fact which implies a very different method of feeding from that followed by the cormorant and darter; and this is actually the case. preying upon shoals of herring, mackerel, sprats, or pilchards, the birds, flying singly or in flocks, as soon as the fish are discovered, rise, soar in circles to such a height as experience shows best calculated to carry them by a downward motion to the required depth, and then, partially closing the wings, plunge upon their prey, and rarely without success, the time which elapses between the plunge and the immersion being about fifteen seconds. a flock of gannets feeding is a really wonderful sight, and can be witnessed in many places around the british coasts, for the gannet is one of the very common british birds. the pilchard-fishermen off the cornish coast learn when the shoals are at hand, and the direction in which they are travelling, by the actions of these birds. a very cruel experiment is sometimes practised upon the gannet, based upon its well-known method of fishing. a herring is tied to a beam and set adrift, and the bird, not noticing the trap, plunges with its usual velocity upon the fish, with the result that it is killed instantly by the shock of the contact. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ frigate-birds at home. the feathers of frigate-birds are used for head-dresses in the pacific islands.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young gannets, first year. the plumage at this stage is very dark brown, each feather being tipped with white.] gannets breed in colonies of thousands on the islands off the east and west coasts of scotland. they lay but a single egg, in a nest composed of seaweed deposited in inaccessible crags of precipitous cliffs. the young are at first naked; later they become clothed with long white down. "at one time," says mr. howard saunders, "young gannets were much esteemed as food, from , to , being taken in a season during the month of august. they are hooked up, killed, and flung into the sea, where a boat is waiting to pick up the bodies. these are plucked, cleaned, and half roasted, after which they are sold at from eightpence to a shilling each.... the fat is boiled down into oil, and the feathers, after being well baked, are used for stuffing beds, about a hundred birds producing a stone of feathers." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ gannet, second year. the white plumage of the neck is just beginning to appear.] gannets present one or two structural peculiarities of sufficient interest to mention here. in most birds, it will be remembered, the nostrils open on each side of the beak; but in the gannet no trace of true nostrils remains; and the same may almost be said of the cormorant and darter. in gannets, however, a slight indication of their sometime existence remains, though the nostril itself no longer serves as an air-passage; and these birds are compelled to breathe through the mouth. again, the tongue, like the nostrils, has also been reduced to a mere vestige. stranger still is the fact that immediately under the skin there lies an extensive system of air-cells of large size, which can be inflated or emptied at will. many of these cells dip down between the muscles of the body, so that the whole organism is pervaded with air-cells, all of which are in connection with the lungs. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ gannet, full plumage. the fully adult plumage is not attained till the bird is three years old.] the frigate- and tropic-birds, which now remain to be described, are probably much less familiar to our readers than the foregoing species. [illustration: _photo by valentine & sons, ltd._] [_dundee._ gannets on the bass rock. the bass rock is the only breeding-station of the gannet on the eastern coast of the british islands.] frigate-birds are remarkable in more ways than one. to begin with, their general appearance may be described as that of a small, long-winged, fork-tailed albatross, mounted upon particularly diminutive legs, so short as to do little more than raise the body off the ground. their flight is wonderfully graceful, and capable of being sustained for considerable periods; for, like the gannets, they pass most of their time on the wing. they feed upon surface-fish, which they capture from the surface of the water without alighting, or upon fish which they take from the gannets of the neighbourhood. frigate-birds build their nests in trees, on low bushes, or on the ground, and sometimes upon ledges of precipitous cliffs. the nest is a loose structure composed of sticks, and its construction is accompanied by much pilfering from one another. only a single egg is laid. about the beginning of january the male acquires a very remarkable pouch of brilliant scarlet skin, which hangs beneath the beak. frigate-birds are found all over the world within the tropics. the tropic-birds, or boatswain-birds, as they are sometimes called, are more like gulls or the heavier species of terns in general appearance, and in no way resemble superficially the forms with which they are associated, save in the fact that all the toes are enclosed in the same web. a study of their anatomy, however, leaves little doubt that these birds are really members of the pelican tribe. either pure white, relieved with black, or of a beautiful apricot-yellow, with similar black markings, with a powerful bill and long tapering tail, the tropic-bird is one of the most beautiful of sea-birds. there are altogether about six species of tropic-birds, distributed over the pacific and indian oceans. they nest in hollows of cliffs or holes in trees, and lay a single egg, which bears some resemblance to that of a kestrel. ---- chapter viii. _screamers, ducks, geese, and swans._ familiar as are most of our readers with all save the first mentioned of these birds, yet few probably suspect how great a wealth of forms this group displays. all are more or less aquatic in their habits, of heavy build, with long necks and small heads, short legs, and short wings and tails. the young are hatched covered with a peculiar kind of down, which more nearly resembles that of the ostrich tribe than the down of other birds, and they run about or accompany their parents to the water either immediately or a few hours after hatching. several species have become domesticated, and in some cases have given rise to peculiar breeds, whilst many are much in demand for the purpose of enlivening ornamental waters. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ crested screamer, or chaka. the crested and horned screamers are the only members of the family without webbed feet.] the least-known members of the group are the very remarkable and extremely interesting screamers of south america, of which there are three species. these are large birds, presenting some resemblances to the game-birds on the one hand and the geese on the other. not only the beak, but the skull, in certain characters, recalls that of the game-birds. the body may be described as goose-like, but in the longer legs and enormous toes, which are not connected by a web, these birds recall the megapodes, or mound-builders (page ). [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ aylesbury duck. this is one of the most esteemed of all domesticated breeds.] the screamers are generally regarded as primitive members of the group with which they are now associated; but in many respects they are quite peculiar. not the least interesting of their habits is the great predilection they observe for soaring in the air at immense altitudes, uttering the while the curious cry to which they owe their name. several birds often do this at once. yet stranger is the fact that they not seldom gather together in vast flocks to sing in concert. mr. hudson, for instance, states that the species known as the crested screamer on one occasion surprised him by "an awful and overpowering burst of 'melody,'" which saluted him from half a million of voices at an out-of-the-way spot in the pampas one evening at nine o'clock; and, again, once at noon he heard flock after flock take up their song round the entire circuit of a certain lake, each flock waiting its turn to sing, and only stopping when the duty had been performed. like the gannet, these birds are richly supplied with air-cells between the body and the skin, and between many of the muscles; so highly are these cells developed, that it is said a crackling sound is emitted when pressure is applied to the skin. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ pochard. this is one of the diving-ducks.] the wings of these birds are armed each with a pair of powerful and sharp spurs, recalling those of certain of the plover tribe (page ), though in the latter only one spur is present on each wing. the division of the remainder of this group into ducks, geese, and swans is generally recognised, but no hard-and-fast line can yet be drawn between the several sections. we must regard them as representing adaptations to peculiar modes of life, which appear to be most marked in the duck-like forms. these may be divided into fresh-water ducks, salt-water ducks, spiny-tailed ducks, and mergansers. of the fresh-water ducks, the most familiar is the wild-duck, or mallard. this is a resident british bird, and also the parent of the domesticated stock, which frequently closely resembles the wild form. in this species, as with the majority of the fresh-water ducks, the males wear a distinctive livery; but the males for a few weeks during the summer assume more or less completely the livery of the female, a process aptly described as going into "eclipse." the assumption of the female dress at this season is necessary, since it harmonises completely with the surrounding foliage, and so effectually conceals the bird at a time when it is peculiarly helpless; for, as with all birds, the quills or flight-feathers are cast off by the process known as moulting once a year, but instead of being replaced in pairs, and the flight remaining unaffected, they are shed all at once, so that escape from enemies must be sought by concealment. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ eider-duck. it is the down of this bird which is so much in demand for quilts.] usually among birds the male has the more powerful voice, but with the mallard and its allies the reverse is the case, the female giving forth the loud familiar "quack, quack," whilst the note of the male sounds like a feeble attempt to answer its mate, but smothered by a cold in the head. this peculiar and characteristic subdued voice is associated with a remarkable bulb-shaped bony enlargement at the bottom of the windpipe, just where it branches off to the right and left lungs, the female being without this swelling. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ sheldrake. the female bird is just entering her nest at the bottom of a long burrow.] the nest is composed of grass, and lined with down plucked by the female from her own breast, with the sole object, it is generally believed, of keeping the eggs warm; but it is possible that the down is removed as much for the sake of bringing the warm surface of the body in closer contact with the eggs. the site chosen for the nest is exceedingly varied; usually the nest is placed on the ground and near the water, but sometimes in a hedgerow or in a wood, and occasionally in trees, and instances are on record where the deserted nests of hawks and crows have been appropriated. at such times the young seem to be brought to the ground by the parent, which carries them down in her bill. it is some time before the wings of the young birds are big enough to carry them; indeed, they are quite full grown in so far as the body is concerned. at this stage they are known as "flappers." advantage was at one time taken of their helplessness in the "sport" known as "flapper-shooting." on other occasions numbers of people assembled and "beat" a vast tract of country, driving these young flappers before them to a given spot where nets were placed, in which as many as dozen have been taken at one time. fortunately this practice has been abolished by act of parliament. several very distinct domesticated breeds of ducks have been derived from the mallard. the commonest breed differs but little, save in its great size, from the wild parent form, but the most esteemed are those known as the rouen and aylesbury. the penguin-duck is the most aberrant and the ugliest of these breeds, having a peculiarly upright, awkward carriage, and very small wings. the salt-water ducks, or diving-ducks, are for the most part of a heavier build than the foregoing species, and many are of a sombre coloration. all the species are expert divers, and in consequence have the legs, which are short, placed far backwards, and this causes them to assume a more upright carriage when on land. the curious bony bulb at the base of the windpipe found in the fresh-water species becomes in the salt-water forms greatly enlarged, and its walls incompletely ossified, leaving large spaces to be filled by peculiarly delicate sheets of membrane. the majority of the species in this section frequent the open sea, but some occur inland. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ paradise-ducks. this species is a native of new zealand, where the photograph was taken. the bird on the right with the white head is the female.] one of the most useful, and at the same time most ornamental, of this section is the eider-duck, the male in full plumage being a truly magnificent bird: the female, as in the majority of ducks, is clad in sober colours. in iceland and norway the eider-duck is strictly protected, a fine being imposed for killing it during the breeding-season, or even for firing a gun near its haunts. this most unusual care is, however, by no means of a disinterested kind, but is extended solely that certain privileged persons may rob the birds of their eggs and the down on which they rest, the latter being the valuable eiderdown so much in demand for bed-coverlets and other purposes. "the eggs and down," says professor newton, "are taken at intervals of a few days by the owners of the 'eider-fold,' and the birds are thus kept depositing both during the whole season.... every duck is ultimately allowed to hatch an egg or two to keep up the stock." mr. w. c. sheppard gives an interesting account of a visit to an eider-colony on an island off the coast of iceland. "on landing," he says, "the ducks and their nests were everywhere. great brown ducks sat upon their nests in masses, and at every step started from under our feet. it was with difficulty we avoided treading on some of the nests. on the coast of the opposite shore was a wall built of large stones ... about feet high and of considerable thickness. at the bottom, on both sides of it, alternate stones had been left out, so as to form a series of square apartments for the ducks to nest in. almost every apartment was occupied.... the house itself was a marvel. the earthen walls that surrounded it, and the window embrasures, were occupied by ducks. on the ground the house was fringed with ducks. on the turf slopes of its roof we could see ducks, and a duck sat on the door-scraper. the grassy banks had been cut into square patches, about inches having been removed, and each hollow had been filled with ducks. a windmill was infested, and so were all the outhouses, mounds, rocks, and crevices. the ducks were everywhere. many were so tame that we could stroke them on their nests, and the good lady told us that there was scarcely a duck on the island that would not allow her to take its eggs without flight or fear." the nest is composed externally of seaweed, and lined with down, which is plucked by the female from her breast as incubation proceeds, till eventually it completely conceals the eggs. each nest yields about one-sixth of a pound, and is worth, on the spot, from twelve to fifteen shillings a pound. the pochards, scaups, golden-eyes, and scoters are relatives of the eider-duck; but since all resemble the latter in their general mode of life, we need not consider them here. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ cape barren goose. this bird is a native of south-east australia and tasmania, and remarkable for its short beak.] the mergansers and smews, to which reference has been made, differ markedly from all the ducks so far considered in the peculiar formation of the bill, which is relatively long and narrow, with its edges armed with sharp, tooth-like processes projecting backwards towards the back of the mouth. these processes are really only horny spines, and have no relation to teeth, although they are used, as teeth would be, for holding slippery prey, such as fish, which form the greater part of the diet of these birds. so far, in all the ducks which we have considered, the male differs conspicuously from the female in plumage; but in the forms we are now about to describe both sexes are coloured alike. the first is the common sheldrake, which seems to lie somewhere on the borderland between the ducks and the geese. it is a very beautiful bird, conspicuously marked with broad bands of orange-chestnut, white, and black. the beak being coral-red in colour, and further ornamented by a peculiar fleshy knob at its base, serves to set off the glossy bottle-green colour of the head and neck. as appears to be invariably the case where both sexes are coloured alike, the female builds her nest in a hole, generally a rabbit-burrow, whilst the young have a distinct livery, duller in tone than that of the parent. the female sheldrake breeds in britain, and may be frequently seen at sea flying in small parties, which have been likened to a flock of butterflies. the geese include birds of somewhat conspicuous coloration, besides a considerable number of more subdued aspect. the sexes are distinguished by different names, the female being known as the goose, the male as the gander, whilst the young is the gosling. as we have already mentioned, there is no hard-and-fast line to be drawn between the three sections of this group. the ducks are connected by the sheldrakes with the geese, through the spur-winged goose, the egyptian and orinoco geese, and certain other species which cannot be alluded to on this occasion. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian pygmy goose. the pygmy geese are expert divers.] the spur-winged geese, of which there are two species, are african birds, and derive their name from the long spur seated on the wing. a still more remarkable form is the half-webbed goose, so called from the fact that its feet are only partially webbed. it has a black-and-white plumage, a hooked beak, and a large warty prominence on the front of the head. it spends most of its time perched on the branches of the australian tea-trees, and rarely enters the water. the windpipe is peculiar, being coiled in several folds between the skin and the breast-muscles. from these peculiar forms we pass to the true geese. the largest living species is the chinese or guinea-goose of eastern siberia, regarded as the stock from which the domesticated geese of eastern countries have been derived. european domesticated geese have been derived from the grey or grey-lag goose, a species at one time exceedingly common in england, breeding in considerable numbers in the fen districts, where the young were frequently taken and reared with the large flock of domesticated geese commonly kept at that time for the sake of their feathers. the grey-lag goose, however, has long ceased to breed in england, though a few still nest in scotland. the most important breeds derived from the grey-lag are the toulouse and emden. other british species are the bean-goose, pink-footed and white-fronted geese, and the "black" brent and barnacle-geese, in all of which the sexes are precisely similar in coloration and subdued in tone. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ black-necked swan. the fleshy knob at the base of the bill is of a bright red colour.] in the new world some very beautiful white geese are found, which are still more interesting in that the females have a different coloration. these are the kelp- and upland-geese of patagonia and the falklands. the female of the kelp-goose is brownish black above and black barred with white below, whilst the female of the upland-goose is rufous and black in colour. the latter may be seen in london parks. lastly, we have a few species known from their small size as pygmy geese of australia, india, and africa. perhaps the best known is the indian species, called the cotton-teal. they are tiny birds, resembling small ducks rather than geese, and dive admirably, a feat which the larger species do not perform. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ trumpeter- and whooper-swans. the trumpeter is the bird in the foreground; the whooper is remarkable for its musical note, resembling the word "whoop" quickly repeated.] the swans are linked with the geese through a very beautiful south american species, known as the coscoroba swan. it is the smallest of all the swans, pure white in colour, save the tips of the greater wing-quills, which are black, and the coral-red bill and feet. of all the swans, probably the best known is the mute swan, the semi-domesticated descendants of which are so common on ornamental waters. for hundreds of years the latter were jealously guarded, none but the larger freeholders being allowed to keep them, and then not without a licence from the crown; with this licence was coupled an obligation to mark each swan with a particular mark, cut with a knife or other instrument through the skin of the beak, whereby ownership might be established. it would seem that these swans and their descendants were not derived from the native wild stock, but were introduced into england, it is said, from cyprus by richard i. at the present day large "swanneries" have almost ceased to exist. perhaps the largest is that of the earl of ilchester, at abbotsbury, near weymouth. in between , and , swans were to be seen there at one time, but latterly the number has been reduced to about half. although swans do not perhaps stand so high in the general esteem as table delicacies as with our forefathers, there are yet many who appreciate the flesh of this bird; but the st. helen's swan-pit at norwich is the only place in england where they are systematically fattened for the table. here from to cygnets--as the young swans are called--caught in the neighbouring rivers, are placed early in august, and fed upon cut grass and barley till christmas, when they are fit for table, weighing, when "dressed," about lbs., and fetching, if purchased alive at the pit, about two guineas each. the pit is constructed of brickwork, and is about feet long, feet wide, and feet deep--the water, admitted from the river, being about feet deep. the food is placed in floating troughs. the birds, "when so disposed," says mr. southwell, "leave the water by walking up a sloping stage, and thus obtain access to a railed-in enclosure, where they may rest and preen themselves." the beautiful swan-like carriage, so familiar in the floating bird, seems to belong only to the mute swan, the other species of white swans carrying the neck more or less straight, and keeping the wings closely folded to the body. no greater anomaly could at one time have been imagined than a black swan. for centuries it was considered to be an impossibility. we owe the discovery of such a bird to the dutch navigator willem de vlaming, who, more than years ago, captured the first specimen at the mouth of what is now known, in consequence, as the swan river. a year after their capture accounts reached england through the burgomaster of amsterdam, and these were published by the royal society in . the bird is now fairly common on ornamental waters, where its sooty-black plumage, set off by pure white quill-feathers and coral-red bill, contrasts strongly with the typical snow-white mute swan, generally kept with it. equally interesting is the handsome black-necked swan of south america. in this species the plumage is pure white, save that of the neck, which is black. the distribution of this species is practically the same as that of the coscoroba swan. breeding freely in confinement, it has become a fairly common bird on ornamental waters. it shares with the mute swan the reputation of gracefulness when afloat, swimming with the neck curved and wings raised. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ australian black swans and cygnets. the cygnets are light-coloured, like those of the white swans] ---- chapter ix. _birds of prey and owls._ birds of prey. at one time the boundaries of this group were much larger than now, for within them were included at least one form which has since proved to belong to the crane tribe: we allude to the seriema (page ), and also to the owls. this classification was based on the very remarkable superficial resemblance to the typical birds of prey which those forms bear. modern ornithologists regard as birds of prey only the forms known as the new world vultures, the secretary-bird, and the falcons, eagles, vultures, buzzards, and the numerous smaller forms commonly classed as "hawks." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ condor. the habit of standing with the wings expanded is a very common one with these birds.] the new world vultures. these may be distinguished from their distant relatives of the old world by the fact that the nostrils are not divided from one another by a partition, and by their much weaker feet. the head and neck in all, as in the true vultures, is more or less bare, and, furthermore, is often very brilliantly coloured, in which last particular these birds differ from the typical vultures. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ condor. the bare skin of the head and neck is of a dark purple colour, the ruff encircling the neck being of pure white down-feathers.] one of the most important members of the group is the condor, one of the largest of flying birds, and when on the wing the most majestic. "when the condors," says darwin, "are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot, their flight is beautiful. except when rising off the ground, i do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings. near lima i watched several for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending, without giving a single flap." one which he shot measured, from tip to tip of the fully expanded wings, ½ feet. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ king-vulture. the fleshy crest on the beak is developed in the females as well as in the males.] the condor, like its smaller relatives, hunts by sight, and not, as was at one time believed, by smell, feeding on the dead bodies of guanacos which have died a natural death or been killed by pumas, and upon other dead animals. in the neighbourhood where sheep and goats are kept, they are much dreaded, as they will attack the young kids and lambs. the flock-owners on this account wage constant war against them, capturing them by enclosing a carcase within a narrow space, and when the condors are gorged galloping up on horseback and killing them, for when this bird has not space to run it cannot rise from the ground. sometimes the trees on which they roost are marked, and when night falls a man climbs the tree and captures them with a noose, for they are very heavy sleepers. the condor ranges from the andes of ecuador, peru, and chili southwards to the rio negro on the east coast of patagonia. it lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock projecting from precipitous cliffs, and the young are said to be unable to fly till after they are a year old. as will be seen in the photographs, the head of the male is crowned by a bare, fleshy caruncle, which, like the surrounding bare skin, is of a dull reddish colour: lower down the neck is a frill of pure white down, which forms a conspicuous contrast with the glossy black plumage of the rest of the body and wings. the king-vulture is a much smaller bird, but the bare parts of the head are much more brilliantly, even gaudily coloured, the combinations being orange, purple, and crimson. the plumage is creamy white and black. it is a comparatively rare bird, and but little is known concerning its breeding habits. the female is much more soberly clad than her mate. the king-vulture has a more northerly range than the condor, extending from brazil to mexico, texas, and florida. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ black vultures. when disturbed, these birds eject foul-smelling matter.] the commonest of the new world vultures is the turkey-buzzard, which is found over the whole of temperate and tropical america. of the four species commonly known as turkey-buzzards, three are exclusively south american--the fourth ranges as far north as new york and british columbia, and in the southern and middle united states is very common, perambulating the streets or perching on the house-tops. [illustration: _photo by robert d. carson, esq._] [_philadelphia._ californian vulture. the bare parts of the head are of a brick-red colour.] other species are the small black vulture, a dull, uninteresting-looking bird, and the californian vulture. this latter is a large species, and in the expanse of wing may even exceed the condor. at one time its extermination seemed certain, owing to its falling a victim to the poisoned meat laid out by the stock-keepers for carnivorous mammals, but in the more barren and inaccessible regions it appears to be on the increase. the secretary-bird. the second of the three main divisions into which the birds of prey are divided is reserved for the secretary-bird. this bird derives its name from the crest of long feathers which bear a fanciful resemblance to the quill-pens a clerk is supposed to stick above his ear. it differs from all the other members of the hawk tribe in the exceedingly long legs, which in the young are said to be so fragile as to fracture if the bird is suddenly alarmed. it feeds chiefly on insects and reptiles, especially snakes, for which last it seems to have a special liking. it attacks even the most venomous species, striking at them with its powerful wings and pounding them with its feet, jumping upon them with great force, till rendered helpless, when they are at once swallowed head-foremost. on account of its great value as a snake-eater it has been accorded special protection, though unfortunately there is a tendency on the part of english settlers to relax this, on account of the fact that it will occasionally eat animals coming within the scope of "game." valuable as the latter may be, there yet seems no justification for such a course. the secretary-bird, which is a south african species, though extending northwards as far as abyssinia, builds a huge nest of sticks in low bushes, under which will often be found numerous nests of the cape sparrow, apparently the only available site on the veldt, where bushes are scarce. here the sparrows are efficiently protected from the icy winds which so frequently sweep across this region, and apparently suffer no fear of personal violence from the fierce owners of the domicile above them. when sitting, the female secretary is fed by her mate. the young do not appear to leave the nest for five or six months. they are frequently taken from the nest and brought up as household pets, becoming not only very tame, but exceedingly useful. the eagle and falcon tribe. from the perplexing wealth of species displayed among the forms herein bracketed together, we can only select a few examples, which embrace, however, all the more important and interesting forms. beginning with the more lowly, we start with those members of small or medium size known as kites, and as an example of the group take the species known in the british islands as the kite, or glead. in former days this bird was extremely common in england, being found in numbers not only in the rural districts, but in london itself, where, as old records of the fifteenth century show, it occurred in such numbers near london bridge as to excite the wonder of foreigners visiting the city. these birds found an abundance of food in the garbage of the streets, and also of the thames itself--"an observation," remarks mr. finn, "which throws a lurid light upon the city sanitation." in the days of falconry the kite was royal game, not, however, by legal enactment, but by reason of the fact that none but specially trained falcons could secure a prey with such wonderful powers of flight. consequently the price of a falcon which had attained this degree of skill was beyond the purse of any but a king. save on the wing, the kite is not a handsome bird, its general colour being of a pale reddish brown; but those who have had the good fortune to watch its flight are one and all impressed. cowper admirably expresses the general admiration in the lines:-- kites that swim sublime in still repeated circles, screaming loud. the kites may be distinguished from other members of the tribe by their forked tails. somewhat of a scavenger, as we have already hinted, the kite feeds also upon such small game as moles, frogs, young birds, rabbits, snakes, and fish. its partiality for young birds caused it to be much dreaded in the farmyard in the days when it was common; and when, with the introduction of modern and improved firearms, game-preserving became more strenuously prosecuted, its doom was sealed, for a ceaseless war was waged against it, which ended only with its extermination. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ secretary-bird. in full plumage the tail of this bird is much longer.] nearly allied to the kites, the honey-buzzards next claim attention. the name honey-buzzard is a misnomer, for honey forms no part of the bird's food. this species exhibits, however, a quite remarkable partiality for the immature stages of wasps and bees, the nests of which it tears in pieces with its feet, so as to lay bare the coveted morsels, devouring them on the spot, perfectly regardless of the stings of the infuriated insects, which seem unable to penetrate its feathers. when its favourite food is not to be had, it will feed upon corn, earth-worms, beetles, slugs, small birds' eggs, and moles--a diet sufficiently strange for a bird of prey. honey-buzzards appear to be exemplary parents, for they are said to construct a bower of leafy boughs above the nest to screen the young from the sun, the boughs being replaced as they wither by fresh ones. the honey-buzzard occurs but rarely in england, and nowhere appears to be a very common bird, though it is said to be more frequently met with in arabia and egypt than elsewhere. on migration, however, it appears in unusually large numbers, the late lord lilford recording an occasion when he observed many hundreds crossing the straits of gibraltar from spain to africa. these were apparently on their autumnal migration to warmer winter quarters. the dash, energy, and courage which we are wont to associate with the hawk tribe have certainly not been manifest in the members of the order which we have examined so far; but these attributes will be evident enough in the majority of the species with which we are now about to deal. one of the most interesting of these fiercer forms is the osprey, or fishing-hawk. as its name implies, it feeds largely upon fish, which it captures with great dexterity, seizing them either with its feet from the surface of the water, or by plunging entirely beneath the surface, when it disappears amid a shower of spray, to emerge a moment later with a fish writhing in its talons. to ensure a firm grip of its slippery prey, the soles of its feet are armed with rough tubercles, whilst the foot is furthermore remarkable in that the outer toe can be turned backwards, so as to lie parallel with the hind toe--an arrangement rare in birds of the hawk tribe, but characteristic of the owls and some other birds. at times, it would seem, the osprey seizes a fish too large to be raised from the water, when, owing to the firm hold which the claws have taken, the bird is unable to release itself, and is speedily dragged beneath the surface and drowned. some have suggested that the bird falls a victim, not to inability to free itself, but rather to its obstinacy. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ egyptian kite. feeding on garbage of all kinds, kites are useful birds in hot countries.] the osprey is now rare in great britain, though it breeds occasionally in the wilder parts of scotland. it enjoys an extensive range, however, being found all over the world. in america it appears to be very common. on an island "off the eastern extremity of long island, new york," writes professor newton, " nests were counted. the old birds were rearing their young close together, living as peaceably as so many rooks, and were equally harmless to other birds." colonies of this kind are rare among birds of prey. whilst the fiercer raptorial birds, which hunt and kill their prey, live only upon small or medium-sized animals, a certain section, known as the vultures, feed upon the carcases of the largest mammals which they find either in the throes of death or already dead, and even far advanced in decomposition. gathering to the feast in large crowds, even the largest bodies are soon demolished; and on this account the vultures are to be reckoned amongst the most useful of birds, speedily removing matter which in hot countries would rapidly endanger the health of neighbouring communities. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s_] [_milford-on-sea._ australian osprey. this species of osprey is confined to australia and the austro-malay islands.] many years ago a great controversy was waged over the question of the faculty which guides the vulture in the discovery of its food, since it was a matter of common knowledge that the traveller might sweep the horizon in vain for a sign of these birds, yet, should a camel from a caravan fall out and die, or men fall in warfare, within an incredibly short space of time a crowd of vultures would be squabbling over the dead. some held that the vulture was guided by scent, others by sight, and this latter view is now almost universally accepted. the bird's natural habit of soaring at an immense height enables it to survey not only immense tracts of country, but the actions of its neighbours soaring at the same altitude, though perhaps miles away. so soon as one descries food it betrays the fact by its actions, making off in the direction of the prospective feast; it is then followed immediately by its yet more distant neighbour, and this by a third, and so the first serves as a guide to all the other soaring birds for miles around. this flight has been admirably expressed by longfellow in "hiawatha." we need here mention only one or two of the more important species of vulture, and among these one of the most interesting is the lammergeir, or bearded vulture. this species is one of the least vulture-like of the tribe, not only in general appearance, but also in habits, and is to be regarded as near the ancestral stock, whose descendants have become more and more addicted to feeding upon dead bodies. the lammergeir, or bearded vulture, is a bird of large size and majestic flight, differing from all other vultures in that the head and neck are clothed in feathers, whilst the nostrils are covered by long bristles. beneath the bill hangs a tuft of bristles like those covering the nostrils; hence its name of bearded vulture; and this, coupled with a remarkable red rim to the eyes, gives the bird an almost diabolical appearance. it lives partly upon living animals and partly upon carrion, bones apparently being especially relished; these it breaks by dropping them from a height upon the rocks below, probably to get at the marrow. land-tortoises are treated in a similar manner, and it was possibly this species which caused the death of the poet Æschylus, on whose bare head a tortoise is alleged to have been dropped. it was at one time common in europe, and is still fairly numerous in west africa, though rare in the east and south. many stories are told of its strength and daring, some of which concern the carrying off of young children; but these are probably mythical, modern observers generally agreeing that the bird is by nature far from courageous. [illustration: _photo by charles knight_] [_aldershot._ bearded vulture. it is called the bearded vulture on account of the tuft of bristles hanging from the chin.] the more typical vultures differ from the lammergeir in having the head and neck more or less bare, and often conspicuously coloured, or covered with a short velvety down. the cinereous, griffon, pondicherry, and egyptian vultures may be cited as examples of these. the cinereous or black vulture is a heavy and repulsive-looking bird, feeding entirely on garbage. on the wing, however, this vulture shares with its relatives the admiration of all who have been privileged to watch it; sailing in graceful circles in the blue sky of the tropics, or hurrying from all quarters of the compass to some ghoulish feast, it forms a spectacle, once seen, never to be forgotten. it is found on both sides of the mediterranean, and extends eastwards to india and china. this species, like the griffon-vulture, has the head and neck down-covered, thus standing in strong contrast with the pondicherry and sacred vultures of india and africa, which have bare heads and necks ornamented by loose folds or lappets of skin of a pinkish colour. these vultures hunt in pairs, and are very self-assertive, driving away all other birds from their prey. they build enormous nests of sticks in bushes and trees, thus differing from the vultures previously described, which generally nest on ledges of rock on precipitous cliffs. these nests are made of sticks, lined with straw and leaves. a single egg is laid, which is white with red markings. the largest species rivals the condor in size. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ griffon-vulture. this bird has once been taken in the british islands.] the egyptian vulture, sometimes known as pharaoh's hen, is the smallest of the vultures. the plumage is white; the head, throat, and fore part of the neck are naked and of a lemon-yellow colour; whilst the feet are pink and the eyes crimson. not only is it a carrion-feeder, but it will also follow the plough, picking up worms and grubs. this species occurs in europe, breeding in provence and savoy, the madeiras, cape verde, the canaries, north and south africa, and india. on three occasions it has wandered to great britain. we pass now to the eagles, a group the exact limits of which it is impossible to define, since the forms so designated merge insensibly into buzzards, hawks, harriers, and so forth. eagles occur all over the world, save only in new zealand. an eagle, it is interesting to note, is the bird of jove, the emblem of st. john and rome, and at the present day of the american republic. it also plays an emblematic part in germany, austria, and russia. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ rÜppell's vulture. an african species, closely allied to the griffon.] of the true eagles, perhaps the best known is the golden eagle, or mountain-eagle--a british bird, breeding still, though in diminishing numbers, in scotland. in ireland it is fast verging on extinction, trap, gun, and poison having wrought its destruction. in times past it bred in the lake district of england. abroad it is found over the greater part of europe, northern asia, india and china, and northern africa, and america as far south as mexico. it is a very fierce and powerful bird, attacking such large animals as antelopes, wolves, and foxes, as well as the more helpless fawns, lambs, hares and rabbits, and ducks, geese, grouse, and so on. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ angolan vulture. a common west african bird, living upon fish and carrion.] very different from the free-roving golden eagle and its allies is the south american harpy-eagle. this is a denizen of the forest, of great size and enormous strength, as the powerful bill and feet testify. whilst other eagles are conspicuous for their powers of flight, the present species is rarely seen on the wing, being strictly a forest-dweller, with short wings and tail, and of a somewhat owl-like plumage, the feathers being very soft. at rest it is one of the most striking of all the eagles. the head is crested, the under parts of the body are white, and the upper dark grey, banded with black. it feeds upon sloths, peccaries, and spider-monkeys. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ pondicherry vulture. this indian species is remarkable for the loose flaps of skin which hang down on each side of the head.] so recently as another forest-dwelling species was discovered in the philippines, and this also preys largely upon monkeys. its nearest ally is apparently the harpy-eagle, and, like this species, it is a bird of large size and very powerful. it is further remarkable for the enormous size of the beak, which differs from that of all other members of this group in being much compressed from side to side. the sea, as well as the mountain and the forest, is also, as it were, presided over by members of this group, which are in consequence called sea-eagles. one species, the white-tailed eagle, or erne, is reckoned among british birds, though it is fast verging on extinction. in former days it bred on the sea-cliffs of scotland and ireland, and in the lake district. the nest, or eyrie, as it is called, is commonly placed on inaccessible cliffs, but sometimes on the ground or in a tree, and, as is usual with the group, is made of sticks, with a lining of finer materials. this eagle feeds principally upon fish, though hares, lambs, and rabbits and carrion are occasionally taken. the hawk tribe, generally speaking, have the wings comparatively short, the legs long and slender, and the edges of the beak with a sinuous outline and unnotched; but it is impossible to sharply define the group. the best-known species are the sparrow- and gos-hawks. the first named is still a common british bird, but the latter has now become very rare indeed. in both species the male is a much smaller bird than the female, and is also more brightly coloured. the gos-hawk was at one time used in falconry; it is a bird of extremely ferocious disposition, and in the days when hawks were used for sporting purposes had to be kept very safely tethered, as, if it gained its liberty, it would at once proceed to kill every other hawk and falcon in the "mews." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ egyptian vulture. this is one of the foulest feeders of the vulture tribe.] the falcon tribe is divisible into two sections--the one containing the american carrion-hawks, and the other the falcons. the carrion-hawks, or caracaras, are long-legged birds which spend most of their time on the ground and run well. they are said to hunt, not seldom in packs, after the fashion of wild dogs. one species at least affords an admirable example of mimicry--so rare among birds. this is the curassow-hawk, so called from its resemblance to the curassow, one of the game-birds. the resemblance is evidently advantageous, for thereby the hawk is enabled to sit quietly at rest till its prey comes within easy reach, mistaking the hawk for the inoffensive curassow. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ wedge-tailed eagle. this is an australian species, feeding chiefly upon carrion.] the falcons form an exceedingly interesting group, if only on account of the part which they played in the sports of mediæval england. birds of large size and forms as small as sparrows are included within the group; all are very powerful on the wing, and all feed on living prey, though, in the case of the diminutive forms, this may consist mainly, if not entirely, of insects. the members of the falcon tribe may be distinguished from the majority of the larger hawks by the fact that the eyes are dark hazel-brown instead of yellow, and that the bare, yellow, waxy-looking band of skin at the base of the beak, so characteristic of the birds of prey, is not sharply defined, but scantily clothed with fine bristles, passing insensibly into the feathers of the crown of the head. some of the best-known members of this section of the group are the peregrine and jer-falcons, and the kestrel, hobby, and merlin. only the peregrine and the kestrel, however, can now be called common. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt, washington._ american sparrow-hawk. one of the smallest and handsomest of the american hawks.] the peregrine is the falcon held so much in esteem by falconers, by whom the female only was called the "falcon," the male, which is smaller, being known as a "tiercel." the female was used for the capture of the larger game, such as herons and rooks; whilst the male was flown only at partridges, and sometimes magpies. in a wild state the peregrine falcon is regarded by other birds with the greatest fear and terror. ducks feeding on the banks of streams or lakes, on perceiving it, immediately take to the water; whilst plovers and lapwings rise to an immense height in the air, and remain there for hours. mr. ussher, who has had many opportunities of studying this bird in ireland, where it is quite common, relates an instance of the tenacity with which it follows its prey, in this case a lapwing. "the falcon," he says, "after several stoops, cleverly avoided by the lapwing, was so near clutching, that the poor bird, quite worn out, dropped into the water, and the falcon, after rising from her stoop, poised a moment on her wings, and then quietly lowering herself with extended legs, lifted the lapwing from the water and bore her off." the eyrie is generally found half-way up some precipitous cliff: no nest is made, but the eggs are laid on the earth or gravel covering the selected ledge. when eggs are found in a nest, the latter has always been taken from some other bird, even the eagle being occasionally dispossessed. three or four eggs are laid, which are very beautiful and variable in their coloration. the young are attended by their parents long after they are able to fly. the jer-falcons are birds of large size and great beauty, and at one time were much in request by falconers, probably largely on account of their appearance, for they lack the power and spirit of the peregrine. grey and black and white and black are distinctive colours of the various species, which are inhabitants of northern regions. the kestrel, or wind-hover, is one of the commonest birds of prey, much and most unjustly persecuted by gamekeepers. in its general appearance it closely resembles its much smaller relative, the so-called "sparrow-hawk" of america, shown in the photograph on this page by dr. shufeldt. the american sparrow-hawk, it should be mentioned, is really a species of kestrel, and, like the british kestrel, belongs to the falcon group of the birds of prey. like the peregrine falcon, the kestrel does not build a nest, but takes possession of the deserted nests of crows and magpies, or deposits its eggs on the bare earth of a recess in some cliff or quarry which is overhung by a projecting shelf of rock. occasionally a hole in a tree is chosen, the eggs then resting on the rotten wood at the bottom. that the kestrel is of a more confiding disposition than the majority of its tribe seems to be proved by the fact that it will often deposit its eggs in nesting-boxes, if these are placed in suitable spots. on some english estates the harmlessness of this bird is fully recognised, and every encouragement is given it to breed by the erection of these nesting-boxes. by way of illustration we may cite a case where, on an estate in kent in , five of these boxes were erected or feet from the ground round a single field, all of which were tenanted by kestrels; and though a thousand young pheasants were reared in this field, not a single one of these was missed by the keepers. besides its human enemies, the kestrel has to contend with crows and rooks, which spare no efforts to seize its eggs whenever the opportunity presents itself. the eggs, it should be mentioned, are of a bright ruddy colour, but, like those of the peregrine falcon, lose much of their freshness of colouring during incubation. four or five in number, they are laid at intervals of two days or so, incubation commencing with the deposition of the first egg; as a result, the first nestling hatched may be more than a week older than the last. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ vociferous sea-eagle. this is an african species.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ imperial eagle. occurs in southern europe and north-west africa.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ crested eagle. a powerful and savage bird from south america.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ chilian sea-eagle. this bird feeds on carrion which it finds on the beach.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ rough-legged buzzard. frequent in the british islands.] the food of the kestrel appears to consist mainly of mice, but frogs, earthworms, grasshoppers, cockchafers, and other beetles are also taken. kestrels will also eat dead animals, as is proved by the fact that they are not seldom found dead from eating poisoned rats laid out for magpies. one instance is on record where a kestrel was taken with its claws entangled in the fur of a stoat, which fiercely defended itself. it is an easy matter, for those who will take the trouble, to find out what is the staple diet of the kestrel; for if the nest and its neighbourhood be searched, numerous small rounded pellets of the size of a chestnut will be found, which, when broken up, will prove to be composed of the hard and indigestible parts of what has been swallowed. the majority of such pellets are made up of the fur and bones of mice. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ martial hawk-eagle. the hawk-eagles show a marked preference for woody districts.] the little american "sparrow-hawk," which, as we have already pointed out, is really a species of kestrel, appears to be almost exclusively insectivorous during the summer months, preying mainly upon grasshoppers. an american ornithologist, mr. henshaw, writing on the subject, remarks that during a scourge of grasshoppers the sparrow-hawks assembled in hundreds; and although on this occasion, owing to the vast myriads in which these insects had collected, the birds could make no visible impression, yet they must have done an immense amount of good. ornithologists from all parts of the united states unanimously agree that grasshoppers form the staple diet of this hawk, though mice and gophers are also largely eaten, and especially during the winter months, when insect food is scarce. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ peregrine falcon. a favourite in falconry.] of the pygmy falcons there are several species, ranging from the eastern himalaya, through tenasserim and burma, to the malay islands and the philippines. the smallest is the red-legged falconet of nepal, sikhim, and burma. it feeds largely upon insects, such as dragon-flies, beetles, and butterflies, hawking them with a swallow-like speed. occasionally the members of this little group are said to hunt down and kill birds larger than themselves. owls. few birds have been more misrepresented in literature than the owls. for centuries they have been depicted as birds of ill omen, and accused of all kinds of diabolical practices. shakespeare, for example, repeatedly makes the owl do duty for some evil sign, or fulfil some dire purpose. thus in _macbeth_, act ii., scene ii., it was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, which gives the stern'st good-night. and later on, in act iv., it is an owl's wing which he makes the witches add to their caldron of noisome things, when brewing their deadly potion. in spain the scops and tawny owls are believed to be devil's birds, and are accused of drinking the oil from the lamps suspended before the shrines of saints. the gamekeeper nails their bodies up on the barn door as offenders of the worst type, whilst the malagasy believe owls to be the embodiments of evil spirits. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ spectacled owl. a south american bird with a somewhat remarkable coloration.] it is therefore a relief to find this unwarrantable prejudice is not absolutely universal, since amongst some people, at least, the owl has found some favour. the best-known instance of this is the case of the greeks, who made the owl the symbol of wisdom, and chose as an emblem, singularly enough, the species known as the little owl, a bird which is notorious for its ludicrous behaviour, so much so that it has earned for itself the reputation of being the veritable buffoon of birds. its grotesque and ridiculous antics are utilised by continental bird-catchers, who use it as a lure to attract small birds, tethering it for this purpose near nets, snares, or twigs smeared with bird-lime. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ eagle-owl. an occasional visitor to the british isles.] amongst other birds, strangely enough, the owl appears to be as much disliked as the fiercer and more dangerous members of the hawk tribe, and in consequence, should one venture abroad during the day or be discovered in its retreat, the alarm is given, and every small bird within call is summoned to take part in a general mobbing. although proverbially unpalatable, the little owl is said to be eaten in italy, as are other species in the various countries in which they are found. varying considerably in size, the owls, nevertheless, present a very general uniformity in appearance. all are remarkable for the peculiar softness of their plumage, which imparts to the wings the almost unique power of absolutely silent flight, the sound being deadened or muffled, so that the prey can be approached suddenly, and seized before escape is possible. this is very necessary when hunting in twilight hours. the owls are almost the only birds in which the outer toe is reversible, or capable of being turned either forwards or backwards. furthermore, the members of this group are remarkable for the fact that the eyes look directly forward, instead of outwards, as in other birds, and that the feathers of the face are arranged round each eye in the form of a disk, and thus impart the familiar owl-like visage, seen elsewhere only among certain of the hawk tribe known as "harriers." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ virginian eagle-owl. a common north american species, feeding largely on small mammals.] four species of owl are to be found sparsely distributed over great britain. we may regard as the typical owl the species known as the tawny or wood-owl. it is the largest of the resident owls in england, and would be much more abundant but that it is subjected to a rigorous and foolish persecution, born of long-standing prejudice and ignorance; it stands accused of the heinous offence of eating game, a charge which has never yet been fully proved. the benefits it confers are great, but, unfortunately, unrecognised, for its chief food consists of rats and mice. this is the bird which gives utterance to that weird "hoo-hoo--hoo-hoo-hoo," one of the most charming of the many delightful sounds that break the stillness of the summer nights. it is interesting to note that this species is unknown as a wild bird in ireland. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ american long-eared owl. this is a young bird which has not yet completely lost its down-feathers.] other and fairly common species in england are the long- and short-eared owls, both remarkable for the fact that the aperture of the ear, which is of enormous size, is of a different shape on the right and left sides of the head. these owls, furthermore, are characterised by the possession of a pair of feathery tufts, or "horns," springing from the top of the head, which can be erected or depressed at pleasure. these horns are found in many species of owl not necessarily closely related. the species under consideration are of medium size, with large eyes of a most wonderful golden-yellow colour, standing in strong contrast with those of the tawny owl, which are nearly black. like the tawny owl, these two species, and especially the short-eared, live largely on rats and mice. the last-named bird also devours great numbers of dor-beetles and cockchafers. amongst the largest of the tribe are the eagle- and snowy owls, both of which are occasionally met with in great britain. the eagle-owl may be described as a largely magnified long-eared owl in general appearance, though, as a matter of fact, the two are not very closely related. the snowy owl, as its name implies, is white in colour, the white being relieved by more or less conspicuous black markings. this white livery, assimilating with its snowy surroundings, allows the wearer to approach its prey unperceived on the snow. whilst the snowy owl is confined to northern regions, the eagle-owl enjoys a wide distribution, and is represented by numerous species, one of which, as we have remarked, occasionally visits great britain. the larger species of eagle-owl are the most ferocious members of the order, and prey largely upon hares, rabbits, and the large game-birds; whilst the snowy owl, though selecting similar prey, does incalculable good by devouring those destructive little rodents known as the lemmings. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ tawny owl. one of the commonest british owls.] solitary as owls usually are, some, as the american burrowing-owls, live in what may be called colonies; and, stranger still, they live in burrows, which they share with the original excavators. occurring both in north and south america, it is not surprising to find that the creatures with whom the burrowing-owls elect to take up their abode are very varied, belonging for the most part to numerous groups of burrowing mammalia. in the prairies of north america they appear to quarter themselves upon the prairie-dogs, ground-squirrels, and badgers; and in the pampas of south america upon the patagonian cavy, the viscacha and armadillos, and occasionally lizards. it seems to be no unusual thing to find, in addition to the bird and mammal tenants of a single burrow, one or more full-grown examples of the much-dreaded rattle-snake--a truly wonderful happy-family, if all accounts are to be believed. but many competent to speak on the matter throw out dark hints which would appear to show that the owl quarters itself on the tenants of a burrow too weak to resist its intrusion upon their domicile, and that occasionally this most masterful bird renders itself still more objectionable by devouring the progeny of its hosts, and sometimes even the hosts themselves. the species known as pygmy owls and little owls we mention here only on account of their small size, one member of the former group being little bigger than a lark. thus they stand in strong contrast with the giant snowy and eagle-owls. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ screech-owl. a common north american bird, feeding on small animals of all kinds.] finally, we have the white or barn-owl, which with its allies forms a group distinguished from all the other owls by certain well-marked structural characters. the barn-owl is also to be found in great britain, but is growing, like all the other owls in this area, more and more rare every year, owing to persecution at the hands of gamekeepers. it is a handsome bird, of a pale buff-yellow, mottled with grey above to pure white beneath, and with the characteristic facial disk peculiarly well developed. it breeds in holes in trees, ruins, and church towers, and feeds almost entirely on mice and rats. from the piercing note which it occasionally utters, it is also known as the screech-owl. [illustration: _photo by frans mouwen_] [_breda._ barn-owl this is a british owl, evincing a preference for church-towers in which to roost and breed.] [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni, smyrna._ _printed at lyons, france._ hoopoe flying. this photograph displays the crest fully elevated, and likewise shows the beautifully banded colouration of the under surface of the wing, as well as the position of the wings in flight.] ---- chapter x. _night-jars, swifts, and humming-birds._ night-jars. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ common night-jar. known also as fern-owl and goat-sucker.] it is probable that the night-jars are the nearest allies of the owls. as pointed out in the last chapter, although the latter have acquired the habits of the hawk and eagle tribe, they are not really connected with that group by descent. soberly clad, so as to be in complete harmony with its surroundings, with large eyes, huge mouth, and peculiarly short beak, beset with long bristles, the night-jar may be distinguished at once from all other british birds. by day it hides, squatting close to the ground, or perched on the thick branch of a tree; but when on the latter, it sits along and not across the bough, like other birds, the complete harmony between its plumage and the bark rendering it as invisible as when on the ground. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ pennant-winged night-jar (front view). the long and graceful plumes are much-lengthened quill-feathers, and by their resemblance to the waving grass in which the bird nests afford protection.] not until the spring has far advanced does this bird leave its winter resort in africa for europe, making its presence known by its conspicuous habit of hunting its food (which consists of moths and beetles) after twilight has fallen. later, its extraordinary churring note is heard--a note which has been likened to the noise made by a spinning-wheel, and so powerful as to be audible half a mile off. this note is made while on the ground: on the wing, while toying with its mate, another equally peculiar sound is made, which has been likened to the noise made by swinging a whip-thong through the air. no nest is made by this bird; but the eggs, two in number and beautifully marked, are laid on the bare ground. the young are covered with down, and remain in the nest for some time. another very remarkable feature is the fact that the claw of the middle toe has its inner edge curiously serrated, forming a sort of comb, the function of which is unknown. this comb-like claw occurs also in some few other birds--bitterns, for instance. a very remarkable kind is the pennant-winged night-jar, in which one of the quill-feathers in each wing is produced into a "pennant" of some inches in length. the shaft of the feather is bare for the greater part of its length, and terminates in a feathery blade. it is an abyssinian species about which not much is known. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ more-porks. so called from the note they utter.] some of the night-jars, as the new world night-hawk and the old world eared night-jars, are particularly owl-like, a resemblance imparted by long "ear-like" tufts of feathers which rise from the back of the head. others, as the more-pork of the tasmanian colonist, or the frog-mouth, as it is called in australia, are remarkable for the huge size of the mouth, bounded, as it appears to be, by huge lips, represented by the short, round-edged beak. very nearly related to the night-jars is the oil-bird of south america, which lives in caves in trinidad, ecuador, and peru, where it builds a nest which has been likened in appearance to a huge cheese, and in which are laid from two to four white eggs. like the night-jars, these birds feed by night, emerging from their gloomy retreats at twilight with much noise and in great numbers. their food, however, is entirely of a vegetable nature, consisting of oily nuts or fruits. the young, soon after they are hatched, become perfect masses of fat, and on this account are much in demand by the indians, who make a special business of killing them and extracting the oil. swifts. in general appearance swifts bear a strong superficial resemblance to swallows; in reality they are related, not to those harbingers of spring, but to the night-jars on the one hand and the humming-birds on the other. the common swift arrives in england during the early part of may, and stays till the end of august, or sometimes till september has half run its course. black in colour, relieved only by a white throat, it has little in the sense of beauty to recommend it; nevertheless, there are probably few who do not cherish tender feelings towards this bird. the swift has great buoyancy of spirits, as is manifested by the wild, exuberant bursts of screaming to which it gives voice as it rushes in small parties down the lanes or along the less-frequented thoroughfares of towns as morning breaks or evening falls, and occasionally throughout the day. the greater part of its life is spent upon the wing (indeed, it appears to rest only when incubating or sleeping), and of all the smaller birds it is the most graceful in flight, turning and twisting in fairy mazes high in the heavens for hours at a time. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ more-pork. this is one of the most owl-like of the night-jars.] [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ swift. a common british bird during the summer months.] the swift chooses for its nesting-place the eaves of houses and holes in church towers, and occasionally a crevice in the face of a quarry. the nest is formed of bits of straw, dry grass, and a few feathers, glued together by a secretion of the salivary glands into a compact crust; in this the bird deposits from two to four white eggs. the young, which are hatched naked and blind, never develop down-feathers, but soon become more or less imperfectly clothed in a mass of tiny spines, representing the budding feathers; these give the bird somewhat the appearance of a young hedgehog. in adaptation to its remarkable powers of flight, the wing has undergone considerable modification in form, so that it differs from that of all other birds. on the other hand, the legs, being so little required, have diminished considerably, and are remarkable for their smallness--a fact which hampers the bird considerably, should it happen to alight on level ground, for, owing to the great length of the wings, it can arise only with considerable difficulty. nearly allied to the common swift is salvin's swift, remarkable on account of its nest, which has been described by dr. sharpe as the most wonderful in the world. about feet long and inches in diameter, it looks rather like the sleeve of an old coat than a nest. it is made entirely of the downy seeds of plants, which, floating through the air after the fashion of such seeds, are caught by the birds when on the wing, and, partly felted and partly glued by the salivary secretion, are woven slowly into the characteristic woolly domicile. the site and manner of fixation of the nest are scarcely less wonderful, for it is suspended from the flat surface of some projecting piece of rock on the face of a cliff, and is thus almost inaccessible; yet, as if to make assurance doubly sure, two entrances are made, one at the bottom, which is really blind, and one at the top, near its foundation, if we may call it so, which leads into the nursery. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ edible swift. the nests of this bird are used for soup; five are seen in this photograph.] still more swallow-like in general appearance are the diminutive edible swifts, so called, not on account of the palatability of the birds themselves, but of their nests, which are in great demand by the wealthy chinese for conversion into birds'-nest soup. it has already been remarked that the salivary glands are unusually active in the swifts, their secretion bearing a very important part in the construction of the nest, and serving as a kind of cement. it is, therefore, not surprising that in some members of the group we find this secretion playing a still more prominent part, forming, at least in one species, the entire material of the nest. "with these nests," writes dr. sharpe, "a large trade is done with china from many of the malayan islands, over , , nests having been known to be exported in a single year from borneo to the latter country.... in borneo and other places the caves in which the swiftlets build are leased to the collectors for a considerable sum; but it is only the white nests, made of the pure secretion, which are of any real value. the nests of those species which mix into their nests grass or feathers are not appreciated as an article of commerce." colonel legge gives some extremely interesting particulars concerning the nesting habits of these birds in ceylon. "it is noteworthy," he writes, "that the partially fledged young--which were procured on this occasion for me, and which i kept for the night--scrambled out on to the exterior of the nest, and slept in an upright position, with the bill pointing straight up. this is evidently the normal mode of roosting resorted to by this species. the interior of this cave, with its numbers of active tenants, presented a singular appearance. the bottom was filled with a vast deposit of liquid guano, reaching, i was informed, to a depth of feet, and composed of droppings, old nests, and dead young fallen from above, the whole mingled into a loathsome mass, with water lodged in the crevices, and causing an awful stench, which would have been intolerable for a moment even, had not the hundreds of frightened little birds, as they screamed and whirred in and out of the gloomy cave with a hum like a storm in a ship's rigging, powerfully excited my interest, and produced a long examination of the colony. this guano-deposit is a source of considerable profit to the estate, the hospitable manager of which informed us that he had manured acres of coffee with it during that season." humming-birds. it is generally admitted that humming-birds are nearly related to swifts, with which, however, they stand in the strongest possible contrast in the matter of plumage--the latter being always inconspicuously coloured, whilst the former are for the most part clad in vestments so gorgeous as to render it extremely difficult to describe them in sober language. moreover, so great is the wealth of species--some hundreds in number--and so varied are the form and coloration, and so closely do the various types pass one into the other, that their classification is a matter of extreme difficulty. confined to the american continent and certain islands adjacent thereto, humming-birds range from canada to tierra del fuego in a horizontal direction, and rise vertically in the mountain-range of chimborazo to a height of , feet above the sea-level--"dwelling," as professor newton describes it, "in a world of almost constant hail, sleet, and rain, and feeding on the insects which resort to the indigenous flowering plants." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ ruby-throated humming-birds. about distinct species of humming-birds are known.] humming-birds surpass all others in the wondrous beauty of their plumage, which depends not so much on colour as metallic lustre reflecting all the hues of the most precious stones--amethyst, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and topaz gleaming and sparkling from their bodies with a fire and intensity truly marvellous. "in some cases," as professor newton aptly describes it, "this radiance beams from the brow, in some it glows from the throat, in others it shines from the tail-coverts, in others it sparkles from the tips of elongated feathers that crest the head or surround the neck as with a frill, while again in others it may appear as a luminous streak across the cheek.... the feathers that cover the upper parts of the body very frequently have a metallic lustre of golden green, which in other birds would be thought sufficiently beautiful, but in the [humming-birds] its sheen is overspread by the almost dazzling splendour that radiates from the spots where nature's lapidary has set her jewels." besides this brilliancy of colour and variety in form--variety due to the development of these crests and frills, or to the forking and elongation of the tail-feathers--still further changes are brought about by the modification of the bill, which may be produced into a long straight style, longer than the body of the bird, or turned up like that of the avocet or down like that of the curlew. these changes are adaptations to the bird's methods of feeding, some seeking their food from the long tubular corollas of flowers, and requiring, therefore, very elongated beaks, others from more open and easily accessible flowers, whilst others hunt among leaves, especially the under-surfaces, the quarry consisting mainly of insects attracted by the honey secreted by the flowers, or those living on the leaves. not only the beak but the tongue also has undergone great modification in this group, its outer sheath curling up on each side into a thin scroll, so as to form a pair of tubes, the exact use of which is unknown. the wings, like those of the swift, have undergone a certain amount of change in the relative proportion of the several regions, and in the form and number of the quill-feathers, whilst the legs have become considerably reduced in size. in some species each leg is surrounded by a little tuft of down, which may be black, brown, or snow-white in colour. in size these birds vary from inches to scarcely more than inches. "the beautiful nests of humming-birds," writes professor newton, "than which the fairies could not have conceived more delicate ... will be found on examination to be very solidly and tenaciously built, though the materials are generally of the slightest--cotton-wool, or some vegetable down, and spiders' webs. they vary greatly in form and ornamentation--for it would seem that the portions of lichen which frequently bestud them are affixed to their exterior with that object, though probably concealment was the original intention. they are mostly cup-shaped; and the singular fact is on record, that in one instance, as the young grew, the walls were heightened by the parents, until at last the nest was more than twice as big as when the eggs were laid and hatched." ---- chapter xi. _parrots, cuckoos, and plantain-eaters._ parrots. "the art of taming wild animals," writes mr. jenks in his "history of politics," "and making them serve the purposes of man, is one of the greatest discoveries of the world." he holds--and there can be little question as to its reasonableness--"that the domestication of animals converted the savage pack into the patriarchal tribe," and that the earliest domesticated animals were pets. how great a share, then, parrots may have had in this civilisation and advancement no man can tell, for it is impossible to say how long these beautiful birds may have been esteemed as pets, or how early they were introduced to the notice of the civilised peoples of past generations. certain it is, however, that for more than , years they have been held in the highest esteem. modern discovery has added enormously to the list of known parrots, so that to-day more than different species have been described, and these may be divided into nestors, lories, cockatoos, cockateels, macaws, and kakapos. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ kea also known as the mountain-nestor.] [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ new zealand kea. the kea frequents the slopes of lofty snow-covered mountains.] of the first named, the best known is the kea, or mountain-nestor, of the south island, new zealand. dull in coloration, and not striking in appearance, it has earned an unenviable notoriety, which appears to rest as much upon fable as upon fact. it seems that, since the introduction of sheep into this part of the world by the settlers, this bird has found a diet of flesh more stimulating than one of fruit. exactly how this came to be is not known. two explanations have been advanced. the first has it that the birds settled on the skins of the sheep slaughtered for their wool, and picked off pieces of fat therefrom, as well as various tit-bits from the carcases of the same, and thus found out how toothsome--or beaksome--mutton was. from this they went a step further, and did the slaughtering for themselves. parties of them now go a-hunting, worry a sheep till exhausted, then dig down through the back, and so wound the intestines that death results. another explanation is that the birds in the original instance mistook the sheep's backs for the huge masses of lichen common to this region, of which the birds are very fond. not finding it to their taste at the top, they dug deep, and soon came to the flesh, which, like the forbidden fruit, proved more palatable than that which was provided for them by a bountiful nature. the result is, that they have become a menace to sheep-farmers, and are on this account in danger of extermination. it has, however, been denied recently that the damage inflicted is anything like so serious as was at one time reported, since on one run, where the damage was unusually large, only in sheep was so attacked. this bird has also been said to attack horses. very different, in general appearance and in esteem, are the lories. like the nestors, the tip of the upper jaw, or beak, is smooth, or nearly so; and in this respect these two groups are to be distinguished from all the other parrots; but in the gorgeousness of their plumage they far eclipse their congeners. absent in new zealand, they are found elsewhere throughout the australasian region, inclusive of polynesia, and are highly esteemed as pets, combining great beauty with a very docile disposition and considerable talking powers. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ new zealand kaka. the maoris keep this bird as a lure.] the birds of this section are also known as brush-tongued parrots, from the presence of a remarkable "brush" borne on the end of the tongue. this is a special adaptation, enabling the birds to feed upon honey; some, indeed, have this brush particularly well developed, and are almost entirely honey-seekers, whilst others, wherein the brush is less developed, live largely on fruits. professor moseley tells us that honey literally poured from the mouths of blue mountain-lories which he shot at cape york. the cockatoos are abundant in the australian region, but have their headquarters in the malay archipelago. besides the familiar white-crested form so commonly kept in england, the group includes an iron-grey coloured bird with a bright red head, and a huge black species, which represents the giant of the order. it is a funereal-looking bird, the largest specimens inhabiting new guinea. one of its most striking features is the beak, which is of enormous size. its tongue differs from that of other parrots in that it is slender and cylindrical in shape, and of a deep red colour, instead of thick, fleshy, and black. it frequents, mr. wallace tells us, the lower parts of the forest, feeding upon various fruits and seeds, but displaying a marked partiality for the kernel of the canary-nut, which grows on a lofty forest-tree; "and the manner in which it gets at these seeds," writes mr. wallace, "shows a correlation of structure and habits which would point to the canary as its special food. the shell of this nut is so excessively hard that only a heavy hammer will crack it; it is somewhat triangular, and the outside is quite smooth. the manner in which the bird opens these nuts is very curious. taking one end-ways in its bill, and keeping it firm by a pressure of the tongue, it cuts a transverse notch by a lateral sawing motion of the sharp-edged lower mandible. this done, it takes hold of the nut with its foot, and, biting off a piece of leaf, retains it in the deep notch by the upper mandible, and again seizing the nut, which is prevented from slipping by the elastic tissue of the leaf, fixes the edge of the lower mandible in the notch, and a powerful rip breaks off a piece of the shell. again taking the nut in its claws, it inserts the very long and sharp point of the bill, and picks out the kernel, which is seized hold of, morsel by morsel, by the extensile tongue." of the typical parrots, the best known is the common grey african parrot, with a red tail, so valued on account of its great talking powers. other species of this section which should be mentioned here are the pygmy parrots, macaws, hawk-billed parrot, budgerigars, and owl-parrot. the first named are the smallest of all the tribe, remarkable as well for the splendour of the plumage as their size, which is less than that of the common sparrow. the long-tailed macaws, representing the most showy and gaudily coloured of all the parrot tribe, inhabit the tropical forests of south america. mr. bates describes a flock of scarlet-and-blue macaws, which he came across one day, as looking like a cluster of flaunting banners among the crown of dark green leaves of a bacaba-palm. the superb hyacinthine macaw is one of the rarest of the parrot tribe, and was found by bates in the interior of brazil. as its name implies, it is of a deep hyacinthine colour, relieved by a bare patch of pure white skin round the eyes. it feeds on the nuts of several palms, especially those of the macuja. these nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break without a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_midford-on-sea._ black cockatoo. found in pairs in thick forests.] crests among parrots are common enough, but only one species wears a frill; this is the hawk-billed parrot of the amazon valley. it is closely related to the large and well-known amazon parrots, and has been aptly described as a most extraordinary bird. its coloration is striking--green above, with a brown head; the frill or ruff around the neck shows up in strong contrast, being dark red, with blue edges, and barred with blue. the feathers of the breast and abdomen, like the frill, are also red and blue, whilst the under-surfaces of the tail and wings are black. it is only when the bird is excited or angry that the ruff is raised. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ cockatoo. cockatoos in a wild state often congregate in immense flocks.] the hanging-parrots are about the same size as the well-known "love-birds," and remarkable for their habit of sleeping suspended head-downwards by one foot from the boughs of trees. they are all brilliantly coloured birds, and have a fairly wide range, extending from india and the philippines through the malay region as far east as duke of york island. the australian budgerigars, or grass-parrakeets, need no description here; but it is interesting to note that nearly allied to them is a small species known as the swamp- or long-tailed ground-parrakeet. as its name implies, it is a ground-dwelling species, and, in accordance with this habit, has considerably longer legs than the tree-haunting species. this lengthening of the leg in arboreal species is seen also among pigeons and many other birds. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ leadbeater's cockatoo. has a red crest, banded with yellow and tipped with white.] the most interesting, perhaps, of all the parrots is the remarkable kakapo, or owl-parrot, of new zealand. like the species just described, it is also a ground-dweller; furthermore, it differs from all other members of the tribe in being flightless, and, like the flightless members of the ostrich tribe, has completely lost the deep keel from the breast-bone, which gives support to the muscles which move the wings. it is a large bird, green in colour, mottled with yellow and black, and derives its name of owl-parrot from the fact that the feathers of the face radiate from the eye outwards to form a kind of disk. when eating grass, it is said to graze, nibbling after the fashion of a rabbit. occasionally it is said to climb trees, descending with extended wings, so as to break the force of its career. it has been described as a playful and affectionate pet in captivity, displaying also great cleverness and intelligence. unfortunately it is growing more and more rare, so that its final extermination is only a question of time--the ravages of dogs, cats, and pigs, introduced by the settlers, being mainly the agents of destruction. once common all over new zealand, the range of the owl-parrot is now restricted to the mountainous regions of north island and the northern half of south island. during the day it remains concealed in the holes in rocks or under roots of trees, and if disturbed is difficult to rouse. when taken from its retreat, it runs swiftly, and tries to hide, seeking shelter, if possible, under a heap of soft, dry grass. at sunset, however, it becomes very animated, and travels--at least when possible--in companies, making tracks a foot or more wide across the herbage. it feeds greedily upon mosses, ferns, seeds, berries, and, it is said, even lizards, giving vent, when devouring some favourite morsel, to a kind of grunting noise. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ macaw. the flight of these gorgeously clad birds is very powerful.] the kakapo nests in holes under trees and rocks, laying two or three eggs, which, like those of the parrots, are white. the natives take advantage of its feeble powers of flight, hunting it on foot by torchlight, aided by dogs, which, it is said, are not seldom seriously wounded by the powerful bill. when the breeding-season is over, these birds appear to live in small communities, four or five occupying the same hole. they are apparently gifted with some foresight, inasmuch as they lay up a store of food, to be drawn upon during bad weather. cuckoos and plantain-eaters. the cuckoo tribe is somewhat unfortunate in that the numerous members of which it is composed are completely overshadowed by the prominence which has been given to the common cuckoo. few birds, indeed, have managed to secure so much attention, the poet in particular having sung its praises without stint. this enthusiasm undoubtedly is but an echo of the general popular sentiment, for there are few birds to which we in britain extend a more hearty welcome, its well-known cry possessing a peculiar charm for lovers of the country. coming to us in april, and leaving again in july, its stay is of the shortest; but during the greater part of this time its whereabouts may generally be known by the familiar call "cuckoo, cuckoo," though undergoing certain characteristic changes as the months glide by. apart from its song, one of the most interesting things concerning the cuckoo is the fact that it goes about in disguise--the disguise of the ass in the lion's skin with a vengeance; for it is clothed in the garb of that terror of the countryside, the sparrow-hawk. nay, more; it has also most successfully imitated the flight of that bogy; and this to frighten little birds--not, however, for the mere purpose of creating consternation amongst them, but for far more sinister ends. somehow or another, in cuckoo society, the rearing of a family is a responsibility which is utterly repudiated. great pains seem to have been taken to evade this duty, and yet to ensure the continuity of their distinguished house. the oviparous method of reproduction, which obtains in the feathered world, has been turned to good account--in fact, everything depends upon this. it seems to have suggested itself as far more convenient to drop an egg here and there into a neighbour's nursery, and leave the work of bringing it to life to the owners thereof. but to carry out this system of distributing foundlings requires tact, cunning, and the mutual co-operation of both the male and his--at least temporary--wife; hence the disguise. the plan of execution very frequently adopted is for the male to hover over the treasure-house of the intended foster-parents hawk-wise. this is sure to call forth an attack from the poor little wretches threatened, which ends in an apparently hasty retreat of the marauder, followed by his fearless assailants. no sooner is the coast clear, however, than the wily female, taking her egg in her beak, slips quietly up to the nest and deposits her burden. [illustration: _photo by kerry & co._] [_sydney._ blue mountain-parrots. a honey-eating species.] [illustration: _photo by j. peat millar_] [_beith._ young cuckoo ejecting egg. the egg is held in position by the head and wings.] let us imagine that this home so lately threatened is that of the modest little hedge-sparrow, and take a peep during the absence of the owners, after quiet has established itself once again. lying side by side with the tiny sky-blue eggs of the hedge-sparrow we should find the relatively large, greyish-green or reddish-grey egg of the cuckoo. what a contrast! if the hedge-sparrows notice this too, they evidently do not mind, for they invariably hatch it with their own. but some birds are not so accommodating as this, and would ruthlessly destroy or reject any egg surreptitiously introduced into the nest. consequently more deception has to be practised. the hawk-like garb still serves its purpose to draw off the intended dupes from the nest; but this is not enough, for to deposit an egg of the normal cuckoo type would be worse than useless, since it would meet with instant destruction on the return of the owners of the nest. but the cuckoo, strange to say, has proved equal to the occasion, and meets the difficulty by laying an egg to match those in the nest. the redstart, wagtail, sedge-warbler, red-backed shrike, and meadow-pipit may be cited as instances of--shall we say exclusive?--birds which must be circumvented by "colourable imitations." perhaps the most wonderful of the cuckoo successes in this direction is the imitation of the redstart's egg, which is blue. naturally these facts have given rise to much speculation, but even now we cannot regard the discussion as finally settled. some ornithologists held that the egg of every individual cuckoo was subject to great variations, and that the place of deposit of each egg was determined only after the bird had ascertained its colour. if this were true, surely we should find blue cuckoos' eggs in hedge-sparrows' as well as redstarts' nests. but we don't! others have sought to explain the existence of mimicking eggs to the influence of the food peculiar to the foster-parent upon the germ of the young female cuckoo, which, through this channel, became transmitted to all its descendants. to support this hypothesis it was necessary to throw overboard the old individual variability explanation, and to adopt one that is certainly nearer the truth--to wit, that each cuckoo chooses the nest of that species in which itself was reared as a depository, in turn, for its own egg, and only when such is not available will it select some other species, and trust to luck for its adoption. this would certainly account for many anomalies; but as it seems that there are more eggs unlike than like those of the selected foster-parents, it cannot be a perfect explanation. a third explanation takes that part of the second for granted which assumes that cuckoos select nests of the species which served them as foster-parents, and explains the mimicry, when this occurs, as due to the results of natural selection. our interest, however, in the domestic economy of the common cuckoo is not to be allowed to drop with the incubation of the egg. the perfidy of the parents seems to have cast a sombre shadow over the cradle of the offspring, an evil spell destined to bear fruit with terrible suddenness; for the young, before it is many hours old, and while yet blind and naked, perpetrates its first act of wrong-doing by committing murder! there is no case here of wilful or ignorant misrepresentation and slander, such as many of our feathered friends are made to suffer at our hands--no foolish prejudice such as has blasted the reputation of some of our most guiltless and useful of bird-citizens. the witnesses of the crime of which we speak are many and unimpeachable. the facts are as follows:-- [illustration: _photo by billington_] [_queensland._ pheasant-cuckoo. the hind toe terminates in a spur-like claw; hence these cuckoos are known as lark-heeled cuckoos.] the parent cuckoo deposits her egg in the nest of some other bird with those of the owners thereof. all are hatched. in a few hours after the arrival of the young cuckoo the foster-brothers and -sisters invariably disappear, and are not seldom found in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest. that they must have been removed by force is certain; but this force cannot be attributed to the natural parents. the evidence of the first witnesses, therefore, was worthy of all consideration; and since their accounts have been frequently confirmed by most trustworthy observers, we must now admit the charge proved. one of the best known of these accounts is that of mrs. hugh blackburn. she has given us a vivid picture of this most extraordinary of domestic tragedies. the victims in this instance were meadow-pipits. finding a pipit's nest with a cuckoo's egg therein, she kept it carefully under observation. at one visit she found the pipits hatched, but not the cuckoo. forty-eight hours later the cuckoo had not only arrived, but ousted his foster-brothers and -sisters, who were found lying outside the nest, but yet alive. they were replaced beside the cuckoo, which at once reopened hostilities for the purpose of maintaining its absolute possession of the nursery. this it did by burrowing under one of them, which, balanced upon its back, it proceeded to eject by climbing up the nest tail-foremost, till, reaching the brim, it could relieve itself of its burden by heaving it over the edge and down the bank. pausing a moment, it then felt backwards with its wings to make sure the pipit was really gone, and, having satisfied itself on this point, subsided to the bottom of the nest. next day, when the nest was visited, the remaining pipit was found outside the nest cold and dead. "but what struck me most," she writes, "was this: the cuckoo was perfectly naked, without a vestige of a feather or even a hint of feathers, its eyes were not yet opened, and its neck seemed too weak to support the weight of its head. the pipits had well-developed quills on the wings and back, and had bright eyes partially opened, yet they seemed quite helpless under the manipulations of the cuckoo, which looked a much less developed creature." [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ cuckoo one day old in hedge-sparrow's nest. the young bird has its mouth open, ready for all the food the foster-parents can collect.] the great spotted cuckoo of south europe and north africa is a species which, though parasitic, does not seem to have sunk to such a depth as the common cuckoo. its eggs very closely resemble those of certain magpies and crows within its breeding-area, and it is in the nests of these that they are deposited. we may assume that mimicry has been resorted to, and become perfected by the same means as have accomplished this end in the case of the common cuckoo. we notice here, however, two points of difference therefrom. in the first place, from two to four eggs are left in each nest instead of one; and, secondly, the young cuckoos seem to live in perfect amity with their foster-brothers and -sisters--there is no ejection of the rightful heirs. having pledged themselves to a course of deception and treachery, there is no telling the lengths to which such conduct may lead. we have already seen that the bird has succeeded in laying what we may call forged eggs, but we come now to an instance where the young has also to be disguised. this is furnished by a species of cuckoo known as the koel, inhabiting palawan, an island in the philippines. this bird shifts its parental duties upon the shoulders of a species of myna inhabiting the same island. now, the mynas are black, and their young, as is often the case where both sexes are coloured alike, resemble the parents, and are black likewise. with the cuckoo the case is different. the male and female are conspicuously different in coloration, the former being black, the latter brown. in such cases it is the rule for the young to wear the livery of the female. if this rule were adhered to in the case of the cuckoo, destruction would be more than probable, for the mynas would as likely as not destroy so outrageous a departure from myna custom as a brown youngster. but the koel has proved equal to the occasion, by the simple expedient of attiring the young in the male instead of the female livery. later on in life the rule for the exchange of plumage is reversed, and the young female doffs the temporary black dress of the male for the brown one of the adult female, instead of vice versâ. all cuckoos, however, are not parasitic, the species known as lark-heeled cuckoos--from the presence of a long, spine-like claw on the hind toe--building a nest and hatching their own eggs. they have a wide range, being found in africa from egypt to cape colony, madagascar, india, china, new guinea, and australia. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ young cuckoo. a young cuckoo remains in the nest till fully fledged.] as a rule, the cuckoos are not conspicuously coloured, but some species are clad in a livery resplendent with metallic colours. these are represented by the indian and australian bronze cuckoos and the african golden cuckoos. one of the most beautiful of all is the african emerald cuckoo, in which the upper-parts are of a vivid emerald-green, whilst the under-parts are bright yellow. finally, we must mention the ground-cuckoos, which are comparatively long-legged, terrestrial forms, with small wings. one of the best known is an inhabitant of the southern united states, from texas to new mexico, southern colorado, and california. "it has obtained the name of road-runner," writes dr. sharpe, "from the speed with which it flies over the ground, some idea of which may be gained from a statement of colonel stevenson, that, when in southern california, he saw, on two occasions, the ranchmen of that part of the country chase one of these birds on horseback for a distance of a mile or more at full speed, when the cuckoo, though still in advance, would suddenly stop and fly up among the upper limbs of some stunted tree or bush near the roadside, and the rider, having kept the bird in view all the way, would dismount and easily take the exhausted bird from its perch alive." that the african plantain-eaters, or touracos, are related to the cuckoos there can be no doubt, although they do not bear any very close superficial resemblance to them. striking in appearance and of beautiful plumage, they owe as much of the interest which now centres on them to the chemist as to the ornithologist. long ago it was noticed that the rich crimson colour of the wing-quills disappeared after exposure to a heavy rain, having been apparently washed out--a supposition justified by the discovery still later that the water in which captive species had been bathing was strongly tinged with colour. a little more than thirty years ago these facts came under the notice of professor church, who, as a result of a thorough examination of the mystery, was enabled to announce the discovery of a new animal pigment containing copper, which he called "turacin." [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ young cuckoo in reed-warbler's nest. this photograph was taken in august, an unusually late date to find these birds in the nest.] there are twenty-five different species of plantain-eaters, which are divided into two groups--those which have red in the quills and those without. all are forest-dwellers, feeding upon various wild fruits, building a nest of sticks resembling that of a pigeon, and laying therein three white eggs. the majority of the species are crested and brilliantly coloured, but a few are quite soberly clad. the largest of the tribe is nearly feet long, and a brief description of its coloration will serve to convey a notion of the beauty of the more gorgeously clad members. in this species, then, the upper surface of the body is blue, the tail yellow, with a blue base and black bar across the tip, the under surface of the body rufous brown, the bill yellow, with a scarlet tip, and the eye red. though the tops of the highest trees seem to be their favourite resort, these birds are found also among the dense tangled masses of creepers near the ground, flitting, when disturbed, in graceful curves, and alighting with crest erected and the tail turned sharply upwards. the powers of flight appear to vary among the different species, some being described as decidedly clumsy on the wing, whilst others, on the contrary, are light and graceful. shy and very restless, they are very difficult to procure, when wounded running with great speed, and taking shelter in holes in trees. their flesh is esteemed a great delicacy by the natives. save during rain or the heat of midday, they appear to be very noisy birds, having a harsh note, varied with cat-like mewings. ---- chapter xii. _rollers, kingfishers, hornbills, and hoopoes._ crow-like birds of brilliant coloration, the rollers have earned their name from the habit of occasionally rolling or turning over in their flight, after the manner of tumbler-pigeons. one species at least visits britain occasionally, only to be shot down at once by the insatiable pot-hunter and collector of rare birds. they are birds of wide distribution, occurring over the greater part of the old world, and, as we have already remarked, of brilliant coloration, blue and green, varied with reddish, being the predominating colours. as with all birds of beautiful plumage, they are subjected to much persecution, thousands upon thousands being killed every year in india alone, to supply the demands made by milliners for the decoration of ladies' hats. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian laughing-kingfisher. the laughing-kingfisher, or laughing-jackass, derives its name from its extraordinary note, resembling a demoniacal laugh.] [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ kingfishers at home. the plumage of this bird is remarkable for the beauty of its iridescent hues.] rollers frequent forest country, and travel in pairs or in small companies: some species are entirely insectivorous; others eat also reptiles, frogs, beetles, worms, and grain. four or five white eggs are laid in a nest made of roots, grass, hair, and feathers, and built in walls, under the eaves of buildings, or in holes of trees or banks. equally beautiful as a whole, and far more widely known, are the kingfishers. but just as the common cuckoo has come to overshadow the rest of its tribe, so the common kingfisher eclipses all its congeners. for centuries a wealth of fable, held together by a modicum of fact, served to secure for this bird a peculiar interest; whilst to-day, though shorn of much of the importance with which these fables had invested it, this kingfisher is still esteemed one of the most interesting and beautiful of its tribe. green and blue are the predominating colours of its upper- and bright chestnut-red of its under-surface; but owing to structural peculiarities of the feathers of the upper-parts, the reflection of the green and blue areas changes with the direction of the light from which the bird is viewed, in the same way that the peacock's train-feathers change according as the light falls upon them. as is the rule where both sexes are brilliantly coloured, this bird breeds in a hole, which in the present species is generally excavated in the bank of a stream, but sometimes in an old gravel-pit or chalk-pit, a mile or even more from the water. occasionally the crumbling soil under the roots of an old tree affords sufficient shelter. no nest is made, although what is equivalent to a nest is ultimately formed from the bird's habit of ejecting the indigestible parts of its food on to the floor of the space in which the eggs are laid. in course of time this becomes a cup-shaped structure; but whether, as professor newton remarks, by the pleasure of the bird or the moisture of the soil, or both, is unknown. with care the nest may be removed entire, but the slightest jar reduces the whole to the collection of fish-bones and crustacean skeletons of which it was originally composed. there is a tradition, not yet extinct, to the effect that these "nests" are of great pecuniary value, and scarcely a year passes without the authorities at the british museum being offered such a treasure, at prices varying from a few pounds to a hundred. the nest-chamber is approached by a tunnel sloping upwards, and varying from inches to feet in length, terminating in a chamber some inches in diameter, in which the eggs are laid. these, from six to eight in number, have a pure white, shining shell, tinged with a most exquisite pink colour, which is lost when the eggs are blown. the young seem to be reared under very unsanitary conditions, for the ejected fish-bones and other hard parts are not reserved entirely for the nest, but gradually distributed along the tunnel approaching it; later, fish brought for the young, but dropped on the way, and the fluid excreta of the parents are added, forming a dripping, fetid mass swarming with maggots. the young, on leaving the nest, are at first tenderly fed and cared for by the parents, but towards the end of the summer seem to be driven away to seek new fishing-grounds for themselves. of the many legends that have grown up around this bird, some are well worth repeating. specially interesting is one related by professor newton on the authority of the french naturalist rolland. this has it that the kingfisher was originally a plain grey bird, and acquired its present bright colours by flying towards the sun on its liberation from noah's ark, when its upper-surface assumed the hue of the sky above it, and its lower plumage was scorched by the heat of the setting sun to the tint it now bears. not a few virtues were also attributed to this bird. its dried body would, it was believed, avert thunder-bolts, or, kept in a wardrobe, preserve from moths the woollen stuffs contained therein, whilst, hung by a thread from the ceiling of a room, it would serve like the more conventional weather-cock to point the direction of the prevailing wind. persecuted though it is, the kingfisher is by no means a rare bird in england, and those who will may generally see it by the banks of some slowly flowing stream or lake, or even shallow brook, sometimes even by the seashore. it feeds upon small aquatic insects and crustacea and small fishes, sometimes even, it is said, upon leeches. perched on some bough overhanging the water, or stump or railing on the bank, it watches patiently, silent and motionless. the moment its prey comes within striking distance it plunges down upon it, disappearing for a moment beneath the surface, to appear the next with its capture in its beak. if this be a fish, it is held crosswise, and borne upwards to the station from which the plunge was made, there to be stunned by a few sharp blows, tossed into the air, dexterously caught, and swallowed head-foremost. at times, however, perhaps when hunger presses, more activity in the capture of food is displayed, the bird hovering suspended over the water, after the custom of the kestrel-hawk. although essentially fish-eating birds, a considerable number live far removed from water, obtaining a livelihood by the capture of insects in forest regions, whilst some appear to feed mainly on reptiles. these are known as wood-kingfishers, to distinguish them from the water-kingfishers, the typical member of which group has been just described. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ laughing-kingfishers. this species has comparatively dull-coloured plumage.] of the wood-kingfishers, or kinghunters, as they are also called, the most beautiful are the racket-tailed kingfishers, so called from the fact that the two middle tail-feathers are produced into two long rods, terminating in a spoon-shaped enlargement. although represented by no less than twenty distinct species, they have a somewhat limited range, being found only in the moluccas, new guinea, and northern australia. one of the handsomest of all is the one occurring in amboina, an island in the malay archipelago, where it was discovered by mr. a. r. wallace. the bill, he tells us, is coral-red, the under-surface pure white, the back and wings deep purple, while the shoulders, head, and nape, and some spots on the upper part of the back and wings, are pure azure-blue. the tail is white, narrowly edged with blue. these birds live upon insects and small land-mollusca, which they dart down upon and pick up from the ground just as the fish-eating species pick up a fish. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ kingfisher. the photograph shows the nature of the favourite haunts of this species.] of the forest-haunting species, however, the best known is probably the large and, for a kingfisher, dull-coloured laughing-jackass, or settler's clock, of australia. its food is of a very mixed character--small mammals, reptiles, insects, and crabs being devoured with equal relish. since it is not seldom to be seen bearing off a snake in its bill, it may be regarded as a useful bird--supposing, of course, the snake to be of a poisonous variety. a good idea of the bird in its native haunts is given by the late mr. wheelwright. "about an hour before sunrise," he writes, "the bushman is awakened by the most discordant sounds, as if a troop of fiends were shouting, whooping, and laughing around him in one wild chorus. this is the morning song of the 'laughing-jackass,' warning his feathered mates that daybreak is at hand. at noon the same wild laugh is heard, and as the sun sinks into the west it again rings through the forest. i shall never forget the first night i slept in the open bush in this country. it was in the black forest. i woke about daybreak after a confused sleep, and for some minutes i could not remember where i was, such were the extraordinary sounds that greeted my ears: the fiendish laugh of the jackass, the clear, flute-like notes of the magpie, the hoarse cackle of the wattle-birds ... and the screaming of thousands of parrots as they dashed through the forest, all giving chorus, formed one of the most extraordinary concerts i have ever heard, and seemed, at the moment, to have been got up for the purpose of welcoming the stranger to this land of wonders on that eventful morning. i have heard it hundreds of times since, but never with the same feelings that i listened to it then. the laughing-jackass is the bushman's clock, and being by no means shy, of a companionable nature, and a constant attendant on the bush-tent and a destroyer of snakes, is regarded, like the robin at home, as a sacred bird in the australian forests. it is an uncouth-looking bird ... nearly the size of a crow, of a rich chestnut-brown and dirty white colour, the wings slightly chequered with light blue, after the manner of the british jay. the tail-feathers are long, rather pointed, and barred with brown.... it is a common bird in all the forest throughout the year, breeds in the hole of a tree, and the eggs are white." whilst the kingfishers are remarkable for the wondrous beauty of their coloration, the hornbills, their allies, attract our attention rather by the grotesqueness of their shape, due to the enormous size of the bill, and the still more remarkable horny excrescences which surmount it in not a few species, forming what is known as a "casque." absent in some of the smaller and possibly more primitive forms, its gradual development may be traced, beginning with a series of corrugations along the ridge of the base of the bill, gradually increasing, to form, in the most extreme cases, huge superstructures of quaint shapes, and apparently of great solidity. as a matter of fact, however, these casques are practically hollow, save in the case of the helmet-hornbill of the malay countries, in which the horny sheath is backed by solid supports of bone, whilst the front of the sheath itself is of great thickness and surprising density, and is used by the natives for carving and making brooches and other ornaments. the use of this powerful hammer--for such it may possibly be--is unknown. hornbills are forest-birds, feeding upon fruit and insects, the latter being captured on the wing. with large bill and wings, a long tail, and a relatively small body and short legs, they are rather unwieldy birds, and yet, for many reasons, unusually interesting. their nesting habits are unique, and quite worth recounting here at some length. of the many accounts, one of the most interesting, as well as one of the latest, is that of mr. charles hose, of borneo. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ laughing-jack ass. frequently known as the settler's clock.] "the nest," he writes, "is always built in the hollow of a large tree--the hollow, be it noted, being always due to disease of the tree or the ravages of termites, not to the personal labours of the birds. the bottom of this cavity is often plugged by a termites' nest and accumulation of decayed wood, and on the upper surface of this is made the nest, a very rough-and-ready structure, composed simply of the feathers of the female. the hollow of the tree communicates with the exterior air by means of a long aperture, which, just before the period of incubation, is closed up almost entirely by the male, simply leaving a long slit open, up and down which the beak of the enclosed female can move. the substance used in thus closing the aperture closely resembles some vegetable resin, and is probably composed of a gastric secretion, combined with the woody fragments of fruit. it should be noticed that this slit is always in close proximity to the nest, so that the female can easily protrude her beak for food without moving from her sitting position. during incubation the male bird supplies the female with food in the form of pellets of fruit, seeds, insects, portions of reptiles, etc., the pellets being enclosed each in a skin of rubber-like consistency. while feeding the female, the male clings to the bark of the tree, or sits on a branch if conveniently near, and jerks these pellets into the gaping beak of the hen, two to four pellets forming a meal. during mastication (for it is a mistake to suppose that the hornbills always bolt their food entire) some fragments of the pellets fall to the ground, and seeds which these fragments may contain take root, germinate, and sprout, and the natives can judge approximately of the date of incubation by the age of the seedlings. when these are four-leaved, the eggs have been hatched out for two or three weeks. at this stage, though not always so early, the mother bird leaves the nest, breaking down the gluey substance with her beak to effect an exit; having left the nest, the aperture through which she left is carefully closed up again, leaving the slit as before, and now both male and female devote their energies to feeding the young birds, which in course of time follow the example of their mother and leave their place of imprisonment. it is more than probable that this gluing up first of the mother bird and her eggs and afterwards of the nestlings alone is solely a means of protection against predacious carnivora.... [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ crested hornbill. the hornbills derive their name from the great size of the bill.] "the nesting-season is during may and june, and it is noteworthy that the birds, if undisturbed, return to the same nesting-place every year. the saplings at the foot of the tree, sprung from seeds dropped in the first year of paring, afford signs to the natives of the number of years during which the tree has been occupied. if during paring or incubation the female or female and young are destroyed, the male takes to himself another mate, and repairs to the same nesting-place; if, however, the male and female are destroyed, the nest is never reoccupied by other pairs. an interesting incident was observed while on mount dulit. espying on a tree the external signs of a hornbill's nest, and a male rhinoceros perched close by, i shot the male, and while waiting for my dyak collectors to make a ladder up the tree to secure the female, i observed several young male birds fly to the nest and assiduously ply the bereaved widow with food, a fact which seems to indicate a competition in the matrimonial market of the bird-world as severe as that among human beings. it is no easy matter to procure embryos or nestlings of hornbills, for the natives are inordinately fond of both as articles of diet, and, further, are always anxious to secure the tail-feathers of the adults to adorn their war-coats and hats. "the native method of catching the female during incubation is ingenious, though decidedly brutal. the tree is scaled, the resin-like substance is broken away, and the frightened bird flies from her nest up the hollow trunk of the tree, but is ignominiously brought down by means of a thorny stick (the thorns point downward), which is thrust after and twisted about until a firm grip in her plumage is obtained. the dyaks, never very faithful observers of nature, believe that the female is shut up by the male, so that after hatching her eggs she may die, the maggots in her putrefying body affording food for the young. one very curious habit of the rhinoceros-hornbill which i have not hitherto seen noted is the rapid jumping up and down on a branch with both feet together. this jumping motion is imitated by the kyans and dyaks in their dances, the figure being known to the kyans as 'wan blingong.'" [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ concave-casqued hornbill, india. the noise made by hornbills on the wing is said to resemble that of a steam-engine.] that the hoopoes, unlike as they may be in general appearance, are nevertheless intimately related to the hornbills there can be no doubt. graceful in contour and pleasing in coloration, it is a pity that the species which so frequently visits britain, and has on more than one occasion nested there, should be so ruthlessly shot down immediately its presence is discovered. save the wings and tail, the body is of a light cinnamon colour, whilst the head is surmounted by a magnificent crest of black-and-white-tipped feathers, which can be raised or depressed at the pleasure of the bird: the excepted portions of the plumage--the wings and tail--are buff, varied with bands of black and white. thus it may be truthfully said to be a conspicuously coloured bird; yet this same livery seems also to come under the head of protective coloration, for we are assured that, when danger threatens, the bird throws itself flat upon the ground, spreads out its wings, and at once becomes transformed into what rather resembles a heap of rags than a bird. escape by flight, however, instead of subterfuge, seems also at times to be resorted to, since, when pursued by a falcon, it will mount rapidly to a great height, and not seldom effect its escape. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ ground-hornbill. the legs of the ground-hornbill are much longer than those of its allies.] the domestic habits of the hoopoe are, however, by no means so charming as one would expect to find in so beautiful a bird. "all observers agree," writes professor newton, "in stating that it delights to find its food among filth of the most abominable description, and this especially in its winter quarters. but where it breeds, its nest--usually in the hole of a tree or of a wall--is not only partly composed of the foulest materials, but its condition becomes worse as incubation proceeds, for the hen scarcely ever leaves her eggs, being assiduously fed by the cock as she sits (a feature strongly recalling the custom of the hornbills), and when the young are hatched their fæces are not removed by their parents, as is the case with most birds, but are discharged in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest, the unsanitary condition of which can readily be imagined. worms, grubs, and insects generally, form the hoopoes' food, and upon it they get so fat in autumn that they are esteemed a delicate morsel in some of the countries of southern europe, and especially by the christian population of constantinople." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ hoopoe. an occasional visitor to the british isles.] beside the european hoopoe, which also extends into northern africa, four other species are known, three of which are african, whilst a fourth ranges from india to hainan. nearly related to the birds we have just described are the wood-hoopoes. they differ from their allies in being crestless, having a more curved bill, and a plumage of metallic purple, with a white patch on the wings and white markings on the tail. their habits resemble those of their more highly coloured relatives. ---- chapter xiii. _bee-eaters, motmots, todies, colies, and trogons._ in the present chapter we deal with a number of birds of singular beauty and gracefulness. in their coloration green predominates, thus recalling the rollers, parrots, plantain-eaters, and kingfishers, all of which groups, as we have seen, contain a large proportion of green species. the bee-eaters, like the kingfishers, hornbills, and hoopoes, have a foot of quite peculiar structure, the middle and outer toes being joined together throughout the greater part of their length. they are an old world group, ranging from the british islands to australia, in the american continent their place being taken by the motmots and jacamars, of which we shall speak presently. they are especially plentiful in the african region, somewhat less so in the indian, the temperate regions of the old world possessing but few species. on rare occasions one species visits the british islands. this is, furthermore, one of the most beautiful of the group. it has the head, neck, upper back, and a broad wing-bar of a ruddy-brown colour; the lower back buff colour; green wings and tail, with black tips to the middle tail-feathers, which are longer than the rest. the forehead is pale green and white; the ear-coverts are black; and the throat bright yellow, divided from the greenish-blue under-parts by a black band. "the name bee-eater," writes mr. evans, "is well deserved, for in spain [it] is a perfect pest to the bee-keeper, catching the workers as they enter and leave the hives." like the kingfishers, the indigestible parts of the food are cast up and deposited around the eggs, though bee-eaters do not appear to form a nest of them, as with the kingfishers. from four to six eggs of a beautiful glossy white colour are deposited in holes in banks, or--and this is worthy of special notice--in tunnels bored vertically downwards in level ground for a distance of from to feet. how this is done is a mystery, for the bird's beak and feet look by no means equal to such a task. no nest appears to be made, the eggs being deposited at the extremity of the burrow without further preparation. two species of the group, however, are said to form an exception, constructing a nest of straw and feathers. these two, as well as the members of the genus to which the british bird belongs, apparently breed in colonies. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bee-eater. a native of the malay countries. the long feathers on the throat are bright scarlet.] unfortunately for the bee-eater, its flesh is palatable, whilst its plumage is in great demand for millinery purposes. its persecution is of long standing, since more than years ago belon witnessed a particularly cruel experiment practised by the boys in crete. transfixing a beetle with a bent pin, to the head of which a thread was tied, and then holding its other end with their hand, they would let the insect fly. the bee-eater, which catches most of its prey on the wing, would dart upon it, and, swallowing the bait, be caught by the hook. not unlike the bee-eaters in general appearance and coloration, the motmots are birds of peculiar interest, and this on account of a remarkable habit of one of their tribe--a habit which is perfectly unique, and to which we shall return presently. belonging, as we have already remarked, to the new world, they range from southern mexico to paraguay, inhabiting dense forests, and being but rarely seen. the plumage is somewhat loose in character--green, blue, cinnamon, and black in colour. the beak has the margins serrated, or saw-like; whilst the feet resemble those of the kingfishers and bee-eaters. as with the bee-eaters, no nest is made. the eggs, three or four in number and creamy white in colour, are deposited in a hole bored by the birds themselves in a tree or bank, both sexes sharing in the work of incubation. their food consists of insects caught in the air, small reptiles, and fruit. the remarkable habit to which we have referred is displayed by the species known as the racket-tailed motmot, from the fact that the two middle tail-feathers project beyond the others, and have the greater part of the shaft bare, but terminating in a spoon-shaped expansion. in this there is nothing unusual, for such racket-feathers are common amongst birds. in this particular case, however, the feathers were originally entire, and acquired their characteristic shape artificially, the bird nibbling away the vane on either side of the shaft with its bill until the required shape is obtained. such an act of conscious decoration on the part of a bird is elsewhere unknown throughout the whole class. the todies are diminutive allies of the motmots, frequenting hilly districts and woods. they sit with the beak pointed upwards, the head drawn in close to the body, and the plumage puffed out, apparently oblivious of all around them--at least it would seem so, since at such times they may be caught with a butterfly-net. like their larger allies, they are green in coloration, but have a light red throat, and yellowish-white or pinkish under-parts, with green or pink flank-feathers. they vary in length from to ½ inches. the colies, or mouse-birds, of south africa are small, crested, long-tailed, loose-plumaged birds whose exact relationships are somewhat puzzling. the name mouse-bird is given on account of the habit of creeping along the boughs of trees with the whole foot applied to the branch. the toes are peculiar in that all turn forwards, and are commonly so retained. about ten species are known, ranging from abyssinia southwards. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ racket-tailed motmot. note the mutilated tail-feathers.] resplendent without doubt are the majority of the forms which we have been lately considering, but probably the palm for gorgeous coloration should be given to the trogons--at least they must be allowed to share the honours with the humming-birds. the most splendid of all is the quezal, the male of which has a train of great length, resembling at first sight a tail. but, as in the peacock, this is formed by enormously elongated tail-coverts, concealing the true tail. these tail-coverts differ, however, markedly from those in the peacock in that they are not erectile, but pendent. the head is ornamented with a large, rounded crest; the ground-colour of the upper parts of the plumage is of brilliant metallic green; the under parts from the chest downwards are of a deep blood-red. certain of the covert-feathers of the wing form elegant drooping plumes, hanging down on either side and giving a wonderfully beautiful effect. the late mr. salvin's account of this bird in its wild state is well worth quoting. hunting with a native for this bird in the forest, where alone it is to be met with, he writes: "a distant clattering note indicates that the bird is on the wing. he settles--a splendid male--on a bough of a tree, not seventy yards from where we are hidden. cipriano wants to creep up to within shot, but i keep him back, wishing to risk the chance of losing a specimen rather than miss such an opportunity of seeing the bird in its living state, and of watching its movements. it sits almost motionless on its perch, the body remaining in the same position, the head only moving from side to side. the tail is occasionally jerked open and closed again, and now and then slightly raised, causing the long tail-coverts to vibrate gracefully. i have not seen all. a ripe fruit catches the quezal's eye, and he darts from his perch, hovers for a moment, picks the berry, and returns to his former position. this is done with a degree of elegance that defies description." ---- chapter xiv. _toucans, honey-guides, jacamars and puff-birds, barbets and woodpeckers._ gaudy in plumage, and somewhat ungainly in appearance, it must nevertheless be admitted that the toucans form an exceedingly interesting group of birds. on account of their huge and gaily coloured beaks, they have been imagined to be related to the hornbills; but even judging by this character, the two groups may be readily distinguished; for whereas the typical beak of the hornbill is surmounted by a large casque, the beak of the toucan is never so ornamented. the solid appearance of the beak in the toucan, by the way, is as much a fiction as with the hornbill, since the horny sheath is supported, not on a core of solid bone, but on a frame of delicate bony filigree-work, the spaces being filled by air. the coloration of the plumage (which is somewhat loose in character), as well as of the bare skin round the eye and the beak-sheath, is most brilliant, and displays immense variation amongst the different species. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ trogon. trogons haunt the recesses of the thickest forests.] shy and restless in their habits, toucans travel generally in small flocks amongst the forest-trees and mangrove-swamps in search of food, which consists mainly of fruits and seeds, varying this diet occasionally with ants and caterpillars. it is to this diet of fruit that the great size of the bill and its peculiar saw-like edges are to be traced--at least this is the opinion of the great traveller-naturalist bates, who had so many opportunities of watching these birds. "flowers and fruit," he writes, "on the crowns of the large trees of south american forests grow principally towards the end of slender twigs, which will not bear any considerable weight. all animals, therefore, which feed principally upon fruit, or on insects contained in flowers, must, of course, have some means of reaching the ends of the stalks from a distance. monkeys obtain their food by stretching forth their long arms, and in some instances their tails, to bring the fruit near to their mouths; humming-birds are endowed with highly perfected organs of flight, with corresponding muscular development, by which they are enabled to sustain themselves on the wing before blossoms whilst rifling them of their contents; [and the long bill of the toucan enables it] to reach and devour fruit whilst remaining seated, and thus to counterbalance the disadvantage which its heavy body and gluttonous appetite would otherwise give it in the competition with allied groups of birds." toucans appear to be much esteemed as articles of food--at least during the months of june and july, when these birds get very fat, the flesh being exceedingly sweet and tender. they nest in holes of trees at a great height from the ground, and lay white eggs. one of the most remarkable of the group is the curl-crested toucan, from the fact that the feathers on the crown of the head are peculiarly modified to form scroll-like, glossy curls, which have been compared to shavings of steel or ebony. mr. bates writes: "i had an amusing adventure one day with one of these birds. i had shot one from a rather high tree in a dark glen in the forest, and entered the thicket where the bird had fallen to secure my booty. it was only wounded, and on my attempting to seize it set up a loud scream. in an instant, as if by magic, the shady nook seemed alive with these birds, although there was certainly none visible when i entered the jungle. they descended towards me, hopping from bough to bough, some of them swinging on the loops and cables of woody lianas, and all croaking and fluttering their wings like so many furies. if i had had a long stick in my hand, i could have knocked several of them over. after killing the wounded one, i began to prepare for obtaining more specimens and punishing the viragos for their boldness. but the screaming of their companion having ceased, they remounted the trees, and before i could reload every one of them had disappeared." with neither charm of colour nor peculiar shape, the small african birds known as honey-guides are some of the most remarkable of birds, and this on account of a quite unique habit of inducing other animals, not even excepting man, to hunt for them. sir john kirk, writing of its habits in the zambesi district, says: "the honey-guide is found in forests and often far from water, even during the dry season. on observing a man, it comes fluttering from branch to branch in the neighbouring trees, calling attention. if this be responded to--as the natives do by whistling and starting to their feet--the bird will go in a certain direction, and remain at a little distance, hopping from one tree to another. on being followed, it goes further; and so it will guide the way to a nest of bees. when this is reached, it flies about, but no longer guides; and then some knowledge is required to discover the nest, even when pointed out to within a few trees. i have known this bird, if the man, after taking up the direction for a little, then turns away, come back and offer to point out another nest in a different part. but if it does not know of two nests, it will remain behind. the difficulty is that the bird will point to tame bees in a bark hive as readily as to those in the forest. this is natural, as the bee is the same, the bark hive ... being simply fastened up in a tree, and left for the bees to come to.... the object the bird has in view is clearly the young bees. it will guide to nests having no honey, and seems equally delighted if the comb containing the grubs is torn out, when it is seen pecking at it." [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ curl-crested toucan. so called from the curiously curled feathers on the head, resembling black and glistening shavings.] an old rumour had it that honey-guides occasionally lured men on to spots where lions or other large and dangerous beasts lay hid. no credence whatever is now given to such tales, it being readily understood that the bird's course may by accident pass directly above perils of this kind, without the slightest cognisance of this on the part of the bird. the honey-guide, however, presses into its service one of the lower mammals--the ratel. the fondness of this animal for bees is well known, and by none better than this little bird, which, by pointing out nests to its more powerful companion, earns as a reward the broken bits which remain after the feast. allies of the sombre-coloured honey-guides are the jacamars and puff-birds. the former are rather handsome birds, though small, having the upper-parts of a metallic coppery golden green, and more or less rufous below. ranging from mexico to south brazil, they may usually be found on the outskirts of forests, near water, sitting perched on the bare boughs of lofty trees for hours at a time. they feed on moths and other insects, caught on the wing, and brought back and crushed against the bough before swallowing. they lay white eggs in the holes of trees. the puff-birds, though closely allied to the foregoing, are more soberly clad. black, brown, and rufous in hue, they lack the resplendent metallic markings of the jacamars. their geographical range extends from guatemala and honduras to argentina. though numerous species and genera are known, the nest and eggs appear to have been discovered in the case of one species only: these were found in a hole in a bank, and contained two shining white eggs. the barbets are possibly more closely related to the honey-guides than the jacamars and puff-birds. brilliantly coloured, and having a plumage exhibiting violent contrasts of red, blue, purple, and yellow, on a green ground, sometimes with crests, bare skin round the eye, and brightly coloured bills, the barbets are, in spite of a somewhat hairy appearance, exceedingly attractive birds. forest-dwellers, like their allies, they feed upon fruit, seeds, insects, bark, and buds; but so noiseless are they said to be when feeding that their presence is betrayed only by the falling of berries they have accidentally released. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ honey-guide. the name is bestowed on account of its remarkable habit of drawing attention to bees' nests.] it is interesting to note that the geographical range of the barbet is much wider than that of its immediate allies, extending through tropical asia, africa, and america. the woodpecker tribe constitutes a large group, generally divided into two sections--the woodpeckers and the wrynecks. the former are characterised by their large heads and very powerful bills and long and exceedingly stiff tails. the feet are also peculiar, two toes pointing directly forwards and two backwards. beak, feet, and tail are all specially adapted to the peculiar habits of these birds, which pass their lives upon trees, climbing the trunks, and searching the interstices of the bark for ants, or drilling holes into the unsound portions of the trunk itself for the purpose of extracting the grubs which feed upon decaying wood. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ a family of greater spotted woodpeckers. this woodpecker is a british species.] that ants and other small insects form the staple diet of the woodpecker is evident from the extraordinary length of the tongue. this is a long, worm-like structure, capable of being protruded many inches from the beak, and covered with a sticky secretion, so that, thrust into colonies of ants, it quickly becomes covered with them, to be withdrawn immediately into the mouth and cleared again for further action. woodpeckers are all birds of bright plumage, some particularly so, and have a wide geographical distribution, inhabiting all parts of the world save madagascar, the australasian region, and egypt. three species occur in the british islands, though they are exceedingly rare in scotland and ireland. the green woodpecker is a particularly handsome bird. grass-green is the predominating colour of its livery, relieved by a light scarlet cap, a golden patch over the lower part of the back, and chequered bars on the wings and quills. scarcely less beautiful, in their way, are the greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers. the plumage of these birds has a very rich effect, steely blue-black and white being contrasted with scarlet. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ lesser spotted woodpeckers one of the members of the group is using its stiff tail feathers as a support.] the spotted and black woodpeckers are remarkable for a curious drumming sound, so powerful as to be distinctly audible even a mile off. it appears to be caused by hammering vigorously on the bark of some rotten branch, the bird's head moving with amazing rapidity as it beats out this curious tattoo. three north american species, known as sap-suckers, have the curious habit of piercing the boles of trees for the purpose of procuring the sap which flows copiously when the tree is so "tapped." another species of the same region seems to be possessed of a persistent dread of famine, storing up immense quantities of nuts, which it appears never afterwards to use. these nuts are tightly fixed into holes in the bark of trees, and in such numbers that "a large pine or feet high will present the appearance of being closely studded with brass nails, the heads only being visible." the wrynecks differ from the woodpeckers mainly in that the tail-feathers are soft instead of spiny. although sombre, the plumage is yet very beautiful, having a velvety appearance, variegated with pearl-grey, powdered or dusted over a general groundwork of nut-brown, buff, and grey. bars and fine lines add still more to the general effect, and render description still more difficult. one species is common in england. it is known also as the cuckoo's mate and the snake-bird. the former name is given in allusion to the fact that it arrives with the cuckoo, the latter from its strange habit of writhing its head and neck, and also on account of its curious hissing note, made when disturbed on its nest. it has the long, worm-like tongue of the woodpecker, but without a barbed tip. the habit of writhing the head and neck often serves the wryneck in good stead. nesting in a hole in a tree, escape is difficult so soon as the discoverer has come to close quarters. the untried egg-collector, for instance, peering down into the nest, and seeing nothing distinctly, but only a moving head, and hearing a hissing sound, imagines the hole to be tenanted by a snake, and beats a hasty retreat, only to catch a glimpse, a moment later, of the bird hurrying out of its perilous hiding-place. should he, however, discovering the true state of affairs, put down his hand and seize the bird, it will adopt yet other resources. clinging tightly to its captor's finger, it will ruffle up its feathers, stretch out its neck, and at the same time move it jerkily and stiffly about, and finally, closing its eyes, hang downwards, as if dead. then, before the puzzled captor has had time to realise what has happened, it loosens its hold and takes instant flight. the young are easily, though rarely, tamed, and form extremely interesting pets, feeding readily from the hand, and affording endless amusement by their remarkable manner of capturing flies and other insects; but they do not appear to live long in confinement. the wryneck is one of the few birds which will persistently go on laying eggs, no matter how many times they may be stolen from the nest. a case is on record where as many as forty-two were laid in a single summer by one bird--an exceedingly cruel experiment. [illustration: _photo by c. reid, wishaw._ _printed at lyons, france._ waxbills. waxbills are relatives of the weaver birds, and take their name from the waxen appearance of the beak which is coral red.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid, wishaw._ _printed at lyons, france._ indigo finches the indigo finch or indigo bird is a well known member of a group of american finches of which the nonpareil finch is another representative.] [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ american crow. in some parts of the united states this crow, everywhere regarded as a pest, is replaced by the raven.] ---- chapter xv. _the perching-birds._ such an enormous host are included under this head--nearly , out of the total of , known birds--and so great are the difficulties connected with their systematic arrangement, that it has been considered best to begin the present chapter with the highest instead of the lowest types of the group. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ jackdaws. it is believed that the jackdaw is the bird referred to by shakespeare as the russet-pated chough (_midsummer-night's dream_, iii. ).] the extensive group of perching-birds is defined mainly from the characters afforded by the structure of the voice-organ, and these are of much too technical a nature to be discussed here. suffice it to say that, on account of these characters, the group is further divided into two sections, and each section again divided into two. the crows, orioles, finches, and their allies. at the head of the tribe stands, by general though by no means universal consent, the crow family, of which the recognised chief is the raven, a bird which has for thousands of years commanded a more than passing interest amongst mankind. renowned as the truant from the ark, or as the wonderful minister of the prophet elijah, there are few even of the youngest amongst us who do not know of its striking personality. the poet and the dramatist have both made use of the raven, and it would seem that it has even found a place in the mythology of the red indian. the smaller relatives of this celebrated bird, the rook, the carrion-crow, and the jackdaw, and more distantly the jay and the magpie, are doubtless as familiar to our readers as the raven. although probably unknown to many, the chough, with its glossy black plumage and brilliant red bill and feet, is a british bird, and lives still in certain parts of england, though fast verging on extinction. another very remarkable member of the family is the huia, and this on account of the fact that the male and female differ markedly in respect of the shape of the bill, this being in the female long and sickle-shaped, and in the male short and cone-shaped. this bird frequents the wooded regions of north island, new zealand, living upon grubs found in decaying wood, and on berries. the female procures the grubs by probing the holes which they have made in the sounder wood, the male by breaking away the decayed portions of the tree; but occasionally it happens that, having cleared away as much of the decayed material as possible, the latter is unable to reach his prey, in which case he calls up the female, and yields his find to her, to extricate with her longer bill. so great a difference in the form of the bill in the sexes of the same species is elsewhere unknown among birds. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington_ young american blue jay (natural size). the blue jay is a most remarkable mimic.] the crows hold the important position of head of the class birds, yet they are far outshone in splendour by many of the groups already examined, though, with the exception perhaps of the humming-birds, these all pale before the birds of paradise. varying in size from a crow to a thrush, the best known of the latter is the great bird of paradise, which was discovered towards the end of the sixteenth century, if not earlier. on their first discovery it was popularly supposed that these birds lived in the air, turning always to the sun, and never alighting on the earth till they died, for they had neither feet nor wings. hence the malay traders called them "god's birds," the portuguese "birds of the sun," and the dutch "paradise-birds." seventeen or eighteen inches long, these birds have the body, wings, and tail of a rich coffee-brown, which deepens on the breast to a blackish violet or purple-brown. the top of the head and neck are of a delicate straw-yellow, the feathers being short and close-set, resembling velvet. the throat-feathers have a scaly appearance, and are emerald-green in colour. the flank-feathers on either side of the body form a dense mass of long, delicate, waving plumes, sometimes feet in length, of an intense orange colour, and shining with a wonderful gloss. these feathers can be raised and spread out at pleasure, so as to almost conceal the wearer in a fountain-like rain of feathers. this wonderful plumage is worn by the male only, the female being quite plainly dressed. in may, when they are in full dress, the males assemble early in the morning to exhibit themselves, forming what are known as "dancing-parties," which take place on the topmost boughs of some giant tree. "from a dozen to twenty birds assemble together," writes mr. alfred russel wallace, "raise up their wings, stretch out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes, keeping them in continual vibration. between-whiles they fly across from branch to branch in great excitement, so that the whole tree is filled with waxing plumes in every variety of attitude and motion." the native hunter marks these playing-places, builds a shelter of palm-leaves in a convenient situation among the branches, and ensconces himself under it before daylight, armed with a bow and a number of arrows terminating in a round knob. when the dance is in full swing, he shoots through the roof of his shelter with the blunt arrows, stunning every bird he strikes, which, falling down at once, are immediately picked up by a boy in waiting below. often a considerable number will be thus secured before the alarm is taken. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a pair of magpies. when taken young, the magpie is easily tamed, and can be taught to imitate human sounds.] without coloured figures, or very numerous photographs from living birds, which we can hardly hope to get, it would be impossible, except at the risk of being wearisome, to describe all the wonderful combinations of form and colour which the feathers of the birds of paradise display. breast-shields of metallic sheen, fans and crests in wonderful variety, feathers of a texture like velvet, or gorgeous colours, confuse one in their variety and combination. let it suffice to mention only the last discovered species--the king of saxony's bird of paradise. "velvety black above," writes dr. sharpe, "and yellowish below, there is nothing very striking in the aspect of the bird itself, which is smaller than our song-thrush. but the 'streamers' which it carries! poised ... on either side of the head is a long, shaft-like plume, from which depends, on the lower side only, a series of little flags of blue enamel, each quite separate from the one which precedes it, and not of a feathery structure in the least." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ cornish chough. very nearly extinct as a british bird.] close allies of the birds of paradise are the remarkable bower-birds of australia. conspicuously beautiful in coloration as are some members of this tribe, they are celebrated not so much on this account as for an extraordinary habit of constructing "bowers" or "playing-grounds"--a trait which appears absolutely unique among birds. "these constructions," observes mr. gould, "consist in a collection of pieces of stick or grass, formed into a bower; or one of them (that of the spotted bower-bird) might be called an avenue, being about feet in length, and or inches broad inside; a transverse section giving the figure of a horse-shoe, the round part downwards. they are used by the birds as a playing-house, or 'run,' as it is termed, and are used by the males to attract the females. the 'run' of the satin-bird is much smaller, being less than foot in length, and, moreover, differs from that just described in being decorated with the highly coloured feathers of the parrot tribe. the spotted bower-bird, on the other hand, collects around its 'run' a quantity of stones, shells, bleached bones, etc.; they are also strewed down the centre within." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ king bird of paradise. a native of new guinea; remarkable for the curled tail-feathers.] more wonderful still are the structures reared by the gardener-bird of new guinea, presenting, as professor newton remarks, "not only a modification of bower-building, but an appreciation of beauty perhaps unparalleled in the animal world.... this species ... builds at the foot of a small tree a kind of hut or cabin ... some feet in height, roofed with orchid-stems that slope to the ground, regularly radiating from the central support, which is covered with a conical mass of moss, and sheltering a gallery around it. one side of this hut is left open, and in front of it is arranged a bed of verdant moss, bedecked with blossoms and berries of the brightest colours. as these ornaments wither they are removed to a heap behind the hut, and replaced by others that are fresh. the hut is circular and some feet in diameter, and the mossy lawn in front of it nearly twice that expanse. each hut and garden are, it is believed, though not known, the work of a single pair of birds, or perhaps of the male only; and it may be observed that this species, as its trivial name implies, is wholly inornate in plumage. not less remarkable is the more recently described 'bower' of the golden bower-bird.... this structure is said ... to be piled up almost horizontally around the base of a tree to the height of from to feet, and around it are a number of hut-like fabrics, having the look of a dwarfed native camp." allied species, though building no bowers, yet clear a space of ground some or feet in diameter, on which to display themselves, and ornament this with little heaps of gaily tinted leaves, replacing them as they fade with fresh specimens. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ queensland rifle-bird. this unique australian representative of the birds of paradise is about the size of a pigeon. its plumage is black with a purple sheen; the throat is brilliant metallic emerald-green, like that of a humming-bird.] we pass next to the birds of the starling family, of which the british starling is the type. a bird so familiar needs no description here; but we may draw attention to the many interesting phases of plumage this species undergoes. the first plumage is a uniform greyish brown. later black feathers, with large white spots at the tips, make their appearance among the brown. these spotted feathers eventually replace the brown, and the bird enters upon a second quite distinct phase--a black, spotted with white. gradually this gives place to a plumage entirely unspotted, the feathers on the breast being spear-shaped. in the adult dress a wondrous variety of metallic reflections is acquired--green, purple, and violet. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ red bird of paradise. found only on the small island of waigiou, off the north-west coast of new guinea.] associating in the autumn and winter in large flocks, starlings move from place to place in search of food. sometimes the number of birds in these combined flocks rises to an enormous figure. one of the largest of these gatherings recorded in england existed on the property of the late mr. miles near bristol. "this locality is an evergreen plantation ... covering some acres, to which these birds repair of an evening ... by millions, from the low grounds about the severn, where their noise and stench are something altogether unusual. by packing in such myriads upon evergreens, they have stripped them of their leaves, except just at the tops, and have driven the pheasants, for whom the plantation was intended, quite away from the ground. in the daytime, when the birds are not there, the stench is still excessive. mr. miles was about to cut the whole plantation down, to get rid of them, two years ago, but i begged him not to do so, on account of the curiosity of the scene, and he has since been well pleased that he abstained." a similar but still larger congregation has been described; in this, about the year , from , to , starlings were computed to rest every night, between the end of october and the end of march, in certain trees in the gardens of the zoological society in dublin. the roof of st. patrick's cathedral, in the heart of dublin, has from time to time been resorted to, as many as , seeking shelter there. "possessing very considerable powers of wing," observes yarrell, "these are turned to account in an extraordinary manner by the birds composing the flock. they wheel, close, open out, rise and descend, as if each were obeying a commander, and all this is done with the utmost marvellous precision while the flock is proceeding at a rapid pace through the air. at times it may extend in a long and nearly straight thread; suddenly an undulation is visible along the line, and in a moment it takes the form of a thin and smoke-like cloud; another moment, and it is a dense and almost perfect globe; then possibly, having preserved this appearance for a perceptibly longer time, it becomes pear-shaped, and in another instant has assumed a spiral figure; an instant after it has spread out like a sheet, and its members are streaming softly along the ground, perhaps to alight, or perhaps once more to mount aloft and circle as before." there are few more magnificent sights in the world than a flock of starlings when performing evolutions of this kind. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ young starlings. starlings, if taken when young, are easily tamed and make excellent pets.] differing much, not only in general appearance, but also in coloration, from the common starling is the rose-coloured starling, so called from the beautiful rose-pink colour of the back and breast, set off by the rest of the plumage, which is black, glossed with violet, blue, and green reflections. this handsome bird occasionally visits britain. feeding largely upon locusts, these birds are much affected in their movements by the peregrinations of these pests; and this accounts for the sporadic appearance of the rose-coloured starling in huge flocks in places where it is generally seldom seen. dull in appearance, ungraceful in flight, and with a harsh, unmusical note, the starling known as the ox-pecker would seem at first sight to have little to recommend it; yet it is one of the benefactors of the larger african mammals, clearing them of flies and other insect-pests. buffaloes, rhinoceroses, elephants, are alike grateful for its services, as it climbs about their huge bodies, picking off the liliputian enemies by which they are beset. but little appears to be known of the breeding-habits of these birds. in strong contrast to the dull-looking ox-birds are the beautiful glossy starlings and grackles. the african glossy starlings, indeed, represent the most beautiful of all the members of the starling tribe. in one of the handsomest and best-known species--the long-tailed glossy starling--metallic green and purple-violet are the predominating tones in the plumage, glossed with copper reflections, and relieved by black or darker bars of green and purple. in another species--the green glossy starling of eastern africa--the shimmer of the plumage is so wonderful that the exact shades of colour are difficult to describe, in that they change completely, according to the light in which the bird is held. the grackles, or hill-mynas, are indian birds, with glossy black plumage, relieved by bare flaps of yellow skin projecting backwards from the head immediately behind the eye. these birds make excellent pets, learning both to whistle and talk. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ common starling. starlings appear to be on the increase in scotland, whilst larks are said to be on the decrease, owing to the destruction of their eggs by the former.] we come now to the beautiful orioles--birds belonging to the temperate and tropical parts of the old world. the males, as a rule, are clad in a vestment of brilliant yellow and black, but in some species the under-parts are relieved by rich crimson. one species--the golden oriole--has on several occasions visited the british islands, and even in one or two instances has nested there. but, as with all brightly plumaged birds in england, no sooner is their presence discovered than they are doomed to fall to the gun of some local collector. the hang-nests, cow-birds, and rice-birds are american birds, bearing in many respects a resemblance to the starlings, chiefly, perhaps, in the form of the beak. generally black in plumage, in many bright colour is conspicuous. hang-nests range from north and central america to southern brazil. as a rule they are brilliantly coloured, the livery being bright orange and yellow, set off by black and white. the majority of the numerous species build remarkable nests, looking like long stockings, which they hang from the under side of the bough of a tree; they are composed of coarse grass deftly woven together. the cow-birds are mostly south american, though the united states possess two or three species. some, like the cuckoos, are parasitic, dropping their eggs into the nests of other birds, to be hatched by the owners: the young cow-bird, however, dwells in harmony with his foster-brothers and -sisters, instead of ejecting them from the nest, like the young cuckoo. the name cow-bird is bestowed upon these birds on account of the persistent way in which they haunt herds of cattle for the sake of the flies which congregate about those animals. the rice-birds are represented by some rather showy forms, and others of wonderful powers of song. the typical rice-bird, or bob-o-link, is an especial favourite as a songster. thoreau writes of this song: "it is as if he [the bird] touched his harp with a wave of liquid melody, and when he lifted it out the notes fell like bubbles from the strings.... away he launched, and the meadow is all bespattered with melody." where rice is extensively cultivated, however, this bird is by no means so enthusiastically welcomed, causing immense destruction to the standing crops--flocks numbering, it has been said, some millions alighting in the fields and leaving too little grain to be worth the trouble of gathering. we pass now to a group of exceedingly interesting birds, some of which are remarkable on account of the beauty of their plumage, others from their wonderful nesting-habits. the group includes many familiar as cage-birds, such as the long-tailed widow-birds, the red-beaked waxbills, amadavats, java sparrow, grass-finches, munias, and so on, all of which are embraced under the general title of weaver-birds, a name bestowed on account of their peculiar nests. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ meadow-lark (natural size). known also as the meadow-starling. this bird, a native of the eastern united states, has occurred three times in the british islands, but it is doubtful whether these specimens were wild.] abundant in africa, and well represented in south-eastern asia and australia, these birds bear a strong family resemblance to the finches, from which they differ in having ten primary quills in the wings. one of the most peculiar is the south african long-tailed whydah- or widow-bird. strikingly coloured, this bird is rendered still more attractive by the extremely elongated tail-feathers, which are many times longer than the body, so long, indeed, as to impede its flight, which is so laboured that children commonly amuse themselves by running the bird down. kaffir children stretch lines coated with bird-lime near the ground across fields of millet and kaffir corn, and thereby capture many whose tails have become entangled among the threads. in brilliancy of coloration the whydah-birds--for there are several species--are pressed hard by the bishop-birds, the handsomest of which is the red species. sociable in habits, this bird throughout the year consorts in immense flocks, which in the summer consist chiefly of males. of the more remarkable nest-builders, the most conspicuous are the baya sparrows, or toddy-birds, of india and ceylon, and the sociable weavers. the former suspend their nests by a solidly wrought rope of fibre from the under side of a branch, the rope expanding into a globular chamber, and then again contracting into a long, narrow, vertical tube, through which the birds make their exit and entrance. the latter--the sociable weaver-bird of africa--builds a still more wonderful structure. as a thing apart it has no existence, a number of birds, varying from to , joining their nests together, so as to form a closely interwoven structure, resembling, when finished, a gigantic mushroom. the structure is built among the branches of large trees, so that the tree looks as though it had grown up through a native hut, carrying the roof with it. cartloads of grass are required to rear this structure, which is nearly solid. seen from below, it presents a flat surface riddled with holes; these are the entrances to the nests. closely resembling the typical finches in general appearance, and often gorgeous in coloration, is the group known as the tanagers, of which more than distinct species are known to science. exclusively american, the majority of the species are found in central and south america, though a few move northwards into the united states in summer. the most beautiful are the scarlet, crimson-headed, and white-capped tanagers. the last-named is generally allowed to be the loveliest of the group. the entire plumage of both sexes is a beautiful cornflower-blue, surmounted by a cap of silvery-white feathers, a crimson spot on the forehead looking like a drop of blood. the identical coloration of the sexes is worth noting, as among the tanagers generally the female is dull-coloured. among the finches there is a considerable variety of coloration, though but little in bodily form; they are all attractive birds, and have the additional advantage that many are british. distributed over both the northern and temperate regions of the eastern and western hemispheres, they are unknown in australia. the group, which comprises a very large number of species, may be divided into three sections--grosbeaks, true finches, and buntings. the grosbeaks, as their name implies, are characterised by the great stoutness of the beak, and some, as the evening-grosbeaks of america, are remarkable for their beauty. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ hawfinch. a resident in the eastern and midland counties of england.] well-known british members of this section are the hawfinches and greenfinches. common in many parts of england, though rare in scotland and ireland, the hawfinch contrives to make itself much disliked by the gardener, owing to its fondness for peas, though it fully compensates for the damage done in this direction by the numbers of noxious insects it destroys. the nest is a very beautiful structure; outside it is composed of twigs intermixed with lichens, inside of dry grasses lined with fine roots and hair. the site chosen varies, a favourite place being an old apple- or pear-tree in an orchard; but the woods and fir plantations are not seldom resorted to. the greenfinch is an equally common british bird. of a more confiding disposition than the hawfinch, it makes an excellent cage-bird, becoming with judicious treatment exceedingly tame. it is a useful bird, travelling during the autumn and winter in large flocks, and feeding on the seeds of wild mustard and other weeds. its nest differs conspicuously from that of the hawfinch, being a somewhat untidy structure, composed of fibrous roots, moss, and wool, lined with finer roots, horsehair, and feathers. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ young chaffinches. the chaffinch is one of the commonest of the british finches.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ house-sparrows. the sparrow is to be reckoned among the few really harmful british birds.] among the true finches, distinguished from the grosbeaks by their less powerful bills, are several other well-known british birds. of these, none are better known than the chaffinch. gay in appearance and sprightly in habit, this is a general favourite everywhere, and much in demand as a cage-bird. his short though delightful song possesses a peculiar charm, coming as it does with the earliest signs of returning spring. the fascination of this song has never been better expressed than in browning's lines:-- o to be in england now that april's there; and whoever wakes in england sees, some morning, unaware, that the lowest boughs of the brushwood sheaf round the elm-tree hole are in tiny leaf, while the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough in england now! the nest, which is an exceptionally beautiful structure, takes about a fortnight to build. closely woven, it appears to consist mainly of wool, into which moss and lichens of various colours are deftly woven. the outside is cunningly decorated with bits of lichen and the inner bark of trees, such as the birch, the whole being secured by a thin veil of spiders' webs. the lichen and bark serve to render the nest inconspicuous by blending it with the general appearance of the bush or small tree in a forked bough of which it is placed. inside the wool is more closely felted even than on the outside, and this is covered with fine hairs, amongst which a few feathers are intermixed. the work of building seems to be done by the female only, though the male helps by bringing the materials. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ bullfinch. black varieties are occasionally taken in a wild state. caged specimens fed on hemp-seed frequently turn black.] of the goldfinch, linnets, and bullfinch, by far the most popular and beautiful is the goldfinch, which is, and probably will long remain, one of the most prized of cage-birds. gifted "with the fatal gift of beauty," this bird is much persecuted by bird-catchers; and indeed, partly owing to the depredations of these men, and partly to improved methods of agriculture, which have diminished its feeding-area, this handsome bird is growing more and more rare every year. next to the goldfinch perhaps the linnet is most sought after as a cage-bird. large numbers are taken during the autumn, when the birds congregate in large flocks before departure on migration. those captured in the spring are said to be very impatient of confinement, and only a small percentage seem to survive. the linnet is one of the most variable of birds in the matter of plumage, and for a long while the opinion was generally held, especially by bird-catchers, that several distinct species--the red, brown, and grey linnets--existed. it is now known that these are all phases of plumage common to one species. in the male in full summer dress the forehead and centre of the crown are blood-red, whilst the breast is of a glossy rose-red; but these bright colours do not seem to be acquired so universally as is the case with other birds which don a special breeding-dress, nor are they ever developed in captivity. occasionally what are called lemon-breasted varieties of the linnet occur in which the rose-colour of the breast is replaced by yellow. the bullfinch, though one of the common british birds, is by no means so abundant as the two foregoing species; for whilst the other two travel in small flocks, the bullfinch is a solitary bird. few birds perhaps have earned a more evil name than the bullfinch, which is accused by the gardener of inflicting enormous damage on the flower-buds of fruit-trees in winter and spring. "on the other hand," writes mr. hudson, "he is greatly esteemed as a cage-bird, and the bird-catchers are ever on the watch for it. but the effect in both cases is pretty much the same, since the hatred that slays and the love that makes captive are equally disastrous to the species." that it is diminishing in many districts there can be no doubt, and perhaps its final extermination is only a matter of time. though by no means a remarkable songster in a wild state, in captivity it is capable of learning to whistle strains and airs of human composition with some skill, good performers fetching high prices. the sparrow and the wild canary of madeira--from the latter of which our cage-pets have been derived--are also members of the finch tribe, but are too well known to need fuller mention. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ greenfinch. commonly known as the green linnet.] closely allied to the finches are the buntings, which are really only slightly modified finches. several species are british birds, one of the commonest being the corn-bunting, a bird which bears a wonderful resemblance to a skylark, from which, however, it may be distinguished by its large beak and small claw on the hind toe. the yellowammer, or yellowhammer, is another familiar roadside form in england, which scarcely needs description. the most celebrated of all the buntings is the ortolan, or green-headed bunting, a bird resembling its congener the yellowhammer, but lacking its bright coloration. it has acquired fame from the delicate flavour of its flesh, and to supply the demand for this delicacy immense numbers are netted annually by the bird-catchers of the continent. wintering in north africa, these birds leave europe in september in large flocks, and it is during this migration and the return journey in the spring that their ranks are so mercilessly thinned. common over the greater part of europe, it is somewhat surprising that the ortolan does not occur more frequently in the british islands, where it is only an occasional spring and autumn visitor. the snow-bunting, or snowflake, is a regular winter visitant to the british islands, some pairs indeed remaining to breed in the highlands of scotland every year, whilst its presence serves to enliven some of the dreariest spots of high northern latitudes. the male in breeding-dress is a handsome bird, having the upper-parts black and the under white; its mate is somewhat duller, the black parts being obscured by greyish white, fulvous, and blackish brown, whilst the white parts are less pure in tone. the full dress of the male is rarely seen in the british islands, save in specimens procured from scotland; for in winter, when the snow-bunting is chiefly captured, the plumage is altogether more rufous. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ linnet. one of the most popular cage-birds. the so-called red-brown and grey linnets are but phases of plumage of the same species. the bird in the right-hand corner is a greenfinch.] unlike the buntings so far described, the reed-bunting is to be found only in marshy places, but in suitable localities it may be found in the british islands all the year round, being as common a species as the corn-bunting, and therefore not calling for special description here. the eggs of the buntings are remarkable for the curious scribble-like markings which cover them, and serve readily to distinguish them from those of any other british bird. ---- chapter xvi. _larks, titmice, honey-eaters, and their kindred._ confined almost entirely to the old world, where they are represented by more than one hundred species, many of which have undergone considerable specialisation in the matter of plumage, so as to enable them to live in desert regions, the larks constitute a well-marked group, into the characters of which we need not enter here. the best-known member of the group is the skylark. common throughout the british islands, and of sober coloration, no bird is more universally beloved, and this largely on account of the sweetness of its song, which is second only to that of the nightingale. poets and prose-writers alike have sounded its praises, many in passages that will be remembered as long as our language lasts. the skylark is one of the few birds which sing while on the wing; the peculiar nature of the flight at this time all must have watched, entranced the while by the beauty of the song. grahame, in his "birds of scotland," happily describes the nest as follows:-- the daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass luxuriant crown the ridge; there, with his mate, he founds their lowly house, of withered bents, and coarsest speargrass; next, the inner work with finer and still finer fibres lays, rounding it curious with its speckled breast. this bird displays great affection for its young, removing them under the fear of impending danger, or if the nest is meddled with. occasionally, however, the bird sits close, instead of seeking safety by flight. brighton enjoys the credit of consuming more larks than any other place in england, except london. it has been estimated that the number of larks annually entering the metropolitan markets alone reaches a total of , -- , or , being often sent together; and the numbers eaten elsewhere in the country must be enormous, quite as large, indeed, as abroad. most are captured from the hosts which arrive on the east coast of scotland and england from the continent on approach of severe weather, the birds making their appearance in thousands, forming a constant and unbroken stream for two or three days in succession. close allies of the larks, the wagtails and pipits come next under consideration. the former range over the old world, but are unknown in australia and polynesia. the pipits have a similar range, but one species is found in, and is peculiar to, australia. like wagtails, pipits are unknown in polynesia; only two species occur in america. the wagtails are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with yellow breasts, or yellowish green with yellow breasts. in the last-mentioned case, as in some specimens of the yellow wagtail, the yellow predominates. these birds frequent streams and stagnant waters, like the red and grey wagtails; or corn-fields and meadows, as in the case of the yellow wagtail. all these are commonly met with in the british islands. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ skylarks. the numbers of skylarks seem to increase with the spread of agricultural improvement.] the pipits are duller-coloured than the wagtails, have shorter tails, and evince less fondness for the water. the meadow-, rock-, and tree-pipits are the commonest british species. neither wagtails nor pipits are much given to perching, but the tree-creepers spend their lives upon trees, some being specially modified for this mode of life, their tail-feathers being stiff and terminating in sharp points. by pressing its tail closely against the tree-trunk up which it is climbing, the bird obtains a wonderfully reliable support. beginning at the bottom of a trunk, creepers quickly work their way up in a spiral direction, or sometimes in jerky zigzags, searching every crevice for tiny insects, their eggs and larvæ, and flitting from the higher branches, when these are reached, to the base of another tree. creepers are mostly dull-coloured, but the wall-creeper has crimson patches on the wings. this bird, which has occurred in britain, haunts mountain-cliffs. the tree-creeper, a resident in britain, builds its nest behind pieces of loose bark, or under tiles, or in crevices of trees, walls, or hollow branches. in this nest are laid from six to nine eggs, pure white, spotted with red, or with a creamy ground-colour, with the spots thicker round the large end. [illustration: _photo by a. s. radland & sons._ young skylarks. several broods are reared by each pair of birds in a season.] intermediate in position between the creepers and the titmice are the nuthatches. chiefly inhabitants of the northern parts of both hemispheres, they extend as far south as mexico, whilst in the old world they occur plentifully in the himalaya. the largest species is found in the mountains of burma. one species is frequently met with in england, and occasionally in scotland, but is unknown in ireland. the english nuthatch may serve us as a type of the group. "its habits," writes dr. sharpe, "are a combination of those of the tit and woodpecker. like the former bird, the nuthatch seeks diligently for its insect-food on the trunks and branches of trees, over which it runs like a woodpecker, with this difference, that its tail is not pressed into the service of climbing a tree, nor does it generally ascend from the bottom to the top, as a woodpecker so often does. on the contrary, a nuthatch will generally be found in the higher branches, and will work its way down from one of the branches towards the trunk, and is just as much at home on the under side of a limb as the upper. its movements are like those of a mouse rather than of a bird, and it often runs head-downward, or hangs on the under side of a branch and hammers away at the bark with its powerful little bill. the noise produced by one of these birds, when tapping at a tree, is really astonishing for a bird of its size, and, if undisturbed, it can be approached pretty closely. its general food consists of insects, and in the winter the nuthatches join the wandering parties of tits and creepers which traverse the woods in search of food.... in the autumn it feeds on hazel-nuts and beech-mast, breaking them open by constant hammering; and, like the tits, the nuthatches can be tempted to the vicinity of houses in winter, and become quite interesting by their tameness." the nuthatch nests in hollow trees, plastering up the entrance with mud, and leaving an aperture only just sufficient to enable it to wriggle in and out. a remarkable nest may be seen at the british natural history museum. it was built in the side of a haystack, to which the industrious birds had carried as much as lbs. of clay, and had thus made for themselves a solid nest in an apparently unfavourable position. the titmice occur in one form or another all over europe, asia, and africa, and in the new world as far south as southern mexico. the family may be divided into true, crested, long-tailed, and penduline tits and reedlings, all but the penduline tits being represented in england. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ nuthatch. apparently unknown in a wild state in ireland, and rare in scotland, in england fairly common.] of the true tits, the best known is the blue tit, which is no stranger even in london parks. travelling in small bands throughout the autumn and winter, they may frequently be met with during a country walk, their presence being made known by a pretty tinkling little note. this method of travelling is obviously advantageous, for the discovery of food at this time is an arduous task, and, if undertaken individually, many would surely starve, as professor newton points out: "a single titmouse searching alone might hunt for a whole day without meeting with a sufficiency, whilst, if a dozen are united by the same motive, it is hardly possible for the place in which the food is lodged to escape their detection, and, when discovered, a few call-notes from the lucky finder are enough to assemble the whole company to share the feast.... one tree after another is visited by the active little rovers, and its branches examined: if nothing be forthcoming, away goes the explorer to the next that presents itself, merely giving utterance to the usual twitter that serves to keep the whole body together. but if the object of search be found, another chirp is emitted, and the next moment several members of the band are flitting in succession to the tree, and eagerly engaged with the spoil." these little birds display great affection for their old nesting-places. an instance is on record where, so far back as , a pair built their nest in a large earthenware bottle placed in the branches of a tree in a garden at oxbridge, near stockton-on-tees. with two exceptions only, this bottle was tenanted by a pair of these birds every year till . in professor newton, who had this account from canon tristram, was informed that the occupancy had ceased for four years. the long-tailed or bottle-tit is a british species, deriving its name from the long tail. it is a pretty little bird, black and rose-colour above, with a rose-coloured abdomen, and the head, throat, and breast white. it enjoys the distinction of being one of the smallest british birds, and is found in woods and plantations all over england, though less common in scotland. these tits have a curious habit of roosting during the winter, six or seven huddling together in a row, with three or four others perched on their backs, and two or three on the top. the nest, which is placed in a tree or bush, is a model of industry. oval in shape, and roofed, with a small aperture near the top, it is composed of moss, lichen, and hair, closely felted and lined with an enormous collection of feathers, macgillivray having counted , in a single nest. other species of titmice occurring in britain are the great, marsh-, coal-, and crested tits. whether the reedlings, or bearded tits, as they are generally called, are really true titmice or peculiarly modified buntings is a moot-point. there is but one species, which is british, though found also on the continent; but it is unfortunately becoming more and more rare every year. the general colour of the upper-parts is cinnamon-rufous, except the head, which is pearly grey: between the bill and the eyes hangs a tuft of long black feathers; hence the name bearded tit. the under-parts are white, tinged with yellow and pink, whilst the wings are variegated with white, black, and red. this tit lives in beds of reeds fringing the "broads" of the eastern counties of england, though even there it is now exceedingly rare. the same uncertainty that obtains with regard to the position of the reedlings confronts the ornithologist with regard to the affinities of the liliputian gold-crests. about six species are known, from the northern and temperate parts of the old and new worlds, extending as far south in the latter as mexico. two occur in britain: one, known simply as the gold-crest, or golden-crested wren, is fairly common; the other, the fire-crest, or fire-crested wren, is much rarer, but differs very little from its relative in general appearance. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ marsh-tit searching for insects. the marsh-tit may be distinguished from its ally, the coal-tit, by the absence of white on the nape of the neck.] the gold-crest is olive-green above, yellowish grey below, with a conspicuous crest of bright yellow and orange, banded on each side by two black lines. it has the distinction of being the smallest british bird; and it is partly on account of its smallness, and partly owing to its shy, retiring habits, seeking concealment among the foliage, that it is so seldom seen, save by those who know where to look for it; and these may find it all the year round in suitable places. in the spring this bird may be observed suspended in the air for a considerable time over a bush or flower, singing very melodiously, though few naturalists have ever witnessed this display. mr. w. h. hudson, one of these few, writes: "i have observed the male, in the love-season, hovering just above the bush, in the topmost foliage of which its mate was perched and partly hidden from view. it is when engaged in this pretty aerial performance, or love-dance, that the golden-crested wren is seen at his best. the restless, minute, sober-coloured creature, so difficult to see properly at other times, then becomes a conspicuous and exceedingly beautiful object; it hovers on rapidly vibrating wings, the body in an almost vertical position, but the head bent sharply down, the eyes being fixed on the bird beneath, while the wide-open crest shines in the sun like a crown or shield of fiery yellow. when thus hovering, it does not sing, but emits a series of sharp, excited chirping sounds." the nest is a singularly beautiful structure, made of fine, dry grass, leaves, moss, and spiders' webs, woven closely together, lined with feathers, and suspended like a hammock beneath a branch of yew or fir. in this are laid from six to ten eggs of a pale yellowish white, spotted and blotched with reddish brown. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ great tit. known also as the ox-eye; it is very pugnacious in captivity, killing birds even as large as itself.] the numbers of british gold-crests are vastly increased by the arrival on the eastern coast of gold-crests from the continent. "in autumn," writes mr. howard saunders, "immense flocks sometimes arrive on our east coast, extending quite across england and the irish channel, and into ireland. in the migration wave of this description, commencing on august and lasting for ninety-two days, reached from the channel to the færoes; in the migration lasted eighty-two days; and again in for a period of eighty-seven days.... on such occasions bushes in gardens on the coast are covered with birds as with a swarm of bees; crowds flutter round the lanterns of lighthouses, and the rigging of fishing-smacks in the north sea is thronged with weary travellers. in april a return migration occurs." we pass now to the consideration of a few families of birds unknown in britain, but interesting on account of the fact that they afford us another set of instances of adaptation to attain particular ends, so frequently to be met with in nature. all the birds in question, though probably not related, have peculiarly modified tongues, apparently specially designed to aid in sucking up honey from flowers. the first group for consideration are the honey-eaters of new zealand and australia. so great is the transformation which the tongue in these birds has undergone, that it forms one of the most elaborate organs of its kind, surpassing even that of the humming-birds. a description of this organ without the aid of anatomical terms and diagrams would be useless. suffice it to say it is long, capable of being thrust out of the mouth, and brush-like. it is used to thrust up the tubes of honey-bearing flowers, as well for the sake of the juice as for the insects gathered in such situations to feed on it. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishhaw, n.b._ coal-tits. these birds show the white patch on the nape very distinctly. it is a common british bird, staying with us the whole year round.] the best known of the honey-eaters is the poe, or parsonbird, of new zealand. glossy black in colour, with vivid green and blue reflections, it is rendered still more attractive by a pair of white tufts of feathers hanging from the front upper part of the neck, whilst on the back of the neck in the same region the feathers are of a loose structure, long, and curled forwards. other honey-eaters are the white-eyes, sun-birds, and flower-peckers. the white-eyes, so called from a ring of white feathers around the eye, have a wide distribution, being found in australia, india, africa, madagascar, and japan. besides honey they are very partial to fruit, particularly figs and grapes, and also capture insects on the wing, after the fashion of fly-catchers. the sun-birds correspond in the old world to the humming-birds in the new, having, like the latter, a metallic plumage, varied in its hues and wondrous in its beauty; but they are not entirely dependent upon this lustre for their charm, for much of their splendour is gained from the non-metallic portion of the plumage, which is often vividly coloured. the females are dull-coloured, whilst the males lose their beauty in the winter season. these birds are inhabitants of the tropical regions of africa, india, and australia, and seem to revel in the burning rays of the noonday sun. nearly allied to the sun-birds are the flower-peckers of the indian and australian regions. these are all small birds, remarkable as much for the beauty of their nests as for the splendour of their plumage. the nests are purse-like structures, made of white cotton-like material, and suspended from a branch instead of, as usual, resting on it. one of the most beautiful birds of the whole group, which includes numerous species, is the australian diamond-bird. of a general ashy-grey colour, this species is splashed all over with spots of red, yellow, orange, and black, whilst the tail-coverts are rich dark red. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard_ red-backed shrikes. also called butcher-birds, from their habit of killing small birds and mammals and hanging them up on thorns.] ---- chapter xvii. _shrikes, thrushes and their allies, swallows, lyre-birds, chatterers, broad-bills, etc._ the shrike family are an exceedingly interesting group of birds, of world-wide distribution and of great diversity of appearance, varying in size from a bird as small as a titmouse to one as large as a thrush, and presenting a considerable range of coloration, some being very brightly, others dull coloured. from the hooked beak, and the presence of a notch in the tip of the upper jaw, they were considered by the older naturalists to be allies of the birds of prey, a decision still further supported by their hawk-like habit of capturing living prey in the shape of small birds and mice; whilst the remarkable custom of impaling their victims, still living, on thorns has earned for them the popular name of butcher-birds. the limits of the family, owing to the diversity of the forms involved, have not as yet been finally determined by naturalists, some having included species which others hold have no place there. [illustration: photo by w. reid] [wishaw, n.b. australian magpie. a common south australian form, known also as the piping-crow.] five species are commonly included in the list of british birds, although only two occur with any frequency: of these, the great grey shrike visits great britain every winter; whilst the smaller red-backed shrike is an annual summer visitor to those islands, breeding, however, only in england, occurring but occasionally in scotland, and being almost unknown in ireland, where only one specimen has ever been recorded. the red-backed shrike, writes dr. sharpe, "reminds us of a fly-catcher in the way in which [it] captures its food, for it has undoubtedly favourite perches, on which it sits, and to which it returns after the capture of an insect. it is frequently to be seen on telegraph-wires, where it keeps a sharp look-out in every direction, and a favourite resort is a field of freshly cut grass. it also captures a good many mice and small birds, not pursuing them in the open like birds of prey, but dropping down on them suddenly. in the british museum is a very good specimen of the larder of a red-backed shrike, taken with the nest of the bird by lord walsingham in norfolk, and showing the way in which the shrike spits insects and birds on thorns; and the species has been known ... to hang up birds even bigger than itself, such as blackbirds and thrushes, as well as tits of several kinds, robins, and hedge-sparrows, while it will also occasionally seize young partridges and pheasants." [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ reed-warbler. a common british bird, arriving in april, and leaving again in september.] though undeniably unmusical, the red-backed shrike is nevertheless able to imitate with considerable success the notes of other small birds, decoying them by this means within striking distance--an accomplishment shared also by other members of the shrike family. the present species is attractively clothed in a plumage varied with black, grey, rufous, and chestnut-brown, the last being the predominating hue of the upper-parts; hence the name red-backed shrike. the habits of its congener, the great grey shrike, are precisely similar. a caged specimen which had become very tame would take food from its captor's hands. when a bird was given it, the skull was invariably broken at once, after which, holding the body in its claws, the shrike would proceed to tear it in pieces after the fashion of a hawk. sometimes, instead, the carcase would be forced through the bars of the cage--in lieu of thorns--and then pulled in pieces. very different in appearance from the members of the shrike family are a group of possibly allied forms known as wax-wings. of pleasing but sober coloration, they are remarkable for certain curious appendages to the inner quill-feathers, of a bright sealing-wax red colour, from which they derive their name: similar wax-like appendages occur also, sometimes, on the tail-feathers. breeding in the arctic circle, wax-wings occur in both the old and new worlds, though some species peculiar to the latter region lack the wax-like appendages characteristic of the majority of the species. these birds are erratic in their movements, and large bands occasionally visit the british islands during the autumn and winter, the eastern counties being usually the most favoured spots; but on the occasion of one of these immigrations, in the winter of , many were seen in the neighbourhood of the north of london. during the summer they feed on insects, but in autumn and winter on berries and fruit. at this time they become very fat and are then captured and sold in large numbers for food in the russian markets, and occasionally are sent over to london. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ song-thrush. a resident british species, sometimes called the mavis.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young thrush. this photograph shows the mud-lined nest.] passing over a small group of comparatively uninteresting american birds known as "greenlets," we come to the warblers, a group which constitutes one of the largest families of birds of the old world. the species included in this family vary greatly in their characters, so that it is by no means easy to give diagnostic characters, whereby they may be readily distinguished from the fly-catchers on the one hand or the thrushes on the other. the thrushes, however, as a group, may be distinguished from the warblers by the circumstance that in the former the young have a distinctive spotted plumage, differing from that of the adults, while the young of the warblers are not so marked, their plumage differing but little from that of their parents. more than twenty species of warblers are included amongst british birds. although some of them are but rare and accidental visitors to britain, others are amongst the commonest of the spring migrants, remaining to nest, and leaving again in the autumn. some, as the black-cap, white-throat, chiff-chaff, garden-, willow-, and wood-warblers, frequent woods, hedgerows, and gardens; whilst others, as the sedge- and reed-warblers, are found only near water affording sufficient shelter in the shape of reed-banks or osier-plantations. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ blackbird. the male and female are quite different one from another, and in this respect differ from the thrushes, in which the sexes are alike.] the black-cap and garden-warbler rank as songsters of no mean talent, being held second only to the nightingale. as if by common consent, the two former never clash, so that where black-caps are common there are few garden-warblers, and _vice versâ_. most of these birds build a typical cup-shaped nest of dried grasses, lined with finer materials, and placed near the ground; but that of the reed-warbler is a most beautiful structure, the dried grass of which it is made being woven around some three or four reed-stems, making it seem as if the latter had, in growing up, pierced the sides of the nest in their course. the cup-shaped hollow is very deep, so that when the supporting reeds are bowed low in the breeze the eggs rest perfectly safe. we must pass now to a consideration of the thrush tribe, which, as we have already hinted, are very closely allied to the warblers. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott, leighton buzzard._ robin. the young robin wears a distinct livery, quite different from that of its parents.] birds like the common thrush and the blackbird are so common and so well known that they scarcely need comment here. the same perhaps is true of many other members of this group not popularly associated with the thrush tribe; such are the red-breast, or robin red-breast, as it is more generally called, and the nightingale. few birds have inspired so many writers as the nightingale; it even holds a place in classical mythology. professor newton gives us one variant of a very common but pretty story: "procne and philomela were the daughters of pandion, king of attica, who in return for warlike aid rendered him by tereus, king of daulis in thrace, gave him the first-named in marriage. tereus, however, being enamoured of her sister, feigned that his wife was dead, and induced philomela to take her place. on her discovering the truth, he cut out her tongue to hinder her from revealing his deceit; but she depicted her sad story on a robe which she sent to procne, and the two sisters then contrived a horrible revenge for the infidelity of tereus by killing and serving to him at table his son itys. thereupon the gods interposed, changing tereus into a hoopoe, procne into a swallow, and philomela into a nightingale, while itys was restored to life as a pheasant, and pandion (who had died of grief at his daughters' dishonour) as a bird of prey [the osprey]." [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ nightingale. the sweetest and most renowned of all the british songsters.] a not infrequent error with regard to the red-breast may be pointed out here. many people seem to suppose that the female is less brilliantly coloured than her mate. as a matter of fact this is not so; what are generally regarded as females of this species are the dull, spotted young, which, as we have already pointed out, assume this peculiar livery throughout the tribe. no less common in britain, during the summer months at least, are the wheat-ears, stone-chats, whin-chats, and red-starts. small and prettily coloured species, these are all insect-eaters, and, with the exception of the wheat-ears, lay blue eggs, deposited in somewhat coarsely constructed nests, placed on or near the ground; or in holes in ruins, trees, or walls, in the case of the red-starts; or in burrows or under ledges of rock, as among the wheat-ears, which lay white eggs. the bird commonly known as the hedge-sparrow is a close ally of the thrush family, having nothing to do with the sparrows proper--which are finches--as its name would imply. [illustration: _photo by g. watmough webster & son_] [_chester._ stone-chat. a resident and generally distributed british bird.] another nearly related form is the dipper, or water-ouzel. by no means brilliantly coloured, it is nevertheless an exceedingly interesting bird, and one never met with away from mountain streams. the group has a wide distribution, occurring in suitable localities in europe, asia, and the rocky mountains of america, and extending from colombia to peru and tucuman. squat in form, with rounded wings and short tail, the ouzel seeks the greater part of its food on the bottom of swiftly running streams. it is everywhere, writes dr. sharpe of the commoner of the two british species, a shy and watchful bird, and, except in the breeding-season, appears to be solitary. by patient watching near the dipper's haunts, however, it is possible to observe the bird scudding over the surface of the water with a rapid flight and a vigorous beating of the wings, something like that of a kingfisher, until it alights on a rock or large stone in the middle of the stream. its white breast then stands out in bold relief, and, after pausing for a moment, the bird commences to edge to the side of the rock, and either walks deliberately into the water, or disappears suddenly beneath the surface, seeking its food at the bottom of the stream, in the shape of larvæ, caddis-worms, water-beetles, and small snails. the wrens are probably near allies of the dippers. the family includes a number of species of small birds, most largely represented in the new world, but distributed widely over the old world also. two occur in the british islands: of these, one, the common wren, is found throughout europe, and occurs also in northern africa, asia minor, and north palestine; whilst the other, the st. kilda wren, is only found on the island from which it takes its name. considerations of space compel us to pass over three or four families, of comparatively little interest to any save the scientific ornithologist, in favour of the fly-catchers and swallows. the former, in that the young are spotted, appear to evince some affinity to the thrush tribe, but they have broad and flatter bills than the latter, whilst the mouth is surrounded by more or less conspicuous bristles. they are entirely old world forms, having their stronghold in africa. three species of fly-catcher occur in england, though only one, the common or spotted fly-catcher, usually breeds in great britain, coming late in the spring from africa. as its name implies, it feeds upon small insects, capturing them on the wing by sudden sallies, and returning immediately after to some perch, generally a garden-fence, or the bare bough of a tree. as a rule the prey is caught with a sudden dart, but sometimes only after a prolonged flight, when the bird will double and turn, as the necessity arises, with great skill. its nest, made of dry grass and moss, lined with horse-hair and covered externally with spider-webs and lichens, is usually placed in some sheltered position, such as a crevice in the bark of a tree or in the creepers covering the trellis-work of a house; and owing to the skilful way in which it is covered externally, so as to resemble its surroundings, is difficult to find. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ a pair of wrens. known nearly everywhere in england as the "kitty" or "jenny" wren.] the swallows and martins constitute an exceedingly well-defined group of birds, and one which holds a conspicuously high place in the regard of mankind, finding a welcome everywhere on account of the great benefits they confer by the removal of insect-pests in the shape of the smaller gnats and flies. these, were they not kept in check by the swallow tribe, would render most parts of the world uninhabitable. rarely seen upon the ground, save when procuring mud for the construction of their nests, the birds of this group are all peculiarly strong fliers, turning and twisting with the greatest speed and precision. all have very short beaks and wide mouths, long wings and tails, and small and weak feet. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ common wrens, with nest built in pheasant's skeleton. in winter wrens have a custom of seeking some hole or other convenient shelter and huddling together in small parties for the sake of warmth.] a large number build their nests of mud, collected in small pellets and held together by the secretion of the salivary glands. these nests are commonly more or less cup-shaped, and fastened under the eaves of dwelling-houses or other buildings, or placed on a convenient beam or other ledge. the red-rumped swallows and fairy martins--species enjoying an enormous distribution, being found in india, africa, america, and australia--build very large flask-shaped nests, having the entrance produced into a funnel often eight or nine inches in length. others, like the sand-martin, excavate long tunnels, terminating in larger chambers, in the faces of sand-banks--a performance which must certainly be regarded as wonderful, when one realises the feeble tools with which the task of excavating has to be performed. some species utilise the holes made by other birds, in one species this hole being itself bored within the burrow of the viscacha. all are more or less migratory in their habits, some covering enormous distances in journeying to and fro between their winter retreats and their summer breeding-places. the common swallow and house-martin, for example, leave the shores of africa early in the spring, and distribute themselves over europe, thousands visiting the british islands. after rearing in their respective breeding-places from two to three broods, they return with their offspring before the rigours of winter set in to the african continent. the routes and destinations of the swallow are now well known; but as much cannot be said for the house-martin, whose winter quarters are as yet enshrouded in mystery. that they must be somewhere in africa is all that can at present be said. three species of the swallow tribe visit england regularly every year, and remain to breed. these are the common or chimney-swallow, and the house-martin just referred to, and the little sand-martin. in the two first mentioned the upper-parts are of a dark steel-blue colour with a metallic gloss, but they are, nevertheless, easily distinguished one from another,--since the swallow has a deeply forked tail, and a bright chestnut patch on the throat, with a similarly coloured band across the forehead; whilst the martin lacks the chestnut markings, and is pure white beneath, with a large white patch on the lower part of the back, and a less markedly forked tail. furthermore, the legs of the martin are feathered down to the claws, whilst the feet of the swallow are bare. the sand-martin is a little greyish-brown bird, with white under-parts. it is the earliest of the swallow tribe to arrive in britain, and the first to depart. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ young swallows. for hundreds of years it has been regarded as most unlucky to kill a swallow.] lyre-birds and scrub-birds. at the beginning of the account of the perching-birds it was stated that the group was divided into two sections, and that each of these was further sub-divided into two. with the swallows the first sub-division of the first section ended; the second we are to consider now in the very singular lyre-birds and scrub-birds of australia. rendered conspicuous on account of the remarkable lyrate tail, from which the name is derived, the lyre-birds, on closer acquaintance, prove to be exceedingly interesting forms, though materials for a really complete biography of the three known species are not yet available. the males, it seems, are skilled mimics, reproducing the songs of other birds with great fidelity, this being especially true of the species known as prince albert's lyre-bird. during the courting-season the males construct hillocks, to which they resort to display their very beautiful and graceful tails, elevating them over the head, and drooping the wings after the fashion of a peacock, accompanying this display with certain spasmodic pecking and scratching actions. they are solitary birds, more than a pair never being seen together, and even these are exceedingly difficult to approach, stratagem always being necessary. but a single egg is laid, which has the appearance of being smeared with ink; whilst the young bird differs from that of all other perching-birds in the thickness of its downy covering and the great length of time in which it remains in the nest. the nest, made of sticks, moss, and fibres skilfully interwoven, and lined inside with the leaf of a tree-fern which resembles horse-hair, is a large domed structure, with a single aperture serving as an entrance. lyre-birds are essentially ground-dwellers, feeding upon insects, especially beetles and snails, and keeping to the wilder regions of the country. the scrub-bird is an extremely interesting form, scientifically. only the males are known at the present time, and these are dull-coloured birds of the size of a thrush. of the female, eggs, and nest, we as yet know absolutely nothing. chatterers, ant-thrushes, broad-bills, etc. the second major division of the perching-birds embraces a few forms of considerable interest. the group of chatterers includes several remarkable forms of very diverse coloration, many representing the most gorgeous of all south american birds. [illustration: _photo by w. f. piggott_] [_leighton buzzard._ sand-martins. this photograph shows a portion of a sand bank, pierced with the tunnel-like nests made by these feeble builders.] one of the most remarkable is the umbrella-bird. this bird is funereal in appearance, being clothed in a plumage of deep black, with the head surmounted by a large, drooping, flat-topped crest, resembling in shape the familiar crest of certain varieties of the canary, whilst from the throat hangs a long lappet of feathers reaching nearly down to the feet. the female is duller than her mate, and lacks the peculiar plumes. the umbrella-bird is a forest-dwelling species, confined to the upper amazons, and dwelling in the tops of the highest trees, where it finds ample sustenance in wild fruits. but few naturalists have ever seen it in a wild state. equally wonderful are the bell-birds, so called on account of their note, which bears an extraordinary resemblance to the sound made by a blacksmith upon an anvil, though it has often been likened to the tolling of a bell. four species are known, in three of which the males have a pure white plumage, with much naked, vividly coloured skin on the face. one species has a curious pendulous process hanging from the forehead, thinly covered with feathers. by some this is said to be capable of erection during periods of excitement. like the umbrella-bird, these are forest-dwelling species. for brilliancy of plumage amongst the chatterers, the palm must be given to the cocks-of-the-rock, in the males of which orange-red predominates, whilst the general effect is heightened by crests and curiously curled and frayed feathers growing from the lower part of the back. the males indulge in remarkable love-displays, the performances being held in some open space, and in the presence of the females. one at a time each male appears to go through a kind of dance, accompanying his peculiar steps and hops with much swaying of the head and extending of the wings. when tired, the performer gives a signal which is understood by his fellows, and retires from the ring, his place being immediately taken by another. the nesting habits of the chatterers vary greatly,--some building nests of mud and twigs, which they fasten on projections of rock in damp caves; others simply lining holes in trees with dry grass. some build a cup-shaped nest of lichens, others a simple platform of sticks, whilst some of the thick-billed chatterers hang large nests of leaves, plant-stalks, and wool from low branches, the entrance to the nest being from a hole in the side. the eggs vary in number among the different species from two to four, and in colour may be white, chocolate, pale salmon-coloured, or greenish blue, and are for the most part spotted. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ victorian lyre-bird. lyre-birds, which are also known to the colonists as "pheasants," are great mimics.] closely allied to the cocks-of-the-rock are the manakins, for the most part small and thick-set birds, and in many instances brilliantly coloured--at least in the case of the males. some seventy species are known, all of which are confined to south america. they must be sought for, as a rule, in the forests or thick undergrowth of marshy places. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ tail of australian lyre-bird. this ornamental tail is worn only by the male.] the manakin family contains several species of considerable interest, on account of the peculiar modifications which certain of the quill-feathers of the males have undergone. in some species what are known as the secondary quill-feathers are peculiarly twisted, and have the shafts much thickened. with these modified feathers the birds are enabled, probably by clapping the wings and bringing the thickened feathers violently together, to make a sharp sound, which has been likened to the crack of a whip. other species have the quill-feathers of the hand--the primaries, as they are called--similarly thickened, and they probably are also used to produce sounds. one species is known as the bailador, or dancer, on account of a very remarkable habit which the males have of dancing. two males, choosing some secluded spot, select a bare twig, and, taking up a position about a foot and a half apart, alternately jump about two feet in the air, and alight again on exactly the same spot from which they sprang. with the regularity of clockwork one bird jumps up the instant the other alights, each bird performing a musical accompaniment to the tune of "to-le-do--to-le-do--to-le-do," uttering the syllable "to" as he crouches to spring, "le" while in the air, and "do" as he alights; and this performance appears to be kept up till the birds are exhausted. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bell-bird. so called from its wonderfully clear, bell-like note.] some of the manakins are very beautifully coloured. one species, for example, is black, with a blue mantle and a crimson crest; another, black, with orange-coloured cheeks and breast and similarly coloured band round the neck, green rump, and yellow abdomen. the females are generally duller in coloration. the ant-thrushes, or pittas, are long-legged, short-tailed birds, of brilliant coloration, having their headquarters in the malay archipelago; but the family is represented in india, australia, and west africa. these birds are very shy and exceedingly difficult to approach. one species, the large ground-thrush, is described by wallace as one of the most beautiful birds of the east. velvety black above, relieved by pure white, the shoulders are azure-blue and the belly a vivid crimson. the nest recalls, in the plan of its architecture, that of the oven-birds, being more or less globular in form, and having a lateral entrance; it is composed of twigs, roots, bark, moss, leaves, and grass, and is frequently cemented with earth. the eggs are usually spotted, and have a creamy-white ground-colour: the spots may be brown, reddish grey, or purplish black. the curious plant-cutters of the temperate regions of south america are nearly related to the chatterers, though at one time it was believed they were allied to the true finches. constituting but a small family, the plant-cutters are remarkable for their strangely serrated beaks, the cutting-edges of which are armed with a series of fine saw-like teeth. this beak is used in cutting down plants; and as these birds appear to cut down a great number in sheer wantonness, they are much disliked in the neighbourhood of gardens and plantations. plant-cutters are not conspicuous for the beauty of their plumage, and have a harsh and grating voice. the wood-hewers constitute a group of over species, all of which are south american. they are for the most part small and dull-coloured birds, but nevertheless of considerable interest on account of their nest-building habits. the most remarkable members of the family in this respect are three species of oven-birds. these construct a massive nest of mud, bearing a more or less fanciful resemblance to a baker's oven; hence the name oven-bird. roughly globular in shape, its walls are of great thickness, and to prevent cracking hair and grass-fibres are intermixed with the mud; the interior is gained through a small hole on one side of the nest, which leads into a passage terminating in a chamber containing the eggs, which are laid upon a bed of grass. strangely enough, the bird seeks the most exposed situations, placing its nest on branches, in the forks of trees, on posts, rocks, or house-tops. another species, known to the spaniards as the casarita, or little house-builder, builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally underground for nearly six feet. other species build nests of sticks and twigs or of grass, which are divided into chambers after the fashion of the mud nest of the oven-bird, the inner chamber being lined with wool and feathers. the variation in the form, habits, and coloration of these birds is very great, some recalling the woodpeckers and tree-creepers, others the titmice. the family of the tyrant fly-catchers, though numbering some species, is less interesting, or rather contains fewer peculiar forms, than the manakin family. the tyrant fly-catchers are american birds, and represent the fly-catchers of the old world. one of the best known is the king-bird, which is renowned rather for its pugnacious disposition than for beauty of plumage. the crested tyrant-bird has a curious habit of lining its nest with the cast-off skins of snakes, a habit which has caused a great deal of discomfort both to juvenile as well as adult egg-collectors, who, recognising the skin by the touch, have hurriedly withdrawn the hand, lest the owner of the cast-off coat should be in the vicinity. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ cock-of-the-rock. the cock-of-the-rock is a south american bird, of gorgeous coloration.] all the tyrant-birds are active and restless in their habits, and frequent marshy districts, sitting alone, perched on the dead branches of trees or bushes, whence they dart forth like the old world fly-catchers on their prey. some species, however, frequent bare plains; others, also ground-dwellers, associate occasionally in flocks. though the prey, which consists chiefly of insects, is, as a rule, captured on the wing, it is not invariably so. one species, for example, pounces down on crawling beetles, grasps them in its claws, and eats them on the ground. some other species eat mice, young birds, snakes, frogs, fishes, spiders, and worms, the larger victims being beaten on a branch to kill them. one or two species will eat seeds and berries. the nest is often domed, and skilfully felted with moss, lichens, and spider-webs. the broad-bills are the sole representatives of the final sub-division of the perching-birds. after the brilliant coloration, the next most striking feature is the great breadth of the bill. their range is very limited, extending from the lower spurs of the himalaya, through burma and siam, to sumatra, borneo, and java. they seek the seclusion of forests in the neighbourhood of water, exhibiting great partiality for the banks of rivers and lakes, and feeding on worms and insects, many of the latter being captured on the wing. the nest of the broad-bill is a large and not very neat structure, oval in shape, with an entrance near the top, which is often protected with an overhanging roof. it is generally suspended from a low branch or plants near the water, and made of twigs, roots, and leaves, and lined with finer materials. from three to five eggs are laid. with these birds, probably the most primitive of the perching-birds, this section ends. many forms have inevitably been crowded out, whilst others have been but briefly noticed; nevertheless, all the really important groups have been more or less completely described, and in the majority of cases well illustrated. [illustration: _photo by w. saville kent, f.z.s. milford-on-sea._ _printed at lyons, france._ green and ocellated lizards. the former species is found in the south of england, as well as on the continent; the latter is restricted to southern europe and north africa.] ---- _book iii. reptiles and amphibians._ by w. saville-kent, f.l.s., f.z.s. ---- reptiles. ---- chapter i. _crocodiles and alligators._ the reptile class, as defined by modern scientific limitations, includes among the living animals of the world the several groups of the crocodiles, the tortoises and turtles, the tuatera, the lizards, and the snakes. in the popular mind the frogs and toads, and the newts and salamanders, are often held to belong to the same main section; but these, as hereafter shown, claim, as amphibians, an independent position of equivalent rank and value. in bygone geological ages the reptile class embraced a considerably larger number of groups; some of the members, such as the extinct dinosaurs, comprised titanic monsters from to feet in length. the crocodiles and alligators of the present day are the only living reptiles which in any way approach the extinct saurians in their dimensions, or assist us in some small measure to realise their unwieldy forms and bulk. the members of the crocodile order, which, in addition to the alligators, includes also the caimans and so-called gavials or garials, agree with one another in the more or less ponderous lizard-like shape of their body, supported on well-developed but short and comparatively weak legs, in their special adaptation to an amphibious existence, carnivorous habits, and restriction to tropical and subtropical climates. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ young nile crocodile. this species was worshipped with divine honours and mummified after death by the ancient egyptians.] among the salient characters of the crocodile, as the representative of its tribe, which specially adapt it for its aquatic habits, the long, powerful tail is strongly compressed and thus fitted for use as an organ of propulsion, and the feet are more or less webbed. the most striking of its structural adaptations is, however, associated with the formation of the creature's skull. the manner in which a crocodile or alligator contrives to breathe or to save itself from asphyxiation, when opening and shutting its mouth under water, as it may often be observed to do in the regent's park menagerie, is a common source of wonderment to the onlooker. this seemingly difficult feat is compassed by virtue of the posterior nostrils, or breathing-passages, being set so far back in the skull, and being so completely cut off from the mouth-cavity by specially developed bones of the palate, that they have no intercommunication with the mouth. it is this mechanism which enables a crocodile to seize and hold an animal underneath the water between its open jaws until it is drowned. special valves at the back of the mouth prevent any water running down the creature's throat, while it is able itself to breathe unrestrainedly by allowing just the tip of its elongated snout, with the anterior nostril-apertures, to remain above the water's surface. in many species a conspicuous knob-like bony excrescence is developed at the extremity of the snout, by which the nostril-openings are raised turret-wise above the surface of the water. the eyes also being usually elevated above the level of the creature's head, the crocodile is able to approach its floating or bank-side prey practically unperceived, its huge body, limbs, and even the head, with the exception of the nose and eyes, being totally submerged. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ young broad-snouted crocodile. a native of west africa, remarkable for the extreme shortness and great breadth of its nozzle.] [illustration: _photo by norman b. smith, esq._ a dead crocodile. a man-eating individual. this particular animal has just been shot. the natives in the background give a good idea of its size--little less than feet long.] although capable of moving with great activity in the water, crocodiles and their allies are usually accounted sluggish and slow movers on the land. seen basking in the sun, as is their wont, by the hour together on some sand-bank, or creeping lazily thereon among their fellows, such a conclusion is natural. the celerity, however, with which even a huge -footer, as witnessed by the writer in the norman river, north queensland, will make tracks for and hurl itself into the water, if disturbed during its midday siesta by the near impact of a rifle-bullet, is a revelation. crocodiles, moreover, as might be inferred from the slit-like contour of the eye-pupil, as shown by daylight, are to a large extent nocturnal, displaying their greatest activity, and being in the habit of travelling long distances along and away from the river-banks in search of food, or in connection with their migratory or mating instincts, under the cover of darkness. [illustration: _photo by mr. w. rau_] [_philadelphia._ a crocodile. note the massive character of the tail, a weapon wherewith the creature can disable a horse or an ox, or sweep smaller prey into the water.] of all living animals the crocodile and its allies are probably equipped most efficiently for both defence and aggression. the thick, horny shields, quadrangular on the back, tail, and under-surface, and adapted in shape and size to cover the head, limbs, and sides, constitute an almost impenetrable cuirass. as weapons of offence the formidable array of trenchant teeth, with which the powerful jaws are armed, have not alone to be reckoned with by the victim assailed. the crocodile's limbs and claws are relatively weak, and incapable of aggressive mischief; but in the long, compressed, muscular tail the reptile possesses a terribly effective weapon, wherewith, with one swift, unexpected side-stroke, it will sweep a smaller animal into the water, or deal a blow of sufficient power to fell or disable a man or bullock. thus well-nigh invulnerable, and cognisant of its marvellous power of jaw and tail, a full-grown crocodile will not hesitate to try conclusions with even such puissant adversaries as the bear, the tiger, and other large carnivora, when they approach the river's brink to drink. not infrequently, too, the crocodile comes off the victor in these contests; while, as sometimes happens, both of the well-matched foes are found dead side by side at the water's edge. the dread in which crocodiles are held by the natives of tropical countries, and the heavy toll they levy upon the riverside population, and more especially the women-folk in their accustomed avocations of water-carrying or laundry work, are too familiar to need dissertation. hence it is that in every country, excepting those particular locations where the creature is a subject of misguided veneration or fetish worship, it may be said that every man's hand is against them, and the enmity most cordially reciprocated. all the members of the crocodile family propagate by egg-production. the eggs are relatively small in size, those of the largest species not exceeding that of a goose in dimensions. in shape they are more or less symmetrically ovate, and encased with a hard, white shell. in the case of the crocodile, the female selects a suitable dry sand-bank near the river's edge, in which it excavates a hole of about feet deep, and, having deposited from twenty to sixty eggs therein, mounts guard over them, sleeping on top of the nest by day, until the young are hatched. with the alligator, the site chosen for the nest is more usually among bushes or reeds at some distance from the water, and the eggs, which may be laid to the number of over , are covered over with leaves and vegetable débris, whose decomposition engenders the heat required for their successful incubation. in both instances the parent jealously guards the nest and repels all intruders until the eggs are hatched, and ultimately conducts the young ones to the water, where they soon learn to shift for themselves. numbers of them, nevertheless, in their young and weak state, fall victims to vultures, hawks, ichneumons, and all manner of birds and beasts of prey. from their birth the little saurians are most vicious and irascible in disposition, hissing and snapping at or laying hold with bull-dog tenacity of a finger or other seizable object that may be held towards them. from their earliest days also they are eminently aggressive and carnivorous. contenting themselves at first with flies and other insects, they speedily extend their attentions to frogs, lizards, fish, or any small animals which frequent the marshes and river-banks; and finally, with their concurrently increased appetites and dimensions, requisition such larger prey as sheep, goats, deer, horses, and, as before mentioned, even the human species, if they can steal a march on them unawares. crocodiles are provided with relatively small gullets, and are necessarily incapable of swallowing any prey whole which is of large dimensions. accordingly any big quarry which is seized and dragged into the river is disposed of piecemeal, the reptile rending the carcase in fragments with the aid of its terrible teeth and side-wrenches of its ponderous body. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a queensland crocodile. the specimen referred to in the anecdote on page .] of crocodiles proper, as distinguished from alligators, there are some dozen known species. from their last-named near allies they are distinguished by the entire absence of the supplementary bony armature which in most alligators underlies the outer horny cuirass on the under surface of the body. a more essential distinction is associated with the character of the teeth. the upper and lower teeth of the crocodile interlock, and the fourth lower canine-like tooth is received into a notch in the side of the upper jaw, and is consequently more or less visible when the mouth is closed. in the alligators, on the other hand, this bigger tusk-like tooth fits into a pit-like excavation in the upper jaw, and is invisible when the mouth is shut. the true crocodiles are found in the tropical regions of africa, asia, australasia, and central america. the largest is undoubtedly the estuarine species, ranging from the eastern shores of india, through the malay region, to north and east australia, new guinea, and the fiji islands. this wide range is a natural concomitant of their brackish- and salt-water proclivities. individuals of the species are, in fact, not infrequently met with floating on the sea at some considerable distance from the land. an example of this estuarine species has been recorded which measured no less than feet, while a length of feet and over is by no means of uncommon occurrence. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ crocodile, well illustrating the character of the dentition. the lower tusk-like teeth fit into notches in the upper jaw, and are visible when the mouth is closed. in the alligator these teeth fit into pits in the upper jaw, and are hidden from view under the like conditions.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ crocodiles and alligators, with young. notwithstanding their proverbially irascible dispositions, these reptiles, of all ages and dimensions, herd together on the most amiable terms.] the method adopted in queensland and north australia for capturing these destructive monsters is that of a running noose, so attached to a suitably flexible mangrove-tree growing in the vicinity of its nocturnal runs as to constitute a gigantic spring-trap. a dead carcase or other suitable bait is added to lure the animal to its doom. the crocodiles thus caught are alive and uninjured, and can be dispatched or reserved for menagerie exhibition. a somewhat amusing incident attended the transport of a "reprieved" captive by steamship from cairns to brisbane, queensland, a few years since. in the dead of night, when all but the watch and engineer had retired to rest (they have to anchor and lay-to at night in the great barrier reef channels), the saurian managed to free himself from his bonds, and started on a voyage of discovery around the decks. arriving at the stoke-hold, he either incontinently stumbled into it, or descended of malice prepense, sniffing the chance of a supper or a good joke at the engineer's expense. anyway, the engineer was aroused from his peaceful dozings with the impression that the last day of reckoning had arrived, and, rushing up the hatchway, awakened the whole ship's strength with his frantic outcries. the nile crocodile, the most familiar form in european menageries, and once abundant throughout egypt to the nile's delta, has now retired to the upper reaches of that great river. it never attains to the dimensions of the estuarine form. by the ancient egyptians, as is well known, this species was pampered and worshipped with divine honours while living, and after death embalmed and preserved in the catacombs. [illustration: _photo by robert d. carson, esq._] [_philadelphia._ a crocodile from southern united states. the teeth of crocodiles, as compared with those of alligators, are much less uniform in size and character.] other noteworthy crocodiles, of which space will allow only of the mention of their names, are the american or orinoco crocodile, and the long-snouted crocodile of west africa, which distantly approach to the long-snouted gavial or garial of india, in which the snout is elongated in a beak-like manner, and armed with close rows of long, recurved teeth, specially adapted for its exclusively fish-eating propensities. full-grown examples of the gavial may attain to a length of feet. the typical or mississippi alligator is, as its name denotes, a north american form, having the modified dental and other structural details previously referred to, but otherwise in size and its aggressively destructive habits nearly corresponding with the oriental crocodile. a second species of alligator is found in china. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ mississippi and chinese alligators. the chinese species, which is the smaller of the two, feeds mainly upon fish.] in the tropical south american rivers the place of the alligator is occupied by the caimans, some of which attain to huge proportions, and are distinguished from the former by the greater development of the bony armature of both their back and under-surface, and by certain essential, but to the lay reader obscure, modifications of the skull. an example of the great caiman once did duty as a riding-horse to the naturalist waterton, as all those familiar with his book of travels will remember. the habits of the caiman differ somewhat locally. from the main stream of the lower amazon they are in the habit of migrating in the dry season to the inland pools and flooded forests. in the middle districts of the same river, where the drought is excessive and protracted, the caimans are addicted to burying themselves in the mud till the rains return; while in the upper reaches of the amazon, where the droughts are not prolonged, the caimans are perennially present. the eggs of these reptiles are much esteemed for food by the natives of dutch guiana. ---- chapter ii. _tortoises and turtles._ the order of the chelonians, including the tortoises, turtles, and terrapins, with their allies, constitutes one of the most distinct and readily defined groups of the reptile class. the more or less complete bony shell, or carapace, which encases the body, and into which both head and limbs can in many cases be completely retracted, separates these reptiles very widely from the other orders. in some respects certain details of the skull-structure assimilate them to the crocodiles; but here again there is an entire absence of the rows of formidable teeth, the upper and lower jaws being sharply pointed, covered with horn, and thus converted into a trenchant beak. the two leading groups of the tortoises and the turtles are distinctly separated, by the respective conformation of their limbs, for a terrestrial or aquatic existence. the tortoises have normal walking-legs, with toes and, in most instances, claws, fitting them for walking on the land or burrowing into the earth. in the true turtles these limbs take the form of flattened paddles, and in no instance are more than two of the toes provided with claws. the tortoises are sub-divided by zoologists into some six or eight subordinate groups or families, for the most part distinguished by the respective modifications of their protective shells. this shell in all tortoises and turtles consists of two essential elements--the upper or back casing, known as the "carapace," and the under one, or so-called "plastron," which covers the ventral surface. in some forms these two elements are completely welded into one another, forming a continuous box-like shell; in others they are more or less separate; while in yet another series the lower shell is rudimentary. these distinctions have been found to constitute a convenient basis for classification. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ asiatic tortoises. a tortoise, like a turtle, turned over on its back, represents one of the most helpless of living animals.] in the true land-tortoises, which invite first attention, the upper and lower shells are completely united in a box-like form, and the neck, bent in the form of the letter s, can be completely retracted within it. the limbs are club-shaped, covered with horny scales or tubercles, and adapted for walking, the toes being unwebbed, and provided with strong claw-like nails. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ european tortoise. a tortoise's shell, or carapace, constitutes a portable house, wherein the animal can entirely withdraw for shelter in inclement weather, or when attacked by enemies.] pre-eminent among this typical terrestrial series come the huge giant or elephant-tortoises, formerly abundant, as their fossil remains indicate, in southern europe, india, and north and south america, and now represented only in the isolated oceanic islands of aldabra, off madagascar, the seychelles, and the galapagos groups. even within historic times they were very abundant in the islands of mauritius and rodrigues; but their huge size and lethargic habits, combined with their esculent qualities, have brought about their extermination. those remaining in the islands mentioned are now so reduced in numbers that there is a possibility of their becoming extinct at an early date, and this notwithstanding the strenuous endeavours that are being made to save them. a large percentage of the small residue of these giant chelonians have been transported from their island homes and presented to the london zoological gardens, where they are now comfortably housed. an instructive idea of the aspect and relative dimensions of these giant tortoises may be obtained by a reference to page vii of the first volume, in which one of these chelonians is shown to be equal in size and strength to carrying a human rider. it is recorded that these reptiles were so abundant in the island of rodrigues in that one might count as many as , of them in a single flock, and walk for over paces upon their backs. all of these giant tortoises, as obtained from separate island groups, or islets of the groups, exhibit characteristic differences, indicating the length of time they have been separated from one another. the age to which these giant tortoises attain is altogether phenomenal. one example at port louis, mauritius, originally brought from the seychelles, is definitely known to have lived for over years from the date of its transportation. it is stated to have been of large size when imported; and as these animals are notoriously slow growers, another couple of centuries may be safely added to its life-span. the galapagos islands down to recent times have produced the greater number of species of these tortoises, the carapace of the largest of these not infrequently measuring as much as feet in direct length, and the weight of such an animal being over lbs. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ elephant-tortoises from the galapagos islands. several species are shown in this photograph.] highly interesting details concerning the galapagos giant tortoises and their habits are contained in darwin's "voyage of the beagle." at the time of that illustrious naturalist's visit they were still very abundant in the islands. he remarked that they abounded in both the higher and damper and the lower and arid districts, but gave preference to the former. the old males were invariably the largest, growing to such a size that they required six or eight men to lift them, and yielded as much as lbs. of good, highly nutritious meat. on some of the islands there was no water; and in these cases, as also when they occurred in the dry and arid lowlands, they were observed to feed chiefly on the succulent cactuses. when water was plentiful, the tortoises exhibited a great fondness for it, drinking large quantities and wallowing in the mud. in the larger islands, where wells and springs existed in the higher and damper portions, regular well-beaten paths radiated in every direction, indicating the routes, like sheep-tracks, regularly followed by the tortoises to and from the water-holes. it was these tracks which betrayed their presence and led to their first discovery by the older spanish navigators. when travelling long distances to the watering-places, it is recorded that they march night and day, pursuing the "even tenor of their way" at the rate of sixty yards an hour--one yard per minute, or four miles per day! during the breeding-season the larger males indulge in hoarse roarings or bellowings that can be heard for a considerable distance. the female deposits her eggs either in the sand, where this is plentiful, covering them up again, or, where the ground is rocky, drops them indiscriminately in any crevice or depression encountered. the eggs are white, spherical, and hard-shelled, as in all tortoises, and somewhat exceed those of a hen in bulk. the very antithesis of the giant land-tortoises of the galapagos islands is the small and familiar grecian tortoise, frequently exposed for sale on hand-barrows in the london streets, and acquired by the unsophisticated suburban resident as a quaint but not altogether estimable garden pet. like the majority of tortoises, this is a vegetarian, and with epicurean tastes that will guide it instinctively to select your choicest lettuces and the gems of your horticultural triumphs for the delectation of its fastidious appetite. the grecian tortoise rarely exceeds ½ inches in length, and is abundant throughout south-eastern europe, sicily, italy, and the grecian archipelago, extending thence to syria. in algeria an almost identical tortoise occurs which grows to the greater length of inches; while greece produces yet a third form, the so-called margined tortoise, which attains the greater length of inches, and is distinguished by the colour of the carapace usually being black, with a small spot of yellow on each shield-like plate. all three of the foregoing species are collectively imported by shiploads for sale in england, and it would be interesting to know what fate befalls them. in greece and sicily they are regularly placed on the market as an article of food. when acclimatised in england, and even in their warmer native country, these grecian tortoises bury themselves in the earth and hibernate during the cold winter months. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury, by permission of hon. walter rothschild._ elephant-tortoise. note the small size of the head with relation to the huge carapace.] next to the typical land-tortoises the so-called hinged tortoises demand brief notice. the several members of this little group are denizens of tropical africa, and notable for the circumstance that the hinder portion of their carapace is united with the anterior one by a movable ligamentous hinge. as a result of this peculiarity the animal, when retracted within its shell, can entirely close up the hinder aperture. none of these forms exceed a length of inches. in another group, distinguished by the title of box-tortoises, a ligamentous hinge is developed across the centre of the lower shell, or plastron, which, being freely movable with relation to the upper shell, enables the animal, when retracted, to completely close up both the anterior and posterior carapace apertures. the box-tortoises are natives of the south-eastern united states and mexico, and, in addition to the foregoing structural peculiarity, are distinguished by the high or vaulted contour of their carapace. in some the toes are slightly webbed, and their habits are mainly carnivorous, indicating affinity with the flesh-eating and essentially aquatic terrapins. between the two, however, have been intercalated a little group, known as the pond-tortoises, one species of which is found in southern europe, and a nearly allied one in north america. these pond-tortoises are distinguished by the smooth and depressed form of the carapace; the toes are fully webbed, fitting them for an aquatic life; while a ligamentous hinge, separating the anterior and posterior moieties of the plastron, enables them to cover in and protect their retracted head and limbs, after the manner of the box-tortoises. the carapace of the european pond-tortoise does not exceed ½ inches in length, and is usually dark brown or black, ornamented with yellow dots or radiating streaks. this species inhabits both ponds and running water, and during the daytime creeps out on the banks, like the crocodiles, to bask in the sun. as with the crocodiles, however, the daytime does not represent the period of its greatest activity, this being during the night. the pond-tortoises are highly esteemed for the table in the countries where they are indigenous. [illustration: _photos by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ giant or elephant-tortoises from the galapagos islands. the elephant-like character of their limbs, whence they derive their name, is well exemplified in these examples.] the true terrapins are all tortoises of essentially aquatic habits, differing, however, from the water-frequenting pond-tortoises, last referred to, in that they have no ligamentous hinge providing for the hermetical closure of the carapace apertures. the carapace and plastron, moreover, are firmly united by bone, so that the two form conjointly a rigid, continuous shell, as in that of the typical land-tortoises. the terrapins are widely distributed, being found in north america, japan, china, the persian gulf, spain, and north-west africa. terrapin ranks highly as a table delicacy in the united states. the real diamond-backed species, however, is now becoming very scarce, the supply not being equal to the demand, and many inferior varieties being substituted in its place. the "fishing" for these terrapins is mainly prosecuted during the autumn months, when the reptiles become dormant, and are easily discovered and secured by probing the mud with sticks. the female terrapin, or "cow," as it is designated, is considered the greater delicacy, the eggs, to the number of twenty or thirty, usually found inside its body, being the _de rigueur_ garnishing of the dainty dish. the diamond-terrapin rarely exceeds a length of inches; but some of the inferior varieties, or "sliders," as they are termed, are of much larger dimensions, and may weigh as much as lbs. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ giant tortoise. the giant tortoises, like the relatively diminutive european varieties, are essentially herbivorous.] from an æsthetic standpoint the painted terrapin undoubtedly bears the palm. its smooth, depressed carapace is not more than inches long, and its ground-colour is usually a dark olive-green, yellow lines bordering its component central shields; the small marginal shields are sometimes almost crimson with black markings, and the "bridge" uniting the carapace and plastron exhibits the same brilliant coloration. the soft skin of the head, neck, and other exposed parts have yellow and red bands on a brown or blackish ground-colour. this beautiful little terrapin, which is a special favourite for aquariums, is a native of eastern north america. passing the small and not peculiarly conspicuous group of the american mud-terrapins, we arrive at the very distinctly differentiated family of the snappers, snapping-turtles, or alligator-terrapins, as they are variously called. these likewise are exclusively confined in their present-day distribution to the new world, though in former ages allied species inhabited europe. the alligator-terrapins are characterised by the relatively small size of the carapace, within which the animal is unable to completely retract its head and limbs, as in the preceding types. the head is relatively large, and armed with a formidable hooked beak; while the tail greatly exceeds in relative length that of any of the ordinary tortoises or terrapins, and is scaly and crested somewhat like that of a crocodile along its upper ridge, and has horny plates on the under-surface. their popular name has, in fact, been conferred upon these chelonians on the strength of their presenting the aspect to no inconsiderable extent of an alligator's body, to which the carapace of an ordinary terrapin has been united. the common alligator-terrapin, or snapping-turtle, is among aquatic chelonians an animal of considerable size. the carapace alone may be as much or more than inches long, and to this have to be added the thick head and neck and elongated tail, which, taken together, are of almost similar dimensions. a second closely related member of this family, known by the name of temminck's snapper, attains to yet longer proportions, and is the largest known river-tortoise. the carapace in this species may measure over feet in length, and has three strongly marked longitudinal ridges. the head is relatively larger and the tail somewhat shorter than in the preceding species. it is a denizen of the southern districts of the united states, being met with in texas, florida, and as far north as the missouri. the habits of the two species are stated to be identical. both of them frequent the rivers and swamps of the areas indicated, preferring the waters that have a muddy bottom, and in some localities occurring in vast numbers. as a rule they prefer lying in deep water near the centre of the river or swamp they inhabit, but they also occasionally ascend to the surface and float in midstream with outstretched necks. like other water-tortoises, they come on land to find suitable locations for depositing their eggs. the name of snappers, commonly applied to these tortoises, bears reference to their inveterate habit of snapping and biting viciously at everything placed within their reach. even from the egg the young of temminck's species is wont to display this trait. the animals are somewhat esteemed for food, and are consequently caught for the market. they will take almost any bait, but manifest a predilection for fish. considerable caution has necessarily to be exercised in dealing with them in the boats, and it is a common custom to decapitate them immediately they are hauled on board, otherwise they are capable of inflicting the most terrible wounds with their powerful cutting beaks on the persons of all or any who may remain within their reach. bathing in waters tenanted by the pugnacious and distinctly aggressive snappers is a risky proceeding, and many cases of serious injuries that have happened to incautious adventurers in this direction have been recorded. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ a giant tortoise with a european tortoise on its back. illustrating their comparative dimensions.] the food of both the alligator and temminck's snapper consists mainly of fish, and where common these tortoises must be ranked among the most potent agencies in denuding the rivers and lakes of their finny denizens. not content with fish, the larger examples have been known to drag under water and devour such large water-fowl as ducks, and even geese. it is stated that the snappers exhibit a surprising amount of agility in the water, and swim after and capture the fish on which they feed. such a feat seems scarcely credible of a bulky adult individual, while, moreover, it is provided with a remarkable and effective adaptation for taking its prey by stratagem. a very fine example of temminck's snapper was for many years confined in a tank in the reptile-house in the regent's park zoological gardens. it usually lay prone at the bottom of its tank, giving little or no signs of life throughout the day, but was wont to display more activity and to move about its tank at night. at times, when ready for a fresh food-supply, it was observed that it would lie motionless as a stone, as usual, but with its mouth open to its widest gape. this attitude it would maintain for several hours together. the singularity of this action was that the gaping jaws displayed to view two elongate worm-like structures, which sprang close to one another from the floor of the mouth just within its entrance. these worm-like appendages were continually writhing to and fro, and presented in both aspect and movements a most remarkable resemblance to actual living worms. with this naturally provided decoy for fish there can be no need for the snapper to exhaust its energies in the strenuous pursuit of its quarry. to make the delusion complete, the head, neck, and chin of temminck's snapper are decorated with small lobular or leaf-like membranous appendages resembling sponges or aquatic vegetation. the solid grey-brown triangular head of the animal itself might easily be mistaken for a piece of rock, and thus decorated with seemingly natural growths the unwary fish come browsing along it, rush upon the wriggling worms at the entrance of the cavernous chamber, and are lost. a photograph of this interesting chelonian is reproduced on page , which depicts it with its mouth open, and indicates both the position and the presence of the worm-like decoy-appendages. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne & son, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ elephant-tortoise. illustrating the ample chamber-like space provided within the carapace for the retraction of the head and limbs.] there are several water-tortoises presenting a considerable external resemblance to the forms already noticed which belong to distinct family groups. thus the matamata tortoise of northern brazil has at first sight, except for its short tail and nose-like proboscis, much in common with temminck's snapper. fimbriated and foliaceous membranous outgrowths are developed on the head and neck to a much more luxuriant degree, and it would be interesting to ascertain if it possesses similar decoy-appendages inside the mouth. the so-called snake-necked water-tortoises of south america, and the long-necked aquatic ones of australasia, possess modifications of skull-structure and other details that indicate family distinctness. a broad external character that serves to separate this group from the terrapins and all preceding forms is that the neck, when drawn within the cavity of the carapace, is not flexed in the form of the letter s, but simply bent sideways along the anterior margin of the body. the species belonging to this group, which includes the matamata, snake-necked, and soft-shelled water-tortoises, and also a few essentially terrestrial species, are distinguished collectively by the appellation of the "side-necked" tortoises. turtles. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ snapping-turtle. also known as the alligator-terrapin, with reference to its long, alligator-like tail.] certain of the terrapins, or water-tortoises, belonging to the groups above described frequent saline river-estuaries and salt marshes, but none are strictly marine. with the turtle family, however, we arrive at an exclusively pelagic section, in which the animals are specially adapted for life in the high seas, the walking-limbs of the terrestrial and fresh-water species being replaced by long and powerful swimming-flippers. the shell in these marine chelonians is more or less heart-shaped and flattened, and the carapace and plastron are always separate, and never united in a rigid box-like form, as with the land-tortoises. in common with those fresh-water tortoises which pass the greater portion of their existence in lakes or rivers, the marine turtles resort to the land to deposit their eggs. the locations chosen are the sand-beaches or isolated sandy islets in tropical oceans, wherein, after excavating hollows to receive them, the eggs are covered up and left to hatch with the heat of the sun. the eggs of turtles differ from those of the land-tortoises and terrapins in that their external covering is soft or leathery. so soon as the young turtles are hatched, they emerge from the sand, and instinctively make their way to the water. many, however, are the perils that beset their course, and few there be out of perhaps or turtlets which gain the shore and get through into deep water. fish-hawks and sea-birds of every description are waiting ready to pounce down upon them immediately they make their appearance, or to thin their ranks as they run the gauntlet of perhaps yards or so to reach the sea in safety. even at the waters edge the ordeal is by no means passed. shoals of the smaller sharks and other predatory fish are continually cruising round in the shallow water, and have as high an appreciation of the toothsomeness of tender turtle as the proverbial london alderman. the writer was fortunate on one occasion, among the coral islands on the australian coasts, to light upon a young turtle brood just emerging from their sandy nest. the majority were assisted to the sea, and a few, reserved in the interests of science, were liberated in a bath of sea-water to have their first swim. snapshot photographs were taken, one of which, reproduced on page , serves to illustrate the great relative length of the paddle-like limbs at this early stage and the variety of postures assumed during natation. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ temminck's snapper. the two white points visible on the lower jaw represent the pair of worm-like appendages which the creature uses as a bait to attract or capture fish.] of the typical marine turtles three distinctly characterised species are recognised by zoologists. these are the green turtle, indispensable for soup at aldermanic banquets; the hawksbill, or tortoiseshell-producing turtle; and the loggerhead. of these three, the green turtle and the loggerhead more nearly resemble one another, and are apt to be confounded by the uninitiated. such an error is very readily detected when the chelonian comes to the table, the flesh of the loggerhead being rank and utterly unfit for food. in order, however, to be wise before the event, and to avoid a grievous misdirection of culinary energy--turtle being a standard dish in the coral seas--it is only necessary to count the number of large shield-like plates that flank each side of the central series in the creature's carapace. in the true green or edible turtle there are only four pairs of these large lateral shields, while in the loggerhead there are never less than five, and sometimes more. the loggerhead-turtle also, as its name implies, has a conspicuously larger and coarser head than the esculent species. the fact that while the green turtle is a strict vegetarian, feeding entirely on seaweeds, the loggerhead is altogether carnivorous, readily accounts for the diametrically diverse gastronomic properties of these two chelonians. both species attain to a considerable size, over feet in length (the loggerhead being the larger), and are found inhabiting the same waters throughout the tropics. the hawksbill, or true tortoiseshell-producing turtle, never attains to quite as large dimensions as the two preceding species, though its carapace may measure as much as feet or inches long. the structural feature that at once distinguishes the hawksbill from either the green or loggerhead species is the character of the horny shields developed on the surface of the carapace. instead of the edges meeting in juxtaposition, as in those two forms, they overlap one another, like the scales of a fish, and are notable for their thickness and their exceedingly beautiful but variably marbled patterns. it is these marbled horny plates which constitute the tortoise-shell of commerce. in young individuals the substance is thin and very transparent, but thickens with advancing age, until in old individuals the plates may vary from / to ¼ inch in thickness. like the two preceding species, the hawksbill, within tropical seas, enjoys a cosmopolitan distribution. its habits, like the loggerhead's, are essentially carnivorous; but while the flesh is coarse and rank, the eggs are valued for the table. a remaining member of the marine turtle series is the so-called luth or leathery turtle. this chelonian differs so materially in structure from the foregoing species as to be referred to a distinct family. the horny plates, so conspicuous in all the other types, are entirely absent, the bony carapace, which is distinctly seven-ridged longitudinally, being covered with a homogeneous leather-like skin. both jaws are formidably hooked and cutting throughout their edges, and the paddles are destitute of the two rudimentary claws found in the preceding species. the leathery turtle grows to an immense size; specimens have been recorded measuring as much as feet in total length and weighing over , lbs. its flesh is not only unfit for food, but is reported to be of a poisonous character. the coasts of florida and brazil are among the areas where the leathery turtle is met with in the greatest abundance. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ newly hatched turtles enjoying their first swim. the limbs at this early stage of their development are of an abnormal length.] the more ordinary method of capturing turtle for the market or to supply the deficiencies of the larder aboard ship in tropical climates is to land at night, preferably when the moon is full, on the islands to which the females are in the habit of repairing to deposit their eggs. this function is invariably discharged during the night hours, and unless the moon is up the presence of the reptiles is not easily determined. time is generally given for the turtle to excavate its sand-burrow and lay its eggs, usually over a hundred in number, the proper moment for the capture being that when, the task accomplished, it sets forth to regain its more accustomed element. the creature is then seized and turned suddenly upon its back, where it is left to struggle and flounder helplessly, being perfectly incapable of righting itself, while other captures are made. on outlying coral islands, such as those of the lacepedes, off the western australian coast, several dozen of the chelonians may represent one good night's haul, the choice of the fittest examples being left until the return of daylight. in many places turtles are pursued in the water and speared; while in some locations, notably at keeling island, as recorded by darwin, the animals are chased by the natives in sailing-craft. one man steers the boat, the other one standing in the bows on the look-out for turtle. a chelonian being sighted, an exciting stern chase ensues, and on coming abreast with the quarry the look-out man plunges into the water straight upon the turtle's back, and clings pertinaciously with both hands to the shell of the neck until the creature is exhausted, when it is dragged into the boat. [illustration: _photo by h. v. letkmann._ cuban terrapins. in common with many other water-tortoises, or terrapins, this species is essentially gregarious in its habits.] the most remarkable method of taking turtle, however, is that practised in torres straits, as also at mozambique and formerly in the west indies. the sucking-fish, or remora, is in this case impressed into the service of the human fishers. taking advantage of the fish's natural propensity to swim towards and adhere pertinaciously to any larger floating object, fishermen go out with specimens kept alive in a small well in the bottom of their boats. when in pursuit of turtle, a long light line is attached to the fish's tail; and coming within sight of a chelonian, the fish, with an abundance of slack or pay-out line, is thrown in the direction of the turtle. the remora immediately swims towards and adheres firmly to the under surface of the shell of the turtle, when it will suffer its body to be torn asunder rather than let go its hold of its newly gained sanctuary. should the turtle be a small one, both fish and turtle are dragged with the line back to the boat. if, on the other hand, it is of large size, one of the natives plunges into the water, and, following the line down, secures the turtle. in the island of ascension the cultivation and breeding of turtles for exportation in artificially constructed enclosures have for a considerable time been the subject of an important industry. there are doubtless many other locations on both the australian coast-line and in the british west indies where this highly profitable trade could be established. in addition to the green turtle, attention might also be profitably directed at the same locations to the culture of the tortoiseshell-bearing species. tortoiseshell possesses the singular and useful property of being susceptible of perfect amalgamation. consequently a number of small-sized pieces can be welded so indistinguishably with one another as to serve the same use as the larger plates for commercial purposes. this amalgamation is effected by bevelling the edges of the two pieces that it is desired to unite along the proposed line of junction, and then, while they are held in juxtaposition in a metallic press, submitting them to the action of boiling water. ---- chapter iii. _lizards._ [illustration: _photo by e. c. atkinson._ blind-worm. notwithstanding its name, the blind-worm possesses small, very bright little eyes.] the lizard tribe or sub-order is notable as containing a greater number of specific forms than any other of the reptilian groups, no less than , distinct species being described in the most recently published catalogues. while formerly regarded as constituting a separate and independent order of the reptile class, later investigations have demonstrated that lizards are so intimately related through sundry intermediate types with the snakes that they cannot be recognised as constituting other than a sub-section of the same order. the two groups of the lizards and snakes are consequently, and with reference more particularly to their commonly shared scaly armatures, technically distinguished by the appellation of scaled reptiles. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ glass-snake, or scheltopusik. the presence of movable eyelids distinguishes this legless lizard from the true snakes.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ glass-snake. snails constitute the favourite food of the glass-snake.] while the more typical members of the lizard tribe are readily distinguished from the snakes by the possession of well-developed limbs, a not inconsiderable number of species are altogether devoid of these appendages, or possess them only in a partially developed or rudimentary condition. the british blind-worm, or slow-worm, constitutes an example of such a legless lizard, although on account of its outward snake-like appearance it is commonly regarded as a snake by the uneducated. in the south european so-called glass-snake, or scheltopusik, here figured, the snake-like aspect and creeping habits are still more conspicuous, but yet when examined more critically its lizard affinities become apparent. one of the most readily apprehended external characters that serve to distinguish this and the majority of the legless lizards from snakes is the possession by the former of movable eyelids and conspicuous external ear-openings. among snakes eyelids are invariably absent, the eyes, by way of compensation, being covered by transparent horny plates, which impart to these creatures that peculiar stony stare which undoubtedly constitutes one of the most repulsive features of their tribe. there are, however, a few exceptional lizards devoid of eyelids, though these species do not take a snake-like form. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ burmese geckos. one of the largest members of the tribe, measuring or inches in length.] lizards, while distributed throughout temperate and tropical regions, attain to the zenith of their representation in size, number, and variety of form and colour in tropical and sub-tropical countries. the majority of species are essentially sun-worshippers, and in temperate climates, such as that of england, where they are but sparsely represented, pass the cheerless winter months in a state of torpid hibernation. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ burmese gecko. under-surface, showing minute hexagonal scales and peculiar structure of the adhesive toe-pads.] the first position among the lizard tribe is usually accorded to the gecko family--a group numbering species, which present several somewhat anomalous features and characteristics. in the first place, in contradistinction to the majority of lizard forms, they are for the most part nocturnal in their habits, and have their eyes specially modified to meet them. geckos, as the exception to the ordinary lizards previously referred to, possess no eyelids, and the pupil of the eye, as seen in broad daylight, is mostly represented by a narrow vertical slit, like that of a cat or a nocturnal dog-fish. as the night approaches, however, the membranous diaphragm is retracted, displaying to view a symmetrically orbicular pupil of abnormal size and luminosity. another prominent characteristic of the geckos is the peculiar modification of their feet, which in most instances are furnished with adhesive disks or pads, which enable these lizards to run with ease, after the manner of flies, on the smooth surface of a wall or window-pane, or even along the ceiling. it is further noteworthy of the geckos that they are the only lizards which possess the power of emitting distinct vocal sounds. the name gecko is, in point of fact, derived from the fancied resemblance to the word that constitutes the shrill, somewhat bird-like note of one of the most familiar species. "tok," "toki," "chick, chick," "checko," and "tocktoo" are distinctive call-notes that are respectively associated with other members of the gecko family. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ madeiran geckos. madeiran geckos photographed through a glass window-pane, showing the peculiar formation of their adhesive toe-pads. one example is regrowing its recently amputated tail. these geckos often travel from madeira to covent garden market among banana bunches.] the geckos are most numerously represented in the indian and australasian regions. none of them attain to large dimensions. they rarely exceed foot in total length, and most frequently measure some or inches only. geckos, in common with many other lizards, are notable for the facility with which their tail becomes detached and left in the hands of their would-be captor. in course of time a new tail sprouts out from the truncated stump of the original member, and within a few more months equals it in dimensions. it not infrequently happens that two or even three new tail-sprouts take the place of the original appendage, imparting to the little creature a most bizarre appearance. the above photograph includes an example of the madeiran species in which a new tail-bud of a normal character has just commenced to grow. the nearest approach to the phenomenon of flight among lizards occurs in what are known as the flying-dragons, belonging to the family of the agamas, which next invites attention. these lizards are all of relatively small size, not exceeding a few inches in length, and inhabit the indo-malayan region. in these singularly specialised forms six or seven of the posterior ribs are abnormally produced on each side of the body, and so united together by thin, semi-transparent membrane as to form a pair of wing-like expansions. when not in use, these structures are folded, after the manner of a fan, closely against the animal's sides, while, when extended, they constitute a most effective parachute, wherewith the little creatures accomplish flying leaps from tree to tree, after the manner of the flying-squirrels and phalangers. the colour of these wing-like structures varies among the many different specific forms, being in some instances spotted or reticulated like those of a butterfly. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ flying-dragon of java. a lizard with wing-like membranes supported by the abnormally developed ribs. it takes long flights from tree to tree.] this same family of the agamoid lizards includes a number of species of very dissimilar aspect and habits, which are almost exclusively confined to the old world or oriental zoological region. australia in particular is remarkably rich in representatives of this group, many of them of considerable size. certain of these have within recent years been found to be endowed with the power of bipedal locomotion. the frilled lizard of queensland and the northern territories of western australia was the first species in which this bipedal habit was authentically demonstrated in connection with examples observed in australia and also brought to england by the writer, one of the last-named examples furnishing the photographs reproduced on page . in other respects this lizard is one of the most remarkable of its tribe. the peculiar elizabethan collar-like frill, capable of erection or depression at the creature's will, imparts to it a most singular appearance. when at rest or undisturbed, this membranous frill-like structure is folded down in neat, symmetrical pleats around the lizard's neck. should the creature be approached by man or dog or other aggressive animal, the mouth springs open to its widest, and simultaneously with this action the frill is erected like the sudden opening of an umbrella, and stands out at right angles around the neck, imparting to it a most formidable and threatening aspect. dogs, in fact, which will habitually chase and kill larger lizards, such as the monitors, will frequently halt and retire discomfited when confronted with a frilled lizard at bay with its frill erected. the brilliant colour of this frill, more especially in the male, adds very considerably to the formidable appearance of this lizard. while the body of this lizard is usually of a light brown colour, with more or less distinct darker transverse bars and reticulations, the frill-like membrane has a ground-colour in which orange and chrome-yellow chiefly predominate, and upon which are superimposed splashings and speckles of brilliant scarlet. while the total length of this averages feet, the expanded frill in adult males is not infrequently as much as or inches in diameter. the peculiar, grotesquely human aspect presented by the frilled lizard when running on its hind legs only will be appreciated on reference to the accompanying photographs. this erect attitude is only assumed when the frilled lizard is traversing more or less considerable distances and moving on level ground. under other circumstances it progresses on all-fours, after the manner of the ordinary members of its class. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ frilled lizard at bay with expanded frill.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ frilled lizard with frill folded up.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ frilled lizard running on its hind legs (view from the rear).] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ frilled lizard running on its hind legs (broadside view).] several other lizards belonging to the family group of the agamas have been demonstrated by the writer to move in the same manner as the frilled species. leseur's water-lizard, also a queensland form, which attains to a length of or feet, is a notable example in this connection. as implied by its name, it is semi-aquatic in its habits. it frequents scrubs in the neighbourhood of river-banks and backwaters, and passes a considerable portion of its time in shallow water with only its nostrils elevated above the surface. it is a most expert swimmer, sculling itself with grace and rapidity, aided only by its long, laterally compressed tail. examples brought to england and kept alive for some years by the writer were observed, in hot weather more particularly, to sleep at nights in their water-tanks. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian tree-lizard. this species also runs on its hind legs.] the several instances of bipedal locomotion among living lizards, as here chronicled, are of especial interest in correlation with the circumstance that certain extinct dinosaurs habitually progressed on their hind limbs only. they, in fact, have left "footprints on the sands of time" which indubitably prove this assumption. there is, however, no relationship between the two groups, and the resemblance is one of pure analogy, just as both bats and birds fly, although they have no kinship. among other interesting lizards included in the agama family, mention may be made of the singular jew or bearded lizard of australia--a flattened, broad-set form, some or inches long, brown in hue, and clothed with rough imbricated scales, but whose chief peculiarity consists of the expansive beard-like development of the cuticle immediately underneath the animal's chin. as in the frilled lizard, this cuticular excrescence is only conspicuous when the creature is excited, at other times being contracted and indistinguishable from an ordinary skin-fold. when retiring to rest, these lizards, in their adult state, almost invariably climb up and cling to the rough bark of a convenient tree, and when young and more slender will also ascend saplings, on which they sleep, clinging by their interlocked claws. another member of the agama family which invites brief notice is the so-called york devil, or mountain-devil, of western and central australia. this lizard is of comparatively small size, rarely exceeding or inches in length. its feeble form and stature, however, are abundantly compensated for by the complex panoply of spines and prickles by which its head and limbs and body are effectually protected. the natural food of this singular lizard consists exclusively of ants, the small black, evil-smelling species which often proves itself a pest by its invasion of the australian colonists' houses being its prime favourite. these are picked up one by one by the rapid flash-like protrusion and retraction of the little creature's adhesive tongue, and the number of ants which are thus assimilated by a moloch lizard at a single meal is somewhat astonishing. a number of examples of this species were kept by the writer in australia, and their gastronomic requirements fully satisfied every day by taking them into the garden and placing them in communication with a swarming ant-track. by careful observation it was found that no less than from , to , ants were devoured by each lizard at a single sitting. the ant-devouring proclivities of these prickly little lizards can no doubt be turned to very useful and effective account in clearing ant-infested domiciles, and were in fact thus utilised by the writer on more than one occasion. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian water-lizard. this lizard is of aquatic habits, and runs on its hind legs when traversing long distances.] the lizards included in the agama family are essentially inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere, none occurring in america. in the western continent, however, we find an equally extensive but structurally distinct group which presents many singularly corresponding types. this family comprises the true iguanas, many of them of considerable size, and a numerous assemblage of smaller forms. among those species which present a striking parallel in size and aspect to the peculiarly characteristic old world agamas, mention may be made of the little so-called horned toad, or spiny lizard, of california and other of the north american states. this species might readily be taken by the uninitiated for a near relation of the australian moloch lizard, or mountain-devil, last described, its flattened diminutive form and bristling spiny armature seemingly justifying such a supposition. the crucial test afforded by the character of the dentition, however, distinctly indicates its true position to be with the iguanas. in the agamas the teeth are invariably developed from the apex, or summit, of the jaw. these teeth, moreover, are varied in character. in the iguanas, on the other hand, the teeth are all more or less uniform in character, and are attached to the outer sides of the jaw. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian water-lizard. showing attitude when running.] the larger iguanas are, for the most part, exclusively fruit- and vegetable-feeders, and arboreal in their habits. the thick forest scrubs in the vicinity of streams and rivers are their favourite resort. after the manner of the australian water-lizards, these iguanas are expert swimmers, and delight in lying along the overhanging branches, whence at the slightest alarm they can precipitate themselves into the water beneath. when swimming, the fore limbs are folded back against the sides, the tail only being used as a means of propulsion. several of the larger iguanas, such as the common or tuberculated species, attain to a considerable length, or feet; their bodies are proportionably thick, and the white flesh, in this last-named variety more particularly, is highly esteemed as a table delicacy. the common tuberculated iguana is an essentially handsome species, its skin being variegated with bands and shadings of brown and green, which are lightest and brightest in the males and younger individuals; the neck and snout and jaws are decorated with projecting, rounded tubercles; a large, baggy, dewlap-like membrane, capable of inflation at the animal's will, depends from the chin and throat; and a deeply serrated crest of elevated scales extends from behind the head, down the centre of the back, nearly to the extremity of the tail. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian jew or bearded lizards. the scales of the bearded lizard are exceedingly rough and sharp, sometimes cutting the skin of those who handle them incautiously.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ bearded lizard. with its beard-like throat-membrane fully expanded.] the iguana family includes a species with essentially marine proclivities, this being the galapagos sea-lizard. this animal was first discovered to science by the late mr. charles darwin, who found it in considerable numbers on the shores of the islands which constitute the galapagos group. the lizards were observed to spend much of their time swimming in the sea, but at no very great distance from the land. experiments proved that they could live for a very considerable interval entirely submerged, examples sunk with weights for as much as an hour emerging entirely unaffected from the ordeal. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ a young bearded lizard. showing its habitual sleeping attitude.] while the iguanas may be described as essentially american, one or two exceptional forms are found inhabiting the relatively remote regions of the fiji islands and madagascar. the so-called fiji banded iguana (photographs of a pair of which, once in the writer's possession, are reproduced on page ) is a very beautiful creature. the body is shapely and well proportioned, and terminates in a tail of abnormal length--equal to quite twice that of the body--the entire dimensions measuring some feet. the male is much more bright in hue than the female; for while the latter is usually of a uniform light green throughout, the male is variegated, with broad, alternating bands of brightest emerald-green and pale french grey. around the lips and eyes there are lines of brightest yellow, and the throat is almost pure white. the small group of girdle-tailed lizards belongs exclusively to the african and madagascan regions, its typical representative being the cape and orange river colony species, illustrated on page . the symmetrical whorls of long, spinous scales encircling the tail in this and the allied forms constitute a prominent feature, and have originated the popular name of girdle-tails. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian york or mountain-devil. a spinous lizard which inhabits the arid plains of central australia.] the most aberrant representatives of the lizard tribe, with regard to one very important characteristic, are undoubtedly the two species of heloderm, or "silatica," as they are called by the natives. these reptiles (page ) occupy the unenviable position of being the only known lizards which possess poisonous properties, their bite having been demonstrated to be fatal to smaller mammals, and to be attended by very serious symptoms in the case of human subjects being bitten. the more common mexican heloderm has been in residence at the zoo for many years; it attains to a length of from to inches, and its stout, squat body, short limbs, warty skin, and peculiar colouring are calculated at first sight to awaken a feeling of revulsion in the beholder. like the wasp, the salamander, and other animals whose conspicuous tints indicate their poisonous or other baneful properties, the heloderm is distinguished by a lurid ground-colour, varying in individuals from yellow-orange to flesh-pink, upon which are superimposed bold, network-like markings of blue-black or dark brown tints. along the tail these reticulations usually take the form of more or less irregular rings. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spinous lizard, or mountain-devil. this species feeds exclusively upon ants.] although the heloderms possess such deadly properties, those at the zoo manifest a by no means aggressive disposition, and allow their keeper or even strangers to handle them with impunity. in experiments purposely made to substantiate or refute the previously current rumours as to the poisonous nature of these animals, two guinea-pigs succumbed to bites received in the course of the day. the owner of the reptiles, who was also bitten on one occasion through incautiously handling, suffered very severe, though happily not fatal, effects. in connection with its poison-dealing properties it is found that it possesses certain long and fang-like teeth, which are set loosely in the jaws, and which have grooves before and behind for the transmission of the poison, which is secreted by special glands situated close to their base. the favourite habitat of the heloderm is the arid, sandy, and stony region on the western side of the cordillera mountain-range. it is at the same time said to be rarely seen in those parts except during the rainy season, and also to be for the most part nocturnal in its habits. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a group of mountain-devils of central australia. the spines of these lizards are so sharp that they will pierce a tender hand.] the family group of the monitors includes the largest of existing lizards, notably the semi-aquatic form common to north australia and the malay peninsula and adjacent islands, which attains a length of or feet, and is not infrequently mistaken, as it rushes, on being disturbed, through the reeds and other rank herbage to the water, for a young crocodile. an exceedingly fine and well set-up example of these huge water-monitors, shot by captain stanley flower in the neighbourhood of singapore, is placed in the reptile gallery of the natural history museum. another species, indigenous to the southern australian states, and having essentially arboreal habits, commonly attains to a length of or feet. the skin of one example of this species, obtained for the writer from the eucalyptus forests in gippsland, victoria, measures no less than feet long. with reference to the elegant lace-like pattern of its skin-markings, this species is frequently associated with the suggestive title of the lace-lizard. among the more illiterate settlers it is generally known as a gooana, the name being obviously a corruption of iguana, and being, as a matter of fact, applied promiscuously, and in all cases incorrectly, to a number of the larger australian lizards. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ horned toad. a spiny lizard, somewhat resembling the australian mountain-devil.] all the members of the monitor tribe are inveterate egg-eaters. an egyptian species, the nile monitor, renders service to humanity through the gratification of this propensity in seeking out and devouring the eggs of the crocodile. the larger water-monitor of the north australian and malay regions has been reported to the writer to be particularly partial to the eggs of the turtle, digging them out of the sand in which the parent deposits them, and destroying them wholesale. the more strictly arboreal southern australian species preys to a very large extent on birds' eggs, climbing to the holes in the trunks and branches in which so many australian birds build their nests, and not infrequently capturing and devouring also the parent birds and young. in the "bush" settlements this monitor is notorious for its depredations among the hen-roosts, both eggs and young chickens falling victims to its insatiable appetite. it is consequently regarded with but scant favour by poultry-farmers, who frequently organise a "gooana" hunt for its special destruction. if surprised out in the open, the quarry at once rushes for a tree, and manifests the most remarkable agility in "swarming" up the smooth, massive trunk, and in dodging round to the side opposite to that on which the sportsman approaches. not infrequently, trees being remote, the monitor will make for what appears to its apprehension the best substitute for one--viz. the upright figure of the nearest sportsman. should this happen to be a "new chum" enjoying his maiden essay in "gooana" hunting, he will undoubtedly experience a new sensation as the animal, with its sharp cat-like claws, unceremoniously scrambles up to his head and shoulders. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ horned toad. this species is highly prized for its insect-destroying proclivities.] brought to bay, a monitor possesses a more formidable weapon than its teeth and claws wherewith to repulse the onslaught of the enemy. the long, tough, thong-like tail--not brittle and replaceable, as in many other lizards--is converted, for the time being, into a veritable stock-whip, wherewith it will most severely punish incautious aggressors who venture too near. the potency of this offensive and defensive weapon is fully recognised by the reptile-keepers at the zoo, who freely admit their reluctance to enter the cage of one of these large, long-tailed, but conversely very short-tempered monitors. all of the monitors, in consonance with their pre-eminently carnivorous habits, are more or less savage and intractable. the several species which have fallen within the writer's cognisance proved no exception to the rule. an egyptian example, injudiciously introduced to the select society of his extensive miscellaneous collection in a heated greenhouse, proved to be a veritable wolf in the fold, killing several of the choicest specimens before its vindictive propensities were detected and arrested. a comparatively small and rare spiny-tailed monitor, brought by the writer, in company with the frilled lizards, to england from north-west australia, would harass and bite any other lizard placed with it, and resent every friendly overture on the part of its owner, even after so much as a whole twelvemonth's persistent attempts to tame it. another, the south australian monitor, or lace-lizard, was no exception to the rule, and had to be maintained in solitary confinement. this particular specimen, nevertheless, evinced, as the following anecdote will show, a very pronounced affection for its provided quarters. one day it effected its escape from the wire-enclosed cage with which it was accommodated in the writer's brisbane garden, and after prolonged but unsuccessful searchings it was given up for lost. considerable astonishment was naturally experienced some ten days later, when the animal was discovered in the garden making frantic attempts to regain access to its former prison-house. during its ten days' absence it had evidently fallen upon evil times, for not only was it in a very emaciated condition, but also bereft of its long and handsome tail. apparently, after the manner of its tribe, it had been manifesting a too warm interest in some neighbour's hen-roost, and received across its tail a stroke with a spade or other cutting instrument that was intended for a more vital region. disgusted by such unfriendly treatment, it evidently determined that free board and lodging at the hands of its former owner, albeit with the sacrifice of freedom, was a pleasanter line of life than liberty and a precarious commissariat, with added bodily risks. an almost identical episode of the voluntary return to captivity of an escaped monitor has been reported to the writer of a species from borneo by dr. g. d. haviland. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ tuberculated iguana. this species is esteemed for food by american indians.] the monitors, as a rule, are not distinguished for brilliancy of colouring, shades and mottlings of brown or black being usually dominant. the male of the australian lace-lizard, after newly changing its coat, is, however, an exception. in addition to the highly ornate lace-like reticulated pattern of its skin-markings, previously referred to, the throat of the animal is resplendent with mingled tints of sky-blue and lemon-yellow. it is necessary, however, to observe that its natural surroundings and the ardent rays of a sub-tropical sun are requisite to bring these brighter tints to their full development. examples kept in close confinement in the london zoological gardens yield little or no indication of their colour potentialities. [illustration: _photo by e. c. atkinson._ small viviparous lizard. occurs on heaths and commons in the south of england.] [illustration: _photo by h. g. p. spurell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ wall-lizard. this species is particularly abundant in italy.] while the monitor family is not represented on the american continent, we find there another group of lizards whose members are of considerable size, and agree in their carnivorous propensities and general habits in a marked manner with the monitors. these are the "greaved" lizards, named with reference to the peculiar skin-folding on their legs. one of the largest and most familiarly known representatives of this group is the teguexin, or diamond-lizard, indigenous to the greater portion of tropical south america, and also to the west indies. this lizard attains to a total length of a yard or more, and is of a robust and thick-set build, with the hind limbs much longer and stouter than the front ones. the colour of the teguexin is also notable, the ground-tint being olive or tawny yellow, upon which are superimposed black bands and markings which for the most part take a transverse direction. like the monitors, the teguexin in captivity exhibits a sulky and aggressive disposition, and cannot be safely kept in company with other less powerful species. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ banded iguanas. a rare species from the fiji islands. male to the right; female without bands to the left. the example crouching between them is a bearded lizard.] the attribute of bipedal locomotion is possessed by the teguexin. that this singular method of progression was an accomplishment possessed by one of the larger tropical american lizards was first reported to the writer from trinidad. some species of iguana was, in the first instance, anticipated to be the acrobatic performer. several examples of this family group were accordingly put through their paces at the zoo, to ascertain if they could lay claim to the distinction. none of the iguanas available, however, rose (on their hind legs) to the occasion, and it was only on experimenting, as a _dernière ressource_, with the teguexin that a successful demonstration was accomplished. this lizard was found, in fact, to run bipedally more freely and persistently, when sufficient space was allotted it, than the agamas. it seems singular that this bipedal power of locomotion should have so long remained undiscovered, and yet is possessed by lizards which have for a number of years been the denizens of many zoological gardens and other menageries. the fact that a comparatively large level area is a _sine qua non_ for the exhibition of this phenomenon affords no doubt the explanation of this anomaly; but the anomaly itself at the same time serves to accentuate the desirability, in the interests of both science and the animals' comfort, that exists for providing them in captivity with a more liberal and reasonably sufficient space for their indulgence in those methods of locomotion that are natural to them in their native land. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ south african girdled lizard. remarkable for the spiny armature, which is arranged in concentric girdles.] the greaved lizard family includes somewhat over one hundred species. while the majority agree with the teguexin in the possession of well-developed limbs, there are a few retrograde forms in which the hinder limbs are entirely absent or the front ones reduced to mere stumps. these exceptional instances pave the way to the family of the amphisbænas, in which such or a still lower phase of limb development represents the normal condition. the amphisbænas are remarkable for their worm-like resemblance, and for the circumstances that they live like earth-worms in burrows, that their eyes are functionless (being concealed beneath the skin), and that they are without ears. other details of structure indicate a most rudimentary condition of development, and they consequently rank as the lowest group in the lizard series. another peculiarity of the amphisbænas is that, in place of scales, the skin of the body is divided into square segments, which form symmetrical rings like those of worms. in addition to this, these retrograde lizards possess the worm-like faculty of being able to move backwards and forwards in their burrows with equal facility. it is from this peculiar property that their title of amphisbæna, signifying "moving both ways," is derived. the representatives of this family, including between sixty and seventy species, are widely distributed, being found in america, the west indies, africa, and also european countries that border the mediterranean. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ arizona heloderm (poisonous lizard). in the warted texture of its skin-surface the heloderm differs conspicuously from other lizards.] while the teguexins present resemblances in one direction with the amphisbænas, or worm-like lizards, the higher or monitor-like forms have much in common with the typical or true lizards, of which two small but well-known species--the sand- and viviparous lizards--are indigenous to the british isles. all the members of the true lizards, numbering some hundred species, are inhabitants of the old world, becoming scarce, however, towards the far east of the asiatic continent. all possess shapely bodies and well-developed limbs with five-toed feet, and are remarkable for the extreme activity of their movements, and in many cases brilliant colouring. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ white monitor. this and other allied species appear to be dead as they lie basking in the sun.] the varying individual shades of the green lizard's brilliant emerald body are almost infinite, no two being quite precisely alike in this respect. in some a yellower, in others a bluer green predominates, while the females and young are more or less mottled or striped with brown. the under surface of the body is usually a more or less bright yellow, and the throat, in the males more particularly, at the breeding-season is frequently brilliant blue. the more conspicuous colour differences exhibited by this lizard are, however, intimately associated with the local habitat of the particular race. those indigenous to spain and portugal, for example, are more or less ornamented with ocellated spots along the sides of the head and body, while those peculiar to eastern europe and asia minor are, in the young condition more particularly, marked with longitudinal streaks, but their throat is never blue. [illustration: _photo by the new york zoological society._ _printed at lyons, france._ the west african python. this splendid snake is said to grow to a length of over twenty feet, although such giants are only occasionally met with.] [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ green lizard. the tail of the green lizard is brittle, and breaks off in the hand if the animal is held up by it. a new tail grows from the fractured joint in course of time.] the green lizard is one of the most beautiful of its tribe, and, although not indigenous to great britain, is common in the channel islands. in jersey, more especially during the summer months, it is one of the most familiar of the "common objects of the country," as it darts in and out of the hedgerows after flies and other insects, or basks in the bright sunshine on some stone wall, with its emerald-green body flattened out in order to absorb the greatest possible amount of heat. as the colder autumn days advance this lizard is rarely visible, and it finally retires into some rocky cleft or burrow in the hedge-bank, and is no more seen until the return of spring. green lizards, liberated in suitably mild spots in the south of england, have been known to thrive for brief periods, but succumb to the cold of an extra-severe winter. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ ocellated lizards at home. the most brilliantly coloured of living lizards. the body is bright emerald-green, decorated on the sides with azure-blue spots.] the largest representatives of the green lizard are those inhabiting eastern europe and asia minor, where in size and colour they almost imperceptibly merge into the pearly or ocellated lizard. this very handsome species, which, in company with examples of the green lizard, is frequently imported by london dealers, ranges from inches to close upon feet in length. in form it is stouter and more robust than a typical green lizard, the head in the old males more particularly being exceptionally massive. whatever may be lacking in grace of form is, however, fully compensated for by brilliancy of colouring, no other lizard, in fact, out-rivalling it in this respect. to the brilliant shagreen-patterned emerald-green hues of the jersey species it has superadded along its sides eye-like spots of brilliant turquoise or ultra-marine, with dark brown or black encircling lines. in the males the green ground-colour has a more distinctly golden hue, while in the young individuals the body is more usually olive-colour, dotted throughout with whitish or pearly-blue, black-edged spots. this beautiful lizard is unfortunately somewhat irascible in temper, and will not as a rule allow itself to be handled as freely as the majority of the members of its tribe; when biting, moreover, it has a tendency to fasten itself upon the object seized with bulldog-like tenacity, a grip from a powerful-jawed old male being a somewhat unpleasant experience. in addition to insects the ocellated lizard will prey upon any other small animals it can overpower, including the members of its own species; it is consequently not safe to entrust it in the company of other lizards of less size and strength. the skink family, which next invites attention, contains no less than known species, and, climatic conditions being favourable, enjoys an almost cosmopolitan distribution. the majority of its members have stoutish cylindrical bodies, with relatively short limbs and tail; the legs are sometimes reduced to two only, or altogether aborted, giving the animal a snakelike form. the common or "medicinal" skink--so called since it was regarded in the middle ages as an infallible medicinal nostrum--is an inhabitant of north africa, and notable for its adaptation to a sand-burrowing existence. the body is short, cylindrical, exceedingly smooth through the close apposition of the minute surface-scales, and sharply conical at each extremity. the well-developed toes of all four feet are flattened and serrated at their edges in such a manner that they constitute most effective burrowing-tools in the loose sand these lizards frequent. the length of this skink rarely exceeds or inches. its colour is rather exceptional for a lizard, but at the same time in keeping with its predominating subterranean habits. the ground-tint in the living examples in the writer's possession, one of which is photographed on page , was a light yellowish-white, like that of old polished ivory, with here and there a pale flesh-pink tinge. on the under-surface this light tint was persistent, while the back was traversed by some twelve broadish bands of pale slate-grey. the skink does not, like the mole and the amphisbænas, obtain its food from subterranean sources. it comes out to bask on the surface of the sand when the sun is at its height, and keeps a brisk look-out for flies or other insects, which, if they approach sufficiently near, are pounced upon with remarkably agility. should the sky become overcast or any cause for alarm manifest itself, the skink disappears beneath the sand as though by magic, not infrequently burrowing down to a depth of several feet. even at the present day the skink is esteemed by the arabs both for medicine and food, and in the latter association, well broiled, has won the commendation of european palates. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ rÖntgen ray photograph of ocellated lizard. the remarkable length and slenderness of the bones of the hind feet are well illustrated by this photograph.] one of the most bizarre members of the skink family hails from australia, where it is known as the stump-tailed lizard. the most remarkable feature in this form is the shortness and roundness of the caudal appendage, the contour and proportions of which, in fact, so nearly correspond with those of the head that it was originally described by its discoverer, captain william dampier, just over three centuries ago, as a double-headed animal. to quote his own quaint description: "the land animals we saw here [sharks' bay] included a sort of guanos of the same shape and size with other guanos, but differing from them in three remarkable particulars, for these had a larger and uglier head, and had no tail, and at the rump, instead of a tail there, they had a stump of a tail which appeared like another head, but not really, such being without mouth or eyes; yet this creature seemed by this means to have a head at each end." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ common skink. lives and burrows in the sand, coming out when the sun shines.] a specimen of the stump-tailed lizard is usually on view at the regent's park gardens, and will afford visitors an opportunity for its comparison in the flesh with dampier's description. fine specimens of the stump-tail will measure as much as inches in length, and are thick in proportion, the legs, however, being very small and weak. the surface of the back is covered with large, overlapping scales, that, in conjunction with its customarily dark brown or blackish hue, convey to it a marked resemblance to a long, imbricated fir-cone. on the under-surface the scales are in comparison very small; the colouring in this region is also usually light grey or yellow, variegated with darker reticulations. stump-tails make most good-natured and grotesque household pets. of two examples which were for some years in the writer's possession a characteristic photograph is reproduced below. when basking in the sun, the tail often becomes distended to enormous proportions. the internal substance of this abnormally dilated organ consists chiefly of fatty tissue, and it seems probable that it fulfils the rôle of a reservoir for the storage of nutrient and heating materials, to be drawn upon during hibernation. the winter months in the southern districts of western australia are cold, and this lizard, in common with other local species, retires during that season into the sheltering recess of a hollow tree-stump or rock-crevice until the sun is again in the ascendant. the stump-tail is practically omnivorous in its habits. in captivity fruit, and more especially bananas, constitute a favourite diet, but it will also greedily devour worms, beetles, and garden-snails, and may consequently be turned to good account as a destroyer of garden-pests. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian stump-tailed lizards. two of the author's household pets.] of other australian members of the skink family, the great cyclodus, or blue-tongued lizard, may be mentioned. this species, which is about inches long, presents no abnormal development of head or tail, as in the form last described. the body is smooth and sub-cylindrical, and with its closely set scales resembles that of a snake. the dominant colour is a soft steel or silvery grey, variegated with darker or lighter cross-bands and reticulations that are most strongly marked on the sides; the under-surface, by way of contrast, is most usually pale salmon-pink. the tongue of this lizard, which gives to it its popular title, is somewhat remarkable. it is large and flat, and of a bright blue tint, resembling nothing so much as a piece of blue flannel. the animal, as it moves about, is in the habit of constantly protruding and retracting its tongue, which consequently constitutes a very conspicuous object. in common with the majority of its allies, the blue-tongued lizard is viviparous; but while the stump-tail only produces one at a time, which is nearly half as large as the parent, the present form gives birth to as many as ten or twelve. an example in the writer's possession on one occasion presented him with a litter embracing the larger number, and afforded the material for the photograph here reproduced. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ blue-tongued lizards. a female with her family of twelve.] as a contrast to the two preceding forms, the spine-tailed lizards, with their short, flat, spiky tails, may be cited as a conclusion to this notice of the skink family. there are nine known members of the same genus, all inhabitants of australia. the lower of the two forms here figured is especially abundant on one island of the abrolhos group, off the western australian coast. this example is represented at about two-thirds of its natural size. it is an interesting fact that an allied but considerably larger species monopolises a neighbouring island of the same group, the two species not intermingling: probably the larger one would prey on the smaller. the largest member of the genus, known as cunningham's spine-tail, of a uniform black hue, peppered white, is not infrequently brought to europe, and two examples which were for some years in the writer's possession bred regularly, producing eight or ten young at a time for several consecutive years. the fact that these lizards enjoyed full liberty in a heated greenhouse, with a temperature and surrounding conditions closely identical with those to which they were naturally accustomed, no doubt contributed extensively to their fertility. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spine-tailed lizards, western australia. these lizards are essentially vegetarian in their habits.] with this group we are compelled by lack of space to close our account of the true lizards, but the reader must understand that only a very few out of an enormous number have been mentioned at all. ---- chapter iv. _chamÆleons and tuatera._ chamÆleons. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ chamÆleons asleep. the tail of the sleeping chamæleon is frequently coiled spirally like the proboscis of a butterfly.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a chamÆleon in a rage. puffing and hissing at an approaching intruder.] the chamÆleons differ in so many important structural points from the ordinary lizards that they are usually regarded now by scientists as a distinct reptilian sub-order. the essential characters, externally recognisable, that serve to distinguish the chamæleons are:--firstly, the extraordinary development of their worm-like extensile tongue, the tip of it club-shaped and highly viscous, and the shaft cylindrical and as elastic in texture as india-rubber. adapted for the special object of catching flies, this organ can be projected from the mouth to a distance of or inches or more with lightning-like rapidity, and rarely misses its quarry. comparing small things with great, the chamæleon's tongue and its action might be likened to a schoolboy's popgun, having its pellet secured to the barrel by a long elastic ligament. presuming further that the pellet is covered with a viscid secretion such as bird-lime, and that the object shot at is hit and brought back to the shooter's pocket by virtue of the ligament's intrinsic elasticity, we have an almost veritable replica of the chamæleon's fly-catching apparatus. the second remarkable structural peculiarity of the chamæleon is the independent relationship of the two eyes. the eyes themselves are unlike those of any other lizards; they are large, prominent, skin-covered cones, perforated only at their extreme apex for the minute pupil-opening: while one eye may be fixed on an object in front of it, the other may be rolling around in search of a second quarry. this independent capacity of vision, while peculiar among reptiles to the chamæleon, is common to many fishes, such as blennies and flat-fishes. a third anomaly in the chamæleon's structure is the character of the feet; these resemble those of a parrot, the toes being bound together in two opposable bundles. in the fore foot the inner bundle contains three and the outer one two toes only, while in the hind foot the order of their amalgamation is precisely reversed. in either case these feet subserve, as in parrots and other perching-birds, as most effective organs for maintaining a close grip upon the tree-branches among which they habitually live. the tail of the chamæleon is, finally, highly prehensile, and, as with the new world monkeys, constitutes a veritable fifth hand, wherewith to ensure it against falling off its perch. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ common chameleon of south europe and north africa. a minute or more is often occupied by the chamæleon in making a single forward step.] the colour-changing properties of the chamæleon have been the subject of enthusiastic but in many instances exaggerated descriptions from the earliest times. as a matter of fact there are other lizard species which share this kaleidoscopic property to an equal or even greater degree. the indian tree-geckos, referred to on a previous page, as also the calotes from the same region, are cases in point. chamæleons are undoubtedly possessed of marvellous colour-changing faculties, and it would appear to be scarcely in all instances, as is more usually represented, a case of adapting themselves to the tints of their environment. the assumption of leaf-green, grey, brown, reddish, or yellowish tints, in accordance with their surroundings, is the ordinary record. some examples which formed the subjects of the writer's experiments exhibited, however, interesting deviations from the beaten track. male individuals, in particular, were observed to assume tints and decorative patterns that rendered them remarkably conspicuous objects, in spite of their leafy environment. the normal ground-colour of these specimens in full daylight was so dark a green that it might be almost characterised as black. upon this were superimposed lines and spottings of strongly contrasting tints. the more dominant of these was a brilliant orange, that was distributed in bold lines along the head and cheeks, and formed a radiating pattern on the skin-covered eye-cones: the same colour formed somewhat broken-up bars across all four limbs, and was dispersed in bold spots over the entire remaining body-surface: along the tail these spots were concentrated in threes, giving it a semi-barred appearance. all among these orange limb- and body-spottings were distributed a secondary series of somewhat smaller spots, the tint of which was a pale but very brilliant emerald-green. this chamæleon asleep at night was a very different animal. the ground-colour was transformed from almost black to a bright grass-green. the orange lines became lighter in colour and broken up into patches; many of the orange spots on the body disappeared, but those remaining were of larger size and concentrated in threes in two lines along each side, these triple spots enclosing centrally a larger elongated spot or patch of bright pink or puce. the bright emerald-green secondary spots, as seen in daylight, were almost white. if handled during the daytime, the chamæleon was wont to assume a colour nearly identical with his night garb; the two lines of pink patches, previously invisible, would appear, and, while the orange spotting remained constant, the emerald-green changed to lemon-yellow. a chamæleon in a rage is a decidedly grotesque object. the back is arched, the body and more especially the throat-pouch are inflated to their fullest extent, the mouth is opened, the eyes roll, and the creature rocks itself to and fro and hisses in a most threatening manner. when, as often happens, it also simultaneously sits up on its haunches, the effect is doubtless as terrifying as it is intended to be to a rival chamæleon or any small animal which may venture to approach it. a number of other lizards, including tree-climbing varieties, were introduced to the company of the examples under observation, and until friendly acquaintanceship had been established their advances towards the chamæleons were always repelled. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a chamÆleon shooting out its tongue to capture a fly. the tongue is capable of extension to a length of no less than or inches.] [illustration: _photo by c. m. martin_] [_beckenham._ a photograph of a chamÆleon in the act of catching a butterfly. the inflated extremity of the tongue is highly glutinous.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ the tuatera of new zealand. belongs to an ancient reptile race of which it is the only living survivor.] the majority of the chamæleons lay eggs, but a small number produce living young, as with skinks and other lizards. examples of the common european and north african species kept by the writer excavated holes in the earth, in which they laid their eggs, and then carefully covered them up again. unfortunately these eggs were not fertilised. one south african species has been reported to the writer as being in the habit of placing and separately wrapping and fastening up each egg as deposited in the leaves of the tree in which it resided. while africa and madagascar represent the head centres of distribution of the fifty odd known species of chamæleons, they enter europe through the spanish peninsula, and extend eastward to arabia, india, and ceylon. the largest known variety, which inhabits madagascar, attains a length of inches; the smallest pygmy chamæleon of the cape scarcely measures ½ inches. the tuatera. that singular reptile found on certain small islands lying to the north-east of new zealand, and known as the tuatera, differs in so many structural characters from all other lizards that it is assigned to a separate order. externally the tuatera does not differ materially in form from an ordinary lizard. the skin, however, is peculiar for its leathery, granulated, and wrinkled texture; there is no trace of external ears; the eyes, adapted for nocturnal vision, have in daylight vertical pupils; and the bases of the toes are united by connecting webs. the deeper internal characteristics include the possession of supplementary so-called abdominal ribs, the presence of which are readily apprehended on handling the living animal. these structures, while absent in ordinary lizards, find their near equivalent in the breastplate of tortoises and turtles. the teeth are not implanted in distinct sockets, but attached to the summits of the jaws, which are developed in a beak-like manner, and in older individuals fulfil, after the manner of a beak, the functions of the worn-out incisor teeth. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a tame tuatera. is a great acquisition for a greenhouse, feeding on slugs, beetles, and all noxious insects.] tuateras have been exceedingly scarce of recent years, and in view of their scientific interest, and the risk of their possible extinction, are now protected by the new zealand government. among the multitudinous gifts of which their royal highnesses the prince and princess of wales were recipients during their recently accomplished world-embracing tour, a pair of living tuatera lizards formed one of the most singular and highly prized contributions accepted from the loyal new zealanders. [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ dark green snake. a native of italy and other countries bordering the mediterranean. accredited with a particularly fierce disposition.] ---- chapter v. _snakes._ the characteristic contour of a snake's body is too familiar to need elaborate description; its leading features are, in fact, so nearly approximated by certain of the legless lizards, previously described, that the distinctions between the two can with difficulty be defined. many of the snake-like lizards, including the common blind-worm, are altogether devoid of external limbs. in some snakes, on the other hand, and notably the large terrestrial pythons, a spur-like development on each side of the base of the tail represents rudimentary hind legs. the snakes agree essentially with the lizards in the character of their scaly covering, the scales, however, being larger on their under-surface and specially adapted, as in the legless lizards, for creeping locomotion. the essential distinctions between the two groups have to be sought in the structure of the head. the most notable of these, as it obtains in the snakes, is the very loose manner in which all the bones connected with the jaws are held together, thus providing for the greatest possible distension in the act of their swallowing their prey whole, as is the custom of all ordinary snakes. to achieve this end, the two halves of the lower jaw are not united together at their extremity or chin, as in lizards, but are merely connected with one another by an elastic ligament. in most snakes the bones of the upper jaw and palate are also attached to one another in a similar way. the eyes of a snake differ in a very marked manner from those of ordinary lizards. no snake possesses movable eyelids. the eye, in compensation, is protected by a transparent horny disk, continuous with the general epidermis, and is shed with it when the snake casts its skin. this feature imparts to snakes that fixed, stony expression of the eyes which undoubtedly contributes very materially towards increasing the feeling of repulsion with which snakes are commonly regarded. a few exceptional lizards, such as the geckos, have a similar eye-construction, but it is not met with in any of the limbless or snake-like forms. no snakes, again, show any trace of external ear-openings, such structures, on the other hand, being distinctly developed in almost all lizards. the head itself of the snake is never compressed or elevated, as in most lizards, but flattened down and usually wider than the body, to which, however, it is united without a distinct neck. the tongue of the snake is slender, and terminates in two long, thread-like points; basally it is inserted into a hollow sheath, into or out of which the entire organ can be retracted or exserted at will. the somewhat uncanny, flickering action with which a snake, while moving, displays and as it were feels its way with its long, forked tongue represents another element which adds to the disfavour with which these reptiles are commonly regarded. among the uneducated even at the present day it is not unusual to hear the tongue, with reference to its peculiar shape and vibrating action, pronounced to be the seat and instrument of the animal's poisonous properties. the swift, silent, stealthy, gliding motions with which, apart from any visible organs of locomotion, a snake slides, as it were, along the ground and over all obstacles fill to the brink the measure for its condemnation in the estimation of all but the snake-devotee or the naturalist. the locomotion of the snake is, as a matter of fact, one of the most remarkable and beautifully contrived phenomena in animal mechanics. the peculiarly jointed and abnormally mobile ribs constitute the mystic _deus ex machinâ_ by which the reptile accomplishes its migration. these ribs articulate in pairs by a single mobile head with their respective segment of the vertebral column. at their opposite extremity they impinge on and are in muscular connection with the broad, slightly overlapping, shield-like scales which clothe the under surface of the body. the rib-muscles, contracting in rhythmical succession, raise the free overlapping edges of the shield-like scales, which, striking against the ground in the same regular order, push the body forward. adopting an easily comprehensible simile, the snake's body is carried along the ground on the same principle as a paddle-wheel steamer is pushed along the surface of the water, the paddle-boards in the case of the snake being affixed to a long, narrow plane instead of a circular wheel. [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ dark green snake. closely allied to the rat-snake of india, and preys in a similar manner on rats, mice, and birds.] the poison-fangs of snakes are highly specialised structures, and their presence or otherwise was formerly considered sufficiently distinctive for the separation of these reptiles into two sharply defined natural series. more recent investigations have, however, shown that such a system of classification is entirely artificial, both venomous and harmless species occurring among groups which are related to one another by essential structural characters. the teeth in the ordinary or harmless snakes are usually represented by two rows of slender, recurved, sharply pointed teeth in the upper jaw, and a single row of a similar character in the lower one. this recurved character of the dentition effectively assists the snake in gorging its quarry whole, nothing once seized by the hook-like teeth having a chance of retreating, the snake itself being unable to eject the prey upon which the teeth have fastened. in the most poisonous series, such as a rattle-snake, there is but a single row of recurved teeth in the upper jaw, and these are the equivalents of the inner set of the harmless species. among the most venomous snakes the poison-fangs are tubular in character, the poison being received from the venom-glands at their open base, and discharged at the apex. in other forms the fangs have grooved channels only for the passage of the virus, while in other species there may be an intermediate condition. in all cases the poison-secreting glands are modifications of the ordinary salivary glands of other vertebrate animals. they are situated, one on each side, immediately below and behind the eyes, and are in some instances so abnormally developed as to extend backwards along the sides of the body. special muscles envelop these glands, and force the poison into the hollow base of the fangs when the mouth is opened to strike. [illustration: _photos by fredk. downer & sons_] [_watford._ a small boa-constrictor seizing and devouring a rat. illustrating the consecutive phases of seizing, strangling, and subsequently gorging the prey, as practised by the largest and smallest members of the class.] snakes, like lizards, are most abundant in tropical countries, the indian and malay regions in particular being richest in numbers and varieties. the british islands support but three representatives of the class--the adder, the common ringed and the smooth snakes--this number, by a coincidence, being identical with that of the lizard tribe indigenous to the same islands. many of the smaller species are little over foot long, while the huge pythons and the anaconda may attain to or exceed feet. regarding their habits, some are purely terrestrial, frequenting the rocks or sandy deserts, or even burrowing beneath the earth's surface. others are essentially arboreal, many amphibious, and some, like the turtles among the chelonians, entirely marine. as with the lizards, the majority of snakes lay eggs enclosed within a white leathery shell, while with a considerable number the young are brought forth alive. the eggs, deposited in the earth, sand, or among vegetable debris, are usually left to be hatched by the heat of the sun. in the case of the pythons, however, they are incubated by the parent. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ boa-constrictor ready to strike. the neck, thrown back in one or more loops, can be projected, with immense force and lightning-like rapidity, to strike or seize an intended victim.] a small group of snakes which is usually placed at the head of the series in systematic classifications share the subterranean habits of the amphisbænas among the lizards; and the eyes being rudimentary and functionless, they are commonly known as blind-snakes. a structural peculiarity which separates these singular reptiles from all other members of the snake tribe is the entire absence of teeth from either the upper or lower jaw. the food of the blind-snakes consists largely of ants and the larvæ of beetles and other insects which lead a subterranean life. although spending the greater portion of their existence underground, they occasionally come out upon the surface, such migrations more generally taking place during showery weather. about species of blind-snakes are known, and are mostly confined to tropical countries. one small worm-like form occurs in greece and the adjacent islands, its range extending through a considerable area of south-western asia. the step from the small worm-like blind-snakes, with their functionless eyes and underground habits, to the boas and pythons, the largest and most highly organised members of the serpent tribe, would seem at first sight to be altogether unwarranted. in one essential character, however, they agree very remarkably. in both groups the bony skeleton exhibits a far more generalised structural plan than in any of the succeeding ones, so that they may be regarded as more nearly resembling the primitive stock from which the other more specialised kinds--such as the vipers, with their death-dealing poison-fangs--have been evolved. the pythons and boas, or boa-constrictors, as they are popularly known, belong entirely to the non-venomous section of the snake series. the teeth, forming two rows in the upper jaws, gradually decrease in size from before backwards, and none of them are grooved or modified in the form of poison-fangs. the body is usually more or less compressed, and the tail prehensile. the typical pythons, or rock-snakes, as they are called, with reference to their rock-frequenting habits, are distributed throughout south-eastern asia, australia, and central and south africa. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ carpet-snake. so called with reference to the variegated carpet-like pattern of its skin-ornamentation.] the indian python, which is the largest old world representative of its race, is known authentically to attain to a length of feet, and in the largest specimens the spinal column may include over vertebræ. in common with other members of its family, this huge snake kills its quarry by compression or strangulation, throwing around it successive coils of its body, which, with their contraction, crush out the life of the victim. the dispatched prey is then swallowed whole, commencing with the head. the previous crushing of the bony framework greatly assists the swallowing process, which is further aided by the snake pouring over the body of its victim a copious discharge of saliva. the extent to which the jaws and the integument of the body generally can be distended for the passage and reception of the food is remarkable. after partaking of a solid meal in this fashion, pythons remain sluggish and in a state of semi-torpor for several days, not reawakening to active life, in fact, until the digestion of the food has been accomplished. as is well known, these and other snakes can exist for periods of many months' duration between their meals. one of the largest indian pythons by no means contents itself with such small quarry as hares and rabbits--sheep, young calves, and some of the smaller deer representing its more accustomed food. the human species unarmed is as weak or weaker than the proverbial kitten, pitted against the hydraulic-press-like embrace of these monster serpents; and many an indian native, and more rarely the white man, has fallen a victim to their attacks. the reticulated python, so called on account of the bold reticulated pattern of the skin-ornamentation, may equal, if not exceed, the indian species in dimensions. it is a native of burma, siam, and the malay region generally, and is recorded as occasionally exceeding feet in length. examples of this species, including one over feet long, have constituted leading attractions at the reptile-house in the zoological society's gardens for many years past. the gorgeous prismatic tints that play upon the surface-markings of the coils of these huge snakes, as the sun strikes upon them about midday in their cages, form one of the most wonderful sights that the gardens afford. [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ Æsculapian snake. a south european species with tree-climbing habits.] the african continent also produces its large species of pythons. one of these, attaining to a length of feet or more, reaches its maximum on the west coast, and occurs with local modifications as far east and south as natal. in the latter country it is most familiarly known as the natal rock-snake. [illustration: _photo by mr. w. rau_] [_philadelphia._ a group of garter-snakes. an american species which collects together in great numbers.] some rather singular incidents have been recorded illustrating the tenacity with which pythons retain hold of the quarry once seized, or, more correctly, their inability to release it. at the adelaide zoological gardens a specimen, when absorbing a rabbit, managed to entangle its teeth in a corner of its blanket. that blanket had to follow the rodent through the -foot-long python. on another occasion two pythons, a queenslander and afrikander, happened at the same instant to commandeer respectively the head and hindquarters of an identical rabbit. inch by inch the portion between the two grew smaller until the two noses met. there was no retreating from this _impasse_, and the momentous question, "shall i slay my brother boa?" had to be settled affirmatively by one or other of the interested parties without further parley. the somewhat smaller and weaker individual was gradually telescoped, and in due time assimilated. the absorber was decidedly poorly and "off colour" for a considerable period after accomplishing this cannibalistic feat; it ultimately recovered both its appetite and its prismatic tints. the true boas, as distinguished from the pythons, are more essentially arboreal in their habits, and, with the exception of one or two species found in madagascar, belong to the tropical american zoological region. the common boa, or boa-constrictor, which attains to a length of or feet or more, is limited in its distribution to south america. the colours of this snake, which consist mainly of a light brown, with a number of dark brown cross-bars on the back, and light centred, dark brown spots on the sides, so nearly agree with the tint of the tree-branches with their interlacing shadows, among which it usually lies concealed, that, notwithstanding its large size, it readily evades detection, and is unconsciously approached by the animals on which it preys. these, in adult individuals, may be represented by such large-sized quarry as dogs, and even deer; while smaller examples prey largely on birds and their eggs, and the numerous rodents with which the tropical american forests teem. from observations made upon this species in captivity, it would appear that the eggs are usually hatched within the parent's body, though an instance has been recorded in which both eggs and young were produced simultaneously. a close ally of the typical boas, which shares with them a tropical south american habitat, is the huge anaconda, or water-boa, of brazil and the adjacent countries. this animal, which is undoubtedly the largest living representative of the serpent tribe, attains a length little, if any, short of feet. one such monster was specially referred to by dr. gardiner, the botanist, in his "travels in brazil"; it had devoured a horse, and was found dead, entangled in the branches of a tree overhanging a river, into which it had been carried by a flood. full-grown cattle, and occasionally human beings, as well as horses, are alleged to fall victims to the destructive prowess of this gigantic snake. the anaconda is essentially amphibious in its habits, the greater part of its life being spent in the water, lying in wait, in the quiet lagoons and backwaters, with only its head above the surface, and prepared to seize any unfortunate animal which may come to the brink to drink. at other times it will coil itself upon the trunks and larger branches of the adjacent trees, and from that point of vantage will dart down its head, with sure aim and lightning rapidity, to seize any suitable quarry which may pass beneath. in some parts of south america where the rivers dry up at certain seasons of the year, the anaconda is recorded to be in the habit of burying itself in the mud and lying torpid, after the manner of crocodiles, until the return of the rains. the ground-colour of the anaconda is usually greyish brown or olive above, the back being ornamented with one or two transversely disposed rows of large, rounded, dark brown or blackish spots, while the sides are decorated with more irregularly scattered, smaller, eye-like spots, having whitish centres and dark margins. [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ leopard-snake. a harmless and beautifully marked species inhabiting italy and sicily.] [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ tesselated snake. a european species, similar in size and habits to the british ringed snake, but more handsomely marked.] an interesting little group, connecting the boas and pythons with the common snakes, is that of the so-called shield-tails, or earth-snakes, of india and ceylon. these reptiles are earth-burrowers, like the blind-snakes, previously referred to, but have well-developed eyes, and are further distinguished by the abruptly truncated contour of their posterior extremity, which may be either a naked disk or covered with keeled scales. their bodies are cylindrical, with the scaly covering very smooth and polished, the scales of the under-surface being but little larger than the upper ones; the jaws, in conformity with the peculiar modification of their skull, are not capable of wide distension. seven genera and a large number of species are recognised, some being brilliantly coloured with tints of red or yellow. their main diet is earth-worms. the family of the common snakes includes the greater number of species, the majority of the most venomous as well as harmless varieties being comprised within its limits. the characters that are made the basis for separating these snakes from the boas are associated with the structure of the skull, and are not therefore readily recognised without having recourse to dissection. it will suffice to mention that, in this and the remaining groups, there is an entire absence from the lower jaw of the slender supplementary bone known as the "coronoid," which is present in the boas and pythons. from succeeding groups, such as the viperine series, they are distinguished by the circumstance that the upper jaw is firmly fixed in a horizontal position, and is not capable of erection in a vertical plane, or like the lid of a box, as obtains with the vipers. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ pine-snake. a tree-haunting american species with very bold markings.] these snakes are separated into secondary groups with relation to the structure of their teeth. in one series these teeth are solid throughout, neither grooved nor tubular; and all the snakes thus characterised are harmless. in the second series one or more pairs of the hinder upper teeth are longitudinally grooved, and act as poison-fangs; they are consequently distinguished as the "back-fanged" group. in the third series the front teeth of the upper jaw-bone are grooved, and constitute the poison-fangs, and they are known as the "front-fanged" group. to the first-mentioned solid-toothed and harmless division of the family belongs the british ringed snake and some forty other allied species which are collectively known as water-snakes, with reference to their more or less pronounced aquatic habits. the ringed snake has a stoutish cylindrical body, keeled scales, flat head covered with regular shields, wide mouth-cleft, and numerous teeth, the strongest of which are at the hinder end of the jaw-bone. the colour varies somewhat, being usually grey, brown, or olive above, with darker spots or narrow transverse bands; the under-surface is mottled black and white or grey. the lip-shields are white or yellowish, with black dividing-lines. the neck in the ordinary variety is usually ornamented with a yellow, white, or orange collar-like patch, behind which is a somewhat broader black collar, which is produced forwards and sub-divides the yellow one in the centre of the upper-surface. in the variety of the ringed snake indigenous to the south of europe the collar-like markings may be altogether absent, or reduced to a small black patch on each side of the nape of the neck. the maximum length of the ringed snake is some ½ feet. it is a most expert swimmer, moving swiftly through the water with lateral undulations of its body, and carrying its head and neck well above the surface. frogs constitute its favourite diet, but it will also capture and devour fish, mice, and young birds. [illustration: photo by henry dixon & son] [albany street, n.w. cobra (back view). showing the remarkable pattern on the back of the neck, which has given rise to the name of spectacled snake.] the viperine and tesselated snakes, both european forms, as also the garter- and mocassin-snakes of north america, are all closely allied in structure and habits to the familiar ringed species. the second british species, known as the smooth snake, belongs to the same group, but is more terrestrial in its habits; while comparatively rare in england, and limited to the southern counties, it is plentiful on the continent. the indian rat-snake, which is almost as useful as the domestic cat in ridding dwellings of rats and mice, is another representative of the solid-toothed group. this group also includes the so-called pygmy snakes, inhabiting the malay region, whose habits are mainly arboreal. they are the most diminutive members of their order, some of the thirty known species not exceeding foot in length. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ queensland sea-snake. sea-snakes have compressed tails, which they use for steering.] the typical tree-snakes of the indian and australian region, with large eyes, somewhat compressed bodies, and colours of green or olive, in harmonious accord with their arboreal surroundings, also belong to the solid-toothed and harmless section. an especially interesting representative of this group is the so-called egg-eating snake of south africa. it does not exceed feet in length, and is for the most part arboreal in its habits, and, as its name implies, would appear to feed exclusively on eggs. as a structural adaptation for this peculiar habit, the spinous processes of a number of the vertebræ project into the throat and are tipped with enamel, thus constituting supplementary throat-teeth. normally this snake subsists on the eggs of the smaller birds, but when short of this supply has been known to leave the trees and rob hen-roosts, being able, notwithstanding its comparatively small size, to dilate its mouth and throat for the reception of a hen's egg. the egg is split longitudinally by the action of the throat-teeth, the contents swallowed, and the shell ejected. the second or "back-fanged" group includes many exceedingly poisonous species. among these may be mentioned the indian whip-snakes and their allies, comprising many tree-frequenting species, closely resembling in habits and colours the harmless solid-toothed tree-snakes of the preceding section. [illustration: photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq.] [eastbourne. english viper. the only british venomous reptile.] it is among the third or "front-fanged" group, however, that the most venomous species occur. to this section belongs the death-dealing cobra, the yet more formidable hamadryad, the indian craits, the egyptian asp, and the australian black snakes and death-adders. the cobra-de-capello, hooded, or spectacled snake, as it is variously known, is perhaps the most notoriously familiar example of its section, being responsible for the greater moiety of the many thousands of fatalities that annually occur among the natives of india from the bites of venomous serpents. the craits, which resemble the cobras, but do not possess an erectile hood, are accredited a second position in death-dealing. the peculiar feature of the erectile hood that characterises the cobras is due to the circumstance that a certain number of the ribs in this region are independently movable, and can be elevated and depressed at will, the skin-fold that overlies them being loose and elastic. the back of the hood in the ordinary indian cobra is usually ornamented with two eye-like spots, connected with a loop-like band, which communicate to the complete pattern the fancied resemblance to a pair of spectacles, whence it has derived its appellation of spectacled snake. individuals vary, however, very considerably in this matter of colour-markings; in some instances a single eye-like spot is alone developed, while in others it may be entirely absent. the common cobra grows to a length of or feet, dimensions greatly exceeded by the giant cobra, or hamadryad, a fortunately rarer form more exclusively confined to jungle and forest districts. this species may attain to a length of feet or more, and on account of its deadly bite and fiercely aggressive disposition is much feared by the natives of the countries it inhabits, which include not only india, but burma, siam, and the malay region. this giant cobra preys almost exclusively on smaller snakes, frequently including the common cobra. a third species of cobra, known as the hajÉ, or spitting-snake, inhabits africa, from egypt as far south as natal. it is perhaps the fiercest member of the group, turning readily upon its pursuers, or even commencing the attack. it also possesses the somewhat remarkable and disconcerting habit of ejecting poison from its mouth to a distance of several feet, usually aiming with considerable accuracy at the eyes of its assailant. although unattended by permanently serious effects, the pain caused by the virus striking the eyes is for the time being excruciatingly painful, placing the recipient of the unwelcome discharge entirely _hors de combat_. the first record of the poison-spitting propensities of this snake, made by mr. gordon cumming, was received with considerable incredulity, but the statement has been confirmed. a relative of the writer's, stationed in natal, was recently the victim of such an incident, receiving the poison-discharge in his eyes from one of these snakes, which, in his eagerness to dispatch it, he had imprudently cornered, armed only with a sword. it was some days before the pain entirely abated and the sight regained its normal clearness. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ african puff-adder. horses die within a few hours of being bitten by this serpent.] [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ diamond-back rattle-snake. one or more joints are added to the "rattle" each successive year.] australia, with its black and tiger-snakes and the death-adder, possesses snakes as venomous as the cobra, which the first-named species approach in their capacity to inflate their necks, though to a less degree. the tasmanian black snake, as it glides swiftly, as though sailing, across open grass-land, with the midday sun scintillating on its -foot stretch of jet-black, highly polished scales, its head and expanded neck threateningly elevated some inches above the ground, is certainly a most impressive sight. one very distinct group of the front-fanged section which demands brief notice is that of the sea-snakes. these are readily distinguished by their especial adaptation to a marine existence, their much-compressed, oar-like tails constituting powerful propelling organs. in contradistinction to the terrestrial snakes of the same group, the inferior scales, not being required for terrestrial locomotion, are little if any larger than the upper ones. all the species are highly venomous; they feed chiefly upon fish, and are distributed throughout the tropical seas. the larger species rarely exceed or feet in length, and the majority are much smaller. many species are noted for their conspicuous colouring, which most frequently takes the form of distinctly contrasting bands. all the members of this group are viviparous. [illustration: photo by j. w. mclellan] [highbury. rattle-snake. the rattle-snake is pre-eminently noted for its power of fascinating birds and the smaller mammals.] the last and most highly specialised section of the snake tribe is that of the viper and its allies, collectively known as the viperine family. in all the representatives of this group the hinder upper jaw-bone is so loosely articulated that it is capable of erection at a right angle to the horizontal plane of the skull, the gape of the mouth being in consequence abnormally wide. the teeth in the upper jaw are reduced to a single anteriorly situated pair of tubular poison-fangs, with which, when striking its prey, the snake deals a direct stab. the head in the majority of the viperine snakes is flattened and triangular, nearly resembling in contour the symbolic ace of spades. the body is usually relatively thick, and the tail short and stumpy. the vertical pupil of the eye denotes nocturnal habits. all the members of the section are venomous. the viperine snakes are usually divided into two groups. the first contains the typical or old world vipers, and includes, in addition to the common viper, the cerastes or horned viper of egypt, and the large and most repulsive and deadly african puff-adder. the common viper or adder, the only poisonous british snake, has a very extensive geographical distribution, extending throughout europe and asia as far east as the island of saghalien, and northwards to the arctic circle. the horned viper of the sahara and north africa is one of the most venomous of living serpents. lying buried beneath the sand, with only its head above, it will spring aggressively at any animal which passes by, and the action of its venom is so rapid that a horse or man bitten by it usually dies within half an hour. in colour the horned viper closely resembles the sand or stony wastes among which it lies. the most remarkable feature in this snake is the presence of two elevated horn-like processes immediately above the eyes, which are most prominent in the male. the species has frequently been on view at the zoological society's gardens. on one occasion an ostensible example was purchased and deposited in the reptile-house, which proved on nearer investigation to be a base imposition. a common desert-viper had been cleverly manipulated by the deft insertion of suitably shaped splinters of wood into its head, so that it resembled the rarer horned variety. the puff-adder, the largest member of its tribe, may attain to a length of feet or more, and is distributed throughout the african continent. its thick body is almost triangular in section, the head very large, flat, and bluntly rounded anteriorly, while the eyes have a particularly fierce, stony, and repulsive aspect. in colour individuals vary considerably, but there is generally a chequered pattern of reds, browns, and greys, disposed in the form of darker and lighter alternating crescent-shaped bands along the back. the poison of this snake is nearly as virulent as that of the horned viper, and is commonly used by the african bushmen for poisoning their arrows. the viperine group is abundantly represented in the new world, where its members differ from the typical old world species in sundry anatomical points, one of the most conspicuous features being the presence of a distinct depression or pit in the surface of the head between the nostril and the eye on either side. on this account they are distinguished by the title of pit-vipers. among the more familiar representatives of this group are the rattle-snakes, the fer-de-lance, the bush-master, and the copper-head or mocassin-snakes. all these are notoriously venomous, fatal effects from bites received by human subjects being of frequent recurrence. the rattle-snakes are especially distinguished by the peculiar, loosely jointed, horny appendage to their tails, by the rapid vibration of which, when disturbed, they fortunately give timely notice of their presence. in the young individuals this rattle is only represented by a single button-like knob, additional loose, hollow, horny rings being added between it and the scaly termination of the tail as age increases. in full-grown examples the horny rings composing the rattle may number as many as twenty or more, though, owing to the war of extermination incessantly levied against these reptiles in all civilised areas, it is rarely that such elaborate rattle-bearers are now met with. the rattle-snake, in the more northern districts of its distribution, hibernates in the winter, often congregating together in great numbers for the sake of the mutual warmth. in the earlier days certain caves were famous as the retreats into which not only hundreds but thousands of the reptiles would congregate from the country round for their winter's slumber. at such times hunting-parties were specially organised for their wholesale destruction, and accomplished much towards reducing their ranks to their present numbers. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ fer-de-lance snake. one of the fiercest and most venomous of american viperine snakes.] in addition to the common north american rattle-snake there are some four or five other species distributed throughout the southern states, mexico, and panama. none appear to exceed a length of feet. in south america their place is to a large extent taken by the so-called bush-master, a snake which attains to a length of as much as from to feet, and, in addition to being exceedingly venomous, is of an especially fierce and aggressive disposition. it is devoid of a rattle-like appendage, the tail terminating in a sharp horny spine. the fer-de-lance, or rat-tailed pit-viper, is another central and south american species, held in wholesome dread on account of its death-dealing potentialities. the south american sugar-plantations are an especially favourite resort of this deadly snake, its attraction being the rats which frequent the canes and afford its chief food. lying concealed among the thick foliage, it will launch itself aggressively at any passer-by, and its bite is usually attended with fatal results within a few hours. the fer-de-lance grows to a length of or or occasionally even feet, with a thickness of a man's arm. its colours, as with most members of its tribe, are somewhat variable. the ground-colour of the back is usually olive or reddish brown, with dark cross-bands; a black stripe runs backwards from the eye to the neck, and in some instances the sides of the body are bright red. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ bull-frog. the croaking of this species may be heard at a distance of several miles.] the american continent is not wanting in aquatic representatives of the viperine series. the most notable of these is the fish-eating water-viper, whose distribution extends from north carolina in the south over the whole of north america as far westward as the rocky mountains. fish and frogs constitute the main diet of this reptile. ---- amphibians. ---- chapter vi. _frogs and toads._ [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ american bull-frog. young ducks are a favourite food of this voracious batrachian.] the amphibian class, through the newts and salamanders more especially, would appear at first sight to have much in common with and to be most closely allied to the lizards, previously described. as a matter of fact, however, the group is much more nearly related to the fishes. quite the most characteristic feature in the amphibians that is indicative of the above-mentioned affinity is the circumstance that for a more or less longer period of their existence their respiratory organs take the form of external gills, structures not found in any of the preceding vertebrate classes. another diagnostic character of the amphibia is afforded by the circumstance that they all pass through a transitional or larval condition before arriving at the adult state. the familiar tadpole phase of the common frog or toad typically illustrates this point. during its earliest larval state the fish-like resemblance is especially conspicuous. in addition to possessing gills, the body is limbless, and produced into a long fish-like tail, having superior and inferior fin-like membranes, with which the little animal propels itself through the water. these locomotive fins, however, are never furnished with supporting fin-rays, as obtains among the fishes. in contradistinction to the lizards and snakes, the skin of amphibians is never covered with spines or scales, but is soft and naked. in many of the toads and salamanders the surface of the skin is, however, warted and highly glandular, and capable of emitting an acrid and sometimes poisonous fluid. more or less pronounced conditions of moisture are essential for the well-being of all amphibians. the eggs are deposited, and the earlier or larval conditions, with but few exceptions, passed, in the water, while the adults remain in its near proximity, and frequently take up their abode in it. amphibia do not, however, drink water after the manner of lizards and other reptiles, but absorb all the moisture they require through the surface of their skins. the deeper and more essential skeletal elements of the amphibia differ conspicuously from those of the preceding groups. the vertebræ in the permanently gill-bearing species more particularly are scarcely to be distinguished from those of fishes. in the frog and toad tribe, on the other hand, they are reduced to a less number, seven or eight only, than is found among any other vertebrates, while ribs do not exist or are rudimentary and functionless throughout the class. many bones of the skull in the amphibia, as well as its general construction, are more in accord with those of fishes than of ordinary reptiles. the tongue, not always present, is attached immediately inside the front of the lower jaw, its tip pointing down the animal's throat. it is remarkable that, notwithstanding their aquatic proclivities, no amphibian has been discovered which frequents salt water. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ edible frog. the hind legs only of this species are used for the composition of the famous parisian dish.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ tiger-like frog. a species closely allied to the common british frog, but more boldly marked.] amphibians amongst themselves constitute two very easily recognised sub-divisions,--the one including the frogs and toads, collectively forming the tailless group; and the other represented by the newts and salamanders, or tailed amphibians. the former group has an almost world-wide distribution, numbering some thousand species; it is most abundantly represented in the tropics, ranging thence in diminishing numbers to the limits of the arctic circle. in colder climates these amphibia usually hibernate during the winter months; while in tropical countries, where dry seasons intervene, they often bury themselves in the mud, and remain in a state of torpor till the return of the rains. the majority are more or less essentially nocturnal in their habits. frogs and toads commence life in an aquatic tadpole phase. while in the adult state they are strictly carnivorous, the tadpoles are vegetarian feeders. the section to which the common british frog belongs includes nearly species, collectively known as water-frogs, which present considerable differences in both their aspect and habits. while some are perennially aquatic, others only resort to the water during the breeding-season; some are terrestrial and occasionally earth-burrowers, while yet another series is essentially arboreal. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ rÖntgen ray photograph of common frog. the relatively small amount of bone which enters into the structure of the skull is well shown in this photograph.] in addition to the familiar british species the much-esteemed edible frog of the continent has become acclimatised in england. a dark-coloured race of this frog, supposed to have been introduced by the monks centuries since on account of its esculent properties, is plentiful in the fens of cambridgeshire, while a greener race of the same species was imported to and established in norfolk somewhere about the year . the edible frog may be distinguished from the common species by the more complete webbing of its hind feet, the absence of the dark so-called temporal spot that extends from the eye to the shoulder, and the presence in the males of a globular sac on each side of the head, which confers upon them louder croaking powers than are possessed by the common species. the loudest-voiced as well as almost the largest member of this group is the bull-frog of canada and the united states. the length of the body in this species may be as much as from to ½ inches, exclusive of the legs; and its croakings, or more correctly bellowings, are so loud that it may be heard for a distance of several miles. these croakings are most pronounced during the early spring or breeding-season. in the southern united states, however, they are maintained more or less persistently throughout the year. while the british frog contents itself with a diet of slugs, worms, beetles, and other insects, the bull-frog aspires to larger quarry, and has an especial penchant for young ducklings. as a compensation the flesh of the bull-frog is said to be very delicately flavoured, and the species is so much esteemed in some localities as to be kept in captivity and fattened for the table. it has been recorded that the bull-frog makes leaps of from to feet in length and feet in height. in point of size the bull-frog is somewhat eclipsed by a species discovered in the solomon islands, and known as guppy's frog. this huge frog has a body no less than inches in length. it has not been recorded whether its vocal powers are proportionately loud. another large species allied to the bull-frogs is found in south and east africa, whose flesh is attested to by dr. livingstone as being excellent eating and resembling chicken when cooked. this frog, known to the natives as the matlamitlo, is supposed by them to fall from the clouds, on account of its sudden appearance in even the driest parts of the desert immediately after a thunder-storm. the species, however, is in the habit of making holes at the roots of bushes, into which it retires during the months of drought, rushing out into the hollows filled by the thunder-showers while the rain is still actually falling. even during the long drought these frogs continue their croakings from their retreats at night, and are very misleading to travellers, who customarily associate their presence with the immediate neighbourhood of water. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ ornamented horned toad. the bite of this toad is highly venomous.] there is a remarkable difference in the voice-timbre of the various species of frogs. in england, with its one indigenous variety, comparisons cannot be instituted. in countries, however, like australia, where numbers of species live in close proximity, the phenomenon is very marked. some only give voice in the evening or night, while others keep up their clamour throughout the day; with some the note is metallic and almost bell-like, while one diurnal croaking species, which congregates in great numbers in the eastern tasmanian coast district, emits a loud percussive note closely resembling that of a stone-breaker's hammer. on several occasions, in fact, when driving through the areas these frogs frequented, the impression produced by their croaking was so realistic that the next turn in the road was expected to reveal the presence of a large gang of road-makers engaged in negotiating a wayside stone-heap. one of the most remarkable species is the flying-frog of java. the power of flight is simulated in this instance on a different principle to that which obtains in any other group. it is not accomplished through the medium of abnormally produced ribs with connecting membrane, as occurs in the flying-lizards; nor by means of a flap of skin stretched between the fore and hind limbs, as in the flying-squirrels and phalangers. in place of these the toes of all four feet are abnormally prolonged, and their interspaces bridged over to their tips by webbing. the body of this frog is about inches long, while the webs of the feet, when fully expanded, cover collectively an area of fully square inches; they thus constitute aerial floats, which enable their owner to make prodigiously long flying leaps among the trees in which it takes up its abode. the colours of this singular species are striking; the back and limbs are a deep shining green, the under-surface and inner toes yellow, and the webs black rayed with yellow. in common with the typical tree-frogs, the toes of this javan flying variety all terminate in a dilated adhesive disk. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ ornamented horned toad. is accustomed to prowl round farmyards to pick up stray chicks and ducklings.] among the oddities of the frog tribe prominence may be given to the singular short-headed frogs of east africa. in these the head is so short, and the body, when puffed out, so nearly globular, that they have been aptly described as more nearly resembling india-rubber balls than frogs. another notable form, inhabiting chili, is remarkable for the circumstance that the throat-sac of the male is so enlarged and modified as to form a chamber on the under surface of the body. in this sac the eggs laid by the female are deposited and pass through their tadpole phases. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ european green tree-frog. indigenous to southern europe.] the horned frogs, or horned toads, of south america constitute a distinct and interesting group. they are of large size, stout and rotund, gorgeously apparelled, and truculent in bearing. there are nearly a dozen known species, the distinctive feature from which they take their name having reference to the stiff, horn-like development of their upper eyelids. the largest species is a native of brazil, whose body may be as much as inches long. this species has the horn-like processes of the eyelids most prominently developed. a somewhat smaller but conspicuously handsome species, plentiful in the argentine republic, is at the present time represented by several individuals at the regent's park gardens. in this animal the body is relatively more obese and toad-like than in the brazilian form, but the horn-like angle of the upper eyelid is only slightly produced. the colours vary somewhat, the general ground-tint of the upper-surface is bronze-green or yellow, upon which are distributed large spots and blotches of dark olive or chocolate, having light yellow or golden margins. the spots on the limbs are the widest, and almost take the character of cross-bands. bright claret-red lines are sometimes developed in and among the body-spots. a very interesting account of the habits of this frog appears in mr. w. h. hudson's "the naturalist in la plata." mr. hudson reports it as being common on the pampas as far south as the rio colorado, in patagonia. in the breeding-season it congregates in pools, and displays extraordinary vocal powers, which are exercised at night. the notes uttered are long, resembling those of a wind instrument, and are so powerful that on still evenings they may be heard distinctly a mile off. after the pairing-season the frogs disperse, and, retiring to moist places, bury themselves just deep enough to leave their broad green backs on a level with the surface. the eyes, under these conditions, look out as from a couple of watch-towers, and are on the _qui vive_ for any approaching prey. this consists of any moving creature which they can capture, such as other frogs and toads, birds, and small mammals. in very wet seasons they will frequent the neighbourhood of houses, and lie in wait for chickens and ducklings, often capturing and attempting to swallow objects much too large for them. in disposition they are exceedingly pugnacious, savagely biting at anything that comes near them. when teased, the creature swells itself out to such an extent that one expects to see it burst. it follows its tormentors about with slow, awkward leaps, its vast mouth wide open, and uttering an incessant harsh croaking sound. when they bite, these frogs hold on with the tenacity of a bull-dog, poisoning the blood of the creature seized with their glandular secretion. mr. hudson records two instances in which to his knowledge horses were killed through being bitten by a horned frog. one of them, while lying down, had been seized by a fold in the skin near the belly; the other had been grasped by the nose while cropping grass. in both instances the vicious frog was found dead, with jaws tightly closed, still hanging to the dead horse. "it would seem," mr. hudson remarks, "that they are sometimes incapable of letting go at will, and, like honey-bees, destroy themselves in these savage attacks." the tree-frogs represent one of the most distinct groups of the tribe. all its members are more or less arboreal in their habits, repairing to the water only during the breeding-season, or leaving the trees to seek shelter in the earth or underneath stones or timber for the purposes of hibernation. as an adaptation for their special habits, the toes of the tree-frogs are provided at their tips with suctorial disks, so that they can walk on perpendicular or smoothly glazed surfaces after the manner of the geckos among the lizards. another characteristic feature is the development on the under surface of their bodies of peculiar granular glands pierced by numerous pores, through the medium of which they rapidly absorb the moisture deposited by dew or rain on the surfaces of the leaves among which they live. the colours of the tree-frogs harmonise, as a rule, so completely with those of their leafy environments that their presence very readily escapes detection. many of the species, moreover, rival the chamæleon in their capacity of quickly adapting their tints to that of a newly occupied surrounding. green is naturally the dominant ground-tint of these frogs. often, however, it is intermixed with stripes and bands of other colours, while sometimes the green hue is entirely replaced, as in the blue or bicoloured tree-frog of south america, which is brilliant azure above and pure white beneath. a very beautiful australian species, abundant in tasmania and victoria, and appropriately named the golden tree-frog, has its grass-green overcoat thickly overlaid and embroidered with, as it were, the purest beaten gold. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ queensland tree-frogs. this species is in the habit of making itself at home in chamber water-jugs.] [illustration: _photo by h. g. f. spurrell, esq._] [_eastbourne._ common toad. toads are accredited with attaining an age of several hundred years.] one small species of tree-frog is common on the european continent, its distribution extending to north africa and eastward throughout asia north of the himalaya to japan. the species is imported into england in considerable numbers, and readily becomes acclimatised in a conservatory. green above and whitish beneath constitute the prevailing tints of this species, such uniformity being, however, varied by the presence of a darker, often nearly black, light-edged streak, that extends from the snout through the eye and ear along each side of the body, and sends a branch upwards and forwards on the loins. the male of this european species shares with many others of its tribe the possession of a large external vocal sac, which when inflated bulges out from the throat in a spherical form to dimensions little inferior to those of the creature's body. it may be observed of examples of these frogs acclimatised in a conservatory that the falling of heavy rain on the roof is an almost certain incentive to their croakings. by pouring water resonantly from a little height into another vessel, the writer also found that he could produce a frog chorus at command. the european and other tree-frogs deposit their eggs in the water, some species constructing a symmetrical crater-like nest of mud for the reception of the eggs and tadpoles. certain kinds, however, never leave the trees, having adapted their requirements to the naturally provided environments. thus one brazilian species deposits its eggs in the water almost invariably contained in the central cup of a tree, while another allied frog chooses for the same purpose the moist interstices at the bases of decaying banana leaves. a step further, resulting in complete independence of external water, is arrived at by the marsupial or pouched tree-frog of central america. in this species the female develops a capacious pouch on her back, which opens backward, and wherein both the eggs--primarily assisted to their position by the male--and tadpoles undergo their characteristic transformations. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ common toad. the toad is highly appreciated by the horticulturist on account of its utility in destroying insect-pests.] as a contrast to the foregoing exclusively tree-dwelling forms, one very fine species common in queensland has pronounced social proclivities. he is a fine fellow, with a bright pea-green coat and large, lustrous black eyes, and either with or without your leave invades your bedroom from the adjoining verandah, and makes the lip of your water-jug his headquarters. here he will "lie low" the livelong day. with the approach of night, however, this lethargy is thrown aside, and he hops forth, making excursions through every room in search of black-beetles, spiders, moths, or other acceptable quarry. in this vermin-destroying capacity he is a welcome guest to all except perhaps the ultra-squeamish housekeeper, his occasional offence of an upset glass or cup during his excited chase of the wily cockroach being readily condoned. he has a playful habit too, during his midnight wanderings, of climbing up walls and ceilings, to which he readily clings with his adhesive toes, and mayhap drops down on the recumbent form of some peaceful sleeper, who, if a stranger, possibly wakes with an alarming apprehension of snakes or other uncanny intruders. when once this queensland green frog has determined upon his camping-ground, he clings to it with remarkable pertinacity. you may deport him time after time, and even carry him half a day's journey into the wilderness, but he turns up again the next morning or the following one. toads are distinguished from frogs by their sluggish creeping movements and by their non-possession of teeth. there are over eighty species, having collectively an almost cosmopolitan range, though they are not found in australia, new guinea, madagascar, or the pacific islands. the common british species enjoys a wide distribution, being found throughout europe, asia excepting india, and north-west africa. its somewhat clumsy, brown, wrinkled, and warted body, with darker spots and markings on the upper-surface and white-speckled under-surface, will be familiar to every reader. with many it is an unwarranted object of aversion, and in country districts is not infrequently accredited with venomous properties. toad-spawn is plentiful in ponds and ditches in the early spring, and may be distinguished from that of the frog by the fact of its being deposited in chain-like strings, the eggs being arranged in a double alternating row, instead of in irregular masses, as obtains with the last-named species. the individual eggs are, moreover, smaller, and deposited two or three weeks later in the season than those of the frog. a second and somewhat rarer british toad is known as the natterjack. it may be distinguished from the ordinary species by the shorter hind limbs, the more prominent eyes, and the conspicuous yellow line down the middle of its back. it is also somewhat more active than the common species. the last member of the group which demands brief notice is the singular water-toad of surinam. this animal, also known as the pipa, is an inhabitant of the moist forest regions of the guianas and central america, and remarkable on account of the singular phenomena connected with its breeding habits. the eggs, from to over in number, are deposited by the female in the water in the ordinary manner, but at this stage they are taken in hand by the male and literally planted in the back of the female, whose skin in this region becomes abnormally soft and thickened at this season. the young toads undergo their complete development in the parental integument, each egg and its resulting embryo occupying a separate primarily cylindrical chamber, which by lateral pressure becomes hexagonal, resembling a honeycomb-cell. eighty-two days are occupied from the time of the deposition of the eggs until the young toads emerge into the outer world, their appearance as they make their _début_, with here a head and there one or it may be two limbs thrust out from the surface of the parent's back, being highly grotesque. ---- chapter vii. _newts and salamanders._ the newts and salamanders, or tailed amphibians, are distinguished from the preceding group of the frogs and toads by the retention of a tail throughout life. in this manner they very nearly resemble the advanced larval or tadpole phases of the latter. in some instances, in fact, the earlier or externally gill-bearing tadpole phase is persistent. the geographical distribution of the salamander tribe is much less extensive than that of the frogs and toads, but few are found south of the equator, and they are entirely unknown in australia or in africa south of the sahara. [illustration: _photo by james b. corr, esq._] [_dundee._ common or smooth newt. this harmless little creature is accredited by many country people with venomous properties.] two members of the group are indigenous to the british islands, where they are familiarly known as newts, askers, effets, or efts. the larger and handsomer of the two, the crested newt, occurs in ponds and ditches throughout the warmer months of the year. it grows to a length of nearly inches, of which the tail constitutes about one moiety. its colour is more usually blackish or olive-brown with darker circular spots above, and yellow or orange-red with black spots or marbling beneath, while the sides are speckled white. in the breeding-season the colours are more especially brilliant, and it is at this time that the male develops the serrated crest along the middle of its back, from which it takes its title. [illustration: _photo by james b. corr, esq._] [_dundee._ smooth newt. this species often travels long distances from water, taking up its residence in damp cellars and vaults.] the eggs, or spawn, of the newt are deposited in a different fashion to those of the frog and toad. in place of being aggregated together in an irregular or ribbon-like mass, each is deposited separately and attached to the leaves of water-plants. by the dexterous use of its feet, the female newt twists or folds the leaf, or a portion of it, around the egg, its viscid envelope allowing it to readily adhere, and it is thus effectually concealed or protected from injury. when about a quarter of a inch long, the tadpole escapes from the egg. at this early stage the gills are quite simple and the front limbs represented by mere knobs. immediately in front of the gills are two fleshy lobes, by means of which the tadpole can temporarily adhere to the surfaces of water-plants. within a fortnight the little animal has grown to double the size. the gills are now elegantly branched and the fore limbs well developed. the latter are, however, only bifurcated at their extremities, and it is some little time later that four distinct toes are possessed by each fore limb and that the hind limbs make their appearance. the gills, which have at this stage reached their most complex state of development, now begin to diminish in size, and are gradually absorbed, the lungs in the meantime acquiring their full functional proportions. the newt, having now passed from the fish-like to a reptilian stage, is unable to live entirely beneath the water, and is obliged to come up to the surface at intervals to breathe, or is adapted for living entirely upon land. newts in their fully matured state, except during the breeding-season, pass much of their time on land, and wander to considerable distances from the water. they at all times, however, exhibit a preference for moist situations, such as a shady wood or damp cellar. like the toad and blind-worm, the feeble, inoffensive newt has from the earliest time to the present day been the victim of the most unmerited dread and persecution among the uneducated. in some country districts it is not only accredited with the property of biting venomously, but of spitting fire into the bitten wound. a property that is actually possessed by these creatures is that of reproducing lost parts. the geckos and other lizards, as already recorded, are in the habit of reproducing their mutilated tails. the newt, however, beats that record to the extent of reproducing lost legs, and, it has been affirmed, eyes also. a second species of british newt, of somewhat smaller size and even more common than the crested one, is the common or smooth newt. it scarcely exceeds inches in length, and is distinguished by its smooth skin and relatively less conspicuous crest. in habits it is less addicted to a prolonged aquatic residence than the crested form, and wanders to more considerable distances from water. one of the largest and handsomest representatives of the family is the marbled newt of southern france and the spanish peninsula, which attains a length of or inches. the upper-parts of the male at the breeding-season are bright bronze-green with irregular black markings; its crest is ornamented with black and white vertical bars, and a silvery white band is developed along the sides of the tail. the crestless female has a distinctive orange streak running down the centre of the back. the true salamanders have no british representative, though the common or spotted species is abundant throughout central and southern europe. its conspicuous livery--in which bold markings of black and brilliant yellow are somewhat equally balanced, no two individuals, however, precisely corresponding--distinguishes it broadly from all other members of the group. the surface of the skin is very smooth and shining, and thickly set on the surface with glands and pores, from which a viscid and undoubtedly poisonous secretion is exuded. in common with that of other salamanders, the tail is cylindrical, instead of compressed and oar-shaped, as in the newts, and there is no crest down the back. the spotted salamander frequents moist situations in mountain and forest districts. it is essentially nocturnal in its habits, lying up during the day in some suitable rock or mossy crevice, exposure of its sensitive skin to the direct rays of the sun speedily having a fatal effect. large numbers of this salamander are sold as suitable and curious additions to the fernery and vivarium, and will survive for long periods, appropriate food and the necessary conditions of moisture being provided. snails, worms, and beetles and other insects constituting its natural food, it fulfils as useful a rôle as the toad in the extermination of insect-pests, and may be as strongly recommended for introduction to the greenhouse. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spotted salamanders. natives of central europe.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spotted salamander. the skin of the salamander exudes a poisonous secretion, and its bright colours advertise its non-edible properties to carnivorous birds and mammals.] salamanders repair to the water to breed, after the manner of newts, but the young are usually brought forth alive, though occasionally eggs are deposited, from which the young tadpoles almost immediately emerge. the number usually produced at a birth ranges from sixteen to thirty, but instances are recorded where there have been as many as fifty. the colossus of the tailed amphibian race is the giant salamander of china and japan, which may attain to a length of from to ½ feet. the body, like that of the ordinary salamanders, is broad and depressed; but the eyes are very small, and have no eyelids; and the tail, which is relatively short, is compressed, and has a fin both above and beneath. this salamander lives entirely in the water, and is adapted for such an aquatic life by the possession of both lungs and gills. in its native habitat it is most usually found in small, clear mountain-streams, at elevations of from to , feet above the sea-level, such streams being often not more than a foot in width, and more or less overgrown with grasses; in these the adults are usually found curled round the larger stones, while the smaller ones occupy holes and crevices among them. [illustration: _photo by james b. corr, esq._] [_dundee._ yellow phase of spotted salamanders. the first four or five months of the young salamander's life are passed in the water.] a representative of the tribe now commonly kept in aquaria is the mexican axolotl. it has usually a velvety black skin, and grows to a length of or inches. as generally known it presents a very newt-like aspect, or, more correctly, that advanced tadpole state of the newt in which the external gills are most highly developed. the animals breed freely in the water, eggs being laid, which pass through the earlier tadpole to the adult phase. up to within comparatively recent times the foregoing metamorphoses were supposed to represent the alpha and omega of the animal's existence. some exceptional examples, however, bred in an aquarium in which rocks projected out of the water, surprised their owners by gradually absorbing their supposed persistent gills, also their fin-like tail-membranes, and, crawling out on the rocks, were transformed into ordinary salamanders. the olm, or blind proteus, of the subterranean caves of dalmatia and carniola is a form with persistent external gills. nearly allied is the north american form known as the furrowed salamander. the latter, however, living under more normal conditions, has well-developed eyes. while possessing the customary number of limbs, the number of toes in the american type is four to each foot. in the european proteus there are but three toes to the front and two toes to the hinder limb. in a yet lower form, the siren salamander of the south-eastern united states, a yet more primitive persistently gill-bearing condition is presented. [illustration: _photographed & coloured by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._ _printed at lyons, france._ western australian scarlet rock-cod. a member of the sea-perch family not infrequently exposed for sale in the freemantle fish market; having excellent edible qualities.] [illustration: _photographed & coloured by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._ _printed at lyons, france._ freemantle devil-fish or armed gurnard. an australian representative of the gurnard & bull-head family, having spines which can inflict exceedingly painful wounds.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian lung-fish. this fish is also known as the burnett river salmon.] ---- _book iv. fishes._ ---- chapter i. _lung-fishes and chimÆras._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. though amongst the lowest of the backboned animals, the fishes are nevertheless an exceedingly interesting group, distinguished from all others by the possession of fins, which are divisible into two series,--an unpaired, ranged along the middle of the back and abdomen, and including the tail-fin; and a paired series, representing the fore and hind limbs of land animals. the body is either clothed with scales or naked, and, being perfectly sustained by the water, needs no support from the fins, which serve as balancing-organs. in the brilliancy and beauty of their coloration fishes display a variety that cannot be excelled by any other animals. furthermore, the coloration is often rendered still more beautiful from the fact that it can undergo rapid changes of hue. frequently this coloration is of a protective character, causing the fish to harmonise with its surroundings, and so escape the observation of its enemies. the colours of living fishes can only, for the most part, be indicated in the present pages when a pattern exists by the formation of stripes or spots; but the wonderful variations in the form of the body will probably prove a revelation to many. lung-fishes. the lung-fishes are a peculiarly important group, inasmuch as they form a connecting-link between the class fishes and the land-dwelling amphibians--the class containing the frogs and toads and their allies. they are accorded this position mainly because, like amphibians, they possess true lungs, which almost entirely replace the gills, the breathing-organs of other fishes. one of the best known of the lung-fishes is the australian barramundi, or lung-fish of queensland--the burnett or dawson salmon of the settlers. it lives among the weeds at the bottom of muddy rivers, rising frequently to the surface to take in atmospheric air by the lungs, the gills alone being insufficient for breathing purposes. the flesh, which is salmon-coloured, is much esteemed as food. the adult fish is said to attain to a weight of lbs. and a length of feet. other lung-fishes, eel-like in form, occur in the rivers of africa and south america. the african species is perhaps the better known of the two. on the approach of the dry season it buries itself in the mud at the bottom of the river, and when the latter becomes dry the mud hardens, holding the fish a prisoner till the return of the wet season several months later. a considerable number of these fishes have from time to time been dug out and sent to england enclosed in the mud into which they had retreated. the writer remembers assisting in the liberation of some during the last meeting of the british association at oxford. so hard had the prison-walls become that the mass had to be plunged into tepid water; this soon brought about a dissolution of the soil, and in a short time the fishes were swimming about as if in their native rivers. the african lung-fish is known also as the mud-fish; its american relative as the lepidosiren, or south american mud-fish. in the american species, as in its african relative, the fins are whip-like in form; but the hinder or ventral pair, which correspond to the hind limbs of the higher vertebrated animals, are remarkable in that in the male they develop during the breeding-season numerous thread-like processes, richly supplied with blood, the function of which is as yet unknown. the young, both of the african and south american mud-fishes, bear external gills closely resembling those of the tadpoles of the frog and other amphibia; traces of these gills remain throughout life in the african form. chimÆras. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bottle-nosed chimÆra. the remarkable structure in front of the mouth is probably an organ of touch.] shark-like in their general characters, the chimÆras, now briefly considered, are nevertheless regarded as constituting a very distinct group of great antiquity. the modern representatives of the group are few in number--five species in all. of these, the species shown in the accompanying photograph and the sea-cat are remarkable for the possession of a movable tentacle on the snout. the under surface of this tentacle is armed with small spines, and fits into a hollow in the head. the first back-fin is supported in front by a strong spine, and can be depressed into a sheath in the body-walls. the teeth take the form of large plates closely united with the jaws, and studded with hardened points, or "tritors." one species widely distributed in the mediterranean and atlantic is taken usually in deep water; it is the largest living species, often attaining a yard in length. its occurrence is, however, very erratic, months elapsing without any being taken; at other times several will be caught in a few days. a closely allied fish is often exposed for sale in the lisbon markets, where it ranks with the sharks as a food-fish. the egg of the bottle-nosed chimÆra is perhaps the only egg with a mimetic resemblance to a foreign object. it is elliptical in form, and bordered by a fringe, so as to present a close resemblance to a piece of seaweed. in the next chapter we begin the description of the great group of fan- and fringe-finned fishes, which, briefly, embrace all fishes not grouped among the lung-fishes, chimæras, or sharks. the anatomical characters used for the purpose of classifying this great group are not discussed here, save only in a few cases of prime importance, when features such as can readily be observed, without demanding an intimate knowledge of anatomy, are selected. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ white perch. the so-called white perch is a species of bass, found in the rivers of the united states of america.] [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ sea-bass. this is another american member of the perch tribe.] ---- chapter ii. _the perch family._ by john bickerdyke, m.a. the thick-set, golden-bronze, dark-barred, hog-backed fish known as the perch has many striking characteristics, and is remarkable, among other things, for the vast number of its relations scattered all over the world. so numerous, indeed, are its cousins that ichthyologists have had to divide the perch family into a large number of groups. there are various species of perch found, as a matter of fact, in the fresh-waters and on all the coasts of the temperate and tropical regions. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ large-mouthed black bass. the introduction of this fish into the fresh-waters of great britain has been frequently urged.] the common perch, which is widely distributed over europe, northern asia, and north america, is properly an inhabitant of rivers, lakes, and ponds, but sometimes descends to brackish water. it runs up to about lbs. in weight, and is carnivorous, eating most kinds of fish small enough for its swallow, including the fry of its own species, which are, in some waters, an excellent bait. in england perch spawn in the spring, the eggs being held in a band-like mass of gelatinous matter deposited on weeds or the roots of trees not far below the surface of the water. the spawn, as a matter of fact, is often collected by fish-culturists and hatched out. swans and water-fowl generally eat the eggs by the million, and wherever perch are preserved these birds should, so far as possible, be kept from the water during the spawning-season. at henley and other places on the thames those interested in fishery preservation place wire netting round the boughs and weeds where perch have spawned, to prevent the eggs being eaten by swans and ducks. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ butter-fish. a native of the tropical parts of the indo-pacific ocean.] perch are usually termed voracious fish, but when large are extremely shy and difficult of capture. there is a story told of a hungry little lake-perch which had its eye hooked out by accident. the angler, leaving the eye on the hook, lowered it into the water again, and a moment after hauled out a one-eyed perch! [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ american "sun-fish." not to be confounded with the true sun-fishes described in chapter vii.] among the species of perch found in british waters are the ruffe, or pope, a very small and common river-fish of no great value; the bass, a fine sporting sea-fish, which comes up the estuaries of rivers to spawn, and is much sought after by the amateur sea-fisher; the comber, or gaper, a fairly common fish on the coasts of the west of england; a rare sea-fish known as the dusky perch, caught occasionally off the south of england; the stone-bass, also called the wreck-fish, from its habit of following wreckage in the sea; and, lastly, the dentex, a rare species, not often caught off the british coasts, which attains the weight of about lbs. on the continent there is the pike-perch, a fish having the appearance of a cross between a pike and a perch, and growing to or lbs.; this voracious species is found in the lakes and rivers of the temperate northern zones, and is much esteemed for food. in the tropics there are a number of true sea-perches, which rarely enter fresh-water; they include the anthias, most beautifully coloured with pink and yellow, of which there are between and species. some of the tropical sea-perches grow to an enormous size, and there are instances recorded of bathers having been attacked by them at aden. several monsters are stuffed in the natural history museum at south kensington. among the coral-islands live many very beautifully coloured sea-perches of various species. perhaps the most remarkable of all is the boar-fish, or bastard dory, which has a prolonged snout, no doubt used for getting out its food from the crannies among rocks and other awkward places. ---- chapter iii. _scaly-fins, red mullets, sea-breams, scorpion-fishes, slime-heads, tassel-fish, meagres, and sword-fishes._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. for quaintness of shape, combined with beauty of coloration, the family of scaly-finned fishes has no rivals. the name by which they are collectively known refers to the scaly covering which invests the bases of what are called the median fins--the fins seated along the middle of the back and abdomen. a large number of distinct species have been described, the majority of which occur in tropical seas, and especially in the neighbourhood of coral-reefs; but some frequent the mouths of rivers, which they occasionally ascend for a short distance. all are of relatively small size, of carnivorous habits, and but little used for food. the pattern of coloration commonly takes the form of bands or stripes, those in which this pattern is most marked being known as zebra-fish. one of the most beautiful is the emperor-fish, which ranges from the east coast of africa to the indian and malayan seas. the ground-colour of the body is deep blue, relieved by some thirty golden-yellow stripes running from the shoulder backwards to the tail. crossing the head is a crescent-shaped bar of black edged with yellow, whilst a similarly coloured patch runs upward from the pectoral fins to within a short distance of the top of the back. this species, which attains a length of inches, is highly esteemed for food in india. the most beautiful of all, perhaps, is the zebra-fish of the indo-malayan seas, which has the ground-colour of yellow, striped with vertical bars of blue edged with brown, a yellow tail, and an anal fin barred with narrow blue lines. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ the miscalled archer-fish. so named on account of its supposed habit of shooting water at insects.] a tubed-shaped mouth is a common feature of the fishes of this group, and two indian species in which this character is especially well developed have acquired the habit of shooting therefrom a drop of water at insects resting on overhanging foliage fringing the sea or along the banks of rivers. having sighted its quarry, it would seem the fish moves upwards to the surface of the water, and with careful aim ejects its liquid bullet with such unerring precision that its prey is invariably knocked down and speedily seized. on this account these fishes are commonly known as archer-fishes. the archer-fishes are sometimes kept in tubs of water, for the purpose of affording amusement to their captors. somehow the shooting prowess of these fishes has been accredited to an allied form, shown in the above photograph. the peculiar shape of these fishes is sufficiently indicated by the photograph already mentioned, but a large series would be necessary to show the numerous variations, some of which are quite remarkable. the brilliancy of the coloration is probably protective, since the most brightly coloured forms live amongst coral-reefs built by gorgeous polyps, or coral-animals, so that amidst such surroundings the fishes are quite inconspicuous. the red mullets occur chiefly in tropical seas, but one species inhabits european waters, and occur sparsely around the british islands. occasionally, however, these fishes visit the british coasts in vast shoals, more than , having been taken in a single night in august, , in weymouth bay, whilst in may, , , were taken off yarmouth in one week. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ striped red mullet. the head is ornamented with brilliant blue and violet stripes.] although about forty species of red mullet are known, the european species is the most prized as a food-fish. its fame, indeed, extends backwards to the time of the ancient romans, who sought far and wide for large specimens, paying ruinous prices for them. "then, as nowadays," writes dr. günther, "it was considered essential for the enjoyment of this delicacy that the fish should exhibit the red colour of its integument. the romans brought it, for that purpose, living into the banqueting-room, and allowed it to die in the hands of the guests, the red colour appearing in all its brilliancy during the death-struggle of the fish. the fishermen of our times attain the same object by scaling the fish immediately after its capture, thus causing a permanent contraction of the chromatophores containing the red pigment." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ brown snapper. the snappers are esteemed for the table.] beneath the chin of the red mullets will be noticed two long finger-like processes; these can be thrust forward and moved about, or laid back in a groove between the sides of the lower jaw, and are used to rake about in the sand and gravel at the bottom of the sea to discover burrowing shrimps or worms. even dead food they are said to feel with these barbels, as they are called, before biting. the red colour has been observed in the marine aquarium at plymouth to become darker when the fish rise from the ground, and to pale away when they descend. two forms of red mullet occur in european waters, but it is not yet finally settled whether they represent distinct species. the one is the plain red mullet, of a rich carmine-red above and silvery white below; the other the striped mullet, or sur-mullet, which has a beautiful red colour on the back and sides, and from three to five bright yellow bands passing from head to tail. till recently the striped form was regarded as the female of the plain red mullet, but many authorities incline to the view that the two are distinct species. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ red sea-bream. some species of sea-bream occasionally enter fresh-water.] the sea-breams are fishes of the tropical and temperate regions, represented by a considerable number of species. only one is at all abundant on the british coasts, and this occurs especially on the south and south-west coasts of england and ireland. it is of an orange-scarlet colour above, and somewhat silvery on the sides, with a large black spot on the shoulder. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ snapper. an australian species of sea-bream.] several species of sea-bream occur in australia, where they are known as snappers. one of the largest of these, which attains a length of more than feet and a weight of over lbs., is not only considered excellent eating, but is also the most popular sport-yielding fish of that colony. the ancient romans kept a species of sea-bream, the gilt-head, in their vivariums, where it grew extremely fat. this species is said to stir up the sand with its tail, to discover buried shell-fish. it is particularly fond of mussels, and the noise it makes in crunching them between its jaws is loud enough to be heard by the fishermen. nearly allied to the sea-breams are a group known, for want of a better name, as the thick-rayed fishes, some of which rank as of prime importance among the food-fishes of the british colonies. a general idea of the shape of the members of this family may be gathered from the photograph of an australian groper. the name of long-fin, given to one species, is bestowed on account of the fact that one or more of the rays of the breast-fin on each side is drawn out into a filament, often of very considerable length, which is used as an organ of touch. in other species, where the elongation is less, and more rays have undergone modification, an auxiliary organ of locomotion is the result. at the cape of good hope species of long-fin are very abundant, and preserved in large quantities for export. other members of this family lack the elongated fin-rays altogether. the fishes known as the tumpeters of new zealand and tasmania belong to this section. they are considered by the colonists the best flavoured of any native fishes, and are eaten smoked as well as fresh. but two species are known, one ranging from to lbs. in weight, and the other, a much smaller form, scarcely attaining a weight of lbs.; the latter is the more abundant of the two, though confined to the coast of new zealand. [illustration: _photo by w. saville kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ king-snapper. a member of the group of slime-heads.] in the scorpion-fishes we have a small group including several forms remarkable for their ugliness, having added to an uncouth shape skinny appendages, which, projecting from the body, resemble rather leaves of seaweed than parts of the fish. these appendages, by their waving motion, serve either to attract other fishes or to afford concealment by their resemblance to the surrounding weeds. the ground-dwelling forms have some of the rays of the breast-fin modified into finger-like processes, like those of the gurnards, by which they both crawl and feel. some members of the family bear a rather close resemblance to the sea-perches. in addition to their ugliness, some have become especially offensive by the transformation of certain of the fin-spines into poison-organs. one of the ugliest, and at the same time most dreaded, of the family is the stone-fish figured on page . each spine of the back fin is grooved. at the lower end of these grooves lies a pear-shaped bag containing a milky poison, which is conveyed to the point of the spine by ducts lying in the grooves. the native fishermen carefully avoid handling these fish; but persons walking with bare feet in the sea step upon the spines, and, receiving the poison into the wound, are killed. [illustration: photo by _w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian groper. highly esteemed as a food-fish.] all the scorpion-fish are carnivorous, and differ from the majority of fishes in that they produce their young alive. the smallest of the spiny-finned fishes are members of this group, some scarcely exceeding ½ inch in length. they are common amid the coral-reefs of the pacific. passing over some comparatively unimportant members of this family, we come to a small group of vegetable-feeders from the indo-pacific, of which the teuthis is one of the best known representatives. they are chiefly remarkable for the fact that the abdominal cavity is surrounded by a complete ring of bones, and that the air-bladder is forked at both ends. some are rather brilliantly coloured. the slime-heads, which constitute the next family, derive their name from the presence on the head of large mucus-bearing cavities covered with a thin skin. the eyes are always of great size, indicating a deep-sea habitat, or at least a depth only dimly lighted. all indeed, save two species, descend considerably below the surface, one species having been found in fathoms. the species of one genus are believed to inhabit still greater depths, for their eyes are extremely small, indicating degeneration through disuse. the copious supply of slime is also an indication of a deep-sea habitat. the members of this family vary much in size and shape, but the most remarkable of all is a small and rare species found off japan, in which the scales have joined together to form a perfectly solid armour, whilst the paired fins of the abdomen have been reduced to a single spine, with a few vestiges of other rays. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ indian weaver-fish. one of the group of scorpion-fishes.] the next family, a comparatively small one, includes the tassel-fish, so called from the long and delicate feelers springing from the base of the breast-fins, of which they originally formed a part. varying in number from three to fourteen, these feelers can be moved independently of the fins. as these fishes all live in muddy water, and have the eyes obscured by films, such tactile organs are necessary, in order to enable them to procure their food. in some species they attain an enormous length. the flesh is highly esteemed. some species have an air-bladder, which yields a good kind of isinglass, and forms an article of commerce in the east indies. the majority are small species, but some attain to a length of feet. no less important than the preceding group, from an economic point of view, are the meagres, a family of coast-haunting species of the tropical and sub-tropical atlantic and indian oceans, exhibiting a special preference for the mouths of large rivers, into which they freely enter. some, indeed, have become entirely fresh-water species. one of the most interesting of the family is the species to which the name of drum has been given, from the extraordinary noise which it produces--though some other kinds emit similar noises. "these sounds," dr. günther writes, "can better be expressed by the word 'drumming' than any other. they appear to be very frequently heard by persons in vessels lying at anchor off the coasts of the united states, where these fishes are very common. the precise method by which these sounds are produced is not known. since they are accompanied by a tremulous motion of the vessel, it seems more probable that they are due to the beating of the tails of the fish against the bottom of the ship to get rid of the parasites with which that part of their body is infested." the drum attains a length of more than feet and a weight of over lbs. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ ragged sea-scorpion. a second representative of the scorpion-fishes.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ stone-fish. a species of scorpion-fish dreaded on account of its poisonous spines.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ tassel-fish. valued for the isinglass it yields.] though forming but a single small family, the sword-fishes are nevertheless to be reckoned amongst the most interesting of living fishes. attaining a length of from to feet, exceeding vigilant, pugnacious, and powerful, they are amongst the most formidable of all fishes. they derive their name from the great development of the upper jaw, which forms a huge, tapering, sword-like weapon, covered along its under-surface with numerous small teeth. they attack, apparently without provocation, whales and other large cetaceans, which they invariably succeed in killing by repeated thrusts of the sword. it appears that occasionally sword-fishes make a mistake, and, after the fashion of don quixote, tilt at windmills, in the shape of large vessels, under the impression that they are whales. but this most grave error of judgment brings with it a heavy penalty, in that, having no power to make effective backward movements, the sword remains fixed, and is eventually broken off in the struggle for freedom. frank buckland reminds us that in the museum of the royal college of surgeons, london, is a section of the bow of a whaler impaled by one of these swords. that portion of the sword which remains is foot long and inches in circumference. "at one single blow," he writes, "the fish had plunged his sword through, and completely transfixed ½ inches of solid timber. the sword had of course broken off and prevented a dangerous leak in the ship." in the british museum is a second specimen of a ship's side in which the sword of a sword-fish is fixed. [illustration: photo by a. s. rudland & sons. sword-fish. the huge back-fin is said to be often used as a sail when the fish is floating near the surface of the water.] ---- chapter iv. _hair-tails, horse-mackerels, sea-bats, dories, mackerels, sucking-fishes, weavers, frog-fishes, angler-fishes, bull-heads, and gurnards._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden._] [_cape town._ snoek. this fish is also known as the barracuda.] of the family of hair-tails perhaps the most important members are the scabbard- or frost-fish and the snoek. the first is common in the mediterranean and the warmer parts of the atlantic, extending northwards to the south coast of england, where it occurs at rare intervals. it is also known in new zealand, where it is called the frost-fish, and furthermore is regarded as one of the most delicious fish of the colony, its flesh being fine, tender, and of delicate flavour. on this account it is much in demand, but the supply is very uncertain. the conditions of capture, indeed, of this fish are unparalleled in the annals of fishing, for it can be taken neither with the rod nor the net. the would-be captor has to wait patiently under favourable conditions on the seashore for the fish to come and cast itself up on the beach. this happens with tolerable certainty during the autumn and winter months, when the sea is calm and the nights frosty. then the frost-fish come ashore alive, wriggling through the surf on to the beach. two explanations have been offered for this extraordinary conduct. one is that the fish commits suicide; being pursued by a shark or other enemy, it prefers uncertain life on land to certain death at sea! the other and more probable hypothesis has it that the air-bladder of the fish becomes distended to enable it to reach the surface for food--for it is a deep-sea fish--and that the keen, frosty air prevents it from compressing the bladder and returning to the depths; thus it gradually drifts into shallow water, is hurled shorewards by the surf, and finally wriggles itself on to the beach to die. the long stretches of sandy beach a few miles from dunedin are a favourite resort for frost-fish catching. two or three men camp out at the foot of the cliffs overhanging the beach, pitching a tent and lighting a huge fire, so as to render life bearable during the long vigils. the "fishing" consists in perambulating the beach up and down shortly before dawn, and keeping a sharp look-out in the surf for the silver streak which betokens the approach of a victim. as soon as a fish is descried, all that remains to be done is to seize hold of it and drag it ashore, if it has not already stranded itself, and then dispatch it. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ fringed horse-mackerel. note the great length of the fin-rays.] [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ horse-mackerel. the strong keel formed by ridged scales running down each side of the tail is a characteristic feature.] the barracuda, or snoek, is likewise a new zealand species, attaining a length of feet. it is found also at the cape and south australia. in new zealand the flesh is exported to mauritius and batavia as a regular article of commerce, being worth £ per ton. [illustration: _photos by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ john dories. these two photographs show the difference in the jaws when protruded and when at rest.] the horse-mackerels, or scads, are represented by some very bizarre-looking forms. it is a large family, belonging to tropical and temperate seas. one species, the common horse mackerel, is common in british seas. many members of the family have the hinder portion of the body on each side armed with large plates, well seen in the accompanying photographs; others have the median fins produced into long filamentous processes. all are eatable, and some highly esteemed as food. one of the most remarkable is the pilot-fish of tropical and temperate seas, occurring occasionally off the british coasts. it derives its name from its habit of accompanying ships and large sharks. from this habit of accompanying ships it was regarded by the ancients as a sacred fish, since they considered it pointed out the way to embarrassed sailors, and announced the vicinity of land by suddenly disappearing. the close companionship between the pilot-fish and the shark has excited much comment, many observers believing that the former was of great use to the latter in guiding it to its food. how this is done is graphically described by dr. meyer, who writes: "the pilot swims constantly in front of the shark; we ourselves have seen three instances in which the shark was led by the pilot. when the shark neared the ship, the pilot swam close to the snout or near one of the pectoral fins of the animal. sometimes he darted rapidly forwards or sidewards, as if looking for something, and constantly went back again to the shark. when we threw overboard a piece of bacon fastened on a great hook, the shark was about twenty paces from the ship; with the quickness of lightning the pilot came up, smelt at the dainty, and instantly swam back again to the shark, swimming many times round his snout and splashing, as if to give him exact information as to the bacon. the shark now began to put himself in motion, the pilot showing him the way, and in a moment he was fast upon the hook." as dr. günther remarks, commenting on this account, one may entertain reasonable doubts as to the usefulness of the pilot to the shark in this instance! it is probable that the pilots follow the sharks for the sake of feeding on fragments scattered by the latter, and also for the sake of picking off the parasites with which sharks, in common with other large fish, are infested; furthermore, the pilot, being but a small fish, obtains greater security from enemies when in the company of its giant friend. the habit of seeking the company of more powerful or otherwise offensive animals is apparent also in other members of this family, the young of the horse-mackerel seeking shelter beneath the "umbrella" of a jelly-fish till they are big enough to defend themselves. but the most remarkable members of this family are the sea-bats. few in species and confined to the red sea, indian ocean, and western pacific, they are nevertheless in those regions very common. although not used as food-fishes, they are of extreme interest on account of their shape, which is nearly oval and much compressed from side to side, and the form of their fins, which in some species are excessively developed. young sea-bats differ markedly from the adults in the much greater length of the fin-rays, so much so that they have frequently been described as distinct species. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [milford-on-sea. long-finned dory. this species closely resembles a fossil form. it has nothing to do with the true dories, but is one of the coral-fishes, and is placed here for the sake of contrast.] we pass now to the dories, which recall the sea-bats in the oval and compressed form of the body. the resemblance to sea-bats is, indeed, so close that the latter are frequently described as dories. the mouth of the members of this family is so constructed that, when opened, the upper jaw is thrust forward, and the whole mouth forms a kind of long tube. dories inhabit the seas of the temperate regions, two species being fairly common in british waters. the best known of these two is perhaps the john dory, the largest specimens of which attain to a weight of lbs. mr. cunningham has described the very peculiar way in which the dory captures its prey. "it does not," he writes, "overtake it by superior speed like the mackerel, or lie in wait for it like the angler, but stalks it and approaches it by stealth. it is able to do this in consequence of the extreme thinness of its body and the peculiar movement of its hinder dorsal and ventral fins. the dory places itself end on towards the fish it desires to devour, and in this position it is evident that it excites no alarm on the part of its prey. the appearance of the dory, seen in this way, is a mere line in the water, to which no particular significance can be attached. i have not particularly noticed the effect of the ribbons of membrane which project from the dorsal fin. but i have observed that the movements of the dory are very gradual, except in turning; it alters the position of its body by a turn of the tail or side-fins, and then swims forward by vibrating the second dorsal and ventral, a movement which causes very slight disturbance of the water. the appearance of the dory in these actions is suggestive of suppressed excitement, his eyes being fixed on his prey. i do not recollect seeing him actually swallow another fish, but have no doubt that he gets near enough to a sprat, for example, without alarming it, to seize it by the sudden elongation of his curious jaws." the way in which these jaws are elongated is admirably shown in the photograph on page . passing now to the mackerel family, we arrive at a group of considerable importance from an economic point of view. extremely active, migrating, and predaceous, mackerel swim in shoals and seize their prey with great voracity, hunting merely by sight, and snapping at anything moving through the water, especially if it is silvery, like a small surface-fish. the various species differ greatly in size, ranging from the common mackerel of about inches long to the giant tunny weighing nearly half a ton. common mackerel swim in vast shoals, or "schools," as they are called, and one half a mile wide and at least twenty miles long is on record. mackerel feed on the young of other fish and small fish generally, and, when these are not to be had, on minute crabs and shrimps. they are very prolific, a single mackerel laying from , to , eggs. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ john dory. in the centre of each side is a round black spot surrounded by a pale yellow ring.] the tunnies are amongst the largest of the surface-fishes of the ocean. abundant in the mediterranean sea, they occur occasionally in british waters. for centuries the flesh of the tunny has been held in high regard as food, and it is frequently seen in the lisbon markets at the present day. the flesh, which is as red as beef, is cut up and sold by weight. the bonito closely resembles the tunny, but is a much smaller fish, which preys largely upon flying-fishes, which it follows for long distances. peculiarly interesting are the sucking-fishes. the name by which they are commonly known is bestowed on account of the presence of a large oval sucker, placed on the top of the head and extending backwards over the shoulders--an organ formed by modification of the back-fin. by means of this sucking-disk these fishes are enabled to attach themselves to sharks, turtles, ships, or any large object floating in the sea. the hold which they obtain is so strong that it is almost impossible to remove them by force. being poor swimmers, this method of transportation enables them to pass rapidly to fresh feeding-grounds. the natives of zanzibar, cuba, and torres straits are said to employ sucking-fishes in the capture of sleeping turtles, the fish being secured by a ring round the tail, and liberated as soon as a sufficiently near approach to the quarry has been made. about ten different species are known, the bulkiest of which attains a length of feet and a weight of about lbs., a longer but more slender species measuring feet. carnivorous, of small size, and feeble swimming-powers, the family of the weavers are remarkable rather for their disagreeable qualities than anything else, though at least one species is declared to be excellent eating. the star-gazer is a particularly ugly-looking fish, especially noteworthy in that the eyes, which are on the top of the head, can be raised and depressed at pleasure, whilst the heavy jaw is armed with a freely moving tentacle, which, waving about in the current of water drawn in at the mouth, serves as a lure to attract small fishes, the rest of the body being concealed between stones at the bottom of the sea. [illustration: _photo by w saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sucking-fish. by means of the sucker on the top of its head this fish attaches itself to ships and larger fishes.] the common weaver is a well-known british fish, much dreaded on account of the poisonous wounds which it inflicts unless most carefully handled, the poison being introduced by the spines of the back-fin and gill-cover. no special poison-organs seem to be developed, but the mucous secretion around the spines has poisonous properties. as the flesh of this fish is extremely palatable, fishermen remove the spines at once directly after capture. should a wound be inflicted, great suffering and occasionally death follows. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ larger weaver. the spines of the first back-fin and of the gill-cover are highly poisonous.] passing over one or two unimportant groups, we come to the family of the frog-fishes, which, but for the fact that many of its members are poisonous, calls for no special comment here. one species, however, from the coasts of central america, possesses the distinction of having the most highly developed poison-organs of any fishes, being equalled only by the venomous snakes. the poison-weapons are a spine on the gill-cover and two spines of the back-fin. the former is of the same shape as the hollow venom-fang of a snake, perforated at both ends. a little bag containing the poison lies at the base of the spine, and when pressed by the spine as it makes its puncture ejects its contents into the body of the latter, whence it escapes from the hole in the top. the structure of the back-spines is similar. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ angler-fish. this hideous species is also called the frog-fish.] the family of the angler-fishes contain more strange forms than any other. living on the sea-bottom and seeking their prey by stealth, angler-fishes do not need powerful swimming-muscles; consequently the size of the body and tail has become considerably reduced, so that the head, relatively to the rest of the body, is unusually large. the head, jaws, and belly are indeed of great size and capacity. the side or paired fins are not used for swimming, but have become modified to serve as feet, enabling the fish to shuffle along the ground. a further remarkable feature of these fishes is seen in the back-fin, the rays of which are very long, the foremost being provided with a flag-like flap of skin at the top, extremely sensitive to touch, and playing a very important part in the capture of food. it seems that the fish commonly lies concealed on the sea-bottom, with this "flag" erected. from its general resemblance to the surrounding seaweed it is quite inconspicuous, so that passing fishes take no trouble to avoid it. if by any chance they should touch it, however, the jaws beneath open instantly, and the unfortunate trespasser is suddenly engulfed. this elaborate and sensitive mechanism has been likened to a spring-trap, which is always set, and never betrays its presence. it seems probable, however, that this flag serves also as a lure, passing fishes being occasionally attracted by the waving flap of skin. should they become sufficiently curious as to proceed to touch it, capture in the manner above described is certain. certain deep-sea forms have a luminous organ in the place of the flap of skin, and this certainly seems to act only as a lure. angler-fishes are found all over the world; some, as we have seen, are bottom-fishes, some inhabit deep sea, whilst others lie hidden amongst floating seaweed, to which they cling by means of their arm-like fins. only one species occurs in british waters. its method of spawning is remarkable, in that the eggs are laid in the form of large raft-like sheets, which float on the surface of the sea. the number of eggs laid by a single fish has been computed to be , , . a single sheet of spawn may measure from to feet in breadth and from to feet long. [illustration: _photo by by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ butterfly-gurnard. the head of all gurnards is encased in an armour of bony plates.] the bull-heads and gurnards, constituting the next family, are characterised by the spiny armature of the head and the great size of the breast-fins. the former are represented in british waters by four species, one of which, the miller's-thumb, inhabits fresh-water. the marine species include the sea-scorpion and father-lasher. the bull-heads on the indian and australian coasts are represented by the closely allied flat-heads, or crocodile-fishes, in which the head, as its name implies, is much depressed, and fully armed with spines, which are highly poisonous, and cause a violent irritation. these fishes live in shallow water, lying on the bottom, with which their colours harmonise so completely that they are practically invisible. the very large ventral fins--those seen in the photograph immediately behind the breast-fins--are of great use in locomotion. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ reel-gurnard. the curious finger-like processes are used as organs of touch as well as locomotion.] the gurnards are well-known fishes, common on the coasts of britain, and extending from tropical to arctic seas. their curiously shaped heads give them a very quaint appearance. one of the most remarkable peculiarities of these fishes is the separate condition of some of the rays of the breast-fins, which form finger-like organs, used to feel the ground and rake over loose stones, to discover small shrimps and other animals hidden underneath. furthermore, the gurnards are peculiar in that they are enabled to communicate one with another by means of sounds produced by the expulsion of air from one compartment of the air-bladder to another. the females are much more common than the males, and also slightly larger. the young are remarkable for the enormous size of the breast-fins, though even in the adult these are unusually large. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ bar-tailed flat-head. a shallow-water fish.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ rock flat-head. about forty species of flat-heads are known.] close allies of the gurnards are the flying-gurnards, which, by reason of the extreme development of the breast-fins, are enabled to take flying leaps out of the water. one species is common in the mediterranean. the flying-gurnard is not to be mistaken for the true "flying-fish," or flying-herring, described later. the curious mail-clad armed bull-head, or pogge, commonly taken in shrimp-nets, is an ally of the flying-gurnard. ---- chapter v. _lump-suckers, gobies, blennies, barracudas, grey mullets, sticklebacks and their allies, garpike, and flying-fishes._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. ugly in appearance and carnivorous in habits, the sucker-fish family are distinguished by the presence of a large round sucker on the belly, with which they adhere to rocks. furthermore, the sucker-fishes are remarkable for the softness of their skeleton, which may be cut through at any point with an ordinary knife. the male lump-sucker is smaller than the female, but much more brightly coloured, especially during the breeding-season, when he dons a livery of blue, scarlet, and yellow. he is also a model parent, always remaining near the eggs and keeping a constant stream of fresh water running over them by the action of his breast-fins. a single female may produce as many as , eggs in a single season. in scotland the male is known as the cock and the female as the hen paddle. the species is more common off the coasts of scotland than elsewhere in the british islands. like the lump-suckers, the gobies, which form the next family, have the ventral fins modified so as to form a sucking-disk, which is used as an anchor. but the gobies are easily distinguished by their smaller size, elongated bodies, hard skeleton, and the disposition and structure of the fins, characters which need not be discussed further. one species, the spotted goby, or pole-wing, found in the thames, is noteworthy on account of its nest-building habits. the male chooses the empty shell of a cockle or mussel, selecting one with its concave surface downwards. beneath this the sand is cleared away and cemented by a special glue-like secretion formed by the skin of the fish. a cylindrical tunnel is then built to give access to the nest, and the whole is covered over with loose stones. in the nest-chamber formed by the shell the eggs are laid, the male immediately after mounting guard over them till they hatch, which they do in about nine days. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ lump-sucker. known also as the cock and hen paddle.] another species, the pellucid goby, is remarkable in that its whole life's course is run in a single year. in june and july the eggs are laid; they are hatched in august; by the time winter has arrived the fish have reached maturity, and die off in the following july and august, so that in september only the fry are to be met with. one of the strangest of all fishes is a member of the goby family. this is the walking-fish, so called from its habit of spending most of its time on the mud-banks of rivers, or on the roots of trees growing in the neighbourhood. the late surgeon-general day, describing these fishes as he saw them along the side of the burmese rivers, writes that at first sight they look like large tadpoles. when suddenly startled by something, away they go with a hop, skip, and a jump inland among the trees, or on the water like a flat stone or piece of slate sent skimming by a schoolboy. when climbing, the breast-fins are used, as if they were arms, to grasp the boughs. if placed in deep water, these fishes are speedily drowned! the blennies are fishes whose skins are soft, slimy, and quite scaleless, or at most covered with very tiny and degenerate scales. the general form of the body may be seen in the photograph below. they are shore-fishes, lurking about in the crevices of rocks, among seaweed, or under stones, and occurring generally along the coasts of temperate and tropical regions. the species known as the sea-cat or wolf-fish is, however, a deep-water form. as a rule the eggs are deposited in hollow places between stones or rocks; but in the butter-fish, or gunnel, the eggs are adhesive, and the parents roll them into a ball by coiling their bodies round them. furthermore, since the parents are frequently found, under natural conditions, coiled round these masses of spawn, it appears that they adopt this method of guarding their treasures. some species bring forth their young alive. the largest of the family is the wolf-fish, whose jaws are armed with very powerful teeth, able to crush the hardest shells, such as those of the whelk. sea-urchins and crabs are also eaten. we pass on to a group comprising three families--the barracudas, sand-smelts, and grey mullets. it should be mentioned that two very distinct fishes are known as barracudas, one of which we have already described under the name of snoek. the forms described here as barracudas are large, voracious fishes living in tropical and sub-tropical seas, and evincing a preference for the coast rather than the open sea. attaining a length of feet and a weight of lbs., they are a source of danger to bathers. they are very frequently used as food, though in the west indies such food is attended with some danger, as the flesh is often poisonous, from the fish having fed on smaller poisonous fishes. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ blenny. blennies have soft, shiny, scaleless skins.] the sand-smelts are small carnivorous species inhabiting the seas of temperate and tropical regions. many enter fresh-water, and some have become entirely acclimatised there. some species bear a very close resemblance to the true smelt, from which, however, they may be readily distinguished by their small, spinous, first back-fin. the young of at least one small group or genus of this family are remarkable for their habit of clinging together for some time after they are hatched in dense masses and almost incredible numbers. the grey mullets are brackish-water fishes, feeding on vegetable growths and minute shell-fish. they also suck up large quantities of sand into the mouth for the sake of the minute organisms contained therein; much of this is passed on into the stomach, which is thick and muscular, like that of many birds. altogether some seventy species of grey mullets are known, the majority of which attain a weight of about lbs., but there are many which grow to or lbs. all are eaten, and some highly esteemed. the flute-mouths, sticklebacks, and tortoise-fishes are three closely allied and extremely interesting families. the first are really gigantic marine sticklebacks, in which the jaws are produced into a long tube. they are shore-fishes, entering brackish water, and confined to sub-tropical and tropical parts of the atlantic and indo-pacific. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ northern mullet. a member of the family of grey mullets.] [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ red mullet. not related to the grey mullets, this species is placed here for the sake of contrast.] of the sticklebacks there are several species, some of which are entirely salt-water fishes, whilst others enjoy the rather unusual distinction of being able to live in either fresh or salt water, even when rapidly transferred from one to the other. the small species commonly inhabiting ponds and ditches can sustain changes of this kind with impunity. these last are very ferocious. one kept in an aquarium devoured in five hours seventy-four young dace about a quarter of an inch long. they occasionally occur in vast shoals, and, according to the naturalist pennant, appear in the river welland, in lincolnshire, once in seven years in amazing shoals, so that a man employed in collecting them earned four shillings a day by selling them at the rate of a halfpenny a bushel! [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ garpikes. frequently called guard-fishes.] the salt-water species, or fifteen-spined stickleback, is less well known. like its fresh-water relative, it is a nest-builder, and the male defends the eggs and young with great courage. the tortoise-fishes may serve as the representatives of the last family of this group. they are very remarkable fishes, being invested in a wonderful bony cuirass, formed by a modification of the skeleton, similar to what has taken place among the tortoises and turtles. the body is so thin that it looks as if it had been artificially compressed, and is semi-transparent. three species are known from the tropical indo-pacific and three from other seas; besides these are four smaller and less perfectly armed forms, one of which, the trumpet-fish, or bellows-fish, occurs rarely off the south coast of england. the garpike and flying-fishes are both interesting, especially the latter. the garpike is represented by several species, easily recognised by the long, pointed jaws. these fishes are furthermore peculiar in that the bones are green, a colour which remains even after cooking, and on this account some object to eating them, supposing the unusual colour to indicate unsoundness. the elongated jaws are not developed in the young fish, and, strangely enough, as this character is acquired, the lower jaw grows faster than the upper. in some species the lower jaw remains permanently the longer; hence they are known as half-beaks. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ pipe-fish. the flute-mouth, as this fish is often called, is really a gigantic stickleback.] the flying-fishes, or flying-herrings, like the flying-gurnards already noticed, are enabled, by reason of the great development of the breast-fins, to take extended journeys through the air. the flight of these fishes is, however, not quite the same as true flight, inasmuch as the fins serve mainly as a parachute, and do not, by sustained vigorous movements, propel the body through the air, like the wings of bats and birds. darting out of the water when pursued by an enemy or frightened by a passing vessel, these fish are borne along by the wind, the speed at first being very considerable, exceeding indeed that of a ship going ten miles an hour. at a single flight they may cover as much as feet, but are quite unable to steer themselves, except when, during their course, the tail-fin is immersed in the water, when by a stroke from one side to the other the direction may be changed from left to right, or _vice versâ_, as the case may be. by day they will avoid ships, but by night, when they are unable to see, "they frequently fly," writes dr. günther, "against the weather-board, where they are caught by the current of air and carried upwards to a height of feet above the surface of the water, while under ordinary circumstances they keep close to it." [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ flying-fish. more than forty distinct species of this family are known.] ---- chapter vi. _the wrasse-like fishes._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s. f.z.s. the members of the four families noticed in this chapter are remarkable for their wonderful coloration. the species of the first family, from their peculiarly striking resemblance to the scaly-finned group, share with them the name of coral-fishes. this resemblance is a very remarkable one. occurring, like the scaly-fins, more abundantly in the neighbourhood of coral-reefs, they also resemble the latter not only in shape, but also in coloration, the same pattern being often common to members of both families. to this family belongs the remarkable fish known as the amphiprion, which makes its home in the interior of an enormous species of sea-anemone measuring feet across. when first discovered by mr. saville-kent, it was believed that the fish had been swallowed--a view, however, which was speedily rejected, when it was found that, if ejected by means of a stick, it invariably returned. thus the anemone is obviously to be regarded as host, and not as captor. more than this, from the facts so far to hand, it appears that this strangely assorted pair are mutually dependent on one another, at least to a large extent--the fish undertaking to supply the larder, whilst the anemone in return affords shelter from enemies. the part played by each is as follows:--the fish, which is very conspicuous, wearing a livery of vermilion crossed by three bands of white, sallies forth and swims about till it attracts the attention of some other carnivorous member of its class, on which, if it gives chase, the amphiprion returns with all speed to its living cave, and quickly disappears down its mouth. the pursuer, blundering against the outspread tentacles, is immediately paralysed by a shower of stinging-darts which proceed therefrom as a result of the shock, and, rendered insensible, becomes the spoil of both. thus the active fish plays the part of a lure, and in return is afforded shelter. [illustration: _photo by reinhold thiele & co._] [_chancery lane, w.c._ spotted wrasse. on account of their greatly thickened lips wrasses are also known as lip-fishes.] the wrasses proper may be distinguished, amongst other things, by their thickened lips--hence the name lip-fishes given them by german naturalists--by the greatly extended back-fin, the greater part of which is spinous, and the arrangement of the teeth, which need not be discussed here. they are shore-fishes, living in the neighbourhood of weed-covered rocks, or in tropical seas, where they are most abundant, amid coral-reefs. most are brilliantly, many gaudily coloured, iridescent hues frequently adding to the beauty formed by the permanent deposit of coloured pigments in the scales. some grow to a large size, specimens not seldom exceeding a weight of lbs., and these are the most esteemed as food-fishes, the smaller species, as a rule, being regarded as of inferior quality. a well-known british species is the striped or red wrasse, the sexes of which exhibit a remarkable variation in colour, the male having the body marked with blue streaks or a blackish band, whilst the female has two or three large black blotches across the tail. a second british species, the ballan wrasse, is bluish green in colour, with the scales and fin-rays reddish orange. it may be found hiding in the deep gullies among rocks, sheltering in the dense clusters of seaweed, and feeding on crabs and shrimps. it takes a bait freely, and fishermen have remarked that at first they catch few but large fish; some days later a great number may be caught, but all will be of small size, indicating that the larger fish assume the dominion of a district and keep the smaller at bay. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ satin parrot-fish. the parrot-fishes, or parrot-wrasses, are so called on account of the peculiar structure of the teeth in the front of the jaws, which form a sharp-edged beak.] amongst the most brilliantly coloured of the wrasses are the parrot-fish. mr. saville-kent, writing of the species which inhabit the waters of the great barrier reef of australia, remarks that to stand up to your knees or higher in water, with such a shoal of magnificent fishes swimming round you, is an experience well worth a journey to the tropics. the coloration of these fishes, which is extremely transient, fading almost immediately after death, nearly defies description. one of the most beautiful is perhaps the gold-finned coral-fish, in which the body is of an intense ultramarine, whilst the fins are bright golden. others have the most amazing combinations of green, vermilion, blue, and yellow, in endless variety. it was one of the parrot-fishes which found such favour with the ancients. "in the time of pliny," writes dr. günther, "it was considered to be the first of fishes ... and the expense incurred by elipentius was justified, in the opinion of the roman gourmands, by the extreme delicacy of the flesh. it was a fish, said the poet, whose very excrement the gods themselves were unwilling to reject. its flesh was tender, agreeable, sweet, easy of digestion, and quickly assimilated; yet, if it happened to have eaten an aplysia, it produced violent diarrhoea." to this day the greeks hold it in high regard, and eat it with sauce made of its liver and intestines. it feeds on seaweed, and from its habit of thoroughly chewing its food, and moving it backwards and forwards in the mouth, it was at one time believed that this fish chewed the cud after the fashion of the ruminating mammals! [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ black-spotted parrot-fish. the flesh of some of the parrot-wrasses is of great delicacy.] one of the most interesting of all the wrasses is a small species from king george's sound, which, while retaining the principal characters common to the group, has assumed the general shape and proportions of the pipe-fish. the third family of the wrasses are remarkable chiefly on account of the fact that they produce their young alive. these fishes are confined to the temperate regions of the north pacific. the chromids constitute the last family of the wrasse-like group. numerous in species, they are all dwellers in fresh-water. one species occurs in amazing numbers in the lake of galilee, shoals over an acre in extent, and so closely packed that movement seemed almost impossible, having been recorded. they are taken in such enormous numbers that the nets in which they are caught often break. occasionally shoals are carried down the jordan into the dead sea; but the fish never get farther than a few yards, becoming stupefied almost at once, and, turning over on their backs, fall an easy prey to flocks of cormorants and kingfishers. heaps of putrefying carcases are washed ashore, poisoning the atmosphere, in spite of the presence of flocks of ravens and vultures which have gathered to the feast. [illustration: _photo by h. v. letkmann_] [_new york._ a wrasse. the majority of the wrasses are brilliantly coloured.] another species is remarkable for its peculiar method of protecting the eggs and young. the female deposits the eggs, over in number, in a small hole worked out among the roots of reeds and rushes. there they are taken into the mouth of the male one by one, and retained till hatched a few days later. the young fry remain in this nursery for some considerable time, increasing rapidly in size, so that the father-nurse is unable to close his mouth. some of the young develop among the gills; others lie, closely packed, with their heads turned towards the mouth of the parent, remaining in this position till nearly inches long, when they are ejected or wriggle out to forage for themselves. ---- chapter vii. _pipe-fishes, sea-horses, globe-fishes, sun-fishes, and their allies._ by w. p. pycraft, f.l.s., f.z.s. the fishes described in the present chapter form two well-marked groups, known as the tuft-gilled and the comb-gilled fishes, on account of the peculiar arrangement of the gills, or breathing-organs; they are also remarkable for their peculiar shapes. the breast-fins are present in all; but in three of the families the second pair of fins, corresponding to the hind limbs of the higher animals, are wanting. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ globe-fish. from the formidable armature of spines, known also as the sea-hedgehog.] the tuft-gilled fishes are represented by two families--the mailed tube-mouths and the pipe-fishes and sea-horses, all of which have undergone very considerable modification of form, the body being encased in mail-like armour, whilst the jaws are toothless and produced into a long tube. the first family is composed of a few small fishes from the indian ocean. grotesque in appearance, they are remarkable also for the fact that the female takes sole charge not only of the eggs, which are exceedingly minute, but the young fry also. only one other fish is known in which the care of the eggs and young is undertaken by the female: this is one of the cat-fishes, described in a later chapter. the eggs in the tube-mouths are carried in a pouch formed by the union of the inner borders of the ventral fins, which are long and broad. for the retention of the eggs within the pouch its wall develops long filaments, which serve the purpose of slender fingers. the second of these families contains the pipe-fishes and sea-horses. they are small marine fishes, inhabiting the seas of tropical and temperate regions wherever there is sufficient vegetation to offer shelter, for they are peculiarly defenceless creatures. they possess but feeble powers of swimming, and consequently are not seldom borne away by strong currents far out to sea or on to distant shores. their method of locomotion is, indeed, quite different from that of other fishes, as they progress neither by undulatory motions of the body nor by powerful strokes of the tail, but by wriggling in the case of the pipe-fishes, or vibrating motions of the back-fin in the sea-horses. the long, semi-cylindrical pipe-fishes, partly on account of their peculiar form and colour, and partly on account of their swaying motions, so closely resemble the fronds of seaweed amongst which they dwell as to pass unnoticed by their enemies. unlike the tube-mouths, just described, the care of the eggs and young devolves upon the males. the young are borne in a pouch, but, ventral fins being wanting, this is formed by a fold of skin developed from each side of the trunk and tail, the free margins being united in the middle line. here the eggs remain till they are hatched. but the pouch is by no means done with after this event, for the young continue to occupy it for some time, returning when danger threatens--a habit which recalls the custom of the young of the kangaroo. mr. yarrell relates a curious fact which he gleaned from some fishermen--to wit, that if they take a pipe-fish, open the pouch, and drop the young into the sea, they will not disperse, but hover around the spot, as if waiting for their parent. then, if the newly opened fish be held in the water, the young immediately return and enter the pouch. in another species of pipe-fish the eggs, instead of being carried in a pouch, are held by a sticky secretion to a groove in the under surface of the parent. this groove would seem to indicate the beginning from which the complete pouch has been developed. the pipe-fishes swim in a very peculiar manner, holding the body now in a vertical, and now in a horizontal position, accompanied by contortions of every conceivable kind, poking their long snouts into bunches of seaweed in search of food as they go. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ black-spotted globe-fish. globe-fishes possess the power of inflating the body with air, when they float at the surface, and thus escape enemies.] [illustration: _photo by n. lazarnick_] [_new york._ trigger-fish. a well-known member of the file-fishes.] the sea-horses have a still more eccentrically modified form, inasmuch as the body is thrown into a series of curves, the head being bent upon the trunk in a manner suggestive of the head and neck of the horse; hence the name of the group. the tail, which lacks the membranous portion, or fin, can be spirally coiled, and is used as an organ of prehension, and on this account is unique amongst fishes. gripping the stems of seaweeds with this tail, and swaying the body to and fro among the vegetation, the fish is rendered comparatively inconspicuous, the lines of the body being broken up by numerous more or less filamentous processes, which in one species, the fucus-like sea-horse, become excessively developed, forming long, frond-like blades. these, streaming in the water, both by their shape and coloration render the resemblance to the vegetable growths in which the animal hides so perfect that detection is almost impossible. thus they furnish one of the most remarkable examples of adaptation to the environment amongst living animals. the males of most sea-horses, like the pipe-fishes, carry the eggs and young in a pouch on the abdomen, but in the species just mentioned the eggs are embedded in the soft skin on the under surface of the tail. sea-horses swim with the body more or less vertical, the motive power being supplied by rapid vibration of the back-fin. both pipe-fishes and sea-horses occur in british seas, the first being the more common. [illustration: _photo by h. v. letkmann_] [_new york._ coffer-fishes. coffer-fishes have the body encased in a hard shell of closely fitting plates, leaving only the tail and fins free to move.] the comb-gilled fishes, to which we come next, are divided into two families, whose members are as remarkable for their extraordinary shape as are the tuft-gilled forms just discussed. the abnormal shapes which mark out certain fishes so conspicuously from the more normal and typical forms are generally regarded as adaptations, serving to ensure concealment, to ward off attack, or to effect the capture of prey otherwise unattainable. instances illustrating all three of these ends are furnished by these two groups of the tuft- and comb-gilled fishes. the file-fishes and coffer-fishes, which form the first of the two families, present considerable variation in shape as well as in the covering of the body, which may be naked, covered with rough scales or bony spines, or invested in a complete bony cuirass. the file-fishes are represented by numerous species, the typical one being known also as the trigger-fish, on account of an armature of spines on the top of the back. these spines are three in number; the first is very strong, roughened like a file--hence the name file-fish--and hollowed out behind to receive the second much smaller spine, which has a projection in front at its base, fitting into a notch in the first. thus these two spines can only be raised or depressed simultaneously, and the first cannot be forced down unless the second has been previously depressed. these fishes have very powerful teeth, to break off pieces of coral, which form a large part of their diet. they also destroy a large number of shell-fish, and work great destruction amongst pearl-oysters. frequently these fishes, when eaten, prove highly poisonous, from having fed on poisonous corals, jelly-fish, or decomposing substances. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ lace-finned leather-jacket. another species of file-fish.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spotted box- or trunk-fish. in this species of coffer-fish the arrangement of the plates forming the hard cuirass can be plainly seen.] as a rule file-fishes are of small size, but some attain a length of feet, and many are beautifully and symmetrically marked. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-horses. the species on the right is remarkable for the development of long leaf-like processes all over the body, causing the fish to bear a very close resemblance to the seaweed amongst which it dwells.] the coffer-fishes derive their name from the box-like cuirass in which they are invested. this is formed by numerous closely fitting, hexagonal bony plates, forming a mosaic, and leaving only the fins and hind part of the tail free. this bony case varies greatly in form, in some species being three-ridged, in others four- or even five-ridged; while in some long horns are developed, making the defensive armature still more complex. more than twenty species are known, all confined to tropical and sub-tropical seas. the globe-fishes and sun-fishes constitute the last family of this really extraordinary assemblage. the covering of the body consists either of minute scales or large spines, which can frequently be raised or depressed at will. all the members inhabit tropical or sub-tropical seas, and a few occur in the fresh-waters of the same regions. the globe-fishes have short, thick bodies, covered either with small spines, as in the toad-fish, or very large ones, as in the porcupine-fish, or sea-hedgehog. they are remarkable for their habit of filling the gullet with air, and then distending the body to an enormous size. this device enables the fish to escape its enemies; for when so inflated it rises to the surface and floats belly-upwards, and, the inflated portion projecting above the water, the fish is blown along by the wind to more secure regions. the more heavily armed species become still more formidable when inflated, as the spines are then fully erected. escaping from enemies below by flight, they are thus secure from enemies above by reason of their armature. globe-fishes have been found floating alive and unhurt within the stomachs of sharks which had swallowed them, and one has even been known to eat its way out through its captor's side, and so killing its would-be devourer! when a globe-fish desires to return to its normal elongated shape, it expels the air from the gullet through the mouth and gills, the expulsion causing a curious hissing sound. extremely unlike the foregoing members of the group of comb-gilled fishes, the sun-fish is nevertheless quite as remarkable in form, looking as if it had undergone the amputation of its hind parts. the singular shape of the other members of the comb- and tuft-gilled fishes are undoubtedly adaptations to avoid enemies, either by rendering the animal inconspicuous, or hurtful by reason of its powerful armature. the form of the sun-fish appears to be an adaptation for the capture of food, as this fish preys largely upon the fry of other fishes which inhabit enormous depths, and consequently can only be obtained by diving. sun-fishes inhabit the surface-waters, but as divers have few equals. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent_, f.z.s.] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-horses. attaching themselves to marine plants by twisting their tails around them.] [illustration: _photo by dr. robert t. morris, new york._ _printed at lyons, france._ a salmon leaping. the height to which salmon will leap in ascending a waterfall is little short of marvellous. when the fall is very high the ascent is often accomplished in a series of leaps, the fish resting in pools of comparatively still water.] ---- chapter viii. _the cod family._ by john bickerdyke, m.a. the large and important cod family belongs to the order of spineless fishes and the group in which both sides of the head are symmetrical. the common cod, the whiting, the haddock, the pollack, the coal-fish, the hake, the ling, and the little rocklings, all belong to this important family, which has one representative in fresh-water, the burbot, or eel-pout, found in various rivers in central and northern europe and north america. perhaps the most remarkable member of the cod family is the chiasmodus, which has huge jaws lined with large pointed teeth, and a distensible stomach and abdomen. during the _challenger_ expedition a specimen was taken , fathoms down in the north atlantic. it had swallowed another fish, a kind of scopelus, more than twice its own size. the stomach of the chiasmodus had swelled to an enormous extent, and had become so thin from distension that the fish inside could be clearly seen through its walls. the scopelus, it is interesting to mention, is a fish brought up sometimes by the dredge from , fathoms. it occasionally comes to the surface at night, and has phosphorescent spots along its sides, giving out a dim light, which has its uses in the dark depths of the sea. to come back to the head of the family, the cod is a fairly plentiful fish all around the british and irish coasts, but appears to be decreasing in some waters as time goes on, owing to the over-trawling of the north sea. off the coasts of norway, in the neighbourhood of the lofoden islands, the cod are sometimes so thickly packed in shoals that as the fishermen lower their tackle they can feel the leads hitting the backs of the fishes. both there and off the faröe islands and iceland it is common practice to fish with a hook bearing a little piece of polished lead on its shank, no other bait being required, owing to the cod being so numerous that food is scarce. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ whiting. easily distinguished from the cod by the absence of a barbel on the chin.] about the commencement of the fifteenth century the english began to go to iceland for cod, and since the sixteenth century english cod-fishing vessels have visited newfoundland and other far northern waters, which produce fish superior to english cod. it should be mentioned that the cod family is not found to any extent in tropical seas. while the burbot is one of the few species of the group inhabiting fresh-water, and is peculiar in living there permanently, there are instances recorded of pollack having ascended from the salt water of the norwegian fjords into fresh-water lakes, and it is an undoubted fact that many other species of sea-fish can accustom themselves to a residence in fresh-water. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ pollack-whiting. a british representative of the group in which the lower jaw is the longer and all the teeth of the upper jaw are of equal size.] all through the year cod frequent the british coasts; but it is two or three months before the spawning-season, which commences in january or later according to the locality, that they gather in vast shoals and come close inshore. first come the small codling of a pound or so, and as the winter approaches the longshore fish are found gradually to increase in size, until by christmas-time it is no uncommon thing on the east coast of england and scotland for fish of from to lbs. to be caught from the beach. as a rule the eggs of cod float, owing to a little globule of oil which each one contains, but in water which lacks salinity they sink. the quantities of eggs shed by each fish are enormous; nearly two millions were counted in a cod of a little under lbs. it is fairly certain, however, that not more than two or three, if so many, mature fish are the product of the two million eggs; for if each fish even doubled itself in numbers (if we may use the expression) every year, the sea would soon contain more fish than water. millions upon millions of eggs are destroyed when there is an on-shore wind during the spawning-season. sometimes the shore on which they have been wafted has been seen to glisten with them. by the end of summer such of the young cod-fish as have escaped their many dangers attain about inch in length. they are very varied in colour, which depends on that of the seaweed and their other surroundings. the parent fish, too, vary somewhat in appearance, those round the english coast as a rule having brown backs with irregular spotty markings on the sides, while those from more northern waters usually have darker backs and are less often spotted. cod are most enormous feeders, and in consequence grow very rapidly. at the southport aquarium codling of only ¾ lb. increased in weight to or lbs. in about sixteen months. so voracious is the cod that it is very apt to swallow anything it sees moving, without considering whether it is wholesome. in a black guillemot in perfect condition was removed from the stomach of one of these fish; while among other strange finds by cod-fishermen from the same receptacle was a piece of tallow candle inches long, a hare, a partridge, a white turnip, and, going back to the year , a "work in three treatises," which was found in the stomach of a fish captured in lynn deeps on midsummer eve, and brought to the vice-chancellor of cambridge. the usual food of cod is, however, small fish of various kinds--herrings, pilchards, sprats, crabs, and sea-worms; but the species is not particular what it seizes when shoaling before the spawning-season and food is scarce owing to the number of mouths. ---- chapter ix. _cave-fishes, sand-eels and their allies, and flat-fishes._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. the subterranean fresh-water caves of cuba furnish the most interesting and most remarkable members of the family in certain small fishes known as cave-fishes. living in complete darkness, the eyes have degenerated so as to be no longer useful as organs of sight; indeed, in many species they are entirely wanting. by way of compensation delicate organs of touch have been developed, taking the form, in different species, of barbels, hair-like processes, or tubercles. these blind fishes are closely allied to certain marine forms found in the tropical atlantic and indian oceans, and it is curious to note that amongst these about seven very rare species are found at great depths in the southern oceans, so great that light fails to reach them, and they too are blind. the sand-eels, or launces, are extremely common on the sandy shores of europe and north america, living in vast shoals, and displaying a wonderful unison in their movements, rising and falling as with one accord. they burrow in the sand with amazing rapidity, forcing their way by means of a horny projection on the lower jaw, and remaining buried at ebb-tide some or inches under the sand, when they are captured by fishermen, armed with rakes, for bait. when swimming in shoals, their presence is often betrayed by schools of porpoises, which feed greedily upon them, preventing their return to the bottom by getting under the shoal, whilst others swim round it. mackerel also make large raids upon the ranks of such shoals. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spotted sole. a larger and coarser fish than the common sole.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ halibut. the largest member of the flat-fish family. the back-fin usually commences much farther forward.] flat-fishes may be reckoned among the most important of food-fishes, and besides are of quite peculiar interest, on account of the remarkable modifications of structure which they have undergone. they differ from all other vertebrates in that, save for the first few weeks of existence, they spend the whole of their lives with one side of the body uppermost--the right or left, according to the species. whether resting or swimming, this position holds good. the newly hatched fish, however, maintains the normal poise of the body, the back being uppermost. of the many changes which the organs of the body undergo during this strange transformation from a "round" to a "flat" fish, one of the most interesting is that which concerns the eyes. these, in the very young fish, lie one on either side of the head; but as the fish grows older it begins to lie on its side on the ground, and ultimately, when it is two or three months old, loses the power of sustaining itself in an upright position altogether. the most remarkable feature in this very strange mode of development is, that as the fish comes to lie more and more on its side, so the eye which is undermost begins to move round to the other side, till eventually the two eyes lie side by side on the upper-surface. strangely enough, in some species the eye moves _round_ the head, passing over its edge, and so to its place beside the stationary eye, whilst in others it acquires its ultimate position by moving _through_ the head, sinking in on one side and appearing again on the other. the coloration of these fishes is also peculiar, in that the two sides are quite differently coloured, the upper side resembling in tone that of the sea-bottom, whilst the under side is pure white. in the young fish, before the habit of lying on one side has been acquired, both sides are coloured alike. the difference in coloration between the two sides of the adult fish appears to be due to the effect of light, since in flat-fishes kept in a tank with a mirror at the bottom the under-surface was found in many cases to be very largely coloured. but the colour of the upper-surface is by no means constant. on the contrary, the flat-fish appears to possess the power, in common with all other fishes, of changing its colour so as to harmonise with the tone of its surroundings. thus on a light sandy ground the exposed surface of the body becomes pale, while on a dark muddy bottom it is almost black. by this power of changing the colour of the exposed portion of the body so as to harmonise with the surroundings, the fish is enabled to become in a large measure invisible, and in proportion to the effectiveness of the change to escape its enemies. some soles are quite invisible. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ brill. as in the turbot, the eyes are on the left side of the head, instead of on the right side, as in the halibut.] the most important of the flat-fishes are the plaice, flounder, dab, halibut, sole, turbot, and brill. the plaice is one of the commonest of the british flat-fishes, and may be distinguished by the numerous orange or red spots which are scattered over the upper surface of the body. from to inches in length, specimens are occasionally captured which have attained a length of inches. plaice feed on shell-fish, such as mussels or scallops, which they crush by means of strong, blunt teeth in the throat; but worms are also eaten. the eggs of the plaice are amongst the largest fish-eggs known. the flounder is a smaller fish than the plaice, and lacks the red spots. it differs from the other flat-fishes in the preference it shows for the mouths of rivers, ascending these, indeed, so far as to enter fresh-water. the halibut is the largest of the flat-fishes, specimens of as much as feet in length being on record, while examples of from to feet long are not uncommon in grimsby market. this fish has a wide distribution, occurring on both sides of the north atlantic and north pacific, being most abundant in deep water. the halibut which are brought into the markets of grimsby and hull are chiefly caught off the coasts of iceland and the faröes with long lines. the sole is a shallow-water fish, feeding chiefly upon worms, crabs, and shrimps. these it apparently hunts by smell, gliding over the sea-bottom, and tapping with the lower side of its head, which is provided with sensitive organs of touch in the shape of filaments. by day it conceals itself by burrowing in the sand, coming out after dark to feed. the turbot resembles the brill, from which it may be distinguished by the greater breadth of the body in proportion to the length, the absence of scales, and the presence of large bony tubercles scattered over the surface. in great britain the turbot is most abundant in the english channel. the brill closely resembles the turbot not only in general form, but in the numerical superiority of the females, and in the habits of the young, which, like the turbot, are surface-feeders and possess an air-bladder. ---- chapter x. _eels and cat-fishes._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. eels, like flat-fishes, show plainly, in the shape of their bodies, a remarkably perfect adaptation to their environment. they are burrowing fishes, passing much of their time buried in the mud, and leaving little more than the head exposed. in accordance with this habit, the body is very long and round, and lacks both the hinder paired fins, and scales. when swimming, the body is propelled by rapid undulations, the movement being from side to side, it may be remarked, instead of up and down, as in the "serpentine" movements of snakes. whether all the fishes commonly regarded as eels really belong to this family or not is a moot-point. it is possible that the eel shape has been independently acquired by unrelated forms as a result of adaptation to a similar mode of life. but as the group now stands it embraces several distinct types,--the common fresh-water eels; numerous marine species, such as congers, serpent-eels, deep-sea eels, and painted eels; and the fresh-water electric eels. [illustration: _photo by n. lazarnick_] [_new york._ eels. two species are shown in this photograph.] the river-eels and congers are perhaps the best known, and are also highly important food-fishes. that they are fishes of comparatively slow growth seems to be shown by the fact that the common eel takes about four or five years to attain a weight of between and lbs. the males are smaller than the females, the greatest length attained by the former being a little over foot inches, whilst the latter may attain a length of nearly feet. for a long while what is now known to be the female river-eel was regarded as a distinct species--the sharp-nosed eel. the two sexes have quite different habits, the smaller males being found mostly in the brackish water of river-mouths, and rarely above the reach of the tides, whilst the females ascend the rivers for great distances, thousands finding their way into isolated ponds, which they reach by travelling overland. here they appear to remain till they have reached maturity, when they migrate with one accord to the sea. coming down the rivers during the months of october and november, hundreds are taken in large niches with traps, the mouths of which are directed up-stream. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ conger-eel. the females of this species often swallow the males.] the migration of eels to the sea is for the sole purpose of spawning and fertilising the eggs, which done, they die. the spawning appears to take place in extremely deep water, where the young eels pass the earlier stages of their development. like the majority of young fishes, the fry are at first very different in form from the adults, and many have from time to time been described as distinct species, no suspicion of their true nature having been aroused. and this is not to be wondered at, for at this stage they are perfectly transparent and compressed from side to side, so as to be but little thicker than a sheet of stout paper; the head is ridiculously small, and only median fins are present. as development proceeds, having reached a certain maximum size, they, strangely enough, begin to slowly diminish, growing shorter and at the same time rounder, so that eventually, by the time the characteristic eel form is attained, they are considerably shorter than they were at the maximum period of larval life. by the time the adult eel form has been attained, the larvæ have made their way to the mouths of various rivers, preparatory to making their ascent, which takes place between february and may. they are then from to inches long, and perfectly transparent save for a black line inside the body, running along the spinal cord. the numbers passing up a single river during this ascent are almost beyond belief. in one of these migrations, or "eel-fares," upwards of three tons were captured in a single day in the gloucester district in , and it has been calculated that more than , go to make a pound weight. in the previous year the annual consumption of eels was estimated at a minimum of , tons, with a total value of £ , . few obstacles seem too great to be overcome in their ascent, for they will ascend the flood-gates of locks, or even travel overland if the ground be wet, till a desirable resting-place is found. in some parts of england these young eels, or "elvers," as they are called, are salted and made into cakes. the conger-eel is a marine species, differing from the river-eel, amongst other things, in its larger head and eyes, and in the arrangement of its teeth and the large size of the gill-openings. the conger is also greatly superior in size, examples of between and feet in length and lbs. in weight being common. the females are larger than the males, and an instance is on record of a female which was over feet in length and weighed lbs. congers feed on other fishes, cuttle-fishes, and lobsters, as well as upon one another, the larger females eating the smaller males. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ cat-fish. note the presence of barbels, or "feelers," round the mouth] serpent-eels are confined to tropical and sub-tropical seas, and are remarkable for their extreme voracity. more than eighty species are known, some of which are brilliantly coloured. the deep-sea eels are represented by numerous species, and dwell at depths varying from to , fathoms. in some species the body is remarkably modified, the mouth being of enormous size, and the stomach capable of marvellous distension, so much so that eels of this family have been captured which had swallowed fishes several times their own weight. the tail in many of the deep-sea eels tapers to a fine hair-like point. the painted eels are remarkable for their bright spotted or mottled coloration, and are of large size, ranging from to feet in length. armed with formidable teeth, the larger species are held in no little fear by fishermen and bathers, attacks from these fishes being by no means rare. their distribution is closely similar to that of the serpent-eels. [illustration: _photo by n. lazarnick_] [_new york._ painted eels from bermuda. more than eighty species of these fishes are known.] [illustration: _photo r. lazarnick_] [_new york._ cat-fishes. these belong to the unarmoured group.] the electric eel is an extremely abundant fish in the rivers and lagoons of brazil and the guianas. it is the most powerful of the electric fishes, and attains a length of feet. the electric organs of this fish are sufficiently strong to kill by their shock other fishes and even mammals. the traveller humboldt is responsible for the statement, now generally discredited, that the indians procured this fish by driving horses into the water, and so provoking such violent discharges from the fish that they became exhausted and fell an easy prey. the cat-fishes, or sheath-fishes, are an extremely interesting group, one of the principal characteristics of which is the total absence of scales, the body being either entirely naked or armed with bony tubercles or overlapping plates. another peculiarity of these fishes is the presence of feelers round the mouth; these, by their delicate sense of touch, enable the fish to procure its food in extremely muddy water, when the eyes would be useless. the latter, indeed, in many species are extremely reduced in size. many cat-fishes are armed with powerful spines, attached to the body by a very complicated mechanism. such spines are capable of inflicting dangerous wounds, either by the introduction of poison or the violent inflammation following on the laceration of the wounded part. some species have elaborate accessory breathing-organs, enabling them to travel overland for short distances from one piece of water to another. other members of the group possess electrical organs of considerable power; one species inhabiting the nile attains a length of feet. the nesting-habits of the group are exceedingly interesting, some building nests in which to deposit the eggs; others carry the eggs in the mouth till they hatch. in one species the care of the eggs is undertaken by the female, which carries them about embedded in the skin of the under surface of the body, which at this season becomes very soft and spongy. when the eggs are laid, she presses them into the spongy skin by lying on them. the cat-fishes are of world-wide distribution, but only one species, the wels, occurs in european waters. it commonly attains a length of from to feet, and occasionally as much as feet. the majority of cat-fishes inhabit fresh-water, but some are marine. ---- chapter xi. _the carp family._ by john bickerdyke, m.a. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ carp. the members of the carp tribe are vegetable-feeders. they have teeth in the throat, but none in the jaws.] the carp family, like the perch group, is one of the largest among fishes. it includes the rudd, roach, tench, bream, minnow, etc., and is divided into many groups, which again include numerous species found chiefly in the temperate and tropical parts of the world. included among these are the barbels, of which there are about species, varying from little fishes of inches to monsters of feet or more in length. some of the largest are found in the tigris; but the mahseer of india must be regarded as the king of all the species. in some of the rivers flowing from the himalaya mountains are curious barbel which have their vent and anal fin in a sheath covered with large scales. roach are important members of the carp family, and the roach group is a very large one, including the various fishes coming under the term of "white fish" in germany. the roach proper is common all over europe north of the alps. in this group is the ide of the central and northern parts of europe, which when domesticated becomes golden in hue, and is then called the golden orf, a pretty fish kept in many english aquariums. rudd are found all over europe and asia minor. of tench, only one species is known, the golden tench being merely a variety differing in the matter of colour. the bream group consists of the common bream, bream-flat, and the american bream, or shiner. lastly, we may mention the bleak group, of which there are fifteen known species in europe, east africa, and the temperate parts of asia. this list by no means exhausts the numerous members of the carp family. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ gold-fish. a native of china and the warmer parts of japan.] the common carp is one of the most remarkable fishes which swim. in early times in england it was extensively cultivated as a food-fish, and in germany at the present day is as much domesticated as the sheep, pig, or ox. the fish-culturists have indeed done extraordinary things with it, having, for instance, produced a variety with a single row of scales down each side and sometimes on the back only, called the mirror-carp, or king-carp. there is also the leather-carp, with no scales at all, which is much esteemed in germany. there is reason to believe that the common carp was originally a native of the east, and it certainly has been domesticated in china for many hundreds of years. thence it is supposed to have been imported to germany and sweden, reaching england some time in the early years of the fifteenth century. in that curious work the "boke of st. albans," published in , it is said that the carp is a "dayntous fysshe, but there ben fewe in englonde, and therefore i wryte the lesse of hym." china is the home of the gold-fish, a pretty little carp common in that country and the warmer parts of japan. the chinese have distorted nature with regard to this fish even more than the germans have the common carp. their most extraordinary monstrosity is, perhaps, the telescope-fish, which has a huge tail and projecting eyes. it is believed that gold-fish were not known in england before the year . the carp has many interesting peculiarities. it is an extraordinarily fertile fish, and one of the most rapid growers in fresh-water. under the most favourable conditions it attains a weight of from to ½ lbs. in three years. in a pond which is overstocked, carp hardly increase in weight at all; while, on the other hand, their growth in hot countries is very much greater than above stated. a fish of from to lbs. may contain, on an average, from , to , eggs; these are spawned in may or june, and hatched in from twelve to sixteen days, according to the temperature. the life of this curious fish may be one of extraordinary duration, carp having been known to attain an age of a hundred years or more. when very old, they are apt to go blind and develop white marks, due to the growth of funguses. in the winter carp either bury themselves in the mud, or lie among the water-weeds or roots of trees at the bottom. they are vegetarians for the most part, with no teeth in their mouths, but strong, powerful grinding-teeth in their throats; they are believed to regurgitate their food and chew it, somewhat as a cow chews the cud. with regard to the weight which this fish attains, one of lbs. was taken at sheffield park in . this was exceptionally large; but one still larger, weighing lbs. ozs., was caught at bayham abbey, near lamberhurst, in ; while one of lbs. was exhibited many years ago to the zoological society. in the german lakes these fish reach a weight of lbs., or even more. carp will, however, occasionally eat small fish, and have even been caught with a salmon-fly. ---- chapter xii. _pikes, arapaimas, beaked salmon, and scopelids._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. the pikes are strictly fresh-water fishes, which are extremely voracious, and grow to a large size. they are met with in most of the fresh-waters of europe, asia, and america; yet they must be regarded rather as a western than an eastern type, since all the known species occur in america, whilst only one--the common pike--is known outside that country. these fishes capture their prey by stealth--practised, however, not so much by concealment as by lying suspended in the water, perfectly motionless save for the movement of the gills, which is barely perceptible. when the victim comes within reach, it is seized by a sudden rush. the form of the body is admirably adapted to this manner of feeding, resembling rather a submerged log than a fish. it is, furthermore, on account of this shape that the name pike has been bestowed, since it recalls the "pike" borne by the soldiers of bygone days. when on the feed, nothing comes amiss to pike, and the havoc they commit in trout-streams is enormous. not only other fishes are devoured, but both the young and adults of water-birds are frequently seized, and instances are on record where boys have been attacked while bathing. the mouth of a pike bristles with teeth, even the roof being thickly covered. these are all attached by hinges, moving readily backwards towards the throat, so as to assist the swallowing operation, but preventing any possibility of the victim's escape. in great britain the pike is held in high esteem by anglers, though as an article of food it does not find much favour. the females are larger than the males. the largest specimens attain a length of about feet, sometimes a little more, and a weight of from to lbs. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ pike. the most voracious of british fresh-water fishes.] about six species of pike are known, five of which are confined to american waters. of these, the one known as the musket-lunge, or muskinonge, attains the same large size as the common pike; the other species are known as pikerel. the immature pike is commonly called a jack. [illustration: _photo by n. lazarnick_] [_new york._ pikerel. this is an american species.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ "sergeant baker." an edible australian representative of the group of fishes which, for want of an english name, are here called scopelids.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ beaked salmon. known in new zealand as the sand-eel.] the arapaimas are large fresh-water fishes, confined to the tropics, their distribution being practically the same as that of the lung-fishes; they are represented in america, australia, and africa, but one species occurs in the east indian archipelago. the largest species of all--which is also the largest fresh-water bony fish known--is found in the rivers of brazil and the guianas, attaining a length of feet and a weight of lbs. it is highly esteemed as an article of food, being salted and exported from the inland fisheries to the sea-ports. the natives take it either with a rod and line, or with a bow and arrow, a line being fastened to the arrow, thus converting it into a harpoon. four species of arapaimas are distinguished by the presence of "barbels" on the chin; of these, two are australian, one american, and one occurs in sumatra and borneo. yet another species is found in the nile and the rivers of west africa. the australian species, like the large brazilian form, are highly esteemed as food; one of these, known as the dawson river salmon, is confined to the rivers of queensland, the other to the rivers emptying into the gulf of carpentaria. the beaked salmon occurs in the open seas of the cape, japan, and australia; but in new zealand, where it is known as the sand-eel, it is found in bays with a sandy bottom. the group of fishes known as scopelids is one of particular interest, on account of the number of remarkable forms which it contains. for the most part they are inhabitants of the open sea, many being found only at great depths. of the latter, some apparently come to the surface to feed at night, whilst others are entirely confined to the abysses of the ocean. as with the members of other groups which have adopted a deep-sea habitat, certain modifications of the body have become necessary in these fishes. many of them have a direct relation to the absence of light, which has rendered normal eyes of little use; consequently the eyes of these fishes have become either greatly reduced or enormously enlarged, or sometimes lost altogether. as a rule the large-eyed forms are those which come to the surface at night or do not live beyond the reach of daylight; whilst those in which the eyes are small or reduced live in the very lowest depths, far beyond the limit of daylight. in all these forms compensation for the loss of light has taken place, generally by the development of phosphorescent organs. these may take the form of a number of luminous areas distributed down each side of the body, as in the phosphorescent sardine; or of a pair of lens-like light-producing organs, occupying the place of the eyes of other fishes. another eyeless member of the group, instead of developing light-producing organs, has increased the length of the rays of the paired fins to an enormous extent, so that they serve as delicate feelers either for the discovery of food or the detection of enemies. many of the fishes of this group have extremely large mouths, armed with a formidable array of tusk-like teeth, between which are numerous smaller ones. as food-fishes the majority of the scopelids are not of much value. the species known as the queensland smelt, shown in the adjoining photograph, is an edible species, occurring off the north-west coast of australia. its near ally, the bummaloe, or bombay duck, however, enjoys a quite exceptional notoriety. salted and dried, it is exported in large quantities from bombay and the coast of malabar, and forms an indispensable adjunct to an indian curry. this fish apparently inhabits considerable depths, and when freshly taken is brilliantly phosphorescent. another edible species is the "sergeant baker" of australia, of which a photograph is given on page . [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ queensland smelt. a near ally of the bummaloe, or bombay duck, that indispensable adjunct to an indian curry.] with regard to the deep-sea scopelids, it is interesting to note that, in addition to very remarkable modifications of the eyes and fins, and the production of phosphorescent light, certain of the body-cavities are characterised by an intensely black coloration. the inside of the mouth, the gills, and the lining of the abdomen, for example, are always so coloured in those fishes which inhabit the deepest abysses. this coloration is difficult to account for, but it is generally supposed to be due to excretory products. another interesting point concerns the air-bladder. whenever this organ is present in the fishes of this or any other family inhabiting the abysses of the ocean, it bursts before the unfortunate victim is brought to the surface, owing to the enormous differences in pressure which obtain between the depths of the sea and the surface. ---- chapter xiii. _the salmon family._ by sir herbert maxwell, bart., f.r.s. although the salmon family occupies a low place in the classification of fishes, yet every member thereof is possessed of singular beauty of form and colour. the atlantic salmon, which is the species frequenting european rivers and those of the eastern coast of north america, may be considered the type of the family, and certainly it would be difficult to name any animal more perfectly adapted to its peculiar mode of life, which is one of constant activity. a native of fresh-water, hatched in early spring from eggs laid in rivers during the winter months, it spends from fifteen to twenty-seven months in the shallows of the river, almost indistinguishable in habits and appearance from a small common trout. sometimes in the second spring after its birth, and failing that, always in the third spring, the fish, having attained the length of or inches, undergoes a wonderful change: its prevailing tints of olive and gold become overspread with a glittering coat of silver, known to anglers as the "sea-jacket," and shoals of "smolts," as they are called in this stage, begin descending to the sea. in about fifteen or eighteen months, perhaps in some instances longer, they return to the inland waters as "grilse"--small salmon from to lbs. in weight. grilse and mature salmon spawn chiefly in november and december, undergoing, before they do so, another strange metamorphosis. their brilliant silvery scales become darkly discoloured, the males turning copper-colour, the females blackish and dull purple; their elegant form becoming distorted to such a degree as to render them hardly recognisable as the same fish which left the tide in the perfection of beauty. in their efforts to reach the higher waters where they spawn, salmon display extraordinary perseverance and activity in surmounting weirs, waterfalls, and other obstacles which bar their way. after spawning, the fish are emaciated and lanky, but speedily regain the bright silver hue so characteristic of the species. in this state they are usually known as "kelts"; they are worthless either for food or for sport, and make their way back to the sea, where abundant provender soon restores their condition. their chief food consists of herrings, haddocks, and other small fishes. dr. kingston barton recently recorded finding five full-grown herrings in the stomach of one salmon. although the excellence of their flesh exposes salmon to the attacks of innumerable foes, including man, predacious fishes, seals, and cetaceans, a few survive for many years and attain to great size. fish weighing from to lbs. are far from uncommon; one of lbs. has been taken in the tay with rod and line, and the same river has yielded one of upwards of lbs. to the nets. the fine sport afforded to anglers by the salmon causes a good beat on a prolific river to be a very valuable property. two thousand pounds was the season's rent paid a few years ago for less than three miles of the tweed, and the season happened to be such a bad one that the lessee only killed thirteen fish! [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ salmon-trout. known also as the sea-trout, and in ireland as the white trout.] closely resembling the true salmon in habits and appearance, and sometimes rivalling it even in size, are two kinds of sea-trout--the salmon-trout, greatly prized both for its sporting qualities and for the excellence of its flesh, and the bull-trout, a very inferior fish in both respects. bull-trout are not infrequently taken in the tay weighing upwards of lbs. the pacific ocean has its counterpart to the atlantic salmon and sea-trout in several closely allied species, whereof the quinnat and the steelhead are the most notable. these ascend the great rivers of western north america in prodigious shoals, penetrating more than , miles inland to deposit their spawn. few of these fish survive to return to the sea. in their emaciated condition they succumb to exhaustion and starvation; their corpses, piled to the height of several feet, line the banks of the river for miles, and contribute nothing to the traveller's comfort. although pacific salmon are of no value to the sportsman, as they are said to refuse any bait in fresh-water, yet they are the staple of an important trade, tens of thousands of tons being taken and canned for export. if we could peer far enough back into the course of time, we should no doubt be able to identify a common stock from which all the salmon family are descended. that they are all natives of fresh-water is proved by the fact that they cannot reproduce their kind in the sea. those that resort to the ocean for food must be the descendants of vigorous, roving members of the family, which, having to choose between starvation and migration, braved the perils of travel, and became so much altered in constitution by the liberal diet they found as to establish themselves as separate species. among the stay-at-homes there are many interesting and beautiful fishes. none of them exhibit the variable nature of the family more than the common brook-trout of british waters, and not long since men of science dignified each of these varieties by a separate title, treating them as distinct species. however, experiment and observation have now led to the almost unanimous conclusion that the pygmy denizens of some hungry highland burn, whereof the weight must be reckoned in fractions of ounces, are of precisely the same species as the lordly trout of deep lakes, which sometimes scales as much as lbs., and as all the other innumerable varieties, such as the trout of the thames, of the english chalk-streams, and of the irish loughs. the quality of the soil affects the food-supply, which in turn regulates the size and appearance of the fish. moreover, nature seems indifferent to the number of individuals composing the population which the water is to sustain. if there are no pike, and spawning-ground is abundant, there will be many and small fish; if the contrary is the case, there will be few and large ones; the aggregate weight per acre of water will remain the same, proportioned to the food-supply. the american equivalent of the british brook-trout is the rainbow-trout, a beautiful creature which has lately been widely distributed in european waters. what is known as the brook-trout in america really belongs to the char group, fish of the salmon family, closely resembling trout, but distinguished from them by extraordinary brilliancy of colour. common trout, like salmon, lose all their beauty as the spawning-season approaches. char, on the other hand, take gaudy colouring at that time, the whole of the under-parts becoming clear red or flame-colour. unlike trout, british char never enter rivers, but spawn in lakes. in norway, however, char descend to the sea. the distribution of char is indeed mysterious, nor has any explanation been offered why they inhabit certain waters, while other lakes in the neighbourhood, apparently equally suitable, contain none. the grayling is an elegant member of the salmon family, and a deserved favourite with fly-fishers. instead of the golden tints and scarlet spots of the brook-trout, this fish displays the silvery colouring of the salmon-trout. it is not at all uncommon to meet with grayling in the chalk-streams of southern england weighing lbs. and upwards. the powan is the type of another large group of salmon-like fishes, inhabiting lakes in the temperate and subarctic regions of both hemispheres. there are four species in great britain, among which may be mentioned the mysterious vendace of lochmaben, unknown to exist elsewhere. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ american salmon-trout from diamond lake, new zealand. these fish were taken out of the water to be photographed, and then put back again.] lastly, the salmon family is closed by the delicate smelt, called in scotland the sparling, which is netted in vast numbers in the estuaries of suitable rivers. it never ascends beyond the highest point of the tide, where it deposits its spawn in the spring months. it is a gratifying tribute to the good work done of late years by the local authorities in purifying the thames that, after a long absence, this valuable fish has reappeared in that river, which it now ascends in considerable numbers as high as teddington weir. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ smelt. this fish is remarkable for its peculiar smell when freshly caught, which resembles that of the cucumber.] much discussion has taken place recently with regard to the question whether salmon feed while in fresh-water. not long ago it was announced that they suffered from a diseased condition of the stomach during this period, and were consequently quite unable to feed. subsequently it was found that the supposed diseased condition of the stomach was due to the fishes not being perfectly fresh when they were examined. it is now known that although salmon do not feed freely in fresh-water, yet they take a certain amount of nutriment, such as an occasional shrimp, fly, or even small fish, while there. ---- chapter xiv. _the herring and its kindred._ by f. g. aflalo, f.z.s. "king herring," as the trade-paper of the fishing industry rightly calls it, is one of the chief commercial fishes of the british seas, and the enormous north sea herring fisheries probably support more boats and men from all parts than any other. europe has no very large herring; but the tarpon of the mexican coast, as well as another giant which occurs in the northern waters of australia, grows to an enormous size. all the members of the herring family feed and travel near the surface of the sea, and are therefore caught in drift-nets, miles of which are "shot" a few fathoms from the top of the water, catching the shoaling-fish in their meshes. all of them, too, are wanderers, most capricious in their goings and comings. hence the uncertainty of the fisherman's wage. the principal kinsmen of the herring in british seas are the sprat and pilchard, though the two kinds of shad, which, like the salmon, ascend certain rivers for spawning purposes, also support a number fishermen; and the anchovy is, authorities have lately suspected, sufficiently numerous on the british coasts to repay a regular fishery, if the men could be induced to try the experiment and use a sufficiently fine-meshed net for this little fish. the herring of the more northern waters is larger than that of the english channel, inches being recorded as its maximum size in the former, as against only ¼ inches farther south. in the baltic, however, the writer found the herrings still smaller than those of the english channel. the herring lacks the lateral line, already alluded to in other fishes; its scales are large and thin; its under-edge is smooth and keeled; and the male is slightly the larger of the two sexes. the sprat, on the other hand, is a smaller species. it has no teeth; its belly is saw-edged; its back-fin starts nearer the tail than that of the herring. the herring, moreover, differs from the sprat, and indeed from all our most important fishes, in that its eggs sink to the bottom. the eggs of almost all other sea-fish float at or near the surface of the sea, so that the herring's spawn alone can be damaged by the operations of the ground-sweeping trawl-net. the shad's eggs also sink to the bottom, but are deposited in the less buoyant waters of rivers. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ ox-eyed herring. this species attains a length of several feet.] the pilchard, the all-important fish (together with mackerel) on the south-west coast of england, is of a more decided green hue than either of the foregoing. its scales are large and coarse, and its back-fin starts closer to the head than in the rest. the pilchard of cornwall and the sardine of the mediterranean are one and the same fish in different stages of growth--that is to say, the pilchard is a grown-up sardine. the late matthias dunn of mevagissey was one of the first practical fishermen to accept this identity, and the flourishing sardine factory at his native town bears lasting witness to his enterprise. although, from the economic standpoint, we associate the pilchard with the extreme south-west of the english channel, the fish finds its way to more eastern counties. the writer has found it at both bournemouth and ventnor; and it is taken, though sparsely, in the herring-nets of the north sea fleets. the anchovy, smaller than any of the foregoing, may be distinguished by its projecting, shark-like snout and deeply cleft mouth. it is seen in england only pickled for table purposes, but the writer used fresh anchovies for bait almost daily during a stay of four months on the shores of the mediterranean. the two shads--the allis shad and twaite shad--are in some respects, though less important commercially, the most interesting of the family. their habit of coming up rivers to spawn, like salmon, has been already noticed, but they appear to be more difficult to please than the other fish. the severn used to be a noted shad-river, but the fishery has fallen off of late years. the allis shad grows to a weight of or lbs., and its pale green and silver scales are varied by some darker spots at irregular intervals on the shoulders and sides. the edge of the belly is serrated, like that of the sprat. the fish has a curious transparent eyelid, and its other peculiarities include an abnormally large number of gill-rakers, through which the water filters much as it does through the "whalebone" of whales. its food is said to consist of small fishes and shrimps, as well as of vegetable substances. though usually caught, for market purposes, in a seine-net, which is slipped round the shoal in shallow water, the shad is now and then taken on the hook, and instances of this are on record in the neighbourhood of deal. the rivers of morocco are very productive of shad, particularly the bouregreg at rabat, and the um erbeya at azimur. at the latter town the writer has bought newly caught shad weighing or lbs. for native money equivalent to as many pence, and very excellent fish they proved in camp. the twaite shad is a somewhat smaller fish, attaining to a maximum weight of perhaps a couple of pounds. it is not known to differ materially in habits from the larger species. reverting for a moment to the herring as a type of the family, a few words may be said on some very interesting facts in connection with its life-history and commercial uses. in the first place, the fact that the spawn sinks to the bottom is of more importance than would at first sight appear, since it not only exposes this spawn to disturbance by the trawl, but also subjects it to the voracity of cod, haddock, and other ground-feeding fishes. some little protection is afforded by a natural provision which enables the eggs to adhere to stones and weeds, but this cannot in the long-run be of much service against prowling fishes. the eggs of the shad, which likewise sink (in fresh-water), do not adhere in this way. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ queensland lung-fish. known also as the dawson river salmon, on account of the colour and flavour of its flesh.] the migrations of the herring, again, have furnished almost as much material for argument to marine biologists as the migrations of birds in ornithological circles. older naturalists described marvellous arctic journeyings with careful attention to detail, much of which is now repudiated. later theories hold that the shoals of herrings simply move, according to changes in the weather and temperature, backwards and forwards between the shore and the deeper water outside; and so far as the fishermen are concerned, the mere fact of the fish moving at any season of the year beyond reach of their drift-nets, which work at only moderate distances from the land, would be quite sufficient to convince them that the absent fish had departed on world-wide travels. much of the former acceptance of these extensive migrations may have been due to confusion between the goings and comings of the different races of herrings now recognised by biologists. it is also probable that, when the identity and movements of these different "races" are more firmly established, we shall be able to clear up many of the difficulties at present surrounding the spawning-time of the herring, and to show that it does not, as sometimes alleged, deposit its spawn at every season of the year indiscriminately, but that some herrings spawn at one season, some at another. although the herring is not, individually and by comparison with some other sea-fish, an enormously fertile fish, its numbers must be fairly large, when we bear in mind that something like , crans a week are, in good seasons, packed in shetland alone. taking, as an average, fish to the cran, this gives a weekly curing of not far short of , , of herrings in a single fishery. owing indeed to the property, already noted, of adhering to stones and rocks, it is improbable that even the trawl troubles the eggs to any appreciable extent, as the stony ground on which the herrings generally spawn is not suited to the operations of the trawler. the spawning and life-history of the herring are, in fact, the converse of those of the plaice. the former deposits its eggs on the ground close inshore, and the young herrings, almost as soon as they are hatched, steer for the open sea and live near the surface of the water. the flat-fishes, on the other hand, deposit eggs that float at the surface some distance from the shore; and the young plaice and soles, when hatched, come inshore and take up their residence close to the bed of the sea. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ australian pilchards. distinct from the british species.] it would be improper to conclude this account of the herring family without a passing reference to the commercial mixture known as "whitebait." until comparatively late in the last century whitebait was regarded, even by scientific men, as a distinct species, and there were even some who declared that they had identified peculiar characters. it is now, however, common knowledge that the so-called "whitebait" is neither more nor less than a mixture of young herrings and sprats, the former predominating in summer, the latter in winter. other fishes are also found in the dish, and, appropriately enough, at a recent banquet given by the worshipful company of fishmongers, at which the writer had the pleasure of "assisting," a plate of whitebait was found to include no sprats, but the fry of herrings, gurnards, and sand-eels: this was in the month of july. whitebait are caught in special fine-meshed nets in river-estuaries; and although they make a capital dish for the epicure, the large supplies needed for the restaurants probably entail a most regrettable sacrifice of valuable food-fishes, which, if left a year or two, would provide food for ten times the number of consumers. it would, however, be too much to expect that epicures should give up such an unrivalled dish for this cause. moreover, if these little fishes were not captured by man, it is highly probable that a large proportion would fall victims to birds or other fishes. ---- chapter xv. _bony pike, bow-fin, sturgeon, reed-fish, and bichir._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. the present chapter deals with the remaining forms belonging to that great assemblage of fishes known as the bony-mouthed group, which includes all the members of the class save the lung-fishes on the one hand and the shark tribe on the other. this great assemblage, as we have already remarked, is divided into two sections--the fan- and fringe-finned fishes. the fishes presently to be described belong partly to the one and partly to the other of these divisions, and were at one time, together with the lung-fishes, regarded as nearly allied, and as forming but a single group, which, on account of the structure of the scales, was known as the enamel-scaled group. the bony pike, the bow-fin, and the sturgeon are the last of the fan-finned fishes. the bony pike, or gar-pike, is an inhabitant of the fresh-waters of north america, and has the most completely ossified skeleton and the most perfectly jointed backbone of all the fishes, whilst externally it is covered with a complete armour of thick, quadrangular scales coated with enamel. three distinct species of this family are known, all of which are of large size, attaining a length of feet. they are carnivorous in their habits, lying in wait among the reeds, and rushing out to seize their prey as soon as within range. in the mississippi, great lakes, and rivers of south carolina bony pike are especially abundant, occurring at times in such numbers as to fill the shad-nets and render the fishery for many days impossible. the larger members are said to be as aggressive as sharks, and remarkably tenacious of life. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ bony pike. one of the very few survivors of the ancient group of enamel-scaled fishes.] the geographical distribution of the bow-fin closely corresponds with that of the bony pike. it is an extremely common fish, and, though worthless for food purposes, has yet been deemed worthy of a number of different names, such as grindle, dog-fish, sawyer, mud-fish, and lawyer-fish. at one time it was regarded as a near ally of the herring tribe, but modern research has shown this view to be erroneous. the bow-fin attains a length of about feet, and is very voracious, preying both upon other fishes and aquatic insects and shrimps. it has a habit of coming frequently to the surface to breathe, especially when the water is foul, taking in large mouthfuls of air. when near the surface, it is said to utter a bell-like note, probably caused by the escape of air from the air-bladder. during the breeding-season the male takes entire charge of the eggs. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ sturgeon. the air-bladder of the sturgeon is used for making isinglass, its roe for caviare.] the sturgeons differ from the other fan-finned fishes in many particulars. to begin with, the skeleton is almost entirely cartilaginous instead of bony, whilst externally the body is either naked or covered with bony bucklers, arranged symmetrically. the snout is prolonged into a more or less shovel-shaped beak, used for turning over the mud at the bottom of the water in search of prey, and in some forms this becomes further developed into a spoon-shaped paddle, constituting one of the most remarkable appendages of fishes. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ sterlet. a smaller species of the sturgeon group.] sturgeons grow to a large size, and are the largest of the fresh-water fishes of the northern hemisphere. the giant sturgeon of the black and caspian seas and the sea of azoff attains a length of feet, and sometimes more, specimens of , lbs. weight having been recorded. on account of the wholesomeness of their flesh, sturgeons are highly esteemed wherever they are found. in russian rivers they are very abundant, regular fishing-stations being established for their capture. the approach of a shoal of fish is announced by a watchman, and it is said as many as , sturgeon have been captured at one of these stations in a single day. should the fishing be suspended for a short time, the fish assemble in such numbers as to form a solid mass, completely blocking a river feet in width and feet in depth. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bichir. a second representative of the enamel-scaled group.] from the roe of these fishes caviare is made, and isinglass from the inner lining of the air-bladder. but the best-flavoured flesh and the finest caviare are obtained from a comparatively small form, the sterlet, a species which does not exceed a yard in length. it is common in the black and caspian seas, the siberian rivers, and the danube as far as vienna. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ bichir. note the remarkable finlets on the back and the peculiar structure of the breast-fins.] with the sturgeons we come to the end of the fan-finned fishes. the fringe-finned group are represented to-day only by the bichir and the reed-fish. these are extremely interesting forms, if only because they are the sole survivors of a once numerous tribe, the remains of which occur as fossils in some of the oldest geological formations. they are known as fringe-finned on account of the fact that the rays which support the fin-membrane in the paired fins are ranged round a lobe-shaped base, instead of running directly backwards to the body. as in the bony pike, the body is clothed externally by large quadrangular bony plates of considerable thickness, and coated with a layer of enamel. the bichir, which is found in the nile and other tropical rivers of africa, is easily recognised by the peculiar structure of the back-fin, which takes the form of a series of detached finlets, varying in number from eight to eighteen. the length attained by the bichir is about feet. gill-breathing is supplemented by the air-bladder, which is used as a respiratory organ, the expired air escaping by a slit, known as the "spiracle." the young bichir breathes, like a tadpole, by means of large external gills, projecting backwards on each side of the head; later these are replaced by the more efficiently protected internal gills. the only surviving relative of the bichir is the reed-fish of old calabar, which differs by its eel-like form and the absence of the hinder paired fins. ---- chapter xvi. _sharks and rays._ by f. g. aflalo, f.z.s. two prevalent errors with reference to sharks continually recur in england. the first is local, and has reference to the absence of "proper" sharks, whatever that may mean, from british waters. the second, of wider application, holds that all sharks are dangerous to man. when, some few years ago, the writer addressed a letter to the times newspaper, warning yachting-men against summer bathing in deep water in cornwall, a host of critics accused him of a tendency to pose as an alarmist, and insisted that he was confusing sharks with dog-fish. apart from the fact that the distinction between the two groups is in some cases extremely slight--it does not even rely on size, for there are dog-fishes which attain to larger dimensions than the smallest sharks--these gentlemen were wholly in error, since four sharks at any rate are very common in cornish seas, and even occur in lesser numbers on other parts of the british coasts. the largest of these, the great basking-shark (of which a photograph, taken at mevagissey, is given below), illustrates in its harmless person the fallacy of condemning all sharks as man-eaters, since in this, the largest of its race, we have an absolutely innocuous fish. from its habit of lying at the surface with the large back-fin erect, it is also known as the sail-fish, while the equally appropriate name of sun-fish sometimes causes confusion with other british fishes properly so called. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ wollibong, or carpet-shark. the leaf-like processes surrounding the head serve to attract prey, while the shark lies concealed on the sea-bottom.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spotted shark. note the peculiar shape of the tail, and the aperture behind the eye, known as the "spiracle."] [illustration: _photo by s. dalby smith_] [_mevagissey._ basking-shark. regularly hunted on the west coast of ireland for the sake of the oil obtainable from its liver. note the keel by the side of the tail.] a commoner british shark (in the limited space allotted, british species must be allowed prior claims) is the blue shark, small examples of which, weighing or lbs., the writer has often killed with the rod at mevagissey. when thus hooked, this fish has a curious and very trying habit of revolving rapidly in the water, scoring its own granulated skin with the line. the porbeagle-shark, another cornish species, is of thicker build than the last, and swims with far less graceful movements. it is a deep brown colour above, and its general outline may be likened to that of a torpedo. the fox-shark, or thresher, so often seen on hot summer days leaping out of water among the pilchard-shoals, is easily recognised, even at considerable distances, by the disproportionately long upper lobe of the tail-fin. this is the shark which attacks certain of the whale tribe. many who stay at home find it agreeable to cast doubt on the story; but the writer has, in australian seas, witnessed the sight of two of these sharks flinging themselves on the back of an apparently exhausted whale in such unmistakable circumstances that the only alternative (which the reader may accept, if preferred) is to suppose that they were all congenial playmates. before specifying some general characters of this interesting group of predatory fishes, it may be as well briefly to summarise the british dog-fishes; for the hammerhead-shark, very common in southern seas, is so rare a visitor to britain as to be negligible in an epitome of the group. the dog-fishes, then, which trouble fishermen are the smooth hound and rough hound, the nurse, the picked dog, and the silver dog, or tope. the nurse and rough hound are spotted leopards of the sea, and the latter has a very curious property. if a fresh-caught "row-hound," as the fishermen pronounce the name, be put in a basket or boat's well with pollack and other fishes, the points of contact will be marked by discoloration of its neighbours. this is probably due to some acrid and bleaching secretion of the row-hound's skin, for which some economic use might possibly be found. the picked dog, or spur-dog, has very sharp spines in front of both back-fins, and has therefore to be handled by the fishermen very cautiously, often punishing their hands badly when entangled at night in the nets. of smooth hounds there are two species or varieties, between which there is some confusion, and in one at any rate there are interesting anatomical peculiarities in the unborn fish (like many other sharks and dog-fishes, the smooth hound bears living young instead of depositing eggs), any account of which would obviously be out of place in so short a description. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ ocellated dog-fish. so called from the presence of the eye-like spots on the body, two of which can be seen above the breast-fins.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ indian string-ray. the tail is armed with a powerful poison-spine.] generally speaking, then, the sharks are cartilaginous fishes, having the upper lobe of the tail larger than the lower, a shovel-shaped snout, and the crescent-shaped mouth beneath the head. another peculiar feature of the group is the presence of breathing-spiracles behind the eyes; while the latter have a manner of blinking not found in other fishes. of the teeth, which differ in structure from those of other kinds of fishes, there are several rows. the gill-openings are lateral, and usually number five, though one species has six and another seven. with the exception of the afore-mentioned basking-shark and the port jackson shark, which the writer met with in australia, they are all more or less dangerous; and when of insufficient size to be harmful to man, do great damage among the lines and nets of the fishermen. indeed, the late matthias dunn of mevagissey seriously urged on the admiralty to dynamite them in the interests of the fishing industry. most of the sharks deposit their eggs in the curious oblong vessels known by those who pick up the disused cases on the foreshore as "purses"; and these attach themselves to rocks and stones by long tendrils that cling to every support. a number of species (the porbeagle and tope among british kinds), however, bring forth their young alive. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ horned ox-ray, or devil-fish. this species and its allies attain enormous proportions. one taken at barbadoes required seven yoke of oxen to draw it.] between the sharks and rays there is a curious and interesting link in the form of the monk-fish, or angel-fish, which is common on all sandy shores, and a frequent victim of the trawl. such local names as mongrel-skate and shark-ray indicate a widespread acceptance of its intermediate position between the two groups under notice. like some of the sharks already noticed, it produces living young, and its maximum size may be set down as at any rate over feet. the writer measured and weighed one trawled in bournemouth bay during the summer of . its length was nearly ½ feet, and its weight rather less than lbs. like many of the rays, this species feeds to a great extent on flat-fishes. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ whip-tailed sting-ray. sting-rays are abundant in tropical seas.] in outward form the monk-fish, though it is in reality more nearly allied to the sharks, brings us by an easy transition to the flattened rays, with their long whip-like tails and pointed snouts. there are a dozen, or rather more if we count casual visitors, of these skates and rays in british seas, the largest being the great eagle-ray, examples of which have been recorded of the enormous weight of , lbs. many of the smaller kinds are studded with sharp spines, curved in some species, and the thornback owes to these its trivial name. all these rays, in fact, have some form or other of formidable offensive and defensive apparatus. the sting-ray has on its tail a fearful serrated dagger, or inches long in large examples; while the torpedo- or numb-fish has electric organs in the head, with the aid of which it can give a shock sufficiently strong to paralyse the fishes on which it feeds. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ shovel-nosed skate. known also as the halavi ray.] two interesting peculiarities of the rays deserve notice in concluding this chapter. the first is that their egg-purses, instead of attaching themselves with filaments to weeds and rocks, like those of the sharks, are provided with a sticky secretion which answers the same purpose of anchoring them in security from currents that would carry them out into deep, cold water. the second is the sexual difference in the teeth, which are pointed in the male and flat in the female. whether this difference in the teeth (which may be likened to that between the bills of the male and female huia-bird of new zealand) indicates a corresponding difference in food, or, on the other hand, some co-operation between the sexes in procuring it, is an interesting question that our present slight knowledge of the habits of these fishes does not enable us to answer. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ painted skate. so called on account of its conspicuous coloration.] finally, attention must be drawn to the remarkable transformation which the breast-fins and tail have undergone. the former have developed into powerful swimming-organs, locomotion being effected by their undulatory movements, instead of by similar movements of the whole body, or by side-to-side motions of the tail, as in other fishes. whilst the latter, no longer used in swimming, has either been reduced to a mere vestige, as in the horned ox-ray, or has become developed into a long and tapering "whiplash," provided with a poison-spine. in such cases the long tail is used to encircle prey, and at the same time to force the victim on to the deadly spine. ---- _book v. jointed animals._ ---- chapter i. _the crab and scorpion groups._ by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. this section of animals is often called a "sub-kingdom," and differs from back-boned animals in having the framework of the body outside. that is, instead of a skeleton, crabs, spiders, centipedes, and insects are protected either by a hard shelly casing, or by a tough skin, to which the muscles are attached; and this arrangement renders them much stronger and much less susceptible to injury, in proportion to their size, than vertebrate animals. they have cold blood, generally of a white colour; and their bodies and limbs are usually composed of a considerable number of separate joints. [illustration: _photo by e. connold._ barnacles. a species which commonly attaches itself to ships' bottoms and floating wreckage.] the group is a very large one, and it is probable that there are at least , different kinds of insects already known, while the total number of species now existing is estimated by different entomologists as from two to ten millions. it is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that every word of our brief account of the insects represents from ten to twenty known species at least. the other classes of the group are also very numerous. our account must necessarily be very short; the characters of the principal classes of the jointed animals are referred to in their places. crabs, lobsters, shrimps, wood-lice, barnacles, etc. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ a pair of barnacles. the larger size of this photograph exhibits more structural details than the last.] jointed animals are generally provided with one pair of long jointed organs, called "antennæ," a naturalised word derived from the latin, in which language _antenna_ means a sail-yard. they are often called "feelers," and usually fulfil this function at least; but they are also frequently organs of smell, and sometimes probably of hearing and other senses. one peculiarity of the crab and lobster group is that they are generally furnished with two pairs instead of one pair of these organs. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ acorn-barnacle. the general appearance is so different from the stalked barnacle that it is difficult to believe the two belong to the same group.] they are nearly all aquatic animals, by far the larger portion being marine, and they breathe with gills. they are provided with a hard calcareous or horny covering. the head is not separated from the trunk, as in insects; and they are provided with a number of jointed organs, usually classified as three pairs of jaws, three pairs of foot-jaws, and five pairs of legs in the more typical families; but in the smaller and more aberrant species the number is more variable. in their early stages they frequently pass through very extraordinary changes of form, but after assuming their adult shape they grow by casting their shells at intervals. we will now notice a few typical examples of the different groups of these creatures. the brine-shrimp is a little reddish creature about half an inch long, which prefers the concentrated solution of brine-pits to sea-water. it has eleven pairs of legs, and, notwithstanding its name, the front portion of its body is considerably broader and flatter in proportion than that of a real shrimp, the other half consisting of a jointed tail. barnacles were formerly considered to be shell-fish, but are now usually classed with the crabs and lobsters, because, when they are young, they appear as freely swimming creatures, with one eye, two antennæ, and six pairs of jointed limbs. when they grow larger, they fix themselves to a rock or some other object by the head, and develop a shell, usually composed of several pieces. the commonest is the acorn-barnacle, the white shell of which, measuring rather less than an inch across, swarms on rocks at the seaside. it is shaped like a limpet, but open at the top. the goose-barnacles hang down by a stalk, and their jointed shells more resemble those of a mussel than that of a limpet, though they are composed of several pieces. various species similar to both those mentioned are found on piers, rocks, the bottoms of ships, and even sometimes on the skin of whales. in dark cellars in the country, under loose bark, or under pieces of wood which have been left in the fields, we often see creeping about brown creatures about half an inch long, with jointed bodies and antennæ, and short jointed legs. they are called wood-lice, and several species roll themselves up into a ball when alarmed. these creatures feed chiefly on decaying vegetable substances; and there is a larger marine species much like them, which is common in holes and crannies in the rocks on the seashore. there are other curious creatures, called whale-lice and fish-lice, which are parasitic in their habits. some of these look like spiders, and one or two have enormously long legs; but others are of strange and almost indescribable forms, and sometimes without legs at all. one species, found on the sprat, has two long appendages at the end of its body not unlike a pair of compasses. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s. regent's park._ wood-louse. a land representative of a numerous marine group.] shrimps and prawns are red when cooked, but when alive are very pretty semi-transparent objects, which may be seen swimming about through the glass of aquariums placed against the wall. prawns are larger than shrimps, and have a strong serrated spine in front of the head. shrimps and prawns, of which several kinds are found off the british coasts, generally prefer shallow water, with a sandy bottom. in most of these the first two pairs of feet are divided to form a pair of pincers at the extremity; but in such small creatures this is easily overlooked, unless special attention is directed to it. it is different with the lobsters and crayfish, which much resemble shrimps in form, but are very much larger, and armed with a pair of very large pincer-like claws, in addition to the other legs. lobsters live in the sea, in holes in the rocks, into which they dart backwards, and there protect themselves with only the head and claws projecting at the opening, ready to face any intruder. crayfish, which are smaller, live in holes in the banks of brooks and rivers. there are many species, some of large size and bright colours. the common lobster is black when living, but other species are red, blue, or variegated. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ shrimp. a species which plays an important part in the food-supply of london.] sometimes, if we pick up a whelk-shell on the beach, we shall find it inhabited, not by a mollusc, but by a crab, with its legs and claws wedged together, so as to fill the aperture completely--one claw, much larger than the other, resting in front; and if we pull it out, we shall find that, though the front of its body and the legs and claws are hard, like those of an ordinary crab, it has a long, soft, fleshy tail, absolutely defenceless and unprotected. crabs belonging to this curious section are called hermit-crabs, and protect themselves by taking possession of shells which they have either found empty or appropriated by the easy and economical process of devouring the owners. the few species found on the british coasts are all small, and more frequently noticed in whelk-shells than in any others; but tropical species attain to a considerable size, and may sometimes be found in shells measuring or inches across at the opening. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ fresh-water crab. in general appearance very similar to the common shore-crab.] crabs are distinguished from the lobsters by their compact form, and by having the short tail turned in under the body. there are a great number of species, differing much in size, shape, and appearance. one of the best known in england is the large edible crab, which may often be seen in fishmongers' shops, and, unlike the lobster, does not change much in colour when boiled. every visitor to the seaside must have seen numbers of the little greenish shore-crabs, running about on the sand, or over seaweed-covered rocks, at low tide. these small crabs are harmless, but large kinds are able to give a very severe pinch. it is related that when the great chemist sir humphry davy was a boy he used to maintain that pain was no evil, until a large crab gripped his toe one day when he was bathing, after which he changed his opinion. [illustration: goliath beetle. west africa. (half natural size.)] [illustration: brazilian bee. (enlarged one-third.)] [illustration: grasshopper. from somali land and aden. (slightly reduced.)] [illustration: candle fly. from ceylon. (slightly reduced.)] [illustration: australian robber-fly. (slightly reduced.)] [illustration: japanese analophus. (enlarged one-third.)] _photos by w. p. dando. f.z.s. regent's park._ _printed at lyons, france._ [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ spider-crab. an active sea-scavenger.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ blue crab. much esteemed for the table.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ fighting crabs. the males are remarkable for having one large scarlet claw, the other being rudimentary (the females possess two small claws only). the eyes also are seated at the end of long stalks.] some crabs are smooth and shining, but others are covered with bosses, excrescences, and spines, which give them a very formidable appearance, and must be a useful protection against any enemies to whose attacks they are exposed. in many species one of the two great claws is always much larger than the other. some have round bodies, others are oval or nearly square; some have short legs, and others very long ones. the species differ much in their habits; and in tropical countries there are land-crabs which live entirely on shore, and others which are amphibious, and climb cocoanut-trees to get at the nuts. as a general rule, however, crabs are carnivorous and marine, and play the part of sea-scavengers. the king-crabs differ very much from any now living in the british seas, but are generally considered to be allied to the trilobites, an extinct family which appears to have been extremely numerous in very ancient seas. king-crabs are or feet long from the front of the body to the end of the tail. the front part of the body is entirely covered by a curved oval shield, while the hinder part of the body is much narrower, and armed at the sides with strong teeth directed backwards, and also with a long and strong spear, something like that of a sword-fish on a small scale, as long as the rest of the body. the few species known exhibit an instance of what is called "discontinuous distribution," since they are found only on the coasts of the moluccas, east indies, and the southern united states and west indies. scorpions, spiders, and mites. these creatures form a peculiar group in which there are only two principal divisions of the body, the head and thorax being fused into one mass, and the abdomen forming a separate division. in the mites, however, the body forms a single round or oval mass, even the division between the thorax and the abdomen having disappeared. the members of the group have no antennæ, but two pairs of jaws and a pair of palpi, frequently very long, and armed with a pincer-like arrangement at the end, in which case they are called "foot-jaws." except in some of the mites, which have only four or six, all the group have eight legs. they pass through no metamorphosis, but moult several times after quitting the egg before attaining their full growth. they have frequently several pairs of simple eyes, but no compound eyes like the large pair on the head of most insects. in the scorpions, of which there is a considerable variety in different parts of the world, the united head and thorax are comparatively short; but the abdomen is very long, and divided into a broad half, consisting of seven segments, and a narrow tail of five very movable segments, besides a sharp, curved sting at the extremity. there are from three to six pairs of eyes on the head and thorax, and in front of the body projects a pair of very large pincer-bearing foot-jaws. scorpions are generally of a yellowish or black colour; and the largest black scorpions of africa and india sometimes measure as much as inches in length. they are nocturnal creatures, hiding under stones, or in holes in the ground, or in crevices in walls during the day. they kill the insects and other small animals on which they feed with their stings, the sting of one of the large black scorpions, like that of the large tropical centipedes, being as painful and dangerous as that of a snake. there are a few small and comparatively harmless species found on the shores of the mediterranean, but most of the scorpions inhabit warmer countries. [illustration: _photo by highley._ egyptian scorpion. a fairly large and venomous representative of the group.] the jointed spiders are creatures or inches long, remarkable for having the head and the segments of the thorax separated from each other, so as to form distinct divisions of the body. they have rather long and very hairy legs, and only one pair of well-developed eyes, another pair being rudimentary. some species are diurnal and others nocturnal in their habits. they feed on insects, and sometimes on small birds, etc., and can inflict a very painful bite. they are found in south-eastern europe, africa, southern asia, and from the southern states of north america south to chili and argentina. [illustration: _photo by highley._ egyptian scorpion. shows the sting uplifted for attack.] the false scorpions, or book-scorpions, are small animals resembling scorpions in shape, but with no sting, and the abdomen not narrowed into a tail. they are sometimes found in houses among dusty old books, as well as out of doors among moss, or under stones or bark. sometimes they cling to the legs of flies; they are believed to feed on mites and other small creatures, but not to injure the flies, only employing them as a convenient method of being conveyed from one place to another. [illustration: photo by highley. tree trap-door spider of brazil. trap-door spiders are plentiful in some parts of europe, but there is only one british representative of the family.] the whip-scorpions are not unlike scorpions, and have large claws, but the front legs are very long, slender, and whip-like, and there is either no tail, or else a long, slender, whip-like one without a sting. they are inhabitants of warm countries, and, rightly or wrongly, are reputed to be venomous. different species measure from inch to or inches in length. the curious harvest-men have two eyes, a small, compact, oval body, large pincers, and very long, slender legs, longer and more slender in proportion to their size than those of crane-flies, and equally liable to be broken off, if the owner is roughly handled. they feed on plant-lice and other small insects. we now come to the large and important group of spiders, which more frequently attract attention in england than any others of the group. the abdomen is not usually divided into distinct segments, and is connected with the thorax by a short stalk. spiders have strong, poisonous jaws, which make some of the larger species formidable even to man, and several pairs of eyes; while many possess an apparatus for spinning a strong silken web, in which they entangle their prey, consisting in england chiefly of flies and other winged insects. [illustration: _photo by highley._ house-spider. exhibits the four pairs of legs characteristic of the group.] the largest known spiders are usually placed first in the series. these are the great bird-catching spiders of south america, some of which have bodies inches long, and strong, hairy legs. these large spiders have now been proved not only to feed on insects, but occasionally on humming-birds, and even sometimes on larger birds, such as finches. the trap-door spiders are allied, but smaller, perhaps averaging about an inch in length. they construct a silken gallery in the ground, with a round door, which they shut behind them when they enter. there is only one species in england, which does not form a trap-door, but a silken tube. if any insect settles on it, the spider clutches it from within, tears a hole in the tube, drags its prey inside, and then repairs the rent. different spiders have many curious methods of capturing their insect-prey. some catch insects by running after them, and others by leaping on them, while those which spin webs are also very dissimilar in their habits and in their abodes. the brown house-spiders spin webs in any room left undisturbed long enough to allow them to construct them. on the other hand, the orb-spinners, or garden-spiders, construct elaborate webs out of doors. one of the most beautiful of these is the diadem-spider, which is nearly an inch long, and of a green or reddish colour, with a white cross bordered with black on the back. the web is very regularly constructed, the principal threads radiating in all directions from a common centre, where the spider generally sits in fine weather, ready to rush out upon any insect which may become entangled in the web. the gossamer-spiders spin light webs, which are easily carried up into the air, and upon which the spiders are borne from one place to another. sometimes on an autumn morning the air may be seen to be full of these floating webs, which also cover the grass and bushes where they have settled. the water-spiders, again, construct a habitation of water-tight silk under water, like a diving-bell, and inflate it by carrying down bubbles of air from the surface, entangled in the hairs of the body. the nesting-habits of many spiders are very curious. the eggs are usually laid in a silken case, and the running-spiders may often be seen with the egg-cases attached to the end of the body, as in the female cockroach. the males of many spiders are much smaller than the females, and are very liable to be devoured by their partners. [illustration: _photo by b. h. bentley_] [_sheffield._ garden-spider in web. a beautiful example of the structure of the web.] among the most curious of the group are the spiny spiders, strange, horny, semicircular creatures, studded with strong spines. they are allied to the garden-spiders, but confined to the tropics. the spotted spider is a very beautiful species, often seen among cases of mixed insects, etc., sent from india, it is black, with brown abdomen and numerous yellow spots, and about ½ inch long; the body is much longer than broad, and the legs are about twice as long as the body. attempts have been made to turn spider-silk to commercial purposes, but the great difficulty is that spiders are so voracious and cannibalistic in their propensities that they cannot be kept in captivity, for they will kill and eat each other as long as there are any left, to the very last spider. the silk of some of the large tropical spiders is sometimes strong enough to cause a man much annoyance when riding through the woods, striking up against his face, and sometimes knocking off his hat. [illustration: _photo by highley._ spanish tarantula. so called because the bite of an italian species was supposed to produce a fit of melancholia, which could only be cured by the tune known as the "tarentella."] the last section includes the mites and ticks, most of which are small or microscopic. the whole body forms one round or oval mass, with scattered hairs, and eight legs, though most mites have only six legs when young, while the plant-mites have only four. the largest mites are those called ticks. there are one or two small british species which are sometimes sufficiently troublesome; but in many warm countries they are a far more serious nuisance, lurking on the herbage, and fixing their proboscis in the skin of any passing man or animal, and retaining their hold till they are gorged with blood, and allow themselves to drop off by their own weight. among the smaller mites some species are parasitic on warm-blooded animals, causing itch, mange, and other diseases; while many infest insects, especially bumble-bees and dung-beetles. these are of considerable size for mites; and there are other bright scarlet species which are sometimes found on saw-flies, dragon-flies, etc. many feed on decaying animal or vegetable matter, such as the cheese-mite and the sugar-mite, the former being a very familiar and interesting microscopic object; and others, again, are very destructive to plants, like the small scarlet mite known in greenhouses as the red spider. among the plant-feeding mites are the four-legged gall-mites, which produce galls or other excrescences on the plants which they infest. mites are probably almost as varied in their forms and habits and as interesting objects of study as insects or spiders; but the group is somewhat neglected by naturalists, owing to the small size of most of the species, and the consequent difficulty of collecting and preserving them. centipedes and millipedes. these are creatures with long, worm-like bodies, composed of a number of rings or segments, each provided with one or two pairs of legs. they have one pair of antennæ, like insects, but they pass through no metamorphoses, nor do they moult. instead of this, they begin their existence, on quitting the egg, without legs, or with only three pairs of legs, and continue to add to the number of their segments and legs until they have attained their full growth. they are called centipedes, or hundred-legs, and millipedes, or thousand-legs; but in the majority of species the number of legs is considerably below , though in some few it may exceed . the centipedes have only one pair of legs attached to each segment of the body, and are carnivorous, being armed with a pair of strong mandibles, which are perforated poison-fangs. the british species are all small and harmless, but the bite of the large tropical centipedes is more painful and almost as dangerous as that of a snake. centipedes are long, broad, flattened creatures, with about twenty-one pairs of legs, and sometimes measure more than a foot in length. a reddish centipede, belonging to an allied family, is common in england under stones and in loose mould. it has long antennæ and fifteen pairs of legs, and feeds chiefly on worms. it is about an inch long. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ giant centipede. most centipedes have considerably fewer than a hundred legs.] the electric centipedes are much longer and more slender than the others in proportion to their length, with rather short antennæ, and short and very numerous legs. they are of a white or yellow colour, and or inches long. all are nocturnal in their habits, and feed on decaying animal or vegetable matter, and are fond of ripe fruit. they emit a pale phosphorescence, visible in the dark along the track over which they have crawled. millipedes are not venomous, and feed chiefly on soft vegetable matter. except the first three behind the head, which are provided with only one pair each, every segment bears two pairs instead of one pair of legs. the common snake-millipede is about an inch and a half long, and is brown, with yellow rings and ninety-nine pairs of short white legs. it is nearly as destructive as the wire-worms, which it resembles in its habits, and may often be seen clinging to a partly eaten potato. millipedes are able to roll themselves up into a spiral. many foreign kinds grow to a much larger size, measuring nearly a foot in length. they are more frequently sent to europe from foreign countries than centipedes, probably because they are sluggish, harmless creatures which do not bite. the members of one family of millipedes, called pill-millipedes, are so similar to wood-lice in shape and appearance that they might easily be mistaken for them, and they exhibit the same habit of rolling themselves up into a ball. one species is not uncommon in england. [illustration: photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s.] [_regent's park._ giant millipede. shows the absence of jaws, which distinguishes these creatures from the predatory centipedes.] a curious genus, generally placed in a distinct class by itself, includes a few species which may be called slimy millipedes. the species are found in widely separated parts of the world, chiefly in the most southern regions, such as south america, south africa, australia, and new zealand, though one or two are known from ceylon and the west indies. they resemble slimy caterpillars, with conspicuous antennæ, and from thirteen to forty pairs of legs. the body is not distinctly divided into segments, and it exudes a very viscous slime, which acts like bird-lime in capturing the small insects which form at least a part of the food of these creatures, but which will not adhere to their own bodies. these creatures are found among decaying vegetable matter. injurious creatures. we are sometimes inclined to complain of our english climate, but we have cause to congratulate ourselves that it is far less prolific of noxious creatures than many others. we have no venomous scorpions or centipedes, and are not obliged to shake such intruders out of our boots before we can venture to put them on. since the country has been so well drained, we are very little troubled with gnats, which breed in standing water, and are equally troublesome in cold countries like lapland, and warm countries like south america. nevertheless, several very troublesome creatures, not native to this country, have taken up their abode with us permanently, and more care should perhaps be exercised in preventing the possible introduction of others. among the most troublesome of our household insects are bugs, cockroaches, and house-ants, all of which have been introduced from abroad. among field- and garden-pests, the american blight (which destroys our apple- and pear-trees) and the hessian fly are probably invaders from abroad; but the latter does not seem to have committed great ravages in this country. among pests which have not succeeded in establishing themselves here, but which we should be specially on our guard against, are the white ants, which are found as far north as bordeaux, and are terribly destructive to woodwork, wherever they are met with; the gypsy-moth, very destructive on the continent and in north america, but extinct as a british species, perhaps because there is something inimical to its constitution in our climate; and the colorado potato-beetle, which is only kept out of europe by incessant vigilance. but apart from actually injurious insects, it is remarkable how many species which are common everywhere on the continent are either absent from britain, or are only met with in very restricted localities. let us hope that we may long enjoy our comparative immunity from noxious insects in britain. ---- chapter ii. _insects._ insects are easily distinguished from the other jointed animals by many salient characters. they have one pair of antennæ, two large compound eyes, composed of a great number of facets, and sometimes one, two, or three simple eyes placed on the crown or front of the head. in its adult condition an insect is composed of three different parts, which can be most readily noticed in a wasp. there is the head, with the antennæ and mouth-parts; the thorax, to which one or two pairs of wings are attached above, and three pairs of legs below; and the abdomen. insects breathe through openings, called "stigmata," in the sides of the thorax and abdomen. they never possess more than six legs in the perfect state, the abdominal legs present in caterpillars, etc., disappearing in the adult condition. they generally pass through what is called a "metamorphosis,"--four different stages of life, called respectively egg; larva or caterpillar; pupa, nymph, or chrysalis; and imago, or perfect insect. insects are divided into several large sections, of which the following seven are the most important, and many entomologists prefer to include all insects under them:-- sheath-winged insects, or beetles; straight-winged insects, or earwigs, cockroaches, soothsayers, stick-insects, crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts; nerve-winged or lace-winged insects, or dragon-flies and their relatives; stinging four-winged insects, or ants, bees and wasps, and their allies; scale-winged insects, or butterflies and moths; half-winged insects, or bugs and frog-hoppers; two-winged insects, or flies. we proceed to notice these orders separately. sheath-winged insects, or beetles. by the rev. theodore wood, f.e.s. beetles are distinguished from most other insects by the fact that the front wings are not employed in flight, but are modified into horny sheaths, which cover and protect the lower pair while not in use. this arrangement, however, is also found in the earwigs as well as in the so-called "black-beetle" and its allies, and it is to be noted that the wing-cases of beetles lie evenly side by side together when the wings are folded, while the folding of the wings themselves is transverse as well as longitudinal. the number of species is very great, upwards of , having already been described, of which about , have been taken in the british islands. the order is again divided into several smaller groups, first among which stand the predaceous beetles of the land. of these the common english tiger-beetle is a familiar example. it is found on sandy and peaty heaths, and may be known at once by its bright green wing-cases, marked with white spots, and the metallic blue of the abdomen. the legs are coppery. it flies with great swiftness in the hot sunshine, taking to wing as readily as a blue-bottle fly, and feeds entirely upon other insects. another representative of the group is rich golden green in colour, with coppery reflections. it is only an occasional visitor to britain, but abounds in france and germany, where it feeds upon the caterpillars of the famous processionary moth, and is largely instrumental in checking their ravages in the great oak forests. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ tiger-beetle. the colouring of this insect is bright green with white markings and coppery legs.] familiar to almost all is the purple ground-beetle, so plentiful in gardens, and easily recognisable by the violet margin to the black wing-cases. it pours out an evil-smelling liquid from the end of the body when handled. the curious red-and-blue bombardier, which, when interfered with, discharges a little puff of bluish-white smoke from the tip of the abdomen, accompanied by a distinct report, is also a member of this group. it is found under stones on river-banks, and also on the coast. next come the predaceous beetles of the water, of which we have a well-known british representative in the great brown water-beetle. this insect, which is plentiful in weedy ponds, swims by means of its hind limbs, which are modified into broad, flat oars, with a mechanical arrangement for "feathering" as they are drawn back after making each stroke. it flies by night, often travelling for a long distance from one pond to another, and regains the water by suddenly folding its wings and allowing itself to fall from a height. in the female insect the wing-cases are grooved for about two-thirds of their length. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ ground-beetle. the beetles of this group are generally of a black or bronzy colour, some species being beautifully metallic.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ great brown water-beetle (male). a large olive-brown species, about an inch in length, and nearly half as broad. the wing-cases of the female are grooved.] this beetle must not be confounded with the still larger black water-beetle, which belongs to another group. this fine insect, which is not predaceous in the perfect state, is locally plentiful in ditches, and is in great request as an inmate of the freshwater aquarium. the hind limbs are not modified for swimming purposes. next in order come the cocktails, so called from their curious habit of turning up the end of the body when alarmed. to this group belong most of the tiny "flies" which cause such severe pain when they find their way into the eyes. some species, however, attain to a considerable size, the well-known devil's coach-horse being fully an inch in length. the great majority are scavengers, being found in carrion, manure, and decaying vegetable matter. a few, however, are lodgers in the nests of ants, by whom they appear to be regarded as pets and treated with the utmost kindness. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ black water-beetle. a shining black species, longer, narrower, and more convex than the great brown water-beetle.] the next group includes the curious insects popularly known as burying-beetles, which inter the bodies of small animals in the ground, scooping out the earth from underneath them by means of their broad and powerful heads, and shovelling it back when the carcases have sunk to a sufficient depth. the eggs are laid in the carrion thus buried. most of these beetles are distinguished by broad blotches or bars of orange on the wing-cases, but one common british species is entirely black. allied to these, and very similar in habits, are the flat burying-beetles, of which there are about a dozen british species. in the best known of these the thorax is dull red in colour, and the black wing-cases are curiously wrinkled. another species is reddish yellow in colour, with two round black spots on each wing-case. it is found on oak-trees, and feeds upon caterpillars. the leaf-horned beetles are distinguished by the fact that the terminal joints of the antennæ lie one upon another like the leaves of a book. in many cases they can be expanded at will into a broad fan-like club. the well-known stag-beetle of great britain is a representative of this group. it is a somewhat local species, being plentiful in some parts of the country, and entirely unknown in others. the grub lives for several years in the trunks of elm-trees, feeding upon the solid wood. when fully grown, it buries itself in the earth, and constructs a large cocoon, in which it passes the chrysalis stage of its existence. the perfect beetle emerges in november, but remains within the cocoon until the following june. in the female the jaws are very much smaller than in the male, but are nevertheless more formidable as weapons. the insect may often be seen flying on warm summer evenings. [illustration: _photos by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ two burying-beetles. these insects are about an inch in length; many are black, but others have orange-red bands on the wing-cases.] a still larger insect belonging to the same group is the hercules beetle, found in the west indies and tropical america, a male of average size being nearly inches in length. in this beetle the thorax is prolonged into a horn, which is curved downwards, while the head is produced into a similar horn curved upwards, so that the two look like a pair of enormous jaws. it has been stated that these horns, both of which are furnished with tooth-like projections, are employed in sawing off the smaller branches of trees, the beetle grasping a bough firmly, and flying round and round in a circle, till the wood is completely cut through. this assertion, however, is totally unworthy of credit. an example of the beetle--evidently imported--was recently found crawling on a hedge near biggleswade. one of the largest of all known beetles is drury's goliath beetle, a native of the gaboon, whose body is almost as big as the closed fist of a man. it appears to feed, while a grub, on the wood of decaying trees, and undergoes its transformation to the chrysalis state in an earthen cocoon, the peculiarity of which is that a thick belt, or ridge, runs round the middle. how this belt is formed is a mystery, as it lies upon the outside, while the grub necessarily constructs the cocoon from the inside. several living examples of this beetle were exhibited in the summer of in the insect-house of the zoological gardens in the regent's park, where they remained for five or six weeks, feeding on the flesh of melons. a photograph of this beetle will be found in the coloured plate. the common cockchafer belongs to another division of the same group. this insect is extremely injurious, as the grub lives for three years or more underground, feeding on the roots of various cultivated plants. the perfect beetle appears in may and june, and is only too plentiful almost everywhere. a month or so later its place is taken by the summer chafer, or june bug, which may often be seen flying in hundreds round the tops of low trees soon after sunset, while the smaller coch-y-bonddhu--the "cockerbundy" of the angler--often appears about the same time in hundreds of thousands. the beautiful rose-beetle, too, with its bright golden-green wing-cases marked with wavy whitish lines, may often be seen sunning itself in roses or on the blossoms of pinks. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ male stag-beetle. the males are often inches long; the females have comparatively small jaws.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ skipjack beetle. the larvæ of this family are known as wire-worms.] [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ hercules beetle flying. the most remarkable feature about this insect is its huge horn-like projection from the thorax, which is nearly as long as the rest of its body.] the famous egyptian scarabÆus is also a member of this group. it is remarkable not only for the sacred character attributed to it by the ancient egyptians, but also for its curious habit of rolling along balls of dung until it can find a soft spot in which to bury them. when the egg hatches, the grub feeds upon the dung, the quantity provided being exactly sufficient for its requirements. the common dor beetle of great britain is allied to this insect; it tunnels down to a depth of or inches beneath a patch of excrement, and lays its egg at the bottom of the burrow. the skipjack beetles, parents of the well-known wire- worms, which cause so much mischief by feeding upon the roots of cultivated crops, represent another group. these beetles owe their popular title to their singular method of regaining their feet when they happen to roll over upon their backs. their bodies being very smooth and polished, and their legs very short, they cannot recover their footing in the ordinary manner. on the lower part of the body, however, is a highly elastic spine, known as the "mucro," which lies in a sheath. when the beetle falls over, it arches its body into the form of a bow, resting only upon the head and the extreme tip of the abdomen, removes the spine from its sheath, and then drives it sharply back again. the result is that the central part of the body strikes the ground with such force that the insect springs into the air to a height of or inches. then, turning half over as it falls, it alights on its feet. [illustration: _photo by b. h. bentley_] [_sheffield._ cockchafer on daisy. a very destructive insect which feeds on the leaves of trees. the larva devours the roots of plants, and is often so plentiful as to cause very serious mischief.] the fire-fly of the tropics belongs to the same group. the luminosity of this insect proceeds from two different parts of the body, a brilliant yellowish-green light shining out through two transparent window-like spots on the thorax, while an orange glow is visible on the lower surface of the abdomen. the exact cause of the light is unknown, as is also the manner of its control by the insect. the same may be said of the common english glowworm, in which the light proceeds from the lower surface of the hind part of the body. the male of this insect is winged; the female is grub-like in appearance and wingless. the grub itself, which may be found in autumn, is also luminous, and feeds upon snails. another group includes a very large number of beetles of very varying character and appearance. among these are the oil-beetles, so called from their habit of exuding small drops of an oily liquid from the joints of their limbs when handled. the eggs are laid in batches of several thousand in holes in the ground, and the little long-legged grubs, on emerging, clamber up the stems of flowers, and hide themselves among the petals to await the coming of a bee. when one of the latter appears, two or three of the grubs cling to its hairy body, and are carried back to the nest, in which they live as parasites. one of these beetles may be seen commonly upon grassy banks in early spring. allied to these insects is the blister-beetle, or spanish fly, so well known from its use in medicine. it is a very handsome species, of a bright golden-green colour, occasionally found in great britain on the foliage of ash-trees. in many parts of southern europe it is extremely abundant. the beetles belonging to the large and important group of weevils are characterised, as a rule, by the fact that the head is prolonged into a more or less long and slender snout, or "rostrum," at the end of which the jaws are situated. the number of species already known is above , . [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ harlequin beetle. notice the enormous length of the front legs.] one of the largest and most famous of these insects is the diamond-beetle of brazil, the scales from whose wing-cases are so frequently mounted as microscopic objects. when viewed through a good instrument under a powerful light, the beauty of these scales is simply indescribable. all that one can say of them is that they seem to be composed of diamonds, rubies, topazes, and emeralds massed together in rich profusion, while diamonds are transformed into rubies, rubies into topazes, and topazes into emeralds at every change of light. the osier-weevil, a black-and-white species about three-eighths of an inch long, is found on osiers in great britain, the grub boring galleries in the stems, and often causing considerable damage. the well-known corn-weevil is still more destructive in granaries, the walls of which are often completely blackened by its crawling multitudes. the grub lives inside the grain, eating out the whole of the interior, and a single pair of the weevils are said to be capable of producing a family of more than , individuals in the course of a single season. the rice-weevil is equally destructive to rice, and may be recognised by the two red spots on each wing-case. the famous "gru-gru" of the west indies, which is regarded as so great a dainty both by the negroes and by many of the white colonists, is the grub of the palm-weevil. it lives in the stems of palm-trees, and also in those of sugar-canes, causing a great deal of mischief by its burrowings. when fully fed, it constructs a cocoon by tearing off strips of bark and weaving them neatly together. the sugar-weevil is still more troublesome, feeding upon the juice of the sugar-cane, and affecting the entire plant in such a manner that sugar can no longer be manufactured from it. "bad" nuts are also due to one of these insects, the common nut-weevil. which introduces its egg into the kernel during the earlier stages of its development. when the grub hatches, it proceeds to devour the kernel, leaving a quantity of bad-flavoured "frass" behind it, while the shell is left untouched until the perfect insect emerges. an allied species attacks acorns in a similar manner. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ jumping-beetle. allied to the turnip-flea. it is about one-tenth of an inch in length.] among the finest and largest of all beetles are many of those belonging to the great long-horn group, of which the common british musk-beetle is a familiar example. this insect owes both its popular and scientific titles to its powerful odour, which perhaps resembles that of sweetbriar rather than musk, and can often be detected at a distance of twenty or thirty yards. the beetle, which is rich metallic green in colour, with long, slender antennæ, may be found in july sunning itself on the trunks or foliage of willow-trees. it varies considerably in size. still more plentiful is the wasp-beetle, with its black wing-cases banded with bright yellow. while flying, it may easily be mistaken for the insect whose name it bears. the grub lives in old posts, rails, hop-poles, etc., feeding upon the solid wood. the timberman is remarkable for the extreme length of the antennæ, which, in the male insect, are three or four times as long as the body, and trail out far behind it during flight. it is found, not uncommonly, in fir woods in scotland. the beautiful harlequin beetle of tropical america is one of the largest members of the group, and is remarkable for the great length of the front legs as well as for the singular colouring of the wing-cases. it lives almost entirely in the trees, swinging itself from branch to branch somewhat after the manner of a spider-monkey. when it ventures into the air, it is greatly incommoded by the size of its limbs and the length of its antennæ, and seems to have but little power of directing its course. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards, colesborne._ reed-beetle. among the group to which this insect belongs are many of the most brilliantly coloured british beetles.] another great group of beetles is that of the plant-eaters, many of which are exceedingly beautiful. the reed-beetles of britain, for example, are resplendent in crimson and green and purple and blue, while the metallic radiance of others has gained for them the title of golden apples. the notorious colorado beetle is a member of this group. it may be recognised at once by the five black streaks running down each of the yellow wing-cases. on the havoc which it causes among potato-plants in north america it is unnecessary to dilate. on a smaller scale, the turnip-flea is very mischievous in britain, perforating the leaves of turnip-plants, or--worse still--eating off the seed-leaves as soon as they appear above the surface of the ground. of only too many of these exquisite beetles, in fact, it must be said that their beauty is only equalled by their destructiveness. the ladybirds include a very large number of species. some of these, such as the common two-spot ladybird, are exceedingly variable, a long series being easily obtained in which no two specimens resemble one another. both as grubs and as perfect insects they feed upon the "green fly" of the farmer, combining with the grubs of the lace-wing and hoverer flies to keep its numbers within due limits. almost equally common is the seven-spot ladybird, a considerably larger insect, with seven round black spots on its scarlet wing-cases, which may be seen on almost any grassy bank in spring. both this and the preceding species sometimes visit the kentish coast in vast swarms, the beach being reddened by their bodies for miles. the last immigration of this description took place in , in the summer of which year the hops in east kent were almost destroyed by blight, and the ladybirds made their way at once to the hop-fields and cleared them of the pest in a wonderfully short space of time. a much smaller species, known as the twenty-two spot, is yellow in colour and has eleven black spots on each wing-case. it is generally found crawling about on nettle-leaves in the early part of the summer. allied to the ladybirds are the very curious tortoise-beetles. in these insects the wing-cases project to a considerable distance beyond the sides of the body, and the legs are so short that only the feet can be seen from above, so that the appearance is very much like that of a tortoise with the limbs partly withdrawn into the shell. many different species are known, in some of which the wing-cases are streaked with brilliant metallic silver, which, however, fades away very shortly after death. the commonest of the british tortoise-beetles is found on thistles. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ musk-beetle. the odour of this beetle may often be detected at a distance of twenty or thirty yards.] another very large group of beetles is represented by the cellar-beetle, which is generally very common in old houses. this insect must not be confused with the so-called "black-beetle," from which it may easily be distinguished by its deep black colour, its very much shorter feelers, and the curious point into which the end of its body is produced. it hides away in dark corners by day, and crawls slowly about by night. related to it is the meal-worm, so much in request for the food of cage-birds, which is usually very plentiful in granaries. very different, in appearance, yet belonging to the same group, is the handsome cardinal beetle, a bright scarlet insect which is not uncommon in summer. it may sometimes be found lurking behind pieces of loose bark, and is also fond of resting upon the flowers of umbelliferous plants in the hot sunshine. a second species, which is not nearly so plentiful, may be distinguished by the fact that the head is entirely black. still more curious is the rhipiphorus beetle, which is parasitic within the nests of wasps. where the egg is laid, or how the grub first finds its way into the nest, no one has yet succeeded in discovering; but having made its entry, the insect proceeds to burrow into the body of a wasp-grub, and lives within it for several days, feeding upon its flesh meanwhile. after increasing considerably in size, it creeps out of the carcase of its victim and changes its skin, after which it resumes its interrupted meal, and continues to feed until the last vestige of the wasp-grub has been devoured. it then changes to a chrysalis in the cell, and the perfect insect appears a few days later. oddly enough, the wasps appear to take no notice of its presence, and never attempt to molest it. the two sexes of this beetle are quite unlike one another, the male having the wing-cases yellow and the feelers heavily plumed, while the female is black, with the feelers only slightly toothed. most singular of all the insects belonging to this order, however, is the strange little stalk-eyed beetle, which spends the greater part of its life half buried in the body of a bee. in this insect the feelers are branched, somewhat like the antennules, or lesser feelers, of a lobster, and the eyes, which are comparatively few in number, are set at the ends of short foot-stalks. the male has very narrow wing-cases, but extremely large wings, which have a milky appearance during flight that can hardly be mistaken. the female has no wings at all, and in general aspect is nothing more than a grub. in early spring a great number of solitary bees are infested by this extraordinary parasite, which burrows into their bodies under cover of the projecting edges of the segments, and there remains feeding upon their internal juices for several weeks, with only just the tip of its tail protruding. when fully fed, it emerges from the body of its involuntary host, leaving a large round hole behind it, which frequently closes up and heals. in any case, strange to say, the ravages of the parasite appear to have but little effect upon the health of the bee. straight-winged insects, or earwigs, cockroaches, soothsayers, stick-insects, crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. the insects of this order are less numerous in species than those of any other but the next, and are easily recognised. the fore wings are usually of a leathery consistency, and the hind wings are folded beneath them like a fan in the more typical families, though in the earwigs and cockroaches a somewhat different arrangement prevails. in the earwigs, indeed, the wings are doubled back at the ends, and in the cockroaches the wing-cases, or "tegmina," as they are technically called, overlap. as a rule these insects feed entirely on vegetable substances. the "soothsayers" form an exception, being carnivorous, though they are not parasitic, like the ichneumon-flies, but feed on fresh food; and several species of earwigs, cockroaches, and crickets, especially those which are semi-domesticated, are omnivorous, and will eat animal as well as vegetable food. these insects have an imperfect metamorphosis--that is, there is no inactive pupa-state; but, the young, on emerging from the egg, already possess a recognisable resemblance to their full-grown parents, and their metamorphosis consists of a series of moults, before the last of which rudimentary wings appear in those species which ultimately acquire these appendages. a considerable number of species never have wings, a circumstance which frequently renders it difficult to determine whether a specimen is fully developed. the antennæ are usually long, and the joints distinctly separated, but are very rarely feathered. at the other end of the body we often find two long jointed organs, called "cerci." the jaws are always furnished with strong mandibles. many grasshoppers and locusts have a curious arrangement on the shank of the front leg, consisting either of a round or an oval cavity on each side, closed by a membrane, or of two long parallel slits in front. these are considered to be organs of hearing. the largest known insects belong to this order; the proportion of large or moderate-sized species is considerable; and the smallest are probably considerably larger than the smallest members of any other group. they are not numerous in temperate climates; there are only about fifty british species, and most of the larger of these are either naturalised species, or merely casual visitors from abroad. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ earwig. the forceps-like appendage at the end of this insect's body is said to be used for folding and unfolding the wings.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ american cockroach. common in many warehouses in england, and now found in most parts of the world.] the earwigs form the first family. some are wingless, but most have very short wing-cases, under which very large wings, forming the most beautiful feature of these otherwise unattractive insects, are doubled and folded into a very small compass. some of the smaller species fly readily; but others, such as the common earwig, though furnished with ample wings, are rarely seen to use them. the most conspicuous organ of the earwigs is the curious forceps at the extremity of the body, the use of which does not seem to be well made out, though it has been suggested that it is used for folding and unfolding the wings. the forceps differs very much in size and shape in different species; it is always larger in the male than in the female, and often differently shaped. in the common earwig the male forceps is flattened and contiguous at the base, and rounded and incurved at the extremity. there are two varieties, in one of which the forceps is twice as long as in the other; but intermediate gradations do not seem to be met with. in the female the forceps is narrow, nearly straight, and approximating. the earwig is a nocturnal insect, and hides itself during the day in large-headed flowers, like dahlias, to which it is very destructive, or in any convenient dark and narrow crevice, especially among decaying vegetable matter. it derives its name from its occasionally entering the human ear, but it may be easily driven out by dropping in a little olive oil. in most books it is denied that earwigs enter the ear at all, but it is, nevertheless, an undoubted fact; and the fanciful derivation that has been suggested of _earwing_ in the place of _earwig_ cannot be entertained respecting an insect which seldom shows its wings at all. it should be noted that the female earwig is said to tend her young very much as a hen tends her chickens--an uncommon habit in insects. [illustration: _photo by highley._ stick-insect. the largest insect known is a species of stick-insect; it is a native of borneo, and measures inches.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo co._] [_parson's green._ walking leaf-insects. natives of the east indies, and remarkable for their resemblance to green leaves.] the common cockroach is too well known to need description. the individuals with half-developed wings are the perfect females; but there are other species in which the wings are fully developed in both sexes, others in which the male is winged and the female wingless, and others again in which both sexes are wingless. in warm countries and on ship-board cockroaches are far more troublesome than in cold climes; and the large brown ones, with a mark on the back of the thorax resembling a crown, and very broad wing-cases and wings, are called drummers in the west indies, from the loud noise they keep up during the night. lady burton has given an amusing account of her introduction to cockroaches abroad: "after two days we were given a very pleasant suite of rooms--bedroom, dining- and drawing-room--with wide windows overlooking the tagus and a great part of lisbon. these quarters were, however, not without drawbacks, for here occurred an incident which gave me a foretaste of the sort of thing i was to expect in brazil. our bedroom was a large whitewashed place; there were three holes in the wall, one at the bedside bristling with horns, and these were cockroaches some three inches long. the drawing-room was gorgeous with yellow satin, and the magnificent yellow curtains were sprinkled with these crawling things. the consequence was that i used to stand on a chair and scream. this annoyed richard very much. 'a nice sort of traveller and companion _you_ are going to make,' he said; 'i suppose you think you look very pretty and interesting standing on that chair and howling at those innocent creatures.' this hurt me so much that, without descending from the chair, i stopped screaming, and made a meditation like st. simon stylites on his pillar; and it was, 'that if i was going to live in a country always in contact with these and worse things, though i had a perfect horror of anything black and crawling, it would never do to go on like that.' so i got down, fetched a basin of water and a slipper, and in two hours by the watch i had knocked ninety-seven of them into it. it cured me. from that day i had no more fear of vermin and reptiles, which is just as well in a country where nature is over-luxuriant. a little while after we changed our rooms we were succeeded by lord and lady lytton, and, to my infinite delight, i heard the same screams coming from the same room a little while after. 'there,' i said in triumph, 'you see i am not the _only_ woman who does not like cockroaches.'" [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ house-cricket. very similar in its habits to the cockroach.] the dimensions of the insects are not so much exaggerated; for i believe this story refers to the large reddish american cockroach, which is common in many english cities, although only in warehouses. it does not usually much exceed an inch in length; but the antennæ are very long, and the wing-cases expand nearly inches. (see photograph on page .) [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ mole-cricket. a brown insect about inches long. the very broad and flat front legs are used for burrowing.] the soothsayers, or praying-insects, are not british, though one or two species are found in the south of europe. they have long fore legs, the shanks of which are set with a double row of long, curving, sabre-like spines, and when at rest they hold them up as if in the attitude of prayer; but they are really on the look-out for prey, and the long spines are admirably adapted for wounding or grasping the insects which form their food. they also fight fiercely among themselves, and it is no uncommon occurrence for a female to tear to pieces and devour her mate, either during or after their courtship. the soothsayers are often of a green colour, so as to match the grass and leaves among which they live, and thus conceal them from their prey. the stick-insects. or spectre-insects, have some resemblance to the soothsayers, but are exclusively vegetable-feeders, and have long, sprawling legs, or shorter ones, sometimes more or less lobate; but they never possess prehensile fore legs for seizing prey. the wing-cases are generally quite small; but some species have beautiful large green or pink wings, folded fan-wise, and covered by the stout front border of the wing. many species are wingless, and of a grey or brown colour, which renders them scarcely distinguishable from dry bits of stick; and among these is the largest living insect known, a grey stick-like species from borneo, measuring nearly inches from head to tail. other species have curious excrescences on the legs and body, which make them look like bits of wood overgrown with moss or lichen; while others possess large flat lobes growing from the legs and body, which cause them to be almost indistinguishable from green leaves; and, indeed, these insects are frequently called "walking leaves." [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ long-horned grasshopper. this insect belongs to the same family as the well-known british species. the specimen from which this photograph was taken had unfortunately (as is often the case) broken antennæ; they should be twice as long as the wings.] with the crickets we commence the last three families of the group, which are distinguished from the others by their power of leaping. the hind legs are very long, with very thick thighs, and generally a double row of strong teeth or spines on the shanks. the feet are generally three-jointed, and there is usually a long ovipositor in the females. there are very few true crickets in england, but three of these are very conspicuous species. the first is the mole-cricket, a large light brown insect nearly inches long, with broad, short front legs rather like those of a mole, which it uses in a similar way. though common and destructive in fields and gardens, it is not often seen: but if water be thrown on the ground overnight, and a board laid over it, one or two mole-crickets are likely to be found underneath in the morning. the house-cricket resembles this insect in colour, but is not much more than half an inch long, and there is nothing remarkable in the structure of its legs. it is almost the only noisy insect found in english houses, and is very similar to the common cockroach in its habits, although free from the disagreeable smell which adds to the disgust the latter insect often inspires. the third species, the field-cricket, is a smooth black insect, larger and stouter than the house-cricket. it constructs burrows in grassy places, but is not now a very common species in england. in the last two species, and many others, there is a bare space on one of the wing-cases of the male, crossed by ribs in a manner varying according to the species, which helps to produce the loud chirping for which these insects are remarkable. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ cape grasshopper (female). this insect, which is remarkable for the inflated bladder-like appearance of the male, is an object of superstition among the boers. colour, bright apple-green with white stripes.] the long-horned grasshoppers, which form the next family, are distinguished by having four joints to their feet, a long ovipositor in the female, and very long, slender antennæ. the commonest species inhabiting england, and one of the largest grasshoppers, is the great green grasshopper, which is found leaping about among long grass and low bushes, especially in the south of england. it is about inches in length. among the foreign species of this rather extensive family, we may mention some green or reddish south american species, with a large round spot on the hind wings, not unlike those seen in the peacock-butterfly. [illustration: _photo by highley._ egyptian locust. a common north african species, of which specimens occasionally visit england.] [illustration: _photo by highley._ egyptian locust. this figure shows the upper surface of the specimen represented in the preceding photograph.] [illustration] [illustration: _photos by w. l. h. duckworth_] [_cambridge._ wart-eating grasshopper (two views). used by swedish peasants to bite off their warts.] the last family includes the short-horned grasshoppers, or true locusts, so very destructive in many countries, though the real migratory locusts are only casual visitors to england, the native british species being all small insects, found among grass, and doing but little damage. the commonest of the migratory locusts visiting britain is the red-legged locust, which expands from to inches, and has grey wing-cases varied with brown, pale green hind wings, and red hind shanks, with white black-tipped spines. another species, the egyptian locust, more rarely met with, has brown fore wings, and grey hind wings, crossed by a broad blackish band. two photographs are given on page of a specimen brought to england among vegetables in the spring of . many foreign locusts, large and small, have beautiful red or blue hind wings, and some of these are common on the continent, though not in england; those found in europe are comparatively small, measuring only or inches across the wing-cases; but some of the great south american locusts measure as much as or inches in expanse. however, some of the smaller species, such as the cyprian locust and the rocky mountain locust, which measure less than inches across the wing-cases, are much more destructive than the large species. a real invasion of locusts is a terrible calamity, for the insects fly like birds, but in vast flocks, and devour every scrap of vegetation where they settle. sometimes a flight, two or three miles broad, continues to fly steadily over the same spot for hours together. sometimes flocks perish at sea, and are cast up on the beach in heaps like sand-hills, extending for a distance of forty or fifty miles. nor are the young locusts less destructive before they acquire wings; for they march across a district in such numbers as to extinguish fires, fill up trenches, and overcome all similar obstacles placed in their way by sheer force of numbers; and it is well said of a visitation of locusts, "the land is as the garden of eden before them, and behind is a desolate wilderness." nerve-winged or lace-winged insects, or dragon-flies and their relatives. by the rev. theodore wood, f.e.s. the nerve-winged insects owe their title to the peculiar character of their wings, the horny veins which form the framework of those organs being multiplied and sub-divided to such an extent that they assume the appearance of exceedingly delicate network. these insects fall naturally into two great groups, in one of which the chrysalis, or pupa, is active, and continues to take food like the grub, while in the other it is passive and helpless, like that of a butterfly or a moth. prominent among the members of the first division are the dragon-flies, which owe their title partly to their extreme voracity, and partly to the fact that they feed entirely upon living insects, which they pursue through the air. they are exceedingly swift of wing, and may be seen hawking over ponds and streams on any fine day throughout the summer and early autumn. the earlier part of their lives is spent in the water, in which the eggs are laid by the parent insect. the grubs are usually of a dull grey or brownish-green colour, and are remarkable for a curious organ known as the "mask," which partly covers the lower surface of the head. this apparatus consists of two joints, which fold upon one another, but can be extended at will, the one farthest from the head terminating in a pair of large and powerful jaws. when the grub perceives an insect-victim, it swims cautiously beneath, and seizes it by means of these jaws. the "mask" is then folded, and the prisoner drawn down within reach of the mandibles, by means of which it is speedily devoured. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ dragon-fly. these insects are often known as "horse-stingers," although they do not sting horses; in fact, they are perfectly harmless, except to insects smaller and weaker than themselves.] the method of swimming practised by the dragon-fly grub is also very curious. through the centre of the body runs a longitudinal tube, terminating in a circular orifice, closed by means of five tightly fitting valves. these valves, which together form a sharp spike when closed, can be separated at will. when the insect wishes to swim, it fills the tube with water, and then squirts the contents forcibly out, the result being that it is driven swiftly forwards by the reaction. the pupa of the dragon-fly is very much like the grub, with the exception that the rudiments of the future wings may be seen on the back. about forty species of these insects are found in the british islands, of which the great dragon-fly is a well-known example. the body is inches in length, while the extended wings measure about inches from tip to tip. in colour it is light rusty brown, with a few pale markings. the "horse-stinger"--which is perfectly harmless, notwithstanding its popular title--is also common, and may be recognised at once by its flat dull yellow body, which becomes blue in the fully developed male. in the graceful and beautiful demoiselle the male is deep blue, with black patches on the wings, while the female is entirely green. allied to these insects is the common may-fly, popularly supposed to live for one day only. as a matter of fact, however, it spends a couple of years in the grub and pupa states, inhabiting burrows in the banks of ponds and streams. these burrows are curved, and have two entrances, one above the other, so that the insect can pass in and out with perfect ease. the may-fly is also remarkable for the fact that the perfect insect changes its skin shortly after reaching maturity. before this change takes place the female insect is the "green drake" of the angler; afterwards, the "grey drake." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ queen termite. her huge white body is full of eggs, of which she lays thousands every day.] to this group belong also the termites, or "white ants," so exceedingly numerous in almost all the warmer parts of the world. these are social insects, living together in vast colonies, and making most wonderful nests, which consist of a vast and complicated series of chambers and passages, sheltered beneath a turreted dome of clay. in the centre is the "royal cell," inhabited by the "king" and "queen," as the perfect male and female are called. these are winged when first they leave the pupal shell. but after taking a single flight, they snap off their wings at the base, just as ants do; while for the rest of their lives they are absolute prisoners in the cell built around them by the workers. shortly after this strange incarceration takes place, the body of the queen swells to a huge size, so that, to quote professor drummond, she becomes "a large, loathsome, cylindrical package, or inches long, in shape like a sausage, and as white as a bolster." she now begins to deposit eggs at the rate of several thousands in a day, which are at once carried off by the workers, to whom is entrusted the entire care of the helpless young. these workers, which are exceedingly numerous, also enlarge the nest from time to time, and construct tunnels of clay up the trunks and along the branches of trees, through which they may convey to the nurseries in security the gums and decaying wood for the nutriment of the young. a fourth form of insect is also found in the termites' nest, known as the "soldier." the head is much larger and the jaws are much longer and stronger than those of the worker, and the sole function appears to be to defend the nest when attacked. both soldier and worker, apparently, proceed from the same eggs which produce the king and queen, the difference in development being probably due--as in the hive-bee--to the character of the food with which the young are supplied. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ termites. the perfect male and female are winged, the "worker" and the "soldier" being more like grubs than perfect insects.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ termites' nests in queensland. these nests are sometimes or feet high.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ termites' nest in queensland. the smaller nests, when opened and emptied, are used by the natives as ovens.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ termites at work. this shows one of the most destructive of wood-eating insects, nearly of the natural size.] in a state of nature termites are undoubtedly beneficial. they are scavengers, in fact, whose duty it is to remove the dead and decaying wood which would otherwise encumber the ground for many years. but in civilised districts they are extremely mischievous, books, furniture, and all the woodwork of houses being often completely destroyed by them before their presence is even suspected. the second division of the order also forms two well-marked groups--namely, the flat-winged insects, in which the wings are fully spread, horizontally or obliquely, even in repose, and the hairy-winged insects, in which those organs can be folded longitudinally, like the joints of a fan. of the former group, the ant-lion of southern europe is a familiar example. the perfect insect is seldom seen, owing to its nocturnal habits. in appearance it is not unlike a small and delicately built dragon-fly, with a yellowish head, a black body, and transparent wings marbled with brownish spots. the larva, however, is terrestrial, and lives in a funnel-shaped pitfall which it scoops out in the sand, always working backwards in a spiral direction, and jerking out the sand with its broad head in an almost continuous shower. having completed the excavation, it buries itself at the bottom with merely the tips of its jaws appearing above the surface, and there waits for ants or other small creatures to fall down the sloping sides, accelerating their descent, if need be, by flinging sand upon them. the size of the pit varies with that of the insect, the fully grown grub digging down to the depth of about inches, while the cavity is about inches in diameter. the mouth of the ant-lion grub is very curiously constructed, the jaws lying in a groove on the inner margin of the mandibles, or jaws proper; so that while an insect is held prisoner by the latter, the former can be employed in sucking its juices. when the body of the victim has been completely drained, the empty skin is thrown out of the pit by a jerk of the head. the chrysalis, too, is remarkable for possessing jaws, by means of which it cuts its way out of the cocoon which it made, when a larva, by spinning grains of sand together with silken threads. in some south european and african insects allied to the ant-lions the hind wings are modified into extremely long and slender shafts, slightly expanded at the extremities. in an indian species belonging to a related genus these wings are scarcely more than threads, and bear a superficial resemblance to the attenuated limbs of certain gnats. one group, of which a japanese species is a well-known representative, is characterised by the long, slender, and clubbed antennæ. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ termites' nest. showing one year's reconstruction to nest, of which the photographer made a section.] the mantis-flies are remarkable for the structure of the fore limbs, which are almost exactly similar in character to those of the praying-mantis. the upper segment of the leg is so lengthened as to look like an additional joint; the lower surface of the thigh is armed with a number of long, sharp spines; and the tibia, or lower part of the leg, folds closely down upon it, after the manner of the blade of a clasp-knife. these limbs are used for seizing, an insect which is once grasped being effectually prevented by the spines from breaking away. the larvæ of these insects are parasitic in the nests of tree-wasps and spiders, and have the peculiarity of practically losing their limbs as they approach maturity; so that while at first they are free and active, they afterwards become almost as helpless as those of many beetles. one species is found in southern europe, the remainder being widely distributed over the hotter regions of the globe. allied to the mantis-flies are the curious snake-flies, or camel-flies. in these insects the head is very large, and is attached to the thorax, or central division of the body, by a long and distinct neck, which allows it great freedom of motion. the neck is usually raised and the head bent down, giving to the insect a remarkably snake-like appearance. these flies are predaceous in their habits, and the four british species may be found on the banks of ponds and small streams, where they can obtain insect-victims in plenty. the larvæ live beneath the bark of trees, and wriggle about in a singularly serpentine fashion. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ scorpion-fly. remarkable for the curious structure of the end of the body.] equally curious in a different way are the scorpion-flies, in which the body is prolonged into a slender three-jointed process, the extremity of which, in the male, is furnished with a pair of curved forceps. in spite of their somewhat formidable appearance these insects are perfectly harmless. they are very plentiful almost everywhere, and may be found in numbers on any sunny summer morning resting on the herbage on hedge-banks, or running actively about on the leaves of low bushes. like the snake-flies, they are predaceous, feeding entirely upon other insects, and often attacking those which are bigger and apparently stronger than themselves. the eggs are laid underground, and the grubs, which are entirely subterranean in their habits, feed upon decomposing vegetable matter. when fully fed, they burrow still deeper into the ground, and there change into pupæ, from which the perfect insects emerge about a fortnight later. in the common english species the body is shining black, and the legs are yellow, while the transparent wings are marked with brown spots, which generally form three broken transverse bands. the insect is about half an inch in length. certain allied insects have very slender bodies and long legs, and might easily be mistaken for "daddy-long-legs" by any one who failed to notice the presence of two pairs of wings. a species found in southern europe is reddish yellow in colour, with a brown thorax and yellowish wings. it has a curious habit of suspending itself from a twig by its fore legs, and seizing any flying insect which may come within reach with the middle and hinder pairs. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ adult form of ant-lion. the grub of this insect lives in small pits in sandy places, and feeds upon the ants, etc., which roll down the sloping sides.] allied to the foregoing is the extraordinary little snow-insect, which makes its appearance in mid-winter, and may even be found crawling on the surface of snow. in general appearance it is not unlike a larval grasshopper, with very long, slender legs, and antennæ of about the same length as the body. there is also a well-developed beak. the wings are quite rudimentary in the female, while even in the male they are so short as to be perfectly useless for flight. the insect is remarkably active, nevertheless, and possesses the power of leaping, although the hinder thighs are not developed in any great degree. in colour it is metallic green, with the beak, antennæ, legs, wings, and ovipositor rusty red. it is not uncommon in the north of england and scotland. far more generally distributed is the lacewing-fly, or golden-eye, which may be seen almost anywhere on warm summer evenings flitting slowly to and fro in the twilight. during the daytime it may often be found resting upon fences, or sitting on the leaves of low plants. in colour it is pale green, with a peculiar milky appearance, and the eyes glow as though lighted by an inward fire. the wings are so closely and elaborately veined that they look like a piece of the most delicate lace-work. it is not advisable to handle the insect, for, although perfectly harmless, it possesses the power of pouring out from its body a liquid of the most horrible odour, which clings to the fingers in spite of repeated ablutions. the life-history of the lacewing-fly is very curious. when the maternal insect lays her eggs, she first deposits a drop of a highly glutinous fluid upon a leaf or slender twig, and then, with an upward jerk of her long body, draws it out into a slender thread. on contact with the air this thread immediately hardens, and just as she releases her hold the fly attaches a single egg to the tip. in this way or eggs are laid together in a little cluster, which looks just like a tiny patch of moss. in the earlier botanical manuals, indeed, it was actually named, figured, and described as a moss. [illustration: photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park. large caddis-fly. the largest british species measures about an inch and a half across the wings.] the grubs which hatch out from these eggs feed upon plant-lice, of which they devour vast numbers, draining the juices by means of their hollow jaws, and then fastening the empty skins on their own backs, as an american indian might decorate himself with the scalps of his victims. owing to this singular habit, the grub becomes perfectly unrecognisable after the first few days of its life, only the jaws and feet being visible beneath the pile of dry skins. when fully fed, it changes to the pupal condition in a silken cocoon, which it attaches to a leaf, and the perfect insect makes its appearance in the course of a few days. the alder-flies, in general appearance, are not unlike caddis-flies, but may easily be distinguished by the fact that the wings are not longitudinally folded while at rest. they are very abundant in the neighbourhood of ponds and small streams, where they may be seen flying slowly and heavily, or resting on low herbage or the foliage of trees and bushes. the female insect lays her eggs in clusters of or on the leaves of water-plants, and the little grubs make their way down into the water immediately on hatching out, where they creep about on the mud at the bottom in search of the tiny creatures on which they feed. when full-grown, they are about an inch in length. they then leave the water and bury themselves in the earth, where they change to pupæ, the perfect insects emerging in june or july. the caddis-flies, of which there are many british representatives, belong to the hairy-winged group. the larvæ of these insects are entirely aquatic, and remind one of hermit-crabs, the front part of the body being clothed with horny armour, while the hinder part is entirely unprotected. in order to escape the attacks of predaceous insects these grubs construct cases round their bodies, which they drag about wherever they go. in one or two instances, however, the case is attached to the lower surface of a stone. the materials of which these cases are made vary in accordance with the species. in one group, for instance, they consist of pieces of twigs and leaves, cut into short lengths, and arranged side by side in such a manner as to form a spiral band. the larva of another kind uses entire leaves, gluing them firmly together and living between them. a third species employs grains of sand and tiny stones, which it arranges in the form of a cow's horn. most curious of all, however, is the case of a caddis-fly which is made entirely of the shells of water-snails. as these shells are, as a rule, still tenanted by their owners, the snails may sometimes be seen attempting to crawl simultaneously in half a dozen different directions, while the grub is dragging them in a seventh. all the grubs retain tight hold of their cases by means of a pincer-like organ at the end of the body. when fully fed, they close the aperture at each end of the tube, and assume the chrysalis state, the perfect insects emerging a few weeks later. although the wings are large and broad, they fly very slowly, and never seem to take more than a short journey through the air. they may often be seen in numbers resting upon the herbage on the banks of streams and ponds, or crawling down into the water in order to deposit their eggs. stinging four-winged insects, or ants, bees and wasps, and their allies by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. the order of insects to which the ants, bees, and wasps belong includes a very large number of species. all these are provided with four membranous wings, alike in consistency, and provided with comparatively few nervures. the wings are usually of small size, as compared with the dimensions of the insects, but are very powerful, owing to the fore and hind pair being connected together during flight by a series of little links; and the flight of the insects is usually very rapid. these insects pass through a perfect metamorphosis, the pupa being always inactive; the jaws are provided with mandibles, though a proboscis, or sucking-tube, is also present, and the abdomen of the female is armed with an ovipositor, or boring instrument, which is frequently modified into a powerful sting, used to deposit the eggs in their proper position. one peculiarity is that several species of ants, bees, and wasps live in large communities, in which the bulk of the inhabitants, on whom most of the work of the nest falls, are imperfectly developed and usually sterile females, called neuters, or workers. this arrangement is also met with in the white ants, which belong to the order of lace-winged insects. among both the ants and white ants the neuters are unprovided with wings; but these organs are present in the fully developed males and females, though soon cast. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ saw-fly. one of the commonest of the larger british species is a blackish hairy insect, measuring rather more than an inch in expanse, with transparent wings bordered with brown.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ marble gall-fly and gall. found on oak, and not unlike the foreign gall used for making ink.] a great variety of other insects also belong to this order, such as saw-flies, gall-flies, and an immense number of parasitic species, generally called ichneumon-flies, among which are some of the smallest insects known. this extensive order of insects is divided into two principal sections--those in which the ovipositor is used as a saw or an auger, and those in which it is modified into a sting. one of the most interesting sections of the borers includes the saw-flies, in which the boring instrument is modified into a pair of toothed saws, which are used for cutting incisions in leaves, or in the tender bark of twigs, in which to deposit the eggs. these flies have four transparent wings, sometimes stained with yellow or purple, and their bodies are moderately stout and obtuse, and generally black, red or yellow. the antennæ are very variable in form, and are sometimes knobbed at the end like those of a butterfly; sometimes they are formed of a number of long, slender joints; sometimes of only three--a moderately long basal one, a short middle one, and a long terminal one, composed of a number of joints united into one; and rarely, as in the case of the males of some small species about half an inch long which feed on fir and pine, the antennæ are feathered. the grubs are very like caterpillars, and are sometimes called "false caterpillars"; but a true caterpillar (except in one or two very rare exceptions among foreign species) has never more than sixteen legs, while these "false caterpillars" have more, often as many as twenty-two. they also resemble caterpillars in another way, for the pupæ are enclosed in cocoons. one interesting australian species, which feeds on gum-trees, proceeds from a black caterpillar with only six legs. the perfect insect has a blackish head and thorax, with three large yellow spots on the latter, yellowish antennæ and wings, and a green abdomen; it measures about an inch and a half across the wings, and has knobbed antennæ. an allied species, found in tasmania, is said to tend its young larvæ--an unusual habit, except among social insects like bees, wasps, and ants. among the commonest and the most destructive saw-flies in england are those feeding upon the currant, gooseberry, and pear, of which there are several species, measuring about half an inch across the wings. the commonest flies which lay their eggs on the gooseberry and currant are yellow, with the head, antennæ, and three long spots on the back black, and the wings transparent, with black veins. the grubs are bluish green, with twenty legs, and numerous black dots; and several may often be seen on one leaf. the best-known of the pear saw-flies is black, with the wings transparent, except the veins; the grub is very like a slug, and is green or yellow, very slimy, with the front of the body much thickened. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ tree-wasp. very similar to the common wasp, but builds its nest in trees instead of in the ground.] the wood-wasps include only a few species, the grubs of which live in the stems of plants, or in the solid wood of trees. one of the largest feeds on fir- or pine-trees, and the fly measures from half an inch to an inch and a half in length, and varies much in size, though the male is generally much smaller than the female. the female is yellow, with two black bands, and a stout ovipositor half as long as the abdomen. in the male the tip of the abdomen is black, and ends in a rectangular point. the wings are transparent, with yellow nervures. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ tree-wasp's nest. generally built in a thick bush.] next to these insects come the gall-flies, most of which produce round galls on oaks; and in some species we meet with a wingless brood, living alternately with the winged broods, but at the roots of the trees instead of in the open air. the veining of the wings is reduced to one or two veins; the antennæ are rather long, and not angulated; and the abdomen is short, and constricted at the base. the flies seldom measure more than half an inch across the wings. some galls are hard, like the one found on the turkey oak, from which ink is made; while others are large and juicy, resembling cherries, or small apples, among which is the so-called apple of sodom. others, like the bedeguar, which is found on roses, have a mossy appearance. the latter are produced by a small black saw-fly, with part of the legs, and, in the female, the base of the abdomen, red beneath. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ pine-boring wasp (female). formidable in appearance, but quite harmless.] some of the smaller gall-flies do not produce galls, but are parasitic on other insects; but galls are very liable to the parasitic attacks of other insects, especially to those of small brilliant metallic green four-winged flies, belonging to an allied family, with very few nervures, but with a black membranous spot on the front edge of the fore wings, and angulated antennæ. many galls do not begin to grow until the larva is hatched and begins to eat. we now come to five or six families of parasitic species, popularly called ichneumon-flies, and immensely numerous and varied. there are probably considerably over , species in england alone; but they are comparatively little known or studied. some of these have beautifully delicate wings, fringed with long bristles, and are among the smallest insects known, being of quite microscopic dimensions. these are parasitic on the eggs of various insects, and some are aquatic. but the more typical ichneumon-flies are of larger size, often measuring more than an inch across the wings. their bodies are usually black or yellow, and there is often an irregularly shaped space in the middle of the fore wing, where the veins of the wing converge. in these flies the ovipositor is very short; but in others it is of great length, especially in the case of the largest british insect of this group, which is parasitic on the larvæ of the great black-and-yellow wood-wasp, of which we have already spoken. this parasite is as large as the wood-wasp, but much more slender; it is black, with red legs, and two white dots on each segment of the abdomen. the ovipositor, which looks like three black threads, is as long as the whole body. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ pine-boring wasp (male). smaller than the female, and very different in appearance.] the numerous parasites of which we have spoken usually deposit their eggs in punctures in the bodies of caterpillars or other immature insects, which the grubs devour from within during the life of their victim, leaving it to die when they themselves have reached their full growth. intermediate between the boring and stinging insects of this order comes the small family of the ruby-tailed flies. these are brilliantly coloured bronze-red, blue, or green metallic four-winged flies, with the thorax covered with large depressions, and the abdomen smooth, and usually composed, as seen from above, of one large, smooth joint, and one or two much smaller coarsely punctured ones beyond it, the last ending in a variable number of short teeth. they roll themselves up in a ball when alarmed, and are parasites, depositing their eggs in the nests of other insects. an entomologist once saw a ruby-tailed fly hurled to the ground by a mason-bee which had built her nest in a hole in a wall. the fly rolled herself up into a ball, when the bee bit off her wings, and then flew away. but as soon as she was gone the wingless fly stretched herself out again, and climbed up the wall to the bee's nest to deposit her eggs. [illustration: croesus butterfly of batchian male natural size] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando f.z.s. regent's park._ _printed at lyons, france._ croesus butterfly of batchian. female slightly reduced] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ ichneumon-fly. one of the largest british species of a very extensive group of parasitic insects.] the group of stinging insects begins with the ants, which are probably the most intelligent animals now living in the world. different species, however, differ very much in their manners and customs, and in the grade of civilisation to which they have attained. some of the more industrious among them keep other insects as cattle, and even as pets; others harvest grain, while a few species cultivate grain for their own use; and others make large mushroom-beds of comminuted leaves, and thus do great harm to cultivated trees in many parts of tropical america. when the industrious ants are not too busy, they sometimes indulge in sports and pastimes. but there are some species which live in idle communities. such ants are only energetic as marauders, and are so degraded that they cannot even feed themselves, and starve to death if they are deprived of the services of their black slaves, which have been carried off as pupæ by the others in piratical raids, and brought up by other slaves, which do all the work in the nests of their captors. quitting the ants, we arrive at a rather extensive series of insects of moderate or considerable size, and with very spiny legs, called burrowing-wasps. they are brightly coloured, active insects, and generally dig holes in the ground, which they provision with caterpillars, grasshoppers, or spiders, which they paralyse with their stings, and leave in a moribund condition to form the food of their progeny. they are generally winged in both sexes, but in one family the females are stout and very hairy, and look like large hairy ants, while the males are slender winged insects, very unlike their partners. in the burrowing-wasps the front of the thorax, or second division of the body, is usually transverse, and often narrow; but in the true wasps it bends back to the wings. among these latter it is only the small group of the social wasps which are gregarious, and among which we find workers as well as males and females. the largest of the british wasps is the hornet; but there are several much larger species in the east indies, some of which are black and yellow, like the chinese mandarin-wasp, the largest of all, which often measures inches across the wings. others are black, with one large reddish band on the abdomen. their nests, which they construct of a kind of paper, are formed in a hole in the ground, in a hollow tree, or in a bush, or under the eaves of a house. a nest is commenced by a single female which has survived the winter, and is afterwards enlarged by the exertions of her progeny. [illustration: ruby-tailed fly. generally of a brilliant metallic green or blue.] [illustration: _photos by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ wood-ant. the largest species found in britain.] the last group in this order are the bees. they may generally be easily recognised by their shaggy bodies and legs. as with the wasps, most species are solitary, or live in very small communities. some few are smooth, and more or less metallic. a photograph of a large and beautiful south american species appears in the coloured plate. the largest british bees are the stout-bodied humble-bees, or bumble-bees, which are generally yellow, more or less banded with black, or else black with a red tail. they form a small nest of cells just beneath the surface of the ground in meadows. a common european species, not found in england, is the large black, violet-winged carpenter-bee, which makes its nest in a gallery burrowed in a post, where there is a separate compartment for each grub. [illustration: _photos by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ solitary ant. (male.) (female.) not a true ant, but a burrowing-wasp, believed to be parasitic in the nests of humble-bees.] there are only a few species belonging to the true hive-bees found in different parts of the world. they can always be distinguished from any of the solitary bees, some of which much resemble them, by having a single long, narrow cell, about four times as long as broad, running along the front edge of the fore wing. in the solitary bees the corresponding cell is much broader and shorter, rarely more than one and a half times as long as broad, and only occupying a small portion of the front edge of the wing. hive-bees have always been looked upon with more interest than most other insects, both on account of the valuable products of honey and wax which they produce, and because of their remarkable habits. they are probably less intelligent than ants, but they are larger; and as all classes of their adult population are winged insects, and have been kept in a domesticated or semi-domesticated state for many centuries, they have lent themselves more readily to observation. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ hornet. the largest species of true wasp found in britain.] the hive-bees live in very large communities, and in a state of nature they make their nests in hollow trees or in crevices of rocks, where they build their waxen cells, store their honey, and rear their young. there are three classes among them,--the queen-bee, the female and the mother of the hive; the male, or drone; and the neuter, or worker, which is really an imperfectly developed and usually sterile female. like other insects, bees pass through a metamorphosis, which in their case is of the description called "complete," for the immature forms of the bee show no resemblance whatever to the winged insect which will finally be perfected. every bee commences its life in the form of an egg. each egg is laid by the queen-bee in a separate cell, and in a few days the egg hatches into a white footless maggot, which is carefully tended by the workers, and fed by them with a preparation secreted by the bees, which is carefully graduated, not only according to the age of the grub, but is differently constituted according to the sex and status of the bee; for it is well known that it is in the power of the workers to develop a young grub which would otherwise become a sterile worker into a perfect queen-bee, by placing it in a large cell, and rearing it on the same nourishing food which is supplied to those grubs which are intended to become perfect queens. when the grub is full-grown, it spins itself a small silken cocoon, and becomes a pupa, or nymph, as it is called. the pupa somewhat resembles a swathed mummy, for all the external portions of the future bee can be seen outlined in the hard casing which encloses it. as soon as it arrives at maturity, it makes its way out through the upper end, when the cell is at once prepared by the other bees for a fresh occupant. the newly born bee is at first moist, flabby, and pale-coloured; but in a few hours her skin dries and hardens, when she at once commences her life-long labours, at first tending the young bees and doing other necessary duties in the hive, and then, a fortnight later, going forth with her companions to collect honey and pollen in the meadows and gardens. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ hive-bee. (queen, worker, and drone.) there are only about ten or twelve kinds of true hive-bees known.] there is never room for more than one queen-bee in a hive; and the queens, which may be recognised by their longer bodies and shorter wings, have such a mortal hatred of each other that, whenever two of them meet, they will fight, if permitted, until one is killed. but in summer, when young bees are hatching daily in large numbers, and the hive is getting over-populated, the workers do not permit the queens to fight; and finally one of them (usually the old queen in the first instance) works herself up into a great flurry, and rushes out of the hive, attended by several hundred followers, to seek for fresh fields and pastures new. this is called "swarming"; and a strong hive will often throw off as many as four or five swarms in the course of the summer. it is then the object of the bee-keeper to get the queen to enter a new hive, for otherwise the swarm may fly to a distance and be lost; but wherever the queen-bee takes up her abode, her companions will assemble round her, and at once commence the work of building combs and storing up honey. [illustration: _photo by b. h. bentley_] [_sheffield._ bumble-bee on everlasting-pea. bumble-bees make their nests in the ground, and live in smaller communities than the hive-bee.] the drone, or male bee, is rather larger than the worker, and has a more obtuse body. he may be at once distinguished by his long thirteen-jointed antennæ, or feelers, for the antennæ are shorter and only twelve-jointed in the queen and worker. there are several hundred drones in a hive; but the queen only pairs once in her life, on the wing, and the ceremony is immediately followed by the death of the drone. the drones have no sting, for the sting of the female and worker is really a modified ovipositor, or egg-laying apparatus, analogous to the organ which is so conspicuous in many ichneumons and other insects belonging to the same order as the bees. in the autumn the unfortunate drones are all massacred or else driven forth from the hive by the workers, when they speedily perish. the workers are by far the most numerous of the inhabitants of a bee-hive; there may be many thousands of them, and their number appears to be only limited by the dimensions of the hive itself. the ancients had observed something of the economy of bees, but many of their ideas on the subject were strangely fantastic. it was perhaps natural to suppose that the leader of the bees was a king rather than a queen; but it was also supposed that a swarm of bees could be obtained by killing an ox and leaving the carcase to rot. this notion appears to have originated in swarms of flies, more or less resembling bees, having been noticed flying round or near putrefying carcases. among all the truly social insects--_i.e._ hive-bees, wasps, ants, and termites, or so-called white ants--we find that the bulk of the community consists of sterile females, and the number of fertile females is very small, even in those cases where more than one female is permitted to live in a nest, as among wasps. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ bees. swarming from the hive after the queen.] humble-bees live in small communities, consisting of males, females, and workers; but their economy is very simple compared with that of the hive-bee, and they do not confine themselves to a single female to a nest. the solitary bees are very numerous in species, and consist only of males and females. they do not live in communities, but each female constructs a dwelling for her own young. many of them burrow in the ground, and they are so far gregarious that a large number of females will sometimes form their burrows near each other in the same bank. there are about two hundred different kinds of bees known to inhabit the british isles. the solitary bees are very varied in their habits, and some of them are parasitic on other species. the large carpenter-bees, which form their nests in wood, are not british; but there are some small british species which make theirs in the interior of bramble-sticks. some are very hairy; others are smooth, and look at first sight like small wasps, being banded with black and yellow. but one of the handsomest and most conspicuous of the solitary species is the fulvous bee, which is a hairy species much resembling a small humble-bee, and is one often seen in abundance along with other bees, flying round sallow blossoms in spring. scale-winged insects, or butterflies and moths. by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. butterflies and moths are easily distinguished from other insects by many very obvious characters, and a considerable number are remarkable for the beautiful and varied colours of their wings. these are, as it were, tiled with overlapping scales, attached to the membrane by a slender stem; hence their name, scale-winged insects. these scales differ very much in shape, sometimes being long and slender, and almost hair-like, while at other times they are widened at the extremity, like a battledore, or they may be short and broad, like a fan or a shovel. different forms of scales are found on different parts of the wings of the same insect; and some forms of scale are peculiar to the male, as are usually the dense tufts of scales found on the fore wings of the skipper butterflies, and on the hind wings of the chrysippus butterfly. the varied colours of these scales are due partly to pigment, interposed between the extremely delicate double or triple tissues of which the scales are composed; or, more rarely, to the refraction of light from the surface of the scales themselves, or, as has recently been stated, to different coloured scales alternating so that the varying colours are visible at different angles, as in the metallic "shot" colour of the purple emperor butterfly, and in various species found in south america and other countries. in the case of the purple emperor, and in many other butterflies, this "shot" colouring is confined to the males. indeed, as a rule, female butterflies and moths are larger than the males, but far less brilliantly coloured than their mates. there are, however, many species in which the sexes differ little in size or colour; but it only rarely happens that the female is more brightly coloured than the male. the bodies of butterflies and moths, the legs, and often more or less of the base or borders of the wings are clothed with hair or hair-like scales. these insects have a long or short proboscis, through which they imbibe their food, which consists of the honey of flowers, the sap of trees, or moisture from the ground. like other insects, they have six legs in the perfect state; but in some species either the front or hind pair becomes more or less rudimentary, especially in the males. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ leaf-butterfly. these butterflies are so remarkably like certain leaves that it is almost impossible to distinguish the difference even at close quarters.] butterflies and moths pass through four stages. the egg is laid by the female on some plant which will provide suitable nourishment for the caterpillar. a caterpillar, which is the next stage, is a jointed, worm-like creature with sixteen legs; those corresponding with the legs of the perfect insect are horny, and a pair is placed on each of the first three joints behind the head. the next four pairs, called "prolegs," are thick and fleshy, and a pair is placed under each of joints seven to ten (reckoning the head as joint one), the last joint of all being provided with a pair slightly differing from the others, and called "claspers." in many young caterpillars, however, and also in the full-grown caterpillars of a considerable number of moths (especially among those with slender bodies), one or more of the first three pairs of pro-legs may be rudimentary or absent, and the caterpillar walks by arching its back at every step, in a way that must be seen to be appreciated, though such caterpillars (popularly called loopers, on account of the way they loop up their bodies in walking) are often very active, and cover the ground much more rapidly than one might imagine. sometimes the claspers, or last pair of legs, are modified into tentacles, which, in the caterpillars of the puss-moth and its allies, contain retractile whips, used as weapons of defence. [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ south american long-winged butterflies. showing external resemblance between two butterflies of different families.] [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ diana fritillary. the male is dark brown, with a broad orange border spotted with black. the female has green marginal markings.] [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ queen of spain fritillary. brown above, with plush spots; spotted with silver beneath.] caterpillars are very voracious, and increase in size with great rapidity; and whenever their skin gets too tight, after splitting it, they slip it off (along with the lining of the stomach and intestines), and after a few hours' lethargy, necessary to recover from the debilitating effects of such a serious operation, and to give the new skin time to dry and harden, they begin to feed again as voraciously as ever. the number of these moults varies according to the species; when the caterpillar has attained its full growth, it enters upon the third stage of its life as a pupa, or chrysalis. a pupa means a doll, or swaddled baby, and is a very appropriate name for the dark-coloured object, cased in a horny skin, with no detached organs visible, except the sheath for the proboscis in some of the hawk-moths, in which this organ is unusually long, but with the separate cases of the wings, legs, etc., of the future butterfly or moth plainly visible in the sutures on its surface. the pupæ of some butterflies have more or less metallic colours; and to these only is the term "chrysalis" applicable. some pupæ are naked, and those of most butterflies are either suspended by the tail, or attached to a branch by a belt of silk round the body. those of moths are generally formed either in an earthen cell under the surface of the ground, or else are enclosed in an oval case called a "cocoon," chiefly composed of silk, though sometimes moss or chips of wood are worked into it. other pupæ are found between leaves, or, in the case of caterpillars which feed in the wood of trees, or in the stems of plants, in the galleries where they have lived. when the perfect butterfly or moth is ready to emerge, the pupa splits, and the insect works its way to the open air. its body is limp and heavy, and the wings are like little flaps of wet rag; but it discharges a quantity of superfluous fluid, generally of a red colour, and fixes itself on a branch, or other convenient foothold, where its wings can hang downwards. the expansion and contraction of the muscles pump air into the hollow tubes which form the framework of the wings; these rapidly expand to their full size, and become dry and firm at the same time. after this, the insect flies about with its companions, pairs, lays its eggs, and then dies, after enjoying its life for a period, varying according to the species and the season, from a few hours to several months. [illustration: tawny admiral. a north american butterfly.] we have not yet spoken of the feelers, or antennæ, of butterflies and moths. they are two long, jointed organs, nearly always knobbed at the end in butterflies, or at least the terminal joints are thicker than the rest. but in moths the antennæ are of different shapes, and generally end in a point. sometimes they are simple and thread-like; sometimes they are thickest in the middle, and thinner at both ends, as in the hawk-moths; and they are often comb-like, especially in the males, as in the silk-moths. butterflies. [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ caterpillar of tawny admiral. remarkable for the sharply contrasted black and pale markings.] as already mentioned, butterflies may be distinguished from moths by their antennæ being thickened at the extremities. there are comparatively few species in europe--only about three hundred, of which between sixty and seventy are met with in the british islands; but in tropical countries they are much more numerous and varied. it is a mistake to suppose that butterflies are always bright-coloured insects, and moths the reverse; for though many butterflies are brightly coloured, others are very dingy. on the other hand, although it is equally true that many moths are dull-coloured, others, especially among those with slender bodies, or those which fly by day, are quite as brilliantly coloured as any butterflies. [illustration: _photo by e. c. atkinson._ blue butterfly. among the most conspicuous of the smaller european butterflies.] butterflies are divided into several groups, the first of which includes the brush-footed butterflies, so called because the front pair of legs is converted into hairy paws, useless for walking, and only employed for toilet purposes. this is a very extensive group, including about half the butterflies known, and is divided into several smaller sections. the most interesting species among the danaids is the monarch, one of the largest and commonest butterflies found in north america. it is migratory in its habits, and has succeeded in acclimatising itself throughout the pacific islands as far as australia and new zealand, as well as in the canaries; and so many specimens have been taken recently in the south of england that it seems not unlikely to take up its residence there also. it is a tawny butterfly, not unlike the one represented on the preceding page, but much larger, measuring about inches across the wings. the caterpillar is yellow, with transverse black bands, and a pair of long, black slender filaments near each extremity of the body. the pupa is pale green, with golden spots, and is suspended by the tail, as is the case with most of those of the brush-footed butterflies. the next group, the long-winged butterflies, includes a considerable number of species with long rounded wings, found in tropical and sub-tropical america. a species with black and transparent markings is shown on page , but many have wholly transparent wings, except for a narrow black or brown border. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ blue morpho butterfly and humming-bird. note proportionate sizes.] turning to more familiar insects, there are several kinds of large or moderate-sized tawny butterflies, marked with black spots and lines, called fritillaries in england. the caterpillars are spiny, and feed on violets and other low-growing plants. the photograph on page shows the diana fritillary, a large and handsome species, which is somewhat of a rarity in the southern states of america; it measures inches in expanse, and the sexes are very dissimilar. it is dark brown, with a broad orange border spotted with black in the male, and rows of more or less connected green or white spots in the female. [illustration: _photos by j. edwards_] large blue butterfly (male, female, and underside). scarce and nearly extinct in england.] [illustration: mazarine blue butterfly (male, female, and underside). practically extinct in england.] [illustration: _photos by j. edwards_] long-tailed blue butterfly (male, female, and underside). an occasional immigrant on the south coast of england.] [illustration: bloxworth blue butterfly (male, female, and underside). probably a casual visitor in england.] the angle-winged butterflies include several of the best known and most brightly coloured british species, such as the red admiral, a velvety black butterfly, with a transverse red band on the fore wings, and several white spots between this and the tip, the hind wings having a red border, spotted with black and blue. it measures about ½ inches across the wings, and is common in gardens and orchards in summer and autumn. the caterpillar, which feeds on nettle, is brown or black, with yellow stripes and spines. the tawny admiral is a north american butterfly, remarkable for its resemblance to the larger butterfly called the monarch, of which we have already spoken. the danaids and long-winged butterflies have tough integuments and a disagreeable odour, which more or less protects them from birds. many other butterflies belonging to other families have a superficial resemblance to these, and are believed to share in their immunity. this phenomenon is technically called "mimicry." the caterpillar of the tawny admiral is grey and black, with curious spiny tufts. [illustration: _photos by j. edwards_] large copper butterfly (male, female, and underside). extinct in england since .] [illustration: dusky copper butterfly (male, female, and underside). taken near ilfracombe, august, .] the group of the satyrs contains a great variety of moderate-sized brown or tawny butterflies, usually with round spots centred with white towards the margins of the wings. many species are common in meadows; others, which are dark brown or black, with red, white-centred marginal spots, are numerous in mountainous countries, and two species are found in the north of england and scotland. the caterpillars of the satyrs are usually smooth and green, with a forked tail, and the pupæ are formed on the surface of the ground. the great blue butterflies of south america form another group of brush-footed butterflies. the second family is almost entirely american, and is only represented in england by a brown butterfly about an inch in expanse, called the duke of burgundy fritillary. the caterpillar is reddish, and feeds on primroses. it is not a very abundant species in england. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ new guinea golden butterfly. a remarkable and recently discovered swallow-tailed butterfly.] the third family is represented in britain by three very distinct sections of rather small butterflies, the largest of which scarcely measures more than an inch and a half across the wings. these are the hair-streaks (brown, with light lines on the under surface of the wings, and a short tail on the hind wings, except in the green hair-streak, so named from the green under surface of the wings); the small blue butterflies, which generally have brown females; and the coppers, the only common species of which measures about an inch across the wings. the fore wings are bright coppery red, with dark brown spots and borders, and the hind wings are dark brown, with a coppery red border, spotted outside with black. the small copper butterfly and some of the blues are common in meadows and gardens. many of the members of the fourth family are of a white or yellow colour, among which are the destructive white cabbage-butterflies, three species of which are very common in england, where they may be seen in every garden throughout the summer. the photograph on page represents one of these at rest. a prettier species is the orange-tip, which is common in spring. the underside of the hind wings is mottled with green; and there is a bright orange spot before the tip of the fore wing, both above and below. some of the south american butterflies of this family much resemble the long-winged butterflies of the same country. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ australian butterflies. emerging from their pupæ.] the family of the swallow-tailed butterflies includes a considerable number of large and handsome species, but they are not numerous in europe, and only one black-and-yellow species, measuring inches across the wings, is found in england, where it is now almost confined to the fens of the south-eastern counties; its green caterpillar, with transverse black bands spotted with orange, feeds on carrot, fennel, and other similar plants. all the caterpillars of this family are remarkable for possessing a retractile fork on the neck; but the butterflies do not all possess the long appendage to the hind wings which has given some of them the name of swallow-tails. thus it is wanting in most of the great bird-winged butterflies of the eastern islands, one of which, the croesus butterfly, is represented in the coloured plate. the great difference between the sexes is well worth noting. the female is considerably larger than the male, but in the coloured figure the former has been reduced, owing to the exigencies of space. mr. a. r. wallace writes as follows of the capture of the first specimen:-- [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ bath white butterfly. always rare in england, though common on the continent.] [illustration: _photo by b. h. bentley_] [_sheffield._ green-veined white butterfly. the cabbage-butterfly referred to on page .] "one day about the beginning of january, i found a beautiful shrub with large white leafy bracts and yellow flowers, a species of mussænda, and saw one of these noble insects hovering over it, but it was too quick for me, and flew away. the next day i went again to the same shrub and succeeded in catching a female, and the day after a fine male. i found it to be as i had expected, a perfectly new and most magnificent species, and one of the most gorgeously coloured butterflies in the world. fine specimens of the male are more than seven inches across the wings, which are velvety black and fiery orange, the latter colour replacing the green of the allied species. the beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement i experienced when i at length captured it. on taking it out of my net and opening the glorious wings, my heart began to beat violently, the blood rushed to my head, and i felt much more like fainting than i have done when in apprehension of immediate death. i had a headache the rest of the day, so great was the excitement produced by what will appear to most people a very inadequate cause." [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ black-veined white butterfly. a much rarer species in england now than formerly.] the skippers, the last family of butterflies, are comparatively stout-bodied insects, with the antennæ widely apart at the base, and sometimes forked at the tip. they are not numerous in europe; the prettiest of the british species is perhaps the pearl-skipper, which measures rather more than an inch across its brown and tawny wings; the under surface of the hind wings is green, and marked with several clear white spots. moths. moths are much more numerous than butterflies, and there are about , different kinds found in the british islands alone. consequently we are able to notice only a few. the hawk-moths have long, pointed wings, thick, tapering bodies, and the antennæ thickest in the middle. the pink, greenish-striped elephant hawk-moth (see page ) is a comparatively small species. the specimens measure about ½ inches across the wings. some species are much larger. the death's-head hawk-moth, whose caterpillar feeds on potato-leaves, is or inches in expanse; and some of the south american species measure as much as inches. the caterpillars of the hawk-moths are generally green, often with oblique lines of a different colour on the sides. they are not hairy, though the skin is sometimes rough, and there is a fleshy appendage, called a "horn," on the back, just before the extremity of the body. the brown pupæ are found in cells in the ground. [illustration: _photo by e. c. atkinson._ orange-tip. showing three different positions when wings are folded, and partly or entirely concealing upper wing.] the chinese mulberry-silkworm, which produces most of the silk of commerce, is a smooth, whitish caterpillar, about inches long, with a horn. it is often reared in england on lettuce. the moth is a sluggish, stout-bodied insect. it is whitish, with two dusky stripes on the fore wings. the pupa is enclosed in an oval whitish or yellow cocoon of pure silk. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards, colesborne._ large grizzled skipper butterfly. upper- and under-sides.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ swallow-tailed butterfly the only british species of this butterfly is almost confined to the fen districts of norfolk.] the emperor-moths, of which there is only one species in england, likewise spin large cocoons, sometimes used for commercial purposes. the caterpillars are generally more or less spiny or tufted. some of the moths have long tails on the hind wings, like swallow-tailed butterflies, and there are several species in south europe, south africa, the east indies, and north america of a beautiful sea-green colour. it will be noticed that the specimens represented on page have the tails a little broken, which is a very common accident with swallow-tailed butterflies and moths. we may also notice the round or crescent-shaped spots in the middle of the wings of some of the moths represented on this page and the next. these are very characteristic of the emperor-moths, and there is often a transparent spot in the centre of the concentric markings. two other north american species of this family are shown in the photographs on page , rather under natural size. the second of these, the cecropia moth, is represented with its cocoon. this moth has occasionally been captured in england, having been introduced either accidentally or by design. a year or two ago a specimen was brought to the natural history museum at south kensington which had been caught in the street close by. during the summer many foreign butterflies and moths may be seen alive in the insect-house at the zoological gardens, regent's park, and several of the photographs given in these pages were taken from specimens living there in the summer of . the largest of the emperor-moths is the great atlas moth of north india, the largest of all known butterflies or moths, which occasionally measures almost a foot across its reddish-tawny wings. [illustration: _photo by highley._ elephant hawk moths showing position when at rest.] [illustration: _photo by highley._ luna moths. a green north american moth with tail, allied to the english emperor-moth.] the imperial moth, a handsome north american moth belonging to a family allied to the emperor-moths, is represented below. [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel, new york._ polyphemus moth. a handsome north american emperor-moth.] [illustration: _photo by highley._ cecropia moth. the largest of the north american emperor-moths.] [illustration: _photo by l. h. joutel_] [_new york._ imperial moth. yellow with purplish-brown dots and blotches. native of north america.] the eggars form another allied family, also with tufted caterpillars, but with the central eye of the wings absent, or reduced to a small black spot. a set of remarkable photographs, representing the eggs, caterpillars, cocoons and sections of cocoons, and the moths of a large and handsome species--the cypress-moth of smyrna--appears on pages and . we have received the following account of their habits from mr. mavroyeni, to whom we are indebted for the photographs: "in the month of july they start weaving their cocoons, in which they remain for seventeen days. a couple of weeks after the moths have emerged from their cocoons and laid their eggs, the eggs hatch, and the young caterpillars run up the tree, and feed from the end of august, during autumn, winter, and spring." we believe that the cocoons of this species are prepared for use as silk in greece. among other kinds, we may notice the bright-coloured tiger-moths, with their black and cream-coloured fore wings and red-and-black hind wings, which frequent gardens, and are reared from reddish-brown caterpillars with long hair. these are stout-bodied moths; and there are other moths, with brown fore wings and whitish hind wings, which fly to candles, or buzz over flowers in the evening. these are called owl-moths; but there are larger and handsomer members of the same family, called yellow underwings, measuring nearly inches across the wings, and likely to be flushed in strawberry-beds or hay-fields. they have brown fore wings, and bright yellow hind wings, with a black border. the red-underwing moth is about inches in expanse, and has greyish-brown fore wings, and red hind wings, with a black central band; it is often seen flying about willow-trees in the afternoon, or resting on tree-trunks, when the bright-coloured hind wings are quite concealed. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ cocoons of cypress-moth. these yield silk.] the looper-moths are those produced from caterpillars which have only ten legs instead of sixteen, as already explained. most have slender bodies of moderate length, and broad and rather brightly coloured wings, green, russet-brown, yellow, etc. some, measuring about an inch in expanse, are called carpet-moths, from the zigzag patterns on the fore wings, which are generally black and white, or brown and white, and sometimes green. the yellow-shell, a yellow moth, with some zigzag brown and whitish lines across the wings, which expand about an inch, is common in hedges and bushes. the white, black-and-yellow-spotted gooseberry-moth, or magpie-moth, so common in gardens, is also one of the loopers. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ cypress-moths at rest. in the month of july they start weaving their cocoons, in which they remain for seventeen days. a couple of weeks after their eggs are hatched, and the young caterpillars run up the tree, and feed from the end of august, during autumn, winter, and spring.] among the smaller moths are the pearl-moths, with long slender bodies, wings longer than broad, and often with a pearly lustre, one or two species of which are common among nettles. we may also mention the snout-moth, a brown slender-bodied moth, with a pointed beak projecting in front of the head, likewise a common insect among nettles. the grass-moths are small moths, with narrow whitish fore wings, and broad brownish hind wings, which they wrap round their bodies when at rest. they are common in every field and meadow. the bell-moths have broad truncated fore wings, and rounded hind wings. a species belonging to this family, with green fore wings and brown hind wings, may be shaken from every oak-tree in summer, and at the same time numbers of its little green caterpillars will drop themselves down, and remain swinging at the end of a thread, till they think that the danger is past, when they climb up again. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ cypress-moths. the inside of the cocoons, showing the pupæ.] the clothes-moths, familiar to everybody, are representatives of an enormous family of small moths, comprising nearly two-thirds of the british species, but only a few live in houses. most have narrow wings with long fringes, and many feed in tortuous galleries which they eat in the substance of leaves. some are among the smallest moths known. the white plume-moth, which may be noticed floating about in weedy places like a piece of thistle-down, is a representative of a small family in which the fore wings are divided into three separate feathers, and the hind wings into two. the other species are brown, and smaller. when at rest, they look like small daddy-long-legs. the twenty-plume moth is a yellowish-grey species, less than an inch in expanse, often to be seen at rest on windows or palings. it might easily be taken for a small looper-moth, but that each wing is split into six feathers. silkworms. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ cypress-caterpillars. when they leave their cocoons, the young caterpillars run up the tree to feed.] we have now completed a rapid survey of the principal groups of butterflies and moths, and may fittingly conclude this part of our subject by giving a short account of the history of silkworms--insects which far surpass all other butterflies and moths in their importance to mankind, on account of the valuable product which is obtained from their cocoons. the industry has been carried on from time immemorial in china; and many old chinese works contain interesting particulars, especially relating to the rearing of silkworms by the queens and their ladies, for silk was probably a royal monopoly in old times. these chinese records date back to about b.c., when the silk industry was already flourishing; but, according to the usually received tradition, silkworms were first reared during the reign of the emperor hwang-té ( b.c.) by his queen. the following extracts from the "le-he book of ceremonies," written between b.c. and b.c., and quoted by horsfield and moore in their "catalogue of the lepidoptera of the east india museum," may not be uninteresting to our renders:-- [illustration: _photo by j. peat millar_] [_beith._ death's-head moth. remarkable for the skull-like pattern on the back.] "in the first month of spring orders were issued to the forester not to cut down the mulberry-trees; and when the cooing doves were observed fluttering with their wings, and the crested jays alighting upon the mulberry-trees, people were to prepare the trays and frames for the purpose of rearing the silkworms. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ day-flying moth of madagascar. remarkable for the brilliancy of its colours--green and black, with the hind wings brilliant coppery red towards the extremity.] "in the spring season, when the empress and her ladies had fasted, they proceeded to the east, and personally engaged in picking the mulberry-leaves. on this occasion the married and single ladies were forbidden to wear their ornaments, and the usual employments of females were lessened, in order to encourage attention to the silkworms. when the rearing of the silkworms was completed, the cocoons were divided (for reeling) and the silk weighed (for weaving), each person being rewarded according to her labour, in order to provide dresses for the celestial and ancestorial sacrifices. in all this none dared indulge in indolence. [illustration: _photo by j. peat millar_] [_beith._ convolvulus hawk-moth. a grey moth, with pink bands on the body.] [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ great peacock-moth. brown with pale borders. the largest moth found in europe.] [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ polyphemus moth. on leaves of linden-tree, just out of cocoon. a native of north america.] "in the last month of summer the order was given to the female officers to dye the silk of various colours, in order to weave chequered sarcenets, comprising black and white, black and green, green and red, with red-and-white checks--all of which was to be done according to the ancient rule, without the least variation; the black, yellow, azure, and red tints were all to be correct and good, without the least fault, in order to provide dresses for the celestial and ancestorial sacrifices, and standards for distinguishing the high and low degrees. [illustration: photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s.] [_milford-on-sea._ white plume-moth. a very delicate insect. the wings are cleft almost to the base into separate feathers, two on the fore wings and three on the hind wings.] "in ancient times the emperor and his princes had a public mulberry garden and a silkworm establishment erected near some river. on the morning of the first day of the third month of spring, the sovereign, wearing a leather cap and a plain garment, ascertained by lot the chief of his three queens, with the most honourable amongst his concubines, and caused them to attend to the rearing of the silkworms in the above-named establishment. they then brought the eggs of the worms, and washed them in the river above alluded to, after which they picked the mulberry-leaves in the public garden, and aired and dried them, in order to feed the worms. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ indian swallow-tailed moth. resembles the american luna moth figured on page , and of an equally delicate green.] "when the season was over, the royal concubines, having completed the business of rearing the silkworms, brought the cocoons to show them to the prince, when he presented the cocoons again to his consort, whereupon his consort said, 'this is the material of which your highness's robes are to be formed.' having said which, she covered herself with her robe, and received the cocoons. on this occasion the ladies of the court were honoured with the present of a sheep. this was the mode in which the presentation of the cocoons was anciently conducted." in the reign of justinian eggs of the chinese mulberry-silkworm were smuggled into europe by two monks, and the culture of silk rapidly spread through southern europe, where it has continued to form a staple industry ever since. in the peloponnesus especially such large plantations of mulberry-trees were grown for the purpose of rearing silkworms as to give the peninsula its modern name of morea. silk is obtained in different parts of the world from the cocoons of various other moths, chiefly belonging to the group of emperor-moths; but these products are only of local importance, and are not likely to compete with the mulberry-silkworm. half-winged insects, or bugs and frog-hoppers. by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. [illustration: _photos by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] shield-bug. in tropical countries these bugs are often as large as cockchafers.] [illustration: juniper-bug. some species of this family are carnivorous as well as herbivorous.] the order including the bugs and frog-hoppers is divided into two sub-orders. there are also one or two small groups, sometimes treated as separate orders, and sometimes regarded as aberrant sections of the order, to which we shall allude later. the true bugs have their fore wings of a horny texture, but generally overlapping, and the extremities form a transparent membrane, resembling that of the hind wings. they have a long sucking-proboscis curved down beneath their bodies, and their antennæ usually consist of only four or five long joints. most are vegetable-feeders, but some species feed on the juices of other insects, while a few attack warm-blooded animals, either casually or habitually. the first family includes the shield-bugs. these derive their name from the unusual development of a part of the thorax called the "scutellum." in most insects it is only a small plate of no great importance, attached to the end of the thorax; but in the shield-bugs it forms a great solid arch, covering the whole of the wings, and protecting them as the wing-cases protect the wings of beetles. there are only a few small species in england, but a great number of beautiful species inhabit warm countries, some of a brilliant blue or green or yellow, or spotted. many of them are comparatively large insects, nearly an inch long, and resemble brilliantly coloured beetles, from which, however, they can easily be distinguished by the antennæ, the proboscis, and the shield, the latter of which is not divided down the middle like the wing-cases of beetles. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ lace-wing bug. an elegant little insect, injurious to pear-trees.] next to the shield-bugs, and considered by many entomologists as belonging to the same group, are the pentagonal shield-bugs, so called because the scutellum, though much smaller than in the shield-bugs, is often half as long as the abdomen, and forms a broad triangle, sometimes broken at the sides, so as to make a five-sided plate, lying above the bases of the wings. several green or brown species of this family, about half an inch long, are common in england among bushes. many have a very disagreeable smell, and hence they are called stink-bugs in america. they feed on vegetable juices, and also frequently on soft-bodied insects. several species (chiefly foreign) among the shield-bugs and the present group have a strong spine, or else a blunt protuberance, projecting from each shoulder. the remaining plant-bugs are much more numerous--at least in england--than those already mentioned, and form several families, which cannot be noticed in detail. many species are rather small and delicate creatures, narrower and softer than the shield-bugs and pentagonal shield-bugs, and are adorned with various colours, black and red predominating. some have more transparent wings than the others, such as the beautiful little lace-winged bugs, one species of which is often very destructive to pear-trees. the bed-bug is a reddish-brown, somewhat oval insect, common in many old houses, hiding in cracks and crevices in walls and woodwork, and coming out at night to suck the blood of sleepers with its sharp proboscis. there are allied species, sometimes found in hen-houses, pigeon-houses, and places where bats congregate. the bed-bug has only been known in england for a few centuries, and though now a great pest in all parts of the world, was probably a native of africa originally. the bed-bug, notwithstanding its offensive odour, is preyed upon by several other insects, among which are the common cockroach and the masked bug. the latter is a black-winged bug about three-quarters of an inch long, and remarkable for the habits of its larva, which conceals itself with dust or fluff, so that it may steal upon its prey unobserved. the masked bug and its larva feed on soft-bodied insects of various kinds, and are more frequently found in outhouses than in dwelling-rooms. this bug occasionally attacks warm-blooded animals; and a short time ago a great deal of nonsense was published in the newspapers about a mysterious insect-pest in north america, called the kissing-bug, which seems to have been nothing more unusual than this insect. there are, however, some much larger species belonging to the same family, which are formidable pests in the southern states of north america, chili, and various other countries. [illustration: _photo by p. danado, f.z.s., regent's park._ masked bug. the larvæ of these insects cover themselves with dust, in order to creep upon their prey unnoticed.] after these insects come the water-bugs, of which there are several families, though the number of species is comparatively small. some are very slender insects, with long, slender legs, and may be seen running on the surface of ponds in england; while others, which are tropical species, are marine, and are met with running on the surface of the water in the open sea. the largest members of the group are some of the great water-bugs found in africa, india, and america. their fore wings are of a light brown, and measure from to inches in expanse. their legs are short and strong, and the front legs are adapted for grasping their prey, which consists of insects and small fishes. there are some smaller species in which the female lays her eggs in a cluster on the back of the male, which carries them about till they are hatched. these bugs fly about in the evening, and are frequently attracted by electric light. in england there are two allied species called water-scorpions, from their long front legs, which somewhat resemble the nippers of a scorpion. the commonest is a brown insect, with the abdomen red beneath. it is about an inch long, including the breathing-tube, which sticks out behind the body like a tail, and is formed of two separable parts. it is an oval insect, half as broad as long, and is common in stagnant water. the other species is twice as long, and is much more slender, with longer and more slender legs. it is yellowish brown, like most of the other water-bugs, and is a sluggish and rather scarce insect, creeping about in the mud at the bottom of deeper water than that preferred by the commoner species. the water-boatmen are yellowish-brown insects, measuring half an inch in length, with smooth bodies, and long, hairy hind legs, with which they row themselves about on the water, as if with oars, while floating on their backs. all the larger water-bugs are capable of inflicting a severe puncture with their sharp proboscis, if handled incautiously. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ great water-bug. very similar species are found in africa, asia, and america.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ great water-bug. these insects live in water during the day, and fly about in the evening.] the frog-hoppers and their allies differ from the bugs in the fore wings being uniform in texture throughout, and not membranous, with the tips transparent. sometimes the fore wings are of a more or less horny texture, but they are frequently as transparent as the hind wings. all the species are plant-feeding insects. [illustration: _photo by j. edwards_] [_colesborne._ indian candle-fly. erroneously stated to be luminous.] the first family, the cicadas, includes a number of large or moderate-sized species, in which the males are provided with a large, drum-like apparatus on the abdomen, and some of which make the loud noise for which they have long been celebrated. there is only one comparatively small species in england, which is rare, and almost confined to the new forest. it is black, with transparent wings, about ½ inch in expanse, and has red transverse lines on the abdomen. the largest indian species, however, sometimes expands inches. cicadas have broad heads, broad short bodies, ending rather abruptly in a point, and their larvæ live in the ground, where they are sometimes injurious to the roots of trees. the wings are usually, but not always, transparent--a very common indian and chinese species, about inches in expanse, being black, with large yellow spots on the fore wings. in north america and australia cicadas are often miscalled locusts. the lantern-flies, or candle-flies, which form the next family, derive their name from having been stated to be luminous, a statement which is now considered very doubtful. they are insects of considerable size and bright colours, occasionally resembling butterflies and moths; the largest species, the lantern-fly of south america, sometimes measures as much as inches across the wings, which are of a pale yellowish or greenish tint, with a large round spot on the hind wings, formed of black rings or crescents, and enclosing one or two large white spots. on the head is an immense hollow, blunt protuberance, marked with one or two longitudinal red lines. in some species there is a curved horn in front of the head; in some the horn forms a short cross; in others it ends in a red knob; while others are destitute of such an appendage. the hind wings are often brightly coloured, red or yellow usually predominating. the true frog-hoppers are small insects about a quarter of an inch long, found among grass and bushes. the fore wings are of rather a stout consistency and uniform in colour (often yellowish), and the hind wings transparent. the larvæ are soft grubs, and live in the masses of froth so common in grass and bushes, which are vulgarly known as "cuckoo-spit." passing over several families of small species, we arrive at two which contain many very destructive insects. the aphides, plant-lice, or smother-flies are the small green or brown winged or wingless insects which frequently cover the shoots of roses and other trees and plants, and exude a sweet sticky substance, called "honey-dew," very attractive to ants. one species, known as the american blight, is extremely destructive to apple-trees, patches of a substance resembling white cotton appearing on the bark. under these patches the bark rots from the attacks of the insects, the pest being very difficult to eradicate. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ aphis. a sexual wingless form.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ scale-insect. the females die, covering their eggs with their own bodies.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ scale-insects. showing their appearance when crowded together on a branch.] many of the aphides exhibit the curious phenomenon known as "alternation of generations." the first brood consists of winged males and females; but the eggs which the latter lay produce exclusively wingless females, or rather sexless creatures capable of laying eggs, and these multiply indefinitely for a time, till perfect males and females are again reproduced. in some cases the winged forms live on the leaves of trees, and the wingless forms at the roots of grass, etc. one of the most destructive of all these insects is the vine-aphis, which was probably introduced into europe from america, and which threatened at one time almost to destroy the vine industry in france. wingless sexless forms live and multiply at the roots of vines; and in summer winged males and females are produced, which fly up, and lay eggs on the leaves; while some of the wingless insects also quit the ground, and form small galls on the vine-leaves. although very abundant in america, the insect is not nearly so destructive to the plants which it attacks as in europe. some species of scale-insects are almost equally destructive, especially to greenhouse plants. the male is slender and two-winged, but the female is wingless and often legless, and after depositing her eggs usually dies above them, thus forming a covering to protect them from injury. cochineal consists of the bodies of a species of scale-insect which infests the leaves of a cactus in mexico. the true lice are found on various species of mammals, and imbibe their food through a proboscis. the bird-lice, or biting-lice, form a well-defined group by themselves. they are sometimes regarded as forming distinct orders of insects; but some authors treat the first group as a degraded family of insects allied to the frog-hoppers, and the second group as an equally degraded and aberrant family allied to the lace-winged insects. two-winged insects, or flies. by w. f. kirby, f.l.s. this order of insects is probably one of the most numerous in individuals, though it may be that, when we know more of the insect population of the world, we shall find that it is outnumbered in species by the beetles or the order to which the bees and ants belong. it differs from all other orders in possessing only two wings instead of four, which is the usual number in insects. the metamorphoses are complete, and the mouth is furnished with a proboscis for imbibing liquid food. hind wings are represented in many species by a pair of organs called "poisers," resembling a knob at the end of a stick, and other species have two small additional lobes attached to the wing, called "winglets "; but there is no such thing as a really developed hind wing in any insect belonging to the group. they are always two-winged flies, except in the case of a few aberrant species, such as the fleas, in which no wings, or only mere rudiments of wings, are to be met with. the gnats, daddy-long-legs, and house-flies are among the commonest representatives of this order. [illustration: _photo by c. n. mavroyeni_] [_smyrna._ cicada and pupÆ. noted for the loud drumming sound produced by the males.] the first section of the group includes the gnats and the daddy-long-legs, or crane-flies, the members of which may be distinguished by having moderately long antennæ, composed of more than six joints, and never terminating in a bristle. they are all vegetable-feeders, with the exception of the females of gnats and sand-flies, which are furnished with a lancet-like arrangement for sucking the blood of warm-blooded animals. the gall-flies, wheat-midges, etc., have rather long, jointed antennæ, which are not feathered, though sometimes tufted on the sides, and their maggots produce small galls on various trees and plants, or distort and otherwise injure them. they resemble small gnats, and there are two particularly destructive species which attack corn in england and elsewhere,--the wheat-midge, an orange-yellow fly with black eyes, which produces little yellowish or reddish maggots which injure the growing grain in the ear; and the hessian fly, which is brown, and produces semi-transparent maggots, which afterwards grow darker, and when full grown become pupæ resembling flax-seeds. the maggots attack the stalk, feeding on the sap till the stalk cracks and bends over. this is an infallible sign of their presence, and of the mischief they are doing. among the best-known insects of this group are the gnats, or mosquitoes, of which there are many genera and species. there is no difference, however, to permit of their being classified in two separate popular categories. in england any of these troublesome insects are called gnats; out of england they are termed mosquitoes, if we are tormented by them, even though they may belong to the same species as the english ones--for "mosquito" is merely the spanish word for "gnat" anglicised. [illustration: brown mosquito. observe the proboscis in front of the head.] gnats breed in standing water, fresh or otherwise, but seem to prefer rain-water, for they are very numerous about small pools and water-butts. consequently they were formerly far more abundant in england than at present, when the fens were still undrained, and when every house had its rain-water butt. the females of some species construct small rafts of eggs, which float about on the surface of the water till hatched, and then produce small maggots with a breathing-apparatus at the end of the tail. in this condition they swim head-downwards, while the more compact pupa floats head-upwards. they may be destroyed by pouring a little kerosene into their breeding-places; and as this floats on the surface of the water, it does not interfere with the use of the water in water-butts, which is usually drawn off by a tap below. the males of gnats often have feathered antennæ and long, slender legs. the females, however, are more nocturnal in their habits, and come into houses in the evening, and keep people awake by their humming and painful "bites," or rather punctures, which frequently cause a distressing irritation for a day or two afterwards. what is worse is that they are now known to disseminate various diseases, such as elephantiasis and also malarial fever of every kind, in this manner--from the comparatively mild ague of the english fens (now nearly extinct) to the terrible malaria of southern europe, india, and africa, formerly attributed to the unhealthy atmosphere of marshy countries, or to exposure to the night air in warm countries, but now known to be caused by the bites of the gnats, or mosquitoes, which breed in swampy places, and fly about in the evening. it is believed that only certain species of gnats convey the germs of these diseases; and it has been stated that, though ague-bearing species of gnats are still found in england, those which have been examined for the purpose have been free from these germs, and are therefore incapable of propagating the disease. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ hornet robber-fly. common in the south of england.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f z.s._] [_regent's park._ daddy-long-legs. large species, with variegated wings.] in many parts of the world gnats are excessively numerous and troublesome at certain seasons of the year, filling the air like clouds of dust, so that it is difficult to sleep or eat from the annoyance and irritation caused by their attacks. this will be readily credible to those who have experienced the pain which they cause even when not very numerous, and have been kept awake at night by their shrill piping as they approach. they appear to be equally numerous in cold and warm countries--lapland, france, south russia, italy, various parts of america, and in fact most parts of the world being liable to the inordinate multiplication of different species. in england they were formerly so abundant in the fenlands that mosquito-curtains were in use less than a century ago, and may be so still. but their numbers have so diminished of late years that, whenever gnats are a little more troublesome than usual, it is reported that there has been an invasion of mosquitoes. a year or two ago there was a report that "mosquitoes" had been brought to cromer in some fishing-vessel, and the newspapers contained paragraphs about "mosquitoes" having caused much annoyance in different parts of london. but many of the specimens submitted to the inspection of entomologists proved to be nothing more than the commonest of all the blood-sucking gnats, called the piping-gnat by linnæus, on account of its shrill note. the note is produced by the rapid vibration of the wings, which has been estimated at the rate of , per minute. gnats do not always fly near the ground. sometimes they have been seen ascending from cathedrals and other high buildings in such vast swarms that they resembled clouds of smoke, and gave rise to the idea that the building was actually on fire. equally troublesome and annoying are the sand-flies, as they are called in england, or the black-flies, as they are called in america. they are very small flies, short and broad, and with broader wings than gnats; and one of them, which actually destroys many mules and other domestic animals in the mississippi valley, as we learn from professor comstock, is called the buffalo-gnat, from a fancied resemblance of the side-view of the insect to a buffalo. other species are equally destructive to the cattle in the banat of hungary. it is a curious circumstance that, in the case of nearly all two-winged flies which attack men and animals, it is usually only the females which suck blood, the males frequenting flowers and being perfectly harmless. [illustration: _photos by w. p. dando, f.z.s._ hover-fly. this fly has a superficial resemblance to a bee. (see page .)] [illustration: rat-tailed larva. common in filthy water.] respecting mosquitoes in south america, mr. h. w. bates writes, in his work "the naturalist on the amazons," when passing a night in a boat about twenty-five miles from the town of villa nova: "at night it was quite impossible to sleep for mosquitoes; they fell upon us by myriads, and without much piping came straight at our faces as thick as rain-drops in a shower. the men crowded into the cabins, and then tried to expel the pests by the smoke from burnt rags; but it was of little avail, although we were half suffocated during the operation." but the sand-flies, encountered a little higher up the river, were much worse: "we made acquaintance on this coast with a new insect-pest, the piúm, a minute fly, two-thirds of a line in length, which here commences its reign, and continues henceforward as a terrible scourge along the upper river, or solimoens, to the end of the navigation on the amazons. it comes forth only by day, relieving the mosquito at sunrise with the greatest punctuality, and occurs only near the muddy shores of the stream, not one ever being found in the shade of the forest. in places where it is abundant, it accompanies canoes in such dense swarms as to resemble thin clouds of smoke. it made its appearance in this way the first day after we crossed the river. before i was aware of the presence of flies, i felt a slight itching on my neck, wrist, and ankles, and, on looking for the cause, saw a number of tiny objects, having a disgusting resemblance to lice, adhering to the skin. this was my first introduction to the much-talked-of piúm. on close examination, they are seen to be small two-winged insects, with dark-coloured body and pale legs and wings, the latter closed lengthwise over the back. they alight imperceptibly, and, squatting close, fall at once to work, stretching forward their tiny front legs, which are in constant motion, and seem to act as feelers, and then applying their short, broad snouts to the skin. their abdomens soon become distended and red with blood, and then, their thirst satisfied, they soon move off, sometimes so stupefied with their potations that they can scarcely fly. no pain is felt whilst they are at work, but they each leave a small circular raised spot on the skin, and a disagreeable irritation. the latter may be avoided in great measure by pressing out the blood which remains in the spot; but this is a troublesome task when one has several hundred punctures in the course of a day [like prince siror, in one of bulwer lytton's stories, who fell "pierced by five hundred spears"]. i took the trouble to dissect specimens, to ascertain the way in which the little pests operate. the mouth consists of a pair of thick fleshy lips, and two triangular horny lancets, answering to the upper lip and tongue of other insects. this is applied closely to the skin, a puncture is made with the lancets, and the blood then sucked through between these into the oesophagus, the circular spot which results coinciding with the shape of the lips. in the course of a few days the red spots dry up, and the skin in time becomes blackened with the endless number of discoloured punctures that are crowded together. the irritation they produce is more acutely felt by some persons than others. i once travelled with a middle-aged portuguese who was laid up for three weeks from the attacks of piúm, his legs being swelled to an enormous size, and the punctures aggravated into spreading sores." [illustration: _photo by by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ house-fly (male and female). the larvæ of the house-fly live in refuse, so do not thrive where cleanliness abounds.] however, the traveller in amazonia has one consolation: the great rivers which traverse the forests are of three different colours; and the black-water rivers--so called from the dark colour of the water, owing apparently to the amount of vegetable matter which they hold in solution--are never infested with mosquitoes. probably the character of the water renders it unsuitable to them for breeding purposes. the crane-flies, or daddy-long-legs, are also very injurious insects, but in a different manner, for their subterranean maggots feed on and destroy the roots of grass in the same way as the grubs of the cockchafers. they are insects of considerable size, with slender bodies, terminating in a short, horny point (the ovipositor) in the female, and with long, slender legs, which are liable to break off at the least touch. the commonest species has a grey body and transparent wings; but there is a larger one with the wings prettily variegated with brown, and a smaller one in which there are yellow markings towards the end of the body. the more typical flies have usually shorter and broader wings, and thicker, shorter, and more hairy legs, than those just mentioned; and the antennæ have usually only three or four joints, and are often furnished with a long, slender bristle at or before the end of the last joint. as in the case of the gnats and crane-flies, so as regards the more typical flies, we have only space to notice a few of the more important families. some of the gad-flies are no larger than house-flies, but others are as large as wasps or larger, with broader wings, and of a black, grey, or yellowish colour; they frequent fields, and settle on cattle, or on our clothes or hands. some have transparent and others dark-coloured wings, but they are all capable of inflicting a severe puncture, often sufficient to draw blood, even in the case of the smaller species. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ blue-bottle fly, or blow-fly. these flies deposit their eggs on meat, when it becomes "fly-blown."] the prettiest of the gad-flies are the golden-eyed flies. they are black, with the abdomen more or less marked with yellow; and black, or black and transparent, wings. the eyes are of a beautiful golden green, dotted and lined with purple. they are moderately stout insects, about the third of an inch long, and are not uncommon. another insect, known as the blood-sucking rain-fly, has a rather long and slender body for a gad-fly, and is nearly half an inch long. it is of a lighter or darker grey, with reddish markings on the sides of the abdomen in the male. the wings are greyish brown with whitish dots, and a white mark towards the tip. both these flies are very troublesome, the latter chiefly on the edges of woods or near water, especially in rainy weather. the robber-flies are large flies, with long, tapering bodies, of a black or partly yellow colour, and feed on smaller flies and other insects of different kinds. they have very thick, hairy and a strong proboscis. a handsome australian species, allied to these, but with a broader body, is represented in the coloured plate. the hornet robber-fly, represented on page , is one of the most conspicuous of the british species. among other places, it may be seen flying over the short grass at the top of the cliffs between brighton and rottingdean. they are very predaceous, and are probably rather beneficial than otherwise, by contributing to keep down injurious insects. but in north america there is a species called the bee-killer, which is an extremely destructive insect, taking up its station in front of a hive, and killing large numbers of bees as they fly backwards and forwards from the hive. the hover-flies are brightly coloured, rather smooth flies, and are familiar objects in gardens, and in open places in woods. they have the habit of hovering motionless in the air, and then darting off suddenly. some of the larger species proceed from curious maggots, with long tails, which have been compared to the tail of a rat. these live in putrid water; and as the flies have a slight resemblance to bees, the fact is believed to have given rise to the old fable that bees are generated from the rotting carcases of oxen or other large animals. the bot-flies are remarkable for being parasitic on warm-blooded animals, their maggots living in tumours on the skin of oxen, known as "warbles," or in the stomach and intestines of horses, or in the nostrils and other cavities in the heads of sheep or deer. [illustration: _photo by w. p, dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ blue-bottle fly, or blow-fly. this photograph shows the wings expanded.] the house-flies and their allies form a very large group, divided into many families. the true house-fly is an autumn insect; but there are other flies which resemble it which live in houses at different times of the year. most of them are harmless, although there is one species, very like a house-fly, which comes into houses in rainy weather, and inflicts a puncture like a gad-fly. this is the meaning of the popular saying that "the flies bite in rainy weather." although house-flies do not bite, yet they are sometimes exceedingly troublesome when they are in unusual numbers; and as they settle everywhere, they may convey infection mechanically, though not as the principal agents in the dissemination of definite diseases, like the mosquitoes. thus, in egypt, they are said frequently to convey ophthalmia, a very prevalent disease in that country. the very first paper published in the "transactions of the present entomological society of london" (for the existing society had several short-lived predecessors) was a paper read by william spence at the meeting on april , , about a year after the society had been definitely founded, entitled "observations on a mode practised in italy of excluding the common house-fly from apartments." this desirable result is attained simply by stretching a net of white or coloured thread, with meshes of an inch or more in diameter, across an open window, which the flies will not venture to pass, if the room is lighted from one side only--"for if there be a _thorough_ light either from an opposite or side window, the flies pass through the net without scruple." mr. spence's son also referred to a passage in herodotus where he says that egyptian fishermen in his time defended themselves from the gnats by covering their beds with the nets which they had used in the day for fishing, and through which these insects, though they bit through linen or woollen, did not even attempt to bite. the matter seems to have been overlooked in recent years, though it is evidently well worthy of consideration when flies or gnats are troublesome. there is a conspicuous insect allied to the house-flies, but a little larger, measuring about half an inch in length. it is called the noon-day fly, and is often seen in considerable numbers, in the hottest part of the day, flying round and settling on the trunks and leaves of trees; it also settles on cow-dung. it is a shining black fly, with the sides and under surface of the head golden yellow in the male; the wings are transparent, slightly tinged with pale brown, and bright rusty yellow towards the base. the african tsetse-fly is not very unlike a house-fly, and is one of the worst pests to cattle in those parts of africa which it infests; for any horse, ox, or dog attacked by it will infallibly die after a longer or shorter period of suffering, though wild animals and sucking calves are not affected by it. it used to be supposed that the fly itself infused some deadly venom with its puncture; but later experiments have led naturalists to the conclusion that the fly is not itself poisonous, but that it forms the channel of communication of some fatal disease, just as some species of mosquitoes convey the infection of malaria. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s., regent's park._ tsetse-fly. destructive to horses and cattle in africa.] the blow-flies, or blue-bottles, of which there are several species closely allied to each other, are common in houses; and a smaller brilliant green fly, called the green-bottle fly, is common on hedges. these are all flies which lay their eggs on fresh or putrid meat, when it is said to be "fly-blown." they will also lay their eggs in open sores; and in former days the sufferings of the wounded after a battle were often frightfully aggravated by this cause; and at the present day farmers would frequently lose sheep through their attacks, if they were not carefully tended in hot weather. various species of flies in eastern europe, the southern states of america, jamaica, etc., habitually lay their eggs in the mouths or nostrils of men and animals, and the resulting maggots cause dreadful suffering and often death. in india, and especially in the eastern archipelago, there are some brilliantly coloured, smooth, metallic blue and green flies as big as bumble-bees. there is also a family of flies allied to the house-fly, which have very bristly bodies, and are parasitic on caterpillars, like ichneumon-flies. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ tsetse-fly (enlarged). showing the proboscis and veining of the wings more distinctly.] there are other flies which easily attract attention, such as the yellow hairy fly found about cow-dung, and some rather small species with prettily variegated wings, which feed on flowers or fruit. the cheese-hoppers are also the maggots of a small black fly. besides these, there are some aberrant parasitic families of flies with long, hairy legs, and only one or two joints to the antennæ. these are the forest-flies and bird-flies, which attack horses and birds; and also some wingless insects, such as the so-called sheep-tick (easily distinguished from a true tick by possessing only six legs), the bee-parasites, and the spider-like bat-parasites. this parasitic group is also remarkable for depositing full-grown larvæ or pupæ instead of eggs. the fleas are a small group of small wingless insects, with such powers of leaping that it has been said that if a man was as agile as a flea he could jump over the dome of st. paul's. the larvæ of fleas are small, worm-like creatures, with bristles, but without legs; they probably live on any sort of animal or vegetable refuse. they subsequently change to pupæ in small cocoons, and emerge as perfect fleas, which live by sucking the blood of warm-blooded animals; or, when that fails them, they may attack caterpillars, or other small soft-bodied creatures. though not very particular about their food, different species are more or less attached to different animals; and while in europe the most troublesome species is the one considered to be most particularly attached to man, the species most troublesome in north america is known in europe as the dog-flea. they are all very similar in habits and appearance. fleas are not only annoying, but, in conjunction with rats, are believed to be among the principal agents in the spread of the plague. there is another insect called the jigger, or sand-flea, common in most of the warmer parts of america, and which has more recently been introduced into africa. the female burrows into the feet of men or animals, where her body swells up with eggs to the size of a pea; and serious and sometimes fatal ulcers are the ordinary result, unless the insect is carefully extracted at an early stage of the attack. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando, f.z.s._] [_regent's park._ bee-fly. similar to the fly which destroys the locust eggs in cyprus.] uses of flies. it must not be supposed from the foregoing observations that flies are simply and solely pests to man and beast, without any redeeming qualities. their services are less required in cold and settled countries, but in warm climates their value as scavengers can hardly be over-estimated. as regards the removal of carrion alone, linnæus declared that the progeny of only three blow-flies would devour the carcase of a dead horse as quickly as a lion--a statement which, even if slightly exaggerated, conveys a vivid idea of their voracity and the rate at which they increase. flies are also useful in keeping down the multitudes of destructive insects. numbers of caterpillars fall victims to the bristly flies alluded to on the last page; and the bee-flies, which form a family placed next to the gad-flies, render far greater service in destroying locusts. they much resemble small bumble-bees, being very much the same shape, and they are clothed with yellow down in the british species, and the transparent wings are conspicuously marked with black bands (as in the photograph above), or with brown shading and spots. the insects have a very rapid flight, and use their long proboscis to suck the honey of flowers; but their grubs are parasitic--at least in some instances--on wild bees; and it is probable that their resemblance to bees has some reference to this mode of life. but in cyprus, algeria, north america, etc., the larvæ of allied species feed inside the egg-cases of locusts, sometimes destroying as large a proportion as four-fifths of the whole brood. locusts have many enemies, but it will easily be seen that the attacks of foes like these must reduce their numbers considerably, notwithstanding the swarms which frequently survive, and which are liable to the attacks of other enemies, such as robber-flies, locust-birds, etc., after they have actually arrived at maturity. nor must we omit to notice the use of flies as articles of food for man or useful animals. many persons are very fond of cheese-hoppers, which are really the maggots of a small fly; and we read in kirby's "textbook of entomology," page : "the rev. a. e. eaton informs me that he believes that two species of _ephemeridæ_ (may-flies) form a portion of the so-called 'kungu cake,' manufactured by the natives of south africa of gnats, and probably any other insects which can be obtained in sufficient abundance." "gentles," which are the maggots of flies, are used by anglers for ground-bait. [illustration: _photo by w. saville kent, f.z.s. milford-on-sea._ portion of inshore coral reef at thursday island, torres straits. in the foreground are hemispherical masses of the so-called brain-stone and star-corals. in the background the rocks are encrusted with various species of soft-fleshed corals allied to the similar "dead men's fingers" of the british seas.] ---- _book vi. shell-fish, lamp-shells, sea-urchins, star-fishes, moss-animals, worms, corals, jelly-fishes, and sponges._ by w. saville-kent, f.l.s., f.z.s. ---- chapter i. _shell-fish, or molluscs._ the molluscan group or sub-kingdom represents one, if not the most important, of the invertebrate sections of living animals with relation both to its numbers and variety and in its commercial and economic utility to mankind. in its ranks are included all those animals generally known as shell-fish, and familiar to the non-scientific in the shape of oysters, mussels, whelks, periwinkles, and the innumerable varieties of gorgeous or delicately tinted shells of tropical seas. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ an octopus crouching in a rock-pool. green shore-crabs constitute the chief food of the octopus.] collectively, molluscs differ from all such invertebrate groups as insects, crustaceans, and worms in that they possess neither jointed limbs nor jointed bodies, their body-substance being enclosed by a more or less distinct muscular sac, or integument, technically known as the "mantle." molluscs possess no internal skeleton; but for the protection of their soft and otherwise defenceless bodies the mantle is among the great majority of species endowed with the property of secreting a more or less indurated calcareous shell, within which, when danger threatens, the creature can entirely withdraw. in some species the shell secreted is relatively small, and serves only as a protective shield to especially vital areas; while in a third very considerable assemblage a shell is altogether absent. the minute yet technically recognisable structural differences between the shells of even the most closely allied specific forms, and the wider and distinctly evident divergences that separate the more remotely connected varieties, furnish the basis for their classification and nomenclature by the systematic conchologist. molluscan shells, being so extensively preserved in the fossil state, furnish the geologist with invaluable data for his determination of the age and respective relationship of the fossil-bearing strata of the earth's crust. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ an octopus on its back at bay, left high and dry by the retreating tide. in this attitude the octopus can use its many-suckered tentacles and its formidable parrot-like beak as defensive weapons.] having no jointed limbs, molluscs are dependent upon some other mechanical adaptation for their powers of locomotion. this, in the majority of species, is represented by a modification of the lower surface of the animal's body, which is so richly supplied with muscular tissues as to constitute an effective creeping-base. as a locomotive organ this muscular area is usually known as the "foot." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ octopods. a blue-spotted west australian species.] of living molluscs some , distinct species have been recorded. the great majority of these organisms are, as is well known, marine. a very considerable number, however, are inhabitants of fresh-water; while a yet smaller proportion, like the slugs and snails and their allies, are especially adapted for a terrestrial existence. excepting two relatively small and inconspicuous groups, the great natural division or sub-kingdom of molluscs is separated by systematic zoologists into three main sections or classes. the particular modification of the locomotive organ, or foot, serves, on the one hand, to readily distinguish the first or most highly organised group from the second or central class; while the third or lowest one is as clearly separated from the second and first by the character of the shell. the first and most highly developed section includes such species as the octopus, the cuttle-fish, the squid, and the several varieties of nautiluses; to the second or central group are referred all the marine and terrestrial slugs and snails with their innumerable modifications; while the third and lowest group comprises all the double-shelled or bivalve forms, such as oysters and mussels. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a tasmanian squid, or cuttle-fish. giant species of squids have been recorded in which the shorter tentacles measured feet, and the two longer ones as much as or feet in length.] in the octopus and its allies the creeping-base, or foot, is prolonged round its margin into eight or more arm-like extensions. the anterior of these in the earlier phases of their development grow round and enclose the mouth, which consequently opens upon the centre of the locomotive surface. the arms of the octopus and other forms are in most instances provided throughout their length with complex sucking-disks, wherewith their owners can seize and retain their prey or walk with ease and celerity over the smoothest perpendicular or overhanging rock-surfaces. the octopus, as the type of its class, possesses yet another most effective locomotive organ. this is the so-called funnel, or siphuncle, a membranous tube connected with the capacious gill-cavity which is formed by a folding of the mantle on the under-surface. when at rest or moving leisurely, the water taken in through the pocket-like entrance to this cavity is discharged through the funnel without any particular effort. the animal can, however, at will leave go its attachment to the rocks, and propel itself swiftly through water by successive forcible expulsions of the water through the funnel. by directing the aperture of the funnel to the right or left, the creature can also direct its course in whatever direction it desires. when thus swimming, its translation is necessarily backwards. another notable feature of the octopus is the "ink-bag," a huge gland secreting an inky-black fluid, which, as produced by the common cuttle-fish, constitutes the sepia of commerce. the contents of the ink-bag are discharged through the funnel at the will of the animal; as soon as the ink is brought into contact with the water, it becomes distributed through it in the form of a thick cloud, under cover of which the mollusc makes good its escape from any attacking enemy. the octopus in british seas by no means attains to its maximum growth. examples with arms from to ½ feet in length are accounted large specimens. in mediterranean waters, however, these dimensions are much exceeded, individuals with arms feet long, which are capable of covering a circular area no less than feet in diameter with their fully extended appendages, being frequently recorded. in the west indies, on the north-west american coast, and also in chinese seas, similar, if not larger dimensions are attained by these creatures. that these monster octopods, or "devil-fish," as they are sometimes designated, prove a source of danger to human life has been abundantly demonstrated. lurking, as is their custom, among rock-crevices, they seize hold of any moving object which approaches within reach of their extended arms. bathers in this manner have been seized and drowned, it being impossible for even the strongest swimmer to free himself from the clutches of one of these animals, which, while retaining a firm hold on the rocks with a portion of its hundred-suckered arms, has entwined the others around its victim. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ shell of the pearly nautilus. the inner lining of this shell is brilliantly iridescent.] the natural food of the octopus are crabs, lobsters, and their like; and in places like the channel islands, where the tide retires very low, leaving the rock-fissures inhabited by the molluscs more or less exposed, their presence may be often foretold by the accumulation of empty, broken-up crab-shells around the entrances to their retreats. in common with other members of its tribe, the octopus is furnished with a strong, horny, parrot-like beak, wherewith it can with ease break through the shells of its accustomed food. the year was remarkable for the extraordinary abundance of the octopus on the english south coast, the result of their collective depredations very seriously affecting the local crab and lobster fisheries. the pots laid down over-night, in place of yielding the following morning their customary quota of marketable crustaceans, were more often than otherwise found to contain nothing but broken-up shells and a loathsome "devil-fish." the squids and cuttle-fishes, with their large lustrous eyes, are especially adapted for an open sea life, and for this purpose are furnished with lateral fin-like membranous expansions. a more important structural distinction is their possession of two supplementary appendages, which, usually retracted within special pouches when not in use, can be shot out to a length at least twice that of the eight ordinary arms. both the cuttle-fish and the squid, or calamary, are also the possessors of an internal calcareous or horny shell which underlies and strengthens the upper-surface. the cuttle-bone used as a dentifrice and ink-eraser is the product of the first-named mollusc. the ten-armed group, as it is named, with reference to the two supplementary arms, ten in all, possessed by its members, is notable for including species whose dimensions not only exceed those of any other invertebrate type, but whose fully extended length rivals that of the largest vertebrates. giant squids, or calamaries, have been taken off the coast of newfoundland, yielding, with their tentacular arms extended, a linear measurement of over feet, associated with an estimated weight of as much as , lbs. there can be no doubt that these giant squids have in many instances furnished the basis of the oft-recurrent sea-serpent stories, more especially on those occasions where the supposed marine reptile and a whale have been reported as seen engaged in combat. as a matter of fact the sperm-whales habitually feed on deep-sea squids, and have been known, when mortally wounded, to vomit forth detached portions of these gigantic molluscs. the long tentacular arms of one of these monsters, thrown around the whale with which it had entered upon a death-struggle, might at a little distance be easily mistaken for some huge snake-like organism. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ shell of the argonaut, or paper-nautilus. the female animal only possesses a shell, and uses it as a cradle for her eggs and young.] the various species of nautilus, including the so-called "paper" and "pearly" species, belong likewise to this group of molluscs. in the former case, however, it is only the female animal which secretes a shell, and this is used as a cradle wherein she deposits her eggs and rears her young. the pretty romance of the paper-nautilus, or argonaut, as it is technically termed, floating on the sun-lit waves with spreading sails and an even keel, has unfortunately been entirely dissipated by the penetrating search-light of modern science. the animal only floats on the surface when ill, or when torn from its customary pasture-fields by abnormal storms, otherwise it creeps about the sea-bottom, or disports itself in the sub-marine grottoes like an ordinary octopus, with which, in point of fact, the shell-less male agrees in all essential details. the shell-cradle of the paper-nautilus is not vitally connected with the body of the animal, as is that of the pearly species and all ordinary shell-fish. it is freely detachable from the body, and during life is grasped and held closely to it by the expanded extremities of the two lateral tentacles by which the delicate shell is mainly secreted. the next group comprises the great bulk of simple-shelled molluscs, of which it is impossible in these pages to give more than a brief enumeration of some of the most prominent. the lung-breathing section, which is usually awarded the first place on the list, includes the familiar garden-snails, the shell-less slugs, the fresh-water snails which come to the surface to breathe, and many distinct terrestrial species. the largest living representative of this group is the huge land-snail of tropical west africa, sometimes known as the agate-snail, the shell of which is not infrequently as much as ½ inches long. [illustration: _photos by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] limpets, whelks, and barnacles. on the rocks at ilfracombe when the tide was low.] [illustration: shell beach, abrolhos islands. composed of iridescent top-shells.] [illustration: _photos by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] great clam-shell on coral-reef. the soft parts have been removed to show the size of the shell and the pure whiteness of the interior.] [illustration: giant clam-shells on the great barrier reef, as exposed at extreme low tide. the shell in the foreground is feet in diameter.] the naked-gilled sea-slugs constitute a second clearly defined group. all the species are essentially marine, and most abundant among seaweeds and coral-growths, over twenty species occurring in british seas. they are notable for the slug-like form of their body, which is usually supplemented by the outgrowth from it of complex, variously modified gill-filaments. in some species these external gills take the form of symmetrical flower-like tufts at the posterior end of the back, while in others simple or variously branched gills may be developed on the upper-surface. the colours of many of these sea-slugs are more brilliant than those of any other molluscs, this being especially the case with the tropical coral-reef-frequenting species. bright scarlet, yellows, and blues, separately or variously combined, are among the dominant tints. many of these tropical species are also of considerable size. one particular kind, having a flower-like dorsal gill-tuft, observed by the writer on the west australian reefs, was over inches long and inches broad. its general ground-colour was intense vermilion, relieved, however, by a frilled border nearly an inch in width of the purest white, with radiating streaks of scarlet. it is an interesting circumstance that these naked-gilled molluscs, shell-less so far as their adult phases are concerned, emerge from the egg with a perfectly formed, but necessarily very minute, transparent shell, resembling that of a garden-snail. it is consequently inferred that the group has been derived from some permanently shell-bearing form. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ highly magnified tongue of a sea-snail. with this structure its owner bores or files a hole through the shells of other molluscs upon which it preys.] the comb-gilled section embraces the great majority of the marine molluscs having a single more or less convoluted or spirally twisted shell. they take their name from the circumstance that the gills have a compactly disposed comb-like contour. this gill-tuft is situated in an excavated chamber inside the shell, immediately over the neck. the common whelk, the pelican's-foot shell, and the winkle are a few typical british marine representatives of this group, which, however, attains to the zenith of its development in the size, variety of form, and ornate coloration of its shells in tropical seas. the inter-tropical coral-reefs in particular yield a most abundant harvest in this direction. the shells in common use obtained from such a source include the ponderous helmet-shells, or conchs, employed for the manufacture of cameos; the giant whelks and trumpet-shells, often over inches long, used as signal-horns throughout polynesia and on the tropical australian coast; and the capacious melon-shells, made to do duty for boat-baling and as water-vessels and general domestic receptacles throughout the same tropical area. to this list may be added the harp-shells, volutes, cones, mitres, olives, thorny woodcocks, and a host of others prized by the conchologist. to this section must also be referred the innumerable species of cowries, of which the large, boldly mottled "tiger" and "panther" species are well known. the comparatively small, yellowish, thickly built, porcelain-like shell of the "money-cowrie" constitutes, as is well known, the current coin throughout extensive areas of africa and india. it is recorded that as large a quantity as sixty tons of these small shells, originally collected from tropical seas, have been shipped from one british port alone to the african coast for commercial use within a single year. one very diminutive cowrie, pale pink in colour, with a delicately streaked surface, is indigenous to british waters. the third large group of molluscs which demands attention is that of the bivalves, or leaf-gilled group. though not so numerous in species as the last, it outrivals it in the enormous abundance in which the individuals of many varieties are produced. oysters, mussels, cockles, scallops, and other allied forms occur in closely associated colonies, constituting natural "beds" or "banks," which may be of vast extent and, in at any rate the case of oysters, several feet in thickness. from a commercial and economic standpoint this group is undoubtedly of the highest importance to the human race. not only do its members, as instanced by the foregoing forms, contribute largely to the world's commissariat, they also yield the much-prized material known as "mother-of-pearl" and the purest and most æsthetically beautiful gems--orient pearls. pearls and mother-of-pearl are the products of two groups of shell-fish, respectively known as pearl-oysters and pearl-mussels. there are a considerable number of species, mainly denizens of tropical seas, which, like ordinary oysters and mussels, occur naturally in banks and beds of vast extent. in some species, such as the ceylon pearl-oyster, the shell is small, and the mother-of-pearl substance, or "nacre," as it is technically termed, so thin as to be of relatively little value. hence the fishery for this species is conducted almost exclusively for the sake of the pearls, which are fairly numerous and frequently of the finest quality. from the tropical australian seas pearl-shells of the largest size, which produce the thickest and most valuable mother-of-pearl, are obtained. pearls of the best quality are more rarely found in this description of shell, and its fishery is prosecuted primarily on account of the substantial substance and magnificent quality of its nacre. a single pair of shells of this species will attain in its adult state to a weight of from to lbs. the fishery for this pearl-shell has, however, been prosecuted so relentlessly that bivalves of such matured age and weight are now of rare occurrence, and obtained only from almost inaccessibly deep waters. unless, in point of fact, systematic methods of conservation and cultivation are resorted to on an extensive scale and on lines corresponding fundamentally with those successfully followed in the culture of ordinary commercial oysters, there would seem to be an imminent risk of the valuable australian pearl-shell fisheries becoming depleted to more or less complete exhaustion. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a scorpion-shell. closely allied to the "pelican's foot," found on the british coast.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ rock-oysters. this is the ordinary commercial oyster of the australian shores.] the tropical australian seas, and notably those which wash the great barrier reef, are famous for the production of the largest of living bivalve molluscs. these are represented by the giant clams, which, dwelling among the coral-growths, are left exposed to view for brief periods during abnormally low spring tides. a photograph of a colony of these monster bivalves, taken by the writer amidst this mollusc's characteristic surroundings, is reproduced on page . the example in the foreground measured no less than feet in diameter and weighed several hundred-weights. in many clams the living tissues, or mantle-borders, that are exposed to view when the shell-valves are partly open, are brilliantly tinted. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a queensland oyster-bank. illustrating another characteristic growth-phase of the australian rock-oyster.] of the scallops many of the larger species are highly esteemed for the table. it is notable of them that they can progress through the water in a jerky, flight-like manner by the repeated flapping of their opposing shells. in many scallops the jewel-like eyes are developed in a row round the margin of the mantle. the bivalve class includes certain representatives which are held in evil repute, on account of their destructive habits. pholas and its allies bore their way into solid rock, bringing about its complete disintegration. from the dreaded ship-worm, or teredo, on the other hand, there would appear to be no description of wood that can withstand its ravages. the bivalve molluscs are not without fresh-water representatives. the well-known pond- and river-mussels, which form the most conspicuous examples of this group, number several hundred species. while insipid and of no account for the human commissariat, many of its members produce pearls of value. one such, obtained from the river conway, in north wales, is said to occupy a place in the crown of england. the chitons, or multivalve molluscs, invite brief notice. as the last-named title implies, the shell-elements in this group are relatively numerous, consisting of eight pieces, or plates, which may form contiguous transverse shelly shields that entirely cover in and protect the dorsal surface of the elongate, boat-shaped body, or may be more or less isolated from one another. in the former instance the animal bears some considerable resemblance to a gigantic limbless wood-louse, and, like that familiar terrestrial crustacean, it is capable of rolling itself into a spheroidal shape as a means of protection. none of the chitons are provided with eyes in the adult state in that region of their body--namely, the head--where they might be most naturally expected to exist. recent scientific investigation has, however, elicited the fact that in various species the respective shell-plates are studded with minute eye-specks, the aggregate number of visual organs thus possessed by certain forms reaching to the astonishing figures of , or , . the majority of the chitons are shallow-water, rock-frequenting molluscs, which may be successfully sought by turning over stones at low water. several species are inhabitants of british seas. ---- chapter ii. _lamp-shells._ a little group of double-shelled creatures, formerly regarded as near allies of the oysters and mussels, are the lamp-shells. their scientific appellation, signifying "arm footed," relates to the two spirally convoluted arm-like structures which constitute the salient features in these animals. that of lamp-shells bears reference to the small circular perforation near the extremity, or "beak," of the united shells, which imparts to the entire structure a not altogether remote resemblance to an ancient greek or roman lamp with its sub-terminal wick-hole. in all essential points of their organisation the lamp-shells differ so essentially from ordinary bivalves that they are now generally recognised as representing an independent animal class, having, as a matter of fact, a closer relationship with worms than with molluscs. in their earlier condition certain lamp-shells are indistinguishable from larval worms; while the convoluted arms of the adult animals, thickly beset with bristles and hairs, closely resemble the arms, or "cirrhi," of many sea-worms. the superadded valves of the lamp-shells differ fundamentally from those of the bivalve molluscs in the circumstance that they are developed upon the upper and lower surfaces respectively of the enclosed animal, and not on the sides. the union between the two valves is also accomplished through the medium of interlocking calcareous teeth, in place of a horny or ligamentous hinge-joint, as obtains in an oyster or a mussel. a supplementary calcareous support, having a corresponding spiral shape, is also developed in connection with the convoluted arms. this structure varies in the contour of its minuter details in every specific form, which thus furnishes zoologists with a basis for systematic classification. the lamp-shells collectively form two natural groups or orders. in one of these the shells are hinged together, and are of conspicuously unequal dimensions. the larger shell of the two is more distinctly concave and produced into a perforated beak. it is this structure that in some species resembles the wick-hole of an antique lamp, and has given rise to the popular title by which these shells are distinguished. the second or hingeless group is further distinguished by the shells being of almost uniform shape and size. in the most interesting example of this group, known as lingula, the two shells are thin, horny, of a green tint, and mounted on a long, flexible, worm-like stalk. like a worm, this creature moves about in the mud, and constructs a sand-lined dwelling-tube. [illustration: _photos by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] southern cross pearl, valued at £ , . consists of nine laterally united pearls corresponding in shape and size.] [illustration: pearl-shell with group of golden pearls. many thousand shells may be opened without finding a single pearl.] [illustration: _photos by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] queensland pearls on black-lipped pearl-shell. the black-lipped shell produces pearls of great value.] [illustration: pearl produced by operation on the animal. the pearl produced is a solid hemispherical or "button" pearl.] although lamp-shells are represented by comparatively few species at the present day, in the older epochs they existed in enormous abundance. it is further remarkable of this group that many species are scarcely distinguishable from their fossil ancestors. lingula, the type last referred to, is especially notable in this respect. ---- chapter iii. _star-fishes, sea-urchins, etc._ the somewhat varied assemblage of marine animals familiarly known as star-fishes, feather-stars, brittle-stars, sea-urchins, and sea-cucumbers all agree structurally with one another and differ from all other living organisms in several conspicuous features. prominent among these is the circumstance that their protecting skin is more or less extensively impregnated externally and strengthened internally with calcareous elements which take the form of plates and spines and spicules. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ common or short-spined sea-urchin. this species is used for food in italy and other continental countries.] the common sea-urchin may be cited as an example in which these calcareous elements attain their maximum development. the subspherical box-like case or shell, wherein all the vital organs are enclosed and safely protected, is a common object of the seashore, and, empty and denuded of its external coating of prickly spines, familiarly known as a "sea-egg." examined closely, this shell is found to consist of a series of calcareous plates, which dovetail or fit together in juxtaposition with the utmost nicety. the surface of the shell is studded throughout with rounded hemispherical knobs, those of a larger size having a very distinctly symmetrical plan of distribution. these rounded knobs are the bases of attachment of the spines, which radiate at all points from the surface of the shell when the animal is alive. it will be further recognised on a nearer examination that the walls of the shell are pierced on a definitely symmetrical pattern with minute perforations, such perforations being most distinctly visible on the inner surface of the shell. these minute punctures are the apertures through which in life the delicate tubular locomotive organs, or so-called "feet," are thrust out and retracted. the majority of these tubular organs terminate in a circular sucking-disk, wherewith, collectively, the urchin is able to adhere to and travel over the surface of the smoothest rock, or even up the glass walls of an aquarium. in the empty beach-gathered urchin-shell a circular hole may be observed at the two opposite poles, the one in the centre of the lower and flatter surface being the larger of the two. it is within this lower and larger one that the mouth, with its complex apparatus of teeth, is suspended. the membranous disk which covers the upper and smaller circular aperture in the living animal is perforated centrally by the vent, and around it are grouped the eye-spots and sundry excretory apertures. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ long-spined sea-urchins. the needle-like spines of these sea-urchins are over a foot in length. acres of these creatures may be sometimes seen on tidally exposed areas of the queensland great barrier reef, where this photograph was taken.] a noteworthy feature associated with the greater portion of the structural details of the sea-urchin which have been enumerated is the dominance of the number five in the constituent elements. it is found, for instance, that the perforated areas through which the tube-feet are protruded form, as with the petals and other elements of many flowers, five symmetrically corresponding segments. the dental apparatus comprises five equivalent tooth-like structures, and there are five eye-spots and five excretory apertures at the upper pole. this particular number, with multiples of the same, is furthermore characteristic of all the typical members of the class. thus, in the common star-fish, there are five so-called arms, five eye-spots, one at the tip of each arm, and five equivalent elemental components of all the more important viscera. in the sea-cucumbers, which have elongate worm-like bodies, there is a similar apportionment of the nerves and muscles of the body generally into fives, and also of the branching tentacles which surround the mouth. tubular locomotive organs, the so-called "tube-feet," are common to all the three types enumerated. the calcareous plates and spinules, while attaining to a maximum development in the urchins, are also abundantly represented in the other groups. in the common star-fish these calcareous elements form within the skin an openly reticulated trellis-like framework, while in the ordinary sea-cucumbers they more usually take the form of innumerable microscopically minute spicules. the two less familiarly known groups of the feather-stars and brittle-stars fully agree with the previously enumerated types in their five-fold structural composition. the brittle-stars have almost invariably five arms only, but they are independent outgrowths from the body proper, instead of being prolongations of it, as in the common star-fish. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ thick-spined sea-urchin. in large specimens the spines are as thick as a slate-pencil, and may be used for the same purpose.] the feather-stars, which include some of the rarest and most beautiful representatives of the group, are mostly inhabitants of deep water, and remarkable for the circumstance that either throughout life or in their early phases they are affixed to submarine objects by slender stalks. this peculiarity imparts to the animals such a flower-like aspect that, in conjunction with the indurated calcareous nature of their skeletons, they have received the title of "stone-lilies." this appellation, however, was originally more particularly applied to their fossilised remains, which occur in remarkable abundance in the older geological strata. the most familiar british representative of the group is the rosy feather-star, occasionally obtained among seaweed in rock-pools on the southern coast, but more often brought up with the dredge from deeper water. in this form the elongate feather-like arms radiate from the central, relatively small, five-rayed body. there is no supporting foot-stalk in this adult stage, the animal being freely movable, and clinging to seaweeds and other objects by means of a cluster of claw-like filaments developed upon its under-surface. releasing its hold upon its temporarily selected position, it can crawl about with the aid of the hooked extremities of its arms and their radiating joints. it can also propel itself through the water in a somewhat clumsy fashion by the consecutive flexion and extension of these appendages. this freedom of locomotion was not, however, always possessed by the feather-star. in its early days, and when of very small size, it was affixed to a slender foot-stalk, and dependent for its food on the animalcules and other minute organisms which drifted or swam within reach of its extended arms. the rosy feather-star takes its name from the bright rose-red tints by which it is usually characterised. individuals of the species are, however, subject to considerable colour-variation. on the australian coast, where many forms are abundantly represented, examples tinted deep crimson, black, bright golden yellow, or sundry admixtures of these several hues are not uncommonly found associated among a dredge-haul of these elegant sea-stars. the permanently stalked stone-lilies are at the present day of rare occurrence. up to within comparatively recent years the so-called medusa's-head lily was, indeed, regarded as the only living representative of the group. this species has a pentagonal jointed foot-stalk that may be feet long, with five slender appendages developed in whorls at short sub-equal distances throughout its length. from the shallow cup-shaped body at the apex of the stalk a tassel-like bundle of arms is developed, all of these being produced by repeated bifurcation from one of the five equivalent basal stem-joints. dredging expeditions have within the last quarter of a century revealed the existence of a considerable number of previously unknown species of stone-lilies in the abysses of the ocean, a depth of no less than , fathoms representing the habitat of one such type. [illustration: _photo by n. lazarnick_] [_new york._ star-fish in water. if pulled to pieces, each of the five arms, or fingers, will grow into a perfect star-fish.] the star-fish group is represented by the common five-fingers, or cross-fish, as it is sometimes called, and includes a very numerous assemblage of species of varying size and shape and colour. the british seas alone yield some twenty forms. among the more notable of these is the sun star-fish, which, departing from the rule of possessing five arms only, has twelve or more, its contour, from which it derives its name, somewhat resembling that of a symbolic sun. the colours of this species are particularly brilliant, consisting usually of a variably patterned admixture of crimson, pink, and white. an extreme contrast in contour to the sun-star is presented by the so-called bird's-foot species, in which the body is pentagonal and so flattened out as to somewhat resemble the foot of a duck. in the cushion-stars the body, while pentagonal, is comparatively thick. [illustration: _photo by e. connold._] [_st. leonards._ star-fish, out of water, turning over. the sucker-tipped tubes with which the star-fish effects locomotion are well shown in this photograph.] the so-called snake-armed sand-stars and brittle-stars constitute a section distinguished from the preceding by the character of the arms, which branch separately from the central body, and are composed of an innumerable series of calcareous joints, which snap asunder under the slightest provocation. the great majority of the species are provided with five simple arms only. in an exceptional form, however, known as the shetland argus, and its allies, these five arms, while simple at their base, bifurcate repeatedly and in geometrical progression to such an extent as to form in life a complex network of writhing, snake-like tendrils, that has been appropriately likened to a medusa's head. it has been calculated that there are no less than , terminal arm-subdivisions in adult examples of this species. among the sea-urchin tribe there are many notable departures from the typical form previously referred to. in some, while the sub-spheroidal form of the case, or test, is still retained, the external spiny armature is greatly varied. in one series these spines are exceedingly long, slender, and of needle-like contour and sharpness. in others, while long, they are abnormally thick and cylindrical, somewhat resembling slate-pencils, for which they are sometimes used as a substitute; or they may be club-shaped, branched, or reduced to flattened plates. in other forms the shell itself is conspicuously modified. with some known as biscuit- or cake-urchins it is flattened out to the resemblance of a cake or biscuit, the spines being minute and inconspicuous. in another group, distinguished as heart-urchins, the shell is oval and bilaterally symmetrical, though the dominant number of five still holds good with regard to the building up of its structural details. one of the most interesting is the leather-urchin, so called on account of the flexible and loosely jointed character of its shell, the way being paved by such a form to the normally soft- and flexible-skinned sea-cucumbers. sea-urchins are to a great extent vegetable-feeders, and the larger species are appreciated as an article of food in many countries, the ovaries, or roe, with which at certain periods the shell is mostly filled, forming the edible portion. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a young brittle star-fish (much magnified). the arms of the brittle-stars are composed of loosely fitting, readily fractured joints.] the sea-cucumbers--better known in the commercial world as bêche-de-mer, or trepang--represent the only group which possesses a substantial market-value. its typical members present an elongate worm-like contour, but progress by means of extensile tube-feet, after the manner of the urchins and star-fishes, and have their dental, nervous, and muscular systems fashioned on the same five-sectioned basis. the mouth, which is situated at one extremity of the body, is surrounded by a series of ten or twenty delicately branched or mop-like tentacles, which can be protruded or retracted at the animal's will, and are used for seizing food. the skin of the typical sea-cucumber is more or less soft and flexible, and has embedded within its substance innumerable minute calcareous spinules. the commercially valuable sea-cucumbers, or bêche-de-mer, are all inhabitants of tropical waters, the north-eastern australian coast and the malay seas yielding the most highly prized forms. the queensland great barrier reef, consisting of a series of coral-reefs extending for upwards of , miles at a little distance from the australian mainland, represents one of the most productive areas for this marine delicacy, the bulk of which goes to the chinese market. the fishery is prosecuted with the assistance mainly of the queensland natives, who, either by diving or wading on the reefs at low tide, collect the creatures in vast quantities. on being brought to the curing-stations, the animals are emptied from the collecting-sacks into large caldrons, where they are allowed to stew in their own juice for about twenty minutes. taken out of the caldrons, they are split open and eviscerated, dried for a short interval in the sun, and then placed in tiers on wire gratings in a smoke-house, where they remain for twenty-four hours. they should at this stage have shrunk up to about one quarter of their normally extended size, much resemble charred sausages in aspect, and should rattle like dry walnuts when bagged up for exportation. from £ to £ per ton are the prices that the better qualities of bêche-de-mer realise when well cured and delivered at chinese ports. the chief culinary use to which the cured sea-cucumbers are applied is that of the concoction of soup, the best quality prepared taking rank with that made from swallows' nests. at the hotels and clubs in the leading australian cities bêche-de-mer soup is held in high favour, and its more extensive introduction on the menu-cards of western civilisation may be only a question of time. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a branching-armed brittle-star. the specimen is attached to a brilliant scarlet sponge.] many species of sea-cucumbers inhabit british seas, but none possess that density of tissue which is essential for their economic conservation; the majority, moreover, are of comparatively small size, some few inches long only when fully extended, whereas the commercially valuable tropical ones may measure as much as from to feet. the mode of feeding of sea-cucumbers is somewhat interesting; the smaller species, with much-branching tentacles, generally affix themselves by their tube-feet to some object, and, extending their tentacles in all directions, utilise them, like those of a sea-anemone, for seizing any minute and suitable prey which may strike against them. the microscopic organisms on which they chiefly feed abound in the waters they inhabit, and one after the other, the branched tentacles having effected a capture, are gathered together and tucked bodily into the creature's central mouth and apparently half-way down its throat. the larger coral-frequenting species are provided mostly with mop-shaped tentacles. they crawl about leisurely in search of their food, mopping over the ground, and gathering up in their tentacles the minute shells and other organisms on which they subsist, which are collectively thrust with an indrawn tentacle into the throat. in some of the lower forms the tube-feet have disappeared, the integument is thin and semi-transparent, and the worm-like animal crawls about by means of its skin-spinules, which take the form of anchors or grappling-hooks. in an opposite direction they may develop a supplementary covering of dermal plates and a more rigid integument, which indicate their nearer relationship with sea-urchins. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-cucumbers, some with extended tentacles. a west australian species whose colours are bright pink and yellow.] the majority of sea-urchins and star-fishes pass through a series of interesting metamorphoses before arriving at the adult state. the larval phases in these instances are free-swimming organisms, having arm-like processes, strengthened by calcareous rods that have been likened in contour to a clock-stand. a small spherical central area, like a clock in its case, representing the stomach of the larva, develops spicules around it, and becomes the body of the urchin, the other outlying portions becoming gradually absorbed. some of the brittle-stars and sea-cucumbers bring forth their young in the adult form, nursing them from the egg in special breeding-chambers. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-cucumber, or bÊche-de-mer. these animals are collected in vast quantities on the australian great barrier reef, smoked, and sent to the chinese market.] the capacity of a star-fish to renew its lost arms is commonly manifested. a single detached arm, moreover, in such a type as the common five-fingered species, can reproduce its body and the remaining four arms. fishermen, who are in the habit of tearing up star-fishes and throwing them back into the water, under the impression that they are thus effectually incapacitating them from further injury to their oyster-beds, commit an error, such mutilation tending to the multiplication of their numbers. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ prickly sea-cucumber. this species of bêche-de-mer commands a high price in china, and makes delicious soup.] in the matter of colour-ornamentation the star-fish group is richly endowed. allusion to the brilliant crimson and pink-and-white tints of the british sun star-fish has been already made. as with most animal groups, however, it is amid their tropical representatives that the most striking colour-variations obtain. one form which is common among the coral-reefs on the queensland coast-line, and much resembles the common british "five-fingers" in size and shape, is brilliant ultramarine-blue. another large pentagonal species, belonging to the group known as cushion-stars, has a golden-brown ground, upon which are thickly scattered small bead-like tubercles of turquoise. a third form, not uncommon on the tasmanian coast-line, which is nearly related to the bird's-foot species, previously mentioned, is distinguished by tints which range through several shades of crimson to brilliant violet. not a few of the star-fishes are notable for their eminent phosphorescent properties. the group of the snake-armed and brittle-stars are more especially distinguished in this respect. many of these species occur in such numbers in comparatively deep water that the dredge may be filled with a tangled mass of their writhing snake-armed bodies. should it be night when the dredge is brought aboard, and its contents are emptied upon the deck, the spectacle presented as the star-fishes scramble in all directions, their bodies and arms aglow with pale green or blue phosphoric coruscations, is highly remarkable. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ black sea-cucumber. this photograph was taken through the water in a coral-pool. a large clam-shell, with its expanded fringe of tentacles, is close beside the sea-cucumber.] ---- chapter iv. _moss-animals._ a little group of animals whose relationship with the sub-divisions previously and hereafter described cannot be very definitely determined is that of the moss-animals, sometimes designated corallines, or lace-corals. all its members are of exceedingly minute size, and if living separately would be scarcely discernible to the unaided vision. they are, however, in the habit of forming stocks, or colonies, after the manner of corals, by a process of continual budding, and in this way build up social aggregations which may be of considerable dimensions. the majority are marine, and largely in evidence on almost every seashore in the form of the so-called sea-mats, consisting of masses of minute, light brown, horny cells, which take the form of seaweeds, or are spread in thin, lace-like encrustations upon the surfaces of shells, stones, and the larger seaweeds. the living inhabitants of these cells are as transparent as glass, their most characteristic feature being the elegant shuttle-cock-shaped crown of tentacles which is thrust out or withdrawn at will from the aperture of each tiny tenement. the assistance of the microscope is requisite for the apprehension of these details, as also of the somewhat complex alimentary and other organs enclosed within the component cells. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent>, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ moss-animals. these coral-like masses are composed of many thousand closely united dwelling-cells of microscopic dimensions.] a comparatively small number of these moss-animals are inhabitants of fresh-water, forming brown tubular aggregations on the under side of the leaves of water-lilies or other submerged objects. it is interesting to observe that the tentacular crown in almost all these fresh-water species is horseshoe-shaped, instead of like a shuttle-cock, as in the marine forms. one very notable fresh-water species is remarkable for the circumstance that in place of horny tubes the component individuals secrete a common transparent gelatinous matrix, which is provided with a creeping-base, wherewith the colony-stock is enabled to travel over the surfaces of the water-plants among which it lives, or up the glass sides of an aquarium. in some respects, and more especially their earlier developmental phases, the moss-animals show affinities with the lamp-shells, while the tentacular crown of the adult individual is closely imitated in certain worms. ---- chapter v. _worms._ the worms and their allies embrace a numerous assemblage of animals which exhibit a remarkable amount of variation both in structure and habits. a fundamental distinction which serves to separate readily even the most highly organised members of the group from the other articulate or jointed-bodied animals, such as crabs, insects, or centipedes, is furnished by the character of the locomotive appendages. these in the worm tribe never assume a jointed character, but take the form of unjointed membranous processes which may or may not be supplemented by bristles. frequently bristles alone constitute the essential locomotive organs. in certain groups, such as the leeches, flat-worms, thread-worms, and others, even these are unrepresented. the appropriate title of bristle-worms has been conferred upon the section in which the locomotive organs take the form of bristles. among these the common earth-worm is included. at first sight the worm's body appears to be perfectly smooth and naked; it is found, however, on closer investigation to be furnished, according to the species, with either two or four longitudinal rows of fine, hook-like bristles. although these bristles project but slightly above the surface of the skin, they constitute very effective aids to locomotion, enabling the animal to obtain a secure grip upon the surface of the ground over which it may be travelling. progression under such conditions is effected, in fact, on the same principle as that of the snake, the ends of the stiff bristles with which the segments are armed fulfilling the same role as the projecting edges of the reptile's scales. earth-worms are chiefly vegetable-feeders, dragging into their holes fallen leaves, straws, and every other description of vegetable débris. they also swallow and pass through their systems large quantities of earth, absorbing from it its organic constituents, and depositing the indigestible residuum therefrom in the form of "earth-casts." the useful function thus performed by worms in bringing up earth from considerable depths and redepositing it upon the surface of the ground has been fully demonstrated in one of mr. darwin's works. there are some twenty species of british earth-worms, none of which, however, attain to the proportions of certain kinds indigenous to australia and south africa. some of these giant species are as much as or feet long when unextended, and will on the stretch measure twice such lengths. their thickness, which is proportionate, may vary from that of a man's finger to that of an ordinary sausage. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ tube-worms. some with their flower-like gill-tufts expanded.] the most numerically abundant and structurally varied representatives of the bristle-bearing worms are inhabitants of the sea, and are divisible into two easily recognised natural groups. in one of these the animals resemble earth-worms in their ability to move about freely from place to place. in the other group they secrete and permanently reside within a tubular edifice, which may be calcareous and of shell-like hardness, or composed of particles of sand, mud, or other substances. the free-roving group, which embraces by far the larger number, includes such forms as the lug-worm, or lob-worm (held in high repute for fishing-baits), and a host of other allied species. in all of these the development of bristles and other appendages is more pronounced than in the earth-worms. in another group, known as the nereids, the elongate worm-like body is more or less flattened in shape; unjointed leg-like appendages, supplemented by bristles, are developed from the majority of the segments, and the animal presents a somewhat centipede-like aspect. this likeness is further enhanced by the presence of antennæ-like organs at the anterior extremity, while the mouth is armed internally with a pair of sharp-pointed, horny jaws. in many of the nereids the lateral organs are flattened out and paddle-like, constituting effective swimming-structures. some of the larger species attain a length of several feet, and are especially noteworthy for the brilliantly iridescent tinting of their skins. the palm of beauty with respect to its brilliant colouring must undoubtedly, however, be awarded to the so-called sea-mouse, frequently cast up by storms on the british coast. in this creature the body is comparatively short and thick, or inches long by ½ to inches wide. the centre of the back is covered in by a felt-like mass of fine interlacing hairs of a brownish hue, underneath which are broad, flat scales which protect the breathing-apparatus. the sides are, however, thickly clothed with long, slender hairs and bristles, each of which reflects the most brilliant prismatic tints. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-worms, or nereids. their innumerable "false feet" impart to them a centipede-like aspect.] the tube-dwelling worms are noteworthy for the elegant and often beautifully coloured flower-like gill-tuft with which the head is crowned. its separate filaments are clothed with vibrating hairs, which create currents bringing food-particles to the mouth. in those forms which build up a hard calcareous dwelling-tube, one of the gill-filaments is usually so modified as to constitute a stopper-like organ, wherewith the animal, on retreating into its domicile, can effectually bar out the ingress of intruders. in some members of the group the gill-tufts are elegantly branched and supplemented by long, simple, thread-like filaments, that are thrust out to long distances in every direction both for food and the materials required for the further lengthening and enlargement of the tube. the leeches differ essentially from the bristle-worms in the absence of bristles or supplementary appendages, in the presence of an adhesive sucking-disk at the posterior and sometimes also the anterior extremity, and on their well-known blood-sucking propensities. while the medicinal and so-called horse-leeches inhabit fresh-water, some, more especially in tropical countries, infest the moist jungles and scrubs in vast numbers, and are among the most actively aggressive pests with which the traveller has to contend. a few leeches also inhabit the sea, preying upon the skate and other fishes. the bodies of these marine species are cylindrical, with a sucker at each extremity, and roughly corrugated or warted. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ sea-mice. worms, with remarkably iridescent hairs, which burrow in the sand.] the flat-worms embrace a large number of intestinal and other parasitic species, including tape-worms, thread-worms, liver-flukes, and others. among the free-living non-parasitic members of this group, the so-called india-rubber-worm is remarkable for the extraordinary elasticity of its tissues. black in hue, it lives among rocks and seaweeds, and preys upon small fishes and other organisms. these, being seized by the suctorial mouth, are unable to effect their escape, the worm's body being capable of stretching out to a length of feet or more, and "playing" the captured victim like a living elastic fishing-line until its struggles are exhausted. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ portion of the great barrier reef of australia. showing soft or leathery and other corals.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ another portion of the great barrier reef. composed chiefly of stag's-horn corals. this coral varies in colour, being sometimes brown with white tips, in other instances grass-green or even brilliant violet.] ---- chapter vi. _corals, sea-anemones, and jelly-fishes._ with the sea-anemones and jelly-fishes almost the lowest organised group of living animals is reached. as typified by an ordinary sea-anemone, the body may be described as a simple sac, the orifice of which is inverted for some little distance, and held in position with relation to the outer wall by a series of radiating partitions. one or more rows of tentacles, varying in number and character according to the species, surround the mouth of this partially inverted sac. there is no distinct intestinal track, the whole space enclosed within the outer wall and ramifying among the radiating partitions containing the digestive juices. the radiating membranous partitions develop upon their surfaces the reproductive elements, and in the case of corals, which are merely skeleton-producing sea-anemones, partly secrete within them the symmetrical radiating calcareous plates so characteristic of the group. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a mushroom-coral fully expanded. in this condition the coral, or skeleton of the animal, is entirely concealed.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ |mushroom-corals, with the anemone-like polyp expanded. taken through the water on a coral-reef.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ part of the great barrier reef of australia. chiefly composed of star-corals, many of them resembling human skulls. the great barrier reef of australia, consisting of innumerable detached reefs and coral-islets, is over , miles in length.] some thirty odd species of sea-anemones are indigenous to british waters, and one or more of these will be familiar to most readers. the strawberry-anemone, clinging to the rocks as a hemispherical lump of crimson, green, brown, or red and yellow speckled jelly when the tide is down, and expanding like a beautiful flower when the waters flow back upon it, is the commonest and in many respects the most beautiful of all, the circlet of turquoise beads, regarded as rudimentary eyes, developed around the outer margin of the tentacles, adding a charm possessed by few other species. the dahlia-anemone, whose expanded disk and innumerable petal-like tentacles may measure as much as or inches in diameter, is the largest british species. these dimensions are, however, vastly exceeded by its tropical allies. the australian coast produces giant species which may measure no less than from inches to feet across their expanded disks. these giant anemones are further interesting on account of the circumstance that they are self-constituted "harbours of refuge" to sundry species of fishes and crabs, which nestle among their tentacles like birds in a leafy bower. the anemones are themselves bright in colour, but the associated fishes are even more so. in an example which was photographed by the writer on the western australian coast, the anemone was olive-green, with the tips of the tentacles bright mauve. the fishes, of which three examples were present, were brilliant orange-scarlet with white bands. in addition to the fishes a small flat-clawed crab shared the sheltering hospitality of the anemone. some of the tropical coral-reef-frequenting anemones, which have their tentacles beautifully branched, must be cautiously handled, in consequence of their notable stinging properties. all sea-anemones and corals are, in fact, provided with peculiar stinging-cells, with which they benumb and thus make an easy capture of the living organisms on which they prey. while the majority of the sea-anemones live single or individually separate lives, there are some which form aggregations or colony-stocks of numerous units. these compound growths are brought about by repeated budding, or the sub-division or fission, without complete separation, of an originally single individual. it is by a similar process of recurrent sub-division that the wonderful fabrications of the coral-polyps are built up. [illustration: portion of a stag's-horn coral. each minute circular cell represents the situation in life of a small sea-anemone-like animal, or coral-polyp.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a clump of stag's-horn coral. the life-colours of this coral are a delicate cream with brilliant magenta tips.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ bleached corals from the great barrier reef. branching stag's horn corals are chiefly represented in this group. several of the large solitary mushroom-corals may, however, be observed in the foreground.] an ordinary coral-animal or polyp, as previously stated, differs in no respect from a sea-anemone, excepting for the possession of a calcareous skeleton secreted within its basal tissues, including portions of the membranous radiating partitions. some coral-animals, like the majority of the anemones, are solitary, and form single attached or loosely lying corals. the well-known mushroom-coral is one of the latter. one species observed, which was photographed through the water by the writer as it lay expanded in a tide-pool on the australian great barrier reef, might easily be mistaken for a big sea-anemone allied to the dahlia-anemone. on being disturbed, however, it immediately shrinks back upon its base, ejecting all the water with which its expanded tissues were filled, and revealing the presence of the hard radiating coral beneath. each of the calcareous radii, which are now clearly defined through the thin semi-transparent skin, corresponds in position with one of the internal membranous partitions, and also with the origin of one of the tentacles. new mushroom-corals are produced as buds thrown off from the parent, which attach themselves and secrete a foot-stalk, to which they remain affixed, like the young of the feather star-fish, for the earlier epoch of their existence. ultimately, however, they become detached, and, falling from their stalks, lie loosely on the sea-bottom, after the manner of their parents. the huge coral-masses commonly known as madrepores, out of which coral-islands and reefs are constructed, all commence as a single coral-animal, with its contained skeleton analogous to the mushroom-coral, though in all instances much smaller. the buds developed by the coral-polyp in these instances remain attached to the parent. if they spread out laterally, they build up by accumulation the large flattened or sub-spherical masses known as brain-corals and star-corals, which are most abundant on coast-line reefs, or form the bases of the outer barrier-reefs. where, on the other hand, the budding is terminal or oblique, branching tree-like growths such as the stag's-horn corals, with their innumerable allies and variations, are produced. the colours of the coral-polyps are as brilliant and diverse as those of ordinary sea-anemones, living reefs, whereon a number of different species are in a condition of healthy growth, yielding a spectacular effect that vies with that of any floral parterre. sometimes large areas, acres upon acres in extent, may be covered with one almost uniform purple, green, brown, or other coloured growth of the branching stag's-horn species. the aspect presented is not unlike that of a heath-covered common. in addition to the solid, calcareous-skeletoned madrepores, or "stony corals," as they are often termed, there are a number of species in which a skeleton composed only of loosely aggregated calcareous spicules is produced. the so-called flexible corals, or sea-fans, belong to this category, as also the precious coral of commerce. in the last-named species the solid, brilliantly coloured skeleton so much prized as an article of jewellery is deposited as a supplementary basis outside the tissues by which the star-patterned skeletons of the stony corals are secreted. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a queensland star-coral. this species in life is of a pale lemon-yellow tint.] a group which demands brief notice is that of the hydroid polyps. these include the majority of the jelly-fishes, a few coral-secreting species, and the organisms whose seaweed-like horny skeletons, known as sea-firs, are, in common with those of sea-mats, included among the flotsam and jetsam on every sea-beach. in the common hydra, or freshwater polyp, an exceptional fresh-water representative of this group is presented. it may be likened to a tiny sea-anemone, having, when extended, a slender foot-stalk and long thread-like tentacles. like a sea-anemone, it will shrink up when disturbed into a mere button of jelly. its organisation is more simple than that of the anemone, its body-cavity being a simple sac, without any intucking of the orifice, or strengthening by supplementary membranous partitions. a similar simple structural plan is characteristic of all the organisms belonging to the series. an interesting phenomenon connected with the fresh-water hydra is the circumstance, demonstrated now over a century ago, that, if one of these animals be cut up into little pieces, each separate fragment is capable of repairing itself and growing into a new polyp. the jelly-fishes, or medusas, and their allies would appear at first sight to possess but little structurally in common with the coral-polyps and sea-anemones. in their most familiar form they are represented by a more or less translucent bell-shaped body, which drifts with the current or propels itself through the water by its alternate expansions and contractions. in the centre of the lower surface, occupying the position of the bell's clapper, a polyp-like, tubular mouth is usually discernible, and this is frequently surrounded by a circle of tentacles, sometimes simple and sometimes elaborately ramified. long, thread-like tentacles are also commonly developed around the margin of the swimming-bell. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent. f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a giant anemone from the great barrier reef. from inches to feet in diameter when expanded. bright apple-green in colour, and with almost spherical bead-like tentacles.] the larger number of the jellyfishes are, as a matter of fact, transitional phases only of the fixed hydroid polyps previously referred to. in certain instances the body of the fixed polyp becomes elongated, and splits up horizontally into a series of jelly-fishes, or medusas, resembling a pile of saucers, which consecutively break away and lead a free-roving existence. in other forms a compound tree-like growth gives birth to medusa-like buds, like the flowers on a plant, which ultimately become detached and swim away. what are known as the comb-bearing jelly-fishes--their locomotive organs consisting of comb-like bands of vibratile hairs--are especially noteworthy. in some of these the body is nearly spherical or ovate, one of the species, in reference to its shape, being popularly known as the sea-lemon. a notable feature of these medusas is their remarkable glass-like transparency, their presence in the water in many instances being recognisable only by the prismatic glimmerings of their rows of vibratile hairs when the light falls upon them at a favourable angle. the most remarkable member of this particular group is undoubtedly the form known as venus's girdle. this species takes the form of a long, ribbon-like band of transparent jelly. the edges of the ribbon are clothed with vibratile hairs, and the mouth is situated in the centre of one of the edges. the animal progresses by the action of its hairs alone, or may be assisted by the twistings and undulations of its ribbon-like body. [illustration: _photo by saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ a giant sea-anemone. measures, when opened, inches in diameter. is almost always associated with companion or "commensal" fish and crabs of brilliant colour. the fish cruise round in search of food, but always return to shelter among the anemone's tentacles. photograph taken through the water.] many jelly-fishes possess an unenviable reputation with reference to their stinging properties. the so-called portuguese man-of-war is one of the more noteworthy of these. the organism consists of an ovately pointed air-bladder, which floats on the water, and from which depend numerous nutritive polyps and a mass of capturing-filaments, or tentacles. ---- chapter vii. _sponges and animalcules._ the sponges are regarded as a group standing on the borderland between the polyps and the lowly organisms which follow. the familiar bath- and toilet-sponges of commerce represent but an insignificant fraction in comparison with the many hundred species which find no place in the world's market. toilet-sponges owe their intrinsic value to the relative fineness and elasticity of their component fibrous skeletons. in these particular species the skeleton is composed of a substance akin to horn. in other sponges the skeleton may consist of horny fibres mixed with flinty spicules, or it may be of flint only, or of spicules of carbonate of lime. finally, there are sponges which possess no internally supporting skeleton, fibrous or spicular, and whose substance is consequently little more than gelatinous. all these numerous forms, however, agree with one another in the identity of their most essential vital elements. in the living sponge the skeleton, fibrous or otherwise, is embedded within a gelatinous matrix by whose component cells it is excreted. externally the sponge-body is perforated over the greater portion of its extent by minute holes or pores, while one or more holes of relatively large size occupy the summit of the sponge, or are scattered here and there among the numerous smaller pores. the smaller pores represent incurrent apertures, and lead to chambers within the sponge's substance lined by cells. each of these is provided with a long whip-like appendage, with a transparent wineglass-shaped cup or collar, which is a beautifully constructed food-trap. the lashings of the whips of the collar-cells cause currents of water bearing nutrient particles to flow in at all the smaller pores. arriving at the chambers, these particles are caught by the outstretched collar-traps and absorbed into the cell's substance. the water, together with rejected and waste materials given off by the sponge-body, is carried forward, and passes out at the larger orifices or vents. [illustration: _photo by w saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ frilled sponge. a species not infrequently dredged up by the pearl-shell fishers in sharks bay, western australia.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ reticulated sponge. the skeleton of this sponge is composed of fine horny fibres resembling those of ordinary commercial sponges.] among the more remarkable sponges may be mentioned the neptune's-cup sponge, like a huge chalice or feet high, indigenous to the south seas; the wonderful cornucopia-shaped lace-sponge, consisting of a lace-like reticulation of flinty fibres; and its near ally the glass-rope sponge, forming a cup- or bird's-nest-shaped body, supported on a long cylindrical stalk of flinty fibres that may be over a foot in height. one of the compound or social sea-anemones is in the habit of forming bark-like encrustations on this glassy stem, and it was for a long time doubtful whether the sea-anemone or the sponge produced the supporting-stalk. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ portuguese bird's-nest sponge. dredged from a depth of fathoms off the coast of portugal. in life the body, or "cup," of this sponge was deep orange colour, from which the grey beard-like mass of anchoring fibres depended.] [illustration: _photo by e. connold_] [_st. leonards._ chalina sponge. a british species, composed partly of horny and partly of flinty elements.] the animalcules, which represent the simplest and lowest forms of living animals, consist chiefly of organisms which are the equivalents of one of the single cells, or, as they might be termed, the "life-bricks," out of which all the higher animals, and also plants, are built up. they are of minute dimensions, and require the aid of the microscope for their proper investigation. among the most highly organised members of this sub-kingdom mention must be made of the ciliated animalcules, or infusoria, so called because they were first discovered inhabiting decaying vegetable and animal infusions. the so-called slipper-animalcule is one of the commonest forms which makes its appearance amidst such environments. the length of this single-celled animal scarcely averages the one-hundredth part of an inch, but within this restricted space an amazing degree of structural and functional differentiation is included. its outer surface is, in the first place, densely clothed with hairs, which represent its organs of locomotion. this outer cell-wall has a subjacent somewhat softer layer, in which are developed as crowded a series (as compared with the hairs) of minute rod-like bodies, which, under various stimuli, can be shot out like darts through the skin, and are adjudged to be offensive and defensive weapons, partaking much of the same nature as the thread- or stinging-cells of sea-anemones. among other noteworthy structures, the slipper-animalcule has a distinct throat-opening, two rhythmically contracting cavities fulfilling a respiratory function and a complex reproductive nodule, or nucleus. compared with a host of its kindred, this animalcule is a giant, the longest diameter of many of the smaller varieties measuring no more than the / th part of inch, or even less. the elegant little bell-animalcule, with its crystal wineglass-shaped body, crown of vibrating hairs, and long spirally contractile foot-stalk, is a familiar object to the possessor of a microscope. most commonly these single-celled organisms, like the single-celled elements of organic tissues, multiply by repeated sub-division, the number that can be reproduced in a short space of time by this simple process being almost incredible. as many as a million, it has been calculated, of some species may be thus derived from an original single individual within twenty hours. in this connection these lowly organisms can among living animals most logically lay claim to immortality. the individual, in point of fact, never dies. finding itself growing old and obese at the ripe age of, say, sixty minutes, it has simply to split itself up into two offsets, which swim away and repeat the process. occasionally, for the rejuvenescence of the race, two individuals coalesce completely with one another, and multiplication by splitting takes place. some near relations of the little bell-animalcule, while sub-dividing so far as their bodies are concerned, remain united by their foot-stalks, and thus in time build up beautiful tree-like structures, laden as it were with crystal bells or fruit. in some of these the common branching foot-stalk is erect and rigid, while in others it is flexible, and contains, as in the ordinary species, a central elastic ligament. under these circumstances the whole tree-like structure, with its crystal bells, collapses and expands again under the slightest stimulus, and constitutes one of the most beautiful objects that can be viewed through the microscope. [illustration: photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s.] [_milford-on-sea._ cup-sponges, photographed as growing in a coral-pool. the neptune's cup sponge, allied to this species, is sometimes or feet in height and diameter.] in lower forms of the infusorial animalcules one or more long, lash-like organs take the place of locomotive hairs. in this category are included the collar-bearing animalcules. some of these build up tree-like growths by repeated sub-divisions and imperfect separation, after the manner of the bell-animalcules, while others excrete tubular dwelling-cases, inhabited by the resultants of the splitting process. such forms can with difficulty be distinguished from skeletonless sponges. the animalcule noctiluca, which by its countless myriads is the chief constituent of ocean phosphorescence, is a member of the lash-bearing group. this noteworthy form invites a somewhat more extended notice. it is to the presence of the noctiluca in countless myriads upon the upper stratum of the water on calm summer nights that is especially due the diffused form of phosphorescence which is more essentially characteristic of temperate latitudes. under the most favourable of these conditions, the waves falling upon the strand leave as they retreat a glittering carpet of scintillating points; the oars of the passing boat seem as it were to dip into molten silver; while on the high seas the revolving screw or paddle of the steam-vessel leaves in its wake a broad, luminous track as far as the eye can reach. a glassful of water taken from the sea at such times immediately reveals the origin of these wonderful phenomena. here and there will be seen floating minute bladder-like transparent spheres, resembling as nearly as possible small granules of boiled sago. investigated more closely with the microscope, each individual speck will be found to exhibit a pouch-like contour, having a central furrow, from which the lash projects, and upon which the minute mouth-aperture opens. irritated by agitation in any shape or form, the noctilucas at once respond by, as it were, angry flashes of silvery-greenish light, and it is to the coruscations in their aggregate condition of many millions of these minute organisms that the several phenomena above recounted are produced. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ shells of forams highly magnified. the chalk cliffs of dover and many other strata are mainly composed of similar microscopically minute shells.] one other characteristic manifestation of ocean phosphorescence dependent upon the presence in countless numbers of these minute animalcules may be recorded. to those accustomed to a seafaring life the spectacle is a common one, on nights when the luminosity is most in evidence, of fishes following or darting away from the sides of the vessel apparently aglow themselves with phosphoric light, and leaving behind them, in accordance with their size, a more or less conspicuous luminous path in the murky waters. it is commonly supposed that such form of luminosity is emitted by the fishes themselves; but on closer investigation it will be found that this also is due to the presence of the animalcules under notice in countless numbers, which are disturbed into a sudden display of their phosphoric properties by the passage of the fishes through their midst. this light is reflected, as from a mirror, by the fishes' glittering scales, while the noctilucas continue scintillating for several seconds in the path or wake through which the fishes have passed. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ noctilucas. these are the animalcules which chiefly produce marine phosphorescence.] there are other animalcules nearly allied to noctilucas which sometimes occur in such vast abundance in both salt and fresh water as to visibly affect its character. in addition to a very long lash they have a girdle of vibratile hairs. the fresh-water representatives of this group are sometimes brilliant green, at others bright scarlet. that instance among the biblical egyptian plagues in which the water of the nile was as it were "turned to blood, and all the fish died," has been attributed to a phenomenal development of these animalcules, which, on dying, polluted and putrefied the water. instances of fishes being destroyed in vast quantities through a like agency throughout even extensive sea-areas have been occasionally recorded. while these pages are going to press an account has appeared in an american journal of red water caused by these flagellate animalcules, which occurred last july for an extent of at least miles along the coast of california, producing with their decomposition a most sickening odour, and the death of shoals of fishes, octopods, sea-cucumbers, and other organisms. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ polycysts. flinty-shelled organisms of microscopic dimensions. the living animals consist of tiny specks of transparent jelly, from which radiate innumerable false feet of hair-like fineness.] next to the flagellates come the root-footed animalcules, which possess no mouth and no hairs or lashes, but progress by pushing out lobes of their jelly-like substance in any desired direction, into which the rest of the body flows. food is picked up at any point with which an acceptable morsel may be brought in contact. the little gelatinous animal known as an amoeba is one of these. related forms of this jelly animalcule secrete shells of varying form and structure. some of these, known as forams, are of carbonate of lime, and wonderfully like nautiluses and other of the higher molluscan shells in aspect. though so minute, scarcely visible to the unassisted eye, they occur in the sea in such numbers as to form by their aggregations the more considerable ingredients of vast areas of the earth's strata, both past and present. the chalk cliffs of albion and the white tenacious ooze of the broad atlantic are thus to a large extent composed of the shells of minute organisms, which formerly flourished near the surface of the ocean, but sank on their death to its abysmal depths. the simplest of the forams fabricate shells with a single chamber, which are often elegantly vase- or flask-shaped. more usually, however, the shell represents the product of repeated buddings or outgrowths, and may attain considerable dimensions. flattened circular forms of this type much resemble time-worn coins, and are hence called nummulites. their fossil-shells enter mainly into the composition of rocks which extend through north africa and asia to the himalaya, and supplied the stone of which the pyramids are built. allied to the forams, but distinguished by the radiating, needle-like contour of their false feet and the flinty texture of their shells, are an equally numerous assemblage of organisms known as radiolarians. like the forams, they are inhabitants of the sea, and their discarded shells enter extensively into the constitution of strata. a little globular fresh-water form, devoid of a shell, and with slender bristle-like feet radiating in every direction, is known as the sun-animalcule, and forms a connecting-link between the last two groups. from man to egg-laying mammals, molluscs to animalcules, the vast scheme of the animal creation has now been successively portrayed. with such simple gelatinous life-specks as the amoeba and its allies the living animals of the world make their exit: unorganised organisms, groping blindly in the darkness--"sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." end of vol. ii. index. a _mammals_ aard-vark, cape, " ethiopian, aard-wolf, addax, agutis, - alpaca, - anoas, ant-eaters, banded, - " great, " tamandua, " two-toed, - antelopes, broad-horned, " harnessed, - " indian four-horned, - " roan, - " sable, " saiga, - apes, i (introd.), " barbary, - " man-like, i, iv, v, _cont._ (introd.), argali, siberian, " tibetan, - armadillos, " kapplers', " peba, asses, wild, african, - " " baluchi, " domesticated, aurochs, or wild ox, aye-aye, _birds_ albatross, - argus-pheasant, auk tribe, avocet, _reptiles and amphibians_ adder, " death-, - " puff-, - alligator, chinese, " mississippi, anaconda, asp, egyptian, axolotl, _fishes_ amphiprion, anchovy, anthias, arapaimas, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ ant-lion, , ants, " solitary, " white, - aphides, _shell-fish, etc._ anemones, sea-, dahlia, " " giant, " " strawberry, animalcules, amoeba, " bell-, " ciliated, " collar-bearing, " root-footed, " slipper-, " sun-, argus, shetland, b _battell, andrew_, , _mammals_ babirusa, - baboons, , " abyssinian, " anubis, " arabian, , " chacma, , - " drill, , " gelada, - " mandrill, - , " stories of, - - badgers, " european, bandicoots, australian, " banded or striped-backed, " indian, " long-nosed, - " pig-footed, " rabbit-, - banting, barb, bats, v (introd.), - " australian fruit-, - " indian fruit-, " insect-eating, " leaf-nosed, " naked, " pipistrelle, " sucker-footed, " tube-nosed fruit-, - " vampire, " welwitsch's, " white, bears, american black, - " " brown, " common brown, - - - " european brown, " grizzly, " himalayan black, _a_, " indian sloth-, " " " anecdotes, " malayan sun-, " peculiarities of, - " polar, - - " " anecdotes, " " habits of, " russian brown, " syrian, - " " stories, " varieties of, beavers, - - " american, - " at work, " habits of, beisa, - - " tufted, bison, " american, - " " bull, " european, - blackbuck, blesbok, bluebuck, boar, senaar, " wild, " " indian, bontebok, bosch-vark, brockets, pygmy, " red, buffaloes, " african, - " cape, - " congo, " domestic indian, " indian, bushbucks, " cape, " cumming's, " decula, birds barbets, - bee-eaters, - bell-bird, - bird of paradise, - " " " king, " " " " of saxony's, " " " red, bishop-bird, bittern, common, - blackbirds, blackcock, bob-white, , bower-birds, " golden, " spotted, broad-bills, bullfinch, - buntings, " reed-, " snow-, bustard-quail, indian, bustards, denham's, " great, - - " indian, butcher-birds, buzzard, rough-legged, _reptiles and amphibians_ boa-constrictor, - - bush-master, - _fishes_ barracudas, bass, black, " sea-, " stone-, bichir, - blennies, bonito, bow-fin, bream, sea-, red, brill, bull-heads, " armed, bummaloe, - butter-fish, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ barnacles, " acorn-, " goose-, bees, " bumble-, - - " carpenter-, - " hive-, - - " solitary, - beetles, " blister-, " bombardier-, " british musk-, - " burying-, - " cardinal, " cellar-, " colorado, " devil's coach-horse, " diamond-, " dor, " drury's goliath, " ground-, " harlequin, - " hercules, - " jumping-, " leaf-horned, " oil-, " reed-, " rhipiphorus, " rose-, " skipjack, " stalk-eyed, " tiger-, " tortoise-, " wasp-, " water-, black, " " brown, bugs, lace-wing, - " masked, " red, " shield-, " true, " water-, - " " boatmen, " " scorpions, butterflies, - " angle-winged, " australian, " blue, - " " morpho, " brush-footed, " copper, - " croesus, - " danaids, " diana fritillary, " fritillaries, - " hair-streaks, " leaf-, " long-winged, - " monarch, " orange-tip, - " queen of spain, " red admiral, " satyrs, " skippers, - " swallow-tailed, - " tawny admiral, - " white, " " cabbage-, c _cunningham, dr._, vi (introd.) _mammals_ cachalot, or sperm-whale, camels, arabian, - " bactrian, - - " disposition of, " half-breed, " tribe, " true, " white, " wild, camel-plough, capybara, - caribou, barren-ground, " newfoundland, " woodland, carnivora, comparison of, cats, australian spotted, " black-footed, " chaus, " golden, - " jungle-, " " habits of, " kaffir, - " rusty-spotted, " serval, - - , " " " " comparative intelligence with apes, etc., " " new world, " wild, , " " common, - " " " range of, " " " stories of, cats, domestic, - abyssinian, black, blue, - - chinchilla, farm, long-haired, manx, - orange, peculiarities of, persian, - siamese, - stories of, - tabby, - - tortoiseshell, , white, , cattle, angus, " cow, jersey, " devon, " domesticated, " english park-, " " " bull, " " " calf of, " hereford " highland, a " humped, " " bull, indian, " long-horn, " spanish, " sussex, " welsh, cavies, - cheeta, , - - " hunting with, " range of, " taming of, chevrotains, - chimpanzee, viii (introd.), " disposition of, , " home of, " "jenny," " physical description of, " "sally," , " soko, , " young, chinchilla, - civets, " african, - " bennett's, " binturong, - " genet, - " hemigales, " indian, " linsangs, " palm-, " rasse, " sumatran, coatis, cobego, - - coypu, - crocodiles, vii (introd.) " prehistoric, v (introd.) cuscus, phalangers, black, " " geogr. dist., " " grey, " " spotted, - _birds_ capercallie, cassowary, _a_ " sclater's, chaffinch, - chatterers, " thick-billed, chough, " cornish, cockatoos, australian, _a_, - " black, " leadbeater's, cock-of-the-rock, - condor, coots, cormorants, - corn-crake, cow-birds, cranes, crowned, _a_, - " common, - - " manchurian, " stanley, " wattled, " white, " whooping-, crow, american, " carrion-, cuckoo, bronze, " common, " emerald, " golden, " great spotted, " ground-, " lark-heeled, " pheasant-, " young, - - - curassow, crested, " razor-billed, curlew, _reptiles and amphibians_ caiman, great, chamæleons, - - cobra, - " giant, craits, indian, crocodile, american, " broad-snouted, " long-snouted, " nile, _fishes_ carp, " common, " king-, " leather-, " mirror-, char, chiasmodus, chimæra, bottle-nosed, " sea-cat, chromids, cod, - " family, " scarlet rock-, _a_ coffer-fishes, - comber, coral-fish, " gold-finned, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ caterpillars, - - centipedes, " electric, cicadas, - coch-y-bonddhu, cockchafer, - cockroach, - crab, blue, " edible, " fighting, " fresh-water, " hermit-, " king-, " shore-, " spider-, crayfish, cricket, field-, " house-, - " mole-, - _shell-fish, etc._ chitons, or multivalve molluscs, clams, giant, corals, bleached, " brain-, " flexible, " mushroom-, - " of commerce, " stag's-horn, - " star-, - " stony, cowries, money-, " panther-, " tiger-, cuttle-fish, d discoveries, iv, v (introd.) _dubois, monsieur_, v (introd.) _mammals_ deer, bavian, " black-tailed, " bokhara, " calamianes, " chinese water-, - " fallow, - _a_ " " mesopotamian, " hog-, - " indian spotted, - - - " japanese, - " manchurian roe, " marsh-, - " pampas-, " père david's, - " red, - " " caspian, or maral, " " hunting, - " siberian roe, - - " spotted oriental, - " swamp-, - " thorold's, " tribe, acclimatisation of, , " " domestication of, " true's, " tufted, " " michie's, " " tibetan, " virginian, - - dibatag, dik-diks, dingoes, - - dog, azara's, " cape hunting-, - " dingoes, - - " family, " indian, " " red, " pariah, " raccoon-, " wild, dogs, domestic, african sand-, bull-dogs, - chows, cockers, collies, dachshunds, - dalmatians, great danes, - griffons brusselois, hounds, basset-, " blood-, - " grey-, " " italian, " otter-, " stag-, puppies, mastiffs, - newfoundlands, - non-sporting, old english sheep-dogs, - pointers, - pomeranians, - pugs, - retrievers, - saint bernards, - schipperkes, setters, - spaniels, " black, " clumber, " japanese, - " pekin, " sussex, " toy, - terriers, bedlington, " black-and-tan, " bull-, " dandie dinmont, " fox-, - " irish, " maltese, - " scottish, - " skye, - " white english, " yorkshire toy, dolphins, v (introd.), " bottled-nosed, " elliott's, " heavyside's, " risso's, " short-beaked river-, donkey, donkeys, egyptian, dormice, dromedary, - dugong, duikers, " red-flanked, _birds_ darter, dipper, divers, - doves, scaly, ducks, aylesbury, " eider-, " paradise-, " wild, dunlin, _fishes_ dab, dentex, dories, john, - - " long-finned, drum, jointed animals: insects etc. drummers, e _ewart, professor_, _mammals_ echidna, or porcupine ant-eater, - - - elands, - - " derbian, elephants, " african, - " asiatic, range, " comparison of african and asiatic, - - " disposition of, " domestication of, " east african, vi (introd.) " indian, - - - - " intelligence of, " strength of, " timber-, " tusks, elk, american, or moose, " irish, " scandinavian, ermine, _birds_ eagles, african sea-, " chilian sea-, " crested, " golden, " harpy-, " imperial, " martial hawk-, " white-tailed, " wedge-tailed, egret, - " indian cattle-, emeu, - _fishes_ eels, " common fresh-water, " conger-, - " deep-sea, - " electric, - " painted, - - " sand-, " serpent-, - " sharp-nosed, jointed animals: insects, etc. earwigs, common, f _mammals_ finners, or rorquals, fossa, foxes, " arctic, " common, - " cubs, " fennec-, " leicestershire, " mountain-, " skins, flying-fox, v (introd.) _birds_ falcons, jer-, - " peregrine, - finches, indigo, _a_ fin-feet, flamingo, - flower-peckers, fly-catchers, - " tyrant, fowls, domestic-- andalusians, black spanish, cochins, - dark bramas, dorking, japanese bantams, leghorns, " brown, minorcas, pencilled hamburgs, plymouth rock, polish, sebright bantams, silver-spangled hamburgs, " wyandotte, frigate-birds, - _reptiles and amphibians_ frogs, blue tree-, " bull-, , " " american, " common, röntgen ray photograph of, " edible, , " european green tree-, " flying-, " golden tree-, " guppy's, " matlamitlo, " pouched tree-, " queensland tree-, - " short-headed, " tiger-like, flying-dragons, - _fishes_ father-lasher, flat-heads, " bar-tailed, " rock, fish, angler-, " archer-, " boar-, " butter-, " cat-, - - " cave-, " " british, " " ocellated, " emperor-, " flat-, " frog-, " gold-, " lung-, - " monk-, " mud-, " nurse, " picked dog, " pilot-, " reed-, " rough hound, " scabbard-, " scorpion-, " sheath-, " silver dog-, " smooth hound, " stone-, - " sucking-, - " sun-, " sword-, - " tassel-, - " telescope-, " thick-rayed, " torpedo-, " weaver-, " zebra-, fishes, file-, " flying-, - flounders, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ feather-star, " rosy, fleas, dog-, " sand-, " turnip-, flies, alder-, " bee-, " bee-killer, - " bird-, " blue-bottle or blow fly, - " bot-, " caddis-, - " candle-, " daddy-long-legs, - " dragon-, " fire-, " forest-, " gad-, " gall-, - - " green-bottle, " house-, - " hover-, " ichneumon-, " lace wing, or golden-eye, - - " lantern-, " mantis-, " may-, - " noon-day, " rain-, blood-sucking, " robber-, " " hornet, - " ruby-tailed, - " sand-, or piúm, " saw-, - " scorpion-, , " snake- or camel-, " tsetse-, " uses of, frog-hoppers, - _shell-fish, etc._ forams, shells of, g _garner, professor_, _gibson, walter m._, vi (introd.) _mammals_ gaur, " hunt, gayal, " cow, gazelles, arabian, " dama, " dorcas, " edmi, " goitred, " grant's, " heuglin's, " isabella, " loder's, " marica, " mhorr, " mongolian, " muscat, " pelzeln's, " persian, " peters's, " prejevalski's, " red-fronted, - " " necked, " soemmerring's, " speke's, - " thomson's, " tibetan, gemsbuck, gerenuk, - gibbons, " disposition of, " habits of, " hulock, " siamang, " silvery, " white-handed, giraffe, - - " description of, " east african, iv (introd.) " hunting, " northern, a, " southern, - - goats, angora, - " british, " italian, " nubian, " persian wild, " rocky mountain, " schwartzals, " toggenburg, glutton, gnu, - " brindled, " white-bearded, " " tailed, gophers, " pocket-, goral, female, gorilla, ii (introd.), , , a " first accounts of, " habits of, " range of, " physical description of, " pongo, , grampus, guanaco, guemals, _birds_ gallinule, mantell's, gannets, - - gardener-bird, geese, australian pygmy, " cape, " chinese, " domestic, " grey, " half-webbed, " spur-winged, gold-crest, goldfinch, grackles, grebes, dabchick, " great crested, - greenfinch, - grey-hen, grouse, red, " ruffed, " sage-, " sand-, pallas's, guans, guillemot, guinea-fowl, black, " crested, " vulture-like, gull, black-backed, " " headed, " herring-, " skua-, " tribe, - _reptiles and amphibians_ gavial, gecko, burmese, " madeiran, _fishes_ garpikes, gilt-head, globe-fish, - - gobies, " pellucid, " spotted, or pole-wing, grayling, groper, - gunnel, gurnard, armed, _a_ " butterfly-, " flying-, " red, _jointed animals: insects etc._ glow-worm, gnats, - " piping-, grasshopper, cape, " great green, " long-horned, " short-horned, " wart-eating, gru-gru, h _mammals_ hamsters, - hares, " habits of, " wood-, hartebeests, hedgehogs, - hippopotamus, - - - - " anecdotes, " common, " fossil remains, " habits of, - " hunting, - - " pygmy or liberian, hog, pygmy, " river-, red, horses, arab mare, " mares and foals, " yearling colts, cart-, champion shire stallion, cleveland bay, english race-, "florizel ii.," hackney and foal, hunter, "ladas," levant and persian, percheron, shire mare and foal, trotting-, humpback, hutia, - hyænas, vi (introd.), , " brown, " spotted, " stories of, - " striped, " use of, hyrax, _birds_ hang-nests, hawfinch, hawk, carrion-, " curassow-, " fishing-, " gos-, " sparrow-, - - herons, buff-backed, - " common night-, - " goliath, " great blue, " green, - " young, hoatzin, honey-buzzard, honey-eaters, honey-guides, - - hoopoe, _a_, - hornbills, " concave-casqued, " crested, " ground-, " habits of, " helmet-, huia, humming-bird, _reptiles and amphibians_ heloderm, " mexican, - _fishes_ halibut, - herring, - - " ox-eyed, horse-mackerel, " fringed, - _jointed animals: insects, etc._ hornet, i _mammals_ ibex, alpine, - " arabian, " asiatic, " abyssinian, impala, or palla, - insect-eating mammals, insectivora, inyala, _birds_ ibis, glossy, " sacred, " scarlet, _reptiles and amphibians_ iguana, banded, - " tuberculated, - _jointed animals: insects, etc._ insects, " nerve-winged, " noxious, in britain, " scale-, " sheath-winged, " snow-, " two-winged, j _mammals_ jackal, " black-backed, " hunting, - " indian, " north african, " striped, " turkish, jaguar, jerboa, - _birds_ jacamars, jacana, jackass, laughing-, _a_, jackdaws, - jay, jungle-fowl, " game breed, _fishes_ jelly-fish, " comb-bearing, " portuguese man-of-war, k _mammals_ kangaroo, albino red, " brown tree-, - " great grey, - " " leaping, a " rat-, " " gaimard's, " silver-grey, kiang, - kinkajou, - klipspringer, - koala, or australian native bear, - - kudu, _a_ " greater, " lesser, - " male, _birds_ kaka, kea, - kestrel, kingfisher, " common, - " laughing-, , - - " racket-tailed, " wood-, kites, " egyptian, kittiwake, kiwi, mantell's, " owen's, l _mammals_ langur, himalayan, - lemmings, lemurs, - " black-and-white, " chirogales, " coquerel's, , " crowned, " dwarf, " galagos, " " garnett's, " " maholi, " indris, " makis, " pottos, " ring-tailed, catta, - - " ruffed, " sifakas, - " "slender" and "slow" loris, , " tarsiers, - " true, " woolly, leopards, - " african, iv (introd.) " clouded, " hunting-, " puma hybrid, " range of, " snow-, " stories of, - " variations of, lion adventures, " and tigress, cross between, " man-eating, lioness, - , " algerian, " and cub, lions, vi (introd.), " african, - - " comparison of wild and tame, " cubs, " mane of, " performing, " range of, " selous on, llamas, - - lynxes, - " canadian, " caracal, - " common, " european, " red, " siberian, _birds_ land-rail, lark, meadow-, linnet, - - lories, - lyre-birds, - _reptiles and amphibians_ lizards, bearded, - " blue-tongued, " diamond-, " frilled, - " girdle-tailed, - " greaved, " green and ocellated, _a_, - - " lace-, " sand-, " sea-, " spine-tailed, " spiny, " stump-tailed, " tree-, " viviparous, " wall-, " water-, _fishes_ leather-jacket, lace-finned, long-fin, lump-suckers, - _jointed animals: insects, etc._ ladybirds, seven spot, " twenty-two spot, " two spot, lice, fish-, " true, " whale-, " wood-, lobsters, locusts, cyprian, " egyptian, " red-legged, " rocky mountain, _shell-fish, etc._ leeches, medicinal, lingula, liver-flukes, m _mammals_ man, ii (introd.) manatee, american, marine carnivora, marmots, - " alpine, - " bobac, martens, " pine-, markhor, meerkats, , mice, jumping-, " typical, microcephalous idiot, vi (introd.) mink, "missing link," iv (introd.) moles, - " golden, " north american, mongoose, cusimanses, " family, " ichneumon, " indian, - " " _v._ cobra, " kaffir, monkeys, bonnet, - " capuchin, - - " dog-shaped, " entellus, " grivet, - " guenon, " " diana, - " guereza, - " humboldt's woolly, or lagothrix, " macaques, - " magot, or barbary ape, " mangabey, - - " marmosets, - " " lion, " " pinché, " new world, " " " howler, - " " " spider, - " " " waita, " oukari, " patas, " pig-tailed, , " proboscis, " rhesus, - - " sacred, - " saki, " snub-nosed, - " speech of, " squirrel, - " stories of, - " tcheli, " temperament of, " wanderoo, " white-bearded wanderoo, moufflon, mouse tribe, mule-deer, - mules, muntjac, chinese, " hairy-fronted, " indian, - " tenasserim, " tibetan, musk-deer, himalayan, " kansu, musk-ox, musk-rat, _birds_ macaw, _a_, " hyacinthine, " long-tailed, magpie, - " australian, manakins, " bailador or dancer, - martins, - " sand-, - mavis, megapode, nicobar, " wallace's, - monals, - more-porks, - motmots, " racket-tailed, - _reptile and amphibians_ monitors, " nile, " white, mountain-devil, - _fishes_ mackerel, common, meagres, miller's-thumb, mullets, grey, - " red, - " striped, - musket-lunge, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ meal-worm, millipedes, " giant, " slimy, mites, - mosquitoes, - moths, - - - " cecropia, - " clothes-, " cypress-, - - " death's-head, " emperor-, " great peacock-, " hawk-, - - " imperial, " looper-, " luna, " plume-, - " polyphemus, - " red-underwing, " swallow-tailed, " tiger-, _shell-fish, etc._ madrepores, moss-animals, - mussels, pearl-, " pond-, " river-, n _mammals_ narwhal, - - nilgai, or blue bull, - _birds_ namaqua, night-hawk, nightingale, night-jar, common, " eared, " pennant-winged, nuthatches, " english, - _reptiles and amphibians_ natterjack, newt, common or smooth, - " crested, - " marbled, _shell-fish, etc._ nautilus, shell of paper-, or argonaut, " shell of pearly, nereids, or sea-worms, - noctilucas, - nummulites, o _mammals_ ocelot, - " central america, (frontis., vol. i.), octodont family, - okapi, iv (introd.), - " head of, onager, oorial, or sha, opossums, " australian grey, " black or sooty, " common grey, - - " meriam's, " murine, - " philander, " ring-tailed, - " virginian, - " woolly, - " young (natural size), orang-utans, vii, viii (introd.), - - " first mention of, " habits of, " physical description of, oribis, orloff, oryx, beatrix, " white, - otters, " common, - " north american, " sea-, _birds_ oil-bird, orioles, ortolan, osprey, - ostrich, - ouzel, water-, oven-birds, " casarita, owl, barn-, " " virginian, " burrowing-, " eagle-, - " long-eared, " pygmy, " screech-, " snowy, " spectacled, " tawny, - ox-pecker, oyster-catcher, _reptiles and amphibians_ olm, _shell-fish, etc._ octopods, octopus, - - oyster-bank, queensland, oysters, pearl-, " rock-, p _mammals_ pacas, pacer, pandas, pangolins, or scaly ant-eaters, panthers, peccary, collared, - " white-lipped, pekin deer, i (introd.) peludo, phalangers, " crescent-toothed, " cuscuses, " flying-, larger, - " " lesser, " " pygmy, - " striped, pichiciago, or fairy armadillo, pigs, bush-, " diving-, - " domestic, " japanese masked, " javan wild, " tribe, pikas, platypus, duck-billed, - - - polecat, - pony and foal, shetland, " polo-, " shetland, " welsh, porcupine, - porpoise, - pouched moles, - " " under surface of, " mice, " " jerboa, prairie-dogs, - primates, comparison of, prongbucks, pudus, chilian, " ecuador, puma, - " stories, _birds_ parrakeets, grass-, " long-tailed ground-, parrots, amazon, " blue mountain-, " grey african, " hanging-, " hawk-billed, " owl-, partridge, common, , " french, peacocks, - - pelicans, australian, " crested, " egyptian, penguins, black-footed, - " blue, " emperor-, " gentle, " humboldt's, " jackass-, " king-, " rock-hopper, petrel, diving-, " fulmar, " giant, " storm-, phalaropes, pheasants, amherst's, " english, - " golden, - - " impeyan, " peacock-, " reeves's, - " silver, " water-, pigeons, crowned, " domestic: " carrier, " english pouter, " indian frill-back, " jacobin, " short-faced tumbler, " eugène's, " fruit-, - " green, " grey-naped ground-, " nicobar, " painted, " white nutmeg-, " wonga-wonga, plant-cutters, plantain-eaters, plover, grey, , " tribe, pochard, prairie-hen, ptarmigan, puff-birds, puffin, _reptiles and amphibians_ pythons, _a_, - " indian, " reticulated, _fishes_ paddle, cock and hen, - parrot-fish, - " black-spotted, " satin, perch, dusky, " pike-, " sea-, " white, pike, bony, " common, pikerel, pilchards, " australian, pipe-fish, - - plaice, pope, powan, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ parasites, bat-, " bee-, plant-eaters, prawns, _shell-fish, etc._ pearls and pearl-shells, pholas, polycysts, polyps, fresh-water, q _mammals_ quagga, _birds_ quail, - quezal, _fishes_ quinnat, r _mammals_ rabbits, raccoon, american, , a " family, " habits of, ratels, - rats, bamboo-, " gambian pouched, " mole-, " musk-, - - " south american, " typical, " water-, reedbuck, common, " mountain, reindeer, scandinavian, , rhinoceros, " african, " " black, - " " black, disposition of, " " white, " " habits of, " " range of, " indian, - - " javan, " sumatran, - - rodents, " murine, rooi rhebuck, ruminants, hollow-horned, rusa, moluccan, " timor, _birds_ ravens, razor-bill, reed-warbler, rhea, - - - rice-birds, rifle-bird, australian, robin, rollers, , rook, ruff, , _a_ _fishes_ ray, eagle-, " horned ox-, or devil-fish, " whip-tailed sting-, _shell-fish, etc._ radiolarians, s _mammals_ sable, sambar, - " basilan, " formosan, " javan, " luzon, " malayan, sea-lions, - - " californian, " patagonian, - " steller's, - seals, bladder-nosed, " common, - " elephant-, - " " habits and range of, " fur-, - " grey, - - " hair-, " harp-, - " ringed, " true, selva, sheep, barbary, - " bighorn, - " black-faced, " border leicester, " burhal wild, - " cheviot, " cotswold, " cross-bred, " domestic, " english breeds of, - " fat-tailed, - " four-horned, " leicester ewe, " " long-wool, " littledale's, " marco polo's, " merino rams, - - " punjab, " south down, - " wallachian, shorthorn, shou, shrews, - sika, formosan, - " manchurian, " pekin, sitatungas, skeletons, ii (introd.) skunks, sloths, iv (introd.) " northern two-toed, " three-toed, springbuck, " male, springhaas, - squirrels, " dorsal, " flying-, - - , " " pel's, " " polatouche, " " south african, " " tanguan, " fox-, " grey, " " habits of, " ground, - " " chipmunks, - " " siberian, " red, - " sugar-, - stag, barbary, " kashmir, " sikhim, " yarkand, stoat, - suricates, susliks, swine, - _birds_ satin-bird, screamer, crested, - sea-swallows, iii (introd.) secretary-bird, - seriema, - sheldrake, - shrike family, " great grey, " red-backed, - skimmers, skylark, - - snipe, " painted, sparrows, baya, " house-, spoonbill, - starling, - - " glossy, " " african, " " green, " " long-tailed, " rose-coloured, stilts, stone-chat, - stork, adjutant-, - " african saddle-billed, " black, " jabiru, - - " whale-headed, - " white, - - sun-birds, swallows, - swans, black, " black-necked, - " coscoroba, " mute, swifts, common, " edible, " salvin's, _reptiles and amphibians_ salamanders, furrowed, " giant, " siren, " spotted, " " yellow phase of, skink, common, - snakes, Æsculapian, " australian black, - " blind-, " carpet-, " common ringed, - " dark green, - " diamond-back rattle-, " earth-, " egg-eating, " fer-de-lance, - " garter-, - " glass-, " hooded, " indian rat-, " " whip-, " leopard-, " mocassin-, - " natal rock-, " pine-, " rattle-, - " sea-, - " smooth, - " spitting, " tesselated, - " tiger-, " tree-, " viperine, " water-, snappers, " temminck's, - _fishes_ salmon, _a_ " atlantic, " beaked, " dawson river, - sardine, phosphorescent, scopelids, sea-bats, sea-horses, - - sea-scorpion, ragged, - "sergeant baker," shad, " allis, " twaite, shark, basking-, " blue, " fox-, " hammer-head, " porbeagle-, " port jackson, skate, painted, " shovel-nosed, slime-heads, smelts, - " queensland, - " sand-, snapper, " brown, " king-, snoek, - sole, spotted box-fish, sprat, steelhead, sterlet, - sticklebacks, - sturgeon, " giant, sun-fishes, viii (introd.), _jointed animals: insects, etc._ scorpions, - " egyptian, " false, - " whip-, shrimp, " brine-, silkworms, - - " mulberry-, - soothsayers, spiders, - - " bird-catching, " garden-, " house-, " jointed, " tarantula, " trap-door, stick-insects, _shell-fish, etc._ scallops, sea-cucumbers, - - - " black, " prickly, sea-lemon, sea-mouse, - sea-urchin, " long-spined, " thick-spined, shells, clam-, " harp-, " helmet-, " lamp-, " melon-, " pelican's-foot, " scorpion-, " top-, " trumpet-, slugs, sea-, naked-gilled, " shell-less, snails, fresh-water, " garden-, " land- or agate-, " sea-, tongue of, sponges, bird's-nest, " chalina, " frilled, " glass-rope, " lace-, " neptune's-cup, - " reticulated, " toilet-, squids, star-fish, " brittle, - " common, " sun, stone-lilies, t _mammals_ tahr, himalayan, " nilgiri, tamarau, tapirs, " american, - " hunting of, " malayan, tarpans, tasmanian devil, - " wolf or tiger, - tenrecs, thamin, tigers, vi (introd.), - , - - - " cubs, - " hill-, " range of, " royal bengal, " skins, " stories of, tigress, " and lion, cross between, tur, east caucasian, " spanish, " west caucasian, _birds_ tanagers, " crimson-headed, " scarlet, " white-capped, terns, iii (introd.), " white, thrushes, " ant-, or pittas, " ground-, " song-, " tribe, tinamous, great, " rufous, titmice, " bearded, " coal-, " great, " marsh-, " todies, toucans, - " curl-crested, tragopans, - - tree-creepers, trogons, - tropic-bird, trumpeters, white-backed, turkey-buzzard, turkeys, " american, " honduras, " mexican, tyrant-bird, _reptiles and amphibians_ terrapins, " american mud-, - " diamond-backed, " painted, toads, common, - " horned, - " " ornamented, - " water-, tortoises, asiatic, " box-, " european, " giant or elephant-, vii (introd.), - " grecian, " hinged, " land-, " margined, " matamata, " pond-, " side-necked, tuatera, turtles, green, " hawksbill, " leathery, " marine, " newly hatched, " snapping-, _fishes_ tarpon, teuthis, thornback, tortoise-fishes, trigger-fish, - trout, brook-, " bull-, " rainbow-, " salmon-, - tube-mouths, tumpeters, tunnies, turbot, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ termites, - - - ticks, " sheep-, timberman, u _birds_ umbrella-bird, _shell-fish, etc._ urchins, cake-, " heart-, " leather-, v _virchow, dr._, vi (introd.) _mammals_ vicuña, viscacha, - voles, - _birds_ vultures, angolan, " bearded, " black, - " californian, " egyptian, - " griffon-, " king-, " pondicherry, " rüppells', _reptiles and amphibians_ vipers, english, " horned, " pit-, " water-, _fishes_ vendace, venus's girdle, w _mammals_ wallaby, albino red-bellied, " bennett's, " black-striped, " parry's, " rock-, " tasmanian, walrus, - - wapiti, altai, " american, - - - - " asiatic, " manchurian, wart-hog, - - waterbucks, " common, " sing-sing, weasel, himalayan, " tribe, - whales, southern, " sowerby's, " sperm-, " toothed, " whalebone-, wildebeests, blue, wolf, anecdotes, - - " carpathian, " central europe, _a_ " coursing, " cubs, - - " european, " grey, " hounds, " " borzoi, " hunting, " indian, - - " maned, " music, " northern, " prairie-, - - " range of, " russian, - " siberian, " tame, " white, wolverine, wombat, common, - " hairy-nosed, " tasmanian, _birds_ wagtails, warblers, " black-cap, " garden-, " reed-, water-hens, water-rail, - wax-bills, _a_ wax-wings, weaver-bird, sociable, weka-rail, widow-bird, woodcock, - wood-hewers, woodpeckers, - " black, " green, " sap-suckers, " spotted, wrens, - wryneck, _reptiles and amphibians_ worms, blind-, " common earth-, " indiarubber-, " lob-, " tape-, " thread-, " tube-, _fishes_ walking-fish, weaver, common, " larger, wels, whitebait, whiting, " pollack-, wolf-fish, wrasses, - " ballan, " spotted, " striped, _jointed animals: insects, etc._ wasps, burrowing-, " pine-boring, " tree-, " wood-, weevils, " corn-, " nut-, " osier-, " palm-, " rice-, " sugar-, _shell-fish, etc._ whelks, common, " giant, winkle, worm, ship-, y _mammals_ yak, " domesticated, yapok, z _mammals_ zebras, burchell's, " " habits of, - " chapman's, a " grevy's, " " habits of, " mountain-, " on table mountain, " somali, viii (introd.) zubr, note. the publishers are glad to take this opportunity of offering their sincere thanks to the many naturalists who have helped them to make this book as comprehensive as possible. in addition to the names of those mentioned in the introduction, valuable photographs and other help have been received during the progress of this work from sir joseph fayrer, bart., f.r.s., the lady decies, lady alexander, sir harry johnston, g.c.m.g., k.c.b., d.sc., miss e. j. beck, and the following gentlemen: messrs. e. c. atkinson, harold w. atkinson, m. e. f. baird, b. h. bentley, j. h. bonhote, a. h. p. cruickshank, e. connold, james b. corr, j. edwards, c. b. hausburg, c. n. martin, h. noble, percy leigh pemberton, norman b. smith, h. g. f. spurrell, paul thomas, and j. turner-turner. thanks are also due to mr. percy ashenden, of cape town; mr. billington, of queensland; professor bumpus, of new york; mr. robert d. carson, of philadelphia; mr. william cross, of liverpool; mr. glenday, of cape town; mr. w. t. hornaday, of new york; mr. l. h. joutel and mr. n. lazarnick, both of new york; mr. h. v. leckmann, of new york; mr. c. n. mavroyeni, of smyrna; dr. robert t. morris, of new york; mr. frans mouwen, of breda; mr. william rau, of philadelphia; mr. s. sinclair, of sydney; mr. d. le souef, of melbourne; to the dublin zoological society, to the hearst syndicate of new york, and to the new york zoological society; also to mr. w. p. dando, mr. t. fall, and other professional photographers, whose names are acknowledged under their respective photographs. errata. page . the photograph on this page, inadvertently attributed to an australian osprey, is of an australian white-bellied sea-eagle. " . mr. saville-kent writes: "the black cockatoo is notable for assembling in large flocks, from twenty to as many as fifty or sixty being commonly seen." " . the photograph on this page, inadvertently attributed to the lesser spotted woodpeckers, is of the greater spotted woodpeckers. " . the hon. walter rothschild, ph.d., f.z.s., writes: "you state that the african cobra spits out its poison. the south african snake which spits out poison is the ringhals snake, and this is the only snake of which this is recorded with certainty." " , . for "smooth newt" read "warted or crested newt, with crest undeveloped." " . for "reel-gurnard" read "red gurnard." " . for "queensland lung-fish" read "barbelled arapaima." " , line . for "pouch-like" read "peach-like." _printed by hazell, watson & viney, ld., london and aylesbury._ guide to the study of fishes [illustration] [illustration] a guide to the study of fishes by david starr jordan _president of leland stanford junior university_ _with colored frontispieces and illustrations_ in two volumes vol i. "i am the wiser in respect to all knowledge and the better qualified for all fortunes for knowing that there is a minnow in that brook."--_thoreau_ [illustration] new york henry holt and company copyright, by henry holt and company published march, to theodore gill, ichthyologist, philosopher, critic, master in taxonomy, this volume is dedicated. preface this work treats of the fish from all the varied points of view of the different branches of the study of ichthyology. in general all traits of the fish are discussed, those which the fish shares with other animals most briefly, those which relate to the evolution of the group and the divergence of its various classes and orders most fully. the extinct forms are restored to their place in the series and discussed along with those still extant. in general, the writer has drawn on his own experience as an ichthyologist, and with this on all the literature of the science. special obligations are recognized in the text. to dr. charles h. gilbert, he is indebted for a critical reading of most of his proof-sheets; to dr. bashford dean, for criticism of the proof-sheets of the chapters on the lower fishes; to dr. william emerson ritter, for assistance in the chapters on _protochordata_; to dr. george clinton price, for revision of the chapters on lancelets and lampreys, and to mr. george clark, secretary of stanford university, for assistance of various kinds, notably in the preparation of the index. to dr. theodore gill, he has been for many years constantly indebted for illuminating suggestions, and to dr. barton warren evermann, for a variety of favors. to dr. richard rathbun, the writer owes the privilege of using illustrations from the "fishes of north and middle america" by jordan and evermann. the remaining plates were drawn for this work by mary h. wellman, kako morita, and sekko shimada. many of the plates are original. those copied from other authors are so indicated in the text. no bibliography has been included in this work. a list of writers so complete as to have value to the student would make a volume of itself. the principal works and their authors are discussed in the chapter on the history of ichthyology, and with this for the present the reader must be contented. the writer has hoped to make a book valuable to technical students, interesting to anglers and nature lovers, and instructive to all who open its pages. david starr jordan. palo alto, santa clara county, cal., october, . errata[ ] vol. i frontispiece, for _paramia quinqueviltata_ read _paramia quinquevittata_ page xiii, line , _for_ filefish _read_ tilefish , " , _for_ science _read_ sciences , lines and , transpose hypocoracoid and hypercoracoid , line , for _hexagramidæ_ read _hexagrammidæ_ , " , the female salmon does as much as the male in covering the eggs. , last line, _for_ immmediately _read_ immediately , legend, _for_ miaki _read_ misaki , line , _for_ sand-pits _read_ sand-spits , " and elsewhere, for wood's hole read woods hole , " , for _roceus_ read _roccus_ , " next to last, for _masquinonqy_ read _masquinongy_ , " , _for_ filefish _read_ tilefish , " , _for_ feet _read_ feet , " , _for_ infallibility _read_ fallibility , " , _for_ west indies _read_ east indies , " , _for_- _read_- , " , _for_ were _read_ are , " , _for_ geffroy, st. hilaire _read_ geoffroy st. hilaire , " , _for_ william kitchener parker _read_ william kitchen parker , " , for _enterpneusta_ read _enteropneusta_ contents vol. i. chapter i. the life of the fish (_lepomis megalotis_). page what is a fish?--the long-eared sunfish.--form of the fish.--face of the fish.--how the fish breathes.--teeth of the fish.--how the fish sees.--color of the fish.--the lateral line.--the fins of the fish.--the skeleton of the fish.--the fish in action.--the air-bladder.--the brain of the fish.--the fish's nest. chapter ii. the exterior of the fish. form of body.--measurement of the fish.--the scales or exoskeleton.--ctenoid and cycloid scales.--placoid scales.--bony and prickly scales.--lateral line.--function of the lateral line.--the fins of fishes.--muscles. chapter iii. the dissection of the fish. the blue-green sunfish.--the viscera.--organs of nutrition.--the alimentary canal.--the spiral valve.--length of the intestine. chapter iv. the skeleton of the fish. specialization of the skeleton.--homologies of bones of fishes.--parts of the skeleton.--names of bones of fishes.--bones of the cranium.--bones of the jaws.--the suspensorium of the mandible.--membrane bones of head.--branchial bones.--the gill-arches.--the pharyngeals.--the vertebral column.--the interneurals and interhæmals.--the pectoral limb.--the shoulder-girdle.--the posterior limb.--degeneration.--the skeleton in primitive fishes.--the skeleton of sharks.--the archipterygium. chapter v. morphology of the fins of fishes. origin of the fins of fishes.--origin of the paired fins.--development of the paired fins in the embryo.--evidences of palæontology.--current theories as to origin of paired fin.--balfour's theory of the lateral fold.--objections.--objections to gegenbaur's theory.--kerr's theory of modified external gills.--uncertain conclusions.--forms of the tail in fishes.--homologies of the pectoral limb.--the girdle in fishes other than dipnoans. chapter vi. the organs of respiration. how fishes breathe.--the gill structures.--the air-bladder.--origin of the air-bladder.--the origin of lungs.--the heart of the fish.--the flow of blood. chapter vii. the nervous system. the nervous system.--the brain of the fish.--the pineal organ.--the brain of primitive fishes.--the spinal cord.--the nerves. chapter viii. the organs of sense. the organs of smell.--the organs of sight.--the organs of hearing.--voices of fishes.--the sense of taste.--the sense of touch. chapter ix. the organs of reproduction. the germ-cells.--the eggs of fishes.--protection of the eggs.--sexual modification. chapter x. the embryology and growth of fishes. post-embryonic development.--general laws of development.--the significance of facts of development.--the development of the bony fishes.--the larval development of fishes.--peculiar larval forms.--the development of flounders.--hybridism.--the age of fishes.--tenacity of life.--effect of temperature on fishes.--transportation of fishes.--reproduction of lost parts.--monstrosities among fishes. chapter xi. instincts, habits, and adaptations. the habits of fishes.--irritability of animals.--nerve-cells and fibers.--the brain or sensorium.--reflex action.--instinct.--classification of instincts.--variability of instincts.--adaptations to environment.--flight of fishes.--quiescent fishes.--migratory fishes.--anadromous fishes.--pugnacity of fishes.--fear and anger in fishes.--calling the fishes.--sounds of fishes.--lurking fishes.--the unsymmetrical eyes of the flounder.--carrying eggs in the mouth. chapter xii. adaptations of fishes. spines of the catfishes.--venomous spines.--the lancet of the surgeon-fish.--spines of the sting-ray.--protection through poisonous flesh of fishes.--electric fishes.--photophores or luminous organs.--photophores in the iniomous fishes.--photophores of porichthys.--globefishes.--remoras.--sucking-disks of clingfishes.--lampreys and hogfishes.--the swordfishes.--the paddle-fishes.--the sawfishes.--peculiarities of jaws and teeth.--the angler-fishes.--relation of number of vertebræ to temperature, and the struggle for existence.--number of vertebræ: soft-rayed fishes; spiny-rayed fishes; fresh-water fishes; pelagic fishes.--variations in fin-rays.--relation of numbers to conditions of life.--degeneration of structures.--conditions of evolution among fishes. chapter xiii. colors of fishes. pigmentation.--protective coloration.--protective markings.--sexual coloration.--nuptial coloration.--coral-reef fishes.--recognition marks.--intensity of coloration.--fading of pigments in spirits.--variation in pattern. chapter xiv. geographical distribution of fishes. zoogeography.--general laws of distribution.--species absent through barriers.--species absent through failure to maintain foothold.--species changed through natural selection.--extinction of species.--barriers checking movements of marine species.--temperature the central fact in distribution.--agency of ocean currents.--centers of distribution.--distribution of marine fishes.--pelagic fishes.--bassalian fishes.--littoral fishes.--distribution of littoral fishes by coast lines.--minor faunal areas.--equatorial fishes most specialized.--realms of distribution of fresh-water fishes.--northern zone.--equatorial zone.--southern zone.--origin of the new zealand fauna. chapter xv. isthmus barriers separating fish faunas. the isthmus of suez.--the fish fauna of japan.--fresh-water faunas of japan.--faunal areas of marine fishes of japan.--resemblance of japanese and mediterranean fish faunas.--significance of resemblances.--differences between japanese and mediterranean fish faunas.--source of faunal resemblances.--effects of direction of shore lines.--numbers of genera in different faunas.--significance of rare forms.--distribution of shore-fishes.--extension of indian fauna.--the isthmus of suez as a barrier to distribution.--geological evidences of submergence of isthmus of suez.--the cape of good hope as a barrier to fishes.--relations of japan to the mediterranean explained by present conditions.--the isthmus of panama as a barrier to distribution.--unlikeness of species on the shores of the isthmus of panama.--views of dr. günther on the isthmus of panama.--catalogue of fishes of panama.--conclusions of evermann & jenkins.--conclusions of dr. hill.--final hypothesis as to panama. chapter xvi. dispersion of fresh-water fishes. the dispersion of fishes.--the problem of oatka creek.--generalizations as to dispersion.--questions raised by agassiz.--conclusions of cope.--questions raised by cope.--views of günther.--fresh-water fishes of north america.--characters of species.--meaning of species.--special creation impossible.--origin of american species of fishes. chapter xvii. dispersion of fresh-water fishes. (_continued._) barriers to dispersion of fresh-water fishes: local barriers.--favorable waters have most species.--watersheds.--how fishes cross watersheds.--the suletind.--the cassiquiare.--two-ocean pass.--mountain chains.--upland fishes.--lowland fishes.--cuban fishes.--swampy watersheds.--the great basin of utah.--arctic species in lakes.--causes of dispersion still in operation. chapter xviii. fishes as food for man. the flesh of fishes.--relative rank of food-fishes.--abundance of food-fishes.--variety of tropical fishes.--economic fisheries.--angling. chapter xix. diseases of fishes. contagious diseases: crustacean parasites.--myxosporidia or parasitic protozoa.--parasitic worms: trematodes, cestodes.--the worm of the yellowstone.--the heart lake tape-worm.--thorn-head worms.--nematodes.--parasitic fungi.--earthquakes.--mortality of filefish. chapter xx. the mythology of fishes. the mermaid.--the monkfish.--the bishop-fish.--the sea-serpent. chapter xxi. the classification of fishes. taxonomy.--defects in taxonomy.--analogy and homology.--coues on classification.--species as twigs of a genealogical tree.--nomenclature.--the conception of genus and species.--the trunkfishes.--trinomial nomenclature.--meaning of species.--generalization and specialization.--high and low forms.--the problem of the highest fishes. chapter xxii. the history of ichthyology. aristotle.--rondelet.--marcgraf.--osbeck.--artedi.--linnæus.-- forskål.--risso.--bloch.--lacépède.--cuvier.--valenciennes.-- agassiz.--bonaparte.--günther.--boulenger.--le sueur.--müller.-- gill.--cope.--lütken.--steindachner.--vaillant.--bleeker.-- schlegel.--poey.--day.--baird.--garman.--gilbert.--evermann.-- eigenmann.--zittel.--traquair.--woodward.--dean.--eastman.--hay.-- gegenbaur.--balfour.--parker.--dollo. chapter xxiii. the collection of fishes. how to secure fishes.--how to preserve fishes.--value of formalin.--records of fishes.--eternal vigilance. chapter xxiv. the evolution of fishes. the geological distribution of fishes.--the earliest sharks.--devonian fishes.--carboniferous fishes.--mesozoic fishes.--tertiary fishes.--factors of extinction.--fossilization of a fish.--the earliest fishes.--the cyclostomes.--the ostracophores.--the arthrodires.--the sharks.--origin of the shark.--the chimæras.--the dipnoans.--the crossopterygians.--the actinopteri.--the bony fishes. chapter xxv. the protochordata. the chordate animals.--the protochordates.--other terms used in classification.--the enteropneusta.--classification of enteropneusta.--family harrimaniidæ.--balanoglossidæ.--low organization of harrimaniidæ. chapter xxvi. the tunicates, or ascidians. structure of tunicates.--development of tunicates.--reproduction of tunicates.--habits of tunicates.--larvacea.--ascidiacea.--thaliacea.--origin of tunicates.--degeneration of tunicates. chapter xxvii. the leptocardii, or lancelets. the lancelet.--habits of lancelets.--species of lancelets.--origin of lancelets. chapter xxviii. the cyclostomes, or lampreys. the lampreys.--structure of the lamprey.--supposed extinct cyclostomes.--conodontes.--orders of cyclostomes.--the hyperotreta, or hagfishes.--the hyperoartia, or lampreys.--food of lampreys.--metamorphosis of lampreys.--mischief done by lampreys.--migration or "running" of lampreys.--requisite conditions for spawning with lampreys.--the spawning process with lampreys.--what becomes of lampreys after spawning? chapter xxix. the class elasmobranchii, or shark-like fishes. the sharks.--characters of elasmobranchs.--classification of elasmobranchs.--subclasses of elasmobranchs.--the selachii.--hasse's classification of elasmobranchs.--other classifications of elasmobranchs.--primitive sharks.--order pleuropterygii.--order acanthodii.--dean on acanthodii.--order ichthyotomi. chapter xxx. the true sharks. order notidani.--family hexanchidæ.--family chlamydoselachidæ.--order asterospondyli.--suborder cestraciontes.--family heterodontidæ.--edestus and its allies.--onchus.--family cochliodontidæ.--suborder galei.--family scyliorhinidæ.--the lamnoid, or mackerel-sharks.--family mitsukurinidæ, the goblin-sharks.--family alopiidæ, or thresher-sharks.--family pseudotriakidæ.--family lamnidæ.--man-eating sharks.--family cetorhinidæ, or basking sharks.--family rhineodontidæ.--the carcharioid sharks, or requins.--family sphyrnidæ, or hammer-head sharks.--the order of tectospondyli.--suborder cyclospondyli.--family squalidæ.--family dalatiidæ.--family echinorhinidæ.--suborder rhinæ.--family pristiophoridæ, or saw-sharks.--suborder batoidei, or rays.--pristididæ, or sawfishes.--rhinobatidæ, or guitar-fishes.--rajidæ, or skates.--narcobatidæ, or torpedoes.--petalodontidæ.--dasyatidæ, or sting-rays.--myliobatidæ.--family psammodontidæ.--family mobulidæ. chapter xxxi. the holocephali, or chimÆras. the chimæras.--relationship of chimæras.--family chimæridæ.--rhinochimæridæ.--extinct chimæroids.--ichthyodorulites. chapter xxxii. the class ostracophori. ostracophores.--nature of ostracophores.--orders of ostracophores.--order heterostraci.--order osteostraci.--order antiarcha.--order anaspida. chapter xxxiii. arthrodires. the arthrodires.--occurrence of arthrodires.--arthrognathi.--anarthrodira.--stegothalami.-- arthrodira.--temnothoraci.--arthrothoraci.--relations of arthrodires.--suborder cycliæ.--palæospondylus.--gill on palæospondylus.--views as to the relationships of palæospondylus: huxley, traquair, . traquair, . traquair, . smith woodward, . dawson, . gill, . dean, . dean, . parker & haswell, . gegenbaur, .--relationships of palæospondylus chapter xxxiv. the crossopterygii. class teleostomi.--subclass crossopterygii.--order of amphibians.--the fins of crossopterygians.--orders of crossopterygians.--haplistia.--rhipidistia.--megalichthyidæ.--order actinistia.--order cladistia.--the polypteridæ chapter xxxv. subclass dipneusti, or lungfishes. the lungfishes.--classification of dipnoans.--order ctenodipterini.--order sirenoidei.--family ceratodontidæ.--development of neoceratodus.--lepidosirenidæ.--kerr on the habits of lepidosiren footnotes: [ ] for most of this list of errata i am indebted to the kindly interest of dr. b. w. evermann. list of illustrations vol. i. page _lepomis megalotis_, long-eared sunfish _lepomis megalotis_, long-eared sunfish _eupomotis gibbosus_, common sunfish _ozorthe dictyogramma_, a japanese blenny _eupomotis gibbosus_, common sunfish _monocentris japonicas_, pine-cone fish _diodon hystrix_, porcupine-fish _nemichthys avocetta_, thread-eel _hippocampus hudsonius_, sea-horse _peprilus paru_, harvest-fish _lophius litulon_, anko or fishing-frog _epinephelus adscensionis_, rock-hind or cabra mora scales of _acanthoessus bronni_ cycloid scale _porichthys porosissimus_, singing-fish _apomotis cyanellus_, blue-green sunfish _chiasmodon niger_, black swallower jaws of a parrot-fish, _sparisoma aurofrenatum_ _archosargus probatocephalus_, sheepshead _campostoma anomalum_, stone-roller _roccus lineatus_, striped bass _roccus lineatus._ lateral view of cranium _roccus lineatus._ superior view of cranium _roccus lineatus._ inferior view of cranium _roccus lineatus_. posterior view of cranium _roccus lineatus._ face-bones, shoulder and pelvic girdles, and hyoid arch lower jaw of _amia calva_, showing gular plate _roccus lineatus._ branchial arches pharyngeal bone and teeth of european chub, _leuciscus cephalus_ upper pharyngeals of parrot-fish, _scarus strongylocephalus_ lower pharyngeal teeth of parrot-fish, _scarus strongylocephalus_ pharyngeals of italian parrot-fish, _sparisoma cretense_ _roccus lineatus_, vertebral column and appendages basal bone of dorsal fin, _holoptychius leptopterus_ inner view of shoulder-girdle of buffalo-fish, _ictiobus bubalus_ _pterophryne tumida_, sargassum-fish. shoulder-girdle of _sebastolobus alascanus_. cranium of _sebastolobus alascanus_. lower jaw and palate of _sebastolobus alascanus_. maxillary and premaxillary of _sebastolobus alascanus_. part of skeleton of _selene vomer_. hyostylic skull of _chiloscyllium indicum_, a scyliorhinoid shark. skull of _heptranchias indicus_, a notidanoid shark. basal bones of pectoral fin of monkfish, _squatina_. pectoral fin of _heterodontus philippi_. pectoral fin of _heptranchias indicus_. shoulder-girdle of a flounder, _paralichthys californicus_. shoulder-girdle of a toadfish, _batrachoides pacifici_. shoulder-girdle of a garfish, _tylosurus fodiator_. shoulder-girdle of a hake, _merluccius productus_. _cladoselache fyleri_, restored. fold-like pectoral and ventral fins of _cladoselache fyleri_. pectoral fin of a shark, _chiloscyllium_. skull and shoulder-girdle of _neoceratodus forsteri_, showing archipterygium. _acanthoessus wardi_. shoulder-girdle of _acanthoessus_. pectoral fin of _pleuracanthus_. shoulder-girdle of _polypterus bichir_. arm of a frog. _pleuracanthus decheni_. embryos of _heterodontus japonicas_, a cestraciont shark. _polypterus congicus_, a crossopterygian fish with external gills. heterocercal tail of sturgeon, _acipenser sturio_. heterocercal tail of bowfin, _amia calva_. heterocercal tail of garpike, _lepisosteus osseus_. _coryphænoides carapinus_, showing leptocercal tail. heterocercal tail of young trout, _salmo fario_. isocercal tail of hake, _merluccius productus_. homocercal tail of a flounder, _paralichthys californicus_. gephyrocercal tail of _mola mola_. shoulder-girdle of _amia calva_. shoulder-girdle of a sea-catfish, _selenaspis dowi_. clavicles of a sea-catfish, _selenaspis dowi_. shoulder-girdle of a batfish, _ogcocephalus radiatus_. shoulder-girdle of a threadfin, _polydactylus approximans_. gill-basket of lamprey. weberian apparatus and air-bladder of carp. brain of a shark, _squatina squatina_. brain of _chimæra monstrosa_. brain of _polypterus annectens_. brain of a perch, _perca flavescens_. _petromyzon marinus unicolor._ head of lake lamprey, showing pineal body. _chologaster cornutus_, dismal-swamp fish. _typhlichthys subterraneus_, blind cavefish. _anableps dovii_, four-eyed fish. _ipnops murrayi._ _boleophthalmus chinensis_, pond-skipper. _lampetra wilderi_, brook lamprey. _branchiostoma lanceolatum_, european lancelet. _pseudupeneus maculatus_, goatfish. _xiphophorus helleri_, sword-tail minnow. _cymatogaster aggregatus_, white surf-fish, viviparous, with young. _goodea luitpoldi_, a viviparous fish. egg of _callorhynchus antarcticus_, the bottle-nosed chimæra. egg of the hagfish, _myxine limosa_. egg of port jackson shark, _heterodontus philippi_. development of sea-bass, _centropristes striatus_. _centropristes striatus_, sea-bass. _xiphias gladius_, young sword-fish. _xiphias gladius_, sword-fish. larva of the sail-fish, _istiophorus_, very young. larva of brook lamprey, _lampetra wilderi_, before transformation. _anguilla chrisypa_, common eel. larva of common eel, _anguilla chrisypa_, called _leptocephalus grassii_. larva of sturgeon, _acipenser sturio_. larva of _chætodon sedentarius_. _chætodon capistratus_, butterfly-fish. _mola mola_, very early larval stage of headfish, called _centaurus boöps_. _mola mola_, early larval stage called _molacanthus nummularis_. _mola mola_, advanced larval stage. _mola mola_, headfish, adult. _albula vulpes_, transformation of ladyfish from larva to young. development of the horsehead-fish, _selene vomer_. _salanx hyalocranius_, ice-fish. _dallia pectoralis_, alaska blackfish. _ophiocephalus barca_, snake-headed china-fish. _carassius auratus_, monstrous goldfish. jaws of _nemichthys avocetta_. _cypsilurus californicus_, flying-fish. _ammocrypta clara_, sand-darter. _fierasfer acus_, pearl-fish, issuing from a holothurian. _gobiomorus gronovii_, portuguese man-of-war fish. tide pools of misaki. _ptychocheilus oregonensis_, squaw-fish. _ptychocheilus grandis_, squaw-fish, stranded as the water falls. larval stages of _platophrys podas_, a flounder of the mediterranean, showing migration of eye. _platophrys lunatus_, the wide-eyed flounder. young flounder just hatched, with symmetrical eyes. _pseudopleuronectes americanus_, larval flounder. _pseudopleuronectes americanus_, larval flounder (more advanced stage). face view of recently-hatched flounder. _schilbeodes furiosus_, mad-tom. _emmydrichthys vulcanus_, black nohu or poison-fish. _teuthis bahianus_, brown tang. _stephanolepis hispidus_, common filefish. _tetraodon meleagris._ _balistes carolinensis_, the trigger-fish. _narcine brasiliensis_, numbfish. _torpedo electricus_, electric catfish. _astroscopus guttatus_, star-gazer. _Æthoprora lucida_, headlight-fish. _corynolophus reinhardti_, showing luminous bulb. _etmopterus lucifer._ _argyropelecus olfersi._ luminous organs and lateral line of midshipman, _porichthys notatus_. cross-section of ventral phosphorescent organ of midshipman, _porichthys notatus_. section of deeper portion of phosphorescent organ, _porichthys notatus_. _leptecheneis naucrates_, sucking-fish or pegador. _caularchus mæandricus_, clingfish. _polistotrema stouti_, hagfish. _pristis zysron_, indian sawfish. _pristiophorus japonicus_, saw-shark. skeleton of pike, _esox lucius_. skeleton of red rockfish, _sebastodes miniatus_. skeleton of a spiny-rayed fish of the tropics, _holacanthus ciliaris_. skeleton of the cowfish, _lactophrys tricornis_. _crystallias matsushimæ_, liparid. _sebastichthys maliger_, yellow-backed rockfish. _myoxocephalus scorpius_, european sculpin. _hemitripterus americanus_, sea-raven. _cyclopterus lumpus_, lumpfish. _psychrolutes paradoxus_, sleek sculpin. _pallasina barbata_, agonoid-fish. _amblyopsis spelæus_, blindfish of the mammoth cave. _lucifuga subterranea_, blind brotula. _hypsypops rubicunda_, garibaldi. _synanceia verrucosa_, gofu or poison-fish. _alticus saliens_, lizard-skipper. _etheostoma camurum_, blue-breasted darter. _liuranus semicinctus_ and _chlevastes colubrinus_, snake-eels. coral reef at apia. _rudarius ercodes_, japanese filefish. _tetraodon setosus_, globefish. _dasyatis sabina_, sting-ray. _diplesion blennioides_, green-sided darter. _hippocampus mohnikei_, japanese sea-horse. _archoplites interruptus_, sacramento perch. map of the continents, eocene time. _caulophryne jordani_, deep-sea fish of gulf stream. _exerpes asper_, fish of rock-pools, mexico. _xenocys jessiæ._ _ictalurus punctatus_, channel catfish. drawing the net on the beach of hilo, hawaii. _semotilus atromaculatus_, horned dace. _leuciscus lineatus_, chub of the great basin. _melletes papilio_, butterfly sculpin. _scartichthys enosimæ_, a fish of the rock-pools of the sacred island of enoshima, japan. _halichoeres bivittatus_, the slippery dick. _peristedion miniatum._ outlet of lake bonneville. _hypocritichthys analis_, silver surf-fish. _erimyzon sucetta_, creekfish or chub-sucker. _thaleichthys pretiosus_, eulachon or ulchen. _plecoglossus altivelis_, the japanese ayu. _coregonus clupeiformis_, the whitefish. _mullus auratus_, the golden surmullet. _scomberomorus maculatus_, the spanish mackerel. _lampris luna_, the opah or moonfish. _pomatomus saltatrix_, the bluefish. _centropomus undecimalis_, the robalo. _chætodipterus faber_, the spadefish. _micropterus dolomieu_, the small-mouthed black bass. _salvelinus fontinalis_, the speckled trout. _salmo irideus_, the rainbow trout. _salvelinus oquassa_, the rangeley trout. _salmo gairdneri_, the steelhead trout. _salmo henshawi_, the tahoe trout. _salvelinus malma_, the dolly varden trout. _thymallus signifer_, the alaska grayling. _esox lucius_, the pike. _pleurogrammus monopterygius_, the atka-fish. _chirostoma humboldtianum_, the pescado blanco. _pseudupeneus maculatus_, the red goatfish. _pseudoscarus guacamaia_, great parrot-fish. _mugil cephalus_, striped mullet. _lutianus analis_, mutton-snapper. _clupea harengus_, herring. _gadus callarias_, codfish. _scomber scombrus_, mackerel. _hippoglossus hippoglossus_, halibut. fishing for ayu with cormorants. fishing for ayu. emptying pouch of cormorant. fishing for tai, tokyo bay. _brevoortia tyrannus_, menhaden. _exonautes unicolor_, australian flying-fish. _rhinichthys atronasus_, black-nosed dace. _notropis hudsonius_, white shiner. _ameiurus catus_, white catfish. _catostomus ardens_, sucker. _oncorhynchus tschawytscha_, quinnat salmon. _oncorhynchus tschawytscha_, young male. _ameiurus nebulosus_, catfishes. "le monstre marin en habit de moine". "le monstre marin en habit d'Évêque". _regalecus russelli_, oarfish. _regalecus glesne_, glesnæs oarfish. _nemichthys avocetta_, thread-eel. _lactophrys tricornis_, horned trunkfish. _ostracion cornutum_, horned trunkfish. _lactophrys bicaudalis_, spotted trunkfish. _lactophrys bicaudalis_, spotted trunkfish (face). _lactophrys triqueter_, spineless trunkfish. _lactophrys trigonus_, hornless trunkfish. _lactophrys trigonus_, hornless trunkfish (face). bernard germain de lacépède. georges dagobert cuvier. louis agassiz. johannes müller. albert günther. franz steindachner. george albert boulenger. robert collett. spencer fullerton baird. edward drinker cope. theodore nicholas gill. george brown goode. johann reinhardt. edward waller claypole. carlos berg. edgar r. waite. felipe poey y aloy. léon vaillant. louis dollo. decio vinciguerra. bashford dean. kakichi mitsukuri. carl h. eigenmann. franz hilgendorf. david starr jordan. herbert edson copeland. charles henry gilbert. barton warren evermann. ramsay heatley traquair. arthur smith woodward. karl a. zittel. charles r. eastman. fragment of sandstone from ordovician deposits. fossil fish remains from ordovician rocks. _dipterus valenciennesi._ _hoplopteryx lewesiensis._ _paratrachichthys prosthemius_, berycoid fish. _cypsilurus heterurus_, flying-fish. _lutianidæ_, schoolmaster snapper. _pleuronichthys decurrens_, decurrent flounder. _cephalaspis lyelli_, ostracophore. _dinichthys intermedius_, arthrodire. _lamna cornubica_, mackerel-shark or salmon-shark. _raja stellulata_, star-spined ray. _harriotta raleighiana_, deep-sea chimæra. _dipterus valenciennesi_, extinct dipnoan. _holoptychius giganteus_, extinct crossopterygian. _platysomus gibbosus_, ancient ganoid fish. _lepisosteus platystomus_, short-nosed gar. _palæoniscum macropomum_, primitive ganoid fish. _diplomystus humilis_, fossil herring. _holcolepis lewesiensis_. _elops saurus_, ten-pounder. _apogon semilineatus_, cardinal-fish. _pomolobus æstivalis_, summer herring. _bassozetus catena._ _trachicephalus uranoscopus._ _chlarias breviceps_, african catfish. _notropis whipplii_, silverfin. _gymnothorax moringa._ _seriola lalandi_, amber-fish. geological distribution of the families of elasmobranchs. "tornaria" larva of _glossobalanus minutus_. _glossobalanus minutus._ _harrimania maculosa._ development of larval tunicate to fixed condition. anatomy of tunicate. _ascidia adhærens._ _styela yacutatensis._ _styela greeleyi._ _cynthia superba._ _botryllus magnus_, compound ascidian. _botryllus magnus._ _botryllus magnus_, a single zooid. _aplidiopsis jordani_, a compound ascidian. _oikopleura_, adult tunicate of group larvacea. _branchiostoma californiense_, california lancelet. gill-basket of lamprey. _polygnathus dubium._ _polistotrema stouti_, hagfish. _petromyzon marinus_, lamprey. _petromyzon marinus unicolor_, mouth lake lamprey. _lampetra wilderi_, sea larvæ brook lamprey. _lampetra wilderi_, mouth brook lamprey. _lampetra camtschatica_, kamchatka lamprey. _entosphenus tridentatus_, oregon lamprey. _lampetra wilderi_, brook lamprey. fin-spine of _onchus tenuistriatus_. section of vertebræ of sharks, showing calcification. _cladoselache fyleri._ _cladoselache fyleri_, ventral view. teeth of _cladoselache fyleri_. _acanthoessus wardi._ _diplacanthus crassissimus._ _climatius scutiger._ _pleuracanthus decheni._ _pleuracanthus decheni_, restored. head-bones and teeth of _pleuracanthus decheni_. teeth of _didymodus bohemicus_. shoulder-girdle and pectoral fins of _cladodus neilsoni_. teeth of _cladodus striatus_. _hexanchus griseus_, griset or cow-shark. teeth of _heptranchias indicus_. _chlamydoselachus anguineus_, frill-shark. _heterodontus francisci_, bullhead-shark. lower jaw of _heterodontus philippi_. teeth of cestraciont sharks. egg of port jackson shark, _heterodontus philippi_. tooth of _hybodus delabechei_. fin-spine of _hybodus basanus_. fin-spine of _hybodus reticulatus_. fin-spine of _hybodus canaliculatus_. teeth of cestraciont sharks. _edestus vorax_, supposed to be a whorl of teeth. _helicoprion bessonowi_, teeth of. lower jaw of _cochliodus contortus_. _mitsukurina owstoni_, goblin-shark. _scapanorhynchus lewisi_, under side of snout. tooth of _lamna cuspidata_. _isuropsis dekayi_, mackerel-shark. tooth of _isurus hastalis_. _carcharodon mega odon._ _cetorhinus maximus_, basking-shark. _galeus zyopterus_, soup-fin shark. _carcharias lamia_, cub-shark. teeth of _corax pristodontus_. _sphyrna zygæna_, hammer-head shark. _squalus acanthias_, dogfish. _etmopterus lucifer._ brain of monkfish, _squatina squatina_. _pristiophorus japonicus_, saw-shark. _pristis pectinatus_, sawfish. _rhinobatus lentiginosus_, guitar-fish. _raja erinacea_, common skate. _narcine brasiliensis_, numbfish. teeth of _janassa linguæformis_. _polyrhizodus radicans._ _dasyatis sabina_, sting-ray. _aëtobatis narinari_, eagle-ray. _manta birostris_, devil-ray or sea-devil. skeleton of _chimæra monstrosa_. _chimæra colliei_, elephant-fish. _odontotodus schrencki_, ventral side. _odontotodus schrencki_, dorsal side. head of _odontotodus schrencki_, from the side. _limulus polyphemus_, horseshoe crab. _lanarkia spinosa._ _drepanaspis gmundenensis._ _pteraspis rostrata._ _cephalaspis lyelli_, restored. _cephalaspis dawsoni._ _pterichthyodes testudinarius._ _pterichthyodes testudinarius_, side view. _birkenia elegans._ _lasianius problematicus._ _coccosteus cuspidatus_, restored. jaws of _dinichthys hertzeri_. _dinichthys intermedius_, an arthrodire. _palæospondylus gunni._ shoulder-girdle of _polypterus bichir_. arm of a frog. _polypterus congicus_, a crossopterygian fish. basal bone of dorsal fin, _holoptychius leptopterus_. _gyroptychius microlepidotus._ _coelacanthus elegans_, showing air-bladder. _undina gulo._ lower jaw of _polypterus bichir_, from below. _polypterus congicus._ _polypterus delhezi._ _erpetoichthys calabaricus._ shoulder-girdle of _neoceratodus forsteri_. _phaneropleuron andersoni._ teeth of _ceratodus runcinatus_. _neoceratodus forsteri._ archipterygium of _neoceratodus forsteri_. upper jaw of _neoceratodus forsteri_. lower jaw of _neoceratodus forsteri_. adult male of _lepidosiren paradoxa_. _lepidosiren paradoxa._ embryo three days before hatching; larva thirteen days after hatching. larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ forty days after hatching. larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ thirty days after hatching. larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ three months after hatching. _protopterus dolloi._ [illustration: fig. .--long-eared sunfish, _lepomis megalotis_ (rafinesque). (from life by r. w. shufeldt.)--page .] chapter i the life of the fish a popular account of the life of the long-eared sunfish, _lepomis megalotis_ =what is a fish?=--a fish is a back-boned animal which lives in the water and cannot ever live very long anywhere else. its ancestors have always dwelt in water, and most likely its descendents will forever follow their example. so, as the water is a region very different from the fields or the woods, a fish in form and structure must be quite unlike all the beasts and birds that walk or creep or fly above ground, breathing air and being fitted to live in it. there are a great many kinds of animals called fishes, but in this all of them agree: all have some sort of a back-bone, all of them breathe their life long by means of gills, and none have fingers or toes with which to creep about on land. =the long-eared sunfish.=--if we would understand a fish, we must first go and catch one. this is not very hard to do, for there are plenty of them in the little rushing brook or among the lilies of the pond. let us take a small hook, put on it an angleworm or a grasshopper,--no need to seek an elaborate artificial fly,--and we will go out to the old "swimming-hole" or the deep eddy at the root of the old stump where the stream has gnawed away the bank in changing its course. here we will find fishes, and one of them will take the bait very soon. in one part of the country the first fish that bites will be different from the first one taken in some other. but as we are fishing in the united states, we will locate our brook in the centre of population of our country. this will be to the northwest of cincinnati, among the low wooded hills from which clear brooks flow over gravelly bottoms toward the ohio river. here we will catch sunfishes of certain species, or maybe rock bass or catfish: any of these will do for our purpose. but one of our sunfishes is especially beautiful--mottled blue and golden and scarlet, with a long, black, ear-like appendage backward from his gill-covers--and this one we will keep and hold for our first lesson in fishes. it is a small fish, not longer than your hand most likely, but it can take the bait as savagely as the best, swimming away with it with such force that you might think from the vigor of its pull that you have a pickerel or a bass. but when it comes out of the water you see a little, flapping, unhappy, living plate of brown and blue and orange, with fins wide-spread and eyes red with rage. [illustration: fig. .--long-eared sunfish, _lepomis megalotis_ (rafinesque). (from clear creek, bloomington, indiana.) family _centrarchidæ_.] =form of the fish.=--and now we have put the fish into a bucket of water, where it lies close to the bottom. then we take it home and place it in an aquarium, and for the first time we have a chance to see what it is like. we see that its body is almost elliptical in outline, but with flat sides and shaped on the lower parts very much like a boat. this form we see is such as to enable it to part the water as it swims. we notice that its progress comes through the sculling motion of its broad, flat tail. =face of a fish.=--when we look at the sunfish from the front we see that it has a sort of face, not unlike that of higher animals. the big eyes, one on each side, stand out without eyelids, but the fish can move them at will, so that once in a while he seems to wink. there isn't much of a nose between the eyes, but the mouth is very evident, and the fish opens and shuts it as it breathes. we soon see that it breathes water, taking it in through the mouth and letting it flow over the gills, and then out through the opening behind the gill-covers. =how the fish breathes.=--if we take another fish--for we shall not kill this one--we shall see that in its throat, behind the mouth-cavity, there are four rib-like bones on each side, above the beginning of the gullet. these are the gill-arches, and on each one of them there is a pair of rows of red fringes called the gills. into each of these fringes runs a blood-vessel. as the water passes over it the oxygen it contains is absorbed through the skin of the gill-fringe into the blood, which thus becomes purified. in the same manner the impurities of the blood pass out into the water, and go out through the gill-openings behind. the fish needs to breathe just as we do, though the apparatus of breathing is not the same. just as the air becomes loaded with impurities when many people breathe it, so does the water in our jar or aquarium become foul if it is breathed over and over again by fishes. when a fish finds the water bad he comes to the surface to gulp air, but his gills are not well fitted to use undissolved air as a substitute for that contained in water. the rush of a stream through the air purifies the water, and so again does the growth of water plants, for these in the sunshine absorb and break up carbonic acid gas, and throw out oxygen into the water. =teeth of the fish.=--on the inner side of the gill-arch we find some little projections which serve as strainers to the water. these are called gill-rakers. in our sunfish they are short and thick, seeming not to amount to much but in a herring they are very long and numerous. behind the gills, at the opening of the gullet, are some roundish bones armed with short, thick teeth. these are called pharyngeals. they form a sort of jaws in the throat, and they are useful in helping the little fish to crack shells. if we look at the mouth of our live fish, we shall find that when it breathes or bites it moves the lower jaw very much as a dog does. but it can move the upper jaw, too, a little, and that by pushing it out in a queer fashion, as though it were thrust out of a sheath and then drawn in. if we look at our dead fish, we shall see that the upper jaw divides in the middle and has two bones on each side. on one bone are rows of little teeth, while the other bone that lies behind it has no teeth at all. the lower jaw has little teeth like those of the upper jaw, and there is a patch of teeth on the roof of the mouth also. in some sunfishes there are three little patches, the vomer in the middle and the palatines on either side. the tongue of the fish is flat and gristly. it cannot move it, scarce even taste its food with it, nor can it use it for making a noise. the unruly member of a fish is not its tongue, but its tail. =how the fish sees.=--to come back to the fish's eye again. we say that it has no eyelids, and so, if it ever goes to sleep, it must keep its eyes wide open. the iris is brown or red. the pupil is round, and if we could cut open the eye we should see that the crystalline lens is almost a perfect sphere, much more convex than the lens in land animals. we shall learn that this is necessary for the fish to see under water. it takes a very convex lens or even one perfectly round to form images from rays of light passing through the water, because the lens is but little more dense than the water itself. this makes the fish near-sighted. he cannot see clearly anything out of water or at a distance. thus he has learned that when, in water or out, he sees anything moving quickly it is probably something dangerous, and the thing for him to do is to swim away and hide as swiftly as possible. in front of the eye are the nostrils, on each side a pair of openings. but they lead not into tubes, but into a little cup lined with delicate pink tissues and the branching nerves of smell. the organ of smell in nearly all fishes is a closed sac, and the fish does not use the nostrils at all in breathing. but they can indicate the presence of anything in the water which is good to eat, and eating is about the only thing a fish cares for. =color of the fish.=--behind the eye there are several bones on the side of the head which are more or less distinct from the skull itself. these are called membrane bones because they are formed of membrane which has become bony by the deposition in it of salts of lime. one of these is called the opercle, or gill-cover, and before it, forming a right angle, is the preopercle, or false gill-cover. on our sunfish we see that the opercle ends behind in a long and narrow flap, which looks like an ear. this is black in color, with an edging of scarlet as though a drop of blood had spread along its margin. when the fish is in the water its back is dark greenish-looking, like the weeds and the sticks in the bottom, so that we cannot see it very plainly. this is the way the fish looks to the fishhawks or herons in the air above it who may come to the stream to look for fish. those fishes which from above look most like the bottom can most readily hide and save themselves. the under side of the sunfish is paler, and most fishes have the belly white. fishes with white bellies swim high in the water, and the fishes who would catch them lie below. to the fish in the water all outside the water looks white, and so the white-bellied fishes are hard for other fishes to see, just as it is hard for us to see a white rabbit bounding over the snow. [illustration: fig. .--common sunfish, _eupomotis gibbosus_ (linnæus). natural size. (from life by r. w. shufeldt.)] but to be known of his own kind is good for the sunfish, and we may imagine that the black ear-flap with its scarlet edge helps his mate and friends to find him out, where they swim on his own level near the bottom. such marks are called recognition-marks, and a great many fishes have them, but we have no certain knowledge as to their actual purpose. we are sure that the ear-flap is not an ear, however. no fishes have any external ear, all their hearing apparatus being buried in the skull. they cannot hear very much: possibly a great jar or splash in the water may reach them, but whenever they hear any noise they swim off to a hiding-place, for any disturbance whatever in the water must arouse a fish's anxiety. the color of the live sunfish is very brilliant. its body is covered with scales, hard and firm, making a close coat of mail, overlapping one another like shingles on a roof. over these is a thin skin in which are set little globules of bright-colored matter, green, brown, and black, with dashes of scarlet, blue, and white as well. these give the fish its varied colors. some coloring matter is under the scales also, and this especially makes the back darker than the lower parts. the bright colors of the sunfish change with its surroundings or with its feelings. when it lies in wait under a dark log its colors are very dark. when it rests above the white sands it is very pale. when it is guarding its nest from some meddling perch its red shades flash out as it stands with fins spread, as though a water knight with lance at rest, looking its fiercest at the intruder. when the sunfish is taken out of the water its colors seem to fade. in the aquarium it is generally paler, but it will sometimes brighten up when another of its own species is placed beside it. a cause of this may lie in the nervous control of the muscles at the base of the scales. when the scales lie very flat the color has one appearance. when they rise a little the shade of color seems to change. if you let fall some ink-drops between two panes of glass, then spread them apart or press them together, you will see changes in the color and size of the spots. of this nature is the apparent change in the colors of fishes under different conditions. where the fish feels at its best the colors are the richest. there are some fishes, too, in which the male grows very brilliant in the breeding season through the deposition of red, white, black, or blue pigments, or coloring matter, on its scales or on its head or fins, this pigment being absorbed when the mating season is over. this is not true of the sunfish, who remains just about the same at all seasons. the male and female are colored alike and are not to be distinguished without dissection. if we examine the scales, we shall find that these are marked with fine lines and concentric striæ, and part of the apparent color is due to the effect of the fine lines on the light. this gives the bluish lustre or sheen which we can see in certain lights, although we shall find no real blue pigment under it. the inner edge of each scale is usually scalloped or crinkled, and the outer margin of most of them has little prickly points which make the fish seem rough when we pass our hand along his sides. [illustration: fig. .--_ozorthe dictyogramma_ (herzenstein). a japanese blenny, from hakodate: showing increased number of lateral lines, a trait characteristic of many fishes of the north pacific.] =the lateral line.=--along the side of the fish is a line of peculiar scales which runs from the head to the tail. this is called the lateral line. if we examine it carefully, we shall see that each scale has a tube from which exudes a watery or mucous fluid. behind these tubes are nerves, and although not much is known of the function of the tubes, we can be sure that in some degree the lateral line is a sense-organ, perhaps aiding the fish to feel sound-waves or other disturbances in the water. =the fins of the fish.=--the fish moves itself and directs its course in the water by means of its fins. these are made up of stiff or flexible rods growing out from the body and joined together by membrane. there are two kinds of these rays or rods in the fins. one sort is without joints or branches, tapering to a sharp point. the rays thus fashioned are called spines, and they are in the sunfish stiff and sharp-pointed. the others, known as soft rays, are made up of many little joints, and most of them branch and spread out brush-like at their tips. in the fin on the back the first ten of the rays are spines, the rest are soft rays. in the fin under the tail there are three spines, and in each fin at the breast there is one spine with five soft rays. in the other fins all the rays are soft. the fin on the back is called the dorsal fin, the fin at the end of the tail is the caudal fin, the fin just in front of this on the lower side is the anal fin. the fins, one on each side, just behind the gill-openings are called the pectoral fins. these correspond to the arms of man, the wings of birds, or the fore legs of a turtle or lizard. below these, corresponding to the hind legs, is the pair of fins known as the ventral fins. if we examine the bones behind the gill-openings to which the pectoral fins are attached, we shall find that they correspond after a fashion to the shoulder-girdle of higher animals. but the shoulder-bone in the sunfish is joined to the back part of the skull, so that the fish has not any neck at all. in animals with necks the bones at the shoulder are placed at some distance behind the skull. if we examine the legs of a fish, the ventral fins, we shall find that, as in man, these are fastened to a bone inside called the pelvis. but the pelvis in the sunfish is small and it is placed far forward, so that it is joined to the tip of the "collar-bone" of the shoulder-girdle and pelvis attached together. the caudal fin gives most of the motion of a fish. the other fins are mostly used in maintaining equilibrium and direction. the pectoral fins are almost constantly in motion, and they may sometimes help in breathing by starting currents outside which draw water over the gills. =the skeleton of the fish.=--the skeleton of the fish, like that of man, is made up of the skull, the back-bone, the limbs, and their appendages. but in the fish the bones are relatively smaller, more numerous, and not so firm. the front end of the vertebral column is modified as a skull to contain the little brain which serves for all a fish's activities. to the skull are attached the jaws, the membrane bones, and the shoulder-girdle. the back-bone itself in the sunfish is made of about twenty-four pieces, or vertebræ. each of these has a rounded central part, concave in front and behind. above this is a channel through which the great spinal cord passes, and above and below are a certain number of processes or projecting points. to some of these, through the medium of another set of sharp bones, the fins of the back are attached. along the sides of the body are the slender ribs. =the fish in action.=--the fish is, like any other animal, a machine to convert food into power. it devours other animals or plants, assimilates their substance, takes it over into itself, and through its movements uses up this substance again. the food of the sunfish is made up of worms, insects, and little fishes. to seize these it uses its mouth and teeth. to digest them it needs its alimentary canal, made of the stomach with its glands and intestines. if we cut the fish open, we shall find the stomach with its pyloric cæca, near it the large liver with its gall-bladder, and on the other side the smaller spleen. after the food is dissolved in the stomach and intestines the nutritious part is taken up by the walls of the alimentary canal, whence it passes into the blood. the blood is made pure in the gills, as we have already seen. to send it to the gills the fish has need of a little pumping-engine, and this we shall find at work in the fish as in all higher animals. this engine of stout muscle surrounding a cavity is called the heart. in most fishes it is close behind the gills. it contains one auricle and one ventricle only, not two of each as in man. the auricle receives the impure blood from all parts of the body. it passes it on to the ventricle, which, being thick-walled, is dark red in color. this passes the blood by convulsive action, or heart-beating, on to the gills. from these the blood is collected in arteries, and without again returning to the heart it flows all through the body. the blood in the fish flows sluggishly. the combustion of waste material goes on slowly, and so the blood is not made hot as it is in the higher beasts and birds. fishes have relatively little blood; what there is is rather pale and cold and has no swift current. if we look about in the inside of a fish, we shall find close along the lower side of the back-bone, covering the great artery, the dark red kidneys. these strain out from the blood a certain class of impurities, poisons made from nerve or muscle waste which cannot be burned away by the oxygen of respiration. =the air-bladder.=--in the front part of the sunfish, just above the stomach, is a closed sac, filled with air. this is called the air-bladder, or swim-bladder. it helps the fish to maintain its place in the water. in bottom fishes it is almost always small, while fishes that rise and fall in the current generally have a large swim-bladder. the gas inside it is secreted from the blood, for the sunfish has no way of getting any air into it from the outside. but the primal purpose of the air-bladder was not to serve as a float. in very old-fashioned fishes it has a tube connecting it with the throat, and instead of being an empty sac it is a true lung made up of many lobes and parts and lined with little blood-vessels. such fishes as the garpike and the bowfin have lung-like air-bladders and gulp air from the surface of the water. in the very little sunfish, when he is just hatched, the air-bladder has an air-duct, which, however, is soon lost, leaving only a closed sac. from all this we know that the air-bladder is the remains of what was once a lung, or additional arrangement for breathing. as the gills furnish oxygen enough, the lung of the common fish has fallen into disuse and thrifty nature has used the parts and the space for another and a very different purpose. this will serve to help us to understand the swim-bladder and the way the fish came to acquire it as a substitute for a lung. =the brain of the fish.=--the movements of the fish, like those of every other complex animal, are directed by a central nervous system, of which the principal part is in the head and is known as the brain. from the eye of the fish a large nerve goes to the brain to report what is in sight. other nerves go from the nostrils, the ears, the skin, and every part which has any sort of capacity for feeling. these nerves carry their messages inward, and when they reach the brain they may be transformed into movement. the brain sends back messages to the muscles, directing them to contract. their contraction moves the fins, and the fish is shoved along through the water. to scare the fish or to attract it to its food or to its mate is about the whole range of the effect that sight or touch has on the animal. these sensations changed into movement constitute what is called reflex action, performance without thinking of what is being done. with a boy, many familiar actions may be equally reflex. the boy can also do many other things "of his own accord," that is, by conscious effort. he can choose among a great many possible actions. but a fish cannot. if he is scared, he must swim away, and he has no way to stop himself. if he is hungry, and most fishes are so all the time, he will spring at the bait. if he is thirsty, he will gasp, and there is nothing else for him to do. in other words, the activities of a fish are nearly all reflex, most of them being suggested and immediately directed by the influence of external things. because its actions are all reflex the brain is very small, very primitive, and very simple, nothing more being needed for automatic movement. small as the fish's skull-cavity is, the brain does not half fill it. [illustration: fig. .--common sunfish, _eupomotis gibbosus_ (linnæus). natural size. (from life by r. w. shufeldt.)--page .] the vacant space about the little brain is filled with a fatty fluid mass looking like white of egg, intended for its protection. taking the dead sunfish (for the live one we shall look after carefully, giving him every day fresh water and a fresh worm or snail or bit of beef), if we cut off the upper part of the skull we shall see the separate parts of the brain, most of them lying in pairs, side by side, in the bottom of the brain-cavity. the largest pair is near the middle of the length of the brain, two nerve-masses (or ganglia), each one round and hollow. if we turn these over, we shall see that the nerves of the eye run into them. we know then that these nerve-masses receive the impressions of sight, and so they are called optic lobes. in front of the optic lobes are two smaller and more oblong nerve-masses. these constitute the cerebrum. this is the thinking part of the brain, and in man and in the higher animals it makes up the greater part of it, overlapping and hiding the other ganglia. but the fish has not much need for thinking and its fore-brain or cerebrum is very small. in front of these are two small, slim projections, one going to each nostril. these are the olfactory lobes which receive the sensation of smell. behind the optic lobes is a single small lobe, not divided into two. this is the cerebellum and it has charge of certain powers of motion. under the cerebellum is the medulla, below which the spinal cord begins. the rest of the spinal cord is threaded through the different vertebræ back to the tail, and at each joint it sends out nerves of motion and receives nerves of sense. everything that is done by the fish, inside or outside, receives the attention of the little branches of the great nerve-cord. =the fish's nest.=--the sunfish in the spawning time will build some sort of a nest of stones on the bottom of the eddy, and then, when the eggs are laid, the male with flashing eye and fins all spread will defend the place with a good deal of spirit. all this we call instinct. he fights as well the first time as the last. the pressure of the eggs suggests nest-building to the female. the presence of the eggs tells the male to defend them. but the facts of the nest-building and nest protection are not very well understood, and any boy who can watch them and describe them truly will be able to add something to science. chapter ii the exterior of the fish =form of body.=--with a glance at the fish as a living organism and some knowledge of those structures which are to be readily seen without dissection, we are prepared to examine its anatomy in detail, and to note some of the variations which may be seen in different parts of the great group. in general fishes are boat-shaped, adapted for swift progress through the water. they are longer than broad or deep and the greatest width is in front of the middle, leaving the compressed paddle-like tail as the chief organ of locomotion. [illustration: fig. .--pine-cone fish, _monocentris japonicus_ (houttuyn). waka, japan.] but to all these statements there are numerous exceptions. some fishes depend for protection, not on swiftness, but on the thorny skin or a bony coat of mail. some of these are almost globular in form, and their outline bears no resemblance to that of a boat. the trunkfish (_ostracion_) in a hard bony box has no need of rapid progress. [illustration: fig. .--porcupine-fish, _diodon hystrix_ (linnæus). tortugas islands.] [illustration: fig. .--thread-eel, _nemichthys avocetta_ jordan and gilbert. vancouver island.] [illustration: fig. .--sea-horse, _hippocampus hudsonius_ dekay. virginia.] [illustration: fig. .--harvest-fish, _peprilus paru_ (linnæus). virginia.] [illustration: fig. .--anko or fishing-frog, _lophius litulon_ (jordan). matsushima bay, japan. (the short line in all cases shows the degree of reduction; it represents an inch of the fish's length.)] the pine-cone fish (_monocentris japonicus_) adds strong fin-spines to its bony box, and the porcupine fish (_diodon hystrix_) is covered with long prickles which keep away all enemies. among swift fishes, there are some in which the body is much deeper than long, as in _antigonia_. certain sluggish fishes seem to be all head and tail, looking as though the body by some accident had been omitted. these, like the headfish (_mola mola_) are protected by a leathery skin. other fishes, as the eels, are extremely long and slender, and some carry this elongation to great extremes. usually the head is in a line with the axis of the body, but in some cases, as the sea-horse (_hippocampus_), the head is placed at right angles to the axis, and the body itself is curved and cannot be straightened without injury. the type of the swiftest fish is seen among the mackerels and tunnies, where every outline is such that a racing yacht might copy it. the body or head of the fish is said to be compressed when it is flattened sidewise, depressed when it is flattened vertically. thus the _peprilus_ (fig. ) is said to be compressed, while the fishing-frog (_lophius_) (fig. ) has a depressed body and head. other terms as truncate (cut off short), attenuate (long-drawn out), robust, cuboid, filiform, and the like may be needed in descriptions. =measurement of the fish.=--as most fishes grow as long as they live, the actual length of a specimen has not much value for purposes of description. the essential point is not actual length, but relative length. the usual standard of measurement is the length from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin. with this length the greatest depth of the body, the greatest length of the head, and the length of individual parts may be compared. thus in the rock hind (_epinephelus adscensionis_), fig. , the head is contained - / times in the length, while the greatest depth is contained three times. thus, again, the length of the muzzle, the diameter of the eye, and other dimensions may be compared with the length of the head. in the rock hind, fig. , the eye is in head, the snout is - / in head, and the maxillary - / . young fishes have the eye larger, the body slenderer, and the head larger in proportion than old fishes of the same kind. the mouth grows larger with age, and is sometimes larger also in the male sex. the development of the fins often varies a good deal in some fishes with age, old fishes and male fishes having higher fins when such differences exist. these variations are soon understood by the student of fishes and cause little doubt or confusion in the study of fishes. [illustration: fig. .--rock hind or cabra mora of the west indies, _epinephelus adscensionis_ (osbeck). family _serranidæ_.] =the scales, or exoskeleton.=--the surface of the fish may be naked as in the catfish, or it may be covered with scales, prickles, shagreen, or bony plates. the hard covering of the skin, when present, is known as the exoskeleton, or outer skeleton. in the fish, the exoskeleton, whatever form it may assume, may be held to consist of modified scales, and this is usually obviously the case. the skin of the fish may be thick or thin, bony, horny, leathery, or papery, or it may have almost any intermediate character. when protected by scales the skin is usually thin and tender; when unprotected it may be ossified, as in the sea-horse; horny, as in the headfish; leathery, as in the catfish; or it may, as in the sea-snails, form a loose scarf readily detachable from the muscles below. the scales themselves may be broadly classified as ctenoid, cycloid, placoid, ganoid, or prickly. _ctenoid and cycloid scales._--normally formed scales are rounded in outline, marked by fine concentric rings, and crossed on the inner side by a few strong radiating ridges and folds. they usually cover the body more or less evenly and are imbricated like shingles on a roof, the free edge being turned backward. such normal scales are of two types, ctenoid or cycloid. ctenoid scales have a comb-edge of fine prickles or cilia; cycloid scales have the edges smooth. these two types are not very different, and the one readily passes into the other, both being sometimes seen on different parts of the same fish. in general, however, the more primitive representatives of the typical fishes, those with abdominal ventrals and without spines in the fins, have cycloid or smooth scales. examples are the salmon, herring, minnow, and carp. some of the more specialized spiny-rayed fishes, as the parrot-fishes, have, however, scales equally smooth, although somewhat different in structure. sometimes, as in the eel, the cycloid scales may be reduced to mere rudiments buried in the skin. _ctenoid_ scales are beset on the free edge by little prickles or points, sometimes rising to the rank of spines, at other times soft and scarcely noticeable, when they are known as ciliate or eyelash-like. such scales are possessed in general by the more specialized types of bony fishes, as the perch and bass, those with thoracic ventrals and spines in the fins. [illustration: fig. .--scales of _acanthoessus bronni_ (agassiz). (after dean.)] _placoid scales._--placoid scales are ossified papillæ, minute, enamelled, and close-set, forming a fine shagreen. these are characteristic of the sharks; and in the most primitive sharks the teeth are evidently modifications of these primitive structures. some other fishes have scales which appear shagreen-like to sight and feeling, but only the sharks have the peculiar structure to which agassiz gave the name of placoid. the rough prickles of the filefishes and some sculpins are not placoid, but are reduced or modified ctenoid scales, scales narrowed and reduced to prickles. _bony and prickly scales._--bony and prickly scales are found in great variety, and scarcely admit of description or classification. in general, prickly points on the skin are modifications of ctenoid scales. ganoid scales are thickened and covered with bony enamel, much like that seen in teeth, otherwise essentially like cycloid scales. these are found in the garpike and in many genera of extinct ganoid and crossopterygian fishes. in the line of descent the placoid scale preceded the ganoid, which in turn was followed by the cycloid and lastly by the ctenoid scale. bony scales in other types of fishes may have nothing structurally in common with ganoid scales or plates, however great may be the superficial resemblance. [illustration: fig. .--cycloid scale.] the distribution of scales on the body may vary exceedingly. in some fishes the scales are arranged in very regular series; in others they are variously scattered over the body. some are scaly everywhere on head, body, and fins. others may have only a few lines or patches. the scales may be everywhere alike, or they may in one part or another be greatly modified. sometimes they are transformed into feelers or tactile organs. the number of scales is always one of the most valuable of the characters by which to distinguish species. =lateral line.=--the lateral line in most fishes consists of a series of modified scales, each one provided with a mucous tube extending along the side of the body from the head to the caudal fin. the canal which pierces each scale is simple at its base, but its free edge is often branched or ramified. in most spiny-rayed fishes it runs parallel with the outline of the back. in most soft-rayed fishes it follows rather the outline of the belly. it is subject to many variations. in some large groups (_gobiidæ_, _pæciliidæ_) its surface structures are entirely wanting. in scaleless fishes the mucous tube lies in the skin itself. in some groups the lateral line has a peculiar position, as in the flying-fishes, where it forms a raised ridge bounding the belly. in many cases the lateral line has branches of one sort or another. it is often double or triple, and in some cases the whole back and sides of the fish are covered with lateral lines and their ramifications. sometimes peculiar sense-organs and occasionally eye-like luminous spots are developed in connection with the lateral line, enabling the fish to see in the black depths of the sea. these will be noticed in another chapter. _the lateral line as a mucous channel._--the more primitive condition of the lateral line is seen in the sharks and chimæras, in which fishes it appears as a series of channels in or under the skin. these channels are filled with mucus, which exudes through occasional open pores. in many fishes the bones of the skull are cavernous, that is, provided with cavities filled with mucus. analogous to these cavities are the mucous channels which in primitive fishes constitute the lateral line. [illustration: fig. .--singing fish (with many lateral lines), _porichthys porosissimus_ (cuv. and val.). gulf of mexico.] _function of the lateral line._--the general function of the lateral line with its tubes and pores is still little understood. as the structures of the lateral line are well provided with nerves, it has been thought to be an organ of sense of some sort not yet understood. its close relation to the ear is beyond question, the ear-sac being an outgrowth from it. "the original significance of the lateral line," according to dr. dean,[ ] "as yet remains undetermined. it appears intimately if not genetically related to the sense-organs of the head and gill region of the ancestral fish. in response to special aquatic needs, it may thence have extended farther and farther backward along the median line of the trunk, and in its later differentiation acquired its metameral characters." in view of its peculiar nerve-supply, "the precise function of this entire system of organs becomes especially difficult to determine. feeling, in its broadest sense, has safely been admitted as its possible use. its close genetic relationship to the hearing organ suggests the kindred function of determining waves of vibration. these are transmitted in so favorable a way in the aquatic medium that from the side of theory a system of hypersensitive end-organs may well have been established. the sensory tracts along the sides of the body are certainly well situated to determine the direction of the approach of friend, enemy, or prey." =the fins of fishes.=--the organs of locomotion in the fishes are knows as fins. these are composed of bony or cartilaginous rods or rays connected by membranes. the fins are divided into two groups, paired fins and vertical fins. the pectoral fins, one on either side, correspond to the anterior limbs of the higher vertebrates. the ventral fins below or behind them represent the hinder limbs. either or both pairs may be absent, but the ventrals are much more frequently abortive than the pectorals. the insertion of the ventral fins may be abdominal, as in the sharks and the more generalized of the bony fishes, thoracic under the breast (the pelvis attached to the shoulder-girdle) or jugular, under the throat. when the ventral fins are abdominal, the pectoral fins are usually placed very low. the paired fins are not in general used for progression in the water, but serve rather to enable the fish to keep its equilibrium. with the rays, however, the wing-like pectoral fins form the chief organ of locomotion. the fin on the median line of the back is called the dorsal, that on the tail the caudal, and that on the lower median line the anal fin. the dorsal is often divided into two fins or even three. the anal is sometimes divided, and either dorsal or anal fin may have behind it detached single rays called finlets. the rays composing the fin may be either simple or branched. the branched rays are always articulated, that is, crossed by numerous fine joints which render them flexible. simple rays are also sometimes articulate. rays thus jointed are known as soft rays, while those rays which are neither jointed nor branched are called spines. a spine is usually stiff and sharp-pointed, but it may be neither, and some spines are very slender and flexible, the lack of branches or joints being the feature which distinguishes spine from soft ray. the anterior rays of the dorsal and anal fins are spinous in most fishes with thoracic ventrals. the dorsal fin has usually about ten spines, the anal three, but as to this there is much variation in different groups. when the dorsal is divided all the rays of the first dorsal and usually the first ray of the second are spines. the caudal fin has never true spines, though at the base of its lobes are often rudimentary rays which resemble spines. most spineless fishes have such rudiments in front of their vertical fins. the pectoral, as a rule, is without spines, although in the catfishes and some others a single large spine may be developed. the ventrals when abdominal are usually without spines. when thoracic each usually, but not always, consists of one spine and five soft rays. when jugular the number of soft rays may be reduced, this being a phase of degeneration of the fin. in writing descriptions of fishes the number of spines may be indicated by roman numerals, those of the soft rays by arabic. thus d. xii-i, means that the dorsal is divided, that the anterior portion consists of twelve spines, the posterior of one spine and seventeen soft rays. in some fishes, as the catfish or the salmon, there is a small fin on the back behind the dorsal fin. this is known as the adipose fin, being formed of fatty substance covered by skin. in a few catfishes, this adipose fin develops a spine or soft rays. =muscles.=--the movements of the fins are accomplished by the muscles. these organs lie along the sides of the body, forming the flesh of the fish. they are little specialized, and not clearly differentiated as in the higher vertebrates. with the higher fishes there are several distinct systems of muscles controlling the jaws, the gills, the eye, the different fins, and the body itself. the largest of all is the great lateral muscle, composed of flake-like segments (myocommas) which correspond in general with the number of the vertebræ. in general the muscles of the fish are white in color. in some groups, especially of the mackerel family, they are deep red, charged with animal oils. in the salmon they are orange-red, a color also due to the presence of certain oils. in a few fishes muscular structures are modified into electric organs. these will be discussed in a later chapter. footnotes: [ ] fishes recent and fossil, p. . chapter iii the dissection of the fish =the blue-green sunfish.=--the organs found in the abdominal cavity of the fish may be readily traced in a rapid dissection. any of the bony fishes may be chosen, but for our purposes the sunfish will serve as well as any. the names and location of the principal organs are shown in the accompanying figure, from kellogg's zoology. it represents the blue-green sunfish, _apomotis cyanellus_, from the kansas river, but in these regards all the species of sunfishes are alike. we may first glance at the different organs as shown in the sequence of dissection, leaving a detailed account of each to the subsequent pages. =the viscera.=--opening the body cavity of the fish, as shown in the plate, we see below the back-bone a membranous sac closed and filled with air. this is the air-bladder, a rudiment of that structure which in higher vertebrates is developed as a lung. the alimentary canal passes through the abdominal cavity extending from the mouth through the pharynx and ending at the anus or vent. the stomach has the form of a blind sac, and at its termination are a number of tubular sacs, the pyloric cæca, which secrete a digestive fluid. beyond the pylorus extends the intestine with one or two loops to the anus. connected with the intestine anteriorly is the large red mass of the liver, with its gall-bladder, which serves as a reservoir for bile, the fluid the liver secretes. farther back is another red glandular mass, the spleen. in front of the liver and separated from it by a membrane is the heart. this is of four parts. the posterior part is a thin-walled reservoir, the sinus venosus, into which blood enters through the jugular vein from the head and through the cardinal vein from the kidney. from the sinus venosus it passes forward into a large thin-walled chamber, the auricle. [illustration: fig. .--dissection of the blue-green sunfish, _apomotis cyanellus_ rafinesque. (after kellogg.)-- .] next it flows into the thick-walled ventricle, whence by the rhythmical contraction of its walls it is forced into an arterial bulb which lies at the base of the ventral aorta, which carries it on to the gills. after passing through the fine gill-filaments, it is returned to the dorsal aorta, a large blood-vessel which extends along the lower surface of the back-bone, giving out branches from time to time. the kidneys in fishes constitute an irregular mass under the back-bone posteriorly. they discharge their secretions through the ureter to a small urinary bladder, and thence into the urogenital sinus, a small opening behind the anus. into the same sinus are discharged the reproductive cells in both sexes. in the female sunfish the ovaries consist of two granular masses of yellowish tissue lying just below and behind the swim-bladder. in the spring they fill much of the body cavity and the many little eggs can be plainly seen. when mature they are discharged through the oviduct to the urogenital sinus. in some fishes there is no special oviduct and the eggs pass into the abdominal cavity before exclusion. in the male the reproductive organs have the same position as the ovaries in the female. they are, however, much smaller in size and paler in color, while the minute spermatozoa appear milky rather than granular on casual examination. a _vas deferens_ leads from each of these organs into the urogenital sinus. the lancelets, lampreys, and hagfishes possess no genital ducts. in the former the germ cells are shed into the atrial cavity, and from there find their way to the exterior either through the mouth or the atrial pore; in the latter they are shed directly into the body cavity, from which they escape through the abdominal pores. in the sharks and skates the wolffian duct in the male, in addition to its function as an excretory duct, serves also as a passage for the sperm, the testes having a direct connection with the kidneys. in these forms there is a pair of müllerian ducts which serve as oviducts in the females; they extend the length of the body cavity, and at their anterior end have an opening which receives the eggs which have escaped from the ovary into the body cavity. in some bony fishes as the eels and female salmon the germ cells are shed into the body cavity and escape through genital pores, which, however, may not be homologous with abdominal pores. in most other bony fishes the testes and ovaries are continued directly into ducts which open to the outside. =organs of nutrition.=--the organs thus shown in dissection we may now examine in detail. [illustration: fig. .--black swallower, _chiasmodon niger_ johnson, containing a fish larger than itself. le have bank.] the mouth of the fish is the organ or series of structures first concerned in nutrition. the teeth are outgrowths from the skin, primarily as modified papillæ, aiding the mouth in its various functions of seizing, holding, cutting, or crushing the various kinds of food material. some fishes feed exclusively on plants, some on plants and animals alike, some exclusively on animals, some on the mud in which minute plants and animals occur. the majority of fishes feed on other fishes, and without much regard to species or condition. with the carnivorous fishes, to feed represents the chief activity of the organism. in proportion to the voracity of the fish is usually the size of the mouth, the sharpness of the teeth, and the length of the lower jaw. the most usual type of teeth among fishes is that of villiform bands. villiform teeth are short, slender, even, close-set, making a rough velvety surface. when the teeth are larger and more widely separated, they are called cardiform, like the teeth of a wool-card. granular teeth are small, blunt, and sand-like. canine teeth are those projecting above the level of the others, usually sharp, curved, and in some species barbed. sometimes the canines are in front. in some families the last tooth in either jaw may be a "posterior canine," serving to hold small animals in place while the anterior teeth crush them. canine teeth are often depressible, having a hinge at base. [illustration: fig. .--jaws of a parrot-fish, _sparisoma aurofrenatum_ (val.). cuba.] teeth very slender and brush-like are called setiform. teeth with blunt tips are molar. these are usually enlarged and fitted for crushing shells. flat teeth set in mosaic, as in many rays and in the pharyngeals of parrot-fishes, are said to be _paved_ or tessellated. knife-like teeth, occasionally with serrated edges, are found in many sharks. many fishes have incisor-like teeth, some flattened and truncate like human teeth, as in the sheepshead, sometimes with serrated edges. often these teeth are movable, implanted only in the skin of the lips. in other cases they are set fast in the jaw. most species with movable teeth or teeth with serrated edges are herbivorous, while strong incisors may indicate the choice of snails and crabs as food. two or more of these different types may be found in the same fish. the knife-like teeth of the sharks are progressively shed, new ones being constantly formed on the inner margins of the jaw, so that the teeth are marching to be lost over the edge of the jaw as soon as each has fulfilled its function. in general the more distinctly a species is a fish-eater, the sharper are the teeth. usually fishes show little discrimination in their choice of food; often they devour the young of their own species as readily as any other. the digestive process is rapid, and most fishes rapidly increase in size in the process of development. when food ceases to be abundant the fishes grow more slowly. for this reason the same species will grow to a larger size in large streams than in small ones, in lakes than in brooks. in most cases there is no absolute limit to growth, the species growing as long as it lives. but while some species endure many years, others are certainly very shortlived, and some may be even annual, dying after spawning, perhaps at the end of the first season. teeth are wholly absent in several groups of fishes. they are, however, usually present on the premaxillary, dentary, and pharyngeal bones. in the higher forms, the vomer, palatines, and gill-rakers are rarely without teeth, and in many cases the pterygoids, sphenoids, and the bones of the tongue are similarly armed. no salivary glands or palatine velum are developed in fishes. the tongue is always bony or gristly and immovable. sometimes taste-buds are developed on it, and sometimes these are found on the barbels outside the mouth. [illustration: fig. .--sheepshead (with incisor teeth), _archosargus probatocephalus_ (walbaum). beaufort, n. c.] =the alimentary canal.=--the mouth-cavity opens through the pharynx between the upper and lower pharyngeal bones into the oesophagus, whence the food passes into the stomach. the intestinal tract is in general divided into four portions--oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines. but these divisions of the intestines are not always recognizable, and in the very lowest forms, as in the lancelet, the stomach is a simple straight tube without subdivision. in the lampreys there is a distinction only of the oesophagus with many longitudinal folds and the intestine with but one. in the bony fishes the stomach is an enlarged area, either siphon-shaped, with an opening at either end, or else forming a blind sac with the openings for entrance (cardiac) and exit (pyloric) close together at the anterior end. in the various kinds of mullets (_mugil_) and in the hickory shad (_dorosoma_), fishes which feed on minute vegetation mixed with mud, the stomach becomes enlarged to a muscular gizzard, like that of a fowl. attached near the pylorus and pouring their secretions into the duodenum or small intestine are the _pyloric cæca_. these are tubular sacs secreting a pale fluid and often almost as long as the stomach or as wide as the intestine. these may be very numerous as in the salmon, in which case they are likely to become coalescent at base, or they be few or altogether wanting. besides these appendages which are wanting in the higher vertebrates, a pancreas is also found in the sharks and many other fishes. this is a glandular mass behind the stomach, its duct leading into the duodenum and often coalescent with the bile duct from the liver. the liver in the lancelet is a long diverticulum of the intestine. in the true fishes it becomes a large gland of irregular form, and usually but not always provided with a gall-bladder as in the higher vertebrates. its secretions usually pass through a _ductus cholodechus_ to the duodenum. the _spleen_, a dark-red lymphatic gland, is found attached to the stomach in all fish-like vertebrates except the lancelet. the lining membrane of the abdominal cavity is known as the _peritoneum_, and the membrane sustaining the intestines from the dorsal side, as in the higher vertebrates, is called the _mesentery_. in many species the peritoneum is jet black, while in related forms it may be pale in color. it is more likely to be black in fishes from deep water and in fishes which feed on plants. =the spiral valve.=--in the sharks or skates the rectum or large intestine is peculiarly modified, being provided with a spiral valve, with sometimes as many as forty gyrations. a spiral valve is also present in the more ancient types of the true fishes as dipnoans, crossopterygians, and ganoids. this valve greatly increases the surface of the intestine, doing away with the necessity for length. in the bowfin (_amia_) and the garpike (_lepisosteus_) the valve is reduced to a rudiment of three or four convolutions near the end of the intestine. in the sharks and skates the intestine opens into a cloaca, which contains also the urogenital openings. in all fishes the latter lie behind the orifice of the intestine. in the bony fishes and the ganoids there is no cloaca. [illustration: fig. .--stone-roller, _campostoma anomalum_ (rafinesque). family _cyprinidæ_. showing nuptial tubercles and intestines coiled about the air-bladder.] =length of the intestine.=--in all fishes, as in the higher vertebrates, the length of the alimentary canal is coordinated with the food of the fish. in those which feed upon plants the intestine is very long and much convoluted, while in those which feed on other fishes it is always relatively short. in the stone-roller, a fresh-water minnow (_campostoma_) found in the mississippi valley, the excessively long intestines filled with vegetable matter are wound spool-fashion about the large air-bladder. in all other fishes the air-bladder lies on the dorsal side of the intestinal canal. chapter iv the skeleton of the fish =specialization of the skeleton.=--in the lowest form of fish-like vertebrates (_branchiostoma_), the skeleton consists merely of a cartilaginous rod or notochord extending through the body just below the spinal cord. in the lampreys, sharks, dipnoans, crossopterygians, and sturgeons the skeleton is still cartilaginous, but grows progressively more complex in their forms and relations. among the typical fishes the skeleton becomes ossified and reaches a very high degree of complexity. very great variations in the forms and relations of the different parts of the skeleton are found among the bony fishes, or teleostei. the high degree of specialization of these parts gives to the study of the bones great importance in the systematic arrangement of these fishes. in fact the true affinities of forms is better shown by the bones than by any other system of organs. in a general way the skeleton of the fish is homologous with that of man. the head in the one corresponds to the head in the other, the back-bone to the back-bone, and the paired fins, pectoral and ventral, to the arms and legs. =homologies of bones of fishes.=--but this homology does not extend to the details of structure. the bones of the arm of the specialized fish are not by any means identical with the humerus, coracoid, clavicle, radius, ulna, and carpus of the higher vertebrates. the vertebrate arm is not derived from the pectoral fin, but both from a cartilaginous shoulder-girdle with undifferentiated pectoral elements bearing fin-rays, in its details unlike an arm and unlike the pectoral fin of the specialized fish. the assumption that each element in the shoulder-girdle and the pectoral fin of the fish must correspond in detail to the arm of man has led to great confusion in naming the different bones. among the many bones of the fish's shoulder-girdle and pectoral fin, three or four different ones have successively borne the names of scapula, clavicle, coracoid, humerus, radius, and ulna. none of these terms, unless it be clavicle, ought by rights apply to the fish, for no bone of the fish is a true homologue of any of these as seen in man. the land vertebrates and the fishes have doubtless sprung from a common stock, but this stock, related to the crossopterygians of the present day, was unspecialized in the details of its skeleton, and from it the fishes and the higher vertebrates have developed the widely diverging lines. [illustration: fig. .--striped bass, _roccus lineatus_ (bloch). potomac river.] =parts of the skeleton.=--the skeleton may be divided into the head, the vertebral column, and the limbs. the very lowest of the fish-like forms (_branchiostoma_) has no differentiated head or skull, but in all the other forms the anterior part of the vertebral column is modified to form a cranium for the protection of the brain. in the lampreys there are no jaws or other appendages to the cranium. in the sharks, dipnoans, crossopterygians, ganoids, and teleosts or bony fishes, jaws are developed as well as a variety of other bones around the mouth and throat. the jaw-bearing forms are sometimes known by the general name of gnathostomes. in the sharks and their relatives (rays, chimæras, etc.) all the skeleton is composed of cartilage. in the more specialized bony fishes, besides these bones we find also series of membrane bones, more or less external to the skull and composed of ossified dermal tissues. membrane bones are not found in the sharks and lampreys, but are developed in an elaborate coat of mail in some extinct forms. [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ lateral view of cranium. . vomer. . prefrontal. . sphenotic. . epiotic. . pterotic. . exoccipital. . parasphenoid. . prootic. . ethmoid. . frontal. . parietal. . supraoccipital. . opisthotic. . basioccipital. . basisphenoid.] [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ superior view of cranium. . vomer. . prefrontal. . sphenotic. . epiotic. . pterotic. . exoccipital. . ethmoid. . frontal. . parietal. . supraoccipital. . opisthotic.] [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ inferior view of cranium. . vomer. . frontal. . epiotic. . pterotic. . exoccipital. . parasphenoid. . alisphenoid. . prefrontal. . sphenotic. . supraoccipital. . opisthotic. . basioccipital. . prootic.] =names of bones of fishes.=--in the study of the names of the bones of fishes it will be more convenient to begin with a highly specialized form in which each of the various structures is present and in its normal position. to this end we present a series of figures of a typical form, choosing, after starks, the striped bass (_roccus lineatus_) of the atlantic coast of the united states. for this set of plates, drawn from nature by mrs. chloe lesley starks, we are indebted to the courtesy of mr. edwin chapin starks. the figures of the striped bass illustrate a noteworthy paper on "the synonymy of the fish skeleton," published by the washington academy of sciences in . =bones of the cranium.=--the _vomer_ ( ) is the anterior part of the roof of the mouth, armed with small teeth in the striped bass and in many other fishes, but often toothless. the _ethmoid_ ( ) lies behind the vomer on the upper surface of the skull, and the _prefrontal_ ( ) projects on either side and behind the ethmoid, the nostrils usually lying over or near it and near the nasal bone ( ). between the eyes above are the two _frontal_ ( ) bones joined by a suture. on the side behind the posterior angle of the frontal is the _sphenotic_ ( ) above the posterior part of the eye. behind each frontal is the _parietal_ ( ). behind the parietal and more or less turned inward over the ear-cavity is the _epiotic_ ( ). between the parietals, and in most fishes rising into a thin crest, is the _supraoccipital_ ( ), which bounds the cranium above and behind, its posterior margin being usually a vertical knife-like edge. the _pterotic_ ( ) forms a sort of wing or free margin behind the epiotic and over the ear-cavity. the _opisthotic_ ( ) is a small, hard, irregular bone behind the pterotic. the _exoccipital_ ( ) forms a concave joint or condyle on each side of the _basioccipital_ ( ), by which the vertebral column is joined to the skull. the _parasphenoid_ ( ) forms a narrow ridge of the roof of the mouth, connecting the vomer with the basioccipital. in some fishes of primitive structure (_salmo_, _beryx_) there is another bone, called orbitosphenoid, on the middle line above and between the eyes. the _basisphenoid_ ( ) is a little bone above the myotome or tube in which runs the rectus muscle of the eye. it descends toward the parasphenoid and is attached to the prootic. the _prootic_ ( ) is an irregular bone below the ear region and lying in advance of the opisthotic. the _alisphenoid_ ( ) is a small bone in the roof of the mouth before the prootic. these sixteen bones (with a loose bone of specialized form, the _otolith_, within the ear-cavity) constitute the cranium. all are well developed in the striped bass and in most fishes. in some specialized forms they are much distorted, coossified, or otherwise altered, and their relations to each other may be more or less changed. in the lower forms they are not always fully differentiated, but in nearly all cases their homologies can be readily traced. in the sharks and lampreys the skull constitutes a continuous cartilaginous box without sutures. in the dipnoans and other forms having a bony casque the superficial bones outside the cranium may not correspond to the cartilaginous elements of the soft skull itself. [illustration: fig. --_roccus lineatus._ posterior view of cranium. . parietal. . epiotic. . supraoccipital. . pterotic. . opisthotic. . exoccipital. . basioccipital.] =bones of the jaws.=--the bones of the jaws are attached to the cranium by membranes only, not by sutures, except in a few peculiarly specialized forms. _the upper jaw._--the _premaxillary_ ( ) lies on either side and forms the front of the upper jaw. its upper posterior tip or premaxillary spine projects backward almost at right angles with the rest of the bone into a groove on the ethmoid. there is often a fold in the skin by which this bone may be thrust out or protracted, as though drawn out of a sheath. when the spines of the premaxillary are very long the upper jaw may be thrust out for a considerable distance. the premaxillary is also often known as intermaxillary. lying behind the premaxillary, its anterior end attached within the angle of the premaxillary, is the _maxillary_ ( ), or _supramaxillary_, a flattened bone with expanded posterior tip. in the striped bass this bone is without teeth, but in many less specialized forms, as the salmon, it is provided with teeth and joined to the premaxillary in a different fashion. in any case its position readily distinguishes it. in some cases the maxillary is divided by one or more sutures, setting off from it one or more extra maxillary (supplemental maxillary) bones. this suture is absent in the striped bass, but distinct in the black bass, and more than one suture is found in the shad and herring. the roof of the mouth above is formed by a number of bones, which, as they often possess teeth, may be considered with the jaws. these are the _palatine_ bones ( ), one on either side flanking the vomer, the _pterygoid_ ( ), behind it and articulating with it, the _mesopterygoid_ ( ), on the roof of the mouth toward the median line, and the _metapterygoid_ ( ), lying behind this. although often armed with teeth, these bones are to be considered of the general nature of the membrane bones. in some degraded types of fishes (eels, morays, congers) the premaxillary is indistinguishable, being united with the vomer and palatines. [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ face-bones, shoulder and pelvic girdles, and hyoid arch. . hyomandibular. . symplectic. . quadrate. . pterygoid. . palatine. . mesopterygoid. . metapterygoid. . preopercle. . opercle. . subopercle. . interopercle. . articular. . angular. . dentary. . maxillary. . premaxillary. . interhyal. . epihyal. . ceratohyal . basihyal. . glossohyal. . urohyal. . branchiostegal. . preorbital. . suborbital. . nasal. . supratemporal. . post-temporal. . supraclavicle. . clavicle. . postclavicle. . hypercoracoid. . hypocoracoid. . actinosts. . pectoral fin. . pelvic girdle. . ventral fin.] the upper jaw of the shark is formed from the anterior portion of the palatine bones, which are not separate from the quadrate, the whole forming the palato-quadrate apparatus. in the himæra and the dipnoans this apparatus is solidly united with the cranium. in these fishes the true upper jaw, formed of maxillary and premaxillary, is wanting. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _amia calva_ (linnæus), showing the gular plate.] _the lower jaw._--the lower jaw or mandible is also complex, consisting of two divisions or rami, right and left, joined in front by a suture. the anterior part of each ramus is formed by the _dentary bone_ ( ), which carries the teeth. behind this is the _articular bone_ ( ), which is connected by a joint to the _quadrate bone_ ( ). at the lower angle of the articular bone is the small _angular bone_ ( ). in many cases another small bone, which is called _splenial_, may be found attached to the inner surface of the articular bone. this little bone has been called coronoid, but it is doubtless not homologous with the coronoid bone of reptiles. in a few fishes, _amia_, _elopidæ_, and certain fossil dipnoans, there is a bony gular plate, a membrane bone across the throat behind the chin on the lower jaw. =the suspensorium of the mandible.=--the lower jaw is attached to the cranium by a chain of suspensory bones, which vary a good deal with different groups of fishes. the articular is jointed with the flat quadrate bone ( ), which lies behind the pterygoid. a slender bone passes upward ( ) under the preopercle and the metapterygoid, forming a connection above with a large flattish bone, the _hyomandibular_ ( ), which in turn joins the cranium. the slender bone which thus keys together the upper and lower elements, hyomandibular and quadrate, forming the suspensorium of the lower jaw, is known as _symplectic_ ( ). the hyomandibular is thought to be homologous with the stapes, or stirrup-bone, of the ear in higher animals. in this case the symplectic may be homologous with its small orbicular bone, and the malleus is a transformation of the articular. the incus, or anvil-bone, may be formed from part of meckel's cartilage. all these homologies are however extremely hypothetical. the core of the lower jaw is formed of a cartilage called meckel's cartilage, outside which the membrane bones, dentary, etc., are developed. this cartilage forms the lower jaw in sharks, true jaw-bones not being developed in these fishes. in lampreys and lancelets there is no lower jaw. =membrane bones of face.=--the membrane bones lie on the surface of the head, when they are usually covered by thin skin and have only a superficial connection with the cranium. such bones, formed of ossified membrane, are not found in the earlier or less specialized fishes, the lancelets and lampreys, nor in the sharks, rays, and chimæras. they are chiefly characteristic of the bony fishes, although in some of these they have undergone degradation. the _preorbital_ ( ) lies before and below the eye, its edge more or less parallel with that of the maxillary. it may be broad or narrow. when broad it usually forms a sheath into which the maxillary slips. the _nasal_ ( ) lies before the preorbital, a small bone usually lying along the spine of the premaxillary. behind and below the eye is a series of about three flat bones, the _suborbitals_ ( ), small in the striped bass, but sometimes considerably modified. in the great group of loricate fishes (sculpins, etc.), the third suborbital sends a bony process called the suborbital stay backward across the cheek toward the preopercle. the suborbital stay is present in the rosefish. in some cases, as in the gurnard, this stay covers the whole cheek with a bony coat of mail. in some fishes, but not in the striped bass, a small supraorbital bone exists over the eye, forming a sort of cap on an angle of the frontal bone. the largest uppermost flat bone of the gill-covers is known as the _opercle_ ( ). below it, joined by a suture, is the _subopercle_ ( ). before it is the prominent ridge of the _preopercle_ ( ), which curves forward below and forms a more or less distinct angle, often armed with serrations or spines. in some cases this armature is very highly developed. the _interopercle_ ( ) lies below the preopercle and parallel with the lower limb. =branchial bones.=--the bones of the branchial apparatus or gills are very numerous and complex, as well as subject to important variations. in many fishes some of these bones are coossified, and in other cases some are wanting. the tongue may be considered as belonging to this series, as the bones of the gills are attached to its axis below. in the striped bass, as in most fishes, the tongue, gristly and immovable, is formed anteriorly by a bone called the _glossohyal_ ( ). behind this are the _basihyals_ ( ), and still farther back, on the side, is the _ceratohyal_ ( ). to the basihyals is attached a bone extending downward and free behind the _urohyal_ ( ). behind the ceratohyal and continuous with it is the _epihyal_ ( ), to which behind is attached the narrow _interhyal_ ( ). on the under surface of the _ceratohyal_ and the _epihyal_ are attached the _branchiostegals_ ( ). these are slender rays supporting a membrane beneath the gills, seven in number on each side in the striped bass, but much more numerous in some groups of fishes. the gill membranes connecting the branchiostegals are in the striped bass entirely separate from each other. in other fishes they may be broadly joined across the fleshy interspace between the gill-openings, known as the _isthmus_, or again they may be grown fast to the isthmus itself, so that the gill-openings of the two sides are widely separated. =the gill-arches.=--the gills are attached to four bony arches with a fifth of the same nature, but totally modified by the presence of teeth, and very rarely having on it any of the gill-fringes. the fifth arch thus modified to serve in mastication instead of respiration is known collectively as the _lower pharyngeals_ ( ). opposite these are the _upper pharyngeals_ ( ). the gill-arches are suspended to the cranium from above by the _suspensory pharyngeal_ ( ). each arch contains three parts--the _epibranchial_ ( ), above, the _ceratobranchial_ ( ), forming the middle part, and the _hypobranchial_ ( ), the lower part articulating with the series of _basibranchials_ ( ) which lie behind the epihyal of the tongue. on the three bones forming the first gill-arch are attached numerous appendages called _gill-rakers_ ( ). these gill-rakers vary very greatly in number and form. in the striped bass they are few and spear-shaped. in the shad they are very many and almost as fine as hairs. in some fishes they form an effective strainer in separating the food, or perhaps in keeping extraneous matter from the gills. in some fishes they are short and lumpy, in others wanting altogether. [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ branchial arches. (after starks.) . basibranchial. . hypobranchial. . ceratobranchial. . epibranchial. . suspensory pharyngeal. . upper pharyngeals. . lower pharyngeals. . gill-rakers.] =the pharyngeals.=--the hindmost gill-arch, as above stated, is modified to form a sort of jaw. the tooth-bearing bones above, to pairs, are known as _upper pharyngeals_ ( ), those below, single pair, as _lower pharyngeals_ ( ). of these the lower pharyngeals are most highly specialized and the most useful in classification. these are usually formed much as in the striped bass. occasionally they are much enlarged, with large teeth for grinding. in many families the lower pharyngeals are grown together in one large bone. in the suckers (_catostomidæ_) the lower pharyngeal preserves its resemblance to a gill-arch. in the carp family (_cyprinidæ_) retaining this resemblance, it possesses highly specialized teeth. =vertebral column.=--the vertebral column is composed of a series of vertebræ, in number in the striped bass and in many of the higher fishes, but varying in different groups from to to upwards of , the higher numbers being evidence of unspecialized or more usually degenerate structure. each vertebra consists of a double concave body or _centrum_ ( ). above it are two small projections often turned backward, _zygapophyses_ ( ), and two larger ones, _neurapophyses_ ( ), which join above to form the _neural spine_ ( ) and thus form the _neural canal_, through which passes the spinal cord from end to end of the body. [illustration: fig. .--pharyngeal bone and teeth of european chub, _leuciscus cephalus_ (linnæus). (after seelye.)] [illustration: fig. .--upper pharyngeals of a parrot-fish, _scarus strongylocephalus_.] [illustration: fig. .--lower pharyngeals of a parrot-fish, _scarus strongylocephalus_ (bleeker).] below in the vertebræ of the posterior half of the body the _hæmapophyses_ ( ) unite to form the _hæmal spine_ ( ), and through the _hæmal canal_ thus formed passes a great artery. the vertebræ having hæmal as well as neural spines are known as _caudal vertebræ_, and occupy the posterior part of the body, usually that behind the attachment of the _anal fin_ ( ). the anterior vertebræ known as _abdominal vertebræ_, bounding the body-cavity, possess neural spines similar to those of the caudal vertebræ. in place, however, of the hæmapophyses are projections known as _parapophyses_ ( ), which do not meet below, but extend outward, forming the upper part of the wall of the abdominal cavity. [illustration: fig. .--pharyngeals of italian parrot-fish, _sparisoma cretense_ (l.). _a_, upper; _b_, lower.] to the parapophyses, or near them, the ribs ( ) are rather loosely attached and each rib may have one or more accessory branches ( ) called _epipleurals_. [illustration: fig. .--_roccus lineatus._ vertebral column and appendages, with a typical vertebra. (after starks.) . abdominal vertebræ. . caudal vertebræ. . centrum. . neurapophysis. . neural spine. . hæmapophysis. . hæmal spine. . zygapophysis. . parapophysis. . ribs. . epipleurals. . interneural. . dorsal fin. . interhæmal. . anal fin. . hypural. . caudal fin.] in the striped bass the dorsal vertebræ are essentially similar in form, but in some fishes, as the carp and the catfish, or anterior vertebræ are greatly modified, coossified, and so arranged as to connect the air-bladder with the organ of hearing. fishes with vertebræ thus altered are called _plectospondylous_. in the garpike the vertebræ are convex anteriorly, concave behind, being joined by ball-and-socket joints (opisthocoelian). in most other fishes they are double concave (amplicoelian). in sharks the vertebræ are imperfectly ossified, a number of terms, asterospondylous, cyclospondylous, tectospondylous, being applied to the different stages of ossification, these terms referring to the different modes of arrangement of the calcareous material within the vertebra. =the interneurals and interhæmals.=--the vertical fins are connected with the skeletons by bones placed loosely in the flesh and not joined by ligament or suture. below the dorsal fin ( ) lies a series of these bones, dagger-shaped, with the point downward. these are called _interneurals_ ( ) and to these the spines and soft rays of the fin are articulated. in like fashion the spines and rays of the anal fin ( ) are jointed at base to bones called _interhæmals_ ( ). in certain cases the second interhæmal is much enlarged, made hollow and quill-shaped, and in its concave upper end the tip of the air-bladder is received. this structure is seen in the plume-fishes (_calamus_). these two groups of bones, interneural and interhæmal, are sometimes collectively called _inter-spinals_. the flattened basal bone of the _caudal fin_ ( ) is known as _hypural_ ( ). [illustration: fig. .--basal bone of dorsal fin, _holoptychius leptopterus_ (agassiz). (after woodward.)] the tail of the striped bass, ending in a broad plate which supports the caudal, is said to be homocercal. in more primitive forms the tail is turned upward more or less, the fin being largely thrown to its lower side. such a tail as in the sturgeon is said to be heterocercal. in the isocercal tail of the codfish and its relatives the vertebræ are progressively smaller behind and the hypural plate is obsolete or nearly so, the vertebræ remaining in the line of the axis of the body and dividing the caudal fin equally. the simplest form of tail, called diphycercal, is extended horizontally, tapering backward, the fin equally divided above and below, without hypural plate. in any form of the tail, it may through degeneration be attenuate or whip-like, a form called leptocercal. =the pectoral limb.=--the four limbs of the fish are represented by the paired fins. the anterior limb is represented by the pectoral fin and its basal elements with the shoulder-girdle, which in the bony fishes reaches a higher degree of complexity than in any other vertebrates. it is in connection with the shoulder-girdle that the greatest confusion in names has occurred. this is due to an attempt to homologize its parts with the shoulder-girdle (scapula, coracoid, and clavicle) of higher vertebrates. but it is not evident that a bony fish possesses a real scapula, coracoid, or even clavicle. the parts of its shoulder-girdle are derived by one line of descent from the undifferentiated elements of the cartilaginous shoulder-girdle of ancestral crossopterygian or dipnoan forms. from a similar ancestry by another line of differentiation has come the amphibian and reptilian shoulder-girdle and its derivative, the girdle of birds and mammals. =the shoulder-girdle.=--in the higher fishes the uppermost bone of the shoulder-girdle is called the _post-temporal_ (_suprascapula_) ( ). in the striped bass and in most fishes this bone is jointed to the temporal region of the cranium. sometimes, as in the trigger-fishes, it is grown fast to the skull, but it usually rests lightly with the three points of its upper end. in sharks and skates the shoulder-girdle, which is formed of a continuous cartilage, does not touch the skull. in the eels and their allies, it has, by degradation, lost its connection and the post-temporal rests in the flesh behind the cranium. the post-temporal sometimes projects behind through the skin and may bear spines or serrations. in front of the post-temporal and a little to the outside of it is the small _supratemporal_ ( ) also usually connecting the shoulder-girdle with the skull. below the post-temporal, extending downward and backward, is the flattish _supraclavicle_ (_posterotemporal_) ( ). to this is joined the long _clavicle_ (_proscapula_) ( ), which runs forward and downward in the bony fishes, meeting its fellow on the opposite side in a manner suggesting the wishbone of a fowl. behind the base of the clavicle, the sword-shaped post-clavicle ( ) extends downward through the muscles behind the base of the pectoral fin. in some fishes, as the stickleback and the trumpet-fish, a pair of flattish or elongate bones called _interclavicles_ (_infraclavicles_) lie between and behind the lower part of the clavicle. these are not found in most fishes and are wanting in the striped bass. they are probably in all cases merely extensions of the hypocoracoid. [illustration: fig. .--inner view of shoulder-girdle of the buffalo-fish, _ictiobus bubalus_ rafinesque, showing the mesocoracoid ( ). (after starks.)] two flat bones side by side lie at the base of the pectoral fin, their anterior edges against the upper part of the clavicle. these are the _hypercoracoid_ ( ), above, and _hypocoracoid_ ( ), below. these have been variously called scapula, coracoid, humerus, radius, and ulna, but being found in the higher fishes only and not in the higher vertebrates, they should receive names not used for other structures. the hypercoracoid is usually pierced by a round foramen or fenestra, but in some fishes (cods, weavers) the fenestra is between the two bones. attached to the hypercoracoid in the striped bass are four little bones shaped like an hour-glass. these are the _actinosts_ ( ) (_carpals_ or _pterygials_), which support the rays of the pectoral fin ( ). in most bony fishes these are placed much as in the striped bass, but in certain specialized or aberrant forms their form and position are greatly altered. in the anglers (_pediculati_) the "carpals" are much elongated, forming a kind of arm, by which the fish can execute a motion not unlike walking. in the alaska blackfish (_dallia pectoralis_) the two coracoids are represented by a thin, cartilaginous plate, imperfectly divided, and there are no actinosts. in almost all bony fishes, however, these bones are well differentiated and distinct. in most of the soft-rayed fishes an additional v-shaped bone or arch exists on the inner surface of the shoulder-girdle near the insertion of the hypercoracoid. this is known as the _mesocoracoid_ ( ). it is not found in the striped bass, but is found in the carp, catfish, salmon, and all their allies. [illustration: fig. .--sargassum-fish, _pterophryne tumida_ (osbeck). one of the anglers. family _antennariidæ_.] [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _sebastolobus alascanus_ gilbert. (after starks.) pot. post-temporal. cl. clavicle. pcl. postclavicle. hyc. hypercoracoid. hypc. hypocoracoid.] =the posterior limbs.=--the posterior limb or ventral fin ( ) is articulated to a single bone on either side, the _pelvic girdle_ ( ). [illustration: fig. .--cranium of _sebastolobus alascanus_ gilbert. (after starks.) v. vomer. n. nasal. e. ethmoid. pf. prefrontal. fr. frontal. pas. parasphenoid. als. alisphenoid. p. parietal. ba. basisphenoid. pro. prootic. bo. basioccipital. so. supraoccipital. eo. exoccipital. epo. epiotic. spo. sphenotic. pto. pterotic.] in the shark the pelvic girdle is rather largely developed, but in the more specialized fishes it loses its importance. in the less specialized of the bony fishes the pelvis is attached at a distance from the head among the muscles of the side, and free from the shoulder-girdle and other parts of the skeleton. the ventral fins are then said to be abdominal. when very close to the clavicle, but not connected with it, as in the mullet, the fin is still said to be abdominal or subabdominal. in the striped bass the pelvis is joined by ligament between the clavicles, near their tip. the ventral fins thus connected, as seen in most spiny-rayed fishes, are said to be thoracic. in certain forms the pelvis is thrown still farther forward and attached at the throat or even to the chin. when the ventral fins are thus inserted before the shoulder-girdle, they are said to be jugular. most of the fishes with spines in the fins have thoracic ventrals. in the fishes with jugular ventrals these fins have begun a process of degeneration by which the spines or soft rays or both are lost or atrophied. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw and palate of _sebastolobus alascanus_. (after starks.) pa. palatine. mspt. mesopterygoid. pt. pterygoid. mpt. metapterygoid. d. dentary. ar. articular. an. angular. q. quadrate. sy. symplectic. hm. hyomandibular. pop. preopercle. iop. interopercle. sop. subopercle. op. opercle.] =degeneration.=--by degeneration or degradation in biology is meant merely a reduction to a lower degree of complexity or specialization in structure. if in the process of development of the individual some particular organ loses its complexity it is said to be degenerate. if in the geological history of a type the same change takes place the same term is used. degeneration in this sense is, like specialization, a phase of adaptation. it does not imply disease, feebleness, or mutilation, or any tendency toward extinction. it is also necessary to distinguish clearly phases of primitive simplicity from the apparent simplicity resulting from degeneration. =the skeleton in primitive fishes.=--to learn the names of bones we can deal most satisfactorily with the higher fishes, those in which the bony framework has attained completion. but to understand the origin and relation of parts we must begin with the lowest types, tracing the different stages in the development of each part of the system. [illustration: fig. .--maxillary and premaxillary of _sebastolobus alascanus_. m, maxillary; pm, premaxillary.] in the lancelets (_leptocardii_), the vertebral column consists simply of a gelatinous notochord extending from one end of the fish to the other, and pointed at both ends, no skull being developed. the notochord never shows traces of segmentation, although cartilaginous rods above it are thought to forecast apophyses. in these forms there is no trace of jaws, limbs, or ribs. [illustration: fig. .--part of skeleton of _selene vomer_ (linnæus).] in the embryo of the bony fish a similar notochord precedes the segmentation and ossification of the vertebral column. in most of the extinct types of fishes a notochord more or less modified persisted through life, the vertebræ being strung upon it spool fashion in various stages of development. in the cyclostomi (lampreys and hagfishes) the limbs and lower jaw are still wanting, but a distinct skull is developed. the notochord is still present, but its anterior pointed end is wedged into the base of a cranial capsule, partly membranous, partly cartilaginous. there is no trace of segmentation in the notochord itself in these or any other fishes, but neutral arches are foreshadowed in a series of cartilages on each side of the spinal chord. the top of the head is protected by broad plates. there are ring-like cartilages supporting the mouth and other cartilages in connection with the tongue and gill structures. [illustration: fig. .--hyostylic skull of _chiloscyllium indicum_, a scyliorhinoid shark. (after parker and haswell.)] [illustration: fig. .--skull of _heptranchias indicus_ (gmelin), a notidanoid shark. (after parker and haswell.)] [illustration: fig. .--basal bones of pectoral fin of monkfish, _squatina_. (after zittel.)] =the skeleton of sharks.=--in the elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, chimæras) the tissues surrounding the notochord are segmented and in most forms distinct vertebræ are developed. each of these has a conical cavity before and behind, with a central canal through which the notochord is continued. the form and degree of ossification of these vertebræ differ materially in the different groups. the skull in all these fishes is cartilaginous, forming a continuous undivided box containing the brain and lodging the organs of sense. to the skull in the shark is attached a suspensorium of one or two pieces supporting the mandible and the hyoid structures. in the chimæra the mandible is articulated directly with the skull, the hyomandibular and quadrate elements being fused with the cranium. the skull in such case is said to be _autostylic_, that is, with self-attached mandible. in the shark it is said to be _hyostylic_, the hyomandibular intervening. the upper jaw in the shark consists not of maxillary and premaxillary but of palatine elements, and the two halves of the lower jaw are representatives of meckel's cartilage, which is the cartilaginous centre of the dentary bone in the bony fishes. these jaw-bones in the higher fishes are in the nature of membrane bones, and in the sharks and their relatives all such bones are undeveloped. the hyoid structures are in the shark relatively simple, as are also the gill-arches, which vary in number. the vertical fins are supported by interneural and interhæmal cartilages, to which the soft fin-rays are attached without articulation. [illustration: fig. .--pectoral fin of _heterodontus philippi_. (from nature.)] [illustration: fig. .--pectoral fin of _heptranchias indicus_ (gmelin). (after dean.)] the shoulder-girdle is made of a single cartilage, touching the back-bone at a distance behind the head. to this cartilage three smaller ones are attached, forming the base of the pectoral fin. these are called _mesopterygium_, _propterygium_, and _metapterygium_, the first named being in the middle and more distinctly basal. these three segments are subject to much variation. sometimes one of them is wanting; sometimes two are grown together. behind these the fin-rays are attached. in most of the skates the shoulder-girdle is more closely connected with the anterior vertebræ, which are more or less fused together. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a flounder, _paralichthys californicus_ (ayres).] the pelvis, remote from the head, is formed, in the shark, of a single or paired cartilage with smaller elements at the base of the fin-rays. in the males a cartilaginous generative organ, known as the clasper, is attached to the pelvis and the ventral fins. in the elasmobranchs the tail vertebræ are progressively smaller backward. if a caudal fin is present, the last vertebræ are directed upward (_heterocercal_) and the greater part of the fin is below the axis. in other forms (sting-rays) the tail degenerates into a whip-like organ (_leptocercal_), often without fins. in certain primitive sharks (ichthyotomi), as well as in the dipnoi and crossopterygii, the tail is _diphycercal_, the vertebræ growing progressively smaller backward and not bent upward toward the tip. in the chimæras (_holocephali_) the notochord persists and is surrounded by a series of calcified rings. the palate with the suspensorium is coalesced with the skull, and the teeth are grown together into bony plates. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a toadfish, _batrachoides pacifici_ (günther).] [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a garfish, _tylosurus fodiator_ (jordan and gilbert).] =the archipterygium.=--the dipnoans, crossopterygians, and ganoids represent various phases of transition from the ancient cartilaginous types to the modern bony fishes. in the ichthyotomous sharks, dipnoans, and crossopterygians the segments of the pectoral limb are arranged axially, or one beyond another. this type of fin has been called _archipterygium_ by gegenbaur, on the theory that it represents the condition shown on the first appearance of the pectoral fin. this theory is now seriously questioned, but it will be convenient to retain the name for the pectoral fin with segmented axis fringed on one or both sides by soft rays. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a hake, _merluccius productus_ (ayres).] the archipterygium of the dipnoan genus _neoceratodus_ is thus described by dr. günther ("guide to the study of fishes," p. ): "the pectoral limb is covered with small scales along the middle from the root to the extremity, and is surrounded by a rayed fringe similar to the rays of the vertical fins. a muscle split into numerous fascicles extends all the length of the fin, which is flexible in every part and in every direction. the cartilaginous framework supporting it is joined to the scapular arch by a broad basal cartilage, generally single, sometimes showing traces of a triple division. along the middle of the fin runs a jointed axis gradually becoming smaller and thinner towards the extremity. each joint bears on each side a three-, two-, or one-jointed branch." in the genus _lepidosiren_, also a dipnoan, the pectoral limb has the same axial structure, but is without fin-rays, although in the breeding season the posterior limb or ventral fin in the male is covered with a brush of fine filaments. this structure, according to prof. j. g. kerr,[ ] is probably without definite function, but belongs to the "category of modifications so often associated with the breeding season (cf. the newts' crest) commonly called ornamental, but which are perhaps more plausibly looked upon as expressions of the intense vital activity of the organisms correlated with its period of reproductive activity." professor kerr, however, thinks it not unlikely that this brush of filaments with its rich blood-supply may serve in the function of respiration, a suggestion first made by professor lankester. footnotes: [ ] philos. trans., lond., . chapter v morphology of the fins =origin of the fins of fishes.=--one of the most interesting problems in vertebrate morphology, and one of the most important from its wide-reaching relations, is that of the derivation of the fins of fishes. this resolves itself at once into two problems, the origin of the median fins, which appear in the lancelets, at the very bottom of the fish-like series, and the origin of the paired fins or limbs, which are much more complex, and which first appear with the primitive sharks. in this study the problem is to ascertain not what theoretically should happen, but what, as a matter of fact, has happened in the early history of the fish-like groups. that these structures, with the others in the fish body, have sprung from simple origins, growing more complex with the demands of varied conditions, and then at times again simple, through degeneration, there can be no doubt. it is also certain that each structure must have had some element of usefulness in all its stages. in such studies we have, as hæckel has expressed it, "three ancestral documents, paleontology, morphology, and ontogeny"--the actual history as shown by fossil remains, the sidelight derived from comparison of structures, and the evidence of the hereditary influences shown in the development of the individual. as to the first of these ancestral documents, the evidence of paleontology is conclusive where it is complete. but in very few cases are we sure of any series of details. the records of geology are like a book with half its leaves torn out, the other half confused, displaced, and blotted. still each record actually existing represents genuine history, and in paleontology we must in time find our final court of appeal in all matters of biological origins. the evidence of comparative anatomy is most completely secured, but it is often indecisive as to relative age and primitiveness of origin among structures. as to ontogeny, it is, of course, true that through heredity "the life-history of the individual is an epitome of the life-history of the race." "ontogeny repeats phylogeny," and phylogeny, or line of descent of organisms and structures, is what we are seeking. but here the repetition is never perfect, never nearly so perfect in fact as hæckel and his followers expected to find it. the demands of natural selection may lead to the lengthening, shortening, or distortion of phases of growth, just as they may modify adult conditions. the interpolation of non-ancestral stages is recognized in several groups. the conditions of the individual development may, therefore, furnish evidence in favor of certain theories of origins, but they cannot alone furnish the absolute proof. in the process of development the median or vertical fins are doubtless older than the paired fins or limbs, whatever be the origin of the latter. they arise in a dermal keel which is developed in a web fitting and accentuating the undulatory motion of the body. in the embryo of the fish the continuous vertical fin from the head along the back and around the tail precedes any trace of the paired fins. in this elementary fin-fold slender supports, the rudiments of fin-rays, tend to appear at intervals. these are called by ryder ray-hairs or actinotrichia. they are the prototype of fin-rays in the embryo fish, and doubtless similarly preceded the latter in geological time. in the development of fishes the caudal fin becomes more and more the seat of propulsion. the fin-rays are strengthened, their basal supports are more and more specialized, and the fin-fold ultimately divides into distinct fins, the longest rays developed where most needed. that the vertical fins, dorsal, anal, and caudal, have their origin in a median fold of the skin admits of no question. in the lowest forms which bear fins these structures are dermal folds, being supported by very feeble rays. doubtless at first the vertical fins formed a continuous fold, extending around the tail, this fold ultimately broken, by atrophy of parts not needed, into distinct dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. in the lower fishes, as in the earlier sharks, there is an approach to this condition of primitive continuity, and in the embryos of almost all fishes the same condition occurs. dr. john a. ryder points out the fact that there are certain unexplained exceptions to this rule. the sea-horse, pipefish, and other highly modified forms do not show this unbroken fold, and it is wanting in the embryo of the top-minnow, _gambusia affinis_. nevertheless the existence of a continuous vertical fold in the embryo is the rule, almost universal. the codfish with three dorsals, the spanish mackerel with dorsal and anal finlets, the herring with one dorsal, the stickleback with a highly modified one, all show this character, and we may well regard it as a certain trait of the primitive fish. this fold springs from the ectoblast or external series of cells in the embryo. the fin-rays and bony supports of the fins spring from the mesoblast or middle series of cells, being thrust upward from the skeleton as supports for the fin-fold. =origin of the paired fins.=--the question of the origin of the paired fins is much more difficult and is still far from settled, although many, perhaps the majority of recent writers favor the theory that these fins are parts of a once continuous lateral fold of skin, corresponding to the vertical fold which forms the dorsal, anal, and caudal. in this view the lateral fold, at first continuous, became soon atrophied in the middle, while at either end it is highly specialized, at first into an organ of direction, then into fan-shaped and later paddle-shaped organs of locomotion. according to another view, the paired fins originated from gill structures, originally both close behind the head, the ventral fin migrating backward with the progress of evolution of the species. =evidence of paleontology.=--if we had representations of all the early forms of fishes arranged in proper sequence, we could decide once for all, by evidence of paleontology, which form of fin appears first and what is the order of appearance. as to this, it is plain that we do not know the most primitive form of fin. sharks of unknown character must have existed long before the earliest remains accessible to us. hence the evidence of paleontology seems conflicting and uncertain. on the whole it lends most support to the fin-fold theory. in the later devonian, a shark, _cladoselache fyleri_, is found in which the paired fins are lappet-shaped, so formed and placed as to suggest their origin from a continuous fold of skin. in this species the dorsal fins show much the same form. other early sharks, constituting the order of _acanthodei_, have fins somewhat similar, but each preceded by a stiff spine, which may be formed from coalescent rays. [illustration: fig. .--_cladoselache fyleri_ (newberry), restored. upper devonian of ohio. (after dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--fold-like pectoral and ventral fins of _cladoselache fyleri_. (after dean.)] long after these appears another type of sharks represented by _pleuracanthus_ and _cladodus_, in which the pectoral fin is a jointed organ fringed with rays arranged serially in one or two rows. this form of fin has no resemblance to a fold of skin, but accords better with gegenbaur's theory that the pectoral limb was at first a modified gill-arch. in the coal measures are found also teeth of sharks (_orodontidæ_) which bear a strong resemblance to still existing forms of the family of _heterodontidæ_, which originates in the permian. the existing _heterodontidæ_ have the usual specialized form of shark-fin, with three of the basal segments especially enlarged and placed side by side, the type seen in modern sharks. whatever the primitive form of shark-fin, it may well be doubted whether any one of these three (_cladoselache_, _pleuracanthus_, or _heterodontus_) actually represents it. the beginning is therefore unknown, though there is some evidence that _cladoselache_ is actually more nearly primitive than any of the others. as we shall see, the evidence of comparative anatomy may be consistent with either of the two chief theories, while that of ontogeny or embryology is apparently inconclusive, and that of paleontology is apparently most easily reconciled with the theory of the fin-fold. [illustration: fig. .--pectoral fin of shark, _chiloscyllium_. (after parker and haswell.)] =development of the paired fins in the embryo.=--according to dr. john a. ryder ("embryography of osseous fishes," ) "the paired fins in teleostei arise locally, as short longitudinal folds, with perhaps a few exceptions. the pectorals of _lepisosteus_ originate in the same way. of the paired fins, the pectoral or anterior pair seems to be the first to be developed, the ventral or pelvic pair often not making its appearance until after the absorption of the yolk-sac has been completed, in other cases before that event, as in _salmo_ and in _gambusia_. the pectoral fin undergoes less alteration of position during its evolution than the posterior pair." in the codfish (_gadus callarias_) the pectoral fin-fold "appears as a slight longitudinal elevation of the skin on either side of the body of the embryo a little way behind the auditory vesicles, and shortly after the tail of the embryo begins to bud out. at the very first it appears to be merely a dermal fold, and in some forms a layer of cells extends out underneath it from the sides of the body, but does not ascend into it. it begins to develop as a very low fold, hardly noticeable, and, as growth proceeds, its base does not expand antero-posteriorly, but tends rather to become narrowed, so that it has a pedunculated form. with the progress of this process the margin of the fin-fold also becomes thinner at its distal border, and at the basal part mesodermal cells make their appearance more noticeably within the inner contour-line. the free border of the fin-fold grows out laterally and longitudinally, expanding the portion outside of the inner contour-line of the fin into a fan-shape. this distal thinner portion is at first without any evidence of rays; further than that there is a manifest tendency to a radial disposition of the histological elements of the fin." the next point of interest is found in the change of position of the pectoral fin by a rotation on its base. this is associated with changes in the development of the fish itself. the ventral fin is also, in most fishes, a short horizontal fold and just above the preanal part of the median vertical fold which becomes anal, caudal, and dorsal. but in the top-minnow (_gambusia_), of the order haplomi, the ventral first appears as "a little papilla and not as a fold, where the body-walls join the hinder upper portion of the yolk-sac, a very little way in front of the vent." "these two modes of origin," observes dr. ryder, "are therefore in striking contrast and well calculated to impress us with the protean character of the means at the disposal of nature to achieve one and the same end." =current theories as to origin of paired fins.=--there are three chief theories as to the morphology and origin of the paired fins. the earliest is that of dr. karl gegenbaur, supported by various workers among his students and colleagues. in his view the pectoral and ventral fins are derived from modifications of primitive gill-arches. according to this theory, the skeletal arrangements of the vertebrate limb are derived from modifications of one primitive form, a structure made up of successive joints, with a series of fin-rays on one or both sides of it. to this structure gegenbaur gives the name of archipterygium. it is found in the shark, _pleuracanthus_, in _cladodus_, and in all the dipnoan and crossopterygian fishes, its primitive form being still retained in the australian genus of dipnoans, _neoceratodus_. this biserial archipterygium with its limb-girdle is derived from a series of gill-rays attached to a branchial arch. the backward position of the ventral fin is due to a succession of migrations in the individual and in the species. as to this theory, mr. j. graham kerr observes: [illustration: fig. .--skull and shoulder-girdle of _neoceratodus forsteri_ (günther), showing the archipterygium.] "the gegenbaur theory of the morphology of vertebrate limbs thus consists of two very distinct portions. the first, that the archipterygium is the ground-form from which all other forms of presently existing fin skeletons are derived, concerns us only indirectly, as we are dealing here only with the _origin_ of the limbs, i.e., their origin from other structures that were not limbs. "it is the second part of the view that we have to do with, that deriving the archipterygium, the skeleton of the primitive paired fin, from a series of gill-rays and involving the idea that the limb itself is derived from the septum between two gill-clefts. "this view is based on the skeletal structures within the fin. it rests upon ( ) the assumption that the archipterygium is the primitive type of fin, and ( ) the fact that amongst the selachians is found a tendency for one branchial ray to become larger than the others, and, when this has happened, for the base of attachment of neighboring rays to show a tendency to migrate from the branchial arch on to the base of the larger or, as we may call it, primary ray; a condition coming about which, were the process to continue rather farther than it is known to do in actual fact, would obviously result in a structure practically identical with the archipterygium. gegenbaur suggests that the archipterygium actually has arisen in this way in phylogeny." [illustration: fig. .--_acanthoessus wardi_ (egerton). carboniferous. family _acanthoessidæ_. (after woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _acanthoessus_. (after dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--pectoral fin of _pleuracanthus_. (after dean.)] the fin-fold theory of balfour, adopted by dohrn, weidersheim, thacher, mivart, ryder, dean, boulenger, and others, and now generally accepted by most morphologists as plausible, is this: that "the paired limbs are persisting and exaggerated portions of a fin-fold once continuous, which stretched along each side of the body and to which they bear an exactly similar phylogenetic relation as do the separate dorsal and anal fins to the once continuous median fin-fold." "this view, in its modern form, was based by balfour on his observation that in the embryos of certain elasmobranchs the rudiments of the pectoral and pelvic fins are at a very early period connected together by a longitudinal ridge of thickened epiblast--of which indeed they are but exaggerations. in balfour's own words referring to these observations: 'if the account just given of the development of the limb is an accurate record of what really takes place, it is not possible to deny that some light is thrown by it upon the first origin of the vertebrate limbs. the facts can only bear one interpretation, viz., that the limbs are the remnants of continuous lateral fins.' [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _polypterus bichir_. specimen from the white nile.] "a similar view to that of balfour was enunciated almost synchronously by thacher and a little later by mivart--in each case based on anatomical investigation of selachians--mainly relating to the remarkable similarity of the skeletal arrangements in the paired and unpaired fins." a third theory is suggested by mr. j. graham kerr (_cambridge philos. trans._, ), who has recently given a summary of the theories on this subject. mr. kerr agrees with gegenbaur as to the primitive nature of the archipterygium, but believes that it is derived, not from the gill-septum, but from an external gill. such a gill is well developed in the young of all the living sharks, dipnoans and crossopterygians, and in the latter types of fishes it has a form analogous to that of the archipterygium, although without bony or cartilaginous axis. we may now take up the evidence in regard to each of the different theories, using in part the language of kerr, the paragraphs in quotation-marks being taken from his paper. we may first consider balfour's theory of the lateral fold. =balfour's theory of the lateral fold.=--"the evidence in regard to this view may be classed under three heads, as ontogenetic, comparative anatomical, and paleontological. the ultimate fact on which it was founded was balfour's discovery that in certain elasmobranch embryos, but especially in _torpedo_ (_narcobatus_), the fin rudiments were, at an early stage, connected by a ridge of epiblast. i am not able to make out what were the other forms in which balfour found this ridge, but subsequent research, in particular by mollier, a supporter of the lateral-fold view, is to the effect that it does not occur in such ordinary sharks as _pristiurus_ and _mustelus_, while it is to be gathered from balfour himself that it does not occur in _scyllium_ (_scyliorhinus_). "it appears to me that the knowledge we have now that the longitudinal ridge is confined to the rays and absent in the less highly specialized sharks greatly diminishes its security as a basis on which to rest a theory. in the rays, in correlation with their peculiar mode of life, the paired fins have undergone (in secondary development) enormous extension along the sides of the body, and their continuity in the embryo may well be a mere foreshadowing of this. [illustration: fig. .--arm of a frog.] "an apparently powerful support from the side of embryology came in dohrn and rabl's discoveries that in _pristiurus_ all the interpterygial myotomes produce muscle-buds. this, however, was explained away by the gegenbaur school as being merely evidence of the backward migration of the hind limb--successive myotomes being taken up and left behind again as the limb moved farther back. as either explanation seems an adequate one, i do not think we can lay stress upon this body of facts as supporting either one view or the other. the facts of the development of the skeleton cannot be said to support the fold view; according to it we should expect to find a series of metameric supporting rays produced which later on become fused at their bases. instead of this we find a _longitudinal_ bar of cartilage developing quite continuously, the rays forming as projections from its outer side. "the most important evidence for the fold view from the side of comparative anatomy is afforded by ( ) the fact that the limb derives its nerve supply from a large number of spinal nerves, and ( ) the extraordinary resemblance met with between the skeletal arrangements of paired and unpaired fins. the believers in the branchial arch hypothesis have disposed of the first of these in the same way as they did the occurrence of interpterygial myotomes, by looking on the nerves received from regions of the spinal cord anterior to the attachment of the limb as forming a kind of trail marking the backward migration of the limb. "the similarity in the skeleton is indeed most striking, though its weight as evidence has been recently greatly diminished by the knowledge that the apparently metameric segmentation of the skeletal and muscular tissues of the paired fins is quite secondary and does not at all agree with the metamery of the trunk. what resemblance there is may well be of a homoplastic character when we take into account the similarity in function of the median and unpaired fins, especially in such forms as _raja_, where the anatomical resemblances are especially striking. there is a surprising dearth of paleontological evidence in favor of this view." the objection to the first view is its precarious foundation. such lateral folds are found only in certain rays, in which they may be developed as a secondary modification in connection with the peculiar form of these fishes. professor kerr observes that this theory must be looked upon and judged: "just as any other view at the present time regarding the nature of the vertebrate limb, rather as a speculation, brilliant and suggestive though it be, than as a logically constructed theory of the now known facts. it is, i think, on this account allowable to apply to it a test of a character which is admittedly very apt to mislead, that of 'common sense.' "if there is any soundness in zoological speculation at all, i think it must be admitted that the more primitive vertebrates were creatures possessing a notochordal axial skeleton near the dorsal side, with the main nervous axis above it, the main viscera below it, and the great mass of muscle lying in myotomes along its sides. now such a creature is well adapted to movements of the character of lateral flexure, and not at all for movements in the sagittal plane--which would be not only difficult to achieve, but would tend to alternately compress and extend its spinal cord and its viscera. such a creature would swim through the water as does a cyclostome, or a _lepidosiren_, or any other elongated vertebrate without special swimming organs. swimming like this, specialization for more and more rapid movement would mean flattening of the tail region and is extension into an at first not separately mobile median tail-fold. it is extremely difficult to my mind to suppose that a new purely _swimming_ arrangement should have arisen involving up-and-down movement, and which, at its first beginnings, while useless as a swimming organ itself, must greatly detract from the efficiency of that which already existed." =objections to gegenbaur's theory.=--we now return to the gegenbaur view--that the limb is a modified gill-septum. "resting on gegenbaur's discovery already mentioned, that the gill-rays in certain cases assume an arrangement showing great similarity to that of the skeletal elements of the archipterygium, it has, so far as i am aware, up to the present time received no direct support whatever of a nature comparable with that found for the rival view in the fact that, in certain forms at all events, the limbs actually do arise in the individual in the way that the theory holds they did in phylogeny. no one has produced either a form in which a gill-septum becomes the limb during ontogeny, or the fossil remains of any form which shows an intermediate condition. "the portion of gegenbaur's view which asserts that the biserial archipterygial fin is of an extremely primitive character is supported by a large body of anatomical facts, and is rendered further probable by the great frequency with which fins apparently of this character occur amongst the oldest known fishes. on the lateral-fold view we should have to regard these as independently evolved, which would imply that fins of this type are of a very perfect character, and in that case we may be indeed surprised at their so complete disappearance in the more highly developed forms, which followed later on." [illustration: fig. .--_pleuracanthus decheni_ (goldfuss). (after dean.)] as to gegenbaur's theory it is urged that no form is known in which a gill-septum develops into a limb during the growth of the individual. the main thesis, according to professor kerr, "that the archipterygium was derived from gill-rays, is supported only by evidence of an indirect character. gegenbaur in his very first suggestion of his theory pointed out, as a great difficulty in the way of its acceptance, the position of the limbs, especially of the pelvic limbs, in a position far removed from that of the branchial arches. this difficulty has been entirely removed by the brilliant work of gegenbaur's followers, who have shown from the facts of comparative anatomy and embryology that the limbs, and the hind limbs especially, actually have undergone, and in ontogeny do undergo, an extensive backward migration. in some cases braus has been able to find traces of this migration as far forward as a point just behind the branchial arches. now, when we consider the numbers, the enthusiasm, and the ability of gegenbaur's disciples, we cannot help being struck by the fact that the _only_ evidence in favor of this derivation of the limbs has been that which tends to show that a migration of the limbs backwards has taken place from a region somewhere near the last branchial arch, and that they have failed utterly to discover any intermediate steps between gill-rays and archipterygial fin. and if for a moment we apply the test of common sense we cannot but be impressed by the improbability of the evolution of a gill-septum, which in all the lower forms of fishes is fixed firmly in the body-wall, and beneath its surface, into an organ of locomotion. [illustration: fig. .--embryos of _heterodontus japonicus_ maclay and macleay, a cestraciont shark, showing the backward migration of the gill-arches and the forward movement of the pectoral fin. _a_, _b_, _c_, representing different stages of growth. (after dean.)] "may i express the hope that what i have said is sufficient to show in what a state of uncertainty our views are regarding the morphological nature of the paired fins, and upon what an exceedingly slender basis rest both of the two views which at present hold the field?" as to the backward migration of the ventral fins, dr. bashford dean has recently brought forward evidence from the embryo of a very ancient type of shark (_heterodontus japonicus_) that this does not actually occur in that species. on the other hand, we have a forward migration of the pectoral fin, which gradually takes its place in advance of the hindmost gill-arches. the accompanying cut is from dean's paper, "biometric evidence in the problem of the paired limbs of the vertebrates" (american naturalist for november, ). dean concludes that in _heterodontus_ "there is no evidence that there has ever been a migration of the fins in the gegenbaurian sense." "the gill region, at least in its outer part, shows no affinity during proportional growth with the neighboring region of the pectoral fin. in fact from an early stage onward, they are evidently growing in opposite directions." =kerr's theory of modified external gills.=--"it is because i feel that in the present state of our knowledge neither of the two views i have mentioned has a claim to any higher rank than that of extremely suggestive speculations that i venture to say a few words for the third view, which is avowedly a mere speculation. "before proceeding with it i should say that i assume the serial homology of fore and hind limbs to be beyond dispute. the great and deep-seated resemblances between them are such as to my mind seem not to be adequately explicable except on this assumption. "in the urodela (salamanders) the external gills are well-known structures--serially arranged projections from the body-wall near the upper ends of certain of the branchial arches. when one considers the ontogenetic development of these organs, from knob-like outgrowth from the outer face of the branchial arch, covered with ectoderm and possessing a mesoblastic core, and which frequently if not always appear before the branchial clefts are open, one cannot but conclude that they are morphologically projections of the outer skin and that they have nothing whatever to do with the gill-pouches of the gut-wall. amongst the urodela one such gill projects from each of the first three branchial arches. in _lepidosiren_ there is one on each of the branchial arches i-iv. in _polypterus_ and _calamoichthys_ (_erpetoichthys_) there is one on the hyoid arch. finally, in many urodelan larvæ we have present at the same time as the external gills a pair of curious structures called balancers. at an early stage of my work on _lepidosiren_, while looking over other vertebrate embryos and larvæ for purposes of comparison, my attention was arrested by these structures, and further examinations, by section or otherwise, convinced me that there were serial homologues of the external gills, situated on the mandibular arch. on then looking up the literature, i found that i was by no means first in this view. rusconi had long ago noticed the resemblance, and in more recent times both orr and maurer had been led to the same conclusion as i had been. three different observers having been independently led to exactly the same conclusions, we may, i think, fairly enough regard the view i have mentioned of the morphological nature of the balancers as probably a correct one. "here, then, we have a series of homologous structures projecting from each of the series of visceral arches. they crop up on the crossopterygii, the dipnoi, and the urodela, i.e., in three of the most archaic of the groups of gnathostomata. but we may put it in another way. the groups in which they do not occur are those whose young possess a very large yolk-sac (or which are admittedly derived from such forms). now wherever we have a large yolk-sac we have developed on its surface a rich network of blood-vessels for purposes of nutrition. but such a network _must necessarily_ act as an extraordinarily efficient organ of respiration, and did we not know the facts we might venture to prophesy that in forms possessing it any other small skin-organ of respiration would tend to disappear. "no doubt these external gills are absent also in a few of the admittedly primitive forms such as, e.g., (_neo-_) _ceratodus_. but i would ask that in this connection one should bear in mind one of the marked characteristics of external gills--their great regenerative power. this involves their being extremely liable to injury and consequently a source of danger to their possessor. their absence, therefore, in certain cases may well have been due to natural selection. on the other hand, the _presence_ in so many lowly forms of these organs, the general close similarity in structure that runs through them in different forms, and the exact correspondence in their position and relations to the body can, it seems to me, _only_ be adequately explained by looking on them as being homologous structures inherited from a common ancestor and consequently of great antiquity in the vertebrate stem." as to the third theory, professor kerr suggests tentatively that the external gill may be the structure modified to form the paired limbs. of the homology of fore and hind limbs and consequently of their like origin there can be no doubt. the general gill-structures have, according to kerr, "the primary function of respiration. they are also, however, provided with an elaborate muscular apparatus comprising elevators, depressors, and adductors, and larvæ possessing them may be seen every now and then to give them a sharp backward twitch. they are thus _potentially_ motor organs. in such a urodele as _amblystoma_ their homologues on the mandibular arch are used as supporting structures against a solid substratum exactly as are the limbs of the young _lepidosiren_. [illustration: fig. .--_polypterus congicus_, a _crossopterygian_ fish from the congo river. young, with external gills. (after boulenger.)] "i have, therefore, to suggest that the more ancient gnathostomata possessed a series of potentially motor, potentially supporting structures projecting from their visceral arches; it was inherently extremely probable that these should be made use of when actual supporting, and motor appendages had to be developed in connection with clambering about a solid substratum. if this had been so, we should look upon the limb as a modified external gill; the limb-girdle, with gegenbaur, as a modified branchial arch. "this theory of the vertebrate paired limb seems to me, i confess, to be a more plausible one on the face of it than either of the two which at present hold the field. if untrue, it is so dangerously plausible as to surely deserve more consideration than it appears to have had. one of the main differences between it and the other two hypotheses is that, instead of deriving the swimming-fin from the walking and supporting limb, it goes the other way about. that this is the safer line to take seems to me to be shown by the consideration that a very small and rudimentary limb could _only_ be of use if provided with a fixed _point d'appui_. also on this view, the pentadactyle limb and the swimming-fin would probably be evolved independently from a simple form of limb. this would evade the great difficulties which have beset those who have endeavored to establish the homologies of the elements of the pentadactyle limb with those of any type of fully formed fin." =uncertain conclusions.=--in conclusion we may say that the evidence of embryology in this matter is inadequate, though possibly favoring on the whole the fin-fold theory; that of morphology is inconclusive, and probably the final answer may be given by paleontology. if the records of the rocks were complete, they would be decisive. at present we have to decide which is the more primitive of two forms of pectoral fin actually known among fossils. that of _cladoselache_ is a low, horizontal fold of skin, with feeble rays, called by cope _ptychopterygium_. that of _pleuracanthus_ is a jointed paddle-shaped appendage with a fringe of rays on either side. in the theory of gegenbaur and kerr _pleuracanthus_ must be, so far as the limbs are concerned, the form nearest the primitive limb-bearing vertebrate. in balfour's theory _cladoselache_ is nearest the primitive type from which the other and with it the archipterygium of later forms may be derived. boulenger and others question even this, believing that the archipterygium in _pleuracanthus_ and other primitive sharks and that in _neoceratodus_ and its dipnoan and crossopterygian allies and ancestors have been derived independently, not the latter from the former. in this view there is no real homology between the archipterygium in the sharks possessing it and that in the _dipnoans_ and _crossopterygians_. in the one theory the type of _pleuracanthus_ would be ancestral to the other sharks on the one hand, and to crossopterygians and all higher vertebrates on the other. with the theory of the origin of the pectoral from a lateral fold, _pleuracanthus_ would be merely a curious specialized offshoot from the primitive sharks, without descendants and without special significance in phylogeny. as elements bearing on this decision we may note that the tapering unspecialized diphycercal tail of _pleuracanthus_ seems very primitive in comparison with the short heterocercal tail of _cladoselache_. this evidence, perhaps deceptive, is balanced by the presence on the head of _pleuracanthus_ of a highly specialized serrated spine, evidence of a far from primitive structure. certainly neither the one genus nor the other actually represents the primitive shark. but as _cladoselache_ appears in geological time, long before _pleuracanthus_, _cladodus_, or any other shark with a jointed, archipterygial fin, the burden of proof, according to dean, rests with the followers of gegenbaur. if the remains found in the ordovician at cañon city referred to crossopterygians are correctly interpreted, we must regard the shark ancestry as lost in pre-silurian darkness, for in sharks of some sort the crossopterygians apparently must find their remote ancestry. [illustration: fig. .--heterocercal tail of sturgeon, _acipenser sturio_ (linnæus). (after zittel.)] =forms of the tail in fishes.=--in the process of development the median or vertical fins are, as above stated, older than the paired fins or limbs, whatever be the origin of the latter. they arise in a dermal keel, its membranes fitting and accentuating the undulatory motion of the body. in this elementary fin-fold slender supports (actinotrichia), the rudiments of fin-rays, appear at intervals. in those fins of most service in the movement of the fish, the fin-rays are strengthened, and their basal supports specialized. dean calls attention to the fact that in fishes which swim, when adult, by an undulatory motion, the paired fins tend to disappear, as in the eel and in all eel-like fishes, as blennies and eel-pouts. the form of the tail at the base of the caudal fin varies in the different groups. in most primitive types, as in most embryonic fishes, the vertebræ grow smaller to the last (diphycercal). in others, also primitive, the end of the tail is directed upward, and the most of the caudal fin is below it. such a tail is seen in most sharks, in the sturgeon, garpike, bowfin, and in the ganoid fishes. it is known as heterocercal, and finally in ordinary fishes the tail becomes homocercal or fan-shaped, although usually some trace of the heterocercal condition is traceable, gradually growing less with the process of development. since professor agassiz first recognized, in , the distinction between the heterocercal and homocercal tail, this matter has been the subject of elaborate investigation and a number of additional terms have been proposed, some of which are in common use. a detailed discussion of these is found in a paper by dr. john a. ryder "on the origin of heterocercy" in the report of the u. s. fish commissioner for . in this paper a dynamic or mechanical theory of the causes of change of form is set forth, parts of this having a hypothetical and somewhat uncertain basis. dr. ryder proposes the name _archicercal_ to denote the cylindroidal worm-like caudal end of the larva of fishes and amphibians before they acquire median fin-folds. the term _lophocercal_ is proposed by ryder for the form of caudal fin which consists of a rayless fold of skin continuous with the skin of the tail, the inner surfaces of this fold being more or less nearly in contact. to the same type of tail dr. jeffries wyman in gave the name _protocercal_. this name was used for the tail of the larval ray when it acquires median fin-folds. the term implies, what cannot be far from true, that this form of tail is the first in the stages of evolution of the caudal fin. to the same type of tail mr. alexander agassiz gave, in , the name of _leptocardial_, on the supposition that it represented the adult condition of the lancelet. in this creature, however, rudimentary basal rays are present, a condition differing from that of the early embryos. the diphycercal tail, as usually understood, is one in which the end of the vertebral column bears "not only hypural but also epural intermediary pieces which support rays." the term is used for the primitive type of tail in which the vertebræ, lying horizontally, grow progressively smaller, as in _neoceratodus_, _protopterus_, and other dipnoans and crossopterygians. the term was first applied by mccoy to the tails of the dipnoan genera _diplopterus_ and _gyroptychius_, and for tails of this type it should be reserved. [illustration: fig. .--heterocercal tail of bowfin, _amia calva_ (linnæus). (after zittel.)] [illustration: fig. .--heterocercal tail of garpike, _lepisosteus osseus_ (linnæus).] the heterocercal tail is one in which the hindmost vertebræ are bent upwards. the term is generally applied to those fishes only in which this bending is considerable and is externally evident, as in the sharks and ganoids. the character disappears by degrees, changing sometimes to diphycercal or leptocercal by a process of degeneration, or in ordinary fishes becoming _homocercal_. dr. ryder uses the term heterocercal for all cases in which any up-bending of the axis takes place, even though it involves the modification of but a single vertebra. with this definition, the tail of salmon, herring, and even of most bony fishes would be considered heterocercal, and most or all of these pass through a heterocercal stage in the course of development. the term is, however, usually restricted to those forms in which the curving of the axis is evident without dissection. [illustration: fig. .--_coryphænoides carapinus_ (goode and bean), showing leptocercal tail. gulf stream.] the homocercal tail is the fan-shaped or symmetrical tail common among the teleosts, or bony fishes. in its process of development the individual tail is first archicercal, then lophocercal, then diphycercal, then heterocercal, and lastly homocercal. a similar order is indicated by the sequence of fossil fishes in the rocks, although some forms of diphycercal tail may be produced by degeneration of the heterocercal tail, as suggested by dr. dollo and dr. boulenger, who divide diphycercal tails into primitive and secondary. the peculiar tapering tail of the cod, the vertebræ growing progressively smaller behind, is termed _isocercal_ by professor cope. this form differs little from diphycercal, except in its supposed derivation from the homocercal type. a similar form is seen in eels. [illustration: fig. .--heterocercal tail of young trout, _salmo fario_ (linnæus). (after parker and haswell.)] the term _leptocercal_ has been suggested by gaudry, , for those tails in which the vertebral column ends in a point. we may, perhaps, use it for all such as are attenuate, ending in a long point or whip, as in the _macrouridæ_, or grenadiers, the sting-rays, and in various degenerate members of almost every large group. the term _gephyrocercal_ is devised by ryder for fishes in which the end of the vertebral axis is aborted in the adult, leaving the caudal elements to be inserted on the end of this axis, thus bridging over the interval between the vertical fins, as the name (~gephyros~, bridge; ~kerkos~, tail) is intended to indicate. such a tail has been recognized in four genera only, _mola_, _ranzania_, _fierasfer_, and _echiodon_, the head-fishes and the pearl-fishes. [illustration: fig. .--isocercal tail of hake, _merluccius productus_ (ayres).] [illustration: fig. .--homocercal tail of a flounder, _paralichthys californicus_.] the part of the body of the fish which lies behind the vent is known as the urosome. the urostyle is the name given to a modified bony structure, originally the end of the notochord, turned upward in most fishes. the term _opisthure_ is suggested by ryder for the exserted tip of the vertebral column, which in some larvæ (_lepisosteus_) and in some adult fishes (_fistularia_, _chimæra_) projects beyond the caudal fin. the urosome, or posterior part of the body, must be regarded as a product of evolution and specialization, its function being largely that of locomotion. in the theoretically primitive fish there is no urosome, the alimentary canal, as in the worm, beginning at one end of the body and terminating at the other. [illustration: fig. .--gephyrocercal tail of _mola mola_ (linnæus). (after ryder.)] =homologies of the pectoral limb.=--dr. gill has made an elaborate attempt to work out the homologies of the bones of the pectoral limb.[ ] from his thesis we take the following: "the following are assumed as premises that will be granted by all zootomists: " . homologies of parts are best determinable, _ceteris paribus_, in the most nearly related forms. " . identification should proceed from a central or determinate point outwards. "the applications of these principles are embodied in the following conclusions: " . the forms that are best comparable and that are most nearly related to each other are the dipnoi, an order of fishes at present represented by _lepidosiren_, _protopterus_, and _ceratodus_, and the batrachians as represented by the _ganocephala_, salamanders, and salamander-like animals. " . the articulation of the anterior member with the shoulder-girdle forms the most obvious and determinable point for comparison in the representatives of the respective classes. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _amia calva_ (linnæus).] [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a sea catfish, _selenaspis dowi_.] =the girdle in dipnoans.=--"the proximal element of the anterior limb in the dipnoi has almost by common consent been regarded as homologous with the _humerus_ of the higher vertebrates. "the humerus of urodele batrachians, as well as the extinct ganocephala and labyrinthodontia, is articulated chiefly with the coracoid. therefore the element of the shoulder-girdle with which the humerus of the dipnoi is articulated must also be regarded as the _coracoid_ (subject to the proviso hereinafter stated), unless some specific evidence can be shown to the contrary. no such evidence has been produced. "the scapula in the urodele and other batrachians is entirely or almost wholly excluded from the glenoid foramen, and above the coracoid. therefore the corresponding element in dipnoi must be the _scapula_. "the other elements must be determined by their relation to the preceding, or to those parts from or in connection with which they originate. all those elements in _immediate_ connection with the pectoral fin and the scapula must be homologous as a whole with the coraco-scapular plate of the batrachians; that is, it is infinitely more probable that they represent, as a whole or as dismemberments therefrom, the coraco-scapular element than that they independently originated. but the homogeneity of that coraco-scapular element forbids the identification of the several elements of the fish's shoulder-girdle with regions of the batrachian's coraco-scapular plate. [illustration: fig. .--clavicles of a sea catfish, _selenaspis dowi_ (gill).] "and it is equally impossible to identify the fish's elements with those of the higher reptiles or other vertebrates which have developed from the batrachians. the elements in the shoulder-girdles of the distantly separated classes _may_ be (to use the terms introduced by dr. lankester) homoplastic, but they _are not_ homogenetic. therefore they must be named accordingly. the element of the dipnoan's shoulder-girdle, continuous downward from the scapula, and to which the coracoid is closely applied, may be named _ectocoracoid_. "neither the scapula in batrachians nor the cartilaginous extension thereof, designated suprascapula, is dissevered from the coracoid. therefore there is an _a priori_ improbability against the homology with the scapula of any part having a distant and merely ligamentous connection with the humerus-bearing element. consequently, as an element better representing the scapula exists, the element named scapula (by owen, günther, etc.) cannot be the homologue of the scapula of batrachians. on the other hand, its more intimate relations with the skull and the mode of development indicate that it is rather an element originating and developed in more intimate connection with the skull. it may therefore be considered, with parker, as a _post-temporal_. "the shoulder-girdle in the dipnoi is connected by an azygous differentiated cartilage, swollen backwards. it is more probable that this is the homologue of the _sternum_ of batrachians, and that in the latter that element has been still more differentiated and specialized than that it should have originated _de novo_ from an independently developed nucleus." [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a batfish, _ogcocephalus radiatus_ (mitchill).] =the girdle in fishes other than dipnoans.=--"proceeding from the basis now obtained, a comparative examination of other types of fishes successively removed by their affinities from the lepidosirenids may be instituted. "with the humerus of the dipnoans, the element of the polypterids (single at the base, but immediately divaricating and with its limbs bordering an intervening cartilage which supports the pectoral and its basilar ossicles) must be homologous. but it is evident that the external elements of the so-called carpus of the teleosteoid ganoids are homologous with that element in polypterids. therefore those elements cannot be carpal, but must represent the humerus. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of a threadfin, _polydactylus approximans_ (lay and bennett).] "the element with which the homologue of the humerus, in polypterids, is articulated must be homologous with the analogous element in dipnoans, and therefore with the _coracoid_. the coracoid of polypterids is also evidently homologous with the corresponding element in the other ganoids, and the latter consequently must be also _coracoid_. it is equally evident, after a detailed comparison, that the single coracoid element of the ganoids represents the three elements developed in the generalized teleosts (cyprinids, etc.) in connection with the basis of the pectoral fin, and, such being the case, the nomenclature should correspond. therefore the upper element may be named _hypercoracoid_; the lower, _hypocoracoid_; and the transverse or median, _mesocoracoid_. "the two elements of the arch named by parker, in _lepidosiren_, 'supraclavicle' (scapula) and 'clavicle' (ectocoracoid) seem to be comparable together, and as a whole, with the single element carrying the humerus and pectoral fin in the crossopterygians (_polypterus_ and _calamoichthys_) and other fishes, and therefore not identical respectively with the 'supraclavicle' and 'clavicle' (except in part) recognized by him in other fishes. as this compound bone, composed of the scapula and ectocoracoid fused together, has received no name which is not ambiguous or deceptive in its homologous allusions, it may be designated as _proscapula_. "the post-temporal of the dipnoans is evidently represented by the analogous element in the ganoids generally, as well as in the typical fishes. the succeeding elements (outside those already alluded to) appear from their relations to be developed from or in connection with the post-temporal, and not from the true scapular apparatus; they may therefore be named _post-temporal_, _posterotemporal_, and _teleo-temporal_. it will be thus seen that the determinations here adopted depend mainly ( ) on the interpretation of the homologies of the elements with which the pectoral limbs are articulated, and ( ) on the application of the term 'coracoid.' the name 'coracoid,' originally applied to the process so called in the human scapula and subsequently extended to the independent element homologous with it in birds and other vertebrates, has been more especially retained (e.g., by parker in mammals, etc.) for the region including the glenoid cavity. on the assumption that this may be preferred by some zootomists, the preceding terms have been applied. but if the name should be restricted to the proximal element, nearest the glenoid cavity, in which ossification commences, the name _paraglenal_ given by dugès to the cartilaginous glenoid region can be adopted, and the coracoid would then be represented (in part) rather by the element so named by owen. that eminent anatomist, however, reached his conclusion (only in part the same as that here adopted) by an entirely different course of reasoning, and by a process, as it may be called, of elimination; that is, recognizing first the so-called 'radius' and 'ulna,' the 'humerus,' the 'scapula,' and the 'coracoid' were successively identified from their relations to the elements thus determined and because they were numerically similar to the homonymous parts among higher vertebrates." footnotes: [ ] catalogue of the families of fishes, . chapter vi the organs of respiration =how fishes breathe.=--the fish breathes the air which is dissolved in water. it cannot use the oxygen which is a component part of water, nor can it, as a rule, make use of atmospheric air. the amount of oxygen required for the low vegetative processes of the fish is comparatively small. according to dr. günther, a man consumes , times as much oxygen as a tench. but some fishes demand more oxygen than others. some, like the catfish or the loach, will survive long out of water, while others die almost instantly if removed from their element or if the water is allowed to become foul. in most cases the temperature of the blood of the fish is but little above that of the water in which they live, but in the mackerel and other muscular fishes the temperature of the body may be somewhat higher. some fishes which live in mud, especially in places which become dry in summer, have special contrivances by which they can make use of atmospheric air. in a few primitive fishes (dipnoans, crossopterygians, ganoids) the air-bladder retains its original function of a lung. in other cases some peculiar structure exists in connection with the gills. such a contrivance for holding water above the gills is seen in the climbing perch of india (_anabas scandens_) and other members of the group called labyrinthici. in respiration, in fishes generally, the water is swallowed through the mouth and allowed to pass out through the gill-openings, thus bathing the gills. in a few of the lower types a breathing-pore takes the place of the gill-openings. the gills, or branchiæ, are primarily folds of the skin lining the branchial cavity. in most fishes they form fleshy fringes or laminæ throughout which the capillaries are distributed. in the embryos of sharks, skates, chimæras, lung-fishes, and crossopterygians external gills are developed, but in the more specialized forms these do not appear outside the gill-cavity. in some of the sharks, and especially the rays, a spiracle or open foramen remains behind the eye. through this spiracle, leading from the outside into the cavity of the mouth, water is drawn downwards to pass outward over the gills. the presence of this breathing-hole permits these animals to lie on the bottom without danger of inhaling sand. [illustration: fig. .--gill-basket of lamprey. (after dean.)] =the gill-structures.=--the three main types of gills among fishes are the following: (_a_) the purse-shaped gills found in the hagfishes and lampreys, known as a class as marsipobranchs, or purse-gills. these have a number ( to ) of sac-like depressions on the side of the body, lined with gill-fringes and capillaries, the whole supported by an elaborate branchial basket formed of cartilage. (_b_) the plate-gills, found among the sharks, rays, and chimæras, thence called elasmobranchs, or plate-gills. in these the gill-structures are flat laminæ, attached by one side to the gill-arches. (_c_) the fringe-gills found in ordinary fishes, in which the gill-filaments containing the capillaries are attached in two rows to the outer edge of each gill-arch. the so-called tuft-gills (lophobranchs) of the sea-horse and pipefish are like these in structure, but the filaments are long, while the arches are very short. in most of the higher fishes a small accessory gill (pseudobranchia) is developed in the skin of the inner side of the opercle. =the air-bladder.=--the air-bladder, or swim-bladder, must be classed among the organs of respiration, although in the higher fishes its functions in this regard are rudimentary, and in some cases it has taken collateral functions (as a hydrostatic organ of equilibrium, or perhaps as an organ of hearing) which have no relation to its original purpose. [illustration: fig. .--weberian apparatus and air-bladder of carp. (from günther, after weber.)] the air-bladder is an internal sac possessed by many fishes, but not by all. it lies in the dorsal part of the abdominal cavity above the intestines and below the kidneys. in some cases it is closely adherent to the surrounding tissues. in others it is almost entirely free, lying almost loose in the cavity of the body. in some cases it is enclosed in a bony capsule. in the allies of the carp and catfish, which form the majority of fresh-water fishes, its anterior end is connected through a chain of modified vertebræ to the ear. sometimes its posterior end fits into an enlarged and hollow interhæmal bone. sometimes, again, a mass of muscle lies in front of it or is otherwise attached to it. sometimes it is divided into two or three parts by crosswise constrictions. sometimes it is constricted longitudinally, and at other times it has attached to it a complication of supplemental tubes of the same character as the air-bladder itself. in still other cases it is divided by many internal partitions into a cellular body, similar to the lung of the higher vertebrates, though the cells are coarser and less intricate. this condition is evidently more primitive than that of the empty sac. the homology of the air-bladder with the lung is evident. this is often expressed in the phrase that the lung is a developed air-bladder. this is by no means true. to say that the air-bladder is a modified and degenerate lung is much nearer the truth, although we should express the fact more exactly to say that both air-bladder and lung are developed from a primitive cellular breathing-sac, originally a diverticulum from the ventral walls of the oesophagus. the air-bladder varies in size as much as in form. in some fishes it extends from the head to the tail, while in others it is so minute as to be scarcely traceable. it often varies greatly in closely related species. the common mackerel (_scomber scombrus_) has no air-bladder, while in the closely related colias or chub mackerel (_scomber japonicus_) the organ is very evident. in other families, as the rockfishes (_scorpænidæ_), genera with and those without the air-bladder are scarcely distinguishable externally. in general, fishes which lie on the bottom, those which inhabit great depths, and those which swim freely in the open sea, as sharks and mackerel, lack the air-bladder. in the sharks, rays, and chimæras there is no trace of an air-bladder. in the mackerel and other bony fishes without it, it is lost in the process of development. the air-bladder is composed of two layers of membrane, the outer one shining, silvery in color, with muscular fibres, the inner well supplied by blood-vessels. the gas within the air-bladder must be in most cases secreted from the blood-vessels. in river fishes it is said to be nearly pure nitrogen. in marine fishes it is mostly oxygen, with from to per cent of carbonic-acid gas, while in the deep-sea fishes oxygen is greatly in excess. in _lopholatilus_, a deep-sea fish, professor r. w. tower finds to per cent of oxygen. in _trigla lyra_ biot records per cent. in _dentex dentex_, a shore fish of europe, per cent of oxygen was found in the air-bladder. fifty per cent is recorded from the european porgy, _pagrus pagrus_. in a fish dying from suffocation the amount of carbonic-acid gas (co ) is greatly increased, amounting, according to recent researches of professor tower on the weak-fish, _cynoscion regalis_, to to per cent. this shows conclusively that the air-bladder is to some degree a reservoir of oxygen secreted from the blood, to which channel it may return through a kind of respiration. the other functions of the air-bladder have been subject to much question and are still far from understood. the following summary of the various views in this regard we copy from professor tower's paper on "the gas in the swim-bladder of fishes": "the function of the swim-bladder of fishes has attracted the attention of scientists for many centuries. the rôle that this structure plays in the life of the animal has been interpreted in almost as many ways as there have been investigators, and even now there is apparently much doubt as to the true functions of the swim-bladder. consequently any additional data concerning this organ are of immediate scientific value. "aristotle, writing about the noises made by fishes, states that 'some produce it by rubbing the gill-arches ...; others by means of the air-bladder. each of these fishes contains air, by rubbing and moving of which the noise is produced.' the bladder is thus considered a sound-producing organ, and it is probable that he arrived at this result by his own investigations. "borelli (de motu animalium, ) attributed to the air-bladder a hydrostatic function which enabled the fish to rise and fall in the water by simply distending or compressing the air-bladder. this hypothesis, which gives to the fish a volitional control over the air-bladder--it being able to compress or distend the bladder at pleasure--has prevailed, to a greater or less degree, from the time of borelli to the present. to my knowledge, however, there are no investigations which warrant such a theory, while, on the other hand, there are many facts, as shown by moreau's experiment, which distinctly contradict this belief. delaroche (annales du mus. d'hist. nat., tome xiv, - ) decidedly opposed the ideas of borelli, and yet advanced an hypothesis similar to it in many respects. like borelli, he said that the fish could compress or dilate the bladder by means of certain muscles, but this was to enable the fish to keep the same specific gravity as the surrounding medium, and thus be able to remain at any desired depth (and not to rise or sink). this was also disproved later by moreau. delaroche proved that there existed a constant exchange between the air in the air-bladder and the air in the blood, although he did not consider the swim-bladder an organ of respiration. "biot ( ), provençal and humboldt ( ), and others made chemical analyses of the gas in the swim-bladder, and found to per cent of co_{ }, to per cent of o_{ }, and the remainder nitrogen. the most remarkable fact discovered about this mixture was that it frequently consisted almost entirely of oxygen, the per cent of oxygen increasing with the depth of the water inhabited by the fish. the reasons for this phenomenon have never been satisfactorily explained. "in weber described a series of paired ossicles which he erroneously called stapes, malleus, and incus, and which connected the air-bladder in certain fishes with a part of the ear--the atrium sinus imparis. weber considered the swim-bladder to be an organ by which sounds striking the body from the outside are intensified, and these sounds are then transmitted to the ear by means of the ossicles. the entire apparatus would thus function as an organ of hearing. weber's views remained practically uncontested for half a century, but recently much has been written both for and against this theory. whatever the virtues of the case may be, there is certainly an inviting field for further physiological investigations regarding this subject, and more especially on the phenomena of hearing in fishes. "twenty years later johannes müller described, in certain siluroid fishes, a mechanism, the so-called 'elastic-spring' apparatus, attached to the anterior portion of the air-bladder, which served to aid the fish in rising and sinking in the water according as the muscles of this apparatus were relaxed or contracted to a greater or lesser degree. this interpretation of the function of the 'elastic-spring' mechanism was shown by sörensen to be untenable. müller also stated that in some fish, at least, there was an exchange of gas between blood and air-bladder--the latter having a respiratory function--and regarded the gas in the air-bladder as the result of active secretion. in _malapterurus_ (_torpedo electricus_) he stated that it is a sound-producing organ. "hasse, in , published the results of his investigations on the functions of the ossicles of weber, stating that their action was that of a manometer, acquainting the animal with the degree of pressure that is exerted by the gases in the air-bladder against its walls. this pressure necessarily varies with the different depths of water which the fish occupies. hasse did not agree with weber that the ear is affected by the movements of these ossicles. "one year later dufosse described in some fishes an air-bladder provided with extrinsic muscles by whose vibration sound was produced, the sound being intensified by the air-bladder, which acted as a resonator. he also believed that certain species produced a noise by forcing the gas from the air-bladder through a pneumatic duct. "at about the same time moreau published his classical work on the functions of the air-bladder. he proved by ingenious experiments that many of the prevailing ideas about the action of the air-bladder were erroneous, and that this organ serves to equilibrate the body of the fish with the water at any level. this is not accomplished quickly, but only after sufficient time for the air in the bladder to become adjusted to the increase or decrease in external pressure that has taken place. the fish, therefore, makes no use of any muscles in regulating the volume of its air-bladder. the animal can accommodate itself only gradually to considerable changes in depth of water, but can live equally comfortably at different depths, provided that the change has been gradual enough. moreau's experiments also convinced him that the gas is actually secreted into the air-bladder, and that there is a constant exchange of gas between it and the blood. in these investigations he has also noticed that section of the sympathetic-nerve fibres supplying the walls of the air-bladder hastens the secreting of the gas into the empty bladder. since then bohr has shown that section of the vagus nerve causes the secretion to cease. moreau noticed in one fish (_trigla_) having an air-bladder supplied with muscles that the latter served to make the air-bladder produce sound. "again, in , the weberian mechanism was brought to our attention with a new function attributed to it by sagemehl who stated that this mechanism exists not for any auditory purposes, nor to tell the fish at what level of the water it is swimming, but to indicate to the fish the variations in the atmospheric pressure. sörensen tersely contrasts the views of hasse and sagemehl by saying that 'hasse considers the air-bladder with the weberian mechanism as a manometer; sagemehl regards it as a barometer.' the theory of sagemehl has, naturally enough, met with little favor. sörensen ( ) held that there is but little evidence for attributing to the air-bladder the function of a lung. it is to be remembered, however, that, according to sörensen's criterion no matter what exchange of gases takes place between blood and air-bladder, it cannot be considered an organ of respiration, 'unless its air is renewed by mechanical respiration.' "sörensen also refutes, from anatomical and experimental grounds, the many objections to weber's theory of the function of the ossicles. he would thus attribute to the air-bladder the function of hearing; indeed in certain species the only reason for the survival of the air-bladder is that 'the organ is still of acoustic importance; that it acts as a resonator.' this idea, sörensen states, is borne out by the anatomical structure found in _misgurnus_ and _chlarias_, which resembles the celebrated 'colladon resonator.' this author attributes to the air-bladder with its 'elastic spring' and various muscular mechanisms the production of sound as its chief function." =origin of the air-bladder.=--in the more primitive forms, and probably in the embryos of all species, the air-bladder is joined to the oesophagus by an air-duct. this duct is lost entirely in the adult of all or nearly all of the thoracic and jugular fishes, and in some of the abdominal forms. the lancelets, lampreys, sharks, rays, and chimæras have no air-bladder, but in the most primitive forms of true fishes (dipnoans and crossopterygians), having the air-bladder cellular or lung-like, the duct is well developed, freely admitting the external air which the fish may rise to the surface to swallow. in most fishes the duct opens into the oesophagus from the dorsal side, but in the more primitive forms it enters from the ventral side, like the windpipe of the higher vertebrates. in some of the dipnoans the air-bladder divides into two parts, in further resemblance to the true lungs. =the origin of the lungs.=--the following account of the function of the air-bladder and of its development and decline is condensed from an article by mr. charles morris:[ ] "if now we seek to discover the original purpose of this organ, there is abundant reason to believe that it had nothing to do with swimming. certainly the great family of the sharks, which have no bladder, are at no disadvantage in changing their depth or position in the water. yet if the bladder is necessary to any fish as an aid in swimming, why not to all? and if this were its primary purpose, how shall we explain its remarkable variability? no animal organ with a function of essential importance presents such extraordinary modifications in related species and genera. in the heart, brain, and other organs there is one shape, position, and condition of greatest efficiency, and throughout the lower forms we find a steady advance towards this condition. great variation, on the other hand, usually indicates that the organ is of little functional importance, or that it has lost its original function. such we conceive to be the case with the air-bladder. the fact of its absence from some and its presence in other fishes of closely related species goes far to prove that it is a degenerating organ; and the same is shown by the fact that it is useless in some species for the purpose to which it is applied in others. that it had, at some time in the past, a function of essential importance there can be no question. that it exists at all is proof of this. but its modern variations strongly indicate that it has lost this function and is on the road towards extinction. larval conditions show that it had originally a pneumatic duct as one of its essential parts, but this has in most cases disappeared. the bladder itself has in many cases partly or wholly disappeared. where preserved, it seems to be through its utility for some secondary purpose, such as an aid in swimming or in hearing. that its evolution began very long ago there can be no question; and the indications are that it began long ago to degenerate, through the loss of its primitive function. "what was this primitive function? in attempting to answer this question we must first consider the air-bladder in relation to the fish tribe as a whole. no shark or ray possesses the air-bladder. in some few sharks, indeed, there is a diverticulum of the pharynx which may be a rudimentary approach to the air-bladder; but this is very questionable. the conditions of its occurrence in the main body of modern fishes, the teleostean, we have already considered. but in the most ancient living orders of fishes it exists in an interesting condition. in every modern dipnoan, crossopterygian, and ganoid the air-bladder has an effective pneumatic duct. this in the ganoids opens into the dorsal side of the oesophagus, but in the dipnoans and crossopterygians, like the windpipe of lung-breathers, it opens into the ventral side. in the dipnoans, also survivors from the remote past, the duct not only opens ventrally into the oesophagus, but the air-bladder does duty as a lung. externally it differs in no particular from an air-bladder; but internally it presents a cellular structure which nearly approaches that of the lung of the batrachians. there are three existing representatives of the dipnoans. one of these, the australian lung-fish (_neoceratodus_) has a single bladder, which, however, is provided with breathing-pouches having a symmetrical lateral arrangement. it has no pulmonary artery, but receives branches from the _arteria coeliaca_. in the other two forms, _lepidosiren_ and _protopterus_, the kindred 'mudfishes' of the amazon basin and tropical africa, the bladder or lung is divided into two lateral chambers, as in the land animals, and is provided with a separate pulmonary artery. "the opinion seems to have been tacitly entertained by physiologists that this employment of the air-bladder by the dipnoans as a lung is a secondary adaptation, a side issue from its original purpose. it is more likely that this is the original purpose, and that its degeneration is due to the disappearance of the necessity of such a function. as regards the gravitative employment of the bladder, the teleostean fishes, to which this function is confined, are of comparatively modern origin; while the dipnoans are surviving representatives of a very ancient order of fishes, which flourished in the devonian age of geology, and in all probability breathed air then as now; and the crossopterygians and ganoids, which approach them in this particular, are similarly ancient in origin, and were the ancestors of the teleosteans. the natural presumption, therefore, is that the duty which it subserved in the most ancient fishes was its primitive function. "the facts of embryology lend strong support to this hypothesis. for the air-bladder is found to arise in a manner very similar to the development of the lung. they each begin as an outgrowth from the fore part of the alimentary tract, the only difference being that the air-bladder usually rises dorsally and the lung ventrally. the fact already cited, that the pneumatic duct is always present in the larval form in fishes that possess a bladder, is equally significant. all the facts go to show that the introduction of external air into the body was a former function of the air-bladder, and that the atrophy of the duct in many cases, and the disappearance of the bladder in others, are results of the loss of this function. "such an elaborate arrangement for the introduction of air into the body could have, if we may judge from analogy, but one purpose, that of breathing, to which purpose the muscular and other apparatus for compressing and dilating the bladder, now seemingly adapted to gravitative uses, may have been originally applied. the same may be said of the great development of blood-capillaries in the inner tunic of the bladder. these may now be used only for the secretion of gas into its interior, but were perhaps originally employed in the respiratory secretion of oxygen. in fact all the circumstances mentioned--the similarity in larval development between the bladder and lung, the larval existence of the pneumatic duct, the arrangements for compressing and dilating the bladder, and the capillary vessels on its inner tunic--point to the breathing of air as its original purpose. "it is probable that the ganoid, as well as the dipnoan, air-bladder is to some extent still used in breathing. the dipnoans have both lungs and gills, and probably breathe with the latter in ordinary cases, but use their lungs when the inland waters in which they live become thick and muddy, or are charged with gases from decomposing organic matter. the ganoid fishes to some extent breathe the air. in _polypterus_ the air-bladder resembles the dipnoan lung in having lateral divisions and a ventral connection with the oesophagus, while in _lepisosteus_ (the american garpike) it is cellular and lung-like. this fish keeps near the surface, and may be seen to emit air-bubbles, probably taking in a fresh supply of air. the american bowfin, or mudfish (_amia_), has a bladder of the same lung-like character, and has been seen to come to the surface, open its jaws widely, and apparently swallow a large quantity of air. he considers that both _lepisosteus_ and _amia_ inhale and exhale air at somewhat regular intervals, resembling in this the salamanders and tadpoles, 'which, as the gills shrink and the lungs increase, come more frequently to the surface for air.' "as the facts stand there is no evident line of demarcation between the gas-containing bladders of many of the teleosteans, the air-containing bladders of the others and the ganoids, and the lung of the dipnoans, and the indications are in favor of their having originally had the same function, and of this being the breathing of air. "if now we ask what were the conditions of life under which this organ was developed, and what the later conditions which rendered it of no utility as a lung, some definite answer may be given. the question takes us back to the devonian and silurian geological periods, during which the original development of the bladder probably took place. in this era the seas were thronged with fishes of several classes, the elasmobranchs among others, followed by the dipnoi and crossopterygians. the sharks were without, the dipnoans and crossopterygians doubtless with, an air-bladder--a difference in organization which was most likely due to some marked difference in their life-habits. the elasmobranchs were the monarchs of the seas, against whose incursions the others put on a thick protective armor, and probably sought the shallow shore waters, while their foes held chief possession of the deeper waters without. "we seem, then, to perceive the lung-bearing fishes, driven by their foes into bays and estuaries, and the waters of shallow coasts, ascending streams and dwelling in inland waters. here two influences probably acted on them. the waters they dwelt in were often thick with sediment, and were doubtless in many instances poorly aerated, rendering gill-breathing difficult. and the land presented conditions likely to serve as a strong inducement to fishes to venture on shore. its plant-life was abundant, while its only animal inhabitants seem to have been insects, worms, and snails. there can be little doubt that the active fish forms of that period, having no enemies to fear on the land, and much to gain, made active efforts to obtain a share of this vegetable and animal food. even to-day, when they have numerous foes to fear, many fishes seek food on the shore, and some even climb trees for this purpose. under the conditions of the period mentioned there was a powerful inducement for them to assume this habit. "such conditions must have strongly tended to induce fishes to breathe the air, and have acted to develop an organ for this purpose. in addition to the influences of foul or muddy water and of visits to land may be named that of the drying-out of pools, by which fishes are sometimes left in the moist mud till the recurrence of rains, or are even buried in the dried mud during the rainless season. this is the case with the modern dipnoi, which use their lungs under such circumstances. in certain other fresh-water fishes, of the family ophiocephalidæ, air is breathed while the mud continues soft enough for the fish to come to the surface, but during the dry period the animal remains in a torpid state. these fishes have no lungs, but breathe the air into a simple cavity in the pharynx, whose opening is partly closed by a fold of the mucous membrane. other labyrinthici, of similar habits, possess a more developed breathing organ. this is a cavity formed by the walls of the pharynx, in which are thin laminæ, or plates, which undoubtedly perform an oxygenating function. the most interesting member of this family is _anabas scandens_, the climbing perch. in this fish, which not only leaves the water, but is said to climb trees, the air-breathing organ is greatly developed. the labyrinthici, moreover, have usually large air-bladders. as regards the occasional breathing of air by fishes, even in species which do not leave the water, it is quite common, particularly among fresh-water species. cuvier remarks that air is perhaps necessary to every kind of fish; and that, particularly when the atmosphere is warm, most of our lacustrine species sport on the surface for no other purpose. "it is not difficult to draw a hypothetical plan of the development of the air-bladder as a breathing organ. in the two families of fishes just mentioned, whose air-bladders indicate that they once possessed the air-breathing function and have lost it, we perceive the process of formation of an air-breathing organ beginning over again under stress of similar circumstances. the larval development of the air-bladder points significantly in the same direction. in fact we have strong reason to believe that air-breathing in fishes was originally performed, as it probably often is now, by the unchanged walls of the oesophagus. then these walls expanded inwardly, forming a simple cavity, partly closed by a fold of membrane, like that of the ophiocephalidæ. a step further reduced this membranous fold to a narrow opening, leading to an inner pouch. as the air-breathing function developed, the opening became a tube, and the pouch a simple lung, with compressing muscles and capillary vessels. by a continuation of the process the smooth-walled pouch became sacculated, its surface being increased by folding into breathing cells. finally, a longitudinal constriction divided it into two lateral pouches, such as we find in the lung of the dipnoans. this brings us to the verge of the lung of the amphibians, which is but a step in advance, and from that the line of progress is unbroken to the more intricate lung of the higher land animals. "the dorsal position of the bladder and its duct would be a difficulty in this inquiry, but for the fact that the duct is occasionally ventral. this dorsal position may have arisen from the upward pressure of air in the swimming fish, which would tend to lift the original pouch. but in the case of fishes which made frequent visits to the shore new influences must have come into play. the effect of gravity tended to draw the organ and its duct downward, as we find in the crossopterygians and in all the dipnoans, and its increased use in breathing required a more extended surface. through this requirement came the pouched and cellular lung of the dipnoans. of every stage of the process here outlined examples exist, and there is great reason to believe that the development of the lung followed the path above pointed out. "when the carboniferous era opened there may have been many lung- and gill-breathing fishes which spent much of their time on land, and some of which, by a gradual improvement of their organs of locomotion, changed into batrachians. but with the appearance of the latter, and of their successors, the reptiles, the relations of the fish to the land radically changed. the fin, or the simple locomotor organ, of the dipnoans could not compete with the leg and foot as organs of land locomotion, and the fish tribe ceased to be lords of the land, where, instead of feeble prey, they now found powerful foes, and were driven back to their native habitat, the water. nor did the change end here. in time the waters were invaded by the reptiles, numerous swimming forms appearing, which it is likely were abundant in the shallower shore-line of the ocean, while they sent many representatives far out to sea. these were actively carnivorous, making the fish their prey, the great mass of whom were doubtless driven into the deeper waters, beyond the reach of their air-breathing foes. "in this change of conditions we seem to perceive an adequate cause for the loss of air-breathing habits in those fishes in which the lung development had not far progressed. it may indeed have been a leading influence in the development of the teleostean or bony fishes, as it doubtless was in the loss of its primitive function by, and the subsequent changes of, the air-bladder. "such of the crossopterygians and dipnoans as survived in their old condition had to contend with adverse circumstances. most of them in time vanished, while their descendants which still exist have lost in great measure their air-breathing powers, and the dipnoans, in which the development of the lung had gone too far for reversal, have degenerated into eel-like, mud-haunting creatures, in which the organs of locomotion have become converted into the feeble paddle-like limbs of neoceratodus and the filamentary appendages of the other species. "as regards the presence of a large quantity of oxygen in the bladders of deep-swimming marine fishes, it not unlikely has a respiratory purpose, the bladder being, as suggested by semper, used as a reservoir for oxygen, to serve the fish when sleeping, or when, from any cause, not actively breathing. the excess of oxygen is not due to any like excess in the gaseous contents of sea-water, for the percentage of oxygen decreases from the surface downward, while that of nitrogen remains nearly unchanged. in all cases, indeed, the bladder may preserve a share of its old function, and act as an aid in respiration. speaking of this, cuvier says: 'with regard to the presumed assistance which the swim-bladder affords in respiration, it is a fact that when a fish is deprived of that organ, the production of carbonic acid by the branchiæ is very trifling,' thus strongly indicating that the bladder still plays a part in the oxygenation of the blood. "under the hypothesis here presented the process of evolution involved may be thus summed up. air-breathing in fishes was originally performed by the unchanged walls of the oesophagus perhaps at specially vascular localities. then the wall folded inward, and a pouch was finally formed, opening to the air. the pouch next became constricted off, with a duct of connection. then the pouch became an air-bladder with respiratory function, and finally developed into a simple lung. these air-breathing fishes haunted the shores, their fins becoming converted into limbs suitable for land locomotion, and in time developed into the lung- and gill-breathing batrachia, and these in their turn into the lung-breathing reptilia, the locomotor organs gradually increasing in efficiency. of these pre-batrachia we have existing representatives in the mud-haunting dipnoi, with their feeble limbs. in the great majority of the ganoid fishes the bladder served but a minor purpose as a breathing organ, the gills doing the bulk of the work. in the teleostean descendants of the ganoids the respiratory function of the bladder in great measure or wholly ceased, in the majority of cases the duct closing up or disappearing, leaving the pouch as a closed internal sac, far removed from its place of origin. in this condition it served as an aid in swimming, perhaps as a survival of one of its ancient uses. it gained also in certain cases some connection with the organ of hearing. but these were makeshift and unimportant functions, as we may gather from the fact that many fishes found no need for them, the bladder, in these cases, decreasing in size until too small to be of use in swimming, and in other cases completely disappearing after having travelled far from its point of origin. in some other cases, above cited, the process seems to have begun again, in modern times, in an eversion of the wall of the oesophagus for respiratory purposes. the whole process, if i have correctly conceived it, certainly forms a remarkable organic cycle of development and degeneration, which perhaps has no counterpart of similarly striking character in the whole range of organic life." =the heart of the fish.=--the heart of the fish is simple in structure, small in size, and usually placed far forward, just behind the branchial cavity, and separated from the abdominal cavity by a sort of "diaphragm" formed of thickened peritoneum. in certain eels the heart is remote from the head. the heart consists of four parts, the sinus venosus, into which the veins enter, the auricle or atrium, the ventricle, and the arterial bulb at the base of the great artery which carries the blood to the gills. of these parts the ventricle is deepest in color and with thickest walls. the arterial bulb varies greatly in structure, being in the sharks, rays, ganoids, and dipnoans muscular and provided with a large number of internal valves, and contracting rhythmically like the ventricle. in the higher fishes these structures are lost, the walls of the arterial bulb are not contractile, and the interior is without valves, except the pair that separate it from the ventricle. in the lancelet there is no proper heart, the function of the heart being taken by a contractile blood-vessel situated on the ventral side of the alimentary canal. in the dipnoans, which are allied to the ancestors of the higher vertebrates, there is the beginning of a division of the ventricle, and sometimes of the auricle, into parts by a median septum. in the higher vertebrates this septum becomes more and more specialized, separating auricle and ventricle into right and left cavities. the blood in the fish is not returned to the heart after purification, but is sent directly over the body. =the flow of blood.=--the blood in fishes is thin and pale red (colorless in the lancelet) and with elliptical blood-corpuscles. it enters the _sinus venosus_ from the head through the jugular vein, from the kidney and body walls through the cardinal vein, and from the liver through the hepatic veins. hence it passes to the auricle and ventricle, and from the ventricle through the arterial bulb, or conus arteriosus to the ventral aorta. thence it flows to the gills, where it is purified. after passing through the capillaries of the gill-filaments it is collected in paired arteries from each pair of gills. these vessels unite to form the dorsal aorta, which extends the length of the body just below the back-bone. from the dorsal aorta the subclavian arteries branch off toward the pectoral fins. from a point farther back arise the mesenteric arteries carrying blood to the stomach, intestine, liver, and spleen. in the tail the caudal vein carries blood to the kidneys. these secrete impurities arising from waste of tissues, after which the blood again passes to the heart through the _cardinal vein_. from the intestine the blood, charged with nutritive materials in solution, is carried by the _portal vein_ to the liver. here it again passes by the _hepatic sinus_ to the _sinus venosus_ and the heart. the details of the circulatory system vary a good deal in the different groups, and a comparative study of the direction of veins and arteries is instructive and interesting. the movement of the blood in fishes is relatively slow, and its temperature is raised but little above that of the surrounding water. footnotes: [ ] the origin of lungs: a chapter in evolution. american naturalist, december, . chapter vii the nervous system =the nerves of the fish.=--the nervous system in the fish, as in the higher vertebrates, consists of brain and spinal cord with sensory, or afferent, and motor, or efferent, nerves. as in other vertebrates, the nerve substance is divided into gray matter and white matter, or nerve-cells and nerve-fibres. in the fish, however, the whole nervous system is relatively small, and the gray matter less developed than in the higher forms. according to günther the brain in the pike (_esox_) forms but / part of the weight of the body; in the burbot (_lota_) about / part. the cranium in fishes is relatively small, but the brain does not nearly fill its cavity, the space between the dura mater, which lines the skull-cavity, and the arachnoid membrane, which envelops the brain, being filled with a soft fluid containing a quantity of fat. =the brain of the fish.=--it is most convenient to examine the fish-brain, first in its higher stages of development, as seen in the sunfish, striped bass, or perch. as seen from above the brain of a typical fish seems to consist of five lobes, four of them in pairs, the fifth posterior to these and placed on the median line. the posterior lobe is the _cerebellum_, or _metencephalon_, and it rests on the _medulla oblongata_, the posterior portion of the brain, which is directly continuous with the spinal cord. in front of the cerebellum lies the largest pair of lobes, each of them hollow, the optic nerves being attached to the lower surface. these are known as the _optic lobes_, or _mesencephalon_. in front of these lie the two lobes of the cerebrum, also called the hemispheres, or _prosencephalon_. these lobes are usually smaller than the optic lobes and solid. in some fishes they are crossed by a furrow, but are never corrugated as in the brain of the higher animals. in front of the cerebrum lie the two small olfactory lobes, which receive the large olfactory nerve from the nostrils. from its lower surface is suspended the hypophysis or pituitary gland. [illustration: fig. .--brain of a shark (_squatina squatina l._). (after dean.) i. first cranial nerve (olfactory). p. prosencephalon (cerebrum). e. epiphysis. t. thalamencephalon. ii. second cranial nerve. iv. fourth cranial nerve. v. fifth cranial nerve. vii. seventh cranial nerve. v . fourth ventricle. m. mesencephalon (optic lobes). mt. metencephalon (medulla). ep. epencephalon (cerebellum).] [illustration: fig. .--brain of _chimæra monstrosa_. (after wilder per dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--brain of _protopterus annectens_. (after burckhardt per dean.)] in most of the bony fishes the structure of the brain does not differ materially from that seen in the perch. in the sturgeon, however, the parts are more widely separated. in the dipnoans the cerebral hemispheres are united, while the optic lobe and cerebellum are very small. in the sharks and rays the large cerebral hemispheres are usually coalescent into one, and the olfactory nerves dilate into large ganglia below the nostrils. the optic lobes are smaller than the hemispheres and also coalescent. the cerebellum is very large, and the surface of the medulla oblongata is more or less modified or specialized. the brain of the shark is relatively more highly developed than that of the bony fishes, although in most other regards the latter are more distinctly specialized. =the pineal organ.=--besides the structures noted in other fishes the epiphysis, or pineal organ, is largely developed in sharks, and traces of it are found in most or all of the higher vertebrates. in some of the lizards this epiphysis is largely developed, bearing at its tip a rudimentary eye. this leaves no doubt that in these forms it has an optic function. for this reason the structure wherever found has been regarded as a rudimentary eye, and the "pineal eye" has been called the "unpaired median eye of chordate" animals. [illustration: fig. .--brain of a perch, _perca flavescens_. (after dean.) r. olfactory lobe. p. cerebrum (prosencephalon). e. epiphysis. m. optic lobes (mesencephalon). ep. cerebellum (epencephalon). ml. medulla oblongata (metencephalon). i. first cranial nerve. ii. second cranial nerve. iv. fourth cranial nerve. v. fifth cranial nerve. vii. seventh cranial nerve. viii. eighth cranial nerve. ix. ninth cranial nerve. x. tenth cranial nerve.] [illustration: fig. .--_petromyzon marinus unicolor_ (dekay). head of lake lamprey, showing pineal body. (after gage.)] it has been supposed that this eye, once possessed by all vertebrate forms, has been gradually lost with the better development of the paired eyes, being best preserved in reptiles as "an outcome of the life-habit which concealed the animal in sand or mud, and allowed the forehead surface alone to protrude, the median eye thus preserving its ancestral value in enabling the animal to look directly upward and backward." this theory receives no support from the structures seen in the fishes. in none of the fishes is the epiphysis more than a nervous enlargement, and neither in fishes nor in amphibia is there the slightest suggestion of its connection with vision. it seems probable, as suggested by hertwig and maintained by dean that the original function of the pineal body was a nervous one and that its connection with or development into a median eye in lizards was a modification of a secondary character. on consideration of the evidence, dr. dean concludes that "the pineal structures of the true fishes do not tend to confirm the theory that the epiphysis of the ancestral vertebrates was connected with a median unpaired eye. it would appear, on the other hand, that both in their recent and fossil forms the epiphysis was connected in its median opening with the innervation of the sensory canals of the head. this view seems essentially confirmed by ontogeny. the fact that three successive pairs of epiphyseal outgrowths have been noted in the roof of the thalamencephalon[ ] appears distinctly adverse to the theory of a median eye."[ ] =the brain of primitive fishes.=--the brain of the hagfish differs widely from that of the higher fishes, and the homologies of the different parts are still uncertain. the different ganglia are all solid and are placed in pairs. it is thought that the cerebellum is wanting in these fishes, or represented by a narrow commissure (_corpus restiforme_) across the front of the medulla. in the lamprey the brain is more like that of the ordinary fish. in the lancelet there is no trace of brain, the band-like spinal cord tapering toward either end. =the spinal cord.=--the spinal cord extends from the brain to the tail, passing through the neural arches of the different vertebræ when these are developed. in the higher fishes it is cylindrical and inelastic. in a few fishes (headfish, trunkfish) in which the posterior part of the body is shortened or degenerate, the spinal cord is much shortened, and replaced behind by a structure called cauda equina. in the headfish it has shrunk into "a short and conical appendage to the brain." in the cyclostomes and chimæra the spinal cord is elastic and more or less flattened or band-like, at least posteriorly. =the nerves.=--the nerves of the fish correspond in general in place and function with those of the higher animals. they are, however, fewer in number, both large nerve-trunks and smaller nerves being less developed than in higher forms. the _olfactory nerves_, or first pair, extend through the ethmoid bone to the nasal cavity, which is typically a blind sac with two roundish openings, but is subject to many variations. the _optic nerves_, or second pair, extend from the eye to the base of the optic lobes. in cyclostomes these nerves run from each eye to the lobe of its own side. in the bony fishes, or teleostei, each runs from the eye to the lobe of the opposite side. in the sharks, rays, chimæras, and ganoids the two optic nerves are joined in a chiasma as in the higher vertebrates. other nerves arising in the brain are the third pair, or _nervus oculorum motorius_, and the fourth pair, _nervus trochlearis_, both of which supply the muscles of the eye. the fifth pair, _nervus trigeminus_, and the seventh pair, _nervus facialis_, arise from the medulla oblongata and are very close together. their various branches, sensory and motor, ramify among the muscles and sensory areas of the head. the sixth pair, _nervus abducens_, passes also to muscles of the eye, and in sharks to the nictitating membrane or third eyelid. the eighth pair, _nervus acousticus_, leads to the ear. the ninth pair, _glosso-pharyngeal_, passes to the tongue and pharynx, and forms a ganglion connected with the sympathetic system. the tenth pair, _nervus vagus_, or pneumogastric nerve, arises from strong roots in the corpus restiforme and the lower part of the medulla oblongata. its nerves, motor and sensory, reach the muscles of the gill-cavity, heart, stomach, and air-bladder, as well as the muscular system and the skin. in fishes covered with bony plates the skin may be nearly or quite without sensory nerves. the eleventh pair, _nervus accessorius_, and twelfth pair, _nervus hypoglossus_, are wanting in fishes. the spinal nerves are subject to some special modifications, but in the main correspond to similar structures in higher vertebrates. the anterior root of each nerve is without ganglionic enlargement and contains only motor elements. the posterior or dorsal root is sensory only and widens into a ganglionic swelling near the base. a sympathetic system corresponding to that in the higher vertebrates is found in all the teleostei, or bony fishes, and in the body of sharks and rays in which it is not extended to the head. footnotes: [ ] the thalamencephalon or the interbrain is a name given to the region of the optic thalami, between the bases of the optic lobes and cerebrum. [ ] fishes recent and fossil, p. . chapter viii the organs of sense =the organs of smell.=--the sense-organs of the fish correspond in general to those of the higher vertebrates. the sense of taste is, however, feeble or wanting, and that of hearing is muffled and without power of acute discrimination, if indeed it exists at all. according to dr. kingsley (vert. zool., p. ), "recent experiments tend to show that in fishes the ears are without auditory functions and are solely organs of equilibration." the sense of smell resides in the nostrils, which have no relation to the work of breathing. no fish breathes through its nostrils, and only in a few of the lowest forms (hagfishes) does the nostril pierce through the roof of the mouth. in the bony fishes the nostril is a single cavity, on either side, lined with delicate or fringed membrane, well provided with blood-vessels, and with nerves from the olfactory lobe. in most cases each nasal cavity has two external openings. these may be simple, or the rim of the nostril may be elevated, forming a papilla or even a long barbel. either nostril may have a papilla or barbel, or the two may unite in one structure with two openings or with sieve-like openings, or in some degenerate types (_tropidichthys_) with no obvious openings at all, the olfactory nerves spreading over the skin of a small papilla. the openings may be round, slit-like, pore-like, or may have various other forms. in certain families of bony fishes (_pomacentridæ_, _cichlidæ_, _hexagrammidæ_), there is but one opening to each nostril. in the sharks, rays, and chimæras there is also but one opening on either side and the nostril is large and highly specialized, with valvular flaps controlled by muscles which are said to enable them "to scent actively as well as to smell passively." in the lancelet there is a single median organ supposed to be a nostril, a small depression at the front of the head, covered by ciliated membrane. in the hagfish the single median nostril pierces the roof of the mouth, and is strengthened by cartilaginous rings, like those of the windpipe. in the lamprey the single median nostril leads to a blind sac. in the _barramunda_ (_neoceratodus_) there are both external and internal nares, the former being situated just within the upper lip. in all other fishes there is a nasal sac on either side of the head. this has usually, but not always, two openings. there is little doubt that the sense of smell in fishes is relatively acute, and that the odor of their prey attracts them to it. it is known that flesh, blood, or a decaying carcass will attract sharks, and other predatory fish are drawn in a similar manner. at the same time the strength of this function is yet to be tested by experiments. [illustration: fig. .--dismal swamp fish, _chologaster cornutus_ agassiz. supposed ancestor of _typhlichthys_. virginia.] [illustration: fig. .--blind cavefish, _typhlichthys subterraneus_ girard. mammoth cave, kentucky.] =the organs of sight.=--the eyes of fishes differ from those of the higher vertebrates mainly in the spherical form of the crystalline lens. this extreme convexity is necessary because the lens itself is not very much denser than the fluid in which the fishes live. the eyes vary very much in size and somewhat in form and position. they are larger in fishes living at a moderate depth than in shore fishes or river fishes. at great depths, as a mile or more, where all light is lost, they may become aborted or rudimentary, and may be covered by the skin. often species with very large eyes, making the most of a little light or of light from their own luminous spots, will inhabit the same depths with fishes having very small eyes or eyes apparently useless for seeing, retained as vestigial structures through heredity. fishes which live in caves become also blind, the structures showing every possible phase of degradation. the details of this gradual loss of eyes, whether through reversed selection or hypothetically through inheritance of atrophy produced by disuse, have been given in a number of memoirs on the blind fishes of the mississippi valley by dr. carl h. eigenmann. in some fishes the eye is raised on a short, fleshy stalk and can be moved about at the will of the fish. it is said that the vision of the pond-skipper, _periophthalmus_, when hunting insects on the mud flats of japan or india is "quite equal to that of a frog." it is known also that trout possess keen eyesight, and that they show a marked preference for one sort or another of real or artificial fly. nevertheless the vision of fishes in general is probably not very precise. they apparently notice motion rather than outline, changes rather than objects, while the extreme curvature of the crystalline lens would seem to render them all near-sighted. [illustration: fig. .--four-eyed fish, _anableps dovii_ gill. tehuantepec, mexico.] in the eyes of the fishes there is no lachrymal gland. true eyelids no fishes possess; the integuments of the head pass over the eye, becoming transparent as they cross the orbit. in some fishes part of this integument is thickened, covering the eye fully although still transparent. this forms the adipose eyelid characteristic of the mullet, mackerel, and ladyfish. many of the sharks possess a distinct nictitating membrane or special eyelid, moved by a set of muscles. the iris in most fishes surrounds a round pupil without much power of contraction. it is frequently brightly colored, red, orange, black, blue, or green. in fishes, like rays or flounders, which lie on the bottom, a dark lobe covers the upper part of the pupil--a curtain to shut out light from above. the cornea is little convex, leaving small space for aqueous humor. in two genera of fishes, _anableps_, _dialommus_, the cornea is divided by a horizontal partition into two parts. this arrangement permits these fishes, which swim at the surface of the water, to see both in and out of the medium. _anableps_, the four-eyed fish, is a fresh-water fish of tropical america, which swims at the surface like a top-minnow, feeding on insects. _dialommus_ is a marine blenny from the panama region, apparently of similar habit. [illustration: fig. .--_ipnops murrayi_ günther.] in one genus of deep-sea fishes, _ipnops_, the eyes are spread out to cover the whole upper surface of the head, being modified as luminous areas. whether these fishes can see at all is not known. [illustration: fig. .--pond-skipper, _boleophthalmus chinensis_ (osbeck). bay of tokyo, japan; from nature. k. morita. (eye-stalks shrunken in preservation.)] the position of the optic nerves is described in a previous chapter. in ordinary fishes there is one eye on each side of the head, but in the flounders, by a distortion of the cranium, both appear on the same side. this side is turned uppermost as the fish swims in the water or when it lies on the bottom. this distortion is a matter of development. the very young flounder swims with its broad axis vertical in the water, and it has one eye on either side. as soon as it rests on the bottom it begins to lean to one side. the lower eye changes its axis and by degrees travels across the face of the fish, part of the bony interorbital moving with it across to the other side. in some soles it is said to pass through the substance of the head, reappearing on the other side. in all species which the writer has examined the cranium is twisted, the eye moving with the bones; and the frontal bone is divided, a new orbit being formed by this division. in most northern flounders the eyes are on the right side in the adult, in tropical forms more frequently on the left, these distinctions corresponding with others in the structure of the fish. in the lowest of the fish-like forms, the lancelet, the eye is simply a minute pigment-spot situated in the anterior wall of the ventricle at the anterior end of the central nervous system. in the hagfishes, which stand next highest in the series, the eye, still incomplete, is very small and hidden by the skin and muscles. this condition is very different from that of the blind fishes of the higher groups, in which the eye is lost through atrophy, because in life in caves or under rocks the function of seeing is no longer necessary. =the organs of hearing.=--the ear of the typical fish consists of the labyrinth only, including the vestibule and usually three semicircular canals, these dilating into sacs which contain one or more large, loose bones, the ear-stones or otoliths. in the lampreys there are two semicircular canals, in the hagfish but one. there is no external ear, no tympanum, and no eustachian tube. the ear-sac on each side is lodged in the skull or at the base of the cranial cavity. it is externally surrounded by bone or cartilage, but sometimes it lies near a fontanelle or opening in the skull above. in some fishes it is brought into very close connection with the anterior end of the air-bladder. the latter organ it is thought may form part of the apparatus for hearing. the arrangement for this purpose is especially elaborate in the carp and the catfish families. in these fishes and their relatives (called _ostariophysi_) the two vestibules are joined in a median sac (_sinus impar_) in the substance of the basioccipital. this communicates with two cavities in the atlas, which again are supported by two small bones, these resting on a larger one in connection with the front of the air-bladder. the system of bones is analogous to that found in the higher vertebrates, but it connects with the air-bladder, not with an external tympanum. the bones are not homologous with those of the ear of higher animals, being processes of the anterior vertebræ. the tympanic chain of higher vertebrates has been thought homologous with the suspensory of the mandible. [illustration: fig. .--brook lamprey, _lampetra wilderi_ jordan and evermann. (after gage.) cayuga lake.] the otoliths, commonly two in each labyrinth, are usually large, firm, calcareous bodies, with enamelled surface and peculiar grooves and markings. each species has its own form of otolith, but they vary much in different groups of fishes. [illustration: fig. .--european lancelet, _branchiostoma lanceolatum_ (pallas). (after parker and haswell.)] in the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and in the dipnoans the ear-sac is enclosed in the cartilaginous substance of the skull. there is a small canal extending to the surface of the skull, ending sometimes in a minute foramen. the otoliths in these fishes are soft and chalk-like. the lancelet shows no trace of an ear. in the cyclostomes, hagfishes, and lampreys it forms a capsule of relatively simple structure conspicuous in the prepared skeleton. the sense of hearing in fishes cannot be very acute, and is at the most confined to the perception of disturbances in the water. most movements of the fish are governed by sight rather than by sound. it is in fact extremely doubtful whether fishes really hear at all, in a way comparable to the auditory sense in higher vertebrates. recent experiments of professor g. h. parker on the killifish tend to show a moderate degree of auditory sense which grades into the sense of touch, the tubes of the lateral line assisting in both hearing and touch. while the killifish responds to a bass-viol string, there may be some fishes wholly deaf. =voices of fishes.=--some fishes make distinct noises variously described as quivering, grunting, grating, or singing. the name grunt is applied to species of _hæmulon_ and related genera, and fairly describes the sound these fishes make. the spanish name ronco or roncador (grunter or snorer) is applied to several fishes, both sciænoid and hæmuloid. the noise made by these fishes may be produced by forcing air from part to part of the complex air-bladder, or it may be due to grating one on another of the large pharyngeals. the grating sounds arise, no doubt, from the pharyngeals, while the quivering or singing sounds arise in the air-bladder. the midshipman, _porichthys notatus_, is often called singing fish, from a peculiar sound it emits. these sounds have not yet been carefully investigated. =the sense of taste.=--it is not certain that fishes possess a sense of taste, and it is attributed to them only through their homology with the higher animals. the tongue is without delicate membranes or power of motion. in some fishes certain parts of the palate or pharyngeal region are well supplied with nerves, but no direct evidence exists that these have a function of discrimination among foods. fishes swallow their food very rapidly, often whole, and mastication, when it takes place, is a crushing or cutting process, not one likely to be affected by the taste of the food. =the sense of touch.=--the sense of touch is better developed among fishes. most of them flee from contact with actively moving objects. many fishes use sensitive structures as a means of exploring the bottom or of feeling their way to their food. the barbel or fleshy filament wherever developed is an organ of touch. in some fishes, barbels are outgrowths from the nostrils. in the catfish the principal barbel grows from the rudimentary maxillary bone. in the horned dace and gudgeon the little barbel is attached to the maxillary. in other fishes barbels grow from the skin of the chin or snout. in the goatfish and surmullet the two chin barbels are highly specialized. in _polymixia_ the chin barbels are modified _branchiostegals_. in the codfish the single beard is little developed. in the gurnards and related forms the lower rays of the pectoral are separate and barbel-like. detached rays of this sort are found in the thread-fins (_polynemidæ_), the gurnards (_triglidæ_), and in various other fishes. barbels or fleshy flaps are often developed over the eyes and sometimes on the scales or the fins. [illustration: fig. .--goatfish, _pseudupeneus maculatus_ (bloch). woods hole.] the structure of the lateral line and its probable relation as a sense-organ is discussed on page . it is probable that it is associated with sense of touch, and hearing as well, the internal ear being originally "a modified part of the lateral-line system," as shown by parker,[ ] who calls the skin the lateral line and the ear "three generations of sense-organs." the sense of pain is very feeble among fishes. a trout has been known to bite at its own eye placed on a hook, and similar insensibility has been noted in the pike and other fishes. "the greenland shark, when feeding on the carcass of a whale, allows itself to be repeatedly stabbed in the head without abandoning its prey." (gÜnther.) footnotes: [ ] see parker, on the sense of hearing in fishes, american naturalist for march, . chapter ix the organs of reproduction =the germ-cells.=--in most fishes the germ-cells are produced in large sacs, ovaries or testes, arranged symmetrically one on either side of the posterior part of the abdominal cavity. the sexes are generally but not always similar externally, and may be distinguished on dissection by the difference between the sperm-cells and the ova. the ovary with its eggs is more yellow in color and the contained cells appear granular. the testes are whitish or pinkish, their secretion milk-like, and to the naked eye not granular. [illustration: fig. .--sword-tail minnow, male, _xiphophorus helleri_ heckel. the anal fin modified as an intromittent organ. vera cruz.] in a very few cases both organs have been found in the same fish, as in _serranus_, which is sometimes truly hermaphrodite. all fishes, however, seem to be normally dioecious, the two sexes in different individuals. usually there are no external genital organs, but in some species a papilla or tube is developed at the end of the urogenital sinus. this may exist in the breeding season only, as in the fresh-water lampreys, or it may persist through life as in some gobies. in the elasmobranchs, cartilaginous claspers, attached to the ventral fins in the male, serve as a conduit for the sperm-cells. =the eggs of fishes.=--the great majority of fishes are oviparous, the eggs being fertilized after deposition. the eggs are laid in gravel or sand or other places suitable for the species, and the milt containing the sperm-cells of the male is discharged over or among them in the water. a very small quantity of the sperm-fluid may impregnate a large number of eggs. but one sperm-cell can enter a particular egg. in a number of families the species are ovoviviparous, the eggs being hatched in the ovary or in a dilated part of the oviduct, the latter resembling a real uterus. in some sharks there is a structure analogous to the placenta of higher animals, but not of the same structure or origin. in the case of viviparous fishes actual copulation takes place and there is usually a modification of some organ to effect transfer of the sperm-cells. this is the purpose of the sword-shaped anal fin in many top-minnows (_pæciliidæ_), the fin itself being placed in advance of its usual position. in the surf-fishes (_embiotocidæ_) the structure of part of the anal fin is modified, although it is not used as an intromittent organ. in the elasmobranchs, as already stated, large organs of cartilage (claspers) are developed from the ventral fins. [illustration: fig. .--white surf-fish, viviparous, with young, _cymatogaster aggregatus_ gibbons. san francisco.] in some viviparous fishes, as in the rockfishes (_sebastodes_) and rosefishes (_sebastes_), the young are very minute at birth. [illustration: fig. .--_goodea luitpoldi_ (steindachner). a viviparous fish from lake patzcuaro, mexico. family _pæciliidæ_. (after meek.)] in others, as the surf-fishes (_embiotocidæ_), they are relatively large and few in number. in the viviparous sharks, which constitute the majority of the species of living sharks, the young are large at birth and prepared to take care of themselves. [illustration: fig. .--egg of _callorhynchus antarcticus_, the bottle-nosed chimæra. (after parker and haswell.)] the eggs of fishes vary very much in size and form. in those sharks and rays which lay eggs the ova are deposited in a horny egg-case, in color and texture suggesting the kelp in which they are laid. the eggs of the bullhead sharks (_heterodontus_) are spirally twisted, those of the cat-sharks (_scyliorhinidæ_) are quadrate with long filaments at the angles. those of rays are wheelbarrow-shaped with four "handles." one egg-case of a ray may sometimes contain several eggs and develop several young. the eggs of lancelets are small, but those of the hagfishes are large, ovate, with fibres at each side, each with a triple hook at tip. the chimæra has also large egg-cases, oblong in form. [illustration: fig. .--egg of the hagfish, _myxine limosa_ girard, showing threads for attachment. (after dean.)] in the higher fishes the eggs are spherical, large or small according to the species, and varying in the firmness of their outer walls. all contain food-yolk from which the embryo in its earlier stages is fed. the eggs of the eel (_anguilla_) are microscopic. according to günther , eggs have been counted in the herring, , in the lumpfish, , , in the halibut, , in the sturgeon, and , , in the cod. smaller numbers are found in fishes with large ova. the red salmon has about eggs, the king salmon about . where an oviduct is present the eggs are often poured out in glutinous masses, as in the bass. when, as in the salmon, there is no oviduct, the eggs lie separate and do not cohere together. it is only with the latter class of fishes, those in which the eggs remain distinct, that artificial impregnation and hatching is practicable. in this regard the value of the salmon and trout is predominant. in some fishes, especially those of elongate form, as the needle-fish (_tylosurus_), the ovary of but one side is developed. [illustration: fig. .--egg of port jackson shark, _heterodontus philippi_ (lacépède). (after parker and haswell.)] =protection of the young.=--in most fishes the parents take no care of their eggs or young. in some catfishes (_platystacus_) the eggs adhere to the under surface of the female. in a kind of pipefish (_solenostomus_), a large pouch for retention of the eggs is formed on the belly of the female. in the sea-horses and pipefishes a pouch is formed in the skin, usually underneath the tail of the male. into this the eggs are thrust, and here the young fishes hatch out, remaining until large enough to take care of themselves. in certain sea catfishes (_galeichthys, conorhynchos_) the male carries the eggs in his mouth, thus protecting them from the attacks of other fishes. in numerous cases the male constructs a rough nest, which he defends against all intruders, against the female as well as against outside enemies. the nest-building habit is especially developed in the sticklebacks (_gasterosteidæ_), a group in which the male fish, though a pygmy in size, is very fierce in disposition. in a minnow of europe (_rhodeus amarus_) the female is said to deposit her eggs within the shells of river mussels. =sexual modification.=--in the relatively few cases in which the sexes are unlike the male is usually the brighter in color and with more highly developed fins. blue, red, black, and silvery-white pigment are especially characteristic of the male, the olivaceous and mottled coloration of the female. sometimes the male has a larger mouth, or better developed crests, barbels, or other appendages. in some species the pattern of coloration in the two sexes is essentially different. in various species the male develops peculiar structures not found in the female, and often without any visible purpose. in the chimæra a peculiar cartilaginous hook armed with a brush of enamelled teeth at the tip is developed on the forehead in the male only. in the skates or true rays (_raja_) the pectoral fin has near its edge two rows of stout incurved spines. these the female lacks. in the breeding season, among certain fishes, the male sometimes becomes much brighter by the accumulation of bright red or blue pigment accompanied by black or white pigment cells. this is especially true in the minnows (_notropis_), the darters (_etheostoma_), and other fresh-water species which spawn in the brooks of northern regions in the spring. in the minnows and suckers horny excrescences are also developed on head, body, or fins, to be lost after the deposition of the spawn. in the salmon, especially those of the pacific, the adult male becomes greatly distorted in the spawning season, the jaws and teeth being greatly elongated and hooked or twisted so that the fish cannot shut its mouth. the atlantic salmon and the trout show also some elongation of the jaws, but not to the same extent. in those fishes which pair the relation seems not to be permanent, nor is there anything to be called personal affection among them so far as the writer has noticed. there is no evidence that the bright colors or nuptial adornments of the males are enhanced by sexual selection. in most species the males deposit the sperm-cells in spawning-grounds without much reference to the preference of the females. in general the brightest colors are not found among viviparous fishes. none of the groups in which the males are showily colored, while the females are plain, belong to this class. the brightest colors are found on the individuals most mature or having greatest vitality. chapter x embryology and growth of fishes =segmentation of the egg.=--the egg of the fish develops only after fertilization (amphimixis). this process is the union of its nuclear substance with that of the sperm-cell from the male, each cell carrying its equal share in the function of heredity. when this process takes place the egg is ready to begin its segmentation. the eggs of all fishes are single cells containing more or less food-yolk. the presence of this food-yolk affects the manner of segmentation in general, those eggs having the least amount of food-yolk developing most typically. the simplest of all fish like vertebrates, the lancelet (_branchiostoma_) has very small eggs, and in their early development it passes through stages that are typical for all many-celled animals. the first stage in development is the simple splitting of the egg into two halves. these two daughter cells next divide so that there are four cells; each of these divides, and this division is repeated until a great number of cells is produced. the phenomenon of repeated division of the germ-cell is called cleavage, and this cleavage is the first stage of development in the case of all many-celled animals. instead of forming a solid mass the cells arrange themselves in such a way as to form a hollow ball, the wall being a layer one cell thick. the included cavity is called the segmentation cavity, and the whole structure is known as a blastula. this stage also is common to all the many-celled animals. the next stage is the conversion of the blastula into a double-walled cup, known as a gastrula by the pushing in of one side. all the cells of the blastula are very small, but those on one side are somewhat larger than those of the other, and here the wall first flattens and then bends in until finally the larger cells come into contact with the smaller and the segmentation cavity is entirely obliterated. there is now an inner layer of cells and an outer layer, the inner layer being known as the endoblast and the outer as the ectoblast. the cavity of the cup thus formed is the archenteron and gives rise primarily to the alimentary canal. this third well-marked stage is called the gastrula stage; and it is thought to occur either typically or in some modified form in the development of all metazoa, or many-celled animals. in the lampreys, the ganoids, and the dipnoans the eggs contain a much greater quantity of yolk than those of the lancelet, but the segmentation resembles that of the lancelet in that it is complete; that is, the whole mass of the egg divides into cells. there is a great difference, however, in the size of the cells, those at the upper pole being much smaller than those at the lower. in _petromyzon_ and the dipnoans blastula and gastrula stages result, which, though differing in some particulars from the corresponding stages of the lancelet, may yet readily be compared with them. in the hagfishes, sharks, rays, chimæras, and most bony fishes there is a large quantity of yolk, and the protoplasm, instead of being distributed evenly throughout the egg, is for the most part accumulated upon one side, the nucleus being within this mass of protoplasm. when the food substance or yolk is consumed and the little fish is able to shift for itself, it leaves the egg-envelopes and is said to be hatched. the figures on page show some of the stages by which cells are multiplied and ultimately grouped together to form the little fish. =post-embryonic development.=--in all the fishes the development of the embryo goes on within the egg long after the gastrula stage is passed, and until the embryo becomes a complex body, composed of many differing tissues and organs. almost all the development may take place within the egg, so that when the young animal hatches there is necessary little more than a rapid growth and increase of size to make it a fully developed mature animal. this is the case with most fishes: a little fish just hatched has most of the tissues and organs of a full-grown fish, and is simply a small fish. but in the case of some fishes the young hatches from the egg before it has reached such an advanced state of development, and the young looks very different from its parent. it must yet undergo considerable change before it reaches the structural condition of a fully developed and fully grown fish. thus the development of most fishes is almost wholly embryonic development--that is, development within the egg or in the body of the mother--while the development of some of them is to a considerable degree post-embryonic or larval development. there is no important difference between embryonic and post-embryonic development. the development is continuous from egg-cell to mature animal and, whether inside or outside of an egg, it goes on with a degree of regularity. while certain fishes are subject to a sort of metamorphosis, the nature of this change is in no way to be compared with the change in insects which undergo a complete metamorphosis. in the insects all the organs of the body are broken down and rebuilt in the process of change. in all fishes a structure once formed maintains a more nearly continuous integrity although often considerably altered in form. =general laws of development.=--the general law of development may be briefly stated as follows: all many-celled animals begin life as a single cell, the fertilized egg-cell; each animal goes through a certain orderly series of developmental changes which, accompanied by growth, leads the animal to change from single-cell to many-celled, complex form characteristic of the species to which the animal belongs; this development is from simple to complex structural condition; the development is the same for all individuals of one species. while all animals begin development similarly, the course of development in the different groups soon diverges, the divergence being of the nature of a branching, like that shown in the growth of a tree. in the free tips of the smallest branches we have represented the various species of animals in their fully developed condition, all standing clearly apart from each other. but in tracing back the development of any kind of animal we soon come to a point where it very much resembles or becomes apparently identical with some other kind of animal, and going farther back we find it resembling other animals in their young condition, and so on until we come to that first stage of development, that trunk stage where all animals are structurally alike. any animal at any stage in its existence differs absolutely from any other kind of animal, in this respect: it can develop into only its own kind. there is something inherent in each developing animal that gives it an identity of its own. although in its young stages it may be indistinguishable from some other species of animal in its young stages, it is sure to come out, when fully developed, an individual of the same kind as its parents were or are. the young fish and the young salamander may be alike to all appearance, but one embryo is sure to develop into a fish, and the other into a salamander. this certainty of an embryo to become an individual of a certain kind is called the law of heredity. viewed in the light of development, there must be as great a difference between one egg and another as between one animal and another, for the greater difference is included in the less. =the significance of facts of development.=--the significance of the process of development in any species is yet far from completely understood. it is believed that many of the various stages in the development of an animal correspond to or repeat the structural condition of the animal's ancestors. naturalists believe that all animals having a notochord at any stage in their existence are related to each other through being descended from a common ancestor, the first or oldest chordate or back-boned animal. in fact it is because all these chordate animals--the lancelets, lampreys, fishes, batrachians, the reptiles, the birds, and the mammals--have descended from a common ancestor that they all develop a notochord, and those most highly organized replace this by a complete back-bone. it is believed that the descendants of the first back-boned animal have, in the course of many generations, branched off little by little from the original type until there came to exist very real and obvious differences among the back-boned animals--differences which among the living back-boned animals are familiar to all of us. the course of development of an individual animal is believed to be a very rapid and evidently much condensed and changed recapitulation of the history which the species or kind of animal to which the developing individual belongs has passed through in the course of its descent through a long series of gradually changing ancestors. if this is true, then we can readily understand why the fish and the salamander and the tortoise and bird and rabbit are all alike in their earlier stages of development, and gradually come to differ more and more as they pass through later and later developmental stages. =development of the bony fishes.[ ]= the mode of development of bony fishes differs in many and apparently important regards from that of their nearest kindred, the ganoids. in their eggs a large amount of yolk is present, and its relations to the embryo have become widely specialized. as a rule, the egg of a teleost is small, perfectly spherical, and enclosed in delicate but greatly distended membranes. the germ disc is especially small, appearing on the surface as an almost transparent fleck. among the fishes whose eggs float at the surface during development, as of many pelagic teleosts, e.g., the sea-bass, _centropristes striatus_, the yolk is lighter in specific gravity than the germ; it is of fluid-like consistency, almost transparent. in the yolk at the upper pole of the egg an oil globule usually occurs; this serves to lighten the relative weight of the entire egg, and from its position must aid in keeping this pole of the egg uppermost. [illustration: fig. .--development of sea-bass, _centropristes striatus_ (linnæus). _a_, egg prior to germination; _b_, germ-disk after first cleavage; _c_, germ-disk after third cleavage; _d_, embryo just before hatching. (after h. v. wilson.)] in the early segmentation of the germ the first cleavage plane is established, and the nuclear divisions have taken place for the second; in the latter the third cleavage has been completed. as in other fishes these cleavages are vertical, the third parallel to the first. a segmentation cavity occurs as a central space between the blastomeres, as it does in the sturgeon and garpike. in stages of late segmentation the segmentation cavity is greatly flattened, but extends to the marginal cells of the germ-disk; its roof consists of two tiers of blastomeres, its floor of a thin film of the unsegmented substance of the germ; the marginal blastomeres are continuous with both roof and floor of the cavity, and are produced into a thin film which passes downward, around the sides of the yolk. later the segmentation cavity is still further flattened; its roof is now a dome-shaped mass of blastomeres; the marginal cells have multiplied, and their nuclei are seen in the layer of the germ, below the plane of the segmentation cavity. these are seen in the surface view of the marginal cells of this stage; they are separated by cell boundaries only at the sides; below they are continuous in the superficial down-reaching layer of the germ. the marginal cells shortly lose all traces of having been separate; their nuclei, by continued division, spread into the layer of germ flooring the segmentation cavity, and into the delicate film of germ which now surrounds the entire yolk. thus is formed the _periblast_ of the teleost development, which from this point onward is to separate the embryo from the yolk; it is clearly the specialized inner part of the germ, which, becoming fluid-like, loses its cell-walls, although retaining and multiplying its nuclei. later the periblast comes into intimate relations with the growing embryo; it lies directly against it, and appears to receive cell increments from it at various regions; on the other hand, the nuclei of the periblast, from their intimate relations with the yolk, are supposed to subserve some function in its assimilation. aside from the question of periblast, the growth of the blastoderm appears not unlike that of the sturgeon. from the blastula stage to that of the early gastrula, the changes have been but slight; the blastoderm has greatly flattened out as its margins grow downward, leaving the segmentation cavity apparent. the rim of the blastoderm has become thickened as the 'germ-ring'; and immediately in front of the dorsal lip of the blastopore its thickening marks the appearance of the embryo. the germ-ring continues to grow downward, and shows more prominently the outline of the embryo; this now terminates at the head region; while on either side of this point spreads out tail-ward on either side the indefinite layer of outgrowing mesoderm. in the next stage the closure of the blastopore is rapidly becoming completed; in front of it stretches the widened and elongated form of the embryo. the yolk-plug is next replaced by periblast, the dorsal lip by the tail-mass, or more accurately the dorsal section of the germ-rim; the coelenteron under the dorsal lip has here disappeared, on account of the close approximation of the embryo to the periblast; its last remnant, the kupffer's vesicle, is shortly to disappear. the germ-layers become confluent, but, unlike the sturgeon, the flattening of the dorsal germ-ring does not permit the formation of a neurenteric canal. [illustration: fig. . sea-bass, _centropristes striatus_, natural size. (from life, by r. w. shufeldt.)--page .] the process of the development of the germ-layers in teleosts appears as an abbreviated one, although in many of its details it is but imperfectly known. in the development of the medullary groove, as an example, the following peculiarities exist: the medullary region is but an insunken mass of cells without a trace of the groove-like surface indentation. it is only later, when becoming separate from the ectoderm, that it acquires its rounded character; its cellular elements then group themselves symmetrically with reference to a sagittal plane, where later, by their dissociation, the canal of the spinal cord is formed. the growth of the entoderm is another instance of specialized development. in an early stage the entoderm exists in the axial region, its thickness tapering away abruptly on either side; its lower surface is closely apposed to the periblast; its dorsal thickening will shortly become separate as the notochord. in a following stage of development the entoderm is seen to arch upward in the median line as a preliminary stage in the formation of the cavity of the gut. later, by the approximation of the entoderm-cells in the median ventral line, the condition is reached where the completed gut-cavity exists. the formation of the mesoderm in teleosts is not definitely understood. it is usually said to arise as a process of 'delamination,' i.e., detaching itself in a mass from the entoderm. its origin is, however, looked upon generally as of a specialized and secondary character. the mode of formation of the gill-slit of the teleost does not differ from that in other groups; an evagination of the entoderm coming in contact with an invaginated tract of ectoderm fuses, and at this point an opening is later established. the late embryo of the teleost, though of rounded form, is the more deeply implanted in the yolk-sac than that of the sturgeon; it is transparent, allowing notochord, primitive segments, heart, and sense-organs to be readily distinguished; at about this stage both anus and mouth are making their appearance. [illustration: fig. .--young sword-fish, _xiphias gladius_ (linnæus). (after lütken.)] =the larval development of fishes.[ ]=--"when the young fish has freed itself from its egg-membranes it gives but little suggestion of its adult form. it enters upon a larval existence, which continues until maturity. the period of change of form varies widely in the different groups of fishes, from a few weeks' to longer than a year's duration; and the extent of the changes that the larva undergoes are often surprisingly broad, investing every organ and tissue of the body, the immature fish passing through a series of form stages which differ one from the other in a way strongly contrasting with the mode of growth of amniotes; since the chick, reptile, or mammal emerges from its embryonic membranes in nearly its adult form. [illustration: fig. .--sword-fish, _xiphias gladius_ (linnæus). (after day.)] the fish may, in general, be said to begin its existence as a larva as soon as it emerges from its egg-membranes. in some instances, however, it is difficult to decide at what point the larval stage is actually initiated: thus in sharks the excessive amount of yolk material which has been provided for the growth of the larva renders unnecessary the emerging from the egg at an early stage; and the larval period is accordingly to be traced back to stages that are still enclosed in the egg-membranes. in all cases the larval life may be said to begin when the following conditions have been fulfilled: the outward form of the larva must be well defined, separating it from the mass of yolk, its motions must be active, it must possess a continuous vertical fin-fold passing dorsally from the head region to the body terminal, and thence ventrally as far as the yolk region; and the following structures, characteristic in outward appearance, must also be established: the sense-organs--eye, ear, and nose--mouth and anus, and one or more gill-clefts. [illustration: fig. .--larva of the sail-fish, _istiophorus_, very young. (after lütken.)] [illustration: fig. .--larva of brook lamprey, _lampetra wilderi_, before transformation, being as large as the adult, toothless, and more distinctly segmented.] [illustration: fig. .--common eel. _anguilla chrisypa_ rafinesque. family _anguillidæ_.] among the different groups of fishes the larval changes are brought about in widely different ways. these larval peculiarities appear at first of far-reaching significance, but may ultimately be attributed, the writer believes, to changed environmental conditions, wherein one process may be lengthened, another shortened. so, too, the changes from one stage to another may occur with surprising abruptness. as a rule, it may be said the larval stage is of longest duration in the cyclostomes, and thence diminished in length in sharks, lung-fishes, ganoids, and teleosts; in the last-named group a very much curtailed (i.e., precocious) larval life may often occur. [illustration: fig. .--larva of common eel, _anguilla chrisypa_ (rafinesque), called _leptocephalus grassii_. (after eigenmann.)] the metamorphoses of the newly hatched teleost must finally be reviewed; they are certainly the most varied and striking of all larval fishes, and, singularly enough, appear to be crowded into the briefest space of time; the young fish, hatched often as early as on the fourth day, is then of the most immature character; it is transparent, delicate, easily injured, inactive; within a month, however, it may have assumed almost every detail of its mature form. a form hatching three millimeters in length may acquire the adult form before it becomes much longer than a centimeter. [illustration: fig. .--larva of sturgeon, _acipenser sturio_ (linnæus). (after kupffer, per dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--larva (called _tholichthys_) of _chætodon sedentarius_ (poey). cuba. (after lütken,)] [illustration: fig. .--butterfly-fish, _chætodon capistratus_ linnæus. jamaica.] =peculiar larval forms.=--the young fish usually differs from the adult mainly in size and proportions. the head is larger in the young, the fins are lower, the appendages less developed, and the body more slender in the young than in the adult. but to most of these distinctions there are numerous exceptions, and in some fish there is a change so marked as to be fairly called a metamorphosis. in such cases the young fish in its first condition is properly called a larva. the larva of the lamprey (_petromyzon_) is nearly blind and toothless, with slender head, and was long supposed to belong to a different genus (_ammocoetes_) from the adult. the larva of sharks and rays, and also of dipnoans and crossopterygians, are provided with bushy external gills, which disappear in the process of development. in most soft-rayed fishes the embryonic fringe which precedes the development of the vertical fins persists for a considerable time. in many young fishes, especially the _chætodontidæ_ and their allies (butterfly-fishes), the young fish has the head armed with broad plates formed by the backward extension of certain membrane-bones. in other forms the bones of the head are in the young provided with long spines or with serrations, which vanish totally with age. such a change is noticeable in the swordfish. in this species the production of the bones of the snout and upper jaw into a long bony sword, or weapon of offense, takes place only with age. the young fish have jaws more normally formed, and armed with ordinary teeth. in the headfish (_mola mola_) large changes take place in the course of growth, and the young have been taken for a different type of fishes. among certain soft-rayed fishes and eels the young is often developed in a peculiar way, being very soft, translucent, or band-like, and formed of large or loosely aggregated cells. these peculiar organisms, long known as leptocephali, have been shown to be the normal young of fishes when mature very different. in the ladyfish (_albula_) dr. gilbert has shown, by a full series of specimens, that in their further growth these pellucid fishes shrink in size, acquiring greater compactness of body, until finally reaching about half their maximum length as larvæ. after this, acquiring essentially the form of the adult fish, they begin a process of regular growth. this leptocephalous condition is thought by günther to be due to arrest of growth in abnormal individuals, but this is not the case in _albula_, and it is probably fully normal in the conger and other eels. in the surf-fishes the larvæ have their vertical fins greatly elevated, much higher than in the adult, while the body is much more closely compressed. in the deal-fish (_trachypterus_) the form of the body and fins changes greatly with age, the body becoming more elongate and the fins lower. the differences between different stages of the same fish seem greater than the differences between distinct species. in fact with this and with other forms which change with age, almost the only test of species is found in the count of the fin-rays. so far as known the numbers of these structures do not change. in the moonfishes (_carangidæ_) the changes with age are often very considerable. we copy lütken's figure of the changes in the genus _selene_ (fig. ). similar changes take place in _alectis_, _vomer_, and other genera. [illustration: _fig. ._--_mola mola_ (linnæus). very early larval stage of the headfish, called _centaurus boöps_. (after richardson.)] [illustration: fig. .--_mola mola_ (linnæus). early larval stage, called _molacanthus nummularis_. (after ryder.)] [illustration: fig. .--_mola mola_ (linnæus). advanced larval stage. (after ryder.)] =the development of flounders.=--in the great group of flounders and soles (_heterosomata_) the body is greatly compressed and the species swim on one side or lie flat on the bottom, with one side uppermost. this upper side is colored like the bottom, sand-color, gray, or brown, while the lower side is mostly white. both eyes are brought around to the upper side by a twisting of the cranium and a modification or division of the frontal bones. when the young flounder is hatched it is translucent and symmetrical, swimming vertically in the water, with one eye on either side of the head. after a little the young fish rests the ventral edge on the bottom. it then leans to one side, and as its position gradually becomes horizontal the eye on the lower side moves across with its frontal and other bones to the other side. in most species it passes directly under the first interneurals of the dorsal fin. these changes are best observed in the genus _platophrys_. =hybridism.=--hybridism is very rare among fishes in a state of nature. two or three peculiar forms among the snappers (_lutianus_) in cuba seem fairly attributable to hybridism, the single specimen of each showing a remarkable mixture of characters belonging to two other common species. hybrids may be readily made in artificial impregnation among those fishes with which this process is practicable. hybrids of the different salmon or trout usually share nearly equally the traits of the parent species. =the age of fishes.=--the age of fishes is seldom measured by a definite period of years. most of them grow as long as they live, and apparently live until they fall victims to some stronger species. it is reputed that carp and pike have lived for a century, but the evidence needs verification. some fishes, as the salmon of the pacific (_oncorhynchus_), have a definite period of growth (usually four years) before spawning. after this act all the individuals die so far as known. in japan and china the ice-fish (_salanx_), a very long, slender, transparent fish allied to the trout, may possibly be annual in habit, all the individuals perhaps dying in the fall to be reproduced from eggs in the spring. but this alleged habit needs verification. [illustration: fig. .--headfish (adult), _mola mola_ (linnæus). virginia.] =tenacity of life.=--fishes differ greatly in tenacity of life. in general, fishes of the deep seas die at once if brought near the surface. this is due to the reduction of external pressure. the internal pressure forces the stomach out through the mouth and may burst the air-bladder and the large blood-vessels. marine fishes usually die very soon after being drawn out from the sea. [illustration: fig. .--_albula vulpes_ (linnæus). transformation of the ladyfish, from the translucent, loosely compacted larva to the smaller, firm-bodied young. gulf of california. (after gilbert.)] [illustration: fig. .--development of the horsehead-fish, _selene vomer_ (linnæus). family _carangidæ_. (after lütken.)] some fresh-water fishes are very fragile, dying soon in the air, often with injured air-bladder or blood-vessels. they will die even sooner in foul water. other fishes are extremely tenacious of life. the mud-minnow (_umbra_) is sometimes ploughed up in the half-dried mud of wisconsin prairies. the related alaskan blackfish (_dallia_) has been fed frozen to dogs, escaping alive from their stomachs after being thawed out. many of the catfishes (_siluridæ_) will live after lying half-dried in the dust for hours. the dipnoan, _lepidosiren_, lives in a ball of half-dried mud during the arid season, and certain fishes, mostly asiatic, belonging to the group _labyrinthici_, with accessory breathing organ can long maintain themselves out of water. among these is the china-fish (_ophiocephalus_), often kept alive in the chinese settlements in california and hawaii. some fishes can readily endure prolonged hunger, while others succumb as readily as a bird or a mammal. [illustration: fig. .--ice-fish, _salanx hyalocranius_ abbott. family _salangidæ_. tientsin, china.] [illustration: fig. .--alaska blackfish, _dallia pectoralis_ (bean). st. michaels, alaska.] =the effects of temperature on fish.=--the limits of distribution of many fishes are marked by changes in temperature. few marine fishes can endure any sudden or great change in this regard, although fresh-water fishes adapt themselves to the seasons. i have seen the cutlass-fish (_trichiurus_) benumbed with cold off the coast of florida while the temperature was still above the frost-line. those fishes which are tenacious of life and little sensitive to changes in climate and food are most successfully acclimatized or domesticated. the chinese carp (_cyprinus carpio_) and the japanese goldfish (_carassius auratus_) have been naturalized in almost all temperate and tropical river basins. within the limits of clear, cold waters most of the salmon and trout are readily transplanted. but some similar fishes (as the grayling) are very sensitive to the least change in conditions. most of the catfish (_siluridæ_) will thrive in almost any fresh waters except those which are very cold. [illustration: fig. .--snake-headed china-fish, _ophiocephalus barca_. india. (after day.)] =transportation of fishes.=--the eggs of species of salmon, placed in ice to retard their development, have been successfully transplanted to great distances. the quinnat-salmon has been thus transferred from california to australia. it has been found possible to stock rivers and lakes with desirable species, or to restock those in which the fish-supply has been partly destroyed, through the means of artificially impregnated eggs. the method still followed is said to be the discovery of j. l. jacobi of westphalia (about ). this process permits the saving of nearly all the eggs produced by the individuals taken. in a condition of nature very many of these eggs would be left unfertilized, or be destroyed by other animals. fishes are readily kept in captivity in properly constructed aquaria. unless injured in capture or transportation, there are few species outside the deep seas which cannot adapt themselves to life in a well-constructed aquarium. =reproduction of lost parts.=--fishes have little power to reproduce lost parts. only the tips of fleshy structures are thus restored after injury. sometimes a fish in which the tail has been bitten off will survive the injury. the wound will heal, leaving the animal with a truncate body, fin-rays sometimes arising from the scars. [illustration: fig. .--monstrous goldfish (bred in japan), _carassius auratus_ (linnæus). (after günther.)] =monstrosities among fishes.=--monstrosities are rare among fishes in a state of nature. two-headed young are frequently seen at salmon-hatcheries, and other abnormally divided or united young are not infrequent. among domesticated species monstrosities are not infrequent, and sometimes, as in the goldfish, these have been perpetuated to become distinct breeds or races. goldfishes with telescopic eyes and fantastic fins, and with the green coloration changed to orange, are reared in japan, and are often seen in other countries. the carp has also been largely modified, the changes taking place chiefly in the scales. some are naked (leather-carp), others (mirror-carp) have a few large scales arranged in series. footnotes: [ ] this account of the normal development of the teleost fishes is condensed from dr. dean's "fishes living and fossil," in which work the details of growth in the teleost are contrasted with those of other types of fishes. [ ] this paragraph is condensed from dean's "fishes living and fossil." chapter xi instincts, habits, and adaptations =the habits of fishes.=--the habits of fishes can hardly be summarized in any simple mode of classification. in the usual course of fish-life the egg is laid in the early spring, in water shallower than that in which the parents spend their lives. in most cases it is hatched as the water grows warmer. the eggs of the members of the salmon and cod families are, however, mostly hatched in cooling waters. the young fish gathers with others of its species in little schools, feeds on smaller fishes of other species or of its own, grows and changes until maturity, deposits its eggs, and the cycle of life begins again, while the old fish ultimately dies or is devoured. =irritability of animals.=--all animals, of whatever degree of organization, show in life the quality of irritability or response to external stimulus. contact with external things produces some effect on each of them, and this effect is something more than the mere mechanical effect on the matter of which the animal is composed. in the one-celled animals the functions of response to external stimulus are not localized. they are the property of any part of the protoplasm of the body. in the higher or many-celled animals each of these functions is specialized and localized. a certain set of cells is set apart for each function, and each organ or series of cells is released from all functions save its own. =nerve-cells and fibres.=--in the development of the individual animal certain cells from the primitive external layer or ectoblast of the embryo are set apart to preside over the relations of the creature to its environment. these cells are highly specialized, and while some of them are highly sensitive, others are adapted for carrying or transmitting the stimuli received by the sensitive cells, and still others have the function of receiving sense-impressions and of translating them into impulses of motion. the nerve-cells are receivers of impressions. these are gathered together in nerve-masses or ganglia, the largest of these being known as the brain, the ganglia in general being known as nerve-centres. the nerves are of two classes. the one class, called sensory nerves, extends from the skin or other organ of sensation to the nerve-centre. the nerves of the other class, motor nerves, carry impulses to motion. =the brain, or sensorium.=--the brain or other nerve-centre sits in darkness, surrounded by a bony protecting box. to this main nerve-centre, or _sensorium_, come the nerves from all parts of the body that have sensation, the external skin as well as the special organs of sight, hearing, taste, and smell. with these come nerves bearing sensations of pain, temperature, muscular effort--all kinds of sensation which the brain can receive. these nerves are the sole sources of knowledge to any animal organism. whatever idea its brain may contain must be built up through these nerve-impressions. the aggregate of these impressions constitute the world as the organism knows it. all sensation is related to action. if an organism is not to act, it cannot feel, and the intensity of its feeling is related to its power to act. =reflex action.=--these impressions brought to the brain by the sensory nerves represent in some degree the facts in the animal's environment. they teach something as to its food or its safety. the power of locomotion is characteristic of animals. if they move, their actions must depend on the indications carried to the nerve-centre from the outside; if they feed on living organisms, they must seek their food; if, as in many cases, other living organisms prey on them, they must bestir themselves to escape. the impulse of hunger on the one hand and of fear on the other are elemental. the sensorium receives an impression that food exists in a certain direction. at once an impulse to motion is sent out from it to the muscles necessary to move the body in that direction. in the higher animals these movements are more rapid and more exact. this is because organs of sense, muscles, nerve-fibres, and the nerve-cells are all alike highly specialized. in the fish the sensation is slow, the muscular response sluggish, but the method remains the same. this is simple reflex action, an impulse from the environment carried to the brain and then unconsciously reflected back as motion. the impulse of fear is of the same nature. reflex action is in general unconscious, but with animals, as with man, it shades by degrees into conscious action, and into volition or action "done on purpose." =instinct.=--different animals show differences in method or degree of response to external influences. fishes will pursue their prey, flee from a threatening motion, or disgorge sand or gravel swallowed with their food. such peculiarities of different forms of life constitute the basis of instinct. instinct is automatic obedience to the demands of conditions external to the nervous system. as these conditions vary with each kind of animal, so must the demands vary, and from this arises the great variety actually seen in the instincts of different animals. as the demands of life become complex, so do the instincts. the greater the stress of environment, the more perfect the automatism, for impulses to safe action are necessarily adequate to the duty they have to perform. if the instinct were inadequate, the species would have become extinct. the fact that its individuals persist shows that they are provided with the instincts necessary to that end. instinct differs from other allied forms of response to external condition in being hereditary, continuous from generation to generation. this sufficiently distinguishes it from reason, but the line between instinct and reason and other forms of reflex action cannot be sharply drawn. it is not necessary to consider here the question of the origin of instincts. some writers regard them as "inherited habits," while others, with apparent justice, doubt if mere habits or voluntary actions repeated till they become a "second nature" ever leave a trace upon heredity. such investigators regard instinct as the natural survival of those methods of automatic response which were most useful to the life of the animal, the individual having less effective methods of reflex action perishing, leaving no posterity. =classification of instincts.=--the instincts of fishes may be roughly classified as to their relation to the individual into egoistic and altruistic instincts. _egoistic instincts_ are those which concern chiefly the individual animal itself. to this class belong the instincts of feeding, those of self-defense and of strife, the instincts of play, the climatic instincts, and environmental instincts, those which direct the animal's mode of life. _altruistic instincts_ are those which relate to parenthood and those which are concerned with the mass of individuals of the same species. the latter may be called the social instincts. in the former class, the instincts of parenthood, may be included the instinct of courtship, reproduction, home-making, nest-building, and care for the young. most of these are feebly developed among fishes. the instincts of feeding are primitively simple, growing complex through complex conditions. the fish seizes its prey by direct motion, but the conditions of life modify this simple action to a very great degree. the instinct of self-defense is even more varied in its manifestations. it may show itself either in the impulse to make war on an intruder or in the desire to flee from its enemies. among carnivorous forms fierceness of demeanor serves at once in attack and in defense. herbivorous fishes, as a rule, make little direct resistance to their enemies, depending rather on swiftness of movement, or in some cases on simple insignificance. to the latter cause the abundance of minnows, anchovies, and other small or feeble fishes may be attributed, for all are the prey of carnivorous fishes, which they far exceed in number. the instincts of courtship relate chiefly to the male, the female being more or less passive. among many fishes the male makes himself conspicuous in the breeding season, spreading his fins, intensifying his pigmented colors through muscular tension, all this supposedly to attract the attention of the female. that this purpose is actually accomplished by such display is not, however, easily proved. in the little brooks in spring, male minnows can be found with warts on the nose or head, with crimson pigment on the fins, or blue pigment on the back, or jet-black pigment all over the head, or with varied combination of all these. their instinct is to display all these to the best advantage, even though the conspicuous hues lead to their own destruction. the movements of many migratory animals are mainly controlled by the impulse to reproduce. some pelagic fishes, especially flying fishes and fishes allied to the mackerel, swim long distances to a region favorable for a deposition of spawn. some species are known only in the waters they make their breeding homes, the individuals being scattered through the wide seas at other times. many fresh-water fishes, as trout, suckers, etc., forsake the large streams in the spring, ascending the small brooks where they can rear their young in greater safety. still others, known as anadromous fishes, feed and mature in the sea, but ascend the rivers as the impulse of reproduction grows strong. an account of these is given in a subsequent paragraph. [illustration: fig. .--jaws of _nemichthys avocetta_. jordan and gilbert.] =variability of instincts.=--when we study instincts of animals with care and in detail, we find that their regularity is much less than has been supposed. there is as much variation in regard to instinct among individuals as there is with regard to other characters of the species. some power of choice is found in almost every operation of instinct. even the most machine-like instinct shows some degree of adaptability to new conditions. on the other hand, in no animal does reason show entire freedom from automatism or reflex action. "the fundamental identity of instinct with intelligence," says dr. charles o. whitman, "is shown in their dependence upon the same structural mechanism (the brain and nerves) and in their responsive adaptability." =adaptation to environment.=--in general food-securing structures are connected with the mouth, or, as in the anglers, are hung as lures above it; spines of offense and defense, electric organs, poison-glands, and the like are used in self-protection; the bright nuptial colors and adornments of the breeding season are doubtfully classed as useful in rivalry; the egg-sacs, nests, and other structures or habits may serve to defend the young, while skinny flaps, sand or weed-like markings, and many other features of mimicry serve as concessions to the environment. each kind of fishes has its own ways of life, fitted to the conditions of environment. some species lie on the bottom, flat, as a flounder, or prone on their lower fins, as a darter or a stone-roller. some swim freely in the depths, others at the surface of the depths. some leap out of the water from time to time, as the mullet (_mugil_) or the tarpon (_tarpon atlanticus_). [illustration: fig. .--catalina flying fish, _cypsilurus californicus_ (cooper). santa barbara.] =flight of fishes.=--some fishes called the flying-fishes sail through the air with a grasshopper-like motion that closely imitates true flight. the long pectoral fins, wing-like in form, cannot, however, be flapped by the fish, the muscles serving only to expand or fold them. these fishes live in the open sea or open channel, swimming in large schools. the small species fly for a few feet only, the large ones for more than an eighth of a mile. these may rise five to twenty feet above the water. the flight of one of the largest flying fishes (_cypsilurus californicus_) has been carefully studied by dr. charles h. gilbert and the writer. the movements of the fish in the water are extremely rapid. the sole motive power is the action under the water of the strong tail. no force can be acquired while the fish is in the air. on rising from the water the movements of the tail are continued until the whole body is out of the water. when the tail is in motion the pectorals seem in a state of rapid vibration. this is not produced by muscular action on the fins themselves. it is the body of the fish which vibrates, the pectorals projecting farthest having the greatest amplitude of movement. while the tail is in the water the ventral fins are folded. when the action of the tail ceases the pectorals and ventrals are spread out wide and held at rest. they are not used as true wings, but are held out firmly, acting as parachutes, enabling the body to skim through the air. when the fish begins to fall the tail touches the water. as soon as it is in the water it begins its motion, and the body with the pectorals again begins to vibrate. the fish may, by skimming the water, regain motion once or twice, but it finally falls into the water with a splash. while in the air it suggests a large dragon-fly. the motion is very swift, at first in a straight line, but is later deflected in a curve, the direction bearing little or no relation to that of the wind. when a vessel passes through a school of these fishes, they spring up before it, moving in all directions, as grasshoppers in a meadow. [illustration: fig. .--sand-darter, _ammocrypta clara_ (jordan and meek). des moines river.] =quiescent fishes.=--some fishes, as the lancelet, lie buried in the sand all their lives. others, as the sand-darter (_ammocrypta pellucida_) and the hinalea (_julis gaimard_), bury themselves in the sand at intervals or to escape from their enemies. some live in the cavities of tunicates or sponges or holothurians or corals or oysters, often passing their whole lives inside the cavity of one animal. many others hide themselves in the interstices of kelp or seaweeds. some eels coil themselves in the crevices of rocks or coral masses, striking at their prey like snakes. some sea-horses cling by their tails to gulfweed or sea-wrack. many little fishes (_gobiomorus_, _carangus_, _psenes_) cluster under the stinging tentacles of the portuguese man-of-war or under ordinary jellyfishes. in the tide-pools, whether rock, coral, or mud, in all regions multitudes of little fishes abound. as these localities are neglected by most collectors, they have proved of late years a most prolific source of new species. the tide-pools of cuba, key west, cape flattery, sitka, unalaska, monterey, san diego, mazatlan, hilo, kailua and waiahæ in hawaii, apia and pago-pago in samoa, the present writer has found peculiarly rich in rock-loving forms. even richer are the pools of the promontories of japan, hakodate head, misaki, awa, izu, waka, and kagoshima, where a whole new fish fauna unknown to collectors in markets and sandy bays has been brought to light. some of these rockfishes are left buried in the rock weeds as the tide flows, lying quietly until it returns. others cling to the rocks by ventral suckers, while still others depend for their safety on their powers of leaping or on their quickness of their movements in the water. those of the latter class are often brilliantly colored, but the others mimic closely the algæ or the rocks. some fishes live in the sea only, some prefer brackish-water. some are found only in the rivers, and a few pass more or less indiscriminately from one kind of water to another. [illustration: fig. .--pearl-fish, _fierasfer acus_ (linnæus), issuing from a _holothurian_. coast of italy. (after emery.)] [illustration: fig. .--portuguese man-of-war fish, _gobiomorus gronovii_. family _stromateidæ_]. =migratory fishes.=--the movements of migratory fishes are mainly controlled by the impulse of reproduction. some pelagic fishes, especially those of the mackerel and flying-fish families, swim long distances to a region favorable for the deposition of spawn. others pursue for equal distances the schools of menhaden or other fishes which serve as their prey. some species are known mainly in the waters they make their breeding homes, as in cuba, southern california, hawaii, or japan, the individuals being scattered at other times through the wide seas. =anadromous fishes.=--many fresh-water fishes, as trout and suckers, forsake the large streams in the spring, ascending the small brooks where their young can be reared in greater safety. still others, known as _anadromous_ fishes, feed and mature in the sea, but ascend the rivers as the impulse of reproduction grows strong. among such fishes are the salmon, shad, alewife, sturgeon, and striped bass in american waters. the most remarkable case of the anadromous instinct is found in the king salmon or quinnat (_oncorhynchus tschawytscha_) of the pacific coast. this great fish spawns in november, at the age of four years and an average weight of twenty-two pounds. in the columbia river it begins running with the spring freshets in march and april. it spends the whole summer, without feeding, in the ascent of the river. by autumn the individuals have reached the mountain streams of idaho, greatly changed in appearance, discolored, worn, and distorted. the male is humpbacked, with sunken scales, and greatly enlarged, hooked, bent, or twisted jaws, with enlarged dog-like teeth. on reaching the spawning beds, which may be a thousand miles from the sea in the columbia, over two thousand in the yukon, the female deposits her eggs in the gravel of some shallow brook. the male covers them and scrapes the gravel over them. the female salmon does as much as the male in covering the eggs. then both male and female drift tail foremost helplessly down the stream; none, so far as certainly known, ever survive the reproductive act. the same habits are found in the five other species of salmon in the pacific, but in most cases the individuals do not start so early nor run so far. the blue-back salmon or redfish, however, does not fall far short in these regards. the salmon of the atlantic has a similar habit, but the distance traveled is everywhere much less, and most of the hook-jawed males drop down to the sea and survive to repeat the acts of reproduction. [illustration: fig. .--tide-pools of misaki. the misaki biological station, from the north side.] _catadromous_ fishes, as the true eel (_anguilla_), reverse this order, feeding in the rivers and brackish estuaries, apparently finding their usual spawning-ground in the sea. [illustration: fig. .--squaw-fish, _ptychocheilus oregonensis_ (richardson). columbia river.] =pugnacity of fishes.=--some fishes are very pugnacious, always ready for a quarrel with their own kind. the sticklebacks show this disposition, especially the males. in hawaii the natives take advantage of this trait to catch the uu (_myripristis murdjan_), a bright crimson-colored fish found in those waters. the species lives in crevices in lava rocks. catching a live one, the fishermen suspend it by a string in front of the rocks. it remains there with spread fins and flashing scales, and the others come out to fight it, when all are drawn to the surface by a concealed net. another decoy is substituted and the trick is repeated until the showy and quarrelsome fishes are all secured. in siam the fighting-fish (_betta pugnax_) is widely noted. the following account of this fish is given by cantor:[ ] "when the fish is in a state of quiet, its dull colors present nothing remarkable; but if two be brought together, or if one sees its own image in a looking-glass, the little creature becomes suddenly excited, the raised fins and the whole body shine with metallic colors of dazzling beauty, while the projected gill membrane, waving like a black frill round the throat, adds something of grotesqueness to the general appearance. in this state it makes repeated darts at its real or reflected antagonist. but both, when taken out of each other's sight, instantly become quiet. the fishes were kept in glasses of water, fed with larvæ of mosquitoes, and had thus lived for many months. the siamese are as infatuated with the combats of these fish as the malays are with their cock-fights, and stake on the issue considerable sums, and sometimes their own persons and families. the license to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and brings a considerable annual revenue to the king of siam. the species abounds in the rivulets at the foot of the hills of penang. the inhabitants name it 'pla-kat,' or the 'fighting-fish'; but the kind kept especially for fighting is an artificial variety cultivated for the purpose." a related species is the equally famous tree-climber of india (_anabas scandens_). in lieutenant daldorf describes his capture of an _anabas_, five feet above the water, on the bark of a palm-tree. in the effort to do this, the fish held on to the bark by its preopercular spines, bent its tail, inserted its anal spines, then pushing forward, repeated the operation. =fear and anger in fishes.=--from an interesting paper by surgeon francis day[ ] on fear and anger in fishes we may make the following extracts, slightly condensed and with a few slight corrections in nomenclature. the paper is written in amplification of another by rev. s. j. whitmee, describing the behavior of aquarium fishes in samoa. [illustration: fig. .--squaw-fish, _ptychocheilus grandis_ agassiz. running up a stream to spawn, the high water, after a rain, falling, leaves the fishes stranded. kelsey creek, clear lake, california, april , . (photograph by o. e. meddaugh.)--page .] the means of expression in animals adverted to by mr. darwin (excluding those of the ears, which would be out of place in fishes) are: sounds, vocally or otherwise produced; the erection of dermal appendages under the influence of anger or terror, which last would be analogous to the erection of scales and fin-rays among fishes. regarding special expressions, as those of joy, pain, astonishment, etc., we could hardly expect such so well marked in fishes as in some of the higher animals, in which the play of the features often affords us an insight into their internal emotions. eyes[ ] destitute of movable eyelids, cheeks covered with scales, or the head enveloped in dermal plates, can scarcely mantle into a smile or expand into a broad grin. we possess, however, one very distinct expression in fishes which is absent or but slightly developed in most of the higher animals, namely, change of color. all are aware that when a fish sickens, its brilliant colors fade, but less so how its color may be augmented by anger, and a loss of it be occasioned by depression, the result of being vanquished by a foe. some forms also emit sounds when actuated by terror, and perhaps in times of anger; but of this last i possess no decided proofs. similar to the expression of anger in _betta_ is that of the three-spined stickleback (_gasterosteus aculeatus_).[ ] after a fight between two examples, according to couch, "a strange alteration takes place almost immediately in the defeated party: his gallant bearing forsakes him; his gay colors fade away; he becomes again speckled and ugly; and he hides his disgrace amongst his peaceable companions who occupy together that part of the tub which their tyrants have not taken possession of; he is, moreover, for some time the constant object of his conqueror's persecution." fear is shown by fish in many ways. there is not an angler unacquainted with the natural timidity of fishes, nor a keeper in charge of a salmon-pass, who does not know how easy it is for poachers to deter the salmon from venturing along the path raised expressly for his use. among the coral reefs of the andaman islands i found the little _chromis lepisurus_ abundant. as soon as the water was splashed they appeared to retire for safety to the branching coral, where no large fish could follow them; so frightened did they become that on an andamanese diving from the side of the boat, they at once sought shelter in the coral, in which they remained until it was removed from the sea. in burma i observed, in , that when weirs are not allowed to stretch across the rivers (which would impede navigation), the open side as far as the bank is studded with reeds; these, as the water passes over them, cause vibration, and occasion a curious sound alarming the fishes, which, crossing to the weired side of the river, become captured. hooker, alluding to gulls, terns, wild geese, and pelicans in the ganges valley, observes: "these birds congregate by the sides of pools and beat the water with violence, so as to scare the fish, which then become an easy prey--a fact which was, i believe, first indicated by pallas during his residence on the banks of the caspian sea."[ ] fishes, under the influence of terror, dash about with their fins expanded, and often run into places which must destroy them. thus droves and droves of sardines in the east, impelled by the terror of pursuing sharks, bonitos, and other voracious fishes, frequently throw themselves on the shores in enormous quantities. friar odoric, who visited ceylon about , says: "there are fishes in those seas which come swimming towards the said country in such abundance, that for a great distance into the sea nothing can be seen but the backs of fishes, which, casting themselves on the shore, do suffer men for the space of three days to come, and to take as many of them as they please, and then they return again into the sea."[ ] pennant tells us that the river bullhead (_cottus gobio_) "deposits its spawn in a hole it forms in the gravel, and quits it with great reluctance." general hardwicke tells how the gouramy (_osphromenus gouramy_), in the mauritius, forms a nest amongst the herbage growing in the shallow water in the sides of tanks. here the parent continues to watch the place with the greatest vigilance, driving away any interloping fish. the amphibious walking-fish of mysore (_ophiocephalus striatus_) appears to make a nest very similar to that of the gouramy, and over it the male keeps guard; but should he be killed or captured, the vacant post is filled by his partner. (colonel puckle.) when very young the fishes keep with and are defended by their parents, but so soon as they are sufficiently strong to capture prey for themselves they are driven away to seek their own subsistence. (see fishes of india, p. .) but it is not only these monogamous amphibious fishes which show an affection for their eggs and also for their fry, but even the little _etroplus maculatus_ has been observed to be equally fond of its ova. "the eggs are not very numerous and are deposited in the mud at the bottom of the stream, and, when hatched, both parents guard the young for many days, vigorously attacking any large fish that passes near them."[ ] although the proceedings of the members of the marine and estuary genus of sea-cat (_tachysurus_) and its allies show not quite so distinctly signs of affection, still it must be a well-developed instinct which induces the male to carry about the eggs in its mouth until hatched, and to remove them in this manner when danger is imminent. i have taken the ova just ready for the young to come forth out of the mouth and fauces of the parent (male) fish; and in every animal dissected there was no trace of food in the intestinal tract. =calling the fishes.=--at many temples in india fishes are called to receive food by means of ringing bells or musical sounds. carew, in cornwall, is said to have called the gray mullet together by making a noise like chopping with a cleaver. lacépède relates that some fishes, which had been kept in the basins out of the tuileries for more than a century, would come when called by their names, and that in many parts of germany trout, carp, and tench are summoned to their food by the sound of a bell. these instances are mostly due to the fishes having learned by experience that on the hearing certain sounds they may expect food. but lacépède mentions that some were able to distinguish their individual names; and the same occurs in india. lieutenant connolly[ ] remarked upon seeing numerous fishes coming to the ghaut at sidhnath to be fed when called; and on "expressing our admiration of the size of the fish, 'wait,' said a bystander, 'until you have seen raghu.' the brahmin called out his name in a peculiar tone of voice; but he would not hear. i threw in handful after handful of ottah (flour) with the same success, and was just leaving the ghaut, despairing and doubting, when a loud plunge startled me. i thought somebody had jumped off the bastion of the ghaut into the river, but was soon undeceived by the general shout of 'raghu, raghu,' and by the fishes, large and small, darting away in every direction. raghu made two or three plunges, but was so quick in his motions that i was unable to guess at his species." [it may be said in relation to these stories quoted by dr. day, that they probably belong to the mythology of fishes. it is very doubtful if fishes are able to make any such discrimination among sounds in the air.] =sounds of fishes.=--pallegoix states that in siam the dog's-tongue (_cynoglossus_) is a kind of sole; it attaches itself to the bottom of boats, and makes a sonorous noise, which is more musical when several are stuck to the same boat and act in concert (vol. i. p. ). these noises can scarcely be due to anger or fear. sir j. bowring (vol. ii. p. ) also remarks upon having heard this fish, "which sticks to the bottoms of the boats, and produces a sound something like that of a jew's-harp struck slowly, though sometimes it increases in loudness, so as to resemble the full tones and sound of an organ. my men have pointed me out a fish about four inches long as the author of the music." some years since, at madras, i (dr. day) obtained several specimens of a fresh-water siluroid fish (_macrones vittatus_) which is termed the "fiddler" in mysore. i touched one which was on the wet ground, at which it appeared to become very irate, erecting its dorsal fin, making a noise resembling the buzzing of a bee. having put some small carp into an aquarium containing one of these fishes, it rushed at a small example, _seized it by the middle of its back_, and shook it like a dog killing a rat; at this time its barbels were stiffened out laterally like a cat's whiskers. many fish when captured make noises, perhaps due to terror. thus the _carangus hippos_, _tetraodon_, and others grunt like a hog. darwin (nat. journ., vol. vii) remarks on a catfish found in the rio paraná, and called the armado, which is remarkable for a harsh grating noise when caught by hook and line; this noise can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. the cuckoo-gurnard (_trigla pini_) and the maigre (_pseudosciæna aquila_) utter sounds when taken out of the water; and herrings, when the net has been drawn over them, have been observed to do the same: "this effect has been attributed to an escape of air from the air-bladder; but no air-bladder exists in the _cottus_, which makes a similar noise." the lesser weaver (_trachinus_) buries itself in the loose soil at the bottom of the water, leaving only its head exposed, and awaits its prey. if touched, it strikes upwards or sideways; and pennant says it directs its blows with as much judgment as a fighting-cock. (yarrell, vol. i. p. .) fishermen assert that wounds from its anterior dorsal spines are more venomous than those caused by the spines on its gill-covers. as regards fighting, i should suppose that, unless some portion of the body is peculiarly adapted for this purpose, as the rostrum of the swordfish, or the spine on the side of the tail in the lancet-fishes, we must look chiefly to the armature or covering of the jaws for weapons of offense. =lurking fishes.=--mr. whitmee supposes that most carnivorous fish capture their prey by outswimming them; but to this there are numerous exceptions; the angler or fishing-frog (_lophis piscatorius_), "while crouching close to the ground, by the action of its ventral and pectoral fins stirs up the sand and mud; hidden by the obscurity thus produced, it elevates its anterior dorsal spines, moves them in various directions by way of attraction as a bait, and the small fishes, approaching either to examine or to seize them, immediately become the prey of the fisher." (yarrell.) in india we find a fresh-water siluroid (_chaca lophioides_) which "conceals itself among the mud, from which, by its lurid appearance and a number of loose filamentous substances on its skin, it is scarcely distinguishable; and with an immense open mouth it is ready to seize any small prey that is passing along." (ham. buchanan.) in march, , i obtained a fine example of _ichthyscopus lebeck_ (fishes of india, p. ), which i placed in water having a bed of mud; into this it rapidly worked itself, first depressing one side and then another, until only the top of its head and mouth remained above the mud, whilst a constant current was kept up through its gills. it made a noise, half snapping and half croaking, when removed from its native element. in the royal westminster aquarium, says dr. day, is a live example of the electric eel (_electrophorus electricus_) which has in its electric organs the means of showing when it is affected by anger or terror. some consider this curious property is for protection against alligators: it is certainly used against fishes for the purpose of obtaining food; but when we remember how, when the indians drive in horses and mules to the waters infested by the eels, they immediately attack them, we must admit that such cannot be for the purpose of preying upon them, but is due to anger or terror at being disturbed. (day.) =carrying eggs in the mouth.=--many catfishes (_siluridæ_) carry their eggs in the mouth until hatched. the first and most complete account of this habit of catfishes is that by dr. jeffries wyman, which he communicated to the boston society of natural history at its meeting on september , . in , in a paper entitled "on some unusual modes of gestation," dr. wyman published a full account of his observations as follows, here quoted from a paper on surinam fishes by evermann and goldsborough: "among the siluroid fishes of guiana there are several species which, at certain seasons of the year, have their mouths and branchial cavities filled either with eggs or young, and, as is believed, for the purpose of incubation. my attention was first called to this singular habit by the late dr. francis w. cragin, formerly united states consul at paramaribo, surinam. in a letter dated august, , he says: "'the eggs you will receive are from another fish. the different fishermen have repeatedly assured me that these eggs in their nearly mature state are carried in the mouths of the parent till the young are relieved by the bursting of the sac. do you either know or believe this to be so, and, if possible, where are the eggs conceived and how do they get into the mouth?' "in the month of april, , on visiting the market of paramaribo, i found that this statement, which at first seemed to be very improbable, was correct as to the existence of eggs in the mouths of several species of fish. in a tray of fish which a negro woman offered for sale, i found the mouths of several filled with either eggs or young, and subsequently an abundance of opportunities occurred for repeating the observation. the kinds most commonly known to the colonists, especially to the negroes, are _jara-bakka_, _njinge-njinge_, _koepra_, _makrede_, and one or two others, all belonging either to the genus _bagrus_ or one nearly allied to it. the first two are quite common in the market, and i have seen many specimens of them; for the last two i have the authority of negro fishermen, but have never seen them myself. the eggs in my collection are of three different sizes, indicating so many species, one of the three having been brought to me without the fish from which they were taken. "the eggs become quite large before they leave the ovaries, and are arranged in three zones corresponding to three successive broods, and probably to be discharged in three successive years; the mature eggs of a jara-bakka inches long measure three-fourths of an inch in diameter; those of the second zone, one-fourth; and those of the third are very minute, about one-sixteenth of an inch. "a careful examination of eight specimens of njinge-njinge about inches long gave the following results: "the eggs in all instances were carried in the mouths of the males. this protection, or gestation of the eggs by the males, corresponds with what has been long noticed with regard to other fishes, as, for example, _syngnathus_, where the marsupial pouch for the eggs or young is found in the males only, and _gasterosteus_, where the male constructs the nest and protects the eggs during incubation from the voracity of the females. "in some individuals the eggs had been recently laid, in others they were hatched and the foetus had grown at the expense of some other food than that derived from the yolk, as this last was not proportionally diminished in size, and the foetus weighed more than the undeveloped egg. the number of eggs contained in the mouth was between twenty and thirty. the mouth and branchial cavity were very much distended, rounding out and distorting the whole hyoid and branchiostegal region. some of the eggs even partially protruded from the mouth. the ova were not bruised or torn as if they had been bitten or forcibly held by the teeth. in many instances the foetuses were still alive, though the parent had been dead for many hours. "no young or eggs were found in the stomach, although the mouth was crammed to its fullest capacity. "the above observations apply to njinge-njinge. with regard to jarra-bakka, i had but few opportunities for dissection, but in several instances the same conditions of the eggs were noticed as stated above; and in one instance, besides some nearly mature foetuses contained in the mouth, two or three were squeezed apparently from the stomach, but not bearing any marks of violence or of the action of the gastric fluid. it is probable that these found their way into that last cavity after death, in consequence of the relaxation of the sphincter which separates the cavities of the mouth and the stomach. these facts lead to the conclusion that this is a mouth gestation, as the eggs are found there in all stages of development, and even for some time after they are hatched. "the question will be very naturally asked, how under such circumstances these fishes are able to secure and swallow their food. i have made no observations bearing upon such a question. unless the food consists of very minute particles it would seem necessary that during the time of feeding the eggs should be disgorged. if this supposition be correct, it would give a very probable explanation of the only fact which might be considered at variance with the conclusion stated above, viz., that we have in these fishes a mouth gestation. in the mass of eggs with which the mouth is filled i have occasionally found the eggs, rarely more than one or two, of another species. the only way in which their presence may be accounted for, it seems to me, is by the supposition that while feeding the eggs are disgorged, and as these fishes are gregarious in their habits, when the ova are recovered the stray eggs of another species may be introduced into the mouth among those which naturally belong there." one of the earliest accounts of this curious habit which we have seen is that by dr. günther, referring to specimens of _tachysurus fissus_ from cayenne received from prof. r. owen: "these specimens having had the cavity of the mouth and of the gills extended in an extraordinary manner, i was induced to examine the cause of it, when, to my great surprise, i found them filled with about twenty eggs, rather larger than an ordinary pea, perfectly uninjured, and with the embryos in a forward state of development. the specimens are males, from to inches long, and in each the stomach was almost empty. "although the eggs might have been put into the mouth of the fish by their captor, this does not appear probable. on the other hand, it is a well-known fact that the american siluroids take care of their progeny in various ways; and i have no doubt that in this species and in its allies the males carry the eggs in their mouths, depositing them in places of safety and removing them when they fear the approach of danger or disturbance." =the unsymmetrical eyes of flounders.=--in the two great families of flounders and soles the head is unsymmetrically formed, the cranium being twisted and both eyes placed on the same side. the body is strongly compressed, and the side possessing the eyes is uppermost in all the actions of the fish. this upper side, whether right or left, is colored, while the eyeless side is white or very nearly so. it is well known that in the very young flounder the body rests upright in the water. after a little there is a tendency to turn to one side and the lower eye begins its migration to the other side, the interorbital bones or part of them moving before it. in most flounders the eye seems to move over the surface of the head, before the dorsal fin, or across the axil of its first ray. in the tropical genus _platophrys_ the movement of the eye is most easily followed, as the species reach a larger size than do most flounders before the change takes place. the larva, while symmetrical, is in all cases transparent. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. . figs. , .--larval stages of _platophrys podas_, a flounder of the mediterranean, showing the migration of the eye. (after emery.)] in a recent study of the migration of the eye in the winter flounder (_pseudopleuronectes americanus_) mr. stephen r. williams reaches the following conclusions: . the young of _limanda ferruginea_ (the rusty dab) are probably in the larval stage at the same time as those of _pseudopleuronectes americanus_ (the winter flounder). . the recently hatched fish are symmetrical, except for the relative positions of the two optic nerves. . the first observed occurrence in preparation for metamorphosis in _p. americanus_ is the rapid resorption of the part of the supraorbital cartilage bar which lies in the path of the eye. . correlated with this is an increase in distance between the eyes and the brain, caused by the growth of the facial cartilages. . the migrating eye moves through an arc of about degrees. [illustration: fig. .--_platophrys lunatus_ (linnæus), the wide-eyed flounder. family _pleuronectidæ_. cuba. (from nature by mrs. h. c. nash.)] . the greater part of this rotation (three-fourths of it in _p. americanus_) is a rapid process, taking not more than three days. . the anterior ethmoidal region is not so strongly influenced by the twisting as the ocular region. [illustration: fig. .--young flounder, just hatched, with symmetrical eyes. (after s. r. williams.)] . the location of the olfactory nerves (in the adult) shows that the morphological midline follows the interorbital septum. . the cartilage mass lying in the front part of the orbit of the adult eye is a separate anterior structure in the larva. . with unimportant differences, the process of metamorphosis in the sinistral fish is parallel to that in the dextral fish. . the original location of the eye is indicated in the adult by the direction first taken, as they leave the brain, by those cranial nerves having to do with the transposed eye. . the only well-marked asymmetry in the adult brain is due to the much larger size of the olfactory nerve and lobe of the ocular side. . there is a perfect chiasma. . the optic nerve of the migrating eye is always anterior to that of the other eye. [illustration: fig. .--larval flounder, _pseudopleuronectes americanus_. (after s. r. williams.)] [illustration: fig. .--larval flounder, _pseudopleuronectes americanus_. (after s. r. williams.)] "the why of the peculiar metamorphosis of the _pleuronectidæ_ is an unsolved problem. the presence or absence of a swim-bladder can have nothing to do with the change of habit of the young flatfish, for _p. americanus_ must lose its air-bladder before metamorphosis begins, since sections showed no evidence of it, whereas in _lophopsetta maculata_, 'the windowpane flounder,' the air-sac can often be seen by the naked eye up to the time when the fish assumes the adult coloration, and long after it has assumed the adult form. "cunningham has suggested that the weight of the fish acting upon the lower eye after the turning would press it toward the upper side out of the way. but in all probability the planktonic larva rests on the sea-bottom little if at all before metamorphosing. those taken by mr. williams into the laboratory showed in resting no preference for either side until the eye was near the midline. "the fact that the change in all fishes is repeated during the development of each individual fish has been used to support the proposition that the flatfishes as a family are a comparatively recent product. they are, on the other hand, comparatively ancient. according to zittel flatfishes of species referable to genera living at present, _rhombus_ (_bothus_) and _solea_, are found in the eocene deposits. these two genera are notable in that _bothus_ is one of the least and _solea_ the most unsymmetrical of the _pleuronectidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--face view of recently hatched flounder. (after s. r. williams.)] "the degree of asymmetry can be correlated with the habit of the animal. those fishes, such as the sole and shore-dwelling flounders, which keep to the bottom are the most twisted representatives of the family, while the more freely swimming forms, like the sand-dab, summer flounder, and halibut, are more nearly symmetrical. asymmetry must be of more advantage to those fishes which grub in the mud for their food than to those which capture other fishes; of the latter those which move with the greatest freedom are the most symmetrical. "this deviation from the bilateral condition must have come about either as a 'sport' or by gradual modification of the adults. if by the latter method--the change proving to be advantageous--selection favored its appearing earlier and earlier in ontogeny, until it occurred in the stages of planktonic life. metamorphosis at a stage earlier than this would be a distinct disadvantage, because of the lack of the customary planktonic food at the sea-bottom. at present some forms of selection are probably continually at work fixing the limit of the period of metamorphosis by the removal of those individuals which attempt the transformation at unsuitable epochs; for instance, at the time of hatching. that there are such individuals is shown by fullarton, who figures a fish just hatched 'anticipating the twisting and subsequent unequal development exhibited by the head of pleuronectids.' those larvæ which remain pelagic until better able to compete at the sea-bottom become the adults which fix the time of metamorphosis on their progeny." (s. r. williams.) so far as known to the writer, the metamorphosis of flounders always occurs while the individual is still translucent and swimming at the surface of the sea before sinking to the bottom. footnotes: [ ] cantor, catal. malayan fishes, , p. . bowring, siam, p. , gives a similar account of the battles of these fishes. [ ] francis day, on fear and anger in fishes, proc. zool. society, london, feb. , , pp. - . [ ] couch (illustrations, etc., p. ) says: "the faculty of giving forth brilliant light from the eyes is said to have been observed by fishermen in the blue shark, as in a cat." [ ] couch, "british fishes," , vol. iv. p. . [ ] himalayan journals, vol. i. p. . [ ] hakluyt, vol. ii. p. . [ ] jerdon, "madras journal of literature and science," , p. . [ ] "observations on the past and present condition of onjein," journal of the asiatic society of bengal, vi, p. . chapter xii adaptations of fishes [illustration: fig. .--mad-tom, _schilbeodes furiosus_ jordan and meek. showing the poisoned pectoral spine. family _siluridæ_. neuse river.] =spines of the catfishes.=--the catfishes or horned pouts (_siluridæ_) have a strong spine in the pectoral fin, one or both edges of this being jagged or serrated. this spine fits into a peculiar joint and by means of a slight downward or forward twist can be set immovably. it can then be broken more easily than it can be depressed. a slight turn in the opposite direction releases the joint, a fact known to the fish and readily learned by the boy. the sharp spine inflicts a jagged wound. pelicans which have swallowed the catfish have been known to die of the wounds inflicted by the fish's spine. when the catfish was first introduced into the sacramento, according to mr. will s. green, it caused the death of many of the native "sacramento perch" (_archoplites interruptus_). this perch (or rather bass) fed on the young catfish, and the latter erecting their pectoral spines in turn caused the death of the perch by tearing the walls of its stomach. in like manner the sharp dorsal and ventral spines of the sticklebacks have been known to cause the death of fishes who swallow them, and even of ducks. in puget sound the stickleback is often known as salmon-killer. certain small catfishes known as stone-cats and mad-toms (_noturus_, _schilbeodes_), found in the rivers of the southern and middle western states, are provided with special organs of offense. at the base of the pectoral spine, which is sometimes very jagged, is a structure supposed by professor cope to be a poison gland the nature of which has not yet been fully ascertained. the wounds made by these spines are exceedingly painful like those made by the sting of a wasp. they are, however, apparently not dangerous. [illustration: fig. .--black nohu, or poison-fish, _emmydrichthys vulcanus_ jordan. a species with stinging spines, showing resemblance to lumps of lava among which it lives. family _scorpænidæ_. from tahiti.] =venomous spines.=--many species of scorpion-fishes (_scorpæna_, _synanceia_, _pelor_, _pterois_, etc.), found in warm seas, as well as the european weavers (_trachinus_), secrete poison from under the skin of each dorsal spine. the wounds made by these spines are very exasperating, but are not often dangerous. in some cases the glands producing these poisons form an oblong bag excreting a milky juice, and placed on the base of the spine. in _thalassophryne_, a genus of toad-fishes of tropical america, is found the most perfect system of poison organs known among fishes. the spinous armature of the opercle and the two spines of the first dorsal fin constitute the weapons. the details are known from the dissections of dr. günther. according to his[ ] observations, the opercle in _thalassophryne_ "is very narrow, vertically styliform and very mobile. it is armed behind with a spine eight lines long and of the same form as the hollow venom-fang of a snake, being perforated at its base and at its extremity. a sac covering the base of the spine discharges its contents through the apertures and the canal in the interior of the spine. the structure of the dorsal spines is similar. there are no secretory glands imbedded in the membranes of the sacs and the fluid must be secreted by their mucous membrane. the sacs are without an external muscular layer and situated immediately below the thick, loose skin which envelops the spines at their extremity. the ejection of the poison into a living animal, therefore, can only be effected as in _synanceia_, by the pressure to which the sac is subjected the moment the spine enters another body." [illustration: fig. .--brown tang, _teuthis bahianus_ (ranzani). tortugas, florida.] =the lancet of the surgeon-fish.=--some fishes defend themselves by lashing their enemies with their tails. in the tangs, or surgeon-fishes (_teuthis_), the tail is provided with a formidable weapon, a knife-like spine, with the sharp edge directed forward. this spine when not in use slips forward into a sheath. the fish, when alive, cannot be handled without danger of a severe cut. in the related genera, this lancet is very much more blunt and immovable, degenerating at last into the rough spines of _balistapus_ or the hair-like prickles of _monacanthus_. =spines of the sting-ray.=--in all the large group of sting-rays the tail is provided with one or more large, stiff, barbed spines, which are used with great force by the animal, and are capable of piercing the leathery skin of the sting-ray itself. there is no evidence that these spines bear any specific poison, but the ragged wounds they make are always dangerous and often end in gangrene. it is possible that the mucus on the surface of the spine acts as a poison on the lacerated tissues, rendering the wound something very different from a simple cut. [illustration: fig. .--common filefish, _stephanolepis hispidus_ (linnæus). virginia.] =protection through poisonous flesh of fishes.=--in certain groups of fishes a strange form of self-protection is acquired by the presence in the body of poisonous alkaloids, by means of which the enemies of the species are destroyed in the death of the individual devoured. such alkaloids are present in the globefishes (_tetraodontidæ_), the filefishes (_monacanthus_), and in some related forms, while members of other groups (_batrachoididæ_) are under suspicion in this regard. the alkaloids produce a disease known as ciguatera, characterized by paralysis and gastric derangements. severe cases of ciguatera with men, as well as with lower animals, may end fatally in a short time. the flesh of the filefishes (_stephanolepis tomentosus_), which the writer has tested, is very meager and bitter, having a decidedly offensive taste. it is suspected, probably justly, of being poisonous. in the globefishes the flesh is always more or less poisonous, that of _tetraodon hispidus_, called muki-muki, or death-fish, in hawaii, is reputed as excessively so. the poisonous fishes have been lately studied in detail by dr. jacques pellegrin, of the museum d'histoire naturelle at paris. he shows that any species of fish may be poisonous under certain circumstances, that under certain conditions certain species are poisonous, and that certain kinds are poisonous more or less at all times. the following account is condensed from dr. pellegrin's observations. [illustration: fig. .--_tetraodon meleagris_ (lacépède). riu kiu islands.] the flesh of fishes soon undergoes decomposition in hot climates. the consumption of decayed fish may produce serious disorders, usually with symptoms of diarrhoea or eruption of the skin. there is in this case no specific poison, but the formation of leucomaines through the influence of bacteria. this may take place with other kinds of flesh, and is known as botulism, or allantiasis. for this disease, as produced by the flesh of fishes, dr. pellegrin suggests the name of ichthyosism it is especially severe in certain very oily fishes, as the tunny, the anchovy, or the salmon. the flesh of these and other fishes occasionally produces similar disorders through mere indigestion. in this case the flesh undergoes decay in the stomach. in certain groups (wrasse-fishes, parrot-fishes, etc.) in the tropics, individual fishes are sometimes rendered poisonous by feeding on poisonous mussels, holothurians, or possibly polyps, species which at certain times, and especially in their spawning season, develops alkaloids which themselves may cause ciguatera. in this case it is usually the very old or large fishes which are liable to be infected. in some markets numerous species are excluded as suspicious for this reason. such a list is in use in the fish-market of havana, where the sale of certain species, elsewhere healthful, or at the most suspected, was rigidly prohibited under the spanish régime. a list of these suspicious fishes has been given by prof. poey. [illustration: fig. .--the trigger-fish, _balistes carolinensis_ gmelin. new york.] in many of the eels the serum of the blood is poisonous, but its venom is destroyed by the gastric juice, so that the flesh may be eaten with impunity, unless decay has set in. to eat too much of the tropical morays is to invite gastric troubles, but no true ciguatera. the true ciguatera is produced by a specific poisonous alkaloid. this is most developed in the globefishes or puffers (_tetraodon_, _spheroides_, _tropidichthys_, etc.). it is present in the filefishes (_monacanthus_, _alutera_, etc.), probably in some toad-fishes (_batrachoides_, etc.), and similar compounds are found in the flesh of sharks and especially in sharks' livers. these alkaloids are most developed in the ovaries and testes, and in the spawning season. they are also found in the liver and sometimes elsewhere in the body. in many species otherwise innocuous, purgative alkaloids are developed in or about the eggs. serious illness has been caused by eating the roe of the pike and the barbel. the poison is less virulent in the species which ascend the rivers. it is also much less developed in cooler waters. for this reason ciguatera is almost confined to the tropics. in havana, manila, and other tropical ports it is of frequent occurrence, while northward it is practically unknown as a disease requiring a special name or treatment. on the coast of alaska, about prince william sound and cook inlet, a fatal disease resembling ciguatera has been occasionally produced by the eating of clams. [illustration: fig. .--numbfish, _narcine brasiliensis_ henle, showing _electric cells_. pensacola, florida.] the purpose of the alkaloids producing ciguatera is considered by dr. pellegrin as protective, saving the species by the poisoning of its enemies. the sickness caused by the specific poison must be separated from that produced by ptomaines and leucomaines in decaying flesh or in the oil diffused through it. poisonous bacteria may be destroyed by cooking, but the alkaloids which cause ciguatera are unaltered by heat. it is claimed in tropical regions that the germs of the bubonic plague may be carried through the mediation of fishes which feed on sewage. it is suggested by dr. charles b. ashmead that leprosy may be so carried. it is further suggested that the custom of eating the flesh of fishes raw almost universal in japan, hawaii, and other regions may be responsible for the spread of certain contagious diseases, in which the fish acts as an intermediate host, much as certain mosquitoes spread the germ of malaria and yellow fever. =electric fishes.=--several species of fishes possess the power to inflict electric shocks not unlike those of the leyden jar. this is useful in stunning their prey and especially in confounding their enemies. in most cases these electric organs are evidently developed from muscular substance. their action, which is largely voluntary, is in its nature like muscular action. the power is soon exhausted and must be restored by rest and food. the effects of artificial stimulation and of poisons are parallel with the effect of similar agents on muscles. [illustration: fig. .--electric catfish, _torpedo electricus_ (gmelin). congo river. (alter boulenger.)] in the electric rays or torpedos (_narcobatidæ_) the electric organs are large honeycomb-like structures, "vertical hexagonal prisms," upwards of of them, at the base of the pectoral fins. each prism is filled "with a clear trembling jelly-like substance." these fishes give a shock which is communicable through a metallic conductor, as an iron spear or the handle of a knife. it produces a peculiar and disagreeable sensation not at all dangerous. it is said that this living battery shows all the known qualities of magnetism, rendering the needle magnetic, decomposing chemical compounds, etc. in the nile is an electric catfish (_torpedo electricus_) having similar powers. its electric organ extends over the whole body, being thickest below. it consists of rhomboidal cells of a firm gelatinous substance. the electric eel (_electrophorus electricus_), the most powerful of electric fishes, is not an eel, but allied rather to the sucker or carp. it is, however, eel-like in form and lives in rivers of brazil and guiana. the electric organs are in two pairs, one on the back of the tail, the other on the anal fin. these are made up of an enormous number of minute cells. in the electric eel, as in the other electric fishes, the nerves supplying these organs are much larger than those passing from the spinal cord for any other purpose. in all these cases closely related species show a no trace of the electric powers. [illustration: fig. .--star-gazer (_astroscopus guttatus_) settling in the sand. (from life by r. w. shufeldt.)] dr. gilbert has described the electric powers of species of star-gazer (_astroscopus y-græcum_ and _a. zephyreus_), the electric cells lying under the naked skin of the top of the head. electric power is ascribed to a species of cusk (_urophycis regius_), but this perhaps needs verification. =photophores or luminous organs.=--many fishes, chiefly of the deep seas, develop organs for producing light. these are known as luminous organs, phosphorescent organs, or photophores. these are independently developed in four entirely unrelated groups of fishes. this difference in origin is accompanied by corresponding difference in structure. the best-known type is found in the iniomi, including the lantern-fishes and their many relatives. these may have luminous spots, differentiated areas round or oblong which shine star-like in the dark. these are usually symmetrically placed on the sides of the body. they may have also luminous glands or diffuse areas which are luminous, but which do not show the specialized structure of the phosphorescent spots. these glands of similar nature to the spots are mostly on the head or tail. in one genus, _Æthoprora_, the luminous snout is compared to the headlight of an engine. [illustration: fig. .--headlight fish, _Æthoprora lucida_ goode and bean. gulf stream.] [illustration: fig. .--_corynolophus reinhardti_ (lütken), showing luminous bulb (modified after lütken). family _ceratiidæ_. deep sea off greenland.] entirely different are the photophores in the midshipman or singing-fish (_porichthys_), a genus of toad-fishes or _batrachoididæ_. this species lives near the shore and the luminous spots are outgrowths from pores of the lateral line. in one of the anglers (_corynolophus reinhardti_) the complex bait is said to be luminous, and luminous areas are said to occur on the belly of a very small shark of the deep seas of japan (_etmopterus lucifer_). this phenomenon is now the subject of study by one of the numerous pupils of dr. mitsukuri. the structures in _corynolophus_ are practically unknown. [illustration: fig. .--_etmopterus lucifer_ jordan and snyder. misaki, japan.] =photophores in iniomous fishes.=--in the _iniomi_ the luminous organs have been the subject of an elaborate paper by dr. r. von lendenfeld (deep-sea fishes of the challenger. appendix b). these he divides into ocellar organs of regular form or luminous spots, and irregular glandular organs or luminous areas. the ocellar spots may be on the scales of the lateral line or on other definite areas. they may be raised above the surface or sunk below it. they may be simple, with or without black pigment, or they may have within them a reflecting surface. they are best shown in the _myctophidæ_ and _stomiatidæ_, but are found in numerous other families in nearly all soft-rayed fishes of the deep sea. the glandular areas may be placed on the lower jaw, on the barbels, under the gill cover, on the suborbital or preorbital, on the tail, or they may be irregularly scattered. those about the eye have usually the reflecting membrane. in all these structures, according to dr. von lendenfeld, the whole or part of the organ is glandular. the glandular part is at the base and the other structures are added distally. the primitive organ was a gland which produced luminous slime. to this in the process of specialization greater complexity has been added. [illustration: fig. .--_argyropelecus olfersi_ cuvier. gulf stream.] the luminous organs of some fishes resemble the supposed original structure of the primitive photophore, though of course these cannot actually represent it. the simplest type of photophore now found is in _astronesthes_, in the form of irregular glandular luminous patches on the surface of the skin. there is no homology between the luminous organs of any insect and those of any fish. =photophores of porichthys.=--entirely distinct in their origin are the luminous spots in the midshipman (_porichthys notatus_), a shore fish of california. these have been described in detail by dr. charles wilson greene (late of stanford university, now of the university of missouri) in the _journal of morphology_, xv., p. . these are found on various parts of the body in connection with the mucous pores of the lateral lines and about the mucous pores of the head. the skin in _porichthys_ is naked, and the photophores arise from a modification of its epidermis. each is spherical, shining white, and consists of four parts--the lens, the gland, the reflector, and the pigment. as to its function prof. greene observes: "i have kept specimens of _porichthys_ in aquaria at the hopkins seaside laboratory, and have made numerous observations on them with an effort to secure ocular proof of the phosphorescence of the living active fish. the fish was observed in the dark when quiet and when violently excited, but, with a single exception, only negative results were obtained. once a phosphorescent glow of scarcely perceptible intensity was observed when the fish was pressed against the side of the aquarium. then, this is a shore fish and quite common, and one might suppose that so striking a phenomenon as it would present if these organs were phosphorescent in a small degree would be observed by ichthyologists in the field, or by fishermen, but diligent inquiry reveals no such evidence. "notwithstanding the fact that _porichthys_ has been observed to voluntarily exhibit only the trace of phosphorescence mentioned above, still the organs which it possesses in such numbers are beyond doubt true phosphorescent organs, as the following observations will demonstrate. a live fish put into an aquarium of sea-water made alkaline with ammonia water exhibited a most brilliant glow along the location of the well-developed organs. not only did the lines of organs shine forth, but the individual organs themselves were distinguishable. the glow appeared after about five minutes, remained prominent for a few minutes, and then for twenty minutes gradually became weaker until it was scarcely perceptible. rubbing the hand over the organs was followed always by a distinct increase in the phosphorescence. pieces of the fish containing the organs taken five and six hours after the death of the animal became luminous upon treatment with ammonia water. "electrical stimulation of the live fish was also tried with good success. the interrupted current from an induction coil was used, one electrode being fixed on the head over the brain or on the exposed spinal cord near the brain, and the other moved around on different parts of the body. no results followed relatively weak stimulation of the fish, although such currents produced violent contractions of the muscular system of the body. but when a current strong enough to be quite painful to the hands while handling the electrodes was used then stimulation of the fish called forth a brilliant glow of light apparently from every well-developed photophore. all the lines on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the body glowed with a beautiful light, and continued to do so while the stimulation lasted. the single well-developed organ just back of and below the eye was especially prominent. no luminosity was observed in the region of the dorsal organs previously described as rudimentary in structure. i was also able to produce the same effect by galvanic stimulation, rapidly making and breaking the current by hand. [illustration: fig. .--luminous organs and lateral line of midshipman, _porichthys notatus_ girard. family _batrachoididæ_. monterey, california. (after greene.)] "the light produced in _porichthys_ was, as near as could be determined by direct observation, a white light. when produced by electric stimulation it did not suddenly reach its maximal intensity, but came in quite gradually and disappeared in the same way when the stimulation ceased. the light was not a strong one, only strong enough to enable one to quite easily distinguish the apparatus used in the experiment. "an important fact brought out by the above experiment is that an electrical stimulation strong enough to most violently stimulate the nervous system, as shown by the violent contractions of the muscular system, may still be too weak to produce phosphorescence. this fact gives a physiological confirmation of the morphological result stated above that no specific nerves are distributed to the phosphorescent organs. "i can explain the action of the electrical current in these experiments only on the supposition that it produces its effect by direct action on the gland. [illustration: fig. .--cross-section of a ventral phosphorescent organ of the midshipman, _porichthys notatus_ girard. _l_, lens; _gl_, gland; _r_, reflector; _bl_, blood; _p_, pigment. (after greene.)] "the experiments just related were all tried on specimens of the fish taken from under the rocks where they were guarding the young brood. two specimens, however, taken by hooks from the deeper water of monterey bay, could not be made to show phosphorescence either by electrical stimulation or by treatment with ammonia. these specimens did net have the high development of the system of mucous cells of the skin exhibited by the nesting fish. my observations were, however, not numerous enough to more than suggest the possibility of a seasonal high development of the phosphorescent organs. [illustration: fig. .--section of the deeper portion of phosphorescent organ of _porichthys notatus_, highly magnified. (after greene.)] "two of the most important parts of the organ have to do with the physical manipulation of light--the reflector and the lens, respectively. the property of the reflector needs no discussion other than to call attention to its enormous development. the lens cells are composed of a highly refractive substance, and the part as a whole gives every evidence of light refraction and condensation. the form of the lens gives a theoretical condensation of light at a very short focus. that such is in reality the case, i have proved conclusively by examination of fresh material. if the fresh fish be exposed to direct sunlight, there is a reflected spot of intense light from each phosphorescent organ. this spot is constant in position with reference to the sun in whatever position the fish be turned and is lost if the lens be dissected away and only the reflector left. with needles and a simple microscope it is comparatively easy to free the lens from the surrounding tissue and to examine it directly. when thus freed and examined in normal saline, i have found by rough estimates that it condenses sunlight to a bright point a distance back of the lens of from one-fourth to one-half its diameter. i regret that i have been unable to make precise physical developments. "the literature on the histological structure of known phosphorescent organs of fishes is rather meager and unsatisfactory. von lendenfeld describes twelve classes of phosphorescent organs from deep-sea fishes collected by the _challenger_ expedition. all of these, however, are greater or less modifications of one type. this type includes, according to von lendenfeld's views, three essential parts, _i.e._, a gland, phosphorescent cells, and a local ganglion. these parts may have added a reflector, a pigment layer, or both; and all these may be simple or compounded in various ways, giving rise to the twelve classes. blood-vessels and nerves are distributed to the glandular portion. of the twelve classes direct ocular proof is given for one, i.e., ocellar organs of _myctophum_ which were observed by willemoes-suhm at night to shine 'like a star in the net.' von lendenfeld says that the gland produces a secretion, and he supposes the light or phosphorescence to be produced either by the 'burning or consuming' of this secretion by the phosphorescent cells, or else by some substance produced by the phosphorescent cells. furthermore, he says that the phosphorescent cells act at the 'will of the fish' and are excited to action by the local ganglion. "some of these statements and conclusions seem insufficiently grounded, as, for example, the supposed action of the phosphorescent cells, and especially the control of the ganglion over them. in the first place, the relation between the ganglion and the central nervous system in the forms described by von lendenfeld is very obscure, and the structure described as a ganglion, to judge from the figures and the text descriptions, may be wrongly identified. at least it is scarcely safe to ascribe ganglionic function to a group of adult cells so poorly preserved that only nuclei are to be distinguished. in the second place, no structural character is shown to belong to the 'phosphorescent cells' by which they may take part in the process ascribed to them.[ ] "the action of the organs described by him may be explained on other grounds, and entirely independent of the so-called 'ganglion cells' and of the 'phosphorescent cells.' "phosphorescence as applied to the production of light by a living animal is, according to our present ideas, a chemical action, _an oxidation process_. the necessary conditions for producing it are two--an oxidizable substance that is luminous on oxidation, i.e., a photogenic substance on the one hand, and the presence of free oxygen on the other. every phosphorescent organ must have a mechanism for producing these two conditions; all other factors are only secondary and accessory. if the gland of a firefly can produce a substance that is oxidizable and luminous on oxidation, as shown as far back as by faraday and confirmed and extended recently by watasé, it is conceivable, indeed probable, that phosphorescence in _myctophum_ and other deep-sea forms is produced in the same direct way, that is, by direct oxidation of the secretion of the gland found in each of at least ten of the twelve groups of organs described by von lendenfeld. free oxygen may be supplied directly from the blood in the capillaries distributed to the gland which he describes. the possibility of the regulation of the supply of blood carrying oxygen is analogous to what takes place in the firefly and is wholly adequate to account for any 'flashes of light' 'at the will of the fish.' "in the phosphorescent organs of _porichthys_ the only part the function of which cannot be explained on physical grounds is the group of cells called the gland. if the large granular cells of this portion of the structure produce a secretion, as seems probable from the character of the cells and their behavior toward reagents, and this substance be oxidizable and luminous in the presence of free oxygen, i.e., photogenic, then we have the conditions necessary for a light-producing organ. the numerous capillaries distributed to the gland will supply free oxygen sufficient to meet the needs of the case. light produced in the gland is ultimately all projected to the exterior, either directly from the luminous points in the gland or reflected outward by the reflector, the lens condensing all the rays into a definite pencil or slightly diverging cone. this explanation of the light-producing process rests on the assumption of a secretion product with certain specific characters. but comparing the organ with structures known to produce such a substance, i.e., the glands of the firefly or the photospheres of euphausia, it seems to me the assumption is not less certain than the assumption that twelve structures resembling each other in certain particulars have a common function to that proved for one only of the twelve. "i am inclined to the belief that whatever regulation of the action of the phosphorescent organ occurs is controlled by the regulation of the supply of free oxygen by the blood-stream flowing through the organ; but, however this may be, the essential fact remains that the organs in _porichthys_ are true phosphorescent organs." (greene.) other species of _porichthys_ with similar photophores occur in texas, guiana, panama, and chile. the name midshipman alludes to these shining spots, compared to buttons. [illustration: fig. .--sucking-fish, or pegador, _leptecheneis naucrates_ (linnæus). virginia.] =globefishes.=--the globefishes (_tetraodon_, etc.) and the porcupine-fishes have the surface defended by spines. these fishes have an additional safeguard through the instinct to swallow air. when one of these fishes is seriously disturbed it rises to the surface, gulps air into a capacious sac, and then floats belly upward on the surface. it is thus protected from other fishes, although easily taken by man. the same habit appears in some of the frog-fishes (_antennarius_) and in the swell sharks (_cephaloscyllium_). the writer once hauled out a netful of globefishes (_tetraodon hispidus_) from a hawaiian lagoon. as they lay on the bank a dog came up and sniffed at them. as his nose touched them they swelled themselves up with air, becoming visibly two or three times as large as before. it is not often that the lower animals show surprise at natural phenomena, but the attitude of the dog left no question as to his feeling. =remoras.=--the different species of remora, or shark-suckers, fasten themselves to the surface of sharks or other fishes and are carried about by them often to great distances. these fishes attach themselves by a large sucking-disk on the top of the head, which is a modified spinous dorsal fin. they do not harm the shark, except possibly to retard its motion. if the shark is caught and drawn out of the water, these fishes often instantly let go and plunge into the sea, swimming away with great celerity. =sucking-disks of clingfishes.=--other fishes have sucking-disks differently made, by which they cling to rocks. in the gobies the united ventrals have some adhesive power. the blind goby (_typhlogobius californiensis_) is said to adhere to rocks in dark holes by the ventral fins. in most gobies the adhesive power is slight. in the sea-snails (_liparididæ_) and lumpfishes (_cyclopteridæ_) the united ventral fins are modified into an elaborate circular sucking-disk. in the clingfishes (_gobiesocidæ_) the sucking-disk lies between the ventral fins and is made in part of modified folds of the naked skin. some fishes creep over the bottom, exploring it with their sensitive barbels, as the gurnard, surmullet, and goatfish. the suckers (_catostomus_) test the bottom with their thick, sensitive lips, either puckered or papillose, feeding by suction. [illustration: fig. .--clingfish, _caularchus mæandricus_ (girard). monterey, california.] =lampreys and hagfishes.=--the lampreys suck the blood of other fishes to which they fasten themselves by their disk-like mouth armed with rasping teeth. the hagfishes (_myxine_, _eptatretus_) alone among fishes are truly parasitic. these fishes, worm-like in form, have round mouths, armed with strong hooked teeth. they fasten themselves at the throats of large fishes, work their way into the muscle without tearing the skin, and finally once inside devour all the muscles of the fish, leaving the skin unbroken and the viscera undisturbed. these fishes become living hulks before they die. if lifted out of the water, the slimy hagfish at once slips out and swims quickly away. in gill-nets in monterey bay great mischief is done by hagfish (_polistotrema stouti_). it is a curious fact that large numbers of hagfish eggs are taken from the stomachs of the male hagfish, which seems to be almost the only enemy of his own species, keeping the numbers in check. [illustration: fig. .--hagfish, _polistotrema stouti_ (lockington).] =the swordfishes.=--in the swordfish and its relatives, the sailfish and the spearfish, the bones of the anterior part of the head are grown together, making an efficient organ of attack. the sword of the swordfish, the most powerful of these fishes, has been known to pierce the long planks of boats, and it is supposed that the animal sometimes attacks the whale. but stories of this sort lack verification. =the paddle-fishes.=--in the paddle-fishes (_polyodon spatula_ and _psephurus gladius_) the snout is spread out forming a broad paddle or spatula. this the animal uses to stir up the mud on the bottoms of rivers, the small organisms contained in mud constituting food. similar paddle-like projections are developed in certain deep-water chimæras (_harriottia_, _rhinochimæra_), and in the deep-sea shark, _mitsukurina_. [illustration: fig. .--indian sawfish, _pristis zysron_ latham. river mouths of hindustan. (after day.)] =the sawfishes.=--a certain genus of rays (_pristis_, the sawfish) and a genus of sharks (_pristiophorus_, the saw-shark), possess a similar spatula-shaped snout. but in these fishes the snout is provided on either side with enamelled teeth set in sockets and standing at right angles with the snout. the animal swims through schools of sardines and anchovies, strikes right and left with this saw, destroying the small fishes, who thus become an easy prey. these fishes live in estuaries and river mouths, _pristis_ in tropical america and guinea, _pristiophorus_ in japan and australia. in the mythology of science, the sawfish attacks the whale, but in fact the two animals never come within miles of each other, and the sawfish is an object of danger only to the tender fishes, the small fry of the sea. [illustration: fig. .--saw-shark, _pristiophorus japonicus_ günther. specimen from nagasaki.] =peculiarities of jaws and teeth.=--the jaws of fishes are subject to a great variety of modifications. in some the bones are joined by distensible ligaments and the fish can swallow other fishes larger than itself. in other cases the jaws are excessively small and toothless, at the end of a long tube, so ineffective in appearance that it is a marvel that the fish can swallow anything at all. in the thread-eels (_nemichthys_) the jaws are so recurved that they cannot possibly meet, and in their great length seem worse than useless. in some species the knife-like canines of the lower jaw pierce through the substance of the upper. in four different and wholly unrelated groups of fishes the teeth are grown fast together, forming a horny beak like that of the parrot. these are the chimæras, the globefishes (_tetraodon_), and their relatives, the parrot-fishes (_scarus_, etc.), and the stone-wall perch (_oplegnathus_). the structure of the beak varies considerably in these four cases, in accord with the difference in the origin of its structures. in the globefishes the jaw-bones are fused together, and in the chimæras they are solidly joined to the cranium itself. =the angler-fishes.=--in the large group of angler-fishes the first spine of the dorsal fin is modified into a sort of bait to attract smaller fishes into the capacious mouth below. this structure is typical in the fishing-frog (_lophius_), where the fleshy tip of this spine hangs over the great mouth, the huge fish lying on the bottom apparently inanimate as a stone. in other related fishes this spine has different forms, being often reduced to a vestige, of little value as a lure, but retained in accordance with the law of heredity. in a deep-sea angler the bait is enlarged, provided with fleshy streamers and a luminous body which serves to attract small fishes in the depths. the forms and uses of this spine in this group constitute a very suggestive chapter in the study of specialization and ultimate degradation, when the special function is not needed or becomes ineffective. similar phases of excessive development and final degradation may be found in almost every group in which abnormal stress has been laid on a particular organ. thus the ventral fins, made into a large sucking-disk in _liparis_, are lost altogether in _paraliparis_. the very large poisoned spines of _pterois_ become very short in _aploactis_, the high dorsal spines of _citula_ are lost in _alectis_, and sometimes a very large organ dwindles to a very small one within the limits of the same genus. an example of this is seen in the poisoned pectoral spines of _schilbeodes_. =relation of number of vertebræ to temperature and the struggle for existence.=--one of the most remarkable modifications of the skeleton of fishes is the progressive increase of the number of vertebræ as the forms become less specialized, and that this particular form of specialization is greatest at the equator.[ ] it has been known for some years that in several groups of fishes (wrasse-fishes, flounders, and "rock-cod," for example) those species which inhabit northern waters have more vertebræ than those living in the tropics. certain arctic flounders, for example, have sixty vertebræ; tropical flounders have, on the average, thirty. the significance of this fact is the problem at issue. in science it is assumed that all facts have significance, else they would not exist. it becomes necessary, then, to find out first just what the facts are in this regard. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of pike, _esox lucius_ linnæus, a river fish with many vertebræ.] going through the various groups of non-migratory marine fishes we find that such relations are common. in almost every group the number of vertebræ grows smaller as we approach the equator, and grows larger again as we pass into southern latitudes. taking an average netful of fishes of different kinds at different places along the coast, the variation would be evident. at point barrow or cape farewell or north cape a seineful of fishes would perhaps average eighty vertebræ each, the body lengthened to make room for them; at sitka or st. johns or bergen, perhaps sixty vertebræ; at san francisco or new york or st. malo, thirty-five; at mazatlan or pensacola or naples, twenty-eight; and at panama or havana or sierra leone, twenty-five. under the equator the usual number of vertebræ in shore fishes is twenty-four. outside tropical and semi-tropical waters this number is the exception. north of cape cod it is virtually unknown. =number of vertebræ.=--the numbers of vertebræ in different groups may be summarized as follows: _lancelets._--among the lancelets the numbers of segments range from to , there being no vertebræ. _lampreys._--in this group the number of segments ranges from to . _elasmobranchs._--among sharks and skates the usual number of segments is from to and upwards. in the extinct species as far as known the numbers are not materially different. the carboniferous genus, _pleuracanthus_, has about vertebræ. the _chimæras_ have similar numbers; _chimæra monstrosa_ has about in the body and more than as many more in the filamentous tail. _cycliæ._--_palæospondylus_ has about vertebræ. _arthrodires._--there are about vertebræ in _coccosteus_. _dipnoans._--in protopterus there are upwards of vertebræ, the last much reduced in size. figures of _neoceratodus_ show about . _crossopterygians._--_polypterus_ has vertebræ; _erpetichthys_, ; _undina_, about . _ganoids._--in this group the numbers are also large-- in _amia_, about in the short-bodied _microdon_. the sturgeons all have more than vertebræ. =soft-rayed fishes.=--among the _teleostei_, or bony fishes, those which first appear in geological history are the _isospondyli_, the allies of the salmon and herring. these have all numerous vertebræ, small in size, and none of them in any notable degree modified or specialized. they abound in the depths of the ocean, but there are comparatively few of them in the tropics. the _salmonidæ_ which inhabit the rivers and lakes of the northern zones have from to vertebræ. the _myctophidæ, stomiatidæ_, and other deep-sea forms have from upwards in the few species in which the number has been counted. the group of _clupeidæ_ is nearer the primitive stock of _isospondyli_ than the salmon are. this group is essentially northern in its distribution, but a considerable number of its members are found within the tropics. the common herring (_clupea harangus_) ranges farther into the arctic regions than any other. its vertebræ are in number. in the shad (_alosa sapidissima_), a northern species which ascends the rivers, the same number is recorded. the sprat (_clupea sprattus_) and sardine (_sardinia pilchardus_), ranging farther south, have from to , while in certain small herrings (_sardinella_) which are strictly confined to tropical shores the number is but . allied to the herring are the anchovies, mostly tropical. the northernmost species, the common anchovy of europe (_engraulis enchrasicolus_), has vertebræ. a tropical species (_anchovia browni_) has . there are, however, a few soft-rayed fishes confined to the tropical seas in which the numbers of vertebræ are still large, an exception to the general rule. among these are _albula vulpes_, the bonefish, with vertebræ, _elops saurus_, the ten-pounder, with , the tarpon (_tarpon atlanticus_), with about , and the milkfish, _chanos chanos_, with . in a fossil eocene herring from the green river shales (_diplomystus_) i count vertebræ; in a bass-like fish (_mioplosus_) from the same locality --these being the usual numbers in the present tropical members of these groups. the great family of _siluridæ_, or catfishes, is represented in all the fresh waters of temperate and tropical america, as well as in the warmer parts of the old world. one division of the family, containing numerous species, abounds on the sandy shores of the tropical seas. the others are all fresh-water fishes. so far as the vertebræ in the _siluridæ_ have been examined, no conclusions can be drawn. the vertebræ in the marine species range from to ; in the north american forms, from to ; and in the south american fresh-water species, where there is almost every imaginable variation in form and structure, the numbers range from to or more. the _cyprinidæ_ (carp and minnows), confined to the fresh waters of the northern hemisphere, and their analogues, the _characinidæ_ of the rivers of south america and africa, have also numerous vertebræ, to in most cases. in general we may say of the soft-rayed fishes that very few of them are inhabitants of tropical shores. of these few, some which are closely related to northern forms have fewer vertebræ than their cold-water analogues. in the northern species, the fresh-water species, and the species found in the deep sea the number of vertebræ is always large, but the same is true of some of the tropical species also. =the flounders.=--in the flounders, the halibut and its relatives, arctic genera (_hippoglossus_ and _atheresthes_), have from to vertebræ. the northern genera (_hippoglossoides, lyopsetta_, and _eopsetta_) have from to ; the members of a large semi-tropical genus (_paralichthys_) of wide range have from to ; while the tropical forms have from to . in the group of turbots and whiffs none of the species really belong to the northern fauna, and the range in numbers is from to . the highest number, , is found in a deep-water species (_monolene_), and the next, , in species (_lepidorhombus, orthopsetta_) which extend their range well toward the north. among the plaices, which are all northern, the numbers range from to , the higher numbers, , , , being found in species (_glyptocephalus_) which inhabit considerable depths in the arctic seas. the lowest numbers ( ) belong to shore species (_pleuronichthys_) which range well toward the south. =spiny-rayed fishes.=--among the spiny-rayed fishes the facts are more striking. of these, numerous families are chiefly or wholly confined to the tropics, and in the great majority of all the species the number of vertebræ is constantly ,-- in the body and in the tail ( + ). this is true of all or nearly all the _berycidæ_, _serranidæ_, _sparidæ_, _sciænidæ_, _chætodontidæ_, _hæmulidæ_, _gerridæ_, _gobiidæ_, _acanthuridæ_, _mugilidæ_, _sphyrænidæ_, _mullidæ_, _pomacentridæ_, etc. in some families in which the process of reduction has gone on to an extreme degree, as in certain _plectognath_ fishes, there has been a still further reduction, the lowest number, , existing in the short inflexible body of the trunkfish (_ostracion_), in which the vertebral joints are movable only in the base of the tail. in all these forms the process of reduction of vertebræ has been accompanied by specialization in other respects. the range of distribution of these fishes is chiefly though not quite wholly confined to the tropics. thus _balistes_, the trigger-fish, has vertebræ; _monacanthus_ and _alutera_, foolfishes, about ; the trunkfish, _ostracion_, ; the puffers, _tetraodon_ and _spheroides_, ; _canthigaster_, ; and the headfish, _mola_, . among the _pediculates, malthe_ and _antennarius_ have to vertebræ, while in their near relatives, the anglers, _lophiidæ_, the number varies with the latitude. thus, in the northern angler, _lophius piscatorius_, which is never found south of cape hatteras, there are vertebræ. in a similar species, inhabiting the north of japan (_lophius litulon_), there are . in another japanese species, ranging farther south, _lophiomus setigerus_, the vertebræ are but . yet in external appearance these two fishes are almost identical. it is, however, a notable fact that some of the deep-water _pediculates_, or angling fishes, have the body very short and the number of vertebræ correspondingly reduced. _dibranchus atlanticus_, from a depth of fathoms, or more than miles, has but vertebræ, and others of its relatives in deep waters show also small numbers. these soft-bodied fishes are simply animated mouths, with a feeble osseous structure, and they are perhaps recent offshoots from some stock which has extended its range from muddy bottom or from floating seaweed to the depths of the sea. a very few spiny-rayed families are wholly confined to the northern seas. one of the most notable of these is the family of viviparous surf-fishes (_embiotocidæ_), of which numerous species abound on the coasts of california and japan, but which enter neither the waters of the frigid nor of the torrid zone. the surf-fishes have from to vertebræ, numbers which are never found among tropical fishes of similar appearance or relationship. the facts of variation with latitude were first noticed among the _labridæ_. in the northern genera (_labrus_, _tautoga_, etc.) there are to vertebræ; in the semi-tropical genera (_crenilabrus_, _bodianus_, etc.), to ; in the tropical genera (_halichoeres_, _xyrichthys_, _thalassoma_, etc.), usually . equally striking are the facts in the great group of _pareioplitæ_, or mailed-cheek fishes, composed of numerous families, diverging from each other in various respects, but agreeing in certain peculiarities of the skeleton. among these fishes the family most nearly related to ordinary fishes is that of the _scorpænidæ_ (scorpion-fishes, etc.). this is a large family containing many species, fishes of local habits, swarming about the rocks at moderate depths in all zones. the species of the tropical genera have all vertebræ. those genera chiefly found in cooler waters, as in california, japan, chile, and the cape of good hope, have in all their species vertebræ, while in the arctic genera there are . allied to the _scorpænidæ_, but confined to the tropical or semi-tropical seas, are the _platycephalidæ_, with vertebræ, and the _cephalacanthidæ_ (flying gurnards), with but . in the deeper waters of the tropics are the _peristediidæ_, with vertebræ, and extending farther north, belonging as much to the temperate as to the torrid zone, is the large family of the _triglidæ_ (gurnards) in which the vertebræ range from to . the family of _agonidæ_ (sea-poachers), with to vertebræ, is still more decidedly northern in its distribution. wholly confined to northern waters is the great family of the _cottidæ_ (sculpins), in which the vertebræ ascend from to . entirely polar and often in deep waters are the _liparididæ_ (sea-snails), an offshoot from the _cottidæ_, with soft, limp bodies, and the vertebræ to . in these northern forms there are no scales, the spines in the fins have practically disappeared, and only the anatomy shows that they belong to the group of spiny-rayed fishes. in the _cyclopteridæ_ (lumpfishes), likewise largely arctic, the body becomes short and thick, the back-bone inflexible, and the vertebræ are again reduced to . in most cases, as the number of vertebræ increases, the body becomes proportionally elongate. as a result of this, the fishes of arctic waters are, for the most part, long and slender, and not a few of them approach the form of eels. in the tropics, however, while elongate fishes are common enough, most of them (always excepting the eels) have the normal number of vertebræ, the greater length being due to the elongation of their individual vertebræ and not to their increase in number. thus the very slender goby, _gobionellus oceanicus_, has the same number ( ) of vertebræ as its thick-set relative _gobius soporator_ or the chubby _lophogobius cyprinoides_. in the great group of blenny-like fishes the facts are equally striking. the arctic species are very slender in form as compared with the tropical blennies, and this fact, caused by a great increase in the number of their vertebræ, has led to the separation of the group into several families. the tropical forms composing the family of _blenniidæ_ have from to vertebræ, while in the arctic genera the numbers range from to . of the true _blennidæ_, which are all tropical or semi-tropical, _blennius_ has to vertebræ; _salarias_, to ; lepisoma, ; _clinus_, ; _cristiceps_, . a fresh-water species of _cristiceps_ found in australia has . blennioid fishes in the arctic seas are _anarrhichas_, with vertebræ; _anarrhichthys_, with or more; _lumpenus_, ; _pholis_, ; _lycodes_, ; _gymnelis_, . _lycodes_ and _gymnelis_ have lost all the dorsal spines. in the cod family (_gadidæ_) the number of vertebræ is usually about . the number is in the codfish (_gadus callarias_), in the siberian cod (_eleginus navaga_), in the haddock (_melanogrammus æglifinus_), in the whiting (_merlangus merlangus_), in the coalfish (_pollachius virens_), in the alaskan coalfish (_theragra chalcogramma_), in the hake (_merluccius merluccius_). in the burbot (_lota lota_), the only fresh-water codfish, ; in the deep-water ling (_molva molva_), ; in the rocklings (_gaidropsarus_), to . those few species found in the mediterranean and the gulf of mexico have fewer fin-rays and probably fewer vertebræ than the others, but none of the family enter warm water, the southern species living at greater depths. in the deep-sea allies of the codfishes, the grenadiers or rat-tails (_macrouridæ_), the numbers range from to . =fresh-water fishes.=--of the families confined strictly to the fresh waters the great majority are among the soft-rayed or physostomous fishes, the allies of the salmon, pike, carp, and catfish. in all of these the vertebræ are numerous. a few fresh-water families have their affinities entirely with the more specialized forms of the tropical seas. of these the _centrarchidæ_ (comprising the american fresh-water sunfish and black bass) have on the average about vertebræ, the pirate perch , and the _percidæ_, perch and darters, etc., to , while the _serranidæ_ or sea-bass, the nearest marine relatives of all these, have constantly . the marine family of damsel-fishes (_pomacentridæ_) have vertebræ, while to vertebræ usually exist in their fresh-water analogues (or possibly descendants), the _cichlidæ_, of the rivers of south america and africa. the sticklebacks (_gasterosteidæ_), a family of spiny fishes, confined to the rivers and seas of the north, have from to vertebræ. =pelagic fishes.=--among the free-swimming or migratory pelagic fishes, the number of vertebræ is usually greater than among their relatives of local habits. this fact is most evident among the scombriform fishes, the allies of the mackerel and tunny. all of these belong properly to the warm seas, and the reduction of the vertebræ in certain forms has no evident relation to the temperature, though it seems to be related in some degree to the habits of the species. perhaps the retention of many segments is connected with that strength and swiftness in the water for which the mackerels are preeminent. the variations in the number of vertebræ in this group led dr. günther to divide it into two families, the _carangidæ_ and _scombridæ_. the _carangidæ_ or _pampanos_ are tropical shore fishes, local or migratory to a slight degree. all these have from to vertebræ. in their pelagic relatives, the dolphins (_coryphæna_), there are from to ; in the opah (_lampris_), ; in brama, ; while the great mackerel family (_scombridæ_), all of whose members are more or less pelagic, have from to . the mackerel (_scomber scombrus_) has vertebræ; the chub mackerel (_scomber japonicus_), ; the tunny (_thunnus thynnus_), ; the long-finned albacore (_germo alalonga_), ; the bonito (_sarda sarda_), ; the spanish mackerel (_scomberomorus maculatus_), . other mackerel-like fishes are the cutlass-fishes (_trichiuridæ_), which approach the eels in form and in the reduction of the fins. in these the vertebræ are correspondingly numerous, the numbers ranging from to . _aphanopus_ has vertebræ; _lepidopus_, ; _trichurus_, . in apparent contradiction to this rule, however, the pelagic family of swordfishes (_xiphias_), remotely allied to the mackerels, and with even greater powers of swimming, has the vertebræ in normal number, the common swordfish having but . =the eels.=--the eels constitute a peculiar group of soft-rayed ancestry, in which everything else has been subordinated to muscularity and flexibility of body. the fins, girdles, gill-arches, scales, and membrane bones are all imperfectly developed or wanting. the eel is perhaps as far from the primitive stock as the most highly "ichthyized" fishes, but its progress has been of another character. the eel would be regarded in the ordinary sense as a degenerate type, for its bony structure is greatly simplified as compared with its ancestral forms, but in its eel-like qualities it is, however, greatly specialized. all the eels have vertebræ in great numbers. as the great majority of the species are tropical, and as the vertebræ in very few of the deep-sea forms have been counted, no conclusions can be drawn as to the relation of their vertebræ to the temperature. it is evident that the two families most decidedly tropical in their distribution, the morays (_murænidæ_) and the snake-eels (_ophichthyidæ_), have diverged farthest from the primitive stock. they are most "degenerate," as shown by the reduction of their skeleton. at the same time they are also most decidedly "eel-like," and in some respects, as in coloration, dentition, muscular development, most highly specialized. it is evident that the presence of numerous vertebral joints is essential to the suppleness of body which is the eel's chief source of power. so far as known the numbers of vertebræ in eels range from to , some of the deep-sea eels (_nemichthys_, _nettastoma_, _gordiichthys_) having much higher numbers, in accord with their slender or whip-like forms. among the morays, _muræna helena_ has ; _gymnothorax meleagris_, ; _g. undulatus_, ; _g. moringa_, ; _g. concolor_, ; _echidna catenata_, ; _e. nebulosa_, ; _e. zebra_, . in other families the true eel, _anguilla anguilla_, has ; the conger-eel, _leptocephalus conger_, ; and _murænesox cinereus_, . =variations in fin-rays.=--in some families the number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins is dependent on the number of vertebræ. it is therefore subject to the same fluctuations. this relation is not strictly proportionate, for often a variable number of rays with their interspinal processes will be interposed between a pair of vertebræ. the myotomes or muscular bands on the sides are usually coincident with the number of vertebræ. as, however, these and other characters are dependent on differences in vertebral segmentation, they bear the same relations to temperature or latitude that the vertebræ themselves sustain. thus in the _scorpænidæ_, _sebastes_, and _sebastolobus_ arctic genera have the dorsal rays xv, , the vertebræ + . the tropical genus _scorpæna_ has the dorsal rays xii, , the vertebræ + , while the genus _sebastodes_ of temperate waters has the intermediate numbers of dorsal rays xii, , and vertebræ + . =relation of numbers to conditions of life.=--fresh-water fishes have in general more vertebræ than marine fishes of shallow waters. pelagic fishes and deep-sea fishes have more than those which live along the shores, and more than localized or non-migratory forms. to each of these generalizations there are occasional partial exceptions, but not such as to invalidate the rule. the presence of large numbers of vertebræ is noteworthy among those fishes which swim for long distances, as, for example, many of the mackerel family. among such there is often found a high grade of muscular power, or even of activity, associated with a large number of vertebræ, these vertebræ being individually small and little differentiated. for long-continued muscular action of a uniform kind there would be perhaps an advantage in the low development of the vertebral column. for muscular alertness, moving short distances with great speed, the action of a fish constantly on its guard against enemies or watching for its prey, the advantage would be on the side of a few vertebræ. there is often a correlation between the free-swimming habit and slenderness and suppleness of the body, which again is often dependent on an increase in numbers of the vertebral segments. these correlations appear as a disturbing element in the problem rather than as furnishing a clew to its solution. in some groups of fresh-water fishes there is a reduction in number of vertebræ, not associated with any degree of specialization of the individual bone, but correlated with simple reduction in size of body. this is apparently a phenomenon of degeneration, a survival of dwarfs, where conditions are unfavorable in full growth. all these effects should be referable to the same group of causes. they may, in fact, be combined in one statement. all other fishes now extant, as well as all fishes existing prior to cretaceous times, have a larger number of vertebræ than the marine shore fishes of the tropics of the present period. there is good reason to believe that in most groups of spiny-rayed fishes, those with the smaller number of segments are at once the most highly organized and the most primitive. this is true among the blennies, the sculpins, the flounders, the perches, and probably the labroid fishes as well. the present writer once held the contrary view, that the forms with the higher numbers were primitive, but the evidence both from comparative anatomy and from palæontology seems to indicate that among spiny-rayed fishes the forms most ancient, most generalized, and most synthetic are those with about vertebræ. the soft-rayed fishes without exception show larger numbers, and these are still more primitive. this apparent contradiction is perhaps explained by dr. boulenger's suggestion that the prevalence of the same number, , in the vertebræ of various families of spiny-rayed fishes is due to common descent, probably from cretaceous berycoids having this number. in this theory, perches, sparoids, carangoids, chætodonts, labroids, parrot-fishes, gobies, flounders, and sculpins must be regarded as having a common origin from which all have diverged since jurassic times. this view is not at all unlikely and is not inconsistent with the facts of palæontology. if this be the case, the members of these and related families which have larger numbers of vertebræ must have diverged from the primitive stock. the change has been one of degeneration, the individual vertebræ being reduced in size and complexity, with a vegetative increase in their number. at the same time, the body having the greater number of segments is the more flexible though the segments themselves are less specialized. the primitive forms live chiefly along tropical shores, while forms with increased numbers of vertebræ are found in all other localities. this fact must be considered in any hypothesis as to the causes producing such changes. if the development of large numbers be a phase of degeneration the causes of such degeneration must be sought in the colder seas, in the rivers, and in the oceanic abysses. what have these waters in common that the coral reefs, the lava crags, and tide-pools of the tropics have not? it is certain that the possession of fewer vertebræ indicates the higher rank, the greater specialization of parts, even though the many vertebræ be a feature less primitive. the evolution of fishes is rarely a movement of progress toward complexity. the time movement in some groups is accompanied by degradation and loss of parts, by vegetative repetition of structures, and often by a movement from the fish-form toward the eel-form. water life is less exacting than land life, having less variation of conditions. it is, therefore, less effective in pushing forward the differentiation of parts. when vertebræ are few in number each one is relatively larger, its structure is more complicated, its appendages larger and more useful, and the fins with which it is connected are better developed. in other words, the tropical fish is more intensely and compactly a fish, with a better fish equipment, and in all ways better fitted for the business of a fish, especially for that of a fish that stays at home. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of red rockfish, _sebastodes miniatus_ jordan and gilbert. california.] [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of a spiny-rayed fish of the tropics, _holacanthus ciliaris_ (linnæus).] in the center of competition no species can afford to be handicapped by a weak back-bone and redundant vertebræ. those who are thus weighted cannot hold their own. they must change or perish. the conditions most favorable to fish life are among the rocks and reefs of the tropical seas. about the coral reefs is the center of fish competition. a coral archipelago is the paris of fishes. in such regions is found the greatest variety of surroundings, and therefore the greatest number of possible adjustments. the struggle is between fish and fish, not between fishes and hard conditions of life. no form is excluded from the competition. cold, darkness, and foul water do not shut out competitors, nor does any evil influence sap the strength. the heat of the tropics does not make the sea-water hot. it is never sultry or laden with malaria. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of the cowfish, _lactophrys tricornis_ (linnæus).] from conditions otherwise favorable in arctic regions the majority of competitors are excluded by their inability to bear the cold. river life is life in isolation. to aquatic animals river life has the same limitations that island life has to the animals of the land. the oceanic islands are far behind the continents in the process of evolution in so far as evolution implies specialization of parts. in a like manner the rivers are ages behind the seas, so far as progress is concerned, though through lack of competition the animals in isolation may be farthest from the original stock. therefore the influences which serve as a whole to intensify fish life, to keep it up to its highest effectiveness, and which tend to rid the fish of every character or structure it cannot "use in its business," are most effective along the shores of the tropics. one phase of this is the retention of low numbers of vertebræ, or, more accurately, the increase of stress on each individual bone. conversely, as the causes of these changes are still in operation, we should find that in cold waters, deep waters, dark waters, fresh waters, and inclosed waters the strain would be less, the relapses to less complex organization more frequent, the numbers of vertebræ would be larger, while the individual vertebræ would become smaller, less complete, and less perfectly ossified. this in a general way is precisely what we do find in examining the skeletons of a large variety of fishes. the cause of the increased numbers of vertebræ in cold waters or extratropical waters is as yet unknown. several guesses have been made, but these can scarcely rise to the level of theories. to ascribe it to natural selection, as the present writer has done, is to do little more than to restate the problem. as a possible tentative hypothesis we may say that the retention of the higher primitive traits in the tropics is due to continuous selection, the testing of individuals by the greater variety of external conditions. the degeneration of extratropical fishes may be due to isolation and cessation or reversal of selection. thus fresh waters, the arctic waters, the oceanic abysses are the "back woods" of fish life, localities favorable to the retention of primitive simplicity, equally favorable to subsequent degeneration. practically all deep-sea fishes are degenerate descendants of shore fishes of various groups. monotony and isolation permit or encourage degeneration of type. where the struggle for existence is most intense the higher structures will be retained or developed. among such facts as these derived from natural selection the cause of the relation of temperature to number of vertebræ must be sought. how the cretaceous berycoids first acquired their few vertebræ and the high degree of individual specialization of these structures we may not know. the character came with the thoracic ventrals with reduced number of rays, the ctenoid scales, the toothless maxillary, and other characters which have long persisted in their subsequent descendants. an exception to the general rule in regard to the number of vertebræ is found in the case of the eel. eels inhabit nearly all seas, and everywhere they have many vertebræ. the eels of the tropics are at once more specialized and more degraded. they are better eels than those of northern regions, but, as the eel is a degraded type, they have gone farther in the loss of structures in which this degradation consists. it is not well to push this analogy too far, but perhaps we can find in the comparison of the tropics and the cities some suggestion as to the development of the eel. in the city there is always a class which follows in no degree the general line of development. its members are specialized in a wholly different way. by this means they take to themselves a field which others have neglected, making up in low cunning what they lack in humanity or intelligence. thus, among fishes, we have in the regions of closest competition this degenerate and non-fish-like type, lurking in holes among the rocks, or creeping in the sand; thieves and scavengers among fishes. the eels thus fill a place otherwise left unfilled. in their way they are perfectly adapted to the lives they lead. a multiplicity of vertebral joints is useless to the tropical fish, but to the eel strength and suppleness are everything. no armature of fin or scale or bone is so desirable as its power of escaping through the smallest opening. with the elongation of the body and its increase in flexibility there is a tendency toward the loss of the paired fins, the ventrals going first, and afterwards the pectorals. this tendency may be seen in many groups. among recent fishes, the blennies, the eel-pouts, and the sea-snails furnish illustrative examples. =degeneration of structures.=--in the lancelet, which is a primitively simple organism, the various structures of the body are formed of simple tissues and in a very simple fashion. it is probable from the structure of each of these that it has never been very much more complex. as the individual develops in the process of growth each organ goes as it were straight to its final form and structure without metamorphosis or especial alterations by the way. when this type of development occurs, the organism belongs to a type which is primitively simple. but there are other forms which in their adult state appear feeble or simple, in which are found elements of organs of high complexity. thus in the sea-snail (_liparis_), small, weak, with feeble fins and flabby skin, we find the essential anatomy of the sculpin or the rosefish. the organs of the latter are there, but each one is reduced or degenerate, the bones as soft as membranes, the spines obsolete or buried in the skin. such a type is said to be degenerate. it is very different from one primitively simple, and it is likely in its earlier stages of development to be more complex than when it is fully grown. [illustration: fig. .--liparid, _crystallias matsushimæ_ (jordan and snyder). family _liparididæ_. matsushima bay, japan.] [illustration: fig. .--yellow-backed rockfish, _sebastichthys maliger_ jordan and gilbert. sitka, alaska.] in the evolution of groups of fishes it is a common feature that some one organ will be the center of a special stress, in view of some temporary importance of its function. by the process of natural selection it will become highly developed and highly specialized. some later changes in conditions will render this specialization useless or even harmful for at least a part of the species possessing it. the structure then undergoes degeneration, and in many cases it is brought to a lower estate than before the original changes. an example of this may be taken from the loricate or mailed-cheek fishes. one of the primitive members of this group is the rockfish known as priestfish (_sebastodes mystinus_). in this fish the head is weakly armed, covered with ordinary scales. a slight suggestion of cranial ridges and a slight prolongation of the third suborbital constitute the chief suggestions of its close affinity with the mailed-cheek fishes. in other rockfishes the cranial ridges grow higher and sharper. the third suborbital extends itself farther and wider. it becomes itself spinous in still others. finally it covers the whole cheek in a coat of mail. the head above becomes rough and horny and at last the whole body also is enclosed in a bony box. but while this specialization reaches an extraordinary degree in forms like _agonus_ and _peristedion_, it begins to abate with _cottus_, and thence through _cottunculus_, _psychrolutes_, _liparis_, and the like, and the mailed cheek finds its final degradation in _parliparis_. in this type no spines are present anywhere, no hard bone, no trace of scales, of first dorsal, or of ventral fins, and in the soft, limp structure covered with a fragile, scarf-like skin we find little suggestion of affinity with the strong rockfish or the rough-mailed _agonus_. yet a study of the skeleton shows that all these loricate forms constitute a continuous divergent series. the forms figured constitute only a few of the stages of specialization and degradation which the members of this group represent. [illustration: fig. .--european sculpin, _myoxocephalus scorpius_ (linnæus). cumberland gulf, arctic america] [illustration: fig. .--sea-raven, _hemitripterus americanus_ (gmelin). halifax, nova scotia.] some of the features of the habits and development of certain fresh-water fishes are mentioned in the following chapter. [illustration: fig. .--lumpfish, _cyclopterus lumpus_ (linnæus). eastport, maine.] the degeneration of the eye of the blind fishes of the caves of the mississippi valley, _amblyopsis_, _typhlichthys_, and _troglichthys_, have been very fully studied by dr. carl h. eigenmann. according to his observations "the history of the eye of _amblyopsis spelæus_ may be divided into four periods: [illustration: fig. .--sleek sculpin, _psychrolutes paradoxus_ (günther). puget sound.] "(_a_) the first extends from the appearance of the eye till the embryo is - mm. long. this period is characterized by a normal palingenic development, except that the cell division is retarded and there is very little growth. [illustration: fig. .--agonoid-fish, _pallasina barbata_ (steindachner). port mulgrave, alaska.] "(_b_) the second period extends till the fish is mm. long. it is characterized by the direct development of the eye from the normal embryonic stage reached in the first period to the highest stage reached by the _amblyopsis_ eye. [illustration: fig. .--blindfish of the mammoth cave, _amblyopsis spelæus_ (de kay). mammoth cave, kentucky.] "(_c_) the third, from mm. to about or mm. it is characterized by a number of changes which are positive as contrasted with degenerative. there are also distinct degenerative processes taking place during this period. "(_d_) the fourth, - mm. to death. it is characterized by degenerative processes only. "the eye of _amblyopsis_ appears at the same stage of growth as in normal fishes developing normal eyes. the eye grows but little after its appearance. "all the developmental processes are retarded and some of them give out prematurely. the most important, if the last, is the cell division and the accompanying growth that provide material for the eye. "the lens appears at the normal time and in the normal way, but its cells never divide and never lose their embryonic character. "the lens is first to show degenerative steps and disappears entirely before the fish is mm. long. [illustration: fig. .--blind brotula, _lucifuga subterranea_ (poey), showing viviparous habit. joignan cave, pinar del rio, cuba. photographed by dr. eigenmann.] "the optic nerve appears shortly before the fish reaches mm. it does not increase in size with the growth of the fish and disappears in old age. "the scleral cartilages appear when the fish is mm. long; they grow very slowly, possibly till old age. "there is no constant ratio between the extent and degree of ontogenic and phylogenic degeneration. "the eye is approaching the vanishing point through the route indicated by the eye of _troglichthys rosæ_. "there being no causes operative or inhibitive, either within the fish or in the environment, that are not also operative or inhibitive in _chologaster agassizii_, which lives in caves and develops well-formed eyes, it is evident that the causes controlling the development are hereditarily established in the egg by an accumulation of such degenerative changes as are still notable in the later history of the eye of the adult. "the foundations of the eye are normally laid, but the superstructure, instead of continuing the plan with additional material, completes it out of the material provided for the foundations. the development of the foundation of the eye is phylogenic; the stages beyond the foundations are direct." =conditions of evolution among fishes.=--dr. bashford dean ("fishes, living and fossil") has the following observations on the processes of adaptation among fishes: "the evolution of groups of fishes must accordingly have taken place during only the longest periods of time. their aquatic life has evidently been unfavorable to deep-seated structural changes, or at least has not permitted these to be perpetuated. recent fishes have diverged in but minor regards from their ancestors of the coal measures. within the same duration of time, on the other hand, terrestrial vertebrates have not only arisen, but have been widely differentiated. among land-living forms the amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have been evolved, and have given rise to more than sixty orders. "the evolution of fishes has been confined to a noteworthy degree within rigid and unshifting bounds; their living medium, with its mechanical effects upon fish-like forms and structures, has for ages been almost constant in its conditions; its changes of temperature and density and currents have rarely been more than of local importance, and have influenced but little the survival of genera and species widely distributed; its changes, moreover, in the normal supply of food organisms cannot be looked upon as noteworthy. aquatic life has built few of the direct barriers to survival, within which the terrestrial forms appear to have been evolved by the keenest competition. "it is not, accordingly, remarkable that in their descent fishes are known to have retained their tribal features, and to have varied from each other only in details of structure. their evolution is to be traced in diverging characters that prove rarely more than of family value; one form, as an example, may have become adapted for an active and predatory life, evolving stronger organs of progression, stouter armoring, and more trenchant teeth; another, closely akin in general structures, may have acquired more sluggish habits, largely or greatly diminished size, and degenerate characters in its dermal investiture, teeth and organs of sense or progression. the flowering out of a series of fish families seems to have characterized every geological age, leaving its clearest imprint on the forms which were then most abundant. the variety that to-day maintains among the families of bony fishes is thus known to be paralleled among the carboniferous sharks, the mesozoic chimæroids, and the palæozoic lung-fishes and teleostomes. their environment has retained their general characters, while modelling them anew into forms armored or scaleless, predatory or defenseless, great, small, heavy, stout, sluggish, light, slender, blunt, tapering, depressed. "when members of any group of fishes became extinct, those appear to have been the first to perish which were the possessors of the greatest number of widely modified or _specialized_ structures. those, for example, whose teeth were adapted for a particular kind of food, or whose motions were hampered by ponderous size or weighty armoring, were the first to perish in the struggle for existence; on the other hand, the forms that most nearly retained the ancestral or tribal characters--that is, those whose structures were in every way least extreme--were naturally the best fitted to survive. thus _generalized_ fishes should be considered those of medium size, medium defenses, medium powers of progression, omnivorous feeding habits, and wide distribution, and these might be regarded as having provided the staples of survival in every branch of descent. "aquatic living has not demanded wide divergence from the ancestral stem, and the divergent forms which may culminate in a profusion of families, genera, and species do not appear to be again productive of more generalized groups. in all lines of descent specialized forms do not appear to regain by regression or degeneration the potential characters of their ancestral condition. a generalized form is like potter's clay, plastic in the hands of nature, readily to be converted into a needed kind of cup or vase; but when thus specialized may never resume unaltered its ancestral condition: the clay survives; the cup perishes." (dean.) footnotes: [ ] günther, introd. to the study of fishes, p. . [ ] the cells which von lendenfeld designates 'phosphorescent cells' have as their peculiar characteristic a large, oval, highly refracting body imbedded in the protoplasm of the larger end of the clavate cells. these cells have nothing in common with the structure of the cells of the firefly known to be phosphorescent in nature. in fact the true phosphorescent cells are more probably the 'gland-cells' found in ten of the twelve classes of organs which he describes. [ ] see a more technical paper on this subject entitled "relations of temperature to vertebræ among fishes," published in the proceedings of the united states national museum for , pp. - . still fuller details are given in a paper contained in the wilder quarter-century book, . the substance is also included in chapter viii of foot-notes to evolution: d. appleton & co. chapter xiii the colors of fishes =pigmentation.=--the colors of fishes are in general produced by oil sacs or pigment cells beneath the epidermis or in some cases beneath the scales. certain metallic shades, silvery blue or iridescent, are produced, not by actual pigment, but, as among insects, by the deflection of light from the polished skin or the striated surfaces of the scales. certain fine striations give an iridescent appearance through the interference of light. the pigmentary colors may be divided into two general classes, ground coloration and ornamentation or markings. of these the ground color is most subject to individual or local variation, although usually within narrow limits, while the markings are more subject to change with age or sex. on the other hand, they are more distinctive of the species itself. =protective coloration.=--the ground coloration most usual among fishes is protective in its nature. in a majority of fishes the back is olivaceous or gray, either plain or mottled, and the belly white. to birds looking down into the water, the back is colored like the water itself or like the bottom below it. to fishes in search of prey from below, the belly is colored like the surface of the water or the atmosphere above it. in any case the darker colored upper surface casts its shadow over the paler lower parts. in shallow waters or in rivers the bottom is not uniformly colored. the fish, especially if it be one which swims close to the bottom, is better protected if the olivaceous surface is marked by darker cross streaks and blotches. these give the fish a color resemblance to the weeds about it or to the sand and stones on which it lies. as a rule, no fish which lies on the bottom is ever quite uniformly colored. [illustration: fig. .--garibaldi (scarlet in color), _hypsypops rubicunda_ (girard). la jolla, san diego, california.] in the open seas, where the water seems very blue, blue colors, and especially metallic shades, take the place of olivaceous gray or green. as we descend into deep water, especially in the warm seas, red pigment takes the place of olive. at a moderate depth a large percentage of the fishes are of various shades of red. several of the large groupers of the west indies are represented by two color forms, a shore form in which the prevailing shade is olive-green, and a deeper-water form which is crimson. in several cases an intermediate-color form also exists which is lemon-yellow. on the coast of california is a band-shaped blenny (_apodichthys flavidus_) which appears in three colors, according to its surroundings, blood-red, grass-green, and olive-yellow. the red coloration is also essentially protective, for the region inhabited by such forms is the zone of the rose-red algæ. in the arctic waters, and in lakes where rose-red algæ are not found, the red-ground coloration is almost unknown, although red may appear in markings or in nuptial colors. it is possible that the red, both of fishes and algæ, in deeper water is related to the effect of water on the waves of light, but whether this should make fishes red or violet has never been clearly understood. it is true also that where the red in fishes ceases violet-black begins. in the greater depths, from to fathoms, the ground color in most fishes becomes deep black or violet-black, sometimes with silvery luster reflected from the scales, but more usually dull and lusterless. this shade may be also protective. in these depths the sun's rays scarcely penetrate, and the fish and the water are of the same apparent shade, for black coloration is here the mere absence of light. in general, the markings of various sorts grow less distinct with the increase of depth. bright-red fishes of the depths are usually uniform red. the violet-black fishes of the oceanic abysses show no markings whatever (luminous glands excepted), and in deep waters there are no nuptial or sexual differences in color. ground colors other than olive-green, gray, brown, or silvery rarely appear among fresh-water fishes. marine fishes in the tropics sometimes show as ground color bright blue, grass-green, crimson, orange-yellow, or black; but these showy colors are almost confined to fishes of the coral reefs, where they are often associated with elaborate systems of markings. =protective markings.=--the markings of fishes are of almost every conceivable character. they may be roughly grouped as protective coloration, sexual coloration, nuptial coloration, recognition colors, and ornamentation, if we may use the latter term for brilliant hues which serve no obvious purpose to the fish itself. examples of protective markings may be seen everywhere. the flounder which lies on the sand has its upper surface covered with sand-like blotches, and these again will vary according to the kind of sand it imitates. it may be true sand or crushed coral or the detritus of lava, in any case perfectly imitated. equally closely will the markings on a fish correspond with rock surroundings. with granite rocks we find an elaborate series of granitic markings, with coral rocks another series of shades, and if red corals be present, red shades of like appearance are found on the fish. still another kind of mark indicates rock pools lined with the red calcareous algæ called corallina. black species are found in lava masses, grass-green ones among the fronds of ulva, and olive-green among sargassum or fucus, the markings and often the form corresponding to the nature of the algæ in which the species makes its home. [illustration: fig. .--gofu, or poison fish, _synanceia verrucosa_ (linnæus). family _scorpænidæ_. specimen from apia, samoa, showing resemblance to coral masses, in the clefts of which it lives.] =sexual coloration.=--in many groups of fishes the sexes are differently colored. in some cases bright-red, blue, or black markings characterize the male, the female having similar marks, but less distinct, and the bright colors replaced by olive, brown, or gray. in a few cases, however, the female has marks of a totally different nature, and scarcely less bright than those of the male. [illustration: fig. .--lizard-skipper, _alticus saliens_ (forster). a blenny which lies out of water on lava-rocks, leaping from one to another with great agility. from nature; specimen from point distress, tutuila island, samoa. (about one-half size.)] =nuptial coloration.=--nuptial colors are those which appear on the male in the breeding season only, the pigment afterwards vanishing, leaving the sexes essentially alike. such colors are found on most of the minnows and dace (_cyprinidæ_) of the rivers and to a less degree in some other fresh-water fishes, as the darters (_etheostominæ_) and the trout. in the minnows of many species the male in spring has the skin charged with bright pigment, red, black, or bright silvery, for the most part, the black most often on the head, the red on the head and body, and the silvery on the tips of the fins. at the same time other markings are intensified, and in many species the head and sometimes the body and fins are covered with warty excrescences. these shades are most distinct on the most vigorous males, and disappear with the warty excrescences after the fertilization of the eggs. [illustration: fig. .--blue-breasted darter, _etheostoma camurum_ (cope), the most brilliantly colored of american river-fishes. cumberland gap, tennessee.] nuptial colors do not often appear among marine fishes, and in but few families are the sexes distinguishable by differences in coloration. =recognition-marks.=--under the head of "recognition-marks" may be grouped a great variety of special markings, which may be conceived to aid the representatives of a given species to recognize each other. that they actually serve this purpose is a matter of theory, but the theory is plausible, and these markings have much in common with the white tail feathers, scarlet crests, colored wing patches, and other markings regarded as recognition-marks among birds. among these are ocelli, black- or blue-ringed with white or yellow, on various parts of the body; black spots on the dorsal fin; black spots below or behind the eye; black, red, blue, or yellow spots variously placed; cross-bars of red or black or green, with or without pale edges; a blood-red fin or a fin of shining blue among pale ones; a white edge to the tail; a yellow, blue, or red streamer to the dorsal fin, a black tip to the pectoral or ventral; a hidden spot of emerald in the mouth or in the axil; an almost endless variety of sharply defined markings, not directly protective, which serve as recognition-marks, if not to the fish itself, certainly to the naturalist who studies it. these marks shade off into an equally great variety for which we can devise no better name than "ornamentation." some fishes are simply covered with brilliant spots or bars or reticulations, their nature and variety baffling description, while no useful purpose seems to be served by them, unless we stretch still more widely the convenient theory of recognition-marks. in many cases the markings change with age, certain bands, stripes, or ocelli being characteristic of the young and gradually disappearing. in such cases the same marks will be found permanent in some related species of less differentiated coloration. in such cases it is safe to regard them as ancestral. in case of markings on the fins and of elaborate ornamentation in general, it is best defined in the oldest and most vigorous individuals, becoming intensified by degrees. the most brilliantly colored fishes are found about the coral reefs. here may be found species of which the ground color is the most intense blue, others are crimson, grass-green, lemon-yellow, jet-black, and each with a great variety of contrasted markings. the frontispiece of this volume shows a series of such fishes drawn from nature from specimens taken in pools of the great coral reef of apia in samoa. these colors are not protective. the coral masses are mostly plain gray, and the fishes which lie on the bottom are plain gray also. nothing could be more brilliant or varied than the hues of the free-swimming fishes. what their cause or purpose may be, it is impossible to say. it is certain that their intense activity and the ease with which they can seek shelter in the coral masses enable them to defy their enemies. nature seems to riot in bright colors where her creatures are not destroyed by their presence. =intensity of coloration.=--in general, coloration is most intense and varied in certain families of the tropical shores, and especially about coral reefs. but in brilliancy of individual markings some fresh-water fishes are scarcely less notable, especially the darters (_etheostominæ_) and sunfishes (_centrarchidæ_) of the streams of eastern north america. the bright hues of these fresh-water fishes are, however, more or less concealed in the water by the olivaceous markings and dark blotches of the upper parts. [illustration: fig. .--snake-eels, _liuranus semicinctus_ (lay and bennett), and _chlevastes colubrinus_ (boddaert), from riu kiu islands, japan.] [illustration: fig. .--coral reef at apia.] =coral-reef fishes.=--the brilliantly colored fishes of the tropical reefs seem, as already stated, to have no need of protective coloration. they save themselves from their enemies in most cases by excessive alertness and activity (_chætodon_, _pomacentrus_), or else by busying themselves in coral sand (_julis gaimard_), a habit more frequent than has been suspected. every large mass of branching coral is full of lurking fishes, some of them often most brilliantly colored. =fading of pigments in spirits.=--in the preservation of specimens most red and blue pigments fade to whitish, and it requires considerable care to interpret the traces which may be left of red bands or blue markings. yet some blue pigments are absolutely permanent, and occasionally blood-red pigments persist through all conditions. black pigment seldom changes in spirits, and olivaceous markings simply fade a little without material alteration. it is an important part of the work of the systematic ichthyologist to learn to interpret the traces of the faded pigment left on specimens he may have occasion to examine. in such cases it is more important to trace the markings than to restore the ground color, as the ground color is at once more variable with individuals and more constant in large groups. =variation in pattern.=--occasionally, however, a species is found in which, other characters being constant, both ground color and markings are subject to a remarkable range of variation. in such cases the actual unity of the species is open to serious question. the most remarkable case of such variation known is found in a west indian fish, the vaca, which bears the incongruous name of _hypoplectrus unicolor_. in the typical vaca the body is orange with black marks and blue lines, the fins checkered with orange and blue. in a second form the body is violet, barred with black, the head with blue spots and bands. in another form the blue on the head is wanting. in still another the body is yellow and black, with blue on the head only. in others the fins are plain orange, without checks, and the body yellow, with or without blue stripes and spots, and sometimes with spots of black or violet. in still others the body may be pink or brown, or violet-black, the fins all yellow, part black or all black. finally, there are forms deep indigo-blue in color everywhere, with cross bands of indigo-black, and these again may have bars of deeper blue on the head or may lack these altogether. i find, no difference among these fishes except in color, and no way of accounting for the differences in this regard. certain species of puffer (_tetraodon setosus_, of panama, and _tetraodon nigropunctatus_, of polynesia) show similar remarkable variations, being dark gray with white spots, but varying to indigo-blue, lemon-yellow, or sometimes having coarse blotches of either. lemon-yellow varieties of several species are known, and these may be due to a failure of pigment, a sort of semi-albinism. true albinos, individuals wholly without pigment, are rare among fishes. in some cases the markings, commonly black, will be replaced by a deep crimson which does not fade in alcohol. this change happens most frequently among the _scorpænidæ_. an example of this is shown in the frontispiece of volume ii of this work. the japanese okose or poison-fish (_inimicus_) is black and gray about lava-rocks. in deeper water among red algæ it is bright crimson, the color not fading in spirits, the markings remaining the same. in still deeper water it is lemon-yellow. chapter xiv the geographical distribution of fishes =zoogeography.=--under the head of distribution we consider the facts of the actual location of species of organisms on the surface of the earth and the laws by which their location is governed. this constitutes the subject-matter of the science of zoogeography. in physical geography we may prepare maps of the earth or of any part of it, these bringing to prominence the physical features of its surface. such maps show here a sea, there a plateau, here a mountain chain, there a desert, a prairie, a peninsula, or an island. in political geography the maps show their physical features of the earth as related to the people who inhabit them and the states or powers which receive or claim their allegiance. in zoogeography the realms of the earth are considered in relation to the species or tribes of animals which inhabit them. thus series of maps could be drawn representing those parts of north america in which catfishes or trout or sunfishes are found in the streams. in like manner the distribution of any particular fish as the muskallonge or the yellow perch could be shown on the map. the details of such a map are very instructive, and their consideration at once raises a series of questions as to the cause behind each fact. in science it must be supposed that no fact is arbitrary or meaningless. in the case of fishes the details of the method of diffusion of species afford matters of deep interest. these are considered in a subsequent chapter. the dispersion of animals may be described as a matter of space and time, the movement being continuous but modified by barriers and other conditions of environment. the tendency of recent studies in zoogeography has been to consider the facts of present distribution as the result of conditions in the past, thus correlating our present knowledge with the past relations of land and water as shown through paleontology. dr. a. e. ortmann well observes that "any division of the earth's surface into zoogeographical regions which starts exclusively from the present distribution of animals without considering its origin must always be unsatisfactory." we must therefore consider the coast-lines and barriers of tertiary and earlier times as well as those of to-day to understand the present distribution of fishes. =general laws of distribution.=--the general laws governing the distribution of all animals are reducible to three very simple propositions. each species of animal is found in every part of the earth having conditions suitable for its maintenance, unless (_a_) its individuals have been unable to reach this region through barriers of some sort; or, (_b_) having reached it, the species is unable to maintain itself, through lack of capacity for adaptation, through severity of competition with other forms, or through destructive conditions of environment; or else, (_c_) having entered and maintained itself, it has become so altered in the process of adaptation as to become a species distinct from the original type. =species absent through barriers.=--the absence from the japanese fauna of most european or american species comes under the first head. the pike has never reached the japanese lakes, though the shade of the-lotus leaf in the many clear ponds would suit its habits exactly. the grunt[ ] and porgies[ ] of our west indian waters have failed to cross the ocean and therefore have no descendants in europe or asia. =species absent through failure to maintain foothold.=--of species under (_b_), those who have crossed the seas and not found lodgement, we have, in the nature of things, no record. of the existence of multitudes of estrays we have abundant evidence. in the gulf stream off cape cod are every year taken many young fishes belonging to species at home in the bahamas and which find no permanent place in the new england fauna. in like fashion, young fishes from the tropics drift northward in the kuro shiwo to the coasts of japan, but never finding a permanent breeding-place and never joining the ranks of the japanese fishes. but to this there have been, and will be, occasional exceptions. now and then one among thousands finds permanent lodgement, and by such means a species from another region will be added to the fauna. the rest disappear and leave no trace. a knowledge of these currents and their influence is eventual to any detailed study of the dispersion of fishes. the occurrence of the young of many shore fishes of the hawaiian islands as drifting plankton at a considerable distance from the shores has been lately discovered by dr. gilbert. each island is, in a sense, a "sphere of influence," affecting the fauna of neighboring regions. =species changed through natural selection.=--in the third class, that of species changed in the process of adaptation, most insular forms belong. as a matter of fact, at some time or another almost every species must be in this category, for isolation is a source of the most potent elements in the initiation and intensification of the minor differences which separate related species. it is not the preservation of the most useful features, but of those which actually existed in the ancestral individuals, which distinguish such species. natural selection must include not only the process of the survival of the fittest, but also the results of the survival of the existing. this means the preservation through heredity of the traits not of the species alone, but those of the actual individuals set apart to be the first in the line of descent in a new environment. in hosts of cases the persistence of characters rests not on any special usefulness or fitness, but on the fact that individuals possessing these characters have, at one time or another, invaded a certain area and populated it. the principle of utility explains survivals among competing structures. it rarely accounts for qualities associated with geographical distribution. =extinction of species.=--the extinction of species may be noted here in connection with their extension of range. prof. herbert osborn has recognized five different types of elimination. . that extinction which comes from modification or progressive evolution, a relegation to the past as the result of a transmutation into more advanced forms. . extinction from changes of physical environment which outrun the powers of adaptation. . the extinction which results from competition. . the extinction from extreme specialization and limitation to special conditions the loss of which means extinction. . extinction as a result of exhaustion. as an illustration of no. , we may take almost any species which has a cognate species on the further side of some barrier or in the tertiary seas. thus the trout of the twin lakes in colorado has acquired its present characters in the place of those brought into the lake by its actual ancestors. no. is illustrated by the disappearance of east indian types (_zanclus_, _platax_, _toxotes_, etc.) in italy at the end of the eocene, perhaps for climatic reasons. extinction through competition is shown in the gradual disappearance of the sacramento perch (_archoplitis interruptus_) after the invasion of the river by catfish and carp. from extreme specialization certain forms have doubtless disappeared, but no certain case of this kind has been pointed out among fishes, unless this be the cause of the disappearance of the devonian mailed _ostracophores_ and _arthrodires_. it is not likely that any group of fishes has perished through exhaustion of the stock of vigor. =barriers checking movement of marine fishes.=--the limits of the distribution of individual species or genera must be found in some sort of barrier, past or present. the chief barriers which limit marine fishes are the presence of land, the presence of great oceans, the differences of temperature arising from differences in latitude, the nature of the sea bottom, and the direction of oceanic currents. that which is a barrier to one species may be an agent in distribution to another. the common shore fishes would perish in deep waters almost as surely as on land, while the open pacific is a broad highway to the albacore or the swordfish. again, that which is a barrier to rapid distribution may become an agent in the slow extension of the range of a species. the great continent of asia is undoubtedly one of the greatest of barriers to the wide movement of species of fish, yet its long shore-line enables species to creep, as it were, from bay to bay, or from rock to rock, till, in many cases, the same species is found in the red sea and in the tide-pools or sand-reaches of japan. in the north pacific, the presence of a range of half-submerged volcanoes, known as the aleutian and the kurile islands, has greatly aided the slow movement of the fishes of the tide-pools and the kelp. to a school of mackerel or of flying-fishes these rough islands with their narrow channels might form an insuperable barrier. [illustration: fig. .--japanese filefish, _rudarius ercodes_ jordan and snyder. wakanoura, japan. family _monacanthidæ_.] =temperature the central fact in distribution.=--it has long been recognized that the matter of temperature is the central fact in all problems of geographical distribution. few species in any group freely cross the frost-line, and except as borne by oceanic currents, not many extend their range far into waters colder than those in which the species is distinctively at home. knowing the average temperature of the water in a given region we know in general the types of fishes which must inhabit it. it is the similarity in temperature and physical conditions which chiefly explains the resemblance of the japanese fauna to that of the mediterranean or the antilles. this fact alone must explain the resemblance of the arctic and antarctic faunæ, there being in no case a barrier in the sea that may not some time be crossed. like forms lodge in like places. =agency of ocean currents.=--we may consider again for a moment the movements of the great currents in the pacific as agencies in the distribution of species. a great current sets to the eastward, crossing the ocean just south of the equator. it extends past samoa and passes on nearly to the coast of mexico, touching the galapagos islands, clipperton island, and especially the revillagigedos. this may account for the number of polynesian species found on these islands, about which they are freely mixed with immigrants from the mainland of mexico. from the revillagigedos[ ] the current moves northward and westward, passing the hawaiian islands and thence onward to the ladrones. the absence in hawaii of most of the characteristic fishes of polynesia and micronesia may be in part due to the long detour made by these currents, as the conditions of life in these groups of islands are not very different. northeast of hawaii is a great spiral current, moving with the hands of the watch, forming what is called fleurieu's whirlpool. this does not reach the coast of california. this fact may help to account for the almost complete distinction in the shore fishes of hawaii and california.[ ] no other group of islands in the tropics has a fish fauna so isolated as that of hawaii. the genera are largely the ordinary tropical types. the species are largely peculiar to these islands. the westward current from hawaii reaches luzon and formosa. it is deflected to the northward and, joining a northward current from celebes, it forms the kuro shiwo or black stream of japan, which strews its tropical species in the rock pools along the japanese promontories as far as tokio. then, turning into the open sea, it passes northward to the aleutian islands, across to sitka. thence it moves southward as a cold current, bearing ochotsk-alaskan types southward as far as the santa barbara islands, to which region it is accompanied by species of aleutian origin. a cold return current seems to extend southward in japan, along the east shore perhaps as far as matsushima. a similar current in the sea to the west of japan extends still further to the southward, to noto, or beyond. it is, of course, not necessary that the movements of a species in an oceanic current should coincide with the direction of the current. young fishes, or fresh-water fishes, would be borne along with the water. those that dwell within floating bodies of seaweed would go whither the waters carry the drifting mass. but free-swimming fishes, as the mackerel or flying-fishes, might as readily choose the reverse direction. to a free-swimming fish the temperature of the water would be the only consideration. it is thus evident that a current which to certain forms would prove a barrier to distribution, to others would be a mere convenience in movement. in comparing the japanese fauna with that of australia, we find some trace of both these conditions. certain forms are perhaps excluded by cross-currents, while certain others seem to have been influenced only by the warmth of the water. a few australian types on the coast of chile seem to have been carried over by the cross-currents of the south atlantic. it is fair to say that the part taken by oceanic currents in the distribution of shore fishes is far from completely demonstrated. the evidence that they assist in such distribution is, in brief, as follows: . the young of shore fishes often swim at the surface. . the young of very many tropical fishes drift northward in the gulf stream and the japanese kuro shiwo. . the faunal isolation of hawaii may be correlated with the direction of the oceanic currents. =centers of distribution.=--we may assume, in regard to any species, that it has had its origin in or near that region in which it is most abundant and characteristic. such an assumption must involve a very large percentage of error or of doubt, but in considering the mass of species, it may represent essential truth. in the same fashion we may regard a genus as being autochthonous or first developed in the region where it shows the greatest range or variety of species. those regions where the greatest number of genera are thus autochthonous may be regarded as centers of distribution. so far as the marine fishes are concerned, the most important of these supposed centers are found in the pacific ocean. first of these in importance is the east-indian archipelago, with the neighboring shores of india. next would come the arctic pacific and its bounding islands, from japan to british columbia. third in importance in this regard is australia. important centers are found in temperate japan, in california, the panama region, and in new zealand, chili, and patagonia. the fauna of polynesia is almost entirely derived from the indies; and the shore fauna of the red sea, the bay of bengal, and madagascar, so far as genera are concerned, seems to be not really separable from the indian fauna generally. [illustration: fig. .--globefish, _tetraodon setosus_ rosa smith. clarion island, mexico.] i know of but six genera which may be regarded as autochthonous in the red sea, and nearly all of these are of doubtful value or of uncertain relation. the many peculiar genera described by dr. alcock, from the dredgings of the _investigator_ in the bay of bengal, belong to the bathybial or deep-water series, and will all, doubtless, prove to be forms of wide distribution. in the atlantic, the chief center of distribution is the west indies; the second is the mediterranean. on the shores to the northward or southward of these regions occasional genera have found their origin. this is true especially of the new england region, the north sea, the gulf of guinea, and the coast of argentina. the fish fauna of the north atlantic is derived mainly from the north pacific, the differences lying mainly in the relative paucity of the north atlantic. but in certain groups common to the two regions the migration must have been in the opposite direction, exceptions that prove the rule. =distribution of marine fishes.=--the distribution of marine fishes must be indicated in a different way from that of the fresh-water forms. the barriers which limit their range furnish also their means of dispersion. in some cases proximity overbalances the influence of temperature; with most forms questions of temperature are all-important. =pelagic fishes.=--before consideration of the coast-lines we may glance at the differences in vertical distribution. many species, especially those in groups allied to the mackerel family, are pelagic--that is, inhabiting the open sea and ranging widely within limits of temperature. in this series some species are practically cosmopolitan. in other cases the genera are so. each school or group of individuals has its breeding place, and from the isolation of breeding districts new species may be conceived to arise. the pelagic types have reached a species of equilibrium in distribution. each type may be found where suitable conditions exist, and the distribution of species throws little light on questions of distribution of shore fishes. yet among these species are all degrees of localization. the pelagic fishes shade into the shore fishes on the one hand and into the deep-sea fishes on the other. =bassalian fishes.=--the vast group of bassalian or deep-sea fishes includes those forms which live below the line of adequate light. these too are localized in their distribution, and to a much greater extent than was formerly supposed. yet as they dwell below the influence of the sun's rays, zones and surface temperatures are nearly alike to them, and the same forms may be found in the arctic or under the equator. their differences in distribution are largely vertical, some living at greater depths than others, and they shade off by degrees from bathybial into semi-bathybial, and finally into ordinary pelagic and ordinary shore types. apparently all of the bassalian fishes are derived from littoral types, the changes in structure being due to degeneration of the osseous and muscular systems and of structures not needed in deep-sea life. [illustration: fig. .--sting-ray, _dasyatis sabina_ le sueur. galveston.] the fishes of the great depths are soft in substance, some of them blind, some of them with very large eyes, all black in color, and very many are provided with luminous spots or areas. a large body of species of fishes are semi-bathybial, inhabiting depths of to fathoms, showing many of the characters of shore fishes, but far more widely distributed. many of the remarkable cases of wide distribution of type belong to this class. in moderate depths red colors are very common, corresponding to the zone of red algæ, and the colors in both cases are perhaps determined from the fact that the red rays of light are the least refrangible. a certain number of species are both marine and fresh water, inhabiting estuaries and brackish waters, while some more strictly marine ascend the rivers to spawn. in none of these cases can any hard and fast line be drawn, and some groups which are shore fishes in one region will be represented by semi-bathybial or fluviatile forms in another.[ ] =littoral fishes.=--the shore fishes are in general the most highly specialized in their respective groups, because exposed to the greatest variety of selecting conditions and of competition. their distribution in space is more definite than that of the pelagic and bassalian types, and they may be more definitely assigned to geographical areas. =distribution of littoral fishes by coast-lines.=--their distribution is best indicated, not by realms or areas, but as forming four parallel series corresponding to the four great north and south continental outlines. each of these series may be represented as beginning at the north in the arctic fauna, practically identical in each of the four series, actually identical in the two pacific series. passing southward, forms are arranged according to temperature. one by one in each series, the arctic types disappear; subarctic, temperate, and semi-tropical types take their places, giving way in turn to south-temperate and antarctic forms. the distribution of these is modified by barriers and by currents, yet though genera and species may be different, each isotherm is represented in each series by certain general types of fishes. [illustration: fig. .--green-sided darter, _diplesion blennioides_ rafinesque. clinch river. family _percidæ_.] passing southward the two american series, the east atlantic and the east pacific, pass on gradually through temperate to antarctic types. these are analogous to those of the arctic, and in a few cases they are generally identical. the west pacific (east asian) series is not a continuous line on account of the presence of australia, the east indies, and polynesia. the irregularities of these regions make a number of subseries, which break up the simplicity expressed in the idea of four parallel series. yet the fauna of polynesia is strictly east indian, modified by the omission or alteration of species, and that of australia is indian at the north, and changes to the southward much as that of africa does. in its marine fishes, it does not constitute a distinct "realm." the east atlantic (europe-african) series follows the same general lines of change as that of the west atlantic. it extends, however, only to the south temperate zone, developing no antarctic elements. the relative shortness of africa explains in large degree, as already shown, the similarity between the tropical elements in the two old-world series, as the similarity in tropical elements in the two american series must be due to a former depression of the connecting isthmus. the practical unity of the arctic marine fauna needs no explanation in view of the present shore lines of the arctic ocean. =minor faunal areas.=--the minor faunal areas of shore fishes may be grouped as follows: east atlantic. icelandic, british, mediterranean, guinean, cape. west atlantic. greenlandic, new england, virginian, austroriparian, floridian, antillæan, caribbean, brazilian, argentinan, patagonian. east pacific. arctic, aleutian, sitkan, californian, san diegan, sinaloan, panamanian, peruvian, revillagigedan, galapagan, chilian, patagonian. west pacific. arctic, aleutian, kurile, hokkaido, nippon, chinese, east indian, polynesian, hawaiian, indian, arabian, madagascarian, cape, north australian, tasmanian, new zealand, antarctic. =equatorial fishes most specialized.=--in general, the different types are most highly specialized in equatorial waters. the processes of specific change, through natural selection or other causes, if other causes exist, take place most rapidly there and produce most far-reaching modification. as elsewhere stated, the coral reefs of the tropics are the centers of fish-life, the cities in fish economy. the fresh waters, the arctic waters, the deep sea and the open sea represent forms of ichthyic backwoods, regions where change goes on more slowly, and in them we find survivals of archaic or generalized types. for this reason the study in detail of the distribution of marine fishes of equatorial regions is in the highest degree instructive. =realms of distribution of fresh-water fishes.=--if we consider the fresh-water fishes alone we may divide the land areas of the earth into districts and zones not differing fundamentally with those marked out for mammals and birds. the river basin, bounded by its shores and the sea at its mouth, shows many resemblances, from the point of view of a fish, to an island considered as the home of an animal. it is evident that with fishes the differences in latitude outweigh those of continental areas, and a primary division into old world and new world would not be tenable. the chief areas of distribution of fresh-water fishes we may indicate as follows, following essentially the grouping proposed by dr. günther:[ ] =northern zone.=--with dr. günther we may recognize first the _northern zone_, characterized familiarly by the presence of sturgeon, salmon, trout, whitefish, pike, lamprey, stickleback, and other species of which the genera and often the species are identical in europe, siberia, canada, alaska, and most of the united states, japan, and china. this is subject to cross-division into two great districts, the first europe-asiatic, the second north american. these two agree very closely to the northward, but diverge widely to the southward, developing a variety of specialized genera and species, and both of them passing finally by degrees into the equatorial zone. still another line of division is made by the ural mountains in the old world and by the rocky mountains in the new. in both cases the eastern region is vastly richer in genera and species, as well as in autochthonous forms, than the western. the reason for this lies in the vastly greater extent of the river basins of china and the eastern united states, as compared with those of europe or the californian region. [illustration: fig. .--japanese sea-horse, _hippocampus mohnikei_ bleeker. misaki, japan.] minor divisions are those which separate the great lake region from the streams tributary to the gulf of mexico; and in asia, those which separate china from tributaries of the caspian, the black, and the mediterranean. =equatorial zone.=--the equatorial zone is roughly indicated by the tropics of cancer and capricorn. its essential feature is that of the temperature, and the peculiarities of its divisions are caused by barriers of sea or mountains. dr. günther finds the best line of separation into two divisions to lie in the presence or absence of the great group of dace or minnows,[ ] to which nearly half of the species of fresh-water fishes the world over belong. the entire group, now spread everywhere except in the arctic, south america, australia, and the islands of the pacific, seems to have had its origin in india, from which region its genera have radiated in every direction. the cyprinoid division of the equatorial zone forms two districts, the indian and the african. the acyprinoid division includes south america, south of mexico, and all the islands of the tropical pacific lying to the east of wallace's line. this line, separating borneo from celebes and bali from lompoe, marks in the pacific the western limit of cyprinoid fishes, as well as that of monkeys and other important groups of land animals. this line, recognized as very important in the distribution of land animals, coincides in general with the ocean current between celebes and papua, which is one of the sources of the kuro shiwo. in australia, hawaii, and polynesia generally, the fresh-water fishes are derived from marine types by modification of one sort or another. in no case, so far as i know, in any island to the eastward of borneo, is found any species derived from fresh-water families of either the eastern or the western continent. of course, minor subdivisions in these districts are formed by the contour lines of river basins. the fishes of the nile differ from those of the niger or the congo, or of the streams of madagascar or cape colony, but in all these regions the essential character of the fish fauna remains the same. =southern zone.=--the third great region, the southern zone, is scantily supplied with fresh-water fishes, and the few it possesses are chiefly derived from modifications of the marine fauna or from the equatorial zone to the north. three districts are recognized--tasmania, new zealand, and patagonia. =origin of the new zealand fauna.=--the fact that certain peculiar groups are common to these three regions has attracted the notice of naturalists. in a critical study of the fish fauna of new zealand,[ ] dr. gill discusses the origin of the four genera and seven species of fresh-water fishes found in these islands, the principal of these genera (_galaxias_) being represented by nearly related species in south australia, in patagonia,[ ] the falkland islands, and in south africa. according to dr. gill, we can account for this anomaly of distribution only by supposing, on the one hand, that their ancestors were carried for long distances in some unnatural manner, as (_a_) having been carried across entombed in ice, or (_b_) being swept by ocean currents, surviving their long stay in salt water, or else that they were derived (_c_) from some widely distributed marine type now extinct, its descendants restricted to fresh water. on the other hand, dr. gill suggests that as "community of type must be the expression of community of origin," the presence of fishes of long-established fresh-water types must imply continuity or at least contiguity of land. the objections raised by geologists to the supposed land connection of new zealand and tasmania do not appear to dr. gill insuperable. it is well known, he says, "that the highest mountain chains are of comparatively recent geological age. it remains, then, to consider which is the more probable, ( ) that the types now common in distant regions were distributed in some unnatural manner by the means referred to, or ( ) that they are descendants of forms once wide-ranging over lands now submerged." after considering questions as to change of type in other groups, dr. gill is inclined to postulate, from the occurrence of species of the trout-like genus _galaxias_, in new zealand, south australia, and south america, that "there existed some terrestrial passage-way between the several regions at a time as late as the close of the mesozoic period. the evidence of such a connection afforded by congeneric fishes is fortified by analogous representatives among insects, mollusca, and even amphibians. the separation of the several areas must have occurred little later than the late tertiary, inasmuch as the salt-water fishes of corresponding isotherms found along the coast of the now widely separated lands are to such a large extent specifically different. in general, change seems to have taken place more rapidly among marine animals than fresh-water representatives of the same class." in this case, when one guess is set against another, it seems to me that the hypothesis first suggested, rather than the other, lies in the line of least logical resistance. i think it better to adopt provisionally some theory not involving the existence of a south pacific antarctic continent, to account for the distribution of _galaxias_. for this view i may give five reasons: . there are many other cases of the sort equally remarkable and equally hard to explain. among these is the presence of species of paddle-fish and shovel-nosed sturgeon,[ ] types characteristic of the mississippi valley, in central asia. the presence of one and only one of the five or six american species of pike[ ] in europe; of one of the three species of mud-minnow in austria,[ ] the others being american. still another curious case of distribution is that of the large pike-like trout of the genus _hucho_, one species (_hucho hucho_) inhabiting the danube, the other (_hucho blackistoni_) the rivers of northern japan. many such cases occur in different parts of the globe and at present admit of no plausible explanation. . the supposed continental extension should show permanent traces in greater similarity in the present fauna, both of rivers and of sea. the other fresh-water genera of the regions in question are different, and the marine fishes are more different than they could be if we imagine an ancient shore connection. if new zealand and patagonia were once united other genera than _galaxias_ would be left to show it. . we know nothing of the power of _galaxias_ to survive submergence in salt water, if carried in a marine current. as already noticed, i found young and old in abundance of the commonest of japanese fresh-water fishes in the open sea, at a distance from any river. thus far, this species, the hakone[ ] dace, has not been recorded outside of japan, but it might well be swept to korea or china. two fresh-water fishes of japanese origin now inhabit the island of tsushima in the straits of korea. . the fresh-water fishes of polynesia show a remarkably wide distribution and are doubtless carried alive in currents. one river-goby[ ] ranges from tahiti to the riu kiu islands. another species,[ ] originally perhaps from brazil through mexico, shows an equally broad distribution. . we know that _galaxias_ with its relatives must have been derived from a marine type. it has no affinity with any of the fresh-water families of either continent, unless it be with the salmonidæ. the original type of this group was marine, and most of the larger species still live in the sea, ascending streams only to spawn. when the investigations of geologists show reason for believing in radical changes in the forms of continents, we may accept their conclusions. that geological evidence exists which seems to favor the existence of a former continent, antarctica, is claimed on high authority. if this becomes well established we may well explain the distribution of _galaxias_ with reference to it. but we cannot, on the other hand, regard the anomalous distribution of _galaxias_ alone constituting proof of shore connection. there can be no doubt that almost every case of anomalies in the distribution of fishes admits of a possible explanation through "the slow action of existing causes." real causes are always simple when they are once known. all anomalies in distribution cease to be such when the facts necessary to understand them are at our disposal. footnotes: [ ] _hæmulon._ [ ] _calamus._ [ ] clarion island and socorro island. [ ] a few mexican shore fishes, _chætodon humeralis_, _galeichthys dasycephalus_, _hypsoblennius parvipinnis_, have been wrongly accredited to hawaii by some misplacement of labels. [ ] the dragonets (_callionymus_) are shore fishes of the shallowest waters in europe and asia, but inhabit considerable depths in tropical america. the sea-robins (_prionotus_) are shore fishes in massachusetts, semi-bathybial fishes at panama. often arctic shore fishes become semi-bathybial in the temperate zone, living in water of a given temperature. a long period of cold weather will sometimes bring such to the surface. [ ] "introduction to the study of fishes." [ ] cyprinidæ. [ ] "a comparison of antipodal faunæ," . [ ] _galaxias_, _neochanna_, _prototroctes_, and _retropinna_. [ ] the shovel-nosed sturgeon (_scaphirynchus_ and _kessleria_) and the paddle-fish (_polyodon_ and _psephurus_). [ ] _esox lucius._ [ ] _umrba_, the mud-minnow. [ ] _leuciscus hakuensis._ [ ] _eleotris fusca._ [ ] _awaous genivittatus._ chapter xv. isthmus barriers separating fish faunas =the isthmus of suez.=--in the study of the effect of the isthmus of suez on the distribution of fishes we may first consider the alleged resemblance between the fauna of the mediterranean and that of japan. dr. günther claims that the actual identity of genera and species in these two regions is such as to necessitate the hypothesis that they have been in recent times joined by a continuous shore-line. this shore-line, according to prof. a. ortmann and others, was not across the isthmus of suez, but farther to the northward, probably across siberia. =the fish fauna of japan.=--for a better understanding of the problem we may give a brief analysis of the fish fauna of japan. the group of islands which constitute the empire of japan is remarkable for the richness of its animal life. its variety in climatic and other conditions, its nearness to the great continent of asia and to the chief center of marine life, the east indian islands, its relation to the warm black current or kuro shiwo from the south and to the cold currents from the north, all tend to give variety and richness to the fauna of its seas. especially is this true in the group of fishes. in spite of the political isolation of the japanese empire, this fact has been long recognized and the characteristic types of japanese fishes have been well known to naturalists. at present about species of fishes are known from the four great islands which constitute japan proper--hondo, hokkaido, kiusiu, and shikoku. about others are known from the volcanic islands to the north and south. of these species, about fifty belong to the fresh waters. these are all closely allied to forms found on the mainland of asia, from which region all of them were probably derived. in general the same genera appear in china and with a larger range of species. =fresh-water faunas of japan.=--two faunal areas of fresh waters may be fairly distinguished, although broadly overlapping. the northern region includes the island of hokkaido and the middle and northern part of the great island of hondo. in a rough way, its southern boundary may be defined by fuji yama, and the bay of matsushima. it is characterized by the presence of salmon, trout, and sculpins, and northward by sturgeon and brook lampreys. the southern area loses by degrees the trout and other northern fishes, while in its clear waters abound various minnows, gobies, and the famous ayu, or japanese dwarf salmon, one of the most delicate of food fishes. sculpins and lampreys give place to minnows, loaches, and chubs. two genera, a sculpin[ ] and a perch,[ ] besides certain minnows and catfishes, are confined to this region and seem to have originated in it, but, like the other species, from chinese stock. =origin of japanese fresh-water fishes.=--the question of the origin of the japanese river fauna seems very simple. all the types are asiatic. while most of the japanese species are distinct, their ancestors must have been estrays from the mainland. to what extent river fishes may be carried from place to place by currents of salt water has never been ascertained. one of the most widely distributed of japanese river fishes is the large hakone dace or chub.[ ] this has been repeatedly taken by us in the sea at a distance from any stream. it would evidently survive a long journey in salt water. an allied species[ ] is found in the midway island of tsushima, between korea and japan. =faunal areas of marine fishes in japan.=--the distribution of the marine fishes of japan is mainly controlled by the temperature of the waters and the motion of the ocean currents. five faunal areas may be more or less clearly recognized, and these may receive names indicating their scope--kurile, hokkaido, nippon, kiusiu, kuro shiwo, and riu kiu. the first or kurile district is frankly subarctic, containing species characteristic of the ochotsk sea on the one hand, and of alaska on the other. the second or hokkaido[ ] district includes this northern island and that part of the shore of the main island of hondo[ ] which lies to the north of matsushima and noto. here the cold northern currents favor the development of a northern fauna. the herring and the salmon occupy here the same economic relation as in norway, scotland, newfoundland, and british columbia. sculpins, blennies, rockfish, and flounders abound of the rocky shores and are seen in all the markets. south of matsushima bay and through the island sea as far as kobe, the nippon fauna is distinctly one of the temperate zone. most of the types characteristically japanese belong here, abounding in the sandy bays and about the rocky islands. about the islands of kiusiu and shikoku, the semi-tropical elements increase in number and the kiusiu fauna is less characteristically japanese, having much in common with the neighboring shores of china, while some of the species range northward from india and java. but these faunal districts have no sharp barriers. northern fishes[ ] unquestionably of alaskan origin range as far south as nagasaki, while certain semi-tropical[ ] types extend their range northward to hakodate and volcano bay. the inland sea, which in a sense bounds the southern fauna, serves at the same time as a means of its extension. while each species has a fairly definite northern or southern limit, the boundaries of a faunal district as a whole must be stated in the most general terms. the well-known boundary called blackiston's line, which passes through the straits of tsugaru, between the two great islands of hondo and hokkaido, marks the northern boundary of monkeys, pheasants, and most tropical and semi-tropical birds and mammals of japan. but as to the fishes, either marine or fresh water, this line has no significance. the northern fresh-water species probably readily cross it; the southern rarely reach it. we may define as a fourth faunal area that of the kuro shiwo district itself, which is distinctly tropical and contrasts strongly with that of the inshore bays behind it. this warm "black current," analogous to our gulf stream, has its origin in part from a return current from the east which passes westward through hawaii, in part from a current which passes between celebes and new guinea. it moves northward by way of luzon and formosa, touching the east shores of the japanese islands kiusiu and shikoku, to the main island of hondo, flooding the bays of kagoshima and kochi, of waka, suruga, and sagami. the projecting headlands reach out into it and the fauna of their rock-pools is distinctly tropical as far to the northward as tokio. [illustration: fig. .--sacramento perch, _archoplites interruptus_ girard. family _centrarchidæ_. sacramento river.] these promontories of hondo, waka, ise, izu, misaki, and awa have essentially the same types of fishes as are found on the reefs of tropical polynesia. the warmth of the off-shore currents gives the fauna of misaki its astonishing richness, and the wealth of life is by no means confined to the fishes. corals, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks show the same generous profusion of species. a fifth faunal area, closely related to that of the black current, is formed by the volcanic and coral reefs of the riu kiu archipelago. this fauna, so far as known, is essentially east indian, the genera and most of the species being entirely identical with those of the islands about java and celebes. =resemblance of the japanese and mediterranean fish faunas.=--it has been noted by dr. günther that the fish fauna of japan bears a marked resemblance to that of the mediterranean. this likeness is shown in the actual identity of genera and species, and in their relation to each other. this resemblance he proposes to explain by the hypothesis that at some recent period the two regions, japan and the mediterranean, have been united by a continuous shore-line. the far-reaching character of this hypothesis demands a careful examination of the data on which it rests. the resemblance of the two faunal areas, so far as fishes are concerned, may be stated as follows: there are certain genera[ ] of shore fishes, tropical or semi-tropical, common to the mediterranean and japan, and wanting to california, panama, and the west indies, and in most cases to polynesia also. besides these, certain others found in deeper water ( to fathoms) are common to the two areas,[ ] and have been rarely taken elsewhere. =significance of resemblance.=--the significance of these facts can be shown only by a fuller analysis of the fauna in question, and those of other tropical and semi-tropical waters. if the resemblances are merely casual, or if the resemblances are shown by other regions, the hypothesis of shore continuity would be unnecessary or untenable. it is tenable if the resemblances are so great as to be accounted for in no other way. of the genera regarded as common, only two[ ] or three are represented in the two regions by identical species, and these have a very wide distribution in the warm seas. of the others, nearly all range to india, to the cape of good hope, to australia, or to brazil. they may have ranged farther in the past; they may even range farther at present. not one is confined to the two districts in question. as equally great resemblances exist between japan and australia or japan and the west indies, the case is not self-evident without fuller comparison. i shall therefore undertake a somewhat fuller analysis of the evidence bearing on this and similar problems with a view to the conclusions which may be legitimately drawn from the facts of fish distribution. =differences between japanese and mediterranean fish faunas.=--we may first, after admitting the alleged resemblances and others, note that differences are equally marked. in each region are a certain number of genera which we may consider as autochthonous. these genera are represented by many species or by many individuals in the region of their supposed origin, but are more scantily developed elsewhere. such genera in mediterranean waters are _crenilabrus_, _labrus_, _spicara_, _pagellus_, _mullus_, _boops_, _spondyliosoma_, _oblata_. none of these occurs in japan, nor have they any near relatives there. japanese autochthonous types, as _pseudoblennius_, _vellitor_, _duymæria_, _anoplus_, _histiopterus_, _monocentrus_, _oplegnathus_, _plecoglossus_, range southward to the indies or to australia, but all of them are totally unknown to the mediterranean. the multifarious genera of gobies of japan show very little resemblance to the mediterranean fishes of this family, while blennies, labroids, scaroids, and scorpænoids are equally diverse in their forms and alliances. to the same extent that likeness in faunas is produced by continuity of means of dispersion is it true that unlikeness is due to breaks in continuity. such a break in continuity of coast-line, in the present case, is the isthmus of suez, and the unlikeness in the faunas is about what we might conceive that such a barrier should produce. =sources of faunal resemblances.=--there are two main sources of faunal resemblances: first, the absence of any barriers permitting the actual mingling of the species; second, the likeness of temperature and shore configuration on either side of an imperfect barrier. absolute barriers do not exist and apparently never have existed in the sea. if the fish faunas of different regions have mingled in recent times, the fact would be shown by the presence of the same species in each region. if the union were of a remote date, the species would be changed, but the genera might remain identical. in case of close physical resemblances in different regions, as in the east indies and west indies, like conditions would favor the final lodgement of like types, but the resemblance would be general, the genera and species being unlike. without doubt part of the resemblance between japan and the mediterranean is due to similarity of temperature and shores. is that which remains sufficient to demand the hypothesis of a former shore-line connection? =effects of direction of shore-line.=--we may first note that a continuous shore-line produces a mingling of fish faunas only when not interrupted by barriers due to climate. a north and south coast-line, like that of the east pacific, however unbroken, permits great faunal differences. it is crossed by the different zones of temperature. an east and west shore-line lies in the same temperature. in all cases of the kind which now exist on the earth (the mediterranean, the gulf of mexico, the caribbean sea, the shores of india), even species will extend their range as far as the shore-line goes. the obvious reason is because such a shore-line rarely offers any important barrier to distribution, checking dispersion of species. we may, therefore, consider the age and nature of the isthmus of suez and the character of the faunas it separates. =numbers of genera in different faunas.=--for our purposes the genera must be rigidly defined, a separate name being used in case of each definable difference in structure. the wide-ranging genera of the earlier systematists were practically cosmopolitan, and their geographical distribution teaches us little. on the other hand, when we come to the study of geological distribution, the broad definition of the genus is the only one usually available. the fossil specimens are always defective. minor characters may be lost past even the possibility of a guess, and only along broad lines can we achieve the classification of the individual fossil. using the modern definition of genus, we find in japan genera of marine fishes; in the red sea, ; in the mediterranean, . in new zealand are recorded; in hawaii, ; from the west indies, from the pacific coast of tropical america, from india, from the east-indian islands, and from australia. of the genera ascribed to japan, are common to the mediterranean also, to the west indies and japan, to the pacific coast of the united states and mexico. with hawaii japan shares genera, with new zealand ; are common to japan and india, to japan and the red sea, most of these being found in india also. two hundred genera are common to japan and australia. from this it is evident that japan and the mediterranean have much in common, but apparently not more than japan shares with other tropical regions. japan naturally shows most likeness to india, and next to this to the red sea. proportionately less is the resemblance to australia, and the likeness to the mediterranean seems much the same as that to the west indies or to the pacific coast of america. but, to make these comparisons just and effective, we should consider not the fish fauna as a whole; we should limit our discussion solely to the forms of equatorial origin. from the fauna of japan we may eliminate all the genera of alaskan-aleutian origin, as these could not be found in the other regions under comparison. we should eliminate all pelagic and all deep-sea forms, for the laws which govern the distribution of these are very different from those controlling the shore fishes, and most of the genera have reached a kind of equilibrium over the world. =significance of rare forms.=--we may note also, as a source of confusion in our investigation, that numerous forms found in japan and elsewhere are very rarely taken, and their real distribution is unknown. some of these will be found to have, in some unexpected quarter, their real center of dispersion. in fact, since these pages were written, i have taken in hawaii representatives of three[ ] genera which i had enumerated as belonging chiefly to japan and the west indies. numerous other genera common to the two regions have since been obtained by dr. gilbert. such species may inhabit oceanic plateaus, and find many halting places in their circuit of the tropical oceans. we have already discovered that madeira, st. helena, ascension, and other volcanic islands constitute such halting places. we shall find many more such, when the deeper shore regions are explored, the region between market-fishing and the deep-sea dredgings of the _challenger_ and the _albatross_. in some cases, no doubt, these forms are verging on extinction and a former wide distribution has given place to isolated colonies. the following table shows the contents, so far as genera are concerned, of those equatorial areas in which trustworthy catalogues of species are accessible. it includes only those fishes of stationary habit living in less than fathoms. it goes without saying that considerable latitude must be given to these figures, to allow for errors, omissions, uncertainties, and differences of opinion. =distribution of shore fishes.=-- _a. japan and the mediterranean._ genera[ ] chiefly confined to these regions genera of wide distribution ---- total of common genera total in both regions genera above included, found in all equatorial regions genera[ ] found in most equatorial regions genera more or less restricted ---- _b. japan and the red sea._ genera[ ] chiefly confined to these two regions genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in both regions _c. japan and hawaii._ genera chiefly confined to these regions genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in both regions _d. japan and australia._ genera chiefly confined to these regions genera of wide distribution (chiefly east indian) ---- total genera common total in both regions _e. japan and panama._ genera chiefly confined to these regions genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in both regions _f. japan and the west indies._ genera chiefly confined to these regions genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in both regions _g. the mediterranean and the red sea._ genera confined to the suez region genera of wide distribution (chiefly indian) ---- total genera common total in both regions _h. west indies and the mediterranean._ genera chiefly confined to the equatorial atlantic genera of wide distribution ---- total total in both regions _i. west indies and panama._ genera chiefly confined to equatorial america genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in equatorial america _j. hawaii and panama._ genera chiefly confined to the regions in question genera of wide distribution ---- total genera common total in both regions _k. hawaii and the east indies._ genera chiefly confined to hawaii genera of wide distribution in the equatorial pacific genera confined to hawaii and the west indies _summary._ genera (shore fishes only) in the mediterranean sea. genera in the red sea genera in india genera in japan (exclusive of northern forms) genera in australia genera in new zealand genera in hawaii genera about panama genera in west indies =extension of indian fauna.=--from the above tables it is evident that the warm-water fauna of japan, as well as that of hawaii, is derived from the great body of the fauna of the east indies and hindostan; that the fauna of the red sea is derived in the same way; that the fauna of the mediterranean bears no especial resemblance to that of japan, rather than to other elements of the east asiatic fauna in similar conditions of temperature, and no greater than is borne by either to the west indies; that the faunas of the sides of the isthmus of suez have relatively little in common, while those of the two sides of the isthmus of panama show large identity of genera, although few species are common to the two sides. of the genera recorded from the panama region, , or over per cent., are also in the west indies, while , or more than per cent. of the number, are limited to the two regions in question. =the isthmus of suez as a barrier to distribution.=--with the aid of the above table we may examine further the relation of the fauna of japan to that of the mediterranean. if a continuity of shore-line once existed, it would involve the obliteration of the isthmus. with free connection across this isthmus the fauna of the red sea must have been once practically the same as that of the mediterranean. the present differences must be due to later immigrations to one or the other region, or to the extinction of species in one locality or the other, through some kind of unfitness. in neither region is there evidence of extensive immigration from the outside. the present conditions of water and temperature differ a little, but not enough to explain the difference in faunæ. the red sea is frankly tropical and its fauna is essentially indian, much the same, so far as genera are concerned, as that of southern japan. the mediterranean is at most not more than semi-tropical and its fishes are characteristically european. its tropical forms belong rather to guinea than to the east indies. with the red sea the mediterranean has very little in common, not so much, for example, as has hawaii. forty genera of shore fishes (and only fifty of all fishes) are identical in the two regions, the mediterranean and the red sea. of those, every one is a genus of wide distribution, found in nearly all warm seas. of shore fishes, only one genus in seven is common to the two regions. apparently, therefore, we cannot assume a passage across the isthmus of suez within the lifetime of the present genera. not one of the types alleged to be peculiar to japan and the mediterranean is thus far known in the red sea. not one of the characteristically abundant mediterranean types[ ] crosses the isthmus of suez, and the distinctive red sea and indian types[ ] are equally wanting in the mediterranean. the only genera which could have crossed the isthmus are certain shallow-water or brackish-water forms, sting-rays, torpedoes, sardines, eels, and mullets, widely diffused through the east indies and found also in the mediterranean. the former channel, if one ever existed, had, therefore, much the same value in distribution of species as the present suez canal. =geological evidence of submergence of the isthmus of suez.=--yet, from geological data, there is strong evidence that the isthmus of suez was submerged in relatively recent times. the recognized geological maps of the isthmus show that a broad area of post-pliocene or pliocene deposits constitutes the isthmus and separates the nummulitic hills of suez from their fellows about thirty miles to the eastward. the northern part of the isthmus is alluvium from the nile, and its western part is covered with drifting sands. the red sea once extended farther north than now and the mediterranean farther to the southeast. assuming the maps to be correct, the isthmus must have been open water in the late pliocene or post-pliocene times. admitting this as a fact, the difference in the fish fauna would seem to show that the waters over the submerged area were so shallow that the rock-loving forms did not and could not cross it. moreover, the region was very likely overspread with silt-bearing fresh waters from the nile. to such fishes as _chætodon_, _holocentrus_, _thalassoma_ of the red sea, or to _crenilabrus_, _boops_, and _zeus_ of the mediterranean, such waters would form a barrier as effective as the sand-dunes of to-day. =conclusions as to the isthmus of suez.=--we are led, therefore, to these conclusions: . there is no evidence derivable from the fishes of the recent submergence of the isthmus of suez. . if the isthmus was submerged in pliocene or post-pliocene times, the resultant channel was shallow and muddy, so that ordinary marine fishes or fishes of rock bottoms or of deep waters did not cross it. . it formed an open water to brackish-water fishes only. . the types common to japan and the mediterranean did not enter either region from the other by way of the red sea. . as most of these are found also in india or australia or both, their dispersion was probably around the south coast of africa or by the cape of good hope. . in view of the fact that numerous east indian genera, as _zanclus_, _enoplosus_, _toxotes_, _ephippus_, _platax_, _teuthis_, _acanthurus_ (_monoceros_), _myripristis_ occur in the eocene rocks of tuscany, syria, and switzerland, we may well suppose that an open waterway across africa then existed. perhaps these forms were destroyed in european waters by a wave of glacial cold, perhaps after the miocene. as our knowledge of the miocene fish faunæ of europe is still imperfect, we cannot locate accurately the period of their disappearance. about half the species found in the eocene of italy belong to existing genera, and these genera are almost all now represented in the indian fauna, and those named above with others are confined to it. the study of fishes alone furnishes no adequate basis for mapping the continental masses of tertiary times. the known facts in regard to their distribution agree fairly with the provisional maps lately published by dr. ortmann (bull. philos. soc., xli). in the eocene map (fig. ) the mediterranean extends to the northward of arabia, across to the mouth of the ganges. this extension would account for the tropical, eocene, and miocene fish fauna of southern europe. =the cape of good hope as a barrier to fishes.=--the fishes of the cape of good hope are not well enough known for close comparison with those of other regions. enough is known of the cape fauna to show its general relation to those of india and australia. the cape of good hope lies in the south temperate zone. it offers no absolutely impassable barrier to the tropical fishes from either side. it bears a closer relation to either the red sea or the mediterranean than they bear to each other. it is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that the transfer of tropical shore fishes of the old world between the atlantic and pacific, in recent times, has taken place mainly around the southern point of africa. to pelagic and deep-sea fishes the cape of good hope has offered no barrier whatever. to ordinary fishes it is an obstacle, but not an impassable one. this the fauna itself shows. it has, however, not been passed by many tropical species, and by these only as the result of thousands of years of struggle and point-to-point migration. =relations of japan to mediterranean explainable by present conditions.=--we may conclude that the resemblance of the mediterranean fish fauna to that of japan or india is no more than might be expected, even had the present contour of the continents been permanent for the period of duration of the present genera and species. an open channel in recent times would have produced much greater resemblances than actually exist. =the isthmus of panama as a barrier to distribution.=--conditions in some regards parallel with those of the isthmus of suez exist in but one other region--the isthmus of panama. here the first observers were very strongly impressed by the resemblance of forms. nearly half the genera found on the two sides of this isthmus are common to both sides. taking those of the pacific shore for first consideration, we find that three-fourths of the genera of the panama fauna occur in the west indies as well. this identity is many times greater than that existing at the isthmus of suez. moreover, while the cape of good hope offers no impassable barrier to distribution, the same is not true of the southern part of south america. the subarctic climate of cape horn has doubtless formed a complete check to the movements of tropical fishes for a vast period of geologic time. =unlikeness of species on the shores of the isthmus of panama.=--but, curiously enough, this marked resemblance is confined chiefly to the genera and does not extend to the species on the two shores. of species of fishes recorded from tropical america north of the equator, only about are common to the two coasts. the number of shore fishes common is still less. in this are included a certain number of cosmopolitan types which might have reached either shore from the old world. [illustration: fig. .--map of the continents, eocene time. (after ortmann.)] a few others invade brackish or fresh waters and may possibly have found their way, in one way or another, across the isthmus of nicaragua. of fishes strictly marine, strictly littoral, and not known from asia or polynesia, scarcely any species are left as common to the two sides. this seems to show that no waterway has existed across the isthmus within the lifetime, whatever that may be, of the existing species. the close resemblance of genera shows apparently with almost equal certainty that such a waterway has existed, and within the period of existence of the groups called genera. how long a species of fish may endure unchanged no one knows, but we know that in this regard great differences must exist in different groups. assuming that different species crossed the isthmus of panama in miocene times, we should not be surprised to find that a few remain to all appearances unchanged; that a much larger number have become "representative" species, closely related forms retaining relations to the environment to those of the parent form, and, finally, that a few species have been radically altered. this is exactly what has taken place at the isthmus of panama with the marine shore fishes. curiously enough, the movement of genera seems to have been chiefly from the atlantic to the pacific. certain characteristic genera[ ] of the panama region have not passed over to the pacific. on the other hand, most of the common genera[ ] show a much larger number of species on the atlantic side. this may be held to show their atlantic origin. of the relatively small number of genera which panama has received from polynesia[ ] few have crossed the isthmus to appear in the west indian fauna. =views of earlier writers on the fishes of the isthmus of panama.=--the elements of the problem at panama may be better understood by a glance at the results of previous investigations. in dr. günther, after enumerating the species examined by him from panama, reaches the conclusion that nearly one-third of the marine fishes on the two shores of tropical america will be found to be identical. he enumerates such species as found on the two coasts; of these, or per cent. of the total, being actually identical. from this he infers that there must have been, at a comparatively recent date, a depression of the isthmus and intermingling of the two faunas.[ ] =catalogue of fishes of panama.=--in an enumeration of the fishes of the pacific coast in ,[ ] the present writer showed that dr. günther's conclusions were based on inadequate data. in my list species were recorded from the pacific coast of tropical america--twice the number enumerated by dr. günther. of these species, or - / per cent., were found also in the atlantic. about species are known from the caribbean and adjacent shores, so that out of the total number of , species but , or per cent. of the whole, are common to the two coasts. this number does not greatly exceed that of the species common to the west indies and the mediterranean, or even the west indies and japan. it is to be noted also that the number is not very definitely ascertained, as there must be considerable difference of opinion as to the boundaries of species, and the actual identity in several cases is open to doubt. this discrepancy arises from the comparatively limited representation of the two faunas at the disposal of dr. günther. he enumerates marine or brackish-water species as found on the two coasts, of which are regarded by him as specifically identical, this being per cent. of the whole. but in of these cases i regard the assumption of complete identity as erroneous, so that taking the number as given i would reduce the percentage to . but these species form but a fragment of the total fauna, and any conclusion based on such narrow data is certain to be misleading. of the identical species admitted in our list, several (_e.g._, _mola_, _thunnus_) are pelagic fishes common to most warm seas. still others (_e.g._, _trachurus_, _carangus_, _diodon_ sp.) are cosmopolitan in the tropical waters. most of the others (_e.g._, _gobius_, _gerres_, _centropomus_, _galeichthys_ sp., etc.) often ascend the rivers of the tropics, and we may account for their diffusion, perhaps, as we account for the dispersion of fresh-water fishes on the isthmus, on the supposition that they may have crossed from marsh to marsh at some time in the rainy season. in very few cases are representatives of any species from opposite sides of the isthmus exactly alike in all respects. these differences in some cases seem worthy of specific value, giving us "representative species" on the two sides. in other cases the distinctions are very trivial, but in most cases they are appreciable, especially in fresh specimens. further, i expressed the belief that "fuller investigation will not increase the proportion of common species. if it does not, the two faunas show no greater resemblance than the similarity of physical conditions on the two sides would lead us to expect." this similarity causes the same types of fishes to persist on either side of the isthmus while through isolation or otherwise these have become different as species. this conclusion must hold so far as species are concerned, but the resemblance of the genera on the sides has a significance of its own. in [ ] dr günther expressed his views in still stronger language, claiming a still larger proportion of the fishes of tropical america to be identical on the two sides of the continent. he concluded that "with scarcely any exceptions the genera are identical, and of the species found on the pacific side, nearly one-half have proved to be the same as those of the atlantic. the explanation of this fact has been found in the existence of communications between the two oceans by channels and straits which must have been open till within a recent period. the isthmus of central america was then partially submerged, and appeared as a chain of islands similar to that of the antilles; but as the reef-building corals flourished chiefly north and east of these islands and were absent south and west of them, reef fishes were excluded from the pacific shores when the communications were destroyed by the upheaval of land." =conclusions of evermann and jenkins.=--this remark led to a further discussion of the subject on the part of dr. b. w. evermann and dr. o. p. jenkins. from their paper on the fishes of guaymas[ ] i make the following quotations: "the explorations since have resulted ( ) in an addition of about species to one or other of the two faunas; ( ) in showing that at least two species that were regarded as identical on the two shores[ ] are probably distinct; and ( ) in the addition of but two species to those common to both coasts.[ ] "all this reduces still further the percentage of common species. "of the species obtained by us, , or less than per cent., appear to be common to both coasts. of these species, at least , from their wide distribution, would need no hypothesis of a former waterway through the isthmus to account for their presence on both sides. they are species fully able to arrive at the pacific shores of the americas from the warm seas west. it thus appears that not more than eight species, less than per cent. of our collection, all of which are marine species, require any such hypothesis to account for their occurrence on both coasts of america. this gives us, then, , species that should properly be taken into account when considering this question, not more than of which, or . per cent., seem to be identical on the two coasts. this is very different from the figures given by dr. günther in his 'study of fishes.' "now, if from these species, admitted to be common to both coasts, we subtract the species of wide distribution--so wide as to keep them from being a factor in this problem--we have left but species common to the two coasts that bear very closely upon the waterway hypothesis. _this is less than . per cent. of the whole number._ "but the evidence obtained from a study of other marine life of that region points to the same conclusion. "in , dr. paul fischer discussed the same question in his 'manual de conchyliologie,' pp. , , in a section on the molluscan fauna of the panamic province, and reached the same general conclusions. he says: 'les naturalistes américians se sont beaucoup preéoccupés des espèces de panama qui paraissent identiques avec celles des antilles, ou qui sont représentatives. p. carpenter estime qu'il en existe . dans la plupart des cas, l'identite absolue n'a pu être constantée et on a trouvé quelques caractères distinctifs, ce qui n'a rien d'ètonnant, puisque dans l'hypothèse d'une origine commune, les deux races pacifique et atlantique sont séparée depuis la periode miocène. voici un liste de ces espèces représentatives ou identiques.' here follows a list of species. 'mais ces formes semblables,' he says, 'constituent un infime minorité ( per cent.).' "these facts have a very important bearing upon certain geological questions, particularly upon the one concerning the cold of the glacial period. "in dr. g. frederick wright's recent book, 'the ice age in north america,' eight different theories as to the cause of the cold are discussed. the particular theory which seems to him quite reasonable is that one which attributes the cold as due to a change of different parts of the country, and a depression of the isthmus of panama is one of the important changes he considers. he says: 'should a portion of the gulf stream be driven through a depression across the isthmus of panama into the pacific, and an equal portion be diverted from the atlantic coast of the united states by an elevation of the sea-bottom between florida and cuba, the consequences would necessarily be incalculably great, so that the mere existence of such a possible cause for great changes in the distribution of moisture over the northern hemisphere is sufficient to make one hesitate before committing himself unreservedly to any other theory; at any rate, to one which has not for itself independent and adequate proof.' "in the appendix to the same volume mr. warren upham, in discussing the probable causes of glaciation, says: 'the quaternary uplifts of the andes and rocky mountains and of the west indies make it nearly certain that the isthmus of panama has been similarly elevated during the recent epoch.... it may be true, therefore, that the submergence of this isthmus was one of the causes of the glacial period, the continuation of the equatorial oceanic currents westward into the pacific having greatly diminished or wholly diverted the gulf stream, which carries warmth from the tropics to the northern atlantic and northwestern europe.' [illustration: fig. .--_caulophryne jordani_ goode and bean, a deep-sea fish of the gulf stream. family _ceratiidæ_.] [illustration: fig. .--_exerpes asper_ jenkins and evermann, a fish of the rock-pools, guaymas, mexico. family _blenniidæ_.] "any _very_ recent means by which the fishes could have passed readily from one side to the other would have resulted in making the fish faunas of the two shores practically identical; but the time that has elapsed since such a waterway could have existed has been long enough to allow the fishes of the two sides to become _practically distinct_. that the mollusks of the two shores are almost wholly distinct, as shown by dr. fischer, is even stronger evidence of the remoteness of the time when the means of communication between the two oceans could have existed, for 'species' among the mollusks are probably more persistent than among fishes. "our present knowledge, therefore, of the fishes of tropical america justifies us in regarding the fish faunas of the two coasts as being essentially distinct, and believing that there has not been, at any comparatively recent time, any waterway through the isthmus of panama." it is thus shown, i think, conclusively, that the isthmus of panama could not have been depressed for any great length of time in a recent geological period. =conclusions of dr. hill.=--these writers have not, however, considered the question of generic identity. to this we may find a clue in the geological investigations of dr. robert t. hill. in a study of "the geological history of the isthmus of panama and portions of costa rica," dr. hill uses the following language: "by elimination we have concluded that the only period of time since the mesozoic within which communication between the seas could have taken place is the tertiary period, and this must be restricted to the eocene and oligocene epochs of that period. the paleontologic evidence upon which such an opening can be surmised at this period is the occurrence of a few california eocene types in the atlantic sides of the tropical american barrier, within the ranges of latitude between galveston (texas) and colon, which are similar to others found in california. there are no known structural data upon which to locate the site of this passage, but we must bear in mind, however, that this structure has not been completely explored. "even though it was granted that the coincidence of the occurrence of a few identical forms on both sides of the tropical american region, out of the thousands which are not common, indicates a connection between the two seas, there is still an absence of any reason for placing this connection at the isthmus of panama, and we could just as well maintain that the locus thereof might have been at some other point in the central american region. "the reported fossil and living species common to both oceans are littoral forms, which indicate that if a passage existed it must have been of a shallow and ephemeral character. "there is no evidence from either a geologic or a biologic standpoint for believing that the oceans have ever communicated across the isthmian regions since tertiary time. in other words, there is no evidence for these later passages which have been established upon hypothetical data, especially those of pleistocene time. "the numerous assertions, so frequently found in literature, that the two oceans have been frequently and recently connected across the isthmus, and that the low passes indicative of this connection still exist, may be dismissed at once and forever and relegated to the domain of the apocryphal. a few species common to the waters of both oceans in a predominantly caribbean fauna of the age of the claiborne epoch of the eocene tertiary is the only paleontologic evidence in any time upon which such a connection may be hypothesized. "there has been a tendency in literature to underestimate the true altitude of the isthmian passes, which, while probably not intentional, has given encouragement to those who think that this pleistocene passage may have existed. maack has erroneously given the pass at feet. dr. j. w. gregory states 'that the summit of the isthmus at one locality is feet and in another feet in height.' the lowest isthmian pass, which is not a summit, but a drainage col, is - feet above the ocean. "if we could lower the isthmian region feet at present, the waters of the two oceans would certainly commingle through the narrow culebra pass. but the culebra pass is clearly the headwater col of two streams, the obispo flowing into the chagres, and the rio grande flowing into the pacific, and has been cut by fluviatile action, and not by marine erosion, out of a land mass which has existed since miocene time. those who attempt to establish pleistocene interoceanic channels through this pass on account of its present low altitude must not omit from their calculations the restoration of former rock masses which have been removed by the general levelling of the surface by erosion." [illustration: fig. .--_xenocys jessiæ_ jordan and bollman. galapagos islands. family _lutianidæ_.] in conclusion, dr. hill asserts that "there is considerable evidence that a land barrier in the tropical region separated the two oceans as far back in geologic history as jurassic time, and that that barrier continued throughout the cretaceous period. the geological structure of the isthmus and central american regions, so far as investigated, when considered aside from the paleontology, presents no evidence by which the former existence of a free communication of oceanic waters across the present tropical land barriers can be established. the paleontologic evidence indicates the ephemeral existence of a passage at the close of the eocene period. all lines of inquiry--geologic, paleontologic, and biologic--give evidence that no connection has existed between the two oceans since the close of the oligocene. this structural geology is decidedly opposed to any hypothesis by which the waters of the two oceans could have been connected across the regions in miocene, pliocene, pleistocene, or recent times." =final hypothesis as to panama.=--if we assume the correctness of dr. hill's conclusions, they may accord in a remarkable degree with the actual facts of the distribution of the fishes about the isthmus. to account for the remarkable identity of genera and divergence of species i may suggest the following hypothesis: during the lifetime of most of the present species, the isthmus has not been depressed. it was depressed in or before miocene time, during the lifetime of most of the present genera. we learn from other sources that few of the extant species of fishes are older than the pliocene. relatively few genera go back to the eocene, and most of the modern families appear to begin in the eocene or later cretaceous. in general the miocene may be taken as the date of the origin of modern genera. the channel formed across the isthmus was relatively shallow, excluding forms inhabiting rocky bottoms at considerable depths. it was wide enough to permit the infiltration from the caribbean sea of numerous species, especially of shore fishes of sandy bays, tide pools, and brackish estuaries. the currents set chiefly to the westward, favoring the transfer of atlantic rather than pacific types. [illustration: fig. .--channel catfish, _ictalurus punctatus_ (rafinesque). illinois river. family _siluridæ_.] since the date of the closing of this channel the species left on the two sides have been altered in varying degrees by the processes of natural selection and isolation. the cases of actual specific identity are few, and the date of the establishment as species, of the existing forms, is subsequent to the date of the last depression of the isthmus. we may be certain that none of the common genera ever found their way around cape horn. most of them disappear to the southward, along the coasts of brazil and peru. while local oscillations, involving changes in coast-lines, have doubtless frequently taken place and are still going on, the past and present distribution of fishes does not alone give adequate data for their investigation. further, it goes without saying that we have no knowledge of the period of time necessary to work specific changes in a body of species isolated in an alien sea. nor have we any data as to the effect on a given fish fauna of the infiltration of many species and genera belonging to another. all such forces and results must be matters of inference. the present writer does not wish to deny that great changes have taken place in the outlines of continents in relatively recent times. he would, however, insist that the theory of such changes must be confirmed by geological evidence, and evidence from groups other than fishes, and that likeness in separated fish faunas may not be conclusive. [illustration: fig. .--drawing the net on the beach of hilo, hawaii. photograph by henry w. henshaw.] footnotes: [ ] _rheopresbe._ [ ] _bryttosus._ [ ] _leuciscus hakuensis_ günther. [ ] _leuciscus jouyi._ [ ] formerly, but no longer, called yeso in japan. [ ] called nippon on foreign maps, but not so in japan, where nippon means the whole empire. [ ] _pleuronichthys cornutus_, _hexogrammos otakii_, etc. [ ] as _halichoeres_, _tetrapturus_, _callionymus_, _ariscopus_, etc. [ ] of these, the principal ones are _oxystomus_, _myrus_, _pagrus_, _sparus_, _macrorhamphosus_, _cepola_, _callionymus_, _zeus_, _uranoscopus_, _lepidotrigla_, _chelidonichthys_. [ ] among these are _beryx_, _helicolenus_, _lotella_, _nettastoma_, _centrolophus_, _hoplostethus_, _aulopus_, _chlorophthalmus_, _lophotes_. [ ] _beryx_, _hoplostethus_. [ ] _antigonia_, _etelis_, _emmelichthys_. [ ] _lepadogaster_, _myrus_; _lophotes_, thus far recorded from japan, the mediterranean, and the cape of good hope, is bassalian and of unknown range. _beryx_, _trachichthys_, _hoplostethus_, etc., are virtually cosmopolitan as well as semi-bassalian. [ ] in this group we must place _cepola_, _callionymus_, _pagrus_, _sparus_, _beryx_, _zeus_, all of which have a very wide range in indian waters. [ ] _cryptocentrus_, _asterropteryx_. the range of neither of these genera of small shore fishes is yet well known. [ ] as _crenilabrus_, _labrus_, _symphodus_, _pagellus_, _spondyliosoma_, _sparisoma_. [ ] as _chætodon_, _lethrinus_, _monotaxis_, _glyphisodon_, etc. [ ] _hoplopagrus_, _xenichthys_, _xenistius_, _xenocys_, _microdesmus_, _cerdale_, _cratinus_, _azevia_, _microlepidotus_, _orthostoechus_, _isaciella_, etc. [ ] _hæmulon_, _anisotremus_, _gerres_, _centropomus_, _galeichthys_, _hypoplectrus_, _mycteroperca_, _ulæma_, _stellifer_, _micropogon_, _bodianus_, _microspathodon_. [ ] among these are perhaps _teuthis_ (_acanthurus_), _ilisha_, _salarias_, _myripristis_, _thalassoma_. some such which have not crossed the isthmus are _cirrhitus_, _sectator_, _sebastopsis_, and _lophiomus_. [ ] "fishes of central america," , . [ ] _proc. u. s. nat. mus._, , . [ ] introduction to the "study of fishes," , p. . [ ] _proc. u. s. nat. mus._, , pp. - . [ ] _citharichthys spilopterus_ and _c. gilberti_. [ ] _hæmulon steindachneri_ and _gymnothorax castaneus_ of the west coast probably being identical with _h. schranki_ and _gymnothorax funebris_ of the east coast. chapter xvi dispersion of fresh-water fishes[ ] =dispersion of fishes.=--the methods of dispersion of fishes may be considered apart from the broader topic of distribution or the final results of such dispersion. in this discussion we are mainly concerned with the fresh-water fishes, as the methods of distribution of marine fishes through marine currents and by continuity of shore and water ways are all relatively simple. =the problem of oatka creek.=--when i was a boy and went fishing in the brooks of western new york, i noticed that the different streams did not always have the same kinds of fishes in them. two streams in particular in wyoming county, not far from my father's farm, engaged in this respect my special attention. their sources are not far apart, and they flow in opposite directions, on opposite sides of a low ridge--an old glacial moraine, something more than a mile across. the oatka creek flows northward from this ridge, while the east coy runs toward the southeast on the other side of it, both flowing ultimately into the same river, the genesee. it does not require a very careful observer to see that in these two streams the fishes are not quite the same. the streams themselves are similar enough. in each the waters are clear and fed by springs. each flows over gravel and clay, through alluvial meadows, in many windings, and with elms and alders "in all its elbows." in both streams we were sure of finding trout,[ ] and in one of them the trout are still abundant. in both we used to catch the brook chub,[ ] or, as we called it, the "horned dace"; and in both were large schools of shiners[ ] and of suckers.[ ] but in every deep hole, and especially in the millponds along the east coy creek, the horned pout[ ] swarmed on the mucky bottoms. in every eddy, or in the deep hole worn out at the root of the elm-trees, could be seen the sunfish,[ ] strutting in green and scarlet, with spread fins keeping intruders away from its nest. but in the oatka creek were found neither horned pout nor sunfish, nor have i ever heard that either has been taken there. then besides these nobler fishes, worthy of a place on every schoolboy's string, we knew by sight, if not by name, numerous smaller fishes, darters[ ] and minnows,[ ] which crept about in the gravel on the bottom of the east coy, but which we never recognized in the oatka. there must be a reason for differences like these, in the streams themselves or in the nature of the fishes. the sunfish and the horned pout are home-loving fishes to a greater extent than the others which i have mentioned; still, where no obstacles prevent, they are sure to move about. there must be, then, in the oatka some sort of barrier, or strainer, which keeping these species back permits others more adventurous to pass; and a wider knowledge of the geography of the region showed that such is the case. farther down in its course, the oatka falls over a ledge of rock, forming a considerable waterfall at rock glen. still lower down its waters disappear in the ground, sinking into some limestone cavern or gravel-bed, from which they reappear, after some six miles, in the large springs at caledonia. either of these barriers might well discourage a quiet-loving fish; while the trout and its active associates have some time passed them, else we should not find them in the upper waters in which they alone form the fish fauna. this problem is a simple one; a boy could work it out, and the obvious solution seems to be satisfactory. =generalizations as to dispersion.=--since those days i have been a fisherman in many waters,--not an angler exactly, but one who fishes for fish, and to whose net nothing large or small ever comes amiss; and wherever i go i find cases like this. we do not know all the fishes of america yet, nor all those well that we know by sight; still this knowledge will come with time and patience, and to procure it is a comparatively easy task. it is also easy to ascertain the more common inhabitants of any given stream. it is difficult, however, to obtain negative results which are really results. you cannot often say that a species does not live in a certain stream. you can only affirm that you have not yet found it there, and you can rarely fish in any stream so long that you can find nothing that you have not taken before. still more difficult is it to gather the results of scattered observations into general statements regarding the distribution of fishes. the facts may be so few as to be misleading, or so numerous as to be confusing, and the few writers who have taken up this subject in detail have found both these difficulties to be serious. whatever general propositions we may maintain must be stated with the modifying clause of "other things being equal"; and other things are never quite equal. the saying that "nature abhors a generalization" is especially applicable to all discussions of the relations of species to environment. still less satisfactory is our attempt to investigate the causes on which our partial generalizations depend,--to attempt to break to pieces the "other things being equal" which baffle us in our search for general laws. the same problems, of course, come up on each of the other continents and in all groups of animals or plants; but most that i shall say will be confined to the question of the dispersion of fishes in the fresh waters of north america. the broader questions of the boundaries of faunæ and of faunal areas i shall bring up only incidentally. =questions raised by agassiz.=--some of the problems to be solved were first noticed by prof. agassiz in , in his work on lake superior. later ( ), in a paper on the fishes of the tennessee river,[ ] he makes the following statement: "the study of these features [of distribution] is of the greatest importance, inasmuch as it may eventually lead to a better understanding of the intentions implied in this seemingly arbitrary disposition of animal life.... "there is still another very interesting problem respecting the geographical distribution of our fresh-water animals which may be solved by the further investigation of the fishes of the tennessee river. the water-course, taking the powell, clinch, and holston rivers as its head waters, arises from the mountains of virginia in latitude °; it then flows s.w. to latitude ° ', when it turns w. and n.w., and finally empties into the ohio, under the same latitude as its source in °. [illustration: fig. .--horned dace, _semotilus atromaculatus_ (mitchill). aux plaines river, ills. family _cyprinidæ_.] "the question now is this: are the fishes of this water system the same throughout its extent? in which case we should infer that water communication is the chief condition of geographical distribution of our fresh-water fishes. or do they differ in different stations along its course? and if so, are the differences mainly controlled by the elevation of the river above the level of the sea, or determined by climatic differences corresponding to differences of latitude? we should assume that the first alternative was true if the fishes of the upper course of the river differed from those of the middle and lower courses in the same manner as in the danube, from its source to pesth, where this stream flows nearly for its whole length under the same parallel. we would, on the contrary, suppose the second alternative to be well founded if marked differences were observed between the fish of such tracts of the river as do not materially differ in their evolution above the sea, but flow under different latitudes. now, a few collections from different stations along this river, like that sent me by dr. newman from the vicinity of huntsville, would settle at once this question, not for the tennessee river alone, but for most rivers flowing under similar circumstances upon the surface of the globe. nothing, however, short of such collections, compared closely with one another, will furnish a reliable answer.... whoever will accomplish this survey will have made a highly valuable contribution to our knowledge." =conclusions of cope.=--certain conclusions were also suggested by prof. cope in his excellent memoir on the fishes of the alleghany region[ ] in . from this paper i make the following quotations: "the distribution of fresh-water fishes is of special importance to the questions of the origin and existence of species in connection with the physical conditions of the waters and of the land. this is, of course, owing to the restricted nature of their habitat and the impossibility of their making extended migrations. with the submergence of land beneath the sea, fresh-water fish are destroyed in proportion to the extent of the invasion of salt water, while terrestrial vertebrates can retreat before it. hence every inland fish fauna dates from the last total submergence of the country. "prior to the elevation of a given mountain chain, the courses of the rivers may generally have been entirely different from their later ones. subsequent to this period, they can only have undergone partial modifications. as subsequent submergences can rarely have extended to the highlands where such streams originate, the fishes of such rivers can only have been destroyed so far as they were unable to reach those elevated regions, and preserve themselves from destruction from salt water by sheltering themselves in mountain streams. on the other hand, a period of greater elevation of the land, and of consequent greater cold, would congeal the waters and cover their courses with glaciers. the fishes would be driven to the neighborhood of the coast, though no doubt in more southern latitudes a sufficient extent of uncongealed fresh waters would flow by a short course into the ocean, to preserve from destruction many forms of fresh-water fishes. thus, through many vicissitudes, the fauna of a given system of rivers has had opportunity of uninterrupted descent, from the time of the elevation of the mountain range, in which it has its sources.... "as regards the distinction of species in the disconnected basins of different rivers, which have been separated from an early geologic period, if species occur which are common to any two or more of them, the supporter of the theory of distinct creations must suppose that such species have been twice created, once for each hydrographic basin, or that waters flowing into the one basin have been transferred to another. the developmentalist, on the other hand, will accept the last proposition, or else suppose that time has seen an identical process and similar result of modification in these distinct regions. [illustration: fig. .--chub of the great basin, _leuciscus lineatus_ (girard). heart lake, yellowstone park. family _cyprinidæ_.] "facts of distribution in the eastern district of north america are these. several species of fresh-water fishes occur at the same time in many atlantic basins from the merrimac or from the hudson to the james, and throughout the mississippi valley, and in the tributaries of the great lakes. on the other hand, the species of each river may be regarded as pertaining to four classes, whose distribution has direct reference to the character of the water and the food it offers: first, those of the tide-waters, of the river channels, bayous, and sluggish waters near them, or in the flat lands near the coast; second, those of the river channels of its upper course, where the currents are more distinct; third, those of the creeks of the hill country; fourth, those of the elevated mountain streams which are subject to falls and rapids." in the same paper prof. cope reaches two important general conclusions, thus stated by him: "i. that species not generally distributed exist in waters on different sides of the great watershed. "ii. that the distribution of the species is not governed by the outlet of the rivers, streams having similar discharges (holston and kanawha, roanoke and susquehanna) having less in common than others having different outlets (kanawha, or susquehanna and james). [illustration: fig. .--butterfly-sculpin, _melletes papilio_ bean, a fish of the rock-pools. st. paul, pribilof islands.] "in view of the first proposition, and the question of the origin of species, the possibility of an original or subsequent mingling of the fresh waters suggests itself as more probable than that of distinct origin in the different basins." =questions raised by cope.=--two questions in this connection are raised by prof. cope. the first question is this: "has any destruction of the river faunæ taken place since the first elevation of the alleghanies, when the same species were thrown into waters flowing in opposite directions?" of such destruction by submergence or otherwise, prof. cope finds no evidence. the second question is, "has any means of communication existed, at any time, but especially since the last submergence, by which the transfer of species might occur?" some evidence of such transfer exists in the wide distribution of certain species, especially those which seek the highest streamlets in the mountains; but except to call attention to the cavernous character of the subcarboniferous and devonian limestones, prof. cope has made little attempt to account for it. prof. cope finally concludes with this important generalization: "it would appear, from the previous considerations, that the distribution of fresh-water fishes is governed by laws similar to those controlling terrestrial vertebrates and other animals, in spite of the seemingly confined nature of their habitat." =views of günther.=--dr. günther[ ] has well summarized some of the known facts in regard to the manner of dispersion of fishes: "the ways in which the dispersal of fresh-water fishes has been affected were various. they are probably all still in operation, but most work so slowly and imperceptibly as to escape direct observation; perhaps they will be more conspicuous after science and scientific inquiry shall have reached a somewhat greater age. from the great number of fresh-water forms which we see at this present day acclimatized in, gradually acclimatizing themselves in, or periodically or sporadically migrating into, the sea, we must conclude that under certain circumstances salt water may cease to be a barrier at some period of the existence of fresh-water species, and that many of them have passed from one river through salt water into another. secondly, the headwaters of some of the grandest rivers, the mouths of which are at opposite ends of the continents which they drain, are sometimes distant from each other a few miles only. the intervening space may have been easily bridged over for the passage of fishes by a slight geological change affecting the level of the watershed or even by temporary floods; and a communication of this kind, if existing for a limited period only, would afford the ready means of an exchange of a number of species previously peculiar to one or the other of these river or lake systems. some fishes provided with gill-openings so narrow that the water moistening the gills cannot readily evaporate, and endowed, besides, with an extraordinary degree of vitality, like many siluroids (_chlarias_, _callichthys_), eels, etc., are enabled to wander for some distance over land, and may thus reach a water-course leading them thousands of miles from their original home. finally, fishes or their ova may be accidentally carried by water-spouts, by aquatic birds or insects, to considerable distances." =fresh-water fishes of north america.=--we now recognize about six hundred species[ ] of fishes as found in the fresh waters of north america, north of the tropic of cancer, these representing thirty-four of the natural families. as to their habits, we can divide these species rather roughly into the four categories proposed by prof. cope, or, as we may call them, ( ) lowland fishes; as the bowfin,[ ] pirate-perch,[ ] large-mouthed black bass,[ ] sunfishes, and some catfishes. ( ) channel-fishes; as the channel catfish,[ ] the mooneye,[ ] garpike,[ ] buffalo-fishes,[ ] and drum.[ ] ( ) upland fishes; as many of the darters, shiners, and suckers, and the small-mouthed black bass.[ ] ( ) mountain-fishes; as the brook trout and many of the darters and minnows. to these we may add the more or less distinct classes of ( ) lake fishes, inhabiting only waters which are deep, clear, and cold, as the various species of whitefish[ ] and the great lake trout;[ ] ( ) anadromous fishes, or those which run up from the sea to spawn in fresh waters, as the salmon,[ ] sturgeon,[ ] shad,[ ] and striped bass;[ ] ( ) catadromous fishes, like the eel,[ ] which pass down to spawn in the sea; and ( ) brackish-water fishes, which thrive best in the debatable waters of the river-mouths, as most of the sticklebacks and the killifishes. as regards the range of species, we have every possible gradation from those which seem to be confined to a single river, and are rare even in their restricted habitat, to those which are in a measure cosmopolitan,[ ] ranging everywhere in suitable waters. =characters of species.=--still, again, we have all degrees of constancy and inconstancy in what we regard as the characters of a species. those found only in a single river-basin are usually uniform enough; but the species having a wide range usually vary much in different localities. such variations have at different times been taken to be the indications of as many different species. continued explorations bring to light, from year to year, new species; but the number of new forms now discovered each year is usually less than the number of recognized species which are yearly proved to be untenable. four complete lists of the fresh-water fishes of the united states (north of the mexican boundary) have been published by the present writer. that of jordan and copeland,[ ] published in , enumerates species. that of jordan[ ] in contains species, and that of jordan and gilbert[ ] in , species. that of jordan and evermann[ ] in contains species, although upwards of new species were detected in the twenty-two years which elapsed between the first and the last list. additional specimens from intervening localities are often found to form connecting links among the nominal species, and thus several supposed species become in time merged in one. thus the common channel catfish[ ] of our rivers has been described as a new species not less than twenty-five times, on account of differences real or imaginary, but comparatively trifling in value. where species can readily migrate, their uniformity is preserved; but whenever a form becomes localized its representatives assume some characters not shared by the species as a whole. when we can trace, as we often can, the disappearance by degrees of these characters, such forms no longer represent to us distinct species. in cases where the connecting forms are extinct, or at least not represented in collections, each form which is apparently different must be regarded as a distinct species. the variations in any type become, in general, more marked as we approach the tropics. the genera are represented, on the whole, by more species there, and it would appear that the processes of specific change go on more rapidly under the easier conditions of life in the torrid zone. we recognize now in north america twenty-five distinct species of fresh-water catfishes,[ ] although nearly a hundred ( ) nominal species of these fishes have been from time to time described. but these twenty-five species are among themselves very closely related, and all of them are subject to a variety of minor changes. it requires no strong effort of the imagination to see in them all the modified descendants of some one species of catfish, not unlike our common "bullhead,"[ ] an immigrant probably from asia, and which has now adjusted itself to its surroundings in each of our myriad of catfish-breeding streams. =meaning of species.=--the word "species," then, is simply a term of convenience, including such members of a group similar to each other as are tangibly different from others, and are not known to be connected with these by intermediate forms. such connecting links we may suppose to have existed in all cases. we are only sure that they do not now exist in our collections, so far as these have been carefully studied. when two or more species of any genus now inhabit the same waters, they are usually species whose differentiation is of long standing,--species, therefore, which can be readily distinguished from one another. when, on the other hand, we have "representative species,"--closely related forms, neither of which is found within the geographical range of the other,--we can with some confidence look for intermediate forms where the territory occupied by the one bounds that inhabited by the other. in very many such cases the intermediate forms have been found; and such forms are considered as subspecies of one species, the one being regarded as the parent stock, the other as an offshoot due to the influences of different environment. then, besides these "species" and "subspecies," groups more or less readily recognizable, there are varieties and variations of every grade, often too ill-defined to receive any sort of name, but still not without significance to the student of the origin of species. comparing a dozen fresh specimens of almost any kind of fish from any body of water with an equal number from somewhere else, one will rarely fail to find some sort of differences,--in size, in form, in color. these differences are obviously the reflex of differences in the environment, and the collector of fishes seldom fails to recognize them as such; often it is not difficult to refer the effect to the conditions. thus fishes from grassy bottoms are darker than those taken from over sand, and those from a bottom of muck are darker still, the shade of color being, in some way not well understood, dependent on the color of the surroundings. fishes in large bodies of water reach a larger size than the same species in smaller streams or ponds. fishes from foul or sediment-laden waters are paler in color and slenderer in form than those from waters which are clear and pure. again, it is often true that specimens from northern waters are less slender in body than those from farther south; and so on. other things being equal, the more remote the localities from each other, the greater are these differences. [illustration: fig. .--_scartichthys enosimæ_ jordan and snyder, a fish of the rock-pools of the sacred island of enoshima, japan. family _blenniidæ_.] in our fresh-water fishes each species on an average has been described as new from three to four times, on account of minor variations, real or supposed. in europe, where the fishes have been studied longer and by more different men, upwards of six or eight nominal species have been described for each one that is now considered distinct. =special creation impossible.=--it is evident, from these and other facts, that the idea of a separate creation for each species of fishes in each river-basin, as entertained by agassiz, is wholly incompatible with our present knowledge of the specific distinctions or of the geographical distribution of fishes. this is an unbroken gradation in the variations from the least to the greatest,--from the peculiarities of the individual, through local varieties, geographical subspecies, species, sub-genera, genera, families, super-families, and so on, until all fish-like vertebrates are included in a single bond of union. =origin of american species of fishes.=--it is, however, evident that not all american types of fishes had their origin in america, or even first assumed in america their present forms. some of these are perhaps immigrants from northern asia, where they still have their nearest relatives. still others are evidently modified importations from the sea; and of these some are very recent immigrants, land-locked species which have changed very little from the parent stock. the problems of analogous variation or parallelism without homology are very often met with among fishes. in shallow, swift brooks in all lands there are found small fishes which hug the bottom--large-finned, swift of movement, with speckled coloration, and with the air-bladder reduced in size. in the eastern united states these fishes are darters, dwarf perches; in northern india they are catfishes; in japan, gobies or loaches; in canada, sculpins; in south america, characins. members of various groups may be modified to meet the same conditions of life. being modified to look alike, the thought of mutual affinity is naturally suggested, but in such cases the likeness is chiefly external. the internal organs show little trace of such modifications. the inside of an animal tells what it really is, the outside where it has been. in other words, it is the external characters which are most readily affected by the environment. throughout all groups of animals and plants, there are large branches similarly affected by peculiarities of conditions. this is the basis of the law of "adaptive radiation." prof. h. f. osborn thus states this law: "it is a well-known principle of zoological evolution that an isolated region, if large and sufficiently varied in its topography, soil, climate, and vegetation, will give rise to a diversified fauna according to the law of adaptive radiation from primitive and central types. branches will spring off in all directions to take advantage of every possible opportunity of securing food. the modifications which animals undergo in this adaptive radiation are largely of mechanical nature; they are limited in number and kind by hereditary stirp or germinal influences, and thus result in the independent evolution of similar types in widely separated regions under the law of parallelism or homoplasy." footnotes: [ ] this chapter and the next are in substance reprinted from an essay published by the present writer in a volume called science sketches. a. c. mcclurg & co., chicago. [ ] _salvelinus fontinalis_ mitchill. [ ] _semotilus atromaculatus_ mitchill. [ ] _notropis cornutus_ rafinesque. [ ] _catostomus commersoni_ (lacépède). [ ] _ameiurus melas_ rafinesque. [ ] _eupomotis gibbosus_ linnæus. [ ] _etheostoma flabellare_ rafinesque. [ ] _rhinichthys atronasus_ mitchill. [ ] on fishes from tennessee river, alabama. american journal of science and arts, xvii., d series, , p. . [ ] on the distribution of fresh-water fishes in the alleghany region of southwestern virginia. journ. acad. nat. sci., phila., , pp. - . [ ] introduction to the study of fishes, , p. . [ ] the table below shows approximately the composition of the fresh-water fish fauna of europe, as compared with that of north america north of the tropic of cancer. families. europe. n. america. lamprey _petromyzonidæ_ species. species. paddle-fish _polyodontidæ_ -- " " sturgeon _acipenseridæ_ " " garpike _lepisosteidæ_ -- " " bowfin _amiidæ_ -- " " mooneye _hiodontidæ_ -- " " herring _clupeidæ_ " " gizzard-shad _dorosomidæ_ -- " " salmon _salmonidæ_ " " characin _characinidæ_ -- " " carp _cyprinidæ_ " " loach _cobiridæ_ " -- " sucker _catostomidæ_ -- " " catfish _siluridæ_ " " trout-perch _percopsidæ_ -- " " blindfish _amblyopsidæ_ -- " " killifish _cyprinodontidæ_ " " mud-minnow _umbridæ_ " " pike _esocidæ_ " " alaska blackfish _dalliidæ_ -- " " eel _anguillidæ_ " " stickleback _gasterosteidæ_ " " silverside _atherinidæ_ " " pirate perch _aphredoderidæ_ -- " " elassoma _elassomidæ_ -- " " sunfish _centrarchidæ_ -- " " perch _percidæ_ " " bass _serranidæ_ " " drum _sciænidæ_ -- " " surf-fish _embiotocidæ_ -- " " cichlid _cichlidæ_ -- " " goby _gobiidæ_ " " sculpin _cottidæ_ " " blenny _blenniidæ_ " -- " cod _gadidæ_ " " flounder _pleuronectidæ_ " -- " sole _soleidæ_ " " total: europe, families; species. north america, families; species. a few new species have been added since this enumeration was made. according to dr. günther (guide to the study of fishes, p. ), the total number of species now known from the temperate regions of asia and europe is about . the fauna of india, south of the himalayas, is much more extensive, numbering species. this latter fauna bears little resemblance to that of north america, being wholly tropical in its character. [ ] _amia calva_ linnæus. [ ] _aphredoderus sayanus_ gilliams. [ ] _micropterus salmoides_ lacépède. [ ] _ictalurus punctatus_ rafinesque. [ ] _hiodon tergisus_ le sueur. [ ] _lepisosteus osseus_ linnæus. [ ] _ictiobus bubalus_, _cyprinella_, etc. [ ] _aplodinotus grunniens_ rafinesque. [ ] _micropterus dolomieu_ lacépède. [ ] _coregonus clupeiformis_, _argyrosomus artedi_, etc. [ ] _cristivomer namaycush_ walbaum. [ ] _salmo salar_ linnæus. [ ] _acipenser sturio_ and other species. [ ] _alosa sapidissima_ wilson. [ ] _roccus lineatus_ bloch. [ ] _anguilla chrysypa_ raf. [ ] thus the chub-sucker (_erimyzon sucetta_) in some of its varieties ranges everywhere from maine to dakota, florida, and texas; while a number of other species are scarcely less widely distributed. [ ] check list of the fishes of the fresh waters of north america, by david s. jordan and herbert e. copeland. bulletin of the buffalo society of natural history, , pp. - . [ ] a catalogue of the fishes of the fresh waters of north america. bulletin of the united states geological survey, , pp. - . [ ] a catalogue of the fishes known to inhabit the waters of north america north of the tropic of cancer. annual report of the commissioner of fish and fisheries for and . [ ] check list of the fishes of north and middle america. report of the u. s. commissioner of fisheries for . [ ] _ictalurus punctatus_ rafinesque. [ ] _siluridæ._ [ ] _ameiurus nebulosus._ chapter xvii barriers to dispersion of river fishes =the process of natural selection.=--we can say, in general, that in all waters not absolutely uninhabitable there are fishes. the processes of natural selection have given to each kind of river or lake species of fishes adapted to the conditions of life which obtain there. there is no condition of water, of bottom, of depth, of speed of current, but finds some species with characters adjusted to it. these adjustments are, for the most part, of long standing; and the fauna of any single stream has as a rule been produced by immigration from other regions or from other streams. each species has an ascertainable range of distribution, and within this range we may be reasonably certain to find it in any suitable waters. [illustration: fig. .--slippery-dick or doncella, _halichoeres bivittatus_ bloch, a fish of the coral reefs, key west. family _labridæ_.] but every species has beyond question some sort of limit to its distribution, some sort of barrier which it has never passed in all the years of its existence. that this is true becomes evident when we compare the fish fauna of widely separated rivers. thus the sacramento, connecticut, rio grande, and st. john's rivers have not a single species in common; and with one or two exceptions, not a species is common to any two of them. none of these[ ] has any species peculiar to itself, and each shares a large part of its fish fauna with the water-basin next to it. it is probably true that the faunas of no two distinct hydrographic basins are wholly identical, while on the other hand there are very few species confined to a single one. the supposed cases of this character, some twenty in number, occur chiefly in the streams of the south atlantic states and of arizona. all of these need, however, the confirmation of further exploration. it is certain that in no case has an entire river fauna[ ] originated independently from the divergence into separate species of the descendants of a single type. the existence of boundaries to the range of species implies, therefore, the existence of barriers to their diffusion. we may now consider these barriers and in the same connection the degree to which they may be overcome. =local barriers.=--least important to these are the barriers which may exist within the limits of any single basin, and which tend to prevent a free diffusion through its waters of species inhabiting any portion of it. in streams flowing southward, or across different parallels of latitude, the difference in climate becomes a matter of importance. the distribution of species is governed very largely by the temperature of the water. each species has its range in this respect,--the free-swimming fishes, notably the trout, being most affected by it; the mud-loving or bottom fishes, like the catfishes, least. the latter can reach the cool bottoms in hot weather, or the warm bottoms in cold weather, thus keeping their own temperature more even than that of the surface of the water. although water communication is perfectly free for most of the length of the mississippi, there is a material difference between the faunæ of the stream in minnesota and in louisiana. this difference is caused chiefly by the difference in temperature occupying the difference in latitude. that a similar difference in longitude, with free water communication, has no appreciable importance, is shown by the almost absolute identity of the fish faunæ of lake winnebago and lake champlain. while many large fishes range freely up and down the mississippi, a majority of the species do not do so, and the fauna of the upper mississippi has more in common with that of the tributaries of lake michigan than it has with that of the red river or the arkansas. the influence of climate is again shown in the paucity of the fauna of the cold waters of lake superior, as compared with that of lake michigan. the majority of our species cannot endure the cold. in general, therefore, cold or northern waters contain fewer species than southern waters do, though the number of individuals of any one kind may be greater. this is shown in all waters, fresh or salt. the fisheries of the northern seas are more extensive than those of the tropics. there are more fishes there, but are far less varied in kind. the writer once caught seventy-five species of fishes in a single haul of the seine at key west, while on cape cod he obtained with the same net but forty-five species in the course of a week's work. thus it comes that the angler, contented with many fishes of few kinds, goes to northern streams to fish, while the naturalist goes to the south. [illustration: fig. .--_peristedion miniatum_ goode and bean, a deep-red colored fish of the depths of the gulf stream.] but in most streams the difference in latitude is insignificant, and the chief differences in temperature come from differences in elevation, or from the distance of the waters from the colder source. often the lowland waters are so different in character as to produce a marked change in the quality of their fauna. these lowland waters may form a barrier to the free movements of upland fishes; but that this barrier is not impassable is shown by the identity of the fishes in the streams[ ] of the uplands of middle tennessee with those of the holston and french broad. again, streams of the ozark mountains, similar in character to the rivers of east tennessee, have an essentially similar fish fauna, although between the ozarks and the cumberland range lies an area of lowland bayous, into which such fishes are never known to penetrate. we can, however, imagine that these upland fishes may be sometimes swept down from one side or the other into the mississippi, from which they might ascend on the other side. but such transfers certainly do not often happen. this is apparent from the fact that the two faunas[ ] are not quite identical, and in some cases the same species are represented by perceptibly different varieties on one side and the other. the time of the commingling of these faunæ is perhaps now past, and it may have occurred only when the climate of the intervening regions was colder than at present. the effect of waterfalls and cascades as a barrier to the diffusion of most species is self-evident; but the importance of such obstacles is less, in the course of time, than might be expected. in one way or another very many species have passed these barriers. the falls of the cumberland limit the range of most of the larger fishes of the river, but the streams above it have their quota of darters and minnows. it is evident that the past history of the stream must enter as a factor into this discussion, but this past history it is not always possible to trace. dams or artificial waterfalls now check the free movement of many species, especially those of migratory habits; while conversely, numerous other species have extended their range through the agency of canals.[ ] every year fishes are swept down the rivers by the winter's floods; and in the spring, as the spawning season approaches, almost every species is found working its way up the stream. in some cases, notably the quinnat salmon[ ] and the blue-back salmon,[ ] the length of these migrations is surprisingly great. to some species rapids and shallows have proved a sufficient barrier, and other kinds have been kept back by unfavorable conditions of various sorts. streams whose waters are always charged with silt or sediment, as the missouri, arkansas, or brazos, do not invite fishes; and even the occasional floods of red mud such as disfigure otherwise clear streams, like the red river or the colorado (of texas), are unfavorable. extremely unfavorable also is the condition which obtains in many rivers of the southwest, as, for example, the red river, the sabine, and the trinity, which are full from bank to bank in winter and spring, and which dwindle to mere rivulets in the autumn droughts. =favorable waters have most species.=--in general, those streams which have conditions most favorable to fish life will be found to contain the greatest number of species. such streams invite immigration; and in them the struggle for existence is individual against individual, species against species, and not a mere struggle with hard conditions of life. some of the conditions most favorable to the existence in any stream of a large number of species of fishes are the following, the most important of which is the one mentioned first: connection with a large hydrographic basin; a warm climate; clear water; a moderate current; a bottom of gravel (preferably covered by a growth of weeds); little fluctuation during the year in the volume of the stream or in the character of the water. limestone streams usually yield more species than streams flowing over sandstone, and either more than the streams of regions having metamorphic rocks. sandy bottoms usually are not favorable to fishes. in general, glacial drift makes a suitable river bottom, but the higher temperature usual in regions beyond the limits of the drift gives to certain southern streams conditions still more favorable. these conditions are all well realized in the washita river in arkansas, and in various tributaries of the tennessee, cumberland, and ohio; and in these, among american streams, the greatest number of species has been recorded. the isolation and the low temperature of the rivers of new england have given to them a very scanty fish fauna as compared with the rivers of the south and west. this fact has been noticed by professor agassiz, who has called new england a "zoological island."[ ] in spite of the fact that barriers of every sort are sometimes crossed by fresh-water fishes, we must still regard the matter of freedom of water communication as the essential one in determining the range of most species. the larger the river basin, the greater the variety of conditions likely to be offered in it, and the greater the number of its species. in case of the divergence of new forms by the processes called "natural selection," the greater the number of such forms which may have spread through its waters; the more extended any river basin, the greater are the chances that any given species may sometimes find its way into it; hence the greater the number of species that actually occur in it, and, freedom of movement being assumed, the greater the number of species to be found in any one of its affluents. of the six hundred species of fishes found in the rivers of the united states, about two hundred have been recorded from the basin of the mississippi. from fifty to one hundred of these species can be found in any one of the tributary streams of the size, say, of the housatonic river or the charles. in the connecticut river there are but about eighteen species permanently resident; and the number found in the streams of texas is not much larger, the best known of these, the rio colorado, having yielded but twenty-four species. the waters of the great basin are not rich in fishes, the [illustration: fig. .--ancient outlet of lake bonneville, great salt lake, in idaho. (photograph by prof. j. m. aldrich.)] species now found being evidently an overflow from the snake river when in late glacial times it drained lake bonneville. this postglacial lake once filled the present basin of the great salt lake and utah lake, its outlet flowing northwest from ogden into snake river. the same fishes are now found in the upper snake river and the basins of utah lake and of sevier lake. in the same fashion lake lahontan once occupied the basin of nevada, the humboldt and carson sinks, with pyramid lake. its drainage fell also into the snake river, and its former limits are shown in the present range of species. these have almost nothing in common with the group of species inhabiting the former drainage of lake bonneville. another postglacial body of water, lake idaho, once united the lakes of southeastern oregon. the fauna of lake idaho, and of the lakes malheur, warner, goose, etc., which have replaced it, is also isolated and distinctive. the number of species now known from this region of these ancient lobes is about . this list is composed almost entirely of a few genera of suckers,[ ] minnows,[ ] and trout.[ ] none of the catfishes, perch, darters, or sunfishes, moon-eyes, pike, killifishes, and none of the ordinary eastern types of minnows[ ] have passed the barrier of the rocky mountains. west of the sierra nevada the fauna is still more scanty, only about seventy species being enumerated. this fauna, except for certain immigrants[ ] from the sea, is of the same general character as that of the great basin, though most of the species are different. this latter fact would indicate a considerable change, or "evolution," since the contents of the two faunæ were last mingled. there is a considerable difference between the fauna of the columbia and that of the sacramento. the species which these two basins have in common are chiefly those which at times pass out into the sea. the rivers of alaska contain but few species, barely a dozen in all, most of these being found also in siberia and kamchatka. in the scantiness of its faunal list, the yukon agrees with the mackenzie river, and with arctic rivers generally. there can be no doubt that the general tendency is for each species to extend its range more and more widely until all localities suitable for its growth are included. the various agencies of dispersal which have existed in the past are still in operation. there is apparently no limit to their action. it is probable that new "colonies" of one species or another may be planted each year in waters not heretofore inhabited by such species. but such colonies become permanent only where the conditions are so favorable that the species can hold its own in the struggle for food and subsistence. that the various modifications in the habitat of certain species have been caused by human agencies is of course too well known to need discussion here. =watersheds.=--we may next consider the question of watersheds, or barriers which separate one river basin from another. of such barriers in the united states, the most important and most effective is unquestionably that of the main chain of the rocky mountains. this is due in part to its great height, still more to its great breadth, and most of all, perhaps, to the fact that it is nowhere broken by the passage of a river. but two species--the red-throated or rocky mountain trout[ ] and the rocky mountain whitefish[ ]--are found on both sides of it, at least within the limits of the united states; while many genera, and even several families, find in it either an eastern or a western limit to their range. in a few instances representative species, probably modifications or separated branches of the same stock, occur on opposite sides of the range, but there are not many cases of correspondence even thus close. the two faunas are practically distinct. even the widely distributed red-spotted or "dolly varden" trout[ ] of the columbia river and its affluents does not cross to the east side of the mountains, nor does the montana grayling[ ] ever make its way to the west. in northern mexico, however, numerous eastern river fishes have crossed the main chain of the sierra madre. =how fishes cross watersheds.=--it is easy to account for this separation of the faunæ; but how shall we explain the almost universal diffusion of the whitefish and the trout in suitable waters on both sides of the dividing ridge? we may notice that these two are the species which ascend highest in the mountains, the whitefish inhabiting the mountain pools and lakes, the trout ascending all brooks and rapids in search of their fountainheads. in many cases the ultimate dividing ridge is not very broad, and we may imagine that at some time spawn or even young fishes may have been carried across by birds or other animals, or by man, or more likely by the dash of some summer whirlwind. once carried across in favorable circumstances, the species might survive and spread. the following is an example of how such transfer of species may be accomplished, which shows that we need not be left to draw on the imagination to invent possible means of transit. =the suletind.=--there are few watersheds in the world better defined than the mountain range which forms the "back-bone" of norway. i lately climbed a peak in this range, the suletind. from its summit i could look down into the valleys of the lära and the bägna, flowing in opposite directions to opposite sides of the peninsula. to the north of the suletind is a large double lake called the sletningenvand. the maps show this lake to be one of the chief sources of the westward-flowing river lära. this lake is in august swollen by the melting of the snows, and at the time of my visit it was visibly the source of both these rivers. from its southeastern side flowed a large brook into the valley of the bägna, and from its southwestern corner, equally distinctly, came the waters which fed the lära. this lake, like similar mountain ponds in all northern countries, abounds in trout; and these trout certainly have for part of the year an uninterrupted line of water communication from the sognefjord on the west of norway to the christianiafjord on the southeast,--from the north sea to the baltic. part of the year the lake has probably but a single outlet through the lära. a higher temperature would entirely cut off the flow into the bägna, and a still higher one might dry up the lake altogether. this sletningenvand, with its two outlets on the summit of a sharp watershed, may serve to show us how other lakes, permanent or temporary, may elsewhere have acted as agencies for the transfer of fishes. we can also see how it might be that certain mountain fishes should be so transferred while the fishes of the upland waters may be left behind. in some such way as this we may imagine that various species of fishes have attained their present wide range in the rocky mountain region; and in similar manner perhaps the eastern brook trout[ ] and some other mountain species[ ] may have been carried across the alleghanies. =the cassiquiare.=--professor john c. branner calls my attention to a marshy upland which separates the valley of the la plata from that of the amazon, and which permits the free movement of fishes from the paraguay river to the tapajos. it is well known that through the cassiquiare river the rio negro, another branch of the amazon, is joined to the orinoco river. it is thus evident that almost all the waters of eastern south america form a single basin, so far as the fishes are concerned. as to the method of transfer of the trout from the columbia to the missouri, we are not now left in doubt. =two-ocean pass.=--to this day, as the present writer and later evermann and jenkins[ ] have shown, the yellowstone and snake rivers are connected by two streams crossing the main divide of the rocky mountains from the yellowstone to the snake across two-ocean pass. prof. evermann has described the locality as follows: "two-ocean pass is a high mountain meadow, about , feet above the sea and situated just south of the yellowstone national park, in longitude ° ' w., latitude ° ' n. it is surrounded on all sides by rather high mountains except where the narrow valleys of atlantic and pacific creeks open out from it. running back among the mountains to the northward are two small canyons down which come two small streams. on the opposite is another canyon down which comes another small stream. the extreme length of the meadow from east to west is about a mile, while the width from north to south is not much less. the larger of the streams coming in from the north is pacific creek, which, after winding along the western side of the meadow, turns abruptly westward, leaving the meadow through a narrow gorge. receiving numerous small affluents, pacific creek soon becomes a good-sized stream, which finally unites with buffalo creek a few miles above where the latter stream flows into snake river. "atlantic creek was found to have two forks entering the pass. at the north end of the meadow is a small wooded canyon down which flows the north fork. this stream hugs the border of the flat very closely. the south fork comes down the canyon on the south side, skirting the brow of the hill a little less closely than does the north fork. the two, coming together near the middle of the eastern border of the meadow, form atlantic creek, which after a course of a few miles flows into the upper yellowstone. but the remarkable phenomena exhibited here remain to be described. "each fork of atlantic creek, just after entering the meadow, divides as if to flow around an island, but the stream toward the meadow, instead of returning to the portion from which it had parted, continues its westerly course across the meadow. just before reaching the western border the two streams unite and then pour their combined waters into pacific creek; thus are atlantic and pacific creeks united and a continuous waterway from the columbia via two-ocean pass to the gulf of mexico is established. "pacific creek is a stream of good size long before it enters the pass, and its course through the meadow is in a definite channel, but not so with atlantic creek. the west bank of each fork is low and the stream is liable to break through anywhere and thus send part of its water across to pacific creek. it is probably true that one or two branches always connect the two creeks under ordinary conditions, and that following heavy rains or when the snows are melting, a much greater portion of the water of atlantic creek crosses the meadow to the other side. [illustration: fig. .--silver surf-fish (viviparous), _hypocritichthys analis_ (agassiz). monterey.] "besides the channels already mentioned, there are several more or less distinct ones that were dry at the time of our visit. as already stated, the pass is a nearly level meadow covered with a heavy growth of grass and many small willows one to three feet high. while it is somewhat marshy in places it has nothing of the nature of a lake about it. of course, during wet weather the small springs at the borders of the meadow would be stronger, but the important facts are that there is no lake or even marsh there and that neither atlantic nor pacific creek has its rise in the meadow. atlantic creek, in fact, comes into the pass as two good-sized streams from opposite directions and leaves it by at least four channels, thus making an island of a considerable portion of the meadow. and it is certain that there is, under ordinary circumstances, a continuous waterway through two-ocean pass of such a character as to permit fishes to pass easily and readily from snake river over to the yellowstone, or in the opposite direction. indeed, it is quite possible, barring certain falls in the snake river, for a fish so inclined, to start at the mouth of the columbia, travel up that great river to its principal tributary, the snake, thence on through the long, tortuous course of that stream, and, under the shadows of the grand teton, enter the cold waters of pacific creek, by which it could journey on up to the very crest of the great continental divide,--to two-ocean pass; through this pass it may have a choice of two routes to atlantic creek, in which the down-stream journey is begun. soon it reaches the yellowstone, down which it continues to yellowstone lake, then through the lower yellowstone out into the turbid waters of the missouri; for many hundred miles it may continue down this mighty river before reaching the father of waters, which will finally carry it to the gulf of mexico--a wonderful journey of nearly , miles, by far the longest possible fresh-water journey in the world. "we found trout in pacific creek at every point where we examined it. in two-ocean pass we found trout in each of the streams and in such positions as would have permitted them to pass easily from one side of the divide to the other. we also found trout in atlantic creek below the pass, and in the upper yellowstone they were abundant. thus it is certain that there is no obstruction, even in dry weather, to prevent the passage of trout from the snake river to yellowstone lake; it is quite evident that trout do pass over in this way; and it is almost certain that yellowstone lake was stocked with trout from the west via two-ocean pass."--evermann. =mountain chains.=--the sierra nevada constitutes also a very important barrier to the diffusion of species. this is, however, broken by the passage of the columbia river, and many species thus find their way across it. that the waters to the west of it are not unfavorable for the growth of eastern fishes is shown by the fact of the rapid spread of the common eastern catfish,[ ] or horned pout, when transported from the schuylkill to the sacramento. the catfish is now one of the important food fishes of the san francisco markets, and with the chinaman its patron, it has gone from california to hawaii. the chinese catfish, described by bleeker as _ameiurus cantonensis_, was doubtless carried home by some chinaman returning from san francisco. in like fashion the small-mouthed black bass is now frequent in california streams, as is also the blue-green sunfish, _apomotis cyanellus_, introduced as food for the bass. the mountain mass of mount shasta is, as already stated, a considerable barrier to the range of fishes, though a number of species find their way around it through the sea. the lower and irregular ridges of the coast range are of small importance in this regard, as the streams of their east slope reach the sea on the west through san francisco bay. yet the san joaquin contains a few species not yet recorded from the smaller rivers of southwestern california. the main chain of the alleghanies forms a barrier of importance separating the rich fish fauna of the tennessee and ohio basins from the scantier faunæ of the atlantic streams. yet this barrier is crossed by many more species than is the case with either the rocky mountains or the sierra nevada. it is lower, narrower, and much more broken,--as in new york, in pennsylvania, and in georgia there are several streams which pass through it or around it. the much greater age of the alleghany chain, as compared with the rocky mountains, seems not to be an element of any importance in this connection. of the fish which cross this chain, the most prominent is the brook trout,[ ] which is found in all suitable waters from hudson's bay to the head of the chattahoochee. =upland fishes.=--a few other species are locally found in the head waters of certain streams on opposite sides of the range. an example of this is the little red "fallfish,"[ ] found only in the mountain tributaries of the savannah and the tennessee. we may suppose the same agencies to have assisted these species that we have imagined in the case of the rocky mountain trout, and such agencies were doubtless more operative in the times immediately following the glacial epoch than they are now. prof. cope calls attention also to the numerous caverns existing in these mountains as a sufficient medium for the transfer of many species. i doubt whether the main chains of the blue ridge or the great smoky can be crossed in that way, though such channels are not rare in the subcarboniferous limestones of the cumberland range. in the brooks at the head waters of the roanoke river about alleghany springs in virginia, fishes of the tennessee basin are found, instead of those characteristic of the lower roanoke. in this case it is likely that we have to consider the results of local erosion. probably the divide has been so shifted that some small stream with its fishes has been cut off from the holston and transferred to the roanoke. the passage of species from stream to stream along the atlantic slope deserves a moment's notice. it is under present conditions impossible for any mountain or upland fish, as the trout or the miller's thumb,[ ] to cross from the potomac river to the james, or from the neuse to the santee, by descending to the lower courses of the rivers, and thence passing along either through the swamps or by way of the sea. the lower courses of these streams, warm and muddy, are uninhabitable by such fishes. such transfers are, however, possible farther north. from the rivers of canada and from many rivers of new england the trout does descend to the sea and into the sea, and farther north the whitefish does this also. thus these fishes readily pass from one river basin to another. as this is the case now everywhere in the north, it may have been the case farther south in the time of the glacial cold. we may, i think, imagine a condition of things in which the snow-fields of the alleghany chain might have played some part in aiding the diffusion of cold-loving fishes. a permanent snow-field on the blue ridge in western north carolina might render almost any stream in the carolinas suitable for trout, from its source to its mouth. an increased volume of colder water might carry the trout of the head streams of the catawba and the savannah as far down as the sea. we can even imagine that the trout reached these streams in the first place through such agencies, though of this there is no positive evidence. for the presence of trout in the upper chattahoochee we must account in some other way. it is noteworthy that the upland fishes are nearly the same in all these streams until we reach the southern limit of possible glacial influence. south of western north carolina the faunæ of the different river basins appear to be more distinct from one another. certain ripple-loving types are represented by closely related but unquestionably different species in each river basin, and it would appear that a thorough mingling of the upland species in these rivers has never taken place. the best examples of this are the following: in the santee basin are found _notropis pyrrhomelas_, _notropis niveus_, and _notropis chloristius_; in the altamaha, _notropis xænurus_ and _notropis callisemus_; in the chattahoochee, _notropis hypselopterus_ and _notropis eurystomus_; in the alabama, _notropis coeruleus_, _notropis trichroistius_, and _notropis callistius_. in the alabama, escambia, pearl, and numerous other rivers is found _notropis cercostigma_. this species descends to the sea in the cool streams of the pine woods. its range is wider than that of the others, and in the rivers of texas it reappears in the form of a scarcely distinct variety, _notropis venustus_. in the tennessee and cumberland, and in the rivers of the ozark range, is _notropis galacturus_; and in the upper arkansas _notropis camurus_,--all distinct species of the same general type. northward, in all the streams from the potomac to the oswego, and westward to the des moines and the arkansas, occurs a single species of this type, _notropis whipplei_, varying eastward into _notropis analostanus_. but this species is not known from any of the streams inhabited by any of the other species mentioned, although very likely it is the parent stock of them all. =lowland fishes.=--with the lowland species of the southern rivers it is different. few of these are confined within narrow limits. the streams of the whole south atlantic and gulf coast flow into shallow bays, mostly bounded by sand-spits or sand-bars which the rivers themselves have brought down. in these bays the waters are often neither fresh nor salt; or, rather, they are alternately fresh and salt, the former condition being that of the winter and spring. many species descend into these bays, thus finding every facility for transfer from river to river. there is a continuous inland passage in fresh or brackish waters, traversable by such fishes, from chesapeake bay nearly to cape fear; and similar conditions exist on the coasts of louisiana, texas, and much of florida. in perdido bay i have found fresh-water minnows[ ] and silversides[ ] living together with marine gobies[ ] and salt-water eels.[ ] fresh-water alligator gars[ ] and marine sharks compete for the garbage thrown over from the pensacola wharves. in lake pontchartrain the fauna is a remarkable mixture of fresh-water fishes from the mississippi and marine fishes from the gulf. channel-cats, sharks, sea-crabs, sunfishes, and mullets can all be found there together. it is therefore to be expected that the lowland fauna of all the rivers of the gulf states would closely resemble that of the lower mississippi; and this, in fact, is the case. the streams of southern florida and those of southwestern texas offer some peculiarities connected with their warmer climate. the florida streams contain a few peculiar fishes;[ ] while the rivers of texas, with the same general fauna as those farther north, have also a few distinctly tropical types,[ ] immigrants from the lowlands of mexico. =cuban fishes.=--the fresh waters of cuba are inhabited by fishes unlike those found in the united states. some of these are evidently indigenous, derived in the waters they now inhabit directly from marine forms. two of these are eyeless species,[ ] inhabiting streams in the caverns. they have no relatives in the fresh waters of any other region, the blind fishes[ ] of our caves being of a wholly different type. some of the cuban fishes are common to the fresh waters of the other west indies. of northern types, only one, the alligator gar,[ ] is found in cuba, and this is evidently a filibuster immigrant from the coasts of florida. =swampy watersheds.=--the low and irregular watershed which separates the tributaries of lake michigan and lake erie from those of the ohio is of little importance in determining the range of species. many of the distinctively northern fishes are found in the headwaters of the wabash and the scioto. the considerable difference in the general fauna of the ohio valley as compared with that of the streams of michigan is due to the higher temperature of the former region, rather than to any existing barriers between the river and the great lakes. in northern indiana the watershed is often swampy, and in many places large ponds exist in the early spring. at times of heavy rains many species will move through considerable distances by means of temporary ponds and brooks. fishes that have thus emigrated often reach places ordinarily inaccessible, and people finding them in such localities often imagine that they have "rained down." once, near indianapolis, after a heavy shower, i found in a furrow in a corn-field a small pike,[ ] some half a mile from the creek in which he should belong. the fish was swimming along in a temporary brook, apparently wholly unconscious that he was not in his native stream. migratory fishes, which ascend small streams to spawn, are especially likely to be transferred in this way. by some such means any of the watersheds in ohio, indiana, or illinois may be passed. [illustration: fig. .--creekfish or chub-sucker, _erimyzon sucetta_ (lacépède). nipisink lake, illinois. family _catostomidæ_.] it is certain that the limits of lake erie and lake michigan were once more extended than now. it is reasonably probable that some of the territory now drained by the wabash and the illinois was once covered by the waters of lake michigan. the cisco[ ] of lake tippecanoe, lake geneva, and the lakes of the oconomowoc chain is evidently a modified descendant of the so-called lake herring.[ ] its origin most likely dates from the time when these small deep lakes of indiana and wisconsin were connected with lake michigan. the changes in habits which the cisco has undergone are considerable. the changes in external characters are but trifling. the presence of the cisco in these lakes and its periodical disappearance--that is, retreat into deep water when not in the breeding season--have given rise to much nonsensical discussion as to whether any or all of these lakes are still joined to lake michigan by subterranean channels. several of the larger fishes, properly characteristic of the great lake region,[ ] are occasionally taken in the ohio river, where they are usually recognized as rare stragglers. the difference in physical conditions is probably the sole cause of their scarcity in the ohio basin. =the great basin of utah.=--the similarity of the fishes in the different streams and lakes of the great basin is doubtless to be attributed to the general mingling of their waters which took place during and after the glacial epoch. since that period the climate in that region has grown hotter and drier, until the overflow of the various lakes into the columbia basin through the snake river has long since ceased. these lakes have become isolated from each other, and many of them have become salt or alkaline and therefore uninhabitable. in some of these lakes certain species may now have become extinct which still remain in others. in some cases, perhaps, the differences in surroundings may have caused divergence into distinct species of what was once one parent stock. the suckers in lake tahoe[ ] and those in utah lake are certainly now different from each other and from those in the columbia. the trout[ ] in the same waters can be regarded as more or less tangible species, while the whitefishes[ ] show no differences at all. the differences in the present faunas of lake tahoe and utah lake must be chiefly due to influences which have acted since the glacial epoch, when the whole utah basin was part of the drainage of the columbia. =arctic species in lakes.=--connected perhaps with changes due to glacial influences is the presence in the deep waters of the great lakes of certain marine types,[ ] as shown by the explorations of professor sidney i. smith and others. one of these is a genus of fishes,[ ] of which the nearest allies now inhabit the arctic seas. in his review of the fish fauna of finland,[ ] professor a. j. malmgren finds a number of arctic species in the waters of finland which are not found either in the north sea or in the southern portions of the baltic. these fishes are said to "agree with their 'forefathers' in the glacial ocean in every point, but remain comparatively smaller, leaner, almost starved." professor lovén[ ] also has shown that numerous small animals of marine origin are found in the deep lakes of sweden and finland as well as in the gulf of bothnia. these anomalies of distribution are explained by lovén and malmgren on the supposition of the former continuity of the baltic through the gulf of bothnia with the glacial ocean. during the second half of the glacial period, according to lovén, "the greater part of finland and of the middle of sweden was submerged, and the baltic was a great gulf of the glacial ocean, and not connected with the german ocean. by the gradual elevation of the scandinavian continent, the baltic became disconnected from the glacial ocean and the great lakes separated from the baltic. in consequence of the gradual change of the salt water into fresh, the marine fauna became gradually extinct, with the exception of the glacial forms mentioned above." it is possible that the presence of marine types in our great lakes is to be regarded as due to some depression of the land which would connect their waters with those of the gulf of st. lawrence. on this point, however, our data are still incomplete. to certain species of upland or mountain fishes the depression of the mississippi basin itself forms a barrier which cannot be passed. the black-spotted trout,[ ] very closely related species of which abound in all waters of northern asia, europe, and western north america, has nowhere crossed the basin of the mississippi, although one of its species finds no difficulty in passing bering strait. the trout and whitefish of the rocky mountain region are all species different from those of the great lakes or the streams of the alleghany system. to the grayling, the trout, the whitefish, the pike, and to arctic and subarctic species generally, bering strait has evidently proved no serious obstacle to diffusion; and it is not unlikely that much of the close resemblance of the fresh-water faunæ of northern europe, asia, and north america is due to this fact. to attempt to decide from which side the first migration came in regard to each group of fishes might be interesting; but without a wider range of facts than is now in our possession, most such attempts, based on guesswork, would have little value. the interlocking of the fish faunas of asia and north america presents, however, a number of interesting problems, for migrations in both directions have doubtless taken place. =causes of dispersion still in operation.=--one might go on indefinitely with the discussion of special cases, each more or less interesting or suggestive in itself, but the general conclusion is in all cases the same. the present distribution of fishes is the result of the long-continued action of forces still in operation. the species have entered our waters in many invasions from the old world or from the sea. each species has been subjected to the various influences implied in the term "natural selection," and under varying conditions its representatives have undergone many different modifications. each of the six hundred fresh-water species we now know in the united states may be conceived as making every year inroads on territory occupied by other species. if these colonies are able to hold their own in the struggle for possession, they will multiply in the new conditions, and the range of the species becomes widened. if the surroundings are different, new species or varieties may be formed with time; and these new forms may again invade the territory of the parent species. again, colony after colony of species after species may be destroyed by other species or by uncongenial surroundings. the ultimate result of centuries on centuries of the restlessness of individuals is seen in the facts of geographical distribution. only in the most general way can the history of any species be traced; but could we know it all, it would be as long and as eventful a story as the history of the colonization and settlement of north america by immigrants from europe. but by the fishes each river in america has been a hundred times discovered, its colonization a hundred times attempted. in these efforts there is no co-operation. every individual is for himself, every struggle a struggle of life and death; for each fish is a cannibal, and to each species each member of every other species is an alien and a savage. footnotes: [ ] except possibly the sacramento. [ ] unless the fauna of certain cave streams in the united states and cuba be regarded as forming an exception. [ ] for example, elk river, duck river, etc. [ ] there are three species of darters (_cottogaster copelandi_ jordan, _hadropterus evides_ jordan and copeland, _hadropterus scierus_ swain) which are now known only from the ozark region or beyond and from the uplands of indiana, not yet having been found at any point between indiana and missouri. these constitute perhaps isolated colonies, now separated from the parent stock in arkansas by the prairie districts of illinois, a region at present uninhabitable for these fishes. but the non-occurrence of these species over the intervening areas needs confirmation, as do most similar cases of anomalous distribution. [ ] thus, _dorosoma cepedianum_ le sueur and _pomolobus chrysochloris_ rafinesque have found their way into lake michigan through canals. [ ] _oncorhynchus tschawytscha_ walbaum. [ ] _oncorhynchus nerka_ walbaum. [ ] "in this isolated region of north america, in this zoological island of new england, as we may call it, we find neither lepidosteus, nor amia, nor polyodon, nor amblodon (_aplodinotus_), nor grystes (_micropterus_), nor centrarchus, nor pomoxis, nor ambloplites, nor calliurus (_chænobryttus_), nor carpiodes, nor hyodon, nor indeed any of the characteristic forms of north american fishes so common everywhere else, with the exception of two pomotis (_lepomis_), one boleosoma, and a few catostomus."--agassiz, _amer. journ. sci. arts_, . [ ] _catostomus_, _pantosteus_, _chasmistes_. [ ] _gila_, _ptychocheilus_, etc. [ ] _salmo clarkii_ and its varieties. [ ] genera _notropis_, _chrosomus_, etc. [ ] as the fresh-water surf-fish (_hysterocarpus traski_) and the species of salmon. [ ] _salmo clarki_ richardson. [ ] _coregonus williamsoni_ girard. [ ] _salvelinus malma_ (walbaum). [ ] _thymallus tricolor_ cope. [ ] _salvelinus fontinalis_ mitchill. [ ] _notropis rubricroceus_ cope, _rhinichthys atronasus_ mitchill, etc. [ ] evermann, a reconnoissance of the streams and lakes of western montana and northwestern wyoming, in bull. u. s. fish. comm., xi, , - , pls. i and ii; jordan, the story of a strange land, in pop. sci. monthly, feb., , - ; evermann, two-ocean pass, in proc. ind. ac. sci., , - , pl. i; evermann, two-ocean pass, in pop. sci. monthly, june, , with plate. [ ] _ameiurus nebulosus_ le sueur: _ameiurus catus_ linnæus. [ ] _salvelinus fontinalis._ [ ] _notropis rubricroceus_ cope. [ ] _cottus ictalops_ rafinesque. [ ] _notropis cercostigma_, _notropis xænocephalus_. [ ] _labidesthes sicculus._ [ ] _gobiosoma molestum._ [ ] _myrophis punctatus._ [ ] _lepisosteus tristoechus._ [ ] _jordanella_, _rivulus_, _heterandria_, etc. [ ] _heros_, _tetragonopterus_. [ ] _lucifuga_ and _stygicola_, fishes allied to the cusk, and belonging to the family of _brotulidæ_. [ ] _amblyopsis_, _typhlichthys_. [ ] _lepisosteus tristoechus._ [ ] _esox vermiculatus_ le sueur. [ ] _argyrosomus sisco_ jordan. [ ] _argyrosomus artedi_ le sueur. [ ] as _lota maculosa_; _percopsis guttata_; _esox masquinongy_. [ ] _catostomus tahoensis_, in lake tahoe; _catostomus macrocheilus_ and _discobolus_, in the columbia; _catostomus fecundus_; _catostomus ardens_; _chasmistes liorus_ and _pantosteus generosus_, in utah lake. [ ] _salmo henshawi_ and _virginalis_. [ ] _coregonus williamsoni._ [ ] species of _mysis_ and other genera of crustaceans, similar to species described by sars and others, in lakes of sweden and finland. [ ] _triglopsis thompsoni_ girard, a near ally of the marine species _oncocottus quadricornis_ l. [ ] kritisk Öfversigt of finlands fisk-fauna, helsingfors, . [ ] see günther, zoological record for , p. . [ ] _salmo fario_ l., in europe; _salmo labrax_ pallas, etc., in asia; _salmo gairdneri_ richardson, in streams of the pacific coast; _salmo perryi_, in japan; _salmo clarki_ richardson, throughout the rocky mountain range to the mexican boundary and the headwaters of the kansas, platte, and missouri. chapter xviii fishes as food for man =the flesh of fishes.=--among all races of men, fishes are freely eaten as food, either raw, as preferred by the japanese and hawaiians, or else as cooked, salted, dried, or otherwise preserved. the flesh of most fishes is white, flaky, readily digestible, and with an agreeable flavor. some, as the salmon, are charged with oil, which aids to give an orange hue known as salmon color. others have colorless oil which may be of various consistencies. some have dark-red flesh, which usually contains a heavy oil which becomes acrid when stale. some fishes, as the sharks, have tough, coarse flesh. some have flesh which is watery and coarse. some are watery and tasteless, some dry and tasteless. some, otherwise excellent, have the muscular area, which constitutes the chief edible part of the fish, filled with small bones. =relative rank of food-fishes.=--the writer has tested most of the noted food-fishes of the northern hemisphere. when properly cooked (for he is no judge of raw fish) he would place first in the ranks as a food-fish the eulachon, or candle-fish (_thaleichthys pacificus_). [illustration: fig. .--eulachon, or ulchen. _thaleichthys pretiosus_ girard. columbia river. family _argentinidæ_.] this little smelt, about a foot long, ascends the columbia river, frazer river, and streams of southern alaska in the spring in great numbers for the purpose of spawning. its flesh is white, very delicate, charged with a white and very agreeable oil, readily digested, and with a sort of fragrance peculiar to the species. [illustration: fig. .--ayu, or japanese samlet, _plecoglossus altivelis_ schlegel. tanagawa, tokyo, japan.] next to this he is inclined to place the ayu (_plecoglossus altivelis_), a sort of dwarf salmon which runs in similar fashion in the rivers of japan and formosa. the ayu is about as large as the eulachon and has similar flesh, but with little oil and no fragrance. [illustration: fig. .--whitefish, _coregonus clupeiformis_ mitchill. ecorse, mich.] very near the first among sea-fishes must come the pampano (_trachinotus carolinus_) of the gulf of mexico, with firm, white, finely flavored flesh. the red surmullet of europe (_mullus barbatus_) has been long famed for its delicate flesh, and may perhaps be placed next. two related species in polynesia, the munu and the kumu (_pseudupeneus bifasciatus_ and _pseudupeneus porphyreus_), are scarcely inferior to it. [illustration: fig. .--golden surmullet, _mullus auratus_ jordan & gilbert. woods hole, mass.] [illustration: fig. .--spanish mackerel, _scomberomorus maculatus_ mitchill. family _scombridæ_. key west.] side by side with these belongs the whitefish of the great lakes (_coregonus clupeiformis_). its flesh, delicate, slightly gelatinous, moderately oily, is extremely agreeable. sir john richardson records the fact that one can eat the flesh of this fish longer than any other without the feeling of cloying. the salmon cannot be placed in the front ranks because, however excellent, the stomach soon becomes tired of it. the spanish mackerel (_scomberomorus maculatus_), with flesh at once rich and delicate, the great opah (_lampris luna_), still richer and still more delicate, the bluefish (_pomatomus saltatrix_) similar but a little coarser, the ulua (_carangus sem_), the finest large food-fish of the south seas, the dainty california poppy-fish, miscalled "pampano" (_palometa simillima_), and the kingfish firm and well-flavored (_scomberomorus cavalla_), represent the best of the fishes allied to the mackerel. [illustration: fig. .--opah, or moonfish, _lampris luna_ (gmelin). specimen in honolulu market weighing - / lbs. (photograph by e. l. berndt.)--page .] [illustration: fig. .--bluefish, _pomatomus saltatrix_ (l.). new york.] [illustration: fig. .--robalo, _centropomus undecimalis_ (bloch). florida.] the shad (_alosa sapidissima_), with its sweet, tender, finely oily flesh, stands also near the front among food-fishes, but it sins above all others in the matter of small bones. the weak-fish (_cynoscion nobilis_) and numerous relatives rank first among those with tender, white, savorous flesh. among the bass and perch-like fishes, common consent places near the first the striped bass (_roccus lineatus_), the bass of europe (_dicentrarchus labrax_), the susuki of japan (_lateolabrax japonicus_), the red tai of japan (_pagrus major_ and _p. cardinalis_), the sheep's-head (_archosargus probatocephalus_), the mutton-fish or pargo criollo of cuba (_lutianus analis_), the european porgy (_pagrus pagrus_), the robalo (_centropomus undecimalis_), the uku (_aprion virescens_) of hawaii, the spadefish (_chætodipterus faber_), and the black bass (_micropterus dolomieu_). [illustration: fig. .--spadefish, _chætodipterus faber_ (l.). virginia.] [illustration: fig. .--small-mouthed black bass, _micropterus dolomieu_ (lacépède). potomac river.] [illustration: fig. .--speckled trout (male), _salvelinus fontinalis_ (mitchill). new york.] [illustration: fig. .--rainbow trout, _salmo irideus_ gibbons. sacramento river, california.] [illustration: fig. .--rangeley trout, _salvelinus oquassa_ (girard). lake oquassa, maine.] the various kinds of trout have been made famous the world over. all are attractive in form and color; all are gamey; all have the most charming of scenic surroundings, and, finally, all are excellent as food, not in the first rank perhaps, but well above the second. notable among these are the european charr (_salvelinus alpinus_), the american speckled trout or charr (_salvelinus fontinalis_), the dolly varden or malma (_salvelinus malma_), and the oquassa trout (_salvelinus oquassa_). scarcely less attractive are the true trout, the brown trout, or forelle (_salmo fario_), in europe, the rainbow-trout (_salmo irideus_), the steelhead (_salmo gairdneri_), the cut-throat trout (_salmo clarkii_), and the tahoe trout (_salmo henshawi_), in america, and the yamabe (_salmo perryi_) of japan. not least of all these is the flower of fishes, the grayling (_thymallus_), of different species in different parts of the world. [illustration: fig. .--steelhead trout, _salmo gairdneri_ richardson. columbia river.] [illustration: fig. .--tahoe trout, _salmo henshawi_ gill & jordan. lake tahoe, california.] [illustration: fig. .--the dolly varden trout, _salvelinus malma_ (walbaum). lake pend d'oreille, idaho. (after evermann.)] [illustration: fig. .--alaska grayling, _thymallus signifer_ richardson. nulato, alaska.] [illustration: fig. .--pike, _esox lucius_ l. ecorse, mich.] [illustration: fig. .--atka-fish, _pleurogrammus monopterygius_ (pallas). atka island.] other most excellent food-fishes are the eel (_anguilla_ species), the pike (_esox lucius_), the muskallonge (_esox roccus_), the sole of europe (_solea solea_), the sardine (_sardinella pilchardus_), the atka-fish (_pleurogrammus monopterygius_) of bering sea, the pescado blanco of lake chapala (_chirostoma estor_ and other species), the hawaiian mullet (_mugil cephalus_), the channel catfish (_ictalurus punctatus_), the turbot (_scophthalmus maximus_), the barracuda (_sphyræna_), and the young of various sardines and herring, known as whitebait. of large fishes, probably the swordfish (_xiphias gladius_), the halibut (_hippoglossus hippoglossus_), and the king-salmon, or quinnat (_oncorhynchus tschawytscha_), may be placed first. those people who feed on raw fish prefer in general the large parrot-fishes (as _pseudoscarus jordani_ in hawaii), or else the young of mullet and similar species. [illustration: fig. .--pescado blanco, _chirostoma humboldtianum_ (val.). lake chalco, city of mexico.] [illustration: fig. .--red goatfish, or salmonete, _pseudupeneus maculatus_ bloch. family _mullidæ_ (surmullets).] =abundance of food-fishes.=--in general, the economical value of any species depends not on its toothsomeness, but on its abundance and the ease with which it may be caught and preserved. it is said that more individuals of the herring (_clupea harengus_ in the atlantic, _clupea pallasi_ in the pacific) exist than of any other species. the herring is a good food-fish and whenever it runs it is freely sought. according to björnsön, wherever the school of herring touches the coast of norway, there a village springs up, and this is true in scotland, newfoundland, and from killisnoo in alaska to otaru in japan, and to strielok in siberia. goode estimates the herring product of the north atlantic at , , , pounds annually. in professor huxley used these words: [illustration: fig. .--great parrot-fish, or guacamaia, _pseudoscarus guacamaia_ bloch & schneider. florida.] [illustration: fig. .--striped mullet, _mugil cephalus_ (l.). woods hole, mass.] "it is said that , , , or thereabout of herrings are every year taken out of the north sea and the atlantic. suppose we assume the number to be , , , so as to be quite safe. it is a large number undoubtedly, but what does it come to? not more than that of the herrings which may be contained in one shoal, if it covers half a dozen square miles, and shoals of much larger size are on record. it is safe to say that scattered through the north sea and the atlantic, at one and the same time, there must be scores of shoals, any one of which would go a long way toward supplying the whole of man's consumption of herrings." [illustration: fig. .--mutton-snapper, or pargo criollo, _lutianus analis_ (cuv. & val.). key west.] [illustration: fig. .--herring, _clupea harengus_ l. new york.] [illustration: fig. .--codfish, _gadus callarias_ l. eastport, maine.] the codfish (_gadus callarias_ in the atlantic; _gadus macrocephalus_ in the pacific) likewise swarms in all the northern seas, takes the hook readily, and is better food when salted and dried than it is when fresh. next in economic importance probably stands the mackerel of the atlantic (_scomber scombrus_), a rich, oily fish which bears salting better than most. [illustration: fig. .--mackerel, _scomber scombrus_ l. new york.] not less important is the great king-salmon, or quinnat (_oncorhyanchus tschawytscha_), and the still more valuable blue-back salmon, or redfish (_oncorhynchus nerka_). [illustration: fig. .--halibut, _hippoglossus hippoglossus_ (linnæus). st. paul island, bering sea. (photograph by u. s. fur seal commission.)] the salmon of the atlantic (_salmo salar_), the various species of sturgeon (_acipenser_), the sardines (_sardinella_), the halibut (_hippoglossus_), are also food-fishes of great importance. =variety of tropical fishes.=--in the tropics no one species is represented by enormous numbers of individuals as is the case in colder regions. on the other hand, the number of species regarded as food-fishes is much greater in any given port. in havana, about different species are sold as food in the markets, and an equal number are found in honolulu. upward of different species appear in the markets of japan. in england, on the contrary, about species make up the list of fishes commonly used as food. yet the number of individual fishes is probably not greater about japan or hawaii than in a similar stretch of british coast. =economic fisheries.=--volumes have been written on the economic value of the different species of fishes, and it is not the purpose of the present work to summarize their contents. [illustration: fig. .--fishing for ayu with cormorants in the tanagawa, near tokyo. (after photograph by j. o. snyder by sekko shimada.)] equally voluminous is the literature on the subject of catching fishes. it ranges in quality from the quaint wisdom of the "compleat angler" and the delicate wit of "little rivers" to elaborate discussions of the most economic and effective forms and methods, of the beam-trawl, the purse-seine, and the codfish hook. in general, fishes are caught in four ways--by baited hooks, by spears, by traps, and by nets. special local methods, such as the use of the tamed cormorant[ ] in the catching of the ayu, by the japanese fishermen at gifu, may be set aside for the moment, and all general methods of fishing come under one of these four classes. of these methods, the hook, the spear, the seine, the beam-trawl, the gill-net, the purse-net, the sweep-net, the trap and the weir are the most important. the use of the hook is again extremely varied. in the deep sea long, sunken lines, are sometimes used for codfish, each baited with many hooks. for pelagic fish, a baited hook is drawn swiftly over the surface, with a "spoon" attached which looks like a living fish. in the rivers a line is attached to a pole, and when fish are caught for pleasure or for the joy of being in the woods, recreation rises to the dignity of angling. angling may be accomplished with a hook baited with an earthworm, a grasshopper, a living fish, or the larva of some insect. the angler of to-day, however, prefers the artificial fly, as being more workmanlike and also more effective than bait-fishing. the man who fishes, not for the good company of the woods and brooks, but to get as many fish as possible to eat or sell, is not an angler but a pot-fisher. the man who kills all the trout he can, to boast of his skill or fortune, is technically known as a trout-hog. ethically, it is better to lie about your great catches of fine fishes than to make them. for most anglers, also, it is more easy. =fisheries.=--with the multiplicity of apparatus for fishing, there is the greatest variety in the boats which may be used. the fishing-fleet of any port of the world is a most interesting object, as are also the fishermen with their quaint garb, plain speech, and their strange songs and calls with the hauling in of the net. [illustration: fig. .--fishing for ayu in the tanagawa, japan. emptying the pouch of the cormorant. (photograph by j. o. snyder.)] for much information on the fishing apparatus in use in america the reader is referred to the reports of the fisheries in the tenth census, in , under the editorship of dr. george brown goode. in these reports goode, stearns, earle, gilbert, bean, and the present writer have treated very fully of all economic relations of the american fishes. in an admirable work entitled "american fishes," dr. goode, with the fine literary touch of which he was master, has fully discoursed of the game- and food-fishes of america with especial reference to the habits and methods of capture of each. to these sources, to jordan and evermann's "food and game fishes of north america," and to many other works of similar purport in other lands, the reader is referred for an account of the economic and the human side of fish and fisheries. =angling.=--it is no part of the purpose of this work to describe the methods or materials of angling, still less to sing its praises as a means of physical or moral regeneration. we may perhaps find room for a first and a last word on the subject; the one the classic from the pen of the angler of the brooks of staffordshire, and the other the fresh expression of a stanford student setting out for streams such as walton never knew, the purissima, the stanislaus, or perchance his home streams, the provo or the bear. "and let me tell you, this kind of fishing with a dead rod, and laying night-hooks, are like putting money to use; for they both work for the owners when they do nothing but sleep, or eat, or rejoice, as you know we have done this last hour, and sat as quietly and as free from cares under this sycamore as virgil's tityrus and his meliboeus did under their broad beech-tree. no life, my honest scholar,--no life so happy and so pleasant as the life of a well-governed angler; for when the lawyer is swallowed up with business and the statesman is preventing or contriving plots, then we sit on the cowslip-banks, hear the birds sing, and possess ourselves in as much quietness as these silent silver streams which we now see glide so quietly by us. indeed, my good scholar, we may say of angling, as dr. boteler said of strawberries, 'doubtless god could have made a better berry, but doubtless god never did'; and so, if i might be judge, 'god never made a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.' "i'll tell you, scholar, when i sat last on this primrose-bank, and looked down these meadows, i thought of them as charles the emperor did of florence, 'that they were too pleasant to be looked on but only on holidays.' "gentle izaak! he has been dead these many years, but his disciples are still faithful. when the cares of business lie heavy and the sound of wheels jarring on cobbled streets grows painful, one's fingers itch for the rod; one would away to the quiet brook among the pines, where one has fished so often. every man who has ever got the love of the stream in his blood feels often this longing. "it comes to me each year with the first breath of spring. there is something in the sweetness of the air, the growing things, the 'robin in the greening grass' that voices it. duties that have before held in their performance something of pleasure become irksome, and practical thoughts of the day's work are replaced by dreamy pictures of a tent by the side of a mountain stream--close enough to hear the water's singing in the night. two light bamboo rods rest against the tent-pole, and a little column of smoke rising straight up through the branches marks the supper fire. jack is preparing the evening meal, and, as i dream, there comes to me the odor of crisply browned trout and sputtering bacon--was ever odor more delicious? i dare say that had the good charles lamb smelled it as i have, his 'dissertation on roast pig' would never have been written. but then charles lamb never went a-fishing as we do here in the west--we who have the mountains and the fresh air so boundlessly. "and neither did izaak walton for that matter. he who is sponsor for all that is gentle in angling missed much that is best in the sport by living too early. he did not experience the exquisite pleasure of wading down mountain streams in supposedly water-proof boots and feeling the water trickling in coolingly; nor did he know the joy of casting a gaudy fly far ahead with a four-ounce rod, letting it drift, insect-like, over that black hole by the tree stump, and then feeling the seaweed line slip through his fingers to the _whirr_ of the reel. and, at the end of the day, supper over, he did not squat around a big camp-fire and light his pipe, the silent darkness of the mountains gathering round, and a basketful of willow-packed trout hung in the clump of pines by the tent. izaak's idea of fishing did not comprehend such joy. with a can of worms and a crude hook, he passed the day by quiet streams, threading the worms on his hook and thinking kindly of all things. the day's meditations over, he went back to the village, and, mayhap, joined a few kindred souls over a tankard of ale at the sign of the red lobster. but he missed the mountains, the water rushing past his tent, the bacon and trout, the camp-fire--the physical exaltation of it all. his kind of fishing was angling purely, while modern waltons, as a rule, eschew the worm. [illustration: fig. .--fishing for tai, tokyo bay. (photograph by j. o. snyder.)] "to my mind, there is no real sport in any kind of fishing except fly-fishing. this sitting on the bank of a muddy stream with your bait sunk, waiting for a bite, may be conducive to gentleness and patience of spirit, but it has not the joy of action in which a healthy man revels. how much more sport is it to clamber over fallen logs that stretch far out a-stream, to wade slipping over boulders and let your fly drop caressingly on ripples and swirling eddies and still holes! it is worth all the work to see the gleam of a silver side as a half-pounder rises, and, with a flop, takes the fly excitedly to the bottom. and then the nervous thrill as, with a deft turn of the wrist, you hook him securely--whoever has felt that thrill cannot forget it. it will come back to him in his law office when he should be thinking of other things; and with it will come a longing for that dear remembered stream and the old days. that is the hold trout-fishing takes on a man. "it is spring now and i feel the old longing myself, as i always do when life comes into the air and the smell of new growth is sweet. i got my rod out to-day, put it together, and have been looking over my flies. if i cannot use them, i can at least muse over days of the past and dream of those to come." (waldemar young.) footnotes: [ ] the cormorant is tamed for this purpose. a harness is placed about its wings and a ring about the lower part of its neck. two or three birds may be driven by a boy in a shallow stream, a small net behind him to drive the fish down the river. in a large river like that of gifu, where the cormorants are most used, the fishermen hold the birds from the boats and fish after dark by torchlight. the bird takes a great interest in the work, darts at the fishes with great eagerness, and fills its throat and gular pouch as far down as the ring. then the boy takes him out of the water, holds him by the leg and shakes the fishes out into a basket. when the fishing is over the ayu are preserved, the ring is taken off from the bird's neck, and the zako or minnows are thrown to him for his share. these he devours greedily. chapter xix diseases of fishes =contagious diseases.=--as compared with other animals the fishes of the sea are subject to but few specific diseases. those in fresh waters, being more isolated, are more frequently attacked by contagious maladies. often these diseases are very destructive. in an "epidemic" in lake mendota, near madison, wis., professor stephen a. forbes reports a death of tons of fishes in the lake. i have seen similar conditions among the land-locked alewife in cayuga and seneca lakes, the dead fishes being piled on the beaches so as to fill the air with the stench of their decay. [illustration: fig. .--menhaden, _brevoortia tyrannus_ (latrobe). woods hole, mass.] =crustacean parasites.=--the external parasites of fishes are of little injury. these are mainly lernæans and other crustaceans (fish-lice) in the sea, and in the rivers different species of leeches. these may suck the blood of the fish, or in the case of certain crustaceans which lie under the tongue, steal the food as it passes along, as is done by _cymothoa prægustator_, the "bug" of the mouth of the menhaden (_brevoortia tyrannus_). [illustration: fig. .--australian flying-fish, _exonautes unicolor_ (valenciennes). specimen from tasman sea, having parasitic lernæan crustaceans, to which parasitic barnacles are attached. (after kellogg.)] the relation of this crustacean to its host suggested to latrobe, its discoverer, the relation of the "foretaster" in roman times to the tyrant whom he served. a similar commensation exists in the mouth of a mullet (_mugil hospes_) at panama. the writer has received, through the courtesy of mr. a. p. lundin, a specimen of a flying-fish (_exonautes unicolor_) taken off sydney, australia. to this are attached three large copepod crustaceans of the genus _penella_, the largest over two inches long, and to the copepods in turn are attached a number of barnacles (_conchoderma virgatum_) so joined to the copepods as to suggest strange flowers, like orchids, growing out of the fish. [illustration: fig. .--black-nosed dace, _rhinichthys atronasus_ (mitchill). east coy creek, w. n. y. showing black spots of parasitic organisms. (from life by mary jordan edwards.)] =myxosporidia, or parasitic protozoa.=--internal parasites are very numerous and varied. some of them are bacteria, giving rise to infectious diseases, especially in ponds and lakes. others are myxosporidia, or parasitic protozoans, which form warty appendages, which burst, discharging the germs and leaving ulcers in their place. in the report of the u. s. fish commissioner for , dr. r. r. gurley has brought together our knowledge of the protozoans of the subclass _myxosporidia_, to which these epidemics are chiefly due. these creatures belong to the class of sporozoa, and are regarded as animals, their nearest relatives being the parasitic _gregarinida_, from which they differ in having the germinal portion of the spore consisting of a single protoplasmic mass instead of falciform protoplasmic rods as in the worm-like gregarines. the _myxosporidia_ are parasitic on fishes, both fresh-water and marine, especially beneath the epidermis of the gills and fins and in the gall-bladder and urinary bladder. in color these protozoa are always cream-white. in size and form they vary greatly. the cyst in which they lie is filled with creamy substance made up of spores and granule matter. dr. gurley enumerates as hosts of these parasites about sixty species of fishes, marine and fresh-water, besides frogs, crustaceans, sea-worms, and even the crocodile. in the sharks and rays the parasites occur mainly in the gall-ducts, in the minnows within the gill cavity and epidermis, and in the higher fishes mainly but not exclusively in the same regions. forty-seven species are regarded by gurley as well defined. the diseases produced by them are very obscurely known. these parasites on american fishes have been extensively studied by charles wardall stiles, edwin linton, henry b. ward, and others. according to dr. linton the parasitism which results from infection with protozoan parasites will, of all kinds, be found to be the most important. epidemics among european fish have been repeatedly traced to this source. the fatality which attends infection with psorosperms appears to be due to a secondary cause, however, namely, to bacilli which develop within the psorosperms (_myxobolus_) tumors and give rise to ulceration. the discharge of these ulcers then disseminates the disease. [illustration: fig. .--white shiner, _notropis hudsonius_ (clinton), with cysts of parasitic psorosperms. (after gurley.)] "brief mention of the remedies there proposed may appropriately be repeated here. megnin sees no other method than to collect all the dead and sick fishes and to destroy them by fire. ludwig thinks that the waters should be kept pure, and that the pollutions of the rivers by communities or industrial establishments should be interdicted. further he says: "that most dangerous contamination of the water by the _myxosporidia_ from the ulcers cannot of course be stopped entirely, but it is evident that it will be less if all fishermen are impressed with the importance of destroying all diseased and dead fish instead of throwing them back into the water. such destruction must be so effected as to prevent the re-entry of the germs into the water. "railliet says that it is expedient to collect the diseased fish and to bury them at a certain depth and at a great distance from the water-course. he further states that this was done on the meuse with success, so that at the end of some years the disease appeared to have left no trace." [illustration: fig. .--white catfish, _ameiurus catus_ (linnæus), from potomac river, infested by parasitic protozoa, _ichthyophthirus multifilis_ fouquet. (after c. w. stiles.)] =parasitic worms: trematodes.=--parasitic worms in great variety exist in the intestinal canal or in the liver or muscular substance of fishes. trematode worms are most common in fresh-water fishes. these usually are sources of little injury, especially when found in the intestines, but they may do considerable mischief when encysted within the body cavity or in the heart or liver. dr. linton describes species of these worms from different species of american fishes. in species of fishes from the great lakes, specimens, dr. h. b. ward found specimens infected with parasites, securing trematodes, acanchocephala, cestodes, and nematodes. in the bowfin (_amia calva_), trematodes existed in enormous numbers. =cestodes.=--cestode worms exist largely in marine fishes, the adults, according to dr. linton, being especially common in the spiral valve of the shark. it is said that one species of human tape-worm (_bothriocephalus tænia_) has been got from eating the flesh of the european tench (_tinca tinca_). =the worm of the yellowstone.=--the most remarkable case of parasitism of worms of this type is that given by the trout of yellowstone lake (_salmo clarki_). this is thus described by dr. linton: "one of the most interesting cases of parasitism in which direct injury results to the host, which has come to my attention, is that afforded by the trout of yellowstone lake (_salmo clarki_). it was noticed by successive parties who visited the lake in connection with government surveys that the trout with which the lake abounded were, to a large extent, infested with a parasitic worm, which is most commonly in the abdominal cavity, in cysts, but which in time escapes from the cyst and tunnels into the flesh of its host. fish, when thus much afflicted, are found to be lacking in vitality, weak, and often positively emaciated. "it was my good fortune, in the summer of , to visit this interesting region for the purpose of investigating the parasitism of the trout of yellowstone lake. the results of this special investigation were published in the bulletin of the u. s. fish commission for , vol. ix., pp. - , under the title 'a contribution to the life-history of _dibothrium cordiceps_, a parasite infesting the trout of yellowstone lake.' "i found the same parasite in the trout of heart lake, just across the great continental divide from yellowstone lake, but did not find any that had tunneled into the flesh of its host, while a considerable proportion of the trout taken in yellowstone lake had these worms in the flesh. some of these worms were as much as centimeters in length when first removed; others which had lain in water a few hours after removal before they were measured were much longer, as much as centimeters. they are rather slender and of nearly uniform size throughout, . to millimeters being an average breadth of the largest. i found the adult stage in the intestine of the large white pelican (_pelecanus erythrorhynchus_), which is abundant on the lake and was found breeding on some small islands near the southern end of the lake. "in the paper alluded to above i attempted to account for two things concerning this parasitism among the trout of yellowstone lake: first, the abundance of parasitized trout in the lake; second, the migration of the parasite into the muscular tissue of its host. the argument cannot be well summarized in as short space as the requirements of this paper demand. it is sufficient to say that what appear to me to be satisfactory explanations are supplied by the peculiar conditions of distribution of fish in the lakes of this national park. until three or four years ago, when the u. s. fish commission stocked some of the lakes and streams of the park, the conditions with relation to fish life in the three principal lakes were as follows: shoshone lake, no fish of any kind; heart lake, at least three species, _salmo clarki_, _leuciscus lineatus_, and _catostomus ardens_; yellowstone lake, one species, _salmo clarki_. shoshone and yellowstone lakes are separated from the river systems which drain them by falls too high for fish to scale. heart lake has no such barrier. the trout of yellowstone lake are confined to the lake and to eighteen miles of river above the falls. whatever source of parasitism exists in the lake, therefore, must continue to affect the fish all their lives. they cannot be going and coming from the lake as the trout of heart lake may freely do. if their food should contain eggs of parasites, or if the waters in which they swim should contain eggs or embryos of parasites, they would be continually exposed to infection, with no chance for a vacation trip for recuperation. to quote from my report: "'it follows, therefore, from the peculiar conditions surrounding the trout of yellowstone lake, that if there is a cause of parasitism present in successive years the trout are more liable to become infested than they would be in waters where they had a more varied range. trout would become infested earlier and in greater relative numbers, and the life of the parasites themselves--that is, their residence as encysted worms--must be of longer duration than would be the rule where the natural conditions are less exceptional.... there are probably not less than one thousand pelicans on the lake the greater part of the time throughout the summer, of which at any time not less than per cent. are infested with the adult form of the parasite, and, since they spend the greater part of their time on or over the water, disseminate millions of tape-worm eggs each in the waters of the lake. it is known that eggs of other dibothria hatch out in the water, where they swim about for some time, looking much like ciliated infusoria. donnadieu found in his experiments on the adult dibothria of ducks that the eggs hatched out readily in warm water and very slowly in cold. if warm water, at least water that is warmer than the prevailing temperature of the lake, is needed for the proper development of these ova, the conditions are supplied in such places as the shore system of geysers and hot springs on the west arm of the lake, where for a distance of nearly three miles the shore is skirted by a hot spring and geyser formation, with numerous streams of hot water emptying into the lake, and large springs of hot water opening in the floor of the lake near shore. "'trout abound in the vicinity of these warm springs, presumably on account of the abundance of food there. they do not love the warm water, but usually avoid it. several persons with whom i talked on the subject while in the park assert that diseased fish--that is to say, those which are thin and affected with flesh worms--are more commonly found near the warm water; that they take the bait readily but are logy. i frequently saw pelicans swimming near the shore in the vicinity of the warm springs on the west arm of the lake. it would appear that the badly infested or diseased fish, being less active and gamy than the healthy fish, would be more easily taken by their natural enemies, who would learn to look for them in places where they most abound. but any circumstances which cause the pelican and the trout to occupy the same neighborhood will multiply the chances of the parasites developing in both the intermediate and final host. the causes that make for the abundance of the trout parasite conspire to increase the number of adults. the two hosts react on each other and the parasite profits by the reaction. about the only enemies the trout had before tourists, ambitious to catch big strings of trout and photograph them with a kodak, began to frequent this region, were the fish-eating birds, and chief among these in numbers and voracity was the pelican. it is no wonder, therefore, that the trout should have become seriously parasitized. it may be inferred from the foregoing statements that the reason why the parasite of the trout of yellowstone lake migrates into the muscular tissue of its host must be found in the fact that the life of the parasite within the fish is much more prolonged than is the case where the conditions of life are less exceptional. "the case just cited is probably the most signal one of direct injury to the host from the presence of parasites that i have seen. i shall enumerate more briefly a few additional cases out of a great number that i have encountered in my special investigations on the entozoa of fishes for the u. s. fish commission." many worms of this type abound in codfishes, bluefishes, striped bass, and other marine fishes, rendering them lean and unfit for food. =the heart lake tape-worm.=--another very interesting case of parasitism is that of the large tape-worm (_ligula catostomi_) infecting the suckers, _catostomus ardens_, in the warm waters of witch creek, near heart lake, in the yellowstone park. of this dr. linton gives the following account: [illustration: fig. .--sucker, _catostomus ardens_ (jordan & gilbert), from heart lake, yellowstone park, infested by a flatworm, _ligula catostomi_ linton, itself probably a larva of _dibothrium_. (after linton.)] "in the autumn of dr. david starr jordan found an interesting case of parasitism in some young suckers (_catostomus ardens_) which he had collected in witch creek, a small stream which flows into heart lake, in the yellowstone national park. specimens of these parasites were sent to me for identification. they proved to be a species of ligula, probably identical with the european _ligula simplicissima_ rud., which is found in the abdominal cavity of the tench. on account of its larval condition in which it possesses few distinctive characters, i described it under the name _ligula catostomi_. these parasites grow to a very large size when compared with the fish which harbors them, often filling the abdominal cavity to such a degree as to give the fish a deceptively plump appearance. the largest specimen in dr. jordan's collection measured, in alcohol, . centimeters in length, millimeters in breadth at the anterior end, millimeters at a distance of millimeters from the anterior end, and . millimeters near the posterior end. the thickness throughout was about millimeters. the weight of one fish was . grams, that of its three parasites . grams, or - / per cent. the weight of the host. if a man weighing pounds were afflicted with tape-worms to a similar degree, he would be carrying about with him pounds of parasitic impedimenta. "in the summer of i collected specimens from the same locality. a specimen obtained from a fish centimeters in length measured while living . centimeters in length and millimeters in breadth at the anterior end. another fish centimeters in length harbored four parasites, , , , and centimeters long, respectively, or centimeters aggregate. another fish centimeters long was infested with a single parasite which was centimeters in length. "these parasites were found invariably free in the body cavity. dr. jordan's collections were made in october and mine in july of the following year. donnadieu has found that this parasite most frequently attains its maximum development at the end of two years. it is probable, therefore, that dr. jordan and i collected from the same generation. since these parasites, in this stage of their existence, develop, not by levying a toll on the food of their host, after the manner of intestinal parasites, but directly by the absorption of the serous fluid of their host, it is quite evident that they work a positive and direct injury. since, however, they lie quietly in the body cavity of the fish and possess no hard parts to cause irritation, they work their mischief simply by the passive abstraction of the nutritive juices of their host, and by crowding the viscera into confined spaces and unnatural positions. the worms, in almost every case, had attained such a size that they far exceeded in bulk the entire viscera of their host. "from the fact that the examples obtained were of comparatively the same age, it may be justly inferred that the period of infection to which the fish are subjected must be a short one. i did not discover the final host, but it is almost certain to be one or more of the fish-eating species of birds which visit that region, and presumably one of which, in its migrations, pays but a brief visit to this particular locality. this parasite was found only in the young suckers which inhabit a warm tributary of witch creek. they were not found in the large suckers of the lake. these young _catostomi_ were found in a single school, associated with the young of the chub (_leuciscus lineatus_), in a stream whose temperature was ° f. near where it joined a cold mountain brook whose temperature was ° f. we seined several hundred of these young suckers and chubs, ranging in length from to centimeters. the larger suckers were nearly all infested with these parasites, the smaller ones not so much, and the smallest scarcely at all. or, to give concrete examples: of fish ranging in length from to centimeters, only one or two were without parasites; of specimens averaging about centimeters in length, were infested and were not; of specimens averaging about centimeters in length, were infested and were not; of specimens less than centimeters in length, were infested and were not. none of the chubs were infested with this parasite. "the conditions under which these fish were found are worthy of passing notice. the stream which they occupied flowed with rather sluggish current into a swift mountain stream, which it met almost at right angles. the school of young chubs and suckers showed no inclination to enter the cold water, even to escape the seine, but would dart around the edge of the seine, in the narrow space between it and the bank, in preference, apparently, to taking to the colder water. when not disturbed by the seine they would swim up near to the line which marked the division between the cold and the warm water, and seemed to be gazing with open mouth and eyes at the trout which occasionally darted past in the cold stream. the trout appeared to avoid the warm water, while the chubs and suckers appeared to avoid the cold water. it may be that what the latter really avoided was the special preserve of the trout, since large chubs and suckers are found in abundance in the lake, which is quite cold, a temperature of ° f. having been taken by us at a depth of feet. "since the eggs of this parasite, after the analogy of closely related forms, in all probability are discharged into the water from the final host and hatch out readily in warm water, where they may live for a longer or shorter time as free-swimming planula-like forms, it will be observed that the sluggish current and high temperature of the water in which these parasitized fish occur give rise to conditions which are highly favorable to infection. "it may be of passing interest to state here what i have recorded elsewhere, that ligulæ, probably specifically identical with _l. catostomi_, form an article of food in italy, where they are sold in the markets under the name _maccaroni piatti_; also in southern france, where they are less euphemistically but more truthfully called the _ver blanc_. so far as my information goes, this diet of worms is strictly european. "it is not necessary to prove cases of direct injury resulting from the presence of parasites in order to make out a case against them. in the sharp competition which nature forces on fishes in the ordinary struggle for existence, any factor which imparts an increment either of strength or of weakness may be a very potent one, and in a long term of years may determine the relative abundance or rarity of the individuals of a species. in most cases the interrelations between parasite and host have become so adjusted that the evil wrought by the parasite on its host is small. parasitic forms, like free forms, are simply developing along the lines of their being, but unlike most free forms they do not contribute a fair share to the food of other creatures." =thorn-head worms.=--the thorn-head worms called _acanthocephala_ are found occasionally in large numbers in different kinds of fishes. they penetrate the coats of the intestines, producing much irritation and finally waxy degeneration of the tissues. according to linton, there is probably no practical way of counteracting the bad influences of worms of this order, since their larval state is passed, in some cases certainly, and in most cases probably, in small crustacea, which constitute a constant and necessary source of food for the fish. the same remark which was made in another connection with regard to the disposal of the viscera of fish applies here. in no case should the viscera of fish be thrown back into the water. in this order the sexes are distinct, and the females become at last veritable sacs for the shelter and nourishment of enormous numbers of embryos. the importance, therefore, of arresting the development of as many embryos as possible is at once apparent. =nematodes.=--the round worms or nematodes are very especially abundant in marine fishes, and particularly in the young. the study of these forms has a large importance to man. dr. linton pertinently observes: "where there is exhaustive knowledge of the thing itself the application of that knowledge toward getting good out of it or averting evil that may come from it first becomes possible. for example, a knowledge of the life-history of _trichina spiralis_ and its pathological effects on its host has taught people a simple way of securing immunity from its often deadly effects. a knowledge of the life-histories of the various species of tæniæ which infest man and the domestic animals, frequently to their serious hurt, has made it possible to diminish their numbers, and may, in time, lead to their practical extinction. "so with the parasites of fishes. whenever for any reason or reasons parasitism of any sort becomes so prevalent with any species as to amount to a disease, the remedy will be suggested, and in some cases may be practically applied. if, for example, it were thought desirable to counteract the influences which are at work to cause the parasitism of the trout of yellowstone lake, it could be very largely accomplished by breaking up the breeding-places of the pelican on the islands of the lake. with regard to parasitism among the marine food-fishes, the remedy while plainly suggested by the circumstances, might be difficult of application. yet something could be done even there, if it were thought necessary to lessen the amount of parasitism. if such precautions as the destruction of the parasites which abound in the viscera of fish before throwing them back into the water, and if no opportunity be lost of killing those sharks which feed on the food-fishes, two sources of the prevalence of parasites would be affected and the sum total of parasitism diminished. these remarks are made not so much because such precautions are needed as to suggest possible applications of knowledge which is already available." =parasitic fungi.=--fishes are often subject to wounds. if not too serious these will heal in time, with or without scars. some lost portions may be restored, but not those including bone fin-rays or scales. in the fresh waters, wounds are usually attacked by species of fungus, notably _saprolegnia ferox_, _saprolegnia mixta_, and others, which makes a whitish fringe over a sore and usually causes death. this fungus is especially destructive in aquaria. this fungus is not primarily parasitic, but it fixes itself in the slime of a fish or in an injured place, and once established the animal is at its mercy. spent salmon are very often attacked by this fungus. in america the spent salmon always dies, but in scotland, where such is not the case, much study has been given to this plant and the means by which it may be exterminated. dr. g. p. clinton gives a useful account of the development of _saprolegnia_, from which we take the following: "the minute structure and life-history of such fungous forms have been so thoroughly made out by eminent specialists that no investigation along this line was made, save to observe those phenomena which might be easily seen with ordinary microscopic manipulations. the fungus consists of branched, hyaline filaments, without septa, except as these are found cutting off the reproductive parts of the threads. it is made up of a root-like or rhizoid part that penetrates the fish and a vegetative and reproductive part that radiates from the host. the former consists of branched tapering threads which pierce the tissues for a short distance, but are easily pulled out. the function of this part is to obtain nourishment for the growth of the external parts. prostrate threads are found running through the natural slime covering the fish, and from these are produced the erect radiating hyphæ so plainly seen when in the water. the development of these threads appears to be very rapid when viewed under the microscope, although the growth made under favorable conditions in two days is only about a third of an inch. from actual measurements of filaments of the fungus placed in water and watched under the microscope, it was found that certain threads made a growth of about microns in an hour. two others, watched for twenty minutes, gave in that time a growth of and microns respectively; and yet another filament, observed during two periods of five minutes each, made a growth of microns each time. in ordinary cultures the rate of growth depends upon the condition of the medium, host, etc." [illustration: fig. .--quinnat salmon, _oncorhynchus tschawytscha_ (walbaum). monterey bay. (photograph by c. rutter.)] professor h. a. surface thus speaks of the attacks of _saprolegnia_ on the lamprey: "the attack that attends the end of more lampreys than does any other is that of the fungus (_saprolegnia_ sp.). this looks like a gray slime and eats into the exterior parts of the animal, finally causing death. it covers the skin, the fins, the eyes, the gill-pouches, and all parts, like leprosy. it starts where the lamprey has been scratched or injured or where its mate has held it, and develops very rapidly when the water is warm. it is found late in the season on all lampreys that have spawned out, and it is almost sure to prove fatal, as we have repeatedly seen with attacked fishes or lampreys kept in tanks or aquaria. with choice aquarium fishes a remedy, or at least a palliative, is to be found in immersion in salt water for a few minutes or in bathing the affected parts with listerine. since these creatures complete the spawning process before the fungoid attack proves serious to the individual, it can be seen that it affects no injury to the race, as the fertilized eggs are left to come to maturity. also, as it is nature's plan that the adult lampreys die after spawning once, we are convinced that death would ensue without the attack of the fungus; and in fact this is to be regarded as a resultant of those causes that produce death rather than the immediate cause of it. its only natural remedy is to be found in the depths of the lake ( feet) where there is a uniform or constant temperature of about ° fahr., and where the light of the noon-day sun penetrates with an intensity only about equal to starlight on land on a clear but moonless night. [illustration: fig. .--young male quinnat salmon, _oncorhynchus tschawytscha_, dying after spawning. sacramento river. (photograph by cloudsley rutter.)] "as light and heat are essential to the development of the fungus, which is a plant growth and properly called a water mold, and as their intensity is so greatly diminished in the depth of the lake, it is probable that if creatures thus attacked should reach this depth they might here find relief if their physical condition were otherwise strong enough to recuperate. however, we have recently observed a distinct tendency on the part of fungus-covered fishes to keep in the shallower, and consequently warmer, parts of the water, and this of course results in the more rapid growth of the sarcophytic plant, and the death of the fishes is thus hastened. "all kinds of fishes and fish-eggs are subject to the attacks of such fungus, especially after having been even slightly scratched or injured. as a consequence, the lamprey attacks on fishes cause wounds that often become the seat of a slowly spreading but fatal fungus. we have seen many nests of the bullhead, or horned pout (_ameiurus nebulosus_), with all the eggs thus destroyed, and we have found scores of fishes of various kinds thus killed or dying. it is well known that in many rivers this is the apparent cause of great mortality among adult salmon. yet we really doubt if it ever attacks uninjured fishes that are in good strong physical condition which have not at least had the slime rubbed from them when captured. it is contagious, not only being conveyed from one infested fish to another, but from dead flies to fishes." (for a further discussion of this subject see an interesting and valuable manual of fish culture, by the u. s. fish commission, .) =earthquakes.=--occasionally an earthquake has been known to kill sea-fishes in large numbers. the _albatross_ obtained specimens of _sternoptyx diaphana_ in the japanese kuro shiwo, killed by the earthquakes of , which destroyed fishing villages of the coast of rikuchu in northern japan. =mortality of tilefish.=--some years ago in the gulf stream off newfoundland an immense mortality of the filefish (_lopholatilus chamæleonticeps_) was reported by fishermen. this handsome and large fish, inhabiting deep waters, died by thousands. for this mortality, which almost exterminated the species, no adequate cause has been found. as to the destruction of fresh-water fishes by larger enemies, we may quote from professor h. a. surface. he says there is no doubt that these three species, the lake lamprey (_petromyzon marinus unicolor_), the garpike (_lepidosteus osseus_), and the mud-puppy (_necturus maculosus_), named "in order of destructiveness, are the three most serious enemies of fishes in the interior of this state [new york], each of which surely destroys more fishes annually than are caught by all the fishermen combined. the next important enemies of fishes in order of destructiveness, according to our observations and belief, are spawn-eating fishes, water-snakes, carnivorous or predaceous aquatic insects (especially larvæ), and piscivorous fishes and birds." the lamprey attaches itself to larger fishes, rasping away their flesh and sucking their blood, as shown in the accompanying plate. [illustration: fig. .--catfishes, _ameiurus nebulosus_ le sueur, destroyed by lampreys (_petromyzon marinus unicolor_ de kay). cayuga lake, n. y. (modified from photograph by prof. h. a. surface.)] chapter xx the mythology of fishes =the mermaid.=--a word may be said of the fishes which have no existence in fact and yet appear in popular literature or in superstition. the mermaid, half woman and half fish, has been one of the most tenacious among these, and the manufacture of their dried bodies from the head, shoulders, and ribs of a monkey sealed to the body of a fish has long been a profitable industry in the orient. the sea-lion, the dugong, and other marine mammals have been mistaken for mermaids, for their faces seen at a distance and their movements at rest are not inhuman, and their limbs and movements in the water are fish-like. in china, small mermaids are very often made and sold to the curious. the head and torso of a monkey are fastened ingeniously to the body and tail of a fish. it is said that linnæus was once forced to leave a town in holland for questioning the genuineness of one of these mermaids, the property of some high official. these monsters are still manufactured for the "curio-trade." =the monkfish.=--many strange fishes were described in the middle ages, the interest usually centering in some supposed relation of their appearance with the affairs of men. some of these find their way into rondelet's excellent book, "histoire entière des poissons," in . two of these with the accompanying plate of one we here reproduce. other myths less interesting grew out of careless, misprinted, or confused accounts on the part of naturalists and travelers. "in our times in norway a sea-monster has been taken after a great storm, to which all that saw it at once gave the name of monk; for it had a man's face, rude and ungracious, the head shorn and smooth. on the shoulders, like the cloak of a monk, were two long fins instead of arms, and the end of the body was finished by a long tail. the picture i present was given me by the very illustrious lady, margaret de valois, queen of navarre, who received it from a gentleman who gave a similar one to the emperor, charles v., then in spain. this gentleman said that he had seen the monster as the portrait shows it in norway, thrown by the waves and tempests on the beach at a place called dieze, near the town called denelopoch. i have seen a similar picture at rome not differing in mien. among the sea-beasts, pliny mentions a sea-mare and a triton as among the creatures not imaginary. pausanias also mentions a triton." [illustration: fig. .--"_le monstre marin an habit de moine._" (after rondelet.)] rondelet further says: =the bishop-fish.=--"i have seen a portrait of another sea-monster at rome, whither it had been sent with letters that affirmed for certain that in one had seen this monster in a bishop's garb, as here portrayed, in poland. carried to the king of that country, it made certain signs that it had a great desire to return to the sea. being taken thither it threw itself instantly into the water." [illustration: fig. .--"_le monstre marin en habit d'Évêque._" (after rondelet.)] =the sea-serpent.=--a myth of especial persistency is that of the sea-serpent. most of the stories of this creature are seaman's yarns, sometimes based on a fragment of wreck, a long strip of kelp, the power of suggestion or the incitement of alcohol. but certain of these tales relate to real fishes. the sea-serpent with an uprearing red mane like that of a horse is the oarfish (_regalecus_), a long, slender, fragile fish compressed like a ribbon and reaching a length of feet. we here present a photograph of an oarfish (_regalecus russelli_) stranded on the california coast at newport in orange county, california. a figure of a european species (_regalecus glesne_) is also given showing the fish in its uninjured condition. another reputed sea-serpent is the frilled shark (_chlamydoselachus angineus_), which has been occasionally noticed by seamen. the struggles of the great killer (_orca orca_) with the whales it attacks and destroys has also given rise to stories of the whale struggling in the embrace of some huge sea-monster. this description is correct, but the mammal is a monster itself, a relative of the whale and not a reptile. [illustration: fig. .--oarfish, _regalecus russelli_, on the beach at newport, orange co., cal. (photograph by c. p. remsberg.)] [illustration: fig. .--glesnæs oarfish, _regalecus glesne_ ascanius. newcastle, england. (after day.)] it is often hard to account for some of the stories of the sea-serpent. a gentleman of unquestioned intelligence and sincerity lately described to the writer a sea-serpent he had seen at short range, feet long, swimming at the surface, and with a head as large as a barrel. i do not know what he saw, but i do know that memory sometimes plays strange freaks. little venomous snakes with flattened tails (_platyurus, pelamis_) are found in the salt bays in many tropical regions of the pacific (gulf of california, panama, east indies, japan), but these are not the conventional sea-serpents. certain slender fishes, as the thread-eel (_nemichthys_) and the wolf-eel (_anarrhichthys_), have been brought to naturalists as young sea-serpents, but these of course are genuine fishes. whatever the nature of the sea-serpent may be, this much is certain, that while many may be seen, none will ever be caught. the great swimming reptiles of the sea vanished at the end of mesozoic time, and as living creatures will never be known of man. as a record of the mythology of science, we may add the following remarks of rafinesque on the imaginary garpike (_litholepis adamantinus_), of which a specimen was painted for him by the wonderful brush of audubon: "this fish may be reckoned the wonder of the ohio. it is only found as far up as the falls, and probably lives also in the mississippi. i have seen it, but only at a distance, and have been shown some of its singular scales. wonderful stories are related concerning this fish, but i have principally relied upon the description and picture given me by mr. audubon. its length is from to feet. one was caught which weighed pounds. it lies sometimes asleep or motionless on the surface of the water, and may be mistaken for a log or snag. it is impossible to take it in any other way than with the seine or a very strong hook; the prongs of the gig cannot pierce the scales, which are as hard as flint, and even proof against lead balls! its flesh is not good to eat. it is a voracious fish. its vulgar names are diamond-fish (owing to its scales being cut like diamonds), devil-fish, jackfish, garjack, etc. the snout is large, convex above, very obtuse, the eyes small and black; nostrils small, round before the eyes; mouth beneath the eyes, transversal with large angular teeth. pectoral and abdominal fins trapezoidal. dorsal and anal fins equal, longitudinal, with many rays. the whole body covered with large stone scales, lying in oblique rows; they are conical, pentagonal pentædral, with equal sides, from half an inch to one inch in diameter, brown at first but becoming the color of turtle-shell when dry. they strike fire with steel and are ball-proof!" [illustration: fig. .--thread-eel, _nemichthys avocetta_ jordan & gilbert. puget sound.] chapter xxi classification of fishes =taxonomy.=--classification, as dr. elliott coues has well said,[ ] is a natural function of "the mind which always strives to make orderly disposition of its knowledge and so to discover the reciprocal relations and interdependencies of the things it knows. classification presupposes that there do exist such relations, according to which we may arrange objects in the manner which facilitates their comprehension, by bringing together what is like and separating what is unlike, and that such relations are the result of fixed inevitable law. it is therefore taxonomy (~taxis~, away; ~nomos~, law) or the rational, lawful disposition of observed facts." a perfect taxonomy is one which would perfectly express all the facts in the evolution and development of the various forms. it would recognize all the evidence from the three ancestral documents, palæontology, morphology, and ontogeny. it would consider structure and form independently of adaptive or physiological or environmental modifications. it would regard as most important those characters which had existed longest unchanged in the history of the species or type. it would regard as of first rank those characters which appear first in the history of the embryo. it would regard as of minor importance those which had arisen recently in response to natural selection or the forced alteration through pressure of environment, while fundamental alterations as they appear one after another in geologic time would make the basal characters of corresponding groups in taxonomy. in a perfect taxonomy or natural system of classification animals would not be divided into groups nor ranged in linear series. we should imagine series variously and divergently branched, with each group at its earlier or lower end passing insensibly into the main or primitive stock. a very little alteration now and then in some structure is epoch-making, and paves the way through specialization to a new class or order. but each class or order through its lowest types is interlocked with some earlier and otherwise diverging group. =defects in taxonomy.=--a sound system of taxonomy of fishes should be an exact record of the history of their evolution. but in the limitations of book-making, this transcript must be made on a flat page, in linear series, while for centuries and perhaps forever whole chapters must be left vacant and others dotted everywhere with marks of doubt. for science demands that positive assertion should not go where certainty cannot follow. a perfect taxonomy of fishes would be only possible through the study, by some artedi, müller, cuvier, agassiz, traquair, gill, or woodward, of all the structures of all the fishes which have ever lived. there are many fishes living in the sea which are not yet known to any naturalist, many others are known from one or two specimens, but not yet accessible to students in other continents. many are known externally from specimens in bottles or drawings in books, but have not been studied thoroughly by any one, and the vast multitude of species have perished in palæozoic, mesozoic, and tertiary seas without leaving a tooth or bone or fin behind them. with all this goes human fallibility, the marring of our records, such as they are, by carelessness, prejudice, dependence, and error. chief among these defects are the constant mistaking of analogy for homology, and the inability of men to trust their own eyes as against the opinion of the greater men who have had to form their opinions before all evidence was in. because of these defects, the current system of classification is always changing with each accession of knowledge. the result is, again to quote from dr. coues, "that the natural classification, like the elixir of life or the philosopher's stone, is a goal far distant." =analogy and homology.=--_analogy_, says dr. coues, "is the apparent resemblance between things really unlike--as the wing of a bird and the wing of a butterfly, as the lungs of a bird and the gills of a fish. _homology_ is the real resemblance, or true relation between things, however different they may appear to be--as the wing of a bird and the foreleg of a horse, the lungs of a bird and the swim-bladder of a fish. the former commonly rests upon mere functional, i.e. physiological, modifications; the latter is grounded upon structural, i.e., morphological, identity or unity. analogy is the correlative of physiology, homology of morphology; but the two may be coincident, as when structures identical in morphology are used for the same purposes, and are therefore physiologically identical. physiological diversity of structure is incessant, and continually interferes with morphological identity of structure, to obscure or obliterate the indications of affinity the latter would otherwise express clearly.... we must be on our guard against those physiological appearances which are proverbially deceptive!" "it is possible and conceivable that every animal should have been constructed upon a plan of its own, having no resemblance whatever to the plan of any other animal. for any reason we can discover to the contrary, that combination of natural forces which we term life might have resulted from, or been manifested by, a series of infinitely diverse structures; nor would anything in the nature of the case lead us to suspect a community of organization between animals so different in habit and in appearance as a porpoise and a gazelle, an eagle and a crocodile, or a butterfly and a lobster. had animals been thus independently organized, each working out its life by a mechanism peculiar to itself, such a classification as that now under contemplation would be obviously impossible; a morphological or structural classification plainly implying morphological or structural resemblances in the things classified. "as a matter of fact, however, no such mutual independence of animal forms exists in nature. on the contrary, the members of the animal kingdom, from the highest to the lowest, are marvelously connected. every animal has something in common with all its fellows--much with many of them, more with a few, and usually so much with several that it differs but little from them. "now, a morphological classification is a statement of these gradations of likeness which are observable in animal structures, and its objects and uses are manifold. in the first place, it strives to throw our knowledge of the facts which underlie, and are the cause of, the similarities discerned into the fewest possible general propositions, subordinated to one another, according to their greater or less degree of generality; and in this way it answers the purpose of a _memoria technica_, without which the mind would be incompetent to grasp and retain the multifarious details of anatomical science." =coues on classification.=--it is obvious that fishes like other animals may be classified in numberless ways, and as a matter of fact by numberless men they have been classified in all sorts of fashions. "systems," again quoting from dr. coues, "have been based on this and that set of characters and erected from this or that preconception in the mind of the systematist.... the mental point of view was that every species of bird (or of fish) was a separate creature, and as much of a fixture in nature's museum as any specimen in a naturalist's cabinet. crops of classifications have been sown in the fruitful soil of such blind error, but no lasting harvest has been reaped.... the genius of modern taxonomy seems to be so certainly right, to be tending so surely even if slowly in the direction of the desired consummation, that all differences of opinion we hope will soon be settled, and defect of knowledge, not perversity of mind, is the only obstacle in the way of success. the taxonomic goal is not now to find the way in which birds (or other animals) may be most conveniently arranged, but to discover their pedigree, and so construct their family tree. such a genealogical table, or _phylum_ (~phylon~, tribe, race, stock), as it is called, is rightly considered the only taxonomy worthy the name--the only true or natural classification. in attempting this end, we proceed upon the belief that, as explained above, all birds, like all other animals and plants, are related to each other genetically, as offspring are to parents, and that to discover their generic relations is to bring out their true affinities--in other words, to reconstruct the actual taxonomy of nature. in this view there can be but one 'natural' classification, to the perfecting of which all increase in our knowledge of the structure of birds infallibly and inevitably tends. the classification now in use or coming into use is the result of our best endeavors to accomplish this purpose, and represents what approach we have made to this end. it is one of the great corollaries of that theorem of evolution which most naturalists are satisfied has been demonstrated. it is necessarily a _morphological classification_; that is, one based solely upon considerations of structure or form (~morphê~, form, _morphe_), and for the following reasons: every offspring tends to take on precisely the form or structure of its parents, as its natural physical heritage; and the principle involved, or the _law of heredity_, would, if nothing interfered, keep the descendants perfectly true to the physical characters of their progenitors; they would 'breed true' and be exactly alike. but counter influences are incessantly operative, in consequence of constantly varying external conditions of environment; the plasticity of organization of all creatures rendering them more or less susceptible of modifications by such means, they become unlike their ancestors in various ways and to different degrees. on a large scale is thus accomplished, by natural selection and other natural agencies, just what man does in a small way in producing and maintaining different breeds of domestic animals. obviously, amidst such ceaselessly shifting scenes, degrees of likeness or unlikeness of physical structure indicate with the greatest exactitude the nearness or remoteness of organisms in kinship. morphological characters derived from the examination of structure are therefore the surest guides we can have to the blood relationships we desire to establish; and such relationships are the 'natural affinities' which all classification aims to discover and formulate." =species as twigs of a genealogical tree.=--in another essay dr. coues has compared species of animals to "the twigs of a tree separated from the parent stem. we name and arrange them arbitrarily in default of a means of reconstructing the whole tree according to nature's ramifications." if one had a tree, all in fragments, pieces of twig and stem, some of them lost, some destroyed, and some not yet separated from the mass not yet picked over, and wished to place each part where he could find it, he would be forced to adopt some system of natural classification. in such a scheme he would lay those parts together which grew from the same branch. if he were compelled to arrange all the fragments in a linear series, he would place together those of one branch, and when these were finished he would begin with another. if all this were a matter of great importance and extending over years or over many lifetimes, with many errors to be made and corrected, a set of names would be adopted--for the main trunk, for the chief branches, the lesser branches, and on down to the twigs and buds. a task of this sort on a world-wide scale is the problem of systematic zoology. there is reason to believe that all animals and plants sprang from a single stock. there is reasonable certainty that all vertebrate animals are derived from a single origin. these vertebrate animals stand related to each other, like the twigs of a gigantic tree of which the lowermost branches are the aquatic forms to which we give the name of fishes. the fishes are here regarded as composed of six classes or larger lines of descent. each of these, again, is composed of minor divisions called orders. the different species or ultimate kinds of animals are grouped in genera. a genus is an assemblage of closely related species grouped around a central species as type. the type of a genus is, in common usage, that species with which the name of the genus was first associated. the name of the genus as a noun, often with that of the species which is an adjective in signification if not in form, constitutes the scientific name of the species. thus _petromyzon_ is the genus of the common large lamprey, _marinus_ is its species, and the scientific name of the species is _petromyzon marinus_. _petromyzon_ means stone-sucker; _marinus_, of the sea, thus distinguishing it from a species called _fluviatilis_, of the river. in like fashion all animals and plants are named in scientific record or taxonomy. technical names are necessary because vernacular names fail. half a million kinds of animals are known, while not half a thousand vernacular names exist in any language. and these are always loosely used, half a dozen of them often for the same species, one name often for a dozen species. in the same way, whenever we undertake an exact description, we must use names especially devised for that purpose. we cannot use the same names for the bones of the head of a fish and those of the head of a man, for a fish has a different series of bones, and this series is different with different fishes. =nomenclature.=--a family in zoology is an assemblage of related genera. the name of a family, for convenience, always ends in the patronymic _idæ_, and it is always derived from the leading genus, that is, the one best known or earliest studied. thus all lampreys constitute the family _petromyzonidæ_. an order may contain one or more families. an order is a division of a larger group; a family an assemblage of related smaller groups. intermediate groups are often recognized by the prefixes sub or super. a subgenus is a division of a genus. a subspecies is a geographic race or variation within a species; a super-family a group of allied families. binomial nomenclature, or the use of the name of genus and species as a scientific name, was introduced into science as a systematic method by linnæus. in the tenth edition of his systema naturæ, published in , this method was first consistently applied to animals. by common consent the scientific naming of animals begins with this year, and no account is taken of names given earlier, as these are, except by accident, never binomial. those authors who wrote before the adoption of the rule of binomials and those who neglected it are alike "ruled out of court." the idea of genus and species was well understood before linnæus, but the specific name used was not one word but a descriptive phrase, and this phrase was changed at the whim of the different authors. [illustration: fig. .--horned trunkfish, cowfish, or cuckold, _lactophrys tricornis_ (linnæus). charleston, s. c.] =nomenclature of trunkfishes.=--examples of such names are those of the west indian trunkfish, or cuckold (_ostracion tricorne_, linnæus). lister refers to a specimen in as "_piscis triangularis capiti cornutu cui e media cauda cutanea aculeus longus erigitus_." this artedi alters in to _ostracion triangulatus aculeis duobus in capite et unico longiore superne ad caudam_. this is more accurately descriptive and it recognizes the existence of a generic type, _ostracion_, or trunkfish, to cover all similar fishes. french writers transformed this into various phrases beginning "coffre triangulaire à trois cornes," or some similar descriptive epithet, and in english or german it was likely to wander still farther from the original. but linnæus condenses it all in the word _tricornis_, which, although not fully descriptive, is still a name which all future observers can use and recognize. it is true that common consent fixes the date of the beginning of nomenclature at . but to this there are many exceptions. some writers date genera from the first recognition of a collective idea under a single name. others follow even species back through the occasional accidental binomials. most british writers have chosen the final and completed edition of the systema naturæ, the last work of linnæus, in , in preference to the earlier volume. but all things considered, justice and convenience alike seem best served by the use of the edition of . =synonymy and priority.=--synonymy is the record of the names applied at different times to the same group or species. with characteristic pungency dr. coues defines synonymy as "a burden and a disgrace to science." it has been found that the only way to prevent utter confusion is to use for each genus or species the first name applied to it and no other. the first name, once properly given, is sacred because it is the right name. all other later names whatever their appropriateness are wrong names. in science, of necessity, a name is a name without any necessary signification. for this reason and for the further avoidance of confusion, it remains as it was originally spelled by the author, obvious misprints aside, regardless of all possible errors in classical form or meaning. the names in use are properly written in latin or in latinized greek, the greek forms being usually preferred as generic names, the latin adjectives for names of species. many species are named in honor of individuals, these names being usually given the termination of the latin genitive, as _sebastodes gillii, liparis agassizi_. in recent custom all specific names are written with the small initial; all generic names with the capital. one class of exceptions must be made to the law of priority. no generic name can be used twice among animals, and no specific name twice in the same genus. thus the name _diabasis_ has to be set aside in favor of the next name _hæmulon_, because _diabasis_ was earlier used for a genus of beetles. the specific name _pristipoma humile_ is abandoned, because there was already a _humile_ in the genus _pristipoma_. =the conception of genus.=--in the system of linnæus, a genus corresponds roughly to the modern conception of a family. most of the primitive genera contained a great variety of forms, as well as usually some species belonging to other groups disassociated from their real relationships. as greater numbers of species have become known the earlier genera have undergone subdivision until in the modern systems almost any structural character not subject to intergradation and capable of exact definition is held to distinguish a genus. as the views of these characters are undergoing constant change, and as different writers look upon them from different points of view, or with different ideas of convenience, we have constant changes in the boundaries of genera. this brings constant changes in the scientific names, although the same specific name should be used whatever the generic name to which it may be attached. we may illustrate these changes and the burden of synonymy as well by a concrete example. =the trunkfishes.=--the horned trunkfish, or cuckold, of the west indies was first recorded by lister in , in the descriptive phrase above quoted. artedi, in , recognized that it belonged with other trunkfishes in a group he called _ostracion_. this, to be strictly classic, he should have written _ostracium_, but he preferred a partly greek form to the latin one. in the nagg's head inn in london, artedi saw a trunkfish he thought different, having two spines under the tail, while lister's figure seemed to show one spine above. this nagg's head specimen artedi called "_ostracion triangulatus duobus aculeis in fronte et totidem in imo ventre subcaudalesque binis_." next came linnæus, , who named lister's figure and the species it represented, _ostracion tricornis_, which should in strictness have been _ostracion tricorne_, as ~ostrakion~, a little box, is a neuter diminutive. the nagg's head fish he named _ostracion quadricornis_. the right name now is _ostracion tricornis_, because the name _tricornis_ stands first on the page in linnæus' work, but _ostracion quadricornis_ has been more often used by subsequent authors because it is more truthful as a descriptive phrase. in , lacépède changed the name of lister's fish to _ostracion listeri_, a needless alteration which could only make confusion. [illustration: fig. .--horned trunkfish, _ostracion cornutum_ linnæus. east indies. (after bleeker.)] in , dr. samuel latham mitchill, receiving a specimen from below new orleans, thought it different from _tricornis_ and _quadricornis_ and called it _ostracion sexcornutus_; dr. holard, of paris, in , named a specimen _ostracion maculatus_, and at about the same time bleeker named two others from africa which seem to be the same thing, _ostracion guineensis_ and _ostracion gronovii_. lastly, poey calls a specimen from cuba _acanthostracion polygonius_, thinking it different from all the rest, which it may be, although my own judgment is otherwise. this brings up the question of the generic name. among trunkfishes there are four-angled and three-angled kinds, and of each form there are species with and without horns and spines. the original _ostracion_ of linnæus we may interpret as being _ostracion cubicus_ of the coasts of asia, a species similar to the _ostracion rhinorhynchus_. this species, _cubicus_, we call the type species of the genus, as the nagg's head specimen of artedi was the type specimen of the species _quadricornus_, and the one that was used for lister's figure the type specimen of _tricornis_. _ostracion cubicus_ is a four-angled species, and when the trunkfishes were regarded as a family (_ostraciidæ_), the three-angled ones were set off as a separate genus. for this two names were offered, both by swainson in . for _trigonus_, a species without horns before the eyes, he gave the name _lactophrys_, and for _triqueter_, a species without spines anywhere, the name of _rhinesomus_. most recent american authors have placed the three-cornered species which are mostly american in one genus, which must therefore be called _lactophrys_. of this name _rhinesomus_ is a synonym, and our species should stand as _lactophrys tricornis_. the fact that _lactophrys_ as a word (from latin _lætus_, smooth; greek ~ophrys~, eyebrow; or else from _lactoria_, a milk cow, and ~ophrys~) is either meaningless or incorrectly written makes no difference with the necessity for its use. [illustration: fig. .--spotted trunkfish, _lactophrys bicaudalis_ (linnæus). cozumel island, yucatan.] [illustration: fig. .--spotted trunkfish (face view), _lactophrys bicaudalis_ (linnæus).] in , bleeker undertook to divide these fishes differently. placing all the hornless species, whether three-angled or four-angled, in _ostracion_, he proposed the name _acanthostracion_ for the species with horns, _tricornis_ being the type. but _acanthostracion_ has not been usually adopted except as the name of a section under _lactophrys_. the three-angled american species are usually set apart from the four-angled species of asia, and our cuckold is called _lactophrys tricornis_. but it may be with perfect correctness called _ostracion tricorne_, in the spirit called conservative. or with the "radical" systematists we may accept the finer definition and again correctly call it _acanthostracion tricorne_. but to call it _quadricornis_ or _listeri_ or _maculatus_ with any generic name whatever would be to violate the law of priority. [illustration: fig. .--spineless trunkfish, _lactophrys triqueter_ (linnæus). tortugas.] =trinomial nomenclature.=--by trinomial nomenclature we mean the use of a second subordinate specific name to designate a geographic subspecies, variety, or other intergrading race. thus _salmo clarki virginalis_ indicates the variety of clark's trout, or the cut-throat trout, found in the lakes and streams of the great basin of utah, as distinguished from the genuine _salmo clarkii_ of the columbia. trinomials are not much used among fishes, as we are not yet able to give many of the local forms correct and adequate definition such as is awarded to similar variations among birds and mammals. usually varieties in ichthyology count as species or as nothing. [illustration: fig. .--hornless trunkfish, _lactophrys trigonus_ (linnæus). tortugas, florida.] [illustration: fig. .--hornless trunkfish (face-view), _lactophrys trigonus_ (linnæus). charleston, s. c.] =meaning of species.=--quoting once more from the admirable essay of dr. coues on the taxonomy of birds: "the student cannot be too well assured that no such things as species, in the old sense of the word, exist in nature any more than have genera or families an actual existence. indeed they cannot be, if there is any truth in the principles discussed in our earlier paragraphs. species are simply ulterior modifications, which once were, if they be not still, inseparably linked together; and their nominal recognition is a pure convention, like that of a genus. more practically hinges upon the way we regard them than turns upon our establishment of higher groups, simply because upon the way we decide in this case depends the scientific labeling of specimens. if we are speaking of a robin, we do not ordinarily concern ourselves with the family or order it belongs to, but we do require a technical name for constant use. that name is compounded of its genus, species, and variety. no infallible rule can be laid down for determining what shall be held to be a species, what a conspecies, subspecies, or variety. it is a matter of tact and experience, like the appreciation of the value of any other group in zoology. there is, however, a convention upon the subject, which the present workers in ornithology in this country find available; at any rate we have no better rule to go by. we treat as "specific" any form, however little different from the next, that we do not know or believe to intergrade with that next one, between which and the next one no intermediate equivocal specimens are forthcoming, and none, consequently, are supposed to exist. this is to imply that differentiation is accomplished, the links are lost and the characters actually become "specific." we treat as "varietal" of each other any forms, however different in their extreme manifestation, which we know to intergrade, having the intermediate specimens before us, or which we believe with any good reason do intergrade. if the links still exist, the differentiation is still incomplete, and the characters are not specific, but only varietal, in the literal sense of these terms." =generalization and specialization.=--a few terms in common use may receive a moment's discussion. a type or group is said to be specialized when it has a relatively large number of peculiarities or when some one peculiarity is carried to an extreme. a sculpin is a specialized fish having many unusual phases of development, as is also a swordfish, which has a highly peculiar structure in the snout. a generalized type is one with fewer peculiarities, as the herring in comparison with the sculpin. in the process of evolution generalized types usually give place to specialized ones. generalized types are therefore as a rule archaic types. the terms high and low are also relative, a high type being one with varied structure and functions. low types may be primitively generalized, as the lancelet in comparison with all other fishes, or the herring in comparison with the perch, or they may be due to degradation, a loss of structures which have been elaborately specialized in their ancestry. the sea-snail (_liparis_), an ally of the sculpin, with scales lost and fins deteriorated is an example of a low type which is specialized as well as degraded. =high and low forms.=--in the earlier history of ichthyology much confusion resulted from the misconception of the terms "high" and "low." because sharks appeared earlier than bony fishes, it was assumed that they should be lower than any of their subsequent descendants. that the brain and muscular system in sharks was more highly developed than in most bony fishes seemed also certain. therefore it was thought that the teleost series could not have had a common origin with the series of sharks. it is now understood that evolution means chiefly adaptation. the teleost is adapted to its mode of life, and to that end it is specialized in fin and skeleton rather than in brain and nerves. all degeneration is associated with specialization. the degeneration of the blindfish is a specialization for better adaptation to life in the darkness of caves; the degeneration of the deep-sea fish meets the demands of the depths, the degeneration of the globefish means the sinking of one line of functions in the extension of some other. referring to his own work on the fossil fishes in the early forties, professor agassiz once said to the writer: "at that time i was on the verge of anticipating the views of darwin, but it seemed to me that the facts were contrary to the theories of evolution. we had the highest fishes first." this statement leads us to consider what is meant by high and low. undoubtedly the sharks are higher than the bony fishes in the sense of being nearer to the higher vertebrates. in brain, muscle, teeth, and reproductive structures they are also more highly developed. in all skeletal and cranial characters the sharks stand distinctly lower. but the essential fact, so far as evolution is concerned, is not that the sharks are high or low. they are, in almost all respects, distinctly generalized and primitive. the bony fishes are specialized in various ways through adaptation to the various modes of life they lead. much of this specialization involves corresponding degeneration of organs whose functions have ceased to be important. as a broad proposition it is not true that "we had our highest fishes first," for in a complete definition of high and low, the specialized perch or bass stands higher. but whether true or not, it does not touch the question of evolution which is throughout a process of adaptation to conditions of life. referring to the position of agassiz and his early friend and disciple, hugh miller, dr. traquair ( ) uses these words in an address at bradford, england: "it cannot but be acknowledged that the paleontology of fishes is not less emphatic in the support of descent than that of any other division of the animal kingdom. but in former days the evidence of fossil ichthyology was by some read otherwise. "it is now a little over forty years since hugh miller died: he who was one of the first collectors of the fossil fishes of the scottish old red sandstone, and who knew these in some respects better than any other man of his time, not excepting agassiz himself. yet his life was spent in a fierce denunciation of the doctrine of evolution, then only in its lamarckian form, as darwin had not yet electrified the world with his 'origin of species.' many a time i wonder greatly what hugh miller would have thought had he lived a few years longer, so as to have been able to see the remarkable revolution which was wrought by the publication of that book. "the main argument on which miller rested was the 'high' state of organization of the ancient fishes of the paleozoic formations, and this was apparently combined with a confident assumption of the completeness of the geological record. as to the first idea, we know of course that evolution means the passage from the more general to the more special, and that as the general result an onward advance has taken place; yet 'specialization' does not always or necessarily mean 'highness' of organization in the sense in which the term is usually employed. as to the idea of the perfection of the geological record, that of course is absurd. "we do not and cannot know the oldest fishes, as they would not have had hard parts for preservation, but we may hope to come to know many more old ones, and older ones still than we do at present. my experience on the subject of fossil ichthyology is that it is not likely to become exhausted in our day. "we are introduced at a period far back in geological history to certain groups of fishes, some of which certainly are high in organization as animals, but yet of generalized type, being fishes and yet having the potentiality of higher forms. but because their ancestors are unknown to us, that it is no evidence that they did not exist, and cannot overthrow the morphological testimony in favor of evolution with which the record actually does furnish us. we may therefore feel very sure that fishes or 'fish-like vertebrates' lived long ages before the oldest forms with which we are acquainted came into existence. "the modern type of bony fishes, though not so 'high' in many anatomical points as that of the selachii, crossopterygii, dipnoi, acipenseroidei, and lepidosteoidei of the palæozoic and mesozoic eras, is more specialized in the direction of the fish proper, and, as already indicated, specialization and 'highness' in the ordinary sense of the word are not necessarily coincident. but ideas about these things have undergone a wonderful change since those pre-darwinian days, and though we shall never be able fully to unravel the problems concerning the descent of animals, we see many things a great deal more clearly now than we did then." dr. gill observes: "perhaps there are no words in science that have been productive of more mischief and more retarded the progress of biological taxonomy than those words pregnant with confusion, high and low, and it were to be wished that they might be erased from scientific terminology. they deceive the person to whom they are addressed. they insensibly mislead the one who uses them. psychological prejudices and fancies are so inextricably associated with these words that the use of them is provocative of such ideas. the words, generalized and specialized, having become almost limited to the expression of the ideas which the scientific biologist wishes to unfold by the others, can with great gain be employed in their stead." ("families of fishes," .) =the problem of the highest fishes.=--as to which fishes should be ranked highest and which lowest, dr. gill gives ("families of fishes," ) the following useful discussion: "while among the mammals there is almost universal concurrence as to the forms entitled to the first as well as the last places, naturalists differ much as to the 'highest' of the ichthyoid vertebrates, but are all of one accord respecting the form to be designated as the 'lowest.' with that admitted lowest form as a starting-point, inquiry may be made respecting the forms which are successively _most nearly related_. "no dissent has ever been expressed from the proposition that the leptocardians (_branchiostoma_) are the lowest of the vertebrates; while they have doubtless deviated much from the representatives of the immediate line of descent of the higher vertebrates, and are probably specialized considerably, in some respects, in comparison with those vertebrates from which they (in common with the higher forms) have descended, they undoubtedly have diverged far less, and furnish a better hint as to the protovertebrates than any other form. "equally undisputed it is that most nearly related to the leptocardians are the marsipobranchiates (_lampreys_, etc.), and the tendency has been rather to overlook the fundamental differences between the two, and to approximate them too closely, than the reverse. "but here unanimity ends, and much difference of opinion has prevailed with respect to the succession in the system of the several subclasses (by whatever name called) of true fishes: ( ) some (e.g., cuvier, j. müller, owen, lütken, cope) arranging next to the lowest the elasmobranchiates, and, as successive forms, the ganoids and teleosteans; ( ) while others (e.g., agassiz, dana, duméril, günther) adopt the sequence leptocardians, marsipobranchiates, teleosteans, ganoids, and elasmobranchiates. the source of this difference of opinion is evident and results partly from metaphysical or psychological considerations, and partly from those based (in the case of the ganoids) on real similarities and affinities. "the evidence in favor of the title of the elasmobranchiates to the 'highest' rank is based upon ( ) the superior development of the brain; ( ) the development of the egg, and the ovulation; ( ) the possession of a placenta; and ( ) the complexity of the organs of generation. "( ) it has not been definitely stated wherein the superior development of the brain consists, and as it is not evident to the author, the vague claim can only be met by this simple statement; it may be added, however, that the brains comparable in essentials and most similar as a whole to those of the marsipobranchiates are those of the sharks. in answer to the statement that the sharks exhibit superior intelligence, and thus confirm the indications of cerebral structure, it may be replied that the impression is a subjective one, and the author has not been thus influenced by his own observations of their habits. psychological manifestations, at any rate, furnish too vague criteria to be available in exact taxonomy. "( ) if the development of the eggs, their small number, and their investment in cases are arguments in favor of the high rank of the elasmobranchiates, they are also for the marsipobranchiates, and thus prove too much or too little for the advocates of the views discussed. the variation in number of progeny among true fishes (e.g., cyprinodonts, _embiotocids_) also demonstrates the unreliability of those modifications _per se_. "( ) the so-called placenta of some elasmobranchiates may be _analogous_ to that of mammals, but that it is not _homologous_ (i.e., homogenetic) is demonstrable from the fact that all the forms intervening between them and the specialized placental mammals are devoid of a placenta, and by the variation (presence or want) among the elasmobranchiates themselves. "( ) the organs of generation in the elasmobranchiates are certainly more complex than in most other fishes, but as the complexity results from specialization of parts _sui generis_ and different from those of the higher (quadruped) vertebrates, it is not evident what bearing the argument has. if it is claimed simply on the ground of specialization, irrespective of homological agreement with admitted higher forms, then are we equally entitled to claim any specialization of parts as evidence of high rank, or at least we have not been told within what limits we should be confined. the cetaceans, for example, are excessively specialized mammals, and, on similar grounds, would rank above the other mammals and man; the aye-aye exhibits in its dentition excessive specialization and deviation from the primitive type (as exhibited in its own milk teeth) of the primates, and should thus also rank above man. it is true that in other respects the higher primates (even including man) may be more specialized, but the specialization is not as obvious as in the cases referred to, and it is not evident how we are to balance _irrelative_ specializations against each other, or even how we shall subordinate such cases. we are thus compelled by the _reductio ad absurdum_ to the confession that irrelative specialization of single organs is untrustworthy, and are fain to return to that better method of testing affinities by the equation of agreement in whole and after the elimination of special teleological modifications. "the question then recurs, what forms are the most _nearly allied_ to the marsipobranchiates, and what show the closest approach in _characteristic_ features? and in response thereto the evidence is not undecisive. wide as is the gap between marsipobranchiates and fishes, and comparatively limited as is the range of the latter among themselves, the elasmobranchiates are very appreciably more like, and share more characters in common with them, than any other; so much is this the case that some eminent naturalists (e.g., pallas, geoffroy, st. hilaire, latreille, agassiz, formerly lütken) have combined the two forms in a peculiar group, contradistinguished from the other fishes. the most earnest and extended argument in english, in favor of this combination has been published by professor agassiz in his 'lake superior,' but that eminent naturalist subsequently arrived at the opposite conclusions already indicated. "the evidences of the closer affinity of the elasmobranchiates (than of any other fishes) with the marsipobranchiates are furnished by ( ) the cartilaginous condition of the skeleton; ( ) the post-cephalic position of the branchiæ; ( ) the development of the branchiæ and their restriction to special chambers; ( ) the larger number of the branchiæ; ( ) the imperfect development of the skull; ( ) the mode of attachment of the teeth; ( ) the slight degree of specialization of the rays of the fins; and ( ) the rudimentary condition of the shoulder-girdle." footnotes: [ ] key to north american birds. chapter xxii the history of ichthyology science consists of human experience, tested and placed in order. the science of ichthyology represents our knowledge of fishes, derived from varied experiences of man, tested by methods or instruments of precision and arranged in orderly sequence. this science, in common with every other, is the work of many persons, each in his own field, and each contributing a series of facts, a series of tests of the alleged facts of others, or some improvement in the method of arrangement. as in other branches of science, this work has been done by sincere, devoted men, impelled by a love for this kind of labor, and having in view, as "the only reward they asked, a grateful remembrance of their work." and in token of this reward it is well sometimes, in grateful spirit, to go over the names of those who made even its present stage of completeness possible. we may begin the history of ichthyology with that of so many others of the sciences, with the work of aristotle ( - b.c.). this wonderful observer recorded many facts concerning the structure and habits of the fishes of greece, and in almost every case his actual observation bears the closest modern test. these observations were hardly "set in order." the number of species he knew was small, about in all, and it did not occur to him that they needed classification. his ideas of species were those of the fishermen, and the local vernacular supplied him with the only names needed in his records. as dr. günther wisely observes, "it is less surprising that aristotle should have found so many truths as that none of his followers should have added to them." for nearly years the scholars of the times copied the words of aristotle, confusing them by the addition of fabulous stories and foolish superstitions, never going back to nature herself, "who leads us to absolute truth whenever we wander." a few observations were made by caius plinius, claudius Ælianus, athenæus and others. theophrastus ( - b.c.) wrote on the fishes which may live out of water. about a.d., decius magnus ausonius wrote a pleasing little poem on the moselle, setting forth the merits of its various fishes. it was not, however, until the middle of the seventeenth century that any advance was made in the knowledge of fishes. at that time the development of scholarship among the nations of europe was such that a few wise men were able to grasp the idea of species. in , pierre bélon ( - ) published his octavo volume of pages, entitled "de aquatilibus," in which numerous ( ) species of fishes of the mediterranean were described, with tolerable figures, and with these is a creditable attempt at classification. at about this time ulysses aldrovandi, of bologna, founded the first museum of natural history and wrote on the fishes it contained. in - , ippolito salviani ( - ), a physician at rome, published a work entitled "aquatilium animalium historia," with good figures of most of the species, together with much general information as to the value and habits of animals of the sea. more important than these, but almost simultaneous with them, is the great work of guillaume rondelet ( - ), "de piscibus marinus" ( - ), at first written in latin, later translated into french and enlarged under other titles. in this work, different species, chiefly from the mediterranean, are fairly described, and the various fables previously current are subjected to severe scrutiny. recognizable woodcuts represent the different species. classification, rondelet had none, except as simple categories for purposes of convenience. more than usual care is given to the vernacular names, french and greek. he closes his book with these words: "or s'il en i a qui prennent les choses tant à la rigueur, qui ne veulent rien apparouver qui ne soit du tout parfait, je les prie de bien bon cueur de traiter telle, ou quelque autre histoire parfaitement, sans qu'il i ait chose quelconque à redire et la receverons é haut louerons bien vouluntiers. cependant je scai bien, et me console . . . avec grand travail . . . qu'on pourra trouver plusieurs bones choses e dignes de louange ou proufit é contentement des homes studieux é à l'honneur é grandissime admiration des tres excellens é perfaits oeuvres de dieu." and with the many "bones choses" of the work of rondelet, men were too long satisfied, and it was not until the impulse of commerce had brought them face to face with new series of animals not found in the mediterranean that the work of investigating fishes was again resumed. about , prince moritz (maurice) of nassau ( - ) visited brazil, taking with him two physicians, georg marcgraf ( - ) and wilhelm piso. in the great work "historia naturalis brasiliæ," published at leyden ( ), marcgraf described about one hundred species, all new to science, under portuguese names and with a good deal of spirit and accuracy. this work was printed by piso after marcgraf's death, and his colored drawings--long afterward used by bloch--are in the "history of brazil" reduced to small and crude woodcuts. this is the first study of a local fish fauna outside the mediterranean region and it reflects great credit on marcgraf and on the illustrious prince whose assistant he was. there were no other similar attempts of importance in ichthyology for a hundred years, when per osbeck, an enthusiastic student of linnæus, published ( ) the records of his cruise to china, under the name of "iter chinensis." at about the same time another of linnæus' students, fredrik hasselquist, published, in his "iter palestinum" the account of his discoveries of fishes in palestine and egypt. more pretentious than these and of much value as an early record is mark catesby's ( - ) "natural history of carolina and the bahamas," published in , with large colored plates which are fairly correct except in those cases in which the drawing was made from memory. at about the same time, hans sloane ( - ) published his large volume on the "fishes of jamaica," patrick browne ( - ) wrote on the fishes of the same region, while father charles plumier ( - ) made paintings of the fishes of martinique, long after used by bloch and lacépède. dr. alexander garden ( - ), of charleston, s. c., collected fishes for linnæus, as did also dr. pehr kalm in his travels in the northern parts of the american colonies. with the revival of interest in general anatomy several naturalists took up the structure of fishes. among these günther mentions borelli, malpighi, swammerdam, and duverney. other anatomists of later dates were albrecht von heller ( - ), peter camper ( - ), felix vicq d'azyr ( - ), and alexander monro ( ). the basis of classification was first fairly recognized by john ray ( - ) and francis willughby ( - ), who, with other and varied scientific labors, undertook, in the "historia piscium," published in oxford in , to bring order out of the confusion left by their predecessors. this work, edited by ray after willughby's death, is ostensibly the work of willughby with additions by ray. in this work species were recorded, of which were actually examined by the authors, and the arrangement chosen by them pointed the way to a final system of nomenclature. direct efforts in this direction, with a fairly clear recognition of genera as well as species, were made by lorenz theodor gronow, called gronovius, a german naturalist of much acumen, and by jacob theodor klein ( - ), whose work, "historic naturalis piscium," published about , is of less importance, not being much of an advance over the catalogue of rondelet. far greater than any of these investigators, and earlier than either klein or gronow, was he who has been justly called the father of ichthyology, petrus (peter) artedi ( - ). artedi was born in sweden. he was a fellow student of linnæus at upsala, and he devoted his short life wholly to the study of fishes. he went to holland to examine the collection of east and west indian fishes of a rich dutch merchant in amsterdam named albert seba, and there at the age of twenty-nine he was, by accident, drowned in one of the dutch canals. "his manuscripts were fortunately rescued by an englishman, cliffort," and they were edited and published by linnæus in a series of five parts or volumes. artedi divided the class of fishes into orders, and these orders again into genera, the genera into species. the name of each species consisted of that of the genus with a descriptive phrase attached. this cumbersome system, called polynomial, used by artedi, gronow, klein, and others, was a great advance on the shifting vernacular, of which it now took the place. but the polynomial method as a system was of short duration. linnæus soon substituted for it the convenient, in fact inevitable binomial system which has now endured for years, and which with certain modifications must form the permanent substructure of the nomenclature in systematic zoology and botany. the genera of artedi are in almost all cases natural groups, corresponding essentially equivalent to the families of to-day. families in ichthyology were first clearly recognized and defined by cuvier. the following is a list of artedi's genera and their arrangement: order malacopterygii. _syngnathus_ (pipefishes) ( species). _cobitis_ (loaches) ( ). _cyprinus_ (carp and dace) ( ). _clupea_ (herrings) ( ). _argentina_ (argentines) ( ). _exocoetus_ (flying-fishes) ( ). _coregonus_ (whitefishes) ( ). _osmerus_ (smelts) ( ). _salmo_ (salmon and trout) ( ). _esox_ (pike) ( ). _echeneis_ (remoras) ( ). _coryphæna_ (dolphins) ( ). _ammodytes_ (sand-launces) ( ). _pleuronectes_ (flounders) ( ). _stromateus_ (butter-fishes) ( ). _gadus_ (codfishes) ( ). _anarhichas_ (wolf-fishes) ( ). _muræna_ (eels) ( ). _ophidion_ (cusk-eels) ( ). _anableps_ (four-eyed fish) ( ). _gymnotus_ (carapos) ( ). _silurus_ (catfishes) ( ). order acanthopterygii. _blennius_ (blennies) ( ). _gobius_ (gobies) ( ). _xiphias_ (swordfishes) ( ). _scomber_ (mackerels) ( ). _mugil_ (mullets) ( ). _labrus_ (wrasses) ( ). _sparus_ (porgies) ( ). _sciæna_ (croakers) ( ). _perca_ (perch and bass) ( ). _trachinus_ (weavers) ( ). _trigla_ (gurnards) ( ). _scorpæna_ (scorpion-fishes) ( ). _cottus_ (sculpins) ( ). _zeus_ (john dories, etc.) ( ). _chætodon_ (butterfly-fishes) ( ). _gasterosteus_ (sticklebacks) ( ). _lepturus_ (cutlass-fishes) (=_trichiurus_) ( ). order branchiostegi. _balistes_ (trigger-fishes) ( ). _ostracion_ (trunkfishes) ( ). _cyclopterus_ (lumpfishes) ( ). _lophius_ (anglers) ( ). order chondropterygii. _petromyzon_ (lampreys) ( ). _acipenser_ (sturgeons) ( ). _squalus_ (sharks) ( ). _raja_ (rays) ( ). in all genera and species of fishes were known from the whole world in . the cetaceans, or whales, constitute a fifth order, plagiuri, in artedi's scheme. as examples of the nomenclature of species i may quote: "_zeus ventre aculeato, cauda in extremo circinata._" this polynomial expression was shortened by linnæus to _zeus faber_. the species was called by rondelet "_faber sive gallus marinus_" and by other authors "_piscis jovii_." "jovii" suggested _zeus_ to artedi, and rondelet's name _faber_ became the specific name. "_anarhichas lupus marinus nostras._" this became with linnæus "_anarhichas lupus_." "_clupea, maxilla inferiore longiore, maculis nigris carens: harengus vel chalcis auctorum, herring vel hering anglis, germanis belgis._" this became _clupea harengus_ in the convenient binomial system of linnæus. the great naturalist of the eighteenth century, carl von linné, known academically as carolus linnæus, was the early associate and close friend of artedi, and from artedi he obtained practically all his knowledge of fishes. linnæus, professor in the university of upsala and for a time its rector, primarily a botanist, was a man of wonderful erudition, and his great strength lay in his skill in the orderly arrangement of things. in his lifetime, his greatest work, the "systema naturæ," passed through twelve editions. in the tenth edition, in , the binomial system of nomenclature was first consistently applied to all animals. for this reason most naturalists use the date of its publication as the beginning of zoological nomenclature, although the english naturalists have generally preferred the more complete twelfth edition, published in . this difference in the recognized starting-point has been often a source of confusion, as in several cases the names of species were needlessly changed by linnæus and given differently in the twelfth edition. in taxonomy it is not nearly so important that a name be pertinent or even well chosen as that it be stable. in changing his own established names, the father of classification set a bad example to his successors, one which they did not fail to follow. in linnæus' system (tenth and twelfth editions) all of artedi's genera were retained save _lepturus_, which name was changed to _trichiurus_. the following new genera were added: _chimæra_, _tetraodon_, _diodon_, _centriscus_, _pegasus_, _callionymus_, _uranoscopus_, _cepola_, _mullus_, _teuthis_, _loricaria_, _fistularia_, _atherina_, _mormyrus_, _polynemus_, _amia_, _elops_. the classification was finally much altered: the chondropterygia and branchiostegi (with _syngnathus_) being called _amphibia nantes_, and divided into two groups--_spiraculis compositis_ and _spiraculis solitariis_. the other fishes were more naturally distributed according to the position of the ventral fins into pisces apodes, jugulares, thoracici, and abdominales. the apodes of linnæus do not form a homogeneous group, as members of various distinct groups have lost their ventral fins in the process of evolution. but the jugulares, the thoracici, and the abdominales must be kept as valid categories in any natural system. linnæus' contributions to zoology consisted mainly of the introduction of his most ingenious and helpful system of bookkeeping. by it naturalists of all lands were able to speak of the same species by the same name in whatever tongue. unfortunately, ignorance, carelessness, and perversity brought about a condition of confusion. for a long period many species were confounded under one name. this source of confusion began with linnæus himself. on the other hand, even with linnæus, the same species often appeared under several different names; in this matter it was not the system of naming which was at fault. it was the lack of accurate knowledge, and sometimes the lack of just and conscientious dealing with the work of other men. no system of naming can go beyond the knowledge on which it rests. ignorance of fact produces confusion in naming. the earlier naturalists had no conception of the laws of geographical distribution. the "indies," east or west, were alike to them, and "america" or "india" or "africa" was a sufficiently exact record of the origin of any specimen. moreover, no thought of the geological past of groups and species had yet arisen, and without the conception of common origin, the facts of homology had no significance. all classification was simply a matter of arbitrary pigeon-holing the records of forms, rather than an expression of actual blood relationship. to this confusion much was added through love of novelty. different authors changed names to suit their personal tastes regardless of rights of priority. _amia_ was altered to _amiatus_ by rafinesque in because it was too short a name. _hiodon_ was changed to _amphiodon_ because it sounded too much like _diodon_, _batrachoides_ to _batrictius_ because ~batrachos~ means a frog, not a fish, and other changes even more wanton were introduced, to be condemned and discarded by the more methodical workers of a later period. with all its abuses, however, the binomial nomenclature made possible systematic zoology and botany, and with the "systema naturæ" arose a new era in the science of living organisms. in common with most naturalists of his day, the spirit of linnæus was essentially a devout one. admiration for the wonderful works of god was breathed on almost every page. "o jehovah! quam ampla sunt opera tua" is on the title-page of the "systema naturæ," and the inscription over the door of his home at hammarby was to linnæus the wisdom of his life. this inscription read: "innocue vivito: numen adest" (live blameless: god is here). the followers of linnæus are divided into two classes, explorers and compilers. to the first class belonged his own students and others who ransacked all lands for species to be added to the lists of the "systema naturæ." those men, mostly scandinavian and dutch, worked with wonderful zeal, enduring every hardship and making great contributions to knowledge, which they published in more or less satisfactory forms. to these men we owe the beginnings of the science of geographical distribution. among the most notable of these are pehr osbeck and fredrik hasselquist, already noted; otto fabricius ( - ), author of an excellent "fauna of greenland"; carl peter thunberg ( -), successor of linnæus as rector of the university of upsala, who collected fishes about nagasaki, intrusting most of the descriptive work to the less skillful hands of his students, jonas nicolas ahl and martin houttuyn; martin th. brünnich, who collected at marseilles the materials for his "pisces massiliensis"; petrus forskål ( - ), whose work on the fishes of the red sea ("descriptio animalium," etc.), published posthumously in , is one of the most accurate of faunal lists, and one which shows a fine feeling for taxonomic distinctions scarcely traceable in any previous author. georg wilhelm steller ( - ), naturalist of bering's expedition, gathered amid incredible hardships the first knowledge of the fishes of alaska and siberia, his notes being printed after his tragic death, by pallas and krascheninnikov. petrus simon pallas ( - ) gives the account of his travels in the north pacific in his most valuable volumes, "zoographia russo-asiatica"; johann georg gmelin ( - ) with samuel theophilus gmelin ( - ), and johann anton güldenstädt ( - ), like steller, crossed siberia, recording its animals. johann david schöpf ( - ), a hessian surgeon stationed at long island in the revolutionary war, gave an excellent account of the fishes about new york. still other naturalists accompanied navigators around the globe, collecting specimens and information as opportunity offered. john reinhold forster ( - ), with his son, john george adam forster ( - ), and daniel solander ( - ), a student of linnæus, and sir joseph banks ( - ), sailed with captain james cook. philibert commerson ( - ) accompanied the explorer, louis antoine de bougainville, and furnished nearly all the original material used by lacépède. other noted travelers of the early days were pierre sonnerat and mungo park. still other naturalists, scarcely less useful, gave detailed accounts of the fauna of their own native regions. ablest of these was anatole risso, an apothecary of nice, who published in the "ichthyologie de nice," an excellent work, afterward ( ) expanded by him into a "histoire naturelle de l'europe méridionalé." contemporary with risso was a man of very different character, constantine samuel rafinesque ( - ), who wrote at palermo in his "caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi" and his "ittiologia siciliana." later he went to america, where he was for a time professor in the transylvania university at lexington, ky. brilliant, erudite, irresponsible, fantastic, he wrote of the fishes of sicily and later ("ichthyologia ohiensis," ) of the fishes of the ohio river, with wide knowledge, keen taxonomic insight, and a hopeless disregard of the elementary principles of accuracy. always eager for novelties, restless and credulous, his writings have been among the most difficult to interpret of any in ichthyology. earlier than risso and rafinesque, thomas pennant ( - ) wrote of the british fishes; otto fredrik müller of the fishes of denmark; j. e. gunner, bishop of thröndhjem, of fishes of norway; francis valentijn ( - ), jan nieuhof ( - ), renard, and castour of the fishes of the dutch east indies; duhamel du monceau of the fisheries of france; francesco cette of the fishes of sicily; josé cornide of the fishes of spain; ignacio molina of the fishes of chile; and meidinger of those of austria. some of these writers lived before linnæus. others knew little of the linnæan system, and their records are generally in the vernacular. most important of this class is the work of antonio parra, "descripcion de diferentes piezas de historia natural de la isla de cuba," published in havana in . in , patrick russell gave a valuable account, non-binomial, of "two hundred fishes collected at vizagapatam and on the coast of coromandel." papers on the fishes of bering sea and japan by wilhelm theophilus tilesius ( - ), are published in the transactions of the early societies of russia. the collections of the traveler krusenstern were recorded by tilesius. stephen krascheninnikov ( ) wrote a history of russia in asia. other notable names among the early writers are those of pierre marie auguste broussonet, of montpelier, whose work ( ), too soon cut short, showed marked promise; fr. faber, who wrote of the fishes of iceland; e. blyth, who studied the fishes of the andamans; a. g. desmarest, who made excellent studies of the fishes of cuba; j. t. kölreuter and everard home in the east indies; geoffrey saint-hilaire, who recorded the fishes of egypt at the command of napoleon. others equally notable were b. a. euphrasen, iwan lepechin ( - ), john latham, w. e. leach, george montagu, c. quensel, jean-antoine scopoli, peter ascanius, francois etienne de la roche ( - ), hans ström, m. vahl and zuieuw. the compilers who followed linnæus belonged to a wholly different class. these were men of extensive learning, methodical ways, sometimes brilliant, occasionally of deep insight, but more often, on the whole, dull, plodding, and mechanical. earliest of those is antoine gouan, whose "historia piscium" was published in paris in . in this work, which is of fair quality, only genera were included, and the three new ones which he introduces into the "system" (_lepadogaster_, _lepidopus_, and _trachypterus_) are still retained with his definition of them. johann friedrich gmelin ( - ), a relative of the explorers of siberia, published in a thirteenth edition of the "systema naturæ" of linnæus, adding to it the discoveries of forskål, forster, and others who had written since linnæus' time. this work was useful as bringing the compilation of linnæus to a later date, but it is not well done, the compiler having little knowledge of the animals described and little penetration in matters of taxonomy. very similar in character, although more lucid in expression, is the french compilation of the same date ( ), "tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature," by the abbé j. p. bonnaterre. another volume of the "encyclopédie méthodique," of still less merit, was published as a dictionary in paris in by réné just haüy. another dictionary in even poorer was the work of hippolyte cloquet. in , johann julius walbaum ( - ), a german compiler of a little higher rank, gathered together the records of all known species, using the work of artedi as a basis and giving binominal names in place of the vernacular terms used by schöpf, steller, pennant, and krascheninnikov. far more pretentious and more generally useful, as well as containing a large amount of original material, is the "ichthyologia" of mark eliezer bloch, published in berlin in various parts from to . it was originally in german and divided into two portions--"oeconomische naturgeschichte der fische deutschlands" and "naturgeschichte der auslandischen fische." bloch was a jewish physician, born at anspach in , and at the age of fifty-six began to devote himself to ichthyology. in his great work is contained every species which he had himself seen, every one which he could purchase from collections, and every one of which he could find drawings made by others. that part which relates to the fishes of germany is admirably done. in the treatment of east indian and american fishes there is much guesswork and many errors of description and of fact, for which the author was not directly responsible. to learn to interpret the personal equation in the systematic work of other men is one of the most delicate of taxonomic arts. after the publication of these great folio volumes of plates, dr. bloch began a systematic catalogue to include all known species. this was published after his death by his collaborator, the philologist, dr. johann gottlob schneider. this work, "m. e. blochii systema ichthyologia," contains species of fishes, and is the most creditable compilation subsequent to the death of linnæus. even more important than the work of bloch is that of the comte de la cépède, who became with the progress of the french revolution, "citoyen lacépède," his original full name being bernard germain etienne de la ville-sur-illon, comte de la cépède. his great work, "histoire naturelle des poissons," was published originally in five volumes, in paris, from to . it was brought out under great difficulties, his materials being scattered, his country in a constant tumult. for original material he depended largely on the collections and sagacious notes of the traveler commerson. dr. gill sums up the strength and weakness of lacépède's work in these terms: "a work by an able man and eloquent writer even prone to aid rhetoric by the aid of the imagination in absence of desirable facts, but which because of undue confidence in others, default of comparison of material from want thereof and otherwise, and carelessness generally is entirely unreliable." the work of lacépède had a great influence upon subsequent investigators, especially in france. a considerable number of the numerous new genera of rafinesque were founded on divisions made in the analytical keys of lacépède. [illustration: bernard germain de lacÉpÈde. georges dagobert cuvier. louis agassiz. johannes mÜller.] in and , dr. george shaw published in london his "general zoology," the fishes forming part of volumes iv and v. this is a poor compilation, the part concerning the fishes being mostly extracted from bloch and lacépède. another weak compilation for the supposed use of students was the "ichthyologie analytique" of a. m. constant duméril. about , henri ducrotay de blainville wrote the "faune française" and contributed important studies to the taxonomy of sharks. with georges léopold chrétien frédéric dagobert cuvier ( - ) and the "règne animal arrangé aprés son organization" ( ; - ) we have the beginning of a new era in ichthyology. this period is characterized by a recognition of the existence of a natural classification inevitable in proportion to the exactness of our knowledge, because based on the principles of morphology. the "règne animal" is, in the history of ichthyology, not less important than the "systema naturæ" itself, and from it dates practically our knowledge of families of fishes and the interrelations of the different groups. the great facts of homology were clearly understood by cuvier. their significance as indications of lines of descent were never grasped by him, and this notwithstanding the fact that cuvier was almost the first to bring extinct forms into proper relations with those now living. dr. günther well says that the investigation of anatomy of fishes was continued by cuvier until he had succeeded in completing so perfect a framework of the system of the whole class that his immediate successors could content themselves with filling up those details for which their master had no leisure. indefatigable in examining all the external and internal characters of the fishes of a rich collection, he ascertained the natural affinities of the infinite variety of fishes, and accurately defined the divisions, orders, families, and genera of the class as they appear in the two original editions of the "règne animal." his industry equaled his genius; he opened connections with almost every accessible part of the globe; not only french travelers and naturalists, but also germans, englishmen, americans rivaled one another to assist him with collections; and for many years the museum of the jardin des plantes was the center where all ichthyological treasures were deposited. thus cuvier brought together a collection the like of which had never been seen before, and which, as it contains all the materials on which his labors were based, must still be considered to be one of the most important in existence. "those little low rooms, five in number" (in the museum of the jardin des plantes), "they should be the mecca of scientific devotees. perhaps every great zoologist of the past hundred years has sat in them and discussed those problems of life which are always inviting solution and are never solved. the spirits of great naturalists still haunt these corridors and speak from the specimens their hands have set in order." (theodore lyman.) cuvier's studies of the different species of fishes are contained in the great "histoire naturelle des poissons," the joint work of cuvier and his pupil and successor, achille valenciennes ( - ). of this work volumes were published, from to , containing nominal species, the greater portion being written after the death of cuvier ( ). the work was finally left unfinished on account of a disagreement with the publisher. dr. gill tells me that at this time valenciennes made an unsuccessful appeal to the smithsonian institution for assistance in the publication of the remaining chapters. this is a most masterly work, indispensable to the student of fishes. its descriptions are generally fairly correct, its plates accurate, and its judgments trustworthy. but with all this it is very unequal. too often nominal species are based on variations due to age or sex or to the conditions of preservation of specimens. many of the species are treated very lightly by cuvier; many of the descriptions of valenciennes are very mechanical, as though the author had grown weary of the endless process, "a failing commonly observed among zoologists when attention to descriptive details becomes to them a tedious task." after the death of valenciennes ( ) dr. auguste duméril began another natural history of the fishes. of this two volumes ( - ) were published covering sharks, ganoids, and other fishes not treated by cuvier and valenciennes, his category beginning at the opposite end of the fish series. the death of duméril left this catalogue also unfinished. duméril's work is useful and carefully done, but his excessive trust in slight differences has filled his book with nominal species. thus among the living ganoid fishes he recognizes species, the actual number being not far from . we may anticipate the sequence of time by here referring to the remaining attempts at a record of all the fishes in the world, dr. albert c. l. g. günther, a naturalist of german birth, but resident in london for many years, long the honored keeper of the british museum, published in eight volumes the "catalogue of the fishes of the british museum," from to . in this monumental work, the one work most essential to all systematic study of fishes, species are described and doubtful species are mentioned. the book is a remarkable example of patient industry. its great merits are at once apparent, and those of us engaged in the same line of study may pass by its faults with the leniency which we may hope that posterity may bestow on ours. the publication of this work gave an immediate impetus to the study of fishes. the number of known species has been raised from to about , in the last thirty years, although meanwhile some hundreds of species even accepted by the conservatism of günther have been erased from the system. a new edition of this work has been long in contemplation, and in the first volume of it, covering the percoid fishes, was published by dr. george albert boulenger. this volume is one of the most satisfactory in the history of ichthyology. it is based on ample material. its accepted species have been subject to thorough criticism and in its classification every use has been made of the teachings of morphology and especially of osteology. its classification is distinctly modern, and with the writings of the contemporary ichthyologists of europe and america, it is fully representative of the scientific era ushered in by the researches of darwin. the chief criticism which one may apply to this work concerns most of the publications of the british museum. it is the frequent assumption that those species not found in the greatest museum of the world do not really exist at all. there are still many forms of life, very many, outside the series gathered in any or all collections. [illustration: albert gÜnther. franz steindachner. george a. boulenger. robert collett.] we may now turn from the universal catalogues to the work on special groups, on local faunas, or on particular branches of the subject of ichthyology. these lines of study were made possible by the work of cuvier and valenciennes and especially by that of dr. günther. before taking up the students of faunal groups, we may, out of chronological order, consider the researches of three great taxonomists, who have greatly contributed to the modern system of the classification of fishes. louis agassiz (born at motiers in western switzerland in ; died at cambridge, mass., in ) was a man of wonderful insight in zoological matters and possessed of a varied range of scientific information, scarcely excelled in any age--intellectually a lineal descendant of aristotle. his first work on fishes was the large folio on the fishes collected by jean baptiste spix ( - ) in brazil, published at munich in . after his establishment in america in , soon after which date, he became a professor in harvard university, agassiz published a number of illuminating papers on the fresh-water fishes of north america. he was the first to recognize the necessity of the modern idea of genera among fishes, and most of the groups designated by him as distinct genera are retained by later writers. he was also the first to investigate the structure of the singular viviparous surf-fishes of california, the names _embiotoca_ and _holconotus_ applied to these fishes being chosen by him. his earlier work, "recherches sur les poissons des eaux douces," published in europe, gave a great impetus to our knowledge of the anatomy and especially of the embryology of the fresh-water fishes. most important of all his zoological publications was the "recherches sur les poissons fossiles," published at neufchatel from to . this work laid the foundation of the systematic study of the extinct groups of fishes. the relations of sharks were first appreciated by agassiz, and the first segregation of the ganoids was due to him. although he included in this group many forms not truly related either to anything now called ganoids, nor even to the extinct mailed forms which preceded them, yet the definition of this order marked a distinct step in advance. the great, genial, hopeful personality of agassiz and his remarkable skill as a teacher made him the "best friend that ever student had" and gave him a large following as a teacher. among his pupils in ichthyology were charles girard ( - ), frederick ward putnam, alexander agassiz, samuel garman, samuel h. scudder, and the present writer. johannes müller ( - ), of berlin, was one of the greatest of comparative anatomists. in his revision of cuvier's "system of classification" he corrected many errors in grouping, and laid foundations which later writers have not altered or removed. especially important is his classical work, "ueber den bau and die grenzen der ganoiden." in this he showed some of the real fundamental characters of that group of archaic fishes, and took from it the most heterogeneous of the elements left in it by agassiz. to müller we also owe the first proper definition of the leptocardii and the cyclostomata, and, in association with dr. j. henle, müller has given us one of the best general accounts of the sharks ("systematische beschriebungen der plagiostomen"). to müller we owe an accession of knowledge in regard to the duct of the air-bladder, and the groups called physostomi, physoclysti, dipneusti (dipnoi), pharyngognathi, and anacanthini were first defined by him. in his work on devonian fishes, the great british comparative anatomist, thomas henry huxley, first distinguished the group of crossopterygians, and separated it from the ganoids and dipnoans. theodore nicholas gill is the keenest interpreter of taxonomic facts yet known in the history of ichthyology. he is the author of a vast number of papers, the first bearing date of , touching almost every group and almost every phase of relation among fishes. his numerous suggestions as to classification have been usually accepted in time by other authors, and no one has had a clearer perception than he of the necessity of orderly methods in nomenclature. among the orders first defined by gill are the eventognathi, nematognathi, pediculati, iniomi, heteromi, haplomi, xenomi, and the group called teleocephali, originally framed to include all the bony fishes except those which showed peculiar eccentricities or modifications. dr. gill's greatest excellence has been shown as a scientific critic. incisive, candid, and friendly, there is scarcely an investigator in biology, in america, who is not directly indebted to him for critical aid of the highest importance. the present writer cannot too strongly express his own obligations to this great teacher, his master in fish taxonomy. dr. gill's work is not centered in any single great treatise, but is diffused through a very large number of brief papers and catalogues, those from to mostly published by the academy of natural sciences in philadelphia, those of recent date by the united states national museum. for many years dr. gill has been identified with the work of the smithsonian institution at washington. closely associated with dr. gill was dr. edward drinker cope, of philadelphia, a tireless worker in almost every field of zoology, and a large contributor to the broader fields of ichthyological taxonomy as well as to various branches of descriptive zoology. cope was one of the first to insist on the close relation of the true ganoids with the teleost fishes, the nearest related group of which he defined as isospondyli. at the same time he recognized the wide range of difference even among the forms which johannes müller had assembled under that name. in breadth of vision and keenness of insight, cope ranked with the first of taxonomic writers. always bold and original, he was not at all times accurate in details, and to the final result in classification his contribution has been less than that of dr. gill. professor cope also wrote largely on american fresh-water fishes, a large percentage of the cyprinidæ and percidæ of the eastern united states having been discovered by him, as well as much of the rocky mountain fauna. in later years his attention was absorbed by the fossil forms, and most of the species of cretaceous rocks and the eocene shales of wyoming were made known through his ceaseless activity. [illustration: spencer fullerton baird. edward drinker cope. theodore nicholas gill. george brown goode.] the enumeration of other workers in the great field of ichthyology must assume something of the form of a catalogue. part of the impulse received from the great works of cuvier and valenciennes and of günther was spent in connection with voyages of travel. in quoy and gaimard published in paris the great folio work on the fishes collected by the corvette _l'uranie_ and _la physicienne_ in freycinet's voyages around the world, and in the same authors published the fishes collected in duperrey's voyage of the _astrolabe_. in lesson published the fishes of dumont d'urville's voyage of the _coquille_. these three great works lie at the foundation of our knowledge of the fishes of polynesia. in eydoux and gervais published an account of the fishes of the voyage of _la favorite_. in , also in paris, hombron and jacquinot gave an account of the fishes taken in dumont d'urville's expedition to the south pole. in england, sir john richardson ( - ), a wise and careful naturalist, wrote of the fishes collected by the _sulphur_ ( ), the _erebus_ and _terror_ ( ), the _samarang_, and the _herald_. lay and bennett recorded the species taken by beechey's voyage on the _blossom_. a most useful work is the account of the species taken by charles darwin on the voyage of the _beagle_, prepared by the conscientious hand of rev. leonard jenyns. still more important and far ranging is the voyage of the _challenger_, including the first important work in the deep seas, one stately volume and parts of other volumes on fishes being the work of dr. günther. other deep-sea work of equal importance has been accomplished in the atlantic and the pacific by the u. s. fish commission steamer _albatross_. its results in central america, alaska, japan, hawaii, as well as off both coasts of the united states, have been made known in different memoirs by goode and bean, gilbert, garman, gill, jordan, cramer, ryder, and others. the deep-sea fish collections of the _fish hawk_ and the _blake_ have been studied by goode and bean and garman. the deep-sea work of other countries may be briefly noticed. the french vessels _travailleur_ and _talisman_ have made collections chiefly in the mediterranean and along the coast of africa, the results having been made known by léon valliant. the _hirondelle_ about the azores and elsewhere has furnished material for professor robert collett, of the university of christiania. dr. decio vinciguerra, of rome, has reported on the collections of the _violante_, a vessel belonging to the prince of monaco. dr. a. alcock, of calcutta, has had charge of the most valuable deep-sea work of the _investigator_ in the indian seas. edgar r. waite and james douglas ogilby, of the australian museum at sydney, have described the collections of the _thetis_, on the shores of the new south wales. [illustration: johann reinhardt. edward waller claypole. carlos berg. edgar r. waite.] from austria the voyage of the frigate _novara_ has yielded large material which has been described by dr. rudolph kner. the cream of many voyages of many danish merchant vessels has been gathered in the "spolia atlantica" and other truly classical papers of christian frederik lütken, of the university of copenhagen, one of the most accomplished naturalists of recent times. f. h. von kittlitz has written on the fishes seen by him in the northern pacific, and earlier and more important we may mention the many ichthyological notes found in the records of travel in mexico and south america by alexander von humboldt ( - ). the local faunal work in various nations has been very extensive. in great britain we may note parnell's "natural history of the fishes of the firth of forth," published in edinburgh in , william yarrell's "history of british fishes" ( ), the earlier histories of british fishes by edward donovan and by william turton, and the works of j. couch ( ) and dr. francis day ( ), possessing similar titles. the work of day, with its excellent plates, will long be the standard account of the relatively scant fish fauna of the british islands. h. g. seeley has prepared ( ) also a useful synopsis of "the fresh-water fishes of europe." we may here notice without praise the pretentious work of william swainson ( - ). w. thompson has written of the fishes of ireland, and rev. richard t. lowe and j. y. johnson have done most excellent work on the fishes of madeira. f. mccoy, better known for work on fossil fishes, may be mentioned here. the fish fauna of scandinavia has been described more or less fully by s. kröyer ( ), robert nilsson ( ), fries and ekström ( ), robert collett, robert lilljeborg, and f. a. smitt, besides special papers by other writers, notably reinhardt, l. esmarck, japetus steenstrup, lütken, and a. w. malm. reinhardt, kröyer, lütken, and a. j. malmgren have written of the arctic fishes of greenland and spitzbergen. in russia, nordmann has described the fishes of the black sea ("ichthyologic pontique," paris, ) and eichwald those of the caspian. more recently, s. herzenstein, warpachowsky, k. kessler, b. n. dybowsky, and others have written of the rich fauna of siberia, the caucasus, and the scarcely known sea of ochotsk. stephan basilevsky has written of the fishes of northern china. a. kowalevsky has contributed very much to our knowledge of anatomy. peter schmidt has studied the fishes of the japan sea. in germany and austria the chief local works have been those of heckel and kner on the fresh-water fishes of austria ( ) and c. th. von siebold on the fresh-water fishes of central europe ( ). german ichthyologists have, however, often extended their view to foreign regions where their characteristic thoroughness and accuracy has made their work illuminating. the two memoirs of eduard rüppell on the fishes of the red sea and the neighboring parts of africa, "atlas zu der reise im nördlichen afrika," , and "neue wirbelthiere," , rank with the very best of descriptive literature. günther's illustrated "fische der südsee," published in hamburg, may be regarded as german work. the excellent colored plates are mostly from the hand of andrew garrett. other papers are those of dr. wilhelm peters on asiatic fishes, the most important being on the fishes of mozambique. j. j. heckel, rudolph kner, and franz steindachner, successively directors of the museum at vienna, have written largely on fishes. the papers of steindachner cover almost every part of the earth and are absolutely essential to any systematic study of fishes. no naturalist of any land has surpassed steindachner in industry or accuracy, and his work has the advantage of the best illustrations of fishes made by any artist, the noted eduard konopicky. in association with dr. döderlein, formerly of tokyo, dr. steindachner has given an excellent account of the fishes of japan. other german writers are j. j. kaup, who has worked in numerous fields, but as a whole with little skill, dr. s. b. klunzinger, who has given excellent accounts of the fishes of the red sea, and dr. franz hilgendorf, of the university of berlin, whose papers on the fishes of japan and other regions have shown a high grade of taxonomic insight. a writer of earlier date is w. l. von rapp, who wrote on the "fische den bodensees." j. f. brandt has written of the sturgeons of russia, and johann marcusen, to whom we owe much of our knowledge, of the mormyri of africa. in italy, charles lucien bonaparte, prince of canino, has published an elaborate "fauna italica" ( ) and in numerous minor papers has taken a large part in the development of ichthyology. many of the accepted names of the large groups (as elasmobranchii, heterosomata, etc.) were first suggested by bonaparte. the work of rafinesque has been already noticed. o. g. costa published (about ) a "fauna of naples." in recent times camillo ranzani, of bologna, wrote on the fishes of brazil and of the mediterranean. giovanni canestrini, decio vinciguerra, enrico hillyer giglioli, luigi döderlein, and others have contributed largely to our knowledge of italian fishes, while carlo f. emery, f. de filippi, luigi facciolá, and others have studied the larval growth of different species. camillo ranzani, g. g. bianconi, domenico nardo, cristoforo bellotti, alberto perugia, and others have contributed to different fields of ichthyology. nicholas apostolides and, still later, horace a. hoffman and the present writer, have written of the fishes of greece. in france, the fresh-water fishes are the subject of an important work by emile blanchard ( ), and emile moreau has given us a convenient account of the fish fauna of france. léon vaillant has written on various groups of fishes, his monograph of the american darters (etheostominæ) being a masterpiece so far as the results of the study of relatively scanty material would permit. the "mission scientifique au mexique," by valliant and f. bocourt, is one of the most valuable contributions to our knowledge of the fishes of that region. dr. h. e. sauvage, of boulogne-sur-mer, has also written largely on the fishes of asia, africa, and other regions. among the most important of these are the "poissons de madagascar," and a monograph of the sticklebacks. alexander thominot and jacques pellegrin have also written, in the museum of the jardin des plantes, on different groups of fishes. earlier writers were constant duméril, alphonse guichenot, l. brissot de barneville, h. hollard, an able anatomist, and bibron, an associate of auguste duméril. [illustration: felipe poey y aloy. lÉon vaillant. louis dollo. decio vinciguerra.] in spain and portugal the chief work of local authors is that of j. v. b. bocage and f. de brito capello on the fishes of portugal. so far as the fishes of spain are concerned, the most valuable memoir is steindachner's account of his travels in spain and portugal. the principal studies of the balkan region have also been made by steindachner. josé gogorza y gonzález, of the museum of madrid, has given a list of the fishes of the philippines. a still more elaborate list, praiseworthy as a beginning, is the work of the reverend padre casto de elera, professor of natural history in the dominican college of santo tomas in manila. in holland, the chief great works have been those of schlegel and pieter van bleeker. professor h. schlegel, of the university of leyden, described the fishes collected about nagasaki by ph. fr. de siebold and bürger. his work on fishes forms a large folio illustrated by colored plates, a volume of the "fauna japonica," published in leyden from to . schlegel's work in every field is characterized by scrupulous care and healthful conservatism, and the "fauna japonica" is a most useful monument to his rare powers of discrimination. pieter von bleeker ( - ), a surgeon in the dutch east indies, is the most voluminous writer in ichthyology. he began his work in java without previous training and in a very rich field where almost everything was new. with many mistakes at first he rose to the front by sheer force of industry and patience, and his later work, while showing much of the "personal equation," is still thoroughly admirable. at his death he was engaged in the publication of a magnificent folio work, "atlas ichthyologique des indes orientales neerlandaises," illustrated by colored plates. this work remains about two-thirds completed. the writings of dr. bleeker constitute the chief source of our knowledge of the fauna of the east indies. dr. van lidth de jeude, of the university of leyden, is the author of a few descriptive papers on fishes. to belgium we may assign part at least of the work of the eminent belgian naturalist, george albert boulenger, now long connected with the british museum. his various valuable papers on the fishes of the congo are published under the auspices of the "congo free state." to belgium also we may ascribe the work of louis dollo on the morphology of fishes and on the deep-sea fishes obtained by the "expedition antarctique belge." the fish fauna of cuba has been the lifelong study of dr. felipe poey y aloy ( - ), a pupil of cuvier, for a half century or more the honored professor of zoology in the university of havana. of his many useful papers, the most extensive are his "memorias sobre la historia natural de la isla de cuba," followed by a "repertorio" and an "enumeratio" in which the fishes are elaborately catalogued. poey devoted himself solely to the rich fish fauna of his native island, in which region he was justly recognized as a ripe scholar and a broad-minded gentleman. a favorite expression of his was "comme naturaliste, je ne suis pas espagnol: je suis cosmopolite." before poey, guichenot, of paris, had written on the fishes collected in cuba by ramon de la sagra ( - ). his account was published in sagra's "historia de cuba," and later philip h. gosse ( - ) wrote on the fishes of jamaica. much earlier, robert hermann schomburgk ( - ) wrote on the fishes of british guiana. other papers on the caribbean fishes were contributed by johannes müller and f. h. troschel, and by richard hill and j. hancock. besides the work in south america of marcgraf, agassiz, reinhardt, lütken, steindachner, jenyns, boulenger, and others already named, we may note the local studies of dr. carlos berg in argentina, dr. r. a. philippi, and frederico t. delfin in chile, miranda-ribeiro in brazil, with garman, j. f. abbott, and others in recent times. carl h. eigenmann and earlier jordan and eigenmann have studied the great collections made in brazil by agassiz. steindachner has described the collections of johann natterer and gilbert those made by dr. john casper branner. the most recent examinations of the myriads of brazilian river fishes have been made by dr. eigenmann. earlier than any of these ( ), francis de castelnau ( - ) described many brazilian fishes and afterwards numerous fishes of australia and southern africa, alphonse guichenot, of paris, contributed a chapter on fishes to claude gay's ( - ) "history of chile," and j. j. von tschudi, of st. gallen, published an elaborate but uncritical "fauna peruana" with colored plates of peruvian fishes. in new zealand, f. w. hutton and j. hector have published a valuable work on the fishes of new zealand, to which dr. gill added useful critical notes in a study of "antipodal faunas." later writers have given us a good knowledge of the fishes of australia. notable among them are charles devis, william macleay, h. de miklouho-maclay, james douglas ogilby, and edgar r. waite. clarke has also written on "fishes of new zealand." the most valuable work on the fishes of hindustan is the elaborate treatise on the "fishes of india" by surgeon francis day. in this all the species are figured, the groups being arranged as in günther's catalogue, a sequence which few non-british naturalists seem inclined to follow. cantor's "malayan fishes" is a memoir of high merit, as is also mcclelland's work on indian fishes and the still earlier work of francis buchanan hamilton on the fishes of the ganges. we may here refer to andrew smith's papers on the fishes of the cape of good hope and to r. i. playfair and a. günther's "fishes of zanzibar." t. c. jerdon, john edward gray, e. tyrwhitt bennett, and others have also written on the fishes of india; j. c. bennett has published several excellent papers on the fishes of polynesia and the east indies. in japan, following the scattering papers of thunberg, tilesius, and houttuyn, and the monumental work of schlegel, numerous species have been recorded by james carson brevoort, günther, gill, eduard nyström, hilgendorf, and others. about steindachner and döderlein published the valuable "fische japans," based on the collections made about tokyo by dr. döderlein. in , motokichi namiye, then assistant curator in the imperial university, published the first list of japanese fishes by a native author. in , dr. chiyomatsu ishikawa, on the "fishes of lake biwa," was the first japanese author to venture to name a new species of fish (_pseudogobio zezera_). this reticence was due not wholly to lack of self-confidence, but rather to the scattered condition of the literature of japanese ichthyology. for this reason no japanese author has ever felt that any given undetermined species was really new. other japanese ichthyologists of promise are dr. kamakichi kishinouye, in charge of the imperial fisheries bureau, dr. shinnosuke matsubara, director of the imperial fisheries institute, keinosuke otaki, s. hatta, s. nozawa, t. kitahara, and michitaro sindo, and we may look for others among the pupils of dr. kakichi mitsukuri, the distinguished professor of zoology in the imperial university. [illustration: bashford dean. kakichi mitsukuri. carl h. eigenmann. franz hilgendorf.] the most recent, as well as the most extensive, studies of the fishes of japan were made in by the present writer and his associate, john otterbein snyder. the scanty pre-cuvieran work on the fishes of north america has been already noticed. contemporary with the early work of cuvier is the worthy attempt of professor samuel latham mitchill ( - ) to record in systematic fashion the fishes of new york. soon after followed the admirable work of charles alexandre le sueur ( - ), artist and naturalist, who was the first to study the fishes of the great lakes and the basin of the ohio. le sueur's engravings of fishes, in the early publications of the academy of natural sciences in philadelphia, are still among the most satisfactory representations of the species to which they refer. constantine samuel rafinesque ( - ), the third of this remarkable but very dissimilar trio, published numerous papers descriptive of the species he had seen or heard of in his various botanical rambles. this culminated in his elaborate but untrustworthy "ichthyologia ohiensis." the fishes of ohio received later a far more conscientious though less brilliant treatment at the hands of dr. jared potter kirtland ( - ), an eminent physician of cleveland, ohio. in the amiable and scholarly james ellsworth dekay ( - ) published his detailed report on the fishes of the "new york fauna," and a little earlier ( ) in the "fauna boreali-americana" sir john richardson ( - ) gave a most valuable and accurate account of the fishes of the great lakes and canada. almost simultaneously, rev. zadock thompson ( - ) gave a catalogue of the fishes of vermont, and david humphreys storer ( - ) began his work on the fishes of massachusetts, finally expanded into a "synopsis of the fishes of north america" ( ) and a "history of the fishes of massachusetts" ( - ). dr. john edwards holbrook ( - ), of charleston, published ( - ) his invaluable record of the fishes of south carolina, the promise of still more important work, which was prevented by the outbreak of the civil war in the united states. the monograph on lake superior ( ) and other publications of louis agassiz ( - ) have been already noticed. one of the first of agassiz's students was charles girard ( - ), who came with him from switzerland, and, in association with spencer fullerton baird ( - ), described the fishes from the united states pacific railway surveys ( ) and the united states and mexican boundary surveys ( ). professor baird, primarily an ornithologist, became occupied with executive matters, leaving girard to finish these studies of the fishes. a large part of the work on fishes published by the united states national museum and the united states fish commission has been made possible through the direct help and inspiration of professor baird. among those engaged in this work, james william milner ( - ), marshall macdonald ( - ), and hugh m. smith may be noted. most eminent, however, among the students and assistants of professor baird was his successor, george brown goode ( - ), one of the most accomplished of american naturalists, whose greatest work, "oceanic ichthyology," published in collaboration with his long associate, dr. tarleton hoffman bean, was barely finished at the time of his death. the work of theodore nicholas gill and edward drinker cope has been already noticed. other faunal writers of more or less prominence were william dandridge peck ( - ) in new hampshire, george suckley ( - ) in oregon, james william milner ( - ) in the great lake region, samuel stehman haldeman ( - ) in pennsylvania, william o. ayres ( - ) in connecticut and california; dr. john g. cooper (died ), dr. william p. gibbons and dr. william n. lockington (died ) in california; philo romayne hoy ( - ) studied the fishes of wisconsin, charles conrad abbott those of new jersey, silas stearns ( - ) those of florida, stephen alfred forbes and edward w. nelson those of illinois, oliver perry hay, later known for his work on fossil forms, those of mississippi, alfredo dugés, of guanajuato, those of central mexico. samuel garman, at harvard university, a student of agassiz, is the author of numerous valuable papers, the most notable being on the sharks and on the deep-sea collections of the _albatross_ in the galapagos region, the last illustrated by plates of most notable excellence. other important monographs of garman treat of the cyprinodonts and the discoboli. the present writer began a "systematic catalogue of the fishes of north america" in in association with his gifted friend, herbert edson copeland ( - ), whose sudden death, after a few promising beginnings, cut short the undertaking. later, charles henry gilbert ( -), a student of professor copeland, took up the work and in a "synopsis of the fishes of north america" was completed by jordan and gilbert. later, dr. gilbert has been engaged in studies of the fishes of panama, alaska, and other regions, and the second and enlarged edition of the "synopsis" was completed in , as the "fishes of north and middle america," in collaboration with another of the writer's students, dr. barton warren evermann. a monographic review of the fishes of puerto rico was later ( ) completed by dr. evermann, together with numerous minor works. other naturalists whom the writer may be proud to claim as students are charles leslie mckay ( - ), drowned in bristol bay, alaska, while engaged in explorations, and charles henry bollman ( - ), stricken with fever in the okefinokee swamps in georgia. still others are dr. carl b. eigenmann, the indefatigable investigator of brazilian fishes and of the blind fishes of the caves; dr. oliver peebles jenkins, the first thorough explorer of the fishes of hawaii; dr. alembert winthrop brayton, explorer of the streams of the great smoky mountains; dr. seth eugene meek, explorer of mexico; john otterbein snyder, explorer of mexico, japan, and hawaii; edwin chapin starks, explorer of puget sound and panama and investigator of fish osteology. still other naturalists of the coming generation, students of the present writer and of his lifelong associate, professor gilbert, have contributed in various degrees to the present fabric of american ichthyology. among them are mrs. rosa smith eigenmann, dr. joseph swain, wilbur wilson thoburn ( - ), frank cramer, alvin seale, albert jefferson woolman, philip h. kirsch ( - ), cloudsley rutter (died ), robert edward snodgrass, james francis abbott, arthur white greeley, edmund heller, henry weed fowler, keinosuke otaki, michitaro sindo, and richard crittenden mcgregor. [illustration: david starr jordan. herbert edson copeland. charles henry gilbert. barton warren evermann.] other facts and conclusions of importance have been contributed by various persons with whom ichthyology has been an incident rather than a matter of central importance. =the fossil fishes.=[ ]--the study of fossil fishes was begun systematically during the first decades of the nineteenth century, for it was then realized that of fossils of back-boned animals, fishes were the only ones which could be determined from early palæozoic to recent horizons, and that from the diversity of their forms they could serve as reliable indications of the age of rocks. at a later time, when the evolution of vertebrates began to be studied, fishes were examined with especial care with a view of determining the ancestral line of the amphibians. the earliest work upon fossil fishes is, as one would naturally expect, of a purely systematic value. anatomical observations were scanty and crude, but as the material for study increased, a more satisfactory knowledge was gained of the structures of the various major groups of fishes; and finally by a comparison of anatomical results important light came to be thrown upon more fundamental problems. the study of fossil fishes can be divided for convenience into three periods: (i) that which terminated in the _magnum opus_ of louis agassiz; (ii) that of the systematists whose major works appeared between and the recent publication of the catalogue of fossil fishes of the british museum (from this period date many important anatomical observations); and (iii) that of morphological work, roughly from to the present. during this period detailed consideration has been given to the phylogeny of special structures, to the probable lines of descent of the groups of fossil fishes, and to the relationships of terrestrial to aquatic vertebrates. =first period.=--=the work of louis agassiz.=--the real beginning of our knowledge of fossil fishes dates from the publication of the classic volumes of agassiz, "recherches sur les poissons fossiles (neuchâtel, - )." there had previously existed but a fragmentary and widely scattered literature; the time was ripe for a great work which should bring together a knowledge of this important vertebrate fauna and the museums throughout europe had been steadily growing in their collections of fossils. especially ripe, too, since the work of cuvier ( - ) had been completed and the classic anatomical papers of j. müller ( - ) were appearing. and agassiz ( - ) was eminently the man for this mission. at the age of one and twenty he had already mapped out the work, and from this time he devoted sixteen active years to its accomplishment. one gets but a just idea of the personality of agassiz when he recalls that the young investigator while in an almost penniless position contrived to travel over a large part of europe, mingle with the best people of his day, devote almost his entire time to research, employ draughtsmen and lithographers, support his own printing-house, and in the end publish his "poissons fossiles" in a fashion which would have done credit to the wealthiest amateur. with tireless energy he collected voluminous notes and drawings numberless; he corresponded with collectors all over europe and prevailed upon them to loan him tons of specimens; in the meanwhile he collated industriously the early but fragmental literature in such works as those of de blainville, münster, murchison, buckland, egerton, redfield, w. c. williamson, and others. hitherto less than species of fossil fishes were known; at the end of agassiz's work about were described and many of them figured. it is easy to see that such a work made a ready basis of future studies. doubtless, too, much is owing to the personal energy of agassiz that such keen interest was focused in the collection and study of fossil fishes during the middle of the nineteenth century. the actual value of agassiz's work can hardly be overestimated; his figures and descriptions are usually clear and accurate. and it is remarkable, perhaps, that in view of the very wide field which he covered that his errors are not more glaring and numerous. upon the purely scientific side, however, one must confess that the "poissons fossiles" is of minor importance for the reason that as time has gone by it has been found to yield no generalizations of fundamental value. the classification of fishes advocated by agassiz, based upon the nature of the scales, has been shown to be convenient rather than morphological. this indeed agassiz himself appears to realize in a letter written to humboldt, but on the other hand he regards his creation of the now discarded order of _ganoids_, which was based upon integumental characters, as his most important contribution to the general study of ichthyology. and although there passed through his hands a series of forms more complete than has perhaps been seen by any later ichthyologist,[ ] a series which demonstrates the steps in the evolution of the various families and even orders of fishes, he is nowhere led to such important philosophical conclusions as was, for example, his contemporary, johannes müller. and even to his last day, in spite of the light which palæontology must have given him, he denied strenuously the truth of the doctrine of evolution, a result the more remarkable since he has even given in graphic form the geological occurrence of the various groups of fishes in a way which suggests closely a modern phylogenetic table, and since at various times he has emphasized the dictum that the history of the individual is but the epitomized history of the race. the latter statement, which has been commonly attributed to agassiz, is clearly of much earlier origin; it was definitely formulated by von baer and meckel, the former of whom even as early as pronounced himself a distinct evolutionist. [illustration: ramsay heatley traquair. arthur smith woodward. karl a. zittel. charles r. eastman.] =second period.=--=systematic study of fossil fishes.=--on the ground planted by agassiz, many important works sprang up within the next decades. in england a vigorous school of palæichthyologists was soon flourishing. many papers of egerton date from this time, and the important work of owen on the structure of fossil teeth and the often-quoted papers of huxley in the "british fossil remains." among other workers may be mentioned james powrie, author of a number of papers upon scottish devonian fossils; the enthusiastic hugh miller, stone-mason and geologist; montague brown, thomas atthey, j. young, and w. j. barkas, students upon coal measure fishes; e. ray lankester, some of whose early papers deal with pteraspids; e. t. newton, author of important works on chimæroids. the extensive works of j. w. davis deal with fishes of many groups and many horizons. mr. davis, like sir philip gray egerton, was an amateur whose devotion did much to advance the study of fossil fishes. the dean of british palæichthyology is at present dr. r. h. traquair, of the edinburgh museum of science and arts. during four decades he has devoted himself to his studies with rare energy and success, author of a host of shorter papers and numerous memoirs and reports. finally, and belonging to a younger generation of palæontologists, is to be named arthur smith woodward, curator of vertebrate palæontology of the british museum. dr. woodward has already contributed many scores of papers to palæichthyology, besides publishing a four-volume catalogue of the fossil fishes of the british museum, a compendial work whose value can only be appreciated adequately by specialists. in the united states the study of fossil fishes was taken up by j. h. and w. c. redfield, father and son, prior to the work of agassiz, and there has been since that time an active school of american workers. agassiz himself, however, is not to be included in this list, since his interest in extinct fishes became almost entirely unproductive during his life in america. foremost among these workers was john strong newberry ( - ), of columbia college, whose publications deal with fishes of many horizons and whose work upon this continent is not unlike that of agassiz in europe. he was the author of many state reports, separate contributions, and two monographs, one upon the palæozoic fishes of north america, the other upon the triassic fishes. among the earlier palæontologists were orestes h. st. john, a pupil of agassiz at harvard, and a. h. worthen ( - ), director of the geological survey of illinois; also w. gibbes and joseph leidy. the late e. d. cope ( - ) devoted a considerable portion of his labors to the study of extinct fishes. e. w. claypole, of buchtel college, is next to be mentioned as having produced noteworthy contributions to our knowledge of sharks, palæaspids, and arthrodires, as has also a. a. wright, of oberlin college. among other workers may be mentioned o. p. hay, of the american museum; c. r. eastman, of harvard, author of important memoirs upon arthrodires and other forms; alban stewart, a student of dr. s. w. williston at kansas university, and bashford dean. among canadian palæontologists g. f. matthew deserves mention for his work on cyathaspis, principal dawson for interesting references to mesozoic fishes, and j. f. whiteaves for his studies upon the devonian fishes of scaumenac bay. belgian palæontologists have also been active in their study of fishes. here we may refer to the work of louis dollo, of brussels, of max lohest, of p. j. van beneden, of l. g. de koninck, of t. c. winckler, and of r. storms, the last of whom has done interesting work on tertiary fishes. foremost among russian palæichthyologists is to be named c. h. pander, long-time academician in st. petersburg, whose elaborate studies of extinct lung-fishes, ostracophores, and crossopterygians published between and will long stand as models of careful work. we should also refer to the work of h. asmuss and h. trautschold, e. eichwald and of victor rohon, the last named having published many important papers upon ostracophores during his residence in st. petersburg. german palæichthyologists include otto jaekel, of berlin; o. m. reis of the oberbergamt, in munich; a. von koenen, of göttingen; a. wagner, e. koken, and k. von zittel. among austro-hungarians are anton fritsch, author of the _fauna der gaskohleformations boemens_; rudolf kner, an active student of living fishes as well, as is also franz steindachner. french palæichthyologists are represented by the veteran h. e. sauvage, of boulogne-sur-mer, v. thollière, m. brongniart, and f. priem. in italy francesco bassani, of naples, is the author of many important works dealing with mesozoic and tertiary forms; also was baron achille di zigno. robert collett, of bergen, and g. lindström are worthy representatives of scandinavia in kindred work. =third period.=--=morphological work on fossil fishes.=--among the writers who have dealt with the problems of the relationships of the ostracophores as well as _palæospondylus_ and the arthrodires may be named traquair, huxley, newberry, smith woodward, rohon, eastman, and dean; most recently william patten. upon the phylogeny of the sharks traquair, a. fritsch, hasse, cope, brongniart, jaekel, reis, eastman, and dean. on chimæroid morphology mention may be made of the papers of a. s. woodward, reis, jaekel, eastman, c. d. walcott, and dean. as to dipnoan relationships the paper of louis dollo is easily of the first value; of especial interest, too, is the work of eastman as to the early derivation of the dipnoan dentition. in this regard a paper of rohon is noteworthy, as is also that of richard semon on the development of the dentition of recent neoceratodus, since it contains a number of references to extinct types. interest notes on dipnoan fin characters have been given by traquair. in the morphology of ganoids, the work of traquair and a. s. woodward takes easily the foremost rank. other important works are those of huxley, cope, a. fritsch, and oliver p. hay. =anatomists.=--still more difficult of enumeration is the long list of those who have studied the anatomy of fishes usually in connection with the comparative anatomy or development of other animals. pre-eminent among these are karl ernst von baer, cuvier, geoffroy st. hilaire, louis agassiz, johannes müller, carl vogt, carl gegenbaur, william kitchen parker, francis m. balfour, thomas henry huxley, meckel, h. rathke, richard owen, kowalevsky, h. stannius, joseph hyrtl, gill, boulenger, and bashford dean. other names of high authority are those of wilhelm his, kölliker, bakker, rosenthal, gottsche, miklucho-macleay, weber, hasse, retzius, owsjannikow, h. müller, stieda, marcusen, j. a. ryder, e. a. andrews, t. h. morgan, g. b. grassi, r. semon, howard ayers, r. r. wright, j. p. mcmurrich, c. o. whitman, a. c. eyclesheimer, e. pallis, jacob reighard, and j. b. johnston. besides all this, there has risen, especially in the united states, great britain, norway, and canada and australia, a vast literature of commercial fisheries, fish culture, and angling, the chief workers in which fields we may not here enumerate even by name. footnotes: [ ] for these paragraphs on the history of the study of fossil fishes the writer is indebted to the kind interest of professor bashford dean. [ ] dr. arthur smith woodward excepted. chapter xxiii the collection of fishes =how to secure fishes.=--in collecting fishes three things are vitally necessary--a keen eye, some skill in adapting means to ends, and some willingness to take pains in the preservation of material. in coming into a new district the collector should try to preserve the first specimen of every species he sees. it may not come up again. he should watch carefully for specimens which look just a little different from their fellows, especially for those which are duller, less striking, or with lower fins. many species have remained unnoticed through generations of collectors who have chosen the handsomest or most ornate specimens. in some groups with striking peculiarities, as the trunkfishes, practically all the species were known to linnæus. no collector could pass them by. on the other hand, new gobies or blennies can be picked up almost every day in the lesser known parts of the world. for these overlooked forms--herrings, anchovies, sculpins, blennies, gobies, scorpion-fishes--the competent collector should be always on the watch. if any specimen looks different from the rest, take it at once and find out the reason why. in most regions the chief dependence of the collector is on the markets and these should be watched most critically. by paying a little more for unusual, neglected, or useless fish, the supply of these will rise to the demand. the word passed along among the people of onomichi in japan, that "ebisu the fish-god was in the village" and would pay more for okose (poison scorpion-fishes) and umiuma (sea-horses) than real fishes were worth soon brought (in ) all sorts of okose and umiuma into the market when they were formerly left neglected on the beach. thus with a little ingenuity the markets in any country can be greatly extended. the collector can, if he thinks best, use all kinds of fishing tackle for himself. in japan he can use the "dabonawa" long lines, and secure the fishes which were otherwise dredged by the _challenger_ and _albatross_. if dredges or trawls are at his hand he can hire them and use them for scientific purposes. he should neglect no kind of bottom, no conditions of fish life which he can reach. especially important is the fauna of the tide-pools, neglected by almost all collectors. as the tide goes down, especially on rocky capes which project into the sea, myriads of little fishes will remain in the rock-pools, the algæ, and the clefts of rock. in regions like california, where the rocks are buried with kelp, blennies will lie in the kelp as quiescent as the branches of the algæ themselves until the flow of water returns. a sharp three-tined fork will help in spearing them. the water in pools can be poisoned on the coast of mexico with the milky juice of the "hava" tree, a tree which yields strychnine. in default of this, pools can be poisoned by chloride of lime, sulphate of copper, or, if small enough, by formaline. of all poisons the commercial chloride of lime seems to be most effective. by such means the contents of the pool can be secured and the next tide carries away the poison. the water in pools can be bailed out, or, better, emptied by a siphon made of small garden-hose or rubber tubing. on rocky shores, dynamite can be used to advantage if the collector or his assistant dare risk it and if the laws of the country do not prevent. most effective in rock-pool work is the help of the small boy. in all lands the collector will do well to take him into his pay and confidence. of the hundred or more new species of rock-pool fishes lately secured by the writer in japan, fully two-thirds were obtained by the japanese boys. equally effective is the "muchacho" on the coasts of mexico. masses of coral, sponges, tunicates, and other porous or hollow organisms often contain small fishes and should be carefully examined. on the coral reefs the breaking up of large masses is often most remunerative. the importance of securing the young of pelagic fishes by tow-nets and otherwise cannot be too strongly emphasized. =how to preserve fishes.=--fishes must be permanently preserved in alcohol. dried skins are far from satisfactory, except as a choice of difficulties in the case of large species. dr. günther thus describes the process of skinning fishes: "scaly fishes are skinned thus: with a strong pair of scissors an incision is made along the median line of the abdomen from the foremost part of the throat, passing on one side of the base of the ventral and anal fins to the root of the caudal fin, the cut, being continued upward to the back of the tail close to the base of the caudal. the skin of one side of the fish is then severed with the scalpel from the underlying muscles to the median line of the back; the bones which support the dorsal and caudal are cut through, so that these fins remain attached to the skin. the removal of the skin of the opposite side is easy. more difficult is the preparation of the head and scapulary region. the two halves of the scapular arch which have been severed from each other by the first incision are pressed toward the right and left, and the spine is severed behind the head, so that now only the head and shoulder bones remain attached to the skin. these parts have to be cleaned from the inside, all soft parts, the branchial and hyoid apparatus, and all smaller bones being cut away with the scissors or scraped off with the scalpel. in many fishes which are provided with a characteristic dental apparatus in the pharynx (labroids, cyprinoids), the pharyngeal bones ought to be preserved and tied with a thread to their specimen. the skin being now prepared so far, its entire inner surface as well as the inner side of the head are rubbed with arsenical soap; cotton-wool or some other soft material is inserted into any cavities or hollows, and finally a thin layer of the same material is placed between the two flaps of the skin. the specimen is then dried under a slight weight to keep it from shrinking. "the scales of some fishes, as for instance of many kinds of herrings, are so delicate and deciduous that the mere handling causes them to rub off easily. such fishes may be covered with thin-paper (tissue paper is the best) which is allowed to dry on them before skinning. there is no need for removing the paper before the specimen has reached its destination. "scaleless fishes, as siluroids and sturgeons, are skinned in the same manner, but the skin can be rolled up over the head; such skins can also be preserved in spirits, in which case the traveler may save to himself the trouble of cleaning the head. "some sharks are known to attain to a length of thirty feet, and some rays to a width of twenty feet. the preservation of such gigantic specimens is much to be recommended, and although the difficulties of preserving fishes increase with their size, the operation is facilitated, because the skins of all sharks and rays can easily be preserved in salt and strong brine. sharks are skinned much in the same way as ordinary fishes. in rays an incision is made not only from the snout to the end of the fleshy part of the tail, but also a second across the widest part of the body. when the skin is removed from the fish, it is placed into a cask with strong brine mixed with alum, the head occupying the upper part of the cask; this is necessary, because this part is most likely to show signs of decomposition, and therefore most requires supervision. when the preserving fluid has become decidedly weaker from the extracted blood and water, it is thrown away and replaced by fresh brine. after a week's or fortnight's soaking the skin is taken out of the cask to allow the fluid to drain off; its inner side is covered with a thin layer of salt, and after being rolled up (the head being inside) it is packed in a cask the bottom of which is covered with salt; all the interstices and the top are likewise filled with salt. the cask must be perfectly water-tight." =value of formalin.=--in the field it is much better to use formalin (formaldehyde) in preference to alcohol. this is an antiseptic fluid dissolved in water, and it at once arrests decay, leaving the specimen as though preserved in water. if left too long in formalin fishes swell, the bones are softened, and the specimens become brittle or even worthless. but for ordinary purposes (except use as skeleton) no harm arises from two or three months' saturation in formalin. the commercial formalin can be mixed with about twenty parts of water. on the whole it is better to have the solution too weak rather than too strong. too much formalin makes the specimens stiff, swollen, and intractable, besides too soon destroying the color. formalin has the advantage, in collecting, of cheapness and of ease in transportation, as a single small bottle will make a large amount of the fluid. the specimens also require much less attention. an incision should be made in the (right) side of the abdomen to let in the fluid. the specimen can then be placed in formalin. when saturated, in the course of the day, it can be wrapped in a cloth, packed in an empty petroleum can, and at once shipped. the wide use of petroleum in all parts of the world is a great boon to the naturalist. before preservation, the fishes should be washed, to remove slime and dirt. they should have an incision to let the fluid into the body cavity and an injection with a syringe is a useful help to saturation, especially with large fishes. even decaying fishes can be saved with formalin. =records of fishes.=--the collector should mark localities most carefully with tin tags and note-book records if possible. he should, so far as possible, keep records of life colors, and water-color sketches are of great assistance in this matter. in spirits or formalin the life colors soon fade, although the pattern of marking is usually preserved or at least indicated. a mixture of formalin and alcohol is favorable to the preservation of markings. in the museum all specimens should be removed at once from formalin to alcohol. no substitute for alcohol as a permanent preservative has been found. the spirits derived from wine, grain, or sugar is much preferable to the poisonous methyl or wood alcohol. in placing specimens directly into alcohol, care should be taken not to crowd them too much. the fish yields water which dilutes the spirit. for the same reason, spirits too dilute are ineffective. on the other hand, delicate fishes put into very strong alcohol are likely to shrivel, a condition which may prevent an accurate study of their fins or other structures. it is usually necessary to change a fish from the first alcohol used as a bath into stronger alcohol in the course of a few days, the time depending on the closeness with which fishes are packed. in the tropics, fishes in alcohol often require attention within a few hours. in formalin there is much less difficulty with tropical fishes. fishes intended for skeletons should never be placed in formalin. a softening of the bones which prevents future exact studies of the bones is sure to take place. generally alcohol or other spirits (arrack, brandy, cognac, rum, sake "vino") can be tested with a match. if sufficiently concentrated to be ignited, they can be safely used for preservation of fishes. the best test is that of the hydrometer. spirits for permanent use should show on the hydrometer to above proof. decaying specimens show it by color and smell and the collector should be alive to their condition. one rotting fish may endanger many others. with alcohol it is necessary to take especial pains to ensure immediate saturation. deep cuts should be made into the muscles of large fishes as well as into the body cavity. sometimes a small distilling apparatus is useful to redistil impure or dilute alcohol. the use of formalin avoids this necessity. small fishes should not be packed with large ones; small bottles are very desirable for their preservation. all spinous or scaly fishes should be so wrapped in cotton muslin as to prevent all friction. =eternal vigilance.=--the methods of treating individual groups of fishes and of handling them under different climatic and other conditions are matters to be learned by experience. eternal vigilance is the price of a good collection, as it is said to be of some other good things. mechanical collecting--picking up the thing got without effort and putting it in alcohol without further thought--rarely serves any useful end in science. the best collectors are usually the best naturalists. the collections made by the men who are to study them and who are competent to do so are the ones which most help the progress of ichthyology. the student of a group of fishes misses half the collection teaches if he has made no part of it himself. chapter xxiv the evolution of fishes =the geological distribution of fishes.=--the oldest unquestioned remains of fishes have been very recently made known by mr. charles d. walcott, from rocks of the trenton period in the ordovician or lower silurian. these are from cañon city in colorado. among these is certainly a small ostracophore (_asteraspis desideratus_). with it are fragments (_dictyorhabdus_) thought to be the back-bone of a chimæra, but more likely, in dean's view, the axis of a cephalopod, besides bony, wrinkled scales, referred with doubt to a supposed crossopterygian genus called _eriptychius_. this renders certain the existence of _ostracophores_ at this early period, but their association with _chimæras_ and crossopterygians is questionable. primitive sharks may have existed in ordovician times, but thus far no trace of them has been found. [illustration: fig. .--fragment of sandstone from ordovician deposits, cañon city, colo., showing fragments of scales, etc., the earliest known traces of vertebrates. (from nature.)] the fish-remains next in age in america are from the bloomfield sandstone in pennsylvania of the onondaga period in the upper silurian. the earliest in europe are found in the ludlow shales, both of these localities being in or near the horizon of the niagara rocks, in the upper silurian age. it is, however, certain that these lower silurian remains do not represent the beginning of fish-life. probably _ostracophores_, and _arthrodires_, with perhaps crossopterygians and dipnoans, existed at an earlier period, together perhaps with unarmed, limbless forms without jaws, of which no trace whatever has been left. [illustration: fig. .--fossil fish remains from ordovician rocks, cañon city, colo. (after walcott.) _a._ scale of _eriptychius americanus_ walcott. family _holoptychiidæ?_ _b._ dermal plate of _asteraspis desideratus_ walcott. family _asterolepidæ_. _c._ _dictyorhabdus priscus_ walcott, a fragment of uncertain nature, thought to be a chordal sheath of a chimæra, but probably part of a cephalopod (dean). _chimæridæ?_] =the earliest sharks.=--the first actual trace of sharks is found in the upper silurian in the form of fin-spines (_onchus_), thought to belong to primitive sharks, perhaps acanthodeans possibly to ostracophores. with these are numerous bony shields of the mailed ostracophores, and somewhat later those of the more highly specialized arthrodires. later appear the teeth of _cochliodontidæ_, with chimæras, a few dipnoans, and crossopterygians. =devonian fishes.=--in the devonian age the _ostracophores_ increase in size and abundance, disappearing with the beginning of the carboniferous. the arthrodires also increase greatly in variety and in size, reaching their culmination in the devonian, but not disappearing entirely until well in the carboniferous. these two groups (often united by geologists under the older name placoderms) together with sharks and a few chimæras made up almost exclusively the rich fish-fauna of devonian times. the sharks were chiefly acanthodean and psammodont, as far as our records show. the supposed more primitive type of _cladoselache_ is not known to appear before the latter part of the devonian age, while _pleuracanthus_ and _cladodus_, sometimes regarded as still more primitive, are as yet found only in the carboniferous. it is clear that the records of early shark life are still incomplete, whatever view we may adopt as to the relative rank of the different forms. chimæroids occur in the devonian, and with them a considerable variety of crossopterygians and dipnoans. the true fishes appear also in the devonian in the guise of the ganoid ancestors and relatives of _palæoniscum_, all with diamond-shaped enameled scales. in the devonian, too, we find the minute creature _palæospondylus_, our ignorance of which is concealed under the name _cycliæ_. =carboniferous fishes.=--in the carboniferous age the sharks increase in number and variety, the ostracophores disappear, and the arthrodires follow them soon after, the last being recorded from the permian. other forms of dipnoans, crossopterygians, and some ganoids now appear giving the fauna a somewhat more modern aspect. the _acanthodei_ and the _ichthyotomi_ pass away with the permian, the latest period of the carboniferous age. [illustration: fig. .--_dipterus valenciennesi_ agassiz, a dipnoan. (after dean, from woodward.)] =mesozoic fishes.=--in the triassic period which follows the permian, the earliest types of ganoids give place to forms approaching the garpike and sturgeon. the crossopterygians rapidly decline. the dipnoans are less varied and fewer in number; the primitive sharks, with the exception of certain cestracionts, all disappear, only the family of _orodontidæ_ remaining. here are found the first true bony fishes, doubtless derived from ganoid stock, the allies and predecessors of the great group of herrings. herring-like forms become more numerous in the jurassic, and with them appear other forms which give the fish-fauna of this period something of a modern appearance. in the jurassic the sharks become divided into several groups, _notidani_, scyllioid sharks, lamnoid sharks, angel-fishes, skates, and finally carcharioid sharks being now well differentiated. chimæras are still numerous. the _acanthodei_ have passed away, as well as the mailed ostrachopores and arthrodires. the dipnoans and crossopterygians are few. the early ganoids have given place to more modern types, still in great abundance and variety. this condition continues in the cretaceous period. here the rays and modern sharks increase in number, the ganoids hold their own, and the other groups of soft-rayed fishes, as the smelts, the lantern-fishes, the pikes, the flying-fishes, the berycoids and the mackerels join the group of herring-like forms which represent the modern bony fishes. in the cretaceous appear the first spiny-rayed fishes, derived probably from herring-like forms. these are allies or ancestors of the living genus _beryx_. [illustration: fig. .--_hoplopteryx lewesiensis_ (mantell), restored. english cretaceous. family _berycidæ_. (after woodward.)] dr. woodward observes: "as soon as fishes with a completely osseous endoskeleton began to predominate at the dawn of the cretaceous period, specializations of an entirely new kind were rapidly acquired. until this time the skull of the actinopterygii had always been remarkably uniform in type. the otic region of the cranium often remained incompletely ossified and was never prominent or projecting beyond the roof bones; the supraoccipital bone was always small and covered with the superficial plates; the maxilla invariably formed the greater part of the upper jaw; the cheek-plates were large and usually thick; while none of the head or opercular bones were provided with spines or ridges. the pelvic fins always retained their primitive remote situation, and the fin-rays never became spines. during the cretaceous period the majority of the bony fishes began to exhibit modifications in all these characters, and the changes occurred so rapidly that by the dawn of the eocene period the diversity observable in the dominant fish-fauna was much greater than it had ever been before. at this remote period, indeed, nearly all the great groups of bony fishes, as represented in the existing world, were already differentiated, and their subsequent modifications have been quite of a minor character." [illustration: fig. .--a living berycoid fish, _paratrachichthys prosthemius_ jordan & fowler. misaki, japan. family _berycidæ_.] [illustration: fig. .--flying-fish, _cypsilurus heterurus_ (rafinesque). family _exocætidæ_ woods hole, mass.] [illustration: fig. .--the schoolmaster snapper, a perch-like fish. family _lutianidæ_. key west.] =tertiary fishes.=--with the eocene or first period of the tertiary great changes have taken place. the early families of bony fishes nearly all disappear. the herring, pike, smelt, salmon, flying-fish, and berycoids remain, and a multitude of other forms seem to spring into sudden existence. among these are the globefishes, the trigger-fishes, the catfishes, the eels, the morays, the butterfly-fishes, the porgies, the perch, the bass, the pipefishes, the trumpet-fishes, the mackerels, and the john-dories, with the sculpins, the anglers, the flounders, the blennies, and the cods. that all these groups, generalized and specialized, arose at once is impossible, although all seem to date from the eocene times. doubtless each of them had its origin at an earlier period, and the simultaneous appearance is related to the fact of the thorough study of the eocene shales, which have in numerous localities (london, monte bolca, licata, mount lebanon, green river) been especially favorable for the preservation of these forms. practically fossil fishes have been thoroughly studied as yet only in a very few parts of the earth. the rocks of scotland, england, germany, italy, switzerland, syria, ohio, and wyoming have furnished the great bulk of all the fish remains in existence. in some regions perhaps collections will be made which will give us a more just conception of the origin of the different groups of bony fishes. we can now only say with certainty that the modern families were largely existent in the eocene, that they sprang from ganoid stock found in the triassic and jurassic, that several of them were represented in the cretaceous also, that the berycoids were earliest of the spiny-rayed fishes, and forms allied to herring the earliest of the soft-rayed forms. few modern families arose before the cretaceous. few of the modern genera go back to the eocene, many of them arose in the miocene, and few species have come down to us from rocks older than the end of the pliocene. the general modern type of the fish-faunas being determined in the latter eocene and the miocene, the changes which bring us to recent times have largely concerned the abundance and variety of the individual species. from geological distribution we have arising the varied problems of geographical distribution and the still more complex conditions on which depend the extinction of species and of types. [illustration: fig. .--decurrent flounder, _pleuronichthys decurrens_ jordan & gilbert. san francisco.] =factors of extinction.=--these factors of extinction have been recently formulated as follows by professor herbert osborn. he considers the process of extinction as of five different types: "( ) that extinction which comes from modification or progressive evolution, a relegation to the past as a result of the transmutation into more advanced forms. ( ) extinction from changes of physical environment which outrun the powers of adaptation. ( ) the extinction which results from competition. ( ) the extinction which results from extreme specialization and limitation to special conditions the loss of which means extinction. ( ) extinction as a result of exhaustion." =fossilization of a fish.=--when a fish dies he leaves no friends. his body is at once attacked by hundreds of creatures ranging from the one-celled protozoa and bacteria to individuals of his own species. his flesh is devoured, his bones are scattered, the gelatinous substance in them decays, and the phosphate of lime is in time dissolved in the water. for this reason few fishes of the millions which die each year leave any trace for future preservation. at the most a few teeth, a fin-spine, or a bone buried in the clay might remain intact or in such condition as to be recognized. but now and then it happens that a dead fish may fall in more fortunate conditions. on a sea bottom of fine clay the bones, or even the whole body, may be buried in such a way as to be sealed up and protected from total decomposition. the flesh will usually disappear and leave no mark or at the most a mere cast of its surface. but the hard parts, even the muscles may persist, and now and then they do persist, the salts of lime unchanged or else silicified or subjected to some other form of chemical substitution. only the scales, the teeth, the bones, the spines, and the fin-rays can be preserved in the rocks of sea or lake bottom. in a few localities, as near green river in wyoming, monte bolca, near verona, and mount lebanon in syria, the london clays, with certain quarries in scotland and lithographic stones in germany, many skeletons of fishes have been found pressed flat in layers of very fine rock, their structures traced as delicately as if actually drawn on the smooth stone. fragments preserved in ruder fashion abound in the clays and even the sandstones of the earliest geologic ages. in most cases, however, fossil fishes are known from detached and scattered fragments, many of them, especially of the sharks, by the teeth alone. fishes have occurred in all ages from the silurian to the present time and probably the very first lived long before the silurian. =the earliest fishes.=--no one can say what the earliest fishes were like, nor do we know what was their real relation to the worm-like forms among which men have sought their presumable ancestors, nor to the tunicates and other chordate forms, not fish-like, but still degenerate relatives of the primeval fish. from analogy we may suppose that the first fishes which ever were bore some resemblance to the lancelet, for that is a fish-like creature with every structure reduced to the lowest terms. but as the lancelet has no hard parts, no bones, nor teeth, nor scales, nor fins, no traces of its kind are found among the fossils. if the primitive fish was like it in important respects, all record of this has probably vanished from the earth. =the cyclostomes.=--the next group of living fishes, the cyclostomes, including the hagfishes and lampreys,--fishes with small skull and brain but without limbs or jaws,--stands at a great distance above the lancelet in complexity of structure, and equally far from the true fishes in its primitive simplicity. in fact the lamprey is farther from the true fish in structure than a perch is from an eagle. yet for all that it may be an offshoot from the primitive line of fish descent. there is not much in the structure of the lamprey which may be preserved in the rocks. but the cartilaginous skull, the back-bone, fins, and teeth might leave their traces in soft clay or lithographic stone. but it is certain that they have not done so in any rocks yet explored, and it may be that the few existing lampreys owe their form and structure to a process of degradation from a more complex and more fish-like ancestry. the supposed lamprey fossil of the devonian of scotland, _palæospondylus_, has little in common with the true lampreys. =the ostracophores.=--besides the lampreys the devonian seas swarmed with mysterious creatures covered with an armor of plate, fish-like in some regards, but limbless, without true jaws and very different from the true fishes of to-day. these are called ostracophori, and some have regarded them as mailed lampreys, but they are more likely to be a degenerate or eccentric offshoot from the sharks, as highly modified or specialized lampreys, a side offshoot which has left no descendants among recent forms. recently professor patten has insisted that the resemblance of their head-plates to those of the horseshoe crab (_limulus_) is indicative of real affinity. among these forms in mail-armor are some in which the jointed and movable angles of the head suggest the pectoral spines of some catfishes. but in spite of its resemblance to a fin, the spine in _pterichthyodes_ is an outgrowth of the ossified skin and has no more homology with the spines of fishes than the mailed plates have with the bones of a fish's cranium. in none of these fishes has any trace of an internal skeleton been found. it must have retained its primitive gelatinous character. there are, however, some traces of eyes, and the mucous channels of the lateral line indicate that these creatures possessed some other special senses. [illustration: fig. .--an ostracophore, _cephalaspis lyelli_ agassiz, restored. devonian. (after agassiz, per dean.)] whatever the ostracophores may be, they should not be included within the much-abused term _ganoidei_, a word which was once used in the widest fashion for all sorts of mailed fishes, but little by little restricted to the hard-scaled relatives and ancestors of the garpike of to-day. =the arthrodires.=--dimly seen in the vast darkness of paleozoic time are the huge creatures known as arthrodires. these are mailed and helmeted fishes, limbless so far as we know, but with sharp, notched, turtle-like jaws quite different from those of the fish or those of any animal alive to-day. these creatures appear in silurian rocks and are especially abundant in the fossil beds of ohio, where newberry, claypole, eastman, dean and others have patiently studied the broken fragments of their armor. most of them have a great casque on the head with a shield at the neck and a movable joint connecting the two. among them was almost every variation in size and form. [illustration: fig. .--an arthrodire, _dinichthys intermedius_ newberry, restored. devonian, ohio. (family after dean.)] these creatures have been often called ganoids, but with the true ganoids like the garpike they have seemingly nothing in common. they are also different from the ostracophores. to regard them with woodward as derived from ancestral dipnoans is to give a possible guess as to their origin, and a very unsatisfactory guess at that. in any event these have all passed away in competition with the scaly fishes and sharks of later evolution, and it seems certain that they, like the mailed ostracophores, have left no descendants. =the sharks.=--next after the lampreys, but a long way after them in structure, come the sharks. with the sharks appear for the first time true limbs and the lower jaw. the upper jaw is, however, formed from the palate, and the shoulder-girdle is attached behind the skull. "little is known," says professor dean, "of the primitive stem of the sharks, and even the lines of descent of the different members of the group can only be generally suggested. the development of recent forms has yielded few results of undoubted value to the phylogenist. it would appear as if paleontology alone could solve the puzzles of their descent." of the very earliest sharks in the upper silurian age the remains are too scanty to prove much save that there were sharks in abundance and variety. spines, teeth, fragments of shagreen, show that in some regards these forms were highly specialized. in the carboniferous age the sharks became highly varied and extensively specialized. of the paleozoic types, however, all but a single family seems to have died out, leaving cestraciontes only in the permian and triassic. from these the modern sharks one and all may very likely have descended. =origin of the sharks.=--perhaps the sharks are developed from the still more primitive shark imagined as without limbs and with the teeth slowly formed from modification of the ordinary shagreen prickles. in determining the earliest among the several primitive types of shark actually known we are stopped by an undetermined question of theory. what is the origin of paired limbs? are these formed, like the unpaired fins, from the breaking up of a continuous fold of skin, in accordance with the view of balfour and others? or is the primitive limb, as supposed by gegenbaur, a modification of the bony gill-arch? or again, as supposed by kerr, is it a modification of the hard axis of an external gill? if we adopt the views of gegenbaur or kerr, the earliest type of limb is the jointed _archipterygium_, a series of consecutive rounded cartilaginous elements with a fringe of rays along its length. sharks possessing this form of limb (_ichthyotomi_) appear in the carboniferous rocks, but are not known earlier. it may be that from these the dipnoans, on the one hand, may be descended and, on the other, the true sharks and the chimæras; but there is no certainty that the jointed arm or archipterygium of the dipnoans is derived from the similar pectoral fin of the _ichthyotomi_. on the other hand, if we regard the paired fins as parts of a lateral fold of skin, we find primitive sharks to bear out our conclusions. in _cladoselache_ of the upper devonian, the pectoral and the ventral fins are long and low, and arranged just as they might be if balfour's theory were true. _acanthoessus_, with a spine in each paired fin and no other rays, might be a specialization of this type or fin, and _climatius_, with rows of spines in place of pectorals and ventrals, might be held to bear out the same idea. in all these the tail is less primitive than in the _ichthyotomi_. on the other hand, the vent in _cladoselache_ is thought by dean to have been near the end of the tail. if this is the case, it should indicate a very primitive character. on the whole, though there is much to be said in favor of the primitive nature of the _ichthyotomi_ (_pleuracanthus_) with the tapering tail and jointed pectoral fin of a dipnoan, and other traits of a shark, yet, on the whole, _cladoselache_ is probably nearer the origin of the shark-like forms. the relatively primitive sharks called _notidani_ have the weakly ossified vertebræ joined together in pairs and there are six or seven gill-openings. this group has persisted to our day, the frilled shark (_chlamydoselachus_) and the genera _hexanchus_ and _heptranchias_ still showing its archaic characters. here the sharks diverge into two groups, the one with the vertebræ better developed and its calcareous matter arranged star-fashion. this forms hasse's group of _asterospondyli_, the typical sharks. the earliest forms (_orodontidæ_, _heterodontidæ_) approach the _notidani_, and so far as geological records go, precede all the other modern sharks. one such ancient type, _heterodontus_, including the bullhead shark, and the port jackson shark, still persists. the others diverge to form the three chief groups of the cat-sharks (_scyliorhinus_, etc.), the mackerel-sharks (_lamna_, etc.), and the true sharks (_carcharhias_, etc.). [illustration: fig. .--mackerel-shark or salmon-shark, _lamna cornubica_ (gmelin). santa barbara, cal.] in the second group the vertebræ have their calcareous matter arranged in rings, one or more about the notochordal center. in all these the anal fin is absent, and in the process of specialization the shark gradually gives place to the flattened body and broad fins of the ray. this group is called _tectospondyli_. those sharks of this group with one ring of calcareous matter in each vertebra constitute the most primitive extreme of a group representing continuous evolution. from _cladoselache_ and _chlamydoselachus_ through the sharks to the rays we have an almost continuous series which reaches its highest development in the devil rays or mantas of the tropical seas, _manta_ and _mobula_ being the most specialized genera and among the very largest of the fishes. however different the rays and skates may appear in form and habit, they are structurally similar to the sharks and have sprung from the main shark stem. [illustration: fig. .--star-spined ray, _raja stellulata_ jordan & gilbert. monterey, cal.] =the chimæras.=--the most ancient offshoot from the shark stem, perhaps dating from silurian times and possibly separated at a period earlier than the date of any known shark, is the group of _holocephali_ or chimæras, shark-like in essentials, but differing widely in details. of these there are but few living forms and the fossil types are known only from dental plates and fin-spines. the living forms are found in the deeper seas the world over, one of the simplest in structure being the newly discovered _rhinochimæra_ of japan. the fusion of the teeth into overlapping plates, the covering of the gills by a dermal flap, the complete union of the palato-quadrate apparatus or upper jaw with the skull and the development of a peculiar clasping spine on the forehead of the male are characteristic of the chimæras. the group is one of the most ancient, but it ends with itself, none of the modern fishes being derived from chimæras. [illustration: fig. .--a deep-sea chimæra, _harriotta raleighiana_ goode & bean. gulf stream.] [illustration: fig. .--an extinct dipnoan, _dipterus valenciennesi_ agassiz. devonian. (after pander.)] =the dipnoans.=--the most important offshoot of the primitive sharks is not the chimæras, nor even the shark series itself, but the groups of crossopterygians and dipnoans, or lung-fishes, with the long chain of their descendants. with the dipnoan appears the lung or air-bladder, at first an outgrowth from the ventral side of the oesophagus, as it still is in all higher animals, but later turning over, among fishes, and springing from the dorsal side. at first an arrangement for breathing air, a sort of accessory gill, it becomes the sole organs of respiration in the higher forms, while in the bony fishes its respiratory function is lost altogether. the air-bladder is a degenerate lung. in the dipnoans the shoulder-girdle moves forward to the skull, and the pectoral limb, a jointed and fringed archipterygium, is its characteristic appendage. the shark-like structure of the mouth remains. the few living lung-fishes resemble the salamanders in many regards, and some writers have ranged the class as midway between the primitive sharks and the amphibians. these forms show their intermediate characters in the development of lungs and in the primitive character of the pectoral and ventral limbs. those now extant give but little idea of the great variety of extinct dipnoans. the living genera are three in number--_neoceratodus_ in australian rivers, _lepidosiren_ in the amazon, and _protopterus_ in the nile. these are all mudfishes, some of them living through most of the dry season encased in a cocoon of dried mud. of these forms _neoceratodus_ is certainly the nearest to the ancient forms, but its embryology, owing to the shortening of its growth stages due to its environment, has thrown little light on the question of its ancestry. from some ally of the dipnoans the ancestry of the amphibians, and through them that of the reptiles, birds, and mammals may be traced, although a good deal of evidence has been produced in favor of regarding the primitive crossopterygian or fringe fin as the point of divergence. it is not unlikely that the crossopterygian gave rise to amphibian and dipnoan alike. in the process of development we next reach the characteristic fish mouth in which the upper jaw is formed of maxillary and premaxillary elements distinct from the skull. the upper jaw of the shark is part of the palate, the palate being fused with the quadrate bone which supports the lower jaw. that of the dipnoan is much the same. the development of a typical fish mouth is the next step in evolution, and with its appearance we note the decline of the air-bladder in size and function. =the crossopterygians.=--the fish-like mouth appears with the group of crossopterygians, fishes which still retain the old-fashioned type of pectoral and ventral fin, the archipterygium. in the archaic tail, enameled scales, and cartilaginous skeleton the crossopterygian shows its affinity with its dipnoan ancestry. thus these fishes unite in themselves traits of the shark, lung-fish, and ganoid. the few living crossopterygians, _polypterus_ and _erpetoichthys_, are not very different from those which prevailed in devonian times. the larvæ possess external gills with firm base and fringe-like rays, suggesting a resemblance to the pectoral fin itself, which develops from the shoulder-girdle just below it and would seem to give some force to kerr's contention that the archipterygium is only a modified external gill. in _polypterus_ the archipterygium has become short and fan-shaped, its axis made of two diverging bones with flat cartilage between. from this type it is thought that the arm of the higher forms has been developed. the bony basis may be the humerus, from which diverge radius and ulna, the carpal bones being formed of the intervening cartilage. [illustration: fig. .--an extinct crossopterygian, _holoptychius giganteus_ agassiz ( ). (after agassiz, per zittel.)] =the actinopteri.=--from the crossopterygians springs the main branch of the true fishes, known collectively as _actinopteri_, or ray-fins, those with ordinary rays on the paired fins instead of the jointed archipterygium. the transitional series of primitive _actinopteri_ are usually known as ganoids. the ganoid differs from the crossopterygian in having the basal elements of the paired fins small and concealed within the flesh. but other associated characters of the crossopterygii and dipnoans are preserved in most of the species. among these are the mailed head and body, the heterocercal tail, the cellular air-bladder, the presence of valves in the arterial bulb, the presence of a spiral valve in the intestine and of a chiasma in the optic nerves. all these characters are found in the earlier types so far as is known, and all are more or less completely lost or altered in the teleosts or bony fishes. among these early types is every variety of form, some of them being almost as long as deep, others arrow-shaped, and every intermediate form being represented. an offshoot from this line is the bowfin (_amia calva_), among the ganoids the closest living ally of the bony fishes, showing distinct affinities with the great group to which the herring and salmon belong. near relatives of the bowfin flourished in the mesozoic, among them some with a forked tail, and some with a very long one. from ganoids of this type the vast majority of recent fishes may be descended. [illustration: fig. .--an ancient ganoid fish, _platysomus gibbosus_ blainville. family _platysomidæ_. (after woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--a living ganoid fish, the short-nosed gar, _lepisosteus platystomus_ rafinesque. lake erie.] another branch of ganoids, divergent from both garfish and bowfin and not recently from the same primitive stock, included the sturgeons (_acipenser_, _scaphirhynchus_, _kessleria_) and the paddle-fishes (_polyodon_ and _psephurus_). all these are regarded by woodward as degenerate descendants of the earliest ganoids, _palæoniscidæ_, of devonian and carboniferous time. [illustration: fig. .--a primitive ganoid fish, _palæoniscum macropomum_ (agassiz), restored. permian. family _potaconiscidæ_. (after traquair.)] [illustration: fig. .--a fossil herring, _diplomystus humilis_ leidy. (from a specimen obtained at green river, wyo.) the scutes along the back lost in the specimen. family _clupeidæ_.] =the bony fishes.=--all the remaining fishes have ossified instead of cartilaginous skeletons. the dipnoan and ganoid traits one by one are more or less completely lost. through these the main line of fish development continues and the various groups are known collectively as bony fishes or teleosts. [illustration: fig. .--a primitive herring-like fish, _holcolepis lewesiensis_ mantell, restored. family _elopidæ_. english chalk. (after woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--ten-pounder, _elops saurus_ l. an ally of the earliest bony fishes. virginia.] the earliest of the true bony fishes or teleosts appear in mesozoic times, the most primitive forms being soft-rayed fishes with the vertebræ all similar in form, allied more or less remotely to the herring of to-day, but connected in an almost unbroken series with the earliest ganoid forms. in these and other soft-rayed fishes the pelvis still retains its posterior insertion, the ventral fins being said to be abdominal. the next great stage in evolution brings the pelvis forward, attaching it to the shoulder-girdle so that the ventral fins are now thoracic as in the perch and bass. if brought to a point in front of the pectoral fins, a feature of specialized degradation, they become jugular as in the codfish. in the abdominal fishes the air-bladder still retains its rudimentary duct joining it to the oesophagus. from the abdominal forms allied to the herring, the huge array of modern fishes, typified by the perch, the bass, the mackerel, the wrasse, the globefish, the sculpin, the sea-horse, and the cod descended in many diverging lines. the earliest of the spine-rayed fishes with thoracic fins belong to the type of _berycidæ_, a group characterized by rough scales, the retention of a primitive bone between the eyes, and the retention of the primitive larger number of ventral rays. these appear in the cretaceous or chalk deposits, and show various attributes of transition from the abdominal to the thoracic type of ventrals. [illustration: fig. .--cardinal-fish, a perch-like fish, _apogon semilineatus_ schlegel. misaki, japan.] [illustration: fig. .--summer herring, _pomolobus æstivalis_ (mitchill). potomac river. family _clupeidæ_.] another line of descent apparently distinct from that of the herring and salmon extends through the characins to the loach, carps, catfishes, and electric eel. the fishes of this series have the anterior vertebræ coossified and modified in connection with the hearing organ, a structure not appearing elsewhere among fishes. this group includes the majority of fresh-water fishes. still another great group, the eels, have lost the ventral fins and the bones of the head have suffered much degradation. [illustration: fig. .--fish with jugular ventral fins, _bassozetus catena_ goode & bean. family _brotulidæ_. gulf stream.] [illustration: fig. .--a specialized bony fish, _trachicephalus uranoscopus_. family _scorpænidæ_. from swatow, china.] the most highly developed fishes, all things considered, are doubtless the allies of the perch, bass, and sculpin. these fishes have lost the air-duct and on the whole they show the greatest development of the greatest number of structures. in these groups their traits one after another are carried to an extreme and these stages of extreme specialization give way one after another to phases of degeneration. the specialization of one organ usually involves degeneration of some other. extreme specialization of any organ tends to render it useless under other conditions and may be one step toward its final degradation. [illustration: fig. .--an african catfish, _chlarias breviceps_ boulenger. congo river. family _chlariidæ_. (after boulenger.)] [illustration: fig. .--silverfin, _notropis whipplii_ (girard). white river, indiana. family _cyprinidæ_.] we have thus seen, in hasty review, that the fish-like vertebrates spring from an unknown and possibly worm-like stock, that from this stock, before it became vertebrate, degenerate branches have fallen off, represented to-day by the _tunicates_ and _enteropneustans_. we have seen that the primitive vertebrate was headless and limbless and without hard parts. the lancelet remains as a possible direct offshoot from it; the cyclostome with brain and skull is a possible derivative from archaic lancelets. the earliest fishes leaving traces in the rocks were mailed ostracophores. from an unknown but possibly lamprey-like stock sprang the sharks and chimæras. the sharks developed into rays in one right line and into the highest sharks along another, while by a side branch through lost stages the primitive sharks passed into crossopterygians, into dipnoans, or lung-fishes, and perhaps into ostracophores. all these types and others abound in the devonian age and the early records were lost in the silurian. from the crossopterygians or their ancestors or descendants by the specialization of the lung and limbs, the land animals, at first amphibians, after these reptiles, birds, and mammals, arose. [illustration: fig. .--moray, _gymnothorax moringa_ bloch. family _murænidæ_ tortugas.] [illustration: fig. .--amber-fish, _seriola lalandi_ (cuv. & val.). family _carangidæ_. woods hole.] in the sea, by a line still more direct, through the gradual emphasis of fish-like characters, we find developed the crossopterygians with archaic limbs and after these the ganoids with fish-like limbs but otherwise archaic; then the soft-rayed and finally the spiny-rayed bony fishes, herring, mackerel, perch, which culminate in specialized and often degraded types, as the anglers, globefishes, parrot-fishes, and flying gurnards; and from each of the ultimate lines of descent radiate infinite branches till the sea and rivers are filled, and almost every body of water has fishes fitted to its environment. [illustration: geological distribution of the families of elasmobranchs. a=pliocene b=miocene c=eocene d=cretaceous e=jurassic f=triassic g=permian h=coal measures i=sub-carbonifero j=devonian k=silurian l=ordovician +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |a|b|c|d|e|f|g|h|i|j|k|l| |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| cladoselachidæ | | | | | | | | |x|x| | | acanthodii | | | | | | |x|x|x|x| | | pleuracanthidæ | | | | | | |x|x|x|x| | | cladodontidæ | | | | | | |x|x|x|x| | | petalodontidæ | | | | | | |x|x|x| | | | psammodontidæ | | | | | | | |x|x|x| | | cochliodontidæ | | | | | | | |x|x|x| | | orodontidæ | | | | | | | |x|x| | | | heterodontidæ |x|x|x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | tamiobatidæ | | | | | | | | | |x| | | hexanchidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | lamnidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | mitsukurinidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | odontaspidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | scyliorhinidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | carchariidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | squalidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | dalatiidæ |x|x|x| | | | | | | | | | squatinidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | rhinobatidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | pristididæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | rajidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | narcobatidæ |x|x|x| | | | | | | | | | dasyatidæ |x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | | myliobatidæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | | ptychodontidæ | | | |x| | | | | | | | | chimæridæ |x|x|x|x|x| | | | | | | |] chapter xxv the protochordata =the chordate animals.=--referring to our metaphor of the tree with its twigs as used in the chapter on classification we find the fishes with the higher vertebrates as parts of a great branch from which the lower twigs have mostly perished. this great branch, phylum, or line of descent is known in zoology as _chordata_, and the organisms associated with it or composing it are chordate animals. the chordate animals are those which at some stage of life possess a notochord or primitive dorsal cartilage which divides the interior of the body into two cavities. the dorsal cavity contains the great nerve centers or spinal cord; the ventral cavity contains the heart and alimentary canal. in all other animals which possess a body cavity, there is no division by a notochord, and the ganglia of the nervous system if existing are placed on the ventral side or in a ring about the mouth. =the protochordates.=--modern researches have shown that besides the ordinary back-boned animals certain other creatures easily to be mistaken for mollusks or worms and being chordate in structure must be regarded as offshoots from the vertebrate branch. these are degenerate allies, as is shown by the fact that their vertebrate traits are shown in their early or larval development and scarcely at all in their adult condition. as dr. john sterling kingsley has well said: "many of the species start in life with the promise of reaching a point high in the scale, but after a while they turn around and, as one might say, pursue a downward course, which results in an adult which displays but few resemblances to the other vertebrates." in the tunicates or ascidians (sea-squirts, sea-pears, and salpas), which constitute the class known as _tunicata_ or _urochordata_, there is no brain, the notochord is confined to the tail and is usually present only in the larval stage of the animal when it has the form of a tadpole. in later life the animal usually becomes quiescent, attached to some hard object, fixed or floating. it loses its form and has the appearance of a hollow, leathery sac, the body organs being developed in a tough tunic. there are numerous families of tunicates and the species are found in nearly all seas. they suggest no resemblance to fishes and look like tough clams without shells. the internal cavity being usually filled with water it is squirted out through the two apertures when the animal is handled. the class _enteropneusta_ (_adelochorda_, or _hemichordata_), includes the rather rare worm-like forms related to _balanoglossus_. bateson has shown that these animals possess a notochord which is developed in the anterior part of the body. they have no fins and before the mouth is a long proboscis. gill-slits are found in the larval tunicate. in _balanoglossus_ these persist through life as in the fishes. the remaining chordate forms constitute the vertebrates proper, not worm-like nor mollusk-like, the notochord not disappearing with age, except as it gives way, by specialized segmentation to the complex structures of the vertebral column. these vertebrates, which are permanently aquatic, are known in a popular sense as fishes. the fish, in the broad sense, is a back-boned animal which retains the homologue of the back-bone throughout life, which does not develop jointed limbs, its locomotive members, if present, being developed as fins, and which breathes through life the air contained in water by means of gills. this definition excludes the tunicates and enteropneusta on the one hand and the amphibia or batrachia with the reptiles, birds, and mammals on the other. the amphibia are much more closely related to certain fishes than the classes of fishes are to each other. still for purposes of systematic study, the frogs and salamanders are left out of the domain of ichthyology, while the tunicata and the enteropneusta might well be included in it. the known branchiferous or gill-bearing chordates living and extinct may be first divided into eight classes--the _enteropneusta_, the _tunicata_, the _leptocardii_, or lancelets, the _cyclostomi_, or lampreys, the _elasmobranchii_, or sharks, the _ostracophori_ the _arthrodira_, and the _teleostomi_, or true fishes. the first two groups, being very primitive and in no respect fish-like in appearance, are sometimes grouped together as _protochordata_, the others with the higher chordates constituting the _vertebrata_. =other terms used in classification.=--the leptocardii are sometimes called acraniata (without skull), as distinguished from the higher groups, craniota, in which the skull is developed. the _leptocardii_, _cyclostomi_, and _ostracophori_ are sometimes called _agnatha_ (without jaws) in contradistinction to the _gnathostomi_ (jaw mouths), which include the sharks and true fishes with the higher vertebrates. the sharks and teleostomes are sometimes brought together as _pisces_, or fishes, as distinguished from other groups not true fishes. to the sharks and true fishes the collective name of _lyrifera_ has been given, these fishes having the harp-shaped shoulder-girdle, its parts united below. the _ostracophores_ and _arthrodires_ agreeing in the bony coat of mail, and both groups now extinct and both of uncertain relationship, have been often united under the name of _placoderms_, and these and many other fishes have been again erroneously confounded with the ganoids. again, the teleostomi have been frequently divided into three classes--_crossopterygii_, _dipneusti_ or _dipnoi_, and _actinopterygii_. the latter may be again divided into _ganoidei_ and _teleostei_ and all sorts of ranks have been assigned to each of these groups. for our purposes a division into eight classes is most convenient, and lowest among these we may place the _enteropneusta_. =the enteropneusta.=--most simple, most worm-like, and perhaps most primitive of all the chordates is the group of worm-shaped forms, forming the class of _enteropneusta_. the class of _enteropneusta_, also called _adelochorda_ or _hemichordata_, as here recognized, consists of a group of small marine animals allied to the genus _balanoglossus_, or acorn-tongues (~balanos~, acorn; ~glôssa~, tongue). these are worm-like creatures with fragile bodies buried in the sand or mud, or living under rocks of the seashore and in shallow waters, where they lie coiled in a spiral, with little or no motion. from the surface of the body a mucous substance is secreted, holding together particles by which are formed tubes of sand. the animal has a peculiar odor like that of iodoform. at the front is a long muscular proboscis, very sensitive, capable of great extension and contraction, largely used in burrowing in the ground, and of a brilliant orange color in life. behind this is a collar which overlaps the small neck and conceals the small mouth at the base of the proboscis. the gill-slits behind the collar are also more or less concealed by it. the body, which is worm-like, extends often to the length of two or three feet. the gill-slits in the adult are arranged in regular pairs, there being upwards of fifty in number much like the gill-slits of the lancelet. as the animal grows older the slits become less conspicuous, their openings being reduced to small slit-like pores. in the interior of the proboscis is a rod-like structure which arises as an outgrowth of the alimentary canal above the mouth. in development and structure this rod so resembles the notochord of the lancelet that it is regarded as a true notochord, though found in the anterior region only. from the presence of gill-slits and notochord and from the development and structure of the central nervous system _balanoglossus_ was recognized by william bateson, who studied an american species, _dolichoglossus kowalevskii_, at hampton roads in virginia in , and at beaufort in north carolina, as a member of the chordate series. unlike the tunicates it represents a primitively simple, not a degenerate, type. it seems to possess real affinities with the worms, or possibly, as some have thought, with the sea-urchins. [illustration: fig. .--"tornaria" larva of _glossobalanus minutus_. (after minot.)] a peculiar little creature, known as _tornaria_, was once considered to be the larva of a starfish. it is minute and transparent, floating on the surface of the sea. it has no visible resemblance to the adult _balanoglossus_, but it has been reared in aquaria and shown to pass into the latter or into the related genus _glossobalanus_. no such metamorphosis was found by bateson in the more primitive genus _dolichoglossus_, studied by him. this adult animal may be, indeed, a worm as it appears, but the presence of gill-slits, the existence of a rudimentary notochord, and the character of the central nervous system are distinctly fish-like and therefore vertebrate characters. with the chordates, and not with the worms, this class, _enteropneusta_ (~enteron~, intestine; ~pnein~, to breathe), must be placed if its characters have been rightly interpreted. it is possibly a descendant of the primitive creatures which marked the transition from the archaic worms, or possibly archaic echinoderms, to the archaic chordate type. [illustration: fig. .--_glossobalanus minutus_, one of the higher enteropneustans. (after minot.)] it is perhaps not absolutely certain that the notochord of _balanoglossus_ and its allies is a true homologue of the notochord of the lancelet. there may be doubt even of the homologies of the gill-slits themselves. but the balance of evidence seems to throw _balanoglossus_ on the fish side of the dividing line which separates the lower chordates from the worms. it may be noticed that hubrecht regards the proboscis of various marine nemertine worms as a real homologue of the notochord, and other writers have traced with more or less success other apparent or possible homologies between the chordate and the annelid series. =classification of enteropneusta.=--until recently the _enteropneusta_ have been usually placed in a single family or even in a single genus. the recent researches of professor j. w. spengel of giessen and of professor william emerson ritter of the university of california, have shown clearly that the group is much larger than had been generally supposed, with numerous species in all the warm seas. in spengel's recent paper, "die benennung der enteropneusten-gattungen," three families are recognized with nine genera and numerous species. at least seven species are now known from the pacific coast of north america. =family harrimaniidæ.=--in _harrimania maculosa_, lately described by dr. ritter from alaska, the eggs are large, with much food yolk, and the process of development is probably, without _tornaria_ stage. a second species of _harrimania_ (_h. kupferi_) is now recognized from norway and greenland. this genus is the simplest in structure among all the enteropneustans and may be regarded as the lowest of known chordates, the most worm-like of back-boned animals. [illustration: fig. .--_harrimania maculosa_ (ritter), the lowest of chordate animals. an enteropneustan from alaska. (after ritter.)] in _dolichoglossus kowalevskii_ the species studied by bateson on the virginia coast, the same simplicity of development occurs. this genus, with a third, _stereobalanus_ (_canadensis_), constitutes in spengel's system the family of _harrimaniidæ_. =balanoglossidæ.=--the family _glandicepitidæ_ contains the genera _glandiceps_, _spengelia_, and _schizocardium_. in the _balanoglossidæ_ (_ptychoderidæ_ of spengel) the eggs are very small and numerous, with little food yolk. the species in this family pass through the tornaria stage above described, a condition strikingly like that of the larval starfish. this fact has given rise to the suggestion that the enteropneusta have a real affinity with the echinoderms. the _balanoglossidæ_ include the genera _glossobalanus_, _balanoglossus_, and _ptychodera_, the latter the oldest known member of the group, its type, _ptychodera flava_, having been described by eschscholtz from the pacific coast in , while _balanoglossus clavigerus_ was found by della chiaje in . =low organization of harrimaniidæ.=--apparently the _harrimaniidæ_, with simpler structure, more extensive notochord, and direct development, should be placed at the bottom as the most primitive of the enteropneustan series. dr. willey, however, regards its characters as due to degeneration, and considers the more elaborate _balanoglossidæ_ as nearest the primitive type. the case in this view would have something in common with that of the _larvacea_, which seems to be the primitive tunicates, but which may have been produced by the degeneration of more complex forms. chapter xxvi the tunicates, or ascidians =structure of tunicates.=--one of the most singular groups of animals is that known as ascidians, or tunicates. it is one of the most clearly marked yet most heterogeneous of all the classes of animals, and in no other are the phenomena of degeneration so clearly shown. among them is a great variety of form and habit. some lie buried in sand; some fasten themselves to rocks; some are imbedded in great colonies in a gelatinous matrix produced from their own bodies, and some float freely in long chains in the open sea. all agree in changing very early in their development from a free-swimming or fish-like condition to one of quiescence, remaining at rest or drifting with the current. says dr. john sterling kingsley: "many of the species start in life with the promise of reaching a point high in the scale, but after a while they turn around and, as one might say, pursue a downward course which results in an adult which displays but few resemblances to the other vertebrates. indeed, so different do they seem that the fact that they belong here was not suspected until about thirty-five years ago. before that time, ever since the days of cuvier, they were almost universally regarded as mollusks, and many facts were adduced to show that they belonged near the acephals (clams, oysters, etc.). in the later years when the facts of development began to be known, this association was looked on with suspicion, and by some they were placed for a short time among the worms. any one who has watched the phases of their development cannot help believing that they belong here, the lowest of the vertebrate series." the following account of the structure and development of the tunicate is taken, with considerable modification and condensation, from professor kingsley's chapter on the group in the riverside natural history. for the changes suggested i am indebted to the kindness of professor william emerson ritter: the tunicates derive their name from the fact that the whole body is invested with a tough envelope or "tunic." this tunic or test may be either gelatinous, cartilaginous, or leathery. in some forms it is perfectly transparent, in others it is translucent, allowing enough light to pass to show the colors of the viscera, while in still others it is opaque and variously colored. the tunic is everywhere only loosely attached to the body proper, except in the region of the two openings now to be mentioned. one of these openings occupies a more or less central position, while the other is usually at one side, or it may even be placed at the opposite end of the body. on placing one of the ascidians in a glass dish and sprinkling a little carmine or indigo in the water, we can study some of the functions of the animal. as soon as the disturbance is over, the animals will open the two apertures referred to, when it will be seen that each is surrounded with blunt lobes, the number of which varies with the species. as soon as they are opened a stream of water will be seen to rush into the central opening, carrying with it the carmine, and a moment later a reddish cloud will be ejected from the other aperture. from this we learn that the water passes through the body. why it does so is to be our next inquiry. on cutting the animal open we find that the water, after passing through the first-mentioned opening (which may be called the mouth) enters a spacious chamber, the walls of which are made up of fine meshes, the whole appearing like lattice-work. taking out a bit of this network and examining it under the microscope, we find that the edges of the meshes are armed with strong cilia, which are in constant motion, forcing the water through the holes. of course, the supply has to be made good, and hence more water flows in through the mouth. this large cavity is known as the branchial or pharyngeal chamber. it is, according to professor ritter, "as we know from the embryology of the animal, the greatly enlarged anterior end of the digestive tract; and as the holes, or stigmata, as they are technically called, are perforations of the wall for the passage of water for purposes of respiration, they are both morphologically and physiologically comparable with the gill openings of fishes." there can be no doubt, therefore, that the pharyngeal sac of ascidians is homologous with the pharynx of fishes. surrounding the mouth, or branchial orifice, just at its entrance into the branchial chamber is a circle of tentacles. these are simple in some genera, but elaborately branched in others. in close connection with the cerebral ganglion, which is situated between the two siphons, there is a large gland with a short trumpet-shaped duct opening into the branchial sac a little distance behind the mouth. the orifice of the duct is just within a ring consisting of a ciliated groove that extends around the mouth outside the circle of branchial tentacles. on the opposite side of the mouth from the gland the ciliated groove joins another groove which is both ciliated and glandular, and which runs backward along the upper floor of the pharyngeal sac to its posterior extremity. this organ, called the endostyle, is concerned in the transportation of the animal's food through the pharyngeal sac to the opening of the oesophagus. comparative embryology makes it almost certain that the subneural gland with its duct, described above, is homologous with the hypophesis cerebri of true vertebrates, and that the endostyle is homologous with the thyroid glands of vertebrates. the water after passing through the branchial network is received into narrow passages and conducted to a larger cavity--the cloacal or atrial chamber. the general relations can he seen from our diagram, illustrating a vertical and horizontal section. from the atrial chamber the water flows out into the external world. now we can readily see how in the older works naturalists were misled as to the affinities of the tunicates. they regarded the tunic as the equivalent of the mantle of the mollusks, while the incurrent and excurrent openings corresponded to the siphons. in one genus, _rhodosoma_, the resemblance was even stronger, for there the tunic is in two parts, united by a hinge line, and closed by an adductor muscle. how and why these views were totally erroneous will be seen when we come to consider the development of these animals. at the bottom of the pharnygeal sac is the narrow oesophagus surrounded with cilia, which force a current down into the digestive tract. the branchial meshes serve as a strainer for the water, and the larger particles which it contains fall down until they are within reach of the current going down the oesophagus. after passing through the throat, they come to the stomach, where digestion takes place, and then the ejectamenta are carried out through the intestine and poured into the bottom of the atrial cavity. the heart lies on the ventral side of the stomach and is surrounded by a well-developed pericardium. the most remarkable fact connected with the circulation is that the heart, after beating a short time, forcing the blood through the vessels, will suddenly stop for a moment and then resume its beats; but, strange to say, after the stoppage the direction of the circulation is reversed, the blood taking an exactly opposite course from that formerly pursued. this most exceptional condition was first seen in the transparent _salpa_, but it may be witnessed in the young of most genera. we have already referred to the branchial chamber. the walls of this chamber, besides acting as a strainer, are also respiratory organs. the meshes of which they are composed are in reality tubes through which the blood circulates and thus is brought in contact with a constantly renewed supply of fresh water. the central nervous system in the adults of all except the _larvacea_ is reduced to a single ganglion placed near the mouth thus indicating the dorsal side. in forms like _cynthia_ it holds the same relative position with regard to the mouth, but by the doubling of the body (to be explained further on) it is also brought near the atrial aperture, where it is shown in our first diagram. =development of tunicates.=--the sexes are combined in the same individual, though usually the products ripen at different times. as a rule, the earlier stages of the embryo are passed inside the cloacal chamber, though in some the development occurs outside the body. as a type of the development we will consider that of one of the solitary forms, leaving the many curious modifications to be noticed in connection with the species in which they occur. this will be best, since these forms show the relationship to the other vertebrates in the clearest manner. [illustration: fig. .--development of the larval tunicate to the fixed condition. (from seeliger, per parker & haswell.) _a_, larva; _b_, intermediate stage; _c_, adult.] the egg undergoes a total segmentation and a regular gastrulation. soon a tail appears, and under the microscope the young embryo, which now begins its free life, appears much like the tadpole of the frog. it has a large oval body and a long tail which lashes about, forcing the animal forward with a wriggling motion. nor is the resemblance superficial; it pervades every part of the structure, as may be seen from the adjacent diagram. the mouth is nearly terminal and communicates with a gill-chamber provided with gill-clefts. at the posterior end of the gill-chamber begins the alimentary tract, which pursues a convoluted course to the vent. in the tail, but not extending to any distance into the body, is an axial cylinder, the notochord, which here, as in all other vertebrates, arises from the hypoblast; and above it is the spinal cord (epiblastic in origin), which extends forward to the brain, above the gill-chamber. besides, the animal is provided with organs of sight and hearing, which, however, are of peculiar construction and can hardly be homologized with the corresponding organs in vertebrates. so far the correspondence between the two types is very close, and if we knew nothing about the later stages, one would without doubt predict that the adult tunicate would reach a high point in the scale of vertebrates. these high expectations are never fulfilled; the animal, on the contrary, pursues a retrograde course, resulting in an adult whose relationship to the true vertebrates never would have been suspected had its embryology remained unknown. [illustration: fig. .--anatomy of tunicate. (after herdman, per parker & haswell.)] after the stage described this retrograde movement begins. from various parts of the body lobes grow out, armed on their extremities with sucking-disks. these soon come in contact with some subaquatic object and adhere to it. then the notochord breaks down, the spinal cord is absorbed, the tail follows suit, the intestine twists around, and the cloaca is formed, the result being much like the diagram near the head of this section. in forms like _appendicularia_, little degeneration takes place, so far as is known, the tail, with its notochord and neural chord, persisting through life. =reproduction of tunicates.=--as to the reproduction of the tunicates, dr. ritter writes: "in addition to the sexual method of reproduction, many tunicates reproduce asexually by budding. the capacity for bud reproduction appears to have been acquired by certain simple ascidians in connection with, probably as a result of, their having given up the free-swimming life and become attached and consequently degenerate. "instructive as the embryonic development of the creatures is from the standpoint of evolution, the bud method of development is scarcely less so from the same point of view. the development of the adult zooid from the simple bud has been conclusively shown to be by a process in many respects fundamentally unlike that by which the individual is developed from the egg. we have then in these animals a case in which practically the same results are reached by developmental processes that are, according to prevailing conceptions of animal organizations, fundamentally different. this fact has hardly a parallel in the animal kingdom." =habits of tunicates.=--the tunicates are all marine, some floating or swimming freely, some attached to rocks or wharves, others buried in the sand. they feed on minute organisms, plants, or animals, occasional rare forms being found in their stomachs. some of them possess a single median eye or eye-like structure which may not do more than recognize the presence of light. no fossil tunicates are known, as they possess no hard parts, although certain ostracoderms have been suspected, though on very uncertain grounds, to be mailed tunicates, rather than mailed lampreys. it is not likely that this hypothesis has any sound foundation. the group is divided by herdman and most other recent authorities into three orders, viz., the _larvacea_, the _ascidiacea_, and the _thaliacea_. =larvacea.=--in the most primitive order the animals are minute and free-swimming, never passing beyond the tadpole stage. the notochord and the nervous chord persist through life, the latter with ganglionic segmentations at regular intervals. the species mostly float in the open sea, and some of them form from their own secretions a transparent gelatinous envelope called a "house." this has two apertures and a long chamber "in which the tail has room to vibrate." the order consists of a single small family, _appendiculariidæ_. the lowest type is known as _kowalevskia_, a minute creature without heart or intestine found floating in the mediterranean. it is in many respects the simplest in structure among _chordate_ animals. _oikopleura_ (fig. ) is another genus of this group. =ascidiacea.=--in the _ascidiacea_ the adult is usually attached to some object, and the two apertures are placed near each other by the obliteration of the caudal area. the form has been compared to a "leathern bottle with two spouts." [illustration: fig. .--_ascidia adhærens_ ritter. glacier bay, alaska. (after ritter.)] the suborder _ascidiæ simplices_ includes the solitary ascidians or "sea-squirts," common on our shores, as well as the social forms in which an individual is surrounded by its buds. the common name arises from the fact that when touched they contract, squirting water from both apertures. the _ascidiidæ_ comprise the most familiar solitary forms, some of them the largest of the tunicates and represented on most coasts. in the _molgulidæ_ and most _ascidiæ compositæ_ the young hatch out in the cloaca, from which "these tadpoles swim out as yellow atoms," while in a new genus, _euherdmania_, described by ritter, from the coast of california, the embryos are retained through their whole larval stage in the oviduct of the parent. they form, according to kingsley, adhesive processes on the body, but those of _molgula_ cannot use them in becoming attached to rocks, since they are entirely inclosed in a peculiar envelope. this envelope is after a while very adhesive, and if the little tadpole happens to touch any part of himself to a stone or shell he is fastened for life. thus "i have frequently seen them adhere by the tail, while the anterior part was making the most violent struggles to escape. soon, however, they settle down contentedly, absorb the tail, and in a few weeks assume the adult structure." in the family _cynthiidæ_ the brightly-colored red and yellow species of _cynthia_ are known as sea-peaches by the fishermen. the sea-pears, _boltenia_, are fastened to long stalks. these have a leathery and wrinkled tunic, to which algæ and hydroids freely attach themselves. into the gill-cavity of these forms small fishes, blennies, gobies, and pearl-fishes often retreat for protection. [illustration: fig. .--_styela yacutatensis_ (ritter), a simple ascidian. family _molgulidæ_. yakutat bay, alaska. (after ritter.)] the social ascidians constitute the _clavellinidæ_. they are similar to the _ascidiidæ_ in form, but each individual sends out a bud which forms a stern bearing another individual at the end. by this means large colonies may be formed. the suborder, _ascidiæ compositæ_, contains the compound ascidians or colonies enveloped in a common gelatinous "test." these colonies are usually attached to rock or seaweed, and the individuals are frequently regularly and symmetrically arranged. the bodies are sometimes complex in form. [illustration: fig. .--_styela greeleyi_ ritter. family _molgulidæ_. lukanin, pribilof islands. (after ritter.)] [illustration: fig. .--_cynthia superba_ ritter. a tunicate from puget sound. family _cynthiidæ_. (after ritter.)] in the _botryllidæ_ and _polystyelidæ_ the individuals are not segmented and in the former family are arranged in star-shaped groups about a common cloaca, into which the atrial siphons of the different individuals open. the group springs by budding from the tadpole, or larva, which has attached itself to some object. these forms are often brightly colored. _botryllus gouldi_ is a species very common along our north atlantic coast, forming gray star-shaped masses sometimes an inch across on eel-grass (_zostera_) and on flat-leaved seaweeds. _goodsiria dura_, a representative of the _polystyelidæ_, is one of the most common ascidians on the california coast southward, where the brick-red masses incrusting on seaweeds of various kinds, and on other ascidians, are frequently thrown ashore in great quantities during heavy storms. [illustration: fig. .--_botryllus magnus_ ritter. a compound ascidian. shumagin islands, alaska. (after ritter.)] in _didemnidæ_ the body is more complex, of two parts, called the "thorax" and "abdomen." in _amaroecium_, the "sea pork" of the fishermen, the body is in three parts and the individuals are very long. these sometimes form great masses a foot or more long, "colored like boiled salt pork, but more translucent." other families of this type are the _distomidæ_ and the _polyclinidæ_. in the suborder _luciæ_, including the family _pyrosomidæ_, the colonies are thimble-shaped and hollow, the incurrent openings being on the outer surface of the thimble, the outgoing stream opening within. _pyrosoma_ is highly phosphorescent. in the tropical seas some colonies reach a length of two or three feet. it is said that a description of a colony was once written by a naturalist on a page illumined by the colony's own light. "each of the individuals has a number of cells near the mouth the function of which is to produce the light." =thaliacea.=--in the order _thaliacea_ the tunicates have the two orifices at opposite ends of the body. all are free-swimming and perfectly transparent. the principal family is that of _salpidæ_. the gill-cavity in salpa is much altered, the gills projecting into it dividing it into two chambers. in these forms we have the phenomena of alternation of generations. a sexual female produces eggs, and from each hatches a tadpole larva which is without sex. this gives rise to buds, some at least of the individuals arising which in turn produce eggs. [illustration: fig. .--_botryllus magnus_ ritter. part of colony. (after ritter.)] in the family _salpidæ_ two kinds of individuals occur, the solitary salpa, or female, and the chain salpa, or bisexual males. the latter are united together in long bands, each individual forming a link in the chain held together by spurs extending from one to the next. from each solitary individual a long process or cord grows out, this dividing to form the chain. each chain salpa produces male reproductive organs and each develops as well a single egg. the egg is developed within the body attached by a sort of placenta, while the spermatozoa are cast into the sea to fertilize other eggs. from each egg develops the solitary salpa and from her buds the chain of bisexual creatures. dr. w. k. brooks regards these as nursing males, the real source of the egg being perhaps the solitary female. of this extraordinary arrangement the naturalist-poet chamisso, who first described it, said: "a salpa mother is not like its daughter or its own mother, but resembles its sister, its granddaughter, and its grandmother." but it is misleading to apply such terms taken from the individualized human relationship to the singular communal system developed by these ultra-degenerate and strangely specialized chordates. [illustration: fig. .--_botryllus magnus_ ritter, a single zooid. shumagin islands, alaska. (after ritter.)] [illustration: fig. .--_aplidiopsis jordani_ ritter, a compound ascidian. lukanin beach, pribilof islands. (after ritter.)] the salpas abound in the warm seas, the chains often covering the water for miles. they are perfectly transparent, and the chains are often more than a foot in length. in doliolum the body is barrel-shaped and the gills are less modified than in salpa. the alternation of generations in this genus is still more complicated than in salpa, for here we have not only a sexual and a non-sexual generation, the individuals of which differ from each other, but there is further a differentiation among the asexually produced individuals themselves; so that we have in all three instead of two sorts of animals in the complete life cycle. besides the proliferating stolon situated on the ventral side, the bud-producing individual possesses a dorsal process larger than the stolon proper. the buds become completely severed from the true stolon at an early stage and actually crawl along the side of the parent up to the dorsal process, upon which they arrange themselves in three rows, two lateral and one median. the buds of the lateral rows become nutritive and respiratory zooids, while those of the median row, ultimately at least, give rise in turn to the egg-producing individuals. =origin of tunicates.=--there can be little doubt that the _tunicata_ form an offshoot from the primitive chordate stock, and the structure of their larva in connection with that of the lancelet throws a large light on the nature of their common parents. "we may conclude," says dr. arthur willey, "that the proximate ancestor of the vertebrates was a free-swimming animal intermediate in organization between an ascidian tadpole and amphioxus, possessing the dorsal mouth, hypophysis, and restricted notochord of the former and the myotomes, coelomic epithelium, and straight alimentary canal of the latter. the ultimate or primordial ancestor of the vertebrates would, on the contrary, be a worm-like animal whose organization was approximately on a level with that of the bilateral ancestors of the echinoderms." [illustration: fig. .--adult tunicate of the group larvacea, oikopleura. family _appendiculariidæ_. (after fol, per parker & haswell.)] =degeneration of tunicates.=--there is no question, furthermore, professor ritter observes, "that most of the group has undergone great degeneration in its evolutionary course. just what the starting-point was, however, is a matter on which there is considerable difference of opinion among authorities. according to one view, particularly championed by professor w. k. brooks, _appendicularia_ is very near the ancestral form. the ancestor was consequently a small, marine, free-swimming creature. from this ancestor the ascidiacea were evolved largely through the influence of the attached habit of life, and the tadpole stage in their development is a recapitulation of the ancestral form, just as the tadpole stage in the frog's life is a repetition of the fish ancestry of the frog. "according to the most common view _appendicularia_ is not an ancestral form at all, but is the tadpole stage of the _ascidiacea_ that has failed to undergo metamorphosis and has become sexually mature in the larval condition, as the larva of certain amphibians and insects are known to never pass into the adult state but reproduce their kind sexually in the larval condition. by this view the tadpole of such ascidian as _ciona_, for example, represents more closely the common ancestor of the group than does any other form we know. this view is especially defended by professor k. heider and dr. arthur willey." chapter xxvii the leptocardii, or lancelets =the lancelet.=--the lancelet is a vertebrate reduced to its very lowest terms. the essential organs of vertebrate life are there, but each one in its simplest form unspecialized and with structure and function feebly differentiated. the skeleton consists of a cartilaginous notochord inclosed in a membranous sheath. there is no skull. no limbs, no conspicuous processes, and no vertebræ are present. the heart is simply a long contractile tube, hence the name _leptocardii_ (from ~leptos~, slender; ~kardia~, heart). the blood is colorless. there is a hepatic portal circulation. there is no brain, the spinal cord tapering in front as behind. the water for respiration passes through very many gill-slits from the pharynx into the atrium, from which it is excluded through the atripore in front of the vent. a large chamber, called the atrium, extends almost the length of the body along the ventral and lateral regions. it communicates with the pharynx through the gill-slits and with the exterior through a small opening in front of the vent, the atripore. the atrium is not found in forms above the lancelets. the reproductive organs consist of a series of pairs of segmentally arranged gonads. the excretory organs consist of a series of tubules in the region of the pharynx, connecting the body-cavity with the atrium. the mouth is a lengthwise slit without jaws, and on either side is a row of fringes. from this feature comes the name _cirrostomi_, from cirrus, a fringe of hair, and ~stoma~, mouth. the body is lanceolate in form, sharp at either end. from this fact arises a third name, _amphioxus_, from ~amphi~, both; ~oxys~, sharp. dorsal and anal fins are developed as folds of the skin supported by very slender rays. there are no other fins. the alimentary canal is straight, and is differentiated into pharynx and intestine; the liver is a blind sac arising from the anterior end of the intestine. a pigment spot in the wall of the spinal cord has been interpreted as an eye. above the snout is a supposed olfactory pit which some have thought to be connected with the pineal structure. the muscular impressions along the sides are very distinct and it is chiefly by means of the variation in numbers of these that the species can be distinguished. thus in the common lancelet of europe, _branchiostoma lanceolatum_, the muscular bands are + + = . in the common species of the eastern coasts of america, _branchiostoma caribæum_, these are + + = , while in the california lancelet, _branchiostoma californiense_, these are + + = . =habits of lancelets.=--lancelets are slender translucent worm-like creatures, varying from half an inch (_asymmetron lucayanum_) to four inches (_branchiostoma californiense_) in length. they live buried in sand in shallow waters along the coasts of warm seas. one species, _amphioxides pelagicus_, has been taken at the depth of fathoms, but whether at the bottom or floating near the surface is not known. the species are very tenacious of life and will endure considerable mutilation. some of them are found on almost every coast in semi-tropical and tropical regions. =species of lancelets.=--the mediterranean species ranges northward to the south of england. others are found as far north as chesapeake bay, san diego, and misaki in japan, where is found a species called _branchiostoma belcheri_. the sands at the mouth of san diego bay are noted as producing the largest of the species of lancelets, _branchiostoma californiense_. from the bahamas comes the smallest, the type of a distinct genus, _asymmetron lucayanum_, distinguished among other things by a projecting tail. other supposed genera are _amphioxides_ (_pelagicus_), dredged in the deep sea off hawaii and supposed to be pelagic, the mouth without cirri; _epigonichthys_ (_cultellus_), from the east indies, and _heteropleuron_ (_bassanum_), from bass straits, australia. these little animals are of great interest to anatomists as giving the clue to the primitive structure of vertebrates. while possibly these have diverged widely from their actual common ancestry with the fishes, they must approach near to these in many ways. their simplicity is largely primitive, not, as in the tunicates, the result of subsequent degradation. [illustration: fig. .--california lancelet, _branchiostoma californiense_ gill. (from san diego.)] the lancelets, less than a dozen species in all, constitute a single family, _branchiostomidæ_. the principal genus, _branchiostoma_, is usually called _amphioxus_ by anatomists. but while the name _amphioxus_, like lancelet, is convenient in vernacular use, it has no standing in systematic nomenclature. the name _branchiostoma_ was given to lancelets from naples in , by costa, while that of _amphioxus_, given to specimens from cornwall, dates from yarrell's work on the british fishes in . the name amphioxus may be pleasanter or shorter or more familiar or more correctly descriptive than _branchiostoma_, but if so the fact cannot be considered in science as affecting the duty of priority. the name _acraniata_ (without skull) is often used for the lower chordates taken collectively, and it is sometimes applied to the lancelets alone. it refers to those chordate forms which have no skull nor brain, as distinguished from the _craniota_, or forms with a distinct brain having a bony or cartilaginous capsule for its protection. =origin of lancelets.=--it is doubtless true, as dr. willey suggests, that the vertebrates became separated from their worm-like ancestry through "the concentration of the central nervous system along the dorsal side of the body and its conversion into a hollow tube." besides this trait two others are common to all of them, the presence of the gill-slits and that of the notochord. the gill-slits may have served primarily to relieve the stomach of water, as in the lowest forms they enter directly into the body-cavity. the primitive function of the notochord is still far from clear, but its ultimate use of its structures in affording protection and in furnishing a fulcrum for the muscles and limbs is of the greatest importance in the processes of life. [illustration: fig. _a_.--gill-basket of lamprey.] chapter xxviii the cyclostomes, or lampreys =the lampreys.=--passing upward from the lancelets and setting aside the descending series of tunicates, we have a long step indeed to the next class of fish-like vertebrates. during the period this great gap represents in time we have the development of brain, skull, heart, and other differentiated organs replacing the simple structures found in the lancelet. the presence of brain without limbs and without coat-of-mail distinguishes the class of _cyclostomes_, or lampreys (~kuklos~, round; ~stoma~, mouth). this group is also known as _marsipobranchi_ (~marsipion~, pouch; ~branchos~, gill); _dermopteri_ (~derma~, skin; ~pteron~, fin); and _myzontes_ (~myzaô~, to suck). it includes the forms known as lampreys, slime-eels, and hagfishes. =structure of the lamprey.=--comparing a cyclostome with a lancelet we may see many evidences of specialization in structure. the cyclostome has a distinct head with a cranium formed of a continuous body of cartilage modified to contain a fish-like brain, a cartilaginous skeleton of which the cranium is evidently a differentiated part. the vertebræ are undeveloped, the notochord being surrounded by its membranes, without bony or cartilaginous segments. the gills have the form of fixed sacs, six to fourteen in number, on each side, arranged in a cartilaginous structure known as "branchial basket" (fig. _a_), the elements of which are not clearly homologous with the gill-arches of the true fishes. fish-like eyes are developed on the sides of the head. there is a median nostril associated with a pituitary pouch, which pierces the skull floor. an ear-capsule is developed. the brain is composed of paired ganglia in general appearance resembling the brain of the true fish, but the detailed homology of its different parts offers considerable uncertainty. the heart is modified to form two pulsating cavities, auricle and ventricle. the folds of the dorsal and anal fins are distinct, supported by slender rays. the mouth is a roundish disk, with rasping teeth over its surface and with sharper and stronger teeth on the tongue. the intestine is straight and simple. the kidney is represented by a highly primitive pronephros and no trace exists of an air-bladder or lung. the skin is smooth and naked, sometimes secreting an excessive quantity of slime. from the true fishes the cyclostomes differ in the total absence of limbs and of shoulder and pelvic girdles, as well as of jaws. it has been thought by some writers that the limbs were ancestrally present and lost through degeneration, as in the eels. dr. ayers, following huxley, finds evidence of the ancestral existence of a lower jaw. the majority of observers, however, regard the absence of limbs and jaws in cyclostomes as a primitive character, although numerous other features of the modern hagfish and lamprey may have resulted from degeneration. there is no clear evidence that the class of cyclostomes, as now known to us, has any great antiquity, and its members may be all degenerate offshoots from types of greater complexity of structure. =supposed extinct cyclostomes.=--no species belonging to the class of cyclostomes has been found fossil. we may reason theoretically that the earliest fish-like forms were acraniate or lancelet-like, and that lamprey-like forms would naturally follow these, but this view cannot be substantiated from the fossils. lancelets have no hard parts whatever, and could probably leave no trace in any sedimentary deposit. the lampreys stand between lancelets and sharks. their teeth and fins at least might occasionally be preserved in the rocks, but no structures certainly known to be such have yet been recognized. it is however reasonably certain that the modern lamprey and hagfish are descendants, doubtless degraded and otherwise modified from species which filled the gap between the earliest chordate animals and the jaw-bearing sharks. =conodontes.=--certain structures found as fossils have been from time to time regarded as cyclostomes, but in all such cases there is doubt as to the real nature of the fossil relic in question or as to the proper interpretation of its relationship. thus the _conodontes_ of the cambrian, silurian, and devonian have been regarded as lingual teeth of extinct cyclostomes. the _cycliæ_ of the devonian have been considered as minute lampreys, although the vertebral segments are highly specialized, to a degree far beyond the condition seen in the lampreys of to-day. the ostracophores have been regarded as monstrous lampreys in coat of mail, and the possibility of a lamprey origin even for arthrodires has been suggested. the _cycliæ_ and _ostracophori_ were apparently without jaws or limbs, being in this regard like the _cyclostomes_, but their ancestry and relationships are wholly problematical. [illustration: fig. .--_polygnathus dubium_ hinde. a conodont from the new york devonian. (after hinde.)] the nature of the conodontes is still uncertain. in form they resemble teeth, but their structure is different from that of the teeth of any fishes, agreeing with that of the teeth of annelid worms. some have compared them to the armature of trilobites. some fifteen nominal genera are described by pander in russia, and by hinde about lake erie and lake ontario. some of these, as _drepaniodus_, are simple, straight or curved grooved teeth or tooth-like structures; others, as _prioniodus_, have numerous smaller teeth or denticles at the base of the larger one. =orders of cyclostomes.=--the known cyclostomes are naturally divided into two orders, the _hyperotreta_, or hagfishes, and the _hyperoartia_, or lampreys. these two orders are very distinct from each other. while the two groups agree in the general form of the body, they differ in almost every detail, and there is much pertinence in lankester's suggestions that each should stand as a separate class. the ancestral forms of each, as well as the intervening types if such ever existed, are left unrecorded in the rocks. =the hyperotreta, or hagfishes.=--the _hyperotreta_ (~hyperôa~, palate; ~tretos~, perforate), or hagfishes, have the nostril highly developed, a tube-like cylinder with cartilaginous rings penetrating the palate. in these the eyes are little developed and the species are parasitic on other fishes. in _polistotrema stouti_, the hagfish of the coast of california, is parasitic on large fishes, rockfishes, or flounders. it usually fastens itself at the throat or isthmus of its host and sometimes at the eyes. thence it works very rapidly to the inside of the body. it there devours all the muscular part of the fish without breaking the skin or the peritoneum, leaving the fish a living hulk of head, skin, and bones. it is especially destructive to fishes taken in gill-nets. the voracity of the chilean species _polistotrema dombeyi_ is equally remarkable. dr. federico t. delfin finds that in seven hours a hagfish of this species will devour eighteen times its own weight of fish-flesh. the intestinal canal is a simple tube, through which most of the food passes undigested. the eggs are large, each in a yellowish horny case, at one end of which are barbed threads by which they cling together and to kelp or other objects. in the california hagfish, _polistotrema stouti_, great numbers of these eggs have been found in the stomachs of the males. [illustration: fig. .--california hagfish, _polistotrema stouti_ lockington.] similar habits are possessed by all the species in the two families, _myxinidæ_ and _eptatretidæ_. in the _myxinidæ_ the gill-openings are apparently single on each side, the six gills being internal and leading by six separate ducts to each of the six branchial sacs. the skin is excessively slimy, the extensible tongue is armed with two cone-like series of strong teeth. about the mouth are eight barbels. of _myxine_, numerous species are known--_myxine glutinosa_, in the north of europe; _myxine limosa_, of the west atlantic; _myxine australis_, and several others about cape horn, and _myxine garmani_ in japan. all live in deep waters and none have been fully studied. it has been claimed that the hagfish is male when young, many individuals gradually changing to female, but this conclusion lacks verification and is doubtless without foundation. in the _eptatretidæ_ the gill-openings, six to fourteen in number, are externally separate, each with its own branchial sac as in the lampreys. the species of the genus _eptatretus_ (_bdellostoma_, _heptatrema_, and _homea_, all later names for the same group) are found only in the pacific, in california, chile, patagonia, south africa, and japan. in general appearance and habits these agree with the species of _myxine_. the species with ten to fourteen gill-openings (_dombeyi_: _stouti_) are sometimes set off as a distinct genus (_polistotrema_), but in other regards the species differ little, and frequent individual variations occur. _eptatretus burgeri_ is found in japan and _eptatretus forsteri_ in australia. =the hyperoartia, or lampreys.=--in the order _hyperoartia_, or lampreys, the single nostril is a blind sac which does not penetrate the palate. the seven gill-openings lead each to a separate sac, the skin is not especially covered with mucus, the eyes are well developed in the adult, and the mouth is a round disk armed with rasp-like teeth, the comb-like teeth on the tongue being less developed than in the hagfishes. the intestine in the lampreys has a spiral valve. the eggs are small and are usually laid in brooks away from the sea, and in most cases the adult lamprey dies after spawning. according to thoreau, "it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period, a tragic feature in the scenery of the river-bottoms worthy to be remembered with shakespeare's description of the sea-floor." this account is not far from the truth, as recent studies have shown. the lampreys of the northern regions constitute the family of _petromyzonidæ_. the larger species (_petromyzon_, _entosphenus_) live in the sea, ascending rivers to spawn, and often becoming land-locked and reduced in size by living in rivers only. such land-locked marine lampreys (_petromyzon marinus unicolor_) breed in cayuga lake and other lakes in new york. the marine forms reach a length of three feet. smaller lampreys of other genera six inches to eighteen inches in length remain all their lives in the rivers, ascending the little brooks in the spring, clinging to stones and clods of earth till their eggs are deposited. these are found throughout northern europe, northern asia, and the colder parts of north america, belonging to the genera _lampetra_ and _ichthyomyzon_. other and more aberrant genera from chile and australia are _geotria_ and _mordacia_, the latter forming a distinct family, _mordaciidæ_. in _geotria_, a large and peculiar gular pouch is developed at the throat. in _macrophthalmia_ _chilensis_ from chile the eyes are large and conspicuous. =food of lampreys.=--the lampreys feed on the blood and flesh of fishes. they attach themselves to the sides of the various species, rasp off the flesh with their teeth, sucking the blood till the fish weakens and dies. preparations made by students of professor jacob reighard in the university of michigan show clearly that the lamprey stomach contains muscular tissue as well as the blood of fishes. the river species do a great deal of mischief, a fact which has been the subject of a valuable investigation by professor h. a. surface, who has also considered the methods available for their destruction. the flesh of the lamprey is wholesome, and the larger species, especially the great sea lamprey of the atlantic, _petromyzon marinus_, are valued as food. the small species, according to prof. gage, never feed on fishes. [illustration: fig. .--lamprey, _petromyzon marinus_ l. woods hole, mass.] =metamorphosis of lampreys.=--all lampreys, so far as known, pass through a distinct metamorphosis. the young, known as the _ammocoetes_ form, are slender, eyeless, and with the mouth narrow and toothless. from professor surface's paper on "the removal of lampreys from the interior waters of new york" we have the following extracts (slightly condensed): [illustration: fig. .--_petromyzon marinus unicolor_ (de kay). mouth of lake lamprey, cayuga lake. (after gage.)] [illustration: fig. .--_lampetra wilderi_ jordan & evermann. larval brook lamprey in its burrow in a glass filled with sand. (after gage.)] [illustration: fig. .--_lampetra wilderi_ jordan & evermann. mouth of brook lamprey. cayuga lake. (after gage.)] "in the latter part of the fall the young lampreys, _petromyzon marinus unicolor_, the variety land-locked in the lakes of central new york, metamorphose and assume the form of the adult. they are now about six or eight inches long. the externally segmented condition of the body disappears. the eyes appear to grow out through the skin and become plainly visible and functional. the mouth is no longer filled with vertical membranous sheets to act as a sieve, but it contains nearly one hundred and fifty sharp and chitinous teeth, arranged in rows that are more or less concentric and at the same time presenting the appearance of circular radiation. these teeth are very strong, with sharp points, and in structure each has the appearance of a hollow cone of chitin placed over another cone or papilla. a little below the center of the mouth is the oral opening, which is circular and contains a flattened tongue which bears finer teeth of chitin set closely together and arranged in two interrupted (appearing as four) curved rows extending up and down from the ventral toward the dorsal side of the mouth. around the mouth is a circle of soft membrane finally surrounded by a margin of fimbriæ or small fringe. this completes the apparatus with which the lamprey attaches itself to its victims, takes its food, carries stones, builds and tears down its nest, seizes its mate, holds itself in position in a strong current, and climbs over falls." =mischief done by lampreys.=--"the most common economic feature in the entire life history of these animals is their feeding habits in this (spawning) stage, their food now consisting wholly of the blood (and flesh) of fishes. a lamprey is able to strike its suctorial mouth against a fish, and in an instant becomes so firmly attached that it is very rarely indeed that the efforts of the fish will avail to rid itself of its persecutor. when a lamprey attaches itself to a person's hand in the aquarium, it can only be freed by lifting it from the water. as a rule it will drop the instant it is exposed to the open air, although often it will remain attached for some time even in the open air, or may attach itself to an object while out of water. "nearly all lampreys that are attached to fish when they are caught in nets will escape through the meshes of the nets, but some are occasionally brought ashore and may hang on to their victim with bulldog pertinacity. "the fishes that are mostly attacked are of the soft-rayed species, having cycloid scales, the spiny-rayed species with ctenoid scales being most nearly immune from their attacks. we think there may be three reasons for this: st, the fishes of the latter group are generally more alert and more active than those of the former, and may be able more readily to dart away from such enemies; d, their scales are thicker and stronger and appear to be more firmly imbedded in the skin, consequently it is more difficult for the lampreys to hold on and cut through the heavier coat-of-mail to obtain the blood of the victim; d, since the fishes of the second group are wholly carnivorous and in fact almost exclusively fish-eating when adult, in every body of water they are more rare than those of the first group, which are more nearly omnivorous. according to the laws and requirements of nature the fishes of the first group must be more abundant, as they become the food for those of the second, and it is on account of their greater abundance that the lampreys' attacks on them are more observed. "there is no doubt that the bullhead, or horned pout (_ameiurus nebulosus_), is by far the greatest sufferer from lamprey attacks in cayuga lake. this may be due in part to the sluggish habits of the fish, which render it an easy victim, but it is more likely due to the fact that this fish has no scales and the lamprey has nothing to do but to pierce the thick skin and find its feast of blood ready for it. there is no doubt of the excellency of the bullhead as a food-fish and of its increasing favor with mankind. it is at present the most important food- and market-fish of the state (new york), being caught by bushels in the early part of june when preparing to spawn. as we have observed at times more than ninety per cent. of the catch attacked by lampreys, it can readily be seen how very serious are the attacks of this terrible parasite which is surely devastating our lakes and streams." =migration or "running" of lampreys.=--"after thus feeding to an unusual extent, their reproductive elements (gonads) become mature and their alimentary canals commence to atrophy. this duct finally becomes so occluded that from formerly being large enough to admit a lead-pencil of average size when forced through it, later not even liquids can pass through, and it becomes nearly a thread closely surrounded by the crowding reproductive organs. when these changes commence to ensue, the lampreys turn their heads against the current and set out on their long journeys to the sites that are favorable for spawning, which here may be from two to eight miles from the lake. in this migration they are true to their instincts and habits of laziness in being carried about, as they make use of any available object, such as a fish, boat, etc., that is going in their direction, fastening to it with their suctorial mouths and being borne along at their ease. during this season it is not infrequent that as the cornell crews come in from practice and lift their shells from the water, they find lampreys clinging to the bottoms of the boats, sometimes as many as fifty at one time. they are likely to crowd up all streams flowing into the lake, inspecting the bed of the stream as they go. they do not stop until they reach favorable spawning sites, and if they find unsurmountable obstacles in their way, such as vertical falls or dams, they turn around and go down-stream until they find another, up which they go. this is proved every spring by the number of adult lampreys which are seen temporarily in pall creek and cascadilla creek. in each of these streams, about a mile from its mouth, there is a vertical fall over thirty feet in height which the lampreys cannot surmount, and in fact they have never been seen attempting to do so. after clinging with their mouths to the stones at the foot of the falls for a few days, they work their way down-stream, carefully inspecting all the bottom for suitable spawning sites. they do not spawn in these streams because there are too many rocks and no sand, but finally enter the only stream (the cayuga lake inlet) in which they find suitable and accessible spawning sites. [illustration: fig. .--kamchatka lamprey, _lampetra camtschatica_ (tilesius). kamchatka.] "the three-toothed lampreys (_entosphenus tridentatus_) of the west coast climb low falls or rapids by a series of leaps, holding with their mouths to rest, then jumping and striking again and holding, thus leap by leap gaining the entire distance. "the lampreys here have never been known to show any tendency or ability to climb, probably because there are no rapids or mere low falls in the streams up which they would run. in fact, as the inlet is the only stream entering cayuga lake in this region which presents suitable spawning conditions and no obstructions, it can be seen at once that all the lampreys must spawn in this stream and its tributaries. [illustration: fig. .--oregon lamprey, _entosphenus tridentatus_, ascending a brook. (modified from a photograph by dr. h. m. smith. published by prof. h. a. surface.) willamette river, oregon.] "in 'running' they move almost entirely at night, and if they do not reach a suitable spawning site by daylight, they will cling to roots or stones during the day and complete their journey the next night. this has been proven by the positive observation of individuals. of the specimens that run up early in the season, about four-fifths are males. thus the males do not exactly precede the females, because we have found the latter sex represented in the stream as early in the season as the former, but in the earlier part of the season the number of the males certainly greatly predominates. this proportion of males gradually decreases, until in the middle of the spawning season the sexes are about equally represented, and toward the latter part of the season the females continue to come until they in turn show the greater numbers. thus it appears very evident in general that the reproductive instinct impels the most of the males to seek the spawning ground before the most of the females do. however, it should be said that neither the males nor the females show all of the entirely sexually mature features when they first run up-stream in the beginning of the season, but later they are perfectly mature and 'ripe' in every regard when they first appear in the stream. when they migrate, they stop at the site that seems to suit their fancy, many stopping near the lake, others pushing on four or five miles farther up-stream. we have noted, however, that later in the season the lower courses become more crowded, showing that the late comers do not attempt to push up-stream as far as those that came earlier. also it thus follows, from what was just said about late-running females, that in the latter part of the season the lower spawning beds are especially crowded with females. in fact, during the early part of the month of june we have found, not more than half a mile above the lowest spawning bed, as many as five females on a spawning nest with but one male; and in that immediate vicinity many nests indeed were found at that time with two or three females and but one male. "having arrived at a shoal which seems to present suitable conditions for a spawning nest, the individual or pair commences at once to move stones with its mouth from the centre to the margin of an area one or two feet in diameter. when many stones are thus placed, especially at the upper edge, and they are cleaned quite free of sediment and algæ, both by being moved and by being fanned with the tail, and when the proper condition of sand is found in the bottom of the basin thus formed, it is ready to be used as a spawning bed or nest. a great many nests are commenced and deserted. this has been left as a mystery in publications on the subject, but we are well convinced that it is because the lampreys do not find the requisites or proper conditions of bottom (rocks, sand, etc., as given below) to supply all their needs and fulfill all conditions for ideal sites. this desertion of half-constructed nests is just what would be expected and anticipated in connection with the explanation of 'requisite conditions for spawning,' given below, because some shallows contain more sand and fewer stones, and others contain many larger stones but no sand, while others contain pebbles lying over either rocks or sand. the lampreys remove some of the material, and if they do not find all the essentials for a spawning nest, the site is deserted and the creatures move on." =requisite conditions for spawning with lampreys.=--"for a spawning site two conditions are immediately essential--proper conditions of water and suitable stream bed or bottom. of course with these it is essential that no impassable barriers (dam or falls) exist between the lake and the spawning sites to prevent migration at the proper 'running' season. lampreys will not spawn where there is no sand lying on the bottom between the rocks, as sand is essential in covering the eggs (see remarks on the 'spawning process'); neither will they spawn where the bottom is all sand and small gravel, as they cannot take hold of this material with their mouths to construct nests or to hold themselves in the current, and they would not find here pebbles and stones to carry over the nest while spawning, as described elsewhere. it can thus be seen that, as suggested above, the reason they do not spawn in fall creek and cascadilla creek, between the lake and the falls, is that the beds of these streams are very rocky, being covered only with large stones and no sand. there is no doubt that the lampreys find here suitable conditions of water, but they do not remain to spawn on account of the absence of the proper conditions of stream bed. again, they do not spawn in the lower course of the inlet for a distance of nearly two miles from the lake, because near the lake the bed of the stream is composed of silt, while for some distance above this (up-stream) there is nothing but sand. farther up-stream are found pebbles and stones commingled with sand, which combination satisfies the demands of the lampreys for material in constructing nests and covering eggs. the accessibility of these sites, together with their suitable conditions, render the inlet the great and perhaps the only spawning stream of the lake; and, doubtless, all the mature lampreys come here to spawn, excepting a few which spawn in the lower part of six-mile creek, a tributary of the inlet. "as the course of the stream where the beds abound is divided into pools, separated by stony ripples or shallows, the nests must be made at the ends of the pools. of the spawning beds personally observed during several seasons, nine-tenths of the entire number were formed just above the shallows at the lower ends of the pools, while only a few were placed below them. an advantage in forming the nest above the shoals rather than below it is that in the former place the water runs more swiftly over the lower and middle parts of such a bed than at its upper margin, since the velocity decreases in either direction from the steeper part of the shallows; and any organic material or sediment that would wash over the upper edge of the nest is thus carried on rather than left as a deposit. when formed below the shallows, owing to the decreased velocity at the lower part of the nest compared with that at the upper, the sediment is likely to settle in the hollow of the nest, and, through the process of decay of the organic material, prove disastrous or unfavorable for the developing embryos. "the necessity of sand in the spawning bed indicates the explanation of why we see so many shallows which have no spawning lampreys upon them, while there are others in the same vicinity that are crowded. there will be no nests formed if there is too little or too much sand, not enough or too many stones, or stones that are all too small or all too large. the stones must vary from the size of an egg to the size of a man's hand, and must be intermingled with sand without mud or rubbish. "the lampreys choose to make their spawning nests just where the water flows so swiftly that it will carry the sand a short distance, but will not sweep it out of the nest. this condition furnishes not only force to wash the sand over the eggs when laid, but also keeps the adult lampreys supplied with an abundance of fresh water containing the dissolved air needed for their very rapid respiration. of course in such rapid water the eggs are likely to be carried away down-stream, but nature provides against this by the fact that they are adhesive, and the mating lampreys stir up the sand with their tails, thus weighing down the freshly laid eggs and holding them in the nest. hence the necessity of an abundance of sand at the spawning site." =the spawning process with lampreys.=--"there is much interest in the study of the spawning process, as it is for the maintenance of the race that the lampreys risk and end their lives; and as they are by far the lowest form of vertebrates found within the united states, a consideration of their actions and apparent evidences of instinct becomes of unusual attraction. let us consider one of those numerous examples in which the male migrates before the female. when he comes to that portion of the stream where the conditions named above are favorable, he commences to form a nest by moving and clearing stones and making a basin with a sandy bottom about the size of a common wash-bowl. several nests may be started and deserted before perfect conditions are found for the completion of one. the male may be joined by a female either before or after the nest is completed. there is at once harmony in the family; but if another male should attempt to intrude, either before or after the coming of the female, he is likely to be summarily dealt with and dismissed at once by the first tenant. as soon as the female arrives she too commences to move pebbles and stones with her mouth. "sometimes the nest is made large enough to contain several pairs, or often unequal numbers of males and females; or they may be constructed so closely together as to form one continuous ditch across the stream, just above the shallows. many stones are left at the sides and especially at the upper margin of the nest, and to these both lampreys often cling for a few minutes as though to rest. while the female is thus quiet, the male seizes her with his mouth at the back of her head, clinging as to a fish. he presses his body as tightly as possible against her side, and loops his tail over her near the vent and down against the opposite side of her body so tightly that the sand, accidentally coming between them, often wears the skin entirely off of either or both at the place of closest contact. in most observed instances the male pressed against the right side of the female, although there is no unvarying rule as to position. the pressure of the male thus aids to force the eggs from the body of the female, which flow very easily when ripe. the vents of the two lampreys are thus brought into close proximity, and the conspicuous genital papilla of the male serves to guide the milt directly to the issuing spawn. there appears to be no true intromission, although definite observation of this feature is quite difficult, and, in fact, impossible. during the time of actual pairing, which lasts but a few seconds, both members of the pair exhibit tremendous excitement, shaking their bodies in rapid vibrations and stirring up such a cloud of sand with their tails that their eggs are at once concealed and covered. as the eggs are adhesive and non-buoyant, the sand that is stirred up adheres to them immediately and covers most of them before the school of minnows in waiting just below the nest can dart through the water and regale themselves upon the eggs of these enemies of their race; but woe to the eggs that are not at once concealed. we would suggest that the function of the characteristic anal fin, which is possessed only by the female, and only at this time of year, may be to aid in this vastly important process of stirring up the sand as the eggs are expelled; and the explanation of the absence of such a fin from the ventral side of the tail of the male may be found in the fact that it could not be used for the same purpose at the instant when most needed, since the male is just then using his tail as a clasping organ to give him an essential position in pairing. as soon as they shake together they commence to move stones from one part of the nest to another, to bring more loose sand down over their eggs. they work at this from one to five minutes, then shake again, thus making the intervals between mating from one to five minutes, with a general average of about three and a half minutes. "although their work of moving stones does not appear to be systematic in reference to the placing of the pebbles, or as viewed from the standpoint of man, it does not need to be so in order to perfectly fulfill all the purposes of the lampreys. as shown above in the remarks on the spawning habits of the brook lampreys, the important end which they thus accomplish is the loosening and shifting of the sand to cover their eggs; and the more the stones are moved, even in the apparently indiscriminate manner shown, the better is this purpose achieved. yet, in general, they ultimately accomplish the feat of moving to the lower side of the nest all the stones they have placed or left at the upper margin. at the close of the spawning season when the nest is seen with no large pebbles at its upper margin, but quite a pile of stones below, it can be known that the former occupants completed their spawning process there; but if many small stones are left at the upper edge and at the sides, and a large pile is not formed at the lower edge, it can be known that the nest was forsaken or the lampreys removed before the spawning process was completed. the stones they move are often twice as heavy as themselves, and are sometimes even three or four times as heavy. since they are not attempting to build a stone wall of heavy material, there is no occasion for their joining forces to remove stones of extraordinary size, and they rarely do so, although once during the past spring ( ) we saw two lake lampreys carrying the same large stone down-stream across their nest. although this place was occupied by scores of brook lampreys, there were but three pairs of lake lampreys seen here. it is true that one of these creatures often moves the same stone several times, and many even attempt many times to move a stone that has already been found too heavy for it; but sooner or later the rock may become undermined so that the water will aid them, and they have no way of knowing what they can do under such circumstances until they try. also, the repeated moving of one stone may subserve the same purpose for the lamprey in covering its eggs with sand as would the less frequent removal of many. "when disturbed on the spawning nest, either of the pair will return to the same nest if its mate is to be found there; but if its mate is in another place, it will go to it, and if its mate is removed or killed, it is likely to go to any part of the stream to another nest. when disturbed, they often start up-stream for a short distance, but soon dart down-stream with a velocity that is almost incredible. they can swim faster than the true fishes, and after they get a start are generally pretty sure to make good their escape, although we have seen them dart so wildly and frantically down-stream that they would shoot clear out on the bank and become an easy victim of the collector. this peculiar kind of circumstance is most likely to happen with those lampreys that are becoming blinded from long exposure to the bright light over the clear running water. if there is a solitary individual on a nest when disturbed, it may not return to that nest, but to any that has been started, or it may stay in the deep pool below the shallows until evening and then move some distance up-stream. when the nest is large and occupied by several individuals, those that are disturbed may return to any other such nest. we have never seen evidence of one female driving another female out of a spawning-nest; and from the great number of nests in which we have found the numbers of the females exceeding those of the males, we would be led to infer that the former live together in greater harmony than do the males. "under the subject of the number of eggs laid, we should have said that at one shake the female spawns from twenty to forty. we once caught in fine gauze twenty-eight eggs from a female at one spawning instant. in accordance with the frequency of spawning stated, and the number of eggs contained in the body of one female, the entire length of time given to the spawning process would be from two to four days. this agrees with the observed facts, although the lampreys spend much time in moving stones and thoroughly covering the nests with sand. even after the work of spawning and moving stones is entirely completed, they remain clinging to rocks in various parts of the stream, until they are weakened by fungus and general debility, when they gradually drift down-stream. "in forming nests there is a distinct tendency to utilize those sites that are concealed by overhanging bushes, branches, fallen tree-tops, or grass or weeds, probably not only for concealment, but also to avoid the bright sunlight, which sooner or later causes them to go blind, as it does many fishes when they have to live in water without shade. toward the end of the spawning season, it is very common to see blind lampreys clinging helplessly to any rocks on the bottom, quite unable to again find spawning-beds. however, at such times they are generally spent and merely awaiting the inevitable end. "as with the brook lamprey, the time of spawning and duration of the nesting period depend upon the temperature of the water, as does also the duration of the period of hatching or development of the embryo. they first run up-stream when the water reaches a temperature of ° or ° fahr., and commence spawning at about °. a temperature of ° finds the spawning process in its height, and at ° it is fairly completed. it is thus that the rapidity with which the water becomes heated generally determines the length of time the lampreys remain in the stream. this may continue later in the season for those that run later, but usually it is about a month or six weeks from the time the first of this species is seen on a spawning-nest until the last is gone." =what becomes of lampreys after spawning?=--"there has been much conjecture as to the final end of the lampreys, some writers contending that they die after spawning, others that they return to deep water and recuperate, and yet others compromise these two widely divergent views by saying that some die and others do not. the fact is that the spawning process completely wears out the lampreys, and leaves them in a physical condition from which they could never recover. they become stone-blind; the alimentary canal suffers complete atrophy; their flesh becomes very green from the katabolic products, which find the natural outlet occluded; they lose their rich yellow color and plump, symmetrical appearance; their skin becomes torn, scratched, and worn off in many places, so that they are covered with sores, and they become covered with a parasitic or sarcophytic fungus, which forms a dense mat over almost their entire bodies, and they are so completely debilitated and worn out that recovery is entirely out of the question. what is more, the most careful microscopical examination of ovaries and testes has failed to reveal any evidence of new gonads or reproductive bodies. this is proof that reproduction could not again ensue without a practical rebuilding of the animals, even though they should regain their vitality. a. mueller, in , showed that all the ova in the lamprey were of the same size, and that after spawning no small reproductive bodies remained to be developed later. this is strong evidence of death after once spawning. "one author writes that an argument against the theory of their dying after spawning can be found in the fact that so few dead ones have been found by him. however, many can be found dead if the investigator only knows how and where to look for them. we should not anticipate finding them in water that is shallow enough for the bottom to be plainly seen, as there the current is strong enough to move them. it is in the deep, quiet, pools where sediment is depositing that the dead lampreys are dropped by the running water, and there they sink into the soft ooze. "the absence of great numbers of dead lampreys from visible portions of the stream cannot be regarded as important evidence against the argument that they die soon after spawning once, as the bodies are very soon disintegrated in the water. in the weir that we maintained in , a number of old, worn-out, and fungus-covered lampreys were caught drifting down-stream; some were dead, some alive, and others dying and already insensible, but none were seen going down that appeared to be in condition to possibly regain their strength." [illustration: fig. _a_.--brook lamprey, _lampetra wilderi_. (after gage.)] chapter xxix the class elasmobranchii or shark-like fishes =the sharks.=--the gap between the lancelets and the lampreys is a very wide one. assuming the primitive nature of both groups, this gap must represent the period necessary for the evolution of brain, skull, and elaborate sense organs. the interspace between the lampreys and the nearest fish-like forms which follow them in an ascending scale is not less remarkable. between the lamprey and the shark we have the development of paired fins with their basal attachments of shoulder-girdle and pelvis, the formation of a lower jaw, the relegation of the teeth to the borders of the mouth, the development of separate vertebræ along the line of the notochord, the development of the gill-arches, and of an external covering of enameled points or placoid scales. these traits of progress separate the elasmobranchs from all lower vertebrates. for those animals which possess them, the class name of _pisces_ or fishes has been adopted by numerous authors. if this term is to be retained for technical purposes, it should be applied to the aquatic vertebrates above the lampreys and lancelets. we may, however, regard fish as a popular term only, rather than to restrict the name to members of a class called _pisces_. from the bony fishes, on the other hand, the sharks are distinguished by the much less specialization of the skeleton, both as regards form and substance, by the lack of membrane bones, of air-bladder, and of true scales, and by various peculiarities of the skeleton itself. the upper jaw, for example, is formed not of maxillary and premaxillary, but of elements which in the lower fishes would be regarded as belonging to the palatine and pterygoid series. the lower jaw is formed not of several pieces, but of a cartilage called meckel's cartilage, which in higher fishes precedes the development of a separate dentary bone. these structures are sometimes called primary jaws, as distinguished from secondary jaws or true jaws developed in addition to those bones in the _actinopteri_ or typical fishes. in the sharks the shoulder-girdle is attached, not to the skull, but to a vertebra at some distance behind it, leaving a distinct neck, such as is possessed or retained by the vertebrate higher than fishes. the shoulder-girdle itself is a continuous arch of cartilage, joining its fellow at the breast of the fish. other peculiar traits will be mentioned later. =characters of elasmobranchs.=--the essential character of the elasmobranchs as a whole are these: the skeleton is cartilaginous, the skull without sutures, and the notochord more or less fully replaced or inclosed by vertebral segments. the jaws are peculiar in structure, as are also the teeth, which are usually highly specialized and found on the jaws only. there are no membrane bones; the shoulder-girdle is well developed, each half of one piece of cartilage, and the ventral fins, with the pelvic-girdle, are always present, always many-rayed, and abdominal in position. the skin is covered with placoid scales, or shagreen, or with bony bucklers, or else it is naked. it is never provided with imbricated scales. the tail is diphycercal, heterocercal, or else it degenerates into a whip-like organ, a form which has been called leptocercal. the gill-arches are , , or in number, with often an accessory gill-slit or spiracle. the ventral fins in the males (except perhaps in certain primitive forms) are provided with elaborate cartilaginous appendages or claspers. the brain is elongate, its parts well separated, the optic nerves interlacing. the heart has a contractile arterial cone containing several rows of valves; the intestine has a spiral valve; the eggs are large, hatched within the body, or else deposited in a leathery case. =classification of elasmobranchs.=--the group of sharks and their allies, rays, and chimæras, is usually known collectively as _elasmobranchii_ (~elasmos~, blade or plate; ~branchos~, gill). other names applied to all or a part of this group are these: _selachii_ (~selachos~, a cartilage, the name also used by the greeks for the gristle-fishes or sharks); _plagiostomi_ (~plagios~, oblique; ~stoma~, mouth); _chondropterygii_ (~chondros~, cartilage; ~pteryx~, fin); and _antacea_ (~antakaios~, sturgeon). they represent the most primitive known type of jaw-bearing vertebrates, or _gnathostomi_ (~gnathos~, jaw; ~stoma~, mouth), the chordates without jaws being sometimes called collectively _agnatha_ (~a-gnathos~, without jaws). these higher types of fishes have been also called collectively _lyrifera_, the form of the two shoulder-girdles taken together being compared to that of a lyre. through shark-like forms all the higher vertebrates must probably trace their descent. sharks' teeth and fin-spines are found in all rocks from the upper silurian deposits to the present time, and while the majority of the genera are now extinct, the class has had a vigorous representation in all the seas, later palæozoic, mesozoic, and cenozoic, as well as in recent times. most of the elasmobranchs are large, coarse-fleshed, active animals feeding on fishes, hunting down their prey through superior strength and activity. but to this there are many exceptions, and the highly specialized modern shark of the type of the mackerel-shark or man-eater is by no means a fair type of the whole great class, some of the earliest types being diminutive, feeble, and toothless. =subclasses of elasmobranchs.=--with the very earliest recognizable remains it is clear that the elasmobranchs are already divided into two great divisions, the sharks and the _chimæras_. these groups we may call subclasses, the _selachii_ and the _holocephali_, or chismopnea. the _selachii_, or sharks and rays, have the skull hyostylic, that is, with the quadrate bone grown fast to the palate which forms the upper jaw, the hyomandibular, acting as suspensorium to the lower jaw, being articulated directly to it. the palato-quadrate apparatus, the front of which forms the upper jaw in the shark, is not fused to the cranium, although it is sometimes articulated with it. there are as many external gill-slits as there are gill-arches ( , , or ), and the gills are adnate to the flesh of their own arches, without free tips. the cerebral hemispheres are grown together. the teeth are separated and usually strongly specialized, being primitively modified from the prickles or other defences of the skin. there is no frontal holder or bony hook on the forehead of the male. the subclass _holocephali_, or _chimæras_, differ from the sharks in all this series of characters, and its separation as a distinct group goes back to the devonian or even farther, the earliest known sharks having little more in common with chimæras than the modern forms have. =the selachii.=--there have been many efforts to divide the sharks and rays into natural orders. most writers have contented themselves with placing the sharks in one order (_squali_ or _galei_ or _pleurotremi_) having the gill-openings on the side, and the rays in another (_rajæ_, _batoidei_, _hypotrema_) having the gill-openings underneath. of far more importance than this superficial character of adaptation are the distinctions drawn from the skeleton. dr. gill has used the attachment of the palato-quadrate apparatus as the basis of a classification. the _opistharthri_ (_hexanchidæ_) have this structure articulated with the postorbital part of the skull. in the _prosarthri_ (_heterodontidæ_) it is articulated with the preorbital part of the skull, while in the other sharks (_anarthri_) it is not articulated at all. but these characters do not appear to be always important. _chlamydoselachus_, for example, differs in this regard from _heptranchias_, which in other respects it closely resembles. yet, in general, the groups thus characterized are undoubtedly natural ones. [illustration: fig. .--fin-spine of _onchus tenuistriatus_ agassiz. (after zittel.)] =hasse's classification of elasmobranchs.=--in , professor carl hasse proposed to subdivide the sharks on the basis of the structure of the individual vertebræ. in the lowest group, a hypothetical order of _polyospondyli_, possibly represented by the fossil spines called _onchus_, an undivided notochord, perhaps swollen at regular intervals, is assumed to have represented the vertebral column. in the _diplospondyli_ (_hexanchidæ_) the imperfectly segmented vertebræ are joined in pairs, each pair having two neural arches. in the _asterospondyli_ or ordinary sharks each vertebra has its calcareous lamella radiating star-like from the central axis. in the _cyclospondyli_ (_squalidæ_, etc.) the calcareous part forms a single ring about the axis, and in the _tectospondyli_ (_squatina_, rays, etc.) it forms several rings. these groups again are natural and correspond fairly with those based on other characters. at the same time there is no far-reaching difference between _cyclospondyli_ and _tectospondyli_, and the last-named section includes both sharks and rays. [illustration: fig. .--section of vertebræ of sharks, showing calcification. (after hasse.) . _cyclospondyli_ (_squalus_); . _tectospondyli_ (_squatina_); . _asterospondyli_ (_carcharias_).] nothing is known of the _polyospondyli_, and they may never have existed at all. the _diplospondyli_ do not differ very widely from the earlier _asterospondyli_ (_cestraciontes_) which, as a matter of fact, have preceded the _diplospondyli_ in point of time, if we can trust our present knowledge of the geological record. =other classifications of elasmobranchs.=--characters more fundamental may be drawn from the structure of the pectoral fin. in this regard four distinct types appear. in _acanthoessus_ this fin consists of a stout, stiff spine, with a rayless membrane attached behind it. in _cladoselache_ the fin is low, with a very long base, like a fold of skin (_ptychopterygium_), and composed of feeble rays. in _pleuracanthus_ it is a jointed axis of many segments, with a fringe of slender fin-rays, corresponding in structure to all appearance to the pectoral fin of dipnoans and crossopterygians, the type called by gegenbaur _archipterygium_ on the hypothesis that it represents the primitive vertebrate limb. in most sharks the fin has a fan-shape, with three of the basal segments larger than the others. of these the mesopterygium is the central one, with the propterygium before it and the metapterygium behind. in the living sharks of the family of _heterodontidæ_, this form of fin occurs and the teeth of the same general type constitute the earliest remains distinctly referable to sharks in the devonian rocks. =primitive sharks.=--admitting that these four types of pectoral fin should constitute separate orders, we have next to consider which form is the most primitive and what is the line of descent. in this matter we have, in the phrase of hæckel, only the "three ancestral documents, palæontology, morphology, and ontogeny." unfortunately the evidence of these documents is incomplete and conflicting. so far as palæontology is concerned, the fin of _cladoselache_, with that of _acanthoessus_, which may be derived from it, appears earliest, but the modern type of pectoral fin with the three basal segments is assumed to have accompanied the teeth of psammodonts and cochliodonts, while the fin of the chimæra must have been developed in the devonian. the jointed fin of _cladodus_ and _pleuracanthus_ may be a modification or degradation of the ordinary type of shark-fin. assuming, however, that the geological record is not perfect and that the fin of _cladoselache_ is not clearly shown to be primitive, we have next to consider the evidence drawn from morphology. those who with balfour and others (see page ) accept the theory that the paired fins are derived from a vertebral fold, will regard with dean the fin of _cladoselache_ as coming nearest the theoretical primitive condition. the pectoral fin in _acanthoessus_ dean regards as a specialized derivative from a fin like that of _cladoselache_, the fin-rays being gathered together at the front and joined together to form the thick spine characteristic of _acanthoessus_. this view of the morphology of the fin of _acanthoessus_ is not accepted by woodward, and several different suggestions have been recorded. if with gegenbaur we regard the paired fins as derived from the septa between the gill-slits, or with kerr regard them as modified external gills, the whole theoretical relation of the parts is changed. the archipterygium of _pleuracanthus_ would be the nearest approach to the primitive pectoral limb, and from this group and its allies all the other sharks are descended. this central jointed axis of _pleuracanthus_ is regarded by traquair as the equivalent of the metapterygium in ordinary sharks. (see figs. , , .) according to traquair: "the median stern [of the archipterygium], simplified, shortened up and losing all its radials on the postaxial side, except in sometimes a few near the tip, becomes the metapterygium, while the mesopterygium and propterygium are formed by the fusion into two pieces of the basal joints of a number of preaxial radials, which have reached and become attached to the shoulder-girdle in front of the metapterygium." according to dr. traquair, the pectoral fin in _cladodus neilsoni_, a shark from the coal measures of scotland, is "apparently a veritable uniserial archipterygium midway between the truly biserial one of _pleuracanthus_ and the pectoral fin of ordinary sharks." other authors look on these matters differently, and dr. traquair admits that an opposite view is almost equally probable. cope and dean would derive the tribasal pectoral of ordinary sharks directly from the ptychopterygium or fan-like fold of _cladoselache_, while fritsch and woodward would look upon it as derived in turn from the _ceratodus_-like fin of _pleuracanthus_, itself derived from the ptychopterygium or remains of a lateral fin-fold. if the dipnoans are descended from the crossopterygians, as dollo has tried to show, the archipterygium of _pleuracanthus_ has had a different origin from the similar-appearing limb of the dipnoans, _dipterus_ and _ceratodus_. in such case the archipterygium would not be the primitive pectoral limb, but a structure which may have been independently evolved in two different groups. in the view of gegenbaur, the crossopterygians and dipnoans with all the higher vertebrates and the bony fishes would arise from the same primitive stock, ancestors, or allies of the _ichthyotomi_, which group would also furnish the ancestors of the _chimæras_. in support of this view, the primitive protocercal or diphycercal tail of _pleuracanthus_ may be brought in evidence as against the apparently more specialized heterocercal tail of _cladoselache_. but this is not conclusive, as the diphycercal tail may arise separately in different groups through degeneration, as dollo and boulenger have shown. the matter is one mainly of morphological interpretation, and no final answer can be given. on page a summary of the various arguments may be found. little light is given by embryology. the evidence of palæontology, so far as it goes, certainly favors the view of balfour. omitting detached fin-spines and fragments of uncertain character, the earliest identifiable remains of sharks belong to the lower devonian. these are allies of _acanthoessus_. _cladoselache_ comes next in the upper devonian. _pleuracanthus_ appears with the teeth and spines supposed to belong to cestraciont sharks, in the carboniferous age. the primitive-looking _notidani_ do not appear before the triassic. for this reason the decision as to which is the most primitive type of shark must therefore rest unsettled for the present and perhaps for a long time to come. the weight of authority at present seems to favor the view of balfour, wiedersheim, boulenger, and dean, that the pectoral limb has arisen from a lateral fold of skin. but weight of authority is not sufficient when evidence is confessedly lacking. for our purpose, without taking sides in this controversy, we may follow dean in allowing _cladoselache_ to stand as the most primitive of known sharks, thus arranging the elasmobranchs and rays, recent and fossil, in six orders of unequal value--_pleuropterygii_, _acanthodei_, _ichthyotomi_, _notidani_, _asterospondyli_, and _tectospondyli_. of these orders the first and second are closely related, as are also the fourth and fifth, the sixth being not far remote. the true sharks form the culmination of one series, the rays of another, while from the _ichthyotomi_ the crossopterygians and their descendants may be descended. but this again is very hypothetical, or perhaps impossible; while, on the other hand, the relation of the chimæras to the sharks is still far from clearly understood. =order pleuropterygii.=--the order of _pleuropterygii_ of dean (~pleuron~, side; ~pteryx~, fin), called by parker and haswell _cladoselachea_, consists of sharks in which the pectoral and ventral fins have each a very wide horizontal base (ptychopterygium), without jointed axis and without spine. there are no spines in any of the fins. the dorsal fin is low, and there were probably two of them. the notochord is persistent, without intercalary cartilage, such as appear in the higher sharks. the caudal fin is short, broad, and strongly heterocercal. apparently the ventral fin is without claspers. the gill-openings were probably covered by a dermal fold. the teeth are weak, being modified denticles from the asperities of the skin. the lateral line is represented by an open groove. the family of _cladoselachidæ_ consists of a single genus _cladoselache_ from the cleveland shale or middle devonian of ohio. _cladoselache fyleri_ is the best-known species, reaching a length of about two feet. dean regards this as the most primitive of the sharks, and the position of the pectorals and ventrals certainly lend weight to balfour's theory that they were originally derived from a lateral fold of skin. i am recently informed by dr. dean that he has considerable evidence that in _cladoselache_ the anus was _subterminal_. if this statement is verified, it would go far to establish the primitive character of _cladoselache_. [illustration: fig. .--_cladoselache fyleri_ (newberry), restored. upper devonian of ohio. (after dean.)] =order acanthodei.=--near the _pleuropterygii_, although much more highly developed, we may note the strange group of _acanthodei_ (~akanthôdês~, spinous). these armed fishes were once placed among the crossopterygians, but there seems no doubt that woodward is right in regarding them as a highly specialized aberrant offshoot of the primitive sharks. in this group the paired fins consist each of a single stout spine, nearly or quite destitute of other rays. a similar spine is placed in front of the dorsal fin and one in front of the anal. according to dean these spines are each produced by the growing together of all the fin-rays normally belonging to the fin, a view of their morphology not universally accepted. [illustration: fig. .--_cladoselache fyleri_ (newberry), restored. ventral view. (after dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _cladoselache fyleri_ (newberry). (after dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--_acanthoessus wardi_ (egerton). carboniferous. family _acanthoessidæ_. (after woodward.)] the dermal covering is highly specialized, the shagreen denticles being much enlarged and thickened, often set in little squares suggesting a checker-board. the skull is covered with small bony plates and membrane bones form a sort of ring about the eye. the teeth are few, large, and "degenerate in their fibrous structure." some of the species have certainly no teeth at all. the tail is always heterocercal, or bent upward at tip as in the _cladoselache_, not diphycercal, tapering and horizontal as in the _ichthyotomi_. the lower acanthodeans, according to woodward, "are the only vertebrates in which there are any structures in the adult apart from the two pairs of fins which may be plausibly interpreted as remnants of once continuous lateral folds. in _climatius_, one of the most primitive genera (see fig. ), there exists, according to woodward, and as first noticed by cope, between the pectoral and pelvic (or ventral) fins a close and regular series of paired spines, in every respect identical with those supporting the appendages that presumably correspond to the two pairs of fins in the higher genera. they may even have supported fin membranes, though specimens sufficiently well preserved to determine this point have not yet been discovered. however, it is evident that dermal calcifications attained a greater development in the _acanthodei_ than in any of the more typical elasmobranchs, and we may look for much additional information on the subject when the great fishes to which the undetermined _ichthyodorulites_ pertained became known." (see fig. .) the _acanthodei_ constitute three families. in the _acanthoessidæ_ there is but one short dorsal fin opposite the anal, and clavicular bones are absent. the gill-openings being provided with "frills" or collar-like margins, perhaps resembled those of the living genus _chlamydoselachus_, the frilled shark. the pectoral spine is very strong, and about the eye is a ring of four plates. the body is elongate, tapering, and compressed. _acanthoessus_ of agassiz, the name later changed by its author to _acanthodes_, is the principal genus, found in the devonian and carboniferous. the species of _acanthoessus_ are all small fishes rarely more than a foot long, with very small teeth or none, and with the skin well armed with a coat-of-mail. _acanthoessus bronni_ is the one longest known. in the earliest species known, from the devonian, the ventral fins are almost as large as the pectorals and nearly midway between pectorals and anal. in the later species the pectoral fins become gradually larger and the ventrals move forward. in the permian species the pectorals are enormous. _traquairia pygmæa_, from the permian of bohemia, is a diminutive sharklet three or four inches long with large scales, slender spines, and apparently no ventral fins. in the genus _cheiracanthus_ the dorsal fin is placed before the anal. in _acanthodopsis_ the teeth are few, large, and triangular, and the fin-spines relatively large. the _ischnacanthidæ_ have no clavicles, and two dorsal fins. _ischnacanthus gracilis_ of the devonian has a few large conical teeth with small cusps between them. the _diplacanthidæ_, with two dorsal fins, possess bones interpreted as clavicles. the teeth are minute or absent. in _diplacanthus striatus_ and _diplacanthus longispinus_ of the lower devonian stout spines are attached to the shoulder-girdle between the pectoral spines below. [illustration: fig. .--_diplacanthus crassissimus_ duff. devonian. family _diplacanthidæ_. (after nicholson). (restoration of jaws and gill-openings; after traquair.)] in the very small sharks called _climatius_ the fin-spines are very strong, and a series of several free spines occurs, as above stated, on each side between the pectoral and ventral fins, a supposed trace of a former lateral fold. in _paraxus_ the first dorsal spine is enormously enlarged in size, the other spines remaining much as in _climatius_. =dean on acanthodei.=--in his latest treatise on these fishes, "the devonian lamprey," dr. dean unites the _pleuropterygii_ and _acanthodei_ in a single order under the former name, regarding _acanthoessus_ as an ally and perhaps descendant of the primitive _cladoselache_. dr. dean observes: "in the foregoing classification it will be noted that the acanthodia are regarded as included under the first order of sharks, _pleuropterygii_. to this arrangement smith woodward has already objected that the spines of acanthodians cannot be regarded as the homologues of the radial elements of the cladoselachian fin (which by a process of concrescence have become fused in its interior margin), since he believes the structure to be entirely dermal in origin. his criticism, however, does not seem to me to be well grounded, for, although all will admit that acanthodian spines have become incrusted, and deeply incrusted, with a purely dermal calcification, it does not follow that the interior of the spine has not had primitively a non-dermal core. that the concrescence of the radial supporting elements of the fin took place _pari passu_ with the development of a strengthening dermal support of the fin margin was the view expressly formulated in my previous paper on this subject. it is of interest in this connection to recall that the earliest types of acanthodian spines were the widest, and those which, in spite of their incasing dermal calcification, suggest most clearly the parallel elements representing the component radial supports. there should also be recalled the many features in which the acanthodians have been shown to resemble _cladoselache_." [illustration: fig. .--_climatius scutiger_ egerton, restored. family _diplacanthidæ_. (after powrie, per zittel.)] from these primitive extinct types of shark we may proceed to those forms which have representatives among living fishes. from _cladoselache_ a fairly direct series extends through the _notidani_ and _cestraciontes_, culminating in the lamnoid and galeoid sharks. still another series, destitute of anal fin, probably arising near the _acanthodei_, reaches its highest development in the side branch of the _batoidei_ or rays. the _holocephali_ and _dipneusti_ must also find their origin in some of these primitive types, certainly not in any form of more highly specialized sharks. [illustration: fig. .--_pleuracanthus decheni_ goldfuss. family _pleuracanthidæ_. (after roemer, per zittel.)] woodward prefers to place the _tectospondyli_ next to the _ichthyotomi_, leaving the specialized sharks to be treated later. there is, however, no linear system which can interpret natural affinities, and we follow custom in placing the dogfishes and rays at the end of the shark series. [illustration: fig. .--_pleuracanthus decheni_, restored. (after brongniart.) the anterior anal very hypothetical.] [illustration: fig. .--head-bones and teeth of _pleuracanthus decheni_ goldfuss. (after davis, per dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _didymodus bohemicus_ quenstadt. carboniferous. family _pleuracanthidæ_. (after zittel)] =order ichthyotomi.=--in the order _ichthyotomi_ (~ichthys~, fish; ~tomos~, cutting; named by cope from the supposed segmentation of the cranium; called by parker and haswell _pleuracanthea_) the very large pectoral fins are developed each as an archipterygium. each fin consists of a long segmented axis fringed on one or both sides with fin-rays. the notochord is very simple, scarcely or never constricted, the calcifications of its sheath "arrested at the most primitive or rhachitomous stage, except in the tail." this is the best defined of the orders of sharks, and should perhaps rank rather as a subclass, as the _holocephali_. two families of _ichthyotomi_ are recognized by woodward, the _pleuracanthidæ_ and the _cladodontidæ_. in the _pleuracanthidæ_ the dorsal fin is long and low, continuous from head to tail, and the pectoral rays are in two rows. there is a long barbed spine with two rows of serrations at the nape. the body is slender, not depressed, and probably covered with smooth skin. the teeth have two or more blunt cusps, sometimes with a smaller one between and a blunt button behind. the interneural cartilages are more numerous than the neural spines. the genera are imperfectly known, the skeleton of _pleuracanthus decheni_ only being well preserved. this is the type of the genus called _xenacanthus_ which, according to woodward, is identical with _pleuracanthus_, a genus otherwise known from spines only. the denticles on the spine are straight or hooked backward, in _pleuracanthus_ (_lævissimus_), the spine being flattened. in _orthacanthus_ (_cylindricus_), the spine is cylindrical in section. the species called _dittodus_ and _didymodus_ are known from the teeth only. these resemble the teeth of _chlamydoselachus_. it is not known that _dittodus_ possesses the nuchal spine, although detached spines like those of _pleuracanthus_ lie about in remains called _didymodus_ in the permian rocks of texas. in _dicranodus texensis_ the palato-quadrate articulates with the postorbital process of the cranium, as in the _hexanchidæ_, and the hyomandibular is slender. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle and pectoral fins of _cladodus neilsoni_ traquair.] a genus, _chondrenchelys_, from the sub-carboniferous of scotland, is supposed to belong to the _pleuracanthidæ_, from the resemblance of the skeleton. it has no nuchal spine, and no trace of paired fins is preserved. the _cladodontidæ_ differ in having the "pectoral fin developed in the form of a uniserial archipterygium intermediate between the truly biserial one of _pleuracanthus_ and the pectoral fin of modern sharks." the numerous species are known mainly from detached teeth, especially abundant in america, the earliest being in the lower carboniferous. one species, _cladodus nelsoni_ (fig. ), described by traquair, from the sub-carboniferous of scotland shows fairly the structure of the pectoral fin. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _cladodus striatus_ agassiz. (after davis.) carboniferous.] in _cladodus mirabilis_ the teeth are very robust, the crown consisting of a median principal cone and two or three large lateral cones on each side. the cones are fairly striate. in _lambdodus_ from illinois there are no lateral cones. other genera are _dicentrodus_, _phoebodus_, _carcharopsis_, and _hybocladodus_. chapter xxx the true sharks =order notidani.=--we may recognize as a distinct order, a primitive group of recent sharks, a group of forms finding its natural place somewhere between the _cladoselachidæ_ and _heterodontidæ_, both of which groups long preceded it in geological time. the name _notidani_ (_notidanus_, ~nôtidanos~, dry back, an old name of one of the genera) may be retained for this group, which corresponds to the _diplospondyli_ of hasse, the _opistharthri_ of gill, and the _protoselachii_ of parker and haswell. the _notidani_ are characterized by the primitive structure of the spinal column, which is without calcareous matter, the centra being imperfectly developed. there are six or seven branchial arches, and in the typical forms (not in _chlamydoselachus_) the palato-quadrate or upper jaw articulates with the postorbital region of the skull. the teeth are of primitive character, of different forms in the same jaw, each with many cusps. the fins are without spines, the pectoral fin having the three basal cartilages (mesopterygium with propterygium and metapterygium) as usual among sharks. [illustration: fig. .--griset or cow-shark, _hexanchus griseus_ (gmelin). currituck inlet, n. c.] the few living forms are of high interest. the extinct species are numerous, but not very different from the living species. =family hexanchidæ.=--the majority of the living notidanoid sharks belong to the family of _hexanchidæ_. these sharks have six or seven gill-openings, one dorsal fin, and a relatively simple organization. the bodies are moderately elongate, not eel-shaped, and the palato-quadrate articulates with the postorbital part of the skull. the six or eight species are found sparsely in the warm seas. the two genera, _hexanchus_, with six, and _heptranchias_, with seven vertebræ, are found in the mediterranean. the european species are _hexanchus griseus_, the cow-shark, and _heptranchias cinereus_. the former crosses to the west indies. in california, _heptranchias maculatus_ and _hexanchus corinus_ are occasionally taken, while _heptranchias deani_ is the well known aburazame or oil shark of japan. _heptranchias indicus_, a similar species, is found in india. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _heptranchias indicus_ gmelin.] fossil _hexanchidæ_ exist in large numbers, all of them referred by woodward to the genus _notidanus_ (which is a later name than _hexanchus_ and _heptranchias_ and intended to include both these genera), differing chiefly in the number of gill-openings, a character not ascertainable in the fossils. none of these, however, appear before cretaceous time, a fact which may indicate that the simplicity of structure in _hexanchus_ and _heptranchias_ is a result of degeneration and not altogether a mark of primitive simplicity. the group is apparently much younger than the cestraciontes and little older than the lamnoids, or the squaloid groups. _heptranchias microdon_ is common in english cretaceous rocks, and _heptranchias primigenius_ and other species are found in the eocene. =family chlamydoselachidæ.=--very great interest is attached to the recent discovery by samuel garman of the frilled shark, _chlamydoselachus anguineus_, the sole living representative of the _chlamydoselachidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--frill-shark, _chlamydoselachus anguineus_ garman. from misaki, japan. (after günther.)] this shark was first found on the coast of japan, where it is rather common in deep water. it has since been taken off madeira and off the coast of norway. it is a long, slender, eel-shaped shark with six gill-openings and the palato-quadrate not articulated to the cranium. the notochord is mainly persistent, in part replaced by feeble cyclospondylic vertebral centra. each gill-opening is bordered by a broad frill of skin. there is but one dorsal fin. the teeth closely resemble those of _dittodus_ or _didymodus_ and other extinct _ichthyotomi_. the teeth have broad, backwardly extended bases overlapping, the crown consisting of three slender curved cusps, separated by rudimentary denticles. teeth of a fossil species, _chlamydoselachus lawleyi_, are recorded by j. w. davis from the pliocene of tuscany. =order asterospondyli.=--the order of _asterospondyli_ comprises the typical sharks, those in which the individual vertebræ are well developed, the calcareous lamellæ arranged so as to radiate, star-fashion, from the central axis. all these sharks possess two dorsal fins and one anal fin, the pectoral fin is normally developed, with the three basal cartilages; there are five gill-openings, and the tail is heterocercal. [illustration: fig. .--bullhead-shark, _heterodontus francisci_ (girard). san pedro, cal.] =suborder cestraciontes.=--the most ancient types may be set off as a distinct suborder under the name of _cestraciontes_ or _prosarthri_. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _heterodontus philippi_. from australia. family _heterodontidæ_. (after zittel.)] these forms find their nearest allies in the _notidani_, which they resemble to some extent in dentition and in having the palato-quadrate articulated to the skull although fastened farther forward than in the _notidani_. each of the two dorsal fins has a strong spine. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of cestraciont sharks. (after woodward.) _d_, _synechodus dubrisianus_ mackie; _e_, _heterodontus canaliculatus_ egerton; _f_, _hybodus striatulus_ agassiz. (after woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--egg of port jackson shark, _heterodontus philippi_ (lacépède). (after parker & haswell.)] =family heterodontidæ.=--among recent species this group contains only the family of _heterodontidæ_, the bullhead sharks, or port jackson sharks. in this family the head is high, with usually projecting eyebrows, the lateral teeth are pad-like, ridged or rounded, arranged in many rows, different from the pointed anterior teeth, the fins are large, the coloration is strongly marked, and the large egg-cases are spirally twisted. all have five gill-openings. the living species of _heterodontidæ_ are found only in the pacific, the port jackson shark of australia, _heterodontus philippi_, being longest known. other species are _heterodontus francisci_, common in california, _heterodontus japonicus_, in japan, and _heterodontus zebra_, in china. these small and harmless sharks at once attract attention by their peculiar forms. in the american species the jaws are less contracted than in the asiatic species, called _heterodontus_. for this reason dr. gill has separated the former under the name of _gyropleurodus_. the differences are, however, of slight value. the genus _heterodontus_ first appears in the jurassic, where a number of species are known, one of the earliest being _heterodontus falcifer_. three families of _cestraciontes_ are recognized by hay. the most primitive of these is the group of _orodontidæ_. _orodus_, from the lower carboniferous, has the teeth with a central crown, its surface wrinkled. of the _heterodontidæ_, _hybodus_, of the carboniferous and triassic, is one of the earliest and largest genera, characterized by elongate teeth of many cusps, different in different parts of the jaw, somewhat as in the _hexanchidæ_, the median points being, however, always longest. the dorsal fins are provided with long spines serrated behind. the vertebræ with persistent notochord show qualities intermediate between those of _hexanchidæ_ and _heterodontidæ_, and the same relation is shown by the teeth. in this genus two large hooked half-barbed dermal spines occur behind each orbit. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _hybodus delabechei_ charlesworth. (after woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--fin-spine of _hybodus basanus_ egerton. cretaceous. family _heterodontidæ_. (after nicholson.)] [illustration: fig. .--fin-spine of _hybodus reticulatus_ agassiz. (after zittel.)] _palæospinax_, with short stout spines and very large pectoral fins, formerly regarded as a dogfish, is placed near _heterodontus_ by woodward. _acrodus_, from the triassic, shows considerable resemblance to _heterodontus_. its teeth are rounded and without cusps. most of these species belong to the carboniferous, triassic, and jurassic, although some fragments ascribed to cestraciont sharks occur in the upper silurian. _asteracanthus_, known only from fin-spines in the jura, probably belongs here. it is a singular fact first noted by dr. hay, that with all the great variety of sharks, ten families in the carboniferous age, representatives of but one family, _heterodontidæ_, are found in the triassic. this family may be the parent of all subsequent sharks and rays, six families of these appearing in the jurassic and many more in the cretaceous. =edestus and its allies.=--certain monstrous structures, hitherto thought to be fin-spines, are now shown by dr. eastman and others to be coalescent teeth of cestraciont sharks. [illustration: fig. .--fin-spine of _hybodus canaliculatus_ agassiz.] [illustration: fig. .--teeth of cestraciont sharks. (after woodward.) _a_, _hybodus lævis_ woodward (after woodward); _b_, _heterodontus rugosus_ agassiz; _c_, _hybodus delabechei_ charlesworth.] [illustration: fig. .--_edestus vorax_ leidig, supposed to be a whorl of teeth. (after newberry.)] these remarkable _ichthyodorulites_ are characteristic structures of sharks of unknown nature, but probably related to the _heterodontidæ_. of these the principal genera are _edestus_, _helicoprion_, and _campyloprion_. karpinsky regards these ornate serrated spiral structures as whorls of unshed teeth cemented together and extending outside the mouth, "sharp, piercing teeth which were never shed but became fused in whorls as the animals grew." dr. eastman has, however, shown that these supposed teeth of _edestus_ are much like those of the _cochliodontidæ_, and the animals which bore them should doubtless find their place among the cestraciont sharks, perhaps within the family of _heterodontidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--_helicoprion bessonowi_ karpinsky. teeth from the permian of krasnoufimsk, russia. (after karpinsky.)] =onchus.=--the name _onchus_ was applied by agassiz to small laterally compressed spines, their sides ornamented with smooth or faintly crenulated longitudinal ridges, and with no denticles behind. very likely these belonged to extinct cestraciont sharks. _onchus murchisoni_ and _onchus tenuistriatus_ occur in the upper silurian rocks of england, in the lowest strata in which sharks have been found. to a hypothetical group of primitive sharks dr. hasse has given the name of _polyospondyli_. in these supposed ancestral sharks the vertebræ were without any ossification, a simple notochord, possibly swollen at intervals. the dorsal fin was single and long, a fold of skin with perhaps a single spine as an anterior support. the teeth must have been modified dermal papillæ, each probably with many cusps. probably seven gill-openings were developed, and the tail was diphycercal, ending in a straight point. the finely striated fin-spines not curved upward at tip, called _onchus_ from the upper silurian of the ludlow shales of england and elsewhere, are placed by hasse near his polyspondylous sharks. such spines have been retained by the group of _chimæras_, supposed to be derived from the ancestors of _onchus_, as well as by the _heterodontidæ_ and _squalidæ_. =family cochliodontidæ.=--another ancient family known from teeth alone is that of _cochliodontidæ_. these teeth resemble those of the _heterodontidæ_, but are more highly specialized. the form of the body is unknown, and the animals may have been rays rather than sharks. eastman leaves them near the _petalodontidæ_, which group of supposed rays shows a similar dentition. the teeth are convex in form, strongly arched, hollowed at base, and often marked by ridges or folds, being without sharp cusps. in each jaw is a strong posterior tooth with smaller teeth about. the elaborate specialization of these ancient teeth for crushing or grinding shells is very remarkable. the species are chiefly confined to rocks of the carboniferous age. among the principal genera are _helodus_, _psephodus_, _sandalodus_, _venustodus_, _xystrodus_, _deltodus_, _poecilodus_, and _cochliodus_. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _cochliodus contortus_ agassiz. carboniferous. (after zittel.)] concerning the teeth of various fossil sharks, dr. dean observes: "their general character appears to have been primitive, but in structural details they were certainly specialized. thus their dentition had become adapted to a shellfish diet, and they had evolved defensive spines at the fin margins, sometimes at the sides of the head. in some cases the teeth remain as primitive shagreen cusps on the rim of the mouth, but become heavy and bluntish behind; in other forms the fusion of tooth clusters may present the widest range in their adaptations for crushing; and the curves and twistings of the tritoral surfaces may have resulted in the most specialized forms of dentition which are known to occur, not merely in sharks but among all vertebrates." in this neighborhood belongs, perhaps, the family of _tamiobatidæ_, known from the skull of a single specimen, called _tamiobatis vetustus_, from the devonian in eastern kentucky. the head has the depressed form of a ray, but it is probably a shark and one of the very earliest known. =suborder galei.=--the great body of recent sharks belong to the suborder _galei_, or _euselachii_, characterized by the asterospondylous vertebræ, each having a star-shaped nucleus, and by the fact that the palato-quadrate apparatus or upper jaw is not articulated with the skull. the sharks of this suborder are the most highly specialized of the group, the strongest and largest and, in general, the most active and voracious. they are of three types and naturally group themselves about the three central families _scyliorhinidæ_, _lamnidæ_, and _carchariidæ_ (_galeorhinidæ_). the _asterospondyli_ are less ancient than the preceding groups, but the modern families were well differentiated in mesozoic times. among the _galei_ the dentition is less complex than with the ancient forms, although the individual teeth are more highly specialized. the teeth are usually adapted for biting, often with knife-like or serrated edges; only the outer teeth are in function; as they are gradually lost, the inner teeth are moved outward, gradually taking the place of these. we may place first, as most primitive, the forms without nictitating membrane. =family scyliorhinidæ.=--the most primitive of the modern families is doubtless that of the _scyliorhinidæ_, or cat-sharks. this group includes sharks with the dorsal fins both behind the ventrals, the tail not keeled and not bent upward, the spiracles present, and the teeth small and close-set. the species are small and mostly spotted, found in the warm seas. all of them lay their eggs in large cases, oblong, and with long filaments or strings at the corners. the cat-sharks, or roussettes, _scyliorhinus canicula_ and _catulus stellaris_, abound in the mediterranean. their skin is used as shagreen or sandpaper in polishing furniture. the species of swell-sharks (_cephaloscylium_) (_c. uter_, in california; _c. ventriosus_, in chile; _c. laticeps_, in australia; _c. umbratile_, in japan) are short, wide-bodied sharks, which have the habit of filling the capacious stomach with air, then floating belly upward like a globefish. other species are found in the depths of the sea. _scyliorhinus_, _catulus_, and numerous other genera are found fossil. the earliest is _palæoscyllium_, in the jurassic, not very different from _scyliorhinus_, but the fins are described as more nearly like those of _ginglymostoma_. close to the _scyliorhinidæ_ is the asiatic family, _hemiscylliidæ_, which differs in being ovoviviparous, the young, according to mr. edgar r. waite, hatched within the body. the general appearance is that of the _scyliorhinidæ_, the body being elongate. _chiloscyllium_ is a well-known genus with several species in the east indies. _chiloscyllium modestum_ is the dogfish of the australian fishermen. the _orectolobidæ_ are thick-set sharks, with large heads provided with fleshy fringes. _orectolobus barbatus_ (_crossorhinus_ of authors) abounds from japan to australia. another family, _ginglymostomidæ_, differs mainly in the form of the tail, which is long and bent abruptly upward at its base. these large sharks, known as nurse-sharks, are found in the warm seas. _ginglymostoma cirrhatum_ is the common species with _orectolobus_. _stegostoma tigrinum_, of the indian seas and north to japan, one of several genera called tiger-sharks, is remarkable for its handsome spotted coloration. the extinct genus _pseudogaleus_ (_voltai_) is said to connect the _scyliorhinoid_ with the _carcharioid_ sharks. =the lamnoid or mackerel sharks.=--the most active and most ferocious of the sharks, as well as the largest and some of the most sluggish, belong to a group of families known collectively as lamnoid, because of a general resemblance to the mackerel-shark, or _lamna_, as distinguished from the blue sharks and white sharks allied to _carcharias_ (_carcharhinus_). the lamnoid sharks agree with the cat-sharks in the absence of nictitating membrane or third eyelid, but differ in the anterior insertion of the first dorsal fin, which is before the ventrals. some of these sharks have the most highly specialized teeth to be found among fishes, most effective as knives or as scissors. still others have the most highly specialized tails, either long and flail-like, or short, broad, and muscular, fitting the animal for swifter progression than is possible for any other sharks. the lamnoid families are especially numerous as fossils, their teeth abounding in all suitable rock deposits from mesozoic times till now. among the lamnoid sharks numerous families must be recognized. the most primitive is perhaps that of the _odontaspididæ_ (called _carchariidæ_ by some recent authors), now chiefly extinct, with the tail unequal and not keeled, and the teeth slender and sharp, often with smaller cusps at their base. _odontaspis_ and its relatives of the same genus are numerous, from the cretaceous onward, and three species are still extant, small sharks of a voracious habit, living on sandy shores. _odontaspis littoralis_ (also known as _carcharias littoralis_) is the common sand-shark of our atlantic coast. _odontaspis taurus_ is a similar form in the mediterranean. =family mitsukurinidæ, the goblin-sharks.=--closely allied to _odontaspis_ is the small family of _mitsukurinidæ_, of which a single living species is known. the teeth are like those of _odontaspis_, but the appearance is very different. the goblin-shark, or tenguzame, _mitsukurina owstoni_, is a very large shark rarely taken in the kuro shiwo, or warm "black current" of japan. it is characterized by the development of the snout into a long flat blade, extending far beyond the mouth, much as in _polyodon_ and in certain chimæras. several specimens are now known, all taken by capt. alan owston of yokohama in sagami bay, japan. the original specimen, a young shark just born, was presented by him to professor kakichi mitsukuri of the university of tokyo. from this our figure was taken. the largest specimen now known is in the united states national museum and is fourteen feet in length. in the upper cretaceous is a very similar genus, _scapanorhynchus_ (_lewisi_, etc.), which professor woodward thinks may be even generically identical with _mitsukurina_, though there is considerable difference in the form of the still longer rostral plate, and the species of _scapanorhynchus_ differ among themselves in this regard. [illustration: fig. .--goblin-shark (tenguzame), _mitsukurina owstoni_ jordan. from a young specimen in the imperial university of tokyo.] _mitsukurina_, with _heterodontus_, _heptranchias_, and _chlamydoselache_, is a very remarkable survival of a very ancient form. it is an interesting fact that the center of abundance of all these relics of ancient life is in the black current, or gulf stream, of japan. [illustration: fig. .--_scapanorhynchus lewisi_ davis. family _mitsukurinidæ_. under side of snout. (after woodward.)] =family alopiidæ, or thresher sharks.=--the related family of _alopiidæ_ contains probably but one recent species, the great fox-shark, or thresher, found in all warm seas. in this species, _alopias vulpes_, the tail is as long as the rest of the body and bent upward from the base. the snout is very short, and the teeth are small and close-set. the species reaches a length of about twenty-five feet. it is not especially ferocious, and the current stories of its attacks on whales probably arise from a mistake of the observers, who have taken the great killer, _orca_, for a shark. the killer is a mammal, allied to the porpoise. it attacks the whale with great ferocity, clinging to its flesh by its strong teeth. the whale rolls over and over, throwing the killer into the air, and sailors report it as a thresher. as a matter of fact the thresher very rarely if ever attacks any animal except small fish. it is said to use its tail in rounding up and destroying schools of herring and sardines. fossil teeth of thresher-sharks of some species are found from the miocene. =family pseudotriakidæ.=--the _pseudotriakidæ_ consist of two species. one of these is _pseudotriakis microdon_, a large shark with a long low tail, long and low dorsal fin, and small teeth. it has been only twice taken, off portugal and off long island. the other, the mute shark, _pseudotriakis acrales_, a large shark with the body as soft as a rag, is in the museum of stanford university, having been taken by mr. owston off misaki. =family lamnidæ.=--to the family of _lamnidæ_ proper belong the swiftest, strongest, and most voracious of all sharks. the chief distinction lies in the lunate tail, which has a keel on either side at base, as in the mackerels. this form is especially favorable for swift swimming, and it has been independently developed in the mackerel-sharks, as in the mackerels, in the interest of speed in movement. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _lamna cuspidata_ agassiz. oligocene. family _lamnidæ_. (after nicholson.)] the porbeagle, _lamna cornubica_, known as salmon-shark in alaska, has long been noted for its murderous voracity. about kadiak island it destroys schools of salmon, and along the coasts of japan, and especially of europe and across to new england, it makes its evil presence felt among the fishermen. numerous fossil species of _lamna_ occur, known by the long knife-like flexuous teeth, each having one or two small cusps at its base. [illustration: fig. .--mackerel-shark, _isuropsis dekayi_ gill. pensacola, fla.] in the closely related genus, _isurus_, the mackerel-sharks, this cusp is wanting, while in _isuropsis_ the dorsal fin is set farther back. in each of these genera the species reach a length of to feet. each is strong, swift, and voracious. _isurus oxyrhynchus_ occurs in the mediterranean, _isuropsis dekayi_, in the gulf of mexico, and _isuropsis glauca_, from hawaii and japan westward to the red sea. =man-eating sharks.=--equally swift and vastly stronger than these mackerel-sharks is the man-eater, or great white shark, _carcharodon carcharias_. this shark, found occasionally in all warm seas, reaches a length of over thirty feet and has been known to devour men. according to linnæus, it is the animal which swallowed the prophet jonah. "jonam prophetum," he observes, "ut veteris herculem trinoctem, in hujus ventriculo tridui spateo bæsisse, verosimile est." [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _isurus hastalis_ (agassiz). miocene. family _lamnidæ_. (after nicholson.)] it is beyond comparison the most voracious of fish-like animals. near soquel, california, the writer obtained a specimen in , with a young sea-lion (_zalophus_) in its stomach. it has been taken on the coasts of europe, new england, carolina, california, hawaii, and japan, its distribution evidently girdling the globe. the genus _carcharodon_ is known at once by its broad, evenly triangular, knife-like teeth, with finely serrated edges, and without notch or cusp of any kind. but one species is now living. fossil teeth are found from the eocene. one of these, _carcharodon megalodon_ (fig. ), from fish-guano deposits in south carolina and elsewhere, has teeth nearly six inches long. the animal could not have been less than ninety feet in length. these huge sharks can be but recently extinct, as their teeth have been dredged from the sea-bottom by the _challenger_ in the mid-pacific. fossil teeth of _lamna_ and _isurus_ as well as of _carcharodon_ are found in great abundance in cretaceous and tertiary rocks. among the earlier species are forms which connect these genera very closely. the fossil genus _otodus_ must belong to the _lamnidæ_. its massive teeth with entire edges and blunt cusps at base are common in cretaceous and tertiary deposits. the teeth are formed much as in _lamna_, but are blunter, heavier, and much less effective as instruments of destruction. the extinct genus _corax_ is also placed here by woodward. [illustration: fig. .--_carcharodon megalodon_ charlesworth. miocene. family _lamnidæ_. (after zittel.)] =family cetorhinidæ, or basking sharks.=--the largest of all living sharks is the great basking shark (_cetorhinus maximus_), constituting the family of _cetorhinidæ_. this is the largest of all fishes, reaching a length of thirty-six feet and an enormous weight. it is a dull and sluggish animal of the northern seas, almost as inert as a sawlog, often floating slowly southward in pairs in the spring and caught occasionally by whalers for its liver. when caught, its huge flabby head spreads out wide on the ground, its weight in connection with the great size of the mouth-cavity rendering it shapeless. although so clumsy and without spirit, it is said that a blow with its tail will crush an ordinary whaleboat. the basking shark is known on all northern coasts, but has most frequently been taken in the north sea, and about monterey bay in california. from this locality specimens have been sent to the chief museums of europe. in its external characters the basking shark has much in common with the man-eater. its body is, however, relatively clumsy forward; its fins are lower, and its gill-openings are much broader, almost meeting under the throat. the great difference lies in the teeth, which in _cetorhinus_ are very small and weak, about in each row. the basking shark, also called elephant-shark and bone-shark, does not pursue its prey, but feeds on small creatures to be taken without effort. fossil teeth of _cetorhinus_ have been found from the cretaceous, as also fossil gill-rakers, structures which in this shark are so long as to suggest whalebone. [illustration: fig. .--basking shark, _cetorhinus maximus_ (gunner). france.] =family rhineodontidæ.=--the whale-sharks, _rhineodontidæ_, are likewise sluggish monsters with feeble teeth and keeled tails. from _cetorhinus_ they differ mainly in having the last gill-opening above the pectorals. there is probably but one species, _rhineodon typicus_, of the tropical pacific, straying northward to florida, lower california, and japan. =the carcharioid sharks, or requins.=--the largest family of recent sharks is that of _carchariidæ_ (often called _galeorhinidæ_, or _galeidæ_), a modern offshoot from the lamnoid type, and especially characterized by the presence of a third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which can be drawn across the eye from below. the heterocercal tail has no keel; the end is bent upward; both dorsal fins are present, and the first is well in front of the ventral fins; the last gill-opening over the base of the pectoral, the head normally formed; these sharks are ovoviviparous, the young being hatched in a sort of uterus, with or without placental attachment. some of these sharks are small, blunt-toothed, and innocuous. others reach a very large size and are surpassed in voracity only by the various _lamnidæ_. the genera _cynias_ and _mustelus_, comprising the soft-mouthed or hound-sharks, have the teeth flat and paved, while well-developed spiracles are present. these small, harmless sharks abound on almost all coasts in warm regions, and are largely used as food by those who do not object to the harsh odor of shark's flesh. the best-known species is _cynias canis_ of the atlantic. by a regular gradation of intermediate forms, through such genera as _rhinotriacis_ and _triakis_ with tricuspid teeth, we reach the large sharp-toothed members of this family. _galeus_ (or _galeorhinus_) includes large sharks having spiracles, no pit at the root of the tail, and with large, coarsely serrated teeth. one species, the soup-fin shark (_galeus zyopterus_), is found on the coast of california, where its fins are highly valued by the chinese, selling at from one to two dollars for each set. the delicate fin-rays are the part used, these dissolving into a finely flavored gelatine. the liver of this and other species is used in making a coarse oil, like that taken from the dogfish. other species of _galeus_ are found in other regions, _galeus galeus_ being known in england as tope, _galeus japonicus_ abounding in japan. [illustration: fig. .--soup-fin shark, _galeus zyopterus_ (jordan & gilbert). monterey.] _galeocerdo_ differs mainly in having a pit at the root of the tail. its species, large, voracious, and tiger-spotted, are found in warm seas and known as tiger-sharks (_galeocerdo maculatus_ in the atlantic, _galeocerdo tigrinus_ in the pacific). the species of _carcharias_ (_carcharhinus_ of blainville) lack the spiracles. these species are very numerous, voracious, armed with sharp teeth, broad or narrow, and finely serrated on both edges. some of these sharks reach a length of thirty feet. they are very destructive to other fishes, and often to fishery apparatus as well. they are sometimes sought as food, more often for the oil in their livers, but, as a rule, they are rarely caught except as a measure for getting rid of them. of the many species the best known is the broad-headed _carcharias lamia_, or cub-shark, of the atlantic. this the writer has taken with a great hook and chain from the wharves at key west. these great sharks swim about harbors in the tropics, acting as scavengers and occasionally seizing arm or leg of those who venture within their reach. one species (_carcharias nicaraguensis_) is found in lake nicaragua, the only fresh-water shark known, although some run up the brackish mouth of the ganges and into lake pontchartrain. _carcharias japonicus_ abounds in japan. [illustration: fig. .--cub-shark, _carcharias lamia_ rafinesque. florida.] a closely related genus is _prionace_, its species _prionace glauca_, the great blue shark, being slender and swift, with the dorsal farther back than in _carcharias_. of the remaining genera the most important is _scoliodon_, small sharks with oblique teeth which have no serrature. one of these, _scoliodon terræ-novæ_, is the common sharp-nosed shark of our carolina coast. fossil teeth representing nearly all of these genera are common in tertiary rocks. probably allied to the _carchariidæ_ is the genus _corax_, containing large extinct sharks of the cretaceous with broadtriangular serrate teeth, very massive in substance, and without denticles. as only the teeth are known, the actual relations of the several species of _corax_ are not certainly known, and they may belong to the _lamnidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _corax pristodontus_.] =family sphyrnidæ, or hammer-head sharks.=--the _sphyrnidæ_, or hammer-headed sharks, are exactly like the _carchariidæ_ except that the sides of the head are produced, so as to give it the shape of a hammer or of a kidney, the eye being on the produced outer edge. the species are few, but mostly widely distributed; rather large, voracious sharks with small sharp teeth. the true hammer-head, _sphyrna zygæna_, fig. , is common from the mediterranean to cape cod, california, hawaii, and japan. the singular form of its head is one of the most extraordinary modifications shown among fishes. the bonnet-head (_sphyrna tiburo_) has the head kidney-shaped or crescent-shaped. it is a smaller fish, but much the same in distribution and habits. intermediate forms occur, so that with all the actual differences we must place the _sphyrnidæ_ all in one genus. fossil hammer-heads occur in the miocene, but their teeth are scarcely different from those of _carcharias_. _sphyrna prisca_, described by agassiz, is the primeval species. =the order of tectospondyli.=--the sharks and rays having no anal fin and with the calcareous lamellæ arranged in one or more rings around a central axis constitute a natural group to which, following woodward, we may apply the name of _tectospondyli_. the _cyclospondyli_ (_squalidæ_, etc.) with one ring only of calcareous lamellæ may be included in this order, as also the rays, which have tectospondylous vertebræ and differ from the sharks as a group only in having the gill-openings relegated to the lower side by the expansion of the pectoral fins. the group of rays and hasse's order of _cyclospondyli_ we may consider each as a suborder of _tectospondyli_. the origin of this group is probably to be found in or near the _cestraciontes_, as the strong dorsal spines of the _squalidæ_ resemble those of the _heterodontidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--hammer-head shark, _sphyrna zygæna_ l. hindustan. (after day.)] =suborder cyclospondyli.=--in this group the vertebræ have the calcareous lamellæ arranged in a single ring about the central axis. the anal fin, as in all the tectospondylous sharks and rays, is wanting. in all the asterospondylous sharks, as in the _ichthyotomi_, _acanthodei_, and _chimæras_, this fin is present. it is present in almost all of the bony fishes. all the species have spiracles, and in all are two dorsal fins. none have the nictitating membrane, and in all the eggs are hatched internally. within the group there is considerable variety of form and structure. as above stated, we have a perfect gradation among _tectospondyli_ from true sharks, with the gill-openings lateral, to rays, which have the gill-opening on the ventral side, the great expansion of the pectoral fins, a character of relatively recent acquisition, having crowded the gill-openings from their usual position. =family squalidæ.=--the largest and most primitive family of _cyclospondyli_ is that of the _squalidæ_, collectively known as dogfishes or skittle-dogs. in the _squalidæ_ each dorsal fin has a stout spine in front, the caudal is bent upward and not keeled, and the teeth are small and varied in form, usually not all alike in the same jaw. [illustration: fig. .--dogfish, _squalus acanthias_ l. gloucester, mass.] the genus _squalus_ includes the dogfishes, small, greedy sharks abundant in almost all cool seas and in some tropical waters. they are known by the stout spines in the dorsal fins and by their sharp, squarish cutting teeth. they are largely sought by fishermen for the oil in their livers, which is used to adulterate better oils. sometimes , have been taken in one haul of the net. they are very destructive to herrings and other food-fishes. usually the fishermen cut out the liver, throwing the shark overboard to die or to be cast on the beach. in northern europe and new england _squalus acanthias_ is abundant. _squalus sucklii_ replaces it in the waters about puget sound, and _squalus mitsukurii_ in japan and hawaii. still others are found in chile and australia. the species of _squalus_ live near shore and have the gray color usual among sharks. allied forms perhaps hardly different from _squalus_ are found in the cretaceous rocks and have been described as _centrophoroides_. other genera related to _squalus_ live in greater depths, from to fathoms, and these are violet-black. some of the deep-water forms are the smallest of all sharks, scarcely exceeding a foot in length. _etmopterus spinax_ lives in the mediterranean, and teeth of a similar species occur in the italian pliocene rocks. _etmopterus lucifer_,[ ] a deep-water species of japan, has a brilliant luminous glandular area along the sides of the belly. other small species of deeper waters belong to the genera _centrophorus_, _centroscymnus_, and _deania_. in some of these species the scales are highly specialized, pedunculate, or having the form of serrated leaves. some species are arctic, the others are most abundant about misaki in japan and the madeira islands, two regions especially rich in semi-bathybial types. allied to the _squalidæ_ is the small family of _oxynotidæ_ with short bodies and strong dorsal spine. _oxynotus centrina_ is found in the mediterranean, and its teeth occur in the miocene. [illustration: fig. .--_etmopterus lucifer_ jordan & snyder. misaki, japan.] =family dalatiidæ.=--the _dalatiidæ_, or scymnoid sharks, differ from the _squalidæ_ almost solely in the absence of dorsal spines. the smaller species belonging to _dalatias_ (_scymnorhinus_, or _scymnus_), _dalatias licha_, etc., are very much like the dogfishes. they are, however, nowhere very common. the teeth of _dalatias major_ exist in miocene rocks. in the genus _somniosus_ the species are of very much greater size, _somniosus microcephalus_ attaining the length of about twenty-five feet. this species, known as the sleeper-shark or greenland shark, lives in all cold seas and is an especial enemy of the whale, from which it bites large masses of flesh with a ferocity hardly to be expected from its clumsy appearance. from its habit of feeding on fish-offal, it is known in new england as "gurry-shark." its small quadrate teeth are very much like those of the dogfish, their tips so turned aside as to form a cutting edge. the species is stout in form and sluggish in movement. it is taken for its liver in the north atlantic on both coasts in puget sound and bering sea, and i have seen it in the markets of tokyo. in alaska it abounds about the salmon canneries feeding on the refuse. =family echinorhinidæ.=--the bramble-sharks, _echinorhinidæ_, differ in the posterior insertion of the very small dorsal fins, and in the presence of scattered round tubercles, like the thorns of a bramble instead of shagreen. the single species, _echinorhinus spinosus_ reaches a large size. it is rather scarce on the coasts of europe, and was once taken on cape cod. the teeth of an extinct species, _echinorhinus richardi_, are found in the pliocene. [illustration: fig. .--brain of monkfish, _squatina squatina_ l. (after duméril.)] =suborder rhinæ.=--the suborder _rhinæ_ includes those sharks having the vertebræ tectospondylous, that is, with two or more series of calcified lamellæ, as on the rays. they are transitional forms, as near the rays as the sharks, although having the gill-openings rather lateral than inferior, the great pectoral fins being separated by a notch from the head. the principal family is that of the angel-fishes, or monkfishes (_squatinidæ_). in this group the body is depressed and flat like that of a ray. the greatly enlarged pectorals form a sort of shoulder in front alongside of the gill-openings, which has suggested the bend of the angel's wing. the dorsals are small and far back, the tail is slender with small fins, all these being characters shared by the rays. but one genus is now extant, widely diffused in warm seas. the species if really distinct are all very close to the european _squatina squatina_. this is a moderate-sized shark of sluggish habit feeding on crabs and shells, which it crushes with its small, pointed, nail-shaped teeth. numerous fossil species of _squatina_ are found from the triassic and cretaceous, _squatina alifera_ being the best known. [illustration: fig. .--saw-shark, _pristiophorus japonicus_ günther. specimen from nagasaki.] =family pristiophoridæ, or saw-sharks.=--another highly aberrant family is that of the sawsharks, _pristiophoridæ_. these are small sharks, much like the _dalatiidæ_ in appearance, but with the snout produced into a long flat blade, on either side of which is a row of rather small sharp enameled teeth. these teeth are smaller and sharper than in the sawfish (_pristis_), and the whole animal is much smaller than its analogue among the rays. this saw must be an effective weapon among the schools of herring and anchovies on which the sawsharks feed. the true teeth are small, sharp, and close-set. the few species of sawsharks are marine, inhabiting the shores of eastern asia and australia. _pristiophorus japonicus_ is found rather sparsely along the shores of japan. the vertebræ in this group are also tectospondylous. both the _squatina_ and _pristiophorus_ represent a perfect transition from the sharks and rays. we regard them as sharks only because the gill-openings are on the side, not crowded downward to the under side of the body-disk. as fossil, _pristiophorus_ is known only from a few detached vertebræ found in germany. =suborder batoidei, or rays.=--the suborder of _batoidei_, _rajæ_, or _hypotrema_, including the skates and rays, is a direct modern offshoot from the ancestors of tectospondylous sharks, its characters all specialized in the direction of life on the bottom with a food of shells, crabs, and other creatures less active than fishes. the single tangible distinctive character of the rays as a whole lies in the position of the gill-openings, which are directly below the disk and not on the side of the neck in all the sharks. this difference in position is produced by the anterior encroachment of the large pectoral fins, which are more or less attached to the side of the head. by this arrangement, which aids in giving the body the form of a flat disk, the gill-openings are limited and forced downward. in the _squatinidæ_ (angel-fishes) and the _pristiophoridæ_ (sawsharks) the gill-openings have an intermediate position, and these families might well be referred to the _batoidei_, with which group they agree in the tectospondylous vertebræ. other characters of the rays, appearing progressively, are the widening of the disk, through the greater and greater development of the fins, the reduction of the tail, which in the more specialized forms becomes a long whip, the reduction, more and more posterior insertion, and the final loss of the dorsal fins, which are always without spine, the reduction of the teeth to a tessellated pavement, then finally to flat plates and the retention of the large spiracle. through this spiracle the rays breathe while lying on the bottom, thus avoiding the danger of introducing sand into their gills, as would be done if they breathed through the mouth. in common with the cyclospondylous sharks, all the rays lack the anal fin. the rays rarely descend to great depths in the sea. the different members have varying relations, but the group most naturally divides into thick-tailed rays or skates (_sarcura_) and whip-tailed rays or sting-rays (_masticura_). the former are much nearer to the sharks and also appear earliest in geological times. =pristididæ, or sawfishes.=--the sawfishes, _pristididæ_, are long, shark-like rays of large size, having, like the sawsharks, the snout prolonged into a very long and strong flat blade, with a series of strong enameled teeth implanted in sockets along either side of it. these teeth are much larger and much less sharp than in the sawsharks, but they are certainly homologous with these, and the two groups must have a common descent, distinct from that of the other rays. doubtless when taxonomy is a more refined art they will constitute a small suborder together. this character of enameled teeth on the snout would seem of more importance than the position of the gill-openings or even the flattening and expansion of the body. the true teeth in the sawfishes are blunt and close-set, pavement-like as befitting a ray. (see fig. .) [illustration: fig. .--sawfish, _pristis pectinatus_ latham. pensacola, fla.] the sawfishes are found chiefly in river-mouths of tropical america and west africa: _pristis pectinatus_ in the west indies; _pristis zephyreus_ in western mexico; and _pristis pectinatus_ in the senegal. they reach a length of ten to twenty feet, and with their saws they make great havoc among the schools of mullets and sardines on which they feed. the stories of their attacks on the whale are without foundation. the writer has never found any of the species in the open sea. they live chiefly in the brackish water of estuaries and river-mouths. fossil teeth of sawfishes occur in abundance in the eocene. still older are vertebræ from the upper cretaceous at maestricht. in _propristis schweinfurthi_ the tooth-sockets are not yet calcified. in _sclerorhynchus atavus_, from the upper cretaceous, the teeth are complex in form, with a "crimped" or stellate base and a sharp, backward-directed enameled crown. =rhinobatidæ, or guitar-fishes.=--the _rhinobatidæ_ (guitar-fishes) are long-bodied, shovel-nosed rays, with strong tails; they are ovoviviparous, hatching the eggs within the body. the body, like that of the shark or sawfish, is covered with nearly uniform shagreen. the numerous species abound in all warm seas; they are olive-gray in color and feed on small animals of the seabottoms. the length of the snout differs considerably in different species, but in all the body is relatively long and strong. most of the species belong to _rhinobatus_. the best-known american species are _rhinobatus lentiginosus_ of florida and _rhinobatus productus_ of california. the names guitar-fish, fiddler-fish, etc., refer to the form of the body. numerous fossil species, allied to the recent forms, occur from the jurassic. species much like _rhinobatus_ occur in the cretaceous and eocene. _tamiobatis vetustus_, lately described by dr. eastman from a skull found in the devonian of eastern kentucky, the oldest ray-like fish yet known, is doubtless the type of a distinct family, _tamiobatidæ_. it is more likely a shark however than a ray, although the skull has a flattened ray-like form. [illustration: fig. .--guitar-fish, _rhinobatus lentiginosus_ garman. charleston, s. c.] closely related to the _rhinobatidæ_ are the _rhinidæ_ (_rhamphobatidæ_), a small family of large rays shaped like the guitar-fishes and found on the coast of asia. _rhina ancylostoma_ extends northward to japan. in the extinct family of _astrodermidæ_, allied to the _rhinobatidæ_, the tail has two smooth spines and the skin is covered with tubercles. in _belemnobatis sismondæ_ the tubercles are conical; in _astrodermus platypterus_ they are stellate. =rajidæ, or skates.=--the _rajidæ_, skates, or rays, inhabit the colder waters of the globe and are represented by a large number of living species. in this family the tail is stout, with two-rayed dorsal fins and sometimes a caudal fin. the skin is variously armed with spines, there being always in the male two series of specialized spinous hooks on the outer edge of the pectoral fin. there is no serrated spine or "sting," and in all the species the eggs are laid in leathery cases, which are "wheelbarrow-shaped," with a projecting tube at each of the four angles. the size of this egg-case depends on the size of the species, ranging from three to about eight inches in length. in some species more than one egg is included in the same case. most of the species belong to the typical genus _raja_, and these are especially numerous on the coasts of all northern regions, where they are largely used as food. the flesh, although rather coarse and not well flavored, can be improved by hot butter, and as "raie au beurre noir" is appreciated by the epicure. the rays of all have small rounded teeth, set in a close pavement. [illustration: fig. .--common skate, _raja erinacea_ mitchill. woods hole, mass.] some of the species, known on our coasts as "barn-door skates," reach a length of four or five feet. among these are _raja lævis_ and _raja ocellata_ on our atlantic coast, _raja binoculata_ in california, and _raja tengu_ in japan. the small tobacco-box skate, brown with black spots, abundant on the new england coast, is _raja erinacea_. the corresponding species in california is _raja inornata_, and in japan _raja kenojei_. numerous other species, _raja batis_, _clavata_, _circularis_, _fullonica_, etc., occur on the coasts of europe. some species are variegated in color, with eye-like spots or jet-black marblings. still others, living in deep waters, are jet-black with the body very soft and limp. for these garman has proposed the generic name _malacorhinus_, a name which may come into general use when the species are better known. in the deep seas rays are found even under the equator. in the south-temperate zone the species are mostly generically distinct, _psammobatis_ being a typical form, differing from _raja_. _discobatus sinensis_, common in china and japan, is a shagreen-covered form, looking like a _rhinobatus_. it is, however, a true ray, laying its eggs in egg-cases, and with the pectorals extending on the snout. fossil _rajidæ_, known by the teeth and bony tubercles, are found from the cretaceous onward. they belong to _raja_ and to the extinct genera _dynatobatis_, _oncobatis_, and _acanthobatis_. the genus _arthropterus_ (_rileyi_) from the lias, known from a large pectoral fin, with distinct cylindrical-jointed rays, may have been one of the _rajidæ_, or perhaps the type of a distinct family, _arthropteridæ_. [illustration: fig. .--numbfish, _narcine brasiliensis_ henle, showing electric cells. pensacola, fla.] =narcobatidæ, or torpedoes.=--the torpedoes, or electric rays (_narcobatidæ_), are characterized by the soft, perfectly smooth skin, by the stout tail with rayed fins, and by the ovoviviparous habit, the eggs being hatched internally. in all the species is developed an elaborate electric organ, muscular in its origin and composed of many hexagonal cells, each filled with soft fluid. these cells are arranged under the skin about the back of the head and at the base of the pectoral fin, and are capable of benumbing an enemy by means of a severe electric shock. the exercise of this power soon exhausts the animal, and a certain amount of rest is essential to recovery. the torpedoes, also known as crampfishes or numbfishes, are peculiarly soft to the touch and rather limp, the substance consisting largely of watery or fatty tissues. they are found in all warm seas. they are not often abundant, and as food they have not much value. perhaps the largest species is _tetronarce occidentalis_, the crampfish of our atlantic coast, black in color, and said sometimes to weigh pounds. in california _tetronarce californica_ reaches a length of three feet and is very rarely taken, in warm sandy bays. _tetronarce nobiliana_ in europe is much like these two american species. in the european species, _narcobatus torpedo_, the spiracles are fringed and the animal is of smaller size. to _narcine_ belong the smaller numbfish, or "entemedor," of tropical america. these have the spiracles close behind the eyes, not at a distance as in _narcobatus_ and _tetronarce_. _narcine brasiliensis_ is found throughout the west indies, and _narcine entemedor_ in the gulf of california. _astrape_, a genus with but one dorsal fin, is common in southern japan. fossil _narcobatus_ and _astrape_ occur in the eocene, one specimen of the former nearly five feet long. vertebræ of _astrape_ occur in prussia in the amber-beds. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _janassa linguæformis_ atthey. carboniferous. family _petalodontidæ_. (after nicholson.)] =petalodontidæ.=--near the _squatinidæ_, between the sharks and the rays, woodward places the large extinct family of _petalodontidæ_, with coarsely paved teeth each of which is elongate with a central ridge and one or more strong roots at base. the best-known genera are _janassa_ and _petalodus_, widely distributed in carboniferous time. _janassa_ is a broad flat shark, or, perhaps, a skate, covered with smooth shagreen. the large pectoral fins are grown to the head; the rather large ventral fins are separated from them. the tail is small, and the fins, as in the rays, are without spines. the teeth bear some resemblance to those of _myliobatis_. _janassa_ is found in the coal-measures of europe and america, and other genera extend upward from the subcarboniferous limestones, disappearing near the end of carboniferous time. _petalodus_ is equally common, but known only from the teeth. other widely distributed genera are _ctenoptychius_ and _polyrhizodus_. [illustration: fig. .--_polyrhizodus radicans_ agassiz. family _petalodontidæ_. carboniferous of ireland. (after mccoy.)] these forms may be intermediate between the skates and the sting-rays. in dentition they resemble most the latter. similar to these is the extinct family of _pristodontidæ_ with one large tooth in each jaw, the one hollowed out to meet the other. it is supposed that but two teeth existed in life, but that is not certain. nothing is known of the rest of the body in _pristodus_, the only genus of the group. =dasyatidæ, or sting-rays.=--in the section _masticura_ the tail is slender, mostly whip-like, without rayed dorsal or caudal fins, and it is usually armed with a very long spine with saw-teeth projecting backward. in the typical forms this is a very effective weapon, being wielded with great force and making a jagged wound which in man rarely heals without danger of blood-poisoning. there is no specific poison, but the slime and the loose cuticle of the spine serve to aggravate the irregular cut. i have seen one sting-ray thrust this spine through the body of another lying near it in a boat. occasionally two or three of these spines are present. in the more specialized forms of sting-rays this spine loses its importance. it becomes very small and not functional, and is then occasionally or even generally absent in individuals. the common sting-rays, those in which the caudal spine is most developed, belong to the family of _dasyatidæ_. this group is characterized by the small skate-like teeth and by the non-extension of the pectoral rays on the head. the skin is smooth or more or less rough. these animals lie flat on the sandy bottoms in nearly all seas, feeding on crabs and shellfish. all hatch the eggs within the body. the genus _urolophus_ has a rounded disk, and a stout, short tail with a caudal fin. it has a strong spine, and for its size is the most dangerous of the sting-rays. _urolophus halleri_, the california species, was named for a young man who was stung by the species at the time of its first discovery at san diego in . _urolophus jamaicensis_ abounds in the west indies, _urolophus mundus_ at panama, and _urolophus fuscus_ in japan. none of the species reach europe. the true sting-ray (stingaree, or clam-cracker), _dasyatis_, is more widely diffused and the species are very closely related. in these species the body is angular and the tail whip-like. some of the species reach a length of ten or twelve feet. none have any economic value, and all are disliked by fishermen. _dasyatis pastinaca_ is common in europe, _dasyatis centrura_ along our atlantic coast, _dasyatis sabina_ ascends the rivers of florida, and _dasyatis dipterura_ abounds in the bay of san diego. other species are found in tropical america, while still others (_dasyatis akajei_, _kuhlii_, _zugei_, etc.) swarm in japan and across india to zanzibar. [illustration: fig. .--sting-ray, _dasyatis sabina_ le sueur. galveston.] _pteroplatea_, the butterfly-ray, has the disk very much broader than long, and the trivial tail is very short, its little spine more often lost than present. different species of this genus circle the globe: _pteroplatea maclura_, on our atlantic coast; _pteroplatea marmorata_, in california; _pteroplatea japonica_, in japan; and _pteroplatea altavela_, in europe. they are all very much alike, olive, with the brown upper surface pleasingly mottled and spotted. sting-rays of various types, _tæniura_, _urolophus_, etc., occur as fossils from the eocene onward. a complete skeleton called _xiphotrygon acutidens_, distinguished from _dasyatis_ by its sharp teeth, is described by cope from the eocene of twin creek in wyoming. vertebræ of _urolophus_ are found in german eocene. _cyclobatis_ (_oligodactylus_), allied to _urolophus_, with a few long pectoral rays greatly produced, extending over the tail and forming a rayed wreath-like projection over the snout, is known from the lower cretaceous. =myliobatidæ.=--the eagle-rays, _myliobatidæ_, have the pectoral fins extended to the snout, where they form a sort of rayed pad. the teeth are very large, flat, and laid in mosaic. the whip-like tail is much like that in the _dasyatidæ_, but the spine is usually smaller. the eagle-like appearance is suggested by the form of the skull. the eyes are on the side of the head with heavy eyebrows above them. the species are destructive to clams and oysters, crushing them with their strong flat teeth. in _aëtobatus_ the teeth are very large, forming but one row. the species _aëtobatus narinari_ is showily colored, brown with yellow spots, the body very angular, with long whip-like tail. it is found from brazil to hawaii and is rather common. in _myliobatis_ the teeth are in several series. the species are many, and found in all warm seas. _myliobatis aquila_ is the eagle-ray of europe, _myliobatis californicus_ is the batfish of california, and _myliobatis tobijei_ takes its place in japan. in _rhinoptera_ the snout is notched and cross-notched in front so that it appears as if ending in four lobes at the tip. these "cow-nosed rays," or "whipparees," root up the soft bottoms of shallow bays in their search for clams, much as a drove of hogs would do it. the common american species is _rhinopterus bonasus_. _rhinoptera steindachneri_ lives in the gulf of california. teeth and spines of all these genera are common as fossils from the eocene onwards, as well as many of the extinct genus, _ptychodus_, with cyclospondylous vertebræ. _ptychodus mammilaris_, _rugosus_, and _decurrens_ are characteristic of the cretaceous of england. _myliobatis dixoni_ is common in the european eocene, as is also _myliobatis toliapicus_ and _aëtobatis irregularis_. _apocopodon seriacus_ is known from the cretaceous of brazil. [illustration: fig. .--eagle-ray, _aëtobatis narinari_ (euphrasen). cedar keys, fla.] =family psammodontidæ.=--the _psammodontidæ_ are known only from the teeth, large, flat, or rounded and finely dotted or roughened on the upper surface, as the name _psammodus_ (~psammos~, sand; ~odous~, tooth) would indicate. the way in which the jaws lie indicates that these teeth belonged to rays rather than sharks. numerous species have been described, mostly from the subcarboniferous limestones. _archæobatis gigas_, perhaps, as its name would indicate, the primeval skate, is from the subcarboniferous limestone of greencastle, indiana. teeth of numerous species of _psammodus_ and _copodus_ are found in many rocks of carboniferous age. _psammodus rugosus_ common in carboniferous rocks of europe. [illustration: fig. .--devil-ray or sea-devil, _manta birostris_ (walbaum). florida.] =family mobulidæ.=--the sea-devils, _mobulidæ_, are the mightiest of all the rays, characterized by the development of the anterior lobe of the pectorals as a pair of cephalic fins. these stand up like horns or cars on the upper part of the head. the teeth are small and flat, tubercular, and the whip-like tail is with or without spine. the species are few, little known, and inordinately large, reaching a width of more than twenty feet and a weight, according to risso, of pounds. when harpooned it is said that they will drag a large boat with great swiftness. the manta, or sea-devil, of tropical america is _manta birostris_. it is said to be much dreaded by the pearl-fishers, who fear that it will devour them "after enveloping them in its vast wings." it is not likely, however, that the manta devours anything larger than the pearl-oyster itself. _manta hamiltoni_ is a name given to a sea-devil of the gulf of california. the european species _mobula edentula_ reaches a similarly enormous size, and _mobula hypostoma_ has been scantily described from jamaica and brazil. _mobula japonica_ occurs in japan. a foetus in my possession from a huge specimen taken at misaki is nearly a foot across. in _mobula_ (_cephaloptera_) there are teeth in both jaws, in _manta_ (_ceratoptera_) in the lower jaw only. in _ceratobatis_ from jamaica (_c. robertsi_) there are teeth in the upper jaw only. otherwise the species of the three genera are much alike, and from their huge size are little known and rarely seen in collections. of _mobulidæ_ no extinct species are known. footnotes: [ ] dr. peter schmidt has made a sketch of this little shark at night from a living example, using its own light. chapter xxxi the holocephali, or chimÆras =the chimæras.=--very early in geological times, certainly as early as the middle silurian, the type of _chimæras_ diverged from that of the sharks. hasse derives them directly from his hypothetical primitive _polyospondyli_, by way of the _acanthodei_ and _ichthyotomi_. in any event the point of divergence must be placed very early in the evolution of sharks, and this suggestion is as likely as any other. the chief character of chimæras is found in the autostylic skull, which is quite different from the hyostylic skull of the sharks. in the sharks and in all higher fishes the mandible is joined to the skull by a suspensorium of bones or cartilages (quadrate, symplectic, and hyomandibular bones in the teleost fishes). to this arrangement the name hyostylic is given. in the chimæra there is no suspensorium, the mandible being directly attached to the cranium, of which the hyomandibular and quadrate elements form an integral part, this arrangement being called autostylic. the palato-quadrate apparatus, of which the upper jaw is the anterior part, is immovably fused with the cranium, instead of being articulated with it. this fact, gives the name to the subclass _holocephali_ (~holos~, whole or solid; ~kephalê~, head). other characters are found in the incomplete character of the back-bone, which consists of a scarcely segmented notochord differing from the most primitive condition imagined only in being surrounded by calcareous rings, no lime entering into the composition of the notochord itself. the tail is diphycercal and usually prolonged in a filament (leptocercal). the shoulder-girdle, as in the sharks, is free from the skull. the pectoral fins are short and broad, without segmented axis or archipterygium and without recognizable analogue of the three large cartilages seen in the sharks, the propterygium, mesopterygium, and metapterygium. in the mouth, instead of teeth, are developed flat, bony plates called tritors or grinders, set endwise in the front of the jaws. the gills are fringe-like, free at the tips as in ordinary fishes, and there is a single external opening for them all as in true fishes, and they are covered with a flap of skin. these structures are, however, quite different from those of the true fishes and are doubtless independently developed. there is no spiracle. the skin is smooth or rough. in the living forms and most of the extinct species there is a strong spine in the dorsal fin. the ventral fin in the male has complex, usually trifid, claspers, and an analogous organ, the cephalic holder, is developed on the front of the head, in the adult male. this is a bony hook with a brush of glistening enameled teeth at the end. the eggs are large, and laid in oblong or elliptical egg-cases, provided with silky filaments. the eggs are fertilized after they are extruded. mucous channels and lateral line are highly developed, being most complex about the head. the brain is essentially shark-like, the optic nerves form a chiasma, and the central hemispheres are large. the teeth of the chimæras are thus described by woodward, vol. , pp. , : "in all the known families of chimæroids, the dentition consists of a few large plates of vascular dentine, of which certain areas ('tritors') are specially hardened by the deposition of calcareous salts within and around groups of medullary canals, which rise at right angles to the functional surface. in most cases there is a single pair of such plates in the lower jaw, meeting at the symphysis, while two pairs are arranged to oppose these above. as a whole, the dentition thus closely resembles that of the typical dipnoi (as has often been pointed out); and the upper teeth may be provisionally named palatine and vomerine until further discoveries shall have revealed their precise homologies. the structures are sometimes described as 'jaws,' and regarded as dentaries, maxillæ, and premaxillæ, but the presence of a permanent pulp under each tooth is conclusive proof of their bearing no relation to the familiar membrane-bones thus named in higher fishes." =relationship of chimæras.=--as to the origin of the chimæras and their relation to the sharks, dr. dean has this recent ("the devonian lamprey") and interesting word: "the holocephali have always been a doubtful group, anatomy and palæontology contributing but imperfect evidence as to their position in the gnathostome phylum. their embryology, however, is still undescribed, except in a brief note by t. j. parker, and it is reasonably looked to to contribute evidence as to their line of descent. the problem of the relationships of the chimæroids has long been of especial interest to me, and it has led me to obtain embryonic material of a pacific species of one of these forms. it may be of interest in this connection to state that the embryology of this form gives the clearest evidence that the wide separation of the selachii and holocephali is not tenable. the entire plan of development in _chimæra colliei_ is clearly like that of a shark. the ovulation is closely like that of certain of the rays and sharks: the eggs are large, the segmentation is distinctly shark-like; the circular blastoderm overgrows the yolk in an elasmobranchian manner. the early embryos are shark-like; and the later ones have, as t. j. parker has shown, external gills, and i note further that these arise, precisely as in shark-embryos, from the posterior margin of the gill-bar. a spiracle also is present. a further and most interesting developmental feature is the fact that the autostylism in _chimæra_ is purely of secondary nature and is at the most of ordinal value. it is found that in a larva of _chimæra_ measuring mm. in length, the palato-quadrate cartilage is still separated from the skull by a wide fissure. this becomes gradually reduced by the confluence of the palato-quadrate cartilage with the skull, the fusion taking place at both the anterior and posterior ends of the mesal rim of the cartilage. the remains of the fissure are still well marked in the young _chimæra_, four inches in length; and a rudiment of it is present in the adult skull as a passage-way for a nerve. regarding the dentition: it may also be noted in the present connection that the growth of the dental plates in _chimæra_ suggests distinctly elasmobranchian conditions. thus on the roof of the mouth the palatine plates are early represented by a series of small more or less conical elements which resemble outwardly, at least, the 'anlagen' of the pavement teeth in cestraciont sharks." [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _chimæra monstrosa_ linnæus. (after dean.)] =family chimæridæ.=--the existing chimæras are known also as spookfishes, ratfishes, and elephant-fishes. these are divided by garman into three families, and in the principal family, the _chimæridæ_, the snout is blunt, the skin without plates, and the dorsal fin is provided with a long spine. the flat tritors vary in the different genera. the single genus represented among living fishes is _chimæra_, found in cold seas and in the oceanic depths. the best-known species, _chimæra colliei_, the elephant-fish, or chimæra of california, abounds in shallow waters of ten to twenty fathoms from sitka to san diego. it is a harmless fish, useless except for the oil in its liver, and of special interest to anatomists as the only member of the family to be found when desired for dissection. this species was first found at monterey by mr. collie, naturalist of captain beechey's ship, the _blossom_. it is brown in color, with whitish spots, and reaches a length of - / feet. as a shallow-water form, with certain differences in the claspers and in the tail, _chimæra colliei_ is sometimes placed in a distinct genus, _hydrolagus_. other species inhabit much greater depths and have the tail produced into a long filament. of these, _chimæra monstrosa_, the sea-cat of the north atlantic, has been longer known than any other chimæra. _chimæra affinis_ has been dredged in the gulf stream and off portugal. _chimæra phantasma_ and _chimæra mitsukurii_ are frequently taken in japan, and the huge jet-black _chimæra purpurascens_ in hawaii and japan. none of these species are valued as food, but all impress the spectator with their curious forms. [illustration: fig. .--elephant-fish, _chimæra colliei_ lay & bennett. monterey.] the fossil _chimæridæ_, although numerous from triassic times and referred to several genera, are known chiefly by their teeth with occasional fin-spines, frontal holders, or impressions of parts of the skeleton. the earliest of _chimæroid_ remains has been described by dr. charles d. walcott[ ] from ordovician or lower silurian rocks at cañon city, colorado. of the species called _dictyorhabdus priscus_, only parts supposed to be the sheath of the notochord have been preserved. dr. dean thinks this more likely to be part of the axis of a cephalopod shell. the definitely known _chimæridæ_ are mainly confined to the rocks of the mesozoic and subsequent eras. _ischyodus priscus_ (_avitus_) of the lower jura resembles a modern chimæra. _granodus oweni_ is another extinct chimæra, and numerous fin-spines, teeth, and other fragments in the cretaceous and eocene of america and europe are referred to _edaphodon_. a species of _chimæra_ has been recorded from the pliocene of tuscany, and one of _callorhynchus_ from the greensand of new zealand. other american cretaceous genera of chimæroids are _mylognathus_, _bryactinus_, _isotænia_, _leptomylus_, and _sphagepoea_. dental plates called _rhynchodus_ are found in the devonian. =rhinochimæridæ.=--the most degenerate of existing chimæras belong to the family of _rhinochimæridæ_, characterized by the long flat soft blade in which the snout terminates. this structure resembles that seen in the deep-sea shark, _mitsukurina_, and in _polyodon_. in _rhinochimæra pacifica_ of japan the teeth in each jaw form but a single plate. in _harriotta raleighana_, of the gulf stream, they are more nearly as in _chimæra_. both are bathybial fishes, soft in texture, and found in great depths. the family of _callorhynchidæ_, or antarctic chimæras, includes the bottle-nosed chimæra (_callorhynchus callorhynchus_) of the patagonian region. in this species the snout is also produced, a portion being turned backward below in front of the mouth, forming a sensory pad well supplied with nerves. =extinct chimæroids.=--according to woodward, three other families are recognizable among the extinct forms. the _ptyctodontidæ_ are known from the teeth only, a single pair of large, laterally compressed dental plates in each jaw, with a few hard tritoral areas. these occur in silurian and devonian rocks. _ptyctodus obliquus_ from the devonian of russia is the best-known species. other genera are _rhynchodus_ and _palæomylus_. the _squalorajidæ_ have the head depressed and the snout produced in a flat rostrum, as in _harriotta_. there is no dorsal spine, and the teeth are a few thin curved plates. the frontal holder of the male is well developed. the few species occur in the lias. _squaloraja dolichognathos_ is known from numerous fragments from the triassic in england and scotland. _chalcodus permianus_ is found in german permian. the _myriacanthidæ_ have the body elongate, with dermal plates on the head and a long straight spine in the dorsal fin. the frontal holder is large. the species, few in number, are found in mesozoic rocks. _myriacanthus paradoxus_ is the best-known species. of another species, _chimæropsis paradoxa_, a skeleton about three feet long has been found which shows a number of peculiar traits. the skin is covered with ribbed shagreen scales. the dorsal fin has a large spine with retrorse serrations behind. the tail is slim, and the pectoral and ventral fins are very large. bony plates with conical spines protect the neck. the teeth are large and angular, of peculiar form. =ichthyodorulites.=--the term ichthyodorulite (~ichthys~, fish; ~dory~, lance; ~lithos~, stone) is applied to detached fin-spines, dermal spines, and tubercles belonging to unrecognized species of sharks and chimæras. some of these are serrated, others entire, some straight, some curved, and some with elaborate armature or sculpture. some doubtless belong to _cestraciontes_, others to _pleuracanthidæ_; some to _squalidæ_, some to chimæras, and others, perhaps, to forms still altogether unknown. footnotes: [ ] bulletin geol. soc. america, . chapter xxxii the class ostracophori[ ] =ostracophores.=--among the earliest vertebrates actually recognized as fossils belongs the group known as _ostracophori_ (~ostrakos~, a box; ~phoreô~, to bear). these are most extraordinary creatures, jawless, apparently limbless, and enveloped in most cases anteriorly in a coat of mail. in typical forms the head is very broad, bony, and horseshoe-shaped, attached to a slender body, often scaly, with small fins and ending in a heterocercal tail. what the mouth was like can only be guessed, but no trace of jaws has yet been found in connection with it. the most remarkable distinctive character is found in the absence of jaws and limbs in connection with the bony armature. the latter is, however, sometimes obsolete. the back-bone, as usual in primitive fishes, is developed as a persistent notochord imperfectly segmented. the entire absence of jaw structures, as well as the character of the armature, at once separates them widely from the mailed _arthrodires_ of a later period. but it is by no means certain that these structures were not represented by soft cartilage, of which no traces have been preserved in the specimens known. =nature of the ostracophores.=--the ostracophores are found in the ordovician or lower silurian rocks, in the upper silurian, and in the devonian. after the latter period they disappear. the species are very numerous and varied. their real affinities have been much disputed. zittel leaves them with the ganoids, where agassiz early placed them, but they show little homology in structure with the true ganoids. some have regarded them as aberrant teleosts, possibly as freakish catfishes. cope saw in them a huge mailed group of archaic tunicates, while patten has soberly and with considerable plausibility urged their affinity[ ] to the group of spiders, especially to the horseshoe-crabs (_limulus_) and their palæozoic ancestors, the _eurypteridæ_ and _merostomata_. the best guess as to the affinities of the ostracophores is perhaps that given by dr. ramsey h. traquair ("fossil fishes of the silurian rocks of the south of scotland," ). traquair regards them as highly aberrant sharks, or, more exactly, as being derived, like the chimæras, from a primitive elasmobranch stock. in favor of this view is the character of their armature, the bony plates themselves to be regarded as formed by the fusion of shagreen grains or scales. according to traquair: "specialization from the most specialized form, _lanarkia_, has been accompanied by ( ) fusion of the spinelets (_lanarkia_) or shagreen grains (_thelodus_) into plates, scutes, and rhombic scales, supported by hard matter developed in a deeper layer of skin, and ( ) alterations in the pectoral fin-flaps, which, becoming covered up by the postero-lateral plates in _drepanaspis_, are finally no longer recognizable in the _pteraspidæ_." [illustration: fig. .--_odontotodus schrencki_ (pander) (_tremataspis_), ventral side. island of oesel. (after patten.)] [illustration: fig. .--_odontotodus schrencki_ (pander) (_tremataspis_), dorsal side. island of oesel. (after patten.)] woodward leaves their exact relationship undefined, while others have regarded them as mailed lampreys, at any rate to be excluded from the _gnathostomi_, or jaw-bearing series. the apparent absence of true jaws, true limbs, and limb-girdles certainly seems to separate them widely from true fishes, but these characters are negative only, perhaps due to degeneration, and at any rate they are not yet absolutely determined. certainly they offer no positive proof of affinity with the modern cyclostomes. dr. traquair regards the _heterostraci_ or most primitive _ostracophores_ as most certainly derived from the elasmobranchs. other writers have attacked the integrity of the group of ostracophores, questioning the mutual relationship of its component parts. reiss, for example, regards the association of the _osteostraci_ with the _heterostraci_ as "unbegründet" and "unheilvoll," while ray lankester, as quoted by traquair, affirms that "there is absolutely no reason for regarding _cephalaspis_ as allied to _pteraspis_ beyond that the two genera occur in the same rocks, and still less for concluding that either has any connection with _pterichthys_." elsewhere lankester states that the _heterostraci_ are associated at present with the _osteostraci_, "because they have, like _cephalaspis_, a large head-shield, and because there is nothing else with which to associate them." patten, on the other hand, seems inclined to deny the rank of _heterostraci_ and _osteostraci_ as even separate orders, regarding them as very closely related to each other as also to their supposed spider-like ancestors. [illustration: fig. .--head of _odontotodus schrencki_ pander, from the side. (after patten.)] but the consensus of opinion favors the belief that the four orders usually included under this head are distinct and at the same time are really related one to another. for our purposes, then, we may regard the _ostracophori_ as a distinct class of vertebrates. by placing it after the elasmobranchs we may indicate its probable descent from a primitive shark-like stock. [illustration: fig. .--the horseshoe crab or king-crab, _limulus polyphemus_ linnæus. supposed by professor patten to be an ally of the ostracophores; usually regarded as related to the spiders.] on this subject dr. dean remarks: "the entire problem of the homology of the dermal plates and 'scales' in the ostracophores and arthrognaths is to the writer by no means as clear as previous writers have conceded. from the histological standpoint, admitting the craniote nature of the vasodentine and cancellous layers in the dermal plates, it nevertheless does not follow that they have been derived from the actual conditions of the dermal denticles of the ancestral gnathostome, as were unquestionably the dermal plates of teleostomes and dipnoans. it seems equally if not more probable, on the other hand, that the dermal armoring of the distinct groups may have had an altogether different mode of origin, the product of a crude evolution which aimed to strengthen the skin by a general deposition of calcareous matter throughout its entire thickness. the tuberculation of plates thus acquired might have become an important step in the development of a more superficial type of armoring which is most preferably represented by the dermal denticles of selachians. nor, in passing, need the presence of a mucus-canal system in the early plated forms be of greater morphological importance than a foreshadowing of the conditions of gnathostomes, for this system of organs might serve as well as evidence, in a general way, of relationship with marsipobranchs. nor is this evidence the more conclusive when we reflect that _no known type of gnathostome, recent or fossil, possesses open sensory grooves in distinct dermal plates_. the presence, furthermore, of a dorsal fin and a 'truly piscine heterocercal tail,' as noted by traquair, is by no means as gnathostome-like as these structures at first glimpse appear. for they lack not merely the characteristic radial supports of fishes, but even actinotrichia. their mode of support, on the other hand, as smith woodward points out, is of a more generalized nature, bent scales, homologous with those of the adjacent body region, taking the place of the piscine external supports." the actual position in the system to be finally assigned to the ostracophores is therefore still uncertain. =orders of ostracophores.=--four orders of _ostracophori_ are now usually recognized, known in the systems of woodward and traquair as _heterostraci_, _osteostraci_, _antiarcha_, and _anaspida_. the former is the most primitive and perhaps the most nearly allied to the sharks, the second is not very remote from it, the last two aberrant in very different directions. hay places the _antiarcha_ with the _arthrodira_ under the superorder of _placodermi_. =order heterostraci.=--the _heterostraci_ (~heteros~], different; ~ostrakos~, box) have no bone-corpuscles in the coat of mail. this typically consists of a few pieces above, firmly united and traversed by dermal sense-organs or "lateral lines." the ventral shield is simple. four families are recognized by traquair as constituting the _heterostraci_, these forming a continuous series from shark-like forms to the carapace-covered _pteraspis_. in the most primitive family, the _thelodontidæ_,[ ] the head and trunk are covered with small scales or tubercles of dentine and not fused into large plates. the tail is slender and heterocercal, the caudal fin deeply forked. until lately these tubercles were regarded as belonging to sharks, and they are still regarded by traquair as evidence of the affinity of the _heterostraci_ with the _acanthodei_. dr. traquair thinks that a flap or lappet-like projection behind the head may be a pectoral fin. the three known genera are _thelodus_, _lanarkia_, and _ateleaspis_. in _thelodus_ the scales consist of a base and a crown separated by a constriction or neck. _thelodus scoticus_, _thelodus pagei_, and _thelodus planus_ are found in the silurian rocks of scotland. other species, as _thelodus tulensis_ of russia, extend to the upper devonian. in _lanarkia_ the large sharp scales have an expanded base like the mouth of a trumpet. _lanarkia horrida_ and _l. spinulosa_ are found in the shire of lanark in scotland. in _ateleaspis_ (_tesselatus_) the skin is covered with small polygonal plates. the lateral flaps or possibly fins take the form of flat rhombic sculptured scales. in this genus the eyes seem to be on the top of the head. [illustration: fig. .--_lanarkia spinosa_ traquair. upper silurian. family _thelodontidæ_. (after traquair.)] in the _psammosteidæ_ of the devonian the head is covered with large plates which are not penetrated by the sense-organs. these plates are covered with minute, close-set tubercles, covered with brilliant ganoid enamel and with finely crimped edges. according to dr. traquair, these tubercles are shagreen granules which have coalesced and become united to plates formed in a deeper layer of the skin, as in _ateleaspis_ the minute scales have run together into polygonal plates. these creatures have been considered as "armored sharks," and dr. traquair regards them as really related to the acanthodean sharks. nevertheless they are not really sharks at all, and they find their place with the _pteraspis_ and other longer known heterostracans. the family of _drepanaspidæ_ consists of a single recently known species, _drepanaspis gmundenensis_, found in a pyritized condition in purple roofing-slate in gmünden, germany. this fish, which reaches a length of about two feet, has a broad head, with eyes on its outer margin, with a slender body and heterocercal tail. the head has a broad median plate and smaller polygonal ones. the flaps, supposed to represent the pectoral fins, are here cased in immovable bone. no trace of internal skeleton is found by traquair, who has given the restoration of this species, but the mouth has been outlined. [illustration: fig. .--_drepanaspis gmundenensis_ schlüter. upper silurian, gmünden, germany. (after traquair.)] the best known of the heterostracan families is that of _pteraspidæ_. in this family the plates of the head are coalesced in a large carpace, the upper part originally formed of seven coalesced pieces. a stout dorsal spine fits into a notch of the carapace. the slender body is covered with small scales and ends in a heterocercal tail. the dermal sense-organs are well developed. _pteraspis rostrata_ occurs in the lower devonian. other genera are _palæaspis_ and _cyrthaspis_. [illustration: fig. .--_pteraspis rostrata_ agassiz. devonian. family _pteraspidæ_. (after nicholson.)] =order osteostraci.=--the osteostraci (~osteon~, bone; ~ostrakos~, box) (called _aspidocephali_ by rohon) have bone-corpuscles in the shields, and the shield of the back is in one piece without lateral-line channels or sense-organs. ventral shield single. the order includes three families. the _cephalaspidæ_ have the shields tuberculate, the one between the eyes fixed, and the anterior body-shields are not fused into a continuous plate. the best known of the numerous species is _cephalaspis lyelli_ from the lower devonian of england. _hemicyclaspis murchisoni_ occurs in the upper silurian of england, and the extraordinary _cephalaspis dawsoni_ in the lower devonian of gaspé, canada. _eukeraspis pustulifera_ has the head-shield very slender and armed with prickles. in the _thyestidæ_ the anterior body-scales are fused into a continuous plate. _thyestis_ and _didymaspis_ are genera of this type. the _odontotodontidæ_ (_tremataspidæ_) have the shield truncate behind, its surface finely punctate, and the piece between the eyes not fixed. _odontotodus[ ] schrenki_ is found in the upper silurian of the island of oesel in company with species of _thyestes_. the _euphaneropidæ_ are represented in the devonian of quebec. [illustration: fig. .--_cephalaspis lyelli_ agassiz, restored. (after agassiz.)] =order antiarcha.=--the antiarcha (~anti~, opposite; ~archos~, anus) have also bone-corpuscles in the plates, which are also enameled. the sense-organs occupy open grooves, and the dorsal and ventral shields are of many pieces. the head is jointed on the trunk, and jointed to the head are paddle-like appendages, covered with bony plates and resembling limbs. there is no evidence that these erectile plates are real limbs. they seem to be rather jointed appendages of the head-plate, erectile on a hinge like a pectoral spine. there are traces of ear-cavities, gill-arches, and other fish-like structures, but nothing suggestive of mouth or limbs. this group contains one family, the _asterolepidæ_, with numerous species, mostly from devonian rocks. the best known genus is _pterichthyodes_,[ ] in which the anterior median plate of the back is overlapped by the posterior dorso-lateral. _pterichthyodes milleri_ from the lower devonian, named by agassiz for hugh miller, is the best known species, although numerous others, mostly from scottish quarries, are in the british museum. _asterolepis maximus_ is a very large species from the same region, known from a single plate. _bothriolepis canadensis_ is from the upper devonian of scaumenac bay near quebec, numerous specimens and fragments finely preserved having been found. [illustration: fig. .--_cephalaspis dawsoni_ lankester. lower devonian of canada. family _cephalaspidæ_. (after woodward.) in the square a portion of the tubercular surface is shown.] _microbrachium dicki_ with the pectoral appendages small occurs in the devonian of scotland. the earliest remains of _ostracophori_ are found in ordovician or lower silurian rocks of the trenton horizon at cañon city, colorado. these consist of enormous numbers of small fragments of bones mixed with sand. with these is a portion of the head carapace of a small ostracophore which has been named by dr. walcott _asteraspis desiderata_ and referred provisionally to the family of _asterolepidæ_, which belongs otherwise to the lower devonian. [illustration: fig. .--_pterichthyodes testudinarius_ (agassiz), restored. lower devonian family _asterolepidæ_. (after traquair and others.)] with these remains are found also scales possibly belonging to a crossopterygian fish (_eriptychius_). these remains make it evident that the beginning of the fish series lies far earlier than the rocks called silurian, although fishes in numbers are not elsewhere known from rocks earlier than the ludlow shales of the upper silurian, corresponding nearly to the niagara period in america. in the ludlow shales we find the next appearance of the ostracophores, two families, _thelodontidæ_ and _birkeniidæ_, being there represented. [illustration: fig. .--_pterichthyodes testudinarius_ agassiz, side view. (after zittel, etc.)] [illustration: fig. .--_birkenia elegans_ traquair. upper silurian. (after traquair.)] =order anaspida.=--recently a fourth order, _anaspida_ (~a~, without; ~aspis~, shield), has been added to the _ostracophori_ through the researches of dr. traquair. this group occurs in the upper silurian in the south of scotland. it includes the single family _birkeniidæ_, characterized by the fusiform body, bluntly rounded head, bilobate, heterocercal tail, and a median row of hooked spinous scales along the ventral margin. no trace of jaws, teeth, limbs, or internal skeleton has been found. unlike other ostracophores, _birkenia_ has no cranial buckler with orbits on the top, nor have the scales and tubercles the microscopic structure found in other ostracophores. in the genus _birkenia_ the head and body are completely covered by tubercular scutes. the gill-openings seem to be represented by a series of small perforations on the sides. a dorsal fin is present. _birkenia elegans_ is from the ludlow and downstonian rocks of southern scotland. _lasianius problematicus_ from the same rocks is very similar, but is scaleless. it has a row of ventral plates like those of _birkenia_, the only other hard parts it possesses being a number of parallel rods behind the head, homologous with the lateral series of _birkenia_. _lasianius_ is therefore a specialized and degenerate representation of _birkenia_, differing somewhat as "the nearly naked _phanerosteon_ differs from other _palæoniscidæ_ whose bodies are covered with osseous scales." [illustration: fig. .--_lasianius problematicus_ traquair. upper silurian. (after traquair.)] footnotes: [ ] this group was first called by cope _ostracodermi_--a name preoccupied for the group of bony trunkfishes, _ostracidæ_. the still earlier name of _placodermi_, chosen by mccoy ( ), was intended to include arthrodires as well as ostracophores. rohon ( ) calls the group _protocephali_, and to the two orders he assigns the names _aspidorhini_ and _aspidocephali_. these groups correspond to _heterostraci_ and _osteostraci_ of woodward. another name of early date is that of _aspidoganoidei_, given by professor gill in , but not defined until . these fishes are, however, not "ganoids" and the name _ostracophori_ seems to receive general preference. the group _peltacephalata_ of patten corresponds essentially to _ostracophori_, as does also the order _hypostomata_ of gadow. [ ] according to professor patten's view, the close resemblance of the shields of _pteraspis_ to those of contemporaneous _eurypterids_ indicates real affinity. but the _eurypterids_ are related to the spiders and to _limulus_. the only reason for thinking that _pteraspis_ is a fish at all lies in its resemblance to _cephalaspis_, which is in several ways fish-like, although its head shield is much like that of _limulus_. all these resemblances in patten's view indicate real affinity. patten considers the _pteraspids_ as derived from primitive arachnid or spider-like forms having a bony carapace as _limulus_ has. from _pteraspis_ he derives the other ostracophores, and from these the sharks and other vertebrates, all of which appear later in time than the earliest ostracophores. this view of the origin of vertebrates is recently urged with much force by professor patten (amer. nat., , ). most naturalists regard such resemblances in specialized structures on the outside of an animal as parallelisms due to likeness in conditions of life. the external structure in forms of really different nature is often similarly modified. thus certain catfishes, pipefishes, sea-moths, and agonoid fishes are all provided with bony plates not unlike those of ganoid fishes, although indicative of no real affinity with them. commonly the ancestry of vertebrates is traced through enteropneustans to soft-bodied worms which have left no trace in the rocks. in the same connection, professor patten suggests that the lateral fold from which many writers have supposed that the limbs or paired fins of vertebrates is evolved is itself a resultant of the fusion of the fringing appendages on the sides of the body. such appendages are found in the primitive mailed arachnoids and in _limulus_. they are shown very plainly in patten's restoration of _cephalaspis_. about thirty of them of a bony nature and jointed to the body occur on either side between the gill opening and the vent. [ ] called _coelolepidæ_ by pander and traquair, but _coelolepis_ is a later synonym of _thelodus_. [ ] this name, inappropriate or meaningless, is older than _tremataspis_. [ ] the earlier name of _pterichthys_ has been already used for a genus of living fishes. chapter xxxiii arthrodires =the arthrodires.=--another large group of extinct fishes mailed and helmeted is included under the general name of _arthrodira_[ ] (~arthros~, joint; ~deira~, neck), or _arthrognathi_ (~arthros~, ~gnathos~, jaw), the latter term recently framed by dr. dean with a somewhat broader application than the former. these fishes differ from the ostracophores, on the one hand, in the possession of jaws and in the nature of their armored covering. on the other hand, the nature of these jaws, the lack of differentiation of the skeleton, and the uncertain character of the limbs separate them still more widely from the true fishes. their place in the system is still unknown, but their origin seems as likely to be traceable to ostracophores as to any other group. the head in all the species is covered with a great bony helmet. behind this on the nape is another large shield, and between the two is usually a huge joint which dr. dean compares to the hinge of a spring-beetle (_elater_). as to the presence of limbs, no trace of pectoral fin or anterior limb has been found. dean denies the existence of any structures corresponding to either limb, but woodward figures a supposititious posterior limb in _coccosteus_, finding traces of basal bones which may belong to it. these monstrous creatures have been considered by woodward and others as mailed dipnoans, but their singular jaws are quite unlike those of the _dipneusti_, and very remote from any structures seen in the ordinary fish. the turtle-like mandibles seem to be formed of dermal elements, in which there lies little homology to the jaws of a fish and not much more with the jaws of dipnoan or shark. the relations with the ostracophores are certainly remote, though nothing else seems to be any nearer. they have no affinity with the true ganoids, to which vaguely limited group many writers have attached them. nor is there any sure foundation to the view adopted by woodward, that they are to be considered as armored offshoots of the dipnoans. according to dean we might as well refer the arthrodires to the sharks as to the dipnoans. dean further observes ("fishes living and fossil"): [illustration: fig. .--_coccosteus cuspidatus_ agassiz, restored. lower devonian. (after traquair, per woodward.)] "the puzzling characters of the arthrodirans do not seem to be lessened by a more definite knowledge of their different forms. the tendency, as already noted, seems to be at present to regard the group provisionally as a widely modified offshoot of the primitive dipnoans, basing this view upon their general structural characters, dermal plates, dentition, autostylism. but only in the latter regard could they have differed more widely from the primitive elasmobranch or teleostome, if it be admitted that in the matter of dermal structures they may be clearly separated from the chimæroid. it certainly is difficult to believe that the articulation of the head of arthrodirans could have been evolved after dermal bones had come to be formed, or that a dipnoan could become so metamorphosed as to lose not only its body armoring, but its pectoral appendages as well. the size of the pectoral girdle is, of course, little proof that an anterior pair of fins must have existed, since this may well have been evolved in relation to the muscular supports of plastron, carapace, trunk, and head. the intermovement of the dental plates, seen especially in _dinichthys_, is a further difficulty in accepting their direct descent from the dipnoans." [illustration: fig. .--jaws of _dinichthys hertzeri_ newberry. upper devonian. ohio. (after newberry.)] =occurrence of arthrodires.=--these fishes occur in abundance from the silurian times to the mesozoic. in the devonian their gigantic size and thick armor gave them the leading position among the hosts of the sea. among the genera there occurred "series of forms most interesting as to their evolution." "it is found more and more evident," says dr. dean ("fishes, living and fossil," pp. , ) "that the arthrodirans may have represented the dominant group in the devonian period, as were the sharks in the carboniferous, or as are the teleosts in modern times. there were forms which, like _coccosteus_, had eyes at the notches of the head-buckler; others, like _macropetalichthys_, in which orbits were well centralized; some, like _dinichthys_ and _titanichthys_, with the pineal foramen present; some with pectoral spines(?); some with elaborately sculptured dermal plates. among their forms appear to have been those whose shape was apparently subcylindrical, adapted for swift swimming; others (_mylostoma_) whose trunk was depressed to almost ray-like proportions. in size they varied from that of the perch to that of a basking shark. in dentition they presented the widest range in variation, from the formidable shear-like jaws of _dinichthys_ to the lip-like mandibles of _titanichthys_, the tearing teeth of _trachosteus_, the wonderfully forked tooth-bearing jaw-tips of _diplognathus_, to the cestraciont type, _mylostoma_. the latter form has hitherto been known only from its dentition, but now proves to be, as newberry and smith woodward suggested, a typical arthrodiran." =classification of arthrodira.=--our knowledge of the systematic relations of the arthrodira is mostly of recent origin. woodward refers most of the remains to the best known genus _coccosteus_, and recognizes as families the _coccosteidæ_, _mylostomidæ_, _asterosteidæ_, and _phyllolepidæ_. [illustration: fig. .--an arthrodire, _dinichthys intermedius_ newberry, restored. devonian, ohio. (after dean.)] dr. bashford dean in different papers has treated these fishes in great detail. in a recent paper on the "relationships of the _arthrognathi_"[ ] he recognizes the group as a class coordinate with _cyclostomi_ and _elasmobranchii_. this class, which he calls _arthrognathi_, is first divided into two suborders, _anarthrodira_, without joint at the neck, and _arthrodira_, with such a joint. the former comprises one order, _stegothalami_, and the latter two orders, _temnothoraci_ and _arthrothoraci_. the following is dr. dean's definition of these orders and their component families: =arthrognathi.=--"chordates whose anterior body region is encased in dermal elements, and divisible by a more or less definite partition into head and trunk. dermal plates which surround the mouth function as jaws. no evidence of branchial arches. column notochordal, showing no traces of centra; well-marked neural and hæmal elements. paired limbs [absent or uncertain]. dermal plates consisting typically of two layers, the superficial tuberculate, the inner bony with radiating lamellæ. orbits situated near or at the margin of the head-shield and separated from one another by fixed integumental plates. a pineal funnel present situated in a fixed plate. a mucous system whose canals radiate from the preoccipital region." =anarthrodira.=--"arthrognaths in which the cranial and dorsal regions are separated by a fixed partition whose dorsal rim is overlapped and concealed by superficial plates. of these a large median dorsal element is present which extends backward superficially from the region near the pineal funnel. also a pair of elements which overlie the position of the external occipital joint. suborbital plates apparently absent. jaw elements undescribed." =stegothalami= (~stegos~, roof; ~thalamos~, chamber).--"anarthrodires in which the cranio-dorsal septum is vertical and deep, its height equal apparently to that of the arch of the head-shield. by this deep partition the latter appears to inclose two chambers (whence the ordinal name). orbits inclosed by pre- and postorbital plates. mucous system lacks a postorbital canal." one family, the _macropetalichthyidæ_, thus defined: "stegothalami with large orbits and well-arched cranio-dorsal shield. dorso-central shield long, wide, gomphoidal, extending backward to the hinder margin of the shield and bordered by all plates save the postorbitals and marginals. pineal funnel small and obscure." _macropetalichthys sullivanti_ from ohio devonian rocks, and _macropetalichthys agassizi_ from the devonian of germany, are important species of this group. the _asterosteidæ_ perhaps constitute a second family in this order. the single species _asterosteus stenocephalus_ is from the devonian of ohio. =arthrodira.=--"arthrognaths in which the dorsal armoring is separated into dorsal and cranial elements, the latter attached to the former movably by means of a pair of peg-and-socket joints. the interval lying between cranial and dorsal armoring does not appear to have been protected by plates, and in the median line, instead of the cranio-central of the anarthrodires, there are separate elements, median occipital, median dorsal, and perhaps others. suborbital plates present. jaws of three pairs of elements. ventral armoring of two pairs of lateral and two median elements." =temnothoraci= (~temnô~, to cut; ~thôrax~, thorax).--"arthrodires whose cranial and dorsal shields are closely apposed, separated only by a transverse fissure-like interval (whence the ordinal name); interarticulation of cranial and dorsal shields little developed. head-shield elliptical in outline as far as the line of the transverse division. the anterior rim of the shoulder-shield flattened at its sides, suggesting a rudiment of the vertical partition of the anarthrodira. suborbital plate is present, but takes no part, apparently, in the ventral boundary of the orbit, this being formed, as in the anarthrodira, by the pre- and postorbital elements. jaws, ventral armoring, and endoskeleton not definitely known." one family, _chelonichthyidæ_, thus defined: "temnothoraci with orbits relatively small in size and situated well forward in the head-shield. occipital elements produced antero-posteriorly, the external occipital forming the posterior lateral angle of the head, no projection of the head occurring in the region of the marginal plate. median occipital trapezoidal. centrals take part in the median boundary of the orbits, and embrace the pineal plate. median dorsal with poorly developed keel and terminal process." _heterosteus asmussi_ (perhaps to be called _ichthyosauroides spinosus_) is a gigantic species from the lower devonian of livonia. allied to this species is _homostius milleri_ from scotland, celebrated as the "asterolepis of stromness" in hugh miller's "footsteps of the creator." another notable species is _homostius formosissimus_ from the lower devonian of russia. =arthrothoraci.=--"arthrodires whose dorsal shield articulates with the head-roof by a conspicuous and movable peg-and-socket joint, and leaves a definite interval (unprotected?) between the two armorings. orbits marginal, bounded inferiorly not by the suborbital element. in the head-shield the postero-lateral angles formed by the marginal plate (_phlyctænaspis?_), the occipital border concave. a dorsal fin is present, supported by endoskeletal elements." five families, the most important being the _coccosteidæ_, thus defined: "arthrothoraci with head-shield hexagonal in outline. median occipital trapezoidal, margins underlapped conspicuously by the external occipitals. prefrontals meet below pineal plates, thus occluding this element from contact with centrals. the median dorsal plate elongated, terminating in an acute heavy point; no definite ventral keel; its anterior border approaches the head-shield more closely than in related families. cranio-dorsal joint relatively small. postero-dorso-lateral large." (?a pair of spines occurs in the pectoral region.) the best-known species is _coccosteus cuspidatus_ (_decipiens_) of the lower red sandstone or devonian of scotland. the family of _dinichthyidæ_ consists of "arthrothoraci with stout trenchant jaws, whose cutting surfaces have worn away marginal teeth. plates heavy. head-shield with conspicuous lateral indentation to form dorsal border of orbit. preorbitals separated by rostral and pineal elements, the latter passing backward between the anterior ends of the centrals. cranio-dorsal joint conspicuous. median dorsal shovel-shaped, nearing a stout keel with a large neck and with heavy gouge-shaped terminal. postero-dorso-lateral relatively small in size." _dinichthys hertzeri_ and numerous other species are described from the devonian and carboniferous rocks of ohio. the _titanichthyidæ_ are "arthrothoraci with slender edentulous jaws bearing a longitudinal sulcus. plates squamous. head-shield wide, with indentations to form dorsal border of orbit. cranio-dorsal joint complete, but of relatively small size. median dorsal with lateral border indented with rudimentary keel and with flat and rounded terminal. antero-dorso-lateral with an area of overlap on median border." _titanichthys agassizi_ is a gigantic mailed fish from the lower carboniferous of cleveland, ohio. the _mylostomidæ_ are "arthrothoraci with dental elements in the character of crushing plates. cranial shield wide, rounded anteriorly, deeply indented in nuchal margin; orbital rim not apparent in dorsal aspect. central separated from marginal." _mylostoma terrelli_ is based on jaws from cleveland, ohio. the _selenosteidæ_ are "arthrothoraci with jaws studded with cuspidate teeth; the mandibular rami rounding out anteriorly or presenting diverging tips, bearing teeth in the symphysis. cranial shield deeply concave on lateral margins, no orbital rim here apparent. nuchal border deeply indented. (centrals separate from marginals.) cranio-dorsal hinges large in size. dorsal armoring reduced antero-posteriorly, giving an almost zone-like appearance. dorso-median crescent-shaped, with feeble keel and knob." _selenosteus glaber_ is described by dean from the cleveland shales. =relations of arthrodires.=--to complete our account of the arthrodira we may here summarize dr. dean's reasons for separating its members from true fishes on the one hand and from the ostracophores on the other. "first. the arthrodira cannot be strictly included among the pisces. according to the definition of the latter class its members are craniotes possessing the following characters: _a_, dermal defenses which in their simplest terms can be reduced to the shagreen denticles of the elasmobranch; _b_, a series of definite gill-arches whose foremost elements are metamorphosed into hyoid and mandibular apparatus; _c_, paired fins, or their equivalents. in the first of these regards i think it can be shown that the remarkable character of the dermal plates in the arthrognaths approaches rather that of the ostracophores than that of the pisces. in certain of these forms, _trachosteus_, for example, the tuberculated plates are made up of inner and outer elements, each with tubercles, which denote a distinctly different mode of origin from that of any known type of fish. the absence of remains of gill-arches in the arthrognaths would be not a serious objection to including these forms among pisces, especially in view of the fact that cartilaginous gill-arches are rarely preserved even in favorable fossils. but that their presence is more than doubtful is indicated by the peculiar character of the 'jaws' in these forms. for the character of these structures is such as to suggest that they are not homologous with the branchial arch jaws of the true fishes, but are rather parallel structures which owe their origin to distinctly exoskeletal elements, i.e., that they were derived from dermal plates surrounding the mouth, which became mobile, and whose edges became apposed as sectorial structures. i would in this connection call attention to the fact that the 'mandibles,' 'premaxillary,' and 'maxillary' dental plates[ ] were not fixed in the sense in which these elements are in the true pisces. on the evidence of several types, _dinichthys_, _titanichthys_, _mylostoma_, _trachosteus_, _diplognathus_, and other of the american forms, _macropetalichthys_[ ] excepted, there is the clearest proof that each element of the jaws had a considerable amount of independent movement. on account of the mobility of these elements the name arthrognathi is suggested. thus the mandibular rami could change the angle of inclination towards each other, as well as their plane with reference to the vertical axis. so, too, could the 'premaxillæ' be protracted like a pair of bent fingers, and it is more than probable that the 'maxillæ' had a considerable amount of independent movement. in connection with these characters it is also important to note that the blades of the 'mandible' show nowhere the faintest trace of an articular facet for attachment to the cranium. in short, the entire plan of the mandibular apparatus in these forms is strikingly unfish-like, although one will frankly confess that it is remarkable that these forms should have paralleled so strikingly the piscine conditions, to the extent of producing mandibular rami margined with teeth, and an arrangement of toothed elements on the 'upper jaw' which resembles superficially the premaxillary and maxillary structures of teleostomes, or the vomero-palatine structures of lung-fishes and chimæras. "in the matter of paired fins there seems little evidence to conclude that either pectoral or pelvic fins were present. in spite of the researches upon these forms during the past half-century, no definite remains of pectoral fins have been described. the so-called pectoral spines described for _dinichthys_ by newberry, whatever they may be, certainly are not, as far as the present evidence goes, pterygial, nor are the similar structures in _brachydirus_.[ ] the sigmoid element, described as a 'pelvic girdle' by smith woodward, in coccosteus, a structure which appears to occur in a small species of _dinichthys_(?), may as reasonably be interpreted as a displaced element of the armor-plates of the trunk. in _coccosteus_, as far as i am aware, it occurs in well-preserved condition in but a single specimen. "in referring to the singular joint between the shoulder-plates and the hinder margin of the cranium smith woodward has called attention to one of the striking features of the group. it is one, however, which, as a functional structure, i.e., a joint, characterizes only a portion of its members; and in these the region in which vestiges of the joint are sought is overlaid and concealed by dermal plates. such are the conditions in _macropetalichthys_ (with transitional characters in _trachosteus_ and in _mylostoma_). for this form a special subclass (or order) may be created which we may term anarthrodira. "second. the _arthrognathi_ cannot well be included in any other class. it would certainly be more convenient to retain the arthrognaths among the ostracophores, regarding them as a fourth subclass, were it not that they differ from them in so marked a way in the presence of well-marked vertebral arches, of supports for the unpaired fin, and in the possession of 'jaws.' in these regards--add to them the (probable if not certain) absence of the paired paddle-like 'spines'--they stand certainly further from the antiarcha than these from the osteostraci, or than the latter from the heterostraci. it appears to me desirable, therefore, that the arthrodira and the anarthrodira be brought together as a separate class. should subsequent researches demonstrate a closer affinity with the ostracophores, the arthrognathi can be regarded as of rank as a subclass, with the orders anarthrodira and arthrodira."[ ] in a recent paper dr. otto jaekel unites arthrodires and ostracophores under the name _placodermi_. he regards _pteraspis_ as a larval type, _asterolepis_ as one more specialized. in _coccosteus_ he claims to find a pelvic girdle as well as a more segmented skeleton. he regards all of these as true fishes, the _coccosteidæ_ as ancestral, related on the one hand to the _crossopterygians_, and on the other to the _stegocephali_ and other ancestral amphibians. =suborder cycliæ.=--we may append to the _arthrodira_ as a possible suborder the group called _cycliæ_ by dr. gill, based on a single imperfectly known species. few organisms discovered in recent times have excited as much interest as this minute fish-like creature, called _palæospondylus gunni_, discovered in by dr. r. h. traquair in the flagstones of caithness in scotland. many specimens have been obtained, none more than an inch and a half long. its structure and systematic position have been discussed by dr. r. h. traquair, by woodward, gill, gegenbaur, and recently by dean, from whose valuable memoir on "the devonian lamprey" we make several quotations. [illustration: fig. .--_palæospondylus gunni_ traquair. devonian. (after traquair and dean.)] =palæospondylus.=--according to dr. traquair: "the _palæospondylus gunni_ is a very small organism, usually under one inch in length, though exceptionally large specimens occasionally measure one inch and a half.... it has a head and vertebral column, but no trace of jaws or limbs; and, strange to say, all the specimens are seen only from the ventral aspect, as is shown by the relation of the neural arches to the vertebral centra. "the head is in most cases much eroded.... it is divided by a notch ... into two parts.... the _anterior part_ shows a groove the edges of which are elevated, while the surface on each side shows two depressions, like fenestræ, though perhaps they are not completely perforated, and also a groove partially divided off, posteriorly and externally, a small lobe. in front there is a ring-like opening ... surrounded by small pointed cirri, four ventrally, at least five dorsally, and two long lateral ones which seem to arise inside the margin of the ring instead of from its rim like the others. the _posterior part_ of the cranium is flattened, but the median groove is still observable. connected with the posterior or occipital aspect of the skull are two small narrow plates which lie closely alongside the first half-dozen vertebræ. "the bodies of the vertebræ are hollow or ring-like, and those immediately in front are separated from each other by perceptible intervals; their surfaces are marked with a few little longitudinal grooves, of which one is median. they are provided with neural arches, which are at first short and quadrate, but towards the caudal extremity lengthen out into slender neural spines, which form the dorsal expansion of a caudal fin, while shorter hæmal ones are also developed on the ventral aspect." dr. traquair concludes that "there seems to be no escape from the conclusion that the little creature must be classed as a marsipobranch." "if _palæospondylus_ is not a marsipobranch, it is quite impossible to refer it to any other existing group of vertebrates." =gill on palæospondylus.=--in dr. gill proposed to regard _palæospondylus_ provisionally as the type of a distinct order of cyclostomes to be called _cycliæ_ (~kyklos~, circle), from the median ring on the head, whether nostril or mouth. dr. gill observes: "assuming the correctness of dr. traquair's description and figures, we certainly have a remarkable combination of characters. on the one hand, if the 'median opening or rim' is indeed nasal, the animal certainly cannot be referred to the class of selachians or of teleostomes. on the other hand, the cranium and the segmental vertebral column indicate a more advanced stage of development of the vertebrate line than that from the living marsipobranchs must have originated. we may, therefore, with propriety isolate it as the representative not only of a peculiar family (_palæospondylidæ_), but of an order or even subclass (cycliæ) of vertebrates which may provisionally (and only provisionally) be retained in the class of marsipobranchs. "the group may be defined as monorrhines with a continuous (?) cranium, a median nasal (?) ring, and a segmented vertebral column. "the differences between the _hyperoartia_ and _hyperotreta_ are very great, and prof. lankester did not go much too far when he elevated those groups to class rank. among the numerous distinctive characters are the great differences in the auditory organs. perhaps the organs of _palæospondylus_ might be worked out in some specimen and throw light on the subject of affinities. at present even the region of the auditory organs is not exactly known and we are now at a loss to orient the several parts of the cranium. in fact, the question of the relations of _palæospondylus_ is a very open one." =views as to the relationships of palæospondylus.=--dr. dean thus summarizes in a convenient and interesting fashion the views of different students of fossil fishes in regard to _palæospondylus_: =huxley.=--a "baby _coccosteus_." =traquair, .=--"certainly not a placoderm, its resemblance to a supposed 'baby coccosteus' being entirely deceptive. the appearance of the head does remind us in a strange way of the primitive skull of _myxine_, a resemblance which is rendered still more suggestive by the apparent complete absence of the lower jaw, or of limbs or limb-girdles." =traquair, .=--"it seems, indeed, impossible to refer the organism to any existing vertebrate class, unless it be the marsipobranchs or cyclostomata." does not believe it a larval form, because the possible adult is unknown, and because of the highly differentiated vertebræ. granting his interpretation of the parts of the fossil, "there seems no escape from the conclusion that the little creature must be classed as a marsipobranch." =traquair, .=--"the question of the affinities of _palæospondylus_ is left precisely where it was after i had written my last paper on the subject." =smith woodward, .=--"it seems to possess an unpaired nose, lip cartilages in place of functional jaws, and no paired limbs; thus agreeing precisely with the lampreys and hagfishes, of which the fossil representatives have long been sought. it is extremely probable, therefore, that _palæospondylus_ belongs to this interesting category." =dawson, .=--_palæospondylus_ suggests "the smaller snake-like batrachians of the carboniferous and permian; and i should not be surprised if it should come to be regarded as either a forerunner of the batrachians or as a primitive tadpole." =gill, .=--"the group to which _palæospondylus_ belongs may be defined as monorrhines with a continuous (?) cranium, a median nasal (?) ring, and a segmented vertebral column." "the cranium and segmented vertebral column indicate a more advanced stage of development of the vertebrate line than that from which the living marsipobranchs must have originated. we may, therefore, with propriety isolate it as the representative not only of a peculiar family (_palæospondylidæ_), but of an order or even subclass (_cycliæ_) of vertebrates which may provisionally (and only provisionally) be retained in the class of marsipobranchs." =dean, .=--"place it with the ostracoderms among the curiously specialized offshoots of the early chordates, but this position would be at the best unsatisfactory." =dean, .=--"_palæospondylus_ should not be given a place--even a provisional one--among the marsipobranchs." to be accepted "as the representative of the new subclass (or class) cycliæ constituted for it by professor gill." =parker & haswell, .=--"there is some reason to regard that _palæospondylus_ is referable to the cyclostomes." "a distinctly higher type than recent forms." =gegenbaur, .=--"discovery of _palæospondylus_ one of the highest importance. if this organism stands in no way near the cyclostomes, the tentacles lose their higher importance, since they also occur in other groups." "through _palæospondylus_ came also the attempt (pollard) to deduce the presence of the tentacular condition in the higher forms." (_mem._--in this gegenbaur has not consulted the literature accurately. at the time of founding his "cirrhostomal theory" pollard was unaware of the discovery of _palæospondylus_). "ich muss sagen, das die positive behauptung der einen wie der anderen deutung mir sehr unsicher scheint, da auch an den übrigen resten des kopfskelets keine bestimmten uebereinstimmungen mit anderen organismen erweisbar sind. es ist daher auch nicht zu vermuthen, dass sogar an beziehung zu froschlarven gedacht ward. unter diesen umständen möchte ich jene im verhältniss zum kopfe wie zum gesammten körper bedeutende, von cirren umstellte eingangsöffnung als nicht einer nase, sondern einem munde oder beiden zugleich angehörig betrachten. zu einem dem cyclostomenriechorgan vergleichbaren verhalten fehlen alle bedingungen." =relationships of palæospondylus.=--the arguments for and against the supposition that _palæospondylus_ is a cyclostome may be here summed up after professor dean. the vertebral column agrees with that of the lamprey in having the notochord in part persistent. on the other hand, the vertebræ have continuous centra, showing definite processes. those of the different regions are differentiated. these conditions are quite unlike those seen in the lamprey. the cranium is massive, over twice as large proportionally as that of the lamprey. in the latter type the cranium forms but a small portion of the bulk of the head; in _palæospondylus_, on the other hand, the cranium bears every sign of having filled the contour of the head. moreover, if the region adjacent to the structure is admitted to be that of the eye, and few, i believe, will doubt it, then the brain-cavity must, by many analogies, have been much larger than that of a marsipobranch. also the auditory capsules must have been of extraordinary size. in short, there is very little about the cranium to suggest the structures of cyclostomes. the "oral cirri" suggest somewhat the barbels of the nose and mouth of a hagfish. they, however, resemble even as much in arrangement and greater number the buccal cirri of _amphioxus_. on the other hand, similar mouth-surrounding tentacles are evolved independently in many groups of fishes, siluroids, sharks, forms like _pogonias_, _hemitripterus_. a possibility further exists that the "cirri" may turn out to be remnants of cranial or facial structures of an entirely different nature. in fact the very uncertain preservation of these parts renders their evidence of little definite value. in but one specimen, as far as i am aware, is there any evidence of the presence of ventral cirri. the jaw parts in _palæospondylus_ are unknown. it is possible that the ventral rim of the "nasal ring" may prove to be the remains of the meckelian cartilage (the cartilaginous core of the lower jaw). it is possible that certain very faint ray-like markings noted by professor dean may be the basalia of paired fins. in such case _palæospondylus_ can have no affinity with the lampreys. dr. dean asserts that the presence of these, in view of the wide dissimilarity in other and important structures, is sufficient to remove _palæospondylus_ from its provisional position among the cyclostomes. the postoccipital plates may represent a pectoral arch. it is, however, much more likely, as dr. traquair has insisted, that the supposed rays are due to the reflection of light from striations on the stone, and that the creature had no pectoral limbs. the caudal fin, with its dichotomous rays, is essentially like the tail of a lamprey. this condition is, however, found in other groups of fishes, as among sharks and lung-fishes. it is, moreover, doubtful whether the rays are really dichotomous. it is possible that _palæospondylus_ may be, as huxley suggests, a larval arthrodire. it is not probable that this is the case, but, on the other hand, _palæospondylus_ seems to be an immature form. according to dr. dean, it is more likely to prove a larval _coccosteus_, or the young of some other arthrodire, than a lamprey. against this view must be urged the fact that the tail of _palæospondylus_ is not heterocercal, a fact verified by dr. traquair on all of his many specimens. it is more like the tail of a lamprey than that of _coccosteus_. it is, however, certain that it cannot be placed in the same class with the living _cyclostomes_, and that it is far more highly specialized than any of them. in a still later paper ( ) dr. dean shows that the fossil might as easily be considered a chimæra as a lamprey, and repeats his conviction that it is a larval form of which the adult is still unrecognized. we cannot go much farther than dr. dean's statement in , that it belongs "among the curiously specialized offshoots of the early chordates." footnotes: [ ] "the name _arthrodira_ as given to coccosteans, as distinguished from the _antiarcha_, is not altogether a satisfactory one, since at least from the time of pander the head of pterichthys (_asterolepis_) is known to be articulated with the armoring of the trunk in a way closely resembling that of _coccosteus_. this term may, however, be retained as a convenient one for the order of coccosteans, in which, together with other differentiating features, this structure is prominently evolved. a renewed examination of the subject has caused me to incline strongly to the belief, as above expressed, that _pterichthys_ and coccosteans are not as widely separated in phylogeny as smith woodward, for example, has maintained. but, as far as present evidence goes, they appear to me certainly as distinct as fishes are from amphibia, or as reptiles are from birds or from mammals." (dean.) the name _placodermi_ used by mccoy in was applied to the _ostracophores_ as well as to the _arthrodires_. hay revives it as the name of a superorder to include the _antiarcha_ and the _arthrodira_, the former being detached from the _ostracophores_. this superorder is equivalent to the subclass _azygostei_ of hay. [ ] memoirs new york academy of sciences, . [ ] it will be recalled that there is no ground for concluding that the "mandibular rami" possessed an endoskeletal core, and were comparable, therefore, to the somewhat mobile jaws of elasmobranchs. on the other hand, there is the strongest evidence that they are entirely comparable to adjacent dermal plates. histologically they are identical, and in certain cases their exposed surfaces bear the same tuberculation. [ ] the similarity of _macropetalichthys_ to dinichthyids in the general matter of the dermal plates is so complete that i have had no hesitation in associating it with the arthrognaths. (_cf._ eastman.) the circumstance that its "jaws" have not yet been found has to a large degree been due to the lack of energy on the part of local collectors. in the corniferous quarries near delaware, ohio, this fossil is stated to be relatively abundant. [ ] it is by no means impossible that there may ultimately be found pectoral elements to correspond in a general way with the paddle-like "spines" of the antiarcha. [ ] the group placodermi, created by mccoy ( ) as a "family" for the reception of coccosteus and pterichthys might then be justly elevated to rank as a class, superseding the ostracophori of cope ( ). the latter group might, however, be retained as a subclass, and include the heterostraci and osteostraci as ordinal divisions. chapter xxxiv the crossopterygii =class teleostomi.=--we may unite the remaining groups of fishes into a single class, for which the name _teleostomi_ (~teleos~, true; ~stoma~, mouth), proposed by bonaparte in , may be retained. the fishes of this class are characterized by the presence of a suspensorium to the mandible, by the existence of membrane-bones (opercles, suborbitals, etc.) on the head, by a single gill-opening leading to gill-arches bearing filamentous gills, and by the absence of claspers on the ventral fins. the skeleton is at least partly ossified in all the _teleostomi_. more important as a primary character, distinguishing these fishes from the sharks, is the presence typically and primitively of the air-bladder. this is at first a lung, arising as a diverticulum from the ventral side of the oesophagus, but in later forms it becomes dorsal and is, by degrees, degraded into a swim-bladder, and in very many forms it is altogether lost with age. this group comprises the vast majority of recent fishes, as well as a large percentage of those known only as fossils. in these the condition of the lung can be only guessed. the _teleostomi_ are doubtless derived from sharks, their relationship being possibly nearest to the _ichthyotomi_ or to the primitive _chimæras_. the dipnoans among _teleostomi_ retain the shark-like condition of the upper jaw, made of palatal elements, which may be, as in the _chimæra_, fused with the cranium. in the lower forms also the primitive diphycercal or protocercal form of tail is retained, as also the archipterygium or jointed axis of the paired fins, fringed with rays on one or both sides. we may divide the teleostomes, or true fishes, into three subclasses: the _crossopterygii_, or fringe-fins; the _dipneusti_, or lung-fishes; _actinopteri_, or ray-fins, including the _ganoidei_ and the _teleostei_, or bony fishes. of these many recent writers are disposed to consider the _crossopterygii_ as most primitive, and to derive from it by separate lines each of the remaining subclasses, as well as the higher vertebrates. the _ganoidei_ and _teleostei_ (constituting the _actinopteri_) are very closely related, the ancient group passing by almost imperceptible degrees into the modern group of bony fishes. =subclass crossopterygii.=--the earliest teleostomes known belong to the subclass or group called after huxley, _crossopterygii_ (~krossos~, fringe; ~pteryx~, fin). a prominent character of the group lies in the retention of the jointed pectoral fin or archipterygium, its axis fringed by a series of soft rays. this character it shares with the _ichthyotomi_ among sharks, and with the _dipneusti_. from the latter it differs in the hyostylic cranium, the lower jaw being suspended from the hyomandibular, and by the presence of distinct premaxillary and maxillary elements in the upper jaw. in these characters it agrees with the ordinary fishes. in the living crossopterygians the air-bladder is lung-like, attached by a duct to the ventral side of the oesophagus. the lung-sac, though specialized in structure, is simple, not cellular as in the dipnoans. the skeleton is more or less perfectly ossified. outside the cartilaginous skull is a bony coat of mail. the skin is covered with firm scales or bony plates, the tail is diphycercal, straight, and ending in a point, the shoulder-girdle attached to the cranium is cartilaginous but overlaid with bony plates, and the branchiostegals are represented by a pair of gular plates. in the single family represented among living fishes the heart has a muscular arterial bulb with many series of valves on its inner edge, and the large air-bladder is divided into two lobes, having the functions of a lung, though not cellular as in the lung-fishes. the fossil types are very closely allied to the lung-fishes, and the two groups have no doubt a common origin in silurian times. it is now usually considered that the crossopterygian is more primitive than the lung-fish, though at the same time more nearly related to the ganoids, and through them to the ordinary fishes. =origin of amphibians.=--from the primitive _crossopterygii_ the step to the ancestral _amphibia_, which are likewise mailed and semi-aquatic, seems a very short one. it is true that most writers until recently have regarded certain dipneustans as the _dipteridæ_ as representing the parents of the amphibians. but the weight of recent authority, gill, pollard, boulenger, dollo, and others, seems to place the point of separation of the higher vertebrates with the crossopterygians, and to regard the lobate pectoral member of _polypterus_ as a possible source of the five-fingered arm of the frog. this view is still, however, extremely hypothetical and there is still much to be said in favor of the theory of the origin of amphibia from dipnoans and in favor of the view that the dipnoans are also ancestors of the crossopterygians. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _polypterus bichir_. specimen from the white nile.] in the true amphibians the lungs are better developed than in the crossopterygian or dipnoan, although the lungs are finally lost in certain salamanders which breathe through epithelial cells. the gills lose, among the amphibia, their primitive importance, although in _proteus anguineus_ of austria and _necturus maculosus_, the american "mud-puppy" or water-dog, these persist through life. the archipterygium, or primitive fin, gives place to the chiropterygium, or fingered arm. in this the basal segment of the archipterygium gives place to the humerus, the diverging segments seen in the most specialized type of archipterygium (_polypterus_) become perhaps radius and ulna, the intermediate quadrate mass of cartilage possibly becoming carpal bones, and from these spring the joints called metacarpals and phalanges. in the amphibians and all higher forms the shoulder-girdle retains its primitive insertion at a distance from the head, and the posterior limbs remain abdominal. the amphibians are therefore primarily fishes with fingers and toes instead of the fringe-fins of their ancestors. their relations are really with the fishes, as indicated by huxley, who unites the amphibians and fishes in a primary group, _ichthyopsida_, while reptiles and birds form the contrasting group of _sauropsida_. [illustration: fig. .--arm of a frog.] the reptiles differ from the amphibians through acceleration of development, passing through the gill-bearing stages within the egg. the birds bear feathers instead of scales, and the mammals nourish their young by means of glandular secretions. through a reptile-amphibian ancestry the birds and mammals may trace back their descent from palæozoic crossopterygians. in the very young embryo of all higher vertebrates traces of double-breathing persist in all species, in the form of rudimentary gill-slits. =the fins of crossopterygians.=--dollo and boulenger regard the heterocercal tail as a primitive form, the diphycercal form being a result of degradation, connected with its less extensive use as an organ of propulsion. most writers who adopt the theory of gegenbaur that the archipterygium is the primitive form of the pectoral fin are likely, however, to consider the diphycercal tail found associated with it in the _ichthyotomi_, _dipneusti_, _crossopterygii_ as the more primitive form of the tail. from this form the heterocercal tail of the higher sharks and ganoids may be derived, this giving way in the process of development to the imperfectly homocercal tail of the salmon, the homocercal tail of the perch, and the isocercal tail of the codfish and its allies, the gephyrocercal and the leptocercal tail, tapering or whip-like, representing various stages of degeneration. boulenger draws a distinction between the protocercal tail, the one primitively straight, and the diphycercal tail modified, like the homocercal tail, from an heterocercal ancestry. [illustration: fig. .--_polypterus congicus_, a crossopterygian fish from the congo river. young, with external gills. (after boulenger.)] =orders of crossopterygians.=--cope and woodward divide the _crossopterygia_ into four orders or suborders, _haplistia_, _rhipidistia_, _actinistia_, and _cladistia_. to the latter belong the existing species, or the family of _polypteridæ_, alone. boulenger unites the three extinct orders into one, which he calls _osteolepida_. in all three of these the pectorals are narrow with a single basal bone, and the nostrils, as in the dipneustans, are below the snout. the differences are apparently such as to justify cope's division into three orders. =haplistia.=--in the _haplistia_ the notochord is persistent, and the basal bones of dorsal and anal fins are in regular series, much fewer in number than the fin-rays. the single family _tarrassiidæ_ is represented by _tarrasius problematicus_, found by traquair in scotland. this is regarded as the lowest of the crossopterygians, a small fish of the lower carboniferous, the head mailed, the body with small bony scales. =rhipidistia.=--in the _rhipidistia_ the basal bones of the median fins ("axonosts and baseosts") are found in a single piece, not separate as in the _haplistia_. four families are recognized, _holoptychiidæ_, _megalichthyidæ_, _osteolepidæ_, and _onychodontidæ_, the first of these being considered as the nearest approach of the crossopterygians to the dipnoans. the _holoptychiidæ_ have the pectoral fins acute, the scales cycloid, enameled, and the teeth very complex. _holoptychius nobilissimus_ is a very large fish from the devonian. _glyptolepis leptopterus_ from the lower devonian is also a notable species. _dendrodus_ from the devonian is known from detached teeth. [illustration: fig. .--basal bone of dorsal fin, _holoptychius leptopterus_ (agassiz). (after woodward.)] in the ordovician rocks of cañon city, colorado, dr. walcott finds numerous bony scales with folded surfaces and stellate ornamentation, and which he refers with some doubt to a crossopterygian fish of the family _holoptychiidæ_. this fish he names _eriptychius americanus_. if this identification proves correct, it will carry back the appearance of crossopterygian fishes, the earliest of the teleostome forms, to the beginning of the silurian, these cañon city shales being the oldest rocks in which remains of fishes are known to occur. in the same rocks are found plates of ostracophores and other fragments still more doubtful. it is certain that our records in palæontology fall far short of disclosing the earliest sharks, as well as the earliest remains of ostracophores, arthrodires, or even ganoids. =megalichthyidæ.=--the _megalichthyidæ_ (wrongly called "_rhizodontidæ_") have the pectoral fins obtuse, the teeth relatively simple, and the scales cycloid, enameled. there are numerous species in the carboniferous rocks, largely known from fragments or from teeth. _megalichthys_, _strepsodus_, _rhizodopsis_, _gyroptychius_, _tristichopterus_, _eusthenopteron_, _cricodus_, and _sauripterus_ are the genera; _rhizodopsis sauroides_ from the coal-measures of england being the best-known species. the _osteolepidæ_ differ from the _megalichthyidæ_ mainly in the presence of enameled rhomboid scales, as in _polypterus_ and _lepisosteus_. in _glyptopomus_ these scales are sculptured, in the others smooth. in _osteolepis_, _thursius_, _diplopterus_, and _glyptopomus_ a pineal foramen is present on the top of the head. this is wanting in _parabatrachus_ (_megalichthys_ of authors). in _osteolepis_, _thursius_, and _parabatrachus_ the tail is heterocercal, while in _diplopterus_ and _glyptopomus_ it is diphycercal. _osteolepis macrolepidotus_ and numerous other species occur in the lower devonian. _diplopterus agassizii_ is common in the same horizon. _megalichthys hibberti_ is found in the coal-measures, and _glyptopomus minimus_ in the upper devonian. _palæosteus_ is another genus recently described. [illustration: fig. .--_gyroptychius microlepidotus_ agassiz. devonian. family _megalichthyidæ_. (after pander.)] the _onychodontidæ_ are known from a few fragments of _onychodus sigmoides_ from the lower devonian of ohio and _onychodus anglicus_ from england. [illustration: fig. .--_coelacanthus elegans_ newberry. from the ohio carboniferous, showing air-bladder. (after dean.)] =order actinistia.=--in the _actinistia_ there is a single fin-ray to each basal bone, the axonosts of each ray fused in a single piece. the notochord is persistent, causing the back-bone in fossils to appear hollow, the cartilaginous material leaving no trace in the rocks. the genera and species are numerous, ranging from the subcarboniferous to the upper cretaceous, many of them belonging to _coelacanthus_, the chief genus of the single family _coelacanthidæ_. in _coelacanthus_ the fin-rays are without denticles. _coelacanthus granulatus_ is found in the european permian. _coelacanthus elegans_ of the coal-measures is found in america also. in _undina_ the anterior fin-rays are marked with tubercles. _undina penicillata_ and _undina gulo_ from the triassic are well-preserved species. in _macropoma_ (_lewesiensis_) the fin-rays are robust, long, and little articulated. other genera are _heptanema_, _coccoderma_, _libys_, _diplurus_, and _graphiurus_. _diplurus longicaudatus_ was found by newberry in the triassic of new jersey and connecticut. [illustration: fig. .--_undina gulo_ egerton; lias. family _coelacanthidæ_. (after woodward.)] =order cladistia.=--in the _cladistia_ the axis of the pectoral limb is fan-shaped, made of two diversified bones joined by cartilage. the notochord is restricted and replaced by ossified vertebræ. the axonosts of the dorsal and anal are in regular series, each bearing a fin-ray. the order contains the single family _polypteridæ_. in this group the pectoral fin is formed differently from that of the other crossopterygians, being broad, its base of two diverging bones with cartilage between. this structure, more specialized than in any other of the crossopterygians or _dipneusti_, has been regarded by gill and others, as above stated, as the origin of the fingered hand (chiropterygium) of the frogs and higher vertebrates. the base of the diverging bones has been identified as the antecedent of the humerus, the bones themselves as radius and ulna, while the intervening non-ossified cartilage breaks up into carpal bones, from which metacarpals and digits ultimately diverge. this hypothesis is open to considerable doubt. the nostrils, as in true fishes, are superior. the body in these fishes is covered with rhombic enameled scales, as in the garpike; the head is similarly mailed, but, in distinction from the garpike, the anterior rays of the dorsal are developed as isolated spines. the young have a bushy external gill with a broad scaly base. the air-bladder is double, not cellular, with a large air-duct joining the ventral surface of the oesophagus. the intestine has a spiral valve. the cranium, according to boulenger ("poissons du bassin du congo," p. ), is remarkable for its generalized form, this character forming a trait of union between the ganoids and the primitive _amphibia_ or _stegocephali_. without considering _polypterus_, it is not possible to interpret the homologies of the cranium of the amphibians and the sharks. the jaws are similar to those of the vertebrates higher than fishes. tooth-bearing premaxillaries and dentaries are solidly joined at the front of the cranium, and united by a suture to the toothed maxillaries which form most of the edge of the mouth. each half of the lower jaw consists of four elements, covering meckel's cartilage, which is ossified at the symphysis. these are the articular, angular, dentary, and splenial (coronoid). most of these bones are armed with teeth. the palato-suspensory consists of hyomandibular, quadrate, ectopterygoid, entopterygoid, metapterygoid, and palatine elements, the pterygoid elements bearing teeth. in _erpetoichthys_ only the opercle is distinct among the gill-covers. in _polypterus_ there is a subopercle also; the suborbital chain is represented by two small bones. the gill-arches are four, but without lower pharyngeals. the teeth are conic and pointed, and in structure, according to agassiz, they differ largely from those of bony fishes, approaching the teeth of reptiles. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _polypterus bichir_, from below.] the external gill of the young, first discovered by steindachner in , consists of a fleshy axis bordered above and below by secondary branches, themselves fringed. in form and structure this resembles the external gills of amphibians. it is inserted, not on the gill-arches, but on the hyoid arch. its origin is from the external skin. it can therefore not be compared morphologically with the gills of other fishes, nor with the pseudobranchiæ, but rather with the external gills of larval sharks. the vertebræ are very numerous and biconcave as in ordinary fishes. each of the peculiar dorsal spines is primitively a single spine, not a finlet of several pieces, as some have suggested. the enameled, rhomboid scales are in movable oblique whorls, each scale interlocked with its neighbors. [illustration: fig. .--_polypterus congicus_, a crossopterygian fish from the congo river. young, with external gills. (after boulenger.)] [illustration: fig. .--_polypterus delhezi_ boulenger. congo river.] the shoulder-girdle, suspended from the cranium by post-temporal and supraclavicle, is covered by bony plates. to the small hypercoracoid and hypocoracoid the pectoral fin is attached. its basal bones may be compared to those of the sharks, mesopterygium, propterygium, and metapterygium, which may with less certainty be again called humerus, radius, and ulna. these are covered by flesh and by small imbricated scales. the air-bladder resembles the lungs of terrestrial vertebrates. it consists of two cylindrical sacs, that on the right the longer, then uniting in front to form a short tube, which enters the oesophagus from below with a slit-like glottis. unlike the lung of the _dipneusti_, this air-bladder is not cellular, and it receives only arterial blood. its function is to assist the respiration by gills without replacing it. =the polypteridæ.=--all the _polypteridæ_ are natives of africa. two genera are known, no species having been found fossil. of _polypterus_, boulenger, the latest authority, recognizes nine species: six in the congo, _polypterus congicus_, _p. delhezi_, _p. ornatipinnis_, _p. weeksi_, _p. palmas_, and _p. retropinnis_; one, _p. lapradei_, in the niger; and two in the nile, _polypterus bichir_ and _p. endlicheri_. of these the only one known until very recently was _polypterus bichir_ of the nile. these fishes in many respects resemble the garpike in habits. they live close on the mud in the bottom of sluggish waters, moving the pectorals fan-fashion. if the water is foul, they rise to the surface to gulp air, a part of which escapes through the gill-openings, after which they descend like a flash. in the breeding season these fishes are very active, depositing their eggs in districts flooded in the spring. the eggs are very numerous, grass-green, and of the size of eggs of millet. the flesh is excellent as food. [illustration: fig. .--_erpetoichthys calabaricus_ smith. senegambia. (after dean.)] the genus _erpetoichthys_ contains a single species, _erpetoichthys calabaricus_,[ ] found also in the senegal and congo. this species is very slender, almost eel-like, extremely agile, and, as usual in wriggling or undulating fishes, it has lost its ventral fin. it lives in shallow waters among interlaced roots of palms. when disturbed it swims like a snake. footnotes: [ ] this genus was first called _erpetoichthys_, but the name was afterwards changed by its author, j. a. smith, to _calamoichthys_, because there is an earlier genus _erpichthys_ among blennies, and a _herpetoichthys_ among eels. but these two names, both wrongly spelled for _herpetichthys_, are sufficiently different, and the earlier name should be retained. "a name in science is a name without necessary meaning" and without necessarily correct spelling. furthermore, if names are spelled differently, they are different, whatever their meaning. the efforts of ornithologists, notably those of dr. coues, to spell correctly improperly formed generic names have shown that to do so consistently would throw nomenclature into utter confusion. it is well that generic names of classic origin should be correctly formed. it is vastly more important that they should be stable. stability is the sole function of the law of priority. chapter xxxv subclass dipneusti,[ ] or lungfishes =the lungfishes.=--the group of dipneusti, or lung-fishes, is characterized by the presence of paired fins consisting of a jointed axis with or without rays. the skull is autostylic, the upper jaw being made as in the chimæra of palatal elements joined to the quadrate and fused with the cranium, without premaxillary or maxillary. the dentary bones are little developed. the air-bladder is cellular, used as a lung in all the living species, its duct attached to the ventral side of the oesophagus. the heart has many valves in the muscular arterial bulb. the intestine has a spiral valve. the teeth are usually of large plates of dentine covered with enamel, and are present on the pterygo-palatine and splenial bones. the nostrils are concealed, when the mouth is closed, under a fold of the upper lip. the scales are cycloid, mostly not enameled. [illustration: fig. .--shoulder-girdle of _neoceratodus forsteri_ günther. (after zittel.)] the lung-fishes, or _dipneusti_ (~dis~, two; ~pnein~, to breathe), arise, with the crossopterygians, from the vast darkness of palæozoic time, their origin with that or through that of the latter to be traced to the ichthyotomi or other primitive sharks. these two groups are separated from all the more primitive fish-like vertebrates by the presence of lungs. in its origin the lung or air-bladder arises as a diverticulum from the alimentary canal, used by the earliest fishes as a breathing-sac, the respiratory functions lost in the progress of further divergence. nothing of the nature of lung or air-bladder is found in lancelet, lamprey, or shark. in none of the remaining groups of fishes is it wholly wanting at all stages of development, although often lost in the adult. among fishes it is most completely functional in the _dipneusti_, and it passes through all stages of degeneration and atrophy in the more specialized bony fishes. in the _dipneusti_, or dipnoans, as in the crossopterygians and the higher vertebrates, the trachea, or air-duct, arises, as above stated, from the ventral side of the oesophagus. in the more specialized fishes, yet to be considered, it is transferred to the dorsal side, thus avoiding a turn in passing around the oesophagus itself. from the sharks these forms are further distinguished by the presence of membrane-bones about the head. from the _actinopteri_ (ganoids and teleosts) dipnoans and crossopterygians are again distinguished by the presence of the fringe-fin, or archipterygium, as the form of the paired limbs. from the crossopterygians the dipnoans are most readily distinguished by the absence of maxillary and premaxillary, the characteristic structures of the jaw of the true fish. the upper jaw in the dipnoan is formed of palatal elements attached directly to the skull, and the lower jaw contains no true dentary bones. the skull in the dipnoans, as in the _chimæra_, is autostylic, the mandible articulating directly with the palatal apparatus, the front of which forms the upper jaw and of which the pterygoid, hyomandibular and quadrate elements form an immovable part. the shoulder-girdle, as in the shark, is a single cartilage, but it supports a pair of superficial membrane-bones. in all the dipnoans the trunk is covered with imbricated cycloid scales and no bony plates, although sometimes the scales are firm and enameled. the head has a roof of well-developed bony plates made of ossified skin and not corresponding with the membrane-bones of higher fishes. the fish-like membrane-bones, opercles, branchiostegals, etc., are not yet differentiated. the teeth have the form of grinding-plates on the pterygoid areas of the palate, being distinctly shark-like in structure. the paired fins are developed as archipterygia, often without rays, and the pelvic arch consists of a single cartilage, the two sides symmetrical and connected in front. there is but one external gill-opening leading to the gill-arches, which, as in ordinary fishes, are fringe-like, attached at one end. in the young, as with the embryo shark, there is a bushy external gill, which looks not unlike the archipterygium pectoral fin itself, although its rays are of different texture. in early forms, as in the ganoids, the scales were bony and enameled, but in some recent forms deep sunken in the skin. the claspers have disappeared, the nostrils, as in the frog, open into the pharynx, the heart is three-chambered, the arterial bulb with many valves, and the cellular structure of the skin and of other tissues is essentially as in the amphibian. the developed lung, fitted for breathing air, which seems the most important of all these characters, can, of course, be traced only in the recent forms, although its existence in all others can be safely predicated. besides the development of the lung we may notice the gradual forward movement of the shoulder-girdle, which in most of the teleostomous fishes is attached to the head. in bony fishes generally there is no distinct neck, as the post-temporal, the highest bone of the shoulder-girdle, is articulated directly with the skull. in some specialized forms (_balistes_, _tetraodon_) it is even immovably fused with it. in a few groups (_apodes_, _opisthomi_, _heteromi_, etc.) this connection ancestrally possessed is lost through atrophy and the slipping backward of the shoulder-girdle leaves again a distinct neck. in the amphibians and all higher vertebrates the shoulder-girdle is distinct from the skull, and the possession of a flexible neck is an important feature of their structure. in all these higher forms the posterior limbs remain abdominal, as in the sharks and the primitive and soft-rayed fishes generally. in these the pelvis or pelvic elements are attached toward the middle of the body, giving a distinct back as well as neck. in the spiny-rayed fishes the "back" as well as the neck disappears, the pelvic elements being attached to the shoulder-girdle, and in a few extreme forms (as _ophidion_) the pelvis is fastened at the chin. =classification of dipnoans.=--by woodward the _dipneusti_ are divided into two classes, the _sirenoidei_ and the _arthrodira_. we follow dean in regarding the latter as representative of a distinct class, leaving the _sirenoidei_, with the _ctenodipterini_, to constitute the subclass of _dipneusti_. the _sirenoidei_ are divided by gill into two orders, the _monopneumona_, with one lung, and the _diplopneumona_, with the lung divided. to the latter order the _lepidosirenidæ_ belong. to the former the _ceratodontidæ_, and presumably the extinct families also belong, although nothing is known of their lung structures. zittel and hay adopt the names of _ctenodipterini_ and _sirenoidei_ for these orders, the former being further characterized by the very fine fin-rays, more numerous than their supports. =order ctenodipterini.=--in this order the cranial roof-bones are small and numerous, and the rays of the median fins are very slender, much more numerous than their supports, which are inserted directly on the vertebral arches. in the _uronemidæ_ the upper dentition comprises a cluster of small, blunt, conical denticles on the palatine bones; the lower dentition consists of similar denticles on the splenial bone. the vertical fins are continuous and the tail diphycercal. there is a jugular plate, as in _amia_. the few species are found in the carboniferous, _uronemus lobatus_ being the best-known species. in _dipteridæ_ there is a pair of dental plates on the palatines, and an opposing pair on the splenials below. jugular plates are present, and the tail is usually distinctly heterocercal. in _phaneropleuron_ there is a distinct anal fin shorter than the very long dorsal; _phaneropleuron andersoni_ is known from scotland, and _scaumenacia curta_ is found at scaumenac bay in the upper devonian of canada. in _dipterus_ there are no marginal teeth, and the tail is heterocercal, not diphycercal, as in the other dipnoans generally. numerous species of _dipterus_ occur in devonian rocks. in these the jugular plate is present, as in _uronemus_. _dipterus valenciennesi_ is the best-known european species. _dipterus nelsoni_ and numerous other species are found in the chemung and other groups of devonian rocks in america. [illustration: fig. .--_phaneropleuron andersoni_ huxley; restored; devonian. (after dean.)] in the _ctenodontidæ_ the tail is diphycercal, and no jugular plates are present in the known specimens. in _ctenodus_ and _sagenodus_ there is no jugular plate and there are no marginal teeth. the numerous species of _ctenodus_ and _sagenodus_ belong chiefly to the carboniferous age. _ctenodus wagneri_ is found in the cleveland shale of the ohio devonian. _sagenodus occidentalis_, one of the many american species, belongs to the coal-measures of illinois. as regards the succession of the _dipneusti_, dr. dollo regards _dipterus_ as the most primitive, _scaumenacia_, _uronemus_, _ctenodus_, _ceratodus_, _protopterus_, and _lepidosiren_ following in order. the last-named genus he thinks marks the terminus of the group, neither ganoids nor amphibians being derived from any dipnoans. =order sirenoidei.=--the living families of _dipneusti_ differ from these extinct types in having the cranial roof-bones reduced in number. there are no jugular plates and no marginal teeth in the jaws. the tail is diphycercal in all, ending in a long point, and the body is covered with cycloid scales. to these forms the name _sirenoidei_ was applied by johannes müller. =family ceratodontidæ.=--the _ceratodontidæ_ have the teeth above and below developed as triangular plates, set obliquely each with several cusps on the outer margin. nearly all the species, representing the genera _ceratodus_, _gosfordia_, and _conchopoma_, are now extinct, the single genus _neoceratodus_ still existing in australian rivers. numerous fragments of _ceratodus_ are found in mesozoic rocks in europe, colorado, and india, _ceratodus latissimus_, figured by agassiz in , being the best-known species. the abundance of the fossil teeth of _ceratodus_ renders the discovery of a living representative of the same type a matter of great interest. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _ceratodus runcinatus_ plieninger. carboniferous. (after zittel.)] [illustration: fig. .--_neoceratodus forsteri_ (günther). australia. family _ceratodontidæ_. (after dean.)] [illustration: fig. .--archipterygium of _neoceratodus forsteri_ günther.] in the barramunda of the rivers of queensland was described by krefft, who recognized its relationship to _ceratodus_ and gave it the name of _ceratodus forsteri_. later, generic differences were noticed, and it was separated as a distinct group by castelnau in , under the name of _neoceratodus_ (later called _epiceratodus_ by teller). _neoceratodus forsteri_ and a second species, _neoceratodus miolepis_, have been since very fully discussed by dr. günther and dr. krefft. they are known in queensland as _barramunda_. they inhabit the rivers known as burnett, dawson, and mary, reaching a length of six feet, and being locally much valued as food. from the salmon-colored flesh, they are known to the settlers in queensland as "salmon." according to dr. günther, "the barramunda is said to be in the habit of going on land, or at least on mud-flats; and this assertion appears to be borne out by the fact that it is provided with a lung. however, it is much more probable that it rises now and then to the surface of the water in order to fill its lung with air, and then descends again until the air is so much deoxygenized as to render a renewal of it necessary. it is also said to make a grunting noise which may be heard at night for some distance. this noise is probably produced by the passage of the air through the oesophagus when it is expelled for the purpose of renewal. as the barramunda has perfectly developed gills besides the lung, we can hardly doubt that, when it is in water of normal composition and sufficiently pure to yield the necessary supply of oxygen, these organs are sufficient for the purpose of breathing, and that the respiratory function rests with them alone. but when the fish is compelled to sojourn in thick muddy water charged with gases, which are the products of decomposing organic matter (and this must be the case very frequently during the droughts which annually exhaust the creeks of tropical australia), it commences to breathe air with its lung in the way indicated above. if the medium in which it happens to be is perfectly unfit for breathing, the gills cease to have any function; if only in a less degree, the gills may still continue to assist in respiration. the barramunda, in fact, can breathe by either gills or lung alone or by both simultaneously. it is not probable that it lives freely out of water, its limbs being much too flexible for supporting the heavy and unwieldy body and too feeble generally to be of much use in locomotion on land. however, it is quite possible that it is occasionally compelled to leave the water, although we cannot believe that it can exist without it in a lively condition for any length of time. [illustration: fig. .--upper jaw of _neoceratodus forsteri_ günther. (after zittel.)] "of its propagation or development we know nothing except that it deposits a great number of eggs of the size of those of a newt, and enveloped in a gelatinous case. we may infer that the young are provided with external gills, as in _protopterus_ and _polypterus_. "the discovery of _ceratodus_ does not date farther back than the year , and proved to be of the greatest interest, not only on account of the relation of this creature to the other living _dipneusti_ and _ganoidei_, but also because it threw fresh light on those singular fossil teeth which are found in strata of triassic and jurassic formations in various parts of europe, india, and america. these teeth, of which there is a great variety with regard to general shape and size, are sometimes two inches long, much longer than broad, depressed, with a flat or slightly undulated, always punctated, crown, with one margin convex, and with from three to seven prongs projecting on the opposite margin." [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _neoceratodus forsteri_ günther. (after günther.)] =development of neoceratodus.=--from dean's "fishes, recent and fossil," pp. - , we condense the following account (after the observations of dr. f. semon) of the larval history of the barramunda, _neoceratodus forsteri_: it offers characters of exceptional interest, uniting features of ganoids with those of cyclostomes and amphibians. the newly hatched _neoceratodus_ does not strikingly resemble the early larva of shark. no yolk-sac occurs, and the distribution of the yolk material in the ventral and especially the hinder ventral region is suggestive rather of lamprey or amphibian; it is, in fact, as though the quantum of yolk material had been so reduced that the body form had not been constricted off from it. the caudal tip in this stage appears, however, to resemble that of the shark, and, as far as can be inferred from surface views, a neurenteric canal persists. like the shark there then exists no unpaired fin; the gill-slits (five?) are well separated and there is an abrupt cephalic flexure. in this stage pronephros (primitive kidney) and primitive segments are well marked, and are outwardly similar to those structures in ganoid; the mouth is on the point of forming its connection with the digestive cavity; the anus is the persistent blastophore; the heart, well established, takes a position, as in cyclostomes, immediately in front of the yolk material. in a later stage the unpaired fin has become perfectly established, the tail increasing in length; the gill-slits have now been almost entirely concealed by a surrounding dermal outgrowth, the embryonic operculum; a trace of the pectoral fin appears; the lateral line is seen proceeding down the side of the body; near the anal region the intestine[ ] becomes narrower, and the beginnings of the spiral valve appear. in a larva of two weeks a number of developmental advances are noticed; the fish has become opaque; the primitive segments are no longer seen; the size of the yolk mass is reduced; the anal fin-fold appears; sensory canals are prominent in the head region; lateral line is completely established; the rectum becomes narrowed; and the cycloidal body-scales are already outlined. gill-filaments may still be seen beyond the rim of the outgrowing operculum. in the ventral view of a somewhat later larva the following structures are to be noted: the pectoral fins, which have now suddenly budded out,[ ] reminding one in their late appearance of the mode of origin of the anterior extremity of urodele; the greatly enlarged size of the opercular flap; external gills, still prominent; the internal nares, becoming constricted off into the mouth-cavity by the dermal fold of the anterior lip (as in some sharks); and finally (as in _protopterus_ and some batrachian larvæ) the one-sided position of the anus. the larva of six weeks suggests the outline of the mature fish; head and sides show the various openings of the tubules of the insunken sensory canals; and the archipterygium of the pectoral fin is well defined. the oldest larva figured is ten weeks old; its operculum and pectoral fin show an increased size; the tubular mucous openings, becoming finely subdivided, are no longer noticeable; and although the basal supports of the remaining fins are coming to be established, there is as yet little more than a trace of the ventrals. the early development of a lung-fish has thus far been described (semon) only from the outward appearance of the embryo. the egg of _neoceratodus_ has its upper pole distinguished by its fine covering of pigment. from the first fine planes of cleavage it will be seen that the yolk material of the lower pole is not sufficient to prevent the egg's total segmentation. the first plane of cleavage is a vertical one, passing down the side of the egg as a shallow surface furrow, not appearing to entirely separate the substance of the blastomeres, although traversing completely the lower hemisphere. a second vertical furrow at right angles to the first is seen from the upper pole. the third cleavage is again a vertical one (as in all other fishes, but unlike _petromyzon_), approximately meridional; its furrows appear less clearly marked than those of earlier cleavages, and seem somewhat irregular in occurrence. the fourth cleavage is horizontal above the plane of the equator. judging from semon's figure, at this stage the furrows of the lower pole seem to have become fainter, if not entirely lost. in a blastula showing complete segmentation the blastomeres of the upper hemisphere are the more finely subdivided. in the earlier stage the dorsal lip of the blastopore is crescent-like; in the later the blastopore acquires its oblong outline, through which the yolk material is apparent; its conditions may later be compared to those of a ganoid. the next change of the embryo is strikingly amphibian-like; the medullary folds rise above the egg's surface, and, arching over, fuse their edges in the median dorsal line. the medullary folds are seen closely apposed in the median line; hindward, however, they are still separate, and through this opening the blastopore may yet be seen. at this stage primitive segments are shown; in the brain region the medullary folds are still slightly separated. in an older embryo the fish-like form may be recognized. the medullary folds have completely fused in the median line, and the embryo is coming to acquire a ridge-like prominence; optic vesicles and primitive segments are apparent, and the blastopore appears to persist as the anus. the continued growth of the embryo above the yolk mass is apparent; the head end has, however, grown the more rapidly, showing gill-slits, auditory, optic, and nasal vesicles, at a time when the tail mass has hardly emerged from the surface. pronephros has here appeared. it is not until the stage of the late embryo that the hinder trunk region and tail come to be prominent. the embryo's axis elongates and becomes straighter; the yolk mass is now much reduced, acquiring a more and more oblong form, lying in front of the tail in the region of the posterior gut. the head and even the region of the _pronephros_ are clearly separate from the yolk-sac; the mouth is coming to be formed. according to eastman (ed. zittel), the skeleton of _neoceratodus_ is less developed and less ossified than that of its supposed triassic ancestors. a similar rule holds with regard to the sturgeons and some amphibians. [illustration: fig. .--adult male of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ fitzinger. (after kerr.)] =lepidosirenidæ.=--the family _lepidosirenidæ_, representing the suborder _diplopneumona_, is represented by two genera of mudfishes found in streams of africa and south america. _lepidosiren paradoxa_ was discovered by natterer in in tributaries of the amazon. it was long of great rarity in collections, but quite recently large numbers have been obtained, and dr. j. graham kerr of the university of cambridge has given a very useful account of its structure and development. from his memoir we condense the following record of its habits as seen in the swamps in a region known as gran chaco, which lies under the tropic of capricorn. these swamps in the rainy season have a depth of from two to four feet, becoming entirely dry in the southern winter (june, july). [illustration: fig. .--embryo ( days before hatching) and larva ( days after hatching) of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ fitzinger. (after kerr.)] =kerr on the habits of lepidosiren.=--the loalach, as the _lepidosiren_ is locally called, is normally sluggish, wriggling slowly about at the bottom of the swamp, using its hind limbs in irregular alternation as it clambers through the dense vegetation. more rapid movement is brought about by lateral strokes of the large and powerful posterior end of the body. it burrows with great facility, gliding through the mud, for which form of movement the shape of the head, with the upper lip overlapping the lower and the external nostril placed within the lower lip, is admirably adapted. it feeds on plants, algæ, and leaves of flower-plants. the gills are small and quite unable to supply its respiratory needs, and the animal must rise to the surface at intervals, like a frog. it breathes with its lungs as continuously and rhythmically as a mammal, the air being inhaled through the mouth. the animal makes no vocal sound, the older observation that it utters a cry like that of a cat being doubtless erroneous. its strongest sense is that of smell. in darkness it grows paler in color, the black chromatophores shrinking in absence of light and enlarging in the sunshine. in injured animals this reaction becomes much less, as they remain pale even in daylight. [illustration: fig. .--larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ days after hatching. (after kerr.)] [illustration: fig. .--larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ days after hatching. (after kerr.)] [illustration: fig. .--larva of _lepidosiren paradoxa_ months after hatching. (after kerr.)] in the rainy season when food is abundant the lepidosiren eats voraciously and stores great quantities of orange-colored fat in the tissues between the muscles. in the dry season it ceases to feed, or, as the indians put it, it feeds on water. when the water disappears the lepidosiren burrows down into the mud, closing its gill-openings, but breathing through the mouth. as the mud stiffens it retreats to the lower part of its burrow, where it lies with its tail folded over its face, the body surrounded by a mucous secretion. in its burrow there remains an opening which is closed by a lid of mud. at the end of the dry season this lid is pushed aside, and the animal comes out when the water is deep enough. when the waters rise the presence of lepidosirens can be found only by a faint quivering movement of the grass in the bottom of the swamp. when taken the body is found to be as slippery as an eel and as muscular. the eggs are laid in underground burrows in the black peat. their galleries run horizontally and are usually two feet long by eight inches wide. after the eggs are laid the male remains curled up in the nest with them. in the spawning season an elaborate brush is developed in connection with the ventral fins. _protopterus_, a second genus, is found in the rivers of africa, where three species, _p. annectens_, _p. dolloi_, and _p. æthiopicus_, are now known. the genus has five gill-clefts, instead of four as in _lepidosiren_. it retains its external gills rather longer than the latter, and its limbs are better developed. the habits of _protopterus_ are essentially like those of _lepidosiren_, and the two types have developed along parallel lines doubtless from a common ancestry. no fossil _lepidosirenidæ_ are known. [illustration: fig. .--_protopterus dolloi_ boulenger. congo river. family _lepidosirenidæ_. (after boulenger.)] just as the last page of this volume passes through the press, there has appeared a bold and striking memoir on the "phylogeny of the teleostomi," by mr. c. tate regan of the british museum of natural history. in this paper mr. regan takes the view that the chondrostean ganoids (_palæoniscum_, _chondrosteus_, _polyodon_, _psephurus_, etc.) are the most primitive of the teleostomous fishes; that the _crossopterygii_, the _dipneusti_, the _placodermi_, and the _teleostei_ (as well as the higher vertebrates) are descended from these; that the _coccosteidæ_ (arthrodires) are the most generalized of the placoderms, the _osteostraci_ and most of the other forms called ostracophores (_antiarcha_, _anaspida_) being allied to the arthrodires, and to be included with them among the _placodermi_; that the cephalic appendage of _pterichthyodes_, etc., is really a pectoral fin; that the _heterostraci_ (_lanarkia_, _pteraspis_, etc.) are not ostracophores or placoderms at all, but mailed primitive sharks, derived from the early sharks as the chimæras are, and that the holostean ganoids (_lepisosteus_, _amia_, etc.) should be separated from the _chondrostei_ and referred to the _teleostei_, of which they are the primitive representatives. mr. regan especially calls attention to the very close similarity in structure of pectoral and ventral fins in the chondrostean ganoids, _psephurus_ and _polyodon_, with that of the anal fin in the same fishes. from this he derives additional evidence in favor of the origin of paired fins from a lateral fold. in his view, the _chondrostei_ have sprung directly, through ancestors of the _lysopteri_ and _selachostomi_, from pleuropterygian sharks (_cladoselache_) of the lower silurian, and the true fishes on the one hand and the crossopterygian-dipneustan-placoderm series on the other are descended from these. the absence of the lower jaw in fossil remains of ostracophores may be due to its cartilaginous structure. "there is no justification for regarding the _crossopterygii_ as less specialized than the _chondrostei_ because they were the earlier dominant group." these views are very suggestive and contain at least some elements of taxonomic advance, although few naturalists of to-day will regard the chondrostean ganoids as more primitive than the fishes called _crossopterygii_ and _placoderms_. these conclusions are summarized by mr. regan as follows: ( ) the _chondrostei_ are the most generalized _teleostomi_. ( ) the _crossopterygii_ differ from them (_a_) in the lobate pectoral fin; (_b_) in the larger paired gular plates. ( ) the _placodermi_ (_coccosteidæ_, _asterolepidæ_, _cephalaspidæ_) are a natural group, not related to the _heterostraci_, which are _chondropterygii_. they may probably be regarded as armored _primitive crossopterygii_, this view being most in accordance with (_a_) the arrangement of the cranial roof-bones in _coccosteus_; (_b_) the structure of the ventral fin in _coccosteus_; (_c_) the structure of the pectoral limb of the _asterolepidæ_. ( ) the _dipneusti_ probably originated from more specialized _crossopterygii_, e.g., from the neighborhood of the _holoptychiidæ_. ( ) the teleostei differ in so many respects from the _chondrostei_ that they should rank as an order, in which the _holostei_ are included. footnotes: [ ] this group has been usually known as _dipnoi_, a name chosen by johannes müller in . but the latter term was first taken by leuckart in as a name for amphibians before any of the living _dipneusti_ were known. we therefore follow boulenger in the use of the name _dipneusti_, suggested by hæckel in . the name dipnoan may, however, be retained as a vernacular equivalent of _dipneusti_. [ ] the yolk appears to be contained in the digestive cavity, as in _ichthyophis_ and lamprey. [ ] the abbreviated mode of development of the fins is most interesting; from the earliest stage they assume outwardly the archipterygial form; the retarded development of the limbs seems curiously amphibian-like; the pectorals do not properly appear until about the third week, the ventrals not until after the tenth. the natural history of plants their forms, growth, reproduction and distribution from the german of anton kerner von marilaun _professor of botany in the university of vienna_ by f. w. oliver _quain professor of botany in university college, london_ with the assistance of marian bush and mary e. ewart to. new edition. vols. the set--$ . a work for reference or continuous reading, at once popular and, in the modern sense, thoroughly scientific. the new edition is practically identical with the former four-volume edition except that the colored plates in the latter have been omitted. the wood-engravings, over two thousand in number, have been retained. _prof. john m. coulter_, in the dial: "prof. kerner has brought the most recent researches within reach of the intelligent reader, and in a style so charming that even the professional teacher may learn a lesson in the art of presentation.... =it is such books as this that will bring botany fairly before the public as a subject of absorbing interest=; that will illuminate the botanical lecture-room." _prof. chas. r. barnes_, in the botanical gazette: "this lucidity, and the excellent illustrations, not only will introduce the non-botanical reader to the science of botany, but =should serve as a lesson to the professional botanist in the art of presentation=." _the nation_: "he has succeeded in constructing a popular work on the phenomena of vegetation which is practically without any rival." guide to the study of insects and a treatise on those injurious and beneficial to crops for the use of _colleges, farm-schools and agriculturists_ by alpheus s. packard, m.d. with illustrations. ninth edition. xii+ pp., vo, $ . net plant physiology by george j. peirce _professor in leland stanford university_ vi+ pages, vo $ . a modern and thoroughly scientific discussion of the general principles of plant physiology, intended for the student or general reader acquainted with the elements of botany. _science_: "the volume is full of original suggestions and differs quite markedly from the old-time works devoted to plant physiology." _william f. ganong, professor in smith college_: "i am much pleased with the clearness, proportion, and vigor with which it treats the subject. it seems to me =an admirable exposition of the principles of plant physiology= as they are understood at the present day, and it should have a wide use." [illustration] henry holt and company west d street, new york geology vol i. "geologic processes and their results" by prof. thomas c. chamberlin and prof. rollin d. salisbury heads of the departments of geology and geography, university of chicago; members of the united states geological survey; editors of the journal of geology with numerous illustrations, including colored maps and tables. pages, vo, $ . net vol. ii. "earth history." _in preparation_ chas. d. walcott, _director of u. s. geological survey_: "i am impressed with the admirable plan of the work and with the thorough manner in which geological principles and processes and their results have been presented. the text is written in an entertaining style and is supplemented by admirable illustrations, so that the student cannot fail to obtain a clear idea of nature and the work of geological agencies, of the present status of the science, and of the spirit which actuates the working geologist." t. a. jaggar, jr., _harvard university_: "an excellent statement of modern american geology, with abundant new illustrative material based upon the most recent work of government and other surveys." henry s. williams, _yale university_: "it is the best treatise on this part of the subject which we have seen in america." r. s. woodward, _columbia university_: "it is admirable for its science, admirable for its literary perfection, and admirable for its unequalled illustrations." israel c. russell, _university of michigan_. 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"the elementary part is clear and well calculated to introduce beginners to the study of the plants treated of. the excellent key makes the analysis of ferns comparatively easy. the writer cordially commends the book. it should be in the hands of all who are especially interested in the vascular cryptogams of the united states."--_bulletin of the torrey botanical club, n. y._ [illustration] henry holt and company west d street, new york mushrooms by george francis atkinson _professor of botany in cornell university, and botanist of the cornell university experiment station_ =recipes for cooking mushrooms.= by mrs. sarah tyson rorer =chemistry and toxicology of mushrooms.= by j. f. clark _with illustrations from photographs, including colored plates_ pages, vo. $ . net; by mail, $ . _educational review_:--"it would be difficult to conceive of a more attractive and useful book.... in addition to its general attractiveness and the beauty of its illustrations, it is written in a style well calculated to win the merest tyro." moulds, mildews, and mushrooms by lucien m. underwood _professor in columbia university_ iv+ pages, mo $ . _bradley m. davis_, in the botanical gazette:--"wonderfully free from the dry diagnoses of most systematic descriptions, and everywhere combined with interesting accounts of life-habits and activities.... a marvel in its compactness, with a wonderfully uniform tone throughout, condensed and yet very clear." flora of the northern states and canada by professor n. l. britton _director of the new york botanical garden_ x+ pages, large mo $ . this manual is published in response to a demand for a handbook suitable for ordinary school use, which shall meet modern requirements and outline modern conceptions of the science. it is based on _an illustrated flora_ prepared by professor britton in co-operation with judge addison brown, in three volumes. the text has been revised and brought up to date, and much of novelty has been added, but all illustrations are omitted. conway macmillan, _professor in the university of minnesota_, in science:--"there is no work extant in the whole series of american botanical publications which deals with descriptions of the flowering plants that can for a moment be compared with it, either for a skillful and delightful presentation of the subject-matter or for modern, scientific, and accurate mastery of the thousandfold mass of detail of which such a work must consist." v. m. spalding, _professor in the university of michigan_:--"i regard the book as one that we cannot do without and one that will henceforth take its place as a necessary means of determination of the plant species within its range." [illustration] henry holt and company west d street, new york transcriber's notes: simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were corrected. punctuation normalized. anachronistic and non-standard spellings retained as printed. the errata on p. ix has been corrected in the text. p. xxiii corrected "_salmo gairdneri_, the steelhead trout. " to "_salmo irideus_, the rainbow trout. " to agree with the actual illustration caption. p. xxiii corrected "_salmo rivularis_, the steelhead trout. " to "_salmo gairdneri_, the steelhead trout. " to agree with the actual illustration caption. italics markup is enclosed in _underscores_. bold markup is enclosed in =equals=. greek text is transliterated and enclosed in ~tildes~. proofreading symbols for diacritical marks (in the table below, the "x" represents a letter with a diacritical mark.) diacritical mark sample above below macron (straight line) ¯ [=x] [x=] the works of francis maitland balfour. vol. i. memorial edition. cambridge: printed by c. j. clay, m.a. and son, at the university press. [illustration: sketch of francis maitland balfour] memorial edition. the works of francis maitland balfour, m.a., ll.d., f.r.s., fellow of trinity college, and professor of animal morphology in the university of cambridge. edited by m. foster, f.r.s., professor of physiology in the university of cambridge; and adam sedgwick, m.a., fellow and lecturer of trinity college, cambridge. vol. i. separate memoirs. london: macmillan and co. [_the right of translation is reserved._] preface. upon the death of francis maitland balfour, a desire very naturally arose among his friends and admirers to provide some memorial of him. and, at a public meeting held at cambridge in october , the vice-chancellor presiding, and many distinguished men of science being present, it was decided to establish a 'balfour fund' the proceeds of which should be applied: firstly to maintain a studentship, the holder of which should devote himself to original research in biology, especially in animal morphology, and secondly, 'by occasional grants of money, to further in other ways original research in the same subject'. the sum of £ was subsequently raised; this was, under certain conditions, entrusted to and accepted by the university of cambridge; and the first 'balfour student' was appointed in october . the publication of balfour's works in a collected form was not proposed as an object on which part of the fund should be expended, since his family had expressed their wish to take upon themselves the charge of arranging for a memorial edition of their brother's scientific writings. that edition, with no more delay than circumstances have rendered necessary, is now laid before the public. it comprises four volumes. the first volume contains, in chronological order, all balfour's scattered original papers, including those published by him in conjunction with his pupils, as well as the monograph on the elasmobranch fishes. the last memoir in the volume, that on the anatomy and development of peripatus capensis, was published after his death, from his notes and drawings, with additions by prof. moseley and mr adam sedgwick, who prepared the manuscript for publication. to the volume is prefixed an introductory biographical notice. the second and third volumes are the two volumes of the comparative embryology reprinted from the original edition without alteration, save the correction of obvious misprints and omissions. the fourth volume contains the plates illustrating the memoirs contained in vol. . we believe that we are consulting the convenience of readers in adopting this plan, rather than in distributing the plates among the memoirs to which they belong. to assist the reader the explanations of these plates have been given twice: at the end of the memoir to which they belong (in the case of the monograph on elasmobranch fishes at the end of each separate chapter), and in the volume of plates. all the figures of these plates had to be redrawn on the stone, and our best thanks are due to the cambridge scientific instrument company for the pains which they have taken in executing this work. we are also indebted to the committee of publication of the zoological society for the gift of electrotypes of the woodcuts illustrating memoir no. xx. of vol. . several photographs of balfour, taken at different times of his life, the last shortly before his death, are in the possession of his relatives and friends; but these, in the opinion of many, leave much to be desired. there is also a portrait of him in oils painted since his death by mr john collier, a.r.a., and herr hildebrand of florence has executed a posthumous bust in bronze[ ]. the portrait which forms the frontispiece of vol. . has been drawn on stone by mr e. wilson of the cambridge scientific instrument company, after the latest photograph. should it fail, in the eyes of those who knew balfour well, to have reproduced with complete success his features and expression, we would venture to ask them to bear in mind the acknowledged difficulties of posthumous portraiture. footnote : in possession of the family. copies also exist in the library of trinity college, and in the morphological laboratory, at cambridge. table of contents. page preface i introduction i. on some points in the geology of the east lothian coast. by g. w. and f. m. balfour ii. the development and growth of the layers of the blastoderm. with plate iii. on the disappearance of the primitive groove in the embryo chick. with plate iv. the development of the blood-vessels of the chick. with plate v. a preliminary account of the development of the elasmobranch fishes. with plates and vi. a comparison of the early stages in the development of vertebrates. with plate vii. on the origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates viii. on the development of the spinal nerves in elasmobranch fishes. with plates and ix. on the spinal nerves of amphioxus - x. a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes. with plates - xi. on the phenomena accompanying the maturation and impregnation of the ovum xii. on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary. with plates , , xiii. on the existence of a head-kidney in the embryo chick, and on certain points in the development of the müllerian duct. by f. m. balfour and a. sedgwick. with plates and xiv. on the early development of the lacertilia, together with some observations on the nature and relations of the primitive streak. with plate xv. on certain points in the anatomy of peripatus capensis xvi. on the morphology and systematic position of the spongida xvii. notes on the development of the araneina. with plates , , xviii. on the spinal nerves of amphioxus xix. address to the department of anatomy and physiology of the british association for the advancement of science xx. on the development of the skeleton of the paired fins of elasmobranchii, considered in relation to its bearings on the nature of the limbs of the vertebrata. with plate xxi. on the evolution of the placenta, and on the possibility of employing the characters of the placenta in the classification of the mammalia xxii. on the structure and development of lepidosteus. by f. m. balfour and w. n. parker. with plates - xxiii. on the nature of the organ in adult teleosteans and ganoids which is usually regarded as the head-kidney or pronephros xxiv. a renewed study of the germinal layers of the chick. by f. m. balfour and f. deighton. with plates , , posthumous, xxv. the anatomy and development of peripatus capensis. edited by h. n. moseley and a. sedgwick. with plates - francis maitland balfour, the sixth child and third son of james maitland balfour of whittinghame, east lothian, and lady blanche, daughter of the second marquis of salisbury, was born at edinburgh, during a temporary stay of his parents there, on the th november, . he can hardly be said to have known his father, who died of consumption in , at the early age of thirty-six, and who spent the greater part of the last two years of his life at madeira, separated from the younger children who remained at home. he fancied at one time that he had inherited his father's constitution; and this idea seems to have spurred him on to achieve early what he had to do. but, though there was a period soon after he went to college, during which he seemed delicate, and the state of his health caused considerable anxiety to his friends, he eventually became fairly robust, and that in spite of labours which greatly taxed his strength. the early years of his life were spent chiefly at whittinghame under the loving care of his mother. she made it a point to attempt to cultivate in all her children some taste for natural science, especially for natural history, and in this she was greatly helped by the boys' tutor, mr j. w. kitto. they were encouraged to make collections and to form a museum, and the fossils found in the gravel spread in front of the house served as the nucleus of a geological series. frank soon became greatly interested in these things, and indeed they may be said to have formed the beginnings of his scientific career. at all events there was thus awakened in him a love for geology, which science continued to be his favorite study all through his boyhood, and interested him to the last. he was most assiduous in searching for fossils in the gravel and elsewhere, and so great was his love for his collections that while as yet quite a little boy the most delightful birthday present he could think of was a box with trays and divisions to hold his fossils and specimens. his mother, thinking that his fondness for fossils was a passing fancy and that he might soon regret the purchase of the box, purposely delayed the present. but he remained constant to his wish and in time received his box. he must at this time have been about seven or eight years old. in the children's museum, which has been preserved, there are specimens labelled with his childish round-hand, such as a piece of stone with the label "marks of some shels;" and his sister alice, who was at that time his chief companion, remembers discussing with him one day after the nursery dinner, when he was about nine years old, whether it were better to be a geologist or a naturalist, he deciding for the former on the ground that it was better to do one thing thoroughly than to attempt many branches of science and do them imperfectly. besides fossils, he collected not only butterflies, as do most boys at some time or other, but also birds; and he with his sister alice, being instructed in the art of preparing and preserving skins, succeeded in making a very considerable collection. he thus acquired before long not only a very large but a very exact knowledge of british birds. in the more ordinary work of the school-room he was somewhat backward. this may have been partly due to the great difficulty he had in learning to write, for he was not only left-handed but, in his early years, singularly inapt in acquiring particular muscular movements, learning to dance being a great trouble to him. probably however the chief reason was that he failed to find any interest in the ordinary school studies. he fancied that the family thought him stupid, but this does not appear to have been the case. in character he was at this time quick tempered, sometimes even violent, and the energy which he shewed in after life even thus early manifested itself as perseverance, which, when he was crossed, often took on the form of obstinacy, causing at times no little trouble to his nurses and tutors. but he was at the same time warm-hearted and affectionate; full of strong impulses, he disliked heartily and loved much, and in his affections was wonderfully unselfish, wholly forgetting himself in his thought for others, and ready to do things which he disliked to please those whom he loved. though, as we have said, somewhat clumsy, he was nevertheless active and courageous; in learning to ride he shewed no signs of fear, and boldly put his pony to every jump which was practicable. in he was sent to the rev. c. g. chittenden's preparatory school at hoddesden in hertfordshire, and here the qualities which had been already visible at home became still more obvious. he found difficulty not only in writing but also in spelling, and in the ordinary school-work he took but little interest and made but little progress. in he was moved to harrow and placed in the house of the rev. f. rendall. here, as at hoddesden, he did not show any great ability in the ordinary school studies, though as he grew older his progress became more marked. but happily he found at harrow an opportunity for cultivating that love of scientific studies which was yearly growing stronger in him. under the care of one of the masters, mr g. griffith, the boys at harrow were even then taught the elements of natural science. the lessons were at that time, so to speak, extra-academical, carried on out of school hours; nevertheless, many of the boys worked at them with diligence and even enthusiasm, and among these balfour became conspicuous, not only by his zeal but by his ability. griffith was soon able to recognize the power of his new pupil, and thus early began to see that the pale, earnest, somewhat clumsy-handed lad, though he gave no promise of being a scholar in the narrower sense of the word, had in him the makings of a man of science. griffith chiefly confined his teaching to elementary physics and chemistry with some little geology, but he also encouraged natural history studies and began the formation of a museum of comparative anatomy. balfour soon began to be very zealous in dissecting animals, and was especially delighted when the rev. a. c. eaton, the well-known entomologist, on a visit to harrow, initiated griffith's pupils in the art of dissecting under water. the dissection of a caterpillar in this way was probably an epoch in balfour's life. up to that time his rough examination of such bodies had revealed to him nothing more than what in school-boy language he spoke of as "squash;" but when under eaton's deft hands the intricate organs of the larval arthropod floated out under water and displayed themselves as a labyrinth of threads and sheets of silvery whiteness a new world of observation opened itself up to balfour, and we may probably date from this the beginning of his exact morphological knowledge. while thus learning the art of observing, he was at the same time developing his power of thinking. he was by nature fond of argument, and defended with earnestness any opinions which he had been led to adopt. he was very active in the harrow scientific society, reading papers, taking part in the discussions, and exhibiting specimens. he gained in a prize for an essay on coal, and when, in , mr leaf offered a prize (a microscope) "for the best account of some locality visited by the writer during the easter holidays," two essays sent in, one by balfour, the other by his close friend, mr arthur evans, since well known for his researches in illyria, were found to be of such unusual merit that prof. huxley was specially requested to adjudicate between them. he judged them to be of equal merit, and a prize was given to each. the subject of balfour's essay was "the geology and natural history of east lothian." when biological subjects were discussed at the scientific society, balfour appears to have spoken as a most uncompromising opponent of the views of mr charles darwin, little thinking that in after life his chief work would be to develop and illustrate the doctrine of evolution. the years at harrow passed quickly away, balfour making fair, but perhaps not more than fair, progress in the ordinary school learning. in due course however he reached the upper sixth form, and in his last year, became a monitor. at the same time his exact scientific knowledge was rapidly increasing. geology still continued to be his favorite study, and in this he made no mean progress. during his last years at harrow he and his brother gerald worked out together some views concerning the geology of their native county. these views they ultimately embodied in a paper, which was published in their joint names in the _geological magazine_ for , under the title of "some points in the geology of the east lothian coast," and which was in itself a work of considerable promise. geology however was beginning to find a rival in natural history. much of his holiday time was now spent in dredging for marine animals along the coast off dunbar. each specimen thus obtained was carefully determined and exact records were kept of the various 'finds,' so that the dredgings (which were zealously continued after he had left harrow and gone to cambridge) really constituted a serious study of the fauna of this part of the coast. they also enabled him to make a not inconsiderable collection of shells, in the arrangement of which he was assisted by his sister evelyn, of crustacea and of other animals. both to the masters and to his schoolfellows he became known as a boy of great force of character. among the latter his scrupulous and unwavering conscientiousness made him less popular perhaps than might have been expected from his bright kindly manner and his unselfish warmheartedness. in the incidents of school life a too strict conscience is often an inconvenience, and the sternness and energy with which balfour denounced acts of meanness and falsehood were thought by some to be unnecessarily great. he thus came to be feared rather than liked by many, and comparatively few grew to be sufficiently intimate with him to appreciate the warmth of his affections and the charm of his playful moments. at the easter of he passed the entrance examination at trinity college, cambridge, and entered into residence in the following october. his college tutor was mr j. prior, but he was from the first assisted and guided in his studies by his friend, mr marlborough pryor, an old harrow boy, who in the same october had been, on account of his distinction in natural science, elected a fellow of the college, in accordance with certain new regulations which then came into action for the first time, and which provided that every three years one of the college fellowships should be awarded for excellence in some branch or branches of natural science, as distinguished from mathematics, pure or mixed. during the whole of that year and part of the next mr marlborough pryor remained in residence, and his influence in wisely directing balfour's studies had a most beneficial effect on the latter's progress. during his first term balfour was occupied in preparation for the previous examination; and this he successfully passed at christmas. after that he devoted himself entirely to natural science, attending lectures on several branches. during the lent term he was a very diligent hearer of the lectures on physiology which i was then giving as trinity prælector, having been appointed to that post in the same october that balfour came into residence. at this time he was not very strong, and i remember very well noticing among my scanty audience, a pale retiring student, whose mind seemed at times divided between a desire to hear the lecture and a feeling that his frequent coughing was growing an annoyance to myself and the class. this delicate-looking student, i soon learnt, was named balfour, and when the rev. coutts trotter, mr pryor and myself came to examine the candidates for the natural science scholarships which were awarded at easter, we had no difficulty in giving the first place to him. in point of knowledge, and especially in the thoughtfulness and exactitude displayed in his papers and work, he was very clearly ahead of his competitors. during the succeeding easter term and the following winter he appears to have studied physics, chemistry, geology and comparative anatomy, both under mr marlborough pryor and by means of lectures. he also continued to attend my lectures, but though i gradually got to know him more and more we did not become intimate until the lent term of . he had been very much interested in some lectures on embryology which i had given, and, since marlborough pryor had left or was about to leave cambridge, he soon began to consult me a good deal about his studies. he commenced practical histological and embryological work under me, and i remember very vividly that one day when we were making a little excursion in search of nests and eggs of the stickleback in order that he might study the embryology of fishes, he definitely asked my opinion as to whether he might take up a scientific career with a fair chance of success. i had by this time formed a very high opinion of his abilities, and learning then for the first time that he had an income independent of his own exertions, my answer was very decidedly a positive one. soon after, feeling more and more impressed with his power and increasingly satisfied both with his progress in biological studies and his sound general knowledge of other sciences, anxious also, it may be, at the same time that as much original inquiry as possible should be carried on at cambridge in my department, i either suggested to him or acquiesced in his own suggestion that he should at once set to work on some distinct research; and as far as i remember the task which i first proposed to him was an investigation of the layers of the blastoderm in the chick. it must have been about the same time that i proposed to him to join me in preparing for publication a small work on embryology, the materials for this i had ready to hand in a rough form as lectures which i had previously given. to this proposal he enthusiastically assented, and while the lighter task of writing what was to be written fell to me, he undertook to work over as far as was possible the many undetermined points and unsatisfactory statements across which we were continually coming. during his two years at college his health had improved; though still hardly robust and always in danger of overworking himself, he obviously grew stronger. he rejoiced exceedingly in his work, never tiring of it, and was also making his worth felt among his fellow students, and especially perhaps among those of his own college whose studies did not lie in the same direction as his own. at this time he must have been altogether happy, but a sorrow now came upon him. his mother, to whom he was passionately attached, and to whose judicious care in his early days not only the right development of his strong character but even his scientific leanings were due, had for some time past been failing in health, though her condition caused no immediate alarm. in may , however, she died quite suddenly from unsuspected heart disease. her loss was a great blow to him, and for some time afterward i feared his health would give way; but he bore his grief quietly and manfully and threw himself with even increased vigour into his work. during the academic session of - , he continued steadily at work at his investigations, and soon began to make rapid progress. at the beginning he had complained to me about what he considered his natural clumsiness, and expressed a fear that he should never be able to make satisfactory microscopic sections; as to his being able to make drawings of his dissections and microscopical preparations, he looked upon that at first as wholly impossible. i need hardly say that in time he acquired great skill in the details of microscopical _technique_, and that his drawings, if wanting in so-called artistic finish, were always singularly true and instructive. while thus struggling with the details which i could teach him, he soon began to manifest qualities which no teacher could give him. i remember calling his attention to dursy's paper on the primitive streak, and suggesting that he should work the matter over, since if such a structure really existed, it must, most probably, have great morphological significance. i am free to confess that i myself rather doubted the matter, and a weaker student might have been influenced by my preconceptions. balfour, however, thus early had the power of seeing what existed and of refusing to see what did not exist. he was soon able to convince me that dursy's streak was a reality, and the complete working out of its significance occupied his thoughts to the end of his days. the results of these early studies were made known in three papers which appeared in the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_ for july , and will be found in the beginning of this volume. the summer and autumn of that year were spent partly in a visit to finland, in company with his friend and old school-fellow mr arthur evans, and partly in formal preparation for the approaching tripos examination. into this preparation balfour threw himself with characteristic energy, and fully justified my having encouraged his spending so much of the preceding time in original research, not only by the rapidity with which he accumulated the stock of knowledge of various kinds necessary for the examination but also by the manner in which he acquitted himself at the trial itself. at that time the position of the candidates in the natural sciences tripos was determined by the total number of marks, and balfour was placed second, the first place being gained by h. newell martin of christ's college, now professor at baltimore, u.s.a. in the examination, in which i took part, balfour did not write much, and he had not yet learnt the art of putting his statements in the best possible form; he won his position chiefly by the firm thought and clear insight which was present in almost all his answers. the examination was over in the early days of dec. and balfour was now free to devote himself wholly to his original work. happily, the university had not long before secured the use of two of the tables at the then recently founded stazione zoologica at naples. and upon the nomination of the university, balfour, about christmas, started for naples in company with his friend mr a. g. dew-smith, also of trinity college. the latter was about to carry on some physiological observations; balfour had set himself to work out as completely as he could the embryology of elasmobranch fishes, about which little was at that time known, but which, from the striking characters of the adult animals could not help proving of interest and importance. from his arrival there at christmas until he left in june , he worked assiduously, and with such success, that as the result of the half-year's work he had made a whole series of observations of the greatest importance. of these perhaps the most striking were those on the development of the urogenital organs, on the neurenteric canal, on the development of the spinal nerves, on the formation of the layers and on the phenomena of segmentation, including a history of the behaviour of nuclei in cell division. he returned home laden with facts and views both novel and destined to influence largely the progress of embryology. in august of the same year he attended the meeting of the british association for the advancement of science at belfast; and the account he then gave of his researches formed one of the most important incidents at the biological section on that occasion. in the september of that year the triennial fellowship for natural science was to be awarded at trinity college, and balfour naturally was a candidate. the election was, according to the regulations, to be determined partly by the result of an examination in various branches of science, and partly by such evidence of ability and promise as might be afforded by original work, published or in manuscript. he spent the remainder of the autumn in preparation for this examination. but when the examination was concluded it was found that in his written answers he had not been very successful; he had not even acquitted himself so well as in the tripos of the year before, and had the election been determined by the results of the examination alone, the examiners would have been led to choose the gentleman who was balfour's only competitor. the original work however which balfour sent in, including a preliminary account of the discoveries made at naples, was obviously of so high a merit and was spoken of in such enthusiastic terms by the external referee prof. huxley, that the examiners did not hesitate for a moment to neglect altogether the formal written answers (and indeed the papers of questions were only introduced as a safeguard, or as a resource in case evidence of original power should be wanted) and unanimously recommended him for election. accordingly he was elected fellow in the early days of october. almost immediately after, the little book on embryology appeared, on which he and i had been at work, he doing his share even while his hands and mind were full of the elasmobranch inquiry. the title-page was kept back some little time in order that his name might appear on it with the addition of fellow of trinity, a title of which he was then, and indeed always continued to be, proud. he also published in the october number of the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_ a preliminary account of his elasmobranch researches. he and his friends thought that after these almost incessant labours, and the excitement necessarily contingent upon the fellowship election, he needed rest and change. accordingly on the th of october he started with his friend marlborough pryor on a voyage to the west coast of south america. they travelled thither by the isthmus of panama, visited peru and chili, and returned home along the usual route by the horn; reaching england some time in feb. . refreshed by this holiday, he now felt anxious to complete as far as possible his elasmobranch work, and very soon after his return home, in fact in march, made his way again to naples, where he remained till the hot weather set in in may. on his return to cambridge, he still continued working on the elasmobranchii, receiving material partly from naples, partly from the brighton aquarium, the then director of which, mr henry lee, spared no pains to provide him both with embryo and adult fishes. while at naples, he communicated to the philosophical society at cambridge a remarkable paper on "the early stages of vertebrates," which was published in full in the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, july, ; he also sent me a paper on "the development of the spinal nerves", which i communicated to the royal society, and which was subsequently published in the _philosophical transactions_ of . he further wrote in the course of the summer and published in the _journal of anatomy and physiology_ in october, , a detailed account of his "observations and views on the development of the urogenital organs." some time in august of the same year he started in company with mr arthur evans and mr j. f. bullar for a second trip to finland, the travellers on this occasion making their way into regions very seldom visited, and having to subsist largely on the preserved provisions which they carried with them, and on the produce of their rods and guns. from a rough diary which balfour kept during this trip it would appear that while enjoying heartily the fun of the rough travelling, he occupied himself continually with observations on the geology and physical phenomena of the country, as well as on the manners, antiquities, and even language of the people. it was one of his characteristic traits, a mark of the truly scientific bent of his mind, of his having, as dohrn soon after balfour's first arrival at naples said, 'a real scientific head,' that every thing around him wherever he was, incited him to careful exact observation, and stimulated him to thought. in the early part of the long vacation of the same year he had made his first essay in lecturing, having given a short course on embryology in a room at the new museums, which i then occupied as a laboratory. though he afterwards learnt to lecture with great clearness he was not by nature a fluent speaker, and on this occasion he was exceedingly nervous. but those who listened to him soon forgot these small defects as they began to perceive the knowledge and power which lay in their new teacher. encouraged by the result of this experiment, he threw himself, in spite of the heavy work which the elasmobranch investigation was entailing, with great zeal into an arrangement which prof. newton, mr j. w. clark and myself had in course of the summer brought about, that he and mr a. milnes marshall, since professor at owens college, manchester, should between them give a course on animal morphology, with practical instruction, prof. newton giving up a room in the new museums for the purpose. in the following october ( ) upon balfour's return from finland, these lectures were accordingly begun and carried on by the two lecturers during the michaelmas and lent terms. the number of students attending this first course, conducted on a novel plan, was, as might be expected, small, but the lent term did not come to an end before an enthusiasm for morphological studies had been kindled in the members of the class. the ensuing easter term ( ) was spent by balfour at naples, in order that he might carry on towards completion his elasmobranch work. he had by this time determined to write as complete a monograph as he could of the development of these fishes, proposing to publish it in instalments in the _journal of anatomy and physiology_, and subsequently to gather together the several papers into one volume. the first of these papers, dealing with the ovum, appeared in jan. ; most of the numbers of the journal during that and the succeeding year contained further portions; but the complete monograph did not leave the publisher's hands until . he returned to england with his pupil and friend mr j. f. bullar some time in the summer; on their way home they passed through switzerland, and it was during the few days which he then spent in sight of the snow-clad hills that the beginnings of a desire for that alpine climbing, which was destined to be so disastrous, seem to have been kindled in him. in october, , he resumed the lectures on morphology, taking the whole course himself, his colleague, mr marshall, having meanwhile left cambridge. indeed, from this time onward, he may be said to have made these lectures, in a certain sense, the chief business of his life. he lectured all three terms, devoting the michaelmas and lent terms to a systematic course of animal morphology, and the easter term to a more elementary course of embryology. these lectures were given under the auspices of prof. newton; but balfour's position was before long confirmed by his being made a lecturer of trinity college, the lectures which he gave at the new museums, and which were open to all students of the university, being accepted in a liberal spirit by the college as equivalent to college lectures. he very soon found it desirable to divide the morphological course into an elementary and an advanced course, and to increase the number of his lectures from three to four a week. each lecture was followed by practical work, the students dissecting and examining microscopically, an animal or some animals chosen as types to illustrate the subject-matter of the lecture; and although balfour had the assistance at first of one[ ], and ultimately of several demonstrators, he himself put his hand to the plough, and after the lecture always spent some time in the laboratory among his pupils. had balfour been only an ordinary man, the zeal and energy which he threw into his lectures, and into the supervision of the practical work, added to the almost brotherly interest which he took in the individual development of every one of the pupils who shewed any love whatever for the subject, would have made him a most successful teacher. but his talents and powers were such as could not be hid even from beginners. his extensive and exact knowledge, the clearness with which in spite of, or shall i not rather say, by help of a certain want of fluency, he explained difficult and abstruse matters, the trenchant way in which he lay bare specious fallacies, and the presence in almost his every word of that power which belongs only to the man who has thought out for himself everything which he says, these things aroused and indeed could hardly fail to arouse in his hearers feelings which, except in the case of the very dullest, grew to be those of enthusiasm. his class, at first slowly, but afterwards more rapidly, increased in numbers, and, what is of more importance, grew in quality. the room allotted to him soon became far too small and steps were taken to provide for him, for myself, whose wants were also urgent, and for the biological studies generally, adequate accommodation; but it was not until oct. that we were able to take possession of the new quarters. footnote : his first demonstrator up to christmas , was mr j. f. bullar. in jan. , mr adam sedgwick took the post of senior demonstrator, and held it until balfour's death. even this new accommodation soon became insufficient, and in the spring of a new morphological laboratory was commenced in accordance with plans suggested by himself. he was to have occupied them in the october term, , but did not live to see them finished. as might have been expected from his own career, he regarded the mere teaching of what is known as a very small part of his duties as lecturer; and as soon as any of his pupils became sufficiently advanced, he urged or rather led them to undertake original investigations; and he had the satisfaction before his death of seeing the researches of his pupils (such as those by messrs. bullar, sedgwick, mitzikuri, haddon, scott, osborne, caldwell, heape, weldon, parker, deighton and others) carried to a successful end. in each of these inquiries he himself took part, sometimes a large part, generally suggesting the problem to be solved, indicating the methods, and keeping a close watch over the whole progress of the study. hence in many cases the published account bears his name as well as that of the pupil. in the year his _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_ was published as a complete volume, and in the same year he received the honour of being elected a fellow of the royal society, a distinction which now-a-days does not often fall to one so young. no sooner was the monograph completed than in spite of the labours which his lectures entailed, he set himself to the great task of writing a complete treatise on _comparative embryology_. this not only laid upon him the heavy burden of gathering together the observations of others, enormous in number and continually increasing, scattered through many journals and books, and recorded in many different languages, as well as of putting them in orderly array, and of winnowing out the grain from the chaff (though his critical spirit found some relief in the latter task), but also caused him much labour, inasmuch as at almost every turn new problems suggested themselves, and demanded inquiry before he could bring his mind to writing about them. this desire to see his way straight before him, pursued him from page to page, and while it has resulted in giving the book an almost priceless value, made the writing of it a work of vast labour. many of the ideas thus originated served as the bases of inquiries worked out by himself or his pupils, and published in the form of separate papers, but still more perhaps never appeared either in the book or elsewhere and were carried with him undeveloped and unrecorded to the grave. the preparation of this work occupied the best part of his time for the next three years, the first volume appearing in , the second in . in the autumn of , he attended the meeting at swansea of the british association for the advancement of science, having been appointed vice-president of the biological section with charge of the department of anatomy and physiology. at the meetings of the association, especially of late years, much, perhaps too much, is expected in the direction of explaining the new results of science in a manner interesting to the unlearned. popular expositions were never very congenial to balfour, his mind was too much occupied with the anxiety of problems yet to be solved; he was therefore not wholly at his ease, in his position on this occasion. yet his introductory address, though not of a nature to interest a large mixed audience, was a luminous, brief exposition of the modern development and aims of embryological investigation. during these years of travail with the _comparative embryology_ the amount of work which he got through was a marvel to his friends, for besides his lectures, and the researches, and the writing of the book, new labours were demanded of him by the university for which he was already doing so much. men at cambridge, and indeed elsewhere as well, soon began to find out that the same clear insight which was solving biological problems could be used to settle knotty questions of policy and business. moreover he united in a remarkable manner, the power of boldly and firmly asserting and maintaining his own views, with a frank courteousness which went far to disarm opponents. accordingly he found himself before long a member of various syndicates, and indeed a very great deal of his time was thus occupied, especially with the museums and library syndicates, in both of which he took the liveliest interest. besides these university duties his time and energy were also at the service of his college. in the preparation of the new statutes, with which about this time the college was much occupied, the junior fellows of the college took a conspicuous share, and among these junior fellows balfour was perhaps the most active; indeed he was their leader, and he threw himself into the investigation of the bearings and probable results of this and that proposed new statute with as much zeal as if he were attacking some morphological problem. while he was in the midst of these various labours, his friends often feared for his strength, for though gradually improving in health after his first year at cambridge, he was not robust, and from time to time he seemed on the point of breaking down. still, hard as he was working, he was in reality wisely careful of himself, and as he grew older, paid more and more attention to his health, daily taking exercise in the form either of bicycle rides or of lawn-tennis. moreover he continued to spend some part of his vacations in travel. combining business with pleasure, he made frequent visits to germany and france, and especially to naples. the christmas of - he spent in greece, that of - at ragusa, where his old school-fellow and friend mr arthur evans was at that time residing, and the appointment of his friend kleinenberg to a professorship at messina led to a journey there. early in the long vacation of , he went with his sister, mrs h. sidgwick, and her husband to switzerland, and was joined there for a short time by his friend and pupil adam sedgwick. during this visit he took his first lessons in alpine climbing, making several excursions, some of them difficult and dangerous; and the love of mountaineering laid so firm a hold upon him, that he returned to switzerland later on in the autumn of the same year, in company with his brother gerald, and spent some weeks near zermatt in systematic climbing, ascending, among other mountains, the matterhorn and the weisshorn. in the following summer, , he and his brother gerald again visited the alps, dividing their time between the chamonix district and the bernese oberland. on this occasion some of the excursions which they made were of extreme difficulty, and such as needed not only great presence of mind and bodily endurance, but also skilful and ready use of the limbs. as a climber indeed balfour soon shewed himself fearless, indefatigable, and expert in all necessary movements as well as full of resources and expedients in the face of difficulties, so much so that he almost at once took rank among the foremost of distinguished mountaineers. in spite of his apparent clumsiness in some matters, he had even as a lad proved himself to be a bold and surefooted climber. moreover he had been perhaps in a measure prepared for the difficulties of alpine climbing by his experience in deer-stalking. this sport he had keenly and successfully pursued for many years at his brother's place in rosshire. when however about the year , the question of physiological experiments on animals became largely discussed in public, he felt that to continue the pursuit of this or any other sport involving, for the sake of mere pleasure, the pain and death of animals, was inconsistent with the position which he had warmly taken up, as an advocate of the right to experiment on animals; and he accordingly from that time onward wholly gave it up. his fame as an investigator and teacher, and as a man of brilliant and powerful parts, was now being widely spread. pupils came to him, not only from various parts of england, but from america, australia and japan. at the york meeting of the british association for the advancement of science, in august, , he was chosen as one of the general secretaries. in april, , the honorary degree of ll.d. was conferred upon him by the university of glasgow, and in november of the same year the royal society gave him one of the royal medals in recognition of his embryological discoveries, and at the same time placed him on its council. at cambridge he was chosen, in the autumn of , president of the philosophical society, and in the december of that year a brilliant company were gathered together at the annual dinner to do honour to their new young president. otherwise nothing as yet had been done for him in his own university in the way of recognition of his abilities and services; and he still remained a lecturer of trinity college, giving lectures in a university building. an effort had been made by some of his friends to urge the university to take some step in this direction; but it was thought at that time impossible to do anything. in a great loss fell upon the sister university of oxford in the death of prof. george rolleston; and soon after very vigorous efforts were made to induce balfour to become a candidate for the vacant chair. the prospect was in many ways a tempting one, and balfour seeing no very clear way in the future for him at his own university, was at times inclined to offer himself, but eventually he decided to remain at cambridge. hardly had this temptation if we may so call it been overcome when a still greater one presented itself. through the lamented death of sir wyville thomson in the winter of - , the chair of natural history at edinburgh, perhaps the richest and most conspicuous biological chair in the united kingdom, became vacant. the post was in many ways one which balfour would have liked to hold. the teaching duties were it is true laborious, but they had in the past been compressed into a short time, occupying only the summer session and leaving the rest of the year free, and it seemed probable that this arrangement might be continued with him. the large emolument would also have been grateful to him inasmuch as he would have felt able to devote the whole of it to scientific ends; and the nearness to whittinghame, his native place and brother's home, added to the attractions; but what tempted him most was the position which it would have given him, and the opportunities it would have afforded, with the rich marine fauna of the north-eastern coast close at hand, to develop a large school of animal morphology. the existing professors at edinburgh were most desirous that he should join them, and made every effort to induce him to come. on the part of the crown, in whose hands the appointment lay, not only were distinct offers made to him, but he was repeatedly pressed to accept the post. nor was it until after a considerable struggle that he finally refused, his love for his own university in the end overcoming the many inducements to leave; he elected to stay where he was, trusting to the future opening up for him some suitable position. in this decision he was undoubtedly influenced by the consideration that cambridge, besides being the centre of his old friendships, had become as it were a second home for his own family. by the appointment of lord rayleigh to the chair of experimental physics his sister lady rayleigh had become a resident, his sister mrs sidgwick had lived there now for some years, and his brother gerald generally spent the summer there; their presence made cambridge doubly dear to him. at the close of the michaelmas term, with feelings of relief at having completed his _comparative embryology_, the preparation of the second volume of which had led to almost incessant labour during the preceding year, he started to spend the christmas vacation with his friend kleinenberg at messina. stopping at naples on his way thither he found his pupil caldwell, who had been sent to occupy the university table at the stazione zoologica, lying ill at capri, with what proved to be typhoid fever. the patient was alone, without any friend to tend him, and his mother who had been sent for had not yet arrived. accordingly balfour (with the kindness all forgetful of himself which was his mark all his life through) stayed on his journey to nurse the sick man until the mother came. he then went on to messina, and there seemed to be in good health, amusing himself with the ascent of etna. yet in january, soon after his return home, he complained of being unwell, and in due time distinct symptoms of typhoid fever made their appearance. the attack at first promised to be severe, but happily the crisis was soon safely passed and the convalescence was satisfactory. while yet on his sick bed, a last attempt was made to induce him to accept the edinburgh offer, and for the last time he refused. these repeated offers, and the fact that the dangers of his grave illness had led the university vividly to realize how much they would lose if balfour were taken away from them, encouraged his friends to make a renewed effort to gain for him some adequate position in the university. this time the attempt was successful, and the authorities took a step, unusual but approved of by the whole body of resident members of the university; they instituted a new professorship of animal morphology, to be held by balfour during his life or as long as he should desire, but to terminate at his death or resignation unless it should be otherwise desirable. accordingly in may, , he was admitted into the professoriate as professor of animal morphology. during his illness his lectures had been carried on by his demonstrator, mr adam sedgwick, who continued to take his place during the remainder of that lent term and during the ensuing easter term. the spring balfour spent partly in the channel islands with his sister alice, partly in london with his eldest brother, but in the course of the easter term returned to cambridge and resumed his work though not his lectures. his recovery to health was steady and satisfactory, the only drawback being a swelling over the shin-bone of one leg, due to a blow on the rocks at sark; otherwise he was rapidly becoming strong. he himself felt convinced that a visit to the alps, with some mountaineering of not too difficult a kind, would complete his restoration to health. in this view many of his friends coincided; for the experience of former years had shewn them what a wonderfully beneficial effect the alpine air and exercise had upon his health. he used to go away pale, thin and haggard, to return bronzed, clear, firm and almost stout; nor was there anything in his condition which seemed to forbid his climbing, provided that he was cautious at the outset. accordingly, early in june he left cambridge for switzerland, having long ago, during his illness in fact, engaged his old guide, johann petrus, whom he had first met in , and who had always accompanied him in his expeditions since. his first walking was in the chamonix district; and here he very soon found his strength and elasticity come back to him. crossing over from montanvert to courmayeur, by the col du géant, he was attracted by the peak called the aiguille blanche de peuteret, a virgin peak, the ascent of which had been before attempted but not accomplished. consulting with petrus he determined to try it, feeling that the fortnight, which by this time he had spent in climbing, had brought back to him his old vigour, and that his illness was already a thing of the past. there is no reason to believe that he regarded the expedition as one of unusual peril; and an incident which at the time of his death was thought by some to indicate this was in reality nothing more than a proof of his kindly foresight. the guide petrus was burdened by a debt on his land amounting to about £ . in the previous year balfour and his brother had come to know of this debt; and, seeing that no alpine ascent is free from danger, that on any expedition some accident might carry them off, had conceived the idea of making some provision for petrus' family in case he might meet with sudden death in their service. this suggestion of the previous year balfour carried out on this occasion, and sent home to his brother gerald a cheque of £ for this purpose. but the cheque was sent from montanvert before he had even conceived the idea of ascending the aiguille blanche. it was not a provision for any specially dangerous ascent, and must be regarded as a measure prompted not by a sense of coming peril but rather by the donor's generous care for his servant. on tuesday afternoon, july , he and petrus, with a porter to carry provisions and firing to their sleeping-place on the rocks, set out from courmayeur, the porter returning the same night. they expected to get back to courmayeur some time on the thursday, but the day passed without their appearing. this did not cause any great anxiety because it was supposed that they might have found it more convenient to pass over to the chamonix side than to return to courmayeur. when on friday however telegrams dispatched to chamonix and montanvert brought answers that nothing had been seen of them, it became evident that some accident had happened, and an exploring party set out for the hills. it was not until early on the sunday morning that this search party found the bodies, both partly covered with snow, lying on the glacier de fresney, below the impassable icefall which separates the upper basin of the glacier from the lower portion, and at the foot of a _couloir_ which descends by the side of the icefall. their tracks were visible on the snow at the top of the _couloir_. balfour's neck was broken, and his skull fractured in three places; petrus' body was also fractured in many places. the exact manner of their death will never be known, but there can be no doubt that, in balfour's case at all events, it was instantaneous, and those competent to form a judgment are of opinion that they were killed by a sudden fall through a comparatively small height, slipping on the rocks as they were descending by the side of the ice-fall, and not precipitated from the top of the _couloir_. there is moreover indirect evidence which renders it probable that in the fatal fall petrus slipped first and carried balfour with him. whether they had reached the summit of the aiguille and were returning home after a successful ascent or whether they were making their way back disheartened and wearied with failure, is not and perhaps never will be known. since the provisions at the sleeping-place were untouched, the deaths probably took place on wednesday the th. the bringing down the bodies proved to be a task of extreme difficulty, and it was not till wednesday the th that the remains reached courmayeur, where m. bertolini, the master of the hotel, and indeed everyone, not least the officers of a small body of italian troops stationed there, shewed the greatest kindness and sympathy to balfour's brothers, gerald and eustace, who hastened to the spot as soon as the news of the terrible disaster was telegraphed home. mr walter leaf also and mr conway, friends of balfour, the former a very old one, who had made their way to courmayeur from other parts of switzerland as soon as they heard of the accident, rendered great assistance. the body was embalmed, brought to england, and buried at whittinghame on saturday, aug. , the fellows of trinity college holding a service in the college chapel at the same time. in person he was tall, being fully six feet in height, well built though somewhat spare. a broad forehead overhanging deeply set dark brown eyes whose light shining from beneath strongly marked eye-brows told all the changes of his moods, slightly prominent cheek-bones, a pale skin, at times inclined to be even sallow, dark brown hair, allowed to grow on the face only as a small moustache, and slight whiskers, made up a countenance which bespoke at once strength of character and delicacy of constitution. it was an open countenance, hiding nothing, giving sign at once, both when his body was weary or weak, and when his mind was gladdened, angered or annoyed. the record of some of his thoughts and work, all that he had given to the world will be found in the following pages. but who can tell the ideas which had passed into his quick brain, but which as yet were known only to himself, of which he had given no sign up to that sad day on which he made the fatal climb? and who can say whither he might not have reached had he lived, and his bright young life ripened as years went on? this is not the place to attempt any judgment of his work: that may be left to other times, and to other hands; but it may be fitting to place here on record a letter which shews how much the greatest naturalist of this age appreciated his younger brother. among balfour's papers was found a letter from charles darwin, acknowledging the receipt of vol. ii. of the _comparative embryology_ in the following words: "_july , ._ down, beckenham, kent. my dear balfour, i thank you heartily for the present of your grand book, and i congratulate you on its completion. although i read almost all of vol. i, i do not feel that i am worthy of your present, unless indeed the fullest conviction that it is a memorable work makes me worthy to receive it. * * * * * once again accept my thanks, for i am proud to receive a book from you, who, i know, will some day be the chief of the english biologists. believe me, yours sincerely, charles darwin." the loss of him was a manifold loss. he is mourned, and will long be mourned, for many reasons. some miss only the brilliant investigator; others feel that their powerful and sympathetic teacher is gone; some look back on his memory and grieve for the charming companion whose kindly courtesy and bright wit made the hours fly swiftly and pleasantly along; and to yet others is left an aching void when they remember that they can never again lean on the friend whose judgment seemed never to fail and whose warm-hearted affection was a constant help. and to some he was all of these. at the news of his death the same lines came to the lips of all of us, so fittingly did milton's words seem to speak our loss and grief-- "for lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime, young lycidas, and hath not left his peer." m. foster. i. on some points in the geology of the east lothian coast[ ]. footnote : from the _geological magazine_, vol. ix. no. . april, . by g. w. and f. m. balfour, trinity college, cambridge. the interesting relation between the porphyrite of whitberry point, at the mouth of the tyne, near dunbar, and the adjacent sedimentary rocks, was first noticed, we believe, by professor geikie, who speaks of it in the _memoirs of the geological survey of east lothian_, pages and , and again in the new edition of jukes's _geology_, p. . the volcanic mass which forms the point consists of a dark felspathic base with numerous crystals of augite: it is circular in form, and is exposed for two-thirds of its circumference in a vertical precipice facing the sea, about twenty feet in height. the rock is traversed by numerous joints running both in a horizontal and in a vertical direction. the latter are by far the most conspicuous, and give the face of the cliff, when seen from a distance, a well-marked columnar appearance, though the columns themselves are not very distinct or regular. they are quadrangular in form, and are evidently produced by the intersection at right-angles of the two series of vertical joints. it is clear that the face of the precipice has been gradually receding in proportion as it yielded to the action of the waves; and that at a former period the volcanic rock extended considerably further than at present over the beds which are seen to dip beneath it. these latter consist of hard fine-grained calcareous sandstones belonging to the lower carboniferous formation. their colour varies from red to white, and their prevailing dip is in a n.w. direction, with an average inclination of - °. if the volcanic mass is a true intrusive rock, we should naturally expect the strata which surround it to dip _away_ in all directions, the amount of their inclination diminishing in proportion to their distance from it. we find, however, that the case is precisely the reverse: as the beds approach the base of the cliff, they dip _towards_ it from every side at perpetually increasing angles, until at the point of junction the inclination amounts in places to as much as degrees. the exact amount of dip in the various positions will be seen on referring to the accompanying map. [illustration: fig. . map of strata at whitberry point. scale, in. to the mile. _a._ lava sheet. _b._ sandstone beds, dipping from every side towards the lava. _cc._ line of section along which fig. is supposed to be drawn.] we conceive that the phenomenon is to be explained by supposing the orifice through which the lava rose and overflowed the surface of the sedimentary strata to have been very much smaller in area than the extent of igneous rock at present visible; and that the pressure of the erupted mass on the soft beds beneath, aided perhaps by the abstraction of matter from below, caused them to incline towards the central point at a gradually increasing angle. the diagram, fig. , will serve further to illustrate this hypothesis. _a_ is the neck or orifice by which the melted matter is supposed to ascend. _c_ shews the sheet of lava after it has overspread the surface of the sandstone beds _b_, so as to cause them to assume their present inclination. the dotted lines represent the hypothetical extension of the igneous mass and sandstones previous to the denudation which they have suffered from the action of the waves. professor geikie, in his admirable treatise on the geology of the county[ ], adopts a view on this subject which is somewhat different from that which is suggested in this paper. he considers that the whole mass is an intrusive neck of rock with perpendicular sides; and that it once filled up an orifice through the surrounding sedimentary strata, of which it is now the only remnant. footnote : _memoirs of geological survey of scotland_, sheet , pp. , . [illustration: fig. . vertical section through cc. diagram (fig. ). _a._ orifice by which the lava ascended. _b._ sandstone beds. _b´._ hypothetical extension of ditto. _c._ sheet of lava spread over the sandstones _b_. _c´_. hypothetical extension of ditto.] he admits that the inclination of the sandstone beds towards the igneous mass in the centre is a phenomenon that is somewhat difficult to explain, and suggests that a subsequent contraction of the column may have tended to produce such a result. to use his own words: "in the case of a solid column of felstone or basalt, the contraction of the melted mass on cooling may have had some effect in dragging down the sides of the orifice[ ]." footnote : note on p. of _mem. geol. survey of east lothian_. but, apart from other objections, it is scarcely conceivable that this result should have been produced by the contraction of the column. in his recent edition of jukes's _manual of geology_ (p. ), in which he also refers to this instance, he states that in other cases of "necks" it is found to be an almost invariable rule, "that strata are bent down so as to dip into the neck all round its margin." we are not aware to what other instances prof. geikie may allude; but on referring to his _memoir on the geology of east lothian_, we find that he states in the cases of 'north berwick law' and 'traprain' (which he compares with the igneous mass at whitberry point), that the beds at the base of these two necks, where exposed, dip _away_ from them, and that at a high angle. in support of the hypothesis which we have put forward, the following arguments may be urged: ( ) that in one place at least the sedimentary strata are seen to be actually dipping beneath the superincumbent basalt; and that the impression produced by the general relation of the two rocks is, that they do so everywhere. ( ) since the columns into which the lava is split are vertical, the cooling surface must have been horizontal: the mass must, therefore, have formed a sheet, and not a dyke; for, in the latter case, the cooling surfaces would have been vertical. ( ) it is difficult to conceive, on the supposition that the volcanic rock is a neck with perpendicular sides, that the marine denudation should have uniformly proceeded only so far as to lay bare the junction between the two formations. we should have expected that in many places the igneous rock itself would have been cut down to the general level, whereas the only signs of such an effect are shown in a few narrow inlets where the rock was manifestly softer than in the surrounding parts. the last objection is greatly confirmed by the overhanging cliffs and numerous blocks of porphyrite which lie scattered on the beach, as if to attest the former extension of that ancient sheet of which these blocks now form but a small remnant. indeed, the existence of such remains appears sufficient of itself to condemn any hypothesis which presumes the present face of the cliff to have formed the original boundary of the mass. it may be fairly objected to our theory, as prof. geikie himself has suggested, that the high angle at which the strata dip is difficult to account for. but, in fact, this steep inclination constitutes the very difficulty which any hypothesis on the subject must be framed to explain; and it is a difficulty which is not more easily solved by prof. geikie's theory than by our own. ii. the development and growth of the layers of the blastoderm[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xiii., . with plate , figs. - and - . the following paper deals with the changes which take place in the cells of the blastoderm of the hen's egg during the first thirty or forty hours of incubation. the subject is one which has, as a general rule, not been much followed up by embryologists, but is nevertheless of the greatest interest, both in reference to embryology itself, and to the growth and changes of protoplasm exhibited in simple embryonic cells. i am far from having exhausted the subject in this paper, and in some cases i shall be able merely to state facts, without being able to give any explanation of their meaning. my method of investigation has been the examination of sections and surface views. for hardening the blastoderm i have employed, as usual, chromic acid, and also gold chloride. it is, however, difficult to make sections of blastoderms hardened by this latter reagent, and the sections when made are not in all cases satisfactory. for surface views i have chiefly used silver nitrate, which brings out the outlines of the cells in a manner which leaves nothing to be desired as to clearness. if the outlines only of the cells are to be examined, a very short immersion (half a minute) of the blastoderm in a half per cent. solution of silver nitrate is sufficient, but if the immersion lasts for a longer period the nuclei will be brought out also. for studying the latter, however, i have found it better to employ gold chloride or carmine in conjunction with the silver nitrate. my observations begin with the blastoderm of a freshly laid egg. the appearances presented by sections of this have been accurately described by peremeschko, "ueber die bildung der keimblätter im hühnerei," _sitzungsberichte der k. akademie der wissenschaften in wien_, . oellacher, "untersuchung über die furchung und blatterbildung im hühnerei," _studien aus dem institut für experim. pathologie in wien_, (pp. - ), and dr klein, lxiii. bande der _sitz. der k. acadamie der wiss. in wien_, . the unincubated blastoderm (pl. , fig. ) consists of two layers. the upper layer is composed of a single row of columnar cells. occasionally, however, the layer may be two cells thick. the cells are filled with highly refracting spherules of a very small size, and similar in appearance to the finest white yolk spherules, and each cell also contains a distinct oval nucleus. this membrane rests with its extreme edge on the white yolk, its central portion covering in the segmentation cavity. from the very first it is a distinct coherent membrane, and exhibits with silver nitrate a beautiful hexagonal mosaic of the outlines (pl. , fig. ) of the cells. the diameter of the cells when viewed from above is from / - / of an inch. the under layer is very different from this: it is composed of cells which are slightly, if at all, united, and which vary in size and appearance, and in which a nucleus can rarely be seen. the cells of which it is composed fill up irregularly the segmentation cavity, though a distinct space is even at this time occasionally to be found at the bottom of it. later, when the blastoderm has spread and the white yolk floor has been used as food, a considerable space filled with fluid may generally be found. the shape of the floor of the cavity varies considerably, but it is usually raised in the middle and depressed near the circumference. in this case the under layer is perhaps only two cells deep at the centre and three or four cells deep near the circumference. the cells of which this layer is composed vary a good deal in size; the larger cells being, however, more numerous in the lower layers. in addition, there are usually a few very large cells quite at the bottom of the cavity, occasionally separated from the other cells by fluid. they were called _formative cells_ (bildungselemente) by peremeschko (_loc. cit._); and, according to oellacher's observations (_loc. cit._), some of them, at any rate, fall to the bottom of the segmentation cavity during the later stages of segmentation. they do not differ from the general lower layer cells except in size, and even pass into them by insensible gradations. all the cells of the lower layer are granular, and are filled with highly refracting spherules precisely similar to the smaller white yolk spherules which line the bottom of the segmentation cavity. the size of the ordinary cells of the lower layer varies from / - / of an inch. the largest of the formative cells come up to / of an inch. it will be seen from this description that, morphologically speaking, we cannot attach much importance to the formative cells. the fact that they broke off from the blastoderm, towards the end of the segmentation--even if we accept it as a normal occurrence, rather than the result of manipulation--is not of much importance, and, except in size, it is impossible to distinguish these cells from other cells of the lower layer of the blastoderm. physiologically, however, as will be afterwards shewn, they are of considerable importance. the changes which the blastoderm undergoes during the first three or four hours of incubation are not very noticeable. at about the sixth or eighth hour, or in some cases considerably earlier, changes begin to take place very rapidly. these changes result in the formation of a hypoblast and mesoblast, the upper layer of cells remaining comparatively unaltered as the epiblast. to form the hypoblast a certain number of the cells of the lower layer begin to undergo remarkable changes. from being spherical and, as far as can be seen, non-nucleated, they become (vide fig. , _h_) flattened and nucleated, still remaining granular, but with fewer spherules. here, then, is a direct change, of which all the stages can be followed, of a cell of one kind into a cell of a totally different character. the new cell is not formed by a destruction of the old one, but directly from it by a process of metamorphosis. these hypoblast cells are formed first at the centre and later at the circumference, so that from the first the cells at the circumference are less flattened and more granular than the cells at the centre. a number of cells of the original lower layer are enclosed between this layer and the epiblast; and, in addition to these, the formative cells (as has been shewn by peremeschko, oellacher, and klein, whose observations i can confirm) begin to travel towards the circumference, and to pass in between the epiblast and hypoblast. both the formative cells, and the lower layer cells enclosed between the hypoblast and epiblast, contribute towards the mesoblast, but the mode in which the mesoblast is formed is very different from that in which the hypoblast originates. it is in this difference of formation that the true distinction between the mesoblast and hypoblast is to be looked for, rather than in the original difference of the cells from which they are derived. the cells of the mesoblast are formed by a process which seems to be a kind of free cell formation. the whole of the interior of each of the formative cells, and of the other cells which are enclosed between the epiblast and the hypoblast, become converted into new cells. these are the cells of the mesoblast. i have not been able perfectly to satisfy myself as to the exact manner in which this takes place, but i am inclined to think that some or all of the spherules which are contained in the original cells develop into nuclei for the new cells, the protoplasm of the new cells being formed from that of the original cells. the stages of formation of the mesoblast cells are shewn in the section (pl. , fig. ), taken from the periphery of a blastoderm of eight hours. the first formation of the mesoblast cells takes place in the centre of the blastoderm, and the mass of cells so formed produces the opaque line known as the primitive streak. this is shown in pl. , fig. . one statement i have made in the above description in reference to the origin of the mesoblast cells, viz. that they are only partly derived from the formative cells at the bottom of the segmentation cavity, is to a certain extent opposed to the statements of the three investigators above mentioned. they state that the mesoblast is entirely derived from the formative cells. it is not a point to which i attach much importance, considering that i can detect no difference between these cells and any other cells of the original lower layer except that of size; and even this difference is probably to be explained by their proximity to the white yolk, whose spherules they absorb. but my reason for thinking it probable that these cells alone do not form the mesoblast are: st. that the mesoblast and hypoblast are formed nearly synchronously, and except at the centre a fairly even sprinkling of lower layer cells is from the first to be distinguished between the epiblast and hypoblast. nd. that if some of the lower layer cells are not converted into mesoblast, it is difficult to see what becomes of them, since they appear to be too numerous to be converted into the hypoblast alone. rd. that the chief formation of mesoblast at first takes place in the centre, while if the formative cells alone took part in its formation, it would be natural to expect that it would begin to be formed at the periphery. oellacher himself has shewn (_zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche zoologie_, , "beiträge zur entwick. gesch. der knochenfische") that in osseous fishes the cells which break away from the blastoderm take no share in the formation of the mesoblast, so that we can derive no argument from the formation of the mesoblast in these animals, for believing that in the chick it is derived only from the formative cells. in the later stages, however, from the twelfth to the twenty-fifth hour, the growth of the mesoblast depends almost entirely on these cells, and peremeschko's discovery of the fact is of great value. waldeyer (_henle und v. pfeufer's zeitschrift_, xxxiv. band, für ) has given a different account of the origin of the layers. there is no doubt, however, in opposition to his statements and drawings, that from the very first the hypoblast is distinct from the mesoblast, which is, indeed, most conspicuously shewn in good sections; and his drawings of the derivation of the mesoblast from the epiblast are not very correct. the changes which have been described are also clearly shewn by means of silver nitrate. whereas, at first this reagent brought out no outline markings of cells in the lower layer, by the eighth to the twelfth hour the markings (pl. , fig. ) are very plain, and shew that the hypoblast is a distinct coherent membrane. in section, the cells of the hypoblast appear generally very thin and spindle shaped, but the outlines brought out by the silver nitrate shew that they are much expanded horizontally, but very irregular as to size, varying even within a small area from / - / of an inch in the longest diameter. at about the twelfth hour they are uniformly smaller a short way from each extremity of its longer axis than over the rest of the blastoderm. it is, perhaps, fair to conclude from this that growth is most rapid at these parts. at this time the hypoblast, both in sections and from a surface view after treatment with silver nitrate, appears to end abruptly against the white yolk. the surface view also shews that its cells are still filled with highly refractive globules, making it difficult to see the nucleus. in some cases i thought that i could (fig. , _a_) make out that it was hour-glass shaped, and some cells certainly contain two nuclei. some of the cells (fig. , _b_) shew re-entrant curves, which prove that they have undergone division. the cells of the epiblast, up to the thirteenth hour, have chiefly undergone change in becoming smaller. in surface views they are about / of an inch in diameter over the centre of the pellucid area, and increase to / of an inch over the opaque area. in the centre of the pellucid area the form of the epiblast cells is more elongated vertically and over the opaque area more flattened than was the case with the original upper layer cells. in the centre the epiblast is two or three cells deep. before going on to the further changes of the blastodermic cells it will be well to say a few words in reference to the origin of the mesoblast. from the description given above it will be clear that in the chick the mesoblast has an independent origin; it can be said neither to originate from the epiblast nor from the hypoblast. it is formed coincidently with the latter out of apparently similar segmentation cells. the hypoblast, as has been long known, shews in the chick no trace of its primitive method of formation by involution, neither does the mesoblast shew any signs of its primitive mode of formation. in so excessively highly differentiated a type as birds we could hardly expect to find, and certainly do not find, any traces of the primitive origin of the mesoblast, either from the epiblast or hypoblast, or from both. in the chick the mesoblast cells are formed directly from the ultimate products of segmentation. from having a secondary origin in most invertebrates the mesoblast comes to have, in the chick, a primary origin from the segmentation spheres, precisely as we find to be the case with the nervous layer in osseous fishes. it is true we cannot tell which segmentation-cells will form the mesoblast, and which the hypoblast; but the mesoblast and hypoblast are formed at the same time, and both of them directly from segmentation spheres. the process of formation of the mesoblast in loligo, as observed by mr ray lankester (_annals and magazine of natural history_, february, ), is still more modified. here the mesoblast arises independently of the blastoderm, and by a process of free cell-formation in the yolk round the edge of the blastoderm. if oellacher's observations in reference to the origin of formative cells are correct, then the modes of origin of the mesoblast in loligo and the chick would have nothing in common; but if the formative cells are in reality derived from the white yolk, and also are alone concerned in the formation of the mesoblast, then the modes of formation of the mesoblast in the chick would be substantially the same as that observed by mr ray lankester in loligo. no very important changes take place in the actual forms of the cells during the next few hours. a kind of fusion takes place between the epiblast and the mesoblast along the line of the primitive streak forming the axis-string of his; but the line of junction between the layers is almost always more or less visible in sections. in any case it does not appear that there is any derivation of mesoblast cells from the epiblast; and since the fusion only takes place in the region of the primitive groove, and not in front, where the medullary groove arises (see succeeding paper), it cannot be considered of any importance in reference to the possible origin of the wolffian duct, &c., from the epiblast (as mooted by waldeyer, _eierstock und ei_, leipzig, ). the primitive groove, as can be seen in sections, begins to appear very early, generally before the twelfth hour. the epiblast spreads rapidly over the white yolk, and the area pellucida also increases in size. from the mesoblast forming at first only a small mass of cells, which lies below the primitive streak, it soon comes to be the most important layer of the blastoderm. its growth is effected by means of the formative cells. these cells are generally not very numerous in an unincubated blastoderm, but rapidly increase in numbers, probably by division; at the same time they travel round the edge of, and in some cases through, the hypoblast, and then become converted in the manner described into mesoblast cells. they act as carriers of food from the white yolk to the mesoblast till, after the formation of the vascular area, they are no longer necessary. the numerous cases in which two nucleoli and even two nuclei can be seen in one cell prove that the mesoblast cells also increase by division. the growth of the hypoblast takes place in a very different way. it occurs by a direct conversion, cell for cell, of the white yolk spheres into hypoblast cells. this interpretation of the appearances, which i will describe presently, was first suggested to me by dr foster, from an examination of some of my specimens of about thirty-six hours, prepared with silver nitrate. where there is no folding at the junction between the pellucid and opaque areas, there seems to be a perfect continuity in the silver markings and a gradual transition in the cells, from what would be undoubtedly called white yolk spheres, to as undoubted hypoblast cells (vide pl. , fig. ). in passing from the opaque to the pellucid areas the number of white yolk spherules in each cell becomes less, but it is not till some way into the pellucid area that they quite cease to be present. i at first thought that this was merely due to the hypoblast cells feeding on the white yolk sphericles, but the perfect continuity of the cells, and the perfect gradation in passing from the white yolk cells to the hypoblast, proves that the other interpretation is the correct one, viz. that the white yolk spheres become directly converted into the hypoblast cells. this is well shewn in sections (vide pl. , fig. ) taken from embryos of all ages from the fifteenth to the thirty-sixth hour and onwards. but it is, perhaps, most easily seen in embryos of about twenty hours. in such an embryo there is a most perfect gradation: the cells of the hypoblast become, as they approach the edge of the pellucid area, broader, and are more and more filled with white yolk sphericles, till at the line of junction it is quite impossible to say whether a particular cell is a white-yolk cell (sphere) or a hypoblast cell. the white-yolk cells near the line of junction can frequently be seen to possess nuclei. at first the hypoblast appears to end abruptly against the white yolk; this state of things, however, soon ends, and there supervenes a complete and unbroken continuity between the hypoblast and the white yolk. of the mode of increase of the epiblast i have but little to say. the cells undoubtedly increase entirely by division, and the new material is most probably derived directly from the white yolk. up to the sixth hour the cells of the upper layer retain their early regular hexagonal pattern, but by the twelfth hour they have generally entirely lost this, and are irregularly shaped and very angular. the cells over the centre of the pellucid area remain the smallest up to the twenty-fifth hour or later, while those over the rest of the pellucid area are uniformly larger. in the hypoblast the cells under the primitive groove, and on each side as far as the fold which marks off the exterior limit of the protovertebræ are at the eighteenth hour considerably smaller than any other cells of this layer. in all the embryos between the eighteenth and twenty-third hour which i have examined for the purpose, i have found that at about two-thirds of the distance from the anterior end of the pellucid area, and just external to the side fold, there is a small space on each side in which the cells are considerably larger than anywhere else in the hypoblast. these larger cells, moreover, contain a greater number of highly refractive spherules than any other cells. it is not easy to understand why growth should have been less rapid here than elsewhere, as the position does not seem to correspond to any feature in the embryo. in some specimens the hypoblast cells at the extreme edge of the pellucid area are smaller than the cells immediately internal to them. at about the twenty-third hour these cells begin rapidly to lose the refractive spherules they contained in the earlier stages of incubation, and come to consist of a nucleus surrounded simply by granular protoplasm. at about this period of incubation the formative cells are especially numerous at the periphery of the blastoderm, and, no doubt, become converted into the mass of mesoblast which is found at about the twenty-fifth hour in the region of the vascular area. some of them are lobate, and appear as if they were undergoing division. at this time also the greatest number of formative cells are to be found at the bottom of the now large segmentation cavity. in embryos of from thirty to forty hours the cells of the hypoblast have, over the central portion of the pellucid area, entirely lost their highly refractive spherules, and in the fresh state are composed of the most transparent protoplasm. when treated with reagents they are found to contain an oval nucleus with one or sometimes two nucleoli, imbedded in a considerable mass of protoplasm. the protoplasm appears slightly granular and generally contains one or two small vacuoles. i have already spoken of the gradation of the hypoblast at the edge of the blastoderm into white yolk. i have, therefore, only to mention the variations in the size of its cells in different parts of the pellucid area. the points where the cells are smallest seem generally to coincide with the points of maximum growth. over the embryo the cells are more regular than elsewhere. they are elongated and arranged transversely to the long axis of the embryo. they are somewhat hexagonal in shape, and not unlike the longer pieces in the dental plate of a myliobatis (pl. , fig. ). this regularity, however, is much more marked in some specimens than in others. these cells are about / th of an inch in breadth, and / th in length. on each side of the embryo immediately external to the protovertebræ the cells are frequently about the same size as those over the embryo itself. in the neck, however, and near the end of the sinus rhomboidalis, they are considerably smaller, about / th inch each way. the reason of this small size is not very clear, but probably shews that the greatest growth is taking place at these two points. the cells, again, are very small at the head fold, but are very much larger in front of this--larger, in fact, than any other cells of the hypoblast. outside the embryo they gradually increase in size towards the edge of the pellucid area. here they are about / th of an inch in diameter, irregular in shape and rather angular. the outlines of the cells of the epiblast at this time are easily distinguished from the cells of the hypoblast by being more elongated and angular; they are further distinguished by the presence of numerous small oval cells, frequently at the meeting point of several cells, at other times at points along the lines of junction of two cells (pl. , fig. ). these small cells look very like the smaller stomata of endothelial membranes, but are shewn to be cells by possessing a nucleus. there is considerable variation in size in the cells in different parts of the epiblast. between the front lobes of the brain the cells are very small, / th inch, rising to / th on each side. they are about the latter size over the greater part of the embryo. but over the sinus rhomboidalis they fall again to from / th to / th inch. this is probably to be explained by the growth of the medullary fold at this point, which pushes back the primitive groove. at the sides of the head the cells are larger than anywhere else in the epiblast, being here about / th inch in diameter. i at present see no explanation of this fact. at the periphery of the pellucid area and over the vascular area the cells are / th to / th inch in diameter, but at the periphery of the opaque area they are smaller again, being about the / th of an inch. this smaller size at the periphery of the area opaca is remarkable, since in the earlier stages the most peripheral epiblast cells were the largest. it, perhaps, implies that more rapid growth is at this time taking place in that part of the epiblast which is spreading over the yolk sac. explanation of plate , figs. - and - . fig. . section through an unincubated blastoderm, shewing the upper layer, composed of a single row of columnar cells, and the lower layer, composed of several rows of rounded cells in which no nucleus is visible. some of the "formative cells," at the bottom of the segmentation cavity, are seen at (_b_). fig. . section through the periphery of an eight hours' blastoderm, shewing the epiblast (_p_), the hypoblast (_h_), and the mesoblast commencing to be formed (_c_), partly by lower-layer cells enclosed between the epiblast and hypoblast, and partly by formative cells. formative cells at the bottom of the segmentation cavity are seen at _b_. at _s_ is one of the side folds parallel to the primitive groove. fig. . portion of the hypoblast of a thirteen hours' blastoderm, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the great variation in the size of the cells at this period. an hour-glass shaped nucleus is seen at _a_. fig. . periphery of a twenty-three hours' blastoderm, shewing cell for cell the junction between the hypoblast (_h_) and white-yolk spheres (_w_). fig. . junction between the white-yolk spheres and the hypoblast cells at the passage from the area pellucida to the area opaca. the specimen was treated with silver nitrate to bring out the shape of the cells. the line of junction between the opaque and pellucid areas passes diagonally. fig. . section through the primitive streak of an eight hours' blastoderm. the specimen shews the mesoblast very much thickened in the immediate neighbourhood of the primitive streak, but hardly formed at all on each side of the streak. it also shews the primitive groove just beginning to be formed (_pr_), and the fusion between the epiblast and the mesoblast under the primitive groove. the hypoblast is completely formed in the central part of the blastoderm. at _f_ is seen one of the side folds parallel to the primitive groove. its depth has been increased by the action of the chromic acid. fig. . hypoblast cells from the hinder end of a thirty-six hours' embryo, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the regularity and elongated shape of the cells over the embryo and the smaller cells on each side. fig. . epiblast cells from an unincubated blastoderm, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the regular hexagonal shape of the cells and the small spherules they contain. fig. . portion of the epiblast of a thirty-six hours' embryo, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the small rounded cells frequently found at the meeting-points of several larger cells which are characteristic of the upper layer. iii. on the disappearance of the primitive groove in the embryo chick[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xiii, . with plate , figs. - and - . the investigations of dursy (_der primitivstreif des hühnchens_, von dr e. dursy. lahr, ) on the primitive groove, shewing that it is a temporary structure, and not connected with the development of the neural canal, have in this country either been ignored or rejected. they are, nevertheless, perfectly accurate; and had dursy made use of sections to support his statements i do not think they would so long have been denied. in germany, it is true, waldeyer has accepted them with a few modifications, but i have never seen them even alluded to in any english work. the observations which i have made corroborating dr dursy may, perhaps, under these circumstances be worth recording. after about twelve hours of incubation the pellucid area of a hen's egg has become somewhat oval, with its longer axis at right angles to the long axis of the egg. rather towards the hinder (narrower) end of this an opaque streak has appeared, with a somewhat lighter line in the centre. a section made at the time shews that the opaque streak is due partly to a thickening of the epiblast, but more especially to a large collection of the rounded mesoblast cells, which along this opaque line form a thick mass between the epiblast and the hypoblast. the mesoblast cells are in contact with both hypoblast and epiblast, and appear to be fused with the latter. the line of junction between them can, however, almost always be made out. soon after the formation of this primitive streak a groove is formed along its central line by a pushing inwards of the epiblast. the epiblast is not thinner where it lines the groove, but the mass of mesoblast below the groove is considerably thinner than at its two sides. this it is which produces the peculiar appearance of the primitive groove when the blastoderm is viewed by transmitted light as a transparent line in the middle of an opaque one. this groove, as i said above, is placed at right angles to the long axis of the egg, and nearer the hind end, that is, the narrower end of the pellucid area. it was called "the primitive groove" by the early embryologists, and they supposed that the neural canal arose from the closure of its edges above. it is always easy to distinguish this groove, in transverse sections, by several well-marked characters. in the first place, the epiblast and mesoblast always appear more or less fused together underneath it; in the second place, the epiblast does not become thinner where it lines the groove; and in the third place, the mesoblast beneath it never shews any signs of being differentiated into any organ. as dursy has pointed out, there is frequently to be seen in fresh specimens, examined as transparent objects, a narrow opaque line running down the centre of this groove. i do not know what this line is caused by, as there does not appear to be any structural feature visible in sections to which it can correspond. from the twelfth to the sixteenth hour the primitive groove grows rapidly, and by the sixteenth hour is both absolutely and considerably longer than it was at the twelfth hour, and also proportionately longer as compared with the length of the pellucid area. there is a greater interval between its end and that of the pellucid area in front than behind. at about the sixteenth hour, or a little later, a thickening of the mesoblast takes place in front of the primitive groove, forming an opaque streak, which in fresh specimens looks like a continuation from the anterior extremity of the primitive groove (vide pl. , fig. ). from hardened specimens, however, it is easy to see that the connection of this streak with the primitive groove is only an apparent one. again, it is generally possible to see that in the central line of this streak there is a narrow groove. i do not feel certain that there is no period when this groove may not be present, but its very early appearance has not been recognized either by dursy or by waldeyer. moreover, both these authors, as also his, seem to have mistaken the opaque streak spoken of above for the notochord. this, however, is not the case, and the notochord does not make its appearance till somewhat later. the mistake is of very minor importance, and probably arose in dursy's case from his not sufficiently making use of sections. at about the time the streak in front of the primitive groove makes its appearance a semicircular fold begins to be formed near the anterior extremity of the pellucid area, against which the opaque streak, or as it had, perhaps, better be called, "the medullary streak," ends abruptly. this fold is the head fold, and the groove along the medullary streak is the medullary groove, which subsequently forms the cavity of the medullary or neural canal. everything which i have described above can without difficulty be made out from the examination of fresh and hardened specimens under the simple microscope; but sections bring out still more clearly these points, and also shew other features which could not have been brought to light without their aid. in pl. , figs. and , two sections of an embryo of about eighteen hours are shewn. the first of these passes through the medullary groove, and the second of them through the extreme anterior end of the primitive groove. the points of difference in the two sections are very obvious. from fig. it is clear that a groove has already been formed in the medullary streak, a fact which was not obvious in the fresh specimen. in the second place the mesoblast is thickened both under the groove and also more especially in the medullary folds at the sides of the groove; but shews hardly a sign of the differentiation of the notochord. so that it is clear that the medullary streak is not the notochord, as was thought to be the case by the authors above mentioned. in the third place there is no adhesion between the epiblast and the mesoblast. in all the sections i have cut through the medullary groove i have found this feature to be constant; while (for instance, as in pl. , figs. , , ) all sections through the primitive groove shew most clearly an adhesion between the epiblast and mesoblast. this fact is both strongly confirmatory of the separate origins of the medullary and primitive grooves, and is also important in itself, as leaving no loophole for supposing that in the region of embryo there is any separation of the cells from the epiblast to form the mesoblast. by this time the primitive groove has attained its maximum growth, and from this time begins both absolutely to become smaller, and also gradually to be pushed more and more backwards by the growth of the medullary groove. the specimen figured in pl. , fig. , magnified about ten diameters, shews the appearance presented by an embryo of twenty-three hours. the medullary groove (_mc_) has become much wider and deeper than it was in the earlier stage; the medullary folds (_a_) are also broader and more conspicuous. the medullary groove widens very much posteriorly, and also the medullary folds separate far apart to enclose the anterior end of the primitive groove (_pr_). all this can easily be seen with a simple microscope, but the sections taken from the specimen figured also fully bear out the interpretations given above, and at the same time shew that the notochord has at this age begun to appear. the sections marked - pass respectively through the lines with corresponding numbers in fig. . section (fig. ) passes through the middle of the medullary canal. in it the following points are to be noted. ( ) that the epiblast becomes very much thinner where it lines the medullary canal (_mc_), a feature never found in the epiblast lining the primitive groove. ( ) that the mesoblast is very much thickened to form the medullary folds at _a_, _a_, while there is no adherence between it and the epiblast, below the primitive groove. ( ) the notochord (_ch_) has begun to be formed, though its separation from the rest of the mesoblast is not as yet very distinct[ ]. footnote : in the figure the notochord has been made too distinct. in fig. the medullary groove has become wider and the medullary folds broader, the notochord has also become more expanded: the other features are the same as in section . in the third section (fig. ) the notochord is still more expanded; the bottom of the now much expanded medullary groove has become raised to form the ridge which separates the medullary from the primitive groove. the medullary folds are also flatter and broader than in the previous section. section (fig. ) passes through the anterior end of the primitive groove. here the notochord is no longer visible, and the adherence between the mesoblast and epiblast below the primitive groove comes out in marked contrast with the entire separation of the two layers in the previous sections. the medullary folds (_a_) are still visible outside the raised edges of the primitive groove, and are as distinctly as possible separate and independent formations, having no connection with the folds of the primitive groove. in the last section (fig. ), which is taken some way behind section , no trace of the medullary folds is any longer to be seen, and the primitive groove has become deeper. this series of sections, taken in conjunction with the specimen figured in fig. , must remove all possible doubt as to the total and entire independence of the primitive and medullary grooves. they arise in different parts of the blastoderm; the one reaches its maximum growth before the other has commenced to be formed; and finally, they are distinguished by almost every possible feature by which two such grooves could be distinguished. soon after the formation of the notochord, the protovertebræ begin to be formed along the sides of the medullary groove (pl. , fig. , _pv_). each new protovertebra (of those which are formed from before backwards) arises just in front of the anterior end of the primitive groove. as growth continues, the primitive groove becomes pushed further and further back, and becomes less and less conspicuous, till at about thirty-six hours only a very small and curved remnant is to be seen behind the sinus rhomboidalis; but even up to the forty-ninth dursy has been able to distinguish it at the hinder end of the embryo. the primitive groove in the chick is, then, a structure which appears very early, and soon disappears without entering directly into the formation of any part of the future animal, and without, so far as i can see, any function whatever. it is clear, therefore, that the primitive groove must be the rudiment of some ancestral feature; but whether it is a rudiment of some structure which is to be found in reptiles, or whether of some earlier form, i am unable to decide. it is just possible that it is the last trace of that involution of the epiblast by which the hypoblast is formed in most of the lower animals. the fact that it is formed in the hinder part of the pellucid area perhaps tells slightly in favour of this hypothesis, since the point of involution of the epiblast not unfrequently corresponds with the position of the anus. explanation of plate , figs. - and - . figs. and are sections through an embryo rather earlier than the one drawn in fig. . fig. passes through the just commencing medullary groove (_md_), which appears in fresh specimens, as in fig. , merely as an opaque streak coming from the end of the primitive groove. the notochord is hardly differentiated, but the _complete_ separation of mesoblast and hypoblast under the primitive groove is clearly shewn. fig. passes through the anterior end of the primitive groove (_pr_), and shews the fusion between the mesoblast and epiblast, which is always to be found under the primitive groove. fig. is a view from above of a twenty hours' blastoderm, seen as a transparent object. primitive groove (_pr_). medullary groove (_md_), which passes off from the anterior end of the primitive groove, and is produced by the thickening of the mesoblast. head fold (_pf_). figs. - are sections through the blastoderm, drawn in fig. through the lines , , , , respectively. the first section (fig. ) passes through the true medullary groove (_mc_); the two medullary folds (_a_, _a_) are seen on each side with the thickened mesoblast, and the mesoblast cells are beginning to form the notochord (_nc_) under the medullary groove. there is no adherence between the mesoblast cells and the epiblast under the medullary groove. the second (fig. ) section passes through the medullary groove where it has become wider. medullary folds, _a_, _a_; notochord, _ch_. in the third section (fig. ) the notochord (_ch_) is broader, and the epiblast is raised in the centre, while the medullary folds are seen far apart at _a_. in section fig. the medullary folds (_a_) are still to be seen enclosing the anterior end of the primitive groove (_pr_). where the primitive groove appears there is a fusion of the epiblast and mesoblast, and no appearance of the notochord. in the last section, fig. , no trace is to be seen of the medullary folds. figs. and are magnified views of two hardened blastoderms. fig. is twenty-three hours old; fig. twenty-five hours. they both shew how the medullary canal arises entirely independently of the primitive groove and in front of it, and also how the primitive groove gets pushed backwards by the growth of the medullary groove. _pv_, protovertebræ; other references as above. fig. is the blastoderm from which sections figs. - were cut. iv. the development of the blood-vessels of the chick[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xiii, . with plate . the development of the first blood-vessels of the yolk-sac of the chick has been investigated by a large number of observers, but with very discordant results. a good historical _résumé_ of the subject will be found in a paper of dr klein (liii. band der _k. akad. der wissensch. wien_), its last investigator. the subject is an important one in reference to the homologies of the blood-vascular system of the vertebrata. as i shall shew in the sequel (and on this point my observations agree with those of dr klein), the blood-vessels of the chick do not arise as spaces or channels between the cells of the mesoblast; on the contrary, they arise as a network formed by the united processes of mesoblast-cells, and it is through these processes, and not in the spaces between them, that the blood flows. it is, perhaps, doubtful whether a system of vessels arising in this way can be considered homologous with any vascular system which takes its origin from channels hollowed out in between the cells of the mesoblast. my own researches chiefly refer to the development of the blood-vessels in the pellucid area. i have worked but very slightly at their development in the vascular area; but, as far as my observations go, they tend to prove that the mode of their origin is the same, both for the pellucid and the vascular area. the method which i have principally pursued has been to examine the blastoderm from the under surface. it is very difficult to obtain exact notions of the mode of development of the blood-vessels by means of sections, though these come in as a valuable confirmation of the other method. for the purpose of examination i have employed ( ) fresh specimens; ( ) specimens treated with spirit, and then mounted in glycerine; ( ) specimens treated with chloride of gold for about half a minute, and then mounted in glycerine; and ( ) specimens treated with osmic acid. all these methods bring out the same appearances with varying clearness; but the successful preparations made by means of the gold chloride are the best, and bring out the appearances with the greatest distinctness. the first traces of the blood-vessels which i have been able to distinguish in the pellucid area are to be seen at about the thirtieth hour or slightly earlier, at about the time when there are four to five protovertebræ on each side. fig. shews the appearance at this time. immediately above the hypoblast there are certain cells whose protoplasm sends out numerous processes. these processes vary considerably in thickness and size, and quickly come in contact with similar processes from other cells, and unite with them. i have convinced myself, by the use of the hot stage, that these processes continually undergo alteration, sometimes uniting with other processes, sometimes becoming either more elongated and narrower or broader and shorter. in this way a network of somewhat granular protoplasm is formed with nuclei at the points from which the processes start. from the first a difference may be observed in the character of this network in different parts of the pellucid area. in the anterior part the processes are less numerous and thicker, the nuclei fewer, and the meshes larger; while in the posterior part the processes are generally very numerous, and at first thin, the meshes small, and the nuclei more frequent. as soon as this network commences to be formed the nuclei begin to divide. i have watched this take place with the hot stage. it begins by the elongation of the nucleus and division of the nucleolus, the parts of which soon come to occupy the two ends of the nucleus. the nucleus becomes still longer and then narrows in the centre and divides. by this means the nuclei become much more numerous, and are found in almost all the larger processes. whether they are carried out into the processes by the movement of the surrounding protoplasm, or whether they move through the protoplasm, i have been unable to determine; the former view, however, seems to be the most probable. it is possible that some nuclei arise spontaneously in the protoplasm, but i am much more inclined to think that they are all formed by the division of pre-existing nuclei--a view favoured by the number of nuclei which are seen to possess two nucleoli. coincidently with the formation of the new nuclei the protoplasm of the processes, as well as that surrounding the nuclei at the starting-points of the processes, begins to increase in quantity. at these points the nuclei also increase more rapidly than elsewhere, but at first the resulting nuclei seem to be all of the same kind. in the anterior part of the pellucid area (fig. ) the increase in the number of nuclei and in the amount of protoplasm at the starting-points of the protoplasm is not very great, but in the posterior part the increase in the amount of the protoplasm at these points is very marked, and coincidently the increase in number of the nuclei is also great. this is shewn in figs. and . these are both taken from the tail end of an embryo of about thirty-three hours, with seven or eight protovertebræ. fig. shews the processes beginning to increase in thickness, and also the protoplasm at the starting-points increasing in quantity; at the same time the nuclei at these points are beginning to become more numerous. fig. is taken from a slightly higher level, _i.e._ slightly nearer the epiblast. in it the protoplasm is seen to have increased still more in quantity, and to be filled with nuclei. these nuclei have begun to be slightly coloured, and one of them is seen to possess two nucleoli. very soon after this a change in the nuclei begins to be observed, more especially in the hinder part of the embryo. while before this time they were generally elongated, some of them now become more nearly circular. in addition to this, they begin to have a yellowish tinge, and the nuclei, when treated with gold (for in the fresh condition it is not easy to see them distinctly), have a more jagged and irregular appearance than the nucleoli of the other nuclei. this change takes place especially at the starting-points of the processes, so that the appearance presented (fig. ) is that of spherical masses of yellowish nuclei connected with other similar spherical masses by protoplasmic processes, in which nuclei of the original type are seen imbedded. these masses are surrounded by a thin layer of protoplasm, at the edge of which a normal nucleus may here and there be detected, as at fig. , _a_ and _a´_, the latter possessing two nucleoli. some of these processes are still very delicate, and it is exceedingly probable that they undergo further changes of position before the final capillary system is formed. these differentiated nuclei are the first stage in the formation of the blood-corpuscles. from their mode of formation it is clear that the blood-corpuscles of the sauropsida are to be looked upon as nuclei containing nucleoli, rather than as cells containing nuclei; indeed, they seem to be merely ordinary nuclei with red colouring matter. this would make them truly instead of only functionally homologous with the red corpuscles of the mammalia, and would well agree with the fact that the red corpuscles of mammalia, in their embryonic condition, possess what have previously been called nuclei, but which might perhaps more properly be called nucleoli. in the anterior part of the blastoderm the processes, as i have stated, are longer and thinner, and the spaces enclosed between them are larger. this is clearly brought out in pl. , fig. . but, besides these large spaces, there are other smaller spaces, such as that at _v_. it is, on account of the transparency of the protoplasm, very difficult to decide whether these are vacuoles or simply spaces enclosed by the processes, but i am inclined to think that they are merely spaces. the difficulty of exactly determining this point is increased by the presence of numerous white-yolk spherules in the hypoblast above, which considerably obscure the view. at about the same time that the blood-corpuscles appear in the posterior end of the pellucid area, or frequently a little later, they begin to be formed in the anterior part also. the masses of them are, however, far smaller and far fewer than in the posterior part of the embryo. it is at the tail end of the pellucid area that the chief formation of blood-corpuscles takes place. the part of the pellucid area intermediate in position between the anterior and posterior ends of the embryo is likewise intermediate as regards the number of corpuscles formed and the size of the spaces between the processes; the spaces being here larger than at the posterior extremity, but smaller than the spaces in front. close to the sides of the embryo the spaces are, however, smaller than in any other part of the pellucid area. it is, however, in this part that the first formation of blood-corpuscles takes place, and that the first complete capillaries are formed. we have then somewhat round protoplasmic masses filled with blood-corpuscles and connected by means of processes, a few of which may begin to contain blood-corpuscles, but the majority of which only contain ordinary nuclei. the next changes to be noticed take place in the nuclei which were not converted into blood-corpuscles, but which were to be seen in the protoplasm surrounding the corpuscles. they become more numerous and smaller, and, uniting with the protoplasm in which they were imbedded, become converted into flat cells (spindle-shaped in section), and in a short time form an entire investment for the masses of blood-corpuscles. the same change also occurs in the protoplasmic processes which connect the masses of corpuscles. in the case of those processes which contain no corpuscles the greater part of their protoplasm seems to be converted into the protoplasm of the spindle-shaped cells. the nuclei arrange themselves so as completely to surround the exterior of the protoplasmic processes. in this way each process becomes converted into a hollow tube, completely closed in by cells formed from the investment of the original nuclei by the protoplasm which previously formed the solid processes. the remainder of the protoplasm probably becomes fluid, and afterwards forms the plasma in which the corpuscles float. while these changes are taking place the formation of the blood-corpuscles does not stand still, and by the time a system of vessels, enclosed by cellular walls, is formed out of the protoplasmic network, a large number of the connecting processes in this network have become filled with blood-corpuscles. the appearances presented by the network at a slightly later stage than this is shewn in pl. , fig. , but in this figure all the processes are seen to be filled with blood-corpuscles. this investment of the masses of corpuscles by a cellular wall occurs much earlier in some specimens than in others, both in relation to the time of incubation and to the completion of the network. it is generally completed in some parts by the time there are eight or nine protovertebræ, and is almost always formed over a great part of the pellucid area by the thirty-sixth hour. the formation of the corpuscles, as was pointed out above, occurs earliest in the central part of the hour-glass shaped pellucid area, and latest in its anterior part. in the hinder part of the pellucid area the processes, as well as their enlarged starting-points, become entirely filled with corpuscles; this, however, is by no means the case in its anterior part. here, although the corpuscles are undoubtedly developed in parts as shewn in fig. , yet a large number of the processes are entirely without them. their development, moreover, is in many cases very much later. when the development has reached the stage described, very little is required to complete the capillary system. there are always, of course, a certain number of the processes which end blindly, and others are late in their development, and are not by this time opened; but, as a general rule, when the cellular investment is formed for the masses of corpuscles, there is completed an open network of tubes with cellular walls, which are more or less filled with corpuscles. these become quickly driven into the opaque area in which at that time more corpuscles may almost always be seen than in the pellucid area. by the formation of a network of this kind it is clear that there must result spaces enclosed between the walls of the capillaries; these spaces have under the microscope somewhat the appearance of being vesicles enclosed by walls formed of spindle-shaped cells. in reality they are only spaces enclosed at the sides, and, as a general rule, not above and below. they have been mistaken by some observers for vesicles in which the corpuscles were supposed to be developed, and to escape by the rupture of the walls into the capillary spaces between. this mistake has been clearly pointed out by klein (_loc. cit._). at the time when these spaces are formed, and especially in the hinder two-thirds of the pellucid area, and in the layer of blood-vessels immediately above the hypoblast, a formation takes place which forms in appearance a secondary investment of the capillaries. dr klein was the first to give a correct account of this formation. it results from the cells of the mesoblast in the meshes of the capillary system. certain of these cells become flattened, and send out fine protoplasmic processes. they arrange themselves so as completely to enclose the spaces between the capillaries, forming in this way vesicles. where seen on section (vide fig. ) at the edge of the vesicles these cells lining the vesicles appear spindle-shaped, and look like a secondary investment of the capillaries. this investment is most noticeable in the hinder two-thirds of the pellucid area; but, though less conspicuous, there is a similar formation in its anterior third, where there would seem to be only veins present. dr klein (_loc. cit._, fig. ) has also drawn this investment in the anterior third of the pellucid area. he has stated that the vessels in the mesoblast between the splanchnopleure and the somatopleure, and which are enclosed by prolongations from the former, do not possess this secondary investment; he has also stated that the same is true for the sinus terminalis; but i am rather doubtful whether the generalisation will hold, that veins and arteries can from the first be distinguished by the latter possessing this investment. i am also rather doubtful whether the spaces enclosed by the protoplasmic threads between the splanchnopleure and somatopleure are the centres of vessels at all, since i have never seen any blood-corpuscles in them. it is not easy to learn from sections much about the first stages in the formation of the capillaries, and it is impossible to distinguish between a completely-formed vessel and a mere spherical space. the fine protoplasmic processes which connect the masses of corpuscles can rarely be seen in sections, except when they pass vertically, as they do occasionally (vide pl. , fig. ) in the opaque area, joining the somatopleure and the splanchnopleure. dr klein considers these latter processes to be the walls of the vessels, but they appear rather to be the processes which will eventually become new capillaries. from sections, however, it is easy to see that the appearances of the capillaries in the vascular area are similar to the appearances in the pellucid area, from which it is fair to conclude that their mode of formation is the same in both. it is also easy to see that the first formation of vessels occurs in the splanchnopleure, and that even up to the forty-fifth hour but few or no vessels are found in the somatopleure. the mesoblast of the somatopleure is continued into the opaque area as a single layer of spindle-shaped cells. sections clearly shew in the case of most of the vessels that the secondary investment of klein is present, even in the case of those vessels which lie immediately under the somatopleure. in reference to the origin of particular vessels i have not much to say. dr klein's account of the origin of the sinus terminalis is quite correct. it arises by a number of the masses of blood-corpuscles, similar to those described above, becoming connected together by protoplasmic processes. the whole is subsequently converted into a continuous vessel in the usual way. from the first the sinus terminalis possesses cellular walls, as is clear from its mode of origin. i am inclined to think that klein is right in saying that the aortæ arise in a similar manner, but i have not worked out their mode of origin very fully. it will be seen from the account given above that, in reference to the first stages in the development of the blood-vessels, my observations differ very considerably from those of dr klein; as to the later stages, however, we are in tolerable agreement. we are in agreement, moreover, as to the fundamental fact that the blood-vessels are formed by a number of cells becoming connected, and by a series of changes converted into a network of vessels, and that they are not in the first instance merely channels between the cells of the mesoblast. by the forty-fifth hour colourless corpuscles are to be found in the blood whose exact origin i could not determine; probably they come from the walls of the capillaries. in the vessels themselves the coloured corpuscles undergo increase by division, as has already been shewn by remak. corpuscles in the various stages of division may easily be found. they do not appear to show very active amoeboid movements in the vessels, though their movements are sometimes very active when removed from the body. to recapitulate--some of the cells of the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure send out processes, these processes unite with the processes from other cells, and in this way a network is formed. the nuclei of the original cells divide, and at the points from which the processes start their division is especially rapid. some of them acquire especially at these points a red colour, and so become converted into blood-corpuscles; the others, together with part of the protoplasm in which they are imbedded, become converted into an endothelium both for the processes and the masses of corpuscles; the remaining protoplasm becomes fluid, and thus the original network of the cells becomes converted into a network of hollow vessels, filled with fluid, in which corpuscles float. in reference to the development of the heart, my observations are not quite complete. it is, however, easy to prove from sections (vide figs. and , pl. ) that the cavity of the heart is produced by a splitting or absorption of central cells of the thickened mesoblast of the splanchnopleure, while its muscular walls are formed from the remaining cells of this thickened portion. it is produced in the following way:--when the hypoblast is folded in to form the alimentary canal the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure follows it closely, and where the splanchnopleure turns round to assume its normal direction (fig. ) its mesoblast becomes thickened. this thickened mass of mesoblast is, as can easily be seen from figs. and , pl. , entirely distinct from the mesoblast which forms the outside walls of the alimentary canal. at the point where this thickening occurs an absorption takes place to form the cavity of the heart. the method in which the cavity is formed can easily be seen from figs. and . it is in fig. shewn as it takes place in the mesoblast on each side, the folds of the splanchnopleure not having united in the middle line; and hence a pair of cavities are formed, one on each side. it is, however, probable that, in the very first formation of the heart, the cavity is single, being formed after the two ends of the folded mesoblast have united (vide _hz_, fig. ). in some cases the two folds of the mesoblast appear not at first to become completely joined in the middle line; in this case the cavity of the heart is still complete from side to side, but the mesoblast-cells which form its muscular walls are deficient above. by the process of absorption, as i said, a cavity is produced in the thickened part of the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure, a cavity which is single in front, but becomes divided further behind, where the folds of the mesoblast have not united, into two cavities, to form the origin of the omphalomeseraic veins. as the folding proceeds backwards the starting-point of the omphalomeseraic veins is also pushed backwards, and the cavities which were before separated become joined together. from its first formation the heart is lined internally by an endothelium; this is formed of flattened cells, spindle-shaped in section. the exact manner of the origin of this lining i have not been able to determine; it is, however, probable that some of the central mesoblast-cells are directly converted into the cells of the endothelium. i have obtained no evidence enabling me to determine whether dr klein is correct in stating that the cells of the mesoblast in the interior of the heart become converted partly into blood-corpuscles and partly into a cellular lining forming the endothelium of the heart, in the same way that the blood-vessels in the rest of the blastoderm are formed. but i should be inclined to think that it is very probable--certainly more probable than that the cavity of the heart is formed by a process of splitting taking place. where i have used the word "absorption" in speaking of the formation of the cavity of the heart, i must be understood as implying that certain of the interior cells become converted into the endothelium, while others either form the plasma or become blood-corpuscles. the originally double formation of the hinder part of the heart probably explains dr afanassiev's statement (_bullétin de l'académ. impériale de st petersb._, tom. xiii, pp. - ), that he finds the endothelium of the heart originally dividing its interior into two halves; for when the partition of the mesoblast which separated at first the two halves of the heart became absorbed, the endothelium lining of each of the originally separate vessels would remain complete, dividing the cavity of the heart into two parts. the partition in the central line is, however, soon absorbed. the account given above chiefly differs from that of remak by not supposing that the mesoblast-cells which form the heart are in any way split off from the wall of the alimentary canal. there can be no doubt that his is wrong in supposing that the heart originates from the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure and somatopleure uniting to form its walls, thus leaving a cavity between them in the centre. the heart is undoubtedly formed out of the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure only. afanassiev's observations are nearer to the truth, but there are some points in which he has misinterpreted his sections. sections pl. , figs. and , explain what i have just said about the origin of the heart. immediately around the notochord the mesoblast is not split, but a very little way outside it is seen to be split into two parts _so_ and _sp_; the former of these follows the epiblast, and together with it forms the somatopleure, which has hardly begun to be folded at the line where the sections are taken. the latter (_sp_) forms with the hypoblast (_hy_) the splanchnopleure, and thus has become folded in to form the walls of the alimentary canal (_d_). in fig. the folds have not united in the central line, but in fig. they have so united. in fig. , where the mesoblast, still following the hypoblast, turns back to assume its normal direction, it is seen to be thickened and to have become split, so that a cavity (_of_) (of the omphalomeseraic vein) is formed in it on each side, lined by endothelium. in the section immediately behind section fig. the mesoblast was thickened, but had not become split. in fig. the hypoblast folds are seen to have united in the centre, so as to form a completely closed digestive canal (_d_); the folds of the mesoblast have also united, so that there is only a single cavity in the heart (_hz_), lined, as was the case with the omphalomeseraic veins, by endothelium. in conclusion, i have to thank dr foster for his assistance and suggestions throughout the investigations which have formed the subject of these three short papers, and which were well carried on in the apartments used by him as a physiological laboratory. explanation of plate . fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty hours' chick, with four protovertebræ. at _n_ is a nucleus with two nucleoli. figs. and are taken from the posterior end of the pellucid area of a chick with eight protovertebræ. in fig. the nuclei are seen to have considerably increased in number at the points of starting of the protoplasmic processes. at _n_ is seen a nucleus with two nucleoli. fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of an embryo of thirty-six hours. it shews the narrow processes characteristic of the anterior part of the pellucid area, and the fewer nuclei. small spaces, which have the appearance of vacuoles, are shewn at _v_. fig. is taken from the posterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty-six hours' embryo. it shews the nuclei, with somewhat irregular nucleoli, which have begun to acquire the red colour of blood-corpuscles; the protoplasmic processes containing the nuclei; the nuclei in the protoplasm surrounding the corpuscles, as shewn at _a_, _a´_. fig. shews fully formed blood-vessels, in part filled with blood-corpuscles and in part empty. the walls of the capillaries, formed of cells, spindle-shaped in section, are shewn, and also the secondary investment of klein at _k_, and at _b_ is seen a narrow protoplasmic process filled with blood-corpuscles. fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty-six hours' embryo. it shews a collection of nuclei which are beginning to become blood-corpuscles. figs. - are drawn with an / object-glass. fig. is on a much smaller scale. fig. is intermediate. fig. .--a transverse section through the dorsal region of a forty-five hours' embryo; _ao_, aorta with a few blood-corpuscles. v, blood-vessels, all of them being formed in the splanchnopleure, and all of them provided with the secondary investment of klein; _pe_, pellucid area; _op_, opaque area. fig. .--small portion of a section through the opaque area of a thirty-five hours' embryo, showing protoplasmic processes, with nuclei passing from the somatopleure to the splanchnopleure. fig. .--section through the heart of a thirty-four hours' embryo. _a_. alimentary canal; _hb_, hind brain; _nc_, notochord; _e_, epiblast; _so_, mesoblast of the somatopleure; _sp_, mesoblast of the splanchnopleure; _hy_, hypoblast; _hz_, cavity of the heart. fig. .--section through the same embryo as fig. , and passing through the orifice of the omphalomeseraic vein. _of_, omphalomeseraic vein; other references as above. these two sections shew that the heart is entirely formed from the mesoblast of the _splanchnopleure_, and that it is formed by the splitting of that part of the mesoblast which has turned to assume its normal direction after being folded in to form the muscular wall of the alimentary canal. in fig. the cavities so formed on each side have not yet united, but in fig. they have united. when the folding becomes more complete the cavities (_of_, _of_) in fig. will unite, and in this way the origin of the omphalomeseraic veins will be carried further backwards. in the section immediately behind section the mesoblast had become thickened, but had not split. v. a preliminary account of the development of the elasmobranch fishes[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xiv. . read in section d, at the meeting of the british association at belfast. with plates and . during the spring of the present year i was studying at the zoological station, founded by dr dohrn at naples, and entirely through its agency was supplied with several hundred eggs of various species of dog-fish (selachii)--a far larger number than any naturalist has previously had an opportunity of studying. the majority of the eggs belonged to an oviparous species of _mustelus_, but in addition to these i had a considerable number of eggs of two or three species of _scyllium_, and some of the torpedo. moreover, since my return to england, professor huxley has most liberally given me several embryos of _scyllium stellare_ in a more advanced condition than i ever had at naples, which have enabled me to fill up some lacunæ in my observations. on many points my investigations are not yet finished, but i have already made out a number of facts which i venture to believe will add to our knowledge of vertebrate embryology; and since it is probable that some time will elapse before i am able to give a complete account of my investigations, i have thought it worth while preparing a preliminary paper in which i have briefly, but i hope in an intelligible manner, described some of the more interesting points in the development of the elasmobranchii. the first-named species (_mustelus_ sp.?) was alone used for the early stages, for the later ones i have also employed the other species, whose eggs i have had; but as far as i have seen at present, the differences between the various species in early embryonic life are of no importance. without further preface i will pass on to my investigations. _the egg-shell._ in the eggs of all the species of dog-fishes which i have examined the yolk lies nearest that end of the quadrilateral shell which has the shortest pair of strings for attachment. this is probably due to the shape of the cavity of the shell, and is certainly not due to the presence of any structures similar to chalazæ. _the yolk._ the yolk is not enclosed in any membrane comparable to the vitelline membrane of birds, but lies freely in a viscid albumen which fills up the egg-capsule. it possesses considerable consistency, so that it can be removed into a basin, in spite of the absence of a vitelline membrane, without falling to pieces. this consistency is not merely a property of the yolk-sphere as a whole, but is shared by every individual part of it. with the exception of some finely granular matter around the blastoderm, the yolk consists of rather small, elliptical, highly refracting bodies, whose shape is very characteristic and renders them easily recognizable. a number of striæ like those of muscle are generally visible on most of the spherules, which give them the appearance of being in the act of breaking up into a series of discs; but whether these striæ are normal, or produced by the action of water i have not determined. _position of the blastoderm._ the blastoderm is always situated, immediately after impregnation, near the pole of the yolk which lies close to the end of the egg-capsule. its position varies a little in the different species and is not quite constant in different eggs of the same species. but this general situation is quite invariable. it is of about the same proportional size as the blastoderm of a bird. _segmentation._ in a fresh specimen, in which segmentation has only just commenced, the blastoderm or germinal disc appears as a circular disc, distinctly marked off by a dark line from the rest of the yolk. this line, as is proved by sections, is the indication of a very shallow groove. the appearance of sharpness of distinction between the germ and the yolk is further intensified by their marked difference of colour, the germ itself being usually of a darker shade than the remainder of the yolk; while around its edge, and apparently sharply separated from it by the groove before mentioned, is a ring of a different shade which graduates at its outer border into the normal shade of the yolk. these appearances are proved by transverse sections to be deceptive. there is no sharp line either at the sides or below separating the blastoderm from the yolk. in the passage between the fine granular matter of the germ to the coarser yolk-spheres every intermediate size of granule is present; and, though the space between the two is rather narrow, in no sense of the word can there be said to be any break or line between them. this gradual passage stands in marked contrast with what we shall find to be the case at the close of the segmentation. in the youngest egg which i had, the germinal disc was already divided into four segments by two furrows at right angles. these furrows, however, did not reach its edge; and from my sections i have found that they were not cut off below by any horizontal furrow. so that the four segments were continuous below with the remainder of the germ without a break. in the next youngest specimen which i had, there were already present eighteen segments, somewhat irregular in size, but which might roughly be divided into an outer ring of larger spheres, separated, as it were, by a circular furrow from an inner series of smaller segments. the furrows in this case reached quite to the edge of the germinal disc. the remarks i made in reference to the earlier specimen about the separation of the germ from the yolk apply in every particular to the present one. the external limit of the blastoderm was not defined by a true furrow, and the segmentation furrows still ended below without meeting any horizontal furrows, so that the blastoderm was not yet separated by any line from the remainder of the yolk, and the segments of which it was composed were still only circumscribed upon five sides. in this particular the segmentation in these animals differs materially from that in the bird, where the horizontal furrows appear very early. in each segment a nucleus was generally to be seen in sections. i will, however, reserve my remarks upon the nature of the nuclei till i discuss the nuclei of the blastoderm as a whole. for some little time the peripheral segments continue larger than the more central ones, but this difference of size becomes less and less marked, and before the segments have become too small to be seen with the simple microscope, their size appears to be uniform over the whole surface of the blastoderm. in the blastoderms somewhat older than the one last described the segments have already become completely separate masses, and each of them already possesses a distinct nucleus. they form a layer one or two segments deep. the limits of the blastoderm are not, however, defined by the already completed segments, but outside these new segments continue to be formed around nuclei which appear in the yolk. at this stage there is, therefore, no line of demarcation between the germ and the yolk, but the yolk is being bored into, so to speak, by a continuous process of fresh segmentation. the further segmentation of the already existing spheres, and the formation of new ones from the yolk below and to the sides, continues till the central cells acquire their final size, the peripheral ones being still large, and undefined towards the yolk. these also soon reach the final size, and the blastoderm then becomes rounded off towards the yolk and sharply separated from it. _the nuclei of the yolk._ intimately connected with the segmentation is the appearance and history of a number of nuclei which arise in the yolk surrounding the blastoderm. when the horizontal furrows appear which first separate the blastoderm from the yolk, the separation does not occur along the line of passage from the fine to the coarse yolk, but in the former at some distance from this line. the blastoderm thus rests upon a mass of finely granular material, from which, however, it is sharply separated. at this time there appear in this finely granular material a number of nuclei of a rather peculiar character. they vary immensely in size--from that of an ordinary nucleus to a size greater than the largest blastoderm-cell. in pl. , fig. , _n_, is shewn their distribution in this finely granular matter and their variation in size. but whatever may be their size, they always possess the same characteristic structure. this is shewn in pl. , figs. and , _n_. they are rather irregular in shape, with a tendency when small to be roundish, and are divided by a number of lines into distinct areas, in each of which a nucleolus is to be seen. the lines dividing them into these areas have a tendency (in the smaller specimens) to radiate from the centre, as shewn in pl. , fig. . these nuclei colour red with hematoxylin and carmine and brown with osmic acid, while the nucleoli or granules contained in the areas also colour _very intensely_ with all the three above-named reagents. with such a peculiar structure, in favourable specimens these nuclei are very easily recognised, and their distribution can be determined without difficulty. they are not present alone in the finely granular yolk, but also in the coarsely granular yolk adjoining it. they form very often a special row, sometimes still more markedly than in pl. , fig. , along the floor of the segmentation cavity. they are not, however, found alone in the yolk. all the blastoderm-cells in the earlier stages possess precisely similar nuclei! from the appearance of the first nucleus in a segmentation-sphere till a comparatively late period in development, every nucleus which can be distinctly seen is found to be of this character. in pl. , fig. , this is very distinctly shewn. ( ) we have, then, nuclei of this very peculiar character scattered through the sub-germinal granular matter, and also universally present in the cells of the blastoderm. ( ) these nuclei are distributed in a special manner under the floor of the segmentation cavity on which new cells are continually appearing. putting these two facts together, there would be the strongest presumption that these nuclei do actually become the nuclei of cells which enter the blastoderm, and such is actually the case. in my account of the segmentation i have, indeed, already mentioned this, and i will return to it, but before doing so will enter more fully into the distribution of these nuclei in the yolk. they appear in small numbers around the blastoderm at the close of segmentation, and round each one of them there may at this time be seen in osmic acid specimens, and with high powers, a fine network similar to but finer than that represented in pl. , fig. . this network cannot, as a general rule, be traced far into the yolk, but in some exceptionally thin specimens it may be seen in any part of the fine granular yolk around the blastoderm, the meshes of the network being, however, considerably coarser between than around the nuclei. this network may be seen in the fine granular material around the germ till the latest period of which i have yet cut sections of the blastoderm. in the later specimens, indeed, it is very much more distinctly seen than in the earlier, owing to the fact that in parts of the blastoderm, especially under the embryo, the yolk-granules have disappeared partly or entirely, leaving only this fine network with the nuclei in it. a specimen of this kind is represented in pl. , fig. , where the meshes of the network are seen to be finer immediately around the nuclei, and coarser in the intervals. the specimen further shows in the clearest manner that this network is not divided into areas, each representing a cell and each containing a nucleus. i do not know to what extent this network extends into the yolk. i have never yet seen the limits of it, though it is very common to see the coarsest yolk-granules lying in its meshes. some of these are shewn in pl. , fig. , _yk_. this network of lines[ ] (probably bubbles) is characteristic of many cells, especially ova. we are, therefore, forced to believe that the fine granular and probably coarser granular yolk of this meroblastic egg consists of an active organized basis with passive yolk-spheres imbedded in it. the organized basis is especially concentrated at the germinal pole of the egg, but becomes less and less in quantity, as compared with the yolk-spheres, the further we depart from this. footnote : the interpretation of this network is entirely due to dr kleinenberg, who suggested it to me on my shewing him a number of specimens exhibiting the nuclei and network. admitting, as i think it is necessary to do, the organized condition of the whole yolk-sphere, there are two possible views as to its nature. we may either take the view that it is one gigantic cell, the ovum, which has grown at the expense of the other cells of the egg-follicle, and that these cells in becoming absorbed have completely lost their individuality; or we may look upon the true formative yolk (as far as we can separate it from the remainder of the food-yolk) as the remains of one cell (the primitive ovum), and the remainder of the yolk as a body formed from the coalescence of the other cells of the egg-follicle, which is adherent to, but has not coalesced with, the primitive ovum, the cells in this case not having completely lost their individuality; and to these cells, the nuclei, i have found, must be supposed to belong. the former view i think, for many reasons, the most probable. the share of these nuclei in the segmentation, and the presence of similar nuclei in the cells of the germ, both support it, and are at the same time difficulties in the way of the other view. leaving this question which cannot be discussed fully in a preliminary paper like the present one, i will pass on to another important question, viz.: how do these nuclei originate? are they formed by the division of the pre-existing nuclei, or by an independent formation? it must be admitted that many specimens are strongly in favour of the view that they increase by division. in the first place, they are often seen "two together;" examples of this will be seen in pl. , fig. . in the second place, i have found several specimens in which five or six appear close together, which look very much as if there had been an actual division into six nuclei. it is, however, possible in this case that the nuclei are really connected below and only appear separate, owing to the crenate form of the mass. against this may be put the fact that the division of a nucleus is by no means so common as has been sometimes supposed, that in segmentation it has very rarely been observed that the nucleus of a sphere first divides[ ], and that then segmentation takes place, but segmentation generally occurs and then a new nucleus arises in each of the newly formed spheres. such nuclei as i have described are rare; they have, however, been observed in the egg of a _nephelis_ (one of the leeches), and have in that case been said to divide. dr kleinenberg, however, by following a single egg through the whole course of its development, has satisfied himself that this is not the case, and that, further, these nuclei in nephelis never form the nuclei of newly developing cells. footnote : kowalevsky ("beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte der holothurien," _mémoires de l'ac. imp. de st petersbourg_, vii ser., vol. xi. ) describes the division of nuclei during segmentation in the holothurians, and other observers have described it elsewhere. i must leave it an open question, and indeed one which can hardly be solved from sections, whether these nuclei arise freely or increase by division, but i am inclined to believe that both processes may possibly take place. in any case their division does not appear to determine the segmentation or segregation of the protoplasm around them. as was mentioned in my account of the segmentation, these nuclei first appear during that process, and become the nuclei of the freshly formed segmentation spheres. at the close of segmentation a few of them are still to be seen around the blastoderm, but they are not very numerous. from this period they rapidly increase in number, up to the commencement of the formation of the embryo as a body distinct from the germ. though before this period they probably become the nuclei of veritable cells which enter the germ, it is not till this period, when the growth of the blastoderm becomes very rapid and it commences to spread over the yolk, that these new cells are formed in large numbers. i have many specimens of this age which shew the formation of these new cells with great clearness. this is most distinctly to be seen immediately below the embryo, where the yolk-spherules are few in number. at the opposite end of the blastoderm i believe that more of these cells are formed, but, owing to the presence of numerous yolk-spherules, it is much more difficult to make certain of this. as to the final destination of these cells, my observations are not yet completed. probably a large number of them are concerned in the formation of the vascular system, but i will give reasons later on for believing that some of them are concerned in the formation of the walls of the digestive canal and of other parts. i will conclude my account of these nuclei by briefly summarizing the points i have arrived at in reference to them. a portion, or more probably the whole, of the _yolk_ of the dog-fish consists of _organized material_, in which nuclei appear and increase either by _division_ or by a process of _independent_ formation, and a great number of these subsequently become the nuclei of cells formed around them, frequently at a distance from the germ, which then travel up and enter it. the formation of cells in the yolk, apart from the general process of segmentation, has been recognised by many observers. kupffer (_archiv. für micr. anat._, bd. iv. ) and owsjannikow ("entwicklung der coregonus," _bulletin der akad. st petersburgh_, vol. xix.) in osseous fishes[ ], ray lankester (_annals and mag. of nat. hist._ vol. xi. , p. ) in cephalopoda, götte (_archiv. für micr. anat._ vol. x.) in the chick, have all described a new formation of cells from the so-called food-yolk. the organized nature of the whole or part of this, previous to the formation of the cells from it, has not, however, as a rule, been distinctly recognised. in the majority of cases, as, for instance, in loligo, the nucleus is not the first thing to be formed, but a plastide is first formed, in which a nucleus subsequently makes its appearance. footnote : götte, at the end of a paper on "the development of the layers in the chick" (_archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. x. , p. ), mentions that the so-called cells in osseous fishes which oellacher states to have migrated into the yolk, and which are clearly the same as those mentioned by owsjannikow, are really not _cells_, but large _nuclei_. if this statement is correct the phenomena in osseous fishes are precisely the same as those i have described in the dog-fish. _formation of the layers._ leaving these nuclei, i will now pass on to the formation of the layers. at the close of segmentation the surface of the blastoderm is composed of cells of a uniform size, which, however, are too small to be seen by the aid of the simple microscope. the cells of this uppermost layer are somewhat columnar, and can be distinguished from the remainder of the cells of the blastoderm as a separate layer. this layer forms the epiblast; and the dog-fish agree with birds, batrachians, and osseous fish in the very early differentiation of it. the remainder of the cells of the blastoderm form a mass, many cells deep, in which it is impossible as yet or till a very considerably later period to distinguish two layers. they may be called the _lower layer cells_. some of them near the edge of this mass are still considerably larger than the rest, but they are, as a whole, of a fairly uniform size. their nuclei are of the same character as the nuclei in the yolk. there is one point to be noticed in the shape of the blastoderm as a whole. it is unsymmetrical, and a much larger number of its cells are found collected at one end than at the other. this absence of symmetry is found in all sections which are cut parallel to the long axis of the egg-capsule. the thicker end is the region where the embryo will subsequently appear. this very early appearance of distinction in the blastoderm between the end at which the embryo will appear, and the non-embryonic end is important, especially as it shews the affinity of the modes of development of osseous fishes and the elasmobranchii. oellacher (_zeitschrift für wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxxiii. ) has shewn, and, though differing from him on many other points, on this point götte (_arch. für micr. anat._ vol. ix. ) agrees with him, that a similar absence of symmetry by which the embryonic end of the germ is marked off, occurs almost immediately after the end of segmentation in osseous fishes. in the early stages of development there are a number of remarkable points of agreement between the osseous fish and the dog-fish, combined with a number of equally remarkable points of difference. some of these i shall point out as i proceed with my description. the embryonic end of the germ is always the one which points towards the pole of the yolk farthest removed from the egg-capsule. the germ grows, but not very rapidly, and without otherwise undergoing any very appreciable change, for some time. the growth at these early periods appears to be particularly slow, especially when compared with the rapid manner in which some of the later stages of the development are passed through. the next important change which occurs is the formation of the so-called "segmentation cavity." this forms a very marked feature throughout the early stages. it appears, however, to have somewhat different relations to the blastoderm than the homologous structure in other vertebrates. in its earliest stage which i have observed, it appears as a small cavity in the centre of the lower layer cells. this grows rapidly, and its roof becomes composed of epiblast and only a thin lining of "_lower layer_" cells, while its floor is formed by the yolk (pl. , fig. , _sg_). in the next and third stage (pl. , fig. , _sg_) its floor is formed by a thin layer of cells, its roof remaining as before. it has, however, become a less conspicuous formation than it was; and in the last (fourth) stage in which it can be distinguished it is very inconspicuous, and almost filled up by cells. what i have called the second stage corresponds to a period in which no trace of the embryo is to be seen. in the third stage the embryonic end of the blastoderm projects outwards to form a structure which i shall speak of as the "embryonic rim," and in the fourth and last stage a distinct medullary groove is formed. for a considerable period during the second stage the segmentation cavity remains of about the same size; during the third stage it begins to be encroached upon, and becomes smaller both absolutely, and relatively to the increased size of the germ. the segmentation cavity of the dog-fish most nearly agrees with that of osseous fishes in its mode of formation and relation to the embryo. dog-fish resemble osseous fish in the fact that their embryos are entirely formed from a portion of the germ which does not form part of the roof of the segmentation cavity, so that the cells forming the roof of the segmentation cavity take _no share_ at any time in the formation of their embryos. they further agree with osseous fish (always supposing that the descriptions of oellacher, _loc. cit._, and götte, _archiv. für micr. anat._ bd. ix. are correct) in the floor of the segmentation cavity being formed at one period by yolk. together with these points of similarity there are some important differences. ( ) the segmentation cavity in the osseous fish from the first arises as a cavity between the yolk and the blastoderm, and its floor is never at any period covered with cells. in the dog-fish, as we have said above, both in the earlier and later periods the floor is covered with cells. ( ) the roof in the dog-fish is _invariably_ formed by the epiblast and a row of flattened lower layer cells. according to both götte and oellacher the roof of the segmentation cavity in osseous fishes is in the earlier stages formed _alone_ of the two layers which correspond with the single layer forming the epiblast in the dog-fish. in osseous fishes it is very difficult to distinguish the various layers, owing to the similarity of their component cells. in dog-fish this is very easy, owing to the great distinctness of the epiblast, and it appears to me, on this account, very probable that the two above-named observers may be in error as to the constitution of its roof in the osseous fish. with both the bird and the frog the segmentation cavity of the dog-fish has some points of agreement, and some points of difference, but it would take me too far from my present subject to discuss them. when the segmentation cavity is first formed, no great changes have taken place in the cells forming the blastoderm. the upper layer--the _epiblast_--is composed of a single layer of columnar cells, and the remainder of the cells of blastoderm, forming the lower layer, are of a fairly uniform size, and polygonal from mutual pressure. the whole edge of the blastoderm is thickened, but this thickening is especially marked at its embryonic end. this thickened edge of the blastoderm is still more conspicuous in the next and second stage (pl. , fig. ). in the second stage the chief points of progress, in addition to the increased thickness of the edge of the blastoderm, are-- ( ) the increased thickness and distinctness of the epiblast, caused by its cells becoming more columnar, though it remains as a one-cell-thick layer. ( ) the disappearance of the cells from the floor of the segmentation cavity. the lower layer cells have undergone no important changes, and the blastoderm has increased very little if at all in size. from pl. , fig. , it is seen that there is a far larger collection of cells at the embryonic than at the opposite end. passing over some rather unimportant stages, i will come to the next important one. the general features of this (the third) stage in a surface view are-- ( ) the increase in size of the blastoderm. ( ) the diminution in size of the segmentation cavity, both relatively and absolutely. ( ) the appearance of a portion of the blastoderm projecting beyond the rest over the yolk. this projecting rim extends for nearly half the circumference of the yolk, but is most marked at the point where the embryo will shortly appear. i will call it the "embryonic rim." these points are still better seen from sections than from surface views, and will be gathered at once from an inspection of pl. , fig. . the epiblast has become still more columnar, and is markedly thicker in the region where the embryo will appear. but its most remarkable feature is that at the outer edge of the "embryonic rim" (_er_) it turns round and becomes continuous with the lower layer cells. this feature is most important, and involves some peculiar modifications in the development. i will, however, reserve a discussion of its meaning till the next stage. the only other important feature of this stage is the appearance of a layer of cells on the floor of the segmentation cavity. does this layer come from an ingrowth from the thickened edge of the blastoderm, or does it arise from the formation of new cells in the yolk? it is almost impossible to answer this question with certainty. the following facts, however, make me believe that the newly formed cells do play an important part in the formation of this layer. ( ) the presence at an earlier date of almost a row of nuclei under the floor of the segmentation cavity (pl. , fig. ). ( ) the presence on the floor of the cavity of such large cells as those represented in fig. , _bd_, cells which are very different, as far as the size and granules are concerned, from the remainder of the cells of the blastoderm. on the other hand, from this as well as other sections, i have satisfied myself that there is a distinct ingrowth of cells from the embryonic swelling. it is therefore most probable that both these processes, viz. a fresh formation and an ingrowth, have a share in the formation of the layer of cells on the floor of the segmentation cavity. in the next stage we find the embryo rising up as a distinct body from the blastoderm, and i shall in future speak of the body, which now becomes distinct as the embryo. it corresponds with what kupffer (_loc. cit._) in his paper on the "osseous fishes" has called the "embryonic keel." this starting-point for speaking of the embryo as a distinct body is purely arbitrary and one merely of convenience. if i wished to fix more correctly upon a period which could be spoken of as marking the commencing formation of the embryo, i should select the time when structures first appear to mark out the portion of the germ from which the embryo becomes formed; this period would be in the elasmobranchii, as in the osseous fish, at the termination of segmentation, when the want of symmetry between the embryonic end of the germ and the opposite end first appears. i described in the last stage the appearance of the "embryonic rim." it is in the middle point of this, where it projects most, that the formation of the embryo takes place. there appear two parallel folds extending from the edge of the blastoderm towards the centre, and cut off at their central end by another transverse fold. these three folds raise up, between them, a flat broadish ridge, "_the embryo_" (pl. , fig. ). the head end of the embryo is the end nearest the centre of the blastoderm, the tail end being the one formed by its (the blastoderm's) edge. almost from its first appearance this ridge acquires a shallow groove--the medullary groove (pl. , fig. , _mg_)--along its middle line, where the epiblast and hypoblast are in absolute contact (vide fig. _a_, _a_, _b_, &c.) and where the mesoblast (which is already formed by this stage) is totally absent. this groove ends abruptly a little before the front end of the embryo, and is deepest in the middle and wide and shallow behind. on each side of it is a plate of mesoblast equivalent to the combined vertebral and lateral plates of the chick. these, though they cannot be considered as entirely the cause of the medullary groove, may perhaps help to make it deeper. in the parts of the germ outside the embryo the mesoblast is again totally absent, or, more correctly, we might say that outside the embryo the _lower layer cells_ do not become differentiated into hypoblast and mesoblast, and remain continuous only with the lower of the two layers into which the _lower layer cells_ become differentiated in the body of embryo. this state of things is not really very different from what we find in the chick. here outside the embryo (_i.e._ in the opaque area) there is a layer of cells in which no differentiation into hypoblast and mesoblast takes place, but the layer remains continuous rather with the hypoblast than the mesoblast. there is one peculiarity in the formation of the mesoblast which i wish to call attention to, _i.e._ its formation as two lateral masses, one on each side of the middle line, but not continuous across this line (vide figs. _a_ and _b_, and _a_ and _b_). whether this remarkable condition is the most primitive, _i.e._ whether, when in the stage before this the mesoblast is first formed, it is only on each side of the middle line that the differentiation of the lower layer cells into hypoblast and mesoblast takes place, i do not certainly know, but it is undoubtedly a very early condition of the mesoblast. the condition of the mesoblast as two plates, one on each side of the neural canal, is precisely similar to its embryonic condition in many of the vermes, _e.g. euaxes_ and _lumbricus_. in these there are two plates of mesoblast, one on each side of the nervous cord, which are known as the _germinal streaks_ (keimstreifen) (vide kowalevsky "würmern u. arthropoden"; _mém. de l'acad. imp. st petersbourg_, ). from longitudinal sections i have found that the segmentation cavity has ceased by this stage to have any distinct existence, but that the whole space between the epiblast and the yolk is filled up with a mass of elongated cells, which probably are solely concerned in the formation of the vascular system. the thickened posterior edge of the blastoderm is still visible. at the embryonic end of the blastoderm, as i pointed out in an earlier stage, the epiblast and the lower layer cells are perfectly continuous. where they join the epiblast, the _lower layer cells_ become distinctly divided, and this division commenced even in the earlier stage, into two layers; a lower one, more directly continuous with the epiblast, consisting of cells somewhat resembling the epiblast-cells, and an upper one of more flattened cells (pl. , fig. , _m_). the first of these forms the hypoblast, and the latter the mesoblast. they are indicated by _hy_ and _m_ in the figures. the hypoblast, as i said before, remains continuous with the whole of the rest of lower layer cells of the blastoderm (vide fig. _b_). this division into hypoblast and mesoblast commences at the earlier stage, but becomes much more marked during this one. in describing the formation of the hypoblast and mesoblast in this way i have assumed that they are formed out of the large mass of lower layer cells which underlie the epiblast at the embryonic end of the blastoderm. but there is another and, in some ways, rather a tempting view, viz. to suppose that the epiblast, where it becomes continuous with the hypoblast, in reality becomes involuted, and that from this involuted epiblast are formed the whole mesoblast and hypoblast. in this case we would be compelled to suppose that the mass of lower layer cells which forms the embryonic swelling is used as food for the growth of the involuted epiblast, or else employed solely in the growth over the yolk of the non-embryonic portion of the blastoderm; but the latter possibility does not seem compatible with my sections. i do not believe that it is possible, from the examination of sections alone, to decide which of these two views (viz. whether the epiblast is involuted, or whether it becomes merely continuous with the lower layer cells) is the true one. the question must be decided from other considerations. the following ones have induced me to take the view that there is no involution, but that the mesoblast and hypoblast are formed from the lower layer cells. ( ) that it would be rather surprising to find the mass of lower layer cells which forms the "embryo swelling" playing no part in the formation of embryo. ( ) that the view that it is the lower layer cells from which the hypoblast and mesoblast are derived agrees with the mode of formation of these two layers in the bird, and also in the frog; since although, in the latter animal, there is an involution, this is not of the epiblast, but of the larger cells of the lower pole of the yolk, which in part correspond with what i have called the lower layer cells in the dog-fish. if the view be accepted that it is from the lower layer cells that the hypoblast and mesoblast are formed, it becomes necessary to explain what the continuity of the hypoblast with the epiblast means. the explanation of this is, i believe, the keystone to the whole position. the vertebrates may be divided as to their early development into two classes, viz. those with _holoblastic ova_, in which the digestive canal is formed by an _involution_ with the presence of an "_anus of rusconi_." this class includes "amphioxus," the "lamprey," the "sturgeon," and "batrachians." the second class are those with _meroblastic ova_ and no _anus of rusconi_, and with an alimentary canal formed by the infolding of the sheet of hypoblast, the digestive canal remaining in communication with the food-yolk for the greater part of embryonic life by an umbilical canal. this class includes the "elasmobranchii," "osseous fish," "reptiles," and "aves." the mode of formation of the alimentary canal in the first class is clearly the more primitive; and it is equally clear that its mode of formation in the second class is an adaptation due to the presence of the large quantity of food-yolk. in the dog-fish i believe that we can see, to a certain extent, how the change from the one to the other of these modes of development of the alimentary canal took place. in all the members of the first class, viz. "_amphioxus_," the "lamprey," the "sturgeon," and the "batrachians," the epiblast becomes continuous with the hypoblast at the so-called "anus of rusconi," and the alimentary canal, potentially in all and actually in the sturgeon (vide kowalevsky, owsjannikow, and wagner, _bulletin der acad. d. st petersbourg_, vol. xiv. , "entwicklung der störe"), communicates freely at its extreme hind end with the neural canal. the same is the case in the dog-fish. in these, when the folding in to form the alimentary canal on the one hand, and the neural on the other, takes place, the two foldings unite at the corner, where the epiblast and hypoblast are in continuity, and place the two tubes, the neural and alimentary, in free communication with each other[ ]. footnote : this has been already made out by kowalevsky, "würmern u. arthropoden," _loc. cit._ there is, however, nothing corresponding with the "anus of rusconi," which merely indicates the position of the involution of the digestive canal, and subsequently completely closes up, though it nearly coincides in position with the true anus in the batrachians, &c. this remarkable point of similarity between the dog-fish's development and the normal mode of development in the first class (the holoblastic) of vertebrates, renders it quite clear that the continuity of the epiblast and hypoblast in the dogfish is really the remnant of a more primitive condition, when the alimentary canal was formed by an involution. besides the continuity between neural and alimentary canals, we have other remnants of the primitive involution. amongst these the most marked is the formation of the embryonic rim, which is nothing less than the commencement of an involution. its form is due to the flattened, sheet-like condition of the germ. in the mode in which the alimentary canal is closed in front i shall shew there are indications of the primitive mode of formation of the alimentary canal; and in certain peculiarities of the anus, which i shall speak of later, we have indications of the primitive anus of rusconi; and finally, in the general growth of the epiblast (small cells of the upper pole of the batrachian egg) over the yolk (lower pole of the batrachian egg), we have an example of the manner in which the primitive involution, to form the alimentary canal, invariably disappears when the quantity of yolk in an egg becomes very great. i believe that in the dog-fish we have before our eyes one of the steps by which a direct mode of formation comes to be substituted for an _in_direct one by involution. we find, in fact, in the dog-fish, that the cells from which are derived the mesoblast and hypoblast come to occupy their final position in the primitive arrangement of the cells during segmentation, and not by a subsequent and secondary involution. this change in the mode of formation of the alimentary canal is clearly a result of change of mechanical conditions from the presence of the large food-yolk. excellent parallels to it will be found amongst the mollusca. in this class the presence or absence of food-yolk produces not very dissimilar changes to those which are produced amongst vertebrates from the same cause. the continuity of the hypoblast and epiblast at the embryonic rim is a remnant which, having no meaning or function, except in reference to the earlier mode of development, is likely to become lost, and in birds no trace of it is any longer to be found. i will not in the present preliminary paper attempt hypothetically to trace the steps by which the involution gradually disappeared, though i do not think it would be very difficult to do so. nor will i attempt to discuss the question whether the condition with a large amount of food-yolk (as seems more probable) was twice acquired--once by the elasmobranchii and osseous fishes, and once by reptiles and birds--or whether only once, the reptiles and birds being lineal descendants of the dog-fish. in reference to the former point, however, i may mention that the batrachians and lampreys are to a certain extent intermediate in condition between the _amphioxus_ and the dog-fishes, since in them the yolk becomes divided during segmentation into lower layer cells and epiblast, but a modified involution is still retained, while the dog-fish may be looked upon as intermediate between birds and batrachians, the continuity at the hind end between the epiblast and hypoblast being retained by them, though not the involution. it may be convenient here to call attention to some of the similarities and some of the differences which i have not yet spoken of between the development of osseous fish and the dog-fish in the early stages. the points of similarity are--( ) the swollen edge of the blastoderm. ( ) the embryo-swelling. ( ) the embryo-keel. ( ) the spreading of the blastoderm over the yolk-sac from a point corresponding with the position of the embryo, and not with the centre of the germ. the growth is almost nothing at that point, and most rapid at the opposite pole of the blastoderm, being less and less rapid along points of the circumference in proportion to their proximity to the embryonic swelling. ( ) the medullary groove. in external appearance the early embryos of dog-fish and teleostei are very similar; some of my drawings could almost be substituted for those given by oellacher. this similarity is especially marked at the first appearance of the medullary groove. in the dog-fish the medullary groove becomes converted into the medullary canal in the same way as in birds and all other vertebrates, except osseous fishes, where it comes to nothing, and is, in fact, a rudimentary structure. but in spite of oellacher's assertions to the contrary, i am convinced from the similarity of its position and appearance to the true medullary groove in the dog-fish, that the groove which appears in osseous fishes is the true medullary groove; although oellacher and kuppfer appear to have conclusively proved that it does not become converted into the medullary canal. the chief difference between the dog-fish and osseous fish, in addition to the point of difference about the medullary groove, is that the epiblast is in the dog-fish a single layer, and not divided into nervous and epidermic layers as in osseous fish, and this difference is the more important, since, throughout the whole period of development till after the commencement of the formation of the neural canal, the epiblast remains in dog-fish as a one-cell-deep layer of cells, and thus the possibility is excluded of any concealed division into a neural and epidermic layer, as has been supposed to be the case by stricker and others in birds. _development of the embryo._ after the embryo has become definitely established, for some time it grows rapidly in length, without externally undergoing other important changes, with the exception of the appearance of two swellings, one on each side of its tail. these swellings, which i will call the _caudal lobes_ (figs. and , _ts_), are also found in osseous fishes, and have been called by oellacher the _embryonal saum_. they are caused by a thickening of mesoblast on each side of the hind end of the embryo, at the edge of the embryonic rim, and form a very conspicuous feature throughout the early stages of the development of the dog-fish, and are still more marked in the torpedo (pl. , fig. ). although from the surface the other changes which are visible are very insignificant, sections shew that the _notochord_ is commencing to be formed. i pointed out that beneath the medullary groove the epiblast and hypoblast were not separated by any interposed mesoblast. along the line (where the mesoblast is deficient) which forms the long axis of the embryo, a rod-like thickening of the hypoblast appears (pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_, _ch_ and _ch´_), first at the head end of the embryo, and gradually extends backwards. this is the rudiment of the notochord; it remains attached for some time to the hypoblast, and becomes separated from it first at the head end of the embryo, and the separation is then carried backwards. this thickening of the hypoblast projects up and comes in contact with the epiblast, and in the later stages with bad (especially chromic-acid) specimens the line of separation between the epiblast and the thickening may become a little obscured, and might possibly lead to the supposition that a structure similar to that which has been called the "_axis cord_" was present. in all my best (osmic-acid) specimens the line of junction is quite clear; and any one who is aware how easily two separate masses of cells may be made indistinguishably to fuse together from simple pressure will not be surprised to find the occasional obscurity of the line of junction between the epiblast and hypoblast. in the earlier stage of the thickening there is never in the osmic-acid preparations any appearance of fusion except in very badly prepared ones. its mode of formation will be quite clear without further description from an inspection of pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_, _ch_ and _ch´_. both are taken from one embryo. in fig. _b_, the most anterior of the two, the notochord has become quite separated from the hypoblast. in fig. _a_, _ch_, there is only a very marked thickening of hypoblast, which reaches up to the epiblast, but the thickening is still attached to the hypoblast. had i had space to insert a drawing of a third section of the same embryo there would only have been a slight thickening of the hypoblast. in the earlier stage it will be seen, by referring to figs. _a_ and _b_, that there is no sign of a thickening of the hypoblast. my numerous sections (all made from embryos hardened in osmic acid) shewing these points are so clear that i do not think there can be any doubt whatever of the notochord being formed as a thickening of the hypoblast. two interpretations of this seem possible. i mentioned that the mesoblast appeared to be primitively formed as two independent sheets, _split off, so to speak, from the hypoblast_, one on each side of the middle line of the embryo. if we looked upon the notochord as a third _median sheet of mesoblast_, split off from the hypoblast somewhat later than the other two, we should avoid having to admit its hypoblastic origin. professor huxley, to whom i have shewn my specimens, strongly advocates this view. the other possibility is that the notochord is primitively a true _hypoblastic_ structure which has only by adaptation become an apparently _mesoblastic_ one in the higher vertebrates. in favour of this view are the following considerations: ( ) that this is the undoubtedly natural interpretation of the sections. ( ) that the notochord becomes separated from the hypoblast after the latter has acquired its typical structure, and differs in that respect from the two lateral sheets of mesoblast, which are formed coincidently with the hypoblast by a homogeneous mass of cells becoming differentiated into two distinct layers. ( ) that the first mode of looking at the matter really proves too much, since it is clear that by the same method of reasoning we could prove the mesoblastic origin of any organ derived from the hypoblast and budded off into the mesoblast. we would merely have to assert that it was really a mass of mesoblast budded off from the hypoblast rather later than the remainder of the mesoblast. still, it must be admitted that the first view i have suggested is a possible, not to say a probable one, though the mode of arguing by which it can be upheld may be rather dangerous if generally applied. we ought not, however, for that reason necessarily to reject it in the present case. as mr ray lankester pointed out to me, if we accept the hypoblastic origin of the notochord, we should find a partial parallel to it in the endostyle of tunicates, and it is perhaps interesting to note in reference to it that the notochord is the only _unsegmented_ portion of the axial skeleton. whether the strong _à priori_ difficulties of the hypoblastic origin of the notochord are sufficient to counterbalance the natural interpretation of my sections, cannot, i think, be decided from the single case of the dog-fish. it is to be hoped that more complete investigations of the lamprey, &c., may throw further light upon the question. whichever view of the primitive origin of the notochord is the true one, its apparent origin is very instructive as illustrating the possible way in which an organ might come to change the layer to which it primarily belonged. if the notochord is a true mesoblastic structure, it is easy to be seen how, by becoming separated from the hypoblast a little later than is the case with the dog-fish, its mesoblastic origin would become lost; while if, on the other hand, it is primitively a hypoblastic structure, we see from higher vertebrates how, by becoming separated from the hypoblast rather earlier than in the dog-fish, viz. at the same time as the rest of the mesoblast, its primitive derivation from the hypoblast has become concealed. the view seemingly held by many embryologists of the present day, that an organ, when it was primitively derived from one layer, can never be apparently formed in another layer, appears to me both unreasonable on _à priori_ grounds, and also unsupported by facts. i see no reason for doubting that the embryo in the earliest periods of development is as subject to the laws of natural selection as is the animal at any other period. indeed, there appear to me grounds for the thinking that it is more so. the remarkable differences in allied species as to the amount of food-yolk, which always entail corresponding alterations in the development--the different modes of segmentation in allied species, such as are found in the amphipoda and isopoda--the suppression of many stages in freshwater species, which are retained in the allied marine species--are all instances of modifications due to natural selection affecting the earliest stages of development. if such points as these can be affected by natural selection i see no reason why the arrangement of individual cells (or rather primitive elements) should not also be modified; why, in fact, a mass of cells which was originally derived from one layer, but in the course of development became budded off from that layer and entered another layer, should not by a series of small steps cease ever to be attached to the original layer, but from the first moment it can be distinguished should be found as a separate mass in the second layer. the change of layers will, of course, only take place where some economy is effected by it. the variations in the mode of development of the nervous system may probably be explained in this way. if we admit that organs can undergo changes, as to the primitive layer from which they are derived, important consequences must follow. it will, for instance, by no means be sufficient evidence of two organs not being homologous that they are not developed from the same layer. it renders the task of tracing out the homologies from development much more difficult than if the ordinary view of the invariable correspondence of the three layers throughout the animal kingdom be accepted. although i do not believe that this correspondence is invariable or exact, i think that we both find and should expect to find that it is, roughly speaking, fairly so. thus, the muscles, internal skeleton, and connective tissue are always placed in the adult between the skin (epidermis) and the epithelium of the alimentary canal. we should therefore expect to find them, and, as a matter of fact, we always do find them, developed from a middle layer when this is present. the upper layer must always and does always form the epidermis, and similarly the lower layer or hypoblast must form a part of the epithelium of the alimentary canal. a full discussion of this question would, however, lead me too far away from my present subject. the only other point of interest which i can touch on in this stage is the commencing closure of the alimentary canal in the region of the head. this is shewn in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _b_, _n.a_. from these figures it can be seen that the closing does not take place as much by an infolding as by an ingrowth from the side walls of the alimentary canal towards the middle line. in this abnormal mode of closing of the alimentary canal we have again, i believe, an intermediate stage between the mode of formation of the alimentary canal in the frog and the typical folding in which occurs in birds. there is, however, another point in reference to it which is still more interesting. the cells to form the ingrowth from the bottom (ventral) wall of the alimentary canal are derived by a continuous fresh formation from the yolk, being formed around the nuclei spoken of above (vide p. et seq.). all my sections shew this with more or less clearness, especially those a little later than fig. _b_, in which the lower wall of the alimentary canal is nearly completed. this is the more interesting since, from the mode of formation of the alimentary canal in the batrachians, &c., we might expect that the cells from the yolk would take a share in its formation in the dog-fish. i have not as yet made out for certain the share which is taken by these freshly formed cells of the yolk in the formation of any other organ. by the completion of its lower wall in the way described, the throat early becomes a closed tube, its closing taking place before any other important changes are visible in the embryo from surface views. a considerable increase in length is attained before other changes than an increase in depth of the medullary groove and a more complete folding off of the embryo from the blastoderm take place. the first important change is the formation of the protovertebræ. these are formed by the lateral plates of mesoblast, which i said were equivalent at once to the vertebral and lateral plates in the bird, becoming split by transverse divisions into cubical masses. at the time when this occurs, and, indeed, up till a considerably later period, the mesoblast is not split into somatopleure and splanchnopleure, and it is not divided into vertebral and lateral plates. the transverse lines of division of the protovertebræ do not, however, extend to the outer edge of the undivided lateral plates. the differences between this mode of formation of the protovertebræ and that occurring in birds are too obvious to require pointing out. i will speak of them more fully when i have given the whole history of the protovertebræ of the dog-fish. i will only now say that i have had in the early stages to investigate the formation of the protovertebræ entirely by means of sections, the objects being too opaque to be otherwise studied. the next change of any importance is the commencement of the formation of the head. the region of the head first becomes distinguishable by the flattening out of the germ at its front end. the flattened-out portion of the germ grows rapidly, and forms a spatula-like termination to the embryo (pl. , fig. ). in the region of the head the medullary groove is at first totally absent (vide section, pl. , fig. _a_). indeed, as can be seen from fig. _b_, the laminæ dorsales, so far from bending up at this stage, actually bend down in the opposite direction. i am at present quite unable even to form a guess what this peculiar feature of the brain means. it, no doubt, has some meaning in reference to the vertebrate ancestry if we could only discover it. the peculiar spatula-like flattened condition of the head is also (vide _loc. ant. cit._) apparently found in the sturgeons; it must therefore almost undoubtedly be looked upon as not merely an accidental peculiarity. while these changes have been taking place in the head not less important changes have occurred in the remainder of the body. in the first place the two caudal lobes have increased in size, and have become, as it were, pushed in together, leaving a groove between them (fig. , _ts_). they are very conspicuous objects, and, together with the spatula-like head, give the whole embryo an almost comical appearance. the medullary canal has by this time become completely closed in the region of the tail (figs. and _b_). it is still widely open in the region of the back, and, though more nearly closed again in the neck, is, as i have said, flattened out to nothing in the head. the groove[ ] between the two caudal lobes must not be confused (as may easily be done) with the medullary groove, which by the time the former groove has become conspicuous is a completely closed canal. footnote : this groove is the only structure which it seems possible to compare with the so-called "primitive groove" of birds. it is, however, doubtful whether they are really homologous. the vertebral plates are not divided (vide fig. ) into a somatopleuric and splanchnopleuric layer by this stage, except in the region of the head (vide fig. _b_, _pp_), where there is a distinct space between the two layers, which is undoubtedly homologous with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity of the hinder portion of the body. it is probably the same cavity which oellacher (_loc. cit._) calls in osseous fishes the pericardial cavity. in the dog-fish, at least, it has no connection with the pericardium. of its subsequent history i shall say a few words when i come to speak of the later stages. the embryo does not take more than twenty-four hours in passing from this stage, when the head is a flat plate, to the stage when the whole neural canal (including the region of the head) is closed in. the other changes, in addition to the closing in of the neural canal, are therefore somewhat insignificant. the folding off of the embryo from the germ has, however, progressed considerably, and a portion of the hind gut is closed in below. this is accomplished, not by a tail-fold, as in birds, but by two lateral folds, which cause the sides of the body to meet and coalesce below. at the extreme hind end, where the epiblast is continuous with the hypoblast, the lateral folds turn round, so to speak, and become continuous with the medullary folds, so that when the various folds meet each other an uninterrupted canal is found passing round from the neural into the alimentary canal, and placing these two in communication at the tail end of the body. since i have already mentioned this, and spoken of its significance, i will not dwell on it further here. the cranial flexure commences coincidently with the closing in of the neural canal in the region of the brain, and the division into fore, mid, and hind brain becomes visible at the same time as or even before the closing of the canal occurs. the embryo has now become more or less transparent, and protovertebræ, of which about twenty are present, can _now_ be seen in the fresh specimens. the heart, however, is not yet formed. up to this period, a period at which the embryo becomes very similar in external appearance to any other vertebrate embryo, i have followed in my description a chronological order. i shall now cease to do so, since it would be too long for a preliminary notice of this kind, but shall confine myself to the history of a few organs whose development is either more important or more peculiar than that of the others. _the protovertebræ._ i have thought it worth while to give a short history of the development of the protovertebræ, firstly, because it is very easy to follow this in the dog-fish, and, secondly, because i believe that the dog-fish have more nearly retained the primitive condition of the protovertebræ than any other vertebrate whose embryology has hitherto been described with sufficient detail. i intend to describe, at the same time, the development of the spinal nerves. i left each lateral mass of mesoblast in my last stage as a plate which had not yet become split into a somatic and a splanchnic sheet (pl. , fig. _a_, _vp_), but which had become cut by transverse lines (not, indeed, extending to the outer limit of the sheet, but as yet not cut off by longitudinal lines of cleavage) into segments, which i called protovertebræ. this sheet of mesoblast is fairly thick at its proximal (upper) end, but thins off laterally to a sheet two cells deep, and its cells are so arranged as to foreshadow its subsequent splitting into somatic and splanchnic sheets. its upper (proximal) end is at this stage level with the bottom of the neural canal, but soon begins to grow upwards, and at the same time the splitting into somatopleure and splanchnopleure commences (pl. , fig. , _so_ and _sp_). the separation between the two sheets is first visible in its uppermost part, and thence extends outwards. by this means each of the protovertebræ becomes divided into two sheets, which are only connected at their upper ends and outside the region of the body. i speak of the whole lateral sheet as being composed of protovertebræ, because at this time no separation into vertebral and lateral plates can be seen; but i may anticipate matters by saying that only the upper portion of the sheet from the level of the top of the digestive canal, becomes subsequently the true protovertebræ. from this it is clear that the pleuro-peritoneal cavity extends primitively quite up to the top of the protovertebræ; and that thus a portion of a sheet of mesoblast, at first perfectly continuous with the splanchnic sheet from which is derived the muscular wall of the alimentary canal, is converted into a part of the voluntary muscular system of the body, having no connection whatever with the involuntary muscular system of the digestive tract. the pleuro-peritoneal cavity is first distinctly formed at a time when only two visceral clefts are present. before the appearance of a third visceral cleft in a part of the innermost layer of each protovertebræ (which may be called the splanchnic layer, from its being continuous with the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure), opposite the bottom of the neural tube, some of the cells commence to become distinguishable from the rest, and to form a separate mass. this mass becomes much more distinct a little later, its cells being characterised by being spindle-shaped, and having an elongated nucleus which becomes deeply stained by reagents (pl. , fig. , _mp´_). coincidently with its appearance the young dog-fish commences spontaneously to move rapidly from side to side with a kind of serpentine motion, so that, even if i had not traced the development of this differentiated mass of cells till it becomes a band of muscles close to the notochord, i should have had little doubt of its muscular nature. it is indicated in figs. , , , by the letters _mp´_. its early appearance is most probably to be looked upon as an adaptation consequent upon the respiratory requirements of the young dog-fish necessitating movements within the egg. shortly after this date, at a period when three visceral clefts are present, i have detected the first traces of the spinal nerves. at this time they appear in sections as small elliptical masses of cells, entirely independent of the protovertebræ, and closely applied to the upper and outer corners of the involuted epiblast of the neural canal (pl. , fig. , _spn_). these bodies are far removed from any mesoblastic structures, and at the same time the cells composing them are _not_ similar to the cells composing the walls of the neural canal, and are not attached to these, though lying in contact with them. i have not, therefore, sufficient evidence at present to enable me to say with any certainty where the spinal nerves are derived from in the dog-fish. they may be derived from the involuted epiblast of the neural canal, and, indeed, this is the most natural interpretation of their position. on the other hand, it is possible that they are formed from wandering cells of the mesoblast--a possibility which, with our present knowledge of wandering cells, must not be thrown aside as altogether improbable. in any case, it is clear that the condition in the bird, where the spinal nerves are derived from tissue of the protovertebræ, is not the primitive one. of this, however, i will speak again when i have concluded my account of the development of the protovertebræ. about the same time that the first rudiments of the nerves appear, the division of the mesoblast of the sides of the body into a vertebral and a lateral portion occurs. this division first appears in the region where the oviduct (müller's duct) is formed (pl. , fig. , _ov_). at this part opposite the level of the dorsal aorta the two sheets, viz. the splanchnic and the somatic, unite together, and thus each lateral sheet of mesoblast becomes divided into an upper portion (fig. , _mp_), split up by transverse partitions into protovertebræ, and a lower portion not so split, but consisting of an outer layer, the true somatopleure, and an inner layer, the true splanchnopleure. these two divisions of the primitive plate are thus separated by the line at which a fusion between the mesoblast of the somatopleure and splanchnopleure takes place. the mass of cells resulting from the fusion at this point corresponds with the intermediate cell-mass of birds (vide waldeyer, _eierstock und ei_). at the same time, in the upper of these two sheets (the protovertebræ), the splanchnic layer sends a growth of cells inwards towards the notochord and the neural canal. this growth is the commencement of the large quantity of mesoblastic tissue around the notochord, which is in part converted into the axial skeleton, and in part into the connective tissue adjoining this. this mass of cells is at first quite continuous with the splanchnic layer of the protovertebræ, and i see no reason for supposing that it is not derived from the growth of the cells of this layer. the ingrowth to form it first appears a little after the formation of the dorsal aorta; but, as far as i have been able to see, its cells have no connection with the walls of the aorta. what i have said as to the development of the skeleton-forming layer will be quite clear from figs. and _a_; and from these it will also be clear, especially from fig. _a_, that the outermost layer of this mass of cells, which was the primitive splanchnic layer of the protovertebræ, still retains its epithelial character, and so can easily be distinguished from those cells which will form the skeleton. in the next stage which i have figured (fig. _a_), this outer portion of the splanchnic layer is completely separated from the skeleton-forming cells, and at the same time, having united below as well as above with the outer (somatic) layer of the two layers of which the protovertebræ are formed, the two together form an independent mass (fig. , _mp_), similar in appearance and in every way homologous with the muscle-plate of birds. on the inner side of this, which we may now call the muscle-plate, is seen the bundle of earlier-developed muscles (fig. , _mp´_) which i spoke of before. the section represented in fig. is from a very considerably later embryo than that represented in fig. , so that the skeleton-forming cells, few in number in the earlier section, have become very numerous in the later one, and have grown up above the neural canal, and also below the notochord, between the digestive canal and the aorta. they have, moreover, changed their character; they were round before, now they have become stellate. as to their further history, it need only be said that the layer of them immediately around the notochord and neural canal forms the cartilaginous centra and arches of the vertebræ, and that the remaining portion of them, which becomes much more insignificant in size as compared with the muscles, forms the connective tissue of the skeleton and of the parts around and between the muscles. a muscle-plate itself is at this stage (shewn in fig. ) composed of an inner and an outer layer of columnar cells (splanchnic and somatic) united at the upper and lower ends of the plate, and on the inner of the two lies the more developed mass of muscles before spoken of (_mp´_). each of these plates now grows both upwards and downwards; and at the same time connective-tissue cells appear between the plates and epidermis; but from where they come i do not know for certain; very probably they are derived from the somatic layer of the muscle-plate. while the muscle-plates continue to grow both upwards and downwards, the cells of which they are composed commence to become elongated and soon acquire an unmistakably muscular character (pl. , fig. , _mp_). before this has occurred the inner mass of muscles has also undergone further development and become a large and conspicuous band of muscles close to the notochord (fig. , _mp´_). at the same time that the muscle-plates acquire the true histological character of muscle, septa of connective tissue grow in and divide them into a number of distinct segments which subsequently form separate bands of muscle. i will not say more in reference to the development of the muscular system than that the whole of the muscles of the body (apart from the limbs, the origin of whose muscular system i have not yet investigated) are derived from the muscle-plates which grow upwards above the neural canal and downwards to the ventral surface of the body. during the time the muscle-plates have been undergoing these changes the nerve masses have also undergone developmental changes. they become more elongated and fibrous, their main attachment to the neural tube being still at its posterior (dorsal) surface, near which they first appeared. later still they become applied closely to the sides of the neural tube and send fibres to it below as well as above. below (ventral to) the neural tube a ganglion appears, forming only a slight swelling, but containing a number of characteristic nerve-cells. the ganglion is apparently formed just below the junction of the anterior and posterior roots, though probably the fibres of the two roots do not mix till below it. the main points which deserve notice in the development of the protovertebræ are-- ( ) that at the time when the mesoblast becomes split horizontally into somatopleure and splanchnopleure the vertebral and lateral plates are one, and the splitting extends to the very top of the vertebral or muscle-plate, so that the future muscle-plates are divided into a splanchnic and somatic layer, the space between which is at first continuous with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. ( ) that the following parts are respectively formed by the vertebral and lateral plates: (_a_) vertebral plate. from the splanchnic layer of this, or from cells which appear close to and continuous with it, the skeleton, and connective tissue of the upper part of the body, are derived. the remainder of the plate, consisting of a splanchnic and somatic layer, is entirely converted into the muscles of the trunk, all of which are derived from it. (_b_) between the vertebral plate and the lateral plate is a mass of cells where, as i mentioned above, the mesoblast of the somatopleure and splanchnopleure fuse together. this mass of cells is the equivalent of the _intermediate cell_ mass of birds (vide waldeyer, _eierstock und ei_). from it are derived the wolffian bodies and duct, the oviduct, the ovaries and the testis, and the connective tissue of the parts adjoining these. (_c_) the lateral plate. from the somatic layer of this is derived the connective tissue of the ventral half of the body; the mesoblast of the limbs, including probably the muscles, and certainly the skeleton. from its splanchnic layer are derived the muscles and connective tissue of the alimentary canal. ( ) the spinal nerves are developed independently of the protovertebræ, so that the protovertebræ of the elasmobranchii do not appear to be of such a complicated structure as the protovertebræ of birds. _the digestive canal._ i do not intend to enter into the whole history of the digestive canal, but to confine myself to one or two points of interest connected with it. these fall under two heads: ( ) the history of the portion of the digestive canal between the anus and the end of the tail where the digestive canal opens into the neural canal. ( ) certain less well-known organs derived from the digestive canal. the anus is a rather late formation, but its position becomes very early marked out by the hypoblast of the digestive canal approaching at that point close to the surface, whilst receding to some little distance from it on either side. the portion of the digestive tract i propose at present dealing with is that between this point, which i will call, for the sake of brevity, the anus and the hind end of the body. this portion of the canal is at first very short; it is elliptical in section, and of rather a larger bore than the remainder of the canal. its diameter becomes, however, slightly less as it approaches the tail, dilating again somewhat at its extreme end. it is lined by a markedly columnar epithelium. though at first very short, its length increases with the growth of the tail, but at the same time its calibre continually becomes smaller as compared with the remainder of the alimentary canal. it commences to become smaller, first of all, near, though not quite, at its extreme hind end, and thus becomes of a conical shape; the base of the cone being just behind the anus, while the apex of the cone is situated a short distance from the hind end of the embryo. the extreme hind end, however, at the same time does not diminish in size, and becomes relatively (if not also absolutely) much larger in diameter than it was at first, as compared with the remainder of the digestive canal. it becomes, in fact, a vesicle or vesicular dilatation at the end of a conical canal. just before the appearance of the external gills this part of the digestive canal commences to atrophy. it begins to do so close to the terminal vesicle, which, however, still remains as or more conspicuous than it was before. the lumen of the canal becomes smaller and smaller, and finally it becomes a solid string of cells, and these also soon become indistinguishable and not a trace of the canal is left. almost the whole of it has disappeared before the vesicle begins to atrophy, but very shortly after all trace of the rest of the canal has vanished the terminal vesicle also vanishes. this occurs just about the time or shortly after the appearance of the external gills--there being slight differences probably in this respect in the different species. in this history there are two points of especial interest: ( ) the terminal vesicle. ( ) the disappearance of a large and well-developed portion of the alimentary canal. the interest in the terminal vesicle lies in the possibility of its being some rudimentary structure. in osseous fishes kupffer has described the very early appearance of a vesicle near the tail end, which he doubtfully speaks of as the "allantois." the figure he gives of it in his earlier paper (_archiv. für micro. anat._ vol. ii. pl. xxiv, fig. ) bears a very strong resemblance to my figures of this vesicle at the time when the hind end of the alimentary canal is commencing to disappear; and i feel fairly confident that it is the same structure as i have found in the dog-fish: but until the relations of the kupffer's vesicle to the alimentary canal are known, any comparison between it and the terminal vesicle in the dog-fish must be to a certain extent guess-work. i have, however, been quite unsuccessful in finding any other vesicular structure which can possibly correspond to the so-called allantoic vesicle of osseous fish. the disappearance of a large portion of the alimentary canal behind the anus is very peculiar. in order, however, to understand the whole difficulties of the case i shall be obliged to speak of the relations of the anus of the dog-fish to the anus of rusconi in the lamprey, &c. in those vertebrates whose alimentary canal is formed by an involution, the anus of rusconi represents the opening of this involution, and therefore the point where the alimentary canal primitively communicates with the exterior. when, however, the "anus of rusconi" becomes _closed_, the wall of the alimentary canal still remains at that point in close juxtaposition to the surface, and the new and final anus is formed at or close to that point. in the dog-fish, although the anus of rusconi is not present, still, during the closing of the alimentary canal, the point which would correspond with this becomes marked out by the alimentary canal there approaching the surface, and it is at this point that the involution to form the true anus subsequently appears. the anus in the dog-fish has thus, more than a mere secondary significance. it corresponds with the point of closing of the primitive involution. if it was not for this peculiarity of the vertebrate anus we would naturally suppose, from the disappearance of a considerable portion of the alimentary canal lying behind its present termination, that in the adult the alimentary canal once extended much farther back than at present, and that the anus we now find was only a secondary anus, and not the primitive one. it is perhaps possible that this hinder portion of the alimentary canal is a result of the combined growth of the tail and the persisting continuity (at the end of the body) of the epiblast with the hypoblast. whichever view is correct, it may be well to mention, in order to shew that the difficulty about the anus of rusconi is no mere visionary one, that götte ("untersuchung über die entwicklung der bombinator igneus," _archiv. für micro. anat._, vol. v. ) has also described the disappearance of the hind portion of the alimentary canal in batrachians, a rudiment (according to him) remaining in the shape of a lymphatic trunk. it is, perhaps, possible that we have a further remnant of this "hind portion" of the alimentary canal amongst the higher vertebrates in the "allantois." _organs developed from the digestive canal._ in reference to the development of the liver, pancreas, &c., as far as my observations have at present gone, the dog-fish presents no features of peculiar interest. the liver is developed as in the bird, and independently of the yolk. there are, however, two organs derived from the hypoblast which deserve more attention. immediately under the notochord, and in contact with it (vide pl. , fig. ; pl. , figs. and , _x_), a small roundish (in section) mass of cells is to be seen in most of the sections. its mode of development is shewn in fig. , _x_. that section shows a mass of cells becoming pinched off from the top of the alimentary canal. by this process of pinching off from the alimentary canal a small rod-like body close under the notochord is formed. it persists till after the appearance of the external gills, but later than that i have not hitherto succeeded in finding any trace of it. it was first seen by götte (_loc. cit._) in the batrachians, and he gave a correct account of its development, and added that it became the thoracic duct. i have not myself worked out the later stages in the development of this body with sufficient care to be in a position to judge of the correctness of götte's statements as to its final fate. if it is true that it becomes the thoracic duct it is very remarkable, and ought to throw some light upon the homologies of the lymphatic system. some time before the appearance of the external gills another mass of cells becomes, i believe, constricted off from the part of the alimentary canal in the neighbourhood of the anus, and forms a solid rod composed at first of dark granular cells lying between the wolffian ducts. i have not followed out its development quite completely, but i have very little doubt that it is really constricted off from a portion of the alimentary canal chiefly in front of the point where the anus appears, but also, i believe, from a small portion behind this. though the cells of which it is composed are at first columnar and granular (fig. , _su_, _r_), they soon begin to become altered, and in the latter stage of its development the body forms a conspicuous rounded mass of cells with clear protoplasm, and each provided with a large nucleus. later still it becomes divided into a number of separate areas of cells by septa of connective tissue, in which (the septa) capillaries are also present. since i have not followed it to its condition in the adult, i cannot make any definite statements as to the fate of this body; but i think that it possibly becomes the so-called suprarenal organ, which in the dog-fish forms a yellowish elongated body lying between the two kidneys. _the development of the wolffian duct and body and of the oviduct._ the development of the wolffian duct and the oviduct in the various classes of vertebrates is at present involved in some obscurity, owing to the very different accounts given by different observers. the manner of development of these parts in the dog-fish is different from anything that previous investigators have met with in other classes, but i believe that it gives a clearer insight into the true constitution of these parts than vertebrate embryology has hitherto supplied, and at the same time renders easier the task of understanding the differences in the modes of development in the different classes. i shall commence with a simple description of the observed facts, and then give my view as to their meaning. at about the time of the appearance of the third visceral cleft, and a short way behind the point up to which the alimentary canal is closed in front, the splanchnopleure and somatopleure fuse together opposite the level of the dorsal aorta. from the mass of cells formed by this fusion a solid knob rises up towards the epiblast (pl. , fig. _b_, _ov_), and from this knob a solid rod of cells grows backwards towards the tail (fig. _c_, _ov_) very closely applied to the epiblast. this description will be rendered clear by referring to figs. _b_ and _c_. fig. _b_ is a section at the level of the knob, and fig. _c_ is a section of the same embryo a short way behind this point. so closely does the rod of cells apply itself to the epiblast that it might very easily be supposed to be derived from it. such, indeed, was at first my view till i cut a section passing through the knob. in order, however, to avoid all possibility of mistake i made sections of a large number of embryos of about the age at which this appears, and _invariably found_ the large knob in front, and from it the solid string growing backwards. this string is the commencement of the _oviduct_ or _müller's duct_, which in the dog-fish as in the batrachians is the first portion of the genito-urinary system to appear, and is in the dog-fish undoubtedly at first solid. all my specimens have been hardened with osmic acid, and with specimens hardened with this reagent it is quite easy to detect even the very smallest hole in a mass of cells. as a solid string or rod of cells the oviduct remains for some time; it grows, indeed, rapidly in length, the extreme hind end of the rod being very small and the front end continuing to remain attached to the knob. the knob, however, travels inwards and approaches nearer and nearer to the true pleuro-peritoneal cavity, always remaining attached to the intermediate cell mass. at about the time when five visceral clefts are present the oviduct first begins to get a lumen and to open at its front end into the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. the cells of the rod are first of all arranged in an irregular manner, but gradually become columnar and acquire a radiating arrangement around a central point. at this point, where the ends of all the cells meet, a very small hole appears, which gradually grows larger and becomes the cavity of the duct (fig. , _ov_). the hole first makes its appearance at the anterior end of the duct, and then gradually extends backwards, so that the hind end is still without a lumen, when the lumen of the front end is of a considerable size. at the front knob the same alteration in the cells takes place as in the rest of the duct, but the cells become deficient on the side adjoining the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, so that an opening is formed into the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, which soon becomes of a considerable size. soon after its first formation, indeed, the opening becomes so large that it may be met in from two to three consecutive sections if these are very thin. thus is formed the lumen of the oviduct. the duct still, at this age, ends behind without having become attached to the cloaca, so that at this time the oviduct is a canal closed behind, but communicating in front by a large opening with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. it has during this time been travelling downwards, and is now much nearer the pleuro-peritoneal cavity than the epiblast. it may be well to point out that the mode of development which i have described is really not very different from an involution, and must, in fact, be only looked upon as a modification of an involution. many examples from all classes in the animal kingdom could be selected to exemplify how an involution may become simply a solid thickening. in the osseous fish nearly all the organs which are usually formed by an involution have undergone this change in their mode of development. i shall attempt to give reasons later on for the solid form having been acquired in this particular case of the oviduct. at about the time when a lumen appears in the oviduct the first traces of the wolffian duct become visible. at intervals along the whole length, between the front and hind ends of the oviduct, involutions arise from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity (fig. _a_, _pwd_) on the inside (nearer the middle line) of the oviduct. the upper ends of these numerous involutions unite together and form a string of cells, at first solid, but very soon acquiring a lumen, and becoming a duct which communicates (as it clearly must from its mode of formation), at numerous points with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. it is very probable that there is one involution to each segment of the body between the front and hind ends of the oviduct. this duct is the wolffian duct, which thus, together with the oviduct, is formed before the appearance of the external gills. for a considerable period the front end of the oviduct does not undergo important changes; the hind end, however, comes into connection with the extreme end of the alimentary canal. the two oviducts do not open together into the cloaca, though, as my sections prove, their openings are very close together. the whole oviduct, as might be expected, shares in the general growth, and its lumen becomes in both sexes very considerably greater than it was before. it is difficult to define the period at which i find these changes accomplished without giving drawings of the whole embryo. the stage is one considerably after the external gills have appeared, but before the period at which the growth of the olfactory bulbs renders the head of an elongated shape. during the same period the wolffian duct has undergone most important changes. it has commenced to bud off diverticula, which subsequently become the tubules of the wolffian body (vide fig. , _wd_). i am fairly satisfied that the tubules are really budded off, and are not formed independently in the mesoblast. the dog-fish agrees so far with birds, where i have also no doubt the tubules of the wolffian body are formed as diverticula from the wolffian duct. the wolffian ducts have also become much longer than the oviduct, and are now found behind the anus, though they do not extend as far forward as does the oviduct. they have further acquired a communication with the oviduct, in the form of a narrow duct passing from each of them into an oviduct a short way before the latter opens into the cloacal dilatation of the alimentary canal. the canals formed by the primitive involution leading from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity into the wolffian duct have become much more elongated, and at the same time narrower. one of these is shewn in fig. , _pwd_. any doubt which could possibly be entertained as to the true character of the ducts whose development i have described is entirely removed by the development of the tubules of the wolffian body. in the still later stage than this further proofs are furnished involving the function of the oviduct. at the period when the olfactory lobes have become so developed as to render the head of the typical elongated shape of the adult, i find that the males and females can be distinguished by the presence in the former of the clasping appendages[ ]. i find at this stage that in the female the front ends of the oviducts have approached the middle line, dilated considerably, and commenced to exhibit at their front ends the peculiarities of the adult. in the male they are much less conspicuous, though still present. footnote : for the specimens of this age i am indebted to professor huxley. at the same time the tubules of the wolffian body become much more numerous, the malpighian tufts appear, and the ducts cease almost, if not entirely, to communicate with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. i have not made out anything very definitely as to the development of the malpighian tufts, but i am inclined to believe that they arise independently in the mesoblast of the intermediate cell mass. the facts which i have made out in reference to the development of the wolffian duct, especially of its arising as a _series of involutions_ from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, will be found, i believe, of the greatest importance in understanding the true constitution of the wolffian body. to this i will return directly, but first wish to clear the ground by insisting upon one preliminary point. from their development the oviduct and wolffian body appear to stand to each other in the relation of the wolffian duct being the equivalent to a series, so to speak, of oviducts. i pointed out before that the mode of development of the oviduct could only be considered as a modification of a simple involution from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. its development, both in the birds and in the batrachians as an involution, still more conclusively proves the truth of this view. the explanation of its first appearing as a solid rod of cells which keeps close to the epiblast is, i am inclined to think, the following. since the oviduct had to grow a long way backwards from its primitive point of involution, it was clearly advantageous for it not to bore its way through the mesoblast of the intermediate cell mass, but to pass between this and the epiblast. this modification having been adopted, was followed by the knob forming the origin of the duct coming to be placed at the outside of the intermediate cell mass rather than close to the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, a change which necessitated the mode of development by an involution being dropped and the solid mode of development substituted for it, a lumen being only subsequently acquired. in support of the modification in the development being due to this cause is the fact that in birds a similar modification has taken place with the wolffian duct. the wolffian duct there arises differently from its mode of development in all the lower vertebrates as a solid rod close to the epiblast[ ], instead of as an involution. footnote : if romiti's observations (_archives für mikr. anatom._ vol. ix. p. ) are correct, then the ordinary view of the wolffian duct arising in birds as a solid rod at the outer corner of the protovertebræ will have to be abandoned. if the above explanation about the oviduct be correct, then it is clear that similar causes have produced a similar modification in development (only with a different organ) in birds; while, at the same time, the primitive mode of origin of the oviduct (müller's duct) has been retained by them. the oviduct, then, may be considered as arising by an involution from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. the wolffian duct arises by a series of such involutions, all of which are behind (nearer the tail) the involution to form the oviduct. the natural interpretation of these facts is that in the place of the oviduct and wolffian body there were primitively a series of similar bodies (probably corresponding in number with the vertebral segments), each arising by an involution from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity; and that the first of these subsequently became modified to carry eggs, while the rest coalesced to form the wolffian duct. if we admit that the wolffian duct is formed by the coalescence of a series of similar organs, we shall only have to extend the suggestion of gegenbaur as to the homology of the wolffian body in order to see its true nature. gegenbaur looks upon the whole urinogenital system as homologous with a pair of segmental organs. accepting its homology with the segmental organs, its development in elasmobranchii proves that it is not one pair, but a series of pairs of segmental organs with which the urinogenital system is homologous. the first of these have become modified so as to form the oviducts, and the remainder have coalesced to form the wolffian ducts. the part of a segmental organ which opens to the exterior appears to be lost in the case of all but the last one, where this part is still retained, and serves as the external opening for all. whether the external opening of the first segmental organ (oviduct) is retained or not is doubtful. supposing it has been lost, we must look upon the external opening for the wolffian body as serving also for the oviduct. in the case of all other vertebrates whose development has been investigated (but the elasmobranchii), the wolffian duct arises by a single involution, or, what is equivalent to it, the other involutions having disappeared. this even appears to be the case in the marsipobranchii. in the adult lamprey the wolffian duct terminates at its anterior end by a large ciliated opening into the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. it will, perhaps, be found, when the development of the marsipobranchii is more carefully studied, that there are _primitively_ a number of such openings[ ]. the oviduct, when present, arises in other vertebrates as a single involution, strongly supporting the view that its mode of formation in the dog-fish is fundamentally merely an involution. footnote : while correcting the proofs of this paper i have come across a memoir of w. müller ("ueber die persistenz der urniere bei myxine glutinosa," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. ), in which he mentions that in myxine the upper end of the wolffian duct communicates by numerous openings with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity; this gives to the suggestion in the text a foundation of fact. the duct of the testes is, i have little doubt, derived from the anterior part of the wolffian body; if so, it must be looked upon as not precisely equivalent to the oviduct, but rather to a series of coalesced organs, each equivalent to the oviduct. the oviduct is in the elasmobranchii, as in other vertebrates, primitively developed in both sexes. in the male, however, it atrophies. i found it still visible in the male torpedos, though much smaller than in the females near the close of intra-uterine life. whether or not these theoretical considerations as to the nature of the wolffian body and oviduct are correct, i believe that the facts i have brought to light in reference to the development of these parts in the dog-fish will be found of service to every one who is anxious to discover the true relations of these parts. before leaving the subject i will say one or two words about the development of the ovary. in both sexes the germinal epithelium (fig. ) becomes thickened below the oviduct, and in both sexes a knob (in section but really a ridge) comes to project into the pleuro-peritoneal cavity on each side of the mesentery (fig. , _pov_). in both sexes, but especially the females, the epithelium on the upper surface of this ridge becomes very much thickened, whilst subsequently it elsewhere atrophies. in the females, however, the thickened epithelium on the knob grows more and more conspicuous, and develops a number of especially large cells with large nuclei, precisely similar to waldeyer's (_loc. cit._) "primitive ova" of the bird. in the male the epithelium on the ridge, though containing primitive ova, is not as conspicuous as in the female. though i have not worked out the matter further than this at present, i still have no doubt that these projecting ridges become the ovaries. _the head._ the study of the development of the parts of the head, on account of the crowding of organs which occurs there, always presents greater difficulties to the investigator than that of the remainder of the body. my observations upon it are correspondingly incomplete. i have, however, made out a few points connected with it in reference to some less well-known organs, which i have thought it worth while calling attention to in this preliminary account. _the continuation of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity into the head._ in the earlier part of this paper (p. ) i called attention to the extension of the separation between somatopleure and splanchnopleure into the head, forming a space continuous with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity (pl. , fig. _a_, _pp_); this becomes more marked in the next stage, and, indeed, the pleuro-peritoneal cavity is present for a considerable time in the head before it becomes visible elsewhere. at the time of the appearance of the second visceral cleft it has become for the most part atrophied, but there persist two separated portions of it in front of the first cleft, and also remnants of it less well marked between and behind the two clefts. the visceral clefts necessarily divide it into separate parts. the two portions in front of the first visceral cleft remain very conspicuous till the appearance of the external gills, and above the hinder one of the two the fifth nerve bifurcates. these two are shewn as they appear in a surface view in fig. , _pp_. they are in reality somewhat flattened spaces, lined by a mesoblastic epithelium; the epithelium on the inner surface of the space corresponding to the splanchnopleure, and that on the outer to the somatopleure. i have not followed the history of these later than the time of the appearance of the external gills. the presence of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head is interesting, as shewing the fundamental similarity between the head and the remainder of the body. _the pituitary body._ all my sections seem to prove that it is a portion of the epiblastic involution to form the mouth which is pinched off to form the pituitary body, and not a portion of the hypoblast of the throat. since götte (_archiv. für micr. anat._ bd. ix.) has also found that the same is the case with the batrachians and mammalia, i have little doubt it will be found to be universally the case amongst vertebrates. probably the observations which lead to the supposition that it was the throat which was pinched off to form the pituitary body were made after the opening between the mouth and throat was completed, when it would naturally be impossible to tell whether the pinching off was from the epiblast of the mouth involution or the hypoblast of the throat. _the cranial nerves._ the cranial nerves in their early condition are so clearly visible that i have thought it worth while giving a figure of them, and calling attention to some points about their embryonic peculiarities. from my figure ( ) it will be seen that there is behind the auditory vesicle a nervous tract, from which four nerves descend, and that each of these nerves is distributed to the front portion of a visceral arch. when the next and last arch (in this species) is developed, a branch from this nervous mass will also pass down to it. that each of these is of an equal morphological value can hardly be doubted. the nerve to the third arch becomes the glosso-pharyngeal (fig. , _gl_), the nerves to the other arches become the branchial branches of the vagus nerve (fig. , _vg_). thus the study of their development strongly supports gegenbaur's view of the nature of the vagus and glosso-pharyngeal, viz. that the vagus is a compound nerve, each component part of it which goes to an arch being equivalent to one nerve, such as the glosso-pharyngeal. of the nerves in front of the auditory sac the posterior is the seventh nerve (fig. , vii). its mode of distribution to the second arch leaves hardly a doubt that it is equivalent to one such nerve as those distributed to the posterior arches. subsequently it acquires another branch, passing forwards towards the arch in front. the most anterior nerve is the fifth (fig. , v), of which two branches are at this stage developed. the natural interpretation of its present condition is, that it is equivalent to two nerves, but the absence of relation in its branches to any visceral clefts renders it more difficult to determine the morphology of the fifth nerve than of the other nerves. the front branch of the two is the ophthalmic branch of the adult, and the hind branch the inferior maxillary branch. the latter branch subsequently gives off low down, _i.e._ near its distal extremity, another branch, the superior maxillary branch. in its embryonic condition this latter branch does not appear like a third branch of the fifth, equivalent to the seventh or the glosso-pharyngeal nerves, but rather resembles the branch of the seventh nerve which passes to the arch in front, which also is present in all the other cranial nerves. _modes of preparation._ before concluding i will say one or two words as to my modes of preparation. i have used picric and chromic acids, both applied in the usual way; but for the early stages i have found osmic acid by far the most useful reagent. i placed the object to be hardened, in osmic acid (half per cent.) for two hours and a half, and then for twenty four in absolute alcohol. i then embedded and cut sections of it in the usual way, without staining further. i found it advantageous to cut sections of these embryos immediately after hardening, since if kept for long in the absolute alcohol the osmic acid specimens are apt to become brittle. list of works referred to. gegenbaur. _anat. der wirbelthiere_, iii heft, leipzig, . a. götte. _archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. x. . "der keim der forelleneies," _archiv. für. micr. anat._, vol. ix. . "untersuchung über die entwicklung der bombinator igneus," _archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. v. . "kurze mittheilungen aus der entwicklungsgeschichte der unke," _archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. ix. . kupffer. _archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. ii. , p. . ibid. vol. iv. , p. . kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte der holothurien," _mémoires de l'acad. impér. des sciences de st petersbourg_, vii ser. vol. xi. . kowalevsky, owsjannikow, und wagner. "entwicklung der störe," _bulletin der k. acad. st petersbourg_, vol. xiv. . kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern und arthropoden," _mémoirs de l'acad. impér. des sciences de st petersbourg_, vol. xvi. . e. ray lankester. _annals and mag. of nat. history_, vol. xi. , p. . w. müller. "ueber die persistenz der urniere bei myxine glutinosa," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . oellacher. _zeitschrift für wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxiii. . owsjannikow. "entwicklung der coregonus," _bul. der k. akad. st petersbourg_, vol. xix. romiti. _archiv. für micr. anat._, vol. ix. . waldeyer. _eierstock u. eie._ explanation of plates and . complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _bd._ formative cell probably derived from the yolk. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _ch´._ thickening of hypoblast to form the notochord. _eb._ line indicating the edge of the blastoderm. _ep._ epiblast. _ep´._ epidermis. _er._ embryonic rim. _es._ embryonic swelling. _gl._ glosso-pharyngeal nerve. _h._ head. _ht._ heart. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _ly._ line of separation between the blastoderm and the yolk. _m._ mesoblast. _mc._ medullary canal. _mg._ medullary groove. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ early formed mass of muscles. _n._ peculiar nuclei formed in the yolk. _n´._ similar nuclei in the cells of the blastoderm. _na._ cells which help to close in the alimentary canal, and which are derived from the yolk. _ny._ network of lines present in the food-yolk. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. _ov._ oviduct. _pn._ pineal gland. _pov._ projection which becomes the ovary. _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal cavity. _pp´._ remains of pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head. _prv._ protovertebræ. _pwd._ primary points of involution from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity by the coalescence of which the wolffian duct is formed. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _so._ somatopleure. _sos._ stalk connecting embryo with yolk-sac. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _spn._ spinal nerve. _sur._ suprarenal body. _ts._ caudal lobes. _v._ blood-vessel. _vg._ vagus nerve. v. fifth nerve. vii. seventh nerve. _vc_, , , , &c. st, nd and rd &c. visceral clefts. _vp._ vertebral plates. _wd._ wolffian duct. _x._ peculiar body underlying the notochord derived from the hypoblast. _yk._ yolk spherules. all the figures were drawn with the camera lucida. plate . fig. . section parallel with the long axis of the embryo through a blastoderm, in which the floor of the segmentation cavity (_sg_) is not yet completely lined by cells. the roof of the segmentation cavity is broken. (magnified diam.) the section is intended chiefly to illustrate the distribution of nuclei (_n_) in the yolk under the blastoderm. one of the chief points to be noticed in their distribution is the fact that they form almost a complete layer under the floor of the segmentation cavity. this probably indicates that the cells whose nuclei they become take some share in forming the layer of cells which subsequently (vide fig. ) forms the floor of the cavity. fig. . small portion of blastoderm and subjacent yolk of an embryo at the time of the first appearance of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) the specimen is taken from a portion of the blastoderm which will form part of the embryo. it shews two large nuclei of the yolk (_n_) and the network in the yolk between them; this network is seen to be closer around the nuclei than in the intervening space. the specimen further shews that there are no areas representing cells around the nuclei. fig. . section parallel with the long axis of the embryo through a blastoderm, in which the floor of the segmentation cavity is not yet covered by a complete layer of cells. (magnified diam.) it illustrates ( ) the characters of the epiblast, ( ) the embryonic swelling (_es_), ( ) the segmentation cavity (_sg_). it should have been drawn upon the same scale as fig. ; the line above it represents its true length upon this scale. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm at the time of the first appearance of the embryonic rim, and before the formation of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) it illustrates ( ) the embryonic rim, ( ) the continuity of epiblast and hypoblast at edge of this, ( ) the continual differentiation of the lower layer cells, to form, on the one hand, the hypoblast, which is continuous with the epiblast, and on the other the mesoblast, between this and the epiblast; ( ) the segmentation cavity, whose floor of cells is now completed. n.b. the cells at the embryonic end of the blastoderm have been made rather too large. fig. . surface view of the blastoderm shortly after the appearance of the medullary groove. to shew the relation of the embryo to the blastoderm. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of the same embryo, shortly after the appearance of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) _a._ in the region of the groove. it shews ( ) the two masses of mesoblast on each side, and the deficiency of the mesoblast underneath the medullary groove; ( ) the commencement of the closing in of the alimentary canal below, chiefly from cells (_na_) derived from the yolk. _b._ section in the region of the head where the medullary groove is deficient, other points as above. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of an embryo about the age or rather younger than that represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) _a._ section nearer the tail; it shews the thickening of the hypoblast to form the notochord (_ch´_). in _b_ the thickening has become completely separated from the hypoblast as the notochord. in _a_ the epiblast and hypoblast are continuous at the edge of the section, owing to the section passing through the embryonic rim. fig. . surface view of a spatula-shaped embryo. the figure shews ( ) the flattened head (_h_) where the medullary groove is deficient, ( ) the caudal lobes, with a groove between them; it also shews that at this point, the medullary groove has become roofed over and converted into a canal. fig. _a_. transverse section of fig. , passing through the line _a_. (magnified diam.) the section shews ( ) the absence of the medullary groove in the head and the medullary folds turning down at this time instead of upwards; ( ) the presence of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head (_pp_); ( ) the completely closed alimentary canal (_al_). fig. _b_. transverse section of fig. , through the line _b_. (magnified diam.) it shews ( ) the neural canal completely formed; ( ) the vertebral plates of mesoblast not yet split up into somatopleure and splanchnopleure. fig. . side view of an embryo of the torpedo, seen as a transparent object a little older than the embryo represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) the internal anatomy has hardly altered, with the exception of the medullary folds having closed over above the head and the whole embryo having become more folded off from the germ. the two caudal lobes, and the very marked groove between them, are seen at _ts_. the front end of the notochord became indistinct, and i could not see its exact termination. the epithelium of the alimentary canal (_al_) is seen closely underlying the notochord and becoming continuous with the epiblast at the hind end of the notochord. the first visceral cleft ( _vc_) and eye (_op_) are just commencing to be formed, and the cranial flexure has just appeared. fig. . section through the dorsal region of an embryo somewhat older than the one represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) it shews ( ) the formation by a pinching off from the top of the alimentary canal of a peculiar body which underlies the notochord (_x_); ( ) the primitive extension of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity up to the top of the vertebral plates. plate . fig. _a_, _b_, and _c_. three sections closely following each other from an embryo in which three visceral clefts are present; _a_ is the most anterior of the three. (magnified diam.) in all of these the muscle-plates are shewn at _mp_. they have become separated from the lateral plates in _b_ and _c_, but are still continuous with them in _a_. the early formed mass of muscles is also shewn in all the figures (_mp´_). the figures further shew ( ) the formation of the spinal nerves (_spn_) as small bodies of cells closely applied to the upper and outer edge of the neural canal. ( ) the commencing formation of the cells which form the axial skeleton from the inner (splanchnopleuric) layer of the muscle-plate. sections _b_ and _c_ are given more especially to shew the mode of formation of the oviduct (_ov_). in _b_ it is seen as a _solid knob (ov)_, arising from the point where the somatopleure and splanchnopleure unite, and in _c_ (the section behind _b_) as a _solid rod (ov)_ closely applied to the epiblast, which has grown backwards from the knob seen in _b_. n.b. in all three sections only one side is completed. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of an embryo just before the appearance of the external gills. (magnified diam.) in _a_ there is seen to be an involution on each side (_pwd_), while _b_ is a section from the space between two involutions from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, so that the wolffian duct (at first solid) (_wd_) is not connected as in _a_ with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. the further points shewn in the sections are-- ( ) the commencing formation of the spiral valve (_al_). ( ) the suprarenal body (_sur_). ( ) the oviduct (_ov_), which has acquired a lumen. ( ) the increase in length of the muscle-plates, the spinal nerves, &c. fig. . section through the dorsal region of an embryo in which the external gills are of considerable length. (magnified diam.) the chief points to be noticed: ( ) the formation of the wolffian body by outgrowths from the wolffian duct (_wd_). ( ) one of the still continuing connections (primitive involutions) between the wolffian duct and the pleuro-peritoneal cavity (_pwd_). ( ) the oviduct largely increased in size (_ov_). n.b. on the left side the oviduct has been accidentally made too small. ( ) the growth downwards of the muscle-plate to form the muscles of the abdomen. ( ) the formation of an outgrowth on each side of the mesentery (_pov_), which will become the ovary. ( ) the spiral valve (_al_). fig. . transparent view of the head of an embryo shortly before the appearance of the external gills. (magnified diam.) the chief points to be noticed are-- ( ) the relation of the cranial nerves to the visceral clefts and the manner in which the glosso-pharyngeal (_gl_) and vagus (_vg_) are united. ( ) the remnants of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head (_pp_). ( ) the eye (_op_). the stalk, as well as the bulb of the eye, are supposed to be in focus, so that the whole eye has a somewhat peculiar appearance. vi. a comparison of the early stages in the development of vertebrates[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xv. . with plate . if the genealogical relationships of animals are to be mainly or largely determined on embryological evidence, it becomes a matter of great importance to know how far evidence of this kind is trustworthy. the dependence to be placed on it has been generally assumed to be nearly complete. yet there appears to be no _à priori_ reason why natural selection should not act during the embryonic as well as the adult period of life; and there is no question that during their embryonic existence animals are more susceptible to external forces than after they have become full grown: indeed, an immense mass of evidence could be brought to shew that these forces do act upon embryos, and produce in them great alterations tending to obscure the genealogical inferences to be gathered from their developmental histories. even the time-honoured layers form to this no exception. in _elasmobranchii_, for instance, we find the notochord derived from the hypoblast and the spinal ganglia derived from the involuted epiblast of the neural canal, whilst in the higher vertebrates both of these organs are formed in the mesoblast. such instances are leading embryologists to recognise the fact that the so-called layers are not quite constant and must not be absolutely depended upon in the determination of homologies. but though it is necessary to recognise the fact that great changes do occur in animals during their embryonic life, it is not necessary to conclude that all embryological evidence is thereby vitiated; but rather it becomes incumbent on us to attempt to determine which embryological features are ancestral and which secondary. for this purpose it is requisite to ascertain what are the general characters of secondary features and how they are produced. many vertebrates have in the first stages of their development a number of secondary characters which are due to the presence of food material in the ovum; the present essay is mainly an attempt to indicate how those secondary characters arose and to trace their gradual development. at the same time certain important ancestral characters of the early phases of the development of vertebrates, especially with reference to the formation of the hypoblast and mesoblast, are pointed out and their meaning discussed. there are three orders of vertebrates of which no mention has been made, viz., the _mammals_, the _osseous_ fishes, and the _reptiles_. the first of these have been passed over because the accounts of their development are not sufficiently satisfactory, though as far as can be gathered from bischoff's account of the dog and rabbit there would be no difficulty in shewing their relations with other vertebrates. we also require further investigations on osseous fishes, but it seems probable that they develop in nearly the same manner as the elasmobranchii. with reference to reptiles we have no satisfactory investigations. * * * * * amphioxus is the vertebrate whose mode of development in its earliest stages is simplest, and the modes of development of other vertebrates are to be looked upon as modifications of this due to the presence of food material in their ova. it is not necessary to conclude from this that amphioxus was the ancestor of our present vertebrates, but merely that the earliest stages of development of this vertebrate ancestor were similar to those of amphioxus. the ovum of amphioxus contains very little food material and its segmentation is quite uniform. the result of segmentation is a vesicle whose wall is formed of a single layer of cells. these are all of the same character, and the cavity of the vesicle called the segmentation cavity is of considerable size. a section of the embryo, as we may now call the ovum, is represented in plate , fig. a i. the first change which occurs is the pushing in of one half of the wall of the vesicle towards the opposite half. at the same time by the narrowing of its mouth the hollow hemisphere so formed becomes again a vesicle[ ]. footnote : i have been able to make at naples observations which confirm the account of the invagination of amphioxus as given by kowalevsky, though my observations are not nearly so complete as those of the russian naturalist. owing to its mode of formation the wall of this secondary vesicle is composed of two layers which are only separated by a narrow space, the remnant of the segmentation cavity. two of the stages in the formation of the secondary vesicle by this process of involution are shewn in plate x, fig. a ii, and a iii. in the second of these the general growth has been very considerable, rendering the whole animal much larger than before. the cavity of this vesicle, a iii, is that of the commencing alimentary canal whose final form is due to changes of shape undergone by this primitive cavity. the inner wall of the vesicle becomes converted into the wall of the alimentary canal or hypoblast, and also into part or the whole of the mesoblast. during the involution the cells which are being involuted undergo a change of form, and before the completion of the process have acquired a completely different character to the cells forming the external wall of the secondary vesicle or epiblast. this change of character in the cells is already well marked in fig. a ii. it is of great importance, since we shall find that some of the departures from this simple mode of development, which characterise other vertebrates, are in part due to the distinction between the hypoblast and epiblast cells appearing during segmentation, and not subsequently as in amphioxus during the involution of the hypoblast. kowalevsky (_entwicklungsgeschichte des amphioxus_) originally believed that the narrow mouth of the vesicle (according to mr lankester's terminology _blastopore_) became the anus of the adult. he has since, and certainly correctly, given up this view. the opening of the involution becomes closed up and the adult anus is no doubt formed as in all other vertebrates by a pushing in from the exterior, though it probably corresponds in position very closely with the point of closing up of the original involution. the mode of formation of the mesoblast is not certainly known in amphioxus; we shall find, however, that for all other vertebrates it arises from the cells which are homologous with the involuted cells of this animal. since food material is a term which will be very often employed, it will be well to explain exactly the sense in which it will be used. it will be used only with reference to those passive highly refractive particles which are found embedded in most ova. in some eggs, of which the hen's egg may be taken as a familiar example, the yolk-spherules or food material form the larger portion of the ovum, and a distinction is frequently made between the germinal disc and the yolk. this distinction is, however, apt to lead to a misconception of the true nature of the egg. there are strong grounds for believing that the so-called yolk, equally with the germinal disc, is composed of an active protoplasmic basis endowed with the power of growth, in which passive yolk-spherules are embedded; but that the part ordinarily called the yolk contains such a preponderating amount of yolk-spherules that the active basis escapes detection, and does not exhibit the same power of growth as the germinal disc. with the exception of mammals, whose development requires to be more completely investigated, amphioxus is as far as we know the only vertebrate whose ovum does not contain a large amount of food material. in none of these (vertebrate) yolk-containing ova is the food material distributed uniformly. it is always concentrated much more at one pole than at the other, and the pole at which it is most concentrated may be conveniently called the lower pole of the egg. in eggs in which the distribution of food material is not uniform segmentation does not take place with equal rapidity through all parts of the egg, but its rapidity is, roughly speaking, inversely proportional to the quantity of food material. when the quantity of food material in a part of the egg becomes very great, segmentation does not occur at all; and even in those cases where the quantity of food yolk is not too great to prevent segmentation the resulting segmentation spheres are much larger than where the yolk-granules are more sparsely scattered. the frog is the vertebrate whose development comes nearest to that of amphioxus, as far as the points we are at present considering are concerned. but it will perhaps facilitate the understanding of their relations shortly to explain the diagrammatic sections which i have given of an animal supposed to be intermediate in its development between the frog and amphioxus. plate , fig. b i, represents a longitudinal section of this hypothetical egg at the close of segmentation. the lower pole, coloured yellow, represents the part containing more yolk material, and the upper pole, coloured blue, that with less yolk. owing to the presence of this yolk the lower pole even at the close of segmentation is composed of cells of a different character to those of the upper pole. in this respect this egg can already be distinguished from that of amphioxus, in which no such difference between the two poles is apparent at the corresponding period (plate , fig. a i). the segmentation cavity in this ovum is not quite so large proportionately as in amphioxus, and the encroachment upon it is due to the larger bulk of the lower pole of the egg. in fig. b ii the involution of the lower pole has already commenced; this involution is ( ) not quite symmetrical, and ( ) on the ventral side (the left side) the epiblast cells forming the upper part of the egg are growing round the cells of the lower pole of the egg or lower layer cells. both of these peculiarities are founded upon what happens in the frog and the selachian, but it is to be noticed that the change from the lower layer cells being involuted towards the epiblast cells, to the epiblast cells growing round the lower layer cells, is a necessary consequence of the increased bulk of the latter. in this involution not only are the cells of the lower pole pushed on, but also some of those of the upper or yellow portion; so that in this as in all other cases the true distinction between the epiblast and hypoblast does not appear till the involution to form the latter is completed. in the next stage, b iii, the involution has become nearly completed and the opening to the exterior or blastopore quite constricted. the segmentation cavity has been entirely obliterated, as would have been found to be the case with amphioxus had the stage a little older than that on plate , a iii, been represented. the cavity marked (_al_), as was the case with amphioxus, is that of the alimentary canal. the similarities between the mode of formation of the hypoblast and alimentary canal in this animal and in amphioxus are so striking and the differences between the two cases so slight that no further elucidation is required. one or two points need to be spoken of in order to illustrate what occurs in the frog. when the involution to form the alimentary canal occurs, certain of the lower layer cells (marked _hy_) become distinguished from the remainder of the lower layer cells as a separate layer and form the hypoblast which lines the alimentary canal. it is to be noticed that the cells which form the ventral epithelium of the alimentary canal are not so soon to be distinguished from the other lower layer cells as those which form its dorsal epithelium. this is probably a consequence of the more active growth, indicated by the asymmetry of the involution, on the dorsal side, and is a fact with important bearings in the ova with more food material. the cells marked _m_ and coloured red also become distinguished as a separate layer from the remainder of the hypoblast and form the mesoblast. the remainder of the lower layer cells form a mass equivalent to the yolk-sac of many vertebrates, and are not converted directly into the tissues of the animal. another point to be noticed is the different relation of epiblast cells to the hypoblast cells at the upper and lower side of the mouth of the involution. above it, on its dorsal side, the epiblast and hypoblast are continuous with one another. on its ventral side they are primitively not so continuous. this is due to the epiblast, as was before mentioned, growing round the lower layer cells on the ventral side, vide b ii, and merely remaining continuous with them on the dorsal. the importance of these two points will appear when we come to speak of other vertebrates. the next animal whose development it is necessary to speak of is the frog, and its differences from the mode of development are quite easy to follow and interpret. segmentation is again not uniform, and results in the formation of an upper layer of smaller cells and a lower one of larger; in the centre is a segmentation cavity. the stage at the close of segmentation is represented in c i. from the diagram it is apparent that the lower layer cells occupy a larger bulk than they did in the previous animal (plate , b i), and tend to encroach still more upon the segmentation cavity, otherwise the differences between the two are unimportant. there are, however, two points to be noted. in the first place, although the cells of the upper pole are distinguished in the diagrams from the lower by their colour, it is not possible at this stage to say what will become epiblast and what hypoblast. in the second place the cells of the upper pole or epiblast consist of two layers--an outer called the epidermic layer and an inner called the nervous. in the previous cases the epiblast consisted of a single layer of cells. the presence of these two layers is due to a distinction which, arising in most other vertebrates late, in the frog arises early. in most other vertebrates in the later stages of development the epiblast consists of an outer layer of passive and an inner of active cells. in the frog and other batrachians these two layers become distinguished at the commencement of development. in the next stage (c ii) we find that the involution to form the alimentary canal has commenced (_al_), but that it is of a very different character to the involution in the previous case. it consists in the growing inwards of a number of cells from the point _x_ (c i) towards the segmentation cavity. the cells which grow in this way are partly the blue cells and partly the smaller yellow ones. at first this involuted layer of cells is only separated by a slit from the remainder of the lower layer cells; but by the stage represented in c ii this has widened into an elongated cavity (_al_). in its formation this involution pushes backwards the segmentation cavity, which finally disappears in the stage c iii. the point _x_ remains practically stationary, but by the general growth of the epiblast, mesoblast and hypoblast, becomes further removed from the segmentation cavity in c ii than in c i. on the opposite side of the embryo to that at which the involution occurs the epiblast cells as before, grow round the lower layer cells. the commencement of this is already apparent in c i, and in c ii the process is nearly completed, though there is still a small mass of yolk filling up the blastopore. the features of this involution are in the main exaggerations of what was supposed to occur in the previous animal. the asymmetry of the involution is so great that it is completely one-sided and results, in the first instance, in a mere slit; and the whole process of enclosing the yolk by epiblast is effected by the epiblast cells on the side of the egg opposite to the involution. the true mesoblast and hypoblast are formed precisely as in the previous case. the involuted cells become separated into two layers, one forming the dorsal epithelium of the alimentary canal, and a layer between this and the epiblast forming the mesoblast. there is also a layer of mesoblast accompanying the epiblast which encloses the yolk, which is derived from the smaller yellow cells at _y_ (c i). the edge of this mesoblast, _m´_, forms a thickened ridge, a feature which persists in other vertebrates. it is a point of some importance for understanding the relation between the mode of formation of the alimentary canal in the frog and other vertebrates to notice that on the ventral surface the cells which are to form the epithelium of the alimentary canal become distinguished as such very much later than do those to form its dorsal epithelium, and are derived not from the involuted cells but from the primitive large yolk-cells. it is indeed probable that only a very small portion of epithelium of the ventral wall of the mid-gut is in the end derived from these larger yolk-cells. the remainder of the yolk-cells (c iii, and c ii, _yk_) form the yolk mass and do not become directly formed into the tissues of the animal. in the last stage i have represented for the frog, c iii, there are several features to be noticed. the direct connection at their hind-ends between the cavities of the neural and alimentary canals is the most important of these. this is a result of the previous continuity of the epiblast and hypoblast at the point _x_, and is a feature almost certainly found in amphioxus, but which i will speak of more fully in my account of the selachian's development. the opening of the blastopore called the anus of rusconi is now quite narrowed, it does not become the anus of the adult. it may be noticed that at the front end of the embryo the primitive dorsal epithelium of the alimentary canal is growing in such a way as to form the epithelium both of the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the fore-gut. in spite of various features rendering the development of the frog more difficult of comprehension than that of most other vertebrates, it is easy to see that the step between it and amphioxus is not a very great one, and will very likely be bridged over at some future time, when our knowledge of the development of other forms becomes greater. from the frog to the selachian is a considerable step, but i have again hypothetically sketched a type intermediate between them whose development agrees in some important points with that of _pelobates fuscus_ as described by bambeke. the points of agreement, though not obvious at first sight, i shall point out in the course of my description. the first stage (d i), at the close of segmentation, deserves careful attention. the segmentation cavity by the increase of the food yolk is very much diminished in size, and, what is still more important, has as it were sunk down so as to be completely within the _lower layer cells_. the roof of the segmentation cavity is thus formed of epiblast and lower layer cells, a feature which bambeke finds in _pelobates fuscus_ and which is certainly found in the selachians. in the frog we found that the segmentation cavity began to be encroached on by the lower layer cells, and from this it is only a small step to find these cells creeping still further up and forming the roof of the cavity. in the lower layer cells themselves we find an important new feature, viz. that during segmentation they become divided in two distinct parts--one of these where the segments owing to the presence of much food yolk are very large, and the other where the segments are much smaller. the separation between these two is rather sharp. even this separation was foreshadowed in the frog's egg, in which a number of lower layer cells were much smaller and more active at the two sides of the segmentation cavity than elsewhere. the segmentation cavity at first lies completely within the region of the small spheres. the larger cells serve almost entirely as food yolk. the epiblast, as is normal with vertebrates, consists of a single layer of columnar cells. in the next stage (d ii) the formation of the alimentary canal (_al_) has commenced, but it is to be observed that there is in this case _no true involution_. as an accompaniment to the encroachment upon the segmentation cavity, which was a feature of the last stage, the cells to form the walls of the alimentary canal have come to occupy their final position during segmentation and without the intermediation of an involution, and traces only of the involution, are to be found in ( ) a split in the lower layer cells which passes along the line separating the small and the large lower layer cells; and ( ) in the epiblast becoming continuous with the hypoblast on the dorsal side of the mouth of this split. it is even possible that at this point a few cells (though certainly only a very small number) of those marked blue in d i become involuted. this point in this, as in all other cases, is the tail end of the embryo. the other features of this stage are as follows:--( ) the segmentation cavity has become smaller and less conspicuous than it was. ( ) the epiblast cells have begun to grow round the yolk even in a more conspicuous manner than they did in the frog, and are accompanied by a layer of mesoblast cells which again becomes thickened at its edge. the mesoblast cells in the region of the body are formed in the same way as before, viz. by the separation of a layer to form the epithelium of the alimentary canal, the other cells remaining as mesoblast; and as in the frog, or in a more conspicuous manner, we find that the dorsal surface only of the alimentary cavity has a wall formed of a _distinct layer of cells_, but on the ventral side the cavity is at first closed in by the large spheres of the yolk only. the formation of the alimentary canal by a split and not by an involution is exactly what bambeke finds in _pelobates_. the next stage, d iii, is about an equivalent age to c iii in the frog. it exhibits the same connection between the neural and the alimentary canals as was found there. the alimentary canal is beginning to become closed in below, and this occurs near the two ends earlier than in the middle. the cells to form the ventral wall are derived from the large yolk-cells. the non-formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal so soon in the middle as at the ends is an early trace of the umbilical canal found in birds and selachians, by which the alimentary tract is placed in communication with the yolk-sac. the segmentation cavity has by this stage completely vanished, and the epiblast with its accompanying mesoblast has spread completely round the yolk material so as to form the ventral wall of the body. though in some points this manner of development may seem to differ from that of the frog, there is really a fundamental agreement between the two, and between this mode of development and that of the selachians we shall find the agreement to be very close. after segmentation we find that the egg of a selachian consists of two parts--one of these called the germinal disc or blastoderm, and the other the yolk. the former of these corresponds with the epiblast and the part of the lower pole composed of smaller segments in the last-described egg, and the latter to the larger segments of the lower pole. this latter division, owing to the quantity of _yolk_ which it contains, has not undergone segmentation, but its homology with the larger segments of the previous eggs is proved ( ) by its containing a number of nuclei (e i, _n_), which become the nuclei of true cells and enter the blastoderm, and ( ) by the presence in it of a number of lines forming a network similar to that of many cells. the segmentation cavity, as before, lies completely within the lower layer cells. the next stage, e ii, is almost precisely similar to the second stage of the last egg. as there, the primitive involution is merely represented by a split separating the yolk and the germinal disc, and on the dorsal side alone is there a true cellular wall for this split, and at the dorsal mouth of the split the alimentary epithelium becomes continuous with the epiblast. the segmentation cavity has become diminished, and round the yolk the epiblast, accompanied by a layer of mesoblast, is commencing to grow. in this growth all parts of the blastoderm take a share except that part where the epiblast and hypoblast are continuous. this manner of growth is precisely what occurs in the frog, though there it is not so easily made out; and not all the investigators who have studied the frog have understood the exact meaning of the appearances they have seen and drawn. this similarity of relation of the epiblast to the yolk in the two cases is a further confirmation of the identity of the selachian's yolk with the large yolk-spheres of the previous eggs. the next stage, e iii, is in many ways identical with the corresponding stage in the last-described egg, and in the same way as in that case the neural and alimentary canals are placed in communication with each other. the mode in which this occurs will be easily gathered from a comparison of e ii and e iii. it is the same for the selachians and batrachians. the neural canal (_nc_) is by the stage figured e iii, completely formed in the way so well known in the bird, and between the roof of the canal and the external epiblast a layer of mesoblast has already grown in. the floor of the neural canal is the same layer marked _ep_ in e ii, and therefore remains continuous with the hypoblast at _x_; and when by a simultaneous process the roof of the neural canal and the ventral wall of the alimentary become formed by the folding over of one continuous layer (the epiblast and hypoblast continuous at the point _x_), the two canals, viz. the neural and alimentary, are necessarily placed in communication at their hind-ends, as is seen in the diagram. there are several important points of difference between e iii and d iii. in the first place, owing to the larger size of the yolk mass in e iii, the epiblast, accompanied by mesoblast, has not proceeded nearly so far round it as in the previous case. it is also worth notice that at the right as well as at the left end of the germinal disc the epiblast is commencing to grow round the yolk. the yolk has, however, become surrounded to a much smaller extent on the right hand than on the left. since, in the earlier stage, the epiblast became continuous with the hypoblast at _x_, it is not from sections obvious how this occurs. i have therefore appended a diagram to explain it (e´). the blastoderm rests like a disc on the yolk and grows over it on all sides, except at the point where the epiblast and hypoblast are continuous (_x_). this point becomes as it were left in a bay. next the two sides of the bay coalesce, the bay becomes obliterated, and the effect produced is exactly as if the blastoderm had grown round the yolk at the point _x_ (corresponding with the tail of the embryo) as well as everywhere else. it thus comes about that the final point where the various parts of the blastoderm meet and completely enclose the yolk mass does not correspond with the anus of rusconi of the frog, but is at some little distance from the hind-end of the embryo. in other words, the position of the blastopore in the selachian is not the same as in the frog. another point deserving attention is the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. this takes place in two ways--partly by a folding-in at the sides and end, and partly from cells formed around the nuclei (_n_) in the yolk. from these a large portion of the ventral wall of the mid-gut is formed. the folding-in of the sheet of hypoblast to assist in the closing-in of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal is a consequence of the flattened form of the original alimentary slit which is far too wide to form the cavity of the final canal. in the bird whose development must next be considered this folding-in is a still more prominent feature in the formation of the alimentary canal. as in the last case, the alimentary canal is widely open in the middle to the yolk at the time when its two ends are closed below and shut off from it; still later this opening becomes very narrow and forms the duct of the so-called umbilical cord which places the yolk-sac in communication with the alimentary canal. as the young animal becomes larger the yolk-sac ceases to communicate directly with the alimentary canal, and is carried about by it for some time as an appendage and only at a later period shrivels up. the mesoblast is formed in a somewhat different way in the sharks than in other vertebrates. it becomes split off from the hypoblast, not in the form of a single sheet as in other vertebrates, but as two lateral sheets, one on each side of the middle line and separated from one another by a considerable interval; whilst the notochord is derived not as in other vertebrates from the mesoblast, but from the hypoblast (vide f. m. balfour, "development of selachians[ ]," _journal of microscopical science_, oct., ). footnote : paper no. v, p. _et seq._ in this edition. between the selachians and the aves there is a considerable gulf, which it is more difficult satisfactorily to bridge over than in the previous cases; owing to this i have not attempted to give any intermediate stage between them. the first stage of the bird (f i) is very similar in many respects to the corresponding stage in the selachian. the segmentation cavity is, however, a less well-defined formation, and it may even be doubted whether a true segmentation cavity, homologous with the segmentation cavity in the previously described eggs, is present. on the floor of the cavity which is formed by the yolk are a few larger cells known as formative cells which, according to götte's observations, are derived from the yolk, in a somewhat similar manner to the cells which were formed around the nuclei in the selachian egg, and which helped to form the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. another point to be noticed is that the segmentation cavity occupies a central position, and not one to the side as in the selachian. the yolk is proportionately quite as large as in the selachian's egg, but, as in that case, there can be little or no doubt of its being homologous with the largest of the segmentation spheres of the previous eggs. it does not undergo segmentation. the epiblast is composed of columnar cells, and extends a short way beyond the edge of the lower layer cells. in the next stage the more important departures from the previous type of development become visible. the epiblast spreads uniformly over the yolk-sac and not on the one side only as in the former eggs. this is due to the embryo (indicated in f ii by a thickening of the cells) lying in the centre and not at the edge of the blastoderm. a necessary consequence of this is, that the epiblast does not, as in the previous cases, become continuous with the hypoblast at the tail end of the embryo. this continuity, being of no functional importance, could easily be dispensed with, and the central position of the embryo may perhaps be explained by supposing the process, by which in the selachian egg the blastopore ceases to correspond in position with the opening of the alimentary slit or anus of rusconi (vide e´), to occur quite early during segmentation instead of at a late period of development. for the possibility of such a change in the date of formation, the early appearance of the nervous and epidermic layers in the frog affords a parallel. the epiblast in its growth round the yolk is only partially accompanied by mesoblast, which, however, is thickened at its extreme edge as in the frog. owing to the epiblast not becoming continuous with the hypoblast at the tail end of the embryo, the alimentary slit is not open to the exterior. the hypoblast is formed by some of the lower layer cells becoming distinguished as a separate layer; the remainder of the lower layer cells become the mesoblast. the formation of the mesoblast and hypoblast out of the lower layer cells has been accepted for the bird by most observers, but has been disputed by several, and recently by kölliker. these have supposed that the mesoblast is derived from the epiblast. i feel convinced that these observers are in the wrong, and that the mesoblast is genuinely derived from the lower layer cells. the greater portion of the alimentary cavity consists of the original segmentation cavity (vide diagrams). this feature of the segmentation cavity of birds sharply distinguishes it from any segmentation cavity of other eggs, and renders it very doubtful whether the similarly named cavities of the bird and of other vertebrates are homologous. on the floor of the cavity are still to be seen some of the formative cells, but observers have not hitherto found that they take any share in forming the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. the features of the next stage are the necessary consequences of those of the last. the ventral wall of the alimentary canal is entirely formed by a folding-in of the sheet of hypoblast. the more rapid folding-in at the head still indicates the previous more vigorous growth there, otherwise there is very little difference between the forms of the fold at the head and tail. the alimentary canal does not of course, at this or any period, communicate with the neural tube, since the epiblast and hypoblast are never continuous. the other features, such as the growth of the epiblast round the yolk-sac, are merely continuations of what took place in the last stage. in the development of a yolk-sac as a distinct appendage, and its absorption within the body, at a later period, the bird fundamentally resembles the dog-fish. although there are some difficulties in deriving the type of development exhibited by the bird directly from that of the selachian, it is not very difficult to do so directly from amphioxus. were the alimentary involution to remain symmetrical as in amphioxus, and the yolk-containing part of the egg to assume the proportions it does in the bird, we should obtain a mode of development which would not be very dissimilar to that of the bird. the epiblast would necessarily overgrow the yolk uniformly on all sides and not in the unsymmetrical fashion of the selachian egg. a confirmation of this view might perhaps be sought for in the complete difference between the types of circulation of the yolk-sac in birds and selachians; but this is not so important as might at first sight appear, since it is not from the selachian egg but from some batrachian that it would be necessary to derive the reptiles' and birds' eggs. if this view of the bird's egg be correct, we are compelled to suppose that the line of ancestors of birds and reptiles did not include amongst them the selachians and the batrachians, or at any rate selachians and batrachians which develop on the type we now find. the careful investigation of the development of some reptiles might very probably throw light upon this important point. in the meantime it is better to assume that the type of development of birds is to be derived from that of the frog and selachians. _summary._--if the views expressed in this paper are correct, all the modes of development found in the higher vertebrates are to be looked upon as modifications of that of amphioxus. it is, however, rather an interesting question whether it is possible to suppose that the original type was _not_ that of amphioxus, but of some other animal, say, for instance, that of the frog, and that this varied in two directions,--on the one hand towards amphioxus, in the reverse direction to the course of variation presupposed in the text; and on the other hand in the direction towards the selachians as before. the answer to this question must in my opinion be in the negative. it is quite easy to conceive the food material of the frog's egg completely vanishing, but although this would entail simplifications of development and possibly even make segmentation uniform, there would, as far as i can see, be no cause why the essential features of difference between the frog's mode of development and that of amphioxus should change. the asymmetrical and slit-like form of involution on the one side and the growth of the epiblast over the mesoblast on the other side, both characteristics of the present frog's egg, would still be features in the development of the simplified egg. in the mammal's egg we probably have an example of a reptile's egg simplified by the disappearance of the food material; and when we know more of mammalian embryology it will be very interesting to trace out the exact manner in which this simplification has affected the development. it is also probable that the eggs of osseous fish are fundamentally simplified selachian eggs; in which case we already know that the diminution of food material has affected but very slightly the fundamental features of development. one common feature which appears prominently in reviewing the embryology of vertebrates as a whole is the derivation of the mesoblast from the hypoblast; in other words, we find that it is from the layer corresponding to that which becomes involuted in amphioxus so as to line the alimentary cavity that the mesoblast is split off. that neither the hypoblast or mesoblast can in any sense be said to be derived from the epiblast is perfectly clear. when the egg of amphioxus is in the blastosphere stage we cannot speak of either an epiblast or hypoblast. it is not till the involution or what is equivalent has occurred, converting the single-walled vesicle into a double-walled one, that we can speak of these two layers. it might seem scarcely necessary to insist upon this point, so clear is it without explanation, were it not that certain embryologists have made a confusion about it. the derivation of the mesoblast from the hypoblast is the more interesting, since it is not confined to the vertebrates, but has a very wide extension amongst the invertebrates. in the cases (whose importance has been recently insisted upon by professor huxley), of the asteroids, the echinoids, sagitta, and others, in which the body-cavity arises as an outgrowth of the alimentary canal and the somatopleure and splanchnopleure are formed from that outgrowth, it is clear without further remark that the mesoblast is derived from the hypoblast. for the echinoderms in which the water-vascular system and muscular system arise as a solid outgrowth of the wall of the alimentary canal there can also be no question as to the derivation of the mesoblast from the hypoblast. amongst other worms, in addition to sagitta, the investigations of kowalevsky seem to shew that in lumbricus the mesoblast is derived from the hypoblast. amongst crustaceans, bobretsky's[ ] observations on oniscus (_zeitschrift für wiss. zoologie_, ) lead to the same conclusion. footnote : he says, p. : "bevor aber die hälfte der eioberfläche von den embryonalzellen bedeckt ist, kommt die erste gemeinsame anlage des mittleren und unteren keimblattes zum vorschein." in insects kowalevsky's observations lead to the conclusion that mesoblast and hypoblast arise from a common mass of cells; ulianin's observations bring out the same result for the abnormal poduridæ, and metschnikoff's observations shew that this also holds for myriapods. in molluscs the point is not so clear. in tunicates, even if we are not to include them amongst vertebrates[ ], the derivation of mesoblast from hypoblast is without doubt. footnote : anton dohrn, _der ursprung des wirbelthieres_. leipzig, . without going further into details it is quite clear that the derivation of the mesoblast from the hypoblast is very general amongst invertebrates. it will hardly be disputed that primitively the muscular system of the body-wall could not have been derived from the layer of cells which lines the alimentary canal. we see indeed in hydra and the hydrozoa that in its primitive differentiation, as could have been anticipated beforehand, the muscular system of the body is derived from the epiblast cells. what, then, is the explanation of the widespread derivation of the mesoblast, including the muscular system of the body, from the hypoblast? the explanation of it may, i think, possibly be found, and at all events the suggestion seems to me sufficiently plausible to be worth making, in the fact that in many cases, and probably this applies to the ancestors of the vertebrates, the body-cavity was primitively a part of the alimentary. mr lankester, who has already entered into this line of speculation, even suggests (_q. j. of micr. science_, april, ) that this applies to all higher animals. it might then be supposed that the muscular system of part of the alimentary canal took the place of the primitive muscular system of the body; so that the whole muscular system of higher animals would be primitively part of the muscular system of the digestive tract. i put this forward merely as a suggestion, in the truth of which i feel no confidence, but which may perhaps induce embryologists to turn their attention to the point. if we accept it for the moment, the supplanting of the body muscular system by that of the digestive tract may hypothetically be supposed to have occurred in the following way. when the diverticulum or rather paired diverticula were given off from the alimentary canal they would naturally become attached to the body-wall, and any contractions of their intrinsic muscles would tend to cause movements in the body-wall. so far there is no difficulty, but there is a physiological difficulty in explaining how it can have happened that this secondary muscular system can have supplanted the original muscular system of the body. the following suggestions may lessen this difficulty, though perhaps they hardly remove it completely. if we suppose that the animal in which these diverticula appeared had a hard test and was not locomotive, the intrinsic muscular system of the body would naturally completely atrophy. but since the muscular system of the diverticula from the stomach would be required to keep up the movement of the nutritive fluid, it would not atrophy, and were the test subsequently to become soft and the animal locomotive, would naturally form the muscular system of the body. or even were the animal locomotive in which the diverticula appeared, it is conceivable that the two systems might at first coexist together; that either ( ) subsequently owing to the greater convenience of early development, the two systems might acquire a development from the same mass of cells and those the cells of the inner or hypoblast layer, so that the derivation of the body muscles from the hypoblast would only be apparent and not real, or ( ) owing to their being better nourished as they would necessarily be, and to their possibly easier adaptability to some new form of movement of the animal, the muscle-cells of the alimentary canal might become developed exclusively whilst the original muscular system atrophied. i only hold this view provisionally till some better explanation is given of the cases of sagitta and the echinoderms, as well as of the nearly universal derivation of the mesoblast from the hypoblast. the cases of this kind may be due to some merely embryonic changes and have no meaning in reference to the adult condition, but i think that we have no right to assume this till some explanation of the embryonic can be suggested. for vertebrates, i have shewn that in selachians the body-cavity at first extends quite to the top of what becomes the muscle plate, so that the line or space separating the two layers of the muscle plate (vide balfour, 'development of elasmobranch fishes[ ],' _quart. journ. of micro. science_ for oct., . plate xv, fig. ,_a_, _b_, _a_, _mp_.) is a portion of the original body-cavity. if this is a primitive condition, which is by no means certain, we have a condition which we might expect, in which both the inner and the outer wall of the primitive body-cavity assists in forming the muscular system of the body. footnote : paper no. v, p. _et seq._ of this edition, pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _a_, _mp_. it is very possible that the formation of the mesoblast as two masses, one on each side of the middle line as occurs in selachians, and which as i pointed out in the paper quoted above also takes place in some worms, is a remnant of the primitive formation of the body-cavity as paired outgrowth of the alimentary canal. this would also explain the fact that in selachians the body-cavity consists at first of two separate portions, one on each side of the alimentary canal, which only subsequently become united below and converted into a single cavity (vide _loc. cit._[ ], plate xiv, fig. _b_, _pp_). footnote : pl. of this edition, fig. _b_, _pp_. in the echinoderms we find instances where the body-cavity and water-vascular system arise as an outgrowth from the alimentary canal, which subsequently becomes constricted off from the latter (asteroids and echinoids), together with other instances (ophiura, synapta) where the water-vascular system and body-cavity are only secondarily formed in a solid mass of mesoblast originally split off from the walls of the alimentary canal. these instances shew us how easily a change of this kind may take place, and remove the difficulty of understanding why in vertebrates the body-cavity never communicates with the alimentary. the last point which i wish to call attention to is the blastopore or anus of rusconi. this is the primitive opening by which the alimentary canal communicates with the exterior, or, in other words, the opening of the alimentary involution. it is a distinctly marked structure in amphioxus and the batrachians, and is also found in a less well-marked form in the selachians; in birds no trace of it is any longer to be seen. in all those vertebrates in which it is present, it closes up and does not become the anus of the adult. the final anus nevertheless corresponds very closely in position with the anus of rusconi. mr lankester has shewn (_quart. journ. of micro. science_ for april, ) that in invertebrates as well as vertebrates the blastopore almost invariably closes up. it nevertheless corresponds as a rule very nearly in position either with the mouth or with the anus. if this opening is viewed, as is generally done, as really being the mouth in some cases and the anus in others, it becomes very difficult to believe that the blastopore can in all cases represent the same structure. in a single branch of the animal kingdom it sometimes forms the mouth and sometimes the anus: thus for instance in lumbricus it is the mouth (according to kowalevsky), in palæmon (bobretzky) the anus. is it credible that the mouth and anus have become changed, the one for the other? if, on the other hand, we accept the view that the blastopore never becomes either the one or the other of these openings, it is, i think, possible to account for its corresponding in position with the mouth in some cases or the anus in others. that it would soon come to correspond either with the mouth or anus (probably with the earliest formed of these in the embryo), wherever it was primitively situated, follows from the great simplification which would be effected by its doing so. this simplification consists in the greater facility with which the fresh opening of either mouth or anus could be made where the epiblast and hypoblast were in continuity than elsewhere. even a change of correspondence from the position of the mouth to that of the anus or _vice versa_ could occur. the mode in which this might happen is exemplified by the case of the selachians. i pointed out in the course of this paper how the final point of envelopment of the yolk became altered in selachians so as to cease to correspond with the anus of rusconi; in other words, how the position of the blastopore became changed. in such a case, if the yolk material again became diminished, the blastopore would correspond in position with neither mouth nor anus, and the causes which made it correspond in position with the anus before, would again operate, and make it correspond in position perhaps with the mouth. thus the blastopore might absolutely cease to correspond in position with the anus and come to correspond in position with the mouth. it is hardly possible to help believing that the blastopore primitively represented a mouth. it may perhaps have lost this function owing to an increase of food yolk in the ovum preventing its being possible for the blastopore to develop directly into a mouth, and necessitating the formation of a fresh mouth. if such were the case, there would be no reason why the blastopore should ever again serve functionally as a mouth in the descendants of the animal which developed this fresh mouth. explanation of plate . complete list of references. _al._ cavity of alimentary canal. _bl._ blastoderm. _ch._ notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _em._ embryo. _f._ formative cells. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _m._ mesoblast. _n._ nuclei of yolk of selachian egg. _nc._ neural canal. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast are continuous at the mouth of the alimentary involution. this point is always situated at the tail end of the embryo. _yk._ yolk. epiblast is coloured blue, mesoblast red, and hypoblast yellow. the lower layer cells before their separation into hypoblast and mesoblast are also coloured green. a i, a ii, a iii. diagrammatic sections of amphioxus in its early stages (founded upon kowalevsky's observations). b i, b ii, b iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an hypothetical animal, intermediate between amphioxus and batrachians, in its early stages. c i, c ii, c iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of bombinator igneus in its early stages (founded upon götte's observations). in c iii the neural canal is completed, which was not the case in b iii. the epiblast in c iii has been diagrammatically represented as a single layer. d i, d ii, d iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an animal, intermediate between batrachians and selachians, in its early stages. e i, e ii, e iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of a selachian in its early stages. e´. surface view of the yolk of a selachian's egg to shew the manner in which it is enclosed by the blastoderm. the yolk is represented yellow and the blastoderm blue. f i, f ii, f iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of a bird in its early stages. vii. on the origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates[ ]. footnote : from the _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. . recent discoveries[ ] as to the mode of development and anatomy of the urinogenital system of selachians, amphibians, and cyclostome fishes, have greatly increased our knowledge of this system of organs, and have rendered more possible a comparison of the types on which it is formed in the various orders of vertebrates. footnote : the more important of these are:-- semper--ueber die stammverwandtschaft der wirbelthiere u. anneliden. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . semper--segmentalorgane bei ausgewachsenen haien. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . semper--das urogenitalsystem der höheren wirbelthiere. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . semper--stammesverwandtschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen. _arbeiten aus zool. zootom. inst._ würzburg. ii band. semper--bildung u. wachstum der keimdrüsen bei den plagiostomen. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . semper--entw. d. wolf. u. müll. gang. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . alex. schultz--phylogenie d. wirbelthiere. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . spengel--wimpertrichtern i. d. amphibienniere. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . meyer--anat. des urogenitalsystems der selachier u. amphibien. _sitzb. naturfor. gesellschaft._ leipzig, april, . f. m. balfour--preliminary account of development of elasmobranch fishes. _quart. journ. of micro. science_, oct. . (this edition, paper v. p. _et seq._) w. müller--persistenz der urniere bei myxine glutinosa. _jenaische zeitschrift_, . w. müller--urogenitalsystem d. amphioxus u. d. cyclostomen. _jenaische zeitschrift_, . alex. götte--_entwicklungsgeschichte der unke (bombinator igneus)._ the following paper is an attempt to give a consecutive history of the origin of this system of organs in vertebrates and of the changes which it has undergone in the different orders. for this purpose i have not made use of my own observations alone, but have had recourse to all the memoirs with which i am acquainted, and to which i have access. i have commenced my account with the selachians, both because my own investigations have been directed almost entirely to them, and because their urinogenital organs are, to my mind, the most convenient for comparison both with the more complicated and with the simpler types. on many points the views put forward in this paper will be found to differ from those which i expressed in my paper (_loc. cit._) which give an account of my original[ ] discovery of the segmental organs of selachians, but the differences, with the exception of one important error as to the origin of the wolffian duct, are rather fresh developments of my previous views from the consideration of fresh facts, than radical changes in them. footnote : these organs were discovered independently by professor semper and myself. professor semper's preliminary account appeared prior to my own which was published (with illustrations) in the _quarterly journal of mic. science_. owing to my being in south america, i did not know of professor semper's investigations till several months after the publication of my paper. * * * * * in selachian embryos an intermediate cell-mass, or middle plate of mesoblast is formed, as in birds, from a partial fusion of the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast at the outer border of the protovertebræ. from this cell-mass the whole of the urinogenital system is developed. at about the time when three visceral clefts have appeared, there arises from the intermediate cell-mass, opposite the fifth protovertebra, a solid knob, from which a column of cells grows backwards to opposite the position of the future anus (fig. . _pd._). [illustration: fig. . two sections of a pristiurus embryo with three visceral clefts. the sections are to shew the development of the segmental duct (_pd_) or primitive duct of the kidneys. in _a_ (the anterior of the two sections) this appears as a solid knob projecting towards the epiblast. in _b_ is seen a section of the column which has grown backwards from the knob in _a_. _spn._ rudiment of a spinal nerve; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ string of cells below the notochord; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ specially developed portion of muscle-plate; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _pd._ segmental duct; _so._ somatopleura; _sp._ splanchnopleura; _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal or body-cavity; _ep._ epiblast; _al._ alimentary canal.] this knob projects outwards toward the epiblast, and the column lies at first between the mesoblast and epiblast. the knob and column do not long remain solid. the knob becoming hollow acquires a wide opening into the pleuro-peritoneal or body-cavity, and the column a lumen; so that by the time that five visceral clefts have appeared, the two together form a duct closed behind, but communicating in front by a wide opening with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. before these changes are accomplished, a series of _solid_[ ] outgrowths of elements of the 'intermediate cell-mass' appear at the uppermost corner of the body-cavity. these soon become hollow and appear as involutions from the body-cavity, curling round the inner and dorsal side of the previously formed duct. footnote : these outgrowths are at first solid in both pristiurus, scyllium and torpedo, but in torpedo attain a considerable length before a lumen appears in them. one involution of this kind makes its appearance for each protovertebra, and the first belongs to the protovertebra immediately behind the anterior end of the duct whose development has just been described. in pristiurus there are in all of these at this period. the last two or three arise from that portion of the body-cavity, which at this stage still exists behind the anus. the first-formed duct and the subsequent involutions are the rudiments of the whole of the urinary system. the duct is the primitive duct of the kidney[ ]; i shall call it in future _the segmental duct_; and the involutions are the commencements of the segmental tubes which constitute the body of the kidney. i shall call them in future _segmental tubes_. footnote : this duct is often called either müller's duct, the oviduct, or the duct of the primitive kidneys 'urnierengang.' none of these terms are very suitable. a justification of the name i have given it will appear from the facts given in the later parts of this paper. in my previous paper i have always called it oviduct, a name which is very inappropriate. soon after their formation the segmental tubes become convoluted, and their blind ends become connected with the segmental duct of the kidney. at the same time, or rather before this, the blind posterior termination of each of the segmental ducts of the kidneys unites with and opens into one of the horns of the cloaca. at this period the condition of affairs is represented in fig. . [illustration: fig. . diagram of the primitive condition of the kidney in a selachian embryo. _pd._ segmental duct. it opens at _o_ into the body-cavity and at its other extremity into the cloaca; _x._ line along which the division appears which separates the segmental duct into the wolffian duct above and the müllerian duct below; _st._ segmental tubes. they open at one end into the body-cavity, and at the other into the segmental duct.] there is at _pd_, the segmental duct of the kidneys, opening in front (_o_) into the body-cavity, and behind into the cloaca, and there are a series of convoluted segmental tubes (_st_), each opening at one end into the body-cavity, and at the other into the duct (_pd_). the next important change which occurs is the longitudinal division of the segmental duct of the kidneys into müller's duct, or the oviduct, and the duct of the wolffian bodies or leydig's duct. the splitting[ ] is effected by the growth of a wall of cells which divides the duct into two parts (fig. , _wd._ and _md._). it takes place in such a way that the front end of the segmental duct, anterior to the entrance of the first segmental tube, together with the ventral half of the rest of the duct, is split off from its dorsal half as an independent duct (vide fig. , _x_). footnote : this splitting was first of all discovered and an account of it published by semper (_centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. ). i had independently made it out for the female a few weeks before the publication of semper's account--but have not yet made observations about the point for the male. my own previous account of the origin of the wolffian duct (_quart. journ. of micros. science_, oct. , and this edition, paper v.), is completely false, and was due to my not having had access to a complete series of my sections when i wrote the paper. [illustration: fig. . transverse section of a selachian embryo illustrating the formation of the wolffian and mÜllerian ducts by the longitudinal splitting of the segmental duct. _mc._ medullary canal; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _cav._ cardinal vein; _st._ segmental tube. on the one side the section passes through the opening of a segmental tube into the body-cavity. on the other this opening is represented by dotted lines, and the opening of the segmental tube into the wolffian duct has been cut through; _wd._ wolffian duct; _md._ müllerian duct. the müllerian duct and the wolffian duct together constitute the primitive segmental duct; _gr._ the germinal ridge with the thickened germinal epithelium; _l._ liver; _i._ intestine with spiral valve.] the dorsal portion also forms an independent duct, and into it the segmental tubes continue to open. such at least is the method of splitting for the female--for the male the splitting is according to professor semper, of a more partial character, and consists for the most part in the front end of the duct only being separated off from the rest. the result of these changes is the formation in both sexes of a fresh duct which carries off the excretions of the segmental involutions, and which i shall call the wolffian duct--while in the female there is formed another complete and independent duct, which i shall call the müllerian duct, or oviduct, and in the male portions only of such a duct. the next change which takes place is the formation of another duct from the hinder portion of the wolffian duct, which receives the secretion of the posterior segmental tubes. this secondary duct unites with the primary or wolffian duct near its termination, and the primary ducts of the two sides unite together to open to the exterior by a common papilla. slight modifications of the posterior terminations of these ducts are found in different genera of selachians (vide semper, _centralblatt für med. wiss_. , no. ), but they are of no fundamental importance. these constitute the main changes undergone by the segmental duct of the kidneys and the ducts derived from it; but the segmental tubes also undergo important changes. in the majority of selachians their openings into the body-cavity, or, at any rate, the openings of a large number of them, persist through life; but the investigations of dr meyer[ ] render it very probable that the small portion of each segmental tube adjoining the opening becomes separated from the rest and becomes converted into a sort of lymph organ, so that the openings of the segmental tubes in the adult merely lead into lymph organs and not into the gland of the kidneys. footnote : _sitzun. der naturfor. gesellschaft_, leipzig, april, . these constitute the whole changes undergone in the female, but in the male the open ends of a varying number (according to the species) of the segmental tubes become connected with the testis and, uniting with the testicular follicles, serve to carry away the seminal fluid[ ]. the spermatozoa have therefore to pass through a glandular portion of the kidneys before they enter the wolffian duct, by which they are finally carried away to the exterior. footnote : we owe to professor semper the discovery of the arrangement of the seminal ducts. _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ , no. . in the adult female, then, there are the following parts of the urinogenital system (fig. ): ( ) the oviduct, or müller's duct (fig. , _md._), split off from the segmental duct of the kidneys. each oviduct opens at its upper end into the body-cavity, and behind the two oviducts have independent communications with the cloaca. the oviducts serve simply to carry to the exterior the ova, and have no communication with the glandular portion of the kidneys. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult female selachian. _md._ müllerian duct; _wd._ wolffian duct; _st._ segmental tubes; _d._ duct of the posterior segmental tubes; _ov._ ovary.] ( ) the wolffian ducts (fig. , _wd._) or the remainder of the segmental ducts of the kidneys. each wolffian duct ends blindly in front, and the two unite behind to open by a common papilla into the cloaca. this duct receives the secretion of the whole anterior end of the kidneys[ ], that is to say, of all the anterior segmental tubes. footnote : this upper portion of the kidneys is called leydig's gland by semper. it would be better to call it the wolffian body, for i shall attempt to shew that it is homologous with the gland so named in sauropsida and mammalia. ( ) the secondary duct (fig. , _d._) belonging to the lower portion of the kidneys opening into the former duct near its termination. ( ) the segmental tubes (fig. , _st_) from whose convolutions and outgrowths the kidney is formed. they may be divided into two parts, according to the duct by which their secretion is carried off. in the male the following parts are present: ( ) the müllerian duct (fig. , _md._), consisting of a small remnant, attached to the liver, which represents the foremost end of the oviduct of the female. ( ) the wolffian duct (fig. , _wd_), which precisely corresponds to the wolffian duct of the female, except that, in addition to functioning as the duct of the anterior part of the kidneys, it also serves to carry away the semen. in the female it is straight, but has in the adult male a very tortuous course (vide fig. ). [illustration: fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult male selachian. _md._ rudiment of müllerian duct; _wd._ wolffian duct, which also serves as vas deferens; _st._ segmental tubes. the ends of three of those which in the female open into the body-cavity, have in the male united with the testicular follicles, and serve to carry away the products of the testis; _d._ duct of the posterior segmental tubes; _t._ testis.] ( ) the duct (fig. , _d._) of the posterior portion of the kidneys, which has the same relations as in the female. ( ) the segmental tubes (fig. , _st._). these have the same relations as in the female, except that the most anterior two, three or more, unite with the testicular follicles, and carry away the semen into the wolffian duct. * * * * * the mode of arrangement and the development of these parts suggest a number of considerations. in the first place it is important to notice that the segmental tubes develop primitively as completely independent organs[ ], one of which appears in each segment. if embryology is in any way a repetition of ancestral history, it necessarily follows that these tubes were primitively independent of each other. ancestral history, as recorded in development, is often, it is true, abridged; but it is clear that though abridgement might prevent a series of primitively separate organs from appearing as such, yet it would hardly be possible for a primitively compound organ, which always retained this condition, to appear during development as a series of separate ones. these considerations appear to me to prove that the segmented ancestors of vertebrates possessed a series of independent and segmental excretory organs. footnote : further study of my sections has shewn me that the initial independence of these organs is even more complete than might be gathered from the description in my paper (_loc. cit._). i now find, as i before conjectured, that they at first correspond exactly with the muscle-plates, there being one for each muscle-plate. this can be seen in the fresh embryos, but longitudinal sections shew it in an absolutely demonstrable manner. both professor semper and myself, on discovering these organs, were led to compare them and state our belief in their identity with the so-called segmental organs of annelids. this view has since been fairly generally accepted. the segmental organs of annelids agree with those of vertebrates in opening at one end into the body-cavity, but differ in the fact that each also communicates with the exterior by an independent opening, and that they are never connected with each other. on the hypothesis of the identity of the vertebrate segmental tubes with the annelid segmental organs, it becomes essential to explain how the external openings of the former may have become lost. this brings us at once to the origin of the segmental duct of the kidneys, by which the secretion of all the segmental tubes was carried to the exterior, and it appears to me that a right understanding of the vertebrate urinogenital system depends greatly upon a correct view of the origin of this duct. i would venture to repeat the suggestion which i made in my original paper (_loc. cit._) that this duct is to be looked upon as the most anterior of the segmental tubes which persist in vertebrates. in favour of this view are the following anatomical and embryological facts. ( ) it develops in nearly the same manner as the other segmental tubes, viz. in selachians as a solid outgrowth from the intermediate cell-mass, which subsequently becomes hollowed so as to open into the body-cavity: and in amphibians and osseous and cyclostome fishes as a direct involution from the body-cavity. ( ) in amphibians, cyclostomes and osseous fishes its upper end develops a glandular portion, by becoming convoluted in a manner similar to the other segmental tubes. this glandular portion is often called either the head-kidney or the primitive kidney. it is only an embryonic structure, but is important as demonstrating the true nature of the primitive duct of the kidneys. we may suppose that some of the segmental tubes first united, possibly in pairs, and that then by a continuation of this process the whole of them coalesced into a common gland. one external opening sufficed to carry off the entire secretion of the gland, and the other openings therefore atrophied. this history is represented in the development of the dog-fish in an abbreviated form, by the elongation of the first segmental tube (segmental duct of the kidney) and its junction with each of the posterior segmental tubes. professor semper looks upon the primitive duct of the kidneys as a duct which arose independently, and was not derived from metamorphosis of the segmental organs. against this view i would on the one hand urge the consideration, that it is far easier to conceive of the transformation by change of function (comp. dohrn, _functionswechsel_, leipzig, ) of a segmental organ into a segmental duct, than to understand the physiological cause which should lead, in the presence of so many already formed ducts, to the appearance of a totally new one. by its very nature a duct is a structure which can hardly arise de novo. we must even suppose that the segmental organs of annelids were themselves transformations of still simpler structures. on the other hand i would point to the development in this very duct amongst amphibians and osseous fishes of a glandular portion similar to that of a segmental tube, as an _à posteriori_ proof of its being a metamorphosed segmental tube. the development in insects of a longitudinal tracheal duct by the coalescence of a series of transverse tracheal tubes affords a parallel to the formation of a duct from the coalescence of a series of segmental tubes. though it must be admitted that the loss of the external openings of the segmental organs requires further working out, yet the difficulties involved in their disappearance are not so great as to render it improbable that the vertebrate segmental organs are descended from typical annelidan ones. the primitive vertebrate condition, then, is probably that of an early stage of selachian development while there is as yet a segmental duct,--the original foremost segmental tube opening in front into the body-cavity and behind into the cloaca; with which duct all the segmental tubes communicate. vide fig. . the next condition is to be looked upon as an indirect result of the segmental duct serving as well for the products of the generative organs as the secretions of the segmental tubes. as a consequence of this, the segmental duct became split into a ventral portion, which served alone for the ova, and a dorsal portion which received the secretion of the segmental tubes. the lower portion, which we have called the oviduct, in some cases may also have received the semen as well as the ova. this is very possibly the case with ceratodus (vide günther, _trans. of royal society_, ), and the majority of ganoids (hyrtl, _denkschriften wien_, vol. viii.). in the majority of other cases the oviduct exists in the male in a completely rudimentary form; and the semen is carried away by the same duct as the urine. in selachians the transportation of the semen from the testis to the wolffian duct is effected by the junction of the open ends of two or three or more segmental tubes with the testicular follicles, and the modes in which this junction is effected in the higher vertebrates seem to be derivatives from this. if the views here expressed are correct it is by a complete change of function that the oviduct has come to perform its present office. and in the bird and higher vertebrates no trace, or only the very slightest (vide p. ) of the primitive urinary function is retained during embryonic or adult life. the last feature in the anatomy of the selachians which requires notice is the division of the kidney into two portions, an anterior and posterior. the anatomical similarity between this arrangement and that of higher vertebrates (birds, &c.) is very striking. the anterior one precisely corresponds, anatomically, to the _wolffian body_, and the posterior one to the true permanent _kidney_ of higher vertebrates: and when we find that in the selachians the duct for the anterior serves also for the semen as does the wolffian duct of higher vertebrates, this similarity seems almost to amount to identity. a discussion of the differences in development in the two cases will come conveniently with the account of the bird; but there appear to me the strongest grounds for looking upon the kidneys of selachians as equivalent to both the wolffian bodies and the true kidneys of the higher vertebrates. the condition of the urinogenital organs in selachians is by no means the most primitive found amongst vertebrates. the organs of both cyclostomous and osseous fishes, as well as those of ganoids, are all more primitive; and in the majority of points the amphibians exhibit a decidedly less differentiated condition of these organs than do the selachians. in cyclostomous fishes the condition of the urinary system is very simple. in myxine (vide joh. müller _myxinoid fishes_, and wilhelm müller, _jenaische zeitschrift_, , _das urogenitalsystem des amphioxus u. d. cyclostomen_) there is a pair of ducts which communicate posteriorly by a common opening with the abdominal pore. from these ducts spring a series of transverse tubules, each terminating in a malpighian corpuscle. these together constitute the mass of the kidneys. about opposite the gall-bladder the duct of the kidney (the segmental duct) narrows very much, and after a short course ends in a largish glandular mass (the head-kidney), which communicates with the pericardial cavity by a number of openings. in petromyzon the anatomy of the kidneys is fundamentally the same as in myxine. they consist of the two segmental ducts, and a number of fine branches passing off from these, which become convoluted but do not form malpighian tufts. the head-kidney is absent in the adult. w. müller (_loc. cit._) has given a short but interesting account of the development of the urinary system of petromyzon. he finds that the segmental ducts develop first of all as simple involutions from the body-cavity. the anterior end of each then develops a glandular portion which comes to communicate by a number of openings with the body-cavity. subsequently to the development of this glandular portion the remainder of the kidneys appears in the posterior portion of the body-cavity; and before the close of embryonic life the anterior glandular portion atrophies. the comparison of this system with that of a selachian is very simple. the first developed duct is the segmental duct of a selachian, and the glandular portion developed at its anterior extremity, which is permanent in myxine but embryonic in petromyzon, is, as w. müller has rightly recognized, equivalent to the head-kidney of amphibians, which remains undeveloped in selachians. it is, according to my previously stated view, the glandular portion of the first segmental organ or the segmental duct. the series of orifices by which this communicates with the body-cavity are due to the division of the primary opening of the segmental duct. this is shewn both by the facts of their development in petromyzon given by müller, as well as by the occurrence of a similar division of the primary orifice in amphibians, which is mentioned later in this paper. in a note in my original paper (_loc. cit._) i stated that these openings were equivalent to the segmental involutions of selachians. this is erroneous, and was due to my not having understood the description given in a preliminary paper of müller (_jenaische zeitschrift_, ). the large development of this glandular mass in the cyclostome and osseous fishes and in embryo amphibians, implies that it must at one time have been important. its earlier development than the remainder of the kidneys is probably a result of the specialized function of the first segmental organ. the remainder of the kidney in cyclostomes is equivalent to the kidney of selachians. its development from segmental involutions has not been recognized. if these segmental involutions are really absent it may perhaps imply that the simplicity of the cyclostome kidneys, like that of so many other of their organs, is a result of degeneration rather than a primitive condition. in osseous fishes the segmental duct of the kidneys develops, as the observations of rosenberg[ ] ("teleostierniere," _inaug. disser. dorpat_, ) and oellacher (_zeitschrift für wiss. zool._ ) clearly prove, by an involution from the body-cavity. this involution grows backwards in the form of a duct and opens into the cloaca. the upper end of this duct (the most anterior segmental tube) becomes convoluted, and forms a glandular body, which has no representative in the urinary apparatus of selachians, but whose importance, as indicating the origin of the segmental duct of the kidneys, i have already insisted upon. footnote : i am unfortunately only acquainted with dr rosenberg's paper from an abstract. the rest of the kidney becomes developed at a later period, probably in the same way as in selachians; but this, as far as i know, has not been made out. the segmental duct of the kidneys forms the duct for this new gland, as in embryo selachians (fig. ), but, unlike what happens in selachians, undergoes no further changes, with the exception of a varying amount of retrogressive metamorphosis of its anterior end. the kidneys of osseous fish usually extend from just behind the head to opposite the anus, or even further back than this. they consist for the most part of a broader anterior portion, an abdominal portion reaching from this to the anus, and, as in those cases in which the kidneys extend further back than the anus, of a caudal portion. the two ducts (segmental ducts of the kidneys) lie, as a rule, in the lower part of the kidneys on their outer borders, and open almost invariably into a urinary bladder. in some cases they unite before opening into the bladder, but generally have independent openings. this bladder, which is simply a dilatation of the united lower ends of the primitive kidney-ducts, and has no further importance, is almost invariably present, but in many cases lies unsymmetrically either to the right or the left. it opens to the exterior by a very minute opening in the genito-urinary papilla, immediately behind the genital pore. there are, however, a few cases in which the generative and urinary organs have a common opening. for further details vide hyrtl, _denk. der k. akad. wien_, vol. ii. it is possible that the generative ducts of osseous fishes are derived from a splitting from the primitive duct of the kidney, but this is discussed later in the paper. in osseous fishes we probably have an embryonic condition of the selachian kidneys retained permanently through life. * * * * * in the majority of ganoids the division of the segmental duct of the kidney into two would seem to occur, and the ventral duct of the two (müllerian duct), which opens at its upper end into the body-cavity, is said to serve as an excretory duct for both male and female organs. the following are the more important facts which are known about the generative and urinary ducts of ganoids. in spatularia (vide hyrtl, geschlechts u. harnwerkzeuge bei den ganoiden, _denkschriften der k. akad. wien_, vol. viii.) the following parts are found in the female. ( ) the ovaries stretching along the whole length of the abdominal cavity. ( ) the kidneys, which are separate and also extend along the greater part of the abdominal cavity. ( ) the ureters lying on the outer borders of the kidneys. each ureter dilates at its lower end into an elongated wide tube, which continues to receive the ducts from the kidneys. the two ureters unite before terminating and open behind the anus. ( ) the two oviducts (müllerian ducts). these open widely into the abdominal cavity, at about two-thirds of the distance from the anterior extremity of the body-cavity. each opens by a narrow pore into the dilated ureter of its side. in the male the same parts are found as in the female, but hyrtl found that the müllerian duct of the left side at its entrance into the ureter became split into two horns, one of which ended blindly. on the right side the opening of the müllerian duct was normal. in the sturgeon (vide j. müller, _bau u. grenzen d. ganoiden_, berlin akad. ; leydig, _fischen u. reptilien_, and hyrtl, _ganoiden_) the same parts are found as in spatularia. the kidneys extend along the whole length of the body-cavity; and the ureter, which does not reach the whole length of the kidneys, is a thin-walled wide duct lying on the outer side. on laying it open the numerous apertures of the tubules for the kidney are exposed. the müllerian duct, which opens in both sexes into the abdominal cavity, ends, according to leydig, in the cases of some males, blindly behind without opening into the ureter, and müller makes the same statement for both sexes. it was open on both sides in a female specimen i examined[ ], and hyrtl found it invariably so in both sexes in all the specimens he examined. footnote : for this specimen i am indebted to dr günther. both rathke and stannius (i have been unable to refer to the original papers) believed that the semen was carried off by transverse ducts directly into the ureter, and most other observers have left undecided the mechanism of the transportation of the semen to the exterior. if we suppose that the ducts rathke saw really exist they might perhaps be supposed to enter not directly into the ureter, but into the kidney, and be in fact homologous with the vasa efferentia of the selachians. the frequent blind posterior termination of the müllerian duct is in favour of the view that these ducts of rathke are really present. in polypterus (vide hyrtl, _ganoiden_) there is, as in other ganoids, a pair of müllerian ducts. they unite at their lower ends. the ureters are also much narrower than in previously described ganoids and, after coalescing, open into the united oviducts. the urinogenital canal, formed by coalescence of the müllerian ducts and ureters, has an opening to the exterior immediately behind the anus. in amia (vide hyrtl) there is a pair of müllerian ducts which, as well as the ureters, open into a dilated vesicle. this vesicle appears as a continuation of the müllerian ducts, but receives a number of the efferent ductules of the kidneys. there is a single genito-urinary pore behind the anus. in ceratodus (günther, _phil. trans._ ) the kidneys are small and confined to the posterior extremity of the abdomen. the generative organs extend however along the greater part of the length of the abdominal cavity. in both male and female there is a long müllerian duct, and the ducts of the two sides unite and open by a common pore into a urinogenital cloaca which communicates with the exterior by the same opening as the alimentary canal. in both sexes the müllerian duct has a wide opening near the anterior extremity of the body-cavity. the ureters coalesce and open together into the urinogenital cloaca dorsal to the müllerian ducts. it is not absolutely certain that the semen is transported to the exterior by the müllerian duct of the male, which is perhaps merely a rudiment as in amphibia. dr günther failed however to find any other means by which it could be carried away. the genital ducts of lepidosteus differ in important particulars from those of the other ganoids (vide müller, _loc. cit._ and hyrtl, _loc. cit._). in both sexes the genital ducts are continuous with the investments of the genital organs. in the female the dilated posterior extremities of the ureters completely invest for some distance the generative ducts, whose extremities are divided into several processes, and end in a different way on the two sides. a similar division and asymmetry of the ducts is mentioned by hyrtl as occurring in the male of spatularia, and it seems not impossible that on the hypothesis of the genital ducts being segmental tubes these divisions may be remnants of primitive glandular convolutions. the ureters in both sexes dilate as in other ganoids at their posterior extremities, and unite with one another. the unpaired urinogenital opening is situated behind the anus. in the male the dilated portion of the ureters is divided into a series of partitions which are not present in the female. till the embryology of the secretory system of ganoids has been worked out, the homologies of their generative ducts are necessarily a matter of conjecture. it is even possible that what i have called the müllerian duct in the male is functionless, as with amphibians, but that, owing to the true ducts of the testis having been overlooked, it has been supposed to function as the vas deferens. günther's (_loc. cit._) injection experiments on ceratodus militate against this view, but i do not think they can be considered as conclusive as long as the mechanism for the transportation of the semen to the exterior has not been completely made out. analogy would certainly lead us to expect the ureter to serve in ganoids as the vas deferens. the position of the generative ducts might in some cases lead to the supposition that they are not müllerian ducts, or, in other words, the most anterior pair of segmental organs but a pair of the posterior segmental tubes. what are the true homologies of the generative ducts of lepidosteus, which are continuous with the generative glands, is somewhat doubtful. it is very probable that they may represent the similarly functioning ducts of other ganoids, but that they have undergone further changes as to their anterior extremities. it is, on the other hand, possible that their generative ducts are the same structures as those ducts of osseous fishes, which are continuous with the generative organs. these latter ducts are perhaps related to the abdominal pores, and had best be considered in connection with these; but a completely satisfactory answer to the questions which arise in reference to them can only be given by a study of their development. in the cyclostomes the generative products pass out by an abdominal pore, which communicates with the peritoneal cavity by two short tubes[ ], and which also receives the ducts of the kidneys. footnote : according to müller (_myxinoiden_, ) there is in myxine an abdominal pore with two short canals leading into it, and vogt and pappenheim (_an. sci. nat._ part iv. vol. xi.) state that in petromyzon there are two such pores, each connected with a short canal. gegenbaur suggests that these are to be looked upon as müllerian ducts, and as therefore developed from the segmental ducts of the kidneys. another possible view is that they are the primitive external openings of a pair of segmental organs. in selachians there are usually stated to be a pair of abdominal pores. in scyllium i have only been able to find, on each side, a large deep pocket opening to the exterior, but closed below towards the peritoneal cavity, so that in it there seem to be no abdominal pores[ ]. in the greenland shark (_læmargus borealis_) professor turner (_journal of anat. and phys._ vol. viii.) failed to find either oviduct or vas deferens, but found a pair of large open abdominal pores, which he believes serve to carry away the generative products of both sexes. whether the so-called abdominal pores of selachians usually end blindly as in scyllium, or, as is commonly stated, open into the body-cavity, there can be no question that they are homologous with true abdominal powers. footnote : my own rough examination of preserved specimens was hardly sufficient to enable me to determine for certain the presence or absence of these pores. mr bridge, of trinity college, has, however, since then commenced a series of investigations on this point, and informs me that these pores are certainly absent in scyllium as well as in other genera. the blind pockets of scyllium appear very much like the remains of primitive involutions from the exterior, which might easily be supposed to have formed the external opening of a pair of segmental organs, and this is probably the true meaning of abdominal pores. the presence of abdominal pores in all ganoids in addition to true genital ducts and of these pockets or abdominal pores in selachians, which are almost certainly homologous with the abdominal pores of ganoids and cyclostomes, and also occur in addition to true müllerian ducts, speak strongly against the view that the abdominal pores have any relation to müllerian ducts. probably therefore the abdominal pores of the cyclostomous fishes (which seem to be of the same character as other abdominal pores) are not to be looked on as rudimentary müllerian ducts. we next come to the question which i reserved while speaking of the kidneys of osseous fishes, as to the meaning of their genital ducts. in the female salmon and the male and female eel, the generative products are carried to the exterior by abdominal pores, and there are no true generative ducts. in the case of most other osseous fish there are true generative ducts which are continuous with the investment of the generative organs[ ] and have generally, though not always, an opening or openings independent of the ureter close behind the rectum, but no abdominal pores are present. it seems, therefore, that in osseous fish the generative ducts are complementary to abdominal pores, which might lead to the view that the generative ducts were formed by a coalescence of the investment of the generative glands with the short duct of abdominal pore. footnote : the description of the attachment of the vas deferens to the testis in the carp given by vogt and pappenheim (_ann. scien. nat._ ) does not agree with what i found in the perch (_perca fluvialis_). the walls of the duct are in the perch continuous with the investment of the testis, and the gland of the testis occupies, as it were, the greater part of the duct; there is, however, a distinct cavity corresponding to what vogt and p. call the duct, near the border of attachment of the testis into which the seminal tubules open. i could find at the posterior end of the testis no central cavity which could be distinguished from the cavity of this duct. against this view there are, however, the following facts: ( ) in the cases of the salmon and the eel it is perfectly true that the abdominal pore exactly corresponds with the opening of the genital duct in other osseous fishes, but the absence of genital ducts in these cases must rather be viewed, as vogt and pappenheim (_loc. cit._) have already insisted, as a case of degeneration than of a primitive condition. the presence of genital ducts in the near allies of the salmonidæ, and even in the male salmon, are conclusive proofs of this. if we admit that the presence of an abdominal pore in salmonidæ is merely a result of degeneration, it obviously cannot be used as an argument for the complementary nature of abdominal pores and generative ducts. ( ) hyrtl (_denkschriften der k. akad. wien_, vol. ) states that in mormyrus oxyrynchus there is a pair of abdominal pores in addition to true generative ducts. if his statements are correct, we have a strong argument against the generative ducts of osseous fishes being related to abdominal pores. for though this is the solitary instance of the presence of both a genital opening and abdominal pores known to me in osseous fishes, yet we have no right to assume that the abdominal pores of mormyrus are not equivalent to those of ganoids and selachians. it must be admitted, with gegenbaur, that embryology alone can elucidate the meaning of the genital ducts of osseous fishes. in lepidosteus, as was before mentioned, the generative ducts, though continuous with the investment of the generative bodies, unite with the ureters, and in this differ from the generative ducts of osseous fishes. the relation, indeed, of the generative ducts of lepidosteus to the urinary ducts is very similar to that existing in other ganoid fishes; and this, coupled with the fact that lepidosteus possesses a pair of abdominal pores on each side of the anus[ ], makes it most probable that its generative ducts are true müllerian ducts. footnote : this is mentioned by müller (_ganoid fishes_, berlin akad. ), hyrtl (_loc. cit._), and günther (_loc. cit._), and through the courtesy of dr günther i have had an opportunity of confirming the fact of the presence of the abdominal pores on two specimens of lepidosteus in the british museum. * * * * * in the amphibians the urinary system is again more primitive than in the selachians. the segmental duct of the kidneys is formed[ ] by an elongated fold arising from the outer wall of the body-cavity, in the same position as in selachians. this fold becomes constricted into a canal, closed except at its anterior end, which remains open to the body-cavity. this anterior end dilates, and grows out into two horns, and at the same time its opening into the body-cavity becomes partly constricted, and so divided into three separate orifices, one for each horn and a central one between the two. the horns become convoluted, blood channels appearing between their convolutions, and a special coil of vessels is formed arising from the aorta and projecting into the body-cavity near the openings of the convolutions. these formations together constitute the glandular portion[ ] of the original anterior segmental tube or segmental duct of the kidneys. i have already pointed out the similarity which this organ exhibits to the head-kidneys of cyclostome fishes in its mode of formation, especially with reference to the division of the primitive opening. the lower end of the segmental duct unites with a horn of the cloaca. footnote : my account of the _development_ of these parts in amphibians is derived for the most part from götte, _die entwicklungsgeschichte der unke_. footnote : it is called kopfniere (head-kidney), or urniere (primitive kidney), by german authors. leydig correctly looks upon it as together with the permanent kidney constituting the urniere of amphibians. the term urniere is one which has arisen in my opinion from a misconception; but certainly the kopfniere has no greater right to the appellation than the remainder of the kidney. after the formation of the gland just described the remainder of the kidney is formed. this arises in the same way as in selachians. a series of involutions from the body-cavity are developed; these soon form convoluted tubes, which become branched and interlaced with one another, and also unite with the primitive duct of the kidneys. owing to the branching and interlacing of the primitive segmental tubes, the kidney is not divided into distinct segments in the same way as with the selachians. the mode of development of these segmental tubes was discovered by götte. their openings are ciliated, and, as spengel (_loc. cit._) and meyer (_loc. cit._) have independently discovered, persist in most adult amphibians. as both these investigators have pointed out, the segmental openings are in the adult kidneys of most amphibians far more numerous than the vertebral segments to which they appertain. this is due to secondary changes, and is not to be looked upon as the primitive state of things. at this stage the amphibian kidneys are nearly in the same condition as the selachian, in the stage represented in fig. . in both there is the segmental duct of the kidneys, which is open in front, communicates with the cloaca behind, and receives the whole secretion from the kidneys. the parallelism between the two is closely adhered to in the subsequent modifications of the amphibian kidney, but the changes are not completed so far in amphibians as in selachians. the segmental duct of the amphibian kidney becomes, as in selachians, split into a müllerian duct or oviduct, and a wolffian duct or duct for the kidney. the following points about this are noteworthy: ( ) the separation of the two ducts is never completed, so that they are united together behind, and for a short distance, blend and form a common duct; the ducts of the two sides so formed also unite before opening to the exterior. ( ) the separation of the two ducts does not occur in the form of a simple splitting, as in selachians. but the efferent ductules from the kidney gradually alter their points of entrance into the primitive duct. their points of entrance become carried backwards further and further, and since this process affects the anterior ducts proportionally more than the posterior, the efferent ducts finally all meet and form a common duct which unites with the müllerian duct near its posterior extremity. this process is not always carried out with equal completeness. in the tailless amphibians, however, the process is generally[ ] completed, and the ureters (wolffian ducts) are of considerable length. bufo cinereus, in the male of which the müllerian ducts are very conspicuous, serves as an excellent example of this. footnote : in bombinator igneus, von wittich stated that the embryonic condition was retained. leydig, _anatom. d. amphib. u. reptilien_, shewed that this is not the case, but that in the male the müllerian duct is very small, though distinct. in the salamander (salamandra maculosa), figs. and , the process is carried out with greater completeness in the female than in the male, and this is the general rule in amphibians. in the male proteus, the embryonic condition would seem to be retained almost in its completeness so that the ducts of the kidney open directly and separately into the still persisting primitive duct of the kidney. the upper end of the duct nevertheless extends some distance beyond the end of the kidney and opens into the abdominal cavity. in the female proteus, on the other hand, the separation into a müllerian duct and a ureter is quite complete. the newt (triton) also serves as an excellent example of the formation of distinct müllerian and wolffian ducts being much more complete in the female than the male. in the female newt all the tubules from the kidney open into a duct of some length which unites with the müllerian duct near its termination, but in the male the anterior segmental tubes, including those which, as will be afterwards seen, serve as vasa efferentia of the testis, enter the müllerian duct directly, while the posterior unite as in the female into a common duct before joining the müllerian duct. for further details as to the variations exhibited in the amphibians, the reader is referred to leydig, _anat. untersuchung, fischen u. reptilien_. ditto, _lehrbuch der histologie, menschen u. thiere_. von wittich, _siebold u. kölliker, zeitschrift_, vol. iv. p. . the different conditions of completeness of the wolffian ducts observable amongst the amphibians are instructive in reference to the manner of development of the wolffian duct in selachians. the _mode_ of division in the selachians of the segmental duct of the kidney into a müllerian and wolffian duct is probably to be looked upon as an embryonic abbreviation of the process by which these two ducts are formed in amphibians. the fact that this separation into müllerian and wolffian ducts proceeds further in the females of most amphibians than in the males, strikingly shews that it is the oviductal function of the müllerian duct which is the indirect cause of its separation from the wolffian duct. the müllerian duct formed in the way described persists almost invariably in both sexes, and in the male sometimes functions as a sperm reservoir; _e.g._ bufo cinereus. in the embryo it carries at its upper end the glandular mass described above (kopfniere), but this generally atrophies, though remnants of it persist in the males of some species (_e.g._ salamandra). its anterior end opens, in most cases by a single opening, into the perivisceral cavity in both sexes, and is usually ciliated. as the female reaches maturity, the oviduct dilates very much; but it remains thin and inconspicuous in the male. the only other developmental change of importance is the connection of the testes with the kidneys. this probably occurs in the same manner as in selachians, viz. from the junction of the open ends of the segmental tubes with the follicles of the testes. in any case the vessels which carry off the semen constitute part of the kidney, and the efferent duct of the testis is also that of the kidney. the vasa efferentia from the testis either pass through one or two nearly isolated anterior portions of the kidney (proteus, triton) or else no such special portion of the kidney becomes separated from the rest, and the vasa efferentia enter the general body of the kidney. * * * * * in the male amphibian, then, the urinogenital system consists of the following parts (fig. ): ( ) rudimentary müllerian ducts, opening anteriorly into the body-cavity, which sometimes carry aborted _kopfnieren_. ( ) the partially or completely formed wolffian ducts (ureters) which also serve as the ducts for the testes. ( ) the kidneys, parts of which also serve as the vasa efferentia, and whose secretion, together with the testicular products, is carried off by the wolffian ducts. ( ) the united lower parts of wolffian and müllerian ducts which are really the lower unsplit part of the segmental ducts of the kidneys. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the urinogenital organs of a male salamander. (_copied from leydig's histologie des menschen u. der thiere._) _md._ müller's duct (rudimentary); _y._ remnant of the secretory portion of the segmental duct kopfniere; _wd._ wolffian duct; a less complete structure in the male than in the female; _st._ segmental tubes or kidney. the openings of these into the body-cavity are not inserted in the figure; _t._ testis. its efferent ducts form part of the kidney.] in the female, there are (fig. ) ( ) the müllerian ducts which function as the oviducts. ( ) the wolffian ducts. ( ) the kidneys. ( ) the united müllerian and wolffian ducts as in the male. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the urinogenital organs of a female salamander. (_copied from leydig's histologie des menschen u. der thiere_.) _md._ müller's duct or oviduct; _wd._ wolffian duct or the duct of the kidneys; _st._ segmental tubes or kidney. the openings of these into the body-cavity are not inserted in the figure; _o._ ovary.] the urinogenital organs of the adult amphibians agree in almost all essential particulars with those of selachians. the ova are carried off in both by a specialized oviduct. the wolffian duct, or ureter, is found both in selachians and amphibians, and the relations of the testis to it are the same in both, the vasa efferentia of the testes having in both the same anatomical peculiarities. the following points are the main ones in which selachians and amphibians differ as to the anatomy of the urinogenital organs; and in all but one of these, the organs of the amphibian exhibit a less differentiated condition than do those of the selachian. ( ) a glandular portion (kopfniere) belonging to the first segmental organ (segmental duct of the kidneys) is found in all embryo amphibians, but usually disappears, or only leaves a remnant in the adult. it has not yet been found in any selachian. ( ) the division of the primitive duct of the kidney into the müllerian duct and the wolffian duct is not completed so far in amphibians as selachians, and in the former the two ducts are confluent at their lower ends. ( ) the permanent kidney exhibits in amphibians no distinction into two glands (foreshadowing the wolffian bodies and true kidneys of higher vertebrates), as it does in the selachians. ( ) the müllerian duct persists in its entirety in male amphibians, but only its upper end remains in male selachians. ( ) the openings of the segmental tubes into the body-cavity correspond in number with the vertebral segments in most selachians, but are far more numerous than these in amphibians. this is the chief point in which the amphibian kidney is more differentiated than the selachian. * * * * * the modifications in development which the urinogenital system has suffered in higher vertebrates (sauropsida and mammalia) are very considerable; nevertheless it appears to me to be possible with fair certainty to trace out the relationship of its various parts in them to those found in the ichthyopsida. the development of urinogenital organs has been far more fully worked out for the bird than for any other member of the amniotic vertebrates; but, as far as we know, there are no essential variations except in the later periods of development throughout the division. these later variations, concerning for the most part the external apertures of the various ducts, are so well known and have been so fully described as to require no notice here. the development of these parts in the bird will therefore serve as the most convenient basis for comparison. in the bird the development of these parts begins by the appearance of a column of cells on the upper surface of the intermediate cell-mass (fig. , _w.d_). as in selachians, the intermediate cell-mass is a group of cells between the outer edge of the protovertebræ and the upper end of the body-cavity. the column of cells thus formed is the commencement of the duct of the wolffian body. its development is strikingly similar to that of the segmental duct of the kidney in selachians. i shall attempt when i have given an account of the development of the müllerian duct to speak of the relations between the selachian duct and that of the bird. romiti (_archiv f. micr. anat._ vol. x.) has recently stated that the wolffian duct develops as an involution from the body-cavity. the fact that the specimens drawn by romiti to support this view are too old to determine such a point, and the inspection of a number of specimens made by my friend mr adam sedgwick of trinity college, who, at my request, has been examining the urinogenital organs of the fowl, have led me to the conclusion that romiti is in error in differing from his predecessors as to the development of the wolffian duct. the solid string of cells to form the wolffian duct lies at first close to the epiblast, but, by the alteration in shape which the protovertebræ undergo and the general growth of cells around it, becomes gradually carried downwards till it lies close to the germinal epithelium which lines the body-cavity. while undergoing this change of position it also acquires a lumen, but ends blindly both in front and behind. towards the end of the fourth day the wolffian duct opens into a horn of the cloaca. the cells adjoining its inner border commence, as it passes down on the third day, to undergo histological changes, which, by the fourth day, result in the formation of a series of ducts and malpighian tufts which form the mass of the wolffian body[ ]. footnote : this account of the origin of the wolffian body differs from that given by waldeyer, and by dr foster and myself (_elements of embryology_, foster and balfour), but i have been led to alter my view from an inspection of mr sedgwick's preparations, and i hope to shew that theoretical considerations lead to the expectation that the wolffian body would develop independently of the duct. [illustration: fig. . transverse section through the dorsal region of an embryo fowl of h. to shew the mode of formation of the wolffian duct. _a._ epiblast; _b._ mesoblast; _c._ hypoblast; _m.c._ medullary canal; _pv._ protovertebræ; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal cavity; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _v._ blood-vessels.] the müllerian duct arises in the form of an involution, whether at first solid or hollow, of the germinal epithelium, and, as i am satisfied, quite independently of the wolffian duct. it is important to notice that its posterior end soon unites with the wolffian duct, from which however it not long after becomes separated and opens independently into the cloaca. the upper end remains permanently open to the body-cavity, and is situated nearly opposite the extreme front end of the wolffian body. between the th and th hour of incubation the ducts of the permanent kidneys begin to make their appearance. near its posterior extremity each wolffian duct becomes expanded, and from the dorsal side of this portion a diverticulum is constricted off, the blind end of which points forwards. this is the duct of the permanent kidneys, and around its end the kidneys are found. it is usually stated that the tubules of the permanent kidneys arise as outgrowths from the duct, but this requires to be worked over again. the condition of the urinogenital system in birds immediately after the formation of the permanent kidneys is strikingly similar to its permanent condition in adult selachians. there is the müllerian duct in both opening in front into the body-cavity and behind into the cloaca. in both the kidneys consist of two parts--an anterior and posterior--which have been called respectively wolffian bodies and permanent kidneys in birds and leydig's glands and the kidneys in selachians. the duct of the permanent kidney, which at first opens into that of the wolffian body, subsequently becomes further split off from the wolffian duct, and opens independently into the cloaca. the subsequent changes of these parts are different in the two sexes. in the female the müllerian ducts[ ] persist and become the oviducts. their anterior ends remain open to the body-cavity. the changes in their lower ends in the various orders of sauropsida and mammalia are too well known to require repetition here. the wolffian body and duct atrophy: there are left however in many cases slight remnants of the anterior extremity of the body forming the parovarium of the bird, and also frequently remnants of the posterior portion of the gland as well as of the duct. the permanent kidney and its duct remain unaltered. footnote : the right oviduct atrophies in birds, and the left alone persists in the adult. in the male the müllerian duct becomes almost completely obliterated. the wolffian duct persists and forms the vas deferens, and the anterior so-called sexual portion of the wolffian body also persists in an altered form. its tubules unite with the seminiferous tubules, and also form the epididymis. unimportant remnants of the posterior part of the wolffian body also persist, but are without function. in both sexes the so-called permanent kidneys form the sole portion of the primitive uriniferous system which persists in the adult. in considering the relations between the modes of development of the urinogenital organs of the bird and of the selachians, the first important point to notice is, that whereas in the selachians the segmental duct of the kidneys is first developed and subsequently becomes split into the müllerian and wolffian ducts; in the bird these two ducts develop independently. this difference in development would be accurately described by saying that in birds the segmental duct of the kidneys develops as in selachians, but that the müllerian duct develops independently of it. since in selachians the wolffian duct is equivalent to the segmental duct of the kidneys with the müllerian removed from it, when in birds the müllerian duct develops independently of the segmental kidney duct, the latter becomes the same as the wolffian duct. the second mode of stating the difference in development in the two cases represents the embryological facts of the bird far better than the other method. it explains why the wolffian duct appears earlier than the müllerian and not at the same time, as one might expect according to the other way of stating the case. if the wolffian duct is equivalent to the segmental duct of selachians, it must necessarily be the first duct to develop; and not improbably the development of the müllerian duct would in birds be expected to occur at the time corresponding to that at which the primitive duct in selachians became split into two ducts. it probably also explains the similarity in the mode of development of the wolffian duct in birds and the primitive duct of the kidneys in selachians. this way of stating the case is also in accordance with theoretical conclusions. as the egg-bearing function of the müllerian duct became more and more confirmed we might expect that the adult condition would impress itself more and more upon the embryonic development, till finally the müllerian duct ceased to be at any period connected with the kidneys, and the history of its origin ceased to be traceable in its development. this seems to have actually occurred in the higher vertebrates, so that the only persisting connection between the müllerian duct and the urinary system is the brief but important junction of the two at their lower ends on the sixth or seventh day. this junction justly surprised waldeyer (_eierstock u. ei_, p. ), but receives a complete and satisfactory explanation on the hypothesis given above. the original development of the segmental tubes is in the bird solely retained in the tubules of the wolffian body arising independently of the wolffian duct, and i have hitherto failed to find that there is a distinct division of the wolffian bodies into segments corresponding with the vertebral segments. i have compared the permanent kidneys to the lower portion of the kidneys of selachians. the identity of the anatomical condition of the adult selachian and embryonic bird which has been already pointed out speaks strongly in favour of this view; and when we further consider that the duct of the permanent kidneys is developed in nearly the same way as the supposed homologous duct in selachians, the suggested identity gains further support. the only difficulty is the fact that in selachians the tubules of the part of the kidneys under comparison develop as segmental involutions in point of time anteriorly to their duct, while in birds they develop in a manner not hitherto certainly made out but apparently in point of time posteriorly to their duct. but when the immense modifications in development which the whole of the gland of the excretory organ has undergone in the bird are considered, i do not think that the fact i have mentioned can be brought forward as a serious difficulty. the further points of comparison between the selachian and the bird are very simple. the müllerian duct in its later stages behaves in the higher vertebrates precisely as in the lower. it becomes in fact the oviduct in the female and atrophies in the male. the behaviour of the wolffian duct is also exactly that of the duct which i have called the wolffian duct in ichthyopsida, and in the tubules of the wolffian body uniting with the tubuli seminiferi we have represented the junction of the segmental tubes with the testis in selachians and amphibians. it is probably this junction of two independent organs which led waldeyer to the erroneous view that the tubuli seminiferi were developed from the tubules of the wolffian body. with the bird i conclude the history of the origin of the urinogenital system of vertebrates. i have attempted, and i hope succeeded, in tracing out by the aid of comparative anatomy and embryology the steps by which a series of independent and simple segmental organs like those of annelids have become converted into the complicated series of glands and ducts which constitute the urinogenital system of the higher vertebrates. there are no doubt some points which require further elucidation amongst the ganoid and osseous fishes. the most important points which appear to me still to need further research, both embryological and anatomical, are the abdominal pores of fishes, the generative ducts of ganoids, especially lepidosteus, and the generative ducts of osseous fishes. the only further point which requires discussion is the embryonic layer from which these organs are derived. i have shewn beyond a doubt (_loc. cit._) that in selachians these organs are formed from the mesoblast. the unanimous testimony of all the recent investigators of amphibians leads to the same conclusion. in birds, on the other hand, various investigators have attempted to prove that these organs are derived from the epiblast. the proof they give is the following: the epiblast and mesoblast appear fused in the region of the axis cord. from this some investigators have been led to the conclusion that the whole of the mesoblast is derived from the upper of the two primitive embryonic layers. to these it may be replied that, even granting their view to be correct, it is no proof of the derivation of the urinogenital organs from the epiblast, since it is not till the complete formation of the three layers that any one of them can be said to exist. others look upon the fusion of the two layers as a proof of the passage of cells from the epiblast into the mesoblast. an assumption in itself, which however is followed by the further assumption that it is from these epiblast cells that the urinogenital system is derived! whatever may have been the primitive origin of the system, its mesoblastic origin in vertebrates cannot in my opinion be denied. kowalewsky (_embryo. stud. an vermen u. arthropoda_, mem. akad. st petersbourg, ) finds that the segmental tubes of annelids develop from the mesoblast. we must therefore look upon the mesoblastic origin of the excretory system as having an antiquity greater even than that of vertebrates. viii. on the development of the spinal nerves in elasmobranch fishes[ ]. footnote : [from the _philosophical transactions of the royal society of london_, vol. clxvi. pt. . received _october _, read _december , _.] with plates and . in the course of an inquiry into the development of elasmobranch fishes, my attention has recently been specially directed to the first appearance and early stages of the spinal nerves, and i have been led to results which differ so materially from those of former investigators, that i venture at once to lay them before the society. i have employed in my investigations embryos of _scyllium canicula_, _scyllium stellare_, _pristiurus_, and _torpedo_. the embryos of the latter animal, especially those hardened in osmic acid, have proved by far the most favourable for my purpose, though, as will be seen from the sequel, i have been able to confirm the majority of my conclusions on embryos of all the above-mentioned genera. a great part of my work was done at the zoological station founded by dr dohrn at naples; and i have to thank both dr dohrn and dr eisig for the uniformly obliging manner in which they have met my requirements for investigation. i have more recently been able to fill up a number of lacunæ in my observations by the study of embryos bred in the brighton aquarium; for these i am indebted to the liberality of mr lee and the directors of that institution. _the first appearance of the spinal nerves in pristiurus._ in a _pristiurus_-embryo, at the time when two visceral clefts become visible from the exterior (though there are as yet no openings from without into the throat), a transverse section through the dorsal region exhibits the following features (pl. , fig. a):-- the external epiblast is formed of a single row of flattened elongated cells. vertically above the neural canal the cells of this layer are more columnar, and form the rudiment of the primitively continuous dorsal fin. the neural canal (_nc_) is elliptical in section, and its walls are composed of oval cells two or three deep. the wall at the two sides is slightly thicker than at the ventral and dorsal ends, and the cells at the two ends are also smaller than elsewhere. a typical cell from the side walls of the canal is about / inch in its longest diameter. the outlines of the cells are for the most part distinctly marked in the specimens hardened in either chromic or picric acid, but more difficult to see in those prepared with osmic acid; their protoplasm is clear, and in the interior of each is an oval nucleus very large in proportion to the size of its cell. the long diameter of a typical nucleus is about / inch, or about two-thirds of that of the cell. the nuclei are granular, and very often contain several especially large and deeply stained granules; in other cases only one such is present, which may then be called a nucleolus. in sections there may be seen round the exterior of the neural tube a distinct hyaline membrane: this becomes stained of a brown colour with osmic acid, and purple or red with hæmatoxylin or carmine respectively. whether it is to be looked upon as a distinct membrane differentiated from the outermost portion of the protoplasm of the cells, or as a layer of albumen coagulated by the reagents applied, i am unable to decide for certain. it makes its appearance at a very early period, long before that now being considered; and similar membranes are present around other organs as well as the neural tube. the membrane is at this stage perfectly continuous round the whole exterior of the neural tube _as well on the dorsal surface as on the ventral_. the section figured, whose features i am describing, belongs to the middle of the dorsal region. anteriorly to this point the spinal cord becomes more elliptical in section, and the spinal canal more lanceolate; posteriorly, on the other hand, the spinal canal and tube become more nearly circular in section. immediately beneath the neural tube is situated the notochord (_ch_). it exhibits at this stage a central area rich in protoplasm, and a peripheral layer very poor in protoplasm; externally it is invested by a distinct cuticular membrane. beneath the notochord is a peculiar rod of cells, constricted from the top of the alimentary canal[ ]. on each side and below this are the two aortæ, just commencing to be formed, and ventral to these is the alimentary canal. footnote : vide balfour, "preliminary account of the development of elasmobranch fishes," _quart. journ. of microsc. science_, oct. , p. . [this edition, p. .] on each side of the body two muscle-plates are situated; their upper ends reach about one-third of the way up the sides of the neural tube. the two layers which together constitute the muscle-plates are at this stage perfectly continuous with the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast, and the space between the two layers is continuous with the body-cavity. in addition to the muscle-plates and their ventral continuations, there are no other mesoblast-cells to be seen. the absence of all mesoblastic cells dorsal to the superior extremities of the muscles is deserving of special notice. very shortly after this period and, as a rule, before a third visceral cleft has become visible, the first traces of the spinal nerves make their appearance. _first stage._--the spinal nerves do not appear at the same time along the whole length of the spinal canal, but are formed first of all in the neck and subsequently at successive points posterior to this. their mode of formation will be most easily understood by referring to pl. , figs. b i, b ii, b iii, which are representations of three sections taken from the same embryo. b i is from the region of the heart; b ii belongs to a part of the body posterior to this, and b iii to a still posterior region. in most points the sections scarcely differ from pl. , fig. a, which, indeed, might very well be a posterior section of the embryo to which these three sections belong. the chief point, in addition to the formation of the spinal nerves, which shews the greater age of the embryo from which the sections were taken is the complete formation of the aortæ. the upper ends of the muscle-plates have grown no further round the neural canal than in fig. a, and no scattered mesoblastic connective-tissue cells are visible. in fig. a the dorsal surface of the neural canal was as completely rounded off as the ventral surface; but in fig. b iii this has ceased to be the case. the cells at the dorsal surface of the neural canal have become rounder and smaller and begun to proliferate, and the uniform outline of the neural canal has here become broken (fig. b iii, _pr_). the peculiar membrane completely surrounding the canal in fig. a now terminates just below the point where the proliferation of cells is taking place. the prominence of cells which springs in this way from the top of the neural canal is the commencing rudiment of a pair of spinal nerves. in fig. b ii, a section anterior to fig. b iii, this formation has advanced much further (fig. b ii, _pr_). from the extreme top of the neural canal there have now grown out two club-shaped masses of cells, one on each side; they are perfectly continuous with the cells which form the extreme top of the neural canal, and necessarily also are in contact with each other dorsally. each grows outwards in contact with the walls of the neural canal; but, except at the point where they take their origin, they are not continuous with its walls, and are perfectly well separated by a sharp line from them. in fig. b i, though the club-shaped processes still retain their attachment to the summit of the neural canal, they have become much longer and more conspicuous. specimens hardened in both chromic acid (pl. , fig. c) and picric acid give similar appearances as to the formation of these bodies. in those hardened in osmic acid, though the mutual relations of the masses of cells are very clear, yet it is difficult to distinguish the outlines of the individual cells. in the chromic acid specimens (fig. c) the cells of these rudiments appear rounded, and each of them contains a large nucleus. i have been unable to prepare longitudinal sections of this stage, either horizontal or vertical, to shew satisfactorily the extreme summit of the spinal cord; but i would call attention to the fact that the cells forming the proximal portion of the outgrowth are seen in every transverse section at this stage, and therefore exist the whole way along, whereas the _distal_ portion is seen only in every third or fourth section, according to the thickness of the sections. it may be concluded from this that there appears a continuous outgrowth from the spinal canal, from which discontinuous processes grow out. in specimens of a very much later period (pl. , fig. i) the proximal portions of the outgrowth are unquestionably continuous with each other, though their actual junctions with the spinal cord are very limited in extent. the fact of this continuity at a later period is strongly in favour of the view that the posterior branches of the spinal nerves arise from the first as a continuous outgrowth of the spinal cord, from which a series of distal processes take their origin. i have, however, failed to demonstrate this point absolutely. the processes, which we may call the nerve-rudiments, are, as appears from the later stages, equal in number to the muscle-plates. it may be pointed out, as must have been gathered from the description above, that the nerve-rudiments have at this stage but one point of attachment to the spinal cord, and that this one corresponds with the dorsal or posterior root of the adult nerve. the rudiments are, in fact, those of the posterior root only. the next or second stage in the formation of these structures to which i would call attention occurs at about the time when three to five visceral clefts are present. the disappearance from the notochord in the anterior extremity of the body of a special central area rich in protoplasm serves as an excellent guide to the commencement of this epoch. its investigation is beset with far greater difficulties than the previous one. this is owing partly to the fact that a number of connective-tissue cells, which are only with great difficulty to be distinguished from the cells which compose the spinal nerves, make their appearance around the latter, and partly to the fact that the attachment of the spinal nerves to the neural canal becomes much smaller, and therefore more difficult to study. fortunately, however, in _torpedo_ these peculiar features are not present to nearly the same extent as in _pristiurus_ and _scyllium_. the connective-tissue cells, though they appear earlier in _torpedo_ than in the two other genera, are much less densely packed, and the large attachment of the nerves to the neural canal is retained for a longer period. under these circumstances i consider it better, before proceeding with this stage, to give a description of the occurrences in _torpedo_, and after that to return to the history of the nerves in the genera _pristiurus_ and _scyllium_. _the development of the spinal nerves in torpedo._ the youngest _torpedo_-embryo in which i have found traces of the spinal nerves belongs to the earliest part of what i called the second stage. the segmental duct[ ] is just appearing, but the cells of the notochord have not become completely vacuolated. the rudiments of the spinal nerves extend half of the way towards the ventral side of the spinal cord; they grow out in a most distinct manner from the dorsal surface of the spinal cord (pl. , fig. d a, _pr_); but the nerve-rudiments of the two sides are no longer continuous with each other at the dorsal median line, as in the earlier _pristiurus_-embryos. the cells forming the proximal portion of the rudiment have the same elongated form as the cells of the spinal cord, but the remaining cells are more circular. footnote : vide balfour, "origin and history of urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journal of anatomy and physiology_, oct. . [this edition, no. vii.] from the summit of the muscle-plates (_mp_) an outgrowth of connective tissue has made its appearance (_c_), which eventually fills up the space between the dorsal surface of the cord and the external epiblast. there is not the slightest difficulty in distinguishing the connective-tissue cells from the nerve-rudiment. i believe that in this embryo the origin of the nerves from the neural canal was a continuous one, though naturally the peripheral ends of the nerve-rudiments were separate from each other. the most interesting feature of the stage is the commencing formation of the anterior roots. each of these arises (pl. , fig. d a, _ar_) as a small but distinct outgrowth from the epiblast of the spinal cord, near the ventral corner of which it appears as a conical projection. even from the very first it has an indistinct form of termination and a fibrous appearance, while the protoplasm of which it is composed becomes very attenuated towards its termination. the points of origin of the anterior roots from the spinal cord are separated from each other by considerable intervals. in this fact, and also in the nerves of the two sides never being united with each other in the ventral median line, the anterior roots exhibit a marked contrast to the posterior. there exists, then, in _torpedo_-embryos by the end of this stage distinct rudiments of both the anterior and posterior roots of the spinal nerves. these rudiments are at first quite independent of and disconnected with each other, and both take their rise as outgrowths of the epiblast of the neural canal. the next _torpedo_-embryo (pl. , fig. d b), though taken from the same female, is somewhat older than the one last described. the cells of the notochord are considerably vacuolated; but the segmental duct is still without a lumen. the posterior nerve-rudiments are elongated, pear-shaped bodies of considerable size, and, growing in a ventral direction, have reached a point nearly opposite the base of the neural canal. they still remain attached to the top of the neural canal, though the connexion has in each case become a pedicle so narrow that it can only be observed with great difficulty. it is fairly certain that by this stage each posterior nerve-rudiment has its own separate and independent junction with the spinal cord; their dorsal extremities are nevertheless probably connected with each other by a continuous commissure. the cells composing the rudiments are still round, and have, in fact, undergone no important modifications since the last stage. the important feature of the section figured (fig. d b), and one which it shares with the other sections of the same embryo, is the appearance of connective-tissue cells around the nerve-rudiment. these cells arise from two sources; one of these is supplied by the vertebral rudiments, which at the end of the last stage (pl. , fig. c, _vr_) become split off from the inner layer of the muscle-plates. the vertebral rudiments have in fact commenced to grow up on each side of the neural canal, in order to form the mass of cells out of which the neural arches are subsequently developed. the dorsal extremities of the muscle-plates form the second source of these connective-tissue cells. these latter cells lie dorsal and external to the nerve-rudiments. the presence of this connective tissue, in addition to the nerve-rudiments, removes the possibility of erroneous interpretations in the previous stages of the _pristiurus_-embryo. it might be urged that the two masses which i have called nerve-rudiments are nothing else than mesoblastic connective tissue commencing to develop around the neural canal, and that the appearance of attachment to the neural canal which they present is due to bad preparation or imperfect observation. the sections of both this and the last _torpedo_-embryo which i have been describing clearly prove that this is not the case. we have, in fact, in the same sections the developing connective tissue as well as the nerve-rudiments, and at a time when the latter still retains its primitive attachment to the neural canal. the anterior root (fig. d b, _ar_) is still a distinct conical prominence, but somewhat larger than in the previously described embryo; it is composed of several cells, and the cells of the spinal cord in its neighbourhood converge towards its point of origin. in a _torpedo_-embryo (pl. , fig. d c) somewhat older than the one last described, though again derived from the oviduct of the same female, both the anterior and the posterior rudiments have made considerable steps in development. in sections taken from the hinder part of the body i found that the posterior rudiments nearly agreed in size with those in fig. d b. it is, however, still less easy than there to trace the junction of the posterior rudiments with the spinal cord, and the upper ends of the rudiments of the two sides do not nearly meet. in a considerable series of sections i failed to find any case in which i could be absolutely certain that a junction between the nerve and the spinal cord was effected; and it is possible that in course of the change of position which this junction undergoes there may be for a short period a break of continuity between the nerve and the cord. this, however, i do not think probable. but if it takes place at all, it takes place before the nerve becomes functionally active, and so cannot be looked upon as possessing any physiological significance. the rudiment of the posterior nerve in the hinder portion of the body is still approximately homogeneous, and no distinction of parts can be found in it. in the same region of the body the anterior rudiment retains nearly the same condition as in the previous stage, though it has somewhat increased in size. in the sections taken from the anterior part of the same embryo the posterior rudiment has both grown in size and also commenced to undergo histological changes by which it has become divided into a root, a ganglion, and a nerve. the root (fig. d c, _pr_) consists of small round cells which lie close to the spinal cord, and ends dorsally in a rounded extremity. the ganglion (_g_) consists of larger and more elongated cells, and forms an oval mass enclosed on the outside by the downward continuation of the root, having its inner side nearly in contact with the spinal cord. from its ventral end is continued the nerve, which is of considerable length, and has a course approximately parallel to that of the muscle-plate. it forms a continuation of the root rather than of the ganglion. further details in reference to the histology of the nerve-rudiment at this stage are given later in this paper, in the description of _pristiurus_-embryos, of which i have a more complete series of sections than of the _torpedo_-embryos. when compared with the nerve-rudiment in the posterior part of the same embryo, the nerve-rudiment last described is, in the first place, considerably larger, and has secondly undergone changes, so that it is possible to recognize in it parts which can be histologically distinguished as nerve and ganglion. the developmental changes which have taken place in the anterior root are not less important than those in the posterior. the anterior root now forms a very conspicuous cellular prominence growing out from the ventral corner of the spinal cord (fig. d c, _ar_). it has a straight course from the spinal cord to the muscle-plate, and there shews a tendency to turn downwards at an open angle: this, however, is not represented in the specimen figured. the cells of which it is composed each contain a large oval nucleus, and are not unlike the cells which form the posterior rudiment. the anterior and posterior nerves are still quite unconnected with each other; and in those sections in which the anterior root is present the posterior root of the same side is either completely absent or only a small part is to be seen. the cells of the spinal cord exhibit a slight tendency to converge towards the origin of the anterior nerve-root. in the spinal cord itself the epithelium of the central canal is commencing to become distinguished from the grey matter, but no trace of the white matter is visible. i have succeeded in making longitudinal vertical sections of this stage, which prove that the ends of the posterior roots adjoining the junction with the cord are all connected with each other (pl. , fig. d d). if the figure representing a transverse section of the embryo (fig. d c) be examined, or better still the figure of a section of the slightly older _scyllium_-embryo (pl. , fig. h i or i i), the posterior root will be seen to end dorsally in a rounded extremity, and the junction with the spinal cord to be effected, not by the extremity of the nerve, but by a part of it at some little distance from this. it is from these upper ends of the rudiments beyond the junction with the spinal cord that i believe the commissures to spring which connect together the posterior roots. my sections shewing this for the stage under consideration are not quite as satisfactory as is desirable; nevertheless they are sufficiently good to remove all doubt as to the presence of these commissures. a figure of one of these sections is represented (pl. , fig. d d). in this figure _pr_ points to the posterior roots and _x_ to the commissures uniting them. in a stage somewhat subsequent to this i have succeeded in making longitudinal sections, which exhibit these junctions with a clearness which leaves nothing to be desired. it is there effected (pl. , fig. l) in each case by a protoplasmic commissure with imbedded nuclei[ ]. near its dorsal extremity each posterior root dilates, and from the dilated portion is given off on each side the commissure uniting it with the adjoining roots. footnote : this commissure is not satisfactorily represented in the figure. vide explanation of plate . considering the clearness of this formation in this embryo, as well as in the embryo belonging to the stage under description, there cannot be much doubt that at the first formation of the posterior rudiments a continuous outgrowth arises from the spinal cord, and that only at a later period do the junctions of the roots with the cord become separated and distinct for each nerve. i now return to the more complete series of _pristiurus_-embryos, the development of whose spinal nerves i have been able to observe. _second stage of the spinal nerves in pristiurus._ in the youngest of these (pl. , fig. e) the notochord has undergone but very slight changes, but the segmental duct has made its appearance, and is as much developed as in the _torpedo_-embryo from which fig. d b was taken. (the embryo from which fig. e a was derived had three visceral clefts.) there have not as yet appeared any connective-tissue cells dorsal to the top of the muscle-plates, so that the posterior nerve-rudiments are still quite free and distinct. the cells composing them are smaller than the cells of the neural canal; they are round and nucleated; and, indeed, in their histological constitution the nerve-rudiments exhibit no important deviations from the previous stage, and they have hardly increased in size. in their mode of attachment to the neural tube an important change has, however, already commenced to be visible. in the previous stage the two nerve-rudiments met above the summit of the spinal cord and were broadly attached to it there; now their points of attachment have glided a short distance down the sides of the spinal cord[ ]. footnote : [may , .--observations i have recently made upon the development of the cranial nerves incline me to adopt an explanation of the change which takes place in the point of attachment of the spinal nerves to the cord differing from that enunciated in the text. i look upon this change as being apparent rather than real, and as due to a growth of the roof of the neural canal in the median dorsal line, which tends to separate the roots of the two sides more and more, and cause them to assume a more ventral position.] the two nerve-rudiments have therefore ceased to meet above the summit of the canal; and in addition to this they appear in section to narrow very much before becoming united with its walls, so that their junctions with these appear in a transverse section to be effected by at most one or two cells, and are, comparatively speaking, very difficult to observe. in an embryo but slightly older than that represented in fig. e a the first rudiment of the anterior root becomes visible. this appears, precisely as in _torpedo_, in the form of a small projection from the ventral corner of the spinal cord (fig. e b, _ar_). the second step in this stage (pl. , fig. f) is comparable, as far as the connective-tissue is concerned, with the section of _torpedo_ (pl. , fig. d d). the notochord (the histological details of whose structure are not inserted in this figure) is rather more developed, and the segmental duct, as was the case with the corresponding _torpedo_-embryo, has become hollow at its anterior extremity. the embryo from which the section was taken possessed five visceral clefts, but no trace of external gills. in the section represented, though from a posterior part of the body, the dorsal nerve-rudiments have become considerably larger than in the last embryo; they now extend beyond the base of the neural canal. they are surrounded to a great extent by mesoblastic tissue, which, as in the case of the _torpedo_, takes its origin from two sources, ( ) from the commencing vertebral bodies, ( ) from the summits of the muscle-plates. it is in many cases very difficult, especially with chromic-acid specimens, to determine with certainty the limits of the rudiments of the posterior root. in the best specimens a distinct bordering line can be seen, and it is, as a rule, possible to state the characters by which the cells of the nerve-rudiments and vertebral bodies differ. the more important of these are the following:--( ) the cells of the nerve-rudiment are distinctly smaller than those of the vertebral rudiment; ( ) the cells of the nerve-rudiment are elongated, and have their long axis arranged parallel to the long axis of the nerve-rudiment, while the cells surrounding them are much more nearly circular. the cells of the nerve-rudiment measure about / × / to / × / inch, those of the vertebral rudiment / × / inch. the greater difficulty experienced in distinguishing the nerve-rudiment from the connective-tissue in _pristiurus_ than in _torpedo_ arises from the fact that the connective-tissue is much looser and less condensed in the latter than in the former. the connective-tissue cells which have grown out from the muscle-plates form a continuous arch over the dorsal surface of the neural tube (vide pl. , fig. f): and in some specimens it is difficult to see whether the arch is formed by the rudiment of the posterior root or by connective-tissue. it is, however, quite easy with the best specimens to satisfy one's self that it is from the connective-tissue, and not the nerve-rudiment, that the dorsal investment of the neural canal is derived. as in the previous case, the upper ends of each pair of posterior nerve-rudiments are quite separate from one another, and appear in sections to be united by a very narrow root to the walls of the neural canal at the position indicated in fig. f[ ]. footnote : the artist has not been very successful in rendering this figure. the cells forming the nerve-rudiments have undergone slight modifications; they are for the most part more distinctly elongated than in the earlier stage, and appear slightly smaller in comparison with the cells of the neural canal. they possess as yet no distinctive characters of nerve-cells. they stain more deeply with osmic acid than the cells around them, but with hæmatoxylin there is but a very slight difference in intensity between their colouring and that of the neighbouring connective-tissue cells. the anterior roots have grown considerably in length, but their observation is involved in the same difficulties with chromic-acid specimens as that of the posterior rudiments. there is a further difficulty in observing the anterior roots, which arises from the commencing formation of white matter in the cord. this is present in all the anterior sections of the embryo from which fig. f is taken. when the white matter is formed the cells constituting the junction of the anterior nerve-root with the spinal cord undergo the same changes as the cells which are being converted into the white matter of the cord, and become converted into nerve-fibres; these do not stain with hæmatoxylin, and thus an apparent space is left between the nerve-root and the spinal cord. this space by careful examination may be seen to be filled up with fibres. in osmic acid sections, although even in these the white matter is stained less deeply than the other tissues, it is a matter of comparative ease to observe the junction between the anterior nerve root and the spinal cord. i have been successful in preparing satisfactory longitudinal sections of embryos somewhat older than that shewn in fig. f, and they bring to light several important points in reference to the development of the spinal nerves. three of these sections are represented in pl. , figs. g , g , and g . the sections are approximately horizontal and longitudinal. g is the most dorsal of the three; it is not quite horizontal though nearly longitudinal. the section passes exactly through the point of attachment of the posterior roots to the walls of the neural canal. the posterior rudiments appear as slight prominences of rounded cells projecting from the wall of the neural canal. from transverse sections the attachment of the nerves to the wall of the neural canal is proved to be very narrow, and from these sections it appears to be of some length in the direction of the long axis of the embryo. a combination of the sections taken in the two directions leads to the conclusion that the nerves at this stage thin out like a wedge before joining the spinal cord. the independent junctions of the posterior rudiments with the spinal cord at this stage are very clearly shewn, though the rudiments are probably united with each other just dorsal to their junction with the spinal cord. the nerves correspond in number with the muscle-plates, and each arises from the spinal cord, nearly opposite the middle line of the corresponding muscle-plates (figs. g and g ). each nerve-rudiment is surrounded by connective-tissue cells, and is separated from its neighbours by a considerable interval. at its origin each nerve-rudiment lies opposite the median portion of a muscle-plate (figs. g and g ); but, owing to the muscle-plate acquiring an oblique direction, at the level of the dorsal surface of the notochord it appears in horizontal sections more nearly opposite the interval between two muscle-plates (figs. g and g ). in horizontal sections i find masses of cells which make their appearance on a level with the ventral surface of the spinal cord. i believe i have in some sections successfully traced these into the spinal cord, and i have little doubt that they are the anterior roots of the spinal nerves; they are opposite the median line of the muscle-plates, and do not appear to join the posterior roots (vide fig. g , _ar_). at the end of this period or second stage the main characters of the spinal nerves in _pristiurus_ are the following:-- ( ) the posterior nerve-rudiments form somewhat wedge-shaped masses of tissue attached dorsally to the spinal cord. ( ) the cells of which they are composed are typical undifferentiated embryonic cells, which can hardly be distinguished from the connective-tissue cells around them. ( ) the nerves of each pair no longer meet above the summit of the spinal canal, but are independently attached to its sides. ( ) their dorsal extremities are probably united by commissures. ( ) the anterior roots have appeared; they form small conical projections from the ventral corner of the spinal cord, but have no connexion with the posterior rudiments. _the third stage of the spinal nerves in pristiurus._ with the _third stage_ the first distinct histological differentiations of the nerve-rudiments commence. owing to the changes both in the nerves themselves and in the connective-tissue around them, which becomes less compact and its cells stellate, the difficulty of distinguishing the nerves from the surrounding cells vanishes; and the difficulties of investigation in the later stages are confined to the modes of attachment of the nerves to the neural canal, and the histological changes which take place in the rudiments themselves. the stage may be considered to commence at the period when the external gills first make their appearance as small buds from the walls of the visceral clefts. already, in the earliest rudiments of the posterior root of this period now figured, a number of distinct parts are visible (pl. , fig. h i). surrounding nearly the whole structure there is present a delicate investment similar to that which i mentioned as surrounding the neural canal and other organs; it is quite structureless, but becomes coloured with all staining reagents. i must again leave open the question whether it is to be looked upon as a layer of coagulated protoplasm or as a more definite structure. this investment completely surrounds the proximal portion of the posterior root, but vanishes near its distal extremity. the nerve-rudiment itself may be divided into three distinct portions:--( ) the proximal portion, in which is situated the pedicle of attachment to the wall of the neural canal; ( ) an enlarged portion, which may conveniently, from its future fate, be called the ganglion; ( ) a distal portion beyond this. the proximal portion presents a fairly uniform diameter, and ends dorsally in a rounded expansion; it is attached remarkably enough, not by its extremity, but by its side, to the spinal cord. the dorsal extremities of the posterior nerves are therefore free; as was before mentioned, they probably serve as the starting-point of the longitudinal commissures between the posterior roots. the spinal cord at this stage is still made up of fairly uniform cells, which do not differ in any important particulars from the cells which composed it during the last stage. the outer portion of the most peripheral layer of cells has already begun to be converted into the white matter. the delicate investment spoken of before still surrounds the whole spinal cord, except at the points of junction of the cord with the nerve-rudiments. externally to this investment, and separated from it for the most part by a considerable interval, a mesoblastic sheath (pl. , fig. h i, _i_) for the spinal cord is beginning to be formed. the attachment of the nerve-rudiments to the spinal cord, on account of its smallness, is still very difficult to observe. in many specimens where the nerve is visible a small prominence may be seen rising up from the spinal cord at a point corresponding to _x_ (pl. , fig. h i). it is, however, rare to see this prominence and the nerve continuous with each other: as a rule they are separated by a slight space, and frequently one of the cells of the mesoblastic investment of the spinal cord is interposed between the two. in some especially favourable specimens, similar to the one figured, there can be seen a distinct cellular prominence (fig. h i, _x_) from the spinal cord, which becomes continuous with a small prominence on the lateral border of the nerve-rudiment near its free extremity. the absence of a junction between the two in a majority of sections is only what might be expected, considering how minute the junction is. owing to the presence of the commissure connecting the posterior roots, some part of a nerve is present in every section. the proximal extremity of the nerve-rudiment itself is composed of cells, which, by their smaller size and a more circular form, are easily distinguished from cells forming the ganglionic portion of the nerve. the ganglionic portion of the nerve, by its externally swollen configuration, is at once recognizable in all the sections in which the nerve is complete. the delicate investment before mentioned is continuous around it. the cells forming it are larger and more elongated than the cells forming the upper portion of the nerve-rudiment: each of them possesses a large and distinct nucleus. the remainder of the nerve rudiment forms the commencement of the true nerve. it can in this stage be traced only for a very small distance, and gradually fades away, in such a manner that its absolute termination is very difficult to observe. the connective-tissue cells which surround the nerve-rudiment are far looser than in the last stage, and are commencing to throw out processes and become branched. the anterior root-nerve has grown very considerable since the last stage. it projects from the same region of the cord as before, but on approaching the muscle-plate takes a sudden bend downwards (fig. h ii, _ar_). i have failed to prove that the anterior and posterior roots are at this stage united. _fourth stage._ in an embryo but slightly more advanced than the one last described, important steps have been made in the development of the nerve-rudiment. the spinal cord itself now possesses a covering of white matter; this is thickest at the ventral portion of the cord, and extends to the region of the posterior root of the spinal nerve. the junction of the posterior root with the spinal cord is easier to observe than in the last stage. it is still effected by means of unaltered cells, though the cells which form the projection from the cord to the nerve are commencing to undergo changes similar to those of the cells which are being converted into white matter. in the rudiment of the posterior root itself there are still three distinct parts, though their arrangement has undergone some alteration and their distinctness has become more marked (pl. , fig. i i). the root of the nerve (fig. i i, _pr_) consists, as before, of nearly circular cells, each containing a nucleus, very large in proportion to the size of the cell. the cells have a diameter of about / of an inch. this mass forms not only the junction between the ganglion and the spinal canal, but is also continued into a layer investing the outer side of the ganglion and continuous with the nerve beyond the ganglion. the cells which compose the ganglion (fig. i i, _sp.g_) are easily distinguished from those of the root. each cell is elongated with an oval nucleus, large in proportion to the cell; and its protoplasm appears to be continued into an angular, not to say fibrous process, sometimes at one and more rarely at both ends. the processes of the cells are at this stage very difficult to observe: figs. i a, i b, i c represent three cells provided with them and placed in the positions they occupied in the ganglion. the relatively very small amount of protoplasm in comparison to the nucleus is fairly represented in these figures, though not in the drawing of the ganglion as a whole. in the centre of each nucleus is a nucleolus. fig. i b, in which the process points towards the root of the nerve, i regard as a commencing nerve-fibre: its more elongated shape seems to imply this. in the next stage special bundles of nerve-fibres become very conspicuous in the ganglion. the long diameter of an average ganglion-cell is about / of an inch. the whole ganglion forms an oval mass, well separated both from the nerve-root and the nerve, and is not markedly continuous with either. on its outer side lies the downward process of the nerve-root before mentioned. the nerve itself is still, as in the last case, composed of cells which are larger and more elongated than either the cells of the root or the ganglion. the condition of the anterior root at this stage is hardly altered from what it was; it is composed of very small cells, which with hæmatoxylin stain more deeply than any other cell of the section. a figure of it is given in i ii. horizontal longitudinal sections of this stage are both easy to make and very instructive. on pl. , fig. k i is represented a horizontal section through a plane near the dorsal surface of the spinal cord: each posterior root is seen in this section to lie nearly opposite the anterior extremity of a muscle-plate. in a more ventral plane (fig. k ii) this relation is altered, and the posterior roots lie opposite the hinder parts of the muscle-plates. the nerves themselves are invested by the hyaline membrane spoken of above; and surrounding this again there is present a delicate mesoblastic investment of spindle-shaped cells. longitudinal sections also throw light upon the constitution of the anterior nerve roots (vide fig. k ii, _ar_). in the two segments on the left-hand side in this figure the anterior roots are cut through as they are proceeding, in a more or less horizontal course, from the spinal cord to the muscle-plates. where the section (which is not quite horizontal) passes through the plane of the notochord, as on the right-hand side, the anterior roots are cut transversely. each root, in fact, changes its direction, and takes a downward course. the anterior roots are situated nearly opposite the middle of the muscle-plates: their section is much smaller than that of the posterior roots, and with hæmatoxylin they stain more deeply than any of the other cells in the preparation. the anterior roots, so far as i have been able to observe, do not at this stage unite with the posterior; but on this point i do not speak with any confidence. the period now arrived at forms a convenient break in the development of the spinal nerves; and i hope to treat the remainder of the subject, especially the changes in the ganglion, the development of the ganglion-cells, and of the nerve-fibres, in a subsequent paper. i will only add that, not long after the stage last described, the posterior root unites with the anterior root at a considerable distance below the cord: this is shewn in pl. , fig. l. still later the portion of the root between the ganglion and the spinal cord becomes converted into nerve-fibres, and the ganglion becomes still further removed from the cord, while at the same time it appears distinctly divided into two parts. as regards the development of the cranial nerves, i have made a few observations, which, though confessedly incomplete, i would desire to mention here, because, imperfect as they are, they seem to shew that in elasmobranch fishes the cranial nerves resemble the spinal nerves in arising as outgrowths from the central nervous system. i have given a figure of the development of a posterior root of a cranial nerve in fig. m i. the section is taken from the same embryo as figs. b i, b ii, and b iii. it passes through the anterior portion of a thickening of the external epiblast, which eventually becomes involuted as the auditory vesicle. the posterior root of a nerve (vii) is seen growing out from the summit of the hind brain in precisely the same manner that the posterior roots of the spinal nerves grow out from the spinal cord: it is the rudiment of the seventh or facial nerve. the section behind this (fig. m ii), still in the region of the ear, has no trace of a nerve, and thus serves to shew the early discontinuity of the posterior nerve-rudiments which arise from the brain. i have as yet failed to detect any cranial anterior roots like those of the spinal nerves[ ]. the similarity in development between the cranial and spinal nerves is especially interesting, as forming an important addition to the evidence which at present exists that the cranial nerves are only to be looked on as spinal nerves, especially modified in connexion with the changes which the anterior extremity of the body has undergone in existing vertebrates. footnote : [may , .--subsequent observations have led me to the conclusion that no anterior nerve-roots are to be found in the brain.] * * * * * my results may be summarized as follows:-- along the extreme dorsal summit of the spinal cord there arises on each side a continuous outgrowth. from each outgrowth processes corresponding in number to the muscle-plates grow downwards. these are the posterior nerve-rudiments. the outgrowths, at first attached to the spinal cord throughout their whole length, soon cease to be so, and remain in connexion with it in certain spots only, which form the junctions of the posterior roots with the spinal cord. the original outgrowth on each side remains as a bridge, uniting together the dorsal extremities of all the posterior rudiments. the points of junction of the posterior roots with the spinal cord are at first situated at the extreme dorsal summit of the latter, but eventually travel down, and are finally placed on the sides of the cord. after these events the posterior nerve-rudiments grow rapidly in size, and become differentiated into a root (by which they are attached to the spinal canal), a ganglion, and a nerve. the anterior roots, like the posterior, are outgrowths from the spinal cord; but the outgrowths to form them are from the first discontinuous, and the points from which they originally spring remain as those by which they are permanently attached to the spinal cord, and do not, as in the case of the posterior roots, undergo a change of position. the anterior roots arise, not vertically below, but opposite the intervals between the posterior roots. the anterior roots are at first quite separate from the posterior roots; but soon after the differentiation of the posterior rudiment into a root, ganglion, and nerve, a junction is effected between each posterior nerve and the corresponding anterior root. the junction is from the first at some little distance from the ganglion. * * * * * investigators have hitherto described the spinal nerves as formed from part of the mesoblast of the protovertebræ. his alone, so far as i know, takes a different view. his's[ ] observations lead him to the conclusion that the posterior roots are developed as ingrowths from the external epiblast into the space between the protovertebræ and the neural canal. these subsequently become constricted off, unite with the neural canal and form spinal nerves. footnote : _erste anlage des wirbelthier-leibes._ these statements, which have not been since confirmed, diverge nearly to the same extent from my own results as does the ordinary account of the development of these parts. hensen (virchow's _archiv_, vol. xxxi. ) also looks upon the spinal nerves as developed from the epiblast, but not as a direct result of his own observations[ ]. footnote : [may , .--since the above was written hensen has succeeded in shewing that in mammals the rudiments of the posterior roots arise in a manner closely resembling that described in the present paper; and i have myself, within the last few days, made observations which incline me to believe that the same holds good for the chick. my observations are as yet very incomplete.] without attempting, for the present at least, to explain this divergence, i venture to think that the facts which i have just described have distinct bearings upon one or two important problems. one point of general anatomy upon which they throw considerable light is the primitive origin of nerves. so long as it was admitted that the spinal and cerebral nerves developed in the embryo independently of the central nervous system, their mode of origin always presented to my mind considerable difficulties. it never appeared clear how it was possible for a state of things to have arisen in which the central nervous system, as well as the peripheral terminations of nerves, whether motor or sensory, were formed independently of each other, while between them a third structure was developed which, growing in both directions (towards the centre and towards the periphery), ultimately brought the two into connexion. that such a condition could be a primitive one seemed scarcely possible. still more remarkable did it appear, on the supposition that the primitive mode of formation of these parts was represented in the developmental history of vertebrates, that we should find similar structural elements in the central and in the peripheral nervous systems. the central nervous system arises from the epiblast, and yet contains precisely similar nerve-cells and nerve-fibres to the peripheral nervous system, which, if derived, as is usually stated, from the mesoblast, was necessarily supposed to have a completely different origin from the central nervous system. both of these difficulties are to a great extent removed by the facts of the development of these parts in elasmobranchii. if it be admitted that the spinal roots develop as outgrowths from the central nervous system in elasmobranch fishes, the question arises, how far can it be supposed to be possible that in other vertebrates the spinal roots and ganglia develop independently of the spinal cord, and only subsequently become united with it. i have already insisted that this cannot be the primary condition; and though i am of opinion that the origin of the nerves in higher vertebrates ought to be worked over again, yet i do not think it impossible that, by a secondary adaptation, the nerve-roots might develop in the mesoblast[ ]. footnote : [may , .--hensen's observations, as well as those recently made by myself on the chick, render it almost certain that the nerves in all vertebrates spring from the spinal cord.] the presence of longitudinal commissures connecting the central ends of all the posterior roots is very peculiar. the commissures may possibly be looked on as outlying portions of the cord, rather than as parts of the nerves. i have not up to this time followed their history beyond a somewhat early period in embryonic life, and am therefore unacquainted with their fate in the adult. as far as i am aware, no trace of similar structures has been met with in other vertebrates. the commissures have a very strong resemblance to those by which in elasmobranch fishes the glossopharyngeal nerve and the branches of the pneumogastric are united in an early embryonic stage[ ]. footnote : balfour, "a preliminary account of the development of elasmobranch fishes," _q. j. micros. sc._ , plate xv. fig. , _v.g._ [this edition, pl. , fig. , _vg_]. i think it not impossible that the commissures in the two cases represent the same structures. if this is the case, it would seem that the junction of a number of nerves to form the pneumogastric is not a secondary state, but the remnant of a primary one, in which all the spinal nerves were united, as they embryonically are in elasmobranchii. one point brought out in my investigations appears to me to have bearings upon the origin of the central canal of the vertebrate nervous system, and in consequence upon the origin of the vertebrate group itself. the point i allude to is the posterior nerve-rudiments making their first appearance at the _extreme dorsal summit_ of the spinal cord. the transverse section of the ventral nervous cord of an ordinary segmented worm consists of two symmetrical halves placed side by side. if by a mechanical folding the two lateral halves of the nervous cord became bent towards each other, while into the groove formed between the two the external skin became pushed, we should have an approximation to the vertebrate spinal cord. such a folding might take place to give extra rigidity to the body in the absence of a vertebral column. if this folding were then completed in such a way that the groove, lined by external skin and situated between the two lateral columns of the nervous system, became converted into a canal, above and below which the two columns of the nervous system united, we should have in the transformed nervous cord an organ strongly resembling the spinal cord of vertebrates. this resemblance would even extend beyond mere external form. let the ventral nervous cord of the common earthworm, _lumbricus agricola_, be used for comparison[ ], a transverse section of which is represented by leydig[ ] and claparède. in this we find that on the ventral surface (the annelidan ventral surface) of the nervous cord the ganglion-cells (grey matter) (_k_) are situated, and on the dorsal side the nerve-fibres or white matter (_h_). if the folding that i have supposed were to take place, the grey and white matters would have very nearly the relative situations which they have in the vertebrate spinal cord. footnote : the nervous cords of other annelids resemble that of _lumbricus_ in the relations of the ganglion-cells of the nerve-fibres. footnote : _tafeln zur vergleichenden anatomie_, taf. iii. fig. . the grey matter would be situated in the interior and surround the epithelium of the central canal, and the white matter would nearly surround the grey and form the anterior white commissure. the nerves would then arise, not from the sides of the nervous cord as in existing vertebrates, but from its extreme ventral summit. one of the most striking features which i have brought to light with reference to the development of the posterior roots, is the fact of their growing out from the extreme dorsal summit of the neural canal--a position analogous to the ventral summit of the annelidan nervous cord. thus the posterior roots of the nerves in elasmobranchii arise in the exact manner which might have been anticipated were the spinal cord due to such a folding as i have suggested. the argument from the nerves becomes the stronger, from the great peculiarity in the position of the outgrowth, a feature which would be most perplexing without some such explanation as i have proposed. the central epithelium of the neural canal according to this view represents the external skin; and its ciliation is to be explained as a remnant of the ciliation of the external skin now found amongst many of the lower annelids. i have, however, employed the comparison of the vertebrate and annelidan nervous cords, not so much to prove a genetic relation between the two as to shew the _à priori_ possibility of the formation of a _spinal canal_ and the _à posteriori_ evidence we have of the vertebrate spinal canal having been formed in the way indicated. i have not made use of what is really the strongest argument for my view, viz. that the embryonic mode of formation of the spinal canal, by a folding in of the external epiblast, is the very method by which i have supposed the spinal canal to have been formed in the ancestors of vertebrates. my object has been to suggest a meaning for the peculiar primitive position of the posterior roots, rather than to attempt to explain in full the origin of the spinal canal. explanation of the plates[ ]. footnote : the figures on these plates give a fair general idea of the appearance presented by the developing spinal nerves; but the finer details of the original drawings have in several cases become lost in the process of copying. the figures which are tinted represent sections of embryos hardened in osmic acid; those without colour sections of embryos hardened in chromic acid. plate . fig. a. section through the dorsal region of an embryo of _scyllium stellare_, with the rudiments of two visceral clefts. the section illustrates the general features at a period anterior to the appearance of the posterior nerve-roots. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _ch._ notochord. _x._ subnotochordal rod. _ao._ rudiment of dorsal aorta. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ alimentary tract. all the parts of the section except the spinal cord are drawn somewhat diagrammatically. figs. b i, b ii, b iii. three sections of a _pristiurus_-embryo. b i is through the heart, b ii through the anterior part of the dorsal region, and b iii through a point slightly behind this. drawn with a camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) in b iii there is visible a slight proliferation of cells from the dorsal summit of the neural canal. in b ii this proliferation definitely constitutes two club-shaped masses of cells (_pr_), both attached to the dorsal summit of the neural canal. the masses are the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots. in b i the rudiments of the posterior roots are of considerable length. _pr._ rudiment of posterior roots. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _ch._ notochord. _x._ subnotochordal rod. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ alimentary canal. _ht._ heart. fig. c. section from a _pristiurus_-embryo, slightly older than b. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the embryo from which this figure was taken was slightly distorted in the process of removal from the blastoderm. _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body. other reference letters as in previous figures. fig. d a. section through the dorsal region of a _torpedo_-embryo with three visceral clefts. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the section shews the formation of the dorsal nerve-rudiments (_pr_) and of a ventral anterior nerve-rudiment (_ar_), which at this early stage is not distinctly cellular. _ar._ rudiment of an anterior nerve-root. _y._ cells left behind on the separation of the external skin from the spinal cord. _c._ connective-tissue cells springing from the summit of the muscle-plates. other reference letters as above. fig. d b. section from dorsal region of a _torpedo_-embryo somewhat older than d a. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the posterior nerve-rudiment is considerably longer than in fig. da, and its pedicle of attachment to the spinal cord is thinner. the anterior nerve-rudiment, of which only the edge is present in the section, is distinctly cellular. _m._ mesoblast growing up from vertebral rudiment. _sd._ segmental duct. fig. d c. section from a still older _torpedo_-embryo. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the rudiment of the ganglion (_g_) on the posterior root has appeared. the rudiment of the posterior nerve is much longer than before, and its junction with the spinal cord is difficult to detect. the anterior root is now an elongated cellular structure. _g._ ganglion. fig. d d. longitudinal and vertical section through a _torpedo_-embryo of the same age as d c. the section shews the commissures (_x_) uniting the posterior roots. fig. e a. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo belonging to the second stage. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the section shews the constriction of the pedicle which attaches the posterior nerve-rudiments to the spinal cord. _pr._ rudiment of posterior nerve-root. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _vr._ vertebral rudiment. _sd._ segmental duct. _ch._ notochord. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _ao._ aorta. _al._ alimentary canal. fig. e b. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo slightly older than ea. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the section shews the formation of the anterior nerve-root (_ar_). _ar._ rudiment of the anterior nerve-root. fig. f. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo with the rudiments of five visceral clefts. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the rudiment of the posterior root is seen surrounded by connective-tissue, from which it cannot easily be distinguished. the artist has not been very successful in rendering this figure. figs. g , g , g . three longitudinal and horizontal sections of an embryo somewhat older than f. the embryo from which these sections were taken was hardened in osmic acid, but the sections have been represented without tinting. g is most dorsal of the three sections. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) _nc._ neural canal. _sp.c._ spinal cord. _pr._ rudiment of posterior root. _ar._ rudiment of anterior root. _mp._ muscle-plate. _c._ connective-tissue cells. _ch._ notochord. plate . fig. h i. section through the dorsal region of a _pristiurus_-embryo in which the rudimentary external gills are present as very small knobs. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the section shews the commencing differentiation of the posterior nerve-rudiment into root (_pr_), ganglion (_sp.g_), and nerve (_n_), and also the attachment of the nerve-root to the spinal cord (_x_). the variations in the size and shape of the cells in the different parts of the nerve-rudiment are completely lost in the figure. _pr._ posterior nerve-root. _sp.g._ ganglion of posterior root. _n._ nerve of posterior root. _x._ attachment of posterior root to spinal cord. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _i._ mesoblastic investment to the spinal cord. fig. h ii. section through the same embryo as h i. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the section contains an anterior root, which takes its origin at a point opposite the interval between two posterior roots. the white matter has not been very satisfactorily represented by the artist. figs. i i, i ii. two sections of a _pristiurus_-embryo somewhat older than h. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. figs. i a, i b, i c. three isolated cells from the ganglion of one of the posterior roots of the same embryo. figs. k i, k ii. two horizontal longitudinal sections through an embryo in which the external gills have just appeared. k i is the most dorsal of the two sections. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the sections shew the relative positions of the anterior and posterior roots at different levels. _pr._ posterior nerve-rudiment. _ar._ anterior nerve-rudiment. _sp.c._ spinal cord. _n.c._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ first-formed muscles. fig. l. longitudinal and vertical section through the trunk of a _scyllium_-embryo after the external gills have attained their full development. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) the embryo was hardened in a mixture of chromic acid and osmic acid. the section shews the commissures which dorsally unite the posterior roots, and also the junction of the anterior and posterior roots. the commissures are unfortunately not represented in the figure with great accuracy; their outlines are in nature perfectly regular, and not, as in the figure, notched at the junctions of the cells composing them. their cells are apparently more or less completely fused, and certainly not nearly so clearly marked as in the figure. the commissures stain very deeply with the mixture of osmic and chromic acid, and form one of the most conspicuous features in successful longitudinal sections of embryos so hardened. in sections hardened with chromic acid only they cannot be seen with the same facility. _sp.c._ spinal cord. _gr._ grey matter. _w._ white matter. _ar._ anterior root. _pr._ posterior root. _x._ commissure uniting the posterior roots. figs. m i, m ii. two sections through the head of the same embryo as fig. b. m i, the foremost of the two, passes through the anterior part of the thickening of epiblast, which becomes involuted as the auditory vesicle. it contains the rudiment of the seventh nerve, vii. camera. (zeiss cc ocul. .) vii. rudiment of seventh nerve. _au._ thickening of external epiblast, which becomes involuted as the auditory vesicle. _n.c._ neural canal. _ch._ notochord. _pp._ body-cavity in the head. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ throat exhibiting an outgrowth to form the first visceral cleft. ix. on the spinal nerves of amphioxus[ ]. footnote : from the _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. . during a short visit to naples in january last, i was enabled, through the kindness of dr dohrn, to make some observations on the spinal nerves of amphioxus. these were commenced solely with the view of confirming the statements of stieda on the anatomy of the spinal nerves, which, if correct, appeared to me to be of interest in connection with the observations i had made that, in elasmobranchii, the anterior and posterior roots arise alternately and not in the same vertical plane. i have been led to conclusions on many points entirely opposed to those of stieda, but, before recording these, i shall proceed briefly to state his results, and to examine how far they have been corroborated by subsequent observers. stieda[ ], from an examination of sections and isolated spinal cords, has been led to the conclusion that, in amphioxus, the nerves of the opposite sides arise alternately, except in the most anterior part of the body, where they arise opposite each other. he also states that the nerves of the same side issue alternately from the dorsal and ventral corners of the spinal cord. he regards two of these roots (dorsal and ventral) on the same side as together equivalent to a single spinal nerve of higher vertebrates formed by the coalescence of a dorsal and ventral root. footnote : _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, vol. xix. langerhans[ ] apparently agrees with stieda as to the facts about the alternation of dorsal and ventral roots, but differs from him as to the conclusions to be drawn from those facts. he does not, for two reasons, believe that two nerves of amphioxus can be equivalent to a single nerve in higher vertebrates: ( ) because he finds no connecting branch between two succeeding nerves, and no trace of an anastomosis. ( ) because he finds that each nerve in amphioxus supplies a complete myotome, and he considers it inadmissible to regard the nerves, which in amphioxus together supply _two myotomes_, as equivalent to those which in higher vertebrates supply a _single myotome only_. footnote : _archiv f. mikr. anatomie_, vol. xii. although the agreement as to facts between langerhans and stieda is apparently a complete one, yet a critical examination of the statements of these two authors proves that their results, on one important point at least, are absolutely contradictory. stieda, pl. iii. fig. , represents a longitudinal and horizontal section through the spinal cord which exhibits the nerves arising alternately on the two sides, and represents each myotome supplied by _one nerve_. in his explanation of the figure he expressly states that the nerves of one plane only (_i.e._ only those with dorsal or only those with ventral roots) are represented; so that if all the nerves which issue from the spinal cord had been represented double the number figured must have been present. but since each myotome is supplied by _one_ nerve in the figure, if all the nerves present were represented, each myotome would be supplied by two nerves. since langerhans most emphatically states that only _one nerve_ is present for _each myotome_, it necessarily follows that he or stieda has made an important error; and it is not too much to say that this error is more than sufficient to counterbalance the value of langerhans' evidence as a confirmation of stieda's statements. i commenced my investigations by completely isolating the nervous system of amphioxus by maceration in nitric acid according to the method recommended by langerhans[ ]. on examining specimens so obtained it appeared that, for the greater length of the cord, the nerves arose alternately on the two sides, as was first stated by owsjannikow, and subsequently by stieda and langerhans; but to my surprise not a trace could be seen of a difference of level in the origin of the nerves of the same side. footnote : _loc. cit._ the more carefully the specimens were examined from all points of view, the more certainly was the conclusion forced upon me, that nerves issuing from the ventral corner of the spinal cord, as described by stieda, had no existence. not satisfied by this examination, i also tested the point by means of sections. i carefully made transverse sections of a successfully hardened amphioxus, through the whole length of the body. there was no difficulty in seeing the dorsal roots in every third section or so, but not a trace of a ventral root was to be seen. there can, i think, be no doubt, that, had ventral roots been present, they must, in some cases at least, have been visible in my sections. in dealing with questions of this kind it is no doubt difficult to prove a negative; but, since the two methods of investigation employed by me both lead to the same result, i am able to state with considerable confidence that my observations lend no support to the view that the alternate spinal nerves of amphioxus have their roots attached to the ventral corner of the spinal cord. how a mistake on this point arose it is not easy to say. all who have worked with amphioxus must be aware how difficult it is to conserve the animal in a satisfactory state for making sections. the spinal cord, especially, is apt to be distorted in shape, and one of its ventral corners is frequently produced into a horn-like projection terminating in close contact with the sheath. in such cases the connective tissue fibres of the sheath frequently present the appearance of a nerve-like prolongation of the cord; and for such they might be mistaken if the sections were examined in a superficial manner. it is not, however, easy to believe that, with well conserved specimens, a mistake could be made on this point by so careful and able an investigator as stieda, especially considering that the histological structure of the spinal nerves is very different from that of the fibrous prolongations of the sheath of the spinal cord. it only remains for me to suppose that the specimens which stieda had at his disposal, were so shrunk as to render the origin of the nerves very difficult to determine. the arrangement of the nerves of amphioxus, according to my own observations, is as follows. the anterior end of the central nervous system presents on its left and dorsal side a small pointed projection, into which is prolonged a diverticulum from the dilated anterior ventricle of the brain. this may perhaps be called the olfactory nerve, though clearly of a different character to the other nerves. it was first accurately described by langerhans[ ]. footnote : _loc. cit._ vertically below the olfactory nerve there arise two nerves, which issue at the same level from the ventral side of the anterior extremity of the central nervous system. these form the first pair of nerves, and are the only pair which arise from the ventral portion of the cerebro-spinal cord. the two nerves, which form the second pair, arise also opposite each other but from the dorsal side of the cord. the first and second pair of nerves have both been accurately drawn and described by langerhans: they, together with the olfactory nerve, can easily be seen in nervous systems which have been isolated by maceration. in the case of the third pair of nerves, the nerve on the right-hand side is situated not quite opposite but slightly behind that on the left. the right nerve of the fourth pair is situated still more behind the left, and, in the case of the fifth pair, the nerve to the right is situated so far behind the left nerve that it occupies a position half-way between the left nerves of the fifth and sixth pairs. in all succeeding nerves the same arrangement holds good, so that they exactly alternate on two sides. such is the arrangement carefully determined by me from one specimen. it is possible that it may not be absolutely constant, but the following general statement almost certainly holds good. all the nerves of amphioxus, except the first pair, have their roots inserted in the dorsal part of the cord. in the case of the first two pairs the nerves of the two sides arise opposite each other; in the next few pairs, the nerves on the right-hand side gradually shift backwards: the remaining nerves spring alternately from the two sides of the cord. for each myotome there is a single nerve, which enters, as in the case of other fishes, the intermuscular septum. this point may easily be determined by means of longitudinal sections, or less easily from an examination of macerated specimens. i agree with langerhans in denying the existence of ganglia on the roots of the nerves. x. a monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes. published . preface. the present monograph is a reprint of a series of papers published in the _journal of anatomy and physiology_ during the years , and . the successive parts were struck off as they appeared, so that the earlier pages of the work were in print fully two years ago. i trust the reader will find in this fact a sufficient excuse for a certain want of coherence, which is i fear observable, as well as for the omission of references to several recent publications. the first and second chapters would not have appeared in their present form had i been acquainted, at the time of writing them, with the researches which have since been published, on the behaviour of the germinal vesicle and on the division of nuclei. i may also call attention to the valuable papers of prof. his[ ] on the formation of the layers in elasmobranchii, and of prof. kowalevsky[ ] on the development of amphioxus, to both of which i would certainly have referred, had it been possible for me to do so. footnote : _zeitschrift f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte_, bd. ii. footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat._ bd. xiii. professor his deals mainly with the subjects treated of in chapter iii., and gives a description very similar to my own of the early stages of development. his interpretations of the observed changes are, however, very different from those at which i have arrived. although this is not the place for a discussion of prof. his's views, i may perhaps state that, in spite of the arguments he has brought forward in support of his position, i am still inclined to maintain the accuracy of my original account. the very striking paper on amphioxus by kowalevsky (the substance of which i understand to have been published in russia at an earlier period) contains a confirmation of the views expressed in chapter vi. on the development of the mesoblast, and must be regarded as affording a conclusive demonstration, that in the case of vertebrata the mesoblast has primitively the form of a pair of diverticula from the walls of the archenteron. * * * * * the present memoir, while differing essentially in scope and object from the two important treatises by professors his[ ] and götte[ ], which have recently appeared in germany, has this much in common with them, that it deals monographically with the development of a single type: but here the resemblance ends. both of these authors seek to establish, by a careful investigation of the development of a single species, the general plan of development of vertebrates in general, if not of the whole animal kingdom. both reject the theory of descent, as propounded by mr darwin, and offer completely fresh explanations of the phenomena of embryology. accepting, as i do, the principle of natural selection, i have had before me, in writing the monograph, no such ambitious aim as the establishment of a completely new system of morphology. my object will have been fully attained if i have succeeded in adding a few stones to the edifice, the foundations of which were laid by mr darwin in his work on the _origin of species_. footnote : _erste anlage des wirbelthierleibes._ footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ i may perhaps call attention to one or two special points in this work which seem to give promise of further results. the chapter on the development of the spinal and cranial nerves contains a modification of the previously accepted views on this subject, which may perhaps lead to a more satisfactory conception of the origin of nerves than has before been possible, and a more accurate account of the origin of the muscle-plates and vertebral column. the attempt to employ the embryological relations of the cephalic prolongations of the body-cavity, and of the cranial nerves, in the solution of the difficult problems of the morphology of the head, may prove of use in the line of study so successfully cultivated by our great english anatomist, professor huxley. lastly, i venture to hope that my conclusions in reference to the relations of the sympathetic system and the suprarenal body, and to the development of the mesoblast, the notochord, the limbs, the heart, the venous system, and the excretory organs, are not unworthy of the attention of morphologists. * * * * * the masterly manner in which the systematic position of elasmobranchii is discussed by professor gegenbaur, in the introduction to his monograph on the cranial skeleton of the group, relieves me from the necessity of entering upon this complicated question. it is sufficient for my purpose that the elasmobranch fishes be regarded as forming one of the most primitive groups among vertebrates, a view which finds ample confirmation in the importance of the results to which prof. gegenbaur and his pupils have been led in this branch of their investigations. * * * * * though i trust that the necessary references to previous contributions in the same department of enquiry have not been omitted, the 'literature of the subject' will nevertheless be found to occupy a far smaller share of space than is usual in works of a similar character. this is an intentional protest on my part against, what appears to me, the unreasonable amount of space so frequently occupied in this way. the pages devoted to the 'previous literature' only weary the reader, who is not wise enough to skip them, and involve a great and useless expenditure of time on the part of any writer, who is capable of something better than the compilation of abstracts. * * * * * in conclusion, my best thanks are due to drs dohrn and eisig for the uniformly kind manner in which they have forwarded my researches both at the zoological station in naples, and after my return to england; and also to mr henry lee and to the manager and directors of the brighton aquarium, who have always been ready to respond to my numerous demands on their liberality. to my friend and former teacher dr michael foster i tender my sincerest thanks for the never-failing advice and assistance which he has given throughout the whole course of the work. table of contents. chapter i. the ripe ovarian ovum, pp. - . structure of ripe ovum. atrophy of germinal vesicle. the extrusion of its membrane and absorption of its contents. oellacher's observations on the germinal vesicle. götte's observations. kleinenberg's observations. general conclusions on the fate of the germinal vesicle. germinal disc. chapter ii. the segmentation, pp. - . appearance of impregnated germinal disc. stage with two furrows. stage with twenty-one segments. structure of the sides of the furrows. later stages of segmentation. spindle-shaped nuclei. their presence outside the blastoderm. knobbed nuclei. division of nuclei. conclusion of segmentation. nuclei of the yolk. asymmetry of the segmented blastoderm. comparison of elasmobranch segmentation with that of other meroblastic ova. literature of elasmobranch segmentation. chapter iii. formation of the layers, pp. - . division of blastoderm into two layers. formation of segmentation cavity. disappearance of cells from floor of segmentation cavity. nuclei of yolk and of blastoderm. formation of embryonic rim. appearance of a layer of cells on the floor of the segmentation cavity. formation of mesoblast. formation of medullary groove. disappearance of segmentation cavity. comparison of segmentation cavity of elasmobranchii with that of other types. alimentary cavity. formation of mesoblast in two lateral plates. protoplasmic network of yolk. summary. nature of meroblastic ova. comparison of elasmobranch development with that of other types. its relation to the gastrula. haeckel's views on vertebrate gastrula. their untenable nature. comparison of primitive streak with blastopore. literature. chapter iv. general features of the elasmobranch embryo at successive stages, pp. - . description of stages a-q. enclosure of yolk by blastoderm. relation of the anus of rusconi to the blastopore. chapter v. stages b-g, pp. - . _general features of the epiblast._--original uniform constitution. separation into lateral and central portions. _the medullary groove._--its conversion into the medullary canal. _the mesoblast._--its division into somatic and splanchnic layers. formation of protovertebræ. the lateral plates. the caudal swellings. the formation of the body-cavity in the head. _the alimentary canal._--its primitive constitution. the anus of rusconi. floor formed by yolk. formation of cellular floor from cells formed around nuclei of the yolk. communication behind of neural and alimentary canals. its discovery by kowalevsky. its occurrence in other instances. _general features of the hypoblast._ _the notochord._--its formation as a median thickening of the hypoblast. possible interpretations to be put on this. its occurrence in other instances. chapter vi. development of the trunk during stages g to k, pp. - . order of treatment. _external epiblast._--characters of epiblast. its late division into horny and epidermic layers. comparison of with amphibian epiblast. _the unpaired fins._ _the paired fins._--their formation as lateral ridges of epiblast. hypothesis that the limbs are remnants of continuous lateral fins. _mesoblast._--constitution of lateral plates of mesoblast. their splanchnic and somatic layers. body-cavity constituting space between them. their division into lateral and vertebral plates. continuation of body-cavity into vertebral plates. protovertebræ. division into muscle-plates and vertebral bodies. development of muscle-plates. disappearance of segmentation in tissue to form vertebral bodies. body-cavity and parietal plates. primitive independent halves of body-cavity. their ventral fusion. separation of anterior part of body-cavity as pericardial cavity. communication of pericardial and peritoneal cavities. somatopleure and splanchnopleure. _résumé._ general considerations on development of mesoblast. probability of lateral plates of mesoblast in elasmobranchii representing alimentary diverticula. meaning of secondary segmentation of vertebral column. the _urinogenital system._--development of segmental duct and segmental tubes as solid bodies. formation of a lumen in them, and their opening into body-cavity. comparison of segmental duct and segmental tubes. primitive ova. their position. their structure. _the notochord._--the formation of its sheath. the changes in its cells. chapter vii. general development of the trunk from stage k to the close of embryonic life, pp. - . _external epiblast._--division into separate layers. placoid scales. formation of their enamel. _lateral line._--previous investigations. distinctness of lateral line and lateral nerve. lateral nerve a branch of vagus. lateral line a thickening of epiblast. its greater width behind. its conversion into a canal by its cells assuming a tubular arrangement. the formation of its segmental apertures. mucous canals of the head. their nerve-supply. reasons for dissenting from semper's and götte's view of lateral nerve. _muscle-plates._--their growth. conversion of both layers into muscles. division into dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral sections. derivation of limb-muscles from muscle-plates. _vertebral column and notochord._--previous investigations. formation of arches. formation of cartilaginous sheath of notochord and membrana elastica externa. differentiation of neural arches. differentiation of hæmal arches. segmentation of cartilaginous sheath of notochord. vertebral and intervertebral regions. notochord. chapter viii. development of the spinal nerves and of the sympathetic nervous system, pp. - . _the spinal nerves._--formation of posterior roots. later formation of anterior roots. development of commissure uniting posterior roots. subsequent development of posterior roots. their change in position. development of ganglion. further changes in anterior roots. junction of anterior and posterior roots. summary. _general considerations._--origin of nerves. hypothesis explaining peripheral growth. hensen's views. later investigations. götte. calberla. relations between annelidan and vertebrate nervous systems. spinal canal. dr dohrn's views. their difficulties. hypothesis of dorsal coalescence of lateral nerve cords. _sympathetic nervous system._--development of sympathetic ganglia on branches of spinal nerves. formation of sympathetic commissure. chapter ix. development of the organs in the head, pp. - . development of the brain, pp. - . general history. _fore-brain._--optic vesicles. infundibulum. pineal gland. olfactory lobes. lateral ventricles. _mid-brain._ _hind-brain._--cerebellum. medulla.--previous investigations. huxley. miklucho-maclay. wilder. organs of sense, pp. - . _olfactory organ._--olfactory pit. schneiderian folds. _eye._ general development. hyaloid membrane. lens capsule. processus falciformis. _auditory organs._--auditory pit. semicircular canals. mouth involution and pituitary body, pp. - . outgrowth of pituitary involution. separation of pituitary sack. junction with infundibulum. development of cranial nerves, pp. - . early development of th, th, th, th and th cranial nerves. distribution of the nerves in the adult. _the fifth nerve._--its division into ophthalmic and mandibular branches. later formation of superior maxillary branch. _seventh and auditory nerves._--separation of single rudiment into seventh and auditory. forking of seventh nerve over hyomandibular cleft. formation of anterior branch to form ramus ophthalmicus superficialis of adult. general view of morphology of branches of seventh nerve. _glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves._--general distribution at stage l. their connection by a commissure. junction of the commissure with commissure connecting posterior roots of spinal nerves. absence of anterior roots. hypoglossal nerve. mesoblast of head, pp. - . _body-cavity and myotomes of head._--continuation of body-cavity into head. its division into segments. development of muscles from their walls. general mesoblast of head. notochord in head, p. . hypoblast of the head, pp. - . the formation of the gill-slits. layer from which gills are derived. segmentation of the head, pp. - . indication of segmentation afforded by ( ) cranial nerves, ( ) visceral clefts, ( ) head-cavities. comparison of results obtained. chapter x. the alimentary canal, pp. - . _the solid oesophagus._--oesophagus originally hollow. becomes solid during stage k. _the postanal section of the alimentary tract._--continuity of neural and alimentary canals. its discovery by kowalevsky. the postanal section of gut. its history in scyllium. its disappearance. _the cloaca and anus._--the formation of the cloaca. its junction with segmental ducts. abdominal pockets. anus. _the thyroid body._--its formation in region of mandibular arch. it becomes solid. previous investigations. _the pancreas._--arises as diverticulum from dorsal side of duodenum. its further growth. formation of duct. _the liver._--arises as ventral diverticulum of duodenum. hepatic cylinders. comparison with other types. _the subnotochordal rod._--its separation from dorsal wall of alimentary canal. the section of it in the trunk. in the head. its disappearance. views as to its meaning. chapter xi. the vascular system and vascular glands, pp. - . _the heart._--its development. comparison with other types. meaning of double formation of heart. _the general circulation._ the venous system. the primitive condition of. comparison of, with amphioxus and annelids. the cardinal veins. relations of caudal vein. _the circulation of the yolk-sack._--previous observations. various stages. difference of type in amniotic vertebrates. _the vascular glands._--suprarenal and interrenal bodies. previous investigations. _the suprarenal bodies._--their structure in the adult. their development from the sympathetic ganglia. _the interrenal body._--its structure in the adult. its independence of suprarenal bodies. its development. chapter xii. the organs of excretion, pp. - . previous investigations. _excretory organs and genital ducts in adult._ _in male._--kidney and wolffian body. wolffian duct. ureters. cloaca. seminal bladders. rudimentary oviduct. _in female._--wolffian duct. ureters. cloaca.--segmental openings. glandular tubuli of kidney. malpighian bodies. accessory malpighian bodies. relations of to segmental tubes. vasa efferentia. comparison of scyllium with other elasmobranchii. _development of segmental tubes._ their junction with segmental duct. their division into four segments. formation of malpighian bodies. connection between successive segments. morphological interest of. _development of müllerian and wolffian ducts._ _in female_--general account. formation of oviduct as nearly solid cord. hymen. _in male_--rudimentary müllerian duct.--comparison of development of müllerian duct in birds and elasmobranchii. own researches. urinal cloaca. _formation of wolffian body and kidney proper._--general account. details of formation of ureters. _vasa efferentia._--views of semper and spengel. difficulties of semper's views. unsatisfactory result of own researches. general homologies. _résumé._ postscript. chapter i. the ripe ovarian ovum. the ripe ovum is nearly spherical, and, after the removal of its capsule, is found to be unprovided with any form of protecting membrane. my investigations on the histology of the ripe ovarian ovum have been made with the ova of the gray skate (_raja batis_) only, and owing to a deficiency of material are somewhat imperfect. the bulk of the ovum is composed of yolk spherules, imbedded in a protoplasmic matrix. dr alexander schultz[ ], who has studied with great care the constitution of the yolk, finds, near the centre of the ovum, a kernel of small yolk spherules, which is succeeded by a zone of spherules which gradually increase in size as they approach the surface. but, near the surface, he finds a layer in which they again diminish in size and exhibit numerous transitional forms on the way to molecular yolk granules. these dr schultz regards as in a retrogressive condition. footnote : _archiv für micro. anat._ vol. xi. . another interesting feature about the yolk is the presence in it of a protoplasmic network. dr schultz has completely confirmed, and on some points enlarged, my previous observations on this subject[ ]. dr schultz's confirmation is the more important, since he appears to be unacquainted with my previous investigations. in my paper (_loc. cit._), after giving a description of the network i make the following statement as to its distribution. "a specimen of this kind is represented in plate , fig. , _n.y_, where the meshes of the network are seen to be finer immediately around the nuclei, and coarser in the intervals. the specimen further shews, in the clearest manner, that this network is not divided into areas, each representing a cell and each containing a nucleus. i do not know to what extent this network extends into the yolk. i have never yet seen the limits of it, though it is very common to see the coarsest yolk-granules lying in its meshes. some of these are shewn in plate , fig. , _y.k._" [this edition, p. .] footnote : _quart. journ. micro. science_, oct. . [this edition, no. v.] dr schultz, by employing special methods of hardening and cutting sections of the whole egg, has been able to shew that this network extends, in the form of fine radial lines, from the centre to the circumference; and he rightly states, that it exhibits no cell-like structures. i have detected this network extending throughout the whole yolk in young eggs, but have failed to see it with the distinctness which dr schultz attributes to it in the ripe ovum. since it is my intention to enter fully both into the structure and meaning of this network in my account of a later stage, i say no more about it here. at one pole of the ripe ovum a slight examination demonstrates the presence of a small circular spot, sharply distinguished from the remainder of the yolk by its lighter colour. around this spot is an area which is also of a lighter colour than the yolk, and the outer border of which gradually shades into the normal tint of the yolk. if a section be made through this part (vide pl. , fig. ) the circular spot will be found to be the germinal vesicle, and the area around it a disc of yolk containing smaller spherules than the surrounding parts. the germinal vesicle possessed the same structure in both the ripe eggs examined by me; and, in both, it was situated quite on the external surface of the yolk. in one of my specimens it was flat above, but convex below; in the other and, on the whole, the better preserved of the two, it had the somewhat quadrangular but rather irregular section represented in pl. , fig. . it consisted of a thickish membrane and its primitive contents. the membrane surrounded the upper part of the contents and exhibited numerous folds and creases (vide fig. ). as it extended downwards it became thinner, and completely disappeared at some little distance from the lower end of the contents. these, therefore, rested below on the yolk. at its circumference the membrane of the disc was produced into a kind of fold, forming a rim which rested on the surface of the yolk. in neither of my specimens is the cavity in the upper part of the membrane filled by the contents; and the upper part of the membrane is so folded and creased that sections through almost any portion of it pass through the folds. the regularity of the surface of the yolk is not broken by the germinal vesicle, and the yolk around exhibits not the slightest signs of displacement. in the germinal vesicle figured the contents are somewhat irregular in shape; but in my other specimen they form a regular mass concave above and convex below. in both cases they rest on the yolk, and the floor of the yolk is exactly moulded to suit the surface of the contents of the germinal vesicle. the contents have a granular aspect, but differ in constitution from the surrounding yolk. each germinal vesicle measured about one-fiftieth of an inch in diameter. it does not appear to me possible to suppose that the peculiar appearances which i have drawn and described are to be looked upon as artificial products either of the chromic acid, in which the ova were hardened, or of the instrument with which sections of them were made. it is hardly conceivable that chromic acid could cause a rupture of the membrane and the ejection of the contents of the vesicle. at the same time the uniformity of the appearances in the different sections, the regularity of the whole outline of the egg, and the absence of any signs of disturbance in the yolk, render it impossible to believe that the structures described are due to faults of manipulation during or before the cutting of the sections. we can only therefore conclude that they represent the real state of the germinal vesicle at this period. no doubt they alone do not supply a sufficient basis for any firm conclusions as to the fate of the germinal vesicle. still, if they cannot sustain, they unquestionably support certain views. the natural interpretation of them is that the membrane of the germinal vesicle is in the act of commencing to atrophy, preparatory to being extruded from the egg, while the contents of the germinal vesicle are about to be absorbed. in favour of the extrusion of the membrane rather than its absorption are the following features: ( ) the thickness of its upper surface. ( ) the extension of its edge over the yolk. ( ) its position external to the yolk. in favour of the view that the contents will be left behind and absorbed when the membrane is pushed out, are the following features of my sections: ( ) the rupture of the membrane of the germinal vesicle on its lower surface. ( ) the position of the contents almost completely below the membrane of the vesicle and surrounded by yolk. in connection with this subject, oellacher's valuable observations upon the behaviour of the germinal vesicle in osseous fishes and in birds at once suggest themselves[ ]. oellacher sums up his results upon the behaviour of the germinal vesicle in osseous fishes in the following way (p. ): "the germinal vesicle of the trout's egg, at a period when the egg is very nearly ripe, lies near the surface of the germinal disc which is aggregated together in a hollow of the yolk.... after this a hole appears in the membrane of the germinal vesicle, which opens into the space between the egg-membrane and the germinal disc. the hole widens more and more, and the membrane frees itself little by little from the contents of the germinal vesicle, which remain behind in the form of a ball on the floor of the cavity formed in this way. the cavity becomes flatter and flatter and the contents are pushed up further and further from the germinal disc. when the hollow, in which lie the contents of the original germinal vesicle, completely vanishes, the covering membrane becomes inverted ... and the membrane is spread out on the convex surface of the germinal disc as a circular, investing structure. it is clear that by the removal of the membrane the contents of the germinal vesicle become lost." footnote : _archiv für micr. anat._ vol. viii. p. . these very definite statements of oellacher tell strongly against my interpretation of the appearance presented by the germinal vesicle of the ripe skate's egg. oellacher's account is so precise, and his drawings so fully bear out his interpretations, that it is very difficult to see where any error can have crept in. on the other hand, with the exception of those which oellacher has made, there cannot be said to be any satisfactory observations demonstrating the extrusion of the germinal vesicle from the ovum. oellacher has observed this definitely for the trout, but his observations upon the same point in the bird would quite as well bear the interpretation that the membrane alone became pushed out, as that this occurred to the germinal vesicle, contents and all. while, then, there are on the one hand oellacher's observations on a single animal, hitherto unconfirmed, there are on the other very definite observations tending to shew that the germinal vesicle has in many cases an altogether different fate. götte[ ], not to mention other observers before him, has in the case of batrachian's eggs traced out with great precision the gradual atrophy of the germinal vesicle, and its final absorption into the matter of the ovum. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ götte distinguishes three stages in the degeneration of the germinal vesicle of bombinator's egg. in the first stage the germinal vesicle has begun to travel up towards the surface of the egg. it retains nearly its primitive condition, but its contents have become more opaque and have partly withdrawn themselves from the thin membrane. the germinal spots are still circular, but in some cases have increased in size. the most important feature of this stage is the smaller size of the germinal vesicle than that of the cavity of the yolk in which it lies, a condition which appears to demonstrate the commencing atrophy of the vesicle. in the next stage the cavity containing the germinal vesicle has vanished without leaving a trace. the germinal vesicle itself has assumed a lens-like form, and its borders are irregular and pressed in here and there by yolk. of the membrane of the germinal vesicle, and of the germinal spots, only scanty remnants are to be seen, many of which lie in the immediately adjoining yolk. in the last stage no further trace of a distinct germinal vesicle is present. in its place is a mass of very finely granular matter, which is without a distinct border and graduates into the surrounding yolk and is to be looked on as a remnant of the germinal vesicle. this careful investigation of götte proves beyond a doubt that in batrachians neither the membrane, nor the contents of the germinal vesicle, are extruded from the egg. in mammalia, van beneden[ ] finds that the germinal vesicle becomes invisible, though he does not consider that it absolutely ceases to exist. he has not traced the steps of the process with the same care as götte, but it is difficult to believe that an extrusion of the vesicle in the way described by oellacher would have escaped his notice. footnote : _recherches sur la composition et la signification de l'oeuf._ passing from vertebrates to invertebrates, we find that almost every careful investigator has observed the disappearance, apparent or otherwise, of the germinal vesicle, but that very few have watched with care the steps of the process. the so-called richtungskörper has been supposed to be the extruded remnant of the germinal vesicle. this view has been especially adopted and supported by oellacher (_loc. cit._), and flemming[ ]. footnote : "studien in der entwicklungsgeschichte der najaden," _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, bd. lxxi. . the latter author regards the constant presence of this body, and the facility with which it can be stained, as proofs of its connection with the germinal vesicle, which has, however, according to his observations, disappeared before the appearance of the richtungskörper. kleinenberg[ ], to whom we are indebted for the most precise observations we possess on the disappearance of the germinal vesicle, gives the following account of it, pp. and . "we left the germinal vesicle as a vesicle with a distinct doubly contoured membrane, and equally distributed granular contents, in which the germinal spot had appeared.... the germinal vesicle reaches . mm. in diameter, and at the same time its contents undergo a separation. the greater part withdraws itself from the membrane and collects as a dense mass around the germinal spot, while closely adjoining the membrane there remains only a very thin but unbroken lining of the plasmoid material. the intermediate space is filled with a clear fluid, but the layer which lines the membrane retains its connection with the mass around the germinal vesicle by means of numerous fine threads which traverse the space filled with fluid.... at about the time when the formation of the pseudocells in the egg is completed the germinal spot undergoes a retrogressive metamorphosis, it loses its circular outline and it now appears as if coagulated; then it breaks up into small fragments, and i am fairly confident that these become dissolved. the germinal vesicle ... becomes, on the egg assuming a spherical form, drawn into an eccentric position towards the pole of the egg directed outwards, where it lies close to the surface and only covered by a very thin layer of plasma. in this situation its degeneration now begins, and ends in its complete disappearance. the granular contents become more and more fluid; at the same time part of them pass out through the membrane. this, which so far was firmly stretched, next collapses to a somewhat egg-like sac, whose wall is thickened and in places folded. "the inner mass which up to this time has remained compact now breaks up into separate highly refractive bodies, of spherical or angular form and of very different sizes; between them, here and there, are scattered drops of a fluid fat.... i am very much inclined to regard the solid bodies in question as fat or as that peculiar modification of albuminoid bodies which we recognise as the certain forerunner of the formation of fat in so many pathologically altered tissues; and therefore to refer the disappearance of the germinal vesicle to a fatty degeneration. on one occasion i believe that i observed an opening in the membrane at this stage; if this is a normal condition it would be possible to believe that its solid contents passed out and were taken up in the surrounding plasma. what becomes of the membrane i am unable to say; in any case the germinal vesicle has vanished to the very last trace before impregnation occurs." footnote : _hydra._ leipzig, . kleinenberg clearly finds that the germinal vesicle disappears completely before the appearance of the richtungskörper, in which he states a pseudocell or yolk-sphere is usually found. the connection between the richtungskörper and the germinal vesicle is not a result of strict observation, and there can be no question that the evidence in the case of invertebrates tends to prove that the germinal vesicle in no case disappears owing to its extrusion from the egg, but that if part of it is extruded from the egg as richtungskörper this occurs when its constituents can no longer be distinguished from the remainder of the yolk. this is clearly the case in hydra, where, as stated above, one of the pseudocells or yolk-spheres is usually found imbedded in the richtungskörper. my observations on the skate tend to shew that, in its case, the membrane of the germinal vesicle is extruded from the egg, though they do not certainly prove this. that conclusion is however supported by the observations of schenk[ ]. he found in the impregnated, but not yet segmented, germinal disc a cavity which, as he suggests, might well have been occupied by the germinal vesicle. it is not unreasonable to suppose that the membrane, being composed of formed matter and able only to take a passive share in vital functions, could, without thereby influencing the constitution of the ovum, be ejected. footnote : "die eier von raja quadrimaculata," _sitz. der k. akad. wien_, bd. lxviii. if we suppose, and this is not contradicted by observation, that the richtungskörper is either only the metamorphosed membrane of the germinal vesicle with parts of the yolk, or part of the yolk alone, and assume that in oellacher's observations only the membrane and not the contents were extruded from the egg, it would be possible to frame a consistent account of the behaviour of the germinal vesicle throughout the animal kingdom, which may be stated in the following way. the germinal vesicle usually before, but sometimes immediately after impregnation undergoes atrophy and its _contents_ become indistinguishable from the remainder of the egg. in those cases in which its membrane is very thick and resistent, _e.g._ osseous and elasmobranch fishes, birds, etc., this may be incapable of complete resorption, and be extruded bodily from the egg. in the case of most ova, it is completely absorbed, though at a subsequent period it may be extruded from the egg as the richtungskörper. in all cases the contents of the germinal vesicle remain in the ovum. in some cases the germinal vesicle is stated to persist and to undergo division during the process of segmentation; but the observations on this point stand in need of confirmation. my investigations shew that the germinal vesicle atrophies in the skate before impregnation, and in this respect accord with very many recent observations. of these the following may be mentioned. ( ) oellacher (bird, osseous fish). ( ) götte (bombinator igneus). ( ) kupffer (ascidia canina). ( ) strasburger (phallusia mamillata). ( ) kleinenberg (hydra). ( ) metschnikoff (geryonia, polyzenia leucostyla, epibulia aurantiaca, and other hydrozoa). this list is sufficient to shew that the disappearance of the germinal vesicle before impregnation is very common, and i am unacquainted with any observations tending to shew that its disappearance is due to impregnation. in some cases, _e.g._ asterocanthion[ ], the germinal vesicle vanishes after the spermatozoa have begun to surround the egg; but i do not know that its disappearance in these cases has been shewn to be due to impregnation. to do so it would be necessary to prove that in ripe eggs let loose from the ovary, but not fertilized, the germinal vesicle did not undergo the same changes as in the case of fertilized eggs; and this, as far as i know, has not been done. after the disappearance of the germinal vesicle, and before the first act of division, a fresh nucleus frequently appears [--vide--auerbach (ascaris nigrovenosa), fol (geryonia), kupffer (ascidia canina), strasburger (phallusia mamillata), flemming (anodon), götte (bombinator igneus)], which is generally stated to vanish before the appearance of the first furrow; but in some cases (kupffer and götte, and as studied with especial care, strasburger) it is stated to divide. upon the second nucleus, or upon its relation to the germinal vesicle, i have no observations; but it appears to me of great importance to determine whether this fresh nucleus arises absolutely de novo, or is formed out of the matter of the germinal vesicle. footnote : agassiz, _embryology of the star-fish_. the germinal vesicle is situated in a bed of finely divided yolk-particles. these graduate insensibly into the coarser yolk-spherules around them, though the band of passage between the coarse and the finer yolk-particles is rather narrow. the mass of fine yolk-granules may be called the germinal disc. it is not to be looked upon as diverging in any essential particular from the remainder of the yolk, for the difference between the two is one of degree only. it contains in fact a larger bulk of active protoplasm, as compared with yolk-granules, than does the remainder of the ovum. the existence of this agreement in kind has been already strongly insisted on in my preliminary paper; and schultz (_loc. cit._) has arrived at an entirely similar conclusion, from his own independent observations. one interesting feature about the germinal disc at this period is its size. my observations upon it have been made with the eggs of the skate (raja) alone; but i think that it is not probable that its size in the skate is greater than in scyllium or pristiurus. if its size is the same in all these genera, then the germinal disc of the unimpregnated ovum is very much greater than that portion of the ovum which undergoes segmentation, and which is usually spoken of as the germinal disc in impregnated ova. i have no further observation on the ripe ovarian ovum; and my next observations concern an ovum in which two furrows have already appeared. chapter ii. the segmentation. i have not been fortunate enough to obtain an absolutely complete series of eggs during segmentation. in the cases of pristiurus and scyllium only have i had any considerable number of eggs in this condition, though one or two eggs of raja in which the process was not completed have come into my hands. in the youngest impregnated pristiurus eggs, which i have obtained, the germinal disc was already divided into four segments. the external appearance of the blastoderm, which remains nearly constant during segmentation, has been already well described by leydig[ ]. footnote : _rochen und haie._ the yolk has a pale greenish tinge which, on exposure to the air, acquires a yellower hue. the true germinal disc appears as a circular spot of a bright orange colour, and is, according to leydig's measurements, - / m. in diameter. its colour renders it very conspicuous, a feature which is further increased by its being surrounded by a narrow dark line (pl. , fig. ), the indication of a shallow groove. surrounding this line is a concentric space which is lighter in colour than the remainder of the yolk, but whose outer border passes by insensible gradations into the yolk. as was mentioned in my preliminary paper (_loc. cit._), and as leydig (_loc. cit._) had before noticed, the germinal disc is always situated at the pole of the yolk which is near the rounded end of the pristiurus egg. it occupies a corresponding position in the eggs of both species of scyllium (stellare and canicula) near the narrower end of the egg to which the shorter pair of strings is attached. the germinal disc in the youngest egg examined, exhibited two furrows which crossed each other at right angles in the centre of the disc, but neither of which reached its edge. these furrows accordingly divided the disc into four segments, completely separated from each other at the centre of the disc, but united near its circumference. i made sections, though not very satisfactorily, of this germinal disc. the sections shewed that the disc was composed of a protoplasmic basis, in which were imbedded innumerable minute spherical yolk-globules so closely packed as to constitute nearly the whole mass of the germinal disc. in passing from the coarsest yolk-spheres to the fine spherules of the germinal disc, three bands of different-sized yolk-particles have to be traversed. these bands graduate into one another and are without sharp lines of demarcation. the outer of the three is composed of the largest-sized yolk-spherules which constitute the greater part of the ovum. the middle band forms a concentric layer around the germinal disc, and is composed of yolk-spheres considerably smaller than those outside it. where it cuts the surface it forms the zone of lighter colour immediately surrounding the germinal disc. the innermost band is formed by the germinal disc itself and is composed of spherules of the smallest size. these features are shewn in pl. , fig. , which is the section of a germinal disc with twenty-one segments; in it however the outermost band of spherules is not present. from this description it is clear, as has already been mentioned in the description of the ripe unimpregnated ovum, that the germinal disc is not to be looked upon as a body entirely distinct from the remainder of the ovum, but merely as a part of the ovum in which the protoplasm is more concentrated and the yolk-spherules smaller than elsewhere. sections shew that the furrows visible on the surface end below, as indeed they do on the surface, before they reach the external limit of the finely granular matter of the germinal disc. there are therefore at this stage no distinct segments: the otherwise intact germinal disc is merely grooved by two furrows. i failed to observe any nuclei in the germinal disc just described, but it by no means follows that they were not present. in the next youngest of the eggs[ ] examined the germinal disc was already divided into twenty-one segments. when viewed from the surface (pl. , fig. ), the segments appeared divided into two distinct groups--an inner group of eleven smaller segments, and an outer group of segments surrounding the former. the segments of both the inner and the outer group were very irregular in shape and varied considerably in size. the amount of irregularity is far from constant and many germinal discs are more regular than the one figured. footnote : the germinal disc figured was from the egg of a scyllium stellare and not pristiurus, but i have also sections of a pristiurus egg of the same age, which do not differ materially from the scyllium sections. in this case the situation of the germinal disc and its relations to the yolk were precisely the same as in the earlier stage. in sections of this germinal disc (pl. , fig. ), the groove which separates it from the yolk is well marked on one side, but hardly visible at the other extremity of the section. passing from the external features of this stage to those which are displayed by sections, the striking point to be noticed is the persisting continuity of the segments, marked out on the surface, with the floor of the germinal disc. the furrows which are visible on the surface merely form a pattern, but do not isolate a series of distinct segments. they do not even extend to the limit of the finely granular matter of the germinal disc. the section represented, pl. , fig. , bears out the statements about the segments as seen on the surface. there are three smaller segments in the middle of the section, and two larger at the two ends. these latter are continuous with the coarser yolk-spheres surrounding the germinal disc and are not separated from them by a segmentation furrow. in a slightly older embryo than the one figured i met with a few completely isolated segments at the surface. these segments were formed by the apparent bifurcation of furrows as they neared the surface of the germinal disc. the segments thus produced are triangular in form. they probably owe their origin to the meeting of two oblique furrows. the last-formed of these furrows apparently ceases to be prolonged after meeting the first-formed furrow. i have not in any case observed an example of two furrows crossing one another at this stage. the furrows themselves for the most part are by no means simple slits with parallel sides. they exhibit a beaded structure, shewn imperfectly in pl. , fig. , but better in pl. , fig. _a_, which is executed on a larger scale. they present intervals of dilatations where the protoplasms of the segments on the two sides of the furrow are widely separated, alternating with intervals where the protoplasms of the two segments are almost in contact and are only separated from one another by a very narrow space. a closer study of the germinal disc at this period shews that the cavities which cause the beaded structure of the furrows are not only present along the lines of the furrows but are also found scattered generally through the germinal disc, though far more thickly in the neighbourhood of the furrows. their appearance is that of vacuoles, and with these they are probably to be compared. there can be little question that in the living germinal disc they are filled with fluid. in some cases, they are collected in very large numbers in the region of a furrow. such a case as this is shewn in pl. , fig. _b_. in numerous other cases they occur, roughly speaking, alternately on each side of a furrow. some furrows, though not many, are entirely destitute of these structures. the character of their distribution renders it impossible to overlook the fact that these vacuole-like bodies have important relations with the formation of the segmentation furrows. lining the two sides of the segmentation furrows there is present in sections a layer which stains deeply with colouring reagents; and the surface of the blastoderm is stained in the same manner. in neither case is it permissible to suppose that any membrane-like structure is present. in many cases a similar very delicate, but deeply-stained line, invests the vacuolar cavities, but the fluid filling these remains quite unstained. when distinct segments are formed, each of these is surrounded by a similarly stained line. the yolk-spherules are so numerous, and render even the thinnest section so opaque, that i have failed to make satisfactory observations on the behaviour of the nucleus. i find nuclei in many of the segments, though it is very difficult even to see them, and only in very favourable specimens can their structure be studied. in some cases, two of them lie one on each side of a furrow; and in one case at the extreme end of a furrow i could see two peculiar aggregations of yolk-spherules united by a band through which the furrow, had it been continued, would have passed. the connection (if any exists) between this appearance and the formation of the fresh nuclei in the segments, i have been unable to elucidate. the peculiar appearances attending the formation of fresh nuclei in connection with cell-division, which have recently been described by so many observers, have hitherto escaped my observation at this stage of the segmentation, though i shall describe them in a later stage. a nucleus of this stage is shewn on pl. , fig. _c_. it is lobate in form and is divided by lines into areas in each of which a deeply-stained granule is situated. the succeeding stages of segmentation present from the surface no fresh features of great interest. the somewhat irregular (pl. , figs. and ) circular line, which divides the peripheral larger from the central smaller segments, remains for a long time conspicuous. it appears to be the representative of the horizontal furrow which, in the batrachian ovum, separates the smaller pigmented spheres from the larger spheres of the lower pole of the egg. as the segments become smaller and smaller, the distinction between the peripheral and the central segments becomes less and less marked; but it has not disappeared by the time that the segments become too small to be seen with the simple lens. when the spheres become smaller than in the germinal disc represented on pl. , fig. , the features of segmentation can be more easily and more satisfactorily studied by means of sections. to the features presented in sections, both of the latter and of the earlier blastoderms, i now return. a section of one of the earlier germinal discs, of about the age of the one represented on pl. , fig. , is shewn in pl. , fig. . it is clear at a glance that we are now dealing with true segments completely circumscribed on all sides. the peripheral segments are, as a rule, larger than the more central ones, though in this respect there is considerable irregularity. the segments are becoming smaller by repeated division; but, in addition to this mode of increase, there is now going on outside the germinal disc a segmentation of the yolk, by which fresh segments are being formed from the yolk and added to those which already exist in the germinal disc. one or two such segments are seen in the act of being formed (pl. , fig. , _f_); and it is to be noticed that the furrows which will eventually mark out the segments, do so at first in a partial manner only, and do not circumscribe the whole circumference of the segment in the act of being formed. these fresh furrows are thus repetitions on a small scale of the earliest segmentation furrows. it deserves to be noticed that the portion of the germinal disc which has already undergone segmentation, is still surrounded by a broad band of small-sized yolk-spherules. it appears to me probable that owing to changes taking place in the spherules of the yolk, which result in the formation of fresh spherules of a small size, this band undergoes a continuous renovation. the uppermost row of segmentation spheres is now commencing to be distinguished from the remainder as a separate layer which becomes progressively more distinct as segmentation proceeds. the largest segments in this section measure about the / th of an inch in diameter, and the smallest about / th of an inch. the nuclei at this stage present points of rather a special interest. in the first place, though visible in many, and certainly present in all the segments[ ], they are not confined to these: they are also to be seen, in small numbers, in the band of fine spherules which surrounds the already segmented part of the germinal disc. those found outside the germinal disc are not confined to the spots where fresh segments are appearing, but are also to be seen in places where there are no traces of fresh segments. footnote : in the figure of this stage, i have inserted nuclei in all the segments. in the section from which the figure was taken, nuclei were not to be seen in many of the segments, but i have not a question that they were present in all of them. the difficulty of seeing them is, in part, due to the yolk-spherules and in part to the thinness of the section as compared with the diameter of a segmentation sphere. this fact, especially when taken in connection with the formation of fresh segments outside the germinal disc and with other facts which i shall mention hereafter, is of great morphological interest as bearing upon the nature and homologies of the food-yolk. it also throws light upon the behaviour and mode of increase of the nuclei. all the nuclei, both those of the segments and those of the yolk, have the peculiar structure i described in the last stage. in specimens of this stage i have been able to observe certain points which have an important bearing upon the behaviour of the nucleus during cell-division. three figures, illustrating the behaviour of the nucleus, as i have seen it in sections of blastoderms hardened in chromic acid, are shewn in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_ and _c_. in the place of the nucleus is to be seen a sharply defined figure (fig. _a_) stained in the same way as the nucleus or more deeply. it has the shape of two cones placed base to base. from the apex of each cone there diverge towards the base a series of excessively fine striæ. at the junction between the two cones is an irregular linear series of small deeply stained granules which form an apparent break between the two. the line of this break is continued very indistinctly beyond the edge of the figure on each side. from the apex of each cone there diverge outwards into the protoplasm of the cell a series of indistinct markings. they are rendered obscure by the presence of yolk-spherules, which completely surround the body just described, but which are not arranged with any reference to these markings. these latter striæ, diverging from the apex of the cone, are more distinctly seen when the apex points to the observer (fig. _b_), than when a side of the cone is in view. the striæ diverging outwards from the apices of the cones must be carefully distinguished from the striæ of the cones themselves. the cones are bodies quite as distinctly differentiated from the protoplasm of the cell as nuclei, while the striæ which diverge from their apices are merely structures in the general protoplasm of the cell. in some cells, which contain these bodies, no trace of a commencing line of division is visible. in other cases (fig. _c_), such a line of division does appear and passes through the junction of the two cones. in one case of this kind i fancied i could see (and have represented) a coloured circular body in each cone. i do not feel any confidence that these two bodies are constantly present; and even where visible they are very indistinct. instead of an ordinary nucleus a very indistinctly marked vesicular body sometimes appears in a segment; but whether it is to be looked on as a nucleus not satisfactorily stained, or as a nucleus in the act of being formed, i cannot decide. with reference to the situation of the cone-like bodies i have described i have made an observation which appears to me to be of some interest. i find that bodies of this kind are found in the yolk _completely outside_ the germinal disc. i have made this observation, in at least two cases which admitted of no doubt (vide fig. , _nx´_). we have therefore the remarkable fact, that whatever connection these bodies may have with cell-division, they can occur in cases where this is altogether out of the question and where an increase in the number of nuclei can be their only product. these are the main facts which i have been able to determine with reference to the nuclei of this stage; but it will conduce to clearness if i now finish what i have to say upon this subject. at a still later stage of segmentation the same peculiar bodies are to be seen as during the stage just described, but they are rarer; and, in addition to them, other bodies are to be seen of a character intermediate between ordinary nuclei and the former bodies. three such are represented in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. in all of these there can be traced out the two cones, which are however very irregular. the striation of the cones is still present, but is not nearly so clear as it was in the earlier stage. in addition to this, there are numerous deeply stained granules scattered about the two figures which resemble exactly the granules of typical nuclei. all these bodies occupy the place of an ordinary nucleus, they stain like an ordinary nucleus and are as sharply defined as an ordinary nucleus. there is present around some of these, especially those situated in the yolk, the network of lines of the yolk described by me in a preliminary paper[ ], and i feel satisfied that there is in some cases an actual connection between the network and the nuclei. this network i shall describe more fully hereafter. footnote : _loc. cit._ further points about these figures and the nuclei of this stage i should like to have been able to observe more completely than i have done, but they are so small that with the highest powers i possess (zeiss, immersion no. = / in.) their complete and satisfactory investigation is not possible. most of the true nuclei of the cells of the germinal disc are regularly rounded; those however of the yolk are frequently irregular in shape and often provided with knob-like processes. the gradations are so complete between typical nuclei and bodies like that shewn (pl. , fig. _c_) that it is impossible to refuse the name of nucleus to the latter. in many cases _two nuclei_ are present in one cell. in later stages knob-like nuclei of various sizes are scattered in very great numbers in the yolk around the blastoderm (vide pl. ). in some cases it appears to me that several of these are in close juxtaposition, as if they had been produced by the division of one primitive nucleus. i do not feel absolutely confident that this is the case, owing to the fact that in the investigation of a knobbed body there is great difficulty in ascertaining that the knobs, which appear separate in one plane, are not in reality united in another. i have, in spite of careful search, hitherto failed to find amongst these later nuclei cone-like figures, similar to those i found in the yolk during segmentation. this is the more remarkable since in the early stages of segmentation, when very few nuclei are present in the yolk, the cone-like figures are not uncommon; whereas, in the latter stages of development when the nuclei of the yolk are very common and obviously increasing rapidly, such figures are not to be met with. in no case have i been able to see a distinct membrane round any of the nuclei. i have hitherto attempted to describe the appearances bearing on the behaviour of the nuclei in as objective a manner as possible. my observations are not as complete as could be desired; but, taken in conjunction with those of other investigators, they appear to me to point towards certain definite conclusions with reference to the behaviour of the nucleus in cell-division. the most important of these conclusions may be stated as follows. in the act of cell-division the nuclei of the resulting cells are formed from the nucleus of the primitive cell. this may occur:-- ( ) by the complete solution of the old nucleus within the protoplasm of the mother cell and the subsequent reaggregation of its matter to form the nuclei of the freshly formed daughter cells, ( ) by the simple division of the nucleus, ( ) or by a process intermediate between these two where part of the old nucleus passes into the general protoplasm and part remains always distinguishable and divides; the fresh nucleus being in this case formed from the divided parts as well as from the dissolved parts of the old nucleus. included in this third process it is permissible to suppose that we may have a series of all possible gradations between the extreme processes and . if it be admitted, and the evidence we have is certainly in favour of it, that in some cases, both in animal and vegetable cells, the nucleus itself divides during cell division, and in others the nucleus completely vanishes during the cell-division, it is more reasonable to suspect the existence of some connection between the two processes, than to suppose that they are entirely different in kind. such a connection is given by the hypothesis i have just proposed. the evidence for this view, derived both from my own observations and those of other investigators, may be put as follows. the absolute division of the nucleus has been stated to occur in animal cells, but the number of instances where the evidence is quite conclusive are not very numerous. recently f. e. schultze[ ] appears to have observed it in the case of an amoeba in an altogether satisfactory manner. the instance is quoted by flemming[ ]. schultze saw the nucleus assume a dumb-bell shape, divide, and the two halves collect themselves together. the whole process occupied a minute and a half and was shortly followed by the division of the amoeba, which occupied eight minutes. amongst vegetable cells the division of the nucleus seems to be still rarer than with animal cells. sachs[ ] admits the division of the nucleus in the case of the parenchyma cells of certain dicotyledons (sambucus, helianthus, lysimachia, polygonum, silene) on the authority of hanstein. footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat._ xi. p. . footnote : "entwicklungsgeschicte der najaden," lxxi. bd. _der sitz. der k. acad. wien_, . footnote : _text-book of botany_, english trans. p. . the division of the nucleus during cell-division, though seemingly not very common, must therefore be considered as a thoroughly well authenticated occurrence. the frequent disappearance of the nucleus during cell-division is now so thoroughly recognised, both for animal and vegetable cells, as to require no further mention. in many cases the partial or complete disappearance of the nucleus is accompanied by the formation of two peculiar star-like figures. appearances of the kind have been described by fol[ ], flemming[ ], auerbach[ ] and possibly also oellacher[ ] as well as other observers. footnote : "entw. d. geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. vii. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _organologische studien_, zweites heft. footnote : "beiträge z. entwicklungsgeschichte der knochenfischen." _zeit. für wiss. zoologie_. bd. xxii. . these figures[ ] are possibly due to the streaming out of the protoplasm of the nucleus into that of the cell[ ]. the appearance of striation may on this hypothesis be explained as due to the presence of granules in the protoplasm. when the streaming out of the protoplasm of a nucleus into that of a cell takes place, any large granule which cannot be moved by the stream will leave behind it a slack area where there is no movement of the fluid. any granules which are carried into this area will remain there, and by the continuation of a process of this kind a row of granules may be formed, and a series of such rows would produce an appearance of striation. in many cases, _e.g._ anodon, vide flemming[ ], even the larger yolk-spherules are arranged in this fashion. footnote : the memoirs of auerbach and strasburger (_zellbildung u. zelltheilung_) have unfortunately come into my hands too late for me to take advantage of them. especially in the magnificent monograph of strasburger i find drawings precisely resembling those from my specimens already in the hands of the engraver. strasburger comes to the conclusion from his investigations that the modified nucleus always divides and never vanishes as is usually stated. if his views on this point are correct part of the hypothesis i have suggested above is rendered unnecessary. the striæ of the protoplasm, which in accordance with auerbach's view i have considered as being due to a streaming out of the matter of the nucleus, he regards as resulting from a polarity of the particles in the cell and the attraction of the nucleus. my own investigations though, as far as they go, quite in accordance with those of strasburger, do not supply any grounds for deciding on the meaning of these striæ; and in some respects they support strasburger's views against those of other observers, since they demonstrate that in elasmobranchii the modified nucleus does actually divide. footnote : this is the view which has been taken by auerbach (_organologische studien_). footnote : _loc. cit._ on the supposition that the striation of these figures is due to the outflow from the nucleus, the appearances presented in elasmobranchii admit of the following explanation. the central body consisting of two cones (figs. _a_, _c_) is almost without question the remnant of the primitive nucleus. this is shewn by its occupying the same position as the primitive nucleus, staining in the same way, and by there being a series of insensible gradations between it and a typical nucleus. the contents must be supposed to be streaming out from the two apices of the cones, as appears from the striæ in the body converging on each side towards the apex, and then diverging again from it. in my specimens the yolk-spherules are not arranged with any reference to the radiating striation. it is very likely that in the cases of the disappearance of the nucleus, its protoplasm streams out in two directions, towards the two parts of the cell which will eventually become separated from each other; and probably, after the division, the matter of the old nucleus is again collected to form two fresh nuclei. in some cases of cell-division a remnant of the old nucleus is stated to be visible after the fresh nuclei have appeared. these cases, of which i have not seen full accounts, are perhaps analogous to what occasionally happens with the germinal vesicle of an ovum. the whole of the contents of the germinal vesicle become at its disappearance mingled with the protoplasm of the ovum, but the resistant membrane remains and is eventually ejected from the egg, vide p. _et seq_. if the remnant of the old nucleus in the cases described is nothing more than its membrane, no difficulty is offered to the view that the constituents of the old nucleus may help to form the new ones. in many cases the total bulk of the new nuclei is greater than that of the old one; in such instances part of the protoplasm of the cell necessarily has a share in forming the new nuclei. although, in instances where the nucleus vanishes, an absolute demonstration of the formation of the fresh nuclei from the matter of the old one is not possible; yet, if cases of the division of the old nucleus to form the new ones be admitted to exist, the derivation in the first process of the fresh nuclei from the old ones must be postulated in order to maintain a continuity between the two processes of formation; and, as i have attempted to shew, all the circumstantial evidence is in favour of it. admitting the existence of the two extreme processes of nuclear formation, i wish to shew that my results in elasmobranchii tend to demonstrate the existence of intermediate steps between them. the first figures i described of two opposed cones, appear to me almost certainly to represent nuclei in the act of dissolution; but though a portion of the nucleus may stream out into the yolk, i think it impossible that the whole of it does[ ]. footnote : after strasburger's observation it must be considered very doubtful whether the streaming out of the contents of the nucleus, in the manner implied in the text, really takes place. i described these bodies in two states. an earlier one, in which the two cones were separated by an irregular row of deeply stained granules; and a later one in which a furrow had already appeared dividing the cones as well as the cell. in neither of these conditions could i see any signs of the body vanishing completely. it was as clearly defined and as deeply stained as an ordinary nucleus, and in its later condition the signs of the streaming out of material from its pointed extremities were less marked than in the earlier stage. all these facts, to my mind, point to the view that these cone-like bodies do not disappear, but form the basis for the new nuclei. possibly the body visible in each cone in the later stage, was the commencement of this new nucleus. götte[ ] has figured structures somewhat similar to these bodies, but i hardly understand either his figure or his account sufficiently clearly to be able to pronounce upon the identity of the two. in case they are identical, götte gives a very different explanation of them from my own[ ]. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschite der unke_, pl. , fig. . footnote : as i before mentioned, strasburger (_zellbildung u. zelltheilung_) has represented bodies precisely similar to those i have described, which appear during the segmentation in the egg of _phallusia mammillata_ as well as similar figures observed by butschli in eggs of _cucullanus elegans_ and _blatta germanica_. the figures in this monograph are the only ones i have seen, which are identical with my own. a second of my results, which points to a series of intermediate steps between division and solution of the nucleus, is the distribution in time of the peculiar cone-like bodies. these are present in fair abundance at an early period of segmentation, when there are but few nuclei either in the blastoderm or the yolk. but at later periods, when there are both more nuclei, especially in the yolk, and they are also increasing in numbers more rapidly than before, no bodies of this kind are to be seen. this fact becomes the more striking from the lobate appearance of the later nuclei of the yolk, an appearance which exactly suits the hypothesis of the rapid budding off of fresh nuclei. the observations of r. hertwig[ ] on the gemmation of _podophrya gemmipara_, support my interpretation of the knobbed condition of the nuclei. hertwig finds (p. ) that the horse-shoe shaped nucleus grows out into numerous anastomosing projections. over the free ends of the projections little knobs appear on the surface of the body, into which the lengthening ends of the processes of the nucleus grow up. here they bend themselves into a horse-shoe form. the newly-formed nucleus then separates from the original nucleus, and afterwards the bud containing it from the body. footnote : _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. . pp. , . from the peculiar arrangement of the net-work of lines of the yolk around these knobbed nuclei, it is reasonable to conclude that interchange of material between the protoplasm of the yolk and the nuclei is still taking place, even during the later periods. these facts about the distribution in time of the cone-like bodies afford a strong presumptive evidence of a change in the manner of nuclear increase. the last argument i propose urging on this head is derived from the bodies (pl. , fig. _a_, _b_, _c_) which i have described as intermediate between the true cone-like bodies and typical nuclei. they appear to afford evidence of less and less of the matter of the nucleus streaming out into the yolk and of a large proportion of it becoming divided. the conclusion to be derived from all these facts is that for elasmobranchii in the earlier stages of segmentation, and during the formation of fresh segments, a partial solution of the old nucleus takes place, but all its constituents serve for the reconstruction of the fresh nuclei. in later periods of development a still smaller part of the nucleus becomes dissolved, and the rest divides; but the two fresh nuclei are still derived from the two sources. after the close of segmentation the fresh nuclei are formed by a simple division of the older ones. the appearance of the cone-like bodies in the yolk outside the germinal disc is a point of some interest. it demonstrates in a conclusive manner that whatever influence (if any) the nucleus may have in ordinary cases of cell division, yet it may undergo changes of a precisely similar character to those which it experiences during cell division, without exerting any influence on the surrounding protoplasm[ ]. if the lobate nuclei are also nuclei undergoing division, we have in the egg of an elasmobranch examples of all the known forms of nuclear increase unaccompanied by cell division. footnote : strasburger's (_loc. cit._) arguments about the influence of the nucleus in cell division are not to my mind conclusive; though not without importance. it is difficult to reconcile his views with the facts of cell division observable during the elasmobranch segmentation; but even if their truth be admitted they do not bring us much nearer to a satisfactory understanding of cell division, unless accompanied (and at present they are not so) by a rational explanation of the forces which produce the division of the nucleus. the next stage in the segmentation does not present so many features of interest as the last one. the segments are now so small, as to be barely visible from the surface with a simple lens. a section of an embryo of this stage is represented in pl. , fig. . the section, which is drawn on the same scale as the section belonging to the last stage, serves to shew the relative size of the segments in the two cases. the epiblast is now more distinct than it was. the segments composing it are markedly smaller than the remainder of the cells of the germinal disc, but possess nuclei of an absolutely larger size than do the other cells. they are irregular in shape, with a slight tendency to be columnar. an average segment of this layer measures about / inch. the cells of the lower layer are more polygonal than those of the epiblast, and are decidedly larger. an average specimen of the larger cells of the lower layer measures about / in. in diameter, and is therefore considerably smaller than one of the smallest cells of the last stage. the formation of fresh segments from the yolk still continues with fair rapidity, but nearly comes to an end shortly after this. of the nuclei of the lower layer cells, there is not much to add to what has already been said. not infrequently two nuclei may be observed in a single cell. the nuclei in the yolk which surrounds the germinal disc are more numerous than in the earlier periods, and are now to be met with in fair numbers in every section (fig. , _n´_). these are the main features which characterise the present stage, they are in all essential points similar to those of the last stage, and the two germinal discs hardly differ except in the size of the segments of which they are composed. in the last stage which i consider as belonging to the segmentation, the cells of the whole blastoderm have become smaller (pl. , fig. ). the epiblast (_ep_) now consists of a very marked layer of columnar cells. it is, as far as i have been able to observe, never more than one cell deep. the cells of the lower layer are of an approximately uniform size, though a few of those at the circumference of the blastoderm considerably exceed the remainder in the bulk. there are two fresh features of importance in germinal discs of this age. instead of being but indistinctly separated from the surrounding yolk, the blastoderm has now very clearly defined limits. this is an especially marked feature of preparations made with osmic acid. in these there may frequently be seen a deeply stained doubly contoured line, which forms the limit of the yolk, where it surrounds the germinal disc. lines of this kind are often to be seen on the surface of the yolk, or even of the blastoderm, but are probably to be regarded as products of reagents, rather than as organised structures. the outline of the germinal disc is well rounded, though it is occasionally broken, from the presence of a larger cell in the act of being formed from the yolk. it is not probable that any great importance is to be attached to the comparative distinctness of the outline of the germinal disc at this stage, which is in a great measure due to a cessation in the formation of fresh cells in the surrounding yolk, and in part to the small and comparatively uniform size of the cells of the germinal disc. the formation of fresh cells from the yolk nearly comes to an end during this period, but it still continues on a small scale. the number of the nuclei around the germinal disc has increased. another feature of interest which first becomes apparent during this stage is the asymmetry of the germinal disc. if a section were made through the germinal disc, as it lay _in situ_ in the egg capsule, parallel or nearly so to the long axis of the capsule, one end of the section would be found to be much thicker than the other. there would in fact be a far larger collection of cells at one extremity of the germinal disc than at the other. the end at which this collection of cells is formed points towards the end of the egg capsule opposite to that near which the yolk is situated. this collection of cells is the first trace of the embryo; and with its appearance the segmentation may be supposed to terminate. the section i have represented, though not quite parallel to the long axis of the egg, is sufficiently nearly so to shew the greater mass of cells at the embryonic end of the germinal disc. this very early appearance of a distinction in the germinal disc between the extremity at which the embryo appears and the non-embryonic part of the disc, besides its inherent interest, has a further importance from the fact that in osseous fishes a similar occurrence takes place. oellacher[ ] and götte[ ] both agree as to the very early period at which a thickening of one extremity of the blastoderm in osseous fishes is formed, which serves to indicate the position at which the embryo will appear. there are many details of development in which osseous fish and elasmobranchii agree, which, although if taken individually are without any great importance, yet serve to shew how long even insignificant features in development may be retained. footnote : _zeitschrift für wiss. zoologie_, bd. xxiii. . footnote : _archiv für micr. anat._ bd. ix. . * * * * * the segmentation of the elasmobranch egg presents in most of its features great regularity, and exhibits in its mode of occurrence the closest resemblance to that in other meroblastic vertebrate ova. there is, nevertheless, one point with reference to which a slight irregularity may be observed. in almost all eggs segmentation commences by, what for convenience may be called, a vertical furrow which is followed by a second vertical furrow at right angles to the first. the third furrow however is a horizontal one, and cuts the other two at right angles. this method of segmentation must be looked on as the normal one, in almost all the important groups of the animal kingdom, both for the so-called holoblastic and meroblastic eggs, and the gradations intermediate between the two. the frog amongst vertebrates exhibits a most typical instance of this form of segmentation. in elasmobranchii the first two furrows are formed in a perfectly normal manner, but though i have not observed the actual formation of the next furrow, yet from the later stages, which i have observed, i conclude that it is parallel to one of the first formed furrows; and it is fairly certain that, not till a considerably later period, is a furrow homologous with the horizontal furrow of the batrachian egg formed. this furrow appears to be represented in the elasmobranch segmentation by the irregular circumscription of a body of central smaller spheres from a ring of peripheral larger ones (vide pl. , figs. , and ). in the bird the representative of the horizontal furrow appears relatively much earlier. it is formed when there are eight segments marked out on the surface of the germinal disc[ ]. from oellacher's[ ] account of the segmentation in the fowl[ ] it seems certain, as might be anticipated, that this furrow is nearly parallel to the surface of the disc, so that it cuts the earlier formed vertical furrows and causes the segments of the germinal disc to be completely circumscribed below as well as at the surface. in the elasmobranch egg this is not the case; so that, even after the smaller central segments have become separated from the outer ring of larger ones, none of the segments of the disc are completely circumscribed, and only appear to be so in surface views (vide pl. , fig. ). segmentation in the elasmobranch egg differs in the following particulars from that in the bird's egg: ( ) the equivalent of the horizontal furrow of the batrachian egg appears much later than in the bird. ( ) when it has appeared it travels inwards much more slowly. footnote : vide _elements of embryology_, p. . footnote : _stricker's studien_, , pt. i, pl. ii. fig. . footnote : unfortunately professor oellacher gives no account of the surface appearance of the germinal discs of which he describes the sections. it is therefore uncertain to what period his sections belong. as a result of these differences, the segments of the germinal disc of the birds' eggs are much earlier circumscribed on all sides than those of the elasmobranch egg. as might be expected, the segmentation of the elasmobranch egg resembles in many points that of osseous fishes (vide oellacher[ ] and klein[ ]). it may be noticed, that with osseous as with elasmobranch fishes, the furrow corresponding with the horizontal furrow of the amphibian's egg does not appear at as early a period as is normal. the third furrow of an osseous fish egg is parallel to one of the first formed pair. footnote : _zeitschrift für wiss. zool._ bd. xxii. . footnote : _monthly microscopical journal_, march, . in oellacher's[ ] figures, pl. , figs. - , peculiar beadings of the sides of the earlier formed furrows are distinctly shewn. no mention of these is made in the text, but they are unquestionably similar to those i have described in the elasmobranch furrows. in the case of elasmobranchii i pointed out that not only were the sides of the furrow beaded, but that there appeared in the protoplasm, close to the furrows, peculiar vacuole-like cavities, precisely similar to the cavities which were the cause of the beadings of the furrows. footnote : _loc. cit._ the presence of these seems to shew that the molecular cohesion of the protoplasm becomes, as compared with other parts, much diminished in the region where a furrow is about to appear, so that before the protoplasm finally gives way along a particular line to form a furrow, its cohesion is broken at numerous points in this region, and thus a series of vacuole-like spaces is formed. if this is the true explanation of the formation of these spaces, their presence gives considerable support to the views of dr kleinenberg upon the causes of segmentation, so clearly and precisely stated in his monograph upon hydra; and is opposed to any view which regards the forces which come into play during segmentation as resident in the nucleus. i have not observed the peculiar threads of protoplasm which oellacher[ ] describes as crossing the commencing segmentation furrows. i have also failed to discover any signs of a concentration of the yolk-spherules, round one or two centres, in the segmentation spheres, similar to that observed by oellacher in the segmenting eggs of osseous fish. the appearances observed by him are probably connected with the behaviour of the nucleus during segmentation, and are related to the curious bodies i have already described. footnote : _loc. cit._ with reference to the nuclei which oellacher[ ] has described as occurring in the eggs of osseous fish during segmentation, there can, i think, be little doubt that they are identical with the peculiar nuclei in the elasmobranch eggs. footnote : _loc. cit._ he[ ] says: in an unsegmented germ there occurred at a certain point in the section ... a small aggregation of round bodies. i do not feel satisfied whether these aggregations represent one or more nuclei. fig. shews such aggregation; by focusing at its optical section eleven unequally large rounded bodies measuring from . - . mm. may be distinguished. they lay as if in a multilocular gap in the germ mass, which however they did not quite fill. in each of these bodies there appeared another but far smaller body. these aggregations were distinguished from the germ by an especially beautiful intense violet gold chloride colouration of their elements. the smaller elements contained in the larger were still more intensely coloured than the larger. footnote : _loc. cit._ pp. , , &c. he further states that these aggregations equal the segments in number, and that the small bodies within the elements are not always to be seen with the same distinctness. oellacher's description as well as his figures of these bodies leaves no doubt in my mind that they are exactly similar bodies to those which i have already spoken of as nuclei, and the characteristic features of which i have shortly mentioned, and shall describe more fully at a later stage. a moderately full description of them is to be found in my preliminary paper[ ]. footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . [this edition, p. .] their division into a series of separate areas each with a deeply-stained body, as well as the staining of the whole of them, exactly corresponds to what i have found. that each is a single nucleus is quite certain, though their knobbed form might occasionally lead to the view of their being divided. this knobbed condition, observed by oellacher as well as myself, certainly supports the view, that they are in the act of budding off fresh nuclei. oellacher conceives, that the areas into which these nuclei are divided represent a series of separate bodies--this according to my observations is not the case. nuclei of the same form have already been described in nephelis, and are probably not very rare. they pass by insensible gradations into ordinary nuclei with numerous granules. one marked feature of the segmentation of the elasmobranch egg is the continuous advance of the process of segmentation into the yolk and the assimilation of this into the germ by the direct formation of fresh segments out of it. into the significance of this feature i intend to enter fully hereafter; but it is interesting to notice that oellacher's descriptions point to a similar feature in the segmentation of osseous fish. this however consists chiefly in the formation of fresh segments from the lower parts of the germinal disc which in osseous fish is more distinctly marked off from the food-yolk than in elasmobranchii. i conclude my description of the segmentation by a short account of what other investigators have written about its features in these fishes. one of the earliest descriptions of this process was given by leydig[ ]. to his description of the germinal disc, i have already done full justice. footnote : _rochen u. haie._ it is here mentioned that coste observed the segmentation in these fishes. in the first stage of segmentation which he observed - segments were already visible on the surface. in each of these he recognized a nucleus but no nucleolus. he rightly states that the segments have no membrane, and describes the yolk-spherules which fill them. the next investigator is gerbe[ ]. i have unfortunately been unable to refer to this elaborate paper, but i gather from an abstract that m. gerbe has given a careful description of the external features of segmentation. footnote : "recherches sur la segmentation des products adventifs de l'oeuf des plagiostomes et particulièrement des raies." robin, _journal de l'anatomie et de la physiologie_, p. , . schenk[ ] has also made important investigations on the subject. he considers that the ovum is invested with a very delicate membrane. this membrane i have failed to find a trace of, and agree with leydig[ ] in denying its existence. schenk further found that after impregnation, but before segmentation, the germinal disc divided itself into two layers, an upper and a lower. between the two a cavity made its appearance which schenk looks upon as the segmentation cavity. segmentation commences in the upper of the two layers, but schenk does not give a precise account of the fate of the lower. i have had no opportunity of investigating the impregnated ovum before the commencement of segmentation, but my observations upon the early stages of this process render it clear that no division of the germinal disc exists subsequently to the commencement of segmentation, and that the cavity discovered by schenk can have no connection whatever with the segmentation cavity. i am indeed inclined to look upon this cavity as an artificial product. i have myself met with somewhat similar appearances, after the completion of segmentation, which were caused by the non-penetration of my hardening reagent beyond a certain point. footnote : "die eier von raja quadrimaculata innerhalb der eileiter." _sitz. der k. akad. wien._ vol. lxxiii. . footnote : _loc. cit._ my denial of the existence of this membrane naturally applies only to the egg after impregnation, and to the genera scyllium and pristiurus. without attempting absolutely to explain the appearances described by professor schenk, i think that his observations ought to be repeated, either by himself or some other competent observer. several further facts are recorded by professor schenk in his interesting paper. he states that immediately after impregnation, the germinal disc presents towards the yolk a strongly convex surface, and that at a later period, but still before the commencement of segmentation, this becomes flattened out. he has further detected amoeboid movements in the disc at the same period. as to the changes of the germinal disc during segmentation, his paper contains no facts of importance. next in point of time to the paper of schenk, is my own preliminary account of the development of the elasmobranch fishes[ ]. in this a large number of the facts here described in full are briefly alluded to. footnote : _loc. cit._ the last author who has investigated the segmentation in elasmobranchii, is dr alexander schultz[ ]. he merely states that he has observed the segmentation, and confirms professor schenk's statements about the amoeboid movements of the germinal disc. footnote : "die embryonal anlage der selachier. vorläufige mittheilung," _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ no. , . explanation of plate . fig. . section through the germinal disc of a ripe ovarian ovum of the skate. _gv._ germinal vesicle. fig. . surface-view of a germinal disc with two furrows. figs. , , . surface-views of three germinal discs in different stages of segmentation. fig. . section through the germinal disc represented in fig . _n._ nucleus; _x._ edge of germinal disc. the engraver has not accurately copied my original drawings in respect to the structure of the segmentation furrows. figs. _a_ and _b_. two furrows of the same germinal disc more highly magnified. fig. _c_. a nucleus from the same germinal disc highly magnified. fig. . section through a germinal disc of the same age as that represented in fig. . _n._ nucleus; _nx._ modified nucleus; _nx´._ modified nucleus of the yolk; _f._ furrow appearing in the yolk around the germinal disc. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three segments with modified nuclei from the same germinal disc. fig. . section through a somewhat older germinal disc. _ep._ epiblast; _n´._ nuclei of yolk. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. modified nuclei from the yolk from the same germinal disc. fig. _d_. segment in the act of division from the same germinal disc. fig. . section through a germinal disc in which the segmentation is completed. it shews the larger collection of cells at the embryonic end of the germinal disc than at the non-embryonic. _ep._ epiblast. chapter iii. formation of the layers. in the last chapter the blastoderm was left as a solid lens-shaped mass of cells, thicker at one end than at the other, its uppermost row of cells forming a distinct layer. there very soon appears in it a cavity, the well-known segmentation cavity, or cavity of von baer, which arises as a small space in the midst of the blastoderm, near its non-embryonic end (pl. , fig. .). this condition of the segmentation cavity, though already[ ] described, has nevertheless been met with in one case only. the circumstance of my having so rarely met with this condition is the more striking because i have cut sections of a considerable number of blastoderms in the hope of encountering specimens similar to the one figured, and it can only be explained on one of the two following hypotheses. either the stage is very transitory, and has therefore escaped my notice except in the one instance; or else the cavity present in this instance is not the true segmentation cavity, but merely some abnormal structure. that this latter explanation is a possible one, appears from the fact that such cavities do at times occur in other parts of the blastoderm. dr schultz[ ] does not mention having found any stage of this kind. footnote : _qy. journal of microsc. science_, oct. . [this edition, no. v.] footnote : _centr. f. med. wiss._ no. , . the position of the cavity in question, and its general appearance, incline me to the view that it is the segmentation cavity[ ]. if this is the true view of its nature the fact should be noted that at first its floor is formed by the lower layer cells and not by the yolk, and that its roof is constituted by both the lower layer cells and the epiblast cells. the relations of the floor undergo considerable modifications in the course of development. footnote : professor bambeke ("poissons osseux," _mém. acad. belgique_ ) describes a cavity in the blastoderm of leuciscus rutilus, which he regards as the true segmentation cavity, but not as identical with the segmentation cavity of osseous fishes, usually so called. its relations are the same as those of my segmentation cavity at this stage. this paper came into my hands at too late a period for me to be able to do more than refer to it in this place. the other features of the blastoderm at this stage are very much those of the previous stage. the embryonic swelling is very conspicuous. the cells of the blastoderm are still disposed in two layers: an upper one of slightly columnar cells one deep, which constitutes the epiblast, and a lower one consisting of the remaining cells of the blastoderm. an average cell of the lower layer has a diameter of about / inch, but the cells at the periphery of the layer are in some cases considerably larger than the more central ones. all the cells of the blastoderm are still completely filled with yolk spherules. in the yolk outside the peculiar nuclei, before spoken of, are present in considerable numbers. they seem to have been mistaken by dr schultz[ ] for cells: there can however be no question that they are true nuclei. footnote : _loc. cit._ in the next stage the relations of the segmentation cavity undergo important modifications. the cells which form its floor disappear almost completely from that position, and the floor becomes formed by the yolk. the stage, during which the yolk serves as the floor of the segmentation cavity, extends over a considerable period of time, but during it i have been unable to detect any important change in the constitution of the blastoderm. it no doubt gradually extends over the yolk, but even this growth is not nearly so rapid as in the succeeding stage. although therefore the stage i proceed to describe is of long continuance, a blastoderm at the beginning of it exhibits, both in its external and in its internal features, no important deviations from one at the end of it. viewed from the surface (pl. , fig. a) the blastoderm at this stage appears slightly oval, but the departure from the circular form is not very considerable. the long axis of the oval corresponds with what eventually becomes the long axis of the embryo. from the yolk the blastoderm is still well distinguished by its darker colour; and it is surrounded by a concentric ring of light-coloured yolk, the outer border of which shades insensibly into the normal yolk. at the embryonic portion of the blastoderm is a slight swelling, clearly shewn in plate , fig. a, which can easily be detected in fresh and in hardened embryos. this swelling is to be looked upon as a local exaggeration of a slightly raised rim present around the whole circumference of the blastoderm. the roof of the segmentation cavity (fig. a, _s.c._) forms a second swelling; and in the fresh embryo this region appears of a darker colour than other parts of the blastoderm. it is difficult to determine the exact shape of the blastoderm, on account of the traction exercised upon it in opening the egg; and no reliance can be placed on the forms assumed by hardened blastoderms. this remark also applies to the sections of blastoderms of this stage. there can be no doubt that the minor individual variations exhibited by almost every specimen are produced in the course of manipulations while the objects are fresh. these variations may affect even the relative length of a particular region and certainly the curvature of it. the roof of the segmentation cavity is especially apt to be raised into a dome-like form. the main internal feature of this stage is the disappearance of the layer of cells which, during the first stage, formed the floor of the segmentation cavity. this disappearance is nevertheless not absolute, and it is doubtful whether there is any period in which the floor of the cavity is quite without cells. dr schultz supposes[ ] that the entire segmentation cavity is, in the living animal, filled with a number of loose cells. though it is not in my power absolutely to deny this, the point being one which cannot be satisfactorily investigated in sections, yet no evidence has come under my notice which would lead to the conclusion that more cells are present in the segmentation cavity than are represented on pl. , fig. , of my preliminary paper[ ], an illustration which is repeated on pl. , fig. . footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ the number of cells on the floor of the cavity differs considerably in different cases, but these cases come under the category of individual variations, and are not to be looked upon as indications of different states of development. in many cases especially large cells are to be seen on the floor of the cavity (pl. , fig. , _bd_). in my preliminary paper[ ] the view was expressed that these are probably cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk. this view i am inclined to abandon, and to substitute for it the suggestion made by dr schultz, that they are remnants of the larger segmentation cells which were to be seen in the previous stages. footnote : _qy. journal of micros. science_, oct. . [this edition, no. v.] plate , figs. , , (all sections of this stage) shew the different appearances presented by the floor of the segmentation cavity. in only one of these sections are there any large number of cells upon the floor; and in no case have cells been observed imbedded in the yolk forming this floor, as described by dr schultz[ ], but in all cases the cells simply rested upon it. footnote : _loc. cit._ probably dr schultz, here as in other cases, has mistaken nuclei for cells. passing from the segmentation cavity to the blastoderm itself, the first feature to be noticed is the more decided differentiation of the epiblast. this now forms a distinct layer composed of a single row of columnar cells. these are slightly more columnar in the region of the embryonic swelling than elsewhere, and become less elongated at the edge of the blastoderm. in my specimens this layer was never more than one cell deep, but dr schultz[ ] states that, in the elasmobranch embryos investigated by him, the epiblast was composed of more than a single row of cells. footnote : _loc. cit._ each epiblast cell is filled with yolk-spherules and contains a nucleus. very frequently the nuclei in the layer are arranged in a regular row (vide pl. , fig. ). in the later blastoderms of this stage there is a tendency in the cells to assume a wedge-like form with their thin ends pointing alternately in opposite directions. this arrangement is, however, by no means strictly adhered to, and the regularity of it is exaggerated in plate , fig. . the nuclei of the epiblast cells have the same characters as those of the lower layer cells to be presently described, but their intimate structure can only be successfully studied in certain exceptionally favourable sections. in most cases the yolk-spherules around them render the finer details invisible. there is at this stage no such obvious continuity as in the succeeding stage between the epiblast and the lower layer cells; and this statement holds good more especially with the best conserved specimens which have been hardened in osmic acid (pl. , fig. ). in these it is very easy to see that the epiblast simply thins out at the edge of the blastoderm without exhibiting the slightest tendency to become continuous with the lower layer cells[ ]. footnote : prof. haeckel ("die gastrula u. die eifurchung d. thiere," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix.) has unfortunately copied a figure from my preliminary paper (_loc. cit._) (repeated now), which i had carefully avoided using for the purpose of describing the formation of the layers on account of the epiblast cells in the original having been much altered by the chromic acid, as a result of which the whole section gives a somewhat erroneous impression of the condition of the blastoderm at this stage. i take this opportunity of pointing out that the colouration employed by professor haeckel to distinguish the layers in this section is not founded on my statements, but is, on the contrary, in entire opposition to them. from the section as represented by professor haeckel it might be gathered that i considered the lower layer cells to be divided into two parts, one derived from the epiblast, while the other constituted the hypoblast. not only is no such division present at this period, but no part of the lower layer cells, or the mesoblast cells into which they become converted, can in any sense whatever be said to be derived from the epiblast. the lower layer cells form a mass rather than a layer, and constitute the whole of the blastoderm not included in the epiblast. the shape of this mass in a longitudinal section may be gathered from an examination of plate , figs. and . it presents an especially thick portion forming the bulk of the embryonic swelling, and frequently contains one or two cavities, which from their constancy i regard as normal and not as artificial products. in addition to the mass forming the embryonic swelling there is seen in sections another mass of lower layer cells at the opposite extremity of the blastoderm, connected with the former by a bridge of cells, which constitutes the roof of the segmentation cavity. the lower layer cells may thus be divided into three distinct parts: ( ) the embryo swelling. ( ) the thick rim of cells round the edge of the remainder of the blastoderm. ( ) the cells which form the roof of the segmentation cavity. these three parts form a continuous whole, but in addition to these there exist the previously mentioned cells, which rest on the floor of the segmentation cavity. with the exception of these latter, the lower layer is composed of cells having a fairly uniform size, and exhibits no trace of a division into two layers. the cells are for the most part irregularly polygonal from mutual pressure; and in their shape and arrangement, exhibit a marked contrast to the epiblast cells. a few of the lower layer cells, highly magnified, are represented in pl. , fig. _a_. an average cell measures about / to / of an inch, but some of the larger ones on the floor attain to the / of an inch. owing to my having had the good fortune to prepare some especially favourable specimens of this stage, it has been possible for me to make accurate observations both upon the nuclei of the cells of the blastoderm, and upon the nuclei of the yolk. the nuclei of the blastoderm cells, both of the epiblast and lower layer, have a uniform structure. those of the lower layer cells are about / of an inch in diameter. roughly speaking each consists of a spherical mass of clear protoplasm refracting more highly than the protoplasm of its cell. the nucleus appears in sections to be divided by deeply stained lines into a number of separate areas, and in each of these a deeply stained granule is placed. in some cases two or more of such granules may be seen in a single area. the whole of the nucleus stains with the colouring reagents more deeply than the protoplasm of the cells; but this is especially the case with the granules and lines. though usually spherical the nuclei not infrequently have a somewhat lobate form. very similar to these nuclei are the nuclei of the yolk. one of the most important differences between the two is that of size. the majority of the nuclei present in the yolk are as large or larger than an ordinary blastoderm cell; while many of them reach a size very much greater than this. the examples i have measured varied from / to / of an inch in diameter. though they are divided, like the nuclei of the blastoderm, with more or less distinctness into separate areas by a network of lines, their greater size frequently causes them to present an aspect somewhat different from the nuclei of the blastoderm. they are moreover much less regular in outline than these, and very many of them have lobate projections (pl. , figs. _a_ and _c_ and ), which vary from simple knobs to projections of such a size as to cause the nucleus to present an appearance of commencing constriction into halves. when there are several such projections the nucleus acquires a peculiar knobbed figure. with bodies of this form it becomes in many cases a matter of great difficulty to decide whether or no a particular series of knobs, which appear separate in one plane, are united in a lower plane, whether, in fact, there is present a single knobbed nucleus or a number of nuclei in close apposition. a nucleus in this condition is represented in pl. , fig. _b_. the existence of a protoplasmic network in the yolk has already been mentioned. this in favourable cases may be observed to be in special connection with the nuclei just described. its meshes are finer in the vicinity of the nuclei, and its fibres in some cases almost appear to start from them (pl. , fig. ). for reasons which i am unable to explain the nuclei of the yolk and the surrounding meshwork present appearances which differ greatly according to the reagent employed. in most specimens hardened in osmic acid the protoplasm of the nuclei is apparently prolonged in the surrounding meshwork (pl. , fig. ). in other specimens hardened in osmic acid (pl. , fig. ), and in all hardened in chromic acid (pl. , fig. _a_ and _c_), the appearances are far clearer than in the previous case, and the protoplasmic meshwork merely surrounds the nuclei, without shewing any signs of becoming continuous with them. there is also around each nucleus a narrow space in which the spherules of the yolk are either much smaller than elsewhere or completely absent, vide pl. , fig. _b_. it has not been possible for me to satisfy myself as to the exact meaning of the lines dividing these nuclei into a number of distinct areas. my observations leave the question open as to whether they are to be looked upon as lines of division, or as protoplasmic lines such as have been described in nuclei by flemming[ ], hertwig[ ] and van beneden[ ]. the latter view appears to me to be the more probable one. footnote : "entwicklungsgeschichte der najaden," _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, . footnote : _morphologische jahrbuch_, vol. . heft . footnote : "développement des mammifères," _bul. de l'acad. de belgique_, xl. no. , . such are the chief structural features presented by these nuclei, which are present during the whole of the earlier periods of development and retain throughout the same appearance. there can be little doubt that their knobbed condition implies that they are undergoing a rapid division. the arguments for this view i have already insisted on, and, in spite of the observations of dr kleinenberg shewing that similar nuclei of nephelis do not undergo division, the case for their doing so in the elasmobranch eggs is to my mind a very strong one. during this stage the distribution of these nuclei in the yolk becomes somewhat altered from that in the earlier stages. although the nuclei are still scattered generally throughout the finer yolk-matter around the blastoderm, yet they are especially aggregated at one or two points. in the first place a special collection of them may be noticed immediately below the floor of the segmentation cavity. they here form a distinct row or even layer. if the presence of this layer is coupled with the fact that at this period cells are beginning to appear on the floor of the segmentation cavity, a strong argument is obtained for the supposition that around these nuclei cells are being produced, which pass into the blastoderm to form the floor. of the actual formation of cells at _this_ period i have not been able to obtain any satisfactory example, so that it remains a matter of deduction rather than of direct observation. another special aggregation of nuclei is generally present at the periphery of the blastoderm, and the same amount of doubt hangs over the fate of these as over that of the previously mentioned nuclei. the next stage is the most important in the whole history of the formation of the layers. not only does it serve to shew, that the process by which the layers are formed in elasmobranchii can easily be derived from a simple gastrula type like that of amphioxus, but it also serves as the key by which other meroblastic types of development may be explained. at the very commencement of this stage the embryonic swelling becomes more conspicuously visible than it was. it now projects above the level of the yolk in the form of a rim. at one point, which eventually forms the termination of the axis of the embryo, this projection is at its greatest; while on either side of this it gradually diminishes and finally vanishes. this projection i propose calling, as in my preliminary paper[ ], the embryonic rim. footnote : _qy. journal microsc. science_, oct. . [this edition, no. v.] the segmentation cavity can still be seen from the surface, and a marked increase in the size of the blastoderm may be noticed. during the stage last described, the growth was but very slight; hence the rather sudden and rapid growth which now takes place becomes striking. longitudinal sections at this stage, as at the earlier stages, are the most instructive. such a section on the same scale as pl. , fig. , is represented in pl. , fig. . it passes parallel to the long axis of the embryo, through the point of greatest development of the embryonic ring. the three fresh features of the most striking kind are ( ) the complete envelopment of the segmentation cavity within the lower layer cells, ( ) the formation of the embryonic rim, ( ) the increase in distance between the posterior end of the blastoderm and the segmentation cavity. the segmentation cavity has by no means relatively increased in size. the roof has precisely its earlier constitution, being composed of an internal lining of lower layer cells and an external one of epiblast. the thin lining of lower layer cells is, in the course of mounting the sections, very apt to fall off; but i am absolutely satisfied that it is never absent. the floor of the cavity has undergone an important change, being now formed by a layer of cells instead of by the yolk. a precisely similar but more partial change in the constitution of the floor takes place in osseous fishes[ ]. footnote : götte, "der keim d. forelleneies," _arch. f. mikr. anat._ vol. ix.; haeckel, "die gastrula u. die eifurchung d. thiere," _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. ix. the mode in which the floor is formed is a question of some importance. the nuclei, which during the last stage formed a row beneath it, probably, as previously pointed out, take some share in its formation. an additional argument to those already brought forward in favour of this view may be derived from the fact that during this stage such a row of nuclei is no longer present. this argument may be stated as follows: before the floor of cells for the segmentation cavity is formed a number of nuclei are present in a suitable situation to supply the cells for the floor; as soon as the floor of cells makes its appearance these nuclei are no longer to be seen. from this it may be concluded that their disappearance arises from their having become the nuclei of the cells which form the floor. it appears to me most probable that there is a growth inwards from the whole peripheral wall of the cavity, and that this ingrowth, as well as the cells derived from the yolk, assist in forming the floor of the cavity. in osseous fish there appears to be no doubt that the floor is largely formed by an ingrowth of this kind. a great increase is observable in the distance between the posterior end of the segmentation cavity and the edge of the blastoderm. this is due to the rapid growth of the latter combined with the stationary condition of the former. the growth of the blastoderm at this period is not uniform, but is more rapid in the non-embryonic than in the embryonic parts. the main features of the epiblast remain the same as during the last stages. it is still composed of a very distinct layer one cell deep. over the segmentation cavity, and over the whole embryonic end of the blastoderm, the cells are very thin, columnar, and, roughly speaking, wedge-shaped with the thin ends pointing alternately in different directions. for this reason, the nuclei form two rows; but both the rows are situated near the upper surface of the layer (vide pl. , fig. ). towards the posterior end of the blastoderm the cells are flatter and broader; and the layer terminates at the non-embryonic end of the blastoderm without exhibiting the slightest tendency to become continuous with the lower layer cells. at the embryonic end of the blastoderm the relations of the epiblast and lower layer cells are very different. at this part, throughout the whole extent of the embryonic rim, the epiblast is reflected and becomes continuous with the lower layer cells. the lower layer cells form, for the most part, a uniform stratum in which no distinction into mesoblast and hypoblast is to be seen. both the lower layer cells and the epiblast cells are still filled with yolk-spherules. the structures at the embryonic rim, and the changes which are there taking place, unquestionably form the chief features of interest at this stage. the general relations of these parts are very fairly shewn in pl. , fig. , which represents a section passing through the median line of the embryonic region. they are however more accurately represented in pl. , fig. _a_, taken from the same embryo, but in a lateral part of the embryonic rim; or in pl. , fig. , from a slightly older embryo. in all of these figures the epiblast cells are reflected at the edge of the embryonic rim, and become perfectly continuous with the hypoblast cells. a few of the cells, immediately beyond the line of this reflection, precisely resemble in character the typical epiblast cells; but the remainder exhibit a gradual transition into typical lower layer cells. adjoining these transitional cells, or partly enclosed in the corner formed between them and the epiblast, are a few unaltered lower layer cells (_m_), which at this stage are not distinctly separated from the transitional cells. the transitional cells form the commencement of the hypoblast (_hy_); and the cells (_m_) between them and the epiblast form the commencement of the mesoblast. the gradual conversion of lower layer cells into columnar hypoblast cells, is a very clear and observable phenomenon in the best specimens. where the embryonic rim projects most, a larger number of cells have assumed a columnar form. where it projects less clearly, a smaller number have done so. but in all cases there may be observed a series of gradations between the columnar cells and the typical rounded lower layer cells[ ]. footnote : when writing my earlier paper i did not feel so confident about the mode of formation of the hypoblast as i now do, and even doubted the possibility of determining it from sections. the facts now brought forward are i hope sufficient to remove all scepticism on this point. in the last described embryo, although the embryonic rim had attained to a considerable development, no trace of the medullary groove had made its appearance. in an embryo in the next stage of which i propose describing sections, this structure has become visible. a surface view of a blastoderm of this age, with the embryo, is represented on pl. , fig. b; and i shall, for the sake of convenience, in future speak of embryos of this age as belonging to period b. the blastoderm is nearly circular. the embryonic rim is represented by a darker shading at the edge. at one point in this rim may be seen the embryo, consisting of a somewhat raised area with an axial groove (_mg_). the head end of the embryo is that which points towards the centre of the blastoderm, and its free peripheral extremity is at the edge of the blastoderm. a longitudinal section of an embryo of the same age as the one figured[ ] is represented on pl. , fig. . the general growth has been very considerable, though as before explained, it is mainly confined to that part of the blastoderm where the embryonic rim is absent. footnote : owing to the small size of the plates this section has been drawn on a considerably smaller scale than that represented in fig. . a fresh feature of great importance is the complete disappearance of the segmentation cavity, the place which was previously occupied by it being now filled up by an irregular network of cells. there can be little question that the obliteration of the segmentation cavity is in part due to the entrance into the blastoderm of fresh cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk. the formation of these is now taking place with great rapidity and can be very easily followed. since the segmentation cavity ceases to play any further part in the history of the blastoderm, it will be well shortly to review the main points in its history. its earliest appearance is involved in some obscurity, though it probably arises as a simple cavity in the midst of the lower layer cells (pl. , fig. ). in its second phase the floor ceases to be formed of lower layer cells, and the place of these is taken by the yolk, on which however a few scattered cells still remain (pl. , figs. , , ). during the third period of its history, a distinct cellular floor is again formed for it, so that it comes a second time into the same relations with the blastoderm as at its earliest appearance. the floor of cells which it receives is in part due to a growth inwards from the periphery of the blastoderm, and in part to the formation of fresh cells from the yolk. coincidently with the commencing differentiation of hypoblast and mesoblast the segmentation cavity grows smaller and vanishes. one of the most important features of the segmentation cavity in the elasmobranchii which i have studied, is the fact that throughout its whole existence its roof is formed of _lower layer cells_. there is not the smallest question that the segmentation cavity of these fishes is the homologue of that of amphioxus, batrachians, etc., yet in the case of all of these animals, the roof of the segmentation cavity is formed of epiblast only. how comes it then to be formed of lower layer cells in elasmobranchii? to this question an answer was attempted in my paper, "upon the early stages of the development of vertebrates[ ]." it was there pointed out, that as the food material in the ovum increases, the bulk of the lower layer cells necessarily also increases; since these, as far as the blastoderm is concerned, are the chief recipients of food material. this causes the lower layer cells to encroach upon the segmentation cavity, and to close it in not only on the sides, but also above; from the same cause it results that the lower layer cells assume, from the first, a position around the spot where the future alimentary cavity will be formed, and that this cavity becomes formed by a simple split in the midst of the lower layer cells, and not by an involution. footnote : _quart. journ. of microscop. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] all the most recent observations[ ] on osseous fishes tend to shew that in them, the roof of the segmentation cavity is formed alone of epiblast; but on account of the great difficulty which is experienced in distinguishing the layers in the blastoderms of these animals, i still hesitate to accept as conclusive the testimony on this point. footnote : oellacher, _zeit. f. wiss. zoologie_, bd. xxiii. götte, _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. ix. haeckel, _loc. cit._ in the formation a second time of a cellular floor for the segmentation cavity in the third stage, the elasmobranch embryo seems to resemble that of the osseous fish[ ]. upon this feature great stress is laid both by dr götte[ ] and prof. haeckel[ ]: but i am unable to agree with the interpretation of it offered by them. both dr götte and prof. haeckel regard the formation of this floor as part of an involution to which the lower layer cells owe their origin, and consider the involution an equivalent to the alimentary involution of batrachians, amphioxus, &c. to this question i hope to return, but it may be pointed out that my observations prove that this view can only be true in a very modified sense; since the invagination by which hypoblast and alimentary canal are formed in amphioxus is represented in elasmobranchii by a structure quite separate from the ingrowth of cells to form the floor of the segmentation cavity. footnote : this floor appears in most osseous fish to be only partially formed. vide götte, _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ the eventual _obliteration_ of the segmentation cavity by cells derived from the yolk is to be regarded as an inherited remnant of the involution by which this obliteration was primitively effected. the passage upwards of cells from the yolk, may possibly be a real survival of the tendency of the hypoblast cells to grow inwards during the process of involution. the last feature of the segmentation cavity which deserves notice is its excentric position. it is from the first situated in much closer proximity to the non-embryonic than to the embryonic end of the blastoderm. this peculiarity in position is also characteristic of the segmentation cavity of osseous fishes, as is shewn by the concordant observations of oellacher[ ] and götte[ ]. its meaning becomes at once intelligible by referring to the diagrams in my paper[ ] on the early stages in the development of vertebrates. it in fact arises from the asymmetrical character of the primitive alimentary involution in all anamniotic vertebrates with the exception of amphioxus. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ leaving the segmentation cavity i pass on to the other features of my sections. there is still to be seen a considerable aggregation of cells at the non-embryonic end of the blastoderm. the position of this, and its relations with the portion of the blastoderm which at an earlier period contained the segmentation cavity, indicate that the growth of the blastoderm is not confined to its edge, but that it proceeds at all points causing the peripheral parts to glide over the yolk. the main features of the cells of this blastoderm are the same as they were in the one last described. in the non-embryonic region the epiblast has thinned out, and is composed of a single row of cells, which, in the succeeding stages, become much flattened. the lower layer cells over the greater part of their extent, have not undergone any histological changes of importance. amongst them may frequently be seen a few exceptionally large cells, which without doubt have been derived directly from the yolk. the embryonic rim is now a far more considerable structure than it was. vide pl. , fig. . its elongation is mainly effected by the continuous conversion of rounded lower layer cells into columnar hypoblast cells at its central or anterior extremity. this conversion of the lower layer cells into hypoblast cells is still easy to follow, and in every section cells intermediate between the two are to be seen. the nature of the changes which are taking place requires for its elucidation transverse as well as longitudinal sections. transverse sections of a slightly older embryo than b are represented on pl. , fig. _a_, _b_ and _c_. of these sections _a_ is the most peripheral or posterior, and _c_ the most central or anterior. by a combination of transverse and longitudinal sections, and by an inspection of a surface view, it is rendered clear that, though the embryonic rim is a far more considerable structure in the region of the embryo than elsewhere (compare fig. and fig. and _a_), yet that this gain in size is not produced by an outgrowth of the embryo beyond the rest of the germ, but by the conversion of the lower layer cells into hypoblast having been carried far further towards the centre of the germ in the axial line than in the lateral regions of the rim. the most anterior of the series of transverse sections (pl. , fig. _c_) i have represented, is especially instructive with reference to this point. though the embryonic rim is cut through at the sides of the section, yet in these parts the rim consists of hardly more than a continuity between epiblast and lower layer cells, and the lower layer cells shew no trace of a division into mesoblast and hypoblast. in the axis of the embryo, however, the columnar hypoblast is quite distinct; and on it a small cap of mesoblast is seen on each side of the medullary groove. had the embryonic rim resulted from a projecting growth of the blastoderm, such a condition could not have existed. it might have been possible to find the hypoblast formed at the sides of the section and not at the centre; but the reverse, as in these sections, could not have occurred. indeed it is scarcely necessary to have recourse to sections to prove that the growth of the embryonic rim is towards the centre of the blastoderm. the inspection of a surface view of a blastoderm at this period demonstrates it beyond a doubt (pl. , fig. b). the embryo, close to which the embryonic rim is alone largely developed, does not project outwards beyond the edge of the germ, but inwards towards its centre. the space between the embryonic rim and the yolk (pl. , fig. , _al._) is the alimentary cavity. the roof of this is therefore primitively formed of hypoblast and the floor of yolk. the external opening of this space at the edge of the blastoderm is the exact morphological homologue of the anus of rusconi, or blastopore of amphioxus, the amphibians, &c. the importance of the mode of growth in the embryonic rim depends upon the homology of the cavity between it and the yolk, with the alimentary cavity of amphioxus and amphibians. since this homology exists, the direction of the growth of this cavity ought to be, as it in fact is, the same as in amphioxus, etc., viz. towards the centre of the germ and original position of the segmentation cavity. thus though a true invagination is not present as in the other cases, yet this is represented in elasmobranchii by the continuous conversion of lower layer cells into hypoblast along a line leading towards the centre of the blastoderm. in the parts of the rim adjoining the embryo, the lower layer cells, on becoming continuous with the epiblast cells, assume a columnar form. at the sides of the rim this is not strictly the case, and the lower layer cells retain their rounded form, though quite continuous with the epiblast cells. one curious feature of the layer of epiblast in these lateral parts of the rim is the great thickness it acquires before being reflected and becoming continuous with the hypoblast (pl. , fig. _c_). in the vicinity of the point of reflection there is often a rather large formation of cells around the nuclei of the yolk. the cells formed here no doubt pass into the blastoderm, and become converted into columnar hypoblast cells. in some cases the formation of these cells is very rapid, and they produce quite a projection on the under side of the hypoblast. such a case is represented in pl. , fig. _b_, _n.al_. the cells constituting this mass eventually become converted into the lateral and ventral walls of the alimentary canal. the formation of the mesoblast has progressed rapidly. while many of the lower layer cells become columnar and form the hypoblast, others, between these and the epiblast, remain spherical. the latter do not at once become separated as a layer distinct from the hypoblast, and, at first, are only to be distinguished from them through their different character, vide plate , figs. and . they nevertheless constitute the commencing mesoblast. thus much of the mode of formation of the mesoblast can be easily made out in longitudinal sections, but transverse sections throw still further light upon it. from these it may at once be seen that the mesoblast is not formed in one continuous sheet, but as two lateral masses, one on each side of the axial line of the embryo[ ]. in my preliminary account[ ] it was stated that this was a condition of the mesoblast at a very early period, and that it was probably its condition from the beginning. sections are now in my possession which satisfy me that, from the very first, the mesoblast arises as two distinct lateral masses, one on each side of the axial line. footnote : professor lieberkühn (_gesellschaft zu marburg_, jan. ) finds in mammalia a bilateral arrangement of the mesoblast, which he compares with that described by me in elasmobranchii. in mammalia, however, he finds the two masses of mesoblast connected by a very thin layer of cells, and is apparently of opinion that a similar thin layer exists in elasmobranchii though overlooked by me. i can definitely state that, whatever may be the condition of the mesoblast in mammalia, in elasmobranchii at any rate no such layer exists. footnote : _loc. cit._ in the embryo from which the sections pl. , fig. _a_, _b_, _c_ were taken, the mesoblast had, in most parts, not yet become separated from the hypoblast. it still formed with this a continuous layer, though the mesoblast cells were distinguishable by their shape from the hypoblast. in only one section (_b_) was any part of the mesoblast quite separated from the hypoblast. in the hindermost part of the embryo the mesoblast is at its maximum, and forms, on each side, a continuous sheet extending from the median line to the periphery (fig. _a_). the rounder form of the mesoblast cells renders the line of junction between the layer constituted by them and the hypoblast fairly distinct; but towards the periphery, where the hypoblast cells have the same rounded form as the mesoblast, the fusion between the two layers is nearly complete. in an anterior section the mesoblast is only present as a cap on both sides of the medullary groove, and as a mass of cells at the periphery of the section (fig. _b_); but no continuous layer of it is present. in the foremost of the three sections (fig. _c_) the mesoblast can scarcely be said to have become in any way separated from the hypoblast except at the summit of the medullary folds (_m_). from these and similar sections it may be certainly concluded, that the mesoblast becomes first separated from the hypoblast as a distinct layer in the posterior region of the embryo, and only at a later period in the region of the head. in an embryo but slightly more developed than b, the formation of the layer is quite completed in the region of the embryo. to this embryo i now pass on. in the non-embryonic parts of the blastoderm no fresh features of interest have appeared. it still consists of two layers. the epiblast is composed of flattened cells, and the lower layer of a network of more rounded cells, elongated in a lateral direction. the growth of the blastoderm has continued to be very rapid. in the region of the embryo (pl. , fig. ) more important changes have occurred. the epiblast still remains as a single row of columnar cells. the hypoblast is no longer fused with the mesoblast, and forms a distinct dorsal wall for the alimentary cavity. though along the axis of the embryo the hypoblast is composed of a single row of columnar cells, yet in the lateral part of the embryo its cells are less columnar and are one or two deep. owing to the manner in which the mesoblast became split off from the hypoblast, a continuity is maintained between the hypoblast and the lower layer cells of the blastoderm (pl. , fig. ), while the two plates of mesoblast are isolated and disconnected from any other masses of cells. the alimentary cavity is best studied in transverse sections. (vide pl. , fig. _a_, _b_ and _c_, three sections from the same embryo.) it is closed in above and at the sides by the hypoblast, and below by the yolk. in its anterior part a floor is commencing to be formed by a growth of cells from the walls of the two sides. the cells for this growth are formed around the nuclei of the yolk; a feature which recalls the fact that in amphibians the ventral wall of the alimentary cavity is similarly formed in part from the so-called yolk cells. we left the mesoblast as two masses not completely separated from the hypoblast. during this stage the separation between the two becomes complete, and there are formed two great lateral plates of mesoblast cells, one on each side of the medullary groove. each of these corresponds to a united vertebral and lateral plate of the higher vertebrates. the plates are thickest in the middle and posterior regions (pl. , fig. _a_ and _b_), but thin out and almost vanish in the region of the head. the longitudinal section of this stage represented in pl. , fig. , passes through one of the lateral masses of mesoblast cells, and shews very distinctly its complete independence of all the other cells in the blastoderm. from what has been stated with reference to the development of the mesoblast, it is clear that in elasmobranchii this layer is derived from the same mass of cells as the hypoblast, and receives none of its elements from the epiblast. in connection with its development, as two independent lateral masses, i may observe, as i have previously done[ ], that in this respect it bears a close resemblance to mesoblast in euaxes, as described by kowalevsky[ ]. this resemblance is of some interest, as bearing on a probable annelid origin of vertebrata. kowalevsky has also shewn[ ] that the mesoblast in ascidians is similarly formed as two independent masses, one on each side of the middle line. footnote : _quart. journ. of microsc. science_, oct., . [this edition, no. v.] footnote : "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mémoires de l'acad. s. pétersbourg._ vol. xiv. . footnote : _archiv für mikr. anat._ vol. vii. it ought, however, to be pointed out that a similar bilateral origin of the mesoblast had been recently met with in lymnæus by carl rabl[ ]. a fact which somewhat diminishes the genealogical value of this feature in the mesoblast in elasmobranchii. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . a bilateral development of mesoblast, according to professor haeckel (_loc. cit._), occurs in some osseous fish. hensen, _zeit. für anat. u. entw._ vol. ., has recently described the mesoblast in mammalia as consisting of independent lateral masses. during the course of this stage the spherules of food-yolk immediately beneath the embryo are used up very rapidly. as a result of this the protoplasmic network, so often spoken of, comes very plainly into view. considerable areas may sometimes be seen without any yolk-spherule whatever. on pl. , fig. _a_, and figs. and , i have attempted to reproduce the various appearances presented by this network: and these figures give a better idea of it than any description. my observations tend to shew that it extends through the whole yolk, and serves to hold it together. it has not been possible for me to satisfy myself that it had any definite limits, but on the other hand, in many parts all my efforts to demonstrate its presence have failed. when the yolk-spherules are very thickly packed, it is difficult to make out for certain whether it is present or absent, and i have not succeeded in removing the yolk-spherules from the network in cases of this kind. in medium-sized ovarian eggs this network is very easily seen, and extends through the whole yolk. part of such an egg is shewn in pl. , fig. . in full-sized ovarian eggs, according to schultz[ ], it forms, as was mentioned in the first chapter, radiating striæ, extending from the centre to the periphery of the egg. when examined with the highest powers, the lines of this network appear to be composed of immeasurably small granules arranged in a linear direction. these granules are more distinct in chromic acid specimens than in those hardened in osmic acid, but are to be seen in both. there can be little doubt that these granules are imbedded in a thread or thin layer of protoplasm. footnote : _archiv für mikr. anat._ vol. xi. i have already (p. ) touched upon the relation of this network to the nuclei of the yolk[ ]. footnote : a protoplasmic network resembling in its essential features the one just described has been noticed by many observers in other ova. fol has figured and described a network or sponge-like arrangement of the protoplasm in the eggs of geryonia. (_jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii.) metschnikoff (_zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, ) has demonstrated its presence in the ova of many siphonophoriæ and medusæ. flemming ("entwicklungsgeschichte der najaden," _sitz. der k. akad. wien_, ) has found it in the ovarian ova of fresh-water mussels (anodonta and unio), but regards it as due to the action of reagents, since he fails to find it in the fresh condition. amongst vertebrates it has been carefully described by eimer (_archiv für mikr. anat._, vol. viii.) in the ovarian ova of reptiles. eimer moreover finds that it is continuous with prolongations from cells of the epithelium of the follicle in which the ovum is contained. according to him remnants of this network are to be met with in the ripe ovum, but are no longer present in the ovum when taken from the oviduct. during the stages which have just been described specially favourable views are frequently to be obtained of the formation of cells in the yolk and their entrance into the blastoderm. two representations of these are given, in pl. , fig. _a_, and fig. . in both of these distinctly circumscribed cells are to be seen in the yolk (_c_), and in all cases are situated near to the typical nuclei of the yolk. the cells in the yolk have such a relation to the surrounding parts, that it is quite certain that their presence is not due to artificial manipulation, and in some cases it is even difficult to decide whether or no a cell area is circumscribed round a nucleus (pl. , fig. ). although it would be possible for cells in the living state to pass from the blastoderm into the yolk, yet the view that they have done so in the cases under consideration has not much to recommend it, if the following facts be taken into consideration. ( ) that the cells in the yolk are frequently larger than those in the blastoderm. ( ) that there are present a very large number of nuclei in the yolk which precisely resemble the nuclei of the cells under discussion. ( ) that in some cases (pl. , fig. ) cells are seen indistinctly circumscribed as if in the act of being formed. between the blastoderm and the yolk may frequently be seen a membrane-like structure, which becomes stained with hæmatoxylin, osmic acid etc. it appears to be a layer of coagulated albumen and not a distinct membrane. summary. at the close of segmentation, the blastoderm forms a somewhat lens-shaped disc, thicker at one end than at the other; the thicker end being termed the embryonic end. it is divided into two layers--an upper one, the epiblast, formed by a single row of columnar cells; and a lower one, consisting of the remaining cells of the blastoderm. a cavity next appears in the lower layer cells, near the non-embryonic end of the blastoderm, but the cells soon disappear from the floor of this cavity which then comes to be constituted by yolk alone. the epiblast in the next stage is reflected for a small arc at the embryonic end of the blastoderm, and becomes continuous with the lower layer cells; at the same time some of the lower layer cells of the embryonic end of the blastoderm assume a columnar form, and constitute the commencing hypoblast. the portion of the blastoderm, where epiblast and hypoblast are continuous, forms a projecting structure which i have called the embryonic rim. this rim increases rapidly by growing inwards more and more towards the centre of the blastoderm, through the continuous conversion of lower layer cells into columnar hypoblast. while the embryonic rim is being formed, the segmentation cavity undergoes important changes. in the first place, it receives a floor of lower layer cells, partly from an ingrowth from the two sides, and partly from the formation of cells around the nuclei of the yolk. shortly after the floor of cells has appeared, the whole segmentation cavity becomes obliterated. when the embryonic rim has attained to some importance, the position of the embryo becomes marked out by the appearance of the medullary groove at its most projecting part. the embryo extends from the edge of the blastoderm inwards towards the centre. at about the time of the formation of the medullary groove, the mesoblast becomes definitely constituted. it arises as two independent plates, one on each side of the medullary groove, and is entirely derived from lower layer cells. the two plates of mesoblast are at first unconnected with any other cells of the blastoderm, and, on their formation, the hypoblast remains in connection with all the remaining lower layer cells. between the embryonic rim and the yolk is a cavity,--the primitive alimentary cavity. its roof is formed of hypoblast, and its floor of yolk. its external opening is homologous with the anus of rusconi, of amphioxus and the amphibians. the ventral wall of the alimentary cavity is eventually derived from cells formed in the yolk around the nuclei which are there present. * * * * * since the important researches of gegenbaur[ ] upon the meroblastic vertebrate eggs, it has been generally admitted that the ovum of every vertebrate, however complicated may be its apparent constitution, is nevertheless to be regarded as a simple cell. this view is, indeed, opposed by his[ ] and to a very modified extent by waldeyer[ ], and has recently been attacked from an entirely new standpoint by götte[ ]; but, to my mind, the objections of these authors do not upset the well founded conclusions of previous observations. footnote : "wirbelthiereier mit partieller dottertheilung." müller's _arch._ . footnote : _erste anlage des wirbelthierleibes._ footnote : _eierstock u. ei._ footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ the important researches of götte on the development of the ovum, though meriting the most careful attention, do not admit of discussion in this place. as soon as the fact is recognised that both meroblastic and holoblastic eggs have the same fundamental constitution, the admission follows, naturally, though not necessarily, that the eggs belonging to these two classes differ solely in degree, not only as regards their constitution, but also as regards the manner in which they become respectively converted into the embryo. as might have been anticipated, this view has gained a wide acceptance. amongst the observations, which have given a strong objective support to this view, may be mentioned those of professor lankester upon the development of cephalopoda[ ], and of dr götte[ ] upon the development of the hen's egg. in loligo professor lankester shewed that there appeared, in the part of the egg usually considered as food-yolk, a number of bodies, which eventually developed a nucleus and became cells, and that these cells entered into the blastoderm. these observations demonstrate that in the eggs of loligo the so-called food-yolk is merely equivalent to a part of the egg which in other cases undergoes segmentation. footnote : _annals and magaz. of natural history_, vol. xi. , p. . footnote : _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. x. the observations of dr götte have a similar bearing. he made out that in the eggs of the hen no sharp line is to be found separating the germinal disc from the yolk, and that, independently of the normal segmentation, a number of cells are derived from that part of the egg hitherto regarded as exclusively food-yolk. this view of the nature of the food-yolk was also advanced in my preliminary account of the development of elasmobranchii[ ], and it is now my intention to put forward the positive evidence in favour of this view, which is supplied from a knowledge of the phenomena of the development of the elasmobranch ovum; and then to discuss how far the facts of the growth of the blastoderm in elasmobranchii accord with the view that their large food-yolk is exactly equivalent to part of the ovum, which in amphibians undergoes segmentation, rather than some fresh addition, which has no equivalent in the amphibian or other holoblastic ovum. footnote : _quart. journ. of micr. science_, oct. . taking for granted that the ripe ovum is a single cell, the question arises whether in the case of meroblastic ova the cell is not constituted of two parts completely separated from one another. is the meroblastic ovum, before or after impregnation, composed of a germinal disc in which _all_ the protoplasm of the cell is aggregated, and of a food-yolk in which _no_ protoplasm is present? or is the protoplasm present _throughout_, being simply _more concentrated_ at the germinal pole than elsewhere? if the former alternative is accepted, we must suppose that the mass of food-yolk is a something added which is not present in holoblastic ova. if the latter alternative is accepted, it may then be maintained that holoblastic and meroblastic ova are constituted in the same way and differ only in the proportions of their constituents. my own observations in conjunction with the specially interesting observations of dr schultz[ ] justify the view which regards the protoplasm as present throughout the whole ovum, and not confined to the germinal disc. our observations shew that a fine protoplasmic network, with ramifications extending throughout the whole yolk, is present both before and after impregnation. footnote : _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xxi. the presence of this network is, in itself, only sufficient to prove that the yolk _may_ be equivalent to part of a holoblastic ovum; to demonstrate that it is so requires something more, and this link in the chain of evidence is supplied by the nuclei of the yolk, which have been so often referred to. these nuclei arise independently in the yolk, and become the nuclei of cells which enter the germ and the bodies of which are derived from the protoplasm of the yolk. not only so, but the cells formed around these nuclei play the same part in the development of elasmobranchii as do the largest so-called yolk cells in the development of amphibians. like the homologous cells in amphibians, they mainly serve to form the ventral wall of the alimentary canal and the blood-corpuscles. the identity in the fate of the so-called yolk cells of amphibians with the cells derived from the yolk in elasmobranchii, must be considered as a proof of the homology of the yolk cells in the first case with the yolk in the second; the difference between the yolk in the two cases arising from the fact that in the elasmobranch ovum the yolk-spherules bear a larger proportion to the protoplasm than they do in the amphibian ovum. as i have suggested elsewhere[ ], the segmentation or non-segmentation of a particular part of the ovum depends solely upon the proportion borne by the protoplasm to the yolk particles; so that, when the latter exceed the former in a certain fixed proportion, segmentation is no longer possible; and, as this limit is approached, segmentation becomes slower, and the resulting segments larger and larger. footnote : "comparison," &c., _quart. journ. micr. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] the question how far the facts in the developmental history of the various vertebrate blastoderms accord with the view of the nature of the yolk just propounded is one of considerable interest. an answer to it has already been attempted from a general point of view in my paper[ ] entitled 'the comparison of the early stages of development in vertebrates'; but the subject may be conveniently treated here in a special manner for elasmobranch embryos. footnote : _loc. cit._ in the woodcut, fig. , _a_, _b_, _c_[ ], are represented three diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an elasmobranch embryo. _a_ nearly corresponds with the longitudinal section represented on pl. , fig. , and _b_ with pl. , fig. . in pl. , fig. , the segmentation cavity has however completely disappeared, while it is still represented as present in the diagram of the same period. if these diagrams, or better still, the woodcuts fig. _a_, _b_, _c_ (which only differ from those of the elasmobranch fish in the smaller amount of food-yolk), be compared with the corresponding ones of bombinator, fig. , _a_, _b_, _c_, they will be found to be in fundamental agreement with them. first let fig. , _a_, or fig. , _a_, or pl. , fig. , be compared with fig. , _a_. in all there is present a segmentation cavity situated not centrally but near the surface of the egg. the roof of the cavity is thin in all, being composed in the amphibian of epiblast alone, and in the elasmobranch of epiblast and _lower layer cells_. the floor of the cavity is, in all, formed of so-called yolk (vide pl. , fig. ), which in all forms the main mass of the egg. in the amphibian the yolk is segmented, and, though it is not segmented in the elasmobranch, it contains in compensation the nuclei so often mentioned. in all, the sides of the segmentation cavity are formed by lower layer cells. in the amphibian the sides are enclosed by smaller cells (in the diagram) which correspond exactly in function and position with the lower layer cells of the elasmobranch blastoderm. footnote : this figure, together with figs. and , are reproduced from my paper upon the comparison of the early stages of development in vertebrates. [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an elasmobranch embryo. _epiblast_ without shading. _mesoblast_ black with clear outlines to the cells. _lower layer cells_ and _hypoblast_ with simple shading. _ep._ epiblast. _m._ mesoblast. _al._ alimentary cavity. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _nc._ neural canal. _ch._ notochord. _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous at the posterior end of the embryo. _n._ nuclei of yolk. _a._ section of young blastoderm, with segmentation cavity in the middle of the lower layer cells. _b._ older blastoderm with embryo in which hypoblast and mesoblast are distinctly formed, and in which the alimentary slit has appeared. the segmentation cavity is still represented as being present, though by this stage it has in reality disappeared. _c._ older blastoderm with embryo in which neural canal has become formed, and is continuous posteriorly with alimentary canal. the notochord, though shaded like mesoblast, belongs properly to the hypoblast.] [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of embryo, which develops in the same manner as the elasmobranch embryo, but in which the ovum contains far less food-yolk than is the case with the elasmobranch ovum. _epiblast_ without shading. _mesoblast_ black with clear outlines to the cells. _lower layer cells_ and _hypoblast_ with simple shading. _ep._ epiblast. _m._ mesoblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _al._ alimentary cavity. _nc._ neural canal. _hf._ head fold. _n._ nuclei of the yolk. the stages _a_, _b_ and _c_ are the same as in figure .][transcriber's note: figure number is missing in the original.] [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of bombinator igneus. reproduced with modifications from götte. _epiblast_ without shading. _mesoblast_ black with clear outlines to the cells. _lower layer cells_ and _hypoblast_ with simple shading. _ep._ epiblast. _l.l._ lower layer cells. _y._ smaller lower layer cells at the sides of the segmentation cavity. _m._ mesoblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _al._ alimentary cavity. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _nc._ neural cavity. _yk._ yolk-cells. _a_ is the youngest stage in which the alimentary involution has not yet appeared. _x_ is the point from which the involution will start to form the dorsal wall of the alimentary tract. the line on each side of the segmentation cavity, which separates the smaller lower layer cells from the epiblast cells, is not present in götte's original figure. the two shadings employed in the diagram render it necessary to have some line, but at this stage it is in reality not possible to assert which cells belong to the epiblast and which to the lower layer. _b._ in this stage the alimentary cavity has become formed, but the segmentation cavity is not yet obliterated. _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous. _c._ the neural canal is already formed, and communicates posteriorly with the alimentary. _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous.] the relation of the yolk to the blastoderm in the elasmobranch embryo at this stage of development very well suits the view of its homology with the large cells of the amphibian ovum. the only essential difference between the two ova arises from the roof of the segmentation cavity being in the elasmobranch embryo formed of lower layer cells, which are absent in the amphibian embryo. this difference no doubt depends upon the greater quantity of yolk particles present in the elasmobranch ovum. these increase the bulk of the lower layer cells, which are thus compelled to creep up the sides of the segmentation cavity till they close it in above. in the next stage for the elasmobranch, fig. and _b_ and pl. , fig. , and for the amphibian, fig. , _b_, the agreement between the two types is again very close. in both for a small portion (_x_) of the edge of the blastoderm the epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, while at all other parts the epiblast, accompanied by lower layer cells, grows round the yolk or round the large cells which correspond to it. the yolk cells of the amphibian ovum form a comparatively small mass, and are therefore rapidly enveloped; while in the case of the elasmobranch ovum, owing to the greater mass of the yolk, the same process occupies a long period. in both ova the portion of the blastoderm, where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, forms the dorsal lip of an opening--the anus of rusconi--which leads into the alimentary cavity. this cavity has the same relation in both ova. it is lined dorsally by lower layer cells, and ventrally by yolk or what corresponds with yolk; the ventral epithelium of the alimentary canal being in both cases eventually supplied by the yolk cells. as in the earlier stage, so in the present one, the anatomical relations of the yolk to the blastoderm in the one case (elasmobranch) are nearly identical with those of the yolk cells to the blastoderm in the other (amphibian). the main features in which the two embryos differ, during the stage under consideration, arise from the same cause as the solitary point of difference during the preceding stage. in amphibians, the alimentary cavity is formed coincidently with a true ingrowth of cells from the point where epiblast and hypoblast become continuous, and from this ingrowth the dorsal wall of the alimentary cavity is formed. the same ingrowth causes the obliteration of the segmentation cavity. in the elasmobranchii, owing to the larger bulk of the lower layer cells caused by the food-yolk, these have been compelled to arrange themselves in their final position during segmentation, and no room is left for a true invagination; but instead of this there is formed a simple split between the blastoderm and the yolk. the homology of this with the primitive invagination is nevertheless proved by the survival of a number of features belonging to the ancestral condition in which a true invagination was present. amongst the more important of these are the following:--( ) the continuity of epiblast and hypoblast at the dorsal lip of the anus of rusconi. ( ) the continuous conversion of indifferent lower layer cells into hypoblast, which gradually extends backwards towards the segmentation cavity, and exactly represents the course of the invagination whereby in amphibians the dorsal wall of the alimentary cavity is formed. ( ) the obliteration of the segmentation cavity during the period when the pseudo-invagination is occurring. the asymmetry of the gastrula or pseudo-gastrula in cyclostomes, amphibians, elasmobranchii and, i believe, osseous fishes, is to be explained by the form of the vertebrate body. in amphioxus, where the small amount of food-yolk present is distributed uniformly, there is no reason why the invagination and resulting gastrula should not be symmetrical. in other vertebrates, where more food-yolk is present, the shape and structure of the body render it necessary for the food-yolk to be stored away on the ventral side of the alimentary canal. this, combined with the unsymmetrical position of the anus, which primitively corresponds in position with the blastopore or anus of rusconi, causes the asymmetry of the gastrula invagination, since it is not possible for the part of the ovum which will become the ventral wall of the alimentary canal, and which is loaded with food-yolk, to be invaginated in the same fashion as the dorsal wall. from the asymmetry, so caused, follow a large number of features in vertebrate development, which have been worked out in some detail in my paper already quoted[ ]. footnote : _quart. journ. of micr. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] prof. haeckel, in a paper recently published[ ], appears to imply that because i do not find absolute invagination in elasmobranchii, i therefore look upon elasmobranchii as militating against his gastræa theory. i cannot help thinking that prof. haeckel must have somewhat misunderstood my meaning. the importance of the gastræa theory has always appeared to me to consist not in the fact that an actual ingrowth of certain cells occurs--an ingrowth which might have many different meanings[ ]--but in the fact that the types of early development of all animals can be easily derived from that of the typical gastrula. i am perfectly in accordance with professor haeckel in regarding the type of elasmobranch development to be a simple derivative from that of the gastrula, although believing it to be without any true ingrowth or invagination of cells. footnote : "die gastrula u. eifurchung d. thiere," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. footnote : for instance, in crustaceans it does not in some cases appear certain whether an invagination is the typical gastrula invagination, or only an invagination by which, at a period subsequent to the gastrula invagination, the hind gut is frequently formed. professor haeckel[ ] in the paper just referred to published his view upon the mutual relationships of the various vertebrate blastoderms. in this paper, which appeared but shortly after my own[ ] on the same subject, he has put forward views which differ from mine in several important details. some of these bear upon the nature of food-yolk; and it appears to me that professor haeckel's scheme of development is incompatible with the view that the food-yolk in meroblastic eggs is the homologue of part of the hypoblast of the holoblastic eggs. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ the following is professor haeckel's own statement of the scheme or type, which he regards as characteristic of meroblastic eggs, pp. and . jetzt folgt der höchst wichtige und interessante vorgang, den ich als einstülpung der blastula auffasse und der zur bildung der gastrula führt (fig. , )[ ]. es schlägt sich nämlich der verdickte saum der keimscheibe, der "randwulst" oder das _properistom_, nach innen um und eine dünne zellenschicht wächst als directe fortsetzung desselben, wie ein immer enger werdendes diaphragma, in die keimhöhle hinein. diese zellenschicht ist das entstehende entoderm (fig. _i_, _i_). die zellen, welche dieselbe zusammensetzen und aus dem innern theile des randwulstes hervorwachsen, sind viel grösser aber flacher als die zellen der keimhöhlendecke und zeigen ein dunkleres grobkörniges protoplasma. auf dem boden der keimhöhle, d. h. also auf der eiweisskugel des nahrungsdotters, liegen sie unmittelbar auf und rücken hier durch centripetale wanderung gegen dessen mitte vor, bis sie dieselbe zuletzt erreichen und nunmehr eine zusammenhängende einschichtige zellenlage auf dem ganzen keimhöhlenboden bilden. diese ist die erste vollständige anlage des darmblatts, entoderms oder "hypoblasts", und von nun an können wir, im gegensatz dazu den gesammten übrigen theil des blastoderms, nämlich die mehrschichtige wand der keimhöhlendecke als hautblatt, exoderm oder "epiblast" bezeichnen. der verdickte randwulst (fig. _w_, _w_), in welchem beide primäre keimblätter in einander übergehen, besteht in seinem oberen und äusseren theile aus exodermzellen, in seinem unteren und inneren theile aus entodermzellen. in diesem stadium entspricht unser fischkeim einer amphiblastula, welche mitten in der invagination begriffen ist, und bei welcher die entstehende urdarmhöhle eine grosse dotterkugel aufgenommen hat. die invagination wird nunmehr dadurch vervollständigt und die gastrulabildung dadurch abgeschlossen, dass die keimhöhle verschwindet. das wachsende entoderm, dem die dotterkugel innig anhängt, wölbt sich in die letztere hinein und nähert sich so dem exoderm. die klare flüssigkeit in der keimhöhle wird resorbirt und schliesslich legt sich die obere convexe fläche des entoderms an die untere concave des exoderms eng an: die gastrula des discoblastischen eies oder die "discogastrula" ist fertig (fig. , ; meridiandurchschnitt fig. , ). die discogastrula unsers knochenfisches in diesem stadium der vollen ausbildung stellt nunmehr eine kreisrunde kappe dar, welche wie ein gefüttertes mützchen fast die ganze obere hemisphäre der hyalinen dotterkugel eng anliegend bedeckt (fig. ). der ueberzug des mützchens entspricht dem exoderm (_e_), sein futter dem entoderm (_i_). ersteres besteht aus drei schichten von kleineren zellen, letzteres aus einer einzigen schicht von grösseren zellen. die exodermzellen (fig. ) messen . - . mm., und haben ein klares, sehr feinkörniges protoplasma. die entodermzellen (fig. ) messen . - . mm. und ihr protoplasma ist mehr grobkörnig und trüber. letztere bilden auch den grössten theil des randwulstes, den wir nunmehr als urmundrand der gastrula, als "_properistoma_" oder auch als "rusconi'schen after" bezeichnen können. der letztere umfasst die dotterkugel, welche die ganze urdarmhöhle ausfüllt und weit aus der dadurch verstopften urmund-oeffnung vorragt. footnote : the references in this quotation are to the figures in the original. my objections to the view so lucidly explained in the passage just quoted, fall under two heads. ( ) that the facts of development of the meroblastic eggs of vertebrates, are not in accordance with the views here advanced. ( ) that even if these views be accepted as representing the actual facts of development, the explanation offered of these facts would not be satisfactory. * * * * * professor haeckel's views are absolutely incompatible with the facts of elasmobranch development, if my investigations are correct. the grounds of the incompatibility may be summed up under the following heads: ( ) in elasmobranchii the hypoblast cells occupy, even before the close of segmentation, the position which, on professor haeckel's view, they ought only eventually to take up after being involuted from the whole periphery of the blastoderm. ( ) there is no sign at any period of an invagination of the periphery of the blastoderm, and the only structure (the embryonic rim) which could be mistaken for such an invagination is confined to a very limited arc. ( ) the growth of cells to form the floor of the segmentation cavity, which ought to be part of this general invagination from the periphery, is mainly due to a formation of cells from the yolk. it is this ingrowth of cells for the floor of the segmentation cavity which, i am inclined to think, professor haeckel has mistaken for a general invagination in the osseous fish he has investigated. ( ) professor haeckel fails to give an account of the asymmetry of the blastoderm; an asymmetry which is unquestionably also present in the blastoderm of most osseous fishes, though not noticed by professor haeckel in the investigations recorded in his paper. the facts of development of osseous fishes, upon which professor haeckel rests his views, are too much disputed, for their discussion in this place to be profitable[ ]. the eggs of osseous fishes appear to me unsatisfactory objects for the study of this question, partly on account of all the cells of the blastoderm being so much alike, that it is a very difficult matter to distinguish between the various layers, and, partly, because there can be little question that the eggs of existing osseous fishes are very much modified, through having lost a great part of the food-yolk possessed by the eggs of their ancestors[ ]. this disappearance of the food-yolk must, without doubt, have produced important changes in development, which would be especially marked in a pelagic egg, like that investigated by professor haeckel. footnote : a short statement by kowalevsky on this subject in a note to his account of the development of ascidians, would seem to indicate that the type of development of osseous fishes is precisely the same as that of elasmobranchii. kowalevsky says, _arch. f. mikr. anat._ vol. vii. p. , note , "according to my observations on osseous fishes the germinal wall consists of two layers, an upper and lower, which are continuous with one another at the border. from the upper one develops skin and nervous system, from the lower hypoblast and mesoblast." this statement, which leaves unanswered a number of important questions, is too short to serve as a basis for supporting my views, but so far as it goes its agreement with the facts of elasmobranch development is undoubtedly striking. footnote : the eggs of the osseous fishes have, i believe, undergone changes of the same character, but not to the same extent, as those of mammalia, which, according to the views expressed both by professor haeckel and myself, are degenerated from an ovum with a large food-yolk. the grounds on which i regard the eggs of osseous fishes as having undergone an analogous change, are too foreign to the subject to be stated here. the avian egg has been a still more disputed object than even the egg of the osseous fishes. the results of my own investigations on this subject do not accord with those of dr götte, or the views of professor haeckel[ ]. footnote : i find myself unable without figures to understand dr rauber's (_centralblatt für med. wiss._ , no. ; , nos. and ) views with sufficient precision to accord to them either my assent or dissent. it is quite in accordance with the view propounded in my paper (_loc. cit._) to regard, with dr rauber and professor haeckel, the thickened edge of the blastoderm as the homologue of the lip of the blastopore in amphioxus; though an invagination, in the manner imagined by professor haeckel, is no necessary consequence of this view. if dr rauber regards the _whole_ egg of the bird as the homologue of that of amphioxus, and the inclosure of the yolk by the blastoderm as the equivalent to the process of invagination in amphioxus, then his views are practically in accordance with my own. apart from disputed points of development, it appears to me that a comparative account of the development of the meroblastic vertebrate ova ought to take into consideration the essential differences which exist between the avian and piscian blastoderms, in that the embryo is situated in the centre of the blastoderm in the first case and at the edge in the second[ ]. footnote : i have suggested in a previous paper ("comparison," &c., _quart. journal of micr. science_, july, ) that the position occupied by the embryo of birds at the centre, and not at the periphery, of the blastoderm may be due to an abbreviation of the process by which the elasmobranch embryos cease to be situated at the edge of the blastoderm (vide p. and pl. , fig. , ). assuming this to be the real explanation of the position of the embryo in birds, i feel inclined to repeat a speculation which i made some time ago with reference to the primitive streak in birds (_quart. journ. of micr. science_, , p. ). in birds there is, as is well known, a structure called the primitive streak, which has been shewn by the observations of dursy, corroborated by my observations (_loc. cit._), to be situated behind the medullary groove, and to take no part in the formation of the embryo. i further shewed that the peculiar fusion of epiblast and mesoblast, called by his the axis cord, was confined to this structure and did not occur in other parts of the blastoderm. nearly similar results have been recently arrived at by hensen with reference to the primitive streak in mammals. the position of the primitive streak immediately behind the embryo suggests the speculation that it may represent the line along which the edges of the blastoderm coalesced, so as to give to the embryo the central position which it has in the blastoderms of birds and mammals, and that the peculiar fusion of epiblast and mesoblast at this point may represent the primitive continuity of epiblast and lower layer cells at the dorsal lip of the anus of rusconi in elasmobranchii. i put this speculation forward as a mere suggestion, in the hope of elucidating the peculiar structure of the primitive streak, which not improbably may be found to be the keystone to the nature of the blastoderm of the higher vertebrates. this difference entails important modifications in development, and must necessarily affect the particular points under discussion. as a result of the different positions of the embryo in the two cases, there is present in elasmobranchii and osseous fishes a true anus of rusconi, or primitive opening into the alimentary canal, which is absent in birds. yet in neither elasmobranchii[ ] nor osseous fishes does the anus of rusconi correspond in position with the point where the final closing in of the yolk takes place, but in them this point corresponds rather with the blastopore of birds[ ]. footnote : vide p. and plate , fig. and , and self, "comparison," &c., _loc. cit._ footnote : the relation of the anus of rusconi and blastopore in elasmobranchii was fully explained in the paper above quoted. it was there clearly shewn that neither the one nor the other exactly corresponds with the blastopore of amphioxus, but that the two together do so. professor haeckel states that in the osseous fish investigated by him the anus of rusconi and the blastopore coincide. this is not the case in the salmon. owing also to the respective situations of the embryo in the blastoderm, the alimentary and neural canals communicate posteriorly in elasmobranchii and osseous fishes, but _not_ in birds. of all these points professor haeckel makes no mention. the support of his views which prof. haeckel attempts to gain from götte's researches in mammalia is completely cut away by the recent discoveries of van beneden[ ] and hensen[ ]. footnote : "développement embryonnaire des mammifères," _bulletin de l'acad. r. d. belgique_, . footnote : _loc. cit._ it thus appears that professor haeckel's views but ill accord with the facts of vertebrate development; but even if they were to do so completely it would not in my opinion be easy to give a rational explanation of them. professor haeckel states that no sharp and fast line can be drawn between the types of 'unequal' and 'discoidal' segmentation[ ]. in the cases of unequal segmentation he admits, as is certainly the case, that the larger yolk cells (hypoblast) are simply enclosed by a growth of the epiblast around them; which is to be looked on as a modification of the typical gastrula invagination, necessitated by the large size of the yolk cells (vide professor haeckel's paper, taf. ii. fig. ). in these instances there is no commencement of an ingrowth in the _manner supposed for meroblastic ova_. footnote : for an explanation of these terms, vide prof. haeckel's original paper or the abstract in _quart. journ. of micr. science_ for january, . when the food-yolk becomes more bulky, and the hypoblast does not completely segment, it is not easy to understand why an ingrowth, which had no existence in the former case, should occur; nor where it is to come from. such an ingrowth as is supposed to exist by professor haeckel would, in fact, break the continuity of development between meroblastic and holoblastic ova, and thus destroy one of the most important results of the gastræa theory. it is quite easy to suppose, as i have done, that in the cases of discoidal segmentation, the hypoblast (including the yolk) becomes enclosed by the epiblast in precisely the same manner as in the cases of unequal segmentation. but even if professor haeckel supposes that in the unsegmented food-yolk a fresh element is added to the ovum, it remains quite unintelligible to me how an ingrowth of cells from a circumferential line, to form a layer which had no previous existence, can be equivalent to, or derived from, the invagination of a layer, which exists before the process of invagination begins, and which remains continuous throughout it. if professor haeckel's views should eventually turn out to be in accordance with the facts of vertebrate development, it will, in my opinion, be very difficult to reduce them into conformity with the gastræa theory. although some space has been devoted to an attempt to refute the views of professor haeckel on this question, i wish it to be clearly understood that my disagreement from his opinions concerns matters of detail only, and that i quite accept the gastræa theory in its general bearings. * * * * * observations upon the formation of the layers in elasmobranchii have hitherto been very few in number. those published in my preliminary account of these fishes are, i believe, the earliest[ ]. footnote : i omit all reference to a paper published in russian by prof. kowalevsky. being unable to translate it, and the illustrations being too meagre to be in themselves of much assistance, it has not been possible for me to make any use of it. since then there has been published a short notice on the subject by dr alex. schultz[ ]. his observations in the main accord with my own. he apparently speaks of the nuclei of the yolk as cells, and also of the epiblast being more than one cell deep. in torpedo alone, amongst the genera investigated by me, is the layer of epiblast, at about the age of the last described embryo, composed of more than a single row of cells. footnote : _centralblatt f. med. wiss._ no. , . explanation of plate . complete list of reference letters. _c._ cells formed in the yolk around the nuclei of the yolk. _ep._ epiblast. _er._ embryonic ring. _es._ embryo swelling. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _ly._ line separating the yolk from the blastoderm. _m._ mesoblast. _mg._ medullary groove. _n´._ nuclei of yolk. _na._ cells to form ventral wall of alimentary canal which have been derived from the yolk. _nal._ cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk which have entered the hypoblast. _sc._ segmentation cavity. _vp._ combined lateral and vertebral plate of mesoblast. fig. . longitudinal section of a blastoderm at the first appearance of the segmentation cavity. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm after the layer of cells has disappeared from the floor of the segmentation cavity. _bd._ large cell resting on the yolk, probably remaining over from the later periods of segmentation. magnified diameters. (hardened in chromic acid.) the section is intended to illustrate the fact that the nuclei form a layer in the yolk under the floor of the segmentation cavity. the roof of the segmentation cavity is broken. fig. _a_. portion of same blastoderm highly magnified, to shew the characters of the nuclei of the yolk _n´_ and the nuclei in the cells of the blastoderm. fig. _b_. large knobbed nucleus from the same blastoderm, very highly magnified. fig. _c_. nucleus of yolk from the same blastoderm. fig. . longitudinal section of blastoderm of same stage as fig. . (hardened in chromic acid.) fig. . longitudinal section of blastoderm slightly older than fig. . magnified diameters. (hardened in osmic acid.) it illustrates ( ) the characters of the epiblast; ( ) the embryonic swelling; ( ) the segmentation cavity. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm at the time of the first appearance of the embryonic rim, and before the formation of the medullary groove. magnified diameters. fig. _a_. section through the periphery of the embryonic rim of the blastoderm of which fig. represents a section. fig. . section through the embryonic rim of a blastoderm somewhat younger than that represented on pl. , fig. b. fig. . section through the most projecting portion of the embryonic rim of a blastoderm of the same age as that represented on pl. , fig. b. the section is drawn on a very considerably smaller scale than that on fig. . it is intended to illustrate the growth of the embryonic rim and the disappearance of the segmentation cavity. fig. _a_. section through peripheral portion of the embryonic rim of the same blastoderm, highly magnified. it specially illustrates the formation of a cell (_c_) around a nucleus in the yolk. the nuclei of the blastoderm have been inaccurately rendered by the artist. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections of the same embryo. inserted mainly to illustrate the formation of the mesoblast as two independent lateral masses of cells; only half of each section is represented. _a_ is the most posterior of the three sections. in it the mesoblast forms a large mass on each side, imperfectly separated from the hypoblast. in _b_, from the anterior part of the embryo, the main mass of mesoblast is far smaller, and only forms a cap to the hypoblast at the highest point of the medullary fold. in _c_ a cap of mesoblast is present, similar to that in _b_, though much smaller. the sections of these embryos were somewhat oblique, and it has unfortunately happened that while in _a_ one side is represented, in _b_ and _c_ the other side is figured, had it not been for this the sections _b_ and _c_ would have been considerably longer than _a_. fig. . longitudinal section of an embryo belonging to a slightly later stage than b. this section passes through one of the medullary folds. it illustrates the continuity of the hypoblast with the remaining lower layer cells of the blastoderm. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections of the same embryo belonging to a stage slightly later than b, pl. . the space between the mesoblast and the hypoblast has been made considerably too great in the figures of the three sections. _a_. the most posterior of the three sections. it shews the posterior flatness of the medullary groove and the two isolated vertebral plates. _b_. this section is taken from the anterior part of the same embryo and shews the deep medullary groove and the commencing formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal from the nuclei of the yolk. _c_ shews the disappearance of the medullary groove and the thinning out of the mesoblast plates in the region of the head. fig. . small portion of the blastoderm and the subjacent yolk of an embryo at the time of the first appearance of the medullary groove × . it shews two large nuclei of the yolk (_n_) and the protoplasmic network in the yolk between them; the network is seen to be closer round the nuclei than in the intervening space. there are no areas representing cells around the nuclei. fig. . nucleus of the yolk in connection with the protoplasmic network hardened in osmic acid. fig. . portion of posterior end of a blastoderm of stage b, shewing the formation of cells around the nuclei of the yolk. fig. . section through part of a young scyllium egg, about / th of an inch in diameter. _nl._ protoplasmic network in yolk. _zp._ zona pellucida. _ch._ structureless chorion. _fep._ follicular epithelium. _x._ structureless membrane external to this. chapter iv. the general features of the elasmobranch embryo at successive stages. no complete series of figures, representing the various stages in development of an elasmobranch embryo, has hitherto been published. with the view of supplying this deficiency plate has been inserted. the embryos represented in this plate form a fairly complete series, but do not all belong to a single species. figs. a, b, c, d, e, f, h, i represent embryos of pristiurus; g being an embryo of torpedo. the remaining figures, excepting k, which is a pristiurus embryo, are embryos of scyllium canicula. the embryos a-i were very accurately drawn from nature by my sister, miss a. b. balfour. unfortunately the exceptional beauty and clearness of the originals is all but lost in the lithographs. to facilitate future description, letters will be employed in the remainder of these pages to signify that an embryo being described is of the same age as the embryo on this plate to which the letter used refers. thus an embryo of the same age as l will be spoken of hereafter as belonging to stage l. a. this figure represents a hardened blastoderm at a stage when the embryo-swelling (_e.s._) has become obvious, but before the appearance of the medullary groove. the position of the segmentation cavity is indicated by a slight swelling of the blastoderm (_s.c_). the shape of the blastoderm, in hardened specimens, is not to be relied upon, owing to the traction which the blastoderm undergoes during the process of removing the yolk from the egg-shell. b. b is the view of a fresh blastoderm. the projecting part of this, already mentioned as the 'embryonic rim', is indicated by the shading. at the middle of the embryonic rim is to be seen the rudiment of the embryo (_m.g._). it consists of an area of the blastoderm, circumscribed on its two sides and at one end, by a slight fold, and whose other end forms part of the edge of the blastoderm. the end of the embryo which points towards the _centre_ of the blastoderm is the head end, and that which forms part of the _edge_ of the blastoderm is the tail end. to retain the nomenclature usually adopted in treating of the development of the bird, the fold at the anterior end of the embryo may be called _the head fold_, and those at the sides the _side folds_. there is in elasmobranchii no tail fold, owing to the position of the embryo at the periphery of the blastoderm, and it is by the meeting of the three above-mentioned folds only, that the embryo becomes pinched off from the remainder of the blastoderm. along the median line of the embryo is a shallow groove (_m.g._), the well-known medullary groove of vertebrate embryology. it flattens out both anteriorly and posteriorly, and is deepest in the middle part of its course. c. this embryo resembles in most of its features the embryo last described. it is, however, considerably larger, and the head fold and side folds have become more pronounced structures. the medullary groove is far deeper than in the earlier stage, and widens out anteriorly. this anterior widening is the first indication of a distinction between the brain and the remainder of the central nervous system, a distinction which arises long before the closure of the medullary canal. d. this embryo is far larger than the one last described, but the increase in length does not cause it to project beyond the edge of the blastoderm, but has been due to a growth inwards towards the centre of the blastoderm. the head is now indicated by an anterior enlargement, and the embryo also widens out posteriorly. the posterior widening (_t.s._) is formed by a pair of rounded prominences, one on each side of the middle line. these are very conspicuous organs during the earlier stages of development, and consist of two large aggregations of mesoblast cells. in accordance with the nomenclature adopted in my preliminary paper[ ], they may be called 'tail-swellings'. between the cephalic enlargements and the tail-swellings is situated the rudimentary trunk of the embryo. it is more completely pinched off from the blastoderm than in the last described embryo. the medullary groove is of a fairly uniform size throughout the trunk of the embryo, but flattens out and vanishes completely in the region of the head. the blastoderm in pristiurus and scyllium grows very rapidly, and has by this stage attained a very considerable size; but in torpedo its growth is very slow. footnote : _quart. journ. micr. science_, oct. . [this edition, no. v.] e and f. these two embryos may be considered together, for, although they differ in appearance, yet they are of an almost identical age; and the differences between the two are purely external. e appears to be a little abnormal in not having the cephalic region so distinctly marked off from the trunk as is usual. the head is proportionally larger than in the last stage, and the tail-swellings remain as conspicuous as before. the folding off from the blastoderm has progressed rapidly, and the head and tail are quite separated from it. the medullary groove has become closed posteriorly in both embryos, but the closing has extended further forwards in f than in e. in f the medullary folds have not only united posteriorly, but have very nearly effected a fresh junction in the region of the neck. at this point a second junction of the two medullary folds is in fact actually effected before the posterior closing has extended forwards so far. the later junction in the region of the neck corresponds in position with the point, where in the bird the medullary folds first unite. no trace of a medullary groove is to be met with in the head, which simply consists of a wide flattened plate. between the two tail-swellings surface views present the appearance of a groove, but this appearance is deceptive, since in sections no groove, or at most a very slight one, is perceptible. g. during the preceding stages growth in the embryo is very slow, and considerable intervals of time elapse before any perceptible changes are effected. this state of things now becomes altered, and the future changes succeed each other with far greater rapidity. one of the most important of these, and one which first presents itself during this stage, is the disappearance of the yolk-spherules from the embryonic cells, and the consequently increased transparency of the embryo. as a result of this, a number of organs, which in the earlier stages were only to be investigated by means of sections, now become visible in the living embryo. the tail-swellings (_t.s._) are still conspicuous objects at the posterior extremity of the embryo. the folding off of the embryo from the yolk has progressed to such an extent that it is now quite possible to place the embryo on its side and examine it from that point of view. the embryo may be said to be attached to the yolk by a distinct stalk or cord, which in the succeeding stages gradually narrows and elongates, and is known as the umbilical cord (_so.s._). the medullary canal has now become completely closed, even in the region of the brain, where during the last stage no trace of a medullary groove had appeared. slight constrictions, not perceptible in views of the embryo as a transparent object, mark off three vesicles in the brain. these vesicles are known as the fore, mid, and hind brain. from the fore-brain there is an outgrowth on each side, the first rudiment of the optic vesicle (_op._). the mesoblast on each side of the body is divided into a series of segments, known as protovertebræ or muscle-plates, the first of which lies a little behind the head. the mesoblast of the tail has not as yet undergone this segmentation. there are present in all seventeen segments. these first appeared at a much earlier date, but were not visible owing to the opacity of the embryo. another structure which became developed in even a younger embryo than c is now for the first time visible in the living embryo. this is the notochord: it extends from almost the extreme posterior to the anterior end of the embryo. it lies between the ventral wall of the spinal canal and the dorsal wall of the intestine; and round its posterior end these two walls become continuous with each other (vide fig.). anteriorly the termination of the notochord cannot be seen, it can only be traced into a mass of mesoblast at the base of the brain, which there separates the epiblast from the hypoblast. the alimentary canal (_al._) is completely closed anteriorly and posteriorly, though still widely open to the yolk-sac in the middle part of its course. in the region of the head it exhibits on each side a slight bulging outwards, the rudiment of the first visceral cleft. this is represented in the figure by two lines (i _v.c._). the visceral clefts at this stage consist of a pair of simple diverticula from the alimentary canal, and there is no communication between the throat and the exterior. h. the present embryo is far larger than the last, but it has not been possible to represent this increase in size in the drawings. accompanying this increase in size, the folding off of the embryo from the yolk has considerably progressed, and the stalk which unites the embryo with the yolk is proportionately narrower and longer than before. the brain is now very distinctly divided into the three lobes, whose rudiments appeared during the last stage. from the foremost of these, the optic vesicles now present themselves as well-marked lateral outgrowths, towards which there appears a growing in, or involution, from the external skin (_op._) to form the lens. the opening of this involution is represented by the dark spot in the centre. a fresh organ of sense, the auditory sac, now for the first time becomes visible as a shallow pit in the external skin on each side of the hind-brain (_au.v._). the epiblast which is involuted to form this pit becomes much thickened, and thereby the opacity, indicated in the figure, is produced. the muscle-plates have greatly increased in number by the formation of fresh segments in the tail. thirty-eight of them were present in the embryo figured. the mesoblast at the base of the brain has increased in quantity, and there is still a certain mass of unsegmented mesoblast which forms the tail-swellings. the first rudiment of the heart becomes visible during this stage as a cavity between the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure and the hypoblast (_ht._). the fore and hind guts are now longer than they were. a slight pushing in from the exterior to form the mouth has appeared (_m._), and an indication of the future position of the anus is afforded by a slight diverticulum of the hind gut towards the exterior some little distance from the posterior end of the embryo (_an._). the portion of the alimentary canal behind this point, though at this stage large, and even dilated into a vesicle at its posterior end (_al.v._), becomes eventually completely atrophied. in the region of the throat the rudiment of a second visceral cleft has appeared behind the first; neither of them are as yet open to the exterior. the number of visceral clefts present in any given pristiurus embryo affords a very easy and simple way of determining its age. i. a great increase in size is again to be noticed in the embryo, but, as in the case of the last embryo, it has not been possible to represent this in the figure. the stalk connecting the embryo with the yolk has become narrower and more elongated, and the tail region of the embryo proportionately far longer than in the last stage. during this stage the first spontaneous movements of the embryo take place, and consist in somewhat rapid excursions of the embryo from side to side, produced by a serpentine motion of the body. the cranial flexure, which commenced in stage g, has now become very evident, and the mid-brain[ ] begins to project in the same manner as in the embryo fowl on the third day, and will soon form the anterior termination of the long axis of the embryo. the fore-brain has increased in size and distinctness, and the anterior part of it may now be looked on as the unpaired rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres. footnote : the part of the brain which i have here called mid-brain, and which unquestionably corresponds to the part called mid-brain in the embryos of higher vertebrates, becomes in the adult what miklucho-maclay and gegenbaur called the vesicle of the third ventricle or thalamencephalon. i shall always speak of it as the mid-brain. further growths have taken place in the organs of sense, especially in the eye, in which the involution for the lens has made considerable progress. the number of the muscle-plates has again increased, but there is still a region of unsegmented mesoblast in the tail. the thickened portions of mesoblast which caused the tail-swellings are still to be seen and would seem to act as the reserve from which is drawn the matter for the rapid growth of the tail, which occurs soon after this. the mass of the mesoblast at the base of the brain has again increased. no fresh features of interest are to be seen in the notochord. the heart is now much more conspicuous than before, and its commencing flexure is very apparent. it now beats actively. the hind gut especially is much longer than in the last specimen; and the point where the anus will appear is very easily detected by the bulging out of the gut towards the external skin at that point (_an._). the alimentary vesicle, first observable during the last stage, is now a more conspicuous organ (_al.v._). three visceral clefts, none of which are as yet open to the exterior, may now be seen. k. the figures g, h, i are representations of living and transparent embryos, but the remainder of the figures are drawings of opaque embryos which were hardened in chromic acid. the stalk connecting the embryo with the yolk is now, comparatively speaking, quite narrow, and is of sufficient length to permit the embryo to execute considerable movements. the tail has grown immensely, but is still dilated terminally. this terminal dilatation is mainly due to the alimentary vesicle, but the tract of gut connecting this with the gut in front of the anus is now a solid rod of cells and very soon becomes completely atrophied. the two pairs of limbs have appeared as elongated ridges of epiblast. the anterior pair is situated just at the front end of the umbilical stalk; and the posterior pair, which is the more conspicuous of the two, is situated some little distance behind the stalk. the cranial flexure has greatly increased, and the angle between the long axis of the front part of the head and of the body is less than a right angle. the conspicuous mid-brain forms the anterior termination of the long axis of the body. the thin roof of the fourth ventricle may in the figure be noticed behind the mid-brain. the auditory sac is nearly closed and its opening is not shewn in the figure. in the eye the lens is completely formed. owing to the opacity of the embryo, the muscle-plates are only indistinctly indicated, and no other features of the mesoblast are to be seen. the mouth is now a deep pit, whose borders are almost completely formed by the thickening in front of the first visceral cleft, which may be called the first visceral arch or mandibular arch. four visceral clefts are now visible, all of which are open to the exterior, but in a transparent embryo one more, not open to the exterior, would have been visible behind the last of these. l. this embryo is considerably older than the one last described, but growth is not quite so rapid as might be gathered from the fact that l is nearly twice as long as k, since the two embryos belong to different genera; and the scyllium embryos, of which l is an example, are larger than pristiurus embryos. the umbilical stalk is now quite a narrow elongated structure, whose subsequent external changes are very unimportant, and consist for the most part merely in an increase in its length. the tail has again grown greatly in length, and its terminal dilatation together with the alimentary vesicle contained in it, have both completely vanished. a dorsal and ventral fin are now clearly visible; they are continuous throughout their whole length. the limbs have grown and are more easily seen than in the previous stage. great changes have been effected in the head, resulting in a diminution of the cranial flexure. this diminution is nevertheless apparent rather than real, and is chiefly due to the rapid growth of the rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres. the three main divisions of the brain may still be clearly seen from the surface. posteriorly is situated the hind-brain, now consisting of the medulla oblongata and cerebellum. at the anterior part of the medulla is to be seen the thin roof of the fourth ventricle, and anteriorly to this again the roof becomes thickened to form the rudiment of the cerebellum. in front of the hind-brain lies the mid-brain, the roof of which is formed by the optic lobes, which are still situated at the front end of the long axis of the embryo. beyond the mid-brain is placed the fore-brain, whose growth is rapidly rendering the cranial flexure imperceptible. the rudiments of the nasal sacs are now clearly visible as a pair of small pits. the pits are widely open to the exterior, and are situated one on each side, near the front end of the cerebral hemispheres. five visceral clefts are open to the exterior, and in them the external gills have commenced to appear (l´). the first cleft is no longer similar to the rest, but has commenced to be metamorphosed into the spiracle. accompanying the change in position of the first cleft, the mandibular arch has begun to bend round and enclose the front as well as the side of the mouth. by this change in the mandibular arch the mouth becomes narrowed in an antero-posterior direction. m. of this embryo the head alone has been represented. two views of it are given, one (m) from the side and the other (m´) from the under surface. the growth of the front part of the head has considerably diminished the prominence of the cranial flexure. the full complement of visceral clefts is now present--six in all. but the first has already atrophied considerably, and may easily be recognized as the spiracle. in scyllium, there are present at no period more than six visceral clefts. the first visceral arch on each side has become bent still further round, to form the front border of the mouth. the opening of the mouth has in consequence become still more narrowed in an antero-posterior direction. the width of the mouth in this direction, serves for the present and for some of the subsequent stages as a very convenient indication of age. n. the limbs, or paired fins, have now acquired the general features and form which they possess in the adult. the unpaired fins have now also become divided in a manner not only characteristic of the elasmobranchii but even of the genus scyllium. there is a tail fin, an anal fin and two dorsal fins, both the latter being situated behind the posterior paired fins. in the head may be noticed a continuation of the rapid growth of the anterior part. the mouth has become far more narrow and slit-like; and with many other of the organs of the period commences to approach the form of the adult. the present and the three preceding stages shew the gradual changes by which the first visceral arch becomes converted into the rudiments of the upper and of the lower jaw. the fact of the conversion was first made known through the investigations of messrs parker and gegenbaur. o. in this stage the embryo is very rapidly approaching the form of the adult. this is especially noticeable in the fins, which project in a manner quite characteristic of the adult fish. the mouth is slit-like, and the openings of the nasal sacs no longer retain their primitive circular outline. the external gills project from all the gill-slits including the spiracle. p. the head is rapidly elongating by the growth of the snout, and the divisions of the brain can no longer be seen with distinctness from the exterior, and, with the exception of the head and of the external gills, the embryo almost completely resembles the adult. q. the snout has grown to such an extent, that the head has nearly acquired its adult shape. in the form of its mouth the embryo now quite resembles the adult fish. * * * * * this part of the subject may be conveniently supplemented by a short description of the manner in which the blastoderm encloses the yolk. it has been already mentioned that the growth of the blastoderm is not uniform. the part of it in the immediate neighbourhood of the embryo remains comparatively stationary, while the growth elsewhere is very rapid. from this it results that that part of the edge of the blastoderm where the embryo is attached forms a bay in the otherwise regular outline of the edge of the blastoderm. by the time that one-half of the yolk is enclosed the bay is a very conspicuous feature (pl. , fig. ). in this figure _bl._ points to the blastoderm, and _yk._ to the part of the yolk not yet enclosed by the blastoderm. shortly subsequent to this the bay becomes obliterated by its two sides coming together and coalescing, and the embryo ceases to lie at the edge of the yolk. this stage is represented on pl. , fig. . in this figure there is only a small patch of yolk not yet enclosed (_yk_), which is situated at some little distance behind the embryo. throughout all this period the edge of the blastoderm has remained thickened, a feature which persists till the complete investment of the yolk, which takes place shortly after the stage last figured. in this thickened edge a circular vein arises, which brings back the blood from the yolk-sac to the embryo. the opening in the blastoderm (pl. , fig. , _yk._), exposing the portion of the yolk not yet enclosed, may be conveniently called the blastopore, according to professor lankester's nomenclature. the interesting feature which characterizes the blastopore in elasmobranchii is the fact of its not corresponding in position with the opening of the anus of rusconi. we thus have in elasmobranchii two structures, each of which corresponds in part with the single structure in amphioxus which may be called either blastopore or anus of rusconi, which yet do not in elasmobranchii coincide in position. it is the blastopore of elasmobranchii which has undergone a change of position, owing to the unequal growth of the blastoderm; while the anus of rusconi retains its normal situation. in osseous fishes the blastopore undergoes a similar change of position. the possibility of a change in position of this structure is peculiarly interesting, in that it possibly serves to explain how the blastopore of different animals corresponds in different cases with the anus or the mouth, and has not always a fixed situation[ ]. footnote : for a fuller discussion of this question vide self, "a comparison of the early stages of development in vertebrates." _quart. journ. of micr. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] explanation of plates and . complete list of reference letters. _a._ arteries of yolk sac (red). _al._ alimentary cavity. _alv._ alimentary vesicle at the posterior end of the alimentary canal. _an._ point where anus will appear. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _bl._ blastoderm. _ch._ notochord. _es._ embryo-swelling. _h._ head. _ht._ heart. _m._ mouth. _mg._ medullary groove. _mp._ muscle-plate or protovertebra. _op._ eye. _sc._ segmentation cavity. _sos._ somatic stalk. _ts._ tail-swelling. _v._ veins of yolk sac (blue). _vc._ visceral cleft. i. _vc._ st visceral cleft. _x._ portion of blastoderm outside the arterial circle in which no blood-vessels are present. _yk._ yolk. plate . fig. a. surface view of blastoderm of pristiurus hardened in chromic acid. fig. b. surface view of fresh blastoderm of pristiurus. figs. c, d, e, and f. pristiurus embryos hardened in chromic acid. fig. g. torpedo embryo viewed as a transparent object. figs. h, i. pristiurus embryos viewed as transparent objects. fig. k. pristiurus embryo hardened in chromic acid. the remainder of the figures are representations of embryos of scyllium canicula hardened in chromic acid. in every case, with the exception of the figures marked p and q, two representations of the same embryo are given; one from the side and one from the under surface. plate . fig. . yolk of a pristiurus egg with blastoderm and embryo. about two-thirds of the yolk have been enveloped by the blastoderm. the embryo is still situated at the edge of the blastoderm, but at the end of a bay in the outline of this. the thickened edge of the blastoderm is indicated by a darker shading. two arteries have appeared. fig. . yolk of an older pristiurus egg. the yolk has become all but enveloped by the blastoderm, and the embryo ceases to lie at the edge of the blastoderm, owing to the coalescence of the two sides of the bay which existed in the earlier stage. the circulation is now largely developed. it consists of an external arterial ring, and an internal venous ring, the latter having been developed in the thickened edge of the blastoderm. outside the arterial ring no vessels are developed. fig. . the yolk has now become completely enveloped by the blastoderm. the arterial ring has increased in size. the venous ring has vanished, owing to the complete enclosure of the yolk by the blastoderm. the point where it existed is still indicated (_y_) by the brush-like termination of the main venous trunk in a number of small branches. fig. . diagrammatic projection of the vascular system of the yolk sac of a somewhat older embryo. the arterial ring has grown much larger and the portion of the yolk where no vessels exist is very small (_x_). the brush-like termination of the venous trunk is still to be noticed. the two main trunks (arterial and venous) in reality are in close contact as in fig. , and enter the somatic stalk close together. the letter _a_ which points to the venous (blue) trunk should be _v_ and not _a_. fig. . circulation of the yolk sac of a still older embryo, in which the arterial circle has ceased to exist, owing to the space outside it having become smaller and smaller and finally vanished. chapter v. stages b to g. the present chapter deals with the history of the development of the elasmobranch embryo from the period when the medullary groove first arises till that in which it becomes completely closed, and converted into the medullary canal. the majority of the observations recorded were made on pristiurus embryos, a few on embryos of torpedo. where nothing is said to the contrary the statements made apply to the embryos of pristiurus only. the general external features for this period have already been given in sufficient detail in the last chapter; and i proceed at once to describe consecutively the history of the three layers. _general features of the epiblast._ at the commencement of this period, during the stage intermediate between b and c, the epiblast is composed of a single layer of cells. (pl. , fig. .) these are very much elongated in the region of the embryo, but flattened in other parts of the blastoderm. throughout they contain numerous yolk-spherules. in a torpedo embryo of this age (as determined by the condition of the notochord) the epiblast presents a very different structure. it is composed of small spindle-shaped cells several rows deep. the nuclei of these are very large in proportion to the cells containing them, and the yolk-spherules are far less numerous than in the cells of corresponding pristiurus embryos. during stage c the condition of the epiblast does not undergo any important change, with the exception of the layer becoming much thickened, and its cells two or three deep in the anterior parts of the embryo. (pl. , fig. .) in the succeeding stages that part of the epiblast, which will form the spinal cord, gradually becomes two or three cells deep. this change is effected by a decrease in the length of the cells as compared with the thickness of the layer. in the earlier stages the cells are wedge-shaped with an alternate arrangement, so that a decrement in the length of the cells at once causes the epiblast to be composed of two rows of interlocking cells. the lateral parts of the epiblast which form the epidermis of the embryo are modified in quite a different manner to the nervous parts of the layer, becoming very much diminished in thickness and composed of a single row of flattened cells. (pl. , fig. .) till the end of stage f, the epiblast cells and indeed all the cells of the blastoderm retain their yolk-spherules, but the epiblast begins to lose them and consequently to become transparent in stage g. _medullary groove._ during stage b the medullary groove is shallow posteriorly, deeper in the middle part, and flattened out again at the extreme anterior end of the embryo. (pl. , fig. _a_, _b_, _c_.) a similar condition obtains in the stage between b and c, but the canal has now in part become deeper. anteriorly no trace of it is to be seen. in stage c it exhibits the same general features. (pl. , fig. _a_, _b_, _c_.) by stage d we find important modifications of the canal. it is still shallow behind and deep in the dorsal region, pl. , figs. _d_, _e_, _f_; but the anterior flattened area in the last stage has grown into a round flat plate which may be called the cephalic plate, pl. , d and pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. this plate becomes converted into the brain. its size and form give it a peculiar appearance, but the most remarkable feature about it is the ventral curvature of its edges. its edges do not, as might be expected, bend dorsalwards towards each other, but become sharply bent in a ventral direction. this feature is for the first time apparent at this stage, but becomes more conspicuous during the succeeding ones, and attains its maximum in stage f (pl. , fig. ), in which it might almost be supposed that the edges of the cephalic plate were about to grow downwards and meet on the ventral side of the embryo. in the stages subsequent to d the posterior part of the canal deepens much more rapidly than the rest (vide pl. , fig. , taken from the posterior end of an embryo but slightly younger than f), and the medullary folds unite and convert the posterior end of the medullary groove into a closed canal (pl. , fig. f), while the groove is still widely open elsewhere[ ]. the medullary canal does not end blindly behind, but simply forms a tube not closed at either extremity. the importance of this fact will appear later. footnote : vide preliminary account, etc. _q. jl. micros. science_, oct. , pl. , _a_. [this edition, no. v. pl. , _a_.] this and the other section from the same embryo (stage f) may be referred to. i have not thought it worth while repeating them here. in a stage but slightly subsequent to f nearly the whole of the medullary canal becomes formed. this occurs in the usual way by the junction and coalescence of the medullary folds. in the course of the closing of the medullary groove the edges of the cephalic plate lose their ventral curvature and become bent up in the normal manner (vide pl. , fig. , a section taken through the posterior part of the cephalic plate), and the enlarged plate merely serves to enclose a dilated cephalic portion of the medullary canal. the closing of the medullary canal takes place earlier in the head and neck than in the back. the anterior end of the canal becomes closed and does not remain open like the posterior end. elasmobranch embryos resemble those of the sturgeon (acipenser) and the amphibians in the possession of a spatula-like cephalic expansion: but so far as i am aware a ventral flexure in the medullary plates of the head has not been observed in other groups. the medullary canal in elasmobranchii is formed precisely on the type so well recognised for all groups of vertebrates with the exception of the osseous fishes. the only feature in any respect peculiar to these fishes is the closing of their medullary canal first commencing behind, and then at a second point in the cervical region. in those vertebrates in which the medullary folds do not unite at approximately the same time throughout their length, they appear usually to do so first in the region of the neck. _mesoblast._ the separation from the hypoblast of two lateral masses of mesoblast has already been described. till the close of stage c the mesoblast retains its primitive bilateral condition unaltered. throughout the whole length of the embryo, with the exception of the extreme front part, there are present two plates of rounded mesoblast cells, one on each side of the medullary groove. these plates are in very close contact with the hypoblast, and also follow with fair accuracy the outline of the epiblast. this relation of the mesoblast plates to the epiblast must not however be supposed to indicate that the medullary groove is due to growth in the mesoblast: a view which is absolutely negatived by the manner of formation of the medullary groove in the head. anteriorly the mesoblast plates thin out and completely vanish. in stage d, the plates of mesoblast in the trunk undergo important changes. the cells composing them become arranged in two layers (pl. , fig. ), a splanchnic layer adjoining the hypoblast (_sp_), and a somatic layer adjoining the epiblast[ ] (_so_). although these two layers are distinctly formed, they do not become separated at this stage in the region of the trunk, and in the trunk no true body-cavity is formed. footnote : i underestimated the distinctness of this formation in my earlier paper, _loc. cit._, although i recognised the fact that the mesoblast cells became arranged in two distinct layers. by stage d the plates of mesoblast have ceased to be quite isolated, and are connected with the lower layer cells of the general blastoderm. moreover the lower layer cells outside the embryo now exhibit distinct traces of a separation into two layers, one continuous with the hypoblast, the other with the mesoblast. both layers are composed of very flattened cells, and the mesoblast layer is often more than one cell deep, and sometimes exhibits a mesh-like arrangement of its elements. coincidentally with the appearance of a differentiation into a somatic and splanchnic layer the mesoblast plates become partially split by a series of transverse lines of division into protovertebræ. only the proximal regions of the plates become split in this way, while their peripheral parts remain quite intact. as a result of this each plate becomes divided into a proximal portion adjoining the medullary canal, which is divided into _protovertebræ_, and may be called the _vertebral plate_, and a peripheral portion not so divided, which may be called the _lateral plate_. these two parts are at this stage quite continuous with each other; and, as will be seen in the sequel, the body-cavity originally extends uninterruptedly to the summit of the vertebral plates. by stage d at the least ten protovertebræ have appeared. in torpedo the mesoblast commences to be divided into two layers much earlier than in pristiurus; and even before stage c this division is more or less clearly marked. in the head and tail the condition of the mesoblast is by no means the same as in the body. in the tail the plates of mesoblast become considerably thickened and give rise to two projections, one on each side, which have already been alluded to as caudal or tail-swellings; vide pl. , figs. d, f, and pl. , fig. _f_ and fig. , _ts_. these masses of mesoblast are neither divided into protovertebræ, nor do they exhibit any trace of a commencing differentiation into somatopleure and splanchnopleure. in the head, so far as i have yet been able to observe, the mesoblastic plates do _not_ at this stage become divided into protovertebræ. the other changes exhibited in the cephalic region are of interest, mainly from the fact that here appears a cavity in the mesoblast directly continuous with the body-cavity (when that cavity becomes formed), but which appears at a very much earlier date than the body-cavity. this cavity can only be looked on in the light of a direct continuation of the body or peritoneal cavity into the head. theoretical considerations with reference to it i propose reserving till i have described the changes which it undergoes in the subsequent periods. pl. , figs. _a_, _b_ and _c_ exhibit very well the condition of the mesoblast in the head at this period. in fig. _c_, a section taken through the back part of the head, the mesoblast plates have nearly the same form as in the sections immediately behind. the ventral continuation of the mesoblast formed by the lateral plate has, however, become much thinner, and the dorsal or vertebral portion has acquired a more triangular form than in the sections through the trunk (figs. _d_ and _e_). in the section (fig. _b_) in front of this the ventral portion of the plate is no longer present, and only that part exists which corresponds with the vertebral division of the primitive plate of mesoblast. in this a distinct cavity, forming part of the body-cavity, has appeared. in a still anterior section (fig. _a_) no cavity is any longer present in the mesoblast; whilst in sections taken from the foremost part of the head no mesoblast is to be seen (vide pl. , fig. , taken from the front part of the head of the embryo represented in pl. , fig. f). a continuation of the body-cavity into the head has already been described by oellacher[ ] for the trout: but he believes that the cavity in this part is solely related to the formation of the pericardial space. footnote : _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, . the condition of the mesoblast undergoes no important change till the end of the period treated of in this chapter. the masses of mesoblast which form the tail-swellings become more conspicuous (pl. , fig. ); and indeed their convexity is so great that the space between them has the appearance of a median groove, even after the closure of the neural canal in the caudal region. in embryos of stage g, which may be considered to belong to the close of this period, eighteen protovertebræ are present both in pristiurus and torpedo embryos. _the alimentary canal._ the alimentary canal at the commencement of this period (stage b) forms a space between the embryo and the yolk, ending blindly in front, but opening posteriorly by a widish slit-like aperture, which corresponds to the anus of rusconi (pl. , fig. ). the cavity anteriorly has a more or less definite form, having lateral walls, as well as a roof and floor (pl. , figs. _b_ and _c_). posteriorly it is not nearly so definitely enclosed (pl. , fig. _a_). the ventral wall of the cavity is formed by yolk. but even in stage b there are beginnings of a cellular ventral wall derived from an ingrowth of cells from the two sides. by stage c considerable progress has been made in the formation of the alimentary canal. posteriorly it is as flattened and indefinite as during stage b (pl. , figs. _b_ and _c_). but in the anterior part of the embryo the cavity becomes much deeper and narrower, and a floor of cells begins to be formed for it (pl. , fig. ); and, finally, in front, it forms a definite space completely closed in on all sides by cells (pl. , fig. _a_). two distinct processes are concerned in effecting these changes in the condition of the alimentary cavity. one of these is a process of folding off the embryo from the blastoderm. the other is a simple growth of cells independent of any folding. to the first of these processes the depth and narrowness of the alimentary cavity is due; the second is concerned in forming its ventral wall. the combination of the two processes produces the peculiar triangular section which characterises the anterior closed end of the alimentary cavity at this stage. the process of the folding off of the embryo from the blastoderm resembles exactly the similar process in the embryo bird. the fold by which the constricting off of the embryo is effected is a perfectly continuous one, but may be conveniently spoken of as composed of a head fold and two lateral folds. of far greater interest than the nature of these folds is the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. this, as has been said, is effected by a growth of cells from the two sides to the middle line (pl. , fig. ). the cells for this are however not derived from pre-existing hypoblast cells, but are formed spontaneously around nuclei of the yolk. this fact can be determined in a large number of sections, and is fairly well shewn in pl. , fig. , _na_. the cells are formed in the yolk, as has been already mentioned, by a simple aggregation of protoplasm around pre-existing nuclei. the cells being described are in most cases formed close to the pre-existing hypoblast cells, but often require to undergo a considerable change of position before attaining their final situation in the wall of the alimentary canal. i have already alluded to this feature in the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary cavity. its interest, as bearing on the homology of the yolk, is considerable, owing to the fact that the so-called yolk-cells of amphibians play a similar part in supplying the ventral epithelium of the alimentary cavity, as do the cells derived from the yolk in elasmobranchii. the fact of this feature being common to the yolk-cells of amphibians and the yolk of elasmobranchii, supplies a strong argument in favour of the homology of the yolk-cells in the one case with the yolk in the other[ ]. footnote : nearly simultaneously with chapter iii. of the present monograph on the development of elasmobranchii, which dealt in a fairly complete manner with the genesis of cells outside the blastoderm, there appeared two important papers dealing with the same subject for teleostei. one of these, by professor bambeke, "embryologie des poissons osseux," _mém. cour. acad. belgique_, , which appeared some little time before my paper, and a second by dr klein, _quart. jour. of micr. sci._ april, . in both of these papers a development of nuclei and of cells is described as occurring outside the blastoderm in a manner which accords fairly well with my own observations. the conclusions of both these investigators differ however from my own. they regard the finely granular matter, in which the nuclei appear, as pertaining to the blastoderm, and morphologically quite distinct from the yolk. from their observations we can clearly recognise that the material in which the nuclei appear is far more sharply separated off from the yolk in osseous fish than in elasmobranchii, and this sharp separation forms the main argument for the view of these authors. dr klein admits, however, that this granular matter (which he calls parablast) graduates into the typical food-yolk, though he explains this by supposing that the parablast takes up part of the yolk for the purpose of growth. it is clear that the argument from a sharp separation of yolk and parablast cannot have much importance, when it is admitted ( ) that in osseous fish there is a gradation between the two substances, while ( ) in elasmobranchii the one merges slowly and insensibly into the other. the only other argument used by these authors is stated by dr klein in the following way. "the fact that the parablast has, at the outset, been forming one unit with what represents the archiblast, and, _while increasing has spread_ i.e. _grown over the yolk_ which underlies the segmentation-cavity, is, i think, the most absolute proof that the yolk is as much different from the parablast as it is from the archiblast." this argument to me merely demonstrates that certain of the nutritive elements of the yolk become in the course of development converted into protoplasm, a phenomenon which must necessarily be supposed to take place on my own as well as on dr klein's view of the nature of the yolk. my own views on the subject have already been fully stated. i regard the so-called yolk as composed of a larger or smaller amount of food-material imbedded in protoplasm, and the meroblastic ovum as a body constituted of the same essential parts as a holoblastic ovum, though divided into regions which differ in the proportion of protoplasm they contain. i do not propose to repeat the positive arguments used by me in favour of this view, but content myself with alluding to the protoplasmic network found by schultz and myself extending through the whole yolk, and to the similar network described by bambeke as being present in the eggs of osseous fish after deposition but before impregnation. the existence of these networks is to me a conclusive proof of the correctness of my views. i admit that in teleostei the 'parablast' contains more protoplasm than the homologous material in the elasmobranch ovum, while it is probable that after impregnation the true yolk of teleostei contains little or no protoplasm; but these facts do not appear to me to militate against my views. i agree with prof. bambeke in regarding the cells derived from the sub-germinal matter as homologous with the so-called yolk-cells of the amphibian embryo. i have recently, in some of the later stages of development, met with very peculiar nuclei of the yolk immediately beneath the blastoderm at some little distance from the embryo, pl. , fig. . they were situated not in finely sub-germinal matter, but amongst large yolk-spherules. they were very large, and presented still more peculiar forms than those already described by me, being produced into numerous long filiform processes. the processes from the various nuclei were sometimes united together, forming a regular network of nuclei quite unlike anything that i have previously seen described. the sub-germinal matter, in which the nuclei are usually formed, becomes during the later stages of development far richer in protoplasm than during the earlier. it continually arises at fresh points, and often attains to considerable dimensions, no doubt by feeding on yolk-spherules. its development appears to be determined by the necessities of growth in the blastoderm or embryo. the history of the alimentary canal during the remainder of this period may be told briefly. the folding off and closing of the alimentary canal in the anterior part of the body proceeds rapidly, and by stage d not only is a considerable tract of alimentary canal formed, but a great part of the head is completely folded off from the yolk (pl. , fig. _a_). by stage f a still greater part is folded off. the posterior part of the alimentary canal retains for a long period its primitive condition. it is not until stage f that it begins to be folded off behind. after the folding has once commenced it proceeds with great rapidity, and before stage g the hinder part of the alimentary canal becomes completely closed in. the folding in of the gut is produced by two lateral folds, and the gut is not closed posteriorly. it may be remembered that the neural canal also remained open behind. thus both the neural and alimentary canals are open behind; and, since both of them extend to the posterior end of the body, they meet there, their walls coalesce, and a direct communication from the neural to the alimentary canal is instituted. the process may be described in another way by saying that the medullary folds are continuous round the end of the tail with the lateral walls of the alimentary canal; so that, when the medullary folds unite to form a canal, this canal becomes continuous with the alimentary canal, which is closed in at the same time. in whatever way this arrangement is produced, the result of it is that it becomes possible to pass in a continuously closed passage along the neural canal round the end of the tail and into the alimentary canal. a longitudinal section shewing this feature is represented on pl. , fig. . this communication between the neural and alimentary canals, which is coupled, as will be seen in the sequel, with the atrophy of a posterior segment of the alimentary canal, is a feature of great interest which ought to throw considerable light upon the meaning of the neural canal. so far as i know, no suggestion as to the origin of it has yet been made. it is by no means confined to elasmobranchii, but is present in all the vertebrates whose embryos are situated at the centre and not at the periphery of the blastoderm. it has been described by goette[ ] in amphibians and by kowalevsky, owsjannikow and wagner[ ] in the sturgeon (acipenser). the same arrangement is also stated by kowalevsky[ ] to exist in osseous fishes and amphioxus. the same investigator has shewn that the alimentary and neural canals communicate in larval ascidians, and we may feel almost sure that they do so in the marsipobranchii. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ footnote : _mélanges biologiques de l'académie pétersbourg_, tome vii. footnote : _archiv. f. mikros. anat._ vol. vii. p. . in the passage on this point kowalevsky states that in elasmobranchii the neural and alimentary canals communicate. this i believe to be the first notice published of this peculiar arrangement. the reptilia, aves, and mammalia have usually been distinguished from other vertebrates by the possession of a well-developed allantois and amnion. i think that we may further say that the lower vertebrates, pisces and amphibia, are to be distinguished from the three above-mentioned groups of higher vertebrates, by the positive embryonic character that their neural and alimentary canals at first communicate posteriorly. the presence or absence of this arrangement depends on the different positions of the embryo in the blastoderm. in reptiles, birds and mammals, the embryo occupies a central position in the blastoderm, and not, as in pisces and amphibia, a peripheral one at its edge. we can, in fact, only compare the blastoderm of the bird and the elasmobranch, by supposing that in the blastoderm of the bird there has occurred an abbreviation of the processes, by which the embryo elasmobranch is eventually placed in the centre of the blastoderm: as a result of this abbreviation the embryo bird occupies _from the first a_ central position in the blastoderm[ ]. footnote : vide note on p. , also p. , and pl. , figs. and , and comparison, &c., _qy. jl. of micros. sci._ july, , p. . [this edition, no. vi. p. .] these passages give an account of the change of position of the elasmobranch embryo, and the note on p. contains a speculation about the nature of the primitive streak with its contained primitive groove. i have suggested that the primitive streak is probably to be regarded as a rudiment at the position where the edges of the blastoderm coalesced to give to the embryos of birds and mammals the central position which they occupy. if my hypothesis should turn out to be correct, various, now unintelligible, features about the primitive streak would be explained: such as its position behind the embryo, the fusion of the epiblast and mesoblast in it, the groove it contains, &c. the possibility of the primitive streak representing the blastopore, as it in fact does according to my hypothesis, ought also to throw light on e. van beneden's recent researches on the development of the mammalian ovum. in order clearly to understand the view here expressed, the reader ought to refer to the passages above quoted. the peculiar relations of the blastoderm and embryo, and the resulting relations of the neural and alimentary canal, appear to me to be features of quite as great an importance for classification as the presence or absence of an amnion and allantois. _general features of the hypoblast._ there are but few points to be noticed with reference to the histology of the hypoblast cells. the cells of the dorsal wall of the alimentary cavity are columnar and form a single row. those derived from the yolk to form the ventral wall are at first roundish, but subsequently assume a more columnar form. _the notochord._ one of the most interesting features in the elasmobranch development is the formation of the notochord from the hypoblast. all the steps in the process by which this takes place can be followed with great ease and certainty. up to stage b the hypoblast is in contact with the epiblast immediately below the medullary groove, but exhibits no trace of a thickening or any other formation at that point. between stage b and c the notochord first arises. in the hindermost sections of this stage the hypoblast retains a perfectly normal structure and uniform thickness throughout. in the next few sections (pl. , fig. _c_, _ch´_) a slight thickening is to be observed in the hypoblast, immediately below the medullary canal. the layer, which elsewhere is composed of a single row of cells, here becomes two cells deep, but no sign of a division into two layers exhibited. in the next few sections the thickening of the hypoblast becomes much more pronounced; we have, in fact, a ridge projecting from the hypoblast towards the epiblast (pl. , fig. _b_, _ch´_). this ridge is pressed firmly against the epiblast, and causes in it a slight indentation. the hypoblast in the region of the ridge is formed of two layers of cells, the ridge being entirely due to the uppermost of the two. in sections in front of this a cylindrical rod, which can at once be recognised as the notochord and is continuous with the ridge just described, begins to be split off from the hypoblast. it is difficult to say at what point the separation of this rod from the hypoblast is completed, since all intermediate gradations between complete separation and complete attachment are to be seen. where the separation first appears, a fairly thick bridge of hypoblast is left connecting the two lateral halves of the layer, but anteriorly this bridge becomes excessively delicate and thin (pl. , fig. _a_), and in some cases is barely visible except with high powers. from the series of sections represented, it is clear that the notochord commences to be separated from the hypoblast anteriorly, and that the separation gradually extends backwards. the posterior extremity of the notochord remains for a long time attached to the hypoblast; and it is not till the end of the period treated of in this chapter that it becomes completely free. a sheath is formed around the notochord, very soon after its formation, at a stage intermediate between stages c and d. this sheath is very delicate, though it stains with both osmic acid and hæmatoxylin. i conclude from its subsequent history, that it is to be regarded as a product of the cells of the notochord, but at the same time it should be stated that it precisely resembles membrane-like structures, which i have already described as being probably artificial. towards the end of this period the cells of the notochord become very much flattened vertically, and cause the well-known stratified appearance which characterises the notochord in longitudinal sections. in transverse sections the outlines of the cells of the notochord appear rounded. throughout this period the notochord cells are filled with yolk-spherules, and near its close small vacuoles make their appearance in them. an account of the development of the notochord, substantially similar to that i have just given, appeared in my preliminary paper[ ] on the development of the elasmobranch fishes. footnote : _loc. cit._ to the remarks which were there made, i have little to add. there are two possible views, which can be held with reference to the development of the notochord from the hypoblast. we may suppose that this is the primitive mode of development of the notochord, or we may suppose that the separation of the notochord from the hypoblast is due to a secondary process. if the latter view is accepted, it will be necessary to maintain that the mesoblast becomes separated from the hypoblast as three separate masses, two lateral, and one median, and that the latter becomes separated much later than the two former. we have, i think, no right to assume the truth of this view without further proof. the general admission of assumptions of this kind is apt to lead to an injurious form of speculation, in which every fact presenting a difficulty in the way of some general theory is explained away by an arbitrary assumption, while all the facts in favour of it are taken for granted. it is however clear that no theory can ever be fairly tested so long as logic of this kind is permitted. if, in the present instance, the view is adopted that the notochord has in reality a mesoblastic origin, it will be possible to apply the same view to every other organ derived from the hypoblast, and to say that it is really mesoblastic, but has become separated at rather a late period from the hypoblast. if, however, we provisionally reject this explanation, and accept the other alternative, that the notochord is derived from the hypoblast, we must be prepared to adopt one of two views with reference to the development of the notochord in other vertebrates. we must either suppose that the current statements as to the development of the notochord in other vertebrates are inaccurate, or that the notochord has only become secondarily mesoblastic. the second of these alternatives is open to the same objections as the view that the notochord has only apparently a hypoblastic source in elasmobranchii, and, provisionally at least, the first of them ought to be accepted. the reasons for accepting this alternative fall under two heads. in the first place, the existing accounts and figures of the development of the notochord exhibit in almost all cases a deficiency of clearness and precision. the exact stage necessary to complete the series never appears. it cannot, therefore, at present be said that the existing observations on the development of the notochord afford a strong presumption against its hypoblastic origin. in the second place, the remarkable investigations of hensen[ ], on the development of the notochord in mammalia, render it very probable that, in this group, the notochord is developed from the hypoblast. footnote : _zeitschrift f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte_, vol. i. p. . hensen finds that in mammalia, as in elasmobranchii, the mesoblast forms two independent lateral masses, one on each side of the medullary canal. after the commencing formation of the protovertebræ the hypoblast becomes considerably thickened beneath the medullary groove; and, though he has not followed out all the steps of the process by which this thickening is converted into the notochord, yet his observations go very far towards proving that it does become the notochord. against the observations of hensen, there ought, however, to be mentioned those of lieberkühn[ ]. he believes that the two lateral masses of mesoblast, described by hensen (in an earlier paper than the one quoted), are in reality united by a delicate layer of cells, and that the notochord is formed from a thickening of these. footnote : _sitz. der gesell. zu marburg_, jan. . lieberkühn gives no further statements or figures, and it is clear that, even if there is present the delicate layer of mesoblast, which he fancies he has detected, yet this cannot in any way invalidate such a section as that represented on pl. x. fig. , of hensen's paper. in this figure of hensen's, the hypoblast cells become distinctly more columnar, and the whole layer much thicker immediately below the medullary canal than elsewhere, and this independently of any possible layer of mesoblast. it appears to me reasonable to conclude that lieberkühn's statements do not seriously weaken the certainty of hensen's results. in addition to the observations of hensen's on mammalia, those of kowalevsky and kuppfer on ascidians may fairly be pointed to as favouring the hypoblastic origin of the notochord. it is not too much to say that at the present moment the balance of evidence is in favour of regarding the notochord as a hypoblastic organ. this conclusion is, no doubt, rather startling, and difficult to understand. the only feature of the notochord in its favour is the fact of its being unsegmented[ ]. footnote : in my earlier paper i suggested that the endostyle of ascidians afforded an instance of a supporting organ being derived from the hypoblast. this parallel does not hold since the endostyle has been shewn to possess a secretory function. i never intended (as has been imagined by professor todaro) to regard the endostyle as the homologue of the notochord. should it eventually turn out that the notochord is developed in most vertebrates from the mesoblast, and only exceptionally from the hypoblast, the further question will have to be settled as to whether it is primitively a hypoblastic or a mesoblastic organ; but, from whatever layer it has its source, an excellent example will be afforded of an organ changing from the layer in which it was originally developed into another distinct layer. explanation of plate . complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary canal. _ch._ chorda dorsalis or notochord. _ch´._ ridge of hypoblast, which will become separated off as the notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _lp._ coalesced lateral and vertebral plate of mesoblast. _mg._ medullary groove. _n._ nucleus of yolk. _na._ cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk to enter into the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. _nc._ neural or medullary canal. _pv._ protovertebra. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _ts._ mesoblast of tail-swelling. _yk._ yolk-spherules. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections from the same embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between b and c, of which fig. _a_ is the most anterior. × diameters. the sections illustrate ( ) the different characters of the medullary groove in the different regions of the embryo. ( ) the structure of the coalesced lateral and vertebral plates. ( ) the mode of formation of the notochord as a thickening of the hypoblast (_ch´_), which eventually becomes separated from the hypoblast as an elliptical rod ( _a_, _ch_). fig. . section through the anterior part of an embryo belonging to stage c. the section is mainly intended to illustrate the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal from cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk. it also shews the shallowness of the medullary groove in the anterior part of the body. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections from the same embryo as fig. . fig. _a_ is the most anterior of the three sections and is taken through a point shortly in front of fig. . the figures illustrate the general features of an embryo of stage c, more especially the complete closing of the alimentary canal in front and the triangular section which it there presents. fig. . section through the posterior part of an embryo belonging to stage d. × diameters. it shews the general features of the layers during the stage, more especially the differentiation of somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_. sections of the same embryo as fig. (× diameters). fig. belongs to part of the embryo intermediate between figs. _e_ and _f_. the sections shew the features of various parts of the embryo. figs. _a_, _b_ and _c_ belong to the head, and special attention should be paid to the presence of a cavity in the mesoblast in _b_ and to the ventral curvature of the medullary folds. fig. _d_ belongs to the neck, fig. _e_ to the back, and fig. _f_ to the tail. fig. . section through the region of the tail at the commencement of stage f. × diameters. the section shews the character of the tail-swellings and the commencing closure of the medullary groove. fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the head of an embryo belonging to stage f (× diameters). it shews ( ) the ventral curvature of the medullary folds next the head. ( ) the absence of mesoblast in the anterior part of the head. _hy_ points to the extreme front end of the alimentary canal. fig. . section through the head of an embryo at a stage intermediate between f and g. × diameters. it shews the manner in which the medullary folds of the head unite to form the medullary canal. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the tail of an embryo belonging to stage g. it shews the direct communication which exists between the neural and alimentary canals. the section is not quite parallel to the long axis of the embryo, so that the protovertebræ are cut through in its anterior part, and the neural canal passes out of the section anteriorly. fig. . network of nuclei from the yolk of an embryo belonging to stage h. chapter vi. development of the trunk during stages g to k. by the stage when the external gills have become conspicuous objects, the rudiments of the greater number of the important organs of the body are definitely established. owing to this fact the first appearance of the external gills forms a very convenient break in the elasmobranch development; and in the present chapter the history is carried on to the period of this occurrence. while the last chapter dealt for the most part with the formation of the main organic systems from the three embryonic layers, the present one has for its subject the gradual differentiation of these systems into individual organs. in treating of the development of the separate organs a divergence from the plan of the last chapter becomes necessary, and the following arrangement has been substituted for it. first of all an account is given of the development of the external epiblast, which is followed by a description of the organs derived from the mesoblast and of the notochord. _external epiblast._ during stages g to i the epiblast[ ] is formed of a single layer of flattened cells; and in this, as in the earlier stages, it deserves to be especially noticed that the epiblast is never more than _one cell deep_, and is therefore incapable of presenting any differentiation into nervous and epidermic layers. (pl. , figs. - .) footnote : unless the contrary is stated, the facts recorded in this chapter apply only to the genera scyllium and pristiurus. the cells which compose it are flattened and polygonal in outline, but more or less spindle-shaped in section. they present a strong contrast to the remaining embryonic cells of the body in possessing a considerable quantity of clear protoplasm, which in most other cells is almost entirely absent. their granular nucleus is rounded or oval, and typically contains a single nucleolus. frequently, however, two nucleoli are present, and when this is the case an area free from granules is to be seen around each nucleolus, and a dark line, which could probably be resolved into granules by the use of a sufficiently high magnifying power, divides the nucleus into two halves. these appearances probably indicate that nuclei, in which two nucleoli are present, are about to divide. the epiblast cells vary in diameter from . to . mm. and their nuclei from . to . mm. they present a fairly uniform character over the greater part of the body. in torpedo they present nearly the same characters as in pristiurus and scyllium, but are somewhat more columnar. (pl. , fig. .) along the summit of the back from the end of the tail to the level of the anus, or slightly beyond this, epiblast cells form a fold--the rudiment of the embryonically undivided dorsal fin--and the cells forming this, unlike the general epiblast cells, are markedly columnar; they nevertheless, here as elsewhere, form but a single layer. (pl. , fig. and , _df._) although at this stage the dorsal fin is not continued as a fold anteriorly to the level of the anus, yet a columnar thickening or ridge of epiblast, extending along the median dorsal line nearly to the level of the heart, forms a true morphological prolongation of the fin. on the ventral side of the tail is present a rudiment of the ventral unpaired fin, which stops short of the level of the anus, but, though less prominent, is otherwise quite similar to the dorsal fin and continuous with it round the end of the tail. at this stage the mesoblast has no share in forming either fin. in many sections of the tail there may be seen on each side two folds of skin, which are very regular, and strongly simulate the rudimentary fins just described. the cells composing them are, however, not columnar, and the folds themselves are merely artificial products due to shrinking. at a stage slightly younger than k an important change takes place in the epiblast. from being composed of a single layer of cells it becomes two cells deep. the two layers appear first of all anteriorly, and subsequently in the remaining parts of the body. at first, both layers are formed of flattened cells (pl. , figs. , ); but at a stage slightly subsequent to that dealt with in the present chapter, the cells of the inner of the two layers become columnar, and thus are established the two strata always present in the epidermis of adult vertebrates, viz. an outer layer of flattened cells and an inner one of columnar cells[ ]. footnote : the layers are known as epidermic (horny) and mucous layers by english writers, and as hornschicht and schleimschicht by the germans. for their existence in all vertebrates, vide leydig _ueber allgemeine bedeckungen der amphibien_, p. . bonn, . the history of the epiblast in elasmobranchii is interesting, from the light which it throws upon the meaning of the nervous and epidermic layers into which the epiblast of amphibians and some other vertebrates is divided. the amphibians and elasmobranchii present the strongest contrast in the development of their epiblast, and it is worth while shortly to review and compare the history of the layer in the two groups. in amphibians the epiblast is from the first divided into an outer stratum formed of a single row of flattened cells, and an inner stratum composed of several rows of more rounded cells. these two strata were called by stricker the nervous and epidermic layers, and these names have been very generally adopted. both strata have a share in forming the general epiblast, and though eventually they partially fuse together, there can be but little doubt that the horny layer of the adult epiblast, where such can be distinguished[ ], is derived from the epidermic layer of the embryo, and the mucous layer of the epiblast from the embryonic nervous layer. both layers of the epiblast assist in the formation of the cerebro-spinal nervous system, and there also at first fuse together[ ], though the epidermic layer probably separates itself again, as the central epithelium of the spinal canal. the lens and auditory sac are derived exclusively from the nervous layer of the epidermis, while this layer also has the greater share in forming the olfactory sac. footnote : vide leydig, _loc. cit._ footnote : vide götte, _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke_. in elasmobranchii the epiblast is at first uniformly composed of a single row of cells. the part of the layer which will form the central nervous system next becomes two or three cells deep, but presents no distinction into two layers; the remaining portions of the layer remain, as before, one cell deep. although the epiblast at first presents this simple structure, it eventually, as we have seen, becomes divided throughout into two layers, homologous with the two layers which arise so early in amphibians. the outer one of the two forms the horny layer of the epidermis and the central epithelium of the neural canal. the inner one, the mucous layer of the epidermis and the nervous part of the brain and spinal cord. both layers apparently enter into the formation of the organs of sense. while there is no great difficulty in determining the equivalent parts of the epidermis in elasmobranchii and amphibians, it still remains an open question in which of these groups the epiblast retains its primitive condition. though it is not easy to bring conclusive proofs on the one side or the other, the balance of argument appears to me to be decidedly in favour of regarding the condition of the epiblast in elasmobranchii, and most other vertebrates, as the primitive one, and its condition in amphibians as a secondary one, due to the throwing back of the differentiation of their epiblast into two layers to a very early period in their development. in favour of this view are the following points: ( ) that a _primitive_ division of the epiblast into two layers is unknown in the animal kingdom, except amongst amphibians and (?) osseous fish. ( ) that it appears more likely for a particular feature of development to be thrown back to an earlier period, than for such an important feature as a distinction between two primary layers to be absolutely lost during an early period of development, and then to reappear again in later stages. the fact of the epiblast of the neural canal being divided, like the remainder of the layer, into nervous and epidermic parts, cannot, i think, be used as an argument in favour of the opposite view to that here maintained. it seems probable that the central canal of the nervous system arose as an involution from the exterior, and therefore that the epidermis lining it is in reality merely a part of the external epidermis, and as such is naturally separated from the true nervous structures adjacent to it[ ]. footnote : vide self, "development of spinal nerves in elasmobranchii." _phil. transact._ . [this edition, no. viii.] leaving the general features of the external skin, i pass to the special organs derived from it during the stage just anterior to k. _the unpaired fins._ the unpaired fins have grown considerably, and the epiblast composing them becomes, like the remainder of the layer, divided into two strata, both however composed of more or less columnar cells. the ventral fin has now become more prominent than the dorsal fin; but the latter extends forward as a fold quite to the anterior part of the body. _the paired fins._ along each side of the body there appears during this stage a thickened line of epiblast, which from the first exhibits two special developments: one of these just in front of the anus, and a second and better marked one opposite the front end of the segmental duct. these two special thickenings are the rudiments of the paired fins, which thus arise as special developments of a continuous ridge on each side, precisely like the ridges of epiblast which form the rudiments of the unpaired fins. similar thickenings to those in elasmobranchii are found at the ends of the limbs in the embryos of both birds and mammals, in the form of caps of columnar epiblast[ ]. footnote : for birds, vide _elements of embryology_, foster and balfour, pp. , , and for mammals, kölliker, _entwicklungsgeschichte_, p. . the ridge, of which the limbs are special developments, is situated on a level slightly ventral to that of the dorsal aorta, and extends from just behind the head to the level of the anus. it is not noticeable in surface views, but appears in sections as a portion of the epiblast where the cells are more columnar than elsewhere; precisely resembling in this respect the forward continuation of the dorsal fin. at the present stage the posterior thickenings of this ridge which form the abdominal fins are so slight as to be barely visible, and their real nature can only be detected by a careful comparison between sections of this and the succeeding stages. the rudiments of the anterior pair of limbs are more visible than those of the posterior, though the passage between them and the remainder of the ridges is most gradual. thus at first the rudiments of both the limbs are nothing more than slight thickenings of the epiblast, where its cells are more columnar than elsewhere. during stage k the rudiments of both pairs of limbs, but especially of the anterior pair, grow considerably, while at the same time the thickened ridge of epiblast which connects them together rapidly disappears. the thoracic limbs develop into an elongated projecting fold of epiblast, in every way like the folds forming the unpaired fins; while at the same time the cells of the subjacent mesoblast become closely packed, and form a slight projection, at the summit of which the fold of the epiblast is situated (pl. , fig. ). the maximum projection of the thoracic fin is slightly in advance of the front end of the segmental duct. the abdominal fins do not, during stage k, develop quite so fast as the thoracic, and at its close are merely elongated areas where the epiblast is much thickened, and below which the mesoblast is slightly condensed. in the succeeding stages they develop into projecting folds of skin, precisely as do the thoracic fins. the features of the development of the limbs just described, are especially well shewn in torpedo; in the embryos of which the passage from the general linear thickening of epiblast into the but slightly better marked thickening of the thoracic fin is very gradual, and the fact of the limb being nothing else than a special development of the linear lateral thickening is proved in a most conclusive manner. if the account just given of the development of the limbs is an accurate record of what really takes place, it is not possible to deny that some light is thrown by it upon the first origin of the vertebrate limbs. the facts can only bear one interpretation, _viz.: that the limbs are the remnants of continuous lateral fins_. the unpaired dorsal fin develops as a continuous thickening, which then grows up into a projecting fold of columnar cells. the greater part of this eventually atrophies, but three separate lobes are left which form the two dorsal fins and the upper lobe of the caudal fin. the development of the limbs is almost identically similar to that of the dorsal fins. there appears a lateral linear thickening of epiblast, which however does not, like the similar thickening of the fins, grow into a distinct fold. its development becomes confined to two special points, at each of which is formed a continuous elongated fold of columnar cells precisely like the fold of skin forming the dorsal fins. these two folds form the paired fins. if it be taken into consideration that the continuous lateral fin, of which the rudiment appears in elasmobranchii, does not exist in any adult vertebrate, and also that a continuous dorsal fin exists in many fishes, the small differences in development between the paired fins and the dorsal fins will be seen to be exactly those which might have been anticipated beforehand. whereas the continuous dorsal fin, which often persists in adult fishes, attains a considerable development before vanishing, the originally continuous lateral one has only a very ephemeral existence. while the facts of development strongly favour a view which would regard the limbs as remnants of a primitively continuous lateral fin, there is nothing in the structure of the limbs of adult fishes which is opposed to this view. externally they closely resemble the unpaired fins, and both their position and nervous supply appear clearly to indicate that they do not belong to one special segment of the body. they appear rather to be connected with a varying number of segments; a fact which would receive a simple explanation on the hypothesis here adopted[ ]. footnote : for the nervous supply in fishes, vide stannius, _peripher. nerv. system d. fische_. in osseous fishes he states that the thoracic fin is supplied by branches from the first three though sometimes from the first four spinal nerves. in acipenser there are branches from the first six nerves. in spinax the limb is supplied by the rami anteriores of the fourth and succeeding ten spinal nerves. in the rays not only do the sixteen anterior spinal nerves unite to supply the fin, but in all there are rami anteriores from thirty spinal nerves which pass to the thoracic limb. my researches throw no light on the nature of the skeletal parts of the limb, but the suggestion which has been made by günther[ ] with reference to the limb of ceratodus (the most primitive known), that it is a modification of a series of parallel rays, would very well suit the view here proposed. footnote : _philosophical transactions_, . dr dohrn[ ] in speaking of the limbs, points out the difficulties in the way of supposing that they can have originated _de novo_, and not by the modification of some pre-existing organ, and suggests that the limbs are modified gill-arches; a view similar to which has been hinted at by professor gegenbaur[ ]. footnote : _ursprung d. wirbelthiere and functionswechsels._ footnote : _grundriss d. vergleichenden anat._ p. . dr dohrn has not as yet given the grounds for his determination, so that any judgment on his views is premature. none of my observations on elasmobranchii lends any support to these views; but perhaps, while regarding the limbs as the remains of a continuous fin, it might be permissible to suppose that the pelvic and thoracic girdles are altered remnants of the skeletal parts of some of the gill-arches which have vanished in existing vertebrates. the absence of limbs in the marsipobranchii and amphioxus, for reasons already insisted upon by dr dohrn[ ], cannot be used as an argument against limbs having existed in still more primitive vertebrates. footnote : _loc. cit._ though it does not seem probable that a dorsal and ventral fin can have existed contemporaneously with lateral fins (at least not as continuous fins), yet, judging from such forms as the rays, there is no reason why small balancing dorsal and caudal fins should not have co-existed with fully developed lateral fins. _mesoblast. g-k._ the mesoblast in stage f forms two independent lateral plates, each with a splanchnic and somatic layer, and divided, as before explained, into a vertebral portion and a parietal portion. at their peripheral edge these plates are continuous with the general mesoblastic tissue of the non-embryonic part of the blastoderm; except in the free parts of the embryo, where they are necessarily separated from the mesoblast of the yolk-sac, and form completely independent lateral masses of cells. during the stages g and h, the two layers of which the mesoblast is composed cease to be in contact, and leave between them a space which constitutes the commencement of the body-cavity (pl. , fig. ). from the very first this cavity is more or less clearly divided into two distinct parts; one of them in the vertebral portion of the plates of mesoblast, the other in the parietal. the cavity in the parietal part of the plates alone becomes the true body-cavity. it extends uninterruptedly through the anterior parts of the embryo, but does not appear in the caudal region, being there indicated only by the presence of two layers in the mesoblast plates. though fairly wide below, it narrows dorsally before becoming continuous with the cavity in the vertebral plates. the line of junction of the vertebral and parietal plates is a little ventral to the dorsal summit of the alimentary canal (pl. , fig. ). owing to the fact that the vertebral plates are split up into a series of segments (protovertebræ), the section of the body-cavity they enclose is necessarily also divided into a series of segments, one for each protovertebra. thus the whole body-cavity consists of a continuous parietal space which communicates by a series of apertures with a number of separate cavities enclosed in the protovertebræ. the cavity in each of the protovertebræ is formed of a narrowed dorsal and a dilated ventral segment, the latter on the level of the dorsal aorta (pl. , fig. ). cavities are present in all the vertebral plates with the exception of a few far back in the tail; and exist in part of the caudal region posterior to that in which a cavity in the parietal plate is present. _protovertebræ._ each protovertebra[ ] or vertebral segment of the mesoblast plate forms a flattened rectangular body, ventrally continuous with the parietal plate of mesoblast. during stage g the dorsal edge of the protovertebræ is throughout on about a level with the ventral third of the spinal cord. each vertebral plate is composed of two layers, a somatic and a splanchnic, and encloses the already-mentioned section of the body-cavity. the cells of both layers of the plate are columnar, and each consists of a very large nucleus, invested by a delicate layer of protoplasm. footnote : no attempt has been made to describe in detail the different appearances presented by the protovertebræ in the various parts of the body, but in each stage a protovertebra from the dorsal region is taken as typical. before the end of stage h the inner or splanchnic wall of the protovertebra loses its simple constitution, owing to the middle part of it, opposite the dorsal two-thirds of the notochord, undergoing peculiar changes. these changes are indicated in transverse sections (pl. , figs. and , _mp´_), by the cells in the part we are speaking of acquiring a peculiar angular appearance, and becoming one or two deep; and the meaning of the changes is at once shewn by longitudinal horizontal sections. these prove (pl. , fig. ) that the cells in this situation have become elongated in a longitudinal direction, and, in fact, form typical spindle-shaped embryonic muscle-cells, each with a large nucleus. every muscle-cell extends for the whole length of a protovertebra, and in the present stage, or at any rate in stage i, acquires a peculiar granulation, which clearly foreshadows transverse striation (pl. , figs. - ). thus by stage h a small portion of the splanchnopleure which forms the inner layer of each protovertebra, becomes differentiated into a distinct band of longitudinal striated muscles; these almost at once become functional, and produce the peculiar serpentine movements of the embryo, spoken of in a previous chapter, p. . it may be well to say at once that these muscles form but a very small part of the muscles which eventually appear; which latter are developed at a very much later period from the remaining cells of the protovertebræ. the band developed at this stage appears to be a special formation, which has arisen through the action of natural selection, to enable the embryo to meet its respiratory requirements, by continually moving about, and so subjecting its body to fresh oxydizing influences; and as such affords an interesting example of an important structure acquired during and for embryonic life. though the cavities in the protovertebræ are at first perfectly continuous with the general body-cavity, of which indeed they merely form a specialized part, yet by the close of stage h they begin to be constricted off from the general body-cavity, and this process is continued rapidly, and completed shortly after stage i, and considerably before the commencement of stage k (pl. , figs. and ). while this is taking place, part of the splanchnic layer of each protovertebra, immediately below the muscle-band just described, begins to proliferate, and produce a number of cells, which at once grow in between the muscles and the notochord. these cells are very easily seen both in transverse and longitudinal sections, and form the commencing vertebral bodies (pl. , fig. , and pl. , figs. and , _vr_). at first the vertebral bodies have the same segmentation as the protovertebræ from which they sprang; that is to say, they form masses of embryonic cells separated from each other by narrow slits, continuous with the slits separating the protovertebræ. they have therefore at their first appearance a segmentation completely different from that which they eventually acquire (pl. , fig. ). after the separation of the vertebral bodies from the protovertebræ, the remaining parts of the protovertebræ may be called muscle-plates; since they become directly converted into the whole voluntary muscular system of the trunk. at the time when the cavity of the muscle-plates has become completely separate from the body-cavity, the muscle-plates themselves are oblong structures, with two walls enclosing the cavity just mentioned, in which the original ventral dilatation is still visible. the outer or somatic wall of the plates retains its previous simple constitution. the splanchnic wall has however a somewhat complicated structure. it is composed dorsally and ventrally of a columnar epithelium, but in its middle portion of the muscle-cells previously spoken of. between these and the central cavity of the plates the epithelium forming the remainder of the layer commences to insert itself; so that between the first-formed muscle and the cavity of the muscle-plate there appears a thin layer of cells, not however continuous throughout. at the end of the period k the muscle-plates have extended dorsally two-thirds of the way up the sides of the spinal cord, and ventrally to the level of the segmental duct. their edges are not straight, but are bent into an angular form, with the apex pointing forwards. vide pl. , fig. , _mp_. before the end of the period a number of connective-tissue cells make their appearance, and extend upwards from the dorsal summit of the muscle-plates around the top of the spinal cord. these cells are at first rounded, but become typical branched connective-tissue cells before the close of the period (pl. , figs. and ). between stages i and k the bodies of the vertebræ rapidly increase in size and send prolongations downwards and inwards to meet below the notochord. these soon become indistinguishably fused with other cells which appear in the area between the alimentary cavity and the notochord, but probably serve alone to form the vertebral bodies, while the cells adjoining them form the basis for the connective tissue of the kidneys, &c. the vertebral bodies also send prolongations dorsalwards between the sides of the spinal cord and the muscle-plates. these grow round till they meet above the spinal and enclose the dorsal nerve-roots. they soon however become fused with the dorsal prolongations from the muscle-plates, at least so far as my methods of investigation enable me to determine; but it appears to me probable that they in reality remain distinct, and become converted into the neural arches, while the connective-tissue cells from the muscle-plates form the adjoining subcutaneous and inter-muscular connective tissue. all the cells of the vertebral rudiments become stellate and form typical embryonic connective-tissue. the rudiments however still retain their primitive segmentation, corresponding with that of the muscle-plates, and do not during this period acquire their secondary segmentation. their segmentation is however less clear than it was at an earlier period, and in the dorsal part of the vertebral rudiments is mainly indicated by the dorsal nerve-roots, which always pass out in the interval between two vertebral rudiments. vide pl. , fig. , _pr_. _intermediate cell-mass._ at about the period when the muscle-plates become completely free, a fusion takes place between the somatopleure and splanchnopleure immediately above the dorsal extremity of the true body-cavity (pl. , fig. ). the cells in the immediate neighbourhood of this fusion form a special mass, which we may call the intermediate cell-mass--a name originally used by waldeyer for the homologous cells in the chick. out of it are developed the urinogenital organs and the adjoining tissues. at first it forms little more than a columnar epithelium, but by the close of the period is divided into ( ) an epithelium on the free surface; from this are derived the glandular parts of the kidneys and functional parts of the genital glands; and ( ) a subjacent stroma which forms the basis for the connective-tissue and vascular parts of these organs. to the history of these parts a special section is devoted; and i now pass to the description of the mesoblast which lines the body-cavity and forms the connective tissue of the body-wall, and the muscular and connective tissue of the wall of the alimentary canal. _body-cavity and parietal plates._ by the close of stage h, as has been already mentioned, a cavity is formed between the somatopleure and splanchnopleure in the anterior part of the trunk, which rapidly widens during the succeeding stages. anteriorly, it invests the heart, which arises during stage g, as a simple space between the ventral wall of the throat and the splanchnopleure (pl. , fig. ). posteriorly it ends blindly. this cavity forms in the region of the heart the rudiment of the pericardial cavity. the remainder of the cavity forms the true body-cavity. immediately behind the heart the alimentary canal is still open to the yolk-sac, and here naturally the two lateral halves of the body-cavity are separated from each other. in the tail of the embryo no body-cavity has appeared by stage i, although the parietal plates of mesoblast are distinctly divided into somatic and splanchnic layers. in the caudal region the lateral plates of mesoblast of the two sides do not unite ventrally, but are, on the contrary, quite disconnected. their ventral edge is moreover much swollen (pl. , fig. ). at the caudal swelling the mesoblast plates cease to be distinctly divided into somatopleure and splanchnopleure, and more or less fuse with the hypoblast of the caudal vesicle (pl. , fig. ). between stages i and k the body-cavity extends backwards behind the point where the anus is about to appear, though it never reaches quite to the extreme end of the tail. the backward extension of the body-cavity, as is primitively the case everywhere, is formed of two independent lateral halves (pl. , fig. _a_). anteriorly, opposite the hind end of the small intestine, these two lateral halves unite ventrally to form a single cavity in which hangs the small intestine (pl. , fig. ) suspended by a very short mesentery. the most important change which takes place in the body-cavity during this period is the formation of a septum which separates off a pericardial cavity from the true body-cavity. immediately in front of the liver the splanchnic and somatic walls of the body come into very close contact, and i believe unite over the greater part of their extent. the septum so formed divides the original body-cavity into an anterior section or pericardial cavity, and a posterior section or true body-cavity. there is left, however, on each side dorsally a rather narrow passage which serves to unite the pericardial cavity in front with the true body-cavity behind. in pl. , fig. _a_, there is seen on one side a section through this passage, while on the other side the passage is seen to be connected with the pericardial cavity. it is not possible from transverse sections to determine for certain whether the septum spoken of is complete. an examination of longitudinal horizontal sections from an embryo belonging to the close of the stage k has however satisfied me that this septum, by that stage at any rate, is fully formed. the two lateral passages spoken of above probably unite in the adult to form the passage connecting the pericardial with the peritoneal cavity, which, though provided with but a single orifice into the pericardial cavity, divides into two limbs before opening into the peritoneal cavity. the body-cavity undergoes no further changes of importance till the close of the period. _somatopleure and splanchnopleure._ both the somatic and splanchnic walls of the body-cavity during stage i exhibit a simple uniform character throughout their whole extent. they are formed of columnar cells where they line the dorsal part of the body-cavity, but ventrally of more rounded and irregular cells (pl. , fig. ). in them may occasionally be seen aggregations of very peculiar and large cells with numerous highly refracting spherules; the cells forming these are not unlike the _primitive ova_ to be described subsequently, but are probably large cells derived from the yolk. it is during the stage intermediate between i and k that the first changes become visible which indicate a distinction between an epithelium (endothelium) lining the body-cavity and the connective tissue adjoining this. there are at first but very few connective-tissue cells between the epithelium of the somatic layer of the mesoblast and the epiblast, but a connection between them is established by peculiar protoplasmic processes which pass from the one to the other (pl. , fig. ). towards the end of stage k, however, there appears between the two a network of mesoblastic cells connecting them together. in the rudimentary outgrowth to form the limbs the mesoblast cells of the somatic layer are crowded in an especially dense manner. from the first the connective-tissue cells around the hypoblastic epithelium of the alimentary tract are fairly numerous (pl. , fig. ), and by the close of this period become concentrically arranged round the intestinal epithelium, though not divided into distinct layers. a special aggregation of them is present in the hollow of the rudimentary spiral valve. behind the anal region the two layers of the mesoblast (somatic and splanchnic) completely fuse during stage k, and form a mass of stellate cells in which no distinction into two layers can be detected (pl. , figs. _c_, _d_). the alimentary canal, which at first lies close below the aorta, becomes during this period gradually carried further and further from this, remaining however attached to the roof of the body-cavity by a thin layer of the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure formed of an epithelium on each side, and a few interposed connective-tissue cells. this is the mesentery, which by the close of stage k is of considerable length in the region of the stomach, though shorter elsewhere. * * * * * the above account of the protovertebræ and body-cavity applies solely to the genera pristiurus and scyllium. the changes of these parts in torpedo only differ from those of pristiurus in unimportant though fairly noticeable details. without entering into any full description of these it may be pointed out that both the true body-cavity and its continuations into the protovertebræ appear later in torpedo than in pristiurus and scyllium. in some cases even the muscle-plates become definitely separated and independent before the true body-cavity has appeared. as a result of this the primitive continuity of the body-cavity and cavity of the muscle-plates becomes to a certain extent masked, though its presence may easily be detected by the obvious continuity which at first exists between the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast and the two layers of the muscle-plate. in the muscle-plate itself the chief point to be noticed is the fact that the earlier formed bands of muscles (_mp´_) arise very much later, and are less conspicuous, in torpedo than in the genera first described. they are however present and functional. the anatomical relations of the body-cavity itself are precisely the same in torpedo as in pristiurus and scyllium, and the pericardial cavity becomes separated from the peritoneal in the same way in all the genera; the two lateral canals connecting the two cavities being also present in all the three genera. the two independent parietal plates of mesoblast of the posterior parts of the body have ventrally a swollen edge, as in pristiurus, and in this a cavity appears which forms a posterior continuation of the true body-cavity. _resumé._ the primitive independent mesoblast plates of the two sides of the body become divided into two layers, a somatic and a splanchnic (hautfaserblatt and darmfaserblatt). at the same time in the dorsal part of the mesoblast plate a series of transverse splits appear which mark out the limits of the protovertebræ and serve to distinguish a dorsal or vertebral part of the plate from a ventral or parietal part. between the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast plate a cavity arises which is continued quite to the summit of the vertebral part of the plate. this is the primitive body-cavity; and at first the cavity is divided into two lateral and independent halves. the next change which takes place is the complete separation of the vertebral portion of the plate from the parietal; thereby the upper segmented part of the body-cavity becomes isolated and separated from the lower and unsegmented part. in connection with this change in the constitution of the body-cavity there are formed a series of rectangular plates, each composed of two layers, a somatic and a splanchnic, between which is the cavity originally continuous with the body-cavity. the splanchnic layer of the plates buds off cells to form the rudiments of the vertebral bodies which are originally segmented in the same planes as the protovertebræ. the plates themselves remain as the muscle-plates and develop a special layer of muscle (_mp´_) in their splanchnic layer. in the meantime the parietal plates of the two sides unite ventrally throughout the intestinal and cardiac regions of the body, and the two primitively isolated cavities contained in them coalesce. posteriorly however the plates do not unite ventrally, and their contained cavities remain distinct. at first the pericardial cavity is quite continuous with the body-cavity; but by the close of the period included in the present chapter it becomes separated from the body-cavity by a septum in front of the liver, which is however pierced dorsally by two narrow channels. the parts derived from the two layers of the mesoblast (not including special organs or the vascular system) are as follow:-- from the somatic layer are formed ( ) a considerable part of the voluntary muscular system of the body. ( ) the dermis. ( ) a large part of the intermuscular connective tissue. ( ) part of the peritoneal epithelium. from the splanchnic layer are formed ( ) a great part of the voluntary muscular system. ( ) part of the intermuscular connective tissue (?). ( ) the axial skeleton. ( ) the muscular and connective-tissue wall of the alimentary tract. ( ) a great part of the peritoneal epithelium. _general considerations._ in the history which has just been given of the development of the mesoblast, there are several points which appear to me to throw light upon the primitive origin of that layer. before entering into these it is however necessary to institute a comparison between the history of the mesoblast in elasmobranchii and in other vertebrates, in order to distinguish as far as possible the primitive and the secondary characters present in the various groups. though the mammals are to be looked on as the most differentiated group amongst the vertebrates, yet in their embryonic history they retain many very primitive features, and, as has been recently shewn by hensen[ ], present numerous remarkable approximations to the elasmobranchii. we find accordingly[ ] that the primitive lateral plates of mesoblast undergo nearly the same changes in these two groups. in mammals there is at first a continuous cavity extending through both the parietal and vertebral portions of each plate, and dividing the plates into a somatic and a splanchnic layer: this cavity is the primitive body-cavity. the vertebral portion of each plate with its contained cavity then becomes divided off from the parietal. the later development of these parts is not accurately known, but it seems that the outer portion of each vertebral plate, composed of two layers (somatic and splanchnic) enclosing between them a remnant of the primitive body-cavity, becomes separated off as a muscle-plate. the remainder forms a vertebral rudiment, &c. thus the extension of the body-cavity into the vertebral portion of the mesoblast, and the constriction of the vertebral portion of the cavity from the remainder, are as distinctive features of mammals as they are of the elasmobranchii. footnote : _zeitschrift f. anat. entwicklungsgeschichte_, vol. . footnote : hensen _loc. cit._ in birds[ ] the horizontal splitting of the mesoblast into somatic and splanchnic layers appears, as in mammals, to extend at first to the summit of the protovertebræ, but these bodies become so early separated from the parietal plates that this fact has usually been overlooked or denied; but even on the second day of incubation the outer layer of the protovertebræ is continuous with the somatic layer of the lateral plates, and the inner layer and kernel of the protovertebræ with the splanchnic layer of the lateral plates[ ]. after the isolation of the protovertebræ the primitive position of the split which separated their somatic and splanchnic layers becomes obscured, but when on the third day the muscle-plates are formed they are found to be _constituted of two layers, an inner and an outer, which enclose between them a central cavity_. this remarkable fact, which has not received much attention, though noticeable in most figures, receives a simple explanation as a surviving rudiment on darwinian principles. the central cavity of the muscle-plate is, in fact, a remnant of the vertebral extension of the body-cavity, and is the same cavity as that found in the muscle-plates of elasmobranchii. the two layers of the muscle-plate also correspond with the two layers present in elasmobranchii, the one belonging to the somatic, the other to the splanchnic layer of mesoblast. the remainder of the protovertebræ internal to the muscle-plates is very large in birds, and is the equivalent of that portion of the protovertebræ which in elasmobranchii is split off to form the vertebral bodies[ ] (pl. , figs. , , , _vr_). thus, though the history of the development of the mesoblast is not precisely the same for birds as for elasmobranchii, yet the differences between the two groups are of such a character as to prove in a striking manner that the avian development is a derivation from a more primary form, like that of the elasmobranchii. footnote : for the history of protovertebræ and muscle-plates in birds, vide _elements of embryology_, foster and balfour. the statement there made that the horizontal splitting of the mesoblast does not extend to the summit of the vertebral plate, must however be regarded as doubtful. footnote : vide _elements of embryology_, p. . footnote : dr götte, _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke_, p. , gives a different account of the development of the protovertebræ from that in the text. he states that the muscle-plates do not give rise to the main dorso-lateral muscles, but only to some superficial ventral muscles, while the dorso-lateral muscles are according to him formed from part of the kernel of the protovertebræ internal to the muscle-plates. the account given in the text is the result of my own investigations, and accords precisely with the recent statements of professor kölliker, _entwicklungsgeschichte_, . according to the statements of bambeke and götte, the amphibians present rather remarkable peculiarities in the development of their muscular system. each side-plate of mesoblast is divided into a somatic and a splanchnic layer, continuous throughout the vertebral and parietal portions of the plate. the vertebral portions (protovertebræ) of the plates soon become separated from the parietal, and form an independent mass of cells constituted of two layers, which were originally continuous with the somatic and splanchnic layers of the parietal plates. the outer or somatic layer of the vertebral plates is formed of a single row of cells, but the inner or splanchnic layer is made up of a central kernel of cells and an inner single layer. this central kernel is the first portion of the vertebral body to undergo any change, and it becomes converted into the main dorso-lateral muscles of the body, which apparently correspond with the muscles derived from the whole muscle-plate of the elasmobranchii. from the inner layer of the splanchnic division there are next formed the main internal ventral muscles, rectus abdominis, &c., as well as the chief connective-tissue elements of the parts surrounding the spinal cord. the outer layer of the vertebral plates forms the dermis and subcutaneous connective tissue, as well as some of the superficial muscles of the trunk and the muscles of the limbs. dr götte appears to think that the vertebral plates in amphibians present a perfectly normal development very similar to that of other vertebrates. the divergences between amphibians and other vertebrates appear, however, to myself, to be very great, and although the very careful account given by dr götte is probably to be relied on, yet some further explanation than he has offered of the development of these parts amongst the amphibians would seem to be required. a primary stage in which the two layers of the vertebral plates are continuous with the somatic and splanchnic layers of the body-wall is equally characteristic of amphibians, elasmobranchii and mammals. in the subsequent development, however, a great difference between the types becomes apparent, for whereas in elasmobranchii both layers of the vertebral plates combine to form the muscle-plates, out of which the great dorso-lateral muscles are formed, in amphibians what appear to be the equivalent muscles are derived from a few of the cells (the kernel) of the inner layer of the vertebral plates only. the cells which form the lateral muscles in amphibians might be thought to correspond in position with the cells which become, in elasmobranchii, converted into the special early formed band of muscles (_m.p´._), rather than, as their development seems to indicate, with the whole elasmobranch muscle-plates[ ]. footnote : the type of development of the muscle-plates of amphibians would become identical with that of elasmobranchii if their first-formed mass of muscle corresponded with the early-formed muscles of elasmobranchii, and the remaining cells of both layers of the protovertebræ became in the course of development converted into muscle-cells indistinguishable from those formed at first. is it possible that, owing to the distinctness of the first-formed mass of muscle, dr götte can have overlooked the fact that its subsequent growth is carried on at the expense of the adjacent cells of the somatic layer? osseous fishes are stated to agree with amphibians in the development of their protovertebræ and muscular system[ ], but further observations on this point are required. footnote : ehrlich, "ueber den peripher. theil d. urwirbel." _archiv f. mic. anat._ vol. xi. though the development of the general muscular system and muscle-plates does not, according to existing statements, take place on quite the same type throughout the vertebrate subkingdom, yet the comparison which has been instituted between elasmobranchii and other vertebrates appears to prove that there are one or two common features in their development, which may be regarded as primitive, and as having been inherited from the ancestors of vertebrates. these features are ( ) the extension of the body-cavity into the vertebral plates, and subsequent enclosure of this cavity between the two layers of the muscle-plates; ( ) the primitive division of the vertebral plate into a somatic and a splanchnic layer, and the formation of a large part of the voluntary muscular system out of the splanchnic layer. * * * * * the ultimate derivation of the mesoblast forms one of the numerous burning questions of modern embryology, and there are advocates to be found for almost every one of the possible views the question admits of. all who accept the doctrine of descent are agreed that primitively only two embryonic layers were present--the epiblast and the hypoblast--and that the mesoblast subsequently appeared as a distinct layer, after a certain complexity of organization had been attained. the general agreement stops, however, at this point, and the greatest divergence of opinion exists with reference to all further questions which bear on the development of the mesoblast. there appear to be four possibilities as to the origin of this layer. it may be derived: ( ) entirely from the epiblast, ( ) partly from the epiblast, and partly from the hypoblast, ( ) entirely from the hypoblast, ( ) or may have no fixed origin. the fourth of these possibilities may for the present be dismissed, since it can be only maintained should it turn out that all the other views are erroneous. the first possibility is supported by the case of the coelenterata, and we might almost say by that of this group only[ ]. footnote : the most important other instances in addition to that of the coelenterata which can be adduced in favour of the epiblastic origin of the mesoblast are the bird and mammal, in which according to the recent observations of hensen for the mammal, and kölliker for the mammal and bird, the mesoblast is split off from the epiblast. if the views i have elsewhere put forward about the meaning of the primitive groove be accepted, the derivation of the mesoblast from the epiblast in these instances would be apparent rather than real, and have no deep morphological significance for the present question. other instances may be brought forward from various groups, but none of these are sufficiently well confirmed to be of any value in the determination of the present question. amongst the coelenterata the mesoblast, when present, is unquestionably a derivative of the epiblast, and when, as is frequently the case, a distinct mesoblast is not present, the muscle-cells form a specialized part of the epidermic cells. the condition of the mesoblast in these lowly organized animals is exactly what might _à priori_ have been anticipated, but the absence throughout the group of a true body-cavity, or specially developed muscular system of the alimentary tract, prevents the possibility of generalizing for other groups, from the condition of the mesoblast in this one. in those animals in which a body-cavity and muscular alimentary tract are present, it would certainly appear reasonable to expect the mesoblast to be derived from both the primitive layers: the voluntary muscular system from epiblast, and the splanchnic system from the hypoblast. this view has been taken and strongly advocated by so distinguished an embryologist as professor haeckel, and it must be admitted, that on _à priori_ grounds there is much to recommend it; there are, however, so far as i am aware of, comparatively few observed facts in its favour. professor haeckel's own objective arguments in support of his view are as follows: ( ) from the fact that some investigators derive the mesoblast with absolute confidence from the hypoblast, while others do so with equal confidence from the epiblast, he concludes that it is really derived from both these layers. ( ) a second argument is founded on the supposed derivation of the mesoblast in amphioxus from both epiblast and hypoblast. kowalevsky's account (on which apparently prof. haeckel's[ ] statements are based) appears to me, however, too vague, and his observations too imperfect, for much confidence to be placed in his statements on this head. it does not indeed appear to me that the formation of the layers in amphioxus, till better known, can be used as an argument for any special view about this question. footnote : vide _anthropogenie_, p. . ( ) professor haeckel's own observations on the development of osseous fish form a third argument in support of his views. these observations do not, however, accord with those of the majority of investigators, and not having been made by means of sections, require further confirmation before they can be definitely accepted. ( ) a fourth argument rests on the fact that the various embryonic layers fuse together to form the primitive streak or axis-cord in higher vertebrates. this he thinks proves that the mesoblast is derived from both the primitive layers. the primitive streak has, however, according to my views, quite another significance to that attributed to it by professor haeckel[ ]; but in any case professor kölliker's researches, and on this point my own observations accord with his, appear to me to prove that the fusion which there takes place is only capable of being used as an argument in favour of an epiblastic origin of the mesoblast, and not of its derivation from both epiblast and hypoblast. footnote : vide self, "development of elasmobranch fishes," _journal of anat. and phys._ vol. x. note on p. , and also review of professor kölliker's "entwicklungsgeschichte des menschen u. d. höheren thiere," _journal of anat. and phys._ vol. x. the objective arguments in favour of professor haeckel's views are not very conclusive, and he himself does not deny that the mesoblast as a rule apparently arises as a single and undivided mass from one of the two primary layers, and only subsequently becomes split into somatic and splanchnic strata. this original fusion and subsequent splitting of the mesoblast is explained by him as a secondary condition, a possibility which cannot by any means be thrown on one side. it seems therefore worth while examining how far the history of the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast in elasmobranchii and other vertebrates accords with the supposition that they were primitively split off from the epiblast and the hypoblast respectively. it is well to consider first of all what parts of the mesoblast of the body might be expected to be derived from the somatic and splanchnic layers on this view of their origin[ ]. footnote : professor haeckel speaks of the splitting of the mesoblast in vertebrates into a somatic and splanchnic layer as a secondary process (_gastrula u. eifurchung d. thiere_), but does not make it clear whether he regards this secondary splitting as taking place along the old lines. it appears to me to be fairly certain that even if the original unsplit condition of the mesoblast is to be regarded as a secondary condition, yet that the splitting of this must take place along the old lines, otherwise a change in the position of the body-cavity in the adult would have to be supposed--an unlikely change producing unnecessary complication. the succeeding argument is based on the assumption that the unsplit condition is a secondary condition, but that the split which eventually appears in this occurs along the old lines, separating the primitive splanchnopleure from the primitive somatopleure. from the somatic layer of the mesoblast there would no doubt be formed the whole of the voluntary muscular system of the body, the dermis, the subcutaneous connective tissue, and the connective tissue between the muscles. it is probable also, though this point is less certain, that the skeleton would be derived from the somatic layer. from the splanchnic layer would be formed the connective tissue and muscular layers of the alimentary tract, and possibly also the vascular system. turning to the actual development of these parts, the discrepancy between theory and fact becomes very remarkable. from the somatic layer of the mesoblast, part of the voluntary muscular system and the dermis is no doubt derived, but the splanchnic layer supplies the material, not only for the muscular wall of the digestive canal and the vascular system, but also for the whole of the axial skeleton _and a great part of the voluntary muscular system of the body, including the first-formed muscles_. though remarkable, it is nevertheless not inconceivable, that the skeleton might be derived from the splanchnic mesoblast, but it is very difficult to understand how there could be formed from it a part of the voluntary muscular system of the body indistinguishably fused with part of the muscular system derived from the somatopleure. no fact in my investigations comes out more clearly than that a great part of the voluntary muscular system is formed from the splanchnic layer of the mesoblast, yet this fact presents a most serious difficulty to the view that the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast in vertebrates are respectively derived from the epiblast and hypoblast. in spite, therefore, of general _à priori_ considerations of a very convincing kind which tell in favour of the double origin of the mesoblast, this view is supported by so few objective facts, and there exists so powerful an array of facts against it, that at present, at least, it seems impossible to maintain it. the full strength of the facts against it will appear more fully in a review of the present state of our knowledge as to the development of the mesoblast in the different groups. to this i now pass. in a paper on the "early stages of development in vertebrates[ ]" a short _resumé_ was given of the development of the mesoblast throughout the animal kingdom, which it may be worth while repeating here with a few additions. so far as we know at present, the mesoblast is derived from the hypoblast in the following groups: echinoderms (hensen, agassiz, metschnikoff, selenka, götte), nematodes (bütschli), sagitta (kowalevsky, bütschli), lumbricus and probably other annelids (kowalevsky), brachiopoda (kowalevsky), crustaceans (bobretzky), insects (kowalevsky, ulianin, dohrn), myriapods (metschnikoff), tunicates (kowalevsky, kuppfer), petromyzon (owsjanikoff), osseous fishes (oellacher, götte, kowalevsky), elasmobranchii (self), amphibians (remak, stricker, götte). footnote : _quart. jl. of micros. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] the list includes members from the greater number of the groups of the animal kingdom; the most striking omissions being the coelenterates, mollusks, and the amniotic vertebrates. the absence of the coelenterates has been already explained and my grounds for regarding the amniotic vertebrates as apparent rather than real exceptions have also been pointed out. the mollusks, however, remain as a large group, in which we as yet know very little as to the formation of the mesoblast. dr rabl[ ], who seems recently to have studied the development of lymnæus by means of sections, gives some figures shewing the origin of the mesoblast; they are, however, too diagrammatic to be of much service in settling the present question, and the memoirs of professor lankester[ ] and dr fol[ ] are equally inconclusive for this purpose, for, though they contain figures of elongated and branched mesoblast cells passing from the epiblast to the hypoblast, no satisfactory representations are given of the origin of these cells. i have myself observed in embryos of turbo or trochus similar elongated cells to those figured by lankester and fol, but was unable clearly to determine whence they arose. the most accurate observations which we have on this question are those of professor bobretzky[ ]. in nassa he finds that the three embryonic layers are all established during segmentation. the outermost and smallest cells form the epiblast, somewhat larger cells adjoining these the mesoblast, and the large yolk-cells the hypoblast. these observations do not, however, demonstrate from which of the primary layers the mesoblast is derived. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. footnote : _quart. jl. of micros. science_, vol. xxv. , and _phil. trans._ . footnote : _archives de zoologie_, vol. iv. footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat._ vol. xiii. the evidence at present existing is clearly in favour of the mesoblast being, in almost all groups of animals, developed from the hypoblast, but strong as this evidence is, it has not its full weight unless the actual manner in which the mesoblast is in many groups derived from the hypoblast, is taken into consideration. the most important of these are the echinoderms, brachiopods and sagitta. in the echinoderms the mesoblast is in part formed by cells budded off from the hypoblast, _the remainder, however, arises as one or more diverticula of the alimentary tract_. from the separate cells first budded off there are formed the cutis, part of the connective tissue and the calcareous skeleton[ ]. the diverticula from the alimentary cavity form the water-vascular system and the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast. _the cavity of the diverticula after the separation of the water-vascular system, forms the body-cavity. the outer lining layer of the cavity forms the somatic layer of mesoblast and the voluntary muscles; the inner lining layer the splanchnic mesoblast which unites with the epithelium of the alimentary tract._ though this fundamental arrangement would seem to be universal amongst echinoderms, considerable variations of it are exhibited in different groups. footnote : the recent researches of selenka, _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxvii. , demonstrate that in echinoderms the muscles are derived from the cells first split off from the hypoblast, and that the diverticula only form the water-vascular system and the epithelial lining of the body-cavity. there is _one_ outgrowth from the alimentary tract in synapta; _two_ in echinoids, asteroids and ophiura; _three_ in comatula, and four (?) in amphiura. the cavity of the outgrowth usually forms the body-cavity, but sometimes in ophiura and amphiura (metschnikoff) the outgrowths are from the first or soon become solid, and only secondarily acquire a cavity, which is however homologous with the body-cavity of the other groups. in sagitta[ ] the formation of the mesoblast and the alimentary tract takes place in nearly the same fashion as in the echinoderms. the simple invaginate alimentary cavity becomes divided into three lobes, a central and two lateral. the two lateral lobes are gradually more and more constricted off from the central one, and become eventually quite separated from it; their cavities remain independent, _and form in the adult the body-cavity_, divided by a mesentery into two distinct lateral sections. _the inner layer of each of the two lateral lobes forms the mesoblast of the splanchnopleure, the outer layer the mesoblast of the somatopleure._ the central division of the primitive gastræa cavity remains as the alimentary tract of the adult. footnote : kowalevsky, "würmer u. arthropoden," _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, . the remarkable observations of kowalevsky[ ] on the development of the brachiopoda have brought to light the unexpected fact that in two genera at least (argiope and terebratula) the mesoblast and body-cavity develop as paired constrictions from the alimentary tract in a manner almost identically the same as in sagitta. footnote : "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. brachiopoden", protokoll d. ersten session der versammlung russischer naturforscher in kasan, . published in _kaiserliche gesellschaft moskau_, (russian). abstracted in hoffmann and schwalbe, _jahresbericht f._ . it thus appears that, so far as can be determined from the facts at our disposal, the mesoblast in almost all cases is derived from the hypoblast, and in three widely separated groups it arises as a pair of diverticula from the alimentary tract, each diverticulum containing a cavity which eventually becomes the body-cavity. i have elsewhere suggested[ ] that the origin of the mesoblast from alimentary diverticula is to be regarded as primitive for all higher animals, and that the more general cases in which the mesoblast becomes split off, as an undivided layer, from the hypoblast, are in reality derivates from this. the chief obstacle in the way of this view arises from the difficulty of understanding how the whole voluntary muscular system can have been derived at first from the alimentary tract. that part of a voluntary system of muscles might be derived from the contractile diverticula of the alimentary canal attached to the body-wall is not difficult to understand, but it is not easy to believe that the secondary system so formed could completely replace the primitive muscular system, derived, as it must have been, from the epiblast. in my paper above quoted will be found various speculative suggestions for removing this difficulty, which i do not repeat here. if it be granted, however, that in sagitta, brachiopods, and echinoderms we have genuine examples of the formation of the whole mesoblast from alimentary diverticula, it is easy to see how the formation of the mesoblast in vertebrates may be a secondary derivate from an origin of this nature. footnote : comparison of early stages, _quart. jl. micros. science_, july, . [this edition, no. vi.] an attempt has been already made to shew that the mesoblast in elasmobranchii is formed in a very primitive fashion, and for this reason the elasmobranchii appear to be especially adapted for determining whether any signs are exhibited of a derivation of the mesoblast as paired diverticula of the alimentary tract. there are, it appears to me, several such features. in the first place, the mesoblast is split off from the hypoblast not as a single mass but as a pair of distinct masses, comparable with the paired diverticula already alluded to. secondly, the body-cavity when it appears in the mesoblast plates, _does not arise as a single cavity, but as a pair of cavities, one for each plate of mesoblast_, and these cavities remain permanently distinct in some parts of the body, and nowhere unite till a comparatively late period. thirdly, the primitive body-cavity of the embryo is not confined to the region in which a body-cavity exists in the adult, _but extends to the summit of the muscle-plates_, at first separating parts which become completely fused in the adult to form the great lateral muscles of the body. it is difficult to understand how the body-cavity could have such an extension as this, on the supposition that it represents a primitive split in the mesoblast between the wall of the gut and the body-wall; but its extension to this part is quite intelligible, on the supposition that it represents the cavities of two diverticula of the alimentary tract, from whose muscular walls the voluntary muscular system has been derived. lastly, i would point out that the derivation of part of the muscular system from what appears as the splanchnopleure is quite intelligible on the assumed hypothesis, but, as far as i see, on no other. such are the main features presented by the mesoblast in elasmobranchii, which favour the view of its having originally formed the walls of the alimentary diverticula. against this view of its nature are the facts ( ) of the mesoblast plates being at first solid, and ( ), as a consequence of this, of the body-cavity never communicating with the alimentary canal. these points, in view of our knowledge of embryological modifications, cannot be regarded as great difficulties to my view. we have many examples of organs, which, though in most cases arising as involutions, yet appear in other cases as solid ingrowths. such examples are afforded by the optic vesicle, auditory vesicle, and probably also by the central nervous system, of osseous fish. in most vertebrates these organs are formed as hollow involutions from the exterior; in osseous fish, however, as solid involutions, in which a cavity secondarily appears. the segmental duct of elasmobranchii or the wolffian duct (segmental duct) of birds are cases of a similar kind, being organs which must originally have been formed as hollow involutions, but which now arise as solid bodies. only one more instance of this kind need be cited, taken from the echinoderms. the body-cavity and the mesoblast investing it arise in the case of most echinoderms as hollow involutions of the alimentary tract, but in some exceptional groups, ophiura and amphiura, are stated to be solid at first and only subsequently to become hollow. should the accuracy of metschnikoff's account of this point be confirmed, an almost exact parallel to what has been supposed by me to have occurred with the mesoblast in elasmobranchii, and other groups, will be supplied. the tendency of our present knowledge appears to be in favour of regarding the body-cavity in vertebrates as having been primitively the cavity of alimentary diverticula, and the mesoblast as having formed the walls of the diverticula. this view, to say the least of it, suits the facts which we know far better than any other theory which has been proposed, and though no doubt the _à priori_ difficulties in its way are very great, yet it appears to me to be sufficiently strongly supported to deserve the attention of investigators. in the meantime, however, our knowledge of invertebrate embryology is so new and imperfect that no certainty on a question like that which has just been discussed can be obtained; and any generalizations made at present are not unlikely to be upset by the discovery of fresh facts. the only other point in connection with the mesoblast which i would call attention to is the formation of the vertebral bodies. my observations confirm those of remak and gegenbaur, shewing that there is a primary segmentation of the vertebral bodies corresponding to that of the muscle-plates, followed by a secondary segmentation in which the central lines of the vertebral bodies are opposite the partitions between the muscle-plates. the explanation of these changes is not difficult to find. the primary segmentation of the body is that of the muscle-plates, which must have been present at a time when the vertebral bodies had no existence. as soon however as the notochordal sheath was required to be strong as well as flexible, it necessarily became divided into a series of segments. the conditions under which the lateral muscles can cause the flexure of the vertebral column are clearly that each muscle-segment shall be capable of acting on two vertebræ; and this condition can only be fulfilled when the muscle-segments are opposite the intervals between the vertebræ. owing to this necessity, when the vertebral segments became formed, their centres corresponded, not with the centres of the muscle-plates, but with the inter-muscular septa. these considerations fully explain the secondary segmentation of the vertebræ by which they become opposite the inter-muscular septa. on the other hand, the primary segmentation is clearly a remnant of the time when no vertebral bodies were present, and has no greater morphological significance than the fact that the cells to form the unsegmented investment of the notochord were derived from the segmented muscle-plates, and only secondarily became fused into a continuous tube. _the urinogenital system._ the first traces of the urinary system become visible at about the time of the appearance of the third visceral cleft. at about this period the somatopleure and splanchnopleure become more or less fused together at the level of the dorsal aorta, and thus, as has been already mentioned, each of the original plates of mesoblast becomes divided into a vertebral plate and lateral plate (pl. , fig. ). the mass of cells resulting from this fusion corresponds with waldeyer's intermediate cell-mass in the fowl. at about the level of the fifth protovertebra the first trace of the urinary system appears. from the intermediate cell-mass a solid knob grows outwards towards the epiblast (woodcut, fig. , _pd_). this knob consists at first of - cells, which agree in character with the neighbouring cells of the intermediate cell-mass, and are at this period rounded. it is mainly, if not entirely, derived from the somatic layer of the mesoblast. from this knob there grows backwards a solid rod of cells which keeps in very close contact with the epiblast, and rapidly diminishes in size towards its posterior extremity. its hindermost part consists in section of at most one or two cells. it keeps so close to the epiblast that it might be supposed to be derived from that layer were it not for the sections shewing its origin from the knob above mentioned. we have in this rod the commencement of what i have elsewhere[ ] called the segmental duct. footnote : "urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journ. of anat. and phys._ vol. x. [this edition, no. vii.] [illustration: fig. . two sections of a pristiurus embryo with three visceral clefts. the sections are to shew the development of the segmental duct (_pd_) or primitive duct of the kidneys. in _a_ (the anterior of the two sections) this appears as a solid knob projecting towards the epiblast. in _b_ is seen a section of the column which has grown backwards from the knob in _a_. _spn._ rudiment of a spinal nerve; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ string of cells below the notochord; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ specially developed portion of muscle-plate; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _pd._ segmental duct; _so._ somatopleura; _sp._ splanchnopleura; _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal or body-cavity; _ep._ epiblast; _al._ alimentary canal.] my observations shew that the segmental duct is developed in the way just described in both pristiurus and torpedo. its origin in pristiurus is shewn in the adjoining woodcut, and in torpedo in pl. , fig. , _sd_. at a stage somewhat older than i, the condition of the segmental duct has not very materially altered. it has increased considerably in length, and the knob at its front end is both absolutely smaller, and also consists of fewer cells than before (pl. , fig. , _sd_). these cells have become more columnar, and have begun to arrange themselves radially; thus indicating the early appearance of the lumen of the duct. the cells forming the front part of the rod, as well as those of the knob, commence to exhibit a columnar character, but in the hinder part of the rod the cells are still rounded. in no part of it has a lumen appeared. at this period also the knob, partly owing to the commencing separation of the muscle-plate from the remainder of the mesoblast, begins to pass inwards and approach the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. at the same stage the first not very distinct traces of the remainder of the urinary system become developed. these appear in the form of solid outgrowths from the intermediate cell-mass just at the most dorsal part of the body-cavity. the outgrowths correspond in numbers with the vertebral segments, and are at first quite disconnected with the segmental duct. at this stage they are only distinctly visible in the first few segments behind the front end of the segmental duct. a full description of them will come more conveniently in the next stage. by a stage somewhat earlier than k important changes have taken place in the urinary system. the segmental duct has acquired a lumen in its anterior portion, which opens at its front end into the body-cavity. (pl. , fig. , _sd._) the lumen is formed by the columnar cells spoken of in the last stage, acquiring a radiating arrangement round a central point, at which a small hole appears. after the lumen has once become formed, it rapidly increases in size. the duct has also grown considerably in length, but its hind extremity is still as thin, and lies as close to the epiblast, as at first. the segmental involutions which commenced to be formed in the last stage, have now appeared for every vertebral segment along the whole length of the segmental duct, and even for two or three segments behind this. they are simple independent outgrowths arising from the outer and uppermost angle of the body-cavity, and are at first almost without a trace of a lumen; though their cells are arranged as two layers. they grow in such a way as to encircle the oviduct on its inner and upper side (pl. , fig. and pl. , fig. _b_, _st_). when the hindermost ones are formed, a slight trace of a lumen is perhaps visible in the front ones. at a stage slightly subsequent to this, in scyllium canicula, i noticed of them; the first of them arising in the segment immediately behind the front end of the oviduct (pl. , fig. , _st_), and two of them being formed in segments just posterior to the hinder extremity of the oviduct. pl. , figs. and represent two longitudinal sections shewing the segmental nature of the involutions and their relation to the segmental duct. many of the points which have been mentioned can be seen by referring to pl. and . anteriorly the segmental duct opens into the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. in the sections behind this there may be seen the segmental duct with a distinct lumen, and also a pair of segmental involutions (pl. , fig. _a_). in the still posterior sections the segmental duct would be quite without a lumen, and would closely adjoin the epiblast. it seems not out of place to point out that the modes of the development of the segmental duct and of the segmental involutions are strikingly similar. both arise as solid involutions, from homologous parts of the mesoblast. the segmental duct arises in the vertebral segment immediately in front of that in which the first segmental involution appears; _so that the segmental duct appears to be equivalent to a single segmental involution_. the next stage corresponds with the first appearance of the external gills. the segmental duct now communicates by a wide opening with the body-cavity (pl. , fig. , _sd_). it possesses a lumen along its whole length up to the extreme hind end (pl. , fig. _a_). it is, however, at this hinder extremity that the most important change has taken place. this end has grown downwards towards that part of the alimentary canal which still lies behind the anus. this downgrowth is beginning to shew distinct traces of a lumen, and will appear in the next stage as one of the horns by which the segmental ducts communicate with the cloaca (pl. , fig. _b_). all the anterior segmental involutions have now acquired a lumen. but this is still absent in the posterior ones (pl. , fig. _a_). owing to the disappearance of the body-cavity in the region behind the anus, the primitive involutions there remain as simple masses of cells still disconnected with the segmental duct (pl. , figs. _b_, _c_ and _d_). _primitive ova._ the true generative products make their first appearance as the _primitive ova_ between stages i and k. in the sections of one of my embryos of this stage they are especially well shewn, and the following description is taken from those displayed in that embryo. they are confined to the region which extends posteriorly nearly to the end of the small intestine and anteriorly to the abdominal opening of the segmental duct. their situation in this region is peculiar. there is no trace of a distinct genital ridge, but the ova mainly lie in the dorsal portion of the mesentery, and therefore in a part of the mesoblast which distinctly belongs to the splanchnopleure (pl. , fig. _a_). some are situated external to the segmental involutions; and others again, though this is not common, in a part of the mesoblast which distinctly belongs to the body-wall (pl. , fig. _b_). the portion of mesentery, in which the primitive ova are most densely aggregated, corresponds to the future position of the genital ridge, but the other positions occupied by ova are quite outside this. some ova are in fact situated on the outside of the segmental duct and segmented tubes, and must therefore effect a considerable migration before reaching their final positions in the genital ridge on the inner side of the segmental duct (pl. , fig. _b_). the condition of the tissue in which the ova appear may at once be gathered from an examination of the figures given. it consists of an irregular epithelium of cells partly belonging to the somatopleure and partly to the splanchnopleure, but passing uninterruptedly from one layer to the other. the cells which compose it are irregular in shape, but frequently columnar (pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_). they are formed of a nucleus which stains deeply, invested by a _very delicate_ layer of protoplasm. at the junction of somatopleure and splanchnopleure they are more rounded than elsewhere. very few loose connective-tissue cells are present. the cells just described vary from . mm. to . mm. in diameter. the primitive ova are situated amongst them and stand out with extraordinary clearness, to which justice is hardly done in my figures. the normal full-sized ova exhibit the following structure. they consist of a mass of somewhat granular protoplasm of irregular, but more or less rounded, form. their size varies from . - . mm. in their interior a nucleus is present, which varies from . - . mm., but its size as a rule bears _no_ relation to the size of the containing cell. this is illustrated by the subjoined list of measurements. size of primitive ova in size of nucleus of primitive degrees of micrometer scale ova in degrees of micrometer with f. ocul . scale with f. ocul . - / - / the numbers given refer to degrees on my micrometer scale. since it is the ratio alone which it is necessary to call attention to, the numbers are not reduced to decimals of a millimeter. each degree of my scale is equal, however, with the object glass employed, to . mm. this series brings out the result i have just mentioned with great clearness. in one case we find a cell has three times the diameter of the nucleus : - / ; in another case : , the nucleus has only a slightly smaller diameter than the cell. the irrationality of the ratio is fairly shewn in some of my figures, though none of the largest cells with very small nuclei have been represented. the nuclei are granular, and stain fairly well with hæmatoxylin. they usually contain a single deeply stained nucleolus, but in many cases, especially where large (and this independently of the size of the cell), they contain two nucleoli (pl. , figs. _c_ and _d_), and are at times so lobed as to give an apparent indication of commencing division. a multi-nucleolar condition of the nuclei, like that figured by götte[ ], does not appear till near the close of embryonic life, and is then found equally in the large ova and in those not larger than the ova which exist at this early date. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke_, pl. , fig. . as regards the relation of the primitive ova to each other and the neighbouring cells, there are a few points which deserve attention. in the first place, the ova are, as a rule, collected in masses at particular points, and not distributed uniformly (fig. _a_). the masses in some cases appear as if they had resulted from the division of one primitive ovum, but can hardly be adduced as instances of a commencing coalescence; since if the ova thus aggregated were to coalesce, an ovum would be produced of a very much greater size than any which is found during the early stages. though at this stage no indication is present of such a coalescence of cells to form ova as is believed to take place by götte, still the origin of the primitive ova is not quite clear. one would naturally expect to find a great number of cells intermediate between primitive ova and ordinary columnar cells. cells which may be intermediate are no doubt found, but not nearly so frequently as might have been anticipated. one or two cells are shewn in pl. , fig. _a_, _x_, which are perhaps of an intermediate character; but in most sections it is not possible to satisfy oneself that any such intermediate cells are present. in one case what appeared to be an intermediate cell was measured, and presented a diameter of . mm. while its nucleus was . mm. apart from certain features of the nucleus, which at this stage are hardly very marked, the easiest method of distinguishing a primitive ovum from an adjacent cell is the presence of a large quantity of protoplasm around the nucleus. the nucleus of one of the smallest primitive ova is not larger than the nucleus of an ordinary cell (being about . mm. in both). it is perhaps the similarity in the size of the nuclei which renders it difficult at first to distinguish developing primitive ova from ordinary cells. except with the very thinnest sections a small extra quantity of protoplasm around a nucleus might easily escape detection, and the developing cell might only become visible when it had attained to the size of a small typical primitive ovum. it deserves to be noticed that the nuclei even of some of the largest primitive ova scarcely exceed the surrounding nuclei in size. this appears to me to be an argument of some weight in shewing that the great size of primitive ova is not due to the fact of their having been formed by a coalescence of different cells (in which case the nucleus would have increased in the same proportion as the cell); but to an increase by a normal method of growth in the protoplasm around the nucleus. it appears to me to be a point of great importance certainly to determine whether the primitive ova arise by a metamorphosis of adjoining cells, or may not be introduced from elsewhere. in some of the lower animals, _e.g._ hydrozoa, there is no question that the ova are derived from the epiblast; we might therefore expect to find that they had the same origin in vertebrates. further than this, ova are frequently capable in a young state of executing amoeboid movements, and accordingly of migrating from one layer to another. in the elasmobranchii the primitive ova exhibit in a hardened state an irregular form which might appear to indicate that they possess a power of altering their shape, a view which is further supported by some of them being at the present stage situated in a position very different from that which they eventually occupy, and which they can only reach by migration. if it could be shewn that there were no intermediate stages between the primitive ova and the adjoining cells (their migratory powers being admitted) a strong presumption would be offered in favour of their having migrated from elsewhere to their present position. in view of this possibility i have made some special investigations, which have however led to no very satisfactory results. there are to be seen in the stages immediately preceding the present one, numerous cells in a corresponding position to that of the primitive ova, which might very well be intermediate between the primitive ova and ordinary cells, but which offer no sufficiently well marked features for a certain determination of their true nature. in the particular embryo whose primitive ova have been described these bodies were more conspicuous than in the majority of cases, but at the same time they presented no special or peculiar characters. in a somewhat older embryo of scyllium the cells amongst which the primitive ova lay had become very distinctly differentiated as an epithelium (the germinal epithelium of waldeyer) well separated by what might almost be called a basement membrane from the adjoining connective-tissue cells. hardly any indication of a germinal ridge had appeared, but the ova were more definitely confined than in previous embryos to the restricted area which eventually forms this. the ova on the average were somewhat smaller than in the previous cases. in several embryos intermediate in age between the embryo whose primitive ova were described at the commencement of this section and the embryo last described, the primitive ova presented some peculiarities, about the meaning of which i am not quite clear, but which may perhaps throw some light on the origin of these bodies. instead of the protoplasm around the nucleus being clear or slightly granular, as in the cases just described, it was filled in the most typical instances with numerous highly refracting bodies resembling yolk-spherules. in osmic acid specimens (pl. , fig. ) these stain very darkly, and it is then as a rule very difficult to see the nucleus; in specimens hardened in picric acid and stained with hæmatoxylin these bodies are stained of a deep purple colour, but the nucleus can in most cases be distinctly seen. in addition to the instances in which the protoplasm of the ova is quite filled with these bodies, there are others in which they only occupy a small area adjoining the nucleus (pl. , fig. _a_), and finally some in which only one or two of these bodies are present. the protoplasm of the primitive ova appears in fact to present a series of gradations between a state in which it is completely filled with highly refracting spherules and one in which these are completely absent. this state of things naturally leads to the view that the primitive ova, when they are first formed, are filled with these spherules, which are probably yolk-spherules, but that they gradually lose them in the course of development. against this interpretation is the fact that the primitive ova in the younger embryo first described are completely without these bodies; this embryo however unquestionably presented an abnormally early development of the ova; and i am satisfied that embryos present considerable variations in this respect. if the primitive ova are in reality in the first instance filled with yolk-spherules, the question arises as to whether, considering that they are the only mesoblast cells filled at this period with yolk-spherules, we must not suppose that they have migrated from some peripheral part of the blastoderm into their present position. to this question i can give no satisfactory answer. against a view which would regard the spherules in the protoplasm as bodies which appear subsequently to the first formation of the ova, is the fact that hitherto no instances in which these spherules were present have been met with in the late stages of development; and they seem therefore to be confined to the first stages. _notochord._ the changes undergone by the notochord during this period present considerable differences according to the genus examined. one type of development is characteristic of scyllium and pristiurus; a second type, of torpedo. my observations being far more complete for scyllium and pristiurus than for torpedo, it is to the two former genera only that the following account applies, unless the contrary is expressly stated. only the development of the parts of the notochord in the trunk are here dealt with; the cephalic section of the notochord is treated of in a subsequent section. during stage g the notochord is composed of flattened cells arranged vertically, rendering the histological characters of the notochord difficult to determine in transverse sections. in longitudinal sections, however, the form and arrangement of the cells can be recognised with great ease. at the beginning of stage g each cell is composed of a nucleus invested by granular protoplasm frequently vacuolated and containing in suspension numerous yolk-spherules. it is difficult to determine whether there is only one vacuole for each cell, or whether in some cases there may not be more than one. round the exterior of the notochord there is present a distinct though delicate cuticular sheath. the vacuoles are at first small, but during stage g rapidly increase in size, while at the same time the yolk-spherules completely vanish from the notochord. as a result of the rapid growth of the vacuoles, the nuclei, surrounded in each case by a small amount of protoplasm, become pushed to the centre of the notochord, the remainder of the protoplasm being carried to the edge. the notochord thus becomes composed during stages h and i (pl. , fig. - ) of a central area mainly formed of nuclei with a small quantity of protoplasm around them, and of a thin peripheral layer of protoplasm without nuclei, the widish space between the two being filled with clear fluid. the exterior of the cells is indurated, so that they may be said to be invested by a membrane[ ]; the cells themselves have a flattened form, and each extends from the edge to the centre of the notochord, the long axis of each being rather greater than half the diameter of the cord. footnote : this membrane is better looked upon, as is done by gegenbaur and götte, as intercellular matter. the nuclei of the notochord are elliptical vesicles, consisting of a membrane filled with granular contents, amongst which is situated a distinct nucleolus. they stain deeply with hæmatoxylin. their long diameter in scyllium is about . mm. the diameter of the whole notochord in pristiurus during stage i is about . mm. in the region of the back, and about . mm. near the posterior end of the body. owing to the form of its constituent cells, the notochord presents in transverse sections a dark central area surrounded by a lighter peripheral one, but its true structure cannot be unravelled without the assistance of longitudinal sections. in these (pl. , fig. ) the nuclei form an irregular double row in the centre of the cord. their outlines are very clear, but those of the individual cells cannot for certain be made out. it is, however, easy to see that the cells have a flattened and wedge-shaped form, with the narrow ends overlapping and interlocking at the centre of the notochord. by the close of stage i the cuticular sheath of the notochord has greatly increased in thickness. during the period intermediate between stages i and k the notochord undergoes considerable transformations. its cells cease to be flattened, and become irregularly polygonal, and appear but slightly more compressed in longitudinal sections than in transverse ones. the vacuolation of the cells proceeds rapidly, and there is left in each cell only a very thin layer of protoplasm around the nucleus. each cell, as in the earlier stages, is bounded by a membrane-like wall. accompanying these general changes special alterations take place in the distribution of the nuclei and the protoplasm. the nuclei, accompanied by protoplasm, gradually leave the centre and migrate towards the periphery of the notochord. at the same time the protoplasm of the cells forms a special layer in contact with the investing sheath. the changes by which this takes place can easily be followed in longitudinal sections. in pl. , fig. the migration of the nuclei has commenced. they are still, however, more or less aggregated at the centre, and very little protoplasm is present at the edges of the notochord. the cells, though more or less irregularly polygonal, are still somewhat flattened. in pl. , fig. the notochord has made a further progress. the nuclei now mainly lie at the side of the notochord, where they exist in a somewhat shrivelled state, though still invested by a layer of protoplasm. a large portion of the protoplasm of the cord forms an almost continuous layer in close contact with the sheath, which is more distinctly visible in some cases than in others. while the changes above described are taking place the notochord increases in size. at the age of fig. it is in the anterior part of the body of pristiurus about . mm. at the age of fig. it is in the same species . mm., while in scyllium stellare it reaches about . mm. during stage k (pl. , fig. ) the vacuolation of the cells of the notochord becomes even more complete than during the earlier stages, and in the central cells hardly any protoplasm is present, though a starved nucleus surrounded by a little protoplasm may be found in an occasional corner. the whole notochord becomes very delicate, and can with great difficulty be conserved whole in transverse sections. the layer of protoplasm which appeared during the last stage on the inner side of the cuticular membrane of the notochord becomes during the present stage a far thicker and more definite structure. it forms a continuous layer with irregular prominences on its inner surface; and contains numerous nuclei. the layer sometimes presents in transverse sections hardly any indication of a division into a number of separate cells, but in longitudinal sections this is generally very obvious. the cells are directed very obliquely forwards, and consist of an oblong nucleus invested by protoplasm. the layer formed by them is very delicate and very easily destroyed. in one example its thickness varied from . to . mm., in another it reached . mm. the thickness of the cuticular membrane is about . mm. or rather less. the diameter of a notochord in the anterior part of the body of a pristiurus embryo of this stage is about . mm. round the exterior of the notochord the mesoblast cells are commencing to arrange themselves as a special sheath. in torpedo the notochord at first presents the same structure as in pristiurus, _i.e._ it forms a cylindrical rod of flattened cells. the vacuolation of these cells does not however commence till a relatively very much later period than in pristiurus, and also presents a very different character (pl. , fig. ). the vacuoles are smaller, more numerous, and more rounded than in the other genera, and there can be no question that in many cases there is more than one vacuole in a cell. the most striking point in which the notochord of torpedo differs from that of pristiurus consists in the fact that in torpedo there is never any aggregation of the nuclei at the centre of the cord, but the nuclei are always distributed uniformly through it. as the vacuolation proceeds the differences between torpedo and the other genera become less and less marked. the vacuoles become angular in form, and the cells of the cord cease to be flattened, and become polygonal. at my final stage for torpedo (slightly younger than k) the only important feature distinguishing the notochord from that of pristiurus, is the absence of any signs of nuclei or protoplasm passing to the periphery. around the exterior of the cord there is early found in torpedo a special investment of mesoblastic cells. explanation of plates and . complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary tract. _an._ point where anus will be formed. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _ar._ rudiment of anterior root of spinal nerve. _b._ anterior fin. _c._ connective-tissue cells. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _df._ dorsal fin. _ep._ epiblast. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _ht._ heart. _l._ liver. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ early formed band of muscles from the splanchnic layer of the muscle-plates. _nc._ neural canal. _p._ protoplasm from yolk in the alimentary tract. _pc._ pericardial cavity. _po._ primitive ovum. _pp._ body-cavity. _pr._ rudiment of posterior root of spinal nerve. _sd._ segmental duct. _sh._ cuticular sheath of notochord. _so._ somatic layer of mesoblast. _sp._ splanchnic layer of mesoblast. _spc._ spinal cord. _sp.v._ spiral valve. _sr._ interrenal body. _st._ segmental tube. _sv._ sinus venosus. _ua._ umbilical artery. _um._ umbilical cord. _uv._ umbilical vein. _v._ splanchnic vein. _v._ blood-vessel. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vr._ vertebral rudiment. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _x._ subnotochordal rod (except in fig. _a_). _y._ passage connecting the neural and alimentary canals. plate . fig. . section from the caudal region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews ( ) the constriction of the subnotochordal rod (_x_) from the summit of the alimentary canal. ( ) the formation of the body-cavity in the muscle-plate and the ventral thickening of the parietal plate. fig. _a_. portion of alimentary wall of the same embryo, shewing the formation of the subnotochord rod (_x_). fig. . section through the caudal vesicle of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . it shews the bilobed condition of the alimentary vesicle and the fusion of the mesoblast and hypoblast at the caudal vesicle. fig. _a_. sections from the caudal region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . picric acid specimen. it shews the communication which exists posteriorly between the neural and alimentary canals, and also by comparison with _b_ it exhibits the dilatation undergone by the alimentary canal in the caudal vesicle. fig. _b_. section from the caudal region of an embryo slightly younger than _a_. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. fig. . section from the cardiac region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the heart (_ht_) as a cavity between the splanchnopleure and the wall of the throat. fig. . section from the posterior dorsal region of a scyllium embryo, belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the general features of an embryo of stage h, more especially the relations of the body-cavity in the parietal and vertebral portions of the lateral plate, and the early-formed band of muscle (_mp´_) in the splanchnic layer of the vertebral plate. fig. . section from the oesophageal region of scyllium embryo belonging to stage i. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots (_pr_) and of the vertebral rudiments (_vr_). fig. . section of a torpedo embryo belonging to stage slightly later than i. zeiss c, ocul. , reduced / . osmic acid specimen. it shews ( ) the formation of the anterior and posterior nerve-roots. ( ) the solid knob from which the segmental duct (_sd_) originates. fig. . section from the dorsal region of a scyllium embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it illustrates the structure of the primitive ova, segmental tubes, notochord, etc. fig. _a_. section from the caudal region of an embryo of the same age as . zeiss a, ocul. . it shews ( ) the solid oesophagus. ( ) the narrow passage connecting the pericardial (_pc_) and body cavities (_pp_). fig. . section of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the liver (_l_), the structure of the anterior fins (_b_), and the anterior opening of the segmental duct into the body-cavity (_sd_). figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four sections through the anterior region of the same embryo as . osmic acid specimens. the sections shew ( ) the atrophy of the post-anal section of the alimentary tract ( _b_, _c_, _d_). ( ) the existence of the segmental tubes behind the anus ( _b_, _c_, _d_). with reference to these it deserves to be noted that the segmental tubes behind the anus are quite disconnected, as is proved by the fact that a tube is absent on one side in _c_ but reappears in _d_. ( ) the downward prolongation of the segmental duct to join the posterior or cloacal extremity of the alimentary tract ( _b_). plate . fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section of a scyllium embryo of stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . reduced by / . picric acid specimen. it shews ( ) the structure of the notochord; ( ) the appearance of the early formed band of muscles (_mp´_) in the splanchnic layer of the protovertebra. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal sections of an embryo belonging to stage i. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it illustrates the same points as the previous section, but in addition shews the formation of the rudiments of the vertebral bodies (_vr_) which are seen to have the same segmentation as the muscle-plates. fig. .[ ] longitudinal and horizontal section of an embryo belonging to the stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen illustrating the same points as the previous section. footnote : the apparent structure in the sheath of the notochord in this and the succeeding figure is merely the result of an attempt on the part of the engraver to represent the dark colour of the sheath in the original figure. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section of an embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss c, ocul. , and illustrating same points as previous section. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. figures taken from preparations of an embryo of an age intermediate between i and k, and illustrating the structure of the primitive ova. figs. _a_ and _b_ are portions of transverse sections. zeiss c, ocul. reduced / . figs. _c_ and _d_ are individual ova, shewing the lobate form of nucleus. zeiss f, ocul. . fig. . osmic acid preparation of primitive ova belonging to stage k. zeiss immersion no. , ocul. . the protoplasm of the ova is seen to be nearly filled with bodies resembling yolk-spherules: and one ovum is apparently undergoing division. fig. _a_. picric acid preparation shewing a primitive ovum partially filled with bodies resembling yolk-spherules. fig. . horizontal and longitudinal section of scyllium embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . picric acid preparation. the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the section shews that there is one segmental tube to each vertebral segment. fig. . portion of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage k, viewed as a transparent object. it shews the segmental duct and the segmental involutions--two of which are seen to belong to segments behind the end of the alimentary tract. fig. . vertical longitudinal section of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . hardened in a mixture of osmic and chromic acid. it shews ( ) the commissures connecting together the posterior roots of the spinal nerves; ( ) the junction of the anterior and posterior roots; ( ) the relations of the segmental ducts to the segmental involutions and the alternation of calibre in the segmental tube; ( ) the germinal epithelium lining the body-cavity. chapter vii. general development of the trunk from stage h to the close of embryonic life. _external epiblast._ the change already alluded to in the previous chapter (p. ) by which the external epiblast or epidermis becomes divided into two layers, is completed before the close of stage l. in the tail region at this stage three distinct strata may be recognized in the epidermis. ( ) an outer stratum of flattened horny cells, which fuse together to form an almost continuous membrane. ( ) a middle stratum of irregular partly rounded and partly flattened cells. ( ) an internal stratum of columnar cells, bounded towards the mesoblast by a distinct basement membrane (pl. , fig. ), unquestionably pertaining to the epiblast. this layer is especially thickened in the terminal parts of the paired fins (pl. , fig. ). the two former of these strata together constitute the epidermic layer of the skin, and the latter the mucous layer. in the anterior parts of the body during stage l the skin only presents two distinct strata, viz. an inner somewhat irregular layer of rounded cells, the mucous layer, and an outer layer of flattened cells (pl. , fig. ). the remaining history of the external epiblast, consisting as it does of a record of the gradual increase in thickness of the epidermic strata, and a topographical description of its variations in structure and thickness in different parts, is of no special interest and need not detain us here. in the late embryonic periods subsequent to stage q the layers of the skin cease to be so distinct as at an earlier period, partly owing to the innermost layer becoming less columnar, and partly to the presence of a large number of mucous cells, which have by that stage made their appearance. i have followed with some care the development of the placoid scales, but my observations so completely accord with those of dr o. hertwig[ ], that it is not necessary to record them. the so-called enamel layer is a simple product of the thickening and calcification of the basement membrane, and since this membrane is derived from the mucous layer of the epidermis, the enamel is clearly to be viewed as an epidermic product. there is no indication of a gradual conversion of the bases of the columnar cells forming the mucous layer of the epidermis into enamel prisms, as is frequently stated to occur in the formation of the enamel of the teeth in higher vertebrates. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. viii. _lateral line._ the lateral line and the nervous structures appended to it have been recently studied from an embryological point of view by götte[ ] in amphibians and by semper[ ] in elasmobranchii. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ footnote : _urogenitalsystem d. selachier._ semper's _arbeiten_, bd. ii. the most important morphological result which these two distinguished investigators believe themselves to have arrived at is the direct derivation of the lateral nerve from the ectoderm. on this point there is a complete accord between them, and semper especially explains that it is extremely easy to establish the fact. as will appear from the sequel, i have not been so fortunate as semper in elucidating the origin of the lateral nerve, and my observations bear an interpretation not in the least in accordance with the views of my predecessors, though not perhaps quite conclusive against them. it must be premised that two distinct structures have to be dealt with, viz. the _lateral line_ formed of modified epidermis, and the _lateral nerve_ whose origin is in question. the lateral line is the first of the two to make its appearance, at a stage slightly subsequent to k, in the form of a linear thickening of the inner row of cells of the external epiblast, on each side, at the level of the notochord. this thickening, in my youngest embryo in which it is found, has but a very small longitudinal extension, being present through about thin sections in the last part of the head and first part of the trunk. the thickening, though short, is very broad, measuring about . mm. in transverse section, and presents no signs of a commencing differentiation of nervous structures. the large intestinal branch of the vagus can be seen in all the anterior sections in close proximity to this line, and appears to me to give off to it posteriorly a small special branch which can be traced through a few sections, vide pl. , fig. , _n.l_. but this branch is not sufficiently well marked to enable me to be certain of its real character. in any case the posterior part of the lateral line _is absolutely without any adjoining nervous structures or traces of such_. the rudiment of the epidermic part of the lateral line is formed of specially elongated cells of the mucous layer of the epiblast, but around the bases of these certain rounder cells of a somewhat curious appearance are intercalated. there is between this and my next youngest embryo an unfortunately large gap with reference to the lateral line, although in almost every other respect the two embryos might be regarded as belonging to the same stage. the lateral line in the older embryo extends from the hind part of the head to a point well behind the anus, and is accompanied by a nerve for at least two-thirds of its length. in the foremost section in which it appears the intestinal branch of the vagus is situated not far from it, _and may be seen at intervals giving off branches to it_. there is no sign that these are otherwise than perfectly normal branches of the vagus. near the level of the last visceral cleft the intestinal branch of the vagus gives off a fair-sized branch, which from the first occupies a position close to the lateral line though well within the mesoblast (pl. , fig. _a_, _n.l_). this branch is the lateral nerve, and though somewhat larger, is otherwise much like the nerve i fancied i could see originating from the intestinal branch of the vagus during the previous stage. it rapidly thins out posteriorly and also approaches closer and closer to the lateral line. at the front end of the trunk it is quite in contact with it, and a short way behind this region the cells of the lateral line arrange themselves in a gable-like form, in the angle of which the nerve is situated (pl. , figs. _b_, and _c_). in this position the nerve though small is still very distinct in all good sections, and is formed of a rod of protoplasm, with scattered nuclei, in which i could not detect a distinct indication of cell-areas. the hinder part of the nerve becomes continually smaller and smaller, without however presenting any indication of becoming fused with the epiblast, and eventually ceases to be visible some considerable distance in front of the posterior end of the lateral line. the lateral line itself presents some points of not inconsiderable interest. in the first place, it is very narrow anteriorly and throughout the greater part of its length, but widens out at its hinder end, and is widest of all at its termination, which is perfectly abrupt. the following measurements of it were taken from an embryo belonging to stage l, which though not quite my second youngest embryo is only slightly older. at its hinder end it was . mm. broad. at a point not far from this it was . mm. broad, and anteriorly it was . mm. broad. these measurements clearly shew that the lateral line is broadest at what may be called its growing-point, a fact which explains its extraordinary breadth in the anterior part of the body at my first stage, viz. . mm., a breadth which strangely contrasts with the breadth, viz. . mm., which it has in the same part of the body at the present stage. it still continues to form a linear area of modified epidermis, and has no segmental characters. anteriorly it is formed by the cells of the mucous layer becoming more columnar (pl. fig. _a_). in its middle region the cells of the mucous layer in it are still simply elongated, but, as has been said above, have a gable-like arrangement, so as partially to enclose the nerve (pl. , fig. _b_). nearer the hind end of the trunk a space appears in it between its columnar cells and the flattened cells of the outermost layer of the skin (pl. , fig. _c_), and this space becomes posteriorly invested by a very definite layer of cells. the space (pl. , fig. _d_) or lumen has a slit-like section, and is not formed by the closing in of an originally open groove, but by the formation of a cavity in the midst of the cells of the lateral line. its walls are formed by a layer of columnar cells on the inner side, and flattened cells on the outer side, both layers however appearing to be derived from the mucous layer of the epidermis. the outer layer of cells attains its greatest thickness dorsally. during stages m, n, o, the lateral nerve gradually passes inwards into the connective tissue between the dorso-lateral and the ventro-lateral muscles, and becomes even before the close of stage n completely isolated from the lateral line. the growth of the lateral line itself remains for some time almost stationary; anteriorly the cells retain the gable-like arrangement which characterised them at an earlier period, but cease to enclose the nerve; posteriorly the line retains its original more complicated constitution as a closed canal. in stage o the cells of the anterior part of the line, as well as those of the posterior, commence to assume a tubular arrangement, and the lateral line takes the form of a canal. the tubular form is due to a hollowing out of the lateral line itself and a rearrangement of its cells. as the lateral line becomes converted into a canal it recedes from the surface. in stage p the first indication of segmental apertures to the exterior make their appearance, vide pl. , fig. . the lateral line forms a canal situated completely below the skin, but at intervals (corresponding with segments) sends upwards and outwards prolongations towards the exterior. these prolongations do not during stage p acquire external openings. as is shewn in my figure, a special area of the inner border of the canal of the lateral line becomes distinguished by its structure from the remainder. no account of the lateral line would be complete without some allusion to the similar sensory structures which have such a wide distribution on the heads of elasmobranchii; and this is especially important in the present instance, owing to the light thrown by a study of their development on the origin of the nerves which supply the sense-organs of this class. the so-called mucous canals of the head originate in the same way as does the lateral line; they are products of the mucous layer of the epidermis. they eventually form either canals with numerous openings to the exterior, or isolated tubes with terminal ampulliform dilatations. i have not definitely determined whether the canal-system of the head arises in connection with the lateral line, or only eventually becomes so connected. the important point to be noticed is, that at first no nervous structures are to be seen in connection with it. in stage o nerves for the mucous canals make their appearance as delicate branches of the main stems. these nerve-stems are very much ramified, and their branches have, in a large number of instances, an obvious tendency towards a particular sense-organ (pl. , figs. and ). i have not during stage o been able to detect a case of direct continuity between the two. this is, however, established in the succeeding stage p, in the case of the canals, and the facility with which it may be observed would probably render the embryo elasmobranch a very favourable object for studying the connection between nerves and terminal sense-organs. the nerve (pl. , fig. ) dilates somewhat before uniting with the sense-organ, and the protoplasm of the nerve and the sense-organ become completely fused. the basement membrane of the skin is not continuous across their point of junction, and appears to unite with a delicate membrane-like structure, which invests the termination of the nerve. the ampullæ would seem to receive their nervous supply somewhat later than the canals, and the terminal swellings of the nerves supplying them are larger than in the case of the canals, and the connection between the ampullæ and the nerves not so clear. in the case of the head, there can for elasmobranchii be hardly a question that the nerves which supply the mucous canals grow centrifugally from the original cranial nerve-stems, and do not originate in a peripheral manner from the integument. this is an important point to make certain of in settling any doubtful features in the nervous supply of the lateral line. professor semper[ ], with whom as dealing with elasmobranchii we are more directly concerned, makes the following statement: "at the time when at the front end the lateral nerve has already completely separated itself from the ectoderm, and is situated amongst the muscles, it still lies in the middle of the body close to the ectoderm, and at the hind end of the body is not yet completely segmented off (abgegliedert) from the ectoderm." although the last sentence of this quotation may seem to be opposed to my statements, yet it appears to me probable that professor semper has merely seen the lateral nerve partially enclosed in the ectoderm. this position of the nerve no doubt affords a _presumption, but only a presumption_, in favour of a direct origin of the lateral nerve from the ectoderm; but against this interpretation of it are the following facts: footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . ( ) that the front part of the lateral line is undoubtedly supplied by branches which arise in the ordinary way from the intestinal branch of the vagus; and we should not expect to find part of the lateral line supplied by nerves which originate in one way, and the remainder supplied by a nerve having a completely different and abnormal mode of origin. ( ) the growth of the lateral line is quite independent of that of the lateral nerve: the latter arises subsequently to the lateral line, and, so far as is shewn by the inconclusive observation of my earliest stage, as an offshoot from the intestinal branch of the vagus; and though it grows along at first in close contact with the lateral line, yet it never presents, so far as i have seen, any indubitable indication of becoming split off from this, or of fusing with it. ( ) the fact that the cranial representatives of the lateral line are supplied with nerves which originate in the normal way[ ], affords a strong argument in favour of the lateral line receiving an ordinary nerve-supply. footnote : götte extends his statements about the lateral nerve to the nerves supplying the mucous canals in the head; but my observations appear to me, as far as elasmobranchii are concerned, nearly conclusive against such a derivation of the nerves in the head. considering all these facts, i am led to the conclusion _that the lateral nerve in elasmobranchii arises as a branch of the vagus, and not as a direct product of the external epiblast_. an interesting feature about the lateral line and the similar cephalic structures, is the fact of these being the only sense-organs in elasmobranchii which originate entirely from the mucous layer of the epiblast. this, coupled with the well-known facts about the amphibian epiblast, and the fact that the mucous canals are the only sense-organs which originate subsequently to the distinct differentiation of the epiblast into mucous and horny layers, goes far to prove[ ] that the mucous layer is to be regarded as the active layer of the epiblast, and that after this has become differentiated, an organ formed from the epiblast is always a product of it. footnote : i believe that götte, amongst his very numerous valuable remarks in the _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke_, has put forward a view similar to this, though i cannot put my hand on the reference. _muscle-plates._ the muscle-plates at the close of stage k were flattened angular bodies with the apex directed forwards, their ventral edge being opposite the segmental duct, and their dorsal edge on a level with the middle of the spinal cord. they were composed of two layers, formed for the most part of columnar cells, but a small part of their splanchnic layer opposite the notochord had already become differentiated into longitudinal muscles. during stage l the growth of these plates is very rapid, and their upper ends extend to the summit of the neural canal, and their lower ones nearly meet in the median ventral line. the original band of muscles (pl. , fig. , _m.p´_), whose growth was so slow during stages i and k, now increases with great rapidity, and forms the nucleus of the whole voluntary muscular system. it extends upwards and downwards by the continuous conversion of fresh cells of the splanchnic layer into muscle-cells. at the same time it grows rapidly in thickness, but it requires some little patience and care to unravel the details of this growth; and it will be necessary to enter on a slight digression as to the relations of the muscle-plates to the surrounding connective tissue. as the muscle-plates grow dorsalwards and ventralwards their ends dive into the general connective tissue, whose origin has already been described (pl. , fig. ). at the same time the connective-tissue cells, which by this process become situated between the ends of the muscle-plates and the skin, grow upwards and downwards, and gradually form a complete layer separating the muscle-plates from the skin. the cells forming the ends of the muscle-plates retain unaltered their primitive undifferentiated character, and the separation between them and the surrounding connective-tissue cells is very marked. this however ceases to be the case in the parts of the muscle-plates on a level with the notochord and lower part of the medullary canal; the thinnest sections and most careful examination are needed to elucidate the changes taking place in this region. the cells which form the somatic layer of the muscle-plates then begin to elongate and become converted into muscle-cells, at the same time that they are increasing in number to meet the rapid demands upon them. one result of these changes is the loss of the original clearness in the external boundary between the muscle-plates and the adjoining connective-tissue cells, which is only in exceptional cases to be seen so distinctly as it may be in pl. , figs. and . longitudinal horizontal sections are the most instructive for studying the growth of the muscles, but transverse sections are also needed. the interpretation of the transverse ones is however rendered difficult, both by rapid alterations in the thickness of the connective-tissue layer between the skin and the muscle-plates (shewn in pl. , fig. ), and by the angular shape of the muscle-plates themselves. a careful study of both longitudinal and transverse sections has enabled me to satisfy myself of the fact that the cells of the somatic layer of the protovertebræ, equally with the cells of the splanchnic layer, are converted into muscle-cells, and some of these are represented in the act of undergoing this conversion in pl. , fig. ; but the difficulty of distinguishing the outline of the somatic layer of the muscle-plates, at the time its cells become converted into muscle-cells, renders it very difficult to determine whether any cells of this layer join the surrounding connective tissue. general considerations certainly lead me to think that they do not; but my observations do not definitely settle the point. from these facts it is clear, as was briefly stated in the last chapter, _that both layers of the muscle-plate are concerned in forming the great lateral muscle, though the splanchnic layer is converted into muscles very much sooner than the somatic_[ ]. footnote : the difference between dr götte's account of the development of the muscles and my own consists mainly in my attributing to the somatic layer of the muscle-plates a share in the formation of the great lateral muscles, which he denies to it. in an earlier section of this monograph, pp. , , too much stress was unintentionally laid on the divergence of our views; a divergence which appears to have, in part at least, arisen, not from our observations being opposed, but from dr götte's having taken the highly differentiated bombinator as his type instead of the less differentiated elasmobranch. the remainder of the history of the muscle-plates presents no points of special interest. till the close of stage l, the muscle-plates are not distinctly divided into dorsal and ventral segments, but this division, which is so characteristic of the adult, commences to manifest itself during stage m, and is quite completed in the succeeding stage. it is effected by the appearance, nearly opposite the lateral line, of a layer of connective tissue which divides the muscles on each side into a dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral section. even during stage o the ends of the muscle-plates are formed of undifferentiated columnar cells. the peculiar outlines of the intermuscular septa gradually appear during the later stages of development, causing the well-known appearances of the muscles in transverse sections, but require no special notice here. with reference to the histological features of the development of the muscle-fibres, i have not pushed my investigations very far. the primitive cells present the ordinary division, well known since remak, into a striated portion and a non-striated portion, and in the latter a nucleus is to be seen which soon undergoes division and gives rise to several nuclei in the non-striated part, while the striated part of each cell becomes divided up into a number of fibrillæ. i have not however determined what exact relation the original cells hold to the eventual primitive bundles, or anything with reference to the development of the sarcolemma. _the muscles of the limbs._--these are formed during stage o coincidently with the cartilaginous skeleton, in the form of two bands of longitudinal fibres on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the limbs. dr kleinenberg first called my attention to the fact that he had proved the limb-muscles in _lacerta_ to be derived from the muscle-plates. this i at first believed did not hold good for elasmobranchii, but have since determined that it does so. between stages k and l the muscle-plates grow downwards as far as the limbs and then turn outwards and grow into them (pl. , fig. ). small portions of several muscle-plates come in this way to be situated in the limbs, and are very soon segmented off from the remainder of the muscle-plates. the portions of muscle-plates thus introduced into the limbs soon lose their original distinctness, and can no longer be recognized in stage l. there can however be but little doubt that they supply the tissue for the muscles of the limbs. the muscle-plates themselves after giving off these buds to the limbs grow downwards, and by stage l cease to shew any trace of what has occurred (pl. , fig. ). this fact, coupled with the late development of the muscles of the limbs (stage o), caused me to fall into my original error. _the vertebral column and notochord._ in the previous chapter (p. ) an account was given of the origin of the tissue destined to form the vertebral bodies; it merely remains to describe the changes undergone by this in becoming converted into the permanent vertebræ. this subject has already been dealt with by a considerable number of anatomists, and my investigations coincide in the main with the results of my predecessors. especially the researches of gegenbaur[ ] may be singled out as containing the pith of the whole subject, and my results, while agreeing in all but minor points with his, do not supplement them to any very great extent. i cannot do more than confirm götte's[ ] account of the development of the hæmal arches, and may add that cartier[ ] has given a good account of the later development of the centra. under the circumstances it has not appeared to me to be worth while recording with great detail my investigations; but i hope to be able to give a somewhat more complete history of the whole subject than has appeared in any single previous memoir. footnote : _das kopfskelet d. selachier_, p. . footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke_, pp. - . footnote : _zeitschrift f. wiss. anat._ bd. xxv., supplement. at their first appearance the cells destined to form the permanent vertebræ present the same segmentation as the muscle-plates. this segmentation soon disappears, and between stages k and l the tissue of the vertebral column forms a continuous investment of the notochord which cannot be distinguished from the adjoining connective tissue. immediately surrounding the notochord a layer formed of a single row of cells may be observed, which is not however very distinctly marked[ ]. footnote : vide pp. , . during the stage l there appear four special concentrations of mesoblastic tissue adjoining the notochord, two of them dorsal and two of them ventral. they are not segmented, and form four ridges seated on the sides of the notochord. they are united with each other by a delicate layer of tissue, and constitute the rudiments of the neural and hæmal arches. in longitudinal sections of stage l special concentrated wedge-shaped masses of tissue are to be seen between the muscle-plates, which must not be confused with these rudiments. immediately around the notochord the delicate investment of cells previously mentioned, is still present. the rudiments of the arches increase in size and distinctness in the succeeding stages, and by stage n have unquestionably assumed the constitution of embryonic cartilage. in the meantime there has appeared surrounding the sheath of the notochord a well-marked layer of tissue which stains deeply with hæmatoxylin, and with the highest power may be observed to contain flattened nuclei. it is barely thicker than the adjoining sheath, but is nevertheless the rudiment of the vertebral bodies. pl. , fig. , _vb_. whence does this layer arise? to this question i cannot give a quite satisfactory answer. it is natural to conclude that it is derived from the previously existing mesoblastic investment of the notochord, but in the case of the vertebral column i have not been able to prove this. observations on the base of the brain afford fairly conclusive evidence that the homologous tissue present there has this origin. gegenbaur apparently answers the question of the origin of this layer in the way suggested above, and gives a figure in support of his conclusion (pl. xxii. fig. )[ ]. footnote : none of my specimens resembles this figure, and the layer when first formed is in my embryos much thinner than represented by gegenbaur, and the histological structure of the embryonic cartilage is very different from that of the cartilage in the figures alluded to. götte's very valuable researches with reference to the origin of this layer in amphibians tend to confirm the view advocated in the text. the layer of tissue which forms the vertebral bodies rapidly increases in thickness, and very soon, at a somewhat earlier period than represented in gegenbaur's pl. xxii. fig. , a distinct membrane (kölliker's membrana elastica externa) may easily be recognized surrounding it and separating it from the adjoining tissue of the arches. gegenbaur's figure gives an excellent representation of the appearance of this layer at the period under consideration. it is formed of a homogeneous basis containing elongated concentrically arranged nuclei, and constitutes a uniform unsegmented investment for the notochord (vide pl. , fig. ). the neural and hæmal arches now either cease altogether to be united with each other by a layer of embryonic cartilage, or else the layer uniting them is so delicate that it cannot be recognized as true cartilage. they have moreover by stage p undergone a series of important changes. the tissue of the neural arches does not any longer form a continuous sheet, but is divided into ( ) a series of arches encircling the spinal cord, and ( ) a basal portion resting on the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord. there are two arches to each muscle-plate, one continuous with the basal portion of the arch-tissue and forming the true arch, which springs opposite the centre of a vertebral body, and the second not so continuous, which forms what is usually known as the intercalated piece. between every pair of true arches the two roots of a single spinal nerve pass out. the anterior root passes out in front of an intercalated piece and the posterior behind it[ ]. footnote : in the adult scyllium it is well known that the posterior root pierces the intercalated cartilage and the anterior root the true neural arch. this however does not seem to be the case in the embryo at stage p. the basal portion of the arch-tissue likewise undergoes differentiation into a vertebral part continuous with the true arch and formed of hyaline cartilage, and an intervertebral segment formed of a more fibrous tissue. the hæmal arches, like the neural arches, become divided into a layer of tissue adjoining the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord, and processes springing out from this opposite the centres of the vertebræ. these processes throughout the region of the trunk in front of the anus pass into the space between the dorsal and ventral muscles, and are to be regarded as rudiments of ribs. the tissue with which they are continuous, which is exactly equivalent to the tissue from which the neural arches originate, is not truly a part of the rib. in the tail, behind the anus and kidneys, the cardinal veins fuse to form an unpaired caudal vein below the aorta, and in this part a fresh series of processes originates on each side from the hæmal tissue adjoining the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord, and eventually, by the junction of the processes of the two sides, a canal which contains the aorta and caudal vein is formed below the notochord. these processes for a few segments coexist with small ribs (vide pl. , fig. ), a fact which shews ( ) that they cannot be regarded as modified ribs, and ( ) that the tissue from which they spring is to be viewed as a kind of general basis for all the hæmal processes which may arise, and is not specially connected with any one set of processes. while these changes (all of which are effected during stage p) are taking place in the arches, the tissue of the vertebral bodies or cartilaginous investment of the notochord, though much thicker than before, still remains as a continuous tube whose wall exhibits no segmental differentiations. it is in stage q that these differentiations first appear in the vertebral regions opposite the origin of the neural arches. the outermost part of the cartilage at these points becomes hyaline and almost undistinguishable in structure from the tissue of the arches[ ]. these patches of hyaline cartilage grow larger and cause the vertebral parts of the column to constrict the notochord, whilst the intervertebral parts remain more passive, but become composed of cells with very little intercellular substance. coincidently also with these changes, part of the layer internal to the hyaline cartilage becomes modified to form a somewhat peculiar tissue, the intercellular substance of which does not stain, and in which calcification eventually arises (pl. , fig. ). the innermost layer adjoining the notochord retains its primitive fibrous character, and is distinguishable as a separate layer through both the vertebral and the intervertebral regions. as a result of these changes a transverse section through the centre of the vertebral regions now exhibits three successive rings (vide pl. , fig. ), an external ring of hyaline cartilage invested by "the membrana elastica externa" (_m.el_), followed by a ring of calcifying cartilage, and internal to this a ring of fibrous cartilage, which adjoins the now slightly constricted notochord. a transverse section of an intervertebral region shews only a thick outer and thin inner ring of fibrous cartilage, the latter in contact with the sheath of the unconstricted notochord. footnote : a good representation of a longitudinal section at this stage is given by cartier (_zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, bd. xxv., supplement pl. iv. fig. ), who also gives a fair description of the succeeding changes of the vertebral column. the constriction of the notochord proceeds till in the centre of the vertebræ it merely forms a fibrous band. the tissue internal to the calcifying cartilage then becomes hyaline, so that there is formed in the centre of each vertebral body a ring of hyaline cartilage immediately surrounding the fibrous band which connects the two unconstricted segments of the notochord. the intervertebral tissue becomes more and more fibrous. in cartier's paper before quoted there is a figure (fig. ) which represents the appearance presented by a longitudinal section of the vertebral column at this stage. the relation of the vertebral bodies to the arches requires a short notice. the vertebral hyaline cartilage becomes almost precisely similar to the tissue of the arches, and the result is, that were it not for the "membrana elastica externa" it would be hardly possible to distinguish the limits of the two tissues. this membrane however persists till the hyaline cartilage has become a very thick layer (pl. , fig. ), but i have failed to detect it in the adult, so that i cannot there clearly distinguish the arches from the body of the vertebræ. from a comparison however of the adult with the embryo, it is clear that the arches at most form but a small part of what is usually spoken of as the body of the vertebræ. the changes in the notochord itself during the stages subsequent to k are not of great importance. the central part retains for some time its previous structure, being formed of large vacuolated cells with an occasional triangular patch of protoplasm containing the starved nucleus and invested by indurated layers of protoplasm. these indurated layers are all fused, and are probably rightly regarded by gegenbaur and götte as representing a sparse intercellular matter. the external protoplasmic layer of the notochord ceases shortly after stage k to exhibit any traces of a division into separate cells, but forms a continuous layer with irregular prominences and numerous nuclei (pl. , fig. ). in the stages subsequent to p further changes take place in the notochord: the remains of the cells become more scanty and the intercellular tissue assumes a radiating arrangement, giving to sections of the notochord the appearance of a number of lines radiating from the centre to the periphery (pl. , fig. ). the sheath of the notochord at first grows in thickness, and during stage l there is no difficulty in seeing in it the fine radial markings already noticed by müller[ ] and gegenbaur[ ], and regarded by them as indicating pores. closely investing the sheath of the notochord there is to be seen a distinct membrane, which, though as a rule closely adherent to the sheath, in some examples separates itself from it. it is perhaps the membrane identified by w. müller[ ] (though not by gegenbaur) as kölliker's "membrana elastica interna." after the formation of the cartilaginous investment of the notochord, this membrane becomes more difficult to see than in the earlier stage, though i still fancy that i have been able to detect it. the sheath of notochord also appears to me to become thinner, and its radial striation is certainly less easy to detect[ ]. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : gegenbaur makes the reserve statement with reference to the sheath of the notochord. for my own sections the statement in the text certainly holds good. fortunately the point is one of no importance. explanation of plate . complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary tract. _ao._ aorta. _c._ connective tissue. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _ha._ hæmal arch. _l._ liver. _ll._ lateral line. _mc._ mucous canal of the head. _mel._ membrana elastica externa. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ muscles of muscle-plate. _na._ neural arch. _nl._ nervus lateralis. _rp._ rib process. _sd._ segmental duct. _sh._ sheath of notochord. _spc._ spinal cord. _spg._ spinal ganglion. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _um._ ductus choledochus. _v._ blood-vessel. _var._ vertebral arch. _vb._ vertebral body. _vcau._ caudal vein. _vin._ intestinal branch of the vagus. _vop._ ramus ophthalmicus of the fifth nerve. _x._ subnotochordal rod. fig. . section through the anterior part of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_ during stage l. _c._ peculiar large cells which are found at the dorsal part of the spinal cord. sympathetic ganglion shewn at _syg._ zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . section through the lateral line at the time of its first formation. the cells marked _nl_ were not sufficiently distinct to make it quite certain that they really formed part of the lateral nerve. zeiss b, ocul. . figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four sections of the lateral line from an embryo belonging to stage l. _a_ is the most anterior. in _a_ the lateral nerve (_nl_) is seen to lie in the mesoblast at some little distance from the lateral line. in _b_ and _c_ it lies in immediate contact with and partly enclosed by the modified epiblast cells of the lateral line. in _d_, the hindermost section, the lateral line is much larger than in the other sections, but no trace is present of the lateral nerve. the sections were taken from the following slides of my series of the embryo (the series commencing at the tail end) _d_ ( ), _c_ ( ), _b_ ( ), _a_ ( ). the figures all drawn on the same scale, but _a_ is not from the same side of the body as the other sections. fig. . section through lateral line of an embryo of stage p at the point where it is acquiring an opening to the exterior. the peculiar modified cells of its innermost part deserve to be noticed. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . mucous canals of the head with branches of the ramus ophthalmicus growing towards them. stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . mucous canals of head with branches of the ramus ophthalmicus growing towards them. stage between o and p. zeiss a a, ocul. . fig. . junction of a nerve and mucous canal. stage p. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section through the muscle-plates and adjoining structures at a stage intermediate between l and m. the section is intended to shew the gradual conversion of the cells of the somatic layer of muscle-plates into muscles. fig. . longitudinal section through the notochord and adjoining parts to shew the first appearance of the cartilaginous notochordal sheath which forms the vertebral centra. stage n. fig. . transverse section through the tail of an embryo of stage p to shew the coexistence of the rib-process and hæmal arches in the first few sections behind the point where the latter appear. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . transverse section through the centre of a caudal vertebra of an embryo somewhat older than q. it shews ( ) the similarity between the arch-tissue and the hyaline tissue of the outer layer of the vertebral centrum, and ( ) the separation of the two by the membrana elastica externa[ ] (_mel_). it shews also the differentiation of three layers in the vertebral centrum: vide p. . footnote : the slight difference observable between these two tissues in the arrangement of their nuclei has been much exaggerated by the engraver. chapter viii. development of the spinal nerves and of the sympathetic nervous system. _the spinal nerves._ the development of the spinal nerves has been already treated by me at considerable length in a paper read before the royal society in december, [ ], and i have but little fresh matter to add to the facts narrated in that paper. the succeeding account, though fairly complete, is much less full than the previous one in the _philosophical transactions_, but a number of morphological considerations bearing on this subject are discussed. footnote : _phil. trans._ vol. , p. . [this edition, no. viii.] the rudiments of the posterior roots make their appearance considerably before those of the anterior roots. they arise during stage i, as outgrowths from the spinal cord, at a time when the muscle-plates do not extend beyond a third of the way up the sides of the spinal cord, and in a part where no scattered mesoblast-cells are present. they are formed first in the anterior part of the body and successively in the posterior parts, in the following way. at a point where a spinal nerve is about to arise, the cells of the dorsal part of the cord begin to proliferate, and the uniform outline of the cord becomes broken (pl. , fig. ). there is formed in this way a small prominence of cells springing from the summit of the spinal cord, and constituting a rudiment of a pair of posterior roots. in sections anterior to the point where a nerve is about to appear, the nerve-rudiments are always very distinctly formed. such a section is shewn in pl. , fig. , and the rudiments may there be seen as two club-shaped masses of cells, which have grown outwards and downwards from the extreme dorsal summit of the neural canal and in contact with its walls. the rudiments of the two sides meet at their point of origin at the dorsal median line, and are dorsally perfectly continuous with the walls of the canal. it is a remarkable fact that rudiments of posterior roots are to be seen in every section. this may be interpreted as meaning that the rudiments are in very close contact with each other, but more probably means, as i hope to shew in the sequel, that there arises from the spinal cord a continuous outgrowth from which discontinuous processes (the rudiments of posterior roots) grow out. after their first formation these rudiments grow rapidly ventralwards in close contact with the spinal cord (vide pl. , fig. , and pl. , figs. and ), but soon meet with and become partially enclosed in the mesoblastic tissue (pl. , fig. ). the similarity of the mesoblast and nerve-tissue in scyllium and pristiurus embryos hardened in picric or chromic acid, render the nerves in these genera, at the stage when they first become enveloped in mesoblast, difficult objects to observe; but no similar difficulty is encountered in the case of torpedo embryos. while the rudiments of the posterior roots are still quite short, those of the anterior roots make their first appearance. each of these (pl. , fig. , _a.r._) arises as a very small but distinct conical outgrowth from a ventral corner of the spinal cord. from the very first the rudiments of the anterior roots have an indistinct form of peripheral termination and somewhat fibrous appearance, while the protoplasm of which they are composed becomes attenuated towards its end. the points of origin of the anterior roots from the spinal cord are separated by considerable intervals. in this fact, and also in the fact of the nerves of the two sides never being united with each other in the median line, the anterior roots exhibit a marked contrast to the posterior. there are thus constituted, before the close of stage i, the rudiments of both the anterior and posterior roots of the spinal nerves. the rudiments of both of these take their origin from the involuted epiblast of the neural canal, and the two roots of each spinal nerve are at first quite unconnected with each other. it is scarcely necessary to state that the pairs of roots correspond in number with the muscle-plates. it is not my intention to enter with any detail into the subsequent changes of the rudiments whose origin has been described, but a few points especially connected with their early development are sufficiently important to call for attention. one feature of the posterior roots at their first formation is the fact that they appear as processes of a continuous outgrowth of the spinal cord. this state of affairs is not of long continuance, and before the close of stage i each posterior root has a separate junction with the spinal cord. what then becomes of the originally continuous outgrowth? it has not been possible for me to trace the fate of this step by step; but the discovery that at a slightly later period (stage k) there is present a continuous commissure independent of the spinal cord connecting the dorsal and central extremities of all the spinal nerves, renders it very probable that the original continuous outgrowth becomes converted into this commissure. like all the other nervous structures, this commissure is far more easily seen in embryos hardened in a mixture of osmic and chromic acids or osmic acid, than in those hardened in picric acid. its existence must be regarded as one of the most remarkable results of my researches upon the elasmobranch nervous system. at stage k it is fairly thick, though it becomes much thinner at a slightly later period. its condition during stage k is shewn in pl. , fig. , _com_. what it has been possible for me to make out of its eventual fate is mentioned subsequently[ ]. footnote : it is not by any means always possible to detect this commissure in transverse sections. as i have suggested, in connection with a similar commissure connecting the vagus branches, it perhaps easily falls out of the section, and is always so small that the hole left would certainly be invisible. a second feature of the earliest condition of the posterior roots is their attachment to the extreme dorsal summit of the spinal cord--a point of attachment very different from that which they eventually acquire. before the commencement of stage k this state of things has become altered; and the posterior roots spring from the spinal cord in the position normal for vertebrates. this apparent migration caused me at first great perplexity, and i do not feel quite satisfied that i have yet got completely to the bottom of its meaning. the explanation which appears to me most probable has suggested itself in the course of some observations on the development of the thin roof of the fourth ventricle. a growth of cells appears to take place in the median dorsal line of the roof of the spinal cord. this growth tends to divaricate the two lateral parts of the cord, which are originally contiguous in the dorsal line, and causes therefore the posterior roots, which at first spring from the dorsal summit, to assume an apparent attachment to the side of the cord at some little distance from the summit. if this is the true explanation of the change of position which takes place, it must be regarded as due rather to peculiar growths in the spinal cord, than to any alteration in the absolute attachment of the nerves. by stage k the rudiment of the posterior root has become greatly elongated, and exhibits a division into three distinct portions (pl. , fig. ): ( ) a proximal portion, in which is situated the pedicle of attachment to the wall of the neural canal. ( ) an enlarged portion, which may conveniently from its future fate be called the spinal ganglion. ( ) a distal portion beyond this. the proximal portion presents a fairly uniform diameter, and ends dorsally in a rounded expansion; it is attached, remarkably enough, _not by its extremity, but by its side, to the spinal cord. the dorsal extremities of the posterior roots are therefore free._ it seems almost certain that the free dorsal extremities of these roots serve as the starting points for the dorsal commissure before mentioned, which connects the roots together. the attachment of the posterior nerve-root to the spinal cord is, on account of its small size, very difficult to observe. in favourable specimens there may however be seen a distinct cellular prominence from the spinal cord, which becomes continuous with a small prominence on the lateral border of the nerve-root near its distal extremity. the proximal extremity of the rudiment is composed of cells, which, by their small size and circular form, are easily distinguished from those which form the succeeding or ganglionic portion of the nerve. this succeeding part has a swollen configuration, and is composed of large elongated cells with oval nuclei. the remainder of the rudiment forms the commencement of the true nerve. the anterior root, which, at the close of stage i, formed a small and inconspicuous prominence from the spinal cord, grows rapidly during the succeeding stages, and soon forms an elongated cellular structure with a wide attachment to the spinal cord (pl. , fig. ). at first it passes obliquely and nearly horizontally outwards, but, before reaching the muscle-plate of its side, takes a bend downwards (pl. , fig. ). i have not definitely made out when the anterior and posterior roots unite, but this may easily be seen to take place before the close of stage k (pl. , fig. ). one feature of some interest with reference to the anterior roots, is the fact that they arise not vertically below, but alternately with the dorsal roots, a condition which persists in the adult. although i have made some efforts to determine the eventual fate of the commissure uniting the dorsal roots, these have not hitherto been crowned with success. it grows thinner and thinner, becoming at the same time composed of fibrous protoplasm with imbedded nuclei (pl. , figs. and ). by stage m it is so small as to be quite indistinguishable in transverse sections; and i have failed in stage p to recognize it at all. i can only conclude that it gradually atrophies, and finally vanishes without leaving a trace. both its appearance and history are very remarkable, and deserve the careful attention of future investigators. there can be little doubt that it is some sort of remnant of an ancestral structure in the nervous system; and it would appear to indicate that the central nervous system must originally have been formed of a median and two lateral strands. at the same time i very much doubt whether it can be brought into relation with the three rows of ganglion-cells (a median and two lateral) which are so frequently present on the ventral side of annelidan nerve-cords. _my results may be summarised as follows_:--along the extreme dorsal summit of the spinal cord there arises on each side a continuous outgrowth. from each outgrowth processes corresponding in number to the muscle-plates grow downwards. these are the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots. the outgrowths, though at first attached to the spinal cord throughout their whole length, soon cease to be so, and remain in connection with it at certain points only, which form the primitive junctions of the posterior roots with the spinal cord. the original outgrowth on each side remains as a bridge, uniting together the dorsal extremities of all the posterior roots. the posterior roots, though primitively attached to the dorsal summit of the spinal cord, eventually come to arise from its sides. the original homogeneous rudiments before the close of stage k become differentiated into a root, a ganglion, and a nerve. the anterior roots, like the posterior, are outgrowths from the spinal cord, but are united independently with it, and the points from which they spring originally, remain as those by which they are permanently attached. the anterior roots arise, not vertically below, but in the intervals between the posterior roots. they are at first quite separate from the posterior roots; but before the close of stage k a junction is effected between each posterior root and the corresponding anterior root. the anterior root joins the posterior at some little distance below its ganglion. * * * * * the results here arrived at are nearly in direct opposition to those of the majority of investigators, though in accordance, at least so far as the posterior roots are concerned, with the beautiful observations of hensen 'on the development of mammalia[ ].' footnote : _zeit. f. anat. u. entwicklungsgeschichte_, vol. i. mr marshall[ ] has more recently published a paper on the development of the nerves in birds, in which he shews in a most striking manner that the observations recorded here for elasmobranchii hold good for the posterior roots of birds. the similarity between his figures and my own is very noticeable. a further discussion of the literature would be quite unprofitable, and i proceed at once to certain considerations suggested by the above observations. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. xi. april, . _general considerations._ one point of general anatomy upon which my observations throw considerable light, is the _primitive origin of nerves_. so long as it was admitted that the spinal and cerebral nerves developed in the embryo independently of the central nervous system, their mode of origin always presented to my mind considerable difficulties. it never appeared clear how it was possible for a state of things to have arisen in which the central nervous system as well as the peripheral terminations of nerves, whether motor or sensory, were formed independently of each other; while between them a third structure was developed, which, growing out either towards the centre or towards the periphery, ultimately brought the two into connection. that such a condition could be a primitive one seemed scarcely possible. still more remarkable did it appear, on the supposition that the primitive mode of formation of these parts was represented in the developmental history of vertebrates, that we should find similar structural elements in the central and in the peripheral nervous systems. the central nervous system arises from the epiblast, and yet contains precisely similar nerve-cells and nerve-fibres to the peripheral nervous system, which, when derived from the mesoblast, was necessarily supposed to have an origin completely different from that of the central nervous system. both of these difficulties are to a great extent removed by the facts of the development of these parts in elasmobranchii. it is possible to suppose that in their primitive differentiation contractile and sensory systems may, as in hydra[ ], have been developed from the protoplasm of even the same cell. as the sensory and motor systems became more complicated, the sensory portion of a cell would become separated by an increasing interval from the muscular part of a cell, and the two parts of a cell would only be connected by a long protoplasmic process. when such a condition as that was reached, the sensory portion of the cell would be called a ganglion-cell or terminal sensory organ, the connecting process a nerve, and the contractile portion of the cell a muscle-cell. when these organs were in this condition, it might not impossibly happen for the general developmental growth which tended to separate the ganglion-cell and the muscle-cell to be so rapid as to render it impossible for the growth of the connecting nerve to keep pace with it, and that thus the process connecting the ganglion-cell and the muscle-cell might become ruptured. nevertheless the tendency of the process to grow from the ganglion-cell to the muscle-cell, would remain, and when the rapid developmental growth had ceased, the two would become united again by the growth of the process which had previously been ruptured. it will be seen that this hypothesis, which i have considered only with reference to a single nerve and muscle-cell, might be extended so as to apply to a complicated central nervous system and peripheral nerves and muscles, and also could apply equally as well to the sensory as to the motor terminations of a nerve. in the case of the sensory termination, we should only have to suppose that the centre nervous cell became more and more separated by the general growth from the recipient terminal sensory cell, and that during the general growth the connection between the two was mechanically ruptured but restored again on the termination of the more rapid growth. footnote : kleinenberg hydra. as the descendants of the animal in which the rupture occurred became progressively more complicated, the two terminal cells must have become widely separated at a continually earlier period, till finally they may have been separated at a period of development when they were indistinguishable from the surrounding embryonic cells; and since the rupture would also occur at this period, the primitive junction between the nerve-centre and termination would escape detection. the object of this hypothesis is to explain the facts, so far as they are known, of the development of the nervous system in vertebrates. in vertebrates we certainly appear to have an outgrowth from the nervous system, which eventually becomes united with the muscle or sensory terminal organs. the ingenious hypothetical scheme of development of the nerves given by hensen[ ] would be far preferable to the one suggested if it could be brought into conformity with the facts. there is, however, at present no evidence for hensen's view, as he himself admits, but considering how little we know of the finer details of the development of nerves, it seems not impossible that such evidence may be eventually forthcoming. the evidence from my own observation is, so far as it goes, against it. at a time anterior to the outgrowth of the spinal nerves, i have shewn[ ] that the spinal cord is completely invested by a delicate hyaline membrane. it is difficult to believe that this is pierced by a number of fine processes, which completely escape detection, but which must, nevertheless, be present on the hypothesis of hensen. footnote : virchow's _archiv_, vol. xxxi. . footnote : _phil. trans._, . [this edition, no. viii.] the facts of the development of nerves in vertebrates are unquestionably still involved in considerable doubt. it may, i think, be considered as certain, that in elasmobranchii the roots of the spinal and cranial nerves are outgrowths of the central nervous system. how the final terminations of the nerves are formed is, however, far from being settled. götte[ ], whose account of the development of the spinal ganglia is completely in accordance with the ordinary views, yet states[ ] that the growth of the nerve fibres themselves is a centrifugal one from the ganglia. my own investigations prove that the ganglia have a centrifugal development, and also appear to demonstrate that the nerves themselves near the ganglion have a similar manner of growth. moreover, the account given in the preceding chapter of the manner in which the nerves become connected with the mucous canals of the head, goes far to prove that the whole growth of the nerves is a centrifugal one. the combination of all these converging observations tells strongly in favour of this view. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . on the other hand, calberla[ ] believes that in the tails of larval amphibians he has seen connective-tissue cells unite with nerve-processes, and become converted into nerves, but he admits that he cannot definitely prove that the axis-cylinder has not a centrifugal growth, while the connective-tissue cells merely become converted into the sheath of the nerve. if calberla's view be adopted, that the nerves are developed directly out of a chain of originally indifferent cells, each cell of the chain being converted in turn into a section of the nerve, an altogether different origin of nerves from that i have just suggested would seem to be indicated. footnote : _archiv für micros. anat._, vol. xi. . the obvious difficulty, already alluded to, of understanding how it is, according to the generally accepted mode of development of the spinal nerves, that precisely similar nerve-cells and nerves should arise in structures which have such different origins as the central nervous system and the spinal nerves, is completely removed if my statements on the development of the nerves in elasmobranch represent the truth. one point brought out in my investigations appears to me to have bearings upon the origin of the central canal of the vertebrate nervous system, and in consequence upon the origin of the vertebrate nervous system itself. this point is, that the posterior nerve-rudiments make their first appearance at the extreme dorsal summit of the spinal cord. the transverse section of the ventral nervous cord of an ordinary segmented annelid consists of two symmetrical halves placed side by side. if by a mechanical folding the two lateral halves of the nervous cord became bent towards each other, while into the groove between the two the external skin became pushed, we should have an approximation to the vertebrate nervous system. such a folding as this might take place to give extra rigidity to the body in the absence of a vertebral column. if this folding were then completed in such a way that the groove, lined by external skin and situated between the two lateral columns of the nervous system, became converted into a canal, above and below which the two columns of the nervous system united, we should have in the transformed nervous cord an organ strongly resembling the spinal cord of vertebrates. it is well known that the nerve-cells are always situated on the ventral side of the abdominal nerve-cord of annelids, either as a continuous layer, or in the form of two, or more usually, three bands. the dorsal side of the cord is composed of nerve-fibres or white matter. if the folding i have supposed were to take place in the annelid nervous cord, the grey and white matters would have very nearly the same relative situations as they have in the vertebrate spinal cord. the grey matter would be situated in the interior and line the central canal, and the white matter would nearly surround the grey. the nerves would then arise, not from the sides of the nervous cord as in existing annelids, but from its extreme ventral summit. one of the most striking features which i have brought to light with reference to the development of the posterior roots, is the fact of their growing out from the extreme dorsal summit of the neural canal, a position analogous to the ventral summit of the annelidan nervous cord. thus the posterior roots of the nerves in elasmobranchii[ ] arise, in the exact manner which might have been anticipated, were the spinal canal due to such a folding as i have suggested. footnote : there are strong reasons for regarding the posterior roots as the primitive ones. these are spoken of later, but i may state that they depend: ( ) on the fact that only _posterior_ roots exist in the brain. ( ) that only posterior roots exist in amphioxus. ( ) that the posterior roots develop at an earlier period than the anterior. the argument from the position of the outgrowth of nerves becomes the more striking from its great peculiarity, and forms a feature which would be most perplexing without some such explanation as i have proposed. the central epithelium of the neural canal, according to this view, represents the external skin, and its ciliation in certain cases may, perhaps, be explained as a remnant of the ciliation of the external skin still found amongst many of the lower annelids. i have employed the comparison of the vertebrate and annelidan nervous cords, not so much to prove a genetic relation between the two, as to shew the _à priori_ possibility of the formation of a spinal cord, and the _à posteriori_ evidence we have of the vertebrate canal having been formed in the way indicated. i have not made use of what is really my strongest argument, viz. that the embryological mode of formation of the spinal canal by a folding in of the external epiblast is the very method by which i supposed the spinal canal to have been formed in the ancestors of vertebrates. my object has been to suggest a meaning for the peculiar primitive position of the posterior roots, rather than to attempt to explain in full the origin of the spinal canal. although the homologies between the vertebrate and the annelidan nervous systems are not necessarily involved in the questions which arise with reference to the formation of the spinal canal, they have nevertheless considerable bearings on it. two views have recently been put forward on this subject. professor gegenbaur[ ] looks upon the central nervous system of vertebrates as equivalent to the superior oesophageal ganglia of annelids and arthropods only, while professors leydig[ ] and semper[ ] and dr dohrn[ ] compare it with the whole annelidan nervous system. footnote : _grundriss d. vergleichenden anat._ p. . footnote : _bau des thierischen körpers._ footnote : _stammesverwandtschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen_ and _die verwandtschaftsbeziehungen d. gegliederten thiere_. this latter work, for a copy of which i return my best thanks to the author, came into my hands after what follows was written, and i much regret only to have been able to make one or two passing allusions to it. the work is a most important contribution to the questions about to be discussed, and contains a great deal that is very suggestive; some of the conclusions with reference to the nervous system appear to me however to be directly opposed to the observations on spinal nerves above recorded. footnote : _ursprung d. wirbelthiere u. princip des functionswechsels._ the first of these two views is only possible on the supposition that vertebrates are descended from unsegmented ancestors, and even then presents considerable difficulties. if the ancestors of vertebrates were segmented animals, and several of the recent researches tend to shew that they were, they must almost certainly have possessed a nervous cord like that of existing annelids. if such were the case, it is almost inconceivable that the greater portion of the nervous system which forms the ventral cord can have become lost, and the system reduced to the superior oesophageal ganglia. dr dohrn[ ], who has speculated very profoundly on this matter, has attempted to explain and remove some of the difficulties which arise in comparing the nervous systems of vertebrates and annelids. he supposes that the segmented annelids, from which vertebrates are descended, were swimming animals. he further supposes that their alimentary canal was pierced by a number of gill-slits, and that the anterior amongst these served for the introduction of nutriment into the alimentary canal, in fact as supplementary mouths as well as for respiration. eventually the old mouth and throat atrophied, and one pair of coalesced gill-slits came to serve as the sole mouth. thus it came about that on the disappearance of that portion of the alimentary canal, which penetrated the oesophageal nervous ring, the latter structure ceased to be visible as such, and no part of the alimentary canal was any longer enclosed by a commissure of the central nervous system. with the change of mouth dr dohrn also supposes that there took place a change, which would for a swimming animal be one of no great difficulty, of the ventral for the dorsal surface. this general explanation of dr dohrn's, apart from the considerable difficulty of the fresh mouth, appears to me to be fairly satisfactory. dr dohrn has not however in my opinion satisfactorily dealt with the questions of detail which arise in connection with this comparison. one of the most important points for his theory is to settle the position where the nervous system was formerly pierced by the oesophagus. this position he fixes in the fourth ventricle, and supports his hypothesis by the thinness of the roof of the spinal canal in this place, and the absence (?) of nervous structures in it. footnote : _loc. cit._ it appears to me that this thinness cannot be used as an argument. in the first place, if the hypothesis i have suggested as to the formation of the spinal canal be accepted, the formation of the canal must be supposed to have occurred in point of time either after or before the loss of the primitive mouth. if, on the one hand, the spinal canal made its appearance before the atrophy of the primitive mouth, the folding to form it must necessarily have ceased behind the mouth; and, on the supposition of the oesophageal ring having been situated in the region of the fourth ventricle, a continuation of the spinal canal could not be present in front of this part. if, on the other hand, the cerebro-spinal canal appeared after the disappearance of the primitive mouth, its roof must necessarily also be a formation subsequent to the atrophy of the mouth, and varieties of structure in it can have no bearing upon the previous position of the mouth. but apart from speculations upon the origin of the spinal cord, there are strong arguments against dr dohrn's view about the fourth ventricle. in the first place, were the fourth ventricle to be the part of the nervous system which previously formed the oesophageal commissures, we should expect to find the opening in the nervous system at this point to be visible at an early period of development, and at a later period to cease to be so. the reverse is however the case. in early embryonic life the roof of the fourth ventricle is indistinguishable from other parts of the nervous system, and only thins out at a later period. further than this, any explanation of the thin roof of the fourth ventricle ought also to elucidate the nearly similar structure in the sinus rhomboidalis, and cannot be considered satisfactory unless it does so. the peculiarities of the cerebro-spinal canal in the region of the brain appear to me to present considerable difficulties in the way of comparing the central nervous system of vertebrates and segmented annelids. the manner in which the cerebro-spinal canal is prolonged into the optic vesicles, the cerebral and the optic lobes is certainly opposed both to an intelligible explanation of the spinal canal itself, and also to a comparison of the two nervous systems under consideration. its continuation into the cerebral hemispheres and into the optic lobes (mid-brain) may perhaps be looked upon as due to peculiar secondary growths of those two ganglia, but it is very difficult to understand its continuation into the optic vesicles. if it be granted that the spinal canal has arisen from a folding in of the external skin, then the present inner surface of the optic vesicle must also have been its original outer surface, and it follows as a necessary consequence that the present position of the rods and cones behind and not in front of the nervous structures of the retina was not the primitive one. the rods and cones arise, as is well known, from the inner surface of the outer portion of the optic vesicle, and must, according to the above view, be supposed originally to have been situated on the external surface, and have only come to occupy their present position during the folding in, which resulted in the spinal canal. on _à priori_ grounds we should certainly expect the rods and cones to have resulted from the differentiation of a layer of cells external to the conducting nervous structures. the position of the rods and cones posterior to these suggests therefore that some peculiar infolding has occurred, and may be used as an argument to prove that the medullary groove is no mere embryonic structure, but the embryonic repetition of an ancestral change. the supposition of such a change of position in the rods and cones necessarily implies that the folding in to form the spinal canal must have been a very slow one. it must have given time to the refracting media of the eye gradually to travel round, so as still to maintain their primitive position, while in successive generations a rudimentary spinal furrow carrying with it the retina became gradually converted into a canal[ ]. footnote : professor huxley informs me that he has for many years entertained somewhat similar views to those in the text about the position of the rods and cones, and has been accustomed to teach them in his lectures. if dr dohrn's comparison of the vertebrate nervous system with that of segmented annelids be accepted, the following two points must in my opinion be admitted:-- ( ) that the formation of the cerebro-spinal canal was subsequent to the loss of the old mouth. ( ) that the position of the old mouth is still unknown. the well-known view of looking at the pituitary and pineal growths as the remnants of the primitive oesophagus, has no doubt some features to recommend it. nearly conclusive against it is the fact that the pituitary involution is not, as used to be supposed, a growth towards the infundibulum of the hypoblast of the oesophagus, but of the epiblast of the mouth. it is almost inconceivable that an involution from the present mouth can have assisted in forming part of the old oesophagus. there is a view not involving the difficulty of the oesophageal ring, fresh mouth[ ], and of the change of the ventral to the dorsal surface, which, though so far unsupported by any firm basis of observed facts, nevertheless appears to me worth suggesting. it assumes that vertebrates are descended _not_ through the present line of segmented vermes, but through some other line which has now, so far as is known, completely vanished. this line must be supposed to have originated from the same _unsegmented vermes_ as the present segmented annelids. they therefore acquired fundamentally similar segmental and other annelidan organs. footnote : professor semper ("die verwandtschaftsbeziehungen d. gegliederten thiere," _arbeiten aus d. zool.-zoot. institut_, würzburg, ) has some interesting speculations on the difficult question of the vertebrate mouth, which have unfortunately come to my knowledge too late to be either fully discussed or incorporated in the text. these speculations are founded on a comparison of the condition of the mouth in turbellarians and nemertines. he comes to the conclusion that there was a primitive mouth on the cardiac side of the supra-oesophageal ganglion, which is the existing mouth of turbellarians and vertebrates and the opening of the proboscis of nemertines, but which has been replaced by a fresh mouth on the neural side in annelids and nemertines. in nemertines however the two mouths co-exist--the vertebrate mouth as the opening of the proboscis, and the annelid mouth as the opening for the alimentary tract. this ingenious hypothesis is supported by certain anatomical facts, which do not appear to me of great weight, but for which the reader must refer to the original paper. it no doubt avoids the difficulty of the present position of the vertebrate mouth, but unfortunately at the same time substitutes an equal difficulty in the origin of the annelidan mouth. this professor semper attempts to get over by an hypothesis which to my mind is not very satisfactory (p. ), which, however, and this professor semper does not appear to have noticed, _could equally well be employed to explain the origin of a vertebrate mouth as a secondary formation subsequent to the annelidan mouth_. under these circumstances this fresh hypothesis does not bring us very much nearer to a solution of the vertebrate-annelid mouth question, but merely substitutes one difficulty for another; and does not appear to me so satisfactory as the hypothesis suggested in the text. at the same time professor semper's hypothesis suggests an explanation of that curious organ the nemertine proboscis. if the order of changes suggested by him were altered it might be possible to suppose that there never was more than one mouth for all vermes, but that the proboscis in nemertines gradually split itself off from the oesophagus to which it originally belonged, and became quite free and provided with a separate opening and perhaps carried with it the so-called vagus of professors semper and leydig. the difference between the two branches of the vermes lay in the nervous system. the unsegmented ancestors of the _present_ annelids seem to have had a pair of super-oesophageal ganglia, from which two main nervous stems extended backwards, one on each side of the body. such a nervous system in fact as is possessed by existing nemertines or turbellarians[ ]. as the vermes became segmented and formed the annelids, these side nerves seem to have developed ganglia, corresponding in number with the segments, and finally, approximating on the ventral surface, to have formed the ventral cord[ ]. footnote : it is not of course to be supposed that the primitive nervous system was pierced by a proboscis like that of the nemertines. footnote : this is gegenbaur's view of the development of the ventral cord, and i regard it in the meantime as the most probable view which has been suggested. the other branch of vermes which i suppose to have been the ancestors of vertebrates started from the same stock as existing annelids, but i conceive the lateral nerve-cords, instead of approximating ventrally, to have done so dorsally, and thus a dorsal cord to have become formed analogous to the ventral cord of living annelids, only without an oesophageal nerve-ring[ ]. footnote : a dorsal instead of a ventral approximation of the lateral nerve-cords would be possible in the descendants of such living segmented vermes as saccocirrus and polygordius. it appears to me, (if the difficulties of comparing the annelidan ventral cord with the spinal cord of vertebrates are found to be insurmountable), that this hypothesis would involve far fewer improbabilities than one which supposes the whole central nervous system of vertebrates to be homologous with the super-oesophageal ganglia. the mode of formation of a nervous system presupposed in my hypothesis, well accords with what we know of the formation of the ventral cord in existing annelids. the supposition of the existence of another branch of segmented vermes is not a very great difficulty. even at the present day we have possibly more than one branch of vermes which have independently acquired segmentation. viz.: the chætopodous annelids and the hirudinea. if the latter is an isolated branch, it is especially interesting from having independently developed a series of segmental organs like those of chætopodous annelids, which we must suppose the ancestors of vertebrates also to have done if they too form an independent branch. in addition to the difficulty of imagining a fresh line of segmented vermes, there is another difficulty to my view, viz.: the fact that in almost all vermes, the blood flows forwards in the dorsal vessel, and backwards in the ventral vessel. this condition of the circulation very well suits the view of a change of the dorsal for the ventral surfaces, but is opposed to these surfaces being the same for vertebrates and vermes. i cannot however regard this point as a very serious difficulty to my view, considering how undefined is the circulation in the unsegmented groups of the vermes. _sympathetic nervous system._ between stages k and l there may be seen short branches from the spinal nerves, which take a course towards the median line of the body, and terminate in small irregular cellular masses immediately dorsal to the cardinal veins (pl. , fig. , _sy.g._). these form the first traces that have come under my notice of the sympathetic nervous system. in the youngest of my embryos in which i have detected these it has not been possible for me either definitely to determine the antero-posterior limits of the system, or to make certain whether the terminal masses of cells which form the ganglia are connected by a longitudinal commissure. in a stage slightly younger than l the ganglia are much more definite, the anterior one is situated in the cardiac region close to the end of the intestinal branch of the vagus, and the last of them quite at the posterior end of the abdominal cavity. the anterior ganglia are the largest; the commissural cord, if developed, is still very indistinct. in stage l the commissural cord becomes definite, though not very easy to see even in longitudinal sections, and the ganglia become so considerable as not to be easily overlooked. they are represented in pl. , fig. , _sy.g._ and in pl. , fig. , in the normal position immediately above the cardinal veins. the branches connecting them with the trunks of the spinal nerves may still be seen without difficulty. in later stages these branches cannot so easily be made out in sections, but the ganglia themselves continue as fairly conspicuous objects. the segmental arrangement of the ganglia is shewn in pl. , fig. , a longitudinal and vertical section of an embryo between stages l and m with the junctions of the sympathetic ganglia and spinal nerves. the ganglia occupy the intervals between the successive segments of the kidneys. the sympathetic system only came under my notice at a comparatively late period in my investigations, and the above facts do not in all points clear up its development[ ]. my observations seem to point to the sympathetic system arising as an off-shoot from the cerebrospinal system. intestinal branches would seem to be developed on the main nerve stems of this in the thoracic and abdominal regions, each of these then develops a ganglion, and the ganglia become connected by a longitudinal commissure. on this view a typical spinal nerve has the following parts: two roots, a dorsal and ventral, the dorsal one ganglionated, and three main branches, ( ) a ramus dorsalis, ( ) a ramus ventralis, and ( ) a ramus intestinalis. this scheme may be advantageously compared with that of a typical cranial nerve according to gegenbaur. it may be noted that it brings the sympathetic nervous system into accord with the other parts of the nervous system as a product of the epiblast, and derived from outgrowths from the neural axis. it is clear, however, that my investigations, though they may naturally be interpreted in this way, do not definitely exclude a completely different method of development for the sympathetic system. footnote : the formation out of the sympathetic ganglia of the so-called paired suprarenal bodies is dealt with in connection with the vascular system. the original views of leydig on these bodies are fully borne out by the facts of their development. explanation of plate . _this plate illustrates the formation of the spinal nerves._ complete list of reference letters. _ar._ anterior root of a spinal nerve. _ch._ notochord. _com._ commissure connecting the posterior roots of the spinal nerves. _i._ mesoblastic investment of spinal cord. _mp._ muscle-plate. _n._ spinal nerve. _nc._ neural canal. _pr._ posterior root of a spinal nerve. _spg._ ganglion on posterior root of spinal nerve. _v.r._ vertebral rudiment. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _y._ point where the spinal cord became segmented off from the superjacent epiblast. figs. , , and . three sections of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage i. fig. passes through the heart, fig. through the anterior part of the dorsal region, fig. through a point slightly behind this. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) in fig. there is visible a slight proliferation of cells from the dorsal summit of the neural canal. in fig. this proliferation definitely constitutes two club-shaped masses of cells (_pr_)--the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots,--both attached to the dorsal summit of the spinal cord. in fig. the rudiments of the posterior roots are of considerable length. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a torpedo embryo slightly older than stage i, with three visceral clefts. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the formation of a pair of dorsal nerve-rudiments (_pr_) and a ventral nerve-rudiment (_ar_). the latter is shewn in its youngest condition, and is not distinctly cellular. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a torpedo embryo slightly younger than stage k. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the rudiment of the ganglion (_spg_) on the posterior root has appeared, and the junction of posterior root with the cord is difficult to detect. the anterior root forms an elongated cellular structure. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a pristiurus embryo of stage k. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section especially illustrates the attachment of the posterior root to the spinal cord. fig. . section through the same embryo as fig. . (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section contains an anterior root, which takes its origin at a point opposite the interval between two posterior roots. fig. . a series of posterior roots with their central ends united by a dorsal commissure, from a longitudinal and vertical section of a scyllium embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between l and m. the embryo was hardened in a mixture of osmic and chromic acids. fig. . the central end of a posterior nerve-root from the same embryo, with the commissure springing out from it on either side. chapter ix. the development of the organs in the head. _the development of the brain._ _general history._ in stage g the brain presents a very simple constitution (pl. , fig. g), and is in fact little more than a dilated termination to the cerebro-spinal axis. its length is nearly one-third that of the whole body, being proportionately very much greater than in the adult. it is divided by very slight constrictions into three lobes, the posterior of which is considerably the largest. these are known as the fore-brain, the mid-brain, and the hind-brain. the anterior part of the brain is bent slightly downwards about an axis passing through the mid-brain. the walls of the brain, composed of several rows of elongated columnar cells, have a fairly uniform thickness, and even the roof of the hind-brain is as thick as any other part. towards the end of stage g the section of the hind-brain becomes somewhat triangular with the apex of the triangle directed downwards. in pristiurus during stage h no very important changes take place in the constitution of the brain. in scyllium, however, indications appear in the hind-brain of its future division into a cerebellum and medulla oblongata. the cavity of the anterior part dilates and becomes rounded, while that of the posterior part assumes in section an hour-glass shape, owing to an increase in the thickness of the lateral parts of the walls. at the same time the place of the original thick roof is taken by a very thin layer, which is formed not so much through a change in the character and arrangements of the cells composing the roof, as by a divarication of the two sides of the hind-brain, and the simultaneous introduction of a fresh structure in the form of a thin sheet of cells connecting dorsally the diverging lateral halves of this part of the brain. by stage i, the hind-brain in pristiurus also acquires an hour-glass shaped section, but the roof has hardly begun to thin out (pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_). during stages i and k the cranial flexure becomes more and more pronounced, and causes the mid-brain definitely to form the termination of the long axis of the embryo (pl. , figs. , , etc.), and before the close of stage k a thin coating of white matter has appeared on the exterior of the whole brain, but no other histological changes of interest have occurred. during stage l an apparent rectification of the cranial flexure commences, and is completed by stage q. the changes involved in this process may be advantageously studied by comparing the longitudinal sections of the brain during stages l, p, and q, represented in pl. , figs. _a_, and _a_. it will be seen, first of all, that so far from the flexure of the brain itself being diminished, it is increased, and in p (fig. ) the angle in the floor of the mid-brain becomes very acute indeed; in other words, the anterior part of the brain has been bent upon the posterior through nearly two right angles, and the infundibulum, or primitive front end of the brain, now points nearly directly backwards. at the same time the cerebral hemispheres have grown directly forwards, and if figures _a_ and in pl. be compared it will be seen that in the older brain of the two the cerebral hemispheres have assumed a position which might be looked on as the result of their having been pushed dorsalwards and forwards against the mid-brain, and having in the process pressed in and nearly obliterated the original thalamencephalon. the thalamencephalon in fig. _a_, belonging to stage l, is relatively large, but in fig. , belonging to stage p, it only occupies a very small space between the front wall of the mid-brain and the hind wall of the cerebral hemispheres. it is therefore in part by the change in position of the cerebral hemispheres that the angle between the trabeculæ and parachordals becomes increased, _i.e._ their flexure _diminished_, while at the same time the flexure of the brain itself is _increased_. more important perhaps in the apparent rectification of the cranial flexure than any of the previously mentioned points, is the appearance of a bend in the hind-brain which tends to correct the original cranial flexure. the gradual growth of this fresh flexure can be studied in the longitudinal sections which have been represented. it is at its maximum in stage q. this short preliminary sketch of the development of the brain as a whole will serve as an introduction to the history of the individual divisions of the brain. _fore-brain._ in its earliest condition the fore-brain forms a single vesicle without a trace of separate divisions, but buds off very early the optic vesicles, whose history is described with that of the eye (pl. , fig. , _op.v_). between stages i and k the posterior part of the fore-brain sends outwards a papilliform process towards the exterior, which forms the rudiment of the pineal gland (pl. , fig. , _pn_). immediately in front of the rudiment a constriction appears, causing a division of the fore-brain into a large anterior and a small posterior portion. this constriction is shallow at first, but towards the close of stage k becomes much deeper (pl. , fig. and fig. _a_), leaving however the two cavities of the two divisions of the fore-brain united ventrally by a somewhat wide canal. the posterior of the two divisions of the fore-brain forms the thalamencephalon. its anterior wall adjoining the cerebral rudiment becomes excessively thin (pl. , fig. ); and its base till the close of stage k is in close contact with the mouth involution, and presents but a very inconspicuous prominence which marks the eventual position of the infundibulum (pl. , figs. _a_, , _a_, _in_). the anterior and larger division of the fore-brain forms the rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres and olfactory lobes. up to stage k this rudiment remains perfectly simple, and exhibits no signs, either externally or internally, of a longitudinal constriction into two lobes. from the canal uniting the two divisions of the fore-brain (which eventually forms part of the thalamencephalon) there spring the hollow optic nerves. a slight ventral constriction separating the cerebral rudiment from that part of the brain where these are attached appears even before the close of stage k (pl. , fig. , _op.n_). during stage l the infundibulum becomes much produced, and forms a wide sack in contact with the pituitary body, and its cavity communicates with that of the third ventricle by an elongated slit-like aperture. this may be seen by comparing pl. , figs. _a_ and _c_. in fig. _c_ taken along the middle line, there is present a long opening into the infundibulum (_in_), which is shewn to be very narrow by being no longer present in fig. _a_ representing a section slightly to one side of the middle line. during the same stage the pineal gland grows into a sack-like body, springing from the roof of the thalamencephalon, fig. _b_, _pn_. this latter (the thalamencephalon) is now dorsally separated from the cerebral rudiment by a deep constriction, and also ventrally by a less well marked constriction. at its side also a deep constriction is being formed in it, immediately behind the pineal gland. the cerebral rudiment is still quite unpaired and exhibits no sign of becoming constricted into two lobes. during the next two stages the changes in the fore-brain are of no great importance, and i pass at once to stage o. the infundibulum is now nearly in the same condition as during stage l, though (as is well shewn in the figure of a longitudinal section of the next stage) it points more directly backwards than before. the remaining parts of the thalamencephalon have however undergone considerable changes. the more important of these are illustrated by a section of stage o, pl. , fig. , transverse to the long axis of the embryo, and therefore, owing to the cranial flexure, cutting the thalamencephalon longitudinally and horizontally; and for stage p in a longitudinal and vertical section through the brain (pl. , fig. ). in the first place the roof of the thalamencephalon has become very much shortened by the approximation of the cerebral rudiment to the mid-brain. the pineal sack has also become greatly elongated, and its somewhat dilated extremity is situated between the cerebral rudiment and the external skin. it opens into the hind end of the third ventricle, and its posterior wall is continuous with the front wall of the mid-brain. the sides of the thalamencephalon have become much thickened, and form distinct optic thalami (_op._) united by a very well marked posterior commissure (_pc._). the anterior wall of the thalamencephalon as well as its roof are very thin. the optic nerves have become by stage o quite solid except at their roots, into which the ventricles of the fore-brain are for a short distance prolonged. this solidification is arrived at, so far as i have determined, without the intervention of a fold. the nerves are fibrous, and a commencement of the chiasma is certainly present. from the chiasma there appears to pass out on each side a band of fibres, which runs near the outer surface of the brain to the base of the optic lobes (mid-brain), and here the fibres of the two sides again cross. by stage o important changes are perceptible in the cerebral rudiment. in the first place there has appeared a slight fold at its anterior extremity (pl. , fig. , _x_), destined to form a vertical septum dividing it into two hemispheres, and secondly, lateral outgrowths (vide pl. , fig. , _ol.l_), to form the olfactory lobes. its thin posterior wall presents on each side a fold which projects into the central cavity. from the peripheral end of each olfactory lobe a nerve similar in its histological constitution to any other cranial nerve makes its appearance (pl. , fig. ); this divides into a number of branches, one of which passes into the connective tissue between the two layers of epithelium in each schneiderian fold. on the root of this nerve there is a large development of ganglionic cells. i have not definitely observed its origin, but have no reason to doubt that it is a direct outgrowth from the olfactory lobe, exactly similar _in its mode of development_ to any other nerve of the body. the cerebral rudiment undergoes great changes during stage p. in addition to a great increase in the thickness of its walls, the fold which appeared in the last stage has grown backwards, and now divides it in front into two lobes, the rudiments of the cerebral hemispheres. the greater and posterior section is still however quite undivided, and the cavities of the lobes (lateral ventricles) though separated in front are still quite continuous behind. at the same time, the olfactory lobes, each containing a prolongation of the ventricle, have become much more pronounced (vide pl. , figs. _a_ and _c_, _ol.l_). the root of the olfactory nerve is now very thick, and the ganglion cells it contains are directly prolonged into the ganglionic portion of the olfactory bulb; in consequence of which it becomes rather difficult to fix on the exact line of demarcation between the bulb and the nerve. stage q is the latest period in which i have investigated the development of the brain. its structure is represented for this stage in general view in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, in longitudinal section in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, and in transverse section pl. , figs. _a-d_. the transverse sections are taken from a somewhat older embryo than the longitudinal. in the thalamencephalon there is no fresh point of great importance to be noticed. the pineal gland remains as before, and has become, if anything, longer than it was, and extends further forwards over the summit of the cerebrum. it is situated, as might be expected, in the connective tissue within the cranial cavity (fig. _a_, _pn_), and does not extend outside the skull, as it appears to do, according to götte's investigations, in amphibians. götte[ ] compares the pineal gland with the long persisting pore which leads into the cavity of the brain in the embryo of amphioxus, and we might add the ascidians, and calls it "ein umbildungsprodukt einer letzten verbindung des hirns mit der oberhaut." this suggestion appears to me a very good one, though no facts have come under my notice which confirm it. the sacci vasculosi are perhaps indicated at this stage in the two lateral divisions of the trilobed ventricle of the infundibulum (fig. _c_). footnote : _ent. d. unke_, p. . the lateral ventricles (fig. _a_) are now quite separated by a median partition, and a slight external constriction marks the lobes of the two hemispheres; these, however, are still united by nervous structures for the greater part of their extent. the olfactory lobes are formed of a distinct bulb and stalk (fig. _a_, _ol.l_), and contain, as before, prolongations of the lateral ventricles. the so-called optic chiasma is very distinct (fig. _b_, _op.n_), but the fibres from the optic nerves appear to me simply to cross and not to intermingle. _the mid-brain._ the mid-brain is at first fairly marked off from both the fore and hind brains, but less conspicuously from the latter than from the former. its roof becomes progressively thinner and its sides thicker up to stage p, its cavity remaining quite simple. the thinness of the roof gives it, in isolated brains of stage p, a bilobed appearance (vide pl. , fig. _b_, _mb_, in which the distinctness of this character is by no means exaggerated): during stage q it becomes really bilobed through the formation in its roof of a shallow median furrow (pl. , fig. _b_). its cavity exhibits at the same time the indication of a division into a central and two lateral parts. _the hind-brain._ the hind-brain has at first a fairly uniform structure, but by the close of stage i, the anterior part becomes distinguished from the remainder by the fact, that its roof does not become thin as does that of the posterior part. this anterior, and _at first very insignificant portion_, forms the rudiment of the cerebellum. its cavity is quite simple and is continued uninterruptedly into that of the remainder of the hind-brain. the cerebellum assumes in the course of development a greater and greater prominence, and eventually at the close of stage q overlaps both the optic lobes in front and the medulla behind (pl. , fig. _a_). it exhibits in surface-views of the hardened brain of stages p and q the appearance of a median constriction, and the portion of the ventricle contained in it is prolonged into two lateral outgrowths (pl. , figs. _c_ and _d_, _cb_). the posterior section of the hind-brain which forms the medulla undergoes changes of a somewhat complicated character. in the first place its roof becomes in front very much extended and thinned out. at the raphe, where the two lateral halves of the brain originally united, a separation, as it were, takes place, and the two sides of the brain become pushed apart, remaining united by only a very thin layer of nervous matter (pl. , fig. , _iv.v._). as a result of this peculiar growth in the brain, the roots of the nerves of the two sides which were originally in contact at the dorsal summit of the brain become carried away from one another, and appear to rise at the sides of the brain (pl. , figs. and ). other changes also take place in the walls of the brain. each lateral wall presents two projections towards the interior (pl. , fig. _a_). the ventral of these vanish, and the dorsal approximate so as nearly to divide the cavity of the hind-brain, or fourth ventricle, into a large dorsal and a small ventral channel (pl. , fig. ), and this latter becomes completely obliterated in the later stages. the dorsal pair, while approximating, also become more prominent, and stretch into the dorsal moiety of the fourth ventricle (pl. , fig. ). they are still very prominent at stage q (pl. , fig. _d_, _ft_), and correspond in position with the fasciculi teretes of human anatomy. part of the root of the seventh nerve originates from them. they project freely in front into the cavity of the fourth ventricle (pl. , fig. _a_, _ft_). by stage q restiform tracts are indistinctly marked off from the remainder of the brain, and are anteriorly continued into the cerebellum, of which they form the peduncles. near their junction with the cerebellum they form prominent bodies (pl. , fig. _a_, _rt_), which are regarded by miklucho-maclay[ ] as representing the true cerebellum. footnote : _das gehirn d. selachier_, leipzig, . by stage o the medulla presents posteriorly, projecting into its cavity, a series of lobes which correspond with the main roots (not the branches) of the vagus and glosso-pharyngeal nerves (pl. , fig. ). there appear to me to be present seven or eight projections: their number cannot however be quite certainly determined. the first of them belongs to the root of the glosso-pharyngeal, the next one is interposed between the glosso-pharyngeal and the first root of the vagus, and is without any corresponding nerve-root. the next five correspond to the five main roots of the vagus. for each projection to which a nerve pertains there is a special nucleus of nervous matter, from which the root springs. these nuclei do not stain like the remainder of the walls of the medulla, and stand out accordingly very conspicuously in stained sections. the coating of white matter which appeared at the end of stage k, on the exterior of each lateral half of the hind-brain, extends from a point just dorsal to the attachment of the nerve-roots to the ventral edge of the medulla, and is specially connected with the tissue of the upper of the two already described projections into the fourth ventricle. a rudiment of the tela vasculosa makes its appearance during stage q, and is represented by the folds in the wall of the fourth ventricle in my figure of that stage (pl. , fig. _a_, _tv_). * * * * * the development of the brain in elasmobranchii has already been worked out by professor huxley, and a brief but in many respects very complete account of it is given in his recent paper on ceratodus[ ]. he says, pp. and , "the development of the cerebral hemispheres in plagiostome fishes differs from the process by which they arise in the higher vertebrata. in a very early stage, when the first and second visceral clefts of the embryo scyllium are provided with only a few short branchial filaments, the anterior cerebral vesicle is already distinctly divided into the thalamencephalon (from which the large infundibulum proceeds below, and the small tubular peduncle of the pineal gland above, while the optic nerve leaves its sides) and a large single oval vesicle of the hemispheres. on the ventral face of the integument covering these are two oval depressions, the rudimentary olfactory sacs. footnote : _proceedings of the zoological society_, , pt. . pp. and . "as development proceeds the vesicle of the hemispheres becomes divided by the ingrowth of a median longitudinal septum, and the olfactory lobes grow out from the posterior lateral regions of each ventricle thus formed, and eventually rise on to the dorsal faces of the hemispheres, instead of, as in most vertebrata, remaining on their ventral sides. i may remark, that i cannot accept the views of miklucho-maclay, whose proposal to alter the nomenclature of the parts of the elasmobranch's brain, appears to me to be based upon a misinterpretation of the facts of development." the last sentence of the paragraph brings me to the one part on which it is necessary to say a few words, viz. the views of miklucho-maclay. his views have not received any general acceptance, but the facts narrated in the preceding pages shew, beyond a doubt, that he has 'misinterpreted' the facts of development, and that the ordinary view of the homology of the parts is the correct one. a comparison of the figures i have given of the embryo brain with similar figures of the brain of higher vertebrates shews this point conclusively. miklucho-maclay has been misled by the large size of the cerebellum, but, as we have seen, this body does not begin to be conspicuous till late in embryonic life. amongst the features of the embryonic brain of elasmobranchii, the long persisting unpaired condition of the cerebral hemisphere, upon which so much stress has already been laid by professor huxley, appears to me to be one of great importance, and may not improbably be regarded as a real ancestral feature. some observations have recently been published by professor b. g. wilder[ ] upon this point, and upon the homologies and development of the olfactory lobes. fairly good figures are given to illustrate the development of the cerebral hemispheres, but the conclusions arrived at are in part opposed to my own results. professor wilder says: "the true hemispheres are the lateral masses, more or less completely fused in the middle line, and sometimes developing at the plane of union a bundle of longitudinal commissural fibres. the hemispheres retain their typical condition as anterior protrusions of the anterior vesicle; but they lie mesiad of the olfactory lobes, _and in mustelus at least seem to be formed after them_." the italics are my own. from what has been said above, it is clear that the statement italicised, for scyllium at least, completely reverses the order of development. still more divergent from my conclusions are professor wilder's statements on the olfactory lobes. he says: "the true olfactory lobe, or rhinencephalon, seems, therefore, to embrace only the hollow base of the crus, more or less thickened, and more or less distinguishable from the main mass as a hollow process. the olfactory bulb, with the more or less elongated crus of many plagiostomes, seems to be developed independently, or in connection with the olfactory sack, as are the general nerves;" and again, "but the young and adult brains since examined shew that the ventricle (_i.e._ the ventricle of the olfactory lobe) ends as a rounded cul-de-sac before reaching the 'lobe.'" footnote : "anterior brain-mass with sharks and skates," _american journal of science and arts_, vol. xii. . the majority of the statements contained in the above quotations are not borne out by my observations. even the few preparations of which i have given figures, appear to me to prove that ( ) the olfactory lobes (crura and bulbs) are direct outgrowths from the cerebral rudiment, and develop quite independently of the olfactory sack; ( ) that the ventricle of the cerebral rudiment does not stop short at the base of the crus; ( ) that from the bulb a nerve grows out which has a centrifugal growth like other nerves of the body, and places the central olfactory lobe in communication with the peripheral olfactory sack. in some other vertebrates this nerve seems hardly to be developed, but it is easily intelligible, that if in the ordinary course of growth the olfactory sack became approximated to the olfactory lobe, the nerve which grew out from the latter to the sack might become so short as to escape detection. _organs of sense._ _the olfactory organ._ the olfactory pit is the latest formed of the three organs of special sense. it appears during a stage intermediate between _i_ and _k_, as a pair of slight thickenings of the external epiblast, in the normal vertebrate position on the under side of the fore-brain immediately in front of the mouth (pl. , figs. and , _ol_). the epiblast cells which form this thickening are very columnar, but present no special peculiarities. each thickened patch of skin soon becomes involuted as a shallow pit, which remains in this condition till the close of the stage _k_. the epithelium very early becomes raised into a series of folds (schneiderian folds). these are bilaterally symmetrical, and diverge like the barbs of a feather from a median line (pl. , fig. ). the nasal pits at the close of stage k are still separated by a considerable interval from the walls of the brain, and no rudiment of an olfactory lobe arises till a later period; but a description of the development of this as an integral part of the brain has already been given, p. . _eye._ the eye does not present in its early development any very special features of interest. the optic vesicles arise as hollow outgrowths from the base of the fore-brain (pl. , fig. , _op.v_), from which they soon become partially constricted, and form vesicles united to the base of the brain by comparatively narrow hollow stalks, the rudiments of the optic nerves. the constriction to which the stalk or optic nerve is due takes place from above and backwards, so that the optic nerves open into the base of the front part of the thalamencephalon (pl. , fig. _a_, _op.n_). after the establishment of the optic nerves, there take place the formation of the lens and the pushing in of the anterior wall of the optic vesicle towards the posterior. the lens arises in the usual vertebrate fashion. the epiblast in front of the optic vesicle becomes very much thickened, and then involuted as a shallow pit, which eventually deepens and narrows. the walls of the pit are soon constricted off as a nearly spherical mass of cells enclosing a very small central cavity, in some cases indeed so small as to be barely recognizable (pl. , fig. , _l_). the pushing in of the anterior wall of the optic vesicle towards the posterior takes place in quite the normal manner; but, as has been already noticed by götte[ ] and others, is not a simple mechanical result of the formation of the lens, as is shewn by the fact that the vesicle assumes a flattened form even before the appearance of the lens. the whole exterior of the optic cup becomes invested by mesoblast, but _no mesoblastic cells grow in between the lens and the adjoining wall of the optic cup_. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ round the exterior of the lens, and around the exterior and interior of the optic cup, there appear membrane-like structures, similar to those already described round the spinal cord and other organs. these membrane-like structures appear with a varying distinctness, but at the close of stage _k_ stand out with such remarkable clearness as to leave no doubt that they are not artificial products (pl. , fig. _a_)[ ]. they form the rudiments of the hyaloid membrane and lens capsule. similar, though less well marked membranes, may often be seen lining the central cavity of the lens and the space between the two walls of the optic cup. the optic cup is at first very shallow, but owing to the rapid growth of the free edge of its walls soon becomes fairly deep. the growth extends to the whole circumference of the walls except the point of entrance of the optic nerve (pl. , fig. _a_), where no growth takes place; here accordingly a gap is left in the walls which forms the well-known choroid slit. while this double walled cup is increasing in size, the wall lining the cavity of the cup becomes thick, and the outer wall very thin (fig. _a_). no further differentiations arise before the close of stage k. footnote : the engraver has not been very successful in rendering these membranes. the lens is carried outwards with the growth of the optic cup, leaving the cavity of the cup quite empty. it also grows in size, and its central cavity becomes larger. still later its anterior wall becomes very thin, and its posterior wall thick, and doubly convex (fig. _a_). its changes, however, so exactly correspond to those already known in other vertebrates, that a detailed description of them would be superfluous. _no mesoblast passes into the optic cup round its edge_, but a process of mesoblast, accompanied by a blood-vessel, passes into the space between the lens and the wall of the optic cup through the choroid slit (fig. _a_, _ch_). this process of tissue is very easily seen, and swells out on entering the optic cup into a mushroom-like expansion. it forms the processus falciformis, and from it is derived the vitreous humour. about the development of the parts of the eye, subsequently to stage _k_, i shall not say much. the iris appears during stage o, as an ingrowing fold of both layers of the optic cup with a layer of mesoblast on its outer surface, which tends to close over the front of the lens. both the epiblast layers comprising the iris are somewhat atrophied, and the outer one is strongly pigmented. at stage o the mesoblast first also grows in between the external skin and the lens to form the rudiment of the mesoblastic structures of the eye in front of the lens. the layer, when first formed, is of a great tenuity. the points in my observations, to which i attach the greatest importance, are the formation of the lens capsule and the hyaloid membrane; with the development of these may be treated also that of the vitreous humour and rudimentary _processus falciformis_. the development of these parts in elasmobranchii has recently been dealt with by dr bergmeister[ ], and his observations with reference to the vitreous humour and processus falciformis, the discovery of which in embryo elasmobranchii is due to him, are very complete. i cannot, however, accept his view that the hyaloid membrane is a mesoblastic product. through the choroid slit there grows, as has been said, a process of mesoblast, the processus falciformis, which on entering the optic cup dilates, and therefore appears mushroom-shaped in section. at the earliest stage (k) a blood-vessel appeared in connection with it, but no vascular structure came under my notice in the later stages. the structure of this process during stage p is shewn in pl. , fig. , _p.fal._; it is there seen to be composed of mesoblast-cells with fibrous prolongations. the cells, as has been noticed by bergmeister, form a special border round its dilated extremity. this process is formed much earlier than the vitreous humour, which is first seen in stage o. in hardened specimens this latter appears either as a gelatinous mass with a meshwork of fibres or (as shewn in pl. , fig. ) with elongated fibres proceeding from the end of the processus falciformis. these fibres are probably a product of the hardening reagent, but perhaps represent some preformed structure in the vitreous humour. i have failed to detect in it any cellular elements. it is more or less firmly attached to the hyaloid membrane. footnote : "embryologie d. coloboms," _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, bd. lxxi. . on each side of the processus falciformis in stage p a slight fold of the optic cup is to be seen, but folds so large as those represented by bergmeister have never come under my notice, though this may be due to my not having cut sections of such late embryos as he has. the hyaloid membrane appears long before the vitreous humour as a delicate basement membrane round the inner surface of the optic cup (pl. , fig. _a_), which is perfectly continuous with a similar membrane round the outer surface. in the course of development the hyaloid membrane becomes thicker than the membrane outside the optic cup, with which however it remains continuous. this is very clear in my sections of stage m. by stage o the membrane outside the cup has ceased to be distinguishable, but the hyaloid membrane may nevertheless be traced to the very edge of the cup round the developing iris; but does not unite with the lens capsule. it can also be traced quite to the junction of the two layers of the optic cup at the side of the choroid slit (pl. , fig. , _hy.m_). when the vitreous humour becomes artificially separated from the retina, the hyaloid membrane sometimes remains attached to the former, but at other times retains in preference its attachment to the retina. my observations do not throw any light upon the junction of the hyaloid membrane and lens capsule to form the suspensory ligament, nor have i ever seen (as described by bergmeister) the hyaloid membrane extending across the free end of the processus falciformis and separating the latter from the vitreous humour. this however probably appears at a period subsequent to the latest one investigated by me. the lens capsule arises at about the same period as the hyaloid membrane, and is a product of the cells of the lens. it can be very distinctly seen in all the stages subsequent to its first formation. the proof of its being a product of the epiblastic lens, and not of the mesoblast, lies mainly in the fact of there being no mesoblast at hand to give rise to it at the time of its formation, vide pl. , fig. _a_. if the above observations are correct, it is clear that the hyaloid membrane and lens capsule are respectively products of the retina and lens; so that it becomes necessary to go back to the older views of kölliker and others in preference to the more modern ones of lieberkühn and arnold. it would take me too far from my subject to discuss the arguments used by the later investigators to maintain their view that the hyaloid membrane and lens capsule are mesoblastic products; but it will suffice to say that the continuity of the hyaloid membrane over the pecten in birds is no conclusive argument against its retinal origin, considering the great amount of apparently independent growth which membranes, when once formed, are capable of exhibiting. bergmeister's and my own observations on the vitreous humour clearly prove that this is derived from an ingrowth through the choroid slit. on the other hand, the researches of lieberkühn and arnold on the mammalian eye appear to demonstrate that a layer of mesoblast becomes in mammalia involuted with the lens, and from this the vitreous humour (including the _membrana capsulo-pupillaris_) is said to be in part formed. lieberkühn states that in birds the vitreous humour is formed in a similar fashion. i cannot, however, accept his results on this point. it appears, therefore, that, so far as is known, all groups of vertebrata, with the exception of mammalia, conform to the elasmobranch type. the differences between the types of mammalia and remaining vertebrata are, however, not so great as might at first sight appear. they are merely dependent on slight differences in the manner in which the mesoblast enters the optic cup. in the one case it grows in round one specialized part of the edge of the cup, _i.e._ the choroid slit; in the other, round the whole edge, including the choroid slit. perhaps the mode of formation of the vitreous humour in mammalia may be correlated with the early closing of the choroid slit. _auditory organ._ with reference to the development of the organ of hearing i have very little to say. opposite the interval between the seventh and the glosso-pharyngeal nerves the external epiblast becomes thickened, and eventually involuted as a vesicle which remains however in communication with the exterior by a narrow duct. towards the close of stage k the auditory sack presents three protuberances--one pointing forwards, a second backwards, and a third outwards. these are respectively the rudiments of the anterior and posterior vertical and external horizontal semicircular canals. these rudiments are easily visible from the exterior (pl. , fig. ). * * * * * as has been already pointed out, the epiblast of elasmobranchii during the early periods of development exhibits no division into an epidermic and a nervous layer, and in accordance with its primitive undifferentiated condition, those portions of the organs of sense which are at this time directly derived from the external integument are formed indiscriminately from the whole, and not from an inner or so-called nervous part of it only. in the amphibians the auditory sack and lens are derived from the nervous division of the epiblast only, while the same division of the layer plays the major part in forming the olfactory organ. it is also stated that in birds and mammals the part of the epiblast corresponding to the nervous layer is alone concerned in the formation of the lens, though this does not appear to be the case with the olfactory or auditory organs in these groups of vertebrates. _mouth involution and pituitary body._ the development of the mouth involution and the pituitary body is closely related to that of the brain, and may conveniently be dealt with here. the epiblast in the angle formed by the cranial flexure becomes involuted as a hollow process situated in close proximity to the base of the brain. this hollow process is the mouth involution, and it is bordered on its posterior surface by the front wall of the alimentary tract, and on its anterior by the base of the fore-brain. the uppermost end of this does not till near the close of stage k become markedly constricted off from the remainder, but is nevertheless the rudiment of the pituitary body. pl. , figs. _a_ and , _m_ shew in a most conclusive manner the correctness of the above account, and demonstrate that it is from the mouth involution, and not, as has usually been stated, from the alimentary canal, that the pituitary body is derived. this fact was mentioned in my preliminary account of elasmobranch development[ ]; and has also been shewn to be the case in amphibians by götte[ ]; and in birds by mihalkowics[ ]. the fact is of considerable importance with reference to speculations as to the meaning of this body. footnote : _quarterly journal of microscopic science_, oct. . footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte der unke._ götte was the first to draw attention to this fact. his observations were then shewn to hold true for elasmobranchii by myself, and subsequently for birds by mihalkowics. footnote : _arch. f. micr. anat._ vol. xi. plate , fig. represents a transverse section through the head during a stage between i and k; but, owing to the cranial flexure, it cuts the fore part of the head longitudinally and horizontally, and passes through both the fore-brain (_fb_) and the hind-brain (_iv.v._). close to the base of the fore-brain are seen the mouth (_m_), and the pituitary involution from this (_pt._). in contact with the pituitary involution is the blind anterior termination of the throat, which a little way back opens to the exterior by the first visceral cleft (i. _v.c._). this figure alone suffices to demonstrate the correctness of the above account of the pituitary body; but the truth of this is still further confirmed by other figures on the same plate (figs. _a_ and , _m_); in which the mouth involution is in contact with, but still separated from, the front end of the alimentary tract. by the close of stage k, the septum between the mouth and throat becomes pierced, and the two are placed in communication. this condition is shewn in pl. , fig. _a_, and pl. , figs. _a_, _c_, _pt_ in these figures the pituitary involution has become very partially constricted off from the mouth involution, though still in direct communication with it. in later stages the pituitary involution becomes longer and dilated terminally, while the passage connecting it with the mouth becomes narrower and narrower, and is finally reduced to a solid cord, which in its turn disappears. the remaining vesicle then becomes divided into lobes, and connects itself closely with the infundibulum (pl. , figs. and _pt_). the later stages for elasmobranchii are fully described by w. müller in his important memoir on the comparative anatomy and development of this organ[ ]. footnote : w. müller, "ueber entwicklung and bau d. hypophysis u. d. processus infundibuli cerebri," _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. vi. _development of the cranial nerves._ the present section deals with the whole development (so far as i have succeeded in elucidating it) of the cranial nerves (excluding the optic and olfactory nerves and the nerves of the eye-muscles) from their first appearance to their attainment of the adult condition. my description commences with the first development of the nerves, to this succeeds a short description of the nerves in the adult scyllium, and the section is completed by an account of the gradual steps by which the adult condition is attained. _early development of the cranial nerves._--before the close of stage h the more important of the cranial nerves make their appearance. the fifth and the seventh are the first to be formed. the fifth arises by stage g (pl. , fig. , v), near the anterior end of the hind-brain, as _an outgrowth from the extreme dorsal summit of the brain, in identically the same way as the dorsal root of a spinal nerve_. the roots of the two sides sprout out from the summit of the brain, in contact with each other, and grow ventralwards, one on each side of the brain, in close contact with its walls. i have failed to detect more than one root for the two embryonic branches of the fifth (ophthalmic and mandibular), _and no trace of an anterior or ventral root has been met with in any of my sections_. the seventh nerve is formed nearly simultaneously with or shortly after the fifth, and some little distance behind and independently of it, opposite the anterior end of the thickening of the epiblast to form the auditory involution. it arises precisely like the fifth, from the extreme dorsal summit of the neural axis (pl. , fig. _a_, vii). so far as i have been able to determine, the auditory nerve and the seventh proper possess only a single root common to the two. there is no anterior root for the seventh any more than for the fifth. behind the auditory involution, at a stage subsequent to that in which the fifth and seventh nerves appear, there arise a series of roots from the dorsal summit of the hind-brain, which form the rudiments of the glosso-pharyngeal and vagus nerves. these roots are formed towards the close of stage h, but are still quite short at the beginning of stage i. their manner of development resembles that of the previously described cranial nerves. the central ends of the roots of the opposite sides are at first in contact with each other, and there is nothing to distinguish the roots of the glosso-pharyngeal and of the vagus nerves from the dorsal roots of spinal nerves. like the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves, they appear as a series of ventral prolongations of a continuous outgrowth from the brain, which outgrowth is moreover continuous with that for the spinal nerves[ ]. the outgrowth of the vagus and glosso-pharyngeal nerves is not continuous with that of the seventh nerve. this is shewn by pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_. the outgrowth of the seventh nerve though present in _a_ is completely absent in _b_ which represents a section just behind _a_. footnote : in the presence of this continuous outgrowth of the brain from which spring the separate nerve stems of the vagus, may perhaps be found a reconciliation of the apparently conflicting statements of götte and myself with reference to the vagus nerve. götte regards the vagus as a single nerve, from its originating as an undivided rudiment; but it is clear from my researches that, for elasmobranchii at least, this method of arguing will not hold good, since it would lead to the conclusion that all the spinal nerves were branches of one single nerve, since they too spring as processes from a continuous outgrowth from the brain! thus, by the end of stage i, there have appeared the rudiments of the th, th, th, th and th cranial nerves, all of which spring from the hind-brain. these nerves all develop precisely as do the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, and it is a remarkable fact _that hitherto i have failed to find a trace in the brain of a root of any cranial nerve arising from the ventral corner of the brain as do the anterior roots of the spinal nerves_[ ]. footnote : the conclusion here arrived at with reference to the anterior roots, is opposed to the observations of both gegenbaur on hexanchus, _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi., and of jackson and clarke on echinorhinus, _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. these morphologists identify certain roots springing from the medulla below and behind the main roots of the vagus as true anterior roots of this nerve. the existence of these roots is not open to question, but without asserting that it is impossible for me to have failed to detect such roots had they been present in the embryo, i think i may maintain if these anterior roots are not present in the embryo, their identification as vagus roots must be abandoned; and they must be regarded as belonging to spinal nerves. this point is more fully spoken of at p. . it is admittedly difficult to prove a negative, and it may still turn out that there are anterior roots of the brain similar to those of the spinal cord; in the mean time, however, the balance of evidence is in favour of there being none such. this at first sight appears a somewhat startling conclusion, but a little consideration shews that it is not seriously opposed to the facts which we know. in the first place it has been shewn by myself[ ] that in amphioxus (whose vertebrate nature i cannot doubt) only dorsal nerve-roots are present. yet the nerves of amphioxus are clearly mixed motor and sensory nerves, and it appears to me far more probable that amphioxus represents a phase of development in which the nerves had not acquired two roots, rather than one in which the anterior root has been lost. in other words, the condition of the nerves in amphioxus appears to me to point to the conclusion _that primitively the cranio-spinal nerves of vertebrates were nerves of mixed function with one root only, and that root a dorsal one; and that the present anterior or ventral root is a secondary acquisition_. this conclusion is further supported by the fact that the posterior roots develop in point of time before the anterior roots. if it be admitted that the vertebrate nerves primitively had only a single root, then the retention of that condition in the brain implies that this became differentiated from the remainder of the nervous system at a very early period before the acquirement of anterior nerve-roots, and that these eventually become developed only in the case of spinal nerves, and not in the case of the already highly modified cranial nerves. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. [this edition, no. ix.] * * * * * _subsequent changes of the nerves._ to simplify my description of the subsequent growth of the cranial nerves, i have inserted a short description of their distribution in the adult. this is taken from a dissection of scyllium stellare, which like other species has some individualities of its own not found in the other elasmobranchii. for points not touched on in this description i must refer the reader to the more detailed accounts of my predecessors, amongst whom may specially be mentioned stannius[ ] for carcharias, spinax, raja, chimæra, &c.; gegenbaur[ ] for hexanchus; jackson and clarke[ ] for echinorhinus. footnote : _nervensystem d. fische_, rostock, . footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. the ordinary nomenclature has been employed for the branches of the fifth and seventh nerves, though embryological data to be adduced in the sequel throw serious doubts upon it. since i am without observations on the origin of the nerves to the muscles of the eyes, all account of these is omitted. the fifth nerve arises from the brain by three roots[ ]: ( ) an anterior more or less ventral root; ( ) a root slightly behind, but close to the former[ ], formed by the coalescence of two distinct strands, one arising from a dorsal part of the medulla, and a second and larger from the ventral; ( ) a dorsal and posterior root, in its origin quite distinct and well separated from the other two, and situated slightly behind the dorsal strand of the second root. this root a little way from its attachment becomes enclosed for a short distance in the same sheath as the dorsal part of the second root, and a slight mixture of fibres seems to occur, but the majority of its fibres have no connection with those of the second root. the first and second roots of the fifth appear to me partially to unite, but before their junction the ramus ophthalmicus profundus is given off from the first of them. footnote : my results with reference to these roots accord exactly, so far as they go, with the more carefully worked out conclusions of stannius, _loc. cit._ pp. and . footnote : the root of the seventh nerve cannot properly be distinguished from this root. the fifth nerve, according to the usual nomenclature, has three main divisions. the first of these is the ophthalmic. it is formed by the coalescence of two entirely independent branches of the fifth, which unite on leaving the orbit. the dorsalmost of these, or ramus ophthalmicus superficialis, originates from the third and posterior of the roots of the fifth, nearly the whole of which appears to enter into its formation. this root is situated on the dorsal part of the "lobi trigemini," _at a point posterior to that of the other roots of the fifth or even of the seventh nerve_. the branch itself enters the orbit by a separate foramen, and, keeping on the dorsal side of it, reenters the cartilage at its anterior wall, and is there joined by the _ramus ophthalmicus profundus_. this latter nerve arises from the anterior root of the fifth, separately pierces the wall of the orbit, and takes a course slightly ventral to the superior ophthalmic nerve, but does not (as is usual with elasmobranchii) run below the superior rectus and superior oblique muscles of the eye. the nerve formed by the coalescence of the superficial and deep ophthalmic branches courses a short way below the surface, and supplies the mucous canals of the front of the snout. it is a purely sensory nerve. strong grounds will be adduced in the sequel for regarding the _ramus ophthalmicus superficialis_, though not the _ophthalmicus profundus_, as in reality a branch of the seventh, and not of the fifth nerve. the second division of the fifth nerve is the superior maxillary, which appears to me to arise from both the first and second roots of the fifth, though mainly from the first. it divides once into two main branches. the first of these--the buccal nerve of stannius--after passing forwards along the base of the orbit takes its course obliquely across the palatine arch and behind and below the nasal sack, supplying by the way numerous mucous canals, and dividing at last into two branches, one of these passing directly forwards on the ventral surface of the snout, and the second keeping along the front border of the mouth. the second division of the superior maxillary nerve (superior maxillary of stannius), after giving off a small branch, which passes backwards in company with a branch from the inferior maxillary nerve to the levator maxillæ superioris, itself keeps close to the buccal nerve, and eventually divides into numerous fine twigs to the mucous canals of the skin at the posterior region of the upper jaw. it anastomoses with the buccal nerve. the inferior maxillary nerve arises mainly from the second root of the fifth. after sending a small branch to the levator maxillæ superioris, it passes outwards along the line separating the musculus adductor mandibulæ from the musculus levator labii superioris, and after giving branches to these muscles takes a course forward along the border of the lower jaw. it appears to be a mixed motor and sensory nerve. the seventh or facial nerve arises by a root close to, but behind and below the second root of the fifth, and is intimately fused with this. it divides almost at once into a small anterior branch and large posterior. the anterior branch is the palatine nerve. it gives off at first one or two very small twigs, which pursue a course towards the spiracle, and probably represent the spiracular nerves of other elasmobranchii. immediately after giving off these branches it divides into two stems, a posterior smaller and an anterior larger one. the former eventually takes a course which tends towards the angle of the jaw, and is distributed to the mucous membrane of the roof of the mouth, while the larger one bends forwards and supplies the mucous membrane at the edge of the upper jaw. the main stem of the seventh, after giving off a branch to the dorsal section of the musculus constrictor superficialis, passes outwards to the junction of the upper and lower jaws, where it divides into two branches, an anterior superficial branch, which runs immediately below the skin on the surface of the lower jaw, and a second branch, which takes a deep course along the posterior border of the lower jaw, between it and the hyoid, and sends a series of branches backwards to the ventral section of the musculus constrictor superficialis. the main stem of the facial is mixed motor and sensory. i have not noticed a dorsal branch, similar to that described by jackson and clarke. the auditory nerve arises immediately behind the seventh, but requires no special notice here. a short way behind the auditory is situated the root of the glossopharyngeal nerve. this nerve takes an oblique course backwards through the skull, and gives off in its passage a very small dorsal branch, which passes upwards and backwards through the cartilage towards the roof of the skull. at the point where the main stem leaves the cartilage it divides into two branches, an anterior smaller branch to the hinder border of the hyoid arch, and a posterior and larger one to anterior border of the first branchial arch. it forks, in fact, over the first visceral cleft. the vagus arises by a great number of distinct strands from the sides of the medulla. in the example dissected there were twelve in all. the anterior three of these were the largest; the middle one having the most ventral origin. the next four were very small and in pairs, and were separated by a considerable interval from the next four, also very small, and these again by a marked interval from the hindermost strand. the common stem formed by the junction of these gives off immediately on leaving the skull a branch which forks on the second branchial cleft; a second for the third cleft is next given off; the main stem then divides into a dorsal branch--the lateral nerve--and a ventral one--the branchio-intestinal nerve--which, after giving off the branches for the two last branchial clefts, supplies the heart and intestinal tract. the lateral nerve passes back towards the posterior end of the body, internal to the lateral line, and between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral muscles. it gives off at its origin a fine nerve, which has a course nearly parallel to its own. the main stem of the vagus, at a short distance from its central end, receives a nerve which springs from the ventral side of the medulla, on about a level with the most posterior of the true roots of the vagus. this small nerve corresponds with the ventral or anterior roots of the vagus described by gegenbaur, jackson, and clarke (though in the species investigated by the latter authors these roots did not join the vagus, but the anterior spinal nerves). similar roots are also mentioned by stannius, who found two of them in the elasmobranchii dissected by him; it is possible that a second may be present in scyllium, but have been overlooked by me, or perhaps may have been exceptionally absent in the example dissected. _the fifth nerve._ the thinning of the roof of the brain, in the manner already described, produces a great change in the apparent position of the roots of all the nerves. the central ends of the rudiments of the two sides are, as has been mentioned, at first in contact dorsally but, when by the growth of the roof of the brain its two lateral halves become pushed apart, the nerves also shift their position and become widely separated. the roots of the fifth nerve are so influenced by these changes that they spring from the brain about half way up its sides, and a little ventral to the border of its thin roof. while this change has been taking place in the point of attachment of the fifth nerve, it has not remained in other respects in a stationary condition. during stage h it already exhibits two distinct branches known as the mandibular and ophthalmic. these branches first lie outside a section of the body-cavity which exists in the front part of the head. the ophthalmic branch of the fifth being situated near the anterior end of this, and the mandibular near the posterior end. in stage i the body-cavity in this part becomes divided into two parts one behind the other, the posterior being situated in the mandibular arch. the bifurcation of the nerve then takes place over the summit of the posterior of the two divisions of the body-cavity, pl. , figs. _b_, v, and , v, &c., and at first both branches keep close to the sides of this. the anterior or ophthalmic branch of the fifth soon leaves the walls of the cavity just spoken of and tends towards the eye, and there comes in close contact with the most anterior section of the body-cavity which exists in the head. these relations it retains unchanged till the close of stage k. between stages i and k it may easily be seen from the surface; but, before the close of stage k, the increased density of the tissues renders it invisible in the living embryo. the posterior branch of the fifth extends downwards into the mandibular arch in close contact with the posterior and outer wall of the body space already alluded to. at first no branches from it can be seen, but i have detected by the close of stage k, by an examination of the living embryo, a branch springing from it a short way from its central extremity, and passing forwards, pl. , fig. , v this branch i take to be the rudiment of the superior maxillary division of the fifth nerve. it is shewn in section, pl. , fig. _a_, v. in the stages after k the anatomy of the nerves becomes increasingly difficult to follow, and accordingly i must plead indulgence for the imperfections in my observations on all the nerves subsequently to this date. in the fifth i find up to stage o a single ophthalmic branch (pl. , fig. _b_, v._op.th._), which passes forwards slightly dorsal to the eye and parallel and ventral to a branch of the seventh, which will be described when i come to that nerve. i have been _unable_ to observe that this branch divides into a ramus superficialis and ramus profundus, and subsequently to stage o i have no observations on it. by stage o the fifth may be observed to have two very distinct roots, and a large ganglionic mass is developed close to their junction (gasserian ganglion), pl. , fig. _a_. but in addition to this ganglionic enlargement, all of the branches have special ganglia of their own, pl. , fig. _b_. _summary._ the fifth nerve has almost from the beginning two branches, the ophthalmic (probably the inferior ophthalmic of the adult) and the inferior maxillary. the superior maxillary nerve arises later than the other two as a branch from the inferior, originating comparatively far from its root. there is at first but a single root for the whole nerve, which subsequently becomes divided into two. ganglionic swellings are developed on the common stem and main branches of the nerve. a general view of the nerve is shewn in the diagram in pl. , fig. . * * * * * _seventh and auditory nerves._ there appears in my earliest sections a single large rudiment in the position of the seventh and auditory nerves; but in longitudinal sections of an embryo somewhat older than stage i, in which the auditory organ forms a fairly deep pit, still widely open to the exterior, there are to be seen immediately in front of the ear the rudiments of two nerves, which come into contact where they join the brain and have their roots still closely connected at the end of stage k (pl. , figs. and _a_ and _b_). the anterior of these pursues a straight course to the hyoid arch (pl. , fig. , vii), the second of the two (pl. , fig. , _au.n._), which is clearly the rudiment of the auditory nerve, develops a ganglionic enlargement and, turning backward, closely hugs the ventral wall of the auditory involution. the observation just recorded appears to lead to the following conclusions with reference to the development of the auditory nerve. a single rudiment arises from the brain for the auditory and seventh nerves. this rudiment subsequently becomes split into two parts, an anterior to form the seventh nerve, and a posterior to form the auditory nerve. the ganglionic part of the auditory nerve is derived from the primitive outgrowths from the brain, and not from the auditory involution. i do not feel perfectly confident that an independent origin of the auditory nerve might not have escaped my notice; but, admitting the correctness of the view which attributes to the seventh and auditory a common origin, it follows that the auditory nerve primitively arose in connection with the seventh, of which it may either, as gegenbaur believes, be a distinct part--the ramus dorsalis--or else may possibly have formed part of a commissure, homologous with that uniting the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves, connecting the seventh with the glossopharyngeal nerve. in either case it must be supposed secondarily to have become separate and independent in consequence of the development of the organ of hearing. my sections of embryos of stage k and the subsequent stages do not bring to light many new facts with reference to the auditory nerve: they demonstrate however that its ganglionic part increases greatly in size, and in stage o there is a distinct root for the auditory nerve in contact with that for the seventh. the history of the seventh nerve in its later stages presents points of great interest. near the close of stage k there may be observed, in the living embryos and in sections, two branches of the seventh in addition to the original trunk to the hyoid arch, both arising from its anterior side; one passes straight forwards close to the external skin, but is at first only traceable a short way in front of the fifth, and a second passes downwards into the mandibular arch in such a fashion, that the seventh nerve forks over the hyomandibular cleft (vide pl. , fig. , vii.; _a_, vii.). my sections shew both these branches with great clearness. a third branch has also come under my notice, whose course leads me to suppose that it supplies the roof of the palate. in the later stages my attention has been specially directed to the very remarkable anterior branch of the seventh. this may, in stages l to o, be traced passing on a level with the root of the fifth nerve above the eye, and apparently terminating in branches to the skin in front of the eye (pl. , figs. , vii.; _a_, vii,_a_). it courses close beneath the skin (though this does not appear in the sections represented on account of their obliqueness), and runs parallel and dorsal to the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve, and may easily be seen in this position in longitudinal sections belonging to stage o; but its changes after this stage have hitherto baffled me, and its final fate is therefore, to a certain extent, a matter of speculation. the two other branches of the seventh, viz., the hyoid or main branch and mandibular branch, retain their primitive arrangement till the close of stage o. the fate of the remarkable anterior branch of the seventh nerve is one of the most interesting points which has started up in the course of my investigations on the development of the cranial nerves, and it is a matter of very great regret to me that i have not been able to clear up for certain its later history. its primitive distribution leads to the supposition that it becomes the nerve known in the adult as the _ramus ophthalmicus superficialis of the fifth nerve_, and this is the view which i admit myself to be inclined to adopt. there are several points in the anatomy of this nerve in the adult which tell in favour of accepting this view with reference to it. in the first place, the ramus ophthalmicus superficialis rises from the brain (vide description above, p. ), quite independently of the ramus ophthalmicus profundus, and not in very close connection with the other branches of the fifth, and also considerably behind these, quite as far back indeed as the ventral root of the seventh. there is therefore nothing in the position of its root opposed to its being regarded as a branch of the seventh nerve. secondly, its distribution, which might at first sight be regarded as peculiar, presents no very strange features if it is looked on as a ramus dorsalis of the seventh, whose apparent anterior instead of dorsal course is due to the cranial flexure. if, however, the distribution of the ramus ophthalmicus superficialis is used as an argument against my view, a satisfactory reply is to be found in the fact that a branch of the seventh nerve certainly has the distribution in question _in the embryo_, and that there is no reason why it should not retain it _in the adult_. finally, the junction of the two rami ophthalmici, most remarkable if they are branches of a single nerve, would present nothing astonishing when they are regarded as branches of two separate nerves. if this view be adopted, certain modifications of the more generally accepted views of the morphology of the cranial nerves will be necessitated; but this subject is treated of at the end of this section. some doubt hangs over the fate of the other branches of the seventh nerve, but their destination is not so obscure as that of the anterior branch. the branch to the roof of the mouth can be at once identified as the 'palatine nerve', and it only remains to speak of the mandibular branch. it may be noticed first of all with reference to this branch, that the seventh behaves precisely like the less modified succeeding cranial nerves. it forks in fact over a visceral cleft (the hyomandibular) the two sides of which it supplies; the branch at the anterior side of the cleft is the later developed and smaller of the two. there cannot be much doubt that the mandibular branch must be identified with the spiracular nerve (præ-spiracular branch jackson and clarke) of the adult, and if the chorda tympani of mammals is correctly regarded as the mandibular branch of the seventh nerve, then the spiracular nerve must represent it. jackson and clarke[ ] take a different view of the homology of the chorda tympani, and regard it as equivalent to the ramus mandibularis internus (one of the two branches into which the seventh eventually divides), because this nerve takes its course over the ligament connecting the mandible with the hyoid. this view i cannot accept so long as it is admitted that the chorda tympani is the branch of a cranial nerve supplying the anterior side of a cleft. the ramus mandibularis internus, instead of forming with the main branch of the seventh a fork over the spiracle, passes to its destination completely behind and below the spiracle, and therefore fails to fulfil the conditions requisite for regarding it as a branch to the anterior wall of a visceral cleft. it is indeed clear that the ramus mandibularis internus cannot be identified with the embryonic mandibular branch of the seventh (which passes above the spiracle or hyomandibular cleft) when there is present in the adult another nerve (the spiracular nerve), which exactly corresponds in distribution with the embryonic nerve in question. my view accords precisely with that already expressed by gegenbaur in his masterly paper on the nerves of hexanchus, in which he distinctly states that he looks upon the spiracular nerve as the homologue of an anterior branchial branch of a division of the vagus. in the adult the spiracular nerve is sometimes represented by one or two branches of the palatine, _e.g._ scyllium, but at other times arises independently from the main stem of the seventh[ ]. the only difficulty in my identification of the embryonic mandibular branch with the adult spiracular nerve, is the extremely small size of the latter in the adult, compared with the size of mandibular in the embryo; but it is hardly surprising to find an atrophy of the spiracular nerve accompanying an atrophy of the spiracle itself. the palatine appears to me to have been rightly regarded by jackson and clarke as the great superficial petrosal of mammals. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : hexanchus, gegenbaur, _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. on the common root of the branches of the seventh nerve, as well as on its hyoid branch, ganglionic enlargements are present at an early period of development. _the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves._ behind the ear there are formed a series of five nerves which pass down to respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fifth visceral arches. for each arch there is thus one nerve, whose course lies close to the posterior margin of the preceding cleft, a second anterior branch being developed later. these nerves are connected with the brain (as i have determined by transverse sections) by roots at first attached to the dorsal summit, but eventually situated about half-way down the sides (pl. , fig. ) nearly opposite the level of the process which divides the ventricle of the hind-brain into a dorsal and a ventral moiety. the foremost of these nerves is the glossopharyngeal. the next four are, as has been shewn by gegenbaur[ ], equivalent to four independent nerves, but form, together with the glossopharyngeal, a compound nerve, which we may briefly call the vagus. footnote : _loc. cit._ this compound nerve by stage k attains a very complicated structure, and presents several remarkable and unexpected features. since it has not been possible for me completely to elucidate the origin of all its various parts, it will conduce to clearness if i give an account of its structure during stage k or l, and then return to what facts i can mention with reference to its development. its structure during these stages is represented on the diagram, pl. , fig. . there are present five branches, viz. the glossopharyngeal and four branches of the vagus, arising probably by a considerably greater number of strands from the brain[ ]. all the strands from the brain are united together by a thin commissure, _vg.com._, continuous with the commissure of the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, and from this commissure the five branches are continued obliquely ventralwards and backwards, and each of them dilates into a ganglionic swelling. they all become again united together by a second thick commissure, which is continued backwards as the intestinal branch of the vagus nerve _vg.in._ the nerves, however, are continued ventralwards each to its respective arch. from the hinder part of the intestinal nerve springs the lateral nerve _n.l._, at a point whose relations to the branches of the vagus i have not certainly determined. footnote : in the diagram there are only five strands represented. this is due to the fact that i have not certainly made out their true number. the whole nerve-complex formed by the glossopharyngeal and the vagus nerves cannot of course be shewn in any single section. the various roots are shewn in pl. , fig. . the dorsal commissure is represented in longitudinal section in pl. , fig. _b_, _com._, and in transverse section in pl. , fig. , _vg.com_ the lower commissure continued as the intestinal nerve is shewn in pl. , fig. _a_, _vg._, and as seen in the living embryo in pl. , figs. and . the ganglia are seen in pl. , fig. , _vg_. the junction of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves is shewn in pl. , fig. . my observations have not taught me much with reference to the origin of the two commissures, viz. the dorsal one and the one which forms the intestinal branch of the vagus. very possibly they originate as a single commissure which becomes longitudinally segmented. it deserves to be noticed that the dorsal commissure has a long stretch, from the last branch of the vagus to the first spinal nerve, during which it is not connected with the root of any nerve; vide fig. _b_, _com_. this space probably contained originally the now lost branches of the vagus. in many transverse sections where the dorsal commissure might certainly be expected to be present it cannot be seen, but this is perhaps due to its easily falling out of the sections. i have not been able to prove that the commissure is continued forwards into the auditory nerve. the relation of the branches of the vagus and glossopharyngeal to the branchial clefts requires no special remark. it is fundamentally the same in the embryo as in the adult. the branches at the posterior side of the clefts are the first to appear, those at the anterior side of the clefts being formed subsequently to stage k. one of the most interesting points with reference to the vagus is the number of separate strands from the brain which unite to form it. the questions connected with these have been worked out in a masterly manner, both from an anatomical and a theoretical standpoint, by professor gegenbaur[ ]. it has not been possible for me to determine the exact number of these in my embryos, nor have i been able to shew whether they are as numerous at the earliest appearance of the vagus as at a later embryonic period. the strands are connected (pl. , fig. ) with separate ganglionic centres in the brain, though in several instances more than one strand is connected with a single centre. in an embryo between stage o and p more than a dozen strands are present. in an adult scyllium i counted twelve separate strands, but their number has been shewn by gegenbaur to be very variable. it is possible that they are remnants of the roots of the numerous primary branches of the vagus which have now vanished; and this perhaps is the explanation of their variability, since in the case of all organs which are on the way to disappear variability is a precursor of disappearance. footnote : _loc. cit._ a second interesting point is the presence of the two connecting commissures spoken of above. it was not till comparatively late in my investigations that i detected the dorsal one. this has clearly the same characters as the dorsal commissure already described as connecting the roots of all the spinal nerves, and is indeed a direct prolongation of this. it becomes gradually thinner and thinner, and finally ceases to be observable by about the close of stage l. it is of importance as shewing the similarity of the branches of the vagus to the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves. the ventral of the two commissures persists in the adult as the common stem from which all the branches of the vagus successively originate, and is itself continued backwards as the intestinal branch of the vagus. the glossopharyngeal nerve alone becomes eventually separated from the succeeding branches. stannius and gegenbaur have, as was mentioned above, detected in adult elasmobranchii roots which join the vagus, and which resemble the anterior or ventral roots of spinal nerves; and i have myself described one such root in the adult scyllium. i have searched for these in my embryos, but without obtaining conclusive results. in the earliest stages i can find no trace of them, but i have detected in stage l one anterior root on debatable border-land, which may conceivably be the root in question, but which i should naturally have put down for the root of a spinal nerve. are the roots in question to be regarded as proper roots of the vagus, or as ventral roots of spinal nerves whose dorsal roots have been lost? the latter view appears to me the most probable one, partly from the embryological evidence furnished by my researches, which is clearly opposed to the existence of anterior roots in the brain, and partly from the condition of these roots in echinorhinus, in which they join the succeeding spinal nerves and not the vagus[ ]. the similar relations of the apparently homologous branch or branches in many osseous fish may also be used as an argument for my view. footnote : vide jackson and clarke, _loc. cit._ the authors take a different view to that here advocated, and regard the ventral roots described by them as having originally belonged to the vagus. if, as seems probable, the roots in question become the hypoglossal nerve, this nerve must be regarded as formed from the anterior roots of one or more spinal nerves. without embryological evidence it does not however seem possible to decide whether the hypoglossal nerve contains elements only of anterior roots or of both anterior and posterior roots. _mesoblast of the head._ _body-cavity and myotomes of the head._--during stage f the appearance of a cavity on each side in the mesoblast of the head was described. (vide pl. , figs. _b_ and , _pp_.) these cavities end in front opposite the blind anterior extremity of the alimentary canal; behind they are continuous with the general body-cavity. i propose calling them the _head-cavities_. the cavities of the two sides have no communication with each other. coincidently with the formation of an outgrowth from the throat to form the first visceral cleft, the head-cavity on each side becomes divided into a section in front of the cleft and a section behind the cleft (vide pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_, _pp._); and during stage h it becomes, owing to the formation of a second cleft, divided into three sections: ( ) a section in front of the first or hyomandibular cleft; ( ) a section in the hyoid arch between the hyomandibular cleft and the hyobranchial or first branchial cleft; ( ) a section behind the first branchial cleft. the section in front of the hyomandibular cleft stands in a peculiar relation to the two branches of the fifth nerve. the ophthalmic branch of the fifth lies close to the outer side of its anterior part, the mandibular branch close to the outer side of its posterior part. during stage i this front section of the head-cavity grows forward, and becomes divided, without the intervention of a visceral cleft, into an anterior and posterior division. the anterior lies close to the eye, and in front of the commencing mouth involution, and is connected with the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve. the posterior part lies completely within the mandibular arch, and is closely connected with the mandibular division of the fifth nerve. as the rudiments of the successive visceral clefts are formed, the posterior part of the head-cavity becomes divided into successive sections, there being one section for each arch. thus the whole head-cavity becomes on each side divided into ( ) a premandibular section; ( ) a mandibular section; ( ) a hyoid section; ( ) sections in the branchial arches. the first of these divisions forms a space of a considerable size, with epithelial walls of somewhat short columnar cells. it is situated close to the eye, and presents a rounded or sometimes triangular figure in sections (pl. , figs. , _b_ and _b_, _pp._). the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve passes close to its superior and outer wall. between stages i and k the anterior cavities of the two sides are prolonged ventralwards and meet below the base of the fore-brain (pl. , fig. , _pp._). the connection between the two cavities appears to last for a considerable time, and still persists at the close of stage l. the anterior or premandibular pair of cavities are the only parts of the body-cavity within the head which unite ventrally. in the trunk, however, the primitively independent lateral halves of the body-cavity always unite in this way. the section of the head-cavity just described is so similar to the remaining posterior sections that it must be considered as equivalent to them. the next division of the head-cavity, which from its position may be called the mandibular cavity, presents during the stages i and k a spatulate shape. it forms a flattened cavity, dilated dorsally, and produced ventrally into a long thin process parallel to the hyomandibular gill-cleft, pl. , fig. _pp._ and fig. , _b_ and _a_, _pp_. like the previous space it is lined by a short columnar epithelium. the fifth nerve, as has already been mentioned, bifurcates over its dorsal summit, and the mandibular branch of that nerve passes down on its posterior and outer side. the mandibular aortic arch is situated close to its inner side, pl. , fig. . towards the close of this period the upper part of the cavity atrophies. its lower part also becomes much narrowed, but its walls of columnar cells persist and lie close to one another. the outer or somatic wall becomes very thin indeed, the splanchnic wall, on the other hand, thickens and forms a layer of several rows of elongated cells. this thicker wall is on its inner side separated from the surrounding tissue by a small space lined by a membrane-like structure. in each of the remaining arches there is a segment of the original body-cavity fundamentally similar to that in the mandibular arch. a dorsal dilated portion appears, however, to be present in the third or hyoid section alone, and even there disappears by the close of stage k. the cavities in the posterior parts of the head become much reduced like those in its anterior part, though at rather a later period. their walls however persist, and become more columnar. in pl. , fig. _b_, _pp._, is represented the cavity in the last arch but one, at a period when the cavity in the mandibular arch has become greatly reduced. it occupies the same position on the outer side of the aortic trunk of its arch as does the cavity in the mandibular arch (pl. , fig. , _pp_). in torpedo embryos the head-cavity is much smaller, and atrophies earlier than in the embryos of pristiurus and scyllium. it has been shewn that, with the exception of the most anterior, the divisions of the body-cavity in the head become atrophied, _not so however their walls_. the cells forming these become elongated, and by stage n become distinctly developed into muscles. their exact history i have not followed in its details, but they almost unquestionably become the musculus constrictor superficialis and musculus interbranchialis[ ]; and probably also musculus levator mandibuli and other muscles of the front part of the head. footnote : vide vetter, "die kiemen und kiefermusculatur d. fische." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. the most anterior cavity close to the eye remains unaltered much longer than the remaining cavities, and its two halves are still in communication at the close of stage l. i have not yet succeeded in tracing the subsequent fate of its walls, _but think it probable that they develop into the muscles of the eye_. the morphological importance of the sections of the body-cavity in the head cannot be over-estimated, and the fact that the walls become developed into the muscular system of the head renders it almost certain _that we must regard them as equivalent to the muscle-plates of the body, which originally contain, equally with those of the head, sections of the body-cavity_. if this determination is correct, there can be no doubt that they ought to serve as valuable guides to the number of segments which have coalesced to form the head. this point is, however, discussed in a subsequent section. _general mesoblast of the head._--in stage g no mesoblast is present in the head, except that which forms the walls of the head-cavity. during stage h a few cells of undifferentiated connective tissue appear around the stalk of the optic vesicle, and in the space between the front end of the alimentary tract and the base of the brain in the angle of the cranial flexure. they are probably budded off from the walls of the head-cavities. their number rapidly increases, and they soon form an investment surrounding all the organs of the head, and arrange themselves as a layer, between the walls of the roof of the fore and mid-brain and the external skin. at the close of stage k they are still undifferentiated and embryonic, each consisting of a large nucleus surrounded by a very delicate layer of protoplasm produced into numerous thread-like processes. they form a regular meshwork, the spaces of which are filled up by an intercellular fluid. i have not worked out the development of the cranial and visceral skeleton; but this has been made the subject of an investigation by mr parker, who is more competent to deal with it than any other living anatomist. his results were in part made known in his lectures before the royal college of surgeons[ ], and will be published in full in the _transactions of the zoological society_. footnote : a report of the lectures appeared in _nature_. all my efforts have hitherto failed to demonstrate any segmentation in the mesoblast of the head, other than that indicated by the sections of the body-cavity before-mentioned; but since these, as above stated, must be regarded as equivalent to muscle-plates, any further segmentation of mesoblast could not be anticipated. to this statement the posterior part of the head forms an apparent exception. not far behind the auditory involution there are visible at the end of period k a few longitudinal muscles, forming about three or four muscle-plates, the ventral part of which is wanting. i have not the means of deciding whether they properly belong to the head, or may not really be a part of the trunk system of muscles which has, to a certain extent, overlapped the back part of the head, but am inclined to accept the latter view. these cranial muscle-plates are shewn in pl. , fig. _b_, and in pl. , fig. . _notochord in the head._ the notochord during stage g is situated for its whole length close under the brain, and terminates opposite the base of the mid-brain. as the cranial flexure becomes greater and mesoblast is collected in the angle formed by this, the termination of the notochord recedes from the base of the brain, but remains in close contact with the front end of the alimentary canal. at the same time its terminal part becomes very much thinner than the remainder, ends in a point, and exhibits signs of a retrogressive metamorphosis. it also becomes bent upon itself in a ventral direction through an angle of °; vide pl. , figs. _a_ and _a_. in some cases this curvature is even more marked than is represented in these figures. the bending of the end of the notochord is not directly caused by the cranial flexure, as is proved by the fact that the end of the notochord becomes bent through a far greater angle than does the brain. during the stages subsequent to k the ventral flexure of the notochord disappears, and its terminal part acquires by stage o a distinct dorsal curvature. _hypoblast of the head._ the only feature of the alimentary tract in the head which presents any special interest is the formation of the gill-slits and of the thyroid body. in the present section the development of the former alone is dealt with; the latter body will be treated in the section devoted to the general development of the alimentary tract. the gill-slits arise as outgrowths of the lining of the throat towards the external skin. in the gill-slits of torpedo i have observed a very slight ingrowth of the external skin towards the hypoblastic outgrowth in one single case. in all other cases observed by me, the outgrowth from the throat meets the passive external skin, coalesces with it, and then, by the dissolution of the wall separating the lumen of the throat from the exterior, a free communication from the throat outwards is effected; vide pl. , figs. _a_ and _b_, and _b_. thus it happens that the walls lining the clefts are entirely formed of hypoblast. the clefts are formed successively[ ], the anterior appearing first, and it is not till after the rudiments of three have appeared, that any of them become open to the exterior. footnote : vide plate . in stage k, four if not five are open to the exterior, and the rudiments of six, the full number, have appeared[ ]. towards the close of stage k there arise, from the walls of the nd, rd and th clefts, very small knob-like processes, the rudiments of the external gills. these outgrowths are formed both by the lining of the gill-cleft and by the adjoining mesoblast[ ]. footnote : the description of stage k and l, pp. and , is a little inaccurate with reference to the number of the visceral clefts, though the number visible in the hardened embryos is correctly described. footnote : vide on the development of the gills, schenk, _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, vol. lxxi, . from the mode of development of the gill-clefts, it appears that their walls are lined externally by hypoblast, and therefore that the external gills are processes of the walls of the alimentary tract, _i.e._ are covered by an hypoblastic, and not an epiblastic layer. it should be remembered, however, that after the gill-slits become open, the point where the hypoblast joins the epiblast ceases to be determinable, so that some doubt hangs over the above statement. the identification of the layer to which the gills belong is not without interest. if the external gills have an epiblastic origin, they may be reasonably regarded[ ] as homologous with the external gills of annelids; but, if derived from the hypoblast, this view becomes, to say the least, very much less probable. footnote : vide dohrn, _ursprung d. wirbelthiere_. _segmentation of the head._ the nature of the vertebrate head and its relation to the trunk forms some of the oldest questions of philosophical morphology. the answers of the older anatomists to these questions are of a contradictory character, but within the last few years it has been more or less generally accepted that the head is, in part at least, merely a modified portion of the trunk, and composed, like that, of a series of homodynamous segments[ ]. while the researches of huxley, parker, gegenbaur, götte, and other anatomists, have demonstrated in an approximately conclusive manner that the head is composed of a series of segments, great divergence of opinion still exists both as to the number of these segments, and as to the modifications which they have undergone, especially in the anterior part of the head. the questions involved are amongst the most difficult in the whole range of morphology, and the investigations recorded in the preceding pages do not, i am very well aware, go far towards definitely solving them. at the same time my observations on the nerves and on the head-cavities appear to me to throw a somewhat new light upon these questions, and it has therefore appeared to me worth while shortly to state the results to which a consideration of these organs points. there are three sets of organs, whose development has been worked out, each of which presents more or less markedly a segmental arrangement:--( ) the cranial nerves; ( ) the visceral clefts; ( ) the divisions of the head-cavity. footnote : semper, in his most recent work, maintains, if i understand him rightly, that the head is in no sense a modified part of the trunk, but admits that it is segmented in a similar fashion to the trunk. the first and second of these have often been employed in the solution of the present problem, while the third, so far as is known, exists only in the embryos of elasmobranchii. the development of the cranial nerves has recently been studied with great care by dr götte, and his investigations have led him to adopt very definite views on the segments of head. the arrangement of the cranial nerves _in the adult_ has frequently been used in morphological investigations about the skull, but there are to my mind strong grounds against regarding it as affording a safe basis for speculation. the most important of these depends on the fact that nerves are liable to the greatest modification on any changes taking place in the organs they supply. on this account it is a matter of great difficulty, amounting in many cases to actual impossibility, to determine the morphological significance of the different nerve-branches, or the nature of the fusions and separations which have taken place at the roots of the nerves. it is, in fact, only in those parts of the head which have, relatively speaking, undergone but slight modifications, and which require no special elucidation from the nerves, that these sufficiently retain in the adult their primitive form to serve as trustworthy morphological guides. i propose to examine separately the light thrown on the segmentation of the head by the development of ( ) the nerves, ( ) the visceral clefts, ( ) the head-cavities; and then to compare the three sets of results so obtained. the post-auditory nerves present no difficulties; they are all organized in the same fashion, and, as was first pointed out by gegenbaur, form five separate nerves, each indicating a segment. a comparison of the post-auditory nerves of scyllium and other typical elasmobranchii with those of hexanchus and heptanchus proves, however, that other segments were originally present behind those now found in the more typical forms. and the presence in scyllium of numerous (twelve) strands from the brain to form the vagus, as well as the fact that a large section of the commissure connecting the vagus roots with the posterior roots of the spinal nerves is not connected with the brain, appear to me to shew that all traces of the lost nerves have not yet vanished. passing forwards from the post-auditory nerves, we come to the seventh and auditory nerves. the embryological evidence brought forward in this paper is against regarding these nerves as representing two segments. although it must be granted that my evidence is not conclusive against an independent formation of these two nerves, yet it certainly tells in favour of their originating from a common rudiment, and marshall's results on the origin of the two nerves in birds (published in the _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. xi. part ) support, i have reason to believe, the same conclusion. even were it eventually to be proved that the auditory nerve originated independently of the seventh, the general relations of this nerve, embryological and otherwise, are such that, provisionally at least, it could not be regarded as belonging to the same category as the facial or glossopharyngeal nerves, and it has therefore no place in a discussion on the segmentation of the head. the seventh nerve of the embryo (pl. , fig. , vii) is formed by the junction of three conspicuous branches, ( ) an anterior dorsal branch which takes a more or less horizontal course above the eye (vii. _a_); ( ) a main branch to the hyoid arch (vii. _hy_); ( ) a smaller branch to the posterior edge of the mandibular arch (vii. _mn_). the first of these branches can clearly be nothing else but the typical "ramus dorsalis," of which however the auditory may perhaps be a specialized part. the fact that this branch pursues an anterior and not a directly dorsal course is probably to be explained as a consequence of the cranial flexure. the two other branches of the seventh nerve are the same as those present in all the posterior nerves, viz. the branches to the two sides of a branchial cleft, in the present instance the spiracle; the seventh nerve being clearly the nerve of the hyoid arch. the fifth nerve presents in the arrangement of its branches a similarity to the seventh nerve so striking that it cannot be overlooked. this similarity is at once obvious from an inspection of the diagram of the nerves on pl. , fig. , v, or from an examination of the sections representing these nerves (pl. , figs. and ). it divides like the seventh nerve into three main branches: ( ) an anterior and dorsal branch (_r._ ophthalmicus profundus), whose course lies parallel to but ventral to that of the dorsal branch of the seventh nerve; ( ) a main branch to the mandibular arch (_r._ maxillæ inferioris); and ( ) an anterior branch to the palatine arcade (_r._ maxillæ superioris). i was at first inclined to regard the anterior branch of the fifth (ophthalmic) as representing a separate nerve, and was supported in this view by its relation to the most anterior of the head-cavities; but the unexpected discovery of an exactly _similar branch_ in the seventh nerve has induced me to modify this view, and i am now constrained to view the fifth as a single nerve, whose branches exactly correspond with those of the seventh. the anterior branch of the fifth is, like the corresponding branch of the seventh, the _ramus dorsalis_, and the two other branches are the equivalent of the branches of the seventh, which fork over the spiracle, though in the case of the fifth nerve no distinct cleft is present unless we regard the mouth as such. embryology thus appears to teach us that the fifth nerve is a single nerve supplying the mandibular arch, and not, as has been usually thought, a complex nerve resulting from the coalescence of two or three distinct nerves. my observations do not embrace the origin or history of the third, fourth, and sixth nerves, but it is hardly possible to help suspecting that in these we have the nerve of one or more segments in front of that supplied by the fifth nerve; a view which well accords with the most recent morphological speculations of professor huxley[ ]. footnote : preliminary note upon the brain and skull of amphioxus, _proc. of the royal society_, vol. xxii. from this enumeration of the nerves the optic nerve is excluded for obvious reasons, and although it has been shewn above that the olfactory nerve develops like the other nerves as an outgrowth from the brain, yet its very late appearance and peculiar relations are, at least for the present, to my mind sufficient grounds for excluding it from the category of segmental cranial nerves. the nerves then give us indications of seven cranial segments, or, if the nerves to the eye-muscles be included, of _at the least_ eight segments, but to these must be added a number of segments now lost, but which once existed behind the last of those at present remaining. the branchial clefts have been regarded as guides to segmentation by gegenbaur, huxley, semper, etc., and this view cannot i think be controverted. in scyllium there are six clefts which give indications of seven segments, viz., the segments of the mandibular arch, hyoid arch, and of the five branchial arches. if, following the views of dr dohrn[ ], we regard the mouth as representing a cleft, we shall have seven clefts and eight segments; and it is possible, as pointed out in dr dohrn's very suggestive pamphlet, that remnants of a still greater number of præoral clefts may still be in existence. whatever may be the value of these speculations, such forms as hexanchus and heptanchus and amphioxus make it all but certain that the ancestors of vertebrates had a number of clefts behind those now developed. footnote : _ursprung d. wirbelthiere._ the last group of organs to be dealt with for our present question is that of the head-cavities. the walls of the spaces formed by the cephalic prolongations of the body-cavity develop into muscles and resemble the muscle-plates of the trunk, and with these they must be identified, as has been already stated. as equivalent to the muscle-plates, they clearly are capable of serving as very valuable guides for determining the segmentation of the head. there are then a pair of these in front of the mandibular arch, a pair in the mandibular arch, and a pair in each succeeding arch. in all there are eight pairs of these cavities representing eight segments, the first of them præoral. as was mentioned above, each of the sections of the head-cavity (except perhaps the first) stands in a definite relation to the nerve and artery of the arch in which it is situated. the comparative results of these three independent methods of determining the segmentation of the head are in the subjoined table represented in a form in which they can be compared:-- _table of the cephalic segments as determined by the nerves, visceral arches, and head-cavities._ +----------+---------------------+------------------+----------------+ | segments | nerves | visceral arches | head-cavities | | | | | or cranial | | | | | muscle-plates | |----------+---------------------+------------------+----------------+ |præoral | rd and th and | (?) | st head cavity | | |? th nerves (perhaps| |(in my figures | | |representing more | | _pp._) | | |than one segment) | | | | | | | | |postoral | th nerve |mandibular | nd head-cavity | | | | |(in my figures | | | | | _pp._) | | | | | | | ---- | th nerve |hyoid | rd head-cavity | | | | | | | ---- |glossopharyngeal | st branchial arch| th head-cavity | | |nerve | | | | | | | | | ---- | st branch of vagus | nd branchial arch| th head-cavity | | | | | | | ---- | nd branch of vagus | rd branchial arch| th head-cavity | | | | | | | ---- | rd branch of vagus | th branchial arch| th head-cavity | | | | | | | ---- | th branch of vagus | th branchial arch| th head-cavity | +----------+---------------------+------------------+----------------+ in the above table the first column denotes the segments of the head as indicated by a comparison of the three sets of organs employed. the second column denotes the segments as obtained by an examination of the nerves; the third column is for the visceral arches (which lead to the same results as, but are more convenient for our table than, the visceral clefts), and the fourth column is for the head-cavities. it may be noticed that from the second segment backwards the three sets of organs lead to the same results. the head-cavities indicate one segment in front of the mouth, and now that the ophthalmic branch of the fifth has been dethroned from its position as a separate nerve, the eye-nerves, or one of them, may probably be regarded as belonging to this segment. if the suggestion made above (p. ), that the walls of the first cavity become the eye-muscles, be correct, the eye-nerves would perhaps after all be the most suitable nerves to regard as belonging to the segment of the first head-cavity. explanation of plates , , . plate . (the head during stages g--k.) complete list of reference letters. _aa_, _aa_, etc. st, d, etc. aortic arch. _acv._ anterior cardinal vein. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ aorta. _au._ thickening of epiblast to form the auditory pit. _aun._ auditory nerve. _aup._ auditory pit. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _b._ wall of brain. _bb._ base of brain. _cb._ cerebellum. _cer._ cerebrum. _ch._ choroid slit. _ch._ notochord. _com._ commissure connecting roots of vagus nerve. , , etc. _eg._ external gills. _ep._ external epiblast. _fb._ fore-brain. _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve. _hb._ hind-brain. _ht._ heart. _hy._ hyaloid membrane. _in._ infundibulum. _l._ lens. _m._ mouth involution. _m._ mesoblast at the base of the brain. _mb._ mid-brain. _mn._ v. mandibular branch of fifth. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. _opn._ optic nerve. _opv._ optic vesicle. _opth_v. ophthalmic branch of fifth. _p._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _pn._ pineal gland. , etc. _pp._ first, second, etc. section of body-cavity in the head. _pt._ pituitary body. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _spc._ spinal cord. _th._ thyroid body. _v._ blood-vessel. iv._v._ fourth ventricle. v. fifth nerve. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vg._ vagus. vii. seventh or facial nerve. fig. . head of a pristiurus embryo of stage k viewed as a transparent object. the points which deserve special attention are: ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head (_pp_): the first or premandibular section being situated close to the eye, the second in the mandibular arch. above this one the fifth nerve bifurcates. the third at the summit of the hyoid arch. the cranial nerves and the general appearance of the brain are well shewn in the figure. the notochord cannot be traced in the living embryo so far forward as it is represented. it has been inserted according to the position which it is seen to occupy in sections. fig. . head of an embryo of scyllium canicula somewhat later than stage k, viewed as a transparent object. the figure shews the condition of the brain; the branches of the fifth and seventh nerves (v. vii.); the rudiments of the semicircular canals; and the commencing appearance of the external gills as buds on both walls of nd, rd, and th clefts. the external gills have not appeared on the first cleft or spiracle. fig. . section through the head of a pristiurus embryo during stage g. it shews ( ) the fifth nerve (v.) arising as an outgrowth from the dorsal summit of the brain. ( ) the optic vesicles not yet constricted off from the fore-brain. figs. _a_ and _b_. two sections through the head of a pristiurus embryo of stage i. they shew ( ) the appearance of the seventh nerve. ( ) the portion of the body-cavity belonging to the first and second visceral arches. ( ) the commencing thickening of epiblast to form the auditory involution. in _b_, the posterior of the two sections, no trace of an auditory nerve is to be seen. figs. _a_ and _b_. two sections through the head of a torpedo embryo with visceral clefts. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ shews the formation of the thin roof of the fourth ventricle by a divarication of the two lateral halves of the brain. both sections shew the commencing formation of the thyroid body (_th_) at the base of the mandibular arch. they also illustrate the formation of the visceral clefts by an outgrowth from the alimentary tract without any corresponding ingrowth of the external epiblast. fig. . section through the hind-brain of a somewhat older torpedo embryo. zeiss a, ocul. . the section shews ( ) the attachment of a branch of the vagus to the walls of the hind-brain. ( ) the peculiar form of the hind-brain. fig. . transverse section through the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k, passing through both the fore-brain and the hind-brain. zeiss a, ocul. . the section illustrates ( ) the formation of the pituitary body (_pt_) from the mouth involution (_m_), and proves that, although the wall of the throat (_al_) is in contact with the mouth involution, there is by this stage no communication between the two. ( ) the eye. ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head ( _pp_, _pp_). ( ) the fifth nerve (v.) and the seventh nerve (vii). fig. . transverse section through the brain of a rather older embryo than fig. . it shews the ventral junction of the anterior sections of the body-cavity in the head ( _pp_). figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal sections through the brain of a pristiurus embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is taken through the median line, but is reconstructed from two sections. it shews ( ) the divisions of the brain--the cerebrum and thalamencephalon in the fore-brain; the mid-brain; the commencing cerebellum in the hind-brain. ( ) the relation of the mouth involution to the infundibulum. ( ) the termination of the notochord. _b_ is a section to one side of the same brain. it shews ( ) the divisions of the brain. ( ) the point of outgrowth of the optic nerves (_opn_). ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head and the bifurcation of the optic nerve over the second of these. fig. . longitudinal section through the head of a pristiurus embryo somewhat younger than fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . it shews the relation of the nerves and the junction of the fifth, seventh, and auditory nerves with the brain. fig. . longitudinal section through the fore-brain of a pristiurus embryo of stage k, slightly to one side of the middle line. it shews the deep constriction separating the thalamencephalon from the cerebral hemispheres. fig. . longitudinal section through the base of the brain of an embryo of a stage intermediate between i and k. it shews ( ) the condition of the end of the notochord; ( ) the relation of the mouth involution to the infundibulum. fig. _a_. longitudinal and horizontal section through part of the head of a pristiurus embryo rather older than k. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure contains the eye cut through in the plane of the choroid slit. thus the optic nerve (_opn_) and choroid slit (_ch_) are both exhibited. through the latter is seen passing mesoblast accompanied by a blood-vessel (_v_). _op_ represents part of the optic vesicle to one side of the choroid slit. no mesoblast can be seen passing round the outside of the optic cup; and the only mesoblast which enters the optic cup passes through the choroid slit. fig. _b_. transverse section through the last arch but one of the same embryo as _a_. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the mode of formation of a visceral cleft without any involution of the external skin. ( ) the head-cavity in the arch and its situation in relation to the aortic arch. fig. . surface view of the nasal pit of an embryo of same age as fig. , considerably magnified. the specimen was prepared by removing the nasal pit, flattening it out and mounting in glycerine after treatment with chromic acid. it shews the primitive arrangement of the schneiderian folds. one side has been injured. figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal and vertical sections through the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is the most superficial section of the two. it shews the constitution of the seventh and fifth nerves, and of the intestinal branch of the vagus. the anterior branch of the seventh nerve deserves a special notice. _b_ mainly illustrates the dorsal commissure of the vagus nerve (_com_) continuous with the dorsal commissures of the posterior root of the spinal nerves. fig. . two longitudinal and vertical sections of the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to the end of stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ passes through the median line of the brain and shews the infundibulum, notochord and pituitary body, etc. the pituitary body still opens into the mouth, though the septum between the mouth and the throat is broken through. _b_ is a more superficial section shewing the head-cavities _pp_ , , , and the lower vagus commissure. plate . complete list of reference letters. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _cb._ cerebellum. _cer._ cerebral hemispheres. _ch._ notochord. _cin._ internal carotid. _ft._ fasciculi teretes. _in._ infundibulum. _lv._ lateral ventricle. _mb._ mid-brain, or optic lobes. _md._ medulla oblongata. _mn._ mandible. _ol._ olfactory pit. _oll._ olfactory lobe. _op._ eye. _opn._ optic nerve. _opth._ optic thalamus. _pc._ posterior commissure. _pcl._ posterior clinoid. _pn._ pineal gland. _pt._ pituitary body. _rt._ restiform tracts. _tv._ tela vasculosa of the roof of the fourth ventricle. iv._v._ fourth ventricle. vii. seventh nerve. _x._ rudiment of septum which will grow backwards and divide the unpaired cerebral rudiment into the two hemispheres. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. longitudinal sections of the brain of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is taken slightly to one side of the middle line, and shews the general features of the brain, and more especially the infundibulum (_in_) and pituitary body (_pt_). _b_ is through the median line of the pineal gland. _c_ is through the median line of the base of the brain, and shews the notochord (_ch_) and pituitary body (_pt_); the latter still communicating with the mouth. it also shews the wide opening of the infundibulum in the middle line into the base of the brain. fig. . section through the unpaired cerebral rudiment during stage o, to shew the origin of the olfactory lobe and the olfactory nerve. the latter is seen to divide into numerous branches, one of which passes into each schneiderian fold. at its origin are numerous ganglion cells represented by dots. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . horizontal section through the three lobes of the brain during stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the very slight indications which have appeared by this stage of an ingrowth to divide the cerebral rudiment into two lobes (_x_): ( ) the optic thalami united by a posterior commissure, and on one side joining the base of the mid-brain, and behind them the pineal gland: ( ) the thin posterior wall of the cerebral rudiment with folds projecting into the cerebral cavity. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. views from the side, from above, and from below, of a brain of scyllium canicula during stage p. in the view from the side the eye (_op_) has not been removed. the bilobed appearance both of the mid-brain and cerebellum should be noticed. fig. . longitudinal section of a brain of scyllium canicula during stage p. zeiss a, ocul. . there should be noticed ( ) the increase in the flexure of the brain accompanying a rectification of the cranial axis; ( ) the elongated pineal gland, and ( ) the structure of the optic thalamus. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. views from the side, from above, and from below, of a brain of scyllium stellare during a slightly later stage than q. figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal sections through the brain of a scyllium embryo during stage q. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ cuts the hind part of the brain nearly through the middle line; while _b_ cuts the cerebral hemispheres and pineal gland through the middle. in _a_ the infundibulum ( ), cerebellum ( ), the passage of the restiform tracts (_rt_) into the cerebellum ( ), and the rudiments of the tela vasculosa ( ) are shewn. in _b_ the septum between the two lobes of the cerebral hemispheres ( ), the pineal gland ( ), and the relations of the optic thalami ( ) are shewn. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four transverse sections of the brain of an embryo slightly older than q. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ passes through the cerebral hemispheres at their junction with the olfactory lobes. on the right side is seen the olfactory nerve coming off from the olfactory lobe. at the dorsal side of the hemispheres is seen the pineal gland (_pn_). _b_ passes through the mid-brain now slightly bilobed, and the opening into the infundibulum (_in_). at the base of the section are seen the optic nerves and their chiasma. _c_ passes through the opening from the ventricle of the mid-brain into that of the cerebellum. below the optic lobes is seen the infundibulum with the rudiments of the sacci vasculosi. _d_ passes through the front end of the medulla, and shews the roots of the seventh pair of nerves, and the overlapping of the medulla by the cerebellum. plate . complete list of reference letters. vii. _a._ anterior branch of seventh nerve. _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _cer._ cerebrum. _ch._ notochord. _ch._ epithelial layer of choroid membrane. _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve. vii. _hy._ hyoid branch of seventh nerve. _hym._ hyaloid membrane. _ll._ lateral line. v. _mn._ ramus mandibularis of fifth nerve. vii. _mn._ mandibular (spiracular) branch of seventh nerve. v. _mx._ ramus maxillæ superioris of fifth nerve. _nl._ nervus lateralis. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. v. _opth._ ramus ophthalmicus of fifth nerve. _pch._ parachordal cartilage. _pfal._ processus falciformis. _pp._ head cavity. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _rt._ retina. _sp._ spiracle. v. fifth nerve. vii. seventh nerve. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vg._ vagus nerve. _vg.br._ branchial branch of vagus. _vgcom._ commissure uniting the roots of the vagus, and continuous with commissure uniting the posterior roots of the spinal nerves. _vgr._ roots of vagus nerves in the brain. _vgin._ intestinal branch of vagus. _vh._ vitreous humour. fig. . diagram of cranial nerves at stage l. a description of the part of this referring to the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves is given at p. . it should be noticed that there are only five strands indicated as springing from the spinal cord to form the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves. it is however probable that there are even from the first a greater number of strands than this. fig. . section through the hinder part of the medulla oblongata, stage between k and l. zeiss a, ocul. . it shews ( ) the vagus commissure with branches on one side from the medulla: ( ) the intestinal branch of the vagus giving off a nerve to the lateral line. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the head of a scyllium embryo of stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . it shews the course of the anterior branch of the seventh nerve (vii.); especially with relation to the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve (v. _oth_). figs. _a_ and _b_. two horizontal and longitudinal sections through the head of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is the most dorsal of the two sections, and shews the course of the anterior branch of the seventh nerve above the eye. _b_ is a slightly more ventral section, and shews the course of the fifth nerve. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section through the hind-brain at stage o, shewing the roots of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves in the brain. zeiss b, ocul. . there appears to be one root in the brain for the glossopharyngeal, and at least six for the vagus. the fibres from the roots divide in many cases into two bundles before leaving the brain. swellings of the brain towards the interior of the fourth ventricle are in connection with the first five roots of the vagus, and the glossopharyngeal root; and a swelling is also intercalated between the first vagus root and the glossopharyngeal root. fig. . horizontal section through a part of the choroid slit at stage p. zeiss b, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the rudimentary processus falciformis (_pfal_) giving origin to the vitreous humour; and ( ) the hyaloid membrane (_hym_) which is seen to adhere to the retina, and not to the vitreous humour or processus falciformis. chapter x. the alimentary canal. the present chapter completes the history of the primitive alimentary canal, whose formation has already been described. in order to economise space, no attempt has been made to give a full account of the alimentary canal and its appendages, but only those points have been dealt with which present any features of special interest. the development of the following organs is described in order. ( ) the solid oesophagus. ( ) the postanal section of the alimentary tract. ( ) the cloaca and anus. ( ) the thyroid body. ( ) the pancreas. ( ) the liver. ( ) the subnotochordal rod. _the solid oesophagus._ a curious point which has turned up in the course of my investigations is the fact that for a considerable period of embryonic life a part of the oesophagus remains quite solid and without a lumen. the part of the oesophagus to undergo this peculiar change is that which overlies the heart, and extends from the front end of the stomach to the branchial region. at first, this part of the oesophagus has the form of a tube with a well-developed lumen like the remainder of the alimentary tract, but at a stage slightly younger than k its lumen becomes smaller, and finally vanishes, and the original tube is replaced by a solid rod of uniform and somewhat polygonal cells. a section of it in this condition is represented in pl. , fig. _a_. at a slightly later stage its outermost cells become more columnar than the remainder, and between stages k and l it loses its cylindrical form and becomes much more flattened. by stage l the external layer of columnar cells is more definitely established, and the central rounded cells are no longer so numerous (pl. , fig. , _soes_). in the succeeding stages the solid part of the oesophagus immediately adjoining the stomach is carried farther back relatively to the heart and overlies the front end of the liver. a lumen is not however formed in it by the close of stage q, and beyond that period i have not carried my investigations, and cannot therefore state the exact period at which the lumen reappears. the limits of the solid part of the oesophagus are very satisfactorily shewn in longitudinal and vertical sections. the solidification of the oesophagus belongs to a class of embryological phenomena which are curious rather than interesting, and are mainly worth recording from the possibility of their turning out to have some unsuspected morphological bearings. up to stage q there are no signs of a rudimentary air-bladder. _the postanal section of the alimentary tract._ an account has already been given (p. ) of the posterior continuity of the neural and alimentary canals, and it was there stated that kowalevsky was the discoverer of this peculiar arrangement. since that account was published, kowalevsky has given further details of his investigations on this point, and more especially describes the later history of the hindermost section of the alimentary tract. he says[ ]: the two germinal layers, epiblast and hypoblast, are continuous with each other at the border of the germinal disc. the primitive groove or furrow appears at the border of the germinal disc and is continued from the upper to the lower side. by the closing of the groove there is formed the medullary canal above, while the part of the groove on the under surface directed below is chiefly converted into the hind end of the alimentary tract. the connection of the two tubes in acanthias persists till the formation of the anus, and the part of the nervous tube which lies under the chorda passes gradually upwards to the dorsal side of the chorda, and persists there for a long time in the form of a large thin-walled vesicle. footnote : _archiv f. mic. anat._ vol. xiii. pp. , . the last part of the description beginning at "the connection of" does not hold good for any of the genera which i have had an opportunity of investigating, as will appear from the sequel. in a previous section[ ] the history of the alimentary tract was completed up to stage g. footnote : p. et seq. in stage h the point where the anus will (at a very much later period) appear, becomes marked out by the alimentary tract sending down a papilliform process towards the skin. this is shewn in pl. , figs. _h_ and _i, an_. that part of the alimentary tract which is situated behind this point may, for convenience, be called _the postanal section_. during stage h the postanal section begins to develop a terminal dilatation or vesicle, connected with the remainder of the canal by a narrower stalk. the relation in diameter between the vesicle and the stalk may be gathered by a comparison of figs. _a_ and _b_, pl. . the diameter of the vesicle represented in section in pl. , fig. , is . mm. the walls both of the vesicle and stalk are formed of a fairly columnar epithelium. the vesicle communicates in front by a narrow passage (pl. , fig. _a_) with the neural canal, and behind is continued into two horns (pl. , fig. , _al._) corresponding with the two caudal swellings spoken of above (p. ). where the canal is continued into these two horns, its walls lose their distinctness of outline, and become continuous with the adjacent mesoblast. in the succeeding stages up to k the tail grows longer and longer, and with it grows the postanal section of the alimentary tract, without however altering in any of its essential characters. its features at stage k are illustrated by an optical section of the tail of an embryo (pl. , fig. ) and by a series of transverse sections through the tail of another embryo in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. in the optical section there is seen a terminal vesicle (_alv._) opening into the neural canal, and connected with the remainder of the alimentary tract. the terminal vesicle causes the end of the tail to be dilated, as is shewn in pl. , fig. _k_. the length of the postanal section extending from the abdominal paired fins to the end of the tail (equal to rather less than one-third of the whole length of the embryo), may be gathered from the same figure. the most accurate method of studying this part of the alimentary canal is by means of transverse sections. four sections have been selected for illustration (pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, and _d_) out of a fairly-complete series of about one hundred and twenty. posteriorly (fig. _a_) there is present a terminal vesicle . mm. in diameter, and therefore rather smaller than in the earlier stage, whose walls are formed of columnar epithelium, and which communicates dorsally by a narrow opening with the neural canal; to this is attached a stalk in the form of a tube, also lined by columnar epithelium, and extending through about thirty sections (pl. , fig. _b_). its average diameter is about . mm. overlying its front end is the subnotochordal rod (fig. _b_, _x._), but this does not extend as far back as the terminal vesicle. the thick-walled stalk of the vesicle is connected with the cloacal section of the alimentary tract by a very narrow thin-walled tube (pl. , _c_, _al._). this for the most part has a fairly uniform calibre, and a diameter of not more than . mm. its walls are formed of a flattened epithelium. at a point not far from the cloaca it becomes smaller, and its diameter falls to . mm. in front of this point it rapidly dilates again, and, after becoming fairly wide, opens on the dorsal side of the cloacal section of the alimentary canal just behind the anus (fig. _d_). near the close of stage k at a point shortly behind the anus, where the postanal section of the canal was thinnest in the early part of the stage, the alimentary canal becomes solid (pl. , fig. _d_), and a rupture here occurs in it at a slightly later period. in stage l the posterior part of the postanal section of the canal is represented by a small rudiment near the end of the tail. the rudiment no longer has a terminal vesicle, _nor does it communicate with the neural canal_. it was visible in one series for about sections, and was continued forwards by a few granular cells, lying between the aorta and the caudal vein. the portion of the postanal section of the alimentary tract just behind the cloaca, was in the same embryo represented by a still smaller rudiment of the dilated part which at an earlier period opened into the cloaca. later than stage l no trace of the postanal section of the alimentary canal has come under my notice, and i conclude that it vanishes without becoming converted into any organ in the adult. since my preliminary account of the development of elasmobranch fishes was written, no fresh light appears to have been thrown on the question of the postanal section of the alimentary canal being represented in higher vertebrata by the allantois. _the cloaca and anus._ elasmobranchii agree closely with other vertebrates in the formation of the cloaca and anus, and in the relations of the cloaca to the urinogenital ducts. the point where the anus, or more precisely the external opening of the cloaca, will be formed, becomes very early marked out by the approximation of the wall of the alimentary tract and external skin. this is shewn for stages h and i in pl. _an_. between stages i and k the alimentary canal on either side of this point, which we may for brevity speak of as the anus, is far removed from the external skin, but at the anus itself the lining of the alimentary canal and the skin are in absolute contact. there is, however, no involution from the exterior, but, on the contrary, the position of the anus is marked by a distinct prominence. opposite the anus the alimentary canal dilates and forms the cloaca. during stage k, just in front of the prominence of the anus, a groove is formed between two downgrowths of the body-wall. this is shewn in pl. , fig. _a_. during the same stage the segmental ducts grow downwards to the cloaca, and open into it in the succeeding stage (pl. , fig. _b_). up to stage k the cloaca is connected with the præanal section of the alimentary canal in front, and the postanal section behind; the latter, however, by stage l, as has been stated above, atrophies, with the exception of a very small rudiment. in stage l the posterior part of the cloaca is on a level with the hind end of the kidneys, and is situated behind the posterior horns of the body-cavity, which are continued backwards to about the point where the segmental ducts open into the cloaca, and though very small at their termination rapidly increase in size anteriorly. nothing very worthy of note takes place in connection with the cloaca till stage o. by this stage we have three important structures developed. ( ) an involution from the exterior to form the mouth of the cloaca or anus. ( ) a perforation leading into the cloaca at the hind end of this. ( ) the rudiments of the abdominal pockets. all of these structures are shewn in pl. , figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. the mouth of the cloaca is formed by an involution of the skin, which is deepest in front and becomes very shallow behind (pl. , figs. _a_, _b_). at first only the mucous layer of the skin takes part in it, but when the involution forms a true groove, both layers of the skin serve to line it. at its posterior part, where it is shallowest, there is present, at stage o, a slit-like longitudinal perforation, leading into the posterior part of the cloaca (pl. , fig. _c_) and forming its external opening. elsewhere the wall of the cloaca and cloacal groove are merely in contact but do not communicate. on each side of the external opening of the cloaca there is present an involution (pl. , fig. _c_, _ab.p._) of the skin, which resembles the median cloacal involution, and forms the rudiment of an abdominal pocket. these two rudiments must not be confused with two similar ones, which are present in all the three sections represented, and mark out the line which separates the limbs from the trunk. these latter are not present in the succeeding stages. the abdominal pockets are only found in sections through the opening into the cloaca, and are only visible in the hindermost of my three sections. all the structures of the adult cloaca appear to be already constituted by stage o, and the subsequent changes, so far as i have investigated them, may be dealt with in very few words. the perforation of the cloacal involution is carried slowly forwards, so that the opening into the cloaca, though retaining its slit-like character, becomes continuously longer; by stage q its size is very considerable. the cloacal involution, relatively to the cloaca, recedes backwards. in stage o its anterior end is situated some distance in front of the opening of the segmental duct into the cloaca; by stage p the front end of the cloacal involution is nearly opposite this opening, and by stage q is situated behind it. as i have shewn elsewhere[ ], the so-called abdominal pores of scyllium are simple pockets open to the exterior, but without any communication with the body-cavity. by stage q they are considerably deeper than in stage o, and retain their original position near the hind end of the opening into the cloaca. the opening of the urinogenital ducts into the cloaca will be described in the section devoted to the urinogenital system. footnote : this edition, no. vii. p. . in elasmobranchii, as in other vertebrata, that part of the cloaca which receives the urinogenital ducts, is in reality the hindermost section of the gut and not the involution of epiblast which eventually meets this. thus the urinogenital ducts at first open into the alimentary canal and not to the exterior. this fact is certainly surprising, and its meaning is not quite clear to me. the very late appearance of the anus may be noticed as a point in which elasmobranchii agree with other vertebrata, notably the fowl[ ]. the abdominal pockets, as might be anticipated from their structure in the adult, are simple involutions of the epiblast. footnote : vide gasser, _entwicklungsgeschichte der allantois, etc._ _the thyroid body._ the earliest trace of the thyroid body has come under my notice in a torpedo embryo slightly older than i. in this embryo it appeared as a diverticulum from the ventral surface of the throat in the region of the _mandibular arch_, and extended from the border of the mouth to the point where the ventral aorta divided into the two aortic branches of the mandibular arch. in front it bounded a groove (pl. , fig. _a_, _th._), directly continuous with the narrow posterior pointed end of the mouth and open to the throat, while behind it became a solid rod attached to the ventral wall of the oesophagus (pl. , fig. _b_, _th._). in a scyllium embryo belonging to the early part of stage k, the thyroid gland presented the same arrangement as in the torpedo embryo just described, with the exception that no solid posterior section of it was present. towards the close of stage k the thyroid body begins to elongate and become solid, though it still retains its attachment to the wall of the oesophagus. the solidification is effected by the columnar cells which line the groove elongating and meeting in the centre. as soon as the lumen is by these means obliterated, small cells make their appearance in the interior of the body, probably budded off from the original columnar cells. the gland continues to grow in length, and by stage l assumes a long sack-like form with a layer of columnar cells bounding it externally, and a core of rounded cells filling up its interior. anteriorly it is still attached to the throat, and its posterior extremity lies immediately below the end of the ventral aorta. the cells of the gland contain numerous yellowish concretionary pigment bodies, which are also present in the later stages. up to stage p the thyroid gland retains its original position. its form and situation are shewn in pl. , fig. , _th._, in longitudinal and vertical section for a stage between o and p. the external layer of columnar cells has now vanished, and the gland is divided up by the ingrowth of connective-tissue septa into a number of areas or lobules--the rudiments of the future follicles. these lobules are perfectly solid without any trace of a lumen. a capillary network following the septa is present. by stage q the rudimentary follicles are more distinctly marked, but still without a lumen, and a connective-tissue sheath indistinctly separated from the surrounding tissue has been formed. my sections do not shew a junction between the gland and the epithelium of the throat; but the two are so close together, that i am inclined to think that such a junction still exists. it is certainly present up to stage p. dr müller[ ], in his exhaustive memoir on the thyroid body, gives an account of its condition in two acanthias embryos. in his earliest embryo (which, judging from the size, is perhaps about the same age as my latest) the thyroid body is disconnected from the throat, yet contains a lumen, and is not divided up into lobules. it is clear from this account, that there must be considerable differences of detail in the development of the thyroid body in acanthias and scyllium. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi. in the bird dr müller's figures shew that the thyroid body develops in the region of the hyoid arch, whereas, in elasmobranchii, it develops in the region of the mandibular arch. dr götte's[ ] account of this body in bombinator accords very completely with my own, both with reference to the region in which it develops, and its mode of development. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ _the pancreas._ the pancreas arises towards the close of stage k as a somewhat rounded hollow outgrowth from the dorsal side of that part of the gut which from its homologies may be called the duodenum. in the region where the pancreas is being formed the appearances presented in a series of transverse sections are somewhat complicated (pl. , fig. ), owing to the several parts of the gut and its appendages which may appear in a single section, but i have detected no trace of other than a single outgrowth to form the pancreas. by stage l the original outgrowth from the gut has become elongated longitudinally, but transversely compressed: at the same time its opening into the duodenum has become somewhat narrowed. owing to these changes the pancreas presents in longitudinal and vertical section a funnel-shaped appearance (pl. , fig. ). from the expanded dorsal part of the funnel, especially from its anterior end, numerous small tubular diverticula grow out into the mesoblast. the apex of the funnel leads into the duodenum. from this arrangement it results that at this period the original outgrowth from the duodenum serves as a receptacle into which each ductule of the embryonic gland opens separately. i have not followed in detail the further growth of the gland. it is, however, easy to note that while the ductules grow longer and become branched, vascular processes grow in between them, and the whole forms a compact glandular body in the mesentery on the dorsal side of the alimentary tract, and nearly on a level with the front end of the spiral valve. the funnel-shaped receptacle loses its original form, and elongating, assumes the character of a duct. from the above account it follows that the glandular part of the pancreas, and not merely its duct, is derived from the original hypoblastic outgrowth from the gut. this point is extremely clear in my preparations, and does not, in spite of schenk's observations to the contrary[ ], appear to me seriously open to doubt. footnote : _lehrbuch d. vergleichenden embryologie._ _the liver._ the liver arises during stage i as a ventral outgrowth from the duodenum immediately in front of the opening of the umbilical canal (duct of the yolk-sack) into the intestine. almost as soon as it is formed this outgrowth develops two lateral diverticula opening into a median canal. the two diverticula are the rudimentary lobes of the liver, and the median duct is the rudiment of the common bile-duct (ductus choledochus) and gall-bladder (pl. , fig. ). by stage k the hepatic diverticula have begun to bud out a number of small hollow knobs. these rapidly increase in length and number, and form the so-called hepatic cylinders. they anastomose and unite together, so that by stage l there is constructed a regular network. as the cylinders increase in length their lumen becomes very small, but appears never to vanish (pl. , fig. ). the mode of formation of the liver parenchyma by hollow and not solid outgrowths agrees with the suggestion made in the _elements of embryology_, p. , and also with the results of götte on the amphibian liver. schenk has thrown doubts upon the hypoblastic nature of the secreting tissue of the liver, but it does not appear to me, from my own investigations, that this point is open to question. coincidently with the formation of the hepatic network, the umbilical vein (pl. , fig. , _u.v._) which unites with the subintestinal or splanchnic vein (pl. , fig. , _v._) breaks up into a series of channels, which form a second network in the spaces of the hepatic network. these vascular channels of the liver appear to me to have from the first distinct walls of delicate spindle-shaped cells, and i have failed to find a stage similar to that described by götte for amphibians in which the blood-channels are simply lacunar spaces in the hepatic parenchyma. the changes of the median duct of the liver are of rather a passive nature. by stage o its anterior end has dilated into a distinct gall-bladder, whose duct receives in succession the hepatic ducts, and so forms the ductus choledochus. the ductus choledochus opens on the ventral side of the intestine immediately in front of the commencement of the spiral valve. it may be noted that the liver and pancreas are corresponding ventral and dorsal appendages of the part of the alimentary tract immediately in front of its junction with the yolk-sack. _the subnotochordal rod._ the existence of this remarkable body in vertebrata was first made known by dr götte[ ], who not only demonstrated its existence, but also gave a correct account of its development. its presence in elasmobranchii and mode of development were mentioned by myself in my preliminary account of the development of these fishes[ ], and it has been independently observed and described by professor semper[ ]. no plausible suggestion as to its function has hitherto been made, and it is therefore a matter of some difficulty to settle with what group of organs it ought to be treated. in the presence of this difficulty it seemed best to deal with it in this chapter, since it is unquestionably developed from the wall of the alimentary canal. footnote : _archiv für micros. anatomie_, bd. v., and _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke_. footnote : _quarterly journal of microscopic science_, oct., . [this edition, no. v.] footnote : "stammverwandtschaft d. wirbelthiere u. wirbellosen" and "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen," _arb. zool.-zoot. institut. z. würzburg_, bd. ii. at its full growth this body forms a rod underlying the notochord, and has nearly the same longitudinal extension as this. it is indicated in most of my sections by the letter _x_. we may distinguish two sections of it, the one situated in the head, the other in the trunk. the junction between the two occurs at the hind border of the visceral clefts. the section in the trunk is the first to develop. it arises during stage h in the manner illustrated in pl. , figs. and _a_. the wall of the alimentary canal becomes thickened (pl. , fig. ) along the median dorsal line, or else produced into a ridge into which there penetrates a narrow prolongation of the lumen of the alimentary canal. in either case the cells at the extreme summit of the thickening become gradually constricted off as a rod, which lies immediately dorsal to the alimentary tract, and ventral to the notochord. the shape of the rod varies in the different regions of the body, but it is always more or less elliptical in section. owing to its small size and soft structure it is easily distorted in the process of preparing sections. in the hindermost part of the body its mode of formation differs somewhat from that above described. in this part the alimentary wall is very thick and undergoes no special growth prior to the formation of the subnotochordal rod; on the contrary, a small linear portion of the wall becomes scooped out along the median dorsal line, and eventually separates from the remainder as the rod in question. in the trunk the splitting off of the rod takes place from before backwards, so that the anterior part of it is formed before the posterior. the section of the subnotochordal rod in the head would appear from my observations on pristiurus to develop in the same way as in the trunk, and the splitting off from the throat proceeds from before backwards (pl. , fig. _a_, _x_). in torpedo, this rod develops very much later in the head than in the trunk; and indeed my conclusion that it develops in the head at all is only based on grounds of analogy, since in my oldest torpedo embryo (just younger than k) there is no trace of it present. in a torpedo embryo of stage i the subnotochordal rod of the trunk terminated anteriorly by uniting with the wall of the throat. the junction was effected by a narrow pedicle, so that the rod appeared mushroom-shaped in section, the stalk representing the pedicle of attachment. on the formation of the dorsal aorta, the subnotochordal rod becomes separated from the wall of the gut and the aorta interposed between the two. the subnotochordal rod attains its fullest development during stage k. anteriorly it terminates at a point well in front of the ear, though a little behind the end of the notochord; posteriorly it extends very nearly to the extremity of the tail and is almost co-extensive with the postanal section of the alimentary tract, though it does not quite reach so far back as the caudal vesicle (pl. , fig. _b_, _x_). in stage l it is still fairly large in the tail, though it has begun to atrophy anteriorly. we may therefore conclude that its atrophy, like its development, takes place from before backwards. in the succeeding stages i have failed to find any trace of it, and conclude, as does professor semper, that it disappears completely. götte[ ] is of opinion that the subnotochordal rod is converted into the dorsal lymphatic trunk, and regards it as the anterior continuation of the postanal gut, which he believes to be also converted into a lymphatic trunk. my observations afford no support to these views, and the fact already mentioned, that the subnotochordal rod is nearly co-extensive with the postanal section of the gut, renders it improbable that both these structures are connected with the lymphatic system. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke_, p. . explanation of plate . complete list of reference letters. _nervous system._ _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve. _nc._ neural canal. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _spn._ spinal nerve. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _alimentary canal._ _al._ alimentary canal. _alv._ caudal vesicle of the postanal gut. _clal._ cloacal section of alimentary canal. _du._ duodenum. _hpd._ ductus choledochus. _pan._ pancreas. _soes._ solid oesophagus. _spv._ intestine with rudiment of spiral valve. _umc._ umbilical canal. _general._ _ao._ dorsal aorta. _aur._ auricle of heart. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _eppp._ epithelial lining of the body-cavity. _ir._ interrenal body. _me._ mesentery. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mpl_. muscle-plate sending a prolongation into the limb. _po._ primitive ovum. _pp._ body-cavity. _sd._ segmental duct. _st._ segmental tube. _ts._ tail swelling. _vcau._ caudal vein. _x._ subnotochordal rod. fig. . transverse section through the anterior abdominal region of an embryo of a stage between k and l. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the section illustrates the junction of a sympathetic ganglion with a spinal nerve and the sprouting of the muscle-plates into the limbs (_mpl_). fig. . transverse section through the abdominal region of an embryo belonging to stage l. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the section illustrates the junction of a sympathetic ganglion with a spinal nerve, and also the commencing formation of a branch from the aorta (still solid) which will pass through the sympathetic ganglion, and forms the first sign of the conversion of part of a sympathetic ganglion into one of the suprarenal bodies. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section of an embryo of a stage between l and m, shewing the successive junctions of the spinal nerves and sympathetic ganglia. fig. . section through the solid oesophagus during stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . the section is taken through the region of the heart, so that the cavity of the auricle (_aur_) lies immediately below the oesophagus. fig. . optical section of the tail of an embryo between stages i and k, shewing the junction between the neural and alimentary canals. fig. . four sections through the caudal region of an embryo belonging to stage k, shewing the condition of the postanal section of the alimentary tract. zeiss a, ocul. . an explanation of these figures is given on p. . fig. . section through the interrenal body of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage q. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . portion of a section of the interrenal body of an adult scyllium. zeiss c, ocul. . chapter xi. the vascular system and vascular glands. the present chapter deals with the early development of the heart, the development of the general circulatory system, especially the venous part of it, and the circulation of the yolk-sack. it also contains an account of two bodies which i shall call the suprarenal and interrenal bodies, which are generally described as vascular glands. _the heart._ the first trace of the heart becomes apparent during stage g, as a cavity between the splanchnic mesoblast and the wall of the gut immediately behind the region of the visceral clefts (pl. , fig. , _ht._). the body-cavity in the region of the heart is at first double, owing to the two divisions of it not having coalesced; but even in the earliest condition of the heart the layers of splanchnic mesoblast of the two sides have united so as to form a complete wall below. the cavity of the heart is circumscribed by a more or less complete epithelioid (endothelial) layer of flattened cells, connected with the splanchnic wall of the heart by protoplasmic processes. the origin of this lining layer i could not certainly determine, but its connection with the splanchnic mesoblast suggests that it is probably a derivative of this[ ]. in front the cavity of the heart is bounded by the approximation of the splanchnic mesoblast to the wall of the throat, and behind by the stalk connecting the alimentary canal with the yolk-sack. footnote : from observations on the development of the heart in the fowl, i have been able to satisfy myself that the epithelioid lining of the heart is derived from the splanchnic mesoblast. when the cavity of the heart is being formed by the separation of the splanchnic mesoblast from the hypoblast, a layer of the former remains close to the hypoblast, but connected with the main mass of the splanchnic mesoblast by protoplasmic processes. a second layer next becomes split from the splanchnic mesoblast, connected with the first layer by the above-mentioned protoplasmic processes. these two layers form the epithelioid lining of the heart; between them is the cavity of the heart, which soon loses the protoplasmic trabeculæ which at first traverse it. as development proceeds the ventral wall of the heart becomes bent inwards on each side on a level with the wall of the gut (plate , fig. ), and eventually becomes so folded in as to form for the heart a complete muscular wall of splanchnic mesoblast. the growth inwards of the mesoblast to form the dorsal wall of the heart does not, as might be expected, begin in front and proceed backwards, but commences behind and is gradually carried forwards. from the above account it is clear that i have failed to find in elasmobranchii any traces of two distinct cavities coalescing to form the heart, such as have been recently described in mammals and birds; and this, as well as the other features of the formation of the heart in elasmobranchii, are in very close accordance with the careful description given by götte[ ] of the formation of the heart in bombinator. the divergence which appears to be indicated in the formation of so important an organ as the heart between pisces and amphibians on the one hand, and aves and mammalia on the other, is certainly startling, and demands a careful scrutiny. the most complete observations on the double formation of the heart in mammalia have been made by hensen, götte and kölliker. these observations lead to the conclusion ( ) that the heart arises as two independent splits between the splanchnic mesoblast and the hypoblast, each with an epithelioid (endothelial) lining. ( ) _that the heart is first formed at a period when the folding in of the splanchnopleure to form the throat has not commenced, and when therefore it would be impossible for it to be formed as a single tube._ footnote : bischoff has recently stated, _historisch-kritische bemerkungen ii. d. entwicklung d. säugethiereier_, that götte has found a double formation of the heart in bombinator. it may seem bold to question the accuracy of bischoff's interpretation of writings in his own language, but i have certainly failed to gather this either from dr götte's text or figures. in birds almost every investigator since von baer has detected more or less clearly the coalescence of two halves to form the unpaired heart[ ]. most investigators have however believed that there was from the first an unpaired anterior section of the heart, and that only the posterior part was formed by the coalescence of two lateral halves. professor darlste his, and more recently kölliker, have stated that there is no such unpaired anterior section of the heart. my own recent observations confirm their conclusions as to the double formation of the heart, though i find that the heart has from the first a lambda-shaped form. at the apex of the lambda the two limbs are only separated by a median partition and are not continuous with the aortic arches, which do not arise till a later period[ ]. in the bird the heart arises just _behind_ the completed throat, and a double formation of the heart appears, in fact, in all instances to be _most distinctly correlated with the non-closure of the throat_, a non-closure which it must be noted would render it impossible for the heart to arise otherwise than as a double cavity. footnote : vide _elements of embryology_, foster and balfour, pp. - . footnote : professor bischoff (_loc. cit._) throws doubts upon the double formation of the heart, and supports his views by dr foster's and my failure to find any trace of a double formation of the heart in the chick. professor bischoff must, i think, have misunderstood our description, which contains a clear account of the double formation of the heart. in the instances in which the heart arises as a double cavity _it is formed before the complete closure of the throat_, and in those in which it arises as a single cavity _it is formed subsequently to the complete formation of the throat_. there is thus a double coincidence which renders the conclusion almost certain, _that the formation of the heart as two cavities is a secondary change which has been brought about by variations in the period of the closing in of the wall of the throat_. if the closing in of the throat were deferred and yet the primitive time of formation of the heart retained, it is clear that such a condition as may be observed in birds and mammals must occur, and that the two halves of the heart must be formed widely apart, and only eventually united on the folding in of the wall of the throat. we may then safely conclude that the double formation of the heart has no morphological significance, and does not, as might at first sight be supposed, imply that the ancestral vertebrate had two tubes in the place of the present unpaired heart. i have spoken of this point at considerable length, on account of the morphological importance which has been attached to the double formation of the heart. but the views above enunciated are not expressed for the first time. in the _elements of embryology_ we say, p. , "the exact mode of development (of the heart) appears according to our present knowledge to be very different in different cases; and it seems probable that the differences are in fact the result of variations in the mode of formation and time of closure of the alimentary canal." götte again in his great work[ ] appears to maintain similar views, though i do not perfectly understand all his statements. in my review of kölliker's embryology[ ] this point is still more distinctly enunciated in the following passage: "the primitive wide separation and complete independence of the two halves of the heart is certainly surprising; but we are inclined, provisionally at least, to regard it as a secondary condition due to the late period at which the closing of the throat takes place in mammals." footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke_, pp. , , . footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. p. . _the general circulation._ the chief points of interest in connection with the general circulation centre round the venous system. the arterial arches present no peculiarities: the dorsal aorta, as in all other vertebrates, is at first double (pl. , fig. , _ao_), and, generally speaking, the arrangement of the arteries accords with what is already known in other forms. the evolution of the venous system deserves more attention. the cardinal veins are comparatively late developments. there is at first one single primitive vein continuous in front with the heart and underlying the alimentary canal through its præanal and postanal sections. this vein is shewn in section in pl. , fig. , _v_. it may be called either the subintestinal or splanchnic vein. at the cloaca, where the gut enlarges and comes in contact with the skin, this vein is compelled to bifurcate (pl. , fig. ,_d_, _v.cau._), and usually the two branches into which it divides are unequal in size. the two branches meet again behind the cloaca and take their course ventral to the postanal section of the gut, and terminate close to the end of the tail, pl. , fig. ,_c_, _v.cau._ in the tail they form what is usually known as the caudal vein. the venous system of scyllium or pristiurus, during the early parts of stage k, presents the simple constitution just described. before proceeding to describe the subsequent changes which take place in it, it appears to me worth pointing out the remarkable resemblance which the vascular system of an elasmobranch presents at this stage to that of an ordinary annelid and amphioxus. it consists, as does the circulatory system, in annelids, of a neural vessel (the aorta) and an intestinal vessel, the blood flowing backwards in the latter and forwards in the former. the two in elasmobranchii communicate posteriorly by a capillary system, and in front by the arterial arches, connected like the similar vessels in annelids with the branchiæ. striking as is this resemblance, there is a still closer resemblance between the circulation of the scyllium embryo at stage k and that of amphioxus. the two systems are in fact identical except in very small details. the subintestinal vessel, absent or only represented by the caudal vein and in part by the ductus venosus in higher vertebrates and adult fish, forms the main and only posterior venous trunk of amphioxus and the embryo scyllium. the only noteworthy point of difference between amphioxus and the embryo scyllium is the presence of a portal circulation in the former, absent at this stage in the latter; but even this is acquired in scyllium before the close of stage k, and does not therefore represent a real difference between the two types. the cardinal veins make their appearance before the close of stage k, and very soon unite behind with the unpaired section of the caudal vein (pl. , fig. _b_, _p.cav._ and _v._). on this junction being effected retrogressive changes take place in the original subintestinal vessel. it breaks up in front into a number of smaller vessels; the lesser of the two branches connecting it round the cloaca with the caudal vein first vanishes (pl. , fig. _a_, _v_), and then the larger; and the two cardinals are left as the sole forward continuations of the caudal vein. this latter then becomes prolonged forwards, and the two posterior cardinals open into it some little distance in front of the hind end of the kidneys. by these changes and by the disappearance of the postanal section of the gut the caudal vein is made to appear as a superintestinal and not a subintestinal vessel, and as the direct posterior continuation of the cardinal veins. embryology proves however that the caudal vein is a true subintestinal vessel[ ], and that its connection with the cardinals is entirely secondary. footnote : the morphological importance of this point is considerable. it proves, for instance, that the hæmal arches of the vertebræ in the tail (vide pp. and ) potentially, at any rate, encircle the gut and enclose the body-cavity as completely as the ribs which meet in the median ventral line may be said to do anteriorly. the invariably late appearance of the cardinal veins in the embryo and their absence in amphioxus leads me to regard them as additions to the circulatory system which appeared in the vertebrata themselves, and were not inherited from their ancestors. it would no doubt be easy to point to vessels in existing annelids which might be regarded as their equivalent, but to do so would be in my opinion to follow an entirely false morphological scent. _the circulation of the yolk-sack._ the observations recorded on this subject are so far as i am acquainted with them very imperfect, and in most cases the arteries and veins appear to have been transposed. professor wyman[ ], however, gives a short description of the circulation in raja batis, in which he rightly identifies the arteries, though he regards the arterial ring which surrounds the vascular area as equivalent to the venous sinus terminalis of the bird. footnote : _memoirs of the american academy of arts and sciences_, vol. ix. the general features of the circulation are clearly portrayed in the somewhat diagrammatic figures on pl. , in which the arteries are represented red, and the veins blue[ ]. footnote : i may state that my determinations of the arrangement of the circulation were made by actual observation of the flow of the blood under the microscope. i shall follow the figures on this plate in my descriptions. fig. represents my earliest stage of the circulation of the yolk-sack. at this stage there is visible a single aortic trunk passing forwards from the embryo and dividing into two branches. no venous trunk could be detected with the simple microscope, but probably venous channels were present in the thickened edge of the blastoderm. in fig. the circulation was greatly advanced[ ]. the blastoderm has now nearly completely enveloped the yolk, and there remains only a small circular space (_yk_) not enclosed by it. the arterial trunk is present as before, and divides in front of the embryo into two branches which turn backwards and nearly form a complete ring round the embryo. in general appearance it resembles the sinus terminalis of the area vasculosa of the bird, but in reality bears quite a different relation to the circulation. it gives off branches only on its inner side. footnote : my figure may be compared with that of leydig, _rochen und haie_, plate iii. fig. . leydig calls the arterial ring the sinus terminalis, and appears to regard it as venous, but his description is so short that this point is not quite clear. a venous system of returning vessels is now fully developed, and its relations are very remarkable. there is a main venous ring round the thickened edge of the blastoderm, which is connected with the embryo by a single stem which runs along the seam where the edges of the blastoderm have coalesced. since the venous trunks are only developed behind the embryo, it is only the posterior part of the arterial ring which gives off branches. the succeeding stage, fig. , is also one of considerable interest. the arterial ring has greatly extended, and now embraces nearly half the yolk, and sends off trunks on its inner side along its whole circumference. more important changes have taken place in the venous system. the blastoderm has now completely enveloped the yolk, and as a result of this, the venous ring no longer exists, but at the point where it vanished there may be observed a number of smaller veins diverging in a brush-like fashion from the termination of the unpaired trunk which originally connected the venous ring with the heart. this point is indicated in the figure by the letter _y_. the brush-like divergence of the veins is a still more marked feature in a blastoderm of a succeeding stage (fig. ). the circulation in the succeeding stage (fig. ) (projected in my figure) only differs in details from that of the previous stage. the arterial ring has become much larger, and the portion of the yolk not embraced (_x_) by it is quite small. instead of all the branches from the ring being of nearly equal size, two of them are especially developed. the venous system has undergone no important changes. in fig. the circulation is represented at a still later stage. the arterial ring has come to embrace the whole yolk, and as a result of this, has in its turn vanished as did the venous ring before it. at this stage of the circulation there is present a single arterial and a single venous trunk. the arterial trunk is a branch of the dorsal aorta, and the venous trunk originally falls into the heart together with the subintestinal or splanchnic vein, but on the formation of the liver enters this and breaks up into capillaries in it. the venous trunk leaves the body on the right side, and the arterial on the left. the most interesting point to be noticed in connection with the yolk-sack circulation of scyllium is the fact of its being formed on a completely different type to that of the amniotic vertebrates. the vascular glands. there are in scyllium two structures which have gone under the name of the suprarenal body. the one of these is an unpaired rod-like body lying between the dorsal aorta and the caudal vein in the region of the posterior end of the kidneys. this body i propose to call _the interrenal body_. the other is formed by a series of paired bodies situated dorsal to the cardinal veins on branches of the aorta, and arranged segmentally. these bodies i shall call _the suprarenal bodies_. i propose treating the literature of these bodies together, since they have usually been dealt with in this way, and indeed regarded as parts of the same system. as i hope to shew in the sequel, the origin of these bodies is very different. the interrenal body appears to be developed from the mesoblast; while my researches on the suprarenal bodies confirm the brilliant investigations of leydig, shewing that they are formed out of the sympathetic ganglia. the most important investigations on these bodies have been made by leydig[ ]. in his first researches, _rochen u. haie_, pp. , , he gives an account of the position and histology of what is probably my interrenal body[ ]. footnote : _rochen und haie and untersuchung. ü. fische u. reptilien._ footnote : i do not feel sure that leydig's unpaired suprarenal body is really my interrenal body, or at any rate it alone. the point could no doubt easily be settled with fresh specimens, but these i unfortunately cannot at present obtain. my doubts rest partly on the fact that, in addition to my interrenal body, other peculiar masses of tissue (which may be called lymphoid in lieu of a better name) are certainly present around some of the larger vessels of the kidneys which are not identical in structure and development with my interrenal body, and partly that stannius' statements (to be alluded to directly) rather indicate the existence of a second unpaired body in connection with the kidneys, though i do not fully understand his descriptions. the position and relations of the interrenal body vary somewhat according to leydig in different cases. he makes the following statement about its histology. "fat molecules form the chief mass of the body, which causes its white, or ochre-yellow colour, and one finds freely embedded in them clear vesicular nuclei." he then proceeds to state that this structure is totally dissimilar to that of the mammalian suprarenal body, and gives it as his opinion that it is not the same body as this. in his later researches[ ] he abandons this opinion, and adopts the view that the interrenal body is part of the same system as the suprarenal bodies to be subsequently spoken of. leydig describes the suprarenal bodies as paired bodies segmentally arranged along the ventral side of the spinal column situated on the successive arteriæ axillares, and in close connection with one or more sympathetic ganglia. he finds them formed of lobes, consisting of closed vesicles full of nuclei and cells. numerous nerve-fibres are also described as present. with reference to the real meaning of these bodies he expresses a distinct view. he says[ ], "as the pituitary body is an integral part of the brain, so are the suprarenal bodies part of the sympathetic system." he re-affirms with still greater emphasis the same view in his _fische u. reptilien_. though these views have not obtained much acceptance, and the accuracy of the histological data on which they are grounded has been questioned, yet i hope to shew in the sequel not only that leydig's statements are in the main true, but that development proves his conclusions to have been well founded. footnote : _fische u. reptilien_, p. . footnote : _rochen u. haie_, p. . stannius alludes[ ] to both these bodies, and though he does not contribute much to leydig's previous statements, yet he accepts leydig's position with reference to the relation of the sympathetic and suprarenal bodies[ ]. footnote : _vergleichende anatomie_, ii. auflage. footnote : stannius' description is not quite intelligible, but appears to point to the existence of a third kind of body connected with the kidney. from my own observations (vide above), i am inclined to regard it as probable that such a third body exists. the general text-books of histology, kölliker's work, and eberth's article in stricker's _histology_, do not give much information on this subject; but eberth, without apparently having examined the point, questions the accuracy of leydig's statements with reference to the anatomical relations of the sympathetic ganglia and suprarenal bodies. the last author who has dealt with this subject is professor semper[ ]. he records observations both on the anatomy and development of these organs. his anatomical observations are in the main confirmatory of those of leydig, but he shews still more clearly than did leydig the segmental arrangement of the suprarenal bodies. he definitely regards the interrenal and suprarenal bodies as parts of the same system, and states that in many forms they are continuous (p. ): footnote : "urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen." _arb. zool.-zoot. inst. z. würzburg_, vol. ii. "hier freilich gehen sie bei manchen formen...in einen körper über, welcher zwischen den enden d. beiden nieren liegend dicht an der einfachen caudalvene sitzt." with reference to their development he says: "they arise then also completely independently of the kidneys, as isolated segmentally arranged groups of mesoderm cells between the convolutions of the segmental organs; only anteriorly do they stretch beyond them, and extend quite up to the pericardium." to semper's statements i shall return, but now pass on to my own observations. the paired suprarenal bodies are dealt with first. _the suprarenal bodies._ my observations on these bodies in the adult scyllium have only been made with specimens hardened in chromic acid, and there are many points which deserve a fuller investigation than i have been able to give them. the general position and relations of the suprarenal bodies have been fully given by leydig and semper, and i have nothing to add to their statements. they are situated on branches of the aorta, segmentally arranged, and extend on each side of the vertebral column from close behind the heart to the posterior part of the body-cavity. the anterior pair are the largest, and are formed apparently from the fusion of two bodies[ ]. when these bodies are examined microscopically, their connection with the sympathetic ganglia becomes at once obvious. bound up in the same sheath as the anterior one is an especially large ganglion already alluded to by leydig, and sympathetic ganglia are more or less distinctly developed in connection with all the others. there is however considerable irregularity in the development and general arrangement of the sympathetic ganglia, which are broken up into a number of small ganglionic swellings, on some of which an occasional extra suprarenal body is at times developed. as a rule it may be stated that there is a much smaller ganglionic development in connection with the posterior suprarenal bodies than with the anterior. footnote : there is a very good figure of them in semper's paper, pl. xxi. fig. . the different suprarenal bodies exhibit variations in structure mainly dependent on the ganglion cells and nerves in them, and their typical structure is best exhibited in a posterior one, in which there is a comparatively small development of nervous elements. a portion of a section through one of these is represented on pl. , fig. , and presents the following features. externally there is present a fibrous capsule, which sends in the septa, imperfectly dividing up the body into a series of alveoli or lobes. penetrating and following the septa there is a rich capillary network. the parenchyma of the body itself exhibits a well-marked distinction in the majority of instances into a cortical and medullary substance. the cortical substance is formed of rather irregular columnar cells, for the most part one row deep, arranged round the periphery of the body. its cells measure on about an average . mm. in their longest diameter. the medullary substance is more or less distinctly divided into alveoli, and is formed of irregularly polygonal cells; and though it is difficult to give an estimate of their size on account of their irregularity, . mm. may be taken as probably about the diameter of an average cell. the character of the cortical and medullary cells is nearly the same, and the cells of the two strata appear rather to differ in shape than in any other essential point. the protoplasm of both has a markedly yellow tinge, giving to the suprarenal bodies a yellowish brown colour. the nuclei are small compared to the size of the cells, being about . mm. in both cortical and medullary cells. in the anterior suprarenal body there is a less marked distinction between the cortical and the medullary layers, and a less pronounced yellow coloration of the whole, than in the posterior bodies. the suprarenal bodies are often partially or completely surrounded by a lymphoid tissue, which is alluded to in the account of their development. the most interesting features of my sections of the anterior bodies are the relations they bring to light between the sympathetic ganglia and the suprarenal bodies. in the case of one of the posterior suprarenal bodies, a small ganglion is generally found attached to both ends of the body, and invested in the same sheath; in addition to this a certain number of ganglion cells (very conspicuous by their size and other characters) are to be found scattered through the body. in the anterior suprarenal bodies the development of ganglion cells is very much greater. if a section is taken through the region where the large sympathetic ganglion (already mentioned) is attached to the body, one half of the section is composed mainly of sympathetic ganglion cells and nerve fibres, and the other of suprarenal tissue, but the former spread in considerable numbers into the latter. a transverse section through the suprarenal body in front of, or behind this point, is still more instructive. one of these is represented in pl. , fig. . the suprarenal tissue is not inserted, but fills up the whole space within the outline of the body. at one point a nerve (_n_) is seen to enter. in connection with this are a number of ganglion cells, the exact distribution of which has been reproduced. they are scattered irregularly throughout the suprarenal body, but are more concentrated at the smaller than at the large end. it is this small end which, in succeeding sections, is entirely replaced by a sympathetic ganglion. wavy fibres (which i take to be nervous) are distributed through the suprarenal body in a manner which, roughly speaking, is proportional to the number of ganglion cells. at the large end of the body, where there are few nerve cells, the typical suprarenal structure is more or less retained. where the nerve fibres are more numerous at the small end of the section, they give to the tissue a somewhat peculiar appearance, though the individual suprarenal cells retain their normal structure. in a section of this kind the ganglion and nerves are clearly so intimately united with the suprarenal body as not to be separable from it. the question naturally arises as to whether there are cells of an intermediate character between the ganglion cells and the cells of the suprarenal body. i have not clearly detected any such, but my observations are of too limited a character to settle the point in an adverse sense. the embryological part of my researches on these bodies is in reality an investigation of later development of the sympathetic ganglia. the earliest stages in the development of these have already been given[ ], and i take them up here as they appear during stage l, and shall confine my description to the changes they undergo in the anterior part of the trunk. they form during stage l irregular masses of cells with very conspicuous branches connecting them with the spinal nerves (pl. , fig. ). there may be noticed at intervals solid rods of cells passing from the bodies to the aorta, pl. , fig. . these rods are the rudiments of the aortic branches to which the suprarenal bodies are eventually attached. footnote : _antea_, pp. - . in a stage between m and n the trunks connecting these bodies with the spinal nerves are much smaller and less easy to see than during stage l. in some cases moreover the nerves appear to attach themselves more definitely to a central and inner part of the ganglia than to the whole of them. this is shewn in pl. , fig. , and i regard it as the first trace of a division of the primitive ganglia into a suprarenal part and a ganglionic part. the branches from the aorta have now a definite lumen, and take a course through the centre of these bodies, as do the aortic branches in the adult. by stage o these bodies have acquired a distinct mesoblastic investment, which penetrates into their interior, and divides it, especially in the case of the anterior bodies, into a number of distinct alveoli. these alveoli are far more distinct in some parts of the bodies than in others. the nerve-trunks uniting the bodies with the spinal nerves are (at least in specimens hardened in picric and chromic acids) very difficult to see, and i have failed to detect that they are connected with special parts of the bodies, or that the separate alveoli differ much as to the nature of their constituent cells. the aortic branches to the bodies are larger than in the previous stage, and the bodies themselves fairly vascular. by stage q (pl. , fig. ) two distinct varieties of cells are present in these bodies. one of these is large, angular, and strikingly resembles the ganglion cells of the spinal nerves at the same period. this variety is found in separate lobules or alveoli on the inner border of the bodies. i take them to be true ganglion cells, though i have not seen them in my sections especially connected with the nerves. the cells of the second variety are also aggregated in special lobules, and are very markedly smaller than the ganglionic cells. they form, i imagine, the cells of the true suprarenal tissue. at this and the earlier stage lymphoid tissue, like that surrounding the suprarenal bodies in the adult, is found adjacent to these bodies. stage q forms my last embryonic stage, and it may perhaps be asked on what grounds i regard these bodies as suprarenal bodies at all and not as simple sympathetic ganglia. my determination mainly rests on three grounds: ( ) that a branch from the aorta penetrates these bodies and maintains exactly the same relations to them that the same branches of the aorta do in the adult to the true suprarenal bodies. ( ) that the bodies are highly vascular. ( ) that in my last stage they become divided into a ganglionic and a non-ganglionic part, with the same relations as the ganglia and suprarenal tissue in the adult. these grounds appear to me to afford ample justification for my determinations, and the evidence adduced above appears to me to render it almost certain that the suprarenal tissue is a product of the primitive ganglion and not introduced from the mesoblast without, though it is not to be denied that a more complete investigation of this point than it has been possible for me to make would be very desirable. professor semper states that he only made a very slight embryological investigation of these bodies, and probably has only carefully studied their later stages. he has accordingly overlooked the branches connecting them with the spinal nerves, and has not therefore detected the fact that they develop as parts of the sympathetic nervous system. i feel sure that if he re-examines his sections of younger embryos he will not fail to discover the nerve-branches described by me. his descriptions apart from this point accord fairly well with my own. the credit of the discovery that these bodies are really derivatives of the sympathetic nervous system is entirely leydig's: my observations do no more than confirm his remarkable observations and well-founded conclusions. _interrenal body._ my investigations on the interrenal body in the adult are even less complete than those on the suprarenal bodies. i find the body forming a small rod elliptical in section in the posterior region of the kidney between the dorsal aorta and unpaired caudal vein. some little distance behind its front end (and probably not at its thickest point) it measured in one example, of which i have sections, a little less than a millimetre in its longest diameter. anteriorly it overlaps the suprarenal bodies, and i failed to find any connection between them and it. on this point my observations do not accord with those of professor semper. i have however only been able to examine hardened specimens. it is, vide pl. , fig. , invested by a fairly thick tunica propria, which sends in septa, dividing it into rather well-marked lobules or alveoli. these are filled with polygonal cells, which form the true parenchyma of the body. these cells are in my hardened specimens not conspicuous by the number of oil-globules they contain, as might have been expected from leydig's description[ ]. they are rather granular in appearance, and are mainly peculiar from the somewhat large size of the nucleus. the diameter of an average cell is about . mm., and that of the nucleus about . to . . the nuclei are remarkably granular. the septa of the body are provided with a fairly rich capillary network. footnote : perhaps the body i am describing is not identical with leydig's posterior suprarenal body. i do not, as mentioned above, feel satisfied that it is so from leydig's description. at the first glance there is some resemblance in structure between the tissues of the suprarenal and interrenal bodies, but on a closer inspection this resemblance resolves itself into both bodies being divided up into lobules by connective-tissue septa. there is in the interrenal body no distinction between cortical and medullary layers as in the suprarenal. the cells of the two bodies have very different characters, as is demonstrated by a comparison of the relative diameters of the nuclei and the cells. the cells of the suprarenal bodies are considerably larger than those of the interrenal (. to . as compared to . ), yet the nuclei of the larger cells of the former body do not equal in size those of the smaller cells of the latter (. as compared to . ). my observations both on the coarser anatomy and on the histology of the interrenal body in the adult point to its being in no way connected with the suprarenal bodies, and are thus in accordance with the earlier and not the later views of leydig. the embryology of this body (under the title of suprarenal body) was first described in my preliminary account of the development of the elasmobranch fishes[ ]. a short account of its embryonic structure was given, and i stated that although i had not fully proved the point, yet i believed it to be derived from the wall of the alimentary canal. as will be shewn in the sequel this belief was ill-founded, and the organ in question is derived from the mesoblast. allusion has also been made to it by professor semper, who figures it at an early stage of development, and implies that it arises in the mesoblast and in connection with the suprarenal body. it appears at stage k as a rod-like aggregate of mesoblast cells, rather more closely packed than their neighbours, between the two kidneys near their hinder ends (plate , fig. _a_, _su_). the posterior and best marked part of it does not extend further forwards than the front end of the large intestine, and reaches backwards nearly as far as the hinder end of the kidneys. this part of the body lies between the caudal vein and dorsal aorta. footnote : _quarterly journal of microscopic science_, october, . [this edition no. v.] at about the point where the unpaired caudal vein divides into the two cardinals, the interrenal body becomes less well marked off from the surrounding tissue, though it may be traced forward for a considerable distance in the region of the small intestine. it retains up to stage q its original extension, but the anterior part becomes quite definite though still of a smaller calibre than the posterior. in one of my examples of stage o the two divisions were separated by a small interval, and not as in other cases continuous. i have not determined whether this was an accidental peculiarity or a general feature. i have never seen any signs of the interrenal body becoming continuous with the suprarenal bodies, though, as in the adult, the two bodies overlap for a considerable distance. the histology of the interrenal body in the embryonic periods is very simple. at first it is formed of cells differing from those around in being more circular and more closely packed. by stage l its cells have acquired a character of their own. they are still spherical or oval, but have more protoplasm than before, and their nucleus becomes very granular. at the same time the whole body becomes invested by a tunic of spindle-shaped mesoblast cells. by stage o it begins to be divided into a number of separate areas or lobes by septa formed of nucleated fibres. these become more distinct in the succeeding stages up to q (pl. , fig. ), and in them a fair number of capillaries are formed. from the above description it is clear that embryology lends no more countenance than does anatomy to the view that the interrenal bodies belong to the same system as the suprarenal, and it becomes a question with which (if of either) of these two bodies the suprarenal bodies of the higher vertebrata are homologous. this question i shall not attempt to answer in a definite way. my own decided belief is that the suprarenal bodies of scyllium are homologous with the suprarenal bodies of mammalia, and a good many points both in their structure and position might be urged in favour of this view. in the mean time, however, it appears to me better to wait before expressing a definite opinion till the embryonic development of the suprarenal bodies has been worked out in the higher vertebrata. explanation of plate . complete list of reference letters. _nervous system._ _n._ nerve. _spn._ spinal nerve. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _alimentary canal._ _cl._ cloaca. _incl._ cloacal involution. _oeep._ oesophageal epithelium. _pan._ pancreas. _th._ thyroid body. _general._ _abp._ abdominal pocket (pore). _aur._ auricle. _cav._ cardinal vein. _cauv._ caudal vein. _ly._ lymphoid tissue. _mm._ muscles. _od._ oviduct. _pc._ pericardium. _pp._ body-cavity. _sr._ suprarenal body. _u._ ureter. _vao._ ventral aorta (anterior continuation of bulbus arteriosus). _ven._ ventricle. _wd._ wolffian duct. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections through the cloacal region of an embryo belonging to stage o. _a_ is the anterior of the three sections. zeiss a, ocul. . reduced one-third. _a_ shews the cloacal involution at its deepest part abutting on the cloacal section of the alimentary tract. _b_ is a section through a point somewhat behind this close to the opening of the wolffian ducts into the cloaca. _c_ shews the opening to the exterior in the posterior part of the cloaca, and also the rudiments of the two abdominal pockets (_abp_). fig. . section through the cloacal region of an embryo belonging to stage p. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews the solid anterior extremity of the cloacal involution. fig. . longitudinal vertical section through the thyroid body in a stage between o and p. zeiss a a, ocul. . the figure shews the solid thyroid body (_th_) connected in front with throat, and terminating below the bulbus arteriosus. fig. . pancreas (_pan_) and adjoining part of the alimentary tract in longitudinal section, from an embryo between stages l and m. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . portion of liver network of stage l. zeiss c, ocul. . the section is intended to illustrate the fact that the tubules or cylinders of which the liver is composed are hollow and not solid. between the liver tubules are seen blood spaces with distinct walls, and blood corpuscles in their interior. fig. . section through part of one of the suprarenal bodies of an adult scyllium hardened in chromic acid. zeiss c, ocul. . the section shews the columnar cells forming the cortex and the more polygonal cells of the medulla. fig. . transverse section through the anterior suprarenal body of an adult scyllium. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the tissue of the suprarenal body has not been filled in, but only the sympathetic ganglion cells which are seen to be irregularly scattered through the substance of the body. the entrance of the nerve (_n_) is shewn, and indications are given of the distribution of the nerve-fibres. fig. . section through the sympathetic ganglion of a scyllium embryo between stages m and n, shewing the connecting trunk between the suprarenal body and the spinal nerve (_spn_), and the appearance of an indication in the ganglion of a portion more directly connected with the nerve. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . section through one of the anterior sympathetic ganglia of an embryo of stage q, shewing its division into a true ganglionic portion (_syg_), and a suprarenal body (_sr_). zeiss c, ocul. . chapter xii. the organs of excretion. the earliest stages in the development of the excretory system have already been described in a previous chapter[ ] of this memoir, and up to the present time no investigator, with the exception of dr alex. schultz[ ], has gone over the same ground. dr schultz' descriptions are somewhat brief, but differ from my own mainly in stating that the segmental duct arises from an involution instead of as a solid knob. this discrepancy is, i believe, due to dr schultz drawing his conclusions as to the development of the segmental duct from its appearance at a comparatively late stage. he appears to have been unacquainted with my earlier descriptions. footnote : chapter vi. p. , _et seq._ footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat_. bd. xi. the adult anatomy and later stages in the development of the excretory organs form the subject of the present chapter, and stand in marked contrast to the earlier stages in that they have been dealt with in a magnificent monograph[ ] by professor semper, whose investigations have converted this previously almost unknown field of vertebrate embryology into one of the most fully explored parts of the whole subject. reference is frequently made to this monograph in the succeeding pages, but my references, numerous as they are, give no adequate idea of the completeness and thoroughness of professor semper's investigations. in professor semper's monograph are embodied the results of a considerable number of preliminary papers published by him in his _arbeiten_ and in the _centralblatt_. the excretory organs of elasmobranchii have also formed the subject of some investigations by dr meyer[ ] and by myself[ ]. their older literature is fully given by professor semper. in addition to the above-cited works, there is one other paper by dr spengel[ ] on the urinogenital system of amphibians, to which reference will frequently be made in the sequel, and which, though only indirectly connected with the subject of this chapter, deserves special mention both on account of the accuracy of the investigations of which it forms the record, and of the novel light which it throws on many of the problems of the constitution of the urinogenital system of vertebrates. footnote : "urogenital system d. plagiostomen," semper, _arbeiten_, vol. ii. footnote : _sitzungsberichte d. naturfor. ges. leipzig_, . no. . footnote : "preliminary account of the development of elasmobranch fishes," _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, . "origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journal of anat. and physiol._ vol. x. footnote : _arbeiten_, semper, vol. iii. _excretory organs and genital ducts in the adult._ the kidneys of scyllium canicula are paired bodies in contact along the median line. they are situated on the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity, and extend from close to the diaphragm to a point a short way behind the anus. externally, each appears as a single gland, but by the arrangement of its ducts may be divided into two distinct parts, an anterior and a posterior. the former will be spoken of as the wolffian body, and the latter as the kidney, from their respective homology with the glands so named in higher vertebrates. the grounds for these determinations have already been fully dealt with both by semper[ ] and by myself. footnote : though professor semper has come to the same conclusion as myself with respect to these homologies, yet he calls the wolffian body leydig's gland after its distinguished discoverer, and its duct leydig's duct. externally both the wolffian body and the kidney are more or less clearly divided into segments, and though the breadth of both glands as viewed from the ventral surface is fairly uniform, yet the hinder part of the kidney is very much thicker and bulkier than the anterior part and than the whole of the wolffian body. in both sexes the wolffian body is rather longer than the kidney proper. thus in a male example, centimetres long, the two glands together measured - / centimetres and the kidney proper only - / . in the male the wolffian bodies extend somewhat further forwards than in the female. leaving the finer details of the glands for subsequent treatment, i pass at once to their ducts. these differ slightly in the two sexes, so that it will be more convenient to take the male and female separately. a partly diagrammatic representation of the kidney and wolffian body of the male is given on pl. , fig. . the secretion of the wolffian body is carried off by a duct, _the wolffian duct (w.d.)_, which lies on the ventral surface of the gland, and receives a separate ductule from each segment (pl. , fig. ). the main function of the wolffian duct in the male is, however, that of a vas deferens. the testicular products are brought to it through the coils of the anterior segments of the wolffian body by a number of vasa efferentia, the arrangement of which is treated of on pp. , . the section of the wolffian duct which overlies the wolffian body is much contorted, and in adult individuals at the generative period enormously so. the duct often presents one or two contortions beyond the hind end of the wolffian body, but in the normal condition takes a straight course from this point to the unpaired urinogenital cloaca, into which it falls independently of its fellow of the opposite side. it receives no feeders from the kidney proper. the excretion of the kidney proper is carried off not by a single duct, but by a series of more or less independent ducts, which, in accordance with prof. semper's nomenclature, will be spoken of as _ureters_. these are very minute, and their investigation requires some care. i have reason, from my examinations of this and other species of elasmobranchii, to believe that they are, moreover, subject to considerable variations, and the following description applies to a definite individual. nine or possibly ten distinct ureters, whose arrangement is diagrammatically represented in fig. , pl. , were present on each side. it will be noticed that, whereas the five hindermost are distinct till close to their openings into the urinogenital cloaca, the four anterior ones appear to unite at once into a single duct, but are probably only bound up in a common sheath. the ureters fall into the common urinogenital cloaca, immediately behind the opening of the wolffian duct (so far as could be determined), by four apertures on each side. in a section made through the part of the wall of the cloaca containing the openings of the ureters of both sides, there were present on the left side (where the section passed nearer to the surface than on the right) four small openings posteriorly, viz. the openings of the ureters and one larger one anteriorly, viz. the opening of the wolffian duct. on the other side of the section where the level was rather deeper, there were five distinct ducts cut through, one of which was almost on the point of dividing into two. this second section proves that, in this instance at least, the two ureters did not unite till just before opening into the urinogenital cloaca. the same section also appeared to shew that one of the ureters fell not into the cloaca but into the wolffian duct. as stated above both the wolffian duct and the ureters fall into an unpaired urinogenital cloaca. this cloaca communicates at one end with the general cloaca by a single aperture situated at the point of a somewhat conspicuous papilla, just behind the anus (pl. , fig. , _o_), and on the other it opens freely into a pair of bladders, situated in close contact with each other, on the ventral side of the kidney (pl. , fig. , _sb_). to these bladders professor semper has given the name _uterus masculinus_, from having supposed them to correspond with the lower part of the oviducts of the female. this homology he now admits to be erroneous, and it will accordingly be better to drop the name uterus masculinus, for which may be substituted _seminal bladder_--a name which suits their function, since they are usually filled with semen at the generation season. the seminal bladders communicate with the urinogenital cloaca by wide openings, and it is on the borders of these openings that the mouths of the wolffian duct and ureters must be looked for. my embryological investigations, though they have not been specially directed to this point, seem to shew that the seminal bladders do not arise during embryonic life, and are still absent in very young individuals. it seems probable that both the bladders and the urinogenital cloaca are products of the lower extremities of the wolffian duct. the only other duct requiring any notice in the male is the rudimentary oviduct. as was first shewn by semper, rudiments of the upper extremities of the oviducts, with their abdominal openings, are to be found in the male in the same position as in the female, on the front surface of the liver. in the female the same ducts are present as in the male, viz. the wolffian duct and the ureters. the part of the wolffian duct which receives the secretion of the wolffian body is not contorted, but is otherwise similar to the homologous part of the wolffian duct in the male. the wolffian ducts of the two sides fall independently into an unpaired urinal cloaca, but their lower ends, instead of remaining simple as in the male, become dilated into urinary bladders. vide pl. , fig. . there were nine ureters in the example dissected, whose arrangement did not differ greatly from that in the male--the hinder ones remaining distinct from each other, but a certain amount of fusion, the extent of which could not be quite certainly ascertained, taking place between the anterior ones. the arrangement of the openings of these ducts is not quite the same as in the male. a somewhat magnified representation of it is given in pl. , fig. , _o.u._ the two wolffian ducts meet at so acute an angle that their hindermost extremities are only separated by a septum. in the region of this septum on the inner walls of the two wolffian ducts were situated the openings of the ureters, of which there were five on each side arranged linearly. in a second example, also adult, i found four distinct openings on each side similarly arranged to those in the specimen described. professor semper states that all the ureters in the female unite into a _single duct_ before opening into the wolffian duct. it will certainly surprise me to find such great variations in different individuals of this species as is implied by the discrepancy between professor semper's description and my own. the main difference between the ureters in the male and female consists in their falling into the urinogenital cloaca in the former and into the wolffian duct in the latter. since, however, the urinogenital cloaca is a derivative of the wolffian duct, this difference between the two sexes is not a very important one. the urinary cloaca opens, in the female, into the general cloaca by a median papilla of somewhat smaller dimensions than the corresponding papilla in the male. seminal bladders are absent in the female, though possibly represented by the bladder-like dilatations of the wolffian duct. the oviducts, whose anatomy is too well known to need description, open independently into the general cloaca. since the publication of professor semper's researches on the urinogenital system of elasmobranch fishes, it has been well known that, in most adult elasmobranchii, there are present a series of funnel-shaped openings, leading from the perivisceral cavity, by the intermediation of a short canal, into the glandular tubuli of the kidney. these openings are called by professor semper, _segmentaltrichter_, and by dr spengel, in his valuable work on the urogenital system of amphibia, _nephrostomen_. in the present work the openings will be spoken of as segmental openings, and the tubes connected with them as segmental tubes. of these openings there are a considerable number in the adults of both sexes of scy. canicula, situated along the inner border of each kidney. the majority of them belong to the wolffian body, though absent in the extreme anterior part of this. in very young examples a few certainly belong to the region of the kidney proper. where present, there is one for each segment[ ]. it is not easy to make certain of their exact number. in one male i counted thirteen. in the female it is more difficult than in the male to make this out with certainty, but in one young example, which had left the egg but a short time, there appeared to be at least fourteen present. according to semper there are thirteen funnels in both sexes--a number which fairly well agrees with my own results. in the male, rudiments of segmental tubes are present in all the anterior segments of the wolffian body behind the vasa efferentia, but it is not till about the tenth segment that the first complete one is present. in the female a somewhat smaller number of the anterior segments, six or seven, are without segmental tubes, or only possess them in a rudimentary condition. footnote : the term segment will be more accurately defined below. a typical segment of the wolffian body or kidney, in the sense in which this term has been used above, consists of a number of factors, each of which will be considered in detail with reference to its variations. on pl. , fig. , is represented a portion of the wolffian body with three complete segments and part of a fourth. if one of these be selected, it will be seen to commence with ( ) a segmental opening, somewhat oval in form (_st.o_) and leading directly into ( ) a narrow tube, the segmental tube, which takes a more or less oblique course backwards, and, passing superficially to the wolffian duct (_w.d_), opens into ( ) a malpighian body (_p.mg_) at the anterior extremity of an isolated coil of glandular tubuli. this coil forms the fourth section of each segment, and starts from the malpighian body. it consists of a considerable number of rather definite convolutions, and after uniting with tubuli from one or two (according to size of the segment) accessory malpighian bodies (_a.mg_), smaller than the one into which the segmental tube falls, eventually opens by a ( ) narrowish tube into the wolffian duct at the posterior end of the segment. each segment is completely isolated (except for certain rudimentary structures to be alluded to shortly) from the adjoining ones, _and never has more than one segmental tube and one communication with the wolffian duct_. the number and general arrangement of the segmental tubes have already been spoken of. their openings into the body-cavity are, in scyllium, very small, much more so than in the majority of elasmobranchii. the general appearance of a segmental tube and its opening is somewhat that of a spoon, in which the handle represents the segmental tube, and the bowl the segmental opening. usually amongst elasmobranchii the openings and tubes are ciliated, but i have not determined whether this is the case in scy. canicula, and semper does not speak definitely on this point. from the segmental openings proceed the segmental tubes, which in the front segments have nearly a transverse direction, but in the posterior ones are directed more and more obliquely backwards. this statement applies to both sexes, but the obliquity is greater in the female than in the male. as has been said, each segmental tube normally opens into a malpighian body, from which again there proceeds the tubulus, the convolutions of which form the main mass of each segment. this feature can be easily seen in the case of the malpighian bodies of the anterior part of the wolffian gland in young examples, and sometimes fairly well in old ones, of either sex[ ]. there is generally in each segment a second malpighian body, which forms the commencement of a tubulus joining that from the primary malpighian body, and, where the segments are larger, there are three, and possibly in the hinder segments of the wolffian gland and segments of the kidney proper, more than three malpighian bodies. footnote : my observations on this subject completely disprove, if it is necessary to do so after professor semper's investigations, the statement of dr meyer, that segmental tubes in scyllium open into lymph organs. the accessory malpighian bodies, or at any rate one of them, appear to have curious relations to the segmental tubes. the necks of some of the anterior segmental tubes (pl. , fig. ) close to their openings into the primary malpighian bodies are provided with a small knob of cells which points towards the preceding segment and is usually connected with it by a fibrous band. this knob is most conspicuous in the male, and in very young animals or almost ripe embryos. in several instances in a ripe male embryo it appeared to me to have a lumen, and to be continued directly forwards into the accessory malpighian body of the preceding segment. one such case is figured in the middle segment on pl. , fig. . in this embryo segmental tubes were present in the segments immediately succeeding those connected with the vasa efferentia, and at the same time these segments contained ordinary and accessory malpighian bodies. the segmental tubes of these segments were not, however, connected with the malpighian body of their proper segment, but instead, turned forwards and entered the segment in front of that to which they properly belonged. i failed to trace them quite definitely to the accessory malpighian body of the preceding segment, but, in one instance at least, there appeared to me to be present a fibrous connection, which is shewn in the figure already referred to, pl. , fig. , _r.st_. in any case it can hardly be doubted that this peculiarity of the foremost segmental tubes is related to what would seem to be the normal arrangement in the next few succeeding segments, where each segmental tube is connected with a malpighian body in its own segment, and more or less distinctly with an accessory malpighian body in the preceding segment. in the male the anterior segmental tubes, which even in the embryo exhibit signs of atrophy, become in the adult completely aborted (as has been already shewn by semper), and remain as irregular tubes closed at both ends, which for the most part do not extend beyond the wolffian duct (pl. , fig. , _r.st_). in the adult, the first two or three segments with these aborted tubes contain only accessory malpighian bodies; the remaining segments, with aborted segmental tubes, both secondary and primary malpighian bodies. in neither case are the malpighian bodies connected with the aborted tubes. the malpighian bodies in scyllium present no special peculiarities. the outer layer of their capsule is for the most part formed of flattened cells; but, between the opening of the segmental tube and the efferent tubulus of the kidney, their cells become columnar. vide pl. , fig. . the convoluted tubuli continuous with them are, i believe, ciliated in their proximal section, but i have not made careful investigations with reference to their finer structure. each segment is connected with the wolffian duct by a single tube at the hinder end of the segment. in the kidney proper, these tubes become greatly prolonged, and form the ureters. it has already been stated that the semen is carried by vasa efferentia from the testes to the anterior segments of the wolffian body, and thence through the coils of the wolffian body to the wolffian duct. the nature of the vasa will be discussed in the embryological section of this chapter: i shall here confine myself to a simple description of their anatomical relations. the consideration of their connections naturally falls under three heads: ( ) the vasa efferentia passing from the testes to the wolffian body, ( ) the mode in which these are connected with the wolffian body, and ( ) with the testis. in pl. , fig. , drawn for me from nature by my friend mr haddon, are shewn the vasa efferentia and their junctions both with the testes and the kidney. this figure illustrates better than any description the anatomy of the various parts. behind there are two simple vasa efferentia (_v.e._) and in front a complicated network of vasa, which might be regarded as formed of either two or four main vessels. it will be shewn in the sequel that it is really formed of four distinct vessels. professor semper states that there is but a single vas efferens in scyllium canicula, a statement which appears to me unquestionably erroneous. all the vasa efferentia fall into a _longitudinal duct (l.c)_, which is connected in succession with the several segments of the wolffian body (one for each vas efferens) which appertain to the testis. the hind end of the longitudinal duct is simple, and ends blindly close to its junction with the last vas efferens; but in front, where the vasa efferentia are complicated, the longitudinal duct also has a complicated constitution, and forms a network rather than a simple tube. it typically sends off a duct to join the coils of the wolffian body between each pair of vasa efferentia, and is usually swollen where this duct parts from it. a duct similar to this has been described by semper as _nierenrandcanal_ in several elasmobranchii, but its existence is expressly denied in the case of scyllium! it is usually found in amphibia, as we know from bidder and spengel's researches. spengel calls it _längscanal des hoden_; the vessels from it into the kidney he calls _vasa efferentia_, and the vessels to it, which i speak of as vasa efferentia, he calls _quercanale_. the exact mode of junction of the separate vasa efferentia with the testis is difficult to make out on account of the opacity of the basal portion of the testis. my figure shews that there is a network of tubes (formed of four main tubes connected by transverse branches) which is a continuation of the anterior vasa efferentia, and joined by the two posterior ones. these tubes receive the tubuli coming from the testicular ampullæ. the whole network may be called, with semper, the _testicular network_. while its general relations are represented in my figure, the opacity of the testes was too great to allow of all the details being with certainty filled in. the kidneys of scyllium stellare, as might be expected, closely resemble those of scy. canicula. the ducts of the kidney proper, have, in the former species, a larger number of distinct openings into the urinogenital cloaca. in two male examples i counted seven distinct ureters, though it is not impossible that there may have been one or two more present. in one of my examples the ureters had seven distinct openings into the cloaca, in the other five openings. in a female i counted eleven ureters opening into the wolffian duct by seven distinct openings. in the remaining parts of the excretory organs the two species of scyllium resemble each other very closely. as may be gathered from prof. semper's monograph, the excretory organs of scyllium canicula are fairly typical for elasmobranchii generally. the division into kidney and wolffian body is universal. the segmental openings may be more numerous and larger, _e.g._ acanthias and squatina, or absent in the adult, _e.g._ mustelus and raja. bladder-like swellings of the wolffian duct in the female appear to be exceptional, and seminal bladders are not always present. the variations in the ureters and their openings are considerable, and in some cases all the ureters are stated to fall into a single duct, which may be spoken of as the ureter _par excellence_[ ], with the same relations to the kidneys as the wolffian duct bears to the wolffian body. in some cases malpighian corpuscles are completely absent in the wolffian body, _e.g._ raja. footnote : i feel considerable hesitation in accepting semper's descriptions of the ureters and their openings. it has been shewn above that for scyllium his statements are probably inaccurate, and in other instances, _e.g._ raja, i cannot bring my dissections to harmonise with his descriptions. the vasa efferentia of the testes in scyllium are very typical, but there are some forms in which they are more numerous as well as others in which they are less so. perhaps the vasa efferentia are seen in their most typical form in centrina as described and figured (pl. xxi) by professor semper, or in squatina vulgaris, as i find it, and have represented it on pl. , fig. . from my figure, representing the anterior part of the wolffian body of a nearly ripe embryo, it will be seen that there are five vasa efferentia (_v.e_) connected on the one hand with a longitudinal canal at the base of the testes (_n.t_) and on the other with a longitudinal canal in the wolffian body. connected with the second longitudinal canal are four malpighian bodies, three of them stalked and one sessile; from which again proceed tubes forming the commencements of the coils of the anterior segments of the wolffian body. these malpighian bodies are clearly my primary malpighian bodies, but there are in squatina, even in the generative segments, secondary malpighian bodies. what semper has described for centrina and one or two other genera, closely correspond with what is present in squatina. _development of the segmental tubes._ on p. , _et seq._ an account was given of the first formation of the segmental tubes and the segmental duct, and the history of these bodies was carried on till nearly the period at which it is taken up in the exhaustive memoir of professor semper. though the succeeding narration traverses to a great extent the same ground as semper's memoir, yet many points are treated somewhat differently, and others are dealt with which do not find a place in the latter. in the majority of instances, attention is called to points on which my results either agree with, or are opposed to, those of professor semper. from previous statements it has been rendered clear that _at first_ the excretory organs of elasmobranchii exhibit no division into wolffian body or kidney proper. since this distinction is merely a question of the ducts, and does not concern the glandular tubuli, no allusion is made to its appearance in the present section, which deals only with the glandular part of the kidneys and not with their ducts. up to the close of stage k the urinogenital organs consist of a segmental duct opening in front into the body-cavity, and terminating blindly behind in close contact with the cloaca, and of a series of segmental tubes, each opening into the body-cavity on the inner side of the segmental duct, but ending blindly at their opposite extremities. it is with these latter that we have at present to deal. they are from the first directed obliquely backwards, and coil close round the inner and dorsal sides of the segmental duct. where they are in contact (close to their openings into the body-cavity) with the segmental duct, the lumen of the latter diminishes and so comes to exhibit regular alternations of size. this is shewn in pl. , fig. , _s.d_. at the points where the segmental duct has a larger lumen, it eventually unites with the segmental tubes. the segmental tubes rapidly undergo a series of changes, the character of which may be investigated, either by piecing together transverse sections, or more easily from longitudinal and vertical sections. they acquire a lambda-shaped form with an anterior limb opening into the body-cavity and posterior limb, resting on a dilated portion of the segmental duct. the next important change which they undergo consists in a junction being effected between their posterior limbs and the segmental duct. in the anterior part of the body these junctions appear before the commencement of stage l. a segmental tube at this stage is shewn in longitudinal section on pl. , fig. _a_, and in transverse section on pl. , fig. . in the former the actual openings into the body-cavity are not visible. in the transverse section only one limb of the lambda is met with on either side of the section; the limb opening into the body-cavity is seen on the left side, and that opening into the segmental duct on the right side. this becomes quite intelligible from a comparison with the longitudinal section, which demonstrates that it is clearly not possible to see more than a single limb of the lambda in any transverse section. after the formation of their junctions with the segmental duct, other changes soon take place in the segmental tubes. by the close of stage l four distinct divisions may be noticed in each tube. firstly, there is the opening into the body-cavity, with a somewhat narrow stalk, to which the name segmental tube will be strictly confined in the future, while the whole products of the original segmental tube will be spoken of as a segment of the kidney. this narrow stalk opens into a vesicle (pl. , fig. , and , fig. ), which forms the second division. from the vesicle proceeds a narrower section forming the third division, which during stage l remains very short, though in later stages it grows with great rapidity. it leads into the fourth division, which constitutes the posterior limb of the lambda, and has the form of a dilated tube with a narrow opening into the segmental duct. the subsequent changes of each segment do not for the most part call for much attention. they consist mainly in the elongation of the third division, and its conversion into a coiled tubulus, which then constitutes the main mass of each segment of the kidney. there are, however, two points of some interest, viz. ( ) the formation of the malpighian bodies, and ( ) the establishment of the connection between each segmental tube and the tubulus of the preceding segment which was alluded to in the description on p. . the development of the malpighian body is intimately linked with that of the secondary connection between two segments. they are both products of the metamorphosis of the vesicle which forms the termination of the segmental tube proper. at about stage o this vesicle grows out in two directions (pl. , fig. ), viz. towards the segment in front (_p.x_) and posteriorly into the segment of which it properly forms a part (_mg_). that portion which grows backward remains continuous with the third division of its proper segment, and becomes converted into a malpighian body. it assumes (pl. , figs. and ) a hemispherical form, while near one edge of it is the opening from a segmental tube, and near the other the opening leading into a tubulus of the kidney. the two-walled hemisphere soon grows into a nearly closed sphere, with a central cavity into which projects a vascular tuft. for this tuft the thickened inner wall of cells forms a lining, and at the same time the outer wall becomes thinner, and formed of flattened cells, except in the interval between the openings of the segmental tube and kidney tubulus, where its cells remain columnar. the above account of the formation of the malpighian bodies agrees very well with the description which pye[ ] has given of the formation of these bodies in the embryonic mammalian kidney. my statements also agree with those of semper, in attributing the formation of the malpighian body to a metamorphosis of part of the vesicle at the end of the segmental tube. semper does not however enter into full details on this subject. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. ix. the elucidation of the history of the second outgrowth from the original vesicle towards the preceding segment is fraught with considerable difficulties, which might no doubt be overcome by a patient investigation of ample material, but which i have not succeeded in fully accomplishing. the points which i believe myself to have determined are illustrated by fig. , pl. , a longitudinal vertical section through a portion of the kidney between stages o and p. in this figure parts of three segments of the kidney are represented. in the hindermost of the three--the one to the right--there is a complete segmental tube (_s.t_) which opens at its upper extremity into an irregular vesicle, prolonged _behind_ into a body which is obviously a developing malpighian body, _m.g_, and in _front_ into a wide tube cut obliquely in the section and ending apparently blindly (_p.x_). in the preceding segment there is also a segmental tube (_s.t_) whose opening into the body-cavity passes out of the plane of the section, but which is again connected with a vesicle dilating behind into a malpighian body (_m.g_) and in front into the irregular tube (_p.x_), as in the succeeding segment, _but this tube is now connected_ (and this could be still more completely seen in the segment in front of this) _with a vesicle which opens into the thick-walled collecting tube (fourth division) of the preceding segment_ close to the opening of the latter into the wolffian duct. the fact that the anterior prolongation of the vesicle ends blindly in the hinder-most segment is due of course to its terminal part passing out of the plane of the section. _thus we have established between stages o and p a connection between each segmental tube and the collecting tube of the segment in front of that to which it properly belongs; and it further appears that in consequence of this each segment of the kidney contains two distinct coils of tubuli which only unite close to their common opening into the wolffian duct!_ this remarkable connection is not without morphological interest, but i am unfortunately only able to give in a fragmentary manner its further history. during the greater part of embryonic life a large amount of interstitial tissue is present in the embryonic kidneys, and renders them too opaque to be advantageously studied as a whole; and i have also, so far, failed to prepare longitudinal sections suitable for the study of this connection. it thus results that the next stage i have satisfactorily investigated is that of a nearly ripe embryo already spoken of in connection with the adult, and represented on pl. , fig. . this figure shews that each segmental tube, while distinctly connected with the malpighian body of its own segment, also sends out a branch towards the secondary malpighian body of the preceding segment. this branch in most cases appeared to be rudimentary, and in the adult is certainly not represented by more than a fibrous band, but i fancy that i have been able to trace it (though not with the distinctness i could desire) in surface views of the embryonic kidney of stage q. _the condition of the wolffian body represented on pl. , fig. renders it probable that the accessory malpighian body in each segment is developed in connection with the anterior growth from the original vesicle at the end of the segmental tube of the succeeding segment._ how the third or fourth accessory malpighian bodies, when present, take their origin i have not made out. it is, however, fairly certain that they form the commencement of two additional coils which unite, like the coil connected with the first accessory malpighian body, with the collecting tube of the primitive coil close to its opening into the wolffian duct or ureter. the connection above described between two successive kidney segments appears to have escaped professor semper's notice, though i fancy that the peculiar vesicle he describes, _loc. cit._ p. , as connected with the end of each segmental tube, is in some way related to it. it seems possible that the secondary connection between the segmental tube and the preceding segment may explain a peculiar observation of dr spengel[ ] on the kidney of the tailless amphibians. he finds that, in this group, the segmental tubes do not open into malpighian bodies, but into the fourth division of the kidney tube. is it not just possible that in this case the primitive attachment of the segmental tubes may have become lost, and a secondary attachment, equivalent to that above described, though without the development of a secondary malpighian body, have been developed? in my embryos the secondary coil of the segmental tubes opens, as in the anura, into the fourth section of a kidney tubulus. footnote : _loc. cit._ pp. - . _development of the müllerian and wolffian ducts._ the formation of the müllerian and wolffian ducts out of the original segmental duct has been dealt with in a masterly manner by professor semper, but though i give my entire assent to his general conclusions, yet there are a few points on which i differ from him. these are for the most part of a secondary importance; but they have a certain bearing on the homology between the müllerian duct of higher vertebrates and that of elasmobranchii. the following account refers to scy. canicula, but so far as my observations go, the changes in scy. stellare are nearly identical in character. i propose treating the development of these ducts in the two sexes separately, and begin with the female. shortly before stage n a horizontal split arises in the segmental duct[ ], commencing some little distance from its anterior extremity, and extending backwards. this split divides the duct into a dorsal section and a ventral one. the dorsal section forms the wolffian duct, and receives the openings of the segmental tubes, and the ventral one forms the müllerian duct or oviduct, and is continuous with the unsplit anterior part of the primitive segmental duct, which opens into the body-cavity. the nature of the splitting may be gathered from the woodcut, fig. , p. , where _x_ represents the line along which the segmental duct is divided. the splitting of the primitive duct extends slowly backwards, and thus there is for a considerable period a single duct behind, which bifurcates in front. a series of transverse sections through the point of bifurcation always exhibits the following features. anteriorly two separate ducts are present, next two ducts in close juxtaposition, and immediately behind this a single duct. a series of sections through the junction of two ducts is represented on plate , figs. a, b, c, d. footnote : for the development of the segmental duct, vide p. , _et seq._ in my youngest example, in which the splitting had commenced, there were two separate ducts for only sections, and in a slightly older one for about . in the second of these embryos the part of the segmental duct anterior to the front end of the wolffian duct, which is converted directly into the oviduct, extended through sections. in the space included in these sections at least five, and i believe six, segmental tubes with openings into the body-cavity were present. these segmental tubes did not however unite with the oviduct, or at best, but one or two rudimentary junctions were visible, and the evidence of my earlier embryos appears to shew that the segmental tubes in front of the wolffian duct never become in the female united with the segmental duct. the anterior end of the wolffian duct is very much smaller than the oviduct adjoining it, and as the reverse holds good in the male, an easy method is afforded of distinguishing the two sexes even at the earliest period of the formation of the wolffian duct. hitherto merely the general features of the development of the oviduct and wolffian duct have been alluded to, but a careful inspection of any good series of sections, shewing the junction of these two ducts, brings to light some features worth noticing in the formation of the oviduct. it might have been anticipated that, where the two ducts unite behind as the segmental duct, their lumens would have nearly the same diameter, but normally this appears to be far from the case. to illustrate the formation of the oviduct i have represented a series of sections through a junction in an embryo in which the splitting into two ducts had only just commenced (pl. , fig. ), but i have found that the features of this series of sections are exactly reproduced in other series in which the splitting has extended as far back as the end of the small intestine. in the series represented (pl. ) a is the foremost section, and d the hindermost. in a the oviduct (_od_) is as large or slightly larger than the wolffian duct (_w.d_), and in the section in front of this (which i have not represented) was considerably the larger of the two ducts. in b the oviduct has become markedly smaller, but there is no indication of its lumen becoming united with that of the wolffian duct--the two ducts, though in contact, are distinctly separate. in c the walls of the two ducts have fused, and the oviduct appears merely as a ridge on the under surface of the wolffian duct, and its lumen, though extremely minute, _shews no sign of becoming one with that of the wolffian duct_. finally, in d the oviduct can merely be recognised as a thickening on the under side of the segmental duct, as we must now call the single duct, but a slight bulging downwards of the lumen of the segmental duct appears to indicate that the lumens of the two ducts may perhaps have actually united. but of this i could not be by any means certain, and it seems quite possible that the lumen of the oviduct never does open into that of the segmental duct. the above series of sections goes far to prove that the posterior part of the oviduct is developed as a nearly solid ridge split off from the under side of the segmental duct, into which at the utmost a very small portion of the lumen of the latter is continued. one instance has however occurred amongst my sections which probably indicates that the lumen of the segmental duct may sometimes, in the course of the formation of the oviduct and wolffian duct, become divided into two parts, of which that for the oviduct, though considerably smaller than that for the wolffian duct, is not so markedly so as in normal cases (pl. , fig. ). professor semper states that the lumen of the part of the oviduct split off from the hindermost end of the segmental duct becomes continuously smaller, till at last close to the cloaca it is split off as a solid rod of cells without a lumen, and thus it comes about that the oviduct, when formed, ends blindly, and does not open into the cloaca till the period of sexual maturity. my own sections do not include a series shewing the formation of a terminal part of the oviduct, but semper's statements accord precisely with what might probably take place if my account of the earlier stages in the development of the oviduct is correct. the presence of a hymen in young female elasmobranchii was first made known by putmann and garman[ ], and subsequently discovered independently by semper[ ]. footnote : "on the male and female organs of sharks and skates, with special reference to the use of the claspers," _proceed. american association for advancement of science_, . footnote : _loc. cit._ the wolffian duct appears to receive its first segmental tube at its anterior extremity. in the male the changes of the original segmental duct have a somewhat different character to those in the female, although there is a fundamental agreement between the two sexes. as in the female, a horizontal split makes its appearance a short way behind the front end of the segmental duct, and divides this into a dorsal wolffian duct and a ventral müllerian duct, the latter continuous with the anterior section of the segmental duct, which carries the abdominal opening. the differences in development between the two sexes are, in spite of a general similarity, very obvious. in the first place, the ventral portion split off from the segmental duct, instead of being as in the female larger in front than the wolffian duct, is very much smaller; while behind it does not form a continuous duct, but in some parts a lumen is present, and in others again absent (pl. , fig. ). it does not even form an unbroken cord, but is divided in disconnected portions. those parts with a lumen do not appear to open into the wolffian duct. the process of splitting extends gradually backwards, so that there is a much longer rudimentary müllerian duct by stage o than by stage n. by stage p the posterior portions of the müllerian ducts have vanished. the anterior parts remain, as has been already stated, till adult life. a second difference between the male and female depends on the fact that, in the male, the splitting of the segmental duct into müllerian duct and wolffian duct never extends beyond the hinder extremity of the small intestine. a third and rather important point of difference consists in the splitting commencing far nearer the front end of the segmental duct in the male than in the female. in the female it was shewn that about sections intervened between the front end of the segmental duct and the point where this became split, and that this region included five or six segmental tubes. in the male the homologous space only occupies _about to sections, and does not contain the rudiment of more than a single segmental tube_. although my sections have not an absolutely uniform thickness, yet the above figures suffice to shew in a conclusive manner that the splitting of the segmental duct commences far further forwards in the male than in the female. this difference accounts for two facts which were mentioned in connection with the excretory organs of the adult, viz. ( ) the greater length of the wolffian body in the male than in the female, and ( ) the fact that although a nearly similar number of segmental tubes persist in the adults of both sexes, yet that in the male there are five or six more segments in front of the first fully developed segmental opening than in the female. the above description of the formation of the müllerian duct in the male agrees very closely with that of professor semper for acanthias. for scyllium however he denies, as it appears to me erroneously, the existence of the posterior rudimentary parts of the müllerian duct. he further asserts that the portions of the müllerian duct with a lumen open into the wolffian duct. the most important difference, however, between professor semper's and my own description consists in his having failed to note that the splitting of the segmental duct commences much further forwards in the male than in the female. i have attempted to shew that the oviduct in the female, with the exception of the front extremity, is formed as a nearly solid cord split off from the ventral surface of the segmental duct, and not by a simple splitting of the segmental duct into two equal parts. if i am right on this point, it appears to me far easier to understand the relationship between the oviduct or müllerian duct of elasmobranchii and the müllerian duct of birds, than if professor semper's account of the development of the oviduct is the correct one. both professor semper and myself have stated our belief in the homology of the ducts in the two cases, but we have treated their relationship in a very different way. professor semper[ ] finds himself compelled to reject, on theoretical grounds, the testimony of recent observers on the development of the müllerian duct in birds, and to assert that it is formed out of the wolffian duct, or, according to my nomenclature, 'the segmental duct.' in my account[ ], the ordinary statements with reference to the development of the müllerian duct in birds are accepted; but it is suggested that the independent development of the müllerian duct may be explained by the function of this duct in the adult having, as it were, more and more impressed itself upon the embryonic development, till finally all connection, even during embryonic life, between the oviduct and the segmental duct (wolffian duct) became lost. footnote : _loc. cit._ pp. , . footnote : "the urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. p. . [this edition, p. .] since finding what a small portion of the segmental duct became converted into the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii, i have reexamined the development of the müllerian duct in the fowl, in the hope of finding that its posterior part might develop nearly in the same manner as in elasmobranchii, at the expense of a thickening of cells on the outer surface of the wolffian duct. i have satisfied myself, in conjunction with mr sedgwick, that this is not the case, and that the general account is in the main true; but at the same time we have obtained evidence which tends to shew that the cells which form the müllerian duct are in part derived from the walls of the wolffian duct. we propose giving a full account of our observations on this point, so that i refrain from mentioning further details here. it may however be well to point out that, apart from observations on the actual development of the müllerian duct in the bird, the fact of its abdominal opening being situated some way behind the front end of the wolffian duct, is of itself a sufficient proof that it cannot be the metamorphosed front extremity of the wolffian (= segmental) duct, in the same way that the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct is the front extremity of the segmental duct in elasmobranchii. although the evidence i can produce in the case of the fowl of a direct participation of the wolffian duct in the formation of the müllerian is not of an absolutely conclusive kind, yet i am inclined to think that the complete independence of the two ducts, if eventually established as a fact, would not of itself be sufficient (as semper is inclined to think) to disprove the identity of the müllerian duct in birds and elasmobranchii. we have, no doubt, almost no knowledge of the magnitude of the changes which can take place in the mode of development of the same organ in different types, yet this would have to be placed at a very low figure indeed in order to exclude the possibility of a change from the mode of development of the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii to that in birds. we have, it appears to me, in the smallness of the portion of the segmental duct which goes to form the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii, evidence that a change has already appeared in this group in the direction of a development of the müllerian duct independent of the segmental duct, and therefore of the wolffian duct; and it has been in view of this consideration, that i have devoted so much attention to the apparently unimportant point of how much of the segmental duct was concerned in the formation of the müllerian duct. an analogous change, in a somewhat different direction, would seem to be taking place in the development of the rudimentary müllerian duct in the male elasmobranchii. it is, perhaps, just worth pointing out, that the blindness of the oviduct of female elasmobranchii, and its mode of development from an imperfect splitting of the segmental duct, may probably be brought into connection with the blindness of the extremity of the müllerian duct or oviduct which so often occurs in both sexes of sturgeons (accipenser). i may, perhaps, at this point, be permitted to say a few words about my original account of the development of the wolffian duct this account was incorrect, and based upon a false interpretation of an imperfect series of sections, and i took the opportunity, in a general account of the urinogenital system of vertebrates, to point out my mistake[ ]. professor semper has, however, subsequently done me the honour to discuss, at considerable length, my original errors, and to attempt to explain them. since it appears to me improbable that the continuation of such a discussion can be of much general interest, it will suffice to say now, that both professor semper's and my own original statements on the development of the wolffian duct were erroneous; but that both of us have now recognised our mistakes; and that the first morphologically correct account of the development was given by him. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol x. . [this edition, no. vii.] * * * * * with reference to the formation of the urinal cloaca there is not much to say. the originally widely separated openings of the two wolffian ducts gradually approximate in both sexes. by stage o (pl. , fig. _b_) they are in close contact, and the lower ends of the two ducts actually coalesce at a somewhat later period, and open by a single aperture into the common cloaca. the papilla on which this is situated begins to make its appearance considerably before the actual fusion of the lower extremities of the two ducts. _formation of wolffian body and kidney proper._ between stages l and m the hindermost ten or eleven segments of the primitive undivided excretory organ commence to undergo changes which result in their separation from the anterior segments as a distinct gland, which was spoken of in the description of the adult as the kidney proper, while the unaltered preceding segments of the kidney were spoken of as the wolffian body. it will be remembered that each segment of the embryonic kidney consists of four divisions, the last or fourth of which opens into the wolffian duct. the changes which take place in the hindermost ten or eleven segments, and cause them to become distinguished as the kidney proper, concern alone the fourth division of each segment, which becomes prolonged backwards, and its opening into the wolffian duct proportionately shifted. these changes affect the foremost segments of the kidney much more than the hindermost, so that the fourth division in the foremost segments becomes very much longer than in the hindermost, and at last all the prolongations of the kidney segments come to open nearly on the same level, close to the cloacal termination of the wolffian duct (pl. , fig. ). the prolongations of the fourth division of the kidney-segments have already (p. ) been spoken of in the description of the adult as ureters, and this name will be employed for them in the present section. the exact manner in which the changes, that have been briefly related, take place is rather curious, and very difficult to unravel without the aid of longitudinal sections. first of all, the junction between each segment of the kidney and the wolffian duct becomes so elongated as to occupy the whole interval between the junctions of the two neighbouring segments. the original opening of each tube into the wolffian duct is situated at the anterior end of this elongated attachment, the remaining part of the attachment being formed solely of a ridge of cells on the dorsal side of the wolffian duct. the general character of this growth will be understood by comparing figs. _a_ and _b_, pl. --two longitudinal vertical sections through part of the kidneys. fig. _a_ shews the normal junction of a segmental tube with the wolffian duct in the wolffian body, while in figure _b_ (_r.u_) is shewn the modified junction in the region of the kidney proper in the same embryo. the latter of these figures (fig. _b_) appears to me to prove that the elongation of the attachments between the segmental tubes and wolffian duct takes place _entirely at the expense of the former_. owing to the length of this attachment, every transverse section through the kidney proper at this stage either presents a solid ridge of cells closely adhering to the dorsal side of the wolffian duct, or else passes through one of the openings into the wolffian duct. during stage m the original openings of the segmental tubes into the wolffian duct appear to me to become obliterated, and at the same time the lumen of each ureter is prolonged into the ridge of cells on the dorsal wall of the duct. both of these changes are illustrated in my figures. the fact of the obliteration of the original opening into the wolffian duct is shewn in longitudinal section in pl. , fig. , _u_, but more conclusively in the series of transverse sections represented on pl. , figs. a, b, c. in the hindermost of these ( c) is seen the solid terminal point of a ureter, while the same ureter possesses a lumen in the two previous sections, but exhibits no signs of opening into the wolffian duct. sections may however be met with which appear to shew that in some instances the ureters still continue to open into the wolffian duct, but these i find to be rare and inconclusive, and am inclined to regard them as abnormalities. the prolongation of the lumen of the ureters takes place in a somewhat peculiar fashion. the lumen is not, as might be expected, _completely_ circumscribed by the wall of the ureter, but only _dorsally and to the sides_. ventrally it is closed in by the dorsal wall of the wolffian duct. in other words, each ureter is at first an incomplete tube. this peculiarity is clearly shewn in the middle figure of the series on pl. , fig. b. during stages m and n the ureters elongate considerably, and, since the foremost ones grow the most rapidly, they soon come to overlap those behind. as each ureter grows in length it remains an incomplete tube, and its lumen, though proportionately prolonged, continues to present the same general relations as at first. it is circumscribed by its proper walls only dorsally and laterally; its floor being formed in the case of the front ureter by the wolffian duct, and in the case of each succeeding ureter by the dorsal wall of the ureter in front. this is most easily seen in longitudinal sections, and is represented on pl. , fig. , or on a larger scale in fig. a. in the latter figure it is especially clear that while the wall on the dorsal side of the lumen of each ureter is continuous with the dorsal wall of the tubulus of its own segment, the wall on the ventral side is continuous with the dorsal wall of the ureter of the preceding segment. this feature in the ureters explains the appearance of transverse sections in which the ureters are not separate from each other, but form together a kind of ridge on the dorsal side of the wolffian duct, in which there are a series of perforations representing the separate lumens of the ureters (pl. , fig. ). the peculiarities in the appearance of the dorsal wall of the wolffian duct in fig. a, and the difference between the cells composing it and those of the ventral wall, become intelligible on comparing this figure with the representation of transverse section in figs. b and c, and especially in fig. . most of the ureters continue to end blindly at the close of stage n, and appear to have solid posterior terminations like that of the müllerian duct in birds. by stage o all the ureters have become prolonged up to the cloacal end of the wolffian duct, so that the anterior one has a length equal to that of the whole kidney proper. for the most part they acquire independent openings into the end section of the wolffian duct, though some of them unite together before reaching this. the general appearance of the hindermost of them between stages n and o is shewn in longitudinal and vertical section in pl. , fig. , _u_. they next commence to develop into complete and independent tubes by their side walls growing inwards and meeting below so as to completely enclose their lumen. this is seen already to have occurred in most of the posterior ureters in pl. , fig. . before stage p the ureters cease to be united into a continuous ridge, and each becomes separated from its neighbours by a layer of indifferent tissue: by this stage, in fact, the ureters have practically attained very nearly their adult condition. the general features of a typical section through them are shewn on pl. , fig. . the figure represents the section of a female embryo, not far from the cloaca. below is the oviduct (_od_). above this again is the wolffian duct (_w.d_), and still dorsal to this are four ureters (_u_). in female embryos more than four ureters are not usually to be seen in a single section. this is probably owing to the persistence, in some instances, of the intimate connection between the ureters found at an earlier stage of development, and results in a single ureter coming to serve as the collecting duct for several segments. a section through a male embryo of stage p would mainly differ from that through a female in the absence of the oviduct, and in the presence of probably six[ ], instead of four, ureters. footnote : this at least holds good for one of my embryos at this stage, which is labelled scy. canicula, but which may possibly be scy. stellare. the exact amount of fusion which takes place between the ureters, and the exact number of the ureters, cannot easily be determined from sections, but the study of sections is chiefly of value in shewing the general nature of the changes which take place in the process of attaining the adult condition. it may be noticed, as a consequence of the above account, that the formation of the ureters takes place by a growth of the original segmental tubes, and not by a splitting off of parts of the wall of the wolffian duct. the formation of ureters in scyllium, which has been only very cursorily alluded to by professor semper, appears to differ very considerably from that in acanthias as narrated by him. _the vasa efferentia._ a comparison of the results of professor semper on elasmobranchii, and dr spengel on amphibians, suggests several interesting questions with reference to the development of the vasa efferentia, and the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body. professor semper was the first to describe the adult anatomy and development of vasa efferentia in elasmobranchii, and the following extracts will fully illustrate his views with reference to them. "in[ ] dem frühesten stadium finden sich wie früher angegeben ungefahr trichter in der leibeshöhle, von diesen gehen die hintersten in die persistirenden segmentaltrichter über, von denen beim erwachsenen thiere auf dem mesorchium stehen. die übrigen schliessen sich vollständig ab zu den erwähnten länglichen und später mannigfach auswachsenden varicösen trichterblasen; von diesen sind es wiederum - welche untereinander in der längsrichtung verwachsen und dadurch den in der basis der hodenfalte verlaufenden centralcanal des hodens bilden. ehe aber diese verwachsung zu einem mehr oder minder geschlängelten centralcanal vollständig wird, hat sich einmal das lumen der trichterblasen fast vollständig geschlossen und ausserdem von ihnen aus durch verwachsung und knospung die erste anlage des rete vasculosum halleri gebildet (taf. xx. figs. , _c_). es erstreckt sich nämlich mehr oder minder weit in die genitalfalte hinein ein unregelmässiges von kleinen zellen begränztes canalnetz welches zweifellos mit dem noch nicht ganz vollständigen centralcanale des hodens (taf. xx. fig. _c_) in verbindung steht. von diesem letzteren aus gehen in regelmässigen abständen die segmentalgänge (taf. xx. fig. _sg._) gegen die niere hin; da sie meist stark geneigt oder selbst geschlängelt (bei {ctm} langen embryonen) gegen die niere zu verlaufen, wo sie sich an die primären _malpighi_'schen körperchen und deren bildungsblasen ansetzen, so kann ein verticaler querschnitt auch nie einen solchen nun zum vas efferens gewordenen segmentalgang seiner ganzen länge nach treffen. gegen die trichterfurche zu aber steht namentlich am hinteren theile der genitalfalte der centralcanal häufig noch durch einen kurzen zellstrang mit dem keimepithel der trichterfurche in verbindung; mitunter findet sich hier sogar noch eine kleine höhlung, rest des ursprünglich hier vorhandenen weiten trichters" (taf. xx. fig. _c_). footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . and again: "dieser[ ] gegensatz in der umbildung der segmentalgänge an der hodenbasis scheint nun mit einem anderen hand in hand zu gehen. es bildet sich nämlich am innenrande der niere durch sprossung und verwachsung der segmentalgänge vor ihrer insertion an das primäre _malpighi_'sche körperchen ein canal beim männchen aus, den ich als _nierenrandcanal_ oben bezeichnet habe. ich habe denselben bei acanthias centrina (taf. xxi. fig. ) und mustelus (taf. xv. fig. ) gefunden. bei centrina ist er ziemlich lang und vereinigt mindestens segmentalgänge, aber von diesen letzteren stehen nur mit dem hodennetz in verbindung. dort nun wo diese letzteren sich an den nierenrandcanal ansetzen (taf. xxi. fig. sg. -sg. ) findet sich jedesmal ein typisch ausgebildetes _malpighi_'sches körperchen, mit dem aber nun nicht mehr wie ursprünglich nur canäle verbunden sind (taf. xxi. fig. ) sondern . einer dieser letzteren ist derjenige ast des nierenrandcanals welcher die verbindung mit dem nächst folgenden segmentalgang zu besorgen hat. an den stellen aber wo sich an den nierenrandcanal die hinteren blind gegen den hoden hin endenden segmentalgänge ansetzen fehlen diese _malpighi_'schen körperchen (taf. xxi. fig. _sg_ ) vollständig. auch bei mustelus (taf. xv. figs. , ) findet genau dasselbe verhältniss statt; da aber hier nur (oder ) segmentalgänge zu vasa efferentia umgewandelt werden, so stehen hier am kurzen randcanal der niere auch nur oder _malpighi_'sche körperchen. diese aber sind typisch ausgebildet" (taf. xv. fig. ). footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . from these two extracts it is clear that semper regards both the vasa efferentia, and central canal of the testis network, as well as the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, as products of the anterior segmental tubes. the appearance of these various parts in the fully grown embryos or adults of such genera as acanthias and squatina strongly favours this view, but semper appears to have worked out the development of these structures somewhat partially and by means of sections, a method not, in scyllium at least, very suitable for this particular investigation. i myself at first unhesitatingly accepted semper's views, and it was not till after the study of the paper of dr spengel on the amphibian kidney that i came to have my doubts as to their accuracy. the arrangement of the parts in most amphibians is strikingly similar to that in elasmobranchii. from the testis come transverse canals corresponding with my vasa efferentia; these fall into a longitudinal canal of the kidneys, from which again, as in squatina (pl. , fig. ), mustelus and centrina, canals (the vasa efferentia of spengel) pass off to malpighian bodies. so far there is no difficulty, but dr spengel has made the extremely important discovery, that in young amphibians each malpighian body in the region of the generative ducts, in addition to receiving the vasa efferentia, is connected with a fully developed segmental tube opening into the body-cavity. in amphibians, therefore, it is improbable that the vasa efferentia are products of the open extremities of the segmental tubes, considering that these latter are found in their unaltered condition at the same time as the vasa efferentia. when it is borne in mind how strikingly similar in most respects is the arrangement of the testicular ducts in amphibia and elasmobranchii, it will not easily be credited that they develop in entirely different methods. since then we find in amphibians fully developed segmental tubes in the same segments as the vasa efferentia, it is difficult to believe that in elasmobranchii the same vasa efferentia have been developed out of the segmental tubes by the obliteration of their openings. i set myself to the solution of the origin of the vasa efferentia by means of surface views, after the parts had been made transparent in creosote, but i have met with great difficulties, and so far my researches have only been partially successful. from what i have been able to see of squatina and acanthias, i am inclined to think that the embryos of either of these genera would form far more suitable objects for this research than scyllium. i have had a few embryos of squatina which were unfortunately too old for my purpose. very early the vasa efferentia are fully formed, and their arrangement in an embryo eight centimetres long is shewn in pl. , fig. , _v.e_. it is there seen that there are six if not seven vasa efferentia connected with a longitudinal canal along the base of the testes (semper's central canal of the testis), and passing down like the segmental tubes to spaces between the successive segments of the wolffian body. they were probably connected by a longitudinal canal in the wolffian body, but this could not be clearly seen. in the segment immediately behind the last vas efferens was a fully developed segmental tube. this embryo clearly throws no light on the question at issue except that on the whole it supports semper's views. i further failed to make out anything from an examination of still younger embryos. in a somewhat older embryo there was connected with the anterior vas efferens a peculiar structure represented on pl. , fig. , _r.st_? which strangely resembled the opening of an ordinary segmental tube, but as i could not find it in the younger embryo, this suggestion as to its nature, is, at the best, extremely hazardous. if, however, this body really is the remnant of a segmental opening, it would be reasonable to conclude that the vasa efferentia are buds from the segmental tubes as opposed to their openings; a mode of origin which is not incompatible with the discoveries of dr spengel. i have noticed a remnant, somewhat similar to that in the scyllium embryo, close to the hindermost vas efferens in an embryo squatina (pl. , fig. , _r.st_?). with reference to the development of the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body, i am without observations, but it appears to me to be probably a further development of the outgrowths of the vesicles of each segmental tube, which were described in connection with the development of the segmental tubes, p. . were an anterior outgrowth of one vesicle to meet and coalesce with the posterior outgrowth of the preceding vesicle, a longitudinal canal such as actually exists would be the result. the central canal of the base of the testes and the network connected with it in the adult (pl. , fig. ), appear to be derivatives of the vasa efferentia. i am thus compelled to leave open the question of the real nature of the vasa efferentia, but am inclined to regard them as outgrowths from the anterior segmental tubes, though not from their open terminations. * * * * * my views upon the homologies of the various parts of the urinogenital system, the development of which has been described in the present chapter, have already been expressed in a paper on urinogenital organs of vertebrates[ ]. although kölliker's[ ] discovery of the segmental tubes in aves, and the researches of spengel[ ], gasser[ ], ewart[ ] and others, have rendered necessary a few corrections in my facts, i still adhere in their entirety to the views expressed in that paper, and feel it unnecessary to repeat them in this place. i conclude the chapter with a résumé of the development of the urinogenital organs in elasmobranchii from their first appearance to their permanent condition. footnote : _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. [this edition, no. vii.] footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte des menschen u. der höheren thiere._ footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _beiträge zur entwicklungsg. d. allantois d. müller'schen gänge u. d. afters._ footnote : "abdominal pores and urogenital sinus of lamprey," _journal of anatomy and physiology_, vol. x. p. . * * * * * _résumé._--the first trace of the urinary system makes its appearance as a knob springing from the intermediate cell-mass opposite the fifth protovertebra (woodcut, fig. a, _p.d_). this knob is the rudiment of the abdominal opening of the segmental duct, and from it there grows backwards to the level of the anus a solid column of cells, which constitutes the rudiment of the segmental duct itself (woodcut, fig. b, _p.d_). the knob projects towards the epiblast, and the column connected with it lies between the mesoblast and epiblast. the knob and column do not long remain solid, but the former acquires an opening into the body-cavity continuous with a lumen, which makes its appearance in the latter. [illustration: fig. . two sections of a pristiurus embryo with three visceral clefts. the sections illustrate the development of the segmental duct (_pd_) or primitive duct of the kidneys. in _a_ (the anterior of the two sections) this appears as a solid knob (_pd_) projecting towards the epiblast. in _b_ is seen a section of the column which has grown backwards from the knob in _a_. _spn._ rudiment of a spinal nerve; _mc._ medullary canal; _ch._ notochord; _x._ string of cells below the notochord; _mp._ muscle-plate; _mp´._ specially developed portion of muscle-plate; _ao._ dorsal aorta; _pd._ segmental duct; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal or body-cavity; _ep._ epiblast; _al._ alimentary canal.] while the lumen is gradually pushing its way backwards along the solid rudiment of the segmental duct, the first traces of the segmental tubes, or proper excretory organs, make their appearance in the form of solid outgrowths of the intermediate cell-mass, which soon become hollow and open into the body-cavity. their blind ends curl obliquely backwards round the inner and dorsal side of the segmental duct. one segmental tube makes its appearance for each protovertebra, commencing with that immediately behind the abdominal opening of the segmental duct, the last tube being situated a short way behind the anus. soon after their formation the blind ends of the segmental tubes open into the segmental duct, and each of them becomes divided into four parts. these are (woodcut ) ( ) a section carrying the abdominal opening or segmental tube proper, ( ) a dilated vesicle into which this opens, ( ) a coiled tubulus proceeding from ( ) and terminating in ( ), a wider portion opening into the segmental duct. at the same time, or shortly before this, each segmental duct unites with and opens into one of the horns of the cloaca, and also retires from its primitive position between the epiblast and mesoblast, and assumes a position close to the epithelium lining the body-cavity. the general features of the excretory organs at this period are diagrammatically represented on the woodcut, fig. . in this fig. _p.d_ is the segmental duct and _o_ its abdominal opening. _s.t_ points to the segmental tubes, the finer details of whose structure are not represented in the diagram. the kidneys thus form at this period an unbroken gland composed of a series of isolated coiled tubes, one extremity of each of which opens into the body-cavity, and the other into the segmental duct, which forms the only duct of the kidney, and communicates at one end with the body-cavity, and at the other with the cloaca. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the primitive condition of the kidney in an elasmobranch embryo. _pd._ segmental duct. it opens at _o_ into the body-cavity and at its other extremity into the cloaca; _x._ line along which the division appears which separates the segmental duct into the wolffian duct above and the müllerian duct below; _st._ segmental tubes. they open at one end into the body-cavity, and at the other into the segmental duct.] the next important change concerns the segmental duct, which becomes longitudinally split into two complete ducts in the female, and one complete duct and parts of a second in the male. the manner in which this takes place is diagrammatically represented in woodcut by the clear line _x_, and in transverse section in woodcut . the resulting ducts are the ( ) wolffian duct dorsally, which remains continuous with the excretory tubules of the kidney, and ventrally ( ) the oviduct or müllerian duct in the female, and the rudiments of this duct in the male. in the female the formation of these ducts takes place by a nearly solid rod of cells, being gradually split off from the ventral side of all but the foremost part of the original segmental duct, with the short undivided anterior part of which duct it is continuous in front. into it a very small portion of the lumen of the original segmental duct is perhaps continued (pl. , fig. a, etc.). the remainder of the segmental duct (after the loss of its anterior section and the part split off from its ventral side) forms the wolffian duct. the process of formation of the ducts in the male chiefly differs from that in the female in the fact of the anterior undivided part of the segmental duct, which forms the front end of the müllerian duct, being shorter, and in the column of cells with which it is continuous being from the first incomplete. [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic representation of a transverse section of a scyllium embryo illustrating the formation of the wolffian and mÜllerian ducts by the longitudinal splitting of the segmental duct. _mc._ medullary canal; _mp._ muscle-plate; _ch._ notochord; _ao._ aorta; _cav._ cardinal vein; _st._ segmental tube. on the one side the section passes through the opening of a segmental tube into the body-cavity. on the other this opening is represented by dotted lines, and the opening of the segmental tube into the wolffian duct has been cut through; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _m.d._ müllerian duct. the section is taken through the point where the segmental duct and wolffian duct have just become separate; _gr._ the germinal ridge with the thickened germinal epithelium; _l._ liver; _i._ intestine with spiral valve.] the tubuli of the primitive excretory organ undergo further important changes. the vesicle at the termination of each segmental tube grows forwards towards the preceding tubulus, and joins the fourth section of it close to the opening into the wolffian duct (pl. , fig. ). the remainder of the vesicle becomes converted into a malpighian body. by the first of these changes a connection is established between the successive segments of the kidney, and though this connection is certainly lost (or only represented by fibrous bands) in the anterior part of the excretory organs in the adult, and very probably in the hinder part, yet it seems most probable that traces of it are to be found in the presence of the secondary malpighian bodies of the majority of segments, which are most likely developed from it. up to this time there has been no distinction between the anterior and posterior tubuli of the primitive excretory organ which alike open into the wolffian duct. the terminal division of the tubuli of a considerable number of the hindermost of these (ten or eleven in scyllium canicula), either in some species elongate, overlap, and eventually open by apertures (not usually so numerous as the separate tubes), on nearly the same level, into the hindermost section of the wolffian duct in the female, or into the urinogenital cloaca, formed by the coalesced terminal parts of the wolffian ducts, in the male; or in other species become modified in such a manner as to pour their secretion into a single duct on each side, which opens in a position corresponding with the numerous ducts of the other type (woodcut, fig. ). it seems that both in amphibians and elasmobranchii the type with a single duct, or approximations to it, are more often found in the females than in the males. the subject requires however to be more worked out in elasmobranchii[ ]. in both groups the modified posterior kidney-segments are probably equivalent to the permanent kidney of the amniotic vertebrates, and for this reason the numerous ducts of the first group or single duct of the second were spoken of as ureters. the anterior tubuli of the primitive excretory organ retain their early relation to the wolffian duct, and form the wolffian body. footnote : the reverse of the above rule is the case with raja, in the male of which a closer approximation to the single-duct type is found than in the female. the originally separate terminal extremities of the wolffian ducts always coalesce, and form a urinal cloaca, opening by a single aperture situated at the extremity of a median papilla behind the anus. some of the abdominal openings of the segmental tubes in scyllium, or in other cases all the openings, become obliterated. in the male the anterior segmental tubes undergo remarkable modifications. there appear to grow from the first three or four or more of them (though the point is still somewhat obscure) branches, which pass to the base of the testis and there unite into a longitudinal canal, form a network, and receive the secretion of the testicular ampullæ (woodcut , _nt_). these ducts, the vasa efferentia, carry the semen to the wolffian body, but before opening into the tubuli of this they unite into the _longitudinal canal of the wolffian body (l.c)_, from which pass off ducts equal in number to the vasa efferentia, each of which normally ends in a malpighian body. from the malpighian body so connected start the convoluted tubuli of what may be called the generative segments of the wolffian body along which the semen is conveyed to the wolffian duct (_v.d_). the wolffian duct itself becomes much contorted and acts as vas deferens. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult female elasmobranch. _m.d._ müllerian duct; _w.d._ wolffian duct; _s.t._ glandular tubuli; five of them are represented with openings into the body-cavity; _d._ duct of the posterior segmental tubes; _ov._ ovary.] in the woodcuts, figs. and , are diagrammatically represented the chief constituents of the adult urinogenital organs in the two sexes. in the adult female, fig. , there are present the following parts: ( ) the oviduct or müllerian duct (_m.d_) split off from the segmental duct of the kidneys. each oviduct opens at its anterior extremity into the body-cavity, and behind the two oviducts have independent communications with the general cloaca. ( ) the wolffian ducts (_w.d_), the other product of the segmental ducts of the kidneys. they end in front by becoming continuous with the tubulus of the anterior segment of the wolffian body on each side, and unite behind to open by a common papilla into the cloaca. the wolffian duct receives the secretion of the anterior part of the primitive kidney which forms the wolffian body. ( ) the ureter (_d_) which carries off the secretion of the kidney proper. it is represented in my diagram in its most rare and differentiated condition as a single duct. ( ) the glandular tubuli (_s.t_), some of which retain their original openings into the body-cavity, and others are without them. they are divided into two groups, an anterior forming the wolffian body, which pour their secretion into the wolffian duct, and a posterior group forming the kidney proper, which are connected with the ureter. [illustration: fig. . diagram of the arrangement of the urinogenital organs in an adult male elasmobranch. _m.d._ rudiment of müllerian duct; _w.d._ wolffian duct, marked _vd_ in front and serving as vas deferens; _st._ glandular tubuli; two of them are represented with openings into the body-cavity; _d._ ureter; _t._ testis; _nt._ central canal at the base of the testis; _ve._ vasa efferentia; _lc._ longitudinal canal of the wolffian body.] in the male the following parts are present (woodcut ): ( ) the müllerian duct (_md_), consisting of a small rudiment attached to the liver representing the foremost end of the oviduct of the female. ( ) the wolffian duct (_w.d_) which precisely corresponds to the wolffian duct of the female, but, in addition to functioning as the duct of the wolffian body, also acts as a vas deferens (_vd_). in the adult male its foremost part has a very tortuous course. ( ) the ureter (_d_), which has the same fundamental constitution as in the female. ( ) the segmental tubes (_st_). the posterior of these have the same arrangement in both sexes, but in the male modifications take place in connection with the anterior ones to fit them to act as transporters of the testicular products. connected with the anterior ones there are present ( ) the vasa efferentia (ve), united on the one hand with ( ) the central canal in the base of the testis (_nt_), and on the other with the longitudinal canal of the wolffian body (_l.c_). from the latter are seen passing off the successive tubuli of the anterior segments of the wolffian body in connection with which malpighian bodies are typically present, though not represented in my diagram. _postscript._ it was my original intention to have given an account of the development of the generative organs. in the course, however, of my work a number of novel and unexpected points turned up, which have considerably protracted my investigations, and it has appeared to me better no longer to delay the appearance of this monograph, but to publish elsewhere my results on the generative organs. in chapter vi. p. _et seq._ the early stages of the generative organs are described, but in contemplation of the completion of the account no allusion was made to their literature, and more especially to professor semper's important contributions. i may perhaps say that i have been able to confirm the most important result to which he and other anatomists have nearly simultaneously arrived with respect to vertebrates, viz. _that the primitive ova give rise to both the male and female generative products_. explanation of plates and . complete list of reference letters. _amg._ accessory malpighian body. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _k._ true kidney. _l.c._ longitudinal canal of the wolffian body connected with vasa efferentia. _mg._ malpighian body. _nt._ network and central canal at the base of the testis. _o._ external aperture of urinal cloaca. _od._ oviduct or müllerian duct of the female. _od´._ müllerian duct of the male. _ou._ openings of ureters in wolffian duct in the female (fig. ). _pmg._ primary malpighian body. _px._ growth from vesicle at the end of a segmental tube to join the collecting tube of the preceding segment. _rst._ rudimentary segmental tube. _ru._ ureter commencing to be formed. _sb._ seminal bladder. _sd._ segmental duct. _st._ segmental tube. _sto._ opening of segmental tube into body-cavity. _sur._ suprarenal body. _t._ testis. _u._ ureters. _ve._ vas efferens. _wb._ wolffian body. _wd._ wolffian duct. plate . fig. . diagrammatic representation of excretory organs on one side of a male scyllium canicula, natural size. fig. . diagrammatic representation of the kidney proper on one side of a female scyllium canicula, natural size, shewing the ducts of the kidney and the dilated portion of the wolffian duct. fig. . opening of the ureters into the wolffian duct of a female scyllium canicula. the figure represents the wolffian ducts (_wd_) with ventral portion removed so as to expose their inner surface, and shews the junction of the two w. ducts to form the common urinal cloaca, the single external opening of this (_o_), and openings of ureters into one wolffian duct (_ou_). fig. . anterior extremity of wolffian body of a young male scyllium canicula shewing the vasa efferentia and their connection with the kidneys and the testis. the vasa efferentia and longitudinal canal are coloured to render them distinct. they are intended to be continuous with the uncoloured coils of the wolffian body, though this connection has not been very successfully rendered by the artist. fig. . part of the wolffian body of a nearly ripe male embryo of scyllium canicula as a transparent object. zeiss a a, ocul. . the figure shews two segmental tubes opening into the body-cavity and connected with a primary malpighian body, and also, by a fibrous connection, with a secondary malpighian body of the preceding segment. it also shews one segmental tube (_rst_) imperfectly connected with the accessory malpighian body of the preceding segment of the kidney. the coils of the kidney are represented somewhat diagrammatically. fig. . vasa efferentia of a male embryo of scyllium canicula eight centimetres in length. zeiss a a, ocul. . there are seen to be at the least six and possibly seven distinct vasa going to as many segments of the wolffian body and connected with a longitudinal canal in the base of the testis. they were probably also connected with a longitudinal canal in the wolffian body, but this could not be clearly made out. fig. . the anterior four vasa efferentia of a nearly ripe embryo. connected with the foremost one is seen a body which looks like the remnant of a segmental tube and its opening (_rst?_). fig. . testis and anterior part of wolffian body of an embryo of squatina vulgaris. the figure is intended to illustrate the arrangement of the vasa efferentia. there are five of these connected with a longitudinal canal in the base of the testis, and with another longitudinal canal in the wolffian body. from the second longitudinal canal there pass off four ducts to as many malpighian bodies. through the malpighian bodies these ducts are continuous with the several coils of the wolffian body, and so eventually with the wolffian duct. close to the hindermost vas efferens is seen a body which resembles a rudimentary segmental tube (_rst?_). plate . figs. a, b, c, d. four sections from a female scyllium canicula of a stage between m and n through the part where the segmental duct becomes split into wolffian duct and oviduct. zeiss b, ocul. . a is the foremost section. the sections shew that the oviduct arises as a thickening on the under surface of the segmental duct into which at the utmost a very narrow prolongation of the lumen of the segmental duct is carried. the small size of the lumen of the wolffian duct in the foremost section is due to the section passing through nearly its anterior blind extremity. fig. . section close to the junction of the wolffian duct and oviduct in a female embryo of scyllium canicula belonging to stage n. zeiss b, ocul. . the section represented shews that in some instances the formation of the oviduct and wolffian duct is accompanied by a division of the lumen of the segmental duct into two not very unequal parts. figs. a, b, c. three sections illustrating the formation of a ureter in a female embryo belonging to stage n. zeiss b, ocul. . a is the foremost section. the figures shew that the lumen of the developing ureter is enclosed in front by an independent wall (fig. a), but that further back the lumen is partly shut in by the subjacent wolffian duct, while behind no lumen is present, but the ureter ends as a solid knob of cells without an opening into the wolffian duct. fig. . section through the ureters of the same embryo as fig. , but nearer the cloaca. zeiss b, ocul. . the figure shews the appearance of a transverse section through the wall of cells above the wolffian duct formed by the overlapping ureters, the lumens of which appear as perforations in it. it should be compared with fig. a, which represents a longitudinal section through a similar wall of cells. fig. . section through the ureters, the wolffian duct and the oviduct of a female embryo of scy. canicula belonging to stage p. zeiss b, ocul. . fig. . section of part of the wolffian body of a male embryo of scyllium canicula belonging to stage o. zeiss b, ocul. . the section illustrates ( ) the formation of a malpighian body (_mg_) from the dilatation at the end of a segmental tube, ( ) the appearance of the rudiment of the müllerian duct in the male (_od´_). figs. _a_, _b_. two longitudinal and vertical sections through part of the kidney of an embryo between stages l and m. zeiss b, ocul. . _a_ illustrates the parts of a single segment of the wolffian body at this stage, vide p. . the segmental tube and opening are not in the plane of the section, but the dilated vesicle is shewn into which the segmental tube opens. _b_ is taken from the region of the kidney proper. to the right is seen the opening of a segmental tube into the body-cavity, and in the segment to the left the commencing formation of a ureter, vide p. . fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the posterior part of the kidney proper of an embryo of scyllium canicula at a stage between n and o. zeiss a, ocul. . the section shews the nearly completed ureters, developing malpighian bodies, &c. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the anterior part of the kidney proper of the same embryo as fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . the figure illustrates the mode of growth of the developing ureters. a. more highly magnified portion of the same section as fig. . compare with transverse section fig. . fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through part of the wolffian body of an embryo of scyllium canicula at a stage between o and p. the section contains two examples of the budding out of the vesicle of a segmental tube to form a malpighian body in its own segment and to unite with the tubulus of the preceding segment close to its opening into the wolffian duct. xi. on the phenomena accompanying the maturation and impregnation of the ovum[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, april, . the brilliant discoveries of strasburger and auerbach have caused the attention of a large number of biologists to be turned to the phenomena accompanying the division of nuclei and the maturation and impregnation of the ovum. the results of the recent investigations on the first of these points formed the subject of an article by mr priestley in the sixteenth volume of this journal, and the object of the present article is to give some account of what has so far been made out with reference to the second of them. the matters to be treated of naturally fall under two heads: ( ) the changes attending the ripening of the ovum, _which are independent of impregnation_; ( ) the changes which are directly due to impregnation. [illustration: fig. .--unripe ovum of toxopneustes lividus (copied from hertwig).] every ovum as it approaches maturity is found to be composed (fig. ) of ( ) a protoplasmic body or vitellus usually containing yolk-spherules in suspension; ( ) of a germinal vesicle or nucleus, containing ( ) one or more germinal spots or nucleoli. it is with the germinal vesicle and its contents that we are especially concerned. this body at its full development has a more or less spherical shape, and is enveloped by a distinct membrane. its contents are for the most part fluid, but may be more or less granular. their most characteristic component is, however, a protoplasmic network which stretches from the germinal spot to the investing membrane, but is especially concentrated round the former (fig. ). the germinal spot forms a nearly homogeneous body, with frequently one or more vacuoles. it occupies an often excentric position within the germinal vesicle, and is usually rendered very conspicuous by its high refrangibility. in many instances it has been shewn to be capable of amoeboid movements (auerbach, and os. hertwig), and is moreover more solid and more strongly tinged by colouring reagents than the remaining constituents of the germinal vesicle. these peculiarities have caused the matter of which it is composed to be distinguished by auerbach and hertwig as nuclear substance. in many instances there is only one germinal spot, or one main spot, and two or three accessory smaller spots. in other cases, _e.g._ osseous fish, there are a large number of nearly equal germinal spots. the eggs which have been most investigated with reference to the changes of germinal vesicle are those with a single germinal spot, and it is with these that i shall have more especially to deal in the sequel. the germinal vesicle occupies in the first instance a central position in the ovum, but at maturity is almost always found in close proximity to the surface. its change of position in a large number of instances is accomplished during the growth of the ovum in the ovary, but in other cases does not take place till the ovum has been laid. the questions which many investigators have recently set themselves to answer are the two following:--( ) what becomes of the germinal vesicle when the ovum is ready to be impregnated? ( ) is any part of it present in the ovum at the commencement of segmentation? according to their answers to these questions the older embryologists roughly fall into two groups: ( ) by one set the germinal vesicle is stated to completely disappear and not to be genetically connected with the subsequent nuclei of the embryo. ( ) according to the other set it remains in the ovum and by successive divisions forms the parent nucleus of all the nuclei in the body of the embryo. though the second of these views has been supported by several very distinguished names the first view was without doubt the one most generally entertained, and haeckel (though from his own observations he was originally a supporter of the second view) has even enunciated the theory that there exists an anuclear stage, after the disappearance of the germinal vesicle, which he regards as an embryonic repetition of the monad condition of the protozoa. while the supporters of the first view agree as to the disappearance of the germinal vesicle they differ considerably as to the manner of this occurrence. some are of opinion that the vesicle simply vanishes, its contents being absorbed in the ovum; others that it is ejected from the ovum and appears as the _polar cell_ or _body_, or _richtungskörper_ of the germans--a small body which is often found situated in the space between the ovum and its membrane, and derives its name from retaining a constant position in relation to the ovum, and thus serving as a guide in determining the similar parts of the embryo through the different stages. the researches of oellacher ( )[ ] in this direction deserve special mention, as having in a sense formed the foundation of the modern views upon this subject. by a series of careful observations upon the egg of the trout and subsequently of the bird, he demonstrated that the germinal vesicle of the ovum, while still in the ovary, underwent partial degeneration and eventually became ejected. his observations were made to a great extent by means of sections, and the general accuracy of his results is fairly certain, but the nature of the eggs he worked on, as well as other causes, prevented his obtaining so deep an insight into the phenomena accompanying the ejection of the germinal vesicle as has since been possible. lovén, flemming ( ), and others have been led by their investigations to adopt views similar in the main to oellacher's. as a rule, however, it is held by believers in the disappearance of the germinal vesicle that it becomes simply absorbed, and many very accurate accounts, so far as they go, have been given of the gradual atrophy of the germinal vesicle. the description of kleinenberg ( ) for hydra, and götte for bombinator, may perhaps be selected as especially complete in this respect; in both instances the germinal vesicle commences to atrophy at a relatively early period. footnote : the numbers appended to authors' names refer to the list of publications at the end of the paper. coming to the more modern period the researches of five workers, viz. bütschli, e. van beneden, fol, hertwig, and strasburger have especially thrown light upon this difficult subject. it is now hardly open to doubt that while part of the germinal vesicle is concerned in the formation of the polar cell or cells, when such are present, and is therefore ejected from the ovum, part also remains in the ovum and forms a nuclear body which will be spoken of as the _female pronucleus_, the fate of which is recorded in the second part of this paper. the researches of bütschli and van beneden have been especially instrumental in demonstrating the relation between the polar bodies and the germinal vesicle, and those of hertwig and fol, in shewing that part of the germinal vesicle remained in the ovum. it must not, however, be supposed that the results of these authors are fully substantiated, or that all the questions connected with these phenomena are settled. the statements we have are in many points opposed and contradictory, and there is much that is still very obscure. in the sequel an account is first given of the researches of the above-named authors, followed by a statement of those results which appear to me the most probable. the researches of van beneden ( and ) were made on the ovum of the rabbit and of asterias, and from his observations on both these widely separated forms he has been led to conclude that the germinal vesicle is either ejected or absorbed, but that it has in no case a genetic connection with the first segmentation sphere. he gives the following description of the changes in the rabbit's ovum. the germinal vesicle is enclosed by a membrane, and contains one main germinal spot, and a few accessory ones, together with a granular material which he calls _nucleoplasma_, which affects, as is usual in nuclei, a reticular arrangement. the remaining space in the vesicle is filled by a clear fluid. as the ovum approaches maturity the germinal vesicle assumes an excentric position, and fuses with the peripheral layer of the egg to constitute the _cicatricular lens_. the germinal spot next travels to the surface of the cicatricular lens and forms the _nuclear disc_: at the same time the membrane of the germinal vesicle vanishes though it probably unites with the nuclear disc. the nucleoplasma then collects into a definite mass and forms the nucleoplasmic body. finally the nuclear disc assumes an ellipsoidal form and becomes the nuclear body. nothing is now left of the original germinal vesicle but the nuclear body and the nucleoplasmic body both still situated within the ovum. in the next stage no trace of the germinal vesicle can be detected in the ovum, but outside it, close to the point where the modified remnants of the vesicle were previously situated, there is present a polar body which is composed of two parts, one of which stains deeply and resembles the nuclear body, and the other does not stain but is similar to the nucleoplasmic body. van beneden concludes that the polar bodies are the two ejected products of the germinal vesicle. in the case of asterias, van beneden has not observed the mode of formation of the polar bodies, and mainly gives an account of the atrophy of the germinal vesicle, but adds very little to what was already known to us from kleinenberg's ( ) earlier observations. he describes with precision the breaking up of the germinal spot into fragments and its eventual disappearance. though there are reasons for doubting the accuracy of all the above details on the ovum of the rabbit, nevertheless, the observations of van beneden taken as a whole afford strong grounds for concluding that the formation of the polar cells is connected with the disappearance, partial or otherwise, of the germinal vesicle. a very similar account of the apparent disappearance of the germinal vesicle is given by greeff ( ) who states that the apparent disappearance of the germinal spot precedes that of the vesicle. the observations of bütschli are of still greater importance in this direction. he has studied with a view to elucidating the fate of the germinal vesicle, the eggs of nephelis, lymnæus, cucullanus, and other nematodes; and rotifers. in all of these, with the exception of rotifers, he finds polar bodies, and in this respect his observations are of value as tending to shew the widespread existence of these structures. negative results with reference to the presence of the polar bodies have, it may be remarked, only a very secondary value. bütschli has made the very important discovery that in perfectly ripe eggs of nephelis, lymnæus and cucullanus and allied genera a _spindle_, similar to that of ordinary nuclei in the act of division, appears close to the surface of the egg. this spindle he regards as the metamorphosed germinal vesicle, and has demonstrated that it takes part in the formation of the polar cells. he states that the whole spindle is ejected from the egg, and that after swelling up and forming a somewhat spherical mass it divides into three parts. in the nematodes generally, bütschli has been unable to find the spindle modification of the germinal vesicle, but he states that the germinal vesicle undergoes degeneration, its outline becoming indistinct and the germinal spot vanishing. the position of the germinal vesicle continues to be marked by a clear space which gradually approaches the surface of the egg. when it is in contact with the surface a small spherical body, the remnant of the germinal vesicle, comes into view, and eventually becomes ejected. the clear space subsequently disappears. this description of bütschli resembles in some respects that given by van beneden of the changes in the rabbit's ovum, and not impossibly refers to a nearly identical series of phenomena. the discovery by bütschli of the spindle and its relation to the polar body has been of very great value. the publications of van beneden, and more especially those of bütschli, taken by themselves lead to the conclusion that the whole germinal vesicle is either ejected or absorbed. nearly simultaneously with their publications there appeared, however, a paper by oscar hertwig ( ) on the eggs of one of the common sea urchins (_toxopneustes lividus_), in which he attempted to shew that part of the germinal vesicle, at any rate, was concerned in the formation of the first segmentation nucleus. he believed (though he has himself now recognised that he was in error on the point) that no polar cell was formed in toxopneustes, and that the whole germinal vesicle was absorbed, with the exception of the germinal spot which remained in the egg as the female pronucleus. the following is the summary which he gives of his results, pp. - . "at the time when the egg is mature the germinal vesicle undergoes a retrogressive metamorphosis and becomes carried towards the surface of the egg by the contraction of the protoplasm. its membrane becomes dissolved and its contents disintegrated and finally absorbed by the yolk. the germinal spot appears, however, to remain unaltered and to continue in the yolk and to become the permanent nucleus of the ripe ovum capable of impregnation." after the publication of bütschli's monograph, o. hertwig ( ) continued his researches on the ova of leeches (_hæmopis_ and _nephelis_), and not only added very largely to our knowledge of the history of the germinal vesicle, but was able to make a very important rectification in bütschli's conclusions. the following is a summary of his results:--the germinal vesicle, as in other cases, undergoes a form of degeneration, though retaining its central position; and the germinal spot breaks up into fragments. the stages in which this occurs are followed by one when, on a superficial examination, the ovum appears to be absolutely without a nucleus; but there can be demonstrated by means of reagents in the position previously occupied by the germinal vesicle a spindle nucleus with the usual suns at its poles, which hertwig believes to be a product of the fragments of the germinal spot. this spindle travels towards the periphery of the ovum and then forms the spindle observed by bütschli. at the point where one of the apices of the spindle lies close to the surface a small protuberance arises which is destined to form the first polar cell. as the protuberance becomes more prominent one half of the spindle passes into it. the spindle then divides in the normal manner for nuclei, one half remaining in the protuberance, the other in the ovum, and finally the protuberance becomes a rounded body united to the egg by a narrow stalk. it is clear that if, as there is every reason to think, the above description is correct, the polar cell is formed by a simple process of cell-division and not, as bütschli believed, by the forcible ejection of the spindle. the portion of the spindle in the polar cell becomes a mass of granules, and that in the ovum becomes converted without the occurrence of the usual nuclear stage into a fresh spindle. a second polar cell is formed in the same manner as the first one, and the first one subsequently divides into two. the portion of the spindle which remains in the egg after the formation of the second polar cell reconstitutes itself into a nucleus--the female pronucleus--and travelling towards the centre of the egg undergoes a fate which will be spoken of in the second part of this paper. the most obscure part of hertwig's work is that which concerns the formation of the spindle on the atrophy of the germinal vesicle, and his latest paper, though it gives further details on this head, does not appear to me to clear up the mystery. though hertwig demonstrates clearly enough that this spindle is a product of the metamorphoses of the germinal vesicle, he does not appear to prove the thesis which he maintains, that it is the metamorphosed germinal spot. fol, to whom we are indebted in his paper on the development of geryonia ( ) for the best of the earlier descriptions of the phenomena which attend the maturation of the egg, and later for valuable contributions somewhat similar to those of bütschli with reference to the development of the pteropod egg ( ), has recently given us a very interesting account of what takes place in the ripe egg of _asterias glacialis_ ( ). in reference to the formation of the polar cells, his results accord closely with those of hertwig, but he differs considerably from this author with reference to the preceding changes in the germinal vesicle. he believes that the germinal spot atrophies more or less completely, but that in any case its constituents remain behind in the egg, though he will not definitely assert that it takes no share in the formation of the spindle at the expense of which both the polar cells and the female pronucleus are formed. the spindle with its terminal suns arises, according to him, from the contents of the germinal vesicle, loses its spindle character, travels to the surface, and reacquiring a spindle character is concerned in the formation of the polar cells in the way described by hertwig. giard ( ) gives a somewhat different account of the behaviour of the germinal vesicle in _psammechinus miliaris_. at maturity the contents of the germinal vesicle and spot mix together and form an amoeboid mass, which, assuming a spindle form, divides into two parts, one of which travels towards the centre of the egg and forms the female pronucleus, the other remains at the surface and gives origin to two polar cells, both of which are formed after the egg is laid. what giard regards as the female pronucleus is perhaps the lower of the two bodies which take the place of the original germinal vesicle as described by fol. vide the account of fol's observations on p. . strasburger, from observations on _phallusia_, accepts in the main hertwig's conclusion with reference to the formation of the polar bodies, but does not share hertwig's view that either the polar bodies or female pronucleus are formed at the expense of the germinal spot alone. he has further shewn that the so-called canal-cell of conifers is formed in the same manner as the polar cells, and states his belief that an equivalent of the polar cells is widely distributed in the vegetable subkingdom. this sketch of the results of recent researches will, it is hoped, suffice to bring into prominence the more important steps by which the problems of this department of embryology have been solved. the present aspects of the question may perhaps be most conveniently displayed by following the history of a single ovum. for this purpose the eggs of _asterias glacialis_, which have recently formed the subject of a series of beautiful researches by fol ( ), may conveniently be selected. the ripe ovum (fig. ), when detached from the ovary, is formed of a granular vitellus without a vitelline membrane, but enveloped in a mucilaginous coat. it contains an excentrically situated germinal vesicle and germinal spot. in the former is present the usual protoplasmic reticulum. as soon as the ovum reaches the sea water the germinal vesicle commences to undergo a peculiar metamorphosis. it exhibits frequent changes of form, its membrane becomes gradually absorbed and its outline indented and indistinct, and finally its contents become to a certain extent confounded with the vitellus (fig. ). the germinal spot at the same time loses its clearness of outline and gradually disappears from view. [illustration: fig. .--ripe ovum of asterias glacialis enveloped in a mucilaginous envelope, and containing an excentric germinal vesicle and germinal spot (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--two successive stages in the gradual metamorphosis of the germinal vesicle and spot of the ovum of asterias glacialis immediately after it is laid (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--ovum of asterias glacialis, shewing the clear spaces in the place of the germinal vesicle. fresh preparation (copied from fol).] at a slightly later stage in the place of the original germinal vesicle there may be observed in the fresh ovum two clear spaces (fig. ), one ovoid and nearer the surface, and the second more irregular in form and situated rather deeper in the vitellus. by treatment with reagents the first clear space is found to be formed of a spindle with two terminal suns on the lower side of which is a somewhat irregular body (fig. ). the second clear space by the same treatment is shewn to contain a round body. fol concludes that the spindle is formed out of part of the germinal vesicle and not of the germinal spot, while he sees in the round body present in the lower of the two clear spaces the metamorphosed germinal spot. he will not, however, assert that no fragment of the germinal spot enters into the formation of the spindle. it may be observed that fol is here obliged to fill up (so far at least as his present preliminary account enables me to determine) a lacuna in his observations in a hypothetical manner, and o. hertwig's ( ) most recent observations on the ovum of the same or an allied species of asterias tend to throw some doubt upon fol's interpretations. [illustration: fig. .--ovum of asterias glacialis, at the same stage as fig. , treated with picric acid (copied from fol).] the following is hertwig's account of the changes in the germinal vesicle. a quarter of an hour after the egg is laid the protoplasm on the side of the germinal vesicle towards the surface of the egg develops a prominence which presses inwards the wall of the vesicle. at the same time the germinal spot develops a large vacuole, in the interior of which is a body consisting of nuclear substance, and formed of a firmer and more refractive material than the remainder of the germinal spot. in the above-mentioned prominence towards the germinal vesicle, first one sun is formed by radial striæ of protoplasm, and then a second makes its appearance, while in the living ovum the germinal spot appears to have vanished, the outline of the germinal vesicle to have become indistinct, and its contents to have mingled with the surrounding protoplasm. treatment with reagents demonstrates that in the process of disappearance of the germinal spot the nuclear mass in the vacuole forms a rod-like body, the free end of which is situated between the two suns which occupy the prominence of the germinal vesicle. at a slightly later period granules may be seen at the end of the rod and finally the rod itself vanishes. after these changes there may be demonstrated by the aid of reagents a spindle between the two suns, which hertwig believes to grow in size as the last remnants of the germinal spot gradually vanish, and he maintains, as before mentioned, that the spindle is formed at the expense of the germinal spot. without following hertwig so far as this[ ] it may be permitted to suggest that his observations tend to shew that the body noticed by fol in the median line, on the inner side of his spindle, is in reality a remnant of the germinal spot and not, as fol supposes, part of the germinal vesicle. considering how conflicting is the evidence before us it seems necessary to leave open for the present the question as to what parts of the germinal vesicle are concerned in forming the first spindle. footnote : hertwig's full account of his observations, with figures, in the th vol. of the _morphologische jahrbuch_, has appeared since the above was written. the figures given strongly support hertwig's views. [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis, shewing the spindle formed from the metamorphosed germinal vesicle projecting into a protoplasmic prominence of the surface of the egg. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis at the moment of the detachment of the first polar body and the withdrawal of the remaining part of the spindle within the ovum. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis, with the first polar body as it appears when living (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis immediately after the formation of the second polar body. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] the spindle, however it be formed, has up to this time been situated with its axis parallel to the surface of the egg, but not long after the stage last described a spindle is found with one end projecting into a protoplasmic prominence which makes its appearance on the surface of the egg (fig. ). hertwig believes that the spindle simply travels towards the surface, and while doing so changes the direction of its axis. fol finds, however, that this is not the case, but that between the two conditions of the spindle an intermediate one is found in which a spindle can no longer be seen in the egg, but its place is taken by a compact rounded body. he has not been able to arrive at a conclusion as to what meaning is to be attached to this occurrence. in any case the spindle which projects into the prominence on the surface of the egg divides it into two parts, one in the prominence and one in the egg (fig. ). the prominence itself with the enclosed portion of the spindle becomes partially constricted off from the egg as the first polar body (fig. ). the part of the spindle which remains in the egg becomes directly converted into a second spindle by the elongation of its fibres without passing through a typical nuclear condition. a second polar cell next becomes formed in the same manner as the first (fig. ), and the portion of the spindle remaining in the egg becomes converted into two or three clear vesicles (fig. ) which soon unite to form a single nucleus, the female pronucleus (fig. ). the two polar cells appear to be situated between two membranes, the outer of which is very delicate and only distinct where it covers the polar cells, while the inner one is thicker and becomes, after impregnation, more distinct and then forms what fol speaks of as the vitelline membrane. it is clear, as hertwig has pointed out, that the polar bodies originate by a regular cell division and have the value of cells. [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis after the formation of the second polar cell, shewing the part of the spindle remaining in the ovum becoming converted into two clear vesicles. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--ovum of asterias glacialis with the two polar bodies and the female pronucleus surrounded by radial striæ, as seen in the living egg (copied from fol).] _general conclusions._ considering how few ova have been adequately investigated with reference to the behaviour of the germinal vesicle any general conclusions which may at present be formed are to be regarded as provisional, and i trust that this will be borne in mind by the reader in perusing the following paragraphs. there is abundant evidence that at the time of maturation of the egg the germinal vesicle undergoes peculiar changes, which are, in part at least, of a retrogressive character. these changes may begin considerably before the egg has reached the period of maturity, or may not take place till after it has been laid. they consist in appearance of irregularity and obscurity in the outline of the germinal vesicle, the absorption of its membrane, the partial absorption of its contents in the yolk, and the breaking up and disappearance of the germinal spot. the exact fate of the single germinal spot, or the numerous spots where they are present, is still obscure; and the observations of oellacher on the trout, and to a certain extent my own on the skate, tend to shew that the membrane of the germinal vesicle may in some cases be ejected from the egg, but this conclusion cannot be accepted without further confirmation. the retrogressive metamorphosis of the germinal vesicle is followed in a large number of instances by the conversion of what remains into a striated spindle similar in character to a nucleus previous to division. this spindle travels to the surface and undergoes division to form the polar cell or cells in the manner above described. the part which remains in the egg forms eventually the female pronucleus. the germinal vesicle has up to the present time only been observed to undergo the above series of changes in a certain number of instances, which, however, include examples from several divisions of the coelenterata, the echinodermata, and the mollusca, and also some of the vermes (nematodes, hirudinea, sagitta). it is very possible, not to say probable, that it is universal in the animal kingdom, but the present state of our knowledge does not justify us in saying so. it may be that in the case of the rabbit, and many nematodes as described by van beneden and by bütschli, we have instances of a different mode of formation of the polar cells. the case of amphibians, as described by bambeke ( ) and hertwig ( ) cannot so far be brought into conformity with our type, though observations are so difficult to make with such opaque eggs that not much reliance can be placed upon the existing statements. in both of these types of possible exceptions it is fairly clear that, whatever may be the case with reference to the formation of the polar cells, part of the germinal vesicle remains behind as the female pronucleus. there are a large number of types, including the whole of the rotifera[ ] and arthropoda, with a few doubtful exceptions, in which the polar cells cannot as yet be said to have been satisfactorily observed. footnote : flemming ( ) finds that, in the summer and probably parthenogenetic eggs of _lacinularia socialis_, the germinal vesicle approaches the surface and becomes invisible, and that subsequently a slight indentation in the outline of the egg marks the point of its disappearance. in the hollow of the indentation flemming believes a polar cell to be situated, though he has not definitely seen one. whatever may be the eventual result of more extended investigation, it is clear that the formation of polar cells according to our type is a very constant occurrence. its importance is also very greatly increased by the discovery by strasburger of the existence of an analogous process amongst plants. two questions about it obviously present themselves for solution: ( ) what are the conditions of its occurrence with reference to impregnation? ( ) what meaning has it in the development of the ovum or the embryo? the answer to the first of these questions is not difficult to find. the formation of the polar bodies is independent of impregnation, and is the final act of the normal growth of the ovum. in a few types the polar cells are formed while the ovum is still in the ovary, as, for instance, in some species of echini, hydra, &c., but, according to our present knowledge, far more usually after the ovum has been laid. in some of the instances the budding off of the polar cells precedes, and in others follows impregnation; but there is no evidence to shew that in the later cases the process is influenced by the contact with the male element. in asterias, as has been shewn by o. hertwig, the formation of the polar cells may indifferently either precede or follow impregnation--a fact which affords a clear demonstration of the independence of the two occurrences. to the second of the two questions it does not unfortunately seem possible at present to give an answer which can be regarded as satisfactory. the retrogressive changes in the membrane of the germinal vesicle which usher in the formation of the polar bodies may very probably be viewed as a prelude to a renewed activity of the contents of the vesicle; and are perhaps rendered the more necessary from the thickness of the membrane which results from a protracted period of passive growth. this suggestion does not, however, help us to explain the formation of polar cells by a process identical with cell division. the ejection of part of the germinal vesicle in the formation of the polar cells may probably be paralleled by the ejection of part or the whole of the original nucleus which, if we may trust the beautiful researches of bütschli, takes place during conjugation in infusoria as a preliminary to the formation of a fresh nucleus. this comparison is due to bütschli, and according to it the formation of the polar bodies would have to be regarded as assisting, in some as yet unknown way, the process of regeneration of the germinal vesicle. views analogous to this are held by strasburger and hertwig, who regard the formation of the polar bodies in the light of a process of excretion or removal of useless material. such hypotheses do not unfortunately carry us very far. i would suggest that in the formation of the polar cells part of the constituents of the germinal vesicle which are requisite for its functions as a complete and independent nucleus are removed to make room for the supply of the necessary parts to it again by the spermatic nucleus (vide p. ). more light on this, as on other points, may probably be thrown by further investigations on parthenogenesis and the presence or absence of a polar cell in eggs which develop parthenogenetically. curiously enough the two groups in which parthenogenesis most frequently occurs in the ordinary course of development (_arthropoda_ and _rotifera_) are also those in which polar cells, with the possible exception mentioned above, of the parthenogenetic eggs of lacenularia, are stated to be absent. this curious coincidence, should it be confirmed, may perhaps be explained on the hypothesis, i have just suggested, viz. _that a more or less essential part of the nucleus is removed in the formation of the polar cells; so that in cases, e.g. arthropoda and rotifera, where polar cells are not formed, and an essential part of the nucleus not therefore removed, parthenogenesis can much more easily occur than when polar cells are formed_. that the part removed in the formation of the polar cells is not absolutely essential, seems at first sight to follow from the fact of parthenogenesis being possible in instances where impregnation is the normal occurrence. the genuineness of all the observations on this head is too long a subject to enter into here[ ], but after admitting, as we probably must, that there are genuine cases of parthenogenesis, it cannot be taken for granted without more extended observation that the occurrence of development in these rare instances may not be due to the polar cells not having been formed as usual, and that when the polar cells are formed the development without impregnation is less possible. footnote : the instances quoted by siebold from hensen and oellacher are not quite satisfactory. in hensen's case impregnation would have been possible if we can suppose the spermatozoa to be capable of passing into the body-cavity through the open end of the uninjured oviduct; and though oellacher's instances are more valuable, yet sufficient care seems hardly to have been taken, especially when it is not certain for what length of time spermatozoa may be able to live in the oviduct. for oellacher's precautions, vide _zeit. für wiss. zool._ bd. xxii. p. . the remarkable observations of professor greeff ( ) on the parthenogenetic development of the eggs of _asterias rubens_ tell, however, very strongly against this explanation. greeff has found that under normal circumstances the eggs of this species of starfish will develop without impregnation in simple sea water. the development is quite regular and normal though much slower than in the case of impregnated eggs. it is not definitely stated that polar cells are formed, but there can be no doubt that this is implied. professor greeff's account is so precise and circumstantial that it is not easy to believe that any error can have crept in; but neither hertwig nor fol have been able to repeat his experiments, and we may be permitted to wait for further confirmation before absolutely accepting them. it is possible that the removal of part of the protoplasm of the egg in the formation of the polar cells may be a secondary process due to an attractive influence of the nucleus on the cell protoplasm, such as is ordinarily observed in cell division. _impregnation of the ovum._ a far greater amount of certainty appears to me to have been attained as to the effects of impregnation than as to the changes of the germinal vesicle which precede this, and there appears, moreover, to be a greater uniformity in the series of resulting phenomena. for convenience i propose to reverse the order hitherto adopted and to reserve the history of the literature and my discussion of disputed points till after my general account. fol's paper on _asterias glacialis_, is again my source of information. the part of the germinal vesicle which remains in the egg, after the formation of the second polar cell, becomes converted into a number of small vesicles (fig. ), which aggregate themselves into a single clear nucleus which gradually travels toward the centre of the egg and around which as a centre the protoplasm becomes radiately striated (fig. ). this nucleus is known as the _female pronucleus_[ ]. in _asterias glacialis_ the most favourable period for fecundation is about an hour after the formation of the female pronucleus. if at this time the spermatozoa are allowed to come in contact with the egg, their heads soon become enveloped in the investing mucilaginous coat. a prominence, pointing towards the nearest spermatozoon, now arises from the superficial layer of protoplasm of the egg and grows till it comes in contact with the spermatozoon (figs. and ), under normal circumstances the spermatozoon, which meets the prominence, is the only one concerned in the fertilisation, and it makes its way into the egg by passing through the prominence. the tail of the spermatozoa, no longer motile, remains visible for some time after the head has bored its way in, but its place is soon taken by a pale conical body which is, however, probably in part a product of the metamorphosis of the tail itself (fig. ). this body vanishes in its turn. footnote : according to hertwig's most recent statement a nucleolus is present in this nucleus. [illustration: figs. and .--small portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis. the spermatozoa are shewn enveloped in the mucilaginous coat. in fig. a prominence is rising from the surface of the egg towards the nearest spermatozoon; and in fig. the spermatozoon and prominence have met. from living ovum (copied from fol).] at the moment of contact between the spermatozoon and the egg the outermost layer of the protoplasm of the latter raises itself as distinct membrane, which separates from the egg and prevents the entrance of any more spermatozoa. at the point where the spermatozoon entered a crater-like opening is left in the membrane (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis after the entrance of a spermatozoon into the ovum. it shows the prominence of the ovum through which the spermatozoon has entered. a vitelline membrane with a crater-like opening has become distinctly formed. from living ovum (copied from fol).] the head of the spermatozoon when in the egg forms a nucleus for which the name _male pronucleus_ may be conveniently adopted. it grows in size by absorbing, it is said, material from the ovum, though this may be doubted, and around it is formed a clear space free from yolk-spherules. shortly after its formation the protoplasm in its neighbourhood assumes a radiate arrangement (fig. ). at whatever point of the egg the spermatozoon may have entered, it gradually travels towards the female pronucleus. this latter, around which the protoplasm no longer has a radial arrangement, remains motionless till it comes in contact with the rays of the male pronucleus, after which its condition of repose is exchanged for one of activity, and it rapidly approaches the male pronucleus, and eventually fuses with it (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--ovum of asterias glacialis, with male and female pronucleus and a radial striation of the protoplasm around the former. from living ovum (copied from fol).] [illustration: fig. .--three successive stages in the coalescence of the male and female pronucleus in asterias glacialis. from the living ovum (copied from fol).] the product of this fusion forms the first segmentation nucleus (fig. ), which soon, however, divides into the two nuclei of the two first segmentation spheres. while the two pronuclei are approaching one another the protoplasm of the egg exhibits amoeboid movements. of the earlier observations on this subject there need perhaps only be cited one of e. van beneden, on the rabbit's ovum, shewing the presence of two nuclei before the commencement of segmentation. bütschli was the earliest to state from observations on _rhabditis dolichura_ that the first segmentation nucleus arose from the fusion of two nuclei, and this was subsequently shewn with greater detail for _ascaris nigrovenosa_, by auerbach ( ). neither of these authors gave at first the correct interpretation of their results. at a later period bütschli ( ) arrived at the conclusion that in a large number of instances (_lymnæus_, _nephelis_, _cucullanus_, &c.), the nucleus in question was formed by the fusion of two or more nuclei, and strasburger at first made a similar statement for _phallusia_, though he has since withdrawn it. though bütschli's statements depend, as it seems, upon a false interpretation of appearances, he nevertheless arrived at a correct view with reference to what occurs in impregnation. van beneden ( ) described in the rabbit the formation of the original segmentation nucleus from two nuclei, one peripheral and the other central, and he gave it as his hypothetical view that the peripheral nucleus was derived from the spermatic element. it was reserved for oscar hertwig ( ) to describe in _echinus lividus_ the entrance of a spermatozoon into the egg and the formation from it of the male pronucleus. [illustration: fig. .--ovum of asterias glacialis, after the coalescence of the male and female pronucleus (copied from fol).] though there is a general agreement between the most recent observers, hertwig, fol, selenka, strasburger, &c., as to the main facts connected with the entrance of one spermatozoon into the egg, the formation of the male pronucleus, and its fusion with the female pronucleus, there still exist differences of detail in the different descriptions which partly, no doubt, depend upon the difficulties of observation, but partly also upon the observations not having all been made upon the same species. hertwig does not enter into details with reference to the actual entrance of the spermatozoon into the egg, but in his latest paper points out that considerable differences may be observed in occurrences which succeed impregnation, according to the relative period at which this takes place. when, in asterias, the impregnation is effected about an hour after the egg is laid and previously to the formation of the polar cells, the male pronucleus appears at first to exert but little influence on the protoplasm, but after the formation of the second polar cell, the radial striæ around it become very marked, and the pronucleus rapidly grows in size. when it finally unites with the female pronucleus it is equal in size to the latter. in the case when the impregnation is deferred for four hours the male pronucleus never becomes so large as the female pronucleus. with reference to the effect of the time at which impregnation takes place, asterias would seem to serve as a type. thus in _hirudinea_, _mollusca_, and _nematodes_ impregnation normally takes place before the formation of the polar bodies is completed, and the male pronucleus is accordingly as large as the female. in _echinus_, on the other hand, where the polar bodies are formed in the ovary, the male pronucleus is always small. selenka, who has investigated the formation of the male pronucleus in _toxopneustes variegatus_, differs in certain points from fol. he finds that usually, though not always, a single spermatozoon enters the egg, and that though the entrance may be effected at any part of the surface, it generally occurs at the point marked by a small prominence where the polar cell was formed. the spermatozoon first makes its way through the mucous envelope of the egg, within which it swims about, and then bores with its head into the polar prominence. the head of the spermatozoon on entering the egg becomes enveloped by the superficial protoplasm, and travels inward with its envelope, while the tail remains outside. as fol has described, a delicate membrane becomes formed shortly after the entrance of the spermatozoon. the head continues to make its way by means of rapid oscillations, till it has traversed about one eighth of the diameter of the egg, and then suddenly becomes still. the tail in the meantime vanishes, while the neck swells up and forms the male pronucleus. the junction of the male and female pronucleus is described by fol and selenka in nearly the same manner. giard gives an account of impregnation which is not easily brought into harmony with that of the other investigators. his observations were made on _psammechinus miliaris_. at one point is situated a polar body and usually at the pole opposite to it a corresponding prominence. the spermatozoa on gaining access to the egg attach themselves to it and give it a rotatory movement, but according to giard none of them penetrate the vitelline membrane which, though formed at an earlier period, now retires from the surface of the egg. giard believes that the prominence opposite the polar cells serves for the entrance of the spermatic material, which probably passes in by a process of diffusion. thus, though he regards the male pronucleus as a product of impregnation, he does not believe it to be the head of a spermatozoon. both hertwig and fol have made observations on the result of the entrance into the egg of several spermatozoa. fol finds that when the impregnation has been too long delayed the vitelline membrane is formed with comparative slowness and several spermatozoa are thus enabled to penetrate. each spermatozoon forms a separate pronucleus with a surrounding sun; and several male pronuclei usually fuse with the female pronucleus. each male pronucleus appears to exercise a repulsive influence on other male pronuclei, but to be attracted by the female pronucleus. when there are several male pronuclei the segmentation is irregular and the resulting larva a monstrosity. these statements of fol and hertwig are at first sight in contradiction with the more recent results of selenka. in _toxopneustes variegatus_ selenka finds that though impregnation is usually effected by a single spermatozoon yet that several may be concerned in the act. the development continues, however, to be normal if three or even four spermatozoa enter the egg almost simultaneously. under such circumstances each spermatozoon forms a separate pronucleus and sun. it may be noticed that, while the observations of fol and hertwig were admittedly made upon eggs in which the impregnation was delayed till they no longer displayed their pristine activity, selenka's were made upon quite fresh eggs; and it seems not impossible that the pathological symptoms in the embryos reared by the two former authors may have been due to the imperfection of the egg and not to the entrance of more than one spermatozoon. this, of course, is merely a suggestion which requires to be tested by fresh observations. we have not as yet a sufficient body of observations to enable us to decide whether impregnation is usually effected by a single spermatozoon, though in spite of certain conflicting evidence the balance would seem to incline towards the side of a single spermatozoon[ ]. footnote : the recent researches of calberla on the impregnation of the ovum of _petromyzon planeri_ support this conclusion. the discovery of hertwig as to the formation of the male pronucleus throws a flood of light upon impregnation. the act of impregnation is seen essentially to consist in the fusion of a male and female nucleus; not only does this appear in the actual fusion of the two pronuclei, but it is brought into still greater prominence by the fact that the female pronucleus is a product of the nucleus of a primitive ovum, and the male pronucleus is the metamorphosed _head_ of the spermatozoon which is itself developed from the nucleus of a spermatic cell[ ]. the spermatic cells originate from cells (in the case of vertebrates at least) identical with the primitive ova, so that the fusion which takes place is the fusion of morphologically similar parts in the two sexes. footnote : this seems the most probable view with reference to the nature of the head of the spermatozoon, though the point is not perhaps yet definitely decided. it must not, however, be forgotten, as strasburger has pointed out, that part of the protoplasm of the generative cells of the two sexes also fuse, viz. the tail of the spermatozoon with the protoplasm of the egg. but there is no evidence that the former is of importance for the act of impregnation. the fact that impregnation mainly consists in the union of two nuclei gives an importance to the nucleus which would probably not have been accorded to it on other grounds. hertwig's discovery is in no way opposed to mr darwin's theory of pangenesis and other similar theories, but does not afford any definite proof of their accuracy, nor does it in the meantime supply any explanation of the origin of two sexes or of the reasons for an embryo becoming male or female. _summary._ in what may probably be regarded as a normal case the following series of events accompanies the maturation and impregnation of an egg:-- ( ) transportation of the germinal vesicle to the surface of the egg. ( ) absorption of the membrane of the germinal vesicle and metamorphosis of the germinal spot. ( ) assumption of a spindle character by the remains of germinal vesicle, these remains being probably largely formed from the germinal spot. ( ) entrance of one end of the spindle into a protoplasmic prominence at the surface of the egg. ( ) division of the spindle into two halves, one remaining in the egg, the other in the prominence. the prominence becomes at the same time nearly constricted off from the egg as a polar cell. ( ) formation of a second polar cell in same manner as first, part of the spindle still remaining in the egg. ( ) conversion of the part of the spindle remaining in the egg after the formation of the second polar cell into a nucleus--the female pronucleus. ( ) transportation of the female pronucleus towards the centre of the egg. ( ) entrance of one spermatozoon into the egg. ( ) conversion of the head of the spermatozoon into a nucleus--the male pronucleus. ( ) appearance of radial striæ round the male pronucleus which gradually travels towards the female pronucleus. ( ) fusion of male and female pronuclei to form the first segmentation nucleus. _list of important recent publications on the maturation and impregnation of the ovum._ . auerbach. _organologische studien_, heft . . bambeke. "recherches s. embryologie des batraciens." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. lxi. . . e. van beneden. "la maturation de l'oeuf des mammifères." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xl, no. , . . e. van beneden. "contributions à l'histoire de la vésicule germinative, &c." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xli, no. , . . bütschli. _eizelle, zelltheilung, und conjugation der infusorien._ . flemming. "studien in d. entwicklungsgeschichte der najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, b. lxxi. . . fol. "die erste entwicklung des geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . fol. "sur le développement des pteropodes." _archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale_, vols. iv and v. . fol. "sur le commencement de l'hénogénie." _archives des sciences physiques et naturelles_. genève, . . giard. _note sur les premiers phénomènes du développement de l'oursin._ . . hertwig, oscar. "beit. z. kenntniss d. bildung, &c., d. thier. eies." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. i. . hertwig, oscar. ibid. _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. iii, heft. . . hertwig, oscar. "weitere beiträge, &c." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. iii, heft . . kleinenberg. _hydra_. leipzig, . . oellacher, j. "beiträge zur geschichte des keimbläschens im wirbelthiereie." _archiv f. micr. anat._, bd. viii. . selenka. _befruchtung u. theilung des eies von toxopneustes variegatus_ (vorläufige mittheilung). erlangen, . . strasburger. _ueber zellbildung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . . strasburger. _ueber befruchtung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . . r. greeff. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. echinodermen." _sitzun. der gesellschaft z. beförderung d. gesammten naturwiss. z. marburg_, no. . . _postscript_.--two important memoirs have appeared since this paper was in type. one of these by hertwig, _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. iv, contains a full account with illustrations of what was briefly narrated in his previous paper ( ); the other by calberla, "der befruchtungsvorgang beim ei von _petromyzon planeri_," _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xxx, shews that the superficial layer of the egg is formed by a coating of protoplasm free from yolk-spheres, which at one part is continued inwards as a column, and contains the germinal vesicle. the surface of this column is in contact with a micropyle in the egg-membrane. impregnation is effected by the entrance of the head of a single spermatozoon (the tail remaining outside) through the micropyle, and then along the column of clear protoplasm to the female pronucleus. xii. on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. , . (with plates , , .) the present paper records observations on the ovaries of but two types, viz., mammalia and elasmobranchii. the main points dealt with are three:-- . the relation of the germinal epithelium to the stroma. . the connection between _primitive ova_ in waldeyer's sense and the permanent ova. . the homologies of the egg membranes. the second of these points seems to call for special attention after semper's discovery that the primitive ova ought really to be regarded as _primitive sexual cells_, in that they give rise to the generative elements of both sexes. the development of the elasmobranch ovary. the development of the elasmobranch ovary has recently formed the subject of three investigations. the earliest of them, by h. ludwig, is contained in his important work, on the 'formation of the ovum in the animal kingdom[ ].' ludwig arrives at the conclusion that the ovum and the follicular epithelium are both derived from the germinal epithelium, and enters into some detail as to their formation. schultz[ ], without apparently being acquainted with ludwig's observations, has come to very similar results for torpedo. footnote : _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. i. footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat._ vol. xi. semper[ ], in his elaborate memoir on the urogenital system of elasmobranchii, has added very greatly to our knowledge on this subject. in a general way he confirms ludwig's statements, though he shews that the formation of the ova is somewhat more complicated than ludwig had imagined. he more especially lays stress on the existence of nests of ova (ureiernester), derived from the division of a single primitive ovum, and of certain peculiarly modified nuclei, which he compares to spindle nuclei in the act of division. footnote : _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. ii. my own results agree with those of previous investigators, in attributing to the germinal epithelium the origin both of the follicular epithelium and ova, but include a number of points which i believe to be new, and, perhaps, of some little interest; they differ, moreover, in many important particulars, both as to the structure and development of the ovary, from the accounts of my predecessors. the history of the female generative organs may conveniently be treated under two heads, viz. ( ) the history of the ovarian ridge itself, and ( ) the history of the ova situated in it. i propose dealing in the first place with the ovarian ridge. _the ovarian ridge in scyllium._--at the stage spoken of in my monograph on elasmobranch fishes as stage l, the ovarian ridge has a very small development, and its maximum height is about . mm. it exhibits in section a somewhat rounded form, and is slightly constricted along the line of attachment. it presents two surfaces, which are respectively outer and inner, and is formed of a layer of somewhat thickened germinal epithelium separated by a basement membrane from a central core of stroma. the epithelium is far thicker on the outer surface than on the inner, and the primitive ova are entirely confined to the former. the cells of the germinal epithelium are irregularly scattered around the primitive ova, and have not the definite arrangement usually characteristic of epithelial cells. each of them has a large nucleus, with a deeply staining small nucleolus, and a very scanty protoplasm. in stage n the ovarian ridge has a pointed edge and narrower attachment than in stage l. its greatest height is about . mm. there is more stroma, and the basement membrane is more distinct than before; in other respects no changes worth recording have taken place. by stage p a distinction is observable between the right and left ovarian ridges; the right one has, in fact, grown more rapidly than the left, and the difference in size between the two ridges becomes more and more conspicuous during the succeeding stages, till the left one ceases to grow any larger, though it remains for a great part of life as a small rudiment. the right ovarian ridge, which will henceforth alone engage our attention, has grown very considerably. its height is now about . mm. it has in section (vide pl. , fig. ) a triangular form with constricted base, and is covered by a flat epithelium, except for an area on the outer surface, in length co-extensive with the ovarian ridge, and with a maximum breadth of about . mm. this area will be spoken of as the ovarian area or region, since the primitive ova are confined to it. the epithelium covering it has a maximum thickness of about . mm., and thins off rather rapidly on both borders, to become continuous with the general epithelium of the ovarian ridge. its cells have the same character as before, and are several layers deep. scattered irregularly amongst them are the primitive ova. the germinal epithelium in the ovarian region is separated by a basement membrane from the adjacent stroma. in succeeding stages, till the embryo reaches a length of centimetres, no very important changes take place. the ovarian region grows somewhat in breadth, though in this respect different embryos vary considerably. in two embryos of nearly the same age, the breadth of the ovarian epithelium was . mm. in the one and . mm. in the other. in the former of these embryos, the thickness of the epithelium was slightly greater than in the latter, viz. . mm. as compared with . . in both the epithelium was sharply separated from the subjacent stroma. there were relatively more epithelial cells in proportion to primitive ova than at the earlier date, and the individual cells exhibited great variations in shape, some being oval, some angular, others very elongated, and many of them applied to part of an ovum and accommodating themselves to its shape. in some of the more elongated cells very deeply stained nuclei were present, which (in a favourable light and with high powers) exhibited the spindle modification of strasburger with great clearness, and must therefore be regarded as undergoing division. the ovarian region is at this stage bounded on each side by a groove. in an embryo of seven centimetres (pl. , fig. ) the breadth of the ovarian epithelium was . , but its height only . mm. it was still sharply separated from the subjacent stroma, though a membrane could only be demonstrated in certain parts. the amount of stroma in the ovarian ridge varies greatly in different individuals, and no reliance can be placed on its amount as a test of the age of the embryo. in the base of the ovarian ridge the cells were closely packed, elsewhere they were still embryonic. my next stage (pl. , fig. , and fig. ), shortly before the time of the hatching of the embryo, exhibits in many respects an advance on the previous one. it is the stage during which a follicular covering derived from the germinal epithelium is first distinctly formed round the ova, in a manner which will be more particularly spoken of in the section devoted to the development of the ovum itself. the breadth of the ovarian region is . mm., and its greatest height close to the central border, . mm.--a great advance on the previous stage, mainly, however, due to the larger size of the ova. the ovarian epithelium is still in part separated from the subjacent stroma by a membrane close to its dorsal and ventral borders, but elsewhere the separation is not so distinct, it being occasionally difficult within a cell or so to be sure of the boundary of the epithelium. the want of a clear line between the stroma and the epithelium is rendered more obvious by the fact that the surface of the latter is somewhat irregular, owing to projections formed by specially large ova, into the bays between which are processes of the stroma. in an ovary about this stage, hardened in osmic acid, the epithelium stains very differently from the subjacent stroma, and the line of separation between the two is quite sharp. a figure of the whole ovarian ridge, shewing the relation between the two parts, is represented on pl. , fig. . the layer of stroma in immediate contact with the epithelium is very different from the remainder, and appears to be destined to accompany the vascular growths into the epithelium, which will appear in the next stage. the protoplasm of the cells composing it forms a loose reticulum with a fair number of oval or rounded nuclei, with their long axis for the most part parallel to the lower surface of the epithelium. it contains, even at this stage, fully developed vascular channels. the remainder of the stroma of the ovarian ridge has now acquired a definite structure, which remains constant through life, and is eminently characteristic of the genital ridge of both sexes. the bulk of it (pl. , fig. , _str_) consists of closely packed polygonal cells, of about . mm. with large nuclei of about . . these cells appear to be supported by a delicate reticulum. the whole tissue is highly vascular, with the numerous capillaries; the nuclei in the walls of which stand out in some preparations with great clearness. in the next oldest ovary, of which i have sections, the breadth of the ovarian epithelium is . mm. and its thickness . . the ovary of this age was preserved in osmic acid, which is the most favourable reagent, so far as i have seen, for observing the relation of the stroma and epithelium. on pl. , fig. , is represented a transverse section through the whole breadth of the ovary, slightly magnified to shew the general relations of the parts, and on pl. , fig. , a small portion of a section more highly magnified. the inner surface of the ovarian epithelium is more irregular than in the previous stage, and it may be observed that the subjacent stroma is growing in amongst the ova. from the relation of the two tissues it is fairly clear that the growth which is taking place is a definite growth of the stroma into the epithelium, and not a mutual intergrowth of the two tissues. the ingrowths of the stroma are, moreover, directed towards individual ova, around which, outside the follicular epithelium, they form a special vascular investment in the succeeding stages. they are formed of a reticular tissue with comparatively few nuclei. by the next stage, in my series of ovaries of _scy. canicula_, important changes have taken place in the constitution of ovarian epithelium. fig. , pl. , represents a portion of the ovarian epithelium, on the same scale as figs. , , , &c., and fig. a section through the whole ovarian ridge slightly magnified. its breadth is now . mm., and its thickness . mm. the ova have grown very greatly, and it appears to me to be mainly owing to their growth that the greater thickness of the epithelium is due, as well as the irregularity of its inner surface (vide fig. ). the general relation of the epithelium to the surrounding parts is much the same as in the earlier stage, but two new features have appeared--( ) the outermost cells of the ovarian region have more or less clearly arranged themselves as a kind of epithelial covering for the organ; and ( ) the stroma ingrowths of the previous stage have become definitely vascular, and have penetrated through all parts of the epithelium. the external layer of epithelium is by no means a very marked structure, the character of its cells varies greatly in different regions, and it is very imperfectly separated from the subjacent layer. i shall speak of it for convenience as _pseudo-epithelium_. the greater part of the germinal epithelium forms anastomosing columns, separated by very thin tracts of stroma. the columns are, in the majority of instances, continuous with the pseudo-epithelium at the surface, and contain ova in all stages of development. many of the cells composing them naturally form the follicular epithelium for the separate ova; but the majority have no such relation. they have in many instances assumed an appearance somewhat different from that which they presented in the last stage, mainly owing to the individual nuclei being more widely separated. a careful examination with a high power shews that this is owing to an increase in the amount of protoplasm of the individual cells, and it may be noted that a similar increase in the size of the bodies of the cells has taken place in the pseudo-epithelium and in the follicular epithelium of the individual ova. the stroma ingrowths form the most important feature of the stage. in most instances they are very thin and delicate, and might easily be overlooked, especially as many of the cells in them are hardly to be distinguished, taken separately, from those of the germinal epithelium. these features render the investigation of the exact relation of the stroma and epithelium a matter of some difficulty. i have, however, been greatly assisted by the investigation of the ovary of a young example of _scyllium stellare_, - / centimètres in length, a section of which is represented in pl. , fig. . in this ovary, although no other abnormalities were observable, the stroma ingrowths were exceptionally wide; indeed, quite without a parallel in my series of ovaries in this respect. the stroma most clearly divides up the epithelium of the ovary into separate masses, or more probably anastomosing columns, the equivalents of the egg-tubes of pflüger. these columns are formed of normal cells of the germinal epithelium, which enclose ovarian nests and ova in all stages of development. a comparison of the section i have represented, with those from previous stages, appears to me to demonstrate that the relation of the epithelium and stroma has been caused by an ingrowth or penetration of the stroma into the epithelium, and not by a mutual intergrowth of the two tissues. although the ovary, of which fig. represents a section was from _scy. stellare_, and the previous ovaries have been from _scy. canicula_, yet the thickness of the epithelium may still be appealed to in confirmation of this view. in the previous stage the thickness was about . mm., in the present one it is about . mm., a difference of thickness which can be easily accounted for by the growth of the individual ova and the additional tracts of stroma. a pseudo-epithelium is more or less clearly formed, but it is continuous with the columns of epithelium. in the stroma many isolated cells are present, which appear to me, from a careful comparison of a series of sections, to belong to the germinal epithelium. the thickness of the follicular epithelium on the inner side of the larger ova deserves to be noted. its meaning is discussed on p. . quite a different interpretation to that which i have given has been put by ludwig and semper upon the parts of the ovary at this stage. my _pseudo-epithelium_ is regarded by them as forming, together with the _follicular epithelium_ of the ova, the sole remnant of the original germinal epithelium; and the masses of cells below the pseudo-epithelium, which i have attempted to shew are derived from the original germinal epithelium, are regarded as parts of the ingrowths of the adjacent stroma. ludwig has assumed this interpretation without having had an opportunity of working out the development of the parts, but semper attempts to bring forward embryological proofs in support of this position. if the series of ovaries which i have represented be examined, it will not, i think, be denied that the general appearances are very much in favour of my view. the thickened patch of ovarian epithelium can apparently be traced through the whole series of sections, and no indications of its sudden reduction to the thin pseudo-epithelium are apparent. the most careful examination that i have been able to make brings to light nothing tending to shew that the general appearances are delusive. the important difference between us refers to _our views of the nature of the tissue subjacent to the pseudo-epithelium_. if my results be accepted, it is clear that the whole ovarian region is an epithelium interpenetrated by connective tissue ingrowths, so that the region below the pseudo-epithelium is a kind of honeycomb or trabecular net-work of germinal epithelium, developing ova of all stages and sizes, and composed of cells capable of forming follicular epithelium for developing ova. ludwig figures what he regards as the formation of the follicular epithelium round primitive ova during their passage into the stroma. it is quite clear to me, that his figures of the later stages, and , represent fully formed permanent ova surrounded by a follicular epithelium, and that their situation in contact with the pseudo-epithelium is, so to speak, an accident, and it is quite possible that his figures and also represent fully formed ova; but i have little hesitation in asserting that he has not understood the mode of formation of the follicular epithelium, and that, though his statement that it is derived from the germinal epithelium is quite correct, his account of the process is completely misleading. the same criticism does not exactly apply to semper's statements. semper has really observed the formation of the follicular epithelium round young ova; but, nevertheless, he appears to me to give an entirely wrong account of the relation of the stroma to the germinal epithelium. the extent of the difference between semper's and my view may perhaps best be shewn by a quotation from semper, _loc. cit._, :--"in females the nests of primitive ova sink in groups into the stroma. in these groups one cell enlarges till it becomes the ovum, the neighbouring cells increase and arrange themselves around the ova as follicle cells." although the histological changes which take place in the succeeding stages are not inconsiderable, they do not involve any fundamental change in the constitution of the ovarian region, and may be described with greater brevity than has been so far possible. in a half-grown female, with an ovarian region of mm. in breadth, and . mm. in thickness, the stroma of the ovarian region has assumed a far more formed aspect than before. it consists (pl. , fig. ) of a basis in most parts fibrous, but in some nearly homogeneous, with a fair number of scattered cells. immediately below the pseudo-epithelium, there is an imperfectly developed fibrous layer, forming a kind of tunic, in which are imbedded the relatively reduced epithelial trabeculæ of the previous stages. they appear in sections as columns, either continuous with or independent of the pseudo-epithelium, formed of normal cells of the germinal epithelium, nests of ova, and permanent ova in various stages of development. below this there comes a layer of larger ova which are very closely packed. a not inconsiderable number of the larger ova have, however, a superficial situation, and lie in immediate contact with the pseudo-epithelium. some of the younger ova, enclosed amongst epithelial cells continuous with the pseudo-epithelium, are very similar to those figured by ludwig. it is scarcely necessary to insist that this fact does not afford any argument in favour of his interpretations. the ovarian region is honeycombed by large vascular channels with distinct walls, and other channels which are perhaps lymphatic. the surface of the ovarian region is somewhat irregular and especially marked by deep oblique transverse furrows. it is covered by a distinct, though still irregular pseudo-epithelium, which is fairly columnar in the furrows but flattened along the ridges. the cells of the pseudo-epithelium have one peculiarity very unlike that of ordinary epithelial cells. their inner extremities (vide fig. ) are prolonged into fibrous processes which enter the subjacent tissue, and bending nearly parallel to the surface of the ovary, assist in forming the tunic spoken of above. this peculiarity of the pseudo-epithelial cells seems to indicate that they do not essentially differ from cells which have the character of undoubted connective tissue cells, and renders it possible that the greater part of the tunic, which has apparently the structure of ordinary connective tissue, is in reality derived from the original germinal epithelium, a view which tallies with the fact that in some instances the cells of the tunic appear as if about to assist in forming the follicular epithelium of some of the developing ova. in raja, the similarity of the pseudo-epithelium to the subjacent tissue is very much more marked than in scyllium. the pseudo-epithelium appears merely as the superficial layer of the ovarian tunic somewhat modified by its position on the surface. it is formed of columnar cells with vertically arranged fibres which pass into the subjacent layers, and chiefly differ from the ordinary fibres in that they still form parts of the cell-protoplasm enclosing the nucleus. in pl. , fig. , an attempt is made to represent the relations of the pseudo-epithelium to the subjacent tissue in raja. ludwig's figures of the pseudo-epithelium of the ovary, in the regular form of its constituent cells, and its sharp separation by a basement membrane from the tissue below, are quite unlike anything which i have met with in my sections either of raja or scyllium. close to the dorsal border of the ovary the epithelial cells of the non-ovarian region have very conspicuous tails, extending into a more or less homogeneous substance below, which constitutes a peculiar form of tunic for this part of the ovarian ridge. in the full-grown female the stroma of the ovarian region is denser and has a more fibrous aspect than in the younger animal. below the pseudo-epithelium it is arranged in two or three more or less definite layers, in which the fibres run at right angles. it forms a definite ovarian tunic. the pseudo-epithelium is much more distinct, and the tails of its cells, so conspicuous in previous stages, can no longer be made out. _formation of the permanent ova and the follicular epithelium._--in my monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes an account was given of the earliest stages in the development of the primitive ova, and i now take up their development from the point at which it was left off in that work. from their first formation till the stage spoken of in my monograph as p, their size remains fairly constant. the larger examples have a diameter of about . mm., and the medium-sized examples of about . mm. the larger nuclei have a diameter of about . mm., but their variations in size are considerable. if the above figures be compared with those on page of my monograph on elasmobranch fishes, it will be seen that the size of the primitive ova during these stages is not greater than it was at the period of their very first appearance. the ova (pl. , fig. ) are usually aggregated in masses, which might have resulted from division of a single ovum. the outlines of the individual ova _are always distinct_. their protoplasm is clear, and their nuclei, which are somewhat passive towards staining reagents, are granular, with one to three nucleoli. i have noticed, up to stage p, the occasional presence of highly refractive spherules in the protoplasm of the primitive ova already described in my monograph (pp. , , pl. , fig. ). they seem to occur up to a later period than i at first imagined. their want of constancy probably indicates that they have no special importance. professor semper has described similar appearances in the male primitive ova of a later period. as to the distribution of the primitive ova in the germinal epithelium, professor semper's statement that the larger primitive ova are found in masses in the centre, and that the smaller ova are more peripherally situated is on the whole true, though i do not find this distribution sufficiently constant to lay so much stress on it as he does. the passive condition of the primitive ova becomes suddenly broken during stage q, and is succeeded by a period of remarkable changes. it has only been by the expenditure of much care and trouble that i have been able to elucidate to my own satisfaction what takes place, and there are still points which i do not understand. very shortly after stage q, in addition to primitive ova with a perfectly normal nucleus, others may be seen in which the nucleus is apparently replaced by a deeply stained irregular body, smaller than the ordinary nuclei (pl. , fig. , _d.n._). this body, by the use of high objectives, is seen to be composed of a number of deeply stained granules, and around it may be noticed a clear space, bounded by a very delicate membrane. the granular body usually lies close to one side of this membrane, and occasionally sends a few fine processes to the opposite side. the whole body, _i.e._ all within the delicate membrane is, according to my view, a modified nucleus; as appears to me very clearly to be shewn by the fact that it occupies the normal position of a nucleus within a cell body. semper, on the other hand, regards the contained granular body as the nucleus, which he compares with the spindles of bütschli, auerbach, &c.[ ]. this interpretation appears to me, however, to be negatived by the position of these bodies. the manner in which semper may, perhaps, have been led to his views will be obvious when the later changes of the primitive ova are described. the formation of these nuclei would seem to be due to a segregation of the constituents of the original nuclei; the solid parts becoming separated from the more fluid. as a rule, the modified nuclei are slightly larger than the original ones. in stage q the following two tables shew the dimensions of the parts of three unmodified and of three modified nuclei taken at random. footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . _primitive ova with unmodified nuclei_-- nuclei. . mm. . mm. . mm. _primitive ova with modified nuclei_-- granular nuclei. bodies in nuclei. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. for a slightly older stage than q, the two annexed tables also shew the comparative size of the modified and unmodified nuclei: _unmodified nuclei of normal primitive ova--_ . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. _nuclei of primitive ova with modified nuclei--_ granular nuclei. bodies in nuclei. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. these figures bring out with clearness the following points: ( ) that the modified nuclei are slightly but decidedly larger on the average than the unmodified nuclei; ( ) that the contained granular bodies _are very considerably_ smaller than ordinary nuclei. soon after the appearance of the modified nuclei, remarkable changes take place in the cells containing them. up to the time such nuclei first make their appearance the outlines of the individual ova are very clearly defined, but subsequently, although numerous ova with but slightly modified nuclei are still to be seen, yet on the whole the outlines of all the primitive ova are much less distinct than before; and this is especially the case with the primitive ova containing modified nuclei. from cases in which three or four ova are found in a mass with modified nuclei, but in which the outline of each ovum is fairly distinct, it is possible to pass by insensible gradations to other cases in which two or three or more modified nuclei are found embedded in a mass of protoplasm in which no division into separate cells can be made out (fig. ). for these masses i propose to employ the term nests. they correspond in part with the _ureiernester_ of professor semper. frequently they are found in hardened specimens to be enclosed in a membrane-like tunic which appears to be of the nature of coagulated fluid. these membranes closely resemble and sometimes are even continuous with trabeculæ which traverse the germinal epithelium. ovaries differ considerably as to the time and completeness of the disappearance of the outlines marking the separate cells, and although, so far as can be gathered from my specimens, the rule is that the outlines of the primitive ova with modified nuclei soon become indistinct, yet in one of my best preserved ovaries very large nests with modified nuclei are present in which the outline of each ovum is as distinct as during the period before the nuclei undergo these peculiar changes (pl. , fig. ). in the same ovary other nests are present in which the outlines of the individual ova are no longer visible. the section represented on pl. , fig. , is fairly average as to the disappearance of the outlines of the individual ova. it is clear from the above statements, that in the first instance the nests are produced by the coalescence of several primitive ova into a single mass or syncytium; though of course, the several separate ova of a nest may originally, as semper believes, have arisen from the division of a single ovum. in any case there can be no doubt that the nests of separate ova increase in size as development proceeds; a phenomenon which is more reasonably explained on the view that the ova divide, than on the view that they continue to be freshly formed. the same holds true for the nests of nuclei and this, as well as other facts, appears to me to render it probable that the nests grow by division of the nuclei without corresponding division of the protoplasmic matrix. i cannot, however, definitely prove this point owing to my having found nests, with distinct outlines to the ova, as large as any without such outlines. the nests are situated for the most part near the surface of the germinal epithelium. the smaller ones are frequently spherical, but the larger are irregular in form. the former are about . mm. in diameter; the latter reach . mm. scattered generally, and especially in the deeper layers, and at the edges of the germinal epithelium, are still unmodified or only slightly modified primitive ova. these unmodified primitive ova are aggregated in masses, but in these masses the outlines of each ovum, though perhaps less clear than in the earlier period, are still distinct. when the embryo reaches a length of seven centimètres, and even in still younger embryos, further changes are observable. in the first place many of the modified nuclei acquire fresh characters, and it becomes necessary to divide the modified nuclei into two categories. in both of these the outer boundary of the nucleus is formed by a very delicate membrane, the space within which is perfectly clear except for the granular body. in the variety which now appears in considerable numbers the granular body has an irregular star-like form. the rays of the star are formed of fibres frequently knobbed at their extremities, and the centre of the star usually occupies an eccentric position. typical examples of this form of modified nucleus, which may be spoken of as the stellate variety, are represented on pl. , fig. ; between it and the older granular variety there is an infinite series of gradations, many of which are represented on pl. , figs. , , , . certain of the stellate nuclei exhibit two centres instead of one, and in some cases, like that represented on pl. , fig. , the stellate body of two nuclei is found united. both of these forms are possibly modifications of the spindle-like form assumed by nuclei in the act of dividing, and may be used in proving that the nests increase in size by the division of the contained nuclei. in addition to the normal primitive ova, a few of which are still present, there are to be found, chiefly in the deeper layers of the germinal epithelium, larger ova differing considerably from the primitive ova. they form the permanent ova (pl. , fig. , _o_). their average diameter is . mm., compared with . mm., the diameter of original primitive ova. the protoplasm of which they are composed is granular, but at first a membrane can hardly be distinguished around them; their nucleus is relatively large, . - . mm. in diameter. it presents the characters ascribed by eimer[ ], and many other recent authors[ ], to typical nuclei (vide pl. , fig. , and pl. , , figs. , , , , , ). it is bounded by a distinct membrane, within which is a more or less central nucleolus from which a number of radial fibres which stain very deeply pass to the surface; here they form immediately internal to the membrane a network with granules at the nodal points. in some instances the regularity of the arrangement of these fibres is very great, in other instances two central nucleoli are present, in which case the regularity is considerably interfered with. the points in which the youngest permanent ova differ from the primitive may be summed up as follows:-- ( ) the permanent ova are larger, the smallest of them being larger than the average primitive ova in the proportion of four to three. ( ) they have less protoplasm as compared to the size of the nucleus. ( ) their protoplasm is granular instead of being clear. ( ) their nucleus is clear with exception of a network of fibres instead of being granular as in the primitive ova. it thus appears that the primitive ova and permanent ova are very different in constitution, though genetically related in a way to be directly narrated. footnote : _archiv f. micr. anat._ vol. xiv. footnote : vide especially klein, _quart. journ. of mic. sci._ july . the formation of permanent ova is at its height in embryos of about seven centimètres or slightly larger. the nests at this stage are for the most part of a very considerable size and contain a large number of nuclei, which have probably, as before insisted, originated from a division of the smaller number of nuclei present in the nests at an earlier stage. figs. - are representations of nests at this period. the diameter of the nuclei is, on the whole, slightly greater than at an earlier stage. a series of measurements gave the following results:-- . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. both varieties of modified nuclei are common enough, though the stellate variety predominates. the nuclei are sometimes in very close contact, and sometimes separated by protoplasm, which in many instances is very slightly granular. in a large number of the nests nothing further is apparent than what has just been described, but in a very considerable number one or more nuclei are present, which exhibit a transitional character between the ordinary stellate nuclei of my second category, and the nuclei of permanent ova as above described; and in these nests the formation of permanent ova is taking place. permanent ova in the act of development are indicated in my figures by the letters _do_. many of the intermediate nuclei are more definitely surrounded by granular protoplasm than the other nuclei of the nests, and accordingly have their outlines more sharply defined. between nuclei of this kind, and others as large as those of the permanent ova, there are numerous transitional forms. the larger ones frequently lie in a mass of granular protoplasm projecting from the nest, and only united with it by a neck (pl. , figs. and ). for prominences of this kind to become independent ova, it is only necessary for the neck to become broken through. nests in which such changes are taking place present various characters. in some cases several nuclei belonging to a nest appear to be undergoing conversion into permanent ova at the same time. such a case is figured on pl. , figs. and . in these cases the amount of granular protoplasm in the nest and around each freshly formed ovum is small. in the more usual cases only one or two permanent ova at the utmost are formed at the same time, and in these instances a considerable amount of granular protoplasm is present around the nucleus of the developing permanent ovum. in such instances it frequently happens several of the nuclei not undergoing conversion appear to be in the process of absorption, and give to the part of the nest in which they are contained a very hazy and indistinct aspect (pl. , fig. ). their appearance leads me to adopt the view _that while some of the nuclei of each nest are converted into the nuclei of the permanent ova, others break down and are used as the pabulum, at the expense of which the protoplasm of the young ovum grows_. it should, however, be stated, that after the outlines of the permanent ova have become definitely established, i have only observed in a single instance the inclusion of a nucleus within an ovum (pl. , fig. ). in many instances normal nuclei of the germinal epithelium may be so observed within the ovum. the nuclei which are becoming converted into the nuclei of permanent ova gradually increase in size. the following table gives the diameter of four such nuclei:-- . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. these figures should be compared with those of the table on page . the ova when first formed are situated either at the surface or in the deeper layers of the germinal epithelium. though to a great extent surrounded by the ordinary cells of the germinal epithelium, they are not at first enclosed in a definite follicular epithelium. the follicle is, however, very early formed. my observations lead me then to the conclusion that in a general way the permanent ova are formed by the increase of protoplasm round some of the nuclei of a nest, and the subsequent separation of the nuclei with their protoplasm from the nest as distinct cells--a mode of formation exactly comparable with that which so often takes place in invertebrate egg tubes. besides the mode of formation of permanent ova just described, a second one also seems probably to occur. in ovaries just younger than those in which permanent ova are distinctly formed, there are present primitive ova, with modified nuclei of the stellate variety, or nuclei sometimes even approaching in character those of permanent ova, which are quite isolated and not enclosed in a definite nest. the body of these ova is formed of granular protoplasm, but their outlines are very indistinct. such ova are considerably larger than the normal primitive ova. they may measure . mm. in a slightly later stage, when fully formed permanent ova are present, isolated ones are not infrequent, and it seems natural to conclude that these isolated ova are the direct descendants of the primitive ova of the earlier stage. it seems a fair deduction that in some cases primitive ova undergo a direct metamorphosis into permanent ova by a modification of their nucleus, and the assumption of a granular character in their protoplasm, without ever forming the constituent part of a nest. it is not quite clear to me that in all nests the coalescence of the protoplasm of the ova necessarily takes place, since some nests are to be found at all stages in which the ova are distinct. nevertheless, i am inclined to believe that the fusion of the ova is the normal occurrence. the mode of formation of the permanent ova may then, according to my observations, take place in two ways:-- . by the formation of granular protoplasm round the nucleus in a nest, and the separation of the nucleus with its protoplasm as a distinct ovum. . by the direct metamorphosis of an isolated primitive ovum into a permanent ovum. the difference between these two modes of formation does not, from a morphological point of view, appear to be of great importance. the above results appear clearly to shew that _the primitive ova in the female are not to be regarded as true ova, but as the parent sexual cells which give rise to the ova_: a conclusion which completely fits in with the fact that cells exactly similar to the primitive ova in the female give rise to the spermatic cells in the male. slightly after the period of their first formation the permanent ova become invested by a very distinct and well-marked, somewhat flattened, follicular epithelium (pl. , fig. ). where the ova lie in the deeper layers of the germinal epithelium, the follicular epithelium soon becomes far more columnar on the side turned inwards, than on that towards the surface, especially when the inner side is in contact with the stroma (pl. , fig. , and pl. , figs. and ). this is probably a special provision for the growth and nutrition of the ovum. there cannot be the smallest doubt that the follicular epithelium is derived from the general cells of the germinal epithelium--a point on which my results fully bear out the conclusions of ludwig and semper. the larger ova themselves have a diameter of about . mm., and their nucleus of about . mm. the vitellus is granular, and provided with a distinct, though delicate membrane, which has every appearance of being a product of the ovum itself rather than of the follicular epithelium. the membrane would seem indeed to be formed in some instances even before the ovum has a definite investment of follicle cells. the vitellus is frequently vacuolated, but occasionally the vacuoles appear to be caused by a shrinking due to the hardening reagent. the nucleus has the same peculiar reticulate character as at first. its large size, as compared with the ovum, is very noticeable. with this stage the embryonic development of the ova comes to a close, though the formation of fresh ova continues till comparatively late in life. i have, however, two series of sections of ovaries preserved in osmic acid, from slightly larger embryos than the one last described, about which it may be well to say a few words before proceeding to the further development of the permanent ova. the younger of these ovaries was from a scyllium embryo centimètres long, preserved in osmic acid. a considerable number of nests were present (pl. , fig. ), exhibiting, on the whole, similar characters to those just described. a series of measurements of the nuclei in them were made, leading to the following results:-- . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. thus, if anything, the nuclei were slightly smaller than in the younger embryo. it is very difficult in the osmic specimens to make out clearly the exact outlines of the various structures, the nuclei in many instances being hardly more deeply stained than in the protoplasm around them. the network in the nuclei is also far less obvious than after treatment with picric acid. the permanent ova were hardly so numerous as in the younger ovary before described. a number of these were measured with the following results:-- ovum. nucleus. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. these figures shew that the nuclei of the permanent ova are smaller than in the younger embryo, and it may therefore be safely concluded that, in spite of the greater size of the embryo from which it is taken, the ovary now being described is in a more embryonic condition than the one last dealt with. though the permanent ova appeared to be formed from the nests in the manner already described, it was fairly clear from the sections of this ovary that many of the original primitive ova, after a metamorphosis of the nucleus and without coalescing with other primitive ova to form nests, become converted directly into the permanent ova. many large masses of primitive ova, or at least of ova with the individual outlines of each ovum distinct, were present. the average size of ova composing these was however small, the body measuring about . mm., and the nucleus . mm. isolated ova with metamorphosed nuclei could also be found measuring . , and their nuclei about . mm. the second of the two ovaries, hardened in osmic acid, was somewhat more advanced than the ovary in which the formation of permanent ova was at its height. fewer permanent ova were in the act of being formed, and many of these present had reached a considerable size, measuring as much as . mm. nests of the typical forms were present as before, but the nuclei in them were more granular than at the earlier period, and on the average slightly smaller. a series measured had the following diameters:-- . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. one of these nests is represented on pl. , fig. . many nests with the outlines of the individual ova distinct were also present. on the whole it appeared to me, that the second mode of formation of permanent ova, viz. that in which the nest does not come into the cycle of development, preponderated to a greater extent than in the earlier embryonic period. post-embryonic development of the ova.--my investigations upon the post-embryonic growth and development of the ova, have for the most part been conducted upon preserved ova, and it has been impossible for me, on this account, to work out, as completely as i should have wished, certain points, more especially those connected with the development of the yolk. although my ovaries have been carefully preserved in a large number of reagents, including osmic acid, picric acid, chromic acid, spirit, bichromate of potash, and müller's fluid, none of these have proved universally successful, and bichromate of potash and müller's fluid are useless. great difficulties have been experienced in distinguishing the artificial products of these reagents. my investigations have led me to the result, that in the gradual growth of the ova with the age of the individual the changes are not quite identical with those during the rapid growth which takes place at periods of sexual activity, after the adult condition has been reached--a result to which his has also arrived, with reference to the ova of osseous fish. i propose dealing separately with the several constituents of the egg-follicle. _egg membranes._--a vitelline membrane has been described by leydig[ ] in raja, and an albuminous layer of the nature of a chorion[ ] by gegenbaur[ ] in acanthias--the membranes described in these two ways being no doubt equivalent. footnote : _rochen u. haie._ footnote : by _chorion_ i mean, following e. van beneden's nomenclature, a membrane formed by the follicular epithelium, and, by _vitelline membrane_, one formed by the vitellus or body of the ovum. footnote : "bau und entwicklung d. wirbelthiereier," &c., _müll. archiv_, . dr alex. schultz[ ] has more recently investigated a considerable variety of genera and finds three conditions of the egg membranes. ( ) in torpedo, a homogeneous membrane, which is of the nature of a chorion. ( ) in raja, a homogeneous membrane which is, however, perforated. ( ) in squalidæ, a thick homogeneous membrane, internal to which is a thinner perforated membrane. he apparently regards the perforated inner membrane as a specialised part of the simple membrane found in torpedo, and states that this membrane is of the nature of a chorion. footnote : "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. selachier," _arch. f. mikr. anat._ vol. xi. my own investigations have led me to the conclusion that though the egg-membranes can probably be reduced to single type for elasmobranchii, yet that they vary with the stage of development of the ovum. scyllium (stellare and canicula) and raja have formed the objects of my investigation. i commence with the two former. it has already been stated that in scyllium, even before the follicular epithelium becomes formed, a delicate membrane round the ovum can be demonstrated, which appears to me to be derived from the vitellus or body of the ovum, and is therefore of the nature of a vitelline membrane. it becomes the vitelline membrane of leydig, the albuminous membrane of gegenbaur, and homogeneous membrane of schultz. in a young fish (not long hatched) with ova of not more than . mm., this membrane, though considerably thicker than in the embryo, is not thick enough to be accurately measured. in ova of . mm. from a young female (pl. , fig. ) the vitelline membrane has a thickness of . mm. and is quite homogeneous[ ]. internally to it may be observed very faint indications of the differentiation of the outermost layer of the vitellus into the perforated or radially striated membrane of schultz, which will be spoken of as _zona radiata_. footnote : the apparent structure in the vitelline membrane in my figure is merely intended to represent the dark colour assumed by it on being stained. the zona radiata has been made rather too thick by the artist. in an ovum of mm. from the nearly full grown though not sexually mature female, the zona radiata has increased in thickness and definiteness, and may measure as much as . mm. it is always very sharply separated from the vitelline membrane, but appears to be more or less continuous on its inner border with the body of the ovum, at the expense of which it no doubt grows in thickness. in ova above mm. in diameter, both vitelline membrane and zona radiata, but especially the latter, increase in thickness. the zona becomes marked off from the yolk, and its radial striæ become easy to see even with comparatively low powers. in many specimens it appears to be formed of a number of small columns, as described by gegenbaur and others. the stage of about the greatest development of both the vitelline membrane and zona radiata is represented on pl. , fig. . at this time the vitelline membrane appears frequently to exhibit a distinct stratification, dividing it into two or more successive layers. it is not, however, acted on in the same manner by all reagents, and with absolute alcohol appears at times longitudinally striated. from this stage onwards, both vitelline membrane and zona gradually atrophy, simultaneously with a series of remarkable changes which take place in the follicular epithelium. the zona is the first to disappear, and the vitelline membrane next becomes gradually thinner. finally, when the egg is nearly ripe, the follicular epithelium is separated from the yolk by an immeasurably thin membrane--the remnant of the vitelline membrane--only visible in the most favourable sections (pl. , fig. , _vt._). when the egg becomes detached from the ovary even this membrane is no longer to be seen. both the vitelline membrane and the zona radiata are found in raja, but in a much less developed condition than in scyllium. the vitelline membrane is for a long time the only membrane present, but is never very thick (pl. , fig. ). the zona is not formed till a relatively much later period than in scyllium, and is always delicate and difficult to see (pl. , fig. ). both membranes atrophy before the egg is quite ripe; and an apparently fluid layer between the follicular epithelium and the vitellus, which coagulates in hardened specimens, is probably the last remnant of the vitelline membrane. it is, however, much thicker than the corresponding remnant in scyllium. though i find the same membranes in scyllium as alexander schultz did in other squalidæ, my results do not agree with his as to raja. torpedo i have not investigated. it appears to me probable that the ova in all elasmobranch fishes have at some period of their development the two membranes described at length for scyllium. of these the inner one, or zona radiata, will probably be admitted on all hands to be a product of the peripheral protoplasm of the egg. the outer one corresponds with the membrane usually regarded in other vertebrates as a chorion or product of the follicular epithelium, but, by tracing it back to its first origin, i have been led to reject this view of its nature. _the follicular epithelium._--the follicular epithelium in the eggs of raja and acanthias has been described by gegenbaur[ ]. he finds it flat in young eggs, but in the larger eggs of acanthias more columnar, and with the cells wedged in so as to form a double layer. these observations are confirmed by ludwig[ ]. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : _loc. cit._ alexander schultz[ ] states that in torpedo, the eggs are at first enclosed in a simple epithelium, but that in follicles of . mm. there appear between the original large cells of the follicle (which he describes as granulosa cells and derives from the germinal epithelium) a number of peculiar small cells. he states that these are of the same nature as the general stroma cells of the ovary, and believes that they originate in the stroma. when the eggs have reached . - . mm., he finds that the small and large cells have a very regular alternating arrangement. footnote : _loc. cit._ semper records but few observations on the follicular epithelium, but describes in raja the presence of a certain number of large cells amongst smaller cells. he believes that they may develop into ova, and considers them identical with the larger cells described by schultz, whose interpretations he does not, however, accept. my own results accord to a great extent with those of dr schultz, as far as the structure of the follicular epithelium is concerned, but i am at one with semper in rejecting schultz's interpretations. in scyllium, as has already been mentioned, the follicular epithelium is at first flat and formed of a single layer of uniform cells, each with a considerable amount of clear protoplasm and a granular nucleus. it is bounded externally by a delicate membrane--the membrana propria folliculi of waldeyer--and internally by the vitelline membrane. in the ovaries of very young animals the cells of the follicular epithelium are more columnar on the side towards the stroma than on the opposite side, but this irregularity soon ceases to exist. in many cases the nuclei of the cells of the follicular epithelium exhibit a spindle modification, which shews that the growth of the follicular epithelium takes place by the division of its cells. no changes of importance are observable in the follicular epithelium till the egg has reached a diameter of more than mm. it should here be stated that i have some doubts respecting the completeness of the history of the epithelium recorded in the sequel. difficulties have been met with in completely elucidating the chronological order of the occurrences, and it is possible that some points have escaped my observation. the first important change is the assumption of a palisade-like character by the follicle cells, each cell becoming very narrow and columnar and the nucleus oval (pl. , fig. ). in this condition the thickness of the epithelium is about . mm. the epithelium does not, however, become uniformly thick over the whole ovum, but in the neighbourhood of the germinal vesicle it is very flat and formed of granular cells with indistinct outlines, rather like the hypodermis cells of many annelida. coincidently with this change in the follicular epithelium the commencement of the atrophy of the membranes of the ovum, described in the last section, becomes apparent. the original membrana propria folliculi is still present round the follicular epithelium, but is closely associated with a fibrous layer with elongated nuclei. outside this there is now a layer of cells, very much like an ordinary epithelial layer, which may possibly be formed of cells of the true germinal epithelium (fig. , _fe´_). this layer, which will be spoken of as the secondary follicle layer, might easily be mistaken for the follicular epithelium, and it is possible that it has actually been so mistaken by eimer, clark, and klebs, in reptilia, and that the true follicular epithelium (in a flattened condition) has been then spoken of as the _binnenepithel_. in slightly older eggs the epithelial cells are no longer uniform or arranged as a single layer. the general arrangement of these cells is shewn in pl. , fig. . a considerable number of them are more or less flask-shaped, with bulky protoplasm prolonged into a thin stem directed towards the vitelline membrane, with which, in many instances if not all, it comes in contact. these larger cells are arranged in several tiers. intercalated between them are a number of elongated small cells with scanty protoplasm and a deeply staining nucleus, not very dissimilar to, though somewhat smaller than, the columnar cells of the previous stage. there is present a complete series of cells intermediate between the larger cells and those with a deeply stained nucleus, and were it not for the condition of the epithelium in raja, to be spoken of directly, i should not sharply divide the cells into two categories. in surface views of the epithelium the division into two kinds of cells would not be suspected. there can, it appears to me, be no question that both varieties of cell are derived from the primitive uniform follicle cells. the fibrous layer bounding the membrana propria folliculi is thicker than in the last stage, and the epithelial-like layer (_fe´_) which bounds it externally is more conspicuous than before. immediately adjoining it are vascular and lymph sinuses. the thickness of the follicular epithelium at this stage may reach as much as . mm., though i have found it sometimes considerably flatter. the cells composing it are, however, so delicate that it is not easy to feel certain that the peculiarities of any individual ovum are not due to handling. the absence of the peculiar columnar epithelium on the part of the surface adjoining the germinal vesicle is as marked a feature as in the earlier stage. when the egg is nearly ripe, and the vitelline membrane has been reduced to a mere remnant, the follicular epithelium is still very columnar (pl. , fig. ). the thickness is greater than in the last stage, being now about . mm., but the cells appear only to form a single definite layer. from the character of their nuclei, i feel inclined to regard them as belonging to the category of the smaller cells of the previous stage, and feel confirmed in this view by finding certain bodies in the epithelium, which have the appearance of degenerating cells with granular nuclei, which i take to be the flask-shaped cells which were present in the earlier stage. i have not investigated the character of the follicular epithelium in the perfectly ripe ovum ready to become detached from the ovary. nor can i state for the last-described stage anything about the character of the follicular epithelium in the neighbourhood of the germinal vesicle. as to the relation of the follicular epithelium to the vitelline membrane, and the possible processes of its cells continued into the yolk, i can say very little. i find in specimens teased out after treatment with osmic acid, that the cells of the follicular epithelium are occasionally provided with short processes, which might possibly have perforated the vitelline membrane, but have met with nothing so clear as the teased out specimens figured by eimer. nothing resembling the cells within the vitelline membrane, as described by his[ ] in osseous fish, and lindgren in mammalia, has been met with[ ]. footnote : _das ei bei knochenfischen._ footnote : _arch. f. anat. phys._ . my observations in raja are not so full as those upon scyllium, but they serve to complete and reconcile the observations of semper and schultz, and also to shew that the general mode of growth of the follicular epithelium is fundamentally the same in my representatives of the two divisions of the elasmobranchii. in very young eggs, in conformity with the results of all previous observers, i find the follicular epithelium approximately uniform. the cells are flat, but extended so as to appear of an unexpected size in views of the surface of the follicle. this condition does not, however, last very long. a certain number of the cells enlarge considerably, others remaining smaller and flat. the differences between the larger and the smaller cells are more conspicuous in sections than in surface views, and though the distribution of the cells is somewhat irregular, it may still be predicted as an almost invariable rule that the smaller cells of the follicle will line that part of the surface of the ovum, near to which the germinal vesicle is situated. on pl. , fig. , is shewn in section a fairly average arrangement of the follicle cells. semper considers the larger cells of such a follicle to be probably primitive ova destined to become permanent ova. this view i cannot accept: firstly, because these cells only agree with primitive ova in being exceptionally large--the character of their nucleus, with its large nucleolus, being not very like that of a primitive ovum. secondly, because they shade into ordinary cells of the follicle; and thirdly, because no evidence of their becoming ova has come before me, but rather the reverse, in that it seems probable that they have a definite function connected with the nutrition of the egg. to this point i shall return. in the next stage the small cells have become still smaller. they are columnar, and are wedged in between the larger ones. no great regularity in distribution is as yet attained (pl. , fig. ). such a regularity appears in a later stage (pl. , fig. ), which clearly corresponds with fig. on pl. of schultz's paper, and also with the stage of scyllium in pl. , fig. , though the distinction between the two kinds of cells is here far better marked than in scyllium. the big cells have now become flask-shaped like those in scyllium, and send a process down to the vitelline membrane. the smaller cells are arranged in two or three tiers, but the larger cells in a single layer. the distribution of the larger and smaller cells is in some instances very regular, as shewn in the surface view on pl. , fig. . there can, it appears to me, be no doubt that schultz's view of the smaller cells being lymph-cells which have migrated into the follicle cannot be maintained. the thickness of the epithelium at this stage is about . mm. in the succeeding stages, during which the egg is rapidly growing to the colossal size which it eventually attains, the follicular epithelium does not to any great extent alter in constitution. it grows thicker on the whole, and as the vitelline membrane gradually atrophies, its lower surface becomes irregular, exhibiting somewhat flattened prominences, which project into the yolk. at the greatest height of the prominences the epithelium may reach a thickness of . mm., or even more. the arrangement of the tissues external to the follicular epithelium is the same in raja as in scyllium. the most interesting point connected with the follicle, both in scyllium and raja and presumably in other elasmobranchii is that its epithelium at the time when the egg is rapidly approaching maturity is composed with more or less of distinctness of two forms of cells. one of these is large flask-shaped and rich in protoplasm, the other is small, consisting of a mere film of protoplasm round a nucleus. considering that the larger cells appear at the time of rapid growth, it is natural to interpret their presence as connected with the nutrition of the ovum. this view is supported by the observations of eimer and braun, on the development of reptilian ova. in many reptilian ova it appears from eimer's[ ] observations, that the follicular epithelium becomes several layers thick, and that a differentiation of the cells, similar to that in elasmobranchii, takes place. the flask-shaped cells eventually undergo peculiar changes, becoming converted into a kind of beaker-cell, with prolongations through the egg membranes, which take the place of canals leading to the interior of the egg. braun also expresses himself strongly in favour of the flask-shaped cells functioning in the nutrition of the egg[ ]. that these cells in the reptilian ova really correspond with those in elasmobranchii appears to me clear from eimer's figures, but i have not myself studied any reptilian ovum. my reasons for dissenting from both semper's and schultz's views on the nature of the two forms of follicular cells have already been stated. footnote : _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. viii. footnote : braun, "urogenitalsystem d. amphibien," _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. iv. he says, in reference to the flask-shaped cell, p. , "höchstens würde ich die funktion der grossen follikelzellen als _einzellige drüsen_ mehr betonen." _the vitellus and the development of the yolk spherules._--leydig, gegenbaur, and schultz, have recorded important observations on this head. leydig[ ] chiefly describes the peculiar characters of the yolk spherules. footnote : _loc. cit._ gegenbaur[ ] finds in the youngest eggs fine granules, which subsequently develop into vesicles, in the interior of which the solid oval spheres, so characteristic of elasmobranchii, are developed. footnote : _loc. cit._ schultz describes in the youngest ova of torpedo the minute yolk spherules arranged in a semilunar form around the eccentric germinal vesicle. in older ova they spread through the whole. he also gives a description of their arrangement in the ripe ovum. dr schultz further finds in the body of the ovum peculiar protoplastic striæ, arranged as a series of pyramids, with the bases directed outwards. in the periphery of the ovum a protoplastic network is also present, which is continuous with the above-mentioned pyramidal structures. my observations do not very greatly extend those of gegenbaur and schultz with reference to the development of the yolk, and closely agree with what gegenbaur has given in the paper above quoted more fully for aves and reptilia than for elasmobranchii. in very young ova the body of the ovum is simply granular, but when it has reached about . mm. the granules are seen to be arranged in a kind of network, or sponge-work (pl. , fig. ), already spoken of in my monograph on elasmobranch fishes. this network becomes more distinct in succeeding stages, especially in chromic acid specimens (pl. , fig. ), probably in part owing to a granular precipitation of the protoplasm. in the late stages, when the yolk spherules are fully developed, it is difficult to observe this network, but, as has been shewn in my monograph above quoted, it is still present after the commencement of embryonic development. an arrangement of the protoplasmic striæ like that described by schultz has not come under my notice. the development of the yolk appears to me to present special difficulties, owing to the fact pointed out by his[ ] that the conditions of development vary greatly according to whether the ovary is in a state of repose or of active development. i do not feel satisfied with my results on this subject, but believe there is still much to be made out. observations on the yolk spherules may be made either in living ova, in ova hardened in osmic acid, or in ova hardened in picric or chromic acids. the two latter reagents, as well as alcohol, are however unfavourable for the purpose of this study, since by their action the yolk spherules appear frequently to be broken up and otherwise altered. this has to some extent occurred in pl. , fig. , and the peculiar appearance of the yolk of this ovum is in part due to the action of the reagent. on the whole i have found osmic acid the most suitable reagent for the study of the yolk, since without breaking up the developing spherules, it stains them of a deep black colour. the yolk spherules commence to be formed in ova, of not more than . mm. in the ovaries of moderately old females. in young females they are apparently not formed in such small ova. they arise as extremely minute, highly refracting particles, in a stratum of protoplasm _some little way below the surface, and are always most numerous at the pole opposite the germinal vesicle_. their general arrangement is very much that figured and described by allen thomson in gasterosteus[ ], and by gegenbaur and eimer in young reptilian ova. in section they naturally appear as a ring, their general mode of distribution being fairly typically represented on pl. , fig. . the ovum represented in fig. was . mm. in diameter, and the yolk spherules were already largely developed; in smaller ova they are far less numerous, though arranged in a similar fashion. the developing yolk spherules are not uniformly distributed but are collected in peculiar little masses or aggregations (pl. , fig. ). these resemble the granular masses, figured by his (_loc. cit._ pl. , fig. ) in the salmon, and may be compared with the aggregations figured by götte in his monograph on _bombinator igneus_ (pl. , fig. ). it deserves to be especially noted, that when the yolk spherules are first formed, the _peripheral layer of the ovum_ is entirely free from them, a feature which is however apt to be lost in ova hardened in picric acid (pl. , fig. ). two points about the spherules appear clearly to point to their being developed in the protoplasm of the ovum, and not in the follicular epithelium. ( ) that they do not make their appearance in the superficial stratum of the ovum. ( ) that no yolk spherules are present in the cells of the follicular epithelium, in which they could not fail to be detected, owing to the deep colour they assume on being treated with osmic acid. footnote : _das ei bei knochenfischen._ footnote : "ovum" in todd's _encyclopædia_, fig. . it need scarcely be said that the yolk spherules at this stage are not cells, and have indeed no resemblance to cells. they would probably be regarded by his as spherules of fatty material, unrelated to the true food yolk. as the ova become larger the granules of the peripheral layer before mentioned gradually assume the character of the yolk spheres of the adult, and at the same time spread towards the centre of the egg. not having worked at fresh specimens, i cannot give a full account of the growth of the spherules; but am of opinion that gegenbaur's account is probably correct, according to which the spheres at first present gradually grow and develop into vesicles, in the interior of which solid bodies (nuclei of his?) appear and form the permanent yolk spheres. when the yolk spheres are still very small they have the typical oblong form[ ] of the ripe ovum, and this form is acquired while the centre of the ovum is still free from them. footnote : the peculiar oval, or at times slightly rectangular and striated yolk spherules of elasmobranchii are mentioned by leydig and gegenbaur (pl. , fig. ), and myself, _preliminary account of development of elasmobranch fishes_, and by filippi and his in _osseous fishes_. the growth of the yolk appears mainly due to the increase in size and number of the individual yolk spheres. even when the ovum is quite filled with large yolk spheres, the granular protoplastic network of the earlier stages is still present, and serves to hold together the constituents of the yolk. in the cortical layer of nearly ripe ova, the yolk has a somewhat different character to that which it exhibits in the deeper layers, chiefly owing to the presence of certain delicate granular (in hardened specimens) bodies, whose nature i do not understand, and to special yolk spheres rather larger than the ordinary, provided with numerous smaller spherules in their interior, which are probably destined in the course of time to become free and to form ordinary yolk spheres. the mode of formation of the yolk spheres above described appears to me to be the normal, and possibly the only one. certain peculiar structures have, however, come under my notice, which may perhaps be connected with the formation of the yolk. one of these resembles the bodies described by eimer[ ] as "dotterschorfe." i have only met these bodies in a single instance in ova of . mm., from the ovary (in active growth) of a specimen of _scy. canicula_ inches in length. in this instance they consisted of homogeneous clear bodies (not bounded by any membrane) of somewhat irregular shape, though usually more or less oval, and rarely more than . mm. in their longest diameter. they were very numerous in the peripheral layer of the ovum, but quite absent in the centre, and also not found outside the ovum (as they appear to be in reptilia). yolk granules formed in the normal way, and staining deeply by osmic acid, were present, but the "dotterschorfe" presented a marked contrast to the remainder of the ovum, in being absolutely unstained by osmic acid, and indeed they appeared more like a modified form of vacuole than any definite body. their general appearance in scyllium may be gathered from eimer's figure , pl. , though they were much more numerous than represented in that figure, and confined to the periphery of the ovum. footnote : "untersuchung über die eier d. reptilien," _archiv f. mikros. anat._ vol. viii. dr eimer describes a much earlier condition of these structures, in which they form a clear shell enclosing a central dark nucleus. this stage i have not met with, nor can i see any grounds for connecting these bodies with the formation of the yolk, and the fact of their not staining with osmic acid is strongly opposed to this view of their function. dr eimer does not appear to me to bring forward any satisfactory proof that they are in any way related to the formation of the yolk, but wishes to connect them with the peculiar body, well known as the yolk nucleus, which is found in the amphibian ovum[ ]. footnote : vide allen thomson, article "ovum," todd's _encyclopædia_, p. . another peculiar body found in the ova may be mentioned here, though it more probably belongs to the germinal vesicle than to the yolk. it has only been met with in the vitellus of some of the medium sized ova of a young female. examples of this body are represented on pl. , fig. a, _x_. as a rule there is only one in each of the ova in which they are present, but there may be as many as four. they consist of small vesicles with a very thick doubly contoured membrane, which are filled with numerous deeply staining spherical granules. at times they contain a vacuole. some of the larger of them are not very much smaller than the germinal vesicle of their ovum, while the smallest of them present a striking resemblance to the nucleoli (fig. b), which makes me think that they may possibly be nucleoli which have made their way out of the germinal vesicle. i have not found them in the late stages or large ova. the following measurements shew the size of some of these bodies in relation to the germinal vesicle and ovum:-- diameter of germinal diameter of body in diameter of ovum. vesicle. vitellus. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. . mm. { . mm. . mm. . mm { . mm. _germinal vesicle._--gegenbaur[ ] finds the germinal vesicle completely homogeneous and without the trace of a germinal spot. in raja granules or vesicles may appear as artificial products, and in acanthias even in the fresh condition isolated vesicles or masses of such may be present. to these structures he attributes no importance. footnote : _loc. cit._ alexander schultz[ ] states that there is nothing remarkable in the germinal vesicle of the torpedo egg, but that till the egg reaches . mm., a single germinal spot is always present (measuring about . mm.), which is absent in larger ova. footnote : _loc. cit._ the bodies described by gegenbaur are now generally recognised as germinal spots, and will be described as such in the sequel. i have very rarely met with the condition with the single nucleolus described by schultz in torpedo. my own observations are confined to scyllium. in very young females, with ova not larger than . mm., the germinal vesicle has the same characters as during the embryonic periods. the contents are clear but traversed by a very distinct and deeply staining reticulum of fibres connected with the several nucleoli which are usually present and situated close to the membrane. in a somewhat older female in the largest ova of about . mm., the germinal vesicle measures about . mm., and usually occupies an eccentric position. it is provided with a distinct though delicate membrane. the network, so conspicuous during the embryonic period, is not so clear as it was, and has the appearance of being formed of lines of granules rather than of fibres. the fluid contents of the nucleus remain as a rule, even in the hardened specimens, perfectly clear, though they become in some instances slightly granular. there are usually two, three, or more nucleoli generally situated, as described by eimer, close to the membrane of the vesicle, the largest of which may measure as much as . mm. they are highly refracting bodies, containing in most instances a vacuole, and very frequently a smaller spherical body of a similar nature to themselves[ ]. granules are sometimes also present in the germinal vesicle, but are probably only extremely minute nucleoli. footnote : compare, with reference to several points, the germinal vesicle at this stage with the germinal vesicle of the frog's ovum figured by o. hertwig, _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. pl. , fig. . in ova of . mm. the germinal vesicle has a diameter of . mm. (pl. , fig. ). it is usually shrunk in hardened specimens though nearly spherical in the living ovum. its contents are rendered granular by reagents though quite clear when fresh, and the reticulum of the earlier stages is sometimes with difficulty to be made out, though in other instances fairly clear. in all cases the fibres composing it are very granular. the membrane is thick. peculiar highly refracting nucleoli, usually enclosing a large vacuole, are present in considerable numbers, and are either arranged in a circle round the periphery, or sometimes aggregated towards one side of the vesicle; and in addition, numerous deeply staining smaller granular aggregations, probably belonging to the same category as the nucleoli (from which in the living ovum they can only be distinguished by their size), are scattered close to the inner side of the membrane over the whole or only a part of the surface of the germinal vesicle. in a fair number of instances bodies like that figured on pl. , fig. , are to be found in the germinal vesicle. they appear to be nucleoli in which a number of smaller nucleoli are originating by a process of endogenous growth, analogous perhaps to endogenous cell-formation. the nucleoli thus formed are, no doubt, destined to become free. the above mode of increase for the nucleoli appears to be exceptional. the ordinary mode is, no doubt, that by simple division into two, as was long ago shewn by auerbach. of the later stages of the germinal vesicle and its final fate, i can give no account beyond the very fragmentary statements which have already appeared in my monograph on elasmobranch fishes. _formation of fresh ova and ovarian nests in the post-embryonic stages._--ludwig[ ] was the first to describe the formation of ova in the post-embryonic periods. his views will be best explained by quoting the following passage:-- "the follicle of skates and dog-fish, with the ovum it contains, is to be considered as an aggregation of the cells of the single-layered ovarian epithelium which have grown into the stroma, and of which one cell has become the ovum and the others the follicular epithelium. the follicle, however, draws in with it into the stroma a number of additional epithelial cells in the form of a stalk connecting the follicle with the superficial epithelium. at a later period the lower part of the stalk at its junction with the follicle becomes continuously narrowed, and at the same time a rupture takes place in the cells which form it. in this manner the follicle becomes at last constricted off from the stalk, and so from its place of origin in the superficial epithelium, and subsequently lies freely in the stroma of the ovary." footnote : _loc. cit._ he further explains that the separation of the follicles from the epithelium takes place much earlier in acanthias than in raja, and that the sinkings of the epithelium into the stroma may have two or three branches each with a follicle. semper gives very little information with reference to the post-embryonic formation of ova. he expresses his agreement on the whole with ludwig, but, amongst points not mentioned by ludwig, calls attention to peculiar aggregations of primitive ova in the superficial epithelium, which he regards as either rudimentary testicular follicles or as nests similar to those in the embryo. my observations on this subject do not agree very closely with those either of ludwig or semper. the differences between us partly, though not entirely, depend upon the fundamentally different views we hold about the constitution of the ovary and the nature of the epithelium covering it (vide pp. and ). in very young ovaries (pl. , fig. ) nests of ova (in my sense of the term) are very numerous, but though usually superficial in position are also found in the deeper layers of the ovary. they are especially concentrated in their old position, close to the dorsal edge of the organ. in some instances they do not present quite the same appearance as in the embryo, owing to the outlines of the ova composing them being distinct, and to the presence between the ova of numerous interstitial cells derived from the germinal epithelium, and destined to become follicular epithelium. these latter cells at first form a much flatter follicular epithelium than in the embryonic periods, so that the smaller adult ova have a much less columnar investment than ova of the same size in the embryo. a few primitive ova may still be found in a very superficial position, but occasionally also in the deeper layers. i am inclined to agree with semper that some of these are freshly formed from the cells of the germinal epithelium. in the young female with ova of about . mm. nests of ova are still fairly numerous. the nests are characteristic, and present the various remarkable peculiarities already described in the embryo. in many instances they form polynuclear masses, not divided into separate cells, generally, however, the individual ova are distinct. the ova in these nests are on the average rather smaller than during the embryonic periods. the nests are frequently quite superficial and at times continuous with the pseudo-epithelium, and individual ova also occasionally occupy a position in the superficial epithelium. some of the appearances presented by separate ova are not unlike the figures of ludwig, but a growth such as he describes has, according to my observations, no existence. the columns which he believes to have grown into the stroma are merely trabeculæ connecting the deeper and more superficial parts of the germinal epithelium; and his whole view about the formation of the follicular epithelium round separate ova certainly does not apply, except in rare cases, to scyllium. it is, indeed, very easy to see that most freshly formed ova are derived from nests, as in the embryo; and the formation of a follicular epithelium round these ova takes place as they become separated from the nests. a few solitary ova, which have never formed part of a nest, seem to be formed in this stage as in the embryo; but they do not grow into the stroma surrounded by the cells of the pseudo-epithelium, and only as they reach a not inconsiderable size is a definite follicular epithelium formed around them. the follicular epithelium, though not always formed from the pseudo-epithelium, is of course always composed of cells derived from the germinal epithelium. in all the ova formed at this stage the nucleus would seem to pass through the same metamorphosis as in the embryo. in the later stages, and even in the full-grown female of scyllium, fresh ova seemed to be formed and nests also to be present. in raja i have not found freshly formed ova or nests in the adult, and have had no opportunity of studying the young forms. _summary of observations on the development of the ovary in scyllium and raja._ ( ) the ovary in the embryo is a ridge, triangular in section, attached along the base. it is formed of a core of stroma and a covering of epithelium. a special thickening of the epithelium on the outer side forms the true germinal epithelium, to which the ova are confined (pl. , fig. ). in the development of the ovary the stroma becomes differentiated into an external vascular layer, especially developed in the neighbourhood of the germinal epithelium, and an internal lymphatic portion, which forms the main mass of the ovarian ridge (pl. , figs. , , and ). ( ) at first the thickened germinal epithelium is sharply separated by a membrane from the subjacent stroma (pl. , figs. , , and ), but at about the time when the follicular epithelium commences to be formed round the ova, numerous strands of stroma grow into the epithelium, and form a regular network of vascular channels throughout it, and partially isolate individual ova (pl. , figs. and ). at the same time the surface of the epithelium turned towards the stroma becomes irregular (pl. , fig. ), owing to the development of individual ova. in still later stages the stroma ingrowths form a more or less definite tunic close to the surface of the ovary. external to this tunic is the superficial layer of the germinal epithelium, which forms what has been spoken of as the pseudo-epithelium. in many instances the protoplasm of its cells is produced into peculiar fibrous tails which pass into the tunic below. ( ) _primitive ova._--certain cells in the epithelium lining the dorsal angle of the body-cavity become distinguished as primitive ova by their abundant protoplasm and granular nuclei, at a very early period in development, even before the formation of the genital ridges. subsequently on the formation of the genital ridges these ova become confined to the thickened germinal epithelium on the outer aspect of the ridges (pl. , fig. ). ( ) _conversion of primitive ova into permanent ova._--primitive ova may in scyllium become transformed into permanent ova in two ways--the difference between the two ways being, however, of secondary importance. (_a_) a nest of primitive ova makes its appearance, either by continued division of a single primitive ovum or otherwise. the bodies of all the ova of the nest fuse together, and a polynuclear mass is formed, which increases in size concomitantly with the division of its nuclei. the nuclei, moreover, pass through a series of transformations. they increase in size and form delicate vesicles filled with a clear fluid, but contain close to one side a granular mass which stains very deeply with colouring reagents. the granular mass becomes somewhat stellate, and finally assumes a reticulate form with one more highly refracting nucleoli at the nodal points of the reticulum. when a nucleus has reached this condition the protoplasm around it has become slightly granular, and with the enclosed nucleus is segmented off from the nest as a special cell--a permanent ovum (figs. , , , ). not all the nuclei in a nest undergo the whole of the above changes; certain of them, on the contrary, stop short in their development, atrophy, and become employed as a kind of pabulum for the remainder. thus it happens that out of a large nest perhaps only two or three permanent ova become developed. (_b_) in the second mode of development of ova the nuclei and protoplasm undergo the same changes as in the first mode; but the ova either remain isolated and never form part of a nest, or form part of a nest in which no fusion of the protoplasm takes place, and all the primitive ova develop into permanent ova. both the above modes of the formation continue through a great part of life. ( ) _the follicle._--the cells of the germinal epithelium arrange themselves as a layer around each ovum, almost immediately after its separation from a nest, and so constitute a follicle. they are at first flat, but soon become more columnar. in scyllium they remain for a long time uniform, but in large eggs they become arranged in two or three layers, while at the same time some of them become large and flask-shaped, and others small and oval (fig. ). the flask-shaped cells have probably an important function in the nutrition of the egg, and are arranged in a fairly regular order amongst the smaller cells. before the egg is quite ripe both kinds of follicle cells undergo retrogressive changes (pl. , fig. ). in raja a great irregularity in the follicle cells is observable at an early stage, but as the ovum grows larger the cells gradually assume a regular arrangement more or less similar to that in scyllium (pl. , figs. - ). ( ) _the egg membranes._--two membranes are probably always present in elasmobranchii during some period of their growth. the first formed and outer of these arises in some instances before the formation of the follicular epithelium, and would seem to be of the nature of a vitelline membrane. the inner one is the zona radiata with a typical radiately striated structure. it is formed from the vitellus at a much later period than the proper vitelline membrane. it is more developed in scyllium than in raja, but atrophies early in both genera. by the time the ovum is nearly ripe both membranes are very much reduced, and when the egg (in scyllium and pristiurus) is laid, no trace of any membrane is visible. ( ) _the vitellus._--the vitellus is at first faintly granular, but at a later period exhibits a very distinct (protoplasmic) network of fibres, which is still present after the ovum has been laid. the yolk arises, in the manner described by gegenbaur, in ova of about . mm. as a layer of fine granules, which stain deeply with osmic acid. they are at first confined to a stratum of protoplasm slightly below the surface of the ovum, and are most numerous at the pole furthest removed from the germinal vesicle. they are not regularly distributed, but are aggregated in small masses. they gradually grow into vesicles, in the interior of which oval solid bodies are developed, which form the permanent yolk-spheres. these oval bodies in the later stages exhibit a remarkable segmentation into plates, which gives them a peculiar appearance of transverse striation. certain bodies of unknown function are occasionally met with in the vitellus, of which the most remarkable are those figured at _x_ on pl. , fig. a. ( ) _the germinal vesicle._--a reticulum is very conspicuous in the germinal vesicle in the freshly formed ova, but becomes much less so in older ova, and assumes, moreover, a granular appearance. at first one to three nucleoli are present, but they gradually increase in number as the germinal vesicle grows older, and are frequently situated in close proximity to the membrane. the mammalian ovary (pl. ). the literature of the mammalian ovary has been so often dealt with that it may be passed over with only a few words. the papers which especially call for notice are those of pflüger[ ], ed. van beneden[ ], and especially waldeyer[ ], as inaugurating the newer view on the nature of the ovary, and development of the ova; and of foulis[ ] and kölliker[ ], as representing the most recent utterances on the subject. there are, of course, many points in these papers which are touched on in the sequel, but i may more especially here call attention to the fact that i have been able to confirm van beneden's statement as to the existence of polynuclear protoplasmic masses. i have found them, however, by no means universal or primitive; and i cannot agree in a general way with van beneden's account of their occurrence. i have found no trace of a germogene (keimfache) in the sense of pflüger and ed. van beneden. my own results are most in accordance with those of waldeyer, with whom i agree in the fundamental propositions that both ovum and follicular epithelium are derived from the germinal epithelium, but i cannot accept his views of the relation of the stroma to the germinal epithelium. footnote : _die eierstöcke d. säugethiere u. d. menschen_, leipzig, . footnote : "composition et signification de l'oeuf," _acad. r. de belgique_, . footnote : _eierstock u. ei._ leipzig, . footnote : _trans. of royal society, edinburgh_, vol. xxvii. , and _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xvi. footnote : _verhandlung d. phys. med. gesellschaft_, würzburg, , n. f. bd. viii. in the very interesting paper of foulis, the conclusion is arrived at, that while the ova are derived from the germinal epithelium, the cells of the follicle originate from the ordinary connective tissue cells of the stroma. foulis regards the zona pellucida as a product of the ovum and not of the follicle. to both of these views i shall return, and hope to be able to shew that foulis has not traced back the formation of the follicle through a sufficient number of the earlier stages. it thus comes about that though i fully recognise the accuracy of his figures, i am unable to admit his conclusions. kölliker's statements are again very different from those of foulis. he finds certain cords of cells in the hilus of the ovary, which he believes to be derived from the wolffian body, and has satisfied himself that they are continuous with pflüger's egg-tubes, and that they supply the follicular epithelium. to the general accuracy of kölliker's statements with reference to the relations of these cords in the hilus of the ovary i can fully testify, but am of opinion that he is entirely mistaken as to their giving rise to the follicular epithelium, or having anything to do with the ova. i hope to be able to give a fuller account of their origin than he or other observers have done. my investigations on the mammalian ovary have been made almost entirely on the rabbit--the type of which it is most easy to procure a continuous series of successive stages; but in a general way my conclusions have been controlled and confirmed by observations on the cat, the dog, and the sheep. my observations commence with an embryo of eighteen days. a transverse section, slightly magnified, through the ovary at this stage, is represented on pl. , fig. , and a more highly magnified portion of the same in fig. a. the ovary is a cylindrical ridge on the inner side of the wolffian body, composed of a superficial epithelium, the germinal epithelium (_g.e._), and of a tissue internal to this, which forms the main mass of it. in the latter two constituents have to be distinguished--( ) an epithelial-like tissue (_t_), coloured brown, which forms the most important element, and ( ) vascular and stroma elements in this. the germinal epithelium is a layer about . - . mm. in thickness. it is (vide fig. a, _g.e._) composed of two or three layers of cells, with granular nuclei, of which the outermost layer is more columnar than the remainder, and has elongated rather than rounded nuclei. its cells, though they vary slightly in size, are all provided with a fair amount of protoplasm, and cannot be divided (as in the case of the germinal epithelium of birds, elasmobranchii, &c.), into primitive ova, and normal epithelial cells. very occasionally, however, a specially large cell, which, perhaps, deserves the appellation primitive ovum, may be seen. from the subjacent tissue the germinal epithelium is in most parts separated by a membrane-like structure (fluid coagulum); but this is sometimes absent, and it is then very difficult to determine with exactness the inner border of the epithelium. the tissue (_t_), which forms the greater mass of the ovary at this stage, is formed of solid columns or trabeculæ of epithelial-like cells, which present a very striking resemblance in size and character to the cells of the germinal epithelium. the protoplasm of these cells stains slightly more deeply with osmic acid than does that of the cells of the germinal epithelium, so that it is rather easier to note a difference between the two tissues in osmic acid than in picric acid specimens. this tissue approaches very closely, and is in many parts in actual contact with the germinal epithelium. between the columns of it are numerous vascular channels (shewn diagrammatically in my figures) and a few normal stroma cells. this remarkable tissue continues visible through the whole course of the development of the ovary, till comparatively late in life, and during all the earlier stages might easily be supposed to be about to play some part in the development of the ova, or even to be part of the germinal epithelium. it really, however, has nothing to do with the development of the ova, as is easily demonstrated when the true ova begin to be formed. in the later stages, as will be mentioned in the description of those stages, it is separated from the germinal epithelium by a layer of stroma; though at the two sides of the ovary it is, even in later stages, sometimes in contact with the germinal epithelium. in most parts this tissue is definitely confined within the limits of the ovary, and does not extend into the mesentery by which the ovary is attached. it may, however, be traced _at the anterior end_ of the ovary into connection with the walls of the malpighian bodies, which lie on the inner side of the wolffian body (vide fig. b), and i have no doubt that it grows out from the walls of these bodies into the ovary. in the male it appears to me to assist in forming, together with cells derived from the germinal epithelium, the seminiferous tubules, the development of which is already fairly advanced by this stage. i shall speak of it in the sequel as tubuliferous tissue. the points of interest in connection with it concern the male sex, which i hope to deal with in a future paper, but i have no hesitation in identifying it with the segmental cords (_segmentalstränge_) discovered by braun in reptilia, and described at length in his valuable memoir on their urogenital system[ ]. according to braun the segmental cords in reptilia are buds from the outer walls of the malpighian bodies. the bud from each malpighian body grows into the genital ridge before the period of sexual differentiation, and sends out processes backwards and forwards, which unite with the buds from the other malpighian bodies. there is thus formed a kind of trabecular work of tissue in the stroma of the ovary, which in the lacertilia comes into connection with the germinal epithelium in both sexes, but in ophidia in the male only. in the female, in all cases, it gradually atrophies and finally vanishes, but in the male there pass into it the primitive ova, and it eventually forms, with the enclosed primitive ova, the tubuli seminiferi. from my own observations in reptilia i can fully confirm braun's statements as to the entrance of the primitive ova into this tissue in the male, and the conversion of it into the tubuli seminiferi. the chief difference between reptilia and mammalia, in reference to this tissue, appears to be that in mammalia it arises only from a few of the malpighian bodies at the anterior extremity of the ovary, but in reptilia from all the malpighian bodies adjoining the genital ridge. more extended observations on mammalia will perhaps shew that even this difference does not hold good. footnote : _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. iv. it is hardly to be supposed that this tissue, which is so conspicuous in all young ovaries, has not been noticed before; but the notices of it are not so numerous as i should have anticipated. his[ ] states that the parenchyma of the sexual glands undoubtedly arises from the wolffian canals, and adds that while the cortical layer (hulle) represents the earlier covering of a part of the wolffian body, the stroma of the hilus, with its vessels, arises from a malpighian body. in spite of these statements of his, i still doubt very much whether he has really observed either the tissue i allude to or its mode of development. in any case he gives no recognisable description or figure of it. footnote : _archiv f. mikros. anat._ vol. i. p. . waldeyer[ ] notices this tissue in the dog, cat, and calf. the following is a free translation of what he says, (p. ):--"in a full grown but young dog, with numerous ripe follicles, there were present in the vascular zone of the ovary numerous branched elongated small columns (schläuche) of epithelial cells, between which ran blood-vessels. they were only separated from the egg columns of the cortical layer by a row of large follicles. there can be no doubt that we have here remains of the sexual part of the wolffian body--the canals of the parovarium--which in the female sex have developed themselves to an extraordinary extent into the stroma of the sexual gland, and perhaps are even to be regarded as _homologues of the seminiferous tubules_ (the italics are my own). i have almost always found the above condition in the dog, only in old animals these seminiferous canals seem gradually to atrophy. similar columns are present in the cat, only they do not appear to grow so far into the stroma." identical structures are also described in the calf. footnote : _loc. cit._ romiti gives a very similar description to waldeyer of these bodies in the dog[ ]. born also describes this tissue in young and embryonic ovaries of the horse as the _keimlager_[ ]. the columns described by kölliker[ ] and believed by him to furnish the follicular epithelium, are undoubtedly my tubuliferous tissue, and, as kölliker himself points out, are formed of the same tissue as that described by waldeyer. footnote : _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. x. footnote : _archiv f. anatomie, physiologie, u. wiss. medicin._ . footnote : _loc. cit._ egli gives a very clear and accurate description of this tissue, though he apparently denies its relation with the wolffian body. my own interpretation of the tissue accords with that of waldeyer. in addition to the rabbit, i have observed it in the dog, cat, and sheep. in all these forms i find that close to the attachment of the ovary, and sometimes well within it, a fair number of distinct canals with a large lumen are present, which are probably to be distinguished from the solid epithelial columns. such large canals are not as a rule present in the rabbit. in the dog solid columns are present in the embryo, but later they appear frequently to acquire a tubular form, and a lumen. probably there are great variations in the development of the tissue, since in the cat (not as waldeyer did in the dog) i have found it most developed. in the very young embryonic ovary of the cat the columns are very small and much branched. in later embryonic stages they are frequently elongated, sometimes convoluted, and are very similar to the embryonic tubuli seminiferi. in the young stages these columns are so similar to the egg tubes (which agree more closely with pflüger's type in the cat than in other forms i have worked at) that to any one who had not studied the development of the tissue an embryo cat's ovary at certain stages would be a very puzzling object. i have, however, met with nothing in the cat or any other form which supports kölliker's views. my next stage is that of a twenty-two days' embryo. of this stage i have given two figures corresponding to those of the earlier stage (figs. and a). from these figures it is at once obvious that the germinal epithelium has very much increased in bulk. it has a thickness . - . mm. as compared to . mm. in the earlier stage. its inner outline is somewhat irregular, and it is imperfectly divided into lobes, which form the commencement of structures nearly equivalent to the nests of the elasmobranch ovary. the lobes _are not_ separated from each other by connective tissue prolongations; the epithelium being at this stage perfectly free from any ingrowths of stroma. the cells constituting the germinal epithelium have much the same character as in the previous stage. they form an outer row of columnar cells internal to which the cells are more rounded. amongst them a few large cells with granular nuclei, which are clearly primitive ova, may now be seen, but by far the majority of the cells are fairly uniform in size, and measure from . - . mm. in diameter, and their nuclei from . - . mm. the nuclei of the columnar outer cells measure about . mm. they are what would ordinarily be called granular, though high powers shew that they have the usual nuclear network. there is no special nucleolus. the rapid growth of the germinal epithelium is due to the division of its cells, and great masses of these may frequently be seen to be undergoing division at the same time. of the tissue of the ovary internal to the germinal epithelium, it may be noticed that the tubuliferous tissue derived from the malpighian bodies is no longer in contact with the germinal epithelium, but that a layer of vascular stroma is to a great extent interposed between the two. the vascular stroma of the hilus has, moreover, greatly increased in quantity. my next stage is that of a twenty-six days' embryo, but the characters of the ovary at this stage so closely correspond with those of the succeeding one at twenty-eight days that, for the sake of brevity, i pass over this stage in silence. figs. and a are representative sections of the ovary of the twenty-eighth day corresponding with those of the earlier stages. great changes have become apparent in the constitution of the germinal epithelium. the vascular stroma of the ovary has grown into the germinal epithelium precisely as in elasmobranchii. it appears to me clear that the change in the relations between the stroma and epithelium is not due to a mutual growth, but entirely to the stroma, so that, as in the case of elasmobranchii, the result of the ingrowth is that the germinal epithelium is honeycombed by vascular stroma. the vascular growths generally take the paths of the lines which separated the nests in an earlier condition, and cause these nests to become the egg tubes of pflüger. it is obvious in figure that the vascular ingrowths are so arranged as imperfectly to divide the germinal epithelium into two layers separated by a space with connective tissue and blood-vessels. the outer part is relatively thin, and formed of a superficial row of columnar cells, and one or two rows of more rounded cells; the inner layer is much thicker, and formed of large masses of rounded cells. the two layers are connected together by numerous trabeculæ, the stroma between which eventually gives rise to the connective tissue capsule, or tunica albuginea, of the adult ovary. the germinal epithelium is now about . to . mm. in thickness. its cells have undergone considerable changes. a fair number of them (fig. a, _p.o._), especially in the outer layer of the epithelium, have become larger than the cells around them, from which they are distinguished, not only by their size, but by their granular nucleus and abundant protoplasm. they are in fact undoubted primitive ova with all the characters which primitive ova present in elasmobranchii, aves, &c. in a fairly typical primitive ovum of this stage the body measures . mm. and the nucleus . mm. in the inner part of the germinal epithelium there are very few or no cells which can be distinguished by their size as primitive ova, and the cells themselves are of a fairly uniform size, though in this respect there is perhaps a greater variation than might be gathered from fig. a. the cells are on the average about . mm. in diameter, and their nuclei about . to . mm., considerably larger, in fact, than in the earlier stage. the nuclei are moreover more granular, and make in this respect an approach to the character of the nuclei of primitive ova. the germinal epithelium is still rapidly increasing by the division of its cells, and in fig. a there are shewn two or three nuclei in the act of dividing. i have represented fairly accurately the appearance they present when examined with a moderately high magnifying power. with reference to the stroma of the ovary, internal to the germinal epithelium, it is only necessary to refer to fig. to observe that the tubuliferous tissue (_t_) forms a relatively smaller part of the stroma than in the previous stage, and is also further removed from the germinal epithelium. my next stage is that of a young rabbit two days after birth, but to economise space i pass on at once to the following stage five days after birth. this stage is in many respects a critical one for the ovary, and therefore of great interest. figure represents a transverse section through the ovary (on rather a smaller scale than the previous figures) and shews the general relations of the tissues. the germinal epithelium is very much thicker than before--about . mm. as compared with . mm. it is divided into three obvious layers: ( ) an outer epithelial layer which corresponds with the pseudo-epithelial layer of the elasmobranch ovary, average thickness . mm. ( ) a middle layer of small nests, which corresponds with the middle vascular layer of the previous stage; average thickness . mm. ( ) an inner layer of larger nests; average thickness . mm. the general appearance of the germinal epithelium at this stage certainly appears to me to lend support to my view that the whole of it simply constitutes a thickened epithelium interpenetrated with ingrowths of stroma. the cells of the germinal epithelium, which form the various layers, have undergone important modifications. in the first place a large number of the nuclei--at any rate of those cells which are about to become ova--have undergone a change identical with that which takes place in the conversion of the primitive into the permanent ova in elasmobranchii. the greater part of the contents of the nucleus becomes clear. the remaining contents arrange themselves as a deeply staining granular mass on one side of the membrane, and later on as a somewhat stellate figure: the two stages forming what were spoken of as the granular and stellate varieties of nucleus. to avoid further circumlocution i shall speak of the nucleus undergoing the granular and the stellate modifications. at a still later period the granular contents form a beautiful network in the nucleus. the pseudo-epithelium (fig. a) is formed of several tiers of cells, the outermost of which are very columnar and have less protoplasm than in an earlier stage. in the lower tiers of cells there are many primitive ova with granular nuclei, and others in which the nuclei have undergone the granular modification. the primitive ova are almost all of the same size as in the earlier stage. the pseudo-epithelium is separated from the middle layer by a more or less complete stratum of connective tissue, which, however, is traversed by trabeculæ connecting the two layers of the epithelium. in the middle layer there are comparatively few modified nuclei, and the cells still retain for the most part their earlier characters. the diameter of the cells is about . mm., and that of the nucleus about . mm. in the innermost layer (fig. b), which is not sharply separated from the middle layer, the majority of the cells, which in the previous stage were ordinary cells of the epithelium, have commenced to acquire modified nuclei. this change, which first became apparent to a small extent in the young two days after birth, is very conspicuous at this stage. in some of the cells the nucleus is modified in the granular manner, in others in the stellate, and in a certain number the nucleus has assumed a reticular structure characteristic of the young permanent ovum. in addition, however, to the cells which are becoming converted into ova, a not inconsiderable number may be observed, if carefully looked for, which are for the most part smaller than the others, generally somewhat oval, and in which the nucleus retains its primitive characters. a fair number of such cells are represented in fig. b. in the larger ones the nucleus will perhaps eventually become modified; but the smaller cells clearly correspond with the interstitial cells of the elasmobranch germinal epithelium, and are destined to become converted into the epithelium of the graafian follicle. in some few instances indeed (at this stage very few), in the deeper part of the germinal epithelium, these cells commence to arrange themselves round the just formed permanent ova as a follicular epithelium. an instance of this kind is shewn in fig. b, _o_. the cells with modified nuclei, which are becoming permanent ova, usually present one point of contrast to the homologous cells in elasmobranchii, in that they are quite distinct from each other, and not fused into a polynuclear mass. they have around them a dark contour line, which i can only interpret as the commencement of the membrane (zona radiata?), which afterwards becomes distinct, and which would thus seem, as foulis has already insisted, to be of the nature of a vitelline membrane. in a certain number of instances the protoplasm of the cells which are becoming permanent ova appears, however, actually to fuse, and polynuclear masses identical with those in elasmobranchii are thus formed (cf. e. van beneden[ ]). these masses become slightly more numerous in the succeeding stages. indications of a fusion of this kind are shewn in fig. b. that the polynuclear masses really arise from a fusion of primitively distinct cells is clear from the description of the previous stages. the ova in the deeper layers, with modified granular nuclei, measure about . - . mm., and their nuclei from . - . mm. footnote : _loc. cit._ with reference to the tissue of the hilus of the ovary, it may be noticed that the tubuliferous tissue (_t_) is relatively reduced in quantity. its cells retain precisely their previous characters. the chief difference between the stage of five days and that of two days after birth consists in the fact that during the earlier stage comparatively few modified nuclei were present, but the nuclei then presented the character of the nuclei of primitive ova. i have ovaries both of the dog and cat of an equivalent stage, and in both of these the cells of the nests or egg tubes may be divided into two categories, destined respectively to become ova and follicle cells. nothing which has come under my notice tends to shew that the tubuliferous tissue is in any way concerned in supplying the latter form of cell. in a stage, seven days after birth, the same layers in the germinal epithelium may be noticed as in the last described stage. the outermost layer or pseudo-epithelium contains numerous developing ova, for the most part with modified nuclei. it is separated by a well marked layer of connective tissue from the middle layer of the germinal epithelium. the outer part of the middle layer contains more connective tissue and smaller nests than in the earlier stage, and most of the cells of this layer contain modified nuclei. in a few nests the protoplasm of the developing ova forms a continuous mass, not divided into distinct cells, but in the majority of instances the outline of each ovum can be distinctly traced. in addition to the cells destined to become ova, there are present in these nests other cells, which will clearly form the follicular epithelium. a typical nest from the middle layer is represented on pl. , fig. a. the nests or masses of ova in the innermost layer are for the most part still very large, but, in addition to the nests, a few isolated ova, enclosed in follicles, are to be seen. a fairly typical nest, selected to shew the formation of the follicle, is represented on pl. , fig. b. the nest contains ( ) fully formed permanent ova, completely or wholly enclosed in a follicle. ( ) smaller ova, not enclosed in a follicle. ( ) smallish cells with modified nuclei of doubtful destination. ( ) small cells obviously about to form follicular epithelium. the inspection of a single such nest is to my mind a satisfactory proof that the follicular epithelium takes its origin from the germinal epithelium and not from the stroma or tubuliferous tissue. the several categories of elements observable in such a nest deserve a careful description. ( ) _the large ova in their follicles._--these ova have precisely the character of the young ova in elasmobranchii. they are provided with a granular body invested by a delicate, though distinct membrane. their nucleus is large and clear, but traversed by the network so fully described for elasmobranchii. the cells of their follicular epithelium have obviously the same character as many other small cells of the nest. two points about them deserve notice--(_a_) that many of them are fairly columnar. this is characteristic only of the first formed follicles. in the later formed follicles the cells are always flat and spindle-shaped in section. in this difference between the early and late formed follicles mammals agree with elasmobranchii. (_b_) the cells of the follicle are much more columnar towards the inner side than towards the outer. this point also is common to mammals and elasmobranchii. round the completed follicle a very delicate membrana propria folliculi appears to be present[ ]. footnote : _loc. cit._, waldeyer, p. , denies the existence of this membrane for mammalia. it certainly is not so conspicuous as in some other types, but appears to me nevertheless to be always present. the larger ova, with follicular epithelium, measure about . mm., and their nucleus about . mm., the smaller ones about . mm., and their nucleus about . mm. ( ) _medium sized ova._--they are still without a trace of a follicular epithelium, and present no special peculiarities. ( ) _the smaller cells with modified nuclei._--i have great doubt as to what is the eventual fate of these cells. there appear to be three possibilities. (_a_) that they become cells of the follicular epithelium; (_b_) that they develop into ova; (_c_) that they are absorbed as a kind of food by the developing ova. i am inclined to think that some of these cells may have each of the above-mentioned destinations. ( ) _the cells which form the follicle._--the only point to be noticed about these is that they are smaller than the indifferent cells of the germinal epithelium, from which they no doubt originate by division. this fact has already been noticed by waldeyer. the isolated follicles at this stage are formed by ingrowths of connective tissue cutting off fully formed follicles from a nest. they only occur at the very innermost border of the germinal epithelium. this is in accordance with what has so often been noticed about the mammalian ovary, viz. that the more advanced ova are to be met with in passing from without inwards. by the stage seven days after birth the ovary has reached a sufficiently advanced stage to answer the more important question i set myself to solve, nevertheless, partly to reconcile the apparent discrepancy between my account and that of dr foulis, and partly to bring my description up to a better known condition of the ovary, i shall make a few remarks about some of the succeeding stages. in a young rabbit about four weeks old the ovary is a very beautiful object for the study of the nuclei, &c. the pseudo-epithelium is now formed of a single layer of columnar cells, with comparatively scanty protoplasm. in it there are present a not inconsiderable number of developing ova. a layer of connective tissue--the albuginea--is now present below the pseudo-epithelium, which contains a few small nests with very young permanent ova. the layer of medium sized nests internal to the albuginea forms a very pretty object in well stained sections, hardened in kleinenberg's picric acid. the ova in it have all assumed the permanent form, and are provided with beautiful reticulate nuclei, with, as a rule, one more especially developed nucleolus, and smaller granular bodies. their diameter varies from about . to . mm. and that of their nucleus from . to . mm. the majority of these ova are not provided with a follicular investment, but amongst them are numerous small cells, clearly derived from the germinal epithelium, which are destined to form the follicle (vide fig. aand b). in a few cases the follicles are completed, and are then formed of very flattened spindle-shaped (in section) cells. in the majority of cases all the ova of each nest are quite distinct, and each provided with a delicate vitelline membrane (fig. a) in other instances, which, so far as i can judge, are more common than in the previous stages, the protoplasm of two or more ova is fused together. examples of this are represented in pl. , fig. a. in some of these the nuclei in the undivided protoplasm are all of about the same size and distinctness, and probably the protoplasm eventually becomes divided up into as many ova as nuclei; in other cases, however, one or two nuclei clearly preponderate over the others, and the smaller nuclei are indistinct and hazy in outline. in these latter cases i have satisfied myself as completely as in the case of elasmobranchii, that only one or two ova (according to the number of distinct nuclei) will develop out of the polynuclear mass, and that the other nuclei atrophy, and the material of which they were composed serves as the nutriment for the ova which complete their development. this does not, of course, imply that the ova so formed have a value other than that of a single cell, any more than the development of a single embryo out of the many in one egg capsule implies that the embryo so developing is a compound organism. in the innermost layer of the germinal epithelium the outlines of the original large nests are still visible, but many of the follicles have been cut off by ingrowths of stroma. in the still intact nests the formation of the follicles out of the cells of the germinal epithelium may be followed with great advantage. the cells of the follicle, though less columnar than was the case at an earlier period, are more so than in the case of follicles formed in the succeeding stages. the previous inequality in the cells of the follicles is no longer present. the tubuliferous tissue in the zona vasculosa appears to me to have rather increased in quantity than the reverse; and is formed of numerous solid columns or oval masses of cells, separated by strands of connective tissue, with typical spindle nuclei. it is partially intelligible to me how dr foulis might from an examination of the stages similar to this, conclude that the follicle cells were derived from the stroma; but even at this stage the position of the cells which will form the follicular epithelium, their passage by a series of gradations into obvious cells of the germinal epithelium and the peculiarities of their nuclei, so different from those of the stroma cells, supply a sufficient series of characters to remove all doubt as to the derivation of the follicle cells. apart from these more obvious points, an examination of the follicle cells from the surface, and not in section, demonstrates that the general resemblance in shape of follicle cells to the stroma cells is quite delusory. they are in fact flat, circular, or oval, plates not really spindle-shaped, but only apparently so in section. while i thus fundamentally differ from foulis as to the nature of the follicle cells, i am on this point in complete accordance with waldeyer, and my own results with reference to the follicle cannot be better stated than in his own words (pp. , ). at six weeks after birth the ovary of the rabbit corresponds very much more with the stages in the development of the ovary, which foulis has more especially studied, for the formation of the follicular epithelium, than during the earlier stages. his figure (_quart. journ. mic. sci._, vol. xvi., pl. , fig. ) of the ovary of a seven and a half months' human foetus is about the corresponding age. different animals vary greatly in respect to the relative development of the ovary. for example, the ovary of a lamb at birth about corresponds with that of a rabbit six weeks after birth. the points which may be noticed about the ovary at this age are first that the surface of the ovary begins to be somewhat folded. the appearances of these folds in section have given rise, as has already been pointed out by foulis, to the erroneous view that the germinal epithelium (pseudo-epithelium) became involuted in the form of tubular open pits. the folds appear to me to have no connection with the formation of ova, but to be of the same nature as the somewhat similar folds in elasmobranchii. a follicular epithelium is present around the majority of the ova of the middle layer, and around all those of the inner layer of the germinal epithelium. the nests are, moreover, much more cut up by connective tissue ingrowths than in the previous stages. the follicle cells of the middle layers are very flat, and spindle-shaped in section, and though they stain more deeply than the stroma cells, and have other not easily characterised peculiarities, they nevertheless do undoubtedly closely resemble the stroma cells when viewed (as is ordinarily the case) in optical section. in the innermost layer many of the follicles with the enclosed ova have advanced considerably in development and are formed of columnar cells. the somewhat heterodox view of these cells propounded by foulis i cannot quite agree to. he says (_quart. j. mic. sci._, vol. xvi., p. ): "the protoplasm which surrounds the vesicular nuclei acts as a sort of cement substance, holding them together in the form of a capsular membrane round the young ovum. this capsular membrane is the first appearance of the membrana granulosa." i must admit that i find nothing similar to this, nor have i met with any special peculiarities (as foulis would seem to indicate) in the cells of the germinal epithelium or other cells of the ovary. figure is a representation of an advanced follicle of a six weeks' rabbit, containing two ova, which is obviously in the act of dividing into two. follicles of this kind with more than one ovum are not very uncommon. it appears to me probable that follicles, such as that i have figured, were originally formed of a single mass of protoplasm with two nuclei; but that instead of one of the nuclei atrophying, both of them eventually developed and the protoplasm subsequently divided into two masses. in other cases it is quite possible that follicles with two ova should rather be regarded as two follicles not separated by a septum of stroma. on the later stages of development of the ovary i have no complete series of observations. the yolk spherules i find to be first developed in a peripheral layer of the vitellus. i have not been able definitely to decide the relation of the zona radiata to the first formed vitelline membrane. externally to the zona radiata there may generally be observed a somewhat granular structure, against which the follicle cells abut, and i cannot agree with waldeyer (_loc cit._, p. ) that this structure is continuous with the cells of the discus, or with the zona radiata. is it the remains of the first formed vitelline membrane? i have obtained some evidence in favour of this view, but have not been successful in making observations to satisfy me on the point, and must leave open the question whether my vitelline membrane becomes the zona radiata or whether the zona is not a later and independent formation, but am inclined myself to adopt the latter view. the first formed membrane, whether or no it becomes the zona radiata, is very similar to the vitelline membrane of elasmobranchii and arises at a corresponding stage. _summary of observations on the mammalian ovary._--the general results of my observations on the mammalian ovary are the following:-- ( ) the ovary in an eighteen days' embryo consists of a cylindrical ridge attached along the inner side of the wolffian body, which is formed of two parts; (_a_) an external epithelium--two or three cells deep (the germinal epithelium); (_b_) a hilus or part forming in the adult the vascular zone, at this stage composed of branched masses of epithelial tissue (tubuliferous tissue) derived from the walls of the anterior malpighian bodies, and numerous blood-vessels, and some stroma cells. ( ) the germinal epithelium gradually becomes thicker, and after a certain stage (twenty-three days) there grow into it numerous stroma ingrowths, accompanied by blood-vessels. the germinal epithelium thus becomes honeycombed by strands of stroma. part of the stroma eventually forms a layer close below the surface, which becomes in the adult the tunica albuginea. the part of the germinal epithelium external to this layer becomes reduced to a single row of cells, and forms what has been spoken of in this paper as the pseudo-epithelium of the ovary. the greater part of the germinal epithelium is situated internal to the tunica albuginea, and this part is at first divided up by strands of stroma into smaller divisions externally, and larger ones internally. these masses of germinal epithelium (probably sections of branched trabeculæ) may be spoken of as nests. in the course of the development of the ova they are broken up by stroma ingrowths, and each follicle with its enclosed ovum is eventually isolated by a layer of stroma. ( ) the cells of the germinal epithelium give rise both to the permanent ova and to the cells of the follicular epithelium. for a long time, however, the cells remain indifferent, so that the stages, like those in elasmobranchii, osseous fish, birds, reptiles, &c., with numerous primitive ova embedded amongst the small cells of the germinal epithelium, are not found. ( ) the conversion of the cells of the germinal epithelium into permanent ova commences in an embryo of about twenty-two days. all the cells of the germinal epithelium appear to be capable of becoming ova: the following are the stages in the process, which are almost identical with those in elasmobranchii:-- (_a_) the nucleus of the cells loses its more or less distinct network, and becomes very granular, with a few specially large granules (nucleoli). the protoplasm around it becomes clear and abundant--primitive ovum stage. it may be noted that the largest primitive ova are very often situated in the pseudo-epithelium. (_b_) a segregation takes place in the contents of the nucleus within the membrane, and the granular contents pass to one side, where they form an irregular mass, while the remaining space within the membrane is perfectly clear. the granular mass gradually develops itself into a beautiful reticulum, with two or three highly refracting nucleoli, one of which eventually becomes the largest and forms the germinal spot _par excellence_. at the same time the body of the ovum becomes slightly granular. while the above changes, more especially those in the nucleus, have been taking place, the protoplasm of two or more ova may fuse together, and polynuclear masses be so formed. in some cases the whole of such a polynuclear mass gives rise to only a single ovum, owing to the atrophy of all the nuclei but one, in others it gives rise by subsequent division to two or more ova, each with a single germinal vesicle. ( ) all the cells of a nest do not undergo the above changes, but some of them become smaller (by division) than the indifferent cells of the germinal epithelium, arrange themselves round the ova, and form the follicular epithelium. ( ) the first membrane formed round the ovum arises in some cases even before the appearance of the follicular epithelium, and is of the nature of a vitelline membrane. it seems probable, although not definitely established by observation, that the zona radiata is formed internally to the vitelline membrane, and that the latter remains as a membrane, somewhat irregular on its outer border, against which the ends of the follicle cells abut. general observations on the structure and development of the ovary. in selecting mammalia and elasmobranchii as my two types for investigation, i had in view the consideration that what held good for such dissimilar forms might probably be accepted as true for all vertebrata with the exception of amphioxus. _the structure of the ovary._--from my study of these two types, i have been led to a view of the structure of the ovary, which differs to a not inconsiderable extent from that usually entertained. for both types the conclusion has been arrived at that the whole egg-containing part of the ovary is really _the thickened germinal epithelium_, and that it differs from the original thickened patch or layer of germinal epithelium, mainly in the fact that it is broken up into a kind of meshwork by growths of vascular stroma. if the above view be accepted for elasmobranchii and mammalia, it will hardly be disputed for the ovaries of reptilia and aves. in the case also of osseous fish and amphibia, this view of the ovary appears to be very tenable, but the central core of stroma present in the other types is nearly or quite absent, and the ovary is entirely formed of the germinal epithelium with the usual strands of vascular stroma[ ]. it is obvious that according to the above view pflüger's egg-tubes are merely trabeculæ of germinal epithelium, and have no such importance as has been attributed to them. they are present in a more or less modified form in all types of ovaries. even in the adult amphibian ovary, columns of cells of the germinal epithelium, some indifferent, others already converted into ova, are present, and, as has been pointed out by hertwig[ ], represent pflüger's egg-tubes. footnote : my view of the structure of the ovary would seem to be that held by götte, _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke_, pp. and . footnote : _loc. cit._ . _the formation of the permanent ova._--the passage of primitive ova into permanent ova is the part of my investigation to which the greatest attention was paid, and the results arrived at for mammalia and elasmobranchii are almost identical. although there are no investigations as to the changes undergone by the nucleus in other types, still it appears to me safe to conclude that the results arrived at hold good for vertebrates generally[ ]. as has already been pointed out the transformation which the so-called primitive ova undergo is sufficient to shew that _they are not to be regarded as ova but merely as embryonic sexual cells_. a feature in the transformation, which appears to be fairly constant in scyllium, and not uncommon in the rabbit, is the fusion of the protoplasm of several ova into a syncytium, the subsequent increase in the number of nuclei in the syncytium, the atrophy and absorption of a portion of the nuclei, and the development of the remainder into the germinal vesicles of ova; the vitellus of each ovum being formed by a portion of the protoplasm of the syncytium. footnote : since writing the above i have made out that in the reptilia the formation of the permanent ova takes place in the same fashion as in elasmobranchii and mammalia. as to the occurrence of similar phenomena in the vertebrata generally, it has already been pointed out that ed. van beneden has described the polynuclear masses in mammalia, though he does not appear to me to have given a complete account of their history. götte[ ] describes a fusion of primitive ova in amphibia, but he believes that the nuclei fuse as well as the bodies of the ova, so that one ovum (according to his view no longer a cell) is formed by the fusion of several primitive ova with their nuclei. i have observed nothing which tends to support götte's view about the fusion of the nuclei, and regard it as very improbable. as regards the interpretation to be placed upon the nests formed of fused primitive ova, ed. van beneden maintains that they are to be compared with the upper ends of the egg tubes of insects, nematodes, trematodes, &c. there is no doubt a certain analogy between the two, in that in both cases certain nuclei of a polynuclear mass increase in size, and with the protoplasm around them become segmented off from the remainder of the mass as ova, but the analogy cannot be pressed. the primitive ova, or even the general germinal epithelium, rather than these nests, must be regarded as giving origin to the ova, and the nests should be looked on, in my opinion, as connected more with the nutrition than with the origin of the ova. in favour of this view is the fact that as a rule comparatively few ova are developed from the many nuclei of a nest; while against the comparison with the egg tubes of the invertebrata it is to be borne in mind that many ova appear to develop independently of the nests. footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ in support of my view about the nests there may be cited many analogous instances from the invertebrata. in none of them, however, are the phenomena exactly identical with those in vertebrata. in the ovary of many hydrozoa (_e.g. tubularia mesembryanthemum_), out of a large number of ova which develop up to a certain point, a comparatively very small number survive, and these regularly feed upon the other ova. during this process the boundary between a large ovum and the smaller ova is indistinct: in the outermost layer of a large ovum a number of small ova are embedded, the outlines of the majority of which have become obscure, although they can still be distinguished. just beyond the edge of a large ovum the small ova have begun to undergo retrogressive changes; while at a little distance from the ovum they are quite normal. an analogous phenomenon has been very fully described by weismann[ ] in the case of leptodera, the ovary of which consists of a germogene, in which the ova develop in groups of four. each group of four occupies a separate chamber of the ovary, but in summer only one of the four eggs (the third from the germogene) develops into an ovum, the other three are used as pabulum. in the case of the winter eggs the process is carried still further, in that the contents of the alternate chambers, instead of developing into ova, are entirely converted, by a series of remarkable changes, into nutritive reservoirs. fundamentally similar occurrences to the above are also well known in insects. phenomena of this nature are obviously in no way opposed to the view of the ovum being a single cell. footnote : _zeit. für wiss. zool._ bd. xxvii. with reference to the origin of the primitive ova, it appears to me that their mode of development in mammals proves beyond a doubt that they are modified cells of the germinal epithelium. in elasmobranchii their very early appearance, and the difficulty of finding transitional forms between them and ordinary cells of the germinal epithelium, caused me at one time to seek (unsuccessfully) for a different origin for them. any such attempts appear to me, however, out of the question in the case of mammals. _the egg membranes._--the homologies of the egg membranes in the vertebrata are still involved in some obscurity. in elasmobranchii there are undoubtedly two membranes present. ( ) an outer and first formed membrane--the albuminous membrane of gegenbaur--which, in opposition to previous observers, i have been led to regard as a vitelline membrane. ( ) an inner radiately striated membrane, formed as a differentiation of the surface of the yolk at a later period. both these membranes usually atrophy before the ovum leaves the follicle. in reptilia[ ] precisely the same arrangement is found as in elasmobranchii, except that as a rule the zona radiata is relatively more important. the vitelline membrane external to this (or as it is usually named the chorion) is, as a rule, thin in reptilia; but in crocodilia is thick (gegenbaur), and approaches the condition found in scyllium and other squalidæ. it appears, as in elasmobranchii, to be formed before the zona radiata. a special internal differentiation of the zona radiata is apparently found (eimer) in many reptilia. no satisfactory observations appear to be recorded with reference to the behaviour of the two reptilian membranes as the egg approaches maturity. in birds[ ] the same two membranes are again found. the first formed and outer one is, according to gegenbaur and e. van beneden, a vitelline membrane; and from the analogy of elasmobranchii i feel inclined to accept their view. the inner one is the zona radiata, which disappears comparatively early, leaving the ovum enclosed only by the vitelline membrane, when it leaves the follicle. all the large-yolked vertebrate ova appear then to agree very well with elasmobranchii in presenting during some period of their development the two membranes above mentioned. footnote : gegenbaur, _loc. cit._; waldeyer, _loc. cit._; eimer, _loc. cit._; and ludwig, _loc. cit._ footnote : gegenbaur, waldeyer, e. van beneden, eimer. osseous fish have almost always a zona radiata, which it seems best to assume to be equivalent to that in elasmobranchii. internal to this is a thin membrane, the equivalent, according to eimer, of the membrane found by the same author within the zona in reptilia. a membrane equivalent to the thick vitelline membrane of elasmobranchii would seem to be absent in most instances, though a delicate membrane, external to the zona, has not infrequently been described; eimer more especially asserts that such a membrane exists in the perch within the peculiar mucous covering of the egg of that fish. in petromyzon, a zona radiata appears to be present[ ], which is divided in the adult into two layers, both of them perforated. the inner of the two perhaps corresponds with the membrane internal to the zona radiata in other types. in amphibia the single late formed and radiately striated (waldeyer) membrane would appear to be a zona radiata. if the suggestion on page turns out to be correct the ova of mammalia possess both a vitelline membrane and zona radiata. e. van beneden[ ] has, moreover, shewn that they are also provided at a certain period with a delicate membrane within the zona. footnote : carlberla, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxx. footnote : _loc. cit._ _the reticulum of the germinal vesicle._--in the course of description of the ovary it has been necessary for me to enter with some detail into the structure of the nucleus, and i have had occasion to figure and describe a reticulum identical with that recently described by so many observers. the very interesting observations of dr klein in the last number of this journal[ ] have induced me to say one or two words in defence of some points in my description of the reticulum. dr klein says, on page , "i have distinctly seen that when nucleoli are present--the instances are fewer than is generally supposed; they are accumulations of the fibrils of the network." i have no doubt that klein is correct in asserting that nucleoli are fewer than is generally supposed; and that in many of these instances what are called nucleoli are accumulations, "natural or artificial," of the fibrils of the network; but i cannot accept the universality of the latter statement, which appears to me most certainly not to hold good in the case of ova, in which nucleoli frequently exist in the absence of the network. footnote : [_quarterly journal microscopical science_, july .] again, i find that at the point of intersection of two or more fibrils there is, as a rule, a distinct thickening of the matter of the fibrils, and that many of the dots seen are not merely, as dr klein would maintain, optical sections of fibrils. it appears to me probable that both the network and the nucleoli are composed of the same material--what hertwig calls nuclear substance--and if dr klein merely wishes to assert this identity in the passage above quoted, i am at one with him. although a more or less distinct network is present in most nuclei (i have found it in almost all embryonic nuclei) it is not universally so. in the nuclei of primitive ova i have no doubt that it is absent, though present in the unmodified nuclei of the germinal epithelium; and it is present only in a very modified form in the nuclei of primitive ova undergoing a transformation into permanent ova. the absence of the reticulum does not, of course, mean that the substance capable of forming a reticulum is absent, but merely that it does not assume a particular arrangement. one of the most interesting points in klein's paper, as well as in those of heitzmann and eimer, is the demonstration of a connection between the reticulum of the nucleus and fibres in the body of the cell. such a connection i have not found in ova, but may point out that it appears to exist between the sub-germinal nuclei in elasmobranchii and the protoplasmic network in the yolk in which they lie. this point is called attention to in my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_, page [ ], where it is stated that "the network in favourable cases may be observed to be in connection with the nuclei just described. its meshes are finer in the vicinity of the nuclei, and the fibres in some cases appear almost to start from them." the nuclei in the yolk are knobbed bodies divided by a sponge work of septa into a number of areas each with a nucleolar body. footnote : [this edition, p. .] explanation of plates , , . plate . list of reference letters. _dn._. modified nucleus of primitive ovum. _do._. permanent ovum in the act of being formed. _dv._. developing blood-vessels. _dyk._ developing yolk. _ep._ non-ovarian epithelium of ovarian ridge. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _gv._ germinal vesicle. _lstr._ lymphatic region of stroma. _nn._ nests of nuclei of ovarian region. _o._ permanent ovum. _ovr._ ovarian portion of ovarian ridge. _po._ primitive ovum. _pse._ pseudo-epithelium of ovarian ridge. _str._ stroma ingrowths into ovarian epithelium. _v._ blood-vessel. _vstr._ vascular region of stroma adjoining ovarian ridge. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _x._ modified nucleus. _yk._ yolk. _zn._ zona radiata. fig. . transverse section of the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scy. canicula_, belonging to stage p, shewing the ovarian region with thickened epithelium and numerous primitive ova. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . transverse section of the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, considerably older than stage q. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ several nests, some with distinct ova, and others with the ova fused together, are present in the section (_nn_), and several examples of modified nuclei in still distinct ova are also represented. one of these is marked _x_. the stroma of the ovarian ridge is exceptionally scanty. fig. . transverse section through part of the ovarian ridge, including the ovarian region of an almost ripe embryo of _scyllium canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ nuclear nests (_n.n._), developing ova (_d.o._), and ova (_o._), with completely formed follicular epithelium, are now present. the ovarian region is still well separated from the subjacent stroma, and does not appear to contain any cells except those of the original germinal epithelium. fig. . section through ovarian ridge of the same embryo as fig. , to illustrate the relation of the stroma (_str._) and ovarian region. zeiss _a a_, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, cm. long, in which the ovary was slightly less advanced than in fig. . to illustrate the relation of the ovarian epithelium to the subjacent vascular stroma. zeiss a, ocul. . _osmic acid._ _y_ points to a small separated portion of the germinal epithelium. fig. . section through the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, slightly older than fig. . to illustrate the relation of the ovarian epithelium to the subjacent vascular stroma. zeiss a, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . more highly magnified portion of the same ovary as fig. . to illustrate the same points. zeiss c, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . section through the ovarian region (close to one extremity, where it is very small) from a young female of _scy. canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ it shews the vascular ingrowths amongst the original epithelial cells of the ovarian region. fig. . section through the ovarian region of the same embryo as fig. , at its point of maximum development. zeiss a, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through superficial part of the ovary of an embryo, shewing the pseudo-epithelium; the cells of which are provided with tails prolonged into the general tissue of the ovary. at _f.e._ is seen a surface view of the follicular epithelium of an ovum. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through part of an ovary of _scyllium canicula_ of stage q, with three primitive ova, the most superficial one containing a modified nucleus. fig. . section through part of an ovary of an example of _scyllium canicula_, cm. long. the section passes through a nest of ova with modified nuclei, in which the outlines of the individual ova are quite distinct. zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through part of ovary of the same embryo as in fig. . the section passes through a nest of nuclei, with at the least two developing ova, and also through one already formed permanent ovum. zeiss e, ocul. . _osmic acid._ figs. , , , , [figs. and are on pl. ]. sections through parts of the ovary of the same embryo as fig. , with nests of nuclei and a permanent ova in the act of formation. fig. is drawn with zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. , , , with zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ plate . list of reference letters. _do._ permanent ovum in the act of being formed. _dyk._ developing yolk. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _fe´._ secondary follicular epithelium. _gv._ germinal vesicle. _nn._ nests of nuclei of ovarian region. _o._ permanent ovum. _pse._ pseudo-epithelium. _str._ stroma ingrowths into ovarian epithelium. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _x._ modified nucleus. _yk._ yolk (vitellus). _zn._ zona radiata. [figs. and . vide description of plate .]. fig. . two nuclei from a nest which appear to be in the act of division. from ovary of the same embryo as fig. . fig. . section through part of an ovary of the same embryo as fig. , containing a nest of nuclei. zeiss f, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . ovum from the ovary of a half-grown female, containing isolated deeply stained patches of developing yolk granules. zeiss b, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through a small part of the ovum of an immature female of _scyllium canicula_, to shew the constitution of the yolk, the follicular epithelium, and the egg membranes. zeiss e, ocul. . _chromic acid._ fig. . section through part of the periphery of a nearly ripe ovum of _scy. canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . it shews the remnant of the vitelline membrane (_v.t._) separating the columnar but delicate cells of the follicular epithelium (_f.e._) from the yolk (_yk._). in the yolk are seen yolk-spherules in a protoplasmic network. the transverse markings in the yolk-spherules have been made oblique by the artist. fig. . fully formed ovum containing a second nucleus (_x_), probably about to be employed as pabulum; from the same ovary as fig. . the follicular epithelium is much thicker on the side adjoining the stroma than on the upper side of the ovum. zeiss f, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . a. ovum from the same ovary as fig. , containing in the yolk three peculiar bodies, similar in appearance to the two small bodies in the germinal vesicle. b. germinal vesicle of a large ovum from the same ovary, containing a body of a strikingly similar appearance to those in the body of the ovum in a. zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section of the ovary of a young female of _scyllium stellare_ - / centimetres in length. the ovary is exceptional, on account of the large size of the stroma ingrowths into the epithelium. zeiss c, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . ovum of _scyllium canicula_, mm. in diameter, treated with osmic acid. the figure illustrates the development of the yolk and a peculiar mode of proliferation of the germinal spots. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . small part of the follicular epithelium and egg membranes of a somewhat larger ovum of _scyllium canicul_a than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . the same parts as in fig. , from a still larger ovum. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . ovum of raja with follicular epithelium. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . small portion of a larger ovum of raja than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . follicular epithelium, &c., from an ovum of raja still larger than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . surface view of follicular epithelium from an ovum of raja of about the same age as fig. . fig. . vertical section through the superficial part of an ovary of an adult raja to shew the relation of the pseudo-epithelium to the subjacent stroma. zeiss d d, ocul. . plate . complete list of reference letters. _do._ developing ovum. _fc._ cells which will form the follicular epithelium, _fe._ follicular epithelium. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _mg._ malpighian body. _n._ nest of cells of the germinal epithelium. _nd._ nuclei in the act of dividing. _o._ permanent ovum. _ov._ ovary. _po._ primitive ovum. _t._ tubuliferous tissue, derived from malpighian bodies. fig. . transverse section through the ovary of an embryo rabbit of eighteen days, hardened in osmic acid. the colours employed are intended to render clear the distinction between the germinal epithelium (_ge._) and the tubuliferous tissue (_t._), which has grown in from the wolffian body, and which gives rise in the male to parts of the tubuli seminiferi. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. a . transverse section through a small part of the ovary of an embryo from the same female as fig. , hardened in picric acid, shewing the relation of the germinal epithelium to the subjacent tissue. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. longitudinal section through part of the wolffian body and the anterior end of the ovary of an eighteen days' embryo, to shew the derivation of tubuliferous tissue (_t._) from the malpighian bodies, close to the anterior extremity of the ovary. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . transverse section through the ovary of an embryo rabbit of twenty-two days, hardened in osmic acid. it is coloured in the same manner as fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . fig. a. transverse section through a small part of the ovary of an embryo, from the same female as fig. , hardened in picric acid, shewing the relation of the germinal epithelium to the stroma of the ovary. zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. and a. the same parts of an ovary of a twenty-eight days' embryo as figs. and a of a twenty-two days' embryo. fig. . ovary of a rabbit five days after birth, coloured in the same manner as figs. , and , but represented on a somewhat smaller scale. _picric acid._ fig. a. vertical section through a small part of the surface of the same ovary as fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. small portion of the deeper layer of the germinal epithelium of the same ovary as fig. . the figure shews the commencing differentiation of the cells of the germinal epithelium into true ova and follicle cells. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. a. section through a small part of the middle region of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit seven days after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. section through a small part of the innermost layer of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit seven days after birth, shewing the formation of graafian follicles. zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. a and b. small portions of the middle region of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit four weeks after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . graafian follicle with two ova, about to divide into two follicles, from a rabbit six weeks after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . xiii. on the existence of a head-kidney in the embryo chick, and on certain points in the development of the mÜllerian duct[ ]. by f. m. balfour and a. sedgwick. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xix. . (with plates and .) the following paper is divided into three sections. the first of these records the existence of certain structures in the embryo chick, which eventually become in part the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct, and which, we believe, correspond with the head-kidney, or "vorniere" of german authors. the second deals with the growth and development of the müllerian duct. with reference to this we have come to the conclusion that the müllerian duct does not develop entirely independently of the wolffian duct. the third section of our paper is of a more general character, and contains a discussion of the rectifications in the views of the homologies of the parts of the excretory system in aves, necessitated by the results of our investigations. we have, as far as possible, avoided entering into the extended literature of the excretory system, since this has been very fully given in three general papers which have recently appeared by semper[ ], fürbinger[ ], and by one of us[ ]. footnote : "das urogenital-system der plagiostomen," _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut. würzburg_. footnote : "zur vergl. anat. u. entwick. d. excretionsorgane d. vertebraten," _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iv. footnote : "on the origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. x. [this edition no. vii.] all recent observers, including braun[ ] for reptilia, and egli[ ] for mammalia, have stated that the müllerian duct develops as a groove in the peritoneal epithelium, which is continued backward as a primitively solid rod in the space between the wolffian duct and peritoneal epithelium. footnote : _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut. würzburg_, vol. iv. footnote : _beitr. zur anat. u. entwick. d. geschlechtsorgane_, inaug. diss., zürich, . in our preliminary account we stated[ ], in accordance with the general view, that the müllerian duct was formed as a groove, or elongated involution of the peritoneal epithelium adjoining the wolffian duct. we have now reason to believe that this is not the case. in the earliest condition of the müllerian duct which we have been able to observe, it consists of three successive open involutions of the peritoneal epithelium, connected together by more or less well-defined ridge-like thickenings of the epithelium. we believe, on grounds hereafter to be stated, that the whole of this formation is equivalent to the head-kidney of the ichthyopsida. the head-kidney, as we shall continue to call it, takes its origin from the layer of thickened epithelium situated near the dorsal angle of the body-cavity, close to the wolffian duct, which has been known since the publication of waldeyer's important researches as the germinal epithelium. the anterior of the three open involutions or grooves is situated some little distance behind the front end of the wolffian duct. it is simply a shallow groove in the thickest part of the germinal epithelium, and forms a corresponding projection into the adjacent stroma. in front the projection is separated by a considerable interval from the wolffian duct; but near its hindermost part it almost comes into contact with the wolffian duct. the groove extends in all for about five of our sections, and then terminates by its walls becoming gradually continued into a slight ridge-like thickening of the germinal epithelium. the groove arises as a simple depression in a linear area of thickened germinal epithelium. the linear area is, however, continued very considerably further forward than the groove, and sometimes exhibits a slight central depression, which might be regarded as a forward continuation of the groove. the passage from the groove to the ridge may best be conceived by supposing the groove to be suddenly filled up, so as to form a solid ridge pointing inwards towards the wolffian duct. footnote : _proceedings of royal society_, . the ridge succeeding the first groove is continued for about six sections, and is considerably more prominent at its posterior extremity than in front. it is replaced by groove number two, which appears as if formed by the reverse process to that by which the ridge arose, viz., by a hollowing out of the ridge on the side towards the body-cavity. the wall of the second groove is, after a few sections, continued into a second ridge or thickening of the germinal epithelium, which, however, is so faintly marked as to be hardly visible in its middle part. in its turn this ridge is replaced by the third and last groove. this vanishes after one or two sections, and behind the point of its disappearance we have failed to find any further traces of the head-kidney. the whole formation extends through about twenty-four of our sections and one and a half segments (muscle-plates). we have represented (plate , series a, nos. - ) a fairly complete series of sections through part of the head-kidney of an embryo slightly older than that last described, containing the second and third grooves and accessory parts. the connection between the grooves and the ridges is very well illustrated in nos. , , and of this series. in no. we have a prominent ridge, in the interior of which there appears in no. a groove, which becomes gradually wider in nos. and . both the grooves and ridges are better marked in this than in the younger stage; but the chief difference between the two stages consists in the third groove no longer forming the hindermost limit of the head-kidney. instead of this, the last groove (no. ) terminates by the upper part of its walls becoming constricted off as a separate rod, which appears at first to contain a lumen continuous with the open groove. this rod (nos. , , , ) situated between the germinal epithelium and wolffian duct is continued backward for some sections. it finally terminates by a pointed extremity, composed of not more than two cells abreast (nos. - ). our third stage, sections of which are represented in series b (plate ), is considerably advanced beyond that last described. the most important change which has been effected concerns the ridges connecting the successive grooves. a lumen has appeared in each of these, which seems to open at both ends into the adjacent grooves. at the same time the cells, which previously constituted the ridge, have become (except where they are continuous with the walls of the grooves) partially constricted off from the germinal epithelium. the ridges, in fact, now form ducts situated in the stroma of the ovarian ridge, in the space between the wolffian duct and the germinal epithelium. the duct continuous with the last groove is somewhat longer than before. in a general way, the head-kidney may now be described as a duct opening into the body-cavity by three groove-like apertures, and continuous behind with the rudiment of the true müllerian duct. although the general constitution of the head-kidney at this stage is fairly simple, there are a few features in our sections which we do not fully understand, and a few points about the organ which deserve a rather fuller description than we have given in this general sketch. the anterior groove (nos. - , series b, pl. ) is at first somewhat separated from the wolffian duct, but approaches close to it in no. . in nos. and there appears a rod-like body on the outer side of the walls of the groove. in no. this body is disconnected with the walls of the groove, and even appears as if formed by a second invagination of the germinal epithelium. in no. this body becomes partially continuous with the walls of the groove, and finally in no. it becomes completely continuous with the walls of the groove, and its lumen communicates freely with the groove[ ]. footnote : a deep focus of the rather thick section represented in no. shewed the body much more nearly in the position it occupies in no. . the last trace of this body is seen on the upper wall of the groove in no. . we believe that the body (_r_ ) represents the ridge between the first and second grooves of the earlier stage; so that in passing from no. to no. we pass from the first to the second groove. the meaning of the features of the body _r_ in no. we do not fully understand, but cannot regard them as purely accidental, since we have met with more or less similar features in other series of sections. the second groove becomes gradually narrower, and finally is continued into the second ridge (no. ). the ridge contains a lumen, and is only connected with the germinal epithelium by a narrow wall of cells. a narrow passage from the body-cavity leads into that wall for a short distance in no. , but it is probably merely the hinder end of the groove of no. . the third groove appears in no. , and opens into the lumen of the second ridge (_r_ ) in no. . in no. the groove is closed, and there is present in its place a duct (_r_ ) connected with the germinal epithelium by a wall of cells. this duct is the further development of the third ridge of the last stage; its lumen opens into the body-cavity through the third and last groove (_gr_ ). in the next section this duct (_r_ ) is entirely separated from the germinal epithelium, and it may be traced backwards through several sections until it terminates by a solid point, very much as in the last stage. in the figures of this series (b) there may be noticed on the outer side of the müllerian duct a fold of the germinal epithelium (_x_) forming a second groove. it is especially conspicuous in the first six sections of the series. this fold sometimes becomes much deeper, and then forms a groove, the upper end of which is close to the grooves of the head-kidney. it is very often much deeper than these are, and without careful study might easily be mistaken for one of these grooves. fig. c, taken from a series slightly younger than b, shews this groove (_x_) in its most exaggerated form. the stage we have just described is that of the fullest development of the head-kidney. in it, as in all the previous stages, there appear to be only three main openings into the body-cavity; but we have met in some of our sections with indications of the possible presence of one or two extra rudimentary grooves. in an embryo not very much older than the one last described the atrophy of the head-kidney is nearly completed, and there is present but a single groove opening into the body-cavity. in series d (pl. ) are represented a number of sections from an embryo at this stage. nos. and are sections through the hind end of the single groove now present. its walls are widely separated from the wolffian duct in front, but approach close to it at the hinder termination of the groove (no. ). the features of the single groove present at this stage agree closely with those of the anterior groove of the previous stages. the groove is continued into a duct--the müllerian duct (as it may now be called, but in a previous stage the hollow ridge connecting the first and second grooves of the head-kidney)--which, after becoming nearly separated from the germinal epithelium, is again connected to it by a mass of cells at two points (nos. , , and ). the germinal epithelium is slightly grooved and is much reduced in thickness at these points of contact (_gr_ and _gr_ ), and we believe that they are the remnants of the posterior grooves of the head-kidney present at an earlier stage. the müllerian duct has by this stage grown much further backwards, but the peculiarities of this part of it are treated in a subsequent section. we consider that, taking into account the rudiments we have just described, as well as the fact that the features of the single groove at this stage correspond with those of the anterior groove at an earlier stage, we are fully justified in concluding that _the permanent abdominal opening of the müllerian duct corresponds with the anterior of our three grooves_. although we have, on account of their indefiniteness, avoided giving the ages of the chicks in which the successive changes of the head-kidney may be observed, we may, perhaps, state that all the changes we have described are usually completed between the th and th hour of incubation. _the glomerulus of the head-kidney._ in connection with the head-kidney in amphibians there is present, as is well known, a peculiar vascular body usually described as the glomerulus of the head-kidney. we have found in the chick a body so completely answering to this glomerulus that we have hardly any hesitation in identifying it as such. in the chick the glomerulus is paired, and consists of a vascular outgrowth or ridge projecting into the body-cavity on each side at the root of the mesentery. it extends from the anterior end of the wolffian body to the point where the foremost opening of the head-kidney commences. we have found it at a period slightly earlier than that of the first development of the head-kidney. it is represented in figs. e and f, pl. , _gl_, and is seen to form a somewhat irregular projection into the body-cavity, covered by a continuation of the peritoneal epithelium, and attached by a narrow stalk to the insertion of the embryonic mesentery (_me_). in the interior of this body is seen a stroma with numerous vascular channels and blood corpuscles, and a vascular connection is apparently becoming established, if it is not so already, between the glomerulus and the aorta. we have reason to think that the corpuscles and vascular channels in the glomerulus are developed _in situ_. the stalk connecting the glomerulus with the attachment of the mesentery varies in thickness in different sections, but we believe that the glomerulus is continued unbroken throughout the very considerable region through which it extends. this point is, however, difficult to make sure of owing to the facility with which the glomerulus breaks away. at the stage we are describing, no true malpighian bodies are present in the part of the wolffian body on the same level with the anterior end of the glomerulus, but the wolffian body merely consists of the wolffian duct. at the level of the posterior part of the glomerulus this is no longer the case, but here a regular series of primary malpighian bodies is present (using the term "primary" to denote the malpighian bodies developed directly out of part of the primary segmental tubes), and the glomerulus of the head-kidney may frequently be seen in the same section as a malpighian body. in most sections the two bodies appear quite disconnected, but in those sections in which the _glomerulus_ of the malpighian body comes into view it is seen to be derived from the same formation as the glomerulus of the head-kidney (pl. , fig. f). it would seem, in fact, that the vascular tissue of the glomerulus of the head-kidney grows into the concavity of the malpighian bodies. owing to the stage we are now describing, in which we have found the glomerulus most fully developed, being prior to that in which the head-kidney appears, it is not possible to determine with certainty the position of the glomerulus in relation to the head-kidney. after the development of the head-kidney it is found, however, as we have already stated, that the glomerulus terminates at a point just in front of the anterior opening of the head-kidney. it is less developed than before, but is still present up to the period of the atrophy of the head-kidney. it does not apparently alter in constitution, and we have not thought it worth while giving any further representations of it during the later stages of its existence. _summary of the development of the head-kidney and glomerulus._--the first rudiment of the head-kidney arises as three successive grooves in the thickened germinal epithelium, connected by ridges, and situated some way behind the front end of the wolffian duct. in the next stage the three ridges connecting the grooves have become more marked, and in each of them a lumen has appeared, opening at both extremities into the adjoining grooves. still later the ridges become more or less completely detached from the peritoneal epithelium, and the whole head-kidney then consists of a slightly convoluted duct, with, at the least, three peritoneal openings, which is posteriorly continued into the müllerian duct. still later the head-kidney atrophies, its two posterior openings vanishing, and its anterior opening remaining as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. the glomerulus arises as a vascular prominence at the root of the mesentery, slightly prior in point of time to the head-kidney, and slightly more forward than it in position. we have not traced its atrophy. we stated in our preliminary paper that the peculiar structures we had interpreted as the head-kidney had completely escaped the attention of previous observers, though we called attention to a well-known figure of waldeyer's (copied in the _elements of embryology,_ fig. ). in this figure a connection between the germinal epithelium and the müllerian duct is drawn, which is probably part of the head-kidney, and may be compared with our figures (series b, no. , and series d, no. ). since we made the above statement, dr gasser has called our attention to a passage in his valuable memoir on "the development of the allantois[ ]," in which certain structures are described which are, perhaps, identical with our head-kidney. the following is a translation of the passage:-- "in the upper region of müller's duct i have often observed small canals, especially in the later stages of development, which appear as a kind of doubling of the duct, and run for a short distance close to müller's duct and in the same direction, opening, however, into the body-cavity posterior to the main duct. further, one may often observe diverticula from the extreme anterior end of the oviduct of the bird, which form blind pouches and give one the impression of being receptacula seminis. both these appearances can quite well be accounted for on the supposition that an abnormal communication is effected between the germinal epithelium and müller's duct at unusual places; or else that an attempt at such a communication is made, resulting, however, only in the formation of a diverticulum of the wall of the oviduct." footnote : _beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. allantois der müller'schen gange u. des afters._ frankfurt, . the statement that these accessory canals are late in developing, prevents us from feeling quite confident that they really correspond with our head-kidney. before passing on to the other parts of this paper it is necessary to say a few words in justification of the comparison we have made between the modified abdominal extremity of the müllerian duct in the chick and the head-kidney of the ichthyopsida. for the fullest statement of what is known with reference to the anatomy and development of the head-kidney in the lower types we may refer to spengel and fürbringer[ ]. we propose ourselves merely giving a sufficient account of the head-kidney in amphibia (which appears to be the type in which the head-kidney can be most advantageously compared with that in the bird) to bring out the grounds for our determination of the homologies. footnote : _loc. cit._ the development of the head-kidney in amphibia has been fully elucidated by the researches of w. müller[ ], götte[ ], and fürbringer[ ], while to the latter we are indebted for a knowledge of the development of the müllerian duct in amphibians. the first part of the urinogenital system to develop is the segmental duct (_vornieregang_ of fürbringer), which is formed by a groove-like invagination of the peritoneal epithelium. it becomes constricted into a duct first of all in the middle, but soon in the posterior part also. it then forms a duct, ending in front by a groove in free communication with the body-cavity, and terminating blindly behind. the open groove in front at first deepens, and then becomes partially constricted into a duct, which elongates and becomes convoluted, but remains in communication with the body-cavity by from two to four (according to the species) separate openings. the manner in which the primitive single opening is related to the secondary openings is not fully understood. by these changes there is formed out of the primitive groove an anterior glandular body, communicating with the body-cavity by several apertures, and a posterior duct, which carries off the secretion of the gland, and which, though blind at first, eventually opens into the cloaca. in addition to these parts there is also formed on each side of the mesentery, opposite the peritoneal openings, a very vascular projection into this part of the body-cavity, which is known as the glomerulus of the head-kidney, and which very closely resembles in structure and position the body to which we have assigned the same name in the chick. footnote : _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . footnote : _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ footnote : _loc. cit._ the primitive segmental duct is at first only the duct for the head-kidney, but on the formation of the posterior parts of the kidney (wolffian body, &c.) it becomes the duct for these also. after the wolffian bodies have attained to a considerable development, the head-kidney undergoes atrophy, and its peritoneal openings become successively closed from before backwards. at this period the formation of the müllerian duct takes place. it is a solid constriction of the ventral or lateral wall of the segmental duct, which subsequently becomes hollow, and acquires an opening into the body-cavity _quite independent of the openings of the head-kidney_. the similarity in development and structure between the head-kidney in amphibia and the body we have identified as such in aves, is to our minds too striking to be denied. both consist of two parts--( ) a somewhat convoluted longitudinal canal, with a certain number of peritoneal openings; ( ) a vascular prominence at the root of the mesentery, which forms a glomerulus. as to the identity in position of the two organs we hope to deal with that more fully in speaking of the general structure of the excretory system, but may say that one of us[ ] has already, on other grounds, attempted to shew that the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct in the bird is the homologue of the abdominal opening of the segmental duct in amphibia, elasmobranchii, &c., and that we believe that this homology will be admitted by most anatomists. if this homology is admitted, the identity in position of this organ in aves and amphibia necessarily follows. the most striking difference between aves and amphibia in relation to these structures is the fact that in aves the anterior pore of the head-kidney remains as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct, while in amphibia, the pores of the head-kidney atrophy, and an entirely fresh abdominal opening is formed for the müllerian duct. footnote : balfour, "origin and history of urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journal of anat. and phys._ vol. x., and _monograph on elasmobranch fishes._ [this edition nos. vii. and x.] ii. _the growth of the müllerian duct._ although a great variety of views have been expressed by different observers on the growth of the müllerian duct, it is now fairly generally admitted that it grows in the space between a portion of the thickened germinal epithelium and the wolffian duct, but quite independently of both of them. both braun and egli, who have specially directed their attention to this point, have for reptilia and mammalia fully confirmed the views of previous observers. we were, nevertheless, induced, partly on account of the _à priori_ difficulties of this view, and partly by certain peculiar appearances which we observed, to undertake the re-examination of this point, and have found ourselves unable altogether to accept the general account. we propose first describing, in as matter-of-fact a way as possible, the actual observations we have made, and then stating what conclusions we think may be drawn from these observations. we have found it necessary to distinguish three stages in the growth of the müllerian duct. our first stage embraces the period prior to the disappearance of the head-kidney. at this stage the structure we have already spoken of as the rudiment of the müllerian duct consists of a solid rod of cells, continuous with the third groove of the head-kidney. it extends through a very few sections, and terminates by a fine point of about two cells, wedged in between the wolffian duct and germinal epithelium (described above, nos. - , series a, plate ). in an embryo slightly older than the above, such as that from which series b was taken, but still belonging to our first stage, a definite lumen appears in the anterior part of the müllerian duct, which vanishes after a few sections. the duct terminates in a point which lies in a concavity of the wall of the wolffian duct (plate , nos. and , series g). the limits of the wolffian wall and the pointed termination of the müllerian duct are in many instances quite distinct; but the outline of the wolffian duct appears to be carried round the müllerian duct, and in some instances the terminal point of the müllerian duct seems almost to form an integral part of the wall of the wolffian duct. the second of our stages corresponds with that in which the atrophy of the head-kidney is nearly complete (series d and h, plate ). the müllerian duct has by this stage made a very marked progress in its growth towards the cloaca, and, in contradistinction to the earlier stage, a lumen is now continued close up to the terminal point of the duct. in the two or three sections before it ends it appears as a distinct oval mass of cells (no. , series d, and no. , series h), without a lumen, lying between and touching the external wall of the wolffian duct on the one hand, and the germinal epithelium on the other. it may either lie on the ventral side of the wolffian duct (series d), or on the outer side (series h), but in either case is opposite the maximum thickening of that part of the germinal epithelium which always accompanies the müllerian duct in its backward growth. in the last section in which any trace of the müllerian duct can be made out (series d, no. , and series h, no. ), it has no longer an oval, well-defined contour, but appears to have completely fused with the wall of the wolffian duct, which is accordingly very thick, and occupies the space which in the previous section was filled by its own wall and the müllerian duct. in the following section the thickening in the wall of the wolffian duct has disappeared (plate , series h, no. ), and every trace of the müllerian duct has vanished from view. the wolffian duct is on one side in contact with the germinal epithelium. the stage during which the condition above described lasts is not of long duration, but is soon succeeded by our third stage, in which a fresh mode of termination of the müllerian duct is found. (plate , series i.) this last stage remains up to about the close of the sixth day, beyond which our investigations do not extend. a typical series of sections through the terminal part of the müllerian duct at this stage presents the following features: a few sections before its termination the müllerian duct appears as a well-defined oval duct lying in contact with the wall of the wolffian duct on the one hand and the germinal epithelium on the other (series i, no. ). gradually, however, as we pass backwards, the müllerian duct dilates; the external wall of the wolffian duct adjoining it becomes greatly thickened and pushed in in its middle part, so as almost to touch the opposite wall of the duct, and so form a bay in which the müllerian duct lies (plate , series i, nos. and ). as soon as the müllerian duct has come to lie in this bay its walls lose their previous distinctness of outline, and the cells composing them assume a curious vacuolated appearance. no well-defined line of separation can any longer be traced between the walls of the wolffian duct and those of the müllerian, but between the two is a narrow clear space traversed by an irregular network of fibres, in some of the meshes of which nuclei are present. the müllerian duct may be traced in this condition for a considerable number of sections, the peculiar features above described becoming more and more marked as its termination is approached. it continues to dilate and attains a maximum size in the section or so before it disappears. a lumen may be observed in it up to its very end, but is usually irregular in outline and frequently traversed by strands of protoplasm. the müllerian duct finally terminates quite suddenly (plate , series i, no. ), and in the section immediately behind its termination the wolffian duct assumes its normal appearance, and the part of its outer wall on the level of the müllerian duct comes into contact with the germinal epithelium (plate , series i, no. ). we have traced the growing point of the müllerian duct with the above features till not far from the cloaca, but we have not followed the last phases of its growth and its final opening into the cloaca. in some of our embryos we have noticed certain rather peculiar structures, an example of which is represented at _y_ in fig. k, taken from an embryo of hours, in which all traces of the head-kidney had disappeared. it consists of a cord of cells, connecting the wolffian duct and the hind end of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct. at the least one similar cord was met with in the same embryo, situated just behind the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct. we have found similar structures in other embryos of about the same age, though never so well marked as in the embryo from which fig. k is taken. we have quite failed to make out the meaning, if any, of them. our interpretation of the appearances we have described in connection with the growth of the müllerian duct can be stated in a very few words. our second stage, where the solid point of the müllerian duct terminates by fusing with the walls of the wolffian duct, we interpret as meaning that the müllerian is growing backwards as a solid rod of cells, split off from the outer wall of the wolffian duct; in the same manner, in fact, as in amphibia and elasmobranchii. the condition of the terminal part of the müllerian duct during our third stage cannot, we think, be interpreted in the same way, but the peculiarities of the cells of both müllerian and wolffian ducts, and the indistinctness of the outlines between them, appear to indicate that the müllerian duct grows by cells passing from the wolffian duct to it. in fact, although in a certain sense the growth of the two ducts is independent, yet the actual cells which assist in the growth of the müllerian duct are, we believe, derived from the walls of the wolffian duct. iii. _general considerations._ the excretory system of a typical vertebrate consists of the following parts:-- . a head-kidney with the characters already described. . a duct for the head-kidney--the segmental duct. . a posterior kidney--(wolffian body, permanent kidney, &c. the nature and relation of these parts we leave out of consideration, as they have no bearing upon our present investigations). the primitive duct for the wolffian body is the segmental duct. . the segmental duct may become split into (_a_) a dorsal or inner duct, which serves as ureter (in the widest sense of the word); and (_b_) a ventral or outer duct, which has an opening into the body-cavity, and serves as the generative duct for the female, or for both sexes. these parts exhibit considerable variations both in their structure and development, into some of which it is necessary for us to enter. the head-kidney[ ] attains to its highest development in the marsipobranchii (myxine, bdellostoma). it consists of a longitudinal canal, from the ventral side of which numerous tubules pass. these tubules, after considerable subdivision, open by a large number of apertures into the pericardial cavity. from the longitudinal canal a few dorsal diverticula, provided with glomeruli, are given off. in the young the longitudinal canal is continued into the segmental duct; but this connection becomes lost in the adult. the head-kidney remains, however, through life. in teleostei and ganoidei (?) the head-kidney is generally believed to remain through life, as the dilated cephalic portion of the kidneys when such is present. in petromyzon and amphibia the head-kidney atrophies. in elasmobranchii the head-kidney, so far as is known, is absent. footnote : i am inclined to give up the view i formerly expressed with reference to the head-kidney and segmental duct, viz. "that they were to be regarded as the most anterior segmental tube, the peritoneal opening of which had become divided, and which had become prolonged backwards so as to serve as the duct for the posterior segmental tubes," and _provisionally_ to accept the gegenbaur-fürbringer view which has been fully worked out and ably argued for by fürbringer (_loc. cit._ p. ). according to this view the head-kidney and its duct are to be looked on as the primitive and unsegmented part of the excretory system, more or less similar to the excretory system of many trematodes and unsegmented vermes. the segmental tubes i regard as a truly segmental part of the excretory system acquired subsequently.--f. m. b. the development of the segmental duct and head-kidney (when present) is still more important for our purpose than their adult structure. in myxine the development of these structures is not known. in amphibia and teleostei it takes place upon the same type, viz. by the conversion of a groove-like invagination of the peritoneal epithelium into a canal open in front. the head-kidney is developed from the anterior end of this canal, the opening of which remains in teleostei single and closes early in embryonic life, but becomes in amphibia divided into two, three, or four openings. in elasmobranchii the development is very different. "the first trace of the urinary system makes its appearance as a knob springing from the intermediate cell-mass opposite the fifth protovertebra. this knob is the rudiment of the abdominal opening of the segmental duct, and from it there grows backwards to the level of the anus a solid column of cells, which constitutes the rudiment of the segmental duct itself. the knob projects towards the epiblast, and the column connected with it lies between the mesoblast and epiblast. the knob and column do not long remain solid, but the former acquires an opening into the body-cavity continuous with a lumen, which makes its appearance in the latter." the difference in the development of the segmental duct in the two types (amphibia and elasmobranchii) is very important. in the one case a continuous groove of the peritoneal epithelium becomes constricted into a canal, in the other a solid knob of cells is continued into a rod, at first solid, which grows backwards without any apparent relation to the peritoneal epithelium[ ]. footnote : in a note on p. of his memoir fürbringer criticises my description of the mode of growth of the segmental duct. the following is a free translation of what he says: "in balfour's, as in other descriptions, an account is given of a backward growth, which easily leads to the supposition of a structure formed anteriorly forcing its way through the tissues behind. this is, however, not the case, since, to my knowledge, no author has ever detected a sharp boundary between the growing point of the segmental duct (or müllerian duct) and the surrounding tissues." he goes on to say that "the growth in these cases really takes place by a differentiation of tissue along a line in the region of the peritoneal cavity." although i fully admit that it would be far easier to homologise the development of the segmental duct in amphibia and elasmobranchii according to this view, i must nevertheless vindicate the accuracy of my original account. i have looked over my specimens again, since the appearance of dr fürbringer's paper, and can find no evidence of the end of the duct becoming continuous with the adjoining mesoblastic tissues. in the section, before its disappearance, the segmental duct may, so far as i can make out, be seen as a very small but distinct rod, which is much more closely connected with the epiblast than with any other layer. from gasser's observations on the wolffian duct in the bird, i am led to conclude that it behaves in the same way as the segmental duct in the elasmobranchii. i will not deny that it is possible that the growth of the duct takes place by wandering cells, but on this point i have no evidence, and must therefore leave the question an open one.--f. m. b. the abdominal aperture of the segmental duct in elasmobranchii, in that it becomes the permanent abdominal opening of the oviduct, corresponds physiologically rather with the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct than with that of the segmental duct of amphibia, which, after becoming divided up to form the pores of the head-kidney, undergoes atrophy. morphologically, however, it appears to correspond with the opening of the segmental duct in amphibia. we shall allude to this point more than once again, and give our grounds for the above view on p. . the development of the segmental duct in elasmobranchii as a solid rod is, we hope to shew, of special importance for the elucidation of the excretory system of aves. the development of these parts of petromyzon is not fully known, but from w. müller's account (_jenaische zeitschrift_, ) it would seem that an anterior invagination of the peritoneal epithelium is continued backwards as a duct (segmental duct), and that the anterior opening subsequently becomes divided up into the various apertures of the head-kidney. if this account is correct, petromyzon presents a type intermediate between amphibia and elasmobranchii. in certain types, viz. marsipobranchii and teleostei, the segmental duct becomes the duct for the posterior kidney (segmental tubes), but otherwise undergoes no further differentiation. in the majority of types, however, the case is different. in amphibia[ ], as has already been mentioned, a solid rod of cells is split off from its ventral wall, which afterwards becomes hollow, acquires an opening into the body-cavity, and forms the müllerian duct. footnote : fürbringer, _loc. cit._ in elasmobranchii the segmental duct undergoes a more or less similar division. "it becomes longitudinally split into two complete ducts in the female, and one complete duct and parts of a second in the male. the resulting ducts are ( ) the wolffian duct dorsally, which remains continuous with the excretory tubules of the kidney, and ventrally ( ) the oviduct or müllerian duct in the female, and the rudiments of this duct in the male. in the female the formation of these ducts takes place by a nearly solid rod of cells, being gradually split off from the ventral side of all but the foremost part of the original segmental duct, with the short undivided anterior part of which duct it is continuous in front. into it a very small portion of the lumen of the original segmental duct is perhaps continued. the remainder of the segmental duct (after the loss of its anterior section and the part split off from its ventral side) forms the wolffian duct. the process of formation of the ducts in the male chiefly differs from that in the female, in the fact of the anterior undivided part of the segmental duct, which forms the front end of the müllerian duct, being shorter, and in the column of cells with which it is continuous being from the first incomplete." it will be seen from the above that the müllerian duct consists of two distinct parts--an anterior part with the abdominal opening, and a posterior part split off from the segmental duct. this double constitution of the müllerian duct is of great importance for a proper understanding of what takes place in the bird. the müllerian duct appears therefore to develop in nearly the same manner in the amphibian and elasmobranch type, as a solid or nearly solid rod split off from the ventral wall of the segmental duct. but there is one important difference concerning the abdominal opening of the duct. in amphibia this is a new formation, but in elasmobranchii it is the original opening of the segmental duct. although we admit that in a large number of points, including the presence of a head-kidney, the urinogenital organs of amphibia are formed on a lower type than those of the elasmobranchii, yet it appears to us that this does not hold good for the development of the müllerian duct. the above description will, we trust, be sufficient to render clear our views upon the development of the excretory system in aves. in the bird the excretory system consists of the following parts (using the ordinary nomenclature) which are developed in the order below. . wolffian duct. . wolffian body. . head-kidney. . müllerian duct. . permanent kidney and ureter. about and we shall have nothing to say in the sequel. we have already in the early part of the paper given an account of the head-kidney and müllerian duct, but it will be necessary for us to say a few words about the development of the wolffian duct (so called). without entering into the somewhat extended literature on the subject, we may state that we consider that the recent paper of dr gasser[ ] supplies us with the best extant account of the development of the wolffian duct. footnote : _arch. für mic. anat._ vol. xiv. the first trace of it, which he finds, is visible in an embryo with eight protovertebræ as a slight projection from the intermediate cell mass towards the epiblast in the region of the three hindermost protovertebræ. in the next stage, with eleven protovertebræ, the solid rudiment of the duct extends from the fifth to the eleventh protovertebra, from the eighth to the eleventh protovertebra it lies between the epiblast and mesoblast, and is quite distinct from both, and dr gasser distinctly states that in its growth backwards from the eighth protovertebra the wolffian duct never comes into continuity with the adjacent layers. in the region of the fifth protovertebra, where the duct was originally continuous with the mesoblast, it has now become free, but is still attached in the region of the sixth and to the eighth protovertebra. in an embryo with fourteen protovertebræ the duct extends from the fourth to the fourteenth protovertebra, and is now free between epiblast and mesoblast for its whole extent. it is still for the most part solid though perhaps a small lumen is present in its middle part. in the succeeding stages the lumen of the duct gradually extends backwards and forwards, the duct itself also passes inwards till it acquires its final position close to the peritoneal epithelium; at the same time its hind end elongates till it comes into connection with the cloacal section of the hind-gut. it should be noted that the duct in its backward growth does not appear to come into continuity with the subjacent mesoblast, but behaves in this respect exactly as does the segmental duct in elasmobranchii (vide note on p. ). the question which we propose to ourselves is the following:--what are the homologies of the parts of the avian urinogenital system above enumerated? the wolffian duct appears to us morphologically to correspond _in part_ to the segmental duct[ ], or what fürbringer would call the duct of the head-kidney. this may seem a paradox, since in birds it never comes into relation with the head-kidney. nevertheless we consider that this homology is morphologically established, for the following reasons:-- footnote : the views here expressed about the wolffian duct are nearly though not exactly those which one of us previously put forward ("urinogenital organs of vertebrates," &c., pp. - ) [this edition, pp. , ], and with which fürbringer appears exactly to agree. possibly dr fürbringer would alter his view on this point were he to accept the facts we believe ourselves to have discovered. semper's view also differs from ours, in that he believes the wolffian duct to correspond in its entirety with the segmental duct. ( ) that the wolffian duct gives rise (vide _supra_, p. ) to the müllerian duct as well as to the duct of the wolffian body. in this respect it behaves precisely as does the segmental duct of elasmobranchii and amphibia. that it serves as the duct for the wolffian body, before the müllerian duct originates from it, is also in accordance with what takes place in other types. ( ) that it develops in a strikingly similar manner to the segmental duct of elasmobranchii. we stated expressly that the wolffian duct corresponded only in part to the segmental duct. it does not, in fact, in our opinion, correspond to the whole segmental duct, but to the segmental duct minus the anterior abdominal opening in elasmobranchii, which becomes the head-kidney in other types. in fact, we suppose that the segmental duct and head-kidney, which in the ichthyopsida develop as a single formation, develop in the bird as two distinct structures--one of these known as the wolffian duct, and the other the head-kidney. if our view about the head-kidney is accepted the above position will hardly require to be disputed, but we may point out that the only feature in which the wolffian duct of the bird differs in development from the segmental duct of elasmobranchii is in the absence of the knob, which forms the commencement of the segmental duct, and in which the abdominal opening is formed; so that the comparison of the development of the duct in the two types confirms the view arrived at from other considerations. the head-kidney and müllerian duct in the bird must be considered together. the parts which they eventually give rise to after the atrophy of the head-kidney have almost universally been regarded as equivalent to the müllerian duct of the ichthyopsida. by braun[ ], however, who from his researches on the lizard satisfied himself of the entire independence of the müllerian and wolffian ducts in the amniota, the müllerian duct of these forms is regarded as a completely new structure with no genetic relations to the müllerian duct of the ichthyopsida. semper[ ], on the other hand, though he accepts the homology of the müllerian duct in the ichthyopsida and amniota, is of opinion that the anterior part of the müllerian duct in the amniota is really derived from the wolffian duct, though he apparently admits the independent growth of the posterior part of the müllerian duct. we have been led by our observations, as well as by our theoretical deductions, to adopt a view exactly the reverse of that of professor semper. we believe that the anterior part of the müllerian duct of aves, which is at first the head-kidney, and subsequently becomes the abdominal opening of the duct, is developed from the peritoneal epithelium independently of all other parts of the excretory system; but that the posterior part of the duct is more or less completely derived from the walls of the wolffian duct. this view is clearly in accordance with our account of the facts of development in aves, and it fits in very well with the development of the müllerian duct in elasmobranchii. we have already pointed out that in elasmobranchii the müllerian duct is formed of two factors--( ) of the whole anterior extremity of the segmental duct, including its abdominal opening; ( ) of a rod split off from the ventral side of the segmental duct. in birds the anterior part (corresponding to factor no. ) of the müllerian duct has a different origin from the remainder; so that if the development of the posterior part of the duct (factor no. ) were to proceed in the same manner in birds and elasmobranchii, it ought to be formed at the expense of the wolffian (_i.e._ segmental) duct, though in connection anteriorly with the head-kidney. and this is what actually appears to take place. footnote : "urogenital-system d. reptilien," _arb. aus d. zool.-zoot. inst. würzburg_, vol. iv. footnote : _loc. cit._ so far the homologies of the avian excretory system are fairly clear; but there are still some points which have to be dealt with in connection with the permanent opening of the müllerian duct, and the relatively posterior position of the head-kidney. with reference to the first of these points the facts of the case are the following:-- in amphibia the permanent opening of the müllerian duct is formed as an independent opening after the atrophy of the head-kidney. in elasmobranchii the original opening of the segmental duct forms the permanent opening of the müllerian duct and no head-kidney appears to be formed. in birds the anterior of the three openings of the head-kidney remains as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. with reference to the difficulties involved in there being apparently three different modes in which the permanent opening of the müllerian duct is formed, we would suggest the following considerations: the history of the development of the excretory system teaches us that primitively the segmental duct must have served as efferent duct both for the generative products and kidney secretion (just as the wolffian duct still does for the testicular products and secretion of the wolffian body in elasmobranchii and amphibia); and further, that at first the generative products entered the segmental duct from the abdominal cavity by one or more of the abdominal openings of the kidney (almost certainly of the head-kidney). that the generative products did not enter the segmental duct at first by an opening specially developed for them appears to us to follow from dohrn's principle of the transmutation of function (_functionswechsel_). as a consequence (by a process of natural selection) of the segmental duct having both a generative and a urinary function, a further differentiation took place, by which that duct became split into two--a ventral müllerian duct and dorsal wolffian duct. the müllerian duct without doubt was continuous with the head-kidney, and so with the abdominal opening or openings of the head-kidney which served as generative pores. at first the segmental duct was probably split longitudinally into two equal portions, but the generative function of the müllerian duct gradually impressed itself more and more upon the embryonic development, so that, in the course of time, the müllerian duct developed less and less at the expense of the wolffian duct. this process appears partly to have taken place in elasmobranchii, and still more in amphibia; the amphibia offering in this respect a less primitive condition than elasmobranchii; while in aves it has been carried even further. the abdominal opening no doubt also became specialised. at first it is quite possible that more than one abdominal pore may have served for the generative products; one of which, no doubt, eventually came to function alone. in amphibia the specialisation of the opening appears to have gone so far that it no longer has any relation to the head-kidney, and even develops after the atrophy of the head-kidney. in elasmobranchii, on the other hand, the functional opening appears at a period when we should expect the head-kidney to develop. this state is very possibly the result of a differentiation (along a different line to that in amphibia) by which the head-kidney gradually ceased to become developed, but by which the primitive opening (which in the development of the head-kidney used to be divided into several pores leading into the body-cavity) remained undivided and served as the abdominal aperture of the müllerian duct. aves, finally, appear to have become differentiated along a third line; since in their ancestors the anterior pore of the head-kidney appears to have become specialised as the permanent opening of the müllerian duct. with reference to the posterior position of the head-kidney in aves we have only to remark, that a change in position of the head-kidney might easily take place after it acquired an independent development. the fact that it is slightly behind the glomerulus would seem to indicate, on the one hand, that it has already ceased to be of any functional importance; and, on the other, that the shifting has been due to its having a connection with the müllerian duct. we have made a few observations on the development of the müllerian duct in _lacerta muralis_, which have unfortunately led us to no decided conclusions. in a fairly young stage in the development of the müllerian duct (the youngest we have met with), no trace of a head-kidney could be observed, but the character of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct was very similar to that figured by braun[ ]. as to the backward growth of the müllerian duct, we can only state that the solid point of the duct in the young stages is in contact with the wall of the wolffian duct, and the relation between the two is rather like that figured by fürbringer (pl. , figs. - ) in amphibia. footnote : _loc. cit._ description of plates and . complete list of reference letters. _ao._ aorta. _cv._ cardinal vein. _gl._ glomerulus. _gr_ . first groove of head-kidney. _gr_ . second groove of head-kidney. _gr_ . third groove of head-kidney. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _mrb._ malpighian body. _me._ mesentery. _md._ müllerian duct. _r_ . first ridge of head-kidney. _r_ . second ridge of head-kidney. _r_ . third ridge of head-kidney. _wd._ wolffian duct. _x._ fold in germinal epithelium. plate . series a. sections through the head-kidney at our second stage. zeiss , ocul. (reduced one-third). the second and third grooves are represented with the ridge connecting them, and the rod of cells running backwards for a short distance. no. . section through the second groove. no. . section through the ridge connecting the second and third grooves. no. . section passing through the same ridge at a point nearer the third groove. nos. , , . sections through the third groove. no. . section through the point where the third groove passes into the solid rod of cells. no. . section through the rod when quite separated from the germinal epithelium. no. . section very near the termination of the rod. no. . last section in which any trace of the rod is seen. series b. sections passing through the head-kidney at our third stage. zeiss c, ocul. . our figures are representations of the following sections of the series, section being the first which passes through the anterior groove of the head-kidney. no. section . no. section . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . the müllerian duct extends through eleven more sections. the first groove (_gr_ .) extends to no. . the second groove (_gr_ .) extends from no. to no. . the third groove (_gr_ .) extends from no. to no. . the first ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. to no. . the second ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. to no. . the third ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. backwards through twelve sections, when it terminates by a pointed extremity. fig. c. section through the ridge connecting the second and third grooves of the head-kidney of an embryo slightly younger than that from which series b was taken. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). the fold of the germinal epithelium, which gives rise to a deep groove (_x._) external to the head-kidney is well marked. series g. sections through the rod of cells constituting the termination of the müllerian duct at a stage in which the head-kidney is still present. zeiss c, ocul. . plate . series d. sections chosen at intervals from a complete series traversing the peritoneal opening of the müllerian duct, the remnant of the head-kidney, and the termination of the müllerian duct. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). nos. and . sections through the persistent anterior opening of the head-kidney (abdominal opening of müllerian duct). the approach of the wolffian duct to the groove may be seen by a comparison of these two figures. in the sections in front of these (not figured) the two are much more widely separated than in no. . no. . section through the müllerian duct, just posterior to the persistent opening. nos. and . remains of the ridges, which at an earlier stage connected the first and second grooves, are seen passing from the müllerian duct to the peritoneal epithelium. no. . rudiment of the second groove (_gr_ .) of the head-kidney. between and is a considerable interval. no. . all traces of this groove (_gr_ .) have vanished, and the müllerian duct is quite disconnected from the epithelium. no. . rudiment of the third groove (_gr_ .). no. . müllerian duct quite free in the space between the peritoneal epithelium and the wolffian duct, in which condition it extends until near its termination. between nos. and is an interval of eight sections. no. . the penultimate section, in which the müllerian duct is seen. a lumen cannot be clearly made out. no. . the last section in which any trace of the müllerian duct is visible. no line of demarcation can be seen separating the solid end of the müllerian duct from the ventral wall of the wolffian duct. figs. e. and f. sections through the glomerulus of the head-kidney from an embryo prior to the appearance of the head-kidney. zeiss b, ocul. . a comparison of the two figures shows the variation in the thickness of the stalk of the glomerulus. e. section anterior to the foremost malpighian body. f. section through both the glomerulus of the head-kidney and that of a malpighian body. the two are seen to be connected. series h. consecutive sections through the hind end of the müllerian duct, from an embryo in which the head-kidney was only represented by a rudiment. (the embryo was, perhaps, very slightly older than that from which series d was taken.) zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). no. . müllerian duct is without a lumen, and quite distinct from the wolffian wall. no. . the solid end of the müllerian duct is no longer distinct from the internal wall of the wolffian duct. no. . all trace of the müllerian duct has vanished. series i. sections through the hinder end of the müllerian duct from an embryo of about the middle of the sixth day. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). no. . the müllerian duct is distinct and small. no. . is posterior by twelve sections to no. . the müllerian duct is dilated, and its cells are vacuolated. no. . penultimate section, in which the müllerian duct is visible; it is separated by three sections from no. . no. . last section in which any trace of the müllerian duct is visible; the lumen, which was visible in the previous section, is now absent. no. . no trace of müllerian duct. nos. , , and are consecutive sections. fig. k. section through the hind end of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct of a chick of hours. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). it illustrates the peculiar cord connecting the müllerian and wolffian ducts. xiv. on the early development of the lacertilia, together with some observations on the nature and relations of the primitive streak[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xix. . (with plate .) till quite recently no observations were recorded on the early developmental changes of the reptilian ovum. not long ago professors kupffer and benecke published a preliminary note on the early development of _lacerta agilis_ and _emys europea_[ ]. i have myself also been able to make some observations on the embryo of _lacerta muralis_. the number of my embryos has been somewhat limited, and most of those which i have had have been preserved in bichromate of potash, which has turned out a far from satisfactory hardening reagent. in spite of these difficulties i have been led on some points to very different results from those of the german investigators, and to results which are more in accordance with what we know of other sauropsidan types. i commence with a short account of the results of kupffer and benecke. footnote : _die erste entwicklungsvorgänge am ei der reptilien_, königsberg, . segmentation takes place exactly as in birds, and the resulting blastoderm, which is thickened at its edge, spreads rapidly over the yolk. shortly before the yolk is half enclosed a small embryonic shield (area pellucida) makes its appearance in the centre of the blastoderm, which has, in the meantime, become divided into two layers. the upper of these is the epiblast, and the lower the hypoblast. the embryonic shield is mainly distinguished from the remainder of the blastoderm by the more columnar character of its constituent epiblast cells. it is somewhat pyriform in shape, the narrower end corresponding with the future posterior end of the embryo. at the narrow end an invagination takes place, which gives rise to an open sac, the blind end of which is directed forwards. the opening of this sac is regarded by the authors as the blastopore. a linear thickening of epiblast arises in front of the blastopore, along the median line of which the medullary groove soon appears. in the caudal region the medullary folds spread out and enclose between them the blastopore, behind which they soon meet again. on the conversion of the medullary groove into a closed canal the blastopore becomes obliterated. the mesoblast grows out from the lip of the blastopore as four masses. two of these are lateral: a third is anterior and median, and, although at first independent of the epiblast, soon attaches itself to it, and forms with it a kind of axis-cord. a fourth mass applied itself to the walls of the sac formed by invagination. with reference to the very first developmental phenomena my observations are confined to two stages during the segmentation[ ]. in the earliest of these the segmentation was about half completed, in the later one it was nearly over. my observations on these stages bear out generally the statements of kupffer and benecke. in the second of them the blastoderm was already imperfectly divided into two layers--a superficial epiblastic layer formed of a single row of cells, and a layer below this several rows deep. below this layer fresh segments were obviously being added to the blastoderm from the subjacent yolk. footnote : for these two specimens, which were hardened in picric acid, i am indebted to dr kleinenberg. between the second of these blastoderms and my next stage there is a considerable gap. the medullary plate is just established, and is marked by a shallow groove which becomes deeper in front. a section through the embryo is represented in pl. , series a, fig. . in this figure there may be seen the thickened medullary plate with a shallow medullary groove, below which are two independent plates of mesoblast (_me.p._), one on each side of the middle line, very imperfectly divided into somatopleuric and splanchnopleuric layers. below the mesoblast is a continuous layer of hypoblast (_hy._), which develops a rod-like thickening along the axial line (_ch._). this rod becomes in the next stage the notochord. although this embryo is not well preserved i feel very confident in asserting the continuity of the notochord with the hypoblast at this stage. at the hind end of the embryo is placed a thickened ridge of tissue which continues the embryonic axis. in this ridge all the layers coalesce, _and i therefore take it to be equivalent to the primitive streak of the avian blastoderm_. it is somewhat triangular in shape, with the apex directed backward, the broad base placed in front. at the junction between the primitive streak and the blastoderm is situated a passage, open at both extremities, leading from the upper surface of the blastoderm obliquely forwards to the lower. the dorsal and anterior wall of this passage is formed of a distinct epithelial layer, continuous at its upper extremity with the epiblast, and at its lower with the notochordal plate, so that it forms a layer of cells connecting together the epiblast and hypoblast. the hinder and lower wall of the passage is formed by the cells of the primitive streak, which only assume a columnar form near the dorsal opening of the passage (vide fig. ). this passage is clearly the blind sac of kupffer and benecke, who, if i am not mistaken, have overlooked its lower opening. as i hope to show in the sequel, it is also the equivalent of the neurenteric passage, which connects the neural and alimentary canals in the ichthyopsida, and therefore represents the blastopore of amphioxus, amphibians, &c. series a, figs. , , , , illustrate the features of the passage and its relation to the embryo. fig. passes through the ventral opening of the passage. the notochordal plate (_ch´._) is vaulted over the opening, and on the left side is continuous with the mesoblast as well as the hypoblast. figs. and are taken through the middle part of the passage (_ne._), which is bounded above by a continuation of the notochordal plate, and below by the tissue of the primitive streak. the hypoblast (_hy._), in the middle line, is imperfectly fused with the mesoblast of the primitive streak, which is now continuous across the middle line. the medullary groove has disappeared, but the medullary plate (_mp._) is quite distinct. in fig. is seen the dorsal opening of the passage (_ne._). if a section behind this had been figured, as is done for the next series (b), it would have passed through the primitive streak, and, as in the chick, all the layers would have been fused together. the epiblast in the primitive streak completely coalesces with the mesoblast; but the hypoblast, though attached to the other layers in the middle line, can always be traced as a distinct stratum. fig. b is a surface view of my next oldest embryo. the medullary groove has become much deeper, especially in front. behind it widens out to form a space equivalent to the sinus rhomboidalis of the embryo bird. the amnion forms a small fold covering over the cephalic extremity of the embryo, which is deeply embedded in the yolk. some somites (protovertebræ) were probably present, but this could not be made out in the opaque embryo. [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal section of an embryo of lacerta. _pp._ body-cavity. _am._ amnion. _ne._ neurenteric canal. _ch._ notochord. _hy._ hypoblast. _ep._ epiblast. _pr._ primitive streak.] the woodcut (fig. ) represents a diagrammatic longitudinal section through this embryo, and the sections belonging to series b illustrate the features of the hind end of the embryo and of the primitive streak. as is shown in fig. , the notochord (_ch._) has now throughout the region of the embryo become separated from the subjacent hypoblast, and the lateral plates of mesoblast are distinctly divided into somatic and splanchnic layers. the medullary groove is continued as a deepish groove up to the opening of the neurenteric passage, which thus forms a perforation in the floor of the hinder end of the medullary groove (vide series b, figs. , , and ). the passage itself is somewhat shorter than in the previous stage, and the whole of it is shown in a single section (fig. ). this section must either have been taken somewhat obliquely, or else the passage have been exceptionally short in this embryo, since in an older embryo it could not all be seen in one section. the front wall of the passage is continuous with the notochord, which for two sections or so in front remains attached to the hypoblast (figs. and ). behind the perforation in the floor of the medullary groove is placed the primitive streak (fig. ), where all the layers become fused together, as in the earlier stage. into this part a narrow diverticulum from the end of the medullary groove is continued for a very short distance (vide fig. , _mc._). the general features of the stage will best be understood by an examination of the diagrammatic longitudinal section, represented in woodcut, fig. . in front is shown the amnion (_am._), growing over the head of the embryo. the notochord (_ch._) is seen as an independent cord for the greater part of the length of the embryo, but falls into the hypoblast shortly in front of the neurenteric passage. the neurenteric passage is shown at _ne._, and behind it is shown the primitive streak. in a still older stage, represented in surface view on pl. , fig. c, the medullary folds have nearly met above, but have not yet united. the features of the passage from the neural groove to the hypoblast are precisely the same in the embryo just described, although the lumen of the passage has become somewhat narrower. there is still a short primitive streak behind the embryo. the neurenteric passage persists but a very short time after the complete closure of the medullary canal. it is in no way connected with the allantois, as conjectured by kupffer and benecke, but the allantois is formed, as i have satisfied myself by longitudinal sections of a later stage, in the manner already described by dobrynin, gasser, and kölliker for the bird and mammal. the general results of kupffer's and benecke's observations, with the modifications introduced by my own observations, are as follows:--after the segmentation and the formation of the embryonic shield (area pellucida) the blastoderm becomes distinctly divided into epiblast and hypoblast[ ]. at the hind end of the shield a somewhat triangular primitive streak is formed by the fusion of the epiblast and hypoblast with a number of cells between them, which are probably derived from the lower rows of the segmentation cells. at the front end of the streak a passage arises, open at both extremities, leading obliquely forwards through the epiblast to the space below the hypoblast. the walls of the passage are formed of a layer of columnar cells continuous both with epiblast and hypoblast. in front of the primitive streak the body of the embryo becomes first differentiated by the formation of a medullary plate, and at the same time there grows out from the primitive streak a layer of mesoblast, which spreads out in all directions between the epiblast and hypoblast. in the axis of the embryo the mesoblast plate is stated by kupffer and benecke to be continuous across the middle line, but this appears very improbable. in a slightly later stage the medullary plate becomes marked by a shallow groove, and the mesoblast of the embryo is then undoubtedly constituted of two lateral plates, one on each side of the median line. in the median line the notochord arises as a ridge-like thickening of the hypoblast, which becomes very soon quite separated from the hypoblast, except at the hind end, where it is continued into the front wall of the neurenteric passage. it is interesting to notice the remarkable relation of the notochord to the walls of the neurenteric passage. more or less similar relations are also well marked in the case of the goose and the fowl (gasser)[ ], and support the conclusion deducible from the lower forms of vertebrata, that the notochord is essentially hypoblastic. footnote : this appears to me to take place before the formation of the embryonic shield. footnote : gasser, _der primitivstreifen bei vogelembryonen_, marburg, . the passage at the front end of the primitive streak forms the posterior boundary of the medullary plate, though the medullary groove is not at first continued back to it. the anterior wall of this passage connects together the medullary plate and the notochordal ridge of the hypoblast. in the succeeding stages the medullary groove becomes continued back to the opening of the passage, which then becomes enclosed in the medullary folds, and forms a true neurenteric passage. it becomes narrowed as the medullary folds finally unite to form the medullary canal, and eventually disappears. i conclude this paper with a concise statement of what appears to me the probable nature of the much-disputed organ, the primitive streak, and of the arguments in support of my view. in a paper on the primitive streak in the _quart. journ. of mic. sci._, in (p. ) [this edition, p. ], i made the following statement with reference to this subject:--"it is clear, therefore, that the primitive groove must be the rudiment of some ancestral feature.... it is just possible that it is the last trace of that involution of the epiblast by which the hypoblast is formed in most of the lower animals." at a later period, in july, , after studying the development of elasmobranch fishes, i enlarged the hypothesis in a review of the first part of prof. kölliker's _entwicklungsgeschichte_. the following is the passage in which i speak of it[ ]: footnote : _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. x. pp. and . compare also my _monograph on elasmobranch fishes_, note on p. [this edition, p. ]. "in treating of the exact relation of the primitive groove to the formation of the embryo, professor kölliker gives it as his view that though the head of the embryo is formed independently of the primitive groove, and only secondarily unites with this, yet that the remainder of the body is without doubt derived from the primitive groove. with this conclusion we cannot agree, and the very descriptions of professor kölliker appear to us to demonstrate the untenable nature of his results. we believe that the front end of the primitive groove at first occupies the position eventually filled by about the third pair of protovertebræ, but that as the protovertebræ are successively formed, and the body of the embryo grows in length, the primitive groove is carried further and further back, so as always to be situated immediately behind the embryo. as professor kölliker himself has shewn it may still be seen in this position even later than the fortieth hour of incubation. "throughout the whole period of its existence it retains a character which at once distinguishes it in sections from the medullary groove. "beneath it the epiblast and mesoblast are _always fused_, though they are always separate elsewhere; this fact, which was originally shewn by ourselves, has been very clearly brought out by professor kölliker's observations. "the features of the primitive groove which throw special light on its meaning are the following:-- "( ) it does not enter directly into the formation of the embryo. "( ) the epiblast and mesoblast always become fused beneath it. "( ) it is situated immediately behind the embryo. "professor kölliker does not enter into any speculations as to the meaning of the primitive groove, but the above-mentioned facts appear to us clearly to prove that the primitive groove is a rudimentary structure, the origin of which can only be completely elucidated by a knowledge of the development of the avian ancestors. "in comparing the blastoderm of a bird with that of any anamniotic vertebrate, we are met at the threshold of our investigations by a remarkable difference between the two. whereas in all the lower vertebrates the embryo is situated at the _edge_ of the blastoderm, it is in birds and mammals situated in the centre. this difference of position at once suggests the view that the primitive groove may be in some way connected with the change of position in the blastoderm which the ancestors of birds must have undergone. if we carry our investigations amongst the lower vertebrates a little further, we find that the elasmobranch embryo occupies at first the normal position at the edge of the blastoderm, but that in the course of development the blastoderm grows round the yolk far more slowly in the region of the embryo than elsewhere. owing to this, the embryo becomes left in a bay, the two sides of which eventually meet and coalesce in a linear fashion immediately behind the embryo, thus removing the embryo from the edge of the blastoderm and forming behind it a linear streak not unlike the primitive streak. we would suggest the hypothesis that the primitive groove is a rudiment which gives the last indication of a change made by the avian ancestors in their position in the blastoderm, like that made by elasmobranch embryos when removed from the edge of the blastoderm and placed in a central situation similar to that of the embryo bird. on this hypothesis the situation of the primitive groove immediately behind the embryo, as well as the fact of its not becoming converted into any embryonic organ would be explained. the central groove might probably also be viewed as the groove naturally left between the coalescing edges of the blastoderm. "would the fusion of epiblast and mesoblast also receive its explanation on this hypothesis? we are of opinion that it would. at the edge of the blastoderm which represents the blastopore mouth of amphioxus all the layers become fused together in the anamniotic vertebrates. so that if the primitive groove is in reality a rudiment of the coalesced edges of the blastoderm, we might naturally expect the layers to be fused there, and the difficulty presented by the present condition of the primitive groove would rather be that the hypoblast is not fused with the other layers than that the mesoblast is indissolubly united with the epiblast. the fact that the hypoblast is not fused with the other layers does not appear to us to be fatal to our hypothesis, and in mammalia, where the primitive and medullary grooves present precisely the same relations as in birds, all three layers are, according to hensen's account, fused together. this, however, is denied by kölliker, who states that in mammals, as in birds, only the epiblast and mesoblast fuse together. our hypothesis as to the origin of the primitive groove appears to explain in a fairly satisfactory manner all the peculiarities of this very enigmatical organ; it also relieves us from the necessity of accepting professor kölliker's explanation of the development of the mesoblast, though it does not, of course, render that explanation in any way untenable." at a somewhat later period rauber arrived at a more or less similar conclusion, which, however, he mixes up with a number of opinions from which i am compelled altogether to dissent[ ]. footnote : "primitivrinne u. urmund," _morphologisches jahrbuch_, band ii. p. . the general correctness of my view, as explained in my second quotation, appears to me completely established by gasser's beautiful researches on the early development of the chick and goose[ ], and by my own observations just recorded on the lizard. while at the same time the parallel between the blastopore of elasmobranchii and of the sauropsida, is rendered more complete by the discovery of the neurenteric passage in the latter group, which was first of all made by gasser. footnote : gasser, _der primitivstreifen bei vogelembryonen_, marburg, . the following paragraphs contain a detailed attempt to establish the above view by a careful comparison of the primitive streak and its adjuncts in the amniotic vertebrates with the blastopore in elasmobranchii. in elasmobranchii the blastopore consists of the following parts:--( ), a section at the end of the medullary plate, which becomes converted into the neurenteric canal[ ]; ( ), a section forming what may be called the yolk blastopore, which eventually constitutes a linear streak connecting the embryo with the edge of the blastoderm (vide monograph on elasmobranch fishes, pp. and ). in order to establish my hypothesis on the nature of the primitive streak, it is necessary to find the representatives of both these parts in the primitive streak of the amniotic vertebrates. the first section ought to appear as a passage from the neural to the enteric side of the blastoderm at the posterior end of the medullary plate. at its front edge the epiblast and hypoblast should be continuous, as they are at the hind end of the embryo in elasmobranchii, and, finally, the passage should, on the closure of the medullary groove, become converted into the _neurenteric canal_. all these conditions are exactly fulfilled by the opening at the front end of the primitive streak of the lizard (vide woodcut, fig. , p. ). in the chick there is at first no such opening, but, as i hope to shew in a future paper, it is replaced by the epiblast and hypoblast falling into one another at the front end of the primitive streak. at a later period, as has been shewn by gasser[ ], there is a distinct rudiment of the neurenteric canal in the chick, and a complete canal in the goose. finally, in mammals, as has been shewn by schäffer[ ] for the guinea-pig, there is at the front end of the primitive streak a complete continuity between epiblast and hypoblast. the continuity of the epiblast and hypoblast at the hind end of the embryo in the bird and the mammal is a rudiment of the continuity of these layers at the dorsal lip of the blastopore in elasmobranchii, amphibia, &c. the second section of the blastopore in elasmobranchii or yolk blastopore is, i believe, partly represented by the primitive streak. the yolk blastopore in elasmobranchii is the part of the blastopore belonging to the yolk sac as opposed to that belonging to the embryo, and it is clear that the primitive streak cannot correspond to the whole of this, since the primitive streak is far removed from the edge of the blastoderm long before the yolk is completely enclosed. leaving this out of consideration the primitive streak, in order that the above comparison may hold good, should satisfy the following conditions: footnote : i use this term for the canal connecting the neural and alimentary tract, which was first discovered by kowalevsky. footnote : _loc. cit._ footnote : "a contribution to the history of the development in the guinea-pig," _journal of anat. and phys._ vol. xi. pp. - . . it should connect the embryo with the edge of the blastoderm. . it should be constituted as if formed of the fused edges of the blastoderm. . the epiblast of it should eventually not form part of the medullary plate of the embryo, but be folded over on to the ventral side. the first of these conditions is only partially fulfilled, but, considering the rudimentary condition of the whole structure, no great stress can, it seems to me, be laid on this fact. the second condition seems to me very completely satisfied. where the two edges of the blastoderm become united we should expect to find a complete fusion of the layers such as takes place in the primitive streak; and the fact that in the primitive streak the hypoblast does not so distinctly coalesce with the mesoblast as the mesoblast with the epiblast cannot be urged as a serious argument against me. the growth outwards of the mesoblast from the axis of the primitive streak is probably a remnant of the invagination of the hypoblast and mesoblast from the lip of the blastopore in amphibia, &c. the groove in the primitive streak may with great plausibility be regarded as the indication of a depression which would naturally be found along the line where the thickened edges of the blastoderm became united. with reference to the third condition, i will make the following observations. the neurenteric canal, as it is placed at the extreme end of the embryo, must necessarily, with reference to the embryo, be the hindermost section of the blastopore, and therefore the part of the blastopore apparently behind this can only be so owing to the embryo not being folded off from the yolk sac; and as the yolk sac is in reality a specialised part of the ventral wall of the body, the yolk blastopore must also be situated on the ventral side of the embryo. kölliker and other distinguished embryologists have believed that the epiblast of the whole of the primitive streak became part of the neural plate. if this view were correct, which is accepted even by rauber, the hypothesis i am attempting to establish would fall to the ground. i have, however, no doubt that these embryologists are mistaken. the very careful observations of gasser shew that the part of the primitive streak adjoining the embryo becomes converted into the tail-swelling, and that the posterior part is folded in on the ventral side of the embryo, and, losing its characteristic structure, forms part of the ventral wall of the body. on this point my own observations confirm those of gasser. in the lizard the early appearance of the neurenteric canal at the front end of the primitive streak clearly shews that here also the primitive streak can take no share in forming the neural plate. the above considerations appear to me sufficient to establish my hypothesis with reference to the nature of the primitive streak, which has the merit of explaining, not only the structural peculiarities of the primitive streak, but also the otherwise inexplicable position of the embryo of the amniotic vertebrates in the centre of the blastoderm. description of plate . complete list of reference letters. _am._ amnion. _ch._ notochord. _ch´._ notochordal thickening of hypoblast. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _m.g._ medullary groove. _me.p._ mesoblastic plate. _ne._ neurenteric canal (blastopore). _pr._ primitive streak. series a. sections through an embryo shortly after the formation of the medullary groove. x [ ]. footnote : the spaces between the layers in these sections are due to the action of the hardening reagent. fig. . section through the trunk of the embryo. figs. - . sections through the neurenteric canal. fig. b. surface view of a somewhat older embryo than that from which series a is taken. x . series b. sections through the embryo represented in fig. b. x . fig. . section through the trunk of the embryo. figs. , . sections through the hind end of the medullary groove. fig. . section through the neurenteric canal. fig. . section through the primitive streak. fig. c. surface view of a somewhat older embryo than that represented in fig. b. x . xv. on certain points in the anatomy of peripatus capensis[ ]. footnote : from the _proceedings of the cambridge philosophical society_, vol. iii. . the discovery by mr moseley[ ] of a tracheal system in peripatus must be reckoned as one of the most interesting results obtained by the naturalists of the "challenger." the discovery clearly proves that the genus peripatus, which is widely distributed over the globe, is the persisting remnant of what was probably a large group of forms, from which the present tracheate arthropoda are descended. footnote : "on the structure and development of _peripatus capensis_," _phil. trans._, vol. clxiv. . the affinities of peripatus render any further light on its anatomy a matter of some interest; and through the kindness of mr moseley i have had an opportunity of making investigations on some well preserved examples of _peripatus capensis_, a few of the results of which i propose to lay before the society. i shall confine my observations to three organs. ( ) the segmental organs, ( ) the nervous system, ( ) the so-called fat bodies of mr moseley. in all the segments of the body, with the exception of the first two or three postoral ones, there are present glandular bodies, apparently equivalent to the segmental organs of annelids. these organs have not completely escaped the attention of previous observers. the anterior of them were noticed by grube[ ], but their relations were not made out. by saenger[ ], as i gather from leuckart's _bericht_ for the years - , these structures were also noticed, and they were interpreted as segmental organs. their external openings were correctly identified. they are not mentioned by moseley, and no notice of them is to be found in the text-books. the observations of grube and saenger seem, in fact, to have been completely forgotten. footnote : "bau von _perip. edwardsii_," _archiv f. anat. u. phys._ . footnote : _moskauer naturforscher sammlung_, abth. zool. . the organs are placed at the bases of the feet in two lateral divisions of the body-cavity shut off from the main central median division of the body-cavity by longitudinal septa of transverse muscles. each fully developed organ consists of three parts: ( ) a dilated vesicle opening externally at the base of a foot. ( ) a coiled glandular tube connected with this and subdivided again into several minor divisions. ( ) a short terminal portion opening at one extremity into the coiled tube ( ) and at the other, as i believe, into the body-cavity. this section becomes very conspicuous in stained preparations by the intensity with which the nuclei of its walls absorb the colouring matter. the segmental organs of peripatus, though formed on a type of their own, more nearly resemble those of the leech than of any other form with which i am acquainted. the annelidan affinities shewn by their presence are of some interest. around the segmental organs in the feet are peculiar cells richly supplied with tracheæ, which appear to me to be similar to the fat bodies in insects. there are two glandular bodies in the feet in addition to the segmental organs. the more obvious features of the nervous system have been fully made out by previous observers, who have shewn that it consists of large paired supra-oesophageal ganglia connected with two widely separated ventral cords--stated by them not to be ganglionated. grube describes the two cords as falling into one another behind the anus--a feature the presence of which is erroneously denied by saenger. the lateral cords are united by numerous ( or for each segment) transverse cords. the nervous system would appear at first sight to be very lowly organised, but the new points i believe myself to have made out, as well as certain previously known features in it appear to me to shew that this is not the case. the following is a summary of the fresh points i have observed in the nervous system: ( ) immediately underneath the oesophagus the oesophageal commissures dilate and form a pair of ganglia equivalent to the annelidan and arthropodan sub-oesophageal ganglia. these ganglia are closely approximated and united by or commissures. they give off large nerves to the oral papillæ. ( ) the ventral nerve cords are covered on their ventral side by a thick ganglionic layer[ ], and at each pair of feet they dilate into a small but distinct _ganglionic swelling_. from each ganglionic swelling are given off a pair of large nerves[ ] to the feet; and the ganglionic swellings of the two cords are connected together by _a pair of commissures containing ganglion cells_[ ]. the other commissures connecting the two cords together do not contain ganglion cells. footnote : this was known to grube, _loc. cit._ footnote : these nerves were noticed by milne-edwards, but grube failed to observe that they were much larger than the nerves given off between the feet. footnote : these commissures were perhaps observed by saenger, _loc. cit._ the chief feature in which peripatus was supposed to differ from normal arthropoda and annelida, viz. the absence of ganglia on the ventral cords, does not really exist. in other particulars, as in the amount of nerve cells in the ventral cords and the completeness of the commissural connections between the two cords, &c., the organisation of the nervous system of peripatus ranks distinctly high. the nervous system lies within the circular and longitudinal muscles, and is thus not in proximity with the skin. in this respect also peripatus shews no signs of a primitive condition of the nervous system. a median nerve is given off from the posterior border of the supra-oesophageal ganglion to the oesophagus, which probably forms a rudimentary sympathetic system. i believe also that i have found traces of a paired sympathetic system. the organ doubtfully spoken of by mr moseley as a fat body, and by grube as a lateral canal, is in reality a glandular tube, lined by beautiful columnar cells containing secretion globules, which opens by means of a non-glandular duct into the mouth. it lies close above the ventral nerve cords in a lateral compartment of the body-cavity, and extends backwards for a varying distance. this organ may perhaps be best compared with the simple salivary gland of julus. it is not to be confused with the slime glands of mr moseley, which have their opening in the oral papillæ. if i am correct in regarding it as homologous with the salivary glands so widely distributed amongst the tracheata, its presence indicates a hitherto unnoticed arthropodan affinity in peripatus. xvi. on the morphology and systematic position of the spongida[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journ. of microscopical science_, vol. xix. . professor schulze's[ ] last memoir on the development of calcareous sponges, confirms and enlarges metschnikoff's[ ] earlier observations, and gives us at last a fairly complete history of the development of one form of calcareous sponge. the facts which have been thus established have suggested to me a view of the morphology and systematic position of the spongida, somewhat different to that now usually entertained. in bringing forward this view, i would have it understood that it does not claim to be more than a mere suggestion, which if it serves no other function may, perhaps, be of use in stimulating research. footnote : "untersuchungen über d. bau u. d. entwicklung der spongien," _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxxi. . footnote : "zur entwicklungsgeschichte der kalkschwämme," _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxiv. . to render clear what i have to say, i commence with a very brief statement of the facts which may be considered as established with reference to the development of _sycandra raphanus_, the form which was studied by both metschnikoff and schulze. the segmentation of the ovum, though in many ways remarkable, is of no importance for my present purpose, and i take up the development at the close of the segmentation, while the embryo is still encapsuled in the parental tissues. it is at this stage lens-shaped, with a central segmentation cavity. an equatorial plane divides it into two parts, which have equal shares in bounding the segmentation cavity. one of these halves is formed of about thirty-two large, round, granular cells, the other of a larger number of ciliated clear columnar cells. while the embryo is still encapsuled a partial invagination of the granular cells takes place, reducing the segmentation cavity to a mere slit; this invagination is, however, quite temporary and unimportant, and on the embryo becoming free, which shortly takes place, no trace of it is visible; but, on the contrary, the segmentation cavity becomes larger, and the granular cells project very much more prominently than in the encapsuled state. [illustration: fig. . two free stages in the development of _sycandra raphanus_ (copied from schulze). a. amphiblastula stage; b. a later stage after the ciliated cells have commenced to become invaginated; _cs._ segmentation cavity; _ec._ granular cells which will form the ectoderm; _en._ ciliated cells which become invaginated to form the entoderm.] the larva, after it has left the parental tissues, has an oval form and is transversely divided into two areas (fig. , a). one of these areas is formed of the elongated, clear, ciliated cells, with a small amount of pigment near the inner ends (_en_), and the other and larger area of the thirty-two granular cells already mentioned (_ec_). fifteen or sixteen of these are arranged as a special ring on the border of the clear cells. in the centre of the embryo is a segmentation cavity (_cs_) which lies between the granular and the clear cells, but is mainly bounded by the vaulted inner surface of the latter. this stage is known as the amphiblastula stage. after the larva has for some time enjoyed a free existence, a remarkable series of changes takes place, which result in the invagination of the half of it formed of the clear cells, and form a prelude to the permanent attachment of the larva. the entire process of invagination is completed in about half an hour. the whole embryo first becomes flattened, but especially the ciliated half which gradually becomes less prominent (fig. , b), and still later the cells composing it undergo a true process of invagination. as a result of this invagination the segmentation cavity is obliterated and the larva assumes a compressed plano-convex form with a central gastrula cavity, and a blastopore in the middle of the flattened surface. the two layers of the gastrula may now be spoken of as ectoderm and entoderm. the blastopore becomes gradually narrowed by the growth over it of the outer row of granular cells. when it has become very small the attachment of the larva takes place by the flat surface where the blastopore is situated. it is effected by protoplasmic processes of the outer ring of ectoderm cells, which, together with the other ectoderm cells, now become amoeboid. at the same time they become clearer and permit a view of the interior of the gastrula. between the ectoderm cells and the entoderm cells which line the gastrula cavity there arises a hyaline structureless layer, which is more closely attached to the ectoderm than to the entoderm, and is probably derived from the former. a view of the gastrula stage after the larva has become fixed is given in fig. . [illustration: fig. . fixed gastrula stage of _sycandra raphanus_ (copied from schulze). the figure shews the amoeboid ectoderm cells (_ec_) derived from the granular cells of the earlier stage, and the columnar entoderm cells, lining the gastrula cavity, derived from the ciliated cells of the earlier stage. the larva is fixed by the amoeboid cells on the side on which the blastopore is situated.] [illustration: fig. . the young of _sycandra raphanus_ shortly after the development of the _spicula_ (copied from schulze). a. view from the side; b. view from the free extremity; _os._ osculum; _ec._ ectoderm; _en._ entoderm composed of collared ciliated cells. the terminal osculum and lateral pores are represented as oval white spaces.] after invagination the cilia of the entoderm cells can no longer be seen, and are probably absorbed, and their disappearance is nearly coincident with the complete obliteration of the blastopore, an event which takes place shortly after the attachment of the larva. after the formation of the structureless layer between the ectoderm and entoderm, calcareous spicules make their appearance in it as delicate unbranched rods pointed at both extremities. the larva when once fixed rapidly grows in length and assumes a cylindrical form (fig. , a). the sides of the cylinder are beset with calcareous spicules which project beyond the surface, and in addition to the unbranched forms, spicules are developed with three and four rays as well as some with a blunt extremity and serrated edge. the extremity of the cylinder opposite the attached surface is flattened, and though surrounded by a ring of four-rayed spicules is itself free from them. at this extremity a small perforation is formed leading into the gastric cavity which rapidly increases in size and forms an exhalent osculum (_os_). a series of inhalent apertures are also formed at the sides of the cylinder. the relative times of appearance of the single osculum and smaller apertures is not constant for the different larvæ. on the central gastrula cavity of the sponge becoming placed in communication with the external water, the entoderm cells lining it become ciliated afresh (fig. , b, _en_) and develop the peculiar collar characteristic of the entoderm cells of the spongida. when this stage of development is reached we have a fully developed sponge of the type made known by haeckel as olynthus. till the complete development of other forms of spongida has been worked out it is not possible to feel sure how far the phenomena observable in sycandra hold good in all cases. quite recently the russian embryologist, m. ganin[ ], has given an account, without illustrations, of the development of _spongilla fluviatilis_, which does not appear reconcileable with that of sycandra. considering the difficulties of observation it appears better to assume for this and some other descriptions that the observations are in error rather than that there is a fundamental want of uniformity in development amongst the spongida. footnote : "zur entwicklung d. spongilla fluviatilis," _zoologischer anzeiger_, vol. i. no. , . the first point in the development of sycandra which deserves notice is the character of the free swimming larva. the peculiar larval form, with one half of the body composed of amoeboid granular cells and the other of clear ciliated cells is nearly constant amongst the calcispongiæ, and widely distributed in a somewhat modified condition amongst the fibrospongiæ and myxospongiæ. does this larva retain the characters of an ancestral type of the spongida, and if so what does its form mean? it is, of course, possible that it has no ancestral meaning but has been secondarily acquired; i prefer myself to think that this is not the case, more especially as it appears to me that the characters of the larva may be plausibly explained by regarding it as a transitional form between the protozoa and metazoa. according to this view the larva is to be considered as a colony of protozoa, one half of the individuals of which have become differentiated into nutritive forms, and the other half into locomotor and respiratory forms. the granular amoeboid cells represent the nutritive forms, and the ciliated cells represent the locomotor and respiratory forms. that the passage from the protozoa to the metazoa may have been effected by such a differentiation is not improbable on _à priori_ grounds, and fits in very well with the condition of the free swimming larva of spongida, though another and perhaps equally plausible suggestion as to this passage has been put forward by my friend professor lankester[ ]. footnote : "notes on embryology and classification." _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xvii. . it seems not impossible, if the speculations in this paper have any foundation that while the views here put forward as to the passage from the protozoon to the metazoon condition may hold true for the spongida, some other mode of passage may have taken place in the case of the other metazoa. while the above view seems fairly satisfactory for the free swimming stage of the larval sponge there arises in the subsequent development a difficulty which appears at first sight fatal to it. this difficulty is the invagination of the ciliated cells instead of the granular ones. if the granular cells represent the nutritive individuals of the colony, they and not the ciliated cells ought most certainly to give rise to the lining of the gastrula cavity, according to the generally accepted views of the morphology of the spongida. the suggestion which i would venture to put forward in explanation of this paradox involves a completely new view of the nature and functions of the germinal layers of adult sponges. it is as follows:--when the free swimming ancestor of the spongida became fixed, the ciliated cells by which its movements used to be effected must have to a great extent become functionless. at the same time the amoeboid nutritive cells would need to expose as large a surface as possible. in these two considerations there may, perhaps, be found a sufficient explanation of the invagination of the ciliated cells, and the growth of the amoeboid cells over them. though respiration was, no doubt, mainly effected by the ciliated cells, it is improbable that it was completely localised in them, but the continuation of their function was provided for by the formation of an osculum and pores. the ciliated collared cells which line the ciliated chambers, or in some cases the radial tubes, are undoubtedly derived from the invaginated cells, and if there is any truth in the above suggestion, the collared cells in the adult sponge must be mainly respiratory and not digestive in function, while the normal epithelial cells which cover the surface of the sponge, and in most cases line the greater part of the passages through its substance, must carry on the digestion[ ]. if the reverse is the case the whole theory falls to the ground. it has not, so far as i know, been definitely made out where the digestion is carried on. lieberkühn would appear to hold the view that the amoeboid lining cells of the passages are mainly concerned with digestion, while carter holds that digestion is carried on by the collared cells of the ciliated chambers. footnote : that the flat cells which line the greater part of the passages of most sponges are really derived from ectodermic invaginations appears to me clearly proved by schulze's and barrois' observations on the young fixed stages of halisarea. ganin appears, however, to maintain a contrary view for spongilla. if it is eventually proved by actual experiments on the nutrition of sponges, that digestion is carried on by the general cells lining the passages, and not by the ciliated cells, it is clear that neither the ectoderm nor entoderm of sponges will correspond with the similarly named layers in the coelenterata and the metazoa. the invaginated entoderm will be the respiratory layer and the ectoderm the digestive and sensory layer; the sensory function being probably mainly localised in the epithelium on the surface, and the digestive one in the epithelium lining the passages. such a fundamental difference in the germinal layers between the spongida and the other metazoa, would necessarily involve the creation of a special division of the metazoa for the reception of the former group. xvii. notes on the development of the araneina[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journ. of microscopical science_, vol. xx. . (with plates , , .) the following observations do not profess to contain a complete history of the development even of a single species of spider. they are the result of investigations carried on at intervals during rather more than two years, on the ova of _agelena labyrinthica_; and i should not have published them now, if i had any hope of being able to complete them before the appearance of the work i am in the course of publishing on comparative embryology. it appeared to me, however, desirable to publish in full such parts of my observations as are completed before the appearance of my treatise, since the account of the development of the araneina is mainly founded upon them. my investigations on the germinal layers and organs have been chiefly conducted by means of sections. to prepare the embryos for sections, i employed the valuable method first made known by bobretzky. i hardened the embryos in bichromate of potash, after placing them for a short time in nearly boiling water. they were stained as a whole with hæmatoxylin after the removal of the membranes, and embedded for cutting in coagulated albumen. the number of investigators who have studied the development of spiders is inconsiderable. a list of them is given at the end of the paper. the earliest writer on the subject is herold (no. ); he was followed after a very considerable interval of time by claparède (no. ), whose memoir is illustrated by a series of beautiful plates, and contains a very satisfactory account of the external features of development. balbiani (no. ) has gone with some detail into the history of the early stages; and ludwig (no. ) has published some very important observations on the development of the blastoderm. finally, barrois (no. ) has quite recently taken up the study of the group, and has added some valuable observations on the development of the germinal layers. in addition to these papers on the true spiders, important investigations have been published by metschnikoff on other groups of the arachnida, notably the scorpion. metschnikoff's observations on the formation of the germinal layers and organs accord in most points with my own. the development of the araneina may be divided into four periods: ( ) the segmentation; ( ) the period from the close of the segmentation up to the period when the segments commence to be formed; ( ) the period from the commencing formation of the segments to the development of the full number of limbs; ( ) the subsequent stages up to the attainment of the adult form. in my earliest stage the segmentation was already completed, and the embryo was formed of a single layer of large flattened cells enveloping a central mass of polygonal yolk-segments. each yolk-segment is formed of a number of large clear somewhat oval yolk-spherules. in hardened specimens the yolk-spherules become polygonal, and in ova treated with hot water prior to preservation are not unfrequently broken up. amongst the yolk-segments are placed a fair number of nucleated bodies of a very characteristic appearance. each of them is formed of ( ) a large, often angular, nucleus, filled with deeply staining bodies (nucleoli?); ( ) a layer of protoplasm surrounding the nucleus, prolonged into a protoplasmic reticulum. the exact relation of these nucleated bodies to the yolk-segments is not very easy to make out, but the general tendency of my observations is to shew ( ) that each nucleated body belongs to a yolk-sphere, and ( ) that it is generally placed not at the centre, but to one side of a yolk-sphere. if the above conclusions are correct each complete yolk-segment is a cell, and each such cell consists of a normal nucleus, protoplasm, and yolk-spherules. there is a special layer of protoplasm surrounding the nucleus, while the remainder of the protoplasm consists of a reticulum holding together the yolk-spherules. yolk-cells of this character are seen in pls. and , figs. - . the nuclei of the yolk-cells are probably derived by division from the nuclei of the segmentation rosettes (vide ludwig, no. ), and it is probable that they take their origin at the time when the superficial layer of protoplasm separates from the yolk-columns below to form the blastoderm. the protoplasm of the yolk-cells undergoes rapid division, as is shewn by the fact that there are often two nucleated bodies close together, and sometimes two nuclei in a single mass of protoplasm (fig. ). it is probable that in some cases the yolk-spheres divide at the same time as the protoplasm belonging to them; the division of the nucleated bodies is, however, in the main destined to give rise to fresh cells which enter the blastoderm. i have not elucidated to my complete satisfaction the next stage or two in the development of the embryo; and have not succeeded in completely reconciling the results of my own observations with those of claparède and balbiani. in order to shew exactly where my difficulties lie it is necessary briefly to state the results arrived at by the above authors. according to claparède the first differentiation in pholcus consists in the accumulation of the cells over a small area to form a protuberance, which he calls the _primitive cumulus_. owing to its smaller specific gravity the part of the ovum with the cumulus always turns upwards, like the blastodermic pole of a fowl's egg. after a short time the cumulus elongates itself on one side, and becomes connected by a streak with a white patch, which appears on the surface of the egg, about ° from the cumulus. this patch gradually enlarges, and soon covers the whole surface of the ovum except the region where the cumulus is placed. it becomes the ventral plate or germinal streak of the embryo, its extremity adjoining the cumulus is the anal extremity, and its opposite extremity the cephalic one. the cumulus itself is placed in a depression on the dorsal surface of the ovum. claparède compares the cumulus to the dorsal organ of many crustacea. balbiani (no. ) describes the primitive cumulus in _tegenaria domestica_, _epeira diadema_, and _agelena labyrinthica_, as originating as a protuberance at the centre of the ventral surface, surrounded by a specialised portion of the blastoderm (p. ), which i will call the ventral plate. in _tegenaria domestica_ he finds that it encloses the so-called yolk-nucleus, p. . by an unequal growth of the ventral plate the primitive cumulus comes to be placed at the cephalic pole of the ventral plate. the cumulus now becomes less prominent, and in a few cases disappears. in the next stage the central part of the ventral plate becomes very prominent and forms the procephalic lobe, close to the anterior border of which is usually placed the primitive cumulus (p. ). the space between the cumulus and the procephalic lobe grows larger, so that the latter gradually travels towards the dorsal surface and finally vanishes. behind the procephalic lobe the first traces of the segments make their appearance, as three transverse bands, before a distinct anal lobe becomes apparent. the points which require to be cleared up are, ( ) what is the nature of the primitive cumulus? ( ) where is it situated in relation to the embryo? before attempting to answer these questions i will shortly describe the development, so far as i have made it out, for the stages during which the cumulus is visible. the first change that i find in the embryo (when examined after it has been hardened)[ ] is the appearance of a small, whitish spot, which is at first very indistinct. a section through such an ovum (pl. , fig. ) shews that the cells of about one half of the ovum have become more columnar than those of the other half, and that there is a point (_pr.c._) near one end of the thickened half where the cells are more columnar, and about two layers or so deep. it appears to me probable that this point is the whitish spot visible in the hardened ovum. in a somewhat later stage (pl. , fig. ) the whitish spot becomes more conspicuous (_pc._), and appears as a distinct prominence, which is, without doubt, the primitive cumulus, and from it there proceeds on one side a whitish streak. the prominence, as noticed by claparède and balbiani, is situated on the flatter side of the ovum. sections at this stage shew the same features as the previous stage, except that ( ) the cells throughout are smaller, ( ) those of the thickened hemisphere of the ovum more columnar, and ( ) the cumulus is formed of several rows of cells, though not divided into distinct layers. in the next stage the appearances from the surface are rather more obscure, and in some of my best specimens a coagulum, derived from the fluid surrounding the ovum, covers the most important part of the blastoderm. in pl. , fig. , i have attempted to represent, as truly as i could, the appearances presented by the ovum. there is a well-marked whitish side of the ovum, near one end of which is a prominence (_pc._), which must, no doubt, be identified with the cumulus of the earlier stages. towards the opposite end, or perhaps rather nearer the centre of the white side of the ovum, is an imperfectly marked triangular white area. there can be no doubt that the line connecting the cumulus with the triangular area is the future long axis of the embryo, and the white area is, without doubt, the procephalic lobe of balbiani. footnote : i was unfortunately too much engaged, at the time when the eggs were collected, to study them in the fresh condition; a fact which has added not a little to my difficulties in elucidating the obscure points in the early stages. a section of the ovum at this stage is represented in pl. , fig. . it is not quite certain in what direction the section is taken, but i think it probable it is somewhat oblique to the long axis. however this may be, the section shews that the whitish hemisphere of the blastoderm is formed of columnar cells, for the most part two or so layers deep, but that there is, not very far from the middle line, a wedge-shaped internal thickening of the blastoderm where the cells are several rows deep. with what part visible in surface view this thickened portion corresponds is not clear. to my mind it most probably corresponds to the larger white patch, in which case i have not got a section through the terminal prominence. in the other sections of the same embryo the wedge-shaped thickening was not so marked, but it, nevertheless, extended through all the sections. it appears to me probable that it constitutes a longitudinal thickened ridge of the blastoderm. in any case, it is clear that the white hemisphere of the blastoderm is a thickened portion of the blastoderm, and that the thickening is in part due to the cells being more columnar, and, in part, to their being more than one row deep, _though they have not become divided into two distinct germinal layers_. it is further clear that the increase in the number of cells in the thickened part of the blastoderm is, _in the main, a result of the multiplication of the original single row of cells_, while a careful examination of my sections proves that it is also partly due to cells, derived from the yolk, having been added to the blastoderm. in the following stage which i have obtained (which cannot be very much older than the previous stage, because my specimens of it come from the same batch of eggs), a distinct and fairly circumscribed thickening forming the ventral surface of the embryo has become established. though its component parts are somewhat indistinct, it appears to consist of a procephalic lobe, a less prominent caudal lobe, and an intermediate portion divided into about three segments; but its constituents cannot be clearly identified with the structures visible in the previous stage. i am inclined, however, to identify the anterior thickened area of the previous stage with the procephalic lobe, and a slight protuberance of the caudal portion (visible from the surface) with the primitive cumulus. i have, however, failed to meet with any trace of the cumulus in my sections. to this stage, which forms the first of the second period of the larval history, i shall return, but it is necessary now to go back to the observations of claparède and balbiani. there can, in the first place, be but little doubt that what i have called the primitive cumulus in my description is the structure so named by claparède and balbiani. it is clear that balbiani and claparède have both failed to appreciate the importance of the organ, which my observations shew to be the part of the ventral thickening of the blastoderm where two rows of cells are first established, and therefore the point where the first traces of the future mesoblast becomes visible. though claparède and balbiani differ somewhat as to the position of the organ, they both make it last longer than i do: i feel certainly inclined to doubt whether claparède is right in considering a body he figures after six segments are present, to be the same as the dorsal organ of the embryo before the formation of any segments, especially as all the stages between the two appear to have escaped him. in agelena there is undoubtedly no organ in the position he gives when six segments are found. balbiani's observations accord fairly with my own up to the stage represented in fig. . beyond this stage my own observations are not satisfactory, but i must state that i feel doubtful whether balbiani is correct in his description of the gradual separation of the procephalic lobe and the cumulus, and the passage of the latter to the dorsal surface, and think it possible that he may have made a mistake as to which side of the procephalic lobe, in relation to the parts of the embryo, the cumulus is placed. although there appear to be grounds for doubting whether either balbiani and claparède are correct in the position they assign to the cumulus, my observations scarcely warrant me in being very definite in my statements on this head, but, as already mentioned, i am inclined to place the organ near the posterior end (and therefore, as will be afterwards shewn, in a somewhat dorsal situation) of the ventral embryonic thickening. in my earliest stage of the third period there is present, as has already been stated, a procephalic lobe, and an indistinct and not very prominent caudal portion, and about three segments between the two. the definition of the parts of the blastoderm at this stage is still very imperfect, but from subsequent stages it appears to me probable that the first of the three segments is that of the first pair of ambulatory limbs, and that the segments of the cheliceræ and pedipalpi are formed later than those of the first three ambulatory appendages. balbiani believes that the segment of the cheliceræ is formed later than that of the six succeeding segments. he further concludes, from the fact that this segment is cut off from the procephalic portion in front, that it is really part of the procephalic lobe. i cannot accept the validity of this argument; though i am glad to find myself in, at any rate, partial harmony with the distinguished french embryologist as to the facts. balbiani denies for this stage the existence of a caudal lobe. there is certainly, as is very well shewn in my longitudinal sections, a thickening of the blastoderm in the caudal region, though it is not so prominent in surface views as the procephalic lobe. a transverse section through an embryo at this stage (pl. , fig. ) shews that there is a ventral plate of somewhat columnar cells more than one row deep, and a dorsal portion of the blastoderm formed of a single row of flattened cells. every section at this stage shews that the inner layer of cells of the ventral plate is receiving accessions of cells from the yolk, which has not to any appreciable extent altered its constitution. a large cell, passing from the yolk to the blastoderm, is shewn in fig. at _y.c_. _the cells of the ventral plate are now divided into two distinct layers._ the outer of these is the _epiblast_, the inner the _mesoblast_. the cells of both layers are quite continuous across the median line, and exhibit no trace of a bilateral arrangement. this stage is an interesting one on account of the striking similarity which (apart from the amnion) exists between a section through the blastoderm of a spider and that of an insect immediately after the formation of the mesoblast. the reader should compare kowalevsky's (_mém. acad. pétersbourg_, vol. xvi. ) fig. , pl. ix. with my fig. . the existence of a continuous ventral plate of mesoblast has been noticed by barrois (p. ), who states that the two mesoblastic bands originate from the longitudinal division of a primitive single band. in a slightly later stage (pl. , fig. _a_ and _b_) six distinct segments are interpolated between the procephalic and the caudal lobes. the two foremost, _ch_ and _pd_ (especially the first), of these are far less distinct than the remainder, and the first segment is very indistinctly separated from the procephalic lobe. from the indistinctness of the first two somites, i conclude that they are later formations than the four succeeding ones. the caudal and procephalic lobes are very similar in appearance, but the procephalic lobe is slightly the wider of the two. there is a slight protuberance on the caudal lobe, which is possibly the remnant of the cumulus. the superficial appearance of segmentation is produced by a series of transverse valleys, separating raised intermediate portions which form the segments. the ventral thickening of the embryo now occupies rather more than half the circumference of the ovum. transverse sections shew that considerable changes have been effected in the constitution of the blastoderm. in the previous stage, the ventral plate was formed of an uniform external layer of epiblast, and a continuous internal layer of mesoblast. the mesoblast has now become divided along the whole length of the embryo, except, perhaps, the procephalic lobes, into two lateral bands which are not continuous across the middle line (pl. , fig. , _me_). it has, moreover, become a much more definite layer, closely attached to the epiblast. between each mesoblastic band and the adjoining yolk there are placed a few scattered cells, which in a somewhat later stage become the splanchnic mesoblast. these cells are derived from the yolk-cells; and almost every section contains examples of such cells in the act of joining the mesoblast. the epiblast of the ventral plate has not, to any great extent, altered in constitution. it is, perhaps, a shade thinner in the median line than it is laterally. the division of the mesoblast plate into two bands, together, perhaps, with the slight reduction of the epiblast in the median ventral line, gives rise at this stage to an imperfectly marked median groove. the dorsal epiblast is still formed of a single layer of flat cells. in the neighbourhood of this layer the yolk nuclei are especially concentrated. the yolk itself remains as before. the segments continue to increase regularly, each fresh segment being added in the usual way between the last formed segment and the unsegmented caudal lobe. at the stage when about nine or ten segments have become established, the first rudiments of appendages become visible. at this period (pl. , fig. ) there is a distinct median ventral groove, extending through the whole length of the embryo, which becomes, however, considerably shallower behind. the procephalic region is distinctly bilobed. the first segment (that of the cheliceræ) is better marked off from it than in the previous stage, but is without a trace of an appendage, and exhibits therefore, in respect to the development of its appendages, the same retardation that characterised its first appearance. the next five segments, viz. those of the pedipalpi and four ambulatory appendages, present a very well-marked swelling at each extremity. these swellings are the earliest traces of the appendages. of the three succeeding segments, only the first is well differentiated. the caudal lobe, though less broad than the procephalic lobe, is still a widish structure. the most important internal changes concern the mesoblast, which is now imperfectly though distinctly divided into somites, corresponding with segments visible externally. each mesoblastic somite is formed of a distinct somatic layer closely attached to the epiblast, and a thinner and less well-marked splanchnic layer. in the appendage-bearing segments the somatic layer is continued up into the appendages. the epiblast is distinctly thinner in the median line than at the two sides. the next stage figured (pl. , figs. and ) is an important one, as it is characterized by the establishment of the full number of appendages. the whole length of the ventral plate has greatly increased, so that it embraces nearly the circumference of the ovum, and there is left uncovered but a very small arc between the two extremities of the plate (pl. , fig. ; pl. , fig. ). this arc is the future dorsal portion of the embryo, which lags in its development immensely behind the ventral portion. there is a very distinctly bilobed procephalic region (_pr.l_) well separated from the segment with the cheliceræ (_ch_). it is marked by a shallow groove opening behind into a circular depression (_st._)--the earliest rudiment of the stomodæum. the six segments behind the procephalic lobes are the six largest, and each of them bears two prominent appendages. they constitute the six appendage-bearing segments of the adult. the four future ambulatory appendages are equal in size: they are slightly larger than the pedipalpi, and these again than the cheliceræ. behind the six somites with prominent appendages there are four well-marked somites, each with a small protuberance. these four protuberances are provisional appendages. they have been found in many other genera of araneina (claparède, barrois). the segments behind these are rudimentary and difficult to count, but there are, at any rate, five, and at a slightly later stage probably six, including the anal lobe. these fresh segments have been formed by the continued segmentation of the anal lobe, which has greatly altered its shape in the process. the ventral groove of the earlier stage is still continued along the whole length of the ventral plate. by the close of this stage the full number of post-cephalic segments has become established. they are best seen in the longitudinal section (pl. , fig. ). there are six anterior appendage-bearing segments, followed by four with rudimentary appendages (not seen in this figure), and six without appendages behind. there are, therefore, sixteen in all. this number accords with the result arrived at by barrois, but is higher by two than that given by claparède. the germinal layers (vide pl. , fig. ) have by this stage undergone a further development. the mesoblastic somites are more fully developed. the general relations of these somites is shewn in longitudinal section in pl. , fig. , and in transverse section in pl. , fig. . in the tail, where they are simplest (shewn on the upper side in fig. ), each mesoblastic somite is formed of a somatic layer of more or less cubical cells attached to the epiblast, and a splanchnic layer of flattened cells. between the two is placed a completely circumscribed cavity, which constitutes part of the embryonic body-cavity. between the yolk and the splanchnic layer are placed a few scattered cells, which form the latest derivatives of the yolk-cells, and are to be reckoned as part of the splanchnic mesoblast. the mesoblastic somites do not extend outwards beyond the edge of the ventral plate, and the corresponding mesoblastic somites of the two sides do not nearly meet in the middle line. in the limb-bearing somites the mesoblast has the same general characters as in the posterior somites, but the _somatic_ layer is prolonged as a hollow papilliform process into the limb, so that each limb has an axial cavity continuous with the section of the body-cavity of its somite. the description given by metschnikoff of the formation of the mesoblastic somites in the scorpion, and their continuation into the limbs, closely corresponds with the history of these parts in spiders. in the region of each procephalic lobe the mesoblast is present as a continuous layer underneath the epiblast, but in the earlier part of the stage, at any rate, is not formed of two distinct layers with a cavity between them. the epiblast at this stage has also undergone important changes. along the median ventral groove it has become very thin. on each side of this groove it exhibits in each appendage-bearing somite a well-marked thickening, which gives in surface views the appearance of a slightly raised area (pl. , fig. ), between each appendage and the median line. these thickenings are the first rudiments of the ventral nerve ganglia. the ventral nerve cord at this stage is formed of two ridge-like thickenings of the epiblast, widely separated in the median line, each of which is constituted of a series of raised divisions--the ganglia--united by shorter, less prominent divisions (fig. , _vg_). the nerve cords are formed from before backwards, and are not at this stage found in the hinder segments. _there is a distinct ganglionic thickening for the cheliceræ quite independent of the procephalic lobes._ in the procephalic lobes the epiblast is much thickened, and is formed of several rows of cells. the greater part of it is destined to give rise to the supra-oesophageal ganglia. during the various changes which have been described the blastoderm cells have been continually dividing, and, together with their nuclei, have become considerably smaller than at first. the yolk cells have in the meantime remained much as before, and are, therefore, considerably larger than the nuclei of the blastoderm cells. they are more numerous than in the earlier stages, but are still surrounded by a protoplasmic body, which is continued into a protoplasmic reticulum. the yolk is still divided up into polygonal segments, but from sections it would appear that the nuclei are more numerous than the segments, though i have failed to arrive at quite definite conclusions on this point. as development proceeds the appendages grow longer, and gradually bend inwards. they become very soon divided by a series of ring-like constrictions which constitute the first indications of the future joints (pl. , fig. ). the full number of joints are not at once reached, but in the ambulatory appendages five only appear at first to be formed. there are four joints in the pedipalpi, while the cheliceræ do not exhibit any signs of becoming jointed till somewhat later. the primitive presence of only five joints in the ambulatory appendages is interesting, as this number is permanent in insects and in peripatus. the next stage figured forms the last of the third period (pl. , figs. and _a_). the ventral plate is still rolled round the egg (fig. ), and the end of the tail and the procephalic lobes nearly meet dorsally, so that there is but a very slight development of the dorsal region. there are the same number of segments as before, and the chief differences in appearance between the present and the previous stage depend upon the fact ( ) that the median ventral integument between the nerve ganglia has become wider, and at the same time thinner; ( ) that the limbs have become much more developed; ( ) that the stomodæum is definitely established; ( ) that the procephalic lobes have undergone considerable development. of these features, the three last require a fuller description. the limbs of the two sides are directed towards each other, and nearly meet in the ventral line. the cheliceræ are two-jointed, and terminate in what appear like rudimentary chelæ, a fact which perhaps indicates that the spiders are descended from ancestors with chelate cheliceræ. the four embryonic post-ambulatory appendages are now at the height of their development. the stomodæum (pl. , fig. , and pl. , fig. , _st_) is a deepish pit between the two procephalic lobes, and distinctly in front of the segment of the cheliceræ. it is bordered in front by a large, well-marked, bilobed upper lip, and behind by a smaller lower lip. the large upper lip is a temporary structure, to be compared, perhaps, with the gigantic upper lip of the embryo of chelifer (cf. metschnikoff). on each side of and behind the mouth two whitish masses are visible, which are the epiblastic thickenings which constitute the ganglia of the cheliceræ (pl. , fig. , _ch.g_). the procephalic lobes (_pr.l_) now form two distinct masses, and each of them is marked by a semicircular groove, dividing them into a narrower anterior and a broader posterior division. in the region of the trunk the general arrangement of the germinal layers has not altered to any great extent. the ventral ganglionic thickenings are now developed in all the segments in the abdominal as well as in the thoracic region. the individual thickenings themselves, though much more conspicuous than in the previous stage (pl. , fig. , _v.c_), are still integral parts of the epiblast. they are more widely separated than before in the middle line. the mesoblastic somites retain their earlier constitution (pl. , fig. ). beneath the procephalic lobes the mesoblast has, in most respects, a constitution similar to that of a mesoblastic somite in the trunk. it is formed of two bodies, one on each side, each composed of a splanchnic and somatic layer (pl. , fig. , _sp._ and _so_), enclosing between them a section of the body-cavity. but the cephalic somites, unlike those of the trunk, are united by a median bridge of mesoblast, in which no division into two layers can be detected. this bridge assists in forming a thick investment of mesoblast round the stomodæum (_st_). the existence of a section of the body-cavity in the præoral region is a fact of some interest, especially when taken in connection with the discovery, by kleinenberg, of a similar structure in the head of lumbricus. the procephalic lobe represents the præoral lobe of chætopod larvæ, but the prolongation of the body-cavity into it does not, in my opinion, necessarily imply that it is equivalent to a post-oral segment. the epiblast of the procephalic lobes is a thick layer several cells deep, but without any trace of a separation of the ganglionic portion from the epidermis. the nuclei of the yolk have increased in number, but the yolk, in other respects, retains its earlier characters. the next period in the development is that in which the body of the embryo gradually acquires the adult form. the most important event which takes place during this period is the development of the dorsal region of the embryo, which, up to its commencement, is practically non-existent. as a consequence of the development of the dorsal region, the embryo, which has hitherto had what may be called a dorsal flexure, gradually unrolls itself, and acquires a ventral flexure. this change in the flexure of the embryo is in appearance a rather complicated phenomenon, and has been somewhat differently described by the two naturalists who have studied it in recent times. for claparède the prime cause of the change of flexure is the translation dorsalwards of the limbs. he compares the dorsal region of the embryo to the arc of a circle, the two ends of which are united by a cord formed by the line of insertion of the limbs. he points out that if you bring the middle of the cord, so stretched between the two ends of the arc, nearer to the summit of the arc, you necessarily cause the two ends of the arc to approach each other, or, in other words, if the insertion of the limbs is drawn up dorsally, the head and tail must approach each other ventrally. barrois takes quite a different view to that of claparède, which will perhaps be best understood if i quote a translation of his own words. he says: "at the period of the last stage of the embryonic band (the stage represented in pl. , fig. , in the present paper) this latter completely encircles the egg, and its posterior extremity nearly approaches the cephalic region. finally, the germinal bands, where they unite at the anal lobe (placed above on the dorsal surface), form between them a very acute angle. during the following stages one observes the anal segment separate further and further from the cephalic region, and approach nearer and nearer to the ventral region. this displacement of the anal segment determines, in its turn, a modification in the divergence of the anal bands; the angle which they form at their junction tends to become more obtuse. the same processes continue regularly till the anal segment comes to occupy the opposite extremity to the cephalic region, a period at which the two germinal bands are placed in the same plane and the two sides of the obtuse angle end by meeting in a straight line. if we suppose a continuation of the same phenomenon it is clear that the anal segment will come to occupy a position on the ventral surface, and the germinal bands to approach, but in the inverse way, so as to form an angle opposite to that which they formed at first. this condition ends the process by which the posterior extremity of the embryonic band, at first directed towards the dorsal side, comes to bend in towards the ventral region." neither of the above explanations is to my mind perfectly satisfactory. the whole phenomenon appears to me to be very simple, and to be caused by the elongation of the dorsal region, _i.e._ the region on the dorsal surface between the anal and procephalic lobes. such an elongation necessarily separates the anal and procephalic lobes; but, since the ventral plate does not become shortened in the process, and the embryo cannot straighten itself on account of the egg-shell, it necessarily becomes flexed, and such flexure can only be what i have already called a ventral flexure. if there were but little food yolk this flexure would cause the whole embryo to be bent in, so as to have the ventral surface concave, but instead of this the flexure is confined at first to the two bands which form the ventral plate. these bands are bent in the natural way (pl. , fig. _b_), but the yolk forms a projection, a kind of yolk-sack as barrois calls it, distending the thin integument between the two ventral bands. this yolk-sack is shewn in surface view in pl. , fig. , and in section in pl. , fig. . at a later period, when the yolk has become largely absorbed in the formation of various organs, the true nature of the ventral flexure becomes apparent, and the abdomen of the young spider is found to be bent over so as to press against the ventral surface of the thorax (pl. , fig. ). this flexure is shewn in section in pl. , fig. . at the earliest stage of this period of which i have examples, the dorsal region has somewhat increased, though not very much. the limbs have grown very considerably and _now cross in the middle line_. the ventral ganglia, though not the supra-oesophageal, have become separated from the epiblast. the yolk nuclei, each surrounded by protoplasm as before, are much more numerous. in other respects there are no great changes in the internal features. in my next stage, represented in pl. , figs. _a_, and _b_, a very considerable advance has become effected. in the first place the dorsal surface has increased in length to rather more than one half the circumference of the ovum. the dorsal region has, however, not only increased in length, but also in definiteness, and a series of transverse markings (figs. _a_ and _b_), which are very conspicuous in the case of the four anterior abdominal segments (the segments with rudimentary appendages), have appeared, indicating the limits of segments dorsally. the terga of the somites may, in fact, be said to have become formed. the posterior terga (fig. _a_) are very narrow compared to the anterior. the caudal protuberance is more prominent than it was, and somewhat bilobed; it is continued on each side into one of the bands, into which the ventral plate is divided. these bands, as is best seen in side view (fig. _b_), have a ventral curvature, or, perhaps more correctly, are formed of two parts, which meet at a large angle open towards the ventral surface. the posterior of these parts bears the four still very conspicuous provisional appendages, and the anterior the six pairs of thoracic appendages. the four ambulatory appendages are now seven-jointed, as in the adult, but though longer than in the previous stage they do not any longer _cross or even meet in the middle line_, but are, on the contrary, separated by a very considerable interval. this is due to the great distension by the yolk of the ventral part of the body, in the interval between the two parts of the original ventral plate. the amount of this yolk may be gathered from the section (pl. , fig. ). the pedipalpi carry a blade on their basal joint. the cheliceræ no longer appear to spring from an independent postoral segment. there is a conspicuous lower lip, but the upper is less prominent than before. sections at this stage shew that the internal changes have been nearly as considerable as the external. the dorsal region is now formed of a ( ) flattened layer of epiblast cells, and a ( ) fairly thick layer of large and rather characteristic cells which any one who has studied sections of spider's embryos will recognize as derivatives of the yolk. these cells are not, therefore, derived from prolongations of the somatic and splanchnic layers of the already formed somites, but are new formations derived from the yolk. they commenced to be formed at a much earlier period, and some of them are shewn in the longitudinal section (pl. , fig. ). in the next stage these cells become differentiated into the somatic and splanchnic mesoblast layers of the dorsal region of the embryo. in the dorsal region of the abdomen the heart has already become established. so far as i have been able to make out it is formed from a solid cord of the cells of the dorsal region. the peripheral layer of this cord gives rise to the walls of the heart, while the central cells become converted into the corpuscles of the blood. the rudiment of the heart is in contact with the epiblast above, and there is no greater evidence of its being derived from the splanchnic than from the somatic mesoblast; it is, in fact, formed before the dorsal mesoblast has become differentiated into two layers. in the abdomen three or four transverse septa, derived from the splanchnic mesoblast, grow a short way into the yolk. they become more conspicuous during the succeeding stage, and are spoken of in detail in the description of that stage. in the anterior part of the thorax a longitudinal and vertical septum is formed, which grows downwards from the median dorsal line, and divides the yolk in this region into two parts. in this septum there is formed at a later stage a vertical muscle attached to the suctorial part of the stomodæum. the mesoblastic somites of the earlier stage are but little modified; and there are still prolongations of the body-cavity into the limbs (pl. , fig. ). the lateral parts of the ventral nerve cords are now at their maximum of separation (pl. , fig. , _v.g._). considerable differentiation has already set in in the constitution of the ganglia themselves, which are composed of an outer mass of ganglion cells enclosing a kernel of nerve fibres, which lie on the inner side and connect the successive ganglia. there are still distinct thoracic and abdominal ganglia for each segment, and there is also a pair of separate ganglion for the cheliceræ, which assists, however, in forming the oesophageal commissures. the thickenings of the præoral lobe which form the supra-oesophageal ganglia are nearly though not quite separated from the epiblast. the semicircular grooves of the earlier stages are now deeper than before, and are well shewn in sections nearly parallel to the outer anterior surface of the ganglion (pl. , fig. ). the supra-oesophageal ganglia are still entirely formed of undifferentiated cells, and are without commissural tissue like that present in the ventral ganglia. the stomodæum has considerably increased in length, and the proctodæum has become formed as a short, posteriorly directed involution of the epiblast. i have seen traces of what i believe to be two outgrowths from it, which form the malpighian bodies. the next stage constitutes (pl. , fig. ) the last which requires to be dealt with so far as the external features are concerned. the yolk has now mainly passed into the abdomen, and the constriction separating the thorax and abdomen has begun to appear. the yolk-sack has become absorbed, so that the two halves of the ventral plate in the thorax are no longer widely divaricated. the limbs have to a large extent acquired their permanent structure, and the rings of which they are formed in the earlier stages are now replaced by definite joints. a delicate cuticle has become formed, which is not figured in my sections. the four rudimentary appendages have disappeared, unless, which seems to me in the highest degree improbable, they remain as the spinning mammillæ, two pairs of which are now present. behind is the anal lobe, which is much smaller and less conspicuous than in the previous stage. the spinnerets and anal lobe are shewn as five papillæ in pl. , fig. . dorsally the heart is now very conspicuous, and in front of the cheliceræ may be seen the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the indifferent mesoblast has now to a great extent become converted into the permanent tissues. on the dorsal surface there was present in the last stage a great mass of unformed mesoblast cells. this mass of cells has now become divided into a somatic and splanchnic layer (pl. , fig. ). it has, moreover, in the abdominal region at any rate, become divided up into somites. at the junction between the successive somites the splanchnic mesoblast on each side of the abdomen dips down into the yolk and forms a septum (pl. , fig. , _s_). the septa so formed, which were first described by barrois, are not complete. the septa of the two sides do not, in the first place, quite meet along the median dorsal or ventral lines, and in the second place they only penetrate the yolk for a certain distance. internally they usually end in a thickened border. along the line of insertion of each of these septa there is developed a considerable space between the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast. the parts of the body-cavity so established are transversely directed channels passing from the heart outwards. they probably constitute the venous spaces, and perhaps also contain the transverse aortic branches. in the intervals between these venous spaces the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast are in contact with each other. i have not been able to work out satisfactorily the later stages of development of the septa, but i have found that they play an important part in the subsequent development of the abdomen. in the first place they send off lateral offshoots, which unite the various septa together, and divide up the cavity of the abdomen into a number of partially separated compartments. there appears, however, to be left a free axial space for the alimentary tract, the mesoblastic walls of which are, i believe, formed from the septa. at the present stage the splanchnic mesoblast, apart from the septa, is a delicate membrane of flattened cells (fig. , _sp_). the somatic mesoblast is thicker, and is formed of scattered cells (_so_). the somatic layer is in part converted, in the posterior region of the abdomen, into a delicate layer of longitudinal muscles, the fibres of which are not continuous for the whole length of the body, but are interrupted at the lines of junction of the successive segments. they are not present in the anterior part of the abdomen. the longitudinal direction of these fibres, and their division with myotomes, is interesting, since both these characters, which are preserved in scorpions, are lost in the abdomen of the adult spider. the original mesoblastic somites have undergone quite as important changes as the dorsal mesoblast. in the abdominal region the somatic layer constitutes two powerful bands of longitudinal muscles, inserted anteriorly at the root of the fourth ambulatory appendage, and posteriorly at the spinning mammillæ. between these two bands are placed the nervous bands. the relation of these parts are shewn in the section in pl. , fig. _d_, which cuts the abdomen horizontally and longitudinally. the mesoblastic bands are seen at _m._, and the nervous bands within them at _ab.g_. in the thoracic region the part of the somatic layer in each limb is converted into muscles, which are continued into dorsal and ventral muscles in the thorax (vide fig. _c_). there are, in addition to these, intrinsic transverse fibres on the ventral side of the thorax. besides these muscles there are in the thorax, attached to the suctorial extremity of the stomodæum, three powerful muscles, which i believe to be derived from the somatic mesoblast. one of these passes vertically down from the dorsal surface, in the septum the commencement of which was described in the last stage. the two other muscles are lateral, one on each side (pl. , fig. _c_.). the heart has now, in most respects, reached its full development. it is formed of an outer muscular layer, within which is a doubly-contoured lining, containing nuclei at intervals, which is probably of the nature of an epithelioid lining (pl. , fig. , _ht_). in its lumen are numerous blood-corpuscles (not represented in my figure). the heart lies in a space bound below by the splanchnic mesoblast, and to the sides by the somatic mesoblast. this space forms a kind of pericardium (fig. , _pc_), but dorsally the heart is in contact with the epiblast. the arterial trunks connected with it are fully established. the nervous system has undergone very important changes. in the abdominal region the ganglia of each side have fused together into a continuous cord (fig. , _ab.g_). in fig. , in which the abdomen is cut horizontally and longitudinally, there are seen the two abdominal cords (_ab.g_) united by two transverse commissures; and i believe that there are at this stage three or four transverse commissures at any rate, which remain as indications of the separate ganglia, from the coalescence of which the abdominal cords are formed. the two abdominal cords are parallel and in close contact. in the thoracic region changes of not less importance have taken place. the ganglia are still distinct. the two cords formed of these ganglia are no longer widely separated in median line, but meet, in the usual way, in the ventral line. transverse commissures have become established (fig. _c_) between the ganglia of the two sides. there is as little trace at this, as at the previous stages, of an ingrowth of epiblast, to form a median portion of the central nervous system. such a median structure has been described by hatschek for lepidoptera, and he states that it gives rise to the transverse commissures between the ganglia. my observations shew that for the spider, at any rate, nothing of the kind is present. as shewn in the longitudinal section (pl. , fig. ), the ganglion of the cheliceræ has now united with the supra-oesophageal ganglion. it forms, as is shewn in fig. _b_ (_ch.g._), a part of the oesophageal commissure, and there is no sub-oesophageal commissure uniting the ganglia of the cheliceræ, but the oesophageal ring is completed below by the ganglia of the pedipalpi (fig. _c_, _pd.g._). the supra-oesophageal ganglia have become completely separated from the epiblast. i have unfortunately not studied their constitution in the adult, so that i cannot satisfactorily identify the parts which can be made out at this stage. i distinguish, however, the following regions: ( ) a central region containing the commissural part, and continuous below with the ganglia of the cheliceræ. ( ) a dorsal region formed of two hemispherical lobes. ( ) a ventral anterior region. the central region contains in its interior the commissural portion, forming a punctiform, rounded mass in each ganglion. a transverse commissure connects the two (vide fig. _b_). the dorsal hemispherical lobes are derived from the part which, at the earlier stage, contained the semicircular grooves. when the supra-oesophageal ganglia become separated from the epidermis the cells lining these grooves become constricted off with them, and form part of these ganglia. two cavities are thus formed in this part of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. these cavities become, for the most part, obliterated, but persist at the outer side of the hemispherical lobes (figs. _a_ and ). the ventral lobe of the brain is a large mass shewn in longitudinal section in fig. . it lies immediately in front of and almost in contact with the ganglia of the cheliceræ. the two hemispherical lobes agree in position with the fungiform body (_pilzhutförmige körpern_), which has attracted so much the attention of anatomists, in the supra-oesophageal ganglia of insects and crustacea; but till the adult brain of spiders has been more fully studied it is not possible to state whether the hemispherical lobes become fungiform bodies. hatschek[ ] has described a special epiblastic invagination in the supra-oesophageal ganglion of bombyx, which is probably identical with the semicircular groove of spiders and scorpions, but in the figure he gives the groove does not resemble that in the arachnida. a similar groove is found in peripatus, and there forms, as i have found, a large part of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. it is figured by moseley, _phil. trans._, vol. clxiv. pl. lxxv, fig. . footnote : "beiträge z. entwick. d. lepidopteren," _jenaische zeit._, vol. xi. p. . the stomodæum is considerably larger than in the last stage, and is lined by a cuticle; it is a blind tube, the blind end of which is the suctorial pouch of the adult. to this pouch are attached the vertical dorsal, and two lateral muscles spoken of above. the proctodæum (_pr._) has also grown in length, and the two malpighian vessels which grow out from its blind extremity (fig. _e_, _mp.g._) have become quite distinct. the part now formed is the rectum of the adult. the proctodæum is surrounded by a great mass of splanchnic mesoblast. the mesenteron has as yet hardly commenced to be developed. there is, however, a short tube close to the proctodæum (fig. _e_, _mes_), which would seem to be the commencement of it. it ends blindly on the side adjoining the rectum, but is open anteriorly towards the yolk, and there can be very little doubt that it owes its origin to cells derived from the yolk. on its outer surface is a layer of mesoblast. from the condition of the mesenteron at this stage there can be but little doubt that it will be formed, not on the surface, _but in the interior of the yolk_. i failed to find any trace of an anterior part of the mesenteron adjoining the stomodæum. in the posterior part of the thorax (vide fig. _d_), there is undoubtedly no trace of the alimentary tract. the presence of this rudiment shews that barrois is mistaken in supposing that the alimentary canal is formed entirely from the stomodæum and proctodæum, which are stated by him to grow towards each other, and to meet at the junction of the thorax and abdomen. my own impression is that the stomodæum and proctodæum have reached their full extension at the present stage, and that both the stomach in the thorax and the intestine in the abdomen are products of the mesenteron. the yolk retains its earlier constitution, being divided into polygonal segments, formed of large yolk vesicles. the nuclei are more numerous than before. in the thorax the yolk is anteriorly divided into two lobes by the vertical septum, which contains the vertical muscle of the suctorial pouch. in the posterior part of the thorax it is undivided. i have not yet been able clearly to make out the eventual fate of the yolk. at a subsequent stage, when the cavity of the abdomen is cut up into a series of compartments by the growth of the septa, described above, the yolk fills these compartments, and there is undoubtedly a proliferation of yolk cells round the walls of these compartments. it would not be unreasonable to conclude from this that the compartments were destined to form the hepatic cæca, each cæcum being enclosed in a layer of splanchnic mesoblast, and its hypoblastic wall being derived from the yolk cells. i think that this hypothesis is probably correct, but i have met with some facts which made me think it possible that the thickenings at the ends of the septa, visible in pl. , fig. , were the commencing hepatic cæca. i must, in fact, admit that i have hitherto failed to work out satisfactorily the history of the mesenteron and its appendages. the firm cuticle of young spiders is an obstacle both in the way of making sections and of staining, which i have not yet overcome. _general conclusions._ without attempting to compare at length the development of the spiders with that of other arthropoda, i propose to point out a few features in the development of spiders, which appear to shew that the arachnida are undoubtedly more closely related to the other tracheata than to the crustacea. the whole history of the formation of the mesoblast is very similar to that in insects. the mesoblast in both groups is formed by a thickening of the median line of the ventral plate (germinal streak). in insects there is usually formed a median groove, the walls of which become converted into a plate of mesoblast. in spiders there is no such groove, but a median keel-like thickening of the ventral plate (pl. , fig. ), is very probably an homologous structure. the unpaired plate of mesoblast formed in both insects and arachnida is exactly similar, and becomes divided, in both groups, into two bands, one on each side of the middle line. such differences as there are between insects and arachnida sink into insignificance compared with the immense differences in the origin of the mesoblast between either group, and that in the isopoda, or, still more, the malacostraca and most crustacea. in most crustacea we find that the mesoblast is budded off from the walls of an invagination, which gives rise to the mesenteron. in both spiders and myriopoda, and probably insects, the mesoblast is subsequently divided into somites, the lumen of which is continued into the limbs. in crustacea mesoblastic somites have not usually been found, though they appear occasionally to occur, _e.g._ mysis, but they are in no case similar to those in the tracheata. in the formation of the alimentary tract, again, the differences between the crustacea and tracheata are equally marked, and the arachnida agree with the tracheata. there is generally in crustacea an invagination, which gives rise to the mesenteron. in tracheata this never occurs. the proctodæum is usually formed in crustacea before or, at any rate, not later than the stomodæum[ ]. the reverse is true for the tracheata. in crustacea the proctodæum and stomodæum, especially the former, are very long, and usually give rise to the greater part of the alimentary tract, while the mesenteron is usually short. footnote : if grobben's account of the development of moina is correct this statement must be considered not to be universally true. in the tracheata the mesenteron is always considerable, and the proctodæum is always short. the derivation of the malpighian bodies from the proctodæum is common to most tracheata. such organs are not found in the crustacea. with reference to other points in my investigations, the evidence which i have got that the cheliceræ are true postoral appendages supplied in the embryo from a distinct postoral ganglion, confirms the conclusions of most previous investigators, and shews that these appendages are equivalent to the mandibles, or possibly the first pair of maxillæ of other tracheata. the invagination, which i have found, of part of a groove of epiblast in the formation of the supra-oesophageal ganglia is of interest, owing to the wide extension of a similar occurrence amongst the tracheata. the wide divarication of the ventral nerve cords in the embryo renders it easy to prove that there is no median invagination of epiblast between them, and supports kleinenberg's observations on lumbricus as to the absence of this invagination. i have further satisfied myself as to the absence of such an invagination in peripatus. it is probable that hatschek and other observers who have followed him are mistaken in affirming the existence of such an invagination in either the chætopoda or the arthropoda. the observations recorded in this paper on the yolk cells and their derivations are, on the whole, in close harmony with the observations of dohrn, bobretzky, and graber, on insects. they shew, however, that the first formed mesoblastic plate does not give rise to the whole of the mesoblast, but that during the whole of embryonic life the mesoblast continues to receive accessions of cells derived from the cells of the yolk. _araneina._ . balbiani, "mémoire sur le développement des araneides," _ann. sci. nat._, series v, vol. xvii. . . j. barrois, "recherches s. l. développement des araignées," _journal de l'anat. et de la physiol._, . . e. claparède, _recherches s. l'evolution des araignées_, utrecht, . . herold, _de generatione araniorum in ovo_, marburg, . . h. ludwig, "ueb. d. bildung des blastoderm bei d. spinnen," _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxvi. . explanation of plates , , and . plate . complete list of reference letters. _ch._ cheliceræ. _ch.g._ ganglion of cheliceræ. _c.l._ caudal lobe. _p.c._ primitive cumulus. _pd._ pedipalpi. _pr.l._ præoral lobe. _pp_{ }. _pp_{ }. _etc._ provisional appendages. _sp._ spinnerets. _st._ stomodæum. i-iv. ambulatory appendages. - . postoral segments. fig. . ovum, with primitive cumulus and streak proceeding from it. fig. . somewhat later stage, in which the primitive cumulus is still visible. near the opposite end of the blastoderm is a white area, which is probably the rudiment of the procephalic lobe. fig. _a_ and _b_. view of an embryo from the ventral surface and from the side when six segments have become established. fig. . view of an embryo, ideally unrolled, when the first rudiments of the appendages become visible. fig. . embryo ideally unrolled at the stage when all the appendages have become established. fig. . somewhat older stage, when the limbs begin to be jointed. viewed from the side. fig. . later stage, viewed from the side. fig. _a_. same embryo as fig. , ideally unrolled. figs. _a_ and _b_. view from the ventral surface and from the side of an embryo, after the ventral flexure has considerably advanced. fig. . somewhat older embryo, viewed from the ventral surface. plates and . complete list of reference letters. _ao._ aorta. _ab.g._ abdominal nerve cord. _ch._ cheliceræ. _ch.g._ ganglion of cheliceræ. _ep._ epiblast. _hs._ hemispherical lobe of supra-oesophageal ganglion. _ht._ heart. _l.l._ lower lip. _m._ muscles. _me._ mesoblast. _mes._ mesenteron. _mp.g._ malpighian tube. _ms._ mesoblastic somite. _oe._ oesophagus. _p.c._ pericardium. _pd._ pedipalpi. _pd.g._ ganglion of pedipalpi. _pr._ proctodæum (rectum). _pr.c._ primitive cumulus. _s._ septum in abdomen. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _st._ stomodæum. _su._ suctorial apparatus. _su.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglion. _th. g._ thoracic ganglion. _v.g._ ventral nerve cord. _y.c._ cells derived from yolk. _yk._ yolk. _y.n._ nuclei of yolk cells. i_g_-iv_g_. ganglia of ambulatory limbs. - . postoral segments. fig. . section through an ovum, slightly younger than fig. . shewing the primitive cumulus and the columnar character of the cells of one half of the blastoderm. fig. . section through an embryo of the same age as fig. . shewing the median thickening of the blastoderm. fig. . transverse section through the ventral plate of a somewhat older embryo. shewing the division of the ventral plate into epiblast and mesoblast. fig. . section through the ventral plate of an embryo of the same age as fig. , shewing the division of the mesoblast of the ventral plate into two mesoblastic bands. fig. . transverse section through an embryo of the same age as fig. , passing through an abdominal segment above and a thoracic segment below. fig. . longitudinal section slightly to one side of the middle line through an embryo of the same age. fig. . transverse section through the ventral plate in the thoracic region of an embryo of the same age as fig. . fig. . transverse section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of the same age. _gr._ section of hemicircular groove in procephalic lobe. fig. . transverse section through the thoracic region of an embryo of the same age as fig. . fig. . section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of the same age. fig. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_. five sections through an embryo of the same age as fig. . _a_ and _b_ are sections through the procephalic lobes, _c_ through the front part of the thorax. _d_ cuts transversely the posterior parts of the thorax, and longitudinally and horizontally the ventral surface of the abdomen. _e_ cuts the posterior part of the abdomen longitudinally and horizontally, and shews the commencement of the mesenteron. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section of an embryo of the same age. the section passes somewhat to one side of the middle line, and shews the structure of the nervous system. fig. . transverse section through the dorsal part of the abdomen of an embryo of the same stage as fig. . xviii. on the spinal nerves of amphioxus[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xx. . in an interesting memoir devoted to the elucidation of a series of points in the anatomy and development of the vertebrata, schneider[ ] has described what he believes to be motor nerves in amphioxus, which spring from the anterior side of the spinal cord. according to schneider these nerves have been overlooked by all previous observers except stieda. footnote : _beiträge z. anat. u. entwick. d. wirbelthiere_, berlin, . i[ ] myself attempted to shew some time ago that anterior roots were absent in amphioxus; and in some speculations on the cranial nerves, i employed this peculiarity of the nervous system of amphioxus to support a view that vertebrata were primitively provided only with nerves of mixed function springing from the posterior side of the spinal cord. under these circumstances, schneider's statement naturally attracted my attention, and i have made some efforts to satisfy myself as to its accuracy. the nerves, as he describes them, are very peculiar. they arise from a number of distinct roots in the hinder third of each segment. they form a flat bundle, of which part passes upwards and part downwards. when they meet the muscles they bend backwards, and fuse with the free borders of the muscle-plates. the fibres, which at first sight appear to form the nerve, are, however, transversely striated, and are regarded by schneider as muscles; and he holds that each muscle-plate sends a process to the edge of the spinal cord, which there receives its innervation. a considerable body of evidence is requisite to justify a belief in the existence of such very extraordinary and unparalleled motor nerves; and for my part i cannot say that schneider's observations are convincing to me. i have attempted to repeat his observations, employing the methods he describes. footnote : "on the spinal nerves of amphioxus," _journ. of anat. and phys._ vol. x. . [this edition, no. ix. p. .] in the first place, he states that by isolating the spinal cord by boiling in acetic acid, the anterior roots may be brought into view as numerous conical processes of the spinal cord in each segment. i find by treating the spinal cord in this way, that processes more or less similar, but more irregular than those which he figures, are occasionally present; but i cannot persuade myself that they are anything but parts of the sheath of the spinal cord which is not completely dissolved by treatment with acetic acid. by treatment with nitric acid _no such processes are to be seen_, though the whole length and very finest branches of the posterior nerves are preserved. by treating with nitric acid and clarifying by oil of cloves, and subsequently removing one half of the body so as to expose the spinal cord _in sitû_, the origin and distribution of the posterior nerves is very clearly exhibited. but i have failed to detect any trace of the anterior nerve-roots. horizontal section, which ought also to bring them clearly into view, failed to shew me anything which i could interpret as such. i agree with schneider that a process of each muscle-plate is prolonged up to the anterior border of the spinal cord, but i can find no trace of a connection between it and the cord. schneider has represented a transverse section in which the anterior nerves are figured. i am very familiar with an appearance in section such as that represented in his figure, but i satisfied myself when i previously studied the nerves in amphioxus, that the body supposed to be a nerve by schneider was nothing else than part of the intermuscular septum, and after re-examining my sections i see no reason to alter my view. a very satisfactory proof that the ventral nerves do not exist would be found, if it could be established that the dorsal nerves contained both motor and sensory fibres. so far i have not succeeded in proving this; i have not, however, had fresh specimens to assist me in the investigation. langerhans[ ], whose careful observations appear to me to have been undervalued by schneider, figures a branch distributed to the muscles, which passes off from the dorsal roots. till the inaccuracy of this observation is demonstrated, the balance of evidence appears to me to be opposed to schneider's view. footnote : _archiv f. mikros. anatomie_, vol. xii. xix. address to the department of anatomy and physiology of the british association, . in the spring of the present year, professor huxley delivered an address at the royal institution, to which he gave the felicitous title of '_the coming of age of the origin of species_.' it is, as he pointed out, twenty-one years since mr darwin's great work was published, and the present occasion is an appropriate one to review the effect which it has had on the progress of biological knowledge. there is, i may venture to say, no department of biology the growth of which has not been profoundly influenced by the darwinian theory. when messrs darwin and wallace first enunciated their views to the scientific world, the facts they brought forward seemed to many naturalists insufficient to substantiate their far-reaching conclusions. since that time an overwhelming mass of evidence has, however, been rapidly accumulating in their favour. facts which at first appeared to be opposed to their theories have one by one been shewn to afford striking proofs of their truth. there are at the present time but few naturalists who do not accept in the main the darwinian theory, and even some of those who reject many of darwin's explanations still accept the fundamental position that all animals are descended from a common stock. to attempt in the brief time which i have at my disposal to trace the influence of the darwinian theory on all the branches of anatomy and physiology would be wholly impossible, and i shall confine myself to an attempt to do so for a small section only. there is perhaps no department of biology which has been so revolutionised, if i may use the term, by the theory of animal evolution, as that of development or embryology. the reason of this is not far to seek. according to the darwinian theory, the present order of the organic world has been caused by the action of two laws, known as the laws of heredity and of variation. the law of heredity is familiarly exemplified by the well-known fact that offspring resemble their parents. not only, however, do the offspring belong to the same species as their parents, but they inherit the individual peculiarities of their parents. it is on this that the breeders of cattle depend, and it is a fact of every-day experience amongst ourselves. a further point with reference to heredity to which i must call your attention is the fact that the characters, which display themselves at some special period in the life of the parent, are acquired by the offspring at a corresponding period. thus, in many birds the males have a special plumage in the adult state. the male offspring is not, however, born with the adult plumage, but only acquires it when it becomes adult. the law of variation is in a certain sense opposed to the law of heredity. it asserts that the resemblance which offspring bear to their parents is never exact. the contradiction between the two laws is only apparent. all variations and modifications in an organism are directly or indirectly due to its environments; that is to say, they are either produced by some direct influence acting upon the organism itself, or by some more subtle and mysterious action on its parents; and the law of heredity really asserts that the offspring and parent would resemble each other if their environments were the same. since, however, this is never the case, the offspring always differ to some extent from the parents. now, according to the law of heredity, every acquired variation tends to be inherited, so that, by a summation of small changes, the animals may come to differ from their parent stock to an indefinite extent. we are now in a position to follow out the consequences of these two laws in their bearing on development. their application will best be made apparent by taking a concrete example. let us suppose a spot on the surface of some very simple organism to become, at a certain period of life, pigmented, and therefore to be especially sensitive to light. in the offspring of this form, the pigment-spot will reappear at a corresponding period; and there will therefore be a period in the life of the offspring during which there is no pigment-spot, and a second period in which there is one. if a naturalist were to study the life-history, or, in other words, the embryology of this form, this fact about the pigment-spot would come to his notice, and he would be justified, from the laws of heredity, in concluding that the species was descended from an ancestor without a pigment-spot, because a pigment-spot was absent in the young. now, we may suppose the transparent layer of skin above the pigment-spot to become thickened, so as gradually to form a kind of lens, which would throw an image of external objects on the pigment-spot. in this way a rudimentary eye might be evolved out of the pigment-spot. a naturalist studying the embryology of the form with this eye would find that the pigment-spot was formed before the lens, and he would be justified in concluding, by the same process of reasoning as before, that the ancestors of the form he was studying first acquired a pigment-spot and then a lens. we may picture to ourselves a series of steps by which the simple eye, the origin of which i have traced, might become more complicated; and it is easy to see how an embryologist studying the actual development of this complicated eye would be able to unravel the process of its evolution. the general nature of the methods of reasoning employed by embryologists, who accept the darwinian theory, is exemplified by the instance just given. if this method is a legitimate one, and there is no reason to doubt it, we ought to find that animals, in the course of their development, pass through a series of stages, in each of which they resemble one of their remote ancestors; but it is to be remembered that, in accordance with the law of variation, there is a continual tendency to change, and that the longer this tendency acts the greater will be the total effect. owing to this tendency, we should not expect to find a perfect resemblance between an animal, at different stages of its growth, and its ancestors; and the remoter the ancestors, the less close ought the resemblance to be. in spite, however, of this limitation, it may be laid down as one of the consequences of the law of inheritance that every animal ought, in the course of its individual development, to repeat with more or less fidelity the history of its ancestral evolution. a direct verification of this proposition is scarcely possible. there is ample ground for concluding that the forms from which existing animals are descended have in most instances perished; and although there is no reason why they should not have been preserved in a fossil state, yet, owing to the imperfection of the geological record, palæontology is not so often of service as might have been hoped. while, for the reasons just stated, it is not generally possible to prove by direct observation that existing forms in their embryonic state repeat the characters of their ancestors, there is another method by which the truth of this proposition can be approximately verified. a comparison of recent and fossil forms shews that there are actually living at the present day representatives of a considerable proportion of the groups which have in previous times existed on the globe, and there are therefore forms allied to the ancestors of those living at the present day, though not actually the same species. if therefore it can be shewn that the embryos of existing forms pass through stages in which they have the characters of more primitive groups, a sufficient proof of our proposition will have been given. that such is often the case is a well-known fact, and was even known before the publication of darwin's works. von baer, the greatest embryologist of the century, who died at an advanced age but a few years ago, discussed the proposition at considerable length in a work published between the years and . he came to the conclusion that the embryos of higher forms never actually resemble lower forms, but only the embryos of lower forms; and he further maintained that such resemblances did not hold at all, or only to a very small extent, beyond the limits of the larger groups. thus he believed that, though the embryos of vertebrates might agree amongst themselves, there was no resemblance between them and the embryos of any invertebrate group. we now know that these limitations of von baer do not hold good, but it is to be remembered that the meaning _now_ attached by embryologists to such resemblances was quite unknown to him. these preliminary remarks will, i trust, be sufficient to demonstrate how completely modern embryological reasoning is dependent on the two laws of inheritance and variation, which constitute the keystones of the darwinian theory. before the appearance of the _origin of species_ many very valuable embryological investigations were made, but the facts discovered were to their authors merely so many ultimate facts, which admitted of being classified, but could not be explained. no explanation could be offered of why it is that animals, instead of developing in a simple and straightforward way, undergo in the course of their growth a series of complicated changes, during which they often acquire organs which have no function, and which, after remaining visible for a short time, disappear without leaving a trace. no explanation, for instance, could be offered of why it is that a frog in the course of its growth has a stage in which it breathes like a fish, and then why it is like a newt with a long tail, which gradually becomes absorbed, and finally disappears. to the darwinian the explanation of such facts is obvious. the stage when the tadpole breathes by gills is a repetition of the stage when the ancestors of the frog had not advanced in the scale of development beyond a fish, while the newt-like stage implies that the ancestors of the frog were at one time organized very much like the newts of to-day. the explanation of such facts has opened out to the embryologist quite a new series of problems. these problems may be divided into two main groups, technically known as those of phylogeny and those of organogeny. the problems of phylogeny deal with the genealogy of the animal kingdom. a complete genealogy would form what is known as a natural classification. to attempt to form such a classification has long been the aim of a large number of naturalists, and it has frequently been attempted without the aid of embryology. the statements made in the earlier part of my address clearly shew how great an assistance embryology is capable of giving in phylogeny; and as a matter of fact embryology has been during the last few years very widely employed in all phylogenetic questions, and the results which have been arrived at have in many cases been very striking. to deal with these results in detail would lead me into too technical a department of my subject; but i may point out that amongst the more striking of the results obtained _entirely_ by embryological methods is the demonstration that the vertebrata are not, as was nearly universally believed by older naturalists, separated by a wide gulf from the invertebrata, but that there is a group of animals, known as the ascidians, formerly united with the invertebrata, which are now universally placed with the vertebrata. the discoveries recently made in organogeny, or the genesis of organs, have been quite as striking, and in many respects even more interesting, than those in phylogeny, and i propose devoting the remainder of my address to a history of results which have been arrived at with reference to the origin of the nervous system. to render clear the nature of these results i must say a few words as to the structure of the animal body. the body is always built of certain pieces of protoplasm, which are technically known to biologists as cells. the simplest organisms are composed either of a single piece of this kind, or of several similar pieces loosely aggregated together. each of these pieces or cells is capable of digesting and assimilating food, and of respiring; it can execute movements, and is sensitive to external stimuli, and can reproduce itself. all the functions of higher animals can, in fact, be carried on in this single cell. such lowly organized forms are known to naturalists as the protozoa. all other animals are also composed of cells, but these cells are no longer complete organisms in themselves. they exhibit a division of labour: some carrying on the work of digestion; some, which we call nerve-cells, receiving and conducting stimuli; some, which we call muscle-cells, altering their form--in fact, contracting in one direction--under the action of the stimuli brought to them by the nerve-cells. in most cases a number of cells with the same function are united together, and thus constitute a tissue. thus the cells which carry on the work of digestion form a lining membrane to a tube or sack, and constitute a tissue known as a secretory epithelium. the whole of the animals with bodies composed of definite tissues of this kind are known as the metazoa. a considerable number of early developmental processes are common to the whole of the metazoa. in the first place every metazoon commences its existence as a simple cell, in the sense above defined; this cell is known as the ovum. the first developmental process which takes place consists in the division or segmentation of the single cell into a number of smaller cells. the cells then arrange themselves into two groups or layers known to embryologists as the _primary germinal layers_. these two layers are usually placed one within the other round a central cavity. the inner of the two is called the hypoblast, the outer the epiblast. the existence of these two layers in the embryos of vertebrated animals was made out early in the present century by pander, and his observations were greatly extended by von baer and remak. but it was supposed that these layers were confined to vertebrated animals. in the year , and at greater length in , huxley demonstrated that the bodies of all the polype tribe or coelenterata--that is to say of the group to which the common polype, jelly-fish and the sea-anemone belong--were composed of two layers of cells, and stated that in his opinion these two layers were homologous with the epiblast and hypoblast of vertebrate embryos. this very brilliant discovery came before its time. it fell upon barren ground, and for a long time bore no fruit. in the year a young russian naturalist named kowalevsky began to study by special histological methods the development of a number of invertebrated forms of animals, and discovered that at an early stage of development the bodies of all these animals were divided into germinal layers like those in vertebrates. biologists were not long in recognizing the importance of these discoveries, and they formed the basis of two remarkable essays, one by our own countryman, professor lankester, and the other by a distinguished german naturalist, professor haeckel, of jena. in these essays the attempt was made to shew that the stage in development already spoken of, in which the cells are arranged in the form of two layers enclosing a central cavity has an ancestral meaning, and that it is to be interpreted to signify that all the metazoa are descended from an ancestor which had a more or less oval form, with a central digestive cavity provided with a single opening, serving both for the introduction of food and for the ejection of indigestible substances. the body of this ancestor was supposed to have been a double-walled sack formed of an inner layer, the hypoblast, lining the digestive cavity, and an outer layer, the epiblast. to this form haeckel gave the name of gastræa or gastrula. there is every reason to think that lankester and haeckel were quite justified in concluding that a form more or less like that just described was the ancestor of the metazoa; but the further speculations contained in their essays as to the origin of this form from the protozoa can only be regarded as suggestive feelers, which, however, have been of great importance in stimulating and directing embryological research. it is, moreover, very doubtful whether there are to be found in the developmental histories of most animals any traces of this gastræa ancestor, other than the fact of their passing through a stage in which the cells are divided into two germinal layers. the key to the nature of the two germinal layers is to be found in huxley's comparison between them, and the two layers in the fresh-water polype and the sea-anemone. the epiblast is the primitive skin, and the hypoblast is the primitive epithelial wall of the alimentary tract. in the whole of the polype group, or coelenterata, the body remains through life composed of the two layers, which huxley recognized as homologous with the epiblast and hypoblast of the vertebrata; but in all the higher metazoa a third germinal layer, known as the mesoblast, early makes its appearance between the two primary layers. the mesoblast originates as a differentiation of one or of both the primary germinal layers; but although the different views which have been held as to its mode of origin form an important section of the history of recent embryological investigations, i must for the moment confine myself to saying that from this layer there take their origin--the whole of the muscular system, of the vascular system, and of that connective-tissue system which forms the internal skeleton, tendons, and other parts. we have seen that the epiblast represents the skin or epidermis of the simple sack-like ancestor common to all the metazoa. in all the higher metazoa it gives rise, as might be expected, to the epidermis, but it gives rise at the same time to a number of other organs; and, in accordance with the principles laid down in the earlier part of my address, it is to be concluded that _the organs so derived have been formed as differentiations of the primitive epidermis_. one of the most interesting of recent embryological discoveries is the fact that the nervous system is, in all but a very few doubtful cases, derived from the epiblast. this fact was made out for vertebrate animals by the great embryologist von baer; and the russian naturalist kowalevsky, to whose researches i have already alluded, shewed that this was true for a large number of invertebrate animals. the derivation of the nervous system from the epiblast has since been made out for a sufficient number of forms satisfactorily to establish the generalization that it is all but universally derived from the epiblast. in any animal in which there is no distinct nervous system, it is obvious that the general surface of the body must be sensitive to the action of its surroundings, or to what are technically called stimuli. we know experimentally that this is so in the case of the protozoa, and of some very simple metazoa, such as the freshwater polype or hydra, where there is no distinct nervous system. the skin or epidermis of the ancestor of the metazoa was no doubt similarly sensitive; and the fact of the nervous system being derived from the epiblast implies that the functions of the central nervous system, which were originally taken by the whole skin, became gradually concentrated in a special part of the skin which was step by step removed from the surface, and finally became a well-defined organ in the interior of the body. what were the steps by which this remarkable process took place? how has it come about that there are nerves passing from the central nervous system to all parts of the skin, and also to the muscles? how have the arrangements for reflex actions arisen by which stimuli received on the surface of the body are carried to the central part of the nervous system, and are thence transmitted to the appropriate muscles, and cause them to contract? all these questions require to be answered before we can be said to possess a satisfactory knowledge of the origin of the nervous system. as yet, however, the knowledge of these points derived from embryology is imperfect, although there is every hope that further investigation will render it less so. fortunately, however, a study of comparative anatomy, especially that of the coelenterata, fills up some of the gaps left from our study of embryology. from embryology we learn that the ganglion-cells of the central part of the nervous system are originally derived from the simple undifferentiated epithelial cells of the surface of the body. we further learn that the nerves are out-growths of the central nervous system. it was supposed till quite recently that the nerves in vertebrates were derived from parts of the middle germinal layer or mesoblast, and that they only became secondarily connected with the central nervous system. this is now known not to be the case, but the nerves are formed as processes growing out from the central part of the nervous system. another important fact shewn by embryology is that the central nervous system, and percipient portion of the organs of special sense, are often formed from the same part of the primitive epidermis. thus, in ourselves and in other vertebrate animals the sensitive part of the eye, known as the retina, is formed from two lateral lobes of the front part of the primitive brain. the crystalline lens and cornea of the eye are, however, subsequently formed from the skin. the same is true for the peculiar compound eyes of crabs or crustacea. the most important part of the central nervous system of these animals is the supra-oesophageal ganglia, often known as the brain, and these are formed in the embryo from two thickened patches of the skin at the front end of the body. these thickened patches become gradually detached from the surface, remaining covered over by a layer of skin. they then constitute the supra-oesophageal ganglia; but they form not only the ganglia, but also the rhabdons or retinal elements of the eye--the parts in fact which correspond to the rods and cones in our own retina. the layer of epidermis or skin which lies immediately above the supra-oesophageal ganglia becomes gradually converted into the refractive media of the crustacean eye. a cuticle which lies on its surface forms the peculiar facets on the surface of the eye, which are known as the corneal lenses, while the cells of the epidermis give rise to lens-like bodies known as the crystalline cones. it would be easy to quote further instances of the same kind, but i trust that the two which i have given will be sufficient to shew the kind of relation which often exists between the organs of special sense, especially those of vision, and the central nervous system. it might have been anticipated _à priori_ that organs of special sense would only appear in animals provided with a well-developed central nervous system. this, however, is not the case. special cells, with long delicate hairs, which are undoubtedly highly sensitive structures, are present in animals in which as yet nothing has been found which could be called a central nervous system; and there is every reason to think that the organs of special sense originated _pari passu_ with the central nervous system. it is probable that in the simplest organisms the whole body is sensitive to light, but that with the appearance of pigment-cells in certain parts of the body, the sensitiveness to light became localised to the areas where the pigment-cells were present. since, however, it was necessary that stimuli received by such organs should be communicated to other parts of the body, some of the epidermic cells in the neighbourhood of the pigment-spots, which were at first only sensitive, in the same manner as other cells of the epidermis, became gradually differentiated into special nerve-cells. as to the details of this differentiation, embryology does not as yet throw any great light; but from the study of comparative anatomy there are grounds for thinking that it was somewhat as follows:--cells placed on the surface sent protoplasmic processes of a nervous nature inwards, which came into connection with nervous processes from similar cells placed in other parts of the body. the cells with such processes then became removed from the surface, forming a deeper layer of the epidermis below the sensitive cells of the organ of vision. with these cells they remained connected by protoplasmic filaments, and thus they came to form a thickening of the epidermis underneath the organ of vision, the cells of which received their stimuli from those of the organ of vision, and transmitted the stimuli so received to other parts of the body. such a thickening would obviously be the rudiment of a central nervous system, and it is easy to see by what steps it might become gradually larger and more important, and might gradually travel inwards, remaining connected with the sense organ at the surface by protoplasmic filaments, which would then constitute nerves. the rudimentary eye would at first merely consist partly of cells sensitive to light, and partly of optical structures constituting the lens, which would throw an image of external objects upon it, and so convert the whole structure into a true organ of vision. it has thus come about that, in the development of the individual, the retina or sensitive part of the eye is first formed in connection with the central nervous system, while the lenses of the eye are independently evolved from the epidermis at a later period. the general features of the origin of the nervous system which have so far been made out by means of the study of embryology are the following:-- ( ) that the nervous system of the higher metazoa has been developed in the course of a long series of generations by a gradual process of differentiation of parts of the epidermis. ( ) that part of the central nervous system of many forms arose as a local collection of nerve-cells in the epidermis, in the neighbourhood of rudimentary organs of vision. ( ) that ganglion cells have been evolved from simple epithelial cells of the epidermis. ( ) that the primitive nerves were outgrowths of the original ganglion cells; and that the nerves of the higher forms are formed as outgrowths of the central nervous system. the points on which embryology has not yet thrown a satisfactory light are:-- ( ) the steps by which the protoplasmic processes, from the primitive epidermic cells, became united together so as to form a network of nerve-fibres, placing the various parts of the body in nervous communication. ( ) the process by which nerves became connected with muscles, so that a stimulus received by a nerve-cell could be communicated to and cause a contraction in a muscle. recent investigations on the anatomy of the coelenterata, especially of jelly-fish and sea-anemones, have thrown some light on these points, although there is left much that is still obscure. in our own country mr romaines has conducted some interesting physiological experiments on these forms; and professor schäfer has made some important histological investigations upon them. in germany a series of interesting researches have also been made on them by professors kleinenberg, claus and eimer, and more especially by the brothers hertwig, of jena. careful histological investigations, especially those of the last-named authors, have made us acquainted with the forms of some very primitive types of nervous system. in the common sea-anemones there are, for instance, no organs of special sense, and no definite central nervous system. there are, however, scattered throughout the skin, and also throughout the lining of the digestive tract, a number of specially modified epithelial cells, which are no doubt delicate organs of sense. they are provided at their free extremity with a long hair, and are prolonged on their inner side into a fine process which penetrates the deeper part of the epithelial layer of the skin or digestive wall. they eventually join a fine network of protoplasmic fibres which forms a special layer immediately within the epithelium. the fibres of this network are no doubt essentially nervous. in addition to fibres there are, moreover, present in the network cells of the same character as the multipolar ganglion-cells in the nervous system of vertebrates, and some of these cells are characterized by sending a process into the superjacent epithelium. such cells are obviously epithelial cells in the act of becoming nerve-cells; and it is probable that the nerve-cells are, in fact, sense-cells which have travelled inwards and lost their epithelial character. there is every reason to think that the network just described is not only continuous with the sense-cells in the epithelium, but that it is also continuous with epithelial cells which are provided with muscular prolongations. the nervous system thus consists of a network of protoplasmic fibres, continuous on the one hand with sense-cells in the epithelium, and on the other with muscular cells. the nervous network is generally distributed both beneath the epithelium of the skin and that of the digestive tract, but is especially concentrated in the disc-like region between the mouth and tentacles. the above observations have thrown a very clear light on the characters of the nervous system at an early stage of its evolution, but they leave unanswered the questions ( ) how the nervous network first arose, and ( ) how its fibres became continuous with muscles. it is probable that the nervous network took its origin from processes of the sense-cells. the processes of the different cells probably first met and then fused together, and, becoming more arborescent, finally gave rise to a complicated network. the connection between this network and the muscular cells also probably took place by a process of contact and fusion. epithelial cells with muscular processes were discovered by kleinenberg before epithelial cells with nervous processes were known, and he suggested that the epithelial part of such cells was a sense-organ, and that the connecting part between this and the contractile processes was a rudimentary nerve. this ingenious theory explained completely the fact of nerves being continuous with muscles; but on the further discoveries being made which i have just described, it became obvious that this theory would have to be abandoned, and that some other explanation would have to be given of the continuity between nerves and muscles. the hypothetical explanation just offered is that of fusion. it seems very probable that many of the epithelial cells were originally provided with processes the protoplasm of which, like that of the protozoa, carried on the functions of nerves and muscles at the same time, and that these processes united amongst themselves into a network. by a process of differentiation parts of this network may have become specially contractile, and other parts may have lost their contractility and become solely nervous. in this way the connection between nerves and muscles might be explained, and this hypothesis fits in very well with the condition of the neuro-muscular system as we find it in the coelenterata. the nervous system of the higher metazoa appears then to have originated from a differentiation of some of the superficial epithelial cells of the body, though it is possible that some parts of the system may have been formed by a differentiation of the alimentary epithelium. the cells of the epithelium were most likely at the same time contractile and sensory, and the differentiation of the nervous system may very probably have commenced, in the first instance, from a specialization in the function of part of a network formed of neuro-muscular prolongations of epithelial cells. a simultaneous differentiation of other parts of the network into muscular fibres may have led to the continuity at present obtaining between nerves and muscles. local differentiations of the nervous network, which was no doubt distributed over the whole body, took place on the formation of organs of special sense, and such differentiations gave rise to the formation of a central nervous system. the central nervous system was at first continuous with the epidermis, but became separated from it and travelled inwards. ganglion-cells took their origin from sensory epithelial cells, provided with prolongations, continuous with the nervous network. such epithelial cells gradually lost their epithelial character, and finally became completely detached from the epidermis. nerves, such as we find them in the higher types, originated from special differentiations of the nervous network, radiating from the parts of the central nervous system. such, briefly, is the present state of our knowledge as to the genesis of the nervous system. i ought not, however, to leave this subject without saying a few words as to the hypothetical views which the distinguished evolutionist mr herbert spencer has put forward on this subject in his work on psychology. for herbert spencer nerves have originated, not as processes of epithelial cells, but from the passage of motion along the lines of least resistance. the nerves would seem, according to this view, to have been formed in any tissue from the continuous passage of nervous impulses through it. "a wave of molecular disturbance," he says, "passing along a tract of mingled colloids closely allied in composition, and isomerically transforming the molecules of one of them, will be apt at the same time to form some new molecules of the same type," and thus a nerve becomes established. a nervous centre is formed, according to herbert spencer, at the point in the colloid in which nerves are generated, where a single nervous wave breaks up, and its parts diverge along various lines of least resistance. at such points some of the nerve-colloid will remain in an amorphous state, and as the wave of molecular motion will there be checked, it will tend to cause decompositions amongst the unarranged molecules. the decompositions must, he says, cause "additional molecular motion to be disengaged; so that along the outgoing lines there will be discharged an augmented wave. thus there will arise at this point something having the character of a ganglion corpuscle." these hypotheses of herbert spencer, which have been widely adopted in this country, are, it appears to me, not borne out by the discoveries to which i have called your attention to-day. the discovery that nerves have been developed from processes of epithelial cells, gives a very different conception of their genesis to that of herbert spencer, which makes them originate from the passage of nervous impulses through a tract of mingled colloids; while the demonstration that ganglion-cells arose as epithelial cells of special sense, which have travelled inwards from the surface, admits still less of a reconciliation with herbert spencer's view on the same subject. although the present state of our knowledge on the genesis of the nervous system is a great advance on that of a few years ago, there is still much remaining to be done to make it complete. the subject is well worth the attention of the morphologist, the physiologist, or even of the psychologist, and we must not remain satisfied by filling up the gaps in our knowledge by such hypotheses as i have been compelled to frame. new methods of research will probably be required to grapple with the problems that are still unsolved; but when we look back and survey what has been done in the past, there can be no reason for mistrusting our advance in the future. xx. on the development of the skeleton of the paired fins of elasmobranchii, considered in relation to its bearings on the nature of the limbs of the vertebrata[ ]. footnote : from the _proceedings of the zoological society of london_, . (with plate .) some years ago the study of the development of the soft parts of the fins in several elasmobranch types, more especially in _torpedo,_ led me to the conclusion that the vertebrate limbs were remnants of two continuous lateral fins[ ]. more or less similar views (which i was not at that time acquainted with) had been previously held by maclise, humphrey, and other anatomists; these views had not, however, met with much acceptance, and diverge in very important points from those put forward by me. shortly after the appearance of my paper, j. thacker published two interesting memoirs comparing the skeletal parts of the paired and unpaired fins[ ]. footnote : "monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes," pp. , . footnote : j. k. thacker, "median and paired fins; a contribution to the history of the vertebrate limbs," _trans. of the connecticut acad._ vol. iii. . "ventral fins of ganoids," _trans. of the connecticut acad._ vol. iv. . in these memoirs thacker arrives at conclusions as to the nature of the fins in the main similar to mine, but on entirely independent grounds. he attempts to shew that the structure of the skeleton of the paired fins is essentially the same as that of the unpaired fins, and in this comparison lays special stress on the very simple skeleton of the pelvic fin in the cartilaginous ganoids, more especially in _acipenser_ and _polyodon_. he points out that the skeleton of the pelvic fin of _polyodon_ consists essentially of a series of nearly isolated rays, which have a strikingly similar arrangement to that of the rays of the skeleton in many unpaired fins. he sums up his views in the following way[ ]:-- footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . "as the dorsal and anal fins were specializations of the median folds of _amphioxus,_ so the paired fins were specializations of the two lateral folds which are supplementary to the median in completing the circuit of the body. these lateral folds, then, are the homologues of wolffian ridges, in embryos of higher forms. here, as in the median fins, there were formed chondroid and finally cartilaginous rods. these became at least twice segmented. the orad ones, with more or less concrescence proximally, were prolonged inwards. the cartilages spreading met in the middle line; and a later extension of the cartilages dorsad completed the limb-girdle. "the limbs of the protognathostomi consisted of a series of parallel articulated cartilaginous rays. they may have coalesced somewhat proximally and orad. in the ventral pair they had extended themselves mesiad until they had nearly or quite met and formed the hip-girdle; they had not here extended themselves dorsad. in the pectoral limb the same state of things prevailed, but was carried a step further, namely, by the dorsal extension of the cartilage constituting the scapular portion, thus more nearly forming a ring or girdle." the most important point in thacker's theories which i cannot accept is the derivation of the folds, of which the paired fins of the vertebrata are supposed to be specializations, from the lateral folds of _amphioxus;_ and thacker himself recognizes that this part of his theory stands on quite a different footing to the remainder. not long after the publication of thacker's paper, an important memoir was published by mivart in the _transactions_ of this society[ ]. the object of the researches recorded in this paper was, as mivart explains, to test how far the hard parts of the limbs and of the azygos fins may have arisen through centripetal chondrifications or calcifications, and so be genetically exoskeletal[ ]. footnote : st george mivart, "on the fins of elasmobranchii," _zoological trans._ vol. x. footnote : mivart used the term exoskeletal in an unusual and (as it appears to me) inconvenient manner. the term is usually applied to dermal skeletal structures; but the skeleton of the limbs, with which we are here concerned, is undoubtedly not of this nature. mivart's investigations and the majority of his views were independent of thacker's memoir; but he acknowledges that he has derived from thacker the view that pelvic and pectoral girdles, as well as the skeleton of the limbs, may have arisen independently of the axial skeleton. the descriptive part of mivart's paper contains an account of the structure of a great variety of interesting and undescribed types of paired and unpaired fins, mainly of elasmobranchii. the following is the summary given by mivart of the conclusions at which he has arrived[ ]:-- footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . " . two continuous lateral longitudinal folds were developed, similar to dorsal and ventral median longitudinal folds. " . separate narrow solid supports (radials), in longitudinal series, and with their long axes directed more or less outwards at right angles with the long axis of the body, were developed in varying extents in all these four longitudinal folds. " . the longitudinal folds became interrupted variously, but so as to form two prominences on each side, _i.e._ the primitive paired limbs. " . each anterior paired limb increased in size more rapidly than the posterior limb. " . the bases of the cartilaginous supports coalesced as was needed, according to the respective practical needs of the different separate portions of the longitudinal folds, _i.e._ the respective needs of the several fins. " . occasionally the dorsal radials coalesced (as in _notidanus_, &c.) and sought centripetally (_pristis_, &c.) adherence to the skeletal axis. " . the radials of the hinder paired limb did so more constantly, and ultimately prolonged themselves inwards by mesiad growth from their coalesced base, till the piscine pelvic structure arose, as, _e.g._, in _squatina_. " . the pectoral radials with increasing development also coalesced proximally, and thence prolonging themselves inwards to seek a _point d'appui_, shot dorsad and ventrad to obtain a firm support, and at the same time to avoid the visceral cavity. thus they came to abut dorsally against the axial skeleton, and to meet ventrally together in the middle line below. " . the lateral fins, as they were applied to support the body on the ground, became elongated, segmented, and narrowed, so that probably the line of the propterygium, or possibly that of the mesopterygium, became the cheiropterygial axis. " . the distal end of the incipient cheiropterygium either preserved and enlarged preexisting cartilages or developed fresh ones to serve fresh needs, and so grew into the developed cheiropterygium; but there is not yet enough evidence to determine what was the precise course of this transformation. " . the pelvic limb acquired a solid connection with the axial skeleton (a pelvic girdle) through its need of a _point d'appui_ as a locomotive organ on land. " . the pelvic limb became also elongated; and when its function was quite similar to that of the pectoral limb, its structure became also quite similar (_e.g. ichthyosaurus_, _plesiosaurus_, _chelydra_, &c.); but for the ordinary quadrupedal mode of progression it became segmented and inflected in a way generally parallel with, but (from its mode of use) in part inversely to, the inflections of the pectoral limb." günther[ ] has propounded a theory on the primitive character of the fins, which, on the whole, fits in with the view that the paired fins are structures of the same nature as the unpaired fins. the interest of günther's views on the nature of the skeleton of the fins more especially depends upon the fact that he attempts to evolve the fin of _ceratodus_ from the typical selachian type of pectoral fin. his own statement on this subject is as follows[ ]:-- footnote : "description of _ceratodus_," _phil. trans._ . footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . "on further inquiry into the more distant relations of the _ceratodus_-limb, we may perhaps be justified in recognizing in it a modification of the typical form of the selachian pectoral fin. leaving aside the usual treble division of the carpal cartilage (which, indeed, is sometimes simple), we find that this shovel-like carpal forms the base for a great number of phalanges, which are arranged in more or less regular transverse rows (zones) and in longitudinal rows (series). the number of phalanges of the zones and series varies according to the species and the form of the fin; in _cestracion philippi_ the greater number of phalanges is found in the proximal zones and middle series, all the phalanges decreasing in size from the base of the fin towards the margins. in a selachian with a long, pointed, scythe-shaped pectoral fin, like that of _ceratodus_, we may, from analogy, presume that the arrangement of the cartilages might be somewhat like that shewn in the accompanying diagram, which i have divided into nine zones and fifteen series. "when we now detach the outermost phalanx from each side of the first horizontal zone, and with it the other phalanges of the same series, when we allow the remaining phalanges of this zone to coalesce into one piece (as, in nature, we find coalesced the carpals of _ceratodus_ and many phalanges in selachian fins), and when we repeat this same process with the following zones and outer series, we arrive at an arrangement identical with what we actually find in _ceratodus_." while the researches of thacker and mivart are strongly confirmatory of the view at which i had arrived with reference to the nature of the paired fins, other hypotheses as to the nature of the skeleton of the fins have been enunciated, both before and after the publication of my memoir, which are either directly or indirectly opposed to my view. huxley in his memoir on _ceratodus_, which throws light on so many important morphological problems, has dealt with the nature of paired fins[ ]. footnote : t. h. huxley, "on _ceratodus fosteri_, with some observations on the classification of fishes," _proc. zool. soc._ . he holds, in accordance with a view previously adopted by gegenbaur, that the limb of _ceratodus_ "presents us with the nearest known approximation to the fundamental form of vertebrate limb or archipterygium," and is of opinion that in a still more archaic fish than _ceratodus_ the skeleton of the fin "would be made up of homologous segments, which might be termed pteromeres, each of which would consist of a mesomere with a preaxial and a postaxial paramere." he considers that the pectoral fins of elasmobranchii, more especially the fin of _notidanus_, which he holds to be the most primitive form of elasmobranch fin, "results in the simplest possible manner from the shortening of the axis of such a fin-skeleton as that of _ceratodus_, and the coalescence of some of its elements." huxley does not enter into the question of the origin of the skeleton of the pelvic fin of elasmobranchii. it will be seen that huxley's idea of the primitive structure of the archipterygium is not easily reconcilable with the view that the paired fins are parts of a once continuous lateral fin, in that the skeleton of such a lateral fin, if it has existed, must necessarily have consisted of a series of parallel rays. gegenbaur[ ] has done more than any other living anatomist to elucidate the nature of the fins; and his views on this subject have undergone considerable changes in the course of his investigations. after günther had worked out the structure of the fin of _ceratodus_, gegenbaur suggested that it constituted the most primitive _persisting_ type of fin, and has moreover formed a theory as to the origin of the fins founded on this view, to the effect that the fins, together with their respective girdles, are to be derived from visceral arches with their rays. footnote : c. gegenbaur, _untersuchungen z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere_ (leipzig - ): erstes heft, "carpus u. tarsus;" zweites heft, "brustflosse d. fische." "ueb. d. skelet d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere im allgemeinen u. d. hintergliedmaassen d. selachier insbesondere," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. . "ueb. d. archipterygium," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . "zur morphologie d. gliedmaassen d. wirbelthiere," _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. ii. . his views on this subject are clearly explained in the subjoined passages quoted from the english translation of his _elements of comparative anatomy_, pp. and . "the skeleton of the free appendage is attached to the extremity of the girdle. when simplest, this is made up of cartilaginous rods (rays), which differ in their size, segmentation, and relation to one another. one of these rays is larger than the rest, and has a number of other rays attached to its sides. i have given the name of _archipterygium_ to the ground-form of the skeleton which extends from the limb-bearing girdle into the free appendage. the primary ray is the stem of this archipterygium, the characters of which enable us to follow out the lines of development of the skeleton of the appendage. cartilaginous arches beset with the rays form the branchial skeleton. the form of skeleton of the appendages may be compared with them; and we are led to the conclusion that it is possible that they may have been derived from such forms. in the branchial skeleton of the selachii the cartilaginous bars are beset with simple rays. in many a median one is developed to a greater size. as the surrounding rays become smaller, and approach the larger one, we get an intermediate step towards that arrangement in which the larger median ray carries a few smaller ones. this differentiation of one ray, which is thereby raised to a higher grade, may be connected with the primitive form of the appendicular skeleton; and as we compare the girdle with a branchial arch, so we may compare the median ray and its secondary investment of rays with the skeleton of the free appendage. "all the varied forms which the skeleton of the free appendages exhibits may be derived from a ground-form which persists in a few cases only, and which represents the first, and consequently the lowest, stage of the skeleton in the fin--the _archipterygium_. this is made up of a stem which consists of jointed pieces of cartilage, which is articulated to the shoulder-girdle and is beset on either side with rays which are likewise jointed. in addition to the rays of the stem there are others which are directly attached to the limb-girdle. "_ceratodus_ has a fin-skeleton of this form; in it there is a stem beset with two rows of rays. but there are no rays in the shoulder-girdle. this biserial investment of rays on the stem of the fin may also undergo various kinds of modifications. among the dipnoi, _protopterus_ retains the medial row of rays only, which have the form of fine rods of cartilage; in the selachii, on the other hand, the lateral rays are considerably developed. the remains of the medial row are ordinarily quite small, but they are always sufficiently distinct to justify us in supposing that in higher forms the two sets of rays might be better developed. rays are still attached to the stem and are connected with the shoulder-girdle by means of larger plates. the joints of the rays are sometimes broken up into polygonal plates which may further fuse with one another; concrescence of this kind may also affect the pieces which form the base of the fin. by regarding the free rays, which are attached to these basal pieces, as belonging to these basal portions, we are able to divide the entire skeleton of the fin into three segments--pro-, meso-, and metapterygium. "the metapterygium represents the stem of the archipterygium and the rays on it. the propterygium and the mesopterygium are evidently derived from the rays which still remain attached to the shoulder-girdle." since the publication of the memoirs of thacker, mivart, and myself, a pupil of gegenbaur's, m. v. davidoff[ ], has made a series of very valuable observations, in part directed towards demonstrating the incorrectness of our theoretical views, more especially thacker's and mivart's view of the genesis of the skeleton of the limbs. gegenbaur[ ] has also written a short paper in connection with davidoff's memoir, in support of his own as against our views. footnote : m. v. davidoff, "beiträge z. vergleich. anat. d. hinteren gliedmaassen d. fische, i.," _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . footnote : "zur gliedmaassenfrage. an die untersuchungen von davidoff's angeknüpfte bemerkungen," _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . it would not be possible here to give an adequate account of davidoff's observations on the skeleton, muscular system, and nerves of the pelvic fins. his main argument against the view that the paired fins are the remains of a continuous lateral fin is based on the fact that a variable but often considerable number of the spinal nerves in front of the pelvic fin are united by a longitudinal commissure with the true plexus of the nerves supplying the fin. from this he concludes that the pelvic fin has shifted its position, and that it may once therefore have been situated close behind the visceral arches. granting, however, that davidoff's deduction from the character of the pelvic plexus is correct, there is, so far as i see, no reason in the nature of the lateral-fin theory why the pelvic fins should not have shifted; and, on the other hand, the longitudinal cord connecting some of the ventral roots in front of the pelvic fin may have another explanation. it may, for instance, be a remnant of the time when the pelvic fin had a more elongated form than at present, and accordingly extended further forwards. in any case our knowledge of the nature and origin of nervous plexuses is far too imperfect to found upon their characters such conclusions as those of davidoff. gegenbaur, in his paper above quoted, further urges against thacker and mivart's views the fact that there is no proof that the fin of _polyodon_ is a primitive type; and also suggests that the epithelial line which i have found connecting the embryonic pelvic and pectoral fins in _torpedo_ may be a rudiment indicating a migration backwards of the pelvic fin. with reference to the development of the pectoral fin in the teleostei there are some observations of 'swirski[ ], which unfortunately do not throw very much light upon the nature of the limb. footnote : g. 'swirski, _untersuch. üb. d. entwick. d. schultergürtels u. d. skelets d. brustflosse d. hechts._ inaug. diss. dorpat, . 'swirski finds that in the pike the skeleton of the limb is formed of a plate of cartilage continuous with the pectoral girdle, which soon becomes divided into a proximal and a distal portion. the former is subsequently segmented into five basal rays, and the latter into twelve parts, the number of which subsequently becomes reduced. * * * * * the observations which i have to lay before the society were made with the object of determining how far the development of the skeleton of the limbs throws light on the points on which the anatomists whose opinions have just been quoted are at variance. they were made, in the first instance, to complete a chapter in my work on comparative embryology; and, partly owing to the press of other engagements, but still more to the difficulty of procuring material, my observations are confined to the two british species of the genus _scyllium_, viz. _sc. stellare_ and _sc. canicula_; yet i venture to believe that the results at which i have arrived are not wholly without interest. before dealing with the development of the skeleton of the fin, it will be convenient to describe with great brevity the structure of the pectoral and pelvic fins of the adult. the pectoral fins consist of broad plates inserted horizontally on the sides of the body; so that in each there may be distinguished a dorsal and a ventral surface, and an anterior and a posterior border. their shape may best be gathered from the woodcut (fig. ); and it is to be especially noted that the narrowest part of the fin is the base, where it is attached to the side of the body. the cartilaginous skeleton only occupies a small zone at the base of the fin, the remainder being formed of a fringe supported by radiately arranged horny fibres[ ]. footnote : the horny fibres are mesoblastic products; they are formed, in the first instance, as extremely delicate fibrils on the inner side of the membrane separating the epiblast from the mesoblast. [illustration: fig. . pectoral fins and girdle of an adult of _scyllium canicula_ (natural size, seen from behind and above). _co._ coracoid. _sc._ scapula. _pp._ propterygium. _mep._ mesopterygium. _mp._ metapterygium. _fn._ part of fin supported by horny fibre.] [illustration: fig. . right pelvic fin and part of pelvic girdle of an adult female of _scyllium canicula_ (natural size). _il._ iliac process. _pn._ pubic process, cut across below. _bp._ basipterygium. _af._ anterior cartilaginous fin-ray articulated to pelvic girdle. _fn._ part of fin supported by horny fibres.] the true skeleton consists of three basal pieces articulating with the pectoral girdle; on the outer side of which there is a series of more or less segmented cartilaginous fin-rays. of the basal cartilages one (_pp_) is anterior, a second (_mep_) is placed in the middle, and a third is posterior (_mp_). they have been named by gegenbaur the _propterygium_, the _mesopterygium_, and the _metapterygium_; and these names are now generally adopted. the metapterygium is by far the most important of the three, and in _scyllium canicula_ supports or rays[ ]. it forms a large part of the posterior boundary of the fin, and bears rays only on its _anterior_ border. footnote : in one example where the metapterygium had rays the mesopterygium had only rays. the mesopterygium supports or rays, in the basal parts of which the segmentation into distinct rays is imperfect; and the propterygium supports only a single ray. the pelvic fins are horizontally placed, like the pectoral fins, but differ from the latter in nearly meeting each other along the median ventral line of the body. they also differ from the pectoral fins in having a relatively much broader base of attachment to the sides of the body. their cartilaginous skeleton (woodcut, fig. ) consists of a basal bar, placed parallel to the base of the fin, and articulated in front with the pelvic girdle. on its outer border it articulates with a series of cartilaginous fin-rays. i shall call the basal bar the basipterygium. the rays which it bears are most of them less segmented than those of the pectoral fin, being only divided into two; and the posterior ray, which is placed in the free posterior border of the fin, continues the axis of the basipterygium. in the male it is modified in connection with the so-called clasper. the anterior fin-ray of the pelvic fin, which is broader than the other rays, articulates directly with the pelvic girdle, instead of with the basipterygium. this ray, in the female of _scyllium canicula_ and in the male of _scyllium catulus_ (gegenbaur), is peculiar in the fact that its distal segment is longitudinally divided into two or more pieces, instead of being single as is the case with the remaining rays. it is probably equivalent to two of the posterior rays. _development of the paired fins._--the first rudiments of the limbs appear in _scyllium_, as in other fishes, as slight longitudinal ridge-like thickenings of the epiblast, which closely resemble the first rudiments of the unpaired fins. these ridges are two in number on each side--an anterior immediately behind the last visceral fold, and a posterior on the level of the cloaca. in most fishes they are in no way connected; but in some elasmobranch embryos, more especially in that of _torpedo_, they are connected together at their first development by a line of columnar epiblast cells. this connecting line of columnar epiblast, however, is a very transitory structure. the rudimentary fins soon become more prominent, consisting of a projecting ridge both of epiblast and mesoblast, at the outer edge of which is a fold of epiblast only, which soon reaches considerable dimensions. at a later stage the mesoblast penetrates into this fold, and the fin becomes a simple ridge of mesoblast covered by epiblast. the pectoral fins are at first considerably ahead of the pelvic fins in development. the direction of the original epithelial line which connected the two fins of each side is nearly, though not quite, longitudinal, sloping somewhat obliquely ventralwards. it thus comes about that the attachment of each pair of limbs is somewhat on a slant, and that the pelvic pair nearly meet each other in the median ventral line shortly behind the anus. the embryonic muscle-plates, as i have elsewhere shewn, grow into the bases of the fins; and the cells derived from these ingrowths, which are placed on the dorsal and ventral surfaces in immediate contact with the epiblast, probably give rise to the dorsal and ventral muscular layers of the limb, which are shewn in section in plate , fig. , _m_, and in plate , fig. , _m_. the cartilaginous skeleton of the limbs is developed in the indifferent mesoblast cells between the two layers of muscles. its early development in both the pectoral and the pelvic fins is very similar. when first visible it differs histologically from the adjacent mesoblast simply in the fact of its cells being more concentrated; while its boundary is not sharply marked. at this stage it can only be studied by means of sections. it arises simultaneously and continuously with the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and consists, in both fins, of a bar springing at right angles from the posterior side of the pectoral or pelvic girdle, and running parallel to the long axis of the body along the base of the fin. the outer side of this bar is continued into a thin plate, which extends into the fin. the structure of the skeleton of the fin slightly after its first differentiation will be best understood from plate , fig. , and plate , fig. . these figures represent transverse sections through the pelvic and pectoral fins of the same embryo on the same scale. the basal bar is seen at _bp_, and the plate at this stage (which is considerably later than the first differentiation) already partially segmented into rays at _br_. outside the region of the cartilaginous plate is seen the fringe with the horny fibres (_h.f._); and dorsally and ventrally to the cartilaginous skeleton are seen the already well-differentiated muscles (_m_). the pectoral fin is shewn in horizontal section in plate , fig. , at a somewhat earlier stage than that to which the transverse sections belong. the pectoral girdle (_p.g._) is cut transversely, and is seen to be perfectly continuous with the basal bar (_vp_) of the fin. a similar continuity between the basal bar of the pelvic fin and the pelvic girdle is shewn in plate , fig. , at a somewhat later stage. the plate continuous with the basal bar of the fin is at first, to a considerable extent in the pectoral, and to some extent in the pelvic fin, a continuous lamina, which subsequently segments into rays. in the parts of the plate which eventually form distinct rays, however, almost from the first the cells are more concentrated than in those parts which will form the tissue between the rays; and i am not inclined to lay any stress whatever upon the fact of the cartilaginous fin-rays being primitively part of a continuous lamina, but regard it as a secondary phenomenon, dependent on the mode of conversion of embryonic mesoblast cells into cartilage. in all cases the separation into distinct rays is to a large extent completed before the tissue of which the plates are formed is sufficiently differentiated to be called cartilage by an histologist. the general position of the fins in relation to the body, and their relative sizes, may be gathered from plate , figs. and , which represent transverse sections of the same embryo as that from which the transverse sections shewing the fin on a larger scale were taken. during the first stage of its development the skeleton of both fins may thus be described as consisting of _a longitudinal bar running along the base of the fin, and giving off at right angles series of rays which pass into the fin_. the longitudinal bar may be called the basipterygium; and it is continuous in front with the pectoral or pelvic girdle, as the case may be. the further development of the primitive skeleton is different in the case of the two fins. _the pelvic fin._--the changes in the pelvic fin are comparatively slight. plate , fig. , is a representation of the fin and its skeleton in a female of _scyllium stellare_ shortly after the primitive tissue is converted into cartilage, but while it is still so soft as to require the very greatest care in dissection. the fin itself forms a simple projection of the side of the body. the skeleton consists of a basipterygium (_bp_), continuous in front with the pelvic girdle. to the outer side of the basipterygium a series of cartilaginous fin-rays are attached--the posterior ray forming a direct prolongation of the basipterygium, while the anterior ray is united rather with the pelvic girdle than with the basipterygium. all the cartilaginous fin-rays except the first are completely continuous with the basipterygium, their structure in section being hardly different from that shewn in plate , fig. . the external form of the fin does not change very greatly in the course of the further development; but the hinder part of the attached border is, to some extent, separated off from the wall of the body, and becomes the posterior border of the adult fin. with the exception of a certain amount of segmentation in the rays, the character of the skeleton remains almost as in the embryo. the changes which take place are illustrated by plate , fig. , shewing the fin of a young male of _scyllium stellare_. the basipterygium has become somewhat thicker, but is still continuous in front with the pelvic girdle, and otherwise retains its earlier characters. the cartilaginous fin-rays have now become segmented off from it and from the pelvic girdle, the posterior end of the basipterygial bar being segmented off as the terminal ray. the anterior ray is directly articulated with the pelvic girdle, and the remaining rays continue articulated with the basipterygium. some of the latter are partially segmented. as may be gathered by comparing the figure of the fin at the stage just described with that of the adult fin (woodcut, fig. ), the remaining changes are very slight. the most important is the segmentation of the basipterygial bar from the pelvic girdle. the pelvic fin thus retains in all essential points its primitive structure. _the pectoral fin._--the earliest stage of the pectoral fin differs, as i have shewn, from that of the pelvic fin only in minor points (pl. , fig. ). there is the same longitudinal or basipterygial bar (_bp_), to which the fin-rays are attached, which is continuous in front with the pectoral girdle (_pg_). the changes which take place in the course of the further development, however, are very much more considerable in the case of the pectoral than in that of the pelvic fin. the most important change in the external form of the fin is caused by a reduction in the length of its attachment to the body. at first (pl. , fig. ), the base of the fin is as long as the greatest breadth of the fin; but it gradually becomes shortened by being constricted off from the body at its hinder end. in connection with this process the posterior end of the basipterygial bar is gradually rotated outwards, its anterior end remaining attached to the pectoral girdle. in this way this bar comes to form the posterior border of the skeleton of the fin (pl. , figs. and ), constituting the metapterygium (_mp_). it becomes eventually segmented off from the pectoral girdle, simply articulating with its hinder edge. the plate of cartilage, which is continued outwards from the basipterygium, or, as we may now call it, the metapterygium, into the fin, is not nearly so completely divided up into fin-rays as the homologous part of the pelvic fin; and this is especially the case with the basal part of the plate. this basal part becomes, in fact, at first only divided into two parts (pl. , fig. )--a small anterior part at the front end (_me.p_), and a larger posterior along the base of the metapterygium (_mp_); and these two parts are not completely segmented from each other. the anterior part directly joins the pectoral girdle at its base, resembling in this respect the anterior fin-ray of the pelvic girdle. it constitutes the (at this stage undivided) rudiment of the mesopterygium and propterygium of gegenbaur. it bears in my specimen of this age four fin-rays at its extremity, the anterior not being well marked. the remaining fin-rays are prolongations outwards of the edge of the plate continuous with the metapterygium. these rays are at the stage figured more or less transversely segmented; but at their outer edge they are united together by a nearly continuous rim of cartilage. the spaces between the fin-rays are relatively considerably larger than in the adult. the further changes in the cartilages of the pectoral limb are, morphologically speaking, not important, and are easily understood by reference to pl. , fig. (representing the skeleton of the limb of a nearly ripe embryo). the front end of the anterior basal cartilage becomes segmented off as a propterygium (_pp_), bearing a single fin-ray, leaving the remainder of the cartilage as a mesopterygium (_mes_). the remainder of the now considerably segmented fin-rays are borne by the metapterygium. * * * * * _general conclusions._--from the above observations, conclusions of a positive kind may be drawn as to the primitive structure of the skeleton; and the observations have also, it appears to me, important bearings on the theories of my predecessors in this line of investigation. the most obvious of the positive conclusions is to the effect that the embryonic skeleton of the paired fins consists of a series of parallel rays similar to those of the unpaired fins. these rays support the soft parts of the fins, which have the form of a longitudinal ridge; and they are continuous at their base with a longitudinal bar. this bar, from its position at the base of the fin, can clearly never have been a median axis with the rays on both sides. it becomes the basipterygium in the pelvic fin, which retains its embryonic structure much more completely than the pectoral fin; and the metapterygium in the pectoral fin. the metapterygium of the pectoral fin is thus clearly homologous with the basipterygium of the pelvic fin, as originally supposed by gegenbaur, and as has since been maintained by mivart. the propterygium and mesopterygium are obviously relatively _unimportant_ parts of the skeleton as compared with the metapterygium. my observations on the development of the skeleton of the fins certainly do not of themselves demonstrate that the paired fins are remnants of a once continuous lateral fin; but they support this view in that they shew the primitive skeleton of the fins to have exactly the character which might have been anticipated if the paired fins had originated from a continuous lateral fin. the longitudinal bar of the paired fins is believed by both thacker and mivart to be due to the coalescence of the bases of the primitively independent rays of which they believe the fin to have been originally composed. this view is probable enough in itself, and is rendered more so by the fact, pointed out by mivart, that a longitudinal bar supporting the cartilaginous rays of unpaired fins is occasionally formed; but there is no trace in the embryo scylliums of the bar in question being formed by the coalescence of rays, though the fact of its being perfectly continuous with the bases of the fin-rays is somewhat in favour of such coalescence. thacker and mivart both hold that the pectoral and pelvic girdles are developed by ventral and dorsal growths of the anterior end of the longitudinal bar supporting the fin-rays. there is, so far as i see, no theoretical objection to be taken to this view; and the fact of the pectoral and pelvic girdles originating continuously and long remaining united with the longitudinal bars of their respective fins is in favour of it rather than the reverse. the same may be said of the fact that the first part of each girdle to be formed is that in the neighbourhood of the longitudinal bar (basipterygium) of the fin, the dorsal and ventral prolongations being subsequent growths. on the whole my observations do not throw much light on the theories of thacker and mivart as to the genesis of the skeleton of the paired fin; but, so far as they bear on the subject, they are distinctly favourable to those theories. the main results of my observations appear to me to be decidedly adverse to the views recently put forward on the structure of the fin by gegenbaur and huxley, both of whom, as stated above, consider the primitive type of fin to be most nearly retained in _ceratodus_, and to consist of a central multisegmented axis with numerous lateral rays. gegenbaur derives the elasmobranch pectoral fin from a form which he calls the archipterygium, nearly like that of _ceratodus_, with a median axis and two rows of rays--but holds that in addition to the rays attached to the median axis, which are alone found in _ceratodus_, there were other rays directly articulated to the shoulder-girdle. he considers that in the elasmobranch fin the majority of the lateral rays on the posterior (or median according to his view of the position of the limb) side have become aborted, and that the central axis is represented by the metapterygium; while the pro- and mesopterygium and their rays are, he believes, derived from those rays of the archipterygium which originally articulated directly with the shoulder-girdle. this view appears to me to be absolutely negatived by the facts of development of the pectoral fin in _scyllium_--not so much because the pectoral fin in this form is necessarily to be regarded as primitive, but because what gegenbaur holds to be the primitive axis of the biserial fin is demonstrated to be really the base, and it is only in the adult that it is conceivable that a second set of lateral rays could have existed on the posterior side of the metapterygium. if gegenbaur's view were correct, we should expect to find in the embryo, if anywhere, traces of the second set of lateral rays; but the fact is that, as may easily be seen by an inspection of figs. and , such a second set of lateral rays could not possibly have existed in a type of fin like that found in the embryo. with this view of gegenbaur's it appears to me that the theory held by this anatomist to the effect that the limbs are modified gill-arches also falls, in that his method of deriving the limbs from gill-arches ceases to be admissible, while it is not easy to see how a limb, formed on the type of the embryonic limb of elasmobranchii, could be derived from a gill-arch with its branchial rays. gegenbaur's older view, that the elasmobranch fin retains a primitive uniserial type, appears to me to be nearer the truth than his more recent view on this subject; though i hold the fundamental point established by the development of these parts in _scyllium_ to be that the posterior border of the adult elasmobranch pectoral fin is the primitive base-line,_i.e._line of attachment of the fin to the side of the body. huxley holds that the mesopterygium is the proximal piece of the axial skeleton of the limb of _ceratodus_, and derives the elasmobranch fin from that of _ceratodus_ by the shortening of its axis and the coalescence of some of its elements. the entirely secondary character of the mesopterygium, and its total absence in the young embryo _scyllium_, appear to me as conclusive against huxley's view as the character of the embryonic fin is against that of gegenbaur; and i should be much more inclined to hold that the fin of _ceratodus_ has been derived from a fin like that of the elasmobranchii by a series of steps similar to those which huxley supposes to have led to the establishment of the elasmobranch fin, but in exactly the reverse order. there is one statement of davidoff's which i cannot allow to pass without challenge. in comparing the skeletons of the paired and unpaired fins he is anxious to prove that the former are independent of the axial skeleton in their origin and that the latter have been segmented from the axial skeleton, and thus to shew that an homology between the two is impossible. in support of his view he states[ ] that he has satisfied himself, from embryos of _acanthias_ and _scyllium_, that the rays of the unpaired fins _are undoubtedly products of the segmentation of the dorsal and ventral spinous processes_. footnote : _loc. cit._ p. . this statement is wholly unintelligible to me. from my examination of the development of the first dorsal and the anal fins of _scyllium_ i find that their rays develop at a considerable distance from, and quite independently of, the neural and hæmal arches, and that they are at an early stage of development distinctly in a more advanced state of histological differentiation than the neural and hæmal arches of the same region. i have also found exactly the same in the embryos of _lepidosteus_. i have, in fact, no doubt that the skeleton of both the paired and the unpaired fins of elasmobranchii and _lepidosteus_ is in its development independent of the axial skeleton. the phylogenetic mode of origin of the skeleton both of the paired and of the unpaired fins cannot, however, be made out without further investigation. explanation of plate .[ ] footnote : i employ here the same letters to indicate the stages as in my "monograph on elasmobranch fishes." fig. . transverse section through the pelvic fin of an embryo of _scyllium_ belonging to stage p{ }, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ fin ray. _m._ muscle. _hf._ horny fibres supporting the peripheral part of the fin. fig. . pelvic fin of a very young female embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _pu._ pubic process of pelvic girdle (cut across below). _il._ iliac process of pelvic girdle. _fo._ foramen. fig. . pelvic fin of a young male embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _mo._ process of basipterygium continued into clasper. _il._ iliac process of pelvic girdle. _pu._ pubic section of pelvic girdle. fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the trunk of an embryo _scyllium_ of stage p, in the region of the pectoral fins, to shew how the fins are attached to the body, magnified diameters. _br._ cartilaginous fin-ray. _bp._ basipterygium. _m._ muscle of fin. _mp._ muscle-plate. fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the trunk of an embryo _scyllium_ of stage p, in the region of the pelvic fin, on the same scale as fig. . _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ cartilaginous fin-rays. _m._ muscle of the fins. _mp._ muscle-plate. fig. . pectoral fin of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, of a stage between o and p, in longitudinal and horizontal section (the skeleton of the fin was still in the condition of embryonic cartilage), magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium (eventual metapterygium). _fr._ cartilaginous fin-rays. _pg._ pectoral girdle in transverse section. _fo._ foramen in pectoral girdle. _pe._ epithelium of peritoneal cavity. fig. . transverse section through the pectoral fin of a _scyllium_ embryo of stage p, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ cartilaginous fin-ray. _m._ muscle. _hf._ horny fibres. fig. . pectoral fin of an embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _mp._ metapterygium (basipterygium of earlier stage). _me.p._ rudiment of future pro- and mesopterygium. _sc._ cut surface of a scapular process. _cr._ coracoid process. _fr._ foramen. _hf._ horny fibres. fig. . skeleton of the pectoral fin and part of pectoral girdle of a nearly ripe embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _mp._ metapterygium. _mes._ mesopterygium. _pp._ propterygium. _cr._ coracoid process. xxi. on the evolution of the placenta, and on the possibility of employing the characters of the placenta in the classification of the mammalia[ ]. footnote : from the _proceedings of the zoological society of london_, . from owen's observations on the marsupials it is clear that the yolk-sack in this group plays an important (if not the most important) part, in absorbing the maternal nutriment destined for the foetus. the fact that in marsupials both the yolk-sack and the allantois are concerned in rendering the chorion vascular, makes it _à priori_ probable that this was also the case in the primitive types of the placentalia; and this deduction is supported by the fact that in the rodentia, insectivora, and cheiroptera this peculiarity of the foetal membranes is actually found. in the primitive placentalia it is also probable that from the discoidal allantoic region of the chorion simple foetal villi, like those of the pig, projected into uterine crypts; but it is not certain how far the umbilical region of the chorion, which was no doubt vascular, may also have been villous. from such a primitive type of foetal membranes divergencies in various directions have given rise to the types of foetal membranes found at the present day. in a general way it may be laid down that variations in any direction which tended to increase the absorbing capacities of the chorion would be advantageous. there are two obvious ways in which this might be done, viz. ( ) by increasing the complexity of the foetal villi and maternal crypts over a limited area, ( ) by increasing the area of the part of the chorion covered by the placental villi. various combinations of the two processes would also, of course, be advantageous. the most fundamental change which has taken place in all the existing placentalia is the exclusion of the umbilical vesicle from any important function in the nutrition of the foetus. the arrangement of the foetal parts in the rodentia, insectivora, and cheiroptera may be directly derived from the primitive form by supposing the villi of the discoidal placental area to have become more complex, so as to form a deciduate discoidal placenta, while the yolk-sack still plays a part, though physiologically an unimportant part, in rendering the chorion vascular. in the carnivora, again, we have to start from the discoidal placenta, as evinced by the fact that in the growth of the placenta the allantoic region of the placenta is at first _discoidal_, and only becomes zonary at a later stage. a zonary deciduate placenta indicates an increase both in area and in complexity. the relative diminution of the breadth of the placental zone in late foetal life in the zonary placenta of the carnivora is probably due to its being on the whole advantageous to secure the nutrition of the foetus by insuring a more intimate relation between the foetal and maternal parts, than by increasing their area of contact. the reason of this is not obvious, but, as shewn below, there are other cases where it is clear that a diminution in the area of the placenta has taken place, accompanied by an increase in the complexity of its villi. the second type of differentiation from the primitive form of placenta is illustrated by the lemuridæ, the suidæ, and _manis_. in all these cases the area of the placental villi appears to have increased so as to cover nearly the whole subzonal membrane, without the villi increasing to any great extent in complexity. from the diffused placenta covering the whole surface of the chorion, differentiations appear to have taken place in various directions. the placenta of man and apes, from its mode of ontogeny, is clearly derived from a diffused placenta (very probably similar to that of lemurs) by a concentration of the foetal villi, which are originally spread over the whole chorion, to a disk-shaped area, and by an increase in their arborescence. thus the discoidal placenta of man has no connexion with, and ought not to be placed in, the same class as those of the rodentia, cheiroptera, and insectivora. the polycotyledonary forms of placenta are due to similar concentrations of the foetal villi of an originally diffused placenta. in the edentata we have a group with very varying types of placenta. very probably these may all be differentiations within the group itself from a diffused placenta such as that found in _manis_. the zonary placenta of _orycteropus_ is capable of being easily derived from that of _manis_ by the disappearance of the foetal villi at the two poles of the ovum. the small size of the umbilical vesicle in _orycteropus_ indicates that its discoidal placenta is not, like that of the carnivora, directly derived from a type with both allantoic and umbilical vascularization of the chorion. the discoidal and dome-shaped placentæ of the armadillos, _myrmecophaga_, and the sloths may easily have been formed from a diffused placenta, just as the discoidal placenta of the simiidæ and hominidæ appears to have been formed from a diffused placenta like that of the lemuridæ. the presence of zonary placenta in _hyrax_ and _elephas_ does not necessarily afford any proof of affinity of these types with the carnivora. a zonary placenta may be quite as easily derived from a diffused placenta as from a discoidal placenta; and the presence of two villous patches at the poles of the chorion in _elephas_ very probably indicates that its placenta has been evolved from a diffused placenta. although it would not be wise to attempt to found a classification upon the placental characters alone, it may be worth while to make a few suggestions as to the affinities of the orders of mammalia indicated by the structure of the placenta. we clearly, of course, have to start with forms which could not be grouped with any of the existing orders, but which might be called the protoplacentalia. they probably had the primitive type of placenta described above: the nearest living representatives of the group are the rodentia, insectivora, and cheiroptera. before, however, these three groups had become distinctly differentiated, there must have branched off from the primitive stock the ancestors of the lemuridæ, the ungulata, and the edentata. it is obvious on general anatomical grounds that the monkeys and man are to be derived from a primitive lemurian type; and with this conclusion the form of the placenta completely tallies. the primitive edentata and ungulata had no doubt a diffused placenta which was probably not very different from that of the primitive lemurs; but how far these groups arose quite independently from the primitive stock, or whether they may have had a nearer common ancestor, cannot be decided from the structure of the placenta. the carnivora were certainly an offshoot from the primitive placental type which was quite independent of the three groups just mentioned; but the character of the placenta of the carnivora does not indicate at what stage in the evolution of the placental mammalia a primitive type of carnivora was first differentiated. no important light is thrown by the placenta on the affinities of the proboscidea, the cetacea, or the sirenia; but the character of the placenta in the latter group favours the view of their being related to the ungulata. xxii. on the structure and development of lepidosteus[ ]. by f. m. balfour and w. n. parker. footnote : from the _philosophical transactions of the royal society_, . (with plates - .) table of contents. page introduction general development brain-- adult brain development of the brain comparison of the larval and adult brain of _lepidosteus_, together with some observations on the systematic value of the characters of the ganoid brain sense organs-- olfactory organ anatomy of the eye _ib._ development of the eye suctorial disc muscular system skeleton-- vertebral column and ribs of the adult development of the vertebral column and ribs. comparison of the vertebral column of _lepidosteus_ with that of other forms the ribs of fishes the skeleton of the ventral lobe of the tail fin, and its bearing on the nature of the tail fin of the various types of pisces excretory and generative organs-- anatomy of the excretory and generative organs of the female anatomy of the excretory and generative organs of the male development of the excretory and generative organs theoretical considerations the alimentary canal and its appendages-- topographical anatomy of the alimentary canal development of the alimentary canal and its appendages the gill on the hyoid arch the systematic position of lepidosteus list of memoirs on the anatomy and development of lepidosteus list of reference letters explanation of plates introduction. the following paper is the outcome of the very valuable gift of a series of embryos and larvæ of _lepidosteus_ by professor alex. agassiz, to whom we take this opportunity of expressing our most sincere thanks. the skull of these embryos and larvæ has been studied by professor parker, and forms the subject of a memoir already presented to the royal society. considering that _lepidosteus_ is one of the most interesting of existing ganoids, and that it is very closely related to species of ganoids which flourished during the triassic period, we naturally felt keenly anxious to make the most of the opportunity of working at its development offered to us by professor agassiz' gift. professor agassiz, moreover, most kindly furnished us with four examples of the adult fish, which have enabled us to make this paper a study of the adult anatomy as well as of the development. the first part of our paper is devoted to the segmentation, formation of the germinal layers, and general development of the embryo and larva. the next part consists of a series of sections on the organs, in which both their structure in the adult and their development are dealt with. this part is not, however, in any sense a monograph, and where already known, the anatomy is described with the greatest possible brevity. in this part of the paper considerable space is devoted to a comparison of the organs of _lepidosteus_ with those of other fishes, and to a statement of the conclusions which follow from such comparison. the last part of the paper deals with the systematic position of _lepidosteus_ and of the ganoids generally. general development. the spawning of _lepidosteus_ takes place in the neighbourhood of new york about may th. agassiz (no. )[ ] gives an account of the process from mr s. w. garman's notes, which we venture to quote in full. footnote : the numbers refer to the list of memoirs of the anatomy and development given at the end of this memoir. "black lake is well stocked with bill-fish. when they appear, they are said to come in countless numbers. this is only for a few days in the spring, in the spawning season, between the th of may and the th of june. during the balance of the season they are seldom seen. they remain in the deeper parts of the lake, away from the shore, and, probably, are more or less nocturnal in habits. out of season, an occasional one is caught on a hook baited with a minnow. commencing with the th of april, until the th of may we were unable to find the fish, or to find persons who had seen them during this time. then a fisherman reported having seen one rise to the surface. later, others were seen. on the afternoon of the th, a few were found on the _points_, depositing the spawn. the temperature at the time was ° to ° on the shoals, while out in the lake the mercury stood at ° to °. the _points_ on which the eggs were laid were of naked granite, which had been broken by the frost and heat into angular blocks of to inches in diameter. the blocks were tumbled upon each other like loose heaps of brick-bats, and upon and between them the eggs were dropped. the _points_ are the extremities of small capes that make out into the lake. the eggs were laid in water varying in depth from to inches. at the time of approaching the shoals, the fish might be seen to rise quite often to the surface to take air. this they did by thrusting the bill out of the water as far as the corners of the mouth, which was then opened widely and closed with a snap. after taking the air, they seemed more able to remain at the surface. out in the lake they are very timid, but once buried upon the shoals they become quite reckless as to what is going on about them. a few moments after being driven off, one or more of the males would return as if scouting. if frightened, he would retire for some time; then another scout would appear. if all promised well, the females, with the attendant males, would come back. each female was accompanied by from one to four males. most often, a male rested against each side, with their bills reaching up toward the back of her head. closely crowded together, the little party would pass back and forth over the rocky bed they had selected, sometimes passing the same spot half-a-dozen times without dropping an egg, then suddenly would indulge in an orgasm; and, lashing and plashing the water in all directions with their convulsive movements, would scatter at the same instant the eggs and the sperm. this ended, another season of moving slowly back and forth was observed, to be in turn followed by another of excitement. the eggs were excessively sticky. to whatever they happened to touch, they stuck, and so tenaciously that it was next to impossible to release them without tearing away a portion of their envelopes. it is doubtful whether the eggs would hatch if removed. as far as could be seen at the time, upon or under the rocks to which the eggs were fastened there was an utter absence of anything that might serve as food for the young fishes. "other fishes, bull-heads, &c., are said to follow the bill-fish to eat the spawn. it may be so. it was not verified. certainly the points under observations were unmolested. during the afternoon of the th of may a few eggs were scattered on several of the beds. on the th there were more. with the spear and the snare, several dozens of both sexes of the fish were taken. taking one out did not seem greatly to startle the others. they returned very soon. the males are much smaller than the average size of the females; and, judging from those taken, would seem to have as adults greater uniformity in size. the largest taken was a female, of feet - / inch in length. others of feet inches contained ripe ova. with the th of may all disappeared, and for a time--the weather being meanwhile cold and stormy--there were no signs of their continued existence to be met with. nearly two weeks later, on the st of may, as stated by mr henry j. perry, they again came up, not in small detachments on scattered points as before, but in multitudes, on every shoal at all according with their ideas of spawning beds. they remained but two days. during the summer it happens now and then that one is seen to come up for his mouthful of air; beyond this there will be nothing to suggest the ravenous masses hidden by the darkness of the waters." _egg membranes._--the ova of _lepidosteus_ are spherical bodies of about millims. in diameter. they have a double investment consisting of ( ) an outer covering formed of elongated, highly refractive bodies, somewhat pyriform at their outer ends (plate , fig. , _f.e._), which are probably metamorphosed follicular cells[ ], and ( ) of an inner membrane, divided into two zones, viz.: an outer and thicker zone, which is radially striated, and constitutes the _zona radiata (z.r.)_, and an inner and narrow homogeneous zone (_z.r´._). footnote : we have examined the structure of the ovarian ova in order to throw light on the nature of these peculiar pyriform bodies. unfortunately, the ovaries of our adult examples of _lepidosteus_ were so badly preserved, that we could not ascertain anything on this subject. the ripe ova in the ovary have an investment of pyriform bodies similar to those of the just laid ova. with reference to the structure of the ovarian ova we may state that the germinal vesicles are provided with numerous nucleoli arranged in close proximity with the membrane of the vesicle. _segmentation._--we have observed several stages in the segmentation, which shew that it is complete, but that it approaches the meroblastic type more nearly than in the case of any other known holoblastic ovum. our earliest stage shewed a vertical furrow at the upper or animal pole, extending through about one-fifth of the circumference (plate , fig. ), and in a slightly later stage we found a second similar furrow at right angles to the first (plate , fig. ). we have not been fortunate enough to observe the next phases of the segmentation, but on the second day after impregnation (plate , fig. ), the animal pole is completely divided into small segments, which form a disc, homologous to the blastoderm of meroblastic ova; while the vegetative pole, which subsequently forms a large yolk-sack, is divided by a few vertical furrows, four of which nearly meet at the pole opposite the blastoderm (plate , fig. ). the majority of the vertical furrows extend only a short way from the edge of the small spheres, and are partially intercepted by imperfect equatorial furrows. _development of the embryo._--we have not been able to work out the stages immediately following the segmentation, owing to want of material; and in the next stage satisfactorily observed, on the third day after impregnation, the body of the embryo is distinctly differentiated. the lower pole of the ovum is then formed of a mass in which no traces of the previous segments or segmentation furrows could any longer be detected. some of the dates of the specimens sent to us appear to have been transposed; so that our statements as to ages must only be taken as _approximately_ correct. _third day after impregnation._--in this stage the embryo is about . millims. in length, and has a somewhat dumb-bell shaped outline (plate , fig. ). it consists of ( ) an outer area (_p.z_) with some resemblance to the area pellucida of the avian embryo, forming the parietal part of the body; and ( ) a central portion consisting of the vertebral and medullary plates and the axial portions of the embryo. in hardened specimens the peripheral part forms a shallow depression surrounding the central part of the embryo. the central part constitutes a somewhat prominent ridge, the axial part of it being the medullary plate. along the anterior half of this part a dark line could be observed in all our specimens, which we at first imagined to be caused by a shallow groove. we have, however, failed to find in our sections a groove in this situation except in a single instance (plate , fig. , _x_), and are inclined to attribute the appearance above-mentioned to the presence of somewhat irregular ridges of the outer layer of the epiblast, which have probably been artificially produced in the process of hardening. the anterior end of the central part is slightly dilated to form the brain (_b_); and there is present a pair of lateral swellings near the anterior end of the brain which we believe to be the commencing optic vesicles. we could not trace any other clear indications of the differentiation of the brain into distinct lobes. at the hinder end of the central part of the embryo a very distinct dilatation may also be observed, which is probably homologous with the tail swelling of teleostei. its structure is more particularly dealt with in the description of our sections of this stage. after the removal of the egg-membranes described above we find that there remains a delicate membrane closely attached, to the epiblast. this membrane can be isolated in distinct portions, and appears to be too definite to be regarded as an artificial product. we have been able to prepare several more or less complete series of sections of embryos of this stage (plate , figs. - ). these sections present as a whole a most striking resemblance to those of teleostean embryos at a corresponding stage of development. three germinal layers are already fully established. the epiblast (_ep._) is formed of the same parts as in teleostei, viz.:--of an outer epidermic and an inner nervous or mucous stratum. in the parietal region of the embryo these strata are each formed of a single row of cells only. the cells of both strata are somewhat flattened, but those of the epidermic stratum are decidedly the more flattened of the two. along the axial line there is placed, as we have stated above, the medullary plate. the epidermic stratum passes over this plate without undergoing any change of character, and the plate is _entirely constituted of the nervous stratum of the epidermis_. the medullary plate has, roughly speaking, the form of a solid keel, projecting inwards towards the yolk. there is no trace, at this stage at any rate, of a medullary groove; and as, we shall afterwards shew, the central canal of the cerebro-spinal cord is formed in the middle of the solid keel. the shape of this keel varies according to the region of the body. in the head (plate , fig. , _m.c._), it is very prominent, and forming, as it does, the major part of the axial tissue of the body, impresses its own shape on the other parts of the head and gives rise to a marked ridge on the surface of the head directed towards the yolk. in the trunk (plate , figs. , ) the keel is much less prominent, but still projects sufficiently to give a convex form to the surface of the body turned towards the yolk. in the head, and also near the hind end of the trunk, the nervous layer of the epiblast continuous with the keel on each side is considerably thicker than the lateral parts of the layer. the thickening of the nervous layer in the head gives rise to what has been called by götte[ ] "the special sense plate," owing to its being subsequently concerned in the formation of parts of the organs of special sense. we cannot agree with götte in regarding it as part of the brain. footnote : "ueb. d. entwick. d. central nerven systems d. teleostier," _archiv für mikr. anat._ vol. xv. . in the keel itself two parts may be distinguished, viz.: a superficial part, best marked in the region of the brain, formed of more or less irregularly arranged polygonal cells, and a deeper part of horizontally placed flatter cells. the upper part is mainly concerned in the formation of the cranial nerves, and of the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves. the mesoblast (_ms._) in the trunk consists of a pair of independent plates which are continued forwards into the head, and in the prechordal region of the latter, unite below the medullary keel. the mesoblastic plates of the trunk are imperfectly divided into vertebral and lateral regions. neither longitudinal sections nor surface views shew at this stage any trace of a division of the mesoblast into somites. the mesoblast cells are polygonal, and no indication is as yet present of a division into splanchnic and somatic layers. the notochord (_nc._) is well established, so that its origin could not be made out. it is, however, much more sharply separated from the mesoblastic plates than from the hypoblast, though the ventral and inner corners of the mesoblastic plates which run in underneath it on either side, are often imperfectly separated from it. it is formed of polygonal cells, of which between and may as a rule be seen in a single section. no sheath is present around it. it has the usual extension in front. the hypoblast (_hy._) has the form of a membrane, composed of a single row of oval cells, bounding the embryo on the side adjoining the yolk. in the region of the caudal swelling the relations of the germinal layers undergo some changes. this region may, from the analogy of other vertebrates, be assumed to constitute the lip of the blastopore. we find accordingly that the layers become more or less fused. in the anterior part of the tail swelling, the boundary between the notochord and hypoblast becomes indistinct. a short way behind this point (plate , fig. ), the notochord unites with the medullary keel, and a neurenteric cord, homologous with the neurenteric canal of other ichthyopsida, is thus established. in the same region the boundary between the lateral plates of mesoblast and the notochord, and further back (plate , fig. ), that between the mesoblast and the medullary keel, becomes obliterated. _fifth day after impregnation._--between the stage last described and the next stage of which we have specimens, a considerable progress has been made. the embryo (plate , figs. and ) has grown markedly in length and embraces more than half the circumference of the ovum. its general appearance is, however, much the same as in the earlier stage, but in the cephalic region the medullary plate is divided by constrictions into three distinct lobes, constituting the regions of the fore-brain, the mid-brain, and the hind-brain. the fore-brain (plate , fig. , _f.b._) is considerably the largest of the three lobes, and a pair of lateral projections forming the optic vesicles are decidedly more conspicuous than in the previous stage. the mid-brain (_m.b._) is the smallest of the three lobes, while the hind-brain (_h.b._) is decidedly longer, and passes insensibly into the spinal cord behind. the medullary keel, though retaining to a great extent the shape it had in the last stage, is no longer completely solid. throughout the whole region of the brain and in the anterior part of the trunk (plate , figs. , , ) a slit-like lumen has become formed. we are inclined to hold that this is due to the appearance of a space between the cells, and not, as supposed by oellacher for teleostei, to an actual absorption of cells, though we must admit that our sections are hardly sufficiently well preserved to be conclusive in settling this point. various stages in its growth may be observed in different regions of the cerebro-spinal cord. when first formed, it is a very imperfectly defined cavity, and a few cells may be seen passing right across from one side of it to the other. it gradually becomes more definite, and its wall then acquires a regular outline. the optic vesicles are now to be seen in section (plate , fig. , _op._) as flattish outgrowths of the wall of the fore-brain, into which the lumen of the third ventricle is prolonged for a short distance. the brain has become to some extent separate from the superjacent epiblast, but the exact mode in which this is effected is not clear to us. in some sections it appears that the separation takes place in such a way that the nervous keel is only covered above by the epidermic layer of the epiblast, and that the nervous layer, subsequently interposed between the two, grows in from the two sides. such a section is represented in plate , fig. . other sections again favour the view that in the isolation of the nervous keel, a superficial layer of it remains attached to the nervous layer of the epidermis at the two sides, and so, from the first, forms a continuous layer between the nervous keel and the epidermic layer of the epiblast (plate , fig. ). in the absence of a better series of sections we do not feel able to determine this point. the posterior part of the nervous keel retains the characters of the previous stage. at the sides of the hind-brain very distinct commencements of the auditory vesicles are apparent. they form shallow pits (plate , fig. , _au._) of the thickened part of the nervous layer adjoining the brain in this region. each pit is covered over by the epidermic layer above, which has no share in its formation. in many parts of the lateral regions of the body the nervous layer of the epidermis is more than one cell deep. the mesoblastic plates are now divided in the anterior part of the trunk into a somatic and a splanchnic layer (plate , fig. , _so._, _sp._), though no distinct cavity is as yet present between these two layers. their vertebral extremities are somewhat wedge-shaped in section, the base of the wedge being placed at the sides of the medullary keel. the wedge-shaped portions are formed of a superficial layer of palisade-like cells and an inner kernel of polygonal cells. the superficial layer on the dorsal side is continuous with the somatic mesoblast, while the remainder pertains to the splanchnic layer. the diameter of the notochord has diminished, and the cells have assumed a flattened form, the protoplasm being confined to an axial region. in consequence of this, the peripheral layer appears clear in transverse sections. a delicate cuticular sheath is formed around it. this sheath is probably the commencement of the permanent sheath of later stages, but at this stage it cannot be distinguished in structure from a delicate cuticle which surrounds the greater part of the medullary cord. the hypoblast has undergone no changes of importance. the layers at the posterior end of the embryo retain the characters of the last stage. _sixth day after impregnation._--at this stage (plate , fig. ) the embryo is considerably more advanced than at the last stage. the trunk has decidedly increased in length, and the head forms a relatively smaller portion of the whole. the regions of the brain are more distinct. the optic vesicles (_op._) have grown outwards so as to nearly reach the edges of the area which forms the parietal part of the body. the fore-brain projects slightly in front, and the mid-brain is seen as a distinct rounded prominence. behind the latter is placed the hind-brain, which passes insensibly into the spinal cord. on either side of the mid- and hind-brain a small region is slightly marked off from the rest of the parietal part, and on this are seen two more or less transversely directed streaks, which, by comparison with the sturgeon[ ], we are inclined to regard as the two first visceral clefts (_br.c._). we have, however, failed to make them out in sections, and owing to the insufficiency of our material, we have not even studied them in surface views as completely as we could have wished. footnote : salensky, "recherches s. le développement du sterlet." _archives de biol._ vol. ii. , pl. xvii. fig. . the body is now laterally compressed, and more decidedly raised from the yolk than in the previous stages. in the lateral regions of the trunk the two segmental or archinephric ducts (_sg._) are visible in surface views: the front end of each is placed at the level of the hinder border of the head, and is marked by a flexure inwards towards the middle line. the remainder of each duct is straight, and extends backwards for about half the length of the embryo. the tail has much the same appearance as in the last stage. the vertebral regions of the mesoblastic plates are now segmented for the greater part of the length of the trunk, and the somites of which they are composed (plate , fig. , _pr._) are very conspicuous in surface views. our sections of this stage are not so complete as could be desired: they shew, however, several points of interest. the central canal of the nervous system is large, with well-defined walls, and in hardened specimens is filled with a coagulum. it extends nearly to the region of the tail. the optic vesicles, which are so conspicuous in surface views, appear in section (plate , fig. , _op._) as knob-like outgrowths of the fore-brain, and very closely resemble the figures given by oellacher of these vesicles in teleostei[ ]. footnote : "beiträge zur entwick. d. knochenfische," _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxiii. , taf. iii. fig. ix. . from the analogy of the previous stage, we are inclined to think that they have a lumen continuous with that of the fore-brain. in our only section through them, however, they are solid, but this is probably due to the section merely passing through them to one side. the auditory pits (plate , fig. , _au._) are now well marked, and have the form of somewhat elongated grooves, the walls of which are formed of a single layer of columnar cells belonging to the nervous layer of the epidermis, and extending inwards so as nearly to touch the brain. in an earlier stage it was pointed out that the dorsal part of the medullary keel was different in its structure from the remainder, and that it was destined to give rise to the nerves. the process of differentiation is now to a great extent completed, and may best be seen in the auditory region (plate , fig. , viii.). in this region there was present during the last stage a great rhomboidal mass of cells at the dorsal region of the brain (plate , fig. , viii.). in the present stage, this, which is the rudiment of the seventh and auditory nerves, is seen growing down on each side from the roof of the hind-brain, between the brain and the auditory involution, and abutting against the wall of the latter. rudiments of the spinal nerves are also seen at intervals as projections from the dorsal angles of the spinal cord (plate , fig. , _sp.n._). they extend only for a short distance outwards, gradually tapering off to a point, and situated between the epiblast and the dorsal angles of the mesoblastic somites. the process of formation of the cranial nerves and dorsal roots of the spinal nerves is, it will be seen, essentially the same as that already known in the case of elasmobranchii, aves, &c. the nerves arise as outgrowths of a special crest of cells, the _neural crest_ of marshall, which is placed along the dorsal angle of the cord. the peculiar position of the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves is also very similar to what has been met with in the early stages of these structures by marshall in birds[ ], and by one of us in elasmobranchii[ ]. footnote : _journal of anat. and physiol._ vol. xi. p. , plates xx. and xxi. footnote : "elasmobranch fishes," p. , plates and . [this edition, p. , pl. , .] in the parietal region a cavity has now appeared in part of the trunk between the splanchnic and somatic layers of the mesoblast (plate , fig. , _b.c._), the somatic layer (_so._) consisting of a single row of columnar cells on the dorsal side, while the remainder of each somite is formed of the splanchnic layer (_sp._). in many of the sections the somatic layer is separated by a considerable interval from the epiblast. we have been able to some extent to follow the development of the segmental duct. the imperfect preservation of our specimens has, as in other instances, rendered the study of the point somewhat difficult, but we believe that the figure representing the development of the duct some way behind its front end (plate , fig. ) is an accurate representation of what may be seen in a good many of our sections. it appears from these sections that the duct (plate , fig. , _sg._) is developed as a hollow ridge-like outgrowth of the somatic layer of mesoblast, directed towards the epiblast, in which it causes a slight bulging. the cavity of the ridge freely communicates with the body-cavity. the anterior part of this ridge appears to be formed first. very soon, in fact, in an older embryo belonging to this stage, the greater part of the groove becomes segmented off as a duct lying between the epiblast and somatic mesoblast (plate , fig. , _sg._), while the front end still remains, as we believe, in communication with the body-cavity by an anterior pore. this mode of development corresponds in every particular with that observed in teleostei by rosenberg and oellacher. the structure of the notochord (_nc._) at this stage is very similar to that observed by one of us in elasmobranchii[ ]. the cord is formed of transversely arranged flattened cells, the outer parts of which are vacuolated, while the inner parts are granular, and contain the nuclei. this structure gives rise to the appearance in transverse sections of an axial darker area and a peripheral lighter portion. footnote : "elasmobranch fishes," p. , plate , fig. . [this edition, p. , pl. .] the hypoblast retains for the most part its earlier constitution, but underneath the notochord, in the trunk, it is somewhat thickened, and the cells at the two sides spread in to some extent under the thickened portion (plate , fig. , _s.nc._). this thickening, as is shewn in transverse sections at the stage when the segmental duct becomes separated from the somatic mesoblast (plate , fig. , _s.nc._), is the commencement of the subnotochordal rod. the tail end of the embryo still retains its earlier characters. _seventh day after impregnation._--our series of specimens of this stage is very imperfect, and we are only able to call attention to the development of a certain number of organs. our sections clearly establish the fact that the optic vesicles are now hollow processes of the fore-brain. their outer ends are dilated, and are in contact with the external skin. the formation of the optic cup has not, however, commenced. the nervous layer of the skin adjoining the outer wall of the optic cup is very slightly thickened, constituting the earliest rudiment of the lens. in one of our embryos of this day the developing auditory vesicle still has the form of a pit, but in the other it is a closed vesicle, already constricted off from the nervous layer of the epidermis. with reference to the development of the excretory duct we cannot add much to what we have already stated in describing the last stage. the duct is considerably dilated anteriorly (plate , fig. , _sg._); but our sections throw no light on the nature of the abdominal pore. the posterior part of the duct has still the form of a hollow ridge united with somatic mesoblast (plate , fig. , _sg._). during this stage, the embryo becomes to a small extent folded off from the yolk-sack both in front and behind, and in the course of this process the anterior and posterior extremities of the alimentary tract become definitely established. we have not got as clear a view of the process of formation of these two sections of the alimentary tract as we could desire, but our observations appear to shew that the process is in many respects similar to that which takes place in the formation of the anterior part of the alimentary tract in elasmobranchii[ ]. one of us has shewn that in elasmobranchii the ventral wall of the throat is formed _not_ by a process of folding in of the hypoblastic sheet as in birds, but by a growth of the ventral face of the hypoblastic sheet on each side of and at some little distance from the middle line. each growth is directed inwards, and the two eventually meet and unite, thus forming a complete ventral wall for the gut. exactly the same process would seem to take place in _lepidosteus_, and after the lumen of the gut is in this way established, a process of mesoblast on each side also makes its appearance, forming a mesoblastic investment on the ventral side of the alimentary tract. some time after the alimentary tract has been thus formed, the epiblast becomes folded in, in exactly the same manner as in the chick, the embryo becoming thereby partially constricted off from the yolk (plate , figs. , ). footnote : f. m. balfour, "monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes," p. , plate , fig. . [this edition, p. , pl. .] the form of the lumen of the alimentary tract differs somewhat in front and behind. in front, the hypoblastic sheet remains perfectly flat during the formation of the throat, and thus the lumen of the latter has merely the form of a slit. the lumen of the posterior end of the alimentary tract is, however, narrower and deeper (plate , figs. , , _al._). both in front and behind, the lateral parts of the hypoblastic sheet become separated from the true alimentary tract as soon as the lumen of the latter is established. it is quite possible that at the extreme posterior end of the embryo a modification of the above process may take place, for in this region the hypoblast appears to us to have the form of a solid cord. we could detect no true neurenteric canal, although a more or less complete fusion of the germinal layers at the tail end of the embryo may still be traced. during this stage the protoplasm of the notochordal cells, which in the last stage formed a kind of axial rod in the centre of the notochord, begins to spread outwards toward the sheath of the notochord. _eighth day after impregnation._--the external form of the embryo (plate , fig. ) shews a great advance upon the stage last figured. both head and body are much more compressed laterally and raised from the yolk, and the head end is folded off for some distance. the optic vesicles are much less prominent externally. a commencing opercular fold is distinctly seen. our figure of this stage is not, however, so satisfactory as we could wish. a thickening of the nervous layer of the external epiblast which will form the lens (plate , fig. , _l._) is more marked than in the last stage, and presses against the slightly concave exterior wall of the optic vesicle (_op._). the latter has now a large cavity, and its stalk is considerably narrowed. the auditory vesicles (plate , fig. , _au._) are closed, appearing as hollow sacks one on each side of the brain, and are no longer attached to the epiblast. the anterior opening of the segmental duct can be plainly seen close behind the head. the lumen of the duct is considerably larger. the two vertebral portions of the mesoblast are now separated by a considerable space from the epiblast on one side and from the notochord on the other, and the cells composing them have become considerably elongated from side to side (plate , fig. , _ms_). in some sections the aorta can be seen (plate , fig. , _ao_) lying close under the subnotochordal rod, between it and the hypoblast, and on either side of it a slightly larger cardinal vein (_cd.v._). the protoplasm of the notochord has now again retreated towards the centre, shewing a clear space all round. this is most marked in the region of the trunk (plate , fig. ). the subnotochordal rod (_s.nc._) lies close under it. a completely closed fore-gut, lined by thickened hypoblast, extends about as far back as the auditory sacks (plate , figs. and , _al._). in the trunk the hypoblast, which will form the walls of the alimentary tract, is separated from the notochord by a considerable interval. _ninth day after impregnation: external characters._--very considerable changes have taken place in the external characters of the embryo. it is about millims. in length, and has assumed a completely piscine form. the tail especially has grown in length, and is greatly flattened from side to side: it is wholly detached from the yolk, and bends round towards the head, usually with its left side in contact with the yolk. it is provided with well-developed dorsal and ventral fin-folds, which meet each other round the end of the tail, the tail fin so formed being nearly symmetrical. the head is not nearly so much folded off from the yolk as the tail. at its front end is placed a disc with numerous papillæ, of which we shall say more hereafter. this disc is somewhat bifid, and is marked in the centre by a deep depression. dorsal to it, on the top of the head, are two widely separated nasal pits. on the surface of the yolk, in front of the head, is to be seen the heart, just as in sturgeon embryos. immediately below the suctorial disc is a slit-like space, forming the mouth. it is bounded below by the two mandibular arches, which meet ventrally in the median line. a shallow but well-marked depression on each side of the head indicates the posterior boundary of the mandibular arch. behind this is placed the very conspicuous hyoid arch with its rudimentary opercular flap; and in the depression, partly covered over by the latter, may be seen a ridge, the external indication of the first branchial arch. _eleventh day after impregnation: external characters._--the embryo (plate , fig. ) is now about millims. in length, and in several features exhibits an advance upon the embryo of the previous stage. the tail fin is now obviously not quite symmetrical, and the dorsal fin-fold is continued for nearly the whole length of the trunk. the suctorial disc (plate , fig. , _s.d._) is much more prominent, and the papillæ (about in number) covering it are more conspicuous from the surface. it is not obviously composed of two symmetrical halves. the opercular flap is larger, and the branchial arches behind it (two of which may be made out without dissection) are more prominent. the anterior pair of limbs is now visible in the form of two _longitudinal_ folds projecting in a vertical direction from the surface of the yolk-sack at the sides of the body. the stages subsequent to hatching have been investigated with reference to the external features and to the habits by agassiz, and we shall enrich our own account by copious quotations from his memoir. he states that the first batch were hatched on the eighth[ ] day after being laid. "the young fish possessed a gigantic yolk-bag, and the posterior part of the body presented nothing specially different from the general appearance of a teleostean embryo, with the exception of the great size of the chorda. the anterior part, however, was most remarkable; and at first, on seeing the head of this young _lepidosteus_, with its huge mouth-cavity extending nearly to the gill-opening, and surmounted by a hoof-shaped depression edged with a row of protuberances acting as suckers, i could not help comparing this remarkable structure, so utterly unlike anything in fishes or ganoids, to the cyclostomes, with which it has a striking analogy. this organ is also used by _lepidosteus_ as a sucker, and the moment the young fish is hatched he attaches himself to the sides of the disc, and there remains hanging immovable; so firmly attached, indeed, that it requires considerable commotion in the water to make him loose his hold. aërating the water by pouring it from a height did not always produce sufficient disturbance to loosen the young fishes. the eye, in this stage, is rather less advanced than in corresponding stages in bony fishes; the brain is also comparatively smaller, the otolith ellipsoidal, placed obliquely in the rear above the gill-opening.... usually the gill-cover is pressed closely against the sides of the body, but in breathing an opening is seen through which water is constantly passing, a strong current being made by the rapid movement of the pectorals, against the base of which the extremity of the gill-cover is closely pressed. the large yolk-bag is opaque, of a bluish-gray colour. the body of the young _lepidosteus_ is quite colourless and transparent. the embryonic fin is narrow, the dorsal part commencing above the posterior end of the yolk-bag; the tail is slightly rounded, the anal opening nearer the extremity of the tail than the bag. the intestine is narrow, and the embryonic fin extending from the vent to the yolk-bag is quite narrow. in a somewhat more advanced stage,--hatched a few hours earlier,--the upper edge of the yolk-bag is covered with black pigment cells, and minute black pigment cells appear on the surface of the alimentary canal. there are no traces of embryonic fin-rays either in this stage or the one preceding; the structure of the embryonic fin is as in bony fishes--previous to the appearance of these embryonic fin-rays--finely granular. seen in profile, the yolk-bag is ovoid; as seen from above, it is flattened, rectangular in front, with rounded corners, tapering to a rounded point towards the posterior extremity, with re-entering sides." footnote : this statement of agassiz does not correspond with the dates on the specimens sent to us--a fact no doubt due to the hatching not taking place at the same time for all the larvæ. we have figured an embryo of millims. in length, shortly after hatching (plate , fig. ), the most important characters of which are as follows:--the yolk-sack, which has now become much reduced, forms an appendage attached to the ventral surface of the body, and has a very elongated form as compared with its shape just before hatching. the mouth, as also noticed by agassiz, has a very open form. it is (plate , fig. , _m._) more or less rhomboidal, and is bounded behind by the mandibular arch (_mn._) and laterally by the superior maxillary processes (_s.mx_). in front of the mouth is placed the suctorial disc (_s.d._), the central papillæ of which are arranged in groups. the opercular fold (_h.op._) is very large, covering the arches behind. a well-marked groove is present between the mandibular and opercular arches, but so far as we can make out it is not a remnant of the hyomandibular cleft. the pectoral fins (plate , fig. , _pc.f._) are very prominent longitudinal ridges, which, owing to their being placed on the surface of the yolk-sack, project in a nearly vertical direction: a feature which is also found in many teleostean embryos with large yolk-sacks. no traces of the pelvic fins have yet become developed. the positions of the permanent dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, as pointed out by agassiz, are now indicated by a deposit of pigment in the embryonic fin. in an embryo on the sixth day after hatching, of about millims. in length, of which we have also given a figure (plate , fig. ), the following fresh features deserve special notice. in the region of the head there is a considerable elongation of the pre-oral part, forming a short snout, at the end of which is placed the suctorial disc. at the sides of the snout are placed the nasal pits, which have become somewhat elongated anteriorly. the mouth has lost its open rhomboidal shape, and has become greatly narrowed in an antero-posterior direction, so that its opening is reduced to a slit. the mandibles and maxillary processes are nearly parallel, though both of them are very much shorter than in the adult. the operculum is now a very large flap, and has extended so far backwards as to cover the insertion of the pectoral fin. the two opercular folds nearly meet ventrally. the yolk-sack is still more reduced in size, one important consequence of which is that the pectoral fins (_pc.f._) appear to spring out more or less horizontally from the sides of the body, and at the same time their primitive line of attachment to the body becomes transformed from a longitudinal to a more or less transverse one. the first traces of the pelvic fins are now visible as slight longitudinal projections near the hinder end of the yolk-sack (_pl.f._). the pigmentation marking the regions of the permanent fins has become more pronounced, and it is to be specially noted that the ventral part of the caudal fin (the permanent caudal) is considerably more prominent than the dorsal fin opposite to it. the next changes, as agassiz points out, "are mainly in the lengthening of the snout; the increase in length both of the lower and upper jaw; the concentration of the sucker of the sucking disc; and the adoption of the general colouring of somewhat older fish. the lobe of the pectoral has become specially prominent, and the outline of the fins is now indicated by a fine milky granulation. seen from above, the gill-cover is seen to leave a large circular opening leading to the gill-arches, into which a current of water is constantly passing, by the lateral expansion and contraction of the gill-cover; the outer extremity of the gill-cover covers the base of the pectorals. in a somewhat older stage the snout has become more elongated, the sucker more concentrated, and the disproportionate size of the terminal sucking-disc is reduced; the head, when seen from above, becoming slightly elongated and pointed." in a larva of about days old and millims. in length, of which we have not given a figure, the snout has grown greatly in length, carrying with it the nasal organs, the openings of which now appear to be divided into two parts. the suctorial disc is still a prominent structure at the end of the snout. the lower jaw has elongated correspondingly with the upper, so that the gape is very considerable, though still very much less than in the adult. the opercular flaps overlap ventrally, the left being superficial. they still cover the bases of the pectoral fins. the latter are described by agassiz as being "kept in constant rapid motion, so that the fleshy edge is invisible, and the vibration seems almost involuntary, producing a constant current round the opening leading into the cavity of the gills." the pelvic fins are somewhat more prominent. the yolk-sack, as pointed out by agassiz, has now disappeared as an external appendage. after the stage last described the young fish rapidly approaches the adult form. to shew the changes effected we have figured the head of a larva of about a month old and millims. in length (plate , fig. ). the suctorial disc, though much reduced, is still prominent at the end of the snout. eventually, as shewn by agassiz, it forms the fleshy globular termination of the upper jaw. the most notable feature in which the larva now differs in its external form from the adult is in the presence of an externally heterocercal tail, caused by the persistence of the primitive caudal fin as an elongated filament projecting beyond the permanent caudal (plate , fig. ). delicate dermal fin-rays are now conspicuous in the peripheral parts of all the permanent fins. these rays closely resemble the horny fin-rays in the fins of embryo elasmobranchii in their development and structure. they appear gradually to enlarge to form the permanent rays, and we have followed out some of the stages of their growth, which is in many respects interesting. our observations are not, however, complete enough to publish, and we can only say here that their early development and structure proves their homology with the horny fibres or rays in fins of elasmobranchii. the skin is still, however, entirely naked, and without a trace of its future armour of enamelled scales. the tail of a much older larva, centims. in length, in which the scales have begun to be formed, is shewn in plate , fig. . we complete this section of our memoir by quoting the following passages from agassiz as to the habits of the young fish at the stages last described:-- "in the stages intervening between plate iii, fig. , and plate iii, fig. , the young _lepidosteus_ frequently swim about, and become readily separated from their point of attachment. in the stage of plate iii, fig. , they remain often perfectly quiet close to the surface of the water; but, when disturbed, move very rapidly about through the water.... the young already have also the peculiar habit of the adult of coming to the surface to swallow air. when they go through the process under water of discharging air again they open their jaws wide, and spread their gill-covers, and swallow as if they were choking, making violent efforts, until a minute bubble of air has become liberated, when they remain quiet again. the resemblance to a sturgeon in the general appearance of this stage of the young _lepidosteus_ is quite marked." brain. i. _anatomy._ the brain of _lepidosteus_ has been figured by busch (whose figure has been copied by miklucho-maclay, and apparently by huxley), by owen and by wilder (no. ). the figure of the latter author, representing a longitudinal section through the brain, is the most satisfactory, the other figures being in many respects inaccurate; but even wilder's figure and description, though taken from the fresh object, appear to us in some respects inadequate. he offers, moreover, fresh interpretations of certain parts of the brain which we shall discuss in the sequel. we have examined two brains which, though extremely soft, were, nevertheless, sufficiently well preserved to enable us to study the external form. we have, moreover, made a complete series of transverse sections through one of the brains, and our sections, though utterly valueless from a histological point of view, have thrown some light on the topographical anatomy of the brain. plate , figs. a, b, and c, represent three views of the brain, viz.: from the side, from above, and from below. we will follow in our description the usual division of the brain into fore-brain, mid-brain, and hind-brain. the fore-brain consists of an anterior portion forming the cerebrum, and a posterior portion constituting the thalamencephalon. the cerebrum at first sight appears to be composed of (_a_) a pair of posterior and somewhat dorsal lobes, forming what have usually been regarded as the true cerebral hemispheres, but called by wilder the prothalami, and (_b_) a pair of anterior and ventral lobes, usually regarded as the olfactory lobes, from which the olfactory nerves spring. mainly from a comparison with our embryonic brains described in the sequel, we are inclined to think that the usual interpretations are not wholly correct, but that the true olfactory lobes are to be sought for in small enlargements (plate . figs. a, b, and c, _olf._) at the front end of the brain[ ] from which the olfactory nerves spring. the cerebrum proper would then consist of a pair of anterior and ventral lobes (_ce._), and of a pair of posterior lobes (_ce´._), both pairs uniting to form a basal portion behind. footnote : the homologies of the olfactory lobes throughout the group of fishes require further investigation. the two pairs of lobes probably correspond with the two parts of the cerebrum of the frog, the anterior of which, like that of _lepidosteus_, was held to be the olfactory lobe, till götte's researches shewed that this view was not tenable. the anterior lobes of the cerebrum have a conical form, tapering anteriorly, and are completely separated from each other. the posterior lobes, as is best shewn in side views, have a semicircular form. viewed from above they appear as rounded prominences, and their dorsal surface is marked by two conspicuous furrows (plate , fig. b, _ce´._), which have been noticed by wilder, and are similar to those present in many teleostei. their front ends overhang the base of the anterior cerebral lobes. the basal portion of the cerebrum is an undivided lobe, the anterior wall of which forms the lamina terminalis. what we have above described as the posterior cerebral lobes have been described by wilder as constituting the everted dorsal border of the basal portion of the cerebrum. the portion of the cerebro-spinal canal within the cerebrum presents certain primitive characters, which are in some respects dissimilar to those of higher types, and have led wilder to hold the posterior cerebral lobes, together with what we have called the basal portion of the cerebrum, to be structures peculiar to fishes, for which he has proposed the name "prothalami." in the basal portion of the cerebrum there is an unpaired slit-shaped ventricle, the outer walls of which are very thick. it is provided with a floor formed of nervous matter, in part of which, judging from wilder's description, a well-marked commissure is placed. we have found in the larva a large commissure in this situation (plate , figs. and , _a.c._); and it may be regarded as the homologue of the anterior commissure of higher types. this part of the ventricle is stated by wilder to be without a roof. this appears to us highly improbable. we could not, however, determine the nature of the roof from our badly preserved specimens, but if present, there is no doubt that it is extremely thin, as indeed it is in the larva (plate , fig. b). in a dorsal direction the unpaired ventricle extends so as to separate the two posterior cerebral lobes. anteriorly the ventricle is prolonged into two horns, which penetrate for a short distance, as _the lateral ventricles_, into the base of the anterior cerebral lobes. the front part of each anterior cerebral lobe, as well as of the whole of the posterior lobes, appears solid in our sections; but wilder describes the anterior horns of the ventricle as being prolonged for the whole length of the anterior lobes. in the embryos of all vertebrates the cerebrum is not at first divided into two lobes, so that the fact of the posterior part of the cerebrum in _lepidosteus_ and probably other ganoids remaining permanently in the undivided condition does not appear to us a sufficient ground for giving to the lobes of this part of the cerebrum the special name of prothalami, as proposed by wilder, or for regarding them as a section of the brain peculiar to fishes. the thalamencephalon (_th._) contains the usual parts, but is in some respects peculiar. its lateral walls, forming the optic thalami, are thick, and are not sharply separated in front from the basal part of the cerebrum; between them is placed the third ventricle. the thalami are of considerable extent, though partially covered by the optic lobes and the posterior lobes of the cerebrum. they are not, however, relatively so large as in other ganoid forms, more especially the chondrostei and _polypterus_. on the roof of the thalamencephalon is placed a large thin-walled vesicle (plate , figs. a and b, _v.th._), which undoubtedly forms the most characteristic structure connected with this part of the brain. owing to the wretched state of preservation of the specimens, we have found it impossible to determine the exact relations of this body to the remainder of the thalamencephalon; but it appears to be attached to the roof of the thalamencephalon by a narrow stalk only. it extends forwards so as to overlap part of the cerebrum in front, and is closely invested by a highly vascular layer of the pia mater. no mention is made by wilder of this body; nor is it represented in his figures or in those of the other anatomists who have given drawings of the brain of _lepidosteus_. it might at first be interpreted as a highly-developed pineal gland, but a comparison with the brain of the larva (vide p. ) shews that this is not the case, but that the body in question is represented in the larva by a special outgrowth of the roof of the thalamencephalon. the vesicle of the roof of the thalamencephalon is therefore to be regarded as a peculiar development of the tela choroidea of the third ventricle. how far this vesicle has a homologue in the brains of other ganoids is not certain, since negative evidence on this subject is all but valueless. it is possible that a vesicular sack covering over the third ventricle of the sturgeon described by stannius[ ], and stated by him to be wholly formed of the membranes of the brain, is really the homologue of our vesicle. footnote : "ueb. d. gehirn des störs," müller's _archiv_, , and _lehrbuch d. vergl. anat. d. wirbelthiere_. cattie, _archives de biologie_, vol. iii. , has recently described in _acipenser sturio_ a vesicle on the roof of the thalamencephalon, whose cavity is continuous with the third ventricle. this vesicle is clearly homologous with that in _lepidosteus_. (june , .) wiedersheim[ ] has recently described in _protopterus_ a body which is undoubtedly homologous with our vesicle, which he describes in the following way:-- "dorsalwärts ist das zwischenhirn durch ein tiefes, von hirnschlitz eingenommenes thal von vorderhirn abgesetzt; dasselbe ist jedoch durch eine häutige, mit der pia mater zusammenhängende kuppel oder kapsel überbrückt." footnote : r. wiedersheim, _morphol. studien_, , p. . this "kuppel" has precisely the same relations and a very similar appearance to our vesicle. the true pineal gland is placed behind it. it appears to us possible that the body found by huxley[ ] in _ceratodus_, which he holds to be the pineal gland, is in reality this vesicle. it is moreover possible that what has usually been regarded as the pineal gland in _petromyzon_ may in reality be the homologue of the vesicle we have found in _lepidosteus_. footnote : "on _ceratodus forsteri_," &c., _proc. zool. soc._ . we have no observations on the pineal gland of the adult, but must refer the reader for the structure and relations of this body to the embryological section. the infundibulum (plate , fig. a, _in._) is very elongated. immediately in front of it is placed the optic chiasma (plate , figs. a and c, _op.ch._) from which the optic fibres can be traced passing along the sides of the optic thalami and to the optic lobes, very much as in müller's figure of the brain of _polypterus_. on the sides of the infundibulum are placed two prominent bodies, the lobi inferiores (_l.in._), each of which contains a cavity continuous with the prolongation of the third ventricle into the infundibulum. the apex of the infundibulum is enlarged, and to it is attached a pituitary body (_pt._). the mid-brain is of considerable size, and consists of a basal portion connecting the optic thalami with the medulla, and a pair of large optic lobes (_op.l._). the iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum, which forms the ventricle of this part of the brain, is prolonged into each optic lobe, and the floor of each prolongation is taken up by a dome-shaped projection, the homologue of the torus semicircularis of teleostei. the hind-brain consists of the usual parts, the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum. the medulla presents no peculiar features. the sides of the fourth ventricle are thickened and everted, and marked with peculiar folds (plate , figs. a and b, _m.o._). the cerebellum is much larger than in the majority of ganoids, and resembles in all essential features the cerebellum of teleostei. in side views it has a somewhat s-shaped form, from the presence of a peculiar lateral sulcus (plate , fig. a, _cb._). as shewn by wilder, its wall actually has in longitudinal section this form of curvature, owing to its anterior part projecting forwards into the cavity of the iter[ ]. this forward projection is not, however, so conspicuous as in most teleostei. the cerebellum contains a large unpaired prolongation of the fourth ventricle. footnote : in wilder's figure the walls of the cerebellum are represented as much too thin. ii. _development._ the early development of the brain has already been described; and, although we do not propose to give any detailed account of the later stages of its growth, we have thought it worth while calling attention to certain developmental features which may probably be regarded as to some extent characteristic of the ganoids. with this view we have figured (plate , figs. , ) longitudinal sections of the brain at two stages, viz.: of larvæ of and millims., and transverse sections (plate , figs. a-g) of the brain of a larva at about the latter stage ( millims.). the original embryonic fore-brain is divided in both embryos into a cerebrum (_ce._) in front and a thalamencephalon (_th_) behind. in the younger embryo the cerebrum is a single lobe, as it is in the brains of all vertebrate embryos; but in the older larva it is anteriorly (plate , fig. a) completely divided into two hemispheres. the roof of the undivided posterior part of the cerebrum is extremely thin (plate , fig. b). near the posterior border of the base of the cerebrum there is a great development of nervous fibres, which may probably be regarded as in part equivalent to the anterior commissure (plate , figs. , _a.c._). even in the oldest of the two brains the olfactory lobes are very slightly developed, constituting, however, small lateral and ventral prominences of the front end of the hemispheres. from each of them there springs a long olfactory nerve, extending for the whole length of the rostrum to the olfactory sack. the thalamencephalon presents a very curious structure, and is relatively a more important part of the brain than in the embryo of any other form which we know of. its roof, instead of being, as usual, compressed antero-posteriorly[ ], so as to be almost concealed between the cerebral hemispheres and the optic lobes (mid-brain), projects on the surface for a length quite equal to that of the cerebral hemispheres (plate , figs. and , _th._). in the median line the roof of the thalamencephalon is thin and folded; at its posterior border is placed the opening of the small pineal gland. this body is a papilliform process of the nervous matter of the roof of this part of the brain, and instead of being directed forwards, as in most vertebrate types, tends somewhat backwards, and rests on the mid-brain behind (plate , figs. , , and c and d, _pn._). the roof of the thalamencephalon immediately in front of the pineal gland forms a sort of vesicle, the sides of which extend laterally as a pair of lobes, shewn in transverse sections in plate , figs. c and d, as _th.l._ this vesicle becomes, we cannot doubt, the vesicle on the roof of the thalamencephalon which we have described in the adult brain. immediately in front of the pineal gland the roof of the thalamencephalon contains a transverse commissure (plate , fig. c, _z._), which is the homologue of a similarly situated commissure present in the elasmobranch brain[ ], while behind the pineal gland is placed the posterior commissure. the sides of the thalamencephalon are greatly thickened, forming the optic thalami (plate , figs. c and d, _op.th._), which are continuous in front with the thickened outer walls of the hemispheres. below, the thalamencephalon is produced into a very elongated infundibulum (plate , figs. , , e, _in._), the apex of which is trilobed as in elasmobranchii and teleostei. the sides of the infundibulum exhibit two lobes, the lobi inferiores (plate , fig. e, _l.in._), which are continued posteriorly into the crura cerebri. footnote : vide f. m. balfour, _comparative embryology_, vol. ii. figs. and . footnote : vide f. m. balfour, _comparative embryology_, vol. ii. pp. - [the original edition], where it is suggested that this commissure is the homologue of the grey commissure of higher types. the pituitary body[ ] (plate , figs. , , e, _pt._) is small, not divided into lobes, and provided with a very minute lumen. footnote : we have not been able to work out the early development of the pituitary body as satisfactorily as we could have wished. in plate , fig. , there is shewn an invagination of the oral epithelium to form it; in plate , figs. and , it is represented in transverse section in two consecutive sections. anteriorly it is still connected with the oral epithelium (fig. ), while posteriorly it is free. it is possible that an earlier stage of it is shewn in plate , fig. . were it not for the evidence in other types of its being derived from the epiblast we should be inclined to regard it as hypoblastic in origin. in front of the infundibulum is the optic chiasma (plate , fig. d, _op.ch._), which is developed very early. it is, as stated by müller, a true chiasma. the mid-brain (plate , figs. and , _m.b._) is large, and consists in both stages of ( ) a thickened floor forming the crura cerebri, the central canal of which constitutes the iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum; and ( ) the optic lobes (plate , figs. e, f, g, _op.l._) above, each of which is provided with a cavity continuous with the median iter. the optic lobes are separated dorsally and in front by a well-marked median longitudinal groove. posteriorly they largely overlap the cerebellum. in the anterior part of the optic lobes, at the point where the iter joins the third ventricle, there may be seen slight projections of the floor into the lumen of the optic lobes (plate , fig. e). these masses probably become in the adult the more conspicuous prominences of the floor of the ventricles of the optic lobes, which we regard as homologous with the tori semicirculares of the brain of the teleostei. the hind-brain is formed of the usual divisions, viz.: cerebellum and medulla oblongata (plate , figs. and , _cb._, _md._). the former constitutes a bilobed projection of the roof of the hind-brain. only a small portion of it is during these stages left uncovered by the optic lobes, but the major part extends forwards for a considerable distance under the optic lobes, as shewn in the transverse sections (plate , figs. f and g, _cb._); and its two lobes, each with a prolongation of its cavity, are continued forwards beyond the opening of the iter into the fourth ventricle. it is probable that the anterior horns of the cerebellum are equivalent to the prolongations of the cerebellum into the central cavity of the optic lobes of teleostei, which are continuous with the so-called fornix of göttsche. iii. _comparison of the larval and adult brain of lepidosteus, together with some observations on the systematic value of the characters of the ganoid brain._ the brain of the older of the two larvæ, which we have described, sufficiently resembles in most of its features that of the adult to render material assistance in the interpretation of certain of the parts of the latter. it will be remembered that in the adult brain the parts usually held to be olfactory lobes were described as the anterior cerebral lobes. the grounds for this will be apparent by a comparison of the cerebrum of the larva and adult. in the larva the cerebrum is formed of ( ) an unpaired basal portion with a thin roof, and ( ) of a pair of anterior lobes, with small olfactory bulbs at their free extremities. the basal portion in the larva clearly corresponds in the adult with the basal portion, together with the two posterior cerebral lobes, which are merely special outgrowths of the dorsal edge of the primitive basal portion. the pair of anterior lobes have exactly the same relations in the larva as in the adult, except that in the former the ventricles are prolonged for their whole length instead of being confined to their proximal portions. if, therefore, our identifications of the larval parts of the brain are correct, there can hardly be a question as to our identifications of the parts in the adult. as concerns these identifications, the comparison of the brain of our two larvæ appears conclusive in favour of regarding the anterior lobes as parts of the cerebrum, as distinguished from the olfactory lobes, in that they are clearly derived from the undivided anterior portion of the cerebrum of the younger larva. the comparison of the larval brain with that of the adult again appears to us to leave no doubt that the vesicle attached to the roof of the thalamencephalon in the adult is the same structure as the bilobed outgrowth of this roof in the larva; and since there is in addition a well-developed pineal gland in the larva with the usual relations, there can be no ground for identifying the vesicle in the adult with the pineal gland. müller, in his often quoted memoir (no. ), states that the brains of ganoids are peculiar and distinct from those both of teleostei and elasmobranchii; but in addition to pointing out that the optic nerves form a chiasma he does not particularly mention the features, to which he alludes in general terms. more recently wilder (no. ) has returned to this subject; and though, as we have already had occasion to point out, we cannot accept all his identifications of the parts of the ganoid brain, yet he has called attention to certain characteristic features of the cerebrum which have an undoubted systematic value. the distinctive characters of the ganoid brain are, in our opinion, ( ) the great elongation of the region of the thalamencephalon; and ( ) the unpaired condition of the posterior part of the cerebrum, and the presence of so thin a roof to the ventricle of this part as to cause it to appear open above. the immense length of the region of the thalamencephalon is a feature in the ganoid brain which must at once strike any one who examines figures of the brains of chondrostei, _polypterus_, or _amia_. it is less striking in the adult _lepidosteus_, though here also we have shewn that the thalamencephalon is really very greatly developed; but in the larva of _lepidosteus_ this feature is still better marked, so that the brain of the larva may be described as being more characteristically ganoid than that of the adult. the presence of a largely developed thalamencephalon at once distinguishes a ganoid brain from that of a teleostean fish, in which the optic thalami are very much reduced; but _lepidosteus_ shews its teleostean affinities by a commencing reduction of this part of the brain. the large size of the thalamencephalon is also characteristic of the ganoid brain in comparison with the brain of the dipnoi; but is not however so very much more marked in the ganoids than it is in some elasmobranchii. on the whole, we may consider the retention of a large thalamencephalon as a primitive character. the second feature which we have given as characteristic of the ganoid brain is essentially that which has been insisted upon by wilder, though somewhat differently expressed by him. the simplest condition of the cerebrum is that found in the larva of _lepidosteus_, where there is an anterior pair of lobes, and an undivided posterior portion with a simple prolongation of the third ventricle, and a very thin roof. the dorsal edges of the posterior portion, adjoining the thin roof, usually become somewhat everted (cf. wilder), and in _lepidosteus_ these edges have in the adult a very great development, and form (vide plate , fig. a-c, _ce´._) two prominent lobes, which we have spoken of as the posterior cerebral lobes. these characters of the cerebrum are perhaps even more distinctive than those of the thalamencephalon. in teleostei the cerebrum appears to be completely divided into two hemispheres, which are, however, all but solid, the lateral ventricles being only prolonged into their bases. in dipnoi again there is either (_protopterus_, wiedersheim[ ]) a completely separated pair of oval hemispheres, not unlike those of the lower amphibia, or the oval hemispheres are not completely separated from each other (_ceratodus_, huxley[ ], _lepidosiren_, hyrtl[ ]); in either case the hemispheres are traversed for the whole length by lateral ventricles which are either completely or nearly completely separated from each other. footnote : _morphol. studien_, iii. jena, . footnote : "on _ceratodus forsteri_," _proc. zool. soc._ . footnote : _lepidosiren paradoxa._ prag. . in elasmobranchii the cerebrum is an unpaired though bilobed body, but traversed by two completely separated lateral ventricles, and without a trace of the peculiar membranous roof found in ganoids. not less interesting than the distinguishing characters of the ganoid brain are those cerebral characters which indicate affinities between _lepidosteus_ and other groups. the most striking of these are, as might have been anticipated, in the direction of the teleostei. although the foremost division of the brain is very dissimilar in the two groups, yet the hind-brain in many ganoids and the mid-brain also in _lepidosteus_ approaches closely to the teleostean type. the most essential feature of the cerebellum in teleostei is its prolongation forwards into the ventricles of the optic vesicles as the valvula cerebelli. we have already seen that there is a homologous part of the cerebellum in _lepidosteus_; stannius also describes this part in the sturgeon, but no such part is represented in müller's figure of the brain of _polypterus_, or described by him in the text. the cerebellum is in most ganoids relatively smaller, and this is even the case with _amia_; but the cerebellum of _lepidosteus_ is hardly less bulky than that of most teleostei. the presence of tori semicirculares on the floor of the mid-brain of _lepidosteus_ again undoubtedly indicates its affinities with the teleostei, and such processes are stated by stannius to be absent in the sturgeon, and have not, so far as we are aware, been described in other ganoids. lastly we may point to the presence of well-developed lobi inferiores in the brain of _lepidosteus_ as an undoubted teleostean character. on the whole, the brain of _lepidosteus_, though preserving its true ganoid characters, approaches more closely to the brain of the teleostei than that of any other ganoid, including even _amia_. it is not easy to point elsewhere to such marked resemblances of the ganoid brain, as to the brain of the teleostei. the division of the cerebrum into anterior and posterior lobes, which is found in _lepidosteus_, probably reappears again, as already indicated, in the higher amphibia. the presence of the peculiar vesicle attached to the roof of the thalamencephalon has its parallel in the brain of _protopterus_, and as pointing in the same direction a general similarity in the appearance of the brain of _polypterus_ to that of the dipnoi may be mentioned. there appears to us to be in no points a close resemblance between the brain of ganoids and that of elasmobranchii. sense organs. _olfactory organ._ _development._--the nasal sacks first arise during the late embryonic period in the form of a pair of thickened patches of the nervous layer of the epiblast on the dorsal surface of the front end of the head (plate , fig. , _ol._). the patches very soon become partially invaginated; and a small cavity is developed between them and the epidermic layer of the epiblast (plate , figs. and , _ol._). subsequently, the roof of this space, formed by the epidermic layer of the epiblast, is either broken through or absorbed; and thus open pits, _lined entirely by the nervous layer of the epidermis_, are formed. we are not acquainted with any description of an exactly similar mode of origin of the olfactory pits, though the process is almost identical with that of the other sense organs. we have not worked out in detail the mode of formation of the double openings of the olfactory pits, but there can be but little doubt that it is caused by the division of the single opening into two. the olfactory nerve is formed very early (plate , fig. , i), and, as marshall has found in aves and elasmobranchii, it arises at a stage prior to the first differentiation of an olfactory bulb as a special lobe of the brain. _the eye._ _anatomy._--we have not made a careful histological examination of the eye of _lepidosteus_, which in our specimens was not sufficiently well preserved for such a purpose; but we have found a vascular membrane enveloping the vitreous humour on its retinal aspect, which, so far as we know, is unlike anything which has so far been met with in the eye of any other adult vertebrate. the membrane itself is placed immediately outside the hyaloid membrane, _i.e._ on the side of the hyaloid membrane bounding the vitreous humour. it is easily removed from the retina, to which it is only adherent at the entrance of the optic nerve. in both the eyes we examined it also adhered, at one point, to the capsule of the lens, but we could not make out whether this adhesion was natural, or artificially produced by the coagulation of a thin layer of albuminous matter. in one instance, at any rate, the adhesion appeared firmer than could easily be produced artificially. the arrangement of the vessels in the membrane is shewn diagrammatically in plate , fig. , while the characteristic form of the capillary plexus is represented in plate , fig. . the arterial supply appears to be derived from a vessel perforating the retina close to the optic nerve, and obviously homologous with the artery of the processus falciformis and pecten of teleostei and birds, and with the arteria centralis retinæ of mammals. from this vessel branches diverge and pursue a course towards the periphery. they give off numerous branches, the blood from which enters a capillary plexus (plate , figs. and ) and is collected again by veins, which pass outwards and finally bend over and fall into (plate , fig. ) a circular vein (_cr.v._) placed at the outer edge of the retina along the insertion of the iris (_ir_). the terminal branches of some of the main arteries appear also to fall directly into this vein. the membrane supporting the vessels just described is composed of a transparent matrix, in which numerous cells are embedded (plate , fig. ). _development._--in the account of the first stages of development of _lepidosteus_, the mode of formation of the optic cup, the lens, &c., have been described (vide plates and , figs. , , ). with reference to the later stages in the development of the eye, the only subject with which we propose to deal is the growth of the mesoblastic processes which enter the cavity of the vitreous humour through the choroid slit. _lepidosteus_ is very remarkable for the great number of mesoblast cells which thus enter the cavity of the vitreous humour, and for the fact that these cells are _at first unaccompanied by any vascular structures_ (plate , fig. , _v.h_). the mesoblast cells are scattered through the vitreous humour, and there can be no doubt that during early larval life, at a period however when the larva is certainly able to see, every histologist would consider the vitreous humour to be a tissue formed of scattered cells, with a large amount of intercellular substance; and the fact that it is so appears to us to demonstrate that kessler's view of the vitreous humour being a mere transudation is not tenable. in the larva five or six days after hatching, and about millims. in length, the choroid slit is open for its whole length. the edges of the slit near the lens are folded, so as to form a ridge projecting into the cavity of the vitreous humour, while nearer the insertion of the optic nerve they cease to exhibit any such structure. the mesoblast, though it projects between the lips of the ridge near the lens, only extends through the choroid slit into the cavity of the vitreous humour in the neighbourhood of the optic nerve. here it forms a lamina with a thickened edge, from which scattered cells in the cavity of the vitreous humour seem to radiate. at a slightly later stage than that just described, blood-vessels become developed within the cavity of the vitreous humour, and form the vascular membrane already described in the adult, placed close to the layer of nerve-fibres of the retina, but separated from this layer by the hyaloid membrane (plate , fig. , _v.sh._). the artery bringing the blood to the above vascular membrane is bound up in the same sheath as the optic nerve, and passes through the choroid slit very close to the optic nerve. its entrance into the cavity of the vitreous humour is shewn in plate , fig. (_vs._); its relation to the optic nerve in plate , fig. , c and d (_vs._). the above sheath has, so far as we know, its nearest analogue in the eye of _alytes_, where, however, it is only found in the larva. the reader who will take the trouble to refer to the account of the imperfectly-developed processus falciformis of the elasmobranch eye in the treatise _on comparative embryology_, by one of us[ ], will not fail to recognize that the folds of the retina at the sides of the choroid slit, and the mesoblastic process passing through this slit, are strikingly similar in _lepidosteus_ and elasmobranchii; and that, if we are justified in holding them to be an imperfectly-developed processus falciformis in the one case, we are equally so in the other. footnote : vol. ii. p. [the original edition]. johannes müller mentions the absence of a processus falciformis as one of the features distinguishing ganoids and teleostei. so far as the systematic separation of the two groups is concerned, he is probably perfectly justified in this course; but it is interesting to notice that both in ganoids and elasmobranchii we have traces of a structure which undergoes a very special development in the teleostei, and that the processus falciformis of teleostei is therefore to be regarded, not as an organ peculiar to them, but as the peculiar modification within the group of a primitive vertebrate organ. suctorial disc. one of the most remarkable organs of the larval _lepidosteus_ is the suctorial disc, placed at the front end of the head, to which we have made numerous allusions in the first section of this memoir. the external features of the disc have been fully dealt with by agassiz, and he also explained its function by observations on the habits of the larva. we have already quoted (p. ) a passage from agassiz' memoir shewing how the young fishes use the disc to attach themselves firmly to any convenient object. the discs appear in fact to be highly efficient organs of attachment, in that the young fish can remain suspended by them to the sides of the jar, even after the water has been lowered below the level at which they are attached. the disc is formed two or three days before hatching, and from agassiz' statements, it appears to come into use immediately the young fish is liberated from the egg membranes. we have examined the histological structure of the disc at various ages of its growth, and may refer the reader to plate , figs. and , and plate , figs. and . the result of our examination has been to shew that the disc is provided with a series of papillæ often exhibiting a bilateral arrangement. the papillæ are mainly constituted of highly modified cells of the mucous layer of the epidermis. these cells have the form of elongated columns, the nucleus being placed at the base, and the main mass of the cells being filled with a protoplasmic reticulum. they may probably be regarded as modified mucous cells. in the mesoblast adjoining the suctorial disc there are numerous sinus-like vascular channels. it does not appear probable that the disc has a true sucking action. it is unprovided with muscular elements, and there appears to be no mechanism by which it could act as a sucking organ. we must suppose, therefore, that its adhesive power depends upon the capacity of the cells composing its papillæ to pour out a sticky secretion. muscular system. there is a peculiarity in the muscular system of _lepidosteus_, which so far as we know has not been previously noticed. it is that the lateral muscles of each side are not divided, either in the region of the trunk or of the tail, into a dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral division. this peculiarity is equally characteristic of the older larvæ as of the adult, and is shewn in plate , figs. , , and , and plate , figs. - . in the cyclostomata the lateral muscles are not divided into dorsal and ventral sections; but except in this group such a division has been hitherto considered as invariable amongst fishes. this character must, without doubt, be held to be the indication of a very primitive arrangement of the muscular system. in the embryos of all fishes with the usual type of the lateral muscles, the undivided condition of the muscles precedes the divided condition; and in primitive forms such as the cyclostomata and amphioxus the embryonic condition is retained, as it is in _lepidosteus_. skeleton. part i.--_vertebral column and ribs of the adult._ a typical vertebra from the trunk of _lepidosteus_ has the following characters (plate , figs. and ). the centrum is slightly narrower in the middle than at its two extremities. it articulates with adjacent vertebræ by a convex face in front and a concave face behind, being thus, according to owen's nomenclature, opisthocoelous. it presents on its under surface a well-marked longitudinal ridge, which in many vertebræ is only united at its two extremities with the main body of the vertebra. from the lateral borders of the centrum there project, at a point slightly nearer the front than the hind end, a pair of prominent hæmal processes (_h.a._), to the ends of which are articulated the ribs. these processes have a nearly horizontal direction in the greater part of the trunk, though bent downwards in the tail. the neural arches (_n.a._) have a somewhat complicated form. they are mainly composed of two vertical plates, the breadth of the basal parts of which is nearly as great as the length of the vertebræ, so that comparatively narrow spaces are left between the neural arches of successive vertebræ for the passage of the spinal nerves. some little way from its dorsal extremity each neural arch sends a horizontal process inwards, which meets its fellow and so forms a roof for the spinal canal. these processes appear to be confined to the posterior parts of the vertebræ, so that at the front ends of the vertebræ, and in the spaces between them, the neural canal is without an osseous roof. above the level of this osseous roof there is a narrow passage, bounded laterally by the dorsal extremities of the neural plates. this passage is mainly filled up by a series of cartilaginous elements (plate , figs. and , _i.c._) (probably fibro-cartilage), which rest upon the roof of the neural canal. each element is situated _intervertebrally_, its anterior end being wedged in between the two dorsal processes of the neural arch of the vertebra in front, and its posterior end extending for some distance over the vertebra behind. the successive elements are connected by fibrous tissue, and are continuous dorsally with a fibrous band, known as the ligamentum longitudinale superius (plate , figs. and , _l.l._), characteristic of fishes generally, and running continuously for the whole length of the vertebral column. each of the cartilaginous elements is, as will be afterwards shewn, developed as two independent pieces of cartilage, and might be compared with the dorsal element which usually forms the keystone of the neural arch in elasmobranchii, were not the latter vertebral instead of intervertebral in position. more or less similar elements are described by götte in the neural arches of many teleostei, which also, however, appear to be vertebrally placed, and he has compared them and the corresponding elements in the sturgeon with the elasmobranch cartilages forming the keystone of the neural arch. götte does not, however, appear to have distinguished between the cartilaginous elements, and the osseous elements forming the roof of the spinal canal, which are true membrane bones; it is probable that the two are not so clearly separated in other types as in _lepidosteus_. the posterior ends of the neural plates of the neural arches are continued into the dorsal processes directed obliquely upwards and backwards, which have been somewhat unfortunately described by stannius as rib-like projections of the neural arch. the dorsal processes of the two sides do not meet, but between them is placed a median free spinous element, also directed obliquely upwards and backwards, which forms a kind of roof for the groove in which the cartilaginous elements and the ligamentum longitudinale are placed. the vertebræ are wholly formed of a very cellular osseous tissue, in which a distinction between the bases of the neural and hæmal processes and the remainder of the vertebra is not recognizable. the bodies of the vertebræ are, moreover, directly continuous with the neural and hæmal arches. the ribs in the region of the trunk are articulated to the ends of the long hæmal processes. they envelop the body-cavity, their proximal parts being placed immediately outside the peritoneal membrane, along the bases of the intermuscular septa. their distal ends do not, however, remain close to the peritoneal membrane, _but pass outwards along the intermuscular septa till their free ends come into very close proximity with the skin_. this peculiarity, which holds good in the adult for all the free ribs, is shewn in one of the anterior ribs of an advanced larva in plate , fig. (_rb._). we are not aware that this has been previously noticed, but it appears to us to be a point not without interest in all questions which concern the homology of rib-like structures occupying different positions in relation to the muscles. its bearings are fully dealt with in the section of this paper devoted to the consideration of the homologies of the ribs in fishes. as regards the behaviour of the ribs in the transitional region between the trunk and the tail, we cannot do better than translate the description given by gegenbaur of this region (no. , p. ):--"up to the th vertebra the ribs borne by the laterally and posteriorly directed processes present nothing remarkable, though they have gradually become shorter. the ribs of the th vertebra exhibit a slight curvature outwards of their free ends, a peculiarity still more marked in the th. the last named pair of ribs converge somewhat in their descent backwards so that both ribs decidedly approach before bending outwards. the th vertebra is no longer provided with freely terminating ribs, but on the contrary, the same pair of processes which in front was provided with ribs, bears a short forked process as the hæmal arch. _the two, up to this point separated ribs, have here formed a hæmal arch by the fusion of their lower ends, which arch is movable just like the ribs, and, like them, is attached to the vertebral column._" in the region of the tail-fin the hæmal arches supporting the caudal fin-rays are very much enlarged. part ii.--_development of the vertebral column and ribs._ the first development and early histological changes of the notochord have already been given, and we may take up the history of the vertebral column at a period when the notochord forms a large circular rod, whose cells are already highly vacuolated, while the septa between the vacuoles form a delicate wide-meshed reticulum. surrounding the notochord is the usual cuticular sheath, which is still thin. the first indications of the future vertebral column are to be found in the formation of a distinct mesoblastic investment of the notochord. on the dorsal aspect of the notochord, the mesoblast forms two ridges, one on each side, which are prolonged upwards so as to meet above the neural canal, for which they form a kind of sheath. on the ventral side of the notochord there are also two ridges, which are, however, except on the tail, much less prominent than the dorsal ridges. the changes which next ensue are practically identical with those which take place in teleostei. around the cuticular sheath of the notochord there is formed an elastic membrane--the membrana elastica externa. at the same time the basal parts of the dorsal, or as we may perhaps more conveniently call them, the neural ridges of the notochord become enlarged at each intermuscular septum, and the tissue of these enlargements soon becomes converted into cartilage, thus forming a series of independent paired neural processes riding on the membrana elastica externa surrounding the notochord, and extending about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the medullary cord. they are shewn in transverse section in plate , fig. (_n.a._), and in a side view in fig. (_n.a._). simultaneously with the neural arches, the hæmal arches also become established, and arise by the formation of similar enlargements of the ventral or hæmal ridges. in the trunk they are very small, but in the region of the tail their condition is very different. at the front end of the anal fin the paired hæmal arches suddenly enlarge and extend ventralwards (plate , fig. , _h.a._). each succeeding pair of arches becomes larger than the one in front, and the two elements of each arch first nearly meet below the caudal vein (plate , fig. ) and finally actually do so, forming in this way a completely closed hæmal canal. at the point where they first meet the permanent caudal fin commences, and here (plate , fig. ) we find that not only do the hæmal arches meet and coalesce below the caudal vein, but they are actually produced into long spines supporting the fin-rays of the caudal fin, which thus differs from the other fins in being supported by parts of the true vertebral column and not by independently formed elements of the skeleton. each of the large caudal hæmal arches, including the spine, forms a continuous whole, and arises at an earlier period of larval life than any other part of the vertebral column. we noticed the first indications of the neural arches in the larva of about a week old, while they are converted into fully formed cartilage in the larva of three weeks. the neural and hæmal arches, resting on the membrana elastica externa, do not at this early stage in the least constrict the notochord. they grow gradually more definite, till the larva is five or six weeks old and about millims. in length, but otherwise for a long time undergo no important changes. during the same period, however, the true sheath of the notochord greatly increases in thickness, and the membrana elastica externa becomes more definite. so far it would be impossible to distinguish the development of the vertebral column of _lepidosteus_ from that of a teleostean fish. of the stages immediately following we have unfortunately had no examples, but we have been fortunate enough to obtain some young specimens of _lepidosteus_[ ], which have enabled us to work out with tolerable completeness the remainder of the developmental history of the vertebral column. in the next oldest larva, of about . centims., the changes which have taken place are already sufficient to differentiate the vertebral column of _lepidosteus_ from that of a teleostean, and to shew how certain of the characteristic features of the adult take their origin. footnote : these specimens were given to us by professor w. k. parker, who received them from professor burt g. wilder. in the notochord the most important and striking change consists in the appearance of a series of very well marked vertebral constrictions _opposite the insertions of the neural and hæmal arches_. the first constrictions of the notochord are thus, as in other fishes, vertebral; and although, owing to the growth of the intervertebral cartilage, the vertebral constrictions are subsequently replaced by intervertebral constrictions, yet at the same time the primitive occurrence of vertebral constrictions demonstrates that the vertebral column of _lepidosteus_ is a modification of a type of vertebral column with biconcave vertebræ. the structure of the gelatinous body of the notochord has undergone no important change. the sheath, however, exhibits certain features which deserve careful description. in the first place the attention of the observer is at once struck by the fact that, in the vertebral regions, the sheath is much thicker (. millim.) than in the intervertebral (. millim.), and a careful examination of the sheath in longitudinal sections shews that the thickening is due to the special differentiation of a superficial part (plate , fig. , _sh._) of the sheath in each vertebral region. this part is somewhat granular as compared to the remainder, especially in longitudinal sections. it forms a cylinder (the wall of which is about . millim. thick) in each vertebral region, immediately within the membrana elastica externa. between it and the gelatinous tissue of the notochord within there is a very thin unmodified portion of the sheath, which is continuous with the thinner intervertebral parts of the sheath. this part of the sheath is faintly, but at the same time distinctly, concentrically striated--a probable indication of concentric fibres. the inner unmodified layer of the sheath has the appearance in transverse sections through the vertebral regions of an inner membrane, and may perhaps be kölliker's "membrana elastica interna." we are not aware that any similar modification of the sheath has been described in other forms. the whole sheath is still invested by a very distinct membrana elastica externa (_m.el_). the changes which have taken place in the parts which form the permanent vertebræ will be best understood from plate , figs. - . from the transverse section (fig. ) it will be seen that there are still neural and hæmal arches resting upon the membrana elastica externa; but longitudinal sections (fig. ) shew that laterally these arches join a cartilaginous tube, embracing the intervertebral regions of the notochord, and continuous from one vertebra to the next. it will be convenient to treat separately the neural arches, the hæmal arches with their appendages, and the intervertebral cartilaginous rings. the neural arches, except in the fact of embracing a relatively smaller part of the neural tube than in the earlier stage, do not at first sight appear to have undergone any changes. viewed from the side, however, in dissected specimens, they are seen to be prolonged upwards so as to unite above with bars of cartilage directed obliquely backwards. an explanation of this appearance is easily found in the sections. the cartilaginous neural arches are invested by a delicate layer of homogeneous bone, developed in the perichondrium, and this bone is prolonged beyond the cartilage and joins a similar osseous investment of the dorsal bars above mentioned. the whole of these parts may, it appears to us, be certainly reckoned as parts of the neural arches, so that at this stage each neural arch consists of: ( ) a pair of basal portions resting on the notochord consisting of cartilage invested by bone, ( ) of a pair of dorsal cartilaginous bars invested in bone (_n.a´._), and ( ) of osseous bars connecting ( ) and ( ). though, in the absence of the immediately preceding stages, it is not perfectly certain that the dorsal pieces of cartilage are developed independently of the ventral, there appears to us every probability that this is so; and thus the cartilage of each neural arch is developed discontinuously, while the permanent bony neural arch, which commences as a deposit of bone partly in the perichondrium and partly in the intervening membrane, forms a continuous structure. analogous occurrences have been described by götte in teleostei. the dorsal portion of each neural arch becomes what we have called the dorsal process of the adult arch. between the dorsal processes of the two sides there is placed a median rod of cartilage (plate , fig. , _i.s._), which in its development is wholly independent of the true neural arches, and which constitutes the median spinous element of the adult. in tracing these backwards it becomes obvious that they are homologous with the interspinous elements supporting the dorsal fin, in that they are replaced by these interspinous elements in the region of the dorsal fin, and that the interspinous bones occupy the same position as the median spinous processes. this homology was first pointed out by götte in the case of the teleostei. immediately beneath this rod is placed the longitudinal ligament (plate , fig. , _l.l._), but there is as yet no trace of a junction between the neural arches of the two sides in the space between the longitudinal ligament and the spinal cord. the basal parts of the neural arches of the two sides are united dorsally by a thin cartilaginous layer resting on the sheath of the notochord, but they are not united ventrally with the hæmal arches. the hæmal processes in the trunk are much more prominent than in the preceding stage, and their bases are united ventrally by a tolerably thick layer of cartilage. in the trunk they are continuous with the so-called ribs of the adult (plate , fig. ); but in order to study the nature of these ribs it is necessary to trace the modifications undergone by the hæmal arches in passing from the tail to the trunk. it will be remembered that at an earlier stage the hæmal arches in the region of the tail-fin were fully formed, and that through the anterior part of the caudal region the hæmal processes were far advanced in development, and just in front of the caudal fin had actually met below the caudal vein. the mode of development of the hæmal arches in the tail as _unjointed_ cartilaginous bars investing the caudal arteries and veins is so similar to that of the caudal hæmal arches of elasmobranchii, that it appears to us impossible to doubt their identity in the two groups[ ]. footnote : gegenbaur (no. ) takes a different view on this subject, as is clear from the following passage in this memoir (pp. - ):--"each vertebra of _lepidosteus_ thus consists of a section of the notochord, and of the cartilaginous tissue surrounding its sheath, which gives origin to the upper arches for the whole length of the vertebral column, and in the caudal region to that of the lower arches also. _the latter do not however complete the enclosure of a lower canal, but this is effected by special independent elements_, which are to be interpreted as homologues of the ribs." (the italics are ours.) while we fully accept the homology between the ribs and the lower elements of the hæmal arches of the tail, the view expressed in the italicised section, to the effect that the lower parts of the caudal arches are not true hæmal arches but are independently formed elements, is entirely opposed to our observations, and has we believe only arisen from the fact that gegenbaur had not the young larvæ to work with by which alone this question could be settled. the changes which have taken place by this stage with reference to the hæmal arches of the tail are not very considerable. in the case of a few more vertebræ the hæmal processes have united into an arch, and the spinous processes of the arches in the region of the caudal fin have grown considerably in length. a more important change is perhaps the commencement of a segmentation of the distal parts of the hæmal arches from the proximal. this process has not, however, as yet resulted in a complete separation of the two, such as we find in the adult. if the hæmal processes are traced forwards (plate , figs. and ) from the anterior segment where they meet ventrally, it will be found that each hæmal process consists of a basal portion, adjoining the notochord, and a peripheral portion. these two parts are completely continuous, but the line of a future separation is indicated by the structure of the cartilage, though not shewn in our figures. as the true body-cavity of the trunk replaces the obliterated body-cavity of the caudal region, no break of continuity will be found in the structure of the hæmal processes (plates and , figs. and ), but while the basal portions grow somewhat larger, the peripheral portions gradually elongate and take the form of delicate rods of cartilage extending ventralwards, on each side of the body-cavity, immediately outside the peritoneal membrane, and along the lines of insertion of the intermuscular septa. these rods obviously become the ribs of the adult. as one travels forwards the ribs become continually longer and more important, and though they are at this stage united with the hæmal processes in every part of the trunk, yet they are much more completely separated from these processes in front than behind (plate , fig. ). in front (plate , fig. ), each rib (_rb._), after continuing its ventral course for some distance, immediately outside the peritoneal membrane, turns outwards, and passes along one of the intermuscular septa till it reaches the epidermis. this feature in the position of the ribs is, as has been already pointed out in the anatomical part of this section, characteristic of all the ribs of the adult. it is unfortunate that we have had no specimens shewing the ribs at an earlier stage of development; but it appears hardly open to doubt that _the ribs are originally continuous with the hæmal processes_, and that the indications of a separation between those two parts at this stage are not due to a secondary fusion, but to a commencing segmentation. it further appears, as müller, gegenbaur and others have stated, that the ribs and hæmal processes of the tail are serially homologous structures; but that the view maintained by götte in his very valuable memoirs on the vertebrate skeleton is also correct to the effect that _the hæmal arches of the tail are homologous throughout the series of fishes_. to this subject we shall return again at the end of the section. before leaving the hæmal arches it may be mentioned that behind the region of the ventral caudal fin the two hæmal processes merge into one, and form an unpaired knob resting on the ventral side of the notochord, and not perforated by a canal. there are now present well-developed intervertebral rings of cartilage, each of which eventually becomes divided into two parts, and converted into the adjacent faces of the contiguous vertebræ. these rings are united with the neural and hæmal arches of the vertebræ in front and behind. each ring, as shewn by the transverse section (plate , fig. ), is not uniformly thick, but exhibits four projections, two dorsal and two ventral. these four projections are continuous with the bases of the neural and hæmal arches of the adjacent vertebræ, and afford presumptive evidence of the derivation of the intervertebral rings from the neural and hæmal arches; in that had they so originated, it would be natural to anticipate the presence of four thickenings indicating the four points from which the cartilage had spread, while if the rings had originated independently, it would not be easy to give any explanation of the presence of such thickenings. gegenbaur (no. ), from the investigation of a much older larva than that we are now describing, also arrived at the conclusion that the intervertebral cartilages were derived from the neural and hæmal arches; but as doubts have been thrown upon this conclusion by götte, and as it obviously required further confirmation, we have considered it important to attempt to settle this point. from the description given above, it is clear that we have not, however, been able absolutely to trace the origin of this cartilage, but at the same time we think that we have adduced weighty evidence in corroboration of gegenbaur's view. as shewn in longitudinal section (plate , fig. , _iv.r._), the intervertebral rings are thicker in the middle than at the two ends. in this thickened middle part the division of the cartilage into two parts to form the ends of two contiguous vertebræ is subsequently effected. the curved line which this segmentation will follow is, however, already marked out, and from surface views it might be supposed that this division had actually occurred. the histological structure of the intervertebral cartilage is very distinct from that of the cartilage of the bases of the arches, the nuclei being much more closely packed. in parts, indeed, the intervertebral cartilage has almost the character of fibro-cartilage. on each side of the line of division separating two vertebræ it is invested by a superficial osseous deposit. the next oldest larva we have had was centims. in length. the filamentous dorsal lobe of the caudal fin still projected far beyond the permanent caudal fin (plate , fig. ). the vertebral column was considerably less advanced in development than that dissected by gegenbaur, though it shews a great advance on the previous stage. its features are illustrated by two transverse sections, one through the median plane of a vertebral region (plate , fig. ) and the other through that of an intervertebral region (plate , fig. ), and by a horizontal section (plate , fig. ). in the last stage the notochord was only constricted vertebrally. now, however, by the great growth of intervertebral cartilage there have appeared (plate , fig. ) very well-marked _intervertebral_ constrictions, by the completion of which the vertebræ of _lepidosteus_ acquire their unique character amongst fishes. these constrictions still, however, coexist with the earlier, though at this stage relatively less conspicuous, vertebral constrictions. the gelatinous body of the notochord retains its earlier condition. the sheath has, however, undergone some changes. in the vertebral regions there is present in any section of the sheath--( ) externally, the membrana elastica externa (_m.el._); then ( ) the external layer of the sheath (_sh._), which is, however, less thick than before, and exhibits a very faint form of radial striation; and ( ) internally, a fairly thick and concentrically striated layer. the whole thickness is, on an average, . millim. in the intervertebral regions the membrana elastica externa is still present in most parts, but has become absorbed at the posterior border of each vertebra, as shewn in longitudinal section in plate , fig. . it is considerably puckered transversely. the sheath of the notochord within the membrana elastica externa is formed of a concentrically striated layer, continuous with the innermost layer of the sheath in the vertebral regions. it is puckered longitudinally. thus, curiously enough, the membrana elastica externa and the sheath of the notochord in the intervertebral regions are folded in different directions, the folds of the one being only visible in transverse sections (plate , fig. ), and those of the other in longitudinal sections (plate , fig. ). the osseous and cartilaginous structures investing the notochord may conveniently be dealt with in the same order as before, viz.: the neural arches, the hæmal arches, and the intervertebral cartilages. the cartilaginous portions of the neural arches are still unossified, and form (plate , fig. , _n.a._) small wedge-shaped masses resting on the sheath of the notochord. they are invested by a thick layer of bone prolonged upwards to meet the dorsal processes (_n.a´._), which are still formed of cartilage invested by bone. it will be remembered that in the last stage there was no key-stone closing in the neural arch above. this deficiency is now however supplied, and consists of ( ) two bars of cartilage repeated for each vertebra, but intervertebrally placed, which are directly differentiated from the ligamentum longitudinale superius, into which they merge above; and ( ) two osseous plates placed on the outer sides of these cartilages, which are continuous with the lateral osseous bars of the neural arch. the former of these elements gives rise to the cartilaginous elements above the osseous bridge of the neural arch in the adult. the two osseous plates supporting these cartilages clearly form what we have called in our description of the adult the osseous roof of the spinal canal. a comparison of the neural arch at this stage with the arch in the adult, and in the stage last described, shews that the greater part of the neural arch of the adult is formed of membrane-bone, there being preformed in cartilage only a small basal part, a dorsal process, and paired key-stones below the ligamentum longitudinale superius. the hæmal arches (plate , fig. ) are still largely cartilaginous, and rest upon the sheath of the notochord. they are invested by a thick layer of bone. the bony layer investing the neural and hæmal arches is prolonged to form a continuous investment round the vertebral portions of the notochord (plate , fig. ). this investment is at the sides prolonged outwards into irregular processes (plate , fig. ), which form the commencement of the outer part of the thick but cellular osseous cylinder forming the middle part of the vertebral body. the intervertebral cartilages are much larger than in the earlier stage (plate , figs. and ), and it is by their growth that the intervertebral constrictions of the notochord are produced. they have ceased to be continuous with the cartilage of the arches, the intervening portion of the vertebral body between the two being only formed of bone. they are not yet divided into two masses to form the contiguous ends of adjacent vertebræ. externally, the part of each cartilage which will form the hinder end of a vertebral body is covered by a tube of bone, having the form of a truncated funnel, shewn in longitudinal section in plate , fig. , and in transverse section in plate , fig. . at each end, the intervertebral cartilages are becoming penetrated and replaced by beautiful branched processes from the homogeneous bone which was first of all formed in the perichondrium (plate , fig. ). this constitutes the latest stage which we have had. gegenbaur (no. ) has described the vertebral column in a somewhat older larva of centims. the chief points in which the vertebral column of this larva differed from ours are: ( ) the disappearance of all trace of the primitive vertebral constriction of the notochord; ( ) the nearly completed constriction of the notochord in the intervertebral regions; ( ) the complete ossification of the vertebral portions of the bodies of the vertebræ, the terminal so-called intervertebral portions alone remaining cartilaginous; ( ) the complete ossification of the basal portions of the hæmal and neural processes included within the bodies of the vertebræ, so that in the case of the neural arch all trace of the fact that the greater part was originally not formed in cartilage had become lost. the cartilage of the dorsal spinous processes was, however, still persistent. the only points which remain obscure in the later history of the vertebral column are the history of the notochord and of its sheath. we do not know how far these are either simply absorbed or partially or wholly ossified. götte in his memoir on the formation of the vertebral bodies of the teleostei attempts to prove ( ) that the so-called membrana elastica externa of the teleostei is not a homogeneous elastica, but is formed of cells, and ( ) that in the vertebral regions ossification first occurs in it. in _lepidosteus_ we have met with no indication that the membrana elastica externa is composed of cells; though it is fair to götte to state that we have not examined such isolated portions of it as he states are necessary in order to make out its structure. but further than this we have satisfied ourselves that during the earlier stage of ossification this membrane is not ossified, and indeed in part becomes absorbed in proximity to the intervertebral cartilages; and gegenbaur met with no ossification of this membrane in the later stage described by him. _summary of the development of the vertebral column and ribs._ a mesoblastic investment is early formed round the notochord, which is produced into two dorsal and two ventral ridges, the former uniting above the neural canal. around the cuticular sheath of the notochord an elastic membrane, the membrana elastica externa, is next developed. the neural ridges become enlarged at each inter-muscular septum, and these enlargements soon become converted into cartilage, thus forming a series of neural processes riding on the membrana elastica externa, and extending about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the neural canal. the hæmal processes arise simultaneously with, and in the same manner as, the neural. they are small in the trunk, but at the front end of the anal fin they suddenly enlarge and extend ventralwards. each succeeding pair of hæmal arches becomes larger than the one in front, each arch finally meeting its fellow below the caudal vein, thus forming a completely closed hæmal canal. these arches are moreover produced into long spines supporting the fin-rays of the caudal fin, which thus differs from the other unpaired fins in being supported by parts of the vertebral column, and not by separately formed skeletal elements. in the next stage which we have had the opportunity of studying (larva of - / centims.), a series of very well-marked _vertebral_ constrictions are to be seen in the notochord. the sheath is now much thicker in the vertebral than in the intervertebral regions: this is due to a special differentiation of a superficial part of the sheath, which appears more granular than the remainder. this granular part of the sheath thus forms a cylinder in each vertebral region. between it and the gelatinous tissue of the notochord there remains a thin unmodified portion of the sheath, which is continuous with the intervertebral parts of the sheath. the neural and hæmal arches are seen to be continuous with a cartilaginous tube embracing the intervertebral regions of the notochord, and continuous from one vertebra to the next. a delicate layer of bone, developed in the perichondrium, invests the cartilaginous neural arches, and this bone grows upwards so as to unite above with the osseous investment of separately developed bars of cartilage, which are directed obliquely backwards. these bars, or dorsal processes, may be reckoned as parts of the neural arches. between the dorsal processes of the two sides is placed a median rod of cartilage, which is developed separately from the true neural arches, and which constitutes the median spinous element of the adult. immediately below this rod is placed the ligamentum longitudinale superius. there is now a commencement of separation between the dorsal and ventral parts of the hæmal arches, not only in the tail, but also in the trunk, where they pass ventralwards on each side of the body-cavity, immediately outside the peritoneal membrane, along the lines of insertion of the intermuscular septa. these are obviously the ribs of the adult, and there is no break of continuity of structure between the hæmal processes of the tail and the ribs. in the anterior part of the trunk the ribs pass outwards along the intermuscular septa till they reach the epidermis. thus the ribs are originally continuous with the hæmal processes. behind the region of the ventral caudal fin the two hæmal processes merge into one, which is not perforated by a canal. each of the intervertebral rings of cartilage becomes eventually divided into two parts, and converted into the adjacent faces of contiguous vertebræ, the curved line where this will be effected being plainly marked out. these rings are united with the neural and hæmal arches of the vertebræ next in front and behind. as these rings are formed originally by the spreading of the cartilage from the primitive neural and hæmal processes, the intervertebral cartilages are clearly derived from the neural and hæmal arches. the intervertebral cartilages are thicker in the middle than at their two ends. in our latest stage ( centims.), the vertebral constrictions of the notochord are rendered much less conspicuous by the growth of the intervertebral cartilages giving rise to marked intervertebral constrictions. in the intervertebral regions the membrana elastica externa has become aborted at the posterior border of each vertebra, and the remaining part is considerably puckered transversely. the inner sheath of the notochord is puckered longitudinally in the intervertebral regions. the granular external layer of the sheath in the vertebral regions is less thick than in the last stage, and exhibits faint radial striations. two closely approximated cartilaginous elements now form a key-stone to the neural arch above: these are directly differentiated from the ligamentum longitudinale superius, into which they merge above. an osseous plate is formed on the outer side of each of these cartilages. these plates are continuous with the lateral osseous bars of the neural arches, and also give rise to the osseous roof of the spinal canal of the adult. thus the greater part of the neural arches is formed of membrane bone. the hæmal arches are invested by a thick layer of bone, and there is also a continuous osseous investment round the vertebral portions of the notochord. the intervertebral cartilages become penetrated by branched processes of bone. _comparison of the vertebral column of lepidosteus with that of other forms._ the peculiar form of the articulatory faces of the vertebræ of _lepidosteus_ caused l. agassiz (no. ) to compare them with the vertebræ of reptiles, and subsequent anatomists have suggested that they more nearly resemble the vertebræ of some urodelous amphibia than those of any other form. if, however, götte's account of the formation of the amphibian vertebræ is correct, there are serious objections to a comparison between the vertebræ of _lepidosteus_ and amphibia on developmental grounds. the essential point of similarity supposed to exist between them consists in the fact that in both there is a great development of intervertebral cartilage which constricts the notochord intervertebrally, and forms the articular faces of contiguous vertebræ. in _lepidosteus_ this cartilage is, as we have seen, derived from the bases of the arches; but in amphibia it is held by götte to be formed by a special thickening of a cellular sheath round the notochord which is probably homologous with the cartilaginous sheath of the notochord of elasmobranchii, and therefore with part of the notochordal sheath placed within the membrana elastica externa. if the above statements with reference to the origin of the intervertebral cartilage in the two types are true, it is clear that no homology can exist between structures so differently developed. provisionally, therefore, we must look elsewhere than in _lepidosteus_ for the origin of the amphibian type of vertebræ. the researches which we have recorded demonstrate, however, in a very conclusive manner that the vertebræ of _lepidosteus_ have very close affinities with those of teleostei. in support of this statement we may point: ( ) to the structure of the sheath of the notochord; ( ) to the formation of the greater part of the bodies of the vertebræ from ossification in membrane around the notochord; ( ) to the early biconcave form of the vertebræ, only masked at a later period by the development of intervertebral cartilages; ( ) to the character of the neural arches. this latter feature will be made very clear if the reader will compare our figures of the sections of later vertebræ (plate , fig. ) with götte's[ ] figure of the section of the vertebra of a pike (plate , fig. ). in götte's figure there are shewn similar intercalated pieces of cartilage to those which we have found, and similar cartilaginous dorsal processes of the vertebræ. thus we are justified in holding that whether or no the opisthocoelous form of the vertebræ of _lepidosteus_ is a commencement of a type of vertebræ inherited by the higher forms, yet in any case the vertebræ are essentially built on the type which has become inherited by the teleostei from the bony ganoids. footnote : "beiträge zur vergl. morphol. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xvi. . part iii.--_the ribs of fishes._ the nature and homologies of the ribs of fishes have long been a matter of controversy; but the subject has recently been brought forward in the important memoirs of götte[ ] on the vertebrate skeleton. the alternatives usually adopted are, roughly speaking, these:--either the hæmal arches of the tail are homologous throughout the piscine series, while the ribs of ganoids and teleostei are not homologous with those of elasmobranchii; or the ribs are homologous in all the piscine groups, and the hæmal arches in the tail are differently formed in the different types. götte has brought forward a great body of evidence in favour of the first view; while gegenbaur[ ] may be regarded as more especially the champion of the second view. footnote : "beiträge z. vergl. morph. d. skeletsystems d. wirbelthiere. ii. die wirbelsäule u. ihre anhänge." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xv., , and vol. xvi., . footnote : "ueb. d. entwick. d. wirbelsäule d. lepidosteus, mit. vergl. anat. bemerkungen." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. iii., . one of us held in a recent publication[ ] that the question was not yet settled, though the view that the ribs are homologous throughout the series was provisionally accepted. footnote : _comparative embryology_, vol. ii., pp. , [the original edition]. it is admitted by both gegenbaur and götte that in _lepidosteus_ the ribs, in the transition from the trunk to the tail, bend inwards, and finally unite in the region of the tail to form the ventral parts of the hæmal arches, and our researches have abundantly confirmed this conclusion. are the hæmal arches, the ventral parts of which are thus formed by the coalescence of the ribs, homologous with the hæmal arches in elasmobranchii? the researches recorded in the preceding pages appear to us to demonstrate in a conclusive manner that they are so. the development of the hæmal arches in the tail in these two groups is practically identical; they are formed in both as simple elongations of the primitive hæmal processes, which meet below the caudal vein. in the adult there is an apparent difference between them, arising from the fact that in _lepidosteus_ the peripheral parts of the hæmal processes are only articulated with the basal portions, and not, as in elasmobranchii, continuous with them. this difference does not, however, exist in the early larva, since in the larval _lepidosteus_ the hæmal arches of the tail are unsegmented cartilaginous arches, as they permanently are in elasmobranchii. if, however, the homology between the hæmal arches of the two types should still be doubted, the fact that in both types the hæmal arches are similarly modified to support the fin-rays of the ventral lobe of the caudal fin, while in neither type are they modified to support the anal fin, may be pointed out as a very strong argument in confirmation of their homology. the demonstration of the homology of the hæmal arches of the tail in _lepidosteus_ and elasmobranchii might at first sight be taken as a conclusive argument in favour of götte's view, that the ribs of elasmobranchii are not homologous with those of ganoidei. this view is mainly supported by two facts:-- ( ) in the first place, the ribs in elasmobranchii do not at first sight appear to be serially homologous with the ventral parts of the hæmal arches of the tail, but would rather seem to be lateral offshoots of the hæmal processes, while the hæmal arches of the tail appear to be completed by the coalescence of independent ventral prolongations of the hæmal processes. ( ) in the second place, the position of the ribs is different in the two groups. in elasmobranchii they are situated between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral muscles (woodcut, fig. , _rb._), while in _lepidosteus_ and other ganoids they immediately girth the body-cavity. [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic section through the trunk of an advanced embryo of _scyllium_, to shew the position of the ribs. _ao._, aorta; _c.sh._, cartilaginous notochordal sheath; _cv._, cardinal vein; _hp._, hæmal process; _k._, kidney; _l.s._, ligamentum longitudinale superius; _m.el._, membrana elastica externa; _na._, neural arch; _no._, notochord; _ll._, lateral line; _rb._, rib; _sp.c._, spinal cord.] there is much, therefore, to be said in favour of götte's view. at the same time, there is another possible interpretation of the facts which would admit the homology of the ribs as well as of the hæmal arches throughout the pisces. let us suppose, to start with, that the primitive arrangement of the parts is more or less nearly that found in _lepidosteus_, where we have well-developed ribs in the region of the trunk, girthing the body-cavity, and uniting in the caudal region to form the ventral parts of the hæmal arches. it is easy to conceive that the ribs in the trunk might somewhat alter their position by passing into the muscles, along the inter-muscular septa, till they come to lie between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral muscles, as in elasmobranchii. _lepidosteus_ itself affords a proof that such a change in the position of the ribs is not impossible, in that it differs from other ganoids and from teleostei in the fact that the free ends of the ribs leave the neighbourhood of the body-cavity and penetrate into the muscles. if it be granted that the mere difference in position between the ribs of ganoids and elasmobranchii is not of itself sufficient to disprove their homology, let us attempt to picture what would take place at the junction of the trunk and tail in a type in which the ribs had undergone the above change in position. on nearing the tail it may be supposed that the ribs would gradually become shorter, and at the same time alter their position, till finally they shaded off into ordinary hæmal processes. if, however, the hæmal canal became prolonged forwards by the formation of some additional complete or nearly complete hæmal arches, an alteration in the relation of the parts would necessarily take place. owing to the position of the ribs, these structures could hardly assist in the new formation of the anterior part of the hæmal canal, but the continuation forwards of the canal would be effected by prolongations of the hæmal processes supporting the ribs. the new arches so formed would naturally be held to be homologous with the hæmal arches of the tail, though really not so, while the true nature of the ribs would also be liable to be misinterpreted, in that the ribs would appear to be lateral outgrowths of the hæmal processes of a wholly different nature to the ventral parts of the hæmal arches of the tail. in some elasmobranchii, as shewn in the accompanying woodcut (fig. ), in the transitional vertebræ between the trunk and the tail, the ribs are supported by lateral outgrowths of the hæmal processes, while the wholly independent prolongations of the hæmal processes appear to be about to give rise to the hæmal arches of the tail. this peculiar state of things led götte, and subsequently one of us, to deny for elasmobranchii all homology between the ribs and any part of the hæmal arches of the tail; but in view of the explanation just suggested, this denial was perhaps too hasty. [illustration: fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the notochord, and adjoining structures of an advanced _scyllium_ embryo at the root of the tail. _vb._, cartilaginous sheath of the notochord; _ha._, hæmal process; _r.p._, process to which the rib is articulated; _m.el._, membrana elastica externa; _ch._, notochord; _ao._, aorta; _v.cau._, caudal vein.] we are the more inclined to take this view because the researches of götte appear to shew that an occurrence, in many respects analogous, has taken place in some teleostei. in teleostei, johannes müller, and following him gegenbaur, do not admit that the hæmal arches of the tail are in any part formed by the ribs. gegenbaur (_elements of comp. anat._, translation, p. ) says, "in the teleostei, the costiferous transverse processes" (what we have called the hæmal processes) "gradually converge in the caudal region, and form inferior arches, which are not homologous with those of selachii and ganoidei, although they also form spinous processes." the opposite view, that the hæmal arches of the tail in teleostei contain parts serially homologous with the basal parts of the hæmal processes as well as with the ribs, has been also maintained by many anatomists, _e.g._, meckel, aug. müller, &c., and has recently found a powerful ally in götte. in many cases, the relations of the parts appear to be fundamentally those found in _lepidosteus_ and _amia_, and götte has shewn by his careful embryological investigations on _esox_ and _anguilla_, that in these two forms there is practically conclusive evidence that the ribs as well as the hæmal costiferous processes of gegenbaur, which support them, enter into the formation of the hæmal arches of the tail. in a great number of teleostei, _e.g._, the salmon and most cyprinoids, &c., the hæmal arches in the region of transition from the trunk to the tail have a structure which at first sight appears to support johannes müller's and gegenbaur's view. the hæmal processes grow larger and meet each other ventrally; while the ribs articulated to them gradually grow smaller and disappear. the salmon is typical in this respect, and has been carefully studied by götte, who attempts to shew (with, in our opinion, complete success) that the anterior hæmal arches are really not entirely homologous with the true hæmal arches behind, but that in the latter, the closure of the arch below is effected by the hæmal spine, which is serially homologous with a pair of coalesced ribs, while in the anterior hæmal arches, _i.e._, those of the trunk, the closure of the arch is effected by a bridge of bone uniting the hæmal processes. the arrangement of the parts just described, as well as the view of götte with reference to them, will be best understood from the accompanying woodcut (fig. ), copied from götte's memoir. götte sums up his own results on this point in the following words (p. ): "it follows from this, that the half rings, forming the hæmal canal in the hindermost trunk vertebræ of the salmon, are not (with the exception of the last) completely homologous with those of the tail, but are formed by a connecting piece between the basal stumps (hæmal processes), which originates as a paired median process of these stumps." the incomplete homology between the anterior hæmal arches and the true caudal hæmal arches which follow them is exactly what we suggest may be the case in elasmobranchii, and if it be admitted in the one case, we see no reason why it should not also be admitted in the other. [illustration: fig. . semi-diagrammatic transverse sections through the first caudal vertebra (a), the last trunk vertebra (b), and the two trunk vertebræ in front (c and d), of a salmon embryo of - centims. (from götte.) _ub._, hæmal arch; _ub´._, hæmal process; _ub´´._, rib; _c._, notochord; _a._, aorta; _v._, vein; _h._, connecting pieces between hæmal processes; _u._, kidney; _d._, intestine; _sp´._, hæmal spine; _m´._, muscles.] if this admission is made, the only ground for not regarding the ribs of elasmobranchii as homologous with those of ganoids is their different position, and we have already attempted to prove that this is not a fundamental point. the results of our researches appear to us, then, to leave two alternatives as to the ribs of fishes. one of these, which may be called götte's view, may be thus stated:--the hæmal arches are homologous throughout the pisces: in teleostei, ganoidei, and dipnoi[ ], the ribs, placed on the inner face of the body-wall, are serially homologous with the ventral parts of the hæmal arches of the tail; in elasmobranchii, on the other hand, the ribs are neither serially homologous with the hæmal arches of the tail nor homologous with the ribs of teleostei and ganoidei, but are outgrowths of the hæmal processes into the space between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral muscles, which may perhaps have their homologues in teleostei and ganoids in certain accessory processes of the vertebræ. footnote : we find the serial homology of the ribs and ventral parts of the hæmal arches to be very clear in _ceratodus_. wiedersheim states that it is not clear in _protopterus_, although he holds that the facts are in favour of this view. the other view, which we are inclined to adopt, and the arguments for which have been stated in the preceding pages, is as follows:--the teleostei, ganoidei, dipnoi, and elasmobranchii are provided with homologous hæmal arches, which are formed by the coalescence below the caudal vein of simple prolongations of the primitive hæmal processes of the embryo. the canal enclosed by the hæmal arches can be demonstrated embryologically to be the aborted body-cavity. in the region of the trunk the hæmal processes and their prolongations behave somewhat differently in the different types. in ganoids and dipnoi, in which the most primitive arrangement is probably retained, the ribs are attached to the hæmal processes, and are placed immediately without the peritoneal membrane at the insertions of the intermuscular septa. these ribs are in many instances (_lepidosteus_, _acipenser_), and very probably in all, developed continuously with the hæmal processes, and become subsequently segmented from them. they are serially homologous with the ventral parts of the hæmal arches of the tail, which, like them, are in many instances (_ceratodus_, _lepidosteus_, _polypterus_, and to some extent in _amia_) segmented off from the basal parts of the hæmal arches. in teleostei the ribs have the same position and relations as those in ganoids and dipnoi, but their serial homology with the ventral parts of the hæmal processes of the tail, is often (_e.g._, the salmon) obscured by some of the anterior hæmal arches in the posterior part of the trunk being completed, not by the ribs, but by independent outgrowths of the basal parts of the hæmal processes. in elasmobranchii a still further divergence from the primitive arrangement is present. the ribs appear to have passed outwards along the intermuscular septa into the muscles, and are placed between the dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral muscles (a change of position of the ribs of the same nature, but affecting only their ends, is observable in _lepidosteus_). this change of position, combined probably with the secondary formation of a certain number of anterior hæmal arches similar to those in the salmon, renders their serial homology with the ventral parts of the hæmal processes of the tail far less clear than in other types, and further proof is required before such homology can be considered as definitely established. this is not the place to enter into the obscure question as to how far the ribs of the amphibia and amniota are homologous with those of fishes. it is to be remarked, however, that the ribs of the urodela ( ) occupy the same position in relation to the muscles as the elasmobranch ribs, ( ) that they are connected with the neural arches, and ( ) that they coexist in the tail with the hæmal arches, and seem, therefore, to be as different as possible from the ribs of the dipnoi. part iv.--_the skeleton of the ventral lobe of the tail fin, and its bearing on the nature of the tail fin of the various types of pisces._ in the embryos or larvæ of all the elasmobranchii, ganoidei, and teleostei which have up to this time been studied, the unpaired fins arise as median longitudinal folds of the integument on the dorsal and ventral sides of the body, which meet at the apex of the tail. the tail at first is symmetrical, having a form which has been called diphycercal or protocercal. at a later stage, usually, though not always, parts of these fins atrophy, while other parts undergo a special development and constitute the permanent unpaired fins. since the majority of existing as well as extinct fishes are provided with discontinuous fins, those forms, such as the eel (_anguilla_), in which the fins are continuous, have probably reverted to an embryonic condition: an evolutional process which is of more frequent occurrence than has usually been admitted. in the caudal region there is almost always developed in the larvæ of the above groups a special ventral lobe of the embryonic fin a short distance from the end of the tail. in elasmobranchii and chondrostean ganoids the portion of the embryonic tail behind this lobe persists through life, and a special type of caudal fin, which is usually called heterocercal, is thus produced. this type of caudal fin appears to have been the most usual in the earlier geological periods. simultaneously with the formation of the ventral lobe of the heterocercal caudal fin, the notochord with the vertebral tissues surrounding it, becomes bent somewhat dorsalwards, and thus the primitive caudal fin forms a dorsally directed lobe of the heterocercal tail. we shall call this part the dorsal lobe of the tail-fin, and the secondarily formed lobe the ventral lobe. _lepidosteus_ and _amia_ (wilder, no. ) amongst the bony ganoids, and, as has recently been shewn by a. agassiz[ ], most teleostei acquire at an early stage of their development heterocercal caudal fins, like those of elasmobranchii and the chondrostean ganoids; but in the course of their further growth the dorsal lobe partly atrophies, and partly disappears as such, owing to the great prominence acquired by the ventral lobe. a portion of the dorsally flexed notochord and of the cartilage or bone replacing or investing it remains, however, as an indication of the original dorsal lobe, though it does not project backwards beyond the level of the end of the ventral lobe, which in these types forms the terminal caudal fin. footnote : "on the young stages of some osseous fishes.--i. the development of the tail," _proc. of the american academy of arts and sciences_, vol. xiii., . the true significance of the dorsally flexed portion of the vertebral axis was first clearly stated by huxley[ ], but as a. agassiz has fairly pointed out in the paper already quoted, this fact does not in any way militate against the view put forward by l. agassiz that there is a complete parallelism between the embryonic development of the tail in these fishes and the palæontological development of this organ. we think that it is moreover convenient to retain the term homocercal for those types of caudal fin in which the dorsal lobe has atrophied so far as not to project beyond the ventral lobe. footnote : "observations on the development of some parts of the skeleton of fishes," _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. vii., . we have stated these now well-known facts to enable the reader to follow us in dealing with the comparison between the skeleton supporting the fin-rays of the ventral lobe of the caudal fin, and that supporting the fin-rays of the remaining unpaired fins. it has been shewn that in _lepidosteus_ the unpaired fins fall into two categories, according to the nature of the skeletal parts supporting them. the fin-rays of the true ventral lobe of the caudal fin are supported by the spinous processes of certain of the hæmal arches. the remaining unpaired fins, including the anal fin, are supported by the so-called interspinous bones, which are developed independently of the vertebral column and its arches. the question which first presents itself is, how far does this distinction hold good for other fishes? this question, though interesting, does not appear to have been greatly discussed by anatomists. not unfrequently the skeletal supports of the ventral lobe of the caudal fin are assumed to be the same as those of the other fins. davidoff[ ], for instance, in speaking of the unpaired fins of elasmobranch embryos, says (p. ): "the cartilaginous rays of the dorsal fins agreed not only in number with the spinous processes (as indeed is also found in the caudal fin of the full-grown dog-fish)," &c. footnote : "beiträge z. vergl. anat. d. hinteren gliedmassen d. fische," _morph. jahrbuch_, vol. v., . thacker[ ], again, in his memoir on the median and paired fins, states at p. : "we shall here consider the skeleton of the dorsal and anal fins alone. that of the caudal fin has undergone peculiar modifications by the union of fin-rays with hæmal spines." footnote : _trans. of the connecticut acad._, vol. iii., . mivart[ ] goes into the question more fully. he points out (p. ) that there is an essential difference between the dorsal and ventral parts of the caudal fin in elasmobranchii, in that in the former the radials are more numerous than the vertebræ and unconformable to them, while in the latter they are equal in number to the vertebræ and continuous with them. "this," he goes on to say, "seems to point to a difference in nature between the dorsal and ventral portions of the caudal fin, in at least most elasmobranchii." he further points out that _polyodon_ resembles elasmobranchii. as to teleostei, he does not express himself decidedly except in the case of _muræna_, to which we shall return. footnote : st george mivart, "fins of elasmobranchii," _zool. trans._, vol. x. mivart expresses himself as very doubtful as to the nature of the supports of the caudal fin, and thinks "that the caudal fin of different kinds of fishes may have arisen in different ways in different cases." an examination of the ventral part of the caudal fin in various ganoids, teleostei, and elasmobranchii appears to us to shew that there can be but little doubt that, in the majority of the members of these groups at any rate, and we believe in all, the same distinction between the ventral lobe of the caudal fin and the remaining unpaired fins is found as in _lepidosteus_. in the case of most elasmobranchii, a simple inspection of the caudal fin suffices to prove this, and the anatomical features involved in this fact have usually been recognized; though, in the absence of embryological evidence, the legitimate conclusion has not always been drawn from them. the difference between the ventral lobe of the caudal fin and the other fins in the mode in which the fin-rays are supported is as obvious in chondrostean ganoids as it is in elasmobranchii; it would appear also to hold good for _amia_. _polypterus_ we have had no opportunity of examining, but if, as there is no reason to doubt, the figure of its skeleton given by agassiz (_poissons fossiles_) is correct, there can be no question that the ventral lobe of the caudal fin is supported by the hæmal arches, and not by interspinous bones. in _calamoicthys_, the tail of which we have had an opportunity of dissecting through the kindness of professor parker, the fin-rays of the ventral lobe of the true caudal fin are undoubtedly supported by true hæmal arches. there is no unanimity of opinion as to the nature of the elements supporting the fin-rays of the caudal fin of teleostei. huxley[ ] in his paper on the development of the caudal fin of the stickleback, holds that these elements are of the nature of interhæmal bones. he says (p. ): "the last of these rings lay just where the notochord began to bend up. it was slightly longer than the bony ring which preceded it, and instead of having its posterior margin parallel with the anterior, it sloped from above downwards and backwards. two short osseous plates, attached to the anterior part of the inferior surface of the penultimate ring, or rudimentary vertebral centrum, passed downwards and a little backwards, and abutted against a slender elongated mass of cartilage. similar cartilaginous bodies occupy the same relation to corresponding plates of bone in the anterior vertebræ in the region of the anal fin; and it is here seen, that while the bony plates coalesce and form the inferior arches of the caudal vertebræ, the cartilaginous elements at their extremities become the interhæmal bones. the cartilage connected with the inferior arch of the penultimate centrum is therefore an "interhæmal" cartilage. the anterior part of the inferior surface of the terminal ossification likewise has its osseous inferior arch, but the direction of this is nearly vertical, and though it is connected below with an element which corresponds in position with the interhæmal cartilage, this cartilage is five or six times as large, and constitutes a broad vertical plate, longer than it is deep, and having its longest axis inclined downwards and backwards.... "immediately behind and above this anterior hypural apophysis (as it may be termed) is another very much smaller vertical cartilaginous plate, which may be called the posterior hypural apophysis." footnote : "observations on the development of some parts of the skeleton of fishes," _quart. journ. micr. science_, vol. vii., . we have seen that mivart expresses himself doubtful on the subject. gegenbaur[ ] appears to regard them as hæmal arches. footnote : _elements of comparative anatomy._ (translation), p. . the latter view appears to us without doubt the correct one. an examination of the tail of normal teleostei shews that the fin-rays of that part of the caudal fin which is derived from the ventral lobe of the larva are supported by elements serially homologous with the hæmal arches, but in no way homologous with the interspinous bones of the anal fin. the elements in question formed of cartilage in the larva, become ossified in the adult, and are known as the hypural bones. they may appear in the form of a series of separate hæmal arches, corresponding in number with the primitive somites of this region, which usually, however, atrophy in the adult, or more often are from the first imperfectly segmented, and have in the adult the form of two or three or even of a single broad bony plate. the transitional forms between this state of things and that, for instance, in _lepidosteus_ are so numerous, that there can be no doubt that even the most peculiar forms of the hypural bones of teleostei are simply modified hæmal arches. this view of the hypural bones is, moreover, supported by embryological evidence, since aug. müller[ ] (p. ) describes their development in a manner which, if his statements are to be trusted, leaves no doubt on this point. footnote : "beobachtungen zur vergl. anat. d. wirbelsäule," müller's _archiv_, . there are a considerable number of fishes which are not provided with an obvious caudal fin as distinct from the remaining unpaired fins, _i.e._ chimæra, eels, and various eel-like forms amongst teleostei, and the dipnoi. gegenbaur appears to hold that these fishes ought to be classed together in relation to the structure of the caudal portion of their vertebral column, as he says on p. of his _comparative anatomy_ (english translation): "in the chimæræ, dipnoi, and many teleostei, the caudal portion of the vertebral column ends by gradually diminishing in size, but in most fishes, &c." for our purpose it will, however, be advisable to treat them separately. the tail of chimæra appears to us to be simply a peculiar modification of the typical elasmobranch heterocercal tail, in which the true ventral lobe of the caudal fin may be recognized in the fin-fold immediately in front of the filamentous portion of the tail. in the allied genus _callorhynchus_ this feature is more distinct. the filamentous portion of the tail of chimæra constitutes, according to the nomenclature adopted above, the true dorsal lobe, and may be partially paralleled in the filamentous dorsal lobe of the tail of the larval _lepidosteus_ (plate , fig. ). the tail of the eel-like teleostei is again undoubtedly a modification of the normal form of tail characteristic of the teleostei, in which, however, the caudal fin has become very much reduced and merged into the prolongations of the anal and dorsal fins. this can be very clearly seen in siluroid forms with an eel-like tail, such as _cnidoglanis_. although the dorsal and ventral fins appear to be continuous round the end of the tail, and there is superficially no distinct caudal fin, yet an examination of the skeleton of _cnidoglanis_ shews that the end of the vertebral column is modified in the usual teleostean fashion, and that the hæmal arches of the modified portion of the vertebral column support a small number of fin-rays; the adjoining ventral fin-rays being supported by independent osseous fin-supports (interspinous bones). in the case of the eel (_anguilla anguilla_) huxley (_loc. cit._) long ago pointed out that the terminal portion of the vertebral column was modified in an analogous fashion to that of other teleostei, and we have found that the modified hæmal arches of this part support a few fin-rays, though a still smaller number than in _cnidoglanis_. the fin-rays so supported clearly constitute an aborted ventral lobe of the caudal fin. under these circumstances we think that the following statement by mivart (_zool. trans._ vol. x., p. ) is somewhat misleading:-- "as to the condition of this part (_i.e._ the ventral lobe of the tail-fin) in teleosteans generally, i will not venture as yet to say anything generally, _except that it is plain that in such forms as muræna, the dorsal and ventral parts of the caudal fin are similar in nature and homotypal with ordinary dorsal and anal fins_[ ]." footnote : the italics are ours. the italicized portion of this sentence is only true in respect to that part of the fringe of fin surrounding the end of the body, which is not only homotypal with, but actually part of, the dorsal and anal fins. having settled, then, that the tails of chimæra and of eel-like teleostei are simply special modifications of the typical form of tail of the group of fishes to which they respectively belong, we come to the consideration of the dipnoi, in which the tail-fin presents problems of more interest and greater difficulty than those we have so far had to deal with. the undoubtedly very ancient and primitive character of the dipnoi has led to the view, implicitly if not definitely stated in most text-books, that their tail-fin retains the character of the piscine tail prior to the formation of the ventral caudal lobe, a stage which is repeated embryologically in the pre-heterocercal condition of the tail in ordinary fishes. through the want of embryological data, and in the absence of really careful histological examination of the tail of any of the dipnoi, we are not willing to speak with very great confidence as to its nature; we are nevertheless of the opinion that the facts we can bring forward on this head are sufficient to shew that the tail of the existing dipnoi is largely aborted, so that it is more or less comparable with that of the eel. we have had opportunities of examining the structure of the tail of _ceratodus_ and _protopterus_ in dissected specimens in the cambridge museum. the vertebral axis runs to the ends of the tail without shewing any signs of becoming dorsally flexed. at some distance from the end of the tail the fin-rays are supported by what are apparently segmented spinous prolongations of the neural and hæmal arches. the dorsal elements are placed above the longitudinal dorsal cord, and occupy therefore the same position as the independent elements of the neural arches of _lepidosteus_. they are therefore to be regarded as homologous with the dorsal fin-supports or interspinous bones of other types. the corresponding ventral elements are therefore also to be regarded as interspinous bones. in view of the fact that the fin-supports, whenever their development has been observed, are found to be formed independently of the neural and hæmal arches, we may fairly assume that this is also true for what we have identified as the interspinous elements in the dipnoi. the interspinous elements become gradually shorter as the end of the tail is approached, and it is very difficult from a simple examination of dissected specimens to make out how far any of the posterior fin-rays are supported by the hæmal arches only. to this question we shall return, but we may remark that, although there is a prolongation backwards of the vertebral axis beyond the last interspinous elements, composed it would seem of the coalesced neural and hæmal arches but without the notochord, yet by far the majority of the fin-rays which constitute the apparent caudal fin are supported by interspinous elements. the grounds on which we hold that the tail of the dipnoi is to be regarded as a degenerate rather than primitive type of tail are the following:-- ( ) if it be granted that a diphycercal or protocercal form of tail must have preceded a heterocercal form, it is also clear that the ventral fin-rays of such a tail must have been supported, as in _polypterus_ and _calamoicthys_, by hæmal arches, and not by interspinous elements; otherwise, a special ventral lobe, giving a heterocercal character to the tail, and provided with fin-rays supported only by hæmal arches, could never have become evolved from the protocercal tail-fin. since the ventral fin-rays of the tail of the dipnoi are supported by interspinous elements and not by hæmal arches, this tail-fin cannot claim to have the character of _that_ primitive type of diphycercal or protocercal tail from which the heterocercal tail must be supposed to have been evolved. ( ) since the nearest allies of the dipnoi are to be found in _polypterus_ and the crossopterygidæ of huxley, and since in these forms (as evinced by the structure of the tail-fin of _polypterus_, and the transitional type between a heterocercal and diphycercal form of fin observable in fossil crossopterygidæ) the ventral fin-rays of the caudal fin were clearly supported by hæmal arches and not by interspinous elements, it is rendered highly probable that the absence of fin-rays so supported in the dipnoi is a result of degeneration of the posterior part of the tail. [we use this argument without offering any opinion as to whether the diphycercal character of the tail of many crossopterygidæ is primary or secondary.] ( ) the argument just used is supported by the degenerate and variable state of the end of the vertebral axis in the dipnoi--a condition most easily explained by assuming that the terminal part of the tail has become aborted. ( ) we believe that in _ceratodus_ we have been able to trace a small number of the ventral fin-rays supported by hæmal arches only, but these rays are so short as not to extend so far back as some of the rays attached to the interspinous elements in front. these rays may probably be interpreted, like the more or less corresponding rays in the tail of the eel, as the last remnant of a true caudal fin. the above considerations appear to us to shew with very considerable probability that the true caudal fin of the dipnoi has become all but aborted like that of various teleostei; and that the apparent caudal fin is formed by the anal and dorsal fins meeting round the end of the stump of the tail. from the adult forms of dipnoi we are, however, of opinion that no conclusion can be drawn as to whether their ancestors were provided with a diphycercal or a heterocercal form of caudal fin. the general conclusions with reference to the tail-fin at which we have arrived are the following:-- ( ) the ventral lobe of the tail-fin of pisces differs from the other unpaired fins in the fact that its fin-rays are directly supported by spinous processes of certain of the hæmal arches instead of independently developed interspinous bones. ( ) the presence or absence of fin-rays in the tail-fin supported by hæmal arches may be used in deciding whether apparently diphycercal tail-fins are aborted or primitive. excretory and generative organs. i.--_anatomy._ the excretory organs of _lepidosteus_ have been described by müller (no. ) and hyrtl (no. ). these anatomists have given a fairly adequate account of the generative ducts in the female, and hyrtl has also described the male generative ducts and the kidney and its duct, but his description is contradicted by our observations in some of the most fundamental points. in the female example of . centims. which we dissected, the kidney forms a paired gland, consisting of a narrow strip of glandular matter placed on each side of the vertebral column, on the dorsal aspect of the body-cavity. it is covered on its ventral aspect by the oviduct and by its own duct, but is separated from both of these by a layer of the tough peritoneal membrane, through which the collecting tubes pass. it extends forwards from the anus for about three-fifths of the length of the body-cavity, and in our example had a total length of about centims. (plate , fig. , _k_). anteriorly the two kidneys are separated by a short interval in the median line, but posteriorly they come into contact, and are so intimately united as almost to constitute a single gland. a superficial examination might lead to the supposition that the kidney extended forwards for the whole length of the body-cavity up to the region of the branchial arches, and hyrtl appears to have fallen into this error; but what appears to be its anterior continuation is really a form of lymphatic tissue, something like that of the spleen, filled with numerous cells. this matter (plate , fig. , _ly._) continues from the kidney forwards without any break, and has a colour so similar to that of the kidney as to be hardly distinguishable from it with the naked eye. the true anterior end of the kidney is placed about centims. in front on the left side, and on the same level on the right side as the wide anterior end of the generative duct (plate , fig. , _od._). it is not obviously divided into segments, and is richly supplied with malpighian bodies. it is clear from the above description that there is no trace of head-kidney or pronephros visible in the adult. to this subject we shall, however, again return. as will appear from the embryological section, the ducts of the kidneys are probably simply the archinephric ducts, but to avoid the use of terms involving a theory, we propose in the anatomical part of our work to call them kidney ducts. they are thin-walled widish tubes coextensive with the kidneys. if cut open there may be seen on their inner aspect the numerous openings of the collecting tubes of the kidneys. they are placed ventrally to and on the outer border of the kidneys (plate , fig. , _s.g._). posteriorly they gradually enlarge, and approaching each other in the median line, coalesce, forming an unpaired vesicle or bladder (_bl._)--about centims. long in our example--opening by a median pore on a more or less prominent papilla (_u.g._) behind the anus. the dilated portions of the two ducts are called by hyrtl the horns of the bladder. the sides of the bladder and its so-called horns are provided with lateral pockets into which the collecting tubes of the kidney open. these pockets, which we have found in two female examples, are much larger in the horns of the bladder than in the bladder itself. similar pockets, but larger than those we have found, have been described by hyrtl in the male, but are stated by him to be absent in the female. it is clear from our examples that this is by no means always the case. hyrtl states that the wide kidney ducts, of which his description differs in no material point from our own, suddenly narrow in front, and, perforating the peritoneal lining, are continued forwards to supply the anterior part of the kidney. we have already shewn that the anterior part of the kidney has no existence, and the kidney ducts supplying it are, according to our investigations, equally imaginary. it was first shewn by müller, whose observations on this point have been confirmed by hyrtl, &c., that the ovaries of _lepidosteus_ are continuous with their ducts, forming in this respect an exception to other ganoids. in our example of _lepidosteus_ the ovaries (plate , fig. , _ov._) were about centims. in length. they have the form of simple sacks, filled with ova, and attached about their middle to their generative duct, and continued both backwards and forwards from their attachment into a blind process. with reference to these sacks müller has pointed out--and the importance of this observation will become apparent when we deal with the development--that the ova are formed in the thickness of the inner wall of the sack. we hope to shew that the inner wall of the sack is alone equivalent to the genital ridge of, for instance, the ovary of _scyllium_. the outer aspect of this wall--_i.e._, that turned towards the interior of the sack--is equivalent to the outer aspect of the elasmobranch genital ridge, on which alone the ova are developed[ ]. the sack into which the ova fall is, as we shall shew in the embryological section, a special section of the body-cavity shut off from the remainder, and the dehiscence of the ova into this cavity is equivalent to their discharge into the body-cavity in other forms. footnote : _treatise on comparative embryology_, vol. i., p. [the original edition]. the oviduct (plate , fig. , _od._) is a thin-walled duct of about centims. in length in the example we are describing, continuous in front with the ovarian sack, and gradually tapering behind, till it ends (_od´._) by opening into the dilated terminal section of the kidney duct on the inner side, a short distance before the latter unites with its fellow. it is throughout closely attached to the ureter and placed on its inner, and to some extent on its ventral, aspect. the hindermost part of the oviduct which runs beside the enlarged portion of the kidney duct--that portion called by hyrtl the horn of the urinary bladder--is so completely enveloped by the wall of the horn of the urinary bladder as to appear like a projection into the lumen of the latter structure, and the somewhat peculiar appearance which it presents in hyrtl's figure is due to this fact. in our examples the oviduct was provided with a simple opening into the kidney duct, on a slight papilla; the peculiar dilatations and processes of the terminal parts of the oviduct, which have been described by hyrtl, not being present. the results we have arrived at with reference to the male organs are very different indeed from those of our predecessor, in that we find _the testicular products to be carried off by a series of vasa efferentia, which traverse the mesorchium, and are continuous with the uriniferous tubuli; so that the semen passes through the uriniferous tubuli into the kidney duct and so to the exterior. we have moreover been unable to find in the male a duct homologous with the oviduct of the female._ this mode of transportation outwards of the semen has not hitherto been known to occur in ganoids, though found in all elasmobranchii, amphibia, and amniota. it is not, however, impossible that it exists in other ganoids, but has hitherto been overlooked. our male example of lepidosteus was about centims. in length, and was no doubt mature. it was smaller than any of our female examples, but this according to garman (vide, p. ) is usual. the testes (plate , fig. a., _t._) occupied a similar position to the ovaries, and were about centims. long. they were, as is frequently the case with piscine testes, divided into a series of lobes ( - ), and were suspended by a delicate mesentery (mesorchium) from the dorsal wall of the abdomen on each side of the dorsal aorta. hyrtl (no. ) states that air or quicksilver injected between the limbs of the mesentery, passed into a vas deferens homologous with the oviduct which joins the ureter. we have been unable to find such a vas deferens; but we have found in the mesorchium a number of tubes of a yellow colour, the colour being due to a granular substance quite unlike coagulated blood, but which appeared to us from microscopic examination to be the remains of spermatozoa[ ]. these tubes to the number of - constitute, we believe, the vasa efferentia. along the line of suspension of the testis on its inner border these tubes unite to form an elaborate network of tubes placed on the inner face of the testis--an arrangement very similar to that often found in elasmobranchii (vide f. m. balfour, _monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_, plate , figs. and ). footnote : the females we examined, which were no doubt procured at the same time as the male, had their oviducts filled with ova: and it is therefore not surprising that the vasa efferentia should be naturally injected with sperm. we have figured this network on the posterior lobe of the testi (fig. b), and have represented a section through it (fig. a, _n.v.e._), and through one of the vasa efferentia (_v.e._) in the mesorchium. such a section conclusively demonstrates the real nature of these passages: they are filled with sperm like that in the body of the testis, and are, as may be seen from the section figured, continuous with the seminal tubes of the testis itself. at the attached base of the mesorchium the vasa efferentia unite into a longitudinal canal, placed on the inner side of the kidney duct (plate , fig. a, _l.c._, also shewn in section in plate , fig. b, _l.c._). from this canal tubules pass off which are continuous with the tubuli uriniferi, as may be seen from fig. b, but the exact course of these tubuli through the kidney could not be made out in the preparations we were able to make of the badly conserved kidney. hyrtl describes the arrangement of the vascular trunks in the mesorchium in the following way (no. , p. ): "the mesorchium contains vascular trunks, viz., veins, which through their numerous anastomoses form a plexus at the hilus of the testis, whose efferent trunks, in number, again unite into a plexus on the vertebral column, which is continuous with the cardinal veins." the arrangement (though not the number) of hyrtl's vessels is very similar to that of our vasa efferentia, and we cannot help thinking that a confusion of the two may have taken place; which, in badly conserved specimens, not injected with semen, would be very easy. we have, as already stated, been unable to find in our dissections any trace of a duct homologous with the oviduct of the female, and our sections through the kidney and its ducts equally fail to bring to light such a duct. the kidney ducts are about centims. in length, measured from the genital aperture to their front end. these ducts are generally similar to those in the female; they unite about centims. from the genital pore to form an unpaired vesicle. their posterior parts are considerably enlarged, forming what hyrtl calls the horns of the urinary bladder. in these enlarged portions, and in the wall of the unpaired urinary bladder, numerous transverse partitions are present, as correctly described by hyrtl, which are similar to those in the female, but more numerous. they give rise to a series of pits, at the blind ends of which are placed the openings of the kidney tubules. the kidney duct without doubt serves as vas deferens, and we have found in it masses of yellowish colour similar to the substance in the vasa efferentia identified by us as remains of spermatozoa. ii.--_development._ in the general account of the development we have already called attention to the earliest stages of the excretory system. we may remind the reader that the first part of the system to be formed is the segmental or archinephric duct (plate , figs. and , _sg._). this duct arises, as in teleostei and amphibia, by the constriction of a hollow ridge of the somatic mesoblast into a canal, which is placed in contiguity with the epiblast, along the line of junction between the mesoblastic somites and the lateral plates of mesoblast. anteriorly the duct does not become shut off from the body-cavity, and also bends inwards towards the middle line. the inflected part of the duct is the first rudiment of the pronephros, and very soon becomes considerably dilated relatively to the posterior part of the duct. the posterior part of each segmental duct acquires an opening into the cloacal section of the alimentary tract. apart from this change, the whole of the ducts, except their pronephric sections, remain for a long time unaltered, and the next changes we have to speak of concern the definite establishment of the pronephros. the dilated incurved portion of each segmental duct soon becomes convoluted, and by the time the embryo is about millims. in length, but before the period of hatching, an important change is effected in the relations of their peritoneal openings[ ]. footnote : the change is probably effected somewhat earlier than would appear from our description, but our specimens were not sufficiently well preserved to enable us to speak definitely as to the exact period. instead of leading into the body-cavity, they open into an isolated chamber on each side (plate , fig. , _pr.c._), which we will call the _pronephric chamber_. the pronephric chamber is not, however, so far as we can judge, completely isolated from the body-cavity. we have not, it is true, detected with certainty at this stage a communication between the two; but in later stages, in larvæ of from to millims., we have found a richly ciliated passage leading from the body-cavity into the pronephros on each side (plate , fig. , _p.f.p._). we have not succeeded in determining with absolute certainty the exact relations between this passage and the tube of the pronephros, but we are inclined to believe that it opens directly into the pronephric chamber just spoken of. as we hope to shew, this chamber soon becomes largely filled by a vascular glomerulus. on the accomplishment of these changes, the pronephros is essentially provided with all the parts typically present in a segment of the mesonephros (woodcut, fig. ). there is a peritoneal tube (_f_)[ ], opening into a vesicle (_v_); from near the neck of the peritoneal tube there comes off a convoluted tube (_pr.n._), forming the main mass of the pronephros, and ending in the segmental duct (_sd._). footnote : we feel fairly confident that there is only one pronephric opening on each side, though we have no single series of sections sufficiently complete to demonstrate this fact with absolute certainty. [illustration: fig. . diagrammatic views of the pronephros of _lepidosteus_. a, pronephros supposed to be isolated and seen from the side; b, section through the vesicle of the pronephros and the ciliated peritoneal funnel leading into it; _pr.n._, coiled tube of pronephros; _sd._, segmental or archinephric duct; _f._, peritoneal funnel; _v._, vesicle of pronephros; _bv._, blood vessel of glomerulus; _gl._, glomerulus.] the different parts do not, however, appear to have the same morphological significance as those in the mesonephros. judging from the analogy of teleostei, the embryonic structure of whose pronephros is strikingly similar to that of _lepidosteus_, the two pronephric chambers into which the segmental ducts open are constricted off sections of the body-cavity. with the formation of the convoluted duct opening into the isolated section of the body-cavity we may speak of a definite pronephros as having become established. the pronephros is placed, as can be made out in later stages, on the level of the opening of the air-bladder into the throat. the pronephros increases in size, so far as could be determined, by the further convolution of the duct of which it is mainly formed; and the next change of importance which we have noticed is the formation of a vascular projection into the pronephric chamber, forming the glomerulus already spoken of (vide woodcut, fig. , _gl._), which is similar to that of the pronephros of teleostei. we first detected these glomeruli in an embryo of about millims., some days after hatching (plate , fig. , _gl._), but it is quite possible that they may be formed considerably earlier. in the same embryo in which the glomeruli were found we also detected for the first time a _mesonephros_ consisting of a series of isolated segmental or nephridial tubes, placed posteriorly to the pronephros along the dorsal wall of the abdomen. these were so far advanced at this stage that we are not in a position to give any account of their mode of origin. they are, however, formed independently of the segmental ducts, and in the establishment of the junction between the two structures, there is no outgrowth from the segmental duct to meet the segmental tubes. we could not at this stage find peritoneal funnels of the segmental tubes, though we have met with them at a later stage (plate , fig. , _p.f._), and our failure to find them at this stage is not to be regarded as conclusive against their existence. a very considerable space exists between the pronephros and the foremost segmental tube of the mesonephros. the anterior mesonephric tubes are, moreover, formed earlier than the posterior. in the course of further development, the mesonephric tubules increase in size, so that there ceases to be an interval between them, the mesonephros thus becoming a continuous gland. in an embryo of millims. there was no indication of the formation of segmental tubes to fill up the space between the pronephros and mesonephros. the two segmental ducts have united behind into an unpaired structure in an embryo of millims. this structure is no doubt the future unpaired urinogenital chamber (plate , figs. a, and , _bl._). somewhat later, the hypoblastic cloaca becomes split into two sections, the hinder one receiving the coalesced segmental ducts, and the anterior remaining continuous with the alimentary tract. the opening of the hinder one forms the urinogenital opening, and that of the anterior the anus. in an older larva of about . centims. the pronephros did not exhibit any marked signs of atrophy, though the duct between it and the mesonephros was somewhat reduced and surrounded by the trabecular tissue spoken of in connection with the adult. in the region between the pronephros and the front end of the fully developed part of the mesonephros very rudimentary tubules had become established. the latest stage of the excretory system which we have studied is in a young fish of about centims. in length. the special interest of this stage depends upon the fact that the ovary is already developed, and not only so, but the formation of the oviducts has commenced, and their condition at this stage throws considerable light on the obscure problem of their nature in the ganoids. unfortunately, the head of the young fish had been removed before it was put into our hands, so that it was impossible for us to determine whether the pronephros was still present; but as we shall subsequently shew, the section of the segmental duct, originally present between the pronephros and the front end of the permanent kidney or mesonephros, has in any case disappeared. in addition to an examination of the excretory organs _in situ_, which shewed little except the presence of the generative ridges, we made a complete series of sections through the excretory organs for their whole length (plate , figs. - ). posteriorly these sections shewed nothing worthy of note, the excretory organs and their ducts differing in no important particular from these organs as we have described them in the adult, except in the fact that the segmental ducts are not joined by the oviducts. some little way in front of the point where the two segmental ducts coalesce to form the urinary bladder, the genital ridge comes into view. for its whole extent, except near its anterior part (of which more hereafter) this ridge projects freely into the body-cavity, and in this respect the young fish differs entirely from the adult. as shewn in plate , figs. and (_g.r._), it is attached to the abdominal wall on the ventral side of, and near the inner border of each kidney. the genital ridge itself has a structure very similar to that which is characteristic of young elasmobranchii, and it may be presumed of young fishes generally. the free edge of the ridge is swollen, and this part constitutes the true generative region of the ridge, while its dorsal portion forms the supporting mesentery. the ridge itself is formed of a central stroma and a germinal epithelium covering it. the epithelium is thin on the whole of the inner aspect of the ridge, but, just as in elasmobranchii, it becomes greatly thickened for a band-like strip on the outer aspect. here, the epithelium is several layers deep, and contains numerous primitive germinal cells (_p.o._). though the generative organs were not sufficiently advanced for us to decide the point with certainty, the structure of the organ is in favour of the view that this specimen was a female, and, as will be shewn directly, there can on other grounds be no doubt that this is so. the large size of the primitive germinal cells (primitive ova) reminded us of these bodies in elasmobranchii. in the region between the insertion of the genital ridge (or ovary, as we may more conveniently call it) and the segmental duct we detected the openings of a series of peritoneal funnels of the excretory tubes (plate , fig. , _p.f._), which clearly therefore persist till the young fish has reached a very considerable size. as we have already said, the ovary projects freely into the body-cavity for the greater part of its length. anteriorly, however, we found that a lamina extended from the free ventral edge of the ovary to the dorsal wall of the body-cavity, to which it was attached on the level of the outer side of the segmental duct. a somewhat triangular channel was thus constituted, the inner wall of which was formed by the ovary, the outer by the lamina just spoken of, and the roof by the strip of the peritoneum of the abdominal wall covering that part of the ventral surface of the kidney in which the openings of the peritoneal funnels of the excretory tubes are placed. the structure of this canal will be at once understood by the section of it shewn in plate , fig. . there can be no doubt that this canal is the commencing ovarian sack. on tracing it backwards we found that the lamina forming its outer wall arises as a fold growing upwards from the free edge of the genital ridge meeting a downward growth of the peritoneal membrane from the dorsal wall of the abdomen; and in plate , fig. , these two laminæ may be seen before they have met. anteriorly the canal becomes gradually smaller and smaller in correlation with the reduced size of the ovarian ridge, and ends blindly nearly on a level with the front end of the excretory organs. it should be noted that, owing to the mode of formation of the ovarian sack, the outer side of the ovary with the band of thickened germinal epithelium is turned towards the lumen of the sack; and thus the fact of the ova being formed on the inner wall of the genital sack in the adult is explained, and the comparison which we instituted in our description of the adult between the inner wall of the genital sack and the free genital ridge of elasmobranchii receives its justification. it is further to be noticed that, from the mode of formation of the ovarian sack, the openings of the peritoneal funnels of the excretory organs ought to open into its lumen; and if these openings persist in the adult, they will no doubt be found in this situation. before entering on further theoretical considerations with reference to the oviduct, it will be convenient to complete our description of the excretory organs at this stage. when we dissected the excretory organs out, and removed them from the body of the young fish, we were under the impression that they extended for the whole length of the body-cavity. great was our astonishment to find that slightly in front of the end of the ovary both excretory organs and segmental ducts grew rapidly smaller and finally vanished, and that what we had taken to be the front part of the kidney was nothing else but a linear streak of tissue formed of cells with peculiar granular contents supported in a trabecular work (plate , fig. ). this discovery first led us to investigate histologically what we, in common with previous observers, had supposed to be the anterior end of the kidneys in the adult, and to shew that they were nothing else but trabecular tissue with cells like that of lymphatic glands. the interruption of the segmental duct at the commencement of this tissue demonstrates that if any rudiment of the pronephros still persists, it is quite functionless, in that it is not provided with a duct. iii.--_theoretical considerations._ there are three points in our observations on the urinogenital system which appear to call for special remark. the first of these concerns the structure and fate of the pronephros, the second the nature of the oviduct, and the third the presence of vasa efferentia in the male. although the history we have been able to give of the pronephros is not complete, we have nevertheless shewn that in most points it is essentially similar to the pronephros of teleostei. in an early stage we find the pronephros provided with a peritoneal funnel opening into the body-cavity. at a later stage we find that there is connected with the pronephros on each side, a cavity--the pronephric cavity--into which a glomerulus projects. this cavity is in communication on the one hand with the lumen of the coiled tube which forms the main mass of the pronephros, and on the other hand with the body-cavity by means of a richly ciliated canal (woodcut, fig. , p. ). in teleostei the pronephros has precisely the same characters, except that the cavity in which the glomerulus is placed is without a peritoneal canal. the questions which naturally arise in connection with the pronephros are: ( ) what is the origin of the above cavity with its glomerulus; and ( ) what is the meaning of the ciliated canal connecting this cavity with the peritoneal cavity? we have not from our researches been able to answer the first of these questions. in teleostei, however, the origin of this cavity has been studied by rosenberg[ ] and götte[ ]. according to the account of the latter, which we have not ourselves confirmed but which has usually been accepted, the front end of the segmental duct, instead of becoming folded off from the body-cavity, becomes included in a kind of diverticulum of the body-cavity, which only communicates with the remainder of the body-cavity by a narrow opening. on the inner wall of this diverticulum a projection is formed which becomes a glomerulus. at this stage in the development of the pronephros we have essentially the same parts as in the fully formed pronephros of _lepidosteus_, the only difference being that the passage connecting the diverticulum containing the glomerulus with the remainder of the body-cavity is short in teleostei, and in _lepidosteus_ forms a longish ciliated canal. in teleostei the opening into the body-cavity becomes soon closed. if the above comparison is justified, and if the development of these parts in _lepidosteus_ takes place as it is described as doing in teleostei, there can, we think, be no doubt that the ciliated canal of _lepidosteus_, which connects the pronephric cavity with the body-cavity, is a persisting communication between this cavity and the body-cavity; and that _lepidosteus_ presents in this respect a more primitive type of pronephros than teleostei. footnote : rosenberg, _untersuch. ueb. d. entwick. d. teleostierniere_, dorpat, . footnote : götte, _entwick. d. unke_, p. . it may be noted that in _lepidosteus_ the whole pronephros has exactly the character of a single segmental tube of the mesonephros. the pronephric cavity with its glomerulus is identical in structure with a malpighian body. the ciliated canal is similar in its relations to the peritoneal canal of such a segmental tube, and the coiled portion of the pronephros resembles the secreting part of the ordinary segmental tube. this comparison is no doubt an indication that the pronephros is physiologically very similar to the mesonephros, and so far justifies sedgwick's[ ] comparison between the two, but it does not appear to us to justify the morphological conclusions at which he has arrived, or to necessitate any modification in the views on this subject expressed by one of us[ ]. footnote : sedgwick, "early development of the wolffian duct and anterior wolffian tubules in the chick; with some remarks on the vertebrate excretory system," _quart. journ. of micros. science_, vol. xxi., . footnote : f. m. balfour, _comparative embryology_, vol. ii., pp. - [the original edition]. the genital ducts of ganoids and teleostei have for some time been a source of great difficulty to morphologists; and any contributions with reference to the ontogeny of these structures are of interest. the essential point which we have made out is that the anterior part of the oviduct of _lepidosteus_ arises by a fold of the peritoneum attaching itself to the free edge of the genital ridge. we have not, unfortunately, had specimens old enough to decide how the posterior part of the oviduct is formed; and although in the absence of such stages it would be rash in the extreme to speak with confidence as to the nature of this part of the duct, it may be well to consider the possibilities of the case in relation to other ganoids and teleostei. the simplest supposition would be that the posterior part of the genital duct had the same origin as the anterior, _i.e._, that it was formed for its whole length by the concrescence of a peritoneal fold with the genital ridge, and that the duct so formed opened into the segmental duct. the other possible supposition is that a true müllerian duct--_i.e._, a product of the splitting of the segmental duct--is subsequently developed, and that the open end of this duct coalesces with the duct which has already begun to be formed in our oldest larva. in attempting to estimate the relative probability of these two views, one important element is the relation of the oviducts of _lepidosteus_ to those of other ganoids. in all other ganoids (vide hyrtl, no. ii) there are stated to be genital ducts in both sexes which are provided at their anterior extremities with a funnel-shaped mouth open to the abdominal cavity. at first sight, therefore, it might be supposed that they had no morphological relationship with the oviducts of _lepidosteus_, but, apart from the presence of a funnel-shaped mouth, the oviducts of _lepidosteus_ are very similar to those of chondrostean ganoids, being thin-walled tubes opening on a projecting papilla into the dilated kidney ducts (horns of the urinary bladder, hyrtl). these relations seem to prove beyond a doubt that the oviduct of _lepidosteus_ is for its major part homologous with the genital ducts of other ganoids. the relationship of the genital ducts to the kidney ducts in _amia_ and _polypterus_ is somewhat different from that in the chondrostei and _lepidosteus_. in _amia_ the ureters are so small that they may be described rather as joining the coalesced genital ducts than _vice versâ_, although the apparent coalesced portion of the genital ducts is shewn to be really part of the kidney ducts by receiving the secretion of a number of mesonephric tubuli. in _polypterus_ the two ureters are stated to unite, and open by a common orifice into a sinus formed by the junction of the two genital ducts, which has not been described as receiving directly the secretion of any part of the mesonephros. it has been usual to assume that the genital ducts of ganoids are true müllerian ducts in the sense above defined, on the ground that they are provided with a peritoneal opening and that they are united behind with the kidney ducts. in the absence of ontological evidence this identification is necessarily provisional. on the assumption that it is correct we should have to accept the second of the two alternatives above suggested as to the development of the posterior parts of the oviduct in _lepidosteus_. there appear to us, however, to be sufficiently serious objections to this view to render it necessary for us to suspend our judgment with reference to this point. in the first place, if the view that the genital ducts are müllerian ducts is correct, the true genital ducts of _lepidosteus_ must necessarily be developed at a later period than the secondary attachment between their open mouths and the genital folds, which would, to say the least of it, be a remarkable inversion of the natural order of development. secondly, the condition of our oldest larva shews that the müllerian duct, if developed later, is only split off from quite the posterior part of the segmental duct; yet in all types in which the development of the müllerian duct has been followed, its anterior extremity, with the abdominal opening, is split off from either the foremost or nearly the foremost part of the segmental duct. judging from the structure of the adult genital ducts of other ganoids they must also be developed only from the posterior part of the segmental duct, and this peculiarity so struck one of us that in a previous paper[ ] the suggestion was put forward that the true ganoid genital ducts were perhaps not müllerian ducts, but enlarged segmental tubes with persisting abdominal funnels belonging to the mesonephros. footnote : f. m. balfour, "on the origin and history of the urinogenital organs of vertebrates," _journ. of anat. and phys._, vol. x., [this edition, no. vii]. if the possibility of the oviduct of _lepidosteus_ not being a müllerian duct is admitted, a similar doubt must also exist as to the genital ducts of other ganoids, and we must be prepared to shew that there is a reasonable ground for scepticism on this point. we would in this connexion point out that the second of the two arguments urged against the view that the genital duct of _lepidosteus_ is not a müllerian duct applies with equal force to the case of all other ganoids. the short funnel-shaped genital duct of the chondrostei is also very unlike undoubted müllerian ducts, and could moreover easily be conceived as originating by a fold of the peritoneum, a slight extension of which would give rise to a genital duct like that of _lepidosteus_. the main difficulty of the view that the genital ducts of ganoids are not müllerian ducts lies in the fact that they open into the segmental duct. while it is easy to understand the genesis of a duct from a folding of the peritoneum, and also easy to understand how such a duct might lead to the exterior by coalescing, for instance, with an abdominal pore, it is not easy to see how such a duct could acquire a communication with the segmental duct. we do not under these circumstances wish to speak dogmatically, either in favour of or against the view that the genital ducts of ganoids are müllerian ducts. their ontogeny would be conclusive on this matter, and we trust that some of the anatomists who have the opportunity of studying the development of the sturgeon will soon let us know the facts of the case. if there are persisting funnels of the mesonephric segmental tubes in adult sturgeons, some of them ought to be situated within the genital ducts, if the latter are not müllerian ducts; and naturalists who have the opportunity ought also to look out for such openings. the mode of origin of the anterior part of the genital duct of _lepidosteus_ appears to us to tell strongly in favour of the view, already regarded as probable by one of us[ ], that the teleostean genital ducts are derived from those of ganoids; and if, as appears to us indubitable, the most primitive type of ganoid genital ducts is found in the chondrostei, it is interesting to notice that the remaining ganoids present in various ways approximations to the arrangement typically found in teleostei. _lepidosteus_ obviously approaches teleostei in the fact of the ovarian ridge forming part of the wall of the oviduct, but differs from the teleostei in the fact of the oviduct opening into the kidney ducts, instead of each pair of ducts having an independent opening in the cloaca, and in the fact that the male genital products are not carried to the exterior by a duct homologous with the oviduct. _amia_ is closer to the teleostei in the arrangement of the posterior part of the genital ducts, in that the two genital ducts coalesce posteriorly; while _polypterus_ approaches still nearer to the teleostei in the fact that the two genital ducts and the two kidney ducts unite with each other before they join; and in order to convert this arrangement into that characteristic of the teleostei we have only to conceive the coalesced ducts of the kidneys acquiring an independent opening into the cloaca behind the genital opening. footnote : f. m. balfour, _comparative embryology_, vol. ii., p. [the original edition]. _the male genital ducts._--the discovery of the vasa efferentia in _lepidosteus_, carrying off the semen from the testis, and transporting it to the mesonephros, and thence through the mesonephric tubes to the segmental duct, must be regarded as the most important of our results on the excretory system. it proves in the first place that the transportation outwards of the genital products of both sexes by homologous ducts, which has been hitherto held to be universal in ganoids, and which, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, must still be assumed to be true for all ganoids except _lepidosteus_, is a secondary arrangement. this conclusion follows from the fact that in elasmobranchii, &c., which are not descendants of the ganoids, the same arrangement of seminal ducts is found as in _lepidosteus_, and it must therefore have been inherited from an ancestor common to the two groups. if, therefore, the current statements about the generative ducts of ganoids are true, the males must have lost their vasa efferentia, and the function of vas deferens must have been taken by the homologue of the oviduct, presumably present in the male. the teleostei must, moreover, have sprung from ganoidei in which the vasa efferentia had become aborted. considerable phylogenetic difficulties as to the relationships of ganoidei and elasmobranchii are removed by the discovery that ganoids were originally provided with a system of vasa efferentia like that of elasmobranchii. the alimentary canal and its appendages. i.--_anatomy._ agassiz (no. ) gives a short description with a figure of the viscera of _lepidosteus_ as a whole. van der hoeven has also given a figure of them in his memoir on the air-bladder of this form (no. ), and johannes müller first detected the spiral valve and gave a short account of it in his memoir (no. ). stannius, again, makes several references to the viscera of _lepidosteus_ in his anatomy of the vertebrata, and throws some doubt on müller's determination of the spiral valve. the following description refers to a female _lepidosteus_ of . centims. (plate , fig. ). with reference to the mouth and pharynx, we have nothing special to remark. immediately behind the pharynx there comes an elongated tube, which is not divisible into stomach and oesophagus, and may be called the stomach (_st._). it is about . centims. long, and gradually narrows from the middle towards the hinder or pyloric extremity. it runs straight backwards for the greater part of its length, the last . centims., however, taking a sudden bend forwards. for about half its length the walls are thin, and the mucous membrane is smooth; in the posterior half the walls are thick, and the mucous membrane is raised into numerous longitudinal ridges. the peculiar glandular structure of the epithelium of this part in the embryo is shewn in plate , fig. (_st._). its opening into the duodenum is provided with a very distinct pyloric valve (_py._). this valve projects into a kind of chamber, freely communicating with the duodenum, and containing four large pits (_c´_), into each of which a group of pyloric cæca opens. these cæca form a fairly compact gland (_c._) about . centims. long, which overlaps the stomach anteriorly, and the duodenum posteriorly. close to the pyloric valve, on its right side, is a small papilla, on the apex of which the bile duct opens (_b.d´_). a small, apparently glandular, mass closely connected with the bile duct, in the position in which we have seen the pancreas in the larva (plate , figs. and , _p._), is almost certainly a rudimentary pancreas, like that of many teleostei; but its preservation was too bad for histological examination. we believe that the pancreas of _lepidosteus_ has hitherto been overlooked. the small intestine passes straight backwards for about centims., and then presents three compact coils. from the end of these a section, about centims. long, the walls of which are much thicker, runs forwards. the intestine then again turns backwards, making one spiral coil. this spiral part passes directly, without any sharp line of demarcation, into a short and straight tube, which tapers slightly from before backwards, and ends at the anus. the mucous membrane of the intestine for about the first . centims. is smooth, and the muscular walls thin: the rest of the small intestine has thick walls, and the mucous membrane is reticulated. a short spiral valve (_sp.v._), with a very rudimentary epithelial fold, making nearly two turns, begins in about the posterior half of the spiral coil of the intestine, extending backwards for slightly less than half the straight terminal portion of the intestine, and ending centims. in front of the anus. its total length in one example was about . centims. the termination of the spiral valve is marked by a slight constriction, and we may call the straight portion of the intestine behind it the rectum (_rc._). the posterior part of the intestine, from the beginning of the spiral valve to the anus, _is connected with the ventral wall of the abdomen by a mesentery_. the air-bladder (_a.b._) is centims. long, and opens into the alimentary canal by a slit-like aperture (_a.b´._) on the median dorsal line, immediately behind the epipharyngeal teeth. each lip of this aperture is largely formed by a muscular cushion, thickest at its posterior end, and extending about millims. behind the aperture itself. a narrow passage is bounded by these muscular walls, which opens dorsally into the air-bladder. the air-bladder is provided with two short anterior cornua, and tapers to a point behind: it shews no indication of any separation into two parts. a strong band of connective tissue runs along the inner aspect of its whole dorsal region, from which there are given off on each side--at intervals of about millims. anteriorly, gradually increasing to millims. posteriorly--bands of muscle, which pass outwards towards its side walls, and then spread out into the numerous reticulations with which the air-bladder is lined throughout. by the contraction of these muscles the cavity of the air-bladder can doubtless be very much diminished. the main muscular bands circumscribe a series of more or less complete chambers, which were about twenty-seven in number on each side in our example. the chambers are confined to the sides, so that there is a continuous cavity running through the central part of the organ. the whole organ has the characteristic structure of a simple lung. the liver (_lr._) consists of a single elongated lobe, about centims. long, tapering anteriorly and posteriorly, the anterior half being on the average twice as thick as the posterior half. the gall-bladder (_g.b._) lies at its posterior end, and is of considerable size, tapering gradually so as to pass insensibly into the bile duct. the hepatic duct (_hp.d._) opens into the gall-bladder at its anterior end. the spleen (_s._) is a large, compact, double gland, one lobe lying in the turn of the intestine immediately above the spiral valve, and the other on the opposite side of the intestine, so that the intestine is nearly embraced between the two lobes. ii.--_development._ we have already described in detail the first formation of the alimentary tract so far as we have been able to work it out, and we need only say here that the anterior and posterior ends of the canal become first formed, and that these two parts gradually elongate, so as to approach each other; the growth of the posterior part is, however, the most rapid. the junction of the two parts takes place a very short distance behind the opening of the bile duct into the intestine. for some time after the two parts of the alimentary tract have nearly met, the ventral wall of the canal at this point is not closed; so that there is left a passage between the alimentary canal and the yolk-sack, which forms a vitelline duct. after the yolk-sack has ceased to be visible as an external appendage it still persists within the abdominal cavity. it has, however, by this stage ceased to communicate with the gut, so that the eventual absorption of the yolk is no doubt entirely effected by the vitelline vessels. at these later stages of development we have noticed that numerous yolk nuclei, like those met with in teleostei and elasmobranchii[ ], are still to be found in the yolk. footnote : for a history of similar nuclei, vide _comp. embryol._, vol. ii., chapters iii. and iv. it will be convenient to treat the history of sections of the alimentary tract in front of and behind the vitelline duct separately. the former gives rise to the pharyngeal region, the oesophagus, the stomach, and the duodenum. the pharyngeal region, immediately after it has become established, gives rise to a series of paired pouches. these may be called the branchial pouches, and are placed between the successive branchial arches. the first or hyomandibular pouch, placed between the mandibular and hyoid arches, has rather the character of a double layer of hypoblast than of a true pouch, though in parts a slight space is developed between its two walls. it is shewn in section in plate , fig. (_h.m._), from an embryo of about millims., shortly before hatching. it does not appear to undergo any further development, and, so far as we can make out, disappears shortly after the embryo is hatched, without acquiring an opening to the exterior. it is important to notice that this cleft, which in the cartilaginous ganoids and _polypterus_ remains permanently open as the spiracle, is rudimentary even in the embryo of _lepidosteus_. the second pouch is the hyobranchial pouch: its outer end meets the epiblast before the larva is hatched, and a perforation is effected at the junction of the two layers, converting the pouch into a visceral cleft. behind the hyobranchial pouch there are four branchial pouches, which become perforated and converted into branchial clefts shortly after hatching. the region of the oesophagus following the pharynx is not separated from the stomach, unless a glandular posterior region (vide description of adult) be regarded as the stomach, a non-glandular anterior region forming the oesophagus. the lumen of this part appears to be all but obliterated in the stages immediately before hatching, giving rise for a short period to a solid oesophagus like that of elasmobranchii and teleostei[ ]. footnote : vide _comp. embryol._, vol. ii., pp. - [the original edition]. from the anterior part of the region immediately behind the pharynx the air-bladder arises as a dorsal unpaired diverticulum. from the very first it has an elongated slit-like mouth (plate , fig. , _a.b´._), and is placed in the mesenteric attachment of the part of the throat from which it springs. we have first noticed it in the stages immediately after hatching. at first very short and narrow, it grows in succeeding stages longer and wider, making its way backwards in the mesentery of the alimentary tract (plate , fig. , _a.b._). in the larva of a month and a half old ( millims.) it has still a perfectly simple form, and is without traces of its adult lung-like structure; but in the larva of centims. it has the typical adult structure. the stomach is at first quite straight, but shortly after the larva is hatched its posterior end becomes bent ventralwards and forwards, so that the flexure of its posterior end (present in the adult) is very early established. the stomach is continuous behind with the duodenum, the commencement of which is indicated by the opening of the bile duct. the liver is the first-formed alimentary gland, and is already a compact body before the larva is hatched. we have nothing to say with reference to its development, except that it exhibits the same simple structure in the embryo that it does in the adult. a more interesting glandular body is the pancreas. it has already been stated that in the adult we have recognized a small body which we believe to be the pancreas, but that we were unable to study its histological characters. in the embryo there is a well-developed pancreas which arises in the same position and the same manner as in those vertebrata in which the pancreas is an important gland in the adult. we have first noticed the pancreas in a stage shortly after hatching (plate , fig. , _p._). it then has the form of a funnel-shaped diverticulum of the _dorsal_ wall of the duodenum, immediately behind the level of the opening of the bile duct. from the apex of this funnel numerous small glandular tubuli soon sprout out. the similarity in the development of the pancreas in _lepidosteus_ to that of the same gland in elasmobranchii is very striking[ ]. footnote : vide f. m. balfour, "monograph on development of elasmobranch fishes," p. [this edition, no. x., p. ]. the pancreas at a later stage is placed immediately behind the end of the liver in a loop formed by the pyloric section of the stomach (plate , fig. , _p._). during larval life it constitutes a considerable gland, the anterior end of which partly envelopes the bile duct (plate , fig. , _p._). considering the undoubted affinities between _lepidosteus_ and the teleostei, the facts just recorded with reference to the pancreas appear to us to demonstrate that the small size and occasional absence (?) of this gland in teleostei is a result of the degeneration of this gland; and it seems probable that the pancreas will be found in the larvæ of most teleostei. these conclusions render intelligible, moreover, the great development of the pancreas in the elasmobranchii. we have first noticed the pyloric cæca arising as outgrowths of the duodenum in larvæ of about three weeks old, and they become rapidly longer and more prominent (plate , fig. , _c._). the portion of the intestine behind the vitelline duct is, as in all the vertebrata, at first straight. in elasmobranchii the lumen of the part of the intestine in which a spiral valve is present in the adult, very early acquires a more or less semilunar form by the appearance of a fold which winds in a long spiral. in _lepidosteus_ there is a fold similar in every respect (plate , fig. , _sp.v._), forming an open spiral round the intestine. this fold is the first indication of the spiral valve, but it is relatively very much later in its appearance than in elasmobranchii, not being formed till about three weeks after hatching. it is, moreover, in correlation with the small extent of the spiral valve of the adult, confined to a much smaller portion of the intestine than in elasmobranchii, although owing to the relative straightness of the anterior part of the intestine it is proportionately longer in the embryo than in the adult. the similarity of the embryonic spiral valve of _lepidosteus_ to that of elasmobranchii shews that stannius' hesitation in accepting müller's discovery of the spiral valve in _lepidosteus_ is not justified. j. müller (_bau u. entwick. d. myxinoiden_) holds that the so-called bursa entiana of elasmobranchii (_i.e._, the chamber placed between the part of the intestine with the spiral valve and the end of the pylorus) is the homologue of the more elongated portion of the small intestine which occupies a similar position in the sturgeon. this portion of the small intestine is no doubt homologous with the still more elongated and coiled portion of the small intestine in _lepidosteus_ placed between the chamber into which the pyloric cæca, &c., open and the region of the spiral valve. the fact that the vitelline duct in the embryo _lepidosteus_ is placed close to the pyloric end of the stomach, and that the greater portion of the small intestine is derived from part of the alimentary canal behind this, shews that müller is mistaken in attempting to homologise the bursa entiana of elasmobranchii, which is placed in front of the vitelline duct, with the coiled part of the small intestine of the above forms. the latter is either derived from an elongation of the very short portion of the intestine between the vitelline duct and the primitive spiral valve, or more probably by the conversion of the anterior part of the intestine, originally provided with a spiral valve into a coiled small intestine not so provided. we have already called attention to the peculiar mesentery present in the adult attaching the posterior straight part of the intestine to the ventral wall of the body. this mesentery, which together with the dorsal mesentery divides the hinder section of the body-cavity into two lateral compartments is, we believe, a persisting portion of the ventral mesentery which, as pointed out by one of us[ ], is primitively present for the whole length of the body-cavity. the persistence of such a large section of it as that found in the adult _lepidosteus_ is, so far as we know, quite exceptional. this mesentery is shewn in section in the embryo in plate , fig. (_v.mt._). the small vessel in it appears to be the remnant of the subintestinal vein. footnote : _comparative embryology_, vol. ii. p. [the original edition]. the gill on the hyoid arch. it is well known that _lepidosteus_ is provided with a gill on the hyoid arch, divided on each side into two parts. an excellent figure of this gill is given by müller (no. , plate , fig. ), who holds from a consideration of the vascular supply that the two parts of this gill represent respectively the hyoid gill and the mandibular gill (called by müller pseudobranch). müller's views on this subject have not usually been accepted, but it is the fashion to regard the whole of the gill as the hyoid gill divided into two parts. it appeared to us not improbable that embryology might throw some light on the history of this gill, and accordingly we kept a look out in our embryos for traces of gills on the hyoid and mandibular arches. the results we have arrived at are purely negative, but are not the less surprising for this fact. the hyomandibular cleft as shewn above, is never fully developed, and early undergoes a complete atrophy--a fact which is, on the whole, against müller's view; but what astonished us most in connection with the gill in question is that we have been unable to find any trace of it even in the oldest larva whose head we have had ( millims.), and at a period when the gills on the hinder arches have reached their full development. we imagined the gill in question to be the remnant of a gill fully formed in extinct ganoid types, and therefore expected to find it better developed in the larva than in the adult. that the contrary is the fact appears to us fairly certain, although we cannot at present offer any explanation of it. systematic position of lepidosteus. a. agassiz concludes his memoir on the development of _lepidosteus_ by pointing out that in spite of certain affinities in other directions this form is "not so far removed from the bony fishes as has been supposed." our own observations go far to confirm agassiz' opinion. apart from the complete segmentation, the general development of _lepidosteus_ is strikingly teleostean. in addition to the general teleostean features of the embryo and larva, which can only be appreciated by those who have had an opportunity of practically working at the subject, we may point to the following developmental features[ ] as indicative of teleostean affinities:-- footnote : the features enumerated above are not in all cases confined to _lepidosteus_ and teleostei, but are always eminently characteristic of the latter. ( ) the formation of the nervous system as a solid keel of the epiblast. ( ) the division of the epiblast into a nervous and epidermic stratum. ( ) the mode of development of the gut (vide pp. - ). ( ) the mode of development of the pronephros; though, as shewn on p. , the pronephros of _lepidosteus_ has primitive characters not retained by teleostei. ( ) the early stages in the development of the vertebral column (vide p. ). in addition to these, so to speak, purely embryonic characters there are not a few important adult characters:-- ( ) the continuity of the oviducts with the genital glands. ( ) the small size of the pancreas, and the presence of numerous so-called pancreatic cæca. ( ) the somewhat coiled small intestine. ( ) certain characters of the brain, _e.g._, the large size of the cerebellum; the presence of the so-called lobi inferiores on the infundibulum; and of tori semicirculares in the mid-brain. in spite of the undoubtedly important list of features to which we have just called attention, a list containing not less important characters, both embryological and adult, separating _lepidosteus_ from the teleostei, can be drawn up:-- ( ) the character of the truncus arteriosus. ( ) the fact of the genital ducts joining the ureters. ( ) the presence of vasa efferentia in the male carrying the semen from the testes to the kidney, and through the tubules of the latter into the kidney duct. ( ) the presence of a well-developed opercular gill. ( ) the presence of a spiral valve; though this character may possibly break down with the extension of our knowledge. ( ) the typical ganoid characters of the thalamencephalon and the cerebral hemispheres (vide pp. and ). ( ) the chiasma of the optic nerves. ( ) the absence of a pecten, and presence of a vascular membrane between the vitreous humour and the retina. ( ) the opisthocoelous form of the vertebræ. ( ) the articulation of the ventral parts of the hæmal arches of the tail with processes of the vertebral column. ( ) the absence of a division of the muscles into dorso-lateral and ventro-lateral divisions. ( ) the complete segmentation of the ovum. the list just given appears to us sufficient to demonstrate that _lepidosteus_ cannot be classed with the teleostei; and we hold that müller's view is correct, according to which _lepidosteus_ is a true ganoid. the existence of the ganoids as a distinct group has, however, recently been challenged by so distinguished an ichthyologist as günther, and it may therefore be well to consider how far the group as defined by müller is a natural one for living forms[ ], and how far recent researches enable us to improve upon müller's definitions. in his classical memoir (no. ) the characters of the ganoids are thus shortly stated:-- "these fishes are either provided with plate-like angular or rounded cement-covered scales, or they bear osseous plates, or are quite naked. the fins are often, but not always, beset with a double or single row of spinous plates or splints. the caudal fin occasionally embraces in its upper lobe the end of the vertebral column, which may be prolonged to the end of the upper lobe. their double nasal openings resemble those of teleostei. the gills are free, and lie in a branchial cavity under an operculum, like those of teleostei. many of them have an accessory organ of respiration, in the form of an opercular gill, which is distinct from the pseudobranch, and can be present together with the latter; many also have spiracles like elasmobranchii. they have many valves in the stem of the aorta like the latter, also a muscular coat in the stem of the aorta. their ova are transported from the abdominal cavity by oviducts. their optic nerves do not cross each other. the intestine is often provided with a spiral valve, like elasmobranchii. they have a swimming-bladder with a duct, like many teleostei. their pelvic fins are abdominal. "if we include in a definition only those characters which are invariable, the ganoids may be shortly defined as being those fish with numerous valves to the stem of the aorta, which is also provided with a muscular coat; with free gills and an operculum, and with abdominal pelvic fins." footnote : we do not profess to be able to discuss this question for extinct forms of fish, though of course it is a necessary consequence of the theory of descent that the various groups should merge into each other as we go back in geological time. to these distinctive characters, he adds in an appendix to his paper, the presence of the spiral valve, and the absence of a processus falciformis and a choroid gland. to the distinctive set of characters given by müller we may probably add the following:-- ( ) oviducts and urinary ducts always unite, and open by a common urinogenital aperture behind the anus. ( ) skull hyostylic. ( ) segmentation complete in the types so far investigated, though perhaps _amia_ may be found to resemble the teleostei in this particular. ( ) a pronephros of the teleostean type present in the larva. ( ) thalamencephalon very large and well developed. ( ) the ventricle in the posterior part of the cerebrum is not divided behind into lateral halves, the roof of the undivided part being extremely thin. ( ) abdominal pores always present. the great number of characters just given are amply sufficient to differentiate the ganoids as a group; but, curiously enough, the only characters amongst the whole series which have been given, which can be regarded as peculiar to the ganoids, are ( ) the characters of the brain, and ( ) the fact of the oviducts and kidney ducts uniting together and opening by a common pore to the exterior. this absence of characters peculiar to the ganoids is an indication of how widely separated in organization are the different members of this great group. at the same time, the only group with which existing ganoids have close affinities is the teleostei. the points they have in common with the elasmobranchii are merely such as are due to the fact that both retain numerous primitive vertebrate characters[ ], and the gulf which really separates them is very wide. footnote : as instances of this we may cite ( ) the spiral valve; ( ) the frequent presence of a spiracle; ( ) the frequent presence of a communication between the pericardium and the body-cavity; ( ) the heterocercal tail. there is again no indication of any close affinity between the dipnoi and, at any rate, existing ganoids. like the ganoids, the dipnoi are no doubt remnants of a very primitive stock; but in the conversion of the air-bladder into a true lung, the highly specialized character of their limbs[ ], their peculiar autostylic skulls, the fact of their ventral nasal openings leading directly into the mouth, their multisegmented bars (interspinous bars), directly prolonged from the neural and hæmal arches and supporting the fin-rays of the unpaired dorsal and ventral fins, and their well-developed cerebral hemispheres, very unlike those of ganoids and approaching the amphibian type, they form a very well-defined group, and one very distinctly separated from the ganoids. footnote : vide f. m. balfour, "on the development of the skeleton of the paired fins of elasmobranchii," _proc. zool. soc._, [this edition, no. xx.]. no doubt the chondrostean ganoids are nearly as far removed from the teleostei as from the dipnoi, but the links uniting these ganoids with the teleostei have been so fully preserved in the existing fauna of the globe, that the two groups almost run into each other. if, in fact, we were anxious to make any radical change in the ordinary classification of fishes, it would be by uniting the teleostei and ganoids, or rather constituting the teleostei into one of the sub-groups of the ganoids, equivalent to the chondrostei. we do not recommend such an arrangement, which in view of the great preponderance of the teleostei amongst living fishes would be highly inconvenient, but the step from _amia_ to the teleostei is certainly not so great as that from the chondrostei to _amia_, and is undoubtedly less than that from the selachii to the holocephali. list of memoirs on the anatomy and development of lepidosteus. . agassiz, a. "the development of _lepidosteus_." part ., _proc. amer. acad. arts and sciences_, vol. xiv. . . agassiz, l. _recherches s. l. poissons fossiles._ neuchatel. - . . boas, j. e. "ueber herz u. arterienbogen bei _ceradotus_ u. _protopterus_," _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vi. . . davidoff, m. von. "beiträge z. vergleich. anat. d. hinteren gliedmassen d. fische," _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. vi. . . gegenbaur, c. _untersuch. z. vergleich. anat. d. wirbelthiere_, heft ii., _schultergürtel d. wirbelthiere. brustflosse der fische_. leipzig, . . gegenbaur, c. "zur entwick. d. wirbelsäule d. _lepidosteus_, &c." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. iii. . . hertwig, o. "ueber d. hautskelet d. fische (_lepidosteus_ u. _polypterus_)," _morphol. jahrbuch_, vol. v. . . hoeven, van der. "ueber d. zellige schwimmblase d. _lepidosteus_." müller's _archiv_, . . hyrtl, j. "ueber d. schwimmblase von _lepidosteus osseus_," _sitz. d. wiener akad._ vol. viii. . . hyrtl, j. "ueber d. pori abdominales, d. kiemen-arterien, u. d. glandula thyroidea d. ganoiden," _sitz. d. wiener akad._ vol. viii. . . hyrtl, j. _ueber d. zusammenhang d. geschlechts u. harnwerkzeuge bei d. ganoiden_, wien, . . kölliker, a. _ueber d. ende d. wirbelsäule b. ganoiden_, leipzig, . . müller, j. "ueber d. bau u. d. grenzen d. ganoiden," _berlin akad._ . . schneider, h. "ueber d. augenmuskelnerven d. ganoiden," _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xv. . . wilder, burt g. "notes on the north american ganoids, _amia_, _lepidosteus_, _acipenser_, and _polyodon_." _proc. amer. assoc. for the advancement of science_, . list of reference letters. _a._ anus. _ab._ air-bladder. _ab´._ aperture of air-bladder into throat. _ac._ anterior commissure. _af._ anal fin. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ aorta. _ar._ artery. _au._ auditory pit. _b._ brain. _bc._ body-cavity. _bd._ bile duct. _bd´._ aperture of bile duct into duodenum. _bl._ coalesced portion of segmental ducts, forming urinogenital bladder. _bra._ branchial arches. _brc._ branchial clefts. _c._ pyloric caæca. _c´._ apertures of caæca into duodenum. _cb._ cerebellum. _cdv._ cardinal vein. _ce._ cerebrum: in figs. a and b, anterior lobe of cerebrum. _ce´._ posterior lobe of cerebrum. _cf._ caudal fin. _cn._ centrum. _ch._ choroidal fissure. _crv._ circular vein of vascular membrane of eye. _csh._ cuticular sheath of notochord. _cv._ caudal vein. _d._ duodenum. _dc._ dorsal cartilage of neural arch. _df._ dermal fin-rays. _dl._ dorsal lobe of caudal fin. _dlf._ dorsal fin. _e._ eye. _ed._ epidermis. _ep._ epiblast. _fb._ fore-brain. _fe._ pyriform bodies surrounding the zona radiata of the ovum, probably the remains of epithelial cells. _gb._ gall-bladder. _gd._ genital duct. _gl._ glomerulus. _gr._ genital ridge. _h._ heart. _ha._ hæmal arch. _hb._ hind-brain. _hc._ head-cavity. _hpd._ hepatic duct. _hm._ hyomandibular cleft. _hop._ operculum. _hy._ hypoblast; in fig. , hyoid arch. _hyl._ hyaloid membrane. _ic._ intercalated cartilaginous elements of the neural arches. _in._ infundibulum. _ir._ iris. _is._ interspinous cartilage or bones. _iv._ subintestinal vein. _ivr._ intervertebral ring of cartilage. _k._ kidney. _l._ lens. _lc._ longitudinal canal, formed by union of the vasa efferentia. _lin._ lobi inferiores. _ll._ ligamentum longitudinale superius. _lr._ liver. _lt._ lateral line. _ly._ lymphatic body in front of kidney. _m._ mouth. _mb._ mid-brain. _mc._ medullary cord. _mel._ membrana elastica externa. _mes._ mesorchium. _mn._ mandible. _md._ and _mo._ medulla oblongata. _ms._ mesoblast. _na._ neural arch. _na´._ dorsal element of neural arch. _nc._ notochord. _nve._ network formed by vasa efferentia on inner face of testis. _od._ oviduct. _od´._ aperture of oviduct into bladder. _ol._ nasal pit or aperture. _olf._ olfactory lobe. _op._ optic vesicle. _op ch._ optic chiasma. _opl._ optic lobes. _op th._ optic thalami. _or ep._ oral epithelium. _ov._ ovary. _p._ pancreas. _pc._ pericardium. _pcf._ pectoral fin. _pch._ pigmented layer of choroid. _pf._ peritoneal funnel of segmental tube of mesonephros. _pfp._ peritoneal funnel leading into pronephric chamber. _pg._ pectoral girdle. _plf._ pelvic fin. _pn._ pineal gland. _po._ primitive germinal cells. _pr._ mesoblastic somite. _prc._ pronephric chamber. _prn._ pronephros. _pr n´._ opening of pronephros into pronephric chamber. _pt._ pituitary body. _py._ pyloric valve. _pz._ parietal zone of blastoderm. _r._ rostrum. _rb._ rib. _rc._ rectum. _s._ spleen. _sc._ seminal vessels passing from the longitudinal canal into the kidney. _sd._ suctorial disc. _sg._ segmental or archinephric duct. _sgt._ segmental tubules. _sh._ granular outer portion of the sheath of the notochord in the vertebral regions. _smx._ superior maxillary process. _snc._ subnotochordal rod. _so._ somatic mesoblast. _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast. _spn._ spinal nerve. _spv._ spiral valve. _st._ stomach. _st._ seminal tubes of the testis. _sup._ suctorial papillæ. _t._ testis. _th._ thalamencephalon. _thl._ lobes of the roof of the thalamencephalon. _tr._ trabeculæ. _ug._ urinogenital aperture. _v._ ventricle. _ve._ vasa efferentia. _vh._ vitreous humour. _vl._ ventral lobe of the caudal fin. _vmt._ ventral mesentery. _vn._ vein. _vs._ blood-vessel. _vsh._ vascular sheath between the hyaloid membrane and the vitreous humour. _vth._ vesicle of the thalamencephalon. _x._ groove in epiblast, probably formed in process of hardening. _y._ yolk. _z._ commissure in front of pineal gland. _zr._ outer striated portion of investing membrane (zona radiata) of ovum. _zr´._ inner non-striated portion of investing membrane of ovum. i. olfactory nerve. ii. optic nerve. iii. oculomotor nerve. v. trigeminal nerve. viii. facial and auditory nerves. explanation of plates - . plate . figs. - . different stages in the segmentation of the ovum. fig. . ovum with a single vertical furrow, from above. fig. . ovum with two vertical furrows, from above. fig. . side view of an ovum with a completely formed blastodermic disc. fig. . the same ovum as fig. , from below, shewing four vertical furrows nearly meeting at the vegetative pole. figs. - . external views of embryos up to time of hatching. fig. . embryo, . millims. long, third day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the fifth day after impregnation. fig. . posterior part of same embryo as fig. , shewing tail swelling. fig. . embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the eleventh day after impregnation (shortly before hatching). fig. . head of embryo about the same age as fig. , ventral aspect. fig. . side view of a larva about millims. in length, shortly after hatching. fig. . head of a larva about the same age as fig. , ventral aspect. fig. . side view of a larva about millims. long, five days after hatching. fig. . head of a larva millims. in length. fig. . tail of a larva centims. in length. fig. . transverse section through the egg-membranes of a just-laid ovum. we are indebted to professor w. k. parker for figs. , and . plate . figs. - . transverse sections of embryo on the third day after impregnation. fig. . through head, shewing the medullary keel. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . through same region as fig. , shewing a groove (_x_) in the epiblast, probably artificially formed in the process of hardening. fig. . through anterior part of tail region, shewing partial fusion of layers. fig. . through posterior part of tail region, shewing more complete fusion of layers than fig. . figs. - . transverse sections of an embryo on the fifth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain and auditory pits. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. figs. - . transverse sections of the head of an embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain and auditory pits. plate . figs. - . transverse sections of the trunk of an embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . through anterior part of trunk (from a slightly older embryo than the other sections of this stage). fig. . slightly posterior to fig. , shewing formation of segmental duct as a fold of the somatic mesoblast. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section of embryo on the sixth day after impregnation, passing through the mesoblastic somites, notochord, and medullary canal. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . through the trunk somewhat behind fig. . fig. . through tail region. fig. . further back than fig. , shewing constriction of tail from the yolk. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the eighth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain, shewing closed auditory pits, &c. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . section through tail of an embryo on the ninth day after impregnation. plate . fig. . section through the olfactory involution and part of fore-brain of a larva on the ninth day after impregnation, shewing olfactory nerve. fig. . section through the anterior part of the head of the same larva, shewing pituitary involution. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the eleventh day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-part of head, shewing the pituitary body still connected with the oral epithelium. fig. . slightly further back than fig. , shewing the pituitary body constricted off from the oral epithelium. fig. . slightly posterior to fig. , to shew olfactory involution, eye, and hyomandibular cleft. fig. . longitudinal section of the head of an embryo of millims. in length, a few days after hatching, shewing the structure of the brain. fig. . longitudinal section of the head of an embryo, about five weeks after hatching, millims. in length, shewing the structure of the brain. in the front part of the brain the section passes slightly to one side of the median line. figs. a to g. transverse sections through the brain of an embryo millims. in length, about a month after hatching. fig. a. through anterior lobes of cerebrum. fig. b. through posterior lobes of cerebrum. fig. c. through thalamencephalon. fig. d. through optic thalami and optic chiasma. fig. e. through optic lobes and infundibulum. fig. f. through optic lobes and cerebellum. fig. g. through optic lobes and cerebellum, slightly in front of fig. f. plate . figs. a, b, c. figures of adult brain. fig. a. from the side. fig. b. from above. fig. c. from below. fig. . longitudinal vertical section through the eye of an embryo, about a week after hatching, shewing the vascular membrane surrounding the vitreous humour. fig. . diagram shewing the arrangement of the vessels in the vascular membrane of the vitreous humour of adult eye. fig. . capillaries of the same vascular membrane. fig. . transverse section through anterior part of trunk of an embryo on the ninth day after impregnation, shewing the pronephros and pronephric chamber. fig. . transverse section through the region of the stomach of an embryo millims. in length, shortly after hatching, to shew the glomerulus and peritoneal funnel of pronephros. fig. . transverse section through posterior part of the body of an embryo, about a month after hatching, shewing the structure of the mesonephros, the spiral valve, &c. plate . figs. , , , and are a series of transverse sections through the genital ridge and mesonephros of one side from a larva of centims. fig. . section of the lymphatic organ which lies in front of the mesonephros. fig. . section near the anterior end of the mesonephros, where the genital sack is completely formed. fig. . section somewhat further back, shewing the mode of formation of the genital sack. fig. . section posterior to the above, the formation of the genital sack not having commenced, and the genital ridge with primitive germinal cells projecting freely into the body-cavity. fig. a. view of the testis, mesorchium, and duct of the kidney of the left side of an adult male example of _lepidosteus_, centims. in length, shewing the vasa efferentia and the longitudinal canal at the base of the mesorchium. the kidney ducts have been cut open posteriorly to shew the structure of the interior. fig. b. inner aspect of the posterior lobe of the testis from the same example, to shew the vasa efferentia forming a network on the face of the testis. figs. a and b. two sections shewing the structure and relations of the efferent ducts of the testis in the same example. fig. a. section through the inner aspect of a portion of the testis and mesorchium, to shew the network of the vasa efferentia (_nve_) becoming continuous with the seminal tubes (_st_). the granular matter nearly filling the vasa efferentia and the seminal tubes represent the spermatozoa. fig. b. section through part of the kidney and its duct and the longitudinal canal (_lc_) at the base of the mesorchium. canals (_sc_) are seen passing off from the latter, which enter the kidney and join the uriniferous tubuli. some of the latter (as well as the seminal tubes) are seen to be filled with granular matter, which we believe to be the remains of spermatozoa. fig. . diagram of the urinogenital organs of the left side of an adult female example of _lepidosteus_ centims. in length. this figure shews the oviduct (_od_) continuous with the investment of the ovary, opening at _od´_ into the dilated part of the kidney duct (segmental duct). it also shews the segmental duct and the junction of the latter with its fellow of the right side to form the so-called bladder, this part being represented as cut open. the kidney (_k_) and lymphatic organ (_ly_) in front of it are also shewn. plate . fig. . transverse section through the developing pancreas (_p_) of a larva millims. in length. fig. . longitudinal section through portions of the stomach, liver, and duodenum of an embryo about a month after hatching, to shew the relations of the pancreas (_p_) to the surrounding parts. fig. . external view of portions of the liver, stomach, duodenum, &c., of a young fish, centims. in length, to shew the pancreas (_p_). fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the trunk of an embryo, about a month after hatching, shewing the connection of the air-bladder with the throat (_ab´_). fig. . transverse section through the same embryo as fig. further back, shewing the posterior part of the air-bladder (_ab_). fig. . viscera of an adult female, centims. in length, shewing the alimentary canal with its appended glands in natural position, and the air-bladder with its aperture into the throat (_ab´_). the proximal part of the duodenum and the terminal part of the intestine are represented as cut open, the former to shew the pyloric valve and the apertures of the pyloric cæca and bile duct, and the latter to shew the spiral valve. this figure was drawn for us by professor a. c. haddon. plate . fig. . transverse section through the tail of an advanced larva, shewing the neural and hæmal processes, the independently developed interneural and interhæmal elements (_is_), and the commencing dermal fin-rays (_df_). fig. . side view of the tail of a larva, minims. in length, dissected so as to shew the structure of the skeleton. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the vertebral column of a larva, . centims. in length, on the level of the hæmal arches, shewing the intervertebral rings of cartilage continuous with the arches, the vertebral constriction of the notochord, &c. figs. and . transverse sections through the vertebral column of a larva of . centims. the red represents bone, and the blue cartilage. fig. . through the vertebral region, shewing the neural and hæmal arches, the notochordal sheath, &c. fig. . through the intervertebral region, shewing the intervertebral cartilage. figs. and . transverse sections through the trunk of a larva of . centims. to shew the structure of the ribs and hæmal arches. fig. . through the anterior part of the trunk. fig. . through the posterior part of the trunk. plate . figs. - . transverse sections through the trunk of the same larva as figs. and . fig. . through the posterior part of the trunk (rather further back than fig. ). fig. . through the anterior part of the tail. fig. . rather further back than fig. . fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the vertebral column of a larva of centims., passing through the level of the hæmal arches, and shewing the intervertebral constriction of the notochord, the ossification of the cartilage, &c. fig. . transverse section through a vertebral region of the vertebral column of a larva centims. in length. fig. . transverse section through an intervertebral region of the same larva as fig. . fig. . side view of two trunk vertebræ of an adult _lepidosteus_. fig. . front view of a trunk vertebra of adult. in figures and the red does not represent bone as in the other figures, but simply the ligamentum longitudinale superius. xxiii. on the nature of the organ in adult teleosteans and ganoids, which is usually regarded as the head-kidney or pronephros[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xxii., . while working at the anatomy of _lepidosteus_ i was led to doubt the accuracy of the accepted accounts of the anterior part of the kidneys in this[ ] and in allied species of fishes. in order to test my doubts i first examined the structure of the kidneys in the sturgeon (acipenser), of which i fortunately had a well-preserved specimen. footnote : i am about to publish, in conjunction with mr parker, a full account of the anatomy and development of lepidosteus [no. xxii. of this edition], and shall therefore in this paper make no further allusion to it. the bodies usually described as the kidneys consist of two elongated bands, attached to the dorsal wall of the abdomen, and extending for the greater part of the length of the abdominal cavity. in front each of these bands first becomes considerably narrowed, and then expands and terminates in a great dilatation, which is usually called the head-kidney. along the outer border of the hinder part of each kidney is placed a wide ureter, which ends suddenly in the narrow part of the body, some little way behind the head-kidney. to the naked eye there is no distinction in structure between the part of the so-called kidney in front of the ureter and that in the region of the ureter. any section through the kidney in the region of the ureter suffices to shew that in this part the kidney is really formed of uriniferous tubuli with numerous malpighian bodies. just in front, however, of the point where the ureter ends the true kidney substance rapidly thins out, and its place is taken by a peculiar tissue formed of a trabecular work filled with cells, which i shall in future call lymphatic tissue. _thus the whole of that part of the apparent kidney in front of the ureter, including the whole of the so-called head-kidney, is simply a great mass of lymphatic tissue, and does not contain a single uriniferous tubule or malpighian body._ the difference in structure between the anterior and posterior parts of the so-called kidney, although not alluded to in most modern works on the kidneys, appears to have been known to stannius, at least i so interpret a note of his in the second edition of his _comparative anatomy_, p. , where he describes the kidney of the sturgeon as being composed of two separate parts, viz. a spongy vascular substance (no doubt the so-called head-kidney) and a true secretory substance. after arriving at the above results with reference to the sturgeon i proceeded to the examination of the structure of the so-called head-kidney in teleostei. i have as yet only examined four forms, viz. the pike (_esox lucius_), the smelt (_osmerus eperlanus_), the eel (_anguilla anguilla_), and the angler (_lophius piscatorius_). the external features of the apparent kidney of the pike have been accurately described by hyrtl[ ]. he says: "the kidneys extend from the second trunk vertebra to the end of the abdominal cavity. their anterior extremities, which have the form of transversely placed coffee beans, are united together, and lie on the anterior end of the swimming bladder. the continuation of the kidney backwards forms two small bands, separated from each other by the whole breadth of the vertebral column. they gradually, however, increase in breadth, so that about the middle of the vertebral column they unite together and form a single symmetrical, keel-shaped body," &c. footnote : "das uropoëtische system der knochenfische," _sitz. d. wien. akad._, . the pike i examined was a large specimen of about centimètres in length, and with an apparent kidney of about - / centimètres. the relations of lymphatic tissue and kidney tissue were much as in the sturgeon. the whole of the anterior swelling, forming the so-called head-kidney, together with a considerable portion of the part immediately behind, forming not far short of half the whole length of the apparent kidney, was entirely formed of lymphatic tissue. the posterior part of the kidney was composed of true kidney substance, but even at centimètres from the front end of the kidney the lymphatic tissue formed a large portion of the whole. a rudiment of the duct of the kidney extended forwards for a short way into the lymphatic substance beyond the front part of the functional kidney. in the smelt (_osmerus eperlanus_) the kidney had the typical teleostean form, consisting of two linear bands stretching for the whole length of the body-cavity, and expanding into a great swelling in front on the level of the ductus cuvieri, forming the so-called head-kidney. the histological examination of these bodies shewed generally the same features as in the case of the sturgeon and pike. the posterior part was formed of the usual uriniferous tubuli and malpighian bodies. the anterior swollen part of these bodies, and the part immediately following, were almost wholly formed of a highly vascular lymphatic tissue; but in a varying amount in different examples portions of uriniferous tubules were present, mainly, however, in the region behind the anterior swelling. in some cases i could find no tubules in the lymphatic tissue, and in all cases the number of them beyond the region of the well-developed part of the kidney was so slight, that there can be little doubt that they are functionless remnants of the anterior part of the larval kidney. their continuation into the anterior swelling, when present, consisted of a single tube only. in the eel (_anguilla anguilla_), which, however, i have not examined with the same care as the smelt, the true excretory part of the kidney appears to be confined to the posterior portion, and to the portion immediately in front of the anus, the whole of the anterior part of each apparent kidney, which is not swollen in front, being composed of lymphatic tissue. _lophius piscatorius_ is one of the forms which, according to hyrtl[ ], is provided with a head-kidney only, _i.e._ with that part of the kidney which corresponds with the anterior swelling of the kidney of other types. for this reason i was particularly anxious to investigate the structure of its kidneys. footnote : "das uropoëtische system der knochenfische," _sitz. d. wien. akad._, . each of these bodies forms a compact oval mass, with the ureter springing from its hinder extremity, situated in a forward position in the body-cavity. sections through the kidneys shewed that they were throughout penetrated by uriniferous tubules, but owing to the bad state of preservation of my specimens i could not come to a decision as to the presence of malpighian bodies. the uriniferous tubules were embedded in lymphatic tissue, similar to that which forms the anterior part of the apparent kidneys in other teleostean types. with reference to the structure of the teleostean kidneys, the account given by stannius is decidedly more correct than that of most subsequent writers. in the note already quoted he gives it as his opinion that there is a division of the kidney into the same two parts as in the sturgeon, viz. into a spongy vascular part and a true secreting part; and on a subsequent page he points out the absence or poverty of the uriniferous tubules in the anterior part of the kidney in many of our native fishes. prior to the discovery that the larvæ of teleosteans and ganoids were provided with two very distinct excretory organs, viz. a pronephros or head-kidney, and a mesonephros or wolffian body, which are usually separated from each other by a more or less considerable interval, it was a matter of no very great importance to know whether the anterior part of the so-called kidney was a true excretory organ. in the present state of our knowledge the question is, however, one of considerable interest. in the cyclostomata and amphibia the pronephros is a purely larval organ, which either disappears or ceases to be functionally active in the adult state. rosenberg, to whom the earliest satisfactory investigations on the development of the teleostean pronephros are due, stated that he had traced in the pike (_esox lucius_) the larval organ into the adult part of the kidney, called by hyrtl the pronephros; and subsequent investigators have usually assumed that the so-called head-kidney of adult teleosteans and ganoids is the persisting larval pronephros. we have already seen that rosenberg was entirely mistaken on this point, in that the so-called head-kidney of the adult is not part of the true kidney. from my own studies on young fishes i do not believe that the oldest larvæ investigated by rosenberg were sufficiently advanced to settle the point in question; and, moreover, as rosenberg had no reason for doubting that the so-called head-kidney of the adult was part of the excretory organ, he does not appear to have studied the histological structure of the organ which he identified with the embryonic pronephros in his oldest larva. the facts to which i have called attention in this paper demonstrate that in the sturgeon the larval pronephros undoubtedly undergoes atrophy before the adult stage is reached. the same is true for _lepidosteus_, and may probably be stated for ganoids generally. my observations on teleostei are clearly not sufficiently extensive to _prove_ that the larval pronephros _never_ persists in this group. they appear to me, however, to shew that in the normal types of teleostei the organ usually held to be the pronephros is actually nothing of the kind. a different interpretation might no doubt be placed upon my observations on _lophius piscatorius_, but the position of the kidney in this species appears to me to be far from affording a conclusive proof that it is homologous with the anterior swelling of the kidney of more normal teleostei. when, moreover, we consider that lophius, and the other forms mentioned by hyrtl as being provided with a head-kidney only, are all of them peculiarly modified and specialized types of teleostei, it appears to me far more natural to hold that their kidney is merely the ordinary teleostean kidney, which, like many of their other organs, has become shifted in position, than to maintain that the ordinary excretory organ present in other teleostei has been lost, and that a larval organ has been retained, which undergoes atrophy in less specialized teleostei. as the question at present stands, it appears to me that the probabilities are in favour of there being no functionally active remains of the pronephros in adult teleostei, and that in any case the burden of proof rests with those who maintain that such remnants are to be found. the general result of my investigations is thus to render it probable _that the pronephros, though found in the larvæ or embryos of almost all the ichthyopsida, except the elasmobranchii, is always a purely larval organ, which never constitutes an active part of the excretory system in the adult state_. this conclusion appears to me to add probability to the view of gegenbaur that the pronephros is the primitive excretory gland of the chordata; and that the mesonephros or wolffian body, by which it is replaced in existing ichthyopsida, is phylogenetically a more recent organ. in the preceding pages i have had frequent occasion to allude to the lymphatic tissue which has been usually mistaken for part of the excretory organ. this tissue is formed of trabecular work, like that of lymphatic glands, in the meshes of which an immense number of cells are placed, which may fairly be compared with the similarly placed cells of lymphatic glands. in the sturgeon a considerable number of cells are found with peculiar granular nuclei, which are not found in the teleostei. in both groups, but especially in the teleostei, the tissue is highly vascular, and is penetrated throughout by a regular plexus of very large capillaries, which appear to have distinct walls, and which pour their blood into the posterior cardinal vein as it passes through the organ. the relation of this tissue to the lymphatic system i have not made out. the function of the tissue is far from clear. its great abundance, highly vascular character, and presence before the atrophy of the pronephros, appear to me to shew that it cannot be merely the non-absorbed remnant of the latter organ. from its size and vascularity it probably has an important function; and from its structure this must either be the formation of lymph corpuscles or of blood corpuscles. in structure it most resembles a lymphatic gland, though, till it has been shewn to have some relation to the lymphatic system, this can go for very little. on the whole, i am provisionally inclined to regard it as a form of lymphatic gland, these bodies being not otherwise represented in fishes. xxiv.--a renewed study of the germinal layers of the chick. by f. m. balfour and f. deighton[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, vol. xxii. n. s. . (with plates , , .) the formation of the germinal layers in the chick has been so often and so fully dealt with in recent years, that we consider some explanation to be required of the reasons which have induced us to add to the long list of memoirs on this subject. our reasons are twofold. in the first place the principal results we have to record have already been briefly put forward in a _treatise on comparative embryology_ by one of us; and it seemed desirable that the data on which the conclusions there stated rest should be recorded with greater detail than was possible in such a treatise. in the second place, our observations differ from those of most other investigators, in that they were primarily made with the object of testing a theory as to the nature of the primitive streak. as such they form a contribution to comparative embryology; since our object has been to investigate how far the phenomena of the formation of the germinal layers in the chick admit of being compared with those of lower and less modified vertebrate types. we do not propose to weary the reader by giving a new version of the often told history of the views of various writers on the germinal layers in the chick, but our references to other investigators will be in the main confined to a comparison of our results with those of two embryologists who have published their memoirs since our observations were made. one of them is l. gerlach, who published a short memoir[ ] in april last, and the other is c. koller, who has published his memoir[ ] still more recently. both of them cover part of the ground of our investigations, and their results are in many, though not in all points, in harmony with our own. both of them, moreover, lay stress on certain features in the development which have escaped our attention. we desired to work over these points again, but various circumstances have prevented our doing so, and we have accordingly thought it best to publish our observations as they stand, in spite of their incompleteness, merely indicating where the most important gaps occur. footnote : "ueb. d. entodermale entstehungsweise d. chorda dorsalis," _biol. centralblatt_, vol. . nos. and . footnote : "untersuch. üb. d. blätterbildung im hühnerkeim," _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. xx. . our observations commence at a stage a few hours after hatching, but before the appearance of the primitive streak. the area pellucida is at this stage nearly spherical. in it there is a large oval opaque patch, which is continued to the hinder border of the area. this opaque patch has received the name of the embryonic shield--a somewhat inappropriate name, since the structure in question has no very definite connection with the formation of the embryo. koller describes, at this stage, in addition to the so-called embryonic shield, a sickle-shaped opaque appearance at the hinder border of the area pellucida. we have not made any fresh investigations for the purpose of testing koller's statements on this subject. embryologists are in the main agreed as to the structure of the blastoderm at this stage. there is (pl. , ser. a, and ) the epiblast above, forming a continuous layer, extending over the whole of the area opaca and area pellucida. in the former its cells are arranged as a single row, and are cubical or slightly flattened. in the latter the cells are more columnar, and form, in the centre especially, more or less clearly, a double row; many of them, however, extend through the whole thickness of the layer. we have obtained evidence at this stage which tends to shew that at its outer border the epiblast grows not merely by the division of its own cells, but also by the addition of cells derived from the yolk below. the epiblast has been observed to extend itself over the yolk by a similar process in many invertebrate forms. below the epiblast there is placed, in the peripheral part of the area opaca, simply white yolk; while in a ring immediately outside and concentric with the area pellucida, there is a closely-packed layer of cells, known as the _germinal wall_. the constituent cells of this wall are in part relatively small, of a spherical shape, with a distinct nucleus, and a granular and not very abundant protoplasm; and in part large and spherical, filled up with highly refracting yolk particles of variable size, which usually render the nucleus (which is probably present) invisible (a, and ). this mass of cell rests, on its outer side, on a layer of white yolk. the sickle-shaped structure, visible in surface veins, is stated by koller to be due to a special thickening of the germinal wall. we have not found this to be a very distinctly marked structure in our sections. in the region of the area pellucida there is placed below the epiblast a more or less irregular layer of cells. this layer is continuous, peripherally, with the germinal wall; and is composed of cells, which are distinguished both by their flattened or oval shape and more granular protoplasm from the epiblast-cells above, to which, moreover, they are by no means closely attached. amongst these cells a few larger cells are usually present, similar to those we have already described as forming an important constituent of the germinal wall. we have figured two sections of a blastoderm of this age (ser. a, and ) mainly to shew the arrangement of these cells. a large portion of them, considerably more flattened than the remainder, form a continuous membrane over the whole of the area pellucida, except usually for a small area in front, where the membrane is more or less interrupted. this layer is the hypoblast (_hy._). the remaining cells are interposed between this layer and the epiblast. in front of the embryonic shield there are either comparatively few or none of these cells present (ser. a, ), but in the region of the embryonic shield they are very numerous (ser. a, ), and are, without doubt, the main cause of the opacity of this part of the area pellucida. these cells may be regarded as not yet completely differentiated segmentation spheres. in many blastoderms, not easily distinguishable in surface views from those which have the characters just described, the hypoblastic sheet is often much less completely differentiated, and we have met with other blastoderms, again, in which the hypoblastic sheet was completely established, except at the hinder part of the embryonic shield; where, in place of it and of the cells between it and the epiblast, there was only to be found a thickish layer of rounded cells, continuous behind with the germinal wall. in the next stage, of which we have examined surface views and sections, there is already a well-formed primitive streak. the area pellucida is still nearly spherical, the embryonic shield has either disappeared or become much less obvious, but there is present a dark linear streak, extending from the posterior border of the area pellucida towards the centre, its total length being about one third, or even less, of the diameter of the area. this streak is the _primitive streak_. it enlarges considerably behind, where it joins the germinal wall. by koller and gerlach it is described as joining the sickle-shaped structure already spoken of. we have in some instances found the posterior end of the primitive streak extending laterally in the form of two wings (pl. , fig. l). these extensions are, no doubt, the sickle; but the figures given by koller appear to us somewhat diagrammatic. one or two of the figures of early primitive streaks in the sparrow, given by kupffer and benecke[ ], correspond more closely with what we have found, except that in these figures the primitive streak does not reach the end of the area pellucida, which it certainly usually does at this early stage in the chick. footnote : "photogramme d. ontogenie d. vogel." nova acta. k. leop. carol, _deutschen akad. d. naturfor_. bd. x. , . sections through the area pellucida (pl. , ser. b and c) give the following results as to the structure of its constituent parts. the epiblast cells have undergone division to a considerable extent, and in the middle part, especially, are decidedly more columnar than at an earlier stage, and distinctly divided into two rows, the nuclei of which form two more or less distinct layers. in the region in front of the primitive streak the cells of the lower part of the blastoderm have arranged themselves as a definite layer, the cells of which are not so flat as is the case with the hypoblast cells of the posterior part of the blastoderm, and in the older specimens of this stage they are very decidedly more columnar than in the younger specimens. the primitive streak is however the most interesting structure in the area pellucida at this stage. the feature which most obviously strikes the observer in transverse sections through it is the fact, proved by kölliker, that it is mainly due to a proliferation of the epiblast cells along an axial streak, which, roughly speaking, corresponds with the dark line visible in surface views. in the youngest specimens and at the front end of the primitive streak, the proliferated cells do not extend laterally beyond the region of their origin, but in the older specimens they have a considerable lateral extension. the hypoblast can, in most instances, be traced as a distinct layer underneath the primitive streak, although it is usually less easy to follow it in that region than elsewhere, and in some cases it can hardly be distinctly separated from the superjacent cells. the cells, undoubtedly formed by a proliferation of the epiblast, form a compact mass extending downwards towards the hypoblast; but between this mass and the hypoblast there are almost always present along the whole length of the primitive streak a number of cells, more or less loosely arranged, and decidedly more granular than the proliferated cells. amongst these loosely arranged cells there are to be found a certain number of large spherical cells filled with yolk granules. sometimes these cells are entirely confined to the region of the primitive streak, at other times they are continuous laterally with cells irregularly scattered between the hypoblast and epiblast (ser. c, ), which are clearly the remnants of the undifferentiated cells of the embryonic shield. the junction between these cells and the cells of the primitive streak derived from the epiblast is often obscure, the two sets of cells becoming partially intermingled. the facility with which the cells we have just spoken of can be recognized varies moreover greatly in different instances. in some cases they are very obvious (ser. c), while in other cases they can only be distinguished by a careful examination of good sections. the cells of the primitive streak between the epiblast and the hypoblast are without doubt mesoblastic, and constitute the first portion of the mesoblast which is established. the section of these cells attached to the epiblast, in our opinion, clearly originates from the epiblast; while the looser cells adjoining the hypoblast must, it appears to us, be admitted to have their origin in the indifferent cells of the embryonic shield, placed between the epiblast and the hypoblast, and also very probably in a distinct proliferation from the hypoblast below the primitive streak. posteriorly the breadth of the streak of epiblast which buds off the cells of the primitive streak widens considerably, and in the case of the blastoderm with the earliest primitive streaks extends into the region of the area opaca. the widening of the primitive streak behind is shewn in ser. b, ; ser. c, ; and ser. e, . where very marked it gives rise to the sickle-shaped appearance upon which so much stress has been laid by koller and gerlach. in the case of one of the youngest of our blastoderms of this stage in which we found in surface views (pl. , fig. l) a very well-marked sickle-shaped appearance at the hind end of the primitive streak, the appearance was caused, as is clearly brought out by our sections, by a thickening of the hypoblast of the germinal wall. there is a short gap in our observations between the stage with a young primitive streak and the first described stage in which no such structure is present. this gap has been filled up both by gerlach and koller. gerlach states that during this period a small portion of the epiblast, within the region of the area opaca, but close to the posterior border of the area pellucida, becomes thickened by a proliferation of its cells. this portion gradually grows outwards laterally, forming in this way a sickle-shaped structure. from the middle of this sickle a process next grows forward into the area pellucida. this process is the primitive streak, and it is formed, like the sickle, of proliferating epiblast cells. koller[ ] described the sickle and the growth forwards from it of the primitive streak in surface views somewhat before gerlach; and in his later memoir has entered with considerable detail into the part played by the various layers in the formation of this structure. footnote : "beitr. z. kenntuiss d. hühmerkeims im beginne d. bebrütung," _sitz. d. k. akad. wiss._ iv. abth. . he believes, as already mentioned, that the sickle-shaped structure, which appears according to him at an earlier stage than is admitted by gerlach, is in the first instance due to a thickening of the hypoblast. at a later stage he finds that the epiblast in the centre of the sickle becomes thickened, and that a groove makes its appearance in this thickening which he calls the "sichel-rinne." this groove is identical with that first described by kupffer and benecke[ ] in the sparrow and fowl. we have never, however, found very clear indications of it in our sections. footnote : _die erste entwick. an eier d. reptilien._ königsberg. . in the next stage, koller states that, in the region immediately in front of the "sichel-rinne," a prominence appears which he calls the sichelknopf, and from this a process grows forwards which constitutes the primitive streak. this structure is in main derived from a proliferation of epiblast cells, but koller admits that some of the cells just above the hypoblast in the region of the sichelknopf are probably derived from the hypoblast. since these cells form part of the mesoblast it is obvious that koller's views on the origin of the mesoblast of the primitive streak closely approach those which we have put forward. the primitive streak starting, as we have seen, at the hinder border of the area pellucida, soon elongates till it eventually occupies at least two-thirds of the length of the area. as koller (_loc. cit._) has stated, this can only be supposed to happen in one of two ways, viz. either by a progression forward of the region of epiblast budding off mesoblast, or by an interstitial growth of the area of budding epiblast. koller adopts the second of these alternatives, but we cannot follow him in doing so. the simplest method of testing the point is by measuring the distance between the front end of the primitive streak and the front border of the area pellucida at different stages of growth of the primitive streak. if this distance diminishes with the elongation of the primitive streak then clearly the second of the two alternatives is out of the question. we have made measurements to test this point, and find that the diminution of the space between the front end of the primitive streak and the anterior border of the area pellucida is very marked up to the period in which the medullary plate first becomes established. we can further point in support of our view to the fact that the extent of the growth lateralwards of the mesoblast from the sides of the primitive streak is always less in front than behind; which would seem to indicate that the front part of the streak is the part formed latest. our view as to the elongation of the primitive streak appears to be that adopted by gerlach. our next stage includes roughly the period commencing slightly before the first formation of a groove along the primitive streak, known as the primitive groove, and terminating immediately before the first trace of the notochord makes its appearance. after the close of the last stage the primitive streak gradually elongates, till it occupies fully two-thirds of the diameter of the area pellucida. the latter structure also soon changes its form from a circular to an oval, and finally becomes pyriform with the narrow end behind, while the primitive streak occupying two-thirds of its long axis becomes in most instances marked by a light linear band along the centre, which constitutes the primitive groove. in surface views the primitive streak often appears to stop short of the hinder border of the area pellucida. during the period in which the external changes, which we have thus briefly described, take place in the area pellucida, great modifications are effected in the characters of the germinal layers. the most important of these concern the region in front of the primitive streak; but they will be better understood if we commence our description with the changes in the primitive streak itself. in the older embryos belonging to our last stage we pointed out that the mesoblast of the primitive streak was commencing to extend outwards from the median line in the form of two lateral sheets. this growth of the mesoblast is continued rapidly during the present stage, so that during the latter part of it any section through the primitive streak has approximately the characters of ser. i, . the mesoblast is attached in the median line to the epiblast. laterally it extends outwards to the edge of the area pellucida, and in older embryos may even form a thickening beyond the edge (fig. g). beneath the denser part of the mesoblast, and attached to the epiblast, a portion composed of stellate cells may in the majority of instances be recognized, especially in the front part of the primitive streak. we believe these stellate cells to be in the main directly derived from the more granular cells of the previous stage. the hypoblast forms a sheet of flattened cells, which can be distinctly traced for the whole breadth of the area pellucida, though closely attached to the mesoblast above. in sections we find that the primitive streak extends back to the border of the area pellucida, and even for some distance beyond. the attachment to the epiblast is wider behind; but the thickness of the mesoblast is not usually greater in the median line than it is laterally, and for this reason probably the posterior part of the streak fails to shew up in surface views. the thinning out of the median portion of the mesoblast of the primitive streak is shewn in a longitudinal section of a duck's blastoderm of this stage (fig. d). the same figure also shews that the hypoblastic sheet becomes somewhat thicker behind, and more independent of the parts above. a careful study of the peripheral part of the area pellucida, in the region of the primitive streak, in older embryos of this stage, shews that the hypoblast is here thickened, and that its upper part, _i.e._ that adjoining the mesoblast, is often formed of stellate cells, many of which give the impression of being in the act of passing into the mesoblast above. at a later stage the mesoblast of the vascular area undoubtedly receives accessions of cells from the yolk below; so that we see no grounds for mistrusting the appearances just spoken of, or for doubting that they are to be interpreted in the sense suggested. we have already stated that during the greater part of the present stage a groove, known as the primitive groove, is to be found along the dorsal median line of the primitive streak. the extent to which this groove is developed appears to be subject to very great variation. on the average it is, perhaps, slightly deeper than it is represented in ser. i, . in some cases it is very much deeper. one of the latter is represented in fig. g. it has here the appearance of a narrow slit, and sections of it give the impression of the mesoblast originating from the lips of a fold; in fact, the whole structure appears like a linear blastopore, from the sides of which the mesoblast is growing out; and this as we conceive actually to be the true interpretation of the structure. other cases occur in which the primitive groove is wholly deficient, or at the utmost represented by a shallow depression along the median axial line of a short posterior part of the primitive streak. we may now pass to the consideration of the part of the area pellucida in front of the primitive streak. we called attention to a change in the character of the hypoblast cells of this region as taking place at the end of the last stage. during the very early part of this stage the change in the character of these cells becomes very pronounced. what we consider to be our earliest stage in this change we have only so far met with in the duck, and we have figured a longitudinal and median section to shew it (pl. , fig. d). the hypoblast (_hy_) has become a thick layer of somewhat cubical cells several rows deep. these cells, especially in front, are characterized by their numerous yolk spherules, and give the impression that part of the area pellucida has been, so to speak, reclaimed from the area opaca. _posteriorly, at the front end of the primitive streak, the thick layer of hypoblast, instead of being continuous with the flattened hypoblast under the primitive streak, falls, in the axial line, into the mesoblast of the primitive streak_ (pl. , fig. d). in a slightly later stage, of which we have specimens both of the duck and chick, but have only figured selected sections of a chick series, still further changes have been effected in the constitution of the hypoblast (pl. , ser. h, and ). near the front border of the area pellucida ( ) it has the general characters of the hypoblast of the duck's blastoderm just described. slightly further back the cells of the hypoblast have become differentiated into stellate cells several rows deep, _which can hardly be resolved in the axial line into hypoblast and mesoblast_, though one can fancy that in places, especially laterally, they are partially differentiated into two layers. the axial sheet of stellate cells is continuous laterally with cubical hypoblast cells. as the primitive streak is approached an axial prolongation forwards of the rounded and closely-packed mesoblastic elements of the primitive streak is next met with; and at the front end of the primitive streak, where this prolongation unites with the epiblast, it also becomes continuous with the stellate cells just spoken of. in fact, close to the end of the primitive streak it becomes difficult to say which mesoblast cells are directly derived from the primitive layer of hypoblast in front of the primitive streak, and which from the forward growth of the mesoblast of the primitive streak. there is, in fact, as in the earlier stage, a fusion of the layers at this point. sections of a slightly older chick blastoderm are represented in pl. , ser. i, , , , and . nearly the whole of the hypoblast in front of the primitive streak has now undergone a differentiation into stellate cells. in the second section the products of the differentiation of this layer form a distinct mesoblast and hypoblast laterally, while in the median line they can hardly be divided into two distinct layers. in a section slightly further back the same is true, except that we have here, in the axial line above the stellate cells, rounded elements derived from a forward prolongation of the cells of the primitive streak. in the next section figured, passing through the front end of the primitive streak, the axial cells have become continuous with the axial mesoblast of the primitive streak, while below there is an independent sheet of flattened hypoblast cells. the general result of our observations on the part of the blastoderm in front of the primitive streak during this stage is to shew that the primitive hypoblast of this region undergoes considerable changes, including a multiplication of its cells; and that these changes result in its becoming differentiated on each side of the middle line, with more or less distinctness, into ( ) a hypoblastic sheet below, formed of a single row of flattened cells, and ( ) a mesoblast plate above formed of stellate cells, while in the middle line there is a strip of stellate cells in which there is no distinct differentiation into two layers. since the region in which these changes take place is that in which the medullary plate becomes subsequently formed, the lateral parts of the mesoblast plate are clearly the permanent lateral plates of the trunk, from which the mesoblastic somites, &c., become subsequently formed; _so that the main part of the mesoblast of the trunk is not directly derived from the primitive streak_. before leaving this stage we would call attention to the presence, in one of our blastoderms of this stage, of a deep pit at the junction of the primitive streak with the region in front of it (pl. , ser. f, and ). such a pit is unusual, but we think it may be regarded as an exceptionally early commencement of that most variable structure in the chick, the neurenteric canal. the next and last stage we have to deal with is that during which the first trace of the notochord and of the medullary plate make their appearance. in surface views this stage is marked by the appearance of a faint dark line, extending forwards, from the front end of the primitive streak, to a fold, which has in the mean time made its appearance near the front end of the area pellucida, and constitutes the head fold. pl. , ser. k, represents a series of sections through a blastoderm of this stage, which have been selected to illustrate the mode of formation of the notochord. in a section immediately behind the head fold the median part of the epiblast is thicker than the lateral parts, forming the first indication of a medullary plate (ser. k, ). below the median line of the epiblast is a small cord of cells, not divided into two layers, but continuous laterally, both with the hypoblast and mesoblast, which are still more distinctly separated than in the previous stage. a section or so further back (ser. k, ) the axial cord, which we need scarcely say is the rudiment of the notochord, is thicker, and causes a slight projection in the epiblast above. it is, as before, continuous laterally, both with the mesoblast and with the hypoblast. the medullary plate is more distinct, and a shallow but unmistakable medullary groove has made its appearance. as we approach the front end of the primitive streak the notochord becomes (ser. k, ) very much more prominent, though retaining the same relation to the germinal layers as in front. in the section immediately behind (ser. k, ) the convex upper surface of the notochord has become continuous with the epiblast for a very small region. the section, in fact, traverses the front end of the primitive streak. in the next section the attachment between the epiblast and the cells below becomes considerably wider. it will be noticed that this part of the primitive streak is placed on the floor of the wide medullary groove, and there forms a prominence known as the anterior swelling of the primitive streak. it will further be noticed that in the two sections passing through the primitive streak, the hypoblast, instead of simply becoming continuous with the axial thickening of the cells, as in front, forms a more or less imperfect layer underneath it. this layer becomes in the sections following still more definite, and forms part of the continuous layer of hypoblast present in the region of the primitive streak. a comparison of this stage with the previous one shews very clearly that the notochord is formed out of the median plate of cells of the earlier stage, which was not divided into mesoblast and hypoblast, together with the short column of cells which grew forwards from the primitive streak. the notochord, from its mode of origin, is necessarily continuous behind with the axial cells of the primitive streak. the sections immediately behind the last we have represented shew a rudiment of the neurenteric canal of the same form as that first figured by gasser, viz. a pit perforating the epiblast with a great mass of rounded cells projecting upwards through it. * * * * * the observations just recorded practically deal with two much disputed points in the ontogeny of birds, viz. the origin of the mesoblast and the origin of the notochord. with reference to the first of these our results are briefly as follows: the first part of the mesoblast to be formed is that which arises in connection with the primitive streak. this part is in the main formed by a proliferation from an axial strip of the epiblast along the line of the primitive streak, but in part also from a simultaneous differentiation of hypoblast cells also along the axial line of the primitive streak. the two parts of the mesoblast so formed become subsequently indistinguishable. the second part of the mesoblast to be formed is that which gives rise to the lateral plates of mesoblast of the head and trunk of the embryo. this part appears as two plates--one on each side of the middle line--which arise by direct differentiation from the hypoblast in front of the primitive streak. they are continuous behind with the lateral wings of mesoblast which grow out from the primitive streak, and on their inner side are also at first continuous with the cells which form the notochord. in addition to the parts of mesoblast, formed as just described, the mesoblast of the vascular area is in a large measure developed by a direct formation of cells round the nuclei of the germinal wall. the mesoblast formed in connection with the primitive streak gives rise in part to the mesoblast of the allantois, and ventral part of the tail of the embryo (?), and in part to the vascular structures found in the area pellucida. with reference to the formation of the mesoblast of the primitive streak, our conclusions are practically in harmony with those of koller; except that koller is inclined to minimise the share taken by the hypoblast in the formation of the mesoblast of the primitive streak. gerlach, with reference to the formation of this part of the mesoblast, adopts the now generally accepted view of kölliker, according to which the whole of the mesoblast of the primitive streak is derived from the epiblast. as to the derivation of the lateral plates of mesoblast of the trunk from the hypoblast of the anterior part of the primitive streak, our general result is in complete harmony with gerlach's results, although in our accounts of the details of the process we differ in some not unimportant particulars. as to the origin of the notochord, our main result is that this structure is formed as an actual thickening of the primitive hypoblast of the anterior part of the area pellucida. we find that it unites posteriorly with a forward growth of the axial tissue of the primitive streak, while it is laterally continuous, at first, both with the mesoblast of the lateral plates and with the hypoblast. at a later period its connection with the mesoblast is severed, while the hypoblast becomes differentiated as a continuous layer below it. as to the hypoblastic origin of the notochord, we are again in complete accord with gerlach; but we differ from him in admitting that the notochord is continuous posteriorly with the axial tissue of the primitive streak, and also at first continuous with the lateral plates of mesoblast. the account we have given of the formation of the mesoblast may appear to the reader somewhat fantastic, and on that account not very credible. we believe, however, that if the view which has been elsewhere urged by one of us, that the primitive streak is the homologue of the blastopore of the lower vertebrates is accepted, the features we have described receive an adequate explanation. the growth outwards of part of the mesoblast from the axial line of the primitive streak is a repetition of the well-known growth from the lips of the blastopore. it might have been anticipated that all the layers would fuse along the line of the primitive streak, and that the hypoblast as well as part of the mesoblast would grow out from it. there is, however, clearly a precocious formation of the hypoblast; but the formation of the mesoblast of the primitive streak, partly from the epiblast and partly from the hypoblast, is satisfactorily explained by regarding the whole structure as the blastopore. the two parts of the mesoblast subsequently become indistinguishable, and their difference in origin is, on the above view, to be regarded as simply due to a difference of position, and not as having a deeper significance. the differentiation of the lateral plates of mesoblast of the trunk directly from the hypoblast is again a fundamental feature of vertebrate embryology, occurring in all types from amphioxus upwards, the meaning of which has been fully dealt with in the _treatise on comparative embryology_ by one of us. lastly, the formation of the notochord from the hypoblast is the typical vertebrate mode of formation of this organ, while the fusion of the layers at the front end of the primitive streak is the universal fusion of the layers at the dorsal lip of the blastopore, which is so well known in the lower vertebrate types. explanation of plates - . n. b. the series of sections are in all cases numbered from before backwards. list of reference letters. _a.p._ area pellucida. _ep._ epiblast. _ch._ notochord. _gr._ germinal wall. _hy._ hypoblast. _m._ mesoblast. _o.p._ area opaca. _pr.g._ primitive groove. _pvs._ primitive streak. _yk._ yolk of germinal wall. plate . series a, and . sections through the blastoderm before the appearance of primitive streak. . section through anterior part of area pellucida in front of embryonic shield. the hypoblast here forms an imperfect layer. the figure represents about half the section. . section through same blastoderm, in the region of the embryonic shield. between the epiblast and hypoblast are a number of undifferentiated cells. the figure represents considerably more than half the section. series b, , and . sections through a blastoderm with a very young primitive streak. . section through the anterior part of the area pellucida in front of the primitive streak. . section through about the middle of the primitive streak. . section through the posterior part of the primitive streak. series c, and . sections through a blastoderm with a young primitive streak. . section through the front end of the primitive streak. . section through the primitive streak, somewhat behind . both figures shew very clearly the difference in character between the cells of the epiblastic mesoblast of the primitive streak, and the more granular cells of the mesoblast derived from the hypoblast. fig. d. longitudinal section through the axial line of the primitive streak, and the part of the blastoderm in front of it, of an embryo duck with a well-developed primitive streak. plate . series e, , , and . sections through blastoderm with a primitive streak, towards the end of the first stage. . section through the anterior part of the area pellucida. . section a little way behind shewing a forward growth of mesoblast from the primitive streak. . section through primitive streak. . section through posterior part of primitive streak, shewing the great widening of primitive streak behind. series f, and . sections through a blastoderm with primitive groove. . section shewing a deep pit in front of primitive streak, probably an early indication of the neurenteric canal. . section immediately following . fig. g. section through blastoderm with well-developed primitive streak, shewing an exceptionally deep slit-like primitive groove. series h, and . sections through a blastoderm with a fully-developed primitive streak. . section through the anterior part of area pellucida, shewing the cubical granular hypoblast cells in this region. . section slightly behind , shewing the primitive hypoblast cells differentiated into stellate cells, which can hardly be resolved in the middle line into hypoblast and mesoblast. plate . series i, , , , and . sections through blastoderm somewhat older than series h. . section through area pellucida well in front of primitive streak. . section through area pellucida just in front of primitive streak. . section through the front end of primitive streak. . section slightly behind . . section slightly behind . series k, , , , and . sections through a blastoderm in which the first traces of notochord and medullary groove have made their appearance. rather more than half the section is represented in each figure, but the right half is represented in and , and the left in and . . section through notochord immediately behind the head fold. . section shewing medullary groove a little behind . . section just in front of the primitive streak. and . sections through the front end of the primitive streak. fig. l. surface view of blastoderm with a very young primitive streak. xxv. the anatomy and development of peripatus capensis[ ]. footnote : from the _quarterly journal of microscopical science_, april, . (with plates - .) introduction. the late professor balfour was engaged just before his death in investigating the structure and embryology of _peripatus capensis_, with the view of publishing a complete monograph of the genus. he left numerous drawings intended to serve as illustrations to the monograph, together with a series of notes and descriptions of a large part of the anatomy of _peripatus capensis_. of this manuscript some portions were ready for publication, others were more or less imperfect; while of the figures many were without references, and others were provided with only a few words of explanation. it was obviously necessary that professor balfour's work--embodying as it did much important discovery--should be published without delay; and the task of preparing his material for the press was confided to us. we have printed all his notes and descriptions without alteration[ ]. explanations which appeared to be necessary, and additions to the text in cases in which he had prepared figures without writing descriptions, together with full descriptions of all the plates, have been added by us, and are distinguished by enclosure in square brackets[ ]. footnote : excepting in an unimportant matter of change of nomenclature used with regard to the buccal cavity. footnote : the account of the external characters, generative organs, and development, has been written by the editors. we have to thank miss balfour, professor balfour's sister, for the important service which she has rendered by preparing a large part of the beautiful drawings with which the monograph is illustrated. many of these had been executed by her under professor balfour's personal supervision; and the knowledge of his work which she then acquired has been of the greatest assistance to us in preparing the mss. and drawings for publication. since his death she has spared no pains in studying the structure of _peripatus_, so as to enable us to bring out the first part of the monograph in as complete a state as possible. it is due to her skill that the first really serviceable and accurate representation of the legs of any species of _peripatus_ available for scientific purposes are issued with the present memoir[ ]. footnote : the drawings on pl. , figs. and on pl. , and the drawings of the embryos (except fig. ), have been made by miss balfour since professor balfour's death. we have purposely refrained from introducing comments on the general bearing of the new and important results set forth in this memoir, and have confined ourselves to what was strictly necessary for the presentation of mr balfour's discoveries in a form in which they could be fully comprehended. mr balfour had at his disposal numerous specimens of _peripatus novæ zealandiæ_, collected for him by professor jeffrey parker, of christchurch, new zealand; also specimens from the cape of good hope collected by mr lloyd morgan, and brought to england by mr roland trimen in ; and others given to him by mr wood mason, together with all the material collected by mr moseley during the "challenger" voyage. a preliminary account of the discoveries as to the embryology of _peripatus_ has already been communicated to the royal society[ ]. it is intended that the present memoir shall be followed by others, comprising a complete account of all the species of the genus _peripatus_. h. m. moseley. a. sedgwick. footnote : _proc. royal soc._ . part i. description of the species. _peripatus capensis_ (fig. ). [the body is elongated, and slightly flattened dorso-ventrally. the dorsal surface is arched, and darkly pigmented; while the ventral surface is nearly flat, and of a lighter colour. the mouth is placed at the anterior end of the body, on the ventral surface. the anus is posterior and terminal. the generative opening is single and median, and placed in both sexes on the ventral surface, immediately in front of the anus. there are a pair of ringed antennæ projecting from the anterior end of the head, and a pair of simple eyes, placed on the dorsal surface at the roots of the antennæ. the appendages of the body behind the antennæ are disposed in twenty pairs. . the single pair of jaws placed within the buccal cavity in front of the true mouth opening, and consisting each of a papilla, armed at its termination with two cutting blades. . the oral papillæ placed on each side of the mouth. at their apices the ducts of the slime glands open. . the seventeen pairs of ambulatory appendages, each provided with a pair of chitinous claws at its extremity. . the anal papillæ placed on each side of the generative opening. _colour._--the following statements on this head are derived from observations of spirit specimens. the colour varies in different individuals. it always consists of a groundwork of green and bluish grey, with a greater or less admixture of brown. the chief variations in the appearance of the animal, so far as colour is concerned, depend on the shade of the green. in some it is dark, as in the specimen figured (fig. ); in others it is of a lighter shade. there is present in most specimens a fairly broad light band on each side of the body, immediately dorsal to the attachment of the legs. this band is more prominent in the lighter coloured varieties than in the dark, and is especially conspicuous in large individuals. it is due to a diminution in the green pigment, and an increase in the brown. there is a dark line running down the middle of the dorsal surface, in the middle of which is a fine whitish line. the ventral surface is almost entirely free from the green pigment, but possesses a certain amount of light brown. this brown pigment is more conspicuous and of a darker shade on the spinous pads of the foot. in parts of the body where the pigment is scarce, it is seen to be confined to the papillæ. this is especially evident round the mouth, where the sparse green pigment is entirely confined to the papillæ. in some specimens a number of white papillæ, or perhaps light brown, are scattered over the dorsal surface; and sometimes there is a scattering of green papillæ all over the ventral surface. these two peculiarities are more especially noticeable in small specimens. _ridges and papillæ of the skin._--the skin is thrown into a number of transverse ridges, along which the primary wart-like papillæ are placed. the papillæ, which are found everywhere, are specially developed on the dorsal surface, less so on the ventral. the papillæ round the lips differ from the remaining papillæ of the ventral surface in containing a green pigment. each papilla bears at its extremity a well-marked spine. the ridges of the skin are not continued across the dorsal middle line, being interrupted by the whitish line already mentioned. those which lie in the same transverse line as the legs are not continued on to the latter, but stop at the junction of the latter with the body. all the others pass round to the ventral surface and are continued across the middle line; they do not, however, become continuous with the ridges of the other side, but passing between them gradually thin off and vanish. the ridges on the legs are directed transversely to their long axes, _i.e._ are at right angles to the ridges of the rest of the body. the antennæ are ringed and taper slightly till near their termination, where they present a slight enlargement in spirit specimens, which in its turn tapers to its termination. the rings consist essentially of a number of coalesced primary papillæ, and are, therefore, beset by a number of spines like those of the primary papillæ (described below). they are more deeply pigmented than the rest of the antenna. the free end of the antenna is covered by a cap of tissue like that of the rings. it is followed by four or more rings placed close together on the terminal enlargement. there appears to be about thirty rings on the antennæ of all adults of this species. but they are difficult to count, and a number of small rings occur between them, which are not included in the thirty. the antennæ are prolongations of the dorso-lateral parts of the anterior end of the body. the eyes are paired and are situated at the roots of the antennæ on the dorso-lateral parts of the head. each is placed on the side of a protuberance which is continued as the antenna, and presents the appearance of a small circular crystalline ball inserted on the skin in this region. the rings of papillæ on that part of the head from which the antennæ arise lose their transverse arrangement. they are arranged concentrically to the antennal rings, and have a straight course forwards between the antennæ. the oral papillæ are placed at the side of the head. they are attached ventro-laterally on each side of the lips. the duct of the slime gland opens through their free end. they possess two main rings of projecting tissue, which are especially pigmented on the dorsal side; and their extremities are covered by papillæ irregularly arranged. the buccal cavity, jaws, and lips are described below. _the ambulatory appendages._--the claw-bearing legs are usually seventeen in number; but in two cases of small females we have observed that the anal papillæ bear claws, and present all the essential features of the ambulatory appendages. in one small female specimen there were twenty pairs of claw-bearing appendages, the last being like the claw-bearing anal papillæ last mentioned, and the generative opening being placed between them. the ambulatory appendages, with the exception of the fourth and fifth pairs in both sexes, and the last pair (seventeenth) in the male, all resemble each other fairly closely. a typical appendage (figs. and ) will first be described, and the small variations found in the appendages just mentioned will then be pointed out. each consists of two main divisions, a larger proximal portion, the leg, and a narrow distal claw-bearing portion, the foot. the leg has the form of a truncated cone, the broad end of which is attached to the ventro-lateral body-wall, of which it appears to be, and is, a prolongation. it is marked by a number of rings of primary papillæ, placed transversely to the long axis of the leg, the dorsal of which contain a green and the ventral a brown pigment. these rings of papillæ, at the attachment of the leg, gradually change their direction and merge into the body rings. at the narrow end of the cone there are three ventrally placed pads, in which the brown pigment is dark, and which are covered by a number of spines precisely resembling the spines of the primary papillæ. these spinous pads are continued dorsally, each into a ring of papillæ. the papillæ of the ventral row next the proximal of these spinous pads are intermediate in character between the primary papillæ and the spinous pads. each of these papillæ is larger than a normal papilla, and bears several spines (fig. ). this character of the papilla of this row is even more marked in some of the anterior legs than in the one figured; it seems probable that the pads have been formed by the coalescence of several rows of papillæ on the ventral surface of the legs. on the outer and inner sides of these pads the spines are absent, and secondary papillæ only are present. in the centre of the basal part of the ventral surface of the foot there are present a group of larger papillæ, which are of a slightly paler colour than the others. they are arranged so as to form a groove, directed transversely to the long axis of the body, and separated at its internal extremity by a median papilla from a deep pit which is placed at the point of junction of the body and leg. the whole structure has the appearance, when viewed with the naked eye, of a transverse slit placed at the base of the leg. the segmental organs open by the deep pit placed at the internal end of this structure. the exact arrangement of the papillæ round the outer part of the slit does not appear to be constant. the foot is attached to the distal end of the leg. it is slightly narrower at its attached extremity than at its free end, which bears the two claws. the integument of the foot is covered with secondary papillæ, but spines and primary papillæ are absent, except at the points now to be described. on each side of the middle ventral line of the proximal end of the foot is placed an elliptical elevation of the integument covered with spines. attached to the proximal and lateral end of this is a primary papilla. at the distal end of the ventral side of the foot on each side of the middle line is a group of inconspicuous pale elevations, bearing spines. on the front side of the distal end of the foot, close to the socket in which the claws are placed, are two primary papillæ, one dorsal and the other ventral. on the posterior side of the foot the dorsal of these only is present. the claws are sickle-shaped, and placed on papillæ on the terminal portion of the foot. the part of the foot on which they are placed is especially retractile, and is generally found more or less telescoped into the proximal part (as in the figure). the fourth and fifth pairs of legs exactly resemble the others, except in the fact that the proximal pad is broken up into three, a small central and two larger lateral. the enlarged segmental organs of these legs open on the small central division. the last ( ) leg of the male (pl. , fig. ) is characterized by possessing a well-marked white papilla on the ventral surface. this papilla, which presents a slit-like opening at its apex, is placed on the second row of papillæ counting from the innermost pad, and slightly posterior to the axial line of the leg. the anal papillæ, or as they should be called, generative papillæ, are placed one on each side of the generative aperture. they are most marked in small and least so in large specimens. that they are rudimentary ambulatory appendages is shewn by the fact that they are sometimes provided with claws, and resemble closely the anterior appendages.] part ii. alimentary canal. the alimentary canal of _peripatus capensis_ forms, in the extended condition of the animal, a nearly straight tube, slightly longer than the body, the general characters of which are shewn in figs. and . for the purposes of description, it may conveniently be divided into five regions, viz. ( ) the buccal cavity with the tongue, jaws, and salivary glands, ( ) pharynx, ( ) the oesophagus, ( ) the stomach, ( ) the rectum. _the buccal cavity._--the buccal cavity has the form of a fairly deep pit, of a longitudinal oval form, placed on the ventral surface of the head, and surrounded by a tumid lip. [the buccal cavity has been shewn by moseley to be formed in the embryo by the fusion of a series of processes surrounding the true mouth-opening, and enclosing in their fusion the jaws.] the lip is covered by a soft skin, in which are numerous organs of touch, similar to those in other parts of the skin having their projecting portions enclosed in delicate spines formed by the cuticle. the skin of the lips differs, however, from the remainder of the skin, in the absence of tubercles, and in the great reduction of the thickness of the dermis. it is raised into a series of papilliform ridges, whose general form is shewn in fig. ; of these there is one unpaired and median behind, and a pair, differing somewhat in character from the remainder, in front, and there are, in addition, seven on each side. the structures within the buccal cavity are shewn as they appear in surface views in figs. and , but their real nature is best seen in sections, and is illustrated by pl. , figs. and , representing the oral cavity in transverse section, and by pl. , figs. and , representing it in horizontal longitudinal sections. in the median line of the buccal cavity in front is placed a thick muscular protuberance, which may perhaps conveniently be called the tongue, though attached to the dorsal instead of the ventral wall of the mouth. it has the form of an elongated ridge, which ends rather abruptly behind, becoming continuous with the dorsal wall of the pharynx. its projecting edge is armed by a series of small teeth, which are thickenings of the chitinous covering, prolonged from the surface of the body over the buccal cavity. where the ridge becomes flatter behind, the row of teeth divides into two, with a shallow groove between them (pl. , fig. ). the surface of the tongue is covered by the oral epithelium, in parts of which are organs of special sense, similar to those in the skin; but its interior is wholly formed of powerful muscles. the muscles form two groups, intermingled amongst each other. there are a series of fibres inserted in the free edge of the tongue, which diverge, more or less obliquely, towards the skin at the front of the head anteriorly, and towards the pharynx behind. the latter set of fibres are directly continuous with the radial fibres of the pharynx. the muscular fibres just described are clearly adapted to give a sawing motion to the tongue, whose movements may thus, to a certain extent, be compared to those of the odontophore of a mollusc. in addition to the above set of muscles, there are also transverse muscles, forming laminæ between the fibres just described. they pass from side to side across the tongue, and their action is clearly to narrow it, and so cause it to project outwards from the buccal cavity. on each side of the tongue are placed the jaws, which are, no doubt, a pair of appendages, modified in the characteristic arthropodan manner, to subserve mastication. their structure has never been satisfactorily described, and is very complicated. they are essentially short papillæ, moved by an elaborate and powerful system of muscles, and armed at their free extremities by a pair of cutting blades or claws. the latter structures are, in all essential points, similar to the claws borne by the feet, and, like these, are formed as thickenings of the cuticle. they have therefore essentially the characters of the claws and jaws of the arthropoda, and are wholly dissimilar to the setæ of chætopoda. the claws are sickle-shaped and, as shewn in pl. , fig. , have their convex edge directed nearly straight forwards, and their concave or cutting edge pointed backwards. their form differs somewhat in the different species, and, as will be shewn in the systematic part of this memoir[ ], forms a good specific character. in _peripatus capensis_ (pl. , fig. ) the cutting surface of the outer blade is smooth and without teeth, while that of the inner blade (fig. ), which is the larger of the two, is provided with five or six small teeth, in addition to the main point. a more important difference between the two blades than that in the character of the cutting edge just spoken of, is to be found in their relation to the muscles which move them. the anterior parts of both blades are placed on two epithelial ridges, which are moved by muscles common to both blades (pl. , fig. ). posteriorly, however, the behaviour of the two blades is very different. the epithelial ridge bearing the outer blade is continued back for a short distance behind the blade, but the cuticle covering it becomes very thin, and it forms a simple epithelial ridge placed parallel to the inner blade. the cuticle covering the epithelial ridge of the inner blade is, on the contrary, prolonged behind the blade itself as a thick rod, which, penetrating backwards along a deep pocket of the buccal epithelium, behind the main part of the buccal cavity for the whole length of the pharynx, forms a very powerful lever, on which a great part of the muscles connected with the jaws find their insertion. the relations of the epithelial pocket bearing this lever are somewhat peculiar. footnote : some material for this memoir was left by prof. balfour, which will be published separately. the part of the epithelial ridge bearing the proximal part of this lever is bounded on both its outer and inner aspect by a deep groove. the wall of the outer groove is formed by the epithelial ridge of the outer blade, and that of the inner by a special epithelial ridge at the side of the tongue. close to the hinder border of the buccal cavity (as shewn in pl. , fig. , on the right hand side), the outer walls of these two grooves meet over the lever, so as completely to enclose it in an epithelial tube, and almost immediately behind this point the epithelial tube is detached from the oral epithelium, and appears in section as a tube with a chitinous rod in its interior, lying freely in the body-cavity (shewn in pl. , figs. - , _le_). this apparent tube is the section of the deep pit already spoken of. it may be traced back even beyond the end of the pharynx, and serves along its whole length for the attachment of muscles. the greater part of the buccal cavity is filled with the tongue and jaws just described. it opens dorsally and behind by the mouth into the pharynx, there being no sharp line of demarcation between the buccal cavity and the pharynx. behind the opening into the pharynx there is a continuation of the buccal cavity shewn in transverse section in fig. , and in longitudinal and horizontal section in fig. , into which there opens the common junction of the two salivary glands. this diverticulum is wide at first and opens by a somewhat constricted mouth into the pharynx above (pl. , fig. , also shewn in longitudinal and horizontal section in fig. ). behind it narrows, passing insensibly into what may most conveniently be regarded as a common duct for the two salivary glands (pl. , fig. ). _the salivary glands._--these two bodies were originally described by grube, by whom their nature was not made out, and subsequently by moseley, who regarded them as fat bodies. they are placed in the lateral compartments of the body-cavity immediately dorsal to the ventral nerve cords, and extend for a very variable distance, sometimes not more than half the length of the body, and in other instances extending for nearly its whole length. their average length is perhaps about two-thirds that of the body. their middle portion is thickest, and they thin off very much behind and to a slight extent in front. immediately behind the mouth and in front of the first pair of legs, they bend inwards and downwards, and fall (fig. ) one on each side into the hind end of the narrow section of the oral diverticulum just spoken of as the common duct for the two salivary glands. the glandular part of these organs is that extending back from the point where they bend inwards. this part (fig. ) is formed of very elongated cells supported by a delicate membrana propria. the section of this part is somewhat triangular, and the cells are so long as to leave a comparatively small lumen. the nuclei of the cells are placed close to the supporting membrane, and the remainder of the cells are filled with very closely packed secretory globules, which have a high index of refraction. it was the presence of these globules which probably led moseley to regard the salivary glands as fat bodies. the part of each gland which bends inwards must be regarded as the duct. the cells lining the ducts are considerably less columnar than those of the gland proper. their nuclei (fig. ) are situated at the free extremities instead of at the base of the cells, and they are without secretory globules. the cells lining the ducts of the salivary glands pass, without any sharp line of demarcation, into those of the oral epithelium, which are flatter and have their nuclei placed in the middle. _the pharynx._--the pharynx is a highly muscular tube (fig. ) with a triangular lumen (figs. , ), which extends from the mouth to about half way between the first and second pair of legs. it is lined by a flattish epithelium bounded by a cuticle continuous with that of the mouth. on the dorsal side is a ridge projecting into the lumen of the pharynx. this ridge may be traced forwards (pl. , figs. - ) into the tongue, and the two grooves at the side of this ridge, forming the two upper angles of the triangular lumen, may be followed into those at the sides of the tongue. the muscles of the pharynx are very highly developed, consisting of an intrinsic and an extrinsic set. the former consists, as is best seen in longitudinal sections, of (pl. , fig. ) radial fibres, arranged in somewhat wedge-shaped laminæ, between which are rings of circular fibres. the latter are thicker externally than internally, and so also appear wedge-shaped in longitudinal sections. very characteristic of the pharynx are the two sympathetic nerves placed close to the two dorsal angles of the triangular lumen (fig. , _sy_). the pharynx of peripatus is interesting in that it is unlike, so far as i know, the pharynx of any true arthropod, in all of which the region corresponding with the pharynx of peripatus is provided with relatively very thin walls. the pharynx of peripatus has, on the other hand, a very close and obvious resemblance to that of many of the chætopoda, a resemblance which is greatly increased by the characteristic course of the sympathetic nerves. the form of the lumen, as already pointed out by grube, resembles that of the nematoda. _the oesophagus._--behind the pharynx there follows a narrow oesophagus (fig. , _oe_) shewn in section in fig. . it has somewhat folded and fairly thick walls, and lies freely in the central division of the body-cavity without any mesenteric support. its walls are formed of five layers, viz. from without inwards. ( ) a peritoneal investment. ( ) a layer of longitudinal fibres. ( ) a layer of circular fibres, amongst which are numerous nuclei. ( ) a connective-tissue layer supporting ( ) a layer of fairly columnar hyaline epithelium, bounded on its inner aspect by a cuticle continued from that of the pharynx. in front it passes insensibly into the pharynx, and beyond the region where the dorsal walls of the pharynx have clearly commenced, the ventral walls still retain the characters of the oesophageal walls. the oesophagus is vertically oval in front, but more nearly circular behind. characteristic of the oesophagus is the junction of the two sympathetic nerves on its dorsal wall (fig. ). these nerves cannot be traced far beyond their point of junction. _the stomach._--the next section of the alimentary tract is the stomach or mesenteron (fig. ). it is by far the largest part of the alimentary tract, commencing at about the second pair of legs and extending nearly to the hind end of the body. it tapers both in front and behind, and is narrowest in the middle, and is marked off sharply both from the oesophagus in front and the rectum behind, and is distinguished from both of these by its somewhat pinker hue. in the retracted condition of the animal it is, as pointed out by moseley, folded in a single short dorsal loop, at about the junction of its first with its second third, and also, according to my observations, at its junction with the rectum; but in the extended condition it is nearly straight, though usually the posterior fold at the junction of the rectum is not completely removed. its walls are always marked by plications which, as both moseley and grube have stated, do not in any way correspond with the segmentation of the body. in its interior i have frequently found the chitinous remains of the skins of insects, so that we are not justified in considering that the diet is purely vegetable. it lies free, and is, like the remainder of the alimentary tract, without a mesentery. the structure of the walls of the stomach has not hitherto been very satisfactorily described. the connective tissue and muscular coats are extremely thin. there is present everywhere a peritoneal covering, and in front a fairly well-marked though very thin layer of muscles formed of an external circular and an internal longitudinal layer. in the middle and posterior parts, however, i was unable to recognize these two layers in section; although in surface view grube found an inner layer of circular fibres and an outer layer formed of bands of longitudinal fibres, which he regards as muscular. the layer supporting the epithelium is reduced to a basement membrane. the epithelial part of the wall of the stomach is by far the thickest (fig. ), and is mainly composed of enormously elongated, fibre-like cells, which in the middle part of the stomach, where they are longest, are nearly half a millimètre in length, and only about . mm. in breadth. their nuclei, as seen in fig. , are very elongated, and are placed about a quarter of the length from the base. the cells are mainly filled with an immense number of highly refracting spherules, probably secretory globules, but held by grube, from the fact of their dissolving in ether, to be fat. the epithelial cells are raised into numerous blunt processes projecting into the lumen of the stomach. in addition to the cells just described there are present in the anterior part of the stomach a fair sprinkling of mucous cells. there are also everywhere present around the bases of the columnar cells short cells with spherical nuclei, which are somewhat irregularly scattered in the middle and posterior parts of the stomach, but form in the front part a definite layer. i have not been able to isolate these cells, and can give no account of their function. the rectum extends from the end of the stomach to the anus. the region of junction between the stomach and the rectum is somewhat folded. the usual arrangement of the parts is shewn in fig. , where the hind end of the stomach is seen to be bent upon itself in a u-shaped fashion, and the rectum extending forwards under this bent portion and joining the front end of the dorsal limb of the u. the structure of the walls of the rectum is entirely different to that of the stomach, and the transition between the two is perfectly sudden. within the peritoneal investment comes a well-developed muscular layer with a somewhat unusual arrangement of its layers, there being an external circular layer and an internal layer formed of isolated longitudinal bands. the epithelium is fairly columnar, formed of granular cells with large nuclei, and is lined by a prolongation of the external cuticle. it is raised into numerous longitudinal folds, which are visible from the surface, and give a very characteristic appearance to this part of the alimentary tract. the muscular layers do not penetrate into the epithelial folds, which are supported by a connective tissue layer. nervous system. the central nervous system consists of a pair of supra-oesophageal ganglia united in the middle line, and of a pair of widely divaricated ventral cords, continuous in front with the supra-oesophageal ganglia. it will be convenient in the first instance to deal with the general anatomy of the nervous system and then with the histology. _ventral cords._--the ventral cords at first sight appear to be without ganglionic thickenings, but on more careful examination they are found to be enlarged at each pair of legs (pl. , fig. ). these enlargements may be regarded as imperfect ganglia. there are, therefore, seventeen such pairs of ganglia corresponding to the seventeen pairs of legs. there is in addition a ganglionic enlargement at the commencement of the oesophageal commissures, where the nerves to the oral papillæ are given off (pl. , fig. , _or.g._), and the region of junction between the oesophageal commissures with the supra-oesophageal ganglia, where another pair of nerves are given off to the jaws (pl. , fig. , _jn_), may be regarded as the anterior ganglion of the ventral cords. there are, therefore, according to the above reckoning, nineteen pairs of ganglia connected with the ventral cords. the ventral cords are placed each in the lateral compartments of the body-cavity, immediately within the longitudinal layer of muscles. they are connected with each other, rather like the pedal nerves of chiton and the lower prosobranchiata, by a number of commissures. these commissures exhibit a fairly regular arrangement from the region included between the first and the last pair of true feet. there are nine or ten of them between each pair of feet (pl. , fig. ). they pass along the ventral wall of the body, perforating the ventral mass of longitudinal muscles. on their way they give off nerves which innervate the skin. in _peripatus novæ zealandiæ_, and probably also in _p. capensis_, two of these nerves, coming off from each pair of ganglia, are distinguished from the remainder by the fact that they are provided with numerous nerve-cells, instead of being composed of nerve-fibres only, like the remaining commissures (pl. , fig. _gco_). in correlation with the nerves given off from them to the skin the commissures are smaller in the middle than at the two ends. posteriorly the two nerve-cords nearly meet immediately in front of the generative aperture, and between this aperture and the last pair of feet there are about six commissures passing between them (pl. , fig. ). behind the generative aperture the two cords bend upwards, and, as is shewn in fig. , fall into each other dorsally to the rectum. the section of the two cords placed dorsally to the rectum is solely formed of nerve-fibres; the nerve-cells, present elsewhere, being here absent. in front of the ganglion of the first foot the commissures have a more dorsal situation than in the remainder of the body. the median longitudinal ventral muscle here gradually thins out and comes to an end, while the commissures pass immediately below the wall of the pharynx (pl. , figs. , ). the ventral cords themselves at first approach very close to each other in this region, separating again, however, to envelope between them the pharynx (pl. , fig. ). there are eleven commissures in front of the first pair of legs (pl. , fig. ). the three foremost of these are very close together, the middle one arising in a more ventral position than the other two, and joining in the median ventral line a peculiar mass of cells placed in contact with the oral epithelium (fig. ). it is probably an organ of special sense. the ventral cords give off a series of nerves from their outer borders, which present throughout the trunk a fairly regular arrangement. from each ganglion two large nerves (figs. , , ) are given off, which, diverging somewhat from each other, pass into the feet, and, giving off branches on their way, may be traced for a considerable distance within the feet along their anterior and posterior borders. in front of each of the pair of pedal nerves a fairly large nerve may be seen passing outwards towards the side of the body (fig. ). in addition to this nerve there are a number of smaller nerves passing off from the main trunk, which do not appear to be quite constant in number, but which are usually about seven or eight. similar nerves to those behind are given off from the region in front of the first pair of legs, while at the point where the two ventral cords pass into the oesophageal commissures two large nerves (fig. ), similar to the pairs of pedal nerves, take their origin. these nerves may be traced forwards into the oral papillæ, and are therefore to be regarded as the nerves of these appendages. on the ventral side of the cords, where they approach most closely, between the oral papillæ and the first pair of legs, a number of small nerves are given off to the skin, whose distribution appears to be to the same region of the skin as that of the branches from the commissures behind the first pair of legs. from the oesophageal commissures, close to their junction with the supra-oesophageal ganglia, a nerve arises on each side which passes to the jaws, and a little in front of this, apparently from the supra-oesophageal ganglion itself, a second nerve to the jaws also takes its origin (pl. , fig. , _jn_). these two nerves i take to be homologous with a pair of pedal nerves. between the nerves to the jaws and those to the oral papillæ a number of small nerves take their origin. three of these on each side pass in a dorsal direction and one or two in a ventral one. _the supra-oesophageal ganglia._--the supra-oesophageal ganglia (figs. and ) are large, somewhat oval masses, broader in front than behind, completely fused in the middle, but free at their extremities. each of them is prolonged anteriorly into an antennary nerve, and is continuous behind with one of the oesophageal commissures. on the ventral surface of each, rather behind the level of the eye, is placed a very peculiar protuberance (fig. , _d_), of which i shall say more in dealing with the histology of the nervous system. a number of nerves arise from the supra-oesophageal ganglia, mainly from their dorsal surface. in front are the immense antennary nerves extending along the whole length of each antenna, and giving off numerous lateral twigs to the sense organs. near the origin of the antennary nerves, and rather on the dorsal surface, there spring a few small twigs, which pass to the skin, and are presumably sensory. the largest of them is shewn in pl. , fig. a. about one-third of the way back the two large optic nerves take their origin, also arising laterally, but rather from the dorsal surface (pl. , fig. d and e). each of them joins a large ganglionic mass placed immediately behind the retina. nearly on a level with the optic nerves and slightly nearer the middle dorsal line a pair of small nerves (fig. d) spring from the brain and pass upwards, while nearly in the same line with the optic nerves and a little behind them a larger pair of nerves take their origin. behind all these nerves there arises from the line of suture between the two supra-oesophageal ganglia a large median nerve which appears to supply the integument of the dorsal part of the head (pl. , fig. ; pl. , figs. - , _dn_). _sympathetic system._--in addition to the nerves just described there are two very important nerves which arise near the median ventral line, close to the hind end of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the origin of these two nerves is shewn in the surface view (fig. , _sy_, and in section in fig. ). they at first tend somewhat forwards and pass into the muscles near the epithelium lining the groove on each side of the tongue. here they suddenly bend backwards again and follow the grooves into the pharynx. the two grooves are continuous with the two dorsal angles of the pharynx; and embedded in the muscles of the pharynx, in juxtaposition with the epithelium, these two nerves may easily be traced in sections. they pass backwards the whole length of the pharynx till the latter joins the oesophagus. here they at once approach and shortly meet in the median dorsal line (fig. ). they can only be traced for a very short distance beyond their meeting point. these nerves are, without doubt, the homologues of the sympathetic system of chætopods, occupying as they do the exact position which semper has shewn to be characteristic of the sympathetic nerves in that group, and arising from an almost identical part of the brain[ ]. footnote : vide spengel, "oligognathus bonelliæ." _naples mittheilungen_, bd. iii. pl. iv. fig. . _histology of the nervous system._ _ventral cords._--the histology of the ventral cords and oesophageal commissures is very simple and uniform. they consist of a cord almost wholly formed of nerve-fibres, placed dorsally, and a ventral layer of ganglion cells (figs. and ). the fibrous portion of the cord has the usual structure, being formed mainly of longitudinal fibres, each probably being a bundle of fibres of various sizes, enveloped in a sponge-work of connective tissue. the larger bundles of fibres are placed near the inner borders of the cords. in this part of the cord there are placed a very small number of ganglion cells. the layer of ganglion cells is somewhat crescent-shaped in section, and, as shewn in figs. and , envelopes the whole ventral aspect of the fibrous parts of the cord, and even creeps up slightly on to the dorsal side. it is thicker on the inner than on the outer side, and increases considerably in bulk at each ganglionic enlargement. the cells of which it is composed are for the most part of a nearly uniform size, but at the border of the fibrous matter a fair sprinkling of larger cells is found. the tracheal vessels supplying the nervous system are placed amongst the larger cells, at the boundary between the ganglionic and fibrous regions of the cords. with reference to the peripheral nerve-stems there is not much to be said. they have for the most part a similar structure to the fibrous parts of the main cord, but are provided with a somewhat larger number of cells. _sheath of the ventral cords._--the ventral cords are enveloped by a double sheath, the two layers of which are often in contact, while in other cases they may be somewhat widely separated from each other. the inner layer is extremely thin and always very closely envelopes the nerve-cords. the outer layer is thick and fibrous, and contains a fair sprinkling of nuclei. _supra-oesophageal ganglia._--in the present state of our knowledge a very detailed description of the histology of the supra-oesophageal ganglia would be quite superfluous, and i shall confine myself to a description of the more obvious features in the arrangement of the ganglionic and fibrous portions (pl. , fig. a-g). the ganglion cells are in the first place confined, for the most part, to the surface. along the under side of each ganglion there is a very thick layer of cells, continuous behind, with the layer of ganglion cells which is placed on the under surface of the oesophageal commissures. these cells have, moreover, an arrangement very similar to that in the ventral cords, so that a section through the supra-oesophageal ganglia has an obvious resemblance to what would be the appearance of a section through the united ventral cords. on the outer borders of the ganglia the cells extend upwards, but they end on about the level of the optic nerve (fig. d). immediately dorsal to this point the fibrous matter of the brain is exposed freely on the surface (fig. a, b, &c., _a_). i shall call the region of fibrous matter so exposed the dorso-lateral horn of white matter. where the two ganglia separate in front the ganglion cells spread up the inner side, and arch over so as to cover part of the dorsal side. thus, in the anterior part, where the two ganglia are separate, there is a complete covering of ganglionic substance, except for a narrow strip, where the dorso-lateral lobe of white matter is exposed on the surface (fig. a). from the point where the two ganglia meet in front the nerve-cells extend backwards as a median strip on the dorsal surface (fig. d and e). this strip, becoming gradually smaller behind, reaches nearly, though not quite, the posterior limit of the junction of the ganglia. behind it there is, however, a region where the whole dorsal surface of the ganglia is without any covering of nerve-cells. this tongue of ganglion cells sends in, slightly behind the level of the eyes, a transverse vertical prolongation inwards into the white matter of the brain, which is shewn in the series of transverse sections in fig. e, and also in the vertical longitudinal section (pl. , fig. ), and in horizontal section in pl. , fig. . on the ventral aspect of each lobe of the brain there is present a very peculiar, bluntly conical protuberance of ganglion cells (pl. , fig. ), which was first detected by grube (no. ), and described by him as "a white thick body of a regular tetrahedral form, and exhibiting an oval dark spot in the middle of two of the faces." he further states that it is united by a delicate nerve to the supra-oesophageal ganglion, and regards it as an organ of hearing. in _peripatus capensis_ the organ in question can hardly be described as tetrahedral. it is rather of a flattened oval form, and consists, as shewn in sections (pl. , fig. c and d, _d_), mainly of ganglion cells. in its interior is a cavity with a distinct bounding membrane: the cells of which it is composed vary somewhat in size, being smallest near the point of attachment. at its free end is placed a highly refractive, somewhat oval body, probably forming what grube describes as a dark spot, half embedded in its substance, and kept in place by the sheath of nervous matter surrounding it. this body appears to have fallen out in my sections. the whole structure is attached to the under surface of the brain by a very short stalk formed of a bundle of cells and nervous fibres. it is difficult to offer any interpretation of the nature of this body. it is removed considerably from the surface of the animal, and is not, therefore, so far as i can see, adapted to serve as an organ of hearing. the distribution of the white or fibrous matter of the ganglia is not very easy to describe. there is a central lobe of white matter (fig. e), which is continuous from ganglion to ganglion, where the two are united. it is smaller behind than in front. on its ventral side it exhibits fairly well-marked transverse commissural fibres, connecting the two halves of the ganglion. laterally and somewhat ventrally it is prolonged into a horn (fig. d, e, _b_), which i propose calling the ventro-lateral horn. in front it is placed in a distinct protuberance of the brain, which is placed ventrally to and nearly in the same vertical plane as the optic nerve. this protuberance is best shewn in the view of the brain from below given in pl. , fig. . this part of the horn is characterized by the presence of large vertically-directed bundles of nerve-fibres, shewn in transverse section in fig. d. posteriorly the diameter of this horn is larger than in front (fig. e, f, g), but does not give rise to a protuberance on the surface of the brain owing to the smaller development of the median lobe behind. the median lobe of the brain is also prolonged into a dorso-lateral lobe (fig. , _a_), which, as already mentioned, is freely exposed on the surface. on its ventral border there springs the optic nerve, and several pairs of sensory nerves already described (fig. d, e), while from its dorsal border a pair of sensory nerves also spring, nearly in the same vertical plane as the optic nerves. posteriorly where the dorsal surface of the brain is not covered in with ganglion cells the dorso-lateral horn and median lobe of the brain become indistinguishable. in the front part of the brain the median lobe of white matter extends dorsalwards to the dorsal strip of ganglion cells, but behind the region of the transverse prolongation of these cells, into the white matter already described (p. ), there is a more or less distinctly defined lobe of white matter on the dorsal surface, which i propose calling the postero-dorsal lobe of white matter. it is shewn in the transverse sections (fig. f and g, _c_). it gradually thins away and disappears behind. it is mainly characterized by the presence on the ventral border of definite transverse commissural fibres. the skin. the skin is formed of three layers. . the cuticle. . the epidermis or hypodermis. . the dermis. the cuticle is a layer of about . mm. in thickness. its surface is not, however, smooth, but is everywhere, with the exception of the perioral region, raised into minute secondary papillæ, the base of which varies somewhat in diameter, but is usually not far from . mm. on the ventral surface of the body these papillæ are for the most part somewhat blunt, but on the dorsal surface they are more or less sharply pointed. in most instances they bear at their free extremity a somewhat prominent spine. the whole surface of each of the secondary papillæ just described is in its turn covered by numerous minute spinous tubercles. in the perioral region, where the cuticle is smooth, it is obviously formed of two layers which easily separate from each other, and there is i believe a similar division elsewhere, though it is not so easy to see. it is to be presumed that the cuticle is regularly shed. the epidermis, placed immediately within the cuticle, is composed of a single row of cells, which vary, however, a good deal in size in different regions of the body. the cells excrete the cuticle, and, as shewn in fig. , they stand in a very remarkable relation to the secondary papillæ of the cuticle just described. each epidermis cell is in fact placed within one of these secondary papillæ, so that the cuticle of each secondary papilla is the product of a single epidermis cell. this relation is easily seen in section, while it may also be beautifully shewn by taking a part of the skin which is not too much pigmented, and, after staining it, examining from the surface. in fig. a region of the epidermis is figured, in which the cells are exceptionally columnar. the cuticle has, moreover, in the process of cutting the section, been somewhat raised and carried away from the subjacent cells. the cells of the epidermis are provided with large oval nuclei, which contain a well-developed reticulum, giving with low powers a very granular appearance to the nuclei. the protoplasm of the cells is also somewhat granular, and the granules are frequently so disposed as to produce a very well-marked appearance of striation on the inner end of the cells. the pigment which gives the characteristic colour to the skin is deposited in the protoplasm of the outer ends of the cells in the form of small granules. an attempt is made to shew this in fig. . at the apex of most, if not all, the primary wart-like papillæ there are present oval aggregations, or masses of epidermis cells, each such mass being enclosed in a thickish capsule (fig. ). the cells of these masses appear to form the wall of a cavity which leads into the hollow interior of a long spine. these spines when carefully examined with high objectives present a rather peculiar structure. the base of the spine is enveloped by the normal cuticle, but the spine itself, which terminates in a very fine point, appears, as shewn in fig. , to be continuous with the inner layer of the cuticle. in the perioral region the outer layer of the cuticle, as well as the inner, appear to be continued to the end of the spines. within the base of the spine there is visible a finely striated substance which may often be traced into the cavity enclosed by the cells, and appears to be continuous with the cells. attached to the inner ends of most of the capsules of these organs a delicate fibrillated cord may be observed, and although i have not in any instance succeeded in tracing this cord into one of the nerve-stems, yet in the antennæ, where the nerve-stems are of an enormous size, i have satisfied myself that the minute nerves leaving the main nerve-stems and passing out towards the skin are histologically not to be distinguished from these fibrillated cords. i have therefore but little hesitation in regarding these cords as nerves. in certain regions of the body the oval aggregations of cells are extremely numerous; more especially is this the case in the antennæ, lips, and oral papillæ. on the ventral surface of the peripheral rings of the thicker sections of the feet they are also very thick set (fig. , p). they here form a kind of pad, and have a more elongated form than in other regions. in the antennæ they are thickly set side by side on the rings of skin which give such an arthropod appearance to these organs in peripatus. the arrangement of the cells in the bodies just described led me at first to look upon them as glands, but a further investigation induced me to regard them as a form of tactile organ. the arguments for this view are both of a positive and a negative kind. the positive arguments are the following: ( ) the organs are supplied with large nerves, which is distinctly in favour of their being sense organs rather than glands. ( ) the peculiar striæ at the base of the spines appear to me like the imperfectly preserved remains of sense hairs. ( ) the distribution of these organs favours the view that they are tactile organs. they are most numerous on the antennæ, where such organs would naturally be present, especially in a case like that of peripatus, where the nerve passing to the antennæ is simply gigantic. on the other hand, the antennæ would not be a natural place to look for an enormous development of dermal glands. the lips, oral papillæ, and under surface of the legs, where these bodies are also very numerous, are situations where tactile organs would be of great use. under the head of negative arguments must be classed those which tell against these organs being glandular. the most important of these is the fact that they have no obvious orifice. their cavities open no doubt into the spines, but the spines terminate in such extremely fine points that the existence of an orifice at their apex is hardly credible. another argument, from the distribution of these organs over the body is practically the converse of that already used. the distribution being as unfavourable to the view that they are glands, as it is favourable to that of their being sense organs. the tracheal system. the apertures of the tracheal system are placed in the depressions between the papillæ or ridges of the skin. each of them leads into a tube, which i shall call the tracheal pit (fig. ), the walls of which are formed of epithelial cells bounded towards the lumen of the pit by a very delicate cuticular membrane continuous with the cuticle covering the surface of the body. the pits vary somewhat in depth; the pit figured was about . mm. it perforates the dermis and terminates in the subjacent muscular layer. the investigation of the inner end of the pit gave me some little trouble. transverse sections (fig. ) through the trunk containing a tracheal opening shew that the walls of the pit expanded internally in a mushroom-like fashion, the narrow part being, however, often excentric in relation to the centre of the expanded part. although it was clear that the tracheæ started from the expanded region of the walls of the pit, i could not find that the lumen of the pit dilated into a large vesicle in this part, and further investigation proved that the tracheæ actually started from the slightly swollen inner extremity of the narrow part of the pit, the expanded walls of the pit forming an umbrella-like covering for the diverging bundles of tracheæ. i have, in fig. , attempted to make clear this relation between the expanded walls of the tracheal pits and the tracheæ. in longitudinal sections of the trunk the tracheal pits do not exhibit the lateral expansion which i have just described, which proves that the divergence of the bundles of tracheæ only takes place laterally and not in an antero-posterior direction. cells similar in general character to those of the walls of the tracheal pits are placed between the branches of tracheæ, and somewhat similar cells, though generally with more elongated nuclei, accompany the bundles of tracheæ as far as they can be followed in my sections. the structure of these parts in the adult would, in fact, lead one to suppose that the tracheæ had originated at the expense of the cells of pits of the epidermis, and that the cells accompanying the bundles of tracheæ were the remains of cords of cells which sprouted out from the blind ends of the epidermis pits and gave rise in the first instance to the tracheæ. the tracheæ themselves are extremely minute, unbranched (so far as i could follow them) tubes. each opening by a separate aperture into the base of the tracheal pit, and measuring about . mm. in diameter. they exhibit a faint transverse striation, which i take to be the indication of a spiral fibre. [moseley (_phil. trans._, , pl. , fig. ) states that the tracheæ branch, but only exceptionally.] _situation of the tracheal apertures._--moseley states (no. ) that the tracheæ arise from the skin all over the surface of the body, but are especially developed in certain regions. he finds "a row of minute oval openings on the ventral surface of the body," the openings being "situate with tolerable regularity in the centres of the interspaces between the pairs of members, but additional ones occurring at irregular intervals. other similar openings occur in depressions on the inner side of the conical foot protuberance." it is difficult in preserved specimens to make out the exact distributions of the tracheal apertures, but i have been able to make out certain points about them. there is a double row of apertures on each side of the median dorsal line, forming two sub-dorsal rows of apertures. the apertures are considerably more numerous than the legs. there is also a double row of openings, again more numerous than the legs, on each side of the median ventral line between the insertions of the legs. moseley speaks of a median row in this position. i think this must be a mistake. posteriorly the two inner rows approach very close to each other in the median ventral line, but i have never seen them in my section opening quite in the middle line. both the dorsal and ventral rows are very irregular. i have not found openings on the ventral or dorsal side of the feet but there are openings at the anterior and posterior aspects of the feet. there are, moreover, a considerable number of openings around the base of the feet. the dorsal rows of tracheal apertures are continued into the head and give rise in this situation to enormous bundles of tracheæ. in front of the mouth there is a very large median ventral tracheal pit, which gives off tracheæ to the ventral part of the nervous system, and still more in front a large number of such pits close together. the tracheæ to the central nervous system in many instances enter the nervous system bound up in the same sheath as the nerves. the muscular system. the general muscular system consists of--( ) the general wall of the body; ( ) the muscles connected with the mouth, pharynx, and jaws; ( ) the muscles of the feet; ( ) the muscles of the alimentary tract. the muscular wall of the body is formed of--( ) an external layer of circular fibres; ( ) an internal layer of longitudinal muscles; ( ) a layer of transverse fibres. the layer which i have spoken of as formed of circular fibres is formed of two strata of fibres which girth the body somewhat obliquely (pl. , fig. ). in the outer stratum the rings are arranged so that their ventral parts are behind, while the ventral parts of the rings of the inner stratum are most forward. both in the median dorsal and ventral lines the layer of circular fibres become somewhat thinner, and where the legs are attached the regularity of both strata is somewhat interfered with, and they become continuous with a set of fibres inserted in the wall of the foot. the longitudinal muscles are arranged as five bands (vide fig. ), viz. two dorsal, two lateral, and three ventral. the three ventral may be spoken of as the latero-ventral and medio-ventral bands. the transverse fibres consist of ( ) a continuous sheet on each side inserted dorsally in the cutis, along a line opposite the space between the dorsal bands of longitudinal fibres, and ventrally between the ventro-median and ventro-lateral bands. each sheet at its insertion slightly breaks up into separate bands. they divide the body-cavity into three regions--a median, containing the alimentary tract, slime glands, &c., and two lateral, which are less well developed, and contain the nervous system, salivary glands, segmental organs, &c. ( ) inserted a little dorsal to the transverse band just described is a second band which immediately crosses the first, and then passes on the outer side of the nervous cord and salivary gland, where such is present, and is inserted ventrally in the space between the ventro-lateral and lateral longitudinal band. where the feet are given off the second transverse band becomes continuous with the main retractor muscular fibres in the foot, which are inserted both on to the dorsal side and ventral side. _muscular system of the feet._--this consists of the retractors of the feet connected with the outer transverse muscle and the circular layer of muscles. in addition to these muscles there are intrinsic transverse muscles which cross the cavity of the feet in various directions (pl. , fig. ). there is no special circular layer of fibres. _histology of the muscle._--the main muscles of the body are unstriated and divided into fibres, each invested by a delicate membrane. between the membrane and muscle are scattered nuclei, which are never found inside the muscle fibres. the muscles attached to the jaws form an exception in that they are distinctly transversely striated. the body-cavity and vascular system. the body-cavity, as already indicated, is formed of three compartments--one central and two lateral. the former is by far the largest, and contains the alimentary tract, the generative organs, and the mucous glands. it is lined by a delicate endothelial layer, and is not divided into compartments nor traversed by muscular fibres. the lateral divisions are much smaller than the central, and are shut off from it by the inner transverse band of muscles. they are almost entirely filled with the nerve-cord and salivary gland in front and with the nerve-cord alone behind, and their lumen is broken up by muscular bands. they further contain the segmental organs which open into them. they are prolonged into the feet, as is the embryonic body-cavity of most arthropoda. the vascular system is usually stated to consist of a dorsal heart. i find between the dorsal bands of longitudinal fibres a vessel in a space shut off from the body-cavity by a continuation of the endothelial lining of the latter (fig. ). the vessel has definite walls and an endothelial lining, but i could not make out whether the walls were muscular. the ventral part of it is surrounded by a peculiar cellular tissue, probably, as suggested by moseley, equivalent to the fat bodies of insects. it is continued from close to the hind end of the body to the head, and is at its maximum behind. in addition to this vessel there is present a very delicate ventral vessel, by no means easy to see, situated between the cutis and the outer layer of circular muscles. segmental organs. a series of glandular organs are found in peripatus which have their external openings situated on the ventral surface of a certain number of the legs, and which, to the best of my belief, end internally by opening into the lateral compartments of the body-cavity. these organs are probably of an excretory nature, and i consider them homologous with the nephridia or segmental organs of the chætopoda. in _peripatus capensis_ they are present in all the legs. in all of them (except the first three) the following parts may be recognized: ( ) a vesicular portion opening to the exterior by a narrow passage. ( ) a coiled portion, which is again subdivided into several sections. ( ) a terminal section ending by a somewhat enlarged opening into the lateral compartment of the body-cavity. the last twelve pairs of these organs are all constructed in a very similar manner, while the two pairs situated in the fourth and fifth pairs of legs are considerably larger than those behind, and are in some respects very differently constituted. it will be convenient to commence with one of the hinder nephridia. such a nephridium from the ninth pair of legs is represented in fig. . the external opening is placed at the outer end of a transverse groove placed at the base of one of the feet, while the main portion of the organ lies in the body-cavity in the base of the leg, and extends into the trunk to about the level of the outer edge of the nerve-cord of its side. the external opening (_os_) leads into a narrow tube (_sd_), which gradually dilates into a large sack (_s_). the narrow part is lined by small epithelial cells, which are directly continuous with and perfectly similar to those of the epidermis (fig. ). it is provided with a superficial coating of longitudinal muscular fibres, which thins out where it passes over the sack, along which it only extends for a short distance. the sack itself, which forms a kind of bladder or collecting vesicle for the organ, is provided with an extremely thin wall, lined with very large flattened cells. these cells are formed of granular protoplasm, and each of them is provided with a large nucleus, which causes a considerable projection into the lumen of the sack (figs. , , _s_). the epithelial wall of the sack is supported by a membrana propria, over which a delicate layer of the peritoneal epithelium is reflected. the coiled tube forming the second section of the nephridium varies in length, and by the character of the epithelium lining it may be divided into four regions. it commences with a region lined by a fairly columnar epithelium with smallish nuclei (fig. , _sc_ ). the boundaries of the cells of this epithelium are usually very indistinct, and the protoplasm contains numerous minute granules, which are usually arranged in such a manner as to give to optical or real sections of the wall of this part of the tube a transversely striated appearance. these granules are very probably minute balls of excretory matter. the nuclei of the cells are placed near their free extremities, contrary to what might have been anticipated, and the inner ends of the cells project for very different lengths into the interior, so causing the inner boundary of the epithelium of this part of the tube to have a very ragged appearance. this portion of the coiled tube is continuous at its outer end with the thin-walled vesicle. at its inner end it is continuous with region no. of the coiled tube (fig. , _sc_ ), which is lined by small closely-packed columnar cells. this portion is followed by region no. , which has a very characteristic structure (fig. _sc_ ). the cells lining this part are very large and flat, and contain large disc-shaped nuclei, which are usually provided with large nucleoli, and often exhibit a beautiful reticulum. they may frequently be observed in a state of division. the protoplasm of this region is provided with similar granules to that in the first region, and the boundaries of the cells are usually very indistinct. the fourth region is very short (fig. , _sc_ ), and is formed of small columnar cells. it gradually narrows till it opens suddenly into the terminal section (_sot_), which ends by opening into the body-cavity, and constitutes the most distinct portion of the whole organ. its walls are formed of columnar cells almost filled by oval nuclei, which absorb colouring matters with very great avidity, and thus renders this part extremely conspicuous. the nuclei are arranged in several rows. the study of the internal opening of this part gave me some trouble. no specimens ever shew it as rounded off in the characteristic fashion of tubes ending in a cul-de-sac. it is usually somewhat ragged and apparently open. in the best preserved specimens it expands into a short funnel-shaped mouth, the free edge of which is turned back. sections confirm the results of dissections. those passing longitudinally through the opening prove its edges are turned back, forming a kind of rudimentary funnel. this is represented in fig. , from the last leg of a female. i have observed remains of what i consider to be cilia in this section of the organ. the fourth region of the organ is always placed close to the thin-walled collecting vesicle (figs. and ). in the whole of the coiled tube just described the epithelium is supported by a membrana propria, which in its turn is invested by a delicate layer of peritoneal epithelium. the fourth and fifth pairs are very considerably larger than those behind, and are in other respects peculiar. the great mass of each organ is placed behind the leg, on which the external opening is placed, immediately outside one of the lateral nerve-cords. its position is shewn in fig. . the external opening, instead of being placed near the base of the leg, is placed on the ventral side of the third ring (counting from the outer end) of the thicker portion of the leg. it leads (fig. ) into a portion which clearly corresponds with the collecting vesicle of the hinder nephridia. this part is not, however, dilated into a vesicle in the same sort of way, and the cells which form the lining epithelium have not the same characteristic structure, but are much smaller. close to the point where the vesicle joins the coiled section of the nephridium the former has a peculiar nick or bend in it. at this nick it is firmly attached to the ventral side of the foot by muscles and tracheæ, and when cut away from its attachment the muscles and tracheæ cannot easily be detached from it. the main part of the coils are formed by region no. , and the epithelial cells lining this part present very characteristically the striated appearance which has already been spoken of. the large-celled region of the coiled tube (fig. ) is also of considerable dimensions, and the terminal portion is wedged in between this and the commencing part of the coiled tube. the terminal portion with its internal opening is in its histological characters exactly similar to the homologous region in the hinder nephridia. the three pairs of nephridia in the three foremost pairs of legs are very rudimentary, consisting, so far as i have been able to make out, solely of the collecting vesicle and the duct leading from them to the exterior. the external opening is placed on the ventral side of the base of the feet, in the same situation as that of the posterior nephridia, but the histological characters of the vesicle are similar to those of the fourth and fifth pairs. generative organs. [the sexes are distinct, and the average size of the females appears to be greater than that of the males. the only outward characteristic by which the males can be distinguished from the females is the presence in the former of a small white papilla on the ventral side of the th pair of legs (pl. , fig. ). at the extremity of this papilla the modified crural gland of the last leg opens by a slit-like aperture. the generative orifice in both sexes is placed on the ventral surface of the body, close to the anus, and between the two anal papillæ, which are much more marked in small specimens than in large ones, and in two cases (of females) were observed to bear rudimentary claws. . _the male organs._ pl. , fig. . the male organs consist of a pair of testes (_te_), a pair of prostrates (_pr_) and vasa deferentia (_vd_) and accessory glandular tubules (_f_). all the above parts lie in the central compartment of the body-cavity. in addition, the accessory glandular bodies or crural glands of the last ( th) pair of legs are enlarged and prolonged into an elongated tube placed in the lateral compartment of the body-cavity (_ag_). the arrangement of these parts represented in the figure appears essentially that which moseley has already described for this species. the dilatations on the vasa deferentia, which he calls vesiculæ seminales, is not so marked; nor can the peculiar spiral twisting of this part of the vas deferens which he figures (no. ) be made out in this specimen. the testes are placed at different levels in the median compartment of the body-cavity, and both lie on the same side of the intestine (right side). the arrangement of the terminal portions of the vas deferens is precisely that described by moseley. the right vas deferens passes under both nerve-cords to join the left, and from the enlarged tube (_p_), which, passing beneath the nerve-cord of its side, runs to the external orifice. the enlarged terminal portion possesses thick muscular walls, and possibly constitutes a spermatophore maker, as has been shewn to be the case in p. n. zealandiæ, by moseley. in some specimens a different arrangement obtains, in that the left vas deferens passes under both nerve-cords to join the right. in addition to the above structures, which are all described by moseley, there are a pair of small glandular tubes (_f_), which open with the unpaired terminal portion of the vas deferens at the generative orifice. . _female organs._ pl. , fig. . the female organs consist of a median unpaired ovary and a pair of oviducts, which are dilated for a great part of their course to perform a uterine function, and which open behind into a common vestibule communicating directly with the exterior. _ovary._--in the specimen figured the following is the arrangement: the ovary lies rather to the dorsal side in the central compartment of the body-cavity, and is attached to one of the longitudinal septa separating this from the lateral compartment. it lies between the penultimate and antepenultimate pair of legs. the oviducts cross before opening to the exterior. the right oviduct passes under the rectum, and the left over the rectum. they meet by opening into a common vestibule, which in its turn opens to the exterior immediately ventral to the anus. it has not been ascertained how far this arrangement, which differs from that observed by moseley, is a normal one. the young undergo nearly the whole of their development within the uterus. they possess at birth the full number of appendages, and differ from the parent only in size and colour.] notes on additional glandular bodies in the legs [crural glands]. . they are present in all except the first. . they open externally to the nephridia (pl. , fig. ), except in the fourth and fifth pairs of legs, in which they are internal. . a muscular layer covers the whole gland, consisting, i believe, of an oblique circular layer. . the accessory gland in the male (fig. , _ag_) is probably a modification of one of these organs. [the structure and relations of these glands may be best understood by reference to pl. , fig. . each consists of a dilated vesicular portion (_fgl_) placed in the lateral compartment of the body-cavity in the foot, and of a narrow duct leading to the exterior, and opening on the ventral surface amongst the papillæ of the second row (counting from the internal of the three foot pads--fig. , p). the vesicular portion is lined by columnar cells, with very large oval nuclei, while the duct is lined by cells similar to the epidermic cells, with which they are continuous at the opening. in the last ( th) leg of the males of this species, this gland (vide above, note ) possesses a slit-like opening placed at the apex of a well-developed white papilla (pl. , fig. ). it is enormously enlarged, and is prolonged forward as a long tubular gland, the structure of which resembles that of the vesicles of the crural glands in the other legs. this gland lies in the lateral compartment of the body-cavity, and extends forward to the level of the th leg (pl. , fig. , and pl. , fig. ). it is described by professor balfour as the accessory gland of the male, and is seen in section lying immediately dorsal to the nerve-cord in fig. , _ag_.] part iii. the development of peripatus capensis. [the remarkable discoveries about the early development of peripatus, which balfour made in june last, shortly before starting for switzerland, have already been the subject of a short communication to the royal society (_proc. roy. soc._ no. , ). they relate ( ) to the blastopore, ( ) to the origin of the mesoblast. balfour left no manuscript account or notes of his discovery in connection with the drawings which he prepared in order to illustrate it, but he spoke about it to professor ray lankester and also to us, and he further gave a short account of the matter in a private letter to professor kleinenberg. in this letter, which by the courtesy of professor kleinenberg we have been permitted to see, he describes the blastopore as an elongated slit-like structure extending along nearly the whole ventral surface; and further states, as the result of his examination of the few and ill-preserved embryos in his possession, that the mesoblast appears to originate as paired outgrowths from the lips of the blastopore. the drawings left by balfour in connection with the discoveries are four in number: one of the entire embryo, shewing the slit-like blastopore and the mesoblastic somites, the other three depicting the transverse sections of the same embryo. the first drawing (fig. ), viz. that of the whole embryo, shews an embryo of an oval shape, possessing six somites, whilst along the middle of its ventral surface there are two slit-like openings, lying parallel to the long axis of the body, and placed one behind the other. the mesoblastic somites are arranged bilaterally in pairs, six on either side of these slits. the following note in his handwriting is attached to this drawing: "young larva of _peripatus capensis_.--i could not make out for certain which was the anterior end. length . millimetres." balfour's three remaining drawings (figs. - ) are, as already stated, representations of transverse sections of the embryo figured by him as a whole. they tend to shew, as he stated in the letter referred to above, that the mesoblast originates as paired outgrowths from the hypoblast, and that these outgrowths are formed near the junction of the hypoblast with the epiblast at the lips of the blastopore. in fig. the walls of the mesoblastic somites appear continuous with those of the mesenteron near the blastopore. in fig. , which is from a section a little in front of fig. , the walls of the mesoblastic somites are independent of those of the mesenteron. fig. is from a section made in front of the region of the blastopore. in all the sections the epiblast lying over the somites is thickened, while elsewhere it is formed of only one layer of cells; and this thickening subsequently appears to give rise to the nervous system. balfour in his earlier investigations on the present subject found in more advanced stages of the embryo the nerve-cords still scarcely separated from the epiblast[ ]. footnote : _comparative embryology_; original edition, vol. i. p. . [this edition, vol. ii. p. .] we have since found, in balfour's material, embryos of a slightly different age to that just described. of these, three (figs. , , ) are younger, while one (fig. ) is older than balfour's embryo. stage a.--the youngest (fig. ) is of a slightly oval form, and its greatest length is . mm. it possesses a blastopore, which is elongated in the direction of the long axis of the embryo, and is slightly narrower in its middle than at either end. from one end of the blastopore there is continued an opaque band. this we consider to be the posterior end of the blastopore of the embryo. the blastopore leads into the archenteron. stage b.--in the next stage (fig. ) the embryo is elongate-oval in form. its length is . mm. the blastopore is elongated and slightly narrowed in the middle. at the posterior end of the embryo there is a mass of opaque tissue. on each side of the blastopore are three mesoblastic somites. the length of the blastopore is . mm. stage c.--in the next stage (fig. ) the features are much the same as in the preceding. the length of the whole embryo is . mm. the following were the measurements of an embryo of this stage with five somites, but slightly younger than that from which fig. was drawn. length of embryo . mm. " blastopore . " distance between hind end of blastopore and hind end of body . " distance between front end of body and front end of blastopore . " the somites have increased to five, and there are indications of a sixth being budded off from the posterior mass of opaque tissue. the median parts of the lips of the blastopore have come together preparatory to the complete fusion by which the blastopore becomes divided into two parts. stage d.--the next stage is balfour's stage, and has been already described. the length is . . it will be observed, on comparing it with the preceding embryos, that while the anterior pair of somites in figs. and lie at a considerable distance from what we have called the anterior end of the embryo (_a_), in the embryo now under consideration they are placed at the anterior end of the body, one on each side of the middle line. we cannot speak positively as to how they come there, whether by a pushing forward of the anterior somites of the previous stage, or by the formation of new somites anteriorly to those of the previous stage. in the next stage it is obvious that this anterior pair of somites has been converted into the præoral lobes. the anterior of the two openings to which the blastopore gives rise is placed between the second pair of somites; we shall call it the embryonic mouth. the posterior opening formed from the blastopore is elongated, being dilated in front and continued back as a narrow slit (?) to very near the hind end of the embryo, where it presents a second slight dilatation. the anterior dilatation of the posterior open region of the blastopore we shall call the embryonic anus. lately, but too late to be figured with this memoir, we have been fortunate enough to find an embryo of apparently precisely the same stage as fig. . we are able, therefore, to give a few more details about the stage. the measurements of this embryo were: length of whole embryo . mm. distance from front end of body to front end of mouth . " distance from embryonic mouth to hind end of embryonic anus . " distance from hind end of embryonic anus to hind end of body . " length of embryonic anus . " " part of blastopore behind embryonic anus . " greatest width of embryo . " stage e.--in the next stage (figs. and ) the flexure of the hind end of the body has considerably increased. the anterior opening of the blastopore, the embryonic mouth, has increased remarkably in size. it is circular, and is placed between the second pair of mesoblastic somites. the anterior dilatation of the posterior opening of the blastopore, the embryonic anus, has, like the anterior opening, become much enlarged. it is circular, and is placed on the concavity of the ventral flexure. from its hind end there is continued to the hind end of the body a groove (shewn in fig. as a dotted line), which we take to be the remains of the posterior slit-like part of the posterior opening of the blastopore of the preceding stage. the posterior dilatation has disappeared. the embryo has apparently about thirteen somites, which are still quite distinct from one another, and apparently do not communicate at this stage with the mesenteron. the epiblast lying immediately over the somites is, as in the, earlier stages, thickened, and the thickenings of the two sides join each other in front of the embryonic mouth, where the anterior pair of mesoblastic somites (the præoral lobes) are almost in contact. the median ventral epiblast, _i.e._ the epiblast in the area, bounded by the embryonic mouth and anus before and behind and by the developing nerve-cords laterally, is extremely thin, and consists of one layer of very flat cells. over the dorsal surface of the body the epiblast cells are cubical, and arranged in one layer. measurements of embryo of stage e. length of embryo . mm. greatest width . " distance from front end of embryonic mouth to hind end of embryonic anus . " greatest length of embryonic mouth . " length between hind end of embryonic mouth and front end of embryonic anus . " these measurements were made with a micrometer eyepiece, with the embryo lying on its back in the position of fig. , so that they simply indicate the length of the straight line connecting the respective points. this is the last embryo of our series of young stages. the next and oldest embryo was . mm. in length. it had ringed antennæ, seventeen (?) pairs of legs, and was completely doubled upon itself, as in moseley's figure. the pits into the cerebral ganglia and a mouth and anus were present. there can be no doubt that the mouth and anus of this embryo become the mouth and anus of the adult. the important question as to the connection between the adult mouth and anus, and the embryonic mouth and anus of the stage e, must, considering the great gap between stage e and the next oldest embryo, be left open. meanwhile, we may point out that the embryonic mouth of stage e has exactly the same position as that of the adult; but that the anus is considerably in front of the hind end of the body in stage e, while it is terminal in the adult. if the embryonic mouth and anus do become the adult mouth and anus, there would appear to be an entire absence of stomodæum and proctodæum in _peripatus_, unless the buccal cavity represents the stomodæum. the latter is formed, as has been shewn by moseley, by a series of outgrowths round the simple mouth-opening of the embryo, which enclosing the jaws give rise to the tumid lips of the adult. for our determination of the posterior and anterior ends of each of these embryos, stage a to e, we depend upon the opaque tissue seen in each case at one end of the blastopore. in stage a it has the form of a band, extending backwards from the blastopore. in stages b-d, it has the form of an opaque mass of tissue occupying the whole hind end of the embryo, and extending a short distance on either side of the posterior end of the blastopore. this opacity is due in each case to a proliferation of cells of the hypoblast, and, perhaps, of the epiblast (?). there can be no doubt that the mesoblast so formed gives rise to the great majority of the mesoblastic somites. this posterior opacity is marked in stage c by a slight longitudinal groove extending backwards from the hind end of the blastopore. this is difficult to see in surface views, and has not been represented in the figure, but is easily seen in sections. but in stage d this groove has become very strongly marked in surface views, and looks like a part of the original blastopore of stage c. sections shew that it does not lead into the archenteron, but only into the mass of mesoblast which forms the posterior opacity. it presents an extraordinary resemblance to the primitive streak of vertebrates, and the ventral groove of insect embryos. we think that there can be but little doubt that it is a part of the original blastopore, which, on account of its late appearance (this being due to the late development of the posterior part of the body to which it belongs), does not acquire the normal relations of a blastopore, but presents only those rudimentary features (deep groove connected with origin of mesoblast) which the whole blastopore of other tracheates presents. we think it probable that the larval anus eventually shifts to the hind end of the body, and gives rise to the adult anus. we reserve the account of the internal structure of these embryos (stages a-e) and of the later stages for a subsequent memoir. we may briefly summarise the more important facts of the early development of _peripatus capensis_, detailed in the preceding account. . the greater part of the mesoblast is developed from the walls of the archenteron. . the embryonic mouth and anus are derived from the respective ends of the original blastopore, the middle part of the blastopore closing up. . the embryonic mouth almost certainly becomes the adult mouth, _i.e._ the aperture leading from the buccal cavity into the pharynx, the two being in the same position. the embryonic anus is in front of the position of the adult anus, but in all probability shifts back, and persists as the adult anus. . the anterior pair of mesoblastic somites gives rise to the swellings of the præoral lobes, and to the mesoblast of the head[ ]. footnote : we have seen nothing in any of our sections which we can identify as of so-called mesenchymatous origin. there is no need for us to enlarge upon the importance of these facts. their close bearing upon some of the most important problems of morphology will be apparent to all, and we may with advantage quote here some passages from balfour's _comparative embryology_, which shew that he himself long ago had anticipated and in a sense predicted their discovery. "although the mesoblastic groove of insects is not a gastrula, it is quite possible that it is the rudiment of a blastopore, the gastrula corresponding to which has now vanished from development." (_comparative embryology_, vol. i. p. , the original edition[ ].) footnote : this edition, vol. ii. p. . "tracheata.--insecta. it (the mesoblast) grows inwards from the lips of the germinal groove, which probably represents the remains of a blastopore." (_comparative embryology_, vol. ii. p. , the original edition[ ].) footnote : this edition, vol. iii. p. . "it is, therefore, highly probable that the paired ingrowths of the mesoblast from the lips of the blastopore may have been, in the first instance, derived from a pair of archenteric diverticula." (_comparative embryology_, vol. ii. p. , the original edition[ ].) footnote : this edition, vol. iii. p. . the facts now recorded were discovered in june last, only a short time before balfour started for switzerland; we know but little of the new ideas which they called up in his mind. we can only point to passages in his published works which seem to indicate the direction which his speculations would have taken. after speculating as to the probability of a genetic connection between the circumoral nervous system of the coelenterata, and the nervous system of echinodermata, platyhelminthes, chætopoda, mollusca, &c., he goes on to say: "a circumoral nerve-ring, if longitudinally extended, might give rise to a pair of nerve-cords united in front and behind--exactly such a nervous system, in fact, as is present in many nemertines (the enopla and pelagonemertes), in _peripatus_ and in primitive molluscan types (chiton, fissurella, &c.). from the lateral parts of this ring it would be easy to derive the ventral cord of the chætopoda and arthropoda. it is especially deserving of notice, in connection with the nervous system of the above mentioned nemertines and peripatus, that the commissure connecting the two nerve-cords behind is placed on the dorsal side of the intestines. as is at once obvious, by referring to the diagram (fig. b), this is the position this commissure ought, undoubtedly, to occupy if derived from part of a nerve-ring which originally followed more or less closely the ciliated edge of the body of the supposed radiate ancestor." (_comparative embryology_, vol. ii. pp. , , the original edition[ ].) footnote : this edition, vol. iii. pp. , . the facts of development here recorded give a strong additional support to this latter view, and seem to render possible a considerable extension of it along the same lines.] list of memoirs on peripatus. . m. lansdown guilding. "an account of a new genus of mollusca," _zoological journal_, vol. ii. p. , . . m. andouin and milne-edwards. "classific. des annélides et description de celles qui habitent les côtes de france," p. , _ann. scien. nat._ ser. i. vol. xxx. . . m. gervais. "Études p. servir à l'histoire naturelle des myriapodes," _ann. scien. nat._ ser. ii. vol. vii. , p. . . wiegmann. wiegmann's _archiv_, . . h. milne-edwards. "note sur le _peripate juluforme_," _ann. scien. nat._ ser. ii. vol. xviii. . . blanchard. "sur l'organisation des vers," chap. iv. pp. - , _ann. scien. nat._ ser. iii. vol. viii. . . quatrefages. "anat. des hermelles, note on," p. , _ann. scien. nat._ ser. iii. vol. x. . . quatrefages. _hist. nat. des annelés_, , appendix, pp. - . . de blainville. _suppl. au dict. des sc. nat._ vol. i. . ed. grube. "untersuchungen üb. d. bau von _peripatus edwardsii_," _archiv für anat. und physiol._ . . saenger. "moskauer naturforscher sammlung," _abth. zool._ . . h. n. moseley. "on the structure and development of _peripatus capensis_," _proc. roy. soc._ no. , . . h. n. moseley. "on the structure and development of _peripatus capensis_," _phil. trans._ vol. clxiv. . . h. n. moseley. "remarks on observations by captain hutton, director of the otago museum, on _peripatus novæ zealandiæ_," _ann. and mag. of nat. history_, jan. . . captain hutton. "observations on _peripatus novæ zealandiæ_," _ann. and mag. of nat. history_, nov. . . f. m. balfour. "on certain points in the anatomy of _peripatus capensis_," _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . . a. ernst. _nature_, march th, . explanation of plates - [ ]. footnote : the explanations of the figures printed within inverted commas are by professor balfour, the rest are by the editors. complete list of reference letters. a. anus. _a._ dorso-lateral horn of white matter in brain. _a.g._ accessory gland of male (modified accessory leg gland). _at._ antenna. _at.n._ antennary nerve. _b._ ventro-lateral horn of white matter of brain. _b.c._ body-cavity. _bl._ blastopore. c. cutis. _c._ postero-dorsal lobe of white matter of brain. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia. _cl._ claw. _c.m._ circular layer of muscles. _co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords. _co. ._ second commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _co_{ }. . mass of cells developed on second commissure. _cor._ cornea. _c.s.d._ common duct for the two salivary glands. _cu._ cuticle. _d._ ventral protuberance of brain. _d.l.m._ dorsal longitudinal muscle of pharynx. _d.n._ median dorsal nerve to integument from supra-oesophageal ganglia. _d.o._ muscular bands passing from the ventro-lateral wall of the pharynx at the region of its opening into the buccal cavity. e. eye. e. central lobe of white matter of brain. _e.n._ nerves passing outwards from the ventral cords. _ep._ epidermis. _ep.c._ epidermis cells. f. , f. , _&c._ first and second pair of feet, &c. _f._ small accessory glandular tubes of the male generative apparatus. f._g._ ganglionic enlargement on ventral nerve-cord, from which a pair of nerves to foot pass off. _f.gl._ accessory foot-gland. f._n._ nerves to feet. _g.co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords containing ganglion cells. _g.o._ generative orifice. h. heart. _h._ cells in lateral division of body-cavity. _hy._ hypoblast. _i.j._ inner jaw. _j._ jaw. _j.n._ nerves to jaws. l. lips. _l._ lens. _l.b.c._ lateral compartment of body-cavity. _le._ jaw lever (cuticular prolongation of inner jaw lying in a backwardly projecting diverticulum of the buccal cavity). _l.m._ bands of longitudinal muscles. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward diverticulum of mouth or common salivary duct which receives the salivary ducts. _me._ mesenteron. _mes._ mesoblastic somite. _m.l._ muscles of jaw lever. _m.s._ sheets of muscle passing round the side walls of pharynx to dorsal body-wall. _od._ oviduct. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _o.f.g._ orifice of duct of foot-gland. _o.j._ outer jaw. _op._ optic ganglion. _op.n._ optic nerve. _or.g._ ganglionic enlargements for oral papillæ. _or.n._ nerves to oral papillæ. _or.p._ oral papillæ. _o.s._ orifice of duct of segmental organ. _ov._ ovary. p. pads on ventral side of foot. _p._ common duct into which the vasa deferentia open. _p.c._ posterior lobe of brain. _p.d.c._ posterior commissure passing dorsal to rectum. _p.f._ internal opening of nephridium into body-cavity. _ph._ pharynx. _pi._ pigment in outer ends of epidermic cells. _pi.r._ retinal pigment. _p.n._ nerves to feet. _p.p._ primary papilla. _pr._ prostate. r. rectum. _re._ retinal rods. r. _m._ muscle of claw. _s._ vesicle of nephridium. _s_{ }. part of th or th nephridium which corresponds to vesicle of other nephridia. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sl.g._ tubules of slime gland. _s.o._ , , , _&c._ nephridia of st, nd, &c., feet. _s.o.f._ terminal portion of nephridium. _s.p._ secondary papilla. _st._ stomach. _st.e._ epithelium of stomach. _sy._ sympathetic nerve running in muscles of tongue and pharynx. _sy´_. origin of pharyngeal sympathetic nerves. t. tongue. _t._ teeth on tongue. _te._ testis. _tr._ tracheæ. _tr.c._ cells found along the course of the tracheæ. _tr.o._ tracheal stigma. _tr.p._ tracheal pit. _ut._ uterus. _v.c._ ventral nerve cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. _v.g._ imperfect ganglia of ventral cord. plate . fig. . _peripatus capensis_, x ; viewed from the dorsal surface. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) plate . fig. . a left leg of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the ventral surface; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . a right leg of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the front side. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . the last left ( th) leg of a male _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the ventral side to shew the papilla at the apex of which the accessory gland of the male, or enlarged crural gland, opens to the exterior. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) prof. balfour left a rough drawing (not reproduced) shewing the papilla, to which is appended the following note. "figure shewing the accessory genital gland of male, which opens on the last pair of legs by a papilla on the ventral side. the papilla has got a slit-like aperture at its extremity." fig. . ventral view of head and oral region of _peripatus capensis_. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) plate . figs. and are from one drawing. fig. . _peripatus capensis_ dissected so as to shew the alimentary canal, slime glands, and salivary glands; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . the anterior end of fig. enlarged; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) the dissection is viewed from the ventral side, and the lips, l., have been cut through in the middle line behind and pulled outwards, so as to expose the jaws, _j._, which have been turned outwards, and the tongue, t., bearing a median row of chitinous teeth, which branches behind into two. the junction of the salivary ducts, _s.d._, and the opening of the median duct so formed into the buccal cavity is also shewn. the muscular pharynx, extending back into the space between the st and nd pairs of legs, is followed by a short tubular oesophagus. the latter opens into the large stomach with plicated walls, extending almost to the hind end of the animal. the stomach at its point of junction with the rectum presents an s-shaped ventro-dorsal curve. a. anus. _at._ antenna. f. , f. . first and second feet. _j._ jaws. l. lips. _oe._ oesophagus. _or.p._ oral papilla. _ph._ pharynx. r. rectum. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ slime reservoir. _sl.g._ portion of tubules of slime gland. _st._ stomach. t. tongue in roof of mouth. fig. . _peripatus capensis_, x ; male. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) dissected so as to shew the nervous system, slime glands, ducts of the latter passing into the oral papilla, accessory glands opening on the last pair of legs (enlarged crural glands), and segmental organs, viewed from dorsal surface. the first three pairs of segmental organs consist only of the vesicle and duct leading to the exterior. the fourth and fifth pairs are larger than the succeeding, and open externally to the crural glands. the ventral nerve-cords unite behind dorsal to the rectum. a. anus. _a.g._ accessory generative gland, or enlarged crural gland of the th leg. _at._ antenna. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia with eyes. _co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords. _d.n._ large median nerve to dorsal integument from hinder part of brain. f. , , &c. feet. _g.o._ generative orifice. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _or.p._ oral papilla. _p.d.c._ posterior dorsal commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _ph._ pharynx. _p.n._ nerves to feet, one pair from each ganglionic enlargement. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sl.g._ tubules of slime gland. _s.o._ , , , _&c._ segmental organs. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cords. _v.g._ imperfect ganglia of ventral cords. figs. and . left jaw of _peripatus capensis_ (male), shewing reserve jaws. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . inner jaw. fig. . outer jaw. plate . figs. - . a series of six transverse sections through the head of _peripatus capensis._ fig. . the section is taken immediately behind the junction of the supra-oesophageal ganglia, _c.g._, and passes through the buccal cavity, m., and jaws, _o.j._ and _i.j._ fig. . the section is taken through the hinder part of the buccal cavity at the level of the opening of the mouth into the pharynx and behind the jaws. the cuticular rod-like continuation (_le._) of the inner jaw lying in a backwardly directed pit of the buccal cavity is shewn; on the right hand side the section passes through the opening of this pit. fig. . the section passes through the front part of the pharynx, and shews the opening into the latter of the median backward diverticulum of the mouth (m{ }), which receives the salivary ducts. it also shews the commencement of the ventral nerve-cords, and the backwardly projecting lobes of the brain. fig. . the section passes through the anterior part of the pharynx at the level of the second commissure (_co._ ), between the ventral nerve-trunks, and shews the mass of cells developed on this commissure, which is in contact with the epithelium of the backward continuation of the buccal cavity (m{ }). fig. . section through the point of junction of the salivary ducts with the median oral diverticulum. fig. . section behind the pharynx through the oesophagus. _b.c._ body-cavity. c. cutis. _c.b.c._ central compartment of body-cavity. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia. _c.m._ layer of circular muscles. _co._ commissure between ventral nerve-cords. _co._ . second commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _co{ }._ . mass of cells developed on second commissure (probably sensory). _c.s.d._ common duct for the two salivary glands. _d.l.m._ dorsal longitudinal muscles of pharynx. _d.o._ muscles serving to dilate the opening of the pharynx. _ep._ epidermis. _e.n._ nerve passing outwards from ventral nerve-cord. h. heart. _i.j._ inner jaw. _j.p._ jaw papillæ. _l._ lips of buccal cavity. _l.b.c._ lateral compartment of body-cavity. _le._ rod-like cuticular continuation of inner jaw, lying in a pit of the buccal cavity. _l.m._ bands of longitudinal muscles. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward continuation of buccal cavity. _m.l._ muscles of jaw lever. _m.s._ muscular sheets passing from side walls of pharynx to dorsal body-wall. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _o.j._ outer jaw. _ph._ pharynx. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sy._ sympathetic nerves running in muscles of tongue or pharynx. _sy{ }._ origin of sympathetic nerves to pharynx. t. tongue. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cords. figs. , . two longitudinal horizontal sections through the head of _peripatus capensis_. fig. is the most ventral. they are both taken ventral to the cerebral ganglia. in fig. dorsal tracheal pits are shewn with tracheæ passing off from them. (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.) c. cutis. _c.s.d._ common salivary duct. _ep._ epidermis. _i.j._ inner jaw. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward diverticulum of mouth. _o.j._ outer jaw. _s.d._ salivary ducts. t. tongue. _t._ teeth on tongue. _tr._ tracheæ. _tr.p._ tracheal pits. plate . fig. . "a, b, c, d, e, f, g." seven transverse sections illustrating the structure of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. (zeiss a, hartnack's camera.) _a._ dorso-lateral horn of white matter. _b._ ventro-lateral horn of white matter. _c._ postero-dorsal lobe of white matter. _d._ ventral protuberance of brain. _e._ central lobe of white matter. _o.p._ optic ganglion. "a. section through anterior portions of ganglia close to the origin of the antennary nerve. b. section a little in front of the point where the two ganglia unite. c. section close to anterior junction of two ganglia. d. section through origin of optic nerve on the right side. e. section shewing origin of the optic nerve on the left side. f. section through the dorso-median lobe of white matter. g. section near the termination of the dorsal tongue of ganglion cells." plate . fig. . portion of a transverse section through the hinder part of _peripatus capensis_ (male). the section passes through a leg, and shews the opening of the segmental organ (_o.s._), and of a crural gland, _o.f.g._, and the forward continuation of the enlarged crural gland of the th leg (_f.gl._). (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.) _a.g._ accessory gland of male (modified crural gland of last leg). c. cutis. _cl._ claw. _cu._ cuticle. _ep._ epidermis. _f.gl._ crural gland. _h._ cells in lateral compartment of body-cavity. _o.f.g._ orifice of accessory foot gland. _o.s._ opening of segmental organ. p. three spinous pads on ventral surface of foot. _pr._ prostate. r.m. retractor muscle of claw. _s._ vesicle of nephridium. _s.c.i._ region no. of coiled part of nephridium. _sl.g._ tubule of slime gland. _s.o.t._ terminal portion of nephridium. _st._ stomach. _st.e._ epithelium of stomach. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. fig. . "longitudinal vertical section through the supra-oesophageal ganglion and oesophageal commissures of _peripatus capensis_. (zeiss a a, hartnack.)" _at._ antenna. _e._ central lobe of white matter. _j._ part of jaw. _s.g._ salivary gland. fig. : drawn by miss balfour. brain and anterior part of the ventral nerve-cords of _peripatus capensis_ enlarged and viewed from the ventral surface. the paired appendages (_d_) of the ventral surface of the brain are seen, and the pair of sympathetic nerves (_sy_{ }) arising from the ventral surface of the hinder part. from the commencement of the oesophageal commissures (_oes.co._) pass off on each side a pair of nerves to the jaws (_j.n._). the three anterior commissures between the ventral nerve-cords are placed close together; immediately behind them the nerve-cords are swollen, to form the ganglionic enlargements from which pass off to the oral papillæ a pair of large nerves on each side (_or.n._). behind this the cords present a series of enlargements, one pair for each pair of feet, from which a pair of large nerves pass off on each side to the feet (_p.n_). _at.n._ antennary nerves. _co._ commissures between ventral cords. _d._ ventral appendages of brain. e. eye. _e.n._ nerves passing outwards from ventral cord. _f.g._ ganglionic enlargements from which nerves to feet pass off. _j.n._ nerves to jaws. _or.g._ ganglionic enlargement from which nerves to oral papillæ pass off. _or.n._ nerves to oral papillæ. _p.c._ posterior lobe of brain. _p.n._ nerves to feet. _s.y._ sympathetic nerves. fig. . "longitudinal horizontal section through the head of _peripatus capensis_, shewing the structure of the brain, the antennary and optic nerves, &c. (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.)" _at._ antenna. _at.n._ antennary nerve. _cor._ cornea. _e._ central mass of white matter. _l._ lens. _op.n._ optic nerve. _ph._ pharynx. _p.p._ primary papilla covered with secondary papillæ and terminating in a long spine. _sy._ pharyngeal sympathetic nerves. fig. . "eye of _peripatus capensis_, as shewn in a longitudinal horizontal section through the head. the figure is so far diagrammatic that the lens is represented as filling up the whole space between the rods and the cornea. in the actual section there is a considerable space between the parts, but this space is probably artificial, being in part caused by the shrinkage of the lens and in part by the action of the razor. (zeiss c, hartnack's camera.)" (it appears that the ganglionic region of the eye is covered by a thin capsule, which is omitted in the figure.) _cor._ cornea. _l._ lens. _op._ optic ganglion. _op.n._ optic nerve. _pi.r._ pigment. _re._ rods. _s.p._ secondary papillæ. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the dorsal skin, shewing the peculiar arrangement of the circular muscular fibres. (zeiss a, hartnack's camera.) plate . fig. . portion of ventral cord of _peripatus capensis_ enlarged, shewing two ganglionic enlargements and the origin of the nerves and commissures. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _co._ commissures. e._n._ nerves passing out from ventral cords. f._n._ nerves to feet. _g.co._ commissures between the ventral cords containing ganglion cells. _v.g._ ganglionic enlargements. fig. . segmental organ from the th pair of legs of _peripatus capensis_. this nephridium resembles those of the th legs, and differs from all the others in its large size and in the absence of any dilatation giving rise to a collecting vesicle on its external portion (enlarged). the terminal portion has the same histological characters as in the case of the hinder segmental organs. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . segmental organ or nephridium from the th pair of legs of _peripatus capensis_, shewing the external opening, the vesicle, the coiled portion and the terminal portion with internal opening (enlarged). (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _o.s._ external opening of segmental organ. _p.f._ internal opening of nephridium into the body-cavity (lateral compartment). _s._ vesicle of segmental organ. _s_{ }. portion of segmental organ of th and th legs, corresponding to vesicle of the other nephridia. _s.c._ . first or external portion of coiled tube of nephridium, lined by columnar epithelium with small nuclei; the cells project for very different distances, giving the inner boundary of this region a ragged appearance. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium, lined by small closely-packed columnar cells. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of segmental organ, lined by large flat cells with large disc-shaped nuclei. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium; this region is very short and lined by small columnar cells. _s.o.t._ terminal portion of nephridium. fig. . "portion of nephridium of the hindermost leg of _peripatus capensis_, seen in longitudinal and vertical section. the figure is given to shew the peritoneal funnel of the nephridium. portions of the collecting sack (_s._) and other parts are also represented. (zeiss b, hartnack's camera.)" _p.f._ peritoneal funnel. _s._ vesicle. _s.c. _, _s.c. _, _s.c. ._ portions of coiled tube. fig. . "section through a tracheal pit and diverging bundles of tracheal tubes" taken transversely to the long axis of the body. (zeiss e, oc. .) (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) _tr._ _tracheæ_, shewing rudimentary spiral fibre. _tr.c._ cells resembling those lining the tracheal pits, which occur at intervals along the course of the tracheæ. _tr.s._ tracheal stigma. _tr.p._ tracheal pit. fig. . "sense organs and nerves attached from antenna of _peripatus capensis_ (zeiss, immersion , oc. .)" (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) the figure shews the arrangement of the epidermis cells round the base of the spine. the spine is seen to be continuous with the inner layer of the cuticle. fig. . section through the skin of _peripatus capensis_; it shews the secondary papillæ covered with minute spinous tubercles and the relation of the epidermis to them. (the cuticle in the process of cutting has been torn away from the subjacent cells.) the cells of the epidermis are provided with large oval nuclei, and there is a deposit of pigment in the outer ends of the cells. the granules in the protoplasm of the inner ends of the cells are arranged in lines, so as to give a streaked appearance. (zeiss e, oc. .) (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) _c._ dermis. _cu._ cuticle. _ep.c._ epidermis cells. _pi._ deposit of pigment in outer ends of epidermis cells. _s.p._ secondary papillæ. fig. . female generative organs of _peripatus capensis_, × . (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) the following note was appended to this drawing: "ovary rather to dorsal side, lying in a central compartment of body-cavity and attached to one of the longitudinal septa, dividing this from the lateral compartment between the penultimate pair of legs and that next in front. the oviducts cross before opening to the exterior, the right oviduct passing under the rectum and the left over it. they meet by opening into a common vestibule, which in its turn opens below the anus. on each side of it are a pair of short papillæ (aborted feet?)." f. , . last two pairs of legs. _od._ oviduct. _ov._ ovary. _ut._ uterus. _v.c._ nerve-cord. plate . figs. - . five young embryos of _peripatus capensis_; ventral view. all, excepting fig. , from drawings by miss balfour. in figures to _a_ denotes what is probably the anterior extremity. fig. , stage a. youngest embryo found, with slightly elongated blastopore. fig. , stage b. embryo with three mesoblastic somites and elongated blastopore. the external boundaries of the somites are not distinct. fig. , stage c. embryo with five somites. the blastopore is closing in its middle portion. fig. , stage d. the blastopore has completely closed in its middle portion, and given rise to two openings, the future mouth and anus. (from a rough drawing left by professor balfour.) (zeiss a, camera oberhaus. on level of stage.) the following note was appended to this drawing in his handwriting: "young larva of _peripatus capensis_. i could not tell for certain which was the anterior end. length, . mm." fig. , stage e. embryo with about thirteen mesoblastic somites in which the flexure of the hind part of the body has commenced. the remains of the original blastopore are present as the mouth, placed between the second pair of mesoblastic somites, and the anus placed on the concavity of the commencing flexure of the hind part of the body. fig. . side view of same embryo. figs. - . drawings by professor balfour of three transverse sections through the embryo from which fig. was taken. (zeiss c, camera.) figs. and pass through the region of the blastopore. _bl._ blastopore. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _me._ mesenteron. _mes._ mesoblastic somite. fig. . male generative organs of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the dorsal surface. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _a.g._ enlarged crural glands of last pair of legs. f. , . last pairs of legs. _f._ small accessory glandular tubes. _p._ common duct into which vasa deferentia open. _p.r._ prostate. _te._ testes. _v.c._ nerve-cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. cambridge: printed by c. j. clay, m.a., and son, at the university press. transcriber's notes: underscores surround text in italics, _like this_. hyphens were spaced in ranges of small numbers to ease readability, e.g., " / - / of an inch" was changed to " / - / of an inch". raised dots in numbers were converted to decimals. superscript letters are enclosed in braces, e.g. p{ }. the greek letter, lambda, is spelled out. use of periods and commas in the abbreviations within and referring to illustrations is inconsistent. often punctuation marks do not match the illustrations to which they refer. periods were retained; commas were added to separate figure numbers from abbreviations within the figure. spacing within the abbreviations was standardized. footnotes were renumbered sequentially, indented, and moved to follow the paragraph in which the anchor occurs. there is no anchor for footnote ; anchor was placed at the spot the transcriber deemed it likely belonged. changes for consistency within the text of the book: body cavity to body-cavity body wall to body-wall choroid-slit to choroid slit develope(s) to develop(s) dog fish to dog-fish elasmobranchs to elasmobranchii entwickelung to entwicklung head-fold to head fold inter-renal to interrenal juxta-position to juxtaposition lenslike to lens-like re-agent(s) to reagent(s) omphalo-meseraic to omphalomeseraic pleuroperitoneal to pleuro-peritoneal proto-vertebra(æ) to protovertebra(æ) re-appear to reappear semi-lunar to semilunar side-fold to side fold spongework to sponge-work subgerminal to sub-germinal sub-intestinal to subintestinal sub-kingdom to subkingdom sub-notochordal to subnotochordal suboesophageal to sub-oesophageal supraoesophageal to supra-oesophageal urino-genital to urinogenital urogenital-system to urogenitalsystem, except where cited as a title of a work. verwandschaft to verwandtschaft widespread to wide-spread wood-cut(s) to woodcut(s) zool. zoot. to zool.-zoot. italics removed from eight instances of 'vide' italics, where missing, were added to 'loc. cit', 'i.e.' and 'e.g.' other changes: 'reremainder' to 'remainder' ... as compared with the remainder of ... 'on' to 'or' ... one or two words ... 'splachnopleure' to 'splanchnopleure' ... where the somatopleure and splanchnopleure unite,... 'sitzen.' to 'sitzun.' (footnote - abbreviation for 'sitzungsberichte') 'diffiulty' to 'difficulty' ... as a serious difficulty.... 'it' to 'is' ... is still very difficult to observe.... 'primive' to 'primitive' ... that such a condition could be a primitive one seemed scarcely possible.... 'opthalmicus' to 'ophthalmicus' ... to form ramus ophthalmicus superficialis ... ... as the _ramus ophthalmicus superficialis of the fifth nerve_ ... 'ureierernester' to 'ureiernester' ... nests of ova (ureiernester),... 'vascula' to 'vascular' ... the subjacent vascular stroma ... 'metozoa' to 'metazoa' ... coelenterata and the metazoa.... duplicate word 'of' removed ...'( ) of a layer of protoplasm' changed to '( ) a layer of protoplasm' ... 'protodæum' to 'proctodæum' ... the proctodæum (_pr._) has also grown ... 'is it' to 'it is' ... where it is attach to the side of the body ... 'is is' to 'is in' ... but is in some respects peculiar.... 'continous' to 'continuous' ... forms a continuous whole,... 'zussammenhang' to 'zusammenhang' ... ueber d. zusammenhang d. ... 'tranverse' to 'transverse' ... transverse sections of the head ... 'odontophor' to 'odontophore' ... of the odontophore of a mollusc.... 'lens' to 'legs' ... the last ( th) pair of legs are enlarged ... 'platyelminthes' to 'platyhelminthes' ...the nervous system of echinodermata, platyhelminthes,... note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). [illustration: photo, american museum of natural history] [illustration: _giraffes in their native african haunts_] popular science library editor-in-chief garrett p. serviss authors william j. miller hippolyte gruener a. russell bond d. w. hering loomis havemeyer ernest g. martin arthur selwyn-brown robert chenault givler ernest ingersoll wilfred mason barton william b. scott ernest j. streubel norman taylor david todd charles fitzhugh talman robin beach arranged in sixteen volumes with a history of science, glossaries and a general index _illustrated_ [illustration] volume twelve p. f. collier & son company new york copyright by p. f. collier & son company manufactured in u. s. a. zoÖlogy the science of animal life by ernest ingersoll [illustration] p. f. collier & son company new york preface in this volume, occupying the place in the series assigned to the subject "zoölogy," the writer was called upon to survey the whole range of animal life on the globe, and to keep in view the fact that these books were to be a library of science. the casual reader, with no particular interest in natural history, seeks in such a book little more than stories of animal life thought of mainly as "big game," with an appetite for the adventurous and wonderful. but beasts and birds and snakes, although they number in the aggregate thousands of kinds, are but few compared with the almost innumerable hosts of the lower orders of animal life that dwell in the wildernesses of the world, or throng in the seas, or hover about us in the air; yet they are a part of the zoölogy of the globe, and a most important part. although they may rarely have the picturesque interest that attaches to the vertebrate groups, they exhibit great beauty in many cases, and are the foundation on which the others rest, for they furnish the food on which the more highly organized creatures subsist. to the student this lower half is often more attractive than the upper half; and the history and philosophy of animal life could not be understood unless it was fully considered. the author has therefore devoted a proportionate space to the lower orders, at the expense of detailed descriptions of birds and beasts, knowing that these are easily accessible elsewhere. the arrangement of the matter in the volume is according to the latest results of critics of classification, and it illustrates, as well as any lineal arrangement can, the principle of the development of the higher classes from the inferior by a gradual evolution toward more and more complex forms. space did not permit of much exposition of methods of development, as revealed by fossils; and the volume on paleontology should be read in connection with this one. ernest ingersoll. contents chapter page i. how the globe was stocked with life ii. the sea a vast aquarium iii. a chapter of foundations iv. the humblest of animals--sponges v. flowers of the sea vi. uninvited guests vii. dwellers between tide marks viii. builders of the pearly shells ix. builders of the pearly shells--_continued_ x. animals with jointed frames xi. from butterflies to beetles and bees xii. at the doorway of the "upper classes" xiii. fishes--the aristocracy of the waters xiv. sharks--the tigers of the sea xv. the fearful devilfish and other rays xvi. bony fishes--teleostomi xvii. modern fishes--teleostei xviii. amphibians--a connecting link xix. amphibians--_continued_ xx. reptiles--monarchs of the mesozoic world xxi. serpents, good and bad xxii. birds--kings of the air xxiii. some notable water birds xxiv. vultures, falcons, and game birds xxv. from gulls to kingfishers xxvi. passerine birds xxvii. the beasts of the field--some primitive types xxviii. the gnawers xxix. mammals of the sea xxx. the world's herds and flocks xxxi. the world's herds and flocks--_continued_ xxxii. some supremely useful animals xxxiii. beasts of prey--the carnivora xxxiv. beasts of prey--_continued_ xxxv. insectivora--hedgehogs, moles, and shrews xxxvi. the bats--wing-handed mammals xxxvii. man's humble cousins list of illustrations giraffes, in their native african haunts _frontispiece_ facing page starfish and other typical life in a tide pool coral formations of the great barrier reef, australia caterpillar beginning to weave its cocoon moth and eggs caterpillar protected by form and color resembling the twigs of a tree sea horse protected by form and color resembling the marine plants among which it lives gila monster, feared, though its bite is not always deadly to man iguana, a remarkable lizard of the new world pelican, notable for its throat pouch peacock with brilliant tail spread sacred pheasant opossum mother and young anteater, which lives on insects caught in the sticky saliva of its long tongue sloth, an animal which keeps to trees and is almost helpless on the ground wart hog, one of the ugliest animals to see malay tapir, related to the pig and the rhinoceros markhor, an asiatic wild goat mountain sheep or bighorn of the rocky mountains the kudu, or striped antelope, of africa head of the greater sable antelope head of alaskan moose axis, or spotted deer of the east indies american deer with horns in velvet wolves in western north america bear in a rocky mountain forest bat, with young bat in each pouch black spider monkey ruffed lemur, attractive by its coloring mandrill, mouth open to snarl gorilla, somewhat thoughtful chimpanzees, imitating some of the ways of man chapter i how the globe was stocked with life ever since man began to think in the connected way that follows self-consciousness, he has pondered, with a mixture of fear, reverence, and curiosity, on the nature of life and its origin. the world in which he found himself was a vast mystery which, very crudely at first, he sought to penetrate. all his paths of thought led him circling back to himself as the greatest mystery of all. he struggled with the problem for thousands of years, framing fanciful guessworks, erecting elaborate structures of logic on foundations of error, emotion, and presumption, fashioning beautiful fables and theories (and waging wars to compel other men to accept them), yet found no better solution than that life must be a gift from some unknown, perhaps unknowable, source. even lately, learned philosophers, such as helmholtz and kelvin, supposed it brought to the earth (in germs) by meteorites--fragments of exploded planets that had borne life before they went to destruction; or, like arrhenius, postulated an impalpable dust, or "panspermia," scattered through all space and borne from the atmosphere of one planet to another. but all such hypotheses only threw the question of origin one step further back. meanwhile, beginning a few hundred years ago, when greater privilege of inquiry became possible in a jealous society, naturalists had tried to attack the problem from a new angle. they asked themselves whether they might not, by intensive study of living things, find the quality of life itself, hoping that if that could be done the source of it might be disclosed. in their earnest work they constantly improved their methods and their instruments, and so penetrated deeper and deeper into the constitution of plants and animals, until at last they found the ultimate particle in the cell and discovered living things so simple that they consisted of one cell alone; but why that microscopic particle was _alive_, while the grain of crystal beside it, or the drop of water in which it swam, was _not_ alive, remained unexplained. thereupon some of the naturalists fell back into the ranks of the speculative and religious persons who were content to believe the endowment of the world with life an act of a divine creator--something above and outside of nature as otherwise manifested; others asserted an equivalent but more materialistic doctrine that they styled "spontaneous generation," which presently was shown to be untrue, at least in the way they formulated it; and a third group confessed that they did not know whence life came, nor were they much concerned to know. life constantly originated by nature's productive energy this quest having failed--although it had taught much by the way--the chemists, who had been making marvelous discoveries in the inorganic lifeless half of nature, undertook a far more serious exploration of the organic living half. you have interpreted very fully, they told the naturalists, the forms, and structure, and functions of organisms, but can get no further; now let us chemists try whether we cannot find the principle of life by analyzing the _substance_ of living things. profiting by their experience, they turned to the colloids in hope of a clue. a colloid is a substance that shows no power of crystallization, and is composed of molecules united by their own affinity, and not by atomic affinity. they have a gelatinlike nature or composition, although varying greatly in chemical composition and general character. they differ widely in stability, for instance, some being easily upset by a change in conditions; and this peculiarity is of great importance in relation to the phenomena of life, for colloids enter largely into the composition of all living bodies, but always in a delicately balanced union with crystalloids. "the colloid is in fact," declared thomas graham, who first investigated its properties, "a dynamical state of matter; the crystalloid being the statical condition. the colloid possesses energia. it may be looked upon as the probable primary source of the force appearing in the phenomena of vitality." now, many of the properties of inorganic colloids approximate those found in living structures, which appear to be "alive" by reason of the conversion of the energy of the sunlight into the chemical energy of their constituent (organic) colloids. the agent in this conversion is the green substance chlorophyll in the cell or cells of the plant; and, directly or indirectly, all the energy in living things arises from this one source, transmuted by this one transformer. yet chlorophyll is far too complex a substance to arise as a first step from inorganic matter, even where conditions are suitable for life to appear; and the spontaneous production of such a thing as a bacterium would not solve the problem, for the new-born cell would have no organic food, and must at once perish. in an utterly lifeless planet inorganic colloids must first develop, and in time one of these must begin to evolve not a living cell, or anything so complex as a bacillus, but something in the way of a molecule holding a higher store of chemical energy than anything before it. later such colloids, perhaps uniting with others, would begin to condense and form more complex organic molecules, and finally effect unions with crystalloids. thus would organic complexity gradually be led up to, chlorophyll brought into being, and life appear. one of the foremost of the biochemists, prof. benjamin moore, of the university of liverpool, has summed this up picturesquely: "it was no fortuitous combination of chances, and no cosmic dust, which brought life to the womb of our ancient mother earth in the far-distant paleozoic ages, but a well-regulated orderly development, which comes to every mother earth in the universe in the maturity of her creation when the conditions arrive within the suitable limits. given the presence of matter and energy forms under the proper conditions, life must come inevitably.... if this view be the true one, there must exist a whole world of living creatures which the microscope has never shown us, leading up to bacteria and the protozoa. the brink of life lies ... away down among the colloids, and the beginning of life was not a fortuitous event occurring millions of years ago and never again repeated, but one which in its primordial stages keeps on repeating itself all the time and in our generation. so that, if all intelligent creatures were by some holocaust destroyed, up out of the depths in process of millions of years intelligent beings would once more emerge." that is to say, life arose through a recombination of forces preexisting in the cosmos, and the fact was but a step in the evolutionary process. "such evolution," the american biologist, henry fairfield osborn, declares with emphasis, "is essentially constructive, and ... is continually giving birth to an infinite variety of new forms and functions which never appeared in the universe before. it is a continuous creation or creative evolution. although this creative power is something new derived from the old, it presents the first of the numerous contrasts between the living and the lifeless world." life's borderland although in some respects a deceptive resemblance may appear between the living and the nonliving, the distinction is definite. living bodies, plant or animal, are made up of protoplasm, which, although mineral in substance, consists of a combination never found in the mineral kingdom. it gives to the body containing it the power of growth, and this growth is by additions from within. minerals may increase in size, but only by additions from without. the prime characteristics of living organisms is that they reproduce their kind, given favorable conditions. minerals never do so. a correlative of life and growth is death, but minerals never die. in the course of its career every animal or plant, in proportion to its need or the degree of complexity of its organs, develops within itself characteristic compounds, such as albumin, gluten, starch, cellulose, fat and other chemical results, not a trace of any of which is to be found in rocks or soil, or in the water or in the air. no distinction in nature is so absolute as that between the inorganic and the organic realms, the nonliving and living things, so far as our senses can perceive them. when, however, we consider the two prime divisions of the living world--animal and vegetable--so diverse in their higher developments, we find them springing from the same base in a single cell of almost structureless protoplasm, and so alike in this simplest form as to be in some cases indistinguishable--mere drops of living matter whose functions are so limited that they present no discriminative characteristics. indeed, marking a definite boundary between animals and plants may be difficult in cases much higher in the scale than these primitive globules of protoplasm. a fundamental distinction between plants and animals as we now know them is the exclusive possession by plants of the green substance chlorophyll, by the presence of which their food is transformed under the influence of sunlight into vital energy in a manner essentially different from that by which animals assimilate their substance. chlorophyll is a complex, nitrogenous, colloidal substance, produced by and always associated with, protoplasm, and related to the coloring matter of the blood of animals. it is restricted to plants, and usually resides only in definite portions of the cell; yet we have good reason for believing, as prof. william f. ganong tells us, that our present green plants were preceded in time by a colorless kind of the utmost simplicity, and without chlorophyll, which yet could make their own food from carbon dioxide and water by using the energy of chemical oxidation of soil-minerals in place of sunlight. "we have precisely such chemosynthetic organisms, a kind of soil bacteria, still living on the earth at this day; and they are doubtless the lineal descendants of the ancient forms, which probably lived in the mud of shallow seas that may be full of them yet." these ancient chemosynthetic organisms were neither animal nor plant, but both and between. they must have expanded, varied, evolved, thus originating a great many branches, most of which perished. now, from this biochemical borderland of life, let us turn our attention to the living world as we know it to-day, or as preserved for us in the "record of the rocks," pausing only to fix well in our minds the main distinctions between animals and plants. plants have no special organs for digestion or circulation, nor any nervous system. most plants absorb inorganic food, such as water, carbonic acid gas, nitrate of ammonia, phosphates, silica, etc. no animal swallows any of these minerals as food. on the other hand, plants manufacture from such materials the food on which animals exist, by the production and storage in their tissues of starch, sugar, and nitrogenous substances. the two kingdoms supplement one another. they are mutually dependent, and probably originated simultaneously. chapter ii the sea a vast aquarium no results of investigation in natural history have been more amazing than those that show the marvelous richness of the sea in plant and animal life--not merely at its warm margin, but far out in the centre of what the ancients used to call "the desert of waters"; not only at its surface, but in its profoundest depths, and under the polar ice as well as amid the tropics. sea populations differ somewhat according to situation, those of the shallow shore lines, which are of the "littoral" fauna, differ largely from those living in the open sea and belonging to the "pelagic" fauna, and there are surface swimmers, and others confined to the abysses; but virtually every class and subdivision in the animal kingdom is represented in greater or less variety in the zoölogy of the ocean. the list stretches from the merest monads to the huge sharks and still bigger whales. this multitude and diversity of animal life is possible in the sea because of an even greater plenitude of plants there, which furnish a never-failing food resource. bacteria and blue-green algæ are at the base of this. bacteria exist in all seas, as in all soils, and the fertility of nature above ground and under water depends on these microscopic organisms, whose numbers in the ocean are as incalculable as the grains of sand on its brink. in equal multitude are the diatoms, unicellular algæ with flinty cases, by which the waves are sometimes discolored over broad areas; and millions of other green plants, living alone, or in chains, minute in size, but each a chemical laboratory converting the salt water they absorb into meals for the animals that swallow them--animals in most cases almost as small and simple as the things they eat, and themselves destined to be sucked into the mouth of something a little bigger, to be in turn a tidbit for a third hungry mouth, and so on to the broiled mackerel for our own breakfast. the plankton and its phosphorescence the assemblage of plants and animals that together float or swim at or near the surface of the ocean (or other water), say within a layer of water one hundred fathoms thick, is scientifically called _plankton_ of the sea. in the open ocean, the pelagic plankton is much alike all round the world of waters, although it varies a little in composition, and still more in relative abundance, being denser in temperate than in either tropical or polar latitudes; but nowhere is it absent. the "waste of waters" teems with life. the plankton of the shallow waters near continental shores, however, presents a decidedly different assemblage from the pelagic plankton. in the pelagic plankton, single-celled animals of the groups called foraminifers and radiolarians are exceedingly prominent, and play an enormous part in the economy of the sea, although almost or quite microscopic in size. they are incased in chambered shells of lime or flint; and over vast areas in warm latitudes the ocean floor is so thickly covered with the dead shells of one kind that the mud is called globigerina ooze. they are the eaters of the microscopic plants, and themselves are food for a wide variety of hydroids and jellyfish, large and small, whose silvery forms are often visible to the voyager, and which are mostly responsible for the pale stars of phosphorescence that shine about his prow and glorify his wake in dark nights. the queen of these far swimmers is the radiant portuguese man-of-war. in the night a dragging fine-meshed net will capture more than by day of the plankton, because many little creatures that in daylight sink to considerable depths come to the surface at night. rising a step to the worms, we find them comparatively rare, but one kind of marine flatworm that abounds in midocean is rose-red and several inches long. much more numerous is another flatworm, sagitta, "which along with copepoda, salpæ, pteropoda and radiolaria, everywhere constitute the bulk of the small pelagic organisms" captured by towing nets. like almost all of these usually defenseless creatures they are perfectly transparent, but some of them depart from the rule of pale blue in tint and shine in bright red. a longer step takes us to the crustacea, represented in the pelagic plankton by queer little shrimplike forms that in countless hosts of individuals play a part in the ocean comparable to that of insects on land. the copepods are the most numerous probably--little things only a fraction of an inch in length, but amazingly abundant, and the principal users of plant food. their relatives, the little ostracods, have similar habits, and are noted for their intense phosphorescence. haeckel relates that on his way to ceylon he saw the entire sea like a twinkling ocean of light, and his microscope showed him that it was made by throngs of ostracods, with some jellyfishes, salpæ and worms. crustaceans of higher rank abound also. in northern waters species of schizopoda, small, transparent prawns with red spots around the mouth and big, black eyes, swarm in enormous numbers, and are known to the fishermen as "kril." an important part of the pelagic plankton consists of certain small mollusks; and "as regards abundance of individuals few groups of pelagic animals can compare with the winged snails, or pteropoda." these are minute, rapidly swimming creatures with thin, glassy shells, and in some parts of the warmer oceans these discarded shells are so numerous on the bottom that they give the name pteropod ooze to the mud. one kind (limacina), with a coiled shell about the size of a pinhead, which abounds in the north atlantic, is much feared by the norwegian fishermen because they very often spoil the herring that feed on them. another kind (clione), looking somewhat like a reddish butterfly an inch or so long, swims in shoals in the icy seas of the far north, and is known as "whales' food." some larger mollusks, of which the beautiful purple ianthina is most conspicuous, live among the vast patches of floating seaweed in the sargasso sea. great numbers and variety of tunicates or ascidians and their larvæ are taken in the surface nets of the sea naturalists, among them the salpæ--free-swimming, barrel-shaped, transparent animals well known to all seafaring people, and often seen crowding the surface of the ocean. one genus of them is pyrosoma, which has from the earliest days excited the interest of mankind, mainly on account of the strong phosphorescent light emitted, the name, indeed, meaning "fire animal." these salpæ aggregate into colonies often several yards in length which glow like fiery serpents as they move sinuously on their way. this property of luminosity, so widely possessed by marine animals, is one of the unsolved mysteries. it is called "phosphorescence," because it resembles the cold light given by phosphorus when undergoing slow oxidation, but phosphorus has nothing to do with the manifestation here, or in such insects as the firefly; nor is it owing to bacteria, as in the case of shining wood or decaying fish. what it really is no one knows, but it has, at least, been learned that in animals the power of emitting light is always attributable to certain structures of a glandular nature that secrete a slimy, luminous substance, or, rather, two substances, one luciferin and the other luciferase. when both together are exposed to seawater phosphorescent light results. as a rule, the light organ is surrounded by a layer of black pigment that acts as a reflector, and often the light is projected through a transparent lens; and there is reason to believe that in the case of the higher animals, such as deep-sea fishes and squids, the rays may be thrown when and where the creature desires, as a man handles an electric flashlight. but for what purpose? is it to illuminate the surrounding water so as to perceive, or to attract prey, or is it to avoid foes? a learned oceanographer replies that no one certainly knows. "at all events," he concludes, "the answers would probably tend to show that the many different kinds of light organs serve different purposes." prisoners in the dark and icy depths so much for the surface population of the ocean--the plankton layer is regarded as a hundred fathoms thick. we have considered only that over the mid-oceanic depths, but that of the shallow margins is different simply in the absence of some purely pelagic creatures, and in the presence of vast hordes of eggs and larvæ of the animals rooted in the sand or attached to the rocks and weeds from high-water mark down to a comparatively short distance below low-water mark. these i shall speak of more completely hereafter. before that, however, i want to say a few words in regard to the extraordinary inhabitants of the ocean's depths--depths which in some places exceed the elevation of the highest mountains on the land. the conditions under which animal life exists there are vastly different from those at the surface, and it is not surprising to find these creatures of an extraordinary character. the pressure exerted by water on anything lowered into it increases at a rapid rate as the object sinks, so that at a depth of only fathoms it equals about times the pressure at the surface. this contributes to the density of underlying waters; the saltiness of the sea also adds to the water's density, but this decreases slightly from the surface downward. more important than density in its effect on living things is temperature. in the sargasso sea in summer the water at the surface will indicate about degrees f., and at fathoms of depth degrees, below which it diminishes slowly to a little below the freezing point-- degrees f. the water below a few hundred fathoms may therefore be regarded as a series of layers measured by degrees of density, temperature, etc., and this means a series of biological strata in each of which the denizens are more or less limited by unfavorable conditions above and below them. a fourth factor conditioning deep-sea life is that of light. the sunlight penetrates to a much greater distance than was formerly believed; and experiments with photographic plates show that the blue rays may sink as far as fathoms, but the red rays go much less down. below that glimmer is absolute darkness, illuminated only by the phosphorescent glow of the lanterns carried by the animals moving about in that stygian and icy abode--which would seem to us the most dreadful fate to which any creature on the globe is born. it has been said that the ocean depths seem to be divided into horizontal zones, certain groups of animals being confined, when adults, within limits of depth determined by conditions suitable to them, one zone above the other. practically, however, these intermediate life-zones can hardly be defined, and vary in different seas, and under changing conditions, as of season, and so forth. animals taken only by deep hauls of the nets within the tropics, for instance, may be captured in cooler latitudes near the surface; furthermore, the vertical distribution of fishes, as a class, may differ from that of crustaceans as a class. nevertheless it is true in general that many sorts of pelagic animals dwell at intermediate depths, from which, when they have become mature, they cannot either rise or descend any great distance. among them are representatives of all the classes of marine life. let us now consider the creatures of the lowest level--those abysmal depths where eternal cold, stillness, darkness, and equability unite to make an environment so forbidding that human imagination would refuse to people it with living beings; yet where life and strife do actually exist, although by no means uniformly distributed. we know most about it as it exists in the bed of the north atlantic. the real bottom animals are mainly fixed--sponges, hydroids, sea anemones, bryozoans, brittle-stars, crinoids, brachiopods, holothurians, worms and mollusks. they are nowhere numerous remote from a shore, and below , fathoms are very scarce, to judge by the results of dredging. their food comes wholly from the surface, apparently, some catching it as it falls and others sucking it out of the ooze. moving about among these, and feeding on them, is a scanty population of snails, squids, crabs, and fishes, making their living upon or close to the bottom; and a larger and more varied company of relatives swim in the water above them up to, say, the , -fathoms line. all these are of forms different in many respects from kindred species at or near the surface; and some brought up by the deep-sea dredge can hardly be distinguished from fossils entombed in the oldest fossiliferous rocks--so unchangeable is the environment in which their race has been propagated for perhaps fifty millions of years. through these dark abysses swim fishes with extraordinary and grotesque adaptations to their conditions. all are small, rarely six inches long, often less than an inch, yet armed to the teeth. this is especially true of the families stomiatidæ and sternoptychidæ, in which one finds fishes of the queerest shape, with big heads and a savage array of long sharp teeth. all are voracious, for food is scant and must be fought for; and some, as chiasmodus, have mouths so capacious that they often swallow fishes larger than themselves, when their stretched stomachs hang beneath their slender bodies like the yolk sacs of newly born trout. all are dark in color, brown, blue or violet marking the abyssal species. some of them have light-giving organs; and this was formerly regarded as a peculiar possession of deep-sea fishes, enabling them to see their prey in the gloom of their habitat, but it is now known that light-giving organs are especially characteristic of pelagic fishes of the region between the surface and fathoms of depth. it must be remembered, however, that the sedentary invertebrates of the bottom glow with phosphorescence. this outline of a vast body of information shows that the waters of the oceans are everywhere inhabited, to their uttermost deeps, by living beings; that these are adapted to various circumstances, and so form faunas of local extent and character; and that probably the sea derived its wealth of population--at least all that part superior to the monads--from the land, beginning with the earliest dawn of life on the globe. chapter iii a chapter of foundations the natural basis of classification i mentioned in my introductory chapter that the simplest form of animal was one whose whole being was contained within a single envelope, or "skin," called a cell. such a cell contains nothing but that strange primitive life-substance named protoplasm, condensed at one point into a nucleus, and it is precisely of such cells that the bodies of all the animals we commonly know are made up; nevertheless an immense variety of creatures still exists, especially in the plankton of the sea, that, like those at the dawn of life, consist of one cell alone. here then we stand at the first grand division of the animal kingdom: a. animals consisting of a single cell--_protozoa_. b. animals composed of an aggregation of cells--_metazoa_. this distinction, you see, is one of structure, as must be all the subdivisions that follow, if they are to be natural; and it is the clearest possible illustration of what we mean in zoölogy when we speak of "lower" and "higher" rank, for it is evident that it is a step upward, an advance from utter simplicity to greater and greater complexity, to proceed from a single-celled, all but helpless animalcule to one composed of many cells, with so vast a division of labor and extensive power of action as belong to such a combination of forces. i do not propose to describe the protozoa, because both of lack of space and lack of popular interest; anyone may learn about them in any good zoölogical textbook. but i do want to mention one very important point, on account of its bearing on the history of the higher animals. the protozoans reproduce their kind by simply splitting into two individuals, and these again split into another two, and so on; the process is called "fission." there comes a time, however, when the ability to do this ceases, and the protozoans of this strain will die out unless one or more of them meets with the same kind of animalcule, and the two "conjugate," or merge into one another, thus renewing their power to go on dividing. turning now to the metazoa, or animals in general, we may say that they are flexible and usually motile beings, needing a supply of solid food which they convert by digestion into a fluid form, and then diffuse through their tissues. this accounts for the fact that all animals consist essentially of a tube, which in the simpler forms is very apparent. this typical tube consists of at least two layers--an outer, protective, and sensitive coat (ectoderm), and an inner, digestive one (endoderm). this two-layered condition is the limit for a few fresh-water and a vast number of marine animals therefore called "coelenterata," of which the jellyfish and corals are examples. the two coats are separated, and at the same time connected, by a greater or less amount of a jellylike filling called the "mesenchyme." into this intermediate mesenchyme both ectoderm and endoderm bud off cells which have certain functions--that is, they circulate the digested food, perform the creeping movements when such occur, expel the waste of the body, and most important of all, provide the germ cells by which the race is perpetuated. now in animals superior to the jellyfishes and the flatworms, the mesenchyme is replaced by a definite hollow tissue that produces a more efficient system of muscular, excretory, and reproductive organs. this hollow tissue is the "coelom," and in the most advanced animals, such as the chordates, "the coelom and its products are of the greatest importance, for they give rise to the vertebræ and the muscles, and in so doing mold the shape of the fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal." in this brief sketch of some broad distinctions among the masses of animals we have a hint of the basis of their classification. animal life in orderly arrangement classification is really only a sorting out of things into groups of the same kind. it may be artificial, according to fancy or convenience, or it may be by discovery of nature's inevitable development. it has been done crudely ever since men began to show curiosity about the things around them. they spoke of animals of the land, of the water, and of the air; of those that lived on vegetable fare as different from the flesh eaters; and in a more particular way they recognized various obviously like and unlike groups within the larger ones. all these distinctions were made on external appearance or behavior, and closer observation presently showed bad combinations, such as placing bats with birds simply because both flew, or whales with fish because both lived in water. slowly it became evident that the only proper way to classify animals was by putting together those of like structure, and this could be accomplished only by intense comparative study of the interior anatomy of their bodies. even here, however, progress was limited until the great light from the idea of organic evolution fell on biological science, by which it was perceived that the true criterion by which the proper place of any animal could be determined was its line of descent--a matter wherein the student of fossils could render, and has rendered, vast assistance. in other words a real, natural classification is according to ancestry, just as human relatives are grouped into families according to their known descent from the same forefather. in this evolutionary light zoölogists have now perfected, at least in respect to its larger divisions, a classification of the animal kingdom which is generally accepted, and is followed in this book. it proceeds, reading downward, from the simpler and older forms of animal life to the more complex and more recent forms. as to the names and relative order, or rank, of the subdivisions that we shall have occasion to mention, a few words are desirable. the only real fact is the individual animal. a collection of these so similar that they cannot be divided, and which will interbreed, but usually are sterile as to other animals, is termed a _species_. a number of species closely similar are bracketed together as a _genus_ (plural _genera_), and this done, every individual is given a double name, as _felis leo_ to the lion, the first part of which indicates its genus, and is called its "generic" name, and the second indicates its species, and is called its "specific" name. this "scientific name" is given in latin (or latinized greek) so that it may be unmistakably understood in all parts of the world, for a local name in one language would mean nothing to a student speaking some other language, or perhaps speaking the same language in another country; thus the name "robin" is applied to half a dozen very different birds in separate parts of the english-speaking world, and endless confusion would result were not each animal labeled in a language understood by everybody; and this must be a dead language, so that the significance of the terms applied shall not vary in place or time. several similar genera may form a _family_; families that agree in essential characteristics are united as _orders_; orders are grouped into _classes_; and finally like classes are assembled into a _phylum_ (greek, "a leaf": plural _phyla_), which is the largest division except the primary distinction of protozoa and metazoa. chapter iv the humblest of animals--sponges at the foot of the arrangement of phyla in the metazoa stand the porifera, or sponges, fixed, plantlike, queerly shaped beings living in the sea, except one family in fresh waters, and abundant in all the warmer parts of the world on rocky bottoms. whatever its size or shape, a live sponge (of which the commercial article is the more or less perfect skeleton) is coated with a thin fleshy membrane perforated by minute "inhalant pores" and larger holes termed "oscula," or mouths. through the inhalant pores the sea water, with its burden of microscopic food, enters one of many spaces beneath the surface from which incurrent canals penetrate the interior of the sponge, constantly branching and growing smaller until lost to sight. the fine tips communicate with small cavities lined with cells that are fitted to seize and assimilate the nourishment brought them by the water. from these rudimentary stomachs go similar excurrent ducts that unite near the surface into trunk canals that carry out the used water and waste products. this system of circulation, bringing nutrient water strained through the pores, and expelling it forcibly after it has been cleared of food value, is kept in motion, with occasional periods of rest, by the action of "flagellate cells" that line certain tracts in the canals. these are elongated cells from which project whiplashlike filaments, one to each cell, whose movements in concert "resemble those which a very supple fishing rod is made to undergo in the act of casting a long line"--the movement being much swifter from without inward. beneath the outer skin, and all among the canals and cavities, is a filling of gelatinous materials, largely protoplasm, in which are formed great numbers of variously branched and strengthening spicules, of limy material in one group, and in others of a flinty or glassy nature, or in the absence of these, a network of "spongin," such as forms the skeleton of our common washing sponges. spongin is a substance allied to silk in chemical composition, and the threads are felted together in such a way as to form a firm, yet elastic structure. "in some noncalcarea, which are devoid of spicules, the place of these is taken by foreign bodies--shells of radiolaria, grains of sand, or spicules from other sponges. in others again, such as the venus's flower basket (euplectella), the glass-rope sponge (hyalonema), and others, the skeleton consists throughout of siliceous spicules bound together by a siliceous cement." sponges are reproduced both by budding in some form, which is an asexual way, and by the sexual method of eggs and male cells; these are formed in the same sponge, but rarely at the same time, and the early stages of development are passed in a brood-cell within the body of the parent sponge. finally, the embryo escapes through one of the outgoing canals, swims about awhile, becomes thimble-shaped, and settling down, fastens itself by the closed end to some patch of mud, a rock, dead shell or seaweed, closes the open end of the "thimble," and proceeds to grow. sponges do not appear to be eaten by fishes or anything else. countless lower animals, such as marine worms, mollusks, and so forth, burrow into them, however, in search of shelter; and in reversal, certain small sponges, such as the cliona of our shores, burrow into the shells of mollusks, which explains the honeycombed appearance of many of the shells picked up on the beach. sponges have a large part in that very interesting and widespread phase of marine life called "commensalism," in which two animals become intimately associated in a mutually beneficial way, and are thus spoken of as messmates. some kinds of sponge are never found growing except on the backs or legs of certain crabs; the sponge conceals and protects the crab, while itself benefits by being carried from place to place, with constantly new changes of fresh water and food. this sort of partnership occurs in many different groups of marine animals. the capture and preparation of sponges for market employ thousands of men and boats in the eastern mediterranean, whence the best are derived, and in the west indies and gulf of mexico, where the sponges are of a coarser kind, and are gathered and prepared by rougher methods. they are taken commercially also in other seas, and frequently dredged from vast depths. chapter v flowers of the sea jellyfishes, namesakes of the fabled medusa the type and simplest form of that great division of aquatic, and almost exclusively marine, animals constituting the phylum coelenterata, is the polyp. it consists of a soft-skinned body, typically cup-shaped, containing a baglike digestive cavity, or primitive stomach, open at the top, and surrounded by the soft mesenchyme. the open upper end is the mouth, which is usually encircled by few or many tentacles--hollow outgrowths from the wall of the tubular gullet. currents of water are drawn in by waving cilia at one end of the slitlike mouth, and pass out as waste at the other side; they bring food and oxygen from which nourishment is absorbed by the cells of the wall of the stomach (endoderm). certain outgrowths within the mesenchyme act as feeble muscles for lengthening and shortening the body and tentacles; but there are no blood vessels or excretory organs. most polyps are fixed on some support, but in many the young pass through a free, swimming stage before settling down for life. all coelenterates, and these only, are provided with "stinging cells," the nature and importance of which will be explained presently. the simplest class is that of the hydroids (hydroida), the type of which is the fresh-water hydra, so-called because, like the hydra of ancient myth, when it is cut to pieces each part will grow into a new animal. it lives in ponds and pools of stagnant water, and is so small that a magnifying glass is necessary to study it, especially in the case of the green one of our two common american species--the other is brown. indeed, similar hydroids of salt water are often taken and dried by unscientific collectors under the impression that they are feathery seaweeds. it is stalklike in shape, has long tentacles which always turn toward the greatest light, influenced like certain plants by heliotropism, and feeds on minute crustaceans and other minute organisms. sometimes hydras are so abundant as to form a velvety surface in warm pools. the sexes are combined in the same individual, and the embryo forms within the body, then protrudes as a bud, which finally breaks away and after a time sinks, attaches itself at the base to some support, and grows into a perfect hydra. when quiescent or alarmed the tentacles are withdrawn, and the whole animal shrinks into a little lump. such is the general natural history of the group; but the oceanic hydroids have developed a vast variety of forms, and, with increased breadth of life, have added many interesting features and habits. many of them are single, rooted in mud, or upon seaweeds, rocks or shellfish both dead and alive, and look like flowers of lovely tints; and they reproduce by putting forth separate reproductive parts, called "zooids," of various kinds. others are in colonies that spread by extensions of the base from which arise other hydroids until a bunch of them are growing side by side; but these groups consist of hydroids differentiated into separate functions, for some devote themselves to capturing food which nourishes all, through the common base, while others produce the buds and eggs by which the colony is increased. [illustration: jellyfishes (_medusa aurita._ _rhizostoma cuvieri._ _cyanea capillata._)] the most remarkable of these processes of reproduction is that which is represented by the jellyfishes so abundant in all seas, and so beautiful either when seen floating along just at the surface of the summer sea, or when at night they glow with phosphorescence like silvery, greenish rockets in the dark waves. sometimes they occur in enormous "schools"--as we say of fish--all of one kind, filling the water thickly as far as one can see, and now and then in late summer are cast on the beach in long windrows. they range in size from a pinhead to ten or twelve feet in diameter. so big a cyanea would probably weigh fifty pounds, but after a thorough drying would yield only a few ounces of semisolid matter, per cent of the creature being water absorbed in its spongy tissues. some are egg-shaped, others like a bell with a long clapper, but the ordinary form is that of an open umbrella, usually fringed about the edge with tentacles, sometimes short and fine, sometimes few and long, again a crowded circle of long snaky appendages. these elastic hanging tentacles are the means by which the medusa (as such a jellyfish is appropriately termed in science) captures its food, which consists not only of the minute things swarming in the plankton, but of other coelenterates, small crustacea, fishes, anything in fact that it can entangle in its sticky net and sting to death. every one of the filmy tentacles is thickly studded with microscopic cells (cnidocells) covered by a mere film, and having a spinelike trigger projecting from it. if this trigger is touched, or the film broken, out springs the coiled thread dart which is barbed and carries into the wound it makes a poison that benumbs. thousands of these microscopic darts may prick the skin of a captive, and paralyze its strength--as it does that of a man who gets caught naked in the trailing net of one of the great northern medusæ. being thus captured, the prey is drawn up to the mouth, which opens in the center of the under side of the umbrella float. at intervals around the margin of the umbrella are small organs by which, it is believed, the creature maintains a sense of balance and direction, and perhaps of temperature or light, or both; for many medusæ sink out of sight by day and come to the surface at night; and when the sea is rough they descend to quiet depths. thus they have the power not only to move ahead by the alternate contraction and dilatation of the disk, but to so alter their specific gravity as to sink or rise at will. they thus show the rudiments of both a muscular and a nervous system. very interesting, and often of great beauty, are the free-swimming, colonial, hydroid polyps called siphonophores. on a long stem or string are arranged, at the top, a bulb filled with gas or air, as a float, then a series of swimming bells whose pulsations carry the colony about, beneath which are various polyps and tentaclelike appendages, some to gather food, whose digested products circulate through the whole colony, others performing reproductive functions. the variety of form is considerable; and one of the most peculiar, and the only siphonophore familiar to most persons, is the exquisite portuguese man-of-war, whose prismatically tinted bulb, as big as one's fist, is commonly met with in the gulf stream in the north atlantic, and often is seen in great flocks in the tropics, bobbing on the surface of the waves in calm weather. beneath that bulb trails a long tuft of tentacles and zooids, performing various functions, and so foreshadowing the division of labor that in the higher animals is effected by the different limbs and organs. sea anemones, corals, and sea fans sea anemones are simply large polyps of more complicated structure than the hydroid polyps. instead of a simple, baglike, enteric cavity, the slitlike mouth admits food into a flattened gullet which leads to an enlarged digestive cavity. the gullet does not hang free, but is joined to the outer wall of the body by a series of radiating partitions, between which shorter ones extend from the inner surface of the ectoderm; and below the gullet the stomach wall extends in lobes between these partitions, through which holes permit the nutritive juices to circulate throughout the whole body. the whole upper surface of the polyp is covered by short tentacles arranged in circles. a current of water, induced by waving cilia, is constantly flowing in at one corner of the mouth and out at the other, supplying the animal with oxygen and a certain amount of minute food, and carrying off waste; but the anemones capture by means of their tentacles small fishes, mollusks and everything that can be caught and swallowed. as some anemones exceed a foot in diameter, large and powerful prey may sometimes be taken. it is interesting to note that anemones distinguish very quickly between what is good to eat and what is not. most of them are sitting near shore on rocks or in tide pools, or are clinging to the larger seaweeds or clustered on the supports of wharves where the waves and tidal currents are continually washing about them, often with much violence, and dashing against them strands of weed or the small wreckage always floating in such a place. none of this is seized, or at least is not swallowed; but whether we are to conclude that this choice is made by intelligence, or only by chemical perception is a matter for study. when harm threatens, or when they crave rest, they withdraw all their gorgeous tentacles, infold them within their mouth, and shrink down into roundish gray lumps that attract neither the eye nor the appetite of any marauder. [illustration: corals tree coral (_dendrophyllia nigrescens_). tuft coral (_lophophyllia prolifera_). fan coral (_euphyllia pavonia_). cup corals and skeleton (_carophyllia smithii_).] the coral polyps differ from anemones only in details of structure that we need not consider, except to note the striking difference that here the base and the radiating partitions instead of being membranous secrete a firm skeleton either of lime or of the horny material termed chitin. the flesh overflows the walls, folding down from the top, so that the skeleton becomes really internal, although naked at the broad base. some of the tropical stony corals are like big anemones, several inches across; and it is only when they infold all their richly colored tentacles and become a dull and shapeless lump that their stony cup is revealed. these are solitary, and form loosely lying corals, like that called the "mushroom." new ones are produced by the parent throwing off buds which for a time remain attached by a stalk, but finally fall off and settle down to grow--a process that may go on for a score of years. in the case of the huge coral masses called madrepores the buds remain attached to the parent. if they spread out naturally, w. saville kent explains, they build up by accumulation the large rounded masses known as "brain" corals and "star" corals, which are most numerous on coastline reefs, or form the base of the outer barrier reef. on the other hand, where the budding is terminal, or oblique, branching, treelike growths result in "staghorn" and similar forms. the coral animals do not alone construct the reefs. stony hydroids (millepores), shells of all sorts of mollusks, limy sea mosses (bryozoa), animalcules and diatoms and various algæ stiffened or cased with lime or flint, and blown sand, contribute to build them up, especially when they near the surface of the sea. the distribution of reef-building corals is interesting. at present they are limited to about degrees each side of the equator, but are irregularly distributed, owing mainly to differences of temperature in the water, which must not be colder than degrees f. hence they exist farther away from the equator in the path of warm ocean currents. the gulf stream accounts for the coral islands along the coast of florida and in the bermudas, which is their farthest point on the american coast; and the warmth of the water accounts for their extensive presence along the eastern coasts of australia and africa, when few exist on the western sides of these continents; similarly the western coasts of south and central america are nearly free of coral banks. other causes of limitation exist. for example, the noticeable absence of coral growth along the coast of south america is largely, if not altogether, owing to the fresh water and silt brought down by the great rivers there--both prejudicial to coral life. coral colonies increase and ultimately form banks wherever warm, pure sea water is constantly present, and not more than about feet deep. here, spreading and continually rising on the skeletons of dead generations, they form a long line close to the land called a "fringing" reef; and outside of this, beyond a space swept by the currents, may arise a second, still more flourishing bank, termed "barrier" reef. the great barrier reef that extends for , miles along the eastern coast of australia--a vast chain of banks and islands--is an amazing example of what these minute animals can accomplish, given time; and geology can point to still more stupendous results of their work in the early history of the globe. very characteristic, in the great coral-growing region of the south sea archipelago, is the ring-shaped island or "atoll," which incloses a quiet lagoon, usually with an open entrance. the reason for such a form has excited much discussion, one explanation being that its origin was about a small island that slowly subsided, the coral keeping pace in rising as the island sank, until finally the land disappeared; another that the circular reef arose from a submerged elevation, and when it came near the surface ceased to grow except on its outer border because it ceased to get suitable water and food, until after a time the central part died out, leaving a ring. both explanations may be true of different situations. when a reef comes near to the surface the branching coral is knocked to pieces by the waves, and there are added to this breakage shells and bones, calcareous seaweeds, and what not; and all this is ground into sand by the surf, washed high on the top of the ridge and manured by dead plants and animals, and by the droppings of birds, until finally a soil forms beyond the reach of the tides. then, if it is in the far southern seas, a drifting coconut may lodge there and be rolled high enough to be left to strike its roots into the sand and begin the grove that by and by will make the islet attractive to men. the thick husk of the coconut resists harm from sea water, near which this palm prefers to grow in just such a sandy, shelly soil as the uprising reef affords. the nuts that so often fall into the surf or are carried out by rivers make long voyages without losing their vitality. here, again, the situation of most coral islets in the course of currents is advantageous, for thus not only these nuts but other useful seeds and colonizing elements drift directly to their doors, as it were. birds, wandering widely over the waters, espy the bit of land, and aid by their visits to increase its fertility and often add to its flora. reefs near shore, especially in florida and southward, become jungles of mangroves, which not only spring from floating seeds but send down from their branches sprouts that become rooted in the mud and spread the growth interminably. such a "mangrove key" soon attracts an extensive population of plants and animals and speedily becomes a considerable island. a great variety of corals, however, are not reef builders, and some species secrete little if any lime; these solitary relatives are found scattered all over the oceans, in deep water as well as shallow, wherever the bottom is suitable, and an immense amount of interesting information about them is to be found in books devoted to this beautiful group of animals. the class includes two or three other orders of coral--polyps that grow in a solitary way or in groups, forming those elegant objects called sea fans, sea pens, and so forth, which can be referred to only briefly. one of these is the order alcyonaria, in which some are soft-bodied, others are strengthened by a network of spicules. a very beautiful one is the "sea pen," which takes the shape of an ostrich plume; another is the strange mass of parallel tubes called organ-pipe coral; and some of them are very large, the great tree coral of the eastern atlantic depths being sometimes as tall as a man, while it looks like a sturdy, leafless tree. as in all the others, however, it is covered by a living fleshy coat of protoplasmic substance studded with polyps whose gay colors and waving tentacles give it the appearance of being clothed with minute sessile blossoms. the best known of this group, probably, is the red coral of commerce, which is the scarlet, ivorylike interior stem of a branching alcyonarian colony. this coral has from the earliest time been cut into cameos by lapidaries, as well as used for making necklaces and other toilet ornaments. chapter vi uninvited guests flatworms, flukes and tapeworms the phylum platyhelminthes follows the coelenterates in the ascending series of zoölogical classification, and includes a baneful company of creatures badly called "worms," which show none of the segmented or ringlike form of body that characterizes the true worms of the phylum annulata to which we shall come presently. on the contrary, they are a group of small, soft-bodied, flattened animals, which first show that two-sided character, or bilateral symmetry, which has apparently been absent from all the groups we have studied hitherto, whose members are circular or globular in shape, and whose organs, in the adult, are arranged radiately. the simplest are the planarians (turbellaria), which live a free life, as a rule, although some are parasitic. they are little, thin, leaf-shaped creatures that creep on the bottom of ponds and even of deep lakes, or swim in the sea, and feed upon algæ and minute animals. similar to them in appearance are the flukes (trematoda), of which the best known of a large variety is that which infests sheep. most of the trematodes are parasitic. the third class of flatworms is the cestoda, the members of which are universally parasitic, and are known principally as "tapeworms" in reference to their form. the phylum nematothelminthes contains an assemblage of related worms, some marine, but mostly living in fresh waters or on land, which are eellike in form, very slender, and often have amazing length. the first and lowest class is that of the nematodes, of which the minute "vinegar eels" and "paste eels" are familiar examples. the remainder of the nematodes are parasitic, and many of them are dangerous parasites. in an allied family and genus (trichina) is placed one of the most dangerous of human parasites, the _trichina spiralis_. here, too, comes that "hairworm" (gordius), which most country folks call "hair eel" or "hair snake." many assert with the most positive faith that if you will soak a horsehair in water it will "turn into a snake," and will show you this long threadworm in a horse trough to prove it. i never knew a cautiously made experiment in that direction to succeed; nevertheless the fanciful error survives. the gordius, which does look like a hair from a gray mare's tail, is somewhat aquatic in its habits. chapter vii dwellers between tide marks the colonial moss animals seaweeds and rocks at and below the limit of the ebbing tide are often covered with small bushy growths, or with lacelike incrustations that are alive. these are moss animals, representing the class polyzoa of the phylum molluscoida. they are minute, soft creatures that live in colonies formed by the repeated budding of the members, all connected by a fleshy base so that each contributes to the nourishment of all. "each little animal occupies a separate stony or horny capsule, into which it may withdraw and even close the opening with a lid.... the mouth is surrounded by tentacles that in many species arise from a horseshoe-shaped or disklike base. these tentacles are always beset with hairlike bristles which by their movements serve to set up currents, and thus to drive minute organisms into the mouth." a typical example of these polyzoans (or bryozoans) is _bugula turrita_, so abundant wherever our northeastern coast is rocky that the rocks below tide level appear covered with its mossy tufts, which are often ten inches long and profusely branched. the main stems are orange-yellow, while the terminal branches are yellowish white. the delicate tracery so frequently seen on the fronds of kelp, and on shells and stones along both shores of the atlantic indicate colonies, or their remains, of the lace coralline (membranipora); and the dull red or pinkish crust so common on shells and stones in shaded tidepools represents successive colonies of the "red-crust" polyzoan (_escharella variabilis_), layer crusting over layer. a similar history accounts for the curious nodules called "false coral" so common in moderately deep water in long island sound. similar polyzoans, which exist in great variety, both modern and fossil, contributed extensively to the formation of the older strata of sedimentary limestones. ancient lamp shells associated in structure with these minute colonists is the ancient race of brachiopods (brachiopoda, "arm-footed") or lamp shells, although they much more nearly resemble bivalved mollusks, whence, by the way, comes the name of the phylum to which both belong--molluscoida, which means "mollusklike." the race of the brachiopods goes back to the beginning of the geologic record. a few living examples are still found in the ocean, some of which, as lingula, have changed so little that they can hardly be told from the most ancient fossils of their family. certain species are dredged abundantly on both coasts of the atlantic from water a few fathoms deep where the bottom is rocky. they look like small mussels at first sight, but on examination show a vast difference in structure. the bivalve shells, instead of growing on the right and left sides of the animal, as in bivalve mollusks, cover its back and front, and the head parts are at the gape of the valves. at the hinge end of the shell the lower valve overlaps (it is the shape of this lower shell, like that of an old roman lamp, which suggests their common name, "lamp shells") and the hinder end of the body projects as a stalk, by which the animal fastens itself to the rock. "the mouth in the brachiopods is flanked by two curiously coiled and feathered arms which lie within the cavity between the shells, and are supported by skeletal rods attached to the upper shell. these serve as gills, and also to capture the minute creatures upon which the brachiopod feeds." owing to their great abundance, world-wide distribution, and remote antiquity, as well as their excellent state of preservation, brachiopods occupy a very conspicuous rank among extinct invertebrates, and furnish us besides with a large number of important index fossils. they are to be found in immense variety from the cambrian to the present, most numerously in formations from silurian to permian times. [illustration: starfish and other typical life in a tide pool photo, american museum of natural history] starfishes, sea urchins, and trepangs we have now arrived at the point (phylum echinodermata, "spiny-skinned") where a distinctly new type of interior structure appears in the possession by animals of a hollow space (coelom) between the outer skin and the wall of the digestive tube which now becomes occupied by definite organs instead of by an almost uniform mesenchyme, as in the sponges and coelenterates. these organs arise from an interior lining membrane called "mesoderm." henceforth, therefore, we shall deal with coelomate animals, among which the echinoderms are lowest in rank. the simplest of them is the "sea lily" which lives rooted on the bottom in deep water, and sways about on a slender, jointed stalk, looking much like the flower after which it is named. it is of interest chiefly as a survivor of the tribe of crinoids that were so varied and numerous in early paleozic times that massive devonian limestones are composed largely of their remains; and the type has changed little through the ages. it consists typically of a cup, mounted on its stem like the calyx of a flower, and composed of circles of calcareous plates, definite in form and in relative position, that contain and protect a well-organized body. surrounding the open mouth of the cup is a circle of long, jointed, much-branched tentacles that sweep the water, capture passing prey, and bring it into the mouth of the crinoid within the circling base of the arms. [illustration: coral formations of the great barrier reef, australia photo, american museum of natural history] if now you were to cut off its stalk, lay the crinoid on the sand, mouth down and arms outspread, beside a brittle star or a basket fish, which also have many-branched arms, it might be difficult to tell them apart, yet they represent different orders; and from this, by way of the naked serpent star, it is but a short transition to the starfish, where the arms are no longer tentaclelike, but are simply pointed extensions of a central body; this, in fact, is the case, for now they are no longer prehensile organs, but are supports, mainly serviceable in locomotion, and the stomach and ovaries are partly lodged in them. the main point just now, however, is the fact that here, and in the successive changes of form to be shown, the pattern of plates that form a strengthening mosaic in the skin of the central part of the body remains identical. all starfishes are not as prettily symmetric as our familiar five-finger. some are shorter in the arms, and much broader and thicker in the body; and if you will examine a collection of preserved specimens of the echinoderms you will see that you can trace gradation of form right around to the bun-shaped cake urchin, on whose top the five-pointed star is printed, and thence to the globular sea egg, which the french called "sea urchin," using one of their names for the hedgehog. furthermore, the five sections of the shell of the urchin, which represent the five arms of the starfish folded forward and grown together into a spherical case, are to be traced again, outlined by appendages, in the elongated and leathery hide of the trepangs and sea cucumbers of the order holothuria. it is as an illustration of homology, that is, the resemblance between parts that have the same relation to the typical plan of structure, and as an example of how almost endless variations of form may arise within a single type, that the echinoderms are of most interest. otherwise it may be said that they serve as food for fishes and some other creatures, including coastwise savages, and as curiosities in geological museums and in aquaria; and that starfishes are sadly destructive of cultivated oyster beds. we may therefore dismiss them, and devote a page or two to the worms. earthworms and beachworms although various parasitic creatures have been described as flat "worms," round "worms," and so forth, naturalists regard as true worms only those of higher organization classified in the phylum annulata, or annelids, the distinctive characteristic of which is that its members have elongated bodies divided into ringlike sections. these represent a division of the internal parts into a series of structural segments or "matemeres," each supplied with its own set of organs, yet connected by blood vessels and nerves, and the whole traversed by tubular organs serviceable to the entire animal. the nervous system consists of a "brain" in the head, and a double, ventral nerve-cord with a ganglion in every segment, foreshadowing the nervous system in insects and other arthropods. the phylum embraces three classes: . chætopoda--earthworms and marine annelids; . gephyrea--marine worms, otherwise called sipunculoids; and . hirudinidæ--leeches. the earthworm or "angleworm" (that is, angler's worm, bait worm) of the "common garden variety," to use the phrase of old-fashioned encyclopedias, is a typical example of the first class, whose latin name refers to the bristles (setæ) on the flattened lower surface of the body that serve the worm as "feet." a magnifying glass shows them in four double rows allowing eight to each of the rings into which the body is so plainly divided; their extremities are directed rearward, and by their means the worm pushes itself along, and is able to cling to and climb not only the walls of its burrow but vertical surfaces when not too smooth. thus they are found frequently on roofs and in other elevated and surprising places, to which they have crawled in the night, when, as well as in warm, rainy weather, they are likely to wander a great deal. the long and greatly extensible and elastic body tapers almost equally at each end, but the head end is that which goes forward in crawling, and a lens will show a mouth on its lower surface, beneath a sort of thick lip. a long gullet leads into an expansion called the crop, and that into a large, tough-walled stomach, beyond which an intestine leads to the last segment. the thirty-third to thirty-seventh segments are swollen, forming the "belt" (clitellum), which denotes maturity, but seems to have no special functions. the senses are few and dull. no eyes exist, nor sense of hearing, but the skin is extremely sensitive to vibrations, and to bright light, as might be expected in a nocturnal animal. the sense of taste is discriminating. the eggs are extruded in such a way as to form a glutinous ring about the body, which, when complete, is slipped over the head of the worm, and left to hatch in warm soil under a stone. earthworms live underground in burrows that are sunk well below the frost line. in digging they work head downward, gnawing--although they have no hard jaws--and swallowing the earth that is not easily crowded aside and then throwing it out and perhaps heaping it up as "castings." the tunnel must be wide enough to let its occupant turn around in it, and it ends in a deep chamber in which one or more worms may pass the winter without freezing. these worms naturally seek a loose, damp soil, not only for ease of working, but because moisture is a necessity, as they breathe through their skin; hence they abound in meadows and cultivated soil, and are not found on high, dry plains. during the day they lie near the surface, often with the head just protruding. here they are discovered by sharp-eyed birds and garter snakes, and sacrificed by thousands, notwithstanding the strength with which they hang on to their retreats by the tail. when it retires to the depths of its burrow this worm plugs the mouth of the tunnel with leaves which it draws always by the base, exhibiting considerable intelligence in manipulating the various shapes of leaves to that end. the world-wide distribution of the earthworm is to some extent owing to man's agency. on our northwestern plains, for example, these worms originally were absent, but are now widely distributed and flourishing there, having been carried from the east, as eggs or small worms, in the soil packed about the roots of trees and shrubs transplanted to western orchards and gardens. this fact may have something to do with the recent westward spread of the robin, which, more than any other of our birds, is a hunter of them. except where excessively numerous these worms do far more good than harm in a garden. the naids (naidæ) are small transparent worms that creep about on vegetation in fresh water, and, besides laying large eggs, they occasionally divide into two at a place in the body that appears arranged for this purpose, for it consists of a zone of very elementary tissue. "gradually," as minot records, "the tissue of this interpolated zone transforms itself into muscles, nerves, etc., and, growing meanwhile, it forms in front a new tailpiece to patch out the anterior half of the worm, and behind it forms a new head for the posterior half of the original body. the zone then breaks and there are now two worms." a relative, the lumbriculus, does the trick in a much more prosaic way, breaking in two first, and letting the separate halves acquire head or tail as best they may. this ability to reproduce lost parts is of much service in the life of the species and often of the individual, which may still live after some water tiger has bitten it in two--and these worms are at the base of the food supply of rivers and ponds, and would soon be exterminated were they not capable of rapid and profuse multiplication. worms of this class dwell in great numbers and variety in the sea and in salt-water meadows and beaches, and are often beautiful as well as interesting objects of study for the visitor at the shore. the sea mouse (aphrodite), for instance, which is about three inches long and of oval shape, is covered with hairlike bristles that glisten with brilliant green, red, and yellow iridescence; it is to be looked for on the mud just below the low-tide line, and inhabits both coasts of the north atlantic. the body of the common "clay worm," dug for bait at low tide, which is olive in general tone, gleams with pearly iridescence, while its innumerable feet bear gills that are green and salmon-red. another (lumbriconereis) is known as "opal worm" for good reason; and our sands abound in slender scarlet worms of the same genus named "red thread." all these worms bury themselves in the sand, or wander through it in search of prey, for they are carnivorous, and do not hesitate to kill and eat each other. some are fairly sedentary, and protect themselves against fishes, crabs, mollusks, and bigger annelids that seek them, by forming tubes by means in some cases of a shelly secretion, but more usually by cementing bits of shell, stones, and grains of sand into an irregular tube lining the burrow; the slender, limy serpentine tubes often seen on stones or dead shells in tide pools, are, or were, the homes of such protected worms, most commonly of the "shell worm" (serpula). "often a number of these calcareous worm tubes are seen clustered together. when undisturbed the worm protrudes its beautiful feathered gills, which resemble a little passion flower projecting from the mouth of the tube. these gills are variously colored in different individuals, some being purplish brown, banded with white and yellow, while others are yellowish green, orange, or lemon-yellow. at the least disturbance, such as a shock or a shadow, the gills are instantly withdrawn into the stony tube, and the opening stopped by a horny disk." in the gulf of mexico extensive colonies of these worms often form, and as the early generations die others erect their tubes above them; as this goes on sand and shell fragments fill around and between the tubes, and after a long time the whole mass becomes a solid reddish, loose-lying rock, composed chiefly of serpula tubes, which in florida is dragged up from the beach and used as building stone. the third class (hirudinidæ) of annulata is that of the leeches, those ugly, but useful, worms of land and sea. in spite of their sluglike appearance the leeches are segmented worms, although the wrinkles on their gray, mottled skins do not indicate the position of the segments beneath. the mouth on the under side of the head is armed with jaws and sharp teeth that make three or more cuts through the skin, whence the blood is sucked; there is also a holding sucker near the tail. their attacks cause little pain, and that fact has led physicians to put them into use when bleeding is required. the eggs of leeches are laid in moist earth in little packets, and hatch in five or six weeks. the growth to maturity is slow, and continues during a long life. many species abound in ponds and stagnant waters. asia has terrestrial leeches, swarming in moist vegetation; and in ceylon the minute leeches are a terrible plague in certain regions. many also are wholly marine. some of the larger forms attack fishes directly, and quickly kill them by sucking their blood away; others are true parasites. on the other hand the leeches of our lakes are fed on by the whitefish and similar fishes. they are a great pest to our fresh-water turtles. chapter viii builders of the pearly shells the mollusks, or "shellfish" (phylum mollusca) are a homogeneous group of soft-bodied, unsegmented, typically bilateral, elaborately organized animals, mainly aquatic and marine, whose origin--probably as a derivative from a wormlike stock--is lost in the mists of geologic prehistory. in most cases the mollusks secrete from a larval gland an external shell which serves as skeleton and defensive armor; are bisexual and produce eggs, or if monoecious are never self-fertilizing. they possess a heart, and blood circulation (usually colorless); breathe in the water by means of gills, or, in the air, by a primitive kind of lung; have a nervous system and senses in some cases of a high order; the organs are normally paired, and protected by a general covering integument called the "mantle"; and the creeping species move by a muscular, elastic, ventral organ styled the "foot," while the swimmers are provided with a variety of swimming organs. mollusks vary in size from all but microscopic minuteness to a bivalve weighing pounds or a squid half as big as a right whale. they occur in all seas at all depths, abound in fresh waters both swift and stagnant, and are scattered over the earth wherever vegetation flourishes. the phylum mollusca is divided into five classes, as follows, and it will be noticed that four of the names refer to the locomotive organ or "foot" (greek _pous_, "foot"): i. _pelecypoda_, the mussels--mollusks inclosed in a bivalve shell fastened by a muscular hinge, the adjacent part of the valves being generally more or less toothed; the foot is as a rule roughly comparable to the shape of an ax head. ii. _amphineura_, the chitons--flattened, bisymmetrical mollusks whose shell consists of eight crosswise, overlapping plates. iii. _gastropoda_, snails, whelks, etc.--mollusks that crawl on the flat undersurface of the body, or distensible foot. iv. _scaphopoda_, tusk shells--mollusks that possess a long tubular shell open at both ends; with their small and elongated foot they are supposed to _dig_ into the mud in which they live. v. _cephalopoda_, cuttlefishes, and octopods--mollusks with tentaclelike "arms" arranged about the mouth, and either an external or internal shell. these are the highest in rank. the oyster and its relatives the lowest in rank of these classes is the pelecypoda, containing the "bivalves"--mussels, clams, oysters, and the like, in which the shell is in two parts or valves hinged together over the "back" of the animal, and attached to it on each side by a powerful muscle, the "adductor," by the contraction of which the shell may be tightly shut. within the shell the body is enveloped in a "mantle," or fleshy membrane falling like a cloak on each side; and from it is secreted the outer shell, which grows by additions to its ventral margin. these additions are in a general way annual, so that the concentric lines of growth on its exterior are an indication of the years of the mollusk's life, which is slow in growth, and long-lived. the interior of the shell is usually pearly, and marked with microscopic rugosities, which, by breaking up the light, as if by innumerable prisms, gives the iridescence so beautiful in the pearl oyster, the fresh-water unios and many others. these pearly layers are called "nacre." bivalves were formerly classified in conchology as acephala, because they have no proper head, but at the posterior end are two openings of tubes, provided with cilia. in one, the cilia induce a constant current of water which after leaving the gills brings into the animal's stomach floating microscopic food, both plants and animals, including eggs and larvæ, where it is captured and assimilated while water is ejected through the other (dorsal) pipe. this food includes bacteria, and if the mollusk lives and feeds in water polluted by sewage, or otherwise containing germs of disease, it becomes dangerous as human food; hence oysters and clams exposed to such bad conditions ought never to be sent to market because of the disease germs remaining in them. in bivalves such as the oysters, horse mussels, piddocks, and others that are sedentary, and often fixed in place, or that, like river mussels, scallops, etc., move about freely, the mouth tubes are short; but many bivalves, as the clams, pinnas, razor fish and so forth, bury themselves in the sand of the bottom, by means of the strong distensible foot protruding from the forward end of the shell. these are provided with a double-barreled tube, called the "siphon," which may be contracted within the protection of the closed shell, or may be stretched out several inches; the animal may thus sink its body deep in the sand while its siphon reaches to the surface and inhales food-bearing water. the little squirts of water often seen jetting out of the beach at low tide as one walks along it are from clams so buried, and which, alarmed by the vibration of one's footsteps, hastily eject the water and withdraw their siphons. the old name for this class, lamellibranchiata, referred to the gills, two of which, on each side, hang like curtains inside the mantle and between it and the saclike body containing the viscera; when the shell is open they are laved by the water, and extract from it, by some quality hardly understood, the oxygen necessary to regenerate the blood that flows through them; and, in addition, respiration is carried on through the skin. the nervous system is very primitive, and the sense organs consist of an otocyst (a minute sac in which a hard particle floats in a liquid) in the foot, by which, it is believed, a sense of direction is had, and which also serves the purpose of an ear; an organ that tests the water; and in some, as the scallop, rudiments of eyes are situated on the margin of the mantle. most pelecypods are of two sexes, but some, such as our american oysters, are hermaphrodite. eggs in vast number, and a cloud of spermatozoa, are thrown out in midsummer, and a little of the latter succeeds in reaching and so fertilizing fortunate eggs, but almost all merely serve as food for the host of mollusks, worms, sea anemones and what not that subsist on such provender. the few fertilized larvæ drift about and happily escaping multiplied perils, presently settle to the bottom to attach themselves to some fixed object, or otherwise get a chance to grow big enough to defy ordinary enemies. some interesting variations in this rather commonplace larval history occur, however, in certain families. it will be possible to name only a few of the most useful or otherwise conspicuous bivalves, beginning with the oyster, concerning which an immense amount of detailed information is accessible to the reader in the reports of the united states government (tenth census, and documents issued by the fisheries authorities) and in those of states, like connecticut, new york, and maryland, where oyster culture is an extensive industry, said to be worth in the aggregate about $ , , . the oyster of the eastern american coast is to be found in the gulf of st. lawrence, but not in considerable numbers between there and western maine, whence it is present southward to the gulf of mexico, except on the shifting sands of the outer beaches. it seeks protected waters and a rocky or weedy bottom furnishing objects to which it may, when young, attach itself, and later will not be torn adrift by storms, for where an oyster establishes itself in infancy it means to stay all its life. hence the sheltered waters of buzzards and narragansett bays, long island sound, and the lagoons and inlets that lie behind the outer line of sandy beaches from long island to florida are the sources of our supply--especially chesapeake bay. a full-grown oyster will produce about , , eggs, each being about one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter. when the little oyster (spat) is about one-eighth inch wide shells begin to form on its sides, and it settles to the bottom with its left side down, usually where other oysters are; and hence extensive colonies, or "reefs," of these mollusks form, and "rise on their dead selves" to a level where they may be reached by the oysterman's rake. many years ago, however, it was discovered that large, marketable oysters were becoming very scarce. oystermen therefore sought favorable places, and raking the natural beds transplanted their catch, little and big, to new ground, where they were left to mature. this crude method was next improved on by sowing thickly over the new ground, just before spawning time in midsummer, a great quantity of empty oyster and other shells. these were favorable to the catching of "spat," and would result in a new bed that in about four years would furnish salable oysters; and annual plantings produced, after a time, an annual crop. these are the essential facts of oyster culture everywhere, although methods differ somewhat in other parts of the world--in france, for example, fascines of twigs are spread over tidal flats to catch the spat, instead of shells. our eastern american oysters are undoubtedly the largest and finest for the table of the many species that exist all round the globe. those of the pacific coast of the united states are excellent, but small; and the same is true of the european species; nor is the use of oysters abroad so general and extensive as in the united states. the pearl-bearing oysters are somewhat distant relatives of the edible oyster (ostræa), the thorny oysters (spondylus), the hammer shell, the windowglass shell (placuna) and others. the pearl oyster of commerce is named _meleagrina margaritifera_ and is found in scattered localities within the tropics on both continents. the chief fisheries are in the persian gulf, around ceylon, in australia, among the sulu islands and on the west coast of panama. the pearl islands, south of panama, yielded to the early spanish adventurers riches in gems that rivaled those their competitors obtained from gold mines; but now they are a field of small importance. in fact, the pearl fishery is carried on now far less in hope of a profitable collection of gems than for the profit in the shells, which have a nacreous interior of remarkable beauty--the mother-of-pearl--and the great advantage of offering this in almost flat surfaces, sometimes eight or nine inches broad, making it useful in the arts as well as in the more practical line of buttons, knife handles, etc. sometimes the whole surface of a fine shell has been carved, cameowise, with cunning art and an exquisite effect. chapter ix builders of the pearly shells--_continued_ mussels, scallops and chitons the familiar marine mussels of the family mytilidæ will some day become of great importance in this country as a food supply, as now they are useful in resisting encroachment by the sea on certain parts of the coast. they exist in vast numbers on both our coasts, and elsewhere in the world, in two genera, mytilus and modiolus, which differ a little in form, but not in habits. they have acquired the stationary habit, and in place of a "foot" of serviceable size have developed a gland that secretes an exceedingly tough, fibrous bunch of threads known as a "byssus," by means of which the animal may not only attach itself firmly to any sort of object, but may actually move about. the common species of modiolus, the "horse mussel," lives in great numbers north of cape hatteras at and below the line of low water, and is much larger than the edible mussel just described. a smaller species of modiolus is extremely numerous on the new england coast, and down to the carolinas, forming dense tangled beds on muddy patches as well as among rocks, and serving to bind the mud and plants together and hold them from disintegration by stormy waves, in spite of the thin and brittle character of their shells. a southern species is bright yellow, with dark rays; and the common modiola of the pacific coast is dark, glossy brown. such mussels are eaten regularly in europe, and come to us in a pickled condition as a luxury. there is no reason why we should neglect to add our own to our long list of sea foods. the next useful mollusk to be considered is the scallop, one of the many species of the family pectinidæ, of which we eat only the adductor muscle. the commercial species is _pecten irradians_, the name referring to the (nineteen) ridges that radiate from the flattened hinges to the scalloped margin of the shell, which is prettily colored. this species is common in sandy, shallow places from cape cod to florida, but the fishery is most productive about the eastern end of long island and in narragansett bay. farther north is a very much larger species (_p. islandicus_) especially abundant on the grand banks, off newfoundland, where it forms an important food of the cod and other fishes. it is well known to cooks, who use it in baking their fish confections _en coquille_. a large number of other species are distributed throughout the world, one (_p. jacobæus_), inhabiting the mediterranean having the name "pilgrim shell" in allusion to the fact that in the days of medieval religious pilgrimages, those who had visited the shrine of saint james at santiago de compostela, spain, to pay homage on july , were accustomed to wear a scallop shell in their hats in token of the fact--this mollusk being connected with traditions of that saint. turning to the fresh-water mussels, or naids, as some books call them, one is staggered to learn that more than , species have been named, a large proportion of which belong to the united states, which is peculiarly hospitable to them because of our many rivers and lakes, together with the prevalence of limestone rocks, whose constant dissolution in water supplies the store of calcareous matter that these thick-shelled mollusks require. all belong to the family unionidæ, in which two divisions are noted--one (anodon) in which the mussel has a comparatively elongated thin shell with no "teeth" in the hinges; and the other (unio) in which the shell is thick, various in shape from an oval to a triangle, and has prominent umbones, beneath which the valves (which are always alike) are hinged together by interlocking teeth embedded in a somewhat elastic gristle. the interior of all these unios is richly nacreous, and consequently pearls are produced in the same way as in the marine pearl-bearing shells; and some of the finest known gems have been derived from them, in this country and abroad, as well as innumerable specimens of moderate value. these mollusks like clear streams or lakes with a sandy bottom, and are not to be looked for in stagnant weedy waters. they keep an erect position, the nibs of the shell half buried in the sand, and move slowly about, plowing a path and dragging themselves along by means of the powerful foot, but keeping the short siphons at the other (or longer) end of the shell well above the mud. we come next to our market clams. these are of two distinct kinds--"hard" and "soft," or quahog and long clam, as they are distinctively called. the quahog is a thick-shelled, roundish mollusk with a distinctly heart-shaped outline when looked at endwise. it dwells in fairly deep water, standing on its nibs half buried in the sand, like a wedge, and moving slowly about. young ones become the "little necks" of our summer tables. the soft clam belongs to a different race. its elongated shell is thin and chalky, is loosely hinged, and gapes widely at both ends, and although it is used much as food, especially in chowders, it is by no means as good as the hard clam. its principal value, indeed, is as bait in the cod fisheries, and for this purpose enormous quantities are gathered. it lives in, rather than on, muddy beaches, sometimes in crowds of thousands, its shell deeply buried, and its long siphons reaching up to suck in water and food when the tide covers the flat. when the tide is out, a tiny hole in the sand and a spurt of water show the clammer where to dig, and his spade quickly unearths the clam. the second class, amphineura, contains the chitons and their relatives. these chitons are flattened mollusks protected by an armature of eight crosswise plates, overlapping like shingles, which creep about the rocks close to shore, and when lifted curl up like sowbugs. the most interesting thing about the chitons is the fact that they are provided with excellent visual organs, "the whole dorsal surface of some forms being studded with eyes, of which not less than , occasionally exist on a single specimen." many of them are complete, with cornea, lens, and a pigment layer within the iris. snails as types of gastropods the gastropods (gastropoda), including the snails and slugs, limpets, whelks, periwinkles, sea hares and the like, are mollusca having the mantle completely enveloping the body, and the shell, when present, in a single piece, and usually in spiral form. there is a well-developed ventral foot, on which the animal creeps, and in front of it a distinct head bearing eyes and tentacles. these organs retain their normal bilaterality, but the body is, as a rule, inequilateral. the cause of this is the fact that on the animal's back is developed from the first a shell, which, with its contents, amounts to a relatively large weight, and it naturally falls over to one side. the mouth is armed with a flat, distensible, ribbon-like organ, studded with rows of chitinous teeth, that serves as a rasp and a boring instrument, and which is called an odontophore, or, in snails, a radula. most gastropods are carnivorous. the lowest in rank are the shell-less, or "naked" gastropods known as "sea slugs," "sea hares," and so forth. one mediterranean species of aplysia secretes a purple liquid utilized by the ancients as a dye, and this is still sought for in portugal, where storms sometimes cast vast quantities of the mollusk on the beaches. we come now to the great group of mollusks inhabiting fresh waters and dry land--the snails, whose group name is "pulmonates," that is, possessors of lungs, and breathing air. on the generally accepted theory that all these are descended from marine ancestors, and have gradually acquired the faculty of living on land, it would be natural to look for a series of mollusks that were amphibious, and, as it were, half-way fitted for a terrestrial existence, and such intermediates exist in all parts of the world. the little black melampus, which covers the mud of tide flats on both the atlantic and pacific coasts in tens of thousands, and seems just as happy when the tide is out as when it is in, or when it is simply refreshed by the spray, is a good example. a near relative, carychium, is still more emancipated from the sea. first among these pulmonates are those common in ponds and still streams the world over, of the family limneidæ, called limneids or pond snails. they are in various forms. some are limpet-shaped (ancylus), some are flatly coiled (planorbis), but most of them have shells drawn out into a graceful spiral; in all cases the shell is not composed of lime, but of the thin, fragile, horny substance "chitin." the best known one is _limnea stagnalis_, which sometimes reaches a length of two inches, and inhabits almost every quiet piece of water in north america, and in europe and all asia except india and china. these water snails of our ponds and ditches are exclusively vegetable feeders, and must come to the surface at frequent intervals to breathe, letting out a bubble of vitiated air, and taking in a fresh supply. should the pond dry up in summer the limneids burrow down into the mud, and remain in that heat trance called æstivation until the autumnal rains refill the basin and let them come forth. the small kinds called "physas," exceedingly common everywhere in this country and europe, differ from limnea in having the shell partly enveloped in the turned-up fringed edges of the mantle, and by being coiled from right to left instead of clockwise. this reversal occasionally occurs in individuals of all gastropods, which are then said to be "sinistral," as opposed to the normal "dextral" coiling; but in the physas it is the rule. next come the wholly terrestrial pulmonates--snails and slugs, distinguished from the pond snails, which have only one pair of tentacles at the bases of which the eyes are embedded in the skin, by having two pairs of "horns," one of which carries the eyes on their tips--good eyes, which may be quickly withdrawn out of harm's way by inversion of the tubular stalks. the thick, extensible foot is surmounted by a body coiled within the shell; and this foot secretes a viscid fluid that lubricates the creature's path, and often leaves a silvery trail. snails are mainly vegetarians. the mouth lies just under the front tentacles, and its upper lip is armed with a horny, crescentic "jaw." within the mouth is the lingual ribbon, which may be brought up against the cutting edge of the jaw. this tongue is studded with rows of infinitesimal, flinty teeth, the radula of our big white-lipped snail, a quarter of an inch long, furnishing room for , of these denticles; and as all of them point backward the tongue easily seizes and draws into the mouth whatever the jaw nips off. substantially the same sort of "tongue" is possessed by all the gastropods, but the arrangement and shape of the microscopic denticles is different in every species, and this is one of the "characters" used in classification. with it the carnivorous rasp away their food; and by bending it double and using it as a gimlet bandits like nassa, the oyster pest, drill through other shells and devour the occupant. you may pick up on any seabeach scores of examples of the work of these borers. in europe some kinds of slugs and snails do great damage in gardens, but we have little to complain of in this respect. largely dependent on moisture, the young snails that are hatched in midsummer at once seek retreats, and may be looked for under leaves, logs, and loose stones in the woods and pastures. most american snails are solitary, and will be found lurking in the moss beside mountain brooklets--a favorite spot for the glassy vitrinas--hiding in the crevices of rocky banks and old walls, crawling at the edge of swampy pools, creeping in and out of the crannies of bark on aged trees, or clinging to the underside of succulent leaves. some forms, very beautiful in their ornamentation when magnified, are so minute that they might be encircled by the letter o in this type, yet you will soon come to perceive them amid the grains of mud adhering to the undersurface of a soaked chip or rotten log. for fresh-water species various resorts are to be searched. go to the torrents with rocky bottoms for the paludinas and periwinkles (melania); to quiet brooks for physas and coil shells (planorbis); for limneas to the reeking swamps and weedy ponds. by pulling up the weeds gently, you may get small species that otherwise easily escape your dipper or net. in the southern states and in the tropics certain forms are to be picked off bushes and mangrove trees like fruit, especially the round "apple snails" (ampullaria) as big as your fist. sea shells in nature and art other familiar forms of gastropods are the limpets, keyhole and half-deck; the abalones, so much used in the making of ornaments; and the many small sorts of "periwinkles" studding the rocks and hiding among the seaweeds of every coast. then there are the pyramidal top shells (trochus), the bulging, wide-mouthed turbans (turbo), and the open-whorled wentletraps (scalaria) which years ago were so rare that collectors paid $ or more for a good specimen. the two former kinds are on sale in all seaside shops, with the natural rough brown exterior ground away until they gleam outside in the prismatic glory of the nacre layers that lie underneath. a group of heavy shells of carnivorous tropical mollusks furnishes ornaments for the mantelshelf also. these include the knobby volutes, often richly colored in marbled patterns or in spiral rows of round spots; the olives, whose ovate shells are sometimes dark purple, sometimes beautifully marked, and always glossy, because enfolded during life inside flaps of the mantle that completely protect them; the miters, that take their name from their resemblance in shape to the headdress of a bishop, and show splendid decorations in tints of red and orange; and the strong, spiny murexes, a small mediterranean species, which is the principal source from which the ancients derived their tyrian purple dye--a coloring matter yielded by treatment of the blood of many species, including one of the commonest little mollusks (purpura) on our own coast, which old-fashioned new englanders yet utilize sometimes for making an indelible ink for marking clothing. to this family belong the "drills" that destroy thousands of dollars worth of oysters annually in long island sound by boring through them. near relatives are the whelks (buccinum), extensively eaten in england; and two of the largest and commonest shells on our eastern sand beaches, known to northern fishermen as "winkles" and along the southern coast as "conchs." these (fulgur and sycotyphus) are big, pear-shaped creatures with chalky white shells that crawl about near shore, seizing and devouring anything they can overcome, and working havoc on planted oyster beds; they deposit their eggs in parchmentlike capsules shaped like gun wads and connected into a long chain that are often thrown up on the beach, where they are called sea necklaces. of great beauty in their rich variety of color and pattern are the tropical cone shells, of which a large number of species are known, some so rare as to bring great prices in the conchological market. their bite is poisonous. equally numerous in species are the charmingly decorated auger shells, some (pleurotoma) spindle-shaped, others (terebra) that would serve as models for a church spire. near them is classified that white mollusk (natica) whose globular shell is perhaps the commonest relic of the sea seen on our northern beaches, and sometimes is as large as a man's fist; to it belong the curious "sand saucers" to be found in august, which contain its eggs. these naticas are predatory, and burrowing their way through the loose sand come upon and devour other shellfish, boring a circular, nicely countersunk hole through their armor and feeding on its inmate; their depredations on the northern oyster beds are a serious matter. well known and always admired are the cowries, smooth, brightly colored shells, shaped like an olive with a gash down the length of one side. this long and narrow aperture is usually toothed, and it is only in the young that any indication of a typical spiral growth is discernible. the money cowrie of africa is small and cream-white. lastly a word must be said about the largest of known gastropods, the big "conchs" or wing shells (strombus), the helmet shells (cassis), and the tuns (dolium). they are west indian. the species most commonly seen in the united states, forming a border for flower beds in seaside villages, is _strombus gigas_, with a delicate orange-red or pink interior, from which are cut most of the shell cameos offered to art lovers. this shell, like the great spiral triton of the south seas, is also converted into a horn much used in foggy weather by the spongers and small coasters of floridian and west indian waters. the helmet shell, a heavy, rounder and smoother mollusk than the strombus, is also extensively used in cameo cutting, especially the african black helmet, in which a white outer layer covers an almost black underlayer on the broad lip. dolium has a large, globose but thin shell, ornamented with revolving ribs. the class scaphopoda is composed of a single family (dentalidæ) known as tusk shells, because the little shells, one to two inches long, are shaped like an elephant's tusk, open at both ends. the structure of the occupant is so singular, the animal lacking head, heart, gills, and some other ordinary features, that naturalists believe it is a hopeless degenerate. one of the species of the pacific coast is famous as the shell strung as ornaments and serving practically as money among the northwestern indians until very recent times, under the name "hiqua." nautilus, devilfish, and squid we have now arrived at the last and highest division of the mollusca--the cephalopoda, the class of the nautilus, ammonite, and other fossil forms, and of the squid, cuttles, and octopuses of our modern seas. the cephalopods are very different in shape, activity, and in their higher organization and intelligence, from other mollusks, but their general anatomy is the same. the special characteristic, as indicated by the name, is the fact that the head is surrounded by tentaclelike extensions of the "foot," which is here fused in part with the head, and divided into the long "foot arms," which are the instruments by which these predatory creatures obtain their prey. the underpart of the foot forms a tube called the funnel (or siphon). through the funnel the animal expels water from the mantle cavity, and thus propels itself through the water. when the siphon is in its normal position the animal swims backward; but it can be turned back over the edge of the mantle, giving a forward movement. in cephalopods the sexes are separate, the male being often much smaller than the female. the eggs are usually laid in gelatinous capsules, commonly known in new england as "sea grapes," and the development is direct, that is, without any free-swimming larval stage. the class is divided into two subclasses: . _tetrabranchiata_, cephalopods with four plumelike gills inside the mantle; and . _dibranchiata_, with only two such gills. in the first subclass belong all those very ancient cephalopods called in a general way ammonites, goniatites, orthoceratites, etc., that are found in such great numbers and astonishing variety in the paleozoic rocks, from the ordovician age onward, although but few groups survived beyond the carboniferous period, and only two families can be traced as high as the tertiary deposits, one of which--that of the nautilus--survives to the present day as the final remnant of one of the conspicuous and interesting populations of the primitive ocean. the pearly or chambered nautilus is one of several species inhabiting the east indies and the coral region of the south pacific seas, creeping along the bottom in deep water, most numerously at the depth of about , feet. hence the animal is not often taken alive, although the smoothly coiled and handsome shells are cast on the beaches in great numbers; and little is known of its habits or embryology. it is a soft lumpish sort of creature, with a great number of short arms and tentacles around the mouth, none armed with suckers. it begins life as a mere globule covered by a minute hood of shell; but presently, growing too large for this hood, it enlarges it by additions to the rim, and then forms behind its body a partition (septum) across the shell, cutting off the part in which it was born. as growth advances, this enlarging and partitioning continues until the nautilus has attained its full size. then, as before, it occupies only the outermost chamber, behind which the whole interior of the shell is divided by the septa into chambers, abandoned and empty, but filled with a gas that buoys it up in the water. oriental artists are fond of grinding away the dull exterior of the shell and exposing the gleaming nacre underneath; and of carving in this mother-of-pearl picturesque designs, examples of which are often to be seen in curiosity shops. this is not only the last remnant of the great group of ancient nautiloids, but one of the smallest, for some of the paleozoic coiled forms were as big as a washtub, and the straight ones were often six feet long. the dibranchiata, on the other hand, are comparatively modern, as their ancestry dates back only to the trias, and our seas still harbor a long list of living representatives. this subclass has two divisions: . octopoda--octopods, the eightarmed argonaut and other octopuses; and . decapoda--decapods, the ten-armed cuttlefishes, or calamaries, and the squids. [illustration: the chambered nautilus--section _h_, head. _t_, tentacles. _e_, eye. _m_, muscles. _s_, shell. _a_, air chambers] the octopods have a saclike body with eight arms of about equal size, in some kinds thick and short, in others long and snaky. every arm has along its underside a double row of round, muscular suckers without horny rims; and whatever is seized by one or more of these arms is drawn into the mouth at their base, where it is bitten by a beaklike jaw of sharp horn, and further devoured by means of a toothed tongue similar to the radula of gastropods. nearly all are tropical, but some species exist in deep water considerably to the northward. certain species are used as food in many parts of the world, and are considered a delicacy in italy and other mediterranean countries. the fishermen of japan and the philippines capture them by the simple process of lowering big earthen urns and leaving them on the bottom overnight; when they are hauled up in the morning many will contain entrapped devilfish, as sailors call them, which at once go to market. a very singular octopod is the little argonaut, or "paper sailor." its body is not larger than a walnut--that is the body of the female, for the male is only a tenth of that bigness. its home is mainly in the tropics and in deep water, but in the summer spawning season it rises to the surface, and is occasionally met with far northward on the gulf stream, drifting, apparently, in a snug little boat. the two dorsal arms are expanded into broad, roundish membranes at their ends, and old stories said that they were used as sails--a supposition of much use to poets; but the "boat," shaped somewhat like the shell of the nautilus, is not a shell proper, but a membranous pouch secreted by the mantle in spawning time, and not vitally attached to the body, but held in place beneath it by the two broadened arms, and serving as a receptacle for eggs and a cradle for the embryos hatching from them. turning now to the decapoda, we treat of things much nearer home and familiar on both sides of the continent, for these are the cuttlefish and squids, none of which have an external shell, but possess an interior brace to their muscles either of lime or of chitin. the cuttlefish proper, or calamaries, are those of the family sepiadæ, which have an oval, flattened body bordered by a fin; and two of the ten arms are, in the female, in the form of long, slender tentacles. in addition to being edible and easy to get, as they stay near shore, their calcareous back brace is the "cuttlebone" fed to cage birds; and they furnish the substance from which the drawing ink called "sepia" is made--principally in rome. this is a brownish black liquid that the animal jets out through its siphon when it thinks itself in danger in order to make an inky cloud in the water behind which, as a sort of smoke screen, it may run and hide. other cephalopods use this means of escape. the squids, however, are all elongated in shape, and have finlike expansions of the mantle only on the tail. two of their arms are long and slender, and are broadened at the tips, and studded with suckers. these suckers in some squids are strengthened by a horny rim, or by recurved hooks, or by both. the eyes are large, perfectly formed, and as serviceable as those of the fishes on which they prey. these, and some other animals, including small ones of their own kind, they capture by darting backward, swinging quickly to one side and seizing the victim in their sucker-bearing arms. they themselves are devoured by whales, seals, and many kinds of fishes; and enormous quantities of squids of various species are annually collected by fishermen for use as bait in the newfoundland fisheries. in place of the calcareous cuttlebone of the sepia the squids have their bodies stiffened by an internal strip of chitinous substance called the "pen." squids are of all sizes from an inch to twelve feet in length; then there is a surprising jump to the giants (architeuthis) of the north atlantic, which, when the tentacles are stretched out in front, may measure seventy-five feet from tip to tail. these are little different in structure or habits from their smaller brethren that exist in so many species near all coasts and throughout the midseas right around the globe; but their huge size makes them fit antagonists of the sperm whale, which hunts them, and whose hide often bears a record, left by their powerful suckers, to show how hardly some big squid struggled for life. these monsters are the greatest invertebrates known in present or past time; and it is probable that the long wriggling arms of one and another, glimpsed at the surface, may account for some of the sea serpent stories brought home by apparently perfectly honest sailors, especially those which in many cases recount that the supposed "serpent" was in conflict with a whale. carcasses of these gigantic squids are occasionally cast on the shores of labrador and greenland. chapter x animals with jointed frames the phylum arthropoda embraces an immense assemblage of small animals, inhabiting salt and fresh waters, the land, and the air above it. the typical members of this group have a body divided into segments, jointed limbs, some of which are modified into jaws, and a more or less firm external skeleton. the general organization is complex, with the nervous system and senses well developed, in some divisions showing powers of perception and brainwork of a very high order. the chief divisions, or classes, of the arthropoda are given below in the order of rank, from those simplest in organization to the most complex. members of the first three classes breathe by gills, and are termed branchiata, the remainder are air breathers or tracheata. _crustacea_--crabs, lobsters, shrimps, barnacles, beach fleas. _trilobita_--trilobites; eurypterids (fossil only). _xiphosura_--horseshoe crabs. _onychophora_--peripatus. _myriapoda_--centipedes; millipedes. _arachnoidea_--spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions. _insecta_--insects. as several of these classes contain many subdivisions, and thousands or even tens of thousands of species, all that is possible is to give the reader such an account of each important group, as will enable him to assign to their proper place such arthropods as he may encounter in his rambles, or in his reading, and to learn something of the manner of life in the various groups. crabs and their small relatives "everyone," says dr. calman, "has some acquaintance with the animals that are grouped by naturalists under the name crustacea. the edible crabs, lobsters, prawns, and shrimps are at least superficially familiar, either as brought to the table, or as displayed in the fishmonger's.... many, however, will be surprised that the barnacles coating the rocks on the seashore, the sand hoppers of the beach, and the wood lice of our gardens, are members of the same class. still less is it suspected that the living species of the group number many thousands, presenting strange diversities of structure and habit, and playing an important part in the general economy of nature." the great majority of crustaceans are aquatic animals, breathing by gills or by the general surface of the body, having two pairs of "feelers," or antennæ, on the front part of the head, and at least three pairs of jaws. most crustaceans are hatched from eggs, usually in a form very different from their parents; and they reach the adult state only after passing through a series of transformations quite as remarkable as those that a caterpillar undergoes in becoming a butterfly. all crustaceans, except a few much modified land forms, breathe by means of feathery or platelike gills which are always an appendage of the legs, where they appear as one or more lobes. colorless blood propelled by the heart wanders into spaces in these lobes, and there lies separated from the water by a mere film of tissue, through which oxygen is absorbed from the water. most crustaceans are covered, at least in part, by some sort of shelly coat composed of a combination of the horny substance "chitin" with lime, which reaches its highest state in the big lobsters and crabs. this not only protects and gives support to the internal organs, but also to the muscles by which the animal moves. in other words it plays the part of a skeleton. as it does not increase in size after it is once formed, and cannot stretch much, the crab must cast its shell at intervals as it grows. the new covering, which had been formed underneath the old, before molting, is at first quite soft, and the animal rapidly increases in size owing to the absorption of water. the shell then gradually hardens by the deposition of lime salt. the reader who may not hitherto have understood the difference between "hard" and "soft-shelled" crabs is now instructed; and it is observable that the figurative expression "a hard-shell," when applied to a man, signifies that he must undergo a complete change before his ideas will be enlarged. the simplest of the crustaceans are those small creatures of the subclass branchiopoda (gill-footed) that swarm in our waters, both salt and fresh. lakes, ponds and ditches abound in a variety of minute or even microscopic species that, in gathering food from equally small bits of dead organic matter, as well as from living plants and animalcules, perform an important service as scavengers--a service, in fact, performed by all crustaceans in a greater degree than by any other single group of animals. they also furnish the basis of food for the whole body of aquatic life, since it is upon these minute crustaceans that fish fry, tadpoles, insect larvæ, caddis flies, and so on, must mainly depend. one of them is daphnia, familiar to keepers of aquariums. another is cyclops, a favorite with microscopists and abundant in stagnant ponds, which is a member of the group called copepods that form an important part of the oceanic plankton, where they are the chief consumers of the minute algæ; but they also occur at all depths. in arctic waters the copepods are so abundant that they form the principal part of the food of certain fishes and of the whalebone whales. these, and their minute relatives, the ostracods, produce a large part of the phosphorescence of the sea, and some of them exhibit bright colors. all these are free swimmers, but nearly related to them are the barnacles (cirripedia) whose larvæ float about for a time near shore, and then settle down and attach themselves by their hinder parts to a rock or some other support, and begin to secrete an armature of limy overlapping plates that forms a strong cup in which they sit, often in a crowd that whitens a big rock. when the tide is low these sessile "acorn shells" are tightly closed, but when the water returns, bringing its load of invisible food, the animal stands up, as it were, and thrusting out its feathery legs sweeps the water to capture a meal--a beautiful sight to watch. the relation of the plates in the barnacle's cup to those in the coat of the higher crustacea is more easily seen in the more pelagic "goose barnacle," whose hinder part is extended into a tough, flexible stalk, while the fore part is covered by plates. this kind is fond of attaching itself to floating timber, to ships' bottoms, or even to the surface of whales, and thus floats or is carried all over the watery globe. to it belongs the ridiculous myth of the barnacle geese. great numbers of crustaceans of more advanced types live in the open sea, and at all depths; and many of them assume extraordinary shapes. the space between tide marks, and the mud of salt marshes and tidal creeks abound in a wide variety of species, some of which are familiar to everyone who lives at or visits the seashore. thus the sand and rows of drifted seaweed on all our eastern beaches are likely to harbor flocks of amphipods, well called "sea fleas" or "sand hoppers," which sometimes jump away before you in hundreds as you walk along. here, too, are to be found the pretty, burrowing "mole crabs," or "ivory crabs," so called from their shining white jackets; and a host of other species with strange forms and habits haunt the margins of tropical and oriental seas. all these are bandits, preying on whatever they can catch, and between times guarding themselves from capture by fishes, bigger crabs, and other enemies, by lying in mud burrows, to the bottom of which they are quick to retreat. the big arm of the fiddler crab, held across its face, closes its burrow like a door. one sort, the hermit crab, has all its hinder parts naked, and so backs into an empty snail shell, curling its taillike soft abdomen around the central column of the shell and so dragging it about with it, with its armored head and thorax sticking out of the mouth of the shell. as it grows it becomes too large for its first shell, and from time to time must leave it and find a larger tenement in which to ensconce itself--a perilous transfer. let me quote some notes i made on a new england shore to give a picture of crustacean life there in summer. "the lady crabs were plentiful, always alert, and inclined to be pugnacious at our intrusion. the first one i met instantly rose upright at the surface of the water, and when i made an advance it sprang half way out of the water and cracked its pincer claws together as if supposing it would reach, or at any rate frighten me. perhaps it was my shadow it clutched at so viciously. if so, the crab probably concluded its huge antagonist to be an intangible ghost upon which the most powerful claws could have no effect, for an instant later it _backed down_--literally and swiftly--to the bottom, and in a twinkling had wriggled tailwise into the mud and out of sight. when with my shovel i routed madame out of that retreat, she indignantly scuttled off too briskly to be followed, and will have great tales to tell of her adventure. "the stone and fiddler crabs were as common and comical as usual; and i made the acquaintance of a new one called gebia, which was a small, semi-transparent, bluish white, washed-out, bloodless specimen, shaped somewhat like a crawfish and carrying bunches of roe beneath its abdomen. it looked like a miniature lobster made of glass and filled with milk. then in the eelgrass there was a funny isopod, called caprella. it was half an inch or so long, and clung by its hinder feet to the grass, waving its body up and down in search of minute prey. other isopods and amphipods were exposed by turning over stones or digging in the sand at the edge of the water--small, pale, shapeless crustacea, which are flattened laterally so that they must lie on their sides, and when uncovered will kick about with feet and tail in laughable anxiety to get under something. under the stones we found the tubes made by a certain species; and when we captured the active little architect and put him in a bucket of clean water, he instantly began to gather grains of sand and stone and to join them together into a shield under which he might hide. we found that these grains were joined together by spiderlike threads, which the amphipod spins from two pairs of small legs under the middle of his body, secreting a fluid that hardens in the water. another (hippa) about the size and shape of a robin's egg, but with a thin shell of mother-of-pearl (so to speak), gave us great amusement by its extraordinary celerity in burrowing, so that we could hardly seize it before it had squirmed down out of reach into the wet sand." the edible crabs (cancer) live in the shallow region just below ebb tide, for they cannot endure exposure to air as well as other species, and live by scavenging. the lobsters are inhabitants of still deeper water, especially where it is somewhat rocky, and devour more carrion than living fish. that miniature of the lobster, the fresh-water crawfish, which is also edible, dwells in deep burrows in wet lands--burrows that are really wells half filled with water. various species of these and other edible forms of crustacea are found all over the world. millipedes and centipedes the myriapods (class myriapoda) are those unpleasant creatures more commonly known as centipedes, millipedes, or thousand-legged worms. they have a wormlike form, with the body divided into segments, a distinct head with antennæ, jaws and several single eyes, and a varying number of air tubes, or tracheæ; two sexes exist, and eggs are laid in the ground within cases formed by the mother of pellets of mud. they vary in size from an almost invisible minuteness to a length in some tropical species of six or more inches. the centipedes (chilopoda) are those flattened forms so often seen in and about rotting wood and vegetation or in moist ground, their bodies looking like a chain of plates joined together by flexible skin, each section having a single pair of legs, usually very short, but in one sort (cermatia) each leg is longer than the body, and the hinder pair twice as long, matched by two very long feelers. most of them are predacious, feeding on anything they can catch, and their strong jaws exude poison. the larger ones may inflict a very painful bite if incautiously handled. [illustration: giant centipede (_scolopendra gigas_)] another group, the diploda, are known as galley worms, or millipedes, and have two pairs of bristlelike legs on each segment. here the body is as round as that of an earthworm, and is incased in a hard, chitinous shell, usually red-brown in color; and when disturbed they coil up and emit an acrid, unpleasant odor as a defense. weavers of silken traps the class arachnida, which contains the scorpions, spiders, mites and their allies, connects the crustacea with the insects; and some naturalists include within it the eurypterids and king crabs, classified in this book with the crustacea. all live on land and breathe air except a small group of allies (pycnogonida) which are marine, and may be found on the rocks, and clinging to wharf piles, etc., on our coasts as well as elsewhere; they appear to be all legs, and are known to new england fishermen as "no-body crabs." the class includes seven orders, the lowest in rank of which is that of the scorpions (scorpionida). scorpions are inhabitants of warm countries, and some tropical american species are six inches in length, but those of our southern states are smaller. they have slender bodies consisting of a cephalothorax and a long abdomen ending in a sharp sting through which two poison glands inject poison into the wound made by it, the effect of which may be very severe on a man, and is fatal to the insects and other small creatures on which scorpions prey; this "tail" with the sting is usually carried curled up over the back. the body is protected by chitinous plates above and below. the legs are four. from the head spring two great, crablike, pincer claws. when these seize an insect they hand it back to two small but powerful appendages at their base which act as jaws. between them is a small mouth. scorpions are nocturnal in habit, hiding by day in crevices, and wandering about at night; thus they are likely to seek such dark retreats toward morning as a person's boots; and in hot, dry regions travelers must be cautious about examining their clothing and baggage to avoid being stung. the scorpions retain their eggs until hatched. the young when born differ little except in size from their parents, and are cared for with much solicitude by the mother, who carries them around with her for some time, hanging by their pincers to her body. the race is ancient, fossil remains occurring as early, at least, as the carboniferous age. the second order, pseudoscorpionida, includes the "book scorpions," a series of minute, stingless, scorpion-shaped creatures found in moss, under the bark of trees, or more often on flies. a third order, pedipalpida, is that of the scorpion spiders, or "whip scorpions" of the tropics; the fourth, solpugida, contains certain ugly creatures intermediate between scorpions and spiders; and the fifth order, phalangida, is that of the small-bodied, vastly long-legged things called "harvestmen" in england and daddy longlegs by us, which run about in the summer heat, and feed on minute insects. they abound in all the warmer parts of the world, and in great variety, south america showing some very bizarre forms. this brings us to the sixth order, araneida--the spiders. the spiders and their webs spiders are usually thought and spoken of as "insects" by the layman. many persons call almost every creature an insect that is small and supposed to be useless, or suspected of harmfulness. but spiders are different from insects properly so called in many important particulars of structure and habits. spiders have four pairs of legs, while insects have six legs. the spherical abdomen, which is cut off from the head by a deep constriction, shows no segmentation, and on its floor are large glands (the arachnidium) producing the silk which is exuded from three pairs of tubes with sievelike openings, at the end of the abdomen, called the spinnerets. their nervous system is highly developed, and they show much intelligence. spiders are of two sexes, but the male is usually much smaller than his mate. when egg-laying time comes the female forms a little silken bed attached to grass, or underneath a stone, or stuck to some object, or placed in a burrow, or hung like a hammock by long guy lines, and deposits in it eggs like drops of jelly. one sort places this under water, forming a nest like an inverted cup and filling it with bubbles of air, and spending much of its time in this real diving bell. a common garden spider (lycosa) forms globular cocoons, and drags them around attached to the spinnerets, regardless of jars and bumps. in a large section of the tribe this is all the use that is made of the silk, which differs from that of insects (caterpillars) in being made up of a great number of finer threads laid together while soft enough to unite into one. it is a common habit with spiders to draw out a thread behind them as they walk, and in this way they make the great quantities of threads that sometimes cover a field of grass. this is the gossamer often so annoying to us in late summer, but a thing of beauty when glistening with dew. the gossamer of autumn, however, is made by the very small spiders of the genus erigones, which hide in the herbage, but in the fine weather that comes after the first frosts climb to the tops of posts, fences and tall weeds, in company with the young of larger kinds, and "turning their spinnerets upward allow threads to be drawn out by ascending currents of air, until sometimes the spiders are lifted off their feet and carried long distances." these are the "ballooning spiders" of which one hears. in this way the whole country is overspread with lines and tangles of trailing silken threads that whiten our clothes and stick to our faces. three or four hundred species of spiders might be obtained in almost any locality in this country by diligent search, and thousands of foreign species are known; hence only a few conspicuous examples may be mentioned here. the tribe may be divided according to habits into two groups of families: . the hunting spiders, which run on the ground or on plants, catching insects by chase or by strategy; and . the cobweb spiders, which make webs to catch insects, and live all the time in the web or in a nest near it. in the former group are the drassidæ, a family of small, varicolored spiders that run about on the ground or in bushes, one large genus of which (clubiana) includes pale, or purely white species; their cocoons are baglike or tubular. the most conspicuous genus is misumena, in which the species are white or brightly colored, and which spend their days among flowers, waiting in rigid attitude for an insect to alight near them on which they may pounce. spiders can see well for four or five inches, but not much beyond that. the attidæ are small, hairy, or scaly jumping spiders, often brightly colored, that are found in open places and on the tops of low plants, whence they leap on their prey, or make long jumps to escape danger. to the next family, lycosidæ, belong the large spiders most often seen in fields and pastures. they are fond of dry, sandy places, where the females live in silk-lined holes. these lycosids are long-legged, rapid runners, and capture their game by running it down. to this family belongs the famous tarantula of southern europe, fabled to produce a madness (tarantism) in a person bitten that could be cured only by dancing to music of a certain lively measure called "tarantella." (the so-called "tarantula" of our southwestern desert region, is, however, another species.) a common northern spider (_lycosa carolinensis_) is its equal in size, (the longest legs covering a spread of three inches), and in color, black with gray legs. still larger is another north american lycosid (_dolomedes tenebrosus_), gray with spiny legs ringed with dark and light gray, which spreads four inches. these big ugly creatures, and the bites of spiders generally, are regarded with unnecessary dread by most persons. the jaws (mandibles) are close together at the front of the head. they are two-jointed, the basal joint stout, and the end joint or claw slender and sharp-pointed. the claw has near its point a small hole, which is the outlet of the poison gland. "the poison kills or disables the insects which are captured by the spider. its effect on the human skin varies in different persons. sometimes it has no effect at all; oftener it causes some soreness and itching ... and cases have been known in which it caused serious inflammation which lasted a long time. spiders seldom bite and only in self-defense, the bites so commonly charged to them being often the work of other animals." in the family agalenidæ we meet with the first of the web makers. these are spiders of moderate size, characterized by a big head marked off from the thorax by converging grooves. their natural home is in the grass, where their flat, closely woven sheets of silk, almost invisible by reason of their transparency, but brought into plain view when coated with dew or dust, are spread everywhere. they also are fond of getting into cellars and old buildings, and constructing webs across corners, bracketwise. somewhere the web sinks like a narrow funnel into a short tube in which the owner hides, watching hungrily until a fly alights on his silken platform. "the therididæ," says emerton, "are the builders of the loose and apparently irregular webs in the upper corners of rooms, in fences and among rocks, and between the leaves and branches of low trees and bushes. they are generally small, soft and light-colored spiders, with the abdomen large and round and the legs slender and usually without spines.... most of the therididæ live always in their webs, hanging by their feet, back downward. the webs have in some part a more closely woven space under which the spider stands." these spiders are quick to avail themselves of any chance to spin their shapeless meshes of almost invisible silk, which few regard as real "webs," in closets, cellars, and all over the house or barn. many of them are adorned with gay colors or striking patterns, and some are much feared, especially _latrodectus mactans_, about half an inch long, which is black with scarlet spots. it is common from canada to chile, and everywhere is considered fatally poisonous--why, it is difficult to say. last of our list, and highest in rank, are the epeiridæ, the "orb weavers," as they are often called, who make those regular spiral nets which are in our mind's eye when we think of cobwebs. most of the moderately large and handsome house and garden spiders are of this family, and everyone can easily examine their work, although it is less easy to watch them at it, as the webs are built and repaired at night. among the obscurer and foreign species the abdomen often shows humps, points and long forward-reaching horns that make them exceedingly grotesque, and doubtless difficult to handle by birds and other creatures that seize them as food. one of the round webs of the epeiridæ consists of several radiating lines, varying in different species from a dozen to seventy, crossed by two spirals--an inner spiral that begins in the center and winds outward, and an outer spiral that begins at the edge of the web and winds inward. the inner spiral is made of smooth thread, like that of the rays, to which dust will not cling; the outer spiral is made of more elastic thread which, when fresh, is covered with fine drops of sticky liquid. "in beginning a web, after the radiating threads are finished, the spider fastens them more firmly at the center and corrects the distances between them by [inserting] several short, irregular threads, and then begins the inner spiral, with the turns at first close together and then widening ... until they are as far apart as the spider can reach with the spinnerets [resting] on one and the front feet on the next, and so goes on nearly to the outside of the web, where it stops abruptly. the spider usually rests a moment, and then begins, sometimes at another part of the web, the outer sticky spiral.... as soon as the inner spiral is found in the way a part of it is cut out, and by the time the outer spiral is finished the inner is reduced to the small and close portion near the center.... the whole making of the web seems to be done entirely by feeling, and is done as well in the dark as in daylight. when the spider is active and the food supply good, a fresh web is made every day, the old one being torn down and thrown away." [illustration: american garden spider (_epeira vulgaris_)] as a rule these orb weavers do not stay in the web in the daytime, but hide away in their nests made in some near-by but concealed place; and their egg cocoons are hidden in all sorts of places. all of the spiders that have been considered so far belong to the division of the class that has but a single pair of lungs. a second division has been made for those having two pairs of lungs, composed of a single family, the mygalidæ, consisting of the so-called "bird-catching" spiders and the trapdoor spiders. the great mygale of guiana has a body sometimes two inches long, and its legs will span eight or nine inches of space. it is hairy all over, intensely black, and a terror to all small creatures, even catching small birds, according to tradition; but proof of this is wanting. the trapdoor spiders are those of the genera cteniza and atypus which dig and inhabit vertical holes in the soil, lined with silk and closed at the top by a hinged stopper or "trapdoor." several species occur in southern europe, one of which has a second door hanging by a silken hinge half way down the shaft; and in case of trouble the spider goes below it and pushes it above its head, so that the intruder is deceived into thinking it has opened an empty nest. _cteniza californica_ is the common species of our southwest. the cover of the hole is made of dirt fastened together with threads, and is lined, like the tube, with silk, and fastened by a thick hinge of silk. the spider holds the door shut from inside. these underground homes are safe retreats for the spiders during the day, and nesting places in which their eggs are deposited and young reared; at night the spiders go forth in search of prey. mites and ticks mites and ticks are classified with the spiders as degenerate relatives of arachnoid stock. ticks are large enough to be seen without a magnifying glass, and some become half an inch long. ticks are wholly parasitic. the female lays several thousand eggs at one time on the ground or just beneath the surface. "the young 'seed ticks' that hatch from these in a few days soon crawl up on some near-by blade of grass, or on a bush or shrub, and wait quietly until some animal comes along. if the animal comes close enough they leave the grass or other support and cling to their new-found host." these parasites are the agents of the spread of several infectious diseases of cattle, the worst of which is the destructive texas fever, and of mankind, as spotted fever and other ills resulting from the presence of blood parasites. chapter xi from butterflies to beetles and bees the generally accepted classification of the insects divides them into more than twenty orders, and these into hundreds of families whose species, already catalogued, are three times as numerous as all other known animals together. "there are, for example," as lutz remarks, " , species of insects to be found within fifty miles of new york city; more than , of these are either moths or butterflies." insects as a class are characterized primarily by the division of the body, when adult, into three clearly defined regions--the head, the thorax or fore body, and the abdomen or hind body. all insects have three pairs of legs, distinguishing them from the eight-legged spiders, and from the many-footed myriapods and other arthropods, and most of them have one or two pairs of wings, borne like the legs on the thorax, the abdomen never bearing either. the head consists of four segments, but in most cases the first three are consolidated into the hindmost, and are represented only by the appendages they bear. the foremost of these are the mouth organs, of which there are three pairs: the most anterior are the mandibles, next the maxillæ, and then the labium, the two latter bearing articulated prolongations known respectively as maxillar and labial palpi. the mouth has an upper lip (labrum) and contains a tongue. these mouth parts are variously modified, and by these modifications insects may be classified in two groups: "first, those in which the jaws and maxillæ are free, adapted for biting, as in the locust or grasshopper; and second, those in which the jaws and maxillæ are more or less modified to suck up or lap up liquid food, as in the butterfly, bee, and bug." it is in this latter group that we find those having those interesting relations with plants that result in cross-fertilization of flowers. [illustration: a florida katydid (_cyrtophyllus floridensis_)] from the forehead spring a pair of antennæ, which are not only "feelers," but the bearers of other senses. they are jointed, and exceedingly various in form and service. some are mere stubs, others long and slender as a whiplash, or they may be thickened at the end, as commonly in butterflies, or bear rows of hairs on each side, giving them in some cases a beautiful plumelike appearance. with their antennæ insects inspect by touch whatever they come in contact with, and test the shape of what they may be constructing, such as cells for their eggs. they recognize one another, and apparently exchange communications, or become aware of a stranger, and the ants induce their captive aphids to let down the honeydew by stroking them with their antennæ; but in many of these cases, if not all, additional information is derived through the antennæ by reason of the senses of hearing and of smell which many of them certainly possess. ears, or organs sensitive to vibrations, and delicate hairs and other processes connected with nerves responding to touch are found in various other parts of insects' bodies, but the feelers are preeminently the seat of the sense of smell. the eyes of insects are of two kinds, simple and compound. the simple eyes are small and practically useless single ones (ocelli) situated in a triangle of three on the top of the head. the compound eyes are on the side of the head, and are covered by a transparent layer of the chitinous skin (cornea), divided by delicate lines into square areas (facets). beneath each facet of the cornea is an "ommatidium," optically separated from its neighbors by black pigment, and consisting of an outer segment or "vitreous body" and an inner segment or "retinula" formed of sensory cells. in some such eyes the ommatidia are few, but in others extremely numerous, so that the eyes cover a large space; some hawk moths are said to have , facets. the nature of the picture conveyed to the mind by such an eye has aroused much discussion. photographs taken through the eye of a dragon fly show that, though the eye is compounded of many lenses and sensitive areas (retinulæ) corresponding to them, yet the whole eye throws one image on the retina. however complex such an eye may be, it is devoid of any focusing arrangement and can only receive a clear image when the retina and the object are separated by the focal length of the lenses. hence the need for active movement on the part of creatures having them. the head is connected with the thorax by a neck often protected by the overlapping front of the "tergum," or chitinous plate that covers the thorax. the thorax consists of three segments, named from the front backward "prothorax," "mesothorax," and "metathorax." these and a few other technical terms are in such constant use in describing insects that it is important to know them. the under (ventral) surface of the thorax is protected by another plate named "sternum." the armor is not continuous all around the body as in the crustaceans, but that on the upper surface is connected with the sternum by a seam of soft skin along the sides of the body. each segment of the thorax bears a pair of legs, each of which consists of a stout, flattened "coxa," nearest the body; a small second part, the "trochanter"; a third, the "femur"; a fourth, the "tibia"; and finally the "tarsus," or foot, terminating in a pair of claws, bristly on their under surface to give adhesive power. it is by means of these stiff hairs, and not by any suction or stickiness, that flies are able to walk on the ceiling and on vertical surfaces. the wings of such insects as fly arise from the tergum of the thorax, and are in two pairs except in the flies, where there is but one, the hinder pair being represented by two little protuberances called "halteres." usually the wings are strengthened by rods called "veins," and the patterns of venation vary in different groups, and form one of the means of classification. the abdomen consists normally of ten segments, and contains most of the digestive and all of the reproductive organs, above which runs the main blood vessel, and below it the highly organized nervous system, the chief ganglion of which, in the head, is termed "brain." the breathing of insects, although rhythmical in its inhalation and alternate exhalation, is not to the same purpose as ours. respiration goes on by means of a system of branching tubes (tracheæ) that ramify throughout the body, and to which air is admitted through nine or more openings in the side of the body guarded by valves called "spiracles." the buzzing of flies, "singing" of mosquitoes, and the like, are sounds made in these spiracles, not by their rapid wings. at intervals the tracheæ are enormously enlarged to form air sacs. these no doubt, lighten the body, but they probably serve also to provide a reservoir of air from which the fine branches are filled by diffusion, and into which the carbon dioxide is discharged. the circulation of oxygen in adult insects, however, is never by means of the blood, but simply by absorption by the tissues into which the excessively attenuated tracheal tubes penetrate. insects are bisexual, and male and female are always separate individuals. except in a few abnormal cases among the most lowly, eggs are produced and deposited in some favorable place for hatching. some primitive groups insects go back in geologic history to the middle of the paleozoic age, and their remains are numerous and much differentiated in carboniferous rocks, when the orders aptera, orthoptera, neuroptera, and hemiptera (the last represented in the silurian by ancestral forms of the bedbug and the cockroach--the oldest fossils yet discovered) were flourishing. the beetles and ants first appear in the trias, the true flies, in the jurassic, and the butterflies and moths, wasps, and bees not until the tertiary. this indicates an evolutionary progress in structure with advancing time, as elsewhere in biology. the most primitive type (aptera) is still with us in the skipping silver fish and snow fleas, or spring-tails, that annoy us in various situations. they are wingless, very simple in organization, and without any larval metamorphosis. not much better are the mayflies, or dayflies (ephemeridæ), that sometimes in early summer arise in enormous numbers from lake shores and rivers, and then quickly disappear. most of them live, in truth, only a single day (or night), a single one of the many american species surviving three weeks. during their brief life the female drops into water several hundred eggs where they presently hatch into swimming or crawling larvæ that next year, or perhaps not until the third spring, creep out on land, molt, and fly abroad in ephemeral crowds. it is not a long step from these mayflies to the dragon flies and damsel flies (odonata), which also belong to the water spaces of the country, and are among the most interesting of all the insect tribes, and the most beautiful, as they dart and curvet over the surface of some glassy pool that reflects the steel-blue or peacock-green sheen of their long slender bodies, and the black bars that alone make their narrow and almost transparent wings visible. they are known by many ridiculous names, as "darning needles," "snake doctors," etc., but there is no harm in them; on the contrary they are to be encouraged, for they consume, especially in their larval stages in the water, a vast number of mosquitoes, gnats, and other troublesome "bugs." the adults capture their food on the wing, and are hawklike in the agility with which they turn and dodge in pursuit of their active prey. the actual catching is done with the feet, which curve far forward, and are studded with spines that give a sure grip on anything caught between them; they assist, too, in clinging to plants, but the legs are ill-adapted to walking. the wings are very powerful; are of a glassy texture, and never folded; they are crossed by a great many veins, breaking the surface into innumerable small squarish areas, and bear markings that distinguish each of the two or three hundred north american species. dragon flies, and their cousins, the smaller and more graceful, low-flying damsel flies, pair as a rule in flight. in some of the families the female descends below the surface of the water, and is able by special apparatus to insert her eggs beneath the skin of a plant; others place them in plant stems above the water, or simply drop them at the surface, whence they sink to the bottom. the "nymphs," as aquatic larvæ like this, with incomplete metamorphosis, are termed, go about preying on anything they can seize and eat, and possess some very peculiar temporary adaptations to their underwater career. after a time the nymph (which is the "dragon" in dragon fly) changes from a rather slender to a broad and flattened creature and crawls out of the water. soon its skin splits, and an adult dragon fly emerges. closely allied to the dragon flies are the stone flies, or alder flies (percoptera), whose ugly and predacious nymphs are so well known to anglers as "dobsons," "crawlers," and by many other local and opprobrious names, because they make excellent bait for still-water fishing. the adult is that great, thin-winged creature called "hellgrammite" (_corydalis cornuta_), with a wing spread of four inches, and possessed in the female of powerful biting jaws, which, as in all insects, work horizontally and not up and down as among vertebrates. in the male the jaws are extended into long, curved, piercing organs which cross when at rest, and which are fully an inch in length, but fortunately they are not used as jaws, but for holding. related to these is a group of well-known insects belonging to the old order neuroptera, but now placed in separate orders, all with lacelike wings and an incomplete metamorphosis. they include the ant lions, the useful aphis lions, the scorpion flies (panorpa), the lovely lace-winged flies, and the caddis flies, which make larval cases of bits of stick, or of shells or fragments of stone, in the bottoms of rapid streams. from somewhere in this group, probably, the ancestral lepidoptera branched off to develop into the butterflies and moths of the present day. next to them are the earwigs (dermaptera), beetlelike insects very conspicuous in europe, but little noticed in this country. a musical tribe out of this confusing array of rather primitive groups we come to an extensive and well-defined order, the types of which are familiar to the most careless of observers in all parts of the world. this is the order orthoptera, "straight wings," which includes the cockroaches, mantids, walkingsticks, grasshoppers, locusts, katydids, crickets, and their humbler kinfolk. cockroaches are native to all the warmer parts of the world, and we have a common large brown one, and some others of our own; but the pest of our kitchens is the small oriental species whose origin was asiatic, and which probably accompanied the earliest westward wanderings of mid-asian men, and established themselves as boarders by the camp fires of the cave men. at any rate, the "black beetles," as the british call them--wrongly in both particulars--are now settled wherever ships have gone or civilized goods have been carried. as they first began to be really troublesome in new york city about the time when the croton water was introduced ( ) they got the local name "croton bug," but they are the world-wide _blatta orientalis_, scampering around where they are not wanted, carrying a queer packet of eggs under the tail. [illustration: two walkingsticks (_diapheromera femorata_)] the mantids--of which a common species in the southern states is known as "mule killers" because of the superstition that its saliva poisons stock--and the gaunt "walkingstick" insects that mimic twigs so well that they are not seen as often as they might be, introduce us to the great tribe of grasshoppers or locusts--two words that it has worried bookmakers to keep straight. the grasshoppers fall into two families, distinguished among other points by the length of the antennæ. the short-horned ones (acrididæ) are properly called locusts, and the long-horned family (tetigonidæ) are better known as grasshoppers, despite the fact that until recently the books called this family locustidæ. to the acrididæ belong the locusts that in years past have worked such havoc now and then in the west, when vast swarms came from the rocky mountains to the new farms along the eastern border of the plains, and ate up the young grass and crops, leaving the ground looking as if swept by fire. it is a story older than written history in all plains districts of southern asia, asia minor, egypt, and northern and south-central africa, where no earthquake, or tornado, or other reaction of nature against man's interference with natural conditions, is so dreaded as a visitation of migratory locusts. in this country any such "plagues" as half ruined kansas forty years or so ago need no longer be anticipated, because the plowing on ranches and other disturbance of the ground in which the locusts lay their eggs is now so extensive, and the methods of checking small flocks are so well understood, that the vast surplus generations that constituted a migration in search of food in the old days are no longer born. all the orthoptera are musical, or at any rate noisy, and make their rattling or piercing notes as instrumentalists, not as vocalists. "some species," writes frank e. lutz, "make a rasping sound by rubbing their hind legs against their front wings (tegmina). others rattle, while flying, their hind wings against the tegmina. these sounds are primarily amorous serenades, and nature's serenades without attentive ears would be even more curious than the ears for which the grasshoppers perform. in this family there is an auditory organ on each side of the first abdominal segment, just above and back of the place where the large hind femora start. notice the clear round spot on the next grasshopper you catch.... few have not heard the masculine debates as to whether katy did or didn't, but many do not know by sight the small, green, long-horned, stockily built disputants, both of whom usually stay high in trees. the musical apparatus of the male--the musician--is at the tegmina, and the leaflike wing covers, broadly curving entirely around the body, act as sounding boards. the female's wing covers do not have the thick rasp veins at their bases." a third family, the gryllidæ, contains the crickets--burrowing mole crickets, ordinary black crickets dwelling in the herbage, and several kinds of tree crickets that look like ghosts of their kind. all add to the noise of a summer evening by rubbing the roughened surface of their wing covers together--chirping to ears that are situated in the shins of the listening cricketesses. the true bugs skipping the white ants or termites, which are few and comparatively harmless in this country, but in the tropics make vast trouble for house-holders; the various sorts of lice and the little black thrips that destroys onions and some fruits, we come to the great assemblage that entomologists call "bugs," limiting the word to the order hemiptera, which now must be considered. the two features, basally common to all the immensely diverse members of the order, are the character of: . the feeding organs; and . the wings--in each case very distinct from that of all other insects. the bugs have highly developed piercing and sucking jaws. the mandibles and first maxillæ are transformed into stylets, often barbed toward the tip; these work to and fro within the groove of a stout-jointed beak (rostrum) which is formed by the union of the second maxillæ. the head is usually triangular in shape, as viewed from above. as to the second characteristic, the bugs are distinguished by the modification of the fore wings into partly horny covers for the entirely membranous hinder wings. this feature divides the order into two suborders, homoptera and heteroptera. in the first this hardening is little evident; but in the heteroptera--where not wingless, as in certain families--the fore wings are stiff and lie flat on the back when closed, whereas in the homoptera they are somewhat humped over the back, and droop down on each side a little. the triangular space marked on the back by the closed wings is a ready mark by which to recognize a hemipteran, or true bug. the hemiptera display a greater diversity of form than any other order of insects, and vary in size from almost microscopic scales to fat cicadas and "giant" water bugs. "some pass their lives in the upper parts of trees, others chiefly on the lower limbs; still others prefer the protection of roots, stones or rubbish on the ground; a large number of species select a home beneath the surface of the earth, often in the holes of ants or other insects; a conspicuous assemblage of dull-colored forms occurs only in the crevices or under the bark of trees and shrubs; while a host of others skim over the surface of placid waters, and a few are found remote from land upon the rarely disturbed waves of the tropical and subtropical oceans.... while the greater number derive their food either from the sap of vegetables, or the blood of fishes, animals and man, there are others which are satisfied with the strong fluid that accumulates beneath damp, decaying bark of trees, or still others which enjoy the juices of fungi or ferns.... those which creep about in search of living prey are often furnished with curved or hooked forelegs, suitable for seizing and holding creatures when in motion, such as caterpillars and other larvæ." the homoptera include the immense and destructive family coccidæ, the bark lice, scale insects, and mealy bugs, among which, however, are the useful producers of lacs and such dyes as cochineal. related to them are the aleyrodidæ, the destructive "white flies," and the aphidæ, almost infinite in number and in harmfulness to fruit trees and cultivated plants; also the queerly shaped leaf hoppers and similar minute, plant-sucking forms. it is one of the curiosities of zoölogy that associated with these minutiæ we find a family of bugs of large size--the cicadas, whose loud "singing" by the male in autumn gives them the name "locust," and often becomes annoying when one wants to sleep where trees are near by. the noise is made by vibrating membranes stretched over a pair of sound chambers, situated, one on each side, near the base of the abdomen. the cicada lays its eggs in slits cut in the bark. the newly hatched young drops to the ground and, burrowing into it, feeds by sucking the juices of roots. the time spent in the ground varies according to the species in various parts of the world. in the case of our "periodical" cicada it lasts about seventeen years, whence we call that species "seventeen-year locust," and know it, when a great swarm comes out of the ground and ascends the trees, by the humming of the crowd which sounds like the vibration of telegraph wires in the poles. [illustration: seventeen-year locusts - , pupæ, increasing in age; - , the locust imago struggling out of the pupa; , , , the imago stretching its wings; , empty pupacase; , , perfect locust. (smithsonian institution.)] the heteroptera, or proper "bugs," are a much larger assemblage, a few kinds of which have attracted popular notice. the long catalogue begins with the small "water boatmen" that live an active predatory life on the bottom of streams and ponds. other common aquatic families are the notonectidæ, that swim on their backs, the nepidæ, or "water scorpions," one of whose genera is that of the slender, long-legged "skaters" that glide so swiftly across the glassy surface of still waters. then there are the great water bugs (belostoma), which all over the world are the tigers of quiet rivers and ponds, pouncing from their concealed lairs on even minnows, small frogs, and anything else they can catch and kill. these great brown bandits are sometimes two inches long. some of the tropical species are strange in form and have extraordinary habits in caring for eggs and young. leaving the aquatic group, we come to certain troublesome plant-sucking bugs, and to the bedbug, which claims the longest lineage of any known insect, for the remains of perfectly recognizable ancestors are found in ordovician rocks dating from early in the paleozoic time. skipping the lace bugs, red bugs, or "cotton stainers," and others, we come to a series of families that are among the worst pests of the farmer and gardener, the chinch bug, squash bug, cabbage bug and many others, the aggregate effect of whose ravages causes a loss of millions of dollars' worth of crops every year, not only in this country, but everywhere that grain, vegetables, and fruit are cultivated; and in most cases it is not the native but introduced species that does the most damage. gilded butterflies and dusty moths the butterflies and moths, whose beauty attracts more collectors than any other group of insects, constitute the order lepidoptera, the meaning of which term is "scaly winged," in reference to the fact that the hairs that clothe and ornament the wings are scalelike. butterflies have club-shaped antennæ, and belong to the division rhopalocera. moths are heterocera. some of the moths, especially the males, have feathered antennæ, some threadlike, while a few tropical ones have "club" antennæ, so that this distinction is not perfect. the pupæ of butterflies are not protected by cocoons, as are those of most moths, and are usually called "chrysalides" (singular, "chrysalis"). butterflies in general only fly during the daylight, when few moths are stirring, and usually hold their wings erect when at rest, while moths hold them flat or folded against the body. the lepidoptera undergo a complete larval metamorphosis, and the process is more familiar to general readers than in the case of other insects. from the eggs, which are often objects of great beauty when examined through a lens, are hatched wormlike creatures that grow rapidly by repeated moltings of the skin into full-sized "caterpillars"; those of certain moths develop in community nests, but ordinarily they live singly. all have three pairs of thoracic legs, and a variable number of temporary "prolegs" near the rear of the body. caterpillars may be smooth, round, and colorless, or coated with a heavy fur, or bristling with knobs, tufts of hairs, and other appendages, and brightly ornamented with color; and many of these peculiarities appear to be wholly defensive in purpose. some caterpillars give off, when alarmed, disgusting and acrid fluids, and the hairs of others irritate venomously the skin of anyone handling them, and probably account for the fact that few birds will touch certain species. all caterpillars feed voraciously--in fact, this is the only time in the life of many species when food is taken, the adult moths and butterflies as a rule being neither willing nor able to eat. at a certain time, having completed its final molt, the caterpillar arranges itself according to the custom of its race, and subsides into a pupa. [illustration: caterpillar of the milkweed butterfly (_anosia plexippus._) (smithsonian institution.)] a century ago men interested in butterflies spoke of themselves as aurelians, explaining that "aurelia" was a proper name for the butterfly pupa because of the golden ornaments it usually bore. really, however, this characteristic, so marked in the gilt "buttons" of our common milkweed butterfly, pertained to only a single family--the nymphalidæ. when the nymphalid caterpillar reaches the turning point, it withdraws the abdomen a little from the cracking skin, exudes a little sticky silk which it fastens to its support, then hooks the tip of its abdomen firmly into this silk; this done, hanging thus by its tail, the caterpillar finally shakes off its coat and, as a chrysalis (a greek word of the same general sense as the latin _aurelia_) the pupa hangs, head down and inert, until the following spring. the butterflies of greatest size and most splendid coloring belong to the family nymphalidæ, whose hundreds of species are scattered all over the warmer parts of the world. here belong those gorgeous tropical ones, whose wings, sometimes with a spread of five inches, emulate the prismatic hues of the "eyes" in a peacock's tail, and which are so often seen mounted as lovely ornaments in curiosity shops; and here also is classified that strange "leaf butterfly" of malaysia, whose wings when closed so perfectly imitate a leaf of the tree on which it alights that the sharpest eyes can hardly find it. here, too, belong our brown-streaked "fritillaries," such as the vanessas, and darker ones like our mourning cloak, and many others well known to amateurs. [illustration: final molting of a nymphalid caterpillar (a) before shedding skin. (b) in act of shedding skin. (c) trying to catch hold of silk button. (smithsonian institution.)] all of this family have their chrysalides hung by the tail; but in the remainder of the butterfly families they are held in an upright position by a loop of silk that passes around them like a girdle. such are the "coppers," the "blues," the "hair streaks" and many other small, gayly colored species (lycænidæ) common in summer, to which season they add so beautiful an interest. in another large family, the papilionidæ, are found the great yellow and black "swallowtails," which are almost exclusively american, and several dark blue or purple-marked species, with "tails" to their wings, that attract the attention of the most careless as they lazily flit among the flowers. in this family, too, are the sulphur-yellow butterflies that dance over the roads and fields in little flocks; and, alas, the white ones whose caterpillars are so injurious to cabbages and similar vegetables. the last family (hesperidæ) contains small, rather obscurely marked, butterflies that connect the rhopalocera with the heterocera, or moths. [illustration: caterpillar beginning its cocoon photo, a. n. mirzaoff] in fact the distinction between the two divisions of lepidoptera is one of convenience rather than of science, for it marks difference of habits rather than of structure. instead of a naked pupa, that of the moth is inclosed in some sort of envelope called a "cocoon." this may be an earthen cell underground, or a woolly tuft fastened to some such support as the bark of a tree, or a leaf rolled and tied by silken threads into a tube, or a burrow in dead wood, or a paperlike case fastened to a twig; but in every case some special provision is made for the easy emergence of the imago when the time comes for its birth as a moth. the moths themselves do no harm. their few weeks of life are devoted entirely to mating and putting their eggs in just those places where the larvæ they will never see can have the food proper for them and the best chance for life--a matter of marvelous instincts and adaptations. few of them, except the hawk moths, eat at all. that is done in the caterpillar stage, when many sorts become destructive of the labor and hopes of the farmer and gardener and orchardist, or make havoc in stores of grain and meal, and in garments of wool and fur, carpets, and cabinets of natural history specimens. [illustration: moth and eggs photo, a. n. mirzaoff] most of the moths are small, inconspicuous, grayish or brownish creatures whose markings, very lovely when closely examined, so closely resemble in their mottlings the places where the moths rest during the day, that they are comparatively safe from the birds, monkeys and other enemies that seek to catch and eat them. some, however, are of large size and brighter hue. thus the silkworm moths of the orient (and of our own land) may measure four or five inches across the outstretched wings, as does the cecropia and others that flit about evening lights; and a near relative among us is the exquisite, long-tailed, luna moth, which is pale green with chestnut edgings; many others in this group are almost as "richy bedight" as butterflies. it is these that make the large papery cocoons so easily seen in the fall in trees and bushes. a remarkable family (bombycidæ) is that of the hawk moths, which much resemble in shape and action humming birds. they are day flyers, but most active in the morning and evening twilights, and hover on whirring wings before a flower, while with their long, tubular tongues they suck its nectar, for these moths feed as well as do their fat, uprearing, bulldoglike caterpillars, to which they owe another common name for the family--that of sphinx moths. their pupæ are lodged under, on, or near the ground in a loose cocoon, and are to be recognized by an appendage, curled around like a jug handle, in which lies the chrysalis' long tongue. flies and their hygienic importance flies, scientifically speaking, are only those insects of the order of diptera, distinguished by having only one pair of fully developed wings. they pass through a complete metamorphosis, and the larva is in all cases a "grub" or "maggot" destitute of legs. it is rarely enclosed in a cocoon but lies buried in the ground, floats in the water, or is protected by the last larval skin which, separating from the pupa skin, remains around it as a hard case. flies and their larvæ live in the most diverse manner. some flies attack backboned animals and suck their blood, some prey on smaller insects, some suck honey, and some find their food in decaying animal and vegetable matter. a large number of dipterous larvæ eat refuse, many feed inside growing vegetable tissues, and some prey, or are parasitic, on other insects. more than , species of true flies have already been named in the united states alone. the order contains all the different species and varieties of fleas, mosquitoes, sand flies, gnats, midges and gall flies. then come the blood-sucking gadflies, and half a dozen families allied to them; the scavenging syrphus flies, the bots that trouble cattle, the house flies and stable flies of deservedly bad repute; and, lastly, the horseflies, bee parasites, and botflies. the popular interest in these insects is confined to the flies of our houses and stables, and to the mosquitoes. in fact it is in the relation that the flies mentioned, and some others, bear to public health and comfort, that this group of insects is important at all to any but the special student. beetles and their grubs the beetles (order coleoptera) make up a very distinct and natural group of insects, characterized by the horny or leathery texture of their forewings, or "elytra," which serve as cases for the folding membranous hind wings alone used in flight. these elytra, when closed, usually cover the whole hind body. they are strengthened with ridges around their edges, and marked with a series of longitudinal furrows and often also with impressed dots. the hind wings are sometimes very small or wanting; in such cases the elytra are often fused together along their middle edges (suture). the head is usually extended from behind forward, having therefore a large crown and a small face; the feelers are very inconstant in form; the mandibles are always developed as strong biting jaws; the prothorax is free and movable; its tergite (pronotum) is a very prominent feature in all beetles, reaching back to the origin of the elytra. the beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis, and the larvæ, called "grubs," have various shapes, while the pupa is "free," that is, closely similar in development and appearance to the adult. beetles are world-wide in distribution and more than , species have been catalogued. they are divided into a great number of families, among which those mentioned below contain the most noteworthy forms. the tiger beetles are large-headed, predacious forms, most numerous in the tropics, which live in holes in the soil and rush out to seize passing prey. the ground beetles (carabidæ) are a very extensive family, represented in all parts of the world, and are insect hunters, destroying hosts of injurious insects. most of them are black or brown. the dyticidæ and hydrophilidæ are aquatic families, including some of the largest and fiercest of carnivorous beetles, the terrors of ponds and marshes, where they prey not only on other insects and their young, but on tadpoles, small fishes, etc.; and their grubs are quite as savage. the rove beetles (staphylinidæ) are a very large family of narrow, elongated species, which are very active; they feed mostly on small insects, worms and snails. the carrion beetles belong to the family silphidæ, the smaller among which live in moss and under tree bark, and the larger genera contain the noted "burying beetles." some groups of very minute, ground-keeping species lead to the familiar "ladybirds" (coccinellidæ), a large and world-wide family of small, rounded beetles, usually brightly spotted, which frequent plants of all sorts, and feed chiefly on aphids. some quaint superstitions pertain to these pretty insects, that should be attracted rather than repelled when they visit window gardens and greenhouses, which they will endeavor to clear of the "greenfly" and similar injurious plant lice. passing over several inconspicuous families we come to the dermestids, very small, dark-colored beetles of elliptical outline, some of whose genera are among the worst of household pests, and have been spread by commerce throughout the civilized world. some of the dermestids are troublesome as museum pests; others attack food in the pantry, store, or warehouse. "drugs do not escape their attack, species devouring even cantharides and tobacco; woolen and silk goods, feathers and furs, are ruined if left long exposed to their depredations; and one species is accused of biting young doves.... _anthrenus scrophulariæ_, probably introduced into america from europe, has received the names carpet beetle and buffalo bug, on account of its habit, both as larvæ and imago, of destroying carpets. this beetle measures about four-fifths of an inch in length, and is black, brick-red and white, the last crossing the back in two zigzag lines. the point of attack is the nailed-down edge or the lines of the seams." who has not been amused at the labors of the big black beetles that one meets in summer on dusty paths rolling balls of fibrous material. these "dung beetles" are the american cousin of the scarab of the ancient egyptians, which typified to them many mystical ideas connected with life, present and eternal. with its shovellike head and broad forelegs the beetle gathers and compacts the material it wants, and begins to roll it, sometimes with the help, more often against the struggles, of another beetle toward a prepared nest-hole. arrived there an egg may be inserted into it, and then the rounded mass is left as food for the grub to be hatched from the egg; if no egg is inserted, the ball becomes simply a mass of stored food to be eaten by its maker. processes vary among the , or more known species of this cosmopolitan family. not all of this great family are dung beetles, however, or scarablike. here belong the may bugs and june beetles that come blundering around lighted country residences in the evenings; and it is their fat white grubs that, hatched from eggs buried in the ground, devour the roots of the grass and other plants, spoiling the lawns and strawberry beds. the robin is their most effective enemy. among the lesser genera are those of the rose bugs, hated pests of the horticulturist and fruit grower. in that section of the family known as the cetonians are found the giants of the race, the west african "goliaths," four inches long; the tropical american hercules beetle, exceeding six inches long, half of which belongs to the forward-reaching horn of its helmet, the south american elephant beetle which is even more bulky, and several other giants, the males of which have the head ornamented with fearsome protuberances. other families of beetles are the buprestidæ, whose larvæ are injurious to trees by boring into their wood; the elateridæ, or snap beetles, which arch their bodies and leap when they happen to fall on their backs, and among which are found the many varieties of brilliant "fireflies" for which the american tropics are famous. the larvæ of the elaters mostly live in decaying wood, and are the justly hated "wireworms" of our gardens. then there are the meloidæ, that include the blister beetles, or oil beetles, one of which is the cantharides of the pharmacopoeia; and there are a great many more. honey makers and plant stingers a long shelf is required in the naturalist's library for the books relating to the hymenoptera of america alone--our wasps, bees, ants, and their smaller relatives, which engage everybody's attention by their social habits and amazing display of instincts. besides these three principal and familiar groups the hymenoptera include a host of other insects of great but inconspicuous importance. in large part these are parasitic on other insects or their larvæ, or even on their eggs, and some are the most minute insects known, virtually invisible to the unaided eye. scarcely larger are the makers (cynipidæ) of the galls so commonly seen on trees and plants in which they breed. another group (chalcidoidea) cause the swellings that disfigure plants by placing their young within their tissues, such as the "joint worms" that ruin grain; and here, again, many species are parasitic on grubs. then there are the sawflies (tenthredinidæ), resembling bees, whose ovipositors are like a pair of saws with which these insects are able to bore holes into wood, within which the egg is placed and the young larva burrows; of these are many and various kinds, all injurious to trees, garden shrubs and plants, each kind restricted to a particular sort of plant. perhaps even more numerous are the ichneumon flies, whose service in the world seems to be to keep the insect hosts down to the number possible to exist and at the same time to allow men and other animals to live. their method of life is to deposit their eggs on or in the bodies of other insects, usually in the larval stage, where they hatch and thrive by the slow death of the host. the ichneumon flies are the dread of all other insects, most of whose adaptations for self-preservation are directed against this insidious and universal enemy to insect life. none of the foregoing hymenoptera live in colonies or by social methods. that plan belongs to the four most advanced divisions--wasps, bees, termites, and ants. even among the wasps and bees, however, the larger number of species live alone or in single families, each female constructing a solitary receptacle for her purpose underground, in soft wood or otherwise. most species store with the egg placed there half-dead insects, or pollen, etc., as food for the grub, which receives no further attention; but a few, such as the big digger wasp (bembex) take food to the grubs daily. another class of both wasps and bees form nests of several cells containing eggs, and thus in spring families are originated by fertilized females that have survived the winter. as the larvæ develop in succession they are fed by the mother, and presently mature sufficiently to aid her in caring for the younger grubs. out of such family nests, or "combs" of paper cells, often attached to the ceilings of sheds and porches of rural houses, have apparently developed the mutually helpful societies of bees and ants, which are often of surprising extent and permanency. the prosperity of these social insect communities, whose instincts, habits, and products amaze us, is due to an organized division of labor in the community between three classes of "citizens"--( ) the comparatively few males, whose whole duty is to fertilize the queen mother and supply the community with progeny; ( ) the selected and specially nourished "queen"; ( ) a vast number of nonreproductive females, the "workers," that build and guard the nest, gather and preserve stores of food (honey), and nurse and rear the young. in some groups the duties of the workers are subdivided among classes that differ in size and equipment. it is these female workers, or their correlatives among the solitary bees and wasps, that sting, their useless ovipositors having been transformed by the addition of poison into deadly weapons by which they procure their prey, or defend themselves, or both. it is this division of labor, and attendant habits, that especially characterize the higher hymenoptera, and give to the order the supreme rank it occupies among insects. chapter xii at the doorway of the "upper classes" prime significance of the notochord we have been considering up to this point one of the two primary and natural divisions of the animal kingdom--that into invertebrates and vertebrates. although these are terms made familiar by long usage, and refer to the absence or presence of a backbone composed of jointed sections (vertebræ), a truer conception of the distinction is had by regarding the first as animals whose skeleton, or frame, that gives support to the muscles and other soft parts of the body, is exterior; and the second as animals whose skeleton is interior. the one is, in scientific language, an "exoskeleton," or more or less hardened outer shell from the inner surface of which the organs grow and maintain their attachment and leverage for work or protection; and the other an "endoskeleton," around which the organs and integument are accumulated by growth, and by means of which the animal's strength is maintained, the interior bones--of which the chief is the spinal column, or backbone--giving a firm fulcrum for the operation of the muscles and a support and protection for the vital organs. * * * * * all the vertebrates are included in a single phylum--chordata. this term has supplanted in zoölogy the old term vertebrata (now reserved as a class name only), because it is more comprehensive and precise. professor harmer says: "the axis of the backbone of all vertebrates is formed by an elastic rod known as the 'notochord,' which lasts throughout life in some of the lowest forms, but in the higher forms appears only in the embryo. the universal occurrence of this structure has been regarded as the most important characteristic of the vertebrata and their allies, which are accordingly grouped together in the phylum chordata. the members of this phylum are further distinguished from other animals by several important features. of these one of the most important appears to be the existence of lateral outgrowths of the pharynx, which unite with the skin of the neck and form a series of perforations leading to the exterior. these structures are the gill slits, and in the fishes their walls give rise to vascular folds or gills. with the assumption of a terrestrial life the higher vertebrates lost their gills as functional organs, respiration being then performed by entirely different organs, the lungs. but even in these cases, the gill slits appear in the embryo.... another fundamental characteristic of the chordata is given by the central nervous system, which lies entirely above the alimentary canal, just dorsal to the notochord. not only does this position of the nerve centers distinguish the chordata from the invertebrates, but a further point of difference is found in the development." this definition requires the inclusion of various creatures very unlike "vertebrates," and the phylum therefore embraces three subdivisions: . adelochorda--marine wormlike creatures having a notochord in the anterior of the body, and gill slits, both persistent; . urochorda--the ascidians or tunicates, small marine creatures, some fixed along shores, others free-swimming and in some cases united into swimming colonies (e. g., the salpæ), the tadpolelike larvæ of which show a notochord in the tail; and . vertebrata. this last great subphylum is divisible into seven grand natural groups with the rank of classes, namely: . _acrania_--lancelets (amphioxus). . _cyclostomata_--lampreys; hags. . _pisces_--fishes. . _amphibia_--amphibians. . _reptilia_--reptiles. . _aves_--birds. . _mammalia_--mammals. the first of these seven classes, the acrania, has usually, heretofore, been set apart as a subdivision equal in rank to the subphyla adelochorda and urochorda, and the remaining six classes were grouped into a coordinate subphylum craniata, denoting that they alone have a distinct head (cranium); the reason was that its members, the lancelets, have no spine, but only a notochord, which, however, extends from end to end of the body above the digestive organs, and persists in the adult and throughout life. the lancelets (amphioxus) are small, fish-shaped creatures that burrow in the sand of the seashore, usually leaving only the head exposed, and sucking in a continuous current of water which brings with it minute food. they breathe through gill slits. the reproduction is bisexual, and by eggs. the significance of the acrania in this phylum is that they represent a very early ancestral stage of the stock from which the higher vertebrates (craniata) have developed, and from which they themselves, of course, have also diverged to a certain degree; and it is because they retain many primitive characteristics that the study of their life histories has engaged the attention of so many eminent zoölogists and has thrown so much light on the evolutionary history of the "higher animals," or vertebrates. the roundmouths--lampreys and hags popularly included among fishes, the lampreys and hags of the class cyclostomata (roundmouths) differ from true fishes by the possession of a suctorial mouth devoid of functional jaws, by the single olfactory organ, and by the absence of lateral appendages, or paired fins. they have an eellike form and method of travel, and some species are a yard in length. they are bisexual, discharging both eggs and milt into the water to become fertilized by accidental contact. lampreys ascend the rivers to spawn, however, and there make little heaps of pebbles, carried and piled with the mouth, in which the eggs find some protection from the many egg-eaters in all streams. most, if not all, of the migratory parents die after spawning. from the eggs hatch larvæ that undergo a metamorphosis. lampreys live on small crustaceans, worms, and so forth, eat carrion, and also attack living fishes. the tongue, like the interior of the mouth, is armed with teeth. they are in the habit of attaching themselves to stones in order to hold themselves against a river current, breathing meanwhile by taking water directly into the pouchlike gill chambers and expelling it, instead of sucking it through the mouth and passing it out of the gill slits. in ancient rome the big sea lampreys of the mediterranean were eaten as a delicacy, and even cultivated in landlocked ponds, and they are still highly prized in some parts of europe. the hags are an even more primitive group of cyclostomes that live in the mud of shallow seas and are too abundant on both our coasts, where they are a pest of the fisheries. their general habits are similar to those of lampreys, but wherever possible they attach themselves to fish on which they feed. the hag is particularly destructive to fishes caught on "set lines" of hooks, or in nets, and the loss thus resulting on the coasts of california, in japan, and in some european fisheries is very serious. as these cyclostomes have no scales or other hard parts to be preserved except a few teeth, no fossil remains are certainly known, but it is the opinion of paleontologists that otherwise the class might be traced to the earliest paleozoic time. chapter xiii fishes--the aristocracy of the waters in beginning, with the fishes, an account of the typical vertebrates, it will be well to point out the structural features in which all agree. vertebrates are bilaterally symmetrical animals, with an internal skeleton, the axis of which is composed of similar segments (vertebræ) and divides the body into a dorsal and a ventral portion. this skeleton is first formed in cartilage, and remains so, or it may become more or less hardened by deposits of lime, or completely transformed into bone. the anterior end of the vertebral column (backbone) carries a capsule (the skull) inclosing the brain. when limbs are present there are never more than two pairs. the nervous system consists of a brain and spinal cord from which trunk nerves arise and ramify throughout the body. the blood is first driven to the gills, or to the lungs, as the case may be, by means of a heart having either one or two auricles, and after it has traversed the body through arteries and veins it returns to the heart. the stomach, liver, and other viscera, lie in the ventral part of the body. the skin produces a protective covering characteristic in each division of the class, as scales for fishes, feathers for birds, and so forth. fishes are vertebrates fitted to live in water. their typically fusiform shape is that best adapted to progress through the rather dense medium they inhabit; and their limbs are swimming organs, or "fins." these are of two kinds, "paired" and "median." the former are the pectorals, one on each side of the forward part of the body, and the pelvic, or ventral fins on the belly and near together; these four serve, like the bilge keels of a ship, to maintain stability--prevent rolling over--rather than for progression. the median fin is vertical, and extends around the tail from the middle of the back to the end, when it is complete; but in most cases it is represented by an upright fin, the "dorsal" on the back, by the "caudal" fin fringing the tail, and by the "anal" fin at the vent. the powerful caudal fin is the principal agent in swimming, aided by undulatory movements of the dorsal and ventral fins; and it has a twisting action that drives the animal forward as does the rolling of the oar in "sculling" a boat. the median fins are developed from the skin, and are supported by a skeleton system of their own, not connected with the spine. in most fishes the upper and lower halves of the caudal fin are alike, and the tail is symmetrical, but in sharks and some others the end of the spine curves upward and the lower wing of the tail is much larger than the upper; in the former case the caudal fin is said to be "homocercal," and in the latter "heterocercal." the fins of fishes are in many species modified and adapted to purposes remote from swimming or balancing. thus it is the first dorsal fin of the remora that has become the sucker on its crown; in the angler the first rays of the back fin are lengthened and lobed to form its "lure," and elongation of various fin rays as feelers, or light bearers, etc., may be found elsewhere. the pectorals are enormously enlarged to make wings for the flying fish and the gurnard, and to give a substitute for legs to the oriental gobies that like to go ashore, while the ventrals are transformed in certain fishes of swift streams into organs by which they can fasten themselves to the bottom or climb against a cataract. the skin of fishes is rather thick and tough, and abounds in glands that secrete mucus, and in cells that secrete the hardening, or protective, denticles and scales that form the coat of most species, and which differ widely. louis agassiz distinguished four kinds of scales--placoid, ganoid, cycloid and ctenoid. the first named occur only in the selachians (sharks and rays) and are variously shaped particles of lime that prick through the skin, which makes excellent polishing material when prepared as "shagreen." these "denticles" in the skin become teeth in the mouth without change of structure, and the great spurs with which the "saw" of the sawfish is armed are only extreme instances of this special adaptation. ganoid scales are such as formed the armor of the great extinct tribe of ganoid fishes, a remnant of which survives in our gar pikes, or billfish. in some of the fossils they are roundish, and overlap, but in modern ganoids they are rhombic in shape and plate the body edge to edge, connected by toothlike processes that articulate with the adjacent scales, and permit flexibility in the body. the outer face of the scales is enameled, like teeth, beneath which is a layer of bone substance and the teeth in the mouth are only modified scales. cycloid and ctenoid scales are those of ordinary fishes, and are precisely alike, except that the hinder, or attached, end of the latter is split into a comblike fringe. they have a rounded or often polygonal form, are composed of lime, and are translucent, thin, elastic, and overlap like shingles on a roof. the scales of fishes increase in size with the animal's growth by additions to the exposed rim, and as these accessions may be observed, by counting them the age of the fish may be computed, when checked by certain other considerations. the colors of fishes are produced by pigment cells, both in the skin and on the outside of the scales; and by a peculiar tissue composed of secretion products called "iridocytes." these, by their various ways of reflecting light, and by the color elements contained in them, give rise to the different hues of fishes. fish show their inferiority as a class by retaining the method of respiration by means of gills characteristic of the aquatic invertebrates. the gills are composed of bright red tassels set on hoops that encircle the throat, and are usually covered by a movable flap--the "gill cover." under this flap, the neck of the fish is perforated by crescentic slits. the fish normally breathes by taking gulps of water into the mouth and throat, and squeezing it out through the gill slits; during its rhythmical passage over the thin gills the oxygen of the dissolved air is absorbed by the hæmoglobin of the red blood, and is carried away to incessantly revivify the body; and at the same time carbon dioxide is set free and got rid of in the outgoing stream. an organ peculiar to fishes is the air bladder--a sac lying under the backbone and communicating by a duct with the stomach. it is not only of service in respect to buoyancy, but is accessory to respiration. in spite of its name, however, it does not contain air, but a gas rich in oxygen and nitrogen which is secreted by certain arteries and is carried away when needed by other blood vessels, as fat and starchy substances are stored elsewhere and may be drawn upon when food falls short. nevertheless, the chief function of the "swim bladder," which is exceedingly varied in shape, is to render the fish of the same weight as the water in which it lives. in this condition of equilibrium the fish swims with a minimum of muscular effort. a consequence of the organization, however, is to restrict the vertical range of each fish and kind of fish, because any considerable movement up or down means a change of pressure. this will bring about the expansion or contraction of the volume of gas in the air bladder and thus alter the specific gravity of the animal. such automatic adjustment is limited, however, and practically prevents a fish rising or falling far above or below the depth to which it was born; and the fatal effects of violent change are seen in those fishes brought up in explorers' dredges from great depths, the air bladders of which are invariably so distended as to kill the animal. nevertheless, some species seem able to migrate from and to great depths; and temperature is perhaps a greater factor in vertical distribution than the air bladder, the adjustments of which must be slow. the great body of fish life in the sea resides within about fathoms of the surface. fishes have a brain and a system of nerves and sense organs varying according to rank, and outlining the higher developments of the nervous system as found in mammals. of the sense organs the most peculiar are the small sensitive bodies scattered in various parts of the skin, fins and mouth, called "end buds," each at the terminus of a nerve fibril. these buds seem to carry the sense of feeling, and are said to be represented in mammals by the taste buds in our tongues. they are aggregated in a narrow band along the side of the fish, and in a maze on the side of the head, called the "lateral line," the course of which is plainly visible on many fishes, as for example, on the sunfish of brooks and ponds. this lateral line consists of canals in the skin, opening to the surface by pores, and reached by branches of large nerves. the use of the lateral line to the fish is not well known, but it is believed that its cells are of service in balancing the body. as blind fishes are able to avoid obstacles with the greatest ease when swimming, it is possible, in the opinion of dr. bridge, that these organs enable their possessors to appreciate undulatory movements in the water in the shape of reflex waves from contiguous surfaces or objects. one feature of the lateral line on the head are the "auditory organs," varying with the kinds of fish, which contain semicircular canals, with otoliths, in the more or less complete form of an internal ear. each is reached by the auditory nerve from the brain and is also connected with the air bladder in many cases. whether this is a true organ of hearing in the ordinary sense, or whether it serves some other purpose, as, for instance, the regulation of the distension of the air bladder, is not known. the old question of whether fishes hear sounds made above the water is not yet answered scientifically; but it is probable that they can feel the jar of sounds made in the water, which is equivalent to hearing, as far as it goes. fishermen have a saying that if you swear you won't catch any fish--a good precept, anyhow; but more effective is the care anglers take not to step heavily, nor to make loud, jarring noises, near the bank of the stream in which they mean to cast their lines. the great majority of fishes have good eyesight, and the eyes themselves are similar in structure to those of the higher land animals; but it seems probable that the range of vision is short. the eyeballs are usually large in proportion to the size of the head--sometimes strikingly so--and are movable; while the situation in the head is naturally such as to give the most advantageous vision according to the habit of life. thus those of sharks, and other predatory sorts that live by the chase, are well forward; while those of bottom-feeders, and especially rays, flatfish, anglers and the like, are in the top of the head, looking upward. nocturnal species have the largest eyes, but the unfortunate cave fishes, whose whole life is, and has been for unnumbered generations, passed in the total darkness of caverns and underground streams, have lost the use of their eyes altogether, and the organs themselves have disappeared by atrophy. blindness is found also in oceanic families that dwell far below the penetration of daylight; yet many fish of the stygian depths, which, so far as we know, never leave that region of utter blackness, possess big and apparently efficient eyes. most of the blind or nearly blind sea fishes thus far obtained have been in hauls from a depth of about , fathoms. it is believed that the ability to see in deep-sea fishes is connected with the light-giving (phosphorescent) organs possessed by many of them, and with the fact that animals of all sorts on the sea bottom in deep water are luminous, and so reveal themselves to the predatory creatures that feed on them, while the fishes' own "lanterns" enable them to chase moving prey, avoid enemies, and find mates. fishes have efficient olfactory organs situated near the snout, and in the higher families they are in pairs and become true, but internal, nostrils. the sense of smell is strong, and perhaps more useful on the whole than the sense of sight, especially among the carnivorous species. sharks seem to follow their prey by scent like hounds. all these senses serve instincts related to the necessities of the individual and the race in each kind of fish. this is sometimes manifested in what appears to us as cunning means of safety or of provision for young; but discriminative intelligence is small in fishes, which probably are able to learn little more than that at certain places and times food may be had, as is illustrated in cultivated fish ponds, where the captives from infancy onward are fed regularly. anglers tell of old trout that refuse year after year to be beguiled by their experiments in flies; but it is doubtful whether this is anything more than an increased wariness due to frequent disturbance. the remora is, or has been, used by the caribs of the west indies and the negroes of zanzibar for catching sea turtles, a line being fastened to a captive and comparatively tame remora carried in the boat, and the fish turned loose as soon as a turtle is seen at the surface. the remora will make a bee line for the turtle and attach itself firmly to the shell so tenaciously that both animals may be dragged to the boat. it is to be noted that the fishermen see the turtle near by before they dispatch their living grapple, and it is doubtful whether the remora has any notion of what it is doing. it simply obeys repeatedly an instinct. this very low degree of intelligence is doubtless owing to the almost invariable environment of piscine lives, in which virtually nothing occurs to suggest any change in traditional habits or arouse into activity any rudiments of mind a fish may possess. mental inertness is characteristic of aquatic animals of all kinds, as contrasted with the correlated activity of body and mind of land animals stimulated by varied and changeable surroundings. the breeding habits of fishes furnish one of the most interesting chapters in their natural history, and many surprising facts have been learned within a few years in regard to the reproduction of marine species, of great value to the sea fisheries. in all fishes the sexes are separate. as a rule females are larger than males, and more numerous. the size of the egg in any group depends on the amount of food yolk stored for the sustenance of the young, which must thrive by its absorption until it is able to eat by its mouth. the largest are the eggs of sharks, etc. (elasmobranchii), which resemble fowls' eggs. the european dogfish, perhaps two feet long, has eggs an inch in length, each in a flattened leathery "purse" having tendrils at the ends that twine about weeds and anchor it like a rocking cradle. the similar egg capsules of skates, dropped on the sand, are common objects on all beaches. elasmobranch eggs are deposited at intervals throughout the year and, as they are exposed to comparatively little danger, are few in number. in most other orders spawning, as the egg laying of fishes (and aquatic amphibians) is termed, is limited to a short period, the eggs are small, and the number of eggs produced is often enormous--five or six millions in a large cod, for example. in the majority of teleostomi--a group name embracing all the modern bony fishes--the eggs are voided broadcast into the water, the males at the same time emitting clouds of milt. these eggs are of two kinds, one that sinks and, often being glutinous, sticks to some object on or near the bottom, and is called "demersal"; and another that contains an oil bubble, making it so buoyant that it floats, and these latter are called "pelagic." the fertilization of such spawn must be accidental, but as the milt and the eggs sink or drift together the number that come into fertilizing contact is no doubt considerable. nevertheless, an extremely small percentage ever reach the point of hatching, and still fewer survive to become mature, for in addition to unfavorable circumstances of water and temperature, every living thing, almost, in the ocean, including the parent fish themselves, is a devourer of the eggs and young of fish; and it has been said that the vast number of eggs dispensed by certain species, only a single pair of which on the average survives to maturity, is one of nature's methods of providing food for the inferior forms of marine life. chapter xiv sharks--the tigers of the sea only a rapid systematic sketch of the class pisces, fishes, is possible, distinguishing the main divisions, alluding to their history, and touching here and there the most characteristic genera and species of the thousands that have been described by ichthyologists. the primary division is into three subclasses: . _elasmobranchii_--sharks, skates, rays, etc., having a cartilaginous skeleton. . _teleostomi_--ordinary fishes, having a bony skeleton. . _dipnoi_--lepidosiren, and many extinct, primitive families. in the elasmobranchii, or selachians, the skeleton consists of cartilage, as in the embryos of all fishes--a sign of their primitive and inferior rank; but parts of it in various species become hardened by depositions of lime, especially in the vertebræ, in spines and teeth, parts often well preserved as fossils. sharks' teeth are among the best known of fossils, and before science established their true character were commonly called "birds' tongues," or "snakes' tongues." the sharks, first to be considered, are a very ancient race, originating in early paleozoic times. of the many curious extinct forms that terrorized the silurian, devonian, and carboniferous seas, a few representatives still exist in the south pacific, notably the cow sharks; an eellike japanese species with frilled gills that dr. garman thought might easily fill the rôle of "sea serpent"; and the quaint bullhead, or port jackson sharks of australian waters; all these are of small size and the last named represents the principal race in mesozoic seas. their flat teeth form a sort of pavement of the mouth, enabling them to crush the mollusks and crabs on which they chiefly feed. next in a rising order of classification, and of somewhat more recent origin geologically, is the european family of dogfishes (scyllidæ), which includes also the "ground sharks" of warm seas--deep-water fish eight to twelve feet long, that creep about near the bottom in search of prey. next come the large pelagic sharks of the family carchariidæ, which contains about sixty species, scattered over all the seas, and one confined in the fresh water of lake nicaragua. one section, that of the "topes" and "hounds" of temperate and warm seas, are bottom-feeders, and have pavementlike teeth adapted to crushing and grinding the shellfish on which they subsist; but most of the family are swift and powerful hunters of fishes in the open sea, such as the dreaded tiger shark of the west indies, which is variegated in color and sometimes twenty feet long, and the equally big blue, white, dusky, and other ferocious bandits ranging not only the tropical seas, but more common in northern oceans than is generally supposed. the teeth in these and other hunting, fish-catching sharks, are shaped somewhat like arrowheads, in some cases smooth-edged and single-pointed, in others with sharply notched edges and side cusps. they are set in the flesh of the jaw, unattached to the underlying bones, in concentric rows, one close behind the other, all round the front of the mouth, both above and below, and look and act like a set of saws, a sidewise movement of the jaws sawing through an object seized in a single bite. as fast as the front row of teeth are lost they are replaced by those of the row immediately in the rear. but all gradations exist between these and the mosaic of "pavement" teeth in the topes. the mouth of these hunting sharks is on the underside of the head, and they must turn on their backs to seize anything floating or swimming near the surface. this is the group that furnishes the "man-eater" stories--tales that have been substantiated by so many terrifying examples that no precaution of safety against them should neglected, even on our northern coasts, where the ravenous blue shark, or the dusky species, may appear at any time, even in harbors. a few years ago a man was seized by one of these sharks in a little inlet of new york bay, at freeport, new jersey. blue sharks are nocturnal in habit, and are sometimes seen asleep or resting in the daytime, with the tips of the two dorsal fins, characteristic of this family, in sight above the surface of the water. "so gentle are they in their movements," says one authority, "that, unlike many other monsters of the deep, they do not disturb the luminous creatures, which at the same time will be lighting every wavelet with their phosphorescence. blue sharks are not very particular as to what fish they take as food, though those which are gregarious in their habits, like mackerel, pilchards, and herring, are most commonly hunted by them." a curious relative of these "man-eaters" is the hammerhead, in which the sides of the head are extended in two great lobes, with eyes at their extremities; this kind of shark is greatly feared in the east indian seas. in spite of it, and the prevalence of other huge and voracious sharks, the arabs about the entrance to the red sea, and the natives of other oriental shores, will swim and dive in the open sea, apparently without fear, where europeans would be devoured almost instantly. another peculiar shark is the thresher, well known in the north atlantic as elsewhere for its strategic maneuvers. it grows to a length of fifteen feet, of which the tail forms at least one half. quite inoffensive to man, the thresher feeds on the shoals of smaller teleosts, such as pilchards, herrings, and sprats. when feeding it swims in gradually diminishing circles around the shoal, splashing the water with its long tail, and keeping the victims so crowded together that they become an easy prey. hammerheads and their relatives, the "bonnet" sharks, frequently visit both our shores in summer. the porbeagles are big, fierce sharks of the family lamniidæ, the giant of which is rondelet's shark, known to attain a length of more than forty feet. the triangular, saw-edged teeth of such a one measure nearly an inch across the base; but similar fossil teeth, and also others dredged from the bottom of the south pacific, are much larger, indicating sharks beside which rondelet's would be small, and in all probability these monsters survived to a comparatively recent date. a remarkable lamnoid shark of japanese deep waters has the snout produced into a long, flat, flexible, leaflike blade. closely related sharks, almost as big, are well known in the north atlantic. two of them, the "bone" and the "basking" sharks, are killed by fishermen whenever encountered for the sake of the oil in their livers. the name of the second refers to its habit of loafing and sleeping on the surface on fine days, when a boat may go so near it that a harpoon may be planted in its hide before it will move. the real "basking shark," however, is a gigantic species of rhinodon, of the indian and south pacific oceans, with a very bulky body that may exceed forty-five feet in length. both of these ponderous fishes are sluggish, and are not dangerous to man, except that a blow of the tail may smash a boat when an attempt is made to harpoon them at close quarters. they feed on small fishes that go in shoals, and also, perhaps, on seaweeds. the last sharks to be mentioned are american dogfish of the family squalidæ (another family, scyllidæ, are known as "dogfish" and "hounds" in great britain), which are numerous and greatly hated along both our northern coasts. the common gray dogfish of the north atlantic and california coasts is the spiny one (_squalus acanthias_), the larger females of which will weigh about eight pounds. it makes its home in deep water off the new england coast, approaching the shore when the mackerel come in and disappearing when they depart; but dogfish are to be found all summer in shoal places such as george's bank, and irregularly in shore inlets. in the late autumn they become numerous on the grand banks, and stay there until the winter's cold drives them away into deeper water. everywhere these small sharks are a nuisance to the fishermen, by tearing nets and by eating the cod, etc., hooked on the trawl lines. formerly they were regularly hunted for the oil in their livers, which is especially valuable for certain purposes, as in harness making, but the price of this oil is now low, and the fishery has declined. the economic use of sharks is not great except as producers of oil. the flesh is good food, but not popular. in china sharks' fins are a favorite substance for delicate soups and sauces, and a very large trade in catching sharks for their fins is carried on near bombay, and in east indian waters. the ugly angel shark, with its squat, toadlike body, big, winglike side fins and thick tail, occupies an intermediate place between the sharks and the rays. it creeps along the bottom, and is remarkably voracious. the chimæra is another queer "monster" of the deep. chapter xv the fearful devilfish and other rays the rays (order raiæ) differ from the sharks superficially rather than in structure, where the most important difference is the position of the gill clefts, which are lateral in the sharks and ventral in the rays and skates, as the smaller members of the order are called. the majority of them have a flattened, depressed body, from which the broad, expanded pectoral fins are scarcely distinct, while the tail is usually long and slender, in one family so much so that they are known as "whip rays;" and in some a horny point at the tip is connected with a venom gland so that its pricking is poisonous, and these are called "sting rays." all the rays are carnivorous, but only the sharklike forms (sawfishes and the rhinobatidæ) actively pursue their prey. the true rays live on the bottom and feed on shellfish and small fishes. most of them bring forth a few young alive, but many lay eggs in squarish, oblong, leathery cases with tendrils at the corners by which they become moored to eelgrass, etc; they are frequently cast up on beaches, and go by the name of "sea purses," in the earlier stages the young ray is much like a shark, and the enormous development of the pectoral fins does not occur until nearly the time of hatching. [illustration: caterpillar protected by form and color resembling the twigs of a tree] [illustration: sea horse protected by form and color resembling the marine plants among which it lives] the sawfishes, of which several tropical species are known, besides one common in the atlantic and mediterranean, are among the most remarkable of oceanic fishes. the body is slender, sharklike, and of great power. the head is flattened, and the snout projects into a hard, flat, sword-shaped beak, the edges of which are thickly studded with sharp teeth; and this singular weapon places all the large inhabitants of the ocean at the mercy of this powerful marauder--it is the worst enemy of whales, even, in the warmer seas, as is the "killer" in the arctic region. with it the sawfish cuts and slashes, tearing off pieces of flesh, or ripping open the abdomen of its opponent, then seizing the detached pieces. one can easily picture to himself the slaughter when a sawfish dashes into a school of fishes, squids, or porpoises, and slashes right and left with his ripsaw of a beak. some of the oriental species reach, and even exceed, twenty feet in length, and dr. day, the indian ichthyologist, says that such monsters have been known to cut bathers completely in two. the saw of a twenty-foot fish would measure six feet in length and a foot across the base. [illustration: the gila monster, feared though its bite is not always deadly to man photo, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] [illustration: the iguana, a remarkable lizard of the new world photo, ewing galloway] the most famous of the rays, probably, are the torpedos, a family with a rounded, instead of the customary triangular outline, and a rather short tail, species of which occur on all tropical and temperate coasts, and are noted for their power to give electric shocks to any living thing touching them. the electric organs are a pair of large masses lying between the head and the pectoral fins. these are derived mainly from four nerves, which originate from an electric lobe of the medulla oblongata. by means of the electric shocks which they are able to administer at will, the torpedo rays are able to ward off the attacks of enemies, and to kill or paralyze their prey. the action is that of a galvanic battery. the dorsal surface is positive, the ventral negative, and the discharge of a large torpedo is sufficient to temporarily disable a man; yet it is not so powerful as that from a big electric eel. the huge "sea devils" of which thrilling stories are related are the eagle rays of the family myliobatidæ, some of which are fifteen or twenty feet across the "wings"; and they are among the most frightful of the dangers to which pearl divers are exposed in their perilous occupation. they are savage beasts, and will even attack a small boat with men in it. the worst of these belong to the vicinity of panama. chapter xvi bony fishes--teleostomi we come now to the fishes proper--those with skeletons of bone, although in some of the lower forms the ossification is incomplete. the mouth contains supplementary tooth-bearing bones that form secondary jaws corresponding to the functional jaws of the higher craniates; hence the group name "teleostomi," or perfect-mouthed fishes. the body, as a rule, is coated with scales, and a gill cover (operculum) is always present. the teleostomi include four orders, the crossopterygii, the chondrostei, the holostei, and the teleostei. the crossopterygians are mostly strange extinct fishes found as fossils from the devonian down; but some have survived, and live in the sluggish african rivers an eellike existence, of which the bichir of the nile is a familiar example. the chondrostei also are largely fishes of the paleozoic time, but two families survive to the present--the spoonbills and the sturgeons. of the former one species is chinese, and the other is the shovel-nosed spoonbill or paddlefish of the lower mississippi river. it is a big, sluggish creature, that stirs up the mud with its long flat beak, and consumes it, getting sustenance from the minute organisms it contains. they make caviar from its eggs. as for the sturgeons, we have five species in the united states, and one abounds in the black sea and the rivers that drain into it, from whose eggs the russian caviar is made. one or two species are exclusively fresh-water, but most sturgeons are migratory fishes, living in the sea, but ascending rivers for spawning. their food consists of worms, mollusks, the smaller fishes and aquatic plants; and in feeding the mouth is protruded downward in the form of a cylindrical, spout-like structure and thrust into the mud. our common eastern-coast sturgeon is also a native of the mediterranean and french coasts, and was formerly in england a "royal" fish, reserved to the king's use. of the third order, holostei or "ganoids," whose history may be traced in fossils almost to the earliest of fossiliferous rocks, we possess in our rivers the only two survivors: one is the many-named bowfin of the mississippi valley, and the other the widely distributed billfish or gar pike. both these relics of a very ancient order are of great interest to naturalists; and the names "mudfish," "john h. grindle," and many others, show how well known the bowfin is to the farmer boys. the bowfin attains a length of about two feet and a weight of twelve pounds, and, unlike its cousins the garfishes, is covered with hard, rounded scales; the forepart of the body is cylindrical, the head stout and blunt, and the mouth filled with powerful teeth. it is exceedingly hardy, enduring absence from the water for a long time, as well as grievous injury; hence the young are the favorite bait of anglers in the mississippi valley, and make interesting captives in an aquarium, where, however, nothing else but snails can remain alive. these fish are strong, active, voracious and gamy. they feed on all sorts of small aquatic creatures. the garfish (or more properly gar pike, lepidosteus, because certain sea fishes of another sort are also called gars) is an elongated active fish of our rivers, covered with hard, flat, ivorylike scales set in oblique rows, and its snout is prolonged into a bill filled with sharp teeth. they have many peculiarities of structure indicating their ancient ganoid lineage; and besides our common species two others are known, one of which, the alligator gar, belongs to the gulf coast and central american rivers. these gars are nocturnal and predatory in their habits, and in early summer resort in large numbers to shallows to lay their eggs, which are covered with a sticky envelope that adheres to any object on which they fall. the long bill develops after infancy. chapter xvii modern fishes--teleostei the lower orders of teleosts retain many characteristics of the holostei, and several of their families are known only as fossils in the cretaceous and tertiary rocks. the most primitive survivor of these ancient forms is the great tarpon of florida and southward, another species of which occurs in india--such wide differences in habitats being an evidence of antiquity in nearly all cases among animals. the extraordinary mormoids of northern africa, and the eellike gymnarchus of gambia, are other relics of the past, as also are several other queer african families, the barramundi of australia, and the arapaima of the amazon region. the one last named is the largest fresh-water fish known, specimens exceeding fifteen feet in length, and weighing pounds, all of which is excellent food. the mother protects her offspring which, when young, swim in front of her. several of these old-fashioned teleosts, like our bowfin and the primitive dipneusti, make elaborate nests in which their eggs are deposited, and they and the fry are carefully guarded by the parent. in this same suborder come the most familiar and useful game and food fishes--the shad, herring, trout, salmon, whitefish, smelt, etc. the shad family is a very large one, numbering about species, most of which are marine, but a few are "anadromous," that is, they ascend rivers of fresh water to spawn in the shallows near their sources. this is the habit of american shad, of which there is only one species in spite of the many local names in use; and it is regarded by the fisheries authorities as the most valuable river fish in the country except the chinook salmon; but the supply of it would have been exhausted long ago had it not been for the incessant and energetic methods of replanting of fry, artificially bred, in all the eastern rivers, and the transplanting of them to rivers on the pacific coast, the credit for which valuable public service belongs to the united states bureau of fisheries. the shad is to be found from florida to newfoundland. little is known of its life in the ocean, but in spring it approaches the coast in great numbers, and may be had in the st. john's river in florida in winter, but it is not numerous until march. it next appears in the savannah and edisto rivers, and so successively northward, the height of the run in the potomac being in april, in the delaware early in may, and in the miramichi river in new brunswick late in may. the main body ascends when the water temperature is degrees to degrees. they come in successive schools, the males preceding the females. they ascend the rivers, often nearly to their heads, and deposit their eggs on suitable spawning grounds, pouring out about , in most cases. the eggs are very small, semibuoyant, and usually require six to ten days for hatching, depending, as does the whole operation, on favoring temperature. after the spawning the shad show hunger, and will often bite at an angler's fly. "the herring is beyond question the most important of food fishes in the atlantic, if not in the world," declared the late g. brown goode, formerly assistant u. s. fish commissioner. it affords occupation for immense fleets of boats, and thousands of men, nowhere more numerously than in the north sea and along the norwegian coasts. professor huxley once gave , , , as the number of herring taken annually from the north atlantic; but dr. goode showed that this was far too low an estimate, and added that it probably was "no greater than the number contained in a single shoal if it covers half a dozen square miles, and shoals of much greater size are on record. and ... at one and the same time scores of shoals must be scattered through the north sea and the north atlantic, any one of which would go a long way toward supplying the whole of man's consumption of herring." herrings are surface swimmers, and their food consists of the small organisms, chiefly crustaceous, which have been described as "plankton" in the early pages of this book. they themselves afford food to every predatory fish, squid, whale, and bird that frequents their region (mainly north of the fortieth parallel of latitude), and which has the wit and ability to seize them. they move here and there in shoals for food, and in spring migrate to the shallows and rivers of the northern coasts to spawn. besides the atlantic herring, a very similar species throngs in the north pacific, and several others live in the great lakes and other waters of this country. no fishes are better known in america than the salmon, trout, and whitefish, which are near relatives. of the salmon there are many kinds in all the northern parts of the world and in the open ocean. some ascend rivers to spawn, and some do not. our atlantic salmon, once so abundant in every river from connecticut northward, is the same as the salmon of europe, and the king of game fish. now it is at all numerous only in the maritime provinces of canada, climbing the waterfalls of those mountain streams to their very springs to deposit its eggs, whence few individuals survive to return to the ocean. the heaviest salmon on record is one of eighty-three pounds captured in england in ; an american example of forty pounds is considered very large. the salmon of the north pacific are of a different genus (onchorhynchus) and consist of several species, some asiatic. on the american side we have five species, and most of them have been seen in all the rivers from central california to alaska, siberia and japan; but the blueback predominates in fraser river and in the yukon; the silver salmon in puget sound; the quinnat or chinook salmon in the columbia and sacramento; while the comparatively worthless dog salmon is seen everywhere. the quinnat and blueback enter and "run" the rivers in the spring, and are caught when in prime condition, whereas the other three run in the fall, and are more usually caught after deterioration; hence "spring" salmon are best in fact and in trade. the habits of the salmon in the ocean are not easily studied, but jordan, evermann, and other diligent students have come to certain conclusions from a great number of facts. they believe that the king and the silver salmon probably remain not far from the rivers where they were born. the blueback and dog salmon probably seek deeper water. it is the prevailing impression that the salmons have some special instinct which leads them to return to spawn on the same grounds where they were hatched, but dr. jordan says: "we fail to find any evidence of this. it seems more probable that the young salmon hatched in any river mostly remain in the ocean within a radius of twenty, thirty or forty miles of its mouth. these, in their movements about in the ocean, may come into contact with the cold waters of their parent river, or perhaps of any other river, at a considerable distance from shore. in the case of the quinnat and the blueback, their 'instinct' seems to lead them to ascend these fresh waters, and in a majority of cases these waters will be those in which the fishes in question were originally spawned." as to the fate of the spawning fish, after the eggs and milt have been voided, and their duty is done, the salmon begin to float downstream tail foremost. the great majority of them die--certainly all at the headwaters of the big streams; and it is the opinion of the best judges that none ever get back from anywhere alive into the ocean after spawning, but that the race is sustained wholly by the escape of the young each year. it is supposed that non return from the sea, or attempt to ascend the rivers until at least three years old. trout are in most cases simply small species of salmon, and a great number of kinds inhabit the ocean, lakes, and rivers of all northern countries, for none of this great family occur in the tropics or in the southern hemisphere. our western trout--the widely distributed and variable cutthroat, the steel-head of the northwestern coast, the beautiful rainbow trout of the coast ranges, and others are examples. the common brown "brook" trout of great britain belongs here; but our brook trout, the "speckled beauty" of anglers and poets, is of a slightly different kind (genus salvelinus), for it is classed with the european charrs. the dolly varden trout of the rocky mountains and the sunapee trout are also charrs. the graylings, namaycushes, and smelts are members of this family, whose final representative among us is the numerous and very valuable section of whitefish and lake herrings of the great lakes and canada generally. no family of fish is of more importance as food for man, not to speak of the sport many of its members afford, than this; yet, doubtless, it would have been nearly destroyed by this time had it not been for the intelligent and patient work of fish culturists and the farsightedness of governments, both federal and state, and canadian, in supporting and extending economic replenishing of depleted waters. the organization and breeding habits of the salmon tribe lend themselves to this work. passing by some families of deep-sea fishes, of small size and most bizarre outlines, we come to the suborder that contains the carps, catfishes and "minnows" of our lakes and streams. here, the first to present itself, in the large family characinidæ, is that fierce little brute of south american rivers, the "piranha" or "caribe," of which col. theodore roosevelt had so much to say in describing his explorations in brazil in and . one of his companions was leo e. miller, who has since published another account and increases the bad reputation of the caribe by what he has to tell of its ferocity: "in the orinoco they attain a weight exceeding three pounds, and are formidable indeed. the natives will not go in bathing except in very shallow water, and i know of two instances where men were attacked and severely bitten before they could escape. the fish somewhat resembles a bass in shape, although the mouth is smaller; the jaws are armed with triangular, razor-edged teeth; and as they travel in immense shoals they are capable of easily devouring a man or large animal if caught in deep water.... usually they are slow to attack unless their appetite has been whetted by a taste of blood from a wound; then, however, their work is done with lightninglike quickness.... to catch them we used a large hook secured to a long wire leader and baited with any kind of raw meat, and they always put up a good fight." a related fish in the rio la plata is almost equally dreaded because of its much greater size and formidable teeth, but it works singly; and africa has many similar characinids, whose flesh is good food, though full of bones. in this order, too, is now classified the family of the "electric eels" (gymnotidæ) which are not, however, eels, but merely long, cylindrical fishes, naked and almost finless. the well-known one of the amazon region grows to a length of eight feet and the thickness of a man's thigh, and is justly feared. it is found only in marshes and in comparatively shallow parts of rivers, to the annoyance of travelers who have to ford at such points, beasts of burden being frequently knocked down by the electric shocks. about four-fifths of the length of the fish is occupied by the tail, which contains the electric organ. this consists of two huge masses filled with a jellylike substance, below the spine, and separated by a narrow median septum. this apparatus is under the control of the fish, which by it may stun or kill an enemy or an intended prey, even at a considerable distance. the family of the cyprinids--the carp, goldfish, chubs, shiners, loaches, and other "minnows" of this and other countries--contains about , species, scattered over the whole world except south america, madagascar, and australasia. all are fresh-water fishes, feeding on vegetation and small animals; and they vary in size from two or three inches to a six-foot carp--the original home of which, now the cosmopolitan giant of the family, was asia. next to these are placed another extensive fresh-water family, that of the catfishes (siluridæ). more than , species, mostly tropical, have been described; these are grouped in eight subfamilies, among which there is a wide diversity in shape and habits--in fact, few of those of foreign lands look at all like the catfishes with which we are familiar in america. most of them are sluggish, but some actively inhabit swift streams. they can exist not only in foul water, but will live a long time out of this element, and some even make long migrations overland from river to river. one or more fin rays are sharp and poisonous in many species, as boys know who handle the little bullhead incautiously, and an african species is able to administer a strong electric shock. its apparatus is not a battery of modified muscular tissue, as in other electric fishes, but consists of a thick coat of greasy material surrounding the whole body just beneath the skin. another general characteristic is the protection and assiduous care given to their eggs and young, most species making some sort of a nest in which the eggs are deposited and the fry kept safe from attack. the third suborder of teleosts contains eellike fishes of the tropics; and the fourth contains the true eels and their relatives. our common eel is also "common" in most of the temperate countries of the world, but there are perhaps other species of the family anguillidæ, a large proportion of which live altogether in the sea, many of them at great depths, and showing strange shapes. the generation of the eel was, until recent years, one of the great mysteries of zoölogy, as no propagation, or any symptoms of it, ever appear in fresh water. finally it was discovered that a queer, almost transparent, compressed creature, a fraction of an inch long that abounded in the surface waters of the ocean, and which had been a puzzle to naturalists, who called it leptocephalus, was the larva of some sort of eel. this and other discoveries made it plain that when the eels (of the age of four or five years) leave the rivers and bays of all countries and coasts in the autumn, and go out to sea, they do so to spawn, leaving their eggs on the floor of the ocean, mostly south of bermuda, according to j. schmidt. from them hatch the minute larvæ that, as they grow, rise to the surface, and when about a year old appear as the silvery young, called "elvers," that drift on the northward-running currents to the coasts of europe and north america, and ascend the streams by millions in spring. it is not probable that any of the adult eels that go down to the sea to spawn ever come back; and if any remain in landlocked waters whence they cannot migrate to the salt water, they do not breed; but it must be remembered that eels are able to travel a considerable distance overland, at night, from one piece of water to another, and so many may finally reach the sea. the next suborder illustrates the remarkable difference in size and external appearance that often marks fishes grouped together by similarity of structure. it includes the muskellunge and all the other pikes and pickerels, and the tiny shiners and "bait minnows" of our rivers and brooks, and those of the old world, one of which is the smallest fish known; it includes several families of deep-sea fishes, often of quaint form and with curious appendages; here, too, is the valuable blackfish of alaska, the amphibious, phosphorescent little fish of indian bays and estuaries which when salted and dried forms the oriental delicacy called "bombay duck"; and here are the blind fishes of the mammoth and other american caves. the heteromi and cateosteomi are almost equally miscellaneous assemblages, the most notable members of the latter being the funny little pipefishes and sea horses that lurk in the eelgrass near shore, and the males of which carry the eggs and young about in a pouch on the belly. in the next suborder, perceosces, we find more strange denizens of the mid-oceanic depths, especially the family chiasmodontidæ, besides some surface ones of ancient lineage, such as the gar and snakeheads of tropical waters, the flying fish and the mullets. the anacanthini is a small group containing the remarkable pelagic and abyssal macrurids, the fierce barracudas, and the most valuable single family of food fishes in the whole list--the cods. the cod family (gadidæ) has many species in northern seas and a few south of the equator. it includes, besides the cods, the haddock, hake, whiting, coalfish, capelin, ling, and several other market fish of importance. the cod is a deep-water fish which goes about in great schools whose movements are not well understood, but in winter they approach the northern shores of the continent, seeking shallows on which to spawn, and it is then on the "banks," off new england and newfoundland, that the most profitable fisheries are followed. the cod is extraordinarily prolific, and in addition to this it is propagated artificially more extensively than any other fish. thus we come to the last suborder, acanthopterygii, or "spiny-finned" fishes, in which are classified the greater number of really modern and more or less familiar swimmers in the "briny deep." among american members are the sunfishes and black bass, the perches and darters; the great family (serranidæ) of sea bass, snappers and west indian groupers; the tilefish, which appears and disappears in a puzzling fashion; the grunting drums and their relatives of the scienidæ; the porgies, sheepshead, and other sparidæ; the brilliantly colored angel fish of the coral reefs of bermuda and southward; the surf fishes, so important in california; the wrasses, parrot fish, and globefishes, or boxfishes, that inflate their horny hides when alarmed, until they bob about on the surface like corks. fishes with primitive lungs there remains the fourth subclass--dipnoi or dipneusti, the lungfishes. the reason why these creatures, whose organization is on an antique and lowly plane, judged by fish standards, have been elevated to subclass rank is that here the air bladder is modified into a single or double elongated sac with many cellular spaces, and is connected by a short tube with the mouth, and thus serves as a lung. the peculiar structure of the heart, narial openings, and the power of existing for a considerable period out of water, are extremely amphibianlike, and they have by various naturalists been regarded as scaly sirens--a sort of connecting link between the fishes and the amphibians. they are found fossil in paleozoic rocks, especially in the old red sandstone of great britain, and also in the upper jurassic strata in colorado. [illustration: an african lungfish (_protopterus annectens_)] the surviving species (family lepidosirenidæ) are widely scattered, as is characteristic of all these very ancient families. a celebrated example is the barramundi of queensland--an elongated, flat-sided fish, covered, except on the head, with large roundish scales, and having paired fins that look more like flippers than fins. it becomes four or five feet long. it lives in still pools in which the water in the dry season becomes extremely stagnant and overladen with decomposing vegetable matter; and it is only by rising to the surface occasionally, and taking air into its lung, that it is enabled to obtain sufficient oxygen for purposes of respiration. the barramundi does not leave the water, nor can it live long in the air. it is easily captured, and is eaten by the blackfellows. equatorial africa possesses three species of the genus protopterus, which dwell in marshes, and feed voraciously on young fishes, frogs, and small animals. the form is somewhat eellike, and the paired fins are soft, slender appendages of little use, locomotion being effected by the powerful tail. like the barramundi this fish rises at intervals to take a breath of air; its "lungs" are double, while that of the barramundi is single. in the dry time of summer the protopterus burrows deeply into the mud of the dried-up marshes, where it curls up with its head highest and subsists wholly by breathing air until the autumnal rains bring water enough to enable it to wake up and resume its aquatic life. a similar eellike species abounds in the swamps, sluggish rivers and marshes of northern south america, named lepidosiren, and all its habits closely resemble those of the african lungfishes. chapter xviii amphibians--a connecting link we have now come to a class of vertebrates that in their manner of life, and presumably in their history, connect the dwellers in the waters with those on the lands of the globe. dr. gamble cites examples from various groups of animals to show that adaptation to a terrestrial existence is an advance on that requisite for aquatic life, and that the critical point in the evolution of the vertebrate phylum was passed when its members migrated from water to land. "when we come to land animals," he says, "the problem of weight has to be considered before that of locomotion. the lateral undulations of the body, even when aided by unjointed paddles, or fins, are not sufficient to insure rapid movement on land. hence a system of levers has to be evolved, partly to support the body, and partly to propel it. the use of joints becomes a necessity, and we find that all active terrestrial animals, except snakes, have jointed limbs. the critical point in the history of this phylum is passed when its members migrated from water to the land. the step was taken by the ancestors of the amphibia (that is, the frogs, toads, and salamanders). in them the breast fins of the fish have become the jointed forelegs, the pelvic fins have become the hind legs." how this great change from the fish fin to the five-fingered hand occurred is, at present, just as obscure as the mode of conversion of the arms of reptiles into the wings of birds. the answer can only be supplied by further discoveries in the geological history of the order, and though this history can be traced back to the time of the coal measures, we find the earliest amphibia as sharply marked off from the fishes by their feet as they are to-day. these forefathers (subclass stegocephalia) are the earliest known four-footed animals, and their fossil skeletons are found from the carboniferous up to the trias, after which the race disappears. they had the general form of newts, and many were only a few inches in length. that some of these, at least, were terrestrial in habit is shown by the fact that they are often found in stumps and hollow logs of sigillarias and other fossil trees of the coal beds, especially in nova scotia. but there were also species several feet in length, with formidable teeth, which were no doubt carnivorous and predatory, so that it was well for the little ones to seek places of safety. these stegocephalians were unmistakably amphibians, with two condyles supporting the skull, but their skeleton contains many features that suggest reptilian anatomy, and it is agreed that the reptiles sprang from this stock. the peculiar feature of this group is that their flattish heads were covered by a broad shield of bony plates (ossified skin); and similar armor protected their bellies, and in a few cases the back also. geological formations furnish no ancestral connection between the stegocephalia and modern salamanders; but the limbless, wormlike, burrowing and blind cæcilians of the tropics exhibit certain stegocephalian characteristics, especially a scaly skin, which put them into a division (apoda) by themselves. the remainder of the class, that is, amphibia (also called batrachia) in general, have a soft, moist, naked skin, and are naturally divisible into two orders: . _urodela_--tailed amphibians: newts and salamanders. . _anura_--tailless amphibians: frogs and toads. modern amphibians in general are animals fitted for life both on land and in water. all are born from eggs hatched in water, and the young, at first in a larval form unlike the adult condition, have external gills adapted to breathing in that element; but in most cases they lose their gills, and as adults acquire lungs for breathing air. this metamorphosis of the young, comparable to that of the nymph-producing insects, is the especial characteristic of the class. the skeleton is of the vertebrate model, but in the urodela is largely cartilaginous. the skin is smooth, soft, moist, and covered only with a filmy coat of horny texture that is molted from time to time as the animal needs room to grow. the skin abounds in sense organs about the head and along the sides of the body--an inheritance from the lateral line of fishes--which are most active in the larvæ, and disappear altogether with age in most frogs and toads, although they revive in salamanders in the breeding season. the skin also contains many mucus glands and other larger glands, especially on the back. these emit under provocation a poisonous liquid that is fatal to small animals, and very irritating to the eyes, nose, and throat of larger ones. most, if not all, amphibia, says dr. gadow, are more or less poisonous, and it is significant that many of the most poisonous exhibit a very conspicuous yellow or orange upon a dark ground, which is so widespread a sign of poison. there is no venom in their bite--in fact, their teeth are too small, although numerous, to let anyone fear their biting. the skin is heavily laden with pigment, and this is displayed in many amphibians in striking patterns of bright coloring. certain groups possess in a high degree the power of altering their colors to conform to their surroundings. an interesting feature of the amphibians is that power of repairing mutilations of the body and replacing lost parts which is so well known in worms, hydroids, and other lowly creatures, and is termed "regeneration." this ability is most active in young specimens. tadpoles frequently have their tails bitten off, whereupon new ones grow quickly. salamanders fight bitterly, tearing off each other's gills and limbs, and turtles and fishes frequently bite off their tails. new tails are generated speedily, and usually in good and effective form, although they contain no regenerated caudal vertebræ, but only a rod of cartilage. the ability to rebuild lost parts is much less among the frogs. another notable fact is that here for the first time we meet with a voice organ, and a real voice expressing emotions, although in an extremely limited way. this is most noticeable in the tree frogs, which are the most advanced of the amphibia in organization. newts and salamanders the urodela are represented throughout the whole northern hemisphere except in desert regions, as far in north america as southern canada, and also southward to panama; and in the old world, northward to the line of very cold winters and southward to the mediterranean and indo-china. in the main, however, our genera are different from those of europe and asia. the largest and best known of american urodeles is a member of the family proteidæ and genus necturus, and is widely known as "water dog" or "mud puppy," because of the doglike shape of its head. it is a brown, robust creature, sometimes two feet long, with bushy gills, retained throughout its life, springing from open gill clefts in three bright red tufts on each side of the head. it inhabits cold, rapid streams, hiding under stones by day, and moving about at night in search of crawfish, worms, insect larvæ, frogs, etc., and dodging hungry snapping turtles. but little smaller, and even more ugly in appearance, is the "hellbender," representing the family amphiumidæ. these blackish creatures are to be found in mountainous regions, and hide during the day under loose rocks. by the time they are about three years old their gills have been absorbed, and their lungs are in service, so that they are compelled to rise to the surface occasionally for drafts of air. they hunt at night for food, preferring crawfish and, fishermen say, fish eggs. the breeding habits of this animal have only lately become known, and mr. b. g. smith, who has made a special investigation of them, says that the breeding season begins (in pennsylvania) in august, when hellbenders of both sexes come out more freely from their rock shelters and roam about, frequently in small companies. the small number of eggs produced are hidden in a pocket under a loose stone; and the young, which are more like tadpoles than the form of their parents, breathe by gills which do not completely disappear until the animals have reached nearly their maturity. otherwise our salamanders are small species found in brooks, ponds, and wet woods, and often getting into cellars and wells. uninformed persons think them to be lizards, and foolishly fear them, but except for the irritation of the hands that may follow rough handling they are utterly harmless to man or his property, and serve him by devouring great quantities of insects and worms. a common species in damp, neglected woodlands is the little red-backed fellow that is so light and leaping in its movements when disturbed, even throwing off its tail in its panic of fear. it is more terrestrial than most, laying its few eggs in rotting wood instead of going into the water for that purpose; and the young carry gills but a few days. this red-backed plethodon must not be confused with the small newts, bright vermilion with a row of glowing spots along the sides, that are found in woods in summer. they are young specimens of _diemyctylus viridescens_, which is common all over the eastern part of the united states and southern ontario. the parents are green, and wholly aquatic in habits. the larvæ have gills and swim about until early autumn, by which time their gills have been gradually absorbed, and they go ashore, where their coats change in color from a mottled green to scarlet. this red condition and their residence on land continue until the autumn of the third, or the spring of the fourth year of their lives, when they become sexually mature, resume a greenish dress, go back to the water, and pass the rest of their lives there. mention can be made of only one more species--the black, yellow-spotted "tiger triton," which is the most widely spread and often seen of our terrestrial salamanders. it is especially noteworthy because of the extraordinary condition of suspended development exhibited by its larva, the famous edible axolotl of mexican lakes, which, while still retaining larval gills and aquatic habits, grows nearly or quite to the size of its parents--three to four inches--and becomes capable of breeding. similar cases are known in certain lakes in southern europe; and it appears that this arrested development, together with natural growth of body, occurs occasionally in many other amphibians. the condition is termed "neotony," but the biological explanation of it is not clear. chapter xix amphibians--_continued_ frogs, toads and tadpoles the frogs and toads of the order anura differ from the inferior batrachians principally in form. the tail is absent, and instead of long, slender bodies and small legs, or none, they have short, squat, triangular bodies and hind legs, at least, of relatively great size and strength, whereby they progress when on land by leaps instead of by running or creeping; some are almost wholly aquatic in habit, others almost wholly terrestrial or arboreal. the ossification of the bones is far more complete, the eyes and ears (represented by the large tightly drawn membrane, the "tympanum," on each side of the head, covering the internal ear) are well developed, and the voice is louder than in the urodeles, which can do little more than squeak. the mouth is usually large and cleft to beyond the eyes. the tongue, used to capture prey, is not thrust straight forward, but thrown "overhand," as it were, catching the insect aimed at in its curling and sticky tip. all frogs and toads are flesh eaters, mainly of worms and insects and larval or small water animals; but the big species, such as the bullfrog, may seize prey of considerable size as it comes within reach, such as young ducklings. none hunt about for prey, but, aided by the concealing nature of their colors, wait quietly until a victim comes within reach of their quick and accurate tongues. all lay their eggs in still water, varying in number from a few score to several thousands, according to the species. in all cases the young are hatched in a larval form, called "tadpole," having a tail and gills, and this gradually changes into the adult, tailless form of the adult. on emerging from the egg the embryo has a very large head and body. in a frog the external gills and the long, compressed tail are only feebly developed when the tadpole is first hatched, while the mouth is provided with a much developed adhesive apparatus, by means of which the young attach themselves to plants or other objects. the tadpole changes by regular stages into the adult form, the tail being slowly absorbed into the body from which the legs grow out. the anura are separable into two suborders: . _aglossa_--having no tongue. . _phaneroglossa_--possessed of a tongue. the aglossa are few in number, and belong to southern africa and tropical america, where the group is represented by the famous surinam toad, whose eggs are fixed in separate pits or "pouches" in the spongy skin of the mother's back, where they are placed as fast as laid, by aid of the male. the phaneroglossa contains several families, the first of which, discoglossidæ, is characterized by the round, nonprotrusible tongue, and includes species of toads belonging mainly to the mediterranean region, two of which are familiar to most readers of natural histories. it may be well to say at this point that the terms "toad" and "frog" do not express scientific distinctions, although generally applied by naturalists to the first three families of the list, and especially to the bufonidæ; but mark the facts of popular observation that the members of these families are more terrestrial than the members of the families that follow them, and that they have rough warty skins in place of smooth and shiny ones; but many exceptions confuse both the classification and the use of the words--as, for example, in the case of the hylas, which you may call either "tree frogs" or "tree toads," according to your liking. the two species mentioned above are the "unke," or firebellied toad of germany, which when alarmed displays its scarlet underparts by a peculiar attitude calculated to surprise and frighten away an enemy. the other is the "midwife toad," most common in spain and portugal. the spade-foot toads (pelobatidæ) are a strangely distributed family inhabiting the western united states, mexico, eastern europe, and the indo-malayan region. their special characteristic is the fact that the inner tarsal tubercle is large and is transformed into a shovel, which is covered with a hard, sharp-edged, horny sheath. having this excellent tool these small and noisy toads rapidly excavate deep holes in the soil, preferring sand, and lie hidden during the day, but come forth at night to hunt. they resort to water only for a week or so of egg-laying in the spring, and remain unknown to most persons in whose neighborhood they are really numerous. our common american one (_scaphiophus solitarius_) is about two inches long, and brown above with darker patches. this brings us to the typical toads, bufonidæ, represented in all parts of the world except certain islands. a hundred pages might be filled with interesting accounts of the manners and customs of the hundred or so species, many very different from those familiar to us. all breed in water, resorting to ponds and pools in the early spring. where many broods have hatched the young can be met with in myriads, the ground literally swarming with them; and as they are naturally stirred up by a sudden warm rain, perhaps after a drought, people will occasionally affirm as an observed and well-ascertained fact that "it has rained toads"--something that never occurs except in the very rare cases when a cyclone has scooped the water and everything in it out of a pond and scattered it abroad. most of these young, migrating toads disappear as food for birds, snakes, etc., or die of disease. the food of young and old consists of insects, worms, snails, and the like; and it is an easy thing to tame toads and have much amusement in watching them at work in the early evening, for they are crepuscular in habits; and the wise gardener will see that they are not disturbed in their beneficial service of catching and devouring insect pests, unless they are so numerous as to be a nuisance. the smallest north american toad is the oak toad of the southern states, which is only an inch long. when, in the breeding season, these diminutive toads flock to the pools in great numbers, they keep up an ear-splitting chorus of shrill _peeps_, like so many young chickens. frogs as nursery maids and weather prophets the tree frogs are a very large family (hylidæ) distributed all over the world, except africa, but most of the species belong to the steamy forests of tropical america. all are of small size, have smooth skins, normally greenish, but very changeable in color to adapt the creatures to the hue of their surroundings, as a protective device; and most of them inhabit trees. to enable them to do this the toes end in expanded, padlike disks, the contraction of which, when the foot is pressed against a surface, produces one or more furrows and, in addition, causes the exudation of a little mucilaginous liquid. the foot pressed against the surface expels the air, and this fact, aided by the stickiness of the pad, enables the frog to hold on to even a vertical plane of glass. all hylidæ have a voice, often very loud, and enhanced by membranous sacs under or on each side of the throat, or in some cases internal; this sac, when blown out may be almost as large as the creature's body, as may be seen in our common gray tree frog when "singing." this species, like most others, becomes very noisy in the evening, in cloudy weather and before rain, with its not unmusical croaking; and a similar european species is kept in confinement by some people as an interesting pet and weather prophet. the most interesting thing about the hylidæ is their various methods of breeding, for while most of them lay their eggs, up to a thousand in number, in the water, many produce but a few, and attach them to the body. a large tree frog called in brazil "ferreiro" (smith), makes a sound like a mallet slowly and regularly struck on a metal plate. this frog actually builds a nursery in the shallow edge of a pond, where a basin-shaped hollow, with a rim, is formed by the broad-handed female. here she leaves her eggs, safe from egg-eating fishes or insects, as the rim forms a wall higher than the surface of the water. a japanese frog makes a similar basin, then produces a liquid which she kicks into a froth, and into the midst of this the eggs are dropped, and there the hatched larvæ develop, and remain until the gradual collapse of the mud rim sets them free. in these and similar cases the eggs and tadpoles are abandoned by the parents; but many frogs watch over and care for their young. some carry the young in a pouch on the back, but how it is accomplished is not known. a west african species carries its eggs in its mouth; and the male of darwin's frog, of chile, carries the eggs in a great vocal pouch beneath its throat, which subsequently forms a nursery for the tadpoles until they emerge as young frogs. it must be noted, however, that some of these examples belong to the related family cystignathidæ--a very extensive family largely represented in central and south america. the remainder of the tailless amphibians are assembled in the numerous and widely distributed family ranidæ, which is that of the "true" frogs. the typical subfamily, raninæ, is cosmopolitan, except as to australia and south america south of the amazon basin; but some less typical forms are confined to the tropics, and include several strange species, such as the little arboreal dendrobates frogs of brazil, one of which is famous for furnishing in the secretion of its skin a dye that when properly applied turns the green plumage of tame parrots into yellow--a fashionable tint. these small and pretty frogs are noted for their solicitude for their young, carrying baby tadpoles on their backs--where the infants creep and become attached--from place to place, as safety or better water conditions suggest. the north american frogs are good examples of the ranine race, and those more commonly seen are the following: leopard frog (_rana pipiens_), green with irregular black blotches, mostly in two rows on the back; legs barred above; belly pale. eastern specimens are more olive than bright green. pickerel frog (_r. palustris_), light brown with two rows of large, oblong, square blotches of dark brown on the back, a brown spot above each eye, and a dark line from the nostril to the eye; upper jaw white and black. habitat, eastern united states among mountains. wood frog (_r. sylvatica_), pale reddish brown; a black band across the pointed face. this smallest of our species is to be found only in damp woods, resorting to water only in early spring to deposit its eggs; and it is almost silent. green, or spring frog (_r. clamatans_), green or bronze-brown, brighter in front, with more or less small black spots; yellowish white below. this is a rather solitary frog, living in springs and small ponds, where it utters the familiar "chung" at frequent intervals. it is distinguished by the enormous size of its eardrum. bullfrog (_r. catesbiana_), greenish, brightest on the head, and with small dark spots on its back; legs blotched; eardrum large; toes broadly webbed. length five to eight inches, breadth four to five inches. it utters a roar not unlike that of a distant bull, and a company of them on a still summer evening will awaken the neighborhood. bullfrogs are present throughout the eastern united states and canada, west to the dry plains; and furnish the market with "saddles" (their hind legs) as a table delicacy when fried. these frogs may lay , eggs apiece. all our frogs lay their eggs in water in rounded masses, not in strings, as do the toads, usually attached to some submerged stick or plant stem. the tadpoles, light in color, are very voracious, and feed on every sort of flesh that they can bite off and chew with their horny jaws. on the approach of winter the frogs--except the wood frog, which hibernates in the loam of the forest, or in some rotten stump--sink into the mud of the pond or marsh where they live, and pass the cold months in torpidity. their food is almost exclusively insects, caught by the tongue, but the big bullfrogs seize with their mouths any small creature that comes their way. chapter xx reptiles--monarchs of the mesozoic world what is a reptile? it is a cold-blooded, air-breathing vertebrate, with one occipital condyle, complete right and left aortic arches, red blood and a covering of scales. the classification of the class (reptilia) recognizes the existence of many distinct subdivisions, as follows: _proreptilia_ (extinct). _prosauria_ (extinct, except the tuatara). _theromorpha_ (extinct). _chelonia_--turtles; tortoises. _dinosauria_ (extinct; dinosaurs). _crocodilia_--crocodiles; alligators. _plesiosauria_ (extinct). _ichthyosauria_ (extinct; fish lizards). _pterosauria_ (extinct; pterodactyls). _pythonomorpha_ (extinct; mososaurs, etc.). _sauria_--lizards; snakes. this surprising diversity of groups, each so widely isolated, as is implied by separation as subclasses--divisions of almost the highest rank--shows that the class developed in favorable circumstances that stimulated enterprise, so to speak, and resulted in rapid variation of habits, terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal, and aerial, and consequently of adaptive structure. the fact that most of the subclasses are extinct also shows us that the story of the reptilia is mainly a tale of the departed glory recorded in the archives of the rocks; and we shall hardly be able to understand living reptiles properly without knowing something of their prehistoric development into the dominance to which they rose in the mesozoic era, which we call age of reptiles, and their subsequent decadence. the first subclass covers certain most ancient skeletons and parts of skeletons that naturalists are not yet agreed are true reptiles, some considering them stegocephalian amphibians. anyway, they indicate plainly that it was from that group of amphibia that the variety sprang that developed into what, in time, became the distinct reptilian type. the first distinct product of this departure from the stegocephalian stock appears in the fossils of a division of the second subclass, the prosauria (_pro_, "before"; _saurus_, a "lizard"), named rhynchocephalia ("beakheads"), which, although lizardlike in general form, retain many amphibian characteristics of structure. now the amazing and extremely interesting thing about this is that a representative of this earliest of true reptiles is still living--probably the premier peer among all vertebrates, reckoned by length of ancestry. this most primitive of reptiles, illustrating how hundreds of ancient species known to us only by a few bones must have appeared and acted in life, is the tuatara of new zealand, catalogued in science as _sphenodon punctatum_. it has the shape and general appearance of a big lizard, dull in color and with a granulated rather than scaly hide, and an oddly shaped head, toothless in the adult, when the jaws become somewhat like a horny beak. yet it is not a lizard any more than it is a crocodile or a turtle, but combines features of all three in its anatomy. hence it is what naturalists term a synthetic or generalized race (as is the case with all very primitive creatures) out of which more and more specialized groups and species may be, and are, developed, each sorting out and strengthening some particular characteristic of structure, continuously modified by adaptations to habits and environment until a separate type results. the ribs, for example, in the tuatara are remarkable for the presence of hooklike processes that project backward from each rib over the next rib behind it; such processes occur elsewhere only in the crocodiles and the birds. behind the breastbone are rodlike bones embedded in the muscles of the belly; they occur again in the ancient fish lizards and modern crocodiles, and probably gave rise to the under shield of the turtles. and so on. the tuatara is verging on extinction. it has nearly disappeared from the mainland of new zealand, but is now protected on some small adjacent islands where it dwells in burrows which it digs and then shares with petrels. during the greater part of the day the tuataras sleep; and are fond of lying in the water, being able to remain submerged for hours without breathing. they feed only upon other animals. the third subclass (theromorpha, "beast-shaped") comprises very ancient reptiles whose remains lie in the rocks of permian and triassic age, principally in south africa, and exhibit a skull, and especially teeth, so much resembling those of carnivorous mammals (for instance, those of a dog) that at first their true nature was mistaken. these creatures have excited the most profound interest, not only because they present so many differences from the prosauria, but also, and chiefly, because it is from their ranks that we are able to trace, with no small degree of certainty, the origin of the mammalia. the sources of tortoise shell and terrapin stew the turtles and tortoises are of a very ancient group (chelonia) and one very distinct among reptiles, by reason of their armor. what is known as tortoise shell is the series of horny plates, in some species of beautiful texture, in others thin and dull, or even leathery in character, that covers the underlying bones that form the real protection to the animal's body. in embryo (unhatched) turtles the skeleton is much like the ordinary four-footed type, with the vertebræ separate, a full series of ribs, and the limb bones in their proper places. as growth proceeds, however, changes occur rapidly, but least in the oceanic "leathery" turtle, in whose skin nodules of bone expand and join into a mosaic of plates covered with a thick, coriaceous hide. but this skin remains quite separate from the skeleton beneath, which fact places this animal in an order athecæ ("lacking a case"), quite by itself. all other chelonians are classified in a second order thecophora ("case-bearing"), and in them the changes that go on in the skin to produce the turtle's shell are far more complete. if you peel off the horny shields on the upper shell, or "carapace," you will find beneath them a central, lengthwise row of squarish plates of bone, on each side of these a row of similar plates, and outside of these a marginal row of small plates--all knit together at the edges, the zigzag lines of juncture, or "sutures," being plainly visible. when we dissect a turtle we find no layer of skin or flesh beneath these plates, but discover that they lie directly on the bones of the skeleton and are a part of it. this is what has happened: the vertebræ have grown together, and the backbone is a tube upon which the original nodules in the skin have become fixed, and have broadened into the central line of plates. those nodules that lay above the ribs have become fused with them so that no trace of ribs is left, except where their heads have become fused with the backbone, and they have broadened into the side rows of plates; and the marginal skin has become transformed into the marginal plates. similar alterations have produced the under shell, or "plastron," replacing the skin; and adaptive changes have altered the usual relations of the limb bones to the rest of the external skeleton. the carapace and plastron are usually connected by a "bridge" of bone. into the space within this shell most tortoises may withdraw the head and tail which, like the feet, are covered with horny scales. the head has good eyes, and a nose with a lively sense of smell, which the creature utilizes in selecting its food; but its hearing appears to be dull. the mouth has no teeth, but the lips are coated with horn, making a parrotlike beak that can inflict a severe bite. horny spines often grow on the legs, or tail, or both, assisting in both defense and offense. the chelonians are a very ancient race, and one that has changed remarkably little since its beginning. the great age accounts for the very wide distribution of turtles closely related, and also for the fact that they inhabit land, fresh and salt water; those of the land being, no doubt, the oldest. all turtles lay eggs, the shell of which varies, according to kind, from a parchmentlike envelope to a hard, shining shell; but the process of generation is slow and curiously complicated. the respiration of the chelonia is interesting. the lungs are spongy masses, attached to the upper shell. as the rigid case does not permit of their expansion by breathing, the necessary vacuum is made partly by the neck and limbs, which act like pistons as they are drawn in and out, the air being swallowed or pumped into the lungs. most chelonians may exist for a very long time without breathing, and can stay for hours or even days under water. no animal, perhaps, is harder to kill; and all turtles have long lives, the giant turtles of the galapagos and their kin living more than years. the list of thecophora begins with the suborder cryptodira, whose members have the carapace covered with horny shields, and consists of the family chelydridæ, composed of our two snapping turtles, the familiar northern one, and the southern alligator snapper. they inhabit stagnant pools, especially deep channels in swamps and slow rivers such as the bayous of the lower mississippi valley, and often show only the tip of the nose as they prowl about close beneath the surface in search of prey--anything they can seize. they take the hook readily if baited with fish or flesh, but stout tackle and a strong arm are needed to land one when full grown; and the act is dangerous to the catcher, for they are the ugliest brutes in the country, and to be bitten by one is a very serious experience. nevertheless, the young are caught for market in large numbers, for they are excellent food. one curious fact about them is not generally known, namely, that when lying still, like a piece of old log covered with mud and moss, they protrude a pair of wormlike filaments from the tip of the tongue, whose wavering attracts fishes to their doom. louis agassiz says of the great alligator snapper of the southern states, which when walking on land carries its body high on the long legs, much like an alligator: "they are as ferocious as the wildest beast of prey, but the slowness of their motions, their inability to repeat the attack immediately, their awkwardness in attempting to recover their balance when they have missed their object, their haggard look, and the hideous appearance of their gaping mouth, constitute at such times a picture as ludicrous as it is fearful and revolting. their strength is truly wonderful. i have seen a large specimen bite off a piece of plank more than an inch thick.... fishes, salamanders and young ducks are their ordinary prey. they lay from twenty to forty or more round eggs, only about the size of a small walnut, in holes which they dig in sloping banks not far from the water." these snapping turtles probably represent well the disposition and habits of the extinct predatory reptiles; and give us a hint of why the race succumbed to the more active and intelligent mammals that were growing up around them toward the close of the mesozoic. this brings us to the great family testudinidæ, which is scattered over the whole world except australia, and contains almost all the ordinary tortoises, mud turtles and terrapins, some of which are entirely aquatic, others amphibious, others wholly terrestrial. among the most typical and widely distributed are those of the genus chrysemys, to which "mud turtles" belong. the commonest species in the eastern states is the painted turtle _chrysemys picta_; in the west, _c. marginata_. these and other species of north and south america are very pretty when young, the ground color of the upper shields being green, variegated with yellowish or blackish markings, often in delicate patterns. they are carnivorous, depend mainly on fish, but eat many insects and their larvæ. in winter they hibernate in holes in a bank of their pond. [illustration: terrapin (_malaclemys palustris_) (after babcock. boston society of natural history)] to the genus clemmys is credited the "sculptured" wood tortoise, the keeled plates of whose back are marked with fine concentric grooves and radiating black lines; and the equally common speckled one, black with round, orange spots. both spend long periods wandering in woods and fields in search of worms and insects. closely related to them are the salt-marsh tortoises known as terrapins, which are so much of a luxury in the eyes of those fond of good dinners that probably the favorite one, the "diamond back," would be extinct had not protective measures, and cultivation in captivity, saved the life of the species. several other terrapins are to be found in the marshes of the southern states, but not in other countries. another relative is the interesting little "box tortoise," which is often kept as a pet, and will become very tame; its highly convex shell is colored black and yellow, or orange-brown, but no two are alike. the eyes of the male are red, those of the female yellow. it is naturally enough a "box" tortoise, for, by means of a flexible joint line across the plastron, the fore and hinder halves can be brought up to the ends of the carapace, shutting the whole body inside a tight box that will defy all enemies not strong enough--as are wolves, bears, and big cats--to tear it to pieces. this tortoise is exclusively american. it has become, as a species, wholly terrestrial, so much so that, although it is fond of drinking often, if it falls into the water it will drown. it thus leads us to the true land tortoises that fill the remaining genera of this family. [illustration: box tortoise (_cistuda carolina_) (after babcock. boston society of natural history)] the typical and most numerous of these belong to the genus testudo, with about forty species scattered over all warm or temperate parts of the world except australasia. typically grazers and fruit eaters, they occasionally vary their diet with worms, snails, and insects. the eggs are hard-shelled, and the males are usually smaller than their mates. most land tortoises hibernate in the ground during the cold half of the year, or they æstivate during the hot and dry seasons when in the tropics, but this is not an invariable rule. several species of these land tortoises are common and well known in europe and also in india, and are often kept as pets. they show considerable intelligence, and are decidedly fond of listening to music. our best known american representative is the "gopher" (_xerobates polyphemus_) of florida, georgia, and texas. this turtle is nearly a foot long, with a high, rounded shell, dull brown in color, and the forefeet covered with hornlike scales and some spines--an armature for digging. the deserts along the mexican border have several local species. in this family belong the "gigantic" tortoises of the islands east of africa and west of south america, now all but extinct, save a few in captivity in zoölogical gardens. in fact they differ from ordinary land tortoises mainly in size and in such minor points as distinguish the various species; some of them, indeed, are not excessive in bulk. the largest on record is a male of _t. daudini_, of south aldabra, whose shell was sixty-seven inches long, and whose living weight was pounds. a fossil species of the late miocene in india had a shell six feet long, and then and later tortoises almost as big inhabited both europe and north america, and more recently madagascar. their survivors are now restricted to two widely separated regions--the galapagos islands, miles off the coast of ecuador, and the mascarenes and other western islands in the indian ocean. the most interesting thing about this matter is the presence of these tortoises on these widely scattered islands, and the effects of their isolation. it must be noted that when discovered by european voyagers no one of these islands, except the comoros, was inhabited by men, and none had any large or harmful beasts of prey. on these peaceful islands plenty of food, an equable climate, and absence of enemies, enabled the tortoises in vast numbers to grow to a size impossible to their relatives on the mainlands. "scattered over the many islands they were prevented from interbreeding, and thus it has come to pass that not only every group of islands, but, in the case of the galapagos, almost every island has, or had, its own particular kind." how did these huge chelonians get to these islands? none like them is found on any continent at present, although they had a wide distribution in geological ages. we must conclude that those of the madagascar region, at least, are the descendants of tortoises once populating "lemuria," that land area which until mid-tertiary time occupied the region of the western indian ocean, and of which the existing islands are the remains. a similar theory, for which there is geological evidence, may account for the survival of the galapagos giant tortoises after those of the mainland had died off. the next family is that of the big sea turtles (chelonidæ), such as the green turtle, whose flesh is so highly prized a substance for delicate soups (but almost all turtle flesh is good eating), the hawksbill and the loggerhead. they abound in all warm seas, and reach a large size, the green turtle often having a shell three to four feet long, but smooth, while that of the hawksbill is covered with horny plates with high keels and an overlapping arrangement, which are the tortoise shell of commerce. the green turtle is wholly vegetarian in diet, feeding on the large seaweeds, while the others are carnivorous, devouring fishes, mollusks, etc. all three resort in summer to sandy beaches, dig holes, and bury a great quantity of eggs. there remains a large group of fresh-water turtles, distinguished, in addition to other important structural peculiarities, by the fact that they withdraw the head under the shell by a sidewise bending of the long neck. they are entirely carnivorous, and occur in all tropical and some temperate countries, the ferocious "soft shells" of the mississippi valley and northeastward belonging here. a very curious one is the matamata of guiana and northern brazil, the biggest of its tribe, becoming more than three feet long. it gets its living by stratagem rather than by activity. the back of its shell is so roughened by coarse bosses that it looks like the bark on an old log, and ragged flaps of skin project from head and neck. these are kept in constant motion, and attract the attention of passing fishes and other creatures, whose curiosity often takes them too near the treacherous jaws of the concealed monster. our list of turtles ends with the one probably of most importance to mankind of all the kinds in the world. this is the "arrau" of the amazon and orinoco basins, where it is very abundant, and not only an essential element in the subsistence of the native indians, but of great commercial importance on account of the eggs, which are periodically collected in enormous quantities, chiefly for their oil. this oil is eaten, like the eggs themselves, or is used for burning in lamps, or as an addition to tar. the turtles are likewise eaten by man and beast. this turtle is large, sometimes three feet long; and it deposits a great number of soft-shelled eggs in the sand. [illustration: horned dinosaur (_monoclonius nasicornus_) skeleton restored from bones found in the red deer river region, canada. (american museum of natural history)] dinosaurs--ancestors of birds no class of the extinct reptiles is so familiar, by name at least, as is that of the dinosaurs, mainly because of the enormous size of some of them, and the fact that their prodigious skeletons are exhibited complete in many museums. no other land animals ever approached some of them in bulk. a great number of species have been exhumed, yet as a group these reptiles are only imperfectly known, for the fossils are not scattered throughout the whole extent of mesozoic deposits, but only in two limited periods of that era separated by two or three millions of years. all of them had short, compact bodies, long tails, and long legs for a reptile, and instead of crawling they walked or ran, sometimes upon all fours, more generally on the hind limbs, like ostriches. they ranged in size from that of a cat to the prodigious bulk of the diplodocus or the brontosaurus, seventy feet long and perhaps twenty feet high at the hips, while an east african species appears to have been even far bigger. some were herbivorous, and dwellers mainly in marshes and swamps; others ranged the uplands, armored for defense against huge predatory kinds, and still others had horny beaks like birds. it is believed, in fact, that our birds are descended from the same stock as these creatures, through an early offshoot. [illustration: monoclonius restoration (deckert) in typical landscape (american museum of natural history)] crocodiles and alligators these repulsive and ferocious reptiles (crocodilia) are the bulkiest of the whole class, and most resemble the ancient aquatic dinosaurs, with which they are undoubtedly allied, although their precise derivation is undetermined. their general shape is in conformity with the reptilian model, rather than indicative of any close relationship to lizards; indeed their closest living relatives are the tuatara and the chelonians. they have four legs of nearly equal size in modern examples, but in some of the older extinct forms of the lias and jurassic strata the hind legs were much longer than the fore pair, and broadly webbed, while other features indicate a purely marine life; but it appears plain that the crocodilians originated as land dwellers whose descendants, early in the history of the group, took to an amphibious method of life. the eyes, nostrils, and external ears are situated on the upper surface of the head, so that breathing, seeing, and hearing are unimpaired in the water, the upper part of the head being usually raised above the surface when swimming. the nostrils and ears have valves which are shut when the animal is under water. crocodiles and alligators are mainly carnivorous, feeding on mammals and waterfowl, for which they lie in wait close to the edge of the water, sweeping them in by a blow of their tail, but the gavials feed almost exclusively on fish. all are oviparous, laying oval, hard-shelled eggs. the order is represented by a single family, crocodilidæ, including six genera scattered through the tropical and subtropical parts of the globe in the strange fashion that characterizes many of the ancient groups of which present species are mere relics. thus the american genus of alligators has also a species in china; and the old world crocodiles are represented by a single, narrowly restricted species in the region of the gulf of mexico. our common alligator (_a. mississippiensis_) inhabits the low coastal rivers and swamps from north carolina to the rio grande, and remains abundant in the steaming bayous along the lower mississippi, and in the swamps of louisiana, but in florida has been killed off, not only by the demand for its hide (as leather), but in a wanton way by tourists and sportsmen, until now its numbers are greatly reduced. it would have become nearly extinct were not its prolificness great, each female depositing thirty-five to forty eggs in the layers of the cone-shaped heap of a nest she makes on the bank. young alligators feed mainly on fish, but the old ones take more and more to getting birds and beasts for their dinner, stealing on them quietly as they swim, or when they approach the water to drink. the prey is dragged down and drowned. in the crocodilian throat the passage for air from the nostrils reaches much farther back above the mouth than in other animals, and the entrance of the windpipe may be closed by pressing together the base of the tongue and the soft palate, enabling the alligator to drown its prey without drowning itself. in two particulars our alligator is singular--its fear of man and its voice. when surprised basking on shore, as it likes to do, it will rush with awkward haste for the water; and there will get away or out of sight whenever a man appears. hence it is safe to bathe in waters infested by alligators, which will retreat from the feared bather as far as possible. nevertheless when an alligator is cornered it can and will make a very dangerous fight with jaws and tail that are truly formidable. but it rarely attacks unprovoked, except where a mother finds you tampering with her nest. as to its noise-making, the alligator is unique among reptiles in giving voice to a really loud noise, or bellow, which may sometimes be heard for a mile or more. it varies according to the size of the reptile from the gentle "mooing" of a small one to a "thundering and tremendous blast" by a big male. in the half-submerged morasses of florida, from lake worth southward, dwells a true crocodile, closely allied to that of the nile, and first discovered there by william t. hornaday in . it differs from the alligator in the pattern of scales, in the relative length and vertical flatness of the tail, and especially in having a long, pointed snout instead of the broad, spade-shaped head of the alligator. its general habits present no novelty, but it is more agile and, in captivity, more vicious than its cousin, while showing a similar dread of man in its wild home. this crocodile is found from northeastern mexico south to the coast of ecuador, especially in salt marshes. central and south america are the habitat of several species of caymans, which differ from alligators mainly in their teeth and the fact that protective scales cover the belly; they are blackish in color, and vary in size and markings, the largest, known on the amazon as the black cayman, or "jacare usassu," growing to be twenty feet long; but the indians pay little attention to it. crocodiles proper (genus crocodilus) are distinguished by the fact that some of their foremost teeth fit into a notch of the upper lip, and are therefore exposed, as is not the case with alligators or gavials. one species lives in west africa, another in india, another is wholly marine in habits (as were some of its extinct progenitors) and ranges from eastern india and southern china to northern australia, a fourth is australian, and a fifth central american; but the best known of all is the so-called nilotic crocodile of the upper nile and the rivers of east central africa. formerly it occupied the whole course of the nile, and was one of the sacred animals of the priestcraft of ancient egypt. in madagascar it is extraordinarily abundant, and has there the peculiar habit of digging long, ventilated burrows in the river bank, in which it lies, and where it stores its prey. large old specimens may become fifteen feet in length, and their life is probably very long, for new teeth grow as fast as the old ones are lost, and when adult they have no known enemies except one another, but their eggs are sought for by several kinds of birds, lizards, and so forth, and the old ones devour many infants. crocodiles abound in all the sluggish rivers and estuaries of central africa, and are more destructive of human life than even lions or leopards, and kill much game and many domestic animals. lying in wait close to the bank, they make a rush, seize by the nose or leg any animal as it stoops to drink; or, stealing close to an antelope or goat standing at the edge of the river, they will, with a sweep of the tail, knock it into the water, and grasping it with their jaws bear it down to a horrible death. the crocodile does not at once tear its victim to pieces, as do the alligators, but pushes it into some hole in the bank to decompose before being consumed. major j. stevenson-huntington says: "at sheshike, on the zambezi, a paramount chief, who lived some forty years ago, used to derive great amusement from watching slaves and criminals being thrown to the crocodiles, his chair being brought to the river's bank in the cool of the afternoon that he might enjoy the spectacle in comfort. the crocodiles at this place never forgot those halcyon days, and, until very recently, it was almost certain death for anyone to drink at the river, or attempt to draw water, except within one of the protecting screens of logs which were erected for the purpose.... on the other hand there are some large pans in amatongaland, which, although full of the reptiles, are said to be quite safe to bathe in, attacks on human beings being unknown.... always cunning and suspicious, the crocodile at times evinces considerable audacity in the pursuit of his prey. natives are occasionally knocked off the gunwales of their canoes by a flick from the tail. i recollect major gibbons, standing upright in the stern of our little aluminum steam launch on the zambezi, with the tiller between his feet, nearly losing his balance through an attack of this kind. i have heard of a native, sleeping on a hot night in the doorway of a hut close to the river, being attacked and dragged in." despite this frequent attack on large prey, fishes are the main reliance of the african crocodiles for subsistence. as opposed to this terrifying record from eastern africa, the "long-snouted" crocodile of the west coast rivers offers a mild reputation, since it is content with fish, frogs and water birds as food, and fears men more than it is feared by them. the natives hunt it for the sake of its flesh. crocodile meat is considered good in all uncivilized parts of the world, but most white men dislike its musky flavor; the same may be said of the eggs of these reptiles. the orient possesses a variety of crocodiles, the best known of which are the marsh crocodile, a near relative of the african species, and the gavial, placed in the genus gavialis, and distinguished by its long, slender snout and weak teeth. this gavial abounds in the ganges and other rivers of northern india and burma, where it is numerous, and frequently exceeds twenty feet in length. a second species is found in the malayan archipelago. it feeds almost exclusively on fish, and so rarely harms man or beast that it is regarded as harmless. the marsh crocodile, or "mugger," is also of great size, and inhabits the rivers and marshes of india, ceylon, and the malayan islands. it is a fish eater and an arrant coward, feared by no one under ordinary conditions. it was, perhaps, originally, as a matter of gratitude for this harmlessness, that the custom arose among the hindus of venerating this reptile. in some places, as notably near karachi, large numbers of muggers are kept captive in ponds, and attended by priests and devotees who guard and feed them. a third species is the formidable "estuarine" crocodile, which frequents the tidal portions of rivers from the bay of bengal to china and australia. it exceeds all of its race in stature, usually exceeding twenty feet long, and one old specimen on record was thirty-three feet from tip to tip. it is held in great fear by fishermen, for in many cases it develops man-eater proclivities, and has all the ferocity and resourcefulness of its nilotic cousin. the salt-water habitat of this species recalls the fact that among the many kinds of fossil crocodilians known, from the lias onward, one was a purely marine form. the crocodiles are followed in the classification of the reptiles by several extinct groups, known only as fossils of the mesozoic age. the first of these is the subclass plesiosauria, containing a series of predatory creatures characterized by very long necks, short tails, and feet that in the older forms indicate a terrestrial existence, but later exhibit a progressive change to paddles, showing that finally the plesiosaurs were wholly aquatic. this was accompanied by a steady increase in size, until finally a length of at least forty-five feet was reached--chiefly by extension of the neck--in the elasmosaurus of the cretaceous rocks of kansas. another subclass, ichthyosauria, restricted to the mesozoic age, were large, swimming, marine "fish lizards" with a somewhat whalelike form, the front limbs transformed into paddles, and the snout in the form of a long bill filled with sharp teeth. they lived on fishes, cuttlefish, mollusks, etc., and had the general habits of sharks. they died out early in the cretaceous epoch, and left no descendants. a third extinct subclass is that of the pterodactyls, or "flying dragons" (pterosauria), which possessed the air throughout the mesozoic age, and filled the place of birds in the fauna of that period, although they had no relationship to the real birds that came later. some were no larger than sparrows, but later ones spread their leathery wings twenty feet or more. the origin and real affinities of these winged reptiles are unknown and they left no descendants. we find in the cretaceous formations skeletons of very long, slender marine reptiles (pythonomorpha) with a lizardlike head and all four limbs in the form of paddles, of which the mososaurs are the best known. these were the latest of the mesozoic reptiles; and about the time of their disappearance we begin to find the earliest fossil suggestions of the subclass sauria which contains our modern orders lacertilia, the lizards, and ophidia, the serpents. neither of these owe their ancestry to any of the fossil groups just mentioned, in spite of superficial resemblances, but "their origin has probably to be looked for among the prosauria, of which sphenodon (the tuatara, see page ) is the only surviving member." they are also very distinct from crocodiles in structure. [illustration: mesozoic flying reptile (pterodactyl) (restoration, after owen)] lizards and chameleons--turncoats of the woods lizards (lacertilia) are creatures of hot climates, and especially of deserts, and they exhibit an almost endless variety of shape, size, structure, and adaptations to their surroundings and a mode of life that is primarily dictated by their food. the majority are terrestrial, but some species are semiaquatic. there are climbing, swiftly running, and even flying forms, while others lead a subterranean life like earthworms. most of them subsist on animal food, varying from tiny insects and worms to birds and mammals, while others live upon a vegetable diet. lizards, like snakes, have a scaly skin covered with a thin, horny pellicle which is shed from time to time, flaking off in pieces except in the wormlike species, where it is sloughed whole as by snakes. in most lizards the scales are well developed, and "shingle" the back and sides of the body, but in some they are like little tubercles, giving a granular appearance--a good example of which is the "gila monster" of arizona. lizards are, as a rule, adaptively colored according to their habitat, so that browns and grays prevail in the sand-running species or those, like the monitors and iguanas, that are mostly aquatic; but brilliant hues in varied, even fantastic, patterns adorn many of the small, agile, tropical kinds, whose safety lies in their swiftness of movement and cleverness in hiding. this is supplemented in most species by the capability of changing color, a faculty that is most serviceable in the chameleons, by rendering them more or less invisible to the hawks and other animals that try to catch and eat them. some of the more sluggish, earth-dwelling kinds are further protected by many spines sprouting from the skin, as is familiar in our western "horned toad," and in the fearsome-looking "moloch" of australia; and the iguanas are provided with an erectile spiny crest along the ridge of their backs, most notable in the basilisks. a strange characteristic of most lizards with slender tails is the power to part with them at a moment's notice. if an enemy seizes this appendage, which often is held temptingly aloft, it breaks off and its owner escapes before the would-be captor has had time to recover from his surprise. within a short time a new tail is developed, but it is never so perfect as the original organ. most lizards lay eggs, few in number, and with shells hard in some families, parchmentlike in others, that are hidden in a hole in a dead stump or some similar place of concealment, and are left to be hatched by the warmth of the sun. many lizards retain their eggs until nearly ready to hatch, and so are practically viviparous. the embryos have an "egg tooth," as do turtles and snakes. the lacertilia are naturally divisible into three sections, namely, geckos, typical lizards, and chameleons. the geckos are a large and ancient family represented in all tropical countries, and some species are common along both shores of the mediterranean, but none reach the united states. they are small, plump, flat-headed, and mostly somber in color, but this is changeable; the skin has a granular surface, but regular scales cover the desert-dwelling species. one peculiarity of the group is the adaptation of the foot to the habit of climbing about rocks and trees. the undersurface of the toes has a series of plates, which serve as adhesive pads wherewith the animal is enabled to climb not only trees and the smooth rocks, but a windowpane or to run along the ceiling with the ease of a fly. another peculiarity is the fact that the eyeball is covered by a "watch glass" of transparent skin, under which the little animal rolls its eyes and stares at you with vigilant interest. geckos are nocturnal in habit, and as evening approaches come out from their retreats and become active in hunting for insects, and in avoiding the other lizards, snakes, and so forth, that would like to seize and eat them; and it is then that are heard their low, two-syllabled, clucking calls that give them the name "gec-ko." these funny little lizards are utterly harmless, come into houses, and are easily tamed, yet are regarded in many countries with superstitious dread and that foolish fear of poison that is attached to most small lizards and newts. in the orient several strangely modified forms exist. the lizards proper (lacertæ) number several hundred species classified in eighteen families, and differ vastly in size, shape, food, and place and manner of life. some, like the degraded slowworms, are limbless, scaleless and in their serpentine form and underground life resemble worms more than anything else. others, such as the "flying dragons" of malayan forests, have developed great winglike expansions of the skin on the sides, folded close to the body as they climb about the trees, but capable of being spread as supports when they wish to take a long gliding leap to some distant perch; and an australian species has similar skin expansions that can be raised into a broad ruff around the neck that gives the little animal a terrifying aspect. the many kinds that live in deserts have the dull hue of the ground, or may bristle with spines, of which the squat "horned toad" of california is an excellent example; while those that scamper about the trees and rocks of the equatorial region are often brilliantly striped or spotted in reds, greens and blues. many are pugnacious and able to bite severely, but the only one whose bite is poisonous is the heloderma of the mexican border. this is a fat, sluggish, black and yellow creature, about a foot in length, that inhabits the hot desert sands. fortunately it is slow to anger, but when it does bite there flows into the wound a poison which has the same effect as the venom of the rattlesnake, although less copious and virulent. severe illness, and in a few cases death, have resulted from the bite of this ugly creature, which is more commonly known as the "gila monster," because it is prevalent in the valley of the gila river in southern arizona. as the great family agamidæ is confined to the old world, so the iguanidæ belongs to america, where several species are numerous in the tropics, and reach a size of three to five feet, much of which is tail. they live in trees, feed on vegetation, and haunt the banks of rivers into which they jump on the slightest alarm. one traveler relates that along the mosquito coast of nicaragua, when a person is going in a canoe up some of the narrow, unfrequented creeks, he encounters quite a shower of iguanas, and runs some risk of getting his neck broken, for a big iguana will weigh twenty-five pounds or more. their flesh, resembling that of chicken, is a favorite article of food and iguanas are constantly brought to rural markets. the family contains about species. among them is the common little "chameleon" (anolis) of our gulf states, so often sold to tourists as a curiosity, and brought north to die of cold and neglect. it is golden green on the upper surface, and white on the under, and the throat, when inflated, glows with vermilion; it is a harmless, active little tree dweller, and will change its colors to suit its surroundings with astonishing rapidity. in another genus (sceloporus) is placed the blue-tailed, variable, "fence lizard," or "swift," which is known throughout the eastern united states; but the common small lizards of the pacific slope belong to gherronotus and other genera. the largest lizards of all belong to the two families varanidæ, the "monitors" of africa and eastward to australia, and teidæ, the "tejus" of central and south america. they are singularly alike in appearance and habits--long-tailed, slender, smooth-skinned, carnivorous creatures, living in all sorts of places, varying with the numerous species, and both hated and utilized by the natives of the various countries they inhabit. some monitors are more than seven feet long. the american tejus, such as the big "teguexin" of brazil, frequent forests and plantations, where their strength and speed enable them to catch all kinds of animals, from insects to worms, frogs, snakes, mice, and birds. "they take chickens and eggs from the farms, and they are frequently hunted down by dogs for the sake of their flesh, which is considered good to eat. they defend themselves with lashing strokes of their long tail and with their powerful jaws." the chameleons differ so much from other lizards that they have been placed by some systemists in a different suborder. the chief differences are three. first, the feet, terminating rather long legs, have the fingers and toes so arranged that two digits oppose three as do our thumbs the palm of the hand, and the animal can grasp a branch just as we would, giving so firm a grip that chameleons are exceedingly agile climbers, and may take as many odd attitudes among the branches as would a monkey. second, the eyes are very large, but the eyelids have grown together over them, leaving only a small hole out of which to look. the right and left eye roll about incessantly, and independently, giving a most comical squinting effect--but no lizard sees with both eyes at once! third, the tongue has reached an extraordinary development. when the mouth is shut it is withdrawn into a tubular sheath at the back of the mouth; but when a fly is seen and wanted it is shot out like a released spring, seizes the fly in the flaps at its club-shaped extremity, and is quickly withdrawn. this tongue may be thrust out to a distance equal to the length of the body, less the long, tapering, prehensile tail, which is another important part of the equipment of these active tree dwellers. the skin is not scaly, but granular in appearance; and the skull is prolonged behind into a pointed helmetlike form that is distinctive of the group. chameleons are most celebrated, however, for their remarkable power of changing their color, but this is by no means always, or perhaps often in direct response to the hue of their immediate surroundings. dr. hans gadow has made an extensive study of his captive specimens of the common chameleon of the mediterranean region, and confesses himself baffled in the attempt to learn an explanation of the influences, external or mental, that causes the alterations of hue. one judges from his observations that they are mainly the expression of fleeting emotions--but who can read the emotions of a lizard? but if we do not know the _why_, the _how_ of these fluctuations of color is well understood, and is briefly stated by prof. pycraft: "the horny outermost layer of the skin is colorless; in the layer beneath this are embedded iridescent cells with striated surfaces. below this, in the deepest layer of the skin, _cutis_, are a large number of cells filled with refractive granules, chiefly guanin crystals. these cause white color by diffuse reflection of direct light. nearer the surface are cells filled with oil drops, and these give a yellow color. in the granular mass are embedded numerous color-bearing granular sacs or chromatophores, containing for the most part blackish brown or reddish pigment. the branches of these sacs being contractile, the contained granules of color are drawn away from or toward the surface of the skin, and thus, combining with the stationary color, effect a corresponding change in the coloration of the animal." the chameleons are an african family, but a few of the fifty or so species belong also to the western coast of india and ceylon, and one is a resident of southern spain. they vary in size from that of a mouse to a species in madagascar two feet long. the lizards and snakes are the most recent developments of the reptilian line of vertebrate evolution. no undoubted lizard remains have been discovered antedating the end of the cretaceous epoch; and no fossil evidences of snakes are much older than the mid-tertiary, yet these are surprisingly similar to existing forms. the affinities of both groups seem to be with pythonomorpha. chapter xxi serpents, good and bad snakes (ophidia) are the newest and most flourishing branch on the reptilian family tree, whose trunk and lower limbs are dead or dying. they differ from lizards mainly in their elongated and limbless form (which, however, had been foreshadowed by certain lizards) and more particularly in the formation of the mouth. instead of a solid union of the bones of the skull, many of the bones, especially about the mouth, are connected by an elastic ligament, allowing the snakes to open their mouths widely enough to swallow larger prey than otherwise would be possible. the palatal bones, as well as the jaws, bear small, solid, recurved and pointed teeth, replaced by others from the same root pulp when lost; they have little chewing power, but are useful to seize and hold food which is then slowly swallowed by the snake gradually working its jaws ahead and over the object, until the muscles of the throat can grip it and slowly work it downward into the tubelike stomach. serpents strive to turn their prey and swallow it headfirst. the tongue in all serpents is a slender, extensible organ, forked at the tip, usually black, and always seen protruded and waving about when a snake is disturbed. uninformed people call it a "stinger," but it is merely the animal's tongue and used as such. it serves the additional purpose of an instrument of investigation, the serpent informing itself by touching with its tongue as to the nature of many things with which it comes in contact. it has, however, no stinging or other harmful purpose or power whatever. a rattlesnake's tongue would harm you no more than one of the little love licks that you get from your favorite puppy. the eyes, which may be rudimentary in the burrowing species, or large in those of nocturnal habits, have no eyelids, and are covered with a transparent film of skin that is sloughed off whenever the skin is shed, which happens frequently in young, growing individuals, but only annually in adults, as a rule; and for a day or two snakes are blinded by the loosening of this covering. no snake has ear openings, and their hearing is dull. the sense of smell, however, is well developed, and it is probable that these animals obtain much food by its aid, even following a trail by the nose. serpents travel on their bellies, moving their bodies in lateral undulations, and often running with amazing swiftness. every pair of ribs is connected at their lower ends with one of the large abdominal scales, or "scutes," and it is generally believed that the creature moves by the pressure and pushing of these scutes and rib points on the ground; but boulenger, a leading authority, thinks that their importance has been somewhat exaggerated, although of undoubted use for the purpose of climbing, at which some species are remarkably adept. some snakes lay eggs with a tough, parchmentlike shell; others retain them within the body until the young are fully developed. snakes do not migrate nor wander far from their birthplace in search of food. desert dwellers burrow under the sand for protection from the heat, and go abroad at night, as is the habit of many snakes. in the colder climates the serpents hibernate, collecting in companies tangled together like a ball in some animal's burrow, or in a den among the rocks, the hardier ones occasionally appearing on warm days in winter. when they come out in spring they are likely to make their way to wet lowlands, in search of frogs, toads and mice. the order is divided into nine families, which will now be considered in the order arranged by g. a. boulenger of the zoölogical society of london. the first four families are small, wormlike, burrowing creatures, with a large number of species distributed in warm countries throughout the world, and regarded as relics of an ancient type. the beautiful coral snake of south america, which grows to a yard in length and is only partly subterranean in habit, leads from these to the great family of boas and pythons (boidæ) which contains the biggest serpents that exist, or so far as we know, ever have existed. the members of this family have vestiges of pelvis and hind limbs, appearing externally as clawlike spurs. the boidæ comprise sixty or seventy species and the range of the family is world-wide. they mostly prefer wooded districts, climbing trees, assisted by the short and partly prehensile tail. some are semiaquatic. all are rapacious, and feed by preference on warm-blooded creatures. the family is divided into two subfamilies, pythoninæ and boinæ, but the difference between them is confined mainly to certain bones in the skull. the pythons belong entirely to the tropics of the old world, except a single species in southern mexico; and number about twenty species. the boinæ are chiefly american. none is venomous. a famous python is the six-foot, tree-dwelling carpet snake of australia, black, beautifully marked with a pattern of yellow dots. a very large species is the reticulated python of indo-china and the malayan region, having an arrangement of dark lozenges on a lighter ground. india has a similar species, reaching a length of thirty feet, marked with reddish brown patches on a yellowish ground. this (_python molurus_) is the one most often seen in zoölogical collections on account of its hardiness; but it is a savage creature, almost untamable. like others of these big serpents it is able to make very long fasts; indeed their life, in this respect, seems to consist of gorges, followed by long periods--sometimes several months--of fasting and repose, entirely voluntary. it appears from observation of captive specimens that they have individual preferences for a certain kind of food, and perhaps wait for it; thus one in the jardin des plantes, paris, refused various toothsome animals for months until a goose was offered, which it seized hungrily, and then sulked through long weeks until another goose was given. africa has two pythons, one (_p. regius_) confined to west africa, the other (_p. sebæ_), common from the sudan to the cape. "the latter," william c. scully says, "is the largest of african snakes, occasionally attaining a length of more than twenty feet, with a circumference of eighteen inches. one is recorded of twenty-five feet. it principally frequents rocky chasms in moist, warm forests. it is not dangerous to man, being quite nonvenomous, but it will fight fiercely if attacked, and the long, sharp, teeth may inflict a severe bite. the python usually preys upon small animals, such as minor antelopes, monkeys, conies, and birds. sometimes this snake coils itself at the bottom of a stream and lies with its nose just emerging. when a small buck comes to drink, the snake seizes it by the nose, the recurved teeth taking an inextricable grip. after the buck has been drowned the python coils itself around the body and crushes it for convenience in the process of swallowing.... the python does not regard the horns, which sometimes may be seen sticking out through the abdomen. these wounds quickly heal, the snake apparently being none the worse for the perforations. "so far as i know the python is the only snake which incubates its eggs. such, numbering from thirty to fifty at a brood, and weighing about five and a half ounces each, are usually laid in a deep rock crevice or in the deserted burrow of an ant bear or hyena. the mother coils herself over and around them." let us turn now to the boas. popularly the whole tribe is frequently spoken of as "boa constrictors," but that is the scientific name of only one among several species, the _boa constrictor_ of the west indies and tropical south america. it is the one most common and best known, and, as it is easily tamed, is the one often seen in the hands of performers with serpents in circuses, and exhibited in menageries. in many places in south america the natives, according to leo miller, keep them running at large about their huts to catch rats. in forested regions they spend most of their time in trees, but in an open country lie about on the ground, retreating when alarmed into some hole, as of a viscacha--their favorite prey on the plains. far greater and much more dreaded by the natives is the great water boa, or anaconda (_b. murinus_), of the amazonian region, which is the longest of american snakes, and the worst foe of such river-loving creatures as capybaras and iguanas. the color scheme of the anaconda is greenish yellow above, with a single, or two alternating series, of large, blackish transverse spots, and one or two lateral series of blackish eyespots with white centers. the lower parts are whitish, spotted with black. the anaconda is very aquatic, and is usually found submerged close to the banks of the river, on the lookout for its prey. although mammals and crocodiles are occasionally eaten by this snake, it prefers birds, these being constricted and eaten under water. only a single instance of an anaconda having attacked a man is on record. although it grows to a length of over thirty feet, it is sexually mature when about half that length. various very slender and agile species, the tree boas, belong to the tropical american forests, one of which is called the "rainbow" boa because of its marvelous iridescence in the sunlight. another large species inhabits central america and mexico; and two small, brown secretive snakes, the "rubber" boas, more commonly known as "double-enders," because their blunt tails closely resemble their heads, are found in california and northward to british columbia. the remainder of the family are scattered from africa to the south sea islands. ordinary snakes (colubridÆ) we now come to the family colubridæ, which embraces nine-tenths of all the modern serpents of the world. the more hardy species are to be found north to about the summer isotherm of degrees; and snakes are absent only from some of the south pacific islands, new zealand and ireland; ireland never had any, despite the st. patrick legend. the best arrangement of the colubridæ is that by boulenger, who, adopting duméril's terms, has divided them into three series according to the character of the teeth. . _aglypha_--all the teeth solid and not grooved. harmless, that is, not venomous. . _opisthoglypha_--one or more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved. mostly poisonous; a few tropical species. . _proteroglypha_--anterior maxillary teeth grooved or tubular. deadly poisonous; cobras, coral snakes, etc. the immense family colubridæ is divided into several subfamilies, the first and most extensive of which is the colubrinæ, in which are associated all the "harmless" snakes in the world except the boas and pythons. none exceeds twelve feet long, and most of them are much smaller. nearly all lay eggs, but some bring forth large broods of living young, among which are our water snakes, and the striped "garter" and "ribbon" snakes so numerous in our meadows and gardens. these striped snakes (eutainia) exist in a great number of "species" or varieties most confusingly varied in coloring, some having no stripes whatever. they are very hardy, living far toward the north in canada, and are the last to go into hibernation and the first to reappear in spring. for this winter sleep they burrow deeply into soft soil, or where rocky places exist, seek deep crevices. the water snakes of the genus tropidonotus follow, with many representatives in all temperate countries, one of which is the "common grass snake" of england--the only serpent in great britain except the viper and a rare little burrower. ten species, with several varieties, are credited to the united states, some of which are ringed with irregular or broken bands of blackish on gray, others obscurely blotched, and some black or brown with red bellies. they are the ugliest of all our snakes both in appearance and in vicious temper; and are of no service to mankind, for their food consists entirely of fishes, frogs, toads, etc., obtained in or near the water. they live altogether in rivers, ponds and swamps; and by their dark bodies, flat heads, and keeled scales so resemble moccasins whose fierce, repellent attitudes they imitate, that in the south they are almost as much feared; hence it is well to note the differences. the harmless water snake is more slender than the deadly moccasin and may be told by the red spots on the abdomen; the undersurface of the poisonous snake is straw color, with black or gray spots on younger individuals, but has no red spots. the water snake has the plates on the underside of the tail in two rows, the moccasin in a single row. these snakes are agile swimmers and are able to spend a long time in hiding under water. they produce their young alive in broods of twenty-five to fifty, and they are as pugnacious as their elders. various small, ground-keeping snakes lead to another conspicuous american group, the racers and black snakes of the genera spilotes and zamenis, of which species and near relatives are numerous in europe and asia, a malayan example growing to a length of ten or more feet--probably the longest of colubrines. three different "black snakes" are known among us. the largest is the "gopher snake" or "indigo snake" of the sandy parts of the southeastern states, which may approach eight feet in length, and it is a variety of the still larger yellow "rat snake" or "cribo" of the tropics, which is protected about villages and houses as a good-natured exterminator of vermin. our variety has a useful breadth of taste and lack of choler, and its haste to escape into a gopher turtle's hole when a man appears gives it one of its names, while its glossy, blue-black color, relieved only by a reddish chin and throat, accounts for the other. they are real pets, showing no fear and offering no harm; the closely related "rat snakes" of india, on the other hand, although similarly protected as ratters, are described as diabolical in temper, and thus usually remain untamable. to some extent in the south, but principally in the northern states east of the plains, the commonest black snake is the "black racer," which west of the mississippi, instead of being pure satiny black, with white chin and throat, appears in a bluish green hue, often with yellowish belly, and is known as "blue racer." third, we have the less numerous and larger "pilot," whose scales are noticeably keeled and have each a touch of white. raymond l. ditmars takes great pains to relieve these snakes of various calumnies, as that they hunt for rattlesnakes and copperheads (whence the name "pilot"), as that they "constrict" their prey, as that they "fascinate" anything, and as that they maliciously attack human beings--on the contrary, they make frantic efforts to get away the instant their fears are aroused, and few things on earth can make better speed than this black rocket. if cornered, however, it will turn on the enemy, rear a third or more of its length, and strike repeatedly with a force and rapidity hard to avoid. yet both the common and the indigo species quickly become docile and show signs of recognition and partiality toward their human friends. the long, slender "coachwhip snake" of the south and the equally thin and swift striped "racer" of the pacific coast are allied species. the genus coluber, to which belongs the famous Æsculap snake of central europe, is represented among us by a series of large and gayly colored species. one is the yellowish, brown-blotched fox snake of the prairie states, which is a ground keeper and a great hunter. in search of rats and mice it often haunts haystacks and barns where it should be welcome. "one snake is worth a dozen traps, for the reptile prowls into the burrows and nests of rats and mice and eats the entire brood." similar in size (six feet) and habits is the brilliant red-and-crimson corn snake of the southern states, which is a great mouser and also an agile climber after nests of birds, whose eggs and young it likes. another, even larger, coluber of the south is the four-striped chicken snake, useful in its pursuit of small rodents, but, like the pilot black snake, with too great a fondness for hen's eggs and young poultry to be liked by farmers. the big, gray, blustering "bull snakes" of the southern and western parts of the union take their name from their habit of emitting a loud and prolonged hiss when annoyed. they keep on, and under, the ground in sandy regions, feed on small mammals and birds, and are powerful constrictors; they are also noted for morose and savage dispositions. next to these repulsive reptiles come in classification the beautiful and gentle green snakes--slender little creatures that hunt for caterpillars and various insects through the foliage of bushes, among which their gracefully festooned length is hardly visible. south america has another group of very long and slender insect eaters and nest robbers known as "tree snakes," whose habits are similar but on a larger scale, and which have a wonderful power of riding securely on the branches, no matter how violently they are waved by the wind. passing over a number of small, smooth-scaled serpents, of which the pretty ringneck is an example, we come to the important genus ophiobolus, which contains the king snakes, milk or house snakes, coral snakes and others, represented in the old world by the genus coronella. they vary in size from fourteen inches to six feet, and in color from gray with dark blotches to a ringed pattern of red, black, and yellow, often of brilliant beauty; but there is much individual variation. the king snake might easily furnish material for a long chapter. its name follows from its known disposition to pick a quarrel and fight with any serpent it meets, big or little; and quite independent of whether it is hungry, for it is as fond of eating its own kind as it is of lizards, toads, mice, birds and anything else that comes in its way on the ground, for it is not much of a climber. our books are full of incidents of its destruction of poisonous species, and the popular belief is that it hunts for, and relentlessly pursues rattlesnakes, copperheads, etc., but the authorities assure us this is not so. if it accidentally encounters a rattler or moccasin, it kills, and perhaps eats it; but it does the same with any other serpent. it is an exceedingly quick and powerful constrictor, and careless of bites, for it is entirely immune to venom. captive specimens have been repeatedly hypodermically injected with the poison of all sorts of american venomous serpents, as well as bitten by them, and have shown little if any effect. but wounds enrage it. winding its lithe body round and round the doomed creature, until every part of the shining length is engaged, it tightens with such strength that the victim is benumbed, unable to bite and quickly strangled. nevertheless these snakes submit easily to confinement and speedily grow perfectly gentle and friendly. the common northern representative of the genus is the house snake or milk snake--names given to several other species; it is also known as "checkered adder," because of the general resemblance of its blotched form to the dreaded copperhead. it is gray above, with a series of large, chestnut-brown saddles on the back, smaller blotches alternating with them along the sides; the belly is white, marked boldly with square black blotches. the pattern and tints vary widely. this snake is a lover of warmth and a hunter of mice and rats, wild and domestic; and in search of them it frequents pastures and damp meadows, where such wild game abounds, comes much about stables and houses, and often creeps into the rural dairies that are usually close to springs. serpents with these inquisitive habits are familiar in all parts of the world, and from time immemorial have been accused, among other iniquities, of milking cows and goats, and of drinking and spoiling milk and cream on the shelves in dairies and cellars. these beliefs survive among country people to this day, as i found out a few years ago by an extensive correspondence of inquiry, in which incredibly absurd statements were made. of course, well-informed persons know better. the keepers of reptiles at the new york zoölogical park, for example, find that snakes show no liking for milk. captive specimens cannot be induced to drink it unless suffering from great thirst. it would be a feat beyond physical possibility for a serpent the size of the largest milk snake to consume enough milk from a cow--if the reptile should be so inclined--to produce an effect noticeable to the most minute degree. we will mention only one other sort of our harmless colubrines--the "hognose," "puffing adder," "spreading adder," as it is variously known; but the name hognose is the best. its genus is heterodon. two species are common all over the eastern half of the united states and canada, one an ugly mottled gray, the other black. they are about two feet in length, thick-bodied, with roughly keeled scales, a flat head and a pointed, upturned snout--altogether very unhandsome and forbidding-looking reptiles; and they profit by this in an attempt to frighten away whatever alarms them, while in reality themselves almost (sometimes quite) paralyzed by fear. coral snakes, cobras, and sea snakes the flattening of the head and neck practiced by the hognose as a gesture of readiness to fight, whether true or false in its implication of ability, is found among several non-poisonous colubrids elsewhere and indicates their approach in kinship to the "hooded" cobras that are the foremost representatives of the venom-bearing members of the colubridæ. it will be recalled that we have been sketching the "harmless" section (aglypha), and have now to take up the two remaining "dangerous" sections of the colubridæ, the opisthoglypha and the proteroglypha. the principal tooth-bearing bone in a serpent's mouth is the forward half of the upper jaw, termed the maxillary. the maxillary of each side is connected with its fellow by a small, single bone in front (the premaxillary) and otherwise is connected with the loosely connected bones of the skull by those elastic cartilages that enable the mouth to expand and take in prey of a size more than equal to the snake's head when the mouth is shut. in the serpents that do not possess a poisoning apparatus the teeth on the maxillaries are alike in size, and solid; but in the venomous kinds some of the teeth are enlarged and grooved or channeled to conduct a flow of poison into the wound made by biting. this is the case with the poison-bearing sections of the colubridæ mentioned above, and their difference is in the relative position of the poison-conducting teeth or "fangs" on the maxillaries. in the opisthoglyphs these teeth are situated near the posterior end of the maxillary, and are grooved on the rear side, where they receive the poisonous fluid from a sac in the cheek. the greater number of species of this group are residents of the old world, although we have several representatives along our mexican border, and more southward, especially in the tropics. most of them are little dangerous to mankind, as it is difficult for them to inflict a wound by "striking." they first seize their prey and then use their rather short fangs. the poison has a paralyzing effect, reducing the victim to helplessness. some of these snakes must be regarded as decidedly dangerous, but fortunately all the american species may be quickly recognized by the peculiar marking on their heads, which has given the name "jew's-harp snake" to a common species of arizona. it is believed that the vipers are an offshoot of an opisthoglyph ancestry, in spite of the forward position of their fangs. in the proteroglypha, on the contrary, the poisoning teeth, in all cases small, are situated near the front of the maxillaries, and they are much more dangerous reptiles, for they include the coral snakes and cobras (elapinæ) and the sea snakes (homalopsinæ), which are able to strike their teeth into anything they successfully attack. the coral snakes (genus elaps) derive their name from the broad bands of coral-red that encircle their bodies in most species, with narrow rings of black and yellow between. these brilliant colors, combined with the luster of the smooth scales, make them among the most beautiful of serpents, and a common species of our southern states is called the harlequin. the genus is exclusively american, and nearly all belong to the tropics, where the largest become five feet long, and their bite is deadly to man. they keep to the ground, and much of the time under it, and are cannibalistic in their diet. the body is slender and cylindrical, the head small, and the eyes like beads. they are indocile, quick-tempered, and very dangerous to handle, despite the fact that they do not always resist being disturbed. hence the widely prevalent opinion that they are harmless is a perilous delusion fostered by the fact that certain innocuous southern serpents closely mimic the coral snakes in size and colors. it should be learned and remembered, especially by visitors to winter resorts in florida, that the poisonous ones (elaps) have the black rings bordered on each side by the yellow ones, while in the harmless species the yellow rings are bordered by the black; also, in the coral snakes the bands of color completely encircle the body, but do not in the other kind. a very elaborate illustrated account of the coral snake and its poison apparatus, methods and serious effects, was given by stejneger in the "annual report of the united states national museum," for , part ii. the remainder of the elapine serpents (about species) belong to africa and the orient. typical of them are the cobras of the genus naja, of which the species (_naja tripudians_) met with from turkestan to southern china and the malay islands, and named by portuguese explorers "cobra de capello" (hooded snake), is world-famous. several species inhabit africa and differ little from the indian cobras, but are equally deadly. the fangs in all this group are small and are fixed in the extreme front of the upper jaw, not being erectile like the long fangs of the rattlesnakes and vipers. cobras vary much in coloration, and mr. scully reports that he has killed south african specimens of light yellow, jet black and all intermediate hues. the cobra is a fierce fighter and, when reared up, with expanded hood, looks very formidable. anterior to the head the ribs lengthen and then gradually shorten to normal dimensions. these lengthened ribs, about twenty in number, lie, when the snake is quiescent, more or less laterally along the spine. but when the snake becomes excited, the neck bends and the ribs spring out at right angles. over them the loose folds of skin expand umbrella fashion. when much enraged, the cobra spits drops of venom at its enemy. these are propelled a distance of about four feet. the cobra is found all over south africa, but is especially plentiful in the dry, sandy deserts northwest of the cape. there extensive colonies of large mice abound, patches of ground being thickly honeycombed with burrows. in these the cobras dwell--apparently, as in the case of the puff adders, on the best of terms with their hosts, upon whom they principally feed, reminding one of the tenancy by the western rattlesnake of prairie-dog "towns." a close relative of the cobra is the ringhals (i. e., ringneck), known as the "spitting snake," the explanation of which mr. scully furnishes from personal experience thus: "the ringhals, when excited, exudes a quantity of venom, which drips down the fangs and lodges behind the abrupt, horny, lower lip. upon this the angry snake directs a blast of air through its extensible windpipe, with the effect that a jet of fine venom spray is emitted toward an enemy. this jet may reach a height of six feet. that the eyes are aimed at i have proved by experiment. if the poison reaches them blindness, which may be permanent, results. the bite of the ringhals is highly venomous, but the snake appears to prefer disabling its enemy by means of the spray of venom." the most novel and interesting of mr. scully's contributions to african herpetology, however, is his story of the mamba (_dendraspis angusticeps_), which he calls "the head of the family." it is the longest venomous snake in the world, probably running to fifteen feet in exceptional cases, but is slender and primarily a tree snake. this naturalist declares it to be the most dangerous of all snakes, as it is highly aggressive at times and its speed is quite extraordinary. if disturbed during the pairing season, the mamba attacks without hesitation; and if at any time one happens to get between the mamba and its dwelling, the snake rushes straight for its objective and, in passing, strikes swift as lightning at the intruder. it progresses in a series of bounds, suggestive of the successive uncoilings of a steel spring. there are two varieties, one colored a vivid grass-green, the other steely black, both so dreaded that the news that a large mamba has been seen will cause the vicinity to be shunned--perhaps for months. "the mamba has the habit of lying coiled among the branches adjacent to a footpath in a forest. woe to the passing wayfarer in such a case! if he touch a twig, and thus impart the least tremor to the snake's lair, a lightning-swift stroke upon face, neck, or arm seals his doom. such a stroke may be delivered either forward or sideways, with equal speed and effectiveness." the most feared of the cobra tribe in india and eastward is the king cobra, or hamadryad, which often exceeds a dozen feet in length and is "the largest, boldest and most dangerous of all venomous snakes," in boulenger's opinion, "for when disturbed it does not content itself with merely sitting up and expanding its hood, but will almost invariably attack." fortunately it is not numerous anywhere in its range from the himalayas to the far east; and it is useful in that it feeds exclusively on snakes, small pythons, kraits, rat snakes, and the common cobra. its bite will kill a man in an hour or two; and it is recorded that an elephant bitten by one died in three hours. nearly all the serpents of australia belong to elapinæ, and are exceedingly dangerous. among them are the "black snakes," the females of which are called "brown adders"; the "tiger," so called from its colors; and most dreaded of all, the "death adder," which is distinguished by a peculiar tail end, and by the fact that the head is made distinct from the body by a narrow neck, giving it a viperlike appearance. when disturbed it flattens out the whole body. a few words about the sea snakes will close our account of the poison-bearing colubrids. these are set apart in the subfamily homalopsinæ, on account of the structure of the tail, which is flattened vertically into a combination of swimming organ and rudder, for they live in the estuaries of oriental rivers, and go far out to sea in their search for food; and are to be met with from the persian gulf to polynesia and japan. all are very poisonous, feed mainly on fishes and produce living young; and all are clothed in varied and brilliant colors. living in the sea, or in tidal inlets, their movements in the clear blue water are agile and elegant; and in the bay of bengal they are sometimes seen congregating in large shoals. we turn now to the last and most advanced family of serpents, the vipers, rattlesnakes, moccasins, copperheads, and so forth (viperidæ). vipers, moccasins and rattlesnakes "viper" is an old french-latin word, meaning "bearing living young," which was noted as distinctive from the egg-laying habit of other snakes, and peculiar to the single species that the people of southern europe knew--the small _vipera verus_, or asp, from which the large and widespread family derives its name. the vipers differ from the colubrids in important particulars. their bodies are thick in proportion to their length, which rarely exceeds six feet, and this and their weight make them unable to run rapidly or (with one exception) to climb trees. the sturdy body narrows into a slender neck supporting a distinct head, given a flattened, triangular form by the expansion of the hind head on each side to accommodate the great poison sacs with which these snakes are provided. the maxillary is a stout bone in the fore part of the upper jaw, and carries on each side a long, backward-curved fang, which is tubular and is connected at its root with the extremity of a duct from the poison sac. when the serpent's mouth is closed, or it is swallowing anything, these fangs, which in a large snake may be an inch and a half long, lie back in a fold of the flesh out of the way; but when the mouth is widely opened they spring forward, and when the head is darted forward to strike a prey or an enemy, they are driven down into its flesh and the venom spurts through them into the wound, with benumbing and deadly effect. they are frequently broken or dragged out, and then new ones arise from behind to replace them. the eye is large, dull, and catlike in its pupil; the scales are strongly keeled and dull in hue in the desert dwellers, but often gay with colors in intricate patterns in the forest dwellers; and the short and stumpy tail may end in "rattles," or a horny tip, or neither. nearly all give birth to large broods, which are as vicious at birth as are their mothers. the family has two sections, marked by the absence in the first, and the presence in the second section, of a deep pit in the broad scale on the head between the nostril and the eye. the original little "viper" of europe and asia is more a nuisance than a peril, for it is rarely more than a foot long, and its bite would be fatal only to a small child. a larger species, the sand viper, ranges from italy to armenia. india, burma and siam, however, have a member of this group which is pronounced by sir j. fayrer as next to the cobra the most dangerous serpent of the east--the daboia, or russell's viper. it is nocturnal, not aggressive, and makes a loud hissing when anyone comes near it, so that it does not cause as many human deaths as it might; but frequently kills grazing cattle by biting them on the nose. the greatest and worst of these snakes belong to africa, where the northern deserts are infested with two greatly dreaded species--the horned and the saw vipers. the former has two sharp hornlike protuberances above the eyes, and canon tristram writes that its usual habit is to coil itself on the sand, where it basks in the impress of a camel's footmark, and thence suddenly to dart out on any passing animal. horses as well as men are in constant terror of it, for it will attack without any provocation. the worst of the african vipers, nevertheless, is the puff adder, which ranges over the whole continent, and may grow to a length of six feet, with a girth equal to a man's thigh. "the coloration of the puff adder," mr. scully writes, "is in groundwork a series of delicate browns, with more or less regular curved transverse patches darkening to black and edged with vivid yellow. its scales are keeled; its short tail tapers suddenly to a point. it is a sluggish creature, incapable of swift progression. when disturbed, it flattens itself to the ground, the air expressed in the process causing the warning hiss which has saved many a life. but if the foot of the intruder touch it, or even tread in its immediate vicinity, the puff adder lunges either forward or sideways, with a swiftness that the human eye cannot follow, and, having buried its fangs deep in the flesh, holds on like a bulldog, forcing two streams of venom into the tissues. the expression of this snake--its square muzzle and glaring, lidless eyes with vertical pupils--the extraordinary gape of the jaws and the huge, erected fangs, form what is probably one of the most fiendishly menacing combinations in nature. nevertheless, apart from its head, the puff adder is a creature of great beauty. the 'night adder' (_causus rhombeatus_) is much dreaded on account of its habit of lying at night in pathways and failing to move out of one's way. this snake is one of the exceptions to the rule of the viper class, in that it is not viviparous. it has another remarkable peculiarity: the poison glands, instead of lying compactly embedded in the maxillary muscles above the angle of the jaw, are much elongated, and lie one on each side of the spine." all the pit vipers are american except a few species in southern asia, some of which are arboreal in habit and have red prehensile tails. our american species fall into two genera: ancistrodon, the moccasins (no rattles), and crotalus, the rattlesnakes. the "upland moccasin" of the south is the "pilot" or "copperhead" of the north, where it still exists in forested and rocky districts from connecticut and the great lakes to texas, and is particularly abundant in the rough hills beside the hudson river, and thence southward along the alleghenies. its general hue is yellowish brown, becoming chestnut or coppery red on the head and end of the tail, which terminates in a hard point. along the back, meeting irregularly on the midline, are chestnut-hued blotches that divide on the sides, forming inverted y's; the belly is yellowish with distinct black blotches, leaving the throat clear. after one has seen a copperhead he is not likely to confuse it with the milk snake or any other. its haunts and habits are much the same as those of the eastern rattlesnakes, nor do i consider it any more aggressive in spite of a rather over-blackened reputation, nor so deadly in the effects of its weaker venom. it is bad enough, however, and should be killed on sight wherever children or pet dogs are likely to meet with it. this upland moccasin is named in science _ancistrodon contortrix_; its brother species, the water moccasin, is _a. piscivorus_. the moccasin is a larger, heavier snake than the copperhead, and a dweller in the sluggish rivers and swamps of the gulf states and northward to north carolina and kentucky. the moccasins commonly lie on the branches of bushes at the edge of the water; and if escape from danger be possible they quickly drop into the water and swim away beneath it to some hiding place. if suddenly surprised they coil and open the mouth widely toward the intruder, showing its white interior that has given them the name "cotton mouth" among the darkies, who fear them greatly, especially as they work in the rice fields. mexico has a similar species. closely allied to the copperhead and moccasins are two very dreadful snakes of the american tropics--the "fer-de-lance" of the french islands of the west indies, and the "bushmaster" of brazil. the former reaches a length of six feet, and the bushmaster, or surukuku, as the indians name it, to twice that length, thus rivaling the great viper of india. both have all the ferocity and power of their race exaggerated to the limit, and hundreds of human lives are sacrificed to them every year. every traveler has thrilling tales about them. leo miller, a cool-headed man of science, takes very seriously the fear this creature inspires. he reminds us that a bushmaster ten feet long has fangs an inch and a half long, and injects nearly a tablespoonful of poison at a single thrust. a man would survive such a dose but a few minutes. when once a bushmaster fell from a tree branch into his canoe everybody in it sprang overboard, and some narrowly escaped drowning. such deadly creatures would make the tropical world unendurable were it not that most of the time they are sluggish and peaceful; but a little fright, or a protective instinct in regard to their eggs, sets them off with the suddenness of a released spring. in taking up the rattlesnakes we have a sure guide in dr. leonhard stejneger's "report," describing all the species of north america (the group crotalinæ is confined to this continent, central america, and a single species in south america). the special peculiarity of the group is the queer "rattle" (crotalus) at the end of the tail. this consists of a series of loosely connected, somewhat cone-shaped, horny capsules, each of which originally covered the terminal vertebra of the tail. on sloughing the skin this covering remains, but is soon pushed away by the new capsule formed beneath, and partly within it, which in turn is pushed out and replaced by a third, and so on, until sometimes a dozen remain linked together; and when the serpent vibrates its tail, as most snakes do when excited, they rattle against one another, the tone of the "music" rising as the excitement, and speed of vibration, increases. the sloughing is irregular as to frequency, however, especially in young individuals, and may not always produce an addition to the rattle, and the appendage itself may be broken, so that the number of pieces, or buttons, in the rattle is not a trustworthy measure of the age of the snake. the smallest of the crotalids are the ground rattlers (genus sistrurus), of which we have two species, and there is one in mexico. the northern kind, widely known by its indian name "massasauga," ranges from eastern pennsylvania and ontario to northern minnesota and kansas, and thence to texas. the southern states have a second species commonly called "ground rattler." both are grayish brown with chestnut or darker dorsal blotches, and are inhabitants of the prairies, with their swamps and marshes. the largest do not exceed forty inches, and their bite is correspondingly weak in effect. the remainder of the rattlesnakes belong to the genus crotalus. the commonly seen species of the region east of the dry plains was named _crotalus horridus_ by linnæus, and this is one of the few instances in which his name has defied change by the systemists. it formerly was to be found as far east as central massachusetts, but there, as elsewhere, civilization has killed it off, so that now it survives only in the appalachian glens, and in thinly settled tracts farther west and south. its general color above is yellow-brown, below nearly white; and the body is banded with blackish, the bands taking a zigzag form behind the neck, and the tail is black. it rarely exceeds a yard in length, and is, as a rule, timid and nonaggressive; but a good deal remains to be learned about its habits and breeding. far more formidable than this is the diamond-back (_c. adamanteus_) of the low, coastal region from north carolina to the lower mississippi river and throughout florida, where it is far more common than is desirable. this rattler may exceed eight feet in length, and has corresponding power of harm. it is partial to the neighborhood of water, where its ground-running prey is most numerous; hence it is frequently spoken of as the "water rattlesnake," to distinguish it from the banded species, or "timber rattlesnake" of the same region, which is more habituated to forested districts, with rocks. a race of _c. horridus_, usually large and vicious, exists in the coast swamps, and is locally called the "canebrake rattler." the diamond back itself takes its name from the lozenge-shaped patches of dark color formed on its upper surface by the crossing of diagonal narrow bands of bright yellow on a greenish gray ground. the literature relating to this terrifying snake would fill hundreds of pages. raymond l. ditmars of the new york zoölogical park, gives this description: "most deadly of the north american poisonous snakes, and ranking in size with the largest of the tropical venomous serpents of both the new and the old world, this huge rattlesnake, with its brilliant and symmetrical markings, is a beautiful and terrible creature. ever bold and alert, ever retaining its wild nature when captive, there is a certain awe-inspiring grandeur about the coil of this formidable brute; the glittering black eyes, the slowly waving tongue, and the incessant, rasping note of the rattle.... the mere vibration of a step throws the creature upon guard. taking a deep inhalation, the snake inflates the rough, scaly body, to the tune of a low, rushing sound of air. shifting the coils to uncover the rattle, this is 'sprung' with the abruptness of an electric bell. there is no hysterical striking, but careful watching, and if the opportunity to effect a blow with the long fangs is presented, the result is generally mortal." [illustration: the rattlesnake (_crotalus horridus_) beside the snake is the skin it has just discarded] a large and very showy western analogue of the diamond-back, known by the sinister specific name _atrox_, occurs from central texas to california. one of its varieties is red, with darker red markings and a white tail. the familiar rattlesnake of the plains east of the rocky mountains is _crotalus confluentus_, which is of moderate size and dull hue; its mainstay of food is found among the prairie-dog towns. a similar but smaller species (_c. oregonus_) takes its place west of the rockies, from british columbia to southern california. the "tiger" rattlesnake, yellow barred with black; the "horned" rattler, which, like the egyptian horned viper, has a trick of advancing sidewise, and consequently has the popular name "sidewinder"; and the slender green rattlesnake, are small species of the deserts along the mexican border. chapter xxii birds--kings of the air a bird is an animal clothed with feathers and having the forelimbs adapted to flight. the birds constitute a class in the phylum chordata, and otherwise are combined, in the group sauropsida, with the reptilia, with which they agree more closely in anatomy than with any other group, one prominent particular being that both have a single condyle, in contrast with the mammals and amphibians where the condyle is double. in fact primitive reptiles--probably of the stock of dinosaurs--are the ancestors of birds, the divergence having occurred probably in carboniferous time. of the earliest divergent forms, the rocks have as yet yielded no specimens, the most ancient bird forms recovered showing a degree of development in the new type that must have been preceded by a long history of evolution from its reptilian source. [illustration: archÆopteryx skeleton of archæopteryx macrura with indication of feathers (reconstructed. after andrea)] the oldest fossil bird known is that named archæopteryx, whose remains are found in the jurassic slates of bavaria, which represent the beginning of the mesozoic or age of reptiles. in much of its anatomy, and in the possession of perfect feathers, it is a true bird, yet it retains many reptilian features. its body was about the size of a small crow; its legs were rather long, with well-developed feet of four toes suitable to grasping a perch; its wings were short and probably feeble, for the shoulder girdle and ribs are weak and the sternum is rudimentary. it is plain that it was arboreal in habits, but a poor flyer, and was aided in scrambling about the branches of trees on whose leaves and bark it may have fed, by the fact that three digits of the rather lizardlike wing hand terminated in strong claws, while the thumb was entirely free. the practical value of this clawed hand is illustrated in a living bird--the hoatzin, of northern south america--which exhibits in several ways the probable appearance and manners of the archæopteryx. "it haunts the sides of lagoons and rivers where a thick growth of low trees projects over the stream or the mud left bare by the tide. when disturbed the bird flies off awkwardly with a violent flapping motion, or leaps from bough to bough, erecting its crest and expanding its wings and tail. the note is sharp and shrill, and has been described as a hissing screech. the food consists of leaves and fruit. the conspicuous nest, placed on low trees or shrubs, is a loose platform of spiny sticks and twigs with a softer lining, and contains from three to five yellowish eggs, spotted with reddish brown and lilac. the young, which can see and run as soon as they are hatched, have a claw on both forefinger and thumb, by means of which they creep about the thickets, and hook themselves over the branches, assisted by the bill and feet. they can also swim and dive." the most striking features of the archæopteryx were its head and tail. the skull is fairly avine, and the rather short and blunt bill was furnished with conical teeth, nearly equal in size, and set in a marginal row in distinct sockets. still more lizardlike was the tail--a prolongation of the backbone nearly as long as the body, along each side of which sprouted strong feathers forming a horizontally flat tail with a rounded end. [illustration: toothed bird (_hesperornis regalis_) skeleton of toothed bird (after marsh)] the next that we know of bird evolution is derived from the discovery of the fossil remains of toothed birds in the upper cretaceous formations of kansas--that is, in the more recent half of the mesozoic age. they differ greatly not only from archæopteryx but from each other, and are represented by several species. one type (hesperornis) was a wingless, diving bird of great size, whose long, heronlike beak was studded with small, sharp teeth, all alike, implanted in a continuous groove; its legs were so hinged to the compressed pelvis that they could be extended almost level with the back, and the lobed toes thus became lateral winglike paddles of great power. the other type, represented by ichthyornis and its relatives, also had a long, stout bill set with teeth, but each in a separate socket. ichthyornis was about the size of a pigeon, and its strongly developed wing bones and deeply keeled sternum show that it was a bird of powerful flight, and apparently gull-like habits. so far as we know neither of these cretaceous birds had any progeny. when, after an immensely long period, other fossils come to light in rocks of the middle tertiary period they bear few traces of ancestry, and exhibit little relation to the great mass of modern orders. they are the "flightless birds," possessing no wings but running about on massive legs; and the group includes the extinct æpyornis, dinornis, and moa, and the existing ostriches, rheas, emus, cassowaries, and kiwis. some ornithologists question whether this "ratite" group, characterized by having no "keel" on the sternum, did not have an origin and line of descent quite distinct from those of both the cretaceous toothed birds and the modern "carinate" type which possess a medial crest or "keel" on the breastbone for the support of the flight muscles; but the more general opinion is that they are a variant from very early birds with wings. how a bird is built since its feathers are the one thing that marks a bird, outwardly, as different from other classes of animals, we ought first of all to learn what feathers are, and what purpose they serve. a quill feather, such as may be picked up in any farmyard, has a horny, hollow stem or "shaft," which is bare at the closed large end or "base," but has two soft, winglike expansions toward its tapering end that together make its "vane." this thin, flat vane consists of delicate branches, "barbs," studded with tiny hooks, the "barbules," holding each adjacent branchlet in place, but letting the whole vane bend and spring. the whole beautiful thing is really very strong and elastic, as it must be to push as hard against the air as a bird's wing has to do. the vanes vary much in shape, and in the degree to which the branchlets are disconnected into a fluffy looseness. ostrich plumes, and those of the birds of paradise, owe their beauty to the fact that each branch in the vane is loose, and bears little disconnected branches of its own; and in many feathers no vane at all grows, so that they resemble hairs, when fine, and bristles when coarse, as is seen about the mouth of the whippoorwill and some flycatchers. the nestling plumage or "down" is of this character. the lovely plumes of egrets are slender stems of feathers having in place of a vane scattered soft hairs. in some sea birds the feathers are so stiff and hard as to be almost like scales. those of water birds, and especially the divers, are wonderfully close, thick, and greasy, so that the down that forms an undercoat for warmth, and the skin beneath it, never gets wet. feathers, then, serve their wearers first of all as clothing--very thick and warm in birds of cold places; and doubtless this beneficial modification of the primitive reptilian scale, by reason of its conserving the warmth of the body, and gradually increasing the temperature of the blood, has been largely instrumental in enabling birds to rise so far above the grade of their cold-blooded and sluggish ancestors. most animals whose lives are spent in the open air and light show more or less color in their coat, but none are more beautifully adorned than birds. the most brilliant examples are to be found in the tropics, and some of the gayest in our colder land, such as the tanagers and humming birds, are strays from large tropical families noted for gaudy attire. the color we see in plumage may be due to either of two conditions. it may, as is usually the case, be simply coloring matter deposited in the substance of the feathers. but where the plumage gleams with changing rainbow lights, as on the fiery throat patch of the humming bird, on the neck of a dove or on the purple-black coat of the grackle (crow blackbird), these splendid reflections are caused by very minute wrinkles on the feathers, that break up the light. it is the same effect, called "iridescence," as is seen on the mother-of-pearl and on a soap bubble. blue is usually an effect produced by certain coloring matter not blue underlying a thin covering of feather substance; and when you pound a blue feather into dust that dust will be black or gray--or, at any rate, not blue. birds of the same group are colored much alike, as a rule. in some cases the style of colors worn appears to be the best for the safety of the birds of the group by making them hard to see as long as they keep still. thus most birds whose lives are passed on or near the ground, and which build their nests there, are dull in coloring; they are in danger from more enemies than are tree-dwelling birds, and must be able to hide better. no bird of nocturnal habits is brightly colored. it is mostly among the small, quick-flying species, such as warblers and finches, that we find the gayly dressed ones. they are birds of the sunshine, and usually migratory. in most cases when birds have a plain dress there is little difference in it between the male and the female; but whenever you find a species of bird wearing a gay, ornamental dress, it is almost always the male that sports these fine feathers, while the female and young are clothed in dull yellow, drab or brownish tints. this appears to be another measure of safety. the males can wander about, look out for themselves, and take to flight when danger threatens; but their mates must sit quietly on their nests, and trust for safety for themselves and (what is really more important) their eggs or young mainly to not being seen. in their plain colors they blend into the foliage and the shadows amid which they sit, and so are more likely to escape the sight of prowling foes. feathers are not intended to remain permanently; they become worn and faded, or are lost, so that at regular intervals the bird needs a new suit of clothes. twice a year, therefore, in spring and autumn, they are pushed out by new ones sprouting in the same feather-growing pits. this shedding of the feathers is called "molting," and it is analogous to the shedding of the outer, horny pellicle of its skin by a snake or lizard. their molting is not very noticeable in land birds, because the feathers drop out little by little; otherwise the poor creatures would be left quite naked, and unable to fly. in most birds the new feathers that come in are the same in pattern and color as those they displace, so that the new plumage differs little if any from season to season; but some birds acquire a new coat for winter that is decidedly different, and sometimes snowy white, making them inconspicuous amid the snow. the largest and most important feathers in a bird's outfit are those of the wings and tail, by means of which it flies and controls its progress. how birds are able to keep themselves aloft in the air, and move through it at will, is not yet understood. that it requires great strength of wing muscles, and rigid support for them is evident. therefore we find the head of the arm bone (humerus) fastened by stout ligaments to a great shoulder blade sunk in the flesh beside the fore part of the spine, and also braced in two directions by other interior bones, one of which extends down to join its opposite fellow at the front end of the breast bone, and form the "wishbone" (the united coracoids). this solid bracing by bones and tying by ligaments gives the needed firmness to the wings; and enables their powerful muscles to work them. how great these muscles are you will know when i tell you that the thick mass of "white meat" in the breast of the fowl carved at your table consists only of the two principal muscles that move the wings when a downward stroke is made. they, in their turn, are attached at the base to the broad surface of the breastbone, or "sternum" and its projecting keel. beyond the wrist joint stretches a large, misshapen hand, which consists mostly of one great forefinger, in the tough flesh of which the big quills, or outer flight feathers, called "primaries," are rooted. lying over their bases, when the wing is folded, is a row of somewhat smaller quill feathers called "secondaries." above those are the small and close "wing coverts." the tail is very important in guiding and checking a bird in flight, and is useful in various other ways, and may also be extremely ornamental. the tail quills are always in pairs, making an even number of feathers. this results from the reduction to a mere stub of the long clumsy tail worn by the archæopteryx and its fellows. the quills continued to grow in pairs out of the side of the tail as it diminished until all that there is room for (ten or twelve pairs) are now rooted side by side around the edge of the condensed coccygeal bones. birds are, as a class, the most active of animals, and their temperature is highest; this means a large consumption of oxygen, and the windpipe is usually capacious, yet the lungs are not large, but are supplemented by another apparatus for aeration. opening out of the lungs are several pairs of air sacs, amplest in those birds that are much on the wing, which not only occupy spaces between the muscles and organs within the chest, but in many cases extend into the neck and head, and even into the limb bones, which in most birds are hollow. [illustration: the pelican, notable for its throat pouch photo, keystone view co.] here is a suitable place to say a few words about how a bird sings. the breath enters and leaves the windpipe through the larynx in the back of the mouth--an organ which, in our throats, contains the vocal cords and voice-producing apparatus; but in birds the larynx is unimportant, for their voice organ is near the lower end of the windpipe, and is called "syrinx" or music box. it consists of an enlargement and modification of the bony rings about the windpipe at the point where it forks into the two branches to the lungs; and incloses vibrating membranes. it is also furnished with small muscles that act to expand or contract the tube and its inner fixtures, thus regulating the column of air forced through the syrinx when the bird calls or sings. these muscles thus control the space and the shape of the opening, and the tension of the membranes that serve as vocal cords. the muscles of the syrinx vary greatly in number and efficiency among birds; and many kinds classed as "singing birds" (oscines) do not sing melodiously or tunefully because their music box is imperfectly supplied with the proper muscles. they have the instrument, but are unable to play upon it. [illustration: peacock with brilliant tail spread photo, keystone view co.] [illustration: sacred pheasant photo, a. n. mirzaoff] * * * * * the , or more different kinds of birds now living in the world are classified in fifteen orders, of which the lowest in rank is that of the ostriches, and allied ratite birds, mostly extinct, that stand in a place apart by reason of their archaic structure and inability to fly. the ostrich is still wild in the arid districts of africa, arabia, and mesopotamia; the rhea is patagonian; the emus and cassowaries belong to australia and new guinea; the apteryx, or kiwi, still survives in new zealand; and several gigantic ratite birds have recently become extinct in new zealand and in madagascar, where egg shells, laid by the prehistoric æpyornis, that will hold two gallons are still found. some species of these birds were seven feet in height. chapter xxiii some notable water birds from these relics of geologic antiquity the remainder of the birds now living, and their fossil ancestors as well, differ fundamentally, and are united in a division whose badge is the keel on the sternum; hence they are termed "carinate" birds (carinatæ). the list begins with the most archaic order, that of the loons, of which three or four species are named, but they are hardly separable. they are as big as geese, have black backs checkered with white spots, white undersurfaces and heads purplish black, variously marked; and these heads and necks have a very reptilian look, as they stretch forward their heads inquiringly, or utter the "wild laughter" that seems so consonant with the lonely waters they frequent. the reptilian suggestion is even stronger in their cousins the grebes, known to gunners as "die-dappers," "hell-divers," etc., on account of the quickness with which they will disappear when alarmed. the family badge is on the feet, where the toes are not connected by a full web, as in loons, but every toe is margined by a flange of firm skin with a scalloped margin. grebes have a way of swimming with the whole body under water, when the exposed head and neck look very "snaky." the brown and white plumage of grebes is exceedingly close and dense, and their indifference to wet and cold is shown by the fact that their nests are mere rafts of sodden weeds often so loosely tied to the rushes that they go adrift. grebes abound on all northern waters and are rarely shot since the taking of their silvery breasts for hat ornaments has been stopped. the penguins constitute an order limited in range to the antarctic region. their picture is in everybody's mind--a bird that stands as erect as a soldier on two almost invisible legs and a short stiff tail, and carries a small head, sometimes plumed, with a strong pointed bill. the picture usually represents the great flocks that resort in the brief summer to their rocky breeding places on icy shores, each female guarding and incubating her two eggs in the rudest of nests on the ground. these antarctic "rookeries" sometimes hold tens of thousands. during the rest of the year the penguins are at sea, or under it, behaving more like seals than birds, for their scalelike plumage is impervious to water, and their stubby wings are in effect flippers by which they swim under water, the strong-webbed feet acting only as rudders until they come to the surface and can paddle. penguins feed on crustaceans and mollusks mostly, but also on fish and sea weed. next comes that group of wide sea wanderers, the albatrosses and petrels, united in the family procellariidæ, whose special mark is found in the two bony tubes along the top of the beak that contain the nostrils. of the albatrosses many species are known, nearly all inhabitants of the southern oceans, although two or three of the largest regularly visit the north pacific coast, and more rarely one strays into the north atlantic; certain small species frequent the western coast of south america. the one best known is the "wandering" albatross, whose wings spread nine or ten feet, yet are only nine inches wide. they spend their whole lives on the open ocean, and undoubtedly sleep there, regardless of storm or calm; but in summer land on some lone antarctic island or lofty shore, and construct a heap of mud and rubbish on top of which they deposit two chalky eggs. their relatives, the oceanic petrels, are much smaller as a rule, and some no bigger than sparrows. they are of many kinds, including fulmars, shearwaters, etc., and nearly all are black or sooty brown, usually with touches of white. most of the group are denizens of the southern hemisphere, but some belong to the north and are migratory; and the eastern atlantic and mediterranean are the home of the original stormy petrels, which sailors call "mother carey's chickens" and regard with mingled superstition and affection; leach's white-rumped petrel, of our new england coast, shares this name. some of the far-southern species are almost as big as albatrosses. petrels get their food from both the waves and the shore and follow ships on long voyages in hope of scraps of flesh thrown overboard. most of them breed in holes dug in the topsoil of sea-fronting cliffs, and lay white eggs; many hide in these holes by day, and go out only at night, filling the air with wild cries while they hunt; but fulmars and shearwaters, which make rude nests on rough shores or on cliff ledges, often in vast colonies, go abroad in daylight, and throng on the grand banks and wherever else fishing is going on. next, in the classification based on structure rather than on superficial resemblances, comes a large assemblage of water birds, some exclusively marine, others of inland waters. here are placed those long-winged, graceful, oceanic flyers, the tropic birds, and the many kinds of gannets, snowy white, that soar and plunge like falcons as they sweep over the waves and pick up incautious squids, fishes, etc. most of them are tropical, but one gannet is well known on both shores of the north atlantic where it nests in thousands on the cliff faces that bound such lofty islets as the bass rock near edinburgh, the hebrides, and bird rock in the gulf of st. lawrence. the flight is easy and powerful, and the food is caught by a hawklike plunge. the nearest relatives of these white birds are the cormorants, which are shining black, glossy, with blue or green reflections. they are scattered over the whole globe, most of them along seashores, but many breed on inland lakes and swamps, usually in large companies. unlike the sweeping and beautiful flight of the far-wandering gannets, these birds appear heavy on the wing; and instead of snatching their food from the surface they dive after the fishes on which they feed, and pursue their slippery prey under water, swimming with both wings and feet, and dodging here and there in a most surprising way. their bills are peculiarly well adapted to holding what they catch; and a near relative of the west indies and southward often spears its prey with its bill. this is the darter or snakebird, so called because its long neck and small head give it a peculiarly snakelike appearance as it swims with nothing above the surface but the slender head, and that making scarcely a ripple. far more of a wanderer is the tropical long-tailed, long-winged, black frigate bird, which is the hawk of the sea, for it hovers about the flocks of fishing birds and forces them to disgorge their catch, which it appropriates as it falls. among the birds that suffer most from its robberies are the pelicans, several species of which live close to salt water in various parts of the world, while others prefer the lakes and swamps inland. we have two common species in the united states, the white pelican, seen all over the interior of the country in summer, and the brown, which is southern and maritime; both are gregarious not only in their annual migrations but in their breeding, building nests on bushes in large companies. their food is mainly fish, caught both by diving and by scooping them up as they swim. the well-known peculiarity of the pelican is the bag of naked skin that hangs from the underside of the bill, and serves as a receptacle for the catch; when it is filled the bird returns to its resting place to consume its food at leisure, or to open wide its mouth and allow its nestlings to pick out the contents of the bag. all the foregoing are mainly marine and have short legs and webbed feet, used principally in swimming; but we now come to the fresh-water "waders"--the herons, bitterns, storks, ibises, and the like, whose bodies are perched on stiltlike legs, and whose habits require them to wade about in marshes and swamps in search of their miscellaneous food; hence the neck also is long and the bill straight and sharp-edged to fit it for seizing and holding the active prey by a sudden thrust. all warm and temperate countries possess herons in a great variety of species, varying in size from a bird three and one-half feet long, such as our great blue heron, to one a few inches only in length; but the colors are usually light and prevailingly bluish or greenish; while the marsh-loving bitterns are streaked brown. some are pure white, as is our elegant egret, which has been all but exterminated in the united states by men who kill it in the breeding season, when the beautiful plumes that then adorn its back are at their best, and are marketable as ornaments for hats and military shakos. every plume bird so killed means the loss of a family of young. herons are shy, solitary birds, as a rule, nesting on trees in remote swamps in "rookeries" to which they return year after year from their winter retreats in the tropics; and they get their food, which includes every sort of living thing they can find, mostly by standing motionless in the water until it comes near enough to be picked up by a swift stroke. the storks are similar birds, but with rather heavier bodies and a way of standing erect, and of holding the head straight out in flight (the herons draw it back by curving the neck), which distinguishes them. they are white and black as a rule, and mainly oriental or african, no typical species occurring in the united states. storks are more inclined to search the land for food than are the herons, and an egyptian species is locally called "a bird of blessing," because it cleans the villages, while the stately "adjutant" of india is carefully protected as a similar scavenger. the most familiar of the storks, however, is the white one that in europe nests on the roofs of houses, chimney tops and similar places, and is generally regarded with an affection that has been expressed in many a poem and story. ibises are much like storks, the common "sacred" ibis of egypt probably owing its religious distinction to its fondness for lizards and snakes--a service highly appreciated in that country. several ibises inhabit america, one of which is not uncommon along the border of the gulf of mexico, while another is noted for the splendid scarlet of its plumage. in the same family is the beautiful spoonbill of our gulf coast, whose name refers to the spatulate expansion of the end of the beak. its richly roseate hue is reproduced in the dress of the flamingos, that need not be described. [illustration: flamingos (_phoenicopterus ruber_)] we pass from the flamingos to the ducks by an intermediate form--the curious chahas and horned screamers of northern south america--large, turkeylike birds, often tamed and made of service on country places, where they guard the poultry against hawks and other enemies. the ducks are a cosmopolitan family (anatidæ) of about species, divisible into five groups, namely, mergansers, river ducks, marine ducks, geese and swans. these have many features in common, one of which is that in the early autumnal molt all the wing quills drop out at once, so that for a time none of them is able to fly. the mergansers, sheldrakes, or "saw bills," are fish eaters, catching their prey under water, where they move expertly, by means of the narrow, tooth-studded bill that reminds us of the ichthyornis. they frequent rivers, and most of them prefer rushing streams. of our three species two breed only in the far north, the third on the pacific slope. during the winter they resort to a marine life in warmer latitudes. the river ducks (anatinæ) are distinguished from the seafaring ducks (fuligalinæ) not only by their preference for inland lakes and marshes, but by the fact the hind toe bears no lobe, while in the sea ducks it is somewhat webbed and functional. this group includes such well-known species as the mallard, black duck, gadwall, widgeon, baldpate, teals, shoveler, pintail, and the exquisite wood duck, to speak of american species alone. the mallard and wood duck breed all over the continent, the latter having the peculiarity of making its nest in trees, but the others rarely nest south of canada, except among the mountains of the pacific slope. the seafaring ducks in north america also include several species that are found on inland bays and salt marshes, such as chesapeake bay and its borders, and do not limit their migratory routes to the seacoast, but fly overland. such are the redhead and canvasback, the scaups and golden-eyes and the ringneck; but the eiders, the scoters, and some others are truly oceanic. most of these breed in the far north, always nesting on the ground, as is the rule of the whole family, except the golden-eyes, which choose hollows in stumps and trees. none of the ducks lays spotted eggs. while among the ducks the male is likely to wear, at least in the breeding season, more gayly colored plumage than the female--often of extraordinary beauty--among the geese both sexes are alike, and either white throughout, as in most of our species, or brown or gray, with more or less black, as in the brants, and in our common "wild" or canada goose. geese are far more terrestrial than ducks and visit the land to nip the herbage, young corn, or cereals; in california doing serious damage to growing crops. all our species breed in arctic lands except the canada goose, which still makes its nest in the northern parts of the united states and throughout canada; and most of them spend the winter south of our country. they represent to most persons the idea of bird migration. "we see the living wedge of long-necked birds," says chapman, "passing high overhead; the unbroken sound waves bring the sonorous 'honks' with unexpected distinctness to our ears; and we receive an impressive lesson in the migration of birds. they are embarked on a journey of several thousand miles, but they come and go as surely as though they carried chart and compass." as these geese are larger than the ducks, so the swans surpass the geese in size and are indeed the largest of water birds. the eight species are distributed all over the world, everywhere frequenting fresh waters alone; and all are white except a black-headed argentine species, and the wholly black swan of australia. before the discovery of this australian curiosity a black swan was the proverbial _rara avis_--something incredible! swans live mainly on weeds and roots pulled up from the bottom, but also eat snails, and so forth. two species, the whistling and the trumpeter swans, belong to the american fauna, but both are now rare. chapter xxiv vultures, falcons and game birds the so-called "birds of prey" include three quite distinct groups, the american "vultures," the hawk and eagle tribe, and the fish hawks. all agree in having strong, hook-pointed beaks, in many cases with a toothlike point on the cutting edge of the upper mandible, and covered at the base by a fleshy "cere"; and in having claws of great strength termed "talons." this catlike armament, adapted to seizing and holding living prey, and tearing its flesh, indicates the predacious nature and practice of the tribe, but it is developed to its fullest extent only in the falcons and powerful eagles, since a large part of the order are carrion-feeders or catch nothing larger than grasshoppers. among the carrion-feeders are the condor of the andes, and his almost extinct cousin the california condor, which are the largest flying birds in the world. near relative to them are the turkey buzzard and carrion crow of our southern states, besides some tropical species. the vultures of the old world are, as a rule, big birds inhabiting mountainous and desert places, and capable of overcoming almost any disabled or weak animal. a small one that in north africa plays the rôle of town scavenger, as does our turkey buzzard, is famous under the egyptian name of "pharaoh's chicken." the partial nakedness of the head, often accompanied by a great neck-ruff, is a characteristic of all these birds. the lammergeier of the alps and eastward to india connects in its structure and habits the vultures (vulturidæ) with the real predatory family (falconidæ), in which are placed the hundreds of species of buzzards, harriers, hawks, eagles and sea eagles, that subsist by killing and eating every kind of creature that it is within the power of each one to overcome. the bulk of their prey consists of small rodents; and in pursuing them they rid the land of vast numbers of little gnawers most injurious to agriculture; it should be the business of every farmer and orchardist to learn to recognize the three or four fierce little poultry-catching falcons in his locality, and refrain from killing any other sort of hawk. it is a hopeless task to give any detailed description of the game birds, which are world-wide in their distribution and practically of the greatest importance to mankind, for in this group are found the originals of our domestic poultry (the jungle fowls of india), and the quails, partridges, grouse, pheasants, turkeys, curassows, and many more of hardly more interest to the naturalist than to the sportsman. the sportsman is willing to count the toothsome rails as "game" when he goes after them in the marshes of the middle coastal states. they are plain-colored birds that run about amid the salt grass and reeds, and are an interesting example of adaptation to this special station in life, for their bodies are notably compressed, so that a rail can slip through a narrower space than any other bird of its size; hence the proverb: "thin as a rail." a common species in europe is known in literature as "corn crake"; and american relatives, the gallinules of fresh-water marshes, go by the name of "mud hens." the rails belong to the crane family, which includes many large tropical birds besides our own two kinds of cranes, both becoming rare in the united states. good sport and delicate fare are afforded also by the great tribe of "shore birds"--plovers, yellowlegs, curlews, snipe, and the various sandpipers that feed along the seashores or frequent the inland marshes of every part of the world, nowhere more numerously than along our much embayed eastern coast. the plovers are especially interesting, and one of them, the noisy killdeer, is familiar all over the country, breeding in upland fields, where four brown and spotted eggs are laid in a little hollow of the open ground, plover fashion. another notable species, the golden plover, is a cosmopolitan, and a remarkable migrant, journeying from its arctic breeding place to the tropics, not only overland, but across thousands of miles of ocean, as from nova scotia direct to bermuda, and alaska to hawaii. the crested "lapwing" of europe is another famous species. the plovers have short bills and live on insects; but the sandpipers that in greenish or brown-streaked coats flit along the shores pick up a more miscellaneous fare from the edge of the sea and on exposed tide flats. here too, are the very longed-legged "stilts," the phalaropes with lobes along their toes like a grebe, the curlews, with their long, upcurved bills, the willets that alarm all the rest by their cries as soon as they espy a gunner, the big, gray godwits and many others. various snipes form a group of small, swift fliers that haunt boggy land, where they probe the mud with long bills furnished with nerves of great delicacy at the tip by which they can feel the hidden worms buried in the mud that are their favorite fare; and one of them is the swamp-haunting woodcock, beloved of gourmands on both sides of the ocean. europe and asia have several other kinds of birds in this class not known here, such as the coursers, and the egyptian "ziczac" that now and then picks the crocodile's teeth, and is almost the same as the historic lapwing, so familiar in scotland. chapter xxv from gulls to kingfishers our scientific arrangement introduces next the gull family, followed by a series of groups that seems to the layman most miscellaneous. the gulls are a world-wide family of sea birds, seen also near bodies of water in the interior of continents, especially northward, which live on fish and floating edibles. they are mostly glistening white, often marked with black about the head and wings, except the big brownish skuas that live by robbing other gulls of their catch and their nests of young. a very distinct group in the family are the smaller terns, whose slender forms, long wings, and graceful flight give them the suitable name of "sea swallows." another distinct lot is that of the low-flying black "skimmers." all these birds normally breed on sandbanks near shore, laying four handsomely variegated eggs in a mere shallow of earth, but a good many nest in colonies on the margin of fresh-water lakes. the gulls serve well as scavengers, but are not good to eat. related to the gulls, but very different in appearance, are the small, dark-colored, quaint auks, guillemots and puffins of northern coasts, that look like miniature penguins, for they stand erect on two big feet. they are fishers, with great skill in swimming and diving, and breed in companies of thousands, sometimes, on the ledges of the sea-fronting cliffs of labrador, northern scotland, alaska, and arctic islands. the extinct "great auk" of the north atlantic coasts was a giant of this race. passing the sand grouse of africa and russia, we come to the pigeons, represented in a bewildering variety of forms in every part of the world. the united states has several species--the common wood dove, or mourning dove, the extinct "wild pigeon," once here in millions, the banded pigeon of the pacific coast, and several kinds of ground doves in the southwest. the rock dove, which is the original of the domestic varieties, is still wild in europe, together with several other species; and the orient abounds in representatives of the family, some of them large and extremely handsome, especially in the division called fruit pigeons. to this family belonged that famous bird of the past, the "dodo" of mauritius. there follow two big groups, the cuckoos and plantain eaters, and the parrots, which together have the peculiarity of two toes in front and two behind, instead of the customary three toes in front and one, or perhaps none, behind; the woodpeckers have the same "yoke-toed" arrangement, but are distinct otherwise. the cuckoos are mainly oriental and very varied, although all show the slender form, long tail, and long curved beak that we see in our two american species, the black-billed and yellow-billed; the most aberrant one in our country is the queer, lizard-catching road runner of southern california. none of the cuckoos seems a good nest maker. the nests of our common ones are loose platforms of twigs, and both species often drop eggs in each other's cradles; but they, in common with almost all the other cuckoos of the world, do at least incubate their eggs and care for the nestlings, instead of leaving that task to some foster parent, as does the similar cuckoo of europe. the most extraordinary feature of this parasitic habit is the fact that the cuckoo often, if not always, first lays its egg in any convenient place, and then, taking it in its beak, carries it to another bird's nest and puts the egg into it. this accounts for the frequent finding of a cuckoo's egg in nests into which so large a bird could not have crept. to record the fact that about different kinds of parrots are catalogued will be a sufficient explanation of their dismissal with a few general remarks. the larger number and most striking examples--the great cockatoos for instance--belong to australia and the malayan islands, but the indian region, africa, and tropical america abound in parrots. probably the northernmost of the whole family is our carolina parakeet, which formerly ranged in summer even to the great lakes, but now is almost exterminated even from the great swamps of the gulf coast. of the two kinds most often seen in cages--a custom that is almost prehistoric in antiquity--the gray parrot is african, and the green or green and yellow "amazons" come from south america. parrots are gregarious, nest in holes in trees, although a few live in holes in the ground or among loose rocks, and feed on all sorts of vegetable productions, including some very hard fruits cracked in their powerful bills, as is the habit of the gorgeous macaws of central and south america. the lories of australia are provided with tongues brushlike at the tip, and besides eating seeds they lick the honey out of the blossoms of the eucalyptus and other flowering trees, and in so doing effect the cross-fertilization of these trees in a country which has no bees to do that service. passing the brilliant rollers of the old world, and the motmots and little gemlike todies of the new, we come to the extensive tribe of kingfishers, of which our blue and white example is a very modest specimen--but the only one we have, while other species are counted in the rest of the world, most of them in the austro-malayan region and in africa. they vary immensely in size, colors, food and habits. a large section are not "fishers" at all, but dwell in wooded places, and subsist on insects caught on the wing, and on reptiles, mice, etc., like birds of prey. few groups are so diversified and entertaining as this one. related to them are the bee-eaters, hoopoes, hornbills and others that bring us to the owls, a suborder of which contains the great nightjar family to which our whippoorwills and nighthawks belong, with the swifts and humming birds as near relations. then come the woodpeckers, much alike all over the world (but absent from australia), followed by the gorgeous trogons of mexico and some other tropical beauties. chapter xxvi passerine birds we have now run through the list of all the orders of birds except the last and largest--the "passerine" birds, the ordinary songsters of the fields and woodlands of the northern hemisphere. there are fifty families contained in the order. here, among our north american migratory birds are to be found the kingbirds, pewees and other "tyrant" flycatchers; the larks of our western plains and eastern seashore; that sprite of the rocky mountain brooks, the ouzel; the waxwings, the butcher birds; the pretty greenish vireos that build those exquisite, cup-shaped hanging nests made of grapevine bark and spider's silk; and the swallows that become so friendly every summer about barns, paying rent by diligent service in insect killing. then there is that interesting little group of small and cheerful climbers, the nuthatches, chickadees, and creepers, that rid trees of hosts of injurious insects which they dig out of crevices of the bark as they scramble up and down the trunks, some of them continuing the good work all through the winter. these have their counterparts in europe, for in respect of our common song birds, as of the birds of prey and game birds, the avifauna of europe and north america is virtually one. the differences are mainly in the few representatives of tropical groups that visit northern countries in summer, those of europe partaking of the african or indian families, while we have wandering species from groups that are properly inhabitants of mexico and southward. such, in fact, are our few humming birds, hundreds of species of which belong to the american tropics (and none to the old world), our two tanagers, members of a very large tropical family, and our blackbirds and orioles, far more numerous in species south of the united states. while we have many delightful vocalists, the best singers of all our birds are no doubt the thrushes, and that is true of thrushes elsewhere, for the european blackbird and mavis, the celebrated nightingale, the solitaire--both that of the west indies and that of our northern pacific coast--and several noted musicians in the orient, are of this melodious family. which is the best singer of them all will never be settled, for the citizen of each country likes best that to which he is most used; but to americans nothing can be better than the evening carol of the wood thrush, the serene hymnlike music of the hermit, or the sweet and wavering call of the veery. yet in the south, where these northern thrushes are rarely heard at their best, the palm is given to the mocking bird, which, like the northern brown thrasher, rivals all in turn by simulating their notes in a liquid melody that, especially when heard in the calm of a moonlit summer evening, seems of surpassing beauty. chapter xxvii the beasts of the field--some primitive types we have now arrived at the highest rank in the scale of animal life--the four-footed, hair-clad, milk-nursed denizens of our woods and fields--the subclass mammalia, mammals. these are the "animals" of popular speech, but accuracy requires a more distinctive expression, for every living thing not a plant is an "animal." unfortunately no such distinctive term exists in our language, and hence we must borrow from the latin the word "mammal" for this group. it is correct, easy to remember, and there is no reason why it should not be used popularly as well as scientifically. it is good, because it is exact, and expresses the one great distinction which separates mammals from all other animals--the feeding of the young on milk secreted by the mother. the milk-producing glands were called in latin "mammæ," whence our word "mammal" and the technical term mammalia--animals that suckle their young. another peculiarity of the group is the coat of hair--persistently growing threads of horny substance produced from the skin in greater or less abundance and of varying quality and color. its chief purpose appears to be that of keeping the body warm; and, as in the case of the feathers clothing birds, it enables the blood to rise to and maintain a temperature much higher than that of the air; hence the mammals are "warm-blooded." this condition, gradually acquired, stimulated their activity and hence their brain development, the result of which is a higher degree of intelligence than is manifested, as a class, by any other animals, and a moving cause of their progress to the highest plane of organic evolution. the history of the evolution of the mammalia may be traced back to obscure beginnings in the triassic, the oldest of the three divisions of the secondary or mesozoic era. just preceding that time there flourished a group of reptiles, the theromorpha, whose skull, teeth, and forelimbs were very like those of a modern beast of prey; and zoölogists consider it "altogether probable" that the origin of the mammalian branch must be looked for among their number. it is not doubted, however, that true mammals, although very small and inconspicuous, existed throughout the whole mesozoic era, despite the fact that the world at that time was filled with ravenous reptiles. indeed, it is believed that their steady development was an important agency in destroying the reptile population, largely by eating their eggs. at any rate, before the end of the mesozoic era the two grand divisions of mammalia, prototheria and eutheria, had become established; and also the two primary divisions of the latter, the marsupials and the placentals, had been separated. then came that extraordinary change in the physiography of the globe that marked the end of mesozoic conditions and introduced those of the succeeding era named tertiary. in the broader and higher land areas and the drier and more invigorating climate that followed, producing a vegetation tending constantly to become like that of the present, mammals found increasingly favorable conditions, and became the dominant race of animals. relics of primitive types there live in australia and new guinea two curious little animals that most nearly represent in their low and generalized organization the primitive mammals, and differ so essentially from all other mammals that they are classed by themselves as prototheria ("first beasts"). they are the duckbill (ornithorhynchus) and the spiny anteater (echidna). the duckbill is a small, softly furred, web-footed creature, as aquatic in its habits as a beaver, which finds its food in the worms and other things that live in and on the mud of its chosen stream, and digs a burrow in the bank for its home, where it stays most of the daylight hours, and where its young are born. its special peculiarity is that instead of the muzzle and mouth of an ordinary mammal, it is furnished with a bill like that of a duck, and each jaw is armed with horny plates to do the work of teeth; in the young ones true molar "milk" teeth are present, but are soon shed. the cheeks contain pouches in which a quantity of food can be stored, the animal carrying it in to the safety of its burrow to be eaten, and so avoiding the danger of being out for a long time of feeding. [illustration: opossum mother and young photo, american museum of natural history] the echidnas are equally small, about eighteen inches long, covered with a mingled coat of hair and strong spines, and mounted on short legs and feet armed with powerful claws, for this animal dwells on land, and not only burrows, but must tear to pieces the hills of the ants that form its only food. its round little head terminates in a long, slender snout containing a ribbon-shaped tongue with which it licks up the ants from their ruined nests. [illustration: anteater, which lives on insects caught in the sticky saliva of its long tongue] [illustration: sloth, an animal which keeps to trees and is almost helpless on the ground] the striking peculiarity of both these queer creatures, however, is the fact that they lay eggs. these are few--sometimes only one--and recall those of reptiles in their relatively large size, parchmentlike shells, and abundance of food-yolk. the duckbill deposits her eggs in her grass-lined burrow nest and covers them with her body until they quickly hatch. the blind and naked young then apply their lips to the nearest part of the mother's abdomen, and suck milk through the pores of the skin. in the echidna one sees a little advance on this extremely simple beginning of nursing; for here, instead of being laid in a burrow nest, and covered by the mother, the echidna's egg is placed by the mother within two parallel folds of skin which at that season form a deep groove in the abdomen inclosing the nursing area, and is held there until it hatches. when the young has attained a certain size the mother removes it from the "pouch," but takes it in from time to time to suckle it. such are the prototheria--one of the grand divisions of mammalia, set apart by reason of their laying the eggs from which the young will afterward be born, whereas in the other division or eutheria ("proper mammals") the "embryos," or unborn young, escape from the eggs in a less or greater degree of development before their birth from the mother. this period between the conception of life in the egg and its emergence at birth is called the period of gestation, and is much longer in large animals than in small ones. fundamental differences in method of birth divide the eutheria into two groups, designated as nonplacentals and placentals. the marsupials the word marsupial means "pouched," and refers to the most characteristic peculiarity of the nonplacental division (order marsupialia), which is the possession of a more or less pocketlike fold in the skin of the abdomen of the females within which the extremely immature young are nourished. the egg-laying mammals, also nonplacental, have the young inclosed in a protective shell that they keep warm, as do the birds, until the embryo is sufficiently matured to be safely born. in the marsupials nature meets the difficulty another way. the embryo is but little advanced when born, in fact it is utterly helpless and minute, being, even in the case of the largest kangaroos, hardly as big as a mouse. it would be fatal, of course, to turn it loose upon the world; and therefore the mother is provided with the pouch already described. the instant an embryo is born the mother picks it up and places it within the pouch, where it crawls about until it touches and instinctively takes hold of one of the threadlike teats. as it gets stronger it leaves the pouch now and then, but returns to it for nursing, sleeping, and protection when alarmed, until finally it departs altogether. this description applies to the most advanced families of the order. in the oldest and most generalized families of marsupials, such as the banded anteaters, there is virtually no pouch at all. as almost the whole marsupial tribe are natives of australasia, it is odd that the family with which we must begin a list of them--the true opossums--should be american, and quite unknown in australia. this is explainable when it is known that this family (didelphidæ) is the most archaic of this ancient tribe, and was well established in cretaceous times, and then and later was widely distributed in europe and on this continent; yet so little change has occurred in the race that teeth from the laramie formations of wyoming are hardly distinguishable from those in the jaws of our 'possum-up-a-gum-tree to-day. no wonder the quaint creature is hoary and wrinkled; he is a very methuselah among mammals, and looks it! all opossums seem to have disappeared from europe before the close of the miocene, but continued to survive numerously in south america. they probably owe their long career, in competition with animals of so much higher grade, to their small size, forest life, nocturnal habits, ability to eat all sorts of food, and, most of all, to their great fecundity. our common opossum is the most northern of its kind, and ranges over the whole country as far north as the latitude of lake erie; it appears never to have crossed the hudson river until comparatively recent times, but is now frequently met with in new england and on long island. it is at home in all sorts of places, except, perhaps, on the dry plains, for it is primarily an arboreal animal, aided in climbing about trees by its naked, prehensile tail, by which it may hang to a branch while using its forefeet to rob a bird's nest or gather fruit. it will eat anything it can get hold of, and with its sharp teeth, which number fifty, will kill animals as large as itself; hence it is a destructive raider of henroosts and sitting birds as well as a seeker of mouse nests and insects. opossums are amazingly prolific, and have broods of a dozen or more in many cases. these often crawl on the mother's back, and cling with claws and twisted tails to her fur and tail, and so are carried about. burdened by these kittens she hunts daily--or rather at night, for the most part--and defends them savagely and bravely against foxes and other enemies, often successfully standing off the farmer's dogs. with a family to defend, or when faced by any foe that is at all equal to its powers, the opossum does not resort to "playing 'possum," for this is a last resource when surprised and "cornered" by an overwhelming danger that it can neither avoid nor cope with. the proverbial feigning of death by this animal (many other small animals do the same) has excited much popular interest, and has received many explanations. i have suggested that it is a survival of a practice which in past ages had been an advantageous ruse of the ancestors of the opossums. several other species of opossums exist in central and south america, some much smaller than ours and one hardly bigger than a mouse. one kind, the "yapock," is aquatic, dwelling on land only during the infancy of its progeny, and until they are old enough to be taught to swim. all the marsupials inhabiting the americas (except a rare little molelike one in patagonia), belong in the family didelphidæ; but this family is not known in australia, where the so-called "opossums" belong to a different tribe. they were named after our common northern opossum, which was known to science before australia and its pouched fauna were discovered. one of the extraordinary things in zoölogy is that australia, and the near-by islands that constitute with it a faunistic province, has no indigenous mammals (except a few mice and bats) other than marsupials, which have become so diversified as to represent the varied kinds of animals seen elsewhere; and no marsupials live anywhere else in the world except our single and primitive american family. this curious situation has caused much discussion. it is known that in late mesozoic times marsupials were scattered all over the globe, but became exterminated everywhere outside of australasia and america long before the present era. the australian marsupials are supposed to be the survivors, flourishing in a favorable region; but why no other mammals survived there is still a puzzle. another theory is that australia, regarded as formerly a part of a much larger southern continent, is the original center from which the ancestors of the marsupialia spread, but failed to maintain their race outside of their original home, with which south america was then connected. the most archaic of these marsupials is the celebrated tasmanian "wolf," or thylacine, which resembles in size and shape a pointer dog, but with a longer muzzle, and that long tail which seems to be a general characteristic of the marsupialia. it is brownish gray, with a row of darker bands crossing the hinder half of the back, and is one of the most swift-footed and savage hunters in the world. it is confined to tasmania, where it became so destructive to sheep when the island was settled that it was killed off until almost exterminated. this island was the home, also, of another smaller beast, looking somewhat like a wolverine with the head of a hyena, which was so morose, savage, and untamable that the settlers named it "tasmanian devil," and destroyed it as rapidly as they could. it hid by day in some rock den and made its forays at night. this truly diabolic creature belonged to the family of dasyures, which is represented in australia by several small, predatory beasts called "native cats." they fill the rôle there of our northern martens and weasels, and most of their time is passed in trees, although some are fond of hunting amid rocks and brush. they like to come about ranches and villages, where they are the pest of poultry keepers, but are rarely domesticated, even partly. another carnivorous group (phascogales) contains the "pouched mice," which are not mouselike, except in size, but have more the nature of shrews that live in trees and hunt birds and any small creatures they can catch. of the phalangers a curious specimen is the wombat, named "native bear" by the early colonists--an animal about the size of our woodchuck, shaped like a miniature bear, and living mainly on roots, which it digs at night with its powerful claws; its thick fur makes its skin valuable in market. related to it structurally, but much like our gray squirrel in shape, and having an even longer and more bushy tail, is the charming sugar squirrel, which dwells in trees, and sails in long flights from tree to tree in the twilights and on moonlight nights just as do our flying squirrels; there are also tree phalangers so small they are called "flying mice." other tree-living phalangers are the "opossums" of australia, whose soft gray pelts are exported in great numbers to foreign fur markets. [illustration: a kangaroo mother showing young carried in the abdominal pouch] the kangaroos and wallabies (macropodidæ) represent the highest development of the marsupial type, and number some fifty species spread over all australia and new guinea. while the majority inhabit open grassy plains, others brushy districts and rocks, and a few dwell in trees, the kangaroos proper include half a dozen of the largest kinds, the commonest of which is the great gray "boomer" or "forester," of the colonists, often seen in menageries. it stands four to five feet tall, with a tail thirty to thirty-six inches long; but this size is considerably exceeded by that of the red or woolly kangaroo, of eastern and southern australia. furthermore, fossil remains show that in the pleistocene era kangaroos far bigger than even these existed there in numerous extinct species--one, for instance, whose skull alone measured nearly a yard in length. these animals take the place in australia of the deer of northern countries. they are very gregarious, and are always to be met with in droves. each drove frequents a certain district and has its particular camping and feeding grounds. the animal has a dreadful weapon of defense in the powerful hind claw, which it can use like the tusk of a boar. the smaller kangaroos are called "wallabies," or brush kangaroos, and frequent scrub jungle and rocky places. these furnish most of the skins and leather sent to european markets and, like the big species of the plains, have been greatly reduced in numbers by hunters and sheep herders. some of them are confined to the rough deserts and mountains, where they jump about the rocks with astonishing agility. one small genus includes the swift harelike species that resemble our jack rabbits in habits; and there are also the "dorca" kangaroos, which are arboreal in habit and handsomely colored. another group are ratlike in form, colors, and manners, running rather than leaping, and dwelling among scrub and grass, scratching the ground all day in search of the roots upon which they feed, and making havoc in the frontiersman's potato patches. several kinds have prehensile tails, which they use apparently only to carry to their underground homes the long grass of which they make their beds. they associate in connected burrows like a rabbit warren. in the varied forms and functions they present, as beasts of prey, as grazers or root diggers, as ground-running, tree-climbing, burrowing or cave-haunting forms, some solitary and slow, others agile and gregarious, the marsupial tribe in its isolated corner of the earth exhibits an epitome of the whole mammalian world. it shows in a conspicuous way how the necessity and habit of making a living in varied circumstances, and exposed to lively competition, restricting every species to a particular manner, brings about a suitable modification of structure. the edentata--anteaters, sloths, and armadillos at the base of the great division of eutherian mammals, to which belong all that remain to be described, is found the order edentata ("toothless"), whose modern representatives are few and unimportant in comparison with those of past ages, when gigantic ground sloths, armored glyptodons, and other fossil species flourished in a luxuriant world. the name is not well chosen, for many of these animals possess at least a few teeth, but always composed of vasodentine and not coated with enamel. although the origin of this race is obscure, it was certainly far in the past, for its characters are archaic in many particulars, and its members are often far separated in structure, and also in their geographical distribution. two families belong to the old world, one in the orient and another in south africa, but all the other edentates are american. the oriental one includes most of the "pangolins," or scaly anteaters, which are covered from head to foot in a coat of mail formed of overlapping horny plates, and can roll themselves into a ball that will defy any jaws not big enough to tear them to pieces; while the african family consists of the naked, long-nosed aard-vark ("ant bear"), which burrows in the ground, and cuts its way at night into the mud forts of termites and other ants in search of its favorite food. these two ancient creatures differ so much in their anatomy from the american edentates that they are classified by some naturalists in a separate order (fodentia); and they differ almost as radically from one another. it should not be surprising to find most of the modern edentates in south america, since that is the most ancient and unchanged of all the continents; but a few sorts of anteaters, sloths, and armadillos alone remain where once their race, in its heroic age, dominated the world of its time. the puny survivors look and act like the relics they are. the "great" anteater, or tamandua, standing eighteen inches or more in height, has flatfooted, bearlike hind feet, and short forelegs that end in huge claws bent under, or backward, so that the animal walks on the outer face of its toes. its tail is a great bushy mass of hair with which the animal may cover itself as with a blanket, and its long neck tapers off into a head with a very long nose and little room for brains. the big claws are not used for burrowing an underground home, but for digging up the nests of ants and termites which it licks up with its long, sticky tongue. when one realizes the enormous colonies of ants in the tropics it is not amazing that so large an animal should subsist exclusively on these minute creatures. the claws are formidable weapons of defense also, the animal throwing itself on its back and defying the foe, or rising on its hind legs and giving a tearing, bearlike hug that even a man might well fear. this is a slow-moving creature, more fond of open country than forests; but a smaller tamandua belongs wholly to the woods and spends both days and nights in the tree tops, tearing open the burrows and nests of arboreal insects and devouring their inhabitants and their stores of honey and young. a third species is the rare little yellow two-toed anteater of the isthmus region, which appears to live almost wholly on wasp grubs. much like these in organization are the two species of sloth, hairy creatures that hang all day long by their long, muscular limbs and two or three curved claws, underneath a branch of the tree through whose top they slowly creep about at night, collecting, crushing with their peglike teeth, and swallowing the leaves that constitute their fare. their long hair, naturally gray, becomes green by accumulating a coating of minute plants that thrive on it, and this helps to conceal the sloths amid the foliage, yet they are killed by eagles and by all sorts of beasts of prey, against which they have no means of defense. these listless creatures are the degenerate descendants of a very long ancestry. the early tertiary rocks of argentina contain the bones of small slothlike animals that apparently were ground dwellers and must have been active diggers. later that region became filled with larger ground sloths, apparently their descendants, that are believed to have browsed on bushes and trees; and some of these became the megatheres of the late tertiary, which were as big as elephants. similar giants inhabited north america. even in the earliest days known to paleontologists the anteater-sloth group had become well separated from their fellow edentates, the armadillos, arguing a far-preceding origin. in the later tertiary the latter type developed such huge and heavily armored forms as the glyptodon, on whose bony shell the teeth of even the great saber-toothed tigers of the time could make little impression. these grotesque tortoiselike glyptodons, of which there was a great variety, were vegetable eaters, and some survived to a time so recent that there is evidence that they were finally killed off by human hunters. beside them were smaller armadillos, more like the modern ones, which are armored with overlapping belts of horny material between which coarse hairs sprout; but the amount of this armor varies greatly among the several species scattered from patagonia to northern mexico. in some it is a continuous shell, in others it consists of several belts, in still others is nearly absent. armadillos are carnivorous, digging out worms, grubs and the underground nests of wasps, catching insects of all sorts, stealing eggs and young from ground-nesting birds, killing serpents by leaping on them and sawing their bodies in two by means of the rough edges of their plates. in some places on the pampas armadillo burrows are so numerous as to make riding dangerous. chapter xxviii the gnawers the great order rodentia--rats, mice, rabbits, porcupines, squirrels, beavers, etc., derives its name from the latin verb _rodere_, to gnaw, or eat away (something), and is characterized by the great development of the front (incisor) teeth, by means of which rodents get their living by biting off, or gnawing through, the plants and woody stems on which they feed, or which they use in constructing their dwellings. all are primarily vegetable eaters, yet none will refuse a meal of flesh when opportunity offers to get it, and some are decidedly carnivorous, especially as to fish. they are distributed all over the world, including the australian region. they are chiefly terrestrial, and often burrow or live in ready-made burrows. some are aquatic, such as the voles; others, like the squirrels, are arboreal. in perhaps a majority of the forms the hind legs are much longer and stronger than the forelegs, giving the animals great leaping power, while the forefeet, with their long and flexible fingers, are constantly used as hands. many are beautifully marked in varied tints of gray, brown, red, and black, so that their pelts have value in the fur market; and their flesh is an important element in human food. on the other hand the activity of these animals, when numerous, causes serious damage to gardens, crops and orchards and one of them, the rat, is unquestionably the most dangerous animal to human health and prosperity in the whole animal kingdom. the fecundity of the smaller, murine species, is great, and from time to time they increase inordinately in favorable places, and swarm abroad in vast and destructive migrations. were it not for the fact that the rodents furnish the principal part of the food of predatory mammals, reptiles, and birds, and are thus kept down, the globe would soon become so populous with this tribe that hardly anything else could maintain existence. the distinguishing anatomical characteristic of the rodents is the dentition. the canines, so essential to carnivorous, predatory animals, are here completely absent, and a long empty space intervenes between the incisors and the molars, or cheek teeth, which vary greatly in number and form among the different families. the incisors consist of a single pair in each jaw, very large and strong, and composed of vasodentine, _faced only_ with hard enamel, often yellow or red. as the softer substance behind the facing wears away more easily, the incisor takes a chisel shape, leaving the hard enamel in front projecting slightly as a cutting edge; thus these teeth always remain sharp. the rodents are traced back in their lineage to the order tillodontia of eocene time. the oldest family of modern type in the order is that of the squirrels. let us begin with the rabbits and hares (family leporidæ). the name properly applies to the old world species _lepus cuniculus_, the burrowing wild rabbit from which all our various domestic rabbits are descended, whose special characteristic is the fact that they live in holes in the ground of their own digging, and in large colonies called warrens. all the other species make their breeding beds and resting places on the surface of the ground, in the best concealment (outside of forests) that they can find. such a home is called the animal's "form," and when it contains a litter of young the mother covers them with a blanket of hair which at that season she is shedding copiously. strictly speaking, all the leporidæ, except the _cuniculus_, are "hares"; but the general term "rabbit" is now so common that the scientific distinction is of no consequence. europe and asia have two kinds of hares, and several exist in this country, such as the familiar "cottontail" or bush rabbit of the east, the southern swamp rabbit, and several species of large, long-eared, swift-footed hares of the western plains called "jack rabbits." the most important one, however, is the large northern one named "snowshoe rabbit," because in winter it receives a broad growth of hair on the feet, aiding it in traveling over the snow. this rabbit turns white in winter, the hairs losing their color with the advent of cold, as also does the big arctic hare which wanders as far north as land extends. these northern hares are the chief dependence for food in winter of all the canadian fur-bearing animals, and indirectly of the native indians. consequently when, as happens at intervals of a few years, the rabbits of a district all but wholly die off by an epidemic, a famine and dreadful distress occurs--or used to when civilized aid was less available than now--in northern canada, and the commercial outcome of furs is greatly diminished. as the hares feed on herbage and bark, obtainable all the year round, they are abroad in winter; but they have a family of small cousins, the pikas (lagomyidæ) that inhabit our western mountain tops above timber line and must hibernate. other species abound in the himalayas. they are little, short-eared, tailless creatures that make their homes in companies among loose rocks, and store in their deep crevices enough dried grass and flowering plants to keep themselves alive until the late spring of those cold heights. western folks call them conies. the porcupines are large, plantigrade rodents notable for the mixture of quill-like spines with the hair. this is most conspicuous in the european species, which bristles with spines reaching far beyond the hips and concealing the tail, forming an excellent defensive armor. some smaller african and east indian species are less well armed, and have longer tails, at the end of which are tufts of spines, making an effective weapon. all of these pass their time and get their food on the ground. our american porcupines (family cercolabidæ) differ somewhat anatomically and live for the most part in trees, although our common eastern porcupine wanders about a great deal in summer, especially at night, feeding on herbage, and rejoicing in a find of bones or other saline food here and there. it is defended by a coat of long black hair in which spines are plentifully mingled, and the short, flat tail, covered with thick spines, may give a sidewise stroke that makes man or beast cautious about attacking an animal that otherwise seems so lethargic and helpless. the porcupines of this family, however, really belong to trees, where they slowly consume the foliage and tender bark, and remain quietly through even canadian winters. the pacific side of the country has a similar species in the yellow-haired porcupine; and several smaller kinds exist in central and south america with scanty spines and long prehensile tails. closely allied to the porcupines are the gregarious viscachas of the south american plains, that live in "villages" of burrows, and much resemble prairie dogs in appearance and habits; also the chinchillas of the high levels of the andes, whose soft gray coat is one of the prizes of the furrier. here, too, come the swift-footed, slender agoutis and pacas of south america, many species of which exist and are useful as food; and a neighboring family contains the little cavies, from one of which are derived our pet "guinea pigs," which are not pigs and do not come from guinea; also their cousin, the almost aquatic capybara, which measures three feet long, and so is the biggest known rodent. this is much hunted for its flesh, and is the principal prey of the jaguar. this brings us to the world-wide tribe of rats and mice formed by a group of eight families, of which the typical one (muridæ) alone contains a third of all rodentia, and the other seven creatures differing greatly from these familiar models. many are small, such as the house mouse (originally a native of southeastern asia, as also were the rats that commerce has carried all over the civilized globe), and the even tinier harvest mice, gray or brown in plain color, and with long, slender and nearly hairless tails and legs fairly equal in size. thence in size they grade up to the stature of the rat, and from that on to the south african "springhaas" which is as big as a rabbit, and to our muskrat, two feet long, counting in its tail. although essentially alike in structure some have varied widely from the ordinary type. thus the jerboas, several species of which inhabit the plains of asia and africa, have the hind legs so long that their bones are considerably longer than the distance from the root of the tail to the nose; and they progress in long rapid leaps, balancing themselves by long tails, often tufted at the end. the big "jumping hare" of south africa has much the appearance of a kangaroo with a squirrellike tail; and a genus of exquisitely dressed mice in our sandy southwest are called "kangaroo" mice. in fact one of our commonest reddish field mice, found all over the country, has similar proportions, and is remarkable for its long leaps when hurried. a shortening of the tail is seen in the voles, to which the common meadow mice of various species belong, and still more in the lemmings, in the old world mole rats, and in our pouched gophers. all these are not only ground-keeping kinds, but burrowers, and have no use for a long tail, save in the case of the muskrat, which is really a big vole that has taken to an aquatic life, and needs an oar to scull himself through the water; for muskrats swim more by means of their tails than by their feet. the foremost burrowers are the pouched gophers, whose long tunnels, and food-getting, do so much damage to crops in the central plains region of this country. they must be distinguished from the ground squirrels, also called "gophers." an interesting diversity of habits may be met with here. some rodents live in deeply excavated burrows, others in shallow diggings or holes in stumps and rock crevices; some, like the water voles, reside in holes in the banks of streams, or, like the muskrat, heap up "houses" in a marsh in which to pass the winter in security; while still others construct ball-like nests among the herbage, or in bushes and trees. some truly hibernate in cold countries, like the famous dormice of europe, and our equally sound sleeper, the american jumping mouse; but mostly they stay in snug habitations and live through the winter on collections of food, or, like field mice, gather seeds abroad even in the coldest weather, or poke about under the snow for food, as do the lemmings. from time to time certain species, especially of the short-tailed field mice and the lemmings, multiply excessively in some district, and then are forced to spread away from their birthplace in those migrations of myriads which form the "plagues" that devastate large tracts of country. they march on until an accumulation of enemies and an epidemic of illness combine to kill them off. squirrels, woodchucks and beavers squirrels in form and activities are much alike all over the world, and are absent only from australia and madagascar. the long, bushy tail that makes so excellent a blanket as it is wrapped about their bodies when curled up asleep, is the badge and pride of the tribe. they inhabit hollows in the trees or sometimes holes among their roots, and in summer make globular nests of leaves and twigs in which the young are nursed and trained. nuts form their staple food, but berries, fruits, roots, funguses, insect grubs, etc., offer changes in fare with the recurring seasons. sometimes great ingenuity is displayed in getting at this food. some species are arrant robbers of birds' nests, and now and then kill and eat small birds and mammals; and the older males are resolutely kept away from their babies by the mothers for fear of cannibalism. this catholic appetite, and their willingness to wander from place to place in search of things seasonable, enable squirrels to find food of some sort every month of the year, yet most species have the forethought to lay up in more or less secret places a winter supply of provender; consequently no species of sciurus hibernates, strictly speaking. this storing of winter provender is a matter that has been regarded with more general interest, perhaps, than any other feature of animal economy, and is mainly manifested among the rodents, although practiced in a limited way by some others, as for instance, by weasels and foxes. it looks like conscious foresight of the famine time to come, but it is no doubt in the main, if not wholly, instinctive, since the young, who have had no experience of the winter's scarcity or imprisonment ahead, make suitable preparations. it seems to me that this habit, so necessary to the existence of small, vegetarian creatures in cold climates, arose in some such way as this: the little animals that store supplies designed to keep them alive through the winter are those whose food is for one reason or another unobtainable then. remember, also, that they are feebly endowed with powers either for defense or for escape outside their homes, and when gathering their food must not loiter much to eat as they go, but must pick up what they can carry and hasten to the safety of their doorways. this is the reason why surviving species of such animals have acquired cheek pouches, in which they can transport a fair meal of their food to be eaten at home at leisure. during the larger part of the year food is scant, and these rodents get into the way of picking up every bit they can find, and seem so restless and energetic that some of them, such as the viscachas and pack rats, accumulate about their burrows or nests quantities of inedible things, moved, apparently, by mere objectless acquisitiveness. the search for food, the foremost occupation and anxiety of these small wood-folk, would be increasingly stimulated as the ripening season of the seeds and nuts on which they depend advanced, and the impulse to incessant industry, so necessary in the poorer parts of the year, would now be overworked, and each animal, in his haste to be up and doing, would constantly bring home more food than would be consumed, so that it would pile up in the accustomed "dining room." the gradual failure of outdoor supplies, as winter came on, would lead to the eating, with increasing frequency, of those fragments casually saved in and about the burrow or house, which, from their nature, would not have decayed. the animal which had been most busy and clever in food gathering would own the largest amount of the leavings of these autumnal feasts. having the most food he would be among those of the colony or neighborhood strongest and most likely to survive, and to give to his offspring the tendency to strength and industry which had been his salvation. this would be continued and shaped by the process of natural selection into a valuable, instinctive habit of gathering nonperishable food in large quantities every autumn, and thus providing themselves with stores to last through the coming winter; but it does not follow that the squirrels and mice are conscious of this wise forethought. the striped, chattering, ever-busy chipmunks, of which america possesses several delightful species, although able to ascend into trees, and frequently doing so, are groundlings, and fond of rocky places into whose crevices they can quickly rush when an enemy is seen or heard; hence their fondness for the stone walls that in the east divide farm fields, and in general they are more inclined to associate with man and his works than are the tree squirrels, although the grays lend themselves readily to the semidomestication of residence in village streets and city parks, as the red never does. the chipmunks dig long underground tunnels, enlarged here and there into chambers serving as bedrooms, storerooms for food, and refuse bins; and the northwestern species are so numerous that between what they eat and waste in gardens and grainfields and the bad runways for water their galleries make, they are justly regarded as a pest. these pretty but troublesome chipmunks are called "gophers" in some parts of the west, but that name is more generally given to the gray or brownish ground squirrels of the plains, classified as spermophiles by naturalists; and they are so varied, numerous and destructive wherever grain is grown, from the prairies of kansas and nebraska to the california valleys, and northward to the saskatchewan, that extensive and costly poisoning operations are necessary to suppress them. similar to them, but larger, are the prairie dogs, whose communities, or towns, of burrows and tunnels render useless large tracts of land in the southern half of the plains. very similar animals to these abound in russia and eastward throughout the open country of central asia. they have undoubtedly increased much within late years through the killing off of the natural enemies that in the old days held their multiplication in check. the prairie dogs used to be called "marmots," a term that applies more properly to some larger european burrowing rodents and to our woodchucks, which are so common all over the eastern half of the country, and, in another species, on the summits of the northern rockies, where they are known as "whistlers." the most remarkable thing about them is the length and intensity of their dormancy in hibernation. there remains only the beaver, the largest of the rodents except the capybara, and altogether the most important one, measured by the value of its fur, and by the service its race has done through thousands of years in preparing, by its clearings and dams, valleys for man's cultivation. every beaver settlement is a true colony, the offspring of some previous settlement, which may be hundreds of years old. when such a settlement becomes too populous for the food supply, young males and their mates travel to some fresh spot by a small woodland stream, and begin life by digging a burrow in the bank with an underwater entrance, and at once dam up the stream by piling sticks, sod and mud across its current at some favorable spot below their home, the effect, if not the conscious purpose, of which is to maintain a depth of water in the stream at all seasons sufficient to cover the entrance to the burrow, and also to permit the storage of green wood under water (and ice) near the home for food (they eat the bark) during the next winter. the young beavers born that season will remain through the winter with the parents, and a domelike house is usually built in which the family lives. next season the young set up a home for themselves near by, and so the colony grows. beavers get most of their food by cutting down trees other than evergreens, and gnawing the bark. as the trees disappear near the bank, and the colony increases, the dam is enlarged so as to spread the set-back water over a wider territory; and later canals are cut deep into the woods, permitting far-away trees to be felled, and their pieces floated to the houses, especially in gathering the supply for winter. old dams are sometimes or more yards long, and are built with astonishing intelligence with reference to holding back a great breadth of water. these are diligently and skillfully repaired; and the houses become, in the course of years, big enough to accommodate three generations of beavers at once, and are so massive, especially when frozen in winter, which is the time of most danger from their enemies, that they are practically safe from attack. from such a mature colony others are continually formed, until in a level, swampy region the whole district is well occupied by beavers. this is possible now, of course, only in the remote northwest; but a few beavers survive in the rocky mountain region of the united states, under protective laws, and they are still numerous in the more thinly settled parts of canada, and furnish a large return to trappers. chapter xxix mammals of the sea whale is a general name for the extensive and varied order of marine mammals termed in science cetacea. their origin is obscure, but it is certain that their very ancient ancestors were land animals, evidence of which is afforded by their anatomy, especially in embryonic and very young specimens. here are classified not only the great true whales but their smaller relatives, the sportive dolphins and porpoises, the grampuses or blackfish, the white whales often seen in the lower st. lawrence river, the killers, and such out-of-the-way forms as the narwhal, from whose snout projects a long twisted "tusk," which is a strangely overgrown incisor tooth. in all these animals the shape is fishlike, as is required by the fishlike habits; the skin is smooth and usually blackish, or black with white markings; the forelimbs have become paddles and the tail a pair of horizontal flukes. as they are mammals with lungs and breathe air, whales must come to the surface frequently for that purpose. at the instant they emerge the pent-up air is expelled from the lungs through the nostrils at the top of the nose. in the case of the larger species this big discharge of moist breath condenses in the cold air into a visible vapor, often mixed with sea spray, which is called a "blowing"; but no water is expelled from the mouth, with which the "blowholes" have no connection. the smaller kinds of cetaceans, of which the variety is immense, are in the main fish-eaters, but the killer seizes and devours porpoises and seals also, and a band of them may unite to worry a big cachalot to death. most species go about in small bands, or "schools." the great whales are of two distinct families: ( ) baleen whales, and ( ) toothed whales. the first take their name from the blade-shaped plates of horny material (whalebone) hanging, to the number of two or three hundred, from the roof of the mouth, each central blade eight or ten feet long in ordinary cases. these "right" (i. e., proper) whales, as they are called by the men who hunt for and harpoon them, are huge creatures often fifty to seventy-five feet long, ranging all northern oceans, even amid arctic ice; yet, despite their bulk, they feed exclusively on the small crustaceans and other minute creatures of the plankton swept into the mouth by the million as the whale rushes along the surface, the water scooped up escaping from the sides of the mouth, and the food being caught by the fringes of baleen and swallowed like a continuous meal. in addition to the whalebone obtained from these whales the hunters cut away and save the thick layer of fat (blubber) under the skin for the sake of the oil it yields. the beeflike flesh of the muscles is good meat. this kind of whale is becoming very scarce. the toothed whales consist of the single species called sperm whale, or "cachalot," which is of gigantic size, a lesser cousin ("kogia"), and an inferior genus, the beaked whales of the antarctic. all are more common in the tropics and south pacific than elsewhere. the great sperm whale differs in form from a "right" one mainly in having a huge, flattopped, almost square-fronted head, beneath which is hinged a somewhat shorter underjaw. the cavernous mouth is armed with strong, pointed teeth, and these whales prey on fish and especially on cuttlefish. they can swallow whole nothing larger than a salmon, but can bite larger prey into manageable pieces, and have more than once seized and crushed a boat in their jaws. the cachalot attacks the giant squid whenever it meets one and the marks of the squid's winding arms and cruel suckers are often seen on the hides of whales as scars of some struggle between these titans of the deep. the value to mankind of the sperm whale lies in the liquid fat and the valuable substance, spermaceti, that fill a vast cavity in the top of its skull, a single whale yielding several barrels of it, from which the commercial "spermaceti" and a fine oil are extracted. in their intestines are frequently found lumps of the secretion known as "ambergris," used as a base for perfumes, the price of which is so high in the market that a few pounds will cover the expenses of a ship's voyage. ambergris is also found floating in the open sea or cast up on shore, and for a long time its origin was unknown. chapter xxx the world's herds and flocks the great tribe of animals called ungulata ("hoofed") or herbivora (eaters of herbage--herbivores), combines two types of structure into which they have diverged since their origin at the dawn of the tertiary era, namely: i. odd-toed, or solid-hoofed, ungulates (perissodactyla), typified by horses; and ii. even-toed, or split-hoofed, ungulates (artiodactyla), typified by the cattle. they exist in every part of the habitable globe except australasia, have furnished sustenance to the larger carnivora, and have supplied the need of man for assistance in his labor, and with materials for food, shelter, and clothing. without them modern civilization would have been impossible. both divisions have lost the plantigrade (flat-soled) walk of their early ancestors, and now step on the tips of their toes. this has been gradually gained as an adaptation to the increase of dry land and the formation of grassy plains, which we know went on steadily, especially through the last third of the tertiary era. the short, massive legs and spreading, five-toed feet, useful in sustaining an animal's weight in marshes, were slowly changed to longer, more slender limbs and a digitigrade walk as greater speed and nimbleness were required in making their way over wide pastures to and from watering places or in escaping the beasts of prey, which were themselves becoming swifter and more active in jumping by a coordinate evolution of abilities. but before proceeding to the typical hoofed tribes, mention must be made of the elephants, which belong in this order. elephants appear to stand apart from all other mammals, and from the earliest times have attracted attention by their huge bulk and strength, and by traditions of their intelligent performances. they seem a necessary part of our ideas of oriental life and grandeur, and a circus without trick elephants would be a poor show in the eyes of the american youngster. [illustration: the southern mammoth drawn by christman. (american museum of natural history)] the naturalist classifies them (order proboscidea) in this place because they are plainly, although remotely, related in structure to the solid-hoofed browsers; but only recently has he been able to trace their ancestry back to a small, tapirlike forefather of miocene days, with no trunk and no tusks. the trunk, of course, is the animal's lengthened nose, become an organ useful for many purposes other than breathing; and the tusks are overgrown upper incisor teeth. the elephants of the present time are few compared with those of warmer past ages, when many species, as well as various cousins, such as long-haired mammoths and towering mastodons, wandered over europe, asia, and our own country. now only two kinds remain: one in africa, the other asiatic. they differ in many ways, most noticeably in the size of the ears, which in the african elephant are very much larger than those of the asiatic species. both are forest animals, feeding on leaves and twigs. african elephants were formerly to be found all over the wooded parts of that continent, traveling about in herds that sometimes numbered a hundred or more individuals; and were varied in appearance, some being taller than any oriental one, while others (in the congo region) are so small as to be called dwarfs. the natives have never captured and made use of them, and few have been tamed by anyone within recent years, but in the time of the carthaginians and romans they were held captive, ridden, and employed in war, and in sports of the arena. they have been greatly reduced in numbers by ivory hunters, and would be nearly or quite extinct now had they not been protected in recent years by wise laws. the asiatic, or "indian" elephant, which is confined to india, ceylon, burma, and the malay countries, still roams the jungles as a wild animal, but every herd is known to and protected by the local governments, and from time to time these are rounded up, and young ones are captured and trained to man's service. only in this way can the domestic supply be maintained, since these elephants rarely produce young when in captivity. they are utilized as riding and burden-bearing beasts, for hauling heavy loads, especially in the army service, and in handling large timber and other industrial operations. some ivory is obtained from this species, but the tusks are far smaller than those of the african elephants, and the females bear none at all, while both sexes are armed in africa, where an old "bull's" tusks have been known to exceed a weight of pounds each. [illustration: prehistoric straight-tusked elephant drawn by christman. (american museum of natural history)] although there is no reason to suppose the african elephant is less intelligent by nature than the oriental one, nearly all the evidence of thoughtfulness in these animals comes from indian examples--a species that has been studied and educated for hundreds of years. that they may be taught to do almost anything of which their bodies are capable is plain; but undoubtedly they comprehend very largely the purposes of the man directing them, and use "brains" in assisting him to carry them out. they have retentive memories, appreciate kindness, and constantly show skill and discretion in accomplishing what they are asked to do. in regard to no other sort of animal has so much been written as of elephants; and the sum of the testimony is that they are not only very teachable and faithful in performing their tasks, when not disabled by fear, but often use surprisingly good judgment in their work. distantly related to the elephants, yet so remote in relationship to anything else as to be set apart in an order (hyracoidea) by themselves, and with no visible geological ancestry, are the queer little "conies" of the scriptures, called rock rabbits, and dassies in south africa. they have a singular resemblance to rabbits, apart from their little round ears, and are more like enlarged copies of our western pikas, but their anatomy and teeth show they are far from being rodents; and they are classified here mainly by reason of their rhinoceroslike teeth, and the hooflets on their toes, so that they form a quaint intermediary between the elephants and the solid-hoofed section of the ungulates; they are, indeed, relics of an exceedingly primitive and ancestral type of ungulates. [illustration: wart hog, one of the ugliest animals to see photo, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] [illustration: the malay tapir, related to the pig and the rhinoceros photo, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] rhinoceroses, tapirs and horses included by their general anatomy among the perissodactyls, although they have several toes on each foot, all reaching the ground, and, like those of elephants, connected by webs and clothed with thick, hooflike nails, are the rhinoceroses and tapirs. the rhinoceroses are relics of a long and interesting geological history. two belong to africa, one of which, the common "black," browsing rhinoceros, is still abundant south of the equator in all the more open and less occupied parts, of the continent; while the other, the larger, square-lipped, grass-eating, or "white" rhinoceros, has become very rare save in certain remote and upland plains. both have thick, hairless skins of a pale lead-gray, which lie smoothly over the whole body, and both have, on the nose, two horns, composed of matted, whalebonelike hairs, not a part of the skeleton but springing from the skin. the front horn is always much the longer, in some cases reaching a length of more than fifty inches. asia has three species of rhinoceros, all of which differ from the african in having functional incisor teeth, and in their hides. the best known is the "indian" rhinoceros, now confined to the hot jungles of the extreme northeast of india. it has only one horn, and its dark hide is thrown into heavy folds looking like artificial armor. it became known to europe early in the sixteenth century, and became the subject for some of the most curious speculations and superstitions of that credulous age. the "sondaic" or hairy rhinoceros still is to be found in jungles from bengal around to the end of the malayan peninsula. it is smaller than the indian one, and its folded and tesselated hide supports a coat of short hair; its horns are only two little protuberances on its nose. finally sumatra and borneo have a rhinoceros whose coat is still more hairy, and among whose peculiarities is the possession of two formidable horns. these creatures are perhaps the best examples remaining of what merck's rhinoceros (fossil) and other big quadrupeds of the pleistocene era looked like. [illustration: markhor, an asiatic wild goat] [illustration: mountain sheep or bighorn of the rocky mountains photos, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] [illustration: broad-nosed rhinoceros merck's rhinoceros--prehistoric. drawn by christman. (american museum of natural history)] the tapirs are even more widely separated in habitat than the rhinoceroses, for four species dwell in the new world between guatemala and southern brazil and guiana, while the fifth belongs to malaysia. they are forest animals, and mainly browsers, the long, almost trunklike nose and lips enabling them to seize and tear off leaves and twigs easily. they choose low districts, as a rule, and rush into the safety of water when in danger from the jaguar or other beasts. they are shaped somewhat like a very fat pony, but with a big, pointed head, and are clothed with short hair of plain dark tints, but the young are spotted at first. they are timid, secretive and nocturnal in their habits. their flesh is excellent meat. this brings us to the horses, whose geological history is one of the romances of natural history, as it is traced from the little five-toed eohippus of the eocene up to the herds that roamed our western prairies, and disappeared so completely, and so unaccountably, in the era just preceding the present. our domestic horses, consequently, are all of old world origin. as far back as man can be traced in his supposed birthplace in central asia herds of small horses fed upon those high plains; and about fifty years ago bands of ponies were discovered ranging the dreary deserts of dzungaria, or northwestern chinese turkestan, and specimens are now living and breeding in the zoölogical park in new york and in european collections. this truly wild horse stands about ten hands high, and is covered with thick hair of a dull brown color, unstriped. such horses were undoubtedly hunted and killed as food by paleolithic men; and when, many, many thousands of years ago, they had in some degree domesticated them, and began to migrate southward and westward, they took these horses with them. those people that gradually occupied persia, mesopotamia, and the plains of arabia and north africa, developed them into riding animals that became perfected in what we know as the arabian horse. those tribes that migrated across russia and along to the northern shore of the mediterranean, found in europe a similar, but more robust horse, now designated the "forest" horse, which the savages regarded as game. the two interbred in the course of time; but the southern breeds have remained smaller, lighter, and more agile, while the northern or forest stock has been the foundation of the heavy draft horses of northern europe. after the crusades arab blood was introduced to effect a still further refinement of the horses of southern europe, and it was from this arab-improved stock, prevalent in spain, that the horses sent to the spanish colonies in the americas were derived. our plains, and the pampas of south america, soon became populated with these horses run wild--"mustangs," showing even yet traces of their aristocratic lineage. so near to the horses that they belong to the same genus (equus) are the zebras, which differ mainly in their brighter coloring, less bushy tail, "roached" manes, and lack of those callosities called "chestnuts" on the hind legs. the zebras are exclusively african, and include two types, a southern and a northern. the true zebra, now extinct, except where kept and bred in captivity, belonged to the mountains near the cape of good hope, was only about twelve hands high, and had black stripes on a white ground. in the more open parts of africa, north to lake rudolph, roamed burchell's variety of this zebra, the one now commonly seen in menageries, in which the coat is creamy or golden yellow, and the black stripes are far broader. its northern variety, grevy's zebra, has the black stripes narrower, but so much more numerous that the white shows as mere lines between them. to these must be added an extinct species, killed off many years ago by boer farmers and other sportsmen, which was known as the "quaha" (quagga) from its barking neigh; it was a dark brown, with stripings only on the head and neck. the zebras seem incapable of becoming useful in harness or under the saddle, but their very near relatives, the asses--in spite of the sober gray of their dress, and their ungainly ears--have given us the patient and enduring donkey, which has been a servant of mankind, at least in egypt, ever since the date of the earliest monuments; and wild asses still flourish on the deserts of africa from algiers to somaliland. another somewhat larger and more variable species roams the upland plains of persia and northern india, while a variety, the "kiang," lives on the arctic tableland of tibet, and is as untamable a creature as can be imagined. [illustration: burchell's zebra of northern central africa] hippos, pigs and camels with the hippopotamus we begin the long list of artiodactyls, or cloven-footed animals, in which the weight of the body rests equally on the two central digits (third and fourth) which are alike in development, while the second and fifth digits, when present, do little or no work, except in the hippopotamus, whose outside toes are as long as the central ones, because needed by an animal treading on muddy soil, and accustomed to swimming. although this huge marsh denizen is now confined to africa, it ranged into southern europe and eastward to india within quite recent times, but was destroyed by the human settlement of these countries; and civilization will in due time exterminate it from the congo and nile basins where it now is so numerous, and so incompatible with commerce and industry. the swine are the first artiodactyls to show the typical cloven feet, and in them the two hind toes reach almost to the ground, so as to help the footing in the soft ground that they frequent. the foremost member of the family (suidæ) is the wild boar of the old world, known from the north sea to the bay of bengal; and it is hard to realize that the fat hogs of our stockyards are modifications of this bristling forest boar with his muscular form, swift gait, and terrible tusks. far more ugly in appearance, however, is the wart hog of africa and the hairless "babiroussa" of celebes, whose upcurved tusks far outmeasure those of the indian boar. america has a family of native swine named peccaries--small, thin-legged, grizzled-black pigs, with very thick, bristly necks and large, angular heads. they have wicked little eyes, razor-sharp tusks in both jaws, and no visible tails, and the young are not striped as in the typical suidæ. these pigs go in companies, wandering mainly at night in search of food, and taking almost anything edible. they are irascible, attack with fierce energy in concert, and are formidable foes to anything afoot, driving even the jaguar up a tree when the band turns on him. one kind of peccary is common in southwestern texas, and its roving bands do much damage by night to crops and gardens; it is called a "javelin." [illustration: prehistoric hippopotamus drawn by christman. (american museum of natural history)] the swine occupy a somewhat intermediate place between the solid-hoofed and the split-hoofed sections of the herbivora; and the stomach is simple except in the peccaries, where it takes a complicated form that approaches that of the ruminants. this simplicity, with the correlated fact that swine do not chew the cud, enabled the leaders of the ancient hebrews to set pigs apart, as unclean, by a more general definition than a mere name could give, thus leaving no way of escape for those who might be inclined to dodge the prohibition by quibbling. all other herbivora are ruminants, that is, chewers of the "cud"--those that gather and swallow their food in haste, and then at leisure recover it and thoroughly rechew it in small quantities (cuds). this strange operation, like the carrying away of food by pocket mice, monkeys, etc., enabled these comparatively defenseless animals to gather nutriment in a short time and then retreat to a safe place to prepare it for digestion. associated with this practice is a large, complicated stomach, normally consisting of four chambers, into the first and largest of which the hastily swallowed forage is first received. then, when swallowed a second time, it passes on into the second or true stomach, where real digestion begins. [illustration: the kudu, or striped antelope of africa; at the right, head of the greater sable antelope photos, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] [illustration: head of an alaskan moose photo, american museum of natural history] [illustration: axis, or spotted deer of the east indies photo, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] [illustration: american deer with horns in "velvet" stage photo, elwin r. sanborn, n. y. zoological society] chapter xxxi the world's herds and flocks--_continued_ camels, deer, giraffes and pronghorns this is a rather miscellaneous group introducing the typical herbivora. the most ancient of them in the style of their structure are certain little spotted creatures, like miniature deer in appearance, that inhabit the forests of western africa and the orient, and are known as chevrotains. the fact that in their metapodial bones they resemble the structure of camels causes these apparently so distant animals to be placed next to camels in classification. the history of the camels (camelidæ) is very similar to that of the horse. the family originated in north america, where it developed from little creatures, by changes and adaptations to a life on dry uplands, as did the horses, into a species which in the pleistocene was a third larger than any now living. meanwhile camels had made their way over the land which in the later tertiary connected alaska with siberia, into the high plains of asia, where the camels found favorable circumstances and developed into the two species we know. others migrated, earlier in the family history, into south america, where they ceased to grow tall after the camel model, but became the huanacos of patagonia, of which the llamas (yah-mas) are prehistorically domesticated descendants, and into the woolly vicuñas of the andean mountains. [illustration: llama (_lama peruviana_) a domesticated animal of south america] modern camels are of two kinds--the single-humped and the double-humped. the latter, or "bactrian," is confined to asia, and is able to endure the cold and snows of the tablelands of that continent, where its burdens are carried in winter as well as summer. what was the extent to which the single-humped, or ordinary camel, ranged before its prehistoric enslavement by men, we do not know--if it roamed the deserts of arabia and northern africa as well as those of turkestan, no evidence of it remains. a few small-sized, gaunt, wary, and swift-footed camels still run wild among the almost inaccessible sand dunes of the gobi desert, but it is not certain that they are relics of the original wild stock. at any rate the camels have always been creatures of the world's waste places, and all their quaint peculiarities such as their sole pads and the water-storing sacs in their stomachs (rumens) are adaptations to their desert home. [illustration: bactrian camel (_camelus bactrianus_) the two-humped camel of asia] the deer family (cervidæ) is of great extent, and world-wide in its distribution, except that it is entirely absent from africa and australia. in none are more than two toes of use in walking, the second and fifth toes hanging at some distance behind and above the functional hoofs, which are narrow and pointed. all have slender, long legs, giving swiftness and great leaping power; and very short tails, with the exception of the rare and peculiar david's deer of china, whose tail is almost like that of a cow. the coat of hair is short and brittle, reddish brown or foxy in summer, grayer in winter, in some species plain, or spotted only when fawns, in others variegated with small, whitish spots. the distinctive badge of the family, however, is the pair of horns borne on the heads of the males (also by females in the reindeer and caribou), collectively and more properly called "antlers," since they are not composed of horn, but of true bony material. they are poised on two protuberances on the top of the skull, where in spring arises a growth of fleshy material, covered with velvety hair, that rapidly takes the shape of the antler characteristic of the species (and age) of the deer, and as it grows is filled with lime salts that gradually replace all the tissues. then the "velvet" dries and scales off and the ivorylike antler emerges. this remains as a serviceable weapon and ornament of the buck until the beginning of winter, when its attachment to the skull loosens, and the antler drops off. this happens annually in the case of all deer--one of the common and universal facts in zoölogy that many find it hard to believe. the "horns" of the various deer vary in size from short and simple "spikes" to the wide-branching antlers of the moose and wapiti; but these last are acquired only when the buck is fully matured, the yearling showing only a spike, and acquiring branches ("tines") one by one annually as he grows until his proper complement is reached; but in a few small species no branching ever occurs. the family contains many genera and species, but only the most noticeable can be mentioned. the most familiar one, probably, is the small, spotted fallow deer of southern europe, bands of which ornament the parks of grand estates in great britain and on the continent; its antlers broaden at the end into the form known as "palmated," on account of its resemblance to an open hand with fingers. even more celebrated in song and story is the red deer, the males of which are "stags" and the females "hinds." these are large, dark, reddish brown animals, with grandly symmetrical antlers, every tine or "point" on which--seven on each side in a "full head"--has its name in the language of hunting. this deer, still wild in the highlands of scotland and in the mountainous forests of eastern europe, is also to be found right across asia, where local varieties go by the names of "maral" in northern persia, "hangul" in kashmir, and so on to eastern siberia, where far taller species live than are known to europe; and all vary in minor particulars only from our wapiti--which it is fair to regard as of the same stock. none of all these stags is more stately than the american wapiti--the "elk" of all western men--which once abounded from the adirondacks and southern alleghenies to california and the borders of alaska. everywhere of old it was plentiful and easy to kill, and the pioneers swiftly destroyed it as civilization was pushed westward, until its mighty herds have vanished almost as completely as those of the bison. it thrived anywhere and everywhere, climbing the wooded heights of the appalachians (where the very last one was killed near ridgway, pennsylvania, in ), loafing in the warm, well-watered valleys of the mississippi basin, herding in the sun-baked plains, or scrambling up and down the roughest of western sierras. equally broad in its appetite, those that browsed or ate mast and fruits in the eastern woods did no better than those which grazed on the bunch-grass plateaus from the rio grande to peace river; and in winter it would keep fat where other deer or cattle might starve, because able to paw through the snow to the dried grass. the other round-horned deer of the united states are the familiar virginian, white-tailed, or willow deer, which is to be found all over the country, and in similar species in mexico and central america; the larger black-tailed, long-eared "mule deer," or "jumping deer," of the plains and the foothills of the rocky mountain region, and the small, forest-keeping, black-tail, or columbian deer of oregon and northward. canada, alaska, and the northern parts of maine and minnesota, are the refuge of that biggest of all the deer, which we call by the indian name "moose," but which is known to europeans as "elk," for it is a circumpolar species that once roamed in great numbers through the woods of all europe, and in this country far southward along the appalachians. until the world war the elk was preserved in certain large forests of lithuania and central russia, but it is doubtful if any survived the desolation of that region during and after the war. the moose is everywhere a forest-ranging animal, especially fond of regions where rivers and lakes abound, in which it finds desirable food in summer and takes much pleasure; yet in the mountainous west it often climbs to high and dry heights. its principal diet is leaves and twigs, pulled off by the long, flexible lips that are so characteristic a feature. the moose is a huge, immensely strong and ungainly animal, blackish brown with pale legs and belly, and with a neck so short that it can graze only by kneeling. a very large bull may stand six and a half to seven feet high at the withers, which, with the neck, are clothed in a thick mantle of long, coarse, stiff hair; and from the throat hangs a long hairy strip of dew-lap skin (the "bell"), which in old age draws up into a sort of pouch. the long and narrow head ends in an overhanging, flexible muzzle, that may be curled around a twig like a proboscis. on this massive head and neck the bulls carry a wonderful pair of flattened antlers, always surprisingly wide in spread, but varying greatly in weight, and that irrespective of the relative bigness of the animal. the moose of the kenai peninsula, alaska, are famous for the immensity and complication of their horns; one pair preserved in the field columbian museum, chicago, have a spread of seventy-eight and a half inches, show thirty-four points, measure fifteen inches around the burr, and with the dry skull weigh ninety-three pounds; but very few reach such dimensions. [illustration: reindeer crossing a stream from a prehistoric engraving on an antler found in southern france] another flat-horned deer is the famous reindeer of the boreal regions of both hemispheres, for our arctic caribou are the same animals under another name. no truly wild reindeer now exist in the old world, but they are scattered over all the barren grounds, or treeless coast areas and islands, from greenland to alaska; and the eskimos depend on them not only for food to some extent, but even more for clothing and tentage. every autumn enormous herds of these caribou, gathered in migration, sweep southward to less frigid and snowy feeding grounds in the region between hudson bay and great slave lake, and there enable the indians to provide themselves with meat and skins for the winter. these arctic caribou feed mainly on the lichen called "reindeer moss." another kind, the "woodland" caribou, inhabits the uncivilized forest borders south of the barren grounds, and the mountain region from british columbia to the arctic shore of alaska and yukon; and in the east occurs in ungava, labrador, newfoundland, and new brunswick. they are not regularly migratory, but wander in small herds, prefer swampy woods, and their habits approach those of the moose. there is no great difference otherwise between them and the arctic caribou; but they vary a good deal, so that several species have been named among those of the west, one of which, in alaska, is quite white. southeastern asia has many kinds of deer, such as the large staglike sambar of india and eastward; the spotted axis, or chital; the sika of japan; and a variety of small oriental species exist. [illustration: okapi (_okapia johnstoni_) a relative of the giraffe, found in the forests of africa] the giraffes of equatorial africa (family giraffidæ) are closely related to the deer. they are hornless, but from the top of the skull project two protuberances, several inches in length, which answer to the horn-cores of the deer, but carry no antlers, and are permanently covered with hairy skin; between them is a third shorter protuberance of the skull. a few years ago it was discovered that there existed in the dense forests of the lower congo valley an animal of this family, but smaller and more antelopelike in body, and without the towering characteristics of the giraffe, called by the pygmies of that district "okapi" or "o'api." it is chestnut in color, with yellowish cheeks and the legs marked with wavy, whitish stripes. it is perhaps not rare, but is exceedingly difficult to obtain in the dense jungle it inhabits. two singular animals remain to be mentioned here, as standing intermediate between the deer and the cattle family, next to be considered. one of these is the musk deer of the himalayas, from which is taken the "pod," or ventral gland, that contains the odorous substance "musk." this is a strange, old-fashioned, solitary little creature, the size of a half-grown kid, and having very large ears, almost no tail, and no horns, but wearing a pair of keen weapons in the long upper canines which hang well down below the lower jaw. the four toes of the feet are almost equal, and the hoofs so free that they can fairly grasp any projection, so that the animal is a marvel of agility and surefootedness. our american pronghorn "antelope" is the second of these intermediate animals, and is not far removed in its structure from our white mountain goat. it foreshadows the sheathed-horned ruminants, but differs from all of them in the fact that its horns bear a prong, and also in that they are periodically shed and renewed. this beautiful and graceful little animal, truly antelopelike in form and habit, stands about three feet high at the shoulder, has slender legs and feet, with no false hoofs, and is exceedingly swift in its bounding gait. it is now almost gone from the wide plains where only a few years ago it was to be seen in summer from the saskatchewan to the rio grande and southward. in the autumn it would gather in the north into ever-increasing herds that swept southward to pass the winter in texas and new mexico, and then would return northward with the advance of spring. the extension of fenced ranching, but most of all the spanning of the plains by railroads, rapidly put an end to these migrations, and the wasteful killing of the pronghorns in sport, or as food, completed the virtual extermination of one of the most interesting and desirable animals of the new world. chapter xxxii some supremely useful animals the fact that likeness of structure, which compels naturalists to group certain animals into a family in spite of possible unlikeness in size or form, is accompanied by resemblance in quality, is well illustrated by the family bovidæ (latin _boves_, "cattle") which includes goats, sheep, antelopes, and oxen; for all of these in flesh, products and disposition, are alike suited to the requirements of men, and especially of mankind in a social civilization. this family of animals furnishes us with nearly all of our milk, butter, and cheese; with flesh food, woolen clothing, leather goods, horn, gelatin, etc.: and gives us such servants as the ox and goat; while sportsmen find in it the most fascinating of their larger game. the distinctive feature of this most useful of animal tribes is the possession of hollow horns, properly so called. horn is a chitinous material developed from the skin, and not dissimilar to hair; indeed it would be no great stretch of facts to say that a cow's horn was composed of agglutinated hairs. these horns are sheaths that grow over cores of bone--outgrowths of the skull--increase in size until their wearers are mature, grow at the base as fast as worn at the tips, and are never shed. they may be borne by the males alone, or by both sexes; or the males may have horns far larger than those of the female, as in the sheep; and in a few cases both sexes are hornless. no family is more difficult to subdivide, for the various forms intergrade inextricably. our mountain goat, or "mazama," which dwells on the snowy heights of the pacific coast ranges, from southern british columbia to farthest alaska, is one of these intermediate ones, suggesting both goat and antelope in its make-up. it is about the size of an ordinary domestic goat, has small, sharp, black horns, and is clothed in long white hair with an undercoat of wool fitting it for the wintry cold in which its life is spent, for except in midwinter it never comes below timber line, and even then avoids the wooded places. in the rough mountains of japan lives a similar goat antelope, woolly, but not white; and the lofty heights of western china is the home of a smaller one, the goral, and the himalayas have the big serow. all these have short, sharp horns rising from the top of the skull. their nearest western neighbor is the famous chamois of the alps and carpathians of europe. the extraordinary agility of these mountaineers is possible because of the pads beneath their hoofs that give them the clinging surefootedness which is so remarkable. most closely allied to them, probably, are the goats, also denizens of mountain regions, the typical species being confined to the highlands between the caucasus and northwestern india. this is the true goat from which the domestic goat is descended; but the long-haired "angora" goat is derived from the markhor, a sheeplike animal of the himalayas with tall, much twisted horns. one of the special characteristics of the goats (genus capra) is the beard of the rams; and this feature belongs also to the ibexes, several similar species of which are found from the pyrenees eastward along the mountain tops to northern china, each occupying a limited section of country, and one inhabiting the mountains about the head of the red sea. that of spain is called "bouquetin," and that of the alps "steinbok." all the rams possess great horns, sometimes fifty inches long, that rise from the occiput, curve backward, and show on their fronts a series of prominent cross ridges. one passes from these goats to their near relatives, the sheep, by way of the "bharal" (or "burrel") which combines the characteristics of the two sections so thoroughly that the proverbial "separating the sheep from the goats," easy enough on the farm, is practically impossible among wild flocks. in this crag-loving wanderer the horns of the rams are as long as those of an ibex, but roundish and wide spreading, instead of upright and cross-ridged. the "aoudad," whose home is in the mountains of morocco and algiers, and which is familiar in menageries, has such horns, but approaches nearer in other respects to the typical sheep, whose rams carry the great spiral horns at the side of the head, that are still the pride of our domestic merinos, and were the badge of the theban god of gods, ra ammon. no better example of these magnificent mountaineers, which under one or another of several specific and local names, such as argali, oorial, etc., are, or were, to be found on rough highlands all the way from the mediterranean to bering sea, can be shown than our own "bighorn" sheep of the rocky mountains, and of the mountains of canada and alaska. now we come to the great and beautiful section of the antelopes, in which naturalists recognize thirty-five genera and perhaps a hundred species. antelopes were scattered in pleistocene days all over continental europe and asia, but never were present in america, for our so-called "antelope" is a pronghorn, as has been explained. two or three species now inhabit the plains of central asia--among them the swiftest mammal known, the mongolian "orongo." the ungainly "nilgai" and the little "black buck" are familiar in india, and the pretty dorcas gazelle races across the sands of syria and arabia; but the vast majority of antelopes belong to africa. they range in size from the duikerboks, not much bigger than fox terriers, to the eland, which has almost the bulk of an ox, and should be domesticated, like beef cattle, for its excellent flesh. no handsomer mammals than antelopes exist, judged by either form or coloring. they inhabit all sorts of country, too, as in other lands do the deer, of which africa has none. deserts, such as the sahara and the kalahari, and the stony steppes of somaliland, support not only the swift and agile gazelles, but several large kinds. the grassy plains of south africa were formerly, and to some extent still are, the pastures of great herds of such antelopes, large and small, as blesboks, wildebeests (or "gnus"), hartebeests, steinboks, springboks, and many others. springboks used to assemble at certain seasons, and migrate across the veldt in countless thousands, allowing nothing to stop the headlong rush of the host. the thick jungle is the refuge of the harnessed antelopes, and of several diminutive kinds rarely seen in the open; and along the watercourses, and in marshes, live the big red waterbucks, the shy sitatungas, whose feet are curiously modified to fit them to walk on boggy ground; while rocky hills are the chosen home of the klipspringers and duikerboks, agile pygmies that creep about among the brush like big rabbits, or leap from rock to rock like miniature goats. a score or more of the species of these beautiful creatures have been carelessly or wantonly exterminated, and many others have become rare, but protective laws are now in force in all the parts of africa controlled by the government of south africa, or organized as british, french, or belgian dependencies. the quaint and complex musk ox, a lone relic of a past era now exiled to the remotest north, is a connecting link between the sheep and the cattle, the last and best of the ruminants. here, as elsewhere, the style of the horns is characteristic of the group--slender, backward curved or twisted, and somewhat compressed or keeled, in most antelopes; heavy, cross-ridged, triangular in section and often spiral in the sheep and goats; rough and helmetlike in the musk ox and some buffaloes; and in the oxen round, smooth and always springing from the side of the skull. the cattle fall into three groups: buffaloes, bisons, and oxen. the buffaloes are tropical cattle, usually heavily built, with massive, flattened, wrinkled horns, and the hair so thin that in old animals the bluish black skin is left almost naked. the typical buffalo is that native to india and ceylon, where it formerly roved in herds, which, quickly forming into a compact bunch, heads and horns out, defied attack from even the lion or tiger. bulls often exceed five feet in height, are extremely strong and quick, and carry rough horns, sweeping back circularly, which may measure twelve feet around the curve. such a veteran herdmaster spends his days wallowing in marshy jungles, his broad, splayed hoofs sustaining him in the muddy soil, and his hairless back, coated with clay, proof against insects; but evenings and mornings he leads his band out to feed in lush prairies where the grass is tall enough to hide them. this is the race that has supplied the working cattle of hot, swampy regions, especially where rice is grown, and that has been the farmer's servant in the far east, in egypt, and in parts of spain and italy from time immemorial. several breeds have been developed, of which the best known to americans is the carabao of the philippines. africa has native buffaloes in two species, neither of which has been domesticated. the african buffalo is regarded as perhaps the most dangerous brute a sportsman can meet in that land of irritable beasts. only rarely will even the lion attack one single-handed, and then seldom succeeds. the bisons, although regarded by systemists as of two species, the north american "buffalo" and the european "wissent," are as nearly alike as well can be. the latter originally ranged over all europe, and was necessarily a forest animal, and hence never could assemble into herds as did its american cousins. it has been protected on the czar's and other great estates in lithuania and russia, to the number of about ; but these preserves were ravaged during and after the world war. the wanton waste that swept away the millions of our american bison in a few short years would long ago have exterminated this species also had it not been preserved in bands here and there in the west and in various animal collections. the peculiarity of the bison is the massive, humplike strength of the fore quarters, the great mop of hair upon them and about the head, and the short, stout horns growing straight out of the side of the head. the animal called "bison" by sportsmen in india is the gaur, one of four species of true oxen inhabiting southeastern asia--heavy animals with massive, upcurved horns, a long, ridgelike spine, short tail, and fine, glossy, dark-colored hair. a big bull of the gaur or "sladang," as malays call it, will stand six feet tall at the shoulders, and is one of the greatest game animals of the world in every sense of the word. celebes has a curious dwarf ox, the "anoa," which is hardly bigger than a goat. contrasted with this is the great ungainly yak of tibet and the high himalayas, where it still wanders in a wild state, although large herds are kept by the tibetans as beasts of burden in a region where hardly any other large grazer can exist. finally, the orient is the home of an extraordinary race of ancient domestic animals, the white, humped cattle of india, of which many breeds exist, modified by local conditions and purposes, and prehistorically used in egypt and probably southward. no wild animals of its kind exist, and we know nothing of the origin of the race. we now come to the most interesting species of the family, now extinct as a wild animal, but perfectly traceable--the primitive wild ox of europe, the original of our farm cattle. it was much larger than any modern breed, and bore immense, wide-spreading horns, as still do certain coarse breeds in southern europe, and especially in spain, whence the herds of long-horned cattle of america were derived. old bulls were black, but there is reason to suspect that the cows and calves may have been red. this great animal roamed throughout europe and western asia, and was counted among the fiercest of game in cæsar's time, who found it called "ur," or "aurochs"; the former word was latinized as _urus_, and the latter, when this ox had disappeared, became transferred to the bison. even in roman times the wild ox was growing scarce, and it died out early in the seventeenth century. meanwhile, from prehistoric days, calves have been tamed by the peasantry, and such cattle as europe and the mediterranean basin generally possessed were until quite recently little better than rough descendants of this captured stock. the so-called "wild white cattle" preserved in various british parks are, according to lydekker, albino descendants of the tamed native black aurochs stock, of unknown antiquity, and are kept white (with blackish or reddish ears and muzzles) by weeding out the dark-colored calves which occasionally appear; but do not represent the original aurochs as well as do the welsh breed preserved in pembroke since prehistoric days. these park cattle are all of moderate size, elegantly shaped, with soft hair, white, black-tipped horns of moderate length, and many wild traits. chapter xxxiii beasts of prey--the carnivora "one of the most striking and significant results of the study of the later mesozoic and earliest tertiary mammalian faunas," remarks prof. w. b. scott, "is that the higher or placental mammals are seen to be converging back to a common ancestral group of clawed and carnivorous or omnivorous animals, now entirely extinct, to which the name of creodonta was given by cope. the creodonts are assuredly the ancestors of the modern flesh-eaters, and, very probably, of the great series of hoofed animals also, as well as of other orders. from this central, ancestral group the other orders proceed, diverging more and more with the progress of time, each larger branch dividing and subdividing into smaller and smaller branches, until the modern condition is attained." the story of the creodonts--savage marauders large and small--includes the rise of the powerful order carnivora--the beasts of prey, whose food is the flesh of other animals. there always has been, and always will be in every department and rank of animal life, some or many species that live by preying on their neighbors; and every living thing, from monad to man, has to fear such enemies. the essential characteristic of the carnivores is the dentition, which is adapted to seizing, holding, biting, and cutting. the canines, rarely prominent in other groups, here become of prime importance--a dagger and hook in one--a tearing instrument. naturally this tooth is most developed in the dogs and the bears, which have little other means of seizing and holding an animal, whereas the cat has efficient aid in its claws. the cheek teeth in this order are (typically) not flat "grinders" but angular and knife-edged, especially the foremost molars that shut past one another like scissor blades; and it is evident that such teeth are necessary to animals that must cut their food into pieces small enough to swallow, and are not concerned about chewing it. the order contains two distinct divisions, namely: _marine carnivores_--seals, sea lions, walruses. _land carnivores_--cats, dogs, weasels, bears, etc. the marine carnivores (suborder pinnipedia, "fin-footed") have their whole organization adapted to an aquatic life, and appear to have acquired it almost from the beginning of the diverse specialization that sprang from the generalized creodonts, for nothing is known of their ancestry that connects them with the known lineage of their kin on land. the body approaches a fishlike form, and the four limbs are turned into more or less perfect paddles, or "flippers." the teeth are of the carnivorous type; the eyes are always large and prominent; and external ears are lacking except in one family. the least modified of the three families of marine carnivora is that of the eared seals--the sea lions and fur seals of the north pacific ocean, and southward to cape horn. they have kept much independence of action in the hind limbs, and are able to climb readily about the rocks of the islands and shores to which they resort in midsummer for the birth of the young. they have an obvious neck, small external ears, nostrils at the tip of the snout, and in general more characteristics like those of land carnivores, especially the bears, than have any other pinnipeds. they live wholly on fish. several species termed "sea lions" were formerly numerous from oregon southward to patagonia, and on certain south sea islands, but they have been all but exterminated except in california. these southern species, dwelling in warmer latitudes, are known as "hair" seals, because their coat lacks the warm undercoat of the northern species (_otaria ursina_) which is the "fur" seal of commerce, and which would long ago have disappeared had it not been placed under international protection in its breeding places on islands in bering sea. thither, as summer opens the ice, gather the herds that have been wandering in the ocean during the winter. the females are much the more numerous of the two sexes, and having spread all over the islands, formerly in hundreds of thousands, are collected into "harems." the "bulls" are three times the size of any of the females, and there are incessant combats between rival bulls. the young born here are strong enough to swim away with their mothers in the early autumn. similar in general organization, and in the freedom and usefulness of the hinder limbs for creeping on land or ice, are the walruses (trichechidæ), of which there are two arctic species, one in the north atlantic, and one in the seas of alaska and kamchatka. in old times they came as far south in winter as nova scotia and the coasts of britain. a full-grown male walrus is a very bulky animal, ten to twelve feet long, and his skin is covered with a short coat of hair that in old age almost disappears, while his bulldoglike muzzle bristles with quill-like whiskers. the especial feature of the walrus, however, is the pair of great ivory tusks, often two feet or more long, which are the canines of the upper jaw. they are the tools with which the animal digs from the mud of the bottom the clams and other shellfish on which it feeds, and are formidable weapons enabling it to protect itself and its family and mates, for which the walrus shows remarkable affection and loyalty, from the attacks of the polar bear, the only enemy besides man that it has to fear. the true seals (phocidæ) have become still further specialized toward a completely aquatic life. their hind limbs are extended straight behind the body, and take no part in progression, the fore flippers alone enabling them to swim and dive with ease and speed. their strong, clawlike nails enable them to climb onto ice floes or the shore, to which they resort for rest and sunshine and to bear their young. these are usually only one, or at most two, at a birth, and in some species they have to be carefully taught how to swim, fearing the water. all of the many kinds of seals of this family are confined to the northern hemisphere, and mostly to the arctic region; but the great sea elephant, now almost extinct, lived in the antarctic, with one colony on the coast of southern california. most seals are gregarious, and some congregate in immense herds on ice floes far from land, but the majority of species stay near shore. seals feed chiefly on fish, of which they consume enormous quantities; some, however, subsist largely on crustaceans, especially prawns that swarm in the northern seas; also on mollusks, echinoderms, and even occasionally on sea birds. we are now ready to turn to the land carnivores, which, by the larger opportunity, better food, and varied conditions the land affords, have advanced far beyond their marine cousins. in these more favorable circumstances, and by their struggle for a living against the powers of defense or escape of their intended prey, and the competition of one another, they have become widely diversified in organization and habits, and in some of their representatives have developed the highest intellectual and physical ability in the animal kingdom. bears, dogs, wolves, foxes and jackals the bears (ursidæ) stand lowest in the scale of rank among the carnivora because they retain more than the others archaic characteristics in their anatomy. the family is singularly uniform--that is, all bears are much alike in their heavy bodies, broad heads, powerful limbs with "plantigrade" feet, resting the whole sole on the ground (whereas most other quadrupeds are "digitigrade," i. e., standing on their toes), and an extremely short tail, almost invisible in the coat of long hair that clothes their bodies. distinction into species has been found difficult. an english naturalist once exclaimed that he knew but two in the whole world--the polar bear for one and all the rest for the other. at the other extreme the american systemist, dr. c. hart merriam, announced in that the american brown and grizzly bears alone were divisible into eighty-eight species and subspecies, based on variations in their skulls! for ordinary readers all the big brown bears of japan, asia, europe, and canada, inclusive of the grizzlies (of which few now remain) may be regarded as one species; the polar bear, with its elongated head and body, and pure, white fur, as another; the small gray "glacier" bear of the st. elias alps in alaska as another; the "blue" one of tibet, the shaggy, long-lipped, sloth bear of india, and the miniature sun bear of borneo, as three more; and finally the common yellowish-nosed american black bears, the andean "spectacled" bear, and the very similar black bears of the himalayas, as together constituting a seventh species. [illustration: wolves in western north america copyright, underwood & underwood] [illustration: bear in a rocky mountain forest copyright, underwood & underwood] all these are as alike in habits, allowing for different surroundings and food supply, as in appearance. eating everything from nuts, berries, and insects, to fish, ground squirrels, and big game, their dentition comprises not only powerful canines, but molars capable of smashing bones. bears are too slow and clumsy, however, to do much as big game hunters, save, perhaps, the polar giant in seizing seals, and it is therefore necessity rather than choice that reduces these really formidable beasts to the petty business of nibbling berry bushes, digging up bulbs or the nests of wasps and gophers, and tearing rotten logs to pieces in hope of finding ants and beetle grubs. the most inveterate insect hunter of the tribe is the indian sloth, or honey bear. sir samuel baker remarks that its favorite delicacy is termites, for which it will scratch a large hole in the hardest soil to the depth of two or three feet. "the claws of the forepaws are three or four inches in length, and are useful implements for digging. it is astonishing to see the result upon soil that would require a pickax to excavate a hole." having reached the large combs at the bottom of the cavity the bear blows the dust away with a strong puff, and then draws the honey and larvæ out of the comb into its mouth by sucking in its breath. nevertheless bears eat a good many young and small animals, and in the neighborhood of farms steal many calves, colts, and pigs. it is an animal to be feared by men when met, although as a rule bears are inclined to run away rather than resist, except when a she-bear feels that her young are in danger. bears are rather solitary, the males wandering about alone, the females accompanied by cubs often as big as themselves. the young, two as a rule, are born in midwinter in the family den, which may be a rocky cave or the hollow of an old tree, the center of a dense thicket or simply a bed beneath the snow. the cubs at birth are surprisingly small--not larger than rabbits--and are naked, blind, and very slow to develop; hence the mother is extremely solicitous about them, and heedlessly brave in their defense. bears hibernate only in the coldest regions. allied to the bears is the large black and white "coon bear" (Æluropus), a rare, vegetable-feeding brute of eastern tibet, which is a relic of the pleistocene. near it in structure is the queer Ælurus of the same region, which connects the bears with our raccoons and those other "little brothers of the bear," the kinkajous and coatis of the american tropics. the dog family--wolves, foxes and jackals some of my readers may have asked themselves how the order of the families or other groups of mammals is determined--why the edentates follow the marsupials, the rodentia come next, and so on. the reason is that their ancestors, so far as we know them as fossils, seem to have been related in a way that indicates such a succession of development in time. it is scarcely more than an indication, however, for although in describing them, or making a list, we must set the animals in a row, naturalists long ago ceased attempting to show that any linear arrangement of that kind represented the reality. the present variety among mammals (as in other classes) is the result of development along different lines from one or more points of beginning. throughout a long period in the early part of the tertiary era there prevailed a class of beasts of prey, some as big as tigers, which, however, were by no means carnivora, as we now know them, for their teeth in most cases were still of the insectivore type. these were the creodonts, of which i spoke a few pages back. they combined in their structure the features of all the different families of carnivora, and it was not until there had developed from their stock a single family, miacidæ, and the rest had died out, that the canine, or carnassial, teeth became prominent in their jaws, and nature found in this the right road to progress. to this anciently extinct family we may trace all the varieties of existing carnivora. the oldest and most central stock appears to be that of the dog family (canidæ). the least of these are the jackals of africa and asia, small, active, noisy, reddish and variously marked animals like miniature wolves, which dwell in deserts and open districts, where they hide in dens during the day, and come out at night in search of mice and anything else they can get. they haunt the suburbs of towns, and do great service as scavengers, but also raid farms and villages, killing great numbers of poultry, lambs, and weakly sheep and goats by methods much like those of our american coyotes. the coyote is a true wolf; and the wolves are connected with the jackals by a small intermediate species in india. formerly the coyote ranged eastwardly throughout the prairie east of the mississippi, but farmers gradually killed it off. on the sparsely settled plains, however, it survives from the arctic circle to the tropics in several species, and continues to maintain itself because its natural enemies have been killed off, and because it is extremely clever in dodging new perils. it is far more destructive to the ranchman's chickens, pigs, and lambs than even the big timber wolf, but, on the other hand, benefits the industry by aiding him in exterminating troublesome gophers, prairie dogs and rabbits. the big gray wolf--the wolf _par excellence_--which our western men usually call "timber" wolf, to distinguish it from the coyote (the wolf of the plains) is the most widely distributed of all beasts of prey, for despite the various names given it this fierce and capable animal is to be found throughout the northern zones of the globe, from kamchatka, japan, and northern india right around to alaska. where civilization prevails it has been killed off, yet lingers where mountains give it hiding places even in the oldest settled parts of europe. in north america wolves abound in all the wilder parts of the west and north, contesting with skill and courage the effort of advancing civilization to get rid of them. this wolf, in its largest examples, such as the often pure white specimens of the arctic coasts and islands (where it travels as far north as do the caribou and other game), may measure three and a half feet in length, exclusive of the bushy tail, and may weigh pounds. its color is typically rusty or yellowish gray above, more or less grizzled, while the underparts are whitish, and the tail is often tipped with black. these hues are paler in northern than in southern specimens, and in warm regions totally black races are known, one of which exists in florida. the wolf's mode of life is virtually that of the whole canine family, making allowances for differences in climate and circumstances. choosing a convenient little cave among the rocks of a mountainside, or, when this is not handy, digging a burrow for themselves, a pair will establish a "den" in early summer, where presently six or eight whelps may be born; but usually only two or three survive babyhood. at this season small game is abundant, and the animals wandering around alone by day as well as by night, pick up a good living, grow fat and lazy, and are little to be feared save by the mothers of fawns or lambs. as the onset of winter fills the forests with snow, cold gales moan through the trees, and the long, dark nights enshroud an almost dead world, this peaceable disposition changes into a hungry ferocity and a force of craft and caution born of the direst need, which at last make the animal formidable to man himself. yet actual attacks on men are much more rare than stories and traditions would lead one to think. it is at this season, when the rabbits and other small creatures are gone or hidden in hibernation, and large game must be depended on for food, that the wolves form themselves into small companies, or "packs," and assist one another. to this class of animals hunting is truly "the chase," for their method is, having found their quarry (in which the good nose for a trail and a keen hearing assist them), to keep it in sight and run it down. having overtaken the quarry, a sideways leap enables them to thrust in the long canine, and drag on it--and the result is death unless the hunted creature is able to turn and fight off its foe with hoofs and horn. the forests of southern brazil harbor a long-legged, reddish species called "maned," which is a true wolf; and south america generally has several kinds of "fox dogs" (genus lycalopex) that sufficiently make up for the absence of true wolves, as do jackals the lack of wolves in africa and arabia. foxes have long been regarded as constituting a separate genus under their latin name vulpes, but conservative naturalists now think they belong with the wolves in the genus canis ("a dog"). the type is that of a smaller, more agile and delicate animal than a wolf or jackal, with a broader skull and sharper muzzle, larger ears, a longer, more bushy tail, and usually longer fur. weaker than its wolfish relatives, though endowed with great swiftness, and used to playing the double rôle of hunter and hunted, its brain has been developed to a high degree to make up for its bodily deficiencies, and shows capacity for further development. nevertheless the fox is not quite such a marvel of shrewdness as he is reputed to be, and fox hunters in great britain--under whose combination of care and chase his education has been more advanced than anywhere else--note much diversity in brain work among them. although the north american red fox has a different name from the typical european one it is virtually the same, and shows its skill and adaptability by continuing to live and flourish in the midst of our civilization, where it practices quite as much sly craft and success in chicken stealing as does "reynard" on the other side of the ocean. the red fox is to be found all over the continent as far south as georgia, and where the winters are cold his long and silky fur becomes of marketable value, especially in its darker varieties. the animal has touches of black on the tail and the legs, and this seems liable to affect the whole pelage in the north. thus some are all black; others are black with every hair tipped with white, and are called "silvers"; others have a blackish band along the spine and across the shoulders. to these the name "cross-foxes" is given. the skins so marked bring high prices, and an extensive industry has arisen in canada by breeding black and marked foxes in captivity, where pure color strains have been developed, whereas in nature one or more of these melanistic varieties may occur in any litter of normally red parents. north america has three or more other species of fox, one of which, the gray fox, is common throughout the country east and south of the appalachian heights, as far north as the lower valley of the hudson river. it is smaller and grayer than the red fox, is more of a forest-keeping animal, and does not burrow, but makes its nest in the bottom of a decayed tree or stump, or within a hollow log. living in a climate where small game is abundant the year round, and chicken-stealing comparatively easy, he has not been driven to the straits of getting food in winter to which the northern foxes are driven, and hence has developed less of the ingenuity and cleverness they show. on the high plains of the west dwells a small, active fox, known as the kit fox, or "swift," which feeds on the ground squirrels and mice of that region, and makes its home in a burrow (often one dug by a prairie dog), where it hibernates in winter. it is now rare and very wary. throughout the polar regions right around the globe is found the arctic fox in great numbers, and wandering in summer, at least, to the farthest islands, where its prey consists of lemmings, rabbits, ptarmigan and fish. this is a shy little beast, with blunt nose, short, rounded ears, a very long, bushy tail, and the soles of the feet well shod with hair, giving them a firm and warm grip on the snow and ice over which they leave tiny tracks from labrador to siberia. in summer its dress is brown with whitish or drab underparts; but in autumn this is replaced by a coat of long, pure white hair beneath which is an undercoat of fine wool. a small proportion, however, are never either white or dark brown, but are slate gray all the year round. in some rather southerly places the "blues" prevail, forming a local race. such is the case in greenland, iceland, and the aleutian islands, where blue foxes are now carefully preserved and cared for in a semi-domestic condition for the sake of their valuable fur. several small kinds of foxes occur in asia, and in india one affords some sport with hounds. the prettiest of all are the little sand-colored, big-eared "fennecs" of the deserts of northern africa and arabia. no foxes tame well, nor do any of them cross with dogs as wolves and jackals constantly do, and apparently no fox blood has entered into the composition of the domestic dog. there remain in this ancient and cosmopolitan family a considerable number of animals which from their general appearance we call "dogs." among these is the long-bodied, short-legged, primitive "bush dog" of guiana; the "bakoor" of south africa; several oriental species; and the hated "hunting dog" of africa. the last named is a terror even to a lion. it ranges the country in swift-footed packs, dreaded by every creature of both forest and veldt, and every writer increases its reputation for both strategy and ferocity. this has led to its being killed off, until now it is common only in the remote wilderness. formerly it was known even in egypt, and it is the party-colored, prick-eared dog represented on the ancient mural paintings at beni hasan and elsewhere. of the asiatic wild dogs the most familiar is that one of india called in the north "buansuah" and in the south "dhole." like the others it is normally rusty red in color, and makes its lair in rocky jungles, whence, more often by day than by night, it makes its forays usually in packs from which even the leopard and tiger flee--just as in this country half a dozen curs will send a cougar or jaguar up a tree in fright. but it avoids settlements, and does little damage to domestic animals. this brings us to the consideration of the origin of our domestic dogs, a matter which seems to me more simple than some authors have regarded it. this was doubtless among the very first animals to become attached to the camp or family of primitive man, and in every case, at first, at least, it would be of some local species of wolf, for anatomists agree that no admixture of any blood outside the genus canis is traceable in the dog; and probably would be cherished or tolerated as a reserve supply of food rather than as an aid in hunting. but it is not unreasonable to suppose that when famine came and the stone ax was raised against the poor animals, those that had proved good watchers, or were the special pets of the women and children, would be the last to be sacrificed and sometimes would be saved altogether. thus an improving and alterative selection would have begun almost from the start. moreover, these early camp dogs would become modified by interbreeding and by the influences of captivity; and as their vagabondish owners wandered about would be crossed not only with diverse sorts of tamed dogs, but with the wild stocks of new countries; and this complication would increase as civilization extended. nevertheless this appears not quite to complete the story. there is a quality which we recognize as "doggy," and as something distinctive. whence came it? i am of the opinion that it is derived from one or more kinds of canine animals, exterminated by primitive man, which were more "doggy" than wolfish, and which formed in large part the stock of the first domesticated dogs. this supposition is supported by the fact that there have been found remains of a distinct canine species, allied to the australian dingo, which was domesticated by neolithic men, and perhaps contributed to existing varieties of the dog. the earliest egyptian monuments show pictures of large dogs with "lop" ears--denoting one of the most striking differences between dogs and wild wolves or jackals, whose ears are invariably "pricked." the source of costly furs a descendant of the creodonta called cynodictis, which lived in the eocene, or earliest of the tertiary periods, is regarded as the forefather of the dog family, but its character is such that it might as well be said to be the progenitor of the weasel family (mustelidæ), which may thus be suitably considered the nearest relatives of the canidæ. these are the small, but alert, muscular and wide-awake animals whose coats, adapted to the cold regions in which most of them live, furnish us with warm and beautiful furs; hence the mustelidæ may be called the family of "fur bearers." they resemble the dog tribe in the breadth of the skull, and in the dentition, which serves well for the wide variety in their fare; but instead of the long, high-stepping legs of the galloping dogs they have short, strong limbs adapted to creeping, digging, climbing, or swimming. the swimmers are the otters--one marine, the other a denizen of rivers and lakes. the sea otter is peculiar to our northwestern coast, where it used to be very abundant from california to bering sea, but is now so rare, on account of the great demand for its unequaled fur, that its pelt is worth several hundred dollars to the fortunate hunter. it is truly pelagic, rarely landing anywhere but on some outer reef or isolated rock, and eating fish, sea urchins, and crabs; and is much larger than the land otter, and with a short, flattened tail instead of the long, tapering one that characterizes the latter. of the river otters about ten species are recognized, scattered all over the cooler parts of the world, and much alike in their four webbed feet and fish-eating habits. they are lively, playful creatures, and by their wariness, nocturnal habits, and skill in hiding their burrows, made in the bank with an underwater entrance, they are able to persist here and there in the midst of civilization. allied to the otters in structure are the badgers and skunks. of the former, our badger has been killed off everywhere except in the northwest, where it still digs its deep holes in the ground for its daylight rest and partial hibernation, and finds plentiful food among the gophers, doing the ranchmen more good by destroying these pests than it does harm by its digging. the european badger differs in various ways; and there is an oriental one, the "stinking" teledu, which illustrates the fetid odor that belongs to all of this family. this disagreeable quality is developed in the skunks into an effective weapon of defense. the food of skunks consists mainly of insects and field mice, and is everywhere so abundant that they find civilization favorable to them rather than otherwise, and remain numerous all over the country in several species, of which the familiar large northern skunk, and the small southern striped one, are best known. the skunks are confined to america, but south africa has a very similar creature in the zorilla. we now come to a large number of vigorous, bloodthirsty and cunning little carnivores, the terror of small game, as are the cats of larger animals, which are grouped by their similarity of structure in the "weasel" section of the family (mustelinæ). some are mainly terrestrial, others arboreal in habit of life. all have rather long bodies, short legs armed with strong, sharp claws, pointed heads, catlike teeth, and brains equal, if not superior, to any other carnivore. among the terrestrial species the glutton of europe and its analogue in canada, the wolverine, are prominent. the wolverine is a large, shaggy, somewhat clumsy animal that seeks its prey mainly on the ground, but occasionally climbs to a low branch or an overhanging rock whence it may leap upon the backs of a deer or sheep. it displays the greatest sagacity and persistence in getting a living where life is precarious; and is so clever in robbing the trappers' lures and penetrating his "caches" that the forest people consider it hardly anything else than a devil on four legs, and charge it with deliberate malice. the voracity of its european cousin long ago became the subject of ridiculous traditions, and has given the word "glutton" to the language. two similar, but smaller, mustelines, the tayra and the grison, inhabit central and south america. the latter defends itself in the same manner as the skunk. the weasels, stoats, polecats, minks, and the like form a group distinctly northern, except that one species ranges southward into the andes. they do their work on the ground, although some are able to climb trees. slender, lithe, sharp-clawed, secretively colored, and endowed with strength, speed and cleverness, the weasels are the scourge and terror of the ground-keeping animals, and do more than any other class of agents to restrain mice, gophers and similar nuisances. europe and siberia have the stoat, the ermine-weasel and the polecat, a domestic form of which is the ferret; and we have in north america several distinct weasels, as the short-tailed and the long-tailed of the east, the bridled weasel of the pacific coast, the black-footed ferret of the plains, and the little six-inch "mouse hunter" of the northwest, which is the smallest carnivore known. all the northern weasels become pure white in winter when they live in a region where the snow lies continuously and the cold is steady; but south of that line they do not change color. the change from the summer brown to the winter white--when they become "ermines"--is produced by an actual loss of color in the hair; but the spring change back to brown is effected by shedding the old white hair and getting a new brown coat. in the middle ages ermine fur was permitted to be worn only by royalty, and later by judges on the bench. a somewhat different, and strictly american, species is the mink. it is somewhat less slender than the weasels, and is semiaquatic in habits, dwelling always near streams, where it feeds on earthworms, frogs, and fishes. having this kind of food, and being keen-witted and secretive, it has been able to continue to exist in the midst of civilization, and the vast number of its dark pelts that come to the fur market are nearly all got by farmers' boys in traps set near home. the most valuable of the fur bearers, however, are those that belong to the forests of the north and dwell in trees--the sables, martens, and pekans. the sable is siberian, the marten is north european, and the pine marten and pekan are north american. the first three are hardly distinguishable, each averaging about eighteen inches in length, exclusive of the long, furry tail, and are brown, somewhat lighter on the underparts, the breast-spot of the canadian species being orange. the body is long and supple, the legs short and the toes separate, with sharp, long claws, as becomes so expert a tree-climber. the martens exhibit great agility and grace in their movements, and live usually in trees, furnishing with a bed of leaves a hollow in a lofty decaying trunk or sometimes in a rocky crevice. here the young are brought forth in litters of six or eight early each spring. in winter, however, they descend daily, and hunt rabbits and other prey over the snow. this is particularly true of the big canadian pekan, or "fisher" marten, which is the least common of the tribe. these martens fade away as civilization advances toward their forest retreats, and now are to be obtained only in the wildest parts of the canadian woods; and the effort to tame and breed them in captivity has met with little success. civets, mongooses and hyenas this group of old world animals represents the product of lines of descent that had their origin very near that of the dogs, as is particularly evident in the history of the hyenas (family hyænidæ). but between the noble courage and fidelity of the dog and the cowardly brutishness of the hyena lies a great distance in character--as it appears from the human point of view. of course it will not do to apply our highly elaborated standards to a moral estimate of wild animal behavior, or to use seriously such terms as "cruel," "selfish," and the like, especially in the case of the predatory beasts that work hard for their captures, must kill them the best way they can, and must satisfy their own wants before yielding place to rivals or inferiors; yet we cannot help admiring certain qualities in some of them and disliking others, as if they were inspired by praiseworthy or blameworthy motives. in the character of the hyenas, thus criticised, there is nothing admirable except their extraordinary brute strength. this is shown chiefly in their big heads, where their jaws are filled with teeth of extraordinary size, and are worked by muscles that enable them to crunch the leg bones of an ox, or indent and bend thick iron, of which amazing examples are given by selous, neuman and other african sportsmen. otherwise they are the meanest of brutes, hated and despised by every man and beast in the countries (africa and southern asia) that they afflict. related to them, but very different in every way are the many species of ichneumons and civets (family viverridæ) of the same parts of the world. the ichneumons, or mongooses, are small, dark-colored, unspotted animals, varying in size from that of a weasel to the bigness of a house cat, with compact bodies and pointed muzzles. they are active, bold and predacious, living on small game of every sort, and making their homes in holes in the ground. they are noted for their animosity to reptiles, and in ancient egypt were protected as "sacred" because they killed asps and hunted for and ate crocodiles' eggs. the old term "ichneumon" has disappeared, however, in favor of the term "mongoose," which is the name of the east indian species famous for snake killing. it is able, by its astonishing quickness, to spring upon and kill a cobra, even when that deadly snake is prepared to strike at its little foe. mongooses were colonized in jamaica and other west indian islands years ago to destroy the rats that were a plague in the sugar plantations; but they presently turned their attention to the poultry as easier game, and became a greater nuisance than the rats. these fierce little snake killers constitute the "herpestine" section of the family. [illustration: bat with young bat in each pouch, found hanging to a telegraph wire, near lincoln, nebraska photo, keystone view co.] the "viverrine" section contains the civets, which have elongated bodies, terrierlike heads, small, round, five-toed feet with imperfectly sheathed claws, long, often bushy tails, and coats of rough dark-colored hair marked with blackish stripes, bars, or squarish blotches. the species are numerous, and varied, those of central africa, called "genets," resembling weasels. they include the linsangs of the east indies, with soft, fawn-colored fur; several east indian species inhabiting trees and going by the name of "tree cats" and "toddy cats," one of which is domesticated as a mouser and pretty pet by the natives; and the black binturong of the orient, which is the only animal of the old world, not a marsupial, that has a prehensile tail. [illustration: black spider monkey photo, ewing galloway] [illustration: ruffed lemur, attractive by its coloring photo, elwin r. sanborn, new york zoological society] the distinctive peculiarity of the true civet cats is the possession of a pair of open pouches in the groin holding an oily substance having an intense musky odor and known as "civet." this is present in the five oriental species, but is most copious in the civet cat of northern africa, which on this account is kept captive and occasionally relieved, by the aid of a small spoon, of its civet for which perfumers will pay a high price. madagascar possesses a remarkable animal in the foussa, or fossane, which is nearly the size of our puma, has a weasellike head and a very long tail, and is a fierce nocturnal marauder. it is classed with the viverridæ, but stands intermediate between them and the cats. chapter xxxiv beasts of prey--_continued_ in the cats (family felidæ) we come to the most recent and advanced development of the carnivorous type, by straight descent from the eocene miacidæ. their cardinal characteristics are found in their round heads and short muzzles; their teeth fitted for cutting rather than chewing, with sharp and slender canines very prominent; their sheathed claws; and their powerful activity. although the civets and the foussa have retractile claws they do not show the perfection exhibited in this feature in the cat family. here the final bone of every toe (the terminal phalange) is so hinged upon the one next behind it that ordinarily it stands upright, held there by an elastic ligament, with the sharp, curved claw hidden in a sheath of skin and thus kept from touching the ground and so becoming blunted; for in the cat's method of work sharp claws are needed to hold the prey on which it has leaped until its teeth can come into play. when this seizing leap is made a tendon running along the underside of the toe is retracted, pulling down the claw and causing it to pierce and hold the body of the victim. this is the explanation of puss's familiar scratching ability, and accounts for the fact that while dogs, developing long legs for their style of attack, chase and finally seize their prey with their big, strong canines, cats steal upon it or more often lie in ambush and pounce on it, using their slender canines mainly as piercers. the cats do their hunting mostly alone, and are therefore largely at the mercy of wolves, etc., who go in packs; and herein lies the origin of the fear and hate with which cats regard all dogs. the cats are a very uniform group, all the many species belonging to the single genus felis, except the few lynxes and the cheetah. no better example of the race can be found than our "fireside sphinx." she is a direct descendant of the "caffre," or "libyan" cat, a native of northeastern africa, and especially of egypt, where she still runs wild. reddish sandy in color, with faint, broken, darker bars across the body, limbs, and tail, and narrow vertical lines on the face, excellent copies of this original of all the domestic cats of the western world, at least, may often be seen in our houses. this likeness is supported by the evidence of history and archæology--the skeletons of egyptian cat mummies, and bones associated with the dawn of history. in regard to the present, however, some deduction must be made. in all parts of the world one or another of the smaller wildcats of the country have been kept as pets in native houses; and wherever the people have been far enough advanced to raise and store grain, they have cultivated a cat or some other animal to free their granaries from thieving mice. it was for this purpose, no doubt, that the cats of egypt were first tamed; and then, to make the people prudently keep them and care for them, the priests invented a beneficent and cheerful cat goddess, who, naturally, was said to walk abroad mostly by moonlight. when the tamed egyptian cats reached europe with the early phoenician colonists and traders they would certainly soon meet and interbreed with the native stock; and to such crossing is probably due the banded or "tabby" cats. on the other hand, brindled cats were formerly unknown in eastern asia, whose spotted or foxy house cats were derived from other and local sources. since intercourse between europe and the orient became frequent, more or less mixture has occurred; although one very distinct eastern breed persists--the long-furred persian or angora cats, a race probably derived prehistorically from the manul, of turkestan. the differences between members of this genus felis, all of which seem able to interbreed, when similar in size, are chiefly of size and coat. their prey and hunting methods are substantially alike everywhere, and in domestication cats are slow to vary from the wild type in any respect except in color--a result of their mixed ancestry. puss remains a savage in a civilized coat, and, accepting condescendingly the novel comforts offered her, refuses to forsake her own forest gods for the fireside shrines of her tempters. the word "wildcat" is naturally used for any small feline, but strictly belongs to the yellowish, tabby-marked, forest cat (_f. catus_) of europe and siberia, now becoming rare. closely allied to it is the manul, of the central asian steppes, where the long fur that envelopes it (as preserved in our domestic persian beauties) is required by the awful cold of those lofty plains. several other small cats inhabit the desert parts of southern asia, which abound in rodents; and the long-legged, powerful, fawn-colored caracal ranges, nowhere numerously, from india and mesopotamia around to arabia and south africa. africa has several other cats of the open country, the best known of which is the swift-running, handsome serval, which is an expert tree climber. southeastern asia has three or four beautifully marked forest cats, and four of great size--three leopards and the tiger. the typical leopard is distributed from china and borneo westward to southern arabia and all over africa, except in deserts and cold mountains; but the ounce, which may be regarded as a variety of it, inhabits the himalayas, staying near the borders of the snow line for the most part, and another beautiful variety, the clouded leopard, frequents the forests of the median slopes of that vast range. the ground color of the leopard is yellowish brown, of varying intensity, and is thickly covered with rosettes of black spots inclosing a clear area, with the breast and belly white. the favorite haunts of leopards are rocky, brushy hills with holes suitable for a den, where they may watch the surrounding country, and at sunset descend with astonishing celerity and stealth to cut off any straggling animal returning to the village at nightfall. they prey boldly on the small hindu cattle and ponies, but more habitually on the sheep, goats, and dogs, and now and then (but rarely) turn man-eaters. the leopard cannot overcome, ordinarily, animals as large as the lion and tiger slay, but everything of lesser size is acceptable, down to robbing birds' nests and clawing grubs out of rotten wood. it is somewhat smaller than our cougar, a male in good condition weighing about pounds. [illustration: tigers (_felis tigris_)] the tiger--for there is only one, in spite of circus advertisements of a "royal bengal" as something different--is purely asiatic, the species ranging from the caucasus and the mountains of ararat to the east indies (sumatra and java), and northward to central siberia and sakhalin. it is to be found throughout all india, but does not occur in ceylon. speaking of the tiger always brings to mind that other great cat, the lion. these powerful marauders dispute the title of "king of beasts." their respective realms overlap but little. the lion, like the other big cats, is a relic of a diminishing race and kingdom. in the early stone age the "cave" lion (virtually the same as the present _felis leo_) roamed throughout the southern half of europe, and its final extermination north of the mediterranean was doubtless accomplished by prehistoric men. afghanistan, beluchistan and northern persia were rid of them long ago. a century ago lions were more or less prevalent in northwestern india, but now none remain save a few in the gheer, a wooded hilly tract of kattiawar. in persia they survive only in farsistan, where marshes afford shelter, and the hosts of pigs feeding on the acorns of the oak forests furnish subsistence. but they were long ago exterminated from all asia minor, arabia, egypt, and algeria. from abyssinia, and the southern sahara southward to the orange river, lions still exist except in the most populous districts, and in some places are very numerous. this range of territory shows that, unlike the forest-loving tiger, the lion is an inhabitant of open, bushy country, finding its game in the herds of antelopes, zebras, and similar plains-running animals rather than in the jungle fauna to which the tiger is confined; also that the tiger is inured to a far colder climate. this difference in habitat and hunting requirements accounts, in the minds of those who pay much attention to adaptive (or "protective") coloration, for the difference in their dress, for the tiger is said to become almost invisible in its yellow coat and vertical black stripes amid the flickering shadows of the wood, or when creeping through the long indian grass, while the unmarked, grayish yellow, or sand tint, of the lion is equally unnoticeable on the desert or on the sere veldt of its east african hunting grounds. the great mane of the male lion--but some never acquire this ornament, or only scantily--and his greater height at the shoulder give him a majestic mien. a lion of large size measures about nine and a half feet from the nose to the tip of the tail, which is about three feet long; stands three and a half feet high at the shoulders; and weighs about five hundred pounds. most specimens, however, fall far short of these figures; and the largest examples have come from south africa. the dimensions and weight of tigers average just about the same, the extreme examples on record having no doubt been measured along the curves of the body instead of in a straight line between the two terminal points, nose and tip of tail, as is the proper method. the literature relating to these two royal and puissant beasts is immense in its extent, and the best of it is that written by the hunter-naturalists who during the past century have studied and fought them in their native wilds. [illustration: lion (_felis leo_)] the western hemisphere has a series of native cats which, although not equal in size and strength to the lion and tiger, are hardly less formidable in view of the game they hunt. the biggest is the jaguar, which is found from western texas to northern argentina. it is about the size of the leopard, but has a bulkier body, bigger head, shorter and more massive limbs, and shorter tail; hence, while less active and supple, it is perhaps more powerful than the leopard, and certainly is stronger than the puma. the ground color varies from the yellowish gray seen in arid paraguay to almost red in the steaming equatorial swamps, while in the lower orinoco valley deep brown and black ones are common; but there is only one species. the coat is everywhere spotted with black, not in the leopard's hollow rosettes, but forming larger, irregular groups, each inclosing a black central spot. this is the "tigre" of the american tropics, and indeed, is so called wherever spanish is spoken. it hunts the largest game of its country, especially tapirs and deer; and wherever domestic animals are reared it becomes a destructive pest. for the most part, however, these cats subsist on capybaras and other rodents; and in mexico on peccaries, striking down stragglers and then hastening up a tree out of the way of the furious herd of these sharp-toothed pigs brought together by the squealing of the first victim. rarely found away from water, which seems as necessary to it as to the tiger, it is not surprising to find that in such places as the reedy borders of the la plata fish form its main diet, snatched from the water by the paw. on the amazon it feeds largely on turtles and their eggs. it attacks the manatee in its own element, and has been seen "dragging out of the water this bulky animal, weighing as much as an ox." even the crocodile and cayman are regularly preyed upon. its fondness for monkeys is also well known, and it is hated and reviled by them with the same fury as leads the east indian apes to hurl sticks and bad language at the tiger. the "cougar," as buffon named it, the "puma" of the peruvians, "panther" and "mountain lion," as it is known in the united states, is another big american cat familiar to woodsmen from new england, minnesota, and northern british columbia southward to patagonia; and everywhere it is so precisely uniform that the most hair-splitting systemists have been unable to subdivide its species (_felis concolor_) into local varieties. its upper parts vary from foxy red to a dull blue, this difference in color having no reference to age, season or locality. the underparts are white; and there are no spots anywhere except that the lips and outer rim of the ear are black, and a patch of white marks each side of the muzzle. the panther was much dreaded by the early settlers of the eastern states and by the frontiersmen settling the mississippi valley, who were more alarmed by its doleful screams as it wandered about in the night, than by any history of harm, for it avoided men with a greater fear than their own; nevertheless, it became a nuisance by its raids on the farmer's live stock and he killed it off, so that now pumas are to be met with only in the forested and swampy fastnesses of some of the gulf states and in the far west. there they still do great damage to the young animals on ranches, especially where horses are plentiful on the range. this is equally true of south america. nowhere, however, is the puma feared by mankind as is the jaguar; on the contrary, remarkable stories are recorded, and constantly being verified by experience, not only of the cowardice of the animal, but of its apparent desire to make friends with humanity, following lonely persons without harming them, apparently merely in satisfaction of an innocent curiosity. it is hunted usually with dogs, to escape which it will climb into a tree, and once there remain to be shot rather than come down to fight, even when the hunters are close up. tropical america is the home of several smaller cats, some of which among the spotted ones are probably only varieties of the ocelot. this highly variable but always beautiful creature is about two and a half feet long in body, rather long in the legs, is an expert tree-climber, and is abundant from oklahoma southward into the brazilian forest, but has a different name in every country. it is grayish, thickly marked with fawn-colored, black-edged, oval patches and stripes in endless variety; and its fur is one of the most marketable in the country. on the prairies and plains of the open country south of brazil the pampas cat, or "pajero," is common. it is of robust form, with long hair, very plain in its grayish tint on the back, but beautifully spotted and striped on the belly and legs. it is a ground-runner, preying on rodents and birds. brazil has in its forests a notable cat of medium size called "jaguarundi," with a noticeably slender form, short legs and a tail nearly as long as its body. it is dark gray in hue and entirely unspotted. this may, on further study, turn out to be only a variety of the "eyra," another cat of the tropics, sometimes met with as far north as the rio grande valley, which looks in its unspotted chestnut coat more like a huge weasel than a cat. it is a graceful and nimble climber, and lives on prey caught in trees. our common "bobcat," the wildcat best known to most readers, is a lynx--one might say _the_ lynx, since in spite of the wide variety that specimens show between those of quebec and those of texas, for example, all seem to be one species, which is only locally different from the lynx of the old world. but spain appears to possess a distinct species in the pardine lynx. lynxes differ from the typical cats (_felis_) in having only two instead of three pre-molar teeth, but most notably in their heavy bodies, stout limbs, big and powerful feet, very short, thick tails, and the tufts of hair on the tips of the ears. the big canadian lynxes are clothed in coats of long grizzled hair, valuable in the fur market and suited to the freezing winters of their home, where their fare during the cold months is restricted almost entirely to hares; but in the united states, and especially toward the south, these cats are much smaller, have thin coats and show reddish and yellowish tints with much spottings. they have survived the presence of civilization wherever rough hills or swampy forests give them a refuge, and they prey on mice, rabbits, birds, and poultry. a single cat remains to be mentioned, the curious cheetah, or hunting leopard, which is known all over southern asia, and africa, and in india and persia is trained to hunt antelopes. it is somewhat less in size of body than the leopard, but stands on long legs, and in color is yellowish, with many obscure blackish spots. its great peculiarity, however, is the fact that its claws are not retractile, like those of the true cats, or only partly so; and that it chases its prey with great speed and in a doglike manner, although lacking the dog's persistence and endurance. this mingling of characteristics makes it hard to classify, and it perhaps should have led, instead of closed, the chapter on the cat family. chapter xxxv insectivora--hedgehogs, moles and shrews again we have to deal with the scattered and feeble relics of a once important race; but that was long ago, even as geologists use the word long, for the order of insectivores (insectivora) may be traced backward to the very earliest, hardly identifiable, fossil remains of mammalian pioneers in a reptilian world. these are known mainly by their dentition, which in this order is characterized by weak canines, small sharp incisors, and all the back teeth small, with many points and sharp edges designed for cutting through the shards of insects, shells of eggs, snail shells and the like, rather than for chewing. they had become, even in the eocene period, a numerous and varied group, including arboreal, terrestrial, and aquatic types, some of considerable size, besides many minute forms comparable to the moles and shrews of the present day, and very likely ancestral to them. at the beginning of the tertiary, they are indistinguishable from the earlier of the creodonts, but these rapidly developed into powerful beasts, while the insectivores retained more nearly their ancient ways, and in the later tertiary diminished rapidly in numbers and variety. to-day only a few survivors are left, protected from their enemies by armor, as in the case of the hedgehogs; by a subterranean mode of life, as the moles; by their agility, minute size, and unpleasant odor and taste, as are the shrews; or, finally, by their exile in some remote corner of the world, where enemies are few. thus we find remnants of families so widely separated as madagascar and cuba--the same disintegration that has overtaken many another ancient and decadent tribe; and their organization is so generalized that systemists find it difficult to place them in any serial arrangement with other orders; the big malayan kaguan, for instance, which lives in trees and looks and behaves like a flying squirrel, was long classed with the lemurs. oldest of the existing insectivores, and nearest the original type, is the hedgehog of europe, which, when rolled up, presents to its enemy a living chestnut bur of stiff spines hardly bigger than a baseball. all day it lies curled up asleep in an underground nest (where in winter it hibernates), and wanders about at night hunting for insects, worms, snails, slugs and the like, and savagely attacking and killing every viper it comes across--a valuable little animal, preserved by every intelligent gardener. next to it are the lively little "tupaias," or tree shrews of the east, and the queer, long-nosed, kangaroo-shaped jumping shrews of the deserts. a rarer oddity is the river shrew of west africa, looking and acting like a miniature muskrat. then there are the "almiquis" of cuba and haiti, which suggest small, ground-traveling opossums, whose nearest relatives are the spiny "tenrecs" of madagascar. more familiar to us are the moles and shrews of northern countries. moles are chiefly remarkable for the adaptation of their frames to the requirements of an underground existence, in which they must travel and seek their food, and not merely make their nightly home in burrows. this has brought about an alteration of the forelimbs into digging tools of really gigantic power when we consider the size of the animal, and a strength of shoulders that enables them to bore their way through loose soil without shoveling it out, save at long intervals. everybody knows the upheaved ridges that mark their paths on the lawn as they move here and there beneath the grass roots in search of grubs and earthworms. one of our common species, preferring wet meadows to the uplands, is the star-nosed mole, whose muzzle is encircled by pink tentacles, very sensitive, which give it its name. highest in rank among insectivores, though least in size, are the shrews, one of which, our cooper's shrew, is the smallest of all mammals. they are mouselike in appearance, but with long, flexible, much bewhiskered snouts, and are ceaselessly active, wandering about underneath leaves, old grass, and logs, and boring their way into loose loam or the punky wood of decayed stumps, in search of earthworms, grubs, beetles, slugs, and similar prey, including young mice and the fledglings of ground-nesting birds, and varying this fare by bites from soft-shelled beechnuts, tuberous roots, etc. they are quick of hearing, bold, pugnacious, and fierce, often killing and eating other shrews; difficult to keep alive in captivity, utterly untamable, and easily frightened to death. [illustration: mandrill, mouth open to snarl photos, elwin r. sanborn, new york zoological society] [illustration: gorilla, somewhat thoughtful] [illustration: chimpanzees imitating some of the ways of man photo, elwin r. sanborn, new york zoological society] chapter xxxvi the bats--wing-handed mammals next in advance of the insectivora stands the order chiroptera ("hand-wing"), which is the tribe of bats, divisible into two suborders--the large, diurnal fruit bats, and the small, nocturnal insect-catching bats and the vampires. no fossil remains bridging the gap between these two orders has been discovered, nor can anyone yet explain the steps in the acquirement of the bats' power of flight. bats are simply flying mammals, necessarily small, with the bones of the forelimbs light, hollow, and greatly elongated, the middle finger in some cases exceeding the total length of the body. these lengthened digits support between themselves and the hinder limbs a membrane that opens and closes much like an umbrella. this wing membrane consists of a double layer of skin, one continuous with the hide of the back, the other with that of the abdomen, fused together. the surface of the wing is covered with microscopically minute hairs. to these hairs and the bulbous underlying "end organs" are attributed the bat's exalted sense of touch. the expanse of these leathery wings is far greater than that of most birds relatively to the size of the body, but the muscles are weaker; and the exterior thumb, with its strong claw, by means of which bats scramble about rocks and buildings, recalls the similar organ in archæopteryx. the hind limbs are small, while the knee bends backward because of the outward twist of the limb. this makes the foot almost useless for walking, but fits it, with its peculiarly strengthened ankle, to be extended straight backward and serve as a means of hanging the body head downwards--the bat's ordinary attitude in rest or sleep. bats usually produce two young at a birth, and the mother carries them about with her, they clinging to her breast, where she keeps them warm by folding them within her wings when they and she are hanging to the branch of a tree. nothing is made in the way of a nest. the fruit-eating bats (division megachiroptera) are distributed in some seventy species from east africa to the east indies, japan, australia, and polynesia. they vary in size from an ounce in weight to some as large as big squirrels, and in form from the grotesque "hammerhead" of africa to the many rust-red east indian species that come naturally by their name of "flying foxes," and approach foxes in size. these bats feed on all sweet fruits, and in some regions, as java, no delicate fruit can be raised unless the tree is protected by nets. it is at night that they make their forays, sleeping during the day in great companies among the branches of some chosen tree. where a fig tree attracts a crowd of them, we are told by eastern writers, the roughest fighting begins over coveted plunder, each one screaming, clawing, biting, and struggling to seize something and get away to a secure retreat to enjoy it. no doubt these squabbles are rendered more violent by the dissipated habits in which the bats indulge during their nocturnal expeditions, for, according to dr. francis day and other observers, "they often pass the night drinking the toddy from the chatties in the coconut trees, which results either in their returning home in the early morning in a state of extreme and riotous intoxication, or in being found the next day at the foot of the trees, sleeping off the effects of their midnight debauch." the second division (microchiroptera) contains the carnivorous bats, which include five families, two of which, the nose-leafed and the desert bats, belong to the warmer parts of the old world, and the others are tropical (emballonuridæ, and phyllostomidæ), or have an almost cosmopolitan range (vespertilionidæ). in general the bats of this division are night flyers, and retire during the day to caves, hollow trees, and dark places in old buildings. such haunts contain great deposits of black guano, which in many places is gathered as a most valuable fertilizer. the rock tombs and temples of egypt and the east are haunted by thousands of these tenants, and are occupied the year through; but in cool countries the bats migrate or may go into a partial hibernation. the food of most of them, and especially of the vespertilionidæ, to which all those of the united states and western europe belong, is exclusively insects, caught on the wing in the twilight hours or in moonlight; and the service thus done to mankind is of much importance. in the tropics, however, several species, especially of the family phyllostomidæ, feed largely on fruit, being provided with long, brush-tipped tongues with which they scrape out the soft interior of the banana and similar fruits. two species of this family are the famous "vampires" of the american tropics. the name recalls the superstition rife in europe in the middle ages as to blood-exhausting fiends which were fabled to lull their victims into unconsciousness by the slow flapping of their wings, and then deprive them of life. the foremost of these vampires is a small reddish species (_desmodus rufus_), whose front teeth are like keen daggers, while the cheek teeth have disappeared, having nothing to do, since the animal subsists wholly on a liquid diet. chapter xxxvii man's humble cousins we have now arrived at the highest division of the mammalia, the order primates, a term here signifying "first" in rank of importance by reason of the possession of a structure and faculties superior, as a whole, to any other class. it includes the lemurs, the monkeys and baboons, the anthropoid apes, and mankind. man's undeniable superiority to all the others is intellectual rather than physical (for in this or that particular he may be inferior in ability to many of the lower animals), and is much less apparent in primitive men than in those highly civilized. all primates have five fingers or toes, each covered at the tip by a flat nail; and in most cases the thumb or great toe, or both, are "opposable"--that is, may be bent around opposite the other digits so as to form a grasping organ. the higher the primate in the scale of organization the more perfectly are its forelimbs and hands adapted to seizing and handling objects, and its hind limbs to supporting and moving the body; and the whole sole of the foot rests upon the ground. these and other characteristics fit the primates for life in trees, where nearly all spend their time. the number of young, as a rule, is no more than two annually, and they are born in a helpless condition, hence they must for a period be nursed and be carried about by the mother. the food consists almost wholly of fruit and other soft or easily digested vegetable materials, insects and eggs, and the teeth are of nearly even size. lemurs, galagos and aye-ayes the lemurs, or half-apes, are a large group of small tree-dwelling animals that paleontology shows were in early tertiary times much more closely connected with monkeys than they are now; and it also shows that in a former age their ancestors were scattered all over the temperate parts of the globe; this assists us to account for the strange distribution of the remnants that now live--a part of them in the malayan archipelago and a part in central africa and madagascar, in which island, indeed, lemurs abound more than elsewhere, owing largely, no doubt, to the scarcity of enemies. they differ from monkeys in having elongated jaws, giving a foxlike aspect to the face, in the woolliness of the coat (as a rule), and in their nocturnal habits and weird cries that have been the source of many curious superstitions and a reverence that no monkey ever inspired. the most specialized of the group is a wan little malayan creature about the size of a small rat, with a long tail, long hind legs, and toes ending in pads that enable the tarsier, or "malmag," as it is called, to climb the smoothest bamboo. its eyes are so big they seem to leave no room for cheeks. even more curious is the aye-aye of madagascar, which resembles a small squirrel with a terrier's face; its hind feet are like a monkey's hand, and its forefeet are composed of very long naked fingers armed with sharp claws useful in pulling bugs and grubs out of crevices in bark, or the pulp out of fruits. the typical lemurs have rounded heads, doglike muzzles, and a soft, thick, woolly fur of various colors that is usually extended to form a long, bushy tail; and the largest of them, the "babakoto" of eastern africa, is as big as a cat, and makes the woods ring at night with doleful howls. they hide in holes in trees or in leafy nests during the day, and at night wander about in trees, or on the rocks of the mountains they frequent, in search of insects and sleeping birds and their eggs, etc. all the lemurs proper, and their relatives, the endrinas, belong to madagascar. on the mainland a somewhat different race, the galagos, abound throughout central africa, and are renowned for their leaping powers, general activity, and willingness to eat anything they can catch or find ripe in the way of sweet fruit. they are interesting as pets. the "slow lemurs" of the malayan islands, on the other hand, are noted for their sleepiness, moving about the trees with such slothlike sluggishness and caution that it is a wonder they ever capture enough food to keep alive. they are regarded with great fear by the natives, not because they are more harmful than the other lemurs, which are also dreaded, but because of strange supernatural powers attributed to them. these ideas are older than our science, for the name, _lemures_, given them means "ghosts." a remarkable thing about the primates is that they show, even in man himself, many structural traits recalling the anatomy of that remote source of so many mammalian branches, the creodonts; and the lemurs seem to stand between the insectivora and the primates, and are certainly the most ancient part of the latter order, with many affinities to the former. in a similar way they are connected with the monkeys and apes by the marmosets. a very suggestive fact is that the scattered distribution of modern lemurs much resembles that of the comparatively few existing insectivores, especially as to madagascar, which was united with the continent of africa during the earlier half of the tertiary era. marmosets, monkeys and baboons the marmosets, or "teetees" (titis), are a small family (hapalidæ) of little, arboreal, monkeylike creatures much enjoyed as pets in the american tropics, but rarely able to endure our northern winters even when protected most carefully from the cold. they look and act much like pretty squirrels, have long, but not prehensile tails, and some of them, as the "tamarins," have long silky manes. they possess several lemurlike features, and, as has been said, are a connecting link between the lemurs and the monkeys proper. all the monkeys of the world are members of one or the other of two families only--the cebidæ, all american, and the cercopithidæ, confined to the old world. they differ in several structural particulars, among others in the number of teeth, and in the matter of bare spots of naked skin on the buttocks (not seen in the cebidæ), in the prehensility of the tail, exclusively american, etc.; but the most striking difference between the two groups is found in the nostrils. in the old world monkeys and apes (catarrhines) the nostrils look downward and are close together; in american monkeys (platyrrhines) they are widely separated and look outward. this absolute distinction between the primates of the two hemispheres has existed as far back as the race can be traced by paleontologists, who have discovered no intermediate forms. the american monkeys, or "sons of cebidæ," as dr. cope once expressed it, comprise the capuchins (cebus), which may be taken as the representative genus, the woolly monkeys (lagothrix), the spider monkeys (ateles and eriodes), the howlers (mycetes), the sakis (pithecia and brachyurus), the night monkeys or durukulis (nyctipithecus) and the squirrel monkeys or saimiris (chrysothrix and callithrix). all are small, the largest having a body no more than twenty inches in length, and are hairy or woolly, without any naked callosities. their headquarters are in the great forests of equatorial south america, which is the exclusive home of many species, some of which are restricted to narrow areas, the great rivers often acting as impassable boundaries. no monkeys ascend high in the andes, or reach the west coast; and none is found far south of the forests of brazil or north of south-central mexico. they are adapted to a life in trees, and most of them are aided in security in hurrying about their precarious paths through the tree tops by the fact that the tip of the tail, naked on the underside, will almost automatically curl around a branch, gripping it so firmly that the animal may hang by this grasp alone, leaving all four hands and feet free for other service. their agility, especially in the smaller long-legged spider monkeys, is proverbial; but one must not believe the old wonder tales of "living bridges" and the like. best known are the capuchins, which furnish most of the pets and organ grinders' slaves seen in the united states; and their manner of life is substantially that of the whole tribe, with such exceptions as that of the big-eyed durukulis, which are strictly nocturnal in habit, and the big reddish "howlers" that make the forest ring with lionlike roars at certain times, giving the impression that a large company are howling in chorus when it is only a solitary old male that makes all the noise. the capuchins, like most other species, go about in small, orderly bands, led by the oldest male, and remain most of the time in very tall trees. bates, in his "naturalist on the amazons," describes how, when the foremost of a flock of monkeys reaches the outermost branch of a tall tree, he springs forth into the air without a moment's hesitation, and alights on the dome of yielding foliage belonging to the neighboring tree, maybe fifty feet beneath, all the rest following his example. the old world monkeys are, as a family, of higher grade, larger size, and greater historical interest than those of america. fossil remains show that the tribe is an old one, and was once able to range all over europe; now the few half-captive and altogether mischievous apes on the rock of gibraltar represent all that remain of a species once numerous even in northern france, and so recently as the pleistocene. this ape is a macaque (macacus), a genus that otherwise is purely asiatic and contains some of the most celebrated of the monkeys. thus, the suitably named pig-tailed macaque of the far east is trained, in sumatra and borneo, to climb the coconut palms and select and throw down ripe nuts--the most really useful thing to the credit of monkeys; the japanese species is the one that is so much used in the decorative designs of that artistic people; and the best known of all is the common bengal or rhesus monkey, which is revered by some sects of hindus, and is treated with tolerance or made a pet of, or an aid to jugglers, throughout india. several other macaques are common pets and servants in the east. the macaques go about in flocks, and often come to the ground. all have the habit of cramming food into their cheek pouches for mastication at leisure. the majority of the species are very docile when young. closely related to the macaques are the mangabeys, or white-eyelidded monkeys of west africa, and the central african genus cercopithecus, which includes many small-sized, handsome, tree-living kinds, of which the most widely known is the diana monkey, whose long fringe of white hair hanging from its neck and chest is in much demand in the fur market. even nearer relatives are those interesting but often repulsive creatures, the baboons, between which and macaques stands the doglike, stub-tailed, ground-keeping black ape of celebes. this eastern instance of an otherwise african group, like the single western macaque, indicates, what fossil remains prove, that both genera were once far more wide-ranging than at present. the african baboons, of which there are about a dozen species, present striking peculiarities in appearance, and all are much alike. in size they vary from the bigness of a spaniel to that of a mastiff, and a comparison with dogs is apt, for these apes go about habitually on all fours, their limbs are stout and of about equal length, and their heads and muzzles are canine; hence the ancient name _cynocephali_, dog-headed. in some, as the mandrill, the naked nose is swollen at the sides like a hog's snout, thrown into ridges and colored black, pale pink, or blue and purple; while the great callosities on the stern are of the same or contrasted colors. the fur is blackish, or yellowish or greenish, grizzled by the fact that every hair is ringed with various colors; or the coat may be party-colored. they go in bands, sometimes exceeding one hundred individuals of all ages, and choose for their lairs cliffs and rocky ridges full of crevices and thickets, such as the extraordinary black rocks of angola, where the yellow baboon dwells in thousands, and subsists mainly on lichens. in such places they are safe against any enemies except leopards (which the old males are said to be able to vanquish) and the larger serpents or birds of prey; and these can make away only with the young now and then. dogs dare not attack full-sized baboons, which have been seen again and again going fearlessly to the aid of some little one that dogs have tried to seize. their sense of smell is amazingly keen, especially for hidden water springs in the desert. it is recorded that the bushmen of the kalahari plains used to train captives to help them search for water when famine was impending; and undoubtedly the observation of what roots, etc., these animals were accustomed to eat taught the earliest human venturers into these regions what might be used there in the way of food. baboons also eat lizards and the like, and are fond of honey and certain gums. with these habits it is not surprising that they are everywhere exceedingly harmful to plantations, tearing up or trampling down more than they can consume, and destroying a field in a night. some of these baboons are as tamable and teachable as other monkeys, but they grow unruly and ferocious as they become old. they were tamed and trained in ancient egypt, where a religious sect held the shaggy arabian species (_cynocephalus hamadryas_) to be sacred to thoth, whose statues are a human figure with a baboon's head. gibbon, chimpanzee, gorilla, orang-utan this brings us to the anthropoid ("manlike") apes of the family simiidæ, which differ from the inferior apes that have been described in fewer particulars than their size and appearance might suggest. thoroughly arboreal for the most part, when these apes come to the ground they progress in a semi-erect fashion. moreover when they put their hands upon the ground to aid in walking, they do not rest their weight, as do the lower apes, upon the flat of the hand, but upon the back of the fingers. none of the anthropoids has a tail. the gibbons are an indo-malayan group of monkeylike anthropoids with small, long-nosed faces, and arms so long that when the gibbon stands erect the fingers touch the ground. by means of these long arms they swing themselves through the tree tops with astonishing speed, and are adept at climbing and leaping about the mountain slopes that are their favorite resorts. all the gibbons are noted for their far-carrying voices, and often a band will utter weird howls in chorus answered by another band, so that the forest is filled with indescribable noises. the largest is the jet black, sumatran "siamang," three feet tall. in the same region, precisely eastern sumatra and borneo, lives a larger relative, the orang-utan ("man of the woods"), or "mias," as it is known to the dyaks. like the gibbons it feeds on leaves, buds and soft fruits, especially the big, pulpy durian; and also like them is shy and mild in disposition. [illustration: gorillas and gibbons the five upper figures are young gorillas in various postures; the three lower are adult gibbons. (lydekker.)] this malayan ape is smaller and weaker than its african cousins, males standing not more than four feet six inches, and weighing pounds, while the females are smaller. the body is bulky, the belly protuberant, and the legs very short, while the arms are so long that the fingers hang down to the ankle. the coat is a variable dark brick red and long, forming a beard in old males. the head is short and high, with the bony crest of the skull and the ridge over the eyes less prominent than in the gorilla; while the nose is insignificant, and the jaws are large and protrusive, with a long smooth upper lip. the eyes have a pleading expression, the ears are small and closely appressed, and many of the older males have the cheeks greatly and distinctively broadened by flat callosities. lastly, although its brain is most like that of man, the orang-utan is inferior, in general, to both the gorilla and the chimpanzee. the chimpanzee and gorilla belong together, not only because both are african, but because they are more closely related to one another than to the malayan anthropoids. the chimpanzee is to be found in the equatorial forests north of the congo, and also all along the upper valley of the nile and about the great lakes; but the gorilla seems to be restricted to the rough coastal region between the congo and kamerun. both are black-haired apes, growing nearly to the height of a man of medium size, but with short legs, very long arms, massive chests and shoulders, and huge strength. the face and palms of the chimpanzee are pale flesh color, those of the gorilla black. both make their homes in trees, feeding on succulent leaves, sprouts and fruit, and like the orang-utans, making nightly platform like nests of branches on which to sleep; but the old male gorilla is said to sleep on the ground at the base of the tree in which its family reposes. both spend much time on the ground hunting for food, and they invade the plantations of the negroes, who are greatly afraid of them, and wreak much damage there. dr. garner, whose investigations of their habits, in his attempt to learn whether they and the monkeys of the region had anything that might be called rudiments of a language, resulted in adding much of importance in regard to them, reported that despite its superior strength, the gorilla was in constant fear of the more active chimpanzee, and fled whenever one approached. the best and most recent observations indicate that the gorilla is not quarrelsome and aggressive, but disposed to hide away from and avoid men whenever it can, rather than to attack them. nevertheless all these great apes are debased, savage brutes of which nothing good may be said, despite the fact that when caught young chimpanzees, at least, prove docile and able to learn some simple imitations of human behavior; but in old age even they become sullen and dangerous toward trainers who have treated them with uniform kindness. they are base caricatures of men--side lines of development that have proved failures in nature's experiments toward making something out of simian material. the successful line of human descent began far back of their earliest specific history, and has developed quite independent of these brutal offshoots from some parental stem of which we have no definite knowledge. * * * * * * transcriber's note: small capitals have been rendered in full capitals. oe-ligatures have been converted to oe. a number of minor spelling errors have been corrected without note. volume eleven number two journal of entomology and zoology june, published quarterly by pomona college department _of_ zoology claremont, california, u. s. a. contents page annelids from laguna beach structure of dolichglossus pusillus--_alma evans_ opisthobranchs from laguna beach central nervous system of the sand dollar dendraster excentricus esh.--_w. a. hilton_ ants from the claremont-laguna region entered claremont, cal., post-office oct. , , as second-class matter, under act of congress of march , journal of entomology and zoology edited by pomona college, department of zoology _subscription_ $ . to domestic, $ . to foreign countries. this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and entomological journals, proceedings, transactions, reports of societies, museums, laboratories and expeditions. the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian forms and conditions are particularly desired, but short morphological, systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for publication. manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about by inches. foot notes, tables, explanations of figures, etc., should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the size of the page when reduced, that is, by - / inches or less. the lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on the drawings, in most cases. authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are desired, the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of the number containing their articles. manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. address all communications to the journal of entomology and zoology william a. hilton, editor claremont, california, u. s. a. annelids from laguna beach this list includes specimens recently determined by dr. r. v. chamberlin, but does not include new species reported on at that time. _glycera rugosa_ johnson. _euphrosyne aurantiaca_ john. _eudistylia polymorpha_ johnson. from holdfast. _chrysopetalum occidentalis_ john. _diopatra californica_ moore. _podarke pugettensis_ johnson. _syllis alterniata_ moore. _pionosyllis elongata_ johnson. _halosydna pulchra_ johnson. _h. californica_ johnson. dredged. _scoloplos sp._ san. balboa. _naineris longa_ moore? under stones. _cirratulus luxuriosus_ moore, all bright red from eel grass. _polycirrus californicus_ moore. _nereis agassizi_ ehlers. _anaitides sp. lumbrineries zonata_ john.? _syllis alternata_ moore. _nepthys caeca_ fabr.? _sthenelais verruculosa_ johnson. w. a. h. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) structure of dolichoglossus pusillus alma evans the animals were studied from serial sections cut in several planes. the stains used were carmine, hematoxylin and eosin. the hematoxylin seemed to show the tissues more clearly. a graphic reconstruction was attempted, but did not prove satisfactory because of the individual artificial foldings and contractions. the drawings were obtained by the use of a camera lucida. the general drawings, figs. - inclusive, are not filled in in great detail. the special drawings are shown at greater magnification with more of an attempt to show the actual condition. dolichoglossus is a soft worm-like animal with ciliated surface. it is divided into three distinct regions: the proboscis, a long club-shaped organ; the collar, a fold in the surface just behind the proboscis, and the trunk, a long cylindrical portion posterior to the collar. dolichoglossus is a marine form living in sandy bays or sheltered places. mucous glands in the surface epithelium secrete a sticky fluid which covers the body and to which tiny sand grains stick. the sand clinging to the mucous coated surface forms a fragile temporary tube in which the animal is usually secluded. the animals in the living condition are bright orange or red but lose their color very soon after preservation in alcohol or formalin. the proboscis cavity extending the entire length of the organ is surrounded by a network of connective tissue supported by longitudinal bands of plain muscle. this cavity is supposed to communicate with the exterior by a very small opening, the proboscis pore, but this did not show in the specimens examined. the heart, proboscis gland and notochord are located in the posterior part of the proboscis. the collar contains the central nervous system, part of the notochord, the dorsal blood vessel, ventral and dorsal mesenteries, mouth opening and anterior part of the alimentary canal. the trunk contains the alimentary canal, dorsal and ventral blood vessels, dorsal and ventral nerves, the gill-slits, the reproductive bodies, dorsal and ventral mesenteries and muscle bands. the nervous system consists of three parts: the central, located in the collar region, fig. ; the sub-epidermic network extending over the entire body just under the surface epithelium, figs. - ; and the dorsal and ventral strands which are thickenings of the sub-epidermic network extending throughout the trunk, figs. and . there is also quite a decided thickening of the sub-epidermic network at the base of the proboscis, figs. , . the vascular system consists of two parts, the central and the peripheral. the central is made up of the heart, a thin-walled vesicle at the base of the proboscis just dorsal to the notochord, and connected with it the proboscis gland, a plexus of capillaries just anterior to the notochord. fig. . the peripheral system is composed of a ventral and a dorsal vessel. the dorsal starts at the heart and continues just ventral of the dorsal nerve throughout the length of the body. figs. , , . the ventral vessel extends from the posterior border of the collar to the anal end. it is connected with the dorsal vessel by a circular vessel in the posterior edge of the collar. the mouth is situated ventrally at the base of the proboscis, within the collar, and opens directly into the straight alimentary canal. the latter is a straight tube extending from the mouth opening to the anus. figs. , , , . the alimentary canal in the anterior part of the collar gives off a diverticulum, which grows forward and supports the proboscis. because this diverticulum has the vacuolated appearance of the notochordal tissue of higher animals, it has been regarded as a notochord. it is largest at the base of the proboscis immediately anterior to the heart. figs. , . the paired gill-slits occupy the region just posterior to the collar. they are arranged in two longitudinal grooves in the dorsal wall. the number increases throughout life, new slits appearing just behind those already in place. i found about twenty-five to be the average number, while particular individuals had as low as eighteen and twenty and as high as thirty and thirty-one. the gills are formed in the shape of a u. a skeletal rod or gill bar separates the gills from each other. the gills are supplied with blood from the dorsal vessel. figs. , , . the sexes are distinct. the ovaries and testes are saccular organs arranged in a row along the gill and succeeding region. the sacs in other genera, for example balanoglossus as described by shipley, open directly on to the epidermis. i have been unable to see these openings in my preparations. fig. shows the position of the ovaries in the female; the testes in the male are in a similar location. the surface epithelium is modified ciliated columnar, varying slightly in thickness, size of nuclei and size and shape of cell according to location. figs. , , . the epithelium forming the gills and intestine is also modified ciliated columnar. that of the gills having short narrow cells and small nuclei, and that of the intestine having longer thicker cells and large nuclei. figs. , . the connective tissue surrounding the proboscis cavity is of a peculiar arrangement. the connective tissue itself consists of fine strands loosely interwoven, but arranged in a definite manner. the strands form a fine network which gives a beautiful lacy appearance. small round nuclei are quite numerous in connection with the strands. longitudinal bands of plain muscle are very conspicuous in the connective tissue. these muscle bands are probably used in altering the size and shape of the proboscis. figs. , , . the nervous tissue consists of many fibers thickly interwoven. there are a few small nuclei scattered about among the fibers. figs. , . the muscle is unstriated. the fibers are very long in some places, shorter in others and always quite distinct. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) references _assheton, richard_ a new species of dolichoglossus. zool. anz. bd. , p. - . _delage and herouard_ traité de zoologie concrète vol. . les procordés. balanoglossus. encyclopedia britainica balanoglossus. _shipley, arthur e._ zoology of the invertebrata. balanoglossus. explanation of figures fig. . cross section through the gill region showing gill opening. d. n., dorsal nerve. d. v., dorsal vessel. g. o., gill openings. a, alimentary corps. g., gill. v. n., ventral nerve. v. v. ventral vessel. n., nervous tissue. × . fig. . cross section through the base of the proboscis showing diverticulum wall and proboscis gland. d., diverticulum. n., nervous tissue. p. g., proboscis gland. × . fig. . longitudinal section through a gill opening. n., nervous tissue. g., gill. g. o., gill opening. × . fig. . cross section through the center of the proboscis. n., nervous tissue. m. c., muscle in the connective tissue. t., connective tissue. × . fig. . longitudinal section through the base of the proboscis and collar. m., mouth. c. n., central nervous system. h., heart. no., notochord. p. g., proboscis gland. n., nervous network. a., alimentary canal. d. v., dorsal ventral. × . fig. . cross section through the base of the proboscis showing thickened nerve network. n., nerve network. d., diverticulum wall. h., heart. × . fig. . cross section through gill region. d. n., dorsal nerve. d. b. v., dorsal blood vessel. g. b., gill vessel. v. n., ventral nerve. v. v., ventral vessel. × . fig. . longitudinal section through the gill region. g., gills. b., blood. o., ovary. n., nervous network. × . fig. . cross section of alimentary canal. a., wall of alimentary canal. × . fig. . intestinal epithelium, modified ciliated columnar. × . fig. . epithelium of the gill, modified ciliated columnar. × . fig. . nervous tissue. × . fig. . surface epithelium of proboscis, modified ciliated columnar. × . fig. . surface epithelium of collar, modified ciliated columnar. × . fig. . surface epithelium of trunk, modified ciliated columnar. × . fig. . cells of testis. × . fig. . ovary. × . fig. . plain muscle. × . fig. . epithelium of diverticulum. × . fig. . connective tissue of proboscis. × . fig. . muscle bands in proboscis connective tissue. × . [illustration] [illustration] [illustration] opisthobranchs from laguna beach the determinations are by dr. f. m. macfarland tectibranchs _pleurobranchæa californica_ macf. only one specimen has been obtained at laguna beach, from a depth of from to fathoms. the specimen was mottled dark above and about inches long. dr. macfarland informs me that this species is quite common in monterey bay and ranges much larger, almost up to inches in length. _navanax inermis_ cooper. black, yellow lines, blue spots, yellow edges. about two inches in length. another specimen possibly may be the same species, black with yellow spots. apparently the same form occurs at balboa. _aglaja (doridium) purpureum_ berg.? brown, dredged to f. nudibranchs _triopha sp._ large, brown. holdfast. _flabellina iodinea_ cooper. narrow blue body, red appendages. swims by lateral movements of the body. this beautiful nudibranch was first found near laguna by miss m. cate, not far from dana's point in . in jan. , ' , mrs. may found a number near laguna beach. _dirona picta_ macf. light brown, long thick appendages. holdfasts and tidepools common in . _aegires_ sp. knobs. brick red, body clear. _chromodoris universitatis_ cock. blue, yellow spots. _polycera atra_ macf. red-brown, black stripes, brown spots. july , . _facelina_ sp. body clear, appendages dark. _ancula pacifica_ macf.? clear white, two yellow lines in front, one behind. front appendages and two lateral tipped with yellow. _cadlina_ sp.? dark brown, flattened. _aeolidia_ sp. white to pink, appendages brown. w. a. h. central nervous system of the sand dollar dendraster excentricus esh william a. hilton there seems to be little or no literature on the central nervous system of this form of echinoderm. as might be expected, the general arrangement of radial and circumoral bands are much as in sea-urchins, such as shown especially by delage and herouard . there are however some interesting features which make the study of this type of special value. in this paper only the chief mass of the central nervous system is considered. the more evident parts of the central nervous system are arranged in general as in other forms. the circumoral nerves issue from under the lantern and run along the oral, cross over at the edge of the shell and then run along the aboral side. the five radial nerves converge at the five ocular areas near the center of the aboral region. the circumoral nerve ring is looped over and under parts of the lantern. fig. shows a part of the lantern and parts of three loops of the circumoral nerve trunk. in the center of the figure one fifth of the lantern is drawn in and from under it a radial nerve is shown in the lower part of the figure. to the left and to the right of the central bony part of the lantern the union of a radial with a circumoral nerve is shown. at the junction of each radial nerve with the circumoral, is a little thickening which seems to be a special cellular mass such as i have not found in other forms. fig. is a section through a part of a circumoral strand, much enlarged. there are only a few nerve cells, from one to two layers. as the radial nerves leave the lantern they are quite evident in dissected specimens as they are close to the bony skeleton with very little connective or other tissues to obscure them. the use of aqueous methylene blue aids in following the smaller branches. near the lantern the branches are small as shown in fig. . when the region is reached where the upper and lower surfaces of the shell begin to fuse, the branches become larger and more irregularly arranged, as shown in the lower part of fig. and fig. . after the nerve turns to run on the aboral side there is no change in arrangement until the region of the tube feet is reached. in the region of the tube feet the nerves become more numerous, smaller and more regular. the general distribution of the nerves and the arrangement of the tube feet nerves are shown in fig. which is from part of the upper end of the aboral nerve. the holes in the skeleton for the tube feet are shown as circles on each side of the diagram. the general structure of the chief central nerve trunks is quite similar as shown in sections. figs. , and . the nerve trunks have about one to two layers of cells, the main part of the nerves are composed of longitudinal fibers. there are not so many evident vertical fibers from cells as found in starfish and some other forms. this change in position of the fibers may be in part due to the general modification of structure. whether this arrangement leads to other types of nerve association is a question. when the nerve trunks are removed, stained in methylene blue and examined with the microscope something of the arrangement of the cells may be seen. in the circumoral and oral radial nerves the nerve cells are thickly massed from side to side, but in the upper part of the aboral nerve there is an evident arrangement of nerve cells in zones. there is usually a central more or less clear zone, next on each side a rather dense cell area and next on each side a very dense cell area, then a narrow nearly clear zone on each side again. as a rule slightly larger cells are found near the nerve trunks and as some of these seem to send long branches out into the lateral trunks, they may be motor or sensory, the association neurones are probably the smaller cells in farther. the cells seem multipolar in most cases and in fact much more modified than the cells of starfish or sea-urchin. figs. and . references _delage and herouard_ traité de zoologie concrète. t. iii. les echinoderms. _hamann, o._ beitrage zur histologie der echinodermen. jenna zeit. nat. w. xxi. _hilton, w. a._ some remarks on the nervous system of two sea-urchins. jour. ent. and zoo. vol. ix, no. . (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) explanation of figures fig. . diagram of one fifth of aristotle's lantern of _dendraster_ showing three loops of the circumoral nerve ring, and parts of three radial nerves, the central one partly hidden at its origin by the lantern. the nerves are in black. × . fig. . drawing of part of the first part of an oral radial nerve. × . fig. . drawing of the lower end of an oral radial nerve. × . fig. . drawing of the upper part of an aboral radial nerve. the eye spot region is up in the figure. × . fig. . camera lucida drawing of a part of an aboral nerve showing position of cell areas. × . fig. . drawing of a section of an oral radial nerve. × . fig. . drawing of a section of circumoral nerve. × . fig. . drawing of a section of aboral nerve. × . fig. . nerve cells from central regions of a radial nerve. the arrangement is as shown in the drawing, cells of various levels shown as one layer. some of the processes possibly relate nearby cells, but most fibers run into the general fibrous mass. all fibers or fibrils are small. there is some indication of tigroid substance in some of the cells. × . fig. . nerve cells from near a lateral branch from the radial band. × . [illustration] ants from the claremont laguna region this list includes ants collected chiefly in . all determinations are by dr. w. m. wheeler. _novomessor andrei_ mayr. red var. also some dark. claremont. _n. pergandei_ mayr. medium, dark colored. claremont. _pogonomyrmex californicus_ buckley claremont. _pheidole longipes_ pergande claremont. _pediole_ sp. claremont. _crematogaster lineolata_ say. subsp. _californica_ emery. claremont. _c. l._ say. subsp. _corctata_ emery. claremont. _solenopsis molesta_ say. var. _validiuscula_ emery. claremont. _s. geminata_ fab. var. claremont. _liometopum occidentale_ emery. mts. and claremont. _iridomyrex pruinosus_ roger var. _analis_ ern. andré. _i. humilis_ mayr (argentine ant) claremont. _dorymyrmex pyramicus_ roger _var._ claremont. _prenolepis imparis_ say. below aliso canon, laguna beach and claremont. _tapinoma sessile_ say. laguna beach. _myrmecocystus melliger_ forel var. (honey ant) claremont. _m. mexicanus_ wesm. sub sp. _mojave_ wheeler (honey ant) claremont. _formica rufibarbis_ fb. var _occidua_ wheeler. claremont. _f. cinerea_ mayr. subsp. _pilicornis_ emery. claremont. _camponotus (myrmoturba) maculatus_ fb. subsp. _vicinus_ mayr. _var. luteangulus_ wheeler. claremont. w. a. h. 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employees feather duster mfrs. auto owners contractors hotels write for this valuable reference book. ross-gould, h olive street, st. louis. ross-gould mailing lists st. louis pomona college located in one of the most healthful and beautiful parts of the west coast. the mountains reach an elevation of ten thousand feet within a few miles of the college and these with the nearby ocean afford many special advantages for the study of things not in books. special advantages are afforded by the fact that the college limits its attendance, the freshman class being restricted to two hundred applicants. the success of the college is particularly indicated by the large proportion of the graduates who proceed to advanced work in the large universities. in addition, well-manned departments of music and art afford exceptional advantages. for further information, address secretary of pomona college claremont, california transcriber's note: * text enclosed between equal signs was in bold face in the original (=bold=). * pg corrected spelling of "losely" to "loosely" in "... of fine strands losely ..." * pg corrected spelling of "lilnes" to "lines" in "... two yellow lilnes in front ..." * pg accent corrections on reference for "traité de zoologie concrète" * pg corrected spelling of "say." to "say." in "... say. subsp. ..." images made available on the internet archive (https://archive.org/). transcriber note text emphasis is denoted as _italic_ and =bold=. volume nine number one ======================================================================== journal of entomology and zoology march, published quarterly by pomona college department _of_ zoology claremont, california, u. s. a. ======================================================================== contents page another record of a small whip-scorpion in california--_m. l. moles_ notes on chalcid flies, chiefly from california--_a. a. girault_ the rose flea-beetle--_g. f. moznette_ notes on birds of laguna beach and vicinity for --_h. h. nininger_ solpugids from the claremont-laguna region--_j. nisbet_ record of two pseudoscorpions from claremont-laguna region--_winifred t. moore_ the central nervous system of a sipunculid--_wm. a. hilton_ littoral ascidians collected at laguna beach summer school at laguna beach courses offered at the summer school of the laguna beach biological laboratory, ======================================================================== entered at claremont, cal., post-office oct. , , as second class matter, under act of congress of march , journal of entomology and zoology edited by pomona college, department of zoology _subscription_ $ . to domestic, $ . to foreign countries. this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and entomological journals, proceedings, transactions, reports of societies, museums, laboratories and expeditions. the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian forms and conditions are particularly desired, but short morphological, systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for publication. manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about by inches. foot notes, tables, explanations of figures, etc., should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the size of the page when reduced, that is, by ½ inches or less. the lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on the drawings, in most cases. authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are desired, the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of the number containing their articles. manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. address all communications to the journal of entomology and zoology william a. hilton, editor claremont, california, u. s. a. another record of a small whip scorpion in california m. l. moles in april, , dr. w. a. hilton collected some small whip-scorpions in the pomona college park at claremont. these creatures were without eyes and yet they seemed to avoid forceps. they were able to run backwards or forwards with equal ease. on examination it was found that there were long hairs on the legs such as shown in the figure. other specimens were afterwards found in one of the nearby canyons, and two specimens in the college collection were marked "c. metz, in the mountains near claremont." upon looking through the literature the species was determined to be _trithyreus pentapeltis_ cook. in dr. hubbard collected some at palm springs under stones in the canyon near the stream. those which we have found this year were under the dried oak leaves some distance from water. cook gave the generic name _hubbardia_ which has not been sustained. the following are the measurements of two types of the twenty or more specimens found. _measurements_--supposed male: length of whole body, . mm. length of cephalothorax, mm. length of abdomen, mm. length of tail, . mm. length of first leg, mm. length of maxillæ, . mm. width of abdomen, mm. width of cephalothorax, mm. _measurements_--supposed female and juvenile, fig. : length of whole body, . mm. length of cephalothorax, . mm. length of abdomen, mm. length of tail, mm. length of first leg, . mm. length of maxillæ, mm. width of cephalothorax, mm. width of abdomen, mm. _color of supposed male_--cephalothorax and maxillæ, dark reddish brown. abdomen and legs light yellow brown. _color of supposed female and juvenile_--all parts bright yellow brown. cephalothorax suboval, upper margin strongly concave at the sides and tapering to a point at the median line. sides convex at upper edge; lower margin strongly convex. the cephalothorax is strongly chitinized, showing two small oval spots. the small suboval area between the chitinized cephalothorax and the abdomen is soft with five chitinized plates. on the dorsal surface of each abdominal segment are two muscle depressions, while on the ventral surface the fourth, fifth and sixth segments have dark colored plates near the segmental divisions which are used for muscle attachments; besides the two muscle depressions. the book-lungs openings are found on the ventral surface of the first abdominal segment, as is also the epigynum. the caudal appendage of the juvenile and female is made up of three small joints tapering to a blunt end. it is held in an upright position above the abdomen. cook in his description supposed this form to be a female or juvenile; krayselin considers it a different species, but upon close study of the rest of the organs of this form it was finally decided that it was a juvenile and probably a female, the supposition being held that the juvenile took the form of the female, as is often the case, until the last few molts. the epigynum of this form was extremely undeveloped, having only a small epigastric furrow with depressions at either end. the caudal appendage of the supposed male is made up of two stout joints to which is attached a heart-shaped body tapering to a blunt apex. this body has deep pits both on the dorsal and ventral sides near the base. on the tibia of the first pair of legs are two long special sensory hairs set in little pits. on the second, third and fourth legs one hair was found, also on the tibia. these hairs are three-fourths as long as the leg. the mouth parts consist of a pair of strong mandibles and labium. the labium is placed between the two coxæ of the maxillæ. the long process of the coxa clothed with its long simple hairs seems to have some performance in the work of the mouth parts. the labium is suboval, clothed thickly with simple short hairs, the upper margin having a single row of long heavy straight hairs with many long single curved hairs covering them. the mandibles are provided with three distinct kinds of hairs or spines. the large subquadrate proximal joint was clothed with long barbed spines, the movable finger having on its median surface a row of fifteen back curved barbed spines. in the space between the movable and stationary finger were long hairs, enlarged in the center and tapering off to a fine point, the tapered portion being barbed. the mandibles are set well down in the sephalothorax. the sexual openings were found in the usual place; the ventral surface of the first abdominal segment, this being enlarged so as to do away with the second abdominal segment. the epigynum consists of a long epigastric furrow with a large lip-like opening near its median line. just above this opening and on either side were small longitudinal creases. prof. dr. friedrich dahl places the external sexual organs of this family on the legs and in the thelyphonidæ which is closely related. they are found in the second joint of the tarsus of the first legs. careful study failed to find any trace of secondary sexual organs in _trithyreus pentapeltis_. _krayselin, karl_ das tierreich. scorpiones und pedipalpi. _cook, o. f._ hubbardia, a new genus of pedipalpi, entomological society proceedings, vol. . _comstock, john henry_ the spider book, pp. - . _banks, nathan_ synopsis of north american invertebrates. am. nat. vol. . _dahl, dr. friedrich_ vergleichende physiologie and morphologie der spinnentiere. jena, verlang n. g. fischer. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college._) explanation of figures fig. . drawing of the upper side of a young trithyreus pentapeltis cook × . fig. . lower or ventral view of t. pentapeltis × . figs. , , and . various views of the caudal end of an adult t. pentapeltis. much enlarged. fig. . labium. much enlarged. fig. . maxilla. much enlarged. fig. . mandible of trithyreus. much enlarged. fig. . one jaw of mandible. much enlarged. [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] notes on chalcid flies, chiefly from california a. a. girault the following descriptions are chiefly from specimens sent by the department of zoology of pomona college. _eusandalum californicum_ n. sp. _female_: similar in every respect to _coquillettii_ ashmead except as follows: the hyaline cross-stripe between the fuscous cross-stripes of the forewing is distinctly narrower than either fuscous cross-stripe (broader than either in the other); the stylus of the abdomen is a little shorter than the ovipositor valves (their extruded portion), both equal in length in _coquillettii_. otherwise the same. antennæ -jointed, tapering, the club single and no longer than the pedicel, funicle quadrate, longest, elongate, somewhat compressed, over thrice the length of the pedicel. types compared. a female from claremont (c. f. baker). _types_: catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, the female on a tag, a fore wing antenna and hind leg on a slide. in the u. s. national museum a female from the santa cruz mountains, california, part of the type of _coquillettii_ (now a single female from los angeles). _eusandalum obscurum_ n. sp. the type is one female from easton, washington (kincaid). catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, the female on a tag. see table. _eusandalum alpinum_ n. sp. the type is a part of the type of _coquillettii_ from the santa cruz mountains, california; catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, the specimen on a tag. see table. _eusandalum georgia_ n. sp. one female, pinned, georgia, catalogue no. , u. s. national museum. a second female from washington, d. c. see table. _eusandalum arizona_ n. sp. a female, santa rita mountains, arizona (schwarz), may . catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, tag. see table. synopsis of the north american species of _eusandalum_. females. (from the types.) . wings bifasciate, the distal fuscous band at apex. legs red except the coxae, the antennae wholly concolorous. ovipositor extruded for over half the length of the abdomen. scutellum longitudinally lined. hyaline band of fore wing distinctly narrower than either fuscous band (one on each side of it); stylus a little shorter than the ovipositor. _californicum_ girault hyaline band of fore wing somewhat broader than either fuscous stripe; stylus and ovipositor equal. _coquillettii_ ashmead . wings unifasciate or wholly embrowned or with a large unbroken, fuscous area. wings wholly infuscated. scutellum densely punctate like the scutum (in the first species). propodeum with a lateral sulcus. ovipositor much extruded. legs reddish except the coxae and the first and third femora _ventrad_; more slender than usual, the ovipositor about as in _californicum_ but the abdomen is longer, hence the ovipositor is so. fore wing with a longitudinal white streak caudad of middle. _acmaeoderae_ rohwer ovipositor extruded for less than a fourth the length of the abdomen, the stylus subobsolete. fore wings indefinitely slightly stained; legs reddish except the coxae; scutellum long-lineolated. _obscurum_ girault wings infuscated from the bend of the submarginal vein to apex or nearly. antennæ concolorous (compare _obscurum_). as in _californicum_ but the scutellum finely punctate differs from _acmaeoderae_ in being more robust, the first and third femora are not metallic ventrad, the costal cell is broader, the tip of the fore wing is hyaline for a short distance. _alpinum_ girault legs wholly concolorous except the knees and tips of tibiae narrowly and the tarsi; as in the preceding but stylus and ovipositor subequal. _cyaneum_ ashmead . wings hyaline or subhyaline. antennæ concolorous except at extreme base. ovipositor extruded for about half the length of the abdomen, the stylus slightly short. middle legs except coxae, all knees narrowly, tips of tibiae and the tarsi reddish brown. postmarginal vein subequal to the stigmal. _hubbardii_ ashmead ovipositor extruded for less (or not more) than a third the length of the abdomen, the stylus subequal. postmarginal vein subequal to the stigmal. legs reddish except the coxae and cephalic femora and tibiae. scutellum somewhat more distinctly lineolated longitudinally, punctate. ovipositor short. _hyalinipenne_ ashmead postmarginal vein distinctly longer than the stigmal. legs concolorous except knees, tips of tibiae and the tarsi. stylus somewhat shorter than the ovipositor which is a third the length of the abdomen. _georgia_ girault . wings subhyaline. antennæ with the basal fourth of the cape honey yellow. postmarginal vein distinctly much longer than the stigmal, twice longer. ovipositor extruded for nearly half the length of the abdomen, the stylus a little shorter. legs honey yellow except fore and hind coxae. _arizona_ girault all the species have the postmarginal vein shorter than the stigmal or no longer, save where noted; the parapsidal furrows are distinct, but very short, joining before the middle of the scutum from cephalad. the club is usually single, the antennae -jointed, tapering-filiform. _dialinus begini_ crawford one female, santa clara county (c. f. baker). _elachistus coxalis_ howard one pair, san mateo county, california, the male; and laguna beach, southern california, the female (c. f. baker). the following species is an _eudecatoma_ (there being no distinct substigmal spot but only a very minute one) but for the present i include this segregate within the older one. _decatoma subimmaculata_ n. sp. _female_: length, . mm. of the usual habitus and sculpture, the punctation not coarse. honey yellow, the wings hyaline, the following black markings: ocellar dots obscurely, upper margin of occiput (a crescent), median channel nearly to apex and cephalic margin of the propodeum (except laterad); abdominal petiole and the median line of abdomen dorsad narrowly, from just before apex of segment nearly to the apex of segment . abdomen compressed, segments , and subequal, longest, the abdomen glabrous, its petiole about twice longer than wide. propodeum openly rugoso-punctate, the median channel single, distinct, no median basin. pedicel black above, nearly twice longer than wide, a little longer than funicle , the other four funicle joints subequal, subquadrate. club -jointed, the first joint shortest. one female, claremont, california (c. f. baker); on oak. _type_: catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, the female on a tag, the antennae and a caudal leg on a slide. differs from _catesbaei_ ashmead (types compared), in being larger, the median channel of the propodeum is distinct for its whole length and does not consist principally of two large foreae, the cross-carina passing _profimad_ of it has an area on each side of the meson which runs at first nearly parallel to the channel (the forking) but in the florida species, this carina continues more or less parallel with the cephalic margin of the propodeum. _scutellista cyanea_ mots one female, claremont, california (c. f. baker). _cleonymus californicus_ n. sp. _female_: length, . mm. dark metallic green, the tegulae, antennae (except the club and pedicel) and the legs (except the concolorous coxae, the apex of caudal femar lateral and the last two pairs of tibiae dorsad more or less), reddish brown, the venation fuscous, the fore wings bifasciate, the first stripe from the base of the marginal vein and broken distad of the middle, the second from the postmarginal vein, obovate in shape, twice the width of the first. the (triangular) head, the thorax and abdomen, scaly punctate, the propodeum and abdomen subglabrous, the distal margins of the abdominal segments glabrous. propodeum foreolate along the cephatic and caudal margins, and along the median carina on each side, the lateral carina represented by a distinct, curved, foreate sulcus, the spiracle large, subreniform. scutellum simple. antennæ inserted near the clypeus, a little below the eyes, -jointed, the club pointed ovate, acuminate at apex, embraced by the long projection from one side of the apex of the distal funicle joint which reaches to distal three-fourths of the club. funicles and narrowest, grading into , all subquadrate, longest, a little longer than wide and subequal to the pedicel; wider than long. postmarginal vein a little longer than the slender, curved stigmal, about a third the length of the marginal. stigmal vein parallel, in general trend, with the costal margin. two females, mountains near claremont (c. f. baker). _types_: catalogue no. , u. s. national museum, the females on tags, a fore wing and an antennae on a slide. the abdomen is subpetiolate; it was distinctly, quadrately petiolate in a male specimen of _cleonymus depressus_ in the u. s. national museum. _entedon occidentalis_ girault several specimens, claremont, california (c. f. baker). _isosoma grande_ riley one winged female, mountains near claremont, california (c. f. baker). _metapleura spectabilis_ westwood one female, claremont, california (c. f. baker). the rose flea-beetle (_haltica probata_ fall) g. f. moznette, assistant entomologist, oregon agricultural college, corvallis, oregon introduction from a careful perusal of the literature it is apparent that scarcely anything but the original description of _haltica probata_ fall appears in print. as this species has at various times been reported on several of our cultivated plants, and as there is some possibility of its becoming destructive to our cultivated roses, observations have been made from time to time and this paper brings together, so far as possible, the recorded facts concerning the species. history and distribution of the species the species was first described by dr. h. c. fall in .[a] mr. arthur gibson[b] mentions it as attacking leaves of strawberry plants at nelson, british columbia. the species is referred to as _haltica evicta_ lec., but after a comparison with specimens in the writer's collection and later in dr. fall's collection at pasadena, california, i am led to believe that the species reported by mr. gibson as _evicta_ is not _evicta_ but _probata_. it has been reported from spokane, washington, on strawberries, and at various times has been reported feeding on cultivated crops in oregon. the species is distributed along the pacific coast from british columbia to california. it has been reported from nelson in british columbia; everett and spokane in washington; from corvallis, pamelia lake, mary's peak, the three sisters, and josephine county in oregon; and from santa rosa, belmont, siskiyou, and trinity counties in california. [footnote a: transactions of the american entomological society of america, vol. , pp.] [footnote b: canadian entomological circular no. . - .] seasonal life-history and habits of the species with the approach of warm weather in the spring, when the buds of the wild rose are showing their green, the little bronze beetles (pl. i, fig. ) come from their winter quarters, about the middle of april or earlier depending on the spring weather conditions, and commence feeding on the tender small leaves of the expanding buds. the beetles possess a very brilliant lustre and when approached manifest a saltatorial habit, and may leap for a considerable distance. the insect passes the winter in the adult stage and during that time may be found concealed in convenient places. the writer has taken numerous individuals from beneath the moss of the scrub oak, which grows abundantly along the creeks in the willamette valley in oregon. the first individuals were taken on april , , feeding on a species of wild rose, _rosa nukatana_ presl. near corvallis, oregon. the adults were at the time resting in the sun on the dried fruits of the rose and also on the moss which covered the oaks. in , the first beetles were out on march or somewhat earlier. sometimes the march weather is too severe so that the beetles do not appear until later, and the inclement weather frequently puts a stop to the activity of the beetles and retards oviposition. after emerging from their hibernating quarters, the beetles jump or fly to the nearest rose bush and soon begin to satisfy their appetite after the long winter's fast. at this time the tender bursting rose buds seem to be the favorite food, and the beetles engorge themselves with bites from the prospective crop of leaves, then locked up in the buds. the beetles seem to be most active during the warmer sunshiny portions of the day, when they may be seen jumping and flying about the rose bushes. when touched or jarred, they at once drop quickly to the ground, where they feign death for a short time, later returning to the foliage. their shining bronze color renders it easy to discover and watch them at their destructive work. they begin gnawing an unsightly hole into either the side or top of the bursting leaf bud, often boring into the bud so far as to be almost hidden from view. it usually takes the beetles a few days to satisfy their vigorous spring appetites; then they turn their attention to the propagation of their kind. the later emerging adults feed voraciously on the foliage (pl. i, fig. ) eating out irregular places in the leaves. many individuals were found in copulo on april , , and on april , . eggs were laid in great numbers april , , but not until the first of may in , due to a long stretch of cold wet weather. by may many eggs were to be found but usually no larvae. the eggs are laid in masses (pl. i, fig. ) of from two to fifteen in a cluster with an average of between seven and nine. they are deposited usually on the lower surface of the leaf. no eggs are deposited until the foliage is well along usually, as this is the food of the larvae. the writer observed a female during oviposition. she thrusts out the egg and by a mucilagenous substance causes the egg to adhere fast to the leaf. she decorates the egg, as it were, with a fluid which later turns black and appears as a streak across the ova. the adults do not live long after egg deposition, usually about a week and a half. a number of females were observed to lay from forty to fifty eggs each. the length of the egg stage was found to vary considerably even in the insectary, due no doubt largely to the weather conditions. in indoor observations it ranged from seven to fifteen days, with an average of twelve. in the open, eggs under screen cloth were deposited on may , , and hatched june , , a duration of seventeen days. by june, , practically all of the egg masses had hatched and scarcely an adult could be found anywhere. the larvae are at first yellow, changing over to a black after a short period of time (pl. i, fig. ). the eggs split at the side when the young emerge and the larvae remain quiet for some time apparently feeding first on the remaining egg juices. after a while they begin to move about for convenient feeding spots. the larvae moult three times, and after each moulting appear yellow, soon changing to a black. several of the grubs usually work on the same leaf, continuing to eat small irregular holes, through, or nearly through, the leaf until it appears skeletonized (pl. i, fig. ), when they seek new pastures. when full grown the larvae drop to the soil and after burrowing to a depth of about an inch or less, they construct soil cells of earth (pl. i, fig. ), not unlike the cell of the common cherry and pear slug, in which they pupate. by july , , many larvae were falling to the soil. the length of the larval stage varies from fifteen to twenty-five days with an average of twenty days. by july many pupae (pl. i, fig. ) were found in the soil. the writer neglected to ascertain the exact length of the pupal stage, but from the meager observations made up to this time ventures the opinion that it is about eighteen days. by the first of august many adults could be found. they are a beautiful metallic color when just emerged. the writer bred from the adults a species of diptera a _tachinid_ but has not been able to ascertain the species. subsequent observation revealed no eggs, so undoubtedly the species is single brooded. the life-cycle is calculated to last about fifty-five days from eggs to adults, but this is greatly influenced by the weather conditions. the length of the adult stage is about ten months, depending, of course, upon the time the warm days approach in the spring and upon the cold stretches which intervene, conditions which influence emergence from their hibernating quarters. description of the various stages the eggs (pl. i, fig. ) are of an orange color, oblong oval or bean-shaped. the egg has a delicate covering by which it is attached to the leaf. nearly every egg has a sort of spine-shape structure attached, although it is not exactly a spine but a part of the egg covering, which, when it has dried, gives it a black streaked appearance at that point. the egg measures mm. in length by . mm. in width. the larvae (pl. i, fig. ) when full grown have the body wider at the anterior end, tapering gradually to the anal segment and covered with many hairs. they are covered with an oily substance in which they often collect their excrement as they feed and travel. the entire larva is black and the segments of the body possess numerous tubercles bearing setae. each segment of the abdomen has a group of tubercles on a side above the spiracles. when full grown the larvae measure from to mm. in length. the pupa (pl. i, fig. ) is yellow, to mm. in length, with the wing pads and legs of a paler yellow to nearly white. two setae are located on the vertex and two on the occupit of head. the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax bear spines varying in number. the abdomen possesses three rows of setae on each side above the spiracles. the adult (pl. i, fig. ) is green bronze, entire upper surface polished and strongly shining sculpture throughout, nearly as in _haltica ignita_. antennæ piceous, slightly more than half the length of the body, joints - - gradually increasing in length, the fourth very nearly three times as long as wide. eyes rather small and not very prominent, their width as seen from the front distinctly less than half the interocular distance. prothorax two-thirds wider than long, sides parallel in basal half, convergent anteriorly. elytra fully two-thirds as wide as long, and nearly three-fourths wider than the prothorax. body beneath piceous; abdomen alutaceous, rather coarsely punctate and transversely rugulose. length . mm. to mm. explanation of plate figure . the adult beetle (greatly enlarged). figure . the adult beetle (natural size). figure . eggs in situ on leaf greatly enlarged. figure . pupa greatly enlarged. figure . rose leaves showing work of adult beetles. figure . pupal soil cell. figure . larvae at work skeletonizing leaf. [illustration] notes on birds of laguna beach and vicinity for h. h. nininger in addition to the work done by mr. leon gardener and others on the distribution of birds in the vicinity of laguna beach i noted the following species in the summer of : . _sturna hirundo_ (common tern) this species was found occasionally about the muddy flats at balboa. . _sturna antillarum_ (least tern) the least tern is much more common than the former. they were often seen in small flocks diving for fish along the coast from laguna to balboa. they probably nest along the sandy shores; but none of their nests were taken by the writer. . _puffinis griseus_ (dark bodied shearwater) these birds were found ten to twelve miles from shore, in flocks feeding over schools of fish. they are called by the fishermen "barracuda birds." . _rollus obsoletus_ (calif. clapper rail) found in the swampy tracts about balboa. . _porzana carolina_ (sora rail) a specimen of this rail was taken at one of the lakes in laguna canyon in the latter part of july. . _chordeiles acutipennis_ (texas night hawk) either at dusk or at dawn these birds could be found abundantly, in certain localities, feeding over fields, pools and streams to which they came at dusk, from the hills where they spent the daylight hours. mr. c. c. white found a pair of young almost ready for flight on one of the hills bordering on laguna canyon, july , . . _aeronautes melanoleucus_ (white-throated swift) mr. charles a. keeler in "bird notes afield" ( ) records this species from capistrano. to one accustomed to meeting with this bird only among the high and almost inaccessible cliffs of the mountains it is no little surprise to find it in a district so nearly level as the region about this old mission settlement. but surely it is there. a visit to the place in the latter part of july revealed the fact that they are, seventeen years since mr. keeler's writings, still using the same broken walls as a retreat. i think they are nesting at the time we visited the place, for upon the entrance of an adult into one of the crevices there came cries of young birds which seemed to be coming from birds that were being fed. a. _astragalinus p. hesperophilus_ (green-backed goldfinch) common around laguna and the neighboring hills. nests with eggs were found, probably the second brood for the season. . _vireo vicinior_ (gray vireo) found along the streams near capistrano. a. _wilsonia pusilla pileolata_ (pileolated warbler) fairly common in trees along streams near capistrano. . _pandion haliaetus carolinensis_ (american osprey) one of these magnificent birds was found on the rocky cliffs bordering the shore between laguna and balboa. it was seen several times and was reasonably tame. breeding notes in addition to the nests of the more common birds the following were noted: several raven nests on the cliffs bordering the shore and are in boat canyon about a mile from the sea were found deserted, but feathers of their owners and the remains of their food betrayed their identity. a brood of ruddy ducks was seen on one of the lakes in laguna canyon several times. coots were found breeding about the lakes in abundance. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) solpugids from the claremont-laguna region j. nisbet the following list of solpugids represents a collection obtained by students and others during the past four or five years. drawings are given of one large specimen and top and side views of the head region of several others. the determinations are by dr. n. banks. _eremobates formicaria_ koch this species has been taken from our region although such large specimens have been reported only from dryer regions. this specimen, a male is from brawley, cal. (figs. and ). figs. and were taken from a young specimen collected at claremont. the movable finger of the cheliceræ of the male has two large teeth. anterior margin of rephalothorix straight. hind tarsi one segment. _eremobates californica_ sim. the drawings are from a specimen taken at laguna beach (figs. and ). specimens were also taken at claremont. movable finger of the cheliceræ with a large tooth. this is not so marked in the female. hind tarsi one segment. _hemerotrecha californica_ banks specimens were obtained at claremont. upper finger of cheliceræ without teeth or many small teeth. male has an elongated flayellow of two parts on the upper finger of chalicera. hind tarsi with three joints. specimens obtained were about evenly divided between this and the previous species (figs. , , and ). (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) explanation of figures figure . _eremobates formicaria_ koch. × . figure . _eremobates formicaria_ koch, side view of cheliceræ. × . figures - . cheliceræ from young _e. formicaria_. × . figures - . cheliceræ from _e. californica_ sim. × . figures - . cheliceræ from _hemerotrecha californica_ banks, views of the cheliceræ. × . figures - . _h. californica_ views of cheliceræ, another specimen. × . [illustration: ] [illustration: , , , , , , , , ] record of two pseudoscorpions from claremont-laguna region winifred t. moore _garypus californicus_ banks description: fig. . length mm. color: cephalothorax and pedipalps dark brown, abdomen and legs light yellow; each abdominal scutae with a dark central spot; anterior ventral scutae also with dark spots. cephalothorax emarginate; four eyes; femur of pedipalps longer than cephalothorax, tibia hardly convex on inner side, hand about as long as tibia, fingers longer than hand; legs long and slender. habitat: specimen found under rocks near ocean at laguna beach, collected by walter sturgis. _chelanops pallipes_ banks description: fig. . length mm. including mandibles. color: cephalothorax light reddish brown, pedipalps darker, abdomen and legs pale yellow. similar to c. dorsalis, but fingers a little longer than hand; no eye spots, clavate hairs found on all parts of two types, on legs and pedipalps more clavate on one side (fig. ) on body evening clavate (fig. ). simple hairs found on under surface of tarsus. all parts covered with small chiton plates. habitat: specimens taken from under stones in wash near claremont. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) explanation of figures figure . _garypus californicus._ × . figure . _chelanops pallipes._ × . figure . hair from legs and pedipalps of _c. pallipes_ much enlarged. figure . hair from body of _c. pallipes_ much enlarged. [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] the central nervous system of a sipunculid william a. hilton a number of specimens of the genus phascolosoma were obtained at laguna beach. these were preserved in various fluids. flemming's fluid and mercuric chloride, were especially valuable for study. the nerve cords were dissected out and mounted after staining. some were imbedded, sectioned and stained. the stain which brought out the cells with greatest clearness was copper haematoxylin. the general character of the nervous system of sipunculids is well known, and the specimens examined at this time were typical as to the form of the brain and cord. the brain is imbedded in the proboscis just below the tentacles. it has a similar appearance in section to the photographs of spengel, . the brain is small. two main branches supply nearby tentacles and muscles. there is a pair of small branches from the connectives. extending from the epithelium of the tentacular region is a pair of tubes leading into the brain, the cerebral organs. these epithelial tubes lead to a pigmented area on each side, and these pigmented areas in section look like simple eyes. a few irregular spots of pigment were found near the larger masses. the epithelium at the outer end of the tube was also deeply pigmented. throughout the body the ventral nerve cord kept about the same width, although the muscle bands at the sides increased somewhat. the strands connecting the muscles and nerves to the animal's body were more or less regularly arranged. in specimens with the proboscis drawn in, the nerve cord is of course doubled back on itself. in the specimen drawn at the junction of the two parts, that of the proboscis and that of the ventral body-wall, there is a lack of lateral branches, as shown in the upper portion of the second line of the drawing. towards the caudal end the lateral branches come off more irregularly. when the animal is contracted the nerve cord seems to be segmented, but sections show that this appearance is due to the slight folding of the nerve cord within the muscle bands; the nerve tissue does not seem to be elastic. very little has been written on the histological structure of sipunculids. haller, , discusses a number of points, especially in _sipunculus nudus_, relating to the ventral cord only. i find a number of differences in this form. i did not find any very clear evidence of special neuroglia cells, such as described and figured by haller, such elements may be present, but at least they are not evident, not so evident as in many other invertebrates which i have examined. nerve cells may anastomose with each other as shown in haller's figure, but of this i can not be sure. if fibres do not unite they are in very intimate contact. in the ventral cord no small fibrils were seen only rather small fibers which may have been fibrils. the lack of connective material in part at least, perhaps because the nervous system is often extended and folded, shows the cell processes with great distinctness. this may be why a clearer picture than usual is presented of the relationship of cells. cells are abundant on the ventral side of the cord, especially in the middle line. the more dorsal fibrous region is practically without cells of any kind. no very marked tracts of fibers are evident, the fibers are about equally distributed in all directions and may be subdivided as follows: . fibers which enter the fibrous mass from cells and run short distances up and down. . fibers which pass from cells to other cells near by in the cellular area. . fibers which leave the ganglion laterally from ventral cells. . fibers which enter from the lateral nerves to end in the fiber area or in among the cells. there are no indications of long fibers, either ascending or descending. after the examination of the cord of this animal one is impressed with the suggestion that many cells of similar sort act alike, that is groups of cells, not individuals are involved in the simplest transmissions of impulses. this general suggestion which, of course, is not new, comes to mind with great clearness after the study of thin sections of the cord of this animal. whether the cells actually anastomose or not is a question hard to decide, but in the numerous contacts of naked fibers there is, i believe, ample opportunity for the transmission of complex changes from cell to cell, to all parts of the nervous system. in this form there is no particular localization of definite centers. the brain differs in structure from the cord, the central fibrous mass is more dense, the cells are very much smaller and more numerous. some cells of the brain send their fibers out directly without the common pathway of a distinct nerve trunk. no special features of the brain were determined except the cerebral organs already described. _andreae_ beitrag zur anatomie und histologie des sipunculus nudus. zeit. f. wiss. zool. t. xxxvi. _andrews, e. a._ notes on the anatomy of sipunculus gouldii pourt. studies biol. lab. j. h. univ. vol. iv. _delage et herouard_ traite de zoologique concrete. les vermidiens. vol. v. paris. _haller, b._ beitrage zur kenntniss der textur des central nervensystem hoherer wurmer. arb. des zoolog. inst. wien tom. viii. heft . _marcel, a. herubel_ recherches sur sipunculides. chap. iv. le system nerveux. mem. soc. d. france. t. xx. _melalnikoff, s._ zeit. wiss. zool. bd. lxviii. _herubel, a._ sur le cerveux du phascolosome. ac. d. paris, cxxiv. _spengel, j. w._ beitrage zur kenntnis der gephyren. zeit. wiss. zool. bd. xxxiv. _ward, h. b._ some points on the anatomy and history of sipunculus nudus. bull. mus. comp. zool. harvard college. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) explanation of figures figure . central nervous system of phascolosoma × . the cord is shown in three separate pieces. the lower end of the first or left-hand drawing should join with the second and so on. the central nerve band is shown with the lateral branches of muscle and nerve. the brain is shown attached to the first segment at the left. the pigment spots, cerebral tubes and chief nerves are shown. the brain is drawn from reconstructions made from serial sections. figure . cross section of the nerve cord. × . figure . longitudinal section of the nerve cord. × . figures to . drawings of sections taken through the brain at various levels, only one-half is shown in each case. × . [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] [illustration: ] littoral ascidians collected at laguna beach the specimens reported upon are from a collection made by p. a. lichti during the summer of , and from a small collection brought in during the summer of . the determinations of all but the fifth were kindly made by prof. w. e. ritter. _ascidia californica_ ritter and forsythe these simple forms were found quite abundantly under stones and in kelp holdfasts. the form of the body was determined largely by the position the animal took on the stone or seaweed. _styela barnharti_ ritter and forsythe the specimens obtained were young, simple, of a redish-brown color and about mm. high. they were found under stones at low tide but not as commonly as some others. _styla montereyensis_ dall a single specimen of this large, simple species was taken just off shore. it was slender at the base, expanded near the openings and of a redish-brown color. _euherdmania claviformis_ ritter this slender species was often found in clusters under stones. they were about mm. in diameter and - mm. long, sometimes free from sand, at other times covered with sand grains. _goodsiria dura_ ritter bright red or orange masses of these were often found in bits of seaweed from deeper water. the individuals were to mm. across and often closely massed on the seaweed or other support. _eudistoma diaphones_ ritter and forsythe this was the common compound species found closely attached to the lower sides of stones. it was often quite extensive but not thick or colored. _eudistoma psamion_ ritter and forsythe great masses of this tough, pinkish or slightly colored form were found under rock ledges. it resembles one of the sponges in general appearance and is found in among sponges and polyzoans. this was one of the most bulky forms which we found. _glossophorum planum_ ritter and forsythe irregular masses of this species were found under rock ledges and under stones. our specimens are largely covered with sand grains. _distaplia occidentalis_ ritter and forsythe this compound stalked form was found on a rock ledge at low tide near salt creek. w. a. h. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) summer school at laguna beach the summer school at laguna beach during the past season was in many respects the most valuable of the past five or six years. there were more students, more teachers and fully as many visitors. the harvest of specimens was very satisfactory. many creatures not before gathered here were brought from the nearby waters. amphioxus was obtained here for the first time, as well as many other interesting and valuable specimens. [illustration] several new courses were offered. a course in ecology was given by professor bean. in this the local distribution of animals was especially studied. a similar course is to be offered this summer to those who have had some zoology. it is believed that this work will bring greater and greater advantages to us here as we come to know the local conditions better. in the nature of the material this will always be to a large extent a field study. the course in birds given by professor nininger was interesting and valuable. a number of new records for this region were obtained during the summer. [illustration] for the first time miss hills gave a course in drawing in connection with zoological subjects. this much-needed and valuable work will be continued during the coming summer, not only in a special course, but also in an optional way in connection with several of the other courses. [illustration] in connection with the ecology especially, more off-shore collecting was done than ever before. a number of longer trips were found interesting and valuable. laguna at all times offers attractive walks and many short trips were taken by all classes. some of these were for a few miles along the coast, back in the hills or by water or land for a considerable distance. the rocks and coves were again explored, yet much remains unknown. many new specimens to the locality were found, some of these were from deeper water, rare fish, large sea cucumbers, a large number of strange crabs and many other smaller but no less interesting creatures. as in the past, a number of workers from other institutions used the private laboratories. the eight research rooms were in use most of the time by those doing more advanced work. it is expected that there will be a number of advanced workers from the northern and eastern universities during the coming season. for the first time the laboratory is provided with a satisfactory lighting system. electricity is now established at laguna beach and the laboratory and tent city are well provided with an ample lighting system. the tent city and dining hall will again offer accommodations at reasonable prices. the cost of tuition is $ . general charge and $ . an hour per hour taken. by an hour is meant the equivalent of an hour's work in a regular college semester. there are eight private rooms for special investigators. for further information write to the director, william a. hilton, pomona college, claremont, cal. (laguna beach, cal., from june to september .) courses offered at the summer school of the laguna beach biological laboratory to reach laguna beach from los angeles take the electric or santa fe to santa ana. from santa ana a morning stage leaves at ten, an afternoon stage at four. work begins june and regular courses last six weeks, but the laboratory is open all summer. no one may register for more than six hours. by an hour is included the equivalent of an hour's work during a regular college semester. the staff of the laguna marine laboratory for the summer will be as follows, several others from eastern institutions may be added later. william a. hilton, pomona college, director _zoology_ dr. r. v. chamberlin, harvard university museum of comparative zoology _zoology_ e. o. essig, department of entomology university of california _entomology_ anna a. hills _scientific drawing_ . s. b. . zoology ( hours). a synopsis of marine invertebrates. lectures and class exercises with early morning field trips. prerequisite biology a , or open to those who are taking some other biological work. m. to f. at . a. s. b. . zoology. marine invertebrates ( hour if taken with , or hours). laboratory on typical local forms. mornings to , except saturday. . s. b. . general entomology ( to hours). class laboratory and field work in the general study of local insects. prerequisite biology a , or zoology b , or may be accompanied by one of these. class period m. to f. at . laboratory and field work at hours to be arranged. . s. a . general biology ( hours). a beginning course dealing with general principles. open to those who have had no biological work and who have either entered college or are about to enter. class periods m. to f. at . laboratory and field work afternoons. . s. c. . ecology ( or hours). class, field and laboratory work at hours to be arranged. a study of local land and aquatic societies and the factors governing the distribution of marine, fresh water and land forms. prerequisite, a year of biological work. class periods m. w. f. at . . s. c. . nature study ( or hours). methods and materials for nature study. this will be given in the evening when a lantern may be used. a general view of the whole field will be given either for those who are teaching, those who intend to teach, or those who desire the general not technical information. this is not a course for college credit. m. to f. evening at : . laboratory and field work to be arranged. this will be given by a number of teachers. . s. d. . mammalian embryology ( hours). laboratory work with serial sections of embryos. prerequisite two years of zoological work. a review course for those in the practice of medicine or preparing for medical work. hours to be arranged. . s. d. . neurology ( or hours). laboratory work with sections of the human brain and cord. a review course open only to those who have some knowledge of the central nervous system of vertebrates. especially designed for those who have interest in neurology, psychology or medicine. in addition to these courses special c. or d. work for or hours may be taken as follows: _a._ special field and laboratory work with some group of marine animals, such as amphipods, isopods, decapods, gastropods, etc. _b._ special field and laboratory work in entomology, either with some single order or family, or life history work. _c._ special field and laboratory work in the embryology of invertebrates. _d._ special field and laboratory work in ecology. hours to be arranged. _e._ special field and laboratory work in marine algæ. hours to be arranged. the following work in art will be offered by miss anna a. hills: . s. a . art ( hours) zoological drawing. a beginning course for students of biology with marine and land specimens as material. this course will be an aid to any who may wish to prepare illustrations for scientific papers or books. pen and ink, pencil and colored methods will be given. tuition the same as in other courses. students furnish their own drawing materials. . outdoor sketch class with either water colors or oils--oils preferred. . outdoor figure work. especially arranged for if desired by those who have done out-of-door work. rates for two and three, cents per hour. each should be taken in three periods of three hours each. miss hills has had the following preparation: student in olivet college, art institute, chicago; graduate of cooper union, new york city; special work under rhoda holmes nicholls and arthur w. dow, new york. during four years study in europe worked under wilhelmina h. de koning in holland, jean paul laurens and william lappara in julian's academy, paris, and in england two years out of doors under j. noble barlow. =================================================================== supply department laguna marine laboratory laguna beach, orange county, california zoological specimens for class and museum marine and fresh water forms determined insects for school collections microscopic preparations of all sorts, both whole mounts and sections zoological charts in colors anatomical models and dissections all orders for material should be sent in not later than august st attention given to special material from september th to june th, address department zoology, pomona college, claremont, california. from june th until september th, address supply department laguna marine laboratory laguna beach, california =================================================================== living protozoa, hydroids, planarians, rotifers, frogs, lizards and salamanders may be furnished if time is given. enough for a class of twelve of any one of the first four, $ . . frogs, lizards and salamanders may be furnished at from $ . to $ . a dozen. towings from the ocean, per bottle $ . simple sponges, per dozen . other sponges, per dozen . small hydroids, per vial . large tubularian hydroids, per dozen . to . fresh water planarians, per dozen . salt water planarians, per dozen . small round worms, per dozen . sipunculid worms, per dozen . marine annelids, per dozen . to . leeches, per dozen . polyzoa, per bottle . starfish, small to large, per dozen . to . sea urchins, per dozen . to . sea cucumbers, large, per dozen . synapta, per dozen . serpent stars, small to large, per dozen . to . mussels, medium to large, per dozen . to . pectens or cockles, per dozen . to . snails, small, per dozen . sea hares, per dozen . salt water snails, large, per dozen . limpets, large, per dozen . land slugs, per dozen . chitons, medium sized, per dozen . chitons, large, per dozen . barnacles, large, per dozen . shore crabs, per dozen . rock crabs, large, per dozen . small lobster-like forms, per dozen . to . ascidians, simple or compound . amphioxus, medium to large, each . to . small fish, per dozen . to . devilfish or octopus, each . to . =================================================================== eggs or young crabs, lobsters, starfish, etc., can be furnished either mounted and stained for microscopic examination or in bottles. amphipods, isopods, etc., can be furnished at any time. the following land animals can be furnished at from c to $ . a dozen preserved in alcohol or formalin. spiders, phalangids, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, dragon and damsel fly larvæ, aquatic beetle larvæ, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, bugs, beetles, etc. determined collections of marine shells a set of fifty species $ . determined marine crustacea a set of forty species $ . determined marine invertebrates a set of local starfish, sea urchins, etc. $ . determined and mounted insects a set of all the important orders, labeled and in a box or case $ . a mounted collection of fifty common beetles, determined and labeled . a set of butterflys, mounted and labeled . other sets of determined insects may be obtained to order. zoological charts these are made on cloth and may be made to order. the charts may be in colors and cost from $ . to $ . each, according to the details. special prices given on anatomical, physiological, zoological or entomological diagrams in one or several colors. zoological or anatomical models in clay or wax and in colors these also may be made to order, their cost depends upon the complexity. the following are some of the series: brains of the chief vertebrate groups, set of six $ . to $ . anatomy of clam, earthworm, starfish . models of the development of the frog . models of the development of the chick, etc. (over) =================================================================== zoological or histological microscopic slides sections of starfish, whole small starfish, young crustacea, etc., sections of organs for classes in physiology. these slides will be made to order from any animal or any tissue for from cents to cents a slide with reduction in price for sets of twelve or more. serial sections of embryos of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish or invertebrate embryos or adults will be made to order at from cents to cents a slide, depending upon the stain and character of the object. prices include preservatives and containers in most cases. =================================================================== the ka binocular microscope [illustration] is of great value in all biological work where low and medium powers are employed. in embryology the true stereoscopic image shows the relative position of important details. this feature is of great assistance to the student and makes the instructor's work easy. _write for booklet_ bausch & lomb optical co. of california sutter st., san francisco, cal. =================================================================== _the_ journal _of_ zoological research _edited by_ _walter e. collinge, m. sc., f. l. s., f. e. s._ _the gatty marine laboratory_ _the university, st. andrews, scotland_ the subject matter is strictly confined to original zoological research--systematic and anatomical. fully illustrated by lithographic plates and text figures. each volume will consist of parts, price $ . _all subscriptions should be forwarded to_ messrs. dulau & co., ltd. soho square, london, w., england --------------------------- griffith incubators [illustration] a simple, well constructed bacteriological incubator --------------------------- the journal of parasitology a quarterly devoted to medical zoology this journal will be a medium for the prompt publication of briefer papers and research notes on animal parasites. emphasis laid on the morphology, life history and biology of zooparasites and the relations of animals to disease. subscription, $ . a volume managing editor, henry b. ward, univ. illinois, urbana, ill. =================================================================== =gage--the microscope= an introduction to microscopic methods and to histology by simon h. gage. twelfth edition in press. entirely rewritten, and with many new illustrations. price $ . . this work aims to give help to everyone who uses the microscope, whether he is a beginner or an advanced worker. =comstock--a manual for the study of insects= by john henry comstock, professor of entomology in cornell university, and anna botsford comstock, member of the society of american wood-engravers. vo. cloth, ix. + pages, figures in the text, and six full page plates. nearly all of the figures were engraved especially for this work. postpaid $ . ; net $ . . this handbook is designed to meet the needs of teachers in the public schools and of students in high schools and colleges. =needham--general biology= a book of outlines and practical studies for the general student by james g. needham, professor of limnology and general biology in cornell university. cloth vo. xiv. + pages; figures, mostly original. postpaid $ . . this book is expressly designed to help the general student obtain a comprehensive grasp of the principles of biology. =comstock--handbook of nature-study= by anna botsford comstock, lecturer in nature-study in cornell university. cloth vo. xviii. + pages, more than , illustrations. prices, postpaid: bound in one volume, $ . ; bound in two volumes, $ . ; volume i., including animal life, $ . ; volume ii., including plant life, $ . . sample pages sent on application. a handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the cornell nature-study leaflets, with much additional material and many new illustrations. =gage--optic projection= by simon henry gage, professor emeritus of histology and embryology in cornell university, and henry phelps gage, ph. d. this work of over pages and with over figures is of especial interest to workers in all fields of biology in that it deals especially with the use of the projection microscope for demonstrations and for drawing. it also gives the fundamental principles of all the forms of projection. a -page circular will be sent on request. postpaid, $ . . =riley--handbook of medical entomology= by wm. a. riley, ph. d., professor of insect morphology and parasitology in cornell university and o. a. johannsen, ph. d., professor of biology in cornell university. a concise account of poisonous, and disease-carrying insects and their allies, including descriptions and illustrations of the principal species, with keys for their determination, and method of control. bound library buckram, medium vo. nearly pages. price $ . net. the comstock publishing company cornell heights, ithaca, n. y. =================================================================== choice mineral specimens it affords this establishment pleasure to state that though we are over fifty years old we are still seeking with youthful energy new finds of choice mineral specimens. a few of our recent additions will show from what widely distributed areas we draw: =japan=: =chalcopyrite= in groups of sharp crystals, some of them beautifully iridescent. =stibnite=, brilliant crystals, to inches long. =hokutolite=, a new radio-active barium-lead silicate. =reinite=, in large, sharp crystals. =quartz twins=, fine, large crystals. =rhodesia=: =malachite=, beautiful polished specimens showing concentric banding. =hopeite=, in small groups of excellent crystals. =madagascar=: =betafite=, a new uranium niobate, in good crystals. =euxenite=, good crystals. =beryl=, in large brown crystals with pyramidal faces. =california=: =tourmaline=, polished transverse sections of large crystals of rich red and green colors. =kunzite=, superb gem crystals. =benitoite= and =neptunite= in fine crystals and groups. =greenockite= on =magnetite=, uncommonly good. =utah=: =willemite=, drusy masses of colorless and red crystals. =aurichalcite=, singularly beautiful robin's-egg blue, crystallized coatings. =nova scotia=: =magnesite= in groups of small distinct hexagonal crystals. new lots of fine specimens are constantly arriving. ask for price-list no. . cheap minerals are described in no. . circular no. enumerates all of our many catalogues and price-lists. ward's natural science establishment - college avenue rochester, n. y. =================================================================== entomological news a forty-eight page illustrated magazine, published monthly except august and september, devoted to the study of insect life. it contains a list of the titles of the current entomological literature, and also articles by the leading entomologists in the united states and canada. valuable information for the beginner, the economic entomologist and the systematist. to new subscribers, $ . ; renewals, $ . ; payable in advance. single copies cents. address entomological news race street, philadelphia, pa. =================================================================== class work material can be procured at any time of the year from c. s. brimley, zoologist newberne avenue raleigh, n. c., u. s. a. twenty-one years' experience price list on application =================================================================== to entomologists i can supply entomologists with all orders of insects from all parts of the world, as i am continually receiving fresh consignments from my own collectors. general lists of lepidoptera and coleoptera on application; also special lists of sphingidæ, over species, of pieridæ in papers, over species. collections just received from natal, madagascar, peru, ivory coast, french guiana, java and argentine; selections of these at low rates. particulars on application. e. le moult rue duméril, paris xiii, france =================================================================== do business by mail it's profitable, with accurate lists of prospects. our catalogue contains vital information on mail advertising. also prices and quantity on , national mailing lists, % guaranteed. such as: war material mfrs. axle grease mfrs. cheese box mfrs. railroad employees shoe retailers contractors tin can mfrs. fly paper mfrs. druggists foundries auto owners farmers wealthy men fish hook mfrs. ice mfrs. feather duster mfrs. doctors hotels write for this valuable reference book. ross-gould, h olive street, st. louis. ross-gould mailing lists st. louis =================================================================== pomona college located in one of the most healthful and beautiful parts of the west coast. the mountains reach an elevation of ten thousand feet within a few miles of the college and these with the nearby ocean afford many special advantages for the study of things not in books. special advantages are afforded by the fact that the college limits its attendance, the freshman class being restricted to two hundred applicants. the success of the college is particularly indicated by the large proportion of the graduates who proceed to advanced work in the large universities. in addition, well-manned departments of music and art afford exceptional advantages. for further information, address secretary of pomona college claremont, california transcriber note the use of ligatures was standardized within each article. in the first article about whip-scorpions, the genus and species names were standardized to _trithyreus pentapeltis_ cook. transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). * * * * * [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ ocelot from central america. this is one of the most beautifully marked of all mammals. the ornamental colouring is seldom quite the same in any two specimens.] the . . living animals of the world a popular natural history an interesting description of beasts, birds, fishes reptiles, insects, etc., with authentic anecdotes [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz. berlin_] vol. i. mammals by c. j. cornish, m.a., f.z.s. (_editor._) f. c. selous sir harry johnston, g.c.m.g., k.c.b. c. h. lane, f.z.s. louis wain w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. h. a. bryden f. g. aflalo, f.z.s. w. saville-kent, f.l.s., f.z.s. with illustrations (including coloured plates) from photographs london: hutchinson & co., paternoster row printed by hazell, watson and viney, ld., london and aylesbury. vol. i. contents. chap. page introduction i _book i. mammals._ i. apes, monkeys, and lemurs ii. the cat tribe iii. the fossa, civets, and ichneumons iv. the hyÆnas and aard-wolf v. the dog family vi. the bears vii. the smaller carnivora viii. marine carnivora: the seals, sea-lions, and walrus ix. the rodents, or gnawing animals x. the bats and insect-eating mammals xi. the elephant, tapir, hyrax, and rhinoceros xii. the horse tribe xiii. the hollow-horned ruminants: oxen, bison, buffaloes, and musk-ox xiv. the sheep and goats xv. the antelopes xvi. the giraffe and okapi xvii. the deer tribe xviii. the camel tribe and the chevrotains xix. the pig and hippopotamus xx. the dugong, manatees, whales, porpoises, and dolphins xxi. the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos xxii. marsupials and monotremes coloured plates. ocelot from central america _facing page_ i the largest gorilla ever captured " " african lion and lioness " " wolf from central europe " " himalayan black bear " " raccoon " " chapman's zebras " " highland cattle " " female kudu " " northern giraffe " " fallow deer " " a hippopotamus gaping " " the great kangaroo " " illustrations in the text. page pekin deer in summer dress i negro boy and apes i skeletons of man and gorilla ii sea-swallows iii african leopard iv east african giraffe iv flying-fox v dolphins v a happy family vi elephants vi giant tortoise vii a group of crocodilians vii somali zebras viii sun-fish viii a young chimpanzee (anger, pleasure, fear) arabian baboon "jenny," the well-known chimpanzee at the zoo a young chimpanzee head of male gorilla a male gorilla young orang-utans baby orang-utans at play two baby orang-utans. the tug-of-war white-handed gibbon hoolock gibbon head of proboscis monkey cross-bearing langur and young male himalayan langur gelada baboons at home mantled guereza diana monkey barbary ape rhesus monkey rhesus monkey and sooty mangabey grey-cheeked mangabey chinese macaque grivet monkey bonnet monkey and arabian baboon rhesus monkeys orange snub-nosed monkey pig-tailed monkey chacma baboon a young male chacma baboon head of male mandrill brown capuchin drill red howler monkey a spider monkey patas monkey wanderoo monkey common squirrel monkey black-eared marmoset humboldt's woolly monkey pig-tailed monkey catching a fly ringed-tailed lemur a dwarf lemur black lemur coquerel's lemur ruffed lemur garnett's galago maholi galago slender loris slow loris tarsier head of aye-aye african lion an unwilling pupil lioness aroused algerian lioness a foster-mother a performing lion lioness and cub a young lioness a happy family a cross between lion and tigress a hungry lion lioness and tiger tigress tiger cub a royal tiger a tiger before sleeping a half-grown tiger cub tigers in italy a leopard-puma hybrid leopards a young leopard snow-leopard, or ounce cheeta jaguar puma female puma ocelot ocelot from central america clouded leopard fishing-cat marbled cat golden cat pampas-cat eyra cat bay cat kaffir cat african chaus, or jungle-cat serval male serval serval climbing european wild cat scotch wild cats lynx european lynx canadian lynx cheetas a cheeta hooded a cheeta on the look-out domestic cats: white short-haired long-haired white mackerel-marked tabby cat carrying kitten blue long-haired, or persian smoke and blue long-haired orange tabby long-haired tabby silver persian smoke long-haired, or persian short-haired blue silver tabby short-haired tabby long-haired orange manx siamese blue long-haired, or persian silver persians long-haired chinchilla the "bun" or "ticked" short-haired cat fossa large indian civet african civet african civet sumatran civet genet two-spotted palm-civet masked palm-civet binturong mongoose meercat spotted hyæna spotted hyæna striped hyæna aard-wolf young grey wolf a growing cub wolf cubs white wolf prairie-wolf, or coyote the wolf with privy paw russian wolf a wolf of the carpathians indian wolf wolf's head russian wolf north african jackal indian jackal maned wolf turkish jackal wild dog dingo dingoes cape hunting-dog fox cubs mountain-fox leicestershire fox too difficult! arctic fox (in summer; changing his coat; in winter) fennec-fox domestic dogs: stag-hound puppies greyhound retriever blood-hound english setter smooth-coated saint bernard great dane dachshund dalmatians newfoundland bull-dogs old english sheep-dog mastiff deer-hound pointer skye terrier corded poodle pomeranian scottish terrier maltese toy terrier butterfly-dog her majesty queen alexandra, with chow and japanese spaniels sand-dog pug and pekinese spaniel fox-terrier blenheim and prince charles spaniels pariah puppies common brown bear an inviting attitude three performing bears european brown bear syrian bear large russian brown bear american black bear young syrian bear from the caucasus a brown bear in search of insects polar bears two polar bears and a brown bear polar bear half-grown polar bears the ice-bear's couch common raccoon raccoon great panda kinkajou young otters two tame otters sea-otter a skunk a badger in the water european badger ratel pine-marten polecat himalayan weasel common stoat (in summer and winter coats) glutton californian sea-lions, or eared seals steller's sea-lion sea-lion sea-lion female walrus male walrus walrus and sea-lion grey seal grey seal harp-seal sea-elephant capybara flying-squirrel flying-squirrel dorsal squirrel from central america asiatic chipmunks red-footed ground-squirrel black fox-squirrel long-tailed marmot prairie-dogs, or marmots american beaver beaver beaver musk-rat gambian pouched rat pocket-gopher long-eared jerboa cape jumping-hare octodont coypu short-tailed hutia porcupine porcupine viscacha chinchilla agutis paca, or spotted cavy pacas, or spotted cavies patagonian cavy wood-hare wild rabbits australian fruit-bat, or "flying-fox" australian fruit-bat tube-nosed fruit-bat pipistrelle bat leaf-nosed bat cobego cobego cobego asleep three baby hedgehogs common mole golden mole a fine tusker a young indian elephant the chief of chiengmai's carriage timber-elephants female indian elephant dragging teak indian elephants bathing african elephant male african elephant drinking malayan tapir common american tapir hairy-eared sumatran rhinoceros great indian rhinoceros great indian rhinoceros black african rhinoceroses one of the same rhinoceroses dead rhinoceros bathing black african rhinoceros sumatran rhinoceros mountain-zebra grevy's zebra burchell's zebra at home the hon. walter rothschild's team of zebras burchell's zebra, chapman's variety mare and foal of burchell's zebra burchell's zebra zebras on table mountain quagga baluchi wild ass male kiang yearling arab colts arab mare arab mares and foals percheron horse hackney and foal ladas florizel ii. shetland pony and foal champion shire stallion shire mare and foal welsh pony polo-pony donkey egyptian donkeys mules english park-cattle english park bull calf of english park-cattle jersey cow spanish cattle young gaur cow gayal indian humped bull indian humped cattle domesticated yak american bull bison european bison american bison cape buffalo domesticated indian buffalo a pair of anoas young bull musk-ox young barbary sheep siberian argali barbary sheep barbary sheep burhal wild sheep punjab sheep fat-tailed sheep four-horned sheep south down sheep merino rams black-faced mountain-sheep leicester ewe cross-bred sheep lonk ram welsh ewes female angora goat angora ram british goat female toggenburg goat stud toggenburg goat schwartzals goat male alpine ibex young male alpine ibex nubian goat italian goat rocky mountain goat himalayan tahr and young bubalino hartebeest biesbok white-tailed gnu and calf a cow brindled gnu red-flanked duiker klipspringer sing-sing waterbuck mountain reedbuck male impala, or palla male saiga antelopes arabian gazelle goitred gazelles from mesopotamia speke's gazelle gazelles from egypt red-fronted gazelle red-fronted gazelle (another view) male springbuck sable antelope roan antelope male of grant's gazelle group of beisa oryx white oryx beisa oryx gerenuk female nilgai addax a pair of young prongbucks female goral harnessed antelope male kudu eland eland cows bull eland the southern giraffe southern giraffe lying down male southern giraffe a giraffe grazing a giraffe browsing male and female giraffes the okapi of the congo forest head of okapi scandinavian reindeer woodland caribou immature scandinavian elk female american elk, or moose park red deer an asiatic wapiti american wapiti american wapiti american wapiti altai wapiti manchurian wapiti calling an axis hind a stag axis, or indian spotted deer a spotted oriental deer a young fallow buck of the brown breed a sambar stag formosan sika stag javan rusa stag hog-deer young male swamp-deer indian muntjac young male chinese water-deer male siberian roe female siberian roe siberian roebuck female european roe deer père david's deer group of virginian deer (two bucks, four does) a mule-deer fawn virginian deer mule-deer stag young marsh-deer young himalayan musk-deer the camel-plough, used in algiers a white camel arabian camel a camel a string of camels near port said head of bactrian camel an old male bactrian camel bactrian camel young bactrian camel guanaco llamas llama alpaca a domesticated sow and her progeny wild boar diving-pigs javan wild pig male and female babirusa wart-hog Ælian's wart-hog head of male wart-hog collared peccary a young collared peccary a three-year-old hippopotamus hippopotamus drinking hippopotamus bathing baby hippopotamus, aged six months dental operations on a hippopotamus , female hippopotamuses a hippopotamus family--father, mother, and young hippopotamus male and female hippopotamuses dugong american manatee narwhal grampus, or killer short-beaked river-dolphin sowerby's beaked whale common porpoise elliott's dolphin risso's dolphin bottle-nosed dolphin heavyside's dolphin northern two-toed sloth three-toed sloth the great ant-eater tamandua ant-eater two-toed ant-eater weasel-headed armadillo hairy-rumped armadillo peba armadillo kapplers' armadillo cape aard-vark the great grey kangaroo silver-grey kangaroo black-striped wallaby bennett's wallaby and the great grey kangaroo albino red kangaroos tasmanian wallaby albino red-bellied wallaby rock-wallaby parry's wallaby parry's wallaby foot of tree-kangaroo brown tree-kangaroo tree-kangaroos gaimard's rat-kangaroo rat-kangaroo from new south wales koala, or australian native bear, and cub koala, or australian native bear koala, or australian native bear squirrel-like flying-phalanger of victoria larger flying-phalanger lesser flying-phalanger pygmy flying-phalanger common grey opossum, or phalanger australian grey opossum, or phalanger front view of grey opossum, or phalanger profile view of grey opossum, or phalanger ring-tailed opossum, or phalanger, and nest spotted cuscus common wombat hairy-nosed wombat common wombat long-nosed australian bandicoot rabbit-bandicoot pouched mole under surface of pouched mole tasmanian wolf tasmanian wolf tasmanian devil spotted dasyures, or australian native cats brush-tailed pouched mouse, or phascogale banded ant-eater yapock, or water-opossum young opossum (natural size) woolly american opossum common or virginian opossum echidna, or ant-eating porcupine tasmanian echidna, or porcupine ant-eater duck-billed platypus _n.b.--the photograph of dolphins on page v was inadvertently attributed to mr. f. g. aflalo. the name of the photographer should have been mr. t. limberg, who kindly gave permission for his capital snap-shot to be reproduced in these pages._ [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn._ pekin deer in summer dress. an example of the white-spotted type of coloration so common among herbivorous mammals.] introduction. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ negro boy and apes. an interesting picture of a negro boy, with a young chimpanzee (left side of figure) and young orang-utan (right side of figure).] the welcome accorded to "the living races of mankind," of which the present work is the natural extension, would be a practical encouragement, if such were needed, to treat of the living races of animals in like fashion. but the interest now taken in natural history is of a kind and calibre never previously known, and any work which presents the wonders of the animal world in a new or clearer form may make some claim to the approval of the public. the means at the disposal of those responsible for the following pages are, by mere lapse of time, greater than those of their predecessors. every year not only adds to the stock of knowledge of the denizens of earth and ocean, but increases the facilities for presenting their forms and surroundings pictorially. photography applied to the illustration of the life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and plants is at once the most attractive and the most correct form of illustration. in the following pages it will be used on a scale never equalled in any previous publication. without straining words, it may be said that the subjects photographed have been obtained from every part of the world, many of them from the most distant islands of the southern ocean, the great barrier reef of australia, the new zealand hills, the indian jungle, the south african veldt, and the rivers of british columbia. photographs of swimming fish, the flying bird, and of the leaping salmon will be reproduced as accurately as those of the large carnivora or the giant ungulates. in accordance with the example now being set by the museum of natural history, the living breeds of domesticated animals will also find a place. [illustration: _by permission of herr umlauff_] [_hamburg._ skeletons of man and gorilla. this photograph shows the remarkable similarity in the structure of the human frame (left) and that of the gorilla (right). this gorilla happened to be a particularly large specimen; the man was of ordinary height.] the time and expenditure employed in illustration will be equalled by the attention given to the descriptive portion of the work. the editor will have the assistance of specialists, eminent alike in the world of science and practical discovery. mr. f. c. selous, for example, will deal with the african lion and the elephants, and other sportsmen with the big game of the dark continent. mr. w. saville-kent, the author of "the great barrier reef of australia," will treat of the marsupials of australia and the reptilia; sir herbert maxwell will write on the salmonidæ, and mr. f. g. aflalo on the whales and other cetacea of the deep seas; while mr. r. lydekker, dr. bowdler sharpe, mr. w. f. kirby, and other specialists have kindly agreed to supervise the work. where possible the illustrations will show the creatures in their natural surroundings, and in all cases the photographic portraits of the animals will, by the nature of things, present true and living pictures, in place of the often curiously incorrect and distorted objects, the product of illustrators' fancy rather than the record of facts, not infrequently seen in previous illustrated natural histories. [illustration: _photo by g. watmough webster & son_] [_chester._ sea-swallows. from their long wings, forked tail, and flight, the terns are popularly called sea-swallows.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ african leopard. an example of the black-spotted type of coloration so prevalent in carnivora.] it is possible that while these pages are in the press discoveries of new animals may be made, or living representatives of creatures supposed to be extinct may be discovered.[ ] one band of explorers is engaged in seeking on the plains of south america for recent remains and possible survivors of the giant ground-sloths. another expedition is engaged, in the island of java, in an even more interesting quest. great as is the difference between even the lowest human intelligence and the mind of the man-like apes, the likeness both in form and action of the latter to man has never failed to suggest that there may have existed, or may even still exist, a higher anthropoid ape nearer to the human being than those now known. the idea has taken shape in the term "the missing link." the phrase is misleading in itself. such a creature would be no more a link in the descent of man than one imperfectly developed limb of a tree is a link between the other branches and the stem. but it was always possible that we might find another branch which had attained a higher type than those terminating in the gorilla or chimpanzee. recent search seems to have discovered the remains of such a creature. [illustration: east african giraffe. this photograph was taken in the wilds of africa by lord delamere, and shows the animal at home. the tree is a mimosa, on the top shoots of which the giraffe habitually feeds.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ flying-fox. this bat, which is a native of australia (where it was photographed), is commonly called the flying-fox. great flocks set out at sunset from the forest to feed upon the indigenous fruits, such as that of the native fig.] [illustration: _photo by f. g. aflalo, f.z.s._ dolphins. this photograph was taken in mid-ocean, and shows a couple of dolphins following a ship across the atlantic.] in the island of java, near one of the homes of the man-like apes of to-day, a naturalist, m. dubois, employed by the dutch government, excavated some fossil-bearing gravels on a river called the solo. these gravels belong to a period when civilised man, at any rate, did not exist. in them he found a great quantity of bones of mammals and of prehistoric crocodiles. there were no perfect skeletons, and it was fairly plain that the bodies of the creatures had been floated down the river, and there pulled to pieces by the crocodiles, just as they are in india to-day. in this place, lying within a distance of about fifteen yards from each other, he made an extraordinary discovery of animal remains. this was no less than the top of the skull of a creature much higher in development than the chimpanzee or gorilla, but lower than the lowest type of human skull. near it were also found two of the teeth and one of the bones of the thigh. the thigh bone resembles very nearly that of a man, though dr. virchow, whom englishmen remember in connection with the fatal illness of the german emperor frederick, considered it did not differ from that of one of the gibbons. the inference is that the creature _walked upright_; and this fact is recorded in its scientific name. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ a happy family. hyæna, tiger, and lions living in amity--a remarkable proof of their tamer's power. in the same park at hamburg, belonging to herr hagenbeck, are also bears, dogs, leopards, and pumas, all loose together.] as regards the skull, some specialists in anthropology said that it was that of a large ape, of a kind of gibbon (a long-armed, upright-walking ape, described later), of a "higher anthropoid ape," and of a low type of man. finally, dr. cunningham, the able secretary of the royal irish zoological society, said it resembled that of a "microcephalous idiot." it is rather strange if the remains of the first and only man found in the lower pleistocene should happen to be those of a microcephalous idiot, for out of many millions of men born there are perhaps only one or two of this type. compared with the head of any of the living apes, it is very large. its brain-holding power is about five to three compared with the skull of a gorilla, and two to one compared with that of a chimpanzee. [illustration: elephants. this is another of lord delamere's east african photographs, and shows a couple of wild elephants in the open.] [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ giant tortoise. this photograph of mr. walter rothschild riding on one of his huge tortoises gives a good idea of the relative sizes of one of the "giant tortoises" and a human being.] [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ a group of crocodilians. a wonder of modern animal-training. the photograph shows a number of living crocodilians with their trainer. they have been on exhibition in florence for some years past, and are still to be seen there.] there is a tradition in sumatra that man-like apes exist, of a higher character than the orang-utan. pending the discovery of more remains, the following extract is worth quoting, as giving shape to current ideas about such creatures both here and among the malays. they take form in a very curious and interesting book, called "the prison of weltevreden," written by walter m. gibson in the middle of the last century. his story is that he was kept in prison at weltevreden, in java, by the dutch, after leading a life of adventure and enquiry among the islands of the south atlantic and indian ocean; that he came in his own small vessel to the malay archipelago, and spent some time in the interior of sumatra, _where he saw apparent evidences of semi-human beings_. he saw the orang-utans in their native forest, and noted that they were covered with red hair, and was surprised at the slowness of their movements. among some men engaged in building a stable for the raja, he saw "a dark form, tall as a middle-sized man, covered with hair, that looked soft and flowing; the arms, hands, legs, and feet seemed well formed, like the malays'; the body was straight, and easily bore, on the right shoulder, the yoke of two heavy panniers filled with material for the building which was going on." gibson says that "the eyes were clearer, the nose fuller, and the lips thinner than those of the common malay, but the mouth was wide, the lips protruding, and a chin formed no part of its hairy face; yet it was pleasantly human in expression," much more so than the dirty, mottle-faced coolies and lascars he had seen. we quote the account, as showing, if true, that gibson saw an anthropoid ape _taught to work_. [illustration: somali zebras. this is a photograph of a group of zebras taken in africa by lord delamere, and gives some idea of the surrounding country, where they live in happy freedom.] it may be a mere coincidence, but it is nevertheless somewhat remarkable that the two great black man-like apes, the chimpanzee and the gorilla, inhabit the same continent as some of the blackest races of mankind, while the red orang-utan is found in countries where the yellow-skinned malay races of man are indigenous. ---- _the special thanks of the editor and publishers are due to a great many naturalists and zoologists for the valuable help they have given to, and the interest they have taken in, this work while it has been in preparation. no doubt, before the complete work is published, a great many more names will be added to the list, but meanwhile grateful acknowledgment should be made to the following:--her grace the duchess of bedford, who has kindly allowed many of her fine photographs to be reproduced in these pages; the hon. walter rothschild, m.p., for the splendid collection of photographs taken especially for him in all parts of the world; lord delamere, for several unique photographs taken with a telephoto lens during his celebrated expedition to africa; major nott, f.z.s., for the use of his scientific series of animal photographs; dr. r. w. shufeldt, of washington, for many photographs of fish and other animals in their natural surroundings; mr. w. saville-kent, f.z.s., f.l.s., for the photographs taken by him while in australia; mr. lewis medland, f.z.s., for the use of his singularly complete set of animal photographs; herr carl hagenbeck, of hamburg, for permission to use his photographs of some extremely rare specimens of animals which from time to time have found a temporary home at his wonderful thierpark; the trustees of the british museum, for permission to photograph some of their animals; professor e. ray lankester, director of the natural history branch of the british museum; and the zoological society, for permission to photograph some of the animals. and also to herr ottomar anschütz, of berlin; messrs. bond & grover, of the scholastic photographic co.; signor alinari, of florence; messrs. kerry & co. and mr. henry king, of sydney; mr. charles knight; mr. j. w. mclellan; messrs. charles and william reid; messrs. a. s. rudland & sons; and messrs. york & sons, for permission to reproduce their photographs._ [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ sun-fish. this photograph was taken through the water by dr. r. w. shufeldt, who has made a speciality of this kind of photography.] [illustration: _photos by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ a young chimpanzee. _anger._ _pleasure._ _fear._] the living animals of the world. _book i. mammals._ ---- chapter i. _apes, monkeys, and lemurs._ ---- the man-like apes. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari, florence._ arabian baboon.] the chimpanzee. of all the great apes the chimpanzee most closely approaches man in bodily structure and appearance, although in height it is less near the human standard than the gorilla, feet being probably that of an adult male. several races of this ape are known, among them the true chimpanzee and the bald chimpanzee. the varieties also include the kulo-kamba, described by du chaillu, and the soko, discovered by livingstone, who confounded it with the gorilla. but the variations in neither of these are sufficiently important to justify their being ranked as species. the first authentic mention of the chimpanzee is found in "the strange adventures of andrew battell." an english sailor taken prisoner by the portuguese in , who lived eighteen years near angola. he speaks of two apes, the pongo and the enjocko, of which the former is the gorilla, the latter the chimpanzee. the animal was first seen in europe in , and described scientifically fifty-eight years later, but we are indebted to dr. savage, a missionary, for our first account of its habits, in . [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ "jenny," the well-known chimpanzee at the zoo. a very characteristic pose. in this picture the rounded ear, human-like wrinkles on the forehead, and length of the toes should be noted.] the chimpanzee, like the gorilla, is found only in africa. the range includes west and central equatorial africa, from the gambia in the north to near angola in the south, while it occurs in the niam-niam country to the north-west of the great lakes, and has been discovered recently in uganda. the new uganda railway, which will open out the great lakes to the east, will bring english travellers well within reach of the nearest haunt of these great apes. it is on the likeness and difference of their form and shape to those of man that the attention of the world has been mainly fixed. the chimpanzee is a heavily built animal, with chest and arms of great power. the male is slightly taller than the female. the crown is depressed, the chin receding, the ridges which overhang the eye-sockets more prominent than in man, less so than in the gorilla. the nose has a short bridge, and a flat extremity. the ear is large, and less human than that of the gorilla. the hands and feet are comparatively long; the digits are, except the thumb and great toe, joined by a web. the arms are short for an ape, reaching only to the knees. the teeth are similar to those of man, and the canines of only moderate size. the chimpanzee has thirteen pairs of ribs, and, like man, has a suggestion at the end of the vertebræ of a rudimentary tail. it walks on all-fours, with the backs of its closed fingers on the ground, and can only stand upright by clasping its hands above its head. the skin is of a reddish or brown flesh-colour, the hair black, with white patches on the lower part of the face. the bald chimpanzee has the top front, and sides of the face bare, exceedingly large ears, thick lips, and black or brown hands and feet. the chimpanzee's natural home is the thick forest, where tropical vegetation ensures almost total gloom. but near loango it frequents the mountains near the coast. it is a fruit-feeding animal, said to do much damage to plantations, but the bald race, at all events in captivity, takes readily to flesh, and the famous "sally" which lived in the zoo for over six years used to kill and eat pigeons, and caught and killed rats. the male chimpanzee builds a nest in a tree for his family, and sleeps under its shelter; when food becomes scarce in the vicinity, a move is made, and a new nest built. this ape lives either in separate families or communities not exceeding ten in number, and is monogamous. as to the animal's courage, it is difficult to get accurate information, as the sins of the gorilla and baboon have often been laid on its shoulders, and information derived from natives is usually untrustworthy. apparently the chimpanzee avoids coming into collision with man, although, when attacked, it is a formidable antagonist. tales of chimpanzees kidnapping women and children need stronger evidence than they have yet obtained. the natives kill this ape by spearing it in the back, or by driving it into nets, where it is entangled and easily dispatched. according to livingstone, the soko, as the chimpanzee is called in east central africa, kills the leopard by biting its paws, but falls an easy prey to the lion. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ a young chimpanzee. this excellent photograph, by major nott, f.z.s., is particularly good, as showing the manner in which these animals use their hands and feet.] in captivity it is docile and intelligent, but usually fails to stand a northern climate for more than a few months. it is easily taught to wear clothes, to eat and drink in civilised fashion, to understand what is said to it, and reply with a limited vocabulary of grunts. sally learnt to count perfectly up to six, and less perfectly to ten; she could also distinguish white from any colour, but if other colours were presented her she failed, apparently from colour-blindness. of this ape the late dr. g. j. romanes wrote with something more than the enthusiasm of a clever man pursuing a favourite theme: "her intelligence was conspicuously displayed by the remarkable degree in which she was able to understand the meaning of spoken language--a degree fully equal to that presented by an infant a few months before emerging from infancy, and therefore higher than that which is presented by any brute, so far at least as i have evidence to show." romanes here speaks _only_, be it noticed, of ability to understand human speech--not to think and act. but this is in itself a great mark of intelligence _on human lines_. "having enlisted the co-operation of the keepers, i requested them to ask the ape repeatedly for one straw, two straws, three straws. these she was to pick up and hand out from among the litter of her cage. no constant order was to be observed in making these requests; but whenever she handed a number not asked for her offer was to be refused, while if she gave the proper number her offer was to be accepted, and she was to receive a piece of fruit in payment. in this way the ape had learnt to associate these three numbers with the names. as soon as the animal understood what was required, she never failed to give the number of straws asked for. her education was then completed in a similar manner from three to four, and from four to five straws. sally rarely made mistakes up to that number; but above five, and up to ten, to which one of the keepers endeavoured to advance her education, the result is uncertain. it is evident that she understands the words seven, eight, nine, and ten to betoken numbers higher than those below them. when she was asked for any number above six, she always gave some number over six and under ten. she sometimes doubled over a straw to make it present two ends, and was supposed (thus) to hasten the attainment of her task." by no means all the chimpanzees are so patient as sally. one kept in the zoological gardens for some time made an incessant noise by stamping on the back of the box in which it was confined. it struck this with the flat of its foot while hanging to the cross-bar or perch, and made a prodigious din. this seems to bear out the stories of chimpanzees assembling and drumming on logs in the central african forests. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ head of male gorilla. this is a photograph of one of the first gorillas ever brought to england. it was sent by the famous m. du chaillu.] the gorilla. the name of this enormous ape has been known since b.c. hanno the carthaginian, when off sierra leone, met with wild men and women whom the interpreter called gorillas. the males escaped and flung stones from the rocks, but several females were captured. these animals could not have been gorillas, but were probably baboons. andrew battell, already mentioned, described the gorilla under the name of pongo. he says it is like a man, but without understanding even to put a log on a fire; it kills negroes, and drives off the elephant with clubs; it is never taken alive, but its young are killed with poisoned arrows; it covers its dead with boughs. dr. savage described it in . later du chaillu visited its haunts, and his well-known book relates how he met and killed several specimens. but mr. winwood reade, who also went in quest of it, declared that du chaillu, like himself, never saw a live gorilla. von koppenfels, however, saw a family of four feeding, besides shooting others. the late miss kingsley met several, one of which was killed by her elephant-men. the gorilla has a limited range, extending from ° north to ° south latitude in west africa, a moist overgrown region including the mouth of the gaboon river. how far east it is found is uncertain, but it is known in the sierra del cristal. in - it was seen in considerable numbers on the coast. the gorilla is the largest, strongest, and most formidable of the primates. an adult male is from feet inches to feet high, heavily built, with arms and chest of extraordinary power. the arms reach to the middle of the legs. the hands are clumsy, the thumb short, and the fingers joined by a web. the neck scarcely exists. the leg has a slight calf. the toes are stumpy and thick; the great toe moves like a thumb. the head is large and receding, with enormous ridges above the eyes, which give it a diabolical appearance. the canine teeth are developed into huge tusks. the nose has a long bridge, and the nostrils look downwards. the ear is small and man-like. in colour the gorilla varies from deep black to iron-grey, with a reddish tinge on the head; old animals become grizzled. the outer hair is ringed grey and brown; beneath it is a woolly growth. the female is smaller--not exceeding feet inches--and less hideous, as the canines are much smaller, and the ridges above the eyes are not noticeable, a feature common also to the young. timid, superstitious natives and credulous or untrustworthy travellers have left still wrapped in mystery many of the habits of this mighty ape, whose fever-stricken, forest-clad haunts render investigation always difficult, often impossible. many tales of its ferocity and strength are obviously untrue, but we think that too much has been disbelieved. that a huge arm descends from a tree, draws up and chokes the wayfarer, must be false, for intelligent natives have confessed to knowing no instance of the gorilla attacking man. that it vanquishes the leopard is probable; that it has driven the lion from its haunts requires proof. nor can we accept tales of the carrying-off of negro women; and the defeat of the elephants, too, must be considered a fiction. but we must believe that this ape, if provoked or wounded, is a terrible foe, capable of ripping open a man with one stroke of its paw, or of cracking the skull of a hunter as easily as a squirrel cracks a nut. there is a tale of a tribe that kept an enormous gorilla as executioner, which tore its victims to pieces, until an englishman, doomed to meet it, noticing a large swelling near its ribs, killed it with a heavy blow or two on the weak spot. gorillas live mainly in the trees on whose fruit they subsist; they construct a shelter in the lower boughs for the family, and as a lying-in place for the female. the male is said to sleep below, with his back against the tree--a favourite attitude with both sexes--to keep off leopards. on the ground it moves on all-fours, with a curious swinging action, caused by putting its hands with fingers extended on the ground, and bringing its body forward by a half-jump. having a heel, it can stand better than other apes; but this attitude is not common, and du chaillu appears to have been mistaken when he describes the gorilla as attacking upright. in captivity only immature specimens have been seen--barnum's great ape being one of the larger forms of chimpanzee. accounts vary as to the temper of the gorilla, some describing it as untamable, while others say it is docile and playful when young. there is an american tale that a gorilla over feet high was captured near tanganyika, but nothing more has reached us about it. when enraged, a gorilla beats its breast, as the writer was informed by a keeper, who thus confirmed du chaillu's account. its usual voice is a grunt, which, when the animal is excited, becomes a roar. [illustration: _by permission of herr umlauff_] [_hamburg._ a male gorilla. this photograph of the largest gorilla known was taken immediately after death by herr paschen at yaunde, and gives an excellent idea of the size of these animals as compared with negroes. the animal weighed lbs.] the orang-utan. this great red ape was mentioned by linnæus in , and at the beginning of the last century a specimen living in the prince of orange's collection was described by vosmaer. there are three varieties of the orang, called by the dyaks mias-pappan, mias-rambi, and mias-kassu, the third of which is smaller, has no cheek-excrescences, and very large teeth. some naturalists recognise a pale and a dark race. most of our information is due to raja brooke and dr. wallace. the species is confined to borneo and sumatra, but fossils have been found in india of this genus, as well as of a chimpanzee. the orang is less man-like than the chimpanzee and gorilla. in height the male varies from feet inches to feet inches, the female being a few inches shorter. it is a heavy creature, with large head--often a foot in breadth--thick neck, powerful arms, which reach nearly to the ankles, and protuberant abdomen. its legs are short and bowed. the forehead is high, the nose fairly large, the ears very human. the throat is ornamented with large pouches, and there are often callosities on the cheeks. the fingers are webbed, the thumb small, the foot long and narrow, the great toe small and often without a nail. the brain is man-like, and the ribs agree in number with those of man; but there are nine bones in the wrist, whereas man, the gorilla, and the chimpanzee have but eight. the canine teeth are enormous in the male. the hair, a foot or more long on the shoulders and thighs, is yellowish red: there is a slight beard. the skin is grey or brown, and often, in adults, black. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ young orang-utans. it will be seen here, from the profile, that the young anthropoid ape has only the upper part of the head at all approaching the human type.] the orang is entirely a tree-living animal, and is only found in moist districts where there is much virgin forest. on the ground it progresses clumsily on all-fours, using its arms as crutches, and with the side only of its feet on the ground. in trees it travels deliberately but with perfect ease, swinging along underneath the branches, although it also walks along them semi-erect. it lives alone with mate and young, and builds a sleeping-place sufficiently low to avoid the wind. its food is leaves and fruit, especially the durian; its feeding-time, midday. no animal molests the mias save--so say the dyaks--the python and crocodile, both of which it kills by tearing with its hands. it never attacks man, but has been known to bite savagely when brought to bay, and it is very tenacious of life, one being found by mr. wallace still alive after a fall from a tree, when "both legs had been broken, its hip-joint and the root of the spine shattered, and two bullets flattened in neck and jaws." in captivity young orangs are playful and docile, but passionate. less intelligent than chimpanzees, they may be taught to eat and drink nicely, and to obey simple commands. one in the zoo at present has acquired the rudiments of drill. they will eat meat and eggs, and drink wine, beer, spirits, and tea. an orang described years ago by dr. clarke abel was allowed the run of the ship on the voyage to england, and would play with the sailors in the rigging. when refused food he pretended to commit suicide, and rushed over the side, only to be found under the chains. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ baby orang-utans at play.] the orang is the least interesting of the three great apes; he lacks the power and brutality of the gorilla and the intelligence of the chimpanzee. "the orang," said its keeper to the writer, "is a buffoon; the chimpanzee, a gentleman." it is worth remark that, although all these apes soon die in our menageries, in calcutta, where they are kept in the open, orangs thrive well. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ two baby orang-utans. the tug-of-war.] the gibbons. next after the great apes in man-like characters come a few long-armed, tailless apes, known as the gibbons. like the orang-utan, they live in the great tropical forests of asia, especially the indian archipelago; like the latter, they are gentle, affectionate creatures; and they have also a natural affection for man. but it is in mind and temperament, rather than in skeleton, that the links and differences between men and monkeys must be sought. it will be found that these forest apes differ from other animals and from the true monkeys mainly in this--that they are predisposed to be friendly to man and to obey him, and that they have no bias towards mischief, or "monkey tricks." they are thoughtful, well behaved, and sedate. [illustration: _by permission of herr umlauff._ the largest gorilla ever captured. this huge ape, feet inches high, measures a distance of over feet from finger to finger.] the siamang, one of the largest of the long-armed, tailless gibbons, lives in the malay archipelago. the arms of a specimen only feet high measured feet inches across. this, like all the gibbons, makes its way from tree to tree mainly by swinging itself by its arms. but the siamang can _walk_ upright and run. one kept on board ship would walk down the cabin breakfast-table without upsetting the china. the white-handed gibbon is found in tenasserim, south-west of burma. this ape has a musical howl, which the whole flock utters in the early mornings on the tree-tops. in northern india, in the hills beyond the brahmaputra, lives another gibbon, the hulock. one of these kept in captivity soon learnt to eat properly at meals, and to drink out of a cup instead of dipping his fingers in the tea and milk and then sucking them. the silvery gibbon kept at the zoological gardens was a most amiable pet, and had all the agility of the other gibbons. it is very seldom seen in this country, being a native of java, where it is said to show the most astonishing activity among the tall cane-groves. one of the first ever brought to england belonged to the great lord clive. the agile gibbon is another and darker ape of this group. the list of the man-like apes closes with this group. all the gibbons are highly specialised for tree-climbing and an entirely arboreal life; but it is undeniable that, apart from the modifications necessary for this, such as the abnormal length of the arms, the skeleton closely resembles that of a human being. in their habits, when wild, none of these apes show any remarkable degree of intelligence; but their living is gained in so simple a way, by plucking fruits and leaves, that there is nothing in their surroundings to stimulate thought. they do not need even to think of a time of famine or winter, or to lay up a stock of food for such a season, because they live in the forests under the equator. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ white-handed gibbon. this gibbon is found in the forests of the malay archipelago.] [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ hulock gibbon. the great length of arm in comparison with the body and head should here be noted.] monkeys. the dog-shaped monkeys. after the gibbons come a vast number of monkeys of every conceivable size, shape, and variety, which naturalists have arranged in consecutive order with fair success. until we reach the baboons, and go on to the south american monkeys and the lemurs, it is not easy to give any idea of what these monkeys do or look like merely by referring to their scientific groups. the usual order of natural histories will here be followed, and the descriptions will, so far as possible, present the habits and appearance of the monkeys specially noticed. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ head of proboscis monkey. a native of borneo. next to the orang-utan, the most striking monkey in the malay archipelago.] this great family of true monkeys contains the sacred monkeys, or langurs, of india, the guerezas and guenons of africa, the mangabeys, macaques, and baboons. most of them have naked, hard patches of skin on the hindquarters, and the partition between the nostrils is narrow. some have tails, some none, and they exhibit the most astonishing differences of size and shape. perhaps the most grotesque and astonishing of them all is the proboscis monkey. it is allied to the langurs, and is a native of the island of borneo, to which it is confined; its home is the west bank of the sarawak river. it is an arboreal creature, living in small companies. mr. hose, who saw them in their native haunts, says that the proboscis monkeys kept in the trees overhanging the river, and were most difficult to shoot. "i saw altogether about of these monkeys, and without a single exception all were in trees over the water, either lake, river, or in submerged forest. as long as they are in sight, they are very conspicuous objects, choosing the most commanding positions on open tree-tops. once i saw thirteen in one tree, sitting lazily on the branches, as is their habit, sunning themselves, and enjoying the scenery." they are very striking animals in colour, as well as in form. the face is cinnamon-brown, the sides marked with reddish brown and white, the belly white, the back red-brown and dark brown. next to the orang-utan, these are the most striking monkeys in the malay archipelago. the greater number of the species intermediate between the gibbons and the new world species are called "dog-shaped" monkeys. we wonder why? only the baboon and a few others are in the least like dogs. the various sacred monkeys of india are often seen in this country, and are quite representative of the "miscellaneous" monkeys in general. most of them have cheek-pouches, a useful monkey-pocket. they poke food into their pouches, which unfold to be filled, or lie flat when not wanted; and with a pocketful of nuts or rice on either side of their faces, they can scream, eat, bite, or scold quite comfortably, which they could not do with their mouths full. the pouchless monkeys have only their big stomachs to rely on. the entellus monkey is the most sacred of all in india. it is grey above and nutty brown below, long-legged and active, a thief and an impudent robber. in one of the indian cities they became such a nuisance that the faithful determined to catch and send away some hundreds. this was done, and the holy monkeys were deported in covered carts, and released many miles off. but the monkeys were too clever. having thoroughly enjoyed their ride, they all refused to part with the carts, and, hopping and grimacing, came leaping all the way back beside them to the city, grateful for their outing. one city obtained leave to kill the monkeys; but the next city then sued them for "killing their deceased ancestors." in these monkey-infested cities, if one man wishes to spite another, he throws a few handfuls of rice on to the roof of his house about the rainy season. the monkeys come, find the rice, and quietly lift off many of the tiles and throw them away, seeking more rice in the interstices. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ cross-bearing langur and young. a forest monkey of borneo.] this is not the monkey commonly seen in the hills and at simla. the large long-tailed monkey there is the himalayan langur, one of the common animals of the hills. "the langur," says mr. lockwood kipling in his "beast and man in india," "is, in his way, a king of the jungle, nor is he often met with in captivity. in some parts of india troops of langurs come bounding with a mighty air of interest and curiosity to look at passing trains, their long tails lifted like notes of interrogation; but frequently, when fairly perched on a wall or tree alongside, they seem to forget all about it, and avert their heads with an affectation of languid indifference." in india no distinction is made between monkeys. it is an abominable act of sacrilege to kill one of any kind. in the streets holy bulls, calves, parrakeets, sparrows, and monkeys all rob the shops. one monkey-ridden municipality sent off its inconvenient but holy guests by rail, advising the stationmaster to let them loose at the place to which they were consigned. the station, saharanpur, was a kind of indian crewe, and the monkeys got into the engine-sheds and workshops among the driving-wheels and bands. one got in the double roof of an inspection-car, and thence stole mutton, corkscrews, camp-glasses, and dusters. among many other interesting and correct monkey stories of mr. kipling's is the following: "the chief confectioner of simla had prepared a most splendid bride-cake, which was safely put by in a locked room, that, like most back rooms in simla, looked out on the mountain-side. it is little use locking the door when the window is left open. when they came to fetch the bride-cake, the last piece of it was being handed out of the window by a chain of monkeys, who whitened the hill-side with its fragments." from india to ceylon is no great way, yet in the latter island different monkeys are found. the two best known are the white-bearded wanderoo monkey and the great wanderoo. both are grave, well-behaved monkeys. the former has white whiskers and a white beard, and looks so wise he is called in latin _nestor_, after the ancient counsellor of the greeks. nice, clean little monkeys are these, and pretty pets. the great wanderoo is rarer. it lives in the hills. "a flock of them," says mr. dallas, "will take possession of a palm-grove, and so well can they conceal themselves in the leaves that the whole party become invisible. the presence of a dog excites their irresistible curiosity, and in order to watch his movements they never fail to betray themselves. they may be seen congregated on the roof of a native hut. some years ago the child of a european clergyman, having been left on the ground by a nurse, was bitten and teased to death by them. these monkeys have only one wife." near relatives of the langurs are the two species of snub-nosed monkeys, one of which (see figure on page ) inhabits eastern tibet and north-western china, and the other the valley of the mekong. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ male himalayan langur. a king of the jungle, not often met with in captivity.] the guerezas and guenons. [illustration: gelada baboons at home this photograph is probably unique, as a gelada baboon has been rarely seen. it shows them at home looking for food on the ground under the bamboos and palms. it was taken by lord delamere in the east african jungle.] among the ordinary monkeys of the old world are some with very striking hair and colours. the guereza of abyssinia has bright white-and-black fur, with long white fringes on the sides. this is the black-and-white skin fastened by the abyssinians to their shields, and, if we are not wrong, by the kaffirs also. among the guenons, a large tribe of monkeys living in the african forests, many of which find their way here as "organ monkeys," is the diana, a most beautiful creature, living on the guinea coast. it has a white crescent on its forehead, bluish-grey fur, a white beard, and a patch of brilliant chestnut on the back, the belly white and orange. a lady, mrs. bowditch, gives the following account of a diana monkey on board ship. it jumped on to her shoulder, stared into her face, and then made friends, seated itself on her knees, and carefully examined her hands. "he then tried to pull off my rings, when i gave him some biscuits, and making a bed for him with my handkerchief he then settled himself comfortably to sleep; and from that moment we were sworn allies. when mischievous, he was often banished to a hen-coop. much more effect was produced by taking him in sight of the panther, who always seemed most willing to devour him. on these occasions i held him by the tail before the cage; but long before i reached it, knowing where he was going, he pretended to be dead. his eyes were closed quite fast, and every limb was as stiff as though there were no life in him. when taken away, he would open one eye a little, to see whereabouts he might be; but if he caught sight of the panther's cage it was instantly closed, and he became as stiff as before." this monkey stole the men's knives, tools, and handkerchiefs, and even their caps, which he threw into the sea. he would carefully feed the parrots, chewing up biscuit and presenting them the bits; and he caught another small monkey and painted it black! altogether, he must have enlivened the voyage. the grivet monkey, the green monkey, the mona monkey, and the mangabey are other commonly seen african species. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ mantled guereza. this group of monkeys supplies the "monkey muffs" once very fashionable. the species with white plumes is used to decorate the kaffir shields.] the macaques. the macaques, of which there are many kinds, from the rock of gibraltar to far japan, occupy the catalogue between the guenon and the baboon. the common macaque and many others have tails. those of japan, and some of those of china, notably the tcheli monkey, kept outside the monkey-house at the zoo, and the japanese macaque, at the other entrance, are tailless, and much more like anthropoid apes. the tcheli monkey is large and powerful, but other macaques are of all sizes down to little creatures no bigger than a kitten. some live in the hottest plains, others in the mountains. the common macaque, found in the malay archipelago, is a strong, medium-sized monkey. the formosan macaque is a rock-living creature; those of japan inhabit the pine-groves, and are fond of pelting any one who passes with stones and fir-cones. the bonnet macaque is an amusing little beast, very fond of hugging and nursing others in captivity. the bandar or rhesus monkey, a common species, also belongs to this group. but the most interesting to europeans is the magot, or barbary ape. it is the last monkey left in europe. there it only lives on the rock of gibraltar. it was the monkey which galen is said to have dissected, because he was not permitted to dissect a human body. these monkeys are carefully preserved upon the rock. formerly, when they were more common, they were very mischievous. the following story was told by mr. bidcup: "the apes of the rock, led by one particular monkey, were always stealing from the kit of a certain regiment encamped there. at last the soldiers caught the leader, shaved his head and face, and turned him loose. his friends, who had been watching, received him with a shower of sticks and stones. in these desperate circumstances the ape sneaked back to his old enemies, the soldiers, with whom he remained." lord heathfield, a former governor of the rock, would never let them be hurt; and on one occasion, when the spaniards were attempting a surprise, the noise made by the apes gave notice of their attempt. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ diana monkey. one of the most gaily coloured monkeys of africa.] the baboons. far the most interesting of the apes in the wild state are the baboons. their dog-like heads (which in some are so large and hideous that they look like a cross between an ill-tempered dog and a pig), short bodies, enormously strong arms, and loud barking cry distinguish them from all other creatures. the greater number--for there are many kinds--live in the hot, dry, stony parts of africa. they are familiar figures from the cliffs of abyssinia to the cape, where their bold and predatory bands still occupy table mountain. they are almost the only animals which the high-contracting powers of africa have resolved not to protect at any season, so mischievous are they to crops, and recently to the flocks. they kill the suckling lambs, and tear them to pieces for the sake of the milk contained in their bodies. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ barbary ape. the last of the european monkeys; on this side of the mediterranean it is only found on the rock of gibraltar.] one of the best-known baboons is the chacma of south africa. the old males grow to a great size, and are most formidable creatures. naturally, they are very seldom caught; but one very large one is in the zoological gardens, regent's park, at the time of writing. the keeper declares he would rather go into a lion's cage than into the den of this beast when angry. its head is nearly one-third of its total length from nose to the root of the tail. its jaw-power is immense, and its forearm looks as strong as sandow's. like all monkeys, this creature has the power of springing instantaneously from a sitting position; and its bite would cripple anything from a man to a leopard. the chacmas live in companies in the kopjes, whence they descend to forage the mealie-grounds, river-beds, and bush. thence they come down to steal fruit and pumpkins or corn, turn over the stones and catch beetles, or eat locusts. their robbing expeditions are organised. scouts keep a look-out, the females and young are put in the centre, and the retreat is protected by the old males. children in the cape colony are always warned not to go out when the baboons are near. when irritated--and they are very touchy in their tempers--the whole of the males will sometimes charge and attack. the possibility of this is very unpleasant, and renders people cautious. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ rhesus monkey. a young specimen of the common bengal monkey.] not many years ago a well-known sportsman was shooting in somaliland. on the other side of a rocky ravine was a troop of baboons of a species of which no examples were in the british museum. though he knew the danger, he was tempted to shoot and to secure a skin. at yards he killed one dead, which the rest did not notice. then he hit another and wounded it. the baboon screamed, and instantly the others sat up, saw the malefactor, and charged straight for him. most fortunately, they had to scramble down the ravine and up again, by which time the sportsman and his servant had put such a distance between them, making "very good time over the flat," that the baboons contented themselves by barking defiance at them when they reached the level ground. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ rhesus monkey and sooty mangabey. the sooty mangabey (to the right of the picture) is gentle and companionable, but petulant and active.] they are the only mammals which _thoroughly_ understand combination for defence as well as attack. but brehm, the german traveller, gives a charming story of genuine courage and self-sacrifice shown by one. his hunting dogs gave chase to a troop which was retreating to some cliffs, and cut off a very young one, which ran up on to a rock, only just out of reach of the dogs. an old male baboon saw this, and came alone to the rescue. slowly and deliberately he descended, crossed the open space, and stamping his hands on the ground, showing his teeth, and backed by the furious barks of the rest of the baboons, he disconcerted and cowed these savage dogs, climbed on to the rock, picked up the baby, and carried him back safely. if the dogs had attacked the old patriarch, his tribe would probably have helped him. burchell, the naturalist after whom burchell's zebra is named, let his dogs chase a troop. the baboons turned on them, killed one on the spot by biting through the great blood-vessels of the neck, and laid bare the ribs of another. the cape dutch in the old colony would rather let their dogs bait a lion than a troop of baboons. the rescue of the infant chacma which brehm saw himself is a remarkable, and indeed the most incontestable, instance of the exhibition of courage and self-sacrifice by a _male_ animal. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ grey-cheeked mangabey. one of the small african monkeys.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ chinese macaque. this monkey lives in a climate as cold as that of england.] if the baboons were not generally liable to become bad-tempered when they grow old, they could probably be trained to be among the most useful of animal helpers and servers; but they are so formidable, and so uncertain in temper, that they are almost too dangerous for attempts at semi-domestication. when experiments have been made, they have had remarkable results. le vaillant, one of the early explorers in south africa, had a chacma baboon which was a better watch than any of his dogs. it gave warning of any creature approaching the camp at night long before the dogs could hear or smell it. he took it out with him when he was shooting, and used to let it collect edible roots for him. the latest example of a trained baboon only died a few years ago. it belonged to a railway signalman at uitenhage station, about miles up-country from port elizabeth, in cape colony. the man had the misfortune to undergo an operation in which both his feet were amputated, after being crushed by the wheels of a train. being an ingenious fellow, he taught his baboon, which was a full-grown one, to pull him along the line on a trolly to the "distant" signal. there the baboon stopped at the word of command, and the man would work the lever himself. but in time he taught the baboon to do it, while he sat on the trolly, ready to help if any mistake were made. [illustration: _photo by york & son, notting hill._ grivet monkey. this is the small monkey commonly taken about with street-organs.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bonnet monkey, and arabian baboon (on the right).] the chacmas have for relations a number of other baboons in the rocky parts of the african continent, most of which have almost the same habits, and are not very different in appearance. among them is the gelada baboon, a species very common in the rocky highlands of abyssinia; another is the anubis baboon of the west coast of africa. the latter is numerous round the portuguese settlement of angola. whether the so-called common baboon of the menageries is a separate species or only the young of some one of the above-mentioned is not very clear. but about another variety there can be no doubt. it has been separated from the rest since the days of the pharaohs. it does not differ in habits from the other baboons, but inhabits the rocky parts of the nile valley. it appears in egyptian mythology under the name of thoth, and is constantly seen in the sculptures and hieroglyphs. [illustration: _photo by l. medland f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ rhesus monkeys. this photograph is particularly interesting. it was actually taken by another monkey, which pressed the button of mr. medland's camera.] equally strong and far more repulsive are the two baboons of west africa--the drill and the mandrill. as young specimens of these beasts are the only ones at all easily caught, and these nearly always die when cutting their second teeth when in captivity, large adult mandrills are seldom seen in europe. they grow to a great size, and are probably the most hideous of all beasts. the frightful nose, high cheekbones, and pig-like eyes are the basis of the horrible heads of devils and goblins which albert dürer and other german or dutch mediæval painters sometimes put on canvas. add to the figure the misplaced bright colours--cobalt-blue on the cheeks, which are scarred, as if by a rake, with scarlet furrows, and scarlet on the buttocks--and it will be admitted that nature has invested this massive, powerful, and ferocious baboon with a repulsiveness equalling in completeness the extremes of grace and beauty manifested in the roe-deer or the bird of paradise. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ orange snub-nosed monkey. this should be contrasted with the proboscis monkey.] the natives of guinea and other parts of west africa have consistent accounts that the mandrills have tried to carry off females and children. they live in troops like the chacmas, plunder the fields, and, like all baboons, spend much time on the ground walking on all-fours. when doing this, they are quite unlike any other creatures. they walk slowly, with the head bent downwards, like a person walking on hands and knees looking for a pin. with the right hand (usually) they turn over every stick and stone, looking for insects, scorpions, or snails, and these they seize and eat. the writer has seen baboons picking up sand, and straining it through their fingers, to see if there were ants in it. he has also seen one hold up sand in the palm of its hand, and blow the dust away with its breath, and then look again to see if anything edible were left. mandrills kept in captivity until adult become very savage. one in wombwell's menagerie killed another monkey and a beagle. mr. cross owned one which would sit in an armchair, smoke, and drink porter; but these convivial accomplishments were accompanied by a most ferocious temper. one of the earliest accounts of the habits of the abyssinian baboons was given by ludolf in his "history of ethiopia." it was translated into quaint, but excellent old english: "of apes," he says, "there are infinite flocks up and down in the mountains, a thousand and more together, and they leave no stone unturned. if they meet with one that two or three cannot lift they call for more aid, and all for the sake of the worms that lye under, a sort of dyet which they relish exceedingly. they are very greedy after emmets. so that having found an emmet hill, they presently surround it, and laying their fore paws with the hollow downward upon the ant heap, as soon as the emmets creep into their treacherous palms they lick 'em off, with great comfort to their stomachs. and there they will lye till there is not an emmet left. they are also pernicious to fruits and apples, and will destroy whole fields and gardens unless they be looked after. for they are very cunning, and will never venture in till the return of their spies, which they send always before, who, giving all information that it is safe, in they rush with their whole body and make a quick despatch. therefore they go very quiet and silent to their prey; and if their young ones chance to make a noise, they chastise them with their fists; but if the coast is clear, then every one has a different noise to express his joy." ludolf clearly means the baboons by this description. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin_ pig-tailed monkey. "footing the line." note how the monkey uses its feet as hands when walking on a branch.] a more ancient story deals with alexander's campaigns. he encamped on a mountain on which were numerous bands of monkeys (probably baboons). on the following morning the sentries saw what looked like troops coming to offer them battle. as they had just won a victory, they were at a loss to guess who these new foes might he. the alarm was given, and the macedonian troops set out in battle-array. then through the morning mists they saw that the enemy was an immense troop of monkeys. their prisoners, who knew what the alarm was caused by, made no small sport of the macedonians. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ chacma baboon. this photograph shows his attitude when about to make an attack.] the speech of monkeys. something should be said of the alleged "speech of monkeys" which professor garner believed himself to have discovered. he rightly excluded mere sounds showing joy, desire, or sorrow from the faculty of speech, but claimed to have detected special words, one meaning "food," another "drink," another "give me that," another meaning "monkey," or an identification of a second animal or monkey. he used a phonograph to keep permanent record of the sounds, and made an expedition to the west african forests in the hope that he might induce the large anthropoid apes to answer the sounds which are so often uttered by their kind in our menageries. the enterprise ended, as might have been expected, in failure. nor was it in the least necessary to go and sit in a cage in an african forest in the hope of striking up an acquaintance with the native chimpanzees. the little capuchin monkeys, whose voices and sounds he had ample opportunity of observing here, give sufficient material for trying experiments in the meaning of monkey sounds. the writer believes that it is highly probable that the cleverer monkeys have a great many notes or sounds which the others do understand, if only because they make the same under similar circumstances, otherwise they would not utter them. they are like the sounds which an intelligent but nearly dumb person might make. also they have very sharp ears, and some of them can understand musical sounds, so far as to show a very marked attention to them. the following account of an experiment of this kind, when a violin was being played, is related in "life at the zoo": "the capuchin monkeys, the species selected by professor garner for his experiments in monkey language, showed the strangest and most amusing excitement. these pretty little creatures have very expressive and intelligent faces, and the play and mobility of their faces and voices while listening to the music were extraordinarily rapid. the three in the first cage at once rushed up into their box, and then all peeped out, chattering and excited. one by one they came down, and listened to the music with intense curiosity, shrieking and making faces at a crescendo, shaking the wires angrily at a discord, and putting their heads almost upside-down in efforts at acute criticism at low and musical passages. every change of note was marked by some alteration of expression in the faces of the excited little monkeys, and a series of discordant notes roused them to a passion of rage." at the same time a big baboon, chained up near, evidently disliked it. he walked off in the opposite direction to the farthest limits of his chain. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a young male chacma baboon. note the protruding tusk in the upper jaw. a baboon sitting in this position of rest can instantly leap six or seven feet, and inflict a dangerous bite.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ head of male mandrill. this is one of the most hideous of living animals. the natives of west africa hold it in greater dislike even than the large carnivora, from the mischief which it does to their crops.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ brown capuchin. the most intelligent of the common monkeys of the new world. it uses many sounds to express emotions, and perhaps desires.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ drill. only less ugly than the mandrill. its habits are the same.] the new world monkeys. mention of the capuchins takes us to the whole group of the new world monkeys. nearly all of these live in the tropical forests of brazil, guiana, venezuela, and mexico. they are all different from the old world monkeys, and many are far more beautiful. the most attractive of the hardier kinds are the capuchins; but there are many kinds of rare and delicate little monkeys more beautiful than any squirrel, which would make the most delightful pets in the world, if they were not so delicate. to try to describe the old world monkeys in separate groups from end to end is rather a hopeless task. but the american monkeys are more manageable by the puzzled amateur. most of them have a broad and marked division between the nostrils, which are not mere slits close together, but like the nostrils of men. they also have human-looking rounded heads. their noses are of the "cogitative" order, instead of being snouts or snubs with narrow openings in them; and the whole face is in many ways human and intelligent. the howler monkeys, which utter the most hideous sounds ever heard in the forests, and the spider monkeys are the largest. the latter have the most wonderfully developed limbs and tails for catching and climbing of any living animals. as highly specialised creatures are always interesting, visitors to any zoological garden will find it worth while to watch a spider monkey climbing, just as it is always worth while to watch a great snake on the move. the tail is used as a fifth hand: the indians of brazil say they catch fish with it, which is not true. but if you watch a spider monkey moving from tree to tree, his limbs and tail move like the five fingers of a star-fish. each of the extremities is as sensitive as a hand, far longer in proportion than an ordinary man's arm, and apparently able to work independently of joints. the monkey can do so many things at once that no juggler can equal it. it will hold fruit in one hand, pick more with one foot, place food to the mouth with another hand, and walk and swing from branch to branch with the other foot and tail, all simultaneously. these monkeys have no visible thumb, though dissection shows that they have a rudimentary one; but the limbs are so flexible that they can put one arm round behind their heads over on to the opposite shoulder, and brush the fur on their upper arm. the end of the tail seems always "feeling" the air or surroundings, and has hairs, thin and long, at the end, which aid it in knowing when it is near a leaf or branch. it is almost like the tentacle of some sea zoophyte. gentle creatures, all of them, are these spider monkeys. one of them, of the species called waita, when kept in captivity, wore the fur off its forehead by rubbing its long gaunt arms continually over its brow whenever it was scolded. the spider monkeys differ only in the degree of spidery slenderness in their limbs. in disposition they are always amiable, and in habits tree-climbers and fruit-eaters. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons_] red howler monkey. the males possess a most extraordinary voice.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ a spider monkey this monkey is specially adapted for arboreal life. the tail acts as a fifth hand.] the capuchins are, in the writer's opinion, the nicest of all monkeys. many species are known, but all have the same round merry faces, bright eyes, pretty fur, and long tails. there is always a fair number at the zoological gardens. they are merry, but full of fads. one hates children and loves ladies; another adores one or two other monkeys, and screams at the rest. all are fond of insects as well as of fruit. a friend of the writer kept one in a large house in leicestershire. it was not very good-tempered, but most amusing, climbing up the blind-cord first, and catching and eating the flies on the window-panes most dexterously, always avoiding the wasps. this monkey was taught to put out a lighted paper (a useful accomplishment) by dashing its hands on to the burning part, or, if the paper were twisted up, by taking the unlighted end and beating the burning part on the ground; and it was very fond of turning the leaves of any large book. this it did not only by vigorous use of both arms and hands, but by putting its head under too, and "heaving" the leaves over. in the private room behind the monkey-house at the zoo there are always a number of the rare and delicate monkeys from the new world, which cannot stand the draughts of the outer house, like the capuchins and spider monkeys. the greater number of these come from tropical america. there, in the mighty forests, so lofty that no man can climb the trees, so dense that there is a kind of upper storey on the interlaced tree-tops, where nearly all the birds and many mammals live without descending to earth, forests in which there is neither summer nor winter, but only the changes from hour to hour of the equatorial day, the exquisite marmosets, whose fur looks like the plumage and whose twittering voices imitate the notes of birds, live and have their being. they are all much alike in shape, except that the lion marmoset's mane is like that of a little lion clad in floss silk; and they all have sharp little claws, and feed on insects. the pinchÉ marmoset from the guiana forests has a face like a black indian chief, with white plumes over his head and neck like those worn by a "brave" in full war-paint. merchants who do business with brazil very frequently import marmosets and the closely allied tamarins as presents for friends in england; the brazilians themselves like to have them as pets also; so there is to some extent a trade demand for them. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ patas monkey. found in west africa. a large and brilliantly coloured species.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ wanderoo monkey. the number of monkeys which have leonine manes is large. the manes act as capes to keep the dew and wet from their chests and shoulders.] among the most delicate of american monkeys are the oukaris, which have somewhat human faces, exquisite soft fur, and are as gentle as most of these forest creatures. they seldom live long in captivity, a few months being as much as they will generally endure, even in brazil. perhaps the rarest of all is the white-haired scarlet-faced oukari. this monkey has long white hair from neck to tail, sandy whiskers, and a bright scarlet face. it lives in a district of partly flooded forest, and is only obtained by the indians using blow-pipes and arrows dipped in very diluted urari poison. the white-headed saki is a rare and very pretty little monkey of brazil; and there are a very large number of other species of this group whose names it would be mere weariness to mention. all these small monkeys are very quick and intelligent, while the rapidity of their movements, their ever-changing expression, and sharp, eager cries heighten the idea of cleverness given by their general appearance. other little imps of these forests are the squirrel monkeys. in the common species the face is like a little furry man's, its arms brilliant yellow (as if dipped in gamboge dye), the cheeks pink, and eyes black. in habits it is a quick-tempered, imperious little creature, carnivorous, and a great devourer of butterflies and beetles. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ common squirrel monkey. the squirrel monkeys have soft, bright-coloured fur, and long, hairy tails. they are found from mexico to paraguay.] the most beautiful and entertaining of all monkeys are these new world species. no person clever at interpreting the ways of animals would fail to consider them far more clever and sympathetic than the melancholy anthropoid apes, while for appearance they have no equals. probably the most attractive monkey in europe is a south american one now in the london zoological gardens. it was first mentioned to europeans by baron von humboldt, who saw it in the cabin of an indian on the orinoco. these forest indians of south america are gentle creatures themselves. among other amiable qualities, they have a passion for keeping pets. one who worked for a friend of the writer, with others of his tribe, was asked what he would take in payment, which was given in kind. the others chose cloth, axes, etc. this indian said that he did not care for any of these things. he said he wanted a "poosa." no one knew what he meant. he signed that he wished to go to the house and would show them. arrived there, he pointed to the cat! "pussy," to the arawak indian, was a "poosa," and that was what he wanted as a month's wages. humboldt's indian had something better than a "poosa." it was a monkey, as black as coal, with a round head, long thickly furred tail, and bright vivacious eyes. the explorer called it the lagothrix, which means hare-skin monkey. the fur is not the least like a hare's, but much resembles that of an opossum. the more suitable name is the woolly monkey. the one kept at the gardens is a most friendly and vivacious creature, ready to embrace, play and make friends with any well-dressed person. it dislikes people in working-clothes which are dirty or soiled--a not uncommon aversion of clever animals. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ black-eared marmoset. these are among the prettiest of small tropical monkeys from the new world. they are insect-feeders, and very delicate.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ humboldt's woolly monkey. this is the most popular monkey in england. he looks for all the world like a negro, and has a most beautiful, soft, woolly coat. he is very tame, and loves nothing better than being petted.] in spite of all the varieties of _temperament_ in the monkey tribe, from the genial little capuchins to the morose old baboon, they nearly all have one thing in common--that is, the monkey brain. the same curious restlessness, levity, and want of concentration mark them all, except the large anthropoid apes. some of these have without doubt power of reflection and concentration which the other monkeys do not possess. but in all the rest, though the capacity for understanding exists, the wish to please, as a dog does, and the desire to remember and to retain what it has learnt, seem almost entirely wanting. egoism, which is a sign of human dementia, is a very leading characteristic of all monkeys. there is no doubt that the baboons might be trained to be useful animals if they always served one master. le vaillant and many other travellers have noted this. but they are _too clever_, and at the bottom too ill-tempered ever to be trustworthy, even regarded as "watches," or to help in minor manual labour. baboons would make an excellent substitute for dogs as used in belgium for light draught; but no one could ever rely on their behaving themselves when their master's eye was elsewhere. taken as a family, the monkeys are a feeble and by no means likeable race. they are "undeveloped" as a class, full of promise, but with no performance. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ pig-tailed monkey catching a fly. most of the smaller monkeys, as well as the baboons, are fond of eating insects. beetles, white ants, and flies are eagerly sought and devoured.] the lemurs. the south american monkeys, with their squirrel-like forms and fur, are followed by a beautiful and interesting group of creatures, called the lemurs, with their cousins the lorises, maholis, and pottos. their resemblance to monkeys is mainly in their hands and feet. these are real and very highly developed hands, with proper thumbs. the second toe on the hind foot nearly always terminates in a long, sharp claw. "elia," the indian naturalist, who kept them as pets, noticed that they used this to scratch themselves with. some of them have the finger-tips expanded into a sensitive disk, full of extra nerves. lemur means "ghost." unlike the lively squirrels and monkeys, they do not leave their hiding-places till the tropical darkness has fallen on the forest, when they seek their food, not by descending to the ground, but by ascending to the upper surface of the ocean of trees, and again, at the first approach of dawn, seek refuge from the light in the recesses of some dark and hollow trunk. the ring-tailed lemur is as lively by day as night; but most of the race are so entirely creatures of darkness that the light seems to stupefy them. when wakened, they turn over like sleeping children, with the same inarticulate cries and deep, uneasy sighs. but at night most are astonishingly active; they fly from tree to tree, heard, but invisible; so that the natives of madagascar doubt whether they are not true _lemures_, the unquiet ghosts of their departed dead. though the lemurs are here treated apart from the other animals of madagascar, it will be obvious that they are a curious and abnormal tribe. this is true of most of the animals of that great island, which has a fauna differing both from that of the adjacent coast of africa and from that of india or australia. in the fossa, a large representative of the civets, it possesses a species absolutely unlike any other. the aye-aye is also an abnormal creature. nor must it be forgotten that madagascar was until recently the home of some of the gigantic ground-living birds. but, after all, none of its inhabitants are more remarkable than its hosts of lemurs, some of which are to be met with in almost every coppice in the island. there are also many extinct kinds. exquisite fur, soft and beautifully tinted, eyes of extraordinary size and colour (for the pupil shuts up to a mere black line by day, and the rest of the eye shows like a polished stone of rich brown or yellow or marble-grey), are the marks of most of the lemurs. but there are other lemur-like creatures, or "lemuroids," which, though endowed with the same lovely fur, like softest moss, have no tails. the strangest of all are two creatures called the slender loris and the slow loris. the slender loris, which has the ordinary furry coat of the lemurs, and no tail, moves on the branches exactly as does a chameleon. each hand or foot is slowly raised, brought forward, and set down again. the fingers then as slowly close on the branch till its grasp is secure. it is like a slow-working mechanical toy. probably this is a habit, now instinctive, gained by ages of cautiously approaching insects. but the result is to give the impression that the creature is almost an automaton. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ ring-tailed lemur. this lemur is often kept as a domestic animal, and allowed to run about the house like a cat.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ a dwarf lemur. these tiny animals take the place of the dormouse in madagascar.] madagascar is the main home of the lemurs, though some of the related animals are also found in africa and in the east indies. but the dense forests of the great island are full of these curious nocturnal beasts, of which there are so many varieties presenting very slight differences of form and habit, that naturalists have some difficulty in giving even a complete list of their species. add to this that nearly all of them are intensely and entirely nocturnal, and the scarcity of data as to their habits is easily accounted for. when seen by us, their faces all lack expression--that is to say, the eyes, which mainly give expression, seem entirely vacant and meaningless. but this is due to their special adaptation to seeing in the dark tropical night. by day the pupil of the eye almost disappears. if only we could also see in the dark, the eyes of the lemur might have as much expression as those of a faithful dog. the change which night makes in their general demeanour is simply miraculous. by day many of them are like hibernating animals, almost incapable of movement. when once the curtain of night has fallen, they are as active as squirrels, and as full of play as a family of kittens. the ring-tailed lemur is often kept as a pet, both in madagascar and in the mauritius. it is one of the very few which are diurnal in their habits. when in a hurry it jumps along, standing on its hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but holding its tail upright behind its back. it will follow people upstairs in this way, jumping from step to step, with its front paws outstretched, as if it were addressing an audience. the french call these day lemurs makis. the ring-tailed lemur lives largely among rocks and precipices. most of these creatures live upon fruit, the shoots and leaves of trees, and other vegetable food. but, like the squirrel, they have no objection to eggs and nestlings, and also kill and eat any small birds and insects. some of the smaller kinds are almost entirely insect-feeders. the largest kind of lemur belongs to the group known as the indris. the black-and-white indri measures about feet in length. it has only a rudimentary tail, large ears, and a sharp-pointed nose. the amount of white colouring varies much in different individuals. this variation in colouring--a very rare feature among wild mammalia, though one of the first changes shown when animals are domesticated--is also found in the next three species, called sifakas. the diademed sifaka, the woolly indri, and the black indri all belong to this group. the sifakas, as some of these and the allied forms are called, are venerated by the malagasys, who never kill one intentionally. mr. foster observes that "they live in companies of six or eight, and are very gentle and inoffensive animals, wearing a very melancholy expression, and being as a rule morose, inactive, and more silent than the other lemurs. they rarely live long in captivity. in their native state they are most alert in the morning and evening, as during the day they conceal themselves under the foliage of trees. when asleep or in repose, the head is dropped on the chest and buried between the arms, the tail rolled up on itself and disposed between the hind legs. the sifakas live exclusively on vegetable substances, fruits, leaves, and flowers, their diet not being varied, as in the other lemurs, by small birds, eggs, or insects. their life is almost entirely arboreal, for which the muscles of their hands and feet, as well as the parachute-like folds between their arms and bodies, and their peculiar hooked fingers, are well fitted. the young one is carried by the mother on its back, its hands grasping her armpits tightly." [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ black lemur. found on the coast of madagascar.] this is not the universal way of carrying the young among lemurs. the crowned lemur, a beautiful grey-and-white species, often breeds at the zoo. the female carries its young one partly on its side. the infant clings tightly with arms and tail round the very slender waist of the lemur, and pushes out its sharp little face just above the thigh of the mother. the woolly indri has more woolly fur than the others of its tribe, a shorter nose, and a longer tail. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ coquerel's lemur. a lemur which strongly objects to being awakened in the daytime.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ ruffed lemur. another of the nocturnal lemurs. it lives mainly on fruit and insects.] the true lemurs of these there are several species, all confined to madagascar and the comoro islands. one of the best known is the ring-tailed lemur, mentioned above. it is called lemur catta, the cat lemur, from being so often kept in domestication. the weasel lemur, the grey lemur, the mouse lemur, the gentle lemur, the sportive lemur, the crowned lemur, and coquerel's lemur, all represent various small, pretty, and interesting varieties of the group. the black-and-white lemur, one of the larger kinds, is capable of domestication. a specimen kept in a london house, where the present writer saw it, was always called "pussy" by the children. the other small kinds are very like squirrels, mice, weasels, and other creatures, with which they have no connection. it seems as though the curiously limited and primitive fauna of madagascar tried to make up for its want of variety by mimicking the forms of other animals, and something of the same kind is seen in australia, where the marsupials take the place of all kinds of ordinary mammals. there are marsupial rats, marsupial wolves, marsupial squirrels, and even marsupial moles. the small squirrel and rat-like lemurs are called chirogales. coquerel's lemur is really a chirogale. it is a quaint and by no means amiable little animal, sleeping obstinately all day, and always ready to growl and bite if disturbed. its colour is brownish grey and cream-colour. a pair of these, rolled up tightly into balls in a box of hay, will absolutely refuse to move, even when handled. they only feed by night. the galagos. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ garnett's galago. one of the squirrel-like lemuroids.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ maholi galago this little animal is a native of east africa. it has very large eyes, and fur as soft as the chinchilla's.] an allied group, confined to tropical africa, is that of the galagos. they are most beautiful little creatures, whose nearest relatives are the malagasy lemurs. generally speaking, they have even more exquisite fur than the lemurs. it is almost as soft as floss silk, and so close that the hand sinks into it as into a bed of moss. the colour of the fur is rich and pleasing, generally some shade of brown. the head is small, the nose pointed, and the ears thin, hairless, and capable of being folded up, like the wings of a beetle. but the most beautiful feature of the galagos is their eyes. these are of immense size, compared with the head. the eye is of the richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not glassy or clear. though quite translucent, the eye is marked with minute dividing-lines, like the grain in an agate--a truly exquisite object. when handled or taken in the arms, the little galago clasps the fingers or sleeve tightly, as if it thought it was holding a tree, and shows no disposition to escape. a family of three or four young ones, no larger than mice, with their large-eyed mother attending to them, forms an exquisitely dainty little group. the galagos vary from the size of a squirrel to that of a small cat. the kind most often seen in england is the maholi galago from east africa. another species comes from senegal, and others from calabar and the forests of the gold coast. garnett's galago, another species, is shown above. they may be regarded as nocturnal tropical lemuroids, analogous to the chirogales of madagascar. it has been suggested, with great probability, that the intensely drowsy sleep of many of the lemuroid animals corresponds to the hibernation of many northern mammals. tropical animals often become torpid to avoid the famine caused by the hot season, just as creatures in cold countries hibernate to avoid the hunger which would otherwise come with winter. the slow lemurs or lorises, and tarsiers. another group of lemuroids is distinguished from the foregoing by having the second finger of the fore paws either very short or rudimentary. the thumb and great toe are also set very widely apart from the other fingers and toes. a far more striking distinction to the non-scientific eye is their astonishingly deliberate and slow movements. they have no tails, enormous eyes, and very long, slender legs. the slow loris is found in eastern india and the malay countries, where it is fairly common in the forests. the bengali natives call it _sharmindi billi_ ("bashful cat"), from its slow, solemn, hesitating movements when in pursuit of insects. of a slow loris kept by him, sir william jones, in the "asiatic researches," wrote: "at all times he seemed pleased at being stroked on the head and throat, and he frequently allowed me to touch his extremely sharp teeth. but his temper was always quick, and when he was unseasonably disturbed he expressed a little resentment, by an obscure murmur, like that of a squirrel.... when a grasshopper or any insect alighted within his reach, his eyes, as he fixed them on his prey, glowed with uncommon fire; and having drawn himself back to spring on his prey with greater force, he seized it with both his fore paws, and held it till he had devoured it. he never could have enough grasshoppers, and spent the whole night in prowling for them." [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ slender loris. this extraordinary creature has the habits of a chameleon when seeking insects for food. the photograph is unique.] the slender loris, an equally curious creature, is only found in southern india and ceylon. its food consists entirely of insects, which it captures by gradual, almost paralysed approach. it has been described as a "furry-coated chameleon." a group of slow lemurs, living in western africa, are known as pottos. they are odd little quadrupeds, in which the "forefinger" never grows to be more than a stump. the tail is also either sharp or rudimentary. they are as slow as the lorises in their movements. in the malay islands a distant relative, even more curiously formed, is found in the tarsier. it has the huge eyes, pointed ears, and beautiful fur of the galagos, but the tail is long, thin, and tufted. the fingers are flattened out into disks, like a tree-frog's. these creatures hop from bough to bough in a frog-like manner in search of insects. they are not so large as a good-sized rat. our photograph does not give an adequate idea of the size of the eyes. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ slow loris. another of the slow-moving loris group. these animals are not shown to the general public at the zoo, but kept in a specially warmed room.] the aye-aye. last, and most remarkable of all these weird lemuroids, is the aye-aye. it is placed in a group by itself, and has teeth like those of the rodents, a large bushy tail, and most extraordinarily long, slender fingers, which it probably uses for picking caterpillars and grubs out of rotten wood. it is nearly as large as an arctic fox, but its habits are those of a lemur. in madagascar it haunts the bamboo forests, feeding on the juice of sugar-cane, grubs, and insects. the fingers of its hands are of different sizes and lengths, though all are abnormally long and slender. the second finger seems to have "wasted," but is said to be of the utmost value to its owner in extracting grubs and insects from the burrows in which they dwell, or the crannies in which they may have taken refuge. very seldom is this animal seen alive in captivity. although commonly called aye-aye in this country, it is doubtful if this is really its native name. the aye-aye was long a puzzle to naturalists, but is now classed as a lemuroid. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ tarsier. these little animals hop about in the trees like frogs. they are nocturnal, and seldom seen.] the living races of animals have thus far been reviewed along the completed list of the first great order--the primates. even in that circumscribed group how great is the tendency to depart from the main type, and how wonderful the adaptation to meet the various needs of the creatures' environment! the skeletons, the frames on which these various beings are built up, remain the same in character; but the differences of proportion in the limbs, of the muscles with which they are equipped, and of the weight of the bodies to be moved are astonishing. compare, for instance, the head of the male gorilla, with its great ridges of bone, to which are attached the muscles which enable it to devour hard tropical fruits and bite off young saplings and bamboos, with the rounded and delicate head of the insect-eating monkeys of south africa; or set side by side the hand of the chimpanzee with that of the aye-aye, with its delicate, slender fingers, like those of a skeleton hand. what could be more diverse than the movements of these creatures, whose structure is nevertheless so much alike? some of the lemuroids are as active as squirrels, flying lightly from branch to branch; in others, as the slow lorises, the power of rapid movement has disappeared, and been replaced by a creeping gait which cannot be accelerated. already, in a single order, we see the rich diversity of nature, and its steady tendency to make all existing things serviceable by adapting other parts of creation to their use or enjoyment. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., n. finchley._ head of aye-aye. the aye-aye lives mainly in the wild sugar-cane groves, and feeds on insects and grubs, as well as on the juice of the sugar-cane.] [illustration: _photo by charles knight, aldershot._ african lion and lioness. these animals are so numerous in the new british protectorate of east africa that they are exempted from protection.] [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ african lion. this lion is almost in the attitude of those sculptured by sir edwin landseer for the nelson monument, but the feet are turned in, and not lying flat.] ---- chapter ii. _the cat tribe._ though only one species is entirely domesticated, and none of the cats have flesh edible by man, except perhaps the puma, no group of animals has attracted more interest than this. containing more than forty species, ranging in size from the ox-devouring tiger or lion to the small wild cats, they are so alike in habit and structure that no one could possibly mistake the type or go far wrong in guessing at the habits of any one of them. they are all flesh-eaters and destroyers of living animals. all have rounded heads, and an extraordinary equipment of teeth and of claws, and of muscles to use them. the blow of the forearm of a lion or tiger is inconceivably powerful, in proportion to its size. a stroke from a tiger's paw has been known to strike off a native's arm from the shoulder and leave it hanging by a piece of skin, and a similar blow from a lion to crush the skull of an ox. the true cats are known by the power to draw back, or "retract," their claws into sheaths of horn, rendering their footsteps noiseless, and keeping these weapons always sharp. the hunting-leopard has only a partial capacity for doing this. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck, hamburg._ an unwilling pupil. this is one of herr hagenbeck s famous performing tigers.] the characteristics of the cats and their allies are too well known to need description. we will therefore only mention the chief types of the group, and proceed to give, in the fullest detail which space allows, authentic anecdotes of their life and habits. the tribe includes lions, tigers, leopards, pumas, jaguars, a large number of so-called tiger-cats (spotted and striped), wild cats, domestic cats, and lynxes. the hunting-leopard, or cheeta, stands in a sub-group by itself, as does the fossa, the only large carnivore of madagascar. this closes the list of the most cat-like animals. the next links in the chain are formed by the civets and genets, creatures with more or less retractile claws, and long, bushy tails; the still less cat-like binturong, a creature with a prehensile tail; and the mongooses and ichneumons, more and more nearly resembling the weasel tribe. the lion. recent intrusions for railways, sport, discovery, and war into central and east africa have opened up new lion countries, and confirmed, in the most striking manner, the stories of the power, the prowess, and the dreadful destructiveness to man and beast of this king of the carnivora. at present it is found in persia, on the same rivers where nimrod and the assyrian kings made its pursuit their royal sport; in gujerat, where it is nearly extinct, though in general price's work on indian game written before the middle of the last century it is stated that a cavalry officer killed eighty lions in three years; and in africa, from algeria to the bechuana country. it is especially common in somaliland, where the modern lion-hunter mainly seeks his sport. on the uganda railway, from mombasa to lake victoria, lions are very numerous and dangerous. in rhodesia and the northern transvaal they have killed hunters, railway officials, and even our soldiers near komati poort. it has been found that whole tracts of country are still often deserted by their inhabitants from fear of lions, and that the accounts of their ravages contained in the old testament, telling how samaria was almost deserted a second time from this cause, might be paralleled to-day. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ lioness aroused. the pose of the animal here shows attention, but not anger or fear.] the african lion. by f. c. selous. when, in the latter half of the seventeenth century, europeans first settled at the cape of good hope, the lion's roar was probably to be heard almost nightly on the slopes of table mountain, since a quaint entry in the diary of van riebeck, the first dutch governor of the cape, runs thus: "this night the lions roared as if they would take the fort by storm"--the said fort being situated on the site of the city now known as cape town. at that date there can be little doubt that, excepting in the waterless deserts and the dense equatorial forests, lions roamed over the whole of the vast continent of africa from cape agulhas to the very shore of the mediterranean sea; nor was their range very seriously curtailed until the spread of european settlements in north and south africa, and the acquisition of firearms by the aboriginal inhabitants of many parts of the country, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, steadily denuded large areas of all wild game. [illustration: _photo by m. geiser_] [_algiers._ algerian lioness. this lioness, sitting under an olive-tree, was actually photographed in the soudan by the intrepid m. geiser.] as the game vanished, the lions disappeared too; for although at first they preyed to a large extent on the domestic flocks and herds which gradually replaced the wild denizens of the once-uninhabited plains, this practice brought them into conflict with the white colonists or native herdsmen armed with weapons of precision, before whom they rapidly succumbed. [illustration: a foster-mother. this is a remarkable photograph of a setter suckling three lion cubs which had lost their mother. it is reproduced here by permission of the editor of the irish field.] [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ a performing lion. lions, it would seem, are capable of being taught almost anything, even tricycle-riding.] to-day lions are still to be found wherever game exists in any quantity, and their numbers will be in proportion to those of the wild animals on which they prey. the indefinite increase of lions must be checked by some unknown law of nature, otherwise they would have become so numerous in the sparsely inhabited or altogether uninhabited parts of africa, that they would first have exterminated all the game on which they had been wont to prey, and would then have had to starve or to have eaten one another. but such a state of things has never been known to occur; and whenever europeans have entered a previously unexplored and uninhabited tract of country in africa, and have found it teeming with buffaloes, zebras, and antelopes, they have always found lions in such districts very plentiful indeed, but never in such numbers as to seriously diminish the abundance of the game upon which they depended for food. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ lioness and cub. lion cubs thrive both in dublin and amsterdam, but not so well at the london zoo.] it is easy to understand that the increase of a herd of herbivorous animals would be regulated by the amount of the food-supply available, as well as constantly checked by the attacks of the large carnivora, such as lions, leopards, cheetas, hyænas, and wild dogs; but i have never been able to comprehend what has kept within bounds the inordinate increase of lions and other carnivorous animals in countries where for ages past they have had an abundant food-supply, and at the same time, having been almost entirely unmolested by human beings, have had no enemies. perhaps such a state of things does not exist at the present day, but there are many parts of africa where such conditions have existed from time immemorial up to within quite recent years. since lions were once to be found over the greater portion of the vast continent of africa, it is self-evident that these animals are able to accommodate themselves to great variations of climate and surroundings; and i myself have met with them, close to the sea, in the hot and sultry coastlands of south-east africa; on the high plateau of mashonaland, where at an altitude of , feet above sea-level the winter nights are cold and frosty; amongst the stony hills to the east of the victoria falls of the zambesi; and in the swamps of the chobi. in the great reed-beds of the latter river a certain number of lions appeared to live constantly, preying on buffaloes and lechwe antelopes. i often heard them roaring at nights in these swamps, and i once saw two big male lions wading slowly across an open space between two beds of reeds in water nearly a foot in depth. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ a young lioness. the sole of the hind foot shows the soft pads on which the cats noiselessly approach their prey.] although there are great individual differences in lions as regards size, general colour of coat, and more particularly in the length, colour, and profuseness of the mane with which the males are adorned, yet as these differences occur in every part of africa where lions are met with, and since constant varieties with one fixed type of mane living by themselves and not interbreeding with other varieties do not exist anywhere, modern zoologists are, i think, now agreed that there is only one species of lion, since in any large series of wild lion skins, made in any particular district of africa or asia, every gradation will be found between the finest-maned specimens and those which are destitute of any mane at all. several local races have, however, been recently described by german writers. in the hot and steamy coastlands of tropical africa lions usually have short manes, and never, i believe, attain the long silky black manes sometimes met with on the high plateaux of the interior. however, there is, i believe, no part of africa where all or even the majority of male lions carry heavy manes, the long hair of which does not as a rule cover more than the neck and chest, with a tag of varying length and thickness extending from the back of the neck to between the shoulder-blades. lions with very full black manes, covering the whole shoulders, are rare anywhere, but more likely to be encountered on the high plateaux, where the winter nights are extremely cold, than anywhere else. in such cases, in addition to the tufts of hair always found on the elbows and in the armpits of lions with fair-sized manes, there will probably be large tufts of hair in each flank just where the thighs join the belly; but i have never yet seen the skin of a lion shot within the last thirty years with the whole belly covered with long, thick hair, as may constantly be observed in lions kept in captivity in the menageries of europe. there is, however, some evidence to show that, when lions existed on the high plains of the cape colony and the orange river colony, where the winter nights are much colder than in the countries farther north where lions may still be encountered, certain individuals of the species developed a growth of long hair all over the belly, as well as an extraordinary luxuriance of mane on the neck and shoulders. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ a happy family. here is a group of animals and their keeper from herr hagenbeck's thierpark. the animal in front is a cross between a lion and a tigress; he lives on quite friendly terms with his keeper, and also with lions, tigers, and leopards, as seen in the photograph.] [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ a cross between lion and tigress. this unique photograph shows a remarkable hybrid and its proud parents. the father (on the right) is a lion, and the mother (on the left) a tigress. the offspring (in the centre) is a fine, large male, now four years old; it is bigger than an average-sized lion or tiger.] from the foregoing remarks it will be seen that wild lions, having as a rule much less luxuriant manes than many examples of their kind to be seen in european menageries, are ordinarily not so majestic and dignified in appearance as many of their caged relatives. on the other hand, the wild lion is a much more alert and active animal than a menagerie specimen, and when in good condition is far better built and more powerful-looking, being free from all appearance of lankiness and weakness in the legs, and having strong, well-formed hindquarters. the eyes of the menagerie lion, too, look brown and usually sleepy, whilst those of the wild animal are yellow, and extraordinarily luminous even after death. when wounded and standing at bay, with head held low between his shoulders, growling hoarsely, and with twitching tail, even if he is not near enough to be observed very closely, a lion looks a very savage and dangerous animal; but should he be wounded in such a way as to admit of a near approach--perhaps by a shot that has paralysed his hindquarters--his flaming eyes will seem to throw out sparks of living fire. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ a hungry lion. notice that the mane, as in most wild lions, is very scanty.] [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ lioness and tiger. the straightness of the lioness's tail is here shown. it is not in the least like that of the tiger or of the cat.] speaking generally, there is little or no danger in meeting a lion or lions in the daytime. even in parts of the country where firearms are unknown, and where the natives seldom or never interfere with them, these animals seem to have an instinctive fear of man, and even when encountered at the carcase of an animal freshly killed, and at a time when they may be supposed to be hungry, they will almost invariably retreat before the unwelcome presence, sometimes slowly and sulkily, but in districts where much hunting with firearms has been going on at a very rapid pace. however, i have known of two cases of europeans mounted on horseback having been attacked by lions in broad daylight, and dr. livingstone mentions a third. in one of the instances which came within my own knowledge, a lion sprang at a boer hunter as he was riding slowly along, carrying an elephant-gun in his right hand and followed by a string of natives on foot. the lion attacked from the left side, and with its right paw seized my friend from behind by the right side of his face and neck, inflicting deep gashes with its sharp claws, one of which cut right through his cheek and tore out one of his teeth. my friend was pulled from his horse, but, clutching the loosely girthed saddle tightly with his knees, it twisted round under the horse's belly before he fell to the ground. instead of following up its success, the lion, probably scared by the shouting of the kaffirs, trotted away for a short distance, and then turned and stood looking at the dismounted hunter, who, never having lost his presence of mind, immediately shot it dead with his heavy old muzzle-loading elephant-gun. besides these three instances of europeans having been attacked in the daytime by lions, i have known of a certain number of natives having been killed in broad daylight. such incidents are, however, by no means every-day occurrences, and, speaking generally, it may be said that the risk of molestation by lions in africa during daylight is very small. it is by night that lions roam abroad with stealthy step in search of prey; and at such times they are often, when hungry, incredibly bold and daring. i have known them upon several occasions to enter a hunter's camp, and, regardless of fires, to seize oxen and horses and human beings. during the year following the first occupation of mashonaland in , a great deal of damage was done by lions, which could not resist the attractions of the settlers' live stock. for the first few months i kept as accurate an account as i could of the number of horses, donkeys, oxen, sheep, goats, and pigs which were killed by lions, and it soon mounted up to over head. during the same time several white men were also mauled by lions, and one unfortunate man named teale was dragged from beneath the cart, where he was sleeping by the side of a native driver, and at once killed and eaten. several of the horses were killed inside rough shelters serving as stables. in the following year ( ) over pigs were killed in one night by a single lioness. these pigs were in a series of pens, separated one from another, but all under one low thatched roof. the lioness forced her way in between two poles, and apparently was unable, after having satisfied her hunger, to find her way out again, and, becoming angry and frightened, wandered backwards and forwards through the pens, killing almost all the pigs, each one with a bite at the back of the head or neck. this lioness, which had only eaten portions of two young pigs, made her escape before daylight, but was killed with a set gun the next night by the owner of the pigs. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ tigress. were the grass seen here the normal height of that in the indian jungles, the upright lines would harmonize with the stripes, and render the tiger almost invisible.] when lions grow old, they are always liable to become man-eaters. finding their strength failing them, and being no longer able to hunt and pull down large antelopes or zebras, they are driven by hunger to killing small animals, such as porcupines, and even tortoises, or they may visit a native village and catch a goat, or kill a child or woman going for water; and finding a human being a very easy animal to catch and kill, an old lion which has once tasted human flesh will in all probability continue to be a man-eater until he is killed. on this subject, in his "missionary travels," dr. livingstone says: "a man-eater is invariably an old lion; and when he overcomes his fear of man so far as to come to villages for goats, the people remark, 'his teeth are worn; he will soon kill men.' they at once acknowledge the necessity of instant action, and turn out to kill him." it is the promptness with which measures are taken by the greater part of the natives of southern africa to put an end to any lion which may take to eating men that prevents these animals as a rule from becoming the formidable pests which man-eating tigers appear to be in parts of india. but man-eating lions in africa are not invariably old animals. one which killed thirty-seven human beings in , on the majili river, to the north-west of the victoria falls of the zambesi, was, when at last he was killed, found to be an animal in the prime of life; whilst the celebrated man-eaters of the tsavo river, in east africa, were also apparently strong, healthy animals. these two man-eating lions caused such consternation amongst the indian workmen on the uganda railway that the work of construction was considerably retarded, the helpless coolies refusing to remain any longer in a country where they were liable to be eaten on any night by a man-eating lion. both these lions were at last shot by one of the engineers on the railway (mr. j. h. patterson), but not before they had killed and devoured twenty-eight indian coolies and an unknown number of native africans. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ tiger cub. note the great development of the legs and paws.] [illustration: _photo by valentine & sons, ltd._] [_dundee._ a royal tiger. this is an old bengal tiger, with the smooth, short coat grown in that hot climate.] the tiger. tigers are the "type animal" of asia. they are found nowhere else. lions were inhabitants, even in historic times, of europe, and are still common on the euphrates and in parts of persia, just as they were when the assyrian kings shot them with arrows from their hunting-chariots. they survived in greece far later than the days when story says that hercules slew the nemean lion in the peloponnesus, for the baggage-animals of xerxes' army of invasion were attacked by lions near mount athos. but the tiger never comes, and never did come in historic times, nearer to europe than the caucasian side of the caspian sea. on the other hand, they range very far north. all our tiger-lore is indian. there is scarcely a story of tigers to be found in english books of sport which deals with the animal north of the line of the himalaya. these chinese northern tigers and the siberian tigers are far larger than those of india. they have long woolly coats, in order to resist the cold. their skins are brought to london in hundreds every year to the great fur-sales. but the animals themselves we never see. the present writer was informed by a friend that in the amur valley he shot three of these tigers in a day, putting them up in thick bush-scrub by the aid of dogs. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ a tiger before sleeping. tigers, when about to sleep, sit in this position; when more drowsy, they lie down or roll over on their backs.] the royal bengal tiger, so called, and very properly called in the old books of natural history, is a different and far more savage beast. it is almost _invariably_ a ferocious savage, fierce by nature, never wishing to be otherwise than a destroyer--of beasts mainly, but often of men. compared with the lion, it is far longer, but rather lighter, for the lion is more massive and compact. "a well-grown tigress," says sir samuel baker, "may weigh on an average lbs. live weight. a very fine tiger may weigh lbs., but if fat the same tiger would weigh lbs. there may be tigers which weigh lbs. more than this; but i speak according to my experience. i have found that a tiger of feet inches is about inches above the average. the same skin may be _stretched_ to measure feet. a tiger in the zoological gardens is a long, lithe creature with little flesh. such a specimen affords a poor example of this grand animal in its native jungles, with muscles in their full, ponderous development from continual exertion in nightly travels over long distances, and in mortal struggles when wrestling with its prey. a well-fed tiger is by no means a slim figure. on the contrary, it is exceedingly bulky, broad in the shoulders, back, and loins, and with an extraordinary girth of limbs, especially in the forearms and wrists." this ponderous, active, and formidably armed creature is, as might be expected, able to hold its own wherever europeans do not form part of the regular population. in india the peasants are quite helpless even against a cattle-killing tiger in a populous part of the country. in the large jungles, and on the islands at the mouths of the great rivers, the tigers have things all their own way. things are no better in the far east. a large peninsula near singapore is said to have been almost abandoned by its cultivators lately, owing to the loss of life caused by the tigers. in the populous parts of india the tiger is far more stealthy than in the out-of-the-way districts. it only hunts by night; and after eating a part of the animal killed, moves off to a distance, and does not return. otherwise the regular habit is to return to the kill just at or after dusk, and finish the remainder. its suspicions seem quite lulled to sleep after dark. quite recently a sportsman sat up to watch for a tiger at a water-hole. it was in the height of the indian hot season, when very little water was left. all the creatures of that particular neighbourhood were in the habit of coming to drink at one good pool still left in the rocky bed of the river. there the tigers came too. the first night they did not come until all the other creatures--hog, deer, peacocks, and monkeys--had been down to drink. they then came so softly over the sand that the gunner in waiting did not hear them pass. his first knowledge that they were there was due to the splashing they made as they entered the water. it was quite dark, and he felt not a little nervous, for the bush on which he was seated on a small platform was only some feet high. he heard the two tigers pass him, not by their footsteps, but by the dripping of the water as it ran off their bodies on to the sand. next night they came again. this time, though it was dark, he shot one in a very ingenious manner. the two tigers walked into the water, and apparently lay down or sat down in it, with their heads out. they only moved occasionally, lapping the water, but did not greatly disturb the surface. on this was reflected a bright star from the sky above. the sportsman put the sight of the rifle on the star, and kept it up to his shoulder. something obliterated the star, and he instantly fired. the "something" was the tiger's head, which the bullet duly hit. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ a half-grown tiger cub. tigers "grow to their head," like children. the head of a half-grown cub is as long, though not so broad, as that of the adult.] [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ tigers in italy. these tigers were photographed in turin. italy was the first european country to which these animals were brought from the east.] the hill-tigers of india are, or were, much more given to hunting by day than the jungle-tigers. in the nilgiri hills of southern india the late general douglas hamilton said that before night the tigers were already about hunting, and that in the shade of evening it was dangerous to ride on a pony--not because the tigers wished to kill the rider, but because they might mistake the pony and its rider for a sambar deer. he was stalked like this more than once. often, when stalking sambar deer and ibex by day, he saw the tigers doing the same, or after other prey. "my brother richard," he writes, "was out after a tiger which the hillmen reported had killed a buffalo about an hour before. he saw the tiger on first getting to the ground, and the tiger had seen him. it was lying out in the open watching the buffalo, and shuffled into the wood, and would not come out again. next morning, when we got to the ground, the tiger was moving from rock to rock, and had dragged the body into a nullah.... we were upon the point of starting home when we observed a number of vultures coming down to the carcase. the vultures began to collect in large numbers on the opposite hill. i soon counted fifty; but they would not go near the buffalo. then some crows, bolder than the rest, flew down, and made a great row over their meal. all of a sudden they all flew up, and i made certain it was the tiger. then my brother fired, and there he was, shot right through the brain, lying just above the buffalo. he had been brought down by the noise the crows were making. upon driving the _sholas_ (small woods on these hills), tigers were often put out. sometimes they availed themselves of the drive to secure food for themselves. a wood was being driven, when a tremendous grunting was heard, and out rushed an old boar, bristling and savage. b---- was about to raise his rifle, when a growl like thunder stopped him, and a great tiger with one spring cleared the nullah, and alighted on the back of the old boar. such a battle then took place that, what with the growls of the tiger and the squeals of the boar, one might believe oneself in another world. i thought of nothing but of how to kill one or the other, or both; so, as they were rolling down over and over, about fifty yards from me on the open hillside, i let fly both barrels. for a second or two the noise went on; then the tiger jumped off, and the boar struggled into the nullah close by. the tiger pulled up, and coolly stared at us without moving; but his courage seemed to fail him, and he sprang into the nullah and disappeared." [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ a leopard-puma hybrid. this is a photograph from life of a very rare hybrid. the animals' father was a puma, its mother a leopard. it is now dead, and may be seen stuffed in mr. rothschild's museum at tring.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ leopards. a pair of leopards, one spotted, the other black. black leopards may be the offspring of the ordinary spotted form; they are generally much more savage.] in most parts of india tigers are now scarce and shy, except in the preserves of the great rajas, and the dominions of some mighty and pious hindu potentates, such as the maharaja of jeypur, who, being supposed to be descended from a hindu god, allows no wild animals to be killed. there the deer and pig are so numerous that tigers are welcome to keep them down. but the sunderbunds, unwholesome islands at the ganges mouth, still swarm with them. so does the malay peninsula. mr. j. d. cobbold shot a tiger in central asia in a swamp so deep in snow and so deadly cold that he dared not stay for fear of being frozen to death. tigers sometimes wander as far west as the caucasus near the caspian. the farther north, the larger your tiger, is the rule. the biggest ever seen in europe was a siberian tiger owned by herr carl hagenbeck, of hamburg, and the largest known skin and skull is from the far north. the skin is feet inches from the nose to the end of the tail. the largest indian tiger-skin, from one killed by the maharaja of cuch behar, measures feet inches. leopards. less in size, but even more ferocious, the leopard has a worse character than the tiger. living mainly in trees, and very nocturnal, this fierce and dangerous beast is less often seen than far rarer animals. it is widely spread over the world, from the cape of good hope to the atlas mountains, and from southern china to the black sea, where it is sometimes met with in the caucasus. there seems to be no legend of its presence in greece, italy, or spain; but it was quite common in asia minor; and cicero, when governor of cilicia, was plagued by an aristocratic young friend in rome to send him leopards to exhibit in a fête he was giving. any one who has frequented the zoo for any time must have noticed the difference in size and colour between leopards from different parts of the world. on some the ground-colour is almost white, in others a clear nut-brown. others are jet-black. wherever they live, they are cattle thieves, sheep thieves, and dog thieves. though not formidable in appearance, they are immensely strong. sometimes one will turn man-eater. both in india and lately in africa cases have been known where they have "set up" in this line as deliberately as any tiger. they have four or five young at a birth, which may often be kept tame for some time and are amusing pets. but the following plain story shows the danger of such experiments. at hong-kong an english merchant had a tame leopard, which was brought into the room by a coolie for the guests to see at a dinner party. excited by the smell of food, it refused to go out when one of the ladies, who did not like its looks, wished for it to be removed. the man took hold of its collar and began to haul it out. it seized him by the neck, bit it through, and in a minute the coolie was dying, covered with blood, on the dining-room floor! [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a young leopard the leopard cub is far more cat-like in appearance than the young tiger or lion.] the chinese leopard ranges as far north as the siberian tiger, and, like the latter, seems to grow larger the farther north it is found. the colour of these northern leopards is very pale, the spots large, and the fur very long. at the march fur-sales of the present year, held at the stores of sir charles lampson, there were siberian leopard-skins as large as those of a small tiger. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan]_ [_highbury._ snow-leopard, or ounce. this is a striking portrait of a very beautiful animal. note the long bushy tail, thick coat, and large eyes.] leopards are essentially tree-living and nocturnal animals. sleeping in trees or caves by day, they are seldom disturbed. they do an incredible amount of mischief among cattle, calves, sheep, and dogs, being especially fond of killing and eating the latter. they seize their prey by the throat, and cling with their claws until they succeed in breaking the spine or in strangling the victim. the largest leopards are popularly called panthers. in india they sometimes become man-eaters, and are always very dangerous. they have a habit of feeding on putrid flesh; this makes wounds inflicted by their teeth or claws liable to blood-poisoning. nothing in the way of prey comes amiss to them, from a cow in the pasture to a fowl up at roost. "in every country," says sir samuel baker, "the natives are unanimous in saying that the leopard is more dangerous than the lion or tiger. wherever i have been in africa, the natives have declared that they had no fear of a lion, provided they were not hunting, for it would not attack unprovoked, but that a leopard was never to be trusted. i remember when a native boy, accompanied by his grown-up brother, was busily employed with others in firing the reeds on the opposite bank of a small stream. being thirsty and hot, the boy stooped down to drink, when he was immediately seized by a leopard. his brother, with admirable aim, hurled his spear at the leopard while the boy was in his jaws. the point separated the vertebræ of the neck, and the leopard fell stone-dead. the boy was carried to my hut, but there was no chance of recovery. the fangs had torn open the chest and injured the lungs. these were exposed to view through the cavity of the ribs. he died the same night." in the great mountain-ranges of central asia the beautiful snow-leopard is found. it is a large creature, with thick, woolly coat, and a long tail like a fur boa. the colour is white, clouded with beautiful grey, like that of an angora cat. the edges of the cloudings and spots are marked with black or darker grey. the eyes are very large, bluish grey or smoke-coloured. it lives on the wild sheep, ibex, and other mountain animals. in captivity it is far the tamest and gentlest of the large carnivora, not excepting the puma. unlike the latter, it is a sleepy, quiet animal, like a domestic cat. the specimen shown here belonged to a lady in india, who kept it for some time as a pet. it was then brought to the zoological gardens, where it was more amiable and friendly than most cats. the writer has entered its cage with the keeper, stroked it, and patted its head, without in the least ruffling its good-temper. the heat of the lion-house did not suit it, and it died of consumption. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ cheeta. a cheeta is a hunting-leopard; this one is a particularly large specimen. the cheetas are dealt with later on in this chapter.] [illustration: _photo by g.w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ jaguar. the largest and strongest of the cats of the new world. a south american species.] the new world cats. the cats, great and small, of the new world resemble those of the old, though not quite so closely as the caribou, wapiti deer, and moose of the northern forests resemble the reindeer, red deer, and elk of europe. they are like, but with a difference. the jaguar and the ocelot are respectively larger and far more beautiful than their counterparts, the leopard and serval cats. but the puma, the one medium-sized feline animal which is unspotted, is something unique. the jaguar and puma are found very far south in south america; and though the jaguar is really a forest animal, it seems to have wandered out on to the pampas of argentina, perhaps attracted by the immense numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses on these plains. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ puma. a puma in the act of lying down, like a domestic cat.] the jaguar. the jaguar is as savage as it is formidable, but does not often attack men. its headquarters are the immense forests running from central america to southern brazil; and as all great forests are little inhabited, the jaguar is seldom encountered by white men. by the banks of the great rivers it is semi-aquatic; it swims and climbs with equal ease, and will attack animals on board boats anchored in the rivers. as there are few animals of great size in these forests, its great strength is not often seen exercised, as is that of the lion; but it is the personification of concentrated force, and its appearance is well worth studying from that point of view. the spots are larger and squarer than in the leopard, the head ponderous, the forearms and feet one mass of muscle, knotted under the velvet skin. on the amazons it draws its food alike from the highest tree-tops and the river-bed; in the former it catches monkeys in the branches, fish in the shallows of the rivers, and scoops out turtles' eggs from the sandbanks. humboldt, who visited these regions when the white population was scarce, declared that , jaguars were killed annually, and , skins exported from buenos ayres alone. it was clearly common on the pampas in his day, and made as great havoc among the cattle and horses as it does to-day. the puma. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ female puma. this shows a puma alert and vigilant, with ears pricked forward.] the puma is a far more interesting creature. it is found from the mountains in montana, next the canadian boundary, to the south of patagonia. yankee stories of its ferocity may have some foundation; but the writer believes there is no recorded instance of the northern puma attacking man unprovoked, though in the few places where it now survives it kills cattle-calves and colts. it is relentlessly hunted with dogs, treed, and shot. as to the puma of the southern plains and central forests, the natives, whether indians or gauchos, agree with the belief, steadily handed down from the days of the first spanish conquest, that the puma is the one wild cat which is naturally friendly to man. the old spaniards called it _amigo del cristiano_ (the christian's friend); and mr. hudson, in "the naturalist in la plata," gives much evidence of this most curious and interesting tendency: "it is notorious that where the puma is the only large beast of prey it is perfectly safe for a small child to go out and sleep on the plain.... the puma is always at heart a kitten, taking unmeasured delight in its frolics; and when, as often happens, one lives alone in the desert, it will amuse itself for hours fighting mock battles or playing hide-and-seek with imaginary companions, or lying in wait and putting all its wonderful strategy in practice to capture a passing butterfly." from azara downwards these stories have been told too often not to be largely true; and in old natural histories, whose writers believed the puma was a terrible man-eater, they also appear as "wonderful escapes." one tells how a man put his _poncho_, or cloak, over his back when crawling up to get a shot at some duck, and felt something heavy on the end of it. he crept from under it, and there was a puma sitting on it, which did not offer to hurt him. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ ocelot. note the elongated spots, and their arrangement in chains.] as space forbids further quotation from mr. hudson's experiences, which should be read, the writer will only add one anecdote which was told him by mr. everard im thurn, c.b., formerly an official in british guiana. he was going up one of the big rivers in his steam-launch, and gave a passage to an elderly and respectable cornish miner, who wanted to go up to a gold-mine. the visitor had his meals on the boat, but at night went ashore with the men and slung his hammock between two trees, leaving the cabin to his host. one morning two of the indian crew brought the miner's hammock on board with a good deal of laughing and talking. their master asked what the joke was, whereupon, pointing to the trees whence they had unslung the hammock, one said, "tiger sleep with old man last night." they were quite in earnest, and pointed out a hollow and marks on the leaves, which showed that a puma had been lying _just under the man's hammock_. when asked if he had noticed anything in the night, he said, "only the frogs croaking wakened me up." the croaking of the frogs was probably the hoarse purring of the friendly puma enjoying his proximity to a sleeping man. mr. hudson quotes a case in which four pumas played round and leapt over a person camping out on the pampas. he watched them for some time, and then went to sleep! many of those brought to this country come with their tempers ruined by ill-treatment and hardship; but a large proportion are as tame as cats. captain marshall had one at marlow which used to follow him on a chain and watch the boats full of pleasure-seekers at the lock. the puma is always a beautiful creature,--the fur cinnamon-coloured, tinged with gold; the belly and chest white; the tail long, full, and round. though friendly to man, it is a desperate cattle-killer, and particularly fond of horse-flesh, so much so that it has been suggested that the indigenous wild horses of america were destroyed by the puma. there are two other cats of the pampas--the grass-cat, not unlike our wild cat in appearance and habits, and the wood-cat, or geoffroy's cat. it is a tabby, and a most elegant creature, of which there is a specimen, at the time of writing, in the london zoo. the ocelot. in the forest region is also found the most beautiful of the medium-sized cats. this is the ocelot, which corresponds somewhat to the servals, but is not the least like a lynx, as the servals are. it is entirely a tree-cat, and lives on birds and monkeys. the following detailed description of its coloration appeared in "life at the zoo":-- "its coat, with the exception perhaps of that of the clouded leopard of sumatra, marks the highest development of ornament among four-footed animals. the argus pheasant alone seems to offer a parallel to the beauties of the ocelot's fur, especially in the development of the wonderful ocelli, which, though never reaching in the beast the perfect cup-and-ball ornament seen on the wings of the bird, can be traced in all the early stages of spots and wavy lines, so far as the irregular shell-shaped rim and dot on the feet, sides, and back, just as in the subsidiary ornament of the argus pheasant's feathers. most of the ground-tint of the fur is smoky-pearl colour, on which the spots develop from mere dots on the legs and speckles on the feet and toes to large egg-shaped ocelli on the flanks. there are also two beautiful pearl-coloured spots on the back of each ear, like those which form the common ornaments of the wings of many moths." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ ocelot from central america. the ocelot can be tamed and almost domesticated if taken young, and is occasionally kept as a pet by the forest indians.] the nose is pink; the eye large, convex, and translucent. a tame ocelot described by wilson, the american naturalist, was most playful and affectionate, but when fed with flesh was less tractable. it jumped on to the back of a horse in the stable, and tried to curl up on its hindquarters. the horse threw the ocelot off and kicked it, curing it of any disposition to ride. on seeing a horse, the ocelot always ran off to its kennel afterwards. when sent to england, it caught hold of and threw down a child of four years old, whom it rolled about with its paws without hurting it. other wild cats. a handsome leopard-like animal is the clouded leopard. it is the size of a small common leopard, but far gentler in disposition. its fur is not spotted, but marked with clouded patches, outlined in grey and olive-brown. its skin is among the most beautiful of the cats. it is found in the malay peninsula, borneo, sumatra, formosa, and along the foot of the himalaya from nepal to assam. writing of two which he kept, sir stamford raffles said: "no kitten could be more good-tempered. they were always courting intercourse with persons passing by, and in the expression of their countenance showed the greatest delight when noticed, throwing themselves on their backs, and delighting in being tickled and rubbed. on board ship there was a small dog, which used to play around the cage with the animal. it was amusing to watch the tenderness and playfulness with which the latter came in contact with its smaller-sized companion." both specimens were procured from the banks of the bencoolin river, in sumatra. they are generally found near villages, and are not dreaded by the natives, except in so far that they destroy their poultry. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ clouded leopard. it shares with the ocelot the first place among the highly ornamented cats.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ fishing-cat. this wild cat haunts the sides of rivers, and is an expert at catching fish.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ marbled cat. another beautifully marked cat. the tail is spotted and very long, the marbled markings being on the body only.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ golden cat. sumatra is the home of this very beautifully coloured cat. the general tint is that of gold-stone. sometimes the belly is pure white.] the number of smaller leopard-cats and tiger-cats is very great. they fall, roughly, into three groups: those which are yellow and spotted, those which are grey and spotted, and those which are grey and striped, or "whole-coloured." there is no wholly grey wild cat, but several sandy-coloured species. all live on birds and small mammals, and probably most share the tame cat's liking for fish. among the grey-and-spotted cats are the mottled cat of the eastern himalaya and straits settlements and islands; the tibetian tiger-cat; the fishing-cat of india and ceylon, which is large enough to kill lambs, but lives much on fish and large marsh-snails; geoffroy's cat, an american species; the leopard-cat of java and japan, which seems to have grey fur in japan and a fulvous leopard-like skin in india, where it is also called the tiger-cat; and the smallest of all wild cats, the little rusty-spotted cat of india. this has rusty spots on a grey ground. "i had a kitten brought to me," says dr. jerdon of the species, "when very young. it became quite tame, and was the delight and admiration of all who saw it. when it was about eight months old, i introduced the fawn of a gazelle into the room where it was. the little creature flew at it the moment it saw it, seized it by the nape of the neck, and was with difficulty taken off." of the whole-coloured wild cats--which include the bay cat, the american pampas-cat, pallas' cat of tibet and india--the most beautiful is the golden cat of sumatra, one of which is now in the zoological gardens. it has a coat the colour of gold-stone. the nose is pink, the eyes large and topaz-coloured, the cheeks striped with white, and the under-parts and lower part of the tail pure white. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ pampas-cat. note the likeness of the thick tail and barred legs to our english wild cat. "inexpressibly savage in disposition" (hudson).] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ eyra cat. the lowest and longest of the cats, shaped more like a civet; it is readily tamed, and makes a charming pet.] four kinds of wild cats are known in south africa, of which the largest is the serval, a short-tailed, spotted animal, with rather more woolly fur than the leopard's. the length is about feet inches, of which the tail is only inches. it is found from algeria to the cape; but its favourite haunts, like those of all the wild cats of hot countries, are in the reeds by rivers. it kills hares, rats, birds, and small mammals generally. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bay cat. this is an example of the completely tawny small cats.] the black-footed wild cat is another african species. it is a beautiful spotted-and-lined tabby, the size of a small domestic cat, and as likely as any other to be the origin of our tabby variety, if tame cats came to europe from africa. at present it is only found south in the kalahari desert and bechuanaland. the kaffir cat is the common wild cat of the cape colony, and a very interesting animal. it is a whole-coloured tawny, upstanding animal, with all the indifference to man and generally independent character of the domestic tom-cat. it is, however, much stronger than the tame cats, with which it interbreeds freely. in the colony it is often difficult to keep male tame cats, for the wild kaffir cats come down and fight them in the breeding-season. the egyptian cat is really the same animal, slightly modified by climate. a very distinct species is the jungle-cat, ranging from india, through baluchistan, syria, and east africa, and called in hindustani the chaus. the european striped wild cat extends to the himalaya, where the range of the lion-coloured, yellow-eyed chaus begins. the chaus has a few black bars inside the legs, which vary in different regions. the indian chaus has only one distinctly marked; the kaffir cat has four or five. the egyptian fettered cat has been said to be the origin of the domestic and sacred cats of egypt. a male chaus is most formidable when "cornered." general hamilton chased one, which had prowled into the cantonments on the look-out for fowls, into a fence. "after a long time i spied the cat squatting in a hedge," he writes, "and called for the dogs. when they came, i knelt down and began clapping my hands and cheering them on. the cat suddenly made a clean spring at my face. i had just time to catch it as one would a cricket-ball, and, giving its ribs a strong squeeze, threw it to the dogs; but not before it had made its teeth meet in my arm just above the wrist. for some weeks i had to carry my arm in a sling, and i shall carry the marks of the bite to my grave." [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ kaffir cat. the common wild cat of south africa. it will interbreed with domestic cats.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ african chaus, or jungle-cat. the chaus is the indian and african equivalent of our wild cat. it is equally strong and savage.] the chaus, as will be seen from the above, wanders boldly down into the outskirts of large towns, cantonments, and bungalows, on the look-out for chickens and pigeons. its favourite plan is to lie up at dawn in some piece of thick cover near to where the poultry wander out to scratch, feed, and bask. it then pounces on the nearest unhappy hen and rushes off with it into cover. an acquaintance of the writer once had a number of fine indian game fowl, of which he was not a little proud. he noticed that one was missing every morning for three days, and, not being able to discover the robber, shut them up in a hen-house. next morning he heard a great commotion outside, and one of his bearers came running in to say that a leopard was in the hen-house. as this was only built of bamboo or some such light material, it did not seem probable that a leopard would stay there. getting his rifle, he went out into the compound, and cautiously approached the hen-house, in which the fowls were still making loud protests and cries of alarm. the door was shut; but some creature--certainly not a leopard--might have squeezed in through the small entrance used by the hens. he opened the door, and saw at the back of the hen-house a chaus sitting, with all its fur on end, looking almost as large as a small leopard. on the floor was one dead fowl. the impudent jungle-cat rushed for the door, but had the coolness to seize the hen as it passed, and with this in its mouth rushed past the owner of the hens, his servants and retainers, and reached a piece of thick scrub near with its prize. as the chaus is common both in india and africa, a comparison of its habits in both continents is somewhat interesting. jerdon, the indian naturalist, writes: "it is the common wild cat from the himalaya to cape comorin, and from the level of the sea to , or , feet elevation. it frequents alike the jungles and the open country, and is very partial to long reeds, and grass, sugarcane-fields, and corn-fields. it does much damage to all game, especially to hares and partridges. quite recently i shot a pea-fowl at the edge of a sugarcane-field. one of these cats sprang out, seized the pea-fowl, and after a short struggle--for the bird was not quite dead--carried it off before my astonished eyes, and, in spite of my running up, made his escape with his booty. it must have been stalking these very birds, so closely did its spring follow my shot. it is said to breed twice a year, and to have three or four young at a birth. i have very often had the young brought to me, but always failed in rearing them; and they always showed a savage and untamable disposition. i have seen numbers of cats about villages in various parts of the country that must have been hybrids between this cat and the tame ones." the late sir oliver st. john was more fortunate with his jungle-cat kittens. he obtained three in persia. these he reared till they were three months old, by which time they became so tame that they would climb on to his knees at breakfast-time, and behave like ordinary kittens. one was killed by a greyhound, and another by a scorpion--a curious fate for a kitten to meet. the survivor then became morose and ill-tempered, but grew to be a large and strong animal. "two english bull-terriers of mine, which would make short work of the largest domestic cat, could do nothing against my wild cat," says the same writer. "in their almost daily battles the dogs always got the worst of it." [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ serval. this is a spotted cat, with long ears, but no tufts on them, as in the true lynxes.] in africa the chaus haunts the thick cover bordering the rivers. there it catches not only water-fowl, but also fish. according to messrs. nicolls and eglington, "its spoor may constantly be seen imprinted on the mud surrounding such pools in the periodical watercourses as are constantly being dried up, and in which fish may probably be imprisoned without chance of escape." the chaus has for neighbour in africa the beautiful serval, a larger wild cat. this species is reddish in colour, spotted on the body, and striped on the legs. the ears are long, but not tufted, like those of the lynx. the serval is more common in north and central africa than in the south. but it is also found south of the tropic of capricorn. messrs. nicolls and eglington say of it: "northward through south central africa it is fairly common. it frequents the thick bush in the vicinity of rivers. the _karosses_, or mantles, made from its skins are only worn by the chiefs and very high dignitaries amongst the native tribes, and are in consequence eagerly sought after, on which account the species runs a risk of rapid extermination. its usual prey consists of the young of the smaller antelopes, francolins, and wild guinea-fowls, to the latter of which it is a most destructive enemy in the breeding-season. when obtained young, the serval can be tamed with little trouble; but it is difficult to rear, and always shows a singular and almost unaccountable aversion to black men. its otherwise even temper is always aroused at the sight of a native. when in anger, it is by no means a despicable antagonist, and very few dogs would like to engage in a combat with one single-handed." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ male serval. the serval is a link between the leopards and tiger-cats, quite large enough to kill the young of the smaller antelopes.] the common wild cat. the wild cat was once fairly common all over england. a curious story, obviously exaggerated, shows that traditions of its ferocity were common at a very early date. the tale is told of the church of barnborough, in yorkshire, between doncaster and barnsley. it is said that a man and a wild cat met in a wood near and began to fight; that the cat drove the man out of the wood as far as the church, where he took refuge in the porch; and that both the man and cat were so injured that they died. according to dr. pearce, the event was formerly commemorated by a rude painting in the church. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ serval climbing. note the active, cat-like method of climbing.] mr. charles st. john had an experience with a scotch wild cat very like that which general douglas hamilton tells of the jungle-cat. he heard many stories of their attacking and wounding men when trapped or when their escape was cut off, and before long found out that these were true. "i was fishing in a river in sutherland," he wrote, "and in passing from one pool to another had to climb over some rocky ground. in doing so, i sank almost up to my knees in some rotten heather and moss, almost upon a wild cat which was concealed under it. i was quite as much startled as the cat itself could be, when i saw the wild-looking beast rush so unexpectedly from between my feet, with every hair on her body on end, making her look twice as large as she really was. i had three small skye terriers with me, which immediately gave chase, and pursued her till she took refuge in a corner of the rocks, where, perched in a kind of recess out of reach of her enemies, she stood with her hair bristled out, spitting and growling like a common cat. having no weapon with me, i laid down my rod, cut a good-sized stick, and proceeded to dislodge her. as soon as i was within six or seven feet of the place, she sprang straight at my face over the dogs' heads. had i not struck her in mid-air as she leaped at me, i should probably have received a severe wound. as it was, she fell with her back half broken among the dogs, who with my assistance dispatched her. i never saw an animal fight so desperately, or one which was so difficult to kill. if a tame cat has nine lives, a wild cat must have a dozen. sometimes one of these animals will take up its residence at no great distance from a house, and, entering the hen-roosts and outbuildings, will carry off fowls in the most audacious manner, or even lambs. like other vermin, the wild cat haunts the shores of lakes and rivers, and it is therefore easy to know where to set a trap for them. having caught and killed one of the colony, the rest of them are sure to be taken if the body of their slain relative is left in the same place not far from their usual hunting-ground and surrounded with traps, as every wild cat passing that way will to a certainty come to it." the wild cat ranges from the far north of scotland, across europe and northern asia, to the northern slopes of the himalaya. it has always been known as one of the fiercest and wildest of the cats, large or small. the continual ill-temper of these creatures is remarkable. in the experience of the keepers of menageries there is no other so intractably savage. one presented to the zoological gardens by lord lilford some eight years ago still snarls and spits at any one who comes near it, even the keeper. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ european wild cat. the british representative of this species is rapidly becoming extinct. the specimen whose portrait is given here was caught in argyllshire.] the food of the wild cat is grouse, mountain-hares, rabbits, small birds, and probably fish caught in the shallow waters when chance offers. it is wholly nocturnal; consequently no one ever sees it hunting for prey. though it has long been confined to the north and north-west of scotland, it is by no means on the verge of extinction. the deer-forests are saving it to some extent, as they did the golden eagle. grouse and hares are rather in the way when deer are being stalked; consequently the wild cat and the eagle are not trapped or shot. the limits of its present fastnesses were recently fixed by careful scotch naturalists at the line of the caledonian canal. mr. harvie brown, in , said that it only survived in scotland north of a line running from oban to the junction of the three counties of perth, forfar, and aberdeen, and thence through banffshire to inverness. but the conclusion of a writer in the _edinburgh review_ of july, , in a very interesting article on the survival of british mammals, has been happily contradicted. he believed that it only survived in the deer-forests of inverness and sutherlandshire. the wild cats shown in the illustrations of these pages were caught a year later as far south as argyllshire. the father and two kittens were all secured, practically unhurt, and purchased by mr. percy leigh pemberton for his collection of british mammals at ashford, in kent. this gentleman has had great success in preserving his wild cats. they, as well as others--martens, polecats, and other small carnivora--are fed on fresh wild rabbits killed in a warren near; consequently they are in splendid condition. the old "tom" wild cat, snarling with characteristic ill-humour, was well supported by the wild and savage little kittens, which exhibited all the family temper. shortly before the capture of these wild cats another family were trapped in aberdeenshire and brought to the zoological gardens. four kittens, beautiful little savages, with bright green eyes, and uninjured, were safely taken to regent's park. but the quarters given them were very small and cold, and they all died. two other full-grown wild cats brought there a few years earlier were so dreadfully injured by the abominable steel traps in which they were caught that they both died of blood-poisoning. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ scotch wild cats. these wild cats, the property of mr. p. leigh pemberton, though regularly fed and well treated, show their natural bad-temper in their faces.] the real wild cats differ in their markings on the body, some being more clearly striped, while others are only brindled. but they are all alike in the squareness and thickness of head and body, and in the short tail, ringed with black, and growing larger at the tip, which ends off like a shaving-brush. it may well be asked, which of the many species of wild cats mentioned above is the ancestor of our domestic cats? probably different species in different countries. the african kaffir cat, the indian leopard-cat, the rusty-spotted cat of india, and the european wild cat all breed with tame cats. it is therefore probable that the spotted, striped, and brindled varieties of tame cats are descended from wild species which had those markings. the so-called red tame cats are doubtless descended from the tiger-coloured wild cats. but it is a curious fact that, though the spotted grey-tabby wild varieties are the least common, that colour is most frequent in the tame species. the lynxes. in the lynxes we seem to have a less specially cat-like form. they are short-tailed, high in the leg, and broad-faced. less active than the leopards and tiger-cats, and able to live either in very hot or very cold countries, they are found from the persian deserts to the far north of siberia and canada. the caracal is a southern, hot-country lynx. it has a longer tail than the others, but the same tufted ears. it seems a link between the lynxes and the jungle-cats. it is found in india, palestine, persia, and mesopotamia. in india it was trained, like the cheeta, to catch birds, gazelles, and hares. the common lynx is probably the same animal, whether found in norway, russia, the carpathians, turkestan, china, or tibet. the canadian lynx is also very probably the same, with local differences of colour. the northern lynx is the largest feline animal left in europe, and kills sheep and goats equally with hares and squirrels. the beautiful fur, of pale cinnamon and light grey, is much admired. in some southern districts of america we have the red lynx, or so-called "wild cat," which is distinct from the lynx of canada. the mediterranean or spanish lynx seems likewise entitled to rank as a distinct species. of the lynxes the caracals are perhaps the most interesting, from their capacity for domestication. they are found in africa in the open desert country, whereas the serval is found in the thick bush. in africa it is believed to be the most savage and untamable of the cats. that is probably because the negro and the kaffir never possessed the art of training animals, from the elephant downwards. in india the caracal's natural prey are the fawns of deer and antelope, pea-fowl, hares, and floricans. the caracal is the quickest with its feet of any of the cats. one of its best-known feats is to spring up and catch birds passing over on the wing at a height of six or eight feet from the ground. a writer, in the naturalist's library, notes that, besides being tamed to catch deer, pea-fowl, and cranes, the caracal was used in "pigeon matches." two caracals were backed one against the other to kill pigeons. the birds were fed on the ground, and the caracals suddenly let loose among them, to strike down as many as each could before the birds escaped. each would sometimes strike down with its fore paws ten or a dozen pigeons. "caracal" means in turkish "black ear," in allusion to the colour of the animal's organ of hearing. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ lynx. this animal is a uniformly coloured specie common to india and africa.] the common lynx is a thick-set animal, high in the leg, with a square head and very strong paws and forearms. it is found across the whole northern region of europe and asia. although never known in britain in historic times, it is still occasionally seen in parts of the alps and in the carpathians; it is also common in the caucasus. it is mainly a forest animal, and very largely nocturnal; therefore it is seldom seen, and not often hunted. if any enemy approaches, the lynx lies perfectly still on some branch or rock, and generally succeeds in avoiding notice. the lynx is extremely active; it can leap great distances, and makes its attack usually in that way. when travelling, it trots or gallops in a very dog-like fashion. where sheep graze at large on mountains, as in the balkans and in greece, the lynx is a great enemy of the flocks. in norway, where the animal is now very rare, there is a tradition that it is more mischievous than the wolf, and a high price is set on its head. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ european lynx. the largest of the cat tribe left in europe.] in siberia and north russia most of the lynx-skins taken are sold to the chinese. the lynx-skins brought to london are mainly those of the canadian species. the fur is dyed, and used for the busbies of the officers in our hussar regiments. these skins vary much in colour, and in length and quality of fur. the price varies correspondingly. the canadian lynx lives mainly on the wood-hares and on the wood-grouse of the north american forests. the flesh of the lynx is said to be good and tender. brehm says of the siberian lynx: "it is a forest animal in the strictest sense of the word. but in siberia it occurs only singly, and is rarely captured. its true home is in the thickest parts in the interior of the woods, and these it probably never leaves except when scarcity of food or the calls of love tempt it to wander to the outskirts. both immigrants and natives hold the hunting of the lynx in high esteem. this proud cat's activity, caution and agility, and powers of defence arouse the enthusiasm of every sportsman, and both skin and flesh are valued, the latter not only by the mongolian tribes, but also by the russian hunters. the lynx is seldom captured in fall-traps; he often renders them useless by walking along the beam and stepping on the lever, and he usually leaps over the spring-traps in his path. so only the rifle and dogs are left." [illustration: _by permission of mr. s. b. gundy_] [_toronto._ canadian lynx. great numbers of these are trapped every year for the sake of their fur.] the red lynx is a small american variety, the coat of which turns tawny in summer, when it much resembles a large cat. it is called in some parts of the united states the mountain-cat. this lynx is inches long in the body, with a tail inches long. it is found on the eastern or atlantic side of the continent, and by no means shuns the neighbourhood of settlements. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ wolf from central europe. the last persons recorded as killed by these animals were an artist and his wife travelling in hungary.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ cheetas. cheetas can be distinguished at a glance from ordinary leopards by the solid black spots on the back instead of the "rosettes."] the cheeta. the non-retractile-clawed cat. the cheeta, or hunting-leopard, is the only example of this particular group, though there was an extinct form, whose remains are found in the siwalik hills, in the north of india. it is a very widely dispersed animal, found in persia, turkestan, and the countries east of the caspian, and in india so far as the lower part of the centre of the peninsula. it is also common in africa, where until recent years it was found in cape colony and natal. now it is banished to the kalahari desert, the northern transvaal, and bechuanaland. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ a cheeta hooded. the cheeta is not unhooded until fairly near his quarry, when he is given a sight of the game, and a splendid race ensues.] the cheeta is more dog-like than any other cat. it stands high on the leg, and has a short, rounded head. its fur is short and rather woolly, its feet rounded, and its claws, instead of slipping back into sheaths like a lion's, are only partly retractile. mr. lockwood kipling gives the following account of the cheeta and its keepers: "the only point where real skill comes into play in dealing with the hunting-leopard is in catching the adult animal when it has already learnt the swift, bounding onset, its one accomplishment. the young cheeta is not worth catching, for it has not yet learnt its trade, nor can it be taught in captivity.... there are certain trees where these great dog-cats (for they have some oddly canine characteristics) come to play and whet their claws. the hunters find such a tree, and arrange nooses of deer-sinew round it, and wait the event. the animal comes and is caught by the leg, and it is at this point that the trouble begins. it is no small achievement for two or three naked, ill-fed men to secure so fierce a capture and carry it home tied on a cart. then his training begins. he is tied in all directions, principally from a thick rope round his loins, while a hood fitted over his head effectually blinds him. he is fastened on a strong cot-bedstead, and the keepers and their wives and families reduce him to submission by starving him and keeping him awake. his head is made to face the village street, and for an hour at a time, several times a day, his keepers make pretended rushes at him, and wave clothes, staves, and other articles in his face. he is talked to continually, and the women's tongues are believed to be the most effective of things to keep him awake. no created being could withstand the effects of hunger, want of sleep, and feminine scolding; and the poor cheeta becomes piteously, abjectly tame. he is taken out for a walk occasionally--if a slow crawl between four attendants, all holding hard, can be called a walk--and his promenades are always through the crowded streets and bazaars, where the keepers' friends are to be found; but the people are rather pleased than otherwise to see the raja's cheetas amongst them." later, when the creature is tamed, "the cheeta's bedstead is like that of the keeper, and leopard and man are often curled up under the same blanket! when his bedfellow is restless, the keeper lazily stretches out an arm from his end of the cot and dangles a tassel over the animal's head, which seems to soothe him. in the early morning i have seen a cheeta sitting up on his couch, a red blanket half covering him, and his tasselled red hood awry, looking exactly like an elderly gentleman in a nightcap, as he yawns with the irresolute air of one who is in doubt whether to rise or to turn in for another nap." this charming and accurate description shows the cheeta at home. in the field he is quite another creature. he is driven as near as possible to the game, and then unhooded and given a sight of them. sir samuel baker thus describes a hunt in which a cheeta was used: "the chase began after the right-hand buck, which had a start of about yards. it was a magnificent sight to see the extraordinary speed of pursuer and pursued. the buck flew over the level surface, followed by the cheeta, which was laying out at full stretch, with its long, thick tail brandishing in the air. they had run yards, when the keeper gave the word, and away we went as fast as our horses could carry us. the horses could go over this clear ground, where no danger of a fall seemed possible. i never saw anything to equal the speed of the buck and the cheeta; we were literally nowhere, although we were going as hard as horseflesh could carry us; but we had a glorious view. the cheeta was gaining in the course, while the buck was exerting every muscle for life or death in its last race. presently, after a course of about a quarter of a mile, the buck doubled like a hare, and the cheeta lost ground as it shot ahead, instead of turning quickly, being only about thirty yards in rear of the buck. recovering itself, it turned on extra steam, and the race appeared to recommence at increased speed. the cheeta was determined to win, and at this moment the buck made another double in the hope of shaking off its terrible pursuer; but this time the cheeta ran cunning, and was aware of the former game. it turned as sharply as the buck. gathering itself together for a final effort, it shot forward like an arrow, picked up the distance which remained between them, and in a cloud of dust we could for one moment distinguish two forms. the next instant the buck was on its back, and the cheeta's fangs were fixed like an iron vice in its throat. the course run was about yards, and it was worth a special voyage to india to see that hunt." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ a cheeta on the look-out. cheetas are common to africa and india. by the native princes of the latter country they are much used for taking antelope and other game.] the domestic cat. by louis wain. of the domestication of the cat we know very little, but it is recorded that a tribe of cats was trained to retrieve--_i.e._ to fetch and carry game. in our own time i have seen many cats fetch and carry corks and newspapers, and on one occasion pounce upon a small roach at the end of a line and place it at its owner's feet. gamekeepers whom i have known agree that, for cunning, craftiness, and tenacity in attaining an object, the semi-wild cat of the woods shows far superior intelligence to the rest of the woodland denizens. it is quite a usual thing to hear of farm cats entering upon a snake-hunting expedition with the greatest glee, and showing remarkable readiness in pitching upon their quarry and pinning it down until secured. these farm cats are quite a race by themselves. of decided sporting proclivities, they roam the countryside with considerable fierceness, and yet revert to the domesticity of the farmhouse fireside as though innocent of roving instincts. they are spasmodic to a degree in their mode of life, and apparently work out one mood before entering upon another. it will be remembered that this spasmodic tendency--the true feline independence, by-the-bye--is and has been characteristic of the cat throughout its history, and any one who has tried to overcome it has met with failure. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ white short-haired. most white cats are not albinoes--that is to say, they have ordinarily coloured and not red eyes.] [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ long-haired white. white cats with blue eyes are generally deaf, or at all events hard of hearing.] watch your own cat, and you will see that he will change his sleeping-quarters periodically; and if he can find a newspaper conveniently placed, he will prefer it to lie upon, before anything perhaps, except a cane-bottomed chair, to which all cats are very partial. if you keep a number of cats, as i do, you will find that they are very imitative, and what one gets in the habit of doing they will all do in time: for instance, one of my cats took to sitting with his front paws inside my tall hat and his body outside, and this has become a catty fashion in the family, whether the object be a hat, cap, bonnet, small basket, box, or tin. if by chance one of the cats is attacked by a dog, a peculiar cry from the aggrieved animal will immediately awaken the others out of their lethargy or sleep, and bring them fiercely to the rescue. they are, too, particularly kind and nice to the old cat, and are tolerant only of strange baby kittens and very old cats in the garden as long as they do not interfere with the "catty" subject. the same quality obtains in spain or portugal, where a race of scavenging cats exists, which go about in droves or families, and are equal to climbing straight walls, big trees, chimneys, and mountain-sides. long, lanky, and thin, they are built more on the lines of a greyhound than the ordinary cat, and are more easily trained in tricks than home cats. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari, florence._ mackerel-marked tabby. tabbies are probably the best known and the commonest cats in england.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ cat carrying kitten. a unique photograph, showing the way in which the cat carries its young.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor, ealing._ blue long-haired, or persian. persian or long-haired cats are of various colours; this is one of the least common.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor, ealing._ smoke and blue long-haired. two pretty and valuable persian kittens.] [illustration: _by permission of lady alexander._ orange tabby. a champion winner of first prizes.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor, ealing._ long-haired tabby. a pretty pose.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor, ealing._ silver persian. a handsome specimen.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor, ealing._ smoke long-haired, or persian. a new breed.] the tortoiseshell has long been looked upon as the national cat of spain, and in fact that country is overrun with the breed, ranging from a dense black and brown to lighter shades of orange-brown and white. the pure tortoiseshell might be called a black and tan, with no white, streaked like a tortoiseshell comb if possible, and with wonderful amber eyes. it is characteristic of their intelligence that they will invariably find their way home, and will even bring that mysterious instinct to bear which guides them back long distances to the place of their birth; and, with regard to this cat, the stories of almost impossible journeys made are not one bit exaggerated. the tom-cats of this breed are very rare in england; i myself have only known of the existence of six in fifteen years, and of these but three are recorded in the catalogues of our cat shows. [illustration: short-haired blue. this champion cat belongs to lady alexander, by whose kind permission it is here reproduced.] the black cat has many of the characteristics of the tortoiseshell, but is essentially a town cat, and is wont to dream his life away in shady corners, in underground cellars, in theatres, and in all places where he can, in fact, retire to monastic quiet. the black cat of st. clement danes church was one of the remarkable cats of london. it was his wont to climb on to the top of the organ-pipes and enjoy an occasional musical concert alone. a christening or a wedding was his pride; and many people can vouch for a lucky wedding who had the good-fortune to be patronised by the black cat of st. clement danes, which walked solemnly down the aisle of the church in front of the happy couples. my old pet peter was a black-and-white cat, and, like most of his kind, was one of the most remarkable cats for intelligence i have ever known. a recital of his accomplishments would, however, have very few believers--a fact i find existing in regard to all really intelligent cats. there are so many cats of an opposite character, and people will rarely take more than a momentary trouble to win the finer nature of an animal into existence. suffice it to say, that peter would lie and die, sit up with spectacles on his nose and with a post-card between his paws--a trick i have taught many people's cats to do. he would also mew silent meows when bid, and wait at the door for my home-coming. for a long time, too, it was customary to hear weird footfalls at night outside the bedroom doors, and visitors to the house were a little more superstitious as to their cause than we were ourselves. we set a watch upon the supposed ghost, but sudden opening of the doors discovered only the mystic form of peter sitting purring on the stairs. he was, however, ultimately caught in the act of lifting the corner of the door-rug and letting it fall back in its place, and he had grown quite expert in his method of raising and dropping it at regular intervals until he heard that his signals had produced the required effect, and the door was opened to admit him. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ silver tabby. a beautiful variety of the typical british cat.] white cats i might call musical cats, for it is quite characteristic of the albinoes that noises rarely startle them out of their simpering, loving moods. the scraping of a violin, which will scare an ordinary cat out of its senses, or the thumping of a piano, which would terrorise even strong-nerved cats, would only incite a white cat to a happier mood. certainly all white cats are somewhat deaf, or lack acute quality of senses; but this failing rather softens the feline nature than becomes dominant as a weakness. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ short-haired tabby. this is perhaps the most famous cat now living. it has won no less than prizes. lady decies is its owner.] the nearest to perfection perhaps, and yet at the same time extremely soft and finely made, is the blue cat, rare in england as an english cat, but common in most other countries, and called in america the maltese cat--for fashion's sake probably, since it is too widely distributed there to be localised as of foreign origin. it is out in the mining districts and agricultural quarters, right away from the beaten tracks of humanity, where the most wonderful breeds of cats develop in america; and caravan showmen have told me that at one time it was quite a business for them to carry cats into these wildernesses, and sell them to rough, hardy miners, who dealt out death to each other without hesitation in a quarrel, but who softened to the appeal of an animal which reminded them of homelier times. one man told me that upon one occasion he sold eight cats at an isolated mining township in colorado, and some six days' journey farther on he was caught up by a man on horseback from the township, who had ridden hard to overtake the menagerie caravan, with the news that one of the cats had climbed a monster pine-tree, and that all the other cats had followed in his wake; food and drink had been placed in plenty at the foot of the tree, but that the cats had been starving, frightened out of their senses, for three days, and despite all attempts to reach them they had only climbed higher and higher out of reach into the uppermost and most dangerous branches of the pine. the showman hastened with his guide across country to the township, only to find that in the interval one bright specimen of a man belonging to the village had suggested felling the tree, and so rescuing the cats from the pangs of absolute starvation, should they survive the ordeal. a dynamite cartridge had been used to blast the roots of the pine, and a rope attached to its trunk had done the rest and brought the monster tree to earth, only, however, at the expense of all the cats, for not one survived the tremendous fall and shaking. a sad and tearful procession followed the remains of the cats to their hastily dug grave, and thereafter a bull mastiff took the place of the cats in the township, an animal more in character with the lives of its inhabitants. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ long-haired orange. a good specimen of this variety is always large and finely furred.] analogous to this case of the travelling menageries, we have the great variety of blues, silvers, and whites which are characteristic of russia. there is a vast tableland of many thousands of miles in extent, intersected by caravan routes to all the old countries of the ancients, and it is not astonishing to hear of attempts being made to steal the wonderful cats of persia, china, and northern india, as well as those of the many dependent and independent tribes which bound the russian kingdom. but it is a remarkable fact that none but the blues can live in the attenuated atmosphere of the higher mountainous districts through which they are taken before arriving in russian territory. it is no uncommon thing to find a wonderful complexity of blue cats shading to silver and white in most russian villages, or blue cats of remarkable beauty, but with a dash of tabby-marking running through their coats. their life, too, is lived at the two extremes. in the short russian summer they roam the woodlands, pestered by a hundred poisonous insects; in the winter they are imprisoned within the four walls of a snow-covered cottage, and are bound down prisoners to domesticity till the thaw sets in again. many of the beautiful furs which come to us from russia are really the skins of these cats, the preparation of which for market has grown into a large and thriving industry. the country about kronstadt, in the southern carpathian mountains of austria, is famous for its finely developed animals; and here, too, has grown up a colony of sable-coloured cats, said to be of turkish origin, where the pariahs take the place of cats. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ manx. these tailless cats are well known; they were formerly called "cornwall cats." note the length of the hind legs, which is one of the characteristics of this variety of the domestic cat.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ siamese. these strikingly coloured cats are now fairly numerous in england, but command high prices. they have white kittens, which subsequently become coloured.] [illustration: blue long-haired, or persian. this cat belonged to queen victoria.] [illustration: silver persians. three of mrs. champion's celebrated cats.] the tabby is remarkable to us in that it is characteristic of our own country, and no other colour seems to have been popular until our own times. if you ask any one which breed of cat is the real domestic cat, you will be told the tabby, probably because it is so well known to all. the complexity of the tabby is really remarkable, and for shape and variety of colouring it has no equal in any other tribe of cat. it has comprised in its nature all the really great qualities of the feline, and all its worst attributes. you can truthfully say of one of its specimens that it attaches itself to the individual, while of another in the same litter you will get an element of wildness. a third of the same parents will sober down to the house, but take only a passing notice of people. you can teach it anything if it is tractable, make it follow like a dog, come to whistle, but it will have its independence. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ long-haired chinchilla. note the beautiful "fluffiness" of this cat's fur.] the sand-coloured cat, with a whole-coloured coat like the rabbit, which we know as the abyssinian or bunny cat, is a strong african type. on the gold coast it comes down from the inland country with its ears all bitten and torn away in its fights with rivals. it has been acclimatised in england, and devonshire and cornwall have both established a new and distinct tribe out of its parentage. the manx cat is nearly allied to it, and a hundred years ago the tailless cat was called the cornwall cat, not the manx. siam sends us a regal animal in the siamese royal cat; it has a brown face, legs, and tail, a cream-coloured body, and mauve or blue eyes. the siamese take great care of their cats, for it is believed that the souls of the departed are transmitted into the bodies of animals, and the cat is a favourite of their creed; consequently the cats are highly cultivated and intelligent, and can think out ways and means to attain an end. i have tried for years to trace the origin of the long-haired or persian cats, but i cannot find that they were known to antiquity, and even the records of later times only mention the short-haired. european literature does not give us an insight into the subject; and unless chinese history holds some hidden lights in its records, we are thrown back upon the myths of persia to account for the wonderful modern distribution of the long-haired cat, which is gradually breeding out into as many varieties as the short-haired, with this difference--that greater care and trouble are taken over the long-haired, and they will, as a breed, probably soon surpass the short-haired for intelligence and culture. [illustration: _photo by h. trevor jessop._ the "bun" or "ticked" short-haired cat. this is one of the rarest cats in england. it belongs to miss k. maud bennett who has kindly had it photographed for this work.] one variety is quite new and distinctive--the smoke long-haired, whose dark brown or black surface-coat, blown aside, shows an under-coat of blue and silver, with a light brown frill round its neck. all the other long-haired cats can pair with the short-haired for colouring and marking, but i have not yet seen a bunny long-haired. ---- chapter iii. _the fossa, civets, and ichneumons._ ---- the fossa. in the fossa madagascar possesses an altogether peculiar animal. it is a very slender, active creature, with all its proportions much elongated. it is of a bright bay uniform colour, with thick fur, and has sharp retractile claws. it has been described as the natural connecting-link between the civets and the cats, anatomically speaking. thus it has retractile claws, but does not walk on its toes, like cats, but on the soles of its feet (the hind pair of which is quite naked), like a civet. very few have been brought to england; indeed, the first time that one was exhibited in our zoological gardens was only ten years ago. formerly stories were told of its ferocity, which was compared to that of the tiger. these tales were naturally the subject of ridicule. the fossa usually attains a length of about feet from snout to tail, and is the largest of the carnivora of madagascar. a fine young specimen lately brought to london, and in the zoological gardens at the time of writing, is now probably full grown. it is about the same length and height as a large ocelot, but with a far longer tail, and is more slenderly built. the extreme activity of the fossa no doubt renders it a very formidable foe to other and weaker creatures. it has been described by a recent writer as being entirely nocturnal, and preying mainly on the lemurs and birds which haunt the forests of madagascar. the animal kept at the zoological gardens has become fairly tame. it is fed mainly on chickens' heads and other refuse from poulterers' shops. apparently it has no voice of any kind. it neither growls, roars, nor mews, though, when irritated or frightened, it gives a kind of hiss like a cat. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ fossa. the only feline animal of madagascar.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ large indian civet. civets are nocturnal in their habits. that shown here has just awakened in broad daylight.] the civets and genets. the civets are the first marked deviation from the cat family. their bodies are elongated, their legs short, their claws only partially retractile. some of them have glands holding a strong scent, much esteemed in old days in europe, when "the civet cat" was a common inn-sign even in england. the civets are generally beautifully marked with black stripes and bands on grey. but none of them grow to any large size, and the family has never had the importance of those which contain the large carnivora, like the true cats or bears. many of the tribe and its connections are domesticated. some scholars have maintained that the cat of the ancient greeks was one of them--the common genet. the fact is that both this and the domestic cat were kept by the ancients; and the genet is still used as a cat by the peasants of greece and southern italy. the african civet and indian civet are large species. the former is common almost throughout africa. neither of them seems to climb trees, but they find abundance of food by catching small ground-dwelling animals and birds. they are good swimmers. the indian civet has a handsome skin, of a beautiful grey ground-colour, with black collar and markings. it is from these civets that the civet-scent is obtained. they are kept in cages for this purpose, and the secretion is scooped from the glands with a wooden spoon. they produce three or four kittens in may or june. several other species very little differing from these are known as the malabar, javan, and burmese civets. the rasse is smaller, has no erectile crest, and its geographical distribution extends from africa to the far east. it is commonly kept as a domestic pet. like all the civets, it will eat fruit and vegetables. the genets, though resembling the civets, have no scent-pouch. they are african creatures, but are found in italy, spain, and greece, and in palestine, and even in the south of france. beautifully spotted or striped, they are even longer and lower than the civet-cats, and steal through the grass like weasels. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ african civet. this is one of the largest of the civet tribe. the perfume known as "civet" is obtained from it.] the common genet is black and grey, the latter being the ground-colour. the tail is very long, the length being about inches, while that of the body and head is only inches. small rodents, snakes, eggs, and birds are its principal food. it is kept in southern europe for killing rats. several other very similar forms are found in africa. the presence of such a very oriental-looking animal in europe is something of a surprise, though many persons forget that our south european animals are very like those of africa and the east. the porcupine, which is common in italy and spain, and the lynx and barbary ape are instances. a tame genet kept by an acquaintance of the writer in italy was absolutely domesticated like a tame mongoose. it had very pretty fur, grey, marbled and spotted with black, and no disagreeable odour, except a scent of musk. it was a most active little creature, full of curiosity, and always anxious to explore not only every room, but every cupboard and drawer in the house. perhaps this was due to its keenness in hunting mice, a sport of which it never tired. it did not play with the mice when caught as a cat does, but ate them at once. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ african civet. this photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view of the head.] the linsangs, an allied group, are met with in the east, from india to borneo and java. they are more slender than the genets, and more arboreal. of the nepalese linsang hodgson writes: "this animal is equally at home on trees and on the ground. it breeds and dwells in the hollows of decaying trees. it is not gregarious, and preys mainly on living animals." a tame female owned by him is stated to have been wonderfully docile and tractable, very sensitive to cold, and very fond of being petted. there is an allied west african species. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ sumatran civet. a small and very beautiful member of the civet family. it feeds largely on fish.] the palm-civets and hemigales still further increase this numerous tribe. slight differences of skull, of the markings on the tail, which may only have rings on the base, and of the foot and tail, are the naturalist's guide to their separation from the other civets; hardwicke's hemigale has more zebra-like markings. borneo, africa, india, and the himalaya all produce these active little carnivora; but the typical palm-civets are oriental. they are sometimes known as toddy-cats, because they drink the toddy from the jars fastened to catch the juice. the groves of cocoanut-palm are their favourite haunts; but they will make a home in holes in the thatched roofs of houses, and even in the midst of cities. there are many species in the group. the binturong is another omnivorous, tree-haunting animal allied to the civets; but it has a prehensile tail, which few other mammals of the old world possess. it is a blunt-nosed, heavy animal, sometimes called the bear-cat. very little is known of its habits. it is found from the eastern himalaya to java. the last of the civet family is bennett's civet, the only instance of a cat-like animal with partly webbed feet. found in the malay peninsula and in sumatra and borneo, it is very rare, but is known to feed on fish and crustacea, and to be semi-aquatic. the author of the chapter on the civets in the naturalist's library says, "it may be likened to a climbing otter." the mongoose and ichneumon family. these are a numerous and useful race of small mammals, feeding mainly on the creatures most annoying to man within tropical countries. snakes, the eggs of the crocodile, large lizards, rats, mice, and other creatures known generally as "vermin," are their favourite food. it must be added that, though they are most useful in destroying these, they also kill all kinds of birds, and that their introduction into some of the west india islands, for the purpose of killing rats, has been fatal to the indigenous bird life. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ genet. the genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. one was anciently domesticated like a cat.] the indian mongoose. this universal favourite is one of the largest, the head and body being from to inches long, and the tail inches. the fur is loose and long, and capable of being erected. as in all the tribe, the tint is a "pepper and salt," the "pepper" colour being sometimes blackish and sometimes red, but a speckled appearance characterises the whole group. this is the animal supposed to be immune from snake-bite. it is possibly so to some extent, for it kills and eats the poisonous snakes, and it is now known that the _eating_ of snake-poison tends to give the same protection as inoculation does against certain diseases. but it is certain that in most cases the mongoose, by its activity, and by setting up the hair on its body, which makes the snake "strike short," saves itself from being bitten. many descriptions of the encounters between these brave little animals and the cobra have been written. here is one of the less known: "one of our officers had a tame mongoose, a charming little pet. whenever we could procure a cobra--and we had many opportunities--we used to turn it out in an empty storeroom, which had a window at some height from the ground, so that it was perfectly safe to stand there and look on. the cobra, when dropped from the bag or basket, would wriggle into one of the corners of the room and there coil himself up. the mongoose showed the greatest excitement on being brought to the window, and the moment he was let loose would eagerly jump down into the room, when his behaviour became very curious and interesting. he would instantly see where the snake was, and rounding his back, and making every hair on his body stand out at right angles, which made his body appear twice as large as it really was, he would approach the cobra on tip-toe, making a peculiar humming noise. the snake, in the meantime, would show signs of great anxiety, and i fancy of fear, erecting his head and hood ready to strike when his enemy came near enough. the mongoose kept running backwards and forwards in front of the snake, gradually getting to within what appeared to us to be striking distance. the snake would strike at him repeatedly, and _appeared_ to hit him, but the mongoose continued his comic dance, apparently unconcerned. suddenly, and with a movement so rapid that the eye could not follow it, he would pin the cobra by the back of the head. one could hear the sharp teeth crunch into the skull, and, when all was over, see the mongoose eating the snake's head and part of his body with great gusto. our little favourite killed a great many cobras, and, so far as i could see, never was bitten." [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ two-spotted palm-civet. this is a west african species, which, with an allied form from east africa, represents the palm-civets in the dark continent.] the egyptian mongoose, or ichneumon, has an equally great reputation for eating the eggs of the crocodile; and the kaffir mongoose, a rather larger south african species, is kept as a domestic animal to kill rats, mice, and snakes, of which, like the indian kind, it is a deadly foe. there are more than twenty other species, most of much the same appearance and habits. the smooth-nosed mongoose tribe are closely allied creatures in south africa, mainly burrowing animals, feeding both on flesh and fruit. the cusimanses of abyssinia and west africa are also allied to them. their habits are identical with the above. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ masked palm-civet. a whole-coloured species of the group.] the meerkats, or suricates. most people who have read frank buckland's life will remember the suricate which was his chief pet in albany street. the suricates, or meerkats, burrow all over the south african veldt, especially in the sandy parts, where they sit up outside their holes like prairie-dogs, and are seen by day. they are sociable animals, and make most amusing pets. a full-grown one is not much larger than a hedgehog, but more slender. it barks like a prairie-dog, and has many other noises of pleasure or anger. a lady, the owner of one, writes in _country life_: "it gets on well with the dogs and cats, especially the latter, as they are more friendly to her, and allow her to sleep by their side and on the top of them. one old cat brings small birds to her (her favourite is a sparrow), and makes her usual cry, and janet runs to her and carries off the bird, which she eats, feathers and all, in a very few minutes, if she is hungry." when near a farm, the meerkats will devour eggs and young chickens. they are also said to eat the eggs of the large leopard-tortoise. the commonest is the slender-tailed meerkat. it is found all over south africa, and is very common in the karroo. it eats insects and grubs as well as small animals, and is commonly kept as a pet throughout the colony. [illustration: _photo by robert d. carson_] [_philadelphia._ binturong. the binturong is placed with the civets. it has a prehensile tail like the kinkajou (see page ).] we have now traced the long line of the carnivora from the lordly lion, the slayer of man and his flocks and herds, and the tiger, equally formidable and no less specially developed for a life of rapine on a great scale, to creatures as small and insignificant as the meerkat, which is at least as much an insect-feeder as a devourer of flesh, and the ichneumons and civets. the highest form of specialisation in the group is the delicate mechanism by which the chief weapons of offence, the claws, are enabled to keep their razor edge by being drawn up into sheaths when the animal walks, but can be instantly thrust out at pleasure, rigid and sharp as sword-blades. the gradual process by which this equipment deteriorates in the civets and disappears in the mongoose should be noted. there are many other carnivora, but none so formidable as those possessing the retractile claws. thus the bears, though often larger in bulk than the lion, are far inferior in the power of inflicting violent injury. at the same time such delicate mechanism is clearly not necessary for the well-being of a species. the members of the weasel tribe are quite as well able to take care of themselves as the small cats, though they have non-retractile and not very formidable claws. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ mongoose. the indian mongoose is the great enemy of snakes. another species eats the eggs of the crocodile.] such a very abnormal animal as the binturong--of which we are able to give an excellent photograph--is doubtless rightly assigned to the place in which modern science has placed it. but it will be found that there are several very anomalous forms quite as detached from any general type as is the binturong. nature does not make species on any strictly graduated scale. many of these nondescript animals are so unlike any other group or family that they seem almost freaks of nature. the binturong is certainly one of these. the next group with which we deal is that of the hyænas. in these the equipment for catching living prey is very weak. speed and pursuit are not their _métier_, but the eating of dead and decaying animal matter, and the consumption of bones. hence the jaws and teeth are highly developed, while the rest of the body is degenerate. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ meerkat. a small, mainly insectivorous animal, found in south africa; also called the suricate.] the question of the comparative intelligence of the apes and monkeys, and the carnivorous animals subsequently described in these pages, is an interesting one. it would seem at first as if the cat tribe and their relations, which have to obtain their prey by constant hunting, and often to make use of considerable reflection and thought to bring their enterprises against other animals to a successful issue, would be more likely to develop intelligence and to improve in brain-power than the great apes, which find an easy living in the tropical forests, and only seek fruits and vegetables for their food. yet it is quite certain that this is not the case. the cat tribe, with the exception of the domesticated cats, does not show high intelligence. even the latter are seldom trained to obey man, though they learn to accommodate themselves to his ways of life. there is no evidence that cats have any sense of number, or that any of them in a wild state make any effort to provide shelter for themselves or construct a refuge from their enemies, though the leopard will make use of a cave as a lair. in matters requiring intelligence and co-operation, such rodents as the beaver, or even the squirrel, are far beyond the feline carnivora in sagacity and acquired or inherited ingenuity. except the stoat, which sometimes hunts in packs, no species of the carnivora yet dealt with in this work combines to hunt its prey, or for defence against enemies. each for itself is the rule, and even among the less-specialised flesh-eating animals of the other groups it is only the dog tribe which seems to understand the principles of association for a common object. ---- chapter iv. _the hyÆnas and aard-wolf._ if every animal has its place in nature, we must suppose that the hyæna's business is to clear up the bones and such parts of the animal dead as the vultures and other natural "undertakers" cannot devour. hyænas have very strong jaws, capable of crushing almost any bone. in prehistoric times they were common in england, and lived in the caves of derbyshire and devon. in these caves many bones were found quite smashed up, as if by some very large wild animal. it was supposed that this was done by bears--dean buckland said "by hyænas." he procured a hyæna, kept it at his house, and fed it on bones. the smashed fragments he laid on the table at a scientific lecture beside the fragments from the caverns. the resemblance was identical, and the dean triumphed. the hyænas are carnivorous animals, with the front limbs longer than the hind. the tail is short, the colour spotted or brindled, the teeth and jaws of great strength. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ spotted hyÆna. the largest of the carrion-feeding animals. a south african species.] the brown hyÆna, or strand-wolf, is an african species, with very long, coarse hair, reaching a length of inches on the back. it is not found north of the zambesi; and it is nocturnal, and fond of wandering along the shore, where it picks up crabs and dead fish. young cattle, sheep, and lambs are also killed by it, and offal of all kinds devoured. the spotted hyÆna is a large and massive animal, the head and body being feet inches long without the tail. it is found all over africa from abyssinia and senegal southwards. a few are left in natal. it is believed to be the same as the cave-hyæna of europe. by day it lives much in the holes of the aard-vark (ant-bear); by night it goes out, sometimes in small bands, to seek food. it has a loud and mournful howl, beginning low and ending high. it also utters a horrible maniacal laugh when excited, which gives it the name of laughing-hyæna. "its appetite," says mr. w. l. sclater in his "south african mammals," "is boundless. it is entirely carnivorous, but seems to prefer putrid and decaying matter, and never kills an animal unless driven to do so by hunger. sheep and donkeys are generally attacked at the belly, and the bowels torn out by its sharp teeth. horses are also frequent objects of attack; but in this case shackling is useful, as the horse, unable to escape, faces the hyæna, which instantly bolts. it is an excellent scavenger, and it has been known to kill and carry off young children, though the least attempt at pursuit will cause it to drop them. many stories are told, too, of its attacking sleeping natives; in this case it invariably goes for the man's face. drummond states that he has seen many men who had been thus mutilated, wanting noses, or with the whole mouth and lips torn away. this is confirmed by other authors." drummond gives an instance of seven cows being mortally injured in a single night by two hyænas, which attacked them and bit off the udders. poisoned meat is the only means to get rid of this abominable animal. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ spotted hyÆna. the jaws of the hyæna are specially made for cracking hones. they will smash the thigh-bone of a buffalo.] sir samuel baker says: "i can safely assert that the bone-cracking power of this animal is extraordinary. i cannot say that it exceeds the lion or tiger in the strength of its jaws; but they will leave bones unbroken which a hyæna will crack in halves. its powers of digestion are unlimited. it will swallow and digest a knuckle-bone without giving it a crunch, and will crack the thigh-bone of a buffalo to obtain the marrow, and swallow either end immediately after.... i remember that once a hyæna came into our tent at night. but this was merely a friendly reconnaissance, to see if any delicacy, such as our shoes, or a saddle, or anything that smelt of leather, were lying about. it was bright moonlight, and the air was calm. there was nothing to disturb the stillness. i was awakened from sleep by a light touch on my sleeve, and my attention was directed by my wife to some object that had just quitted our tent. i took my rifle from beneath the mat on which i lay, and, after waiting for a few minutes sitting up in bed, saw a large form standing in the doorway preparatory to entering. presently it walked in cautiously, and immediately fell dead, with a bullet between its eyes. it proved to be a very large hyæna, an old and experienced depredator, as it bore countless scars of encounters with other strong biters of its race." [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ striped hyÆna. this is the hyæna of northern africa, palestine, and india.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ aard-wolf. the aard-wolf stands in a family by itself. it is allied to the hyænas, but is a far feebler animal.] the striped hyÆna is found in india as well as in africa. in portions of abyssinia these animals are so numerous that on the nile tributaries sir samuel baker used to hear them cracking the bones after supper every night just as they had been thrown by the arabs within a few feet of the deserted table. in this way they are useful scavengers. the aard-wolf. this small african hyæna-like creature stands in a family by itself. the animal is like a small striped hyæna, with a pointed muzzle, longer ears, and a kind of mane. it is common all through south and east africa, where it lives on carrion, white ants, and lambs and kids. it has not the strong jaws and teeth of the dog or hyæna family. the colonists commonly hunt and kill it with fox-terriers. [illustration: _photo by new york zoological society._ young grey wolf. the grey wolf of north america, which once preyed mainly on young bison calves, is now a formidable enemy to the increasing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in the north and west.] ---- chapter v. _the dog family._ [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ a growing cub. note how the wolf cub develops the long pasterns, large feet, and long jaw before its body grows in proportion] the tribe now treated is called the dog family, and rightly so, for our domestic dogs are included in the group, which comprises the wolves, dogs, jackals, wild dogs, and foxes. their general characters are too familiar to need description, but it should be noted that the foxes differ from the dogs in having contracting pupils to the eye (which in bright sun closes like a cat's to a mere slit) and some power of climbing. the origin of the domestic dog is still unsettled. the wolf. this great enemy of man and his dependants--the creature against the ravages of which almost all the early races of europe had to combine, either in tribes, villages, or principalities, to protect their children, themselves, and their cattle--was formerly found all over the northern hemisphere, both in the old and new worlds. in india it is rather smaller, but equally fierce and cunning, though, as there are no long winters, it does not gather in packs. it is still so common in parts of the rocky mountains that the cattle and sheep of the ranch-holders and wild game of the national yellowstone park suffer severely. in switzerland the ancient organisations of wolf clubs in the cantons are still maintained. in brittany the grand louvetier is a government official. every very hard winter wolves from the carpathians and russia move across the frozen rivers of europe even to the forests of the ardennes and of fontainebleau. in norway they ravage the reindeer herds of the lapps. only a few years ago an artist, his wife, and servant were all attacked on their way to budapest, in hungary, and the man and his wife killed. the last british wolf was killed in by cameron of lochiel. wolves are common in palestine, persia, and india. without going back over the well-known history of the species, we will give some anecdotes of the less commonly known exploits of these fierce and dangerous brutes. mr. kipling's "jungle book" has given us an "heroic" picture of the life of the indian wolves. there is a great deal of truth in it. even the child-stealing by wolves is very probably a fact, for native opinion is unanimous in crediting it. babies laid down by their mothers when working in the fields are constantly carried off and devoured by them, and stories of their being spared and suckled by the she-wolves are very numerous. indian wolves hunt in combination, without assembling in large packs. the following is a remarkable instance, recorded by general douglas hamilton: "when returning with a friend from a trip to the mountain caves of ellora, we saw a herd of antelope near a range of low rocky hills; and as there was a dry nullah, or watercourse, we decided on having a stalk. while creeping up the nullah, we noticed two animals coming across the plain on our left. we took them at first for leopards, but then saw that they were wolves. when they were about yards from the antelope, they lay down quietly. after about ten minutes or so, the smaller of the two got up and trotted off to the rocky hills, and suddenly appeared on the ridge, running backwards and forwards like a scotch collie dog. the larger wolf, as soon as he saw that the antelope were fully occupied in watching his companion, got up and came as hard as he could gallop to the nullah. unfortunately he saw us and bolted; and his companion, seeing there was something wrong, did the same. now, it is evident that these wolves had regularly planned this attack. one was to occupy the attention of the antelope, the other to steal up the watercourse and dash into the midst of them. at another time a brother-officer of mine was stalking a herd of antelope which were feeding down a grassy valley, when suddenly a wolf got up before him, and then another and then another, until fourteen wolves rose out of the grass. they were extended right across the valley in the shape of a fishing-net or jelly-bag, so that as soon as the herd had got well into the jelly-bag they would have rushed on the antelope, and some must have fallen victims to their attack." they have been known to join in the chase of antelopes by dogs. captain jackson, of the nizam's service, let his dogs course an antelope fawn. a wolf jumped up, joined the dogs, and all three seized the fawn together. he then came up, whipped off the dogs and the wolf, and secured the fawn, which did not seem hurt. the wolf immediately sat down and began to howl at the loss of his prey, and in a few moments made a dash at the officer, but when within a few yards thought better of it, and recommenced howling. this brought another wolf to his assistance. both howled and looked very savage, and seemed inclined to make another dash at the antelope. but the horse-keepers came up, and the wolves retired. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ wolf cubs. these are evidently the foster-brothers of romulus and remus.] the indian wolf, if a male, stands about inches high at the shoulder. the length of head and body is inches; tail, inches. the same species practically haunts the whole of the world north of the himalaya. it varies in colour from almost black to nearly pure white. in the hudson bay fur-sales every variety of colour between these may be seen, but most are of a tawny brindle. the male grows to a very great size. one of the largest ever seen in europe was for years at the london zoo. it stood feet high when on its hind legs, and its immense head and jaws seemed to occupy one-third of the space from nose to tail. horses are the main prey of the northern wolf. it will kill any living creature, but horseflesh is irresistible. it either attacks by seizing the flank and throwing the animal, or bites the hocks. the biting power is immense. it will tear a solid mass of flesh at one grip from the buttock of a cow or horse. in the early days of the united states, when audubon was making his first trip up the head-waters of the missouri, flesh of all kinds was astonishingly abundant on the prairies. buffalo swarmed, and the indians had any quantity of buffalo-meat for the killing. wolves of very large size used to haunt the forts and villages, and were almost tame, being well fed and comfortable. far different was the case even near st. petersburg at the same period. a traveller in was chased by a pack of wolves so closely that when the sledge-horses reached the post-house and rushed into the stable, the doors of which were open, seven of the wolves rushed in after them. the driver and traveller leaped from the sledge just as it reached the building, and horses and wolves rushed past them into it. the men then ran up and closed the doors. having obtained guns, they opened the roof, expecting to see that the horses had been killed. instead all seven wolves were slinking about beside the terrified horses. all were killed without resistance. [illustration: _photo by l. midland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ white wolf. white wolves are quite common in north america. recently two white wolves were brought to the zoological gardens from russia.] in siberia and russia the wolves in winter are literally starving. gathering in packs, they haunt the roads, and chase the sledges with their unfaltering gallop. seldom in these days does a human life fall victim; but in very hard winters sledge-horses are often killed, and now and then a peasant. rabies is very common among wolves. they then enter the villages, biting and snapping at every one. numbers of patients are sent yearly from russia and hungary to the pasteur institutes, after being bitten by rabid wolves. in livonia, in , it was stated that the following animals had been killed by wolves: , sheep, , oxen, , horses, , goats, , pigs, dogs, and numbers of geese and fowls. they followed the grand army from russia to germany in , and restocked the forests of europe with particularly savage wolves. it is said that in the retreat from moscow twenty-four french soldiers, with their arms in their hands, were attacked, killed, and eaten by a pack of wolves. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ prairie-wolf, or coyote. this is the small, grey, thickly furred species found on the prairies.] from very early times special breeds of dogs have been trained to guard sheep against the attacks of wolves. some of these were intended to defend the flock on the spot, others to run down the wolves in the open. the former are naturally bred to be very large and heavy; the latter, though they must be strong, are light and speedy. of the dogs which guard the flocks several races still survive. among the most celebrated are those of albania and the mountainous parts of turkey, and the wolf-dogs of tibet, generally called tibetan bloodhounds. the tartar shepherds on the steppes near the caucasus also keep a very large and ferocious breed of dog. all these are of the mastiff type, but have long, thick hair. when the shepherds of albania or mount rhodope are driving their flocks along the mountains to the summer pastures, they sometimes travel a distance of miles. during this march the dogs act as flankers and scouts by day and night, and do battle with the wolves, which know quite well the routes along which the sheep usually pass, and are on the look-out to pick up stragglers or raid the flock. the spanish shepherds employ a large white shaggy breed of dog as guards against wolves. these dogs both lead the sheep and bring up the rear in the annual migration of the flocks to and from the summer pastures. in the west of america, now that sheep-ranching on a large scale has been introduced, wolf-dogs are bred to live entirely with the sheep. they are suckled when puppies by the ewes instead of by their own mothers, and become as it were a part of the flock. colonel theodore roosevelt gives an interesting account of wolf-coursing in russia, in an article contributed to "the encyclopædia of sport" (lawrence & bullen). "in russia the sport is a science," he writes. "the princes and great landowners who take part in it have their hunting-equipages equipped perfectly to the smallest detail. not only do they follow wolves in the open, but they capture them and let them out before dogs, like hares in a closed coursing-meeting. the huntsman follows his hounds on horseback. (these hounds are the borzoi, white giant greyhounds, now often seen in england.) those in russia show signs of reversion to the type of the irish wolf-hound, dogs weighing something like lbs., of remarkable power, and of reckless and savage temper. now three or four dogs are run together. they are not expected to kill the wolf, but merely to hold him.... the borzois can readily overtake and master partly grown wolves, but a full-grown dog-wolf, in good trim, will usually gallop away from them." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ "the wolf with privy paw." the photograph shows admirably the slinking gait and long stride of the wolf.] a number of these borzoi dogs have been imported into america, and are used to course wolves in the western states. but there professional wolf-hunters are employed to kill off the creatures near the ranches. one such hunter lives near colonel roosevelt's ranche on the little missouri. his pack of large dogs will tear in pieces the biggest wolf without aid from the hunter. of his own efforts in wolf-coursing he writes: "we generally started for the hunting-ground very early, riding across the open country in a widely spread line of dogs and men. if we put up a wolf, we simply went at him as hard as we knew how. young wolves, or those which had not attained their full strength, were readily overtaken, and the pack would handle a she-wolf quite readily. a big dog-wolf, or even a full-grown and powerful she-wolf, offered an altogether different problem. frequently we came upon one after it had gorged itself on a colt or a calf. under such conditions, if the dogs had a good start, they ran into the wolf and held him.... packs composed of nothing but specially bred and trained greyhounds of great size and power made a better showing. under favourable circumstances three or four of these dogs readily overtook and killed the largest wolf.... their dashing courage and ferocious fighting capacity were marvellous, and in this respect i was never able to see much difference between the smooth and rough--the scotch deerhound or the greyhound type." [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ russian wolf. this is a most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound wolves" of the russian forests.] wolf cubs are born in april or may. the litter is from four to nine. there was one of six a few years ago at the zoological gardens at the hague, pretty little creatures like collie puppies, but quarrelsome and rough even in their play. when born, they were covered with reddish-white down; later the coat became woolly and dark. the european wolf's method of hunting when in chase of deer is by steady pursuit. its speed is such and its endurance so great that it can overtake any animal. but there is no doubt that the favourite food of the wolf is mutton, which it can always obtain without risk on the wild mountains of the near east, if once the guardian dogs are avoided. m. tschudi, the naturalist of the alps, gives a curious account of the assemblage of wolves in switzerland in . they had, as is mentioned above, followed the armies from russia. having tasted human flesh, they preferred it to all other, and even dug up the corpses. the austrian, french, and russian troops penetrated in into the highest mountain valleys of switzerland, and fought sanguinary battles there. hundreds of corpses were left on the mountains and in the forests, which acted as bait to the wolves, which were not destroyed for some years. wolves will interbreed with dogs readily, which the red fox will not. the progeny do not bark, but howl. the eskimo cross their dogs with wolves to give them strength. the coyote, or prairie-wolf. besides the large grey wolf, a smaller and less formidable animal is common on the prairies and mountains of the northern half of the continent of america. this is the coyote. it takes the place of the hyæna as a scavenger, but has some of the habits of the fox. it catches birds and buck-rabbits, and feeds on insects, as well as small rodents like prairie-dogs and mice. its melancholy howls make night hideous on the northern prairies, and it is the steady foe of all young creatures, such as the fawns of prong-horned antelope and deer. its skin, like that of most northern carnivora, is thick and valuable for fur wraps. the coyotes assemble in packs like jackals. in the national park in the yellowstone valley grey wolves and coyotes are the only animals which it is absolutely necessary to destroy. as the deer and antelope and other game increased under state protection, the wolves and coyotes drew towards a quarter where there were no hunters and a good supply of food. it was soon found that the increase of the game was checked. the coyotes used to watch the hinds when about to drop their calves, and usually succeeded in killing them. the large grey wolves killed the hinds themselves, and generally made life most unpleasant for the dwellers in this paradise. orders were issued to kill off all the wolves by any means. poison was found to be the best remedy; but in the winter, when all the game descended into the valleys, the wolves found so much fresh food in the carcases of the animals they killed for themselves that they would not eat very eagerly of the poisoned baits. the coyotes were killed off fairly closely, as they are less able to obtain living prey; but the grey wolves are constantly reinforced from the mountains, and are a permanent enemy to be coped with. a curious instance of change of habit in wolves on the american prairies was recently noted in the _spectator_. formerly they followed the caravans; now they come down to the great transcontinental railways, and haunt the line to obtain food. each train which crosses the prairie is, like a ship, full of provisions. three meals a day take place regularly, and these are not stinted. the black cooks throw all the waste portions--beef-bones, other bones, stale bread, and trimmings--overboard. the wolves have learnt that the passing of a train means food, and when they hear one they gallop down to the line, and wait like expectant dogs in the hope of picking up a trifle. the coyotes come close to the metals, and sit like terriers, with their sharp noses pricked up. the big grey wolves also appear in the early morning, standing on the snow, over which the chill wind of winter blows, gaunt and hungry images of winter and famine. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ a wolf of the carpathians. this wolf is a shorter and more heavily built specimen than the russian wolf on the previous page.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ indian wolf. this photograph shows the indian wolf alarmed. it has a reputation for stealing children as well as killing cattle.] some years ago experiments were made at the regent's park zoological gardens to ascertain if there were any foundation for the old legends that wolves feared the sound of stringed instruments such as the violin. every one will remember the story of the fiddler pursued by wolves. it is said that as the pack overtook him he broke a string of his instrument, and that the sudden noise of the parting cord caused the pack to stand still for a minute, and so enabled him to reach a tree, which he climbed. further, that when he improved on the hint so given, and played his fiddle, the wolves all sat still; when he left off, they leapt up and tried to reach him. experiments with the zoo wolves showed that there was no doubt whatever that the low minor chords played on a violin cause the greatest fear and agitation in wolves, both european and indian. the instrument was first played behind the den of an indian wolf, and out of sight. at the first sound the wolf began to tremble, erected its fur, dropped its tail between its legs, and crept uneasily across its den. as the sounds grew louder and more intense, the wolf trembled so violently, and showed such physical evidence of being dominated by excessive fright, that the keeper begged that the experiment might be discontinued, or the creature would have a fit. a large european wolf is described in "life at the zoo" as having exhibited its dislike of the music in a different way. it set up all its fur till it looked much larger than its ordinary size, and drew back its lips until all the white teeth protruding from the red gums were shown. it kept silent till the violin-player approached it; then it flew at him with a ferocious growl, and tried to seize him. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ wolf's head. a very fine study of the head, jaws, and teeth of a female wolf. the head of the male is much larger.] there are instances of wolves having been quite successfully tamed, and developing great affection for their owners. they are certainly more dog-like than any fox; yet even the fox has been tamed so far as to become a domesticated animal for the lifetime of one particular individual. an extraordinary instance of this was lately given in _country life_, with a photograph of the fox. it was taken when a cub, and brought up at a large country house with a number of dogs. among these were three terriers, with which it made friends. there were plenty of wild foxes near, some of which occasionally laid up in the laurels in a shrubbery not far from the house. these laurels were, in fact, a fairly safe find for a fox. it was the particular sport of the terriers to be taken to "draw" this bit of cover, and to chase out any fox in it. on these expeditions the tame fox invariably accompanied them, and took an active part in the chase, pursuing the wild fox as far as the terriers were able to maintain the hunt. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ russian wolf. note the expression of fear and ferocity on the face of this wolf; also the enormously powerful jaws.] in central asia the wolves lie out singly on the steppes during the summer, and feed on the young antelopes and the lambs and kids of the tartars' flocks. the kirghiz organise wolf-killing parties, to which as many mounted men and dogs come as can be brought together. in order to aid the dogs, the tartars often employ eagles trained to act like falcons, which sit on the arm of the owner. as the eagle is too heavy to be carried for any time in this way, a crutch is fastened to the left side of the saddle, on which the bearer of the falcon rests his arm. when a wolf is sighted, the eagle is loosed, and at once flies after the wolf, and overtakes it in a short time, striking at its head and eyes with its talons, and buffeting it with its wings. this attack so disconcerts the wolf that it gives time for the dogs to come up and seize it. the habits of the siberian wolf are rather different from those in west russia, and the settlers and nomad tartars of siberia are far more adventurous and energetic in defending themselves against its ravages than the peasants of european russia. being mounted, they also have a great advantage in the pursuit. the result is that siberian wolves seldom appear in large packs, and very rarely venture to attack man. yet the damage they do to the flocks and herds which constitute almost the only property of the nomad tribes is very severe. both the russians and siberians believe that when a she-wolf is suckling her young she carefully avoids attacking flocks in the neighbourhood of the place where the cubs lie, but that if she be robbed of her whelps she revenges herself by attacking the nearest flock. on this account the siberian peasants rarely destroy a litter, but hamstring the young wolves and then catch them when partly grown, and kill them for the sake of their fur. among the ingenious methods used for shooting wolves in siberia is that of killing them from sledges. a steady horse is harnessed to a sledge, and the driver takes his seat in front as usual. behind sit two men armed with guns, and provided with a small pig, which is induced to squeak often and loudly. in the rear of the sledge a bag of hay is trailed on a long rope. any wolf in the forest near which hears the pig concludes that it is a young wild one separated from its mother. seeing the hay-bag trailing behind the sledge in the dusk, it leaps out to seize it, and is shot by the passengers sitting on the back seat of the sledge. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ north african jackal. this is the common jackal of cairo and lower egypt.] the jackal. of the wild canine family, the jackal is the next in numbers and importance to the wolves. probably in the east it is the most numerous of any. in india, egypt, and syria it regularly haunts the outskirts of cities, and lives on refuse. in the indian plains wounded animals are also killed by the jackals. at night the creatures assemble in packs, and scour the outskirts of the cities. horrible are the howlings and weird the cries of these hungry packs. in ceylon they live in the hills and open country like foxes, and kill the hares. when taken young jackals can be tamed, and have all the manners of a dog. they wag their tails, fawn on their master, roll over and stick up their paws, and could probably be domesticated in a few generations, were it worth while. they eat fruits and vegetables, such as melons and pumpkins, eagerly. in africa two species are found--the black-backed jackal and the striped jackal; the former is the size of a large english fox. the young jackals are born in holes or earths; six seems to be the usual number of puppies. they have nearly always a back door by which they can escape; this is just large enough for the puppies to squeeze through, whatever their size. when fox-terriers are put into the earth, the jackal puppies fly out of their back doors, through which, as a rule, the terriers are unable to follow them. should there be no one outside, the puppies race out on to the veldt as hard as they can go. this jackal is terribly destructive to sheep and lambs in the colony. a reward of s. d. per tail is paid to the kaffirs for killing them. the side-striped jackal is a central african species, said to hunt in packs, to interbreed with domestic dogs, and to be most easily tamed. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ indian jackal. this indian jackal might be sitting for his portrait in mr. rudyard kipling's tale of the "undertakers"--the jackal, alligator, and adjutant.] both in india and south africa the jackal has been found to be of some service to the white man by providing him with a substitute for the fox to hunt. it has quite as remarkable powers of endurance as the fox, though it does not fight in the same determined way when the hounds overtake it. but it is not easy to estimate the courage of a fox when in difficulties. the writer has known one, when coursed by two large greyhounds, to disable both almost instantaneously. one was bitten across the muzzle, the other through the foot. the fox escaped without a bite from either. in india the hounds used are drafts from english packs. the hot weather does not suit them, and they are seldom long-lived; but while they are in health they will run a jackal across the indian plains as gaily as they would a fox over the hampshire downs. the meet is very early in the morning, as the scent then lies, and riding is not too great an exertion. the ground drawn is not the familiar english covert, but fields, watercourses, and old buildings. a strong dog-jackal goes away at a great pace, and as the ground is open the animal is often in view for the greater part of the run; but it keeps well ahead of the hounds often for three or four miles, and if it does not escape into a hole or ruin is usually pulled down by them. major-general r. s. s. baden-powell has written and illustrated an amusing account of his days with the fox-hounds of south africa hunting jackals. the local boer farmers, rough, unkempt, and in ragged trousers, used to turn up smoking their pipes to enjoy the sport with the smartly got-up english officers. when once the game was found, they were just as excited as the englishmen, and on their boer ponies rode just as hard, and with perhaps more judgment. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ maned wolf. a south american animal; its coat is a chestnut-red.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ turkish jackal. this jackal is common in both turkey in europe and in asia. near constantinople it feeds largely on the bodies buried in the cemeteries at scutari.] jackals are said to be much increasing in south africa since the outbreak of the war. the fighting has so far arrested farming operations that the war usually maintained on all beasts which destroy cattle or sheep has been allowed to drop. in parts of the more hilly districts both the jackal and the leopard are reappearing where they have not been common for years, and it will take some time before these enemies of the farmer are destroyed. the maned wolf. this is by far the largest of several peculiar south american species of the dog family which we have not room to mention. it occurs in paraguay and adjoining regions, and is easily distinguishable by its long limbs and large ears. it is chestnut-red in colour, with the lower part of the legs black, and is solitary in its habits. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ wild dog. these animals range from the plains of india and burma to the tibetan plateau and siberia. they hunt in small packs, usually by day, and are very destructive to game, but seldom attack domestic animals.] the wild dog of africa, or cape hunting-dog. this is a most interesting creature, differing from the true dogs in having only four toes on both fore and hind feet, and in being spotted like a hyæna. these dogs are the scourge of african game, hunting in packs. long of limb and swift of foot, incessantly restless, with an overpowering desire to snap and bite from mere animal spirits, the cape wild dog, even when in captivity and attached to its master, is an intractable beast. in its native state it kills the farmers' cattle and sheep and the largest antelopes. a pack has been seen to kill and devour to the last morsel a large buck in fifteen minutes. drummond says: "it is a marvellous sight to see a pack of them hunting, drawing cover after cover, their sharp bell-like note ringing through the air, while a few of the fastest of their number take up their places along the expected line of the run, the wind, the nature of the ground, and the habits of the game being all taken into consideration with wonderful skill." the same writer says that he has seen them dash into a herd of cattle feeding not a hundred yards from the house, drive out a beast, disappear over a rising ground, kill it, and pick its bones before a horse could be saddled and ridden to the place. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ dingo. the wild dog of australia. it was found there by the first discoverers, but was probably introduced from elsewhere.] [illustration: _photo by kerry & co._] [_sydney._ dingoes. the destruction done to the flocks of the settlers by the dingoes caused the latter to combine and almost to destroy these wild dogs.] the indian wild dogs. mr. rudyard kipling's stories of the "dhole," the red dogs of the indian jungle, have made the world familiar with these ferocious and wonderfully bold wild dogs. there is very little doubt that they were found in historic times in asia minor. possibly the surviving stories of the "gabriel hounds" and other ghostly packs driving deer alone in the german and russian forests, tales which remain even in remote parts of england, are a survival of the days when the wild dogs lived in europe. at present there is one species of long-haired wild dog in west central siberia. these dogs killed nearly all the deer in the large forests near omsk some years ago. across the himalaya there are several species, one of them as far east as burma; but the most famous are the red dogs of the deccan. they frequent both the jungles and the hills; but their favourite haunt is the uplands of the indian ghats. they are larger than a jackal, much stronger, and hunt in packs. they have only ten teeth on each side, instead of eleven, as in the other dogs and foxes. there is no doubt that these fierce hunting-dogs actually take prey from the tiger's jaws, and probably attack the tiger itself. they will beset a tiger at any time, and the latter seems to have learnt from them an instinctive fear of dogs. not so the leopard, which, being able to climb, has nothing to fear even from the "dhole." a coffee-planter, inspecting his grounds, heard a curious noise in the forest bordering his estate. on going round the corner of a thick bush, he almost trod on the tail of a tiger standing with his back towards him. he silently retreated, but as he did so he saw that there was a pack of wild dogs a few paces in front of the tiger, yelping at him, and making the peculiar noise which had previously attracted his attention. having procured a rifle, he returned with some of his men to the spot. the tiger was gone, but they disturbed a large pack of wild dogs feeding on the body of a stag. this, on examination, proved to have been killed by the tiger, for there were the marks of the teeth in its neck. the dogs had clearly driven the tiger from his prey and appropriated it. the dread of the tiger for these wild dogs was discovered by the sportsmen of the nilgiri hills, and put to a good use. they used to collect scratch packs and hunt up tigers in the woods. the tiger, thinking they were the dreaded wild pack, would either leave altogether or scramble into a tree. as tigers never do this ordinarily, it shows how wild dogs get on their nerves. several south american wild dogs and foxes are included in the series with the wolves and jackals. among these are azara's dog and the raccoon-dog. these are commonly called foxes, though they have wolf-like skulls. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ cape hunting-dog. this animal hunts in packs. it is very active and most destructive to large game of many kinds.] the dingo. the only non-marsupial animal of australia when the continent was discovered was the wild dog, or dingo. its origin is not known; but as soon as the settlers' flocks and herds began to increase its ravages were most serious, though doubtless some of the havoc with which it was accredited was due in a great measure to runaways from domestication. anyhow, in the dingo the settlers found the most formidable enemy with which they had to contend, and vigorous measures were taken to reduce their numbers and minimise their ravages, so that by now they are nearly exterminated in van diemen's land and rare on the mainland of australia. it is a fine, bold dog, of considerable size, generally long-coated, of a light tan colour, and with pricked-up ears. it is easily tamed, and some of those kept in this country have made affectionate pets. puppies are regularly bred and sold at the zoological gardens. the animal has an elongated, flat head which is carried high; the fur is soft, and the tail bushy. in the wild state it is very muscular and fierce. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ himalayan black bear. this photograph shows the most active climber of the two himalayan bears.] the foxes. foxes form a very well-marked group. they have very pointed muzzles, strong though slightly built bodies, very fine thick fur, often beautifully coloured and very valuable, bushy tails, pricked-up ears, and eyes with pupils which contract by day into a mere slit. they are quite distinct from dogs (although wolves are not), and will not interbreed, though stories are told to the contrary. the smell of a fox is disgusting to a dog, and quite sufficient to distinguish it. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ fox cubs. fox cubs are born from march till three weeks later, the time when young rabbits, their best food, are most numerous.] if the present writer takes a simpler view of the kinds and species of foxes than that adopted by many naturalists, he must plead to a study of the subject on slightly different lines than those usually followed. the skins of all foxes are valuable, some more than others. but they are sent in hundreds of thousands, and from all parts of the northern hemisphere, to london to the great fur-sales. there these differences can be studied as they can be studied nowhere else. as the habits and structure of foxes are much alike, allowing for differences of climate, and the discrepancies in size, not more than can be accounted for by abundance or scarcity of food, it seems pretty certain that these animals are some of the few, almost alone among mammals, showing almost every variety of colouring, from black to white, from splendid chameleon-red to salmon-pink, and many exquisite shades of brown, grey, and silver. at the hudson bay company's sales you may see them all, and trace the differences and gradations over whole continents. the most important are those of north america. there the red canadian fox, of a ruddier hue than brown, shades off into the yellow and grey cross fox of farther north. but of these there are many varieties. then farther north still comes an area where red foxes, cross foxes, and black foxes are found. the black fox, when the fur is slightly sprinkled with white, is the famous silver fox. this and the black fox are also found in north siberia and manchuria. farthest north we find the little stunted arctic foxes. in the caucasus and central asia large yellowish-red foxes live, and in japan and china a very bright red variety. a small grey fox lives in virginia, and is hunted with hounds descended from packs taken out before the american revolution. india has its small desert-foxes ("the little foxes that eat the grapes") and the bengal fox. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ mountain-fox. in hilly countries the fox becomes a powerful and destructive animal, killing not only game but lambs.] the value of the foxes as fur-bearing animals is immense. only white, blue, and black skins seem to be appreciated in england. the black fox has been known to fetch guineas a skin. but in the east, from asia minor to china, red, grey, and yellow fox-skins are the lining of every rich man's winter wraps. splendid mixed robes are made by the chinese by inserting portions of cross fox-skins into coats of cut sable, giving the idea that it is the fur of a new animal. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ leicestershire fox. leicestershire is the best fox-hunting county in england. the foxes are famous for their speed and endurance.] the common fox, the foundation or type of all the above, is the best-known carnivorous animal in this country. abroad its habits do not greatly differ, except that, not being hunted much with hounds, it is less completely nocturnal. it drops its young in an earth early in april. thither the vixen carries food till late in june, when the cubs come out, and often move to a wood or a corn-field. there they are still fed, but learn to do a little on their own account by catching mice and moles. by late september the hounds come cub-hunting, partly to kill off superfluous foxes, partly to educate the young hounds, and to teach the foxes to fear them and to make them leave cover easily. four or five cubs in a litter are commonly seen. the distance which a fox will run is extraordinary. the following is a true account of one of the most remarkable runs ever known. the hounds were those of mr. tom smith, master of the hambledon hunt. he was the man of whom another famous sportsman said that if he were a fox he should prefer to be hunted by a pack of hounds rather than by tom smith with a stick in his hand. the fox was found in a cover called markwells, at one o'clock in the afternoon in december, near petersfield. it crossed into sussex, and ran into an earth in grafham hill a little before dark. the fox had gone twenty-seven miles. the hounds had forty miles to go back to kennel that night, and three only found their way home four days afterwards. dog-foxes assemble in considerable numbers when a vixen is about in spring, and at all times common foxes are sociable creatures, though not actually living in societies. sometimes as many as five or six are found in a single earth. two years ago five foxes and a badger were found in one near romford. they eat mice, beetles, rats, birds, game, poultry, and frogs. their favourite food is rabbits. if there are plenty of these, they will not touch other game. they hunt along the railway-lines for dead birds killed by the telegraph-wires. in the new forest they also go down to the shore and pick up dead fish. one in the writer's possession was shot when carrying away a lamb from a sheepfold near the cliffs of sidmouth, in devon. the shepherd thought it was a marauding dog, and lay in wait with a gun. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ too difficult! foxes can easily climb trees with small projecting branches. one was found feet up a tree in savernake forest; but a branchless stump such as that here shown no fox could climb.] the arctic fox. [illustration: _photos by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ arctic fox. _in summer._ _changing his coat._ _in winter._ the arctic fox is one of the few animals showing different phases of colour, some being blue at all seasons, while others are white in winter and mottled brownish in summer.] the arctic fox is somewhat different in habits from others. it is also much smaller than the red foxes. its fur is almost as soft as eiderdown, and so thick that the cold does not penetrate. in winter the whole coat changes colour, not gradually, but in patches. at the same time a dense growth of under-fur comes up on the body. in summer this is shed in patches, almost like loose felt. the foxes live in colonies, but are so hard put to it for food in the winter that they desert their homes to gather round whaling-ships or encampments. there they steal everything edible, from snowshoe-thongs to seal-flesh. blue foxes are bred and kept for the sake of their fur on some of the islands in bering sea. they are fed on the flesh of the seals killed on the neighbouring islands, and are, like them, killed when their coat is in condition. the fennecs. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ fennec-fox. remarkable for the great size of the ears. an african species. its sense of hearing is probably very acute.] africa has a group of small foxes of its own. they have very large ears and dark eyes. some of them remind us of the maholis and other large-eyed lemuroids. several are not more than or inches long; they are a whitish-khaki colour, but the eyes are very dark and brilliant. the common fennec is found over the whole of africa. its favourite food is dates and any sweet fruit, but it is also fond of eggs, and will eat mice and insects. it is probably the original hero of the story of the fox and the grapes. the large-eared fennec, which is sometimes called the silver fox, is found from the cape to as far north as abyssinia. it is inches long, and lives mainly on insects and fruit. domestic dogs. by c. h. lane. the dog, almost without exception, shows a marked liking for the society of human beings, and adapts itself to their ways more than any other animal. fox-, stag-, and hare-hounds--the latter better known as hariers and beagles--have many points in common, much beauty of shape and colour, and great suitability for their work, though differing in some other particulars. another group--greyhounds, whippets, irish wolf-hounds, scottish deer-hounds, all of which come under the category of gaze-hounds, or those which hunt by sight--are built for great speed, to enable them to cope with the fleet game they pursue. in the same group should be included the borzoi, or russian wolf-hound, now very popular in this country, with something of the appearance of the scottish deer-hound about it as to shape, but with a finer, longer head, deeper body, more muscular limbs, and shaggier in the hair on body and tail. the otter-hound is one of the most picturesque of all the hound tribe. this variety somewhat reminds one of a large and leggy dandie dinmont terrier, with a touch of the blood-hound, and is thought to have been originally produced from a cross between these or similar varieties. the blood-hound is another, with much style and beauty of shape, colour, and character about it which cannot fail to favourably impress any beholder. the matches or trials which have of late years been held in different localities have been most interesting in proving its ability for tracking footsteps for long distances, merely following them by scent, some time after the person hunted started on the trail. by the kindness of my friend mr. e. brough, i am able to give as an illustration a portrait of what he considers the best blood-hound ever bred. [illustration: _photo by f. h. dembrey_] [_bristol._ stag-hound puppies. this gives an interesting group of hounds in kennel.] much valued by sportsmen with the gun are pointers, so called from their habit of remaining in a fixed position when their quarry is discovered, eagerly pointing in its direction until the arrival of the guns. they are most often white, with liver, lemon, or black markings; but occasionally self colours, such as liver or black, are met with. they have been largely bred in the west of england. i have been fortunate in obtaining one of mr. e. c. norrish's celebrated strain as a typical specimen for illustration. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ greyhound. a typical specimen of this elegant variety.] the setter group, which comprises three varieties, are all useful and beautiful in their way. the english are usually white, with markings or tickings of blue, lemon, or black; they are rather long and narrow in the head, with bodies and sterns well feathered, and are graceful and active movers. gordon setters, which are always black and tan in colour, and preferred without any white, are generally larger and stronger in build than the last-named. irish setters are more on the lines of the english, being a rich tawny red in colour, rather higher on the leg, with narrow skulls, glossy coats, feathered legs and stern, ears set low and lying back, and lustrous, expressive eyes. retrievers may be divided into flat-coated and curly-coated. both are usually black, but other colours are occasionally seen. the coats of the first-named are full, but without curl in them; while the latter have their bodies, heads, legs, thighs, and even tails covered with small close curls. the eyes of both should be dark, and the ears carried closely to the sides of the head. in an article dealing with retrievers, which appeared in the _cornhill magazine_ under the title of "dogs which earn their living," the author writes: "there is not the slightest doubt that in the modern retrievers acquired habits, certainly one acquired habit, that of fetching dead and wounded game, are transmitted directly. the puppies sometimes retrieve without being taught, though with this they also combine a greatly improved capacity for further teaching. recently a retriever was sent after a winged partridge which had run into a ditch. the dog followed it some way down the ditch, and presently came out with an old rusty tea-kettle, held in its mouth by the handle. the kettle was taken from the dog, amid much laughter; then it was found that inside the kettle was the partridge! the explanation was that the bird, when wounded, ran into the ditch, which was narrow. in the ditch was the old kettle, with no lid on. into this the bird crept; and as the dog could not get the bird out, it very properly brought out the kettle with the bird in it. among dogs which earn their living, these good retrievers deserve a place in the front rank." the illustration shows a good flat-coated retriever at work. the spaniel group is rather large, including the english and irish water-spaniels, the former an old-fashioned, useful sort, often liver or roan, with some white or other markings, and a good deal of curl in the coat and on the ears. his irish brother is always some shade of liver in colour, larger in the body and higher on the leg, covered with a curly coat, except on the tail, which is nearly bare of hair, with a profusion of hair on the top of the head, often hanging down over the eyes, giving a comical appearance, and increasing his hibernian expression. they make lively, affectionate companions and grand assistants at waterfowl-shooting. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ retriever. this represents a flat-coated retriever at work, and is remarkably true to life.] [illustration: blood-hound. this photograph shows what an almost perfect blood-hound should be like.] clumber spaniels are always a creamy white, with lemon or light tan markings, and are rather slow and deliberate in their movements, but have a stylish, high-class look about them. sussex spaniels are also rather heavy in build and of muscular frame, but can do a day's work with most others. they are a rich copper-red in colour, with low short bodies, long feathered ears, full eyes of deep colour, and are very handsome. black spaniels should be glossy raven-black in colour, with strong muscular bodies on strong short legs, long pendulous ears, and expressive eyes. good specimens are in high favour, and command long prices. i regret i cannot find room for an illustration of this breed, so deservedly popular. cockers, which are shorter in the back, higher on the leg, and lighter in weight, being usually under lbs., are very popular, full of life, and very attractive in appearance. basset-hounds, both rough- and smooth-coated, are probably the most muscular dogs in existence of their height, with much dignity about them. in the sporting teams at the royal agricultural hall there were some thirteen or fifteen teams of all kinds of sporting dogs, and of these a team each of rough and smooth bassets was in the first four. dachshunds are often erroneously treated as sporting dogs. there are certainly not so many supporters of the breed as formerly. their lean heads, with long hanging ears, long low bodies, and crooked fore legs, give them a quaint appearance. the colours are usually shades of chestnut-red or black and tan; but some are seen chocolate and "dappled," which is one shade of reddish brown, with spots and blotches of a darker shade all over it. [illustration: english setter. a typical but rather coarse specimen of a beautiful variety.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ smooth-coated saint bernard. the illustration gives a capital idea of these handsome dogs.] great danes, though mostly classed amongst non-sporting dogs, have much of the hound in their bearing and appearance. the whole-coloured are not so popular as the various shades of brindle and harlequin, but i have seen many beautiful fawns, blues, and other whole colours. they are being bred with small natural drooping ears. one of the first i remember seeing exhibited was a large harlequin belonging to the late mr. frank adcock, with the appropriate name of "satan," as, although always shown muzzled, he required the attentions of three or four keepers to deal with him; and at one show i attended he overpowered his keepers, got one of them on the ground, tore his jacket off, and gave him a rough handling. non-sporting varieties. saint bernards, although sometimes exceeding feet at the shoulder, are as a rule very docile and good-tempered, and many are owned by ladies. the coat may be rough or smooth, according to taste; but either are splendid animals. they are sometimes seen self-coloured, but those with markings--shades of rich red, with white and black, for preference--are the handsomest. they are still used as "first aids" in the snow on the swiss mountains. so far as i remember, this is the only breed of dog used for stud and exhibition for which as much as £ , has been paid; and this has occurred on more than one occasion. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ great dane. this shows a typical specimen of this breed, with cropped ears, which will be discontinued in show dogs.] newfoundlands have regained their place in popularity, and many good blacks and black-and-whites can now be seen. numerous cases are on record of their rendering aid to persons in danger of drowning, and establishing communication with wrecked vessels and the shore. mastiffs are looked on as one of the national breeds. their commanding presence and stately manner make them highly suitable as guards, and they are credited with much attachment and devotion to their owners. the colours are mostly shades of fawn with black muzzle, or shades of brindle. i am able to give the portrait of one of the best specimens living, belonging to mr. r. leadbetter. bull-dogs are also regarded as a national breed. they are at present in high favour. the sizes and colours are so various that all tastes can be satisfied. recently there has been a fancy for toy bull-dogs, limited to lbs. in weight, mostly with upright ears of tulip shape. in spite of the many aspersions on their character, bull-dogs are usually easy-going and good-tempered, and are often very fastidious feeders--what fanciers call "bad doers." [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ dachshund. the photograph conveys a fair idea of those quaint dogs.] [illustration: _photo by kitchener portrait co._ dalmatians. all are typical, but the first is the best in quality and markings.] [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ newfoundland. the dog shown here gives a good idea of size and character, but is not in best coat.] rough collies are very graceful, interesting creatures, and stand first in intelligence amongst canines. they are highly popular. several have been sold for over £ , , and the amounts in prize-money and fees obtained by some of the "cracks" would surprise persons not in "the fancy." a high-bred specimen "in coat" is most beautiful. the colours most favoured are sables with white markings; but black, white, and tans, known as "tricolors," are pleasing and effective. i quite hoped to give a portrait of one of the most perfect of present-day champions, belonging to h.h. the princess de montglyon, but could not find room. smooth collies are a handsome breed, full of grace, beauty, and intelligence, and very active and lively. a favourite colour is merle, a sort of lavender, with black markings and tan and white in parts, usually associated with one or both eyes china-coloured. specimens often win in sheep-dog trials; a bitch of mine won many such, and was more intelligent in other ways than many human beings. old english sheep-dogs are a most fascinating breed, remarkably active, possessed of much endurance and resource, and very faithful and affectionate. i have often made long journeys through cross-country roads accompanied by one or more of them, and never knew them miss me, even on the darkest night or in the crowded streets of a large town. the favourite colour is pigeon-blue, with white collar and markings. the coat should be straight and hard in texture. the illustration is from a portrait of one of the best bitches ever shown, belonging to sir h. de trafford. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ bull-dogs. the photograph is remarkably good and characteristic of this variety.] dalmatians are always white, with black, liver, or lemon spots, the size of a shilling or less, evenly distributed over the body, head, ears, and even tail, and pure, without mixture of white. there is much of the pointer about this variety, which has long been used for sporting purposes on the continent of europe. i can testify to their many good qualities as companions and house-dogs. to quote again from the article above mentioned: "it is commonly believed that the spotted carriage-dogs once so frequently kept in england were about the most useless creatures of the dog kind, maintained only for show and fashion. this is a mistake. they were used at a time when a travelling-carriage carried, besides its owners, a large amount of valuable property, and the dog watched the carriage at night when the owners were sleeping at country inns. we feel we owe an apology to the race of carriage-dogs.... while this dog is becoming extinct, in spite of his useful qualities, other breeds are invading spheres of work in which they had formerly no part." there is only one point in which i differ from the above, and that is contained in the last sentence. there are a number of enthusiastic breeders very keen on reviving interest in this variety, and i have during the last few years had large entries to judge, so that we shall probably see more of them in the future. poodles are of many sizes and colours. they are very intelligent, easily taught tricks, and much used as performing dogs. they have various kinds of coats: _corded_, in which the hair hangs in long strands or ringlets; _curly_, with a profusion of short curls all over them, something like retrievers; and _fluffy_, when the hair is combed out, to give much the appearance of fleecy wool. a part of the body, legs, head, and tail is usually shorn. [illustration: old english sheep-dog. this is a remarkably fine photograph of a well-known specimen of this interesting variety.] bull-terriers are now bred with small natural drooping ears, and should have long wedge-shaped heads, fine coats, and long tails. there is also a toy variety, which hitherto has suffered from round skulls and tulip ears, but is rapidly improving. i have bred many as small as lbs. in weight. in each variety the colour preferred is pure white, without any markings, and with fine tapering tails. irish terriers are very popular, and should be nearly wholly red in colour, with long lean heads, small drooping ears, hard coats, not too much leg, and without coarseness. they make good comrades. bedlington terriers have long been popular in the extreme north of england, and are another fighting breed. it is indeed often difficult to avoid a difference of opinion between show competitors. their lean long heads, rather domed skulls, with top-knot of lighter hair, long pointed ears, and small dark eyes, give them a peculiar appearance. the coats, which are "linty" in texture, should be shades of blue or liver. three breeds, all more or less hard in coat-texture, and grizzled in colour on heads and bodies, while tanned on other parts, are airedale, old english, and welsh terriers, which may be divided into large, medium, and small. the first-named make very good all-round dogs; the old english, less in number, make useful dogs, and are hardy and companionable; while welsh terriers are much the size of a small wire-haired fox-terrier, but usually shorter and somewhat thicker in the head. i intended one of mr. w. s. glynn's best dogs to illustrate the last-named. fox-terriers are both smooth- and wire-haired. their convenient size and lively temperament make them very popular as pets and companions for both sexes and all ages. the colour is invariably white, with or without markings on head or body, or both. black-and-tan and white english terriers are built upon the same lines, differing chiefly in colour, the former being raven-black, with tan markings on face, legs, and some lower parts of the body, and the latter pure white all over. both should have small natural drooping ears, fine glossy coats, and tapering sterns. the toy variety of the former should be a miniature of the larger, and is very difficult to produce of first-class quality. [illustration: mastiff. the photograph gives almost an ideal picture of this national breed, the colour being known as black-brindle.] [illustration: _photo by lambert lambert_] [_bath._ deer-hound. this is a capital portrait of one of the best of this graceful variety.] [illustration: _photo by h. cornish_] [_crediton._ pointer. this is a young dog not yet shown, but full of quality and type.] [illustration: _photo by villiers & sons_] [_newport._ skye terrier. the photograph is of a well-known winner in show form.] [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ corded poodle. the length of the cords of which the coat is composed is clearly shown.] [illustration: _by permission of mrs. hall-walker._ pomeranian. probably about the best all-black toy pomeranian ever shown.] [illustration: _photo by kitchener & salmon_] [_bond street._ scottish terrier. a smart picture of one of the best of these popular dogs.] [illustration: _photo by g. n. taylor_] [_cowley road._ maltese toy terrier. a very excellent representation of one of the best specimens of the present day.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ butterfly-dog. the photograph gives an excellent idea of this somewhat rare variety.] scottish terriers are very interesting, often with much "character" about them. the usual colours are black, shades of grey, or brindle, but some are seen fawn, stone-colour, and white. the ears should be carried bolt upright, the coat as hard as a badger's, teeth even, small dark expressive eyes, fore legs straight, the back short. one i brought from skye many years since i took with me when driving some miles into the country; coming back by a different route, he missed me; but on nearing my starting-point i found him posted at a juncture of four roads, by one of which i must return. he could not have selected a better position. the illustration is that of a first-rate specimen of the variety, "champion balmacron thistle." [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ her majesty queen alexandra, with chow and japanese spaniels. a group which will be studied with much interest by all.] dandie dinmont terriers have many quaint and charming ways. they are very strongly built, being among the most muscular of the terriers, of high courage, devotedly attached to their owners, and admirably adapted for companions, being suitable for indoors or out, and at home anywhere. the colours are pepper (a sort of darkish iron-grey) and mustard (a yellowish red fawn), both with white silky hair on head, called the top-knot, and lustrous dark eyes, very gipsy-like and independent in expression. skyes, both prick- and drop-eared, are another scottish breed which well deserve their popularity, as they are thorough sporting animals. the colours are chiefly shades of dark or light grey, but sometimes fawn with dark points and whites are seen. the texture of coat should be hard and weather-resisting; the eyes dark and keen in expression; bodies long, low, and well knit; legs straight in front; even mouths; tails carried gaily, but not curled over the back. schipperkes are of belgian origin. to those who do not know them, they are something like medium-sized pomeranians, short of coat, but without tails. they are nearly always pure black in colour, with coats of hardish texture, fullest round the neck and shoulders, the ears standing straight up like darts, short cobby bodies, and straight legs. they make smart guards and companions. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ sand-dog. a quaint picture of a quaint variety, quite hairless, and much the colour of castille soap.] chows originally came from china, but are now largely bred here. they are square-built sturdy dogs, with dense coats, tails carried over the side, blunt-pointed ears, and rather short thick heads. they have a little of a large coarse pomeranian, with something of an eskimo about them, but are different from either, with a type of their own. the colour is usually some shade of red or black, often with a bluish tinge in it. one marked peculiarity is that the tongues of chows are blue-black in colour. pomeranians can be procured of any weight from to lbs., and of almost every shade of colour. at present brown of various shades is much in favour, but there are many beautiful whites, blacks, blues, sables, and others. they are very sharp and lively, and make charming pets and companions. really good specimens command high prices. the illustration is of one of the best of his colour ever seen--"champion pippin." pugs, both fawn and black, are old-fashioned favourites very quaint and peculiar in appearance. they should have square heads and muzzles, with small ears, large protruding eyes, short thick bodies, and tails tightly curled over the back. the illustration, "duchess of connaught," is of a well-known winner. maltese terriers are very beautiful when pure bred. they have a long straight coat of silky white hair nearly reaching the ground, black nose and eyes, and the tail curled over the back of their short cobby body. their beauty well repays the trouble of keeping them in good condition. the illustration, from a photograph taken for this article, is that of the high-class dog "santa klaus." [illustration: _photo by county of gloucester studio, cheltenham._ pug and pekinese spaniel. a typical portrait of two well-known winners in these popular varieties.] yorkshire toy terriers, with their steel-blue bodies and golden-tanned faces, legs, and lower parts, and long straight coats, require skilful attention to keep in order, but are very attractive as pets. toy spaniels are very old members of the toy division, dating from or before the time of his majesty king charles: king charles spaniels being black and tan; prince charles spaniels black, white, and tan; another strain, the blenheim, white, with shades of reddish-tan markings on the head and body, and a spot of same colour on forehead; and the ruby, a rich coppery red all over. they should be small and stout in size and shape, without coarseness, long in the ear, with large full protruding eyes of dark colour, a short face, a straight coat, and not leggy. japanese spaniels carry heavy coats, usually black, or yellow, and white in colour, shorter in the ears, which are carried more forward than in the last-named, broader in the muzzle, with nearly flat faces, dark eyes, and bushy tails carried over the back. they have very short legs, and their hair nearly reaches the ground as they walk. when i kept them they were much larger in size, but they are often now produced under lbs. in weight. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ fox-terrier. a picture full of life and go--at present odds in favour of our friend with the prickly coat.] pekin spaniels, the last of the toy spaniels i need mention, come from china. they should have soft fluffy coats, tails inclined to turn over the back, short faces, broad muzzles, large lustrous eyes, and a grave, dignified expression. the colour is usually some shade of tawny fawn or drab, but i have seen them black and dark brown; whatever colour, it should be without white. the illustration, mrs. lindsay's "tartan plaid," was one of the early importations. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ blenheim and prince charles spaniels. this little group will serve to show the appearance of these charming little pets.] italian greyhounds, another old-fashioned variety of toy dog, should not exceed lbs. in weight, but in my opinion are better if they are some pounds less. much like miniature greyhounds in shape and build, they are elegant, graceful little creatures, very sensitive to cold. shades of fawn, cream, or french grey are most common; but some are slate-blue, chestnut-red, and other tints. of late years the breed has met with more encouragement, and there is less fear of its being allowed to die out. griffons brusselois have been greatly taken up the last few years. they are something like yorkshire toy terriers in size and shape, but with a shortish harsh coat, generally of some shade of reddish brown, very short face, small shining dark eyes, heavy under-jaw, short thick body, and an altogether comical appearance. imported specimens, particularly before reaching maturity, are often difficult to rear. the african sand-dog occasionally seen in this country (mostly at shows) is remarkable for being entirely hairless, except a few hairs of a bristly character on the top of the head and a slight tuft at the end of the tail; it is chiefly blue-black or mottled in colour, something in shape and size like a coarse black-and-tan terrier, and very susceptible to cold. having been supplied with an illustration of pariah puppies, i will say a few words about this variety, which is seen in large numbers at constantinople and other eastern cities, where they roam about unclaimed, and act as amateur scavengers; they are said to divide the places they inhabit into districts or beats, each with its own leader, and resent any interference with their authority. i have known cases where they have made a determined attack on travellers out late at night; but they are rather a cowardly race, and easily repulsed with a little firmness on the part of the attacked. probably these are the descendants of the dogs so often mentioned in scripture with opprobrium; and, among eastern peoples, to call a man "a dog" is even now the most insulting epithet that can be used. by the jews, in ancient times, the dog never seems to have been used, as with us, in hunting and pursuing game and wild animals, but merely as a guardian of their flocks, herds, and sometimes dwellings. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford. woburn abbey._ pariah puppies. this capital photograph of a variety seldom seen in this country will be very interesting.] [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ common brown bear. in scandinavia a few still haunt the highest mountain-ridges, as here shown.] ---- chapter vi. _the bears._ except the great cats, no creatures have longer held a place in human interest than the bears. their size and formidable equipment of claws and teeth give the touch of fear which goes with admiration. on the other hand, they do not, as a rule, molest human beings, who see them employing their great strength on apparently insignificant objects with some amusement. except one species, most bears are largely fruit and vegetable feeders. the sloth-bear of india sucks up ants and grubs with its funnel-like lips; the malayan bear is a honey-eater by profession, scarcely touching other food when it can get the bees' store; and only the great polar bear is entirely carnivorous. the grizzly bear of the northern rocky mountains is largely a flesh-eater, consuming great quantities of putrid salmon in the columbian rivers. but the ice-bear is ever on the quest for living or dead flesh; it catches seals, devours young sea-fowl and eggs, and can actually kill and eat the gigantic walrus. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ an inviting attitude. the upright position is not natural to the brown bear. it prefers to sit on its hams, and not to stand.] [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ three performing bears. those on the right and left are himalayan black bears. the white collar is plainly seen.] every one will have noticed the deliberate flat-footed walk of the bears. this is due partly to the formation of the feet themselves. the whole sole is set flat upon the ground, and the impressions in a bear's track are not unlike those of a man's footsteps. the claws are not capable of being retracted, like those of the cats; consequently they are worn at the tips where the curve brings them in contact with the ground. yet it is surprising what wounds these blunt but hard weapons will inflict on man--wounds resembling what might be caused by the use of a very large garden-rake. against other animals protected by hair bears' claws are of little use. dogs would never attack them so readily as they do were they armed with the talons of a leopard or tiger. the flesh-teeth in both jaws of the bear are unlike those of other carnivora. the teeth generally show that bears have a mixed diet. bears appear to have descended from some dog-like ancestor, but to have been much modified. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ european brown bear. the specimen of the brown bear of europe from which this picture was taken was an unusually light and active bear. its flanks are almost flat.] except the ice-bear, all the species are short and very bulky. it is said that a polar bear has been killed which weighed , lbs. it is far the largest, and most formidable in some respects, of all the carnivora. the claws of the grizzly bear are sometimes inches long over the outer curve. all bears can sit upright on their hams, and stand upright against a support like a tree. some can stand upright with no aid at all. except the grizzly bear, they can all climb, many of them very well. in the winter, if it be cold, they hibernate. in the spring, when the shoots of the early plants come up, they emerge, hungry and thin, to seek their food. bears were formerly common in britain, and were exported for the roman amphitheatres. the prehistoric cave-bears were very large. their remains have been found in devon, derbyshire, and other counties. the species inhabiting britain during the roman period was the common brown bear of europe. the common brown bear. only one species of bear is found in europe south of the ice-line, though above it the white ice-bear inhabits spitzbergen and the islands off the white sea. this is the brown bear, the emblem of russia in all european caricature, and the hero of innumerable fragments of folklore and fable, from the tents of the lapps to the nurseries of english children. except the ice-bear, it is far the largest of european carnivora, but varies much in size. russia is the main home of the brown bear, but it is found in sweden and norway, and right across northern asia. it is also common in the carpathian mountains, in the caucasus, and in mount pindus in greece. in the south it is found in spain and the pyrenees, and a few are left in the alps. the dancing-bears commonly brought to england are caught in the pyrenees. the "queen's bear," so called because its owner was allowed to exhibit it at windsor, was one of these. but lately dancing-bears from servia and wallachia have also been seen about our roads and streets. in russia the bear grows to a great size. some have been killed of lbs. in weight. the fur is magnificent in winter, and in great demand for rich russians' sledge-rugs. the finest bear-skins of all are bought for the caps of our own grenadier and coldstream guards. in the alps the bears occasionally visit a cow-shed in winter and kill a cow; but as a rule the only damage done by those in europe is to the sheep on the hills in the far north of norway. tame brown bears are amusing creatures, but should never be trusted. they are always liable to turn savage, and the bite is almost as severe as that of a tiger. men have had their heads completely crushed in by the bite of one of these animals. in russia bears are shot in the following manner. when the snow falls, the bears retire into the densest thickets, and there make a half-hut, half-burrow in the most tangled part to hibernate in. the bear is tracked, and then a ring made round the cover by beaters and peasants. the shooters follow the track and rouse the bear, which often charges them, and is forthwith shot. if it escapes, it is driven in by the beaters outside. high fees are paid to peasants who send information that a bear is harboured in this way. sportsmen in st. petersburg will go or miles to shoot one on receipt of a telegram. the brown bear, like the reindeer and red deer, is found very little modified all across northern asia, and again in the forests of north america. there, however, it undergoes a change. just as the red deer is found represented by a much larger creature, the wapiti, so the brown bear is found exaggerated into the great bear of alaska. the species attains its largest, possibly, in kamchatka, on the asiatic side of bering sea; but the alaskan bear has the credit with sportsmen of being the largest. a skin of one of the former, brought to the sale-rooms of sir charles lampson & co., needed two men to carry it. last spring, in the sale-rooms of the same great firm, some persons present measured the skin of an alaskan bear which was feet across the shoulders from paw to paw. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ syrian bear. this is the bear generally alluded to in the old testament.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ large russian brown bear. the picture shows to what a size and strength the brown bear attains.] the grizzly bear. this is a very distinct race of brown bear. it has a flat profile, like the polar bear; in addition it grows to a great size, is barely able to climb trees, and has the largest claws of any--they have been known to measure inches along the curve. the true grizzly, which used to be found as far north as ° latitude and south as far as mexico, is a rare animal now. its turn for cattle-killing made the ranchmen poison it, and rendered the task an easy one. it is now only found in the northern rocky mountains, and perhaps in north california and nevada. formerly encounters with "old ephraim," as the trappers called this bear, were numerous and deadly. it attacked men if attacked by them, and often without provocation. the horse, perhaps more than its rider, was the object of the bear. lewis and clarke measured a grizzly which was feet long from nose to tail. the weight sometimes reaches lbs. measurements of much larger grizzly bears have been recorded, but it is difficult to credit them. on a ranche near the upper waters of the colorado river several colts were taken by grizzly bears. one of them was found buried according to the custom of this bear, and the owner sat up to shoot the animal. having only the old-fashioned small-bored rifle of the day, excellent for shooting deer or indians, but useless against so massive a beast as this bear, unless hit in the head or heart, he only wounded it. the bear rushed in, struck him a blow with its paw (the paw measures a foot across), smashed the rifle which he held up as a protection, and struck the barrel on to his head. the man fell insensible, when the bear, having satisfied himself that he was dead, picked him up, carried him off, and buried him in another hole which it scratched near the dead colt. it then dug up the colt and ate part of it, and went off. some time later the man came to his senses, and awoke to find himself "dead and buried." as the earth was only roughly thrown over him, he scrambled out, and saw close by the half-eaten remains of the colt. thinking that it might be about the bear's dinner-time, and remembering that he was probably put by in the larder for the next meal, he hurried home at once, and did not trouble the bear again. not so a siberian peasant, who had much the same adventure. he had been laughed at for wishing to shoot a bear, and went out into the woods to do so. the bear had the best of it, knocked him down, and so frightfully mangled his arm that he fainted. bruin then buried him in orthodox bear fashion; and the man, when he came to, which he fortunately did before the bear came back, got up, and made his way to the village. there he was for a long time ill, and all through his sickness and delirium talked of nothing but shooting the bear. when he got well, he disappeared into the forest with his gun, and after a short absence returned with the bear's skin! [illustration: _photo by new york zoological society._ american black bear. the black bear was the species first encountered by the early settlers on the atlantic side of america. the grizzly belongs to the rocky mountain region.] the american brown bear. the brown bear of america is closely allied to that of europe; it was first described by sir john richardson, who called it the barrenlands bear, and noted, quite rightly, that it differed from the grizzly in the smallness of its claws. the difference in the profile is very marked--the brown bear having a profile like that of the european bear, while that of the grizzly is flat. the brown bear of north america lives largely on the fruits and berries of the northern plants, on dead deer, and on putrid fish, of which quantities are left on the banks of the northern rivers. whether the large brown bear of the rocky mountains is always a grizzly or often this less formidable race is doubtful. the writer inclines to think that it is only the counterpart of the north european and the north asiatic brown bear. the following is sir samuel baker's account of these bears. he says: "when i was in california, experienced informants told me that no true grizzly bear was to be found east of the pacific slope, and that lord coke was the only britisher who had ever killed a real grizzly in california. there are numerous bears of three if not four kinds in the rocky mountains. these are frequently termed grizzlies; but it is a misnomer. the true grizzly is far superior in size, but of similar habits, and its weight is from , lbs. to , lbs." after giving various reasons for believing this to be a fair weight, sir samuel baker adds that this weight is equivalent to that of an english cart-horse. there are certainly three rocky mountain bears--the grizzly, the brown, and the small black bear. there is probably also another--a cross between the black and the brown. it is ridiculous to say that the brown bears which come to eat the refuse on the dust-heaps of the hotels in the yellowstone park, and let ladies photograph them, are savage grizzly bears. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ young syrian bear from the caucasus. this is, properly speaking, a syrian bear, but the species is found in the caucasus and in the taurus range.] the syrian bear. this bear, which figures in the story of elisha, is a variety of the brown bear. it is found from the caucasus to the mountains of palestine, and is a smaller animal than the true brown bear, weighing about lbs. the fur in summer is of a mixed rusty colour, with a whitish collar on the chest. it steals the grapes on mount horeb, and feeds upon ripe fruits, apples, chestnuts, corn, and the like. it is then ready to face the long winter sleep. the american black bear. this is the smallest north american species, and perhaps the most harmless. it seldom weighs more than lbs. its coat is short and glossy, and its flesh, especially in autumn, is esteemed for food. the early backwoodsmen found it a troublesome neighbour. the bears liked indian corn, and were not averse to a young pig. "like the deer," says audubon, "it changes its haunts with the seasons, and for the same reason--viz. the desire of obtaining food. during the spring months it searches for food in the low alluvial lands that border the rivers, or by the margins of the inland lakes. there it procures abundance of succulent roots, and of the tender, juicy stems of plants, upon which it chiefly feeds at that season. during the summer heat it enters the gloomy swamps, and passes much of its time in wallowing in the mud like a hog, and contents itself with crayfish, roots, and nettles; now and then, when hard pressed by hunger, it seizes a young pig, or perhaps a sow or calf. as soon as the different kinds of berries ripen, the bears betake themselves to the high grounds, followed by their cubs. in much-retired parts of the country, where there are no hilly grounds, it pays visits to the maize-fields, which it ravages for a while. after this the various kinds of nuts and grapes, acorns and other forest fruits, attract its attention. the black bear is then seen wandering through the woods to gather this harvest, not forgetting to rob every tree which it comes across." the indian sloth-bear. few people would believe that this awkward and ugly beast is so formidable as it is. it is the commonest indian species, seldom eats flesh, prefers sucking up the contents of a white ants' nest to any other meal, and is not very large; from lbs. to lbs. is the weight of a male. but the skull and jaws are very strong, and the claws long and curved. as they are used almost like a pickaxe when the bear wishes to dig in the hardest soil, their effect upon the human body can be imagined. sir samuel baker says that there are more accidents to natives of india and ceylon from this species than from any other animal. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a brown bear in search of insects. the photograph shows a bear feeding on insects, possibly large ants, which he licks up from the ground, after scratching them out with his claws.] mr. watts jones writes an interesting account of his sensations while being bitten by one of these bears: "i was following up a bear which i had wounded, and rashly went to the mouth of a cave to which it had got. it charged. i shot, but failed to stop it. i do not know exactly what happened next, neither does my hunter who was with me; but i believe, from the marks in the snow, that in his rush the bear knocked me over backwards--in fact, knocked me three or four feet away. when next i remember anything, the bear's weight was on me, and he was biting my leg. he bit, two or three times. i felt the flesh crush, but i felt no pain at all. it was rather like having a tooth out with gas. i felt no particular terror, though i thought the bear had got me; but in a hazy sort of way i wondered when he would kill me, and thought what a fool i was to get killed by a stupid beast like a bear. the shikari then very pluckily came up and fired a shot into the bear, and he left me. i felt the weight lift off me, and got up. i did not think i was much hurt.... the main wound was a flap of flesh torn out of the inside of my left thigh and left hanging. it was fairly deep, and i could see all the muscles working underneath when i lifted it up to clean the wound." this anecdote was sent to mr. j. crowther hirst to illustrate a theory of his, that the killing of wild animals by other animals is not a painful one. rustem pasha, once turkish ambassador in england, had an accident when brown bear shooting in russia, and writes of it in the same sense: "when i met the accident alluded to, the bear injured both my hands, but did not tear off part of the arm or shoulder. in the moment of desperate struggle, the intense excitement and anger did, in fact, render me insensible to the feeling of actual pain as the bear gnawed my left hand, which was badly torn and perforated with holes, most of the bones being broken." there is good reason to believe that when large carnivora, or beasts large in proportion to the size of their victims, strike and kill them with a great previous shock, the sense of pain is deadened. not so if the person or animal is seized quietly. then the pain is intense, though sometimes only momentary. a tigress seized mr. j. hansard, a forest officer in ceylon, by the neck. in describing his sensations afterwards, he said: "the agony i felt was something frightful. my whole skull seemed as if it were being crushed to atoms in the jaws of the great brute. i certainly felt the most awful pain as she was biting my neck; but not afterwards, if i can remember." sir samuel baker says he has twice seen the sloth-bear attack a howdah-elephant. lord edward st. maur, son of the duke of somerset, was killed by one. mr. sanderson, the head of the government elephant-catching department, used to hunt bears in the jungle with bull-terriers. against these the bear was unable to make a good fight. they seized it by the nose; and as its claws were not sharp like those of the leopard, the bear could not get them off. this bear seldom produces more than two or three young at a birth. the young cub is very ugly, but very strong, especially in the claws and legs. a six weeks' old cub has been turned upside-down in a basket, which was shaken violently, without dislodging the little animal clinging inside. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ polar bears. though arctic animals, polar bears can endure great heat. during a "heat wave" at hamburg, herr c. hagenbeck found two of his leopards suffering from heat apoplexy, but the polar bears were enjoying the sun.] the isabelline bear and himalayan black bear. the former animal is a medium-sized variety of the brown bear. the coat in winter is of a beautiful silver-tipped cinnamon colour. the himalayan black bear has a half-moon of white on its throat. the habits of both do not differ markedly from those of the brown bear of europe. recently black bears have been most troublesome in kashmir, attacking and killing and wounding the woodcutters with no provocation. dr. e. t. vere, writing from srinagar, says: "every year we have about half a dozen patients who have been mauled by bears. most of our people who are hurt are villagers or shepherds. bears have been so shot at in kashmir that, although not naturally very fierce, they have become truculent. when they attack men, they usually sit up and knock the victim over with a paw. they then make one or two bites at the arm or leg, and often finish up with a snap at the head. this is the most dangerous part of the attack. one of our fatal cases this year was a boy, the vault of whose skull was torn off and lacerated. another man received a compound fracture of the cranium. a third had the bones of his face smashed and lacerated. he had an axe, but said, 'when the bear sat up, my courage failed me.'" [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ two polar bears and a brown bear. although this is a photograph from life, it is scarcely a very natural scene; as a matter of fact, all three animals belong to herr carl hagenbeck's remarkable menagerie.] the malayan sun-bear. these small, smooth-coated bears have a yellow throat-patch like a mustard plaster, and are altogether the most amusing and comical of all the tribe. they are almost as smooth as a pointer dog, and are devoted to all sweet substances which can be a substitute for honey, their main delicacy when wild. there are always a number of these bears at the zoo incessantly begging for food. when one gets a piece of sugar, he cracks it into small pieces, sticks them on the back of his paw, and licks the mess until the paw is covered with sticky syrup, which he eats with great gusto. this bear is found in the malay peninsula, borneo, sumatra, and java. it is only feet high, or sometimes half a foot taller. it is more in the habit of walking upright than any other species. the polar bear. ice-bear is the better name for this, the most interesting in its habits of all the bears. it is an inhabitant of the lands of polar darkness and intense cold, and one of the very few land animals which never try to avoid the terrible ordeal of the long arctic night, which rolls on from month to month. it can swim and dive nearly as well as a seal, climbs the icebergs, and goes voyages on the drifting ice, floating hundreds of miles on the polar currents, and feeding on the seals which surround it. of the limits of size of the ice-bear it is impossible to speak with certainty. from the skins brought to this country the size of some of them must be enormous. one which lived for more than thirty years at the zoo was of immense length and bulk. when the first discoverers went to the arctic seas, dressed in thick clothes and skins, the polar bears took them for seals. on bear island, below spitzbergen, a dutch sailor sat down on the snow to rest. a bear walked up behind him, and seized and crushed his head, evidently not in the least aware of what kind of animal it had got hold of. when the jackson-harmsworth expedition was wintering in franz-josef land, the bears were a positive nuisance. they were not afraid of man, and used to come round the huts at all hours. the men shot so many that they formed a valuable article of food for the dogs. the flesh is said to be unwholesome for men. the power of these bears in the water is wonderful; though so bulky, they are as light as a cork when swimming, and their strong, broad feet are first-class paddles. whenever a dead whale is found near the shore, the polar bears assemble to feed upon it. in the various searches for the franklin expedition they pulled to pieces nearly all the cabins erected to hold provisions for the sledge-parties. in one case it was found that the bears had amused themselves by mounting the roof of a half-buried hut, and sliding down the snowy, frozen slope. cubs are often brought home in whaling- and sealing-ships, after the mothers have been shot. there is a ready sale of them for continental menageries. herr hagenbeck, of hamburg, by purchasing them quite young, has induced bears to live on good terms with tigers, boar-hounds, and leopards. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ polar bear. this bear is the most formidable of all aquatic mammals. it is almost as much at home in the water as a seal.] the manoeuvres of an ice-bear in the water are marvellous to watch. though so bulky a beast, it swims, dives, rolls over and over, catches seals or fish, or plays both on and under the water with an ease and evident enjoyment which show that it is in its favourite element. one favourite game of the ice-bear is to lie on its back in the water, and then to catch hold of its hind toes with its fore feet, when it resembles a half-rolled hedgehog of gigantic size. it then rolls over and over in the water like a revolving cask. its footsteps are absolutely noiseless, as the claws are shorter than in the land-bear's, and more muffled in fur. this noiseless power of approach is very necessary when it has to catch such wary creatures as basking seals. a very large proportion of the food formerly eaten by ice-bears in summer was probably putrid, as they were always supplied with a quantity of the refuse carcases of whales and seals left by the whaling-ships. this may account for the bad results to the sailors who ate the bears' flesh. now the whaling industry is so little pursued that the bears have to catch their dinners for themselves, and eat fresh food. [illustration: _photo by the new york zoological society._ half-grown polar bears. when young polar bears are brought to england or new york on board ship, they arrive with coats almost as yellow as a sponge. it takes a week's bathing to restore the pure white colour.] the arctic explorer nordenskiöld saw much of the ice-bears on his voyages, and left us what is perhaps the best description of their attempts to stalk men, mistaking them for other animals. "when the polar bear observes a man," he writes in his "voyage of the vega," "he commonly approaches him as a possible prey, with supple movements and a hundred zigzag bends, in order to conceal the direction he means to take, and to prevent the man feeling frightened. during his approach he often climbs up on to blocks of ice, or raises himself on his hind legs, in order to get a more extensive view. if he thinks he has to do with a seal, he creeps or trails himself forward on the ice, and is then said to conceal with his fore paws the only part of his body that contrasts with the white colour of the snow--his large black nose. if the man keeps quite still, the bear comes in this way so near that it can be shot at the distance of two gun-lengths, or killed with a lance, which the hunters consider safer." when a vessel lies at anchor, a polar bear sometimes swims out to it, to inspect the visiting ship; it has also a special fancy for breaking open and searching stores of provisions, boats abandoned and covered over, and cabins of wrecked ships. one bear which had looted a provision depôt was found to have swallowed a quantity of sticking-plaster. the ice-bear has been met swimming at a distance of eighty miles from land, and with no ice in sight. this shows how thoroughly aquatic its habits and powers are. polar bears do not hug their victims, like the brown bear, but bite, and use their immense feet and sharp claws. it has been said that when one catches a seal on the ice it will play with it as a cat does with a mouse. the size of these bears varies very much. seven or eight feet from the tip of the nose to the tail is the usual length; yet they have been known to exceed even feet in length. this would correspond to an immense difference in bulk and weight. an ice-bear was once found feeding on the body of a white whale, feet in length, and weighing three or four tons. the whale could not have got on to the ice by itself, and it is difficult to imagine that any other creature except the bear could have dragged it there from the sea, where it was found floating. when hunting seals, polar bears will chase them in the water as an otter does a fish, but with what result is not known. besides stalking them in the manner described above, they will mark the place at which seals are basking on the rim of an ice-floe, and then dive, and come up just at the spot where the seal would naturally drop into the water. those shot for the sake of their skins are nearly all killed when swimming in the sea. the hunters mark a bear on an ice-floe, and approach it. the bear always tries to escape by swimming, and is pursued and shot through the head from the boat. when the females have a cub or cubs with them, they will often attack persons or boats which molest them; otherwise they do not willingly interfere with man, except, as has been said above, when they mistake men for seals or other natural prey. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ the ice-bear's couch. a favourite attitude of the polar bear is to lie stretched on its stomach, with the hind and fore legs extended flat. the head often lies between the fore paws. notice the hair on the feet, which keeps the animal from slipping when on the ice.] the instances recorded of the affection shown by these animals for their young are somewhat pathetic. when the _carcase_ frigate, which was engaged on a voyage of arctic discovery, was locked in the ice, a she-bear and two cubs made their way to the ship, attracted by the scent of the blubber of a walrus which the crew had killed a few days before. they ran to the fire, and pulled off some of the walrus-flesh which remained unconsumed. the crew then threw them large lumps of the flesh which were lying on the ice, which the old bear fetched away singly, and laid before her cubs as she brought it, dividing it, and giving each a share, and reserving but a small portion for herself. as she was fetching away the last piece, the sailors shot both the cubs dead, and wounded the dam. although she could only just crawl to the place where the cubs lay, she carried the lump of flesh which she had last fetched away, and laid it before them; and when she saw that they refused to eat, laid her paws on them, and tried to raise them up, moaning pitifully. when she found she could not stir them, she went to some distance, and looked back, and then returned, pawing them all over and moaning. finding at last that they were lifeless, she raised her head towards the ship and uttered a growl, when the sailors killed her with a volley of musket-balls. ---- chapter vii. _the smaller carnivora._ ---- the raccoon family. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ common raccoon. this is the typical representative of the raccoon family. it is found in most parts of the united states, and also in south america.] a link between the bears and the weasel tribe is made by the raccoons and their allies. they are bear-like in having a short, thick body, and in their flat-footed manner of walking; also in their habit of sitting up on end, and using their paws as hands, to some extent, in aiding them to climb. but they are also much like the civets; and the pretty little cacomixle, or ring-tailed cat of mexico, was formerly classed with the civets. they are all very active, enterprising, and quick-witted creatures of no great size, very different in temperament from the bears. the raccoon. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ raccoon. this animal has the habit of always washing its food, if possible, before it eats it.] the type of the family is the american raccoon itself. its scientific name of "letor," the "washer," was given to it from an odd habit these creatures have of wetting and washing their food in any water which is near. one kept at the zoo washed her kittens so much when they were born that they all died. the 'coon inhabits america from canada to the south as far down as paraguay. in size it is equal to a common fox, but is short and stout. restless, inquisitive, and prying, it is a most mischievous beast where farmyards and poultry are within reach. it kills the fowls, eats the eggs, samples the fruit, and if caught shams dead with all the doggedness of an opossum. it is very fond of fish and shell-fish. oysters are a special dainty, as are mussels and clams. a gentleman who kept one says: "it opens oysters with wonderful skill. it is sufficient for it to break the hinge with its teeth; its paws complete the work of getting out the oyster. it must have a delicate sense of touch. in this operation it rarely avails itself of sight or smell. it passes the oyster under its hind paws; then, without looking, it seeks with its hands the weakest place. it there digs in its claws, forces asunder the valves, and tears out the flesh in fragments, leaving nothing behind." its favourite haunt is in the cane-brakes of the south. there the planters follow it by night with dogs, and shoot it in the trees in which it takes refuge. the skins, with handsome alternations of yellow and brown, make fine carriage-rugs. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ great panda. this very rare animal is found on the high plateau of tibet.] the coatis. the coatis are small arboreal creatures, with the habits of a raccoon and squirrel fairly proportioned. they are flesh-eaters, but active and playful. their long pig-like snouts give them an unpleasant appearance. they inhabit mexico and central and south america as far as paraguay. several specimens are generally to be seen at the zoological gardens. their habits are much the same as those of the small tree-climbing cats, but with something of the badger added. insects and worms, as well as birds and small animals, form their food. the pandas and kinkajou. among the small carnivorous mammals the bear-cat, or panda, is a very interesting creature. its colour is striking--a beautiful red-chestnut above, the lower surface jet-black, the tail long and ringed. the quality of the fur is fine also. it is found in the eastern himalaya, and is as large as a badger. the great panda, from eastern tibet, is a much larger, short-tailed, black-and-white animal, once thought to be a bear. the kinkajou has a prehensile tail, and uses its paws as hands so readily that it was formerly placed among the lemurs. it is a native of southern and intertropical america. nocturnal, and living in the great forests, it is seldom seen by man. its head is round and cat-like, its feet are the same, but with non-retractile claws, and it has a long, full tail. it has a long tongue, with which it can lick out insects from the crevices and holes of trees. baron von humboldt says that it attacks the nests of wild bees. it uses its tongue to draw objects of food towards it, even if they are not living. a pleasant description of this animal appeared in charles knight's "museum of animated nature," published many years ago: "in its aspect there is something of gentleness and good-nature. in captivity it is extremely playful, familiar, and fond of being noticed. one lived in the gardens of the zoological society for seven years. during the greater part of the morning it was asleep, rolled up in a ball in its cage. in the afternoon it would come out, traverse its cage, take food, and play with those to whom it was accustomed. clinging to the top wires of its cage with its tail and hind paws, it would thus swing itself backwards and forwards. when thus hanging, it would bring its fore paws to the bars, as well as the hind pair, and in this manner would travel up and down its cage with the utmost address, every now and then thrusting out its long tongue between the wires, as if in quest of food, which, when offered to it, it would endeavour to draw in between the wires with this organ. it was very fond of being gently stroked and scratched, and when at play with any one it knew it would pretend to bite, seizing the hand or fingers with its teeth, as a dog will do when playing with its master. as the evening came on, it was full of animation, and exhibited in every movement the most surprising energy." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo, co., parson's green._ kinkajou. the kinkajou eats birds and eggs as well as honey and fruit. one kept in south america killed a whole brood of turkeys, and was partial to birds' eggs.] the otters. as the badgers and ratels seem specially adapted to an underground and cave-making existence, so the otters all conform in structure to an aquatic life; yet, except the webbing of the space between the toes and the shortening and flattening of the head, there is very little obvious change in their structure to meet the very great difference in the conditions under which they live. the short-toed otter is a small indian species. it has nails on its hands in place of claws. one kept at the zoo was a most amusing and friendly little pet, which let itself be nursed like a kitten. the north american otter has the same habits as the english kind, but is somewhat larger, and has a far finer coat. it is trapped in thousands, and the fur sent over to this country to the hudson bay company's and sir charles lampson's fur-sales. these otters, like all their family, are very fond of playing. one of their regular games is to make a snow-slide or an ice-slide down a frozen waterfall. the alighting-place from this chute is, if possible, in the water. there the trapper sets his traps, and the poor otters are caught. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ young otters. otters, when taken young, can be trained to catch fish for their owners. in india several tribes employ them for this purpose.] the common otter is far the most attractive of the british carnivora. it is still fairly common all over britain where fish exist. it is found on the norfolk broads and rivers, all up the thames, in scotland, devonshire, wales, cumberland, and northumberland. it travels considerable distances from river to river, and sometimes gets into a preserved trout-pool or breeding-pond, and does much mischief. the beautiful young otters here figured are in mr. percy leigh pemberton's collection of british mammals at ashford, kent. their owner made a large brick tank for them, where they were allowed to catch live fish. once one of them seized a -lb. pike by the tail. the pike wriggled round and seized the otter's paw, but was soon placed _hors de combat_. the largest otter which the writer has seen was bolted by a ferret from a rabbit-warren on the edge of the norfolk fen at hockwold, and shot by the keeper, who was rabbiting. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ two tame otters. these two little otters were photographed by the duchess of bedford. alluding to the old signs of the zodiac and their fondness for the watering-pot, their portrait was called "aquarius" and "the twins."] english dog otters sometimes weigh as much as lbs. they regularly hunt down the rivers by night, returning before morning to their holt, where they sleep by day. no fish stands a chance with them. they swim after the fish in the open river, chase it under the bank, and then corner it, or seize it with a rush, just as the penguins catch gudgeon at the zoo. captain salvin owned a famous tame otter which used to go for walks with him, and amuse itself by catching fish in the roadside ponds. the sea-otter. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ sea-otter. the sea-otter has the most valuable fur of any animal.] common otters killed on the coast are often confounded with the sea-otter. this is a great mistake. the sea-otter is as much a marine animal as the seal or the sea-lion. it swims out in the open ocean, and is even more of a pelagic creature than the seal, for it either produces its young when in the water, or at any rate carries and suckles them on the open sea. the sea-otter is much larger than the common otter. unfortunately the fish and other marine creatures which form the food of the sea-otters are found mainly near the coast. following them, the otters come near the aleutian islands, where the hunters are ever on the watch for them. if a single otter is seen, five or six boats, with a rifleman in each, at once put out, and the otter stands little chance of escape. it never was a common animal, and the prices given for the fur, up to £ for a first-class skin, have caused its destruction. the skin, when stretched and cured, is sometimes feet long, and is of an exquisite natural rich brown, like long plush, sprinkled all over with whitish hairs like hoarfrost. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt, washington._ raccoon. this animal is found from alaska, through the united states, to central america.] the skunks. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ a skunk. an american animal, noted chiefly for the scent-gland it possesses, from which it emits a most obnoxious-smelling fluid.] of all the strange equipments given by nature to animals for their protection that possessed by the various species of skunk is the most effective. these animals are able to emit a fluid so vile in odour that it seems equally hateful to all animals. dogs, pumas, men, alike shun them, and the animals seem to know this and to presume on their immunity. an ordinary skunk is about the size of a cat, black, with bright white stripes down the sides and back. the fur is thick and handsome, and, if the animal be killed before it discharges its fluid, is not too strongly odorous to make trimmings for jackets. mr. hudson, in his "naturalist in la plata," says: "in talking to strangers from abroad, i have never thought it necessary to speak of the dangers of sunstroke, jaguars, or the assassin's knife. but i have never omitted to warn them of the skunk, minutely describing its habits and personal appearance. i knew an englishman who, on taking a first gallop across the pampas, saw one, and, quickly dismounting, hurled himself bodily on to it to effect its capture. poor man! he did not know that the animal is never unwilling to be caught. men have been blinded by them for ever by a discharge of the fiery liquid in their faces. the smell pervades the whole system of any one subjected to it, like a pestilent ether, nauseating the victim till sea-sickness seems pleasant in comparison." dogs can be taught to kill skunks; but they show the greatest disgust and horror when the fluid of the animal falls upon them, and sometimes roll in mud or dust in the endeavour to get rid of it. the badgers. the badgers include several genera. the sand-badgers of the east have a naked snout, small ears, and rough fur, with softer fur underneath. the indian badger is larger than that of europe, while that of java, sumatra, and borneo is smaller, and has a very short tail. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a badger in the water. badgers are increasing in many parts of england. they are nocturnal animals.] the ferret-badgers from the east have elongated bodies and short tails. they are tree-climbers, and as omnivorous as the badger itself. the cape zorilla, with another species found in egypt, is more nearly allied to the polecats, but is striped like a skunk. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ european badger. badgers can be readily kept in confinement, and are not difficult to tame thoroughly.] the european badger is still fairly numerous. there is not a county in england where it is not found. a large colony has been established in epping forest, some fifty yards square of hillside being honeycombed with badger-earths. the european badger is found all over temperate northern europe and asia; but being shy, wary, and mainly nocturnal, is seldom seen. at night it wanders about, and in august gets into the corn-fields, whence it is chased and caught by dogs. a somersetshire farmer had a pointer and sheep-dog which were adepts at this night-catching of badgers. they would accompany their master along the roads, and the pointer instantly winded any badger which had crossed. both dogs then bounded off, and soon their loud barking showed that they had found and "held up" the badger. the dogs' owner then came up, picked the badger up by its tail, and dropped it in a sack. the badger's "earth" is wonderfully deep and winding; in it the badger sleeps during the winter, and gives birth to its young, three or four of which are produced at a time. the end of march is the period of birth, but the cubs do not come out until june. in october they are full-grown. the badger carries in a great quantity of fern and grass as a bed for its cubs. mr. trevor-battye writes: "i had a pair which were probably about six weeks old. they were called gripper and nancy. they would rest on my lap when feeding, and sit up and beg like dogs. their hearing and power of scent were remarkable. the badgers were in a closed yard; but if any of the dogs came near, even following a path which ran at a distance of six or seven yards, they would instantly jump off my lap and disappear into a corner. the animals could walk and trot _backwards_ with the greatest ease." i have never seen this noticed elsewhere, yet it is worth mentioning, because it is characteristic of the weasel family, not being shared, to my knowledge, by any other mammal--not, for instance, by the bears. mr. a. e. pease says of the badger: "it is easily domesticated, and if brought up by hand is found an interesting and charming companion. i had at one time two that i could do anything with, and which followed me so closely that they would bump against my boots each step i took, and come and snuggle in under my coat when i sat down." the ratels. as the mink is adapted for an aquatic diet, so the ratels, a link between the weasels and the badgers, seem to have been specialised to live upon insects and honey as well as flesh. they are quaint creatures, with rounded iron-grey backs, and black bellies, noses, and feet. the african kind is found in cape colony and east africa, and is believed to live largely on honey and bee-brood. the habits of the ratel are almost identical with those of the badger, except that it is less shy and very restless. a nearly similar species of ratel is found in southern asia from the caspian to india. the ratels are strictly nocturnal, and make their lair by day in hollow trees, though they are said not to climb. the skin is protected by thick, close hair, so that bees cannot sting through the fur. the skin is also very loose. if a dog bites it, the ratel can generally twist round and bite back. the african ratel is omnivorous. it eats snakes and birds. the body of a cobra has been found in the stomach of one. the weasel tribe. no animals are more bloodthirsty and carnivorous than most of the weasel tribe. they are also well equipped both in actual weapons and in activity of body, and have powers quite out of proportion to their size. they are also gifted with magnificent coats, and constitute the most valuable source of choice furs. sable, marten, mink, wolverine, ermine, otters, and several others are among the most highly prized. their claws are sharp, but not retractile. it is indeed fortunate that these creatures are so small in size, otherwise they would be among the greatest enemies of animal life. as things are, they are useful in keeping down the numbers of creatures which, like field-mice, moles, rabbits, and rats, might, and occasionally do, become a pest. the martens. there are two species of marten in europe--the beech--and the pine-marten. the latter has a yellow throat, the former a white one. the fur is almost as fine as sable. all so-called canadian sables are really martens. these animals are found throughout northern europe and northern asia, in japan, and all over northern america. in scotland the pine-marten survives in the pine forests; also in ireland, where it is occasionally killed on the wicklow mountains, near dublin, and on the mourne mountains. it is believed to remain in cumberland, devonshire, and possibly in parts of wales. it is a tree-loving animal, and feeds mainly on squirrels, which it pursues through the branches. it is also fond of fruit. mr. charles st. john discovered this in a curious way. he noticed that his raspberries were being stolen, so set a trap among the canes. next day all he could see was a heap of newly gathered raspberry leaves where the trap was. stooping down to move them, a marten sprang up and tried to defend itself. the poor beast had come to gather more raspberries, and had been caught. unable to escape, it gathered the leaves near and concealed itself. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ ratel. ratels are curiously restless little animals, with a peculiar trot-like walk.] the sable. this is so little different from the marten that some have thought it only a northern variety. that is not the case, as both are found in the same area, and no one who knows anything of form and colour could mistake the true sable's fur. this fur is so fine and even that each single hair tapers gradually to a point: that is why sable brushes for painting are so valuable; they always form a point when wet. the price of these brushes, which are of genuine sable fur, though made up from fragments of the worst-coloured or damaged skins, varies yearly with the price of sable in the market. the mink. ladies are very familiar with the fur of the mink, which is one of the best of the less expensive varieties; it is not glossy as marten or sable, and of a lighter and more uniform brown. the mink is a water-haunting polecat, found in siberia, north america, and japan. its main home is in north america, where the immense system of lakes and rivers gives scope for its aquatic habits. the under-fur is particularly warm and thick, to keep out the cold of the water, in which the animal spends more time than on land. it is not stated to catch fish, as does the otter, in the water; but it lives on frogs, crayfish, mussels, and dead or stranded fish. minks have been kept in confinement and regularly bred in "minkeries," as is the blue fox, and in manchuria the chow dog, for the sake of its fur. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ pine-marten. pine-martens have most beautiful fur, and for that reason are much hunted in america.] the polecat. this is now probably the rarest of the british weasels. it is almost identically the same as the polecat-ferret, a cross-breed between it and the domesticated variety. it survives in a few of the great woodlands of the midlands and of oxfordshire, in scotland, and wales. it is found in cumberland, near bowness, and on exmoor and dartmoor where rabbits abound. it is an expert swimmer. its habits are the same as those of the stoat, but it is slower in its movements. it catches fish, and can pick up food from the bottom of the water. wild ones can be trained to work like ferrets. "they do not delay in the hole, but follow the rat out and catch it in a couple of bounds" (trevor-battye). the ferret is a domesticated breed of polecat. it is identical in shape and habits, but unable to stand the cold of our climate in the open. [illustration: _by permission of percy leigh pemberton, esq._ polecat. in england this animal in becoming very scarce.] the weasel. the smallest, fiercest, and commonest of its race, the little weasel is by no means the least formidable to other animals of the carnivora of england. it is cinnamon-coloured, with a white throat and belly, and climbs as neatly as a cat, running up vertical boughs with almost greater facility. a weasel in a high hedge will run the whole length of the fence, from twig to twig, without descending; it threads the galleries of the field-mice, sucks the eggs of small birds in their nests, and attacks rats, mice, rabbits, and even such large birds as grouse without fear or hesitation. during a great plague of field-voles in the lowlands of scotland in the years and the weasels increased enormously. a shepherd took the trouble to follow a weasel down a hollow drain in the vole-infested hillside; he found the bodies of no less than thirteen field-mice, which the weasel had amused itself by killing. in winter weasels hunt the corn-stacks for mice, and often make a home among the sheaves. one was seen chasing a vole by mr. trevor-battye, who picked up the vole, which the weasel was just about to jump up for, when he threw it into the hedge. there the weasel pounced on it and carried it off! the main food of the weasel is the field-mouse and small voles. weasels are very devoted to their young; they will pick them up and carry them off as a cat does a kitten, if the nest is in danger. their hunting shows great marks of cunning. one was seen in a field in which a number of corn-buntings were flying about, alighting on thistles. the weasel went and hid under one of the tallest thistles, on which a bunting soon alighted; an instant after it sprang up and caught and killed the bird. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ himalayan weasel. weasels are still common in england. they are fierce, and absolutely fearless when in pursuit of game.] the stoat, or ermine. this is the commonest and most widely distributed of all the weasel tribe. in winter the fur turns to pure white in the northern countries, and occasionally in southern england. it is then known as the ermine, and yields the ermine fur. in every country where it is found it is the deadly foe of all small animals, from the hare to the smallest field-mice. it has the same passion for killing for killing's sake shared by the ferret. if a stoat finds a rabbit's nest, for instance, it always murders all the young ones. these creatures sometimes contrive to hunt in packs, or to migrate in society. they are very fond of their young, which they lay up in old crows' nests, holes in banks, or straw-stacks. they have often been seen to carry them out of danger in their mouths. the length of the head and body is ¾ inches, and of the tail ½ inches. the young are usually from five to eight in number, and are born in april or may. they soon move into the long standing-grass, and remain there till it is cut. after that they move to the woods and covers, and great numbers are trapped. if not, they attack the young pheasants, and do great damage. they can climb well, and are known, as is the polecat, to ascend trees and kill birds on their nests. they also suck eggs. forty-two pheasants' eggs were taken by mr. de winton from one stoat's hole. [illustration: _photos by a. s. rudland & sons._ common stoat. _in summer coat._ _in winter coat._ these photographs show the stoat (or ermine, as it is often called) in its summer and winter coats. this animal gives us the well-known ermine fur.] the glutton, or wolverine. this largest and most destructive of all the weasel tribe is found all round the northern edge of the arctic circle, from norway to hudson bay. it is a large heavy animal, with a short head, sharp claws, long thick fur, and a clumsy gait. its tusks are very long and sharp; and its appetite, if not so insatiable as the old travellers were told, is sharp enough to keep it always hunting. it follows the fur-trappers in the woods, and, being very cunning, breaks in at the back of their fall-traps, and robs the baits or the prey caught. when lord milton and dr. cheadle made the north-west passage by land, they lost nearly all their furs in this way. once, having trapped a valuable silver fox, the only one caught by them, they found nothing but shreds of fur left by the glutton. as the marten-hunters' line of traps is perhaps fifty or sixty miles long, the loss and damage caused by the glutton is most mortifying. this animal can only be caught in steel traps, and that with great difficulty. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ glutton. a cunning, destructive animal, which follows the trappers and robs them of the animals taken in the traps.] [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ californian sea-lions, or eared seals. seal-herds form "rookeries" when on land at the breeding-season, during which time they undergo a complete fast.] ---- chapter viii. _marine carnivora: the seals, sea-lions, and walrus._ there are three families of the sea carnivora,--the fur-seals, or eared seals; the walrus; and the true or earless seals. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ steller's sea-lion. the eared seal, or sea-lion, has the hind flippers divided, and is thus able to move with comparative ease on land.] the first group, which are called eared seals, and occasionally sea-lions and sea-bears, have a small outer ear, and when on land the hind flippers are folded forwards beneath the body. there is a distinct neck, and on the flippers are rudimentary claws. some of the eared seals have the close and fine under-fur which makes their capture so remunerative. under the skin there is often a thick layer of blubber, which is also turned to commercial uses by the sealers. the walrus stands by itself. it is a purely arctic species, whereas fur-seals are found from bering sea to the antarctic; and forms in some degree a connecting-link between the eared seals and the true seals. like the former, it turns the front flippers forwards and inwards when on land; but it resembles the true seals in having no external ears. the upper canine teeth are developed into enormous tusks of hard ivory. the common seals are the most thoroughly aquatic. the hind flippers seem almost to have coalesced with the tail, and are always directed backwards in line with it. they have no under-fur. on land they can only use the front flippers to aid their progress. most seals are marine, though some are found in the land-locked sea of lake baikal, in central asia, and the true seals often come up rivers. the eared seals, or sea-lions. these and the walrus have their hind limbs so far free that they can crawl on land and use their flippers for other purposes than swimming; they can comb their hair with them, and walk in an awkward way. they are divided into the fur-seals and hair-seals in the language of trade. the fur-seals are those from which ladies' seal-skin jackets are made; the hair-seals are sought for their hides and oil. a demand has sprung up for the latter to make coats for automobilists to wear when riding at high speed in cold weather. the "porpoise-hide" boots are really made from the skin of the hair-seal. both hair-seals and fur-seals have in common the remarkable habit of assembling in large herds during the breeding-season, and of spending a long period on land after the young are born. the male seals reach the islands, or "rookeries," first, followed by the females. the latter give birth to their young almost as soon as they reach the rocks, and are then seized and gathered into harems by the strongest and oldest males. the sea-lions of patagonia, equally with the fur-seals of bering sea and the pribyloff islands, never feed during the whole time which they spend on the rocks, often for a period of two months. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ sea-lion. this photograph shows the dry mane of the sea-lion, a rather uncommon sight, as it rarely remains long enough out of the water for its fur to become absolutely dry.] the fur-seals. the northern fur-seal is the only member of this group surviving in any number. these animals still annually resort to the aleutian islands, in the territory of alaska, in great herds to produce their young, and to certain other islets off the coast of japan. this northern fur-seal, from the fur of which the seal-skin jackets are obtained, is, when full grown, between and feet long. the females are only feet or ½ feet in length. the shoulder of the male is grey, the rest of the body varying between reddish grey and deep black. the female is lighter in colour. males of this species are not full grown till six years of age, but breed when four years old. the females produce young at three years of age. the male seals take possession of the females almost immediately after reaching the breeding-grounds, each male collecting as many females as it can round it. the pups keep with their mothers. this assemblage is surrounded by great numbers of young male or bachelor seals, which the old males prevent from annexing any of the females. the greatest of all these gathering-places are on the pribyloff islands and certain other islets in bering sea. by the end of may both male and female seals swim in flocks through bering straits, making for the islands. the islands themselves are leased to american merchants. but as those seals killed on the way are all just about to bring forth young, the waste and cruelty of this "pelagic sealing" will be easily understood. on the islands, or "rookeries," the males, mothers, and pups remain till august, when the pups take to the water. the male seals have remained for at least two months, incessantly fighting and watching, without taking any food. by that time they are quite exhausted, the fat which they laid up previously being all absorbed. the fur has not naturally either the colour or texture which art gives it. the outer fur is long and coarse, and only the inner fur of the exquisite texture of the "made" skin. the former is removed, and the latter dyed to the rich brown colour which we see. the fur-seals are steadily diminishing, and each year's catch is smaller than that of the year before. the cape fur-seal, southern fur-seal, and new zealand fur-seal are practically extinct for commercial purposes. the hair-seals. among these are the large so-called "sea-lions" of patagonia and the north pacific. we are familiar with their appearance, because for many years specimens have been kept at the zoological gardens. their habits are much the same as those of the fur-seals. the principal species are, in the north, steller's sea-lion, and the patagonian sea-lion in the south. those kept at the zoological gardens are usually of the latter species. steller's sea-lion is already on the road to extinction. when the annual catch of fur-seals reached , a year, the total number of these northern sea-lions was estimated at between , and , . they repair every year to the pribyloff islands to breed, as the fur-seals do, but are shier and more entirely aquatic. the fur of the old males is tawny, and makes a kind of mane over the shoulders, whence its name. off san francisco there is a small rocky island, one of the ancient "rookeries" of these sea-lions, where they are carefully preserved by the united states government as one of the sights of the bay. another favourite haunt in old days was on the farralone islands, thirty miles from the bay. [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ sea-lion. all sea-lions are polygamous. the males guard their harems very jealously, and fight determinedly with any intruder.] southwards, towards the antarctic, on the desolate and uninhabited coasts and islets of the far southern ocean, the most characteristic of the fauna still remaining are the sea-lions. formerly they swarmed in great packs, crowding at the breeding-season the seaweed-covered rocks with their huge and unwieldy forms, and at other times cruising in uncouth and noisy companies in search of the fishes and squids, which they pursued like packs of ocean-wolves. in spring the sea-lions used to struggle on to the flat shore, where the equally aquatic tribes of penguins, which had lost the use of their wings, covered acre after acre of rock with their eggs and young. these the sea-lions devoured. when the men of the first exploring-ships visited the penguins' nurseries, all the ungainly birds began to hop inland, evidently taking the men for seals, and thinking it best to draw them as far from their native element as possible. but the eared seals can make good progress of a kind on land. when captain musgrave and his crew were cast away for twenty months on the auckland islands, they found their tracks on the top of a hill four miles from the water. captain musgrave also saw the mother seals teaching their puppies to swim; they were by no means inclined to do this, and were afraid of the water--fairly clear presumptive evidence that seals have only recently, so far as natural time is counted, taken to the aquatic life, and modified their form so profoundly as they have. the patagonian sea-lion is perhaps the most numerous species, though its numbers have been greatly reduced by whalers in search of skins and oil. the first sea-lion ever brought to england was one of these. the zoological society did not import it; they found it in the possession of a frenchman called lecomte, who had taken it on the patagonian coast, trained it, and brought it home, where he showed it in a caravan. its training was long and difficult; it bit like a bull-dog, and lecomte's limbs were scarred all over with its bites. in spite of this it was the cleverest performing animal ever seen up to that time in england. this sea-lion died from swallowing a fish-hook concealed in some fish with which it was fed. lecomte was then sent out by the zoological society to obtain some more. with the greatest difficulty several were secured, but all died on the voyage to new york. lecomte returned and obtained others, one of which he succeeded in bringing to england. the cleverness of these animals--or rather their power of understanding what they are required to do, and their willingness to do it--probably exceeds that of any other animal, except the elephant and the dog. why this is so is not easy to conjecture, except that the brain is more developed. they have been taught to fetch and carry on dry land like a retriever, in addition to the well-known tricks exhibited by those at the zoo. one belonging to barnum's show caught strawberry-punnets on its nose when they were thrown to it, and waved a torch, which it held in its teeth and caught after tossing it into the air. the sea-lions are much more powerful animals than the fur-seals. the male of steller's sea-lion attains a length of feet and a weight of , lbs. the australian sea-lion is even larger than that of the north pacific. some specimens are said to attain feet in length. captain cook mentions seeing male patagonian sea-lions feet long and from to feet in circumference. though none are now seen of such dimensions, skulls found on the beach show that anciently some of the sea-lions were larger than any now known. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ female walrus. this is a photograph of the only walrus which has ever been tamed and taught to perform tricks. it was taken when she was two years old and weighed lbs. at that time she consumed lbs. of boneless fish a day; a year later not less than lbs. satisfied her. she is now an inmate of the roumanian zoological gardens.] it should be noted that all these creatures are carnivorous, yet the supply of food for them never seems to fail, as undoubtedly it would were the animals dependent for their food on land. the walrus. the distinguishing features of the walrus have been mentioned in the introductory remarks to this chapter. it should be added that it has an external ear-passage, though no external ears, and very thick and bristly whiskers. it is practically confined to the arctic circle, though once its range extended to the british coasts (where its bones are found in the suffolk crag) and to virginia. the skull of one was found in the peat at ely--evidence that it once ascended rivers. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ male walrus. the "tusks" of the walrus are put to many practical uses during life, and after death are much valued for the ivory.] the walrus stands alone; it is a real monster of the deep. strange and awful stories were told of it by some of the early voyagers to the arctic seas; but captain cook gave a very different account of his impressions of the walruses which he saw on the north coast of america: "they lie in herds of many hundreds on the ice, huddling over one another like swine. (they lie just like a lot of pigs in a yard.) they roar and bray so very loud, that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before we could see it. we never found the whole herd asleep, some being always on the watch. these, on the approach of the boat, would awaken those next to them; and the alarm being thus gradually communicated, the whole herd would awake presently. but they were seldom in a hurry to get away, till after they had been once fired at; they then would tumble over one another into the sea in the utmost confusion. they did not appear to us to be that dangerous animal which authors have described, not even when attacked. vast numbers of them would follow us, and come close up to the boats; but the flash of the musket in the pan, or the bare pointing of it, would send them down in an instant. the female will defend her young to the last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water or upon the ice; nor will the young one quit the dam, though she be dead; so that if one be killed the other is certain prey." the long pendent tusks, bristly whiskers, small bloodshot eyes, and great size lent colour to the terrifying tales of the walrus. but more ancient voyagers than captain cook told the truth--that the "morses," as they called them, were harmless creatures, which often followed the ships from sheer curiosity. they sleep on the ice like elephantine pigs, and dive and rout on the sea-bottom for clams, cuttle-fish, and seaweeds. probably the long tusks are used to rake up mussels and clams; they also help the walrus to climb on to the ice. a young walrus was kept for some time by the members of the jackson-harmsworth expedition, and was found to be an amusing pet. one kept on board a dundee whaler used to sleep with an eskimo dog, and got into the same kennel with it. it ate blubber and salt pork, but liked the sailors' pea-soup better than anything else; it was most sociable, and could not bear to be alone--would tumble down the hatchway to seek the society of its beloved sailors, and scramble into the cabin if the door were open. when it fell ill and before it died, it seemed most grateful for any attention shown to it. the parent walrus shows the greatest courage in trying to defend the young one. walruses are now scarce; but as the ivory is the only part of them of much present value, there is a chance that they may not be killed off entirely. the true seals. the true seals, with their greatly modified forms, heads set almost on to their shoulders, with no neck visible, have well-developed claws on all the toes, and in the typical species have double-rooted and small cheek-teeth. the number of the incisors is variable. the grey seal of the north atlantic is a large species which visits the north british coasts and the hebrides. one old male shot off the coast of connemara weighed nearly lbs., and was feet long. it is found off scandinavia and eastwards to the coast of greenland, and breeds off our coasts in october and november. this is the large seal occasionally shot up scotch lochs. its colour is yellowish grey, varied with blots and patches of dirty black and brown. the common seal. this seal is smaller than the preceding. it breeds on parts of the welsh and cornish coasts, and is found on both sides of the atlantic and in the north pacific. it assembles in small herds, and frequents lochs, estuaries, and river-mouths. in the summer it is fond of following flounders and sea-trout up rivers. a few years ago one came up the thames and was shot at richmond. the young are born in june, and are greyish white. the adults are variously mottled with grey, brown, and black. the fondness of seals for music is proverbial. macgillivray, the scotch naturalist, said that in the hebrides he could bring half a score of them within forty yards of him by a few notes on his flute, when they would swim about with their heads above water like so many black dogs. a seal was captured by the servants of a landowner near clew bay, on the west coast of ireland, and kept tame for four years. it became so attached to the house that, after being carried out to sea three times, it returned on each occasion. the cruel wretches who owned it then blinded it, out of curiosity to see whether it could find its way back sightless. the poor animal did so after eight days. the common seal is still fairly numerous on the rocky western coasts of the british islands, though a few old seals, unable to forget their early habits, appear now and then in morecambe bay and in the solway. it is not uncommon off the coasts of caithness and sutherland. it also frequents a sandbank in the dornoch firth, though it has been much persecuted there. the common seal is gregarious, while the grey seal usually lives only in pairs, or at most in small companies. two or three dozen like to lie closely packed on shore with all their heads turning seawards. the white hair of the young seals--which, as already said, are born in june--is shed in a day or two, when the young take to the water. with regard to their reputed musical proclivities, some experiments made at the zoological gardens did not bear out this belief; but there is much evidence that in a state of nature they will approach and listen to music. the common seal has a large brain-capacity, and is a very intelligent creature. the upper parts of this seal are yellowish grey, spotted with black and brown, the under parts being silver-grey. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ walrus and sea-lion. another photograph of the walrus tamed by herr carl hagenbeck. notice the sea-lion in the right-hand corner, which also formed one of the same performing troupe.] the harp-seal is an arctic or ice-seal which sometimes finds its way to britain. the young are born on ice-floes. it is found in great herds in davis straits, on the coasts of greenland, and in the greater part of the frozen arctic ocean. it is the animal which the sealing-vessels which hunt seals for oil and "hair"--that is, the leather of the skins, not the fur--seek and destroy. in the old days they could be seen in tens of thousands blackening square miles of ice. they are still so numerous that in danish greenland more than , are taken each year. the ringed seal is a small variety, not more than or feet in length, found in great numbers in the far north. its flesh is the main food of the eskimo, and its skin the clothing of the greenlanders. the seals make breathing-holes in the ice. there the eskimo waits with uplifted spear for hours at a time, until the seal comes up to breathe, when it is harpooned. the bladder-nosed seal is a large spotted variety, with a curious bladder-like crest on the head and nose of the male. unlike all other seals, it sometimes resists the hunters and attacks the eskimo in their kayaks. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ grey seal. seals are not so well adapted as sea-lions for getting about on the dry land, and, except for their habit of coming ashore to bask in the sun, are thoroughly aquatic.] if any evidence were needed of the great destruction which the sealing and whaling industry causes, and has caused, among the large marine animals, the case of the elephant-seals ought to carry conviction. these are very large seals, the male of which has a projecting nose like a proboscis. they were formerly found both north and south of the equator, their main haunts being on the coast of california, and on the islands of the south pacific and antarctic ocean. they are gigantic compared with the common seals, some of the males being from to feet long. cuttle-fish and seaweed are the principal food of this seal, which was formerly seen in astonishing numbers. the whaling-ships which hunted both these seals and sperm-whales at the same time almost destroyed those which bred on the more accessible coasts, just as the earlier whalers entirely destroyed steller's sea-cow, and their modern descendants destroyed the southern right-whales. the elephant-seal is now very scarce, and when one is killed the skin is regarded as something of a curiosity. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ grey seal. note the difference between the seal's and the sea-lion's hind flippers. when on land, the seal advances by a jumping movement, produced by the muscles of the body, assisted forward by the front flippers.] in the records of the voyage of the _challenger_ it is stated that there were still great numbers of the elephant-seals surviving near heard island, and not a few round the shores of kerguelen island. professor moseley states that on the windward shore of heard island "there is an extensive beach, called long beach. this was covered with thousands of sea-elephants in the breeding-season; but it is only accessible by land, and then only by crossing two glaciers. no boat can safely land on this shore; consequently men are stationed on the beach, and live there in huts. their duty is constantly to drive the sea-elephants from this beach into the sea, which they do with whips made out of the hides of the seals themselves. the beasts thus ousted swim off, and often 'haul up,' as the term is, upon the accessible beach beyond. in very stormy weather, when they are driven into the sea, they are forced to betake themselves to the sheltered side of the island. two or three old males, which are called 'beach-masters,' hold a beach for themselves and cover it with cows, but allow no other males to haul up. they fight furiously, and one man told me that he had seen an old male take a young one up in his teeth and throw him over, lifting him in the air. the males show fight when whipped, and are with great difficulty driven into the sea. the females give birth to their young soon after their arrival. the new-born young ones are almost black, unlike the adults, which are of a light slate-brown. they are suckled by the female for some time, and then left to themselves, lying on the beach, where they seem to grow fat without further feeding. they are always allowed by the sealers to lie like this, 'in order to make more oil.' this account was corroborated by all the sealers i met, but i do not understand it. probably the cows visit their offspring unobserved from time to time. péron says that both parent elephant-seals stay with the young without taking any food at all till the latter are about six or seven weeks' old, and that the old ones conduct the young to the water and carefully keep them company. the rapid increase in weight is in accordance with péron's account. goodridge gives a somewhat different story--namely, that after the females leave the young the old males and the pups proceed inland, as far as two miles sometimes, and stop without food for more than a month, during which time they lose fat. the male sea-elephants come ashore for the purpose of breeding about the middle of august, the females a little later." formerly the elephant-seals were found as far north as the californian coast, where their capture was the main business of the sealing-traders. this species also formed the mainstay of the far southern sealers. as the elephant-seals were killed off, so the business became less and less profitable. it is to be hoped that the voyages of exploration to the antarctic ice-fringe will not lead to the discovery of fresh sealing-grounds, for if this is the case there is little chance that any of the southern seals will escape entire destruction. some form of close time has already been enforced in the pursuit of the hair-seals of northern europe; but it is very desirable that the species still found on our own coasts should also receive protection. except when they paid visits to the fixed salmon-nets, they never did any harm; and fixed nets are now illegal. when a seal learned the use of the stake-nets, which these animals were very quick to understand, it would wait quietly till it saw a fish caught, and then swim up and carry it off before the fishermen could take it. two species--namely, the common seal and grey seal--still regularly visit our shores. the common seal breeds on our south-western coasts, and the grey seal off the hebrides. if the common seal were accorded a close time, its numbers would probably increase; and the spectacle of such interesting creatures visible on our coast could not fail to be of great interest. all the old legends of mermaids and wild men of the sea are based on the capture of seals. perhaps the most ancient is one which records such a capture in the river near orford castle, in suffolk, in the reign of henry ii. the ignorant soldiers were persuaded that it was a man, and tortured it to make it speak. they then took it to the church, and showed it the sacred emblems. as it "showed no reverence," they took it back to the castle, and fed it on fish. it was allowed to go into the river, but returned to its captors of its own accord. later it swam away to the sea. the monk who recorded the story stated his conviction that this seal was an evil spirit which had got into the body of a drowned sailor. a grey seal was taken not many years ago in the creek leading up to the little town of wells, in norfolk. it was so tame that the fishermen caught it by throwing coats over it as it lay on the mud. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ harp-seal. the harp-seal comes from greenland.] [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ sea-elephant. these enormous seals (about feet in length) are becoming very scarce. when they come ashore, they are easily approached, though not so easily killed. they are much valued for their oil. note the trunk-like prolongation of the nose, which, when the animal is excited, becomes distended.] ---- chapter ix. _the rodents, or gnawing animals._ the rodents, or gnawing mammals, have all the same general type of teeth, from which the order receives its distinctive name. there are a very large number of families and of genera among the rodents, more than in any other order of mammals. all the rodents possess a pair of long chisel-shaped incisor teeth in each jaw. the ends of these teeth are worn into a sharp edge which cuts like a steel tool. in most rodents these are the only teeth in that part of the jaw, a wide gap intervening between them and the other teeth. the hares, rabbits, and calling-hares have a minute pair of teeth set just behind the large pair in the upper jaw. the grinding-teeth are set far back, and are never more than six in number, these being sometimes reduced to four. rodents generally have five toes on the fore feet; in the hind feet there are in some cases only four, or even three. none of the species are of great size; the largest, the capybara, a water-living animal of south america, is about the dimensions of a small pig. but the number of species of small rodents is prodigious, and their fecundity so great that they constantly increase in favourable seasons until they become a plague. voles, lemmings, field-mice, and rabbits are constant sources of loss to agriculture in their seasons of extraordinary increase. most rodents feed on vegetables, though rats and mice have developed carnivorous tastes. no rodents have canine teeth. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ capybara. this, the largest of the rodents, is found by the rivers of south america.] the squirrels. those of the order of gnawing animals which have only two incisors in each jaw, and no rudimentary teeth like those possessed by the hares, are called "simple-toothed rodents." of those the family usually placed first in order is that of the squirrels and their allies. the true squirrels and marmots have five molar teeth on each side of the upper jaw. [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus, new york._ flying-squirrel. one of the small species of the group.] squirrels are found in nearly every temperate part of the globe, from norway to japan, and in very great numbers in india and the tropics. everywhere they are favourites; and though they do some mischief in highly cultivated countries, they are among the most harmless of creatures. most of them live on wild nuts and the kernels of fruit; they suck eggs occasionally, and in canada will come to the traps in extreme cold and eat the meat with which they are baited. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ flying-squirrel. the large flying-squirrels are mainly nocturnal. they can leap a distance of feet with the aid of the parachutes of skin stretching from the fore to the hind limbs.] the red squirrel. this, the common squirrel of england, is representative of the whole order. in old scandinavian legends the squirrel is represented as the messenger of the gods, who carried the news of what was going on in the world to the other animals. together with its close relations, it is the most graceful of all climbers of trees. with its long tail waving behind it, it races up or down the trunks and across the forest from branch to branch as easily as a horse gallops across a plain. it will descend the trunk head downwards as fast as it runs up. squirrels pair for life, and are most affectionate little creatures, always playing or doing gymnastics together. the squirrel builds a very good house, in which he shows himself far more sensible than the monkeys and apes; it is made of leaves, moss, and sticks. the sticks come first as a platform; then this is carpeted, and a roof put on. no one who has seen english squirrels at work house-building has ever described exactly how they do it; it is the best nest made by any mammal, thoroughly well fitted together and waterproof. in this nest the young squirrels are born in the month of june; that year they keep with the parents, and do not "set up for themselves" till the next spring. the red colour is very persistent in squirrels. one chinese variety, black and red, has even bright red teeth. in cold countries the red squirrels make stores of food, but spend much of the winter asleep. it is a great pity that in england no one tries to tame the squirrels as they do in america; there they are the greatest ornament of the parks of cities, coming down to be fed as tamely as our sparrows. the writer has known one instance in which a lady induced wild squirrels to pay daily visits to her bedroom for food; they used to climb up the ivy and jump in at the open window. the great enemies of squirrels near houses are the cats, which kill all the young ones when they first come down from the trees. in a garden in berkshire a pair of squirrels had a family every summer for five years, but none ever survived the cats' persistent attacks. these squirrels were most amusing and improvident. they used to hide horse-chestnuts, small potatoes, kernels of stone fruit, bulbs of crocuses, and other treasures in all kinds of places, and then forget them. after deep snows they might be seen scampering about looking into every hole and crevice to see whether that happened to be the place where they had hidden something useful. much of the store was buried among the roots of trees and bushes, and quite hidden when the snow fell. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ dorsal squirrel from central america. a most beautiful species. the main colour is red, but the back is french grey, and the tail french grey and red mingled.] the grey squirrel. in northern europe, and across northern asia and america, a large grey squirrel is found. from its fur the "squirrel-cloaks" are made. these squirrels live mainly on the seeds of pines in winter, and on wild fruits, shoots, and berries in summer. it has been noticed that they will entirely forsake some great area of forest for a year or two, and as suddenly return to it. the marten and the sable are the great enemies of the grey squirrel, but the eagle-owl and goshawk also kill numbers of them. in many countries the flesh of the squirrel is eaten. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ asiatic chipmunks. small ground-squirrels which store food for the winter.] the grey-and-black squirrel of the united states was thus described some sixty years ago: "it rises with the sun, and continues industriously engaged in the search for food for four or five hours every morning. during the warm weather of spring it prepares its nest on the branch of a tree, constructing it first of dried sticks, which it breaks off, or, if these are not at hand, of green twigs as thick as a finger, which it gnaws off from the boughs. these it lays in the fork of a tree, so as to make a framework. it lines this framework with leaves, and over these again it spreads moss. in making the nest, the pair is usually engaged for several days, spending an hour in the morning hard at work. the noise they make in cutting the sticks and carrying material is heard at some distance." in winter they reside entirely in the holes of trees, where their young are in most cases born. green corn and young wheat suffered greatly from their depredations, and a wholesale war of destruction used to be waged against them everywhere. in pennsylvania an old law offered threepence a head from the public treasury for every squirrel destroyed, and in the enormous sum of £ , was paid out of the public funds for this purpose. in those days vast migrations of these squirrels used to take place, exciting not only the wonder but the fear of the old settlers. in the far north-west multitudes of squirrels used to congregate in different districts, forming scattered bands, which all moved in an easterly direction, gathering into larger bodies as they went. neither mountains nor rivers stopped them. on they came, a devouring army, laying waste the corn- and wheat-fields, until guns, cats, hawks, foxes, and owls destroyed them. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ red-footed ground-squirrel. this species has some of the characteristics of the tree-squirrels, among them the bushy tail.] the flying-squirrels. one of the finest squirrels is the taguan, a large squirrel of india, ceylon, and the malacca forests. it is a "flying-squirrel," with a body feet long, and a bushy tail of the same length. being nocturnal, it is not often seen; but when it leaps it unfolds a flap of skin on either side, which is stretched (like a sail) when the fore and hind limbs are extended in the act of leaping; it then forms a parachute. the colour of this squirrel is grey, brown, and pale chestnut. there are a number of different flying-squirrels in china, formosa, and japan, and in the forests of central america. one small flying-squirrel, the polatouche, is found in north-east russia and siberia. it flies from tree to tree with immense bounds, assisted by the "floats" on its sides. though only inches long, it can cover distances of feet and more without difficulty. wherever there are birch forests this little squirrel is found. one nearly as small is a native of the southern states of america, ranging as far south as guatemala. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ black fox-squirrel. the fur of this species is as valuable as that of the grey squirrel.] in africa, south of the sahara, the place of the oriental flying-squirrel is taken by a separate family. they have a different arrangement of the parachute from that of the flying-squirrels of india. this wide fold of skin is supported in the asiatic squirrels by a cartilage extending from the wrist. in the south african flying-squirrels this support springs from the elbow, not from the wrist; they have also horny plates on the under-surface of the tail. many of the tropical flying-squirrels are quite large animals, some being as large as a small cat. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ long-tailed marmot. the marmots live by preference on high and cold mountains just below the line of eternal snow in europe. in asia, where the snow-line is higher, they are found at altitudes of , feet.] mr. w. h. adams says of pel's flying-squirrel, a west african species: "these squirrels come out of their holes in the trees some hours after sunset, and return long before daybreak. they are only visible on bright moonlight nights. the natives say that they do not come out of their holes at all in stormy weather, or on very dark nights; they live on berries and fruits, being especially fond of the palm-oil nut, which they take to their nests to peel and eat. they pass from tree to tree with great rapidity, usually choosing to jump from a higher branch to a lower one, and then climbing up again to make a fresh start.... they litter about twice in a year, once in september. the young remain in the nest for about nine weeks, during which they are fed by the old ones on such food as shoots and kernels. they do not attempt to jump or 'fly' till the end of that period, extending the length of their jumps with their growth." the ethiopian spiny squirrels have coarse spiny fur; the little indian palm-squirrel is marked with longitudinal dark and light stripes on the back; others have light bands on their flanks. the ground-squirrels. many tree-living squirrels pass a good deal of their time on the ground; but there are others which burrow like mice, and, though they climb admirably, prefer to make their nest, and the regular squirrel's store of nuts, in the earth, and not in the branches. the best known is the little chipmunk of the united states, the favourite pet of all american children. there are many kinds of chipmunks, all of which have pouches in their cheeks for carrying food. the commonest is the striped chipmunk. it is from to inches long, with white stripes, bordered with dark brown on each side. the chipmunks' hoards of grain and nuts are so large that the indians used to rob them in times of scarcity. there is also a ground-squirrel in northern europe and northern asia with much the same habits as the chipmunk. the burrows of the chipmunks are deep and extensive, and into them these rodents convey such quantities of grain and maize as to inflict considerable loss on the farmer. the siberian ground-squirrel has been known to conceal over lbs. weight of corn in its hole. this has a sleeping-chamber at the end, filled with moss and leaves, on which the family sleep. from this side passages are dug, all leading to chambers stocked with food, often far in excess of the wants of these provident little creatures. the surplus stores are said to be eaten in the spring by wild boars and bears. the prairie-dogs and marmots. between squirrels which live in holes in the ground and the marmots and their relations no great gap is found. these creatures drop the climbing habit and increase that of burrowing. in disposition most of them are still very squirrel-like, though they gain something in solemnity of demeanour by never going far from their holes. a prairie-dog or marmot is like a squirrel which has left society and settled down in a suburb. the little creatures known in america as prairie-dogs have in northern europe and the steppes of asia some first cousins, called susliks. both live in colonies, burrow quickly and well, feed on grass, and have a habit of sitting bolt upright outside their holes, keeping a look-out for enemies. the prairie-dogs also bark like a little dog when alarmed. before going to sleep, the latter always carry the dry grass on which they slept out of their burrow, and carefully bite up into short lengths a fresh supply to make their beds. the susliks and prairie-dogs are of a khaki colour, like the sand in which they delight to burrow. every one has heard that the little burrowing-owls live in the same holes in company with the prairie-dogs, and that the rattlesnake sometimes eats both the young prairie-dogs and the young owls. an acquaintance of the writer who had killed a rattlesnake actually took a young prairie-dog from its mouth. the snake had not struck it with the poison, but had begun to swallow it uninjured. it was still alive, and recovered. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ prairie-dogs, or marmots. a most characteristic picture. it shows the prairie-dogs' method of holding their food while they eat, or cutting up grass to make their beds.] the suslik was once found in england; its remains, with those of other steppe animals, are found in the river gravels and brick earth in the london basin. the prairie-dogs form a kind of connecting-link between the susliks and the true marmots. they have short ears, short tails, rounded bodies, and possess great powers of digging. when a prairie-dog has nothing better to do, it usually spends its time either in digging holes or in cutting up grass or anything handy to make its bed with. young prairie-dogs are not so large as a mouse when born. the adult animals feed almost entirely on grass and weeds in their wild state; they seem quite independent of water, and able to live in the driest places. the alpine marmot is a much larger species than the prairie-dog. it lives on the alps just below the line of perpetual snow. from five to fifteen marmots combine in colonies, dig very deep holes, and, like the prairie-dogs, carefully line them with grass; they also store up dry grass for food. in autumn they grow very fat, and are then dug out of the burrows by the mountaineers for food. young marmots used to be tamed and carried about by the savoyard boys, but this practice is now rare. the monkey is probably more attractive to the public than the fat and sleepy marmot. marmots are about the size of a rabbit, and have close iron-grey fur. tschudi, the naturalist of the alps, says of the marmots that they are the only mammal which inhabits the region of the snows. no other warm-blooded quadrupeds live at such an altitude. in spring, when the lower snows melt, there are generally small pieces of short turf near their holes, as well as great rocks, precipices, and stones. here they make their burrows, outside which they feed, with a sentinel always posted to warn them of the approach of the eagle or lammergeir. the young marmots, from four to six in number, are born in june. when they first appear at the mouth of the holes, they are bluish grey; later the fur gains a brownish tint. the burrows are usually at a height of not less than , or , feet. winter comes on apace. by the end of autumn the ground is already covered with snow, and the marmots retire to sleep through the long winter. as they do not become torpid for some time, they require food when there is none accessible; this they store up in the form of dried grass, which they cut in august, and leave outside their burrows for a time to be turned into hay. the alpine marmot is also found in the carpathians and the pyrenees. another species, the bobac, ranges eastward from the german frontier across poland, russia, and the steppes of asia to kamchatka. in ladak and western tibet a short-tailed species, the himalayan marmot, is found, sometimes living at a height of nearly , feet. the golden marmot is found in the pamirs. the beavers. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ american beaver. the engineering feats of the beavers, in damming streams and forming pools, are the most remarkable achievements performed by living animals.] the beavers are classed as the last family of the squirrel-like group of the rodents, and the largest creatures of that order in the northern hemisphere. the value of their fur has caused their destruction in great measure where they were once numerous, and has led to their total extirpation where there is evidence that they existed as a not uncommon animal. they were formerly distributed over the greater part of europe. in england semi-fossilised remains show that they were not uncommon. in wales beavers' skins were mentioned in the year in the laws of howel dha, and in giraldus stated that they were living on the river teify, in cardiganshire. beavers were formerly found in france, especially on the rhone, where a few are still said to survive, in germany, austria, russia, poland, and in sweden and norway, on the rivers dwina and petchora, and on the great rivers of siberia. a few still remain in two districts of norway, and some were known to frequent the elbe in . the moldau, in bohemia, is also credited with a colony; but parts of the danube are believed to be the chief haunt of the european beaver at the present time. the american beaver, though its range has greatly contracted, is still sufficiently numerous for its fur to be a valuable item in the winter fur-sales. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ beaver. the beaver here shown was kept as a pet. it was photographed upon a stream in scotland. the long upper fur is removed when the skin is prepared by the furrier.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ beaver. this is a photograph of a swimming beaver. note the advantage which it has taken of the eddy in the stream.] the beaver's tail is flattened like a paddle and covered with scales; its hind feet are webbed between the toes; it has sharp claws, which aid it in scratching up mud, and a thick, close fur, with long brown hair above, and a most beautiful and close under-fur, which, when the long hairs have all been removed, forms the beaver-fur of which hats were once made, and trimmings for ladies' jackets and men's fur coats are now manufactured. there are two separate lines of interest in connection with the animal--political and zoological. the value of the fur was anciently such that, when the first french explorers began to search the canadian lakes, and later when the hudson bay company succeeded to the french dominion, the history of canada was largely bound up with beaver-catching and the sale of the skins. in the early days of the company the "standard of trade" of the north-west was a beaver-skin. for nearly a century the northern territories were organised, both under french and english rule, with a view to the beaver trade. the beaver was, and is, the crest of the canadian dominion. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ musk-rat. a small water rodent, a native of the north american rivers. immense numbers are killed for the sake of their fur.] the beavers' engineering feats have for their object to keep up a uniform depth of water in the streams where they live. on large rivers there is always enough water for the beaver to swim in safety from its enemies, and to cover the mouth of the hole which it makes in the bank, just as a water-rat does. but on small streams, especially in canada, where during the winter the frost prevents the springs from running, there is always the danger that the water may fall so low that the beavers would be left in shallow water, a prey to the wolverine, wolf, lynx, or human enemies. to keep up the water, the beavers make a dyke or dam across the stream. this they go on building up and strengthening until they have ponded back a large pool. in time, as they never seem to stop adding to their dam, the pool floods the ground on either side of the stream and makes a small lake. it flows over the parts of the bank where their holes are; these also become filled up, because the beavers carry into them every day fresh quantities of wood-chips to make their beds. the beavers then scrape out the earth on the top, pile sticks over this, plaster the sticks with mud, and so build a dome over their bedroom. in time this is raised higher and higher, the artificial lake rises too, and the complete "beaver-lodge" surrounded with water is seen. the old trappers who found these _in situ_ imagined they were built at once and outright in the water. the experiments and observations at leonardslee, in sussex, where sir e. g. loder has kept beavers in a stream for ten years, show that the "evolution" of the lodge is gradual and only incidental. but the building of the dyke, the cutting of the trees, and the making of the pool are done with a purpose and definite aim. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ gambian pouched rat. these rats are able to carry food in their cheek-pouches, which are used as pockets.] what this is, and how done, is explained in the following description of the beaver colony at leonardslee: "their first object was to form in the brook a pool, with water maintained at a constant height, to keep the mouth of their burrow in the bank submerged during the droughts of summer. to this end they built a dam, as good a specimen of their work as can be seen even in canada. its situation was carefully chosen. a small oak, growing on what appears to have been a projection in the bank, gives support to the work. it may be concluded that this was part of their intention; for though they have cut down every other tree in their enclosure to which they had access, except two or three very large ones, they have left this small tree which supports the dam untouched. (later, when the dyke was stronger, they cut it down.) above this stretches the dam, some yards wide, and rising ½ feet from the base to the crest. the beavers built it solidly of battens of alder, willow, larch, and other straight-limbed trees, cut into lengths of from to feet. the bark of each was carefully gnawed off for food; and the whole work, constructed of these cut and peeled logs, has a very regular and artificial appearance. smaller twigs and sticks are jammed in between the battens, and the interstices are stuffed with mud, which the beavers bring up from the bottom of the pool in their mouths, and push in with their feet, making the whole structure as watertight as a wall." this dam converted what was a narrow brook into a long lake, some yards by or yards broad. later the beavers made another larger dam below this, cutting down some more trees. one tree gave them a great deal of trouble; it was a beech, feet high, and hard to gnaw; so they waited till the water rose round it, and then _dug it up_. when the large dam was made, quite a considerable lake was formed below the first. they then neglected their first dam, and let the water run out of the top lake into the lower one. at the time of writing there are five old beavers and a family of young ones at leonardslee. the work done by these beavers, so few in numbers, shows how large colonies may alter the course of rivers. the dormice. there are a considerable number of animals, even in england, which hibernate. most of these feed largely on insect food, which in winter is unobtainable in any great quantity. consequently the hedgehog and the badger, which live largely on snails and worms, go to sleep in the famine months. so does the sleepiest of all--the dormouse. this alone would show that this little rodent probably feeds on insects very largely, for if it only ate nuts and berries it could easily store these, and find a good supply also in the winter woods. it has been recently proved that dormice are insectivorous, and will eat aphides, weevils, and caterpillars. but a dormouse hibernates for so long a time that one might imagine its vitality entirely lost; it sleeps for six months at a time, and becomes almost as cold as a dead animal, and breathes very slowly and almost imperceptibly. mr. trevor-battye says that if warmed and made to awaken suddenly in the winter it would die in a minute or two, its heart beating very fast, "like a clock running down." before their hibernation dormice grow very fat. there is a large species, found in southern europe, which the romans used to eat when in this fat stage. in winter dormice usually seek the nest of some small bird, and use it as a sleeping-place. they pull out and renew the lining, or add a roof themselves. into the interior they carry a fresh supply of moss, and sleep there in great comfort. their great enemy at this time is the weasel. there are two main groups of the dormice, divided by naturalists in reference to the structure of their stomach. the south african graphiures have short tufted tails. the hibernating habit is confined to the more northern species. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ pocket-gopher. the pocket-gophers are almost entirely subterranean. their burrowing powers are remarkable. the teeth as well as claws are used to aid them.] the mouse tribe. this family, which includes the mice, rats, and voles, contains more than a third of the number of the whole order of rodents. some are arboreal, others aquatic; but most are ground-living animals and burrowers. the number of known species has been estimated at . among the most marked types are the water-mice of australia and new guinea, and of the island of luzon in the philippines. the feet of the australian species are webbed, though those of the philippine form are not. the gerbils form another group, mainly inhabitants of desert districts. they have very large eyes, soft fur, and tails of various length and form in different species. they have greatly developed hind legs, and leap like jerboas, and are found in southern europe, asia, and africa. the philippine rats, large and long-haired, and the tree-mice of africa south of the sahara, form other groups. a very mischievous race of rodents is represented in europe by the hamsters, and in the new world by a closely allied group, the white-footed mice. the hamsters. the hamster is a well-known european species, and represents the group of pouched rats. these creatures have cheek-pouches to aid them in carrying food. in addition they are most voracious and inquisitive, so that the hamster is a type throughout central europe of selfishness and greed. we are sorry to add that john bull occasionally appears in german cartoons as the "land-hamster," or land-grabber. hamsters are numerous from the elbe to the obi. they burrow and make cellars in the corn- and bean-fields, and convey thither as much as a bushel of grain. as soon as the young hamsters can shift for themselves, each moves off, makes a separate burrow, and begins to hoard beans and corn. as the litter sometimes contains eighteen young, the mischief done by the hamster is great. its coloration is peculiar. the fur, which is so thick as to be used for the linings of coats, is a light yellowish brown above. a yellow spot marks each cheek. the lower surface of the body, the legs, and a band on the forehead are black, and the feet white. thus the hamster reverses the usual natural order of colour in mammals, which tends to be dark on the back and light below. the animal is inches long, and very courageous. hamsters have been known to seize a horse by the nose which stepped on their burrow, and at all times they are ready to defend their home. besides vegetables and corn, they destroy smaller animals. they spend the winter in a more or less torpid state in their burrows, but emerge early in spring. they then make their summer burrows and produce their young, which in a fortnight after birth are able to begin to make a burrow for themselves. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ long-eared jerboa. these curious little animals are mainly desert creatures. they move by a series of leaps.] among the south american members of the group to which the hamster belongs are the fish-eating rats, with webbed hind feet. the rice-rat, which is found from the united states to ecuador, lives on the texas prairies much as do the prairie-marmots, though its burrows are not so extensive, and often quite shallow. in these the rats make beds of dry grass. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ cape jumping-hare. this animal is very common in south africa. the boers call it the "springhaas."] the voles. the voles are allied to the preceding groups, but are marked externally by a shorter and heavier form than the typical rats and mice. their ears are shorter, their noses blunter, their eyes smaller, and the tail generally shorter. they are found in great numbers at certain seasons, when they often develop into a pest. the short-tailed field-vole is responsible for much destruction of crops in europe. one of the latest plagues of these animals took place in the lowlands of scotland, where these voles devoured all the higher pastures on the hills. nearly at the same time a similar plague occurred in turkish epirus. when an english commissioner was sent to enquire into the remedies (if any existed) there in use, he found that the turks were importing holy water from mecca to sprinkle on the fields affected. the bank-vole is a small english species, replaced on the continent by the southern field-vole. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ octodont. the octodonts, so called because they have four molar teeth on each side of the jaw, are a group of rodents found mainly in south america.] the water-rat belongs to the vole group. it is one of the most commonly seen of all our english mammals--probably, except the rabbit, the most familiar. although not entirely nocturnal, it prefers the darkness of twilight; but whenever the visitor to the waterside keeps still, the water-rats will allow him to watch them. the writer has had rather an extensive acquaintance with these cousins of the beavers, and, while watching them, has never ceased to be struck with their close resemblance to those creatures. at holkham lake, in norfolk, he noticed a willow-bush, in which a number of twigs had been gnawed off; and then saw the missing sticks lying neatly peeled, just like "beaver-wood," in the water below. waiting quietly, he noticed a water-rat climb into the bush, gnaw off a willow twig, descend with it to the edge of the water, and there, sitting on some crossed boughs, peel and eat the bark, just as a beaver does. by the thames a sound is often heard in the round reeds as of something tearing or biting them; it is made by the water-rats getting their supper. the rat cuts off three or four sedges and makes a rough platform. it then cuts down a piece of one of the large round reeds full of pith, and, holding it in its hands, seizes the bark with its teeth, and shreds it up the stem, peeling it from end to end. this exposes the white pith, which the rat then eats. water-rats have been seen to swim out and pick up acacia blossoms floating on the water. when swimming under water, each hair is tipped by a little bubble, which makes the rat look like quicksilver. when it comes out, the rat shakes itself with a kind of shiver, throwing all the water off its coat. though so good a swimmer, its feet are not webbed. it is found from scotland to the bering sea, but not in ireland. in the far north the lemming takes the place of the voles. it is a very small, short-tailed creature, like a diminutive prairie-dog. like the voles, lemmings have seasons of immoderate increase. they then migrate in enormous flocks, and are said never to stop till they reach the sea, into which they plunge. it is believed that they are following an inherited instinct, and that where there is now sea there once was land, over which they passed onwards. [illustration: _photo by l. midland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ coypu. this is a large aquatic rodent, found on the south american rivers. its fur, called "nutria," forms a valuable export from argentina.] the musk-rat inhabits the same waters as the beaver of north america. it makes a house, generally of reeds piled in a mound, in the lakes and swamps. the body is only inches long, but the fur is thick and close, and much used for lining coats and cloaks. the vast chains of rivers and lakes in canada make that country the favourite home of the musk-rat. this creature lives upon roots of aquatic plants, freshwater-mussels, and stems of juicy herbs. besides making the domed houses of grass, reeds, and mud, it also burrows in the banks of streams. there it makes rather an elaborate home, with numerous passages leading to the water. the odour of musk is very strong even in the skin. the tail is narrow and almost naked. this species is the largest of the vole group. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ short-tailed hutia. the hutias are another group of octodonts, found in the west india islands.] the typical rats and mice. these animals were originally an old world group. though the brown rat is now common in america, it is believed to have come originally from china. a very large number of animals are now almost dependent on man and his belongings. such creatures are said to be "commensalistic," or eaters at the same table. they are often very unwelcome guests, whether they are flies, sparrows, or cockroaches; but probably the least welcome of all are the rats and mice. the brown rat is the best known of any. it has come into worse repute than usual of late, because it is now certain that it harbours the plague-bacillus, and communicates the disease to man. its habits and appearance need no description. the black rat is the older and smaller species indigenous in europe, which the brown rat has almost extirpated from england. a few old houses still hold the black rat, and there are always a few wild ones at the zoological gardens which feed in the animals' houses. the black-and-white rat (not the albino white rat) kept tame in this country is probably a domesticated form of the alexandrine rat of egypt. the house-mouse is now found in all parts of the world to which europeans have access. in england its main home is in the corn-ricks. were the farmers to thresh the grain, as is done in the united states, as soon as it is cut, mice would be far less common. besides these parasitic mice, there are a host of field- and forest-mice in this and other countries. one of the best-known english species is the harvest-mouse, which makes a globular nest of grass in the wheat-fields, attached to stems of corn or weeds. in this the young are born. in winter the mouse lives in holes in banks, and lays up a store of kernels and grain. the wood-mouse is larger than the former, or than the house-mouse. it is yellowish brown in colour, lays up a great store of winter food, and is itself the favourite prey of the weasel. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild, tring._ porcupine. the common porcupine is found in italy, spain, and north africa. this one was kept by mr. rothschild, who had it photographed by mr. s. g. payne, of aylesbury.] the bandicoots. a very mischievous class of rats is represented by the various species of bandicoot. they are found throughout southern asia as far as ceylon, and in kashmir and turkestan. the bandicoot-rat of india is a large and destructive species which is sometimes brought to the london docks in ships, but has not spread into the country. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ porcupine. this photograph shows the arrangement of the porcupine's defence of spines; but when frightened it erects these, so as to form a complete protection to the body.] other murine rodents. among the numerous other rodents allied to the rat group are the mole-rats, with short mole-like bodies. the largest is the great mole-rat, found in south-eastern europe, south-western asia, and north-eastern africa. it is a subterranean creature, burrowing for food like a mole. the bamboo-rats have minute eyes, small external ears, and a short tail partly covered with hair. in somaliland a small, almost naked sand-rat is found, which burrows in the sand of the desert, throwing up little heaps like mole-hills. the gophers. in north and central america the pocket-gophers form a curious group of small rodents with cheek-pouches opening on the outside. they spend their entire existence underground, and are said to use their incisor teeth as picks to open the hard earth in their tunnels. they push the loosened soil out by pressing it with their chests and fore feet. when a gopher has eaten enough to satisfy the immediate calls of hunger, it stores all spare food away in the large cheek-pouches. when gophers desire to empty the pouches, they pass their feet along their cheeks from behind, and press the food forwards on to the ground. the jerboas, springhaas, and jumping-mice. the hopping rodents have an immense range, from southern europe, through africa, arabia, india, and ceylon, and even in the new world, where the american jumping-mouse is found throughout the northern part of the continent. the latter is only inches long. the true jerboas are mainly found in africa. all these, when excited, move like kangaroos. their main home is the central asian steppe region, but they are found in egypt, india, syria, and arabia. the hind legs are much elongated, the fore legs very small, and the body usually of a sandy colour. the american jumping-mouse, though a very small creature, can cover from to feet at each leap. it inhabits the beech and hard-wood forests. in winter it makes a globular nest about inches under the surface of the ground. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ viscacha. the viscacha form colonies like those of the prairie-dogs. it is found on the pampas north of the la plata.] the cape jumping-hare forms a family by itself, with no near allies. it is of a tawny brown colour, becoming almost pure white below. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford, woburn abbey._ chapman's zebras. these zebra have for some years been running loose in the park at woburn abbey.] the tail is long, and carried upright as the animal leaps. the head and body are nearly feet long, and the tail inches. it is found both in the plains and mountains of south africa, where it makes deep burrows, in which several families live. it is mainly nocturnal. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ chinchilla. a small rodent of the andes, possessing very soft and valuable grey fur.] the octodont family. america is the main home of this family of rodents, though there are several representatives in africa. their name is due to the fact that they have four molar teeth on each side of the jaw. the best-known species is the coypu, or nutria, of south america, an aquatic, fur-bearing animal. it is very plentiful in the large rivers of that continent, where its fur is a valuable commodity for export. when swimming, the female coypu carries its young on its back. the coypu is usually inches long, with a tail two-thirds of the length of its head and body. the general colour is brown above and brownish yellow below. coypus live in pairs in holes in the river-banks. in the chonos archipelago they frequent the seashore, and burrow near the beach. the hutia, another large octodont, is found in the west indies. there are two species, both partly arboreal. the tuco-tucos, burrowing octodonts of the pampas and the far south of the american continent, are rat-like animals, with large claws and very small eyes and ears. the porcupines. these animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. the former are found in south america, though one, the canadian porcupine, is found in the north; the latter are european and asiatic. in africa they are also common. the canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, feeding on the leaves; but it has not a prehensile tail. the common porcupine is abundant in italy (where it is eaten by man), greece, spain, and africa. it lives in burrows or among rocks. in india a very similar species is found. the head and shoulders of these ground-porcupines are not protected by the larger sharp spines which guard the rest of their bodies. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ agutis. the agutis are also a south american group, found both in the forests and on the plains.] the tree-porcupines of the forests of central america have long prehensile tails, and are very lightly built. the quills are short, the head rounded, and the appearance very different from that of the european or african species. the common porcupine of europe and north africa measures about inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail. the head, neck, and shoulders are covered with short spines and hairs, and the shoulders and back by a crest of long spines, varying from to inches in length. the tail also carries spines. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ paca, or spotted cavy. the pacas are among the larger rodents, found mainly in the northern part of the south american region.] viscachas and chinchillas. on the plains of la plata the commonest large rodent is the viscacha. it assembles in societies like the prairie-dogs, but is a much larger animal, from inches to feet long. viscachas always set a sentinel to give warning of danger. they cut every kind of vegetable near and drag them to their holes; they also have a habit of picking up and collecting round the burrows any object which strikes them as curious. articles lost by travellers, even whips or boots, may generally be found there. the viscacha belongs to the chinchilla family, but differs much from the beautiful creature of the high andes from which chinchilla fur is taken. the common chinchilla is about inches long, and the short-tailed chinchilla rather smaller. the exquisite fur is well known. two other chinchillas are more like hares in appearance. all four creatures are found on the andes. the agutis and pacas. south america also produces a family of rodents not unlike small pigs, but nearer to the mouse-deer in general appearance; they are called agutis. mainly forest animals, but living also in the plains, they feed on grass, leaves, and plants of all kinds; they are very swift in their movements, and have much the habits of the small south african bucks. the fur is long, olive- or chestnut-coloured, and thick. the pacas are allied to the agutis, but are stouter; they live either in burrows made by themselves, or in holes in the banks of rivers, or in old tree-roots. the pacas are spotted and rather ornamentally marked; they are found from ecuador to brazil and paraguay. the cavies. the dinomys, a spotted rodent known by one example from peru, has been thought to form a link between the pacas and the cavies, of which the guinea-pig is the most familiar and the aquatic capybara the largest. the original of our guinea-pig is believed to be the restless cavy, a small rodent common on the plains of la plata. it is dark blackish, with yellowish-grey and white hairs of the domesticated species; and it is suggested that the original of the present name was "guiana pig." this cavy lives in thickets rather than in forests or plains. the patagonian cavy is a larger form, about twice the size of our hare. it burrows in the ground, and has a grey coat, with yellowish markings on the sides. it has been acclimatised successfully in france and england. the flesh is like that of the rabbit. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ pacas, or spotted cavies. this photograph, which represents young animals, shows in great perfection the linear arrangement of the stripes.] the capybara is the largest of all rodents. this species is, in fact, a gigantic water-guinea-pig. it is found in all the great rivers of south america, from the orinoco to the la plata. it swims as well as a water-rat, though it is as large as a small pig. it feeds on reeds, water-plants, and grass. a capital photograph of this animal appears on page . [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ patagonian cavy. this large species of cavy has been acclimatised successfully both in england and in france.] pikas, hares, and rabbits. the last two families of the rodents have a small pair of rudimentary incisor teeth behind the large ones in the upper jaw. the pikas, or calling-hares, resemble the marmot tribe in general appearance. their heads are short, their ears rounded, and, being tailless, they still less resemble the common hare; but their dentition marks them as allied. one species, about inches long, is found in siberia; and another, only inches long, in the rocky mountains. the former has a habit of cutting grass and storing it in small stacks outside its hole for winter use; the rocky mountain species carries its hay into its burrows. the hares are a widely distributed group. they are found from the north of scotland (where the grey mountain species turns white in winter) to the south of india, in south africa, and across the continent of asia to japan. the mountain-hare takes the place of the brown species in scandinavia, northern russia, and ireland; it is rather smaller, and has shorter ears and hind legs. [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ wood-hare. this is one of the forms intermediate between the hares and rabbits.] as early as b.c., cæsar, in his account of britain, writes that the common hare was kept by the ancient britons as a pet, but not eaten by them. it was protected by the normans in the second list, or schedule, of animals reserved for sport. the first list included the _beasts of the forest_, the second the _beasts of the chase_, of which the hare was one of the first. the word "chase" has here a technical meaning, by which was understood an open park, or preserved area, midway in dignity between a forest and an enclosed park. "hare parks" were also made, perhaps the most recent being that made at bushey for the amusement of the sovereign when at hampton court palace. the name is often found surviving elsewhere. at hokham, the earl of leicester's seat in norfolk, a walled park of , acres holds almost all the hares on the estate. if these parks and forest laws had not existed at an early date, it is probable that the hare would have become very scarce in this country. hares produce their leverets about the middle of april, though in mild seasons they are born much earlier. the number of the litter is from two to five. they are placed in a small hollow scraped out by the doe hare, but not in a burrow of any kind. the instinct of concealment by remaining still is very highly developed in the hares and rabbits. they will often "squat" on the ground until picked up rather than take to flight. this seems almost a perverted instinct; yet hares often exhibit considerable courage and resource when escaping from their enemies. the following is an instance:--a hare was coursed by two young greyhounds on some marshes intersected by wide ditches of water. it first ran to the side of one of these ditches, and doubled at right angles on the brink. this caused the outer dog to lose its balance and to fall heavily into the deep and cold water. the hare then made straight for the line of walkers, and passed through them, with the other greyhound close behind it. the dog reached out and seized the hare by the fur of the back, throwing it down. the hare escaped, leaving a large patch of fur in the dog's jaws, doubled twice, and was again seized by the second dog, which had come up. it escaped from the jaws of the second pursuer, leapt two ditches feet wide, and then sat for a moment behind a gate on a small bridge. this use of the only cover near caused the dogs to lose sight of it; they refused to jump the second drain, and the hare escaped. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ wild rabbits. the wild rabbit has now spread to the north of scotland, where this picture was taken. it is also common in the hebrides.] the rabbit is too well known to need description either of its habits or appearance. it originally came from the countries south of the mediterranean, but is now common in northern europe, and has become a pest in australia and new zealand. the rabbit breeds when six months old, and has several litters in each year. ---- chapter x. _the bats and insect-eating mammals._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. these two groups are really closely allied; but the bats are generally considered apart, on account of their totally different mode of life. originally, like their more commonplace relatives, they were dwellers upon the earth, or, more correctly, among the trees. by gradual modification of the fore limbs, and a corresponding development of folds of skin attached thereto, and to the body, they have acquired the power of flight. the cobego, to be mentioned presently, gives us a hint of how this may have come about. the bats are the only members of the mammalia which possess the power of true flight. the so-called flying-squirrels do not rightly deserve this title, for they have no wings. the wings of the bat have been formed by modification of the fore limbs, the finger-bones having become excessively lengthened, so as to serve as a support to a thin web of skin extending outwards from the body, much as the ribs of an umbrella support the covering. the hand of the bat is therefore a quite unique organ. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ australian fruit-bat, or "flying-fox." this photograph shows the "flying-fox" in its customary resting position. a photograph of it flying is shown on page v of introduction.] the wing-membrane serves yet another purpose, for its sense of touch is exceedingly delicate, enabling even blind bats (for bats are not blind usually, as is popularly supposed) to avoid objects placed in their path. some bats, however, appear to depend also in some slight degree upon hearing. the sense of touch is still further increased by the development of frills or leaf-like expansions of skin round the nose and mouth, and by the excessive development of the external ears. delicate hairs fringing these membranes probably act like the "whiskers" of the cat. insect-eating bats inhabiting regions with a temperate climate must in winter, when food-supplies cease, either hibernate or migrate to warmer regions. the majority hibernate; but two species at least of canadian bats perform extensive migrations, it is supposed to escape the intense cold. the power of flight has made the bats independent of the barriers which restrict the movements of terrestrial animals, and accordingly we find them all over the world, even as far north as the arctic circle. but certain groups of bats have an extremely restricted range. thus the fruit-bats occur only in the warmer regions of the old world, the vampires in america, whilst some of the more common insect-eating forms are found everywhere. those forms with a restricted distribution are, it should be noticed, all highly specialised--that is to say, they have all become in some way adapted to peculiar local conditions, and cannot subsist apart therefrom. it is the more lowly--less specialised--forms which have the widest geographical range. there are some spots, however, on the world's surface from which no bat has yet been recorded--such are iceland, st. helena, kerguelen, and the galapagos islands. [illustration: _photo by henry king_] [_sydney._ australian fruit-bats. in their roosting-places these bats hang all over the trees in enormous numbers, looking like great black fruits. although shot in thousands, on account of the damage they do to fruit orchards, their numbers do not appear to be reduced.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ tube-nosed fruit-bat. the tubular nostrils distinguish this and a species of insect-eating bat from all other living mammals.] the fruit-bats. these represent the giants of the bat world, the largest of them, the kalong, or malay fox-bat, measuring no less than feet from tip to tip of the wing. the best known of the fruit-bats is the indian fox-bat. sir j. e. tennent tells us that a favourite resort of theirs near kandy, in ceylon, was some indiarubber-trees, "where they used to assemble in such prodigious numbers that large boughs would not infrequently give way beneath the accumulated weight of the flock." an observer in calcutta relates that they occasionally travel in vast hordes, so great as to darken the sky. whether they are performing some preconcerted migration or bent only on a foray to some distant feeding-ground is a matter for speculation. these hordes are quite distinct from the "long strings" which may be seen every evening in calcutta on their way to neighbouring fruit-trees. one of the most remarkable of this group is the tube-nosed fruit-bat, in which the nostrils are prolonged into a pair of relatively long tubes. strangely enough, a group of insect-eating bats has developed similar though smaller tubes. except in these bats, such tubes are unknown among mammals. their function is not known. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ pipistrelle bat. this is one of the commonest of the british bats. it is the first to appear in the spring, and the last to retire at the fall of the year.] insect-eating bats. the vast majority of the bats comprising this group feed exclusively on insects. some, however, have acquired the habit of fruit-eating, like the true fruit-bats; and a few have developed quite ogre-like habits, for they drink blood--indeed, they subsist upon nothing else. this they obtain from animals larger than themselves. many of the bats of this group have developed curious leaf-like expansions of skin around the nose and mouth, which are supposed to be endowed with a very delicate sense of touch. in some, as in the flower-nosed bat, the nose-leaf is excessively developed, forming a large rosette. the upper border of this rosette is furnished with three stalked balls, the function of which it is surmised is probably ornamental--from the bat's point of view. to our more æsthetic taste the whole effect is hideous. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ leaf-nosed bat. the leaf-nosed are the most highly organised of all the bats. the remarkable leaf-like folds of skin around the nose or chin, as the case may be, serve as delicate organs of perception. there are numerous species of leaf-nosed bats.] limited as is our space, we cannot pass over the sucker-footed bats. these are met with, strangely enough, in countries so far apart as brazil and madagascar. the suckers from which they derive their name, in the brazilian species, are small circular, hollow disks, attached to the thumb and the sole of the foot, recalling the suckers of the cuttle-fish and brown water-beetle. by their means the animal is enabled to climb over smooth vertical surfaces. a white bat is a rarity in the bat world. we cannot therefore afford to pass without mention the fact that central and south america possess two species of white bats. this colour is probably developed for protection's sake, the bats being found nestling between the silvery leaves of a cocoanut-palm. brilliant coloration, on the other hand, is by no means so rare. welwitsch's bat, for instance--a west african species--is remarkable for its gorgeous coloration, the colours being orange and black. an indian species, known as the painted bat, is said to be so brilliantly coloured as to resemble a gorgeous butterfly rather than a bat. [illustration: _photo w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ cobego. back view of the cobego, with the limbs extended, showing the great size of the flying-membranes, or parachute.] ugliness is more common than beauty amongst the bats, and perhaps the ugliest of all the tribe is the naked bat of the malayan region. it is absolutely repulsive. the skin is naked, save for a collar of hair round the neck; whilst on the throat it gives rise to an enormous throat-pouch, which discharges an oily fluid of a peculiarly nauseating smell. on either side of the body is a deep pouch, in which the young are carried--a very necessary provision, for they would be quite unable to cling to the body of the parent, as do the young of fur-bearing bats, on account of the naked skin. of the great group of the vampire-bats we can only make mention of the blood-sucking species. these are natives of south america. it is to dr. darwin that we owe our first absolutely reliable information about these little animals. before the account in his journal, it was uncertain to which of the vampires belonged the unenviable distinction of being the blood-sucker. during the stay of the great naturalist in chili one was actually caught by one of his servants, as evening was drawing on, biting the withers of a horse. in the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was plainly visible, from its swollen condition. these two species, it has been stated, "are the only bats which subsist entirely on a diet of blood, yet it is possible that ... some of the javelin-bats or their allies may on occasion vary their ordinary food with it." the insectivora, or flightless insect-eaters. some members of this group have departed from the traditional insect diet. thus the cobego feeds upon leaves, a curious aquatic shrew--the potamogale of west africa--upon fish, and the moles upon worms. the group has a very wide geographical distribution, but there are nevertheless large portions of the globe in which they are conspicuous by their absence. they are never found in australia or south america. madagascar, africa, and the west india islands produce the most remarkable forms. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ cobego. vertical (front) view of the cobego, with newly born and naked young attached. note the extension of the membrane between the toes of the fore feet of the adult.] the cobego. this is a peculiarly interesting animal, which lives in the forests of sumatra, borneo, the malay peninsula, and the philippine islands. it dwells among the trees, moving from one to another by taking flying leaps through the air, covering as much as seventy yards at a jump. prodigious leaps like this would be quite impossible but for the fact that the animal, which is almost as large as a cat, is provided with a sort of parachute, formed by a broad web of skin stretched between the body on either side and the fore and hind limbs, and between the hind limbs and the tail. shrews, hedgehogs, and tenrecs. the variation in form presented by the members of this group is considerable. the most noteworthy examples of this variation are furnished by the pretty little squirrel-like tree-shrews of india and borneo and neighbouring lands, the mouse-like jumping-shrews of africa, the hedgehogs, the tenrecs, the elegant little mouse-like shrews of almost world-wide distribution, and the water-shrews. of these, hedgehogs and tenrecs have undergone the greatest transformation. by a curious modification of their original hairy covering they have developed a formidable armour of sharp spines. when alarmed, the former roll themselves up into a ball by the contraction of powerful muscles, and so present an almost impregnable armour to an enemy. stoats and foxes, however, appear at least occasionally to succeed in overcoming this defence and making a meal of the vanquished. tenrecs are found in madagascar. the common tenrec is the largest of all insect-eaters, and one of the most prolific, as many as twenty-one having been produced at birth. of all living mammals it is the one most nearly allied to the marsupials. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ cobego asleep. all four limbs are used in suspending itself when asleep, as in the sloths. in this position the cobego closely resembles, and is mistaken by its enemies for, the fruits of one of the native trees. it is a nocturnal animal.] [illustration: _photo by l. melland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ three baby hedgehogs. young hedgehogs are born blind and naked. the spines on their first appearance are quite soft; they soon harden, and at the same time the power to roll the body up into a ball is acquired.] the moles. the common mole shows a most perfect adaptation to its underground mode of life. the general form of the animal is long, cylindrical, and pointed in front, whilst the legs are exceedingly short, the foot only in the fore limb projecting from the body. this foot is very broad and spade-like and immensely powerful, its use being to force a way--often with incredible speed--through the soft, yielding soil, and not to support the body, as in running or walking. the hind feet are weak, but resemble those of its allies the shrews, for instance. the eyes have become reduced to mere vestiges, very difficult to find. the fur has become so altered in structure that it will lie equally smooth whether brushed towards head or tail, so that it should not be damaged when the animal travels backwards in its burrow. external ears have been dispensed with. worms form the staple diet of the mole, but besides underground insects of all kinds are greedily devoured. this animal is one of the most voracious feeders, falling ravenously upon its prey. it has been said with truth that so great is the ferocity displayed by the mole that if it could be magnified to the size of the lion it would be one of the most terrible of living creatures. that a constant supply of food is necessary to satiate its enormous appetite is shown by the fact that a mole will succumb to an abstinence of from ten to twelve hours. moles fight among themselves furiously; and if two are confined together, the weaker will be attacked and devoured. they take readily to the water, and instances of moles observed in the act of crossing streams are numerous. it is a curious fact, but the mole is unknown in ireland; yet it ranges from england in the west through asia to japan. careful observation seems to have shown that with the common mole males are more numerous than females. whether this is true of other species remains to be seen. the moles of north america form a group distinct from those of the old world, though closely allied thereto. the web-footed and the star-nosed moles are the most interesting of the american forms. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ common mole. note that this mole is changing its coat.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ common mole. the skeleton is here revealed by the röntgen rays.] speaking of the prodigious speed with which these animals burrow their way through the ground, dr. hart merriam remarks that in a single night, after rain, they have been known to make a gallery several yards in length, and that he had himself traced a fresh tunnel for nearly a hundred yards. as he says, we can only appreciate the magnitude of this labour by comparison, and "computation shows that, in order to perform equivalent work, a man would have to excavate in a single night a tunnel thirty-seven miles long, and of sufficient size to easily admit of the passage of his body." the star-nosed mole is peculiar in that its nose is surrounded by a ring of finger-like processes, forming a kind of rosette, which probably acts as a highly sensitive organ of touch; furthermore, it differs from other moles in the great length of its tail, which is nearly as long as its body. like the mole, this species makes its way through the ground with great speed. beneficial as moles undoubtedly are in destroying worms and obnoxious insects, yet they are regarded as a pest both by the farmer and gardener. that there is some justification for this dislike must be admitted; for the farmer suffers in that, in the search for food, crops are damaged by cutting through the roots of plants--the gardener not only for the same reason, but also because the ridges and hillocks which they make in their course disfigure the paths and beds of a well-kept garden. the nearest allies of the moles are the curious aquatic desmans of russia, and the shrews, some of which are quite mole-like in form, owing to their having adopted a similar mode of life. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ golden mole. this is found only in south africa. the name is derived from the wonderful metallic lustre of the fur: the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by immersion in spirit.] the burrowing shrews are not the only forms in the great group which have assumed a mole-like shape, for allied to the hedgehog-like tenrecs is a remarkable animal known as the golden mole. the mole-like shape of the body of this animal is another instance of adaptation to a similar mode of life. the fore limb of the golden mole is provided with huge claws, which are used for digging purposes; the hand is not broadened out spade-like, as in the common mole, the claws rendering this unnecessary. ---- chapter xi. _the elephant, tapir, hyrax, and rhinoceros._ ---- the elephant. by f. c. selous. [illustration: _photo by m. e. f. baird, esq._ a fine tusker. the male indian elephant has smaller tusks than the african species.] at once the mightiest and most majestic of all terrestrial mammals, the elephant appeals to the imagination more forcibly than any other living animal, not only on account of its great sagacity and the strangeness and singularity of its outward appearance, but also because it is such an obvious link between the world of to-day and the dim and distant past of pleiocene and miocene times. there are two existing species of elephant, the african and the asiatic, the latter, from the structure of its molar teeth and the shape of its skull, appearing to be very nearly related to the mammoth, which lived upon the earth in comparatively recent times--geologically speaking--and was undoubtedly contemporary with man in europe during the stone age. there are very considerable differences both in the external appearance and also in the habits of the two existing forms of elephant. in the african species the forehead is more convex and the eye relatively larger than in its asiatic cousin; and whilst the ears of the latter are only of moderate size, those of the former are so large that they at once arrest the attention, and are one of that animal's most remarkable external characteristics. both sexes of the african species, with few exceptions, carry well-developed tusks, but in the asiatic form the tusks of the females are so small as scarcely to protrude beyond the jaws. in asia, too, tuskless bull elephants are common, whilst males of the african species without tusks are extremely rare. the latter species has but three nails on the hind foot, the asiatic elephant four. in the african species the middle of the back is hollowed, the shoulder being the highest point, whilst in the asiatic elephant the back is arched, and the top of the shoulder lower than the highest part of the back. the extremity of the proboscis is also different, in the two species, the african elephant being furnished with two nearly equal-sized prolongations, the one on the front, the other on the hinder margin, with which small objects can be grasped as with the finger and thumb of the human hand, whilst in the asiatic species the finger-like process on the upper margin of the end of the trunk is considerably longer than that on the under-side. in external appearance the skin of the african elephant is darker in colour and rougher in texture than that of the asiatic form. the molar teeth of the former animal are, too, of much coarser construction, with fewer and larger plates and thicker enamel than in the latter, which would naturally lead one to suppose that the african elephant is accustomed to eat coarser, harder food than the asiatic species. this supposition is borne out by fact; for whilst the asiatic elephant feeds mainly upon grass, the leaves and fruit of the wild plantain, and the young shoots of the bamboo, together with the leaves, twigs, and bark of certain trees, the african species never eats grass, and, although very fond of certain kinds of soft and succulent food, such as wild fruits and the inner bark of certain trees, is constantly engaged in chewing up the roots and branches of trees as thick as a man's wrist for the sake of the sap and bark, the woody portions being rejected after having been reduced to pulp. the asiatic elephant appears to be far less tolerant of exposure to the heat of the sun than the african; and whilst the latter may often be found standing at rest or sleeping throughout the hottest hours of the day in long grass or scrubby bush of a height not sufficient to afford any protection from the sun to the whole of the upper portion of the head and body, the former, when in a wild state, is said to always seek the shade of the densest forests it can find during hot weather. [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ a young indian elephant. this animal has been trained to "salute" by raising its trunk and foot. it has lost the end of its tail.] the asiatic elephant often lies down when resting and sleeping. this is in marked contrast to the african species, which, if it ever does lie down at all, except to roll in mud or rub itself against an ant-heap, can only do so very rarely, since in all my experience, though i have seen some thousands of african elephants standing sleeping during the heat of the day, i have never yet seen one of these animals lying down, nor found the impress in the ground where one had been so lying. when excited and charging, both species of elephant raise their heads and cock their ears, which in the african animal stand out at such a time like two sails, and, being each upwards of ½ feet in breadth, cover, together with the animal's head, an expanse of fully feet. the asiatic elephant is said to remain mute whilst charging, and to hold its trunk tightly curled up between its tusks. the african elephant, on the other hand, usually accompanies a charge with a constant succession of short, sharp trumpeting screams. sometimes, though rarely, however, animals of this species remain mute whilst charging, but they never, i believe, coil their trunks up under their throats. often an african elephant will swing round for a charge with a loud scream and trunk held high in the air; but in my experience, when settling down to a chase, it drops its trunk and holds it pointing straight down in front of its chest. [illustration: _photo by m. e. f. baird, esq._ the chief of chiengmai's carriage. this victoria was drawn by a young indian elephant.] in the southern portions of the african continent the average standing height at the shoulder of full-grown bull elephants ranges from feet to feet inches, though individuals have doubtless been met with in those districts which have much exceeded these dimensions. in north central africa the average standing height appears to be some inches higher, approaching feet, and in those districts it is quite possible that individuals exist which exceed feet in height. african cow elephants stand from feet to feet inches at the shoulder. the asiatic species is considerably smaller than the african, the average height of full-grown males not exceeding feet, though certain individuals now and then attain to a much greater size, as is indicated by the fact that there is a mounted skeleton of an indian elephant in the museum at calcutta which stands feet inches at the shoulder. in the size of its tusks the african elephant far surpasses the asiatic species. in india a pair of tusks measuring feet in length and weighing lbs. the pair would, i think, be considered large, though an elephant was killed by sir victor brooke in the garo hills with a single tusk measuring feet in length, inches in circumference, and weighing lbs., and a few tusks even exceeding these dimensions have been recorded. in southern africa the tusks of full-grown bull elephants usually weigh from to lbs. the pair, and measure about feet in length, with a circumference of from to inches; but these weights and measurements have often been much exceeded, and in my own experience i have known of two pairs of elephants' tusks having been obtained south of the zambesi, each of which weighed slightly over lbs., each tusk measuring upwards of feet in length, whilst a single tusk brought from the neighbourhood of lake ngami in weighed lbs. the average weight of cow-elephant tusks in southern africa is from to lbs. the pair, but i have seen the tusk of a cow elephant killed in matabililand which weighed lbs. and measured over feet in length, whilst its fellow almost equalled it in size and weight. in north central africa, according to sir samuel baker, the tusks of full-grown elephants average about lbs. the pair, and tusks weighing upwards of lbs. each are not at all uncommon, whilst many of a much greater size have been obtained. [illustration: _photo by m. e. f. baird, esq._ timber-elephants. this photograph was taken at lakou, in upper siam. notice the large teak log in the foreground.] until quite recently a tusk in the possession of sir e. g. loder, which weighs lbs. and measures feet inches in length, with a circumference of ½ inches, was supposed to be the largest in existence; but in two tusks were obtained near kilimanjaro, in east central africa, both of which much exceed this weight. these enormous tusks were at first stated to be a pair taken from a single elephant; but though nearly equal in weight they are said to be differently shaped, and as their history is not yet fully known it is possible, though not probable, that they originally belonged to two different elephants. the larger of these two tusks has recently been purchased for the collection of the british museum (natural history), where it may now be seen. it weighs lbs., measures feet ½ inches on the outside curve, and ¼ in girth at the thickest part. the tusks of cow elephants are also considerably larger and heavier on the average in east central and north central africa than in the southern portions of the continent. [illustration: _photo by m. e. f. baird, esq._ female indian elephant dragging teak. the teak logs are floated down the burmese rivers and dragged out by elephants.] at the present time the asiatic elephant is found in a wild state in most of the forest-covered tracts of india, ceylon, assam, burma, siam, cochin-china, sumatra, and borneo; whilst the african species, although it has been hunted out of large tracts of country in south and south-western africa, still inhabits the greater part of the continent south of the sahara, and in many districts of central africa appears to be extraordinarily abundant. in the cape colony two herds still exist under the protection of the government. as might be expected from the greater length of its legs, and consequent longer stride, the african elephant is admitted by those who have had experience of both species to be a more active animal than its asiatic cousin. speaking of the walking and running powers of the indian elephant, that great authority mr. sanderson says that "the only pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles an hour for very short distances. it can neither trot, canter, nor gallop. it does not move with the legs on the same side, but nearly so. a very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be unavailing." this description exactly coincides with my own experience of the african elephant, except that i think that animals of the latter species, especially cows and young bulls, are capable of getting up a pace of at least twenty miles an hour, and keeping it up for from to yards, when charging. [illustration: _photo by m. e. f. baird esq._ indian elephants bathing. these animals love a bath, and will walk on the bottom of a deep river with only their trunks raised above the water.] in disposition both african and asiatic elephants are as a rule timid animals, and, excepting in the case of males of the latter species when suffering from sexual excitement, are always inclined to shun danger. i have never heard of male elephants of the african species becoming savage and aggressive at any season of the year; indeed, old bulls always appeared to me to be less inclined to charge than cows or young bulls. the eyesight of the elephant--of the african species at least--is bad, and his hearing not particularly acute; but his olfactory nerves are probably more highly developed than in any other animal, and, aided by this exquisite sense of smell, he will avoid a human being if possible. but if elephants are attacked and wounded, they become savage and dangerous animals; and the charge of an african elephant, coming on with the great ears outspread, to the accompaniment of a quick succession of short, sharp trumpeting screams, besides being very sudden and rapid, is very disconcerting to the nerves of a man unaccustomed to such experiences. i remember the case of a young englishman who was killed in matabililand many years ago by the first elephant he had ever seen. this animal--an old bull--had retired, after having been wounded, into a small but dense patch of thorn-bush, into which its pursuer thought it unadvisable to follow on horseback. he therefore left his horse, and advanced on foot towards the cluster of trees amongst which the elephant was concealed. the latter, having either seen or smelt the approaching enemy, at once charged out, screaming loudly; and the young hunter, instead of standing his ground and firing at the advancing monster, lost his presence of mind, and, turning, ran for his horse; but before he reached it he was overtaken and killed. it seemed to the friend who found his body (he was close at hand shooting another elephant at the time, and pieced the story together from the tracks of man, horse, and elephant) that the victim had first been struck in the back of the head by one of his pursuer's tusks--at any rate his skull had been smashed to pieces and emptied of its brains. then the elephant had rushed upon him where he fell, and, after first having driven a tusk right through his chest and deep into the ground, had stamped him into a bloody pulp with his huge feet. a waggon was brought the same night, and the mangled body carried to the hunter's camp on the banks of the ramokwebani, where it was buried. the strength of the elephant is proverbial; and in india and burma, where this animal has for ages past been trained in the service of man, this power is habitually made use of in moving and stacking large baulks of timber, or in dragging heavy guns through muddy ground or up steep ascents. in africa the traveller is often astonished at the size of trees which have been uprooted and overturned by elephants. these trees, however, have no taproot, and have not therefore a very firm hold in the ground, especially during the rainy season, when the ground is soft. at this time of year large trees are butted down by elephants, which push against their stems with the thick part of their trunks, and get them on the swing, until the roots become loosened and the trees are at last overturned. small trees of or inches in diameter, as well as branches, they break off with their trunks. in a tuskless bull elephant--i met the same animal again in , and he is the only african bull elephant without tusks i have ever seen--killed a native hunter in mashonaland. this man, a big powerful zulu and a great friend of my own, was torn into three pieces. i imagine that, after having caught him, the elephant held the unfortunate man down with his foot or knee, and then, twisting his trunk round his body, tore him asunder--surely a terrible exhibition of strength. the elephant is a very slow-growing and long-lived animal, not arriving at maturity until upwards of thirty years of age; and since cases are on record of elephants having lived for upwards of years in captivity in india, it is probable that in a wild state these animals, both in asia and africa, often attain to an age of years. the female elephant produces, as a rule, but one calf at birth, the period of gestation lasting from eighteen to nearly twenty-two months. the mammæ of the cow elephant are placed between the fore legs, and the new-born calf sucks with its mouth, holding its trunk turned back over its head. i have seen elephant calves so engaged. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ african elephant. the difference in profile between this and the indian species is noticeable. the forehead is receding and the ears much larger in the african species.] although there is no reason to doubt that the african elephant is as intelligent as the asiatic species, its domestication has never been attempted by the negro or bantu races of africa. it is believed, however, that the african elephant was in ancient times domesticated by the carthaginians, and used by them in their wars with the romans. the opinion, too, is generally held that the elephants with which hannibal crossed the alps were of the african species, as well as those which, after the conquest of carthage, were used in the roman amphitheatres and military pageants. on the other hand, it is well to remember that the late mr. w. cotton oswell, who had had great experience both with african and asiatic elephants, wrote as follows on this subject: "i believe some people suppose the carthaginians tamed and used the african elephant; they could hardly have had mahouts indian fashion, for there is no marked depression in the nape of the neck for a seat, and the hemming of the ears when erected would have half smothered them. my knowledge does not allow me to raise any argument on this point; but might not the same market have been open to the dwellers at carthage as was afterwards to mithridates, who, i suppose, drew his supply from india? i know in the representations of elephants on the medals of faustina and of septimus severus the ears are african, though the bodies and heads are indian; but these were struck nearly years after carthaginian times, when the whole known world had been ransacked by the romans for beasts for their public shows; and i still think it possible that the carthaginians--the great traders and colonisers of old--may have obtained elephants through some of their colonies from india." an interesting example of the intelligence of these animals can be seen any day at the london zoological gardens. a large african elephant restores to his would-be entertainers all the biscuits, whole or broken, which strike the bars and fall alike out of his reach and theirs in the space between the barrier and his cage. he points his trunk at the biscuits, and blows them hard along the floor to the feet of the persons who have thrown them. he clearly knows what he is doing, because, if the biscuits do not travel far enough, he gives them a harder blow. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ male african elephant drinking. note the great size of the tusks and base of the trunk.] tapirs and hyrax. by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. tapirs are odd-looking creatures, and, strange as it may seem, are nevertheless related on the one hand to the rhinoceroses, and on the other to the horses. they are furthermore extremely interesting animals, because they have undergone less modification of form than any other members of the group to which they belong. this we know because fossil tapirs, belonging to a very remote period of the world's history, are practically indistinguishable from those now living. the general form of the body may perhaps be described as pig-like; the head, too, suggests that animal. but the pig's snout is here produced into a short proboscis, or trunk. the feet are quite unlike those of the pig, and resemble those of the rhinoceros. the fore feet have each four and the hind feet three toes; these are all encased in large horse-like hoofs. the tail is reduced to a mere stump. tapirs are shy and inoffensive animals, living in the seclusion of dense forests in the neighbourhood of water, in which element they are quite at home; indeed, it is said that they will frequently dive and walk along the bed of the river. they are also fond of wallowing in mud, partly, it is believed, that they may encase themselves with it as a protection against the annoyance of flies. they feed on shoots of trees, bushes, leaves, and fallen fruits, foraging during the evening, and possibly far into the night. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ malayan tapir. the largest of all the tapirs. is easily distinguished from the american tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.] tapirs are hunted by the natives for the sake of their thick hides, which are cut into thongs for reins and bridles. the flesh also is esteemed by some. there are three methods of capture. in south america the lasso is used with occasional success. but when not foiled by undergrowth, the hunter often loses his victim by reason of the violence and force of its rush, which snaps the thong. the gauchos intercept it with dogs on its way to the water, when it will fight furiously, and many dogs may be killed before its dispatch is accomplished. others imitate its peculiar, shrill call, and shoot it on its approach in answer thereto. captives are easily tamed, and may be seen walking about the streets in many south american towns. they wander into the forest by day, returning in the evening to be fed, and are said to display great affection. on account of their great strength, it has been suggested that such captives should be used as beasts of burden. except the malayan tapir, which is black and white, tapirs are black or dark brown in colour, and but scantily clothed with hair; but the young, it is interesting to note, are spotted and striped with white or fawn-colour on a dark ground, a coloration recalling that of the wild pig. there are five different species of tapir. their geographical distribution is remarkable, four species being south american, and one belonging to the malayan region. but far back in the world's history, as we know from fossils, tapirs roamed over the warm and temperate regions of europe, and their remains have been found in china and the united states. thus the intervening gaps existing to-day have been made by the extinction of these intermediate species. by nature the tapir appears to be a harmless and inoffensive animal, flying even before the smallest dog. occasionally, however, it displays great courage and ferocity, and this appears to be especially the case with females deprived of their young. at such times they will charge with great spirit, and knock down, trample on, and bite their victim after the fashion of wild swine. man alone excepted, the most deadly foe of the american tapir is the jaguar, as is the tiger of the malay species. the american tapir often gets rid of the jaguar by rushing at full speed into the dense jungle, thus sweeping its assailant from its back, the jaguar's claws finding but an insecure hold on its victim's thick hide. tapirs are often found bearing scars all over the back, witnessing the terrible nature of the wounds received at such times. that the tapir is a comparatively unknown animal is partly accounted for by the fact that it is but little sought after by the big-game hunter--who finds more excitement in pursuit of its larger relative the rhinoceros--and partly, perhaps, owing to its inhabiting regions comparatively little visited by europeans. nevertheless, the tapir is an animal of quite peculiar interest, having undergone but little change during long ages, whilst its ally the horse has effected in the same time a complete transformation, not only in its general shape, but more especially in its teeth and feet. the gradual steps by which this transformation has been brought about we can trace through certain fossil forms, of which we can say little here. amongst these fossils occur remains of an animal bearing a very strong resemblance to the living tapir, but which, strangely enough, is not really so closely related thereto as to the horses. it does not, however, stand in the direct line of descent of these latter, but must be regarded as representing a collateral branch thereof. the occurrence of this distinct tapir-like animal is of great scientific interest. the short, stout legs and spreading toes of the living tapirs, rhinoceroses, and ancestral horse are admirably adapted for plodding deliberately over soft and yielding ground, such as is afforded by reed-beds and banks of rivers, or the shady depths of forests. speed in such surroundings is not necessary, food in plenty being always at hand, and escape from enemies being sought by concealment in thick herbage rather than flight. with a migration to drier and higher plains, the spreading foot has undergone a change. the short legs and numerous toes have given place to long ones, and of the several toes growth has taken place in one only--the third; whilst the others have slowly dwindled, till eventually only traces of the second and fourth remain, as in the modern horse. thus has a firmer support over hard, unyielding ground been brought about, and great speed gained. the animals with this type of foot (in which the third is the largest toe) are known as the odd-toed hoofed animals. the pigs, sheep, deer, and oxen have gained an equally efficient foot, yet retaining four toes. of these, the third and fourth are equal in size, and serve as a support to the body, whilst the second and fifth have now become functionless, and do not reach the ground. this type of foot characterises that group of the hoofed animals known as the even-toed. the hyrax. this is one of the most remarkable of living mammals, and one of the greatest puzzles to zoologists, having no near living relatives. though bearing some resemblance to an earless rabbit, it really belongs to the hoofed animals, and amongst them comes perhaps somewhat nearer the rhinoceros than to any other animal. it is the coney of the bible. it inhabits the rocky districts of syria and parts of africa. it is a vegetable-feeder, and very wary. about a dozen species are known. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ common american tapir. this tapir inhabits tropical america. it is a nocturnal animal, frequenting the depths of shady forests in the neighbourhood of water, to which it frequently resorts for the purpose of bathing, or as a refuge from pursuit.] the rhinoceros. by f. c. selous. of the five existing species of rhinoceros, three are found in asia, whilst two are inhabitants of africa. of the three asiatic species, two, the indian and the javan, are one-horned, and have a single pair of broad incisor teeth in the upper jaw, and a pair of sharp-edged and pointed tusks in the lower, the nasal bones being long and narrow, and terminating in a point. in both these species the skin is hairless (except for tufts or fringes at the extremity of the tail and on the edges of the ears), and is arranged in shield-like folds over the body. the arrangement of these folds, however, differs somewhat in the two species, and the large round tubercles with which the skin of the great indian rhinoceros is profusely studded are wanting in the javan species. the indian rhinoceros inhabits the terai at the foot of the himalaya from bhutan to nepal, and is said to be very abundant in assam and the bhutan dooars. it frequents swampy ground, and lives amongst jungles and dense growths of reeds and grass, which attain a height sometimes of feet, and cover vast areas of ground in the valley of the brahmaputra and other rivers. owing to the nature of the country in which it lives, the indian rhinoceros cannot often be hunted with much prospect of success, except with the aid of elephants, which sagacious animals are not only employed to carry the hunters, but are also used to beat the great grass jungles in which the rhinoceroses lie hidden, and drive them towards the guns. despite its great size and strength, the indian rhinoceros seems to be regarded as, in general, a timid and inoffensive animal, and even when wounded it seldom charges home. elephants, however, appear to be as a rule nervous when in the near proximity of rhinoceroses, perhaps objecting to the smell of those animals. when the indian rhinoceros does make good its charge against either man or elephant, it cuts and rips its enemy with its teeth, and makes little use of its horn as an offensive weapon. the indian rhinoceros is said to live principally, if not entirely, on grass and reeds. as a rule it is a solitary animal, but sometimes several are found living in a comparatively small extent of grass-covered plain. large males of this species will stand from feet inches to feet at the shoulder, and they are enormously bulky. both sexes carry well-developed horns, which, however, do not usually attain a length of upwards of inches. there is a specimen in the british museum measuring inches, and it is believed that in very exceptional instances a length of feet has been attained. the javan rhinoceros, though it has been called the lesser indian rhinoceros, is said by a late authority--mr. c. e. m. russell--to stand about the same height at the shoulder as the indian species. it is found in the sunderbunds of eastern bengal, and has been met with in the sikhim terai and in assam, ranging eastwards through burma and the malay peninsula to sumatra, java, and borneo. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ hairy-eared sumatran rhinoceros. this species is found in eastern bengal and in the malay peninsula and adjacent large islands.] [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ great indian rhinoceros. the largest land mammal of the east after the elephant.] but little appears to be known of the habits of this species of rhinoceros. although it is found in the swampy grass-covered plains of the sunderbunds, its more usual habitat seems to be hilly forest-covered country, and both in burma and java it ascends to a height of several thousand feet above sea-level. it feeds principally upon leaves and the young shoots of trees and bushes. in disposition it is timid and inoffensive. only the male carries a horn, which, being very short, is a very poor trophy for a sportsman. the third asiatic species of rhinoceros, known as the sumatran, is the smallest of all living rhinoceroses. this species carries two horns, and its skin, which is very rough, is usually thinly covered with hair of a dark brown colour and of considerable length. the folds in the skin of the sumatran rhinoceros are not nearly so well developed as in its single-horned relatives, and the one behind the shoulders is alone continued over the back. although furnished with tusks in the lower jaw, the small pair of incisor teeth, which in the other two asiatic rhinoceroses are always present in front of these tusks, are wanting in the sumatran species. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ great indian rhinoceros. this species inhabits the grass jungles of north-eastern india.] the sumatran rhinoceros is rare in assam, but is found in burma and the malay peninsula, as well as in siam, sumatra, and borneo. the two horns of this species are placed at some distance apart. although they are as a rule very short, the front horn occasionally grows to a considerable length, sweeping backwards in a graceful curve. in height adult males of the sumatran species stand on the average from feet to ½ feet at the shoulder, and females sometimes not more than feet inches. like the javan rhinoceros, the sumatran species is by preference an inhabitant of hilly, forest-covered country, and browses on the leaves and shoots of trees and bushes. it is a timid and inoffensive animal, soon becoming tame in captivity. its flesh is said to be much appreciated by the dyaks of borneo; and as its horns are of value for export to china, where they are used for medicinal purposes, it has of late years very much decreased in numbers in the province of sarawak, but is more plentiful in central and north borneo. living as it does in dense jungle, it is an animal which is seldom seen by european sportsmen, and its habits in a wild state have never been yet very closely studied. turning to the two species of rhinoceros which inhabit the continent of africa, both are double-horned, and neither furnished with incisor teeth, the nasal bones being thick, rounded, and truncated in front. both, too, are smooth-skinned and entirely hairless, except on the edge of the ears and extremity of the tail, which are fringed or tufted. of the two african species, the white or square-mouthed rhinoceros is the larger and the rarer. until quite recently the range of this huge ungainly-looking animal, the biggest of all terrestrial mammals after the elephant, was supposed to be entirely confined to the southern portions of the african continent; for although from time to time horns had found their way to zanzibar which seemed referable to the square-mouthed rhinoceros, the fact of the existence of the white rhinoceros in any part of africa north of the zambesi remained in doubt until a female was shot in the year , in the neighbourhood of lado, on the upper nile, by captain a. st. h. gibbons, who brought its skin, skull, and horns to england. the fact, however, that the white rhinoceros has never been encountered by any other traveller in central africa seems to show that the animal is either very rare in those districts, or that it has an exceedingly limited range. [illustration: _photo by c. b. hausburg, esq._ black african rhinoceroses. a splendid snapshot of two black african rhinoceroses taken on the open veldt. they were afterwards shot by the party.] [illustration: _photo by c. b. hausburg, esq._ one of the same rhinoceroses dead. this picture gives some idea of the size of the commonest surviving species.] in the early years of the nineteenth century the square-mouthed or white rhinoceros was found in large numbers over the whole of south africa from the orange river to the zambesi, except in the waterless portions of the kalahari desert, or those parts of the country which are covered with rugged stony hills or dense jungle. speaking of his journey in through the western part of what is now the transvaal colony, captain (afterwards sir) cornwallis harris wrote: "on our way from the waggons to a hill not half a mile distant, we counted no less than twenty-two of the white species of rhinoceros, and were compelled in self-defence to slaughter four. on one occasion i was besieged in a bush by three at once, and had no little difficulty in beating off the assailants." even so lately as thirty years ago the white rhinoceros was still to be met with in fair numbers in ovampoland and other districts of western south africa, whilst it was quite plentiful in all the uninhabited parts of eastern south africa from zululand to the zambesi. in and , whilst elephant-hunting in the uninhabited parts of matabililand, i encountered white rhinoceroses almost daily, and often saw several in one day. at the present time, however, unless it should prove to be numerous in some as yet unexplored districts of north central africa, this strange and interesting animal must be counted one of the rarest of existing mammals, and in southern africa i fear it must soon become extinct. a few still exist amongst the wild loquat groves of northern mashonaland, and there are also a few surviving in zululand; but i fear that even with the most rigid protection they are too few in number to restock the country. they have a better chance, i think, of increasing in numbers in zululand than in mashonaland, in which latter country it is at present impossible to afford them any protection either from natives or europeans. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ rhinoceros bathing. all the asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and wallowing in mud.] a full-grown bull white rhinoceros stands from feet inches to feet inches at the shoulder, and is very massively built, with short, stout legs. the head is very much elongated, and the mouth square, like that of an ox. when white rhinoceroses were still plentiful, very considerable differences were observable in the length and shape of their horns. the anterior horns of full-grown bulls might measure from inches to inches in length; those of cows from inches to inches. the longest horn known--that of a cow--which was brought from south africa by the well-known hunter the late roualeyn gordon cumming, measures ½ inches over the curve. as a rule, the front horn of the white rhinoceros curved slightly backwards, but was often straight or bent slightly forwards, and sometimes curved strongly backwards. the posterior horn varied from a few inches to feet in length. the white rhinoceros lived in families, usually a bull, cow, and calf being found together; but there might be two or even three calves of different ages, and of which the youngest alone would be suckling, living with the father and mother. in the early south african spring (september and october), when the young green herbage was just sprouting after the first rains, two or three families of white rhinoceroses might be seen feeding in close proximity, presenting the appearance of a herd; but i fancy the several families of these animals had only been brought together for the sake of the young green grass. in southern africa the white rhinoceros lived entirely on grass, and i have never seen any evidence of their having eaten anything else. when either walking, trotting, or galloping, the white rhinoceros always carried its nose close to the ground. a calf always preceded its mother, and she appeared to guide it by holding the point of her horn on the little creature's rump; and in all changes of pace, no matter how sudden, this position was always maintained. the white rhinoceros was easily killed by a shot through the heart or through both lungs, but would travel very long distances, and probably, as a rule, ultimately recover from wounds in other parts of the body. they could travel at a great rate and for a considerable distance with a broken fore leg or shoulder, but if a hind leg were broken they were rendered almost immediately helpless. in disposition they were sluggish and inoffensive animals, lying asleep in the shade of trees or bushes during the heat of the day, and coming to the water to drink at night or often before sundown in parts of the country where they had not been much molested. when disturbed, white rhinoceroses would go off at a swift trot, but if chased on horseback would break into a gallop, which they were capable of maintaining for a considerable distance, and at a wonderful pace for so large and heavy an animal. the meat of the white rhinoceros was most excellent, the part in greatest favour amongst hunters being the hump on the back of the neck in front of the shoulder, which was cut off whole and roasted in the skin in a hole dug in the ground. the colour of the so-called white rhinoceros is dark grey. the second species of african rhinoceros, which is also dark grey in colour, is known as the black or prehensile-lipped rhinoceros. less than a hundred years ago the range of this fast-disappearing species extended from the north-western districts of the cape colony to abyssinia, and at that time it must have been plentiful over almost the whole of the intervening country. it never seems to have penetrated into the equatorial forest regions of west central africa, where the climate is probably too damp to suit its requirements; for both species of african rhinoceros appear to like a dry climate, and not to object to very arid surroundings. at the same time they never wander many miles from a river or pool, and drink regularly every night, and in hot weather probably very often a second time in the early morning. in southern africa the black rhinoceros appears to attain to a larger size than in the countries farther north. to the south of the zambesi large bulls of this species will stand feet inches at the shoulder; whilst the height of an adult bull, as taken by mr. f. jackson at naivasha, in east africa, was feet inches; and mr. a. h. neumann gives the standing height of another adult bull shot by himself still farther north, near lake rudolph, as only feet inches. [illustration: _photo by norman b. smith, esq._ black african rhinoceros. this photograph, taken by a sportsman in africa, shows a charging rhinoceros just before it was shot.] it is now generally recognised that there is but one species of prehensile-lipped rhinoceros in africa, though the horns, and especially the hinder one, differ in length and shape to such an extent that it was long thought that there were at least two distinct species, those with both horns of equal or nearly equal length having been distinguished from the more common form, with a comparatively short second horn, as the keitloa, this being the name in the sechuana dialect for a prehensile-lipped rhinoceros with horns of equal length. speaking on this subject, mr. a. h. neumann, who has had great experience with the black rhinoceros in east africa, writes: "length of horn is a purely fortuitous individual trait; and the extremely long horns (mostly of females) which have occasionally been obtained from traders on the east coast, and brought home, are merely exceptionally fine specimens, selected from among large numbers brought to the coast (the bulk of which, i am told, go to china to be ground up into medicine), and do not belong to any distinct species, nor come from any particular region. in proof of this contention i may mention that i have a -inch horn, the owner of which i myself shot at the northern base of the jambeni range (near kenia), in a neighbourhood where i hunted a great deal and saw great numbers of rhinos, and shot a good many. the vast majority have quite short horns--under a foot--and anything over inches is uncommon, while a length of inches or upwards is extremely rare." the black rhinoceros, i believe, never eats grass, but browses on the young shoots of trees and bushes, which are often quite leafless and seem excessively dry. in this way it chews up and swallows great quantities of dry-looking twigs, much of which passes through its stomach undigested. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ sumatran rhinoceros. this species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the three oriental forms. it has two horns.] there has been a good deal of controversy as to the character and disposition of the black rhinoceros, some hunters and travellers regarding it as most dangerous and aggressive, whilst others are inclined to take an almost opposite view. that some black rhinoceroses are certainly aggressive and therefore dangerous animals, the experiences of c. j. anderson and w. cotton oswell in south africa many years ago, and of many travellers and hunters in east africa during the last few years, certainly prove beyond a doubt; and as one never knows that any particular rhinoceros, when encountered, may not prove to be a vicious brute, a certain amount of caution should be employed in approaching one of these animals. in my own experience i always found that black rhinoceroses ran off at once on getting the wind of a human being; whilst, on the other hand, if they only heard one approaching, they would come towards the noise, and i have often known them to trot up to within twenty yards of where i was standing, snorting and puffing loudly; but as these animals always turned round and went off eventually without charging, i came to the conclusion that they were inquisitive and very short-sighted rather than vicious. when fired into, a black rhinoceros goes off at a gallop--his usual pace, when alarmed, being a very fast trot--puffing and snorting loudly. he can gallop at a very great pace, considering his size and weight; but a south african shooting-pony can easily come up with him, or get away from him if pursued. in death a black rhinoceros will often sink down on its knees, and remain in that position, looking as if it were simply resting. when dying, it often gives vent to a pitiful squeal, the sound seeming very small and thin for so large a beast. the meat of the black rhinoceros is not ill-flavoured, and, if fat, very palatable; but as a rule these animals are very lean, and their flesh tough and coarse. the tongue, however, if well cooked, is always good; and the liver, if first roasted under the ashes, and then, after being beaten up in a native wooden mortar, cooked with rice and fat, makes a dish which is good enough for a hungry man. during the making of the uganda railway the engineers came upon something like a preserve of this species of rhinoceros, especially in the thick and waterless thorn jungle near the coast. the rhinoceros was almost the only animal, except the lion, which was able to penetrate the bush. as many as five of these animals were seen in one day when the line was being made; they did no injury to the coolies, other than by frightening them, and appeared to be stupid and by no means vigilant animals, perhaps because no other creature attacked them. the lion never meddles with a grown-up rhinoceros, though it might and probably does kill a calf occasionally, when the latter is no larger than a full-grown pig. the horns of some of these east african black rhinoceroses were of unusual length and thinness. ---- chapter xii. _the horse tribe._ ---- zebras and wild asses. by f. c. selous. ---- zebras. the zebras have many points in common with the asses, from which latter group of animals they are principally distinguished by their beautifully striped skins. both asses and zebras carry short, erect manes, and in both the upper portion of the tail is free from long hair. in both groups there are naked callosities on the fore legs only, whilst the head is larger in proportion to the size of the animal, and the ears longer than in the horse. in burchell's and grevy's zebras the hoof is intermediate between that of the horse and the ass; for although narrower than the hoof of the horse, it is broader and more rounded than that of the ass. in the true zebra, however, the hoof is thoroughly asinine in character, and the ears very long. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ mountain-zebra. the true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. at one time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of cape colony.] the true or mountain zebra appears never to have had a very extended range. it was once an inhabitant of all the mountainous regions of the cape colony as well as of the great drakensberg range, and fifty years ago was also found amongst the rugged hills of great namaqualand. the mountain-zebra is the smallest of the group, standing only from to ½ hands at the shoulder. it is a most beautiful animal, the whole of the head, body, and limbs, with the exception of the under-parts and the insides of the thighs, being striped. the ground-colour of the body is white, the stripes being black and the muzzle bright brown. both hind and fore legs are banded down to the hoofs. the stripes on the neck and body are narrower and more numerous than in burchell's zebra, and on the hindquarters the median stripe, which runs down the centre of the back from the mane to the tail, is connected with the uppermost of the oblique longitudinal stripes by a series of short horizontal bars. the ears in this species are much larger than in burchell's zebra. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ grevy's zebra. this species of zebra comes from the galla country, and has narrower and more numerous stripes than the mountain-zebra.] the true zebra seems never to have been an inhabitant of the plains, like all its congeners, but to have confined its range entirely to mountainous districts. speaking on this point, captain (afterwards sir) cornwallis harris wrote upwards of sixty years ago: "this beautiful and wary animal never of its own free will descends into the plain, as erroneously asserted by all naturalists, and it therefore never herds with either of its congeners, the quagga and burchell's zebra, whose habitat is equally limited to the open and level lowlands. seeking the wildest and most sequestered spots, the haughty troops are exceedingly difficult of approach, as well on account of their watchful habits and extreme agility and fleetness of foot, as from the abrupt and inaccessible nature of their highland abode." an allied species, of which examples have been obtained by mr. g. w. penrice, occurs in benguela, portuguese west africa. i once saw the carcase of a zebra stallion which had been sent by rail to the cape town museum by a farmer living in the neighbourhood of the village of worcester. this animal had come down from the mountains, and joined a troop of donkeys running on the farm. its intrusion was, however, resented by a male donkey, which fought with and overpowered it, and, having seized it with its teeth by the back of the neck, held it fast until it was secured by the farmer and his men. the captured animal, however, refused food, and soon died, when its carcase was sent to the cape museum for preservation. grevy's zebra is the largest and perhaps the handsomest of all the zebras. this fine animal is an inhabitant of eastern africa, its range extending from the central portion of somaliland southwards to the tana river. it appears to be plentiful in the country between mount kenia and lake rudolph, but has not, i believe, been met with to the west of that lake. full-grown specimens of grevy's zebra will stand from ½ to hands at the shoulder, with a girth of body immediately behind the shoulders of nearly feet. the arrangement of the stripes in this species differs considerably both from that of the mountain-zebra of the cape colony and also from burchell's zebra. the body-stripes are very narrow, numerous, and deep black in colour, and are separated by equally narrow white bands. the longitudinal stripes on the haunches are also shorter and finer than in any other species of zebra, and on the top of the quarters there is a white unstriped space on each side of the median line which runs down the centre of the back from the neck to the tail. the belly and insides of the thighs are white, and the legs banded right down to the hoofs as in the mountain-zebra, and the ears are as large as in that species. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden._ burchell's zebra at home. this excellent photograph was taken in south africa, and shows these animals in their native state.] grevy's zebra is, as a rule, an inhabitant of open or thinly wooded country, and it appears to avoid anything in the nature of thick cover. in central somaliland major swayne met with it on low plateaux some , feet above sea-level, the sides of which fell in broken ravines to the river-valleys. this country is described as broken and hilly, and here grevy's zebras were met with in small droves of about half a dozen. in the country between mount kenia and lake rudolph, mr. a. h. neumann frequently met with herds of grevy's and burchell's zebras consorting together. the contrast between the two species when thus seen side by side was very marked, the former animals looking like horses among a flock of ponies. mr. neumann never observed stallions of the two species fighting together, but on the other hand he states that the stallions of the larger species fight viciously amongst themselves for possession of the mares. grevy's zebras seem never to collect in large herds, more than twenty, or at the outside thirty, being very seldom seen together. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ the hon. walter rothschild's team of zebras. mr. rothschild was practically the first englishman to break in zebras to harness. at one time these animals were thought to be quite untamable.] although this species is an inhabitant of arid plains and bare stony hills where the herbage is short, it requires to drink daily, and is never therefore found at any great distance from water. the cry of grevy's zebra is stated to be quite different from that of burchell's. mr. neumann describes it as a very hoarse kind of grunt, varied by something approaching to a whistle, the grunts being long drawn out, and divided by the shrill whistling sound, as if the latter were made by drawing in the breath which had been expelled during the sustained grunt. like all other species of the genus to which they belong, grevy's zebras, especially the mares when in foal, become very fat at certain seasons of the year, and their flesh is much appreciated both by natives and lions, the latter preying on them and their smaller congeners, burchell's zebras, in preference to any other animal, now that the rinderpest has almost exterminated the great herds of buffalo which once roamed in countless numbers all over east central africa. burchell's zebra once inhabited the whole of south-western, south-eastern, central, and eastern africa from the orange river to lake rudolph; and though it has long ceased to exist in the more southerly portions of its range, it is still the most numerous and the best known of all the species of zebra. [illustration: _photo by charles reid, wishaw, n.b._ highland cattle. these magnificent cattle are bred in large numbers in the scottish highlands, whence they are brought to the richer pastures of england to fatten for the market.] the typical form of this species was first met with early last century by dr. burchell in southern bechuanaland. in this form the legs are white below the knees and hocks, and the body-stripes do not join the median stripe of the belly. in examples met with farther north the legs are striped down to the hoofs and the body-stripes join the belly-stripe. south of the zambesi all forms of burchell's zebra seem to have faint markings, known as shadow-stripes, on the pale yellow ground-colour of the spaces between the broad black stripes. north of the zambesi varieties are met with in which these shadow-stripes are wanting. as, however, the differences between all the various sub-species of burchell's zebra are superficial and not structural, and as, moreover, the habits of these animals seem to be the same in every part of their widely extended range, i shall henceforth speak of them as one species. burchell's zebra is without the small horizontal bars on the hindquarters, which in the mountain-zebra connect the dorsal stripe with the uppermost of the broad longitudinal bands running across the flanks. its ears, too, are smaller than in the latter species, and its mane fuller. in size burchell's zebra is intermediate between the mountain-zebra and grevy's zebra, standing from thirteen to thirteen and a half hands at the shoulder. [illustration: _by permission of mr. william cross_] [_liverpool._ burchell's zebra, chapman's variety. this zebra is one of several trained in mr. cross's well-known establishment at liverpool. mr. cross has been very successful in breaking in zebras, and is frequently to be seen driving a pair about liverpool.] where they have not been shot down, burchell's zebras often live in large herds of from fifty to over a hundred together. i have met with them almost at the level of the sea, as in the pungwe district of south-east africa, and all over the high plateaux of the interior up to a height of , feet above sea-level. they are partial to sparsely forested country intersected by open glades, but also frequent open plains entirely devoid of trees or bush, having been once numerous on the open downs of the western transvaal and orange river colony. they never live in dense jungle, but i have met with them frequently amongst broken rugged hills. burchell's zebras are both fleet and enduring, but i have often galloped right amongst a herd of them when mounted on a fast horse, and in good ground. in broken, hilly, and stony ground, however, no horse can live with a burchell's zebra. the hoofs of this species seem made for running in rocky ground, being deeply hollowed and as hard as iron. i have always found the presence of burchell's zebras a sure indication that water was not far distant, and it is my experience that these animals require to drink daily, and never wander more than a few miles away from the pool or river they frequent. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ mare and foal of burchell's zebra. these animals breed regularly in captivity.] this species of zebra may often be seen in southern africa in company with other animals, such as buffaloes, blue wildebeests, elands, gemsbucks, roan and sassaby antelopes, and ostriches, and i have upon several occasions seen them come up to domestic cattle and horses. they are naturally not very wary, and in parts of the country where they have not been much molested are often very inquisitive, and will come trotting quite close up to a caravan, provided they do not get the scent of human beings. foals of this species are easily caught, and become at once very tame and confiding; nor do i believe that adult burchell's zebras are such vicious animals as is generally supposed, since i have seen several which were very quiet and well broken, whilst even the half-broken animals, which were at one time used on one of the coach-lines in the transvaal, did not appear very vicious. as with grevy's zebra, the flesh of the species under consideration is much appreciated both by natives and lions. i have often seen the fat on the quarters of the mares quite an inch thick. it is of a dark yellow colour, and too rich to suit the stomach of a european. the meat is rather sweet in taste, but if fried with bacon not at all unpalatable. [illustration: _photo by norman b. smith, esq._ burchell's zebra. this species is occasionally domesticated and driven in south africa, as it is not injured by the tsetse fly.] professor ewart has lately carried out a very interesting series of experiments on the hybridising of zebras and horses. the results were very satisfactory. the zebra cross proved to be very hardy creatures, capable of wintering in the open on the hills of scotland. the scientific data obtained were of singular value, as showing the effect of crossbreeding on subsequent generations of foals of the same mother. it has long been believed that the influence of the first sire was seen in foals of which other animals were subsequently the fathers. thus, if a white mare threw a foal to a black stallion, it was considered that her subsequent progeny would occasionally be black, and instances were freely quoted to support this theory. the scientific name of "telegony" was given to this supposed influence of previous sires on future offspring. professor ewart's experiments, in which pony mares were first mated with a zebra and afterwards with horses, show that this theory of telegony is erroneous. the foals sired afterwards by ponies and horses showed no trace whatever of zebra stripes, but were normal pony foals, and not altered either in shape or disposition. the quagga, which became extinct about thirty years ago, never had a very extended range, but in the early part of the last century it existed in great numbers on all the upland plains of the cape colony to the west of the kei river, and in the open treeless country lying between the orange and vaal rivers. north of the vaal it appears to have been unknown. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden._ zebras on table mountain. another south african photograph. notice cape town in the far distance.] [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ quagga. this is, we believe, the only known photograph from life of this very rare animal. there will probably never be another, for the quagga is generally supposed to be extinct.] the quagga seems to have been nearly allied to burchell's zebra--especially to the most southerly form of that species--but was much darker in general colour, being of a dark rufous brown on the neck and upper-parts of the body, becoming lighter on the sides, and fading off to white beneath and behind. instead of being striped, too, over the whole body, it was only strongly banded on the head and neck, the dark brown stripes becoming fainter on the shoulders and dying away in spots and blotches. on the other hand, in size and build, in the appearance of its mane, ears, and tail, and in general habits, it seems to have nearly resembled its handsomer relative. the barking neigh "qu[=a]-h[=a]-h[=a], qu[=a]-h[=a]-h[=a]" seems, too, to have been the same in both species. the word "quagga" is pronounced in south africa "qu[=a]-h[=a]," and is of hottentot origin, being an imitation of the animal's neighing call. to-day burchell's zebras are invariably called qu[=a]-h[=a]s by both boers and british colonists. wild asses. the true asses are without stripes on the head, neck, and body, with the exception of a dark streak down the back from the mane to the tail, which is present in all members of the group, and in some cases a dark band across the shoulders and irregular markings on the legs. in africa the wild ass is only found in the desert regions of the north-eastern portion of that continent, being an inhabitant of abyssinia, somaliland, gallaland, the soudan, and the arid districts bordering the red sea. the form of wild ass found in somaliland differs in some respects from its near relative of the nubian desert, in that it is of a paler colour, has the dorsal stripe but faintly marked, and is without a cross stripe over the shoulders, whilst on the other hand it has numerous markings both on the front and hind legs. naturalists are, however, agreed that, although there may be certain small differences in the colour and markings of the wild asses found in different localities of northern africa, such variations are of no specific value, and only one species is recognised. the african wild ass is a fine animal, standing between and hands at the shoulder. it lives in small herds or families of four or five individuals, and is not found in mountainous districts, but frequents low stony hills and arid desert-wastes. it is as a general rule an alert animal and difficult to approach, and so fleet and enduring that, excepting in the case of foals and mares heavy in young, it cannot be overtaken even by a well-mounted horseman. notwithstanding the scanty nature of the herbage in the districts they frequent, these desert-bred asses are always in good condition. they travel long distances to water at night, but appear to require to drink regularly. their flesh is eaten by the natives of the soudan. the bray of the african wild ass is said to be indistinguishable from that of the domesticated animal, which latter is undoubtedly descended from the wild african breed. in asia three varieties of the wild ass are found, which were formerly believed to represent three distinct species; but since the points of difference between these varying forms do not appear to be of specific value, all the local races of the asiatic wild ass are now considered to belong to one species. these wild asses have a wide range, and are met with in the deserts of asia from syria to persia and western india, and northwards throughout the more arid portions of central asia. in tibet and mongolia the wild ass inhabits the high mountain-plateaux, and lives at elevations of , feet and upwards above the sea. this local race, known as the kiang, approaches in size to the african wild ass, standing hands at the shoulder. it is dark reddish brown in colour, with a very narrow dorsal stripe. the onager of western india and baluchistan is a smaller and lighter-coloured animal, with a broader stripe down the back. in parts of its range it is found at sea-level. in persia and syria a third local race of wild ass is found, which, however, differs from the two forms already enumerated in no essential particular. like their african congeners, the wild asses of asia are inhabitants of the waste places of the earth, frequenting desert plains and wind-swept steppes. they are said to be so fleet and enduring that, except in the case of a mare heavy with foal, they cannot be overtaken by a single horseman. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ baluchi wild ass. this is one of the three leading varieties of the asiatic wild ass. it is found in western india and baluchistan.] the wild asses of the desert plains of india and persia are said to be very wary and difficult to approach, but the kiang of tibet is always spoken of as a much more confiding animal, its curiosity being so great that it will frequently approach to within a short distance of any unfamiliar object, such as a sportsman engaged in stalking other game. asiatic wild asses usually live in small families of four or five, but sometimes congregate in herds. their food consists of various grasses in the low-lying portions of their range, but of woody plants on the high mountain-plateaux, where little else is to be obtained. of wild asses in general the late sir samuel baker once said: "those who have seen donkeys only in their civilised state can have no conception of the wild or original animal; it is the perfection of activity and courage." [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ male kiang. the kiang comes from the tibetan highlands. it is the largest and most horse-like of the wild asses of asia.] domesticated horse, asses, and mules. by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. ---- the domesticated horse. like the wild camels, genuine wild horses are very generally believed to be extinct. the vast herds which occur to-day in a wild state in europe, america, and australia are to be regarded, say those who believe in the extinction theory, as descended from domesticated animals which have run wild. so far as the american and australian horses are concerned, this is no doubt true; but of the european stocks it is by no means so certain. for dr. nehring--and he speaks with authority--assures us that the wild horses known as tarpans, which occur on the steppes north of the sea of azoff, between the river dnieper and the caspian, are veritable wild horses, the last remaining members of enormous herds which occurred in europe before the dawn of civilisation. these horses formed no small part of the food of the savage races of men then inhabiting this continent. this we know because of the quantities of their remains found in the caves of the south of france, for instance, associated with the remains of the men who hunted them. further evidence of this we have in the shape of crude engravings on pieces of bone and deer horns, carved by the more artistic spirits amongst these early hunters. from these drawings we gather that the horse they hunted was small in size and heavy in build, with a large head and rough, shaggy mane and tail--a horse, in fact, almost identical with the above-mentioned tarpan. but long before historic records begin these horses must have been domesticated; man discovered that they could be even more useful alive than dead, and from that time forth the horse became his inseparable companion. "cæsar found the ancient britons and germans using war-chariots drawn by horses." but the stock of domestic horses drawn from this tarpan breed appears to have died out almost entirely, the majority of horses now existing being probably descendants of the native wild horses of asia, the product of a still earlier domestication. in egypt the horse, as a domestic animal, seems to have been preceded by the ass; but about b.c. it begins to appear in the rôle of a war-horse, to draw chariots. its use, indeed, until the middle ages was almost universally as a war-horse. from the time of its domestication till to-day the history of the horse has been one of progress. the care and forethought of the breeder have produced many varieties, resulting in such extremes as the london dray-horse, the racer, and the shetland pony. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ yearling arab colts. note the colts examining the photographer's bag. they are very inquisitive creatures, but easily frightened.] the coloration of our various breeds of horses is generally without any definite marking, piebald and dappled being the nearest approach to a pattern. occasionally, however, horses are found with a dark stripe along the back, and sometimes with dark stripes on the shoulders and legs. darwin, discovering a number of horses so marked belonging to different breeds, came to the conclusion that probably all existing races of horses were descended from a "single dun-coloured, more or less striped primitive stock, to which [stock] our horses occasionally revert." "if we were not so habituated to the sight of the horse," says the late sir william flower, "as hardly ever to consider its structure, we should greatly marvel at being told of a mammal so strangely constructed that it had but a single toe on each extremity, on the end of the nail of which it walked or galloped. such a conformation is without parallel in the vertebrate series." by the aid of fossils we can trace out all the stages through which this wonderful foot has passed in arriving at its present state of perfection: we can see how it has become more and more beautifully adapted to fulfil the requirement demanded--a firm support to enable its owner to cover hard ground at great speed. the study of the structure of this foot, and a comparison with the intermediate forms, make it clear that this toe corresponds to the third finger or toe of the human hand or foot--according as we compare the fore or hind limbs--and that its development was at the expense of the remaining toes, which gradually dwindled and disappeared, leaving in the living one-toed horse only traces of the second and fourth toes in the shape of a pair of splint-bones, one on either side of the excessively developed third toe. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ arab mare. nothing would induce this horse to stand still in order to be photographed; so as a last resource lady anne blunt put on her arab costume. this acted like magic, for under its spell the animal at once became quiet.] the horses, it must be remarked, may be distinguished from the asses by the fact that the tail in the former is clothed with long hair throughout; in the latter long hair springs only from the sides and end, forming a tuft. furthermore, the horses have a remarkable horny excrescence, resembling a huge black and flattened wart, on each hind leg just below the "hock," or heel-joint. this excrescence is commonly known as the "chestnut." its function is unknown. a similar pair of "chestnuts" occurs on the inner side of the fore limb just above the wrist, or "knee," as it is generally called. the "chestnuts" of the fore limb occur also in the asses, but not those of the hind limb. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ arab mares and foals. a pretty group of some of lady anne blunt's famous arabs.] the arab horse. this magnificent and justly celebrated animal is chosen first for consideration because it is probably a direct descendant of an original wild breed--the asiatic wild horse. how far back the domestication of this breed began will probably never be exactly known. till the third century after christ the arabs were almost certainly camel-riders; but by the sixth century of our era we find them in possession of a breed of horses which they regarded with great reverence, and spoke of as an heritage from their forefathers. they were probably introduced from the caucasus or asia minor. the arab horse found its way into europe, perhaps accompanied by an allied breed--the barb--with the arab invasion of spain in the eighth and ninth centuries, leaving traces of its sojourn in the andalusian and the french limousin. but the great value of arab blood was not appreciated till armour ceased to be used, the excessive weight of this demanding a horse of heavy build. the arab does not appear to have been introduced into england till the seventeenth century; but the result of that introduction, as we shall see presently, has been fraught with tremendous consequences. in its native land it appears to have been bred chiefly for the purposes of warfare. the success with which the breeders' judicious selection has been rewarded is plainly seen in the wonderful powers of endurance on long marches; so that, at the end of a raid, the animal is still fresh enough either for flight, if necessary, or for a final rush on a retreating enemy. besides, arabs possess great courage, and are frugal both in the matter of food and drink. as a race-horse, one enthusiast assures us, the arab is superior to every other natural breed; he is beaten only by his own half-breed offspring--the english race-horse. but this seems to be rather an over-estimate. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ percheron horse. a continental breed. this horse is believed to be the only one of its kind in england.] the colour of the arab varies; white is the most highly esteemed, but bay and chestnut are common, black being rare. strange as it may seem, the white breed is never born white. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ hackney and foal. a specimen of the english carriage-horse.] the great affection of the arab for his horse is proverbial. the following story is certainly worth repeating: "the whole stock of an arab of the desert consisted of a mare. the french consul offered to purchase her, in order to send her to his sovereign, louis xiv. the arab would have rejected the proposal; but being miserably poor, with scarcely a rag to cover him, his wife and children starving, he was tempted greatly. at length he yielded. he brought the mare to the consul's house, and stood leaning on her neck, and looking, now at the gold, and now at the horse. the gold was good to look upon; it would make him rich for life. turning at last to his favourite, he said: 'to whom is it i am going to yield thee up? to europeans, who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will make thee miserable. return with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children.' at the last of these words he sprang upon her back, and was in a few moments out of sight." the barb. this is an african breed, which, like the generality of african horses, is distinguished from those of asia by its long limbs and small girth at the loins, thus resembling the foals of other breeds. it displays great powers of enduring hunger and thirst; and is fleet, with a high and graceful action. the barb takes its name from its native land--barbary. it is a larger breed than the arab. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ ladas. a perfect english thoroughbred. with this racer lord rosebery won the derby in .] levant and persian horses. these are very closely allied to the arab, but generally of larger size; and in southern persia, at least, less delicately framed. the turkoman horses are related to those of northern persia. the english race-horse. this animal is the product of very careful selection and gradual improvement of an original native breed, extending over several centuries. long since, so long ago as the reign of james i., it had reached a high degree of excellence. upon this native stock there has been built up, by the infusion of arab blood, the swiftest horse which the world has ever known--the british thoroughbred. "of this breed, it may be stated," says mr. allison, "that every such animal in the stud-book of the present day, in this country or any other, descends ... from one of three original eastern sires--the darley arabian, the byerley turk, or the godolphin arabian." this is an extremely interesting fact, and constitutes a lasting monument to the enterprise and acumen of the british horse-breeder. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ florizel ii. one of the king's racing-stud.] the byerley turk hailed from the levant, and was introduced by captain byerley about . from the byerley turk came herod, the most celebrated of his descendants, who has given rise to the herod line, which to-day is but feebly represented. the godolphin arabian, or the godolphin barb, was born about . from his grandson matchem is derived the matchem line, which is also to-day bordering on extinction. the darley arabian carries us back to the reign of queen anne. flying childers and bartlett's childers are directly descended from him; and from the latter is descended eclipse, the fastest horse which the turf has ever known. it is interesting to note that the descendants in the eclipse line enormously outnumber those of the other two lines which we have considered. of his descendants, one of the most illustrious is stockwell, who has been described as the most extraordinary sire of all time, whose blood is coming more than ever to the front. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ shetland pony and foal. these ponies belong to lady mary hope and her sister, who have been very successful in breeding them.] the trotting-horse. this is an american breed. the trotting-horse is a combination of barb and arab on an english stock. most of the trotting- and pacing-horses of america may be traced to an english thoroughbred--messenger--who was imported into america in . this horse became the founder of the greatest trotting family in the world. the speed attained by some of the fastest trotters is wonderful, a mile being covered in some three or four seconds over two minutes. russia is the only european country with a distinct breed of trotter--the orloff. this breed was made by crossing arab and english horses with the native races. the orloff has not the speed of the american horse, but has greater powers of endurance. the trotting-season in russia is winter, the races taking place on the ice. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ champion shire stallion. one of sir walter gilbey's celebrated cart-horses.] the pacer is not a distinct breed, but so called on account of its curious method of trotting. in trotting the left fore and right hind leg strike the ground at the same moment; in pacing the fore and hind leg of the _same side_ move in unison. some wild animals--as the giraffe--are pacers. "many american horses," says mr. winans, "are able to move with either action, a set of lighter shoes often sufficing to convert a trotter into a pacer." pacing is a swifter mode of motion than trotting. the record time stands at one mile in minute ½ seconds, as again the trotting record of one mile in minutes ¾ seconds. [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ shire mare and foal. another of sir walter gilbey's champion cart-horses showing mother and young.] [illustration: _photo by t. fall_] [_baker street._ welsh pony. this photograph shows the duchess of newcastle with one of her white welsh ponies.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ polo-pony. various breeds of ponies are used in this game, but the most esteemed at the present day are the english-bred new forest, dartmoor, or exmoor, or welsh ponies.] the hunter. this also is not a distinct breed, as some suppose. any good riding-horse may be used as a hunter. "hunters" have been made by infusing the blood of the race-horse with native breeds. the chief requirements are a muscular neck and chest, with a rather short body, and shorter and stouter legs than the race-horse. from the half-bred hunter we pass by insensible gradation to the ordinary saddle- and carriage-horses. the ideal carriage-horse, however, is more of a distinct breed than the hunter, and known as the cleveland bay. it has been produced by mingling the blood of the thoroughbred with that of a horse of stouter make than that of the hunter type. the record broad jump for the hunter, we might mention in passing, is variously stated to be from to feet! [illustration: _photo by. t. fall_] [_baker street._ donkey. this is a typical english coster's donkey, and won the first prize at the southwark show.] the shetland pony. this is a native of the shetland islands, and remarkable for its small size, docility, and hardihood. it is allowed to run nearly wild, and made to forage almost entirely for itself. in the winter it grows a coat of great length, which, soon becoming matted, forms a most effective protection against cold and wet. the dartmoor, exmoor, and new forest are likewise small breeds, but lack the symmetry and beauty of the shetland. cart-horses. under this head are included all the large, heavily built draught-horses. these are of european origin, and without intermixture of foreign--asiatic or african--blood. in england the most important breeds are the black or shire horse, the clydesdale, and the suffolk punch. these are wonderful instances of the results of selective breeding towards a definite end--large size, accompanied by great physical strength and powers of endurance. to accomplish this, speed has had to be sacrificed. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ egyptian donkeys. the ass has long been known to the egyptians, having been in use by them before the introduction of the horse.] [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ mules. a couple of fine mules belonging to lord arthur cecil.] asses and mules. asses. the domestic ass, so common to-day in these islands, is of african origin, and has, moreover, departed but little in either form or colour from the wild race. this is probably due to the fact that the ass has not been subjected in this country to that process of rigorous and careful selection that the horse has undergone. we have no record of its first introduction to these islands, but it was certainly known in the reign of ethelred, though it was a rare animal. later it appears to have died out, and to have been reintroduced in the reign of elizabeth; but it has never become popular. this is unfortunate; its sterling qualities have never been really appreciated by us. spain, italy, and malta have all succeeded in raising some fine breeds. the united states has, however, produced the finest of all in animals standing some or hands ( feet or feet inches) high. mules. the term mule, strictly speaking, should be reserved for the offspring of the male ass and the mare: the offspring of the opposite cross is called the hinny. mules are valued on account of their great powers of endurance and their sure-footedness. the finest and handsomest are bred in spain, the united states, and north-west india. it is interesting to note that mules exhibit a strong tendency to revert to the dun-coloured and striped coloration believed to belong to the primitive horses. the spinal and shoulder stripes which sometimes appear in horses, and more frequently in asses, occur yet more frequently in mules. the legs of the mules appear particularly liable to revert to this striped coloration in the united states, it is said nine out of ten being so marked. ---- chapter xiii. _the hollow-horned ruminants: oxen, bison, buffaloes, and musk-ox._ cattle, deer, camels, pigs, horses, tapirs, rhinoceroses, and elephants differ greatly in structure from the orders already described. they are classed as the ungulates, or hoofed mammals. in most of these, such as the horse, deer, and oxen, the toes are contained within a solid hoof; in others, such as the rhinoceros, they are protected by broad nails. great differences exist in the feet of the various groups of ungulates, caused by the degree in which the digits, or "toes," remain in use or not. except in the elephant, where there are five, the greatest number of "working" digits found in existing forms is four. in the horse and its surviving allies the digits are reduced to one; in the giraffes, to two. the general process, as it can be learnt from the remains of the horse-like animals of the past, seems to have been as follows. one or more of the toes were developed in length and strength at the expense of the others, until, in the case of the horse, only one toe remained, which was enclosed in a large and solid hoof, little splints on either side of the cannon-bone being left to hint where the second and fourth toes had once been. in the oxen and deer the third and fourth toes developed equally, at the expense of the others, and each gained a case or covering, which makes the two parts of the "cloven hoof" of these groups. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ english park-cattle. this photograph represents two animals of different types. the bull (on the right) is from earl ferrers' herd at chartley castle; the cow is a cross-bred.] the first group of the order of ungulates is represented by the hollow-horned ruminants. these have horns set on a core of bone, the horns themselves being hollow throughout. they "chew the cud," after receiving the food eaten into the first of four divisions in the stomach, whence it is brought up into the mouth, and then swallowed again for digestion. the oxen, sheep, and goats have no popular name by which they are collectively distinguished, but their characteristics are sufficiently well known. the horns are never shed annually, as is the case with the deer; and the hoofs are cloven. they have no incisor teeth in the upper jaw, a characteristic also shared by the giraffes, the prongbuck (or american antelope), and the deer. the lower jaw has its full complement of incisor teeth. the oxen and the allied bison, yak, and buffaloes are the bulkiest and most important to man of all ruminants. some are found in nearly all inhabited parts of the old world, and there is one north american species, now practically exterminated as a wild animal. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ english park bull. the similarity in shape to the best-bred modern shorthorns is obvious.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ calf of english park-cattle. though the stock is very old and inbred, the white park-cattle are still fairly prolific.] british park-cattle, and the aurochs. the so-called "wild cattle" found in the parks of chillingham and chartley, as well as in lord leigh's park at lyme, and in that of the duke of hamilton at cadzow castle, scotland, are probably not the descendants of an indigenous wild race. it is not without reluctance that the belief in their wild descent has been abandoned. but the evidence seems fairly conclusive as to the antiquity of these white cattle, regarded as a primitive breed, and of the unlikelihood of their being survivors of a truly wild stock. they are almost identical in many points with the best breeds of modern cattle, and probably represent the finest type possessed by the ancient inhabitants of these islands. but they are far smaller than the original wild ox, or aurochs, the ancestor of our domestic breeds. the skulls of these large wild oxen, which still survived in the black forest in cæsar's time, have been dug up in many parts of england, especially in the thames valley, and may be seen at the natural history museum. the remains of the extinct wild ox, the _bos urus_ of the romans, show that, if not so large as an elephant, as cæsar heard, its size was gigantic, reckoned by any modern cattle standard whatever. it probably stood feet high at the shoulder, and there is every reason to believe that it was the progenitor of the modern race of domestic cattle in europe. it seems certain that the chartley park herd did once run wild in needwood forest; but so do the italian buffaloes in the maremma, and the spanish bulls on the plains of andalusia. those at chartley have been kept in the park, which is very wild and remote, so long that they have gradually lost many of the attributes of domestication. this is even more marked in the case of lord tankerville's white cattle at chillingham. an observant visitor to chillingham lately noted that the bulls fight for the possession of the cows, and that one is occasionally killed in these combats. the cows still "stampede" with their calves when alarmed, and hide them for a week or ten days after they are born. the horns of the chillingham cattle turn up; those of the bulls of the chartley herd are straight or slightly inclined downwards. crossbreds between the chartley cattle and some other herds of reputed ancient descent may generally be seen at the zoological gardens. they remain remarkably true to type. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ jersey cow. the property of lord braybrooke. though small in size, the jersey cows produce more butter than any english breed.] formerly there were several other herds of ancient white cattle. one was at gisburne, in yorkshire; another at chatelherault park, in lanarkshire; and records of herds at bishop auckland in durham, barnard castle, blair athol, burton constable, naworth castle, and other ancient parks are preserved. probably all were of a breed highly prized in ancient days, which was allowed the run of the forests adjacent to the homes of their owners; then, as the forests were cleared, they were gradually taken up and enclosed in parks. another theory is, that they were the white cattle of north-western italy, imported by the first settlements of italian monks after the conversion of the saxons. some domesticated cattle. the various species of european domestic cattle have in most cases been brought to a degree of excellence even higher than that which might be expected from the long period of time in which their improvement has been an object of solicitude to man. of the foreign races, the dark red cattle of the spanish peninsula--animals which have been exported to the canary islands and madeira with great success--are justly famous. the white oxen of north-east italy have been famous since the days of the romans. the tall long-horned cattle of hungary are excellent alike as beasts of draught and for beef. the black-and-white dutch cows are, and have been, the mainstay of the dairy industry of holland, and later of denmark; while the small brittany cows are perhaps the best butter-producers on the continent of europe. but england and the channel islands may justly claim to rear the finest cattle of the temperate parts of the world. the diminutive jersey cows, now reared in all parts of the kingdom, surpass all the animals of europe or america in the richness of their milk, while stock from the pedigree herds of various english breeds is eagerly sought by foreign and continental buyers on both sides of the atlantic, and in new zealand and australia. these foreign strains need constant replenishing from the english herds, and the result is a golden harvest to the breeders in these islands. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ spanish cattle. these belong to the long-horned race of southern and eastern europe. in the bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.] the shorthorn was the first breed to be brought to perfection. two main stocks--one for producing beef, the other for the dairy--are recognised; they are the "all-round breed" most in favour, and it is said that the improvement in this race alone has raised the value of average irish store cattle £ per head during the last twenty years. the shorthorns are level-backed, large animals, maturing very quickly. the commonest colours are roan, white, red, and red-and-white. hereford cattle are red, with white faces and long, upturned horns; they fatten quickly on good grass, and are in most demand for summer beef. highland cattle have long horns, rough, shaggy coats, and bodies of moderate size and great symmetry; they are grazed on the mountains of the west highlands mainly, and fattened in the south. the beef is of the finest quality. sussex cattle are an "all red" variety, large, and formerly much used for draught and farm work. the devons are another red variety very like the sussex, yielding excellent and rich milk, and, when fattened, being little inferior to any breed as beef. the long-horned black welsh cattle grow to a great size, as do the polled angus breed of scotland. the polled or hornless cattle include the red suffolks, a most valuable breed, hardy, and wonderful producers of milk. the cows often give milk every day of the year. the longhorn breed is almost disappearing, as the horns are a disadvantage both in the fields and when the animals are carried on board ship or in the train. the humped cattle of india and east africa belong to a race different from european cattle, of which the parent stock is not known. they have a hump upon the withers, drooping ears (a sign of ancient domestication), and a very large dewlap. the coat is always exquisitely fine. they are of all sizes, from the tall brahminee bull to dwarf breeds not larger than a newfoundland dog. the commonest colours are cream, grey, mouse-colour, and white. they do not low, but grunt, and are by no means so fond of shade and water as european cattle. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ young gaur. the largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.] wild oxen. this group consists of the gaur of india; the gayal of assam, which is possibly a domesticated form of the gaur, but rather smaller in size, with skull and horns different in character; and the banting, a lighter and more slender wild ox, of which different varieties are found in burma, in java (where it is kept in a half-domesticated condition), and in manipur. the gaur. the gaur, the so-called indian bison, is probably the largest of all the wild bovine animals. it is found at the foot of the north-eastern himalaya, in the central provinces of india, the forests of madras and mysore, and in parts of burma and the malay peninsula, but not in ceylon. its range eastward is not accurately known. in habits the gaur is mainly a forest animal, retiring always at daybreak into the depths of the jungle. it sometimes attains a height of over feet at the shoulder, and a length of feet inches from the nose to the tail. the colour of the full-grown gaur is dark brown, turning to black; the legs from above the knees and hocks to the hoofs are white, the hair being short and fine. its horns are upturned, and tipped with black, with white hair covering the junction on the top of the skull. the cows are much smaller than the bulls, standing about feet high at the shoulder. this species feeds both on grass and on the young shoots of trees and of bamboos. the calves are dropped in august and september. the pure-bred animal does not appear capable of domestication. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ cow gayal. this animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. its chief points of difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.] hunting gaur by tracking in the jungle has long been a favourite sport of anglo-indians. general douglas hamilton says: "i have killed bulls measuring feet at the shoulder, and the average height of the male is from feet inches to feet inches. an old bull gaur is a magnificent animal. the normal colour is a brownish black, sometimes in very old specimens almost quite black. the white stockings reach from the hoof to above the knee, and are very conspicuous. when on the anamalies, i had a grand fight with a big bull. i was out early, and came on the spoor of bison, and soon saw two, one a very large bull. to my disgust he lay down, and was completely covered by creepers and bushes. after a bit i attempted to move to get a better view; but there to my left was a cow bison staring at me. she at once gave the alarm, and i waited for the large bull to rise. this he did so quickly, and disappeared so suddenly, that i only got a snapshot. as i stopped to load, i saw a young calf squatting at the foot of a tree like a hare, intently watching me. i put the rifle down, crept up behind the tree, and suddenly threw myself on the little calf, and managed to get hold of its hind legs, but it got from under me. i managed, however, to tie its fore legs securely by means of some slender stems from the creepers. all this time it continued to bellow and to make a great row, and i fully expected to see the mother come charging down. i went back to the bungalow, and got some men to bring my little captive home. after breakfast i started again, and got on the track of the bison.... i saw some branches move, and on looking carefully perceived a large bull bison; but he was among the thick bushes, and i could not see his outline. i guessed as nearly as possible the position of the shoulder, and fired the big rifle at him. he gave a bound forward, and then stopped long enough for me to give him a shot with the other barrel.... the next moment i saw the bull standing on the high ground above us. i fired again, and hit him well behind the shoulder. he dashed off, but only went fifty yards, and then stopped. i walked up, thinking to finish him, when he made a fearful rush at me. my man put the double rifle into my hands and then bolted, and i thought it prudent to retire and await my opportunity. but he only moved a few paces forward, and then stopped. then began a regular siege of his position." the result of the siege was that the bison received four more bullets, charged and routed the hunter twice, and then walked off. it was shot twice more, charged again, and was finally killed by general hamilton with his hunting-knife tied to a bamboo spear-pole. considering the size and tenacity of life of the gaur, it is rather wonderful that more accidents do not occur in the pursuit of this animal; but as it lives mainly in thick jungle, where large trees grow, the sportsman has more chance of getting out of sight of a wounded animal than when attacked by the indian buffalo, which generally haunts jungles of high grass. [illustration: _by permission of herr curt hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ indian humped bull. the hump and dewlap mark the oriental cattle. the ears are often more drooping than in this specimen.] the gayal. the doubt whether this animal is found in a wild state has recently been considerably increased. it is well known in a semi-domesticated condition, in which it is kept by the tribes in and around the assam valley, where the wild gaur is also found. these herds roam during the day freely in the jungle, and return to be fed at the villages. it has been stated that wild gayal are enticed to join the tame herds by feeding them with balls of meal and salt; but these "wild" specimens may be only those which have belonged to or have descended from the domesticated herd. gayal have been kept in england not only in the zoological gardens but in some parks, and crossed with english cattle. the offspring furnished excellent beef, but were rather wild and intractable. the horns of the gayal are thicker and flatter than those of the gaur, and placed lower on the skull and farther apart. the domesticated gayal stands lower than the gaur, but is a very massive animal. the banting. the common wild ox of the malay countries of borneo, java, eastern burma, and northwards, in manipur resembles the european oxen rather more than does the gaur. in size the bulls sometimes reach feet ½ inches. the old bulls are black, the younger bulls chocolate-red, and the cows a bright reddish brown. the rump is marked with a large white patch, and all have white stockings from above the knees and hocks down to the hoofs. the tail is considerably longer than in the gaur, coming well below the hocks. as might be expected from its distribution, the size of this animal and the shape of the horns vary considerably in the different districts which it inhabits. in borneo the horns often curve forwards; in java they spread outwards. in the latter island large herds of this species are kept in a state of domestication. when wild, banting live in small herds, and in burma feed from early morning until ten o'clock, when they retire into the jungle for shelter. the manipur race is smaller than that of burma (of which the males are not black), and the bulls have not the white rump. the yak. the yak is naturally an inhabitant of the very high plateaux and mountains of tibet, where the climate is cold and the air excessively dry. lower down on the indian side of the himalaya a smaller race is found domesticated, which is the only one able to stand the climate of india, or of europe, where it is now kept in some parks as a curiosity. the tamed yaks are usually much smaller than the wild; these sometimes reach a weight of between , and , lbs. in form they are long and low, very massive, and with hair almost entirely black; this falls off along the sides into a long sweeping fringe. the tail is thickly tasselled with fine hair, and is employed by indian princes for fly-flaps. the wild yak has large, massive black horns, curved upwards and forwards in the male. in ladak and chinese tibet the yaks inhabit a desolate and barren country, in which their main food is a dry, coarse grass, on which they nevertheless contrive to keep themselves in condition, feeding in the mornings and evenings, and lying down by day to rest among the rocks. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park_ indian humped cattle. these are often called zebu in europe, but the origin of the name in unknown.] the bison. the bison form a marked group, differing from others of the ox tribe. they possess fourteen pairs of ribs, while the oxen have only thirteen (the yak has fourteen); and have very heavy, massive heads, broader and more convex foreheads than the oxen, longer spinal processes on the vertebrae of the front part of the back, and larger muscles to hold the ponderous head, causing a hump, which in the american bison is very marked. there are two living species of bison, one of which is found in europe, the other in north america. the european bison. this is the most interesting survival of the primitive fauna of the old world. it is still found wild, though protected, in a large forest in lithuania, the property of the czar of russia, called the forest of bielowitza. a few are also left of the purely wild stock in the caucasus. those in lithuania have been protected for several centuries, and the herd is numbered from time to time. in there were , of these bison left; in there were only ; in the herd had sunk to , but in it had risen to . the presence of the bison in the caucasus had been almost forgotten till mr. littledale and prince demidoff gave accounts of hunting it there quite recently. the zubr, as it is called, only survives in some very inaccessible parts of the mountains, preserved by the grand duke sergius michaelovitch, in the kouban district. there it exists as a really wild animal. the dimensions of one recently shot were feet from the muzzle to the end of the last vertebra of the tail. the grand duke has to obtain special permission from the czar to shoot one whenever he goes to the caucasus. this bison seems to have been an inhabitant of most of the forests of europe and northern asia; its remains show that it existed in britain, and it was plentiful in the black forest in the time of cæsar. it is the largest of all european quadrupeds, measuring as much as feet inch from the nose to the root of the tail, and standing nearly feet high at the shoulder. prince demidoff states his belief that it is found on the southern slopes of the caucasus range between the hills and the black sea. the weight of this bison reaches , lbs. it is now rare to see more than five or six together. though the animal is so massive, its horns are rather small and slender, and curve upwards. the mane--which, like the rest of the coat, is of a uniform rich brown--is thick and curly, but not developed like that of the american bison. the american bison. the american bison is the western representative of the bison of europe. the almost complete disappearance of this species is one of the warnings against reckless destruction of animal life. it was formerly found in millions on the prairies, and its meat formed the staple food of the red indians, who lived on the flesh and used the "robes" of those killed in winter for great coats and bedding. when audubon went up the upper missouri, bison were in sight almost throughout the voyage; they were even carried down on ice-flows on the river. the bulls were very large, and were occasionally savage, especially when attacked and wounded; but usually they were harmless animals. every winter and spring they made migrations along regular routes to fresh pastures. these lines of travel were then black with bison. the females had their calves by their sides, and all travelled in herds, feeding as they went. at the present time the only remains of the bison are the paths they left on the prairies, and their bones and skulls. the paths are still distinctly seen, worn by the "treks" of the great beasts which have now perished. the bones were collected in stacks and sold to make manure. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ domesticated yak. the wild bovine animal of the central asian plateau, tamed and domesticated.] colonel roosevelt, in an article contributed to "the encyclopædia of sport," thus describes the destruction of the bison: "pursuit by sportsmen had nothing to do with the extermination of the bison. it was killed by the hide-hunters, redskin, white, and half-breed. the railways, as they were built, hastened its destruction, for they gave means of transporting the heavy robes to market. but it would have been killed out anyhow, even were there no railroads in existence. once the demand for the robes became known to the indians, they were certain to exterminate it. originally the bison ranged from the rocky mountains to the alleghanies, and from mexico to the peace river. but its centre of abundance was the vast extent of grass-land stretching from the saskatchewan to the rio grande. all the earlier explorers who crossed these great plains, from lewis and clarke onwards, spoke of the astonishing multitudes of the bison, which formed the sole food of the horse indians. the herds were pressed steadily back, but the slaughter did not begin till after the civil war; then the commercial value of the robes became fully recognised, and the transcontinental railways rendered the herds more accessible. the slaughter was almost incredible, for the bison were slain literally by millions every year. they were first exterminated in canada and the southern plains. it was not till that the last herd was killed off from the great north-western prairies." the height of a fine bull american bison at the shoulder is feet. the horns are short, blunt, and curved, and set farther back on the forehead than in the european species. the hindquarters are low and weak, and the mane develops in winter into a thick robe, covering the neck, shoulders, and chest. an adult bull bison was found to weigh , lbs. the woodland-bison of athabasca, now nearly exterminated, are larger than the prairie-bison, and have finer coats. in there were said to be between and head remaining in two herds. the buffaloes. the buffaloes are so far distinct from other wild cattle that they will not interbreed with them; yet one species, the indian buffalo, has been domesticated for a long, though unknown period, and is among the most valuable of tame beasts of draught, as well as for dairy purposes. the various buffaloes usually have little hair, especially when old, and have flatter shoulders than the gaur, gayal, or bison. the pairs of ribs number thirteen. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ american bull bison. the american bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its european brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.] the african buffalo. great differences in size and colour exist in the african buffaloes. whether they are separate species or not may be doubtful; but the small yellow congo buffalo, with upturned short horns, is a vastly different creature from the large black cape buffalo. there is also an abyssinian or brown race of african buffalo, and another in senegambia smaller than the former, and a reputed grey race near lake tchad. the cape buffalo is a heavy, thickset animal, all black in colour, with large massive horns covering the skull, and nearly meeting in the middle line of the forehead. in height it varies from feet inches to feet at the shoulder. this species ranges from south africa to the congo on the west, and to the region of the equator on the east of the continent. firearms, and lately rinderpest, have greatly reduced the number of these creatures. they live and feed in herds, and, like the indian species, are fond of the neighbourhood of water, in which they bathe, but are not so dependent on bathing and wallowing as the former. fully as formidable as the indian buffalo, and much like it in habits, the african species is quite distinct. it has different horns, broad at the base and curled and tapering at the ends. among the extreme measurements of the indian buffalo's horns recorded is one of feet inches from tip to tip along the curve. those of the african buffalo are seldom more than feet, measured in the same way. by far the greatest number of hunting accidents in africa are caused by the buffalo. sir samuel baker shot a buffalo bull one evening near the white nile. his men actually danced upon the body, when the animal rose to its feet, and sent them flying into the river like so many frogs. it then disappeared in the thick vegetation. on the following day, supposing that it must have died during the night, thirty or forty men, armed with double-barrelled guns, went to look for it. the result was thus recorded by sir samuel baker: "they had not been ashore for many minutes when i first heard a shot and then a regular volley. my people returned with the head of the buffalo and a large quantity of meat, but they also carried the body of my best man, who, when leading the way through the high reeds, following the traces of blood, actually stumbled upon the buffalo lying in the swamp, and the light guns failed to stop its charge. the crooked horn had caught him behind the ear, and, penetrating completely through the neck, had torn out the throat as though it had been cut. the savage beast had then knelt upon the body, and stamped it into the muddy ground, until it fell beneath the fire of thirty men." the head and body of a male cape buffalo are feet long. it is stated that the parasite conveyed by the tsetse fly remains in the blood of the buffalo (which is not affected by it), and that this forms a reserve whence the fly, after sucking the blood of the buffalo, poisons other animals. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ european bison. these wild animals of the caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and are in danger of becoming extinct.] the congo buffalo. this is a very small race, the height at the shoulder being about feet inches. the shape of the horns varies, but they are wrinkled at the bases and flattened, and turn upwards, ending in thin, sharp tips. the hair is bright reddish yellow. it is entirely a west african species. sir samuel baker records an instance in which his brother was nearly killed by a small west african buffalo, probably one of the species in question. it is said to be less gregarious than the cape buffalo, and usually found in pairs. the indian or water-buffalo. very great interest attaches to this animal, if only from the fact that it is evidently a species domesticated directly from the wild stock. it therefore deserves consideration both as a wild and as a domesticated animal. it is found wild in the swampy jungles at the foot of the himalaya, in the ganges delta, and in the jungles of the central provinces; also, it is believed, in the jungles of west assam. like the african species, it is an animal of great size and strength, with short brown hair, white fetlocks, and immense long, narrow, flattened horns. it is almost aquatic by preference, passing many hours of each day wallowing in the water, or standing in any deep pool with only the tips of its nostrils and its horns out of the water. by general consent it is the most dangerous of indian animals after the tiger. a buffalo bull when wounded will hunt for its enemy by scent as persistently as a dog hunting for a rabbit. a writer in _country life_ lately gave an account of a duel between himself, armed with a small and light rifle, and a buffalo bull, in which the latter hunted him for more than an hour, each time being driven off by a shot from the light rifle, and each time returning to the search, until it was killed. sir samuel baker, when he first went to ceylon, found the buffaloes practically in possession of the meadows round a lake in the neighbourhood of his quarters, and waged a war of extermination against the bulls, which were very dangerous. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ american bison. notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the european representative of the same group. (see page .)] the buffaloes of ceylon are the same as those of india, but the horns are inferior in size. "the charge of a buffalo is a serious matter." says sir samuel baker. "many animals charge when infuriated, but they can generally be turned aside by the stunning blow of a rifle-shot, even if they be not mortally wounded. but a buffalo is a devil incarnate when it has once decided on the offensive; nothing will turn it. it must be actually stopped by death, sudden and instantaneous, as nothing else will stop it. if not killed, it will assuredly destroy its adversary. there is no creature in existence so determined to stamp the life out of its opponents, and the intensity of its fury is unsurpassed when a wounded bull rushes forward upon its last desperate charge. should it succeed in overthrowing its antagonist, it will not only gore the body with its horns, but will kneel upon the lifeless form, and stamp it with its hoofs till the mutilated remains are beyond recognition." [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ cape buffalo. notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two species of buffalo--the indian and the cape.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ domesticated indian buffalo. this animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in india. it is valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.] the true indian buffalo is usually shot from the back of an elephant. hunting it on foot is dangerous in the extreme, for the buffalo can crash through obstacles which would prevent any man from making his way through them when escaping. when domesticated, the indian buffalo loses most traces of its savageness; it is habitually managed by the children, who take the herds out to graze in the jungle, and drive them back, often riding on one of the bulls, at night. they dislike europeans, and often show this by attacking them; but otherwise they are quite tame, and are docile when in harness or carrying burdens. the buffalo's milk is very rich, and makes a much larger percentage of butter than ordinary cow's milk. so useful is this mud- and water-loving animal in all swampy districts, that wherever rice is cultivated it is almost indispensable. the result is that the indian buffalo has been transported, probably in comparatively modern times, to many distant quarters of the globe. when this was done is not known; but it is probable, for instance, that it was not known in egypt in the days of the pharaohs, for its form never appears in the paintings and sculptures. now it is seen very far up the nile, and plays an important part in egyptian agriculture; it is also the general beast of burden and for the dairy in the pontine marshes of italy. in spain it was probably introduced by the arabs, and is used to cultivate the marshy plains near the mouths of the rivers of andalusia; it is also in use in the marshes of hungary, in the crimea, and across western asia to afghanistan. we have thus the curious fact that a wild animal once confined to the jungles of the indian peninsula is now domesticated on two other continents. it has not been introduced into america yet, though it would be useful in the mississippi swamps; but the chinese have taken it to the far east, and established it as their favourite beast of burden. the tamarau and anoa. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ a pair of anoas. the anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the ox tribe.] in the island of mindoro, in the philippines, a small black buffalo, with upright, slightly incurved horns, is found in the dense forests. the height at the shoulder is about feet inches; a few irregular marks of white are found on the fore legs, face, and occasionally the throat. it is called the tamarau by the natives, most of whom fear to attack it. its habits are said to be much the same as those of the other buffaloes; but it is reputed to fight with the indian buffaloes which have escaped and become semi-wild in the forests. in celebes a still smaller wild forest-buffalo is found, called the anoa. it is only feet inches high at the shoulder, and has upright, almost straight horns. the general colour is brownish, tinged with yellow, that of the adults being very dark brown or black. scarcely anything is known of its habits. the musk-ox. the musk-ox was formerly found in immense numbers on the barren lands and other regions bordering on the arctic ice. the hair of this animal reaches almost to the ground, and the horns are large and massive. at present it is only common in the corner of north america north and east of a line drawn from fort churchill, on hudson bay, to the mouth of the mackenzie, and on the adjacent islands of the arctic sea. in former arctic expeditions the flesh of the musk-oxen was a great and reliable source of food. now some parts of the herds seem to have retired inland, and in the winter to become mainly forest-dwellers; but large numbers seem to endure the coldest parts of the arctic winter in the open country of the far north, in the snows of grinnell land and of northern greenland. the remains of musk-oxen have been found in the river gravels of the thames valley, with those of the reindeer and other northern species. the musk-ox gallops at a great rate of speed when disturbed in the open, and makes as little of a steep mountain-side as does the wild sheep. when fat, the flesh is very tolerable food; but if the animals grow thin, the taste of musk is very unpleasant. the colour of the coat is dark brown; it is now in great demand for sledge-rugs in canada. this remarkable animal appears to be a form standing apart both from the oxen and the sheep. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ young bull musk-ox. the musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. it is about the size of highland cattle, and inhabits arctic america and northern greenland.] it will be seen from the above accounts of the whole wild bovine race that they all exhibit in a high degree many of the traits which are seen in domesticated animals of the same tribe. the chief differences made by man's selection and breeding affect the form of the body and the development of the udder, otherwise there is no great modification, except the production of the drooping ear in some of the indian species of domesticated oxen. no wild cattle have the level, flat back and rectangular body which mark all the best shorthorns and other breeds intended for beef. in the asiatic and galla humped breeds, the races which first domesticated the original wild species seem to have used the long processes of the vertebræ which cause the back of many wild cattle to form a hump as the basis of a valuable feature, the hump becoming as it were another joint of meat. the development of the udder has for untold centuries been the object of the breeders of cows; consequently we find that in the domesticated races this has become abnormally large. there is at present a very general tendency to get rid of the horns among all breeds of high quality, as these appendages cause much loss by wounds inflicted by cattle upon each other; but even in this respect sentiment rather tends to preserve the horns as an ornament in some of the best milking breeds, such as the jerseys. ---- chapter xiv. _the sheep and goats._ ---- the sheep. the sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, one of which is found in northern india east of the indus, in the punjab, and in sind; one in north america; and another in north africa. the rest inhabit the high ground of europe and asia as far south as the himalaya. these mountains, with the adjacent plateaux of the pamirs and the great ranges of central asia, form the main home of the group. wild sheep are of various types, some so much like the goats that it is difficult to draw a hard-and-fast line between them; while others, especially the curly-horned argalis, bighorns, oorial, and kamchatka wild sheep, are unmistakably ovine in type. the wild original of the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown; but the extreme differences between various breeds of tame sheep--as, for instance, between the smooth-coated, drooping-eared breed of nubia and the curly-horned, woolly sheep of dorsetshire--must not be allowed to divert the attention from the considerable likeness of habit which still remains between other breeds and the wild species. domesticated sheep which live on hills and mountains are still inclined to seek the highest ground at night. the rams fight as the wild rams do, and many of them display activity and powers of climbing and of finding a living on barren ground scarcely less remarkable than in the wild races. the apparent absence of wool in the latter does not indicate so great a difference as might be thought. the domesticated sheep have been bred by artificial selection for unnumbered ages in order to produce wool. it is said that in some of the wild breeds there is an under-fur which will "felt" like wool. most of the species are short-tailed animals, but this is not the case with the barbary wild sheep. wild sheep are mainly mountain-living animals or frequenters of high ground. they generally, although not always, frequent less rugged country than that affected by the wild goats, and some are found at quite low levels. the altitude at which other wild sheep are found is, however, very great; on the pamirs it reaches , feet. here the country is quite open. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ young barbary sheep. note the length of the tail as compared with other wild sheep.] the european moufflon. the only wild sheep of europe is the moufflon, found in the mountains of corsica and sardinia. its height at the shoulder is about inches. in the rams the horns are strong, and curved into a spiral, forming almost a complete circle. the hair is close, and in winter has a woolly under-fur. in summer and autumn the coat is a bright red-brown on the neck, shoulders, and legs; the rump and under-parts are whitish, and the back and flanks marked with a white saddle. in winter the brown becomes darker and the white saddle broader. a rather larger moufflon is found on mount elburz in persia, in armenia, and in the taurus mountains. a smaller variety exists in cyprus, where it has been preserved since the british occupation. the moufflon is a typical wild sheep. in sardinia and corsica are dense scrubby forests of tall heather, some feet high. this _maquia_ is practically impenetrable to hunters. when alarmed, the moufflon dash into it, and are safe. the _maquia_ has preserved two very interesting survivals of antiquity--the moufflon, and the corsican or sardinian bandit. the corsican bandit, like the moufflon of the same island, is nearly extinct. in sardinia both flourish. many english sportsmen have had their first taste of big-game shooting in the difficult pursuit of the moufflon on the sardinian mountains. some declare that the sport is so fascinating that they have seldom found much to equal it since. mr. s. h. whitbread, whose notes in "the encyclopædia of sport" are very full on this subject, deems that the best season to stalk moufflon is in october or november. the animals are then less disturbed by shepherds and dogs, and the moufflon are on the move and more easily seen during the day than in summer, when they feed at night and rest or sleep by day. sir e. g. loder has a small herd of moufflon running wild in his park at leonardslee, near horsham. they have a specially built "mountain-top" of stone to make a home of, but are free to feed where they like in the park. they produce lambs yearly. it is an interesting sight to see the quick rush of the little flock, when frightened, to their sheltering-place, led by an old white-saddled ram. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ siberian argali. one of the large wild sheep of central asia.] the argalis. the argalis are the largest of all living wild sheep. some measure from feet inches to feet at the shoulder. the horns are broad, corrugated, and curling in the male, and in the female short, erect, and curving backwards. the male tibetan argali has a ruff on the throat. the usual colour is a stony grey, mingled with white in the summer in the case of the old males. the name is applied collectively to several wild sheep found in northern and central asia. whether these are only varieties or separate species it is difficult to say; but the following are some of the most marked forms. the siberian argali is the characteristic wild sheep of the rocky hills and mountains of southern siberia, the altai mountains, and northern mongolia. the horns curve so as to form more than a complete circle; the upper parts are tinged with grey, and the lower are white. the tibetan argali is a little smaller in size, and has slightly smaller horns. the rams have also a large white ruff on the throat. these sheep descend in winter to the lower valleys of the tibetan plateau, returning to the higher ground in spring. the lambs are born in may or june. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ barbary sheep. these fine wild sheep are found in the atlas and aures mountains of north africa.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ barbary sheep. this shows a fine ram, with a mane reaching almost to its hoofs.] littledale's sheep is a smaller animal, found on the sair mountains in the great altai, on the north-western border of mongolia. it is darker in colour than the argali or marco polo's sheep, and has dark under-parts. writing of the argali of southern siberia, the naturalist brehm says that when the tartars want mutton an argali hunt is organised. the tartar hunters advance on their horses at intervals of or yards, and when the sheep are started generally manage, by riding, shooting, coursing them with dogs, and shouting, to bewilder, shoot, or capture several. on the high plateau of the pamirs and the adjacent districts marco polo's sheep is found. the rams are only slightly less in size than the siberian argali; the hair is longer than in that species, and the horns are thinner and more slender and extend farther in an outward direction. an adult ram may weigh stone. the first description of this sheep was given by the old traveller whose name it now bears. he said that on the pamir plateau wild animals are met with in large numbers, particularly a sheep of great size, having horns three, four, and even six palms in length. the shepherds (? hunters) form ladles and vessels from them. in the pamirs, marco polo's sheep is seldom found at less than , or , feet above the sea. in the thian-shan mountains it is said to descend to , or , feet. they prefer the hilly, grassy plains, and only seek the hills for safety. on the pamirs they are said to be very numerous in places, one hunter stating that he saw in one day not less than head. the bighorn sheep of america and kamchatka. north america has its parallel to the argalis in the famous bighorn. it is now very rare even in northern canada, and becoming scarce in the united states, though a few are found here and there at various points on the rocky mountains as far south as mexico. in habits it is much the same as other wild sheep--that is to say, it haunts the rock-hills and "bad lands" near the mountains, feeding on the scanty herbage of the high ground, and not descending unless driven down by snow. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ burhal wild sheep. sometimes called the blue sheep. they have a wide range both on the himalaya and north of those mountains.] the bighorn sheep are very partial to salt. mr. turner turner, who hunted them in east kooteney, says: "wild sheep make periodical excursions to the mountain-tops to gorge themselves with salty clay. they may remain from an hour to two days, and when killed their stomachs will be found full of nothing but the clay formed from denuded limestone, which they lick and gnaw until sometimes deep tunnels are formed in the cliffs, large enough to hide six or seven sheep. the hunter, standing over one of these warrens, may bolt them within two yards of him. in the dead of winter sheep often come to the woods to feed on fir-trees. at such times they may be seen mixed with black-and-white-tailed deer, low on a river-bank. i have known them come within forty yards of an inhabited hut." while on the subject of the fondness of sheep and deer for salt, we may mention an anecdote told by mr. h. c. nelson in _country life_. he was sleeping with two other friends in a hut in the mountains where some miners had lived for a time. these men, when they washed up their pots and pans, threw the slops away at a certain place close by the hut. as all water used for cooking meat has salt put into it, a little salt remained on the surface. this the wild deer had found out, and were in the habit of coming to lick it at night. mr. nelson had a shot at one some twenty yards from the hut. the bighorn sheep stands from feet inches to feet inches at the shoulder. the horns are of the general type of the argalis, but smoother. another bighorn is found in kamchatka. there is also a beautiful white race of bighorn inhabiting alaska. the typical rocky mountain race is browner than the asiatic argalis, and in winter is dark even beneath the front parts of the body. it is not found on the high peaks of the great ranges, but on difficult though lower ground on the minor hills. the oorial. the vast range of the himalaya affords feeding-ground to other species of wild sheep and wild goat, so different in the shape of the horns that the variations of the ovine race under domestication need not be matter for wonder when so much variety is seen in nature. the oorial, or sha, is found in north-west india, on the trans-indus mountains, and in ladak, northern tibet, afghanistan, baluchistan, turkestan, and southern persia. the horns make a half-curve backwards, and are flattened. the angle with the horizontal line across the ears is about half a right angle. the coat is of a reddish-brown colour, with white on the belly, legs, and throat. this species has a very wide geographical distribution, and is the only wild sheep found in india proper. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford, woburn abbey._ female kudu. the kudu is one of the handsomest of the african antelopes, the corkscrew-like horns of the bucks forming some of the most striking of all sporting trophies.] [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ punjab sheep. this is an example of one of the breeds which carry no wool whatever.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ fat-tailed sheep. the fat tail of this sheep was considered by charles darwin as due to degeneration.] the barbary sheep, aoudad, or arui. this is a large wild sheep of the north african highlands. the old rams have a very fine appearance, with a long flowing beard or mane, and large horns. these wild sheep, though somewhat goat-like in appearance, are typical of their race in general habits. they live in the atlas range, and in the splendid heights of the aures mountains, which lie at the back of algeria and fringe the great sahara desert. in the isolated and burning rocks which jut up in the desert itself into single mountains they are also found, living on ground which seems absolutely destitute of water, grass, or vegetation. they live singly or in small families; but the rams keep mainly alone. sometimes they lie in shallow caves during the heat of the day. these caves smell like a sheep-fold. more generally the sheep repose on some shelf of rock, where they exactly match the colour of the stone, and are invisible. the ground is among the most difficult in which any hunting is attempted, except perhaps in chamois-stalking; but the pursuit seems to fascinate sportsmen. mr. a. e. pease recently gave some charming descriptions of the silence, the rugged rocks, and the astonishing views over the great orange sahara desert seen from the tops of these haunts of the barbary sheep--mountains on the summits of which his arab guides would prostrate themselves in evening prayer as the sun sank over the desert, and then, rising, once more resume the chase. the young lambs of the barbary sheep are charming little creatures, more like reddish kids. they can follow the mother over the steepest ground at a great pace. when caught, as they sometimes are by the arabs, they soon become tame. the tail is longer than in other wild sheep, and in the males a large mane covers the chest. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ four-horned sheep. there are several breeds of these sheep, some from china, some from iceland, and others from south africa.] the burhal, or blue sheep. this species possibly indicates the transition-point from the sheep to the goats. it was pointed out by mr. brian hodgson that it had certain features more like the goats than the sheep, and later other writers laid stress on structural differences of the same kind, both in skull and horns. it has not the disagreeable odour of the goats; but the black markings which separate the white of the belly from the brown of the flanks, and run down the front of the legs, are like those seen on some goats. the horns rise in a curve outwards and downwards. the largest are only some inches long. burhal are perhaps the commonest of all asiatic wild sheep. they inhabit the whole length of the higher himalayan range, and are found over and round the central asian plateau as far north as yarkand. the horns make two half-moons at right angles to the skull. unlike some of the other wild sheep, burhal often climb the very highest ground of all. much of the best burhal ground is above , feet high, and, as mr. whitbread remarks, this alone makes the chase of such an animal difficult. as in the moufflon, the mutton is excellent. there is no difficulty whatever in taming these wild himalayan sheep; those in the zoological gardens are practically domesticated. domesticated sheep. under domestication sheep exhibit a wide variety of coat, shape, and size, very striking to the eye, and very important in regard to the produce of wool or mutton. the introduction of a particular breed, with long wool or short wool as the case may be, has often saved or altered for a time the economic condition of a colony or province. it was the introduction of the sheep which gave australia first rank among the rich colonies of the world; and the discovery that the cheviot breed would thrive on the scotch hills made millions of acres remunerative which might otherwise have been very unproductive. but the only important change in the structure of the sheep in domestication is the lengthening of the tail. the carcase may be fat mutton or thin mutton, the wool long or short, fine or coarse; but the sheep itself remains true to type, and of much the same docile habits, under all the changes of the breeders. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted_. south down sheep. the finest breed of down-sheep.] we may first say a word or two as to foreign breeds of sheep, especially those of the east. some of these resemble the wild breeds in having smooth coats and almost no wool. the somali sheep, for instance, yield no wool useful for felting or spinning. they have drooping ears and black heads. some of the finest natural wool is developed by a white sheep in tibet. the fur is usually sold as tibetan lamb. the wool is exactly like white floss-silk. when cured by the chinese, the leather is like white kid, with this flossy wool attached. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ merino rams. the best wool-producing sheep. imported from spain to australia.] in india and persia the sheep is sometimes used as a beast of burden. mr. lockwood kipling, in his "beast and man in india," says: "borax, asafoetida, and other commodities are brought into india on the backs of sheep in bags. the flocks are driven in large numbers from tibet into british territory. one of the sensations of journeying in the hills of the 'interior,' as the farther recesses of the mountains are called by anglo-indians, is to come suddenly on such a drove, as it winds, with the multitudinous click of little feet, round the shoulder of some himalayan spur. the coarse hair bags scrape the cliffside from which the narrow path is built out or hollowed, and allow but scant room for your pony, startled by the hurry and the quick-breathing rush of the creatures as they crowd and scuffle past. only the picturesque shepherds return from these journeys. the carriers of the caravan (_i.e._ the sheep), feeding as they go, gather flesh in spite of their burdens, and provide most excellent mutton.... in the towns of the plains rams are kept as fighting animals. a mohammedan swell going out for a stroll with his fighting-ram makes a picture of foppery not easily surpassed by the sporting 'fancy' of the west. the ram is neatly clipped, with a judicious reservation of the salient tufts, tipped with saffron and mauve dye, and besides a large collar of blue beads it wears a necklace of hawk-bells." the fat-tailed sheep of persia and tartary exhibits a curious provision of nature. when food is plentiful, a quantity of fat accumulates on the tail and croup. as the pasture dries up and the animal finds little food, this store of fat is gradually absorbed. another fat-tailed sheep is found from syria and egypt to the cape. this has a long tail reaching to the ground. in the egyptian breed the tail is broad throughout; in the syrian it narrows to a point. the ordinary weight of the syrian sheep's tail is lbs.; but in some well-fattened examples it reaches or lbs. ludolph saw in egypt a sheep's tail of lbs. weight. this overgrown tail is a great encumbrance to the animal. in order to lighten the burden, the shepherds fasten under it a small board, sometimes with wheels attached, to make it easy to draw over the ground. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ black-faced mountain-sheep. the sheep of the high mountains and heather-moors.] in greece, wallachia, and western asia a fine breed of sheep, quite different from the english forms, is seen. it is called the wallachian sheep. when the zoological gardens were first founded here, some of these sheep were introduced and crossed with english breeds. the horns are tall spirals, as in the great kudu antelope. the body is large, and the fleece long and straight, and more like that of the long-haired goats than curly wool. there are now few countries in the world to which sheep have not been introduced. they were probably among the earliest animals to be domesticated. certainly they are the first to be mentioned; for we learn that "abel was a keeper of sheep," while cain tilled the earth. the feud between the keeper of flocks and the grower of crops typified in this ancient quarrel still goes on wherever the wild mountain breeds of sheep are kept, for there is of necessity always danger that the wandering sheep may raid the plots of corn. in spain a curious and ancient set of laws regulates the passage of the flocks to and from the mountain pastures through the corn-lands. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ leicester ewe. a heavy, long-woolled breed.] it is said that the name of the famous breed of spanish sheep known as merinos recalls their foreign origin from across the sea, and that they were originally imported into spain from england. whether that be so or not, it is certain that no one could recognise them now. the finest merino sheep, especially those bred in australia, into which country they were imported some forty years ago, look as if covered with a dense growth of moss. the close wool grows not only on their backs, sides, and bellies, but on legs, forehead, and nose. there are believed to be ten millions of merino sheep in spain, most of which are migratory. they are called "transhumantes," and are taken from the plains to the mountains and from the mountains to the plains yearly. these "transhumantes" are divided into flocks, each under a head shepherd, or "majoral." the flocks follow the shepherds, who lead the way, and direct the length and speed of the journey. a few wethers, trained to the business, follow the shepherds, and the rest come in due order. powerful dogs accompany them as guards. this system of sheep migration is controlled by a tribunal termed the mesta. it can be traced back to the middle of the fourteenth century. by it persons are prohibited from travelling along the course of the route pursued by the flocks so long as they are on the road. it also maintains the right for the flocks to graze on all the open or common land that lies in the way. moreover, it claims a path ninety yards wide through all enclosed and cultivated country. the length of the journey is over miles, which is accomplished in six or seven weeks. the system works greatly to the injury of local cultivators and stationary flocks, whose fields are injured by the migratory sheep. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ cross-bred sheep. the class of sheep kept mainly on cultivated land in the north midlands.] english breeds of sheep. in england are reared the finest and most valuable sheep. this is evident from the prices paid for them by foreigners and breeders in our colonies. except for merinos, no one comes to any other country but this when about to seek new blood for their flocks or to stock new lands. recently , guineas were paid by a firm in argentina for a single lincoln ram. differences, well marked and of great importance, exist between our different breeds. each suits its own district, and each is carefully improved and kept pure by herd-books, in which all pedigree animals are entered. the "general utility sheep" in england is the south down; in scotland, the border leicester. the former is a small, fine sheep, with close wool, and yielding excellent mutton. it provides the meat sold in our best shops, and has largely stocked new zealand. the original breed of england was possibly the cotswold; it is a tall, long-woolled, white-fleeced sheep. later a large heavy sheep, with long wool and a massive body, was bred in the midlands, and called the leicester long-wool. this sheep gives a great cut of wool, and much coarse mutton. the cheviot sheep, originally bred on the hills of that name, is now one of the mainstays of the scotch mountain farmer. the cheviots eat the grass on the high hillsides, while the black-faced highland sheep live on the heather higher up. the suffolk, oxford, hampshire, and other "down" sheep are larger breeds than the south down. the romney marsh sheep are a heavy long-woolled breed. the exmoors are small heather-sheep like those of wales, and the soa and st. kilda sheep, which are often four-horned, the smallest of all. the maintenance of flocks is now almost an essential part of english agriculture on all chalk lands, which comprise a very large percentage of the southern counties. on the chalk downs the flocks are the great fertilisers of the soil. every night the sheep are folded on the fields which are destined to produce corn in the following year. the manure so left on the soil ensures a good crop, with no expense for carting the fertiliser from the farmyard, as is the case with manure made by oxen kept in straw-yards. on the south downs, oxfordshire downs or chiltern hills, salisbury plain, and the berkshire downs the farms have been mainly carried on by the aid of the flocks. where these are no longer kept the land reverts to grass, and the growing of corn ceases. on the coarse, new-sown grasses cattle take the place of sheep, and an inferior style of farming, like the ranches of south america, replaces the careful and highly skilled agriculture of old england. in the far north of scotland cross-bred sheep are now reared and fed in winter on turnips, which will grow luxuriantly where the climate is too bleak and wet for wheat. formerly cattle were the main source of wealth to the owners of highland estates. the sheep was only introduced after the highlands were subdued subsequently to the rebellion in . it was found that the rough-coated heather-sheep throve on the wet and elevated hills. this led to their substitution for cattle, as wool was then dear. sheep are now in their turn giving way to grouse and deer over much of the central highlands, as the price of wool has fallen. [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ lonk ram. this is a photograph of the largest sheep on record.] [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ welsh ewes. a small breed of hill-sheep.] the goats. though the dividing-line between the sheep and goats is very indistinct, some differences are of general application. the goats are distinguished by the unpleasant "hircine" odour of the males, and by beards on the chins of the same sex, by the absence of glands in the hind feet, which sheep possess, and by certain variations in the formation of the skull. the difference between the temperament of the sheep and goats is very curious and persistent, showing itself in a marked way, which affects their use in domestication to such a degree that the keeping of one or the other often marks the owners as possessors of different degrees of civilisation. goats are restless, curious, adventurous, and so active that they cannot be kept in enclosed fields. for this reason they are not bred in any numbers in lands where agriculture is practised on modern principles; they are too enterprising and too destructive. consequently the goat is usually only seen in large flocks on mountain pastures and rocky, uncultivated ground, where the flocks are taken out to feed by the children. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ female angora goat. the breed from which mohair is obtained.] [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ angora ram. these goats were originally obtained from turkey in asia, and exported to south africa.] on the high alps, in greece, on the apennines, and in palestine the goat is a valuable domestic animal. the milk, butter, and cheese, and also the flesh of the kids, are in great esteem. but wherever the land is enclosed, and high cultivation attempted, the goat is banished, and the more docile and controllable sheep takes its place. in syria the goat is perhaps more docile and better understood as a dairy animal than elsewhere in the east. the flocks are driven into damascus in the morning; and instead of a milk-cart calling, the flock itself goes round the city, and particular goats are milked before the doors of regular customers. the european goat is a very useful animal for providing milk to poor families in large towns. the following account of its present uses was recently published: "the sheep, while preserving its hardy habits in some districts, as on exmoor, in wales, and the highlands, adapts itself to richer food, and acquires the habits as well as the digestion of domestication. the goat remains, as in old days, the enemy of trees, inquisitive, omnivorous, pugnacious. it is unsuited for the settled life of the english farm. rich pasture makes it ill, and a good clay soil, on which cattle grow fat, kills it. but it is far from being disqualified for the service of some forms of modern civilisation by the survival of primitive habits. though it cannot live comfortably in the smiling pastures of the low country, it is perfectly willing to exchange the rocks of the mountain for a stable-yard in town. its love for stony places is amply satisfied by the granite pavement of a 'mews,' and it has been ascertained that goats fed in stalls and allowed to wander in paved courts and yards live longer and enjoy better health than those tethered even on light pastures. in parts of new york the city goats are said to flourish on the paste-daubed paper of the advertisements, which they nibble from the hoardings. it is beyond doubt that these hardy creatures are exactly suited for living in large towns; an environment of bricks and mortar and paving-stones suits them. their spirits rise in proportion to what we should deem the depressing nature of their surroundings. they love to be tethered on a common, with scanty grass and a stock of furze-bushes to nibble. a deserted brick-field, with plenty of broken drain-tiles, rubbish-heaps, and weeds, pleases them still better. almost any kind of food seems to suit them. not even the pig has so varied a diet as the goat; it consumes and converts into milk not only great quantities of garden-stuff which would otherwise be wasted, but also, thanks to its love for eating twigs and shoots, it enjoys the prunings and loppings of bushes and trees. in the mont d'or district of france the goats are fed on oatmeal porridge. with this diet, and plenty of salt, the animals are scarcely ever ill, and never suffer from tuberculosis; they will often give ten times their own weight of milk in a year." the kashmir shawls are made of the finest goats' hair. most of this very soft hair is obtained from the under-fur of goats kept in tibet, and by the kirghiz in central asia. only a small quantity, averaging ozs., is produced yearly by each animal. the wool is purchased by middlemen, and taken to kashmir for manufacture. in india the goat reaches perhaps the highest point of domestication. the flocks are in charge of herd-boys, but the animals are so docile that they are regarded with no hostility by the cultivators of corn and cereals. tame goats are also kept throughout africa. the valuable angora breed, from which "mohair" is obtained, is now domesticated in south africa and in australia. in the former country it is a great commercial success. the animals were obtained with great difficulty, as the turkish owners did not wish to sell their best-bred goats; but when once established at the cape, it was found that they proved better producers of mohair than when in their native province of angora. the "clip" from their descendants steadily improves. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ british goat. a much-neglected breed in this country. note the shape of this animal.] wild goats the tur. in the caucasus, both east and west, in the pyrenees, and on the south spanish sierras three fine wild goats, with some features not unlike the burhal sheep, are found. they are called tur by the caucasian mountaineers. the species found in the east caucasus differs from that of the west of the range, and both from that of spain. the east caucasian tur is a massive, heavy animal, all brown in colour (except on the fronts of the legs, which are blackish), and with horns springing from each side of the skull like half-circles. the males are inches high at the shoulder. the short beard and tail are blackish, and there is no white on the coat. the west caucasian tur is much lighter in colour than that of the east caucasus, and the horns point backwards, more like those of the ibex, though set on the skull at a different angle. the spanish tur has the belly and inner sides of the legs white, and a blackish line along the flank, dividing the white from the brown; also a blackish chest, and some grey on the flank. in the caucasus the tur are found on the high crags above the snow-line in summer, whence they descend at night to feed on patches of upland grass; but the main home of the tur by day is above the snowline. the spanish species modifies its habits according to the ground on which it lives. mr. e. n. buxton found it in dense scrub, while on the andalusian sierras it frequents bare peaks , feet high. in spain tur are sometimes seen in flocks of from to each. [illustration: _by permission of p. thomas, esq._ female toggenburg goat. these goats are milk-goats _par excellence_; they remain in profit for at least ten months in the year. each goat produces on an average from to gallons of milk during the year.] [illustration: _by permission of p. thomas, esq._ stud toggenburg goat. this breed originally came from switzerland, but is now well known in england. the animals are fine in bone, have a long, thin neck, with two tassel-like appendages.] the persian wild goat. the original of our domesticated goat is thought by some to be the pasang, or persian wild goat. it is a fine animal, with large scimitar-shaped horns, curving backwards, flattened laterally, and with knobs on the front edge at irregular intervals. it is more slender in build than the tur, light brown in general colour, marked with a black line along the nape and back, black tail, white belly, blackish shoulder-stripe, and a black line dividing the hinder part of the flank from the white belly. formerly found in the islands of south-eastern europe, it now inhabits parts of the caucasus, the armenian highlands, mount ararat, and the persian mountains as far east as baluchistan. a smaller race is found in sind. it lives in herds, sometimes of considerable size, and frequents not only the high ground, but the mountain forests and scrub, where such cover exists. the domesticated goat of sweden is said to be certainly a descendant of this species. [illustration: _by permission of p. thomas, esq._ schwartzals goat. a large, long-haired breed, which derives its name from its peculiar colour, the fore part of the body being black and the hinder part white. these goats are good milkers.] the ibex. of the ibex, perhaps the best known of all the wild goats, several species, differing somewhat in size and in the form of their horns, are found in various parts of the old world. of these, the arabian ibex inhabits the mountains of southern arabia, palestine, and sinai, upper egypt, and perhaps morocco. the abyssinian ibex is found in the high mountains of the country from which it takes its name. the alpine ibex is now extinct in the swiss alps and tyrol, but survives on the piedmontese side of monte rosa. the asiatic ibex is the finest of the group; its horns have been found to measure ¾ inches along the curve. this ibex inhabits the mountain-ranges of central asia, from the altai to the himalaya, and the himalaya as far as the source of the ganges. the king of italy is the great preserver of the alpine ibex, and has succeeded where the nobles of the tyrol have failed. the animals are shot by driving them, the drivers being expert mountaineers. the way in which the ibex come down the passes and over the precipices is simply astonishing. one writer lately saw them springing down perpendicular heights of feet, or descending "chimneys" in the mountain-face by simply cannoning off with their feet from side to side. young ibex can be tamed with ease, the only drawback to their maintenance being the impossibility of confining them. they will spring on to the roof of a house, and spend the day there by preference, though allowed the run of all the premises. the kids are generally two in number; they are born in june. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ male alpine ibex. the finest wild goat of europe, formerly common on the swiss alps, now only on a limited area on the italian side.] [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aytenbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ young male alpine ibex the photograph shows the corrugated horns of the male.] the ibex was long one of the chief objects of the alpine hunter. the emperor maximilian had a preserve of them in the tyrol mountains near the aachen sea; these he shot with a cross-bow when they were driven down the mountains. sometimes they were forced across the lake. a picture in his private hunting-book shows the emperor assisting to catch one in a net from a boat. he notes that he once shot an ibex at a distance of yards with a cross-bow, after one of his companions had missed it with a gun, or "fire-tube." when away on an expedition in holland, he wrote a letter to the wife of one of the most noted ibex-poachers on his domain, promising her a silk dress if she could induce her husband to let the animals alone. in the himalaya the chief foes of the ibex are the snow-leopard and wild dog. the markhor. the very fine himalayan goat of this name differs from all other wild species. the horns are spiral, like those of the kudu antelope and wallachian sheep. it may well be called the king of the wild goats. a buck stands as much as inches at the shoulder, and the maximum measurement of the horns is inches, or over feet! it has a long beard and mane, and stands very upright on its feet. besides the himalaya, it haunts the mountains on the afghan frontier. the markhor keep along the line between the forest and snow, some of the most difficult ground in the hills. the horns are a much-prized trophy. the tahr. the tahr of the himalaya is a very different-looking animal to the true goats, from which, among other characters, it is distinguished by the form and small size of the horns. the horns, which are black, spring in a high backward arch, but the creature has no beard. a buck stands sometimes as much as inches high at the shoulder. it has a long, rough coat, mainly dark stone-colour in tint. [illustration: _by permission of p. thomas, esq._ nubian goat. these goats come from nubia and upper egypt. they are generally hornless and short-haired; the colour varies, being sometimes black, and sometimes tan and spotted.] tahr live in the forest districts of the middle himalaya, where they are found on very high and difficult ground. general donald macintyre shot one standing on the brink of an almost sheer precipice. down this it fell, and the distance in sheer depth was such that it was difficult to see the body even with glasses. the tahr is fairly common all along the higher himalayan range. its bones are believed to be a sovereign cure for rheumatism, and are exported to india for that object. a smaller kind is found in the mountains of eastern arabia, where very few english sportsmen have yet cared to attempt to shoot them. the nilgiri tahr, or nilgiri ibex. though not an ibex, the sportsmen of india early gave this name to the tahr of the nilgiri and anamalai hills. the himalayan species is covered with long, shaggy hair; the south indian has short, smooth brown hair. "the ibex," says hawkeye, the indian sportsman, of this animal, "is massively formed, with short legs, remarkably strong fetlocks, and a heavy carcase, short and well ribbed up, combining strength and agility wonderful to behold. its habits are gregarious, and the does are seldom met with separate from the flock or herd, though males often are. the latter assume, as they grow old, a distinctive appearance. the hair on the back becomes lighter, almost white in some cases, causing a kind of saddle to appear; and from that time they become known to the shikaries as the saddle-backs of the herd, an object of ambition to the eyes of the true sportsman. it is a pleasant sight to watch a herd of ibex feeding undisturbed, the kids frisking here and there on pinnacles or ledges of rock and beetling cliffs where there seems scarcely safe hold for anything much larger than a grasshopper, the old mother looking calmly on. then again, see the caution observed in taking up their resting- or abiding-places for the day, where they may be warmed by the sun, listening to the war of many waters, chewing the cud of contentment, and giving themselves up to the full enjoyment of their nomadic life and its romantic haunts. usually, before reposing, one of their number, generally an old doe, may be observed gazing intently below, apparently scanning every spot in the range of her vision, sometimes for half an hour or more, before she is satisfied that all is well, but, strange to say, seldom or never looking up to the rocks above. then, being satisfied on the one side, she follows the same process on the other, and eventually lies down calmly, contented with the precautions she has taken. should the sentinel be joined by another, or her kid come and lie by her, they always lie back to back, in such a manner as to keep a good look-out to either side. a solitary male goes through all this by himself, and wonderfully careful he is; but when with the herd he reposes in security, leaving it to the female to take precautions for their joint safety." [illustration: _photo by fratelli alinari_] [_florence._ italian goat. from the earliest roman days these goats have been the main form of livestock kept by the mountaineers of the apennines.] rocky mountain goat. america possesses only one species of wild goat, the place of this genus being taken in the southern part of the continent by the camel-like guanacos. the rocky mountain goat, the north american representative of the group, is a somewhat anomalous creature. it has very few of the characteristics of the european and asiatic species. in place of being active in body and vivacious in temperament, it is a quiet, lethargic creature, able, it is true, to scale the high mountains of the north-west and to live among the snows, but with none of the energetic habits of the ibex or the tahr. in form it is heavy and badly built. it is heavy in front and weak behind, like a bison. the eye is small, the head large, and the shoulders humped. it feeds usually on very high ground; but hunters who take the trouble to ascend to these altitudes find little difficulty in killing as many wild goats as they wish. these goats are most numerous in the ranges of british columbia, where they are found in small flocks of from three or four to twenty. several may be killed before the herd is thoroughly alarmed, possibly because at the high altitudes at which they are found man has seldom disturbed them. none of the domesticated sheep or goats of the new world are indigenous to the continent of america. it is a curious fact, well worth studying from the point of view of the history of man, that, with the exception of the llama, the dog, and perhaps the guinea-pig, every domesticated animal in use from cape horn to the arctic ocean has been imported. the last of these importations is the reindeer, which, though the native species abounds in the canadian woods, was obtained from lapland and eastern asia. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ rocky mountain goat. this is one of the few animals which are white at all seasons of the year. the horns and hoofs are jet-black, forming a striking contrast to the beautiful coat.] [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ himalayan tahr and young. the typical representative of the short-horned wild goats.] the history of this effort at acclimatisation is curious, and may be quoted in this connection. when the first rush to klondike was made, the miners were imprisoned and inaccessible during the late winter. the coming of spring was the earliest period at which communication could be expected to be restored, and even then the problem of feeding the transport animals was a difficult one. the united states government decided to try to open up a road from alaska by means of sledges drawn by reindeer, and the canadian government devised a similar scheme. agents were sent to lapland and to the tribes on the western side of bering sea, and deer, drivers, and harness obtained from both. the deer were not used for the klondike relief expeditions by the americans; but the animals and their drivers were kept in alaska, native reindeer were caught, and the latest news of the experiment is that the deer were found very useful for carrying the mails in winter. ---- chapter xv. _the antelopes._ by f. c. selous. the true antelopes (including the gazelles) are strictly confined to the old world, the prongbuck of north america differing so much from all other living ruminants, in its horn growth and other particulars, that it is considered to be the sole representative of a distinct family. the hartebeests. with the exception of one species--the bubal--which is found both in north africa and arabia, the hartebeests are entirely confined to the african continent. they are animals of large size, standing from to inches at the shoulder, and are characterised by their long, narrow faces, high withers, and doubly curved horns, which are present in both sexes. nine different species of this group are known to exist. although the ranges of these various species of hartebeest cover the greater part of the african continent, it is noteworthy that each species keeps to its own ground, their several ranges but rarely overlapping. all the hartebeests have a strong family resemblance, and are very similar in their habits. they are never found either in dense forests or in swampy or mountainous country, but are inhabitants of the arid deserts of northern and south-western africa, and of the open grassy plains and thinly forested regions of the high plateaux of the interior of that continent. they are extraordinarily fleet and enduring, and in my own experience i have never heard of one of these animals, of whatever species, having been overtaken or ridden to a standstill by a man on horseback. they are very inquisitive, and where they have not been molested will allow any unaccustomed object--such as a european in clothes--to walk to within easy shot of them before running off. they soon gain experience, however; and in countries where they have been most persecuted hartebeests are the keenest-sighted and the most wary of all african game. they are very fond of climbing to the top of the large ant-heaps with which the plains of africa are profusely studded, and from this point of vantage surveying the surrounding country. they live, i believe, entirely upon grass, and in the desert areas of their range seem able to subsist for long periods without drinking water. their meat i have always thought very palatable. they are generally in fairly good condition, though they seldom carry much fat. their fat, after being melted, becomes solid again immediately on cooling, and clogs on the teeth whilst being eaten. but very few african species, except the eland, ever become really fat; their life is too active, and the food-supply too uncertain, for them to put on flesh like european deer. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ bubaline hartebeest. a small species, found in syria as well as in north africa.] bontebok and blesbok group. nearly allied to the hartebeests are certain other antelopes, of which it will be sufficient to mention but two species--_viz._ the bontebok and the blesbok. these two antelopes, though doubtless distinct, since their points of difference are constant and unvarying, are nevertheless so much alike, and evidently so closely allied, that i look upon the former as a highly coloured and specialised race of the latter. the blesbok once had a far wider range than the bontebok, and ran in countless herds on the plains of the northern districts of the cape colony, the orange river colony, the transvaal, griqualand west, and british bechuanaland, whilst the latter animal has always been confined to the sandy wastes in the neighbourhood of cape agulhas, the extreme southern point of africa. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden_] [_cape town._ blesbok. a species formerly very numerous in south africa, but now well-nigh exterminated.] [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ white-tailed gnu and calf. this "wildebeest" is now believed to be practically exterminated as a wild animal.] i think it, however, not improbable that ages ago the blesbok ranged right through cape colony to the sea-shore, and that subsequently the gradual desiccation of the south-western portions of the country--which is still continuing--or several years of continuous drought, caused the withdrawal of the species northwards from the waterless parts of the country. those, however, which had reached the neighbourhood of cape agulhas, where there is plenty of water, would have remained behind and formed an isolated race, which, being influenced by local conditions, would naturally in course of time have become differentiated from the parent stock. be this as it may, the bontebok of to-day is nothing but a glorified blesbok, being slightly larger and more richly coloured than the latter animal. its horns, too, are always black, whilst those of the blesbok are of a greenish hue. when they are in good condition, the coats of both these species of antelope, as well as of the sassaby, another member of this group, show a beautiful satiny sheen, which plays over their purple-brown hides like shadows on sunlit water. the few bonteboks which still survive are now all preserved on large enclosed farms; but their numbers are very small--less than , it is believed. the farmers of dutch descent now do their best to preserve rare species on their land. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ a cow brindled gnu. this gnu, which is still found in great numbers in east central africa, indulges in the same curious antics as the white-tailed species.] the gnus. these remarkable animals were once distributed throughout the greater part of africa from the cape to abyssinia, and their range is even now very extensive, though what was once the most numerous and the most eccentric-looking species of the group has almost ceased to exist. the gnus are of large size, and at first sight appear to have the head of a buffalo, the tail of a horse, and the limbs and hoofs of an antelope. their heads are very massive, with broad muzzles and widely separated, hairy nostrils; their necks are maned, tails long and bushy, and both sexes carry horns. they are known as "wilde beeste," or "wild cattle," to the dutch colonists of south africa. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ red-flanked duiker. the duikers are for the most part diminutive and graceful antelopes, with simple, spike-like horns.] the white-tailed gnu, or black wildebeest, as it is more commonly called, was once found in great numbers on the karroos of northern cape colony, and throughout the vast plains of the orange river colony, transvaal, griqualand west, and british bechuanaland. its range, in fact, was coequal with that of the blesbok. even as lately as in and i personally saw very considerable herds of these quaint animals in the orange river colony and the western transvaal. when the present war broke out in , there were only two herds of black wildebeest left alive. these animals numbered some head altogether, and were protected by dutch farmers. there are probably very few of them left to-day, and it is scarcely possible that this most interesting animal will long escape complete extinction. black wildebeests, before they had been much persecuted, were so inquisitive that, in the words of gordon cumming, they would "caper and gambol" round a hunter's waggon or any other unusual object, and sometimes approach to within a couple of hundred yards, when, whisking their long white tails, they would gallop off with loud snorts. they were always, however, very keen-sighted, and soon became extremely wary and almost impossible to approach on foot in the open plains they frequented, whilst their powers of endurance and fleetness of foot were such that they could only be overtaken by a well-mounted hunter. in spite of these advantages, however, the value of their skins, and the ever-increasing number of hunters, armed with long-range rifles, practically brought about the extermination of this species of gnu in a few decades. the brindled gnu is a larger animal than the last-named species, standing ½ feet and upwards at the shoulder. this animal once ranged from the vaal river northwards, throughout eastern and central africa, to the north of kilimanjaro, where its range overlaps that of a closely allied form, the white-bearded gnu, which is only found in certain districts of eastern africa. in general habits these two varieties seem to be identical. in the interior of southern africa, both north and south of the zambesi, i have met with very large numbers of blue wildebeests. they usually run in herds of from ten to twenty individuals, but towards the end of the dry season collect in droves of or . they are often found in company with zebras and sassaby antelopes. their flesh resembles coarse beef, and, to my thinking, is not ill-flavoured. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ klipspringer. the "cliff-jumper" is as active in its habits as a chamois, and is found in most of the mountain-ranges of africa.] the smaller bucks. in addition to the great number of antelopes of large size which inhabit the african continent, there are also very many small species, the life history and habits of some of which are as yet but imperfectly known, since they are denizens of dense forests, and feed principally at night. all these small african antelopes are divided into two sub-families. the first comprises the african duikers and the indian four-horned antelope, and the second the dik-diks, oribis, klipspringer, and certain other small bush-antelopes. the african duikers are distributed throughout africa south of the sahara, and are represented by some twenty different species, the largest of which approaches a small donkey in size, whilst the smallest is not much larger than a hare. the majority of these dainty little antelopes are inhabitants of the dense tangled forests of the coast-belts of africa, and are therefore but seldom seen by travellers and sportsmen. one species of the group, however, the common duiker of south africa, is a very well-known animal. this little antelope inhabits much more open country than most of its congeners, and has an enormous range, extending from cape agulhas to somaliland, whilst two very nearly allied forms are found in senegal and abyssinia respectively. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ sing-sing waterbuck. the sing-sing and its relatives differ from the true waterbuck by the absence of the white elliptical ring on the rump] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ mountain reedbuck. one of a group of small antelopes still common in many parts of africa.] in most species of duikers both sexes are horned, but in the case of the common duiker it is very exceptional to find a female with horns, and in all my experience i have only known of three such cases. the four-horned antelope is the indian representative of the african duikers, and is found along the foot of the himalaya from the punjab to nepal, and in suitable localities throughout the peninsula of india. it frequents wooded hills, but avoids dense jungle. like its nearest allies, the duikers, it is solitary in its habits, more than two of these antelopes seldom being seen together. the growth of four horns on the skull of this antelope and on certain breeds of domesticated sheep is a curious fact which has not roused as much comment as it deserves. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ male impala, or palla. the beautifully curved horns of the male palla form some of the most graceful of trophies.] the klipspringer. turning to the second sub-family, we may select the klipspringer as the most characteristic species to describe. this beautiful little animal, which is often called the african chamois, is found in suitable localities from the cape to abyssinia. in the southern and northern portions of its range the klipspringer is an inhabitant only of rugged mountain-ranges, and ascends to a height of , or , feet above sea-level. in the more central regions of its habitat, however, although it always lives amongst rocks, and thoroughly justifies its name of "rock-jumper," it is often found in regions where there are no high mountain-ranges. it used to be very common in matabililand, both in the matopo hills and on the isolated granite kopjes which are so numerous in that country, and usually are not more than or feet in height. in mashonaland i have found it living amongst granite rocks in the beds of the larger rivers, and actually on the same level as the surrounding country; whereas on wedza, a great mountain-mass of slate and ironstone, which rises to a height of about , feet above the surrounding country, and to the top of which i once climbed, i did not see any klipspringers. the hoofs of this little animal are curiously different from those of any other african antelope, being remarkably short and small, with very deep hollows. this adaptation to its requirements enables the klipspringer to obtain a foothold on any small projecting piece of rock, and to climb in a series of little jumps up the faces of cliffs which seem almost perpendicular. in height the klipspringer stands about foot inches at the shoulder. the males alone carry horns, which are straight and ringed at the base, and vary from to inches in length. the coat is of a greeny yellow-brown colour, with the hairs hollow and brittle. these little animals are usually met with singly, or in twos and threes together. when caught young, they become wonderfully tame, and make the most charming pets, being very playful and fond of jumping, with surprising ease and grace, from the floor of a room on to any elevated position, such as a table, mantelpiece, or window-sill. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ male saiga antelopes. these antelopes inhabit the east russian steppes. the thick woolly coat turns nearly white in winter.] the waterbucks. the largest animals in the first of three groups now to be considered are the waterbucks, antelopes of stout and sturdy build, standing from to inches at the shoulder, and covered with long, coarse hair, especially on the neck, in both sexes. the males alone carry horns, which vary from to inches in length, and are strongly ringed in front for three-fourths of their length. they are sublyrate in shape, being first inclined backwards and then forwards at the tips. there are three well-marked species of waterbuck--_viz._ the common waterbuck of south africa, whose range extends from the limpopo northwards, through nyasaland to german and british east africa, and to the shebeyli river, in somaliland; the sing-sing of senegal and gambia; and the defassa waterbuck of western abyssinia and the nile valley, south to uganda and british and german east africa. in habits all species of waterbuck are very similar. they live generally, though not invariably, in herds of from ten to twenty individuals, and in such small herds there is seldom more than one full-grown male present. in the interior of south africa the waterbuck is often met with amongst steep stony hills and at a distance of more than a mile from the nearest river. speaking generally, however, this antelope may be said to frequent the near neighbourhood of water, but to prefer dry to swampy ground. when chased by dogs it always makes for water, and will plunge fearlessly into broad, deep rivers, regardless of crocodiles, to which ravenous reptiles it sometimes falls a victim. in south africa waterbuck vary much in colour even in the same district, some being reddish brown, whilst others are of a very dark grey. the flesh of the waterbuck is coarse, and sometimes rather strongly tasted, and when in good condition the fat is very hard. the reedbucks are similar in essential characters to the waterbucks, but are of smaller size, and have more bushy tails, and naked spots on the sides of the head beneath the ears. of this group the common reedbuck of south africa is the best known. this animal stands feet at the withers, and is of a soft greyish fawn-colour, with a large fluffy tail, which is always thrown up when the animal runs, exposing the white under-surface. the males alone carry horns, which curve backwards and then forwards, and attain a length of from to inches. reedbucks are met with singly or in twos and threes, and never congregate in herds, though i have seen us many as eight, belonging probably to three or four families, feeding in close proximity to one another on young green grass. another member of the reedbuck group is the rooi rhebuck of south africa. this latter species, though a much smaller animal, is very similar to the common reedbuck in colour, shape, and general appearance; it is quite distinct in its habits and mode of life, as it lives in small herds of from four or five to fifteen head, amongst rugged stony hills, often far from water. the blackbuck of india. this handsome species is found throughout india wherever there are open cultivated plains. the male stands about inches at the shoulder, and when full grown is of a glossy black colour, with the exception of a chestnut-coloured patch at the back of the neck, and some markings of the same colour about the face. the belly and insides of the limbs are pure white, the line between the black and white being very clearly defined. the whole body and frame are very compact, strong, and beautifully proportioned, and the head is carried high. the males alone carry horns, which are spiral in shape, annulated almost to the tips, and vary in length from to inches. young bucks and does are fawn-coloured instead of black. these antelopes are usually met with in considerable herds on open plains in which cultivated tracts alternate with waste land, and they often do much damage to the natives' crops. when alarmed, they first execute a series of prodigious bounds into the air before finally settling down to a steady run. they are surprisingly fleet, and can seldom be overtaken by the fastest greyhounds, although they can be caught and pulled down without difficulty by trained cheetas, or, as they are often called, hunting-leopards. the palla, which is found in southern and eastern africa from bechuanaland to kordofan, is one of the most graceful of animals. it is a forest-loving species, and is never found far from water. both sexes are of a general bright reddish brown, with white bellies. the males alone carry horns, which are very graceful in shape, and vary from to upwards of inches in length. the finest specimens of the palla are met with in the extreme southerly and most northerly portions of its range, the animals inhabiting the intermediate districts being smaller and carrying shorter horns. pallas are gregarious, living in herds of from twenty to over one hundred. when alarmed, they bound over bushes or any other obstacles with the utmost ease and grace, and appear to get over the ground at a high rate of speed. they are, however, very commonly run down and torn to pieces by wild dogs, which hunt in packs, and are very destructive to african game. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ arabian gazelle gazelles are some of the most slenderly built of all antelopes.] of far less graceful appearance than the two preceding species is the saiga, which, though structurally closely allied to the gazelles, has been placed by naturalists in a genus by itself. this curious-looking animal, which is chiefly remarkable for its large swollen-looking nose and light-coloured horns, is an inhabitant of the steppes of south-eastern europe and western asia. in height it stands about inches at the withers, and is of a dull yellowish colour in summer, turning to nearly white in winter. the males alone carry horns, which are sometimes or inches long, and of a peculiar colour which has been likened to pale amber. at the present day the saiga is only found in europe on the plains between the don and the volga, but to the east of the ural river its range extends over the kirghiz steppes and the high plains of all western siberia. living in open country, and having the senses of hearing, sight, and scent all highly developed, the saiga is a difficult animal to approach, and can only be successfully stalked by an expert hunter. in summer it is usually met with in small, scattered bands, which, when driven southwards by snow and cold, are collected into considerable herds in the more southerly portions of its range. in very severe winters whole herds have been known to perish in snow-drifts, and in such inclement seasons large numbers are also killed by the natives. the flesh of the saiga is said to resemble mutton, and is held in much esteem. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hugenbeck_] [_hamburg._ goitred gazelles from mesopotamia. these animals are inhabitants of rocky and desert ground. they are often kept tame by the wandering arabs.] the gazelles. we now come to the gazelles, among which are comprised many of the best known and most beautiful of the small or medium-sized antelopes. in the true gazelles both sexes generally carry horns. indeed, this rule is universal in those of africa and arabia; and there are only four species known--all asiatic--in which the females are hornless: _viz._ the tibetan gazelle, prejevalski's gazelle, the mongolian gazelle, and the persian gazelle. the range of the various species belonging to this large group is very extensive, comprising the whole of northern and eastern africa, arabia, and western and central asia, as well as mongolia and india. the gazelles are inhabitants of the open plains and arid desert regions of the old world, and, although sometimes met with in tracts of country where there is a certain amount of scattered bush or open stunted forest, are never found in any kind of jungle or thick cover. on the sandy plains of north-western africa are found the red-fronted gazelle of senegal and gambia; the little-known mhorr gazelle of south-western morocco; and the dama gazelle, a species which has been known to naturalists ever since the time of buffon. a near ally of the last-named animal is the red-necked gazelle of dongola and senaar. in north-eastern africa are found the large and handsome soemmerring's gazelle; the isabella gazelle, of the coastlands of the red sea; heuglin's gazelle; pelzeln's gazelle, of the maritime plains of northern somaliland; and speke's gazelle, of the interior of the same country; whilst, farther south the group is represented by the large and beautiful grant's gazelle, with its allies peters's gazelle and thomson's gazelle. the well-known dorcas gazelle is an inhabitant of morocco and algeria, ranging through egypt into palestine and syria; the marica gazelle, the muscat gazelle, and the arabian gazelle inhabit the deserts of arabia; the edmi gazelle is found in the mountain-ranges of morocco, algeria, and tunis; while loder's gazelle inhabits the sandy tracts of the interior of algeria and tunis. in asia, besides the four species of gazelle already enumerated in which the females are hornless, one other member of the group is met with. this is the indian gazelle, a species very closely allied to the arabian form. of the whole genus grant's gazelle is the most beautiful. this handsome animal, which was first discovered by the explorers speke and grant in , is an inhabitant of eastern africa, from the neighbourhood of lake rudolph southwards to ugogo. in size the average height at the shoulder of males of this species is about inches. the coat is close and short and of a general fawn colour, the rump and belly pure white, and the face marked with a rufous band from the horns to the nose and with streaks of white on each side. the upper surface of the tail is white, with a black and tufted tip. the horns, which are very elegant in shape, being first curved slightly forwards and then backwards, are much longer and more powerful than in any other gazelle, and attain a length of inches in the males and inches in the females. [illustration: _photo by l. midland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ speke's gazelle. found in the interior of northern somaliland.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ gazelles from egypt. seen in great numbers when our troops crossed the bayuda desert.] grant's gazelles, though they undoubtedly find their most congenial home in open country, have also been met with by recent travellers in bush-sprinkled wastes and stony, rugged hills. they are, however, never found in dense jungles or high mountains. they live in herds of from half a dozen to twenty or thirty individuals, though in certain localities as many as have been seen together. they are fond of consorting with other game, such as burchell's and grevy's zebras, coke's hartebeest, and the beisa oryx, and are often met with at long distances from the nearest water. they are keen-sighted and wary, and from the open character of the country in which they are usually encountered are often difficult to stalk. when in good condition, the meat of this gazelle is said to be excellent. the nearest ally of the true gazelles is undoubtedly the springbuck of south africa. owing to the protection which it has received of late years, this graceful antelope is now a common animal in many parts of south africa, and in the north-western portions of the cape colony still sometimes collects into prodigious herds, which travel through the country in dense masses, destroying every vestige of grass on the line of their advance, and causing considerable anxiety to farmers, whose flocks of sheep and goats are sometimes swept away by the migrating springbucks. in former years the migration of these antelopes in countless thousands from the deserts of namaqualand to the countries farther south was a common occurrence, an unerring instinct guiding the wandering herds to districts where rain had lately fallen and caused a new growth of green grass. the animals composing these migrating herds were called by the dutch settlers of the cape colony "trekbokken," or "travelling-bucks." [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ red-fronted gazelle. inhabits dongola and senaar.] two other antelopes, the dibatag and the gerenuk, are included in the present group; but both, whilst typically gazelline in certain respects, differ so much in other ways from all members of that group that each has been placed in a separate genus. the dibatag is a very remarkable-looking antelope, only found in certain districts of central somaliland, where it was first discovered by mr. t. w. h. clarke in . this species shows the face-markings of the gazelles, whilst the horns, which are only present in the males, much resemble in shape those of a reedbuck. they are rather short, attaining a length of only or inches, and their basal halves are strongly ringed in front. the neck of this antelope is singularly long and thin, and the tail, which is held curved forwards over the back when the animal is in motion, is also much elongated, and only tufted at the tip. the dibatag frequents sandy ground sparsely covered with low thorn-bushes, and lives in small families, being usually met with in twos or threes, whilst it is rare to find more than four or five consorting together. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ red-fronted gazelle. another view of the specimen shown above.] the gerenuk, like the last-named animal, is an east african species, but has a more extended range, being found all over somaliland, and thence southwards to the tana valley and the kilimanjaro district of british east africa. the most remarkable external characteristic of this species is the excessively long neck. the males alone carry horns, which attain an average length of or inches, and, though somewhat gazelle-like in shape, are more strongly crooked forwards at the points. the skull of this species is more dense and solid in structure than in the true gazelles, and the cheek-teeth are smaller in size. coming now to the sable antelope group, we find an assemblage of antelopes which are all of large size and handsome appearance, and in all of which both the males and females are horned. with the single exception of the beatrix oryx, which inhabits arabia, all these antelopes are denizens of africa. one species of the group, the bluebuck, which appears to have been entirely confined to the mountainous districts of the cape peninsula, became extinct during the first decade of the last century. little is known as to the life history of this animal, but it was undoubtedly nearly allied to the larger and more handsomely marked roan antelope. this latter animal once had a more extensive range than any other antelope, as it was found in almost every part of africa south of the sahara, with the exception of the congo forest region. it has now been exterminated in the more southerly portions of the country, but from the limpopo to the upper nile, and thence to the niger, it is still to be found wherever the surroundings are suitable to its requirements. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden_] [_cape town._ male springbuck. once the most numerous species in south africa, where it is still not uncommon. its migrations, or "treks," at certain seasons were one of the sights of the veldt.] a large bull roan antelope will stand feet inches at the withers. the general colour of the body differs in individuals, even in the same district, varying from a very light shade of brown to dark grey or red-roan. the front and sides of the face are jet-black in the adult male, and dark reddish brown in the female, with two long white tufts of hair under the eyes. the muzzle and extremity of the lower jaw are white. the hair on the under side of the neck is long and coarse, and a stiff mane about inches in length runs from behind the ears to the withers. the ears are very long, and in the females and young males tufted. the horns are curved backwards, and in the male are very stout and strong, attaining a length of from to inches. in the female the horns are shorter and slighter, and not so strongly ringed. roan antelope are usually met with in small herds of from six to a dozen members, and never congregate in large numbers. i do not think i have ever counted as many as thirty together. i have found them fairly common in certain districts, but nowhere very plentiful. they frequent open plains and thinly forested country, and are never found far away from water. bucks often become savage when wounded, and will sometimes charge viciously if approached incautiously. they can use their horns with great dexterity, and play havoc with a pack of dogs. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ sable antelope. a near ally of the roan antelope, from which it is broadly distinguished by its striking coloration--black and white.] the sable antelope, though considerably smaller than the roan, is yet a handsomer animal. in colour the adult male, when in high condition, is jet-black all over with the exception of the white face-markings and the snow-white of the belly and insides of the thighs. the mane is longer and more bushy than in the roan antelope, and often hangs down on either side over the withers. the horns, too, are much finer, and, sweeping backwards in a bold curve, are commonly upwards of inches long, and have been known to reach inches. the striking colour, large size, and horns of this creature make it one of the most-prized trophies of the sportsman. the skin, when prepared and laid down as a rug in halls or dwelling-rooms, is far more handsome than that of any deer. the female of this species is usually of a rich red-brown in colour instead of black as in the male. south of the zambesi, however, old cows become almost absolutely black. north of the zambesi both male and female sable antelopes are dark red in colour rather than black. the horns in the female are slighter and less curved than in the male, and are also considerably shorter, as a rule not measuring over inches in length. the range of the sable antelope extends from the northern districts of the transvaal to german east africa. in the country between the limpopo and the central zambesi it used to be a very common animal, especially in the northern districts of mashonaland. it is partial to open forests intersected by grassy, well-watered glades, and is never found on open plains entirely devoid of bush. it is usually met with in herds of from twelve to twenty individuals, but i have often seen as many as fifty, and once counted between seventy and eighty together. however large a herd of sable antelopes may be, it is very exceptional to find with it more than one fully adult male, from which fact i should judge that these animals are of a very jealous and pugnacious disposition. when wounded and brought to bay by dogs, a sable antelope defends itself with the utmost fury, using its long scimitar-shaped horns with most wonderful quickness and dexterity. if badly wounded it will lie down, otherwise it fights standing. keeping its face to some of its foes, with a sideways twist of its head it will transfix and throw into the air any dog which attempts to attack it from behind. i have seen a wounded sable antelope, when lying down, drive one of its horns clean through a large dog deep into its own haunch, and i have had four valuable hounds killed and four others grievously wounded by one of these animals in less than a minute. i once knew a native hunter who was stabbed through the kidneys and killed by a sable antelope cow. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ roan antelope. in common with the sable antelope and the oryx group, both sexes of this species carry horns.] [illustration: _photo by norman b. smith, esq._ male of grant's gazelle. this fine east african species is one of the handsomest of its kind.] the nearest allies of the sable and roan antelopes are the various species of the genus oryx. in this group are included the white oryx, which inhabits the desert regions of the interior of northern africa from dongola to senegal; the beatrix oryx of southern arabia; the gemsbuck of south-western africa; the beisa, which is found in north-east africa from suakim southwards to the river tana; and the tufted beisa, which is very nearly related to the last-named species, whose place it takes south of the tana river in certain districts of british and german east africa. in general appearance there is a strong family resemblance between the different species of oryx. in all of them both sexes carry horns, which are considerably longer, though somewhat slighter, in the females than in the males. in the white oryx the horns are curved backwards; but in the other four species they are straight, or nearly so. in all the faces are conspicuously banded with black and white, and the tails long, with large dark terminal brushes. the two most desert-loving species, the white and the beatrix oryx, are paler in general body-colour than the other three, and the latter animal is considerably smaller than any other member of the group, standing not more than inches at the withers. the gemsbuck is the largest and undoubtedly the handsomest of the group, standing feet at the shoulders; the horns of the females are often upwards of inches long, and have been known to attain a length of inches. [illustration: group of beisa oryx. this most interesting photograph, taken by lord delamere, shows a group of these fine antelopes on the east african plains.] in habits all species of oryx seem to be very similar. they are denizens of the arid sun-scorched plains of africa, which are not necessarily devoid of all kind of vegetation, but are often covered with stunted bush, and carry a plentiful crop of coarse grass after rain. oryx usually run in herds of from four or five to fifteen or twenty, though the beisa, the most abundant of the group, has been met with in troops numbering or head. all the oryx are shy and wary, and in the open country they usually frequent are difficult to approach on foot. if pursued on horseback, they run at a steady gallop, which they can maintain for long distances, swinging their bushy black tails from side to side, and holding their heads in such a way that their long straight horns are only sloped slightly backwards. fleet and enduring, however, as oryx undoubtedly are, i am of opinion that in these respects the gemsbuck of south africa, at any rate, is inferior to all other large antelopes living in the same country, with the single exception of the eland. i have often, when mounted on a fast horse, galloped right up to herds of gemsbuck, and on two occasions have run antelopes of this species to an absolute standstill. oryx of all species should be approached with caution when badly wounded, as they are liable to make short rushes, and can use their horns with great effect. nearly related to the antelopes of the oryx group in many essential characteristics, yet at once distinguishable by its spiral horns and broad reindeer-like feet, the desert-haunting addax has been placed in a separate genus, of which it is the sole representative. this remarkable animal stands about inches in height at the withers, and varies in general colour at different seasons of the year, from brownish grey to a reddish hue. the forehead is covered with a thick growth of bushy black hair, beneath which there is a patch of white extending across the nose to under the eyes. the hindquarters, tail, and legs are white. the horns are spiral, and are present in both sexes. in the male they attain a length of about inches in a straight line, and almost inches following the spiral. in the female they are thinner and less spirally curved. the addax is confined to the desert regions of northern africa from dongola to senegal, and the broad, rounded hoofs, so unlike those of any other antelope, would seem to show that it inhabits countries where the soil is deep, soft sand. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ white oryx. found in northern africa from dongola to senegal.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ beisa oryx. the beisa is found in north-east africa; by some it is believed to have suggested the original idea of the unicorn.] very little is known of the life history or habits of this antelope. it is said to associate in pairs or small herds, and to be entirely independent of water, though it travels great distances over the desert in the track of thunder-storms for the sake of the young herbage which grows so quickly wherever rain falls in those thirsty regions. it is killed in considerable numbers by the arabs for the sake of its flesh and hide, and is either stalked or hunted on horseback, with the help of greyhounds, by europeans. the last of the sub-families into which modern naturalists have divided the antelopes of the world comprises some of the handsomest species of the whole group, and includes the largest of all antelopes, the eland, as well as such small and beautifully marked creatures as the harnessed bushbucks. with one exception--the nilgai--all the members of this sub-family are denizens of the great african continent. the nilgai, or blue bull, is an inhabitant of india, and is found throughout the greater portion of the peninsula, from the base of the himalaya to the south of mysore. it is an animal of large size, standing about feet inches at the shoulder. in general colour the male is of a dark iron-grey, the female tawny fawn. white spots on the cheeks and just above the hoofs on the fore and hind feet are the outward signs of its affinity to the african harnessed antelopes. the male alone carries horns, which are nearly straight and very small for the size of the animal, rarely exceeding inches in length. passing now to the harnessed antelopes of africa, our attention is first claimed by the bushbucks. excluding the inyala and the broad-horned antelope, we find several forms of the smaller bushbucks recognised by naturalists: _viz._ the harnessed antelope of the forest regions of western africa; the cape bushbuck of south africa; cumming's bushbuck of eastern africa; and the decula bushbuck of abyssinia. the various forms of bushbuck vary in general colour from very dark brown to various shades of grey-brown, yellow-brown, and rich red. in all species the young are more or less striped and spotted; but whereas in some forms the adult animals lose their stripes and spots almost entirely, in others the adults are more richly marked than immature specimens. for my part, i am inclined to believe that, if large series of bushbuck-skins were collected from every district throughout africa, it would be found that all the varieties of this animal at present accepted as distinct species would be found to grade into one another in such a way that only one true species could be recognised. [illustration: _photo by s. g. payne, aylesbury, by permission of the hon. walter rothschild._ gerenuk. a gazelle-like antelope with long neck and legs, inhabiting north-east africa.] the bushbucks vary in height at the shoulder from inches to inches, and only the males carry horns, which are nearly straight, with a close spiral twist, and measure in adult animals from inches to inches in length. bushbucks are not found in open country, but live in forest or thick bush near the bank of a river, stream, or lake, and are never met with far from water. they are very partial to wooded ravines amongst broken, mountainous country, provided such districts are well watered; and are very solitary in their habits, both males and females being usually found alone, though the latter are often accompanied by a kid or half-grown animal. they are shy and retiring, and should be looked for between daylight and sunrise, or late in the evening, as they are very nocturnal in their habits, and lie concealed in long grass or thick bush during the heat of the day. their call resembles the bark of a dog, and may often be heard at nights. the broad-horned antelope is only found in the forests of the west african coast range, from liberia to gaboon. the male of this species is a very handsome animal, standing about inches at the withers, and is a bright chestnut-red in general colour, with a white spinal stripe extending from the withers to the root of the tail, and fourteen or fifteen white stripes on the shoulders, flanks, and hindquarters. the ears are large and rounded, and the horns very massive, and about inches in length, measured over the single spiral twist. there are two or three large white spots on the cheeks, and a broad white arrow-shaped mark across the nose below the eyes. the female is similar in coloration to the male, but smaller and hornless. little or nothing is known as to the habits of this very beautiful antelope. du chaillu, who met with it in the interior of gaboon between and , says that it is "very shy, swift of foot, and exceedingly graceful in its motions"; but he does not tell us whether it lives in pairs like the bushbucks, or in small herds like some of its other near allies. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ female nilgai. the largest of the antelopes of india, and a distant cousin of the kudu.] [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ addax. unfortunately, the specimen from which this photograph was taken had lost its splendid spiral horns.] the inyala is another bush-loving antelope closely allied to the bushbucks. in this species the general colour of the adult male is a deep dark grey, that of the female and young male bright yellow-red, and both sexes are beautifully striped with narrow white bands on the body and haunches. in the male long dark hair hangs from the throat, chest, and each side of the belly, and fringes the front of the thigh almost to the hock, and the back of it up to the root of the tail. the ears are large and rounded; and the horns, which are only present in the male, attain a length of about feet in a straight line, and inches along their spiral curve. the standing height at the shoulder of males of this species is about inches. this most beautiful antelope has a very restricted range, being only found in a narrow belt of coastland extending from st. lucia bay to the sabi river, in south-east africa, and in a still smaller area in the neighbourhood of the upper shiri river, in british central africa. before the acquisition of firearms by the natives in south-east africa, the inyala was very plentiful in northern zululand and amatongaland, and was then to be met with in herds of from ten to twenty individuals; whilst the males, which at certain seasons of the year separated from the females, were in the habit of consorting together in bands of from five to eight. constant persecution by the natives in amatongaland and the countries farther north very much reduced the numbers of inyalas in those districts a long time ago; but in zululand, where this animal has been strictly protected by the british authorities for the last twenty years, it was still plentiful up to , when the rinderpest swept over the country, and committed such sad ravages amongst all the tragelaphine antelopes that it is to be feared the inyala can now no longer be found anywhere in any considerable numbers. where i met with these antelopes some years ago, in the country to the south of delagoa bay, i found them living either alone or in pairs like bushbucks. they frequented dense thickets in the immediate neighbourhood of a river or lagoon, and i never saw one in anything like open country or far away from water. their tracks showed me that at night they were accustomed to feed in open spaces in the bush, but they always retired to the jungle again at daylight, as they had become very wary and cunning through constant persecution at the hands of the natives. [illustration: _photo by york & son, notting hill._ northern giraffe. two distinct types of giraffe exist: the northern form, which has a large third horn, may be described as a chocolate-coloured animal marked with a network of fine buff lines; the southern form, in which the third horn is small, is fawn coloured with irregular brown blotches.] closely allied to the bush-antelopes of the present group are the swamp-haunting sitatungas. three species of these have been described,--one from east africa, named after captain speke; another from tropical west africa; and a third from lake ngami and the chobi river, named after the present writer. [illustration: _photo by mr. w. rau_] [_philadelphia._ a pair of young prongbucks. from the fact that the horns of the males are annually shed, the prongbuck is assigned to a group apart from the antelopes.] there is very little difference between the adult males of these three species, except that in the west african form the coat is of a darker colour than in the other two. the main difference consists in the fact that, whereas the female of selous' sitatunga is light brown in colour like the male, and the newly born young are very dark blackish brown (the colour of a mole), beautifully striped and spotted with pale yellow, the female and young of the other two forms are red in ground-colour, with white spots and stripes. however, personally i am of opinion that there is only one true species of sitatunga in all africa, and that the differences between the various forms are superficial, and would be found to grade one into the other, if a sufficiently large series of skins of all ages and both sexes could be gathered together from all parts of the continent. in the barotse valley, on the upper zambesi, my friend major r. t. coryndon informs me that both red and brown female sitatungas are met with. on the lower chobi and lake ngami region the females are never red, but always of the same brown colour as the males, whilst on the congo all the females are red. the male sitatunga stands about feet inches at the shoulder, and varies in general colour in different localities from light to dark brown. the adult females are either red with a few faint stripes and spots, or light brown, only retaining very faint traces of any stripes or spots. the young are, both in tropical west and central east africa, red, striped, and spotted with white; but in south-west africa dark blackish brown, with spots and stripes of yellowish white. the hoofs are excessively long, and the skin which covers the back of the pastern is hairless, and of a very thick and horny consistency. the males alone carry horns, which are of the same character as in the inyala, but more spiral and longer, having been known to attain a length of inches in a straight line and inches over the curve. the sitatunga is an inhabitant of the extensive swamps which exist in many parts of the interior of africa. it may be said to live in the water, as it passes its life in flooded beds of reeds and papyrus, into the muddy bottoms of which its long hoofs, when splayed out, prevent it from sinking. when forced out into dry ground by heavy floods, the formation of its feet so hinders it in running that it can be overtaken and speared by a native on foot. i was informed by the natives on the chobi river that, when the floods enabled them to paddle their canoes through the reed-beds, they often killed considerable numbers of the sitatungas. these animals, they said, when they saw a canoe approaching, would often not attempt to seek safety by flight, but would sink down in the water, submerging their whole bodies, and leaving only their nostrils above the surface, and in this position were easily speared. the sitatunga is not gregarious, but is met with singly or in pairs. the hair is long, but soft and silky; and the skins are much sought after by the natives for blankets. in addition to the bushbucks and sitatungas, two more very notable spiral-horned african antelopes remain to be mentioned--namely, the greater kudu and the lesser kudu. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ female goral. the goral is a himalayan antelope, with somewhat the habits of a chamois.] [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ harnessed antelope. a very beautiful species, in which the ground-colour of the coat is a rich chestnut, while the spots and stripes are pure white.] the greater kudu is one of the most magnificent-looking of the whole family of antelopes, and is an animal of large size, an adult male standing feet inches and upwards at the withers. the general colour of this species is light brown to dark grey, the old males looking much darker than females or younger animals, because the scantiness of their coats shows the dark colour of the skin beneath. on each side of the body and hind-quarters there are several white stripes, which vary in number from four to eight or nine. as in all this group of antelopes, there are two or three cheek-spots, as well as an arrow-shaped white mark across the nose, below the eyes. in the male there is a slight mane on the back of the neck, and a fringe of long white and blackish-brown hair intermixed, extending from the throat to the chest. the ears are very large and rounded, and the male is adorned with magnificent spiral horns, which have been known to attain a length of inches in a straight line from base to tip, and inches over the curve. the greater kudu once had a very wide range, which extended from the central portions of the cape colony to angola on the west, and on the east throughout east africa up to abyssinia; but, with the single exception of the buffalo, no species of wild animal suffered more from the terrible scourge of rinderpest which recently swept over the continent than this lordly antelope, and it has almost ceased to exist in many districts of south and south central africa, where up to it was still very numerous. [illustration: _photo by percy ashenden_] [_cape town._ male kudu. a kudu bull stands about feet or a little more at the withers, being in size only inferior to the eland. the horns form a corkscrew-like spiral.] the greater kudu is a bush-loving antelope, and very partial to wooded hills, though it is also plentiful in the neighbourhood of rivers which flow through level tracts of country covered with forest and bush. in my own experience it is never found at any great distance from water. it eats leaves and wild fruits as well as grass, and lives in small herds or families, never, i believe, congregating in large numbers. in southern africa, at any rate, it was always exceptional to see more than twenty greater kudus together, and i have never seen more than thirty. at certain seasons of the year the males leave the females, and live alone or several together. i once saw nine magnificently horned kudus standing on the bank of the chobi, and i have often seen four or five males of this species consorting together. as a rule the greater kudu is met with in hilly country or in bush so dense that a horse cannot gallop through it at full speed; but if met with in open ground, a good horse can overtake an old male without much difficulty. the females are much lighter and faster, and cannot be overtaken in any kind of ground. the greater kudu is one of the most timid and inoffensive of animals, and when attacked by dogs will not make the slightest attempt to defend itself either with its horns or by kicking. the lesser kudu in general colour nearly resembles its larger relative, but is much smaller, the males only standing about inches at the withers, and it lacks the long fringe of hair under the throat. the white stripes on the body and hindquarters are, however, more numerous--from eleven to fourteen; and the horns, which are only present in the males, are less divergent, and with the spiral curvature much closer than in the greater kudu. the lesser kudu is an inhabitant of somaliland and the maritime districts of british east, africa. it frequents thick scrubby jungle, and is said to be exceedingly watchful and wary. it lives either in pairs or in small families, but never congregates in large herds. like all the tragelaphine antelopes, this species is a leaf-eater, and feeds principally during the night, lying up in thick bush during the heat of the day. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ eland. a feature of the eland is the large "dewlap." unlike the kudu, both sexes are horned.] there remains to be mentioned but one other group of antelopes, the elands, large, heavily built animals, which belong to the present group, but differ from all species of kudu, sitatunga, and bushbuck, inasmuch as both sexes are horned. there are two forms of the common eland--namely, the grey variety of south-western africa, and the striped animal, which is found in the countries farther north and east. the two forms grade one into the other, and are absolutely identical in their habits and mode of life, the differences between them being merely superficial. to the south of the twenty-third parallel of south latitude all elands are of a uniform fawn colour, except the old animals, which look dark grey, from the fact that the scantiness of their coats allows the dark colour of the skin to show through the hair. old males, when standing in the shade of a tree, appear to be of a deep blue-grey in colour, and are known to the colonists of south africa as "blue bulls." in rhodesia, south-east africa, and the countries to the north of the zambesi, all the elands are bright chestnut-red when young, with a black line down the centre of the back from the withers to the tail, broad black patches on the backs of the fore legs above the knees, and eight or nine white stripes on each side. when they grow old, the ruddiness of the ground-colour gradually fades, the black markings on the fore legs die out, and the white stripes become indistinguishable at a short distance, the old bulls looking deep blue-grey in general colour. every intermediate stage of colouring between the unstriped and the highly coloured forms of eland is to be found in the district lying between the central portions of the kalahari desert and the zambesi river. old male elands south of the zambesi develop a growth of long, bristly black hair on the forehead, which often hangs over their eyes and extends half-way down their noses. north of the zambesi this growth of hair is not nearly so luxuriant. i have carefully measured the standing height at the withers of many old male elands in the interior of south africa, and found that it varied from feet inches to feet inches. the horns of bulls in their prime measure from inches to inches in length, but old bulls wear their horns down very much. the cows carry longer, though thinner horns than the bulls. the range of the eland once extended from cape agulhas to the white nile, but it has become extinct in many districts of southern africa, and in almost every other portion of its range has, like all other tragelaphine antelopes, suffered so cruelly from the recent visitation of rinderpest that it has now become a scarce animal all over africa. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ eland cows. female elands carry longer, although more slender horns than the bulls.] during the rainy season elands are usually met with in small herds of from four or five to ten individuals; but towards the end of the dry season they collect into large herds, and at such times i have often seen from fifty to over two hundred of these animals in one troop. in my experience elands live for two-thirds of the year in forest or bush-covered country, or amongst rugged hills; and in such localities they are difficult to overtake on horseback; but in the middle of the dry season, as soon as they smell the smoke of the grass fires lighted by the natives on the open plateaux, they leave their retreats, and, collecting in herds, wander out on to the treeless plains in search of young grass. they then fall an easy prey to a mounted hunter, especially the heavy old bulls, which can be run to a standstill with ease by a very moderate horse. the flesh of the eland is excellent when the animal is in good condition, as at such a time these animals become very fat, especially the old bulls, whose hearts become encased in a mass of fat which will often weigh lbs. it is a mistake, however, to think that eland-meat is always good; for towards the end of the dry season, when there is little grass to be got, they feed extensively on the leaves of certain bushes, and their meat at such times becomes very poor and tasteless. besides the common eland of southern, central, and eastern africa, another distinct species is met with in senegal and the gambia colony. this is the derbian eland, about which animal our knowledge is still very slight, as i believe that it has never yet been shot nor its habits studied by a european traveller. a good many skulls and horns and a few skins have been obtained from natives, from which it appears that in general colour this species is of a rich reddish-fawn colour, becoming nearly white below, the middle of the belly being black. the neck is covered with long hair of a dark brown or black colour, blacker towards the shoulder than in front. a broad black stripe extends all down the centre of the back from the neck to the root of the tail, and there are large black patches on the backs and inner sides of the fore legs above the knees. on each side of the body and haunches there are thirteen or fourteen narrow white stripes. the horns are larger and more massive and divergent than in the common eland. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ bull eland. the flesh of the eland is of better flavour than that of most other large game. if sheltered in winter, the species will thrive in english parks.] the derbian eland is said to be a forest-loving animal, never of its own accord coming out into the plains. it lives in small herds, is very shy and not at all abundant, and browses on the leaves and young shoots of various trees and bushes. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ the southern giraffe. the tallest mammal ever known to walk the earth.] ---- chapter xvi. _the giraffe and okapi._ ---- the giraffe. by h. a. bryden. giraffes, which are found only in the continent of africa, are the tallest of all living creatures. they belong to the ruminants, or cud-chewers, and naturalists are inclined to place them somewhere between the deer family and the hollow-horned ruminants, in which latter are to be found oxen, buffaloes, and antelopes. rütimeyer, the swiss naturalist, once defined them as "a most fantastic form of deer," which is, perhaps, as good a definition of them as one is likely to hit upon. fossil discoveries show that, in ages long remote, great giraffe-like creatures, some of them bearing horns or antlers, roamed widely in the south of europe, persia, india and even china. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ southern giraffe lying down. this giraffe was a present to queen victoria; it only lived fourteen days after its arrival.] of living giraffes, two species have thus far been identified,--the southern or cape giraffe, with a range extending from bechuanaland and the transvaal to british east africa and the soudan; and the nubian or northern giraffe, found chiefly in east africa, somaliland, and the country between abyssinia and the nile. the southern giraffe, which, from its recent appearance in the gardens of the zoological society, is now the more familiar of the two animals, has a creamy or yellowish-white ground-colour, marked by irregular blotches, which vary in colour, in animals of different ages, from lemon-fawn to orange-tawny, and in older specimens to a very dark chestnut. old bulls and occasionally old cows grow extremely dark with age, and at a distance appear almost black upon the back and shoulders. the northern giraffe is widely different, the coloration being usually a rich red-chestnut, darker with age, separated by a fine network of white lines, symmetrically arranged in polygonal patterns. at no great distance this giraffe, instead of having the blotchy or dappled appearance of the southern giraffe, looks almost entirely chestnut in colour. again, the southern giraffe has only two horns, while the northern species usually develops a third, growing from the centre of the forehead. these horns, which are covered with hair in both species, and tufted black at the tips, are, in the youthful days of the animal, actually separable from the bones of the head. as the animal arrives at maturity, they become firmly united to the skull. a third race or sub-species of giraffe has been identified in western africa, mainly from the skull and cannon-bones of a specimen shot in at the junction of the binue and niger rivers; but very little is known about this form. other varieties or sub-species may yet be discovered in other parts of the dark continent. it is lacking in the giraffe's long neck. the towering height of the giraffe is entirely attributable to the great length of the neck and limbs. a full-grown bull giraffe will certainly measure occasionally as much as feet in height. i measured very carefully a specimen shot by my hunting friend, mr. w. dove, in the forests of the north kalahari, south africa, which taped feet ½ inches. a fine cow, shot by myself in the same country, measured feet inches, and there is no reason to suppose that cow giraffes do not easily reach fully feet in height. these animals feed almost entirely upon the leaves of acacia-trees, the foliage of the _kameel-doorn_, or giraffe-acacia, affording their most favourite food-supply. it is a most beautiful spectacle to see, as i have seen, a large troop of these dappled giants--creatures which, somehow, viewed in the wild state, always seem to me to belong to another epoch--quietly browsing, with upstretched necks and delicate heads, among the branches of the spreading _mokala_, as the bechuanas call this tree. the giraffe's upper lip is long and prehensile, and covered, no doubt as a protection against thorns, with a thick velvety coating of short hair. the tongue is long--some inches in length--and is employed for plucking down the tender leafage on which the giraffe feeds. the eyes of the giraffe are most beautiful--dark brown, shaded by long lashes, and peculiarly tender and melting in expression. singularly enough, the animal is absolutely mute, and never, even in its death-agonies, utters a sound. the hoofs are large, elongate, nearly inches in length in the case of old bulls, and look like those of gigantic cattle. there are no false hoofs, and the fetlock is round and smooth. the skin of a full-grown giraffe is extraordinarily tough and solid, attaining in the case of old males as much as an inch in thickness. from these animals most of the _sjamboks_, or colonial whips, in use all over south africa, are now made; and it is a miserable fact to record that giraffes are now slaughtered by native and boer hunters almost solely for the value of the hide, which is worth from £ to £ in the case of full-grown beasts. so perishes the giraffe from south africa. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ male southern giraffe. the coloration of these animals harmonises exactly with the dark and light splashes of their surroundings.] giraffes live mainly in forest country, or country partially open and partially clothed with thin, park-like stretches of low acacia-trees. when pursued, they betake themselves to the densest parts of the bush and timber, and, their thick hides being absolutely impervious to the frightful thorns with which all african jungle and forest seem to be provided, burst through every bushy obstacle with the greatest ease. they steer also in the most wonderful manner through the timber, ducking branches and evading tree-boles with marvellous facility. i shall never forget seeing my hunting comrade after his first chase in thick bush. we had ridden, as we always rode hunting, in our flannel shirts, coatless. attracted by his firing, i came up with my friend, who was sitting on the body of a huge old bull giraffe, which had fallen dead in a grassy clearing. he was looking ruefully at the remains of his shirt, which hung about him, literally in rags and ribbons. blood was streaming from innumerable wounds upon his chest, neck, and arms. always after that we donned cord coats, when running giraffes in bush and forest country. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rutland & sons._ a giraffe grazing. grazing is evidently not the natural mode of feeding of these animals, which are essentially browsers.] in regions where they have been little disturbed, giraffes no doubt wander across open plains, and are to be seen well away from the denser forests, feeding among scattered islets of acacias, easily exposed to the human eye. but in south africa they are now seldom to be met with out of the forest region. once, and once only, have i seen giraffes in the open. this was on the outskirts of the forest, and the great creatures had been tempted to a little knoll of _mokala_ trees, rising like an islet from the sea of grass. one's first impression of these creatures in the wild state is very deceptive. i well remember first setting eyes upon a troop of five or six. as they swung away from the leafage on which they were feeding, my friend and i cantered easily, thinking that we should soon come up with them. we were completely deceived. with those immense legs of theirs, the great creatures, going with their easy, shuffling, but marvellously swift walk, were simply striding away from us. discovering our mistake, we rode hard, and the giraffes then broke into their strange, rocking gallop, and a headlong, desperate chase began, to be terminated by the death of a fine cow. like the camel, the giraffe progresses by moving the two legs upon either side of the body simultaneously. at this strange, rocking gallop these animals move at a great pace, and a good cape horse is needed to run into them. by far the best plan, if you are bent on shooting these animals, is to press your pony, so soon as you sight giraffes, to the top of its speed, and force the game beyond its natural paces in one desperate gallop of a couple of miles or so. if well mounted, your nag will take you right up to the heels of the tall beasts, and, firing from the saddle, you can, without great difficulty, bring down the game. the giraffe, unlike the antelopes of africa, is not very tenacious of life, and a bullet planted near the root of the tail will, penetrating the short body, pierce a vital spot, and bring down the tall beast crashing to earth. having tasted the delights of fox-hunting and many other forms of sport, i can testify that the run up to a good troop of giraffes is one of the most thrilling and exciting of all human experiences. there is nothing else quite like it in the wide range of sporting emotions. having enjoyed this thrilling pleasure a few times, however, the humane hunter will stay his hand, and shoot only when meat, or perhaps an exceptionally fine specimen, is absolutely needed. giraffes are, of course, utterly defenceless, and, save for their shy, wary habits and remote, waterless habitat, have nothing to shield them from the mounted hunter. giraffe-hunting on foot is a very different matter. in that case the giraffe has the better of it, and the stalker is placed at great disadvantage. these animals are in many places found in extremely waterless country, where even the mounted hunter has much trouble to reach them. like elands and gemsbok and other desert-loving antelopes, they can exist for long periods--months together--without drinking. in the northern portions of the kalahari desert, where i have carefully observed their habits, as well as hunted them, it is an undoubted fact that giraffes never touch water during the whole of the dry winter season--for several months on end. gemsbok and elands in the same waterless tract of country are complete abstainers for the same period. the flesh of a giraffe cow, if fairly young, is excellent, tender, and well tasted, with a flavour of game-like veal. the marrow-bones also, roasted over a gentle wood fire, and sawn in half, afford delicious eating, quite one of the supreme delicacies of the african wilderness. [illustration: _photo by charles knight_] [_aldershot._ a giraffe browsing. here the posture is seen to be thoroughly natural.] the okapi. by sir harry johnston, k.c.b., f.z.s. readers of "the living animals of the world" are in all probability readers of newspapers, and it would therefore be affectation on the part of the writer of these lines to assume that they have not heard more or less of the discovery which he was privileged to make of an entirely new ruminant of large size, dwelling in the forests bordering the semliki river, in central africa, on the borderland between the uganda protectorate and the congo free state. the history of this discovery, stated briefly, is as follows:--in - i was the guest of mr. (now sir henry) stanley on the river congo at stanley pool. i was visiting the congo at that time as an explorer in a very small way and a naturalist. mr. stanley, conversing with me on the possibility of african discoveries, told me then that he believed that all that was most wonderful in tropical africa would be found to be concentrated in the region of the blue mountains, south of the albert nyanza. this feeling on stanley's part doubtless was one of the reasons which urged him to go to the relief of emin pasha. his journey through the great congo forest towards the blue mountains of the albert nyanza resulted in his discovery of the greatest snow mountain-range of africa, ruwenzori, and the river semliki, which is the upper albertine nile; of lake albert edward, from which it flows round the flanks of ruwenzori; and, amongst other things, in more detailed information regarding the dwarf races of the northern congo forests than we had yet received. stanley also was the first to draw the attention of the world to the dense and awful character of these mighty woods, and to hint at the mysteries and wonders in natural history which they possibly contained. the stress and trouble of his expedition prevented him and his companions from bestowing much attention on natural history; moreover, in these forests it is extremely difficult for persons who are passing hurriedly through the tangle to come into actual contact with the beasts that inhabit them. sir henry stanley, discussing this subject with me since my return from uganda, tells me that he believes that the okapi is only one amongst several strange new beasts which will be eventually discovered in these remarkable forests. he describes having seen a creature like a gigantic pig feet in length, and certain antelopes unlike any known type. in regard to the okapi, the only hint of its existence which he obtained was the announcement that the dwarfs knew of the existence of a creature in their forests which greatly resembled an ass in appearance, and which they caught in pits. this tiny sentence in an appendix to his book "in darkest africa" attracted my attention some time before i went to uganda. it seemed to me so extraordinary that any creature like a horse should inhabit a dense forest, that i determined, if ever fate should lead me in that direction, i would make enquiries. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ male and female giraffes. giraffes are said to be very affectionate animals.] soon after reaching the uganda protectorate at the end of , i came in contact with a large party of dwarfs who had been kidnapped by a too enterprising german impresario, who had decided to show them at the paris exhibition. as the belgians objected to this procedure, i released the dwarfs from their kidnapper, and retained them with me for some months in uganda, until i was able personally to escort them back to their homes in the congo forest. i had other reasons connected with my government business for visiting the north-western part of the congo free state. as soon as i could make the dwarfs understand me by means of an interpreter, i questioned them regarding the existence of this horse-like creature in their forests. they at once understood what i meant; and pointing to a zebra-skin and a live mule, they informed me that the creature in question, which was called okapi, was like a mule with zebra stripes on it. when i reached fort mbeni, in the congo free state, on the west bank of the river semliki, i put questions to the belgian officers stationed there. they all knew the okapi, at any rate, when dead. as a living animal they had none of them seen it, but their native soldiers were in the habit of hunting the animal in the forest and killing it with spears, and then bringing in the skin and the flesh for use in the fort. one of the officers declared there was even then a freshly obtained skin lying about in the precincts of the fort. on searching for this, however, it was discovered that the greater part of it had been thrown away, only the gaudier portions having been cut into strips by the soldiers to be made into bandoliers. these strips, together with similar ones obtained from natives in the forest, i sent to england, to dr. p. l. sclater, for his consideration. furnished by the belgian officers with guides, and taking with me all the dwarfs whom i had brought from uganda, i entered the forest, and remained there for some days searching for the okapi. all this time i was convinced that i was on the track of a species of horse; and therefore when the natives showed the tracks of a cloven-footed animal like the eland, and told us these were the foot-prints of the okapi, i disbelieved them, and imagined that we were merely following a forest-eland. we never saw the okapi; and as the life in the forest made the whole expedition extremely ill, and my time was required for official work elsewhere, i was obliged to give up this search. meantime, i had elicited from the natives, whom i questioned closely, that the okapi was a creature without horns or any means of offence, the size of a large antelope or mule, which inhabited only the densest parts of the forest, and generally went about in pairs, male and female. it lived chiefly on leaves. the belgian officers, seeing that i was disappointed at not obtaining a complete skin, offered to use their best efforts to obtain one for me, and send it on to uganda after my departure. [illustration: _copyright to "the sphere."_ the okapi of the congo forest. previous to the discovery of this ruminant the giraffe stood alone among the mammals of the world. it has now at least one living relative.] this promise was eventually redeemed by mr. karl eriksson, a swedish officer in the belgian service. mr. eriksson sent me a complete skin and two skulls. the skin and the bigger of the two skulls belonged to a young male. this is the skin which is now set up in the natural history museum at south kensington, and of which a photographic illustration accompanies this notice. upon receiving this skin, i saw at once what the okapi was--namely, a close relation of the giraffe. from the very small development of the horn-bosses, i believed that it was nearer allied to the helladotherium than to the living giraffe. in forwarding the specimens to professor ray lankester, i therefore proposed that it should be called _helladotherium tigrinum_. professor ray lankester, having examined the specimens with a greater knowledge than i possessed, decided that the animal was rather more closely allied to the giraffe than to the helladotherium, but that it possessed sufficient peculiarities of its own to oblige him to create for its reception a new genus, which he proposed to call _ocapia_. [illustration: _copyright photograph by hutchinson & co._ head of okapi. the enormous size of the ears is very noteworthy.] meantime, the original strips of the skin (which apparently belonged to an older and larger animal than the specimen mounted at south kensington) had been pronounced by experts to whom they were submitted to be the skin of an undiscovered species of horse, and this supposed new horse had been tentatively named by dr. p. l. sclater _equus johnstoni_. the full discovery obliged professor ray lankester to set aside any idea of the okapi being allied to the horse, but he was good enough to attach mr. sclater's specific name of _johnstoni_ to his newly founded genus of _ocapia_. up to the time of writing this is all that is known of this extraordinary survival in the congo forest of the only living relation of the giraffe. we know by palæontological discoveries in europe and in asia that there existed a large family of ruminants which in their development and features were neither of the ox group nor of the deer, but in some respects occupied a position midway between these two branches of cloven-hoofed, horned, ruminating ungulates. to this family the giraffe, the okapi, the helladotherium, the samotherium, the sivatherium, and the bramatherium belong. in all probability bony projections arose from the skulls of these creatures similar in some measure to the prominent bony cores of the horns of oxen. from the top, however, of these bony cores there would seem to have arisen anciently antlers, possibly deciduous like those of the prongbuck. in time creatures like the giraffe lost any need for such weapons of offence, and ceased to grow antlers; but the bony cores from which these antlers once proceeded still remained, and in the case of the giraffe remain to the present day. in the helladotherium and in the okapi these bony cores have dwindled to mere bumps. ---- chapter xvii. _the deer tribe._ by h. a. bryden. deer represent as a family the non-domesticated class of ruminants. generally speaking, the males are distinguished by antlers, which are shed periodically, usually once a year, and again renewed. comprising as it does some of the noblest mammals to be found on the face of the earth, this large and important tribe is to be found distributed over a large portion of the world's surface, from the arctic north, the home of the wild reindeer, to patagonia, in southern south america. deer are, however, not found in the continent of africa south of the sahara, nor in madagascar or australia. they are not indigenous to new zealand; but the red deer, introduced there some years ago for purposes of sport, have thriven wonderfully well, and are now completely acclimatised. from the earliest times deer, especially those species known as the true or typical deer, of which red deer may be said to be a type, have been animals of considerable importance to mankind. their flesh has been always eagerly sought after; deer-skin is still, even in these days of high civilisation, useful for many purposes; and the antlers are almost equally in request. it is more than probable that, in the vast and still little-explored regions of central, east, and northern asia, new species of deer remain to be discovered. at the present time there are known to exist, in various parts of the world, close on a hundred species and varieties. within the space allotted to these animals it is, of course, manifestly impossible to notice all these in anything like detail. many of the varieties or sub-species closely resemble one another, so much so that the differences between them are only apparent to the eyes of naturalists or acute observers. the reindeer. [illustration: _photo by valentine & sons, ltd._] [_dundee._ scandinavian reindeer. the spreading hoofs enable the reindeer to traverse snow and swamps without sinking.] reindeer are distinguished from all other kinds of deer by the fact that antlers are borne by both males and females. the antlers, as may be seen by the illustration, differ materially from those of the red deer, elk, and other species; the brow-tines, especially, are often much palmated. these animals are heavily built, short-legged, and, as beseems dwellers in a snowy habitat, provided with round, short, and spreading hoofs. for ages reindeer have been domesticated by the lapps of scandinavia, the samoyeds, and other primitive races of northern europe and asia. trained to harness, and drawing a sledge, they traverse long distances, while their milk, flesh, and hides are of great importance to the people who keep them. the common or scandinavian reindeer ranges from norway through northern europe into asia, though how far eastward is not yet accurately determined. it is interesting to note that these animals were once denizens of britain, and so lately as the twelfth century the jarls of orkney are believed to have been in the habit of crossing to the mainland for the purpose of hunting them in the wilds of caithness. wild reindeer are still to be found in the remoter parts of norway, though, from much persecution, they are becoming comparatively scarce in most parts of the country. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ woodland caribou. this specimen has shed its horns, which are of the general type of those of the scandinavian race.] mr. abel chapman, in his "wild norway," gives some excellent accounts of sport with these fine deer. speaking of a good herd of twenty-one, discovered in ryfylke, he says: "most of the deer were lying down, but both the big stags stood upright in dreamy, inert postures.... i now fully realised what a truly magnificent animal i had before me. both in body and horn he was a giant, and his coat was no less remarkable; the neck was pure white, and beneath it a shaggy mane hung down a foot in length. this white neck was set off by the dark head in front and the rich glossy brown of his robe behind. besides this the contrasting black and white bars on flanks and stern were conspicuously clean-cut and defined, and the long and massive antlers showed a splendid recurved sweep, surmounted by branch-like tines, all clean." for three long, agonising hours the stalker watched this noble prize, and then one of those lucky chances which occasionally gladden the hunter's heart occurred, and the reindeer approached within a hundred yards. "half-a-dozen forward steps, and his white neck and dark shoulder were beautifully exposed. already, ere his head had appeared, the rifle had been shifted over, and now the foresight dwelt lovingly on a thrice-refined aim. the . bullet struck to an inch, just where the shaggy mane joined the brown shoulder. the beast winced all over, but neither moved nor fell. a moment's survey, and i knew by the swaying of his head that he was mine." the weight of this big reindeer stag was estimated at lbs., or stone. he carried twenty-five points to his antlers, which measured inches in extreme length. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ immature scandinavian elk. the largest of all the deer tribe, and has antlers of an altogether abnormal type.] in addition to the common or scandinavian reindeer, there are closely allied races, showing, however, slightly varying characteristics, found in spitzbergen and greenland. in north america, where only wild reindeer are found, these animals are known as caribou. here several sub-species are known: among them, the newfoundland caribou; the woodland caribou of the mainland; and the barren-ground caribou, found in the arctic wastes of the far north-west, towards the polar ocean. the elk, or moose. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ female american elk, or moose. the elk of the two hemispheres are so alike that they cannot be regarded as anything more than races of a single species.] this gigantic creature, the largest of all the numerous tribe of deer, is found, in the old world, in northern europe, siberia, and northern china. its range extends--for there is no real distinction between the elk of the old and the new worlds--to northern america, where it is always known as the moose. its transatlantic habitat runs from the mouth of the mackenzie river to the st. lawrence. wherever its abiding-place may be, it will be found that the elk is essentially a forest-loving creature, partial to the loneliest stretches of the woods and dreary marshes. its fleshy, bulbous, prehensile muzzle shows plainly that the elk is a browsing beast, and not a grazing animal, like most other deer. the male carries vast palmated horns, measuring sometimes as much as feet ¼ inch in span from tip to tip; this measurement is from an american specimen in the possession of the duke of westminster. a fine scandinavian bull will measure hands at the withers and weigh as much as stone, while the north american elk is said to attain as much as , lbs. in colour the elk is a dark brownish grey; the neck, body, and tail are short; while the animal stands very high upon the legs. under the throat of the male hangs a singular appendage, a sort of tassel of hair and skin, known to american hunters as the "bell." the build of the elk is clumsy, and the mighty beast entirely lacks the grace characteristic of so many others of the deer kind. it has in truth a strangely primeval, old-world aspect, and seems rather to belong to prehistoric ages than to modern times. in scandinavia elk are hunted usually in two ways--by driving, or with a trained dog held in leash. in the royal forests of sweden great bags are made at these drives; and in the year , when a great hunt was got up for the present king of england, forty-nine elk were slain. except during the rutting-season these titanic deer are extremely shy and suspicious creatures, and the greatest precautions have to be taken in hunting them. in canada moose are often shot during the rutting-season by "calling," a rude horn of birch-bark being used, with which the hunter simulates the weird, hoarse roar of the animals, as they call to one another, or challenge in the primeval woodlands and morasses of the wild north. still-hunting or tracking--spooring, as it would be called in south africa--is another and extremely fatiguing method; while yet another mode of hunting is that practised by indian and half-breed hunters in winter, when, the sportsman being mounted on snow-shoes, the moose is followed, run into and shot in deep snow. in this sport the hunter has much the better of it. the moose, with its vast weight and sharp hoofs, plunges through the frozen snow-crust, over which the snow-shoes carry the biped easily enough, and, becoming presently exhausted, is shot without much difficulty. elk usually run at a steady, slinging trot, and traverse extraordinary distances, apparently with little fatigue. red deer. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ park red deer. the typical representative of the entire deer tribe.] we come now to a group of what are called typical deer, the red deer, found in various parts of the world. the red deer, which once roamed over much of britain, is now in the wild state confined chiefly to the highlands of scotland, exmoor, part of county kerry in ireland, and various islands on the west coast of scotland. a good male specimen will stand about feet or a little less at the shoulder, carry antlers bearing twelve or fourteen points, and weigh from to stone clean--that is, with the heart, liver, and lungs taken out. the woodland stags of perthshire, however, not infrequently reach stone, while mr. j. g. millais mentions a stag, killed by colonel the hon. alastair fraser at beaufort, inverness-shire, which scaled stone lbs. clean. this seems to be the heaviest british wild stag of modern times. the summer coat is short, shining, and reddish brown in hue; in winter the pelage is thicker and rougher and greyish brown in colour. stalking the red deer stag in its native fastnesses is beyond all doubt the finest wild sport now left to the inhabitants of these islands. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ an asiatic wapiti. all the races of the wapiti are easily recognisable by the large fourth tine of the antlers and the short tail.] mr. j. g. millais, author of "british deer and their horns" and other works, himself a first-rate sportsman in many parts of the world, compares the style of shooting red deer in vogue forty or fifty years ago with that obtaining in the highlands at the present day. "a stalker in black mount, argyllshire," he says, "told me of a typical day's sport in which he took part some forty years ago. fox maule and sir edwin landseer were the two rifles (they frequently stalked in pairs at that time), and, on the side of clashven, peter robertson, the head forester, brought them within eighty yards of two exceptionally fine stags. maule fired and missed, as did also sir edwin as the stags moved away; then, on a signal from robertson. peter mccoll, the gillie, slipped the hounds--the two best ever owned by the late marquis of breadalbane, and whose portraits are still preserved in the famous picture of 'the deer drive'--and away they went in hot pursuit of the deer. an end-on chase now ensued, the line taken being due east down the great glen towards loch dochart, and at last the stalkers were brought to a standstill, being fairly exhausted both in wind and limb. at this moment, however, four dark spots, like small rocks, standing out at the point of a little promontory in the lake, attracted their attention, and, on drawing nearer, they saw, to their surprise, each of the big stags being held at bay by a gallant hound. a couple of shots then settled the business, and so ended what was then considered a grand day's sport. no doubt it was most exciting to see the struggle of bone and sinew between two such noble quadrupeds, but it was not rifle-shooting. to-day the gallant but disturbing deer-hound has given place to the cunning and obedient collie, and the success of the stalker depends, for the most part, on the accuracy of his rifle and his skill in using it." [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ american wapiti. the giant deer of the rocky mountains, formerly very plentiful, now scarce.] here are a couple of sketches of modern stalking taken from mr. millais' own diary:-- "_wednesday, october th._--started for the big corrie with mccoll, and saw nothing till we got to the eagle hill. on this were three stags and about twenty hinds, the property of a magnificent fellow carrying one of the best heads i have ever seen on black mount. for some time mccoll thought he was just a bit too good to shoot, for the very best in this forest are generally left for stock purposes. finding, however, that, he was not royal [a twelve-pointer], my companion agreed to a shot--that is, if he got within shooting distance, which was not too likely, the eagle hill being one of those queer places where back eddies are carried down from almost every 'airt' from which the wind is blowing. luck is apparently entirely my way this week, so far at any rate. the big stag was very 'kittle,' frequently roaring and keeping his hinds moving before him along the hillside, in the direction of another corrie running at right angles, the entrance to which, if reached, would checkmate us. a quick, stiff climb, and a clashing piece of stalking on the part of mccoll, brought us in front of the herd only just in time, for i had hardly got into position when the first few hinds moved past a hundred yards below us. they were very uneasy and highly suspicious, but fortunately did not stop; and in another moment, to my joy, the big stag came slowly behind them, and offered a fair broadside in the very spot where i should have wished him to stand. the bullet took him through the ribs, certainly a trifle too far back, but he gave in at once, and rolled yards down the hill, fortunately without hurting his horns. a really fine highland stag in his prime; weight, stone lbs., with a good wild head of ten points, and good cups on the top." "_thursday, october th._--we negotiated the stiff climb, and mcleish, leaving me behind a rock on the summit, returned some distance to signal directions to the pony-man. he came back just as the stag returned roaring down the pass he had ascended; and as the mist was blotting out the landscape, i feared he would come right on to us without being seen, but, as luck would have it, he stopped and recommenced bellowing within seventy yards. i never heard a stag make such a row, but nothing of him could we see. it was most exciting, lying flat on a slab of rock, hoping devoutly that the mist would rise, if only for a few seconds. the tension had grown extreme, when there was a momentary lift in the gloom, and i made out the dim forms of the deer just as a big hind, which i had not noticed, 'bruached' loudly within twenty yards of us. the outline of the stag was barely visible when, after carefully aiming, i pressed the trigger, knowing that a moment later there would be no second chance. at the shot the deer at once disappeared, but i felt sure i had hit him, and, on following the tracks for some fifty yards, there he lay as dead as a door-nail. weight, stone lbs.; a wild head of ten points; thin, and evidently that of a deer on the decline." [illustration: _photo by mr. w. rau_] [_philadelphia._ american wapiti. the dark head, fore-quarters, and under-parts, so distinctive of the wapiti, are here well displayed.] in england the wild red deer are hunted with stag-hounds on exmoor, and first-rate sport is obtained on the great moorlands of somerset and devon. during the last fifty years the deer have much increased in numbers, and no less than three packs--the devon and somerset, sir john heathcoat-amory's, and mr. peter ormrod's--are now engaged in hunting them. in the five years ending in , deer were killed by the devon and somerset hounds. the young of the red deer are in europe usually dropped in june. the fawn is dexterously concealed by the hind amid the heather, and is left in concealment during the day. scrope, a great authority on these animals, states that the hind induces her fawn to lie down by pressure of the nose: "it will never stir or lift up its head the whole of the day, unless you come right upon it, as i have often done; it lies like a dog, with its nose to its tail. the hind, however, although she often separates herself from the young fawn, does not lose sight of its welfare, but remains at a distance to windward, and goes to its succour in case of an attack of the wild cat or fox, or any other powerful vermin." on the continent far finer examples of red deer are to be found than in the british isles, and the antlers and records of weights preserved at the castle of moritzburg in saxony, and elsewhere, show that two hundred years ago the stags of germany were far superior even to those of the present day, which are much heavier and afford finer trophies than do the highland red deer. even in germany, however, marked deterioration has taken place during the last two centuries. a stag, for example, killed by the elector of saxony in weighed not less than stone lbs.; while from the elector's records between and it appears that stags exceeded stone, exceeded stone, , exceeded stone, and , exceeded stone. these figures are given by mr. w. a. baillie-grohman, a distinguished sportsman, in a very interesting chapter contributed to the "big game shooting" volumes of the badminton library. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ american wapiti. in the united states this species is universally miscalled the elk.] this deterioration among the red deer of the forests of central and northern europe is, however, not traceable among the red deer of the wild mountainous regions of austria-hungary and south-eastern europe. here, at the present day, stags of enormous size and weight are still to be found. in the carpathian alps, for example, red deer stags are still to be shot scaling more than stone (clean) in weight. climate and feeding have, of course, much to do with the weight of stags and the size and beauty of their antlers. the carpathian stags have enormous range, rich food, and, as mr. baillie-grohman points out, are suffered during the summer to "make undisturbed raids upon the rich agricultural valleys ... the feudal sway exercised by the great territorial magnates permitting the deer to trespass upon the crops with impunity, and thus grow to be the lustiest of their race." in addition to the british islands, the red deer of europe is found on the island of hitteren on the western coast of norway, in the south of sweden, and in germany, russia, france, spain, austria-hungary, turkey, and greece. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ altai wapiti. this is one of several asiatic forms of the wapiti.] in corsica and sardinia a local and smaller race is found, probably closely allied to the stag of north africa. the barbary stag is somewhat smaller than its first cousin of europe, and carries antlers which usually lack the second, or bez, tine. the colour of this stag is "a dark sepia-brown, a little lighter and greyer on the back. faint yellowish spots can occasionally be distinguished on the fur in the adults," says sir harry johnston. the hinds are of the same colour as the stags, but lack the grey tint on the back. these fine deer are found in algeria and tunis, their habitat being chiefly in pine and cork forests. they are found also in parts of morocco, near the frontiers of algeria and tunis, where their range extends from near the mediterranean to the verge of the sahara desert. formerly the barbary stag was hunted by the arabs on horseback by the aid of greyhounds. in tunis, where it is protected by the french, it is now fairly abundant. the maral and kashmir stag. the caspian red deer, or maral, is a magnificent sub-species, incomparably the finest representative of the red deer species. standing about feet inches at the shoulder, a good stag will weigh as much as stone clean, in exceptional specimens probably a good deal more. the range of this noble beast includes the caspian provinces of north persia, transcaucasia, the caucasus, and the crimea. there can be little doubt that the great stags shot in the galician carpathians are caspian red deer, and not the ordinary red deer of western europe. the red deer of turkey is, too, no doubt referable to this sub-species. continuing our survey of typical deer, we come to the kashmir stag, which is a magnificent beast, standing as much as feet inches at the shoulder, and carrying antlers approaching the red deer type, which measure in fine specimens from to inches. the kashmir stag, often miscalled barasingh by indian sportsmen, makes its home in the forest regions of the north side of the kashmir valley, ranging chiefly on altitudes of from , to , feet. the summer coat is rufous; in winter the pelage is of a darkish brown. the yarkand stag is an apparently allied species, found in the forests bordering on the yarkand or tarim river. two more stags close the list of those asiatic deer which approximate more or less closely to the red deer type. these are the shou, or sikhim stag, and thorold's deer, concerning neither of which animals is much known at present. the shou, of which only the head has yet been brought to england, appears to be a very large stag, in size approximating to the gigantic wapiti. the antlers are very large, extending to as much as inches over the outer curve. so far as is at present known, this great deer is found in the country "north of bhutan and the valley eastward of chumbi, which drains northward into the sangpo." no european hunter, it is believed, has ever yet levelled a rifle or even set eyes on this noble deer. in england thorold's deer is known from two specimens shot by dr. w. g. thorold, during a journey across tibet, at an elevation of about , feet. the high tibetan plateau and other adjacent parts of central asia form the habitat of this species. in size thorold's deer is about on a level with the kashmir stag: the coat is dark brown; the antlers are distinctive in their backward curve, in the lack of the bez tine, and their flattened appearance. the muzzle and chin are pure white, as is the inner surface of the ears. wapiti. wapiti are the giants of the red deer group, carrying enormous antlers, and attaining as much as , lbs. in weight. the true wapiti of north america, known in that country chiefly by the local name of elk, carry by far the finest and the heaviest heads of any of the typical deer kind. mr. rowland ward, in his book "records of big game," gives the length of antlers of a twelve-pointer shot in the olympic mountains, washington state, as inches over the outer curve; while another specimen, also a twelve-pointer, taken from a wapiti shot in wyoming, measures inches. occasional heads bear as many as , , and even tines, or points, but from to points are more usual in fine average heads. a good stag will stand from feet inches to feet inches at the shoulder. magnificently shaped, splendid in form and bearing, as in the size of its antlers, a more lordly creature than the stag wapiti does not pace the earth. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ manchurian wapiti calling. the great size of the fourth tine, characteristic of the species, is very noticeable.] "the wapiti," says colonel theodore roosevelt in "the encyclopedia of sport," "is highly polygamous, and during the rut the master bulls gather great harems about them and do fierce battle with one another, while the weaker bulls are driven off by themselves. at this time the bulls are comparatively easy to approach, because they are very noisy, incessantly challenging one another by night and day. settlers and hunters usually speak of their challenge as 'whistling,' but this is a very inadequate description. the challenge consists of several notes, first rising and then falling. heard near by, especially among unattractive surroundings, it is not particularly impressive, varying in tone from a squeal to a roar, and ending with grunts; but at a little distance it is one of the most musical sounds in nature, sounding like some beautiful wind instrument. nothing makes the heart of a hunter leap and thrill like the challenge of a wapiti bull, as it comes pealing down under the great archways of the mountain pines, through the still, frosty, fall weather; all the more if it be at night, under the full moon, and if there is light snow on the ground." wapiti in north america have suffered much from persecution, and it is now difficult indeed to secure fine heads like those that fell to hunters twenty or thirty years since. twelve or fifteen years ago, during winter-time, bands of wapiti in colorado, wyoming, and montana were to be seen gathered together to the number of thousands; now a score or two is the rule, where these animals are to be found at all. however, by those who know where to go for their game, and can hold a rifle straight, wapiti are still to be obtained. mr. selous, in his "sport and travel, east and west," thus describes a recent experience: "after a few seconds of agonising suspense a noble-looking monarch of the mountains walked slowly from the shelter of the pine-trees and followed the ladies of his household, who had now halted about fifty yards down the slope, passing in quite open ground not more than sixty or seventy yards below me; and as the stag followed them, i waited until he came past, though he had been well within shot ever since he came out from among the trees. as he did not know where i was, and probably had not the least idea why the hinds had trotted off, he came along very leisurely, looking magnificent; for although his antlers were but moderate in size, there were no others of larger proportions near to dwarf them, and even a very ordinary wapiti stag, seen at short range in its native wilds, is a glorious sight to look upon. i let him get a little past me, and then put one of holland's peg-bullets just behind his shoulder, low down. i saw by the convulsive rush forwards that he made that he was struck through the heart, but i did not expect so large an animal to collapse so quickly. he had not gone twenty paces after being hit, when he fell suddenly right on to the prostrate stem of a large tree, which did not, however, stop him, as the impetus of his fall carried him over it, and he then went sliding at a terrific pace down the steep snow-slope below, and disappeared from sight almost immediately." the dead wapiti was ultimately found feet below, with the antlers, strangely enough, scarcely injured, but the body and quarters much bruised by the fall. he was "a very pretty fourteen-pointer of moderate size." [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ an axis hind. a species spotted at all seasons.] a fight between two wapiti stags is a terrific encounter. "with heads lowered between their fore feet," says mr. perry, "the two adversaries walk around, waiting for an opening; and when one is thrown off his guard, the other makes a savage rush; but his opponent instantly recovers, counters the charge, and as they rush together the antlers strike each other with such terrific force that the report can be heard for a long distance. slowly retreating, bellowing, grumbling, and grinding their teeth in a paroxysm of rage, they again circle round.... the challenging wapiti usually does most of the offensive fighting until he finds (if such be the case) that he is the weaker; then he suddenly retires, bellowing as he goes." in the old days the indians of north america were in the habit of organising great wapiti drives. entire herds were surrounded by a ring of mounted men, and forced over precipices. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ a stag axis, or indian spotted deer. one of the most common animals in an indian jungle scene.] [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ a spotted oriental deer. one of the numerous philippine species.] in recent years it has been discovered that wapiti are also denizens of certain parts of asia. at least two sub-species--the altai wapiti and the manchurian wapiti--have thus far been identified. the former, sometimes known as the thian-shan stag, is found in the forests of the altai and thian-shan mountains, west of the mongolian desert. compared with its american congener, it is inferior in stature, has shorter legs, a longer body, and proportionately larger antlers, though none have yet approached those of the longest american specimens. these splendid stags, of which living specimens have been maintained by the duke of bedford at woburn, are captured alive by the altai natives, and kept in domestication for the sake of their antlers, which are sold in china for purposes of medicine at as much as the value of £ apiece. the manchurian wapiti, or luehdorf's stag, is a well-marked local race of the wapiti, which turns reddish in summer. it has received several names, and is well characterised by the form of its antlers. it has been kept alive in the duke of bedford's park at woburn abbey. it seems probable that the siberian stags will eventually be referred to the wapiti group. bokhara deer. a fine deer from russian turkestan is at present known as the bokhara deer. it is said to resemble the shou of northern bhutan more than any other species, and, standing about feet at the shoulder, is of an ashen-grey colour, tinged with yellow. a living specimen has been exhibited at moscow, and it is believed that specimens in the collection of the duke of bedford belong to this form. sikas. the sikas, as typified by the japanese deer, are a group of deer of moderate size, distinguished from the preceding assemblage by antlers of simpler type, each antler having usually four points, and lacking the second, or bez tine. the coat is spotted with white, and white markings appear about the tail. the tail is much longer than in the red deer group. the japanese deer, found in japan and north china, is a beautiful creature, somewhat smaller than the fallow deer of europe, having a coat of brilliant chestnut, thickly spotted with white in curious longitudinal markings. this is the summer pelage; in winter the colour changes to dark brown, and the spots mostly disappear. when in the velvet, the antlers are of a bright, chestnut-red, with black tips, and at this season the bucks look their handsomest. a good head measures from to inches, and carries usually eight points. the manchurian sika may be looked upon as a larger variety of the japanese deer, with a somewhat darker coat. another closely allied form is the formosan sika, which bears a rather paler summer coat, and carries spots in its winter pelage. this deer is found on the mountains of the island from which it takes its name. the few antlers which have reached this country seem to indicate that in this respect this deer is inferior to the other sikas. the longest pair yet recorded measure not more than ¾ inches. the pekin sika, sometimes known as dybowski's deer, is considerably larger in size than the rest of the group, standing well over feet at the shoulder. the horns are large and rugged, and measure as much as inches in length. the coat is thick and shaggy, and well adapted for life in a harsh climate. the habitat of this species is north-eastern manchuria and the borders of korea. fallow deer. fallow deer are, perhaps, to english people, the most familiar of all the cervine race, forming as they do, in the semi-domesticated state, the adornments of most of our parks. the flesh of this handsome deer furnishes the well-known venison of this country, and is perhaps the best-tasted of all deer-meat. a good fallow buck stands about feet at the shoulder, and weighs (clean) about lbs., though specimens have been shot weighing as much as lbs., but this is exceptional. the horns are strongly palmated. originally this deer was not indigenous to britain, but is often said to have been introduced by the romans from eastern europe. [illustration: _photo by c. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a young fallow buck of the brown breed. the favourite park-deer of england.] the common fallow deer is found in the wild state in spain, portugal, greece, austria, rhodes, sardinia, asia minor, and north palestine. it is doubtful whether, as has been stated, this deer ever existed in modern times in the wild state in north africa. this is a highly gregarious species, delighting to move in considerable herds. in some parts of scotland fallow deer have reverted completely to the wild state, and afford excellent sport. and even park-deer, once they are shot at, exhibit extraordinary wariness and cunning, so much so that curious tricks and disguises have often to be resorted to when a fat buck has to be shot for venison. the beautiful mesopotamian fallow deer, found in the mountains of luristan, in mesopotamian persia, is somewhat larger than the common species, while its coat is much more brightly coloured. the antlers bear little resemblance to those seen in the park-deer of this country, being far less palmated and spreading, and more vertical. the enormous horns of the extinct deer once known as irish elk are now considered by naturalists to be those of a gigantic species of fallow deer. by the kindness of mr. j. g. millais, i am enabled to give the dimensions of a pair of antlers of one of these wonderful beasts from his museum. these antlers measure in spread, from tip to tip, feet inches; length round inside of right horn, feet; round left horn, feet inches,--a marvellous trophy, truly. this specimen was dug up in county waterford. these colossal fallow deer, which roamed the wastes of ireland in prehistoric times, must have afforded fairly exciting sport to the feebly armed human beings who then existed. the sambar, or rusine deer. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ a sambar stag. the only indian deer of which the fawns are unspotted.] sambar may be shortly described as large deer, having rough, shaggy coats, and big, rugged antlers of simple type, usually displaying but three tines. they belong to the group known as typical deer, although they are but distantly connected with the red deer. the colour of the coat is usually dark umber-brown, marked with chestnut about the rump and under-parts. the well-known sambar of india stands as much as feet inches at the withers, and weighs, before being cleaned, some lbs. the longest pair of antlers yet recorded (rowland ward's "records of big game") measure inches in length over the outer curve. usually to be found among jungly, wooded hills and mountains in many parts of india and ceylon, this fine stag affords first-rate sport, and is much sought after by shikaris. it is to be met with in small troops of from four to a dozen, or singly, while during the rutting-season the animals rove in more considerable herds. in jungle and thickly forested regions it is a hard matter to come up with the sambar on foot, and it is there usually shot from elephant-back, by the aid of beaters. in more open hill country it affords good stalking. in ceylon it is hunted with hounds, and yields in this way also capital sport. these animals seem to revel in heat, and love to shelter themselves in hot, stifling valleys; they drink only once in two or three days. it is a noticeable feature in connection with the antlers of the sambar that they are not invariably shed annually, as with most of the deer kind. in ceylon, according to sir samuel baker, they are shed "with great irregularity every third or fourth year." [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ formosan sika stag. like its japanese kindred, this deer is spotted only in summer.] [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ javan rusa stag. this deer is a near relative of sambur, but has a somewhat different type of antler.] lieutenant-colonel reginald heber percy thus writes concerning the sambar, or sambur: "compared with the kashmir stag, red deer, or wapiti, he looks an ugly, coarse, underbred brute.... as the sambur is almost entirely nocturnal in its habits, it is most commonly shot in drives, and in many places it is almost impossible to obtain sambur otherwise; but where it can be managed, stalking is, of course, far better fun. the sportsman should be on his ground just before daylight, and work slowly through the forest at the edge of the feeding-grounds, taking the bottom of the hill if there are crops on the plain below, or, failing these, the edges of the open glades in the forest. presently, if there are any sambur about, he will hear their trumpet-like call, and, creeping on, see two or three dark forms moving among the trees. in the grey of the morning it is often very hard to distinguish a stag from a hind, and the writer has on several occasions had to wait, after viewing the herd, till there was light enough to pick his stag. even in broad daylight it is difficult to judge the size of a stag's horns as he stands motionless in the deep gloom of the forest, and what little can be seen of them makes them look three times their real size--the beam is so massive and the tines so long. the stag, too, is such a big beast, standing nearly a hand taller than a barasingh, that if seen in the open he looks as big as our irish elk.... all driving should be done during the heat of the day, when the animals are lying down; trying to drive when beasts are naturally on the move generally results in the game leaving the beat before the men are in their places. it may sound ridiculous for a man to get up a tree in a sambur drive, but he is far more likely to get an easy shot in this position, as the deer will neither see nor wind him; he commands more ground, and he runs no risk of heading back the wary old hind which often leads the herd, the chances being that if he is rightly posted the herd will come right under his tree. another advantage is that, his fire being plunging, he can shoot all round without danger to the beaters. in some parts of the himalaya native shikaris declare that they often shoot sambur by selecting a likely path and improvising a salt-lick, after the fashion of laplanders when they want to catch their tame reindeer." the flesh of this deer is coarse and only moderately good eating. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ hog-deer. the smallest indian representative of the sambar group.] the malayan sambar, found from assam, through burma, to the malay peninsula, and in siam, hainan, borneo, and perhaps sumatra, is slightly less in size than its indian prototype; the antlers vary somewhat, and are shorter and stouter. the longest antlers yet recorded measure - / inches over the outer curve; these come from borneo. the formosan sambar, sometimes called swinhoe's deer, is, again, closely connected with the malayan sambar, and may be looked upon as purely a local race. the antlers appear to run smaller, the best recorded examples only extending to ¾ inches. the luzon sambar (philippines), a small sub-species, and the szechuan sambar (north-west china), are also local races of the same species. this last seems thus far to occupy the most northerly habitat of this group. the basilan sambar (philippines) is, like its congener of luzon, a small sub-species, standing no more than from to inches at the shoulder, of slender build, and with the hindquarters higher than the withers. the best antlers yet recorded measure no more than ½ inches. it is interesting to note that as the island of basilan is the smallest of the philippines, so is this sambar by far the smallest of its group. its restricted habitat has no doubt conduced, during long ages, to bring about this result. the javan sambar, or rusa, is a distinct species, found, as its name implies, in the island of java. the antlers are somewhat slender, but are, next to those of the sambar of india, the longest of the group. the best recorded pair measure ½ inches, while another pair from mauritius, where this animal has been introduced, measure half an inch longer. this sambar is smaller than the great sambar of india, and is about on a par with a good red deer. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford, woburn abbey._ fallow deer. there are two breeds of these beautiful deer in the british isles; in the one the summer coat is fawn dappled with white; in the other the colour is dark brown at all seasons.] the moluccan rusa, a sub-species somewhat smaller than the javan deer, is found in celebes and certain islands--boru, batchian, and amboina--in the moluccan group; while the timor rusa, a closely allied congener, is found on the islands of timor, semao, and kambing. it is possible--nay, even probable--that the malays may, in times gone by, have introduced certain of these rusine deer from one habitat to another. such, at least, seems to be the presumption among naturalists. dr. guillemard, in that charming book "the cruise of the marchesa" (p. ), gives some interesting information concerning moluccan sambar in the little-known island of batchian. the inhabitants, "living for the most part in the hills, kill and smoke the deer, and bring the meat into the villages for sale. we were fortunate enough to assist at one of their hunts, in which no other weapon than the spear is used. the side of a large ravine, which had been partially cleared, and presented a confused jumble of fallen trees and low brushwood, was assigned to us as our post, and, from the extensive view it commanded, we were able later in the day to watch one run almost from start to finish, although at first the sport appeared to be successful in every direction but our own. at length a stag broke covert about five hundred yards above us, and descended the slopes of the ravine, but shortly afterwards turned and made for the forest again. he was met by some of the hunters and driven back; but the dogs were now in full cry, and pressed him hard, the hunters meanwhile racing at their utmost speed above, in order to prevent his regaining the jungle. he now altered his direction, and turned down once more towards us; but the fallen trees were so thick that the dogs gained rapidly on him. he made one more effort for his life by doubling, but it was too late, and in another minute the dogs and hunters had fairly run him down." [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ young male swamp-deer. this species is the barasingh of the natives of india. it is by no means addicted to swampy localities.] deer were probably the earliest animals of the chase. their bones are found in the cave-dwellings of prehistoric man, and some of the earliest efforts at drawing represent these animals. other typical deer. so numerous are the typical deer that they are not concluded even by the long list of animals already enumerated. we proceed now to glance briefly at the remainder of this important group. the philippine spotted deer, or prince alfred's deer, is a small but extremely handsome species, found in the islands of samar and leyte. the height is under inches; the colour very dark brown, spotted with white, the under-parts, chin, and upper portion of the legs also white. another small cervine from the philippine group is the calamianes deer, a darkish brown beast, found in the island of that name. the little bavian deer, another island-deer, from the bavian group, between borneo and java, should also be mentioned. very little is known of the habits of these three deer, and few specimens even of their skins and horns have reached europe. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ indian muntjac. sometimes called the barking-deer. the indian species stands only feet high.] [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford, woburn abbey._ young male chinese water-deer. one of the few deer which have no antlers.] the hog-deer, allied to the last-named species, is an animal much better known, found as it is in many parts of india and burma. this handsome little deer stands from to inches at the shoulder, and carries antlers which average from to inches, and reach occasionally as much as or inches--one specimen is recorded measuring ¼ inches. it has a yellowish or reddish-brown coat, minutely speckled with white. the summer coat is paler and marked with white or palish-brown spots. this sturdy little deer is found usually in long grass, and affords excellent snap-shooting; it is also run into with dogs and speared by mounted sportsmen. major fitz-herbert thus describes a chase of this kind: "he [the little stag] stood at bay, with head down and bristles raised like a miniature red deer of landseer's, but broke away when i came up. once he charged the bitch and knocked her over. he stood at bay two or three times, but i could never get a spear into him for fear of hurting the dogs. at last one time, as he was breaking bay, i came up, and he charged me with such force as to break one of his horns clean off against the spear. however, i struck him in the spine, and rolled him over." these little deer have quite extraordinary pluck, and have been known even to charge and wound a horse. the chital, or indian spotted deer, often called the axis deer, a very beautiful species, is the common jungle-stag of india. standing about feet or a little over, its lovely coat of bright reddish fawn is thickly spotted with white at all seasons of the year. the horns are somewhat of the sambar type, and measure as much as or inches in length in fine specimens. these exquisite deer are often found in considerable herds, and are a forest-loving species. the swamp-deer, the true barasingh of india, as distinguished from the kashmir stag, which is often loosely called barasingh, is a plain-loving species, found in various parts of india, and characterised by handsome antlers, bearing as many as from to points. this is a big, heavy deer, standing nearly feet at the withers, and weighing as much as stone. the summer coat is light rufous, more or less spotted with white. the winter coat is yellowish brown. a near relative to this deer is schomburgk's deer, found in northern siam. the antlers of this stag are most curiously forked and bifurcated. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ male siberian roe. a very huge species of roebuck, with more rugged antlers than the european-roe.] the thamin, or eld's deer, sometimes called the brow-antlered deer, is another plains-deer, found chiefly from manipur, through burma, to the malay peninsula. it is a good-sized species, standing about feet inches at the shoulder, and weighing as much as stone. the large antlers are simple in type, the brow-tines curving down curiously over the forehead; the tail is sharp, and the neck provided with a mane, the young being spotted. a siamese race of eld's deer, found in siam and hainan, differs somewhat from the burmese type. the muntjacs. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ female siberian roe. the absence of a tail, characteristic of all roes, is well shown.] the muntjacs, or barking-deer, are a group of small deer found in india, burma, and the malay region. the indian muntjac stands about feet in height, and weighs some lbs. the antlers, which average or inches in length, bear two points--brow-tine and beam; the lower portions, or pedicles, are curiously covered with hair, and the front of the face is ribbed or ridged in v fashion. the general colour is a golden bay, the face and limbs brown, and the lower parts white. the buck has sharp tusks in the upper jaw, and, at a pinch, knows how to make use of them. a shy, stealthy little creature, the muntjac loves dense cover, and the sportsman usually obtains but a quick snapshot at this active and wary little deer as it flashes across him much as does a bolting rabbit scuttling across a narrow drive. local indian names for the barking-deer are jungle-sheep, red hog-deer, and rib-faced deer. other muntjacs, varying somewhat from the indian form, are the hairy-fronted, the tenasserim, the tibetan, and the chinese muntjacs. tufted deer. near relatives of the odd little muntjacs are the tufted deer, of which two species, the tibetan and michie's, are known to naturalists. the former, found in eastern tibet, is about the size of the indian muntjac, and has a coat of dark chocolate-brown, curiously speckled on the face, neck, and fore parts; the frontal tuft is nearly black. the antlers of the bucks of both this and michie's deer are extremely small, scarcely observable at a first glance. both species have long curving tusks projecting from the upper jaw. michie's tufted deer is of a greyish-black or iron-grey colour, the face and neck dark grey. this animal is found in the reed-beds bordering the ningpo and other rivers in eastern china. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ siberian roebuck. shows a magnificent pair of antlers.] water-deer. the chinese water-deer is another diminutive deer, standing no more than inches at the shoulder. the body-colouring is pale rufous yellow, the head and the back of the ears being darker in hue than the rest of the body. the males carry no antlers. this tiny deer is found in north-east china, and is well known on the islands of the yangtse-kiang river. it loves thick cover, especially reeds and long grass. so apt is it at concealment, that at woburn abbey, where specimens are kept in a paddock of long tussocky grass, hours may be spent without catching a glimpse of it. when disturbed, it scurries off with short, quick leaps, very much after the manner of the hare. the males of the chinese deer, like the muntjacs, carry long curved tusks in the upper jaw. roe deer. the european roe, one of the handsomest of all the smaller deer, is still happily found in many parts of scotland. in england, where it had at one time become well-nigh extinct, it has been here and there reintroduced with some success. in ireland it seems never to have been found. on the continent its range is wide, extending from the south of sweden, through france and germany, to italy, greece, turkey, austria-hungary, and spain. found in southern russia and the caucasus, it makes its way eastward as far as north palestine and persia. the roe stands, in good adult specimens, inches at the shoulder, and weighs about lbs. the handsome and very characteristic horns measure in good specimens from to inches over the outer curve. the summer coat of this beautiful little deer is a bright rufous brown; in winter a darker and duller brown, with a notable white patch about the tail. the roe is always more or less a wood-loving creature. in winter, especially, it seldom cares to quit the shelter of the forest; in summer, however, the deer wander into more open localities. the fawns are born generally towards the end of may, and two young are usually produced. in the rutting-season the males fight savagely with one another. [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ female european roe deer. though common in the scotch woods, these deer are rarely seen, keeping close in cover all day.] mr. j. g. millais gives an instance of a buck killed in one of these desperate battles, in which one antler of the victor, having penetrated the brain of the vanquished buck, had been broken clean off and remained embedded in the skull, firmly wedged between the ears and the antlers. "when wounded and brought to bay by a dog," says mr. millais, "a roebuck brings into play both head and fore legs in his defence, using his horns as described, and striking out with his legs, more as if to push off his antagonist than to cause a forcible blow, for he gives no shock, as a hind can. a doe, too, uses her fore legs and boxes with her head; and mr. steel, who has had wide experience in roe-shooting, tells me that he has seen a doe use her hind legs as well. the bark of the buck is loud, sharp, and deep in tone, not unlike what a single call might be from an old collie. at this season, too, the female gives an amorous call when she wishes the male to come to her. if he is within hearing, he puts his neck out straight and comes full speed to her. in germany many roebucks are shot by alluring them in this manner, and calls exactly imitating her voice are made for the sportsman's use. one who has shot roe in this manner tells me it is most exciting sport, for the buck comes straight for the sound at full speed, and will only stop startled for a second when he discovers the fraud, and as often as not he passes right on without giving a chance." [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ pÈre david's deer. nineteen of these deer are at woburn abbey; three are at berlin. it is believed that these are the only deer of this species in existence.] roe have a curious trick of chasing one another in play, and certain roe-rings in the woods near cawdor castle, according to mr. millais, demonstrate the fact that for ages the deer have been in the habit of disporting themselves in these strange circles over the same pieces of ground. the fact is very singular. "these curious circles are most used in early summer; and sutherland, the head keeper, tells me," says mr. millais, "that hardly a morning passes without there being one or two roe playing in the rings, and sometimes there is quite a party of them." roe feed chiefly on grass; they will eat also rowan (mountain-ash) berries, of which they are especially fond, as well as turnips, grain, heather tops, and various other roots and plants. certain fungi, to which they are partial, they take much pains to dig out with their sharp hoofs. "a roebuck that i once kept," says mr. millais, "was a good scotchman, though he had a beastly temper, for he liked nothing so much as oatmeal porridge." roe make delightful pets, but the bucks are not to be trusted after the third year. one of these animals, supposed to be tame, has been known to kill a lad. in scotland and on the continent roe deer are usually killed by driving, and large bags are often made. even within recent times, as many as sixty-five roebucks and thirteen hinds have been shot at beaufort, lord lovat's place in inverness-shire, during a day's driving. shot-guns are employed for this kind of sport. stalking the roe is not so much pursued in scotland as it might be. it is a first-rate and most interesting form of sport, and in certain districts the rifle might very well be substituted for the shot-gun. "roe-stalking," says mr. millais, "possesses many charms of its own. in the first place, you can enjoy it at a season when there is no other shooting going on; secondly, it takes you out in the early morning, when all nature is full of life and beauty, and before the heat of the day commences; and, thirdly, where the chase of the animal is systematically conducted, as with red deer, the nature of the sport is everything that can be desired. i would therefore put forward a plea that tenants and owners of part-wood, part-forest lands in argyll, inverness, ross, and aberdeen should turn their attention to stalking the roe in preference to killing them during the usual winter wood-shoots." roe deer are exceedingly abundant in the great forest regions of germany and austria-hungary. in austria alone, not including hungary, during the year , no less than , of these beautiful little deer were shot on various estates. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ group of virginian deer (two bucks, four does). these are the common deer of the eastern united states.] the siberian roe, found from the mountains of the altai and turkestan to siberia, is a somewhat larger species than its european cousin, measuring from to inches at the shoulder. the antlers are also larger, extending to as much as and even inches in measurement. as beseems its habitat, the coat of this species is also thicker and rougher than is the case with the european roe. mr. lydekker gives some interesting particulars regarding this animal: "when the snows of november fall, the roe themselves commence to collect in herds, which may number from to head, and soon after migrate southwards into manchuria, whence they return about the end of march or beginning of april. on the ussuri, which they must cross, they are at this season slaughtered in thousands by the hunters, without regard to age or sex." one other species, the manchurian roe, found chiefly in mountainous habitats, whence it never descends, should be noted. this is a smaller deer than the siberian roe, and approximates in size and length of horn to the european race. pÈre david's deer. this remarkable animal, which apparently bears little or no resemblance to any of the other deer of the old world, has been placed by some naturalists between the roe deer and the american deer. its habitat is north china, and, strangely enough, it seems to be unrecognised in the wild state, being apparently only known in china in the imperial park at pekin. this deer approaches in size the red deer of europe. the general colouring is greyish brown, white about the eyes, ears, rump, and under-parts; the horns, which lack the brow-tine, are very singular in shape, and measure as much as inches in length; the tail is long, reaching to the hocks; the gait is "lolloping" and mule-like. this is a marsh-loving species, and at woburn abbey, where specimens are kept, "they may be seen wading far into the lakes and even swimming in the deeper water." [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ a mule-deer fawn. the large ears, from which the american species takes its name, are noticeable even in the young.] the american deer. excepting always the elk, wapiti, and reindeer, which have been already described, the deer of north and south america stand quite apart from those of the old world, and are placed in a genus of their own. usually the tail is long, and the brow-tine is always wanting. the most familiar species is the common american deer, of which the virginian or white-tailed deer is the type. this deer is found in varying forms in both continents, and was regularly hunted by the ancient mexicans with trained pumas. the well-known virginian deer, found in eastern north america, and believed to range as far south as louisiana, stands a trifle over feet in height, and weighs, clean, about stone lbs. the coloration is chestnut in summer, bluish grey in winter. the antlers are of good size, and measure as much as ½ inches in length. as a sporting animal the white-tailed deer is not popular. mr. clive phillipps-wolley describes him as "an exasperating little beast." possessing every quality which a deer ought not to, from the sportsman's point of view. "his haunts are river-bottoms, in choking, blinding bush, and his habits are beastly. no one could ever expect to stalk a white-tail; if you want to get one, you must crawl." mr. selous, in , bagged one of these deer somewhat curiously. "he was coming," he writes, "through the scrubby, rather open bush straight towards me in a series of great leaps, rising, i think, quite four feet from the ground at every bound. i stood absolutely still, thinking to fire at him just as he jumped the stream and passed me. however, he came so straight to me that, had he held his course, he must have jumped on to or over me. but when little more than the width of the stream separated us--when he was certainly not more than ten yards from me--he either saw or winded me, and, without a moment's halt, made a prodigious leap sideways. i fired at him when he was in the air, and i believe quite six feet above the ground." the deer, an old buck with a good head, was afterwards picked up dead. in different parts of america, as far south as peru and bolivia, various local races of this deer are to be found. true's deer is a small species, not unlike the virginian deer, found from south mexico to costa rica. the antlers are "in the form of simple spikes directed backwards," and the body-colouring is in summer light chestnut, in winter brownish grey. little is at present known of this species. the mule-deer, found in most parts of north america west of the missouri, as far south as southern california, stands about feet inches at the shoulder, and weighs over stone clean. it carries good antlers, measuring as much as inches, and in colour is tawny red in summer, brownish grey in winter. it is a far better sporting animal than the sneaking white-tailed deer, and affords excellent stalking. these deer are still abundant in many localities. mr. phillipps-wolley writes thus of them in "big game shooting": "some idea of the number of these deer in british columbia may be gathered from the fact that in one district i have had a chance of killing seventeen separate stags in an hour's still hunt, whilst one settler in the similkameen country fed his hogs on deer-meat through a whole winter." four races of mule-deer--the typical, the californian, the la paz, and the western desert race--have been identified by naturalists. the black-tailed deer is another well-known cervine of western north america, closely allied to the mule-deer, but distinguished from that species by its inferior size and its much blacker tail. the antlers, as a rule, run somewhat smaller than in the case of the mule-deer. this, too, is a very abundant species, affording fairly good sport (considering its liking for timber and dense bush) and excellent venison. in south america are to be found several kinds of marsh-deer, of which the best known is the handsome marsh-deer, having its range from brazil to the forest country of the argentine republic. little is known of this and other south american deer by british sportsmen. the marsh-deer is almost equal in size to the red deer of scotland, but somewhat less stout of build; the colouring is bright chestnut in summer, brown in winter; the coat is long and coarse, as befits a swamp-loving creature; the antlers usually display ten points, and measure in fine specimens as much as or inches. the pampas-deer, a species closely allied to the marsh-deer, is of small size, standing about feet inches at the shoulder. the antlers, usually three-pointed, measure no more than from to inches in fine specimens. this deer is found from brazil to northern patagonia. [illustration: _by permission of professor bumpus_] [_new york._ virginian deer. this deer is the best-known representative of a species displaying extraordinary local variation in size and colour.] the peruvian and chilian guemals are small deer, found on the high andes, and are somewhat inferior in size to the virginian deer. the males carry simple antlers forming a single fork, and measuring about inches. the coat, yellowish brown in hue, is coarse, thick, and brittle. the chilian guemal is found also in most parts of patagonia; unlike its congener of peru, which delights in altitudes of from , to , feet, its habitat lies chiefly in deep valleys, thick forest, and even the adjacent plains, to which it resorts in winter. [illustration: _by permission of the new york zoological society._ mule-deer stag. shows the large blackish-brown patch on the forehead, so distinctive of the species.] the brockets, of which seven species are found in south and central america and trinidad, are small deer, having spike-like antlers and tufted crowns. the largest is the red brocket, found in guiana, brazil, and paraguay, which stands inches at the shoulder. the body-colouring is brownish red. like most of the group, this brocket is extremely shy; although fond of dense covert, it is found also on open campos. the pygmy brocket, a tiny dark brown deerlet, less than inches in height, found in central brazil, is the smallest of these very small deer. two other diminutive deer, known as pudus, closely allied to the brockets, are found in south america. these are the chilian and ecuador pudus, of which the former is no more than ½ inches in height, the latter about or inches. little is known of the history and life habits of these charming little creatures, one of which, the chilian species, has occasionally been seen in the zoological society's gardens. the musk-deer. this brief account of the deer of the world closes with the musk-deer, which differ from almost all others of their kind--the chinese water-deer being the sole exception--in the absence of antlers. in place of these defensive and offensive weapons, nature has provided the musk-deer with long canine tusks, projecting downwards from the upper jaw. the musk, from which these curious deer take their name, is secreted during the rutting-season--in the male only--in a pouch or gland contained in the skin of the stomach. the well-known himalayan musk-deer is a stout, heavily made deer for its size, measuring inches at the shoulder, about inches higher at the rump, and having a coat of coarse, brittle hair of a dark brown colour. this musk-deer, which is nowadays by no means common, is found in the forests of the himalaya, tibet, siberia, and western china, often at altitudes of about , feet. these animals are extraordinary mountaineers, active, daring, and apparently quite unconscious of or indifferent to danger. another species, the kansu musk-deer, found in the province of kansu, china, has only been discovered within the last ten years. concerning this deer very little is at present known. in general characteristics it resembles its more familiar congener of the himalaya. a word should be said upon the subject of the acclimatisation of various members of the deer tribe in countries which are distant from their native ground, but in which they are found to thrive and breed, some with greater and some with less success. it will be seen that several of the illustrations in this chapter are taken from deer living in natural conditions at woburn abbey, the seat of the duke of bedford. others were photographed out of doors in zoological parks or private menageries. there is a considerable degree of transferability among deer, not only among those found in temperate or northern regions, but also those which inhabit the tropical jungles of southern india. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ young marsh-deer. a very elegant south american species. the main colour is a bright chestnut, with the lower part of the legs black. the insides of the ears are filled with white hair, looking like silver filigree.] the axis, or chital deer of india, is the most striking example. it lives in the hot jungles, where it is the usual food of the tiger. yet it has been transferred to the forests of france and to english parks, and not only lives, but breeds and increases in numbers. it is kept in this country mainly at woburn abbey, and at haggerston castle, in northumberland. in france and germany herds of axis deer have been maintained long enough to observe a curious and noteworthy incident in acclimatisation. the axis deer breeds naturally in october, after the indian rainy season. this habit, if persisted in in europe, would expose the fawn to the rigours of the french or english winter. gradually and after some time the herds become irregular in the time of reproduction, and later produce the fawns in june, at the time which is best suited to their survival. this is a real instance of acclimatisation. the japanese deer, or sika, was introduced into the park at powerscourt by viscount powerscourt some thirty years ago. now it is one of the commonest of recently introduced park-deer both in this country and in france. the venison is excellent, and the herds are prolific. the stags are small, but very strong, and at powerscourt always get the better of the red deer stags, and sometimes carry off their hinds. wapiti deer are kept in several english parks, but so far the sambar has proved a failure. hog-deer and chinese water-deer do very well both in england and france. but it is in new zealand that the best results have been obtained with imported deer. the english red deer, some of which were originally sent out by the prince consort, reinforced by some of the same species bred in australia, have become indigenous. they grow far faster and to a larger size than those on the scotch moors, and rival the great stags of the carpathians. the antlers also increase in size at an abnormal rate. licences are regularly issued to stalk and shoot these deer, which, like the brown trout and the pheasant, are now among the stock of established wild fauna. moose and a few sambar stags and herds have also been turned out in new zealand. the latter are said to be doing well. there is no particular reason why the deer of cold countries should not be interchanged; they seem to have the natural adaptability of oxen. but it is not a little surprising that the species from warm climates should flourish in damp and cold ones. the axis deer would be a real addition to the fauna of the great european forests, if it is found that it survives the winter snows without some form of artificial shelter. no one seems to have considered the advisability of introducing the mule-deer into the central european woods. it is a much finer animal than the fallow buck, and the venison is excellent. in those woods where fallow deer are preserved in a wild state, as on many of the german emperor's sporting-estates, the mule-deer would be a far more ornamental animal. few people know what immense herds of red and fallow deer, as well as of wild boars, still exist, under careful preservation, in the forests of the great german, austrian, and russian princes, and in the royal forests of their respective countries. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ young himalayan musk-deer. the male carries a pouch on the abdomen, from which the musk is obtained. there are no antlers.] when the kaiser holds his great court hunting-parties, to which the guests all come dressed in the uniform of the order of st. hubert, as many as deer are shot in a day. they are driven past the guns by beaters. after the day's sport is over all the antlers are wreathed with boughs of spruce fir, and the stags laid out like rabbits after an english battue. it is rather surprising that only one species of deer has been entirely domesticated--viz. the reindeer. deer's meat is as highly prized as that of any other game, perhaps even more so. there is almost no part of the animal which is not useful. the horns are valuable for knife-handles, and always command a good price; they were prized even by prehistoric man, who converted them into pick-axes, and made spear-heads and daggers of them. the leather of the hide makes the softest and best of all hunting-garments: the american indian or trapper always wears, or used to wear, a deer-skin shirt and deer-skin leggings, made as exquisitely soft as chamois leather by a process known to the squaws. at the present time all the best gloves are made of doe-skin; they are far the most costly of any gloves. doe-skin breeches are also a luxurious garment to ride in. for ornamental rugs few skins beat those of the dappled deer, laid on the floor of some finely furnished hall or room. thus we have the curious spectacle of the wild men of the far north, the lapps and ostiaks, taming and keeping in domestication great herds of deer, milking them, using them as beasts of draught, and feeding on their flesh, while far more civilised races in the south have not taken the trouble to do so. the reason is not easy to surmise, unless it be that the idea of making use of the deer tribe solely as beasts of the chase was so rooted in the european ruling races, and their kings and nobles, that the agriculturist never had a chance of trying to tame and use them for other purposes. it is certain that during the middle ages law and custom made any such attempt quite impossible. the deer were a valuable sporting asset, so hedged round with an atmosphere of feudal privilege, that to convert them into something useful to the common people would have been regarded as an insult to the powers that were. [illustration: _photo by neurdein frères_] [_paris._ the camel-plough, used in algiers. camels are often used for agricultural purposes in north africa, syria, and india. in this particular case a special kind of plough is employed.] ---- chapter xviii. _the camel tribe and the chevrotains._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. the camels and llamas, constituting the present group, form a very distinct section of the great assemblage of animals known as the ruminants, or cud-chewers. the camel tribe are peculiar amongst the ruminants in that they never possess horns, and in that the stomach is only divided into three instead of four compartments--this division into compartments being intimately connected with the ruminating habit. furthermore, the upper jaw bears cutting-teeth, or "front teeth," as they are popularly called: though the full set (three pairs) is only complete in the young, in the adult but one pair remains, the others being shed. the canine or "eye" teeth are also peculiar in their position, those of the lower jaw being separated from the cutting-teeth by a very considerable gap. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ a white camel. a light sandy is the common colour, though white, grey, brown, and black occur; but black camels are held by the arabs to be worthless.] in the structure of the feet the camel tribe are no less peculiar; indeed, it is on this character that the scientific name of the group is founded. only two toes are present; these are of equal size, and, instead of being protected by hoofs, are provided with a hardened skin, covering a cushion-like pad, which expands when the weight of the body is thrown upon the foot, as in walking. this is an admirable adaptation for walking on soft and yielding sands. hoofs are represented only by a pair of broad nails. [illustration: _photo by charles knight_] [_aldershot._ arabian camel. this individual belongs to the heavy breed employed for carrying merchandise and baggage.] the three-chambered stomach is remarkable because the chamber known as the "paunch" lodges in its walls a large collection of "water-cells," in which can be stored as much as a gallon and a half of water. this faculty of storing water is invaluable to an animal which has often to subsist for days on absolutely waterless deserts. note the slit-like nostrils in the illustration of the bactrian camel on page . these can be closed at the will of the animal, a useful precaution against the entrance of sand during the violent sand-storms which often arise in the desert. the true camels are distinguished by the possession of a hump or humps: there are never more than two. it is in these humps that the camel was popularly supposed to store water; in reality they are huge masses of fat, serving as a reserve store of food. the accumulation of fat for this purpose is a common feature amongst the mammalia. most animals which hibernate, or lay up and sleep during the winter, store up fat; but, except in the camel, it is distributed more or less evenly over the body. with hard work or bad feeding the camel's hump dwindles almost to nothing. when on the eve of a long journey, the arab looks anxiously to the state of this hump, for on the size of this depends the animal's condition and ability to undertake the march. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ a camel. a half-breed between the arabian and bactrian species.] the arabian camel as a wild animal has long since been extinct. of the hordes of so-called wild camels which abound in the desert regions of central asia (gobi steppe), some are probably descendants of domesticated animals which have escaped from captivity, but others may be aboriginally wild. from the evidence of fossil camels, there seems little doubt that this animal originated in north america--one branch of the family (the llamas) migrating into south america, and the other (the camels) crossing bering sea into the old world. the true camel. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a string of camels near port said. these are the typical desert-camels of the east.] before proceeding further, it may be well to refer to the confusion which exists in the use of the names camel and dromedary. the latter name seems popularly to be applied to the two-humped species, the name camel being reserved for the one with a single hump. this is a mistake. the dromedary is a swift breed of riding-camel of the one-humped species, and is so called to distinguish it from its slower brother, the pack-camel, or baggage-camel. the pack-camel, it is interesting to note, has been introduced into australia, where it has proved invaluable in crossing the vast waterless deserts, on account of its power to exist for long periods without drinking. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ head of bactrian camel. the hair of this species is used to felt into material for tents. it is longest on the top of the head, neck, humps, and parts of the fore limbs.] the true or arabian camel is found in a domesticated state in africa and asia, and, as we have just indicated, belongs to the one-humped species. it is a long-limbed, short-haired animal, standing as much as feet high. as a wild animal it is extinct. much mystery, indeed, surrounds the question of its origin. it has been suggested that the arabian camel, or its immediate parent, may have sprung from an indian ancestor, and thence made its way through arabia and syria into northern africa. not only is the camel indispensable as a beast of burden, but it is esteemed also for its hair, its flesh, bones, and milk. the hair is woven into cloth. in some parts of india the bones are used instead of ivory for inlaid work. the milk is unusually thick and rich, so much so that it cannot be used for tea or coffee, as it curdles when mixed with either. the camel is popularly supposed to be a very docile animal; but those who speak from experience declare it to be stupid, surly, and vicious to the last degree. it is, however, not entirely void of understanding, and apparently cherishes feelings of revenge, as the following story shows: "a camel, working in an oil-mill, was severely beaten by its driver. perceiving that the camel had treasured up the injury, and was only waiting a favourable opportunity for revenge, he kept a strict watch upon the animal. time passed away; the camel, perceiving it was watched, was quiet and obedient, and the driver began to think the beating was forgotten, when one night, after the lapse of several months, the man was sleeping on a raised platform in the mill, whilst the camel, as is customary, was stabled in a corner. happening to awake, the driver observed by the bright moonlight that, when all was quiet, the animal looked cautiously round, rose softly, and, stealing towards a spot where a bundle of clothes and a bernous, thrown carelessly on the ground, resembled a sleeping figure, cast itself with violence upon them, rolling with all its weight, and tearing them most viciously with its teeth. satisfied that revenge was complete, the camel was returning to its corner, when the driver sat up and spoke. at the sound of his voice, perceiving the mistake it had made, the animal was so mortified at the failure and discovery of its scheme, that it dashed its head against the wall and died on the spot." it is said that when camels pass a mounted man in a narrow path they will turn their heads suddenly round and endeavour to inflict a bite on the rider's arm or shoulder. this is naturally much dreaded, as a camel's bite is particularly severe. much care has been spent in the breeding of the camel. "in the sahara desert," says canon tristram, "the tourareg is as careful in the selection of his breeding mahari (a fine race of the dromedary) as the arab is in that of his horse. the pedigrees are handed down, and many a dromedary can boast a genealogy far longer than the descendants of the darley arabian" (page ). the bactrian camel. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ an old male bactrian camel. this animal is a magnificent representative of the two-humped species, so widely distributed in central asia.] this species is often called the dromedary; but, as we have already remarked, this is an error. the dromedary is a swift breed of the arabian camel. the bactrian camel may be distinguished from its arabian relative by the fact that it has two humps, is shorter in the leg and heavier, and has longer hair and stouter and harder feet. the shorter legs are distinctly advantageous, enabling the animal to get about with ease and safety over rocky and hilly ground. [illustration: _photo by charles knight_] [_aldershot._ bactrian camel. the most useful transport animal of central asia.] the hordes of wild camels found in turkestan, in the neighbourhood of kashgar, are believed by major c. s. cumberland to be descended from camels which escaped when the district known as takla makan was buried in a great sand-storm years ago. from the fury of that storm it is said no human being escaped alive. some camels apparently did, perhaps owing their survival to the power they possess of closing the nostrils, and thereby keeping out the sand. the bactrian camel lives upon the salt and bitter plants of the steppes, which are rejected by almost all other animals. it is further able to drink brackish water from the salt lakes by which it is surrounded. when pressed by hunger, it will even eat felt blankets, bones and skins of other animals, and fish! the llamas. the llamas are humpless camels, and confined to the western and southernmost parts of south america. two wild and two domesticated species are known. the name llama, it should be mentioned, properly belongs to the domesticated animal of that name. the vicuÑa. this is the smaller of the two wild species. vicuñas live in herds in the mountain-ranges of peru, dwelling during the wet season high up amid rocks and precipices, near the region of perpetual snow. in the dry season they descend to the higher valleys. their capture is a matter of great difficulty; for, apart from the inaccessible nature of their haunts, they are exceedingly shy and vigilant. they are clothed in a woolly coat of extremely delicate texture, much in demand for weaving purposes. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ young bactrian camel. the two humps are just beginning to grow.] the baby vicuña, it is interesting to note, is able to run swiftly directly after its birth, and possesses great powers of endurance. this is the more noteworthy since the young of the camel are exceedingly helpless. vicuñas are hunted by the indians and captured by driving them into an enclosure of perhaps half a mile in diameter. this is hung round with bits of coloured rag, which, fluttering in the wind, appear to deter the captives from breaking through. the guanaco. this is larger than the vicuña, and is described as an elegant animal, being possessed of a long, slender, gracefully curved neck and fine legs. it ranges from the highlands of the andes to the plains of patagonia and the islands of tierra del fuego. as mr. darwin points out, the behaviour of guanaco when alarmed is very contradictory. at one time they will sound the danger-signal, and put themselves out of harm's way long before the enemy has perceived them; at another they exhibit the most extraordinary curiosity, and pay the death-penalty in consequence. "that they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. it was an artifice that was repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had, moreover, the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as part of the performance. on the mountains of tierra del fuego, i have more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance, as a challenge. these animals are very easily domesticated, and i have seen some thus kept in northern patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint. they are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both knees. the wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of these large animals till the huntsmen can come up. in many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. thus, when they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. this greatly facilitates the indian method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed." [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ guanaco. the wild original of the llama and alpaca.] guanacos readily take to the water, and have been frequently seen swimming from one island to another. here again the llamas differ from the camels, for these can swim but little, if at all. like the bactrian camel, the guanaco can drink salt water with impunity. one of the most remarkable traits of the guanaco is that which induces it, when it feels its end to be near, to seek out the dying-place of the tribe, and there breathe out its last. "the guanacos," says mr. darwin, "appear to have favourite spots for lying down to die. on the banks of the st. cruz, in certain circumscribed places, which were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was actually white with bones. on one such spot i counted between ten and twenty heads.... the animals in most cases must have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes." the llama. this is the first of the two domesticated offshoots of the guanaco, the other being the alpaca. the llama is a larger beast than the guanaco, and variable in colour. the ancient peruvians bred it as a beast of burden or for riding, and before the spanish conquest kept it in enormous numbers. soon after the spanish conquest "it was not uncommon to meet droves of from to , or even , llamas, each laden with silver ingots, and the whole in charge of a single native.... only the male llamas were used as beasts of burden, while the smaller females were kept for their milk and flesh. in travelling along the roads, the droves marched in single file, under the guidance of a leader; and such a line would traverse the highest passes of the cordillera, and skirt the most stupendous precipices with perfect safety.... the spanish conquerors of peru spoke of llama-flesh as being fully equal to the best mutton, and they established shops in the towns for its regular sale. at the time of the conquest it is estimated that upwards of , llamas were employed in the transport of the product of the mines of potosi alone." the alpaca. this animal is bred solely for the sake of its wool, which is of great length and fineness. from it is made the well-known fabric which bears, in consequence, the name "alpaca." the alpaca is kept in herds on the high grounds of bolivia and south peru, whence it is annually driven down to be sheared. the incas dyed the wool--which is of two qualities, a fine and a coarse--with bright colours, and made it up into cloth or blankets, as the occasion served. [illustration: _photo by the duchess of bedford_] [_woburn abbey._ llamas. largely used as beasts of burden in peru, where these and the alpaca were formerly the only domesticated ruminants.] the earliest account of this animal is by augustin de zarate, the treasurer-general of peru in . he speaks of the beast as a sheep; but since he describes it as camel-like in shape, though devoid of a hump, there can be no doubt that it is the llama he is describing. he says: "in places where there is no snow the natives want water, and to supply this they fill the skins of sheep with water, and make other living sheep carry them; for, it must be remarked, these sheep of peru are large enough to serve as beasts of burden. they can carry about lbs. or more, and the spaniards used to ride them, and they would go four or five leagues a day. when they are weary, they lie down on the ground; and as there are no means of making them get up, either by beating or assisting them, the load must of necessity be taken off. when there is a man on one of them, if the beast be tired and urged to go on, he turns his head round and discharges his saliva, which has an unpleasant odour, into the rider's face. these animals are of great use and profit to their masters, for their wool is very good and fine ... and the expense of their food is trifling, as a handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four or five days without water. their flesh is as good as that of the fat sheep of castile. there are now public shambles for the sale of their flesh in all parts of peru, which was not the case when the spaniards came first." [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck._ llama. the larger of the two domesticated forms descended from the guanaco.] the particularly offensive habit of spitting in the face of people who may be obnoxious to it is well known to those who are in the habit of seeing much of this animal. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ alpaca. a domesticated form, bred solely for its wool, which is of a dark brown or black colour.] the chevrotains. mention must be made, before passing to the pig tribe, of the smallest of hoofed mammals, the royal antelope excepted--the chevrotains. these little animals are hornless, and intermediate in character between the deer, camels, and pigs. the males have large canine teeth, like those of the musk-deer, with which the chevrotains have long been confounded. the range of these animals, of which there are five species known, extends from india and ceylon, through the malayan countries, as far east as the island of palawan, in the philippine group. one species, the largest of the group, occurs on the west coast of africa. ---- chapter xix. _the pig and hippopotamus._ ---- the pig tribe. by h. a. bryden. many species and varieties of swine are found in different parts of the world, most of them exhibiting strong traces of a general family resemblance, although widely sundered as to habitats and often markedly differing in outward appearance. all are omnivorous; all have the stomach simpler in type than in the ruminants; and all have front or incisor teeth in the upper jaw. the two great families of swine proper are the pigs and peccaries. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ a domesticated sow and her progeny. the absence of stripes and spots on the young is a feature in which they differ from those of nearly all wild swine.] there has been much discussion among scientists as to the early origin of the various breeds of domestic swine found in different parts of the world. there can be little doubt that, although selective breeding has produced extraordinary differences in outward appearance, even among the domestic pigs of our own islands, the origin of the numerous tame races is to be sought in the ancestry of the wild breeds of the countries in which they are found. darwin has some very apposite remarks on the differences to be observed in domesticated swine. "the peculiar form of the skull and body in the most highly cultivated races is," he observes, "not characteristic of any one race, but is common to all when improved up to the same standard. thus the large-bodied, long-eared english breed, with a convex back, and the small-bodied, short-eared chinese breeds, with a concave back, when bred to the same state of perfection, nearly resemble each other in the form of the head and body. this result, it appears, is partly due to similar causes of change acting on the several races, and partly to man breeding the pig for one sole purpose--namely, for the greatest amount of flesh and fat; so that selection has always tended towards one and the same end. with most domestic animals the result of selection has been divergence of character; here it has been convergence." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz_] [_berlin._ wild boar. in its long, bristly hair and powerful lower tusks, the wild boar is a very different animal from its domesticated descendants.] the true pigs. true pigs are found only in the old world, and even there in very widely different forms. typical of these quadrupeds is the well-known wild boar, found abundantly in many parts of europe, north africa, asia minor, and central asia. in the british islands the wild boar must once have been extraordinarily plentiful, especially in ireland, where its tame descendants still so greatly flourish. in the days of the plantagenets wild swine fed and sheltered in the woodlands close to london. james i. hunted them near windsor in , and even down to the year these animals still had their haunts in the more secluded parts of england. although now extinct in these islands, the wild boar is to be found plentifully at the present day in france, germany, austria, russia, and spain, greece, albania, and other countries of the mediterranean. in most parts of europe the wild boar is shot during forest drives, but in the caucasus and round the black sea the hardy peasants lie in wait for these animals by the fruit-trees on autumn nights or waylay them going to the water and shoot them single-handed. many an old cossack, writes mr. clive phillipps-wolley, bears the scars of some desperate encounter with these formidable foes. in spain, where in the old days the boar was pursued by cavaliers with spear and pike, it is still, in the forests of estremadura, followed with horse and hound, usually, says mr. abel chapman, "during the stillness of a moonlight night, when the acorns are falling from the oaks in the magnificent estremenian woods." [illustration: _photo by j. turner-turner, esq._ diving-pigs. half-wild pigs, found in florida, where they live on refuse fish. (see next page)] in india the wild boar of europe and north africa is replaced by a closely allied species (distinguished by a crest of long black bristles upon the neck and back), which furnishes some of the finest and most exciting sport in the world to mounted hunters armed with a sharp spear. there is not a pluckier or more fearless beast living than the boar; and as he carries long and extremely sharp tusks, and never scruples to use them, he is an exceedingly dangerous opponent when wounded and enraged. severe and even fatal accidents have happened in the pursuit of this determined beast of chase. when at bay, the boar is absolutely reckless of life; and although pierced and mortally wounded by the spear, will yet force himself up the shaft, and with his dying effort inflict gaping wounds on the horse bearing his attacker. indian shikaris, to illustrate the courage of the wild boar, say that he has the hardihood to drink at a river between two tigers; and colonel r. heber percy mentions, in the badminton volumes on "big game shooting," that "several cases are on record in which an old boar has beaten off a tiger, and some in which the latter has been killed by a boar. the boar's extraordinary activity and sharp tusks make him no mean adversary, and his short neck makes it difficult for a tiger to seize it and give it that fatal wrench with which he likes to polish off his victims." a wild boar will stand as much as feet at the shoulder--some sportsmen affirm considerably more--and weigh more than lbs. the finest boar's tusk known is one mentioned in rowland ward's "records of big game." this measures ½ inches over the curve. it came from the caucasus, and is in the possession of colonel veernhof. it is worthy of note that, while the full-grown individuals of the various species of wild swine are uniformly coloured, their young are longitudinally striped and spotted. in india, besides the common boar, a tiny wild swine, known as the pygmy hog, is found in the bhutan terai and the forests of nepal and sikhim. this pig, which is little bigger than a fox-terrier, runs in considerable troops, or sounders, and is said to attack intruders into its domain much in the same fearless way in which the peccary of america defends its sanctuaries. the height of this diminutive species is given as from to inches--the weight at lbs. wild swine are nocturnal in their habits, frequenting moist and marshy country, loving the shade of forests, and making their lairs in tall grass, reed-beds, and similar covert. they go far afield for their food-supplies, and do a great deal of damage to crops in cultivated districts. the european wild sow produces from six to ten young, and at least two litters are usually brought forth in the year. it is remarkable how quickly pigs, as well as other domesticated animals, revert to a semi-feral state of existence, and develop habits suited to a fresh environment. mr. j. turner-turner sends us the following interesting note in connection with this trait: "diving-pigs.--these pigs live in an almost wild condition on certain of the islands off florida, and subsist chiefly upon the refuse fish cast away by the netsmen. to obtain this, the pigs dive under water, walking on the land at a depth of feet below the surface." among other asiatic wild swine are to be mentioned the collared pig, found in java, sumatra, and borneo; the white-whiskered japanese pig; the papuan and formosan pigs; the warty pig of java and borneo; the ceram pig; the celebes pig; and the bearded pig of borneo, a species distinguished by a quantity of long hair carried upon the cheeks. in the andaman islands a small, shaggy wild pig, standing about inches at the shoulder, is found in the forests. although distinguished from the well-known wild boar of india by certain peculiarities, there is a strong family resemblance to that well-known species in most of these various asiatic species and races. among the many kinds of domesticated swine found in asia, perhaps the strangest and most curious is the japanese masked pig. this animal is described by darwin as having "an extraordinary appearance, from its short head, broad forehead and nose, great fleshy ears, and deeply furrowed skin. not only is the face furrowed, but thick folds of skin, which are harder than the other parts, almost like the plates on the indian rhinoceros, hang about the shoulders and rump. it is coloured black, with white feet, and breeds true. that it has long been domesticated there can be little doubt; and this might have been inferred even from the circumstance that its young are not longitudinally striped." [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co., parson's green._ javan wild pig. one of several nearly allied species inhabiting the malay islands.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co_.] [_parson's green_. male and female babirusa. the chief characteristic of this pig is the peculiar and enormous development of the tusks in the male, the upper pair of which grow through the lips and curve backwards.] in africa, besides the european wild boar, which there extends its range to algeria and morocco, a little-known wild pig is the senaar boar, found in senaar, kordofan, and the soudan region. in the late dr. gray's "catalogue of carnivora" this wild pig is described as having the fur dense and bristly, and being in colour dull olive-black, varied with yellow. possibly this little known swine may prove to be merely a sub-species of the common wild boar of europe and north africa. now that the soudan regions have once more been opened up to europeans, we may expect shortly to hear more of this wild swine, as well as of other rare and interesting animals. still dealing with the true pigs, we come now to the bush-pigs of africa and madagascar. these differ somewhat from the typical wild boars of europe and india in the structure of the teeth, the long pencilled ear-tufts, the elongated snout, and other characteristics. the tusks are considerably smaller, and seldom exceed or inches in length. the red river-hog, or west african bush-pig, is decidedly the most striking of this group. smaller than the bush-pig of south africa, and seldom exceeding feet in height at the shoulder, the colour of this animal is a brilliant reddish brown, with tints of yellow. noticeable streaks of white are found round the eyes and on the cheeks. the ear-tufts, forehead, and limbs are blackish; more white markings are seen at the tips of the ear-tufts, along the thick mane, and round the margins of the ears. the under-parts are whitish grey in colour. this very handsome pig runs in considerable herds, and is found chiefly in forest and jungle near the banks of the various rivers in west africa. its range extends from angola to senegambia, and eastwards into the continent as far as monbuttu. [illustration: _photo by miss e. j. beck_. wart-hog. shows the great size of the head in proportion to the body.] [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co_.] [_parson's green_. Ælian's wart-hog. displays the broad muzzle and huge tusks, which are nearly as large in the sows as in the boars.] the well-known bush-pig of south africa, the bosch-vark of the boers, is a fine species, having a wide range over much of the southern and south-eastern parts of the continent, extending as far north as central africa. in the eastern transvaal and swaziland these animals attain their greatest size, an adult boar standing from feet inches to feet inches in height, and weighing as much as from to lbs. the usual colour is brownish red, the face and mane greyish; but in different specimens and at different ages great variations are to be noticed. pale greyish brown or mottled brown are colours often to be found. these bush-pigs are formidable-looking creatures, with thick bristling manes, small deep-set eyes, and sharp if somewhat short tusks, which they know well how to use. among the old-fashioned boers cured hams from these animals were, when they were more plentiful in cape colony, often to be found in up-country farmhouses. the bosch-vark is a beast of shy, nocturnal habit, and, loving as it does the shade and protection of dense covert and bush, is, unless carefully sought for, not often seen by sportsmen. the herds range usually from half a dozen to as many as twenty in number. when once encountered and set up at bay, this wild swine will be found a most tough and courageous adversary, capable and willing to defend itself stoutly against all foes. "they are," says mr. f. vaughan kirby, who has had much experience in hunting these animals, "expert swimmers and swift of foot, and can get over the roughest ground at a great pace. there is no pluckier beast in africa than a bush-pig, and even a leopard will hesitate before attacking a full-grown boar. like all wild creatures, they have an instinctive dread of man, and will always make their escape from him if possible; but if surrounded or wounded and brought to bay, they appear to accept the situation with stolid imperturbability, and die fighting with rare pluck, against all odds, grim and silent to the last.... face to face in the middle of a 'fast' bush, and only a swazi 'stabbing-assegai' with which to kill him, ... i have seen an old boar, after receiving nine thrusts from those terrible weapons, two of which were still fast in him, make a charge that scattered us like chaff, and in three consecutive lunges lame one of our number for life, and disembowel two of the finest 'pig-dogs' i ever hunted with. in such encounters a boar inflicts terrible wounds with his teeth, as well as with his tusks." few men care to face a wart-hog on foot. another bush-pig is found in madagascar, and is known as edwards' bush-pig. its habits are very similar to those of its brethren in the neighbouring continent of africa. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co_.] [_parson's green_. head of male wart-hog. profile showing the large conical warty growths on the side of the face so characteristic of these animals.] the babirusa. quitting the true pigs, we come now to perhaps the very strangest and most singular of all the great tribe of swine. this is the babirusa, that curious and grotesque creature found in the island of celebes, in the malay archipelago. the name babirusa signifies "pig-deer." it is of course a misnomer, and the animal has no kinship whatever with the cervine race. the babirusa is a wild swine, having a dark slate-grey skin, very sparsely covered with hair along the ridge of the spine. this skin is very extraordinarily wrinkled. the ears are much smaller than is the case with other members of the swine group, while the tail is short, straight, and lacks any semblance of tuft. the females have small tusks. in the boars the tusks are most singularly and abnormally developed. from the upper jaw, instead of curving from the side of the lips, the tusks grow from the centre of the muzzle, penetrate right through the skin, and curve backwards often till they touch the forehead. the lower tusks have also a strong curve, but are not so long as those of the upper jaw. although thus superabundantly provided with tushes, the babirusa is, as regards the rest of its teeth, less well off, having only thirty-four, as against the forty-four of the european wild boar. in their habits these singular pigs much resemble other wild swine, going in herds and frequenting forest, jungle, and the banks of rivers. they are excellent swimmers. the young are, unlike other wild swine in the infant state, unstriped. these animals are often found domesticated about the dwellings of native chiefs in celebes. the weight of a good male is as much as lbs.; height at shoulder, ½ inches. the longest tusk recorded measures inches over the curve. these animals are driven into nets and speared by the natives of celebes, and afford excellent sport, the boars especially charging viciously at their assailants. the wart-hogs. if the babirusa of the malay archipelago is a sufficiently bizarre-looking creature, the wart-hog of africa yields to none of the wild pigs in sheer, downright hideousness of aspect. the wart-hog of south africa, the vlakte-vark (pig of the plains) of the boers, has long been familiar to hunters and naturalists. standing some inches in height, this wild swine is distinguished by the disproportionate size of the head, extreme length, breadth, and flatness of the front of the face and muzzle, smallish ears, huge tusks, and the strange wart-like protuberances from which it takes its name. three of these wen-like growths are found on each side of the face. the tusks of the upper jaw, unlike the teeth of the true pigs, are much larger than those protruding from the lower jaw. the lower tusks seldom exceed inches in length; those of the upper jaw occasionally reach as much as inches over the curve. a pair from north-east africa (annesley bay, on the abyssinian littoral) measure respectively and inches--truly gigantic trophies. the skin of this wild hog is nearly naked, except upon the neck and back, where a long, coarse main of dark bristly hair is to be observed. wart-hogs, as their dutch name implies, in the days when game was plentiful, were often found in open country, on the broad grass-plains and karroos. at the present day they are less often seen in the open. they run in small family parties, usually two or three sows and their litters. the old boars, throughout a great part of the year, prefer a more solitary existence. these animals, when pursued, usually betake themselves to an open earth, not of their own making, and, slewing round sharply just as they enter, make their way in hind end first. they afford no great sport to the hunter, and are usually secured with a rifle-bullet. the flesh is fairly good eating, especially that of a young and tender specimen. speaking generally, wart-hogs are nothing like such fierce and determined opponents as the wild boars of europe and india, or even the bush-pig. they will, however, charge occasionally, and have been known to attack and rip up a horse. a northern species--Ælian's wart-hog--is found in abyssinia, somaliland, and other parts of east africa, where--especially in abyssinia--it roams the mountains and their vicinity, occasionally to a height of , or , feet. there is little difference between this and the southern form. wart-hogs produce usually three or four young, and the sow makes her litter in a disused burrow. unlike those of the majority of wild swine, the young of the wart-hog are uniformly coloured, having no white stripes or spots. [illustration: _photo by w. p. dando_] [_regent's park._ collared peccary. peccaries are the new world representatives of the swine, and are characterised by a large gland on the back.] the peccaries. peculiar to the american continent, the peccaries differ considerably from the wild swine of the old world. they are of small size; the dentition is not the same, the stomach is more complicated in structure, and the hind feet have three instead of four toes. in general appearance peccaries are not unlike small dark-coloured pig, well covered with bristles, and having, as well as a prominent mane, a deep fringe of hair beneath the throat. they are essentially forest-loving animals, roaming over large tracts of country and making considerable migrations in search of food. two species have been distinctly identified by naturalists--the collared peccary, and the white-lipped peccary. of these, the former species is found from texas, in north america, as far south as the rio negro, in patagonia. the habitat of the white-lipped peccary is more circumscribed, and the animal is seldom found except in that part of south and central america lying between british honduras and paraguay. no members of the pig family are fiercer or more tenacious of their sanctuaries than the white-lipped peccary, which roams the dense forests of brazil and paraguay in large herds. a human being, attacked and surrounded by a herd of these savage little creatures, would indeed stand but a poor chance of his life, and many a hunter and traveller has been compelled to seek refuge in a tree and sustain some hours of siege. of the two species, the white-lipped peccary is somewhat the larger, standing from to ½ inches in height. the collared peccary averages from ½ to ½ inches. the flesh of these wild swine is not in much repute, and unless the back-gland is at once cut out a freshly killed specimen will become quickly spoiled as a human food-supply. young peccaries appear to be easily tamed, fierce as is their nature in the wild state. in contrast with the abundant litters of other pigs, wild and domesticated, only one offspring is ordinarily produced at birth. in fighting, the peccary does not rip like the wild boar, but inflicts savage and severe bites. "untrained dogs," says president roosevelt, "even those of a large size, will speedily be killed by a single peccary, and if they venture to attack a herd will be literally torn into shreds. a big trained dog, however, can, single-handed, kill a peccary, and i have known the feat performed several times." azara, the eminent spanish naturalist of the end of the eighteenth century, had considerable experience of the peccaries of central and southern america, where the indians are much addicted to taming wild animals, and keep both the peccary and the tapir in a state of semi-domestication. the peccary he found to be domesticated more easily than might be expected. though so fierce in its wild state, it soon becomes troublesome from its familiarity. mr. schomburgk, the explorer of central america, whose travels were so constantly quoted during the venezuelan arbitration, saw much of the white-lipped species in the forests. he found the animals in large troops under the leadership of an old boar. when attacked, they were ready to surround man, dog, or jaguar; and if there were no means of escape, the enemy was certain to be cut to pieces. he himself had a narrow escape from an infuriated herd, the leader of which he shot in the act of rushing at him. as the herd approached the sound was like that of a whirlwind through the bushes. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ a young collared peccary. in this specimen the white collar from which the species takes its name is very clearly displayed.] the hippopotamus. by f. c. selous. two species of the hippopotamus family exist on the earth to-day, both of which are inhabitants of africa, and are not found in any other country; but the remains of many extinct forms of this genus which have been discovered in various parts of europe and asia show that in pleistocene and pliocene times these strange and uncouth animals must have been widely distributed throughout the greater part of the old world. the fossil remains of the large form of hippopotamus which once frequented the lakes and rivers of england and western europe cannot be distinguished from the bones of the common african species of to-day, which latter is possibly the only animal in the world which has undergone no change in form or structure since the prehistoric savages of the thames valley threw stone-headed spears at their enemies. the common hippopotamus, though it has long been banished from the lower nile, and has more recently been practically exterminated in the british colonies south of the limpopo, was once an inhabitant of every lake and river throughout the entire african continent from the delta of the nile to the neighbourhood of cape town. now it is not found below khartum, on the nile; but in southern africa a few hippopotamuses are said still to exist in the lower reaches of the orange river. when van riebeck first landed at the cape, in , he found some of these animals in the swamp now occupied by church square, in the centre of cape town, and the last in the district was only killed in the berg river, about seventy miles north of that city, as recently as . this animal, which had been protected for some years, was at last shot, as it had become very savage, and was in the habit of attacking any one who approached it. in my own experience i have met with the hippopotamus in all the large rivers of africa where i have travelled, such as the zambesi, kafukwe, chobi, sabi, limpopo, and usutu, and also in most of the many large streams which take their rise on the plateau of matabililand and mashonaland, and flow north, south, and east into the zambesi, the limpopo, or the sabi. i have also seen them in the sea, at the mouth of the quillimani river, and have heard from natives that they will travel by sea from the mouth of one river to another. [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck, hamburg._ a three-year-old hippopotamus. in this specimen the great lower tusks are not yet developed.] hippopotamuses live either in families of a few individuals or in herds that may number from twenty to thirty members. old bulls are often met with alone, and cows when about to calve will sometimes leave their companions and live for a time in seclusion, returning, however, to the herd soon after the birth of their calves. although, owing to the shortness of its legs, a hippopotamus bull does not stand very high at the shoulder--about feet inches being the average height--yet its body is of enormous bulk. a male which died some years ago in the zoological gardens of london measured feet in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and weighed tons; and these dimensions are probably often exceeded in a wild state. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan_] [_highbury._ hippopotamus drinking. the enormous breadth of the muzzle, as well as the small nostrils, which can be closed at will, are clearly displayed in this posture.] the huge mouth of the hippopotamus (see coloured plate), which the animal is fond of opening to its widest extent, is furnished with very large canine and incisor teeth, which are kept sharp by constantly grinding one against another, and thus enable their possessor to rapidly cut down great quantities of the coarse grass and reeds upon which these animals exclusively feed when living in uninhabited countries. when, however, their haunts are in the neighbourhood of native villages, they often commit great havoc in the corn-fields of the inhabitants, trampling down as much as they eat; and it was their fondness for sugar-cane which brought about the destruction of the last herd of hippopotamuses surviving in natal. the lower canine teeth or tusks of the hippopotamus grow to a great size, and in bulls may weigh from lbs. to lbs. each. they are curved in shape, and when extracted from the jaw form a complete half-circle, and have been known to measure upwards of inches over the curve. in life, however, not more than a third of their length protrudes beyond the gums. during the daytime hippopotamuses are seldom met with out of the water. they lie and doze all day long in the deep pools of the rivers they frequent, with only their eyes, ears, and nostrils above the surface, or else bask in the sun on the tail of a sandbank, looking like so many gigantic pigs with their bodies only partially submerged. sometimes they will lie and sleep entirely out of water amongst reeds. i have seen them feeding in the reed-beds of the great swamps of the chobi just at sundown, but as a rule, they do not leave the water until after dark. at night they often wander far afield, especially in the rainy season, in search of suitable food; and after having been fired at and frightened, i have known a herd of hippopotamuses to travel at least five-and-twenty miles along the course of a river during the ensuing night, in order to reach a larger and deeper pool than the one in which they had been molested. [illustration: _photo by lord delamere_] [_northwich._ hippopotamuses bathing. a hippopotamus stays under water for about ½ minutes at a time, and then just shows part of its head above water while it draws a fresh breath.] although the hippopotamus is thoroughly at home in the hottest parts of africa, and appears to thrive in the tepid waters of all the rivers which flow through the malarious coast regions of the tropical portions of that continent, it is also found at a considerable altitude above the sea, and in quite small streams where the temperature of the water during the winter months cannot be many degrees above freezing-point. i have personally met with hippopotamuses in the manyami river, not far from the present town of salisbury, in mashonaland. the country there has an altitude of about , feet above sea-level; and the water was so cold on the last occasion on which i came across the animals in question--july, --that, if a basinful was left out during the night, ice quite an eighth of an inch in thickness would be formed over it before morning. there was, however, never any ice on the river itself. during the rainy season, when the grass and reeds are green and succulent, hippopotamuses become enormously fat, especially in the higher and colder portions of their range, and retain a good deal of their fat right through the driest season of the year. old bulls are usually very lean; but i have seen cows the greater part of whose carcases, after the skin had been stripped off, was covered with a layer of fat from inch to inches in thickness. the meat of these animals is dark red in colour, and more like beef than pork. to my mind, that of a young animal is most excellent in flavour, and far preferable to that of a lean antelope. the fat, when prepared, is as good as the best lard, from which, indeed, it is hardly distinguishable. the skin of the hippopotamus is smooth and hairless, and in adult animals quite ½ inch in thickness on the upper parts of the body. [illustration: _photo by j. w. mclellan, highbury._ a hippopotamus gaping. the position of the animal displays the enormous capacity, and likewise the powerful lower tusks; the shortness of the limbs is also well exhibited.] [illustration: _by permission of herr carl hagenbeck_] [_hamburg._ baby hippopotamus, aged six months. the flesh of a young hippopotamus is said to have an excellent flavour. natives often follow shooting expeditions in order to secure some of its meat.] hippopotamuses are said to be capable of remaining under water for ten or twelve minutes. should, however, a herd of these animals be watched but not fired at from the bank of a river in which they are passing the day, they will all sink below the surface of the water as soon as they become aware of and more or less alarmed by the presence of the intruder, but each member of the herd will come up to breathe at intervals of from one to two minutes. i have seen hippopotamuses so tame and unsuspicious of danger that they allowed me--the first human being probably with any kind of hat or clothes on him that they had ever seen--to take up a position within fifty yards of them on the edge of the deep rock-bound pool in which they were resting without showing any signs of alarm. they simply stared at me in an inquisitive sort of way, raising their heads higher out of the water, and constantly twitching their little rounded ears; and it was not until a number of natives came up and began to talk loudly that they took alarm, and, sinking out of sight, retreated to the farther end of the pool. i once took the length of time with my watch for more than an hour that a hippopotamus which i was trying to shoot remained under water. this animal, a cow with a new-born calf, had made an attack upon one of my canoes. it first came up under the canoe, tilting one end of it into the air and almost filling it with water. then it made a rush at the half-swamped craft, and, laying its huge head over it, pressed it down under the water and sank it. there were four natives in the canoe at the time of the attack, all of whom swam safely to an island in the river--the zambesi. after the accident--which caused me a good deal of loss and inconvenience--i tried to shoot this unprovoked aggressor, but unsuccessfully, as the river was too broad to allow me to get anything but a long shot at her. the shortest time she remained under water during the seventy minutes i was paying attention to her was forty seconds, and the longest four minutes and twenty seconds--the usual time being from two to two and a half minutes. she always remained a long time under water after having been fired at. the capsizing of canoes by these animals is quite a common occurrence on most african rivers, and the great pains the natives will take in certain districts to give these animals a wide berth seem to prove that they have good reason to dread them. solitary bulls and cows with young calves are the most feared. such animals will sometimes, i have been assured by the natives, tear out the side of a canoe with their teeth, and even crunch up some of its occupants whilst they are trying to save themselves by swimming. sipopo, a chief of the barotse tribe, who was deposed by his nephew mona wena in , was said to have been attacked and killed by a hippopotamus whilst lying wounded amongst the reeds on the southern bank of the zambesi, but i cannot vouch for the truth of the story. bull hippopotamuses must be rather quarrelsome, as i have shot several whose hides were deeply scored with wounds, no doubt inflicted by the tusks of their rivals. once i killed a hippopotamus in a shallow lagoon amongst the swamps of the chobi, whose enormously thick hide had been literally cut to pieces from head to tail. the entire body of this animal was covered with deep white scores, and we were unable to cut a single sjambok from its skin. we found, on examination, that this poor beast had been wounded by natives, and then in its distress most cruelly set upon by its fellows, and finally expelled from their society. it was in the last stage of emaciation, and a bullet through the brain must have been a welcome relief. on another occasion a hippopotamus bull, which i had wounded in the nose, became so furious that it dived down and attacked one of its fellows which had already been killed and was lying dead at the bottom of the pool. seizing this latter animal by the hind leg, it brought it to the surface of the water with such a furious rush that not only half the body of the dead animal it had attacked was exposed, but the whole of its own head and shoulders came above the water. a bullet through the brain killed it instantly, and it sank to the bottom of the pool, still holding its companion's hind leg fast in its jaws. [illustration: dental operations on a hippopotamus--no. i. this and the next two photographs probably constitute the most remarkable series of animal photographs ever seen. no shows a hippopotamus about to be trapped, preparatory to having its teeth attended to.] when a hippopotamus is killed in the water, the carcase sinks to the bottom, and in the cold water of the rivers of mashonaland will not rise to the surface till six hours after death. in the warmer water of the lower zambesi a dead hippopotamus will come up in about half that time. when it rises, the carcase comes up like a submerged cork, with a rush as it were, and then settles down, only a small piece of the side showing above the surface. as decomposition sets in, it becomes more and more swollen, and shows higher and higher above the water. when the body of a dead hippopotamus has been taken by the wind or current to the wrong side of a river, i have often climbed on to it and paddled it with a stout stick right across the river to a spot nearer camp. a dead hippopotamus is not the easiest or the pleasantest thing to sit on in deep water with crocodiles about, especially in a wind, as it is very much like sitting on a floating barrel, and unless the balance is exactly maintained one is bound to roll off. [illustration: dental operations on a hippopotamus--no. ii. this shows the process of filing one of the lower tusks.] [illustration: dental operations on a hippopotamus--no. iii. sawing off one of the lower tusks.] although it is often necessary for an african traveller to shoot one or more of them in order to obtain a supply of meat for his native followers, there is not much sport attached to the killing of these animals. the modern small-bore rifles, with their low trajectory and great penetration, render their destruction very easy when they are encountered in small lakes or narrow rivers, though in larger sheets of water, where they must be approached and shot from rickety canoes, it is by no means a simple matter to kill hippopotamuses, especially after they have grown shy and wary through persecution. as these animals are almost invariably killed by europeans in the daytime, and are therefore encountered in the water, they are usually shot through the brain as they raise their heads above the surface to breathe. by the natives hippopotamuses are killed in various ways. they are sometimes attacked first with harpoons, to which long lines are attached, with a float at the end to mark the position of the wounded animal, and then followed up in canoes and finally speared to death. sometimes they are caught in huge pitfalls, or killed by the fall of a spear-head fixed in a heavy block of wood, which is released from its position when a line, attached to the weight and then pegged across a hippopotamus's path a few inches above the ground, is suddenly pulled by the feet of one of these animals striking against it. a friend of mine once had a horse killed under him by a similar trap set for buffaloes. his horse's feet struck the line attached to the heavily weighted spear-head, and down it came, just missing his head and entering his horse's back close behind the saddle. where the natives have guns--mostly old muzzle-loading weapons of large bore--they often shoot hippopotamuses at close quarters when they are feeding at night. the most destructive native method, however, of killing these monsters with which i am acquainted is one which used to be practised by the natives of northern mashonaland--namely, fencing in a herd of these animals and starving them to death. as there is a very rapid fall in the country through which all the rivers run to the zambesi from the northern slope of mashonaland, these streams consist of a series of deep, still pools (called "sea-cow holes" by the old hunters), from a hundred yards to more than a mile in length, connected with one another by shallow, swift-flowing water, often running in several small streams over the bed of the river. a herd of hippopotamuses having been found resting for the day in one of the smaller pools, all the natives in the district, men, women, and children, would collect and build strong fences across the shallows at each end. at night large fires would be kept blazing all round the pool and tom-toms beaten incessantly, in order to prevent the imprisoned animals from escaping. day after day the fences would be strengthened, and platforms sometimes built to command naturally weak places, and from these points of vantage the poor animals were speared when in their desperation they tried to leave the pool. gradually the whole herd would be speared or starved to death. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ female hippopotamuses. exhibits a very characteristic attitude of the animal.] [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ a hippopotamus family--father, mother, and young. hippopotamuses are very sociable animals, and are often to be met with in large herds.] once, in august, , i came upon a native tribe engaged in starving to death a herd of hippopotamuses in a pool of the umniati river, in northern mashonaland. when i came on the scene, there were ten hippopotamuses still alive in the pool. eight of these appeared to be standing on a sandbank in the middle of the river, as more than half their bodies were above the water. they were all huddled up together, their heads resting on each other's bodies. two others were swimming about, each with a heavily shafted assegai sticking in its back. besides these ten still living hippopotamuses two dead ones were being cut up on the side of the pool, and many more must already have been killed, as all round the pool festoons of meat were hanging on poles to dry, and a large number of natives had been living for some time on nothing but hippopotamus-meat. altogether i imagine that a herd of at least twenty animals must have been destroyed. much as one must regret such a wholesale slaughter, it must be remembered that this great killing was the work of hungry savages, who at any rate utilised every scrap of the meat thus obtained, and much of the skin as well, for food; and such an incident is far less reprehensible--indeed, stands on quite a different plane as regards moral guilt--to the wanton destruction of a large number of hippopotamuses in the umzingwani river, near bulawayo, within a few months of the conquest of matabililand by the chartered company's forces in . these animals had been protected for many years by lo bengula and his father umziligazi before him; but no sooner were the matabili conquered and their country thrown open to white men than certain unscrupulous persons destroyed all but a very few of these half-tame animals, for the sake of the few paltry pieces of money their hides were worth! [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ hippopotamus. the skin of the hippopotamus is often as much as an inch and a half in thickness on the upper parts of the body.] gradually, as the world grows older, more civilised, and, to my thinking, less and less interesting, the range of the hippopotamus, like that of all other large animals, must become more and more circumscribed; but now that all africa has been parcelled out amongst the white races of western europe, if the indiscriminate killing of hippopotamuses by either white men or natives can be controlled, and the constant and cruel custom of firing at the heads of these animals from the decks of river-steamers all over africa be put a stop to, i believe that this most interesting mammal, owing to the nature of its habitat, and the vast extent of the rivers, swamps, and lakes in which it still exists in considerable numbers, will long outlive all other pachydermatous animals. hideous, uncouth, and unnecessary as the hippopotamus may seem when viewed from behind the bars of its den in a zoological garden, it is nevertheless true that, when these animals have been banished from an african river by the progress of civilisation, that river has lost one of its highest charms and greatest ornaments. the pygmy or liberian hippopotamus is confined to upper guinea, and, compared with its only existing relative, is a very small animal, not standing more than feet inches in height, and measuring less than feet in length. in weight a full-grown specimen will scale about lbs. but little is known of the habits of this rare animal, specimens of which, i believe, have never been obtained, except by the german naturalists herrn büttikofer and jentink. when alive, the colour of the skin of the pygmy hippopotamus is said to be of a greenish black, changing on the under-parts to yellowish green. the surface of the skin is very shiny. this species, unlike its giant relative, does not congregate in herds, nor pass its days in rivers or lakes, but lives in pairs in marshes or shady forests. it sleeps during the day, and at night wanders over a great extent of country, eating grass, wild fruits, and the young shoots of trees. its flesh is said to be very succulent and much esteemed by the natives. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ male and female hippopotamuses. a hippopotamus is almost inseparable from the water; it never goes farther away than possible from a river or lake.] a hippopotamus, apparently of the same species as that now found in africa, formerly inhabited the thames valley. great quantities of fossil remains of another species are also found in the island of sicily. the bones found in england are mainly in the river gravel and brick earth of the south and midland districts of england. this seems to show that at the time when the animal existed our rivers must have been open all the year, and not ice-bound, for it is certain that no hippopotamus could live in a river which froze in winter. yet among the remains of these animals are also found those of quite arctic species like the musk-ox and the reindeer, together with those of the saiga antelope, an inhabitant of the cold plateau of tibet. the problem is: how could these creatures, one a dweller in warm rivers and the others inhabitants of cold arctic or sub-arctic regions, have existed together, apparently on the same area of ground? the answer, which does not seem to have occurred to naturalists who have discussed the question, seems to be plain enough. any one who knows the conditions of the great rift valleys of central africa has the key to the solution of the puzzle. there was probably a very great difference in the vertical plane. deep in the rift was probably a warm river, while above it may have been mountains from , to , feet high, with snow on the summits and glaciers in their valleys. on these cold and arctic heights the reindeer and the musk-ox would find congenial homes. thousands of feet below, in the hot and narrow valley, the hippopotamus would revel in a warm and steamy climate. this is what actually occurs in the rift valleys of central africa, where the hippopotamus swims in rivers that are at no great distance from snow-covered and ice-capped mountains. ---- chapter xx. _the dugong, manatees, whales, porpoises, and dolphins._ by f. g. aflalo, f.z.s. ---- the dugong and manatees. these curious creatures, which seem to have been the basis of much of the old mermaid legend, have puzzled many eminent naturalists. before they were placed in an order by themselves, linnæus had classed them with the walrus, cuvier with the whales, and another french zoologist with the elephants. they are popularly regarded as the cows of the sea-pastures. their habits justify this. i have often watched dugongs on the queensland coast browsing on the long grasses, of which they tear up tussocks with sidelong twists of the head, coming to the surface to breathe at short intervals. omitting the extinct rhytina, otherwise known as steller's sea-cow, which was exterminated in the bering strait not very long after civilised man had first learnt of its existence, we have to consider two distinct groups, or genera, of these sirenians. the dugong is the representative of the first, and the two manatees belong to the other. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ dugong. a vegetable-feeding sea-mammal from the indian ocean and north australian waters.] the dugong is found on the coasts of northern australia, in many parts of the indian ocean (particularly off ceylon), and in the red sea. it is easily distinguished, by even superficial observation, from the manatees. its tail is slightly forked, somewhat like that of the whales: the tail of manatees, on the other hand, is rounded. the dugong's flippers, to which we also find a superficial resemblance in those of the whale, show no traces of external nails: in those of the manatees, which show projecting nails, there is a considerable power of free movement (the hands being, in fact, used in manipulating the food), which is not the case in the limbs of the whale. the body of the dugong is almost smooth, though there are bristles in the region of the mouth: that of the manatees is studded with short hairs. the male dugong has two large tusks: in neither sex of the manatees are such tusks developed. finally, a more detailed examination of the skeletons would reveal the fact that, whereas the dugong has the usual seven bones in the neck, that of the manatees has only six. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ american manatee. found in the amazons river. the manatees differ remarkably from the dugong in the number and structure of their teeth.] when we come to the whales, we shall encounter that very characteristic covering known as "blubber"; and, though it is present in smaller quantity, these sirenians have blubber as well. complex stomachs they also have, like the whales, only in their case both the nature of the food and the structure of the teeth point clearly to a ruminating habit, which, for reasons that will be given in the right place, seems inadmissible in the whales. in both dugong and manatees the mouth is furnished with singular horny plates, the precise use of which does not appear to have been satisfactorily determined; and the upper lip of the manatee is cleft in two hairy pads that work laterally. this enables the animal to draw the grass into its mouth without using the lower lip at all. in their mode of life the dugong and manatees differ as widely almost as in their appearance; for the former is a creature of open coasts, whereas the manatees hug river-estuaries and even travel many miles up the rivers. of both it has been said that they leave the water at night, and the manatees have even been accused of plundering crops near the banks. the few, however, which have been under observation in captivity have always been manifestly uncomfortable whenever, by accident or otherwise, the water of their tank was run off, so that there is not sufficient reason for believing this assertion. this group of animals cannot be regarded as possessing any high commercial value, though both natives and white men eat their flesh, and the afore-mentioned rhytina was, in fact, exterminated solely for the sake of its meat. there is also a limited use for the bones as ivory, and the leather is employed on a small scale,--a german writer has, in fact, been at great pains to prove that the tabernacle, which was cubits long, was roofed with dugong-skin, and the red sea is certainly well within the animal's range. the whales, porpoises, and dolphins. although anatomists have good reason for suspecting that all the members of the whale tribe are directly descended from river-dwelling forms, if not indeed, more remotely, from some land animal, there is something appropriate in the fact of the vast ocean, which covers something like three-quarters of the earth's surface, producing the mightiest creatures which have ever lived. there should also be some little satisfaction for ourselves in the thought that, their fish-like form notwithstanding, these enormous beings really belong to the highest, or mammalian, class of animal life. one striking feature all these many-sized cetaceans have in common, and that is their similarity of form. though they may vary in length from to feet, their outline shows a remarkable uniformity. important internal and even external differences there may be. a whale may be toothed or toothless; a dolphin may be beaked or round-headed; either may be with or without a slight ridge on the back or a distinct dorsal fin; but no cetacean could well be mistaken for an animal of any other order. it is as well to appreciate as clearly as possible this close general resemblance between the largest whale and the smallest dolphin, as the similarity is one of some interest; and we may estimate it at its proper worth if we bear in mind that two species of cetaceans, outwardly alike, may not, perhaps, be more closely allied than such divergent ruminant types as the elephant, the giraffe, and the gazelle. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ narwhal. an arctic whale, with one or rarely two long spears of bone projecting from the head.] reference has already been made to the fact that the whales are true mammals, and we must now clearly set before us the justification for separating them from the fishes--to which any one with a superficial knowledge of their habits and appearance would unhesitatingly assign them--and raising them to the company of other mammals. let us first separate them from the fishes. the vast majority of fishes, with some familiar exceptions like the conger-eel, are covered with scales: whales have no scales. the tail of fishes, often forked like that of whales, is set vertically: in whales the tail is set laterally, and for this a good reason will presently be shown. fishes have anal fins: whales not only have no anal fins, but their so-called pectoral fins differ radically from the fins of fishes. fishes breathe with the aid of gills: whales have no gills. fishes, in the vast majority of cases, reproduce their young by spawning, the eggs being left to hatch out either in gravel-beds or among the water-plants, lying on the bottom (as in the case of the herring), or floating near the surface (as in that of the plaice): whales do not lay eggs, but bear the young alive. this brings us to the simple points of resemblance between them and other mammals. when the young whale is born, it is nourished on its mother's milk. this alone would constitute its claim to a place among the highest class. whales breathe atmospheric air by means of lungs. hair is peculiarly the covering of mammals, just as scales are characteristic of fishes and feathers of birds. many whales, it is true, have no hair; but others, if only in the embryonic stage, have traces of this characteristic mammalian covering. it must, moreover, be remembered that in some other orders of mammals the amount of hair varies considerably--as, for instance, between the camel and rhinoceros. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ grampus, or killer. a carnivorous cetacean with large teeth, often found in british seas.] having, then, shown that whales are mammals, we must now determine the chief features of the more typical members of the order. the extremities of whales are characteristic: a large head, occupying in some species as much as one-third of the total length; and the afore-mentioned forked, or lobed, tail set laterally. the flippers, which bear only a slight resemblance to the pectoral fins in fishes, are in reality hands encased in swimming-gloves. in some whales these hands are five-fingered, in others the fingers number only four, but many of the fingers contain more bones than the fingers of man. in some whales we find a dorsal fin, and this, as also the flippers, acts as a balancer. in no whale or porpoise is there any external trace of hind limbs, but the skeleton of some kinds shows in varying stages of degradation a rudimentary bone answering to this description. perhaps however, the most distinctive feature of whales is the blow-hole, situated, like the nostrils of the hippopotamus, on the upper surface of the head, and similarly enabling the animal to breathe the air without exposing much of its head above the surface of the water. the blow-hole (or blow-holes, for whalebone-whales have two) may be said to take the place of nostrils as regards the breathing, though perhaps no sense of smell is included in its functions. in the sperm-whale, or cachalot, there is a single s-shaped blow-hole near the end of the snout. the well-known spouting of whales is merely the breathing out of warm vapour, which, on coming in contact with the colder air--and it should be remembered that most whaling is carried on in the neighbourhood of icebergs--condenses in a cloud above the animal's head. i have seen many a sperm-whale spout, and the cloud of spray, often mixed with a varying volume of water if the whale commences to blow before its blow-hole is clear of the surface, drifts forward over the forehead. this is due to the forward position of the blow-hole. i never to my knowledge saw a whalebone-whale spouting, but its double jet is said to ascend vertically over its back, and this would in like manner be accounted for by the more posterior position of the blow-holes. having filled its lungs, which are long and of simple structure, with fresh air, in enormous draughts that fill the great cavities of its chest, the whale sinks to the depths. there, in ordinary circumstances, it will lie for a quarter of an hour or more, but the pain of the harpoon and the knowledge that there is danger at the surface may keep it below for as much as an hour. when it has to breathe again, a few powerful strokes from the laterally set tail suffice to bring it quickly to the surface. this is not the place for a detailed anatomy of the whale, but no one can fail to notice with admiration such parts of its equipment for the battle of life as the structure of its windpipe, which enables it to breathe with comfort with its mouth full of water, the complicated network of blood-vessels that ensures the slow and thorough utilising of all the oxygen in its lungs while it remains at the bottom, and the elastic cushion of blubber that makes this gigantic animal indifferent to extremes of pressure and temperature. thanks mainly to its coat of blubber, the whale exists with equal comfort at the surface or hundreds of fathoms below it; in the arctic or in tropical seas. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ short-beaked river-dolphin. in this type the head is produced into a beak, supported in the upper jaw by a mass of ivory-like bone.] it is not perhaps in keeping with the plan of this work that we should consider in detail the soft parts of the whale's inside. one or two parts of its feeding and digestive mechanism may, however, offer some points of passing interest. the complex stomach, which is divided into chambers, like that of the ruminants already described, has suggested that the latter function may in a modified process be performed by whales. it is, however, evident that the teeth of toothed whales are in no way adapted to the act of mastication, which is inseparable from any conception of ruminating, while the toothless whales have as complicated a stomach as the rest. mr. beddard, writing on the subject in his interesting "book of whales," takes the more reasonable view that the first chamber of the stomach of whales should be regarded rather as a storehouse in which the food is crushed and softened. the teeth of whales, the survival of which in the adult animal offers the simplest basis of its classification under one or other of the two existing groups, or sub-orders, are essentially different from the teeth of many other kinds of mammals. it cannot, perhaps, be insisted that the distinctive terms employed for these two categories of whales are wholly satisfactory. for instance, the so-called "toothless" whales have distinct teeth before birth, thus claiming descent from toothed kinds. on the other hand, the so-called "toothed" whales are by no means uniformly equipped in this respect, some of the porpoises having as many as twenty-six teeth, distributed over both jaws, while the bottlenoses have no more than two, or at most four, and these in the lower jaw only. only the lower jaw, in fact, of the great sperm-whale bears teeth that are of any use, though there are smaller and functionless teeth in the gums of the upper. the teeth of whales, by the way, are not differentiated like our canines and molars, but are all of one character. although, in "toothless" whales, the foetal teeth disappear with the coming of the baleen, or whalebone, the latter must not, in either structure or uses, be thought to take their place. the plates of whalebone act rather as a hairy strainer. unless we seek a possible analogy at the other end of the mammalian scale, in the australian duckbill, the feeding of the whalebone-whales is unique. they gulp in the water, full of _plankton_, swimming open-mouthed through the streaks of that substance. then the huge jaws are closed, and the massive tongue is moved slowly, so as to drive the water from the angles of the mouth through the straining-plates of baleen, the food remaining stranded on these and on the tongue. the size and number of the baleen-plates appear to vary in a degree not yet definitely established; but there may, in a large whale, be as many as between and on either side of the cavernous mouth, and they may measure as much as or feet in length and or feet in width. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ sowerby's beaked whale. one of the rarest of british whales, and very scarce elsewhere. it probably inhabits the open seas.] an enumeration of such whales and porpoises and dolphins as have at one time or other been stranded on the shores of the british isles may serve as an epitome of the whole order. only one interesting group, in fact--the river-dolphins of the ganges and amazons--is unrepresented in the british list. whales, either exhausted or dead, are periodically thrown up on our coasts, even on the less-exposed portions--one of the most recent examples in the writer's memory being that of a large specimen, over feet long, stranded on the sands near boscombe, in hampshire, and the skeleton of which at present adorns boscombe pier. it was one of the rorquals, or finbacks, probably of the species called after rudolphi; but the skeleton is imperfect, though its owner, dr. spencer simpson, appears to have preserved some details of its earlier appearance. it should be remembered that many of the following can only be regarded as "british" with considerable latitude, the records of their visits being in some cases as rare as those of the rustic bunting and red-necked nightjar among birds, or of the derbio and spotted dragonet among fishes. british zoologists, however, usually include the following:--whalebone-whales: southern right-whale; humpback; finbacks, or rorquals. toothed whales: sperm-whale, or cachalot; narwhal; beluga, or white whale; grampuses; beaked whale; broad-fronted whale; cuvier's whale; sowerby's whale; pilot-whale; porpoise; dolphin; white-sided dolphin; white-beaked dolphin; bottlenose. a selection may therefore be made of five of the most representative of these species--the southern whale, the cachalot, the narwhal, the porpoise, and the dolphin. the southern whale, which, in common with the closely allied polar species, whaling-crews call "right," seeing that all other kinds are, from their point of view, "wrong," is probably the only right-whale which has ever found its way to our shores. some writers include the greenland right-whale, but their authority for this is doubtful. it is said to grow to a length of at any rate feet, though feet would perhaps be more common for even large specimens. in colour it is said to be dark above, with a varying amount of white or grey on the flippers and under-surface. the head and mouth are very large, occupying in some cases one-third of the total length, and the baleen-plates measure as much as or feet in length and or feet in width. the species has no back-fin, but there is a protuberance on the snout, known technically as the "bonnet." this whale appears to give birth to its single calf some time in the spring months, and the mother shows great affection for her offspring. the humpback is distinguished from the right-whales externally by its longer flippers and the prominence on its back, and internally by the fluted skin of the throat. the finners, or rorquals, have a distinct back-fin. they feed on fishes and cuttles, and i have more than once known a rorqual, which looked fully feet long (comparing it roughly with my -foot boat), to swim slowly round and round my lugger, down on the cornish coast, puffing and hissing like a torpedo-boat on its trial trip, rounding up the pilchards in a mass, and every now and then dashing through them open-mouthed with a terrific roar, after several of which helpings it would sink out of sight and not again put in an appearance. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ common porpoise. from to feet long. it lives in "schools," or companies, and pursues the herrings and mackerel.] the sperm-whale, or cachalot, may serve as our type of the toothed whales. it attains to the same great dimensions as the largest of the whalebone group. a more active animal for its size could scarcely be conceived; and i have seen one, in the indian ocean, fling itself three or four times in succession out of water like a salmon, striking the surface each time as it fell back with a report like that of a gun. no one appears to have explained whether performances of this sort are due to mere playfulness, or, as seems more probable, to the attacks of parasites or such larger enemies as sharks or "killers." i have also seen four thresher-sharks leaping out of water, and falling with a loud blow on the whale's back; but the victim lay quite still in this case, and may in fact have been worn out before we came upon the scene. i wish to add that i took the word of the skipper, himself an old whaling-captain, for their identity as threshers. the dazzling sun shone full on them, and on the sea between, and it was impossible, even with the ship's telescope, to recognise them with any accuracy. the cachalot has a very different profile from what any one who had seen only its skull in a museum would be led to expect, for the sperm-cavity in the forehead is not indicated in the bones. the structure of the head enables the animal to drop the lower jaw almost at right angles to the upper; and mr. frank bullen quotes, in his fascinating "cruise of the cachalot," the current belief that it does so to attract its prey by the whiteness of its teeth and palate. although both fishes and cephalopods are very curious, even to their own destruction, it is doubtful whether the whale could not catch its food more rapidly by swimming open-mouthed through the acres of floating squid encountered all over the warmer waters of the ocean. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ elliott's dolphin. one of the commoner indian species.] [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ risso's dolphin. about feet in length, found in almost all oceans.] the narwhal, an arctic type, may be distinguished from all other cetaceans by the single spiral tusk in the left side of the head of the male. sometimes the right tusk grows as well, and either may attain a length of as much as feet; but in the female both teeth remain undeveloped. the common porpoise of our own seas, distinguished by its rounded head from the equally common beaked dolphin, is too familiar to need much description. it grows to a length of or feet, and is dark in colour on the back and white beneath. its conspicuous back-fin is always recognisable when it gambols with a herd of its fellows; and a line of these sea-pigs, a mile or so in length, is no uncommon sight, their presence inshore being indicative on some parts of the coast of the coming of east wind. the porpoise, which has, like many of its group, teeth in either jaw, is a voracious feeder, preying in estuaries on salmon and flounders, and on more open parts of the coast on pilchards and mackerel. it is occasionally a serious nuisance in the mediterranean sardine-fisheries, and i have known of the fishermen of collioure, in the gulf of lyons, appealing to the french government to send a gunboat from toulon that might steam after the marauders and frighten them away. one of the most remarkable cases of a feeding porpoise that i can recall was that of one which played with a conger-eel in a cornish harbour as a cat might play with a mouse, blowing the fish or feet through the air, and swimming after it so rapidly as to catch it again almost as it touched the water. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ bottle-nosed dolphin. from to feet long, found from the mediterranean to the north sea.] the dolphin, which is in some seasons as common in the british channel as the more familiar porpoise, is distinguished by its small head and long beak, the lower jaw always carrying more teeth than the upper. it feeds on pilchards and mackerel, and, like the porpoises, gambols, particularly after an east wind, with its fellows close inshore. there are many other marine mammals somewhat loosely bracketed as dolphins. risso's dolphin, for instance, a rare visitor to our coasts, has a striped skin, and its jaws are without teeth, which distinguish it from the common dolphin and most of the others. it cannot therefore feed on fishes, and most probably eats squid and cuttle-fish. the bottle-nosed dolphin, a species occurring in the greatest numbers on the atlantic coast of north america, is regularly hunted for its oil. heavyside's dolphin, which hails from south african waters, is a smaller kind, chiefly remarkable for the curious distribution of black and white on its back and sides. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ heavyside's dolphin. a small, peculiarly coloured species from the cape.] a word must, in conclusion, be said on the economic value of the whales. fortunately, as they are getting rarer, substitutes for their once invaluable products are being from time to time discovered, and much of the regret at their extermination by wasteful slaughter is sentimental and not economic. for whalebone it is not probable that a perfect substitute will ever be found. it therefore maintains a high price, though the former highest market value of over £ , per ton has fallen to something nearer the half. the sperm-oil from the sperm-whale, and the train-oil from that of the right-whales, the spermaceti out of the cachalot's forehead and the ambergris secreted in its stomach, are the other valuable products. ambergris is a greyish, fatty secretion, caused by the irritation set up in the whale's inside by the undigested beaks of cuttle-fish. its market price is about £ per ounce. a lump of lbs. sold for nearly £ , . ---- chapter xxi. _the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos._ by w. p. pycraft, a.l.s., f.z.s. the very remarkable assemblage of animals we are now about to consider includes many diverse forms, bracketed together to constitute one great group; and this on account of the peculiarities of the structure and distribution of the teeth, which are never present in the front of the jaw, and may be absent altogether. of the five groups recognised, three occur in the new and two in the old world. all have undergone very considerable modification of form and structure, and in every case this modification has tended to render them more perfectly adapted to an arboreal or terrestrial existence. flying or aquatic types are wanting. whilst one great group--the sloths--is entirely vegetarian, the others feed either on flesh or insects. the sloths. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ northern two-toed sloth (costa rica). this is also known as hoffmann's sloth. the appellation "two-toed" refers to the fore limb only. the hind foot has three toes.] in the matter of personal appearance nature has not been kind to the sloth, though it is certainly true that there are many uglier animals--not including those, such as some of the monkey tribe and certain of the swine, which are positively hideous. the mode of life of the sloth is certainly remarkable, for almost its whole existence is passed among the highest trees of the densest south american forests, and passed, too, in a perfectly topsy-turvy manner, inasmuch as it moves from bough to bough with its legs up in the air and its back towards the ground. it walks and sleeps suspended beneath the boughs instead of balanced above them, securely holding itself by means of powerful hooked claws on the fore and hind feet. this method of locomotion, so remarkable in a mammal, coupled with the deliberate fashion in which it moves, and the air of sadness expressed in its quaint physiognomy--large-eyed, snub-nosed, and earless--on which there seems to dwell an ever-present air of resignation, led the great buffon to believe that the sloth was a creature afflicted of god for some hidden reason man could not fathom! his sympathy was as certainly wasted as his hasty conclusion was unjustified. there can be no doubt but that the life led by the sloth is at least as blissful as that of its more lively neighbours--the spider monkeys, for instance. walking beneath the boughs comes as natural to the sloth as walking on the ceiling to the fly. the sloth sleeps, as we have already remarked, suspended from a bough. during this time the feet are drawn close together, and the head raised up and placed between the fore legs, as in the cobego, which we depicted asleep on page , as our readers will remember. in the sleeping position the sloth bears a striking resemblance to the stump of a lichen-covered bough, just as the cobego resembles a fruit. thus is protection from enemies gained. the resemblance to lichen is further aided by the fact that the long, coarse hair with which the sloth is clothed becomes encrusted with a peculiar green alga--a lowly form of vegetable growth--which lodges in certain grooves or flutings peculiar to the hair of this animal. such a method of protection is unique amongst the mammalia. as the sloths sleep by day and feed by night, the usefulness of such a method of concealment is beyond question. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ three-toed sloth. a remarkable peculiarity about the three-toed sloths is the fact that they have no less than nine vertebræ in the neck, instead of seven, as is usual among mammals.] the strange form of locomotion of the sloths renders separate fingers and toes unnecessary, and so the fingers and toes have come to be enclosed in a common fold of skin, extending down to the base of the claws. the sloths stand out in strong contrast to the volatile spider monkeys, with whom they share the forest; these have added a fifth limb in the shape of a prehensile tail, by which they may suspend themselves at will. the sloths, on the contrary, have no tail; they move deliberately, and do not require it. the monkeys move by prodigious leaps, taken not seldom by gathering impetus by swinging on their tails. the great naturalist bates writes of the sloth: "it is a strange sight to watch this uncouth creature, fit production of these silent shades, lazily moving from branch to branch. every movement betrays, not indolence exactly, but extreme caution. he never loses his hold from one branch without first securing himself to the next.... after watching the animal for about half an hour, i gave him a charge of shot; he fell with a terrific crash, but caught a bough in his descent with his powerful claws, and remained suspended. our indian lad tried to climb the tree, but was driven back by swarms of stinging ants; the poor little fellow slid down in a sad predicament, and plunged headlong into the brook to free himself." on another occasion the same writer tells us he "saw a sloth swimming across a river at a place where it was yards broad. i believe it is not generally known that this animal takes to the water. our men caught the beast, cooked and ate him." in past ages gigantic ground-sloths roamed over south america. the largest of these, the megatherium, rivalled the elephant in size. descendants of these giants appear to have lingered on till comparatively recent times, as witness the wonderful discovery by moreno, made during last year ( ) in a cave in patagonia. this was nothing less than a skull and a large piece of the hide of one of these monsters in a wonderful state of preservation, showing indeed undoubted traces of blood and sinew. that the hide was removed by human hands there can be no doubt, for it was _rolled up_ and turned inside-out. immediately after this discovery was announced, an expedition was dispatched from england to hunt, not so much for more remains, but for the animal itself. time will show whether these efforts will prove successful. the ant-eaters. unlike as the ant-eaters are to the sloths, they are nevertheless very closely related thereto. this unlikeness at the present day is so great that, were it not for "missing-links" in the shape of fossils, we should probably never have discovered the relationship. the head of the typical ant-eaters has been drawn out into a long tubular muzzle, at the end of which is a tiny mouth just big enough to permit the exit of a long worm-like tongue, covered with a sticky saliva. this tongue is thrust out with great rapidity amongst the hosts of ants and termites and their larvæ, on which they prey. these victims are captured by breaking open their nests. at once all the active inhabitants swarm up to the breach, and are instantaneously swept away by the remorseless tongue. the jaws of the ant-eaters are entirely toothless, and the eyes and ears are very small. the largest species of ant-eater is about feet long. it lives entirely upon the ground. generally speaking, it is a harmless creature; but at times, when cornered, it will fight furiously, sitting up on its hind legs and hugging its foe in its powerful arms. bates, the traveller-naturalist, relates an instance in which a dog used in hunting the great ant-eater was caught in its grip and killed. the tail of this large species is covered with very long hair, forming an immense brush. the claw on the third toe of each fore limb is of great size, and used for breaking open ants' and other insects' nests. [illustration: _photo by scholastic photo. co._] [_parson's green._ the great ant-eater. in walking the ant-eater turns its toes inwards, so that the claws turn upwards and inwards, the weight of the body being borne by a horny pad on the fifth toe, and the balls of the third and fourth toes.] but besides the great ground ant-eater there are some tree-haunting species. these have a shorter muzzle, and short hair on the tail, which is used, as with the spider monkeys, as a fifth limb. curled round the bough of a tree, its owner is free to swing himself out on to another branch. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ tamandua ant-eater. this species, which is a smaller animal than the great ant-eater, lives almost entirely in the trees, instead of on the ground.] the smallest of the tree-dwelling species is not larger than a rat, and is a native of the hottest parts of the forests of south and central america. the muzzle in this species is quite short, not long and tubular, as in the larger species. it is a very rare animal, or is at least very seldom seen, a fact perhaps due to its small size. it is known as the two-toed ant-eater, only the second and third fingers of the fore feet bearing claws. von sack, in his "narrative of a voyage to surinam," tells us that the natives of surinam call this little animal "kissing-hand"--"as the inhabitants pretend that it will never eat, at least when caught, but that it only licks its paws, in the same manner as the bear; that all trials to make it eat have proved in vain, and that it soon dies in confinement. when i got the first, i sent to the forest for a nest of ants; and during the interim i put into its cage some eggs, honey, milk, and meat; but it refused to touch any of them. at last the ants' nest arrived, but the animal did not pay the slightest attention to it either. by the shape of its fore paws, which resemble nippers, i thought that this little creature might perhaps live on the nymphæ of wasps, etc. i therefore brought it a wasps' nest, and then it pulled out with its nippers the nymphæ from the nest, and began to eat them with the greatest eagerness, sitting in the posture of a squirrel. i showed this phenomenon to many of the inhabitants, who all assured me that it was the first time they had ever known that species of animal take any nourishment." the armadillos. readers of this book will doubtless have noticed long ere this how manifold are the devices for the purpose of defence adopted by the mammalia. the armadillos have certainly selected the most complete, having encased themselves in an impenetrable bony armour as perfect as the coat of mail of the warrior of the middle ages. concerning this and the variations thereon adopted by the different members of the group we shall speak presently. armadillos are mostly confined to south america, and occur both in the open pampas and the shady depths of the forest. they live in burrows, which they dig with incredible speed. these burrows are generally found in the vicinity of the nests of ants and termites, which form their staple diet. one species, however, at least feeds apparently with equal relish upon vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, mice, snakes, and carrion. the bony armour is disposed over the crown of the head, back, and flanks. it is made up of numerous small, bony plates, buried deep in the skin, and each overlaid by a horny scale. the tail is protected by bony rings. the plates covering the shoulders and those directly over the hindquarters fuse into a solid mass, thus forming chambers into which the limbs can be withdrawn. in the region of the body, between these two shields, the plates are arranged in rows encircling the body, thus permitting the animal to roll itself up as occasion may require. hairs grow out between the plates, and in some cases give the animal quite a furry appearance. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ two-toed ant-eater. although the fore feet have four toes, only the second and third bear claws; hence the name "two-toed" ant-eater.] speaking of the burrowing powers of the armadillo, darwin, in his most fascinating "voyage of the beagle," tells us that "the instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly that its hinder quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. it seems almost a pity to kill such nice little animals; for as a gaucho said, while sharpening his knife on the back of one, 'son tan mansos' (they are so quiet)." as a rule, armadillos are regarded as animals loving dry, sandy wastes; nevertheless, they are said to be able to swim both well and swiftly. the flesh of the armadillo is apparently by no means unpalatable. the pichiciago. one of the most remarkable of the armadillos is the pichiciago, or fairy armadillo. it is a tiny creature of some inches long, found in the sandy wastes of the western part of the argentine republic. the horny covering of the bony plates is pinkish colour, and the hair is silky in texture and snow-white. but it is not on this account that the fairy armadillo is remarkable: its claim to notoriety rests on the peculiar arrangement of the bony plates constituting the armour. these bony plates are small and thin, and covered, as in other species, with a horny coat; but instead of being embedded in the skin, they are attached only along the middle of the back, and project freely over the body on either side, leaving a space between the shield and the body. the hinder end of the body is specially protected by a nearly circular vertical shield, firmly fixed to the hip-girdle. this shield, it is said, is used as a plug to fill up its burrow with. the peludo. armadillos of the normal type, wherein the body armour is embedded in the skin, are represented by numerous species. of one, known as the peludo, mr. hudson has given us some interesting details. "it feeds," he tells us, "not only upon insects, but also upon vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, and carrion. its method of capturing mice was certainly ingenious. it hunted by smell, and when nearing its prey became greatly agitated. the exact spot discovered, the body was raised slowly to a sitting posture, and then flung suddenly forwards, so that the mouse or nest of mice was imprisoned beneath, and promptly dispatched." "still more remarkable," says mr. lydekker, "is the manner in which a peludo has been observed to kill a snake, by rushing upon it and proceeding to saw the unfortunate reptile in pieces by pressing upon it closely with the jagged edges of its armour, and at the same time moving its body backwards and forwards. the struggles of the snake were all in vain, as its fangs could make no impression upon the panoply of its assailant, and eventually the reptile slowly dropped and died, to be soon afterwards devoured by the armadillo, which commenced the meal by seizing the snake's tail in its mouth, and gradually eating forwards." [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ weasel-headed armadillo. the weasel-headed armadillos have from six to eight movable bands in the bony armour in which they are encased.] [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ hairy-rumped armadillo. this species, like the peba armadillo, varies its diet with carrion.] the pangolins. the pangolins, or scaly ant-eaters, are perhaps even more curious creatures than the armadillos. they have been likened in appearance to animated spruce fir-cones, to which indeed they bear a strange resemblance. this resemblance is due to the wonderful armature of the skin, which takes the form of large overlapping, pointed, horny plates or scales. the pangolins are confined to the old world, occurring in south africa and south-eastern asia. like the american ant-eaters, teeth are wanting, and the tongue is long and worm-like, being employed in the capture of insects, as in the new world ant-eaters. the scales of the manis are formed by the fusion together of fine hairs. like the spines of the hedgehog and porcupine, they serve the purpose of offensive defence; for when the manis rolls itself up, these pointed scales project at right angles to the body, and offer a formidable resistance to any enemy whatsoever. they also serve to break the force of a fall, which, indeed, is often voluntary; for should the animal wish to descend from the branch of a tree, it will often take a short cut to the ground by deliberately dropping, the force of the fall being entirely broken by the elastic scales. in climbing, the tail is of the greatest service, its under-surface being clothed with pointed scales, which serve as so many climbing-hooks. the grasp of a tree-trunk gained by the hind legs and tail is so secure that the body can be moved to a horizontal position with ease. in a specimen kept in captivity by mr. fraser, this horizontal movement was a form of exercise which appeared to afford the greatest pleasure. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ peba armadillo. this species lives largely upon carrion, which it buries in its burrow till wanted.] [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ kapplers' armadillo. this is a variety of the peba armadillo, inhabiting surinam.] the aard-vark. the custom of naming newly discovered animals after well-known forms to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance, physically or otherwise, is a common one. the animal now under consideration shows this once more, having originally received the name of aard-vark (earth-pig) from the boers of the cape. the aard-vark is a most decidedly ugly animal, and justifies its name in several particulars. it is hunted for the sake of its hide, which is of great thickness and resembles that of the pig, but is sparsely covered with hairs, the general shape of its body being not unlike that of a long-headed, short-legged, heavy-tailed pig. the whole animal is about feet long. in a wild state, or even in captivity, it is but rarely seen, since it is a night-feeder, and passes the day in sleep deep down in a burrow. this burrow it digs for itself with the aid of powerful claws borne on the fore feet. it lives principally on ants and termites, breaking down their nests, and remorselessly sweeping up the frightened occupants with a long, sticky tongue, as soon as they rush to the seat of the disturbance which has broken up the harmony and order of their community. at one time it was believed that the aard-vark was a close ally of the pangolin, but later researches have disproved this, and have furthermore thrown doubt upon the probability of its relationship with any of the members of this group of mammals at all. there are two species of this animal--the cape aard-vark of south and south-east africa, and the ethiopian aard-vark of north-east africa. [illustration: _by permission of the hon. walter rothschild_] [_tring._ cape aard-vark. the ants upon which the aard-vark largely subsists appear to be very fattening, and impart a delicate flavour to the flesh, especially to the hams, which are greatly esteemed.] where the nest-building ants are most common, there will the aard-vark--or innagus, as the boers sometimes call it--be most plentiful. the nests of these ants are huge structures of from to feet high, and often occupy vast areas of ground, extending as far as the eye can reach. they are substantially built, and swarm with occupants, and consequently are quite worth raiding. but the aard-vark has become much less common since a price has been set upon its skin. the powers of digging of these animals are so great that they can completely bury their large bodies in a few minutes, even when the ground has been baked by the sun into something like adamantine hardness. in excavating their burrows, the ground is thrown out by the fore feet, in huge lumps, through or rather between the hind legs. shy and suspicious, the least unusual sound will send them scuttling to earth, for their sense of hearing is very keen. they seem to change their minds somewhat frequently, when engaged in digging out a new burrow; for half-excavated burrows in the side of ant-hills are very commonly met with. a fully grown aard-vark is about feet long--generally rather more. although this animal is frequently kept in captivity, it is but rarely seen by visitors, owing to its nocturnal habits, of which we have already spoken. the teeth of the aard-vark are sufficiently remarkable to justify notice here. only the crushing teeth are represented--that is to say, the front or cutting teeth are conspicuous by their absence. these crushing teeth number from eight to ten in the upper and eight in the lower jaw, on each side; but in the adult fewer would be found, the number being reduced to five in each side of the jaws--that is to say, there are but twenty all told. in structure these teeth are quite remarkable, differing entirely from those of all other mammals, and resembling those of some fishes; furthermore, they have no "roots," but instead grow continually throughout life, which "rooted" teeth do not. [illustration: _photo by billington_] [_queensland._ the great grey kangaroo. the massive hind limbs and tail of the animal constitute, in its characteristic resting pose, a most efficient supporting tripod.] ---- chapter xxii. _marsupials and monotremes._ by w. saville-kent, f.l.s., f.z.s. ---- marsupials. with the order of the pouched mammals we arrive--with the exception of the echidna and platypus, next described--at the most simply organised representatives of the mammalian class. in the two forms above named, egg-production, after the manner of birds and reptiles, constitutes the only method of propagation. although among marsupials so rudimentary a method of reproduction is not met with, the young are brought into the world in a far more embryonic condition than occurs among any of the mammalian groups previously enumerated. there is, as a matter of fact, an entire absence of that vascular or blood connection betwixt the parent and young previous to birth, known as placentation, common to all the higher mammals, though certain of the more generalised forms have been recently found to possess a rudiment of such development. in correlation with their abnormally premature birth, it may be observed that a special provision commonly exists for the early nurture of the infant marsupials. in such a form as the kangaroo, for example, the young one is placed, through the instrumentality of its parent's lips, in contact with the food-supplying teat, and to which for some considerable period it then becomes inseparably attached. special muscles exist in connection with the parent's mammary glands for controlling the supply of milk to the young animal, while the respiratory organs of the little creature are temporarily modified in order to ensure unimpeded respiration. the fact of the young in their early life being commonly found thus inseparably adhering to the parent's nipple has given rise to the falacious but still very widely prevalent idea among the australian settlers that the embryo marsupial is ushered into the world as a direct outgrowth from the mammary region. [illustration: _photo by billington_] [_queensland._ silver-grey kangaroo. in general form the kangaroos are so like one another that one figure would almost serve for all.] at the present day, with the exception of the small group of the american opossums and the selvas, the entire assemblage of marsupials, comprising some genera and species, are, singularly to relate, exclusively found in australia, new guinea, and the few neighbouring islands recognised by systematic zoologists as pertaining to the australasian region. what is more, this region of australasia produces, with some few insignificant exceptions, chiefly rodents, no other indigenous mammals. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ black-striped wallaby. female with half-grown young in her pouch.] [illustration: _photo by j. t. newman_] [_berkhamsted._ bennett's wallaby and the great grey kangaroo. this photograph illustrates the relative sizes of these two species.] it is interesting to note that within the limits of this isolated and anciently founded marsupial order we have an epitome, as it were, of many of the more important groups of an equivalent classificatory value that are included among the higher mammalia previously described. in this relationship we find in the so-called tasmanian wolf, the tasmanian devil, and the "native cats" carnivorous and eminently predatory forms whose habits and general conformation are immediately comparable to those of the typical carnivora. the bandicoots, banded ant-eater, and phascogales recall in a similar manner the higher insectivora. in the tree-frequenting opossums and phalangers the external likeness and conformity in habits to the arboreal rodents is notably apparent, several of the species, moreover, possessing a parachute-like flying-membrane essentially identical with that which is found in the typical flying-squirrels. an example in which the ground-frequenting or burrowing rodents are closely approached is furnished by the australian wombat, an animal which may be appropriately likened to an overgrown and lethargic marmot. in this form, moreover, the rodent-like character of the dentition is especially noteworthy. the higher grass-eating mammals find their counterparts in the family group of the kangaroos, in which, in addition to their essentially herbivorous habits, the contour of the head and neck, together with the expressive eyes and large expanding ears, are wonderfully suggestive of the various members of the deer family. the cuscuses of new guinea and the adjacent islands, both in form and habits, somewhat resemble their geographical neighbours, the lorises, belonging to the lemur tribe, compared with which higher mammals, however, they possess the advantage of an eminently serviceable prehensile tail. the australian koala, or so-called "native bear," has been commonly compared by zoologists with the edentate sloths; while in the most recently discovered marsupial, the pouched mole, we have a counterpart, in both form and habits, of the familiar european species. finally, in the small american section of the marsupialia, we meet with a type--the so-called yapock, or water-opossum--in which the resemblances to an otter, in both aspect and its aquatic habits, are so marked that the animal was originally regarded as a species only of the otter tribe. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ albino red kangaroos. albino kangaroos and other australian animals have been observed to be the product of special, narrowly limited locations.] the character of the _marsupium_, or pouch, differs materially among the various members of their order. it presents its most conspicuous and normal development in such animals as the kangaroos, wallabies, and the australian opossums or phalangers. in the tasmanian wolf and the bandicoots the pouch opens backwards. in such forms as the phascogale, or pouched mouse, the pouch is reduced to a few rudimentary skin-folds, while in the banded ant-eater its position is occupied by a mere patch of longer hairs, to which the helpless young ones cling. on the same _lucus a non lucendo_ principle there is no trace of a pouch in the koala, nor in those smaller species of the american opossums which habitually carry their young upon their back. even in these pouchless marsupials, however, the peculiar marsupial bones are invariably present, and in all other essential details their accord with the marsupial type of organisation and development is fully maintained. the kangaroos. the typical and most familiar member of the marsupial order is the kangaroo--the heraldic mammal of that vast island-continent in the south seas, whose phenomenal advance by leaps and bounds, from what scarcely a century since was represented by but a few isolated settlements, has been aptly likened to the characteristic progression of this animal. of kangaroos proper there are some twenty-four known species distributed throughout the length and breadth of australia, extending southwards to tasmania, and to the north as far as new guinea and a few other adjacent islands. in point of size the great grey kangaroo and the red or woolly species run each other very closely. a full-grown male of either species will weigh as much as lbs., and measure a little over feet from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, this latter important member monopolising another or ½ feet. the red or woolly species more especially affects the rocky districts of south and east australia, while the great grey kind is essentially a plain-dweller and widely distributed throughout the grassy plains of the entire australian continent and also tasmania. it is to the big males of this species that the titles of "boomer," "forester," and "old man kangaroos" are commonly applied by the settlers, and the species with which the popular and exciting sport of a kangaroo hunt--the antipodean substitute for fox-hunting--is associated. the pace and staying power of an old man kangaroo are something phenomenal. our home country fox-hounds would have no chance with it; consequently a breed of rough-haired greyhounds, known as kangaroo-dogs, are specially trained for this sport. a run of eighteen miles, with a swim of two in the sea at the finish, and all within the space of two brief crowded hours, is one of the interesting records chronicled. the quarry, when brought to bay, is, moreover, a by no means despicable foe. erect on its haunches, with its back against a tree, the dogs approach it at their peril, as, with a stroke of its powerful spur-armed hind foot, it will with facility disembowel or otherwise fatally maim its assailant. another favourite refuge of the hunted "boomer" is a shallow water-hole, wherein, wading waist-deep, it calmly awaits its pursuers' onslaught. on the dogs swimming out to the attack, it will seize them with its hand-like fore paws, thrust them under water, and, if their rescue is not speedily effected, literally drown them. even man, without the aid of firearms, is liable to be worsted in an encounter under these conditions, as is evidenced in the following anecdote. [illustration: _photo by w. reid_] [_wishaw, n.b._ tasmanian wallaby. has softer and thicker fur than its relative of the australian mainland.] a newly arrived settler from the old country, or more precisely from the sister island, ignorant of the strength and prowess of the wily marsupial, essayed his maiden kangaroo hunt with only a single dog as company. a fine grey boomer was in due course started, and after an exciting chase was cornered in a water-hole. the dog, rushing after it, was promptly seized and ducked; and pat, irate at the threatened drowning of his companion, fired, but missed his quarry, and thereupon jumped into the water-hole, with the intention, as he afterwards avowed, "to bate the brains out of the baste" with the butt-end of his gun. the kangaroo, however, very soon turned the tables upon pat. before he had time to realise the seriousness of the situation he found himself lifted off his feet, and soused and hustled with such vigour that both pat and his dog most narrowly escaped a watery grave. a couple of neighbours, by good luck passing that way, observed the turmoil, and came to the rescue. between them they beat off and killed the kangaroo, and dragged pat to land in a half-drowned and almost insensible condition. pat recovered, and vowed "niver to meddle with such big bastes" again. the doe kangaroos, while of smaller size and possessing much less staying power than their mates, can nevertheless afford a good run for horses and dogs, and are commonly known as "flyers." when carrying a youngster, or "joey," in her pouch, and hard pressed by the dogs, it is a common thing for the parent to abstract her offspring from the pouch with her fore paws, and to throw it aside into the bush. the instinct of self-preservation only, by the discharge of hampering impedimenta, is usually ascribed to this act; but it is an open question whether the maternal one of securing a chance of escape for her young, while feeling powerless to accomplish it for herself, does not more often represent the actual condition of the case. in proportion to the size of its body the kangaroo yields but a limited amount of meat that is esteemed for food. the tail represents the most highly appreciated portion, since from it can be compounded a soup not only equal to ordinary ox-tail, but by gourmands considered so superior that its conservation and export have proved a successful trade enterprise. the loins also are much esteemed for the table, but the hind limbs are hard and coarse, and only appreciated by the native when rations are abnormally short. "steamer," composed of kangaroo-flesh mixed with slices of ham, represented a standing and very popular dish with the earlier australian settlers; but with the rapid disappearance of the animal before the advance of colonisation this one time common concoction possesses at the present day a greater traditional than actual reputation. the hunting of the kangaroo is conducted on several distinct lines, the method of its pursuit being varied, according to whether the animal is required for the primary object of food, for the commercial value of its skin, as a matter of pure sport, or to accomplish its wholesale destruction in consequence of its encroachments on the pasturage required for sheep- and cattle-grazing. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ albino red-bellied wallaby. many of the marsupials, including kangaroos and the opossum-like phalangers, exhibit a tendency to albinism.] [illustration: _photo by billington_] [_queensland._ rock-wallaby. the rock-wallabies, in contradistinction to the kangaroos, are for the most part nocturnal in their habits.] the greatest measure of healthy excitement in hunting the kangaroo, from the standpoint of pure sport, is no doubt to be obtained when running the marsupial down with horse and hounds in congenial company, as referred to on a previous page. the stalking of the animal single-handed on horseback or on foot, much after the manner of the deer, has also its enthusiastic votaries, and calls into play the greatest amount of patience and _savoir-faire_ on the part of the sportsman. it has been affirmed by a queensland writer, "to kill kangaroos with a stalking-horse requires the practice of a lifetime, and few 'new chums' have the patience to learn it. it is, in fact, only stockmen, black-fellows, and natives of the bush who can by this method expect to make kangaroo-shooting pay." the horse which is successfully employed by experienced bushmen for stalking purposes is specially trained to its work, and, walking apparently unconcernedly in the direction of the selected quarry, brings the gunners, if they are experts in the art of keeping themselves well concealed, within easy range. in this manner two or three kangaroos are not infrequently shot in the same stalk, the animals having a tendency, on hearing the report of the gun, but not locating the direction from which it was discharged, to rush about in an aimless manner, and, as frequently happens, in the immediate direction of the hidden sportsman. in the good old times it is recorded that an experienced hand might kill as many as seventy or eighty kangaroos in a day by this stalking method. the marsupials are at the present date, however, so severely decimated that even in the most favourable settled districts a bag of from twelve to twenty head must be regarded as exceptional. stalking the kangaroo on foot without the horse's aid is more strongly recommended to those to whom an occasional shot is considered sufficiently remunerative. taking full advantage of intervening bushes and other indigenous cover, an approach to within a hundred yards or so of the quarry may be usually accomplished, though not quite so easily, perhaps, as might be at first anticipated. it is the habit of the kangaroo to sit up waist-high in the midst of the sun-bleached grass, which corresponds so closely in colour with its own hide that unless the animal is silhouetted against the sky-line it readily escapes detection. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ parry's wallaby. in attitude of listening.] [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ parry's wallaby. characteristic feeding attitude.] the conditions under which the kangaroo is obtained for the main purpose of supplying the human commissariat is perhaps most aptly illustrated in connection with its chase as prosecuted by the australian aborigines. in tasmania and the southern australian states the primeval man is either extinct or more rare than the kangaroo. in the extreme north and far north-west, however, he still poses as "the lord of creation," and conducts his hunting expeditions on a lordly scale. the food-supply of the australian native is essentially precarious. long intervals of "short commons" are interspersed with brief periods of over-abundance, in which he indulges his appetite to its fullest bent. a kangaroo drive on native lines represents to the australian mind one of these last-named superlatively memorable occasions. the entire tribe, men, women, and all capable youths, participate in the sport. fires are lit by one section of the tribe, according to the direction of the wind, encircling a vast area of the country, while the other section posts itself in detachments in advantageous positions to intercept the terrified marsupials as they fly in the presumed direction of safety to escape the devouring element. spears and waddies and boomerangs, in the hands of the expert natives, speedily accomplish a scene of carnage, and the after feast that follows may perhaps be best left to the imagination of the reader. the encroachments of neighbouring natives on the happy hunting-grounds that time and custom have conceded to be the sole monopoly of any one particular tribe is most strenuously resented, and constitute one of the commonest sources of their well-nigh perpetual inter-tribal battles. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef, melbourne._ foot of tree-kangaroo. underside, showing peculiar skin-corrugations and the united second and third toes.] a kangaroo battue, as carried into practice by european settlers in those few remaining districts where the animal is sufficiently abundant to constitute a pest by its wholesale consumption of the much-prized pasturage, is far more deadly in its results to the unfortunate marsupials. existing sheep-fences, supplemented by a large suitably enclosed yard, are first specially prepared for the reception of the expected victims. all the settlers, stockmen, and farm hands from the country round are pressed into service, and assemble on horseback or on foot at the appointed rendezvous at break of day. a widely spreading cordon of beaters being told off, a systematic drive is then commenced, which results in all the animals being driven towards and collected within the enclosed yard. the culminating scene is one of wholesale slaughter with club and gun. from these battues none of the unfortunate animals escape, as they are so closely hemmed in. the first record of the existence of the kangaroo, coupled with its characteristic name, is found associated, it is interesting to observe, with the history of one of the earlier voyages of captain cook. the neighbourhood of cooktown, in queensland, claims the honour of supplying the first example of the animal which was brought to europe and astonished the zoologists of that time by the singularity of its form and reported habits. captain cook happened--in july, --to be laying up his ship, the _endeavour_, for repairs, after narrowly escaping total wreck on the neighbouring great barrier reef, in the estuary of the river subsequently coupled with his ship's name. foraging parties, dispatched with the object of securing, if possible, fresh meat or game for the replenishment of the ship's well-nigh exhausted larder, returned with reports of a strange creature, of which they subsequently secured specimens. skins were preserved and brought to england, but it was some little time before the zoological position and affinities of the creature were correctly allocated. by some naturalists it was regarded as representing a huge species of jerboa, its near relationship to the previously known american opossums being, however, eventually substantiated. the closer acquaintanceship with the peculiar fauna of australia that followed upon captain cook's memorable voyage of discovery along the coast-line of that island-continent soon familiarised naturalists with many other of the allied species of which the kangaroo constitutes the leading representative. some considerable amount of obscurity is associated with the prime origin of the animal's almost world-wide title of "kangaroo." it is most commonly accepted as representing the native name for the creature in that queensland district from whence it was first reported by captain cook. no later investigations and enquiries have, however, in any way established the correctness of this hypothesis, those explorers who have made a special study of the dialects and habits of the aboriginal inhabitants entirely failing to elicit anything even remotely coinciding with the name in question. it has, in fact, been reluctantly concluded by one of the most experienced queensland authorities on these matters that the name originated as a mere miscomprehension of the information elicited from the natives. verbal communication with the native tribes under the most favourable circumstances is liable to a vast amount of misunderstanding, and where other than linguistic experts are present it frequently happens that much mongrel or "pidgin english" gets mixed up with the native terms. assuming this to have been the case in the present instance, it has been suggested that the name of kangaroo, or "kanguroo," as it was originally spelt, implied some form of negation of the knowledge which the enquiring white man was seeking to elicit, or, maybe, partly even a phonetic and parrot-like repetition of the constantly recurring query that was doubtless current among the "handy men" of the _endeavour's_ commission, such as "can you" tell me this or that concerning the many unfamiliar objects that greeted the eyes of the new arrivals in this strange land. the writer retains a vivid recollection of a closely analogous manner in which the rural inhabitants of vigo bay, on the spanish coast, appropriated a common phrase used by the crew of the yacht with whom he landed there. having evidently noted that the two words "i say" prefaced the majority of jack-tar's speeches, this catch-phrase was adopted and applied by them as a greeting and as a reply to almost every interrogation in dumb-show or otherwise that was addressed to them. an unknown animal submitted to these rustic solons would doubtless have been dubbed the "i say"; and had the land been a new one--say, somewhere in the south seas--that name would probably have stuck to it. applying this interpretation to the kangaroo, and bearing in mind the fondness of the australian native to duplicate his name-words or syllables--e.g. _wagga-wagga_, _debil-debil_, and so forth--the "kang-you-you" or a closely resembling phonetic expression would present itself to the native mind as a much more correct rendering of the simpler "can you" or "kang you" which he had picked up as a catch-phrase from the _endeavour's_ crew. in the absence, at all events, of any more rational interpretation of the mystery, this one would seem to merit consideration. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ brown tree-kangaroo. this species represents the group in north queensland.] while the kangaroo is being speedily dethroned from the dominant position it originally occupied in the indigenous australian fauna, praiseworthy and highly successful attempts have been made to acclimatise this marsupial on british soil. at tring park, lord rothschild's estate, woburn abbey, and elsewhere, troops of these graceful creatures may be seen under conditions of happiness and liberty scarcely inferior to those by which they are environed in their native "bush." [illustration: _photo by ottomar anschütz, berlin._ _printed at lyons, france._ the great kangaroo leaping. in the posture in which this animal is represented the extraordinary size and strength of the hind limbs and tail are displayed to the best advantage. both features are connected with the animal's marvellous powers of leaping.] of smaller members of the kangaroo family, there are some thirty distinct forms, popularly known in australia as wallabies, wallaroos, paddy-melons, potoroos, kangaroo-hares, kangaroo-rats, etc. the wallabies, which represent the most important group with regard to their larger size and economic utility, number some fourteen or fifteen species, and are distinguished, with relation more especially to their habitats or peculiar structure, as rock-, brush-tail, and spur-tail wallabies, etc. among the rock-wallabies the yellow-footed species from south australia is undoubtedly one of the handsomest as well as the largest member of its group, the uniform grey characteristic of the majority of its members being in this instance represented by an elegantly striped and banded form, in which the several tints of brown, yellow, black, and white are pleasingly interblended. a very fine example of this wallaby was included in the valuable collection of animals, formerly at windsor, recently presented to the zoological society by his majesty king edward, and is now on view at the regent's park. the successful stalking of rock-wallabies in their native fastnesses entails no mean amount of patience and agility. although these animals are so abundant in favoured localities as to make hard-beaten tracks to and fro betwixt their rock-dwellings and their pasture-grounds, one may traverse the country in broad daylight without catching a glimpse of a single individual. one species, about the size of a large rabbit, is very plentiful among the rocky bastion-like hills that border the ord river, which flows into cambridge gulf, in western australia. efforts to stalk examples in broad daylight proved fruitless; but by sallying out a little before daybreak, so as to arrive at their feeding-grounds while the light was still dim, the writer succeeded in securing several specimens. many of these rock-wallabies are notable for the length, fine texture, and pleasing tints of their fur, their skins on such account being highly esteemed for the composition of carriage-rugs and other furry articles. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ tree-kangaroos. examples acclimatised in the melbourne zoological gardens.] of the larger brush or scrub varieties, the species known as the black wallaby is the most familiar form. it is particularly abundant in the southern australian states, and also in tasmania. its flesh is excellent eating, and, dressed and served up in the orthodox manner of jugged hare, can scarcely be distinguished from that toothsome dish. some of the smaller species, such as the hare- and rat-kangaroos or potoroos, are, as their names denote, of no larger dimensions than the familiar rodents from which they are popularly named. several of these smaller species, including notably the potoroo, or kangaroo-rat of new south wales, are addicted to paying marked attention to the settlers' gardens, and, being to a large extent root-feeders, have acquired a special predilection for the newly planted or more fully matured potato crops. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ gaimard's rat-kangaroo. a species named after the french naturalist, gaimard.] the most abnormal group of the kangaroo family is undoubtedly that of the tree-kangaroos, formerly supposed to have been limited in its distribution to the island of new guinea, but which has within recent years been found to be represented by one or more species in northern queensland. at the melbourne zoo they have been found, except in the coldest weather, to thrive well in the open--a moderate-sized tree, with a small fenced-in enclosure around it, being admirably suited to their requirements, at the same time providing a most instructive exhibition of their peculiar forms and idiosyncrasies. seen at its best, however, the tree-kangaroo, or "boongarry," as it is known amongst the queensland natives, is a most clumsy, melancholy-looking beast, which has apparently found itself "up a tree," not as the outcome of its personal predilections, but owing to the _force majeure_ of untoward pressure in the form either of relentlessly persecuting enemies or the failure of its normal terrestrial commissariat. compared with the graceful and superlatively agile tree-frequenting phalangers, between whom and the ordinary kangaroos it has been sometimes, but erroneously, regarded as representing a connecting-link, the boongarry presents a most ungainly contrast. its climbing powers are of the slowest and most awkward description, the whole of its energies being concentrated on its endeavour to preserve its balance and to retain a tight hold upon the branches of the trees it frequents, and to which it clings with such tenacity with its long sharp claws that it can with difficulty be detached. in its wild state, moreover, these claws can be very effectively used as weapons of defence; and hence the natives, with whom the animal is highly esteemed as an article of food, are careful to give it its quietus with their clubs or waddies before venturing to handle it. the tree-kangaroos inhabit the densest parts of the forests or "scrubs" of new guinea and tropical queensland, and appear to confine their movements chiefly to the trees of moderate size, or the lower branches only of the taller ones. the species which constitutes the most natural known connecting-link between the typical kangaroos and the family of the phalangers, next described, is the five-toed rat-kangaroo, or potoroo. as its name implies, it is a small creature of rat-like aspect and dimensions, and possesses, like a rat, a long, cylindrical, naked, scaly tail. it is the structure of the feet, however, that constitutes the important distinction. in place of the four toes only to the hind limbs it possesses the full complement of five, and the first toe, moreover, is set farther back, and is opposable for grasping purposes. this animal is from queensland. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ rat-kangaroo from new south wales. one of the small jerboa-like species.] the phalangers. the phalanger family of marsupials, which next invites attention, is constituted of animals especially adapted to lead an arboreal life, though among themselves they exhibit very considerable structural variations. the species usually placed at the head of this group is the essentially droll and in many respects abnormal form known as the koala, or australian native bear. its little podgy tailless body, short thick-set head, and round tufted ears lend some countenance perhaps to the ursine analogy; but there the likeness ends. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ koala, or australian native bear and cub. an excellent illustration of the way in which the female koalas carry their young securely perched on their backs.] the koala is limited in its distribution to the south-eastern region of the australian continent, and is there found inhabiting the loftiest gum-trees, on the leaves and flowers of which it almost exclusively feeds. compared with the opossum and squirrel-like phalangers, the koala is a very slow and sedentary little animal, remaining stationary in and browsing upon the leaves of the same gum-tree for days or even weeks at a stretch. taking advantage of this home-staying propensity, examples are established, with full liberty to wander at will among the large gum-trees, in the melbourne zoological gardens, and have never abused the confidence reposed in them by surreptitiously absconding. the young koalas in particular make the most droll and delightful of household pets, speedily becoming attached to and following their owners about the premises, or contentedly settling down to the possession of an allotted corner of the verandah, in which an improvised perch has been erected and a constant supply of its favourite gum-leaves is daily assured. one such example, kept in brisbane, queensland, furnished the writer with the material for the photograph on this page; also of another one that illustrated in an interesting manner the very singular attitude assumed by the animal when asleep. instead of creeping into the hollow trunk or spout of a gum or other tree, as the opossums and other phalangers are wont to do, the little "bear" simply sticks tight to his supporting branch, and, tucking in his head and ears and limbs, converts himself into an apparently homogeneous rounded mass of fur or moss, and, thus disguised, peacefully sleeps. seen at some little distance, in fact, none but a trained eye could distinguish this sleeping bear from one of the round woody excrescences or bunches of misletoe-like parasitic growths that are of common occurrence on the trees in every gum forest. in this way the little creature secures immunity from the attacks of enemies by mimicking the characteristic peculiarities of its environment, as obtains so generally among insects and other of the lower orders of animated nature. a closely analogous sleeping attitude, it may be mentioned, is assumed by one of the african lemurs or pottos, which have been dealt with in a previous chapter. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ koala, or australian native bear. the koala has no tail, and is a stout, clumsily built animal, about inches in length, with thick woolly fur of a greyish colour.] although in captivity the koala takes kindly to a mixed diet in which bread-and-milk and fruit may form substantial elements, it can rarely be induced to altogether dispense with its customary gum-leaf regimen, and it is this circumstance that mainly accounts for its rarity in european menageries. time and again, however, this interesting animal has put in an appearance at the regent's park; but in spite of kew gardens and other sources being laid under contribution for a supply of gum-tree leaves, its sojourn there has been but brief. as a matter of fact, the common or blue gum-tree, which is alone cultivated and available in any quantity in this country, and which is indigenous to tasmania, is not the species on which the koala is accustomed to feed. of gum-trees there are some hundred species, every one differing in the peculiarity of its aromatic scent and flavour, and having its special clientèle among the ranks of leaf-browsing animals. so far as the writer's observations extended, it was the big queensland "white" and "swamp" gums that were especially patronised by the australian bears, and these are not grown in england. although at first sight, and normally so far as the younger individuals are concerned, the koala would appear to represent the most perfect embodiment of peace and goodwill among mammals, he is accredited at a maturer age, when crossed in love or goaded to resentment by some other cause, to give way to fits of ungovernable rage. these temporary lapses are, however, very transient, and our little friend soon recovers his customary bland placidity. while it is being threshed out, nevertheless, the "burden of song" delivered by rival claimants for a partner's favours is a remarkable phenomenon. the circumstance that the vocal duet is commonly executed high up among the branches of the loftiest gums no doubt adds very considerably to both the timbre of the "music" and the distance to which it is carried. the old-time phrase of "making the welkin ring" would undoubtedly have been applied with alacrity and singular appropriateness by the poets of the departed century to the love-song of the koala, had they been privileged to hear it. among the examples of the koala which have been in residence at the zoo, one of them came to a pathetic end. as told to the writer by mr. a. d. bartlett, the late superintendent, it appears that the little animal, on exhibition in the gardens during the day, was brought into the house at night, and allowed the run of a room which, among other furniture, included a large swing looking-glass. one morning the little creature was found crushed to death beneath the mirror, upon which it had apparently climbed and over-balanced. the information that the animal was a female evoked the suspicion that personal vanity and the admiration of its own image in the glass had some share in compassing its untimely end. possibly, however, it hailed in the reflection the welcome advent of a companion to share its lone banishment from the land of the gum-tree, and in its efforts to greet it thus came to grief. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ koala, or australian native bear. these animals make a peculiarly plaintive cry when molested in any way by human beings.] the female koala produces but one cub at a time. at an early period after its birth this is transferred to its mother's back, and is thus transported until its dimensions are about one-half of those of its parent. the pair as shown in the illustration on page presents, under these conditions, an essentially grotesque aspect. it is a noteworthy circumstance that, compared with the male, the female koala is but rarely to be observed wandering abroad during broad daylight. as with the typical phalangers food is consumed chiefly at night or during the brief australian twilight hours. while the male at certain periods, more especially the months of march and april, is much in evidence in daytime to both the senses of sight and hearing, as attested to on a previous page, the female spends the whole or greater portion of the day clinging as an inert sleeping mass to a convenient branch. "bear"-shooting in australia, as might be anticipated from the description here given of the animal's habits and temperament, affords but sorry sport. it may further be remarked that those who have shot at and only disabled one of these inoffensive little creatures are scarcely likely to repeat the experiment. the cry of a wounded koala has been aptly compared to that of a distressed child, but still more pathetic. when fatally shot, it also more frequently than otherwise clings tenaciously back-downwards, like the south american sloths, to the supporting tree-branch, and is thus frequently irrecoverable. with the non-sentimental australian furrier the koala's pelt of soft, crisp, ashy-grey fur is unfortunately in considerable demand, being made up mostly, with the quaint round head and tufted ears intact, into, it must be confessed, singularly attractive and warm rugs. the correspondence of the koala in form and habits to the sloths among the higher mammalia has been previously mentioned. the parallelism might be pursued in yet another direction. in earlier times the small tree-inhabiting south american sloths were supplemented by ground-frequenting species, such as the megatherium, which were of comparatively titanic proportions. the epoch of the accredited existence of these huge ground-sloths was so comparatively recent--the later tertiaries--that it is even yet not regarded as altogether improbable that some existing representative of the race may yet be discovered in the fastnesses of the south american forests, and thus claim a niche in the pages of a subsequent edition of "living animals." in a like manner the little sloth-like tree-frequenting "australian bear" had his primeval ground-dwelling colossi, and there is yet a lurking hope among enthusiastic zoologists that some surviving scion of the little koala's doughty forebears may yet turn up in the practically unexplored central australian wildernesses. some such anticipations, as a matter of fact, stimulated the hopes and aspirations of the participators in one of the latest of these exploring expeditions, which, while not successful in this instance in obtaining so great a prize, secured for science that most interesting and previously unknown marsupial mammal the pouched mole. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ squirrel-like flying-phalanger of victoria. this animal has soft grey fur like that of the chinchilla.] the typical phalangers. the typical phalangers, or opossums, as they are familiarly known throughout australia, include a very considerable number of representatives, ranging in size from that of a small mouse to that of a full-grown cat. all are essentially arboreal in their habits, feeding principally on the leaves and flowers of the various gums. they are for the most part strictly nocturnal in their habits, and make their homes and retiring-places during the day in the hollow trunks and limbs that are of such abundant occurrence in the periodically fire-swept australian forests. almost all the larger species are notable for the length, thickness, and exquisitely fine texture of their fur, a circumstance for which they are consequently laid under heavy penalties for the sake of their pelts. the island colony of tasmania, in the extreme south, with its colder climate, as might be anticipated, produces the finest qualities of these furs, that of the black or sooty opossum, which is peculiar to the island, being most highly prized. the length and furry character of their in many instances prehensile tails also form a conspicuous feature of this group. nature, in fact, apparently distributed caudal material so over-liberally among these marsupials that the little koala had to make shift without. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ larger flying-phalanger. a nearly pure white example.] the group of the phalanger family popularly known as flying-squirrels, or more correctly as flying-phalangers, is almost universally admitted to include some of the most beautiful of living mammals. in external structure, so far as their peculiar so-called "flying" mechanism is concerned, these animals coincide in a remarkable manner with the true flying-squirrels, belonging to the rodent order, indigenous to the asiatic and american continents. in neither instance is there flight, in the true sense of the term, similar to that of birds and bats, but the fore and hind limbs are connected by a parachute-like membrane, which, outstretched when the animal leaps from tree to tree, buoys it up and enables its owner to traverse, in a straight and gradually descending line only, very considerable distances. the smaller squirrel-like form common to the south-eastern districts of australia, and on account of its predilection for sweets commonly known as the sugar-squirrel, makes a most charming little pet. for the most part addicted to sleep, and impatient at being disturbed during the day, towards sundown it wakes up, and is full of frolic. one such example was the writer's travelling companion for a considerable interval in western australia. while remaining packed conveniently away in a small box throughout the day, it was accustomed to enjoy the liberty of whatever apartment its owner occupied in the evening and throughout the night, returning of its own accord to its sleeping-box with the approach of dawn. on one exceptional occasion, however, master tiny, as this individual was named, was missing in the morning from his accustomed crib, and a prolonged search and examination of every corner and article of furniture that could afford shelter failed to recover him. that the little creature was lost through some one having unwittingly left the door of the apartment open, permitting its escape, was the only and much-deplored conclusion that could be arrived at. towards evening, however, there was a slight rustle close at hand, and master tiny was discovered emerging, like minerva from the head of jupiter, from the top of one of the old-fashioned china dogs that decorated the hotel-room mantelpiece. the ornament, seemingly intact from the front, had the back of the head battered in. through the resulting crevice the little animal had managed to squeeze itself, having come to the conclusion, doubtless, that this newly chosen retreat more nearly resembled the cavernous shelter of its native tree-spout than its accustomed artificially constructed box. this singular domicile master tiny was permitted to monopolise for the remainder of his sojourn at that hostelry. one of the favourite diversions of this little phalanger during the evenings was to climb up the curtain and cornice of the room he occupied, and thence hurl himself through the air with outspread parachute to the writer at the opposite end. the apartment, happening to be the commercial room of the hotel, some thirty feet in length, gave him good scope for exercising his characteristic flying leaps. the attitude invariably maintained during these flights is aptly illustrated in the accompanying photograph; the body is never poised with the head inclined downwards, as is commonly depicted in artists' fancy sketches of the animal contained in popular natural histories. a friend of the writer's in tasmania, who kept one of these flying-phalangers as a household pet, was accustomed to leave a crevice of the window open at night, so that the little fellow could go in and out as it liked. after the manner of most pets, however, a day arrived upon which its box was found vacant, a marauding cat or other disaster having apparently compassed its untimely end. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ lesser flying-phalanger. illustrating position maintained during its remarkable flying leaps.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ pygmy flying-phalanger. a life-size photograph. the hairs of the tail in this animal are arranged in two parallel lines, like the vanes of a bird's feather.] the larger flying-phalanger, the dimensions of our domestic tabby, and with fur as long and as soft as the persian variety, is less frequently domesticated. it has, in fact, an evil reputation for scratching, biting, and general untamableness. one that was kept for some little time by the late dr. bennett, of sydney, and brought to england, never entirely lost its innate savagery. on the voyage from australia it became sufficiently tame as to be allowed occasionally to run about on the deck, and was so far amiable as to lay on its back and permit itself to be tickled. on attempting to handle it, however, "it displayed its usual savage disposition, digging its sharp claws and teeth into the bands of its captor." the writer was fortunate in being the recipient in queensland of a couple of these large phalangers which were exceptions to the usual rule. these specimens--a mother and its young male offspring--also varied in colour from normal examples, which are usually dark slate or blackish brown above and whitish underneath. the mother in this instance was a beautiful cream-white throughout; and her young one, while dark chinchilla-grey upon the back, limbs, and tail, had white ears and breast. both were very friendly, and would of their own accord climb over their owner's person, seeking in his pockets for hidden lumps of sugar and other acceptable dainties. as with the smaller squirrel-like forms, they slept throughout the greater portion of the day, waking to activity and making excursions in search of their food as soon as the sun went down. the tail of this species of phalanger is abnormally long and furry, but not prehensile. it was observed of them that when feeding leisurely on the gum-tree leaves this appendage was permitted to hang or rest loosely, but that when walking along the branches they would very frequently coil this member into a tight spiral coil, like a watch-spring or the proboscis of a butterfly, against their hindquarters. this phenomenon is apparently unique among mammals. although generally seeking the darker retreat of their box for their long daylight sleep, the female, more particularly, would frequently simply curl herself up into a furry white ball in one corner of the cage, the head, limbs, or other features being at such times altogether indistinguishable. the aid of the magnesium flash-light was successfully called into service to secure the photographic likeness of this animal, here reproduced, which was taken while it was enjoying its evening meal. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ common grey opossum, or phalanger. the fur of this species is in great demand for the manufacture of carriage-rugs.] as previously mentioned, some representatives of the flying-phalanger group are no larger than mice, and are furnished in a similar manner with a parachute-like membrane that enables them to take abnormally long flying leaps, or as it were to sail horizontally through the air. the pygmy flying-phalanger, whose length of body does not exceed ½ inches, is one of the most interesting. the tail in this form is also adapted for aerial flotation, the long hairs that grow upon this appendage being arranged in two parallel lines like the vanes of a feather. its distribution is limited to the south and eastern districts of the australian continent. there are also a number of mouse- and squirrel-like phalangers destitute of the flying-membrane, which in this respect very closely resemble in external aspect more typical members of the rodent order. one form in particular, the striped phalanger of new guinea, decorated with broad longitudinal black and white stripes, is singularly suggestive of some of the variously striped american squirrels. this interesting island of new guinea also produces a little pygmy phalanger with a feather-like tail which, except for the absence of a parachute or flying-membrane, is the very counterpart of the australian kind. another species, which in shape, size, and more especially with reference to its long, pointed snout, closely resembles a shrew-mouse, is found in western australia. the tail of this species, known as the long-snouted phalanger, is highly prehensile; and it is also provided with a long, slender, protrusile tongue, with which it abstracts the honey from banksias and other flowers, upon which it customarily feeds. the two large phalangers known as the black and grey or vulpine opossums, which are chiefly laid under contribution for the australian fur supplies, are provided with prehensile tails, the under side of the extremity of which grasps the supporting fulcrum and is devoid of hair. the adaptation of the tail for use as a fifth hand--as in the new world monkeys--is, however, much more conspicuously manifested in what are known to the colonists as the ring-tailed opossums, and to zoologists as crescent-toothed phalangers. in these the tail tapers to a fine point, and the hair throughout the terminal third of this appendage is so fine and short that it at first sight presents the appearance of being entirely naked. this terminal third of the tail, moreover, in the greater number of species, contrasts with the remaining portion by being white in hue. it occasionally happens, however, that individuals occur which are entirely white. one such which came into the writer's possession was obtained from the bruni islands, in the derwent estuary, tasmania, and afterwards became a great pet with the young people at government house, hobart. it is an interesting circumstance that the bruni islands were noted for the production of albino animals of various descriptions, white kangaroos and white emus having also been obtained from this locality. probably some peculiarity of the soil, and its action on the vegetable food the animals consumed, played an important part in the unusually frequent occurrence of this phenomenon. [illustration: _photo by henry king_] [_sydney._ australian grey opossum, or phalanger. on account of its "foxy" appearance, this species is also known as the vulpine phalanger.] [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ front view of grey opossum, or phalanger. displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail.] the ring-tailed opossums differ essentially from the common opossum or phalanger and its allies in their life habits. while these latter habitually take up their abode and bring forth their young in hollow trees, the ring-tailed species construct a regular nest of interlaced sticks, leaves, grass, or any other available material for their domicile. the structure much resembles the nest, or "drey," of our own familiar european squirrel, and may be perched high up among the tree branches or within only a few feet from the ground among the scrub thickets. in new guinea a variety of these ring-tailed phalangers occurs, not found in australia, which has no white tip to its tail, and the ears are very short and wide. the group as represented by this species leads to the consideration of the so-called cuscuses or typical phalangers indigenous to new guinea and north queensland, though but rarely seen there, which, as an exception to the marsupial tribe, are distributed among the indo-malay islands as far westward as celebes. in the cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, and pre-eminently prehensile throughout almost its entire terminal moiety; the ears are round and, proportionately, exceedingly small; while the fur is very short, thick, and woolly. compared with the opossums or phalangers, the cuscuses are very dull and sluggish in their movements, creeping slowly among the branches of the trees to browse on the fruit and leaves which constitute their principal diet. like the opossums, however, or even to a greater extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen with insects or an occasionally captured bird. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ profile view of grey opossum, or phalanger. the opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against the sky.] the cuscuses. the familiar spotted cuscus of new guinea is the most ornate marsupial mammal. the males, more especially, are as variegated in colour as a tortoiseshell cat, their tints, moreover, closely corresponding in hue with those of the feline. no two individuals, however, are precisely alike in this respect. usually the ground-colour of the back is a dirty or creamy white, interspersed with various-shaped blotches of nut-brown or black; the chin, breast, and under-parts are a purer white, and the limbs grey or reddish brown, or, as shown in the photograph over-leaf, mottled like the body. the black cuscus of celebes is, as its name denotes, a much more sombre-looking animal, and is also the largest species, its dimensions equalling or exceeding those of a large cat. the uniformly tinted grey cuscus of timor, amboina, and other of the indo-malay islands is very similar in size and aspect, excepting for the half-naked tail, to the common ring-tailed phalanger. all the cuscuses are of rare occurrence in even their most favoured habitats. on one occasion the writer came across an example of the grey species in the scrub forest of thursday island, torres straits. in this instance, however, it is doubtful if the animal was not an escaped pet brought over from the neighbouring coast of new guinea. [illustration: _by permission of s. sinclair, esq._] [_sydney._ ring-tailed opossum, or phalanger, and nest. this is the only australian opossum which builds a regular nest.] much interesting information concerning different varieties of the cuscus is contained in dr. alfred wallace's interesting work "the malay archipelago." an anecdote of one which was brought to this naturalist during his residence in the aru islands--the headquarters of the great bird of paradise--is thus related: "just as we had cleared away and packed up for the night, a strange beast was brought, which had been shot by the natives. it resembled in size and in its white woolly covering a small fat lamb, but had short legs, hand-like feet with large claws, and a long prehensile tail. it was a spotted cuscus, one of the curious marsupial animals of the papuan region, and i was very desirous to obtain the skin. the owners, however, said they wanted to eat it; and though i offered them a good price, and promised to give them all the meat, there was great hesitation. suspecting the reason, i offered, though it was night, to set to work immediately, and get out the body for them, to which they agreed. the creature was much hacked about, and the two hind feet almost cut off, but it was the largest and finest specimen of the kind i had seen; and after an hour's hard work i handed over the body to the owners, who immediately cut it up and roasted it for supper." [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_croydon._ spotted cuscus. the cuscuses are sleepy animals, with soft, woolly fur, which in this species is curiously variegated in colour.] the remarkable tenacity of life possessed by the cuscus is fully attested to by dr. wallace. he says: "they move about slowly, and are most difficult to kill, owing to the thickness of their skins and tenacity of life. a heavy charge of shot will often lodge in the skin and do them no harm, and even breaking the spine or piercing the brain will not kill them for some hours. the natives everywhere eat their flesh; and as their motions are so slow, easily catch them by climbing; so that it is wonderful that they have not been exterminated. it may be, however, that their dense woolly fur protects them from birds of prey, and the islands they live in are too thinly inhabited for man to be able to exterminate them." one of the most notable circumstances respecting the cuscus is the fact that it is one of the few marsupials whose geographical distribution extends so far east in the malay archipelago as to be found associated with many of the higher mammalia which are altogether unrepresented in australia or new guinea. the moluccas, including notably the islands of silolo, ceram, boru, and many smaller ones, for example, produce no less than three species of cuscus, and are also the home of a species of baboon, a civet-cat, a deer, and that remarkable pig the babirusa. one other marsupial, a little flying-phalanger, is likewise a denizen of these islands. it has been suggested by dr. wallace that none of the foregoing higher mammals are possibly indigenous to the moluccas. the baboon, he remarks, is only found in the island of batchian, and seems to be much out of place there. it probably originated from some individuals which escaped from confinement, these and similar animals being often kept as pets by the malay inhabitants and carried about in their praus. the civet-cat, which is more common in the philippines and throughout the indo-malay region, is also carried about in cages from one island to another, and not infrequently liberated after the civet has been abstracted from them. the deer, which is likewise tamed and petted, its flesh also being much esteemed for food, might very naturally have been brought by the malays from java with the express object of its acclimatisation. the babirusa, whose headquarters are in the island of celebes, is only found in boru, its nearest neighbour in the moluccan group. dr. wallace anticipates that these two islands were in former times more closely connected by land, and that under such conditions the babirusa may have swum across the intervening channel. should these several hypotheses be correct, the molucca islands must be regarded, from a zoological standpoint, as an essentially australasian or marsupial-producing region. the wombats. the wombat family, claiming the next position in the marsupial galaxy, constitutes the very antithesis to the light and graceful arboreal phalangers. there are but three known species, one of these inhabiting tasmania and the adjacent islands, while the other two are peculiar to the southern region of the australian continent. in forms and gait their thick-set tailless bodies suggest a cross between a small bear and a capybara, and as "bears" and "badgers" they are familiarly known by the australian colonists. the badger simile is perhaps the most pertinently applied with reference to their habit of excavating huge earth-burrows as dwelling-places, and out of which they customarily emerge only at night to feed. the tasmanian wombat, at all events, is essentially gregarious in its habits; in the neighbourhood of swansea, on the east coast, it is, or was, particularly abundant, forming regular warrens among a light undergrowth of vegetation, through which travelling on horseback is a distinctly risky proceeding. the temperament of the wombat is peculiarly placid; and hence, as it might be anticipated, they are essentially long-lived. one, charlie by name, which has been domiciled at the zoo for the past thirty years, is still hale and hearty, and evidently disinclined yet awhile to immolate himself on the altar of fame as a much-needed successor to the antique effigy which has for so long represented his species in the british natural history museum. waiting for dead men's shoes is a proverbially tedious task, and for a coveted wombat's skin evidently more so. the tough hide, with its thick, harsh fur, of the tasmanian wombat, or "badger," as it is locally dubbed, is somewhat highly prized in the land of its birth. for floor- and door-mats and rugs the pelt is practically indestructible; and as such, though scarcely a thing of beauty, the special pride of the thrifty housewife. this animal is also not infrequently made a household pet, and will waddle as complacently as an over-fed poodle around the premises after its owner. the wombat, like the large majority of the marsupial animals, is for the most part nocturnal in habits, and a strict vegetarian. the wombats present several interestingly distinct structural peculiarities. in the first place, their teeth, which are twenty-four in number, all grow uninterruptedly throughout life, and are consequently devoid of roots. the incisor teeth are represented by but a single pair in each jaw, and, having enamel only on their front surfaces, wear away in a chisel-like form, as in the beavers and other rodents. superficially in both form and habits, as well as in the character of their dentition, the wombats may in fact be aptly likened to some unwieldy representative of the rodent order. another structural peculiarity of the wombat is that it is the proud possessor of two more pairs of ribs than any other marsupial. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ common wombat. a burrowing animal about the size of a small pig.] of the three known species, the common wombat of the south and eastern australian states is the largest, attaining to a length of as much as feet. the colour of this form is subject to considerable variation, being sometimes yellow, yellow more or less mixed with black, or completely black. albinism, as in the kangaroos and phalangers, is of apparently rare occurrence. the hair, while coarse, is less so than in the tasmanian species. what is known as the hairy-nosed wombat, inhabiting south australia, is intermediate in size between the common and the tasmanian varieties; its most distinctive features are the soft and silky character of its brownish hair, and its longer and more pointed ears. the coarseness of the hair of the tasmanian species has been previously referred to; in colour it is most usually a dark greyish brown, while the ears are small and rounded. the flesh of the wombat is somewhat esteemed for food, being regarded by some as equal to pork, and much resembling it in flavour. the predilection of tame specimens for milk is very strong, and it has been recorded of one animal that it was not only in the habit of seeking out the milk-pans and pushing off the covers in order to drink the contents, but afterwards of taking a bath in what was left. [illustration: _photo by e. landor_] [_ealing._ hairy-nosed wombat. a form peculiar to south australia.] a remarkable habit has been accredited to the wombat which invites scientific investigation. it is said to be capable of sustaining life for an abnormally long period under water, and that when in the course of its travels it meets with a pond or river it does not attempt to swim, but, deliberately entering the water, walks along the bottom, and so emerges on the opposite bank. the animals of australia living in not very remote geological times included a near ally of the wombat which equalled a tapir in dimensions. the bandicoots. the australian bandicoots--not to be confounded with their namesake of india, which is a big rat--constitute a very distinct little family group. they number in all some eight or nine species, distributed throughout the length and breadth of australia and tasmania, and found also in new guinea. the largest member is about the size of a rabbit; and as its general shape, long ears, and soft silky hair impart some slight resemblance to that rodent, it is commonly known as the rabbit-bandicoot. with the above-enumerated points, however, the likeness ceases--its possession of a moderately long tail, pointed snout, and feet modified on a plan closely resembling those of the kangaroo's indicating its essentially distinct nature. in a second variety, having somewhat the same external contour, but smaller in size, the fore limbs are very short, and the feet so modified that only two toes are visible externally. with reference to this peculiar feature, it is known as the pig-footed bandicoot. in a third kind of similar dimensions, with harsh brown fur, the ears are comparatively short, and the snout is so abnormally prolonged that, it has been appropriately named the long-nosed bandicoot. superficially, in point of fact, this and other allied species so closely resemble certain of the long-snouted insectivorous mammals, such as the tenrec and solenodon, that they might be excusably mistaken by the non-scientific for members of the same group. the bandicoots are chiefly nocturnal, and at all events incorrigible "sun-downers," turning up for their meals when the evening shadows fall, and taking a heavy and unwelcome toll of the farmers' potatoes, beets, or other root, crops. like the wombat, already described, they are earth-burrowers. some of them, however, construct nests above-ground in long coarse grass or low tangled shrubs, which are so ingeniously built in accord with their environment as to readily escape detection. insects and worms, in addition to a main diet of vegetable matter, contribute to the bandicoot's somewhat heterogeneous menu. [illustration: _photo by g. w. wilson & co., ltd._] [_aberdeen._ common wombat. the wombats may be said to hold the place occupied in other parts of the world by the badgers.] the wood- and root-boring larvæ of a moth which infests the australian wattle- or acacia-trees are a very favourite food with several of the species, and it is worthy of remark that the bandicoots are not alone in displaying a penchant for this delicacy. under the title of "bardies" they are collected and highly esteemed for food by the natives of western australia, who eat them either cooked or raw. these larvæ are, moreover, acceptable to many european palates, and the writer has witnessed little faggot-like bundles of them brought round by the natives to the hotels at geraldton, western australia, for sale or barter to chance customers. it may be observed in this connection that the analogous wood-boring larvæ of the goat-moth, which were kept and specially fattened for the occasion, constituted one of the dainty dishes of the luxurious romans. one of the commonest species found in tasmania is known as the banded or striped-backed bandicoot, being so named on account of the characteristic markings of its fur. the general ground-colour of the coat is an almost equal admixture of black and yellow hairs, the black tint, however, prevailing on the back, and the lighter one on the sides. the hindquarters are, however, variegated by the presence of some three or four broad transverse stripes that are almost entirely black, while the intervening spaces are a light whitish yellow. a few shorter stripes are sometimes continued as far as the root of the tail, this appendage also having a dark line running along its upper surface. the head is of a somewhat lighter tint than the remainder of the body, while the breast, abdomen, and feet are white, slightly tinged with grey. the transversely striped pattern of ornamentation of the hindquarters of this bandicoot is of interest with relation to the circumstance that a similarly located banded variegation of the fur occurs also in the tasmanian wolf, or thylacine, and in the banded ant-eater, described in a following section. as a colour-pattern it would appear to be quite peculiar to these marsupials, no such restriction of the markings occurring among the higher or placental mammals. in the south african suricate, a member of the ichneumon tribe, in which the nearest approach to this dorsal banding is met with, the stripes are equally developed as far forward as the base of the neck. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ long-nosed australian bandicoot. bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews.] both the banded and other species of bandicoots are extremely swift and active in their movements, and are at the same time noted for the singularity of their gait. this consists of a half-running and half-jumping action, induced by the peculiar structure of their feet and greater length of the hind legs, which are modified on a plan intermediate between that of the kangaroos and the dasyures, or native cats. the back of the animal while running being highly arched, adds to the grotesqueness of its appearance. like the native cats, the pouch in the bandicoots opens backwards; it is furnished with eight teats, but not more than two young are usually produced at a birth. the striped-backed bandicoot is not infrequently adopted as a household pet, in spite of its notorious garden depredations. when thus domesticated, it appears to be capable of developing a strong attachment for its owner. one that was owned by friends of the writer especially attached itself to the lady of the house. it was acquired when quite young, having escaped from the pouch of an adult female which the dogs had killed, and being then about the size of a mouse. it speedily learned to lap milk, and throve on a diet of bread and raw potato. as it grew larger it was allowed the run of the house, and also of the garden, but habitually returned to the sleeping-quarters selected by itself, and represented by the woolly depths of its mistress's work-basket. in this haven of rest it slept all day, scolding and snapping at any intruding hand. towards dusk it would waken up and bustle about in a most energetic manner, with the air, in fact, of having an immense amount of business to transact within the very shortest limits of time. its first dart was always towards a corner where a supper of bread-and-milk and potato was usually placed. this meal discussed, its evening's occupation commenced of scampering around the room and over every accessible article of furniture. nor was it shy of climbing up and resting for a few seconds on the shoulders of its human friends, being always, however, in too great a hurry to prolong the visit. finally, as with all pets, "coota," as he was familiarly named, came to an untimely end--not a cat, however, on this occasion, but, if rumour whispers true, through over-indulgence in a too liberally furnished meal of custard pudding. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ rabbit-bandicoot. the largest of the bandicoots; about the size of a rabbit.] the flesh of this and other species of bandicoots is esteemed for food both by the natives and the white settlers in australia. it is noteworthy of the banded variety, more especially, that the skin adheres so tightly to the flesh that its removal is a matter of some considerable difficulty. when full grown, this species measures as much as inches in total length, and is little inferior to a rabbit with regard to the amount of good meat it provides for the larder. the pouched mole. a still more essentially insectivorous marsupial is represented by the little mammal discovered only a few years since in the wild sandy wastes of central australia. in form and habits it so nearly resembles the familiar european mole that the title of the pouched mole has been very suitably given to it. at the same time, with regard to its remarkable organisation, it constitutes the sole representative of its peculiar family group. the first suspicions of the existence of this singular little animal were raised by the observation of peculiar sinuous three-lined tracks at irregular intervals on the surface of the sandy regions it inhabits. after a long quest, with the aid of the aborigines, the first specimen was discovered reposing under a tuft of coarse porcupine-grass. a further investigation elicited the fact that its burrowing proclivities were much less pronounced than those of the ordinary moles, the little creature progressing alternately over the surface of the sand, and then ploughing its way, for several feet or yards, two or three inches only beneath the surface. all efforts to preserve examples of this marsupial alive for longer periods than three or four days proved abortive; for though the remains of ants and other insects were found within its viscera, it refused to feed upon the living supplies that were provided for it. in fact, the animal itself apparently ran the greater risk of being eaten. [illustration: _photo by a. s. rudland & sons._ pouched mole. this animal is of a pale golden-red colour, and about inches long. it spends most of its time burrowing, which it can do with great rapidity, in the sand of the australian deserts in search of insects.] the colour of the pouched mole is for the most part light fawn, varying in parts to golden yellow. one of its most conspicuous features, as illustrated in the accompanying photographs, is the abnormal size of the third and fourth toes of the fore limbs, their peculiar scoop-like character proving of eminent service to the animal in its customary sand-burrowing habits. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s., milford-on-sea._ under surface of pouched mole. notice the abnormal size of the third and fourth toe of the fore limbs, and their peculiar scoop-like shape.] the tasmanian wolf. the remaining family of the australian marsupials constitutes a parallel to the carnivorous order of the higher mammalia, all its members being more or less flesh-eaters, and having their dentition modified with relation to such habits. one of these (the tasmanian wolf, or tiger of the colonists, better known to zoologists as the thylacine) is an animal of considerable size. its dimensions equal those of a wolf or mastiff, with which the contour of its body and more especially that of the head very nearly correspond. in common with the true dogs, the thylacine hunts its prey by scent. this is well attested to by the following incident, as related by eye-witnesses. while camping out among the hills in tasmania their attention was attracted very early one morning by a brush-kangaroo hopping past their fire in an evidently highly excited state. some ten minutes later up cantered a she thylacine with her nose down exactly on the track, evidently following the scent, and in another quarter of an hour her two cubs came by also in the precise track. while not very swift, the tasmanian "tigers" possess immense staying power, and will keep up a long, steady canter for many hours on end. accustomed in its primitive state to run down and prey upon the kangaroos, wallabies, and other weaker marsupial mammals indigenous to the regions it inhabits, the tasmanian wolf speedily acquired a predilection for the imported flocks of the settlers, and proved almost as destructive to them as its old world namesake. to check its ravages, a price was put upon its head by the tasmanian government; and this measure, in conjunction with the rapid advances towards the complete settlement of the country which have been accomplished within later years, has compassed this animal's extermination in all but the wildest and most inaccessible mountain districts. the colour-markings of this animal are somewhat striking, the grey-brown tints which characterise the ground-hues of the body and limbs being varied by a series of dark bands traversing the buttocks, these being widest in this region, and continued forwards to the middle of the back. a somewhat similar cross-stripe pattern of ornamentation occurs in the relatively small member of the same family described later on as the banded ant-eater. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s., north finchley._ tasmanian wolf. this photograph shows the great width of gape of this ferocious animal.] examples of the tasmanian wolf have frequently been on view at the regent's park gardens, a very fine young male specimen being at present located in the marsupial section. within a few weeks of its arrival it was on excellent terms with its keeper, though, owing to its somewhat imperfect sense of vision during the daytime, it was apt to snap somewhat promiscuously at those attempting to cultivate its close acquaintanceship. that a bite from its formidable teeth is not to be lightly risked will be made abundantly apparent by a glance at the successful yawning pose photograph secured of this example by mr. medland, and here reproduced. although the thylacine is at the present time entirely limited in its distribution to tasmania, it occurs in the fossil state on the australian mainland; while, singularly to relate, the remains of a closely allied form have within recent years been unearthed in patagonia. this circumstance, taken in conjunction with the fact that many other fossil types with australian and new zealand affinities have been discovered in the same south american strata, has strengthened the supposition maintained by many zoologists that in bygone ages a vast antarctic continent, spreading through the areas now occupied by the southern indian and pacific oceans, temporarily united the now distinct lands of south america and australasia. [illustration: _photo by l. medland, f.z.s._] [_north finchley._ tasmanian wolf. in this photograph are shown nearly all the chief characteristic points of the tasmanian wolf.] the tasmanian devil. next in size to the thylacine, but possessing a more unenviable notoriety for the uncompromising sulkiness and savagery of its disposition, is the animal which, in virtue of the aforesaid qualities, is known by the title of the tasmanian devil. in shape and dimensions this marsupial carnivore somewhat resembles a badger; but the head is abnormally large, the masseter muscles which control the action of the powerful jaws monopolising a very considerable share of the face area. the limbs are short and also very powerful, the front paws being well adapted to its burrowing habits. there is some slight variation in the colours of this marsupial apollyon; and, as the aphorism runs concerning his sable namesake, he is not always so black as he is painted. more or less or in fact mostly black he always is, but there is usually a redeeming thread or patch of white upon his coat. this may take the form of a small star-like spot only on the front of its chest, which not infrequently extends to a narrow crescent-shaped band or line continued round the neck almost to the shoulders. one or more supplementary spots of white may also be developed upon the flanks and hindquarters. [illustration: _photo by york & son_] [_notting hill._ tasmanian devil. a small, but stout and powerful animal, very destructive, and absolutely untamable.] the destructive propensities of the tasmanian devil, wherein the farmers' sheep and poultry are concerned, are in no way inferior to those of the tasmanian wolf, and in consequence of their former much greater abundance the havoc these animals committed was the more serious. placed, like the last-named type, under government ban, these native devils have, in comparison with the earlier days of colonisation, very considerably ceased from troubling, and with the ever-progressing march of settlement and civilisation will probably be altogether exterminated at a no very distant date. a bag of no less than of these marauders, in the course of one winter, was recorded from an upland sheep-station some twenty or thirty years ago. in common with the thylacine, it has been observed that the tasmanian devil has a marked predilection for prowling along the seashore in search apparently of crabs, fish, or any acceptable flotsam and jetsam that may be cast up by the waves. examples of this most unamiable of mammals were brought in alive on several occasions to the hobart museum during the writer's residence in tasmania, but in all cases obstinately resisted every attempt towards the establishment of a friendly footing. their ultimate relegation to the specimen-cases was, under the circumstances, unattended by any very poignant manifestations of regret. a fact brought into prominent notice during subsequent post-mortem investigations was the extraordinary extent to which these animals are infested with vermin. possibly this circumstance is to a considerable extent accountable for the creature's unconquerable irritability. the experiment as to whether a course of disinfecting treatment, by baths or otherwise, would not conduce towards the taming of this native devil, where all other applied methods have failed, would at all events be worth the trial. the bath pure and simple is a wonderful soporific for unruly tempers. as most schoolboys know, a pail of water, from which the patient is withdrawn when a watery grave is apparently inevitable, is an unfailing specific for the taming of mice and other "small deer." the writer's experience with a villainously savage cat which one night fell incontinently into an uncovered cistern, and was rescued by him at almost the last gasp, will not be readily forgotten. that cat, though still a vixen to the ordinary members of the household, forthwith attached itself affectionately to its rescuer, and would sit for hours awaiting his arrival on the doorstep when the business of the day was over. other fierce creatures, including the tasmanian devil, would possibly prove amenable to the judicious application of the "water cure." the native cats. the animals common in tasmania and throughout the greater portion of the australian continent, and familiarly known as spotted or native cats, and to zoologists as dasyures, enjoy also an unenviable reputation for their depredations among the settlers' hen-roosts. to look at, these native cats are the most mild-mannered and inoffensive of creatures. actually, however, they possess the most bloodthirsty proclivities, and may be aptly compared in their habits to the stoats, weasels, polecats, and other old world carnivora. there are some five known species, the largest being equal to an ordinary cat in size, and the smaller ones about half these dimensions. all of them are distinguished by their spotted pattern of ornamentation, such spots being white or nearly so, and more or less abundantly sprinkled over a darker background which varies from light grey to chocolate-brown. in the commonest form, represented in the accompanying photograph, the ears and the under surface of the body are also often white. no two individuals, however, are to be found precisely alike in the pattern of their markings. the dasyures differ from the two preceding types, the tasmanian wolf and the devil, in being essentially arboreal in their habits, living by day and breeding, as the majority of the australian opossums, in the hollow gum-tree trunks, from which they emerge at nightfall to seek their food. this, in their native state, when hen-roosts are not accessible, consists mainly of birds and such smaller marsupial forms as they can readily overpower. [illustration: _by permission of s. sinclair, esq._] [_sydney._ spotted dasyures, or australian native cats. this species is rather smaller than an ordinary-sized cat. all the dasyures are arboreal in their habits, and very destructive to birds.] the pouched mice. the so-called pouched mice represent a group of smaller-sized carnivorous mammals which have much in common with the dasyures, but are devoid of their spotted ornamentation. none of them exceed a rat in size. they number about twelve or fourteen known species, and are distributed throughout the greater part of australia and new guinea, and extend thence to the aru islands. they are said not to occur in the extreme north of the australian continent. the writer, however, obtained an example of the brush-tailed species, here illustrated, from the neighbourhood of broome, in the farthest north or kimberley district of western australia. this specimen, which was caught alive in a rat-trap, exhibited astonishingly potent gnawing powers, almost succeeding one night in eating its way through the wooden box in which it was temporarily confined. the habits of this species are omnivorous, and chiefly akin to those of the ordinary rats, it being accustomed to prowl round the out-buildings at night, picking up any unconsidered trifles in the way of food that may be left unprotected. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ brush-tailed pouched mouse, or phascogale. a slender and graceful animal, the largest of the thirteen known species, and about the size of an ordinary rat.] many of the smaller members of this tribe are no larger than mice; and in one form, known as the jerboa pouched mouse, inhabiting queensland and new south wales, the hind limbs are abnormally prolonged, and the animal progresses by leaps and bounds, after the fashion of the true jerboas, or its nearer relatives, the ordinary kangaroos and rat-kangaroos. the banded ant-eater. one of the most interesting from the zoologist's standpoint, and the last on our list of the australian marsupials, is the little creature, limited in its habitat to western australia, locally known as the squirrel. the banded ant-eater, with reference to its striped ornamentation and ant-eating habits, is the name by which it is usually chronicled in natural history works. in size and shape, except for its more pointed snout, its squirrel-like aspect is certainly somewhat striking. like the true ant-eaters of the edentate mammalian order, it, however, possesses a long protrusile tongue, with which it is accustomed in a similar manner to lick up the ants which constitute its main food-supply. the most interesting biological peculiarity of this animal is the abnormal development of its teeth. these number as many as from fifty-two to fifty-six, and exceed the dental formula of any other known existing marsupial. the usual colour of this interesting little animal is a warm chestnut-brown, banded transversely over the back with white, these stripes being widest and most conspicuous over the hindquarters. this somewhat paradoxical marsupial possesses no pouch, the young, when first born and attached to the nipples in the manner characteristic of ordinary marsupials, being covered over and concealed among the longer hairs that clothe the abdominal region. in the dasyures, or native cats, previously described, the pouch exists only in a rudimentary condition, its function being fulfilled by merely a few skin-folds; while in the "tiger" and native devil the pouch, contrary to that of the kangaroos, opens backwards. in disposition the banded ant-eater presents a marked contrast to that of many of the preceding types. caught in its native habitat, it does not attempt to bite, and soon becomes reconciled to captivity. the peculiar nature of its diet, however, militates against its being easily transported over-sea from the antipodes. the american opossums. the little group of the american marsupials contains some three or four generically distinct types whose relationship with the australian members of the order is in the direction of the dasyures and bandicoots rather than with the kangaroos and phalangers. included in one family, they are popularly known as opossums, but differ among themselves very considerably both in aspect and habits. the most remarkable among them is undoubtedly the so-called yapock, or water-opossum, an inhabitant of south america, and ranging in its distribution from guatemala to brazil. in both form and habits this animal so closely resembles an otter that it was referred by the earlier naturalists to the otter tribe. it tunnels holes in the banks of the rivers it frequents, and feeds entirely upon fish, crustacea, and aquatic insects. the feet, and more especially the hind ones, are distinctly webbed; the tail is naked, scaly, and non-prehensile; and the fur is short and thick, as in the ordinary otters. the ground-tint of the fur is a light grey: this is diversified by a black or dark brown stripe that runs down the centre of the back, and expands over the shoulders, loins, and hindquarters into saddle-shaped patches or bands of the same dark hue. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ banded ant-eater. from an anatomical point of view, this is one of the most remarkable of the pouched mammals.] the common or virginian opossum, while the only representative of the marsupial order found in the temperate latitudes of the north american continent, has a very considerable range of distribution, occurring in equal abundance throughout the tropical regions of south america. in these warmer latitudes it differs to such an extent in the character of its fur and other minor points that it was for some time regarded as a distinct species, and was distinguished by the title of the crab-eating opossum. biologists are, however, now agreed that the supposed species is only a local variety. as a matter of fact, a very considerable amount of variation in the colour and markings is found to exist among the individuals of the most familiarly known northern race. in form the animal may be suitably compared to a huge rat, nearly equalling a cat in size, with an abnormally large head and pointed snout. the tail is long, almost naked for the greater portion of its length, and pre-eminently prehensile. the fur is of a mixed character, consisting of an undergrowth of a fine, close, woolly texture, through which protrudes a less dense series of long bristle-like hairs. the colour of the fur ranges from black to white, and includes all varieties of intermixture. the face, more especially in the northern race, is usually much the lightest or altogether white, while in the tropical south american examples it is more often darker, or it may be completely black. the opossum, like the rat, is an omnivorous feeder; and being of so much larger size, and possessing an insatiable appetite, constitutes itself a veritable pest to the fruit-grower, the agriculturist, and the poultry-farmer. in effecting its entrance to hen-roosts or other food-yielding enclosures, it exhibits an amount of cunning and pertinacity possessed by no other mammal. caught red-handed in these depredations, it has recourse to stratagems which have won for it a reputation that has long since passed into a household word. feigning death, or "playing 'possum," is a game at which it is well known to be a past-master, but by which it still frequently succeeds in hoodwinking the unwary, and so saves its skin. discovered thieving, and receiving perhaps a haphazard but by no means disabling blow, it at once collapses, and with film-covered eyes and protruding tongue is to all intents and purposes dead. it may be kicked round the premises, and finally probably taken up by the tail and flung ignominiously outside, without betraying vitality by even so much as a wink. but no sooner is the coast thoroughly clear of the avenger than the stiffened limbs relax, the eyes reopen, and brer 'possum trots off, as fresh as ever. maybe it is the ripening maize or the persimmon-patch that next engages his attention, and in either case he walks in and feeds right royally, laying up a goodly store of fat against the approaching winter months of scarcity. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ yapock, or water-opossum. in habits, although not in size and colour, this marsupial may be compared to a wolf.] away from human habitations the opossum is an essentially arboreal animal, living and breeding for the most part, like his australian cousins, in hollow trees, and making excursions therefrom in all directions in quest of food. his much-mixed natural diet may consist of tender shoots and leaves, and the wild grapes and the many other berries and fruits the forest produces. he craves, however, after a due admixture of animal pabulum, and birds and their eggs, insects, lizards, and the smaller mammals furnish their quota to his menu. crustacea, such as crabs and the crayfish which abound in the american streams and marshes, have an irresistible attraction for him; and it is on this account that, in the southern area of his distribution, where these crustacea are so plentiful as to constitute his main diet, and his face is browned by the more glowing sun, he is known by the title of the crab-eater. although fattening up against the winter, he, even in his most northern limits, does not hibernate, but may even be seen leisurely picking his way over the snow, probably tracking some unfortunate squirrel to its lair, which in due time is located, dragged out, and devoured. while assimilating his meal of flesh or fruit, brer 'possum likes to have all four hands at liberty, his hind feet being also graspers; and so he twists his tail round a convenient branch, and, hanging _perdu_, leisurely enjoys his feast. the opossum, like the rat--to which it has in aspect and many of its habits been likened--is a most prolific breeder, as many as from six to sixteen young being comprised in the litter. when born, they are immediately transferred to the somewhat capacious pouch, and remain there without venturing outside until they are about the size of an ordinary mouse. a third and very distinct type of american opossums is the one represented on page , which, from its mouse-like size and aspect, is commonly known as the murine opossum. the most distinct feature of this little animal is that, though a genuine marsupial, it has no pouch, but carries its young on its back, the little creatures twining their tails round that of their mother, and so securing a stable anchorage. although thus loaded up and transformed for the time being into a sort of combination perambulator and feeding-flask, the happy but anxious parent pursues the even tenor of her way among the tree-branches and thicket-growths with almost unabated agility. this species, in common with meriam's opossum and the woolly opossum and several others which carry their young, to as many as a dozen in number, on their backs, are denizens of tropical south america. one of these, named the philander opossum, attains to the somewhat larger size of about feet in total length, the long prehensile tail representing, however, the greater moiety of these dimensions. the selva. south america has one other marsupial--the selva--an animal which, while possessing the dimensions and much of the aspect of an ordinary rat, is remarkable as differing so materially in the character of its teeth and other structural points that it cannot be referred to any existing marsupial family. on the other hand, this type is found to coincide in the above particulars with species hitherto only known in the fossil state, and excavated from the same tertiary deposits in patagonia which have been productive of the distant ally of the tasmanian wolf. it is yet hoped by zoologists that the discovery of other interesting and possibly some supposed extinct mammals may reward the thorough exploration of the vast south american forests. the capture in the flesh of some form allied to the huge ground-sloths, such as the mylodon and megatherium, is, however, now considered to be quite beyond the pale of possibility. [illustration: _photo by dr. r. w. shufeldt_] [_washington._ young opossum (natural size). this is an interesting photograph, as it is reproduced life-size, and gives an excellent idea of the animal in its native land.] monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. with this group or order of the mammalian class we arrive, as it were, on the borderland between the mere typical mammals and reptiles. in the last group, that of the marsupials, it was observed that the young were brought into the world at an abnormally early and helpless phase of their existence, and usually consigned, until able to see and walk, to a variously modified protective pouch. with the monotremes a yet lower rung in the evolutional ladder is reached, and we find that the young are brought into the outer world as eggs, these being in the one case deposited in a nest or burrow, and in the other carried about by the parent in a rudimentary sort of pouch until they are hatched. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ woolly american opossum. this animal is about the size of a large mouse. it carries its young on its back, their tails being entwined round that of their parent.] the living representatives of this singular mammalian order are but few in number, being restricted, in point of fact, to only two distinctly differentiated family types--the echidna or porcupine ant-eater, and the platypus. these monotremes, moreover, like the majority of the existing marsupials, are limited in their distribution to the australasian region. the single species of the platypus is only found in tasmania and the southern and eastern districts of the australian continent, while the echidna numbers some three recognised species, two of which belong to australia and tasmania and the third to new guinea. the echidna. the echidna, porcupine ant-eater, or "porcupine," as it is commonly called by the australian colonists, would seem at first sight to represent an animal in which the characters of the hedgehog and the common porcupine are interblended, the innumerable spines being longer than those of the former, but less in length than those of the last-named animal. the head, with no externally visible ears and remarkable elongated beak-like snout, however, at once proclaims it to be altogether distinct from these. the animal has no teeth, and the tiny mouth at the termination of the beak-like snout simply constitutes an aperture for the extrusion of the worm-like glutinous tongue, wherewith, after the manner of the true ant-eaters, it licks up the inhabitants of the ants' nests upon which it feeds. for tearing down the ants' nests and obtaining its customary food, as also for its inveterate burrowing propensity, the feet, and more especially the front ones, are provided with strong, blunt, and very powerful claws. the male animal is in addition armed on the hind feet with a peculiar supplementary spur, which is, however, still more conspicuously developed in the platypus. three distinct species of the echidna are recognised by zoologists. the one peculiar to the cooler climate of tasmania is remarkable for its more slender spines, the much greater abundance of the long bristle-like hairs, and the thickness of the seal-brown under-fur, as compared with the typical australian form. in north-west new guinea the largest and most aberrant form is met with. normally it has only three toes in place of five to each foot, the spines are very long and thick, the body is deeper and more compressed, and the animal stands comparatively high upon its feet. the writer, during his residence in tasmania, had several examples of the local species as domestic pets. for the first few days they were very shy and untractable, burrowing into the earth and seeking to escape, or presenting an impenetrable _cheval de frise_ of sharp-pointed spines to the hands that sought to caress them. after a short interval, however, the creatures became entirely reconciled to human society and the small amount of restraint to which they were subjected. they would follow their owner about the garden, or, flattening their bodies and spreading out their limbs to the greatest extent, lie basking in the sun close to where he might be seated. they also apparently appreciated being carried, slung across their owner's arm after the manner of a lap-dog. living in the near vicinity of unreclaimed bush-land, it was found possible to keep these echidnas well supplied with their customary food; they were, in fact, permitted to forage on their own account. liberated amidst their normal surroundings, they would walk leisurely from one ant-hill to another, tearing down the side of it with their powerful front claws, and appropriating its living contents with the greatest relish. it was observed, however, in this connection that the echidna paid attention entirely to the succulent white larvæ and pupal phases of the insects with which the inner chambers of the ant-hills are customarily crowded, and that adult ants, as they abounded in the tracts near at hand or elsewhere, were altogether neglected. in addition to this natural food these animals were supplied daily with a saucer of either well-softened bread or porridge and milk, for which they evinced a decided appreciation, assimilating this food dexterously, though somewhat slowly, with the aid of their long protrusile tongues. allowed to wander about the house, they displayed a most inquisitive turn of mind, peering into every crevice, and climbing upon every accessible article of furniture. the echidna usually produces only one egg at a time; it is relatively small, not larger than a sparrow's egg, but equally and obtusely rounded at both extremities, and with a white leathery shell like that of a reptile. for some time previous to hatching, this egg is carried in a skin-fold or rudimentary pouch in the parent's abdomen, much similar to that possessed by many of the marsupials. the young one is also retained in this pouch for some weeks after escaping from the egg. when finally leaving the pouch, it is between three and four inches in length, and the spines are in an altogether rudimentary condition. examples of the australian echidna have on several occasions been "in residence" at the zoo; while the hon. walter rothschild has been fortunate in keeping living specimens of both this and the very rare three-toed new guinea variety in his admirably appointed menagerie at tring. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ common or virginian opossum. the only marsupial animal found north of mexico.] the platypus. the egg-laying mammal known as the duck-billed platypus differs very essentially from the echidna both in aspect and habits. it is adapted especially for an amphibious life, and for feeding on molluscs, worms, and insects, which it abstracts from the muddy bed or banks of the rivers that it frequents. the somewhat depressed ovate body is covered with short dense fur much resembling in colour and texture that of an otter. the tail is short and flattened like that of a beaver, but in place of being naked and scaly, as in that animal, is covered, on the upper surface more particularly, with long, coarse, bristle-like hairs that intercross one another in all directions. neither is this tail used, as with the beaver, as a mason's trowel, it being simply subservient as a steer-oar. the feet are all four distinctly webbed, the membranes of the front feet in particular projecting to some distance beyond the extremities of the claws, and so communicating to these members a singular resemblance to the feet of a duck. the head of the platypus tapers off from the body without any conspicuous neck, and terminates in a most remarkable duck-like beak, having at its base a supplementary membranous ferrule-like structure which would seem to serve the purpose of limiting the distance into which the beak of the animal is thrust into the mud during the quest for its accustomed food, and at the same time protecting the creature's eyes. the mouth of the adult platypus contains no teeth, simply a few horny plates; but, singularly to relate, rudimentary teeth exist temporarily in the young animals. these provisional teeth, moreover, correspond in a marked manner with those of some ancient types of mammals which occur as fossils in the tertiary deposits of north america. the platypus, with relation to the obliteration of its teeth in the adult state, is regarded as a very exceptionally modified form and not as the immediate prototype of the ordinary mammals. the platypus is found in tasmania and in the south and eastern districts of australia only, being altogether unknown in the west and north. being especially shy and retiring, and to a large extent nocturnal in its habits, it is not frequently seen even in districts where it may be rather abundant. the animal excavates burrows of so great a length as from thirty to fifty feet in the river-banks that it frequents, and at the extreme end of these burrows it constructs a loose nest of weeds and root-fibres, which it uses as its retreat, and also for the production of its eggs and young. there are invariably two entrances to these burrows, the one being under water, and the other usually opening into a tangle of brushwood at some little distance from the water's edge. as many as from one to four eggs and young may be produced at a time, but two is the more general number. from the first it would appear that the eggs and young are deposited and nursed in the nest, not being retained or carried about in a pouch, as observed of the echidna. [illustration: _photo by d. le souef_] [_melbourne._ echidna, or ant-eating porcupine. the female echidna can carry two eggs in her pouch, which in due course are hatched by the heat of her body.] the late dr. george bennett, of sydney, new south wales, has probably placed on record the most detailed account of the ways and life-habits of these remarkable animals, though it did not fall to him to solve the much-vexed question as to whether or not they were oviparous. this discovery, as applied also to the like phenomenon in the case of the echidna, was the outcome within quite recent years of the researches of mr. caldwell. after much indefatigable exploration, in which he was ably assisted by the natives, dr. bennett obtained from the extremity of an exceptionally long burrow a mother and pair of half-grown young. the young ones survived several weeks, and proved most droll and interesting pets. in playful habits they much resembled puppies, chasing and rolling one another over, and pretending to bite with their toothless bills. they were also much addicted to climbing every scalable article of furniture, including even a tall book-case, which they would negotiate by "swarming" up behind it as a sweep climbs a chimney, with their backs to the wall and their feet against the back of the book-case. the sleeping and waking hours that both these and other examples kept were observed to be very irregular; for while usually most lively and disposed to ramble after it grew dusk, they would at other times come out of their own accord in the daytime, or perhaps one would ramble about while the other slept. when going to sleep, they would roll themselves up in a perfect ball, the head, tail, and limbs being closely folded over the abdomen. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ tasmanian echidna, or porcupine ant-eater. this is the largest variety of the five-toed species; it grows to a length of inches, and has the fur so long as almost to conceal the spines.] the food question appears to have presented almost insurmountable difficulties so far against the permanent acclimatisation of these interesting animals in any of our european zoological gardens. at the melbourne zoo some considerable success was obtained by fencing off a small pond abounding with insects and well-established water-plants for their reception, and in this instance they had also the advantage of being brought speedily and within a few hours of their capture to their new home. for their long voyage to europe the provision of an adequate quantity of living insects or other aquatic organisms is a by no means easy task. they have, however, been known to thrive on broken-up river-mussels for the space of two or three weeks, and would probably have done so for a longer period. this material might easily be stored for their use on board ship. an incident concerning the natural predilections of the platypus that fell within the writer's observation in tasmania might also be utilised in their experimental transportation. at the trout- and salmon-rearing establishment on the river plenty--of which the writer was at the time superintendent--the platypuses proved to be most destructive to the spawn both deposited in the hatching-boxes and upon the natural spawning-beds, or "redds," and they had in consequence to be systematically destroyed. this being the case, it is probable that they would be found to thrive well on a diet consisting to a large extent of the preserved roes or spawn of any easily procurable fish--such as the murray perch and cod--and of which adequate supplies might with facility be stored aboard ship. the admixture in all cases of a certain amount of sand or mud with their provided pabulum would appear to be essential for digestive purposes, such material being always found in considerable quantities in their stomachs when dissected. a distinguishing feature which the male platypus shares in common with the echidna is the peculiar spur developed on its hind foot. it is in this case, however, much larger and sharper, and has been accredited with aggressive functions and poisonous properties. there can be little doubt, however, that they are normally used by the animal only as clasping or retaining instruments during intercourse with the female at the breeding-season. at the same time, undoubted cases of persons receiving severe wounds from these animals' spurs have been placed on record. one such that fell within the writer's cognisance happened on the murray river, on the victorian and new south wales boundary. a young fisher-lad, on taking up his nets, found a half-drowned platypus entangled in them, and, whilst disengaging it, it convulsively gripped his hand between the two spurs, the points penetrating deeply into the flesh on either side. the result was a festering wound that refused to heal for many months, and for such time entirely deprived the lad of his use of that hand. [illustration: _photo by w. saville-kent, f.z.s._] [_milford-on-sea._ duck-billed platypus. this curious egg-laying mammal, the only representative of its family, is mainly nocturnal in habits.] the fur of the platypus, dressed so as to remove the outer and longer series of hairs, nearly resembles that of the fur-seal in both colour and texture, and as a rare local product is highly prized for the manufacture of carriage-rugs and other articles. with the egg-laying echidna and platypus we terminate the mammalian series, and they pave the way to the typical egg-laying animals which follow. end of vol. i. note [ ] since this was in type, sir harry johnston has reported the existence in the congo forest, on the borders of uganda, of a large unknown type of ruminant, the akapi of the natives. georgius agricola de re metallica translated from the first latin edition of with biographical introduction, annotations and appendices upon the development of mining methods, metallurgical processes, geology, mineralogy & mining law from the earliest times to the th century by herbert clark hoover a. b. stanford university, member american institute of mining engineers, mining and metallurgical society of america, société des ingéniéurs civils de france, american institute of civil engineers, fellow royal geographical society, etc., etc. and lou henry hoover a. b. stanford university, member american association for the advancement of science, the national geographical society, royal scottish geographical society, etc., etc. _dover publications, inc._ new york to john caspar branner ph.d., _the inspiration of whose teaching is no less great than his contribution to science._ this new edition of de re metallica is a complete and unchanged reprint of the translation published by the mining magazine, london, in . it has been made available through the kind permission of honorable herbert c. hoover and mr. edgar rickard, author and publisher, respectively, of the original volume. printed in the united states of america translators' preface. there are three objectives in translation of works of this character: to give a faithful, literal translation of the author's statements; to give these in a manner which will interest the reader; and to preserve, so far as is possible, the style of the original text. the task has been doubly difficult in this work because, in using latin, the author availed himself of a medium which had ceased to expand a thousand years before his subject had in many particulars come into being; in consequence he was in difficulties with a large number of ideas for which there were no corresponding words in the vocabulary at his command, and instead of adopting into the text his native german terms, he coined several hundred latin expressions to answer his needs. it is upon this rock that most former attempts at translation have been wrecked. except for a very small number, we believe we have been able to discover the intended meaning of such expressions from a study of the context, assisted by a very incomplete glossary prepared by the author himself, and by an exhaustive investigation into the literature of these subjects during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. that discovery in this particular has been only gradual and obtained after much labour, may be indicated by the fact that the entire text has been re-typewritten three times since the original, and some parts more often; and further, that the printer's proof has been thrice revised. we have found some english equivalent, more or less satisfactory, for practically all such terms, except those of weights, the varieties of veins, and a few minerals. in the matter of weights we have introduced the original latin, because it is impossible to give true equivalents and avoid the fractions of reduction; and further, as explained in the appendix on weights it is impossible to say in many cases what scale the author had in mind. the english nomenclature to be adopted has given great difficulty, for various reasons; among them, that many methods and processes described have never been practised in english-speaking mining communities, and so had no representatives in our vocabulary, and we considered the introduction of german terms undesirable; other methods and processes have become obsolete and their descriptive terms with them, yet we wished to avoid the introduction of obsolete or unusual english; but of the greatest importance of all has been the necessity to avoid rigorously such modern technical terms as would imply a greater scientific understanding than the period possessed. agricola's latin, while mostly free from mediæval corruption, is somewhat tainted with german construction. moreover some portions have not the continuous flow of sustained thought which others display, but the fact that the writing of the work extended over a period of twenty years, sufficiently explains the considerable variation in style. the technical descriptions in the later books often take the form of house-that-jack-built sentences which have had to be at least partially broken up and the subject occasionally re-introduced. ambiguities were also sometimes found which it was necessary to carry on into the translation. despite these criticisms we must, however, emphasize that agricola was infinitely clearer in his style than his contemporaries upon such subjects, or for that matter than his successors in almost any language for a couple of centuries. all of the illustrations and display letters of the original have been reproduced and the type as closely approximates to the original as the printers have been able to find in a modern font. there are no footnotes in the original text, and mr. hoover is responsible for them all. he has attempted in them to give not only such comment as would tend to clarify the text, but also such information as we have been able to discover with regard to the previous history of the subjects mentioned. we have confined the historical notes to the time prior to agricola, because to have carried them down to date in the briefest manner would have demanded very much more space than could be allowed. in the examination of such technical and historical material one is appalled at the flood of mis-information with regard to ancient arts and sciences which has been let loose upon the world by the hands of non-technical translators and commentators. at an early stage we considered that we must justify any divergence of view from such authorities, but to limit the already alarming volume of this work, we later felt compelled to eliminate most of such discussion. when the half-dozen most important of the ancient works bearing upon science have been translated by those of some scientific experience, such questions will, no doubt, be properly settled. we need make no apologies for _de re metallica_. during years it was not superseded as the text-book and guide to miners and metallurgists, for until schlüter's great work on metallurgy in it had no equal. that it passed through some ten editions in three languages at a period when the printing of such a volume was no ordinary undertaking, is in itself sufficient evidence of the importance in which it was held, and is a record that no other volume upon the same subjects has equalled since. a large proportion of the technical data given by agricola was either entirely new, or had not been given previously with sufficient detail and explanation to have enabled a worker in these arts himself to perform the operations without further guidance. practically the whole of it must have been given from personal experience and observation, for the scant library at his service can be appreciated from his own preface. considering the part which the metallic arts have played in human history, the paucity of their literature down to agricola's time is amazing. no doubt the arts were jealously guarded by their practitioners as a sort of stock-in-trade, and it is also probable that those who had knowledge were not usually of a literary turn of mind; and, on the other hand, the small army of writers prior to his time were not much interested in the description of industrial pursuits. moreover, in those thousands of years prior to printing, the tedious and expensive transcription of manuscripts by hand was mostly applied to matters of more general interest, and therefore many writings may have been lost in consequence. in fact, such was the fate of the works of theophrastus and strato on these subjects. we have prepared a short sketch of agricola's life and times, not only to give some indication of his learning and character, but also of his considerable position in the community in which he lived. as no appreciation of agricola's stature among the founders of science can be gained without consideration of the advance which his works display over those of his predecessors, we therefore devote some attention to the state of knowledge of these subjects at the time by giving in the appendix a short review of the literature then extant and a summary of agricola's other writings. to serve the bibliophile we present such data as we have been able to collect it with regard to the various editions of his works. the full titles of the works quoted in the footnotes under simply authors' names will be found in this appendix. we feel that it is scarcely doing agricola justice to publish _de re metallica_ only. while it is of the most general interest of all of his works, yet, from the point of view of pure science, _de natura fossilium_ and _de ortu et causis_ are works which deserve an equally important place. it is unfortunate that agricola's own countrymen have not given to the world competent translations into german, as his work has too often been judged by the german translations, the infidelity of which appears in nearly every paragraph. we do not present _de re metallica_ as a work of "practical" value. the methods and processes have long since been superseded; yet surely such a milestone on the road of development of one of the two most basic of human industrial activities is more worthy of preservation than the thousands of volumes devoted to records of human destruction. to those interested in the history of their own profession we need make no apologies, except for the long delay in publication. for this we put forward the necessity of active endeavour in many directions; as this book could be but a labour of love, it has had to find the moments for its execution in night hours, weekends, and holidays, in all extending over a period of about five years. if the work serves to strengthen the traditions of one of the most important and least recognized of the world's professions we shall be amply repaid. it is our pleasure to acknowledge our obligations to professor h. r. fairclough, of stanford university, for perusal of and suggestions upon the first chapter; and to those whom we have engaged from time to time for one service or another, chiefly bibliographical work and collateral translation. we are also sensibly obligated to the printers, messrs. frost & sons, for their patience and interest, and for their willingness to bend some of the canons of modern printing, to meet the demands of the th century. _july , ._ the red house, hornton street, london. introduction. biography.[ ] georgius agricola was born at glauchau, in saxony, on march th, , and therefore entered the world when it was still upon the threshold of the renaissance; gutenberg's first book had been printed but forty years before; the humanists had but begun that stimulating criticism which awoke the reformation; erasmus, of rotterdam, who was subsequently to become agricola's friend and patron, was just completing his student days. the reformation itself was yet to come, but it was not long delayed, for luther was born the year before agricola, and through him agricola's homeland became the cradle of the great movement; nor did agricola escape being drawn into the conflict. italy, already awake with the new classical revival, was still a busy workshop of antiquarian research, translation, study, and publication, and through her the greek and latin classics were only now available for wide distribution. students from the rest of europe, among them at a later time agricola himself, flocked to the italian universities, and on their return infected their native cities with the newly-awakened learning. at agricola's birth columbus had just returned from his great discovery, and it was only three years later that vasco da gama rounded cape good hope. thus these two foremost explorers had only initiated that greatest period of geographical expansion in the world's history. a few dates will recall how far this exploration extended during agricola's lifetime. balboa first saw the pacific in ; cortes entered the city of mexico in ; magellan entered the pacific in the same year; pizarro penetrated into peru in ; de soto landed in florida in , and potosi was discovered in . omitting the sporadic settlement on the st. lawrence by cartier in , the settlement of north america did not begin for a quarter of a century after agricola's death. thus the revival of learning, with its train of humanism, the reformation, its stimulation of exploration and the re-awakening of the arts and sciences, was still in its infancy with agricola. we know practically nothing of agricola's antecedents or his youth. his real name was georg bauer ("peasant"), and it was probably latinized by his teachers, as was the custom of the time. his own brother, in receipts preserved in the archives of the zwickau town council, calls himself "bauer," and in them refers to his brother "agricola." he entered the university of leipsic at the age of twenty, and after about three and one-half years' attendance there gained the degree of _baccalaureus artium_. in he became vice-principal of the municipal school at zwickau, where he taught greek and latin. in he became principal, and among his assistants was johannes förster, better known as luther's collaborator in the translation of the bible. during this time our author prepared and published a small latin grammar[ ]. in he removed to leipsic to become a lecturer in the university under his friend, petrus mosellanus, at whose death in he went to italy for the further study of philosophy, medicine, and the natural sciences. here he remained for nearly three years, from to . he visited the universities of bologna, venice, and probably padua, and at these institutions received his first inspiration to work in the sciences, for in a letter[ ] from leonardus casibrotius to erasmus we learn that he was engaged upon a revision of galen. it was about this time that he made the acquaintance of erasmus, who had settled at basel as editor for froben's press. in agricola returned to zwickau, and in he was chosen town physician at joachimsthal. this little city in bohemia is located on the eastern slope of the erzgebirge, in the midst of the then most prolific metal-mining district of central europe. thence to freiberg is but fifty miles, and the same radius from that city would include most of the mining towns so frequently mentioned in _de re metallica_--schneeberg, geyer, annaberg and altenberg--and not far away were marienberg, gottesgab, and platten. joachimsthal was a booming mining camp, founded but eleven years before agricola's arrival, and already having several thousand inhabitants. according to agricola's own statement[ ], he spent all the time not required for his medical duties in visiting the mines and smelters, in reading up in the greek and latin authors all references to mining, and in association with the most learned among the mining folk. among these was one lorenz berman, whom agricola afterward set up as the "learned miner" in his dialogue _bermannus_. this book was first published by froben at basel in , and was a sort of catechism on mineralogy, mining terms, and mining lore. the book was apparently first submitted to the great erasmus, and the publication arranged by him, a warm letter of approval by him appearing at the beginning of the book[ ]. in he published _de mensuris et ponderibus_, through froben, this being a discussion of roman and greek weights and measures. at about this time he began _de re metallica_--not to be published for twenty-five years. agricola did not confine his interest entirely to medicine and mining, for during this period he composed a pamphlet upon the turks, urging their extermination by the european powers. this work was no doubt inspired by the turkish siege of vienna in . it appeared first in german in , and in latin--in which it was originally written--in , and passed through many subsequent editions. at this time, too, he became interested in the god's gift mine at abertham, which was discovered in . writing in , he says[ ]: "we, as a shareholder, through the goodness of god, have enjoyed the proceeds of this god's gift since the very time when the mine began first to bestow such riches." agricola seems to have resigned his position at joachimsthal in about , and to have devoted the next two or three years to travel and study among the mines. about he became city physician of chemnitz, in saxony, and here he resided until his death in . there is but little record of his activities during the first eight or nine years of his residence in this city. he must have been engaged upon the study of his subjects and the preparation of his books, for they came on with great rapidity soon after. he was frequently consulted on matters of mining engineering, as, for instance, we learn, from a letter written by a certain johannes hordeborch[ ], that duke henry of brunswick applied to him with regard to the method for working mines in the upper harz. in he married anna, widow of matthias meyner, a petty tithe official; there is some reason to believe from a letter published by schmid,[ ] that anna was his second wife, and that he was married the first time at joachimsthal. he seems to have had several children, for he commends his young children to the care of the town council during his absence at the war in . in addition to these, we know that a son, theodor, was born in ; a daughter, anna, in ; another daughter, irene, was buried at chemnitz in ; and in his widow and three children--anna, valerius, and lucretia--were still living. in began the publication of the series of books to which agricola owes his position. the first volume comprised five works and was finally issued in ; it was subsequently considerably revised, and re-issued in . these works were: _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, in five "books," the first work on physical geology; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, in four "books," on subterranean waters and gases; _de natura fossilium_, in ten "books," the first systematic mineralogy; _de veteribus et novis metallis_, in two "books," devoted largely to the history of metals and topographical mineralogy; a new edition of _bermannus_ was included; and finally _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, a glossary of latin and german mineralogical and metallurgical terms. another work, _de animantibus subterraneis_, usually published with _de re metallica_, is dated in the preface. it is devoted to animals which live underground, at least part of the time, but is not a very effective basis of either geologic or zoologic classification. despite many public activities, agricola apparently completed _de re metallica_ in , but did not send it to the press until ; nor did it appear until a year after his death in . but we give further details on the preparation of this work on p. xv. during this period he found time to prepare a small medical work, _de peste_, and certain historical studies, details of which appear in the appendix. there are other works by agricola referred to by sixteenth century writers, but so far we have not been able to find them although they may exist. such data as we have, is given in the appendix. as a young man, agricola seems to have had some tendencies toward liberalism in religious matters, for while at zwickau he composed some anti-popish epigrams; but after his return to leipsic he apparently never wavered, and steadily refused to accept the lutheran reformation. to many even liberal scholars of the day, luther's doctrines appeared wild and demagogic. luther was not a scholarly man; his addresses were to the masses; his latin was execrable. nor did the bitter dissensions over hair-splitting theology in the lutheran church after luther's death tend to increase respect for the movement among the learned. agricola was a scholar of wide attainments, a deep-thinking, religious man, and he remained to the end a staunch catholic, despite the general change of sentiment among his countrymen. his leanings were toward such men as his friend the humanist, erasmus. that he had the courage of his convictions is shown in the dedication of _de natura eorum_, where he addresses to his friend, duke maurice, the pious advice that the dissensions of the germans should be composed, and that the duke should return to the bosom of the church those who had been torn from her, and adds: "yet i do not wish to become confused by these turbulent waters, and be led to offend anyone. it is more advisable to check my utterances." as he became older he may have become less tolerant in religious matters, for he did not seem to show as much patience in the discussion of ecclesiastical topics as he must have possessed earlier, yet he maintained to the end the respect and friendship of such great protestants as melanchthon, camerarius, fabricius, and many others. in , when he was at the age of , began agricola's activity in public life, for in that year he was elected a burgher of chemnitz; and in the same year duke maurice appointed him burgomaster--an office which he held for four terms. before one can gain an insight into his political services, and incidentally into the character of the man, it is necessary to understand the politics of the time and his part therein, and to bear in mind always that he was a staunch catholic under a protestant sovereign in a state seething with militant protestantism. saxony had been divided in between the princes ernest and albert, the former taking the electoral dignity and the major portion of the principality. albert the brave, the younger brother and duke of saxony, obtained the subordinate portion, embracing meissen, but subject to the elector. the elector ernest was succeeded in by frederick the wise, and under his support luther made saxony the cradle of the reformation. this elector was succeeded in by his brother john, who was in turn succeeded by his son john frederick in . of more immediate interest to this subject is the albertian line of saxon dukes who ruled meissen, for in that principality agricola was born and lived, and his political fortunes were associated with this branch of the saxon house. albert was succeeded in by his son george, "the bearded," and he in turn by his brother henry, the last of the catholics, in , who ruled until . henry was succeeded in by his protestant son maurice, who was the patron of agricola. at about this time saxony was drawn into the storms which rose from the long-standing rivalry between francis i., king of france, and charles v. of spain. these two potentates came to the throne in the same year ( ), and both were candidates for emperor of that loose confederation known as the holy roman empire. charles was elected, and intermittent wars between these two princes arose--first in one part of europe, and then in another. francis finally formed an alliance with the schmalkalden league of german protestant princes, and with the sultan of turkey, against charles. in maurice of meissen, although a protestant, saw his best interest in a secret league with charles against the other protestant princes, and proceeded (the schmalkalden war) to invade the domains of his superior and cousin, the elector frederick. the emperor charles proved successful in this war, and maurice was rewarded, at the capitulation of wittenberg in , by being made elector of saxony in the place of his cousin. later on, the elector maurice found the association with catholic charles unpalatable, and joined in leading the other protestant princes in war upon him, and on the defeat of the catholic party and the peace of passau, maurice became acknowledged as the champion of german national and religious freedom. he was succeeded by his brother augustus in . agricola was much favoured by the saxon electors, maurice and augustus. he dedicates most of his works to them, and shows much gratitude for many favours conferred upon him. duke maurice presented to him a house and plot in chemnitz, and in a letter dated june th, [ ] in connection therewith, says: "... that he may enjoy his life-long a freehold house unburdened by all burgher rights and other municipal service, to be used by him and inhabited as a free dwelling, and that he may also, for the necessities of his household and of his wife and servants, brew his own beer free, and that he may likewise purvey for himself and his household foreign beer and also wine for use, and yet he shall not sell any such beer.... we have taken the said doctor under our especial protection and care for our life-long, and he shall not be summoned before any court of justice, but only before us and our councillor...." agricola was made burgomaster of chemnitz in . a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer, dated may th, , says that agricola had been made burgomaster by the command of the prince. this would be maurice, and it is all the more a tribute to the high respect with which agricola was held, for, as said before, he was a consistent catholic, and maurice a protestant prince. in this same year the schmalkalden war broke out, and agricola was called to personal attendance upon the duke maurice in a diplomatic and advisory capacity. in also he was a member of the diet of freiberg, and was summoned to council in dresden. the next year he continued, by the duke's command, burgomaster at chemnitz, although he seems to have been away upon ducal matters most of the time. the duke addresses[ ] the chemnitz council in march, : "we hereby make known to you that we are in urgent need of your burgomaster, dr. georgius agricola, with us. it is, therefore, our will that you should yield him up and forward him that he should with the utmost haste set forth to us here near freiberg." he was sent on various missions from the duke to the emperor charles, to king ferdinand of austria, and to other princes in matters connected with the war--the fact that he was a catholic probably entering into his appointment to such missions. chemnitz was occupied by the troops of first one side, then the other, despite the great efforts of agricola to have his own town specially defended. in april, , the war came to an end in the battle of mühlberg, but agricola was apparently not relieved of his burgomastership until the succeeding year, for he wrote his friend wolfgang meurer, in april, ,[ ] that he "was now relieved." his public duties did not end, however, for he attended the diet of leipzig in and in , and was at the diet at torgau in . in he was again installed as burgomaster; and in , for the fourth time, he became head of the municipality, and during this year had again to attend the diets at leipzig and dresden, representing his city. he apparently now had a short relief from public duties, for it is not until , shortly before his death, that we find him again attending a diet at torgau. agricola died on november st, . a letter[ ] from his life-long friend, fabricius, to melanchthon, announcing this event, states: "we lost, on november st, that distinguished ornament of our fatherland, georgius agricola, a man of eminent intellect, of culture and of judgment. he attained the age of . he who since the days of childhood had enjoyed robust health was carried off by a four-days' fever. he had previously suffered from no disease except inflammation of the eyes, which he brought upon himself by untiring study and insatiable reading.... i know that you loved the soul of this man, although in many of his opinions, more especially in religious and spiritual welfare, he differed in many points from our own. for he despised our churches, and would not be with us in the communion of the blood of christ. therefore, after his death, at the command of the prince, which was given to the church inspectors and carried out by tettelbach as a loyal servant, burial was refused him, and not until the fourth day was he borne away to zeitz and interred in the cathedral.... i have always admired the genius of this man, so distinguished in our sciences and in the whole realm of philosophy--yet i wonder at his religious views, which were compatible with reason, it is true, and were dazzling, but were by no means compatible with truth.... he would not tolerate with patience that anyone should discuss ecclesiastical matters with him." this action of the authorities in denying burial to one of their most honoured citizens, who had been ever assiduous in furthering the welfare of the community, seems strangely out of joint. further, the elector augustus, although a protestant prince, was agricola's warm friend, as evidenced by his letter of but a few months before (see p. xv). however, catholics were then few in number at chemnitz, and the feeling ran high at the time, so possibly the prince was afraid of public disturbances. hofmann[ ] explains this occurrence in the following words:--"the feelings of chemnitz citizens, who were almost exclusively protestant, must certainly be taken into account. they may have raised objections to the solemn interment of a catholic in the protestant cathedral church of st. jacob, which had, perhaps, been demanded by his relatives, and to which, according to the custom of the time, he would have been entitled as burgomaster. the refusal to sanction the interment aroused, more especially in the catholic world, a painful sensation." a brass memorial plate hung in the cathedral at zeitz had already disappeared in , nor have the cities of his birth or residence ever shown any appreciation of this man, whose work more deserves their gratitude than does that of the multitude of soldiers whose monuments decorate every village and city square. it is true that in a marble tablet was placed behind the altar in the church of st. jacob in chemnitz, but even this was removed to the historical museum later on. he left a modest estate, which was the subject of considerable litigation by his descendants, due to the mismanagement of the guardian. hofmann has succeeded in tracing the descendants for two generations, down to , but the line is finally lost among the multitude of other agricolas. to deduce georgius agricola's character we need not search beyond the discovery of his steadfast adherence to the religion of his fathers amid the bitter storm of protestantism around him, and need but to remember at the same time that for twenty-five years he was entrusted with elective positions of an increasingly important character in this same community. no man could have thus held the respect of his countrymen unless he were devoid of bigotry and possessed of the highest sense of integrity, justice, humanity, and patriotism. agricola's intellectual attainments and position in science. agricola's education was the most thorough that his times afforded in the classics, philosophy, medicine, and sciences generally. further, his writings disclose a most exhaustive knowledge not only of an extraordinary range of classical literature, but also of obscure manuscripts buried in the public libraries of europe. that his general learning was held to be of a high order is amply evidenced from the correspondence of the other scholars of his time--erasmus, melanchthon, meurer, fabricius, and others. our more immediate concern, however, is with the advances which were due to him in the sciences of geology, mineralogy, and mining engineering. no appreciation of these attainments can be conveyed to the reader unless he has some understanding of the dearth of knowledge in these sciences prior to agricola's time. we have in appendix b given a brief review of the literature extant at this period on these subjects. furthermore, no appreciation of agricola's contribution to science can be gained without a study of _de ortu et causis_ and _de natura fossilium_, for while _de re metallica_ is of much more general interest, it contains but incidental reference to geology and mineralogy. apart from the book of genesis, the only attempts at fundamental explanation of natural phenomena were those of the greek philosophers and the alchemists. orthodox beliefs agricola scarcely mentions; with the alchemists he had no patience. there can be no doubt, however, that his views are greatly coloured by his deep classical learning. he was in fine to a certain distance a follower of aristotle, theophrastus, strato, and other leaders of the peripatetic school. for that matter, except for the muddy current which the alchemists had introduced into this already troubled stream, the whole thought of the learned world still flowed from the greeks. had he not, however, radically departed from the teachings of the peripatetic school, his work would have been no contribution to the development of science. certain of their teachings he repudiated with great vigour, and his laboured and detailed arguments in their refutation form the first battle in science over the results of observation _versus_ inductive speculation. to use his own words: "those things which we see with our eyes and understand by means of our senses are more clearly to be demonstrated than if learned by means of reasoning."[ ] the bigoted scholasticism of his times necessitated as much care and detail in refutation of such deep-rooted beliefs, as would be demanded to-day by an attempt at a refutation of the theory of evolution, and in consequence his works are often but dry reading to any but those interested in the development of fundamental scientific theory. in giving an appreciation of agricola's views here and throughout the footnotes, we do not wish to convey to the reader that he was in all things free from error and from the spirit of his times, or that his theories, constructed long before the atomic theory, are of the clear-cut order which that basic hypothesis has rendered possible to later scientific speculation in these branches. his statements are sometimes much confused, but we reiterate that their clarity is as crystal to mud in comparison with those of his predecessors--and of most of his successors for over two hundred years. as an indication of his grasp of some of the wider aspects of geological phenomena we reproduce, in appendix a, a passage from _de ortu et causis_, which we believe to be the first adequate declaration of the part played by erosion in mountain sculpture. but of all of agricola's theoretical views those are of the greatest interest which relate to the origin of ore deposits, for in these matters he had the greatest opportunities of observation and the most experience. we have on page reproduced and discussed his theory at considerable length, but we may repeat here, that in his propositions as to the circulation of ground waters, that ore channels are a subsequent creation to the contained rocks, and that they were filled by deposition from circulating solutions, he enunciated the foundations of our modern theory, and in so doing took a step in advance greater than that of any single subsequent authority. in his contention that ore channels were created by erosion of subterranean waters he was wrong, except for special cases, and it was not until two centuries later that a further step in advance was taken by the recognition by van oppel of the part played by fissuring in these phenomena. nor was it until about the same time that the filling of ore channels in the main by deposition from solutions was generally accepted. while werner, two hundred and fifty years after agricola, is generally revered as the inspirer of the modern theory by those whose reading has taken them no farther back, we have no hesitation in asserting that of the propositions of each author, agricola's were very much more nearly in accord with modern views. moreover, the main result of the new ideas brought forward by werner was to stop the march of progress for half a century, instead of speeding it forward as did those of agricola. in mineralogy agricola made the first attempt at systematic treatment of the subject. his system could not be otherwise than wrongly based, as he could scarcely see forward two or three centuries to the atomic theory and our vast fund of chemical knowledge. however, based as it is upon such properties as solubility and homogeneity, and upon external characteristics such as colour, hardness, &c., it makes a most creditable advance upon theophrastus, dioscorides, and albertus magnus--his only predecessors. he is the first to assert that bismuth and antimony are true primary metals; and to some sixty actual mineral species described previous to his time he added some twenty more, and laments that there are scores unnamed. as to agricola's contribution to the sciences of mining and metallurgy, _de re metallica_ speaks for itself. while he describes, for the first time, scores of methods and processes, no one would contend that they were discoveries or inventions of his own. they represent the accumulation of generations of experience and knowledge; but by him they were, for the first time, to receive detailed and intelligent exposition. until schlüter's work nearly two centuries later, it was not excelled. there is no measure by which we may gauge the value of such a work to the men who followed in this profession during centuries, nor the benefits enjoyed by humanity through them. that agricola occupied a very considerable place in the great awakening of learning will be disputed by none except by those who place the development of science in rank far below religion, politics, literature, and art. of wider importance than the details of his achievements in the mere confines of the particular science to which he applied himself, is the fact that he was the first to found any of the natural sciences upon research and observation, as opposed to previous fruitless speculation. the wider interest of the members of the medical profession in the development of their science than that of geologists in theirs, has led to the aggrandizement of paracelsus, a contemporary of agricola, as the first in deductive science. yet no comparative study of the unparalleled egotistical ravings of this half-genius, half-alchemist, with the modest sober logic and real research and observation of agricola, can leave a moment's doubt as to the incomparably greater position which should be attributed to the latter as the pioneer in building the foundation of science by deduction from observed phenomena. science is the base upon which is reared the civilization of to-day, and while we give daily credit to all those who toil in the superstructure, let none forget those men who laid its first foundation stones. one of the greatest of these was georgius agricola. de re metallica agricola seems to have been engaged in the preparation of _de re metallica_ for a period of over twenty years, for we first hear of the book in a letter from petrus plateanus, a schoolmaster at joachimsthal, to the great humanist, erasmus,[ ] in september, . he says: "the scientific world will be still more indebted to agricola when he brings to light the books _de re metallica_ and other matters which he has on hand." in the dedication of _de mensuris et ponderibus_ (in ) agricola states that he means to publish twelve books _de re metallica_, if he lives. that the appearance of this work was eagerly anticipated is evidenced by a letter from george fabricius to valentine hertel:[ ] "with great excitement the books _de re metallica_ are being awaited. if he treats the material at hand with his usual zeal, he will win for himself glory such as no one in any of the fields of literature has attained for the last thousand years." according to the dedication of _de veteribus et novis metallis_, agricola in already looked forward to its early publication. the work was apparently finished in , for the dedication to the dukes maurice and august of saxony is dated in december of that year. the eulogistic poem by his friend, george fabricius, is dated in . the publication was apparently long delayed by the preparation of the woodcuts; and, according to mathesius,[ ] many sketches for them were prepared by basilius wefring. in the preface of _de re metallica_, agricola does not mention who prepared the sketches, but does say: "i have hired illustrators to delineate their forms, lest descriptions which are conveyed by words should either not be understood by men of our own times, or should cause difficulty to posterity." in the completed book was sent to froben for publication, for a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer in march, , announces its dispatch to the printer. an interesting letter[ ] from the elector augustus to agricola, dated january , , reads: "most learned, dear and faithful subject, whereas you have sent to the press a latin book of which the title is said to be _de rebus metallicis_, which has been praised to us and we should like to know the contents, it is our gracious command that you should get the book translated when you have the opportunity into german, and not let it be copied more than once or be printed, but keep it by you and send us a copy. if you should need a writer for this purpose, we will provide one. thus you will fulfil our gracious behest." the german translation was prepared by philip bechius, a basel university professor of medicine and philosophy. it is a wretched work, by one who knew nothing of the science, and who more especially had no appreciation of the peculiar latin terms coined by agricola, most of which he rendered literally. it is a sad commentary on his countrymen that no correct german translation exists. the italian translation is by michelangelo florio, and is by him dedicated to elizabeth, queen of england. the title page of the first edition is reproduced later on, and the full titles of other editions are given in the appendix, together with the author's other works. the following are the short titles of the various editions of _de re metallica_, together with the name and place of the publisher:-- latin editions. _de re metallica_, froben basel folio . " " " " " " . " " " ludwig könig " " . " " " emanuel könig " " . in addition to these, leupold,[ ] schmid,[ ] and others mention an octavo edition, without illustrations, schweinfurt, . we have not been able to find a copy of this edition, and are not certain of its existence. the same catalogues also mention an octavo edition of _de re metallica_, wittenberg, or , with notes by joanne sigfrido; but we believe this to be a confusion with agricola's subsidiary works, which were published at this time and place, with such notes. german editions. _vom bergkwerck_, froben, folio, . _bergwerck buch_, sigmundi feyrabendt, frankfort-on-main, folio, . " " ludwig könig, basel, folio, . there are other editions than these, mentioned by bibliographers, but we have been unable to confirm them in any library. the most reliable of such bibliographies, that of john ferguson,[ ] gives in addition to the above; _bergwerkbuch_, basel, , folio, and schweinfurt, , octavo. italian edition. _l'arte de metalli_, froben, basel, folio, . other languages. so far as we know, _de re metallica_ was never actually published in other than latin, german, and italian. however, a portion of the accounts of the firm of froben were published in [ ], and therein is an entry under march, , of a sum to one leodigaris grymaldo for some other work, and also for "correction of agricola's _de re metallica_ in french." this may of course, be an error for the italian edition, which appeared a little later. there is also mention[ ] that a manuscript of _de re metallica_ in spanish was seen in the library of the town of bejar. an interesting note appears in the glossary given by sir john pettus in his translation of lazarus erckern's work on assaying. he says[ ] "but i cannot enlarge my observations upon any more words, because the printer calls for what i did write of a metallick dictionary, after i first proposed the printing of erckern, but intending within the compass of a year to publish georgius agricola, _de re metallica_ (being fully translated) in english, and also to add a dictionary to it, i shall reserve my remaining essays (if what i have done hitherto be approved) till then, and so i proceed in the dictionary." the translation was never published and extensive inquiry in various libraries and among the family of pettus has failed to yield any trace of the manuscript. footnotes: [ ] for the biographical information here set out we have relied principally upon the following works:--petrus albinus, _meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, ; adam daniel richter, _umständliche ... chronica der stadt chemnitz_, leipzig, ; johann gottfried weller, _altes aus allen theilen der geschichte_, chemnitz, ; freidrich august schmid, _georg agrikola's bermannus_, freiberg, ; georg heinrich jacobi, _der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, ; dr. reinhold hofmann, _dr. georg agricola_, gotha, . the last is an exhaustive biographical sketch, to which we refer those who are interested. [ ] _georgii agricolae glaucii libellus de prima ac simplici institutione grammatica_, printed by melchior lotther, leipzig, . petrus mosellanus refers to this work (without giving title) in a letter to agricola, june, . [ ] _briefe an desiderius erasmus von rotterdam._ published by joseph förstemann and otto günther. _xxvii. beiheft zum zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen_, leipzig, . p. . [ ] _de veteribus et novis metallis._ preface. [ ] a summary of this and of agricola's other works is given in the appendix a. [ ] _de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i. [ ] printed in f. a. schmid's _georg agrikola's bermannus_, p. , freiberg, . [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] archive , chemnitz municipal archives. [ ] baumgarten-crusius. _georgii fabricii chemnicensis epistolae ad w. meurerum et alios aequales_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] hofmann, op. cit., p. . [ ] weber, _virorum clarorum saeculi xvi. et xvii. epistolae selectae_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius. op. cit., p. . [ ] hofmann, op. cit., p. . [ ] _de ortu et causis_, book iii. [ ] _briefe an desiderius erasmus von rotterdam._ published by joseph förstemann & otto günther. _xxvii. beiheft zum zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] petrus albinus, _meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, , p. . [ ] this statement is contained under " " in a sort of chronicle bound up with mathesius's _sarepta_, nuremberg, . [ ] baumgarten-crusius, p. , letter no. . [ ] principal state archives, dresden, cop. , folio . [ ] jacob leupold, _prodromus bibliothecae metallicae_, , p. . [ ] f. a. schmid, _georg agrikola's bermannus_, freiberg, , p. . [ ] _bibliotheca chemica_, glasgow, , p. . [ ] _rechnungsbuch der froben und episcopius buchdrucker und buchhändler zu basel_, - , published by r. wackernagle, basel, . p. . [ ] _colecion del sr monoz_ t. , fol. _en la acad. de la hist._ madrid. [ ] sir john pettus, _fleta minor_, the laws of art and nature, &c., london, , p. . [illustration xix (title page from first edition)] georgius fabricius in libros metallicos georgii agricolae philosophi præstantissimi.[ ] ad lectorem. si iuuat ignita cognoscere fronte chimæram, semicanem nympham, semibouemque uirum: si centum capitum titanem, totque ferentem sublimem manibus tela cruenta gygen: si iuuat Ætneum penetrare cyclopis in antrum, atque alios, vates quos peperere, metus: nunc placeat mecum doctos euoluere libros, ingenium agricolae quos dedit acre tibi. non hic uana tenet suspensam fabula mentem: sed precium, utilitas multa, legentis erit. quidquid terra sinu, gremioque recondidit imo, omne tibi multis eruit ante libris: siue fluens superas ultro nitatur in oras, inueniat facilem seu magis arte uiam. perpetui proprijs manant de fontibus amnes, est grauis albuneæ sponte mephitis odor. lethales sunt sponte scrobes dicæarchidis oræ, et micat è media conditus ignis humo. plana nariscorum cùm tellus arsit in agro, ter curua nondum falce resecta ceres, nec dedit hoc damnum pastor, nec iuppiter igne: vulcani per se ruperat ira solum. terrifico aura foras erumpens, incita motu, sæpe facit montes, antè ubi plana uia est. hæc abstrusa cauis, imoque incognita fundo, cognita natura sæpe fuere duce. arte hominum, in lucem ueniunt quoque multa, manuque terræ multiplices effodiuntur opes. lydia sic nitrum profert, islandia sulfur, ac modò tyrrhenus mittit alumen ager. succina, quâ trifido subit æquor vistula cornu, piscantur codano corpora serua sinu. quid memorem regum preciosa insignia gemmas, marmoraque excelsis structa sub astra iugis? nil lapides, nil saxa moror: sunt pulchra metalla, croese tuis opibus clara, mydaque tuis, quæque acer macedo terra creneide fodit, nomine permutans nomina prisca suo. at nunc non ullis cedit germania terris, terra ferax hominum, terraque diues opum. hic auri in uenis locupletibus aura refulget, non alio messis carior ulla loco. auricomum extulerit felix campania ramum, nec fructu nobis deficiente cadit. eruit argenti solidas hoc tempore massas fossor, de proprijs armaque miles agris. ignotum graijs est hesperijsque metallum, quod bisemutum lingua paterna uocat. candidius nigro, sed plumbo nigrius albo, nostra quoque hoc uena diuite fundit humus. funditur in tormenta, corus cum imitantia fulmen, Æs, inque hostiles ferrea massa domos. scribuntur plumbo libri: quis credidit antè quàm mirandam artem teutonis ora dedit? nec tamen hoc alijs, aut illa petuntur ab oris, eruta germano cuncta metalla solo. sed quid ego hæc repeto, monumentis tradita claris agricolae, quæ nunc docta per ora uolant? hic caussis ortus, & formas uiribus addit, et quærenda quibus sint meliora locis. quæ si mente prius legisti candidus æqua: da reliquis quoque nunc tempora pauca libris. vtilitas sequitur cultorem: crede, uoluptas non iucunda minor, rara legentis, erit. iudicioque prius ne quis malè damnet iniquo, quæ sunt auctoris munera mira dei: eripit ipse suis primùm tela hostibus, inque mittentis torquet spicula rapta caput. fertur equo latro, uehitur pirata triremi: ergo necandus equus, nec fabricanda ratis? visceribus terræ lateant abstrusa metalla, vti opibus nescit quòd mala turba suis? quisquis es, aut doctis pareto monentibus, aut te inter habere bonos ne fateare locum. se non in prærupta metallicus abijcit audax, vt quondam immisso curtius acer equo: sed prius ediscit, quæ sunt noscenda perito, quodque facit, multa doctus ab arte facit. vtque gubernator seruat cum sidere uentos: sic minimè dubijs utitur ille notis. iasides nauim, currus regit arte metiscus: fossor opus peragit nec minus arte suum. indagat uenæ spacium, numerumque, modumque, siue obliqua suum, rectaúe tendat iter. pastor ut explorat quæ terra sit apta colenti, quæ bene lanigeras, quæ malè pascat oues. en terræ intentus, quid uincula linea tendit? fungitur officio iam ptolemæe tuo. vtque suæ inuenit mensuram iuraque uenæ, in uarios operas diuidit inde uiros. iamque aggressus opus, uiden' ut mouet omne quod obstat, assidua ut uersat strenuus arma manu? ne tibi surdescant ferri tinnitibus aures, ad grauiora ideo conspicienda ueni. instruit ecce suis nunc artibus ille minores: sedulitas nulli non operosa loco. metiri docet hic uenæ spaciumque modumque, vtque regat positis finibus arua lapis, ne quis transmisso uiolentus limite pergens, non sibi concessas, in sua uertat, opes. hic docet instrumenta, quibus plutonia regna tutus adit, saxi permeat atque uias. quanta (uides) solidas expugnet machina terras: machina non ullo tempore uisa prius. cede nouis, nulla non inclyta laude uetustas, posteritas meritis est quoque grata tuis. tum quia germano sunt hæc inuenta sub axe, si quis es, inuidiæ contrahe uela tuæ. ausonis ora tumet bellis, terra attica cultu, germanum infractus tollit ad astra labor. nec tamen ingenio solet infeliciter uti, mite gerát phoebi, seu graue martis opus, tempus adest, structis uenarum montibus, igne explorare, usum quem sibi uena ferat, non labor ingenio caret hic, non copia fructu, est adaperta bonæ prima fenestra spei. ergo instat porrò grauiores ferre labores, intentas operi nec remouere manus. vrere siue locus poscat, seu tundere uerras, siue lauare lacu præter euntis aquæ. seu flammis iterum modicis torrere necesse est, excoquere aut fastis ignibus omne malum, cùm fluit æs riuis, auri argentique metallum, spes animo fossor uix capit ipse suas. argentum cupidus fuluo secernit ab auro, et plumbi lentam demit utrique moram. separat argentum, lucri studiosus, ab ære, seruatis, linquens deteriora, bonis. quæ si cuncta uelim tenui percurrere uersu, ante alium reuehat memnonis orta diem. postremus labor est, concretos discere succos, quos fert innumeris teutona terra locis. quo sal, quo nitrum, quo pacto fiat alumen, vsibus artificis cùm parat illa manus: nec non chalcantum, sulfur, fluidumque bitumen, massaque quo uitri lenta dolanda modo. suscipit hæc hominum mirandos cura labores, pauperiem usque adeo ferre famemque graue est, tantus amor uictum paruis extundere natis, et patriæ ciuem non dare uelle malum. nec manet in terræ fossoris mersa latebris mens, sed fert domino uota precesque deo. munificæ expectat, spe plenus, munera dextræ, extollens animum lætus ad astra suum. diuitias christus dat noticiamque fruendi, cui memori grates pectore semper agit. hoc quoque laudati quondam fecere philippi, qui uirtutis habent cum pietate decus. huc oculos, huc flecte animum, suauissime lector, auctoremque pia noscito mente deum. agricolae hinc optans operoso fausta labori, laudibus eximij candidus esto uiri. ille suum extollit patriæ cum nomine nomen, et uir in ore frequens posteritatis erit. cuncta cadunt letho, studij monumenta uigebunt, purpurei donec lumina solis erunt. misenæ m. d. li. èludo illustri. footnotes: [ ] for completeness' sake we reproduce in the original latin the laudation of agricola by his friend, georgius fabricius, a leading scholar of his time. it has but little intrinsic value for it is not poetry of a very high order, and to make it acceptable english would require certain improvements, for which only poets have licence. a "free" translation of the last few lines indicates its complimentary character:-- "he doth raise his country's fame with his own and in the mouths of nations yet unborn his praises shall be sung; death comes to all but great achievements raise a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold." to the most illustrious and most mighty dukes of saxony, landgraves of thuringia, margraves of meissen, imperial overlords of saxony, burgraves of altenberg and magdeburg, counts of brena, lords of pleissnerland, to maurice grand marshall and elector of the holy roman empire and to his brother augustus,[ ] george agricola s. d. most illustrious princes, often have i considered the metallic arts as a whole, as moderatus columella[ ] considered the agricultural arts, just as if i had been considering the whole of the human body; and when i had perceived the various parts of the subject, like so many members of the body, i became afraid that i might die before i should understand its full extent, much less before i could immortalise it in writing. this book itself indicates the length and breadth of the subject, and the number and importance of the sciences of which at least some little knowledge is necessary to miners. indeed, the subject of mining is a very extensive one, and one very difficult to explain; no part of it is fully dealt with by the greek and latin authors whose works survive; and since the art is one of the most ancient, the most necessary and the most profitable to mankind, i considered that i ought not to neglect it. without doubt, none of the arts is older than agriculture, but that of the metals is not less ancient; in fact they are at least equal and coeval, for no mortal man ever tilled a field without implements. in truth, in all the works of agriculture, as in the other arts, implements are used which are made from metals, or which could not be made without the use of metals; for this reason the metals are of the greatest necessity to man. when an art is so poor that it lacks metals, it is not of much importance, for nothing is made without tools. besides, of all ways whereby great wealth is acquired by good and honest means, none is more advantageous than mining; for although from fields which are well tilled (not to mention other things) we derive rich yields, yet we obtain richer products from mines; in fact, one mine is often much more beneficial to us than many fields. for this reason we learn from the history of nearly all ages that very many men have been made rich by the mines, and the fortunes of many kings have been much amplified thereby. but i will not now speak more of these matters, because i have dealt with these subjects partly in the first book of this work, and partly in the other work entitled _de veteribus et novis metallis_, where i have refuted the charges which have been made against metals and against miners. now, though the art of husbandry, which i willingly rank with the art of mining, appears to be divided into many branches, yet it is not separated into so many as this art of ours, nor can i teach the principles of this as easily as columella did of that. he had at hand many writers upon husbandry whom he could follow,--in fact, there are more than fifty greek authors whom marcus varro enumerates, and more than ten latin ones, whom columella himself mentions. i have only one whom i can follow; that is c. plinius secundus,[ ] and he expounds only a very few methods of digging ores and of making metals. far from the whole of the art having been treated by any one writer, those who have written occasionally on any one or another of its branches have not even dealt completely with a single one of them. moreover, there is a great scarcity even of these, since alone of all the greeks, strato of lampsacus,[ ] the successor of theophrastus,[ ] wrote a book on the subject, _de machinis metallicis_; except, perhaps a work by the poet philo, a small part of which embraced to some degree the occupation of mining.[ ] pherecrates seems to have introduced into his comedy, which was similar in title, miners as slaves or as persons condemned to serve in the mines. of the latin writers, pliny, as i have already said, has described a few methods of working. also among the authors i must include the modern writers, whosoever they are, for no one should escape just condemnation who fails to award due recognition to persons whose writings he uses, even very slightly. two books have been written in our tongue; the one on the assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author is unknown[ ]; the other "on veins," of which pandulfus anglus[ ] is also said to have written, although the german book was written by calbus of freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task he had begun.[ ] recently vannucci biringuccio, of sienna, a wise man experienced in many matters, wrote in vernacular italian on the subject of the melting, separating, and alloying of metals.[ ] he touched briefly on the methods of smelting certain ores, and explained more fully the methods of making certain juices; by reading his directions, i have refreshed my memory of those things which i myself saw in italy; as for many matters on which i write, he did not touch upon them at all, or touched but lightly. this book was given me by franciscus badoarius, a patrician of venice, and a man of wisdom and of repute; this he had promised that he would do, when in the previous year he was at marienberg, having been sent by the venetians as an ambassador to king ferdinand. beyond these books i do not find any writings on the metallic arts. for that reason, even if the book of strato existed, from all these sources not one-half of the whole body of the science of mining could be pieced together. seeing that there have been so few who have written on the subject of the metals, it appears to me all the more wonderful that so many alchemists have arisen who would compound metals artificially, and who would change one into another. hermolaus barbarus,[ ] a man of high rank and station, and distinguished in all kinds of learning, has mentioned the names of many in his writings; and i will proffer more, but only famous ones, for i will limit myself to a few. thus osthanes has written on [greek: chymeutika]; and there are hermes; chanes; zosimus, the alexandrian, to his sister theosebia; olympiodorus, also an alexandrian; agathodæmon; democritus, not the one of abdera, but some other whom i know not; orus chrysorichites, pebichius, comerius, joannes, apulejus, petasius, pelagius, africanus, theophilus, synesius, stephanus to heracleus cæsar, heliodorus to theodosius, geber, callides rachaidibus, veradianus, rodianus, canides, merlin, raymond lully, arnold de villa nova, and augustinus pantheus of venice; and three women, cleopatra, the maiden taphnutia, and maria the jewess.[ ] all these alchemists employ obscure language, and johanes aurelius augurellus of rimini, alone has used the language of poetry. there are many other books on this subject, but all are difficult to follow, because the writers upon these things use strange names, which do not properly belong to the metals, and because some of them employ now one name and now another, invented by themselves, though the thing itself changes not. these masters teach their disciples that the base metals, when smelted, are broken up; also they teach the methods by which they reduce them to the primary parts and remove whatever is superfluous in them, and by supplying what is wanted make out of them the precious metals--that is, gold and silver,--all of which they carry out in a crucible. whether they can do these things or not i cannot decide; but, seeing that so many writers assure us with all earnestness that they have reached that goal for which they aimed, it would seem that faith might be placed in them; yet also seeing that we do not read of any of them ever having become rich by this art, nor do we now see them growing rich, although so many nations everywhere have produced, and are producing, alchemists, and all of them are straining every nerve night and day to the end that they may heap a great quantity of gold and silver, i should say the matter is dubious. but although it may be due to the carelessness of the writers that they have not transmitted to us the names of the masters who acquired great wealth through this occupation, certainly it is clear that their disciples either do not understand their precepts or, if they do understand them, do not follow them; for if they do comprehend them, seeing that these disciples have been and are so numerous, they would have by to-day filled whole towns with gold and silver. even their books proclaim their vanity, for they inscribe in them the names of plato and aristotle and other philosophers, in order that such high-sounding inscriptions may impose upon simple people and pass for learning. there is another class of alchemists who do not change the substance of base metals, but colour them to represent gold or silver, so that they appear to be that which they are not, and when this appearance is taken from them by the fire, as if it were a garment foreign to them, they return to their own character. these alchemists, since they deceive people, are not only held in the greatest odium, but their frauds are a capital offence. no less a fraud, warranting capital punishment, is committed by a third sort of alchemists; these throw into a crucible a small piece of gold or silver hidden in a coal, and after mixing therewith fluxes which have the power of extracting it, pretend to be making gold from orpiment, or silver from tin and like substances. but concerning the art of alchemy, if it be an art, i will speak further elsewhere. i will now return to the art of mining. since no authors have written of this art in its entirety, and since foreign nations and races do not understand our tongue, and, if they did understand it, would be able to learn only a small part of the art through the works of those authors whom we do possess, i have written these twelve books _de re metallica_. of these, the first book contains the arguments which may be used against this art, and against metals and the mines, and what can be said in their favour. the second book describes the miner, and branches into a discourse on the finding of veins. the third book deals with veins and stringers, and seams in the rocks. the fourth book explains the method of delimiting veins, and also describes the functions of the mining officials. the fifth book describes the digging of ore and the surveyor's art. the sixth book describes the miners' tools and machines. the seventh book is on the assaying of ore. the eighth book lays down the rules for the work of roasting, crushing, and washing the ore. the ninth book explains the methods of smelting ores. the tenth book instructs those who are studious of the metallic arts in the work of separating silver from gold, and lead from gold and silver. the eleventh book shows the way of separating silver from copper. the twelfth book gives us rules for manufacturing salt, soda, alum, vitriol, sulphur, bitumen, and glass. although i have not fulfilled the task which i have undertaken, on account of the great magnitude of the subject, i have, at all events, endeavoured to fulfil it, for i have devoted much labour and care, and have even gone to some expense upon it; for with regard to the veins, tools, vessels, sluices, machines, and furnaces, i have not only described them, but have also hired illustrators to delineate their forms, lest descriptions which are conveyed by words should either not be understood by men of our own times, or should cause difficulty to posterity, in the same way as to us difficulty is often caused by many names which the ancients (because such words were familiar to all of them) have handed down to us without any explanation. i have omitted all those things which i have not myself seen, or have not read or heard of from persons upon whom i can rely. that which i have neither seen, nor carefully considered after reading or hearing of, i have not written about. the same rule must be understood with regard to all my instruction, whether i enjoin things which ought to be done, or describe things which are usual, or condemn things which are done. since the art of mining does not lend itself to elegant language, these books of mine are correspondingly lacking in refinement of style. the things dealt with in this art of metals sometimes lack names, either because they are new, or because, even if they are old, the record of the names by which they were formerly known has been lost. for this reason i have been forced by a necessity, for which i must be pardoned, to describe some of them by a number of words combined, and to distinguish others by new names,--to which latter class belong _ingestor_, _discretor_, _lotor_, and _excoctor_.[ ] other things, again, i have alluded to by old names, such as the _cisium_; for when nonius marcellus wrote,[ ] this was the name of a two-wheeled vehicle, but i have adopted it for a small vehicle which has only one wheel; and if anyone does not approve of these names, let him either find more appropriate ones for these things, or discover the words used in the writings of the ancients. these books, most illustrious princes, are dedicated to you for many reasons, and, above all others, because metals have proved of the greatest value to you; for though your ancestors drew rich profits from the revenues of their vast and wealthy territories, and likewise from the taxes which were paid by the foreigners by way of toll and by the natives by way of tithes, yet they drew far richer profits from the mines. because of the mines not a few towns have risen into eminence, such as freiberg, annaberg, marienberg, schneeberg, geyer, and altenberg, not to mention others. nay, if i understand anything, greater wealth now lies hidden beneath the ground in the mountainous parts of your territory than is visible and apparent above ground. farewell. _chemnitz, saxony, december first, ._ footnotes: [ ] for agricola's relations with these princes see p. ix. [ ] lucius junius moderatus columella was a roman, a native of cadiz, and lived during the st century. he was the author of _de re rustica_ in books. it was first printed in , and some fifteen or sixteen editions had been printed before agricola's death. [ ] we give a short review of pliny's _naturalis historia_ in the appendix b. [ ] this work is not extant, as agricola duly notes later on. strato succeeded theophrastus as president of the lyceum, b.c. [ ] for note on theophrastus see appendix b. [ ] it appears that the poet philo did write a work on mining which is not extant. so far as we know the only reference to this work is in athenæus' ( a.d.) _deipnosophistae_. the passage as it appears in c. d. yonge's translation (bonn's library, london, , vol. ii, book vii, p. ) is: "and there is a similar fish produced in the red sea which is called stromateus; it has gold-coloured lines running along the whole of his body, as philo tells us in his book on mines." there is a fragment of a poem of pherecrates, entitled "miners," but it seems to have little to do with mining. [ ] the title given by agricola _de materiae metallicae et metallorum experimento_ is difficult to identify. it seems likely to be the little _probier büchlein_, numbers of which were published in german in the first half of the th century. we discuss this work at some length in the appendix b on ancient authors. [ ] pandulfus, "the englishman," is mentioned by various th and th century writers, and in the preface of mathias farinator's _liber moralitatum ... rerum naturalium_, etc., printed in augsburg, , there is a list of books among which appears a reference to a work by pandulfus on veins and minerals. we have not been able to find the book. [ ] jacobi (_der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, , p. ) says: "calbus freibergius, so called by agricola himself, is certainly no other than the freiberg doctor rühlein von kalbe; he was, according to möller, a doctor and burgomaster at freiberg at the end of the th and the beginning of the th centuries.... the chronicler describes him as a fine mathematician, who helped to survey and design the mining towns of annaberg in and marienberg in ." we would call attention to the statement of calbus' views, quoted at the end of book iii, _de re metallica_ (p. ), which are astonishingly similar to statements in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, and leave little doubt that this "calbus" was the author of that anonymous book on veins. for further discussion see appendix b. [ ] for discussion of biringuccio see appendix b. the proper title is _de la pirotechnia_ (venice, ). [ ] hermolaus barbarus, according to watt (_bibliotheca britannica_, london, ), was a lecturer on philosophy in padua. he was born in , died in , and was the author of a number of works on medicine, natural history, etc., with commentaries on the older authors. [ ] the debt which humanity does owe to these self-styled philosophers must not be overlooked, for the science of chemistry comes from three sources--alchemy, medicine and metallurgy. however polluted the former of these may be, still the vast advance which it made by the discovery of the principal acids, alkalis, and the more common of their salts, should be constantly recognized. it is obviously impossible, within the space of a footnote, to give anything but the most casual notes as to the personages here mentioned and their writings. aside from the classics and religious works, the libraries of the middle ages teemed with more material on alchemy than on any other one subject, and since that date a never-ending stream of historical, critical, and discursive volumes and tracts devoted to the old alchemists and their writings has been poured upon the world. a collection recently sold in london, relating to paracelsus alone, embraced over seven hundred volumes. of many of the alchemists mentioned by agricola little is really known, and no two critics agree as to the commonest details regarding many of them; in fact, an endless confusion springs from the negligent habit of the lesser alchemists of attributing the authorship of their writings to more esteemed members of their own ilk, such as hermes, osthanes, etc., not to mention the palpable spuriousness of works under the names of the real philosophers, such as aristotle, plato, or moses, and even of jesus christ. knowledge of many of the authors mentioned by agricola does not extend beyond the fact that the names mentioned are appended to various writings, in some instances to mss yet unpublished. they may have been actual persons, or they may not. agricola undoubtedly had perused such manuscripts and books in some leading library, as the quotation from boerhaave given later shows. shaw (a new method of chemistry, etc., london, . vol. i, p. ) considers that the large number of such manuscripts in the european libraries at this time were composed or transcribed by monks and others living in constantinople, alexandria, and athens, who fled westward before the turkish invasion, bringing their works with them. for purposes of this summary we group the names mentioned by agricola, the first class being of those who are known only as names appended to mss or not identifiable at all. possibly a more devoted student of the history of alchemy would assign fewer names to this department of oblivion. they are maria the jewess, orus chrysorichites, chanes, petasius, pebichius, theophilus, callides, veradianus, rodianus, canides, the maiden taphnutia, johannes, augustinus, and africanus. the last three are names so common as not to be possible of identification without more particulars, though johannes may be the johannes rupeseissa ( ), an alchemist of some note. many of these names can be found among the bishops and prelates of the early christian church, but we doubt if their owners would ever be identified with such indiscretions as open, avowed alchemy. the theophilus mentioned might be the metal-working monk of the th century, who is further discussed in appendix b on ancient authors. in the next group fall certain names such as osthanes, hermes, zosimus, agathodaemon, and democritus, which have been the watchwords of authority to alchemists of all ages. these certainly possessed the great secrets, either the philosopher's stone or the elixir. hermes trismegistos was a legendary egyptian personage supposed to have flourished before , b.c., and by some considered to be a corruption of the god thoth. he is supposed to have written a number of works, but those extant have been demonstrated to date not prior to the second century; he is referred to by the later greek alchemists, and was believed to have possessed the secret of transmutation. osthanes was also a very shadowy personage, and was considered by some alchemists to have been an egyptian prior to hermes, by others to have been the teacher of zoroaster. pliny mentions a magician of this name who accompanied xerxes' army. later there are many others of this name, and the most probable explanation is that this was a favourite pseudonym for ancient magicians; there is a very old work, of no great interest, in mss in latin and greek, in the munich, gotha, vienna, and other libraries, by one of this name. agathodaemon was still another shadowy character referred to by the older alchemists. there are mss in the florence, paris, escurial, and munich libraries bearing his name, but nothing tangible is known as to whether he was an actual man or if these writings are not of a much later period than claimed. to the next group belong the greek alchemists, who flourished during the rise and decline of alexandria, from b.c. to a.d., and we give them in order of their dates. comerius was considered by his later fellow professionals to have been the teacher of the art to cleopatra ( st century b.c.), and a mss with a title to that effect exists in the bibliothèque nationale at paris. the celebrated cleopatra seems to have stood very high in the estimation of the alchemists; perhaps her doubtful character found a response among them; there are various works extant in mss attributed to her, but nothing can be known as to their authenticity. lucius apulejus or apuleius was born in numidia about the nd century; he was a roman platonic philosopher, and was the author of a romance, "the metamorphosis, or the golden ass." synesius was a greek, but of unknown period; there is a mss treatise on the philosopher's stone in the library at leyden under his name, and various printed works are attributed to him; he mentions "water of saltpetre," and has, therefore, been hazarded to be the earliest recorder of nitric acid. the work here referred to as "heliodorus to theodosius" was probably the mss in the libraries at paris, vienna, munich, etc., under the title of "heliodorus the philosopher's poem to the emperor theodosius the great on the mystic art of the philosophers, etc." his period would, therefore, be about the th century. the alexandrian zosimus is more generally known as zosimus the panopolite, from panopolis, an ancient town on the nile; he flourished in the th century, and belonged to the alexandrian school of alchemists; he should not be confused with the roman historian of the same name and period. the following statement is by boerhaave (_elementa chemiae_, paris, , chap. i.):--"the name chemistry written in greek, or _chemia_, is so ancient as perhaps to have been used in the antediluvian age. of this opinion was zosimus the panopolite, whose greek writings, though known as long as before the year to george agricola, and afterwards perused ... by jas. scaliger and olaus borrichius, still remain unpublished in the king of france's library. in one of these, entitled, 'the instruction of zosimus the panopolite and philosopher, out of those written to theosebia, etc....'" olympiodorus was an alexandrian of the th century, whose writings were largely commentaries on plato and aristotle; he is sometimes accredited with being the first to describe white arsenic (arsenical oxide). the full title of the work styled "stephanus to heracleus caesar," as published in latin at padua in , was "stephan of alexandria, the universal philosopher and master, his nine processes on the great art of making gold and silver, addressed to the emperor heraclius." he, therefore, if authentic, dates in the th century. to the next class belong those of the middle ages, which we give in order of date. the works attributed to geber play such an important part in the history of chemistry and metallurgy that we discuss his book at length in appendix b. late criticism indicates that this work was not the production of an th century arab, but a compilation of some latin scholar of the th or th centuries. arnold de villa nova, born about , died in , was celebrated as a physician, philosopher, and chemist; his first works were published in lyons in ; many of them have apparently never been printed, for references may be found to some different works. raymond lully, a spaniard, born in , who was a disciple of arnold de villa nova, was stoned to death in africa in . there are extant over works attributed to this author, although again the habit of disciples of writing under the master's name may be responsible for most of these. john aurelio augurello was an italian classicist, born in rimini about . the work referred to, _chrysopoeia et gerontica_ is a poem on the art of making gold, etc., published in venice, , and re-published frequently thereafter; it is much quoted by alchemists. with regard to merlin, as satisfactory an account as any of this truly english magician may be found in mark twain's "yankee at the court of king arthur." it is of some interest to note that agricola omits from his list avicenna ( - a.d.), roger bacon ( - ), albertus magnus ( - ), basil valentine (end th century?), and paracelsus, a contemporary of his own. in _de ortu et causis_ he expends much thought on refutation of theories advanced by avicenna and albertus, but of the others we have found no mention, although their work is, from a chemical point of view, of considerable importance. [ ] _ingestor_,--carrier; _discretor_,--sorter; _lotor_,--washer; _excoctor_,--smelter. [ ] nonius marcellus was a roman grammarian of the th century b.c. his extant treatise is entitled, _de compendiosa doctrina per litteras ad filium_. book i. many persons hold the opinion that the metal industries are fortuitous and that the occupation is one of sordid toil, and altogether a kind of business requiring not so much skill as labour. but as for myself, when i reflect carefully upon its special points one by one, it appears to be far otherwise. for a miner must have the greatest skill in his work, that he may know first of all what mountain or hill, what valley or plain, can be prospected most profitably, or what he should leave alone; moreover, he must understand the veins, stringers[ ] and seams in the rocks[ ]. then he must be thoroughly familiar with the many and varied species of earths, juices[ ], gems, stones, marbles, rocks, metals, and compounds[ ]. he must also have a complete knowledge of the method of making all underground works. lastly, there are the various systems of assaying[ ] substances and of preparing them for smelting; and here again there are many altogether diverse methods. for there is one method for gold and silver, another for copper, another for quicksilver, another for iron, another for lead, and even tin and bismuth[ ] are treated differently from lead. although the evaporation of juices is an art apparently quite distinct from metallurgy, yet they ought not to be considered separately, inasmuch as these juices are also often dug out of the ground solidified, or they are produced from certain kinds of earth and stones which the miners dig up, and some of the juices are not themselves devoid of metals. again, their treatment is not simple, since there is one method for common salt, another for soda[ ], another for alum, another for vitriol[ ], another for sulphur, and another for bitumen. furthermore, there are many arts and sciences of which a miner should not be ignorant. first there is philosophy, that he may discern the origin, cause, and nature of subterranean things; for then he will be able to dig out the veins easily and advantageously, and to obtain more abundant results from his mining. secondly, there is medicine, that he may be able to look after his diggers and other workmen, that they do not meet with those diseases to which they are more liable than workmen in other occupations, or if they do meet with them, that he himself may be able to heal them or may see that the doctors do so. thirdly follows astronomy, that he may know the divisions of the heavens and from them judge the direction of the veins. fourthly, there is the science of surveying that he may be able to estimate how deep a shaft should be sunk to reach the tunnel which is being driven to it, and to determine the limits and boundaries in these workings, especially in depth. fifthly, his knowledge of arithmetical science should be such that he may calculate the cost to be incurred in the machinery and the working of the mine. sixthly, his learning must comprise architecture, that he himself may construct the various machines and timber work required underground, or that he may be able to explain the method of the construction to others. next, he must have knowledge of drawing, that he can draw plans of his machinery. lastly, there is the law, especially that dealing with metals, that he may claim his own rights, that he may undertake the duty of giving others his opinion on legal matters, that he may not take another man's property and so make trouble for himself, and that he may fulfil his obligations to others according to the law. it is therefore necessary that those who take an interest in the methods and precepts of mining and metallurgy should read these and others of our books studiously and diligently; or on every point they should consult expert mining people, though they will discover few who are skilled in the whole art. as a rule one man understands only the methods of mining, another possesses the knowledge of washing[ ], another is experienced in the art of smelting, another has a knowledge of measuring the hidden parts of the earth, another is skilful in the art of making machines, and finally, another is learned in mining law. but as for us, though we may not have perfected the whole art of the discovery and preparation of metals, at least we can be of great assistance to persons studious in its acquisition. but let us now approach the subject we have undertaken. since there has always been the greatest disagreement amongst men concerning metals and mining, some praising, others utterly condemning them, therefore i have decided that before imparting my instruction, i should carefully weigh the facts with a view to discovering the truth in this matter. so i may begin with the question of utility, which is a two-fold one, for either it may be asked whether the art of mining is really profitable or not to those who are engaged in it, or whether it is useful or not to the rest of mankind. those who think mining of no advantage to the men who follow the occupation assert, first, that scarcely one in a hundred who dig metals or other such things derive profit therefrom; and again, that miners, because they entrust their certain and well-established wealth to dubious and slippery fortune, generally deceive themselves, and as a result, impoverished by expenses and losses, in the end spend the most bitter and most miserable of lives. but persons who hold these views do not perceive how much a learned and experienced miner differs from one ignorant and unskilled in the art. the latter digs out the ore without any careful discrimination, while the former first assays and proves it, and when he finds the veins either too narrow and hard, or too wide and soft, he infers therefrom that these cannot be mined profitably, and so works only the approved ones. what wonder then if we find the incompetent miner suffers loss, while the competent one is rewarded by an abundant return from his mining? the same thing applies to husbandmen. for those who cultivate land which is alike arid, heavy, and barren, and in which they sow seeds, do not make so great a harvest as those who cultivate a fertile and mellow soil and sow their grain in that. and since by far the greater number of miners are unskilled rather than skilled in the art, it follows that mining is a profitable occupation to very few men, and a source of loss to many more. therefore the mass of miners who are quite unskilled and ignorant in the knowledge of veins not infrequently lose both time and trouble[ ]. such men are accustomed for the most part to take to mining, either when through being weighted with the fetters of large and heavy debts, they have abandoned a business, or desiring to change their occupation, have left the reaping-hook and plough; and so if at any time such a man discovers rich veins or other abounding mining produce, this occurs more by good luck than through any knowledge on his part. we learn from history that mining has brought wealth to many, for from old writings it is well known that prosperous republics, not a few kings, and many private persons, have made fortunes through mines and their produce. this subject, by the use of many clear and illustrious examples, i have dilated upon and explained in the first book of my work entitled "_de veteribus et novis metallis_," from which it is evident that mining is very profitable to those who give it care and attention. again, those who condemn the mining industry say that it is not in the least stable, and they glorify agriculture beyond measure. but i do not see how they can say this with truth, for the silver mines at freiberg in meissen remain still unexhausted after years, and the lead mines of goslar after years. the proof of this can be found in the monuments of history. the gold and silver mines belonging to the communities of schemnitz and cremnitz have been worked for years, and these latter are said to be the most ancient privileges of the inhabitants. some then say the profit from an individual mine is unstable, as if forsooth, the miner is, or ought to be dependent on only one mine, and as if many men do not bear in common their expenses in mining, or as if one experienced in his art does not dig another vein, if fortune does not amply respond to his prayers in the first case. the new schönberg at freiberg has remained stable beyond the memory of man[ ]. it is not my intention to detract anything from the dignity of agriculture, and that the profits of mining are less stable i will always and readily admit, for the veins do in time cease to yield metals, whereas the fields bring forth fruits every year. but though the business of mining may be less reliable it is more productive, so that in reckoning up, what is wanting in stability is found to be made up by productiveness. indeed, the yearly profit of a lead mine in comparison with the fruitfulness of the best fields, is three times or at least twice as great. how much does the profit from gold or silver mines exceed that earned from agriculture? wherefore truly and shrewdly does xenophon[ ] write about the athenian silver mines: "there is land of such a nature that if you sow, it does not yield crops, but if you dig, it nourishes many more than if it had borne fruit." so let the farmers have for themselves the fruitful fields and cultivate the fertile hills for the sake of their produce; but let them leave to miners the gloomy valleys and sterile mountains, that they may draw forth from these, gems and metals which can buy, not only the crops, but all things that are sold. the critics say further that mining is a perilous occupation to pursue, because the miners are sometimes killed by the pestilential air which they breathe; sometimes their lungs rot away; sometimes the men perish by being crushed in masses of rock; sometimes, falling from the ladders into the shafts, they break their arms, legs, or necks; and it is added there is no compensation which should be thought great enough to equalize the extreme dangers to safety and life. these occurrences, i confess, are of exceeding gravity, and moreover, fraught with terror and peril, so that i should consider that the metals should not be dug up at all, if such things were to happen very frequently to the miners, or if they could not safely guard against such risks by any means. who would not prefer to live rather than to possess all things, even the metals? for he who thus perishes possesses nothing, but relinquishes all to his heirs. but since things like this rarely happen, and only in so far as workmen are careless, they do not deter miners from carrying on their trade any more than it would deter a carpenter from his, because one of his mates has acted incautiously and lost his life by falling from a high building. i have thus answered each argument which critics are wont to put before me when they assert that mining is an undesirable occupation, because it involves expense with uncertainty of return, because it is changeable, and because it is dangerous to those engaged in it. now i come to those critics who say that mining is not useful to the rest of mankind because forsooth, gems, metals, and other mineral products are worthless in themselves. this admission they try to extort from us, partly by arguments and examples, partly by misrepresentations and abuse of us. first, they make use of this argument: "the earth does not conceal and remove from our eyes those things which are useful and necessary to mankind, but on the contrary, like a beneficent and kindly mother she yields in large abundance from her bounty and brings into the light of day the herbs, vegetables, grains, and fruits, and the trees. the minerals on the other hand she buries far beneath in the depth of the ground; therefore, they should not be sought. but they are dug out by wicked men who, as the poets say, are the products of the iron age." ovid censures their audacity in the following lines:-- "and not only was the rich soil required to furnish corn and due sustenance, but men even descended into the entrails of the earth, and they dug up riches, those incentives to vice, which the earth had hidden and had removed to the stygian shades. then destructive iron came forth, and gold, more destructive than iron; then war came forth."[ ] another of their arguments is this: metals offer to men no advantages, therefore we ought not to search them out. for whereas man is composed of soul and body, neither is in want of minerals. the sweetest food of the soul is the contemplation of nature, a knowledge of the finest arts and sciences, an understanding of virtue; and if he interests his mind in excellent things, if he exercise his body, he will be satisfied with this feast of noble thoughts and knowledge, and have no desire for other things. now although the human body may be content with necessary food and clothing, yet the fruits of the earth and the animals of different kinds supply him in wonderful abundance with food and drink, from which the body may be suitably nourished and strengthened and life prolonged to old age. flax, wool, and the skins of many animals provide plentiful clothing low in price; while a luxurious kind, not hard to procure--that is the so called _seric_ material, is furnished by the down of trees and the webs of the silk worm. so that the body has absolutely no need of the metals, so hidden in the depths of the earth and for the greater part very expensive. wherefore it is said that this maxim of euripides is approved in assemblies of learned men, and with good reason was always on the lips of socrates: "works of silver and purple are of use, not for human life, but rather for tragedians."[ ] these critics praise also this saying from timocreon of rhodes: "o unseeing plutus, would that thou hadst never appeared in the earth or in the sea or on the land, but that thou didst have thy habitation in tartarus and acheron, for out of thee arise all evil things which overtake mankind"[ ]. they greatly extol these lines from phocylides: "gold and silver are injurious to mortals; gold is the source of crime, the plague of life, and the ruin of all things. would that thou were not such an attractive scourge! because of thee arise robberies, homicides, warfare, brothers are maddened against brothers, and children against parents." this from naumachius also pleases them: "gold and silver are but dust, like the stones that lie scattered on the pebbly beach, or on the margins of the rivers." on the other hand, they censure these verses of euripides: "plutus is the god for wise men; all else is mere folly and at the same time a deception in words." so in like manner these lines from theognis: "o plutus, thou most beautiful and placid god! whilst i have thee, however bad i am, i can be regarded as good." they also blame aristodemus, the spartan, for these words: "money makes the man; no one who is poor is either good or honoured." and they rebuke these songs of timocles: "money is the life and soul of mortal men. he who has not heaped up riches for himself wanders like a dead man amongst the living." finally, they blame menander when he wrote: "epicharmus asserts that the gods are water, wind, fire, earth, sun, and stars. but i am of opinion that the gods of any use to us are silver and gold; for if thou wilt set these up in thy house thou mayest seek whatever thou wilt. all things will fall to thy lot; land, houses, slaves, silver-work; moreover friends, judges, and witnesses. only give freely, for thus thou hast the gods to serve thee." but besides this, the strongest argument of the detractors is that the fields are devastated by mining operations, for which reason formerly italians were warned by law that no one should dig the earth for metals and so injure their very fertile fields, their vineyards, and their olive groves. also they argue that the woods and groves are cut down, for there is need of an endless amount of wood for timbers, machines, and the smelting of metals. and when the woods and groves are felled, then are exterminated the beasts and birds, very many of which furnish a pleasant and agreeable food for man. further, when the ores are washed, the water which has been used poisons the brooks and streams, and either destroys the fish or drives them away. therefore the inhabitants of these regions, on account of the devastation of their fields, woods, groves, brooks and rivers, find great difficulty in procuring the necessaries of life, and by reason of the destruction of the timber they are forced to greater expense in erecting buildings. thus it is said, it is clear to all that there is greater detriment from mining than the value of the metals which the mining produces. so in fierce contention they clamour, showing by such examples as follow that every great man has been content with virtue, and despised metals. they praise bias because he esteemed the metals merely as fortune's playthings, not as his real wealth. when his enemies had captured his native priene, and his fellow-citizens laden with precious things had betaken themselves to flight, he was asked by one, why he carried away none of his goods with him, and he replied, "i carry all my possessions with me." and it is said that socrates, having received twenty minae sent to him by aristippus, a grateful disciple, refused them and sent them back to him by the command of his conscience. aristippus, following his example in this matter, despised gold and regarded it as of no value. and once when he was making a journey with his slaves, and they, laden with the gold, went too slowly, he ordered them to keep only as much of it as they could carry without distress and to throw away the remainder[ ]. moreover, anacreon of teos, an ancient and noble poet, because he had been troubled about them for two nights, returned five talents which had been given him by polycrates, saying that they were not worth the anxiety which he had gone through on their account. in like manner celebrated and exceedingly powerful princes have imitated the philosophers in their scorn and contempt for gold and silver. there was for example, phocion, the athenian, who was appointed general of the army so many times, and who, when a large sum of gold was sent to him as a gift by alexander, king of macedon, deemed it trifling and scorned it. and marcus curius ordered the gold to be carried back to the samnites, as did also fabricius luscinus with regard to the silver and copper. and certain republics have forbidden their citizens the use and employment of gold and silver by law and ordinance; the lacedaemonians, by the decrees and ordinances of lycurgus, used diligently to enquire among their citizens whether they possessed any of these things or not, and the possessor, when he was caught, was punished according to law and justice. the inhabitants of a town on the tigris, called babytace, buried their gold in the ground so that no one should use it. the scythians condemned the use of gold and silver so that they might not become avaricious. further are the metals reviled; in the first place people wantonly abuse gold and silver and call them deadly and nefarious pests of the human race, because those who possess them are in the greatest peril, for those who have none lay snares for the possessors of wealth, and thus again and again the metals have been the cause of destruction and ruin. for example, polymnestor, king of thrace, to obtain possession of his gold, killed polydorus, his noble guest and the son of priam, his father-in-law, and old friend. pygmalion, the king of tyre, in order that he might seize treasures of gold and silver, killed his sister's husband, a priest, taking no account of either kinship or religion. for love of gold eriphyle betrayed her husband amphiaraus to his enemy. likewise lasthenes betrayed the city of olynthus to philip of macedon. the daughter of spurius tarpeius, having been bribed with gold, admitted the sabines into the citadel of rome. claudius curio sold his country for gold to cæsar, the dictator. gold, too, was the cause of the downfall of aesculapius, the great physician, who it was believed was the son of apollo. similarly marcus crassus, through his eager desire for the gold of the parthians, was completely overcome together with his son and eleven legions, and became the jest of his enemies; for they poured liquid gold into the gaping mouth of the slain crassus, saying: "thou hast thirsted for gold, therefore drink gold." but why need i cite here these many examples from history?[ ] it is almost our daily experience to learn that, for the sake of obtaining gold and silver, doors are burst open, walls are pierced, wretched travellers are struck down by rapacious and cruel men born to theft, sacrilege, invasion, and robbery. we see thieves seized and strung up before us, sacrilegious persons burnt alive, the limbs of robbers broken on the wheel, wars waged for the same reason, which are not only destructive to those against whom they are waged, but to those also who carry them on. nay, but they say that the precious metals foster all manner of vice, such as the seduction of women, adultery, and unchastity, in short, crimes of violence against the person. therefore the poets, when they represent jove transformed into a golden shower and falling into the lap of danae, merely mean that he had found for himself a safe road by the use of gold, by which he might enter the tower for the purpose of violating the maiden. moreover, the fidelity of many men is overthrown by the love of gold and silver, judicial sentences are bought, and innumerable crimes are perpetrated. for truly, as propertius says: "this is indeed the golden age. the greatest rewards come from gold; by gold love is won; by gold is faith destroyed; by gold is justice bought; the law follows the track of gold, while modesty will soon follow it when law is gone." diphilus says: "i consider that nothing is more powerful than gold. by it all things are torn asunder; all things are accomplished." therefore, all the noblest and best despise these riches, deservedly and with justice, and esteem them as nothing. and this is said by the old man in plautus: "i hate gold. it has often impelled many people to many wrong acts." in this country too, the poets inveigh with stinging reproaches against money coined from gold and silver. and especially did juvenal: "since the majesty of wealth is the most sacred thing among us; although, o pernicious money, thou dost not yet inhabit a temple, nor have we erected altars to money." and in another place: "demoralising money first introduced foreign customs, and voluptuous wealth weakened our race with disgraceful luxury."[ ] and very many vehemently praise the barter system which men used before money was devised, and which even now obtains among certain simple peoples. and next they raise a great outcry against other metals, as iron, than which they say nothing more pernicious could have been brought into the life of man. for it is employed in making swords, javelins, spears, pikes, arrows--weapons by which men are wounded, and which cause slaughter, robbery, and wars. these things so moved the wrath of pliny that he wrote: "iron is used not only in hand to hand fighting, but also to form the winged missiles of war, sometimes for hurling engines, sometimes for lances, sometimes even for arrows. i look upon it as the most deadly fruit of human ingenuity. for to bring death to men more quickly we have given wings to iron and taught it to fly."[ ] the spear, the arrow from the bow, or the bolt from the catapult and other engines can be driven into the body of only one man, while the iron cannon-ball fired through the air, can go through the bodies of many men, and there is no marble or stone object so hard that it cannot be shattered by the force and shock. therefore it levels the highest towers to the ground, shatters and destroys the strongest walls. certainly the ballistas which throw stones, the battering rams and other ancient war engines for making breaches in walls of fortresses and hurling down strongholds, seem to have little power in comparison with our present cannon. these emit horrible sounds and noises, not less than thunder, flashes of fire burst from them like the lightning, striking, crushing, and shattering buildings, belching forth flames and kindling fires even as lightning flashes. so that with more justice could it be said of the impious men of our age than of salmoneus of ancient days, that they had snatched lightning from jupiter and wrested it from his hands. nay, rather there has been sent from the infernal regions to the earth this force for the destruction of men, so that death may snatch to himself as many as possible by one stroke. but because muskets are nowadays rarely made of iron, and the large ones never, but of a certain mixture of copper and tin, they confer more maledictions on copper and tin than on iron. in this connection too, they mention the brazen bull of phalaris, the brazen ox of the people of pergamus, racks in the shape of an iron dog or a horse, manacles, shackles, wedges, hooks, and red-hot plates. cruelly racked by such instruments, people are driven to confess crimes and misdeeds which they have never committed, and innocent men are miserably tortured to death by every conceivable kind of torment. it is claimed too, that lead is a pestilential and noxious metal, for men are punished by means of molten lead, as horace describes in the ode addressed to the goddess fortune: "cruel necessity ever goes before thee bearing in her brazen hand the spikes and wedges, while the awful hook and molten lead are also not lacking."[ ] in their desire to excite greater odium for this metal, they are not silent about the leaden balls of muskets, and they find in it the cause of wounds and death. they contend that, inasmuch as nature has concealed metals far within the depths of the earth, and because they are not necessary to human life, they are therefore despised and repudiated by the noblest, and should not be mined, and seeing that when brought to light they have always proved the cause of very great evils, it follows that mining is not useful to mankind, but on the contrary harmful and destructive. several good men have been so perturbed by these tragedies that they conceive an intensely bitter hatred toward metals, and they wish absolutely that metals had never been created, or being created, that no one had ever dug them out. the more i commend the singular honesty, innocence, and goodness of such men, the more anxious shall i be to remove utterly and eradicate all error from their minds and to reveal the sound view, which is that the metals are most useful to mankind. in the first place then, those who speak ill of the metals and refuse to make use of them, do not see that they accuse and condemn as wicked the creator himself, when they assert that he fashioned some things vainly and without good cause, and thus they regard him as the author of evils, which opinion is certainly not worthy of pious and sensible men. in the next place, the earth does not conceal metals in her depths because she does not wish that men should dig them out, but because provident and sagacious nature has appointed for each thing its place. she generates them in the veins, stringers, and seams in the rocks, as though in special vessels and receptacles for such material. the metals cannot be produced in the other elements because the materials for their formation are wanting. for if they were generated in the air, a thing that rarely happens, they could not find a firm resting-place, but by their own force and weight would settle down on to the ground. seeing then that metals have their proper abiding place in the bowels of the earth, who does not see that these men do not reach their conclusions by good logic? they say, "although metals are in the earth, each located in its own proper place where it originated, yet because they lie thus enclosed and hidden from sight, they should not be taken out." but, in refutation of these attacks, which are so annoying, i will on behalf of the metals instance the fish, which we catch, hidden and concealed though they be in the water, even in the sea. indeed, it is far stranger that man, a terrestrial animal, should search the interior of the sea than the bowels of the earth. for as birds are born to fly freely through the air, so are fishes born to swim through the waters, while to other creatures nature has given the earth that they might live in it, and particularly to man that he might cultivate it and draw out of its caverns metals and other mineral products. on the other hand, they say that we eat fish, but neither hunger nor thirst is dispelled by minerals, nor are they useful in clothing the body, which is another argument by which these people strive to prove that metals should not be taken out. but man without metals cannot provide those things which he needs for food and clothing. for, though the produce of the land furnishes the greatest abundance of food for the nourishment of our bodies, no labour can be carried on and completed without tools. the ground itself is turned up with ploughshares and harrows, tough stalks and the tops of the roots are broken off and dug up with a mattock, the sown seed is harrowed, the corn field is hoed and weeded; the ripe grain with part of the stalk is cut down by scythes and threshed on the floor, or its ears are cut off and stored in the barn and later beaten with flails and winnowed with fans, until finally the pure grain is stored in the granary, whence it is brought forth again when occasion demands or necessity arises. again, if we wish to procure better and more productive fruits from trees and bushes, we must resort to cultivating, pruning, and grafting, which cannot be done without tools. even as without vessels we cannot keep or hold liquids, such as milk, honey, wine, or oil, neither could so many living things be cared for without buildings to protect them from long-continued rain and intolerable cold. most of the rustic instruments are made of iron, as ploughshares, share-beams, mattocks, the prongs of harrows, hoes, planes, hay-forks, straw cutters, pruning shears, pruning hooks, spades, lances, forks, and weed cutters. vessels are also made of copper or lead. neither are wooden instruments or vessels made without iron. wine cellars, oil-mills, stables, or any other part of a farm building could not be built without iron tools. then if the bull, the wether, the goat, or any other domestic animal is led away from the pasture to the butcher, or if the poulterer brings from the farm a chicken, a hen, or a capon for the cook, could any of these animals be cut up and divided without axes and knives? i need say nothing here about bronze and copper pots for cooking, because for these purposes one could make use of earthen vessels, but even these in turn could not be made and fashioned by the potter without tools, for no instruments can be made out of wood alone, without the use of iron. furthermore, hunting, fowling, and fishing supply man with food, but when the stag has been ensnared does not the hunter transfix him with his spear? as he stands or runs, does he not pierce him with an arrow? or pierce him with a bullet? does not the fowler in the same way kill the moor-fowl or pheasant with an arrow? or does he not discharge into its body the ball from the musket? i will not speak of the snares and other instruments with which the woodcock, woodpecker, and other wild birds are caught, lest i pursue unseasonably and too minutely single instances. lastly, with his fish-hook and net does not the fisherman catch the fish in the sea, in the lakes, in fish-ponds, or in rivers? but the hook is of iron, and sometimes we see lead or iron weights attached to the net. and most fish that are caught are afterward cut up and disembowelled with knives and axes. but, more than enough has been said on the matter of food. now i will speak of clothing, which is made out of wool, flax, feathers, hair, fur, or leather. first the sheep are sheared, then the wool is combed. next the threads are drawn out, while later the warp is suspended in the shuttle under which passes the wool. this being struck by the comb, at length cloth is formed either from threads alone or from threads and hair. flax, when gathered, is first pulled by hooks. then it is dipped in water and afterward dried, beaten into tow with a heavy mallet, and carded, then drawn out into threads, and finally woven into cloth. but has the artisan or weaver of the cloth any instrument not made of iron? can one be made of wood without the aid of iron? the cloth or web must be cut into lengths for the tailor. can this be done without knife or scissors? can the tailor sew together any garments without a needle? even peoples dwelling beyond the seas cannot make a covering for their bodies, fashioned of feathers, without these same implements. neither can the furriers do without them in sewing together the pelts of any kind of animals. the shoemaker needs a knife to cut the leather, another to scrape it, and an awl to perforate it before he can make shoes. these coverings for the body are either woven or stitched. buildings too, which protect the same body from rain, wind, cold, and heat, are not constructed without axes, saws, and augers. but what need of more words? if we remove metals from the service of man, all methods of protecting and sustaining health and more carefully preserving the course of life are done away with. if there were no metals, men would pass a horrible and wretched existence in the midst of wild beasts; they would return to the acorns and fruits and berries of the forest. they would feed upon the herbs and roots which they plucked up with their nails. they would dig out caves in which to lie down at night, and by day they would rove in the woods and plains at random like beasts, and inasmuch as this condition is utterly unworthy of humanity, with its splendid and glorious natural endowment, will anyone be so foolish or obstinate as not to allow that metals are necessary for food and clothing and that they tend to preserve life? moreover, as the miners dig almost exclusively in mountains otherwise unproductive, and in valleys invested in gloom, they do either slight damage to the fields or none at all. lastly, where woods and glades are cut down, they may be sown with grain after they have been cleared from the roots of shrubs and trees. these new fields soon produce rich crops, so that they repair the losses which the inhabitants suffer from increased cost of timber. moreover, with the metals which are melted from the ore, birds without number, edible beasts and fish can be purchased elsewhere and brought to these mountainous regions. i will pass to the illustrations i have mentioned. bias of priene, when his country was taken, carried away out of the city none of his valuables. so strong a man with such a reputation for wisdom had no need to fear personal danger from the enemy, but this in truth cannot be said of him because he hastily took to flight; the throwing away of his goods does not seem to me so great a matter, for he had lost his house, his estates, and even his country, than which nothing is more precious. nay, i should be convinced of bias's contempt and scorn for possessions of this kind, if before his country was captured he had bestowed them freely on relations and friends, or had distributed them to the very poor, for this he could have done freely and without question. whereas his conduct, which the greeks admire so greatly, was due, it would seem, to his being driven out by the enemy and stricken with fear. socrates in truth did not despise gold, but would not accept money for his teaching. as for aristippus of cyrene, if he had gathered and saved the gold which he ordered his slaves to throw away, he might have bought the things which he needed for the necessaries of life, and he would not, by reason of his poverty, have then been obliged to flatter the tyrant dionysius, nor would he ever have been called by him a king's dog. for this reason horace, speaking of damasippus when reviling staberus for valuing riches very highly, says: "what resemblance has the grecian aristippus to this fellow? he who commanded his slaves to throw away the gold in the midst of libya because they went too slowly, impeded by the weight of their burden--which of these two men is the more insane?"[ ] insane indeed is he who makes more of riches than of virtue. insane also is he who rejects them and considers them as worth nothing, instead of using them with reason. yet as to the gold which aristippus on another occasion flung into the sea from a boat, this he did with a wise and prudent mind. for learning that it was a pirate boat in which he was sailing, and fearing for his life, he counted his gold and then throwing it of his own will into the sea, he groaned as if he had done it unwillingly. but afterward, when he escaped the peril, he said: "it is better that this gold itself should be lost than that i should have perished because of it." let it be granted that some philosophers, as well as anacreon of teos, despised gold and silver. anaxagoras of clazomenae also gave up his sheep-farms and became a shepherd. crates the theban too, being annoyed that his estate and other kinds of wealth caused him worry, and that in his contemplations his mind was thereby distracted, resigned a property valued at ten talents, and taking a cloak and wallet, in poverty devoted all his thought and efforts to philosophy. is it true that because these philosophers despised money, all others declined wealth in cattle? did they refuse to cultivate lands or to dwell in houses? there were certainly many, on the other hand, who, though affluent, became famous in the pursuit of learning and in the knowledge of divine and human laws, such as aristotle, cicero, and seneca. as for phocion, he did not deem it honest to accept the gold sent to him by alexander. for if he had consented to use it, the king as much as himself would have incurred the hatred and aversion of the athenians, and these very people were afterward so ungrateful toward this excellent man that they compelled him to drink hemlock. for what would have been less becoming to marcus curius and fabricius luscinus than to accept gold from their enemies, who hoped that by these means those leaders could be corrupted or would become odious to their fellow citizens, their purpose being to cause dissentions among the romans and destroy the republic utterly. lycurgus, however, ought to have given instructions to the spartans as to the use of gold and silver, instead of abolishing things good in themselves. as to the babytacenses, who does not see that they were senseless and envious? for with their gold they might have bought things of which they were in need, or even given it to neighbouring peoples to bind them more closely to themselves with gifts and favours. finally, the scythians, by condemning the use of gold and silver alone, did not free themselves utterly from avarice, because although he is not enjoying them, one who can possess other forms of property may also become avaricious. now let us reply to the attacks hurled against the products of mines. in the first place, they call gold and silver the scourge of mankind because they are the cause of destruction and ruin to their possessors. but in this manner, might not anything that we possess be called a scourge to human kind,--whether it be a horse, or a garment, or anything else? for, whether one rides a splendid horse, or journeys well clad, he would give occasion to a robber to kill him. are we then not to ride on horses, but to journey on foot, because a robber has once committed a murder in order that he may steal a horse? or are we not to possess clothing, because a vagabond with a sword has taken a traveller's life that he may rob him of his garment? the possession of gold and silver is similar. seeing then that men cannot conveniently do all these things, we should be on our guard against robbers, and because we cannot always protect ourselves from their hands, it is the special duty of the magistrate to seize wicked and villainous men for torture, and, if need be, for execution. again, the products of the mines are not themselves the cause of war. thus, for example, when a tyrant, inflamed with passion for a woman of great beauty, makes war on the inhabitants of her city, the fault lies in the unbridled lust of the tyrant and not in the beauty of the woman. likewise, when another man, blinded by a passion for gold and silver, makes war upon a wealthy people, we ought not to blame the metals but transfer all blame to avarice. for frenzied deeds and disgraceful actions, which are wont to weaken and dishonour natural and civil laws, originate from our own vices. wherefore tibullus is wrong in laying the blame for war on gold, when he says: "this is the fault of a rich man's gold; there were no wars when beech goblets were used at banquets." but virgil, speaking of polymnestor, says that the crime of the murderer rests on avarice: "he breaks all law; he murders polydorus, and obtains gold by violence. to what wilt thou not drive mortal hearts, thou accursed hunger for gold?" and again, justly, he says, speaking of pygmalion, who killed sichaeus: "and blinded with the love of gold, he slew him unawares with stealthy sword."[ ] for lust and eagerness after gold and other things make men blind, and this wicked greed for money, all men in all times and places have considered dishonourable and criminal. moreover, those who have been so addicted to avarice as to be its slaves have always been regarded as mean and sordid. similarly, too, if by means of gold and silver and gems men can overcome the chastity of women, corrupt the honour of many people, bribe the course of justice and commit innumerable wickednesses, it is not the metals which are to be blamed, but the evil passions of men which become inflamed and ignited; or it is due to the blind and impious desires of their minds. but although these attacks against gold and silver may be directed especially against money, yet inasmuch as the poets one after another condemn it, their criticism must be met, and this can be done by one argument alone. money is good for those who use it well; it brings loss and evil to those who use it ill. hence, very rightly, horace says: "dost thou not know the value of money; and what uses it serves? it buys bread, vegetables, and a pint of wine." and again in another place: "wealth hoarded up is the master or slave of each possessor; it should follow rather than lead, the 'twisted rope.'"[ ] when ingenious and clever men considered carefully the system of barter, which ignorant men of old employed and which even to-day is used by certain uncivilised and barbarous races, it appeared to them so troublesome and laborious that they invented money. indeed, nothing more useful could have been devised, because a small amount of gold and silver is of as great value as things cumbrous and heavy; and so peoples far distant from one another can, by the use of money, trade very easily in those things which civilised life can scarcely do without. the curses which are uttered against iron, copper, and lead have no weight with prudent and sensible men, because if these metals were done away with, men, as their anger swelled and their fury became unbridled, would assuredly fight like wild beasts with fists, heels, nails, and teeth. they would strike each other with sticks, hit one another with stones, or dash their foes to the ground. moreover, a man does not kill another with iron alone, but slays by means of poison, starvation, or thirst. he may seize him by the throat and strangle him; he may bury him alive in the ground; he may immerse him in water and suffocate him; he may burn or hang him; so that he can make every element a participant in the death of men. or, finally, a man may be thrown to the wild beasts. another may be sewn up wholly except his head in a sack, and thus be left to be devoured by worms; or he may be immersed in water until he is torn to pieces by sea-serpents. a man may be boiled in oil; he may be greased, tied with ropes, and left exposed to be stung by flies and hornets; he may be put to death by scourging with rods or beating with cudgels, or struck down by stoning, or flung from a high place. furthermore, a man may be tortured in more ways than one without the use of metals; as when the executioner burns the groins and armpits of his victim with hot wax; or places a cloth in his mouth gradually, so that when in breathing he draws it slowly into his gullet, the executioner draws it back suddenly and violently; or the victim's hands are fastened behind his back, and he is drawn up little by little with a rope and then let down suddenly. or similarly, he may be tied to a beam and a heavy stone fastened by a cord to his feet, or finally his limbs may be torn asunder. from these examples we see that it is not metals that are to be condemned, but our vices, such as anger, cruelty, discord, passion for power, avarice, and lust. the question next arises, whether we ought to count metals amongst the number of good things or class them amongst the bad. the peripatetics regarded all wealth as a good thing, and merely spoke of externals as having to do with neither the mind nor the body. well, let riches be an external thing. and, as they said, many other things may be classed as good if it is in one's power to use them either well or ill. for good men employ them for good, and to them they are useful. the wicked use them badly, and to them they are harmful. there is a saying of socrates, that just as wine is influenced by the cask, so the character of riches is like their possessors. the stoics, whose custom it is to argue subtly and acutely, though they did not put wealth in the category of good things, they did not count it amongst the evil ones, but placed it in that class which they term neutral. for to them virtue alone is good, and vice alone evil. the whole of what remains is indifferent. thus, in their conviction, it matters not whether one be in good health or seriously ill; whether one be handsome or deformed. in short: "whether, sprung from inachus of old, and thus hast lived beneath the sun in wealth, or hast been poor and despised among men, it matters not." for my part, i see no reason why anything that is in itself of use should not be placed in the class of good things. at all events, metals are a creation of nature, and they supply many varied and necessary needs of the human race, to say nothing about their uses in adornment, which are so wonderfully blended with utility. therefore, it is not right to degrade them from the place they hold among the good things. in truth, if there is a bad use made of them, should they on that account be rightly called evils? for of what good things can we not make an equally bad or good use? let me give examples from both classes of what we term good. wine, by far the best drink, if drunk in moderation, aids the digestion of food, helps to produce blood, and promotes the juices in all parts of the body. it is of use in nourishing not only the body but the mind as well, for it disperses our dark and gloomy thoughts, frees us from cares and anxiety, and restores our confidence. if drunk in excess, however, it injures and prostrates the body with serious disease. an intoxicated man keeps nothing to himself; he raves and rants, and commits many wicked and infamous acts. on this subject theognis wrote some very clever lines, which we may render thus: "wine is harmful if taken with greedy lips, but if drunk in moderation it is wholesome."[ ] but i linger too long over extraneous matters. i must pass on to the gifts of body and mind, amongst which strength, beauty, and genius occur to me. if then a man, relying on his strength, toils hard to maintain himself and his family in an honest and respectable manner, he uses the gift aright, but if he makes a living out of murder and robbery, he uses it wrongly. likewise, too, if a lovely woman is anxious to please her husband alone she uses her beauty aright, but if she lives wantonly and is a victim of passion, she misuses her beauty. in like manner, a youth who devotes himself to learning and cultivates the liberal arts, uses his genius rightly. but he who dissembles, lies, cheats, and deceives by fraud and dishonesty, misuses his abilities. now, the man who, because they are abused, denies that wine, strength, beauty, or genius are good things, is unjust and blasphemous towards the most high god, creator of the world; so he who would remove metals from the class of blessings also acts unjustly and blasphemously against him. very true, therefore, are the words which certain greek poets have written, as pindar: "money glistens, adorned with virtue; it supplies the means by which thou mayest act well in whatever circumstances fate may have in store for thee."[ ] and sappho: "without the love of virtue gold is a dangerous and harmful guest, but when it is associated with virtue, it becomes the source and height of good." and callimachus: "riches do not make men great without virtue; neither do virtues themselves make men great without some wealth." and antiphanes: "now, by the gods, why is it necessary for a man to grow rich? why does he desire to possess much money unless that he may, as much as possible, help his friends, and sow the seeds of a harvest of gratitude, sweetest of the goddesses."[ ] having thus refuted the arguments and contentions of adversaries, let us sum up the advantages of the metals. in the first place, they are useful to the physician, for they furnish liberally the ingredients for medicines, by which wounds and ulcers are cured, and even plagues; so that certainly if there were no other reasons why we should explore the depths of the earth, we should for the sake of medicine alone dig in the mines. again, the metals are of use to painters, because they yield certain pigments which, when united with the painter's slip, are injured less than others by the moisture from without. further, mining is useful to the architects, for thus is found marble, which is suitable not only for strengthening large buildings, but also for decoration. it is, moreover, helpful to those whose ambition urges them toward immortal glory, because it yields metals from which are made coins, statues, and other monuments, which, next to literary records, give men in a sense immortality. the metals are useful to merchants with very great cause, for, as i have stated elsewhere, the use of money which is made from metals is much more convenient to mankind than the old system of exchange of commodities. in short, to whom are the metals not of use? in very truth, even the works of art, elegant, embellished, elaborate, useful, are fashioned in various shapes by the artist from the metals gold, silver, brass, lead, and iron. how few artists could make anything that is beautiful and perfect without using metals? even if tools of iron or brass were not used, we could not make tools of wood and stone without the help of metal. from all these examples are evident the benefits and advantages derived from metals. we should not have had these at all unless the science of mining and metallurgy had been discovered and handed down to us. who then does not understand how highly useful they are, nay rather, how necessary to the human race? in a word, man could not do without the mining industry, nor did divine providence will that he should. further, it has been asked whether to work in metals is honourable employment for respectable people or whether it is not degrading and dishonourable. we ourselves count it amongst the honourable arts. for that art, the pursuit of which is unquestionably not impious, nor offensive, nor mean, we may esteem honourable. that this is the nature of the mining profession, inasmuch as it promotes wealth by good and honest methods, we shall show presently. with justice, therefore, we may class it amongst honourable employments. in the first place, the occupation of the miner, which i must be allowed to compare with other methods of acquiring great wealth, is just as noble as that of agriculture; for, as the farmer, sowing his seed in his fields injures no one, however profitable they may prove to him, so the miner digging for his metals, albeit he draws forth great heaps of gold or silver, hurts thereby no mortal man. certainly these two modes of increasing wealth are in the highest degree both noble and honourable. the booty of the soldier, however, is frequently impious, because in the fury of the fighting he seizes all goods, sacred as well as profane. the most just king may have to declare war on cruel tyrants, but in the course of it wicked men cannot lose their wealth and possessions without dragging into the same calamity innocent and poor people, old men, matrons, maidens, and orphans. but the miner is able to accumulate great riches in a short time, without using any violence, fraud, or malice. that old saying is, therefore, not always true that "every rich man is either wicked himself, or is the heir to wickedness." some, however, who contend against us, censure and attack miners by saying that they and their children must needs fall into penury after a short time, because they have heaped up riches by improper means. according to them nothing is truer than the saying of the poet naevius: "ill gotten gains in ill fashion slip away." the following are some of the wicked and sinful methods by which they say men obtain riches from mining. when a prospect of obtaining metals shows itself in a mine, either the ruler or magistrate drives out the rightful owners of the mines from possession, or a shrewd and cunning neighbour perhaps brings a law-suit against the old possessors in order to rob them of some part of their property. or the mine superintendent imposes on the owners such a heavy contribution on shares, that if they cannot pay, or will not, they lose their rights of possession; while the superintendent, contrary to all that is right, seizes upon all that they have lost. or, finally, the mine foreman may conceal the vein by plastering over with clay that part where the metal abounds, or by covering it with earth, stones, stakes, or poles, in the hope that after several years the proprietors, thinking the mine exhausted, will abandon it, and the foreman can then excavate that remainder of the ore and keep it for himself. they even state that the scum of the miners exist wholly by fraud, deceit, and lying. for to speak of nothing else, but only of those deceits which are practised in buying and selling, it is said they either advertise the veins with false and imaginary praises, so that they can sell the shares in the mines at one-half more than they are worth, or on the contrary, they sometimes detract from the estimate of them so that they can buy shares for a small price. by exposing such frauds our critics suppose all good opinion of miners is lost. now, all wealth, whether it has been gained by good or evil means, is liable by some adverse chance to vanish away. it decays and is dissipated by the fault and carelessness of the owner, since he loses it through laziness and neglect, or wastes and squanders it in luxuries, or he consumes and exhausts it in gifts, or he dissipates and throws it away in gambling: "just as though money sprouted up again, renewed from an exhausted coffer, and was always to be obtained from a full heap." it is therefore not to be wondered at if miners do not keep in mind the counsel given by king agathocles: "unexpected fortune should be held in reverence," for by not doing so they fall into penury; and particularly when the miners are not content with moderate riches, they not rarely spend on new mines what they have accumulated from others. but no just ruler or magistrate deprives owners of their possessions; that, however, may be done by a tyrant, who may cruelly rob his subjects not only of their goods honestly obtained, but even of life itself. and yet whenever i have inquired into the complaints which are in common vogue, i always find that the owners who are abused have the best of reasons for driving the men from the mines; while those who abuse the owners have no reason to complain about them. take the case of those who, not having paid their contributions, have lost the right of possession, or those who have been expelled by the magistrate out of another man's mine: for some wicked men, mining the small veins branching from the veins rich in metal, are wont to invade the property of another person. so the magistrate expels these men accused of wrong, and drives them from the mine. they then very frequently spread unpleasant rumours concerning this amongst the populace. or, to take another case: when, as often happens, a dispute arises between neighbours, arbitrators appointed by the magistrate settle it, or the regular judges investigate and give judgment. consequently, when the judgment is given, inasmuch as each party has consented to submit to it, neither side should complain of injustice; and when the controversy is adjudged, inasmuch as the decision is in accordance with the laws concerning mining, one of the parties cannot be injured by the law. i do not vigorously contest the point, that at times a mine superintendent may exact a larger contribution from the owners than necessity demands. nay, i will admit that a foreman may plaster over, or hide with a structure, a vein where it is rich in metals. is the wickedness of one or two to brand the many honest with fraud and trickery? what body is supposed to be more pious and virtuous in the republic than the senate? yet some senators have been detected in peculations, and have been punished. is this any reason that so honourable a house should lose its good name and fame? the superintendent cannot exact contributions from the owners without the knowledge and permission of the bergmeister or the deputies; for this reason deception of this kind is impossible. should the foremen be convicted of fraud, they are beaten with rods; or of theft, they are hanged. it is complained that some sellers and buyers of the shares in mines are fraudulent. i concede it. but can they deceive anyone except a stupid, careless man, unskilled in mining matters? indeed, a wise and prudent man, skilled in this art, if he doubts the trustworthiness of a seller or buyer, goes at once to the mine that he may for himself examine the vein which has been so greatly praised or disparaged, and may consider whether he will buy or sell the shares or not. but people say, though such an one can be on his guard against fraud, yet a simple man and one who is easily credulous, is deceived. but we frequently see a man who is trying to mislead another in this way deceive himself, and deservedly become a laughing-stock for everyone; or very often the defrauder as well as the dupe is entirely ignorant of mining. if, for instance, a vein has been found to be abundant in ore, contrary to the idea of the would-be deceiver, then he who was to have been cheated gets a profit, and he who has been the deceiver loses. nevertheless, the miners themselves rarely buy or sell shares, but generally they have _jurati venditores_[ ] who buy and sell at such prices as they have been instructed to give or accept. seeing therefore, that magistrates decide disputes on fair and just principles, that honest men deceive nobody, while a dishonest one cannot deceive easily, or if he does he cannot do so with impunity, the criticism of those who wish to disparage the honesty of miners has therefore no force or weight. in the next place, the occupation of the miner is objectionable to nobody. for who, unless he be naturally malevolent and envious, will hate the man who gains wealth as it were from heaven? or who will hate a man who to amplify his fortune, adopts a method which is free from reproach? a moneylender, if he demands an excessive interest, incurs the hatred of men. if he demands a moderate and lawful rate, so that he is not injurious to the public generally and does not impoverish them, he fails to become very rich from his business. further, the gain derived from mining is not sordid, for how can it be such, seeing that it is so great, so plentiful, and of so innocent a nature. a merchant's profits are mean and base when he sells counterfeit and spurious merchandise, or puts far too high a price on goods that he has purchased for little; for this reason the merchant would be held in no less odium amongst good men than is the usurer, did they not take account of the risk he runs to secure his merchandise. in truth, those who on this point speak abusively of mining for the sake of detracting from its merits, say that in former days men convicted of crimes and misdeeds were sentenced to the mines and were worked as slaves. but to-day the miners receive pay, and are engaged like other workmen in the common trades. certainly, if mining is a shameful and discreditable employment for a gentleman because slaves once worked mines, then agriculture also will not be a very creditable employment, because slaves once cultivated the fields, and even to-day do so among the turks; nor will architecture be considered honest, because some slaves have been found skilful in that profession; nor medicine, because not a few doctors have been slaves; nor will any other worthy craft, because men captured by force of arms have practised it. yet agriculture, architecture, and medicine are none the less counted amongst the number of honourable professions; therefore, mining ought not for this reason to be excluded from them. but suppose we grant that the hired miners have a sordid employment. we do not mean by miners only the diggers and other workmen, but also those skilled in the mining arts, and those who invest money in mines. amongst them can be counted kings, princes, republics, and from these last the most esteemed citizens. and finally, we include amongst the overseers of mines the noble thucydides, the historian, whom the athenians placed in charge of the mines of thasos.[ ] and it would not be unseemly for the owners themselves to work with their own hands on the works or ore, especially if they themselves have contributed to the cost of the mines. just as it is not undignified for great men to cultivate their own land. otherwise the roman senate would not have created dictator l. quintius cincinnatus, as he was at work in the fields, nor would it have summoned to the senate house the chief men of the state from their country villas. similarly, in our day, maximilian cæsar would not have enrolled conrad in the ranks of the nobles known as counts; conrad was really very poor when he served in the mines of schneeberg, and for that reason he was nicknamed the "poor man"; but not many years after, he attained wealth from the mines of fürst, which is a city in lorraine, and took his name from "luck."[ ] nor would king vladislaus have restored to the assembly of barons, tursius, a citizen of cracow, who became rich through the mines in that part of the kingdom of hungary which was formerly called dacia.[ ] nay, not even the common worker in the mines is vile and abject. for, trained to vigilance and work by night and day, he has great powers of endurance when occasion demands, and easily sustains the fatigues and duties of a soldier, for he is accustomed to keep long vigils at night, to wield iron tools, to dig trenches, to drive tunnels, to make machines, and to carry burdens. therefore, experts in military affairs prefer the miner, not only to a commoner from the town, but even to the rustic. but to bring this discussion to an end, inasmuch as the chief callings are those of the moneylender, the soldier, the merchant, the farmer, and the miner, i say, inasmuch as usury is odious, while the spoil cruelly captured from the possessions of the people innocent of wrong is wicked in the sight of god and man, and inasmuch as the calling of the miner excels in honour and dignity that of the merchant trading for lucre, while it is not less noble though far more profitable than agriculture, who can fail to realize that mining is a calling of peculiar dignity? certainly, though it is but one of ten important and excellent methods of acquiring wealth in an honourable way, a careful and diligent man can attain this result in no easier way than by mining. end of book i. footnotes: [ ] _fibrae_--"fibres." see note , p. . [ ] _commissurae saxorum_--"rock joints," "seams," or "cracks." agricola and all of the old authors laid a wholly unwarranted geologic value on these phenomena. see description and footnotes, book iii., pages and . [ ] _succi_--"juice," or _succi concreti_--"solidified juice." ger. trans., _saffte_. the old english translators and mineralogists often use the word juices in the same sense, and we have adopted it. the words "solutions" and "salts" convey a chemical significance not warranted by the state of knowledge in agricola's time. instances of the former use of this word may be seen in barba's "first book of the art of metals," (trans. earl sandwich, london, , p. , etc.,) and in pryce's _mineralogia cornubiensis_ (london, , p. , ). [ ] in order that the reader should be able to grasp the author's point of view as to his divisions of the mineral kingdom, we introduce here his own statement from _de natura fossilium_, (p. ). it is also desirable to read the footnote on his theory of ore-deposits on pages to , and the review of _de natura fossilium_ given in the appendix. "the subterranean inanimate bodies are divided into two classes, one of which, because it is a fluid or an exhalation, is called by those names, and the other class is called the minerals. mineral bodies are solidified from particles of the same substance, such as pure gold, each particle of which is gold, or they are of different substances such as lumps which consist of earth, stone, and metal; these latter may be separated into earth, stone and metal, and therefore the first is not a mixture while the last is called a mixture. the first are again divided into simple and compound minerals. the simple minerals are of four classes, namely earths, solidified juices, stones and metals, while the mineral compounds are of many sorts, as i shall explain later. "earth is a simple mineral body which may be kneaded in the hands when moistened, or from which lute is made when it has been wetted. earth, properly so called, is found enclosed in veins or veinlets, or frequently on the surface in fields and meadows. this definition is a general one. the harder earth, although moistened by water, does not at once become lute, but does turn into lute if it remains in water for some time. there are many species of earths, some of which have names but others are unnamed. "solidified juices are dry and somewhat hard (_subdurus_) mineral bodies which when moistened with water do not soften but liquefy instead; or if they do soften, they differ greatly from the earths by their unctuousness (_pingue_) or by the material of which they consist. although occasionally they have the hardness of stone, yet because they preserve the form and nature which they had when less hard, they can easily be distinguished from the stones. the juices are divided into 'meagre' and unctuous (_macer et pinguis_). the 'meagre' juices, since they originate from three different substances, are of three species. they are formed from a liquid mixed with earth, or with metal, or with a mineral compound. to the first species belong salt and _nitrum_ (soda); to the second, chrysocolla, verdigris, iron-rust, and azure; to the third, vitriol, alum, and an acrid juice which is unnamed. the first two of these latter are obtained from pyrites, which is numbered amongst the compound minerals. the third of these comes from _cadmia_ (in this case the cobalt-zinc-arsenic minerals; the acrid juice is probably zinc sulphate). to the unctuous juices belong these species: sulphur, bitumen, realgar and orpiment. vitriol and alum, although they are somewhat unctuous yet do not burn, and they differ in their origin from the unctuous juices, for the latter are forced out from the earth by heat, whereas the former are produced when pyrites is softened by moisture. "stone is a dry and hard mineral body which may either be softened by remaining for a long time in water and be reduced to powder by a fierce fire; or else it does not soften with water but the heat of a great fire liquefies it. to the first species belong those stones which have been solidified by heat, to the second those solidified (literally 'congealed') by cold. these two species of stones are constituted from their own material. however, writers on natural subjects who take into consideration the quantity and quality of stones and their value, divide them into four classes. the first of these has no name of its own but is called in common parlance 'stone': to this class belong loadstone, jasper (or bloodstone) and _aetites_ (geodes?). the second class comprises hard stones, either pellucid or ornamental, with very beautiful and varied colours which sparkle marvellously; they are called gems. the third comprises stones which are only brilliant after they have been polished, and are usually called marble. the fourth are called rocks; they are found in quarries, from which they are hewn out for use in building, and they are cut into various shapes. none of the rocks show colour or take a polish. few of the stones sparkle; fewer still are transparent. marble is sometimes only distinguishable from opaque gems by its volume; rock is always distinguishable from stones properly so-called by its volume. both the stones and the gems are usually to be found in veins and veinlets which traverse the rocks and marble. these four classes, as i have already stated, are divided into many species, which i will explain in their proper place. "metal is a mineral body, by nature either liquid or somewhat hard. the latter may be melted by the heat of the fire, but when it has cooled down again and lost all heat, it becomes hard again and resumes its proper form. in this respect it differs from the stone which melts in the fire, for although the latter regain its hardness, yet it loses its pristine form and properties. traditionally there are six different kinds of metals, namely gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead. there are really others, for quicksilver is a metal, although the alchemists disagree with us on this subject, and bismuth is also. the ancient greek writers seem to have been ignorant of bismuth, wherefore ammonius rightly states that there are many species of metals, animals, and plants which are unknown to us. _stibium_ when smelted in the crucible and refined has as much right to be regarded as a proper metal as is accorded to lead by writers. if when smelted, a certain portion be added to tin, a bookseller's alloy is produced from which the type is made that is used by those who print books on paper. each metal has its own form which it preserves when separated from those metals which were mixed with it. therefore neither electrum nor _stannum_ is of itself a real metal, but rather an alloy of two metals. electrum is an alloy of gold and silver, _stannum_ of lead and silver (see note , p. ). and yet if silver be parted from the electrum, then gold remains and not electrum; if silver be taken away from _stannum_, then lead remains and not _stannum_. whether brass, however, is found as a native metal or not, cannot be ascertained with any surety. we only know of the artificial brass, which consists of copper tinted with the colour of the mineral calamine. and yet if any should be dug up, it would be a proper metal. black and white copper seem to be different from the red kind. metal, therefore, is by nature either solid, as i have stated, or fluid, as in the unique case of quicksilver. but enough now concerning the simple kinds. "i will now speak of the compounds which are composed of the simple minerals cemented together by nature, and under the word 'compound' i now discuss those mineral bodies which consist of two or three simple minerals. they are likewise mineral substances, but so thoroughly mixed and alloyed that even in the smallest part there is not wanting any substance that is contained in the whole. only by the force of the fire is it possible to separate one of the simple mineral substances from another; either the third from the other two, or two from the third, if there were three in the same compound. these two, three or more bodies are so completely mixed into one new species that the pristine form of none of these is recognisable. "the 'mixed' minerals, which are composed of those same simple minerals, differ from the 'compounds,' in that the simple minerals each preserves its own form so that they can be separated one from the other not only by fire but sometimes by water and sometimes by hand. as these two classes differ so greatly from one another i usually use two different words in order to distinguish one from the other. i am well aware that galen calls the metallic earth a compound which is really a mixture, but he who wishes to instruct others should bestow upon each separate thing a definite name." for convenience of reference we may reduce the above to a diagram as follows: . fluids and gases. { { earths { (a) simple { solidified juices { minerals { stones { { metals { a. homogenous { { bodies { { { (b) compound { being heterogeneous mixtures { { minerals { of (a) { . mineral { bodies { { { b. mixtures. being homogenous mixtures of (a) [ ] _experiendae_--"a trial." that actual assaying in its technical sense is meant, is sufficiently evident from book vii. [ ] _... plumbum ... candidum ac cinereum vel nigrum_. "lead ... white, or ash-coloured, or black." agricola himself coined the term _plumbum cinereum_ for bismuth, no doubt following the roman term for tin--_plumbum candidum_. the following passage from _bermannus_ (p. ) is of interest, for it appears to be the first description of bismuth, although mention of it occurs in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (see appendix b). "_bermannus_: i will show you another kind of mineral which is numbered amongst metals, but appears to me to have been unknown to the ancients; we call it _bisemutum_. _naevius_: then in your opinion there are more kinds of metals than the seven commonly believed? _bermannus_: more, i consider; for this which just now i said we called _bisemutum_, cannot correctly be called _plumbum candidum_ (tin), nor _nigrum_ (lead), but is different from both and is a third one. _plumbum candidum_ is whiter and _plumbum nigrum_ is darker, as you see. _naevius_: we see that this is of the colour of _galena_. _ancon_: how then can _bisemutum_, as you call it, be distinguished from _galena_? _bermannus_: easily; when you take it in your hands it stains them with black, unless it is quite hard. the hard kind is not friable like _galena_, but can be cut. it is blacker than the kind of _rudis_ silver which we say is almost the colour of lead, and thus is different from both. indeed, it not rarely contains some silver. it generally indicates that there is silver beneath the place where it is found, and because of this our miners are accustomed to call it the 'roof of silver.' they are wont to roast this mineral, and from the better part they make metal; from the poorer part they make a pigment of a kind not to be despised." [ ] _nitrum._ the ancients comprised many salts under this head, but agricola in the main uses it for soda, although sometimes he includes potash. he usually, however, refers to potash as _lixivium_ or salt therefrom, and by other distinctive terms. for description of method of manufacture and discussion, see book xii., p. . [ ] _atramentum sutorium_--"shoemaker's blacking." see p. for description of method of manufacture and historical footnote. in the main agricola means green vitriol, but he does describe three main varieties, green, blue, and white (_de natura fossilium_, p. ). the blue was of course copper sulphate, and it is fairly certain that the white was zinc vitriol. [ ] _lavandi_--"washing." by this term the author includes all the operations of sluicing, buddling, and wet concentration generally. there is no english equivalent of such wide application, and there is some difficulty in interpretation without going further than the author intends. book viii. is devoted to the subject. [ ] _operam et oleum perdit_--"loss of labour and oil." [ ] in _veteribus et novis metallis_, and _bermannus_, agricola states that the mines of schemnitz were worked years before that time ( ), or about a.d., and, further, that the lead mines of goslar in the hartz were worked by otho the great ( - ), and that the silver mines at freiberg were discovered during the rule of prince otho (about ). to continue the argument to-day we could add about years more of life to the mines of goslar and freiberg. see also note , p. , and note , p. . [ ] xenophon. essay on the revenues of athens, i., . [ ] ovid, _metamorphoses_, i., to . [ ] diogenes laertius, ii., . the lines are assigned, however, to philemon, not euripides. (kock, _comicorum atticorum fragmenta_ ii., ). [ ] we have not considered it of sufficient interest to cite the references to all of the minor poets and those whose preserved works are but fragmentary. the translations from the greek into latin are not literal and suffer again by rendering into english; we have however considered it our duty to translate agricola's view of the meaning. [ ] diogenes laertius, ii. [ ] an inspection of the historical incidents mentioned here and further on, indicates that agricola relied for such information on diogenes laertius, plutarch, livy, valerius maximus, pliny, and often enough on homer, horace, and virgil. [ ] juvenal. _satires_ i., l. , and vi., l. . [ ] pliny, xxxiv., . [ ] horace. _odes_, i., , ll. - . [ ] horace. _satires_, ii., , ll. - . [ ] virgil. _Æneid_, iii., l. , and i., l. . [ ] horace. _satires_, i., l. ; and epistle, i., , l. . [ ] theognis. maxims, ii., l. . [ ] pindar. _olymp._ ii., - . [ ] antiphanes, . [ ] _jurati venditores_--"sworn brokers." (?) [ ] there is no doubt that thucydides had some connection with gold mines; he himself is the authority for the statement that he worked mines in thrace. agricola seems to have obtained his idea that thucydides held an appointment from the athenians in charge of mines in thasos, from marcellinus (_vita_, thucydides, ), who also says that thucydides obtained possession of mines in thrace through his marriage with a thracian woman, and that it was while residing on the mines at scapte-hyle that he wrote his history. later scholars, however, find little warrant for these assertions. the gold mines of thasos--an island off the mainland of thrace--are frequently mentioned by the ancient authors. herodotus, vi., - , says:--"their (the thasians') revenue was derived partly from their possessions upon the mainland, partly from the mines which they owned. they were masters of the gold mines of scapte-hyle, the yearly produce of which amounted to eighty talents. their mines in thasos yielded less, but still were so prolific that besides being entirely free from land-tax they had a surplus of income derived from the two sources of their territory on the mainland and their mines, in common years two hundred and in best years three hundred talents. i myself have seen the mines in question. by far the most curious of them are those which the phoenicians discovered at the time when they went with thasos and colonized the island, which took its name from him. these phoenician workings are in thasos itself, between coenyra and a place called aenyra over against samothrace; a high mountain has been turned upside down in the search for ores." (rawlinson's trans.). the occasion of this statement of herodotus was the relations of the thasians with darius ( - b.c.). the date of the phoenician colonization of thasos is highly nebular--anywhere from to b.c. [ ] agricola, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i., p. , says:--"conrad, whose nickname in former years was 'pauper,' suddenly became rich from the silver mines of mount jura, known as the _firstum_." he was ennobled with the title of graf cuntz von glück by the emperor maximilian (who was emperor of the holy roman empire, - ). conrad was originally a working miner at schneeberg where he was known as armer cuntz (poor cuntz or conrad) and grew wealthy from the mines of fürst in leberthal. this district is located in the vosges mountains on the borders of lorraine and upper alsace. the story of cuntz or conrad von glück is mentioned by albinus (_meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, , p. ), mathesius (_sarepta_, nuremberg, , fol. xvi.), and by others. [ ] vladislaus iii. was king of poland, - , and also became king of hungary in . tursius seems to be a latinized name and cannot be identified. book ii. qualities which the perfect miner should possess and the arguments which are urged for and against the arts of mining and metallurgy, as well as the people occupied in the industry, i have sufficiently discussed in the first book. now i have determined to give more ample information concerning the miners. in the first place, it is indispensable that they should worship god with reverence, and that they understand the matters of which i am going to speak, and that they take good care that each individual performs his duties efficiently and diligently. it is decreed by divine providence that those who know what they ought to do and then take care to do it properly, for the most part meet with good fortune in all they undertake; on the other hand, misfortune overtakes the indolent and those who are careless in their work. no person indeed can, without great and sustained effort and labour, store in his mind the knowledge of every portion of the metallic arts which are involved in operating mines. if a man has the means of paying the necessary expense, he hires as many men as he needs, and sends them to the various works. thus formerly sosias, the thracian, sent into the silver mines a thousand slaves whom he had hired from the athenian nicias, the son of niceratus[ ]. but if a man cannot afford the expenditure he chooses of the various kinds of mining that work which he himself can most easily and efficiently do. of these kinds, the two most important are the making prospect trenches and the washing of the sands of rivers, for out of these sands are often collected gold dust, or certain black stones from which tin is smelted, or even gems are sometimes found in them; the trenching occasionally lays bare at the grass-roots veins which are found rich in metals. if therefore by skill or by luck, such sands or veins shall fall into his hands, he will be able to establish his fortune without expenditure, and from poverty rise to wealth. if on the contrary, his hopes are not realized, then he can desist from washing or digging. when anyone, in an endeavour to increase his fortune, meets the expenditure of a mine alone, it is of great importance that he should attend to his works and personally superintend everything that he has ordered to be done. for this reason, he should either have his dwelling at the mine, where he may always be in sight of the workmen and always take care that none neglect their duties, or else he should live in the neighbourhood, so that he may frequently inspect his mining works. then he may send word by a messenger to the workmen that he is coming more frequently than he really intends to come, and so either by his arrival or by the intimation of it, he so frightens the workmen that none of them perform their duties otherwise than diligently. when he inspects the mines he should praise the diligent workmen and occasionally give them rewards, that they and the others may become more zealous in their duties; on the other hand, he should rebuke the idle and discharge some of them from the mines and substitute industrious men in their places. indeed, the owner should frequently remain for days and nights in the mine, which, in truth, is no habitation for the idle and luxurious; it is important that the owner who is diligent in increasing his wealth, should frequently himself descend into the mine, and devote some time to the study of the nature of the veins and stringers, and should observe and consider all the methods of working, both inside and outside the mine. nor is this all he ought to do, for sometimes he should undertake actual labour, not thereby demeaning himself, but in order to encourage his workmen by his own diligence, and to teach them their art; for that mine is well conducted in which not only the foreman, but also the owner himself, gives instruction as to what ought to be done. a certain barbarian, according to xenophon, rightly remarked to the king of persia that "the eye of the master feeds the horse,"[ ] for the master's watchfulness in all things is of the utmost importance. when several share together the expenditure on a mine, it is convenient and useful to elect from amongst their own number a mine captain, and also a foreman. for, since men often look after their own interests but neglect those of others, they cannot in this case take care of their own without at the same time looking after the interests of the others, neither can they neglect the interests of the others without neglecting their own. but if no man amongst them be willing or able to undertake and sustain the burdens of these offices, it will be to the common interest to place them in the hands of most diligent men. formerly indeed, these things were looked after by the mining prefect[ ], because the owners were kings, as priam, who owned the gold mines round abydos, or as midas, who was the owner of those situated in mount bermius, or as gyges, or as alyattes, or as croesus, who was the owner of those mines near a deserted town between atarnea and pergamum[ ]; sometimes the mines belonged to a republic, as, for instance, the prosperous silver mines in spain which belonged to carthage[ ]; sometimes they were the property of great and illustrious families, as were the athenian mines in mount laurion[ ]. when a man owns mines but is ignorant of the art of mining, then it is advisable that he should share in common with others the expenses, not of one only, but of several mines. when one man alone meets the expense for a long time of a whole mine, if good fortune bestows on him a vein abundant in metals, or in other products, he becomes very wealthy; if, on the contrary, the mine is poor and barren, in time he will lose everything which he has expended on it. but the man who, in common with others, has laid out his money on several mines in a region renowned for its wealth of metals, rarely spends it in vain, for fortune usually responds to his hopes in part. for when out of twelve veins in which he has a joint interest one yields an abundance of metals, it not only gives back to the owner the money he has spent, but also gives a profit besides; certainly there will be for him rich and profitable mining, if of the whole number, three, or four, or more veins should yield metal. very similar to this is the advice which xenophon gave to the athenians when they wished to prospect for new veins of silver without suffering loss. "there are," he said, "ten tribes of athenians; if, therefore, the state assigned an equal number of slaves to each tribe, and the tribes participated equally in all the new veins, undoubtedly by this method, if a rich vein of silver were found by one tribe, whatever profit were made from it would assuredly be shared by the whole number. and if two, three, or four tribes, or even half the whole number find veins, their works would then become more profitable; and it is not probable that the work of all the tribes will be disappointing."[ ] although this advice of xenophon is full of prudence, there is no opportunity for it except in free and wealthy states; for those people who are under the authority of kings and princes, or are kept in subjection by tyranny, do not dare, without permission, to incur such expenditure; those who are endowed with little wealth and resources cannot do so on account of insufficient funds. moreover, amongst our race it is not customary for republics to have slaves whom they can hire out for the benefit of the people[ ]; but, instead, nowadays those who are in authority administer the funds for mining in the name of the state, not unlike private individuals. some owners prefer to buy shares[ ] in mines abounding in metals, rather than to be troubled themselves to search for the veins; these men employ an easier and less uncertain method of increasing their property. although their hopes in the shares of one or another mine may be frustrated, the buyers of shares should not abandon the rest of the mines, for all the money expended will be recovered with interest from some other mine. they should not buy only high priced shares in those mines producing metals, nor should they buy too many in neighbouring mines where metal has not yet been found, lest, should fortune not respond, they may be exhausted by their losses and have nothing with which they may meet their expenses or buy other shares which may replace their losses. this calamity overtakes those who wish to grow suddenly rich from mines, and instead, they become very much poorer than before. so then, in the buying of shares, as in other matters, there should be a certain limit of expenditure which miners should set themselves, lest blinded by the desire for excessive wealth, they throw all their money away. moreover, a prudent owner, before he buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent sellers of shares should deceive him. investors in shares may perhaps become less wealthy, but they are more certain of some gain than those who mine for metals at their own expense, as they are more cautious in trusting to fortune. neither ought miners to be altogether distrustful of fortune, as we see some are, who as soon as the shares of any mine begin to go up in value, sell them, on which account they seldom obtain even moderate wealth. there are some people who wash over the dumps from exhausted and abandoned mines, and those dumps which are derived from the drains of tunnels; and others who smelt the old slags; from all of which they make an ample return. now a miner, before he begins to mine the veins, must consider seven things, namely:--the situation, the conditions, the water, the roads, the climate, the right of ownership, and the neighbours. there are four kinds of situations--mountain, hill, valley, and plain. of these four, the first two are the most easily mined, because in them tunnels can be driven to drain off the water, which often makes mining operations very laborious, if it does not stop them altogether. the last two kinds of ground are more troublesome, especially because tunnels cannot be driven in such places. nevertheless, a prudent miner considers all these four sorts of localities in the region in which he happens to be, and he searches for veins in those places where some torrent or other agency has removed and swept the soil away; yet he need not prospect everywhere, but since there is a great variety, both in mountains and in the three other kinds of localities, he always selects from them those which will give him the best chance of obtaining wealth. in the first place, mountains differ greatly in position, some being situated in even and level plains, while others are found in broken and elevated regions, and others again seem to be piled up, one mountain upon another. the wise miner does not mine in mountains which are situated on open plains, neither does he dig in those which are placed on the summits of mountainous regions, unless by some chance the veins in those mountains have been denuded of their surface covering, and abounding in metals and other products, are exposed plainly to his notice,--for with regard to what i have already said more than once, and though i never repeat it again, i wish to emphasize this exception as to the localities which should not be selected. all districts do not possess a great number of mountains crowded together; some have but one, others two, others three, or perhaps a few more. in some places there are plains lying between them; in others the mountains are joined together or separated only by narrow valleys. the miner should not dig in those solitary mountains, dispersed through the plains and open regions, but only in those which are connected and joined with others. then again, since mountains differ in size, some being very large, others of medium height, and others more like hills than mountains, the miner rarely digs in the largest or the smallest of them, but generally only in those of medium size. moreover, mountains have a great variety of shapes; for with some the slopes rise gradually, while others, on the contrary, are all precipitous; in some others the slopes are gradual on one side, and on the other sides precipitous; some are drawn out in length; some are gently curved; others assume different shapes. but the miner may dig in all parts of them, except where there are precipices, and he should not neglect even these latter if metallic veins are exposed before his eyes. there are just as great differences in hills as there are in mountains, yet the miner does not dig except in those situated in mountainous districts, and even very rarely in those. it is however very little to be wondered at that the hill in the island of lemnos was excavated, for the whole is of a reddish-yellow colour, which furnishes for the inhabitants that valuable clay so especially beneficial to mankind[ ]. in like manner, other hills are excavated if chalk or other varieties of earth are exposed, but these are not prospected for. there are likewise many varieties of valleys and plains. one kind is enclosed on the sides with its outlet and entrance open; another has either its entrance or its outlet open and the rest of it is closed in; both of these are properly called valleys. there is a third variety which is surrounded on all sides by mountains, and these are called _convalles_. some valleys again, have recesses, and others have none; one is wide, another narrow; one is long, another short; yet another kind is not higher than the neighbouring plain, and others are lower than the surrounding flat country. but the miner does not dig in those surrounded on all sides by mountains, nor in those that are open, unless there be a low plain close at hand, or unless a vein of metal descending from the mountains should extend into the valley. plains differ from one another, one being situated at low elevation, and others higher, one being level and another with a slight incline. the miner should never excavate the low-lying plain, nor one which is perfectly level, unless it be in some mountain, and rarely should he mine in the other kinds of plains. with regard to the conditions of the locality the miner should not contemplate mining without considering whether the place be covered with trees or is bare. if it be a wooded place, he who digs there has this advantage, besides others, that there will be an abundant supply of wood for his underground timbering, his machinery, buildings, smelting, and other necessities. if there is no forest he should not mine there unless there is a river near, by which he can carry down the timber. yet wherever there is a hope that pure gold or gems may be found, the ground can be turned up, even though there is no forest, because the gems need only to be polished and the gold to be purified. therefore the inhabitants of hot regions obtain these substances from rough and sandy places, where sometimes there are not even shrubs, much less woods. the miner should next consider the locality, as to whether it has a perpetual supply of running water, or whether it is always devoid of water except when a torrent supplied by rains flows down from the summits of the mountains. the place that nature has provided with a river or stream can be made serviceable for many things; for water will never be wanting and can be carried through wooden pipes to baths in dwelling-houses; it may be carried to the works, where the metals are smelted; and finally, if the conditions of the place will allow it, the water can be diverted into the tunnels, so that it may turn the underground machinery. yet on the other hand, to convey a constant supply of water by artificial means to mines where nature has denied it access, or to convey the ore to the stream, increases the expense greatly, in proportion to the distance the mines are away from the river. the miner also should consider whether the roads from the neighbouring regions to the mines are good or bad, short or long. for since a region which is abundant in mining products very often yields no agricultural produce, and the necessaries of life for the workmen and others must all be imported, a bad and long road occasions much loss and trouble with porters and carriers, and this increases the cost of goods brought in, which, therefore, must be sold at high prices. this injures not so much the workmen as the masters; since on account of the high price of goods, the workmen are not content with the wages customary for their labour, nor can they be, and they ask higher pay from the owners. and if the owners refuse, the men will not work any longer in the mines but will go elsewhere. although districts which yield metals and other mineral products are generally healthy, because, being often situated on high and lofty ground, they are fanned by every wind, yet sometimes they are unhealthy, as has been related in my other book, which is called "_de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_." therefore, a wise miner does not mine in such places, even if they are very productive, when he perceives unmistakable signs of pestilence. for if a man mines in an unhealthy region he may be alive one hour and dead the next. then, the miner should make careful and thorough investigation concerning the lord of the locality, whether he be a just and good man or a tyrant, for the latter oppresses men by force of his authority, and seizes their possessions for himself; but the former governs justly and lawfully and serves the common good. the miner should not start mining operations in a district which is oppressed by a tyrant, but should carefully consider if in the vicinity there is any other locality suitable for mining and make up his mind if the overlord there be friendly or inimical. if he be inimical the mine will be rendered unsafe through hostile attacks, in one of which all of the gold or silver, or other mineral products, laboriously collected with much cost, will be taken away from the owner and his workmen will be struck with terror; overcome by fear, they will hastily fly, to free themselves from the danger to which they are exposed. in this case, not only are the fortunes of the miner in the greatest peril but his very life is in jeopardy, for which reason he should not mine in such places. since several miners usually come to mine the veins in one locality, a settlement generally springs up, for the miner who began first cannot keep it exclusively for himself. the _bergmeister_ gives permits to some to mine the superior and some the inferior parts of the veins; to some he gives the cross veins, to others the inclined veins. if the man who first starts work finds the vein to be metal-bearing or yielding other mining products, it will not be to his advantage to cease work because the neighbourhood may be evil, but he will guard and defend his rights both by arms and by the law. when the _bergmeister_[ ] delimits the boundaries of each owner, it is the duty of a good miner to keep within his bounds, and of a prudent one to repel encroachments of his neighbours by the help of the law. but this is enough about the neighbourhood. the miner should try to obtain a mine, to which access is not difficult, in a mountainous region, gently sloping, wooded, healthy, safe, and not far distant from a river or stream by means of which he may convey his mining products to be washed and smelted. this indeed, is the best position. as for the others, the nearer they approximate to this position the better they are; the further removed, the worse. now i will discuss that kind of minerals for which it is not necessary to dig, because the force of water carries them out of the veins. of these there are two kinds, minerals--and their fragments[ ]--and juices. when there are springs at the outcrop of the veins from which, as i have already said, the above-mentioned products are emitted, the miner should consider these first, to see whether there are metals or gems mixed with the sand, or whether the waters discharged are filled with juices. in case metals or gems have settled in the pool of the spring, not only should the sand from it be washed, but also that from the streams which flow from these springs, and even from the river itself into which they again discharge. if the springs discharge water containing some juice, this also should be collected; the further such a stream has flowed from the source, the more it receives plain water and the more diluted does it become, and so much the more deficient in strength. if the stream receives no water of another kind, or scarcely any, not only the rivers, but likewise the lakes which receive these waters, are of the same nature as the springs, and serve the same uses; of this kind is the lake which the hebrews call the dead sea, and which is quite full of bituminous fluids[ ]. but i must return to the subject of the sands. springs may discharge their waters into a sea, a lake, a marsh, a river, or a stream; but the sand of the sea-shore is rarely washed, for although the water flowing down from the springs into the sea carries some metals or gems with it, yet these substances can scarcely ever be reclaimed, because they are dispersed through the immense body of waters and mixed up with other sand, and scattered far and wide in different directions, or they sink down into the depths of the sea. for the same reasons, the sands of lakes can very rarely be washed successfully, even though the streams rising from the mountains pour their whole volume of water into them. the particles of metals and gems from the springs are very rarely carried into the marshes, which are generally in level and open places. therefore, the miner, in the first place, washes the sand of the spring, then of the stream which flows from it, then finally, that of the river into which the stream discharges. it is not worth the trouble to wash the sands of a large river which is on a level plain at a distance from the mountains. where several springs carrying metals discharge their waters into one river, there is more hope of productive results from washing. the miner does not neglect even the sands of the streams in which excavated ores have been washed. the waters of springs taste according to the juice they contain, and they differ greatly in this respect. there are six kinds of these tastes which the worker[ ] especially observes and examines; there is the salty kind, which shows that salt may be obtained by evaporation; the nitrous, which indicates soda; the aluminous kind, which indicates alum; the vitrioline, which indicates vitriol; the sulphurous kind, which indicates sulphur; and as for the bituminous juice, out of which bitumen is melted down, the colour itself proclaims it to the worker who is evaporating it. the sea-water however, is similar to that of salt springs, and may be drawn into low-lying pits, and, evaporated by the heat of the sun, changes of itself into salt; similarly the water of some salt-lakes turns to salt when dried by the heat of summer. therefore an industrious and diligent man observes and makes use of these things and thus contributes something to the common welfare. the strength of the sea condenses the liquid bitumen which flows into it from hidden springs, into amber and jet, as i have described already in my books "_de subterraneorum ortu et causis_"[ ]. the sea, with certain directions of the wind, throws both these substances on shore, and for this reason the search for amber demands as much care as does that for coral. moreover, it is necessary that those who wash the sand or evaporate the water from the springs, should be careful to learn the nature of the locality, its roads, its salubrity, its overlord, and the neighbours, lest on account of difficulties in the conduct of their business they become either impoverished by exhaustive expenditure, or their goods and lives are imperilled. but enough about this. the miner, after he has selected out of many places one particular spot adapted by nature for mining, bestows much labour and attention on the veins. these have either been stripped bare of their covering by chance and thus lie exposed to our view, or lying deeply hidden and concealed they are found after close search; the latter is more usual, the former more rarely happens, and both of these occurrences must be explained. there is more than one force which can lay bare the veins unaided by the industry or toil of man; since either a torrent might strip off the surface, which happened in the case of the silver mines of freiberg (concerning which i have written in book i. of my work "_de veteribus et novis metallis_")[ ]; or they may be exposed through the force of the wind, when it uproots and destroys the trees which have grown over the veins; or by the breaking away of the rocks; or by long-continued heavy rains tearing away the mountain; or by an earthquake; or by a lightning flash; or by a snowslide; or by the violence of the winds: "of such a nature are the rocks hurled down from the mountains by the force of the winds aided by the ravages of time." or the plough may uncover the veins, for justin relates in his history that nuggets of gold had been turned up in galicia by the plough; or this may occur through a fire in the forest, as diodorus siculus tells us happened in the silver mines in spain; and that saying of posidonius is appropriate enough: "the earth violently moved by the fires consuming the forest sends forth new products, namely, gold and silver."[ ] and indeed, lucretius has explained the same thing more fully in the following lines: "copper and gold and iron were discovered, and at the same time weighty silver and the substance of lead, when fire had burned up vast forests on the great hills, either by a discharge of heaven's lightning, or else because, when men were waging war with one another, forest fires had carried fire among the enemy in order to strike terror to them, or because, attracted by the goodness of the soil, they wished to clear rich fields and bring the country into pasture, or else to destroy wild beasts and enrich themselves with the game; for hunting with pitfalls and with fire came into use before the practice of enclosing the wood with toils and rousing the game with dogs. whatever the fact is, from whatever cause the heat of flame had swallowed up the forests with a frightful crackling from their very roots, and had thoroughly baked the earth with fire, there would run from the boiling veins and collect into the hollows of the grounds a stream of silver and gold, as well as of copper and lead."[ ] but yet the poet considers that the veins are not laid bare in the first instance so much by this kind of fire, but rather that all mining had its origin in this. and lastly, some other force may by chance disclose the veins, for a horse, if this tale can be believed, disclosed the lead veins at goslar by a blow from his hoof[ ]. by such methods as these does fortune disclose the veins to us. but by skill we can also investigate hidden and concealed veins, by observing in the first place the bubbling waters of springs, which cannot be very far distant from the veins because the source of the water is from them; secondly, by examining the fragments of the veins which the torrents break off from the earth, for after a long time some of these fragments are again buried in the ground. fragments of this kind lying about on the ground, if they are rubbed smooth, are a long distance from the veins, because the torrent, which broke them from the vein, polished them while it rolled them a long distance; but if they are fixed in the ground, or if they are rough, they are nearer to the veins. the soil also should be considered, for this is often the cause of veins being buried more or less deeply under the earth; in this case the fragments protrude more or less widely apart, and miners are wont to call the veins discovered in this manner "_fragmenta_."[ ] further, we search for the veins by observing the hoar-frosts, which whiten all herbage except that growing over the veins, because the veins emit a warm and dry exhalation which hinders the freezing of the moisture, for which reason such plants appear rather wet than whitened by the frost. this may be observed in all cold places before the grass has grown to its full size, as in the months of april and may; or when the late crop of hay, which is called the _cordum_, is cut with scythes in the month of september. therefore in places where the grass has a dampness that is not congealed into frost, there is a vein beneath; also if the exhalation be excessively hot, the soil will produce only small and pale-coloured plants. lastly, there are trees whose foliage in spring-time has a bluish or leaden tint, the upper branches more especially being tinged with black or with any other unnatural colour, the trunks cleft in two, and the branches black or discoloured. these phenomena are caused by the intensely hot and dry exhalations which do not spare even the roots, but scorching them, render the trees sickly; wherefore the wind will more frequently uproot trees of this kind than any others. verily the veins do emit this exhalation. therefore, in a place where there is a multitude of trees, if a long row of them at an unusual time lose their verdure and become black or discoloured, and frequently fall by the violence of the wind, beneath this spot there is a vein. likewise along a course where a vein extends, there grows a certain herb or fungus which is absent from the adjacent space, or sometimes even from the neighbourhood of the veins. by these signs of nature a vein can be discovered. there are many great contentions between miners concerning the forked twig[ ], for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and others deny it. some of those who manipulate and use the twig, first cut a fork from a hazel bush with a knife, for this bush they consider more efficacious than any other for revealing the veins, especially if the hazel bush grows above a vein. others use a different kind of twig for each metal, when they are seeking to discover the veins, for they employ hazel twigs for veins of silver; ash twigs for copper; pitch pine for lead and especially tin, and rods made of iron and steel for gold. all alike grasp the forks of the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should be raised at that end where the two branches meet. then they wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. it is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more immobile. the truth is, they assert, the movement of the twig is caused by the power of the veins, and sometimes this is so great that the branches of trees growing near a vein are deflected toward it. on the other hand, those who say that the twig is of no use to good and serious men, also deny that the motion is due to the power of the veins, because the twigs will not move for everybody, but only for those who employ incantations and craft. moreover, they deny the power of a vein to draw to itself the branches of trees, but they say that the warm and dry exhalations cause these contortions. those who advocate the use of the twig make this reply to these objections: when one of the miners or some other person holds the twig in his hands, and it is not turned by the force of a vein, this is due to some peculiarity of the individual, which hinders and impedes the power of the vein, for since the power of the vein in turning and twisting the twig may be not unlike that of a magnet attracting and drawing iron toward itself, this hidden quality of a man weakens and breaks the force, just the same as garlic weakens and overcomes the strength of a magnet. for a magnet smeared with garlic juice cannot attract iron; nor does it attract the latter when rusty. further, concerning the handling of the twig, they warn us that we should not press the fingers together too lightly, nor clench them too firmly, for if the twig is held lightly they say that it will fall before the force of the vein can turn it; if however, it is grasped too firmly the force of the hands resists the force of the veins and counteracts it. therefore, they consider that five things are necessary to insure that the twig shall serve its purpose: of these the first is the size of the twig, for the force of the veins cannot turn too large a stick; secondly, there is the shape of the twig, which must be forked or the vein cannot turn it; thirdly, the power of the vein which has the nature to turn it; fourthly, the manipulation of the twig; fifthly, the absence of impeding peculiarities. these advocates of the twig sum up their conclusions as follows: if the rod does not move for everybody, it is due to unskilled manipulation or to the impeding peculiarities of the man which oppose and resist the force of the veins, as we said above, and those who search for veins by means of the twig need not necessarily make incantations, but it is sufficient that they handle it suitably and are devoid of impeding power; therefore, the twig may be of use to good and serious men in discovering veins. with regard to deflection of branches of trees they say nothing and adhere to their opinion. [illustration (divining rod): a--twig. b--trench.] since this matter remains in dispute and causes much dissention amongst miners, i consider it ought to be examined on its own merits. the wizards, who also make use of rings, mirrors and crystals, seek for veins with a divining rod shaped like a fork; but its shape makes no difference in the matter,--it might be straight or of some other form--for it is not the form of the twig that matters, but the wizard's incantations which it would not become me to repeat, neither do i wish to do so. the ancients, by means of the divining rod, not only procured those things necessary for a livelihood or for luxury, but they were also able to alter the forms of things by it; as when the magicians changed the rods of the egyptians into serpents, as the writings of the hebrews relate[ ]; and as in homer, minerva with a divining rod turned the aged ulysses suddenly into a youth, and then restored him back again to old age; circe also changed ulysses' companions into beasts, but afterward gave them back again their human form[ ]; moreover by his rod, which was called "caduceus," mercury gave sleep to watchmen and awoke slumberers[ ]. therefore it seems that the divining rod passed to the mines from its impure origin with the magicians. then when good men shrank with horror from the incantations and rejected them, the twig was retained by the unsophisticated common miners, and in searching for new veins some traces of these ancient usages remain. but since truly the twigs of the miners do move, albeit they do not generally use incantations, some say this movement is caused by the power of the veins, others say that it depends on the manipulation, and still others think that the movement is due to both these causes. but, in truth, all those objects which are endowed with the power of attraction do not twist things in circles, but attract them directly to themselves; for instance, the magnet does not turn the iron, but draws it directly to itself, and amber rubbed until it is warm does not bend straws about, but simply draws them to itself. if the power of the veins were of a similar nature to that of the magnet and the amber, the twig would not so much twist as move once only, in a semi-circle, and be drawn directly to the vein, and unless the strength of the man who holds the twig were to resist and oppose the force of the vein, the twig would be brought to the ground; wherefore, since this is not the case, it must necessarily follow that the manipulation is the cause of the twig's twisting motion. it is a conspicuous fact that these cunning manipulators do not use a straight twig, but a forked one cut from a hazel bush, or from some other wood equally flexible, so that if it be held in the hands, as they are accustomed to hold it, it turns in a circle for any man wherever he stands. nor is it strange that the twig does not turn when held by the inexperienced, because they either grasp the forks of the twig too tightly or hold them too loosely. nevertheless, these things give rise to the faith among common miners that veins are discovered by the use of twigs, because whilst using these they do accidentally discover some; but it more often happens that they lose their labour, and although they might discover a vein, they become none the less exhausted in digging useless trenches than do the miners who prospect in an unfortunate locality. therefore a miner, since we think he ought to be a good and serious man, should not make use of an enchanted twig, because if he is prudent and skilled in the natural signs, he understands that a forked stick is of no use to him, for as i have said before, there are the natural indications of the veins which he can see for himself without the help of twigs. so if nature or chance should indicate a locality suitable for mining, the miner should dig his trenches there; if no vein appears he must dig numerous trenches until he discovers an outcrop of a vein. a _vena dilatata_ is rarely discovered by men's labour, but usually some force or other reveals it, or sometimes it is discovered by a shaft or a tunnel on a _vena profunda_[ ]. the veins after they have been discovered, and likewise the shafts and tunnels, have names given them, either from their discoverers, as in the case at annaberg of the vein called "kölergang," because a charcoal burner discovered it; or from their owners, as the geyer, in joachimsthal, because part of the same belonged to geyer; or from their products, as the "pleygang" from lead, or the "bissmutisch" at schneeberg from bismuth[ ]; or from some other circumstances, such as the rich alluvials from the torrent by which they were laid bare in the valley of joachim. more often the first discoverers give the names either of persons, as those of german kaiser, apollo, janus; or the name of an animal, as that of lion, bear, ram, or cow; or of things inanimate, as "silver chest" or "ox stalls"; or of something ridiculous, as "glutton's nightshade"; or finally, for the sake of a good omen, they call it after the deity. in ancient times they followed the same custom and gave names to the veins, shafts and tunnels, as we read in pliny: "it is wonderful that the shafts begun by hannibal in spain are still worked, their names being derived from their discoverers. one of these at the present day, called baebelo, furnished hannibal with three hundred pounds weight (of silver) per day."[ ] end of book ii. footnotes: [ ] xenophon. essay on the revenues of athens, iv., . "but we cannot but feel surprised that the state, when it sees many private individuals enriching themselves from its resources, does not imitate their proceedings; for we heard long ago, indeed, at least such of us as attended to these matters, that nicias the son of niceratus kept a thousand men employed in the silver mines, whom he let on hire to sosias of thrace on condition that he should give him for each an obolus a day, free of all charges; and this number he always supplied undiminished." (see also note ). an obolus a day each, would be about oz. troy of silver per day for the whole number. in modern value this would, of course, be but about s. per day, but in purchasing power the value would probably be to (see note on p. ). nicias was estimated to have a fortune of talents--about , troy ounces of silver, and was one of the wealthiest of the athenians. (plutarch, life of nicias). [ ] xenophon. _oeconomicus_ xii., . "'i approve,' said ischomachus, 'of the barbarian's answer to the king who found a good horse, and, wishing to fatten it as soon as possible, asked a man with a good reputation for horsemanship what would do it?' the man's reply was: 'its master's eye.'" [ ] _praefectus metallorum._ in saxony this official was styled the _berghauptmann_. for further information see page and note on page . [ ] this statement is either based upon apollodorus, whom agricola does not mention among his authorities, or on strabo, whom he does so include. the former in his work on mythology makes such a statement, for which strabo (xiv., , ) takes him to task as follows: "with this vain intention they collected the stories related by the scepsian (demetrius), and taken from callisthenes and other writers, who did not clear them from false notions respecting the halizones; for example, that the wealth of tantalus and of the pelopidae was derived, it is said, from the mines about phrygia and sipylus; that of cadmus from the mines of thrace and mount pangaeum; that of priam from the gold mines of astyra, near abydos (of which at present there are small remains, yet there is a large quantity of matter ejected, and the excavations are proofs of former workings); that of midas from the mines about mount bermium; that of gyges, alyattes, and croesus, from the mines in lydia and the small deserted city between atarneus and pergamum, where are the sites of exhausted mines." (hamilton's trans., vol. iii., p. ). in adopting this view, agricola apparently applied a wonderful realism to some greek mythology--for instance, in the legend of midas, which tells of that king being rewarded by the god dionysus, who granted his request that all he touched might turn to gold; but the inconvenience of the gift drove him to pray for relief, which he obtained by bathing in the pactolus, the sands of which thereupon became highly auriferous. priam was, of course, king of troy, but homer does not exhibit him as a mine-owner. gyges, alyattes, and croesus were successively kings of lydia, from to b.c., and were no doubt possessed of great treasure in gold. some few years ago we had occasion to inquire into extensive old workings locally reputed to be croesus' mines, at a place some distance north of smyrna, which would correspond very closely to the locality here mentioned. [ ] there can be no doubt that the carthaginians worked the mines of spain on an extensive scale for a very long period anterior to their conquest by the romans, but whether the mines were worked by the government or not we are unable to find any evidence. [ ] the silver mines of mt. laurion formed the economic mainstay of athens for the three centuries during which the state had the ascendency in greece, and there can be no doubt that the dominance of athens and its position as a sea-power were directly due to the revenues from the mines. the first working of the mines is shrouded in mystery. the scarcity of silver in the time of solon ( - b.c.) would not indicate any very considerable output at that time. according to xenophon (essay on revenue of athens, iv., ), written about b.c., "they were wrought in very ancient times." the first definite discussion of the mines in greek record begins about b.c., for about that time the royalties began to figure in the athenian budget (aristotle, constitution of athens, ). there can be no doubt that the mines reached great prosperity prior to the persian invasion. in the year b.c. the mines returned talents (about , oz. troy) to the treasury, and this, on the advice of themistocles, was devoted to the construction of the fleet which conquered the persians at salamis ( b.c.). the mines were much interfered with by the spartan invasions from to b.c., and again by their occupation in b.c.; and by b.c., when xenophon wrote the "revenues," exploitation had fallen to a low ebb, for which he proposes the remedies noted by agricola on p. . by the end of the th century, b.c., the mines had again reached considerable prosperity, as is evidenced by demosthenes' orations against pantaenetus and against phaenippus, and by lycurgus' prosecution of diphilos for robbing the supporting pillars. the domination of the macedonians under philip and alexander at the end of the th and beginning of the rd centuries b.c., however, so flooded greece with money from the mines of thrace, that this probably interfered with laurion, at this time, in any event, began the decadence of these mines. synchronous also was the decadence of athens, and, but for fitful displays, the state was not able to maintain even its own independence, not to mention its position as a dominant state. finally, strabo, writing about b.c. gives the epitaph of every mining district--reworking the dumps. he says (ix., , ): "the silver mines in attica were at first of importance, but are now exhausted. the workmen, when the mines yielded a bad return to their labour, committed to the furnace the old refuse and scoria, and hence obtained very pure silver, for the former workmen had carried on the process in the furnace unskilfully." since , the mines have been worked with some success by a french company, thus carrying the mining history of this district over a period of twenty-seven centuries. the most excellent of many memoirs upon the mines at laurion, not only for its critical, historical, and archæological value, but also because of its author's great insight into mining and metallurgy, is that of edouard ardaillon (_les mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, paris, ). we have relied considerably upon this careful study for the following notes, and would refer others to it for a short bibliography on the subject. we would mention in passing that augustus boeckh's "silver mines of laurion," which is incorporated with his "public economy of athens" (english translation by lewis, london, ) has been too much relied upon by english students. it is no doubt the product of one acquainted with written history, but without any special knowledge of the industry and it is based on no antiquarian research. the mt. laurion mining district is located near the southern end of the attic peninsula. the deposits are silver-lead, and they occur along the contact between approximately horizontal limestones and slates. there are two principal beds of each, thus forming three principal contacts. the most metalliferous of these contacts are those at the base of the slates, the lowest contact of the series being the richest. the ore-bodies were most irregular, varying greatly in size, from a thin seam between schist planes, to very large bodies containing as much as , cubic metres. the ores are argentiferous galena, accompanied by considerable amounts of blende and pyrites, all oxidized near the surface. the ores worked by the ancients appear to have been fairly rich in lead, for the discards worked in recent years by the french company, and the pillars left behind, ran % to % lead. the ratio of silver was from to ounces per ton of lead. the upper contacts were exposed by erosion and could be entered by tunnels, but the lowest and most prolific contact line was only to be reached by shafts. the shafts were ordinarily from four to six feet square, and were undoubtedly cut by hammer and chisel; they were as much as feet deep. in some cases long inclines for travelling roads join the vertical shafts in depth. the drives, whether tunnels or from shafts, were not level, but followed every caprice of the sinuous contact. they were from two to two and a half feet wide, often driven in parallels with cross-cuts between, in order to exploit every corner of the contact. the stoping of ore-bodies discovered was undertaken quite systematically, the methods depending in the main on the shape of the ore-body. if the body was large, its dimensions were first determined by drives, crosscuts, rises, and winzes, as the case might require. if the ore was mainly overhead it was overhand-stoped, and the stopes filled as work progressed, inclined winzes being occasionally driven from the stopes to the original entry drives. if the ore was mainly below, it was underhand-stoped, pillars being left if necessary--such pillars in some cases being thirty feet high. they also employed timber and artificial pillars. the mines were practically dry. there is little evidence of breaking by fire. the ore was hand-sorted underground and carried out by the slaves, and in some cases apparently the windlass was used. it was treated by grinding in mills and concentrating upon a sort of buddle. these concentrates--mostly galena--were smelted in low furnaces and the lead was subsequently cupelled. further details of metallurgical methods will be found in notes on p. and p. , on metallurgical subjects. the mines were worked by slaves. even the overseers were at times apparently slaves, for we find (xenophon, _memorabilia_, ii., ) that nicias paid a whole talent for a good overseer. a talent would be about troy ounces of silver. as wages of skilled labour were about two and one half pennyweights of silver per diem, and a family income of ounces of silver per annum was affluence, the ratio of purchasing power of attic coinage to modern would be about to . therefore this mine manager was worth in modern value roughly £ , . the mines were the property of the state. the areas were defined by vertical boundaries, and were let on lease for definite periods for a fixed annual rent. more ample discussion of the law will be found on p. . [ ] xenophon. (essay on the revenues, iv., ). "i think, however, that i am able to give some advice with regard to this difficulty also (the risk of opening new mines), and to show how new operations may be conducted with the greatest safety. there are ten tribes at athens, and if to each of these the state should assign an equal number of slaves, and the tribes should all make new cuttings, sharing their fortunes in common, then if but one tribe should make any useful discovery it would point out something profitable to the whole; but if two, three, or four, or half the number should make some discovery, it is plain that the works would be more profitable in proportion, and that they should all fail is contrary to all experience in past times." (watson's trans. p. ). [ ] agricola here refers to the proposal of xenophon for the state to collect slaves and hire them to work the mines of laurion. there is no evidence that this recommendation was ever carried out. [ ] _partes._ agricola, p. - , describes in detail the organization and management of these share companies. see note , p. . [ ] this island in the northern Ægean sea has produced this "earth" from before theophrastus' time ( - b.c.) down to the present day. according to dana (system of mineralogy ), it is cimolite, a hydrous silicate of aluminium. the ancients distinguished two kinds,--one sort used as a pigment, and the other for medicinal purposes. this latter was dug with great ceremony at a certain time of the year, moulded into cubes, and stamped with a goat,--the symbol of diana. it thus became known as _terra sigillata_, and was an article of apothecary commerce down to the last century. it is described by galen (xii., ), dioscorides (v., ), and pliny (xxxv., ), as a remedy for ulcers and snake bites. [ ] _magister metallorum_. see note , p. , for the reasons of the adoption of the term _bergmeister_ and page for details of his duties. [ ] _ramenta_. "particles." the author uses this term indifferently for fragments, particles of mineral, concentrates, gold dust, black tin, etc., in all cases the result of either natural or artificial concentration. as in technical english we have no general term for both natural and artificial "concentrates," we have rendered it as the context seemed to demand. [ ] a certain amount of bitumen does float ashore in the dead sea; the origin of it is, however, uncertain. strabo (xvi., , ), pliny (v., and ), and josephus (iv., ), all mention this fact. the lake for this reason is often referred to by the ancient writers by the name _asphaltites_. [ ] _excoctor_,--literally, "smelter" or "metallurgist." [ ] this reference should be to the _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), although there is a short reference to the matter in _de ortu et causis_ (p. ). agricola maintained that not only were jet and amber varieties of bitumen, but also coal and camphor and obsidian. as jet (_gagates_) is but a compact variety of coal, the ancient knowledge of this substance has more interest than would otherwise attach to the gem, especially as some materials described in this connection were no doubt coal. the greeks often refer to a series of substances which burned, contained earth, and which no doubt comprised coal. such substances are mentioned by aristotle (_de mirabilibus_. , , ), nicander (_theriaca_. ), and others, previous to the nd century b.c., but the most ample description is that of theophrastus ( - ): "some of the more brittle stones there also are, which become as it were burning coals when put into a fire, and continue so a long time; of this kind are those about bena, found in mines and washed down by the torrents, for they will take fire on burning coals being thrown on them, and will continue burning as long as anyone blows them; afterward they will deaden, and may after that be made to burn again. they are therefore of long continuance, but their smell is troublesome and disagreeable. that also which is called the _spinus_, is found in mines. this stone, cut in pieces and thrown together in a heap, exposed to the sun, burns; and that the more, if it be moistened or sprinkled with water (a pyritiferous shale?). but the _lipara_ stone empties itself, as it were, in burning, and becomes like the _pumice_, changing at once both its colour and density; for before burning it is black, smooth, and compact. this stone is found in the pumices, separately in different places, as it were, in cells, nowhere continuous to the matter of them. it is said that in melos the pumice is produced in this manner in some other stone, as this is on the contrary in it; but the stone which the pumice is found in is not at all like the _lipara_ stone which is found in it. certain stones there are about tetras, in sicily, which is over against lipara, which empty themselves in the same manner in the fire. and in the promontory called erineas, there is a great quantity of stone like that found about bena, which, when burnt, emits a bituminous smell, and leaves a matter resembling calcined earth. those fossil substances that are called coals, and are broken for use, are earthy; they kindle, however, and burn like wood coals. these are found in liguria, where there also is amber, and in elis, on the way to olympia over the mountains. these are used by smiths." (based on hill's trans.). dioscorides and pliny add nothing of value to this description. agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. - ) not only gives various localities of jet, but also records its relation to coal. as to the latter, he describes several occurrences, and describes the deposits as _vena dilatata_. coal had come into considerable use all over europe, particularly in england, long before agricola's time; the oft-mentioned charter to mine sea-coal given to the monks of newbottle abbey, near preston, was dated . amber was known to the greeks by the name _electrum_, but whether the alloy of the same name took its name from the colour of amber or _vice versa_ is uncertain. the gum is supposed to be referred to by homer (od. xv. ), and thales of miletus ( - b.c.) is supposed to have first described its power of attraction. it is mentioned by many other greek authors, Æschylus, euripides, aristotle, and others. the latter (_de mirabilibus_, ) records of the amber islands in the adriatic, that the inhabitants tell the story that on these islands amber falls from poplar trees. "this, they say, resembles gum and hardens like stone, the story of the poets being that after phaeton was struck by lightning his sisters turned to poplar trees and shed tears of amber." theophrastus ( ) says: "amber is also a stone; it is dug out of the earth in liguria and has, like the before-mentioned (lodestone), a power of attraction." pliny (xxxvii., ) gives a long account of both the substance, literature, and mythology on the subject. his view of its origin was: "certainly amber is obtained from the islands of the northern ocean, and is called by the germans _glaesum_. for this reason the romans, when germanicus cæsar commanded in those parts, called one of them _glaesaria_, which was known to the barbarians as _austeravia_. amber originates from gum discharged by a kind of pine tree, like gum from cherry and resin from the ordinary pine. it is liquid at first, and issues abundantly and hardens in time by cold, or by the sea when the rising tides carry off the fragments from the shores of those islands. certainly it is thrown on the coasts, and is so light that it appears to roll in the water. our forefathers believed that it was the juice of a tree, for they called it _succinum_. and that it belongs to a kind of pine tree is proved by the odour of the pine tree which it gives when rubbed, and that it burns when ignited like a pitch pine torch." the term amber is of arabic origin--from _ambar_--and this term was adopted by the greeks after the christian era. agricola uses the latin term _succinum_ and (_de nat. fos._, p. - ) disputes the origin from tree gum, and contends for submarine bitumen springs. [ ] the statement in _de veteribus et novis metallis_ (p. ) is as follows:-- "it came about by chance and accident that the silver mines were discovered at freiberg in meissen. by the river sala, which is not unknown to strabo, is hala, which was once country, but is now a large town; the site, at any rate, even from roman times was famous and renowned for its salt springs, for the possession of which the hermunduri fought with the chatti. when people carried the salt thence in wagons, as they now do straight through meissen (saxony) into bohemia--which is lacking in that seasoning to-day no less than formerly--they saw galena in the wheel tracks, which had been uncovered by the torrents. this lead ore, since it was similar to that of goslar, they put into their carts and carried to goslar, for the same carriers were accustomed to carry lead from that city. and since much more silver was smelted from this galena than from that of goslar, certain miners betook themselves to that part of meissen in which is now situated freiberg, a great and wealthy town; and we are told by consistent stories and general report that they grew rich out of the mines." agricola places the discovery of the mines at freiberg at about . see note , p. . [ ] diodorus siculus (v., ). "these places being covered with woods, it is said that in ancient times these mountains were set on fire by shepherds, and continued burning for many days, and parched the earth, so that an abundance of silver ore was melted, and the metal flowed in streams of pure silver like a river." aristotle, nearly three centuries before diodorus, mentions this same story (_de mirabilibus_, ): "they say that in ibernia the woods were set on fire by certain shepherds, and the earth thus heated, the country visibly flowed silver; and when some time later there were earthquakes, and the earth burst asunder at different places, a large amount of silver was collected." as the works of posidonius are lost, it is probable that agricola was quoting from strabo (iii., , ), who says, in describing spain: "posidonius, in praising the amount and excellence of the metals, cannot refrain from his accustomed rhetoric, and becomes quite enthusiastic in exaggeration. he tells us we are not to disbelieve the fable that formerly the forests having been set on fire, the earth, which was loaded with silver and gold, melted and threw up these metals to the surface, for inasmuch as every mountain and wooded hill seemed to be heaped up with money by a lavish fortune." (hamilton's trans. i., p. ). or he may have been quoting from the _deipnosophistae_ of athenaeus (vi.), where posidonius is quoted: "and the mountains ... when once the woods upon them had caught fire, spontaneously ran with liquid silver." [ ] lucretius, _de rerum natura_ v. . [ ] agricola's account of this event in _de veteribus et novis metallis_ is as follows (p. ): "now veins are not always first disclosed by the hand and labour of man, nor has art always demonstrated them; sometimes they have been disclosed rather by chance or by good fortune. i will explain briefly what has been written upon this matter in history, what miners tell us, and what has occurred in our times. thus the mines at goslar are said to have been found in the following way. a certain noble, whose name is not recorded, tied his horse, which was named ramelus, to the branch of a tree which grew on the mountain. this horse, pawing the earth with its hoofs, which were iron shod, and thus turning it over, uncovered a hidden vein of lead, not unlike the winged pegasus, who in the legend of the poets opened a spring when he beat the rock with his hoof. so just as that spring is named hippocrene after that horse, so our ancestors named the mountain rammelsberg. whereas the perennial water spring of the poets would long ago have dried up, the vein even to-day exists, and supplies an abundant amount of excellent lead. that a horse can have opened a vein will seem credible to anyone who reflects in how many ways the signs of veins are shown by chance, all of which are explained in my work _de re metallica_. therefore, here we will believe the story, both because it may happen that a horse may disclose a vein, and because the name of the mountain agrees with the story." agricola places the discovery of goslar in the hartz at prior to . see note , p. . [ ] _fragmenta_. the glossary gives "_geschube_." this term is defined in the _bergwerks' lexicon_ (chemnitz, , p. ) as the pieces of stone, especially tin-stone, broken from the vein and washed out by the water--the croppings. [ ] so far as we are able to discover, this is the first published description of the divining rod as applied to minerals or water. like agricola, many authors have sought to find its origin among the ancients. the magic rods of moses and homer, especially the rod with which the former struck the rock at horeb, the rod described by ctesias (died b.c.) which attracted gold and silver, and the _virgula divina_ of the romans have all been called up for proof. it is true that the romans are responsible for the name _virgula divina_, "divining rod," but this rod was used for taking auguries by casting bits of wood (cicero, _de divinatione_). despite all this, while the ancient naturalists all give detailed directions for finding water, none mention anything akin to the divining rod of the middle ages. it is also worth noting that the monk theophilus in the th century also gives a detailed description of how to find water, but makes no mention of the rod. there are two authorities sometimes cited as prior to agricola, the first being basil valentine in his "last will and testament" (xxiv-viii.), and while there may be some reason (see appendix) for accepting the authenticity of the "triumphal chariot of antimony" by this author, as dating about , there can be little doubt that the "last will and testament" was spurious and dated about years after agricola. paracelsus (_de natura rerum_ ix.), says: "these (divinations) are vain and misleading, and among the first of them are divining rods, which have deceived many miners. if they once point rightly they deceive ten or twenty times." in his _de origine morborum invisibilium_ (book i.) he adds that the "faith turns the rod." these works were no doubt written prior to _de re metallica_--paracelsus died in --but they were not published until some time afterward. those interested in the strange persistence of this superstition down to the present day--and the files of the patent offices of the world are full of it--will find the subject exhaustively discussed in m. e. chevreul's "_de la baguette divinatoire_," paris, ; l. figuier, "_histoire du merveilleux dans les temps moderne ii._", paris, ; w. f. barrett, proceedings of the society of psychical research, part , , and , ; r. w. raymond, american inst. of mining engineers, , p. . of the descriptions by those who believed in it there is none better than that of william pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , pp. - ), who devotes much pains to a refutation of agricola. when we consider that a century later than agricola such an advanced mind as robert boyle ( - ), the founder of the royal society, was convinced of the genuineness of the divining rod, one is more impressed with the clarity of agricola's vision. in fact, there were few indeed, down to the th century, who did not believe implicitly in the effectiveness of this instrument, and while science has long since abandoned it, not a year passes but some new manifestation of its hold on the popular mind breaks out. [ ] exodus vii., , , . [ ] odyssey xvi., , and x., . [ ] odyssey xxiv., , etc. the _caduceus_ of hermes had also the power of turning things to gold, and it is interesting to note that in its oldest form, as the insignia of heralds and of ambassadors, it had two prongs. [ ] in a general way _venae profundae_ were fissure veins and _venae dilatatae_ were sheeted deposits. for description see book iii. [ ] these mines are in the erzgebirge. we have adopted the names given in the german translation. [ ] the quotation from pliny (xxxiii., ) as a whole reads as follows:-- "silver is found in nearly all the provinces, but the finest of all in spain; where it is found in the barren lands, and in the mountains. wherever one vein of silver has been found, another is sure to be found not far away. this is the case of nearly all the metals, whence it appears that the greeks derived _metalla_. it is wonderful that the shafts begun by hannibal in spain still remain, their names being derived from their makers. one of these at the present day called baebelo, furnished hannibal with three hundred pounds' weight (of silver) per day. this mountain is excavated for a distance of fifteen hundred paces; and for this distance there are waterbearers lighted by torches standing night and day baling out the water in turns, thus making quite a river." hannibal dates - b.c. and was therefore dead years when pliny was born. according to a footnote in bostock and riley's translation of pliny, these workings were supposed to be in the neighbourhood of castulo, now cazlona, near linares. it was at castulo that hannibal married his rich wife himilce; and in the hills north of linares there are ancient silver mines still known as los pozos de anibal. book iii. previously i have given much information concerning the miners, also i have discussed the choice of localities for mining, for washing sands, and for evaporating waters; further, i described the method of searching for veins. with such matters i was occupied in the second book; now i come to the third book, which is about veins and stringers, and the seams in the rocks[ ]. the term "vein" is sometimes used to indicate _canales_ in the earth, but very often elsewhere by this name i have described that which may be put in vessels[ ]; i now attach a second significance to these words, for by them i mean to designate any mineral substances which the earth keeps hidden within her own deep receptacles. [illustration a (vein in mountain): a, c--the mountain. b--_vena profunda_.] first i will speak of the veins, which, in depth, width, and length, differ very much one from another. those of one variety descend from the surface of the earth to its lowest depths, which on account of this characteristic, i am accustomed to call "_venae profundae_." [illustration b (vein in mountain): a, d--the mountain. b, c--_vena dilatata_.] another kind, unlike the _venae profundae_, neither ascend to the surface of the earth nor descend, but lying under the ground, expand over a large area; and on that account i call them "_venae dilatatae_." [illustration (veins in mountain): a, b, c, d--the mountain. e, f, g, h, i, k--_vena cumulata_.] another occupies a large extent of space in length and width; therefore i usually call it "_vena cumulata_," for it is nothing else than an accumulation of some certain kind of mineral, as i have described in the book entitled _de subterraneorum ortu et causis_. it occasionally happens, though it is unusual and rare, that several accumulations of this kind are found in one place, each one or more fathoms in depth and four or five in width, and one is distant from another two, three, or more fathoms. when the excavation of these accumulations begins, they at first appear in the shape of a disc; then they open out wider; finally from each of such accumulations is usually formed a "_vena cumulata_." [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--_vena profunda_. b--_intervenium_. c--another _vena profunda_.] [illustration b (veins in mountain): a & b--_vena dilatatae_. c--_intervenium_. d & e--other _venae dilatatae_.] the space between two veins is called an _intervenium_; this interval between the veins, if it is between _venae dilatatae_ is entirely hidden underground. if, however, it lies between _venae profundae_ then the top is plainly in sight, and the remainder is hidden. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--wide _vena profunda_. b--narrow _vena profunda_.] _venae profundae_ differ greatly one from another in width, for some of them are one fathom wide, some are two cubits, others one cubit; others again are a foot wide, and some only half a foot; all of which our miners call wide veins. others on the contrary, are only a palm wide, others three digits, or even two; these they call narrow. but in other places where there are very wide veins, the widths of a cubit, or a foot, or half a foot, are said to be narrow; at cremnitz, for instance, there is a certain vein which measures in one place fifteen fathoms in width, in another eighteen, and in another twenty; the truth of this statement is vouched for by the inhabitants. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--thin _vena dilatata_. b--thick _vena dilatata_.] _venae dilatatae_, in truth, differ also in thickness, for some are one fathom thick, others two, or even more; some are a cubit thick, some a foot, some only half a foot; and all these are usually called thick veins. some on the other hand, are but a palm thick, some three digits, some two, some one; these are called thin veins. [illustration b (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--seams in the rock (_commissurae saxorum_).] _venae profundae_ vary in direction; for some run from east to west. [illustration a (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others, on the other hand, run from west to east. [illustration b (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others run from south to north. [illustration (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others, on the contrary, run from north to south. the seams in the rocks indicate to us whether a vein runs from the east or from the west. for instance, if the rock seams incline toward the westward as they descend into the earth, the vein is said to run from east to west; if they incline toward the east, the vein is said to run from west to east; in a similar manner, we determine from the rock seams whether the veins run north or south. [illustration (compass)] now miners divide each quarter of the earth into six divisions; and by this method they apportion the earth into twenty-four directions, which they divide into two parts of twelve each. the instrument which indicates these directions is thus constructed. first a circle is made; then at equal intervals on one half portion of it right through to the other, twelve straight lines called by the greeks [greek: diametroi], and in the latin _dimetientes_, are drawn through a central point which the greeks call [greek: kentron], so that the circle is thus divided into twenty-four divisions, all being of an equal size. then, within the circle are inscribed three other circles, the outermost of which has cross-lines dividing it into twenty-four equal parts; the space between it and the next circle contains two sets of twelve numbers, inscribed on the lines called "diameters"; while within the innermost circle it is hollowed out to contain a magnetic needle[ ]. the needle lies directly over that one of the twelve lines called "diameters" on which the number xii is inscribed at both ends. when the needle which is governed by the magnet points directly from the north to the south, the number xii at its tail, which is forked, signifies the north, that number xii which is at its point indicates the south. the sign vi superior indicates the east, and vi inferior the west. further, between each two cardinal points there are always five others which are not so important. the first two of these directions are called the prior directions; the last two are called the posterior, and the fifth direction lies immediately between the former and the latter; it is halved, and one half is attributed to one cardinal point and one half to the other. for example, between the northern number xii and the eastern number vi, are points numbered i, ii, iii, iv, v, of which i and ii are northern directions lying toward the east, iv and v are eastern directions lying toward the north, and iii is assigned, half to the north and half to the east. one who wishes to know the direction of the veins underground, places over the vein the instrument just described; and the needle, as soon as it becomes quiet, will indicate the course of the vein. that is, if the vein proceeds from vi to vi, it either runs from east to west, or from west to east; but whether it be the former or the latter, is clearly shown by the seams in the rocks. if the vein proceeds along the line which is between v and vi toward the opposite direction, it runs from between the fifth and sixth divisions of east to the west, or from between the fifth and sixth divisions of west to the east; and again, whether it is the one or the other is clearly shown by the seams in the rocks. in a similar manner we determine the other directions. [illustration (compass with winds)] now miners reckon as many points as the sailors do in reckoning up the number of the winds. not only is this done to-day in this country, but it was also done by the romans who in olden times gave the winds partly latin names and partly names borrowed from the greeks. any miner who pleases may therefore call the directions of the veins by the names of the winds. there are four principal winds, as there are four cardinal points: the _subsolanus_, which blows from the east; and its opposite the _favonius_, which blows from the west; the latter is called by the greeks [greek: zephyros], and the former [greek: apêliôtês]. there is the _auster_, which blows from the south; and opposed to it is the _septentrio_, from the north; the former the greeks called [greek: notos], and the latter [greek: aparktias]. there are also subordinate winds, to the number of twenty, as there are directions, for between each two principal winds there are always five subordinate ones. between the _subsolanus_ (east wind) and the _auster_ (south wind) there is the _ornithiae_ or the bird wind, which has the first place next to the _subsolanus_; then comes _caecias_; then _eurus_, which lies in the midway of these five; next comes _vulturnus_; and lastly, _euronotus_, nearest the _auster_ (south wind). the greeks have given these names to all of these, with the exception of _vulturnus_, but those who do not distinguish the winds in so precise a manner say this is the same as the greeks called [greek: euros]. between the _auster_ (south wind) and the _favonius_ (west wind) is first _altanus_, to the right of the _auster_ (south wind); then _libonotus_; then _africus_, which is the middle one of these five; after that comes _subvesperus_; next _argestes_, to the left of _favonius_ (west wind). all these, with the exception of _libonotus_ and _argestes_, have latin names; but _africus_ also is called by the greeks [greek: lips]. in a similar manner, between _favonius_ (west wind) and _septentrio_ (north wind), first to the right of _favonius_ (west wind), is the _etesiae_; then _circius_; then _caurus_, which is in the middle of these five; then _corus_; and lastly _thrascias_ to the left of _septentrio_ (north wind). to all of these, except that of _caurus_, the greeks gave the names, and those who do not distinguish the winds by so exact a plan, assert that the wind which the greeks called [greek: koros] and the latins _caurus_ is one and the same. again, between _septentrio_ (north wind) and the _subsolanus_ (east wind), the first to the right of _septentrio_ (north wind) is _gallicus_; then _supernas_; then _aquilo_, which is the middle one of these five; next comes _boreas_; and lastly _carbas_, to the left of _subsolanus_ (east wind). here again, those who do not consider the winds to be in so great a multitude, but say there are but twelve winds in all, or at the most fourteen, assert that the wind called by the greeks [greek: boreas] and the latins _aquilo_ is one and the same. for our purpose it is not only useful to adopt this large number of winds, but even to double it, as the german sailors do. they always reckon that between each two there is one in the centre taken from both. by this method we also are able to signify the intermediate directions by means of the names of the winds. for instance, if a vein runs from vi east to vi west, it is said to proceed from _subsolanus_ (east wind) to _favonius_ (west wind); but one which proceeds from between v and vi of the east to between v and vi west is said to proceed out of the middle of _carbas_ and _subsolanus_ to between _argestes_ and _favonius_; the remaining directions, and their intermediates are similarly designated. the miner, on account of the natural properties of a magnet, by which the needle points to the south, must fix the instrument already described so that east is to the left and west to the right. [illustration (veins in mountain): a, b--_venae dilatatae_. c--_seams in the rocks_.] in a similar way to _venae profundae_, the _venae dilatatae_ vary in their lateral directions, and we are able to understand from the seams in the rocks in which direction they extend into the ground. for if these incline toward the west in depth, the vein is said to extend from east to west; if on the contrary, they incline toward the east, the vein is said to go from west to east. in the same way, from the rock seams we can determine veins running south and north, or the reverse, and likewise to the subordinate directions and their intermediates. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--straight _vena profunda_. b--curved _vena profunda_ [should be _vena dilatata_(?)].] further, as regards the question of direction of a _vena profunda_, one runs straight from one quarter of the earth to that quarter which is opposite, while another one runs in a curve, in which case it may happen that a vein proceeding from the east does not turn to the quarter opposite, which is the west, but twists itself and turns to the south or the north. [illustration b (veins in mountain): a--horizontal _vena dilatata_. b--inclined _vena dilatata_. c--curved _vena dilatata_.] similarly some _venae dilatatae_ are horizontal, some are inclined, and some are curved. [illustration a (veins in mountain)] also the veins which we call _profundae_ differ in the manner in which they descend into the depths of the earth; for some are vertical (a), some are inclined and sloping (b), others crooked (c). [illustration b (veins in mountain)] moreover, _venae profundae_ (b) differ much among themselves regarding the kind of locality through which they pass, for some extend along the slopes of mountains or hills (a-c) and do not descend down the sides. [illustration a (veins in mountain)] other _venae profundae_ (d, e, f) from the very summit of the mountain or hill descend the slope (a) to the hollow or valley (b), and they again ascend the slope or the side of the mountain or hill opposite (c). [illustration b (veins in mountain)] other _venae profundae_ (c, d) descend the mountain or hill (a) and extend out into the plain (b). [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--mountainous plain. b--_vena profunda_.] some veins run straight along on the plateaux, the hills, or plains. [illustration b (intersections of veins): a--principal vein. b--transverse vein. c--vein cutting principal one obliquely.] in the next place, _venae profundae_ differ not a little in the manner in which they intersect, since one may cross through a second transversely, or one may cross another one obliquely as if cutting it in two. [illustration (intersections of veins): a--principal vein. b--vein which cuts a obliquely. c--part carried away. d--that part which has been carried forward.] if a vein which cuts through another principal one obliquely be the harder of the two, it penetrates right through it, just as a wedge of beech or iron can be driven through soft wood by means of a tool. if it be softer, the principal vein either drags the soft one with it for a distance of three feet, or perhaps one, two, three, or several fathoms, or else throws it forward along the principal vein; but this latter happens very rarely. but that the vein which cuts the principal one is the same vein on both sides, is shown by its having the same character in its footwalls and hangingwalls. [illustration a (intersections of veins): a, b--two veins descend inclined and dip toward each other. c--junction. likewise two veins. d--indicates one descending vertically. e--marks the other descending inclined, which dips toward d. f--their junction.] sometimes _venae profundae_ join one with another, and from two or more outcropping veins[ ], one is formed; or from two which do not outcrop one is made, if they are not far distant from each other, and the one dips into the other, or if each dips toward the other, and they thus join when they have descended in depth. in exactly the same way, out of three or more veins, one may be formed in depth. [illustration b (intersections of veins)] however, such a junction of veins sometimes disunites and in this way it happens that the vein which was the right-hand vein becomes the left; and again, the one which was on the left becomes the right. furthermore, one vein may be split and divided into parts by some hard rock resembling a beak, or stringers in soft rock may sunder the vein and make two or more. these sometimes join together again and sometimes remain divided. [illustration (intersections of veins): a, b--veins dividing. c--the same joining.] whether a vein is separating from or uniting with another can be determined only from the seams in the rocks. for example, if a principal vein runs from the east to the west, the rock seams descend in depth likewise from the east toward the west, and the associated vein which joins with the principal vein, whether it runs from the south or the north, has its rock seams extending in the same way as its own, and they do not conform with the seams in the rock of the principal vein--which remain the same after the junction--unless the associated vein proceeds in the same direction as the principal vein. in that case we name the broader vein the principal one, and the narrower the associated vein. but if the principal vein splits, the rock seams which belong respectively to the parts, keep the same course when descending in depth as those of the principal vein. [illustration (intersections of veins): a, c--_vena dilatata_ crossing a _vena profunda_. b--_vena profunda_. d, e--_vena dilatata_ which junctions with a _vena profunda_. f--_vena profunda_. g--_vena dilatata_. h, i--its divided parts. k--_vena profunda_ which divides the _vena dilatata_.] but enough of _venae profundae_, their junctions and divisions. now we come to _venae dilatatae_. a _vena dilatata_ may either cross a _vena profunda_, or join with it, or it may be cut by a _vena profunda_, and be divided into parts. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning" (_origo_). b--the "end" (_finis_). c--the "head" (_caput_). d--the "tail" (_cauda_).] finally, a _vena profunda_ has a "beginning" (_origo_), an "end" (_finis_), a "head" (_caput_), and a "tail" (_cauda_). that part whence it takes its rise is said to be its "beginning," that in which it terminates the "end." its "head"[ ] is that part which emerges into daylight; its "tail" that part which is hidden in the earth. but miners have no need to seek the "beginning" of veins, as formerly the kings of egypt sought for the source of the nile, but it is enough for them to discover some other part of the vein and to recognise its direction, for seldom can either the "beginning" or the "end" be found. the direction in which the head of the vein comes into the light, or the direction toward which the tail extends, is indicated by its footwall and hangingwall. the latter is said to hang, and the former to lie. the vein rests on the footwall, and the hangingwall overhangs it; thus, when we descend a shaft, the part to which we turn the face is the footwall and seat of the vein, that to which we turn the back is the hangingwall. also in another way, the head accords with the footwall and the tail with the hangingwall, for if the footwall is toward the south, the vein extends its head into the light toward the south; and the hangingwall, because it is always opposite to the footwall, is then toward the north. consequently the vein extends its tail toward the north if it is an inclined _vena profunda_. similarly, we can determine with regard to east and west and the subordinate and their intermediate directions. a _vena profunda_ which descends into the earth may be either vertical, inclined, or crooked; the footwall of an inclined vein is easily distinguished from the hangingwall, but it is not so with a vertical vein; and again, the footwall of a crooked vein is inverted and changed into the hangingwall, and contrariwise the hangingwall is twisted into the footwall, but very many of these crooked veins may be turned back to vertical or inclined ones. [illustration b (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning." b--the "end." c, d--the "sides."] a _vena dilatata_ has only a "beginning" and an "end," and in the place of the "head" and "tail" it has two sides. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning." b--the "end." c--the "head." d--the "tail." e--transverse vein.] a _vena cumulata_ has a "beginning," an "end," a "head," and a "tail," just as a _vena profunda_. moreover, a _vena cumulata_, and likewise a _vena dilatata_, are often cut through by a transverse _vena profunda_. [illustration a (fibra dilatata): a, b--veins. c--transverse stringer. d--oblique stringer. e--associated stringer. f--_fibra dilatata_.] stringers (_fibrae_)[ ], which are little veins, are classified into _fibrae transversae_, _fibrae obliquae_ which cut the vein obliquely, _fibrae sociae_, _fibrae dilatatae_, and _fibrae incumbentes_. the _fibra transversa_ crosses the vein; the _fibra obliqua_ crosses the vein obliquely; the _fibra socia_ joins with the vein itself; the _fibra dilatata_, like the _vena dilatata_, penetrates through it; but the _fibra dilatata_, as well as the _fibra profunda_, is usually found associated with a vein. [illustration b (fibra incumbens): a--vein. b--_fibra incumbens_ from the surface of the hangingwall. c--same from the footwall.] the _fibra incumbens_ does not descend as deeply into the earth as the other stringers, but lies on the vein, as it were, from the surface to the hangingwall or footwall, from which it is named _subdialis_.[ ] in truth, as to direction, junctions, and divisions, the stringers are not different from the veins. [illustration (seams in the rocks): a--seams which proceed from the east. b--the inverse.] lastly, the seams, which are the very finest stringers (_fibrae_), divide the rock, and occur sometimes frequently, sometimes rarely. from whatever direction the vein comes, its seams always turn their heads toward the light in the same direction. but, while the seams usually run from one point of the compass to another immediately opposite it, as for instance, from east to west, if hard stringers divert them, it may happen that these very seams, which before were running from east to west, then contrariwise proceed from west to east, and the direction of the rocks is thus inverted. in such a case, the direction of the veins is judged, not by the direction of the seams which occur rarely, but by those which constantly recur. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--solid vein. b--solid stringer. c--cavernous vein. d--cavernous stringer. e--barren vein. f--barren stringer.] both veins or stringers may be solid or drusy, or barren of minerals, or pervious to water. solid veins contain no water and very little air. the drusy veins rarely contain water; they often contain air. those which are barren of minerals often carry water. solid veins and stringers consist sometimes of hard materials, sometimes of soft, and sometimes of a kind of medium between the two. but to return to veins. a great number of miners consider[ ] that the best veins in depth are those which run from the vi or vii direction of the east to the vi or vii direction of the west, through a mountain slope which inclines to the north; and whose hangingwalls are in the south, and whose footwalls are in the north, and which have their heads rising to the north, as explained before, always like the footwall, and finally, whose rock seams turn their heads to the east. and the veins which are the next best are those which, on the contrary, extend from the vi or vii direction of the west to the vi or vii direction of the east, through the slope of a mountain which similarly inclines to the north, whose hangingwalls are also in the south, whose footwalls are in the north, and whose heads rise toward the north; and lastly, whose rock seams raise their heads toward the west. in the third place, they recommend those veins which extend from xii north to xii south, through the slope of a mountain which faces east; whose hangingwalls are in the west, whose footwalls are in the east; whose heads rise toward the east; and whose rock seams raise their heads toward the north. therefore they devote all their energies to those veins, and give very little or nothing to those whose heads, or the heads of whose rock seams rise toward the south or west. for although they say these veins sometimes show bright specks of pure metal adhering to the stones, or they come upon lumps of metal, yet these are so few and far between that despite them it is not worth the trouble to excavate such veins; and miners who persevere in digging in the hope of coming upon a quantity of metal, always lose their time and trouble. and they say that from veins of this kind, since the sun's rays draw out the metallic material, very little metal is gained. but in this matter the actual experience of the miners who thus judge of the veins does not always agree with their opinions, nor is their reasoning sound; since indeed the veins which run from east to west through the slope of a mountain which inclines to the south, whose heads rise likewise to the south, are not less charged with metals, than those to which miners are wont to accord the first place in productiveness; as in recent years has been proved by the st. lorentz vein at abertham, which our countrymen call gottsgaab, for they have dug out of it a large quantity of pure silver; and lately a vein in annaberg, called by the name of himmelsch hoz[ ], has made it plain by the production of much silver that veins which extend from the north to the south, with their heads rising toward the west, are no less rich in metals than those whose heads rise toward the east. it may be denied that the heat of the sun draws the metallic material out of these veins; for though it draws up vapours from the surface of the ground, the rays of the sun do not penetrate right down to the depths; because the air of a tunnel which is covered and enveloped by solid earth to the depth of only two fathoms is cold in summer, for the intermediate earth holds in check the force of the sun. having observed this fact, the inhabitants and dwellers of very hot regions lie down by day in caves which protect them from the excessive ardour of the sun. therefore it is unlikely that the sun draws out from within the earth the metallic bodies. indeed, it cannot even dry the moisture of many places abounding in veins, because they are protected and shaded by the trees. furthermore, certain miners, out of all the different kinds of metallic veins, choose those which i have described, and others, on the contrary, reject copper mines which are of this sort, so that there seems to be no reason in this. for what can be the reason if the sun draws no copper from copper veins, that it draws silver from silver veins, and gold from gold veins? moreover, some miners, of whose number was calbus[ ], distinguish between the gold-bearing rivers and streams. a river, they say, or a stream, is most productive of fine and coarse grains of gold when it comes from the east and flows to the west, and when it washes against the foot of mountains which are situated in the north, and when it has a level plain toward the south or west. in the second place, they esteem a river or a stream which flows in the opposite course from the west toward the east, and which has the mountains to the north and the level plain to the south. in the third place, they esteem the river or the stream which flows from the north to the south and washes the base of the mountains which are situated in the east. but they say that the river or stream is least productive of gold which flows in a contrary direction from the south to the north, and washes the base of mountains which are situated in the west. lastly, of the streams or rivers which flow from the rising sun toward the setting sun, or which flow from the northern parts to the southern parts, they favour those which approach the nearest to the lauded ones, and say they are more productive of gold, and the further they depart from them the less productive they are. such are the opinions held about rivers and streams. now, since gold is not generated in the rivers and streams, as we have maintained against albertus[ ] in the book entitled "_de subterraneorum ortu et causis_," book v, but is torn away from the veins and stringers and settled in the sands of torrents and water-courses, in whatever direction the rivers or streams flow, therefore it is reasonable to expect to find gold therein; which is not opposed by experience. nevertheless, we do not deny that gold is generated in veins and stringers which lie under the beds of rivers or streams, as in other places. end of book iii. footnotes: [ ] modern nomenclature in the description of ore-deposits is so impregnated with modern views of their origin, that we have considered it desirable in many instances to adopt the latin terms used by the author, for we believe this method will allow the reader greater freedom of judgment as to the author's views. the latin names retained are usually expressive even to the non-latin student. in a general way, a _vena profunda_ is a fissure vein, a _vena dilatata_ is a bedded deposit, and a _vena cumulata_ an impregnation, or a replacement or a _stockwerk_. the _canales_, as will appear from the following footnote, were ore channels. "the seams of the rocks" (_commissurae saxorum_) are very puzzling. the author states, as appears in the following note, that they are of two kinds,--contemporaneous with the formation of the rocks, and also of the nature of veinlets. however, as to their supposed relation to the strike of veins, we can offer no explanation. there are passages in this chapter where if the word "ore-shoot" were introduced for "seams in the rocks" the text would be intelligible. that is, it is possible to conceive the view that the determination of whether an east-west vein ran east or ran west was dependent on the dip of the ore-shoot along the strike. this view, however, is utterly impossible to reconcile with the description and illustration of _commissurae saxorum_ given on page , where they are defined as the finest stringers. the following passage from the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ (see appendix), reads very much as though the dip of ore-shoots was understood at this time in relation to the direction of veins. "every vein (_gang_) has two (outcrops) _ausgehen_, one of the _ausgehen_ is toward daylight along the whole length of the vein, which is called the _ausgehen_ of the whole vein. the other _ausgehen_ is contrary to or toward the strike (_streichen_) of the vein, according to its rock (_gestein_), that is called the _gesteins ausgehen_; for instance, every vein that has its strike from east to west has its _gesteins ausgehen_ to the east, and _vice-versa_." agricola's classification of ore-deposits, after the general distinction between alluvial and _in situ_ deposits, is based entirely upon form, as will be seen in the quotation below relating to the origin of _canales_. the german equivalents in the glossary are as follows:-- fissure vein (_vena profunda_) _gang._ bedded deposit (_vena dilatata_) _schwebender gang oder fletze._ stockwerk or impregnation (_vena cumulata_) _geschute oder stock._ stringer (_fibra_) _klufft._ seams or joints (_commissurae saxorum_) _absetzen des gesteins._ it is interesting to note that in _de natura fossilium_ he describes coal and salt, and later in _de re metallica_ he describes the mannsfeld copper schists, as all being _venae dilatatae_. this nomenclature and classification is not original with agricola. pliny (xxxiii, ) uses the term _vena_ with no explanations, and while agricola coined the latin terms for various kinds of veins, they are his transliteration of german terms already in use. the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ gives this same classification. historical note on the theory of ore deposits. prior to agricola there were three schools of explanation of the phenomena of ore deposits, the orthodox followers of the genesis, the greek philosophers, and the alchemists. the geology of the genesis--the contemporaneous formation of everything--needs no comment other than that for anyone to have proposed an alternative to the dogma of the orthodox during the middle ages, required much independence of mind. of the greek views--which are meagre enough--that of the peripatetics greatly dominated thought on natural phenomena down to the th century. aristotle's views may be summarized: the elements are earth, water, air, and fire; they are transmutable and never found pure, and are endowed with certain fundamental properties which acted as an "efficient" force upon the material cause--the elements. these properties were dryness and dampness and heat and cold, the latter being active, the former passive. further, the elements were possessed of weight and lightness, for instance earth was absolutely heavy, fire absolutely light. the active and passive properties existed in binary combinations, one of which is characteristic, _i.e._, "earth" is cold and dry, water damp and cold, fire hot and dry, air hot and wet; transmutation took place, for instance, by removing the cold from water, when air resulted (really steam), and by removing the dampness from water, when "earth" resulted (really any dissolved substance). the transmutation of the elements in the earth (meaning the globe) produces two "exhalations," the one fiery (probably meaning gases), the other damp (probably meaning steam). the former produces stones, the latter the metals. theophrastus (on stones, i to vii.) elaborates the views of aristotle on the origin of stones, metals, etc.: "of things formed in the earth some have their origin from water, others from earth. water is the basis of metals, silver, gold, and the rest; 'earth' of stones, as well the more precious as the common.... all these are formed by solidification of matter pure and equal in its constituent parts, which has been brought together in that state by mere afflux or by means of some kind of percolation, or separated.... the solidification is in some of these substances due to heat and in others to cold." (based on hill's trans., pp. - ). that is, the metals inasmuch as they become liquid when heated must be in a large part water, and, like water, they solidify with cold. therefore, the "metals are cold and damp." stones, on the other hand, solidify with heat and do not liquefy, therefore, they are "dry and hot" and partake largely of "earth." this "earth" was something indefinite, but purer and more pristine than common clay. in discussing the ancient beliefs with regard to the origin of deposits, we must not overlook the import of the use of the word "vein" (_vena_) by various ancient authors including pliny (xxxiii, ), although he offers no explanation of the term. during the middle ages there arose the horde of alchemists and astrologers, a review of the development of whose muddled views is but barren reading. in the main they held more or less to the peripatetic view, with additions of their own. geber ( th (?) century, see appendix b) propounded the conception that all metals were composed of varying proportions of "spiritual" sulphur and quicksilver, and to these albertus magnus added salt. the astrologers contributed the idea that the immediate cause of the metals were the various planets. the only work devoted to description of ore-deposits prior to agricola was the _bergbüchlin_ (about , see appendix b), and this little book exhibits the absolute apogee of muddled thought derived from the peripatetics, the alchemists, and the astrologers. we believe it is of interest to reproduce the following statement, if for no other reason than to indicate the great advance in thought shown by agricola. "the first chapter or first part; on the common origin of ore, whether silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, or lead ore, in which they all appear together, and are called by the common name of metallic ore. it must be noticed that for the washing or smelting of metallic ore, there must be the one who works and the thing that is worked upon, or the material upon which the work is expended. the general worker (efficient force) on the ore and on all things that are born, is the heavens, its movement, its light and influences, as the philosophers say. the influence of the heavens is multiplied by the movement of the firmaments and the movements of the seven planets. therefore, every metallic ore receives a special influence from its own particular planet, due to the properties of the planet and of the ore, also due to properties of heat, cold, dampness, and dryness. thus gold is of the sun or its influence, silver of the moon, tin of jupiter, copper of venus, iron of mars, lead of saturn, and quicksilver of mercury. therefore, metals are often called by these names by hermits and other philosophers. thus gold is called the sun, in latin _sol_, silver is called the moon, in latin _luna_, as is clearly stated in the special chapters on each metal. thus briefly have we spoken of the 'common worker' of metal and ore. but the thing worked upon, or the common material of all metals, according to the opinion of the learned, is sulphur and quicksilver, which through the movement and influence of the heavens must have become united and hardened into one metallic body or one ore. certain others hold that through the movement and the influence of the heavens, vapours or _braden_, called mineral exhalations, are drawn up from the depths of the earth, from sulphur and quicksilver, and the rising fumes pass into the veins and stringers and are united through the effect of the planets and made into ore. certain others hold that metal is not formed from quicksilver, because in many places metallic ore is found and no quicksilver. but instead of quicksilver they maintain a damp and cold and slimy material is set up on all sulphur which is drawn out from the earth, like your perspiration, and from that mixed with sulphur all metals are formed. now each of these opinions is correct according to a good understanding and right interpretation; the ore or metal is formed from the fattiness of the earth as the material of the first degree (primary element), also the vapours or _braden_ on the one part and the materials on the other part, both of which are called quicksilver. likewise in the mingling or union of the quicksilver and the sulphur in the ore, the sulphur is counted the male and quicksilver the female, as in the bearing or conception of a child. also the sulphur is a special worker in ore or metal. "the second chapter or part deals with the general capacity of the mountain. although the influence of the heavens and the fitness of the material are necessary to the formation of ore or metal, yet these are not enough thereto. but there must be adaptability of the natural vessel in which the ore is formed, such are the veins, namely _steinendegange_, _flachgange_, _schargange_, _creutzgange_, or as these may be termed in provincial names. also the mineral force must have easy access to the natural vessel such as through the _kluffte_ (stringers), namely _hengkluft_, _querklufte_, _flachekluffte_, _creutzklufft_, and other occasional _flotzwerk_, according to their various local names. also there must be a suitable place in the mountain which the veins and stringers can traverse." agricola's views on the origin of ore deposits. agricola rejected absolutely the biblical view which, he says, was the opinion of the vulgar; further, he repudiates the alchemistic and astrological view with great vigour. there can be no doubt, however, that he was greatly influenced by the peripatetic philosophy. he accepted absolutely the four elements--earth, fire, water, and air, and their "binary" properties, and the theory that every substance had a material cause operated upon by an efficient force. beyond this he did not go, and a large portion of _de ortu et causis_ is devoted to disproof of the origin of metals and stones from the peripatetic "exhalations." no one should conclude that agricola's theories are set out with the clarity of darwin or lyell. however, the matter is of such importance in the history of the theory of ore-deposits, and has been either so ignored or so coloured by the preconceptions of narrators, that we consider it justifiable to devote the space necessary to a reproduction of his own statements in _de ortu et causis_ and other works. before doing so we believe it will be of service to readers to summarize these views, and in giving quotations from the author's other works, to group them under special headings, following the outline of his theory given below. his theory was:-- ( ) openings in the earth (_canales_) were formed by the erosion of subterranean waters. ( ) these ground waters were due (_a_) to the infiltration of the surface waters, rain, river, and sea water; (_b_) to the condensation of steam (_halitus_) arising from the penetration of the surface waters to greater depths,--the production of this _halitus_ being due to subterranean heat, which in his view was in turn due in the main to burning bitumen (a comprehensive genera which embraced coal). ( ) the filling of these _canales_ is composed of "earth," "solidified juices," "stone," metals, and "compounds," all deposited from water and "juices" circulating in the _canales_. (see also note , page ). "earth" comprises clay, mud, ochre, marl, and "peculiar earths" generally. the origin of these "earths" was from rocks, due to erosion, transportation, and deposition by water. "solidified juices" (_succi concreti_) comprised salt, soda, vitriol, bitumen, etc., being generally those substances which he conceived were soluble in and deposited from water. "stones" comprised precious, semi-precious, and unusual stones, such as quartz, fluor-spar, etc., as distinguished from country rock; the origin of these he attributed in minor proportion to transportation of fragments of rock, but in the main to deposits from ordinary mineral juice and from "stone juice" (_succus lapidescens_). metals comprised the seven traditional metals; the "compounds" comprised the metallic minerals; and both were due to deposition from juices, the compounds being due to a mixture of juices. the "juices" play the most important part in agricola's theory. each substance had its own particular juice, and in his theory every substance had a material and an efficient cause, the first being the juice, the second being heat or cold. owing to the latter the juices fell into two categories--those solidified by heat (_i.e._, by evaporation, such as salt), and those solidified by cold, (_i.e._, because metals melt and flow by heat, therefore their solidification was due to cold, and the juice underwent similar treatment). as to the origin of these juices, some were generated by the solution of their own particular substance, but in the main their origin was due to the combination of "dry things," such as "earth," with water, the mixture being heated, and the resultant metals depended upon the proportions of "earth" and water. in some cases we have been inclined to translate _succus_ (juice) as "solution," but in other cases it embraced substances to which this would not apply, and we feared implying in the text a chemical understanding not warranted prior to the atomic theory. in order to distinguish between earths, (clays, etc.,) the peripatetic "earth" (a pure element) and the earth (the globe) we have given the two former in quotation marks. there is no doubt some confusion between earth (clays, etc.) and the peripatetic "earth," as the latter was a pure substance not found in its pristine form in nature; it is, however, difficult to distinguish between the two. origin of canales (_de ortu_, p. ). "i now come to the _canales_ in the earth. these are veins, veinlets, and what are called 'seams in the rocks.' these serve as vessels or receptacles for the material from which minerals (_res fossiles_) are formed. the term _vena_ is most frequently given to what is contained in the _canales_, but likewise the same name is applied to the _canales_ themselves. the term vein is borrowed from that used for animals, for just as their veins are distributed through all parts of the body, and just as by means of the veins blood is diffused from the liver throughout the whole body, so also the veins traverse the whole globe, and more particularly the mountainous districts; and water runs and flows through them. with regard to veinlets or stringers and 'seams in the rocks,' which are the thinnest stringers, the following is the mode of their arrangement. veins in the earth, just like the veins of an animal, have certain veinlets of their own, but in a contrary way. for the larger veins of animals pour blood into the veinlets, while in the earth the humours are usually poured from the veinlets into the larger veins, and rarely flow from the larger into the smaller ones. as for the seams in the rocks (_commissurae saxorum_) we consider that they are produced by two methods: by the first, which is peculiar to themselves, they are formed at the same time as the rocks, for the heat bakes the refractory material into stone and the non-refractory material similarly heated exhales its humours and is made into 'earth,' generally friable. the other method is common also to veins and veinlets, when water is collected into one place it softens the rock by its liquid nature, and by its weight and pressure breaks and divides it. now, if the rock is hard, it makes seams in the rocks and veinlets, and if it is not too hard it makes veins. however, if the rocks are not hard, seams and veinlets are created as well as veins. if these do not carry a very large quantity of water, or if they are pressed by a great volume of it, they soon discharge themselves into the nearest veins. the following appears to be the reason why some veinlets or stringers and veins are _profundae_ and others _dilatatae_. the force of the water crushes and splits the brittle rocks; and when they are broken and split, it forces its way through them and passes on, at one time in a downward direction, making small and large _venae profundae_, at another time in a lateral direction, in which way _venae dilatatae_ are formed. now since in each class there are found some which are straight, some inclined, and some crooked, it should be explained that the water makes the _vena profunda_ straight when it runs straight downward, inclined when it runs in an inclined direction; and that it makes a _vena dilatata_ straight when it runs horizontally to the right or left, and in a similar way inclined when it runs in a sloping direction. stringers and large veins of the _profunda_ sort, extending for considerable lengths, become crooked from two causes. in one case when narrow veins are intersected by wide ones, then the latter bend or drag the former a little. in the other case, when the water runs against very hard rock, being unable to break through, it goes around the nearest way, and the stringers and veins are formed bent and crooked. this last is also the reason we sometimes see crooked small and large _venae dilatatae_, not unlike the gentle rise and fall of flowing water. next, _venae profundae_ are wide, either because of abundant water or because the rock is fragile. on the other hand, they are narrow, either because but little water flows and trickles through them, or because the rock is very hard. the _venae dilatatae_, too, for the same reasons, are either thin or thick. there are other differences, too, in stringers and veins, which i will explain in my work _de re metallica_.... there is also a third kind of vein which, as it cannot be described as a wide _vena profunda_, nor as a thick _vena dilatata_, we will call a _vena cumulata_. these are nothing else than places where some species of mineral is accumulated; sometimes exceeding in depth and also in length and breadth feet; sometimes, or rather generally, not so deep nor so long, nor so wide. these are created when water has broken away the rock for such a length, breadth, and thickness, and has flung aside and ejected the stones and sand from the great cavern which is thus made; and afterward when the mouth is obstructed and closed up, the whole cavern is filled with material from which there is in time produced some one or more minerals. now i have stated when discoursing on the origin of subterranean humours, that water erodes away substances inside the earth, just as it does those on the surface, and least of all does it shun minerals; for which reason we may daily see veinlets and veins sometimes filled with air and water, but void and empty of mining products, and sometimes full of these same materials. even those which are empty of minerals become finally obstructed, and when the rock is broken through at some other point the water gushes out. it is certain that old springs are closed up in some way and new ones opened in others. in the same manner, but much more easily and quickly than in the solid rock, water produces stringers and veins in surface material, whether it be in plains, hills, or mountains. of this kind are the stringers in the banks of rivers which produce gold, and the veins which produce peculiar earth. so in this manner in the earth are made _canales_ which bear minerals." origin of ground waters. (_de ortu_ p. ). "... besides rain there is another kind of water by which the interior of the earth is soaked, so that being heated it can continually give off _halitus_, from which arises a great and abundant force of waters." in description of the _modus operandi_ of _halitum_, he says (p. ): "... _halitus_ rises to the upper parts of the _canales_, where the congealing cold turns it into water, which by its gravity and weight again runs down to the lowest parts and increases the flow of water if there is any. if any finds its way through a _canales dilatata_ the same thing happens, but it is carried a long way from its place of origin. the first phase of distillation teaches us how this water is produced, for when that which is put into the ampulla is warmed it evaporates (_expirare_), and this _halitus_ rising into the operculum is converted by cold into water, which drips through the spout. in this way water is being continually created underground." (_de ortu_, p. ): "and so we know from all this that of the waters which are under the earth, some are collected from rain, some arise from _halitus_ (steam), some from river-water, some from sea-water; and we know that the _halitum_ is produced within the earth partly from rain-water, partly from river-water, and partly from sea-water." it would require too much space to set out agricola's views upon the origin of the subterranean heat which produced this steam. it is an involved theory embracing clashing winds, burning bitumen, coal, etc., and is fully set out in the latter part of book ii, _de ortu et causis_. origin of gangue minerals. it is necessary to bear in mind that agricola divided minerals (_res fossiles_--"things dug up," see note , p. ) into "earths," "solidified juices," "stones," "metals," and "compounds;" and, further, to bear in mind that in his conception of the origin of things generally, he was a disciple of the peripatetic logic of a "material substance" and an "efficient force," as mentioned above. as to the origin of "earths," he says (_de ortu_, p. ): "pure and simple 'earth' originates in the _canales_ in the following way: rain water, which is absorbed by the surface of the earth, first of all penetrates and passes into the inner parts of the earth and mixes with it; next, it is collected from all sides into stringers and veins, where it, and sometimes water of other origin, erodes the 'earth' away,--a great quantity of it if the stringers and veins are in 'earth,' a small quantity if they are in rock. the softer the rock is, the more the water wears away particles by its continual movement. to this class of rock belongs limestone, from which we see chalk, clay, and marl, and other unctuous 'earths' made; also sandstone, from which are made those barren 'earths' which we may see in ravines and on bare rocks. for the rain softens limestone or sandstone and carries particles away with it, and the sediment collects together and forms mud, which afterward solidifies into some kind of 'earth.' in a similar way under the ground the power of water softens the rock and dissolves the coarser fragments of stone. this is clearly shown by the following circumstance, that frequently the powder of rock or marble is found in a soft state and as if partly dissolved. now, the water carries this mixture into the course of some underground _canalis_, or dragging it into narrow places, filters away. and in each case the water flows away and a pure and uniform material is left from which 'earth' is made.... particles of rock, however, are only by force of long time so softened by water as to become similar to particles of 'earth.' it is possible to see 'earth' being made in this way in underground _canales_ in the earth, when drifts or tunnels are driven into the mountains, or when shafts are sunk, for then the _canales_ are laid bare; also it can be seen above ground in ravines, as i have said, or otherwise disclosed. for in both cases it is clear to the eye that they are made out of the 'earth' or rocks, which are often of the same colour. and in just the same way they are made in the springs which the veins discharge. since all those things which we see with our eyes and which are perceived with our senses, are more clearly understood than if they were learnt by means of reasoning, we deem it sufficient to explain by this argument our view of the origin of 'earth.' in the manner which i have described, 'earths' originate in veins and veinlets, seams in the rocks, springs, ravines, and other openings, therefore all 'earths' are made in this way. as to those that are found in underground _canales_ which do not appear to have been derived from the earth or rock adjoining, these have undoubtedly been carried by the water for a greater distance from their place of origin; which may be made clear to anyone who seeks their source." on the origin of solidified juices he states (_de ortu_, p. ): "i will now speak of solidified juices (_succi concreti_). i give this name to those minerals which are without difficulty resolved into liquids (_humore_). some stones and metals, even though they are themselves composed of juices, have been compressed so solidly by the cold that they can only be dissolved with difficulty or not at all.... for juices, as i said above, are either made when dry substances immersed in moisture are cooked by heat, or else they are made when water flows over 'earth,' or when the surrounding moisture corrodes metallic material; or else they are forced out of the ground by the power of heat alone. therefore, solidified juices originate from liquid juices, which either heat or cold have condensed. but that which heat has dried, fire reduces to dust, and moisture dissolves. not only does warm or cold water dissolve certain solidified juices, but also humid air; and a juice which the cold has condensed is liquefied by fire and warm water. a salty juice is condensed into salt; a bitter one into soda; an astringent and sharp one into alum or into vitriol. skilled workmen in a similar way to nature, evaporate water which contains juices of this kind until it is condensed; from salty ones they make salt, from aluminous ones alum, from one which contains vitriol they make vitriol. these workmen imitate nature in condensing liquid juices with heat, but they cannot imitate nature in condensing them by cold. from an astringent juice not only is alum made and vitriol, but also _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_, which appears to be the 'flower' of vitriol, just as _melanteria_ is of _sory_. (see note on p. for these minerals.) when humour corrodes pyrites so that it is friable, an astringent juice of this kind is obtained." on the origin of stones (_de ortu_, p. ), he states: "it is now necessary to review in a few words what i have said as to all of the material from which stones are made; there is first of all mud; next juice which is solidified by severe cold; then fragments of rock; afterward stone juice (_succus lapidescens_), which also turns to stone when it comes out into the air; and lastly, everything which has pores capable of receiving a stony juice." as to an "efficient force," he states (p. ): "but it is now necessary that i should explain my own view, omitting the first and antecedent causes. thus the immediate causes are heat and cold; next in some way a stony juice. for we know that stones which water has dissolved, are solidified when dried by heat; and on the contrary, we know that stones which melt by fire, such as quartz, solidify by cold. for solidification and the conditions which are opposite thereto, namely, dissolving and liquefying, spring from causes which are the opposite to each other. heat, driving the water (_humorem_) out of a substance, makes it hard; and cold, by withdrawing the air, solidifies the same stone firmly. but if a stony juice, either alone or mixed with water, finds its way into the pores either of plants or animals ... it creates stones.... if stony juice is obtained in certain stony places and flows through the veins, for this reason certain springs, brooks, streams, and lakes, have the power of turning things to stone." on the origin of metals, he says (_de ortu_, p. ): "having now refuted the opinions of others, i must explain what it really is from which metals are produced. the best proof that there is water in their materials is the fact that they flow when melted, whereas they are again solidified by the cold of air or water. this, however, must be understood in the sense that there is more water in them and less 'earth'; for it is not simply water that is their substance but water mixed with 'earth.' and such a proportion of 'earth' is in the mixture as may obscure the transparency of the water, but not remove the brilliance which is frequently in unpolished things. again, the purer the mixture, the more precious the metal which is made from it, and the greater its resistance to fire. but what proportion of 'earth' is in each liquid from which a metal is made no mortal can ever ascertain, or still less explain, but the one god has known it, who has given certain sure and fixed laws to nature for mixing and blending things together. it is a juice (_succus_) then, from which metals are formed; and this juice is created by various operations. of these operations the first is a flow of water which softens the 'earth' or carries the 'earth' along with it, thus there is a mixture of 'earth' and water, then the power of heat works upon the mixtures so as to produce that kind of a juice. we have spoken of the substance of metals; we must now speak of their efficient cause.... (p. ): we do not deny the statement of albertus magnus that the mixture of 'earth' and water is baked by subterranean heat to a certain denseness, but it is our opinion that the juice so obtained is afterward solidified by cold so as to become a metal.... we grant, indeed, that heat is the efficient cause of a good mixture of elements, and also cooks this same mixture into a juice, but until this juice is solidified by cold it is not a metal.... (p. ): this view of aristotle is the true one. for metals melt through the heat and somehow become softened; but those which have become softened through heat are again solidified by the influence of cold, and, on the contrary, those which become softened by moisture are solidified by heat." on the origin of compounds, he states (_de ortu_, p. ): "there now remain for our consideration the compound minerals (_mistae_), that is to say, minerals which contain either solidified juice (_succus concretus_) and 'stone,' or else metal or metals and 'stone,' or else metal-coloured 'earth,' of which two or more have so grown together by the action of cold that one body has been created. by this sign they are distinguished from mixed minerals (_composita_), for the latter have not one body. for example, pyrites, galena, and ruby silver are reckoned in the category of compound minerals, whereas we say that metallic 'earths' or stony 'earths' or 'earths' mingled with juices, are mixed minerals; or similarly, stones in which metal or solidified juices adhere, or which contain 'earth.' but of both these classes i will treat more fully in my book _de natura fossilium_. i will now discuss their origin in a few words. a compound mineral is produced when either a juice from which some metal is obtained, or a _humour_ and some other juice from which stone is obtained, are solidified by cold, or when two or more juices of different metals mixed with the juice from which stone is made, are condensed by the same cold, or when a metallic juice is mixed with 'earth' whose whole mass is stained with its colour, and in this way they form one body. to the first class belongs _galena_, composed of lead juice and of that material which forms the substance of opaque stone. similarly, transparent ruby silver is made out of silver juice and the juice which forms the substance of transparent stone; when it is smelted into pure silver, since from it is separated the transparent juice, it is no longer transparent. then too, there is pyrites, or _lapis fissilis_, from which sulphur is melted. to the second kind belongs that kind of pyrites which contains not only copper and stone, but sometimes copper, silver, and stone; sometimes copper, silver, gold, and stone; sometimes silver, lead, tin, copper and silver glance. that compound minerals consist of stone and metal is sufficiently proved by their hardness; that some are made of 'earth' and metal is proved from brass, which is composed of copper and calamine; and also proved from white brass, which is coloured by artificial white arsenic. sometimes the heat bakes some of them to such an extent that they appear to have flowed out of blazing furnaces, which we may see in the case of _cadmia_ and pyrites. a metallic substance is produced out of 'earth' when a metallic juice impregnating the 'earth' solidifies with cold, the 'earth' not being changed. a stony substance is produced when viscous and non-viscous 'earth' are accumulated in one place and baked by heat; for then the viscous part turns into stone and the non-viscous is only dried up." the origin of juices. the portion of agricola's theory surrounding this subject is by no means easy to follow in detail, especially as it is difficult to adjust one's point of view to the peripatetic elements, fire, water, earth, and air, instead of to those of the atomic theory which so dominates our every modern conception. that agricola's 'juice' was in most cases a solution is indicated by the statement (_de ortu_, p. ): "nor is juice anything but water, which on the other hand has absorbed 'earth' or has corroded or touched metal and somehow become heated." that he realized the difference between mechanical suspension and solution is evident from (_de ortu_, p. ): "a stony juice differs from water which has abraded something from rock, either because it has more of that which deposits, or because heat, by cooking water of that kind, has thickened it, or because there is something in it which has powerful astringent properties." much of the author's notion of juices has already been given in the quotations regarding various minerals, but his most general statement on the subject is as follows:--(_de ortu_, p. ): "juices, however, are distinguished from water by their density (_crassitudo_), and are generated in various ways--either when dry things are soaked with moisture and the mixture is heated, in which way by far the greatest part of juices arise, not only inside the earth, but outside it; or when water running over the earth is made rather dense, in which way, for the most part the juice becomes salty and bitter; or when the moisture stands upon metal, especially copper, and corrodes it, and in this way is produced the juice from which chrysocolla originates. similarly, when the moisture corrodes friable cupriferous pyrites an acrid juice is made from which is produced vitriol and sometimes alum; or, finally, juices are pressed out by the very force of the heat from the earth. if the force is great the juice flows like pitch from burning pine ... in this way we know a kind of bitumen is made in the earth. in the same way different kinds of moisture are generated in living bodies, so also the earth produces waters differing in quality, and in the same way juices." conclusion. if we strip his theory of the necessary influence of the state of knowledge of his time, and of his own deep classical learning, we find two propositions original with agricola, which still to-day are fundamentals: ( ) that ore channels were of origin subsequent to their containing rocks; ( ) that ores were deposited from solutions circulating in these openings. a scientist's work must be judged by the advancement he gave to his science, and with this gauge one can say unhesitatingly that the theory which we have set out above represents a much greater step from what had gone before than that of almost any single observer since. moreover, apart from any tangible proposition laid down, the deduction of these views from actual observation instead of from fruitless speculation was a contribution to the very foundation of natural science. agricola was wrong in attributing the creation of ore channels to erosion alone, and it was not until von oppel (_anleitung zur markscheidekunst_, dresden, and other essays), two centuries after agricola, that the positive proposition that ore channels were due to fissuring was brought forward. von oppel, however, in neglecting channels due to erosion (and in this term we include solution) was not altogether sound. nor was it until late in the th century that the filling of ore channels by deposition from solutions was generally accepted. in the meantime, agricola's successors in the study of ore deposits exhibited positive retrogression from the true fundamentals advocated by him. gesner, utman, meier, lohneys, barba, rössler, becher, stahl, henckel, and zimmerman, all fail to grasp the double essentials. other writers of this period often enough merely quote agricola, some not even acknowledging the source, as, for instance, pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, ) and williams (natural history of the mineral kingdom, london, ). after von oppel, the two fundamental principles mentioned were generally accepted, but then arose the complicated and acrimonious discussion of the origin of solutions, and nothing in agricola's view was so absurd as werner's contention (_neue theorie von der entstehung der gänge_, freiberg, ) of the universal chemical deluge which penetrated fissures open at the surface. while it is not the purpose of these notes to pursue the history of these subjects subsequent to the author's time, it is due to him and to the current beliefs as to the history of the theory of ore deposits, to call the attention of students to the perverse representation of agricola's views by werner (op. cit.) upon which most writers have apparently relied. why this author should be (as, for instance, by posepny, amer. inst. mining engineers, ) so generally considered the father of our modern theory, can only be explained by a general lack of knowledge of the work of previous writers on ore deposition. not one of the propositions original with werner still holds good, while his rejection of the origin of solutions within the earth itself halted the march of advance in thought on these subjects for half a century. it is our hope to discuss exhaustively at some future time the development of the history of this, one of the most far-reaching of geologic hypotheses. [ ] the latin _vena_, "vein," is also used by the author for ore; hence this descriptive warning as to its intended double use. [ ] the endeavour to discover the origin of the compass with the chinese, arabs, or other orientals having now generally ceased, together with the idea that the knowledge of the lodestone involved any acquaintance with the compass, it is permissible to take a rational view of the subject. the lodestone was well known even before plato and aristotle, and is described by theophrastus (see note , p. .) the first authentic and specific mention of the compass appears to be by alexander neckam (an englishman who died in ), in his works _de utensilibus_ and _de naturis rerum_. the first tangible description of the instrument was in a letter to petrus peregrinus de maricourt, written in , a translation of which was published by sir sylvanus thompson (london, ). his circle was divided into four quadrants and these quarters divided into degrees each. the first mention of a compass in connection with mines so far as we know is in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, a review of which will be found in appendix b. this book, which dates from , gives a compass much like the one described above by agricola. it is divided in like manner into two halves of divisions each. the four cardinal points being marked _mitternacht_, _morgen_, _mittag_, and _abend_. thus the directions read were referred to as ii. after midnight, etc. according to joseph carne (trans. roy. geol. socy. of cornwall, vol. ii, ), the cornish miners formerly referred to north-south veins as o'clock veins; south-east north-west veins as o'clock veins, etc. [ ] _crudariis._ pliny (xxxiii., ), says:--"_argenti vena in summo reperta crudaria appellatur._" "silver veins discovered at the surface are called _crudaria._" the german translator of agricola uses the term _sylber gang_--silver vein, obviously misunderstanding the author's meaning. [ ] it might be considered that the term "outcrop" could be used for "head," but it will be noticed that a _vena dilatata_ would thus be stated to have no outcrop. [ ] it is possible that "veinlets" would be preferred by purists, but the word "stringer" has become fixed in the nomenclature of miners and we have adopted it. the old english term was "stringe," and appears in edward manlove's "rhymed chronicle," london, ; pryce's, _mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , pp. and ; mawe's "mineralogy of devonshire," london, , p. , etc., etc. [ ] _subdialis._ "in the open air." the glossary gives the meaning as _ein tag klufft oder tag gehenge_--a surface stringer. [ ] the following from chapter iv of the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (see appendix b) may indicate the source of the theory which agricola here discards:--"as to those veins which are most profitable to work, it must be remarked that the most suitable location for the vein is on the slope of the mountain facing south, so its strike is from vii or vi east to vi or vii west. according to the above-mentioned directions, the outcrop of the whole vein should face north, its _gesteins ausgang_ toward the east, its hangingwall toward the south, and its footwall toward the north, for in such mountains and veins the influence of the planets is conveniently received to prepare the matter out of which the silver is to be made or formed.... the other strikes of veins from between east and south to the region between west and north are esteemed more or less valuable, according to whether they are nearer or further away from the above-mentioned strikes, but with the same hangingwall, footwall, and outcrops. but the veins having their strike from north to south, their hangingwall toward the west, their footwall and their outcrops toward the east, are better to work than veins which extend from south to north, whose hangingwalls are toward the east, and footwalls and outcrops toward the west. although the latter veins sometimes yield solid and good silver ore, still it is not sure and certain, because the whole mineral force is completely scattered and dispersed through the outcrop, etc." [ ] the names in the latin are given as _donum divinum_--"god's gift," and _coelestis exercitus_--"heavenly host." the names given in the text are from the german translation. the former of these mines was located in the valley of joachim, where agricola spent many years as the town physician at joachimsthal. it is of further interest, as agricola obtained an income from it as a shareholder. he gives the history of the mine (_de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i.), as follows:--"the mines at abertham were discovered, partly by chance, partly by science. in the eleventh year of charles v. ( ), on the th of february, a poor miner, but one skilled in the art of mining, dwelt in the middle of the forest in a solitary hut, and there tended the cattle of his employer. while digging a little trench in which to store milk, he opened a vein. at once he washed some in a bowl and saw particles of the purest silver settled at the bottom. overcome with joy he informed his employer, and went to the _bergmeister_ and petitioned that official to give him a head mining lease, which in the language of our people he called _gottsgaab_. then he proceeded to dig the vein, and found more fragments of silver, and the miners were inspired with great hopes as to the richness of the vein. although such hopes were not frustrated, still a whole year was spent before they received any profits from the mine; whereby many became discouraged and did not persevere in paying expenses, but sold their shares in the mine; and for this reason, when at last an abundance of silver was being drawn out, a great change had taken place in the ownership of the mine; nay, even the first finder of the vein was not in possession of any share in it, and had spent nearly all the money which he had obtained from the selling of his shares. then this mine yielded such a quantity of pure silver as no other mine that has existed within our own or our fathers' memories, with the exception of the st. george at schneeberg. we, as a shareholder, through the goodness of god, have enjoyed the proceeds of this 'god's gift' since the very time when the mine began first to bestow such riches." later on in the same book he gives the following further information with regard to these mines:--"now if all the individual mines which have proved fruitful in our own times are weighed in the balance, the one at annaberg, which is known as the _himmelsch hoz_, surpasses all others. for the value of the silver which has been dug out has been estimated at , rhenish gulden. next to this comes the lead mine in joachimsthal, whose name is the _sternen_, from which as much silver has been dug as would be equivalent to , rhenish gulden; from the gottsgaab at abertham, explained before, the equivalent of , . but far before all others within our fathers' memory stands the st. george of schneeberg, whose silver has been estimated as being equal to two million rhenish gulden." a rhenish gulden was about . shillings, or, say, $ . . however, the ratio value of silver to gold at this period was about . to one, or in other words an ounce of silver was worth about a gulden, so that, for purposes of rough calculation, one might say that the silver product mentioned in gulden is practically of the same number of ounces of silver. moreover, it must be remembered that the purchasing power of money was vastly greater then. [ ] the following passage occurs in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (chap. v.), which is interesting on account of the great similarity to agricola's quotation:--"the best position of the stream is when it has a cliff beside it on the north and level ground on the south, but its current should be from east to west--that is the most suitable. the next best after this is from west to east, with the same position of the rocks as already stated. the third in order is when the stream flows from north to south with rocks toward the east, but the worst flow of water for the preparation of gold is from south to north if a rock or hill rises toward the west." calbus was probably the author of this booklet. [ ] albertus magnus. book iv. the third book has explained the various and manifold varieties of veins and stringers. this fourth book will deal with mining areas and the method of delimiting them, and will then pass on to the officials who are connected with mining affairs[ ]. now the miner, if the vein he has uncovered is to his liking, first of all goes to the _bergmeister_ to request to be granted a right to mine, this official's special function and office being to adjudicate in respect of the mines. and so to the first man who has discovered the vein the _bergmeister_ awards the head meer, and to others the remaining meers, in the order in which each makes his application. the size of a meer is measured by fathoms, which for miners are reckoned at six feet each. the length, in fact, is that of a man's extended arms and hands measured across his chest; but different peoples assign to it different lengths, for among the greeks, who called it an [greek: orguia], it was six feet, among the romans five feet. so this measure which is used by miners seems to have come down to the germans in accordance with the greek mode of reckoning. a miner's foot approaches very nearly to the length of a greek foot, for it exceeds it by only three-quarters of a greek digit, but like that of the romans it is divided into twelve _unciae_[ ]. [illustration a (square with lengths and area): shape of a square meer.] now square fathoms are reckoned in units of one, two, three, or more "measures", and a "measure" is seven fathoms each way. mining meers are for the most part either square or elongated; in square meers all the sides are of equal length, therefore the numbers of fathoms on the two sides multiplied together produce the total in square fathoms. thus, if the shape of a "measure" is seven fathoms on every side, this number multiplied by itself makes forty-nine square fathoms. [illustration b (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a long meer or double measure.] the sides of a long meer are of equal length, and similarly its ends are equal; therefore, if the number of fathoms in one of the long sides be multiplied by the number of fathoms in one of the ends, the total produced by the multiplication is the total number of square fathoms in the long meer. for example, the double measure is fourteen fathoms long and seven broad, which two numbers multiplied together make ninety-eight square fathoms. [illustration c (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a head meer.] since meers vary in shape according to the different varieties of veins it is necessary for me to go more into detail concerning them and their measurements. if the vein is a _vena profunda_, the head meer is composed of three double measures, therefore it is forty-two fathoms in length and seven in width, which numbers multiplied together give two hundred and ninety-four square fathoms, and by these limits the _bergmeister_ bounds the owner's rights in a head-meer. [illustration a (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a meer.] the area of every other meer consists of two double measures, on whichever side of the head meer it lies, or whatever its number in order may be, that is to say, whether next to the head meer, or second, third, or any later number. therefore, it is twenty-eight fathoms long and seven wide, so multiplying the length by the width we get one hundred and ninety-six square fathoms, which is the extent of the meer, and by these boundaries the _bergmeister_ defines the right of the owner or company over each mine. now we call that part of the vein which is first discovered and mined, the head-meer, because all the other meers run from it, just as the nerves from the head. the _bergmeister_ begins his measurements from it, and the reason why he apportions a larger area to the head-meer than to the others, is that he may give a suitable reward to the one who first found the vein and may encourage others to search for veins. since meers often reach to a torrent, or river, or stream, if the last meer cannot be completed it is called a fraction[ ]. if it is the size of a double measure, the _bergmeister_ grants the right of mining it to him who makes the first application, but if it is the size of a single measure or a little over, he divides it between the nearest meers on either side of it. it is the custom among miners that the first meer beyond a stream on that part of the vein on the opposite side is a new head-meer, and they call it the "opposite,"[ ] while the other meers beyond are only ordinary meers. formerly every head-meer was composed of three double measures and one single one, that is, it was forty-nine fathoms long and seven wide, and so if we multiply these two together we have three hundred and forty-three square fathoms, which total gives us the area of an ancient head-meer. [illustration b (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of an ancient head-meer.] every ancient meer was formed of a single measure, that is to say, it was seven fathoms in length and width, and was therefore square. in memory of which miners even now call the width of every meer which is located on a _vena profunda_ a "square"[ ]. the following was formerly the usual method of delimiting a vein: as soon as the miner found metal, he gave information to the _bergmeister_ and the tithe-gatherer, who either proceeded personally from the town to the mountains, or sent thither men of good repute, at least two in number, to inspect the metal-bearing vein. thereupon, if they thought it of sufficient importance to survey, the _bergmeister_ again having gone forth on an appointed day, thus questioned him who first found the vein, concerning the vein and the diggings: "which is your vein?" "which digging carried metal?" then the discoverer, pointing his finger to his vein and diggings, indicated them, and next the _bergmeister_ ordered him to approach the windlass and place two fingers of his right hand upon his head, and swear this oath in a clear voice: "i swear by god and all the saints, and i call them all to witness, that this is my vein; and moreover if it is not mine, may neither this my head nor these my hands henceforth perform their functions." then the _bergmeister_, having started from the centre of the windlass, proceeded to measure the vein with a cord, and to give the measured portion to the discoverer,--in the first instance a half and then three full measures; afterward one to the king or prince, another to his consort, a third to the master of the horse, a fourth to the cup-bearer, a fifth to the groom of the chamber, a sixth to himself. then, starting from the other side of the windlass, he proceeded to measure the vein in a similar manner. thus the discoverer of the vein obtained the head-meer, that is, seven single measures; but the king or ruler, his consort, the leading dignitaries, and lastly, the _bergmeister_, obtained two measures each, or two ancient meers. this is the reason there are to be found at freiberg in meissen so many shafts with so many intercommunications on a single vein--which are to a great extent destroyed by age. if, however, the _bergmeister_ had already fixed the boundaries of the meers on one side of the shaft for the benefit of some other discoverer, then for those dignitaries i have just mentioned, as many meers as he was unable to award on that side he duplicated on the other. but if on both sides of the shaft he had already defined the boundaries of meers, he proceeded to measure out only that part of the vein which remained free, and thus it sometimes happened that some of those persons i have mentioned obtained no meer at all. to-day, though that old-established custom is observed, the method of allotting the vein and granting title has been changed. as i have explained above, the head-meer consists of three double measures, and each other meer of two measures, and the _bergmeister_ grants one each of the meers to him who makes the first application. the king or prince, since all metal is taxed, is himself content with that, which is usually one-tenth. of the width of every meer, whether old or new, one-half lies on the footwall side of a _vena profunda_ and one half on the hangingwall side. if the vein descends vertically into the earth, the boundaries similarly descend vertically; but if the vein inclines, the boundaries likewise will be inclined. the owner always holds the mining right for the width of the meer, however far the vein descends into the depth of the earth.[ ] further, the _bergmeister_, on application being made to him, grants to one owner or company a right over not only the head meer, or another meer, but also the head meer and the next meer or two adjoining meers. so much for the shape of meers and their dimensions in the case of a _vena profunda_. i now come to the case of _venae dilatatae_. the boundaries of the areas on such veins are not all measured by one method. for in some places the _bergmeister_ gives them shapes similar to the shapes of the meers on _venae profundae_, in which case the head-meer is composed of three double measures, and the area of every other mine of two measures, as i have explained more fully above. in this case, however, he measures the meers with a cord, not only forward and backward from the ends of the head-meer, as he is wont to do in the case where the owner of a _vena profunda_ has a meer granted him, but also from the sides. in this way meers are marked out when a torrent or some other force of nature has laid open a _vena dilatata_ in a valley, so that it appears either on the slope of a mountain or hill or on a plain. elsewhere the _bergmeister_ doubles the width of the head-meer and it is made fourteen fathoms wide, while the width of each of the other meers remains single, that is seven fathoms, but the length is not defined by boundaries. in some places the head-meer consists of three double measures, but has a width of fourteen fathoms and a length of twenty-one. [illustration a (rectangle with lengths): shape of a head-meer.] [illustration b (square with lengths): shape of every other meer.] in the same way, every other meer is composed of two measures, doubled in the same fashion, so that it is fourteen fathoms in width and of the same length. elsewhere every meer, whether a head-meer or other meer, comprises forty-two fathoms in width and as many in length. in other places the _bergmeister_ gives the owner or company all of some locality defined by rivers or little valleys as boundaries. but the boundaries of every such area of whatsoever shape it be, descend vertically into the earth; so the owner of that area has a right over that part of any _vena dilatata_ which lies beneath the first one, just as the owner of the meer on a _vena profunda_ has a right over so great a part of all other _venae profundae_ as lies within the boundaries of his meer; for just as wherever one _vena profunda_ is found, another is found not far away, so wherever one _vena dilatata_ is found, others are found beneath it. finally, the _bergmeister_ divides _vena cumulata_ areas in different ways, for in some localities the head-meer is composed of three measures, doubled in such a way that it is fourteen fathoms wide and twenty-one long; and every other meer consists of two measures doubled, and is square, that is, fourteen fathoms wide and as many long. in some places the head-meer is composed of three single measures, and its width is seven fathoms and its length twenty-one, which two numbers multiplied together make one hundred and forty-seven square fathoms. [illustration (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a head-meer.] each other meer consists of one double measure. in some places the head-meer is given the shape of a double measure, and every other meer that of a single measure. lastly, in other places the owner or a company is given a right over some complete specified locality bounded by little streams, valleys, or other limits. furthermore, all meers on _venae cumulatae_, as in the case of _dilatatae_, descend vertically into the depths of the earth, and each meer has the boundaries so determined as to prevent disputes arising between the owners of neighbouring mines. the boundary marks in use among miners formerly consisted only of stones, and from this their name was derived, for now the marks of a boundary are called "boundary stones." to-day a row of posts, made either of oak or pine, and strengthened at the top with iron rings to prevent them from being damaged, is fixed beside the boundary stones to make them more conspicuous. by this method in former times the boundaries of the fields were marked by stones or posts, not only as written of in the book "_de limitibus agrorum_,"[ ] but also as testified to by the songs of the poets. such then is the shape of the meers, varying in accordance with the different kinds of veins. now tunnels are of two sorts, one kind having no right of property, the other kind having some limited right. for when a miner in some particular locality is unable to open a vein on account of a great quantity of water, he runs a wide ditch, open at the top and three feet deep, starting on the slope and running up to the place where the vein is found. through it the water flows off, so that the place is made dry and fit for digging. but if it is not sufficiently dried by this open ditch, or if a shaft which he has now for the first time begun to sink is suffering from overmuch water, he goes to the _bergmeister_ and asks that official to give him the right for a tunnel. having obtained leave, he drives the tunnel, and into its drains all the water is diverted, so that the place or shaft is made fit for digging. if it is not seven fathoms from the surface of the earth to the bottom of this kind of tunnel, the owner possesses no rights except this one: namely, that the owners of the mines, from whose leases the owner of the tunnel extracts gold or silver, themselves pay him the sum he expends within their meer in driving the tunnel through it. to a depth or height of three and a half fathoms above and below the mouth of the tunnel, no one is allowed to begin another tunnel. the reason for this is that this kind of a tunnel is liable to be changed into the other kind which has a complete right of property, when it drains the meers to a depth of seven fathoms, or to ten, according as the old custom in each place acquires the force of law. in such case this second kind of tunnel has the following right; in the first place, whatever metal the owner, or company owning it, finds in any meer through which it is driven, all belongs to the tunnel owner within a height or depth of one and a quarter fathoms. in the years which are not long passed, the owner of a tunnel possessed all the metal which a miner standing at the bottom of the tunnel touched with a bar, whose handle did not exceed the customary length; but nowadays a certain prescribed height and width is allowed to the owner of the tunnel, lest the owners of the mines be damaged, if the length of the bar be longer than usual. further, every metal-yielding mine which is drained and supplied with ventilation by a tunnel, is taxed in the proportion of one-ninth for the benefit of the owner of the tunnel. but if several tunnels of this kind are driven through one mining area which is yielding metals, and all drain it and supply it with ventilation, then of the metal which is dug out from above the bottom of each tunnel, one-ninth is given to the owner of that tunnel; of that which is dug out below the bottom of each tunnel, one-ninth is in each case given to the owner of the tunnel which follows next in order below. but if the lower tunnel does not yet drain the shaft of that meer nor supply it with ventilation, then of the metal which is dug out below the bottom of the higher tunnel, one-ninth part is given to the owner of such upper tunnel. moreover, no one tunnel deprives another of its right to one-ninth part, unless it be a lower one, from the bottom of which to the bottom of the one above must not be less than seven or ten fathoms, according as the king or prince has decreed. further, of all the money which the owner of the tunnel has spent on his tunnel while driving it through a meer, the owner of that meer pays one-fourth part. if he does not do so he is not allowed to make use of the drains. finally, with regard to whatever veins are discovered by the owner at whose expense the tunnel is driven, the right of which has not been already awarded to anyone, on the application of such owner the _bergmeister_ grants him a right of a head-meer, or of a head-meer together with the next meer. ancient custom gives the right for a tunnel to be driven in any direction for an unlimited length. further, to-day he who commences a tunnel is given, on his application, not only the right over the tunnel, but even the head and sometimes the next meer also. in former days the owner of the tunnel obtained only so much ground as an arrow shot from the bow might cover, and he was allowed to pasture cattle therein. in a case where the shafts of several meers on some vein could not be worked on account of the great quantity of water, ancient custom also allowed the _bergmeister_ to grant the right of a large meer to anyone who would drive a tunnel. when, however, he had driven a tunnel as far as the old shafts and had found metal, he used to return to the _bergmeister_ and request him to bound and mark off the extent of his right to a meer. thereupon, the _bergmeister_, together with a certain number of citizens of the town--in whose place jurors have now succeeded--used to proceed to the mountain and mark off with boundary stones a large meer, which consisted of seven double measures, that is to say, it was ninety-eight fathoms long and seven wide, which two numbers multiplied together make six hundred and eighty-six square fathoms. [illustration (rectangle with lengths and area): large area.] but each of these early customs has been changed, and we now employ the new method. i have spoken of tunnels; i will now speak about the division of ownership in mines and tunnels. one owner is allowed to possess and to work one, two, three, or more whole meers, or similarly one or more separate tunnels, provided he conforms to the decrees of the laws relating to metals, and to the orders of the _bergmeister_. and because he alone provides the expenditure of money on the mines, if they yield metal he alone obtains the product from them. but when large and frequent expenditures are necessary in mining, he to whom the _bergmeister_ first gave the right often admits others to share with him, and they join with him in forming a company, and they each lay out a part of the expense and share with him the profit or loss of the mine. but the title of the mines or tunnels remains undivided, although for the purpose of dividing the expense and profit it may be said each mine or tunnel is divided into parts[ ]. this division is made in various ways. a mine, and the same thing must be understood with regard to a tunnel, may be divided into two halves, that is into two similar portions, by which method two owners spend an equal amount on it and draw an equal profit from it, for each possesses one half. sometimes it is divided into four shares, by which compact four persons can be owners, so that each possesses one-fourth, or also two persons, so that one possesses three-fourths, and the other only one-fourth; or three owners, so that the first has two-fourths, and the second and third one-fourth each. sometimes it is divided into eight shares, by which plan there may be eight owners, so that each is possessor of one-eighth; sometimes there are two owners, so that one has five-sixths[ ] together with one twenty-fourth, and the other one-eighth; or there may be three owners, in which one has three-quarters and the second and third each one-eighth; or it may be divided so that one owner has seven-twelfths, together with one twenty-fourth, a second owner has one-quarter, and a third owner has one-eighth; or so that the first has one-half, the second one-third and one twenty-fourth, and the third one-eighth; or so that the first has one-half, as before, and the second and third each one-quarter; or so that the first and second each have one-third and one twenty-fourth, and the third one-quarter; and in the same way the divisions may be adjusted in all the other proportions. the different ways of dividing the shares originate from the different proportions of ownership. sometimes a mine is divided into sixteen parts, each of which is a twenty-fourth and a forty-eighth; or it may be divided into thirty-two parts, each of which is a forty-eighth and half a seventy-second and a two hundred and eighty-eighth; or into sixty-four parts of which each share is one seventy-second and one five hundred and seventy-sixth; or finally, into one hundred and twenty-eight parts, any one of which is half a seventy-second and half of one five hundred and seventy-sixth. now an iron mine either remains undivided or is divided into two, four, or occasionally more shares, which depends on the excellence of the veins. but a lead, bismuth, or tin mine, and likewise one of copper or even quicksilver, is also divided into eight shares, or into sixteen or thirty-two, and less commonly into sixty-four. the number of the divisions of the silver mines at freiberg in meissen did not formerly progress beyond this; but within the memory of our fathers, miners have divided a silver mine, and similarly the tunnel at schneeberg, first of all into one hundred and twenty-eight shares, of which one hundred and twenty-six are the property of private owners in the mines or tunnels, one belongs to the state and one to the church; while in joachimsthal only one hundred and twenty-two shares of the mines or tunnels are the property of private owners, four are proprietary shares, and the state and church each have one in the same way. to these there has lately been added in some places one share for the most needy of the population, which makes one hundred and twenty-nine shares. it is only the private owners of mines who pay contributions. a proprietary holder, though he holds as many as four shares such as i have described, does not pay contributions, but gratuitiously supplies the owners of the mines with sufficient wood from his forests for timbering, machinery, buildings, and smelting; nor do those belonging to the state, church, and the poor pay contributions, but the proceeds are used to build or repair public works and sacred buildings, and to support the most needy with the profits which they draw from the mines. furthermore, in our state, the one hundred and twenty-eighth share has begun to be divided into two, four, or eight parts, or even into three, six, twelve, or smaller parts. this is done when one mine is created out of two, for then the owner who formerly possessed one-half becomes owner of one-fourth; he who possessed one-fourth, of one-eighth; he who possessed one-third, of one-sixth; he who possessed one-sixth, of one-twelfth. since our countrymen call a mine a _symposium_, that is, a drinking bout, we are accustomed to call the money which the owners subscribe a _symbolum_, or a contribution[ ]. for, just as those who go to a banquet (_symposium_) give contributions (_symbola_), so those who purpose making large profits from mining are accustomed to contribute toward the expenditure. however, the manager of the mine assesses the contributions of the owners annually, or for the most part quarterly, and as often he renders an account of receipts and expenses. at freiberg in meissen the old practice was for the manager to exact a contribution from the owners every week, and every week to distribute among them the profits of the mines, but this practice during almost the last fifteen years has been so far changed that contribution and distribution are made four[ ] times each year. large or small contributions are imposed according to the number of workmen which the mine or tunnel requires; as a result, those who possess many shares provide many contributions. four times a year the owners contribute to the cost, and four times during the year the profits of the mines are distributed among them; these are sometimes large, sometimes small, according as there is more or less gold or silver or other metal dug out. indeed, from the st. george mine in schneeberg the miners extracted so much silver in a quarter of a year that silver cakes, which were worth , rhenish guldens, were distributed to each one hundred and twenty-eighth share. from the annaberg mine which is known as the himmelisch höz, they had a dole of eight hundred thaler; from a mine in joachimsthal which is named the sternen, three hundred thaler; from the head mine at abertham, which is called st. lorentz, two hundred and twenty-five thaler[ ]. the more shares of which any individual is owner the more profits he takes. i will now explain how the owners may lose or obtain the right over a mine, or a tunnel, or a share. formerly, if anyone was able to prove by witnesses that the owners had failed to send miners for three continuous shifts[ ], the _bergmeister_ deprived them of their right over the mine, and gave the right over it to the informer, if he desired it. but although miners preserve this custom to-day, still mining share owners who have paid their contributions do not lose their right over their mines against their will. formerly, if water which had not been drawn off from the higher shaft of some mine percolated through a vein or stringer into the shaft of another mine and impeded their work, then the owners of the mine which suffered the damage went to the _bergmeister_ and complained of the loss, and he sent to the shafts two jurors. if they found that matters were as claimed, the right over the mine which caused the injury was given to the owners who suffered the injury. but this custom in certain places has been changed, for the _bergmeister_, if he finds this condition of things proved in the case of two shafts, orders the owners of the shaft which causes the injury to contribute part of the expense to the owners of the shaft which receives the injury; if they fail to do so, he then deprives them of their right over their mine; on the other hand, if the owners send men to the workings to dig and draw off the water from the shafts, they keep their right over their mine. formerly owners used to obtain a right over any tunnel, firstly, if in its bottom they made drains and cleansed them of mud and sand so that the water might flow out without any hindrance, and restored those drains which had been damaged; secondly, if they provided shafts or openings to supply the miners with air, and restored those which had fallen in; and finally, if three miners were employed continuously in driving the tunnel. but the principal reason for losing the title to a tunnel was that for a period of eight days no miner was employed upon it; therefore, when anyone was able to prove by witnesses that the owners of a tunnel had not done these things, he brought his accusation before the _bergmeister_, who, after going out from the town to the tunnel and inspecting the drains and the ventilating machines and everything else, and finding the charge to be true, placed the witness under oath, and asked him: "whose tunnel is this at the present time?" the witness would reply: "the king's" or "the prince's." thereupon the _bergmeister_ gave the right over the tunnel to the first applicant. this was the severe rule under which the owners at one time lost their rights over a tunnel; but its severity is now considerably mitigated, for the owners do not now forthwith lose their right over a tunnel through not having cleaned out the drains and restored the shafts or ventilation holes which have suffered damage; but the _bergmeister_ orders the tunnel manager to do it, and if he does not obey, the authorities fine the tunnel. also it is sufficient for one miner to be engaged in driving the tunnel. moreover, if the owner of a tunnel sets boundaries at a fixed spot in the rocks and stops driving the tunnel, he may obtain a right over it so far as he has gone, provided the drains are cleaned out and ventilation holes are kept in repair. but any other owner is allowed to start from the established mark and drive the tunnel further, if he pays the former owners of the tunnel as much money every three months as the _bergmeister_ decides ought to be paid. there remain for discussion, the shares in the mines and tunnels. formerly if anybody conveyed these shares to anyone else, and the latter had once paid his contribution, the seller[ ] was bound to stand by his bargain, and this custom to-day has the force of law. but if the seller denied that the contribution had been paid, while the buyer of the shares declared that he could prove by witnesses that he had paid his contribution to the other proprietors, and a case arose for trial, then the evidence of the other proprietors carried more weight than the oath of the seller. to-day the buyer of the shares proves that he has paid his contribution by a document which the mine or tunnel manager always gives each one; if the buyer has contributed no money there is no obligation on the seller to keep his bargain. formerly, as i have said above, the proprietors used to contribute money weekly, but now contributions are paid four times each year. to-day, if for the space of a month anyone does not take proceedings against the seller of the shares for the contribution, the right of taking proceedings is lost. but when the clerk has already entered on the register the shares which had been conveyed or bought, none of the owners loses his right over the share unless the money is not contributed which the manager of the mine or tunnel has demanded from the owner or his agent. formerly, if on the application of the manager the owner or his agent did not pay, the matter was referred to the _bergmeister_, who ordered the owner or his agent to make his contribution; then if he failed to contribute for three successive weeks, the _bergmeister_ gave the right to his shares to the first applicant. to-day this custom is unchanged, for if owners fail for the space of a month to pay the contributions which the manager of the mine has imposed on them, on a stated day their names are proclaimed aloud and struck off the list of owners, in the presence of the _bergmeister_, the jurors, the mining clerk, and the share clerk, and each of such shares is entered on the proscribed list. if, however, on the third, or at latest the fourth day, they pay their contributions to the manager of the mine or tunnel, and pay the money which is due from them to the share clerk, he removes their shares from the proscribed list. they are not thereupon restored to their former position unless the other owners consent; in which respect the custom now in use differs from the old practice, for to-day if the owners of shares constituting anything over half the mine consent to the restoration of those who have been proscribed, the others are obliged to consent whether they wish to or not. formerly, unless such restoration had been sanctioned by the approval of the owners of one hundred shares, those who had been proscribed were not restored to their former position. the procedure in suits relating to shares was formerly as follows: he who instituted a suit and took legal proceedings against another in respect of the shares, used to make a formal charge against the accused possessor before the _bergmeister_. this was done either at his house or in some public place or at the mines, once each day for three days if the shares belonged to an old mine, and three times in eight days if they belonged to a head-meer. but if he could not find the possessor of the shares in these places, it was valid and effectual to make the accusation against him at the house of the _bergmeister_. when, however, he made the charge for the third time, he used to bring with him a notary, whom the _bergmeister_ would interrogate: "have i earned the fee?" and who would respond: "you have earned it"; thereupon the _bergmeister_ would give the right over the shares to him who made the accusation, and the accuser in turn would pay down the customary fee to the _bergmeister_. after these proceedings, if the man whom the _bergmeister_ had deprived of his shares dwelt in the city, one of the proprietors of the mine or of the head-mine was sent to him to acquaint him with the facts, but if he dwelt elsewhere proclamation was made in some public place, or at the mine, openly and in a loud voice in the hearing of numbers of miners. nowadays a date is defined for the one who is answerable for the debt of shares or money, and information is given the accused by an official if he is near at hand, or if he is absent, a letter is sent him; nor is the right over his shares taken from anyone for the space of one and a half months. so much for these matters. now, before i deal with the methods which must be employed in working, i will speak of the duties of the mining prefect, the _bergmeister_, the jurors, the mining clerk, the share clerk, the manager of the mine or tunnel, the foreman of the mine or tunnel, and the workmen. to the mining prefect, whom the king or prince appoints as his deputy, all men of all races, ages, and rank, give obedience and submission. he governs and regulates everything at his discretion, ordering those things which are useful and advantageous in mining operations, and prohibiting those which are to the contrary. he levies penalties and punishes offenders; he arranges disputes which the _bergmeister_ has been unable to settle, and if even he cannot arrange them, he allows the owners who are at variance over some point to proceed to litigation; he even lays down the law, gives orders as a magistrate, or bids them leave their rights in abeyance, and he determines the pay of persons who hold any post or office. he is present in person when the mine managers present their quarterly accounts of profits and expenses, and generally represents the king or prince and upholds his dignity. the athenians in this way set thucydides, the famous historian, over the mines of thasos[ ]. next in power to the mining prefect comes the _bergmeister_, since he has jurisdiction over all who are connected with mines, with a few exceptions, which are the tithe gatherer, the cashier, the silver refiner, the master of the mint, and the coiners themselves. fraudulent, negligent, or dissolute men he either throws into prison, or deprives of promotion, or fines; of these fines, part is given as a tribute to those in power. when the mine owners have a dispute over boundaries he arbitrates it; or if he cannot settle the dispute, he pronounces judgment jointly with the jurors; from them, however, an appeal lies to the mining prefect. he transcribes his decrees in a book and sets up the records in public. it is also his duty to grant the right over the mines to those who apply, and to confirm their rights; he also must measure the mines, and fix their boundaries, and see that the mine workings are not allowed to become dangerous. some of these duties he observes on fixed days; for on wednesday in the presence of the jurors he confirms the rights over the mines which he has granted, settles disputes about boundaries, and pronounces judgments. on mondays, tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays, he rides up to the mines, and dismounting at some of them explains what is required to be done, or considers the boundaries which are under controversy. on saturday all the mine managers and mine foremen render an account of the money which they have spent on the mines during the preceding week, and the mining clerk transcribes this account into the register of expenses. formerly, for one principality there was one _bergmeister_, who used to create all the judges and exercise jurisdiction and control over them; for every mine had its own judge, just as to-day each locality has a _bergmeister_ in his place, the name alone being changed. to this ancient _bergmeister_, who used to dwell at freiberg in meissen, disputes were referred; hence right up to the present time the one at freiberg still has the power of pronouncing judgment when mine owners who are engaged in disputes among themselves appeal to him. the old _bergmeister_ could try everything which was presented to him in any mine whatsoever; whereas the judge could only try the things which were done in his own district, in the same way that every modern _bergmeister_ can. to each _bergmeister_ is attached a clerk, who writes out a schedule signifying to the applicant for a right over a mine, the day and hour on which the right is granted, the name of the applicant, and the location of the mine. he also affixes at the entrance to the mine, quarterly, at the appointed time, a sheet of paper on which is shown how much contribution must be paid to the manager of the mine. these notices are prepared jointly with the mining clerk, and in common they receive the fee rendered by the foremen of the separate mines. i now come to the jurors, who are men experienced in mining matters and of good repute. their number is greater or less as there are few or more mines; thus if there are ten mines there will be five pairs of jurors, like a _decemviral college_[ ]. into however many divisions the total number of mines has been divided, so many divisions has the body of jurors; each pair of jurors usually visits some of the mines whose administration is under their supervision on every day that workmen are employed; it is usually so arranged that they visit all the mines in the space of fourteen days. they inspect and consider all details, and deliberate and consult with the mine foreman on matters relating to the underground workings, machinery, timbering, and everything else. they also jointly with the mine foreman from time to time make the price per fathom to the workmen for mining the ore, fixing it at a high or low price, according to whether the rock is hard or soft; if, however, the contractors find that an unforeseen and unexpected hardness occurs, and for that reason have difficulty and delay in carrying out their work, the jurors allow them something in excess of the price fixed; while if there is a softness by reason of water, and the work is done more easily and quickly, they deduct something from the price. further, if the jurors discover manifest negligence or fraud on the part of any foreman or workman, they first admonish or reprimand him as to his duties and obligations, and if he does not become more diligent and improve, the matter is reported to the _bergmeister_, who by right of his authority deprives such persons of their functions and office, or, if they have committed a crime, throws them into prison. lastly, because the jurors have been given to the _bergmeister_ as councillors and advisors, in their absence he does not confirm the right over any mine, nor measure the mines, nor fix their boundaries, nor settle disputes about boundaries, nor pronounce judgment, nor, finally, does he without them listen to any account of profits and expenditure. now the mining clerk enters each mine in his books, the new mines in one book, the old mines which have been re-opened in another. this is done in the following way: first is written the name of the man who has applied for the right over the mine, then the day and hour on which he made his application, then the vein and the locality in which it is situated, next the conditions on which the right has been given, and lastly, the day on which the _bergmeister_ confirmed it. a document containing all these particulars is also given to the person whose right over a mine has been confirmed. the mining clerk also sets down in another book the names of the owners of each mine over which the right has been confirmed; in another any intermission of work permitted to any person for certain reasons by the _bergmeister_; in another the money which one mine supplies to another for drawing off water or making machinery; and in another the decisions of the _bergmeister_ and the jurors, and the disputes settled by them as honorary arbitrators. all these matters he enters in the books on wednesday of every week; if holidays fall on that day he does it on the following thursday. every saturday he enters in another book the total expenses of the preceding week, the account of which the mine manager has rendered; but the total quarterly expenses of each mine manager, he enters in a special book at his own convenience. he enters similarly in another book a list of owners who have been proscribed. lastly, that no one may be able to bring a charge of falsification against him, all these books are enclosed in a chest with two locks, the key of one of which is kept by the mining clerk, and of the other by the _bergmeister_. the share clerk enters in a book the owners of each mine whom the first finder of the vein names to him, and from time to time replaces the names of the sellers with those of the buyers of the shares. it sometimes happens that twenty or more owners come into the possession of some particular share. unless, however, the seller is present, or has sent a letter to the mining clerk with his seal, or better still with the seal of the mayor of the town where he dwells, his name is not replaced by that of anyone else; for if the share clerk is not sufficiently cautious, the law requires him to restore the late owner wholly to his former position. he writes out a fresh document, and in this way gives proof of possession. four times a year, when the accounts of the quarterly expenditure are rendered, he names the new proprietors to the manager of each mine, that the manager may know from whom he should demand contributions and among whom to distribute the profits of the mines. for this work the mine manager pays the clerk a fixed fee. i will now speak of the duties of the mine manager. in the case of the owners of every mine which is not yielding metal, the manager announces to the proprietors their contributions in a document which is affixed to the doors of the town hall, such contributions being large or small, according as the _bergmeister_ and two jurors determine. if anyone fails to pay these contributions for the space of a month, the manager removes their names from the list of owners, and makes their shares the common property of the other proprietors. and so, whomsoever the mine manager names as not having paid his contribution, that same man the mining clerk designates in writing, and so also does the share clerk. of the contribution, the mine manager applies part to the payment of the foreman and workmen, and lays by a part to purchase at the lowest price the necessary things for the mine, such as iron tools, nails, firewood, planks, buckets, drawing-ropes, or grease. but in the case of a mine which is yielding metal, the tithe-gatherer pays the mine manager week by week as much money as suffices to discharge the workmen's wages and to provide the necessary implements for mining. the mine manager of each mine also, in the presence of its foreman, on saturday in each week renders an account of his expenses to the _bergmeister_ and the jurors, he renders an account of his receipts, whether the money has been contributed by the owners or taken from the tithe-gatherer; and of his quarterly expenditure in the same way to them and to the mining prefect and to the mining clerk, four times a year at the appointed time; for just as there are four seasons of the year, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, so there are fourfold accounts of profits and expenses. in the beginning of the first month of each quarter an account is rendered of the money which the manager has spent on the mine during the previous quarter, then of the profit which he has taken from it during the same period; for example, the account which is rendered at the beginning of spring is an account of all the profits and expenses of each separate week of winter, which have been entered by the mining clerk in the book of accounts. if the manager has spent the money of the proprietors advantageously in the mine and has faithfully looked after it, everyone praises him as a diligent and honest man; if through ignorance in these matters he has caused loss, he is generally deprived of his office; if by his carelessness and negligence the owners have suffered loss, the _bergmeister_ compels him to make good the loss; and finally, if he has been guilty of fraud or theft, he is punished with fine, prison, or death. further, it is the business of the manager to see that the foreman of the mine is present at the beginning and end of the shifts, that he digs the ore in an advantageous manner, and makes the required timbering, machines, and drains. the manager also makes the deductions from the pay of the workmen whom the foreman has noted as negligent. next, if the mine is rich in metal, the manager must see that its ore-house is closed on those days on which no work is performed; and if it is a rich vein of gold or silver, he sees that the miners promptly transfer the output from the shaft or tunnel into a chest or into the strong room next to the house where the foreman dwells, that no opportunity for theft may be given to dishonest persons. this duty he shares in common with the foreman, but the one which follows is peculiarly his own. when ore is smelted he is present in person, and watches that the smelting is performed carefully and advantageously. if from it gold or silver is melted out, when it is melted in the cupellation furnace he enters the weight of it in his books and carries it to the tithe-gatherer, who similarly writes a note of its weight in his books; it is then conveyed to the refiner. when it has been brought back, both the tithe-gatherer and manager again enter its weight in their books. why again? because he looks after the goods of the owners just as if they were his own. now the laws which relate to mining permit a manager to have charge of more than one mine, but in the case of mines yielding gold or silver, to have charge of only two. if, however, several mines following the head-mine begin to produce metal, he remains in charge of these others until he is freed from the duty of looking after them by the _bergmeister_. last of all, the manager, the _bergmeister_, and the two jurors, in agreement with the owners, settle the remuneration for the labourers. enough of the duties and occupation of the manager. i will now leave the manager, and discuss him who controls the workmen of the mine, who is therefore called the foreman, although some call him the watchman. it is he who distributes the work among the labourers, and sees diligently that each faithfully and usefully performs his duties. he also discharges workmen on account of incompetence, or negligence, and supplies others in their places if the two jurors and manager give their consent. he must be skilful in working wood, that he may timber shafts, place posts, and make underground structures capable of supporting an undermined mountain, lest the rocks from the hangingwall of the veins, not being supported, become detached from the mass of the mountain and overwhelm the workmen with destruction. he must be able to make and lay out the drains in the tunnels, into which the water from the veins, stringers, and seams in the rocks may collect, that it may be properly guided and can flow away. further, he must be able to recognize veins and stringers, so as to sink shafts to the best advantage, and must be able to discern one kind of material which is mined from another, or to train his subordinates that they may separate the materials correctly. he must also be well acquainted with all methods of washing, so as to teach the washers how the metalliferous earth or sand is washed. he supplies the miners with iron tools when they are about to start to work in the mines, and apportions a certain weight of oil for their lamps, and trains them to dig to the best advantage, and sees that they work faithfully. when their shift is finished, he takes back the oil which has been left. on account of his numerous and important duties and labours, only one mine is entrusted to one foreman, nay, rather sometimes two or three foremen are set over one mine. since i have mentioned the shifts, i will briefly explain how these are carried on. the twenty-four hours of a day and night are divided into three shifts, and each shift consists of seven hours. the three remaining hours are intermediate between the shifts, and form an interval during which the workmen enter and leave the mines. the first shift begins at the fourth hour in the morning and lasts till the eleventh hour; the second begins at the twelfth and is finished at the seventh; these two are day shifts in the morning and afternoon. the third is the night shift, and commences at the eighth hour in the evening and finishes at the third in the morning. the _bergmeister_ does not allow this third shift to be imposed upon the workmen unless necessity demands it. in that case, whether they draw water from the shafts or mine the ore, they keep their vigil by the night lamps, and to prevent themselves falling asleep from the late hours or from fatigue, they lighten their long and arduous labours by singing, which is neither wholly untrained nor unpleasing. in some places one miner is not allowed to undertake two shifts in succession, because it often happens that he either falls asleep in the mine, overcome by exhaustion from too much labour, or arrives too late for his shift, or leaves sooner than he ought. elsewhere he is allowed to do so, because he cannot subsist on the pay of one shift, especially if provisions grow dearer. the _bergmeister_ does not, however, forbid an extraordinary shift when he concedes only one ordinary shift. when it is time to go to work the sound of a great bell, which the foreigners call a "campana," gives the workmen warning, and when this is heard they run hither and thither through the streets toward the mines. similarly, the same sound of the bell warns the foreman that a shift has just been finished; therefore as soon as he hears it, he stamps on the woodwork of the shaft and signals the workmen to come out. thereupon, the nearest as soon as they hear the signal, strike the rocks with their hammers, and the sound reaches those who are furthest away. moreover, the lamps show that the shift has come to an end when the oil becomes almost consumed and fails them. the labourers do not work on saturdays, but buy those things which are necessary to life, nor do they usually work on sundays or annual festivals, but on these occasions devote the shift to holy things. however, the workmen do not rest and do nothing if necessity demands their labour; for sometimes a rush of water compels them to work, sometimes an impending fall, sometimes something else, and at such times it is not considered irreligious to work on holidays. moreover, all workmen of this class are strong and used to toil from birth. the chief kinds of workmen are miners, shovellers, windlass men, carriers, sorters, washers, and smelters, as to whose duties i will speak in the following books, in their proper place. at present it is enough to add this one fact, that if the workmen have been reported by the foreman for negligence, the _bergmeister_, or even the foreman himself, jointly with the manager, dismisses them from their work on saturday, or deprives them of part of their pay; or if for fraud, throws them into prison. however, the owners of works in which the metals are smelted, and the master of the smelter, look after their own men. as to the government and duties of miners, i have now said enough; i will explain them more fully in another work entitled _de jure et legibus metallicis_[ ]. end of book iv. footnotes: [ ] the nomenclature in this chapter has given unusual difficulty, because the organisation of mines, either past or present, in english-speaking countries provides no exact equivalents for many of these offices and for many of the legal terms. the latin terms in the text were, of course, coined by the author, and have no historical basis to warrant their adoption, while the introduction of the original german terms is open to much objection, as they are not only largely obsolete, but also in the main would convey no meaning to the majority of readers. we have, therefore, reached a series of compromises, and in the main give the nearest english equivalent. of much interest in this connection is a curious exotic survival in mining law to be found in the high peak of derbyshire. we believe (see note on p. ) that the law of this district was of saxon importation, for in it are not only many terms of german origin, but the character of the law is foreign to the older english districts and shows its near kinship to that of saxony. it is therefore of interest in connection with the nomenclature to be adopted in this book, as it furnishes about the only english precedents in many cases. the head of the administration in the peak was the steward, who was the chief judicial officer, with functions somewhat similar to the _berghauptmann_. however, the term steward has come to have so much less significance that we have adopted a literal rendering of the latin. under the steward was the barmaster, barghmaster, or barmar, as he was variously called, and his duties were similar to those of the _bergmeister_. the english term would seem to be a corruption of the german, and as the latter has come to be so well understood by the english-speaking mining class, we have in this case adopted the german. the barmaster acted always by the consent and with the approval of a jury of from to members. in this instance the english had functions much like a modern jury, while the _geschwornen_ of saxony had much more widely extended powers. the german _geschwornen_ were in the main inspectors; despite this, however, we have not felt justified in adopting any other than the literal english for the latin and german terms. we have vacillated a great deal over the term _praefectus fodinae_, the german _steiger_ having, like the cornish "captain," in these days degenerated into a foreman, whereas the duties as described were not only those of the modern superintendent or manager, but also those of treasurer of the company, for he made the calls on shares and paid the dividends. the term purser has been used for centuries in english mining for the accountant or cashier, but his functions were limited to paying dividends, wages, etc., therefore we have considered it better not to adopt the latter term, and have compromised upon the term superintendent or manager, although it has a distinctly modern flavor. the word for _area_ has also caused much hesitation, and the "meer" has finally been adopted with some doubt. the title described by agricola has a very close equivalent in the meer of old derbyshire. as will be seen later, the mines of saxony were regal property, and were held subject to two essential conditions, _i.e._, payment of a tithe, and continuous operation. this form of title thus approximates more closely to the "lease" of australia than to the old cornish _sett_, or the american _claim_. the _fundgrube_ of saxony and agricola's equivalent, the _area capitis_--head lease--we have rendered literally as "head meer," although in some ways "founders' meer" might be better, for, in derbyshire, this was called the "finder's" or founder's meer, and was awarded under similar circumstances. it has also an analogy in australian law in the "reward" leases. the term "measure" has the merit of being a literal rendering of the latin, and also of being the identical term in the same use in the high peak. the following table of the principal terms gives the originals of the latin text, their german equivalents according in the glossary and other sources, and those adopted in the translation:-- agricola. german glossary. term adopted. _praefectus metallorum_ _bergamptmann_ mining prefect. _magister metallicorum_ _bergmeister_ bergmeister. _scriba magister _bergmeister's schreiber_ bergmeister's clerk. metallicorum_ _jurati_ _geschwornen_ jurates or jurors. _publicus signator_ _gemeiner sigler_ notary. _decumanus_ _zehender_ tithe gatherer. _distributor_ _aussteiler_ cashier. _scriba partium_ _gegenschreiber_ share clerk. _scriba fodinarum_ _bergschreiber_ mining clerk. _praefectus fodinae_ } _steiger_ { manager of the mine. _praefectus cuniculi_ } { manager of the tunnel. _praeses fodinae_ } _schichtmeister_ { foreman of the mine. _praeses cuniculi_ } { foreman of the tunnel. _fossores_ _berghauer_ miners or diggers. _ingestores_ _berganschlagen_ shovellers. _vectarii_ _hespeler_ lever workers (windlass men). _discretores_ _ertzpucher_ sorters. _lotores_ _wescher und seiffner_ washers, buddlers, sifters, etc. _excoctores_ _schmeltzer_ smelters. _purgator argenti_ _silber brenner_ silver refiner. _magister monetariorum_ _müntzmeister_ master of the mint. _monetarius_ _müntzer_ coiner. _area fodinarum_ _masse_ meer. _area capitis fodinarum_ _fundgrube_ head meer. _demensum_ _lehen_ measure. [ ] the following are the equivalents of the measures mentioned in this book. it is not always certain which "foot" or "fathom" agricola actually had in mind although they were probably the german. greek-- _dactylos_ = . inches = _pous_ = . inches = _orguia_ = . inches. roman-- _uncia_ = . " = _pes_ = . " = _passus_ = . " german-- _zoll_ = . " = _werckschuh_ = . " = _lachter_ = . " english-- inch = . " = foot = . " = fathom = . " the discrepancies are due to variations in authorities and to decimals dropped. the _werckschuh_ taken is the chemnitz foot deduced from agricola's statement in his _de mensuris et ponderibus_, basel, , p. . for further notes see appendix c. [ ] _subcisivum_--"remainder." german glossary, _ueberschar_. the term used in mendip and derbyshire was _primgap_ or _primegap_. it did not, however, in this case belong to adjacent mines, but to the landlord. [ ] _adversum_. glossary, _gegendrumb_. the _bergwerk lexicon_, chemnitz, , gives _gegendrom_ or _gegentramm_, and defines it as the _masse_ or lease next beyond a stream. [ ] _quadratum_. glossary, _vierung_. the _vierung_ in old saxon title meant a definite zone on either side of the vein, - / _lachter_ (_lachter_ = ft. . inches) into the hangingwall and the same into the footwall, the length of one _vierung_ being _lachter_ along the strike. it must be borne in mind that the form of rights here referred to entitled the miner to follow his vein, carrying the side line with him in depth the same distance from the vein, in much the same way as with the apex law of the united states. from this definition as given in the _bergwerk lexicon_, p. , it would appear that the vein itself was not included in the measurements, but that they started from the walls. [ ] historical note on the development of mining law.--there is no branch of the law of property, of which the development is more interesting and illuminating from a social point of view than that relating to minerals. unlike the land, the minerals have ever been regarded as a sort of fortuitous property, for the title of which there have been four principal claimants--that is, the overlord, as represented by the king, prince, bishop, or what not; the community or the state, as distinguished from the ruler; the landowner; and the mine operator, to which class belongs the discoverer. the one of these that possessed the dominant right reflects vividly the social state and sentiment of the period. the divine right of kings; the measure of freedom of their subjects; the tyranny of the land-owning class; the rights of the community as opposed to its individual members; the rise of individualism; and finally, the modern return to more communal view, have all been reflected promptly in the mineral title. of these parties the claims of the overlord have been limited only by the resistance of his subjects; those of the state limited by the landlord; those of the landlord by the sovereign or by the state; while the miner, ever in a minority in influence as well as in numbers, has been buffeted from pillar to post, his only protection being the fact that all other parties depended upon his exertion and skill. the conception as to which of these classes had a right in the title have been by no means the same in different places at the same time, and in all it varies with different periods; but the whole range of legislation indicates the encroachment of one factor in the community over another, so that their relative rights have been the cause of never-ending contention, ever since a record of civil and economic contentions began. in modern times, practically over the whole world, the state has in effect taken the rights from the overlord, but his claims did not cease until his claims over the bodies of his subjects also ceased. however, he still remains in many places with his picture on the coinage. the landlord has passed through many vicissitudes; his complete right to minerals was practically never admitted until the doctrine of _laissez-faire_ had become a matter of faith, and this just in time to vest him with most of the coal and iron deposits in the world; this, no doubt, being also partially due to the little regard in which such deposits were generally held at that time, and therefore to the little opposition to his ever-ready pretentions. their numbers, however, and their prominence in the support of the political powers _de jure_ have usually obtained them some recognition. in the rise of individualism, the apogee of the _laissez-faire_ fetish came about the time of the foundation of the united states, and hence the relaxation in the claims of the state in that country and the corresponding position attained by the landlord and miner. the discoverer and the operator--that is, the miner himself--has, however, had to be reckoned with by all three of the other claimants, because they have almost universally sought to escape the risks of mining, to obtain the most skilful operation, and to stimulate the productivity of the mines; thereupon the miner has secured at least partial consideration. this stands out in all times and all places, and while the miner has had to take the risks of his fortuitous calling, the overlord, state, or landlord have all made for complacent safety by demanding some kind of a tithe on his exertions. moreover, there has often been a low cunning displayed by these powers in giving something extra to the first discoverer. in these relations of the powers to the mine operator, from the very first we find definite records of the imposition of certain conditions with extraordinary persistence--so fixed a notion that even the united states did not quite escape it. this condition was, no doubt, designed as a stimulus to productive activity, and was the requirement that the miner should continuously employ himself digging in the piece of ground allotted to him. the greeks, romans, mediæval germans, old and modern englishmen, modern australians, all require the miner to keep continuously labouring at his mines, or lose his title. the american, as his inauguration of government happened when things were easier for individuals, allows him a vacation of months in the year for a few years, and finally a holiday altogether. there are other points where the overlord, the state, or the landlord have always considered that they had a right to interfere, principally as to the way the miner does his work, lest he should miss, or cause to be missed, some of the mineral; so he has usually been under pains and penalties as to his methods--these quite apart from the very proper protection to human life, which is purely a modern invention, largely of the miner himself. somebody has had to keep peace and settle disputes among the usually turbulent miners (for what other sort of operators would undertake the hazards and handicaps?), and therefore special officials and codes, or courts, for his benefit are of the oldest and most persistent of institutions. between the overlord and the landowner the fundamental conflict of view as to their respective rights has found its interpretation in the form of the mineral title. the overlord claimed the metals as distinguished from the land, while the landowner claimed all beneath his soil. therefore, we find two forms of title--that in which the miner could follow the ore regardless of the surface (the "apex" conception), and that in which the boundaries were vertical from the land surface. lest the americans think that the apex law was a sin original to themselves, we may mention that it was made use of in europe a few centuries before agricola, who will be found to set it out with great precision. from these points of view, more philosophical than legal, we present a few notes on various ancient laws of mines, though space forbids a discussion of a tithe of the amount it deserves at some experienced hand. of the ancient egyptian, lydian, assyrian, persian, indian, and chinese laws as to mines we have no record, but they were of great simplicity, for the bodies as well as the property of subjects were at the abject disposition of the overlord. we are informed on countless occasions of emperors, kings, and princes of various degree among these races, owning and operating mines with convicts, soldiers, or other slaves, so we may take it for certain that continuous labour was enforced, and that the boundaries, inspection, and landlords did not cause much anxiety. however, herein lies the root of regalian right. our first glimpse of a serious right of the subject to mines is among some of the greek states, as could be expected from their form of government. with republican ideals, a rich mining district at mount laurion, an enterprising and contentious people, it would be surprising indeed if athenian literature was void on the subject. while we know that the active operation of these mines extended over some years, from to b.c., the period of most literary reference was from to b.c. our information on the subject is from two of demosthenes' orations--one against pantaenetus, the other against phaenippus--the first mining lawsuit in which the address of counsel is extant. there is also available some information in xenophon's essay upon the revenues, aristotle's constitution of athens, lycurgus' prosecution of diphilos, the tablets of the poletae, and many incidental references and inscriptions of minor order. the minerals were the property of the state, a conception apparently inherited from the older civilizations. leases for exploitation were granted to individuals for terms of three to ten years, depending upon whether the mines had been previously worked, thus a special advantage was conferred upon the pioneer. the leases did not carry surface rights, but the boundaries at mt. laurion were vertical, as necessarily must be the case everywhere in horizontal deposits. what they were elsewhere we do not know. the landlord apparently got nothing. the miner must continuously operate his mine, and was required to pay a large tribute to the state, either in the initial purchase of his lease or in annual rent. there were elaborate regulations as to interference and encroachment, and proper support of the workings. diphilos was condemned to death and his fortune confiscated for robbing pillars. the mines were worked with slaves. the romans were most intensive miners and searchers after metallic wealth already mined. the latter was obviously the objective of most roman conquest, and those nations rich in these commodities, at that time necessarily possessed their own mines. thus a map showing the extensions of empire coincides in an extraordinary manner with the metal distribution of europe, asia, and north africa. further, the great indentations into the periphery of the imperial map, though many were rich from an agricultural point of view, had no lure to the roman because they had no mineral wealth. on the roman law of mines the student is faced with many perplexities. with the conquest of the older states, the plunderers took over the mines and worked them, either by leases from the state to public companies or to individuals; or even in some cases worked them directly by the state. there was thus maintained the concept of state ownership of the minerals which, although apparently never very specifically defined, yet formed a basis of support to the contention of regalian rights in europe later on. parallel with this system, mines were discovered and worked by individuals under tithe to the state, and in pliny (xxxiv, ) there is reference to the miners in britain limiting their own output. individual mining appears to have increased with any relaxation of central authority, as for instance under augustus. it appears, as a rule, that the mines were held on terminable leases, and that the state did at times resume them; the labour was mostly slaves. as to the detailed conditions under which the mine operator held his title, we know less than of the greeks--in fact, practically nothing other than that he paid a tithe. the romans maintained in each mining district an official--the _procurator metallorum_--who not only had general charge of the leasing of the mines on behalf of the state, but was usually the magistrate of the district. a bronze tablet found near aljustrel, in portugal, in , generally known as the aljustrel tablet, appears to be the third of a series setting out the regulations of the mining district. it refers mostly to the regulation of public auctions, the baths, barbers, and tradesmen; but one clause (vii.) is devoted to the regulation of those who work dumps of scoria, etc., and provides for payment to the administrator of the mines of a _capitation_ on the slaves employed. it does not, however, so far as we can determine, throw any light upon the actual regulations for working the mines. (those interested will find ample detail in jacques flach, "_la table de bronze d'aljustrel: nouvelle revue historique de droit francais et etranger_," , p. ; _estacio da veiga, memorias da acad. real das ciencias de lisbon, nova scrie, tome v, part ii_, lisbon, .) despite the systematic law of property evolved by the romans, the codes contain but small reference to mines, and this in itself is indirect evidence of the concept that they were the property of the state. any general freedom of the metals would have given rise to a more extensive body of law. there are, of course, the well-known sections in the justinian and theodosian codes, but the former in the main bears on the collection of the tithe and the stimulation of mining by ordering migrant miners to return to their own hearths. there is also some intangible prohibition of mining near edifices. there is in the theodosian code evident extension of individual right to mine or quarry, and this "freeing" of the mines was later considerably extended. the empire was, however, then on the decline; and no doubt it was hoped to stimulate the taxable commodities. there is nothing very tangible as to the position of the landlord with regard to minerals found on his property; the metals were probably of insufficient frequency on the land of italian landlords to matter much, and the attitude toward subject races was not usually such as to require an extensive body of law. in the chaos of the middle ages, europe was governed by hundreds of potentates, great and small, who were unanimous on one point, and this that the minerals were their property. in the bickerings among themselves, the stronger did not hesitate to interpret the roman law in affirming regalian rights as an excuse to dispossess the weaker. the rights to the mines form no small part of the differences between these potentates and the more important of their subjects; and with the gradual accretion of power into a few hands, we find only the most powerful of vassals able to resist such encroachment. however, as to what position the landlord or miner held in these rights, we have little indication until about the beginning of the th century, after which there appear several well-known charters, which as time went on were elaborated into practical codes of mining law. the earliest of these charters are those of the bishop of trent, ; that of the harz miners, ; of the town of iglau in . many such in connection with other districts appear throughout the th, th, and th centuries. (references to the most important of such charters may be found in sternberg, _umrisse der geschichte des bergbaues_, prague, ; eisenhart, _de regali metalli fodinarium_, helmestadt, ; gmelin, _beyträge zur geschichte des teutschen bergbaus_, halle, ; inama-sternegg, _deutsche wirthschaftsgeschichte_, leipzig, - ; transactions, royal geol. soc. cornwall vi, ; lewis, the stannaries, new york, .) by this time a number of mining communities had grown up, and the charters in the main are a confirmation to them of certain privileges; they contain, nevertheless, rigorous reservation of the regalian right. the landlord, where present, was usually granted some interest in the mine, but had to yield to the miner free entry. the miner was simply a sort of tributer to the crown, loaded with an obligation when upon private lands to pay a further portion of his profits to the landlord. he held tenure only during strenuous operation. however, it being necessary to attract skilled men, they were granted many civil privileges not general to the people; and from many of the principal mining towns "free cities" were created, possessing a measure of self-government. there appear in the iglau charter of the first symptoms of the "apex" form of title, this being the logical development of the conception that the minerals were of quite distinct ownership from the land. the law, as outlined by agricola, is much the same as set out in the iglavian charter of three centuries before, and we must believe that such fully developed conceptions as that charter conveys were but the confirmation of customs developed over generations. in france the landlord managed to maintain a stronger position _vis-à-vis_ with the crown, despite much assertion of its rights; and as a result, while the landlord admitted the right to a tithe for the crown, he maintained the actual possession, and the boundaries were defined with the land. in england the law varied with special mining communities, such as cornwall, devon, the forest of dean, the forest of mendip, alston moor, and the high peak, and they exhibit a curious complex of individual growth, of profound interest to the student of the growth of institutions. these communities were of very ancient origin, some of them at least pre-roman; but we are, except for the reference in pliny, practically without any idea of their legal doings until after the norman occupation ( a.d.). the genius of these conquerors for systematic government soon led them to inquire into the doings of these communities, and while gradually systematising their customs into law, they lost no occasion to assert the regalian right to the minerals. in the two centuries subsequent to their advent there are on record numerous inquisitions, with the recognition and confirmation of "the customs and liberties which had existed from time immemorial," always with the reservation to the crown of some sort of royalty. except for the high peak in derbyshire, the period and origin of these "customs and liberties" are beyond finding out, as there is practically no record of english history between the roman withdrawal and the norman occupation. there may have been "liberties" under the romans, but there is not a shred of evidence on the subject, and our own belief is that the forms of self-government which sprang up were the result of the roman evacuation. the miner had little to complain of in the norman treatment in these matters; but between the crown and the landlord as represented by the barons, lords of the manor, etc., there were wide differences of opinion on the regalian rights, for in the extreme interpretation of the crown it tended greatly to curtail the landlord's position in the matter, and the success of the crown on this subject was by no means universal. in fact, a considerable portion of english legal history of mines is but the outcropping of this conflict, and one of the concessions wrung from king john at runnymede in was his abandonment of a portion of such claims. the mining communities of cornwall and devon were early in the th century definitely chartered into corporations--"the stannaries"--possessing definite legislative and executive functions, judicial powers, and practical self-government; but they were required to make payment of the tithe in the shape of "coinage" on the tin. such recognition, while but a ratification of prior custom, was not obtained without struggle, for the norman kings early asserted wide rights over the mines. tangible record of mining in these parts, from a legal point of view, practically begins with a report by william de wrotham in upon his arrangements regarding the coinage. a charter of king john in , while granting free right of entry to the miners, thus usurped the rights of the landlords--a claim which he was compelled by the barons to moderate; the crown, as above mentioned did maintain its right to a royalty, but the landlord held the minerals. it is not, however, until the time of richard carew's "survey of cornwall" (london, ) that we obtain much insight into details of miners' title, and the customs there set out were maintained in broad principle down to the th century. at carew's time the miner was allowed to prospect freely upon "common" or wastrel lands (since mostly usurped by landlords), and upon mineral discovery marked his boundaries, within which he was entitled to the vertical contents. even upon such lands, however, he must acknowledge the right of the lord of the manor to a participation in the mine. upon "enclosed" lands he had no right of entry without the consent of the landlord; in fact, the minerals belonged to the land as they do to-day except where voluntarily relinquished. in either case he was compelled to "renew his bounds" once a year, and to operate more or less continuously to maintain the right once obtained. there thus existed a "labour condition" of variable character, usually imposed more or less vigorously in the bargains with landlords. the regulations in devonshire differed in the important particular that the miner had right of entry to private lands, although he was not relieved of the necessity to give a participation of some sort to the landlord. the forests of dean, mendip, and other old mining communities possessed a measure of self-government, which do not display any features in their law fundamentally different from those of cornwall and devon. the high peak lead mines of derbyshire, however, exhibit one of the most profoundly interesting of these mining communities. as well as having distinctively saxon names for some of the mines, the customs there are of undoubted saxon origin, and as such their ratification by the normans caused the survival of one of the few saxon institutions in england--a fact which, we believe, has been hitherto overlooked by historians. beginning with inquisitions by edward i. in , there is in the record office a wealth of information, the bare titles of which form too extensive a list to set out here. (of published works, the most important are edward manlove's "the liberties and customs of the lead mines within the wapentake of wirksworth," london, , generally referred to as the "rhymed chronicle"; thomas houghton, "rara avis in terra," london, ; william hardy, "the miner's guide," sheffield, ; thomas tapping, "high peak mineral customs," london, .) the miners in this district were presided over by a "barmaster," "barghmaster," or "barmar," as he was variously spelled, all being a corruption of the german bergmeister, with precisely the same functions as to the allotment of title, settlement of disputes, etc., as his saxon progenitor had, and, like him, he was advised by a jury. the miners had entry to all lands except churchyards (this regulation waived upon death), and a few similar exceptions, and was subject to royalty to the crown and the landlord. the discoverer was entitled to a finder's "meer" of extra size, and his title was to the vein within the end lines, _i.e._, the "apex" law. this title was held subject to rigorous labour conditions, amounting to forfeiture for failure to operate the mine for a period of nine weeks. space does not permit of the elaboration of the details of this subject, which we hope to pursue elsewhere in its many historical bearings. among these we may mention that if the american "apex law" is of english descent, it must be laid to the door of derbyshire, and not of cornwall, as is generally done. our own belief, however, is that the american "apex" conception came straight from germany. it is not our purpose to follow these inquiries into mining law beyond the th century, but we may point out that with the growth of the sentiment of individualism the miners and landlords obtained steadily wider and wider rights at the cost of the state, until well within the th century. the growth of stronger communal sentiment since the middle of the last century has already found its manifestation in the legislation with regard to mines, for the laws of south africa, australia, and england, and the agitation in the united states are all toward greater restrictions on the mineral ownership in favour of the state. [ ] ?_de limitibus et de re agraria_ of sextus julius frontinus (about - a.d.) [ ] such a form of ownership is very old. apparently upon the instigation of xenophon (see note , p. ) the greeks formed companies to work the mines of laurion, further information as to which is given in note , p. . pliny (note , p. ) mentions the company working the quicksilver mines in spain. in fact, company organization was very common among the romans, who speculated largely in the shares, especially in those companies which farmed the taxes of the provinces, or leased public lands, or took military and civil contracts. [ ] the latin text gives one-sixth, obviously an error. [ ] a _symposium_ is a banquet, and a _symbola_ is a contribution of money to a banquet. this sentence is probably a play on the old german _zeche_, mine, this being also a term for a drinking bout. [ ] in the latin text this is "three"--obviously an error. [ ] see note , p. , for further information with regard to these mines. the rhenish gulden was about . shillings, or $ . . silver was worth about this amount per troy ounce at this period, so that roughly, silver of a value of , gulden would be about , troy ounces. the saxon thaler was worth about . shillings or about $ . . the thaler, therefore, represented about . troy ounces of silver, so that thalers were about troy ounces, and thalers about troy ounces. [ ] _opera continens_. the glossary gives _schicht_,--the origin of the english "shift." [ ] the terms in the latin text are _donator_, a giver of a gift, and _donatus_, a receiver. it appears to us, however, that some consideration passed, and we have, therefore, used "seller" and "buyer." [ ] see note , p. . [ ] _decemviri_--"the ten men." the original _decemviri_ were a body appointed by the romans in b.c., principally to codify the law. such commissions were afterward instituted for other purposes, but the analogy of the above paragraph is a little remote. [ ] this work was apparently never published; see appendix a. book v. in the last book i have explained the methods of delimiting the meers along each kind of vein, and the duties of mine officials. in this book[ ] i will in like manner explain the principles of underground mining and the art of surveying. first then, i will proceed to deal with those matters which pertain to the former heading, since both the subject and methodical arrangement require it. and so i will describe first of all the digging of shafts, tunnels, and drifts on _venae profundae_; next i will discuss the good indications shown by _canales_[ ], by the materials which are dug out, and by the rocks; then i will speak of the tools by which veins and rocks are broken down and excavated; the method by which fire shatters the hard veins; and further, of the machines with which water is drawn from the shafts and air is forced into deep shafts and long tunnels, for digging is impeded by the inrush of the former or the failure of the latter; next i will deal with the two kinds of shafts, and with the making of them and of tunnels; and finally, i will describe the method of mining _venae dilatatae_, _venae cumulatae_, and stringers. now when a miner discovers a _vena profunda_ he begins sinking a shaft and above it sets up a windlass, and builds a shed over the shaft to prevent the rain from falling in, lest the men who turn the windlass be numbed by the cold or troubled by the rain. the windlass men also place their barrows in it, and the miners store their iron tools and other implements therein. next to the shaft-house another house is built, where the mine foreman and the other workmen dwell, and in which are stored the ore and other things which are dug out. although some persons build only one house, yet because sometimes boys and other living things fall into the shafts, most miners deliberately place one house apart from the other, or at least separate them by a wall. [illustration (shafts): three vertical shafts, of which the first, a, does not reach the tunnel; the second, b, reaches the tunnel; to the third, c, the tunnel has not yet been driven. d--tunnel.] [illustration (shafts): three inclined shafts, of which a does not yet reach the tunnel; b reaches the tunnel; to the third, c, the tunnel has not yet been driven. d--tunnel.] now a shaft is dug, usually two fathoms long, two-thirds of a fathom wide, and thirteen fathoms deep; but for the purpose of connecting with a tunnel which has already been driven in a hill, a shaft may be sunk to a depth of only eight fathoms, at other times to fourteen, more or less[ ]. a shaft may be made vertical or inclined, according as the vein which the miners follow in the course of digging is vertical or inclined. a tunnel is a subterranean ditch driven lengthwise, and is nearly twice as high as it is broad, and wide enough that workmen and others may be able to pass and carry their loads. it is usually one and a quarter fathoms high, while its width is about three and three-quarters feet. usually two workmen are required to drive it, one of whom digs out the upper and the other the lower part, and the one goes forward, while the other follows closely after. each sits upon small boards fixed securely from the footwall to the hangingwall, or if the vein is a soft one, sometimes on a wedge-shaped plank fixed on to the vein itself. miners sink more inclined shafts than vertical, and some of each kind do not reach to tunnels, while some connect with them. but as for some shafts, though they have already been sunk to the required depth, the tunnel which is to pierce the mountain may not yet have been driven far enough to connect with them. [illustration (shafts): a--shaft. b, c--drift. d--another shaft. e--tunnel. f--mouth of tunnel.] it is advantageous if a shaft connects with a tunnel, for then the miners and other workmen carry on more easily the work they have undertaken; but if the shaft is not so deep, it is usual to drift from one or both sides of it. from these openings the owner or foreman becomes acquainted with the veins and stringers that unite with the principal vein, or cut across it, or divide it obliquely; however, my discourse is now concerned mainly with _vena profunda_, but most of all with the metallic material which it contains. excavations of this kind were called by the greeks [greek: kryptai] for, extending along after the manner of a tunnel, they are entirely hidden within the ground. this kind of an opening, however, differs from a tunnel in that it is dark throughout its length, whereas a tunnel has a mouth open to daylight. i have spoken of shafts, tunnels, and drifts. i will now speak of the indications given by the _canales_, by the materials which are dug out, and by the rocks. these indications, as also many others which i will explain, are to a great extent identical in _venae dilatatae_ and _venae cumulatae_ with _venae profundae_. when a stringer junctions with a main vein and causes a swelling, a shaft should be sunk at the junction. but when we find the stringer intersecting the main vein crosswise or obliquely, if it descends vertically down to the depths of the earth, a second shaft should be sunk to the point where the stringer cuts the main vein; but if the stringer cuts it obliquely the shaft should be two or three fathoms back, in order that the junction may be pierced lower down. at such junctions lies the best hope of finding the ore for the sake of which we explore the ground, and if ore has already been found, it is usually found in much greater abundance at that spot. again, if several stringers descend into the earth, the miner, in order to pierce through the point of contact, should sink the shaft in the midst of these stringers, or else calculate on the most prominent one. since an inclined vein often lies near a vertical vein, it is advisable to sink a shaft at the spot where a stringer or cross-vein cuts them both; or where a _vena dilatata_ or a stringer _dilatata_ passes through, for minerals are usually found there. in the same way we have a good prospect of finding metal at the point where an inclined vein joins a vertical one; this is why miners cross-cut the hangingwall or footwall of a main vein, and in these openings seek for a vein which may junction with the principal vein a few fathoms below. nay, further, these same miners, if no stringer or cross-vein intersects the main vein so that they can follow it in their workings, even cross-cut through the solid rock of the hangingwall or footwall. these cross-cuts are likewise called "[greek: kryptai]," whether the beginning of the opening which has to be undertaken is made from a tunnel or from a drift. miners have some hope when only a cross vein cuts a main vein. further, if a vein which cuts the main vein obliquely does not appear anywhere beyond it, it is advisable to dig into that side of the main vein toward which the oblique vein inclines, whether the right or left side, that we may ascertain if the main vein has absorbed it; if after cross-cutting six fathoms it is not found, it is advisable to dig on the other side of the main vein, that we may know for certain whether it has carried it forward. the owners of a main vein can often dig no less profitably on that side where the vein which cuts the main vein again appears, than where it first cuts it; the owners of the intersecting vein, when that is found again, recover their title, which had in a measure been lost. the common miners look favourably upon the stringers which come from the north and join the main vein; on the other hand, they look unfavourably upon those which come from the south, and say that these do much harm to the main vein, while the former improve it. but i think that miners should not neglect either of them: as i showed in book iii, experience does not confirm those who hold this opinion about veins, so now again i could furnish examples of each kind of stringers rejected by the common miners which have proved good, but i know this could be of little or no benefit to posterity. if the miners find no stringers or veins in the hangingwall or footwall of the main vein, and if they do not find much ore, it is not worth while to undertake the labour of sinking another shaft. nor ought a shaft to be sunk where a vein is divided into two or three parts, unless the indications are satisfactory that those parts may be united and joined together a little later. further, it is a bad indication for a vein rich in mineral to bend and turn hither and thither, for unless it goes down again into the ground vertically or inclined, as it first began, it produces no more metal; and even though it does go down again, it often continues barren. stringers which in their outcrops bear metals, often disappoint miners, no metal being found in depth. further, inverted seams in the rocks are counted among the bad indications. the miners hew out the whole of solid veins when they show clear evidence of being of good quality; similarly they hew out the drusy[ ] veins, especially if the cavities are plainly seen to have formerly borne metal, or if the cavities are few and small. they do not dig barren veins through which water flows, if there are no metallic particles showing; occasionally, however, they dig even barren veins which are free from water, because of the pyrites which is devoid of all metal, or because of a fine black soft substance which is like wool. they dig stringers which are rich in metal, or sometimes, for the purpose of searching for the vein, those that are devoid of ore which lie near the hangingwall or footwall of the main vein. this then, generally speaking, is the mode of dealing with stringers and veins. let us now consider the metallic material which is found in the _canales_ of _venae profundae_, _venae dilatatae_, and _venae cumulatae_, being in all these either cohesive and continuous, or scattered and dispersed among them, or swelling out in bellying shapes, or found in veins or stringers which originate from the main vein and ramify like branches; but these latter veins and stringers are very short, for after a little space they do not appear again. if we come across a small quantity of metallic material it is an indication; but if a large quantity, it is not an "indication," but the very thing for which we explore the earth. as soon as a miner who searches for veins discovers pure metal or minerals, or rich metallic material, or a great abundance of material which is poor in metal, let him sink a shaft on the spot without any delay. if the material appears more abundant or of better quality on the one side, he will incline his digging in that direction. gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver are often found native[ ]; less often iron and bismuth; almost never tin and lead. nevertheless tin-stone is not far removed from the pure white tin which is melted out of them, and galena, from which lead is obtained, differs little from that metal itself. now we may classify gold ores. next after native gold, we come to the _rudis_[ ], of yellowish green, yellow, purple, black, or outside red and inside gold colour. these must be reckoned as the richest ores, because the gold exceeds the stone or earth in weight. next come all gold ores of which each one hundred _librae_ contains more than three _unciae_ of gold[ ]; for although but a small proportion of gold is found in the earth or stone, yet it equals in value other metals of greater weight.[ ] all other gold ores are considered poor, because the earth or stone too far outweighs the gold. a vein which contains a larger proportion of silver than of gold is rarely found to be a rich one. earth, whether it be dry or wet, rarely abounds in gold; but in dry earth there is more often found a greater quantity of gold, especially if it has the appearance of having been melted in a furnace, and if it is not lacking in scales resembling mica. the solidified juices, azure, chrysocolla, orpiment, and realgar, also frequently contain gold. likewise native or _rudis_ gold is found sometimes in large, and sometimes in small quantities in quartz, schist, marble, and also in stone which easily melts in fire of the second degree, and which is sometimes so porous that it seems completely decomposed. lastly, gold is found in pyrites, though rarely in large quantities. when considering silver ores other than native silver, those ores are classified as rich, of which each one hundred _librae_ contains more than three _librae_ of silver. this quality comprises _rudis_ silver, whether silver glance or ruby silver, or whether white, or black, or grey, or purple, or yellow, or liver-coloured, or any other. sometimes quartz, schist, or marble is of this quality also, if much native or _rudis_ silver adheres to it. but that ore is considered of poor quality if three _librae_ of silver at the utmost are found in each one hundred _librae_ of it[ ]. silver ore usually contains a greater quantity than this, because nature bestows quantity in place of quality; such ore is mixed with all kinds of earth and stone compounds, except the various kinds of _rudis_ silver; especially with pyrites, _cadmia metallica fossilis_, galena, _stibium_, and others. as regards other kinds of metal, although some rich ores are found, still, unless the veins contain a large quantity of ore, it is very rarely worth while to dig them. the indians and some other races do search for gems in veins hidden deep in the earth, but more often they are noticed from their clearness, or rather their brilliancy, when metals are mined. when they outcrop, we follow veins of marble by mining in the same way as is done with rock or building-stones when we come upon them. but gems, properly so called, though they sometimes have veins of their own, are still for the most part found in mines and rock quarries, as the lodestone in iron mines, the emery in silver mines, the _lapis judaicus_, _trochites_, and the like in stone quarries where the diggers, at the bidding of the owners, usually collect them from the seams in the rocks.[ ] nor does the miner neglect the digging of "extraordinary earths,"[ ] whether they are found in gold mines, silver mines, or other mines; nor do other miners neglect them if they are found in stone quarries, or in their own veins; their value is usually indicated by their taste. nor, lastly, does the miner fail to give attention to the solidified juices which are found in metallic veins, as well as in their own veins, from which he collects and gathers them. but i will say no more on these matters, because i have explained more fully all the metals and mineral substances in the books "_de natura fossilium_." but i will return to the indications. if we come upon earth which is like lute, in which there are particles of any sort of metal, native or _rudis_, the best possible indication of a vein is given to miners, for the metallic material from which the particles have become detached is necessarily close by. but if this kind of earth is found absolutely devoid of all metallic material, but fatty, and of white, green, blue, and similar colours, they must not abandon the work that has been started. miners have other indications in the veins and stringers, which i have described already, and in the rocks, about which i will speak a little later. if the miner comes across other dry earths which contain native or _rudis_ metal, that is a good indication; if he comes across yellow, red, black, or some other "extraordinary" earth, though it is devoid of mineral, it is not a bad indication. chrysocolla, or azure, or verdigris, or orpiment, or realgar, when they are found, are counted among the good indications. further, where underground springs throw up metal we ought to continue the digging we have begun, for this points to the particles having been detached from the main mass like a fragment from a body. in the same way the thin scales of any metal adhering to stone or rock are counted among the good indications. next, if the veins which are composed partly of quartz, partly of clayey or dry earth, descend one and all into the depths of the earth together, with their stringers, there is good hope of metal being found; but if the stringers afterward do not appear, or little metallic material is met with, the digging should not be given up until there is nothing remaining. dark or black or horn or liver-coloured quartz is usually a good sign; white is sometimes good, sometimes no sign at all. but calc-spar, showing itself in a _vena profunda_, if it disappears a little lower down is not a good indication; for it did not belong to the vein proper, but to some stringer. those kinds of stone which easily melt in fire, especially if they are translucent (fluorspar?), must be counted among the medium indications, for if other good indications are present they are good, but if no good indications are present, they give no useful significance. in the same way we ought to form our judgment with regard to gems. veins which at the hangingwall and footwall have horn-coloured quartz or marble, but in the middle clayey earth, give some hope; likewise those give hope in which the hangingwall or footwall shows iron-rust coloured earth, and in the middle greasy and sticky earth; also there is hope for those which have at the hanging or footwall that kind of earth which we call "soldiers' earth," and in the middle black earth or earth which looks as if burnt. the special indication of gold is orpiment; of silver is bismuth and _stibium_; of copper is verdigris, _melanteria_, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and vitriol; of tin is the large pure black stones of which the tin itself is made, and a material they dig up resembling litharge; of iron, iron rust. gold and copper are equally indicated by chrysocolla and azure; silver and lead, by the lead. but, though miners rightly call bismuth "the roof of silver," and though copper pyrites is the common parent of vitriol and _melanteria_, still these sometimes have their own peculiar minerals, just as have orpiment and _stibium_. now, just as certain vein materials give miners a favourable indication, so also do the rocks through which the _canales_ of the veins wind their way, for sand discovered in a mine is reckoned among the good indications, especially if it is very fine. in the same way schist, when it is of a bluish or blackish colour, and also limestone, of whatever colour it may be, is a good sign for a silver vein. there is a rock of another kind that is a good sign; in it are scattered tiny black stones from which tin is smelted; especially when the whole space between the veins is composed of this kind of rock. very often indeed, this good kind of rock in conjunction with valuable stringers contains within its folds the _canales_ of mineral bearing veins: if it descends vertically into the earth, the benefit belongs to that mine in which it is seen first of all; if inclined, it benefits the other neighbouring mines[ ]. as a result the miner who is not ignorant of geometry can calculate from the other mines the depth at which the _canales_ of a vein bearing rich metal will wind its way through the rock into his mine. so much for these matters. i now come to the mode of working, which is varied and complex, for in some places they dig crumbling ore, in others hard ore, in others a harder ore, and in others the hardest kind of ore. in the same way, in some places the hangingwall rock is soft and fragile, in others hard, in others harder, and in still others of the hardest sort. i call that ore "crumbling" which is composed of earth, and of soft solidified juices; that ore "hard" which is composed of metallic minerals and moderately hard stones, such as for the most part are those which easily melt in a fire of the first and second orders, like lead and similar materials. i call that ore "harder" when with those i have already mentioned are combined various sorts of quartz, or stones which easily melt in fire of the third degree, or pyrites, or _cadmia_, or very hard marble. i call that ore hardest, which is composed throughout the whole vein of these hard stones and compounds. the hanging or footwalls of a vein are hard, when composed of rock in which there are few stringers or seams; harder, in which they are fewer; hardest, in which they are fewest or none at all. when these are absent, the rock is quite devoid of water which softens it. but the hardest rock of the hanging or footwall, however, is seldom as hard as the harder class of ore. miners dig out crumbling ore with the pick alone. when the metal has not yet shown itself, they do not discriminate between the hangingwall and the veins; when it has once been found, they work with the utmost care. for first of all they tear away the hangingwall rock separately from the vein, afterward with a pick they dislodge the crumbling vein from the footwall into a dish placed underneath to prevent any of the metal from falling to the ground. they break a hard vein loose from the footwall by blows with a hammer upon the first kind of iron tool[ ], all of which are designated by appropriate names, and with the same tools they hew away the hard hangingwall rock. they hew out the hangingwall rock in advance more frequently, the rock of the footwall more rarely; and indeed, when the rock of the footwall resists iron tools, the rock of the hangingwall certainly cannot be broken unless it is allowable to shatter it by fire. with regard to the harder veins which are tractable to iron tools, and likewise with regard to the harder and hardest kind of hangingwall rock, they generally attack them with more powerful iron tools, in fact, with the fourth kind of iron tool, which are called by their appropriate names; but if these are not ready to hand, they use two or three iron tools of the first kind together. as for the hardest kind of metal-bearing vein, which in a measure resists iron tools, if the owners of the neighbouring mines give them permission, they break it with fires. but if these owners refuse them permission, then first of all they hew out the rock of the hangingwall, or of the footwall if it be less hard; then they place timbers set in hitches in the hanging or footwall, a little above the vein, and from the front and upper part, where the vein is seen to be seamed with small cracks, they drive into one of the little cracks one of the iron tools which i have mentioned; then in each fracture they place four thin iron blocks, and in order to hold them more firmly, if necessary, they place as many thin iron plates back to back; next they place thinner iron plates between each two iron blocks, and strike and drive them by turns with hammers, whereby the vein rings with a shrill sound; and the moment when it begins to be detached from the hangingwall or footwall rock, a tearing sound is heard. as soon as this grows distinct the miners hastily flee away; then a great crash is heard as the vein is broken and torn, and falls down. by this method they throw down a portion of a vein weighing a hundred pounds more or less. but if the miners by any other method hew the hardest kind of vein which is rich in metal, there remain certain cone-shaped portions which can be cut out afterward only with difficulty. as for this knob of hard ore, if it is devoid of metal, or if they are not allowed to apply fire to it, they proceed round it by digging to the right or left, because it cannot be broken into by iron wedges without great expense. meantime, while the workmen are carrying out the task they have undertaken, the depths of the earth often resound with sweet singing, whereby they lighten a toil which is of the severest kind and full of the greatest dangers. as i have just said, fire shatters the hardest rocks, but the method of its application is not simple[ ]. for if a vein held in the rocks cannot be hewn out because of the hardness or other difficulty, and the drift or tunnel is low, a heap of dried logs is placed against the rock and fired; if the drift or tunnel is high, two heaps are necessary, of which one is placed above the other, and both burn until the fire has consumed them. this force does not generally soften a large portion of the vein, but only some of the surface. when the rock in the hanging or footwall can be worked by the iron tools and the vein is so hard that it is not tractable to the same tools, then the walls are hollowed out; if this be in the end of the drift or tunnel or above or below, the vein is then broken by fire, but not by the same method; for if the hollow is wide, as many logs are piled into it as possible, but if narrow, only a few. by the one method the greater fire separates the vein more completely from the footwall or sometimes from the hangingwall, and by the other, the smaller fire breaks away less of the vein from the rock, because in that case the fire is confined and kept in check by portions of the rock which surround the wood held in such a narrow excavation. further, if the excavation is low, only one pile of logs is placed in it, if high, there are two, one placed above the other, by which plan the lower bundle being kindled sets alight the upper one; and the fire being driven by the draught into the vein, separates it from the rock which, however hard it may be, often becomes so softened as to be the most easily breakable of all. applying this principle, hannibal, the carthaginian general, imitating the spanish miners, overcame the hardness of the alps by the use of vinegar and fire. even if a vein is a very wide one, as tin veins usually are, miners excavate into the small streaks, and into those hollows they put dry wood and place amongst them at frequent intervals sticks, all sides of which are shaved down fan-shaped, which easily take light, and when once they have taken fire communicate it to the other bundles of wood, which easily ignite. [illustration (fire-setting): a--kindled logs. b--sticks shaved down fan-shaped. c--tunnel.] while the heated veins and rock are giving forth a foetid vapour and the shafts or tunnels are emitting fumes, the miners and other workmen do not go down in the mines lest the stench affect their health or actually kill them, as i will explain in greater detail when i come to speak of the evils which affect miners. the _bergmeister_, in order to prevent workmen from being suffocated, gives no one permission to break veins or rock by fire in shafts or tunnels where it is possible for the poisonous vapour and smoke to permeate the veins or stringers and pass through into the neighbouring mines, which have no hard veins or rock. as for that part of a vein or the surface of the rock which the fire has separated from the remaining mass, if it is overhead, the miners dislodge it with a crowbar, or if it still has some degree of hardness, they thrust a smaller crowbar into the cracks and so break it down, but if it is on the sides they break it with hammers. thus broken off, the rock tumbles down; or if it still remains, they break it off with picks. rock and earth on the one hand, and metal and ore on the other, are filled into buckets separately and drawn up to the open air or to the nearest tunnel. if the shaft is not deep, the buckets are drawn up by a machine turned by men; if it is deep, they are drawn by machines turned by horses. it often happens that a rush of water or sometimes stagnant air hinders the mining; for this reason miners pay the greatest attention to these matters, just as much as to digging, or they should do so. the water of the veins and stringers and especially of vacant workings, must be drained out through the shafts and tunnels. air, indeed, becomes stagnant both in tunnels and in shafts; in a deep shaft, if it be by itself, this occurs if it is neither reached by a tunnel nor connected by a drift with another shaft; this occurs in a tunnel if it has been driven too far into a mountain and no shaft has yet been sunk deep enough to meet it; in neither case can the air move or circulate. for this reason the vapours become heavy and resemble mist, and they smell of mouldiness, like a vault or some underground chamber which has been completely closed for many years. this suffices to prevent miners from continuing their work for long in these places, even if the mine is full of silver or gold, or if they do continue, they cannot breathe freely and they have headaches; this more often happens if they work in these places in great numbers, and bring many lamps, which then supply them with a feeble light, because the foul air from both lamps and men make the vapours still more heavy. a small quantity of water is drawn from the shafts by machines of different kinds which men turn or work. if so great a quantity has flowed into one shaft as greatly to impede mining, another shaft is sunk some fathoms distant from the first, and thus in one of them work and labour are carried on without hindrance, and the water is drained into the other, which is sunk lower than the level of the water in the first one; then by these machines or by those worked by horses, the water is drawn up into the drain and flows out of the shaft-house or the mouth of the nearest tunnel. but when into the shaft of one mine, which is sunk more deeply, there flows all the water of all the neighbouring mines, not only from that vein in which the shaft is sunk, but also from other veins, then it becomes necessary for a large sump to be made to collect the water; from this sump the water is drained by machines which draw it through pipes, or by ox-hides, about which i will say more in the next book. the water which pours into the tunnels from the veins and stringers and seams in the rocks is carried away in the drains. air is driven into the extremities of deep shafts and long tunnels by powerful blowing machines, as i will explain in the following book, which will deal with these machines also. the outer air flows spontaneously into the caverns of the earth, and when it can pass through them comes out again. this, however, comes about in different ways, for in spring and summer it flows into the deeper shafts, traverses the tunnels or drifts, and finds its way out of the shallower shafts; similarly at the same season it pours into the lowest tunnel and, meeting a shaft in its course, turns aside to a higher tunnel and passes out therefrom; but in autumn and winter, on the other hand, it enters the upper tunnel or shaft and comes out at the deeper ones. this change in the flow of air currents occurs in temperate regions at the beginning of spring and the end of autumn, but in cold regions at the end of spring and the beginning of autumn. but at each period, before the air regularly assumes its own accustomed course, generally for a space of fourteen days it undergoes frequent variations, now blowing into an upper shaft or tunnel, now into a lower one. but enough of this, let us now proceed to what remains. there are two kinds of shafts, one of the depth already described, of which kind there are usually several in one mine; especially if the mine is entered by a tunnel and is metal-bearing. for when the first tunnel is connected with the first shaft, two new shafts are sunk; or if the inrush of water hinders sinking, sometimes three are sunk; so that one may take the place of a sump and the work of sinking which has been begun may be continued by means of the remaining two shafts; the same is done in the case of the second tunnel and the third, or even the fourth, if so many are driven into a mountain. the second kind of shaft is very deep, sometimes as much as sixty, eighty, or one hundred fathoms. these shafts continue vertically toward the depths of the earth, and by means of a hauling-rope the broken rock and metalliferous ores are drawn out of the mine; for which reason miners call them vertical shafts. over these shafts are erected machines by which water is extracted; when they are above ground the machines are usually worked by horses, but when they are in tunnels, other kinds are used which are turned by water-power. such are the shafts which are sunk when a vein is rich in metal. now shafts, of whatever kind they may be, are supported in various ways. if the vein is hard, and also the hanging and footwall rock, the shaft does not require much timbering, but timbers are placed at intervals, one end of each of which is fixed in a hitch cut into the rock of the hangingwall and the other fixed into a hitch cut in the footwall. to these timbers are fixed small timbers along the footwall, to which are fastened the lagging and ladders. the lagging is also fixed to the timbers, both to those which screen off the shaft on the ends from the vein, and to those which screen off the rest of the shaft from that part in which the ladders are placed. the lagging on the sides of the shaft confine the vein, so as to prevent fragments of it which have become loosened by water from dropping into the shaft and terrifying, or injuring, or knocking off the miners and other workmen who are going up or down the ladders from one part of the mine to another. for the same reason, the lagging between the ladders and the haulage-way on the other hand, confine and shut off from the ladders the fragments of rock which fall from the buckets or baskets while they are being drawn up; moreover, they make the arduous and difficult descent and ascent to appear less terrible, and in fact to be less dangerous. [illustration (timbering shafts): a--wall plates. b--dividers. c--long end posts. d--end plates.] if a vein is soft and the rock of the hanging and footwalls is weak, a closer structure is necessary; for this purpose timbers are joined together, in rectangular shapes and placed one after the other without a break. these are arranged on two different systems; for either the square ends of the timbers, which reach from the hangingwall to the footwall, are fixed into corresponding square holes in the timbers which lie along the hanging or footwall, or the upper part of the end of one and the lower part of the end of the other are cut out and one laid on the other. the great weight of these joined timbers is sustained by stout beams placed at intervals, which are deeply set into hitches in the footwall and hangingwall, but are inclined. in order that these joined timbers may remain stationary, wooden wedges or poles cut from trees are driven in between the timbers and the vein and the hangingwall and the footwall; and the space which remains empty is filled with loose dirt. if the hanging and footwall rock is sometimes hard and sometimes soft, and the vein likewise, solid joined timbers are not used, but timbers are placed at intervals; and where the rock is soft and the vein crumbling, carpenters put in lagging between them and the wall rocks, and behind these they fill with loose dirt; by this means they fill up the void. when a very deep shaft, whether vertical or inclined, is supported by joined timbers, then, since they are sometimes of bad material and a fall is threatened, for the sake of greater firmness three or four pairs of strong end posts are placed between these, one pair on the hangingwall side, the other on the footwall side. to prevent them from falling out of position and to make them firm and substantial, they are supported by frequent end plates, and in order that these may be more securely fixed they are mortised into the posts. further, in whatever way the shaft may be timbered, dividers are placed upon the wall plates, and to these is fixed lagging, and this marks off and separates the ladder-way from the remaining part of the shaft. if a vertical shaft is a very deep one, planks are laid upon the timbers by the side of the ladders and fixed on to the timbers, in order that the men who are going up or down may sit or stand upon them and rest when they are tired. to prevent danger to the shovellers from rocks which, after being drawn up from so deep a shaft fall down again, a little above the bottom of the shaft small rough sticks are placed close together on the timbers, in such a way as to cover the whole space of the shaft except the ladder-way. a hole, however, is left in this structure near the footwall, which is kept open so that there may be one opening to the shaft from the bottom, that the buckets full of the materials which have been dug out may be drawn from the shaft through it by machines, and may be returned to the same place again empty; and so the shovellers and other workmen, as it were hiding beneath this structure, remain perfectly safe in the shaft. [illustration (timbering tunnels): a--posts. b--caps. c--sills. d--doors. e--lagging. f--drains.] in mines on one vein there are driven one, two, or sometimes three or more tunnels, always one above the other. if the vein is solid and hard, and likewise the hanging and footwall rock, no part of the tunnel needs support, beyond that which is required at the mouth, because at that spot there is not yet solid rock; if the vein is soft, and the hanging and footwall rock are likewise soft, the tunnel requires frequent strong timbering, which is provided in the following way. first, two dressed posts are erected and set into the tunnel floor, which is dug out a little; these are of medium thickness, and high enough that their ends, which are cut square, almost touch the top of the tunnel; then upon them is placed a smaller dressed cap, which is mortised into the heads of the posts; at the bottom, other small timbers, whose ends are similarly squared, are mortised into the posts. at each interval of one and a half fathoms, one of these sets is erected; each one of these the miners call a "little doorway," because it opens a certain amount of passage way; and indeed, when necessity requires it, doors are fixed to the timbers of each little doorway so that it can be closed. then lagging of planks or of poles is placed upon the caps lengthwise, so as to reach from one set of timbers to another, and is laid along the sides, in case some portion of the body of the mountain may fall, and by its bulk impede passage or crush persons coming in or out. moreover, to make the timbers remain stationary, wooden pegs are driven between them and the sides of the tunnel. lastly, if rock or earth are carried out in wheelbarrows, planks joined together are laid upon the sills; if the rock is hauled out in trucks, then two timbers three-quarters of a foot thick and wide are laid on the sills, and, where they join, these are usually hollowed out so that in the hollow, as in a road, the iron pin of the truck may be pushed along; indeed, because of this pin in the groove, the truck does not leave the worn track to the left or right. beneath the sills are the drains through which the water flows away. miners timber drifts in the same way as tunnels. these do not, however, require sill-pieces, or drains; for the broken rock is not hauled very far, nor does the water have far to flow. if the vein above is metal-bearing, as it sometimes is for a distance of several fathoms, then from the upper part of tunnels or even drifts that have already been driven, other drifts are driven again and again until that part of the vein is reached which does not yield metal. the timbering of these openings is done as follows: stulls are set at intervals into hitches in the hanging and footwall, and upon them smooth poles are laid continuously; and that they may be able to bear the weight, the stulls are generally a foot and a half thick. after the ore has been taken out and the mining of the vein is being done elsewhere, the rock then broken, especially if it cannot be taken away without great difficulty, is thrown into these openings among the timber, and the carriers of the ore are saved toil, and the owners save half the expense. this then, generally speaking, is the method by which everything relating to the timbering of shafts, tunnels, and drifts is carried out. all that i have hitherto written is in part peculiar to _venae profundae_, and in part common to all kinds of veins; of what follows, part is specially applicable to _venae dilatatae_, part to _venae cumulatae_. but first i will describe how _venae dilatatae_ should be mined. where torrents, rivers, or streams have by inundations washed away part of the slope of a mountain or a hill, and have disclosed a _vena dilatata_, a tunnel should be driven first straight and narrow, and then wider, for nearly all the vein should be hewn away; and when this tunnel has been driven further, a shaft which supplies air should be sunk in the mountain or hill, and through it from time to time the ore, earth, and rock can be drawn up at less expense than if they be drawn out through the very great length of the tunnel; and even in those places to which the tunnel does not yet reach, miners dig shafts in order to open a _vena dilatata_ which they conjecture must lie beneath the soil. in this way, when the upper layers are removed, they dig through rock sometimes of one kind and colour, sometimes of one kind but different colours, sometimes of different kinds but of one colour, and, lastly, of different kinds and different colours. the thickness of rock, both of each single stratum and of all combined, is uncertain, for the whole of the strata are in some places twenty fathoms deep, in others more than fifty; individual strata are in some places half a foot thick; in others, one, two, or more feet; in others, one, two, three, or more fathoms. for example, in those districts which lie at the foot of the harz mountains, there are many different coloured strata, covering a copper _vena dilatata_. when the soil has been stripped, first of all is disclosed a stratum which is red, but of a dull shade and of a thickness of twenty, thirty, or five and thirty fathoms. then there is another stratum, also red, but of a light shade, which has usually a thickness of about two fathoms. beneath this is a stratum of ash-coloured clay nearly a fathom thick, which, although it is not metalliferous, is reckoned a vein. then follows a third stratum, which is ashy, and about three fathoms thick. beneath this lies a vein of ashes to the thickness of five fathoms, and these ashes are mixed with rock of the same colour. joined to the last, and underneath, comes a stratum, the fourth in number, dark in colour and a foot thick. under this comes the fifth stratum, of a pale or yellowish colour, two feet thick; underneath which is the sixth stratum, likewise dark, but rough and three feet thick. afterward occurs the seventh stratum, likewise of dark colour, but still darker than the last, and two feet thick. this is followed by an eighth stratum, ashy, rough, and a foot thick. this kind, as also the others, is sometimes distinguished by stringers of the stone which easily melts in fire of the second order. beneath this is another ashy rock, light in weight, and five feet thick. next to this comes a lighter ash-coloured one, a foot thick; beneath this lies the eleventh stratum, which is dark and very much like the seventh, and two feet thick. below the last is a twelfth stratum of a whitish colour and soft, also two feet thick; the weight of this rests on a thirteenth stratum, ashy and one foot thick, whose weight is in turn supported by a fourteenth stratum, which is blackish and half a foot thick. there follows this, another stratum of black colour, likewise half a foot thick, which is again followed by a sixteenth stratum still blacker in colour, whose thickness is also the same. beneath this, and last of all, lies the cupriferous stratum, black coloured and schistose, in which there sometimes glitter scales of gold-coloured pyrites in the very thin sheets, which, as i said elsewhere, often take the forms of various living things.[ ] the miners mine out a _vena dilatata_ laterally and longitudinally by driving a low tunnel in it, and if the nature of the work and place permit, they sink also a shaft in order to discover whether there is a second vein beneath the first one; for sometimes beneath it there are two, three, or more similar metal-bearing veins, and these are excavated in the same way laterally and longitudinally. they generally mine _venae dilatatae_ lying down; and to avoid wearing away their clothes and injuring their left shoulders they usually bind on themselves small wooden cradles. for this reason, this particular class of miners, in order to use their iron tools, are obliged to bend their necks to the left, not infrequently having them twisted. now these veins also sometimes divide, and where these parts re-unite, ore of a richer and a better quality is generally found; the same thing occurs where the stringers, of which they are not altogether devoid, join with them, or cut them crosswise, or divide them obliquely. to prevent a mountain or hill, which has in this way been undermined, from subsiding by its weight, either some natural pillars and arches are left, on which the pressure rests as on a foundation, or timbering is done for support. moreover, the materials which are dug out and which are devoid of metal are removed in bowls, and are thrown back, thus once more filling the caverns. next, as to _venae cumulatae_. these are dug by a somewhat different method, for when one of these shows some metal at the top of the ground, first of all one shaft is sunk; then, if it is worth while, around this one many shafts are sunk and tunnels are driven into the mountain. if a torrent or spring has torn fragments of metal from such a vein, a tunnel is first driven into the mountain or hill for the purpose of searching for the ore; then when it is found, a vertical shaft is sunk in it. since the whole mountain, or more especially the whole hill, is undermined, seeing that the whole of it is composed of ore, it is necessary to leave the natural pillars and arches, or the place is timbered. but sometimes when a vein is very hard it is broken by fire, whereby it happens that the soft pillars break up, or the timbers are burnt away, and the mountain by its great weight sinks into itself, and then the shaft buildings are swallowed up in the great subsidence. therefore, about a _vena cumulata_ it is advisable to sink some shafts which are not subject to this kind of ruin, through which the materials that are excavated may be carried out, not only while the pillars and underpinnings still remain whole and solid, but also after the supports have been destroyed by fire and have fallen. since ore which has thus fallen must necessarily be broken by fire, new shafts through which the smoke can escape must be sunk in the abyss. at those places where stringers intersect, richer ore is generally obtained from the mine; these stringers, in the case of tin mines, sometimes have in them black stones the size of a walnut. if such a vein is found in a plain, as not infrequently happens in the case of iron, many shafts are sunk, because they cannot be sunk very deep. the work is carried on by this method because the miners cannot drive a tunnel into a level plain of this kind. there remain the stringers in which gold alone is sometimes found, in the vicinity of rivers and streams, or in swamps. if upon the soil being removed, many of these are found, composed of earth somewhat baked and burnt, as may sometimes be seen in clay pits, there is some hope that gold may be obtained from them, especially if several join together. but the very point of junction must be pierced, and the length and width searched for ore, and in these places very deep shafts cannot be sunk. i have completed one part of this book, and now come to the other, in which i will deal with the art of surveying. miners measure the solid mass of the mountains in order that the owners may lay out their plans, and that their workmen may not encroach on other people's possessions. the surveyor either measures the interval not yet wholly dug through, which lies between the mouth of a tunnel and a shaft to be sunk to that depth, or between the mouth of a shaft and the tunnel to be driven to that spot which lies under the shaft, or between both, if the tunnel is neither so long as to reach to the shaft, nor the shaft so deep as to reach to the tunnel; and thus on both sides work is still to be done. or in some cases, within the tunnels and drifts, are to be fixed the boundaries of the meers, just as the _bergmeister_ has determined the boundaries of the same meers above ground.[ ] each method of surveying depends on the measuring of triangles. a small triangle should be laid out, and from it calculations must be made regarding a larger one. most particular care must be taken that we do not deviate at all from a correct measuring; for if, at the beginning, we are drawn by carelessness into a slight error, this at the end will produce great errors. now these triangles are of many shapes, since shafts differ among themselves and are not all sunk by one and the same method into the depths of the earth, nor do the slopes of all mountains come down to the valley or plain in the same manner. for if a shaft is vertical, there is a triangle with a right angle, which the greeks call [greek: orthogônion] and this, according to the inequalities of the mountain slope, has either two equal sides or three unequal sides. the greeks call the former [greek: trigônon isoskeles] the latter [greek: skalênon] for a right angle triangle cannot have three equal sides. if a shaft is inclined and sunk in the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, a triangle is likewise made with a right angle, and this again, according to the various inequalities of the mountain slope, has either two equal or three unequal sides. but if a shaft is inclined and is sunk in one vein, and a tunnel is driven in another vein, then a triangle comes into existence which has either an obtuse angle or all acute angles. the former the greeks call [greek: amblygônion], the latter [greek: oxygônion]. that triangle which has an obtuse angle cannot have three equal sides, but in accordance with the different mountain slopes has either two equal sides or three unequal sides. that triangle which has all acute angles in accordance with the different mountain slopes has either three equal sides, which the greeks call [greek: trigônon isopleuron] or two equal sides or three unequal sides. the surveyor, as i said, employs his art when the owners of the mines desire to know how many fathoms of the intervening ground require to be dug; when a tunnel is being driven toward a shaft and does not yet reach it; or when the shaft has not yet been sunk to the depth of the bottom of the tunnel which is under it; or when neither the tunnel reaches to that point, nor has the shaft been sunk to it. it is of importance that miners should know how many fathoms remain from the tunnel to the shaft, or from the shaft to the tunnel, in order to calculate the expenditure; and in order that the owners of a metal-bearing mine may hasten the sinking of a shaft and the excavation of the metal, before the tunnel reaches that point and the tunnel owners excavate part of the metal by any right of their own; and on the other hand, it is important that the owners of a tunnel may similarly hasten their driving before a shaft can be sunk to the depth of a tunnel, so that they may excavate the metal to which they will have a right. [illustration (surveying): a--upright forked posts. b--pole over the posts. c--shaft. d--first cord. e--weight of first cord. f--second cord. g--same fixed ground. h--head of first cord. i--mouth of tunnel. k--third cord. l--weight of third cord. m--first side minor triangle. n--second side minor triangle. o--third side minor triangle. p--the minor triangle.] the surveyor, first of all, if the beams of the shaft-house do not give him the opportunity, sets a pair of forked posts by the sides of the shaft in such a manner that a pole may be laid across them. next, from the pole he lets down into the shaft a cord with a weight attached to it. then he stretches a second cord, attached to the upper end of the first cord, right down along the slope of the mountain to the bottom of the mouth of the tunnel, and fixes it to the ground. next, from the same pole not far from the first cord, he lets down a third cord, similarly weighted, so that it may intersect the second cord, which descends obliquely. then, starting from that point where the third cord cuts the second cord which descends obliquely to the mouth of the tunnel, he measures the second cord upward to where it reaches the end of the first cord, and makes a note of this first side of the minor triangle[ ]. afterward, starting again from that point where the third cord intersects the second cord, he measures the straight space which lies between that point and the opposite point on the first cord, and in that way forms the minor triangle, and he notes this second side of the minor triangle in the same way as before. then, if it is necessary, from the angle formed by the first cord and the second side of the minor triangle, he measures upward to the end of the first cord and also makes a note of this third side of the minor triangle. the third side of the minor triangle, if the shaft is vertical or inclined and is sunk on the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, will necessarily be the same length as the third cord above the point where it intersects the second cord; and so, as often as the first side of the minor triangle is contained in the length of the whole cord which descends obliquely, so many times the length of the second side of the minor triangle indicates the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the point to which the shaft must be sunk; and similarly, so many times the length of the third side of the minor triangle gives the distance between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel. when there is a level bench on the mountain slope, the surveyor first measures across this with a measuring-rod; then at the edges of this bench he sets up forked posts, and applies the principle of the triangle to the two sloping parts of the mountain; and to the fathoms which are the length of that part of the tunnel determined by the triangles, he adds the number of fathoms which are the width of the bench. but if sometimes the mountain side stands up, so that a cord cannot run down from the shaft to the mouth of the tunnel, or, on the other hand, cannot run up from the mouth of the tunnel to the shaft, and, therefore, one cannot connect them in a straight line, the surveyor, in order to fix an accurate triangle, measures the mountain; and going downward he substitutes for the first part of the cord a pole one fathom long, and for the second part a pole half a fathom long. going upward, on the contrary, for the first part of the cord he substitutes a pole half a fathom long, and for the next part, one a whole fathom long; then where he requires to fix his triangle he adds a straight line to these angles. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having a right angle and two equal sides.] to make this system of measuring clear and more explicit, i will proceed by describing each separate kind of triangle. when a shaft is vertical or inclined, and is sunk in the same vein on which the tunnel is driven, there is created, as i said, a triangle containing a right angle. now if the minor triangle has the two sides equal, which, in accordance with the numbering used by surveyors, are the second and third sides, then the second and third sides of the major triangle will be equal; and so also the intervening distances will be equal which lie between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the shaft, and which lie between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is seven feet long and the second and likewise the third sides are five feet, and the length shown by the cord for the side of the major triangle is times seven feet, that is fathoms and five feet, then the intervening space, of course, whether the whole of it has been already driven through or has yet to be driven, will be one hundred times five feet, which makes eighty-three fathoms and two feet. anyone with this example of proportions will be able to construct the major and minor triangles in the same way as i have done, if there be the necessary upright posts and cross-beams. when a shaft is vertical the triangle is absolutely upright; when it is inclined and is sunk on the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, it is inclined toward one side. therefore, if a tunnel has been driven into the mountain for sixty fathoms, there remains a space of ground to be penetrated twenty-three fathoms and two feet long; for five feet of the second side of the major triangle, which lies above the mouth of the shaft and corresponds with the first side of the minor triangle, must not be added. therefore, if the shaft has been sunk in the middle of the head meer, a tunnel sixty fathoms long will reach to the boundary of the meer only when the tunnel has been extended a further two fathoms and two feet; but if the shaft is located in the middle of an ordinary meer, then the boundary will be reached when the tunnel has been driven a further length of nine fathoms and two feet. since a tunnel, for every one hundred fathoms of length, rises in grade one fathom, or at all events, ought to rise as it proceeds toward the shaft, one more fathom must always be taken from the depth allowed to the shaft, and one added to the length allowed to the tunnel. proportionately, because a tunnel fifty fathoms long is raised half a fathom, this amount must be taken from the depth of the shaft and added to the length of the tunnel. in the same way if a tunnel is one hundred or fifty fathoms shorter or longer, the same proportion also must be taken from the depth of the one and added to the length of the other. for this reason, in the case mentioned above, half a fathom and a little more must be added to the distance to be driven through, so that there remain twenty-three fathoms, five feet, two palms, one and a half digits and a fifth of a digit; that is, if even the minutest proportions are carried out; and surveyors do not neglect these without good cause. similarly, if the shaft is seventy fathoms deep, in order that it may reach to the bottom of the tunnel, it still must be sunk a further depth of thirteen fathoms and two feet, or rather twelve fathoms and a half, one foot, two digits, and four-fifths of half a digit. and in this instance five feet must be deducted from the reckoning, because these five feet complete the third side of the minor triangle, which is above the mouth of the shaft, and from its depth there must be deducted half a fathom, two palms, one and a half digits and the fifth part of half a digit. but if the tunnel has been driven to a point where it is under the shaft, then to reach the roof of the tunnel the shaft must still be sunk a depth of eleven fathoms, two and a half feet, one palm, two digits, and four-fifths of half a digit. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having a right angle and three unequal sides.] if a minor triangle is produced of the kind having three unequal sides, then the sides of the greater triangle cannot be equal; that is, if the first side of the minor triangle is eight feet long, the second six feet long, and the third five feet long, and the cord along the side of the greater triangle, not to go too far from the example just given, is one hundred and one times eight feet, that is, one hundred and thirty-four fathoms and four feet, the distance which lies between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the shaft will occupy one hundred times six feet in length, that is, one hundred fathoms. the distance between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred times five feet, that is, eighty-three fathoms and two feet. and so, if the tunnel is eighty-five fathoms long, the remainder to be driven into the mountain is fifteen fathoms long, and here, too, a correction in measurement must be taken from the depth of the shaft and added to the length of the tunnel; what this is precisely, i will pursue no further, since everyone having a small knowledge of arithmetic can work it out. if the shaft is sixty-seven fathoms deep, in order that it may reach the bottom of the tunnel, the further distance required to be sunk amounts to sixteen fathoms and two feet. [illustration a (surveying triangle): triangle having an obtuse angle and two equal sides.] the surveyor employs this same method in measuring the mountain, whether the shaft and tunnel are on one and the same vein, whether the vein is vertical or inclined, or whether the shaft is on the principal vein and the tunnel on a transverse vein descending vertically to the depths of the earth; in the latter case the excavation is to be made where the transverse vein cuts the vertical vein. if the principal vein descends on an incline and the cross-vein descends vertically, then a minor triangle is created having one obtuse angle or all three angles acute. if the minor triangle has one angle obtuse and the two sides which are the second and third are equal, then the second and third sides of the major triangle will be equal, so that if the first side of the minor triangle is nine feet, the second, and likewise the third, will be five feet. then the first side of the major triangle will be one hundred and one times nine feet, or one hundred and fifty-one and one-half fathoms, and each of the other sides of the major triangle will be one hundred times five feet, that is, eighty-three fathoms and two feet. but when the first shaft is inclined, generally speaking, it is not deep; but there are usually several, all inclined, and one always following the other. therefore, if a tunnel is seventy-seven fathoms long, it will reach to the middle of the bottom of a shaft when six fathoms and two feet further have been sunk. but if all such inclined shafts are seventy-six fathoms deep, in order that the last one may reach the bottom of the tunnel, a depth of seven fathoms and two feet remains to be sunk. [illustration b (surveying triangle): triangle having an obtuse angle and three unequal sides.] if a minor triangle is made which has an obtuse angle and three unequal sides, then again the sides of the large triangle cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is six feet long, the second three feet, and the third four feet, and the cord along the side of the greater triangle one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be a length one hundred times three feet, or fifty fathoms; but the depth that lies between the mouth of the first shaft and the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred times four feet, or sixty-six fathoms and four feet. therefore, if a tunnel is forty-four fathoms long, the remaining distance to be driven is six fathoms. if the shafts are fifty-eight fathoms deep, the newest will touch the bottom of the tunnel when eight fathoms and four feet have been sunk. [illustration a (surveying triangle): a triangle having all its angles acute and its three sides equal.] if a minor triangle is produced which has all its angles acute and its three sides equal, then necessarily the second and third sides of the minor triangle will be equal, and likewise the sides of the major triangle frequently referred to will be equal. thus if each side of the minor triangle is six feet long, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, then both the distances to be dug will be one hundred fathoms. and thus if the tunnel is ninety fathoms long, it will reach the middle of the bottom of the last shaft when ten fathoms further have been driven. if the shafts are ninety-five fathoms deep, the last will reach the bottom of the tunnel when it is sunk a further depth of five fathoms. [illustration b (surveying triangle): triangle having all its angles acute and two sides equal, a, b, unequal side c.] if a triangle is made which has all its angles acute, but only two sides equal, namely, the first and third, then the second and third sides are not equal; therefore the distances to be dug cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is six feet long, and the second is four feet, and the third is six feet, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, then the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be sixty-six fathoms and four feet. but the distance from the mouth of the first shaft to the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred fathoms. so if the tunnel is sixty fathoms long, the remaining distance to be driven into the mountain is six fathoms and four feet. if the shaft is ninety-seven fathoms deep, the last one will reach the bottom of the tunnel when a further depth of three fathoms has been sunk. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having all its angles acute and its three sides unequal.] if a minor triangle is produced which has all its angles acute, but its three sides unequal, then again the distances to be dug cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is seven feet long, the second side is four feet, and the third side is six feet, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times seven feet or one hundred and seventeen fathoms and four feet, the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be four hundred feet or sixty-six fathoms, and the depth between the mouth of the first shaft and the bottom of the tunnel will be one hundred fathoms. therefore, if a tunnel is fifty fathoms long, it will reach the middle of the bottom of the newest shaft when it has been driven sixteen fathoms and four feet further. but if the shafts are then ninety-two fathoms deep, the last shaft will reach the bottom of the tunnel when it has been sunk a further eight fathoms. this is the method of the surveyor in measuring the mountain, if the principal vein descends inclined into the depths of the earth or the transverse vein is vertical. but if they are both inclined, the surveyor uses the same method, or he measures the slope of the mountain separately from the slope of the shaft. next, if a transverse vein in which a tunnel is driven does not cut the principal vein in that spot where the shaft is sunk, then it is necessary for the starting point of the survey to be in the other shaft in which the transverse vein cuts the principal vein. but if there be no shaft on that spot where the outcrop of the transverse vein cuts the outcrop of the principal vein, then the surface of the ground which lies between the shafts must be measured, or that between the shaft and the place where the outcrop of the one vein intersects the outcrop of the other. [illustration (hemicycle): a--waxed semicircle of the hemicycle. b--semicircular lines. c--straight lines. d--line measuring the half. e--line measuring the whole. f--tongue.] [illustration a (surveying rods): a--lines of the rod which separate minor spaces. b--lines of the rod which separate major spaces.] some surveyors, although they use three cords, nevertheless ascertain only the length of a tunnel by that method of measuring, and determine the depth of a shaft by another method; that is, by the method by which cords are re-stretched on a level part of the mountain or in a valley, or in flat fields, and are measured again. some, however, do not employ this method in surveying the depth of a shaft and the length of a tunnel, but use only two cords, a graduated hemicycle[ ] and a rod half a fathom long. they suspend in the shaft one cord, fastened from the upper pole and weighted, just as the others do. fastened to the upper end of this cord, they stretch another right down the slope of the mountain to the bottom of the mouth of the tunnel and fix it to the ground. then to the upper part of this second cord they apply on its lower side the broad part of a hemicycle. this consists of half a circle, the outer margin of which is covered with wax, and within this are six semi-circular lines. from the waxed margin through the first semi-circular line, and reaching to the second, there proceed straight lines converging toward the centre of the hemicycle; these mark the middles of intervening spaces lying between other straight lines which extend to the fourth semi-circular line. but all lines whatsoever, from the waxed margin up to the fourth line, whether they go beyond it or not, correspond with the graduated lines which mark the minor spaces of a rod. those which go beyond the fourth line correspond with the lines marking the major spaces on the rod, and those which proceed further, mark the middle of the intervening space which lies between the others. the straight lines, which run from the fifth to the sixth semi-circular line, show nothing further. nor does the line which measures the half, show anything when it has already passed from the sixth straight line to the base of the hemicycle. when the hemicycle is applied to the cord, if its tongue indicates the sixth straight line which lies between the second and third semi-circular lines, the surveyor counts on the rod six lines which separate the minor spaces, and if the length of this portion of the rod be taken from the second cord, as many times as the cord itself is half-fathoms long, the remaining length of cord shows the distance the tunnel must be driven to reach under the shaft. but if he sees that the tongue has gone so far that it marks the sixth line between the fourth and fifth semi-circular lines, he counts six lines which separate the major spaces on the rod; and this entire space is deducted from the length of the second cord, as many times as the number of whole fathoms which the cord contains; and then, in like manner, the remaining length of cord shows us the distance the tunnel must be driven to reach under the shaft.[ ] [illustration (surveying triangle): stretched cords: a--first cord. b--second cord. c--third cord. d--triangle.] both these surveyors, as well as the others, in the first place make use of the haulage rope. these they measure by means of others made of linden bark, because the latter do not stretch at all, while the former become very slack. these cords they stretch on the surveyor's field, the first one to represent the parts of mountain slopes which descend obliquely. then the second cord, which represents the length of the tunnel to be driven to reach the shaft, they place straight, in such a direction that one end of it can touch the lower end of the first cord; then they similarly lay the third cord straight, and in such a direction that its upper end may touch the upper end of the first cord, and its lower end the other extremity of the second cord, and thus a triangle is formed. this third cord is measured by the instrument with the index, to determine its relation to the perpendicular; and the length of this cord shows the depth of the shaft. [illustration (surveying triangles): stretched cords: a--first. b--second. b--third. c--fourth. c--fifth. d--quadrangle.] some surveyors, to make their system of measuring the depth of a shaft more certain, use five stretched cords: the first one descending obliquely; two, that is to say the second and third, for ascertaining the length of the tunnel; two for the depth of the shaft; in which way they form a quadrangle divided into two equal triangles, and this tends to greater accuracy. these systems of measuring the depth of a shaft and the length of a tunnel, are accurate when the vein and also the shaft or shafts go down to the tunnel vertically or inclined, in an uninterrupted course. the same is true when a tunnel runs straight on to a shaft. but when each of them bends now in this, now in that direction, if they have not been completely driven and sunk, no living man is clever enough to judge how far they are deflected from a straight course. but if the whole of either one of the two has been excavated its full distance, then we can estimate more easily the length of one, or the depth of the other; and so the location of the tunnel, which is below a newly-started shaft, is determined by a method of surveying which i will describe. first of all a tripod is fixed at the mouth of the tunnel, and likewise at the mouth of the shaft which has been started, or at the place where the shaft will be started. the tripod is made of three stakes fixed to the ground, a small rectangular board being placed upon the stakes and fixed to them, and on this is set a compass. then from the lower tripod a weighted cord is let down perpendicularly to the earth, close to which cord a stake is fixed in the ground. to this stake another cord is tied and drawn straight into the tunnel to a point as far as it can go without being bent by the hangingwall or the footwall of the vein. next, from the cord which hangs from the lower tripod, a third cord likewise fixed is brought straight up the sloping side of the mountain to the stake of the upper tripod, and fastened to it. in order that the measuring of the depth of the shaft may be more certain, the third cord should touch one and the same side of the cord hanging from the lower tripod which is touched by the second cord--the one which is drawn into the tunnel. all this having been correctly carried out, the surveyor, when at length the cord which has been drawn straight into the tunnel is about to be bent by the hangingwall or footwall, places a plank in the bottom of the tunnel and on it sets the orbis, an instrument which has an indicator peculiar to itself. this instrument, although it also has waxed circles, differs from the other, which i have described in the third book. but by both these instruments, as well as by a rule and a square, he determines whether the stretched cords reach straight to the extreme end of the tunnel, or whether they sometimes reach straight, and are sometimes bent by the footwall or hangingwall. each instrument is divided into parts, but the compass into twenty-four parts, the orbis into sixteen parts; for first of all it is divided into four principal parts, and then each of these is again divided into four. both have waxed circles, but the compass has seven circles, and the orbis only five circles. these waxed circles the surveyor marks, whichever instrument he uses, and by the succession of these same marks he notes any change in the direction in which the cord extends. the orbis has an opening running from its outer edge as far as the centre, into which opening he puts an iron screw, to which he binds the second cord, and by screwing it into the plank, fixes it so that the orbis may be immovable. he takes care to prevent the second cord, and afterward the others which are put up, from being pulled off the screw, by employing a heavy iron, into an opening of which he fixes the head of the screw. in the case of the compass, since it has no opening, he merely places it by the side of the screw. that the instrument does not incline forward or backward, and in that way the measurement become a greater length than it should be, he sets upon the instrument a standing plummet level, the tongue of which, if the instrument is level, indicates no numbers, but the point from which the numbers start. [illustration (compass): compass. a, b, c, d, e, f, g are the seven waxed circles.] [illustration a (orbis): a, b, c, d, e--five waxed circles of the _orbis_. f--opening of same. g--screw. h--perforated iron.] [illustration (miner using level): a--standing plummet level. b--tongue. c--level and tongue.] when the surveyor has carefully observed each separate angle of the tunnel and has measured such parts as he ought to measure, then he lays them out in the same way on the surveyor's field[ ] in the open air, and again no less carefully observes each separate angle and measures them. first of all, to each angle, according as the calculation of his triangle and his art require it, he lays out a straight cord as a line. then he stretches a cord at such an angle as represents the slope of the mountain, so that its lower end may reach the end of the straight cord; then he stretches a third cord similarly straight and at such an angle, that with its upper end it may reach the upper end of the second cord, and with its lower end the last end of the first cord. the length of the third cord shows the depth of the shaft, as i said before, and at the same time that point on the tunnel to which the shaft will reach when it has been sunk. if one or more shafts reach the tunnel through intermediate drifts and shafts, the surveyor, starting from the nearest which is open to the air, measures in a shorter time the depth of the shaft which requires to be sunk, than if he starts from the mouth of the tunnel. first of all he measures that space on the surface which lies between the shaft which has been sunk and the one which requires to be sunk. then he measures the incline of all the shafts which it is necessary to measure, and the length of all the drifts with which they are in any way connected to the tunnel. lastly, he measures part of the tunnel; and when all this is properly done, he demonstrates the depth of the shaft and the point in the tunnel to which the shaft will reach. but sometimes a very deep straight shaft requires to be sunk at the same place where there is a previous inclined shaft, and to the same depth, in order that loads may be raised and drawn straight up by machines. those machines on the surface are turned by horses; those inside the earth, by the same means, and also by water-power. and so, if it becomes necessary to sink such a shaft, the surveyor first of all fixes an iron screw in the upper part of the old shaft, and from the screw he lets down a cord as far as the first angle, where again he fixes a screw, and again lets down the cord as far as the second angle; this he repeats again and again until the cord reaches to the bottom of the shaft. then to each angle of the cord he applies a hemicycle, and marks the waxed semi-circle according to the lines which the tongue indicates, and designates it by a number, in case it should be moved; then he measures the separate parts of the cord with another cord made of linden bark. afterward, when he has come back out of the shaft, he goes away and transfers the markings from the waxed semi-circle of the hemicycle to an orbis similarly waxed. lastly, the cords are stretched on the surveyor's field, and he measures the angles, as the system of measuring by triangles requires, and ascertains which part of the footwall and which part of the hangingwall rock must be cut away in order that the shaft may descend straight. but if the surveyor is required to show the owners of the mine, the spot in a drift or a tunnel in which a shaft needs to be raised from the bottom upward, that it should cut through more quickly, he begins measuring from the bottom of the drift or tunnel, at a point beyond the spot at which the bottom of the shaft will arrive, when it has been sunk. when he has measured the part of the drift or tunnel up to the first shaft which connects with an upper drift, he measures the incline of this shaft by applying a hemicycle or orbis to the cord. then in a like manner he measures the upper drift and the incline shaft which is sunk therein toward which a raise is being dug, then again all the cords are stretched in the surveyor's field, the last cord in such a way that it reaches the first, and then he measures them. from this measurement is known in what part of the drift or tunnel the raise should be made, and how many fathoms of vein remain to be broken through in order that the shaft may be connected. i have described the first reason for surveying; i will now describe another. when one vein comes near another, and their owners are different persons who have late come into possession, whether they drive a tunnel or a drift, or sink a shaft, they may encroach, or seem to encroach, without any lawful right, upon the boundaries of the older owners, for which reason the latter very often seek redress, or take legal proceedings. the surveyor either himself settles the dispute between the owners, or by his art gives evidence to the judges for making their decision, that one shall not encroach on the mine of the other. thus, first of all he measures the mines of each party with a basket rope and cords of linden bark; and having applied to the cords an orbis or a compass, he notes the directions in which they extend. then he stretches the cords on the surveyor's field; and starting from that point whose owners are in possession of the old meer toward the other, whether it is in the hanging or footwall of the vein, he stretches a cross-cord in a straight line, according to the sixth division of the compass, that is, at a right angle to the vein, for a distance of three and a half fathoms, and assigns to the older owners that which belongs to them. but if both ends of one vein are being dug out in two tunnels, or drifts from opposite directions, the surveyor first of all considers the lower tunnel or drift and afterward the upper one, and judges how much each of them has risen little by little. on each side strong men take in their hands a stretched cord and hold it so that there is no point where it is not strained tight; on each side the surveyor supports the cord with a rod half a fathom long, and stays the rod at the end with a short stick as often as he thinks it necessary. but some fasten cords to the rods to make them steadier. the surveyor attaches a suspended plummet level to the middle of the cord to enable him to calculate more accurately on both sides, and from this he ascertains whether one tunnel has risen more than another, or in like manner one drift more than another. afterward he measures the incline of the shafts on both sides, so that he can estimate their position on each side. then he easily sees how many fathoms remain in the space which must be broken through. but the grade of each tunnel, as i said, should rise one fathom in the distance of one hundred fathoms. [illustration (plummet cord and weight): indicator of a suspended plummet level.] [illustration (compass): a--needle of the instrument. b--its tongue. c, d, e--holes in the tongue.] the swiss surveyors, when they wish to measure tunnels driven into the highest mountains, also use a rod half a fathom long, but composed of three parts, which screw together, so that they may be shortened. they use a cord made of linden bark to which are fastened slips of paper showing the number of fathoms. they also employ an instrument peculiar to them, which has a needle; but in place of the waxed circles they carry in their hands a chart on which they inscribe the readings of the instrument. the instrument is placed on the back part of the rod so that the tongue, and the extended cord which runs through the three holes in the tongue, demonstrates the direction, and they note the number of fathoms. the tongue shows whether the cord inclines forward or backward. the tongue does not hang, as in the case of the suspended plummet level, but is fixed to the instrument in a half-lying position. they measure the tunnels for the purpose of knowing how many fathoms they have been increased in elevation; how many fathoms the lower is distant from the upper one; how many fathoms of interval is not yet pierced between the miners who on opposite sides are digging on the same vein, or cross-stringers, or two veins which are approaching one another. but i return to our mines. if the surveyor desires to fix the boundaries of the meer within the tunnels or drifts, and mark to them with a sign cut in the rock, in the same way that the _bergmeister_ has marked these boundaries above ground, he first of all ascertains, by measuring in the manner which i have explained above, which part of the tunnel or drift lies beneath the surface boundary mark, stretching the cords along the drifts to a point beyond that spot in the rock where he judges the mark should be cut. then, after the same cords have been laid out on the surveyor's field, he starts from that upper cord at a point which shows the boundary mark, and stretches another cross-cord straight downward according to the sixth division of the compass--that is at a right angle. then that part of the lowest cord which lies beyond the part to which the cross-cord runs being removed, it shows at what point the boundary mark should be cut into the rock of the tunnel or drift. the cutting is made in the presence of the two jurors and the manager and the foreman of each mine. for as the _bergmeister_ in the presence of these same persons sets the boundary stones on the surface, so the surveyor cuts in the rock a sign which for this reason is called the boundary rock. if he fixes the boundary mark of a meer in which a shaft has recently begun to be sunk on a vein, first of all he measures and notes the incline of that shaft by the compass or by another way with the applied cords; then he measures all the drifts up to that one in whose rock the boundary mark has to be cut. of these drifts he measures each angle; then the cords, being laid out on the surveyor's field, in a similar way he stretches a cross-cord, as i said, and cuts the sign on the rock. but if the underground boundary rock has to be cut in a drift which lies beneath the first drift, the surveyor starts from the mark in the first drift, notes the different angles, one by one, takes his measurements, and in the lower drift stretches a cord beyond that place where he judges the mark ought to be cut; and then, as i said before, lays out the cords on the surveyor's field. even if a vein runs differently in the lower drift from the upper one, in which the first boundary mark has been cut in the rock, still, in the lower drift the mark must be cut in the rock vertically beneath. for if he cuts the lower mark obliquely from the upper one some part of the possession of one mine is taken away to its detriment, and given to the other. moreover, if it happens that the underground boundary mark requires to be cut in an angle, the surveyor, starting from that angle, measures one fathom toward the front of the mine and another fathom toward the back, and from these measurements forms a triangle, and dividing its middle by a cross-cord, makes his cutting for the boundary mark. lastly, the surveyor sometimes, in order to make more certain, finds the boundary of the meers in those places where many old boundary marks are cut in the rock. then, starting from a stake fixed on the surface, he first of all measures to the nearest mine; then he measures one shaft after another; then he fixes a stake on the surveyors' field, and making a beginning from it stretches the same cords in the same way and measures them, and again fixes in the ground a stake which for him will signify the end of his measuring. afterward he again measures underground from that spot at which he left off, as many shafts and drifts as he can remember. then he returns to the surveyor's field, and starting again from the second stake, makes his measurements; and he does this as far as the drift in which the boundary mark must be cut in the rock. finally, commencing from the stake first fixed in the ground, he stretches a cross-cord in a straight line to the last stake, and this shows the length of the lowest drift. the point where they touch, he judges to be the place where the underground boundary mark should be cut. end of book v. footnotes: [ ] it has been suggested that we should adopt throughout this volume the mechanical and mining terms used in english mines at agricola's time. we believe, however, that but a little inquiry would illustrate the undesirability of this course as a whole. where there is choice in modern miner's nomenclature between an old and a modern term, we have leaned toward age, if it be a term generally understood. but except where the subject described has itself become obsolete, we have revived no obsolete terms. in substantiation of this view, we append a few examples of terms which served the english miner well for centuries, some of which are still extant in some local communities, yet we believe they would carry as little meaning to the average reader as would the reproduction of the latin terms coined by agricola. rake = a perpendicular vein. woughs = walls of the vein. shakes = cracks in the walls. flookan = gouge. bryle = outcrop. hade = incline or underlay of the vein. dawling = impoverishment of the vein. rither = a "horse" in a vein. twitches = "pinching" of a vein. slough = drainage tunnel. sole = lowest drift. stool = face of a drift or stope. winds } turn } = winze. dippas} grove = shaft. dutins = set of timber. stemple = post or stull. laths = lagging. as examples of the author's coinage and adaptations of terms in this book we may cite:-- _fossa latens_ = drift. _fossa latens transversa_ = crosscut. _tectum_ = hangingwall. _fundamentum_ = footwall. _tigna per intervalla posita_ = wall plate. _arbores dissectae_ = lagging. _formae_ = hitches. we have adopted the term "tunnel" for openings by way of outlet to the mine. the word in this narrow sense is as old as "adit," a term less expressive and not so generally used in the english-speaking mining world. we have for the same reason adopted the word "drift" instead of the term "level" so generally used in america, because that term always leads to confusion in discussion of mine surveys. we may mention, however, that the term "level" is a heritage from the derbyshire mines, and is of an equally respectable age as "drift." [ ] see note on p. - . the _canales_, as here used, were the openings in the earth, in which minerals were deposited. [ ] this statement, as will appear by the description later on, refers to the depth of winzes or to the distance between drifts, that is "the lift." we have not, however, been justified in using the term "winze," because some of these were openings to the surface. as showing the considerable depth of shafts in agricola's time, we may quote the following from _bermannus_ (p. ): "the depths of our shafts forced us to invent hauling machines suitable for them. there are some of them larger and more ingenious than this one, for use in deep shafts, as, for instance, those in my native town of geyer, but more especially at schneeberg, where the shaft of the mine from which so much treasure was taken in our memory has reached the depth of about fathoms (feet?), wherefore the necessity of this kind of machinery. _naevius_: what an enormous depth! have you reached the inferno? _bermannus_: oh, at kuttenberg there are shafts more than fathoms (feet?) deep. _naevius_: and not yet reached the kingdom of pluto?" it is impossible to accept these as fathoms, as this would in the last case represent , feet vertically. the expression used, however, for fathoms is _passus_, presumably the roman measure equal to . inches. [ ] _cavernos_. the glossary gives _drusen_, our word _drusy_ having had this origin. [ ] _purum_,--"pure." _interpretatio_ gives the german as _gedigen_,--"native." [ ] _rudis_,--"crude." by this expression the author really means ores very rich in any designated metal. in many cases it serves to indicate the minerals of a given metal, as distinguished from the metal itself. our system of mineralogy obviously does not afford an acceptable equivalent. agricola (_de nat. foss._, p. ) says: "i find it necessary to call each genus (of the metallic minerals) by the name of its own metal, and to this i add a word which differentiates it from the pure (_puro_) metal, whether the latter has been mined or smelted; so i speak of _rudis_ gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, tin, bismuth, lead, or iron. this is not because i am unaware that varro called silver _rudis_ which had not yet been refined and stamped, but because a word which will distinguish the one from the other is not to be found." [ ] the reasons for retaining the latin weights are given in the appendix on weights and measures. a _centumpondium_ weighs . lbs. avoirdupois, an _uncia_ . troy grains, therefore, this value is equal to ounces pennyweights per short ton. [ ] agricola mentions many minerals in _de re metallica_, but without such description as would make possible a hazard at their identity. from his _de natura fossilium_, however, and from other mineralogies of the th century, some can be fully identified and others surmised. while we consider it desirable to set out the probable composition of these minerals, on account of the space required, the reasons upon which our opinion has been based cannot be given in detail, as that would require extensive quotations. in a general way, we have throughout the text studiously evaded the use of modern mineralogical terms--unless the term used to-day is of agricola's age--and have adopted either old english terms of pre-chemistry times or more loose terms used by common miners. obviously modern mineralogic terms imply a precision of knowledge not existing at that period. it must not be assumed that the following is by any means a complete list of the minerals described by agricola, but they include most of those referred to in this chapter. his system of mineralogy we have set out in note , p. , and it requires no further comment here. the grouping given below is simply for convenience and does not follow agricola's method. where possible, we tabulate in columns the latin term used in _de re metallica_; the german equivalent given by the author in either the _interpretatio_ or the glossary; our view of the probable modern equivalent based on investigation of his other works and other ancient mineralogies, and lastly the terms we have adopted in the text. the german spelling is that given in the original. as an indication of agricola's position as a mineralogist, we mark with an asterisk the minerals which were first specifically described by him. we also give some notes on matters of importance bearing on the nomenclature used in _de re metallica_. historical notes on the chief metals will be found elsewhere, generally with the discussion of smelting methods. we should not omit to express our indebtedness to dana's great "system of mineralogy," in the matter of correlation of many old and modern minerals. gold minerals. agricola apparently believed that there were various gold minerals, green, yellow, purple, black, etc. there is nothing, however, in his works that permits of any attempt to identify them, and his classification seems to rest on gangue colours. silver minerals. _argentum purum in _gedigen silber_ -- *native silver venis reperitur_ _argentum rude_ _gedigen silber -- _rudis_ silver, or ertz_ pure silver minerals _argentum rude _glas ertz_ argentite *silver glance plumbei coloris_ (ag_{ }s) _argentum rude _rot gold ertz_ pyrargyrite *red silver rubrum_ (ag_{ }sbs_{ }) _argentum rude _durchsichtig proustite *ruby silver rubrum rod gulden (ag_{ }ass_{ }) translucidum_ ertz_ _argentum rude _weis rod gulden -- white silver album_ ertz: dan es ist frisch wie offtmals rod gulden ertz pfleget zusein_ _argentum rude _gedigen part bromyrite liver-coloured jecoris leberfarbig (ag br) silver colore_ ertz_ _argentum rude _gedigen -- yellow silver luteum_ geelertz_ _argentum rude _gedigen graw } { *grey silver cineraceum_ ertz_ } part cerargurite { } (ag cl) (horn { _argentum rude _gedigen } silver) part { *black silver nigrum_ schwartz ertz_ } stephanite { } (ag_{ }sbs_{ }) { _argentum rude _gedigen braun } { *purple silver purpureum_ ertz_ } { the last six may be in part also alteration products from all silver minerals. the reasons for indefiniteness in determination usually lie in the failure of ancient authors to give sufficient or characteristic descriptions. in many cases agricola is sufficiently definite as to assure certainty, as the following description of what we consider to be silver glance, from _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), will indicate: "lead-coloured _rudis_ silver is called by the germans from the word glass (_glasertz_), not from lead. indeed, it has the colour of the latter or of galena (_plumbago_), but not of glass, nor is it transparent like glass, which one might indeed expect had the name been correctly derived. this mineral is occasionally so like galena in colour, although it is darker, that one who is not experienced in minerals is unable to distinguish between the two at sight, but in substance they differ greatly from one another. nature has made this kind of silver out of a little earth and much silver. whereas galena consists of stone and lead containing some silver. but the distinction between them can be easily determined, for galena may be ground to powder in a mortar with a pestle, but this treatment flattens out this kind of _rudis_ silver. also galena, when struck by a mallet or bitten or hacked with a knife, splits and breaks to pieces; whereas this silver is malleable under the hammer, may be dented by the teeth, and cut with a knife." copper minerals. _aes purum _gedigen kupfer_ native copper native copper fossile_ _aes rude _kupferglas ertz_ chalcocite *copper glance plumbei (cu_{ }s) coloris_ _chalcitis_ _rodt atrament_ a decomposed _chalcitis_ (see copper or notes on p. ) iron sulphide _pyrites aurei } _geelkis oder { part chalcopyrite copper pyrites colore_ } kupferkis_ { (cu fe s) part } { bornite _pyrites aerosus_ } { (cu_{ }fes_{ }) _caeruleum_ _berglasur_ azurite azure _chrysocolla_ _berggrün und { part chrysocolla chrysocolla (see schifergrün_ { part malachite note , p. ) _molochites_ _molochit_ malachite malachite _lapis aerarius_ _kupfer ertz_ -- copper ore _aes caldarium } _lebeter kupfer_ { when used for rubrum fuscum_ } { an ore, is *ruby copper ore or } { probably _aes sui coloris_ } _rotkupfer_ { cuprite _aes nigrum_ _schwartz kupfer_ probably cuo from *black copper oxidation of other minerals in addition to the above the author uses the following, which were in the main artificial products: _aerugo_ _grünspan oder verdigris verdigris spanschgrün_ _aes luteum_ _gelfarkupfer_ } impure blister { unrefined copper } copper { (see note , } { p. ) _aes caldarium_ _lebeterkupfer_ } { _aeris flos_ _kupferbraun_ } cupric oxide { copper flower } scales { } { _aeris squama_ _kupferhammer- } { copper scale (see schlag_ } { note , p. ) _atramentum _blaw kupfer chalcanthite native blue sutorium wasser_ vitriol (see caeruleum_ or note on p. ) _chalcanthum_ blue and green copper minerals were distinguished by all the ancient mineralogists. theophrastus, dioscorides, pliny, etc., all give sufficient detail to identify their _cyanus_ and _caeruleum_ partly with modern azurite, and their _chrysocolla_ partly with the modern mineral of the same name. however, these terms were also used for vegetable pigments, as well as for the pigments made from the minerals. the greek origin of _chrysocolla_ (_chrysos_, gold and _kolla_, solder) may be blamed with another and distinct line of confusion, in that this term has been applied to soldering materials, from greek down to modern times, some of the ancient mineralogists even asserting that the copper mineral _chrysocolla_ was used for this purpose. agricola uses _chrysocolla_ for borax, but is careful to state in every case (see note xx., p. x): "_chrysocolla_ made from _nitrum_," or "_chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax." dioscorides and pliny mention substances which were evidently copper sulphides, but no description occurs prior to agricola that permits a hazard as to different species. lead minerals. _plumbarius lapis_ _glantz_ galena galena _galena_ _glantz und galena galena pleiertz_ _plumbum nigrum } _pleiertz oder cerussite yellow lead ore lutei coloris_ } pleischweis_ (pbco_{ }) } _plumbago } metallica_ } _cerussa_ _pleiweis_ artificial white-lead (see white-lead note , p. ) _ochra facticia_ _pleigeel_ massicot (pb o) *lead-ochre (see or _ochra note , p. ) plumbaria_ _molybdaena_ } _herdplei_ part litharge hearth-lead (see } note , p. ) _plumbago } fornacis_ } _spuma argenti_ } _glett_ litharge litharge (see note } on p. ) _lithargyrum_ } _minium _menning_ minium red-lead (see note secundarium_ (pb_{ }o_{ }) , p. ) so far as we can determine, all of these except the first three were believed by agricola to be artificial products. of the first three, galena is certain enough, but while he obviously was familiar with the alteration lead products, his descriptions are inadequate and much confused with the artificial oxides. great confusion arises in the ancient mineralogies over the terms _molybdaena_, _plumbago_, _plumbum_, _galena_, and _spuma argenti_, all of which, from roman mineralogists down to a century after agricola, were used for lead in some form. further discussion of such confusion will be found in note , p. . agricola in _bermannus_ and _de natura fossilium_, devotes pages to endeavouring to reconcile the ancient usages of these terms, and all the confusion existing in agricola's time was thrice confounded when the names _molybdaena_ and _plumbago_ were assigned to non-lead minerals. tin. agricola knew only one tin mineral: _lapilli nigri ex quibus conflatur plumbum candidum_, _i.e._, "little black stones from which tin is smelted," and he gives the german equivalent as _zwitter_, "tin-stone." he describes them as being of different colours, but probably due to external causes. antimony. (_interpretatio_,--_spiesglas_.) the _stibi_ or _stibium_ of agricola was no doubt the sulphide, and he follows dioscorides in dividing it into male and female species. this distinction, however, is impossible to apply from the inadequate descriptions given. the mineral and metal known to agricola and his predecessors was almost always the sulphide, and we have not felt justified in using the term antimony alone, as that implies the refined product, therefore, we have adopted either the latin term or the old english term "grey antimony." the smelted antimony of commerce sold under the latter term was the sulphide. for further notes see p. . bismuth*. _plumbum cinereum_ (_interpretatio_,--_bismut_). agricola states that this mineral occasionally occurs native, "but more often as a mineral of another colour" (_de nat. fos._, p. ), and he also describes its commonest form as black or grey. this, considering his localities, would indicate the sulphide, although he assigns no special name to it. although bismuth is mentioned before agricola in the _nützliche bergbüchlin_, he was the first to describe it (see p. ). quicksilver. apart from native quicksilver, agricola adequately describes cinnabar only. the term used by him for the mineral is _minium nativum_ (_interpretatio_,--_bergzinober_ or _cinnabaris_). he makes the curious statement _(de nat. fos._ p. ) that _rudis_ quicksilver also occurs liver-coloured and blackish,--probably gangue colours. (see p. ). arsenical minerals. metallic arsenic was unknown, although it has been maintained that a substance mentioned by albertus magnus (_de rebus metallicis_) was the metallic form. agricola, who was familiar with all albertus's writings, makes no mention of it, and it appears to us that the statement of albertus referred only to the oxide from sublimation. our word "arsenic" obviously takes root in the greek for orpiment, which was also used by pliny (xxxiv, ) as _arrhenicum_, and later was modified to _arsenicum_ by the alchemists, who applied it to the oxide. agricola gives the following in _bermannus_ (p. ), who has been previously discussing realgar and orpiment:--"_ancon_: avicenna also has a white variety. _bermannus_: i cannot at all believe in a mineral of a white colour; perhaps he was thinking of an artificial product; there are two which the alchemists make, one yellow and the other white, and they are accounted the most powerful poisons to-day, and are called only by the name _arsenicum_." in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) is described the making of "the white variety" by sublimating orpiment, and also it is noted that realgar can be made from orpiment by heating the latter for five hours in a sealed crucible. in _de re metallica_ (book x.), he refers to _auripigmentum facticum_, and no doubt means the realgar made from orpiment. the four minerals of arsenic base mentioned by agricola were:-- _auripigmentum_ _operment_ orpiment orpiment (as_{ }s_{ }) _sandaraca_ _rosgeel_ realgar (as s) realgar _arsenicum_ _arsenik_ artificial white arsenic arsenical oxide _lapis subrutilus _mistpuckel_ arsenopyrite *mispickel atque ... (fe as s) splendens_ we are somewhat uncertain as to the identification of the last. the yellow and red sulphides, however, were well known to the ancients, and are described by aristotle, theophrastus ( and ), dioscorides (v, ), pliny (xxxiii, , etc.); and strabo (xii, , ) mentions a mine of them near pompeiopolis, where, because of its poisonous character none but slaves were employed. the ancients believed that the yellow sulphide contained gold--hence the name _auripigmentum_, and pliny describes the attempt of the emperor caligula to extract the gold from it, and states that he did obtain a small amount, but unprofitably. so late a mineralogist as hill ( ) held this view, which seemed to be general. both realgar and orpiment were important for pigments, medicinal purposes, and poisons among the ancients. in addition to the above, some arsenic-cobalt minerals are included under _cadmia_. iron minerals. _ferrum purum_ _gedigen eisen_ native iron *native iron _terra ferria_ _eisen ertz_ } various soft and } ironstone } hard iron } _ferri vena_ _eisen ertz_ } ores, probably } } mostly hematite} _galenae genus _eisen glantz_ } } tertium omnis } } metalli } } inanissimi_ } } } } _schistos_ _glasköpfe oder } } blütstein_ } } } } _ferri vena _leber ertz_ } } jecoris colore_ } } _ferrugo_ _rüst_ part limonite iron rust _magnes_ _siegelstein magnetite lodestone oder magnet_ _ochra nativa_ _berg geel_ limonite yellow ochre or ironstone _haematites_ _blüt stein_ { part hematite bloodstone or { part jasper ironstone _schistos_ _glas köpfe_ part limonite ironstone _pyrites_ _kis_ pyrites pyrites _pyrites argenti _wasser oder marcasite *white iron coloris_ weisser kis_ pyrites _misy_ _gel atrament_ part copiapite _misy_ (see note on p. ) _sory_ _graw und partly a _sory_ (see note schwartz decomposed iron on p. ) atrament_ pyrite _melanteria_ _schwartz und melanterite _melanteria_ (see grau atrament_ (native vitriol) note on p. ) the classification of iron ores on the basis of exterior characteristics, chiefly hardness and brilliancy, does not justify a more narrow rendering than "ironstone." agricola (_de nat. fos._, book v.) gives elaborate descriptions of various iron ores, but the descriptions under any special name would cover many actual minerals. the subject of pyrites is a most confused one; the term originates from the greek word for fire, and referred in greek and roman times to almost any stone that would strike sparks. by agricola it was a generic term in somewhat the same sense that it is still used in mineralogy, as, for instance, iron pyrite, copper pyrite, etc. so much was this the case later on, that henckel, the leading mineralogist of the th century, entitled his large volume _pyritologia_, and in it embraces practically all the sulphide minerals then known. the term _marcasite_, of mediæval arabic origin, seems to have had some vogue prior and subsequent to agricola. he, however, puts it on one side as merely a synonym for pyrite, nor can it be satisfactorily defined in much better terms. agricola apparently did not recognise the iron base of pyrites, for he says (_de nat. fos._, p. ): "sometimes, however, pyrites do not contain any gold, silver, copper, or lead, and yet it is not a pure stone, but a compound, and consists of stone and a substance which is somewhat metallic, which is a species of its own." many varieties were known to him and described, partly by their other metal association, but chiefly by their colour. cadmia. the minerals embraced under this term by the old mineralogists form one of the most difficult chapters in the history of mineralogy. these complexities reached their height with agricola, for at this time various new minerals classed under this heading had come under debate. all these minerals were later found to be forms of zinc, cobalt, or arsenic, and some of these minerals were in use long prior to agricola. from greek and roman times down to long after agricola, brass was made by cementing zinc ore with copper. aristotle and strabo mention an earth used to colour copper, but give no details. it is difficult to say what zinc mineral the _cadmium_ of dioscorides (v, ) and pliny (xxxiv, ), really was. it was possibly only furnace calamine, or perhaps blende for it was associated with copper. they amply describe _cadmia_ produced in copper furnaces, and _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide). it was apparently not until theophilus ( ) that the term _calamina_ appears for that mineral. precisely when the term "zinc," and a knowledge of the metal, first appeared in europe is a matter of some doubt; it has been attributed to paracelsus, a contemporary of agricola (see note on p. ), but we do not believe that author's work in question was printed until long after. the quotations from agricola given below, in which _zincum_ is mentioned in an obscure way, do not appear in the first editions of these works, but only in the revised edition of . in other words, agricola himself only learned of a substance under this name a short period before his death in . the metal was imported into europe from china prior to this time. he however does describe actual metallic zinc under the term _conterfei_, and mentions its occurrence in the cracks of furnace walls. (see also notes on p. ). the word cobalt (german _kobelt_) is from the greek word _cobalos_, "mime," and its german form was the term for gnomes and goblins. it appears that the german miners, finding a material (agricola's "corrosive material") which injured their hands and feet, connected it with the goblins, or used the term as an epithet, and finally it became established for certain minerals (see note , p. , on this subject). the first written appearance of the term in connection with minerals, appears in agricola's _bermannus_ ( ). the first practical use of cobalt was in the form of _zaffre_ or cobalt blue. there seems to be no mention of the substance by the greek or roman writers, although analyses of old colourings show some traces of cobalt, but whether accidental or not is undetermined. the first mention we know of, was by biringuccio in (_de la pirotechnia_, book ii, chap. ix.), who did not connect it with the minerals then called _cobalt_ or _cadmia_. "_zaffera_ is another mineral substance, like a metal of middle weight, which will not melt alone, but accompanied by vitreous substances it melts into an azure colour so that those who colour glass, or paint vases or glazed earthenware, make use of it. not only does it serve for the above-mentioned operations, but if one uses too great a quantity of it, it will be black and all other colours, according to the quantity used." agricola, although he does not use the word _zaffre_, does refer to a substance of this kind, and in any event also missed the relation between _zaffre_ and cobalt, as he seems to think (_de nat. fos._, p. ) that _zaffre_ came from bismuth, a belief that existed until long after his time. the cobalt of the erzgebirge was of course, intimately associated with this mineral. he says, "the slag of bismuth, mixed together with metalliferous substances, which when melted make a kind of glass, will tint glass and earthenware vessels blue." _zaffre_ is the roasted mineral ground with sand, while _smalt_, a term used more frequently, is the fused mixture with sand. the following are the substances mentioned by agricola, which, we believe, relate to cobalt and zinc minerals, some of them arsenical compounds. other arsenical minerals we give above. _cadmia fossilis_ _calmei_; _lapis calamine calamine calaminaris_ _cadmia metallica_ _kobelt_ part cobalt *_cadmia metallica_ _cadmia fornacis_ _mitlere und furnace furnace accretions obere accretions or offenbrüche_ furnace calamine _bituminosa _kobelt des (mannsfeld copper _bituminosa cadmia_ cadmia_ bergwacht_ schists) (see note , p. ) _galena inanis_ _blende_ sphalerite* *blende (zn s) _cobaltum -- smallite* } _cadmia metallica_ cineraceum_ (coas_{ }) } } _cobaltum nigrum_ -- abolite* } } _cobaltum ferri -- cobaltite } colore_ (coass) } _zincum_ _zinck_ zinc zinc _liquor candidus _conterfei_ zinc see note , p. ex fornace ... etc._ _atramentum -- goslarite *native white sutorium, (zn so_{ }) vitriol candidum, potissimum reperitur goselariae_ _spodos _geeler zechen } either natural { grey _spodos_ subterranea rauch_ } or artificial { cinerea_ } zinc oxides, { } no doubt { _spodos _schwartzer } containing { black _spodos_ subterranea zechen rauch, } arsenical { nigra_ auff dem } oxides { altenberge } { nennet man in } { kis_ } { } { _spodos _grauer zechen } { green _spodos_ subterranea rauch_ } { viridis_ } { } { _pompholyx_ _hüttenrauch_ } { _pompholyx_ (see } { note , p. ) as seen from the following quotations from agricola, on _cadmia_ and cobalt, there was infinite confusion as to the zinc, cobalt, and arsenic minerals; nor do we think any good purpose is served by adding to the already lengthy discussion of these passages, the obscurity of which is natural to the state of knowledge; but we reproduce them as giving a fairly clear idea of the amount of confusion then existing. it is, however, desirable to bear in mind that the mines familiar to agricola abounded in complex mixtures of cobalt, nickel, arsenic, bismuth, zinc, and antimony. agricola frequently mentions the garlic odour from _cadmia metallica_, which, together with the corrosive qualities mentioned below, would obviously be due to arsenic. _bermannus_ (p. ). "this kind of pyrites miners call _cobaltum_, if it be allowed to me to use our german name. the greeks call it _cadmia_. the juices, however, out of which pyrites and silver are formed, appear to solidify into one body, and thus is produced what they call _cobaltum_. there are some who consider this the same as pyrites, because it is almost the same. there are some who distinguish it as a species, which pleases me, for it has the distinctive property of being extremely corrosive, so that it consumes the hands and feet of the workmen, unless they are well protected, which i do not believe that pyrites can do. three kinds are found, and distinguished more by the colour than by other properties; they are black (abolite?), grey (smallite?), and iron colour (cobalt glance?). moreover, it contains more silver than does pyrites...." _bermannus_ (p. ). "it (a sort of pyrites) is so like the colour of galena that not without cause might anybody have doubt in deciding whether it be pyrites or galena.... perhaps this kind is neither pyrites nor galena, but has a genus of its own. for it has not the colour of pyrites, nor the hardness. it is almost the colour of galena, but of entirely different components. from it there is made gold and silver, and a great quantity is dug out from reichenstein which is in silesia, as was lately reported to me. much more is found at raurici, which they call _zincum_; which species differs from pyrites, for the latter contains more silver than gold, the former only gold, or hardly any silver." (_de natura fossilium_, p. ). "_cadmia fossilis_ has an odour like garlic" ... (p. ). "we now proceed with _cadmia_, not the _cadmia fornacis_ (furnace accretions) of which i spoke in the last book, nor the _cadmia fossilis_ (calamine) devoid of metal, which is used to colour copper, whose nature i explained in book v, but the metallic mineral (_fossilis metallica_), which pliny states to be an ore from which copper is made. the ancients have left no record that another metal could be smelted from it. yet it is a fact that not only copper but also silver may be smelted from it, and indeed occasionally both copper and silver together. sometimes, as is the case with pyrites, it is entirely devoid of metal. it is frequently found in copper mines, but more frequently still in silver mines. and there are likewise veins of _cadmia_ itself.... there are several species of the _cadmia fossilis_ just as there were of _cadmia fornacum_. for one kind has the form of grapes and another of broken tiles, a third seems to consist of layers. but the _cadmia fossilis_ has much stronger properties than that which is produced in the furnaces. indeed, it often possesses such highly corrosive power that it corrodes the hands and feet of the miners. it, therefore, differs from pyrites in colour and properties. for pyrites, if it does not contain vitriol, is generally either of a gold or silver colour, rarely of any other. _cadmia_ is either black or brown or grey, or else reddish like copper when melted in the furnace.... for this _cadmia_ is put in a suitable vessel, in the same way as quicksilver, so that the heat of the fire will cause it to sublimate, and from it is made a black or brown or grey body which the alchemists call 'sublimated _cadmia_' (_cadmiam sublimatam_). this possesses corrosive properties of the highest degree. cognate with _cadmia_ and pyrites is a compound which the noricians and rhetians call _zincum_. this contains gold and silver, and is either red or white. it is likewise found in the sudetian mountains, and is devoid of those metals.... with this _cadmia_ is naturally related mineral _spodos_, known to the moor serapion, but unknown to the greeks; and also _pompholyx_--for both are produced by fire where the miners, breaking the hard rocks in drifts, tunnels, and shafts, burn the _cadmia_ or pyrites or galena or other similar minerals. from _cadmia_ is made black, brown, and grey _spodos_; from pyrites, white _pompholyx_ and _spodos_; from galena is made yellow or grey _spodos_. but _pompholyx_ produced from copper stone (_lapide aeroso_) after some time becomes green. the black _spodos_, similar to soot, is found at altenberg in meissen. the white _pompholyx_, like wool which floats in the air in summer, is found in hildesheim in the seams in the rocks of almost all quarries except in the sandstone. but the grey and the brown and the yellow _pompholyx_ are found in those silver mines where the miners break up the rocks by fire. all consist of very fine particles which are very light, but the lightest of all is white _pompholyx_." quartz minerals. _quarzum_ ("which _quertz oder quartz quartz (see note latins call kiselstein_ , p. ) _silex_") _silex_ _hornstein oder flinty or jaspery hornstone feurstein_ quartz _crystallum_ _crystal_ clear crystals crystal _achates_ _achat_ agate agate _sarda_ _carneol_ carnelian carnelian _jaspis_ _jaspis_ part coloured _jaspis_ quartz, part jade _murrhina_ _chalcedonius_ chalcedony chalcedony _coticula_ _goldstein_ a black silicious touchstone (see stone note , p. ) _amethystus_ _amethyst_ amethyst amethyst lime minerals. _lapis } _gips_ gypsum gypsum specularis_ } } _gypsum_ } _marmor_ _marmelstein_ marble marble _marmor _alabaster_ alabaster alabaster alabastrites_ _marmor glarea_ -- calcite (?) calc spar(?) _saxum calcis_ _kalchstein_ limestone limestone _marga_ _mergel_ marl marl _tophus_ _toffstein oder sintry _tophus_ (see note topstein_ limestones, , p. ) stalagmites, etc. miscellaneous. _amiantus_ _federwis, pliant usually asbestos asbestos salamanderhar_ _magnetis_ _silberweis oder } mica *mica katzensilber_ } } _bracteolae -- } magnetidi simile_ } } _mica_ _katzensilber } oder glimmer_ } _silex ex eo ictu -- feldspar *feldspar ferri facile ignis elicitur.... excubus figuris_ _medulla saxorum_ _steinmarck_ kaolinite porcelain clay _fluores (lapides _flusse_ fluorspar *fluorspar gemmarum simili)_ (see note , p. ) _marmor in _spat_ barite *heavy spar metallis repertum_ apart from the above, many other minerals are mentioned in other chapters, and some information is given with regard to them in the footnotes. [ ] three _librae_ of silver per _centumpondium_ would be equal to ounces per short ton. [ ] as stated in note on p. , agricola divided "stones so called" into four kinds; the first, common stones in which he included lodestone and jasper or bloodstone; the second embraced gems; the third were decorative stones, such as marble, porphyry, etc.; the fourth were rocks, such as sandstone and limestone. lodestone. (_magnes_; _interpretatio_ gives _siegelstein oder magnet_). the lodestone was well-known to the ancients under various names--_magnes_, _magnetis_, _heraclion_, and _sideritis_. a review of the ancient opinions as to its miraculous properties would require more space than can be afforded. it is mentioned by many greek writers, including hippocrates ( - b.c.) and aristotle; while theophrastus ( ), dioscorides (v, ), and pliny (xxxiv, , xxxvi, ) describe it at length. the ancients also maintained the existence of a stone, _theamedes_, having repellant properties, and the two were supposed to exist at times in the same stone. emery. (_smiris_; _interpretatio_ gives _smirgel_). agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) says: "the ring-makers polish and clean their hard gems with _smiris_. the glaziers use it to cut their glass into sheets. it is found in the silver mines of annaberg in meissen and elsewhere." stones used for polishing gems are noted by the ancient authors, and dana (syst. of mineralogy, p. ) considers the stone of armenia, of theophrastus ( ), to be emery, although it could quite well be any hard stone, such as novaculite--which is found in armenia. dioscorides (v, ) describes a stone with which the engravers polish gems. lapis judaicus. (_interpretatio_ gives _jüden stein_). this was undoubtedly a fossil, possibly a _pentremites_. agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) says: "it is shaped like an acorn, from the obtuse end to the point proceed raised lines, all equidistant, etc." many fossils were included among the semi-precious stones by the ancients. pliny (xxxvii, , , ) describes many such stones, among them the _balanites_, _phoenicitis_ and the _pyren_, which resemble the above. trochitis. (_interpretatio_ gives _spangen oder rederstein_). this was also a fossil, probably crinoid stems. agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) describes it: "_trochites_ is so called from a wheel, and is related to _lapis judaicus_. nature has indeed given it the shape of a drum (_tympanum_). the round part is smooth, but on both ends as it were there is a module from which on all sides there extend radii to the outer edge, which corresponds with the radii. these radii are so much raised that it is fluted. the size of these _trochites_ varies greatly, for the smallest is so little that the largest is ten times as big, and the largest are a digit in length by a third of a digit in thickness ... when immersed in vinegar they make bubbles." [ ] the "extraordinary earths" of agricola were such substances as ochres, tripoli, fullers earth, potters' clay, clay used for medicinal purposes, etc., etc. [ ] presumably the ore-body dips into a neighbouring property. [ ] the various kinds of iron tools are described in great detail in book vi. [ ] fire-setting as an aid to breaking rock is of very ancient origin, and moreover it persisted in certain german and norwegian mines down to the end of the th century-- years after the first application of explosives to mining. the first specific reference to fire-setting in mining is by agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) whose works are not extant, but who is quoted by both diodorus siculus and photius, for which statement see note , p. . pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "occasionally a kind of silex is met with, which must be broken with fire and vinegar, or as the tunnels are filled with suffocating fumes and smoke, they frequently use bruising machines, carrying _librae_ of iron." this combination of fire and vinegar he again refers to (xxiii, ), where he dilates in the same sentence on the usefulness of vinegar for breaking rock and for salad dressing. this myth about breaking rocks with fire and vinegar is of more than usual interest, and its origin seems to be in the legend that hannibal thus broke through the alps. livy ( b.c., a.d.) seems to be the first to produce this myth in writing; and, in any event, by pliny's time ( - a.d.) it had become an established method--in literature. livy (xxi, ) says, in connection with hannibal's crossing of the alps: "they set fire to it (the timber) when a wind had arisen suitable to excite the fire, then when the rock was hot it was crumbled by pouring on vinegar (_infuso aceto_). in this manner the cliff heated by the fire was broken by iron tools, and the declivities eased by turnings, so that not only the beasts of burden but also the elephants could be led down." hannibal crossed the alps in b.c. and livy's account was written years later, by which time hannibal's memory among the romans was generally surrounded by herculean fables. be this as it may, by pliny's time the vinegar was generally accepted, and has been ceaselessly debated ever since. nor has the myth ceased to grow, despite the remarks of gibbon, lavalette, and others. a recent historian (hennebert, _histoire d' annibal_ ii, p. ) of that famous engineer and soldier, soberly sets out to prove that inasmuch as literal acceptance of ordinary vinegar is impossible, the phoenicians must have possessed some mysterious high explosive. a still more recent biographer swallows this argument _in toto_. (morris, "hannibal," london, , p. ). a study of the commentators of this passage, although it would fill a volume with sterile words, would disclose one generalization: that the real scholars have passed over the passage with the comment that it is either a corruption or an old woman's tale, but that hosts of soldiers who set about the biography of famous generals and campaigns, almost to a man take the passage seriously, and seriously explain it by way of the rock being limestone, or snow, or by the use of explosives, or other foolishness. it has been proposed, although there are grammatical objections, that the text is slightly corrupt and read _infosso acuto_, instead of _infuso aceto_, in which case all becomes easy from a mining point of view. if so, however, it must be assumed that the corruption occurred during the years between livy and pliny. by the use of fire-setting in recent times at königsberg (arthur l. collins, "fire-setting," federated inst. of mining engineers, vol. v, p. ) an advance of from to feet per month in headings was accomplished, and on the score of economy survived the use of gunpowder, but has now been abandoned in favour of dynamite. we may mention that the use of gunpowder for blasting was first introduced at schemnitz by caspar weindle, in , but apparently was not introduced into english mines for nearly years afterward, as the late th century english writers continue to describe fire-setting. [ ] the strata here enumerated are given in the glossary of _de re metallica_ as follows:-- _corium terrae_ _die erd oder leim._ _saxum rubrum_ _rot gebirge._ _alterum item rubrum_ _roterkle._ _argilla cinerea_ _thone._ _tertium saxum_ _gerhulle._ _cineris vena_ _asche._ _quartum saxum_ _gniest._ _quintum saxum_ _schwehlen._ _sextum saxum_ _oberrauchstein._ _septimum saxum_ _zechstein._ _octavum saxum_ _underrauchstein._ _nonum saxum_ _blitterstein._ _decimum saxum_ _oberschuelen._ _undecimum saxum_ _mittelstein._ _duodecimum saxum_ _underschuelen._ _decimumtertium saxum_ _dach._ _decimumquartum saxum_ _norweg._ _decimumquintum saxum_ _lotwerg._ _decimumsextum saxum_ _kamme._ _lapis aerosus fissilis_ _schifer._ the description is no doubt that of the mannsfeld cupriferous slates. it is of some additional interest as the first attempt at stratigraphic distinctions, although this must not be taken too literally, for we have rendered the different numbered "_saxum_" in this connection as "stratum." the german terms given by agricola above, can many of them be identified in the miners' terms to-day for the various strata at mannsfeld. over the _kupferschiefer_ the names to-day are _kammschale_, _dach_, _faule_, _zechstein_, _rauchwacke_, _rauchstein_, _asche_. the relative thickness of these beds is much the same as given by agricola. the stringers in the th stratum of stone, which fuse in the fire of the second order, were possibly calcite. the _rauchstein_ of the modern section is distinguished by stringers of calcite, which give it at times a brecciated appearance. [ ] the history of surveying and surveying instruments, and in a subsidiary way their application to mine work, is a subject upon which there exists a most extensive literature. however, that portion of such history which relates to the period prior to agricola represents a much less proportion of the whole than do the citations to this chapter in _de re metallica_, which is the first comprehensive discussion of the mining application. the history of such instruments is too extensive to be entered upon in a footnote, but there are some fundamental considerations which, if they had been present in the minds of historical students of this subject, would have considerably abridged the literature on it. first, there can be no doubt that measuring cords or rods and boundary stones existed almost from the first division of land. there is, therefore, no need to try to discover their origins. second, the history of surveying and surveying instruments really begins with the invention of instruments for taking levels, or for the determination of angles with a view to geometrical calculation. the meagre facts bearing upon this subject do not warrant the endless expansion they have received by argument as to what was probable, in order to accomplish assumed methods of construction among the ancients. for instance, the argument that in carrying the grand canal over watersheds with necessary reservoir supply, the chinese must have had accurate levelling and surveying instruments before the christian era, and must have conceived in advance a completed work, does not hold water when any investigation will demonstrate that the canal grew by slow accretion from the lateral river systems, until it joined almost by accident. much the same may be said about the preconception of engineering results in several other ancient works. there can be no certainty as to who first invented instruments of the order mentioned above; for instance, the invention of the dioptra has been ascribed to hero, _vide_ his work on the _dioptra_. he has been assumed to have lived in the st or nd century b.c. recent investigations, however, have shown that he lived about a.d. (sir thomas heath, encyc. brit. th ed., xiii, ). as this instrument is mentioned by vitruvius ( - b.c.) the myth that hero was the inventor must also disappear. incidentally vitruvius (viii, ) describes a levelling instrument called a _chorobates_, which was a frame levelled either by a groove of water or by plumb strings. be the inventor of the _dioptra_ who he may, hero's work on that subject contains the first suggestion of mine surveys in the problems (xiii, xiv, xv, xvi), where geometrical methods are elucidated for determining the depths required for the connection of shafts and tunnels. on the compass we give further notes on p. . it was probably an evolution of the th century. as to the application of angle- and level-determining instruments to underground surveys, so far as we know there is no reference prior to agricola, except that of hero. mr. bennett brough (cantor lecture, london, ) points out that the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ (see appendix) describes a mine compass, but there is not the slightest reference to its use for anything but surface direction of veins. although map-making of a primitive sort requires no instruments, except legs, the oldest map in the world possesses unusual interest because it happens to be a map of a mining region. this well-known turin papyrus dates from seti i. (about b.c.), and it represents certain gold mines between the nile and the red sea. the best discussion is by chabas (_inscriptions des mines d'or_, chalons-sur-saone, paris, , p. - ). fragments of another papyrus, in the turin museum, are considered by lieblein (_deux papyras hiératiques_, christiania, ) also to represent a mine of the time of rameses i. if so, this one dates from about b.c. as to an actual map of underground workings (disregarding illustrations) we know of none until after agricola's time. at his time maps were not made, as will be gathered from the text. [ ] for greater clarity we have in a few places interpolated the terms "major" and "minor" triangles. [ ] the names of the instruments here described in the original text, their german equivalents in the glossary, and the terms adopted in translation are given below:-- latin text. glossary. terms adopted. _funiculus_ -- cord _pertica_ _stab_ rod _hemicyclium_ _donlege bretlein_ hemicycle _tripus_ _stul_ tripod _instrumentum cui _compass_ compass index_ _orbis_ _scheube_ orbis _libra stativa_ _auffsafz_ standing plummet level _libra pensilis_ _wage_ suspended plummet level _instrumentum cui _der schiner swiss compass index alpinum_ compass_ [ ] it is interesting to note that the ratio of any length so obtained, to the whole length of the staff, is practically equal to the cosine of the angle represented by the corresponding gradation on the hemicycle; the gradations on the rod forming a fairly accurate table of cosines. [ ] it must be understood that instead of "plotting" a survey on a reduced scale on paper, as modern surveyors do, the whole survey was reproduced in full scale on the "surveyor's field." book vi. digging of veins i have written of, and the timbering of shafts, tunnels, drifts, and other excavations, and the art of surveying. i will now speak first of all, of the iron tools with which veins and rocks are broken, then of the buckets into which the lumps of earth, rock, metal, and other excavated materials are thrown, in order that they may be drawn, conveyed, or carried out. also, i will speak of the water vessels and drains, then of the machines of different kinds,[ ] and lastly of the maladies of miners. and while all these matters are being described accurately, many methods of work will be explained. [illustration (iron tools): a--first "iron tool." b--second. c--third. d--fourth.[ ] e--wedge. f--iron block. g--iron plate. h--wooden handle. i--handle inserted in first tool.] there are certain iron tools which the miners designate by names of their own, and besides these, there are wedges, iron blocks, iron plates, hammers, crowbars, pikes, picks, hoes, and shovels. of those which are especially referred to as "iron tools" there are four varieties, which are different from one another in length or thickness, but not in shape, for the upper end of all of them is broad and square, so that it can be struck by the hammer. the lower end is pointed so as to split the hard rocks and veins with its point. all of these have eyes except the fourth. the first, which is in daily use among miners, is three-quarters of a foot long, a digit and a half wide, and a digit thick. the second is of the same width as the first, and the same thickness, but one and one half feet long, and is used to shatter the hardest veins in such a way that they crack open. the third is the same length as the second, but is a little wider and thicker; with this one they dig the bottoms of those shafts which slowly accumulate water. the fourth is nearly three palms and one digit long, two digits thick, and in the upper end it is three digits wide, in the middle it is one palm wide, and at the lower end it is pointed like the others; with this they cut out the harder veins. the eye in the first tool is one palm distant from the upper end, in the second and third it is seven digits distant; each swells out around the eye on both sides, and into it they fit a wooden handle, which they hold with one hand, while they strike the iron tool with a hammer, after placing it against the rock. these tools are made larger or smaller as necessary. the smiths, as far as possible, sharpen again all that become dull. a wedge is usually three palms and two digits long and six digits wide; at the upper end, for a distance of a palm, it is three digits thick, and beyond that point it becomes thinner by degrees, until finally it is quite sharp. the iron block is six digits in length and width; at the upper end it is two digits thick, and at the bottom a digit and a half. the iron plate is the same length and width as the iron block, but it is very thin. all of these, as i explained in the last book, are used when the hardest kind of veins are hewn out. wedges, blocks, and plates, are likewise made larger or smaller. [illustration (hammers): a--smallest of the smaller hammers. b--intermediate. c--largest. d--small kind of the larger hammer. e--large kind. f--wooden handle. g--handle fixed in the smallest hammer.] hammers are of two kinds, the smaller ones the miners hold in one hand, and the larger ones they hold with both hands. the former, because of their size and use, are of three sorts. with the smallest, that is to say, the lightest, they strike the second "iron tool;" with the intermediate one the first "iron tool;" and with the largest the third "iron tool"; this one is two digits wide and thick. of the larger sort of hammers there are two kinds; with the smaller they strike the fourth "iron tool;" with the larger they drive the wedges into the cracks; the former are three, and the latter five digits wide and thick, and a foot long. all swell out in their middle, in which there is an eye for a handle, but in most cases the handles are somewhat light, in order that the workmen may be able to strike more powerful blows by the hammer's full weight being thus concentrated. [illustration a (crowbars): a--round crowbar. b--flat crowbar. c--pike.] the iron crowbars are likewise of two kinds, and each kind is pointed at one end. one is rounded, and with this they pierce to a shaft full of water when a tunnel reaches to it; the other is flat, and with this they knock out of the stopes on to the floor, the rocks which have been softened by the fire, and which cannot be dislodged by the pike. a miner's pike, like a sailor's, is a long rod having an iron head. [illustration b (picks): a--pick. b--hoe. c--shovel.] the miner's pick differs from a peasant's pick in that the latter is wide at the bottom and sharp, but the former is pointed. it is used to dig out ore which is not hard, such as earth. likewise a hoe and shovel are in no way different from the common articles, with the one they scrape up earth and sand, with the other they throw it into vessels. now earth, rock, mineral substances and other things dug out with the pick or hewn out with the "iron tools" are hauled out of the shaft in buckets, or baskets, or hide buckets; they are drawn out of tunnels in wheelbarrows or open trucks, and from both they are sometimes carried in trays. [illustration a (buckets for hoisting ore)] [illustration b (buckets for hoisting ore): a--small bucket. b--large bucket. c--staves. d--iron hoops. e--iron straps. f--iron straps on the bottom. g--hafts. h--iron bale. i--hook of drawing-rope. k--basket. l--hide bucket or sack.] buckets are of two kinds, which differ in size, but not in material or shape. the smaller for the most part hold only about one _metreta_; the larger are generally capable of carrying one-sixth of a _congius_; neither is of unchangeable capacity, but they often vary.[ ] each is made of staves circled with hoops, one of which binds the top and the other the bottom. the hoops are sometimes made of hazel and oak, but these are easily broken by dashing against the shaft, while those made of iron are more durable. in the larger buckets the staves are thicker and wider, as also are both hoops, and in order that the buckets may be more firm and strong, they have eight iron straps, somewhat broad, four of which run from the upper hoop downwards, and four from the lower hoop upwards, as if to meet each other. the bottom of each bucket, both inside and outside, is furnished with two or three straps of iron, which run from one side of the lower hoop to the other, but the straps which are on the outside are fixed crosswise. each bucket has two iron hafts which project above the edge, and it has an iron semi-circular bale whose lower ends are fixed directly into the hafts, that the bucket may be handled more easily. each kind of bucket is much deeper than it is wide, and each is wider at the top, in order that the material which is dug out may be the more easily poured in and poured out again. into the smaller buckets strong boys, and into larger ones men, fill earth from the bottom of the shaft with hoes; or the other material dug up is shovelled into them or filled in with their hands, for which reason these men are called "shovellers.[ ]" afterward they fix the hook of the drawing-rope into the bale; then the buckets are drawn up by machines--the smaller ones, because of their lighter weight, by machines turned by men, and the larger ones, being heavier, by the machines turned by horses. some, in place of these buckets, substitute baskets which hold just as much, or even more, since they are lighter than the buckets; some use sacks made of ox-hide instead of buckets, and the drawing-rope hook is fastened to their iron bale, usually three of these filled with excavated material are drawn up at the same time as three are being lowered and three are being filled by boys. the latter are generally used at schneeberg and the former at freiberg. [illustration (wheelbarrows): a--small wheelbarrow. b--long planks thereof. c--end-boards. d--small wheel. e--larger barrow. f--front end-board thereof.] that which we call a _cisium_[ ] is a vehicle with one wheel, not with two, such as horses draw. when filled with excavated material it is pushed by a workman out of tunnels or sheds. it is made as follows: two planks are chosen about five feet long, one foot wide, and two digits thick; of each of these the lower side is cut away at the front for a length of one foot, and at the back for a length of two feet, while the middle is left whole. then in the front parts are bored circular holes, in order that the ends of an axle may revolve in them. the intermediate parts of the planks are perforated twice near the bottom, so as to receive the heads of two little cleats on which the planks are fixed; and they are also perforated in the middle, so as to receive the heads of two end-boards, while keys fixed in these projecting heads strengthen the whole structure. the handles are made out of the extreme ends of the long planks, and they turn downward at the ends that they may be grasped more firmly in the hands. the small wheel, of which there is only one, neither has a nave nor does it revolve around the axle, but turns around with it. from the felloe, which the greeks called [greek: apsides], two transverse spokes fixed into it pass through the middle of the axle toward the opposite felloe; the axle is square, with the exception of the ends, each of which is rounded so as to turn in the opening. a workman draws out this barrow full of earth and rock and draws it back empty. miners also have another wheelbarrow, larger than this one, which they use when they wash earth mixed with tin-stone on to which a stream has been turned. the front end-board of this one is deeper, in order that the earth which has been thrown into it may not fall out. [illustration (trucks): a--rectangular iron bands on truck. b--its iron straps. c--iron axle. d--wooden rollers. e--small iron keys. f--large blunt iron pin. g--same truck upside down.] the open truck has a capacity half as large again as a wheelbarrow; it is about four feet long and about two and a half feet wide and deep; and since its shape is rectangular, it is bound together with three rectangular iron bands, and besides these there are iron straps on all sides. two small iron axles are fixed to the bottom, around the ends of which wooden rollers revolve on either side; in order that the rollers shall not fall off the immovable axles, there are small iron keys. a large blunt pin fixed to the bottom of the truck runs in a groove of a plank in such a way that the truck does not leave the beaten track. holding the back part with his hands, the carrier pushes out the truck laden with excavated material, and pushes it back again empty. some people call it a "dog"[ ], because when it moves it makes a noise which seems to them not unlike the bark of a dog. this truck is used when they draw loads out of the longest tunnels, both because it is moved more easily and because a heavier load can be placed in it. [illustration (batea): a--small batea. b--rope. c--large batea.] bateas[ ] are hollowed out of a single block of wood; the smaller kind are generally two feet long and one foot wide. when they have been filled with ore, especially when but little is dug from the shafts and tunnels, men either carry them out on their shoulders, or bear them away hung from their necks. pliny[ ] is our authority that among the ancients everything which was mined was carried out on men's shoulders, but in truth this method of carrying forth burdens is onerous, since it causes great fatigue to a great number of men, and involves a large expenditure for labour; for this reason it has been rejected and abandoned in our day. the length of the larger batea is as much as three feet, the width up to a foot and a palm. in these bateas the metallic earth is washed for the purpose of testing it. [illustration a (buckets for hoisting water): a--smaller water-bucket. b--larger water-bucket. c--dipper.] water-vessels differ both in the use to which they are put and in the material of which they are made; some draw the water from the shafts and pour it into other things, as dippers; while some of the vessels filled with water are drawn out by machines, as buckets and bags; some are made of wood, as the dippers and buckets, and others of hides, as the bags. the water-buckets, just like the buckets which are filled with dry material, are of two kinds, the smaller and the larger, but these are unlike the other buckets at the top, as in this case they are narrower, in order that the water may not be spilled by being bumped against the timbers when they are being drawn out of the shafts, especially those considerably inclined. the water is poured into these buckets by dippers, which are small wooden buckets, but unlike the water-buckets, they are neither narrow at the top nor bound with iron hoops, but with hazel,--because there is no necessity for either. the smaller buckets are drawn up by machines turned by men, the larger ones by those turned by horses. [illustration b (bags for hoisting water): a--water-bag which takes in water by itself. b--water-bag into which water pours when it is pushed with a shovel.] our people give the name of water-bags to those very large skins for carrying water which are made of two, or two and a half, ox-hides. when these water-bags have undergone much wear and use, first the hair comes off them and they become bald and shining; after this they become torn. if the tear is but a small one, a piece of smooth notched stick is put into the broken part, and the broken bag is bound into its notches on either side and sewn together; but if it is a large one, they mend it with a piece of ox-hide. the water-bags are fixed to the hook of a drawing-chain and let down and dipped into the water, and as soon as they are filled they are drawn up by the largest machine. they are of two kinds; the one kind take in the water by themselves; the water pours into the other kind when it is pushed in a certain way by a wooden shovel. [illustration (trough): a--trough. b--hopper.] when the water has been drawn out from the shafts, it is run off in troughs, or into a hopper, through which it runs into the trough. likewise the water which flows along the sides of the tunnels is carried off in drains. these are composed of two hollowed beams joined firmly together, so as to hold the water which flows through them, and they are covered by planks all along their course, from the mouth of the tunnel right up to the extreme end of it, to prevent earth or rock falling into them and obstructing the flow of the water. if much mud gradually settles in them the planks are raised and the drains are cleaned out, for they would otherwise become stopped up and obstructed by this accident. with regard to the trough lying above ground, which miners place under the hoppers which are close by the shaft houses, these are usually hollowed out of single trees. hoppers are generally made of four planks, so cut on the lower side and joined together that the top part of the hopper is broader and the bottom part narrower. i have sufficiently indicated the nature of the miners' iron tools and their vessels. i will now explain their machines, which are of three kinds, that is, hauling machines, ventilating machines, and ladders. by means of the hauling machines loads are drawn out of the shafts; the ventilating machines receive the air through their mouths and blow it into shafts or tunnels, for if this is not done, diggers cannot carry on their labour without great difficulty in breathing; by the steps of the ladders the miners go down into the shafts and come up again. [illustration (windlass): a--timber placed in front of the shaft. b--timber placed at the back of the shaft. c--pointed stakes. d--cross-timbers. e--posts or thick planks. f--iron sockets. g--barrel. h--ends of barrel. i--pieces of wood. k--handle. l--drawing-rope. m--its hook. n--bucket. o--bale of the bucket.] hauling machines are of varied and diverse forms, some of them being made with great skill, and if i am not mistaken, they were unknown to the ancients. they have been invented in order that water may be drawn from the depths of the earth to which no tunnels reach, and also the excavated material from shafts which are likewise not connected with a tunnel, or if so, only with very long ones. since shafts are not all of the same depth, there is a great variety among these hauling machines. of those by which dry loads are drawn out of the shafts, five sorts are in the most common use, of which i will now describe the first. two timbers a little longer than the shaft are placed beside it, the one in the front of the shaft, the other at the back. their extreme ends have holes through which stakes, pointed at the bottom like wedges, are driven deeply into the ground, so that the timbers may remain stationary. into these timbers are mortised the ends of two cross-timbers, one laid on the right end of the shaft, while the other is far enough from the left end that between it and that end there remains suitable space for placing the ladders. in the middle of the cross-timbers, posts are fixed and secured with iron keys. in hollows at the top of these posts thick iron sockets hold the ends of the barrel, of which each end projects beyond the hollow of the post, and is mortised into the end of another piece of wood a foot and a half long, a palm wide and three digits thick; the other end of these pieces of wood is seven digits wide, and into each of them is fixed a round handle, likewise a foot and a half long. a winding-rope is wound around the barrel and fastened to it at the middle part. the loop at each end of the rope has an iron hook which is engaged in the bale of a bucket, and so when the windlass revolves by being turned by the cranks, a loaded bucket is always being drawn out of the shaft and an empty one is being sent down into it. two robust men turn the windlass, each having a wheelbarrow near him, into which he unloads the bucket which is drawn up nearest to him; two buckets generally fill a wheelbarrow; therefore when four buckets have been drawn up, each man runs his own wheelbarrow out of the shed and empties it. thus it happens that if shafts are dug deep, a hillock rises around the shed of the windlass. if a vein is not metal-bearing, they pour out the earth and rock without discriminating; whereas if it is metal-bearing, they preserve these materials, which they unload separately and crush and wash. when they draw up buckets of water they empty the water through the hopper into a trough, through which it flows away. [illustration (windlass): a--barrel. b--straight levers. c--usual crank. d--spokes of wheel. e--rim of the same wheel.] the next kind of machine, which miners employ when the shaft is deeper, differs from the first in that it possesses a wheel as well as cranks. this windlass, if the load is not being drawn up from a great depth, is turned by one windlass man, the wheel taking the place of the other man. but if the depth is greater, then the windlass is turned by three men, the wheel being substituted for a fourth, because the barrel having been once set in motion, the rapid revolutions of the wheel help, and it can be turned more easily. sometimes masses of lead are hung on to this wheel, or are fastened to the spokes, in order that when it is turned they depress the spokes by their weight and increase the motion; some persons for the same reason fasten into the barrel two, three, or four iron rods, and weight their ends with lumps of lead. the windlass wheel differs from the wheel of a carriage and from the one which is turned by water power, for it lacks the buckets of a water-wheel and it lacks the nave of a carriage wheel. in the place of the nave it has a thick barrel, in which are mortised the lower ends of the spokes, just as their upper ends are mortised into the rim. when three windlass men turn this machine, four straight levers are fixed to the one end of the barrel, and to the other the crank which is usual in mines, and which is composed of two limbs, of which the rounded horizontal one is grasped by the hands; the rectangular limb, which is at right angles to the horizontal one, has mortised in its lower end the round handle, and in the upper end the end of the barrel. this crank is worked by one man, the levers by two men, of whom one pulls while the other pushes; all windlass workers, whatsoever kind of a machine they may turn, are necessarily robust that they can sustain such great toil. [illustration (tread whim): a--upright axle. b--block. c--roof beam. d--wheel. e--toothed-drum. f--horizontal axle. g--drum composed of rundles. h--drawing rope. i--pole. k--upright posts. l--cleats on the wheel.] the third kind of machine is less fatiguing for the workman, while it raises larger loads; even though it is slower, like all other machines which have drums, yet it reaches greater depths, even to a depth of feet. it consists of an upright axle with iron journals at its extremities, which turn in two iron sockets, the lower of which is fixed in a block set in the ground and the upper one in the roof beam. this axle has at its lower end a wheel made of thick planks joined firmly together, and at its upper end a toothed drum; this toothed drum turns another drum made of rundles, which is on a horizontal axle. a winding-rope is wound around this latter axle, which turns in iron bearings set in the beams. so that they may not fall, the two workmen grasp with their hands a pole fixed to two upright posts, and then pushing the cleats of the lower wheel backward with their feet, they revolve the machine; as often as they have drawn up and emptied one bucket full of excavated material, they turn the machine in the opposite direction and draw out another. [illustration (horse whim): a--upright beams. b--sills laid flat upon the ground. c--posts. d--area. e--sill set at the bottom of the hole. f--axle. g--double cross-beams. h--drum. i--winding-ropes. k--bucket. l--small pieces of wood hanging from double cross-beams. m--short wooden block. n--chain. o--pole bar. p--grappling hook. (some members mentioned in the text are not shown).] the fourth machine raises burdens once and a half as large again as the two machines first explained. when it is made, sixteen beams are erected each forty feet long, one foot thick and one foot wide, joined at the top with clamps and widely separated at the bottom. the lower ends of all of them are mortised into separate sills laid flat upon the ground; these sills are five feet long, a foot and a half wide, and a foot thick. each beam is also connected with its sill by a post, whose upper end is mortised into the beam and its lower end mortised into the sill; these posts are four feet long, one foot thick, and one foot wide. thus a circular area is made, the diameter of which is fifty feet; in the middle of this area a hole is sunk to a depth of ten feet, and rammed down tight, and in order to give it sufficient firmness, it is strengthened with contiguous small timbers, through which pins are driven, for by them the earth around the hole is held so that it cannot fall in. in the bottom of the hole is planted a sill, three or four feet long and a foot and a half thick and wide; in order that it may remain fixed, it is set into the small timbers; in the middle of it is a steel socket in which the pivot of the axle turns. in like manner a timber is mortised into two of the large beams, at the top beneath the clamps; this has an iron bearing in which the other iron journal of the axle revolves. every axle used in mining, to speak of them once for all, has two iron journals, rounded off on all sides, one fixed with keys in the centre of each end. that part of this journal which is fixed to the end of the axle is as broad as the end itself and a digit thick; that which projects beyond the axle is round and a palm thick, or thicker if necessity requires; the ends of each miner's axle are encircled and bound by an iron band to hold the journal more securely. the axle of this machine, except at the ends, is square, and is forty feet long, a foot and a half thick and wide. mortised and clamped into the axle above the lower end are the ends of four inclined beams; their outer ends support two double cross-beams similarly mortised into them; the inclined beams are eighteen feet long, three palms thick, and five wide. the two cross-beams are fixed to the axle and held together by wooden keys so that they will not separate, and they are twenty-four feet long. next, there is a drum which is made of three wheels, of which the middle one is seven feet distant from the upper one and from the lower one; the wheels have four spokes which are supported by the same number of inclined braces, the lower ends of which are joined together round the axle by a clamp; one end of each spoke is mortised into the axle and the other into the rim. there are rundles all round the wheels, reaching from the rim of the lowest one to the rim of the middle one, and likewise from the rim of the middle wheel to the rim of the top one; around these rundles are wound the drawing-ropes, one between the lowest wheel and the middle one, the other between the middle and top wheels. the whole of this construction is shaped like a cone, and is covered with a shingle roof, with the exception of that square part which faces the shaft. then cross-beams, mortised at both ends, connect a double row of upright posts; all of these are eighteen feet long, but the posts are one foot thick and one foot wide, and the cross-beams are three palms thick and wide. there are sixteen posts and eight cross-beams, and upon these cross-beams are laid two timbers a foot wide and three palms thick, hollowed out to a width of half a foot and to a depth of five digits; the one is laid upon the upper cross-beams and the other upon the lower; each is long enough to reach nearly from the drum of the whim to the shaft. near the same drum each timber has a small round wooden roller six digits thick, whose ends are covered with iron bands and revolve in iron rings. each timber also has a wooden pulley, which together with its iron axle revolves in holes in the timber. these pulleys are hollowed out all round, in order that the drawing-rope may not slip out of them, and thus each rope is drawn tight and turns over its own roller and its own pulley. the iron hook of each rope is engaged with the bale of the bucket. further, with regard to the double cross-beams which are mortised to the lower part of the main axle, to each end of them there is mortised a small piece of wood four feet long. these appear to hang from the double cross-beams, and a short wooden block is fixed to the lower part of them, on which a driver sits. each of these blocks has an iron clavis which holds a chain, and that in turn a pole-bar. in this way it is possible for two horses to draw this whim, now this way and now that; turn by turn one bucket is drawn out of the shaft full and another is let down into it empty; if, indeed, the shaft is very deep four horses turn the whim. when a bucket has been drawn up, whether filled with dry or wet materials, it must be emptied, and a workman inserts a grappling hook and overturns it; this hook hangs on a chain made of three or four links, fixed to a timber. [illustration (horse whim): a--toothed drum which is on the upright axle. b--horizontal axle. c--drum which is made of rundles. d--wheel near it. e--drum made of hubs. f--brake. g--oscillating beam. h--short beam. i--hook.] the fifth machine is partly like the whim, and partly like the third rag and chain pump, which draws water by balls when turned by horse power, as i will explain a little later. like this pump, it is turned by horse power and has two axles, namely, an upright one--about whose lower end, which descends into an underground chamber, there is a toothed drum--and a horizontal one, around which there is a drum made of rundles. it has indeed two drums around its horizontal axle, similar to those of the big machine, but smaller, because it draws buckets from a shaft almost two hundred and forty feet deep. one drum is made of hubs to which cleats are fixed, and the other is made of rundles; and near the latter is a wheel two feet deep, measured on all sides around the axle, and one foot wide; and against this impinges a brake,[ ] which holds the whim when occasion demands that it be stopped. this is necessary when the hide buckets are emptied after being drawn up full of rock fragments or earth, or as often as water is poured out of buckets similarly drawn up; for this machine not only raises dry loads, but also wet ones, just like the other four machines which i have already described. by this also, timbers fastened on to its winding-chain are let down into a shaft. the brake is made of a piece of wood one foot thick and half a foot long, projecting from a timber that is suspended by a chain from one end of a beam which oscillates on an iron pin, this in turn being supported in the claws of an upright post; and from the other end of this oscillating beam a long timber is suspended by a chain, and from this long timber again a short beam is suspended. a workman sits on the short beam when the machine needs to be stopped, and lowers it; he then inserts a plank or small stick so that the two timbers are held down and cannot be raised. in this way the brake is raised, and seizing the drum, presses it so tightly that sparks often fly from it; the suspended timber to which the short beam is attached, has several holes in which the chain is fixed, so that it may be raised as much as is convenient. above this wheel there are boards to prevent the water from dripping down and wetting it, for if it becomes wet the brake will not grip the machine so well. near the other drum is a pin from which hangs a chain, in the last link of which there is an iron hook three feet long; a ring is fixed to the bottom of the bucket, and this hook, being inserted into it, holds the bucket back so that the water may be poured out or the fragments of rock emptied. [illustration (sleigh for ore): a--sledge with box placed on it. b--sledge with sacks placed on it. c--stick. d--dogs with pack-saddles. e--pigskin sacks tied to a rope.] the miners either carry, draw, or roll down the mountains the ore which is hauled out of the shafts by these five machines or taken out of the tunnels. in the winter time our people place a box on a sledge and draw it down the low mountains with a horse; and in this season they also fill sacks made of hide and load them on dogs, or place two or three of them on a small sledge which is higher in the fore part and lower at the back. sitting on these sacks, not without risk of his life, the bold driver guides the sledge as it rushes down the mountain into the valleys with a stick, which he carries in his hand; when it is rushing down too quickly he arrests it with the stick, or with the same stick brings it back to the track when it is turning aside from its proper course. some of the noricians[ ] collect ore during the winter into sacks made of bristly pigskins, and drag them down from the highest mountains, which neither horses, mules nor asses can climb. strong dogs, that are trained to bear pack saddles, carry these sacks when empty into the mountains. when they are filled with ore, bound with thongs, and fastened to a rope, a man, winding the rope round his arm or breast, drags them down through the snow to a place where horses, mules, or asses bearing pack-saddles can climb. there the ore is removed from the pigskin sacks and put into other sacks made of double or triple twilled linen thread, and these placed on the pack-saddles of the beasts are borne down to the works where the ores are washed or smelted. if, indeed, the horses, mules, or asses are able to climb the mountains, linen sacks filled with ore are placed on their saddles, and they carry these down the narrow mountain paths, which are passable neither by wagons nor sledges, into the valleys lying below the steeper portions of the mountains. but on the declivity of cliffs which beasts cannot climb, are placed long open boxes made of planks, with transverse cleats to hold them together; into these boxes is thrown the ore which has been brought in wheelbarrows, and when it has run down to the level it is gathered into sacks, and the beasts either carry it away on their backs or drag it away after it has been thrown into sledges or wagons. when the drivers bring ore down steep mountain slopes they use two-wheeled carts, and they drag behind them on the ground the trunks of two trees, for these by their weight hold back the heavily-laden carts, which contain ore in their boxes, and check their descent, and but for these the driver would often be obliged to bind chains to the wheels. when these men bring down ore from mountains which do not have such declivities, they use wagons whose beds are twice as long as those of the carts. the planks of these are so put together that, when the ore is unloaded by the drivers, they can be raised and taken apart, for they are only held together by bars. the drivers employed by the owners of the ore bring down thirty or sixty wagon-loads, and the master of the works marks on a stick the number of loads for each driver. but some ore, especially tin, after being taken from the mines, is divided into eight parts, or into nine, if the owners of the mine give "ninth parts" to the owners of the tunnel. this is occasionally done by measuring with a bucket, but more frequently planks are put together on a spot where, with the addition of the level ground as a base, it forms a hollow box. each owner provides for removing, washing, and smelting that portion which has fallen to him. (illustration p. ). [illustration (wagons for hauling ore): a--horses with pack-saddles. b--long box placed on the slope of the cliff. c--cleats thereof. d--wheelbarrow. e--two-wheeled cart. f--trunks of trees. g--wagon. h--ore being unloaded from the wagon. i--bars. k--master of the works marking the number of carts on a stick. l--boxes into which are thrown the ore which has to be divided.] into the buckets, drawn by these five machines, the boys or men throw the earth and broken rock with shovels, or they fill them with their hands; hence they get their name of shovellers. as i have said, the same machines raise not only dry loads, but also wet ones, or water; but before i explain the varied and diverse kinds of machines by which miners are wont to draw water alone, i will explain how heavy bodies, such as axles, iron chains, pipes, and heavy timbers, should be lowered into deep vertical shafts. a windlass is erected whose barrel has on each end four straight levers; it is fixed into upright beams and around it is wound a rope, one end of which is fastened to the barrel and the other to those heavy bodies which are slowly lowered down by workmen; and if these halt at any part of the shaft they are drawn up a little way. when these bodies are very heavy, then behind this windlass another is erected just like it, that their combined strength may be equal to the load, and that it may be lowered slowly. sometimes for the same reason, a pulley is fastened with cords to the roof-beam, and the rope descends and ascends over it. [illustration (windlass): a--windlass. b--straight levers. c--upright beams. d--rope. e--pulley. f--timbers to be lowered.] water is either hoisted or pumped out of shafts. it is hoisted up after being poured into buckets or water-bags; the water-bags are generally brought up by a machine whose water-wheels have double paddles, while the buckets are brought up by the five machines already described, although in certain localities the fourth machine also hauls up water-bags of moderate size. water is drawn up also by chains of dippers, or by suction pumps, or by "rag and chain" pumps.[ ] when there is but a small quantity, it is either brought up in buckets or drawn up by chains of dippers or suction pumps, and when there is much water it is either drawn up in hide bags or by rag and chain pumps. [illustration (chain pumps): a--iron frame. b--lowest axle. c--fly-wheel. d--smaller drum made of rundles. e--second axle. f--smaller toothed wheel. g--larger drum made of rundles. h--upper axle. i--larger toothed wheel. k--bearings. l--pillow. m--framework. n--oak timber. o--support of iron bearing. p--roller. q--upper drum. r--clamps. s--chain. t--links. v--dippers. x--crank. y--lower drum or balance weight.] first of all, i will describe the machines which draw water by chains of dippers, of which there are three kinds. for the first, a frame is made entirely of iron bars; it is two and a half feet high, likewise two and a half feet long, and in addition one-sixth and one-quarter of a digit long, one-fourth and one-twenty-fourth of a foot wide. in it there are three little horizontal iron axles, which revolve in bearings or wide pillows of steel, and also four iron wheels, of which two are made with rundles and the same number are toothed. outside the frame, around the lowest axle, is a wooden fly-wheel, so that it can be more readily turned, and inside the frame is a smaller drum which is made of eight rundles, one-sixth and one twenty-fourth of a foot long. around the second axle, which does not project beyond the frame, and is therefore only two and a half feet and one-twelfth and one-third part of a digit long, there is on the one side, a smaller toothed wheel, which has forty-eight teeth, and on the other side a larger drum, which is surrounded by twelve rundles one-quarter of a foot long. around the third axle, which is one inch and one-third thick, is a larger toothed wheel projecting one foot from the axle in all directions, which has seventy-two teeth. the teeth of each wheel are fixed in with screws, whose threads are screwed into threads in the wheel, so that those teeth which are broken can be replaced by others; both the teeth and rundles are steel. the upper axle projects beyond the frame, and is so skilfully mortised into the body of another axle that it has the appearance of being one; this axle proceeds through a frame made of beams which stands around the shaft, into an iron fork set in a stout oak timber, and turns on a roller made of pure steel. around this axle is a drum of the kind possessed by those machines which draw water by rag and chain; this drum has triple curved iron clamps, to which the links of an iron chain hook themselves, so that a great weight cannot tear them away. these links are not whole like the links of other chains, but each one being curved in the upper part on each side catches the one which comes next, whereby it presents the appearance of a double chain. at the point where one catches the other, dippers made of iron or brass plates and holding half a _congius_[ ] are bound to them with thongs; thus, if there are one hundred links there will be the same number of dippers pouring out water. when the shafts are inclined, the mouths of the dippers project and are covered on the top that they may not spill out the water, but when the shafts are vertical the dippers do not require a cover. by fitting the end of the lowest small axle into the crank, the man who works the crank turns the axle, and at the same time the drum whose rundles turn the toothed wheel of the second axle; by this wheel is driven the one that is made of rundles, which again turns the toothed wheel of the upper small axle and thus the drum to which the clamps are fixed. in this way the chain, together with the empty dippers, is slowly let down, close to the footwall side of the vein, into the sump to the bottom of the balance drum, which turns on a little iron axle, both ends of which are set in a thick iron bearing. the chain is rolled round the drum and the dippers fill with water; the chain being drawn up close to the hangingwall side, carries the dippers filled with water above the drum of the upper axle. thus there are always three of the dippers inverted and pouring water into a lip, from which it flows away into the drain of the tunnel. this machine is less useful, because it cannot be constructed without great expense, and it carries off but little water and is somewhat slow, as also are other machines which possess a great number of drums. [illustration (chain pumps): a--wheel which is turned by treading. b--axle. c--double chain. d--link of double chain. e--dippers. f--simple clamps. g--clamp with triple curves.] the next machine of this kind, described in a few words by vitruvius,[ ] more rapidly brings up dippers, holding a _congius_; for this reason, it is more useful than the first one for drawing water out of shafts, into which much water is continually flowing. this machine has no iron frame nor drums, but has around its axle a wooden wheel which is turned by treading; the axle, since it has no drum, does not last very long. in other respects this pump resembles the first kind, except that it differs from it by having a double chain. clamps should be fixed to the axle of this machine, just as to the drum of the other one; some of these are made simple and others with triple curves, but each kind has four barbs. [illustration (chain pumps): a--wheel whose paddles are turned by the force of the stream. b--axle. c--drum of axle, to which clamps are fixed. d--chain. e--link. f--dippers. g--balance drum.] the third machine, which far excels the two just described, is made when a running stream can be diverted to a mine; the impetus of the stream striking the paddles revolves a water-wheel in place of the wheel turned by treading. with regard to the axle, it is like the second machine, but the drum which is round the axle, the chain, and the balance drum, are like the first machine. it has much more capacious dippers than even the second machine, but since the dippers are frequently broken, miners rarely use these machines; for they prefer to lift out small quantities of water by the first five machines or to draw it up by suction pumps, or, if there is much water, to drain it by the rag and chain pump or to bring it up in water-bags. [illustration (suction pumps): a--sump. b--pipes. c--flooring. d--trunk. e--perforations of trunk. f--valve. g--spout. h--piston-rod. i--hand-bar of piston. k--shoe. l--disc with round openings. m--disc with oval openings. n--cover. o--this man is boring logs and making them into pipes. p--borer with auger. q--wider borer.] enough, then, of the first sort of pumps. i will now explain the other, that is the pump which draws, by means of pistons, water which has been raised by suction. of these there are seven varieties, which though they differ from one another in structure, nevertheless confer the same benefits upon miners, though some to a greater degree than others. the first pump is made as follows. over the sump is placed a flooring, through which a pipe--or two lengths of pipe, one of which is joined into the other--are let down to the bottom of the sump; they are fastened with pointed iron clamps driven in straight on both sides, so that the pipes may remain fixed. the lower end of the lower pipe is enclosed in a trunk two feet deep; this trunk, hollow like the pipe, stands at the bottom of the sump, but the lower opening of it is blocked with a round piece of wood; the trunk has perforations round about, through which water flows into it. if there is one length of pipe, then in the upper part of the trunk which has been hollowed out there is enclosed a box of iron, copper, or brass, one palm deep, but without a bottom, and a rounded valve so tightly closes it that the water, which has been drawn up by suction, cannot run back; but if there are two lengths of pipe, the box is enclosed in the lower pipe at the point of junction. an opening or a spout in the upper pipe reaches to the drain of the tunnel. thus the workman, eager at his labour, standing on the flooring boards, pushes the piston down into the pipe and draws it out again. at the top of the piston-rod is a hand-bar and the bottom is fixed in a shoe; this is the name given to the leather covering, which is almost cone-shaped, for it is so stitched that it is tight at the lower end, where it is fixed to the piston-rod which it surrounds, but in the upper end where it draws the water it is wide open. or else an iron disc one digit thick is used, or one of wood six digits thick, each of which is far superior to the shoe. the disc is fixed by an iron key which penetrates through the bottom of the piston-rod, or it is screwed on to the rod; it is round, with its upper part protected by a cover, and has five or six openings, either round or oval, which taken together present a star-like appearance; the disc has the same diameter as the inside of the pipe, so that it can be just drawn up and down in it. when the workman draws the piston up, the water which has passed in at the openings of the disc, whose cover is then closed, is raised to the hole or little spout, through which it flows away; then the valve of the box opens, and the water which has passed into the trunk is drawn up by the suction and rises into the pipe; but when the workman pushes down the piston, the valve closes and allows the disc again to draw in the water. [illustration (suction pumps): a--erect timber. b--axle. c--sweep which turns about the axle. d--piston rod. e--cross-bar. f--ring with which two pipes are generally joined.] the piston of the second pump is more easily moved up and down. when this pump is made, two beams are placed over the sump, one near the right side of it, and the other near the left. to one beam a pipe is fixed with iron clamps; to the other is fixed either the forked branch of a tree or a timber cut out at the top in the shape of a fork, and through the prongs of the fork a round hole is bored. through a wide round hole in the middle of a sweep passes an iron axle, so fastened in the holes in the fork that it remains fixed, and the sweep turns on this axle. in one end of the sweep the upper end of a piston-rod is fastened with an iron key; at the other end a cross-bar is also fixed, to the extreme ends of which are handles to enable it to be held more firmly in the hands. and so when the workman pulls the cross-bar upward, he forces the piston into the pipe; when he pushes it down again he draws the piston out of the pipe; and thus the piston carries up the water which has been drawn in at the openings of the disc, and the water flows away through the spout into the drains. this pump, like the next one, is identical with the first in all that relates to the piston, disc, trunk, box, and valve. [illustration (suction pumps): a--posts. b--axle. c--wooden bars. d--piston rod. e--short piece of wood. f--drain. g--this man is diverting the water which is flowing out of the drain, to prevent it from flowing into the trenches which are being dug.] the third pump is not unlike the one just described, but in place of one upright, posts are erected with holes at the top, and in these holes the ends of an axle revolve. to the middle of this axle are fixed two wooden bars, to the end of one of which is fixed the piston, and to the end of the other a heavy piece of wood, but short, so that it can pass between the two posts and may move backward and forward. when the workman pushes this piece of wood, the piston is drawn out of the pipe; when it returns by its own weight, the piston is pushed in. in this way, the water which the pipe contains is drawn through the openings in the disc and emptied by the piston through the spout into the drain. there are some who place a hand-bar underneath in place of the short piece of wood. this pump, as also the last before described, is less generally used among miners than the others. [illustration (duplex suction pumps): a--box. b--lower part of box. c--upper part of same. d--clamps. e--pipes below the box. f--column pipe fixed above the box. g--iron axle. h--piston-rods. i--washers to protect the bearings. k--leathers. l--eyes in the axle. m--rods whose ends are weighted with lumps of lead. n--crank. (_this plate is unlettered in the first edition but corrected in those later._)] the fourth kind is not a simple pump but a duplex one. it is made as follows. a rectangular block of beechwood, five feet long, two and a half feet wide, and one and a half feet thick, is cut in two and hollowed out wide and deep enough so that an iron axle with cranks can revolve in it. the axle is placed between the two halves of this box, and the first part of the axle, which is in contact with the wood, is round and the straight end forms a journal. then the axle is bent down the depth of a foot and again bent so as to continue straight, and at this point a round piston-rod hangs from it; next it is bent up as far as it was bent down; then it continues a little way straight again, and then it is bent up a foot and again continues straight, at which point a second round piston-rod is hung from it; afterward it is bent down the same distance as it was bent up the last time; the other end of it, which also acts as a journal, is straight. this part which protrudes through the wood is protected by two iron washers in the shape of discs, to which are fastened two leather washers of the same shape and size, in order to prevent the water which is drawn into the box from gushing out. these discs are around the axle; one of them is inside the box and the other outside. beyond this, the end of the axle is square and has two eyes, in which are fixed two iron rods, and to their ends are weighted lumps of lead, so that the axle may have a greater propensity to revolve; this axle can easily be turned when its end has been mortised in a crank. the upper part of the box is the shallower one, and the lower part the deeper; the upper part is bored out once straight down through the middle, the diameter of the opening being the same as the outside diameter of the column pipe; the lower box has, side by side, two apertures also bored straight down; these are for two pipes, the space of whose openings therefore is twice as great as that of the upper part; this lower part of the box is placed upon the two pipes, which are fitted into it at their upper ends, and the lower ends of these pipes penetrate into trunks which stand in the sump. these trunks have perforations through which the water flows into them. the iron axle is placed in the inside of the box, then the two iron piston-rods which hang from it are let down through the two pipes to the depth of a foot. each piston has a screw at its lower end which holds a thick iron plate, shaped like a disc and full of openings, covered with a leather, and similarly to the other pump it has a round valve in a little box. then the upper part of the box is placed upon the lower one and properly fitted to it on every side, and where they join they are bound by wide thick iron plates, and held with small wide iron wedges, which are driven in and are fastened with clamps. the first length of column pipe is fixed into the upper part of the box, and another length of pipe extends it, and a third again extends this one, and so on, another extending on another, until the uppermost one reaches the drain of the tunnel. when the crank worker turns the axle, the pistons in turn draw the water through their discs; since this is done quickly, and since the area of openings of the two pipes over which the box is set, is twice as large as the opening of the column pipe which rises from the box, and since the pistons do not lift the water far up, the impetus of the water from the lower pipes forces it to rise and flow out of the column pipe into the drain of the tunnel. since a wooden box frequently cracks open, it is better to make it of lead or copper or brass. [illustration (suction pumps): a--tappets of piston-rods. b--cams of the barrel. c--square upper parts of piston-rods. d--lower rounded parts of piston-rods. e--cross-beams. f--pipes. g--apertures of pipes. h--trough. (fifth kind of pump--see p. ).] the fifth kind of pump is still less simple, for it is composed of two or three pumps whose pistons are raised by a machine turned by men, for each piston-rod has a tappet which is raised, each in succession, by two cams on a barrel; two or four strong men turn it. when the pistons descend into the pipes their discs draw the water; when they are raised these force the water out through the pipes. the upper part of each of these piston-rods, which is half a foot square, is held in a slot in a cross-beam; the lower part, which drops down into the pipes, is made of another piece of wood and is round. each of these three pumps is composed of two lengths of pipe fixed to the shaft timbers. this machine draws the water higher, as much as twenty-four feet. if the diameter of the pipes is large, only two pumps are made; if smaller, three, so that by either method the volume of water is the same. this also must be understood regarding the other machines and their pipes. since these pumps are composed of two lengths of pipe, the little iron box having the iron valve which i described before, is not enclosed in a trunk, but is in the lower length of pipe, at that point where it joins the upper one; thus the rounded part of the piston-rod is only as long as the upper length of pipe; but i will presently explain this more clearly. [illustration (suction pumps): a--water-wheel. b--axle. c--trunk on which the lowest pipe stands. d--basket surrounding trunk. (sixth kind of pump--see p. .)] the sixth kind of pump would be just the same as the fifth were it not that it has an axle instead of a barrel, turned not by men but by a water-wheel, which is revolved by the force of water striking its buckets. since water-power far exceeds human strength, this machine draws water through its pipes by discs out of a shaft more than one hundred feet deep. the bottom of the lowest pipe, set in the sump, not only of this pump but also of the others, is generally enclosed in a basket made of wicker-work, to prevent wood shavings and other things being sucked in. (see p. .) [illustration (suction pumps): a--shaft. b--bottom pump. c--first tank. d--second pump. e--second tank. f--third pump. g--trough. h--the iron set in the axle. i--first pump rod. k--second pump rod. l--third pump rod. m--first piston rod. n--second piston rod. o--third piston rod. p--little axles. q--"claws."] the seventh kind of pump, invented ten years ago, which is the most ingenious, durable, and useful of all, can be made without much expense. it is composed of several pumps, which do not, like those last described, go down into the shaft together, but of which one is below the other, for if there are three, as is generally the case, the lower one lifts the water of the sump and pours it out into the first tank; the second pump lifts again from that tank into a second tank, and the third pump lifts it into the drain of the tunnel. a wheel fifteen feet high raises the piston-rods of all these pumps at the same time and causes them to drop together. the wheel is made to revolve by paddles, turned by the force of a stream which has been diverted to the mountain. the spokes of the water-wheel are mortised in an axle six feet long and one foot thick, each end of which is surrounded by an iron band, but in one end there is fixed an iron journal; to the other end is attached an iron like this journal in its posterior part, which is a digit thick and as wide as the end of the axle itself. then the iron extends horizontally, being rounded and about three digits in diameter, for the length of a foot, and serves as a journal; thence, it bends to a height of a foot in a curve, like the horn of the moon, after which it again extends straight out for one foot; thus it comes about that this last straight portion, as it revolves in an orbit becomes alternately a foot higher and a foot lower than the first straight part. from this round iron crank there hangs the first flat pump-rod, for the crank is fixed in a perforation in the upper end of this flat pump-rod just as the iron key of the first set of "claws" is fixed into the lower end. in order to prevent the pump-rod from slipping off it, as it could easily do, and that it may be taken off when necessary, its opening is wider than the corresponding part of the crank, and it is fastened on both sides by iron keys. to prevent friction, the ends of the pump-rods are protected by iron plates or intervening leathers. this first pump-rod is about twelve feet long, the other two are twenty-six feet, and each is a palm wide and three digits thick. the sides of each pump-rod are covered and protected by iron plates, which are held on by iron screws, so that a part which has received damage can be repaired. in the "claws" is set a small round axle, a foot and a half long and two palms thick. the ends are encircled by iron bands to prevent the iron journals which revolve in the iron bearings of the wood from slipping out of it.[ ] from this little axle the wooden "claws" extend two feet, with a width and thickness of six digits; they are three palms distant from each other, and both the inner and outer sides are covered with iron plates. two rounded iron keys two digits thick are immovably fixed into the claws. the one of these keys perforates the lower end of the first pump-rod, and the upper end of the second pump-rod which is held fast. the other key, which is likewise immovable, perforates the iron end of the first piston-rod, which is bent in a curve and is immovable. each such piston-rod is thirteen feet long and three digits thick, and descends into the first pipe of each pump to such depth that its disc nearly reaches the valve-box. when it descends into the pipe, the water, penetrating through the openings of the disc, raises the leather, and when the piston-rod is raised the water presses down the leather, and this supports its weight; then the valve closes the box as a door closes an entrance. the pipes are joined by two iron bands, one palm wide, one outside the other, but the inner one is sharp all round that it may fit into each pipe and hold them together. although at the present time pipes lack the inner band, still they have nipples by which they are joined together, for the lower end of the upper one holds the upper end of the lower one, each being hewn away for a length of seven digits, the former inside, the latter outside, so that the one can fit into the other. when the piston-rod descends into the first pipe, that valve which i have described is closed; when the piston-rod is raised, the valve is opened so that the water can run in through the perforations. each one of such pumps is composed of two lengths of pipe, each of which is twelve feet long, and the inside diameter is seven digits. the lower one is placed in the sump of the shaft, or in a tank, and its lower end is blocked by a round piece of wood, above which there are six perforations around the pipe through which the water flows into it. the upper part of the upper pipe has a notch one foot deep and a palm wide, through which the water flows away into a tank or trough. each tank is two feet long and one foot wide and deep. there is the same number of axles, "claws," and rods of each kind as there are pumps; if there are three pumps, there are only two tanks, because the sump of the shaft and the drain of the tunnel take the place of two. the following is the way this machine draws water from a shaft. the wheel being turned raises the first pump-rod, and the pump-rod raises the first "claw," and thus also the second pump-rod, and the first piston-rod; then the second pump-rod raises the second "claw," and thus the third pump-rod and the second piston-rod; then the third pump-rod raises the third "claw" and the third piston-rod, for there hangs no pump-rod from the iron key of these claws, for it can be of no use in the last pump. in turn, when the first pump-rod descends, each set of "claws" is lowered, each pump-rod and each piston-rod. and by this system, at the same time the water is lifted into the tanks and drained out of them; from the sump at the bottom of the shaft it is drained out, and it is poured into the trough of the tunnel. further, around the main axle there may be placed two water wheels, if the river supplies enough water to turn them, and from the back part of each round iron crank, one or two pump-rods can be hung, each of which can move the piston-rods of three pumps. lastly, it is necessary that the shafts from which the water is pumped out in pipes should be vertical, for as in the case of the hauling machines, all pumps which have pipes do not draw the water so high if the pipes are inclined in inclined shafts, as if they are placed vertically in vertical shafts. [illustration (suction pumps): a--water wheel of upper machine. b--its pump. c--its trough. d--wheel of lower machine. e--its pump. f--race.] if the river does not supply enough water-power to turn the last-described pump, which happens because of the nature of the locality or occurs during the summer season when there are daily droughts, a machine is built with a wheel so low and light that the water of ever so little a stream can turn it. this water, falling into a race, runs therefrom on to a second high and heavy wheel of a lower machine, whose pump lifts the water out of a deep shaft. since, however, the water of so small a stream cannot alone revolve the lower water-wheel, the axle of the latter is turned at the start with a crank worked by two men, but as soon as it has poured out into a pool the water which has been drawn up by the pumps, the upper wheel draws up this water by its own pump, and pours it into the race, from which it flows on to the lower water-wheel and strikes its buckets. so both this water from the mine, as well as the water of the stream, being turned down the races on to that subterranean wheel of the lower machine, turns it, and water is pumped out of the deeper part of the shaft by means of two or three pumps.[ ] [illustration (duplex suction pumps): a--upper axle. b--wheel whose buckets the force of the stream strikes. c--toothed drum. d--second axle. e--drum composed of rundles. f--curved round irons. g--rows of pumps.] if the stream supplies enough water straightway to turn a higher and heavier water-wheel, then a toothed drum is fixed to the other end of the axle, and this turns the drum made of rundles on another axle set below it. to each end of this lower axle there is fitted a crank of round iron curved like the horns of the moon, of the kind employed in machines of this description. this machine, since it has rows of pumps on each side, draws great quantities of water. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--wheel. b--axle. c--journals. d--pillows. e--drum. f--clamps. g--drawing-chain. h--timbers. i--balls. k--pipe. l--race of stream.] of the rag and chain pumps there are six kinds known to us, of which the first is made as follows: a cave is dug under the surface of earth or in a tunnel, and timbered on all sides by stout posts and planks, to prevent either the men from being crushed or the machine from being broken by its collapse. in this cave, thus timbered, is placed a water-wheel fitted to an angular axle. the iron journals of the axle revolve in iron pillows, which are held in timbers of sufficient strength. the wheel is generally twenty-four feet high, occasionally thirty, and in no way different from those which are made for grinding corn, except that it is a little narrower. the axle has on one side a drum with a groove in the middle of its circumference, to which are fixed many four-curved iron clamps. in these clamps catch the links of the chain, which is drawn through the pipes out of the sump, and which again falls, through a timbered opening, right down to the bottom into the sump to a balancing drum. there is an iron band around the small axle of the balancing drum, each journal of which revolves in an iron bearing fixed to a timber. the chain turning about this drum brings up the water by the balls through the pipes. each length of pipe is encircled and protected by five iron bands, a palm wide and a digit thick, placed at equal distances from each other; the first band on the pipe is shared in common with the preceding length of pipe into which it is fitted, the last band with the succeeding length of pipe which is fitted into it. each length of pipe, except the first, is bevelled on the outer circumference of the upper end to a distance of seven digits and for a depth of three digits, in order that it may be inserted into the length of pipe which goes before it; each, except the last, is reamed out on the inside of the lower end to a like distance, but to the depth of a palm, that it may be able to take the end of the pipe which follows. and each length of pipe is fixed with iron clamps to the timbers of the shaft, that it may remain stationary. through this continuous series of pipes, the water is drawn by the balls of the chain up out of the sump as far as the tunnel, where it flows but into the drains through an aperture in the highest pipe. the balls which lift the water are connected by the iron links of the chain, and are six feet distant from one another; they are made of the hair of a horse's tail sewn into a covering to prevent it from being pulled out by the iron clamps on the drum; the balls are of such size that one can be held in each hand. if this machine is set up on the surface of the earth, the stream which turns the water-wheel is led away through open-air ditches; if in a tunnel, the water is led away through the subterranean drains. the buckets of the water-wheel, when struck by the impact of the stream, move forward and turn the wheel, together with the drum, whereby the chain is wound up and the balls expel the water through the pipes. if the wheel of this machine is twenty-four feet in diameter, it draws water from a shaft two hundred and ten feet deep; if thirty feet in diameter, it will draw water from a shaft two hundred and forty feet deep. but such work requires a stream with greater water-power. the next pump has two drums, two rows of pipes and two drawing-chains whose balls lift out the water; otherwise they are like the last pump. this pump is usually built when an excessive amount of water flows into the sump. these two pumps are turned by water-power; indeed, water draws water. the following is the way of indicating the increase or decrease of the water in an underground sump, whether it is pumped by this rag and chain pump or by the first pump, or the third, or some other. from a beam which is as high above the shaft as the sump is deep, is hung a cord, to one end of which there is fastened a stone, the other end being attached to a plank. the plank is lowered down by an iron wire fastened to the other end; when the stone is at the mouth of the shaft the plank is right down the shaft in the sump, in which water it floats. this plank is so heavy that it can drag down the wire and its iron clasp and hook, together with the cord, and thus pull the stone upwards. thus, as the water decreases, the plank descends and the stone is raised; on the contrary, when the water increases the plank rises and the stone is lowered. when the stone nearly touches the beam, since this indicates that the water has been exhausted from the sump by the pump, the overseer in charge of the machine closes the water-race and stops the water-wheel; when the stone nearly touches the ground at the side of the shaft, this indicates that the sump is full of water which has again collected in it, because the water raises the plank and thus the stone drags back both the rope and the iron wire; then the overseer opens the water-race, whereupon the water of the stream again strikes the buckets of the water-wheel and turns the pump. as workmen generally cease from their labours on the yearly holidays, and sometimes on working days, and are thus not always near the pump, and as the pump, if necessary, must continue to draw water all the time, a bell rings aloud continuously, indicating that this pump, or any other kind, is uninjured and nothing is preventing its turning. the bell is hung by a cord from a small wooden axle held in the timbers which stand over the shaft, and a second long cord whose upper end is fastened to the small axle is lowered into the shaft; to the lower end of this cord is fastened a piece of wood; and as often as a cam on the main axle strikes it, so often does the bell ring and give forth a sound. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--upright axle. b--toothed wheel. c--teeth. d--horizontal axle. e--drum which is made of rundles. f--second drum. g--drawing-chain. h--the balls.] the third pump of this kind is employed by miners when no river capable of turning a water-wheel can be diverted, and it is made as follows. they first dig a chamber and erect strong timbers and planks to prevent the sides from falling in, which would overwhelm the pump and kill the men. the roof of the chamber is protected with contiguous timbers, so arranged that the horses which pull the machine can travel over it. next they again set up sixteen beams forty feet long and one foot wide and thick, joined by clamps at the top and spreading apart at the bottom, and they fit the lower end of each beam into a separate sill laid flat on the ground, and join these by a post; thus there is created a circular area of which the diameter is fifty feet. through an opening in the centre of this area there descends an upright square axle, forty-five feet long and a foot and a half wide and thick; its lower pivot revolves in a socket in a block laid flat on the ground in the chamber, and the upper pivot revolves in a bearing in a beam which is mortised into two beams at the summit beneath the clamps; the lower pivot is seventeen feet distant from either side of the chamber, _i.e._, from its front and rear. at the height of a foot above its lower end, the axle has a toothed wheel, the diameter of which is twenty-two feet. this wheel is composed of four spokes and eight rim pieces; the spokes are fifteen feet long and three-quarters of a foot wide and thick[ ]; one end of them is mortised in the axle, the other in the two rims where they are joined together. these rims are three-quarters of a foot thick and one foot wide, and from them there rise and project upright teeth three-quarters of a foot high, half a foot wide, and six digits thick. these teeth turn a second horizontal axle by means of a drum composed of twelve rundles, each three feet long and six digits wide and thick. this drum, being turned, causes the axle to revolve, and around this axle there is a drum having iron clamps with fourfold curves in which catch the links of a chain, which draws water through pipes by means of balls. the iron journals of this horizontal axle revolve on pillows which are set in the centre of timbers. above the roof of the chamber there are mortised into the upright axle the ends of two beams which rise obliquely; the upper ends of these beams support double cross-beams, likewise mortised to the axle. in the outer end of each cross-beam there is mortised a small wooden piece which appears to hang down; in this wooden piece there is similarly mortised at the lower end a short board; this has an iron key which engages a chain, and this chain again a pole-bar. this machine, which draws water from a shaft two hundred and forty feet deep, is worked by thirty-two horses; eight of them work for four hours, and then these rest for twelve hours, and the same number take their place. this kind of machine is employed at the foot of the harz[ ] mountains and in the neighbourhood. further, if necessity arises, several pumps of this kind are often built for the purpose of mining one vein, but arranged differently in different localities varying according to the depth. at schemnitz, in the carpathian mountains, there are three pumps, of which the lowest lifts water from the lowest sump to the first drains, through which it flows into the second sump; the intermediate one lifts from the second sump to the second drain, from which it flows into the third sump; and the upper one lifts it to the drains of the tunnel, through which it flows away. this system of three machines of this kind is turned by ninety-six horses; these horses go down to the machines by an inclined shaft, which slopes and twists like a screw and gradually descends. the lowest of these machines is set in a deep place, which is distant from the surface of the ground feet. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axle. b--drum. c--drawing-chain. d--balls. e--clamps.] the fourth species of pump belongs to the same genera, and is made as follows. two timbers are erected, and in openings in them, the ends of a barrel revolve. two or four strong men turn the barrel, that is to say, one or two pull the cranks, and one or two push them, and in this way help the others; alternately another two or four men take their place. the barrel of this machine, just like the horizontal axle of the other machines, has a drum whose iron clamps catch the links of a drawing-chain. thus water is drawn through the pipes by the balls from a depth of forty-eight feet. human strength cannot draw water higher than this, because such very heavy labour exhausts not only men, but even horses; only water-power can drive continuously a drum of this kind. several pumps of this kind, as of the last, are often built for the purpose of mining on a single vein, but they are arranged differently for different positions and depths. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axles. b--levers. c--toothed drum. d--drum made of rundles. e--drum in which iron clamps are fixed.] the fifth pump of this kind is partly like the third and partly like the fourth, because it is turned by strong men like the last, and like the third it has two axles and three drums, though each axle is horizontal. the journals of each axle are so fitted in the pillows of the beams that they cannot fly out; the lower axle has a crank at one end and a toothed drum at the other end; the upper axle has at one end a drum made of rundles, and at the other end, a drum to which are fixed iron clamps, in which the links of a chain catch in the same way as before, and from the same depth, draw water through pipes by means of balls. this revolving machine is turned by two pairs of men alternately, for one pair stands working while the other sits taking a rest; while they are engaged upon the task of turning, one pulls the crank and the other pushes, and the drums help to make the pump turn more easily. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axles. b--wheel which is turned by treading. c--toothed wheel. d--drum made of rundles. e--drum to which are fixed iron clamps. f--second wheel. g--balls.] the sixth pump of this kind likewise has two axles. at one end of the lower axle is a wheel which is turned by two men treading, this is twenty-three feet high and four feet wide, so that one man may stand alongside the other. at the other end of this axle is a toothed wheel. the upper[ ] axle has two drums and one wheel; the first drum is made of rundles, and to the other there are fixed the iron clamps. the wheel is like the one on the second machine which is chiefly used for drawing earth and broken rock out of shafts. the treaders, to prevent themselves from falling, grasp in their hands poles which are fixed to the inner sides of the wheel. when they turn this wheel, the toothed drum being made to revolve, sets in motion the other drum which is made of rundles, by which means again the links of the chain catch to the cleats of the third drum and draw water through pipes by means of balls,--from a depth of sixty-six feet. [illustration (baling water): a--reservoir. b--race. c, d--levers. e, f--troughs under the water gates. g, h--double rows of buckets. i--axle. k--larger drum. l--drawing-chain. m--bag. n--hanging cage. o--man who directs the machine. p, q--men emptying bags.] but the largest machine of all those which draw water is the one which follows. first of all a reservoir is made in a timbered chamber; this reservoir is eighteen feet long and twelve feet wide and high. into this reservoir a stream is diverted through a water-race or through the tunnel; it has two entrances and the same number of gates. levers are fixed to the upper part of these gates, by which they can be raised and let down again, so that by one way the gates are opened and in the other way closed. beneath the openings are two plank troughs which carry the water flowing from the reservoir, and pour it on to the buckets of the water-wheel, the impact of which turns the wheel. the shorter trough carries the water, which strikes the buckets that turn the wheel toward the reservoir, and the longer trough carries the water which strikes those buckets that turn the wheel in the opposite direction. the casing or covering of the wheel is made of joined boards to which strips are affixed on the inner side. the wheel itself is thirty-six feet in diameter, and is mortised to an axle, and it has, as i have already said, two rows of buckets, of which one is set the opposite way to the other, so that the wheel may be turned toward the reservoir or in the opposite direction. the axle is square and is thirty-five feet long and two feet thick and wide. beyond the wheel, at a distance of six feet, the axle has four hubs, one foot wide and thick, each one of which is four feet distant from the next; to these hubs are fixed by iron nails as many pieces of wood as are necessary to cover the hubs, and, in order that the wood pieces may fit tight, they are broader on the outside and narrower on the inside; in this way a drum is made, around which is wound a chain to whose ends are hooked leather bags. the reason why a drum of this kind is made, is that the axle may be kept in good condition, because this drum when it becomes worn away by use can be repaired easily. further along the axle, not far from the end, is another drum one foot broad, projecting two feet on all sides around the axle. and to this, when occasion demands, a brake is applied forcibly and holds back the machine; this kind of brake i have explained before. near the axle, in place of a hopper, there is a floor with a considerable slope, having in front of the shaft a width of fifteen feet and the same at the back; at each side of it there is a stout post carrying an iron chain which has a large hook. five men operate this machine; one lets down the doors which close the reservoir gates, or by drawing down the levers, opens the water-races; this man, who is the director of this machine, stands in a hanging cage beside the reservoir. when one bag has been drawn out nearly as far as the sloping floor, he closes the water gate in order that the wheel may be stopped; when the bag has been emptied he opens the other water gate, in order that the other set of buckets may receive the water and drive the wheel in the opposite direction. if he cannot close the water-gate quickly enough, and the water continues to flow, he calls out to his comrade and bids him raise the brake upon the drum and stop the wheel. two men alternately empty the bags, one standing on that part of the floor which is in front of the shaft, and the other on that part which is at the back. when the bag has been nearly drawn up--of which fact a certain link of the chain gives warning--the man who stands on the one part of the floor, catches a large iron hook in one link of the chain, and pulls out all the subsequent part of the chain toward the floor, where the bag is emptied by the other man. the object of this hook is to prevent the chain, by its own weight, from pulling down the other empty bag, and thus pulling the whole chain from its axle and dropping it down the shaft. his comrade in the work, seeing that the bag filled with water has been nearly drawn out, calls to the director of the machine and bids him close the water of the tower so that there will be time to empty the bag; this being emptied, the director of the machine first of all slightly opens the other water-gate of the tower to allow the end of the chain, together with the empty bag, to be started into the shaft again, and then opens entirely the water-gates. when that part of the chain which has been pulled on to the floor has been wound up again, and has been let down over the shaft from the drum, he takes out the large hook which was fastened into a link of the chain. the fifth man stands in a sort of cross-cut beside the sump, that he may not be hurt, if it should happen that a link is broken and part of the chain or anything else should fall down; he guides the bag with a wooden shovel, and fills it with water if it fails to take in the water spontaneously. in these days, they sew an iron band into the top of each bag that it may constantly remain open, and when lowered into the sump may fill itself with water, and there is no need for a man to act as governor of the bags. further, in these days, of those men who stand on the floor the one empties the bags, and the other closes the gates of the reservoir and opens them again, and the same man usually fixes the large hook in the link of the chain. in this way, three men only are employed in working this machine; or even--since sometimes the one who empties the bag presses the brake which is raised against the other drum and thus stops the wheel--two men take upon themselves the whole labour. but enough of haulage machines; i will now speak of ventilating machines. if a shaft is very deep and no tunnel reaches to it, or no drift from another shaft connects with it, or when a tunnel is of great length and no shaft reaches to it, then the air does not replenish itself. in such a case it weighs heavily on the miners, causing them to breathe with difficulty, and sometimes they are even suffocated, and burning lamps are also extinguished. there is, therefore, a necessity for machines which the greeks call [greek: pneumatikai] and the latins _spiritales_--though they do not give forth any sound--which enable the miners to breathe easily and carry on their work. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--sills. b--pointed stakes. c--cross-beams. d--upright planks. e--hollows. f--winds. g--covering disc. h--shafts. i--machine without a covering.] these devices are of three genera. the first receives and diverts into the shaft the blowing of the wind, and this genus is divided into three species, of which the first is as follows. over the shaft--to which no tunnel connects--are placed three sills a little longer than the shaft, the first over the front, the second over the middle, and the third over the back of the shaft. their ends have openings, through which pegs, sharpened at the bottom, are driven deeply into the ground so as to hold them immovable, in the same way that the sills of the windlass are fixed. each of these sills is mortised into each of three cross-beams, of which one is at the right side of the shaft, the second at the left, and the third in the middle. to the second sill and the second cross-beam--each of which is placed over the middle of the shaft--planks are fixed which are joined in such a manner that the one which precedes always fits into the groove of the one which follows. in this way four angles and the same number of intervening hollows are created, which collect the winds that blow from all directions. the planks are roofed above with a cover made in a circular shape, and are open below, in order that the wind may not be diverted upward and escape, but may be carried downward; and thereby the winds of necessity blow into the shafts through these four openings. however, there is no need to roof this kind of machine in those localities in which it can be so placed that the wind can blow down through its topmost part. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--projecting mouth of conduit. b--planks fixed to the mouth of the conduit which does not project.] the second machine of this genus turns the blowing wind into a shaft through a long box-shaped conduit, which is made of as many lengths of planks, joined together, as the depth of the shaft requires; the joints are smeared with fat, glutinous clay moistened with water. the mouth of this conduit either projects out of the shaft to a height of three or four feet, or it does not project; if it projects, it is shaped like a rectangular funnel, broader and wider at the top than the conduit itself, that it may the more easily gather the wind; if it does not project, it is not broader than the conduit, but planks are fixed to it away from the direction in which the wind is blowing, which catch the wind and force it into the conduit. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--wooden barrels. b--hoops. c--blow-holes. d--pipe. e--table. f--axle. g--opening in the bottom of the barrel. h--wing.] the third of this genus of machine is made of a pipe or pipes and a barrel. above the uppermost pipe there is erected a wooden barrel, four feet high and three feet in diameter, bound with wooden hoops; it has a square blow-hole always open, which catches the breezes and guides them down either by a pipe into a conduit or by many pipes into the shaft. to the top of the upper pipe is attached a circular table as thick as the bottom of the barrel, but of a little less diameter, so that the barrel may be turned around on it; the pipe projects out of the table and is fixed in a round opening in the centre of the bottom of the barrel. to the end of the pipe a perpendicular axle is fixed which runs through the centre of the barrel into a hole in the cover, in which it is fastened, in the same way as at the bottom. around this fixed axle and the table on the pipe, the movable barrel is easily turned by a zephyr, or much more by a wind, which govern the wing on it. this wing is made of thin boards and fixed to the upper part of the barrel on the side furthest away from the blow-hole; this, as i have said, is square and always open. the wind, from whatever quarter of the world it blows, drives the wing straight toward the opposite direction, in which way the barrel turns the blow-hole towards the wind itself; the blow-hole receives the wind, and it is guided down into the shaft by means of the conduit or pipes. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--drum. b--box-shaped casing. c--blow-hole. d--second hole. e--conduit. f--axle. g--lever of axle. h--rods.] the second genus of blowing machine is made with fans, and is likewise varied and of many forms, for the fans are either fitted to a windlass barrel or to an axle. if to an axle, they are either contained in a hollow drum, which is made of two wheels and a number of boards joining them together, or else in a box-shaped casing. the drum is stationary and closed on the sides, except for round holes of such size that the axle may turn in them; it has two square blow-holes, of which the upper one receives the air, while the lower one empties into the conduit through which the air is led down the shaft. the ends of the axle, which project on each side of the drum, are supported by forked posts or hollowed beams plated with thick iron; one end of the axle has a crank, while in the other end are fixed four rods with thick heavy ends, so that they weight the axle, and when turned, make it prone to motion as it revolves. and so, when the workman turns the axle by the crank, the fans, the description of which i will give a little later, draw in the air by the blow-hole, and force it through the other blow-hole which leads to the conduit, and through this conduit the air penetrates into the shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--box-shaped casing placed on the ground. b--its blow-hole. c--its axle with fans. d--crank of the axle. e--rods of same. f--casing set on timbers. g--sails which the axle has outside the casing.] the one with the box-shaped casing is furnished with just the same things as the drum, but the drum is far superior to the box; for the fans so fill the drum that they almost touch it on every side, and drive into the conduit all the air that has been accumulated; but they cannot thus fill the box-shaped casing, on account of its angles, into which the air partly retreats; therefore it cannot be as useful as the drum. the kind with a box-shaped casing is not only placed on the ground, but is also set up on timbers like a windmill, and its axle, in place of a crank, has four sails outside, like the sails of a windmill. when these are struck by the wind they turn the axle, and in this way its fans--which are placed within the casing--drive the air through the blow-hole and the conduit into the shaft. although this machine has no need of men whom it is necessary to pay to work the crank, still when the sky is devoid of wind, as it often is, the machine does not turn, and it is therefore less suitable than the others for ventilating a shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--hollow drum. b--its blow-hole. c--axle with fans. d--drum which is made of rundles. e--lower axle. f--its toothed wheel. g--water wheel.] in the kind where the fans are fixed to an axle, there is generally a hollow stationary drum at one end of the axle, and on the other end is fixed a drum made of rundles. this rundle drum is turned by the toothed wheel of a lower axle, which is itself turned by a wheel whose buckets receive the impetus of water. if the locality supplies an abundance of water this machine is most useful, because to turn the crank does not need men who require pay, and because it forces air without cessation through the conduit into the shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--first kind of fan. b--second kind of fan. c--third kind of fan. d--quadrangular part of axle. e--round part of same. f--crank.] of the fans which are fixed on to an axle contained in a drum or box, there are three sorts. the first sort is made of thin boards of such length and width as the height and width of the drum or box require; the second sort is made of boards of the same width, but shorter, to which are bound long thin blades of poplar or some other flexible wood; the third sort has boards like the last, to which are bound double and triple rows of goose feathers. this last is less used than the second, which in turn is less used than the first. the boards of the fan are mortised into the quadrangular parts of the barrel axle. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--smaller part of shaft. b--square conduit. c--bellows. d--larger part of shaft.] blowing machines of the third genus, which are no less varied and of no fewer forms than those of the second genus, are made with bellows, for by its blasts the shafts and tunnels are not only furnished with air through conduits or pipes, but they can also be cleared by suction of their heavy and pestilential vapours. in the latter case, when the bellows is opened it draws the vapours from the conduits through its blow-hole and sucks these vapours into itself; in the former case, when it is compressed, it drives the air through its nozzle into the conduits or pipes. they are compressed either by a man, or by a horse or by water-power; if by a man, the lower board of a large bellows is fixed to the timbers above the conduit which projects out of the shaft, and so placed that when the blast is blown through the conduit, its nozzle is set in the conduit. when it is desired to suck out heavy or pestilential vapours, the blow-hole of the bellows is fitted all round the mouth of the conduit. fixed to the upper bellows board is a lever which couples with another running downward from a little axle, into which it is mortised so that it may remain immovable; the iron journals of this little axle revolve in openings of upright posts; and so when the workman pulls down the lever the upper board of the bellows is raised, and at the same time the flap of the blow-hole is dragged open by the force of the wind. if the nozzle of the bellows is enclosed in the conduit it draws pure air into itself, but if its blow-hole is fitted all round the mouth of the conduit it exhausts the heavy and pestilential vapours out of the conduit and thus from the shaft, even if it is one hundred and twenty feet deep. a stone placed on the upper board of the bellows depresses it and then the flap of the blow-hole is closed. the bellows, by the first method, blows fresh air into the conduit through its nozzle, and by the second method blows out through the nozzle the heavy and pestilential vapours which have been collected. in this latter case fresh air enters through the larger part of the shaft, and the miners getting the benefit of it can sustain their toil. a certain smaller part of the shaft which forms a kind of estuary, requires to be partitioned off from the other larger part by uninterrupted lagging, which reaches from the top of the shaft to the bottom; through this part the long but narrow conduit reaches down nearly to the bottom of the shaft. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--tunnel. b--pipe. c--nozzle of double bellows.] when no shaft has been sunk to such depth as to meet a tunnel driven far into a mountain, these machines should be built in such a manner that the workman can move them about. close by the drains of the tunnel through which the water flows away, wooden pipes should be placed and joined tightly together in such a manner that they can hold the air; these should reach from the mouth of the tunnel to its furthest end. at the mouth of the tunnel the bellows should be so placed that through its nozzle it can blow its accumulated blasts into the pipes or the conduit; since one blast always drives forward another, they penetrate into the tunnel and change the air, whereby the miners are enabled to continue their work. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--machine first described. b--this workman, treading with his feet, is compressing the bellows. c--bellows without nozzles. d--hole by which heavy vapours or blasts are blown out. e--conduits. f--tunnel. g--second machine described. h--wooden wheel. i--its steps. k--bars. l--hole in same wheel. m--pole. n--third machine described. o--upright axle. p--its toothed drum. q--horizontal axle. r--its drum which is made of rundles.] if heavy vapours need to be drawn off from the tunnels, generally three double or triple bellows, without nozzles and closed in the forepart, are placed upon benches. a workman compresses them by treading with his feet, just as persons compress those bellows of the organs which give out varied and sweet sounds in churches. these heavy vapours are thus drawn along the air-pipes and through the blow-hole of the lower bellows board, and are expelled through the blow-hole of the upper bellows board into the open air, or into some shaft or drift. this blow-hole has a flap-valve, which the noxious blast opens, as often as it passes out. since one volume of air constantly rushes in to take the place of another which has been drawn out by the bellows, not only is the heavy air drawn out of a tunnel as great as , feet long, or even longer, but also the wholesome air is naturally drawn in through that part of the tunnel which is open outside the conduits. in this way the air is changed, and the miners are enabled to carry on the work they have begun. if machines of this kind had not been invented, it would be necessary for miners to drive two tunnels into a mountain, and continually, at every two hundred feet at most, to sink a shaft from the upper tunnel to the lower one, that the air passing into the one, and descending by the shafts into the other, would be kept fresh for the miners; this could not be done without great expense. there are two different machines for operating, by means of horses, the above described bellows. the first of these machines has on its axle a wooden wheel, the rim of which is covered all the way round by steps; a horse is kept continually within bars, like those within which horses are held to be shod with iron, and by treading these steps with its feet it turns the wheel, together with the axle; the cams on the axle press down the sweeps which compress the bellows. the way the instrument is made which raises the bellows again, and also the benches on which the bellows rest, i will explain more clearly in book ix. each bellows, if it draws heavy vapours out of a tunnel, blows them out of the hole in the upper board; if they are drawn out of a shaft, it blows them out through its nozzle. the wheel has a round hole, which is transfixed with a pole when the machine needs to be stopped. the second machine has two axles; the upright one is turned by a horse, and its toothed drum turns a drum made of rundles on a horizontal axle; in other respects this machine is like the last. here, also, the nozzles of the bellows placed in the conduits blow a blast into the shaft or tunnel. [illustration (ventilating with damp cloth): a--tunnel. b--linen cloth.] in the same way that this last machine can refresh the heavy air of a shaft or tunnel, so also could the old system of ventilating by the constant shaking of linen cloths, which pliny[ ] has explained; the air not only grows heavier with the depth of a shaft, of which fact he has made mention, but also with the length of a tunnel. [illustration (descent into mines): a--descending into the shaft by ladders. b--by sitting on a stick. c--by sitting on the dirt. d--descending by steps cut in the rock.] the climbing machines of miners are ladders, fixed to one side of the shaft, and these reach either to the tunnel or to the bottom of the shaft. i need not describe how they are made, because they are used everywhere, and need not so much skill in their construction as care in fixing them. however, miners go down into mines not only by the steps of ladders, but they are also lowered into them while sitting on a stick or a wicker basket, fastened to the rope of one of the three drawing machines which i described at first. further, when the shafts are much inclined, miners and other workmen sit in the dirt which surrounds their loins and slide down in the same way that boys do in winter-time when the water on some hillside has congealed with the cold, and to prevent themselves from falling, one arm is wound about a rope, the upper end of which is fastened to a beam at the mouth of the shaft, and the lower end to a stake fixed in the bottom of the shaft. in these three ways miners descend into the shafts. a fourth way may be mentioned which is employed when men and horses go down to the underground machines and come up again, that is by inclined shafts which are twisted like a screw and have steps cut in the rock, as i have already described. it remains for me to speak of the ailments and accidents of miners, and of the methods by which they can guard against these, for we should always devote more care to maintaining our health, that we may freely perform our bodily functions, than to making profits. of the illnesses, some affect the joints, others attack the lungs, some the eyes, and finally some are fatal to men. where water in shafts is abundant and very cold, it frequently injures the limbs, for cold is harmful to the sinews. to meet this, miners should make themselves sufficiently high boots of rawhide, which protect their legs from the cold water; the man who does not follow this advice will suffer much ill-health, especially when he reaches old age. on the other hand, some mines are so dry that they are entirely devoid of water, and this dryness causes the workmen even greater harm, for the dust which is stirred and beaten up by digging penetrates into the windpipe and lungs, and produces difficulty in breathing, and the disease which the greeks call [greek: asthma]. if the dust has corrosive qualities, it eats away the lungs, and implants consumption in the body; hence in the mines of the carpathian mountains women are found who have married seven husbands, all of whom this terrible consumption has carried off to a premature death. at altenberg in meissen there is found in the mines black _pompholyx_, which eats wounds and ulcers to the bone; this also corrodes iron, for which reason the keys of their sheds are made of wood. further, there is a certain kind of _cadmia_[ ] which eats away the feet of the workmen when they have become wet, and similarly their hands, and injures their lungs and eyes. therefore, for their digging they should make for themselves not only boots of rawhide, but gloves long enough to reach to the elbow, and they should fasten loose veils over their faces; the dust will then neither be drawn through these into their windpipes and lungs, nor will it fly into their eyes. not dissimilarly, among the romans[ ] the makers of vermilion took precautions against breathing its fatal dust. stagnant air, both that which remains in a shaft and that which remains in a tunnel, produces a difficulty in breathing; the remedies for this evil are the ventilating machines which i have explained above. there is another illness even more destructive, which soon brings death to men who work in those shafts or levels or tunnels in which the hard rock is broken by fire. here the air is infected with poison, since large and small veins and seams in the rocks exhale some subtle poison from the minerals, which is driven out by the fire, and this poison itself is raised with the smoke not unlike _pompholyx_,[ ] which clings to the upper part of the walls in the works in which ore is smelted. if this poison cannot escape from the ground, but falls down into the pools and floats on their surface, it often causes danger, for if at any time the water is disturbed through a stone or anything else, these fumes rise again from the pools and thus overcome the men, by being drawn in with their breath; this is even much worse if the fumes of the fire have not yet all escaped. the bodies of living creatures who are infected with this poison generally swell immediately and lose all movement and feeling, and they die without pain; men even in the act of climbing from the shafts by the steps of ladders fall back into the shafts when the poison overtakes them, because their hands do not perform their office, and seem to them to be round and spherical, and likewise their feet. if by good fortune the injured ones escape these evils, for a little while they are pale and look like dead men. at such times, no one should descend into the mine or into the neighbouring mines, or if he is in them he should come out quickly. prudent and skilled miners burn the piles of wood on friday, towards evening, and they do not descend into the shafts nor enter the tunnels again before monday, and in the meantime the poisonous fumes pass away. there are also times when a reckoning has to be made with orcus,[ ] for some metalliferous localities, though such are rare, spontaneously produce poison and exhale pestilential vapour, as is also the case with some openings in the ore, though these more often contain the noxious fumes. in the towns of the plains of bohemia there are some caverns which, at certain seasons of the year, emit pungent vapours which put out lights and kill the miners if they linger too long in them. pliny, too, has left a record that when wells are sunk, the sulphurous or aluminous vapours which arise kill the well-diggers, and it is a test of this danger if a burning lamp which has been let down is extinguished. in such cases a second well is dug to the right or left, as an air-shaft, which draws off these noxious vapours. on the plains they construct bellows which draw up these noxious vapours and remedy this evil; these i have described before. further, sometimes workmen slipping from the ladders into the shafts break their arms, legs, or necks, or fall into the sumps and are drowned; often, indeed, the negligence of the foreman is to blame, for it is his special work both to fix the ladders so firmly to the timbers that they cannot break away, and to cover so securely with planks the sumps at the bottom of the shafts, that the planks cannot be moved nor the men fall into the water; wherefore the foreman must carefully execute his own work. moreover, he must not set the entrance of the shaft-house toward the north wind, lest in winter the ladders freeze with cold, for when this happens the men's hands become stiff and slippery with cold, and cannot perform their office of holding. the men, too, must be careful that, even if none of these things happen, they do not fall through their own carelessness. mountains, too, slide down and men are crushed in their fall and perish. in fact, when in olden days rammelsberg, in goslar, sank down, so many men were crushed in the ruins that in one day, the records tell us, about women were robbed of their husbands. and eleven years ago, part of the mountain of altenberg, which had been excavated, became loose and sank, and suddenly crushed six miners; it also swallowed up a hut and one mother and her little boy. but this generally occurs in those mountains which contain _venae cumulatae_. therefore, miners should leave numerous arches under the mountains which need support, or provide underpinning. falling pieces of rock also injure their limbs, and to prevent this from happening, miners should protect the shafts, tunnels, and drifts. the venomous ant which exists in sardinia is not found in our mines. this animal is, as solinus[ ] writes, very small and like a spider in shape; it is called _solifuga_, because it shuns (_fugit_) the light (_solem_). it is very common in silver mines; it creeps unobserved and brings destruction upon those who imprudently sit on it. but, as the same writer tells us, springs of warm and salubrious waters gush out in certain places, which neutralise the venom inserted by the ants. in some of our mines, however, though in very few, there are other pernicious pests. these are demons of ferocious aspect, about which i have spoken in my book _de animantibus subterraneis_. demons of this kind are expelled and put to flight by prayer and fasting.[ ] some of these evils, as well as certain other things, are the reason why pits are occasionally abandoned. but the first and principal cause is that they do not yield metal, or if, for some fathoms, they do bear metal they become barren in depth. the second cause is the quantity of water which flows in; sometimes the miners can neither divert this water into the tunnels, since tunnels cannot be driven so far into the mountains, or they cannot draw it out with machines because the shafts are too deep; or if they could draw it out with machines, they do not use them, the reason undoubtedly being that the expenditure is greater than the profits of a moderately poor vein. the third cause is the noxious air, which the owners sometimes cannot overcome either by skill or expenditure, for which reason the digging is sometimes abandoned, not only of shafts, but also of tunnels. the fourth cause is the poison produced in particular places, if it is not in our power either completely to remove it or to moderate its effects. this is the reason why the caverns in the plain known as laurentius[ ] used not to be worked, though they were not deficient in silver. the fifth cause are the fierce and murderous demons, for if they cannot be expelled, no one escapes from them. the sixth cause is that the underpinnings become loosened and collapse, and a fall of the mountain usually follows; the underpinnings are then only restored when the vein is very rich in metal. the seventh cause is military operations. shafts and tunnels should not be re-opened unless we are quite certain of the reasons why the miners have deserted them, because we ought not to believe that our ancestors were so indolent and spiritless as to desert mines which could have been carried on with profit. indeed, in our own days, not a few miners, persuaded by old women's tales, have re-opened deserted shafts and lost their time and trouble. therefore, to prevent future generations from being led to act in such a way, it is advisable to set down in writing the reason why the digging of each shaft or tunnel has been abandoned, just as it is agreed was once done at freiberg, when the shafts were deserted on account of the great inrush of water. end of book vi. footnotes: [ ] this book is devoted in the main to winding, ventilating, and pumping machinery. their mechanical principles are very old. the block and pulley, the windlass, the use of water-wheels, the transmission of power through shafts and gear-wheels, chain-pumps, piston-pumps with valves, were all known to the greeks and romans, and possibly earlier. machines involving these principles were described by ctesibius, an alexandrian of b.c., by archimedes ( - b.c.), and by vitruvius ( st century b.c.) as to how far these machines were applied to mining by the ancients we have but little evidence, and this largely in connection with handling water. diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.) referring to the spanish mines, says (book v.): "sometimes at great depths they meet great rivers underground, but by art give check to the violence of the streams, for by cutting trenches they divert the current, and being sure to gain what they aim at when they have begun, they never leave off till they have finished it. and they admirably pump out the water with those instruments called egyptian pumps, invented by archimedes, the syracusan, when he was in egypt. by these, with constant pumping by turns they throw up the water to the mouth of the pit and thus drain the mine; for this engine is so ingeniously contrived that a vast quantity of water is strangely and with little labour cast out." strabo ( b.c.- a.d., iii., , ), also referring to spanish mines, quoting from posidonius (about b.c.), says: "he compares with these (the athenians) the activity and diligence of the turdetani, who are in the habit of cutting tortuous and deep tunnels, and draining the streams which they frequently encounter by means of egyptian screws." (hamilton's tran., vol. i., p. ). the "egyptian screw" was archimedes' screw, and was thus called because much used by the egyptians for irrigation. pliny (xxxiii., ) also says, in speaking of the spanish silver-lead mines: "the mountain has been excavated for a distance of , paces, and along this distance there are water-carriers standing by torch-light night and day steadily baling the water (thus) making quite a river." the re-opening of the mines at rio tinto in the middle of the th century disclosed old roman stopes, in which were found several water-wheels. these were about feet in diameter, lifting the water by the reverse arrangement to an overshot water-wheel. a wooden archimedian screw was also found in the neighbourhood. (nash, the rio tinto mine, its history and romance, london, ). until early in the th century, water formed the limiting factor in the depth of mines. to the great devotion to this water problem we owe the invention of the steam engine. in newcomen--no doubt inspired by savery's unsuccessful attempt--invented his engine, and installed the first one on a colliery at wolverhampton, in staffordshire. with its success, a new era was opened to the miner, to be yet further extended by watt's improvements sixty years later. it should be a matter of satisfaction to mining engineers that not only was the steam engine the handiwork of their profession, but that another mining engineer, stephenson, in his effort to further the advance of his calling, invented the locomotive. [ ] while these particular tools serve the same purpose as the "gad" and the "moil," the latter are not fitted with handles, and we have, therefore, not felt justified in adopting these terms, but have given a literal rendering of the latin. the latin and old german terms for these tools were:-- first iron tool = _ferramentum primum_ = _bergeisen_. second " = " _secundum_ = _rutzeisen_. third " = " _tertium_ = _sumpffeisen_. fourth " = " _quartum_ = _fimmel_. wedge = _cuneus_ = _keil_. iron block = _lamina_ = _plôtz_. iron plate = _bractea_ = _feder_. the german words obviously had local value and do not bear translation literally. [ ] one _metreta_, a greek measure, equalled about nine english gallons, and a _congius_ contained about six pints. [ ] _ingestores_. this is a case of agricola coining a name for workmen from the work, the term being derived from _ingero_, to pour or to throw in, used in the previous clause--hence the "reason." see p. xxxi. [ ] _cisium_. a two-wheeled cart. in the preface agricola gives this as an example of his intended adaptations. see p. xxxi. [ ] _canis_. the germans in agricola's time called a truck a _hundt_--a hound. [ ] _alveus_,--"tray." the spanish term _batea_ has been so generally adopted into the mining vocabulary for a wooden bowl for these purposes, that we introduce it here. [ ] pliny (xxxiii., ). "the fragments are carried on workmen's shoulders; night and day each passes the material to his neighbour, only the last of them seeing the daylight." [ ] _harpago_,--a "grapple" or "hook." [ ] ancient noricum covered the region of modern tyrol, with parts of bavaria, salzburg, etc. [ ] _machina quae pilis aquas haurit_. "machine which draws water with balls." this apparatus is identical with the cornish "rag and chain pump" of the same period, and we have therefore adopted that term. [ ] a _congius_ contained about six pints. [ ] vitruvius (x., ). "but if the water is to be supplied to still higher places, a double chain of iron is made to revolve on the axis of the wheel, long enough to reach to the lower level. this is furnished with brazen buckets, each holding about a _congius_. then by turning the wheel, the chain also turns upon the axis and brings the buckets to the top thereof, on passing which they are inverted and pour into the conduits the water they have raised." [ ] this description certainly does not correspond in every particular with the illustration. [ ] there is a certain deficiency in the hydraulics of this machine. [ ] the dimensions given in this description for the various members do not tally. [ ] _melibocian_,--the harz. [ ] in the original text this is given as "lower," and appears to be an error. [ ] pliny (xxxi, ). "in deep wells, the occurrence of _sulphurata_ or _aluminosa_ vapor is fatal to the diggers. the presence of this peril is shown if a lighted lamp let down into the well is extinguished. if so, other wells are sunk to the right and left, which carry off these noxious gases. apart from these evils, the air itself becomes noxious with depth, which can be remedied by constantly shaking linen cloths, thus setting the air in motion." [ ] this is given in the german translation as _kobelt_. the _kobelt_ (or _cobaltum_ of agricola) was probably arsenical-cobalt, a mineral common in the saxon mines. the origin of the application of the word cobalt to a mineral appears to lie in the german word for the gnomes and goblins (_kobelts_) so universal to saxon miners' imaginations,--this word in turn probably being derived from the greek _cobali_ (mimes). the suffering described above seems to have been associated with the malevolence of demons, and later the word for these demons was attached to this disagreeable ore. a quaint series of mining "sermons," by johann mathesius, entitled _sarepta oder bergpostill_, nürnberg, , contains the following passage (p. ) which bears out this view. we retain the original and varied spelling of cobalt and also add another view of mathesius, involving an experience of solomon and hiram of tyre with some mines containing cobalt. "sometimes, however, from dry hard veins a certain black, greenish, grey or ash-coloured earth is dug out, often containing good ore, and this mineral being burnt gives strong fumes and is extracted like 'tutty.' it is called _cadmia fossilis_. you miners call it _cobelt_. germans call the black devil and the old devil's furies, old and black _cobel_, who injure people and their cattle with their witchcrafts. now the devil is a wicked, malicious spirit, who shoots his poisoned darts into the hearts of men, as sorcerers and witches shoot at the limbs of cattle and men, and work much evil and mischief with _cobalt_ or _hipomane_ or horses' poison. after quicksilver and _rotgültigen_ ore, are _cobalt_ and _wismuth_ fumes; these are the most poisonous of the metals, and with them one can kill flies, mice, cattle, birds, and men. so, fresh _cobalt_ and _kisswasser_ (vitriol?) devour the hands and feet of miners, and the dust and fumes of _cobalt_ kill many mining people and workpeople who do much work among the fumes of the smelters. whether or not the devil and his hellish crew gave their name to _cobelt_, or _kobelt_, nevertheless, _cobelt_ is a poisonous and injurious metal even if it contains silver. i find in i. kings , the word _cabul_. when solomon presented twenty towns in galilee to the king of tyre, hiram visited them first, and would not have them, and said the land was well named _cabul_ as joshua had christened it. it is certain from joshua that these twenty towns lay in the kingdom of aser, not far from our _sarepta_, and that there had been iron and copper mines there, as moses says in another place. inasmuch, then, as these twenty places were mining towns, and _cobelt_ is a metal, it appears quite likely that the mineral took its name from the land of cabul. history and circumstances bear out the theory that hiram was an excellent and experienced miner, who obtained much gold from ophir, with which he honoured solomon. therefore, the great king wished to show his gratitude to his good neighbour by honouring a miner with mining towns. but because the king of tyre was skilled in mines, he first inspected the new mines, and saw that they only produced poor metal and much wild _cobelt_ ore, therefore he preferred to find his gold by digging the gold and silver in india rather than by getting it by the _cobelt_ veins and ore. for truly, _cobelt_ ores are injurious, and are usually so embedded in other ore that they rob them in the fire and consume (_madtet und frist_) much lead before the silver is extracted, and when this happens it is especially _speysig_. therefore hiram made a good reckoning as to the mines and would not undertake all the expense of working and smelting, and so returned solomon the twenty towns." [ ] pliny (xxxiii, ). "those employed in the works preparing vermilion, cover their faces with a bladder-skin, that they may not inhale the pernicious powder, yet they can see through the skin." [ ] _pompholyx_ was a furnace deposit, usually mostly zinc oxide, but often containing arsenical oxide, and to this latter quality this reference probably applies. the symptoms mentioned later in the text amply indicate arsenical poisoning, of which a sort of spherical effect on the hands is characteristic. see also note on p. for discussion of "corrosive" _cadmia_; further information on _pompholyx_ is given in note , p. . [ ] orcus, the god of the infernal regions,--otherwise pluto. [ ] caius julius solinus was an unreliable roman grammarian of the rd century. there is much difference of opinion as to the precise animal meant by _solifuga_. the word is variously spelled _solipugus, solpugus, solipuga, solipunga_, etc., and is mentioned by pliny (viii., ), and other ancient authors all apparently meaning a venomous insect, either an ant or a spider. the term in later times indicated a scorpion. [ ] the presence of demons or gnomes in the mines was so general a belief that agricola fully accepted it. this is more remarkable, in view of our author's very general scepticism regarding the supernatural. he, however, does not classify them all as bad--some being distinctly helpful. the description of gnomes of kindly intent, which is contained in the last paragraph in _de animantibus_ is of interest:-- "then there are the gentle kind which the germans as well as the greeks call cobalos, because they mimic men. they appear to laugh with glee and pretend to do much, but really do nothing. they are called little miners, because of their dwarfish stature, which is about two feet. they are venerable looking and are clothed like miners in a filleted garment with a leather apron about their loins. this kind does not often trouble the miners, but they idle about in the shafts and tunnels and really do nothing, although they pretend to be busy in all kinds of labour, sometimes digging ore, and sometimes putting into buckets that which has been dug. sometimes they throw pebbles at the workmen, but they rarely injure them unless the workmen first ridicule or curse them. they are not very dissimilar to goblins, which occasionally appear to men when they go to or from their day's work, or when they attend their cattle. because they generally appear benign to men, the germans call them _guteli_. those called _trulli_, which take the form of women as well as men, actually enter the service of some people, especially the _suions_. the mining gnomes are especially active in the workings where metal has already been found, or where there are hopes of discovering it, because of which they do not discourage the miners, but on the contrary stimulate them and cause them to labour more vigorously." the german miners were not alone in such beliefs, for miners generally accepted them--even to-day the faith in "knockers" has not entirely disappeared from cornwall. neither the sea nor the forest so lends itself to the substantiation of the supernatural as does the mine. the dead darkness, in which the miners' lamps serve only to distort every shape, the uncanny noises of restless rocks whose support has been undermined, the approach of danger and death without warning, the sudden vanishing or discovery of good fortune, all yield a thousand corroborations to minds long steeped in ignorance and prepared for the miraculous through religious teaching. [ ] the plains of laurentius extend from the mouth of the tiber southward--say twenty miles south of rome. what agricola's authority was for silver mines in this region we cannot discover. this may, however, refer to the lead-silver district of the attic peninsula, laurion being sometimes latinized as _laurium_ or _laurius_. book vii. since the sixth book has described the iron tools, the vessels and the machines used in mines, this book will describe the methods of assaying[ ] ores; because it is desirable to first test them in order that the material mined may be advantageously smelted, or that the dross may be purged away and the metal made pure. although writers have mentioned such tests, yet none of them have set down the directions for performing them, wherefore it is no wonder that those who come later have written nothing on the subject. by tests of this kind miners can determine with certainty whether ores contain any metal in them or not; or if it has already been indicated that the ore contains one or more metals, the tests show whether it is much or little; the miners also ascertain by such tests the method by which the metal can be separated from that part of the ore devoid of it; and further, by these tests, they determine that part in which there is much metal from that part in which there is little. unless these tests have been carefully applied before the metals are melted out, the ore cannot be smelted without great loss to the owners, for the parts which do not easily melt in the fire carry the metals off with them or consume them. in the last case, they pass off with the fumes; in the other case they are mixed with the slag and furnace accretions, and in such event the owners lose the labour which they have spent in preparing the furnaces and the crucibles, and further, it is necessary for them to incur fresh expenditure for fluxes and other things. metals, when they have been melted out, are usually assayed in order that we may ascertain what proportion of silver is in a _centumpondium_ of copper or lead, or what quantity of gold is in one _libra_ of silver; and, on the other hand, what proportion of copper or lead is contained in a _centumpondium_ of silver, or what quantity of silver is contained in one _libra_ of gold. and from this we can calculate whether it will be worth while to separate the precious metals from the base metals, or not. further, a test of this kind shows whether coins are good or are debased; and readily detects silver, if the coiners have mixed more than is lawful with the gold; or copper, if the coiners have alloyed with the gold or silver more of it than is allowable. i will explain all these methods with the utmost care that i can. the method of assaying ore used by mining people, differs from smelting only by the small amount of material used. inasmuch as, by smelting a small quantity, they learn whether the smelting of a large quantity will compensate them for their expenditure; hence, if they are not particular to employ assays, they may, as i have already said, sometimes smelt the metal from the ore with a loss or sometimes without any profit; for they can assay the ore at a very small expense, and smelt it only at a great expense. both processes, however, are carried out in the same way, for just as we assay ore in a little furnace, so do we smelt it in the large furnace. also in both cases charcoal and not wood is burned. moreover, in the crucible when metals are tested, be they gold, silver, copper, or lead, they are mixed in precisely the same way as they are mixed in the blast furnace when they are smelted. further, those who assay ores with fire, either pour out the metal in a liquid state, or, when it has cooled, break the crucible and clean the metal from slag; and in the same way the smelter, as soon as the metal flows from the furnace into the forehearth, pours in cold water and takes the slag from the metal with a hooked bar. finally, in the same way that gold and silver are separated from lead in a cupel, so also are they separated in the cupellation furnace. it is necessary that the assayer who is testing ore or metals should be prepared and instructed in all things necessary in assaying, and that he should close the doors of the room in which the assay furnace stands, lest anyone coming at an inopportune moment might disturb his thoughts when they are intent on the work. it is also necessary for him to place his balances in a case, so that when he weighs the little buttons of metal the scales may not be agitated by a draught of air, for that is a hindrance to his work. [illustration a (muffle furnace): round assay furnace.] [illustration b (muffle furnace): rectangular assay furnace.] [illustration (muffle assay furnace): a--openings in the plate. b--part of plate which projects beyond the furnace.] now i will describe the different things which are necessary in assaying, beginning with the assay furnace, of which one differs from another in shape, material, and the place in which it is set. in shape, they may be round or rectangular, the latter shape being more suited to assaying ores. the materials of the assay furnaces differ, in that one is made of bricks, another of iron, and certain ones of clay. the one of bricks is built on a chimney-hearth which is three and a half feet high; the iron one is placed in the same position, and also the one of clay. the brick one is a cubit high, a foot wide on the inside, and one foot two digits long; at a point five digits above the hearth--which is usually the thickness of an unbaked[ ] brick--an iron plate is laid, and smeared over with lute on the upper side to prevent it from being injured by the fire; in front of the furnace above the plate is a mouth a palm high, five digits wide, and rounded at the top. the iron plate has three openings which are one digit wide and three digits long, one is at each side and the third at the back; through them sometimes the ash falls from the burning charcoal, and sometimes the draught blows through the chamber which is below the iron plate, and stimulates the fire. for this reason this furnace when used by metallurgists is named from assaying, but when used by the alchemists it is named from the wind[ ]. the part of the iron plate which projects from the furnace is generally three-quarters of a palm long and a palm wide; small pieces of charcoal, after being laid thereon, can be placed quickly in the furnace through its mouth with a pair of tongs, or again, if necessary, can be taken out of the furnace and laid there. the iron assay furnace is made of four iron bars a foot and a half high; which at the bottom are bent outward and broadened a short distance to enable them to stand more firmly; the front part of the furnace is made from two of these bars, and the back part from two of them; to these bars on both sides are joined and welded three iron cross-bars, the first at a height of a palm from the bottom, the second at a height of a foot, and the third at the top. the upright bars are perforated at that point where the side cross-bars are joined to them, in order that three similar iron bars on the remaining sides can be engaged in them; thus there are twelve cross-bars, which make three stages at unequal intervals. at the lower stage, the upright bars are distant from each other one foot and five digits; and at the middle stage the front is distant from the back three palms and one digit, and the sides are distant from each other three palms and as many digits; at the highest stage from the front to the back there is a distance of two palms, and between the sides three palms, so that in this way the furnace becomes narrower at the top. furthermore, an iron rod, bent to the shape of the mouth, is set into the lowest bar of the front; this mouth, just like that of the brick furnace, is a palm high and five digits wide. then the front cross-bar of the lower stage is perforated on each side of the mouth, and likewise the back one; through these perforations there pass two iron rods, thus making altogether four bars in the lower stage, and these support an iron plate smeared with lute; part of this plate also projects outside the furnace. the outside of the furnace from the lower stage to the upper, is covered with iron plates, which are bound to the bars by iron wires, and smeared with lute to enable them to bear the heat of the fire as long as possible. as for the clay furnace, it must be made of fat, thick clay, medium so far as relates to its softness or hardness. this furnace has exactly the same height as the iron one, and its base is made of two earthenware tiles, one foot and three palms long and one foot and one palm wide. each side of the fore part of both tiles is gradually cut away for the length of a palm, so that they are half a foot and a digit wide, which part projects from the furnace; the tiles are about a digit and a half thick. the walls are similarly of clay, and are set on the lower tiles at a distance of a digit from the edge, and support the upper tiles; the walls are three digits high and have four openings, each of which is about three digits high; those of the back part and of each side are five digits wide, and of the front, a palm and a half wide, to enable the freshly made cupels to be conveniently placed on the hearth, when it has been thoroughly warmed, that they may be dried there. both tiles are bound on the outer edge with iron wire, pressed into them, so that they will be less easily broken; and the tiles, not unlike the iron bed-plate, have three openings three digits long and a digit wide, in order that when the upper one on account of the heat of the fire or for some other reason has become damaged, the lower one may be exchanged and take its place. through these holes, the ashes from the burning charcoal, as i have stated, fall down, and air blows into the furnace after passing through the openings in the walls of the chamber. the furnace is rectangular, and inside at the lower part it is three palms and one digit wide and three palms and as many digits long. at the upper part it is two palms and three digits wide, so that it also grows narrower; it is one foot high; in the middle of the back it is cut out at the bottom in the shape of a semicircle, of half a digit radius. not unlike the furnace before described, it has in its forepart a mouth which is rounded at the top, one palm high and a palm and a digit wide. its door is also made of clay, and this has a window and a handle; even the lid of the furnace which is made of clay has its own handle, fastened on with iron wire. the outer parts and sides of this furnace are bound with iron wires, which are usually pressed in, in the shape of triangles. the brick furnaces must remain stationary; the clay and iron ones can be carried from one place to another. those of brick can be prepared more quickly, while those of iron are more lasting, and those of clay are more suitable. assayers also make temporary furnaces in another way; they stand three bricks on a hearth, one on each side and a third one at the back, the forepart lies open to the draught, and on these bricks is placed an iron plate, upon which they again stand three bricks, which hold and retain the charcoal. the setting of one furnace differs from another, in that some are placed higher and others lower; that one is placed higher, in which the man who is assaying the ore or metals introduces the scorifier through the mouth with the tongs; that one is placed lower, into which he introduces the crucible through its open top. [illustration (crucible assay furnace): a--iron hoop. b--double bellows. c--its nozzle. d--lever.] in some cases the assayer uses an iron hoop[ ] in place of a furnace; this is placed upon the hearth of a chimney, the lower edge being daubed with lute to prevent the blast of the bellows from escaping under it. if the blast is given slowly, the ore will be smelted and the copper will melt in the triangular crucible, which is placed in it and taken away again with the tongs. the hoop is two palms high and half a digit thick; its diameter is generally one foot and one palm, and where the blast from the bellows enters into it, it is notched out. the bellows is a double one, such as goldworkers use, and sometimes smiths. in the middle of the bellows there is a board in which there is an air-hole, five digits wide and seven long, covered by a little flap which is fastened over the air-hole on the lower side of the board; this flap is of equal length and width. the bellows, without its head, is three feet long, and at the back is one foot and one palm wide and somewhat rounded, and it is three palms wide at the head; the head itself is three palms long and two palms and a digit wide at the part where it joins the boards, then it gradually becomes narrower. the nozzle, of which there is only one, is one foot and two digits long; this nozzle, and one-half of the head in which the nozzle is fixed, are placed in an opening of the wall, this being one foot and one palm thick; it reaches only to the iron hoop on the hearth, for it does not project beyond the wall. the hide of the bellows is fixed to the bellows-boards with its own peculiar kind of iron nails. it joins both bellows-boards to the head, and over it there are cross strips of hide fixed to the bellows-boards with broad-headed nails, and similarly fixed to the head. the middle board of the bellows rests on an iron bar, to which it is fastened with iron nails clinched on both ends, so that it cannot move; the iron bar is fixed between two upright posts, through which it penetrates. higher up on these upright posts there is a wooden axle, with iron journals which revolve in the holes in the posts. in the middle of this axle there is mortised a lever, fixed with iron nails to prevent it from flying out; the lever is five and a half feet long, and its posterior end is engaged in the iron ring of an iron rod which reaches to the "tail" of the lowest bellows-board, and there engages another similar ring. and so when the workman pulls down the lever, the lower part of the bellows is raised and drives the wind into the nozzle; then the wind, penetrating through the hole in the middle bellows-board, which is called the air-hole, lifts up the upper part of the bellows, upon whose upper board is a piece of lead, heavy enough to press down that part of the bellows again, and this being pressed down blows a blast through the nozzle. this is the principle of the double bellows, which is peculiar to the iron hoop where are placed the triangular crucibles in which copper ore is smelted and copper is melted. [illustration (muffles): a--broad little windows of muffle. b--narrow ones. c--openings in the back thereof.] i have spoken of the furnaces and the iron hoop; i will now speak of the muffles and the crucibles. the muffle is made of clay, in the shape of an inverted gutter tile; it covers the scorifiers, lest coal dust fall into them and interfere with the assay. it is a palm and a half broad, and the height, which corresponds with the mouth of the furnace, is generally a palm, and it is nearly as long as the furnace; only at the front end does it touch the mouth of the furnace, everywhere else on the sides and at the back there is a space of three digits, to allow the charcoal to lie in the open space between it and the furnace. the muffle is as thick as a fairly thick earthen jar; its upper part is entire; the back has two little windows, and each side has two or three or even four, through which the heat passes into the scorifiers and melts the ore. in place of little windows, some muffles have small holes, ten in the back and more on each side. moreover, in the back below the little windows, or small holes, there are cut away three semi-circular notches half a digit high, and on each side there are four. the back of the muffle is generally a little lower than the front. [illustration (containers): a--scorifier. b--triangular crucible. c--cupel.] the crucibles differ in the materials from which they are made, because they are made of either clay or ashes; and those of clay, which we also call "earthen," differ in shape and size. some are made in the shape of a moderately thick salver (scorifiers), three digits wide, and of a capacity of an _uncia_ measure; in these the ore mixed with fluxes is melted, and they are used by those who assay gold or silver ore. some are triangular and much thicker and more capacious, holding five, or six, or even more _unciae_; in these copper is melted, so that it can be poured out, expanded, and tested with fire, and in these copper ore is usually melted. the cupels are made of ashes; like the preceding scorifiers they are tray-shaped, and their lower part is very thick but their capacity is less. in these lead is separated from silver, and by them assays are concluded. inasmuch as the assayers themselves make the cupels, something must be said about the material from which they are made, and the method of making them. some make them out of all kinds of ordinary ashes; these are not good, because ashes of this kind contain a certain amount of fat, whereby such cupels are easily broken when they are hot. others make them likewise out of any kind of ashes which have been previously leached; of this kind are the ashes into which warm water has been infused for the purpose of making lye. these ashes, after being dried in the sun or a furnace, are sifted in a hair sieve; and although warm water washes away the fat from the ashes, still the cupels which are made from such ashes are not very good because they often contain charcoal dust, sand, and pebbles. some make them in the same way out of any kind of ashes, but first of all pour water into the ashes and remove the scum which floats thereon; then, after it has become clear, they pour away the water, and dry the ashes; they then sift them and make the cupels from them. these, indeed, are good, but not of the best quality, because ashes of this kind are also not devoid of small pebbles and sand. to enable cupels of the best quality to be made, all the impurities must be removed from the ashes. these impurities are of two kinds; the one sort light, to which class belong charcoal dust and fatty material and other things which float in water, the other sort heavy, such as small stones, fine sand, and any other materials which settle in the bottom of a vessel. therefore, first of all, water should be poured into the ashes and the light impurities removed; then the ashes should be kneaded with the hands, so that they will become properly mixed with the water. when the water has become muddy and turbid, it should be poured into a second vessel. in this way the small stones and fine sand, or any other heavy substance which may be there, remain in the first vessel, and should be thrown away. when all the ashes have settled in this second vessel, which will be shown if the water has become clear and does not taste of the flavour of lye, the water should be thrown away, and the ashes which have settled in the vessel should be dried in the sun or in a furnace. this material is suitable for the cupels, especially if it is the ash of beech wood or other wood which has a small annual growth; those ashes made from twigs and limbs of vines, which have rapid annual growth, are not so good, for the cupels made from them, since they are not sufficiently dry, frequently crack and break in the fire and absorb the metals. if ashes of beech or similar wood are not to be had, the assayer makes little balls of such ashes as he can get, after they have been cleared of impurities in the manner before described, and puts them in a baker's or potter's oven to burn, and from these the cupels are made, because the fire consumes whatever fat or damp there may be. as to all kinds of ashes, the older they are the better, for it is necessary that they should have the greatest possible dryness. for this reason ashes obtained from burned bones, especially from the bones of the heads of animals, are the most suitable for cupels, as are also those ashes obtained from the horns of deer and the spines of fishes. lastly, some take the ashes which are obtained from burnt scrapings of leather, when the tanners scrape the hides to clear them from hair. some prefer to use compounds, that one being recommended which has one and a half parts of ashes from the bones of animals or the spines of fishes, and one part of beech ashes, and half a part of ashes of burnt hide scrapings. from this mixture good cupels are made, though far better ones are obtained from equal portions of ashes of burnt hide scrapings, ashes of the bones of heads of sheep and calves, and ashes of deer horns. but the best of all are produced from deer horns alone, burnt to powder; this kind, by reason of its extreme dryness, absorbs metals least of all. assayers of our own day, however, generally make the cupels from beech ashes. these ashes, after being prepared in the manner just described, are first of all sprinkled with beer or water, to make them stick together, and are then ground in a small mortar. they are ground again after being mixed with the ashes obtained from the skulls of beasts or from the spines of fishes; the more the ashes are ground the better they are. some rub bricks and sprinkle the dust so obtained, after sifting it, into the beech ashes, for dust of this kind does not allow the hearth-lead to absorb the gold or silver by eating away the cupels. others, to guard against the same thing, moisten the cupels with white of egg after they have been made, and when they have been dried in the sun, again crush them; especially if they want to assay in it an ore of copper which contains iron. some moisten the ashes again and again with cow's milk, and dry them, and grind them in a small mortar, and then mould the cupels. in the works in which silver is separated from copper, they make cupels from two parts of the ashes of the crucible of the cupellation furnace, for these ashes are very dry, and from one part of bone-ash. cupels which have been made in these ways also need to be placed in the sun or in a furnace; afterward, in whatever way they have been made, they must be kept a long time in dry places, for the older they are, the dryer and better they are. [illustration (cupel moulds and pestles): a--little mould. b--inverted mould. c--pestle. d--its knob. e--second pestle.] not only potters, but also the assayers themselves, make scorifiers and triangular crucibles. they make them out of fatty clay, which is dry[ ], and neither hard nor soft. with this clay they mix the dust of old broken crucibles, or of burnt and worn bricks; then they knead with a pestle the clay thus mixed with dust, and then dry it. as to these crucibles, the older they are, the dryer and better they are. the moulds in which the cupels are moulded are of two kinds, that is, a smaller size and a larger size. in the smaller ones are made the cupels in which silver or gold is purged from the lead which has absorbed it; in the larger ones are made cupels in which silver is separated from copper and lead. both moulds are made out of brass and have no bottom, in order that the cupels can be taken out of them whole. the pestles also are of two kinds, smaller and larger, each likewise of brass, and from the lower end of them there projects a round knob, and this alone is pressed into the mould and makes the hollow part of the cupel. the part which is next to the knob corresponds to the upper part of the mould. so much for these matters. i will now speak of the preparation of the ore for assaying. it is prepared by roasting, burning, crushing, and washing. it is necessary to take a fixed weight of ore in order that one may determine how great a portion of it these preparations consume. the hard stone containing the metal is burned in order that, when its hardness has been overcome, it can be crushed and washed; indeed, the very hardest kind, before it is burned, is sprinkled with vinegar, in order that it may more rapidly soften in the fire. the soft stone should be broken with a hammer, crushed in a mortar and reduced to powder; then it should be washed and then dried again. if earth is mixed with the mineral, it is washed in a basin, and that which settles is assayed in the fire after it is dried. all mining products which are washed must again be dried. but ore which is rich in metal is neither burned nor crushed nor washed, but is roasted, lest that method of preparation should lose some of the metal. when the fires have been kindled, this kind of ore is roasted in an enclosed pot, which is stopped up with lute. a less valuable ore is even burned on a hearth, being placed upon the charcoal; for we do not make a great expenditure upon metals, if they are not worth it. however, i will go into fuller details as to all these methods of preparing ore, both a little later, and in the following book. for the present, i have decided to explain those things which mining people usually call fluxes[ ] because they are added to ores, not only for assaying, but also for smelting. great power is discovered in all these fluxes, but we do not see the same effects produced in every case; and some are of a very complicated nature. for when they have been mixed with the ore and are melted in either the assay or the smelting furnace, some of them, because they melt easily, to some extent melt the ore; others, because they either make the ore very hot or penetrate into it, greatly assist the fire in separating the impurities from the metals, and they also mix the fused part with the lead, or they partly protect from the fire the ore whose metal contents would be either consumed in the fire, or carried up with the fumes and fly out of the furnace; some fluxes absorb the metals. to the first order belongs lead, whether it be reduced to little granules or resolved into ash by fire, or red-lead[ ], or ochre made from lead[ ], or litharge, or hearth-lead, or galena; also copper, the same either roasted or in leaves or filings[ ]; also the slags of gold, silver, copper, and lead; also soda[ ], its slags, saltpetre, burned alum, vitriol, _sal tostus_, and melted salt[ ]; stones which easily melt in hot furnaces, the sand which is made from them[ ]; soft _tophus_[ ], and a certain white schist[ ]. but lead, its ashes, red-lead, ochre, and litharge, are more efficacious for ores which melt easily; hearth-lead for those which melt with difficulty; and galena for those which melt with greater difficulty. to the second order belong iron filings, their slag, _sal artificiosus_, argol, dried lees of vinegar[ ], and the lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver[ ]; these lees and _sal artificiosus_ have the power of penetrating into ore, the argol to a considerable degree, the lees of vinegar to a greater degree, but most of all those of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver; filings and slags of iron, since they melt more slowly, have the power of heating the ore. to the third order belong pyrites, the cakes which are melted from them, soda, its slags, salt, iron, iron scales, iron filings, iron slags, vitriol, the sand which is resolved from stones which easily melt in the fire, and _tophus_; but first of all are pyrites and the cakes which are melted from it, for they absorb the metals of the ore and guard them from the fire which consumes them. to the fourth order belong lead and copper, and their relations. and so with regard to fluxes, it is manifest that some are natural, others fall in the category of slags, and the rest are purged from slag. when we assay ores, we can without great expense add to them a small portion of any sort of flux, but when we smelt them we cannot add a large portion without great expense. we must, therefore, consider how great the cost is, to avoid incurring a greater expense on smelting an ore than the profit we make out of the metals which it yields. the colour of the fumes which the ore emits after being placed on a hot shovel or an iron plate, indicates what flux is needed in addition to the lead, for the purpose of either assaying or smelting. if the fumes have a purple tint, it is best of all, and the ore does not generally require any flux whatever. if the fumes are blue, there should be added cakes melted out of pyrites or other cupriferous rock; if yellow, litharge and sulphur should be added; if red, glass-galls[ ] and salt; if green, then cakes melted from cupriferous stones, litharge, and glass-galls; if the fumes are black, melted salt or iron slag, litharge and white lime rock. if they are white, sulphur and iron which is eaten with rust; if they are white with green patches, iron slag and sand obtained from stones which easily melt; if the middle part of the fumes are yellow and thick, but the outer parts green, the same sand and iron slag. the colour of the fumes not only gives us information as to the proper remedies which should be applied to each ore, but also more or less indication as to the solidified juices which are mixed with it, and which give forth such fumes. generally, blue fumes signify that the ore contains azure yellow, orpiment; red, realgar; green, chrysocolla; black, black bitumen; white, tin[ ]; white with green patches, the same mixed with chrysocolla; the middle part yellow and other parts green show that it contains sulphur. earth, however, and other things dug up which contain metals, sometimes emit similarly coloured fumes. if the ore contains any _stibium_, then iron slag is added to it; if pyrites, then are added cakes melted from a cupriferous stone and sand made from stones which easily melt. if the ore contains iron, then pyrites and sulphur are added; for just as iron slag is the flux for an ore mixed with sulphur, so on the contrary, to a gold or silver ore containing iron, from which they are not easily separated, is added sulphur and sand made from stones which easily melt. _sal artificiosus_[ ] suitable for use in assaying ore is made in many ways. by the first method, equal portions of argol, lees of vinegar, and urine, are all boiled down together till turned into salt. the second method is from equal portions of the ashes which wool-dyers use, of lime, of argol purified, and of melted salt; one _libra_ of each of these ingredients is thrown into twenty _librae_ of urine; then all are boiled down to one-third and strained, and afterward there is added to what remains one _libra_ and four _unciae_ of unmelted salt, eight pounds of lye being at the same time poured into the pots, with litharge smeared around on the inside, and the whole is boiled till the salt becomes thoroughly dry. the third method follows. unmelted salt, and iron which is eaten with rust, are put into a vessel, and after urine has been poured in, it is covered with a lid and put in a warm place for thirty days; then the iron is washed in the urine and taken out, and the residue is boiled until it is turned into salt. in the fourth method by which _sal artificiosus_ is prepared, the lye made from equal portions of lime and the ashes which wool-dyers use, together with equal portions of salt, soap, white argol, and saltpetre, are boiled until in the end the mixture evaporates and becomes salt. this salt is mixed with the concentrates from washing, to melt them. saltpetre is prepared in the following manner, in order that it may be suitable for use in assaying ore. it is placed in a pot which is smeared on the inside with litharge, and lye made of quicklime is repeatedly poured over it, and it is heated until the fire consumes it. wherefore the saltpetre does not kindle with the fire, since it has absorbed the lime which preserves it, and thus it is prepared[ ]. the following compositions[ ] are recommended to smelt all ores which the heat of fire breaks up or melts only with difficulty. of these, one is made from stones of the third order, which easily melt when thrown into hot furnaces. they are crushed into pure white powder, and with half an _uncia_ of this powder there are mixed two _unciae_ of yellow litharge, likewise crushed. this mixture is put into a scorifier large enough to hold it, and placed under the muffle of a hot furnace; when the charge flows like water, which occurs after half an hour, it is taken out of the furnace and poured on to a stone, and when it has hardened it has the appearance of glass, and this is likewise crushed. this powder is sprinkled over any metalliferous ore which does not easily melt when we are assaying it, and it causes the slag to exude. others, in place of litharge, substitute lead ash,[ ] which is made in the following way: sulphur is thrown into lead which has been melted in a crucible, and it soon becomes covered with a sort of scum; when this is removed, sulphur is again thrown in, and the skin which forms is again taken off; this is frequently repeated, in fact until all the lead is turned into powder. there is a powerful flux compound which is made from one _uncia_ each of prepared saltpetre, melted salt, glass-gall, and argol, and one-third of an _uncia_ of litharge and a _bes_ of glass ground to powder; this flux, being added to an equal weight of ore, liquefies it. a more powerful flux is made by placing together in a pot, smeared on the inside with litharge, equal portions of white argol, common salt, and prepared saltpetre, and these are heated until a white powder is obtained from them, and this is mixed with as much litharge; one part of this compound is mixed with two parts of the ore which is to be assayed. a still more powerful flux than this is made out of ashes of black lead, saltpetre, orpiment, _stibium_, and dried lees of the _aqua_ with which gold workers separate gold from silver. the ashes of lead[ ] are made from one pound of lead and one pound of sulphur; the lead is flattened out into sheets by pounding with a hammer, and placed alternately with sulphur in a crucible or pot, and they are heated together until the fire consumes the sulphur and the lead turns to ashes. one _libra_ of crushed saltpetre is mixed with one _libra_ of orpiment similarly ground to powder, and the two are cooked in an iron pan until they liquefy; they are then poured out, and after cooling are again ground to powder. a _libra_ of _stibium_ and a _bes_ of the dried lees (_of what?_) are placed alternately in a crucible and heated to the point at which they form a button, which is similarly reduced to powder. a _bes_ of this powder and one _libra_ of the ashes of lead, as well as a _libra_ of powder made out of the saltpetre and orpiment, are mixed together and a powder is made from them, one part of which added to two parts of ore liquefies it and cleanses it of dross. but the most powerful flux is one which has two _drachmae_ of sulphur and as much glass-galls, and half an _uncia_ of each of the following,--_stibium_, salt obtained from boiled urine, melted common salt, prepared saltpetre, litharge, vitriol, argol, salt obtained from ashes of musk ivy, dried lees of the _aqua_ by which gold-workers separate gold from silver, alum reduced by fire to powder, and one _uncia_ of camphor[ ] combined with sulphur and ground into powder. a half or whole portion of this mixture, as the necessity of the case requires, is mixed with one portion of the ore and two portions of lead, and put in a scorifier; it is sprinkled with powder of crushed venetian glass, and when the mixture has been heated for an hour and a half or two hours, a button will settle in the bottom of the scorifier, and from it the lead is soon separated. there is also a flux which separates sulphur, orpiment and realgar from metalliferous ore. this flux is composed of equal portions of iron slag, white _tophus_, and salt. after these juices have been secreted, the ores themselves are melted, with argol added to them. there is one flux which preserves _stibium_ from the fire, that the fire may not consume it, and which preserves the metals from the _stibium_; and this is composed of equal portions of sulphur, prepared saltpetre, melted salt, and vitriol, heated together in lye until no odour emanates from the sulphur, which occurs after a space of three or four hours.[ ] it is also worth while to substitute certain other mixtures. take two portions of ore properly prepared, one portion of iron filings, and likewise one portion of salt, and mix; then put them into a scorifier and place them in a muffle furnace; when they are reduced by the fire and run together, a button will settle in the bottom of the scorifier. or else take equal portions of ore and of lead ochre, and mix with them a small quantity of iron filings, and put them into a scorifier, then scatter iron filings over the mixture. or else take ore which has been ground to powder and sprinkle it in a crucible, and then sprinkle over it an equal quantity of salt that has been three or four times moistened with urine and dried; then, again and again alternately, powdered ore and salt; next, after the crucible has been covered with a lid and sealed, it is placed upon burning charcoal. or else take one portion of ore, one portion of minute lead granules, half a portion of venetian glass, and the same quantity of glass-galls. or else take one portion of ore, one portion of lead granules, half a portion of salt, one-fourth of a portion of argol, and the same quantity of lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver. or else take equal portions of prepared ore and a powder in which there are equal portions of very minute lead granules, melted salt, _stibium_ and iron slag. or else take equal portions of gold ore, vitriol, argol, and of salt. so much for the fluxes. in the assay furnace, when it has been prepared in the way in which i have described, is first placed a muffle. then selected pieces of live charcoals are laid on it, for, from pieces of inferior quality, a great quantity of ash collects around the muffle and hinders the action of the fire. then the scorifiers are placed under the muffle with tongs, and glowing coals are placed under the fore part of the muffle to warm the scorifiers more quickly; and when the lead or ore is to be placed in the scorifiers, they are taken out again with the tongs. when the scorifiers glow in the heat, first of all the ash or small charcoals, if any have fallen into them, should be blown away with an iron pipe two feet long and a digit in diameter; this same thing must be done if ash or small coal has fallen into the cupels. next, put in a small ball of lead with the tongs, and when this lead has begun to be turned into fumes and consumed, add to it the prepared ore wrapped in paper. it is preferable that the assayer should wrap it in paper, and in this way put it in the scorifier, than that he should drop it in with a copper ladle; for when the scorifiers are small, if he uses a ladle he frequently spills some part of the ore. when the paper is burnt, he stirs the ore with a small charcoal held in the tongs, so that the lead may absorb the metal which is mixed in the ore; when this mixture has taken place, the slag partly adheres by its circumference to the scorifier and makes a kind of black ring, and partly floats on the lead in which is mixed the gold or silver; then the slag must be removed from it. the lead used must be entirely free from every trace of silver, as is that which is known as _villacense_.[ ] but if this kind is not obtainable, the lead must be assayed separately, to determine with certainty that proportion of silver it contains, so that it may be deducted from the calculation of the ore, and the result be exact; for unless such lead be used, the assay will be false and misleading. the lead balls are made with a pair of iron tongs, about one foot long; its iron claws are so formed that when pressed together they are egg-shaped; each claw contains a hollow cup, and when the claws are closed there extends upward from the cup a passage, so there are two openings, one of which leads to each hollow cup. and so when the molten lead is poured in through the openings, it flows down into the hollow cup, and two balls are formed by one pouring. in this place i ought not to omit mention of another method of assaying employed by some assayers. they first of all place prepared ore in the scorifiers and heat it, and afterward they add the lead. of this method i cannot approve, for in this way the ore frequently becomes cemented, and for this reason it does not stir easily afterward, and is very slow in mixing with the lead. [illustration a (tongs): a--claws of the tongs. b--iron, giving form of an egg. c--opening.] if the whole space of the furnace covered by the muffle is not filled with scorifiers, cupels are put in the empty space, in order that they may become warmed in the meantime. sometimes, however, it is filled with scorifiers, when we are assaying many different ores, or many portions of one ore at the same time. although the cupels are usually dried in one hour, yet smaller ones are done more quickly, and the larger ones more slowly. unless the cupels are heated before the metal mixed with lead is placed in them, they frequently break, and the lead always sputters and sometimes leaps out of them; if the cupel is broken or the lead leaps out of it, it is necessary to assay another portion of ore; but if the lead only sputters, then the cupels should be covered with broad thin pieces of glowing charcoal, and when the lead strikes these, it falls back again, and thus the mixture is slowly exhaled. further, if in the cupellation the lead which is in the mixture is not consumed, but remains fixed and set, and is covered by a kind of skin, this is a sign that it has not been heated by a sufficiently hot fire; put into the mixture, therefore, a dry pine stick, or a twig of a similar tree, and hold it in the hand in order that it can be drawn away when it has been heated. then take care that the heat is sufficient and equal; if the heat has not passed all round the charge, as it should when everything is done rightly, but causes it to have a lengthened shape, so that it appears to have a tail, this is a sign that the heat is deficient where the tail lies. then in order that the cupel may be equally heated by the fire, turn it around with a small iron hook, whose handle is likewise made of iron and is a foot and a half long. [illustration b (hook): small iron hook.] next, if the mixture has not enough lead, add as much of it as is required with the iron tongs, or with the brass ladle to which is fastened a very long handle. in order that the charge may not be cooled, warm the lead beforehand. but it is better at first to add as much lead as is required to the ore which needs melting, rather than afterward when the melting has been half finished, that the whole quantity may not vanish in fumes, but part of it remain fast. when the heat of the fire has nearly consumed the lead, then is the time when the gold and silver gleam in their varied colours, and when all the lead has been consumed the gold or silver settles in the cupel. then as soon as possible remove the cupel out of the furnace, and take the button out of it while it is still warm, in order that it does not adhere to the ashes. this generally happens if the button is already cold when it is taken out. if the ashes do adhere to it, do not scrape it with a knife, lest some of it be lost and the assay be erroneous, but squeeze it with the iron tongs, so that the ashes drop off through the pressure. finally, it is of advantage to make two or three assays of the same ore at the same time, in order that if by chance one is not successful, the second, or in any event the third, may be certain. [illustration (shield for muffle furnace): a--handle of tablet. b--its crack.] while the assayer is assaying the ore, in order to prevent the great heat of the fire from injuring his eyes, it will be useful for him always to have ready a thin wooden tablet, two palms wide, with a handle by which it may be held, and with a slit down the middle in order that he may look through it as through a crack, since it is necessary for him to look frequently within and carefully to consider everything. now the lead which has absorbed the silver from a metallic ore is consumed in the cupel by the heat in the space of three quarters of an hour. when the assays are completed the muffle is taken out of the furnace, and the ashes removed with an iron shovel, not only from the brick and iron furnaces, but also from the earthen one, so that the furnace need not be removed from its foundation. from ore placed in the triangular crucible a button is melted out, from which metal is afterward made. first of all, glowing charcoal is put into the iron hoop, then is put in the triangular crucible, which contains the ore together with those things which can liquefy it and purge it of its dross; then the fire is blown with the double bellows, and the ore is heated until the button settles in the bottom of the crucible. we have explained that there are two methods of assaying ore,--one, by which the lead is mixed with ore in the scorifier and afterward again separated from it in the cupel; the other, by which it is first melted in the triangular earthen crucible and afterward mixed with lead in the scorifier, and later separated from it in the cupel. now let us consider which is more suitable for each ore, or, if neither is suitable, by what other method in one way or another we can assay it. we justly begin with a gold ore, which we assay by both methods, for if it is rich and seems not to be strongly resistant to fire, but to liquefy easily, one _centumpondium_ of it (known to us as the lesser weights),[ ] together with one and a half, or two _unciae_ of lead of the larger weights, are mixed together and placed in the scorifier, and the two are heated in the fire until they are well mixed. but since such an ore sometimes resists melting, add a little salt to it, either _sal torrefactus_ or _sal artificiosus_, for this will subdue it, and prevent the alloy from collecting much dross; stir it frequently with an iron rod, in order that the lead may flow around the gold on every side, and absorb it and cast out the waste. when this has been done, take out the alloy and cleanse it of slag; then place it in the cupel and heat it until it exhales all the lead, and a bead of gold settles in the bottom. if the gold ore is seen not to be easily melted in the fire, roast it and extinguish it with brine. do this again and again, for the more often you roast it and extinguish it, the more easily the ore can be crushed fine, and the more quickly does it melt in the fire and give up whatever dross it possesses. mix one part of this ore, when it has been roasted, crushed, and washed, with three parts of some powder compound which melts ore, and six parts of lead. put the charge into the triangular crucible, place it in the iron hoop to which the double bellows reaches, and heat first in a slow fire, and afterward gradually in a fiercer fire, till it melts and flows like water. if the ore does not melt, add to it a little more of these fluxes, mixed with an equal portion of yellow litharge, and stir it with a hot iron rod until it all melts. then take the crucible out of the hoop, shake off the button when it has cooled, and when it has been cleansed, melt first in the scorifier and afterward in the cupel. finally, rub the gold which has settled in the bottom of the cupel, after it has been taken out and cooled, on the touchstone, in order to find out what proportion of silver it contains. another method is to put a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) of gold ore into the triangular crucible, and add to it a _drachma_ (of the larger weights) of glass-galls. if it resists melting, add half a _drachma_ of roasted argol, and if even then it resists, add the same quantity of roasted lees of vinegar, or lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, and the button will settle in the bottom of the crucible. melt this button again in the scorifier and a third time in the cupel. we determine in the following way, before it is melted in the muffle furnace, whether pyrites contains gold in it or not: if, after being three times roasted and three times quenched in sharp vinegar, it has not broken nor changed its colour, there is gold in it. the vinegar by which it is quenched should be mixed with salt that is put in it, and frequently stirred and dissolved for three days. nor is pyrites devoid of gold, when, after being roasted and then rubbed on the touchstone, it colours the touchstone in the same way that it coloured it when rubbed in its crude state. nor is gold lacking in that, whose concentrates from washing, when heated in the fire, easily melt, giving forth little smell and remaining bright; such concentrates are heated in the fire in a hollowed piece of charcoal covered over with another charcoal. we also assay gold ore without fire, but more often its sand or the concentrates which have been made by washing, or the dust gathered up by some other means. a little of it is slightly moistened with water and heated until it begins to exhale an odour, and then to one portion of ore are placed two portions of quicksilver[ ] in a wooden dish as deep as a basin. they are mixed together with a little brine, and are then ground with a wooden pestle for the space of two hours, until the mixture becomes of the thickness of dough, and the quicksilver can no longer be distinguished from the concentrates made by the washing, nor the concentrates from the quicksilver. warm, or at least tepid, water is poured into the dish and the material is washed until the water runs out clear. afterward cold water is poured into the same dish, and soon the quicksilver, which has absorbed all the gold, runs together into a separate place away from the rest of the concentrates made by washing. the quicksilver is afterward separated from the gold by means of a pot covered with soft leather, or with canvas made of woven threads of cotton; the amalgam is poured into the middle of the cloth or leather, which sags about one hand's breadth; next, the leather is folded over and tied with a waxed string, and the dish catches the quicksilver which is squeezed through it. as for the gold which remains in the leather, it is placed in a scorifier and purified by being placed near glowing coals. others do not wash away the dirt with warm water, but with strong lye and vinegar, for they pour these liquids into the pot, and also throw into it the quicksilver mixed with the concentrates made by washing. then they set the pot in a warm place, and after twenty-four hours pour out the liquids with the dirt, and separate the quicksilver from the gold in the manner which i have described. then they pour urine into a jar set in the ground, and in the jar place a pot with holes in the bottom, and in the pot they place the gold; then the lid is put on and cemented, and it is joined with the jar; they afterward heat it till the pot glows red. after it has cooled, if there is copper in the gold they melt it with lead in a cupel, that the copper may be separated from it; but if there is silver in the gold they separate them by means of the _aqua_ which has the power of parting these two metals. there are some who, when they separate gold from quicksilver, do not pour the amalgam into a leather, but put it into a gourd-shaped earthen vessel, which they place in the furnace and heat gradually over burning charcoal; next, with an iron plate, they cover the opening of the operculum, which exudes vapour, and as soon as it has ceased to exude, they smear it with lute and heat it for a short time; then they remove the operculum from the pot, and wipe off the quicksilver which adheres to it with a hare's foot, and preserve it for future use. by the latter method, a greater quantity of quicksilver is lost, and by the former method, a smaller quantity. if an ore is rich in silver, as is _rudis_ silver[ ], frequently silver glance, or rarely ruby silver, gray silver, black silver, brown silver, or yellow silver, as soon as it is cleansed and heated, a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) of it is placed in an _uncia_ of molten lead in a cupel, and is heated until the lead exhales. but if the ore is of poor or moderate quality, it must first be dried, then crushed, and then to a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) an _uncia_ of lead is added, and it is heated in the scorifier until it melts. if it is not soon melted by the fire, it should be sprinkled with a little powder of the first order of fluxes, and if then it does not melt, more is added little by little until it melts and exudes its slag; that this result may be reached sooner, the powder which has been sprinkled over it should be stirred in with an iron rod. when the scorifier has been taken out of the assay furnace, the alloy should be poured into a hole in a baked brick; and when it has cooled and been cleansed of the slag, it should be placed in a cupel and heated until it exhales all its lead; the weight of silver which remains in the cupel indicates what proportion of silver is contained in the ore. we assay copper ore without lead, for if it is melted with it, the copper usually exhales and is lost. therefore, a certain weight of such an ore is first roasted in a hot fire for about six or eight hours; next, when it has cooled, it is crushed and washed; then the concentrates made by washing are again roasted, crushed, washed, dried, and weighed. the portion which it has lost whilst it is being roasted and washed is taken into account, and these concentrates by washing represent the cake which will be melted out of the copper ore. place three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) of this, mixed with three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) each of copper scales[ ], saltpetre, and venetian glass, mixed, into the triangular crucible, and place it in the iron hoop which is set on the hearth in front of the double bellows. cover the crucible with charcoal in such a way that nothing may fall into the ore which is to be melted, and so that it may melt more quickly. at first blow a gentle blast with the bellows in order that the ore may be heated gradually in the fire; then blow strongly till it melts, and the fire consumes that which has been added to it, and the ore itself exudes whatever slag it possesses. next, cool the crucible which has been taken out, and when this is broken you will find the copper; weigh this, in order to ascertain how great a portion of the ore the fire has consumed. some ore is only once roasted, crushed, and washed; and of this kind of concentrates, three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) are taken with one _centumpondium_ each of common salt, argol and glass-galls. heat them in the triangular crucible, and when the mixture has cooled a button of pure copper will be found, if the ore is rich in this metal. if, however, it is less rich, a stony lump results, with which the copper is intermixed; this lump is again roasted, crushed, and, after adding stones which easily melt and saltpetre, it is again melted in another crucible, and there settles in the bottom of the crucible a button of pure copper. if you wish to know what proportion of silver is in this copper button, melt it in a cupel after adding lead. with regard to this test i will speak later. those who wish to know quickly what portion of silver the copper ore contains, roast the ore, crush and wash it, then mix a little yellow litharge with one _centumpondium_ (lesser weights) of the concentrates, and put the mixture into a scorifier, which they place under the muffle in a hot furnace for the space of half an hour. when the slag exudes, by reason of the melting force which is in the litharge, they take the scorifier out; when it has cooled, they cleanse it of slag and again crush it, and with one _centumpondium_ of it they mix one and a half _unciae_ of lead granules. they then put it into another scorifier, which they place under the muffle in a hot furnace, adding to the mixture a little of the powder of some one of the fluxes which cause ore to melt; when it has melted they take it out, and after it has cooled, cleanse it of slag; lastly, they heat it in the cupel till it has exhaled all of the lead, and only silver remains. lead ore may be assayed by this method: crush half an _uncia_ of pure lead-stone and the same quantity of the _chrysocolla_ which they call borax, mix them together, place them in a crucible, and put a glowing coal in the middle of it. as soon as the borax crackles and the lead-stone melts, which soon occurs, remove the coal from the crucible, and the lead will settle to the bottom of it; weigh it out, and take account of that portion of it which the fire has consumed. if you also wish to know what portion of silver is contained in the lead, melt the lead in the cupel until all of it exhales. another way is to roast the lead ore, of whatsoever quality it be, wash it, and put into the crucible one _centumpondium_ of the concentrates, together with three _centumpondia_ of the powdered compound which melts ore, mixed together, and place it in the iron hoop that it may melt; when it has cooled, cleanse it of its slag, and complete the test as i have already said. another way is to take two _unciae_ of prepared ore, five _drachmae_ of roasted copper, one _uncia_ of glass, or glass-galls reduced to powder, a _semi-uncia_ of salt, and mix them. put the mixture into the triangular crucible, and heat it over a gentle fire to prevent it from breaking; when the mixture has melted, blow the fire vigorously with the bellows; then take the crucible off the live coals and let it cool in the open air; do not pour water on it, lest the lead button being acted upon by the excessive cold should become mixed with the slag, and the assay in this way be erroneous. when the crucible has cooled, you will find in the bottom of it the lead button. another way is to take two _unciae_ of ore, a _semi-uncia_ of litharge, two _drachmae_ of venetian glass and a _semi-uncia_ of saltpetre. if there is difficulty in melting the ore, add to it iron filings, which, since they increase the heat, easily separate the waste from lead and other metals. by the last way, lead ore properly prepared is placed in the crucible, and there is added to it only the sand made from stones which easily melt, or iron filings, and then the assay is completed as formerly. you can assay tin ore by the following method. first roast it, then crush, and afterward wash it; the concentrates are again roasted, crushed, and washed. mix one and a half _centumpondia_ of this with one _centumpondium_ of the _chrysocolla_ which they call borax; from the mixture, when it has been moistened with water, make a lump. afterwards, perforate a large round piece of charcoal, making this opening a palm deep, three digits wide on the upper side and narrower on the lower side; when the charcoal is put in its place the latter should be on the bottom and the former uppermost. let it be placed in a crucible, and let glowing coal be put round it on all sides; when the perforated piece of coal begins to burn, the lump is placed in the upper part of the opening, and it is covered with a wide piece of glowing coal, and after many pieces of coal have been put round it, a hot fire is blown up with the bellows, until all the tin has run out of the lower opening of the charcoal into the crucible. another way is to take a large piece of charcoal, hollow it out, and smear it with lute, that the ore may not leap out when white hot. next, make a small hole through the middle of it, then fill up the large opening with small charcoal, and put the ore upon this; put fire in the small hole and blow the fire with the nozzle of a hand bellows; place the piece of charcoal in a small crucible, smeared with lute, in which, when the melting is finished, you will find a button of tin. in assaying bismuth ore, place pieces of ore in the scorifier, and put it under the muffle in a hot furnace; as soon as they are heated, they drip with bismuth, which runs together into a button. quicksilver ore is usually tested by mixing one part of broken ore with three-parts of charcoal dust and a handful of salt. put the mixture into a crucible or a pot or a jar, cover it with a lid, seal it with lute, place it on glowing charcoal, and as soon as a burnt cinnabar colour shows in it, take out the vessel; for if you continue the heat too long the mixture exhales the quicksilver with the fumes. the quicksilver itself, when it has become cool, is found in the bottom of the crucible or other vessel. another way is to place broken ore in a gourd-shaped earthen vessel, put it in the assay furnace, and cover with an operculum which has a long spout; under the spout, put an ampulla to receive the quicksilver which distills. cold water should be poured into the ampulla, so that the quicksilver which has been heated by the fire may be continuously cooled and gathered together, for the quicksilver is borne over by the force of the fire, and flows down through the spout of the operculum into the ampulla. we also assay quicksilver ore in the very same way in which we smelt it. this i will explain in its proper place. lastly, we assay iron ore in the forge of a blacksmith. such ore is burned, crushed, washed, and dried; a magnet is laid over the concentrates, and the particles of iron are attracted to it; these are wiped off with a brush, and are caught in a crucible, the magnet being continually passed over the concentrates and the particles wiped off, so long as there remain any particles which the magnet can attract to it. these particles are heated in the crucible with saltpetre until they melt, and an iron button is melted out of them. if the magnet easily and quickly attracts the particles to it, we infer that the ore is rich in iron; if slowly, that it is poor; if it appears actually to repel the ore, then it contains little or no iron. this is enough for the assaying of ores. i will now speak of the assaying of the metal alloys. this is done both by coiners and merchants who buy and sell metal, and by miners, but most of all by the owners and mine masters, and by the owners and masters of the works in which the metals are smelted, or in which one metal is parted from another. first i will describe the way assays are usually made to ascertain what portion of precious metal is contained in base metal. gold and silver are now reckoned as precious metals and all the others as base metals. once upon a time the base metals were burned up, in order that the precious metals should be left pure; the ancients even discovered by such burning what portion of gold was contained in silver, and in this way all the silver was consumed, which was no small loss. however, the famous mathematician, archimedes[ ], to gratify king hiero, invented a method of testing the silver, which was not very rapid, and was more accurate for testing a large mass than a small one. this i will explain in my commentaries. the alchemists have shown us a way of separating silver from gold by which neither of them is lost[ ]. gold which contains silver,[ ] or silver which contains gold, is first rubbed on the touchstone. then a needle in which there is a similar amount of gold or silver is rubbed on the same touchstone, and from the lines which are produced in this way, is perceived what portion of silver there is in the gold, or what portion of gold there is in the silver. next there is added to the silver which is in the gold, enough silver to make it three times as much as the gold. then lead is placed in a cupel and melted; a little later, a small amount of copper is put in it, in fact, half an _uncia_ of it, or half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ (of the smaller weights) if the gold or silver does not contain any copper. the cupel, when the lead and copper are wanting, attracts the particles of gold and silver, and absorbs them. finally, one-third of a _libra_ of the gold, and one _libra_[ ] of the silver must be placed together in the same cupel and melted; for if the gold and silver were first placed in the cupel and melted, as i have already said, it absorbs particles of them, and the gold, when separated from the silver, will not be found pure. these metals are heated until the lead and the copper are consumed, and again, the same weight of each is melted in the same manner in another cupel. the buttons are pounded with a hammer and flattened out, and each little leaf is shaped in the form of a tube, and each is put into a small glass ampulla. over these there is poured one _uncia_ and one _drachma_ (of the large weight) of the third quality _aqua valens_, which i will describe in the tenth book. this is heated over a slow fire, and small bubbles, resembling pearls in shape, will be seen to adhere to the tubes. the redder the _aqua_ appears, the better it is judged to be; when the redness has vanished, small white bubbles are seen to be resting on the tubes, resembling pearls not only in shape, but also in colour. after a short time the _aqua_ is poured off and other is poured on; when this has again raised six or eight small white bubbles, it is poured off and the tubes are taken out and washed four or five times with spring water; or if they are heated with the same water, when it is boiling, they will shine more brilliantly. then they are placed in a saucer, which is held in the hand and gradually dried by the gentle heat of the fire; afterward the saucer is placed over glowing charcoal and covered with a charcoal, and a moderate blast is blown upon it with the mouth and then a blue flame will be emitted. in the end the tubes are weighed, and if their weights prove equal, he who has undertaken this work has not laboured in vain. lastly, both are placed in another balance-pan and weighed; of each tube four grains must not be counted, on account of the silver which remains in the gold and cannot be separated from it. from the weight of the tubes we learn the weight both of the gold and of the silver which is in the button. if some assayer has omitted to add so much silver to the gold as to make it three times the quantity, but only double, or two and a half times as much, he will require the stronger quality of _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, such as the fourth quality. whether the _aqua_ which he employs for gold and silver is suitable for the purpose, or whether it is more or less strong than is right, is recognised by its effect. that of medium strength raises the little bubbles on the tubes and is found to colour the ampulla and the operculum a strong red; the weaker one is found to colour them a light red, and the stronger one to break the tubes. to pure silver in which there is some portion of gold, nothing should be added when they are being heated in the cupel prior to their being parted, except a _bes_ of lead and one-fourth or one-third its amount of copper of the lesser weights. if the silver contains in itself a certain amount of copper, let it be weighed, both after it has been melted with the lead, and after the gold has been parted from it; by the former we learn how much copper is in it, by the latter how much gold. base metals are burnt up even to-day for the purpose of assay, because to lose so little of the metal is small loss, but from a large mass of base metal, the precious metal is always extracted, as i will explain in books x. and xi. we assay an alloy of copper and silver in the following way. from a few cakes of copper the assayer cuts out portions, small samples from small cakes, medium samples from medium cakes, and large samples from large cakes; the small ones are equal in size to half a hazel nut, the large ones do not exceed the size of half a chestnut, and those of medium size come between the two. he cuts out the samples from the middle of the bottom of each cake. he places the samples in a new, clean, triangular crucible and fixes to them pieces of paper upon which are written the weight of the cakes of copper, of whatever size they may be; for example, he writes, "these samples have been cut from copper which weighs twenty _centumpondia_." when he wishes to know how much silver one _centumpondium_ of copper of this kind has in it, first of all he throws glowing coals into the iron hoop, then adds charcoal to it. when the fire has become hot, the paper is taken out of the crucible and put aside, he then sets that crucible on the fire and gradually heats it for a quarter of an hour until it becomes red hot. then he stimulates the fire by blowing with a blast from the double bellows for half an hour, because copper which is devoid of lead requires this time to become hot and to melt; copper not devoid of lead melts quicker. when he has blown the bellows for about the space of time stated, he removes the glowing charcoal with the tongs, and stirs the copper with a splinter of wood, which he grasps with the tongs. if it does not stir easily, it is a sign that the copper is not wholly liquefied; if he finds this is the case, he again places a large piece of charcoal in the crucible, and replaces the glowing charcoal which had been removed, and again blows the bellows for a short time. when all the copper has melted he stops using the bellows, for if he were to continue to use them, the fire would consume part of the copper, and then that which remained would be richer than the cake from which it had been cut; this is no small mistake. therefore, as soon as the copper has become sufficiently liquefied, he pours it out into a little iron mould, which may be large or small, according as more or less copper is melted in the crucible for the purpose of the assay. the mould has a handle, likewise made of iron, by which it is held when the copper is poured in, after which, he plunges it into a tub of water placed near at hand, that the copper may be cooled. then he again dries the copper by the fire, and cuts off its point with an iron wedge; the portion nearest the point he hammers on an anvil and makes into a leaf, which he cuts into pieces. [illustration (copper mould for assaying): a--iron mould. b--its handle.] others stir the molten copper with a stick of linden tree charcoal, and then pour it over a bundle of new clean birch twigs, beneath which is placed a wooden tub of sufficient size and full of water, and in this manner the copper is broken up into little granules as small as hemp seeds. others employ straw in place of twigs. others place a broad stone in a tub and pour in enough water to cover the stone, then they run out the molten copper from the crucible on to the stone, from which the minute granules roll off; others pour the molten copper into water and stir it until it is resolved into granules. the fire does not easily melt the copper in the cupel unless it has been poured and a thin leaf made of it, or unless it has been resolved into granules or made into filings; and if it does not melt, all the labour has been undertaken in vain. in order that they may be accurately weighed out, silver and lead are resolved into granules in the same manner as copper. but to return to the assay of copper. when the copper has been prepared by these methods, if it is free of lead and iron, and rich in silver, to each _centumpondium_ (lesser weights) add one and a half _unciae_ of lead (larger weights). if, however, the copper contains some lead, add one _uncia_ of lead; if it contains iron, add two _unciae_. first put the lead into a cupel, and after it begins to smoke, add the copper; the fire generally consumes the copper, together with the lead, in about one hour and a quarter. when this is done, the silver will be found in the bottom of the cupel. the fire consumes both of those metals more quickly if they are heated in that furnace which draws in air. it is better to cover the upper half of it with a lid, and not only to put on the muffle door, but also to close the window of the muffle door with a piece of charcoal, or with a piece of brick. if the copper be such that the silver can only be separated from it with difficulty, then before it is tested with fire in the cupel, lead should first be put into the scorifier, and then the copper should be added with a moderate quantity of melted salt, both that the lead may absorb the copper and that the copper may be cleansed of the dross which abounds in it. tin which contains silver should not at the beginning of the assay be placed in a cupel, lest the silver, as often happens, be consumed and converted into fumes, together with the tin. as soon as the lead[ ] has begun to fume in the scorifier, then add that[ ] to it. in this way the lead will take the silver and the tin will boil and turn into ashes, which may be removed with a wooden splinter. the same thing occurs if any alloy is melted in which there is tin. when the lead has absorbed the silver which was in the tin, then, and not till then, it is heated in the cupel. first place the lead with which the silver is mixed, in an iron pan, and stand it on a hot furnace and let it melt; afterward pour this lead into a small iron mould, and then beat it out with a hammer on an anvil and make it into leaves in the same way as the copper. lastly, place it in the cupel, which assay can be carried out in the space of half an hour. a great heat is harmful to it, for which reason there is no necessity either to cover the half of the furnace with a lid or to close up its mouth. the minted metal alloys, which are known as money, are assayed in the following way. the smaller silver coins which have been picked out from the bottom and top and sides of a heap are first carefully cleansed; then, after they have been melted in the triangular crucible, they are either resolved into granules, or made into thin leaves. as for the large coins which weigh a _drachma_, a _sicilicus_, half an _uncia_, or an _uncia_, beat them into leaves. then take a _bes_ of the granules, or an equal weight of the leaves, and likewise take another _bes_ in the same way. wrap each sample separately in paper, and afterwards place two small pieces of lead in two cupels which have first been heated. the more precious the money is, the smaller portion of lead do we require for the assay, the more base, the larger is the portion required; for if a _bes_ of silver is said to contain only half an _uncia_ or one _uncia_ of copper, we add to the _bes_ of granules half an _uncia_ of lead. if it is composed of equal parts of silver and copper, we add an _uncia_ of lead, but if in a _bes_ of copper there is only half an _uncia_ or one _uncia_ of silver, we add an _uncia_ and a half of lead. as soon as the lead has begun to fume, put into each cupel one of the papers in which is wrapped the sample of silver alloyed with copper, and close the mouth of the muffle with charcoal. heat them with a gentle fire until all the lead and copper are consumed, for a hot fire by its heat forces the silver, combined with a certain portion of lead, into the cupel, in which way the assay is rendered erroneous. then take the beads out of the cupel and clean them of dross. if neither depresses the pan of the balance in which it is placed, but their weight is equal, the assay has been free from error; but if one bead depresses its pan, then there is an error, for which reason the assay must be repeated. if the _bes_ of coin contains but seven _unciae_ of pure silver it is because the king, or prince, or the state who coins the money, has taken one _uncia_, which he keeps partly for profit and partly for the expense of coining, he having added copper to the silver. of all these matters i have written extensively in my book _de precio metallorum et monetis_. we assay gold coins in various ways. if there is copper mixed with the gold, we melt them by fire in the same way as silver coins; if there is silver mixed with the gold, they are separated by the strongest _aqua valens_; if there is copper and silver mixed with the gold, then in the first place, after the addition of lead, they are heated in the cupel until the fire consumes the copper and the lead, and afterward the gold is parted from the silver. it remains to speak of the touchstone[ ] with which gold and silver are tested, and which was also used by the ancients. for although the assay made by fire is more certain, still, since we often have no furnace, nor muffle, nor crucibles, or some delay must be occasioned in using them, we can always rub gold or silver on the touchstone, which we can have in readiness. further, when gold coins are assayed in the fire, of what use are they afterward? a touchstone must be selected which is thoroughly black and free of sulphur, for the blacker it is and the more devoid of sulphur, the better it generally is; i have written elsewhere of its nature[ ]. first the gold is rubbed on the touchstone, whether it contains silver or whether it is obtained from the mines or from the smelting; silver also is rubbed in the same way. then one of the needles, that we judge by its colour to be of similar composition, is rubbed on the touchstone; if this proves too pale, another needle which has a stronger colour is rubbed on the touchstone; and if this proves too deep in colour, a third which has a little paler colour is used. for this will show us how great a proportion of silver or copper, or silver and copper together, is in the gold, or else how great a proportion of copper is in silver. these needles are of four kinds.[ ] the first kind are made of gold and silver, the second of gold and copper, the third of gold, silver, and copper, and the fourth of silver and copper. the first three kinds of needles are used principally for testing gold, and the fourth for silver. needles of this kind are prepared in the following ways. the lesser weights correspond proportionately to the larger weights, and both of them are used, not only by mining people, but by coiners also. the needles are made in accordance with the lesser weights, and each set corresponds to a _bes_, which, in our own vocabulary, is called a _mark_. the _bes_, which is employed by those who coin gold, is divided into twenty-four double _sextulae_, which are now called after the greek name _ceratia_; and each double _sextula_ is divided into four _semi-sextulae_, which are called _granas_; and each _semi-sextula_ is divided into three units of four _siliquae_ each, of which each unit is called a _grenlin_. if we made the needles to be each four _siliquae_, there would be two hundred and eighty-eight in a _bes_, but if each were made to be a _semi-sextula_ or a double _scripula_, then there would be ninety-six in a _bes_. by these two methods too many needles would be made, and the majority of them, by reason of the small difference in the proportion of the gold, would indicate nothing, therefore it is advisable to make them each of a double _sextula_; in this way twenty-four needles are made, of which the first is made of twenty-three _duellae_ of silver and one of gold. fannius is our authority that the ancients called the double _sextula_ a _duella_. when a bar of silver is rubbed on the touchstone and colours it just as this needle does, it contains one _duella_ of gold. in this manner we determine by the other needles what proportion of gold there is, or when the gold exceeds the silver in weight, what proportion of silver. [illustration (touch-needles)] the needles are made[ ]:-- the st needle of _duellae_ of silver and _duella_ of gold. " nd " " " _duellae_ of gold. " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " st " " " " " " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " pure gold by the first eleven needles, when they are rubbed on the touchstone, we test what proportion of gold a bar of silver contains, and with the remaining thirteen we test what proportion of silver is in a bar of gold; and also what proportion of either may be in money. since some gold coins are composed of gold and copper, thirteen needles of another kind are made as follows:-- the st of _duellae_ of gold and _duellae_ of copper. " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " pure gold. these needles are not much used, because gold coins of that kind are somewhat rare; the ones chiefly used are those in which there is much copper. needles of the third kind, which are composed of gold, silver, and copper, are more largely used, because such gold coins are common. but since with the gold there are mixed equal or unequal portions of silver and copper, two sorts of needles are made. if the proportion of silver and copper is equal, the needles are as follows:-- gold. silver. copper. the st of _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextula_ _duellae_ _sextula_ " nd " " " " " " " rd " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " th " pure gold. some make twenty-five needles, in order to be able to detect the two _scripula_ of silver or copper which are in a _bes_ of gold. of these needles, the first is composed of twelve _duellae_ of gold and six of silver, and the same number of copper. the second, of twelve _duellae_ and one _sextula_ of gold and five _duellae_ and one and a half _sextulae_ of silver, and the same number of _duellae_ and one and a half _sextulae_ of copper. the remaining needles are made in the same proportion. pliny is our authority that the romans could tell to within one _scripulum_ how much gold was in any given alloy, and how much silver or copper. needles may be made in either of two ways, namely, in the ways of which i have spoken, and in the ways of which i am now about to speak. if unequal portions of silver and copper have been mixed with the gold, thirty-seven needles are made in the following way:-- gold. silver. copper. _duellae_. _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextulae_ _sextulae_ _siliquae_. _siliquae_. the st of " nd " " rd " " th " / / " th " / " th " / " th " " th " / " th " - / " th " - / / " th " " th " / - / " th " " th " / " th " / " th " / - / " th " / " th " - / " th " " th " " st " " nd " - / / " rd " / " th " - / " th " " th " / " th " / " th " / - / " th " " th " - / / " st " " nd " / " rd " - / " th " - / / " th " / " th " / " th " pure gold. since it is rarely found that gold, which has been coined, does not amount to at least fifteen _duellae_ gold in a _bes_, some make only twenty-eight needles, and some make them different from those already described, inasmuch as the alloy of gold with silver and copper is sometimes differently proportioned. these needles are made:-- gold. silver. copper. _duellae_. _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextulae_ _sextulae_ _siliquae_. _siliquae_. the st of / " nd " - / " rd " / - / " th " / - / " th " / " th " - / " th " / " th " - / " th " / " th " " th " " th " " th " - / " th " / " th " - / " th " " th " " th " " th " / " th " - / " st " / " nd " / " rd " " th " / " th " - / " th " - / / " th " / " th " pure gold next follows the fourth kind of needles, by which we test silver coins which contain copper, or copper coins which contain silver. the _bes_ by which we weigh the silver is divided in two different ways. it is either divided twelve times, into units of five _drachmae_ and one _scripulum_ each, which the ordinary people call _nummi_[ ]; each of these units we again divide into twenty-four units of four _siliquae_ each, which the same ordinary people call a _grenlin_; or else the _bes_ is divided into sixteen _semunciae_ which are called _loths_, each of which is again divided into eighteen units of four _siliquae_ each, which they call _grenlin_. or else the _bes_ is divided into sixteen _semunciae_, of which each is divided into four _drachmae_, and each _drachma_ into four _pfennige_. needles are made in accordance with each method of dividing the _bes_. according to the first method, to the number of twenty-four half _nummi_; according to the second method, to the number of thirty-one half _semunciae_, that is to say a _sicilicus_; for if the needles were made to the number of the smaller weights, the number of needles would again be too large, and not a few of them, by reason of the small difference in proportion of silver or copper, would have no significance. we test both bars and coined money composed of silver and copper by both scales. the one is as follows: the first needle is made of twenty-three parts of copper and one part silver; whereby, whatsoever bar or coin, when rubbed on the touchstone, colours it just as this needle does, in that bar or money there is one twenty-fourth part of silver, and so also, in accordance with the proportion of silver, is known the remaining proportion of the copper. the st needle is made of parts of copper and of silver. " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " st " " " " " " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th of pure silver. the other method of making needles is as follows:-- copper. silver. _semunciae_ _sicilici._ _semunciae_ _sicilici._ the st is of " nd " " " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " st " " " nd " " " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " st of pure silver. so much for this. perhaps i have used more words than those most highly skilled in the art may require, but it is necessary for the understanding of these matters. i will now speak of the weights, of which i have frequently made mention. among mining people these are of two kinds, that is, the greater weights and the lesser weights. the _centumpondium_ is the first and largest weight, and of course consists of one hundred _librae_, and for that reason is called a hundred weight. the various weights are:-- st = _librae_ = _centumpondium_. nd = " rd = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = _libra_. this _libra_ consists of sixteen _unciae_, and the half part of the _libra_ is the _selibra_, which our people call a _mark_, and consists of eight _unciae_, or, as they divide it, of sixteen _semunciae_:-- th = _unciae_. th = _semunciae_. th = " th = " th = _semuncia_. th = _sicilicus_. th = _drachma_. th = _dimidi-drachma_. [illustration (weights for assay balances)] the above is how the "greater" weights are divided. the "lesser" weights are made of silver or brass or copper. of these, the first and largest generally weighs one _drachma_, for it is necessary for us to weigh, not only ore, but also metals to be assayed, and smaller quantities of lead. the first of these weights is called a _centumpondium_ and the number of _librae_ in it corresponds to the larger scale, being likewise one hundred[ ]. the st is called _centumpondium_. " nd " _librae_. " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " _selibra_. " th " _semunciae_. " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " _sicilicus_. the fourteenth is the last, for the proportionate weights which correspond with a _drachma_ and half a _drachma_ are not used. on all these weights of the lesser scale, are written the numbers of _librae_ and of _semunciae_. some copper assayers divide both the lesser and greater scale weights into divisions of a different scale. their largest weight of the greater scale weighs one hundred and twelve _librae_, which is the first unit of measurement. st = _librae_. nd = " rd = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = _selibra_ or sixteen _semunciae_. th = _semunciae_. th = " th = " th = " as for the _selibra_ of the lesser weights, which our people, as i have often said, call a _mark_, and the romans call a _bes_, coiners who coin gold, divide it just like the greater weights scale, into twenty-four units of two _sextulae_ each, and each unit of two _sextulae_ is divided into four _semi-sextulae_ and each _semi-sextula_ into three units of four _siliquae_ each. some also divide the separate units of four _siliquae_ into four individual _siliquae_, but most, omitting the _semi-sextulae_, then divide the double _sextula_ into twelve units of four _siliquae_ each, and do not divide these into four individual _siliquae_. thus the first and greatest unit of measurement, which is the _bes_, weighs twenty-four double _sextulae_. the nd = double _sextulae_. " rd = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = _semi-sextulae_ or four _semi-sextulae_. " th = _semi-sextula_ or units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of four _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " coiners who mint silver also divide the _bes_ of the lesser weights in the same way as the greater weights; our people, indeed, divide it into sixteen _semunciae_, and the _semuncia_ into eighteen units of four _siliquae_ each. there are ten weights which are placed in the other pan of the balance, when they weigh the silver which remains from the copper that has been consumed, when they assay the alloy with fire. the st = _semunciae_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " or units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " the coiners of nuremberg who mint silver, divide the _bes_ into sixteen _semunciae_, but divide the _semuncia_ into four _drachmae_, and the _drachma_ into four _pfennige_. they employ nine weights. the st = _semunciae_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " for they divide the _bes_ in the same way as our own people, but since they divide the _semuncia_ into four _drachmae_, the th weight = _drachmae_. " th " = _drachma_ or _pfennige_. " th " = _pfennige_. " th " = _pfennig_. the men of cologne and antwerp[ ] divide the _bes_ into twelve units of five _drachmae_ and one _scripulum_, which weights they call _nummi_. each of these they again divide into twenty-four units of four _siliquae_ each, which they call _grenlins_. they have ten weights, of which the st = _nummi_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " and so with them, just as with our own people, the _mark_ is divided into two hundred and eighty-eight _grenlins_, and by the people of nuremberg it is divided into two hundred and fifty-six _pfennige_. lastly, the venetians divide the _bes_ into eight _unciae_. the _uncia_ into four _sicilici_, the _sicilicus_ into thirty-six _siliquae_. they make twelve weights, which they use whenever they wish to assay alloys of silver and copper. of these the st = _unciae_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " or _sicilici_. " th = _sicilici_. " th = _sicilicus_. " th = _siliquae_. " th = " " th = " " th = " " th = " " th = " since the venetians divide the _bes_ into eleven hundred and fifty-two _siliquae_, or two hundred and eighty-eight units of _siliquae_ each, into which number our people also divide the _bes_, they thus make the same number of _siliquae_, and both agree, even though the venetians divide the _bes_ into smaller divisions. this, then, is the system of weights, both of the greater and the lesser kinds, which metallurgists employ, and likewise the system of the lesser weights which coiners and merchants employ, when they are assaying metals and coined money. the _bes_ of the larger weight with which they provide themselves when they weigh large masses of these things, i have explained in my work _de mensuris et ponderibus_, and in another book, _de precio metallorum et monetis_. [illustration (balances): a--first small balance. b--second. c--third, placed in a case.] there are three small balances by which we weigh ore, metals, and fluxes. the first, by which we weigh lead and fluxes, is the largest among these smaller balances, and when eight _unciae_ (of the greater weights) are placed in one of its pans, and the same number in the other, it sustains no damage. the second is more delicate, and by this we weigh the ore or the metal, which is to be assayed; this is well able to carry one _centumpondium_ of the lesser weights in one pan, and in the other, ore or metal as heavy as that weight. the third is the most delicate, and by this we weigh the beads of gold or silver, which, when the assay is completed, settle in the bottom of the cupel. but if anyone weighs lead in the second balance, or an ore in the third, he will do them much injury. whatsoever small amount of metal is obtained from a _centumpondium_ of the lesser weights of ore or metal alloy, the same greater weight of metal is smelted from a _centumpondium_ of the greater weight of ore or metal alloy. end of book vii. footnotes: [ ] we have but little record of anything which could be called "assaying" among the greeks and romans. the fact, however, that they made constant use of the touchstone (see note , p. ) is sufficient proof that they were able to test the purity of gold and silver. the description of the touchstone by theophrastus contains several references to "trial" by fire (see note , p. ). they were adepts at metal working, and were therefore familiar with melting metals on a small scale, with the smelting of silver, lead, copper, and tin ores (see note , p. ) and with the parting of silver and lead by cupellation. consequently, it would not require much of an imaginative flight to conclude that there existed some system of tests of ore and metal values by fire. apart from the statement of theophrastus referred to, the first references made to anything which might fill the _rôle_ of assaying are from the alchemists, particularly geber (prior to ), for they describe methods of solution, precipitation, distillation, fusing in crucibles, cupellation, and of the parting of gold and silver by acid and by sulphur, antimony, or cementation. however, they were not bent on determining quantitative values, which is the fundamental object of the assayer's art, and all their discussion is shrouded in an obscure cloak of gibberish and attempted mysticism. nevertheless, therein lies the foundation of many cardinal assay methods, and even of chemistry itself. the first explicit records of assaying are the anonymous booklets published in german early in the th century under the title _probierbüchlein_. therein the art is disclosed well advanced toward maturity, so far as concerns gold and silver, with some notes on lead and copper. we refer the reader to appendix b for fuller discussion of these books, but we may repeat here that they are a collection of disconnected recipes lacking in arrangement, the items often repeated, and all apparently the inheritance of wisdom passed from father to son over many generations. it is obviously intended as a sort of reminder to those already skilled in the art, and would be hopeless to a novice. apart from some notes in biringuccio (book iii, chaps. and ) on assaying gold and silver, there is nothing else prior to _de re metallica_. agricola was familiar with these works and includes their material in this chapter. the very great advance which his account represents can only be appreciated by comparison, but the exhaustive publication of other works is foreign to the purpose of these notes. agricola introduces system into the arrangement of his materials, describes implements, and gives a hundred details which are wholly omitted from the previous works, all in a manner which would enable a beginner to learn the art. furthermore, the assaying of lead, copper, tin, quicksilver, iron, and bismuth, is almost wholly new, together with the whole of the argument and explanations. we would call the attention of students of the history of chemistry to the general oversight of these early th century attempts at analytical chemistry, for in them lie the foundations of that science. the statement sometimes made that agricola was the first assayer, is false if for no other reason than that science does not develop with such strides at any one human hand. he can, however, fairly be accounted as the author of the first proper text-book upon assaying. those familiar with the art will be astonished at the small progress made since his time, for in his pages appear most of the reagents and most of the critical operations in the dry analyses of gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, bismuth, quicksilver, and iron of to-day. further, there will be recognised many of the "kinks" of the art used even yet, such as the method of granulation, duplicate assays, the "assay ton" method of weights, the use of test lead, the introduction of charges in leaf lead, and even the use of beer instead of water to damp bone-ash. the following table is given of the substances mentioned requiring some comment, and the terms adopted in this book, with notes for convenience in reference. the german terms are either from agricola's glossary of _de re metallica_, his _interpretatio_, or the german translation. we have retained the original german spelling. the fifth column refers to the page where more ample notes are given:-- terms latin. german. remarks. further adopted. notes. alum _alumen_ _alaun_ either potassium p. or ammonia alum ampulla _ampulla_ _kolb_ a distillation jar antimony _stibium_ _spiesglas_ practically always p. antimony sulphide _aqua valens_ _aqua valens_ _scheidewasser_ mostly nitric acid p. or _aqua_ argol _feces vini _die crude tartar p. siccae_ weinheffen_ ash of lead _nigrum artificial lead p. plumbum sulphide cinereum_ ash of musk ivy _sal ex _salalkali_ mostly potash p. (salt made anthyllidis from) cinere factus_ ashes which _cineres quo mostly potash p. wool-dyers use infectores lanarum utuntur_ assay _venas experiri_ _probiren_ assay furnace _fornacula_ _probir ofen_ "little" furnace azure _caeruleum_ _lasur_ partly copper p. carbonate (azurite) partly silicate bismuth _plumbum _wismut_ _bismuth_ p. cinereum_ bitumen _bitumen_ _bergwachs_ p. blast furnace _prima fornax_ _schmeltzofen_ borax _chrysocolla ex _borras; tincar_ p. nitro confecta; chrysocolla quam boracem nominant_ burned alum _alumen coctum_ _gesottener probably p. alaun_ dehydrated alum _cadmia_ ( ) furnace p. (see note accretions ( ) , p. ) calamine ( ) zinc blende ( ) cobalt arsenical sulphides camphor _camphora_ _campffer_ p. chrysocolla called borax (see borax) chrysocolla _chrysocolla_ _berggrün und partly p. (copper schifergrün_ chrysocolla, mineral) partly malachite copper filings _aeris scobs _kupferfeilich_ apparently finely p. elimata_ divided copper metal copper flowers _aeris flos_ _kupferbraun_ cupric oxide p. copper scales _aeris squamae_ _kupfer probably cupric hammerschlag oxide oder kessel braun_ copper minerals (see note , p. ) crucible _catillus _dreieckicht- see illustration p. (triangular) triangularis_ schirbe_ cupel _catillus _capelle_ cinereus_ cupellation _secunda _treibherd_ furnace fornax_ flux _additamentum_ _zusetze_ p. furnace _cadmia _mitlere und accretions fornacum_ obere offenbrüche_ galena _lapis _glantz_ lead sulphide p. plumbarius_ glass-gall _recrementum _glassgallen_ skimmings from p. vitri_ glass melting grey antimony or _stibi_ or _spiesglas_ antimony sulphide, p. stibium _stibium_ stibnite hearth-lead _molybdaena_ _herdplei_ the saturated p. furnace bottoms from cupellation hoop (iron) _circulus _ring_ a forge for p. ferreus_ crucibles iron filings _ferri scobs _eisen feilich_ metallic iron elimata_ iron scales _squamae ferri_ _eisen partly iron oxide hammerschlag_ iron slag _recrementum _sinder_ ferri_ lead ash _cinis plumbi _pleiasche_ artificial lead p. nigri_ sulphide lead granules _globuli _gekornt plei_ granulated lead plumbei_ lead ochre _ochra _pleigeel_ modern massicot p. plumbaria_ (pbo) lees of _aqua_ _feces aquarum _scheidewasser uncertain p. which separates quae aurum ab heffe_ gold from argento silver secernunt_ dried lees of _siccae feces _heffe des argol p. vinegar aceti_ essigs_ dried lees of _feces vini _wein heffen_ argol p. wine siccae_ limestone _saxum calcis_ _kalchstein_ litharge _spuma argenti_ _glette_ lye _lixivium_ _lauge durch mostly potash p. asschen gemacht_ muffle _tegula_ _muffel_ latin, literally "roof-tile" operculum _operculum_ _helm oder helmet or cover alembick_ for a distillation jar orpiment _auripigmentum_ _operment_ yellow sulphide p. of arsenic (as_{ }s_{ }) pyrites _pyrites_ _kis_ rather a genus p. of sulphides, than iron pyrite in particular pyrites (cakes _panes ex _stein_ iron or copper p. from) pyrite matte conflati_ realgar _sandaraca_ _rosgeel_ red sulphide of p. arsenic (ass) red lead _minium_ _menning_ pb_{ }o_{ } p. roasted copper _aes ustum_ _gebrandt artificial p. kupffer_ copper sulphide (?) salt _sal_ _saltz_ nacl p. salt (rock) _sal fossilis_ _berg saltz_ nacl p. _sal _sal a stock flux? p. artificiosus_ artificiosus_ sal ammoniac _sal _salarmoniac_ nh_{ }cl p. ammoniacus_ saltpetre _halinitrum_ _salpeter_ kno_{ } p. salt (refined) _sal facticius nacl purgatus_ _sal tostus_ _sal tostus_ _geröst saltz_ apparently p. simply heated or melted common salt _sal _sal _geröst saltz_ p. torrefactus_ torrefactus_ salt (melted) _sal _geflossen melted salt or p. liquefactus_ saltz_ salt glass scorifier _catillus _scherbe_ fictilis_ schist _saxum fissile_ _schifer_ silver minerals (see note , p. ) slag _recrementum_ _schlacken_ soda _nitrum_ mostly soda from p. egypt, na_{ }co_{ } stones which _lapides qui _flüs_ quartz and p. easily melt facile igni fluorspar liquescunt_ sulphur _sulfur_ _schwefel_ p. _tophus_ _tophus_ _topstein_ marl(?) p. touchstone _coticula_ _goldstein_ venetian glass _venetianum vitrum_ verdigris _aerugo _grünspan_ copper p. oder sub-acetate spanschgrün_ vitriol _atramentum _kupferwasser_ mostly feso_{ } p. sutorium_ white schist _saxum fissile _weisser p. album_ schifer_ weights (see appendix). [ ] _crudorum_,--unbaked? [ ] this reference is not very clear. apparently the names refer to the german terms _probier ofen_ and _windt ofen_. [ ] _circulus_. this term does not offer a very satisfactory equivalent, as such a furnace has no distinctive name in english. it is obviously a sort of forge for fusing in crucibles. [ ] _spissa_,--"dry." this term is used in contra-distinction to _pingue_, unctuous or "fatty." [ ] _additamenta_,--"additions." hence the play on words. we have adopted "flux" because the old english equivalent for all these materials was "flux," although in modern nomenclature the term is generally restricted to those substances which, by chemical combination in the furnace, lower the melting point of some of the charge. the "additions" of agricola, therefore, include reducing, oxidizing, sulphurizing, desulphurizing, and collecting agents as well as fluxes. a critical examination of the fluxes mentioned in the next four pages gives point to the author's assertion that "some are of a very complicated nature." however, anyone of experience with home-taught assayers has come in contact with equally extraordinary combinations. the four orders of "additions" enumerated are quite impossible to reconcile from a modern metallurgical point of view. [ ] _minium secundarium_. (_interpretatio_,--_menning_. pb_{ }o_{ }). agricola derived his latin term from pliny. there is great confusion in the ancient writers on the use of the word _minium_, for prior to the middle ages it was usually applied to vermilion derived from cinnabar. vermilion was much adulterated with red-lead, even in roman times, and finally in later centuries the name came to be appropriated to the lead product. theophrastus ( ) mentions a substitute for vermilion, but, in spite of commentators, there is no evidence that it was red-lead. the first to describe the manufacture of real red-lead was apparently vitruvius (vii, ), who calls it _sandaraca_ (this name was usually applied to red arsenical sulphide), and says: "white-lead is heated in a furnace and by the force of the fire becomes red lead. this invention was the result of observation in the case of an accidental fire, and by the process a much better material is obtained than from the mines." he describes _minium_ as the product from cinnabar. dioscorides (v, ), after discussing white-lead, says it may be burned until it becomes the colour of _sandaracha_, and is called _sandyx_. he also states (v, ) that those are deceived who consider cinnabar to be the same as _minium_, for _minium_ is made in spain out of stone mixed with silver sands. therefore he is not in agreement with vitruvius and pliny on the use of the term. pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "these barren stones (apparently lead ores barren of silver) may be recognised by their colour; it is only in the furnace that they turn red. after being roasted it is pulverized and is _minium secundarium_. it is known to few and is very inferior to the natural kind made from those sands we have mentioned (_cinnabar_). it is with this that the genuine _minium_ is adulterated in the works of the company." this proprietary company who held a monopoly of the spanish quicksilver mines, "had many methods of adulterating it (_minium_)--a source of great plunder to the company." pliny also describes the making of red lead from white. [ ] _ochra plumbaria_. (_interpretatio_,--_pleigeel_; modern german,--_bleigelb_). the german term indicates that this "lead ochre," a form of pbo, is what in the english trade is known as _massicot_, or _masticot_. this material can be a partial product from almost any cupellation where oxidation takes place below the melting point of the oxide. it may have been known to the ancients among the various species into which they divided litharge, but there is no valid reason for assigning to it any special one of their terms, so far as we can see. [ ] there are four forms of copper named as re-agents by agricola: copper filings _aeris scobs elimata._ copper scales _aeris squamae._ copper flowers _aeris flos._ roasted copper _aes ustum._ the first of these was no doubt finely divided copper metal; the second, third, and fourth were probably all cupric oxide. according to agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ), the scales were the result of hammering the metal; the flowers came off the metal when hot bars were quenched in water, and a third kind were obtained from calcining the metal. "both flowers (_flos_) and hammer-scales (_squama_) have the same properties as _crematum_ copper.... the particles of flower copper are finer than scales or _crematum_ copper." if we assume that the verb _uro_ used in _de re metallica_ is of the same import as _cremo_ in the _de natura fossilium_, we can accept this material as being merely cupric oxide, but the _aes ustum_ of pliny--agricola's usual source of technical nomenclature--is probably an artificial sulphide. dioscorides (v, ), who is apparently the source of pliny's information, says:--"of _chalcos cecaumenos_, the best is red, and pulverized resembles the colour of cinnabar; if it turns black, it is over-burnt. it is made from broken ship nails put into a rough earthen pot, with alternate layers of equal parts of sulphur and salt. the opening should be smeared with potter's clay and the pot put in the furnace until it is thoroughly heated," etc. pliny (xxxiv, ) states: "moreover cyprian copper is roasted in crude earthen pots with an equal amount of sulphur; the apertures of the pots are well luted, and they are kept in the furnace until the pot is thoroughly heated. some add salt, others use _alumen_ instead of sulphur, others add nothing, but only sprinkle it with vinegar." [ ] the reader is referred to note , p. , for more ample discussion of the alkalis. agricola gives in this chapter four substances of that character: soda (_nitrum_). lye. "ashes which wool-dyers use." "salt made from the ashes of musk ivy." the last three are certainly potash, probably impure. while the first might be either potash or soda, the fact that the last three are mentioned separately, together with other evidence, convinces us that by the first is intended the _nitrum_ so generally imported into europe from egypt during the middle ages. this imported salt was certainly the natural bicarbonate, and we have, therefore, used the term "soda." [ ] in this chapter are mentioned seven kinds of common salt: salt _sal._ rock salt _sal fossilis._ "made" salt _sal facticius._ refined salt _sal purgatius._ melted salt _sal liquefactus._ and in addition _sal tostus_ and _sal torrefactus_. _sal facticius_ is used in distinction from rock-salt. the melted salt would apparently be salt-glass. what form the _sal tostus_ and _sal torrefactus_ could have we cannot say, however, but they were possibly some form of heated salt; they may have been combinations after the order of _sal artificiosus_ (see p. ). [ ] "stones which easily melt in hot furnaces and sand which is made from them" (_lapides qui in ardentibus fornacibus facile liquescunt arenae ab eis resolutae_). these were probably quartz in this instance, although fluorspar is also included in this same genus. for fuller discussion see note on p. . [ ] _tophus_. (_interpretatio_, _toffstein oder topstein_). according to dana (syst. of min., p. ), the german _topfstein_ was english potstone or soapstone, a magnesian silicate. it is scarcely possible, however, that this is what agricola meant by this term, for such a substance would be highly infusible. agricola has a good deal to say about this mineral in _de natura fossilium_ (p. and ), and from these descriptions it would seem to be a tufaceous limestone of various sorts, embracing some marls, stalagmites, calcareous sinter, etc. he states: "generally fire does not melt it, but makes it harder and breaks it into powder. tophus is said to be a stone found in caverns, made from the dripping of stone juice solidified by cold ... sometimes it is found containing many shells, and likewise the impressions of alder leaves; our people make lime by burning it." pliny, upon whom agricola depends largely for his nomenclature, mentions such a substance (xxxvi, ): "among the multitude of stones there is _tophus_. it is unsuitable for buildings, because it is perishable and soft. still, however, there are some places which have no other, as carthage, in africa. it is eaten away by the emanations from the sea, crumbled to dust by the wind, and washed away by the rain." in fact, _tophus_ was a wide genus among the older mineralogists, wallerius (_meditationes physico-chemicae de origine mundi_, stockholm, , p. ), for instance, gives varieties. for the purposes for which it is used we believe it was always limestone of some form. [ ] _saxum fissile album._ (_the interpretatio_ gives the german as _schifer_). agricola mentions it in _bermannus_ ( ), in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), but nothing definite can be derived from these references. it appears to us from its use to have been either a quartzite or a fissile limestone. [ ] argol (_feces vini siccae_,--"dried lees of wine." germ. trans. gives _die wein heffen_, although the usual german term of the period was _weinstein_). the lees of wine were the crude tartar or argols of commerce and modern assayers. the argols of white wine are white, while they are red from red wine. the white argol which agricola so often specifies would have no special excellence, unless it may be that it is less easily adulterated. agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ) uses the expression "_fex vini sicca_ called _tartarum_"--one of the earliest appearances of the latter term in this connection. the use of argol is very old, for dioscorides ( st century a.d.) not only describes argol, but also its reduction to impure potash. he says (v, ): "the lees (_tryx_) are to be selected from old italian wine; if not, from other similar wine. lees of vinegar are much stronger. they are carefully dried and then burnt. there are some who burn them in a new earthen pot on a large fire until they are thoroughly incinerated. others place a quantity of the lees on live coals and pursue the same method. the test as to whether it is completely burned, is that it becomes white or blue, and seems to burn the tongue when touched. the method of burning lees of vinegar is the same.... it should be used fresh, as it quickly grows stale; it should be placed in a vessel in a secluded place." pliny (xxiii, ) says: "following these, come the lees of these various liquids. the lees of wine (_vini faecibus_) are so powerful as to be fatal to persons on descending into the vats. the test for this is to let down a lamp, which, if extinguished, indicates the peril.... their virtues are greatly increased by the action of fire." matthioli, commenting on this passage from dioscorides in , makes the following remark (p. ): "the precipitate of the wine which settles in the casks of the winery forms stone-like crusts, and is called by the works-people by the name _tartarum_." it will be seen above that these lees were rendered stronger by the action of fire, in which case the tartar was reduced to potassium carbonate. the _weinstein_ of the old german metallurgists was often the material lixiviated from the incinerated tartar. dried lees of vinegar (_siccae feces aceti_; _interpretatio_, _die heffe des essigs_). this would also be crude tartar. pliny (xxiii, ) says: "the lees of vinegar (_faex aceti_); owing to the more acrid material are more aggravating in their effects.... when combined with _melanthium_ it heals the bites of dogs and crocodiles." [ ] dried lees of _aqua_ which separates gold and silver. (_siccae feces aquarum quae aurum ab argento secernunt_. german translation, _der scheidwasser heffe_). there is no pointed description in agricola's works, or in any other that we can find, as to what this material was. the "separating _aqua_" was undoubtedly nitric acid (see p. , book x). there are two precipitates possible, both referred to as _feces_,--the first, a precipitate of silver chloride from clarifying the _aqua valens_, and the second, the residues left in making the acid by distillation. it is difficult to believe that silver chloride was the _feces_ referred to in the text, because such a precipitate would be obviously misleading when used as a flux through the addition of silver to the assays, too expensive, and of no merit for this purpose. therefore one is driven to the conclusion that the _feces_ must have been the residues left in the retorts when nitric acid was prepared. it would have been more in keeping with his usual mode of expression, however, to have referred to this material as a _residuus_. the materials used for making acid varied greatly, so there is no telling what such a _feces_ contained. a list of possibilities is given in note , p. . in the main, the residue would be undigested vitriol, alum, saltpetre, salt, etc., together with potassium, iron, and alum sulphates. the _probierbüchlin_ (p. ) also gives this re-agent under the term _toden kopff das ist schlam oder feces auss dem scheydwasser_. [ ] _recrementum vitri_. (_interpretatio_, _glassgallen_). formerly, when more impure materials were employed than nowadays, the surface of the mass in the first melting of glass materials was covered with salts, mostly potassium and sodium sulphates and chlorides which escaped perfect vitrification. this "slag" or "_glassgallen_" of agricola was also termed _sandiver_. [ ] the whole of this expression is "_candidus, candido_." it is by no means certain that this is tin, for usually tin is given as _plumbum candidum_. [ ] _sal artificiosus_. these are a sort of stock fluxes. such mixtures are common in all old assay books, from the _probierbüchlin_ to later than john cramer in (whose latin lectures on assaying were published in english under the title of "elements of the art of assaying metals," london, ). cramer observes (p. ) that: "artificers compose a great many fluxes with the above-mentioned salts and with the reductive ones; nay, some use as many different fluxes as there are different ores and metals; all which, however, we think needless to describe. it is better to have explained a few of the simpler ones, which serve for all the others, and are very easily prepared, than to tire the reader with confused compositions: and this chiefly because unskilled artificers sometimes attempt to obtain with many ingredients of the same nature heaped up beyond measure, and with much labour, though not more properly and more securely, what might have been easily effected, with one only and the same ingredient, thus increasing the number, not at all the virtue of the things employed. nevertheless, if anyone loves variety, he may, according to the proportions and cautions above prescribed, at his will chuse among the simpler kinds such as will best suit his purpose, and compose a variety of fluxes with them." [ ] this operation apparently results in a coating to prevent the deflagration of the saltpetre--in fact, it might be permitted to translate _inflammatur_ "deflagrate," instead of kindle. [ ] the results which would follow from the use of these "fluxes" would obviously depend upon the ore treated. they can all conceivably be successful. of these, the first is the lead-glass of the german assayers--a flux much emphasized by all old authorities, including lohneys, ercker and cramner, and used even yet. the "powerful flux" would be a reducing, desulphurizing, and an acid flux. the "more powerful" would be a basic flux in which the reducing action of the argols would be largely neutralised by the nitre. the "still more powerful" would be a strongly sulphurizing basic flux, while the "most powerful" would be a still more sulphurizing flux, but it is badly mixed as to its oxidation and basic properties. (see also note on _sal artificiosus_). [ ] lead ash (_cinis plumbi_. glossary, _pleyasch_).--this was obviously, from the method of making, an artificial lead sulphide. [ ] ashes of lead (_nigri plumbi cinis_). this, as well as lead ash, was also an artificial lead sulphide. such substances were highly valued by the ancients for medicinal purposes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "burned lead (_molybdos cecaumenos_) is made in this way: sprinkle sulphur over some very thinnest lead plates and put them into a new earthen pot, add other layers, putting sulphur between each layer until the pot is full; set it alight and stir the melted lead with an iron rod until it is entirely reduced to ashes and until none of the lead remains unburned. then take it off, first stopping up your nose, because the fumes of burnt lead are very injurious. or burn the lead filings in a pot with sulphur as aforesaid." pliny (xxxiv., ) gives much the same directions. [ ] camphor (_camphora_). this was no doubt the well-known gum. agricola, however, believed that camphor (_de nat. fossilium_, p. ) was a species of bitumen, and he devotes considerable trouble to the refutation of the statements by the arabic authors that it was a gum. in any event, it would be a useful reducing agent. [ ] inasmuch as orpiment and realgar are both arsenical sulphides, the use of iron "slag," if it contains enough iron, would certainly matte the sulphur and arsenic. sulphur and arsenic are the "juices" referred to (see note , p. ). it is difficult to see the object of preserving the antimony with such a sulphurizing "addition," unless it was desired to secure a regulus of antimony alone from a given antimonial ore. [ ] the lead free from silver, called _villacense_, was probably from bleyberg, not far from villach in upper austria, this locality having been for centuries celebrated for its pure lead. these mines were worked prior to, and long after, agricola's time. [ ] this method of proportionate weights for assay charges is simpler than the modern english "assay ton," both because of the use of units in the standard of weight (the _centumpondium_), and because of the lack of complication between the avoirdupois and troy scales. for instance, an ore containing a _libra_ of silver to the _centumpondium_ would contain / th part, and the same ratio would obtain, no matter what the actual weight of a _centumpondium_ of the "lesser weight" might be. to follow the matter still further, an _uncia_ being / , of a _centumpondium_, if the ore ran one "_uncia_ of the lesser weight" to the "_centumpondium_ of the lesser weight," it would also run one actual _uncia_ to the actual _centumpondium_; it being a matter of indifference what might be the actual weight of the _centumpondium_ upon which the scale of lesser weights is based. in fact agricola's statement (p. ) indicates that it weighed an actual _drachma_. we have, in some places, interpolated the expressions "lesser" and "greater" weights for clarity. this is not the first mention of this scheme of lesser weights, as it appears in the _probierbüchlein_ ( ? see appendix b) and biringuccio ( ). for a more complete discussion of weights and measures see appendix c. for convenience, we repeat here the roman scale, although, as will be seen in the appendix, agricola used the latin terms in many places merely as nomenclature equivalents of the old german scale. ozs. dwts. troy gr. grains. per short ton. _siliqua_ . per _centumpondium_ _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ . " " _scripula_ = _sextula_ . " " _sextulae_ = _uncia_ . " " _unciae_ = _libra_ . " " _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . however agricola may occasionally use _unciae_ = _libra_ . (?) _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . (?) also oz. dwts. gr. per short ton. _scripulum_ . per _centumpondium_ _scripula_ = _drachma_ . " " _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ . " " _sicilici_ = _uncia_ . " " _unciae_ = _bes_ . " " [ ] the amalgamation of gold ores is fully discussed in note , p. . [ ] for discussion of the silver ores, see note , p. . _rudis_ silver was a fairly pure silver mineral, the various coloured silvers were partly horn-silver and partly alteration products. [ ] it is difficult to see why copper scales (_squamae aeris_--copper oxide?) are added, unless it be to collect a small ratio of copper in the ore. this additional copper is not mentioned again, however. the whole of this statement is very confused. [ ] this old story runs that hiero, king of syracuse, asked archimedes to tell him whether a crown made for him was pure gold or whether it contained some proportion of silver. archimedes is said to have puzzled over it until he noticed the increase in water-level upon entering his bath. whereupon he determined the matter by immersing bars of pure gold and pure silver, and thus determining the relative specific weights. the best ancient account of this affair is to be found in vitruvius, ix, preface. the story does not seem very probable, seeing that theophrastus, who died the year archimedes was born, described the touchstone in detail, and that it was of common knowledge among the greeks before (see note ). in any event, there is not sufficient evidence in this story on which to build the conclusion of meyer (hist. of chemistry, p. ) and others, that, inasmuch as archimedes was unable to solve the problem until his discovery of specific weights, therefore the ancients could not part gold and silver. the probability that he did not want to injure the king's jewellery would show sufficient reason for his not parting these metals. it seems probable that the ancients did part gold and silver by cementation. (see note on p. ). [ ] the alchemists (with whose works agricola was familiar--_vide_ preface) were the inventors of nitric acid separation. (see note on p. ). [ ] parting gold and silver by nitric acid is more exhaustively discussed in book x. and note , p. . [ ] the lesser weights, probably. [ ] lead and tin seem badly mixed in this paragraph. [ ] it is not clear what is added. [ ] historical note on touchstone. (_coticula_. _interpretatio_,--_goldstein_). theophrastus is, we believe, the first to describe the touchstone, although it was generally known to the greeks, as is evidenced by the metaphors of many of the poets,--pindar, theognis, euripides, etc. the general knowledge of the constituents of alloys which is implied, raises the question as to whether the greeks did not know a great deal more about parting metals, than has been attributed to them. theophrastus says ( - ): "the nature of the stone which tries gold is also very wonderful, as it seems to have the same power with fire; which is also a test of that metal. some people have for this reason questioned the truth of this power in the stone, but their doubts are ill-founded, for this trial is not of the same nature or made in the same manner as the other. the trial by fire is by the colour and by the quantity lost by it; but that by the stone is made only by rubbing the metal on it; the stone seeming to have the power to receive separately the distinct particles of different metals. it is said also that there is a much better kind of this stone now found out, than that which was formerly used; insomuch that it now serves not only for the trial of refined gold, but also of copper or silver coloured with gold; and shows how much of the adulterating matter by weight is mixed with gold; this has signs which it yields from the smallest weight of the adulterating matter, which is a grain, from thence a colybus, and thence a quadrans or semi-obolus, by which it is easy to distinguish if, and in what degree, that metal is adulterated. all these stones are found in the river tmolus; their texture is smooth and like that of pebbles; their figure broad, not round; and their bigness twice that of the common larger sort of pebbles. in their use in the trial of metals there is a difference in power between their upper surface, which has lain toward the sun, and their under, which has been to the earth; the upper performing its office the more nicely; and this is consonant to reason, as the upper part is dryer; for the humidity of the other surface hinders its receiving so well the particles of metals; for the same reason also it does not perform its office as well in hot weather as in colder, for in the hot it emits a kind of humidity out of its substance, which runs all over it. this hinders the metalline particles from adhering perfectly, and makes mistakes in the trials. this exudation of a humid matter is also common to many other stones, among others, to those of which statues are made; and this has been looked on as peculiar to the statue." (based on hill's trans.) this humid "exudation of fine-grained stones in summer" would not sound abnormal if it were called condensation. pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "the mention of gold and silver should be accompanied by that of the stone called _coticula_. formerly, according to theophrastus, it was only to be found in the river tmolus but now found in many parts, it was found in small pieces never over four inches long by two broad. that side which lay toward the sun is better than that toward the ground. those experienced with the _coticula_ when they rub ore (_vena_) with it, can at once say how much gold it contains, how much silver or copper. this method is so accurate that they do not mistake it to a scruple." this purported use for determining values of _ore_ is of about pliny's average accuracy. the first detailed account of touch-needles and their manner of making, which we have been able to find, is that of the _probierbüchlein_ ( ? see appendix) where many of the tables given by agricola may be found. [ ] _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) and _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_ (p. ). the author does not add any material mineralogical information to the quotations from theophrastus and pliny given above. [ ] in these tables agricola has simply adopted roman names as equivalents of the old german weights, but as they did not always approximate in proportions, he coined terms such as "units of _siliquae_," etc. it might seem more desirable to have introduced the german terms into this text, but while it would apply in this instance, as we have discussed on p. , the actual values of the roman weights are very different from the german, and as elsewhere in the book actual roman weights are applied, we have considered it better to use the latin terms consistently throughout. further, the obsolete german would be to most readers but little improvement upon the latin. for convenience of readers we set out the various scales as used by agricola, together with the german:-- roman scale. old german scale. _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ _grenlin_ = _gran_ _scripula_ = _sextula_ _gran_ = _krat_ _sextulae_ = _duella_ _kratt_ = _mark_ _duellae_ = _bes_ or _grenlin_ = "_nummus_" "_nummi_" = _mark_ also the following scales are applied to fineness by agricola:-- _scripula_ = _drachma_ _pfennige_ = _quintlein_ _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ _quintlein_ = _loth_ _sicilici_ = _semuncia_ _loth_ = _mark_ _semunciae_ = _bes_ the term "_nummus_," a coin, given above and in the text, appears in the german translation as _pfennig_ as applied to both german scales, but as they are of different values, we have left agricola's adaptation in one scale to avoid confusion. the latin terms adopted by agricola are given below, together with the german:-- number in one value in roman term. german term. mark or bes. _siliquae_. _siliqua_ "unit of _siliquae_" _grenlin_ _pfennig_ -- _scripulum_ _scruple_ (?) _semi-sextula_ _gran_ _drachma_ _quintlein_ _sextula_ _halb krat_ _sicilicus_ _halb loth_ _duella_ _krat_ _semuncia_ _loth_ "_unit of drachmae "_nummus_" & scripulum_" _uncia_ _untzen_ _bes_ _mark_ while the proportions in a _bes_ or _mark_ are the same in both scales, the actual weight values are vastly different--for instance, the _mark_ contained about . , and the _bes_ troy grains. agricola also uses: _selibra_ _halb-pfundt_ _libra_ _pfundt_ _centumpondium_ _centner_. as the roman _libra_ contains _unciae_ and the german _pfundt_ _untzen_, the actual weights of these latter quantities are still further apart--the former and the latter troy grains. [ ] there are no tables in the latin text, the whole having been written out _in extenso_, but they have now been arranged as above, as being in a much more convenient and expressive form. [ ] see note above. [ ] see note , p. , for discussion of this "assay ton" arrangement. [ ] _agrippinenses_ and _antuerpiani_. book viii. questions of assaying were explained in the last book, and i have now come to a greater task, that is, to the description of how we extract the metals. first of all i will explain the method of preparing the ore[ ]; for since nature usually creates metals in an impure state, mixed with earth, stones, and solidified juices, it is necessary to separate most of these impurities from the ores as far as can be, before they are smelted, and therefore i will now describe the methods by which the ores are sorted, broken with hammers, burnt, crushed with stamps, ground into powder, sifted, washed, roasted, and calcined[ ]. i will start at the beginning with the first sort of work. experienced miners, when they dig the ore, sort the metalliferous material from earth, stones, and solidified juices before it is taken from the shafts and tunnels, and they put the valuable metal in trays and the waste into buckets. but if some miner who is inexperienced in mining matters has omitted to do this, or even if some experienced miner, compelled by some unavoidable necessity, has been unable to do so, as soon as the material which has been dug out has been removed from the mine, all of it should be examined, and that part of the ore which is rich in metal sorted from that part of it which is devoid of metal, whether such part be earth, or solidified juices, or stones. to smelt waste together with an ore involves a loss, for some expenditure is thrown away, seeing that out of earth and stones only empty and useless slags are melted out, and further, the solidified juices also impede the smelting of the metals and cause loss. the rock which lies contiguous to rich ore should also be broken into small pieces, crushed, and washed, lest any of the mineral should be lost. when, either through ignorance or carelessness, the miners while excavating have mixed the ore with earth or broken rock, the work of sorting the crude metal or the best ore is done not only by men, but also by boys and women. they throw the mixed material upon a long table, beside which they sit for almost the whole day, and they sort out the ore; when it has been sorted out, they collect it in trays, and when collected they throw it into tubs, which are carried to the works in which the ores are smelted. [illustration (sorting ore): a--long table. b--tray. c--tub.] [illustration (cutting metal): a--masses of metal. b--hammer. c--chisel. d--tree stumps. e--iron tool similar to a pair of shears.] the metal which is dug out in a pure or crude state, to which class belong native silver, silver glance, and gray silver, is placed on a stone by the mine foreman and flattened out by pounding with heavy square hammers. these masses, when they have been thus flattened out like plates, are placed either on the stump of a tree, and cut into pieces by pounding an iron chisel into them with a hammer, or else they are cut with an iron tool similar to a pair of shears. one blade of these shears is three feet long, and is firmly fixed in a stump, and the other blade which cuts the metal is six feet long. these pieces of metal are afterward heated in iron basins and smelted in the cupellation furnace by the smelters. [illustration (spalling ore): a--tables. b--upright planks. c--hammer. d--quadrangular hammer. e--deeper vessel. f--shallower vessel. g--iron rod.] although the miners, in the shafts or tunnels, have sorted over the material which they mine, still the ore which has been broken down and carried out must be broken into pieces by a hammer or minutely crushed, so that the more valuable and better parts can be distinguished from the inferior and worthless portions. this is of the greatest importance in smelting ore, for if the ore is smelted without this separation, the valuable part frequently receives great damage before the worthless part melts in the fire, or else the one consumes the other; this latter difficulty can, however, be partly avoided by the exercise of care and partly by the use of fluxes. now, if a vein is of poor quality, the better portions which have been broken down and carried out should be thrown together in one place, and the inferior portion and the rock thrown away. the sorters place a hard broad stone on a table; the tables are generally four feet square and made of joined planks, and to the edge of the sides and back are fixed upright planks, which rise about a foot from the table; the front, where the sorter sits, is left open. the lumps of ore, rich in gold or silver, are put by the sorters on the stone and broken up with a broad, but not thick, hammer; they either break them into pieces and throw them into one vessel, or they break and sort--whence they get their name--the more precious from the worthless, throwing and collecting them separately into different vessels. other men crush the lumps of ore less rich in gold or silver, which have likewise been put on the stone, with a broad thick hammer, and when it has been well crushed, they collect it and throw it into one vessel. there are two kinds of vessels; one is deeper, and a little wider in the centre than at the top or bottom; the other is not so deep though it is broader at the bottom, and becomes gradually a little narrower toward the top. the latter vessel is covered with a lid, while the former is not covered; an iron rod through the handles, bent over on either end, is grasped in the hand when the vessel is carried. but, above all, it behooves the sorters to be assiduous in their labours. [illustration (spalling ore): a--pyrites. b--leggings. c--gloves. d--hammer.] by another method of breaking ore with hammers, large hard fragments of ore are broken before they are burned. the legs of the workmen--at all events of those who crush pyrites in this manner with large hammers in goslar--are protected with coverings resembling leggings, and their hands are protected with long gloves, to prevent them from being injured by the chips which fly away from the fragments. [illustration (spalling ore): a--area paved with stones. b--broken ore. c--area covered with broken ore. d--iron tool. e--its handle. f--broom. g--short strake. h--wooden hoe.] in that district of greater germany which is called westphalia and in that district of lower germany which is named eifel, the broken ore which has been burned, is thrown by the workmen into a round area paved with the hardest stones, and the fragments are pounded up with iron tools, which are very much like hammers in shape and are used like threshing sledges. this tool is a foot long, a palm wide, and a digit thick, and has an opening in the middle just as hammers have, in which is fixed a wooden handle of no great thickness, but up to three and a half feet long, in order that the workmen can pound the ore with greater force by reason of its weight falling from a greater height. they strike and pound with the broad side of the tool, in the same way as corn is pounded out on a threshing floor with the threshing sledges, although the latter are made of wood and are smooth and fixed to poles. when the ore has been broken into small pieces, they sweep it together with brooms and remove it to the works, where it is washed in a short strake, at the head of which stands the washer, who draws the water upward with a wooden hoe. the water running down again, carries all the light particles into a trough placed underneath. i shall deal more fully with this method of washing a little later. ore is burned for two reasons; either that from being hard, it may become soft and more easily broken and more readily crushed with a hammer or stamps, and then can be smelted; or that the fatty things, that is to say, sulphur, bitumen, orpiment, or realgar[ ] may be consumed. sulphur is frequently found in metallic ores, and, generally speaking, is more harmful to the metals, except gold, than are the other things. it is most harmful of all to iron, and less to tin than to bismuth, lead, silver, or copper. since very rarely gold is found in which there is not some silver, even gold ores containing sulphur ought to be roasted before they are smelted, because, in a very vigorous furnace fire, sulphur resolves metal into ashes and makes slag of it. bitumen acts in the same way, in fact sometimes it consumes silver, which we may see in bituminous _cadmia_[ ]. [illustration (stall roasting ore): a--area. b--wood. c--ore. d--cone-shaped piles. e--canal.] i now come to the methods of roasting, and first of all to that one which is common to all ores. the earth is dug out to the required extent, and thus is made a quadrangular area of fair size, open at the front, and above this, firewood is laid close together, and on it other wood is laid transversely, likewise close together, for which reason our countrymen call this pile of wood a crate; this is repeated until the pile attains a height of one or two cubits. then there is placed upon it a quantity of ore that has been broken into small pieces with a hammer; first the largest of these pieces, next those of medium size, and lastly the smallest, and thus is built up a gently sloping cone. to prevent it from becoming scattered, fine sand of the same ore is soaked with water and smeared over it and beaten on with shovels; some workers, if they cannot obtain such fine sand, cover the pile with charcoal-dust, just as do charcoal-burners. but at goslar, the pile, when it has been built up in the form of a cone, is smeared with _atramentum sutorium rubrum_[ ], which is made by the leaching of roasted pyrites soaked with water. in some districts the ore is roasted once, in others twice, in others three times, as its hardness may require. at goslar, when pyrites is roasted for the third time, that which is placed on the top of the pyre exudes a certain greenish, dry, rough, thin substance, as i have elsewhere written[ ]; this is no more easily burned by the fire than is asbestos. very often also, water is put on to the ore which has been roasted, while it is still hot, in order to make it softer and more easily broken; for after fire has dried up the moisture in the ore, it breaks up more easily while it is still hot, of which fact burnt limestone affords the best example. [illustration (heap roasting ore): a--lighted pyre. b--pyre which is being constructed. c--ore. d--wood. e--pile of the same wood.] by digging out the earth they make the areas much larger, and square; walls should be built along the sides and back to hold the heat of the fire more effectively, and the front should be left open. in these compartments tin ore is roasted in the following manner. first of all wood about twelve feet long should be laid in the area in four layers, alternately straight and transverse. then the larger pieces of ore should be laid upon them, and on these again the smaller ones, which should also be placed around the sides; the fine sand of the same ore should also be spread over the pile and pounded with shovels, to prevent the pile from falling before it has been roasted; the wood should then be fired. [illustration (stall roasting ore): a--burning pyre which is composed of lead ore with wood placed above it. b--workman throwing ore into another area. c--oven-shaped furnace. d--openings through which the smoke escapes.] lead ore, if roasting is necessary, should be piled in an area just like the last, but sloping, and the wood should be placed over it. a tree trunk should be laid right across the front of the ore to prevent it from falling out. the ore, being roasted in this way, becomes partly melted and resembles slag. thuringian pyrites, in which there is gold, sulphur, and vitriol, after the last particle of vitriol has been obtained by heating it in water, is thrown into a furnace, in which logs are placed. this furnace is very similar to an oven in shape, in order that when the ore is roasted the valuable contents may not fly away with the smoke, but may adhere to the roof of the furnace. in this way sulphur very often hangs like icicles from the two openings of the roof through which the smoke escapes. [illustration (hearths for roasting): a--iron plates full of holes. b--walls. c--plate on which ore is placed. d--burning charcoal placed on the ore. e--pots. f--furnace. g--middle part of upper chamber. h--the other two compartments. i--divisions of the lower chamber. k--middle wall. l--pots which are filled with ore. m--lids of same pots. n--grating.] if pyrites or _cadmia_, or any other ore containing metal, possesses a good deal of sulphur or bitumen, it should be so roasted that neither is lost. for this purpose it is thrown on an iron plate full of holes, and roasted with charcoal placed on top; three walls support this plate, two on the sides and the third at the back. beneath the plate are placed pots containing water, into which the sulphurous or bituminous vapour descends, and in the water the fat accumulates and floats on the top. if it is sulphur, it is generally of a yellow colour; if bitumen, it is black like pitch. if these were not drawn out they would do much harm to the metal, when the ore is being smelted. when they have thus been separated they prove of some service to man, especially the sulphurous kind. from the vapour which is carried down, not into the water, but into the ground, there is created a sulphurous or a bituminous substance resembling _pompholyx_[ ], and so light that it can be blown away with a breath. some employ a vaulted furnace, open at the front and divided into two chambers. a wall built in the middle of the furnace divides the lower chamber into two equal parts, in which are set pots containing water, as above described. the upper chamber is again divided into three parts, the middle one of which is always open, for in it the wood is placed, and it is not broader than the middle wall, of which it forms the topmost portion. the other two compartments have iron doors which are closed, and which, together with the roof, keep in the heat when the wood is lighted. in these upper compartments are iron bars which take the place of a floor, and on these are arranged pots without bottoms, having in place of a bottom, a grating made of iron wire, fixed to each, through the openings of which the sulphurous or bituminous vapours roasted from the ore run into the lower pots. each of the upper pots holds a hundred pounds of ore; when they are filled they are covered with lids and smeared with lute. [illustration (heap roasting): a--heap of cupriferous stones. b--kindled heap. c--stones being taken to the beds of faggots.] in eisleben and the neighbourhood, when they roast the schistose stone from which copper is smelted, and which is not free from bitumen, they do not use piles of logs, but bundles of faggots. at one time, they used to pile this kind of stone, when extracted from the pit, on bundles of faggots and roast it by firing the faggots; nowadays, they first of all carry these same stones to a heap, where they are left to lie for some time in such a way as to allow the air and rain to soften them. then they make a bed of faggot bundles near the heap, and carry the nearest stones to this bed; afterward they again place bundles of faggots in the empty place from which the first stones have been removed, and pile over this extended bed, the stones which lay nearest to the first lot; and they do this right up to the end, until all the stones have been piled mound-shape on a bed of faggots. finally they fire the faggots, not, however, on the side where the wind is blowing, but on the opposite side, lest the fire blown up by the force of the wind should consume the faggots before the stones are roasted and made soft; by this method the stones which are adjacent to the faggots take fire and communicate it to the next ones, and these again to the adjoining ones, and in this way the heap very often burns continuously for thirty days or more. this schist rock when rich in copper, as i have said elsewhere, exudes a substance of a nature similar to asbestos. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--mortar. b--upright posts. c--cross-beams. d--stamps. e--their heads. f--axle (cam-shaft). g--tooth of the stamp (tappet). h--teeth of axle (cams).] ore is crushed with iron-shod stamps, in order that the metal may be separated from the stone and the hangingwall rock.[ ] the machines which miners use for this purpose are of four kinds, and are made by the following method. a block of oak timber six feet long, two feet and a palm square, is laid on the ground. in the middle of this is fixed a mortar-box, two feet and six digits long, one foot and six digits deep; the front, which might be called a mouth, lies open; the bottom is covered with a plate of iron, a palm thick and two palms and as many digits wide, each end of which is wedged into the timber with broad wedges, and the front and back part of it are fixed to the timber with iron nails. to the sides of the mortar above the block are fixed two upright posts, whose upper ends are somewhat cut back and are mortised to the timbers of the building. two and a half feet above the mortar are placed two cross-beams joined together, one in front and one in the back, the ends of which are mortised into the upright posts already mentioned. through each mortise is bored a hole, into which is driven an iron clavis; one end of the clavis has two horns, and the other end is perforated in order that a wedge driven through, binds the beams more firmly; one horn of the clavis turns up and the other down. three and a half feet above the cross-beams, two other cross-beams of the same kind are again joined in a similar manner; these cross-beams have square openings, in which the iron-shod stamps are inserted. the stamps are not far distant from each other, and fit closely in the cross-beams. each stamp has a tappet at the back, which requires to be daubed with grease on the lower side that it can be raised more easily. for each stamp there are on a cam-shaft, two cams, rounded on the outer end, which alternately raise the stamp, in order that, by its dropping into the mortar, it may with its iron head pound and crush the rock which has been thrown under it. to the cam-shaft is fixed a water-wheel whose buckets are turned by water-power. instead of doors, the mouth of the mortar has a board, which is fitted into notches cut out of the front of the block. this board can be raised, in order that when the mouth is open, the workmen can remove with a shovel the fine sand, and likewise the coarse sand and broken rock, into which the rocks have been crushed; this board can be lowered, so that the mouth thus being closed, the fresh rock thrown in may be crushed with the iron-shod stamps. if an oak block is not available, two timbers are placed on the ground and joined together with iron clamps, each of the timbers being six feet long, a foot wide, and a foot and a half thick. such depth as should be allowed to the mortar, is obtained by cutting out the first beam to a width of three-quarters of a foot and to a length of two and a third and one twenty-fourth of a foot. in the bottom of the part thus dug out, there should be laid a very hard rock, a foot thick and three-quarters of a foot wide; about it, if any space remains, earth or sand should be filled in and pounded. on the front, this bed rock is covered with a plank; this rock when it has been broken, should be taken away and replaced by another. a smaller mortar having room for only three stamps may also be made in the same manner. [illustration (stamps): a--stamp. b--stem cut out in lower part. c--shoe. d--the other shoe, barbed and grooved. e--quadrangular iron band. f--wedge. g--tappet. h--angular cam-shaft. i--cams. k--pair of compasses.] the stamp-stems are made of small square timbers nine feet long and half a foot wide each way. the iron head of each is made in the following way; the lower part of the head is three palms long and the upper part the same length. the lower part is a palm square in the middle for two palms, then below this, for a length of two digits it gradually spreads until it becomes five digits square; above the middle part, for a length of two digits, it again gradually swells out until it becomes a palm and a half square. higher up, where the head of the shoe is enclosed in the stem, it is bored through and similarly the stem itself is pierced, and through the opening of each, there passes a broad iron wedge, which prevents the head falling off the stem. to prevent the stamp head from becoming broken by the constant striking of fragments of ore or rocks, there is placed around it a quadrangular iron band a digit thick, seven digits wide, and six digits deep. those who use three stamps, as is common, make them much larger, and they are made square and three palms broad each way; then the iron shoe of each has a total length of two feet and a palm; at the lower end, it is hexagonal, and at that point it is seven digits wide and thick. the lower part of it which projects beyond the stem is one foot and two palms long; the upper part, which is enclosed in the stem, is three palms long; the lower part is a palm wide and thick; then gradually the upper part becomes narrower and thinner, so that at the top it is three digits and a half wide and two thick. it is bored through at the place where the angles have been somewhat cut away; the hole is three digits long and one wide, and is one digit's distance from the top. there are some who make that part of the head which is enclosed in the stem, barbed and grooved, in order that when the hooks have been fixed into the stem and wedges fitted to the grooves, it may remain tightly fixed, especially when it is also held with two quadrangular iron bands. some divide the cam-shaft with a compass into six sides, others into nine; it is better for it to be divided into twelve sides, in order that successively one side may contain a cam and the next be without one. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--box. although the upper part is not open, it is shown open here, that the wheel may be seen. b--wheel. c--cam-shaft. d--stamps.] the water-wheel is entirely enclosed under a quadrangular box, in case either the deep snows or ice in winter, or storms, may impede its running and its turning around. the joints in the planks are stopped all around with moss. the cover, however, has one opening, through which there passes a race bringing down water which, dropping on the buckets of the wheel, turns it round, and flows out again in the lower race under the box. the spokes of the water-wheel are not infrequently mortised into the middle of the cam-shaft; in this case the cams on both sides raise the stamps, which either both crush dry or wet ore, or else the one set crushes dry ore and the other set wet ore, just as circumstances require the one or the other; further, when the one set is raised and the iron clavises in them are fixed into openings in the first cross-beam, the other set alone crushes the ore. [illustration (handling stamped material): a--box laid flat on the ground. b--its bottom which is made of iron wire. c--box inverted. d--iron rods. e--box suspended from a beam, the inside being visible. f--box suspended from a beam, the outside being visible.] broken rock or stones, or the coarse or fine sand, are removed from the mortar of this machine and heaped up, as is also done with the same materials when raked out of the dump near the mine. they are thrown by a workman into a box, which is open on the top and the front, and is three feet long and nearly a foot and a half wide. its sides are sloping and made of planks, but its bottom is made of iron wire netting, and fastened with wire to two iron rods, which are fixed to the two side planks. this bottom has openings, through which broken rock of the size of a hazel nut cannot pass; the pieces which are too large to pass through are removed by the workman, who again places them under stamps, while those which have passed through, together with the coarse and fine sand, he collects in a large vessel and keeps for the washing. when he is performing his laborious task he suspends the box from a beam by two ropes. this box may rightly be called a quadrangular sieve, as may also that kind which follows. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--small planks. c--post. d--bottom of sieve. e--open box. f--small cross-beam. g--upright posts.] some employ a sieve shaped like a wooden bucket, bound with two iron hoops; its bottom, like that of the box, is made of iron wire netting. they place this on two small cross-planks fixed upon a post set in the ground. some do not fix the post in the ground, but stand it on the ground until there arises a heap of the material which has passed through the sieve, and in this the post is fixed. with an iron shovel the workman throws into this sieve broken rock, small stones, coarse and fine sand raked out of the dump; holding the handles of the sieve in his hands, he agitates it up and down in order that by this movement the dust, fine and coarse sand, small stones, and fine broken rock may fall through the bottom. others do not use a sieve, but an open box, whose bottom is likewise covered with wire netting; this they fix on a small cross-beam fastened to two upright beams and tilt it backward and forward. [illustration (sifting ore): a--box. b--bale. c--rope. d--beam. e--handles. f--five-toothed rake. g--sieve. h--its handles. i--pole. k--rope. l--timber.] some use a sieve made of copper, having square copper handles on both sides, and through these handles runs a pole, of which one end projects three-quarters of a foot beyond one handle; the workman then places that end in a rope which is suspended from a beam, and rapidly shakes the pole alternately backward and forward. by this movement the small particles fall through the bottom of the sieve. in order that the end of the pole may be easily placed in the rope, a stick, two palms long, holds open the lower part of the rope as it hangs double, each end of the rope being tied to the beam; part of the rope, however, hangs beyond the stick to a length of half a foot. a large box is also used for this purpose, of which the bottom is either made of a plank full of holes or of iron netting, as are the other boxes. an iron bale is fastened from the middle of the planks which form its sides; to this bale is fastened a rope which is suspended from a wooden beam, in order that the box may be moved or tilted in any direction. there are two handles on each end, not unlike the handles of a wheelbarrow; these are held by two workmen, who shake the box to and fro. this box is the one principally used by the germans who dwell in the carpathian mountains. the smaller particles are separated from the larger ones by means of three boxes and two sieves, in order that those which pass through each, being of equal size, may be washed together; for the bottoms of both the boxes and sieves have openings which do not let through broken rock of the size of a hazel nut. as for the dry remnants in the bottoms of the sieves, if they contain any metal the miners put them under the stamps. the larger pieces of broken rock are not separated from the smaller by this method until the men and boys, with five-toothed rakes, have separated them from the rock fragments, the little stones, the coarse and the fine sand and earth, which have been thrown on to the dumps. [illustration (sifting ore): a--workman carrying broken rock in a barrow. b--first chute. c--first box. d--its handles. e--its bales. f--rope. g--beam. h--post. i--second chute. k--second box. l--third chute. m--third box. n--first table. o--first sieve. p--first tub. q--second table. r--second sieve. s--second tub. t--third table. v--third sieve. x--third tub. y--plugs.] at neusohl, in the carpathians, there are mines where the veins of copper lie in the ridges and peaks of the mountains, and in order to save expense being incurred by a long and difficult transport, along a rough and sometimes very precipitous road, one workman sorts over the dumps which have been thrown out from the mines, and another carries in a wheelbarrow the earth, fine and coarse sand, little stones, broken rock, and even the poorer ore, and overturns the barrow into a long open chute fixed to a steep rock. this chute is held apart by small cleats, and the material slides down a distance of about one hundred and fifty feet into a short box, whose bottom is made of a thick copper plate, full of holes. this box has two handles by which it is shaken to and fro, and at the top there are two bales made of hazel sticks, in which is fixed the iron hook of a rope hung from the branch of a tree or from a wooden beam which projects from an upright post. from time to time a sifter pulls this box and thrusts it violently against the tree or post, by which means the small particles passing through its holes descend down another chute into another short box, in whose bottom there are smaller holes. a second sifter, in like manner, thrusts this box violently against a tree or post, and a second time the smaller particles are received into a third chute, and slide down into a third box, whose bottom has still smaller holes. a third sifter, in like manner, thrusts this box violently against a tree or post, and for the third time the tiny particles fall through the holes upon a table. while the workman is bringing in the barrow, another load which has been sorted from the dump, each sifter withdraws the hooks from his bale and carries away his own box and overturns it, heaping up the broken rock or sand which remains in the bottom of it. as for the tiny particles which have slid down upon the table, the first washer--for there are as many washers as sifters--sweeps them off and in a tub nearly full of water, washes them through a sieve whose holes are smaller than the holes of the third box. when this tub has been filled with the material which has passed through the sieve, he draws out the plug to let the water run away; then he removes with a shovel that which has settled in the tub and throws it upon the table of a second washer, who washes it in a sieve with smaller holes. the sediment which has this time settled in his tub, he takes out and throws on the table of a third washer, who washes it in a sieve with the smallest holes. the copper concentrates which have settled in the last tub are taken out and smelted; the sediment which each washer has removed with a limp is washed on a canvas strake. the sifters at altenberg, in the tin mines of the mountains bordering on bohemia, use such boxes as i have described, hung from wooden beams. these, however, are a little larger and open in the front, through which opening the broken rock which has not gone through the sieve can be shaken out immediately by thrusting the sieve against its post. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--its handles. c--tub. d--bottom of sieve made of iron wires. e--hoop. f--rods. g--hoops. h--woman shaking the sieve. i--boy supplying it with material which requires washing. k--man with shovel removing from the tub the material which has passed through the sieve.] if the ore is rich in metal, the earth, the fine and coarse sand, and the pieces of rock which have been broken from the hangingwall, are dug out of the dump with a spade or rake and, with a shovel, are thrown into a large sieve or basket, and washed in a tub nearly full of water. the sieve is generally a cubit broad and half a foot deep; its bottom has holes of such size that the larger pieces of broken rock cannot pass through them, for this material rests upon the straight and cross iron wires, which at their points of contact are bound by small iron clips. the sieve is held together by an iron band and by two cross-rods likewise of iron; the rest of the sieve is made of staves in the shape of a little tub, and is bound with two iron hoops; some, however, bind it with hoops of hazel or oak, but in that case they use three of them. on each side it has handles, which are held in the hands by whoever washes the metalliferous material. into this sieve a boy throws the material to be washed, and a woman shakes it up and down, turning it alternately to the right and to the left, and in this way passes through it the smaller pieces of earth, sand, and broken rock. the larger pieces remain in the sieve, and these are taken out, placed in a heap and put under the stamps. the mud, together with fine sand, coarse sand, and broken rock, which remain after the water has been drawn out of the tub, is removed by an iron shovel and washed in the sluice, about which i will speak a little later. [illustration (sifting ore): a--basket. b--its handles. c--dish. d--its back part. e--its front part. f--handles of same.] the bohemians use a basket a foot and a half broad and half a foot deep, bound together by osiers. it has two handles by which it is grasped, when they move it about and shake it in the tub or in a small pool nearly full of water. all that passes through it into the tub or pool they take out and wash in a bowl, which is higher in the back part and lower and flat in the front; it is grasped by the two handles and shaken in the water, the lighter particles flowing away, and the heavier and mineral portion sinking to the bottom. [illustration (mills for grinding ore): a--axle. b--water-wheel. c--toothed drum. d--drum made of rundles. e--iron axle. f--millstone. g--hopper. h--round wooden plate. i--trough.] gold ore, after being broken with hammers or crushed by the stamps, and even tin ore, is further milled to powder. the upper millstone, which is turned by water-power, is made in the following way. an axle is rounded to compass measure, or is made angular, and its iron pinions turn in iron sockets which are held in beams. the axle is turned by a water-wheel, the buckets of which are fixed to the rim and are struck by the force of a stream. into the axle is mortised a toothed drum, whose teeth are fixed in the side of the rim. these teeth turn a second drum of rundles, which are made of very hard material. this drum surrounds an iron axle which has a pinion at the bottom and revolves in an iron cup in a timber. at the top of the iron axle is an iron tongue, dove-tailed into the millstone, and so when the teeth of the one drum turn the rundles of the other, the millstone is made to turn round. an overhanging machine supplies it with ore through a hopper, and the ore, being ground to powder, is discharged from a round wooden plate into a trough and flowing away through it accumulates on the floor; from there the ore is carried away and reserved for washing. since this method of grinding requires the millstone to be now raised and now lowered, the timber in whose socket the iron of the pinion axle revolves, rests upon two beams, which can be raised and lowered. [illustration (mills for grinding ore): a--first mill. b--wheel turned by goats. c--second mill. d--disc of upright axle. e--its toothed drum. f--third mill. g--shape of lower millstone. h--small upright axle of the same. i--its opening. k--lever of the upper millstone. l--its opening.] there are three mills in use in milling gold ores, especially for quartz[ ] which is not lacking in metal. they are not all turned by water-power, but some by the strength of men, and two of them even by the power of beasts of burden. the first revolving one differs from the next only in its driving wheel, which is closed in and turned by men treading it, or by horses, which are placed inside, or by asses, or even by strong goats; the eyes of these beasts are covered by linen bands. the second mill, both when pushed and turned round, differs from the two above by having an upright axle in the place of the horizontal one; this axle has at its lower end a disc, which two workmen turn by treading back its cleats with their feet, though frequently one man sustains all the labour; or sometimes there projects from the axle a pole which is turned by a horse or an ass, for which reason it is called an _asinaria_. the toothed drum which is at the upper end of the axle turns the drum which is made of rundles, and together with it the millstone. the third mill is turned round and round, and not pushed by hand; but between this and the others there is a great distinction, for the lower millstone is so shaped at the top that it can hold within it the upper millstone, which revolves around an iron axle; this axle is fastened in the centre of the lower stone and passes through the upper stone. a workman, by grasping in his hand an upright iron bar placed in the upper millstone, moves it round. the middle of the upper millstone is bored through, and the ore, being thrown into this opening, falls down upon the lower millstone and is there ground to powder, which gradually runs out through its opening; it is washed by various methods before it is mixed with quicksilver, which i will explain presently. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--water-wheel. b--axle. c--stamp. d--hopper in the upper millstone. e--opening passing through the centre. f--lower millstone. g--its round depression. h--its outlet. i--iron axle. k--its crosspiece. l--beam. m--drum of rundles on the iron axle. n--toothed drum of main axle. o--tubs. p--the small planks. q--small upright axles. r--enlarged part of one. s--their paddles. t--their drums which are made of rundles. v--small horizontal axle set into the end of the main axle. x--its toothed drums. y--three sluices. z--their small axles. aa--spokes. bb--paddles.] some people build a machine which at one and the same time can crush, grind, cleanse, and wash the gold ore, and mix the gold with quicksilver. this machine has one water-wheel, which is turned by a stream striking its buckets; the main axle on one side of the water-wheel has long cams, which raise the stamps that crush the dry ore. then the crushed ore is thrown into the hopper of the upper millstone, and gradually falling through the opening, is ground to powder. the lower millstone is square, but has a round depression in which the round, upper millstone turns, and it has an outlet from which the powder falls into the first tub. a vertical iron axle is dove-tailed into a cross-piece, which is in turn fixed into the upper millstone; the upper pinion of this axle is held in a bearing fixed in a beam; the drum of the vertical axle is made of rundles, and is turned by the toothed drum on the main axle, and thus turns the millstone. the powder falls continually into the first tub, together with water, and from there runs into a second tub which is set lower down, and out of the second into a third, which is the lowest; from the third, it generally flows into a small trough hewn out of a tree trunk. quicksilver[ ] is placed in each tub, across which is fixed a small plank, and through a hole in the middle of each plank there passes a small upright axle, which is enlarged above the plank to prevent it from dropping into the tub lower than it should. at the lower end of the axle three sets of paddles intersect, each made from two little boards fixed to the axle opposite each other. the upper end of this axle has a pinion held by a bearing set in a beam, and around each of these axles is a small drum made of rundles, each of which is turned by a small toothed drum on a horizontal axle, one end of which is mortised into the large horizontal axle, and the other end is held in a hollow covered with thick iron plates in a beam. thus the paddles, of which there are three sets in each tub, turn round, and agitating the powder, thoroughly mix it with water and separate the minute particles of gold from it, and these are attracted by the quicksilver and purified. the water carries away the waste. the quicksilver is poured into a bag made of leather or cloth woven from cotton, and when this bag is squeezed, as i have described elsewhere, the quicksilver drips through it into a jar placed underneath. the pure gold[ ] remains in the bag. some people substitute three broad sluices for the tubs, each of which has an angular axle on which are set six narrow spokes, and to them are fixed the same number of broad paddles; the water that is poured in strikes these paddles and turns them round, and they agitate the powder which is mixed with the water and separate the metal from it. if the powder which is being treated contains gold particles, the first method of washing is far superior, because the quicksilver in the tubs immediately attracts the gold; if it is powder in which are the small black stones from which tin is smelted, this latter method is not to be despised. it is very advantageous to place interlaced fir boughs in the sluices in which such tin-stuff is washed, after it has run through the launders from the mills, because the fine tin-stone is either held back by the twigs, or if the current carries them along they fall away from the water and settle down. seven methods of washing are in common use for the ores of many metals; for they are washed either in a simple buddle, or in a divided buddle, or in an ordinary strake, or in a large tank, or in a short strake, or in a canvas strake, or in a jigging sieve. other methods of washing are either peculiar to some particular metal, or are combined with the method of crushing wet ore by stamps. [illustration (buddles): a--head of buddle. b--pipe. c--buddle. d--board. e--transverse buddle. f--shovel. g--scrubber.] a simple buddle is made in the following way. in the first place, the head is higher than the rest of the buddle, and is three feet long and a foot and a half broad; this head is made of planks laid upon a timber and fastened, and on both sides, side-boards are set up so as to hold the water, which flows in through a pipe or trough, so that it shall fall straight down. the middle of the head is somewhat depressed in order that the broken rock and the larger metallic particles may settle into it. the buddle is sunk into the earth to a depth of three-quarters of a foot below the head, and is twelve feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep; the bottom and each side are lined with planks to prevent the earth, when it is softened by the water, from falling in or from absorbing the metallic particles. the lower end of the buddle is obstructed by a board, which is not as high as the sides. to this straight buddle there is joined a second transverse buddle, six feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep, similarly lined with planks; at the lower end it is closed up with a board, also lower than the sides of the buddle so that the water can flow away; this water falls into a launder and is carried outside the building. in this simple buddle is washed the metallic material which has passed on to the floor of the works through the five large sieves. when this has been gathered into a heap, the washer throws it into the head of the buddle, and water is poured upon it through the pipe or small trough, and the portion which sinks and settles in the middle of the head compartment he stirs with a wooden scrubber,--this is what we will henceforth call the implement made of a stick to which is fixed a piece of wood a foot long and a palm broad. the water is made turbid by this stirring, and carries the mud and sand and small particles of metal into the buddle below. together with the broken rock, the larger metallic particles remain in the head compartment, and when these have been removed, boys throw them upon the platform of a washing tank or the short strake, and separate them from the broken rock. when the buddle is full of mud and sand, the washer closes the pipe through which the water flows into the head; very soon the water which remains in the buddle flows away, and when this has taken place, he removes with a shovel the mud and sand which are mixed with minute particles of metal, and washes them on a canvas strake. sometimes before the buddles have been filled full, the boys throw the material into a bowl and carry it to the strakes and wash it. pulverized ore is washed in the head of this kind of a buddle; but usually when tin-stone is washed in it, interlacing fir boughs are put into the buddle, in the same manner as in the sluice when wet ore is crushed with stamps. the larger tin-stone particles, which sink in the upper part of the buddle, are washed separately in a strake; those particles which are of medium size, and settle in the middle part, are washed separately in the same way; and the mud mixed with minute particles of tin-stone, which has settled in the lowest part of the buddle below the fir boughs, is washed separately on the canvas strakes. [illustration (buddles): a--pipe. b--cross launder. c--small troughs. d--head of the buddle. e--wooden scrubber. f--dividing boards. g--short strake.] the divided buddle differs from the last one by having several cross-boards, which, being placed inside it, divide it off like steps; if the buddle is twelve feet long, four of them are placed within; if nine feet long, three. the nearer each one is to the head, the greater is its height; the further from the head, the lower it is; and so when the highest is a foot and a palm high, the second is usually a foot and three digits high, the third a foot and two digits, and the lowest a foot and one digit. in this buddle is generally washed that metalliferous material which has been sifted through the large sieve into the tub containing water. this material is continuously thrown with an iron shovel into the head of the buddle, and the water which has been let in is stirred up by a wooden scrubber, until the buddle is full, then the cross-boards are taken out by the washer, and the water is drained off; next the metalliferous material which has settled in the compartments is again washed, either on a short strake or on the canvas strakes or in the jigging sieves. since a short strake is often united with the upper part of this buddle, a pipe in the first place carries the water into a cross launder, from which it flows down through one little launder into the buddle, and through another into the short strake. [illustration (washing material): a--head. b--strake. c--trowel. d--scrubber. e--canvas. f--rod by which the canvas is made smooth.] an ordinary strake, so far as the planks are concerned, is not unlike the last two. the head of this, as of the others, is first made of earth stamped down, then covered with planks; and where it is necessary, earth is thrown in and beaten down a second time, so that no crevice may remain through which water carrying the particles of metal can escape. the water ought to fall straight down into the strake, which has a length of eight feet and a breadth of a foot and a half; it is connected with a transverse launder, which then extends to a settling pit outside the building. a boy with a shovel or a ladle takes the impure concentrates or impure tin-stone from a heap, and throws them into the head of the strake or spreads them over it. a washer with a wooden scrubber then agitates them in the strake, whereby the mud mixed with water flows away into the transverse launder, and the concentrates or the tin-stone settle on the strake. since sometimes the concentrates or fine tin-stone flow down together with the mud into the transverse launder, a second washer closes it, after a distance of about six feet, with a cross-board and frequently stirs the mud with a shovel, in order that when mixed with water it may flow out into the settling-pit; and there remains in the launder only the concentrates or tin-stone. the tin-stuff of schlackenwald and erbisdorff is washed in this kind of a strake once or twice; those of altenberg three or four times; those of geyer often seven times; for in the ore at schlackenwald and erbisdorff the tin-stone particles are of a fair size, and are crushed with stamps; at altenberg they are of much smaller size, and in the broken ore at geyer only a few particles of tin-stone can be seen occasionally. this method of washing was first devised by the miners who treated tin ore, whence it passed on from the works of the tin workers to those of the silver workers and others; this system is even more reliable than washing in jigging-sieves. near this ordinary strake there is generally a canvas strake. [illustration (washing material): a--upper cross launder. b--small launders. c--heads of strakes. d--strakes. e--lower transverse launder. f--settling pit. g--socket in the sill. h--halved iron rings fixed to beam. i--pole. k--its little scrubber. l--second small scrubber.] in modern times two ordinary strakes, similarly made, are generally joined together; the head of one is three feet distant from that of the other, while the bodies are four feet distant from each other, and there is only one cross launder under the two strakes. one boy shovels, from the heap into the head of each, the concentrates or tin-stone mixed with mud. there are two washers, one of whom sits at the right side of one strake, and the other at the left of the other strake, and each pursues his task, using the following sort of implement. under each strake is a sill, from a socket in which a round pole rises, and is held by half an iron ring in a beam of the building, so that it may revolve; this pole is nine feet long and a palm thick. penetrating the pole is a small round piece of wood, three palms long and as many digits thick, to which is affixed a small board two feet long and five digits wide, in an opening of which one end of a small axle revolves, and to this axle is fixed the handle of a little scrubber. the other end of this axle turns in an opening of a second board, which is likewise fixed to a small round piece of wood; this round piece, like the first one, is three palms long and as many digits thick, and is used by the washer as a handle. the little scrubber is made of a stick three feet long, to the end of which is fixed a small tablet of wood a foot long, six digits broad, and a digit and a half thick. the washer constantly moves the handle of this implement with one hand; in this way the little scrubber stirs the concentrates or the fine tin-stone mixed with mud in the head of the strake, and the mud, on being stirred, flows on to the strake. in the other hand he holds a second little scrubber, which has a handle of half the length, and with this he ceaselessly stirs the concentrates or tin-stone which have settled in the upper part of the strake; in this way the mud and water flow down into the transverse launder, and from it into the settling-pit which is outside the building. [illustration (washing material): a--trough. b--platform. c--wooden scrubber.] before the short strake and the jigging-sieve had been invented, metalliferous ores, especially tin, were crushed dry with stamps and washed in a large trough hollowed out of one or two tree trunks; and at the head of this trough was a platform, on which the ore was thrown after being completely crushed. the washer pulled it down into the trough with a wooden scrubber which had a long handle, and when the water had been let into the trough, he stirred the ore with the same scrubber. [illustration (washing material): a--short strake. b--small launder. c--transverse launder. d--wooden scrubber.] the short strake is narrow in the upper part where the water flows down into it through the little launder; in fact it is only two feet wide; at the lower end it is wider, being three feet and as many palms. at the sides, which are six feet long, are fixed boards two palms high. in other respects the head resembles the head of the simple buddle, except that it is not depressed in the middle. beneath is a cross launder closed by a low board. in this short strake not only is ore agitated and washed with a wooden scrubber, but boys also separate the concentrates from the broken rock in them and collect them in tubs. the short strake is now rarely employed by miners, owing to the carelessness of the boys, which has been frequently detected; for this reason, the jigging-sieve has taken its place. the mud which settles in the launder, if the ore is rich, is taken up and washed in a jigging-sieve or on a canvas strake. [illustration (washing material): a--beams. b--canvas. c--head of strake. d--small launder. e--settling pit or tank. f--wooden scrubber. g--tubs.] a canvas strake is made in the following way. two beams, eighteen feet long and half a foot broad and three palms thick, are placed on a slope; one half of each of these beams is partially cut away lengthwise, to allow the ends of planks to be fastened in them, for the bottom is covered by planks three feet long, set crosswise and laid close together. one half of each supporting beam is left intact and rises a palm above the planks, in order that the water that is running down may not escape at the sides, but shall flow straight down. the head of the strake is higher than the rest of the body, and slopes so as to enable the water to flow away. the whole strake is covered by six stretched pieces of canvas, smoothed with a stick. the first of them occupies the lowest division, and the second is so laid as to slightly overlap it; on the second division, the third is similarly laid, and so on, one on the other. if they are laid in the opposite way, the water flowing down carries the concentrates or particles of tin-stone under the canvas, and a useless task is attempted. boys or men throw the concentrates or tin-stuff mixed with mud into the head of the strake, after the canvas has been thus stretched, and having opened the small launder they let the water flow in; then they stir the concentrates or tin-stone with a wooden scrubber till the water carries them all on to the canvas; next they gently sweep the linen with the wooden scrubber until the mud flows into the settling-pit or into the transverse launder. as soon as there is little or no mud on the canvas, but only concentrates or tin-stone, they carry the canvas away and wash it in a tub placed close by. the tin-stone settles in the tub, and the men return immediately to the same task. finally, they pour the water out of the tub, and collect the concentrates or tin-stone. however, if either concentrates or tin-stone have washed down from the canvas and settled in the settling-pit or in the transverse launder, they wash the mud again. [illustration (collecting concentrates): a--canvas strake. b--man dashing water on the canvas. c--bucket. d--bucket of another kind. e--man removing concentrates or tin-stone from the trough.] some neither remove the canvas nor wash it in the tubs, but place over it on each edge narrow strips, of no great thickness, and fix them to the beams with nails. they agitate the metalliferous material with wooden scrubbers and wash it in a similar way. as soon as little or no mud remains on the canvas, but only concentrates or fine tin-stone, they lift one beam so that the whole strake rests on the other, and dash it with water, which has been drawn with buckets out of the small tank, and in this way all the sediment which clings to the canvas falls into the trough placed underneath. this trough is hewn out of a tree and placed in a ditch dug in the ground; the interior of the trough is a foot wide at the top, but narrower in the bottom, because it is rounded out. in the middle of this trough they put a cross-board, in order that the fairly large particles of concentrates or fairly large-sized tin-stone may remain in the forepart into which they have fallen, and the fine concentrates or fine tin-stone in the lower part, for the water flows from one into the other, and at last flows down through an opening into the pit. as for the fairly large-sized concentrates or tin-stone which have been removed from the trough, they are washed again on the ordinary strake. the fine concentrates and fine tin-stone are washed again on this canvas strake. by this method, the canvas lasts longer because it remains fixed, and nearly double the work is done by one washer as quickly as can be done by two washers by the other method. [illustration (jigging sieve): a--fine sieves. b--limp. c--finer sieve. d--finest sieve.] the jigging sieve has recently come into use by miners. the metalliferous material is thrown into it and sifted in a tub nearly full of water. the sieve is shaken up and down, and by this movement all the material below the size of a pea passes through into the tub, and the rest remains on the bottom of the sieve. this residue is of two kinds, the metallic particles, which occupy the lower place, and the particles of rock and earth, which take the higher place, because the heavy substance always settles, and the light is borne upward by the force of the water. this light material is taken away with a limp, which is a thin tablet of wood almost semicircular in shape, three-quarters of a foot long, and half a foot wide. before the lighter portion is taken away the contents of the sieve are generally divided crosswise with a limp, to enable the water to penetrate into it more quickly. afterward fresh material is again thrown into the sieve and shaken up and down, and when a great quantity of metallic particles have settled in the sieve, they are taken out and put into a tray close by. but since there fall into the tub with the mud, not only particles of gold or silver, but also of sand, pyrites, _cadmia_, galena, quartz, and other substances, and since the water cannot separate these from the metallic particles because they are all heavy, this muddy mixture is washed a second time, and the part which is useless is thrown away. to prevent the sieve passing this sand again too quickly, the washer lays small stones or gravel in the bottom of the sieve. however, if the sieve is not shaken straight up and down, but is tilted to one side, the small stones or broken ore move from one part to another, and the metallic material again falls into the tub, and the operation is frustrated. the miners of our country have made an even finer sieve, which does not fail even with unskilled washers; in washing with this sieve they have no need for the bottom to be strewn with small stones. by this method the mud settles in the tub with the very fine metallic particles, and the larger sizes of metal remain in the sieve and are covered with the valueless sand, and this is taken away with a limp. the concentrates which have been collected are smelted together with other things. the mud mixed with the very fine metallic particles is washed for a third time and in the finest sieve, whose bottom is woven of hair. if the ore is rich in metal, all the material which has been removed by the limp is washed on the canvas strakes, or if the ore is poor it is thrown away. i have explained the methods of washing which are used in common for the ores of many metals. i now come to another method of crushing ore, for i ought to speak of this before describing those methods of washing which are peculiar to ores of particular metals. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--mortar. b--open end of mortar. c--slab of rock. d--iron sole plates. e--screen. f--launder. g--wooden shovel. h--settling pit. i--iron shovel. k--heap of material which has settled. l--ore which requires crushing. m--small launder.] in the year , george, the illustrious duke of saxony[ ], gave the overlordship of all the dumps ejected from the mines in meissen to the noble and wise sigismund maltitz, father of john, bishop of meissen. rejecting the dry stamps, the large sieve, and the stone mills of dippoldswalde and altenberg, in which places are dug the small black stones from which tin is smelted, he invented a machine which could crush the ore wet under iron-shod stamps. that is called "wet ore" which is softened by water which flows into the mortar box, and they are sometimes called "wet stamps" because they are drenched by the same water; and on the other hand, the other kinds are called "dry stamps" or "dry ore," because no water is used to soften the ore when the stamps are crushing. but to return to our subject. this machine is not dissimilar to the one which crushes the ore with dry iron-shod stamps, but the heads of the wet stamps are larger by half than the heads of the others. the mortar-box, which is made of oak or beech timber, is set up in the space between the upright posts; it does not open in front, but at one end, and it is three feet long, three-quarters of a foot wide, and one foot and six digits deep. if it has no bottom, it is set up in the same way over a slab of hard, smooth rock placed in the ground, which has been dug down a little. the joints are stopped up all round with moss or cloth rags. if the mortar has a bottom, then an iron sole-plate, three feet long, three-quarters of a foot wide, and a palm thick, is placed in it. in the opening in the end of the mortar there is fixed an iron plate full of holes, in such a way that there is a space of two digits between it and the shoe of the nearest stamp, and the same distance between this screen and the upright post, in an opening through which runs a small but fairly long launder. the crushed particles of silver ore flow through this launder with the water into a settling-pit, while the material which settles in the launder is removed with an iron shovel to the nearest planked floor; that material which has settled in the pit is removed with an iron shovel on to another floor. most people make two launders, in order that while the workman empties one of them of the accumulation which has settled in it, a fresh deposit may be settling in the other. the water flows in through a small launder at the other end of the mortar that is near the water-wheel which turns the machine. the workman throws the ore to be crushed into the mortar in such a way that the pieces, when they are thrown in among the stamps, do not impede the work. by this method a silver or gold ore is crushed very fine by the stamps. [illustration (buddle): a--launder reaching to the screen. b--transverse trough. c--spouts. d--large buddles. e--shovel. f--interwoven twigs. g--boards closing the buddles. h--cross trough.] when tin ore is crushed by this kind of iron-shod stamps, as soon as crushing begins, the launder which extends from the screen discharges the water carrying the fine tin-stone and fine sand into a transverse trough, from which the water flows down through the spouts, which pierce the side of the trough, into the one or other of the large buddles set underneath. the reason why there are two is that, while the washer empties the one which is filled with fine tin-stone and sand, the material may flow into the other. each buddle is twelve feet long, one cubit deep, and a foot and a half broad. the tin-stone which settles in the upper part of the buddles is called the large size; these are frequently stirred with a shovel, in order that the medium sized particles of tin-stone, and the mud mixed with the very fine particles of the stones may flow away. the particles of medium size generally settle in the middle part of the buddle, where they are arrested by interwoven fir twigs. the mud which flows down with the water settles between the twigs and the board which closes the lower end of the buddle. the tin-stone of large size is removed separately from the buddle with a shovel; those of medium size are also removed separately, and likewise the mud is removed separately, for they are separately washed on the canvas strakes and on the ordinary strake, and separately roasted and smelted. the tin-stone which has settled in the middle part of the buddle, is also always washed separately on the canvas strakes; but if the particles are nearly equal in size to those which have settled in the upper part of the buddle, they are washed with them in the ordinary strake and are roasted and smelted with them. however, the mud is never washed with the others, either on the canvas strakes or on the ordinary strake, but separately, and the fine tin-stone which is obtained from it is roasted and smelted separately. the two large buddles discharge into a cross trough, and it again empties through a launder into a settling-pit which is outside the building. this method of washing has lately undergone a considerable change; for the launder which carries the water, mixed with the crushed tin-stone and fine sand which flow from the openings of the screen, does not reach to a transverse trough which is inside the same room, but runs straight through a partition into a small settling-pit. a boy draws a three-toothed rake through the material which has settled in the portion of the launder outside the room, by which means the larger sized particles of tin-stone settle at the bottom, and these the washer takes out with the wooden shovel and carries into the room; this material is thrown into an ordinary strake and swept with a wooden scrubber and washed. as for those tin-stone particles which the water carries off from the strake, after they have been brought back on to the strake, he washes them again until they are clean. [illustration (buddle): a--first launder. b--three-toothed rake. c--small settling pit. d--large buddle. e--buddle resembling the simple buddle. f--small roller. g--boards. h--their holes. i--shovel. k--building. l--stove. (this picture does not entirely agree with the text).] the remaining tin-stone, mixed with sand, flows into the small settling-pit which is within the building, and this discharges into two large buddles. the tin-stone of moderate size, mixed with those of fairly large size, settle in the upper part, and the small size in the lower part; but both are impure, and for this reason they are taken out separately and the former is washed twice, first in a buddle like the simple buddle, and afterward on an ordinary strake. likewise the latter is washed twice, first on a canvas strake and afterward on an ordinary strake. this buddle, which is like the simple buddle, differs from it in the head, the whole of which in this case is sloping, while in the case of the other it is depressed in the centre. in order that the boy may be able to rest the shovel with which he cleanses the tin-stone, this sluice has a small wooden roller which turns in holes in two thick boards fixed to the sides of the buddle; if he did not do this, he would become over-exhausted by his task, for he spends whole days standing over these labours. the large buddle, the one like the simple buddle, the ordinary strake, and the canvas strakes, are erected within a special building. in this building there is a stove that gives out heat through the earthen tiles or iron plates of which it is composed, in order that the washers can pursue their labours even in winter, if the rivers are not completely frozen over. [illustration (workroom with settling-pit): a--launder from the screen of the mortar-box. b--three-toothed rake. c--small settling-pit. d--canvas. e--strakes. f--brooms.] on the canvas strakes are washed the very fine tin-stone mixed with mud which has settled in the lower end of the large buddle, as well as in the lower end of the simple buddle and of the ordinary strake. the canvas is cleaned in a trough hewn out of one tree trunk and partitioned off with two boards, so that three compartments are made. the first and second pieces of canvas are washed in the first compartment, the third and fourth in the second compartment, the fifth and sixth in the third compartment. since among the very fine tin-stone there are usually some grains of stone, rock, or marble, the master cleanses them on the ordinary strake, lightly brushing the top of the material with a broom, the twigs of which do not all run the same way, but some straight and some crosswise. in this way the water carries off these impurities from the strake into the settling-pit because they are lighter, and leaves the tin-stone on the table because it is heavier. below all buddles or strakes, both inside and outside the building, there are placed either settling-pits or cross-troughs into which they discharge, in order that the water may carry on down into the stream but very few of the most minute particles of tin-stone. the large settling-pit which is outside the building is generally made of joined flooring, and is eight feet in length, breadth and depth. when a large quantity of mud, mixed with very fine tin-stone, has settled in it, first of all the water is let out by withdrawing a plug, then the mud which is taken out is washed outside the house on the canvas strakes, and afterward the concentrates are washed on the strake which is inside the building. by these methods the very finest tin-stone is made clean. [illustration (streaming for tin): a--river. b--weir. c--gate. d--area. e--meadow. f--fence. g--ditch.] the mud mixed with the very fine tin-stone, which has neither settled in the large settling-pit nor in the transverse launder which is outside the room and below the canvas strakes, flows away and settles in the bed of the stream or river. in order to recover even a portion of the fine tin-stone, many miners erect weirs in the bed of the stream or river, very much like those that are made above the mills, to deflect the current into the races through which it flows to the water-wheels. at one side of each weir there is an area dug out to a depth of five or six or seven feet, and if the nature of the place will permit, extending in every direction more than sixty feet. thus, when the water of the river or stream in autumn and winter inundates the land, the gates of the weir are closed, by which means the current carries the mud mixed with fine tin-stone into the area. in spring and summer this mud is washed on the canvas strakes or on the ordinary strake, and even the finest black-tin is collected. within a distance of four thousand fathoms along the bed of the stream or river below the buildings in which the tin-stuff is washed, the miners do not make such weirs, but put inclined fences in the meadows, and in front of each fence they dig a ditch of the same length, so that the mud mixed with the fine tin-stone, carried along by the stream or river when in flood, may settle in the ditch and cling to the fence. when this mud is collected, it is likewise washed on canvas strakes and on the ordinary strake, in order that the fine tin-stone may be separated from it. indeed we may see many such areas and fences collecting mud of this kind in meissen below altenberg in the river moglitz,--which is always of a reddish colour when the rock containing the black tin is being crushed under the stamps. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--first machine. b--its stamps. c--its mortar-box. d--second machine. e--its stamps. f--its mortar-box. g--third machine. h--its stamps. i--its mortar-box. k--fourth machine. l--its stamps. m--its mortar-box.] but to return to the stamping machines. some usually set up four machines of this kind in one place, that is to say, two above and the same number below. by this plan it is necessary that the current which has been diverted should fall down from a greater height upon the upper water-wheels, because these turn axles whose cams raise heavier stamps. the stamp-stems of the upper machines should be nearly twice as long as the stems of the lower ones, because all the mortar-boxes are placed on the same level. these stamps have their tappets near their upper ends, not as in the case of the lower stamps, which are placed just above the bottom. the water flowing down from the two upper water-wheels is caught in two broad races, from which it falls on to the two lower water-wheels. since all these machines have the stamps very close together, the stems should be somewhat cut away, to prevent the iron shoes from rubbing each other at the point where they are set into the stems. where so many machines cannot be constructed, by reason of the narrowness of the valley, the mountain is excavated and levelled in two places, one of which is higher than the other, and in this case two machines are constructed and generally placed in one building. a broad race receives in the same way the water which flows down from the upper water-wheel, and similarly lets it fall on the lower water-wheel. the mortar-boxes are not then placed on one level, but each on the level which is appropriate to its own machine, and for this reason, two workmen are then required to throw ore into the mortar-boxes. when no stream can be diverted which will fall from a higher place upon the top of the water-wheel, one is diverted which will turn the foot of the wheel; a great quantity of water from the stream is collected in one pool capable of holding it, and from this place, when the gates are raised, the water is discharged against the wheel which turns in the race. the buckets of a water-wheel of this kind are deeper and bent back, projecting upward; those of the former are shallower and bent forward, inclining downward. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--stamps. b--mortar. c--plates full of holes. d--transverse launder. e--planks full of cup-like depressions. f--spout. g--bowl into which the concentrates fall. h--canvas strake. i--bowls shaped like a small boat. k--settling-pit under the canvas strake.] further, in the julian and rhaetian alps[ ] and in the carpathian mountains, gold or even silver ore is now put under stamps, which are sometimes placed more than twenty in a row, and crushed wet in a long mortar-box. the mortar has two plates full of holes through which the ore, after being crushed, flows out with the water into the transverse launder placed underneath, and from there it is carried down by two spouts into the heads of the canvas strakes. each head is made of a thick broad plank, which can be raised and set upright, and to which on each side are fixed pieces projecting upward. in this plank there are many cup-like depressions equal in size and similar in shape, in each of which an egg could be placed. right down in these depressions are small crevices which can retain the concentrates of gold or silver, and when the hollows are nearly filled with these materials, the plank is raised on one side so that the concentrates will fall into a large bowl. the cup-like depressions are washed out by dashing them with water. these concentrates are washed separately in different bowls from those which have settled on the canvas. this bowl is smooth and two digits wide and deep, being in shape very similar to a small boat; it is broad in the fore part, narrow in the back, and in the middle of it there is a cross groove, in which the particles of pure gold or silver settle, while the grains of sand, since they are lighter, flow out of it. in some parts of moravia, gold ore, which consists of quartz mixed with gold, is placed under the stamps and crushed wet. when crushed fine it flows out through a launder into a trough, is there stirred by a wooden scrubber, and the minute particles of gold which settle in the upper end of the trough are washed in a black bowl. so far i have spoken of machines which crush wet ore with iron-shod stamps. i will now explain the methods of washing which are in a measure peculiar to the ore of certain metals, beginning with gold. the ore which contains particles of this metal, and the sand of streams and rivers which contains grains of it, are washed in frames or bowls; the sands especially are also washed in troughs. more than one method is employed for washing on frames, for these frames either pass or retain the particles or concentrates of gold; they pass them if they have holes, and retain them if they have no holes. but either the frame itself has holes, or a box is substituted for it; if the frame itself is perforated it passes the particles or concentrates of gold into a trough; if the box has them, it passes the gold material into the long sluice. i will first speak of these two methods of washing. the frame is made of two planks joined together, and is twelve feet long and three feet wide, and is full of holes large enough for a pea to pass. to prevent the ore or sand with which the gold is mixed from falling out at the sides, small projecting edge-boards are fixed to it. this frame is set upon two stools, the first of which is higher than the second, in order that the gravel and small stones can roll down it. the washer throws the ore or sand into the head of the frame, which is higher, and opening the small launder, lets the water into it, and then agitates it with a wooden scrubber. in this way, the gravel and small stones roll down the frame on to the ground, while the particles or concentrates of gold, together with the sand, pass through the holes into the trough which is placed under the frame, and after being collected are washed in the bowl. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--frame. c--holes. d--edge-boards. e--stools. f--scrubber. g--trough. h--launder. i--bowl.] [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--sluice. b--box. c--bottom of inverted box. d--open part of it. e--iron hoe. f--riffles. g--small launder. h--bowl with which settlings are taken away. i--black bowl in which they are washed.] a box which has a bottom made of a plate full of holes, is placed over the upper end of a sluice, which is fairly long but of moderate width. the gold material to be washed is thrown into this box, and a great quantity of water is let in. the lumps, if ore is being washed, are mashed with an iron shovel. the fine portions fall through the bottom of the box into the sluice, but the coarse pieces remain in the box, and these are removed with a scraper through an opening which is nearly in the middle of one side. since a large amount of water is necessarily let into the box, in order to prevent it from sweeping away any particles of gold which have fallen into the sluice, the sluice is divided off by ten, or if it is as long again, by fifteen riffles. these riffles are placed equidistant from one another, and each is higher than the one next toward the lower end of the sluice. the little compartments which are thus made are filled with the material and the water which flows through the box; as soon as these compartments are full and the water has begun to flow over clear, the little launder through which this water enters into the box is closed, and the water is turned in another direction. then the lowest riffle is removed from the sluice, and the sediment which has accumulated flows out with the water and is caught in a bowl. the riffles are removed one by one and the sediment from each is taken into a separate bowl, and each is separately washed and cleansed in a bowl. the larger particles of gold concentrates settle in the higher compartments, the smaller size, in the lower compartments. this bowl is shallow and smooth, and smeared with oil or some other slippery substance, so that the tiny particles of gold may not cling to it, and it is painted black, that the gold may be more easily discernible; on the exterior, on both sides and in the middle, it is slightly hollowed out in order that it may be grasped and held firmly in the hands when shaken. by this method the particles or concentrates of gold settle in the back part of the bowl; for if the back part of the bowl is tapped or shaken with one hand, as is usual, the contents move toward the fore part. in this way the moravians, especially, wash gold ore. the gold particles are also caught on frames which are either bare or covered. if bare, the particles are caught in pockets; if covered, they cling to the coverings. pockets are made in various ways, either with iron wire or small cross-boards fixed to the frame, or by holes which are sunk into the sluice itself or into its head, but which do not quite go through. these holes are round or square, or are grooves running crosswise. the frames are either covered with skins, pieces of cloth, or turf, which i will deal with one by one in turn. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--plank. b--side-boards. c--iron wire. d--handles.] in order to prevent the sand which contains the particles of gold from spilling out, the washer fixes side-boards to the edges of a plank which is six feet long and one and a quarter wide. he then lays crosswise many iron wires a digit apart, and where they join he fixes them to the bottom plank with iron nails. then he makes the head of the frame higher, and into this he throws the sand which needs washing, and taking in his hands the handles which are at the head of the frame, he draws it backward and forward several times in the river or stream. in this way the small stones and gravel flow down along the frame, and the sand mixed with particles of gold remains in the pockets between the strips. when the contents of the pockets have been shaken out and collected in one place, he washes them in a bowl and thus cleans the gold dust. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of the sluice. b--riffles. c--wooden scrubber. d--pointed stick. e--dish. f--its cup-like depression. g--grooved dish.] other people, among whom are the lusitanians[ ], fix to the sides of a sluice, which is about six feet long and a foot and a half broad, many cross-strips or riffles, which project backward and are a digit apart. the washer or his wife lets the water into the head of the sluice, where he throws the sand which contains the particles of gold. as it flows down he agitates it with a wooden scrubber, which he moves transversely to the riffles. he constantly removes with a pointed wooden stick the sediment which settles in the pockets between the riffles, and in this way the particles of gold settle in them, while the sand and other valueless materials are carried by the water into a tub placed below the sluice. he removes the particles of metal with a small wooden shovel into a wooden bowl. this bowl does not exceed a foot and a quarter in breadth, and by moving it up and down in the stream he cleanses the gold dust, for the remaining sand flows out of the dish, and the gold dust settles in the middle of it, where there is a cup-like depression. some make use of a bowl which is grooved inside like a shell, but with a smooth lip where the water flows out. this smooth place, however, is narrower where the grooves run into it, and broader where the water flows out. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of the sluice. b--side-boards. c--lower end of the sluice. d--pockets. e--grooves. f--stools. g--shovel. h--tub set below. i--launder.] the cup-like pockets and grooves are cut or burned at the same time into the bottom of the sluice; the bottom is composed of three planks ten feet long, and is about four feet wide; but the lower end, through which the water is discharged, is narrower. this sluice, which likewise has side-boards fixed to its edges, is full of rounded pockets and of grooves which lead to them, there being two grooves to one pocket, in order that the water mixed with sand may flow into each pocket through the upper groove, and that after the sand has partly settled, the water may again flow out through the lower groove. the sluice is set in the river or stream or on the bank, and placed on two stools, of which the first is higher than the second in order that the gravel and small stones may roll down the sluice. the washer throws sand into the head with a shovel, and opening the launder, lets in the water, which carries the particles of metal with a little sand down into the pockets, while the gravel and small stones with the rest of the sand falls into a tub placed below the sluice. as soon as the pockets are filled, he brushes out the concentrates and washes them in a bowl. he washes again and again through this sluice. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--cross grooves. b--tub set under the sluice. c--another tub.] some people cut a number of cross-grooves, one palm distant from each other, in a sluice similarly composed of three planks eight feet long. the upper edge of these grooves is sloping, that the particles of gold may slip into them when the washer stirs the sand with a wooden shovel; but their lower edge is vertical so that the gold particles may thus be unable to slide out of them. as soon as these grooves are full of gold particles mixed with fine sand, the sluice is removed from the stools and raised up on its head. the head in this case is nothing but the upper end of the planks of which the sluice is composed. in this way the metallic particles, being turned over backward, fall into another tub, for the small stones and gravel have rolled down the sluice. some people place large bowls under the sluice instead of tubs, and as in the other cases, the unclean concentrates are washed in the small bowl. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--sluice covered with canvas. b--its head full of pockets and grooves. c--head removed and washed in a tub. d--sluice which has square pockets. e--sluice to whose planks small shavings cling. f--broom. g--skins of oxen. h--wooden scrubber.] the thuringians cut rounded pockets, a digit in diameter and depth, in the head of the sluice, and at the same time they cut grooves reaching from one to another. the sluice itself they cover with canvas. the sand which is to be washed, is thrown into the head and stirred with a wooden scrubber; in this way the water carries the light particles of gold on to the canvas, and the heavy ones sink in the pockets, and when these hollows are full, the head is removed and turned over a tub, and the concentrates are collected and washed in a bowl. some people make use of a sluice which has square pockets with short vertical recesses which hold the particles of gold. other workers use a sluice made of planks, which are rough by reason of the very small shavings which still cling to them; these sluices are used instead of those with coverings, of which this sluice is bare, and when the sand is washed, the particles of gold cling no less to these shavings than to canvas, or skins, or cloths, or turf. the washer sweeps the sluice upward with a broom, and when he has washed as much of the sand as he wishes, he lets a more abundant supply of water into the sluice again to wash out the concentrates, which he collects in a tub set below the sluice, and then washes again in a bowl. just as thuringians cover the sluice with canvas, so some people cover it with the skins of oxen or horses. they push the auriferous sand upward with a wooden scrubber, and by this system the light material flows away with the water, while the particles of gold settle among the hairs; the skins are afterward washed in a tub; and the concentrates are collected in a bowl. [illustration (washing material in spring): a--spring. b--skin. c--argonauts.] the colchians[ ] placed the skins of animals in the pools of springs; and since many particles of gold had clung to them when they were removed, poets invented the "golden fleece" of the colchians. in like manner, it can be contrived by the methods of miners that skins should take up, not only particles of gold, but also of silver and gems. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--frame. c--cloth. d--small launder. e--tub set below the frame. f--tub in which cloth is washed.] many people cover the frame with a green cloth as long and wide as the frame itself, and fasten it with iron nails in such a way that they can easily draw them out and remove the cloth. when the cloth appears to be golden because of the particles which adhere to it, it is washed in a special tub and the particles are collected in a bowl. the remainder which has run down into the tub is again washed on the frame. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--cloth full of small knots, spread out. b--small knots more conspicuously shown. c--tub in which cloth is washed.] some people, in place of a green cloth, use a cloth of tightly woven horsehair, which has a rough knotty surface. since these knots stand out and the cloth is rough, even the very small particles of gold adhere to it; these cloths are likewise washed in a tub with water. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--small launder through which water flows into head of frame. c--pieces of turf. d--trough placed under frame. e--tub in which pieces of turf are washed.] some people construct a frame not unlike the one covered with canvas, but shorter. in place of the canvas they set pieces of turf in rows. they wash the sand, which has been thrown into the head of the frame, by letting in water. in this way the particles of gold settle in the turf, the mud and sand, together with the water, are carried down into the settling-pit or trough below, which is opened when the work is finished. after all the water has passed out of the settling-pit, the sand and mud are carried away and washed over again in the same manner. the particles which have clung to the turf are afterward washed down into the settling-pit or trough by a stronger current of the water, which is let into the frame through a small launder. the concentrates are finally collected and washed in a bowl. pliny was not ignorant of this method of washing gold. "the ulex," he says, "after being dried, is burnt, and its ashes are washed over a grassy turf, that the gold may settle on it." [illustration (trays for washing alluvial): a--tray. b--bowl-like depression. c--handles.] sand mixed with particles of gold is also washed in a tray, or in a trough or bowl. the tray is open at the further end, is either hewn out of a squared trunk of a tree or made out of a thick plank to which side-boards are fixed, and is three feet long, a foot and a half wide, and three digits deep. the bottom is hollowed out into the shape of an elongated bowl whose narrow end is turned toward the head, and it has two long handles, by which it is drawn backward and forward in the river. in this way the fine sand is washed, whether it contains particles of gold or the little black stones from which tin is made. [illustration (trough for washing alluvial): a--trough. b--its open end. c--end that may be closed. d--stream. e--hoe. f--end-board. g--bag.] the italians who come to the german mountains seeking gold, in order to wash the river sand which contains gold-dust and garnets,[ ] use a fairly long shallow trough hewn out of a tree, rounded within and without, open at one end and closed at the other, which they turn in the bed of the stream in such a way that the water does not dash into it, but flows in gently. they stir the sand, which they throw into it, with a wooden hoe, also rounded. to prevent the particles of gold or garnets from running out with the light sand, they close the end with a board similarly rounded, but lower than the sides of the trough. the concentrates of gold or garnets which, with a small quantity of heavy sand, have settled in the trough, they wash in a bowl and collect in bags and carry away with them. [illustration (bowls for alluvial washing): a--large bowl. b--ropes. c--beam. d--other large bowl which coiners use. e--small bowl.] some people wash this kind of sand in a large bowl which can easily be shaken, the bowl being suspended by two ropes from a beam in a building. the sand is thrown into it, water is poured in, then the bowl is shaken, and the muddy water is poured out and clear water is again poured in, this being done again and again. in this way, the gold particles settle in the back part of the bowl because they are heavy, and the sand in the front part because it is light; the latter is thrown away, the former kept for smelting. the one who does the washing then returns immediately to his task. this method of washing is rarely used by miners, but frequently by coiners and goldsmiths when they wash gold, silver, or copper. the bowl they employ has only three handles, one of which they grasp in their hands when they shake the bowl, and in the other two is fastened a rope by which the bowl is hung from a beam, or from a cross-piece which is upheld by the forks of two upright posts fixed in the ground. miners frequently wash ore in a small bowl to test it. this bowl, when shaken, is held in one hand and thumped with the other hand. in other respects this method of washing does not differ from the last. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--stream. b--ditch. c--mattock. d--pieces of turf. e--seven-pronged fork. f--iron shovel. g--trough. h--another trough below it. i--small wooden trowel.] i have spoken of the various methods of washing sand which contains grains of gold; i will now speak of the methods of washing the material in which are mixed the small black stones from which tin is made[ ]. eight such methods are in use, and of these two have been invented lately. such metalliferous material is usually found torn away from veins and stringers and scattered far and wide by the impetus of water, although sometimes _venae dilatatae_ are composed of it. the miners dig out the latter material with a broad mattock, while they dig the former with a pick. but they dig out the little stones, which are not rare in this kind of ore, with an instrument like the bill of a duck. in districts which contain this material, if there is an abundant supply of water, and if there are valleys or gentle slopes and hollows, so that rivers can be diverted into them, the washers in summer-time first of all dig a long ditch sloping so that the water will run through it rapidly. into the ditch is thrown the metallic material, together with the surface material, which is six feet thick, more or less, and often contains moss, roots of plants, shrubs, trees, and earth; they are all thrown in with a broad mattock, and the water flows through the ditch. the sand and tin-stone, as they are heavy, sink to the bottom of the ditch, while the moss and roots, as they are light, are carried away by the water which flows through the ditch. the bottom of the ditch is obstructed with turf and stones in order to prevent the water from carrying away the tin-stone at the same time. the washers, whose feet are covered with high boots made of hide, though not of rawhide, themselves stand in the ditch and throw out of it the roots of the trees, shrubs, and grass with seven-pronged wooden forks, and push back the tin-stone toward the head of the ditch. after four weeks, in which they have devoted much work and labour, they raise the tin-stone in the following way; the sand with which it is mixed is repeatedly lifted from the ditch with an iron shovel and agitated hither and thither in the water, until the sand flows away and only the tin-stone remains on the shovel. the tin-stone is all collected together and washed again in a trough by pushing it up and turning it over with a wooden trowel, in order that the remaining sand may separate from it. afterward they return to their task, which they continue until the metalliferous material is exhausted, or until the water can no longer be diverted into the ditches. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--trough. b--wooden shovel. c--tub. d--launder. e--wooden trowel. f--transverse trough. g--plug. h--falling water. i--ditch. k--barrow conveying material to be washed. l--pick like the beak of a duck with which the miner digs out the material from which the small stones are obtained.] the trough which i mentioned is hewn out of the trunk of a tree and the interior is five feet long, three-quarters of a foot deep, and six digits wide. it is placed on an incline and under it is put a tub which contains interwoven fir twigs, or else another trough is put under it, the interior of which is three feet long and one foot wide and deep; the fine tin-stone, which has run out with the water, settles in the bottom. some people, in place of a trough, put a square launder underneath, and in like manner they wash the tin-stone in this by agitating it up and down and turning it over with a small wooden trowel. a transverse trough is put under the launder, which is either open on one end and drains off into a tub or settling-pit, or else is closed and perforated through the bottom; in this case, it drains into a ditch beneath, where the water falls when the plug has been partly removed. the nature of this ditch i will now describe. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--launder. b--interlacing fir twigs. c--logs; three on one side, for the fourth cannot be seen because the ditch is so full with material now being washed. d--logs at the head of the ditch. e--barrow. f--seven-pronged fork. g--hoe.] if the locality does not supply an abundance of water, the washers dig a ditch thirty or thirty-six feet long, and cover the bottom, the full length, with logs joined together and hewn on the side which lies flat on the ground. on each side of the ditch, and at its head also, they place four logs, one above the other, all hewn smooth on the inside. but since the logs are laid obliquely along the sides, the upper end of the ditch is made four feet wide and the tail end, two feet. the water has a high drop from a launder and first of all it falls into interlaced fir twigs, in order that it shall fall straight down for the most part in an unbroken stream and thus break up the lumps by its weight. some do not place these twigs under the end of the launder, but put a plug in its mouth, which, since it does not entirely close the launder, nor altogether prevent the discharge from it, nor yet allow the water to spout far afield, makes it drop straight down. the workman brings in a wheelbarrow the material to be washed, and throws it into the ditch. the washer standing in the upper end of the ditch breaks the lumps with a seven-pronged fork, and throws out the roots of trees, shrubs, and grass with the same instrument, and thereby the small black stones settle down. when a large quantity of the tin-stone has accumulated, which generally happens when the washer has spent a day at this work, to prevent it from being washed away he places it upon the bank, and other material having been again thrown into the upper end of the ditch, he continues the task of washing. a boy stands at the lower end of the ditch, and with a thin pointed hoe stirs up the sediment which has settled at the lower end, to prevent the washed tin-stone from being carried further, which occurs when the sediment has accumulated to such an extent that the fir branches at the outlet of the ditch are covered. [illustration (sifting ore): a--strakes. b--tank. c--launder. d--plug. e--wooden shovel. f--wooden mallet. g--wooden shovel with short handle. h--the plug in the strake. i--tank placed under the plug.] the third method of washing materials of this kind follows. two strakes are made, each of which is twelve feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep. a tank is set at their head, into which the water flows through a little launder. a boy throws the ore into one strake; if it is of poor quality he puts in a large amount of it, if it is rich he puts in less. the water is let in by removing the plug, the ore is stirred with a wooden shovel, and in this way the tin-stone, mixed with the heavier material, settles in the bottom of the strake, and the water carries the light material into the launder, through which it flows on to a canvas strake. the very fine tin-stone, carried by the water, settles on to the canvas and is cleansed. a low cross-board is placed in the strake near the head, in order that the largest sized tin-stone may settle there. as soon as the strake is filled with the material which has been washed, he closes the mouth of the tank and continues washing in the other strake, and then the plug is withdrawn and the water and tin-stone flow down into a tank below. then he pounds the sides of the loaded strake with a wooden mallet, in order that the tin-stone clinging to the sides may fall off; all that has settled in it, he throws out with a wooden shovel which has a short handle. silver slags which have been crushed under the stamps, also fragments of silver-lead alloy and of cakes melted from pyrites, are washed in a strake of this kind. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--tub. c--water flowing out of the bottom of it. d--strake. e--three-toothed rake. f--wooden scrubber.] material of this kind is also washed while wet, in a sieve whose bottom is made of woven iron wire, and this is the fourth method of washing. the sieve is immersed in the water which is contained in a tub, and is violently shaken. the bottom of this tub has an opening of such size that as much water, together with tailings from the sieve, can flow continuously out of it as water flows into it. the material which settles in the strake, a boy either digs over with a three-toothed iron rake or sweeps with a wooden scrubber; in this way the water carries off a great part of both sand and mud. the tin-stone or metalliferous concentrates settle in the strake and are afterward washed in another strake. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--box. b--perforated plate. c--trough. d--cross-boards. e--pool. f--launder. g--shovel. h--rake.] these are ancient methods of washing material which contains tin-stone; there follow two modern methods. if the tin-stone mixed with earth or sand is found on the slopes of mountains or hills, or in the level fields which are either devoid of streams or into which a stream cannot be diverted, miners have lately begun to employ the following method of washing, even in the winter months. an open box is constructed of planks, about six feet long, three feet wide, and two feet and one palm deep. at the upper end on the inside, an iron plate three feet long and wide is fixed, at a depth of one foot and a half from the top; this plate is very full of holes, through which tin-stone about the size of a pea can fall. a trough hewn from a tree is placed under the box, and this trough is about twenty-four feet long and three-quarters of a foot wide and deep; very often three cross-boards are placed in it, dividing it off into compartments, each one of which is lower than the next. the turbid waters discharge into a settling-pit. the metalliferous material is sometimes found not very deep beneath the surface of the earth, but sometimes so deep that it is necessary to drive tunnels and sink shafts. it is transported to the washing-box in wheelbarrows, and when the washers are about to begin they lay a small launder, through which there flows on to the iron plate so much water as is necessary for this washing. next, a boy throws the metalliferous material on to the iron plate with an iron shovel and breaks the small lumps, stirring them this way and that with the same implement. then the water and sand penetrating the holes of the plate, fall into the box, while all the coarse gravel remains on the plate, and this he throws into a wheelbarrow with the same shovel. meantime, a younger boy continually stirs the sand under the plate with a wooden scrubber nearly as wide as the box, and drives it to the upper end of the box; the lighter material, as well as a small amount of tin-stone, is carried by the water down into the underlying trough. the boys carry on this labour without intermission until they have filled four wheelbarrows with the coarse and worthless residues, which they carry off and throw away, or three wheelbarrows if the material is rich in black tin. then the foreman has the plank removed which was in front of the iron plate, and on which the boy stood. the sand, mixed with the tin-stone, is frequently pushed backward and forward with a scrubber, and the same sand, because it is lighter, takes the upper place, and is removed as soon as it appears; that which takes the lower place is turned over with a spade, in order that any that is light can flow away; when all the tin-stone is heaped together, he shovels it out of the box and carries it away. while the foreman does this, one boy with an iron hoe stirs the sand mixed with fine tin-stone, which has run out of the box and has settled in the trough and pushes it back to the uppermost part of the trough, and this material, since it contains a very great amount of tin-stone, is thrown on to the plate and washed again. the material which has settled in the lowest part of the trough is taken out separately and piled in a heap, and is washed on the ordinary strake; that which has settled in the pool is washed on the canvas strake. in the summer-time this fruitful labour is repeated more often, in fact ten or eleven times. the tin-stone which the foreman removes from the box, is afterward washed in a jigging sieve, and lastly in a tub, where at length all the sand is separated out. finally, any material in which are mixed particles of other metals, can be washed by all these methods, whether it has been disintegrated from veins or stringers, or whether it originated from _venae dilatatae_, or from streams and rivers. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--launder. b--cross trough. c--two spouts. d--boxes. e--plate. f--grating. g--shovels. h--second cross trough. i--strake. k--wooden scrubber. l--third cross trough. m--launder. n--three-toothed rake.] the sixth method of washing material of this kind is even more modern and more useful than the last. two boxes are constructed, into each of which water flows through spouts from a cross trough into which it has been discharged through a pipe or launder. when the material has been agitated and broken up with iron shovels by two boys, part of it runs down and falls through the iron plates full of holes, or through the iron grating, and flows out of the box over a sloping surface into another cross trough, and from this into a strake seven feet long and two and a half feet wide. then the foreman again stirs it with a wooden scrubber that it may become clean. as for the material which has flowed down with the water and settled in the third cross trough, or in the launder which leads from it, a third boy rakes it with a two-toothed rake; in this way the fine tin-stone settles down and the water carries off the valueless sand into the creek. this method of washing is most advantageous, for four men can do the work of washing in two boxes, while the last method, if doubled, requires six men, for it requires two boys to throw the material to be washed on to the plate and to stir it with iron shovels; two more are required with wooden scrubbers to keep stirring the sand, mixed with the tin-stone, under the plate, and to push it toward the upper end of the box; further, two foremen are required to clean the tin-stone in the way i have described. in the place of a plate full of holes, they now fix in the boxes a grating made of iron wire as thick as the stalks of rye; that these may not be depressed by the weight and become bent, three iron bars support them, being laid crosswise underneath. to prevent the grating from being broken by the iron shovels with which the material is stirred in washing, five or six iron rods are placed on top in cross lines, and are fixed to the box so that the shovels may rub them instead of the grating; for this reason the grating lasts longer than the plates, because it remains intact, while the rods, when worn by rubbing, can easily be replaced by others. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--pits. b--torrent. c--seven-pronged fork. d--shovel.] miners use the seventh method of washing when there is no stream of water in the part of the mountain which contains the black tin, or particles of gold, or of other metals. in this case they frequently dig more than fifty ditches on the slope below, or make the same number of pits, six feet long, three feet wide, and three-quarters of a foot deep, not any great distance from each other. at the season when a torrent rises from storms of great violence or long duration, and rushes down the mountain, some of the miners dig the metalliferous material in the woods with broad hoes and drag it to the torrent. other miners divert the torrent into the ditches or pits, and others throw the roots of trees, shrubs, and grass out of the ditches or pits with seven-pronged wooden forks. when the torrent has run down, they remove with shovels the uncleansed tin-stone or particles of metal which have settled in the ditches or pits, and cleanse it. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--gully. b--ditch. c--torrent. d--sluice box employed by the lusitanians.] the eighth method is also employed in the regions which the lusitanians hold in their power and sway, and is not dissimilar to the last. they drive a great number of deep ditches in rows in the gullies, slopes, and hollows of the mountains. into these ditches the water, whether flowing down from snow melted by the heat of the sun or from rain, collects and carries together with earth and sand, sometimes tin-stone, or, in the case of the lusitanians, the particles of gold loosened from veins and stringers. as soon as the waters of the torrent have all run away, the miners throw the material out of the ditches with iron shovels, and wash it in a common sluice box. [illustration (trough for washing alluvial): a--trough. b--launder. c--hoe. d--sieve.] the poles wash the impure lead from _venae dilatatae_ in a trough ten feet long, three feet wide, and one and one-quarter feet deep. it is mixed with moist earth and is covered by a wet and sandy clay, and so first of all the clay, and afterward the ore, is dug out. the ore is carried to a stream or river, and thrown into a trough into which water is admitted by a little launder, and the washer standing at the lower end of the trough drags the ore out with a narrow and nearly pointed hoe, whose wooden handle is nearly ten feet long. it is washed over again once or twice in the same way and thus made pure. afterward when it has been dried in the sun they throw it into a copper sieve, and separate the very small pieces which pass through the sieve from the larger ones; of these the former are smelted in a faggot pile and the latter in the furnace. of such a number then are the methods of washing. [illustration (tin burning furnace): a--furnace. b--its mouth. c--poker. d--rake with two teeth. e--hoe.] one method of burning is principally employed, and two of roasting. the black tin is burned by a hot fire in a furnace similar to an oven[ ]; it is burned if it is a dark-blue colour, or if pyrites and the stone from which iron is made are mixed with it, for the dark blue colour if not burnt, consumes the tin. if pyrites and the other stone are not volatilised into fumes in a furnace of this kind, the tin which is made from the tin-stone is impure. the tin-stone is thrown either into the back part of the furnace, or into one side of it; but in the former case the wood is placed in front, in the latter case alongside, in such a manner, however, that neither firebrands nor coals may fall upon the tin-stone itself or touch it. the fuel is manipulated by a poker made of wood. the tin-stone is now stirred with a rake with two teeth, and now again levelled down with a hoe, both of which are made of iron. the very fine tin-stone requires to be burned less than that of moderate size, and this again less than that of the largest size. while the tin-stone is being thus burned, it frequently happens that some of the material runs together. the burned tin-stone should then be washed again on the strake, for in this way the material which has been run together is carried away by the water into the cross-trough, where it is gathered up and worked over, and again washed on the strake. by this method the metal is separated from that which is devoid of metal. [illustration (stall roasting matte): a--pits. b--wood. c--cakes. d--launder.] cakes from pyrites, or _cadmia_, or cupriferous stones, are roasted in quadrangular pits, of which the front and top are open, and these pits are generally twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and three feet deep. the cakes of melted pyrites are usually roasted twice over, and those of _cadmia_ once. these latter are first rolled in mud moistened with vinegar, to prevent the fire from consuming too much of the copper with the bitumen, or sulphur, or orpiment, or realgar. the cakes of pyrites are first roasted in a slow fire and afterward in a fierce one, and in both cases, during the whole following night, water is let in, in order that, if there is in the cakes any alum or vitriol or saltpetre capable of injuring the metals, although it rarely does injure them, the water may remove it and make the cakes soft. the solidified juices are nearly all harmful to the metal, when cakes or ore of this kind are smelted. the cakes which are to be roasted are placed on wood piled up in the form of a crate, and this pile is fired[ ]. [illustration (matte roasting): a--cakes. b--bundles of faggots. c--furnaces.] the cakes which are made of copper smelted from schist are first thrown upon the ground and broken, and then placed in the furnace on bundles of faggots, and these are lighted. these cakes are generally roasted seven times and occasionally nine times. while this is being done, if they are bituminous, then the bitumen burns and can be smelled. these furnaces have a structure like the structure of the furnaces in which ore is smelted, except that they are open in front; they are six feet high and four feet wide. as for this kind of furnace, three of them are required for one of those in which the cakes are melted. first of all they are roasted in the first furnace, then when they are cooled, they are transferred into the second furnace and again roasted; later they are carried to the third, and afterward back to the first, and this order is preserved until they have been roasted seven or nine times. end of book viii. footnotes: [ ] as would be expected, practically all the technical terms used by agricola in this chapter are adaptations. the latin terms, _canalis_, _area_, _lacus_, _vasa_, _cribrum_, and _fossa_, have had to be pressed into service for many different devices, largely by extemporised combinations. where the devices described have become obsolete, we have adopted the nomenclature of the old works on cornish methods. the following examples may be of interest:-- simple buddle = _canalis simplex_ divided buddle = _canalis tabellis distinctus_ ordinary strake = _canalis devexus_ short strake = _area curta_ canvas strake = _area linteis extensis contecta_ limp = _radius_. the strake (or streke) when applied to alluvial tin, would have been termed a "tye" in some parts of cornwall, and the "short strake" a "gounce." in the case of the stamp mill, inasmuch as almost every mechanical part has its counterpart in a modern mill, we have considered the reader will have less difficulty if the modern designations are used instead of the old cornish. the following are the essential terms in modern, old cornish, and latin:-- stamp stamper _pilum_ stamp-stem lifter _pilum_ shoes stamp-heads _capita_ mortar-box box _capsa_ cam-shaft barrell _axis_ cams caps _dentes_ tappets tongues _pili dentes_ screen crate _laminae foraminum plenae_ settling pit catchers _lacus_ jigging sieve dilleugher _cribrum angustum_ [ ] agricola uses four latin verbs in connection with heat operations at temperatures under the melting point: _calefacio_, _uro_, _torreo_, and _cremo_. the first he always uses in the sense of "to warm" or "to heat," but the last three he uses indiscriminately in much the same way as the english verbs burn, roast, and calcine are used; but in general he uses the latin verbs in the order given to indicate degrees of heat. we have used the english verbs in their technical sense as indicated by the context. it is very difficult to say when roasting began as a distinct and separate metallurgical step in sulphide ore treatment. the greeks and romans worked both lead and copper sulphides (see note on p. , and note on p. ), but neither in the remains of old works nor in their literature is there anything from which satisfactory details of such a step can be obtained. the ancients, of course, understood lime-burning, and calcined several salts to purify them or to render them more caustic. practically the only specific mention is by pliny regarding lead ores (see p. ). even the statement of theophilus ( - , a.d.), may refer simply to rendering ore more fragile, for he says (p. ) in regard to copper ore: "this stone dug up in abundance is placed upon a pile and burned (_comburitur_) after the manner of lime. nor does it change colour, but loses its hardness and can be broken up, and afterward it is smelted." the _probierbüchlein_ casually mentions roasting prior to assaying, and biringuccio (iii, ) mentions incidentally that "dry and ill-disposed ores before everything must be roasted in an open oven so that the air can get in." he gives no further information; and therefore this account of agricola's becomes practically the first. apparently roasting, as a preliminary to the treatment of copper sulphides, did not come into use in england until some time later than agricola, for in col. grant francis' "smelting of copper in the swansea district" (london, , p. ), a report is set of the "doeinges of jochim ganse"--an imported german--at the "mynes by keswicke in cumberland, a.d., ," wherein the delinquencies of the then current practice are described: "thei never coulde, nether yet can make (copper) under xxii. tymes passinge thro the fire, and xxii. weekes doeing thereof ane sometyme more. but now the nature of these ix. hurtfull humors abovesaid being discovered and opened by jochim's way of doeing, we can, by his order of workeinge, so correct theim, that parte of theim beinge by nature hurtfull to the copper in wasteinge of it, ar by arte maide freindes, and be not onely an encrease to the copper, but further it in smeltinge; and the rest of the other evill humors shalbe so corrected, and their humors so taken from them, that by once rosteinge and once smeltinge the ure (which shalbe done in the space of three dayes), the same copper ure shall yeeld us black copper." jochim proposed by 'rostynge' to be rid of "sulphur, arsineque, and antimony." [ ] _orpiment_ and _realgar_ are the red and yellow arsenical sulphides. (see note on p. ). [ ] _cadmia bituminosa_. the description of this substance by agricola, given below, indicates that it was his term for the complex copper-zinc-arsenic-cobalt minerals found in the well-known, highly bituminous, copper schists at mannsfeld. the later mineralogists, wallerius (_mineralogia_, stockholm, ), valmont de bomare (_mineralogie_, paris, ), and others assume agricola's _cadmia bituminosa_ to be "black arsenic" or "arsenic noir," but we see no reason for this assumption. agricola's statement (_de nat. foss._, p. ) is "... the schistose stone dug up at the foot of the melibocus mountains, or as they are now called the harz (_hercynium_), near eisleben, mannsfeld, and near hettstedt, is similar to _spinos_ (a bituminous substance described by theophrastus), if not identical with it. this is black, bituminous, and cupriferous, and when first extracted from the mine it is thrown out into an open space and heaped up in a mound. then the lower part of the mound is surrounded by faggots, on to which are likewise thrown stones of the same kind. then the faggots are kindled and the fire soon spreads to the stones placed upon them; by these the fire is communicated to the next, which thus spreads to the whole heap. this easy reception of fire is a characteristic which bitumen possesses in common with sulphur. yet the small, pure and black bituminous ore is distinguished from the stones as follows: when they burn they emit the kind of odour which is usually given off by burning bituminous coal, and besides, if while they are burning a small shower of rain should fall, they burn more brightly and soften more quickly. indeed, when the wind carries the fumes so that they descend into nearby standing waters, there can be seen floating in it something like a bituminous liquid, either black, or brown, or purple, which is sufficient to indicate that those stones were bituminous. and that genus of stones has been recently found in the harz in layers, having occasionally gold-coloured specks of pyrites adhering to them, representing various flat sea-fish or pike or perch or birds, and poultry cocks, and sometimes salamanders." [ ] _atramentum sutorium rubrum_. literally, this would be red vitriol. the german translation gives _rot kupferwasser_, also red vitriol. we must confess that we cannot make this substance out, nor can we find it mentioned in the other works of agricola. it may be the residue from leaching roasted pyrites for vitriol, which would be reddish oxide of iron. [ ] the statement "elsewhere" does not convey very much more information. it is (_de nat. fos._, p. ): "when goslar pyrites and eisleben (copper) schists are placed on the pyre and roasted for the third time, they both exude a certain substance which is of a greenish colour, dry, rough, and fibrous (_tenue_). this substance, like asbestos, is not consumed by the fire. the schists exude it more plentifully than the pyrites." the _interpretatio_ gives _federwis_, as the german equivalent of _amiantus_ (asbestos). this term was used for the feathery alum efflorescence on aluminous slates. [ ] bearing in mind that bituminous cadmia contained arsenical-cobalt minerals, this substance "resembling _pompholyx_" would probably be arsenic oxide. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ). agricola discusses the _pompholyx_ from _cadmia_ at length and pronounces it to be of remarkably "corrosive" quality. (see also note on p. .) [ ] historical note on crushing and concentration of ores. there can be no question that the first step in the metallurgy of ores was direct smelting, and that this antedates human records. the obvious advantages of reducing the bulk of the material to be smelted by the elimination of barren portions of the ore, must have appealed to metallurgists at a very early date. logically, therefore, we should find the second step in metallurgy to be concentration in some form. the question of crushing is so much involved with concentration that we have not endeavoured to keep them separate. the earliest indication of these processes appears to be certain inscriptions on monuments of the iv dynasty ( , b.c.?) depicting gold washing (wilkinson, the ancient egyptians, london, , ii, p. ). certain stelae of the xii dynasty ( , b.c.) in the british museum ( bay and bay ) refer to gold washing in the sudan, and one of them appears to indicate the working of gold ore as distinguished from alluvial. the first written description of the egyptian methods--and probably that reflecting the most ancient technology of crushing and concentration--is that of agatharchides, a greek geographer of the second century b.c. this work is lost, but the passage in question is quoted by diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.) and by photius (died a.d.). we give booth's translation of diodorus (london, , p. ), slightly amended: "in the confines of egypt and the neighbouring countries of arabia and ethiopia there is a place full of rich gold mines, out of which with much cost and pains of many labourers gold is dug. the soil here is naturally black, but in the body of the earth run many white veins, shining like white marble, surpassing in lustre all other bright things. out of these laborious mines, those appointed overseers cause the gold to be dug up by the labour of a vast multitude of people. for the kings of egypt condemn to these mines notorious criminals, captives taken in war, persons sometimes falsely accused, or against whom the king is incens'd; and not only they themselves, but sometimes all their kindred and relations together with them, are sent to work here, both to punish them, and by their labour to advance the profit and gain of the kings. there are infinite numbers upon these accounts thrust down into these mines, all bound in fetters, where they work continually, without being admitted any rest night or day, and so strictly guarded that there is no possibility or way left to make an escape. for they set over them barbarians, soldiers of various and strange languages, so that it is not possible to corrupt any of the guard by discoursing one with another, or by the gaining insinuations of familiar converse. the earth which is hardest and full of gold they soften by putting fire under it, and then work it out with their hands. the rocks thus soften'd and made more pliant and yielding, several thousands of profligate wretches break in pieces with hammers and pickaxes. there is one artist that is the overseer of the whole work, who marks out the stone, and shows the labourers the way and manner how he would have it done. those that are the strongest amongst them that are appointed to this slavery, provided with sharp iron pickaxes, cleave the marble-shining rock by mere force and strength, and not by arts or sleight-of-hand. they undermine not the rock in a direct line, but follow the bright shining vein of the mine. they carry lamps fastened to their foreheads to give them light, being otherwise in perfect darkness in the various windings and turnings wrought in the mine; and having their bodies appearing sometimes of one colour and sometimes of another (according to the nature of the mine where they work) they throw the lumps and pieces of the stone cut out of the rock upon the floor. and thus they are employed continually without intermission, at the very nod of the overseer, who lashes them severely besides. and there are little boys who penetrate through the galleries into the cavities and with great labour and toil gather up the lumps and pieces hewed out of the rock as they are cast upon the ground, and carry them forth and lay them upon the bank. those that are over thirty years of age take a piece of the rock of such a certain quantity, and pound it in a stone mortar with iron pestles till it be as small as a vetch; then those little stones so pounded are taken from them by women and older men, who cast them into mills that stand together there near at hand in a long row, and two or three of them being employed at one mill they grind a certain measure given to them at a time, until it is as small as fine meal. no care at all is taken of the bodies of these poor creatures, so that they have not a rag so much as to cover their nakedness, and no man that sees them can choose but commiserate their sad and deplorable condition. for though they are sick, maimed, or lame, no rest nor intermission in the least is allowed them; neither the weakness of old age, nor women's infirmities are any plea to excuse them; but all are driven to their work with blows and cudgelling, till at length, overborne with the intolerable weight of their misery, they drop down dead in the midst of their insufferable labours; so that these miserable creatures always expect the future to be more terrible than even the present, and therefore long for death as far more desirable than life. "at length the masters of the work take the stone thus ground to powder, and carry it away in order to perfect it. they spread the mineral so ground upon a broad board, somewhat sloping, and pouring water upon it, rub it and cleanse it; and so all the earthy and drossy part being separated from the rest by the water, it runs off the board, and the gold by reason of its weight remains behind. then washing it several times again, they first rub it lightly with their hands; afterward they draw off any earthy and drossy matter with slender sponges gently applied to the powdered dust, till it be clean, pure gold. at last other workmen take it away by weight and measure, and these put it into earthen pots, and according to the quantity of the gold in every pot they mix with it some lead, grains of salt, a little tin and barley bran. then, covering every pot close, and carefully daubing them over with clay, they put them in a furnace, where they abide five days and nights together; then after a convenient time that they have stood to cool, nothing of the other matter is to be found in the pots but only pure, refined gold, some little thing diminished in the weight. and thus gold is prepared in the borders of egypt, and perfected and completed with so many and so great toils and vexations. and, therefore, i cannot but conclude that nature itself teaches us, that as gold is got with labour and toil, so it is kept with difficulty; it creates everywhere the greatest cares; and the use of it is mixed both with pleasure and sorrow." the remains at mt. laurion show many of the ancient mills and concentration works of the greeks, but we cannot be absolutely certain at what period in the history of these mines crushing and concentration were introduced. while the mines were worked with great activity prior to b.c. (see note , p. ), it was quite feasible for the ancient miner to have smelted these argentiferous lead ores direct. however, at some period prior to the decadence of the mines in the rd century b.c., there was in use an extensive system of milling and concentration. for the following details we are indebted mostly to edouard ardaillon (_les mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, chap. iv.). the ore was first hand-picked (in one portion of these rejects was estimated at , , tons) and afterward it was apparently crushed in stone mortars some to inches in diameter, and thence passed to the mills. these mills, which crushed dry, were of the upper and lower millstone order, like the old-fashioned flour mills, and were turned by hand. the stones were capable of adjustment in such a way as to yield different sizes. the sand was sifted and the oversize returned to the mills. from the mills it was taken to washing plants, which consisted essentially of an inclined area, below which a canal, sometimes with riffles, led through a series of basins, ultimately returning the water again to near the head of the area. these washing areas, constructed with great care, were made of stone cemented over smoothly, and were so efficiently done as to remain still intact. in washing, a workman brushed upward the pulp placed on the inclined upper portion of the area, thus concentrating there a considerable proportion of the galena; what escaped had an opportunity to settle in the sequence of basins, somewhat on the order of the buddle. a quotation by strabo (iii, , ) from the lost work of polybius ( - b.c.) also indicates concentration of lead-silver ores in spain previous to the christian era: "polybius speaking of the silver mines of new carthage, tells us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about stadia, and occupy a circuit of stadia, that there are , men regularly engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the roman people (a revenue of) , drachmae. the rest of the process i pass over, as it is too long, but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is broken up, and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to be again broken, and the water having been strained off, it is to be sifted and broken a third time. the dregs which remain after the fifth time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is obtained pure. these silver mines still exist; however, they are no longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but are possessed by private individuals. the gold mines, on the contrary, nearly all belong to the state. both at castlon and other places there are singular lead mines worked. they contain a small proportion of silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining." (hamilton's translation, vol. i., p. ). while pliny gives considerable information on vein mining and on alluvial washing, the following obscure passage (xxxiii, ) appears to be the only reference to concentration of ores: "that which is dug out is crushed, washed, roasted, and ground to powder. this powder is called _apitascudes_, while the silver (lead?) which becomes disengaged in the furnace is called _sudor_ (sweat). that which is ejected from the chimney is called _scoria_ as with other metals. in the case of gold this _scoria_ is crushed and melted again." it is evident enough from these quotations that the ancients by "washing" and "sifting," grasped the practical effect of differences in specific gravity of the various components of an ore. such processes are barely mentioned by other mediæval authors, such as theophilus, biringuccio, etc., and thus the account in this chapter is the first tangible technical description. lead mining has been in active progress in derbyshire since the th century, and concentration was done on an inclined board until the th century, when william humphrey (see below) introduced the jigging sieve. some further notes on this industry will be found in note , p. . however, the buddle and strake which appear at that time, are but modest improvements over the board described by agatharchides in the quotation above. the ancient crushing appliances, as indicated by the ancient authors and by the greek and roman remains scattered over europe, were hand-mortars and mill-stones of the same order as those with which they ground flour. the stamp-mill, the next advance over grinding in mill-stones, seems to have been invented some time late in the th or early in the th centuries, but who invented it is unknown. beckmann (hist. of inventions, ii, p. ) says: "in the year the process of sifting and wet-stamping was established at joachimsthal by paul grommestetter, a native of schwarz, named on that account the schwarzer, whom melzer praises as an ingenious and active washer; and we are told that he had before introduced the same improvements at schneeberg. soon after, that is in , a large stamping-work was erected at joachimsthal, and the process of washing was begun. a considerable saving was thus made, as a great many metallic particles were before left in the washed sand, which was either thrown away or used as mortar for building. in the year , hans pörtner employed at schlackenwalde the wet method of stamping, whereas before that period the ore there was ground. in the harz this invention was introduced at wildenmann by peter philip, who was assay-master there soon after the works at the upper harz were resumed by duke henry the younger, about the year . this we learn from the papers of herdan hacke or haecke, who was preacher at wildenmann in ." in view of the great amount of direct and indirect reference to tin mining in cornwall, covering four centuries prior to agricola, it would be natural to expect some statement bearing upon the treatment of ore. curiously enough, while alluvial washing and smelting of the black-tin are often referred to, there is nothing that we have been able to find, prior to richard carew's "survey of cornwall" (london, , p. ) which gives any tangible evidence on the technical phases of ore-dressing. in any event, an inspection of charters, tax-rolls, stannary court proceedings, etc., prior to that date gives the impression that vein mining was a very minor portion of the source of production. although carew's work dates years after agricola, his description is of interest: "as much almost dooth it exceede credite, that the tynne, for and in so small quantitie digged up with so great toyle, and passing afterwards thorow the managing of so many hands, ere it comes to sale, should be any way able to acquite the cost: for being once brought above ground in the stone, it is first broken in peeces with hammers; and then carryed, either in waynes, or on horses' backs, to a stamping mill, where three, and in some places sixe great logges of timber, bounde at the ends with yron, and lifted up and downe by a wheele, driven with the water, doe break it smaller. if the stones be over-moyst, they are dried by the fire in an yron cradle or grate. from the stamping mill, it passeth to the crazing mill, which betweene two grinding stones, turned also with a water-wheel, bruseth the same to a find sand; howbeit, of late times they mostly use wet stampers, and so have no need of the crazing mills for their best stuffe, but only for the crust of their tayles. the streame, after it hath forsaken the mill, is made to fall by certayne degrees, one somewhat distant from another; upon each of which, at every discent, lyeth a greene turfe, three or foure foote square, and one foote thick. on this the tinner layeth a certayne portion of the sandie tinne, and with his shovel softly tosseth the same to and fro, that, through this stirring, the water which runneth over it may wash away the light earth from the tinne, which of a heavier substance lyeth fast on the turfe. having so clensed one portion, he setteth the same aside, and beginneth with another, until his labour take end with his taske. the best of those turfes (for all sorts serve not) are fetched about two miles to the eastwards of s. michael's mount, where at low water they cast aside the sand, and dig them up; they are full of rootes of trees, and on some of them nuts have been found, which confirmeth my former assertion of the sea's intrusion. after it is thus washed, they put the remnant into a wooden dish, broad, flat, and round, being about two foote over, and having two handles fastened at the sides, by which they softly shogge the same to and fro in the water betweene their legges, as they sit over it, untill whatsoever of the earthie substance that was yet left be flitted away. some of later time, with a sleighter invention, and lighter labour, doe cause certayne boyes to stir it up and down with their feete, which worketh the same effect; the residue, after this often clensing, they call blacke tynne." it will be noticed that the "wet stampers" and the buddle--worked with "boyes feete"--are "innovations of late times." and the interesting question arises as to whether cornwall did not derive the stamp-mill, buddle, and strake, from the germans. the first adequate detailed description of cornish appliances is that of pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, ) where the apparatus is identical with that described by agricola years before. the word "stamper" of cornwall is of german origin, from _stampfer_, or, as it is often written in old german works, _stamper_. however, the pursuit of the subject through etymology ends here, for no derivatives in german can be found for buddle, tye, strake, or other collateral terms. the first tangible evidence of german influence is to be found in carew who, continuing after the above quotation, states: "but sithence i gathered stickes to the building of this poore nest, sir francis godolphin (whose kind helpe hath much advanced this my playing labour) entertained a dutch mynerall man, and taking light from his experience, but building thereon farre more profitable conclusions of his owne invention, hath practised a more saving way in these matters, and besides, made tynne with good profit of that refuse which tynners rejected as nothing worth." beyond this quotation we can find no direct evidence of the influence of "dutch mynerall men" in cornish tin mining at this time. there can be no doubt, however, that in copper mining in cornwall and elsewhere in england, the "dutch mynerall men" did play a large part in the latter part of the th century. pettus (_fodinæ regales_, london, , p. ) states that "about the third year of queen elizabeth ( ) she by the advice of her council sent over for some germans experienced in mines, and being supplied, she, on the tenth of october, in the sixth of her reign, granted the mines of eight counties ... to houghsetter, a german whose name and family still continue in cardiganshire." elizabeth granted large mining rights to various germans, and the opening paragraphs of two out of several charters may be quoted in point. this grant is dated , and in part reads: "elizabeth, by the grace of god, queen of england, france, and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all men to whom these letters patents shall come, greeting. where heretofore we have granted privileges to cornelius de voz, for the mining and digging in our realm of england, for allom and copperas, and for divers ewers of metals that were to be found in digging for the said allom and copperas, incidently and consequently without fraud or guile, as by the same our privilege may appear. and where we also moved, by credible report to us made, of one daniel houghsetter, a german born, and of his skill and knowledge of and in all manner of mines, of metals and minerals, have given and granted privilege to thomas thurland, clerk, one of our chaplains, and master of the hospital of savoy, and to the same daniel, for digging and mining for all manner of ewers of gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver, within our counties of york, lancaster, cumberland, westmorland, cornwall, devon, gloucester, and worcester, and within our principality of wales; and with the same further to deal, as by our said privilege thereof granted and made to the said thomas thurland and daniel houghsetter may appear. _and_ we now being minded that the said commodities, and all other treasures of the earth, in all other places of our realm of england...." on the same date another grant reads: "elizabeth, by the grace of god, queen of england, france, and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all men to whom these our letters patents shall come, greeting. where we have received credible information that our faithful and well-beloved subject william humfrey, saymaster of our mint within our tower of london, by his great endeavour, labour, and charge, hath brought into this our realm of england one christopher shutz, an almain, born at _st. annen berg_, under the obedience of the electer of saxony; a workman as it is reported, of great cunning, knowledge, and experience, as well in the finding of the calamin stone, call'd in latin, _lapis calaminaris_, and in the right and proper use and commodity thereof, for the composition of the mix'd metal commonly call'd _latten_, etc." col. grant-francis, in his most valuable collection (smelting of copper in the swansea district, london, ) has published a collection of correspondence relating to early mining and smelting operations in great britain. and among them (p. ., etc.) are letters in the years - from william carnsewe and others to thomas smyth, with regard to the first smelter erected at neath, which was based upon copper mines in cornwall. he mentions "mr. weston's (a partner) provydence in bringynge hys dutch myners hether to aplye such businys in this countrye ys more to be commendyd than his ignorance of our countrymen's actyvytyes in suche matters." the principal "dutche mineral master" referred to was one ulrick frosse, who had charge of the mine at perin sands in cornwall, and subsequently of the smelter at neath. further on is given (p. ) a report by jochim gaunse upon the smelting of copper ores at keswick in cumberland in , referred to in note , p. . the daniel hochstetter mentioned in the charter above, together with other german and english gentlemen, formed the "company of mines royal" and among the properties worked were those with which gaunse's report is concerned. there is in the record office, london (exchequer k.r. com. derby . eliz.) the record of an interesting inquisition into derbyshire methods in which a then recent great improvement was the jigging sieve, the introduction of which was due to william humphrey (mentioned above). it is possible that he learned of it from the german with whom he was associated. much more evidence of the activity of the germans in english mining at this period can be adduced. on the other hand, cornwall has laid claims to having taught the art of tin mining and metallurgy to the germans. matthew paris, a benedictine monk, by birth an englishman, who died in , relates (_historia major angliae_, london, ) that a cornishman who fled to germany on account of a murder, first discovered tin there in , and that in consequence the price of tin fell greatly. this statement is recalled with great persistence by many writers on cornwall. (camden, _britannia_, london, ; borlase, natural history of cornwall, oxford, ; pryce, _mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , p. , and others). [ ] _lapidibus liquescentibus_. (see note , p. ). [ ] historical note on amalgamation. the recovery of gold by the use of mercury possibly dates from roman times, but the application of the process to silver does not seem to go back prior to the th century. quicksilver was well-known to the greeks, and is described by theophrastus ( ) and others (see note , p. , on quicksilver). however, the greeks made no mention of its use for amalgamation, and, in fact, dioscorides (v, ) says "it is kept in vessels of glass, lead, tin or silver; if kept in vessels of any other kind it consumes them and flows away." it was used by them for medicinal purposes. the romans amalgamated gold with mercury, but whether they took advantage of the principle to recover gold from ores we do not know. vitruvius (vii, ) makes the following statement:--"if quicksilver be placed in a vessel and a stone of a hundred pounds' weight be placed on it, it will swim at the top, and will, notwithstanding its weight, be incapable of pressing the liquid so as to break or separate it. if this be taken out, and only a single scruple of gold be put in, that will not swim, but immediately descend to the bottom. this is a proof that the gravity of a body does not depend on its weight, but on its nature. quicksilver is used for many purposes; without it, neither silver nor brass can be properly gilt. when gold is embroidered on a garment which is worn out and no longer fit for use, the cloth is burnt over the fire in earthen pots; the ashes are thrown into water and quicksilver added to them; this collects all the particles of gold and unites with them. the water is then poured off and the residuum placed in a cloth, which, when squeezed with the hands, suffers the liquid quicksilver to pass through the pores of the cloth, but retains the gold in a mass within it." (gwilt's trans., p. ). pliny is rather more explicit (xxxiii, ): "all floats on it (quicksilver) except gold. this it draws into itself, and on that account is the best means of purifying; for, on being repeatedly agitated in earthen pots it casts out the other things and the impurities. these things being rejected, in order that it may give up the gold, it is squeezed in prepared skins, through which, exuding like perspiration, it leaves the gold pure." it may be noted particularly that both these authors state that gold is the only substance that does not float, and, moreover, nowhere do we find any reference to silver combining with mercury, although beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. i, p. ) not only states that the above passage from pliny refers to silver, but in further error, attributes the origin of silver amalgamation of ores to the spaniards in the indies. the alchemists of the middle ages were well aware that silver would amalgamate with mercury. there is, however, difficulty in any conclusion that it was applied by them to separating silver or gold from ore. the involved gibberish in which most of their utterances was couched, obscures most of their reactions in any event. the school of geber (appendix b) held that all metals were a compound of "spiritual" mercury and sulphur, and they clearly amalgamated silver with mercury, and separated them by distillation. the _probierbüchlein_ ( ?) describes a method of recovering silver from the cement used in parting gold and silver, by mixing the cement (silver chlorides) with quicksilver. agricola nowhere in this work mentions the treatment of silver ores by amalgamation, although he was familiar with biringuccio (_de la pirotechnia_), as he himself mentions in the preface. this work, published at least ten years before _de re metallica_, contains the first comprehensive account of silver amalgamation. there is more than usual interest in the description, because, not only did it precede _de re metallica_, but it is also a specific explanation of the fundamental essentials of the patio process long before the date when the spaniards could possibly have invented that process in mexico. we quote mr. a. dick's translation from percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, p. ): "he was certainly endowed with much useful and ingenious thought who invented the short method of extracting metal from the sweepings produced by those arts which have to do with gold and silver, every substance left in the refuse by smelters, and also the substance from certain ores themselves, without the labour of fusing, but by the sole means and virtue of mercury. to effect this, a large basin is first constructed of stone or timber and walled, into which is fitted a millstone made to turn like that of a mill. into the hollow of this basin is placed matter containing gold (_della materia vra che tiene oro_), well ground in a mortar and afterward washed and dried; and, with the above-mentioned millstone, it is ground while being moistened with vinegar, or water, in which has been dissolved corrosive sublimate (_solimato_), verdigris (_verde rame_), and common salt. over these materials is then put as much mercury as will cover them; they are then stirred for an hour or two, by turning the millstone, either by hand, or horse-power, according to the plan adopted, bearing in mind that the more the mercury and the materials are bruised together by the millstone, the more the mercury may be trusted to have taken up the substance which the materials contain. the mercury, in this condition, can then be separated from the earthy matter by a sieve, or by washing, and thus you will recover the auriferous mercury (_el vro mercurio_). after this, by driving off the mercury by means of a flask (_i.e._, by heating in a retort or an alembic), or by passing it through a bag, there will remain, at the bottom, the gold, silver, or copper, or whatever metal was placed in the basin under the millstone to be ground. having been desirous of knowing this secret, i gave to him who taught it to me a ring with a diamond worth ducats; he also required me to give him the eighth part of any profit i might make by using it. this i wished to tell you, not that you should return the ducats to me for teaching you the secret, but in order that you should esteem it all the more and hold it dear." in another part of the treatise biringuccio states that washed (concentrated) ores may be ultimately reduced either by lead or mercury. concerning these silver concentrates he writes: "afterward drenching them with vinegar in which has been put green copper (_i.e._, verdigris); or drenching them with water in which has been dissolved vitriol and green copper...." he next describes how this material should be ground with mercury. the question as to who was the inventor of silver amalgamation will probably never be cleared up. according to ulloa (_relacion historica del viage a la america meridional_, madrid, ) dom pedro fernandes de velasco discovered the process in mexico in . the earliest technical account is that of father joseph de acosta (_historia natural y moral de las indias_, seville, , english trans. edward grimston, london, , re-published by the hakluyt society, ). acosta was born in , and spent the years to in peru, and in mexico. it may be noted that potosi was discovered in . he states that refining silver with mercury was introduced at potosi by pedro fernandes de velasco from mexico in , and states (grimston's trans., vol. i, p. ): "... they put the powder of the metall into the vessels upon furnaces, whereas they anoint it and mortifie it with brine, putting to every fiftie quintalles of powder five quintalles of salt. and this they do for that the salt separates the earth and filth, to the end the quicksilver may the more easily draw the silver unto it. after, they put quicksilver into a piece of holland and presse it out upon the metall, which goes forth like a dewe, alwaies turning and stirring the metall, to the end it may be well incorporate. before the invention of these furnaces of fire, they did often mingle their metall with quicksilver in great troughes, letting it settle some daies, and did then mix it and stirre it againe, until they thought all the quicksilver were well incorporate with the silver, the which continued twentie daies and more, and at least nine daies." frequent mention of the different methods of silver amalgamation is made by the spanish writers subsequent to this time, the best account being that of alonso barba, a priest. barba was a native of lepe, in andalusia, and followed his calling at various places in peru from about to about , and at one time held the curacy of st. bernard at potosi. in he published at madrid his _arte de los metales_, etc., in five books. the first two books of this work were translated into english by the earl of sandwich, and published in london in , under the title "the first book of the art of metals." this translation is equally wretched with those in french and german, as might be expected from the translators' total lack of technical understanding. among the methods of silver amalgamation described by barba is one which, upon later "discovery" at virginia city, is now known as the "washoe process." none of the spanish writers, so far as we know, make reference to biringuccio's account, and the question arises whether the patio process was an importation from europe or whether it was re-invented in mexico. while there is no direct evidence on the point, the presumption is in favour of the former. the general introduction of the amalgamation of silver ores into central europe seems to have been very slow, and over years elapsed after its adoption in peru and mexico before it received serious attention by the german metallurgists. ignaz elder v. born was the first to establish the process effectually in europe, he having in erected a "quick-mill" at glasshutte, near shemnitz. he published an elaborate account of a process which he claimed as his own, under the title _ueber das anquicken der gold und silberhältigen erze_, vienna, . the only thing new in his process seems to have been mechanical agitation. according to born, a spaniard named don juan de corduba, in the year , applied to the court at vienna offering to extract silver from ores with mercury. various tests were carried out under the celebrated lazarus erckern, and although it appears that some vitriol and salt were used, the trials apparently failed, for erckern concluded his report with the advice: "that their lordships should not suffer any more expense to be thrown away upon this experiment." born's work was translated into english by r. e. raspe, under the title--"baron inigo born's new process of amalgamation, etc.," london, . some interest attaches to raspe, in that he was not only the author of "baron munchausen," but was also the villain in scott's "antiquary." raspe was a german professor at cassel, who fled to england to avoid arrest for theft. he worked at various mines in cornwall, and in involved sir john sinclair in a fruitless mine, but disappeared before that was known. the incident was finally used by sir walter scott in this novel. [ ] _aurum in ea remanet purum_. this same error of assuming squeezed amalgam to be pure gold occurs in pliny; see previous footnote. [ ] george, duke of saxony, surnamed "the bearded," was born , and died . he was chiefly known for his bitter opposition to the reformation. [ ] the julian alps are a section east of the carnic alps and lie north of trieste. the term rhaetian alps is applied to that section along the swiss italian boundary, about north of lake como. [ ] ancient lusitania comprised portugal and some neighbouring portions of spain. [ ] colchis, the traditional land of the golden fleece, lay between the caucasus on the north, armenia on the south, and the black sea on the west. if agricola's account of the metallurgical purpose of the fleece is correct, then jason must have had real cause for complaint as to the tangible results of his expedition. the fact that we hear nothing of the fleece after the day it was taken from the dragon would thus support agricola's theory. tons of ink have been expended during the past thirty centuries in explanations of what the fleece really was. these explanations range through the supernatural and metallurgical, but more recent writers have endeavoured to construct the journey of the argonauts into an epic of the development of the greek trade in gold with the euxine. we will not attempt to traverse them from a metallurgical point of view further than to maintain that agricola's explanation is as probable and equally as ingenious as any other, although strabo (xi, , .) gives much the same view long before. alluvial mining--gold washing--being as old as the first glimmer of civilization, it is referred to, directly or indirectly, by a great majority of ancient writers, poets, historians, geographers, and naturalists. early egyptian inscriptions often refer to this industry, but from the point of view of technical methods the description by pliny is practically the only one of interest, and in pliny's chapter on the subject, alluvial is badly confused with vein mining. this passage (xxxiii, ) is as follows: "gold is found in the world in three ways, to say nothing of that found in india by the ants, and in scythia by the griffins. the first is as gold dust found in streams, as, for instance, in the tagus in spain, in the padus in italy, in the hebrus in thracia, in the pactolus in asia, and in the ganges in india; indeed, there is no gold found more perfect than this, as the current polishes it thoroughly by attrition.... others by equal labour and greater expense bring rivers from the mountain heights, often a hundred miles, for the purpose of washing this debris. the ditches thus made are called _corrugi_, from our word _corrivatio_, i suppose; and these entail a thousand fresh labours. the fall must be steep, that the water may rush down from very high places, rather than flow gently. the ditches across the valleys are joined by aqueducts, and in other places, impassable rocks have to be cut away and forced to make room for troughs of hollowed-out logs. those who cut the rocks are suspended by ropes, so that to those who watch them from a distance, the workmen seem not so much beasts as birds. hanging thus, they take the levels and trace the lines which the ditch is to take; and thus, where there is no place for man's footstep, streams are dragged by men. the water is vitiated for washing if the current of the stream carries mud with it. this kind of earth is called _urium_, hence these ditches are laid out to carry the water over beds of pebbles to avoid this _urium_. when they have reached the head of the fall, at the top of the mountain, reservoirs are excavated a couple of hundred feet long and wide, and about ten feet deep. in these reservoirs there are generally five gates left, about three feet square, so that when the reservoir is full, the gates are opened, and the torrent bursts forth with such violence that the rocks are hurled along. when they have reached the plain there is yet more labour. trenches called _agogae_ are dug for the flow of the water. the bottoms of these are spread at regular intervals with _ulex_ to catch the gold. this _ulex_ is similar to rosemary, rough and prickly. the sides, too, are closed in with planks and are suspended when crossing precipitous spots. the earth is carried to the sea and thus the shattered mountain is washed away and scattered; and this deposition of the earth in the sea has extended the shore of spain.... the gold procured from _arrugiae_ does not require to be melted, but is already pure gold. it is found in lumps, in shafts as well, sometimes even exceeding ten _librae_ in weight. these lumps are called _palagae_ and _palacurnae_, while the small grains are called _baluce_. the ulex is dried and burnt and the ashes are washed on a bed of grassy turf in order that the gold may settle thereon." [ ] _carbunculus carchedonius_--carthaginian carbuncle. the german is given by agricola in the _interpretatio_ as _granat_, _i.e._, garnet. [ ] as the concentration of crushed tin ore has been exhaustively treated of already, the descriptions from here on probably refer entirely to alluvial tin. [ ] from a metallurgical point of view all of these operations are roasting. even to-day, however, the expression "burning" tin is in use in some parts of cornwall, and in former times it was general. [ ] there can be no doubt that these are mattes, as will develop in book ix. the german term in the glossary for _panes ex pyrite_ is _stein_, the same as the modern german for matte. orpiment and realgar are the yellow and red arsenical sulphides. the _cadmia_ was no doubt the cobalt-arsenic minerals (see note on p. ). the "solidified juices" were generally anything that could be expelled short of smelting, _i.e._, roasted off or leached out, as shown in note , p. ; they embrace the sulphates, salts, sulphur, bitumen, and arsenical sulphides, etc. for further information on leaching out the sulphates, alum, etc., see note , p. . book ix.[ ] since i have written of the varied work of preparing the ores, i will now write of the various methods of smelting them. although those who burn, roast and calcine[ ] the ore, take from it something which is mixed or combined with the metals; and those who crush it with stamps take away much; and those who wash, screen and sort it, take away still more; yet they cannot remove all which conceals the metal from the eye and renders it crude and unformed. wherefore smelting is necessary, for by this means earths, solidified juices, and stones are separated from the metals so that they obtain their proper colour and become pure, and may be of great use to mankind in many ways. when the ore is smelted, those things which were mixed with the metal before it was melted are driven forth, because the metal is perfected by fire in this manner. since metalliferous ores differ greatly amongst themselves, first as to the metals which they contain, then as to the quantity of the metal which is in them, and then by the fact that some are rapidly melted by fire and others slowly, there are, therefore, many methods of smelting. constant practice has taught the smelters by which of these methods they can obtain the most metal from any one ore. moreover, while sometimes there are many methods of smelting the same ore, by which an equal weight of metal is melted out, yet one is done at a greater cost and labour than the others. ore is either melted with a furnace or without one; if smelted with a furnace the tap-hole is either temporarily closed or always open, and if smelted without a furnace, it is done either in pots or in trenches. but in order to make this matter clearer, i will describe each in detail, beginning with the buildings and the furnaces. a wall which will be called the "second wall" is constructed of brick or stone, two feet and as many palms thick, in order that it may be strong enough to bear the weight. it is built fifteen feet high, and its length depends on the number of furnaces which are put in the works; there are usually six furnaces, rarely more, and often less. there are three furnace walls, a back one which is against the "second" wall, and two side ones, of which i will speak later. these should be made of natural stone, as this is more serviceable than burnt bricks, because bricks soon become defective and crumble away, when the smelter or his deputy chips off the accretions which adhere to the walls when the ore is smelted. natural stone resists injury by the fire and lasts a long time, especially that which is soft and devoid of cracks; but, on the contrary, that which is hard and has many cracks is burst asunder by the fire and destroyed. for this reason, furnaces which are made of the latter are easily weakened by the fire, and when the accretions are chipped off they crumble to pieces. the front furnace wall should be made of brick, and there should be in the lower part a mouth three palms wide and one and a half feet high, when the hearth is completed. a hole slanting upward, three palms long, is made through the back furnace wall, at the height of a cubit, before the hearth has been prepared; through this hole and a hole one foot long in the "second" wall--as the back of this wall has an arch--is inserted a pipe of iron or bronze, in which are fixed the nozzles of the bellows. the whole of the front furnace wall is not more than five feet high, so that the ore may be conveniently put into the furnace, together with those things which the master needs for his work of smelting. both the side walls of the furnace are six feet high, and the back one seven feet, and they are three palms thick. the interior of the furnace is five palms wide, six palms and a digit long, the width being measured by the space which lies between the two side walls, and the length by the space between the front and the back walls; however, the upper part of the furnace widens out somewhat. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearths.] there are two doors in the second wall if there are six furnaces, one of the doors being between the second and third furnaces and the other between the fourth and fifth furnaces. they are a cubit wide and six feet high, in order that the smelters may not have mishaps in coming and going. it is necessary to have a door to the right of the first furnace, and similarly one to the left of the last, whether the wall is longer or not. the second wall is carried further when the rooms for the cupellation furnaces, or any other building, adjoin the rooms for the blast furnaces, these buildings being only divided by a partition. the smelter, and the ones who attend to the first and the last furnaces, if they wish to look at the bellows or to do anything else, go out through the doors at the end of the wall, and the other people go through the other doors, which are the common ones. the furnaces are placed at a distance of six feet from one another, in order that the smelters and their assistants may more easily sustain the fierceness of the heat. inasmuch as the interior of each furnace is five palms wide and each is six feet distant from the other, and inasmuch as there is a space of four feet three palms at the right side of the first furnace and as much at the left side of the last furnace, and there are to be six furnaces in one building, then it is necessary to make the second wall fifty-two feet long; because the total of the widths of all of the furnaces is seven and a half feet, the total of the spaces between the furnaces is thirty feet, the space on the outer sides of the first and last furnaces is nine feet and two palms, and the thickness of the two transverse walls is five feet, which make a total measurement of fifty-two feet.[ ] outside each furnace hearth there is a small pit full of powder which is compressed by ramming, and in this manner is made the forehearth which receives the metal flowing from the furnaces. of this i will speak later. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearth. c--door. d--water tank. e--stone which covers it. f--material of the vent walls. g--stone which covers it. h--pipe exhaling the vapour.] buried about a cubit under the forehearth and the hearth of the furnace is a transverse water-tank, three feet long, three palms wide and a cubit deep. it is made of stone or brick, with a stone cover, for if it were not covered, the heat would draw the moisture from below and the vapour might be blown into the hearth of the furnace as well as into the forehearth, and would dampen the blast. the moisture would vitiate the blast, and part of the metal would be absorbed and part would be mixed with the slags, and in this manner the melting would be greatly damaged. from each water-tank is built a walled vent, to the same depth as the tank, but six digits wide; this vent slopes upward, and sooner or later penetrates through to the other side of the wall, against which the furnace is built. at the end of this vent there is an opening where the steam, into which the water has been converted, is exhausted through a copper or iron tube or pipe. this method of making the tank and the vent is much the best. another kind has a similar vent but a different tank, for it does not lie transversely under the forehearth, but lengthwise; it is two feet and a palm long, and a foot and three palms wide, and a foot and a palm deep. this method of making tanks is not condemned by us, as is the construction of those tanks without a vent; the latter, which have no opening into the air through which the vapour may discharge freely, are indeed to be condemned. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces)] fifteen feet behind the second wall is constructed the first wall, thirteen feet high. in both of these are fixed roof beams[ ], which are a foot wide and thick, and nineteen feet and a palm long; these are placed three feet distant from one another. as the second wall is two feet higher than the first wall, recesses are cut in the back of it two feet high, one foot wide, and a palm deep, and in these recesses, as it were in mortises, are placed one end of each of the beams. into these ends are mortised the bottoms of just as many posts; these posts are twenty-four feet high, three palms wide and thick, and from the tops of the posts the same number of rafters stretch downward to the ends of the beams superimposed on the first wall; the upper ends of the rafters are mortised into the posts and the lower ends are mortised into the ends of the beams laid on the first wall; the rafters support the roof, which consists of burnt tiles. each separate rafter is propped up by a separate timber, which is a cross-beam, and is joined to its post. planks close together are affixed to the posts above the furnaces; these planks are about two digits thick and a palm wide, and they, together with the wicker work interposed between the timbers, are covered with lute so that there may be no risk of fire to the timbers and wicker-work. in this practical manner is constructed the back part of the works, which contains the bellows, their frames, the mechanism for compressing the bellows, and the instrument for distending them, of all of which i will speak hereafter. [illustration (plan of smelter building): the four long walls: a--first. b--second. c--third. d--fourth. the seven transverse walls: e--first. f--second. g--third. h--fourth. i--fifth. k--sixth. l--seventh, or middle.] in front of the furnaces is constructed the third long wall and likewise the fourth. both are nine feet high, but of the same length and thickness as the other two, the fourth being nine feet distant from the third; the third is twenty-one and a half feet from the second. at a distance of twelve feet from the second wall, four posts seven and a half feet high, a cubit wide and thick, are set upon rock laid underneath. into the tops of the posts the roof beam is mortised; this roof beam is two feet and as many palms longer than the distance between the second and the fifth transverse walls, in order that its ends may rest on the transverse walls. if there should not be so long a beam at hand, two are substituted for it. as the length of the long beam is as above, and as the posts are equidistant, it is necessary that the posts should be a distance of nine feet, one palm, two and two-fifths digits from each other, and the end ones this distance from the transverse walls. on this longitudinal beam and to the third and fourth walls are fixed twelve secondary beams twenty-four feet long, one foot wide, three palms thick, and distant from each other three feet, one palm, and two digits. in these secondary beams, where they rest on the longitudinal beams, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters as there are posts which stand on the second wall. the ends of the rafters do not reach to the tops of the posts, but are two feet away from them, that through this opening, which is like the open part of a forge, the furnaces can emit their fumes. in order that the rafters should not fall down, they are supported partly by iron rods, which extend from each rafter to the opposite post, and partly supported by a few tie-beams, which in the same manner extend from some rafters to the posts opposite, and give them stability. to these tie-beams, as well as to the rafters which face the posts, a number of boards, about two digits thick and a palm wide, are fixed at a distance of a palm from each other, and are covered with lute so that they do not catch fire. in the secondary beams, where they are laid on the fourth wall, are mortised the lower ends of the same number of rafters as those in a set of rafters[ ] opposite them. from the third long wall these rafters are joined and tied to the ends of the opposite rafters, so that they may not slip, and besides they are strengthened with substructures which are made of cross and oblique timbers. the rafters support the roof. in this manner the front part of the building is made, and is divided into three parts; the first part is twelve feet wide and is under the hood, which consists of two walls, one vertical and one inclined. the second part is the same number of feet wide and is for the reception of the ore to be smelted, the fluxes, the charcoal, and other things which are needed by the smelter. the third part is nine feet wide and contains two separate rooms of equal size, in one of which is the assay furnace, while the other contains the metal to be melted in the cupellation furnaces. it is thus necessary that in the building there should be, besides the four long walls, seven transverse walls, of which the first is constructed from the upper end of the first long wall to the upper end of the second long wall; the second proceeds from the end of this to the end of the third long wall; the third likewise from this end of the last extends to the end of the fourth long wall; the fourth leads from the lower end of the first long wall to the lower end of the second long wall; the fifth extends from the end of this to the end of the third long wall; the sixth extends from this last end to the end of the fourth long wall; the seventh divides into two parts the space between the third and fourth long walls. to return to the back part of the building, in which, as i said, are the bellows[ ], their frames, the machinery for compressing them, and the instrument for distending them. each bellows consists of a body and a head. the body is composed of two "boards," two bows, and two hides. the upper board is a palm thick, five feet and three palms long, and two and a half feet wide at the back part, where each of the sides is a little curved, and it is a cubit wide at the front part near the head. the whole of the body of the bellows tapers toward the head. that which we now call the "board" consists of two pieces of pine, joined and glued together, and of two strips of linden wood which bind the edges of the board, these being seven digits wide at the back, and in front near the head of the bellows one and a half digits wide. these strips are glued to the boards, so that there shall be less damage from the iron nails driven through the hide. there are some people who do not surround the boards with strips, but use boards only, which are very thick. the upper board has an aperture and a handle; the aperture is in the middle of the board and is one foot three palms distant from where the board joins the head of the bellows, and is six digits long and four wide. the lid for this aperture is two palms and a digit long and wide, and three digits thick; toward the back of the lid is a little notch cut into the surface so that it may be caught by the hand; a groove is cut out of the top of the front and sides, so that it may engage in mouldings a palm wide and three digits thick, which are also cut out in a similar manner under the edges. now, when the lid is drawn forward the hole is closed, and when drawn back it is opened; the smelter opens the aperture a little so that the air may escape from the bellows through it, if he fears the hides might be burst when the bellows are too vigorously and quickly inflated; he, however, closes the aperture if the hides are ruptured and the air escapes. others perforate the upper board with two or three round holes in the same place as the rectangular one, and they insert plugs in them which they draw out when it is necessary. the wooden handle is seven palms long, or even longer, in order that it may extend outside; one-half of this handle, two palms wide and one thick, is glued to the end of the board and fastened with pegs covered with glue; the other half projects beyond the board, and is rounded and seven digits thick. besides this, to the handle and to the board is fixed a cleat two feet long, as many palms wide and one palm thick, and to the under side of the same board, at a distance of three palms from the end, is fixed another cleat two feet long, in order that the board may sustain the force of distension and compression; these two cleats are glued to the board, and are fastened to it with pegs covered with glue. the lower bellows-board, like the upper, is made of two pieces of pine and of two strips of linden wood, all glued together; it is of the same width and thickness as the upper board, but is a cubit longer, this extension being part of the head of which i have more to say a little later. this lower bellows-board has an air-hole and an iron ring. the air-hole is about a cubit distant from the posterior end, and it is midway between the sides of the bellows-board, and is a foot long and three palms wide; it is divided into equal parts by a small rib which forms part of the board, and is not cut from it; this rib is a palm long and one-third of a digit wide. the flap of the air-hole is a foot and three digits long, three palms and as many digits wide; it is a thin board covered with goat skin, the hairy part of which is turned toward the ground. there is fixed to one end of the flap, with small iron nails, one-half of a doubled piece of leather a palm wide and as long as the flap is wide; the other half of the leather, which is behind the flap, is twice perforated, as is also the bellows-board, and these perforations are seven digits apart. passing through these a string is tied on the under side of the board; and thus the flap when tied to the board does not fall away. in this manner are made the flap and the air-hole, so when the bellows are distended the flap opens, when compressed it closes. at a distance of about a foot beyond the air-hole a slightly elliptical iron ring, two palms long and one wide, is fastened by means of an iron staple to the under part of the bellows-board; it is at a distance of three palms from the back of the bellows. in order that the lower bellows-board may remain stationary, a wooden bolt is driven into the ring, after it penetrates through the hole in the transverse supporting plank which forms part of the frame for the bellows. there are some who dispense with the ring and fasten the bellows-board to the frame with two iron screws something like nails. the bows are placed between the two boards and are of the same length as the upper board. they are both made of four pieces of linden wood three digits thick, of which the two long ones are seven digits wide at the back and two and a half at the front; the third piece, which is at the back, is two palms wide. the ends of the bows are a little more than a digit thick, and are mortised to the long pieces, and both having been bored through, wooden pegs covered with glue are fixed in the holes; they are thus joined and glued to the long pieces. each of the ends is bowed (_arcuatur_) to meet the end of the long part of the bow, whence its name "bow" originated. the fourth piece keeps the ends of the bow distended, and is placed a cubit distant from the head of the bellows; the ends of this piece are mortised into the ends of the bow and are joined and glued to them; its length without the tenons is a foot, and its width a palm and two digits. there are, besides, two other very small pieces glued to the head of the bellows and to the lower board, and fastened to them by wooden pegs covered with glue, and they are three palms and two digits long, one palm high, and a digit thick, one half being slightly cut away. these pieces keep the ends of the bow away from the hole in the bellows-head, for if they were not there, the ends, forced inward by the great and frequent movement, would be broken. the leather is of ox-hide or horse-hide, but that of the ox is far preferable to that of the horse. each of these hides, for there are two, is three and a half feet wide where they are joined at the back part of the bellows. a long leathern thong is laid along each of the bellows-boards and each of the bows, and fastened by t-shaped iron nails five digits long; each of the horns of the nails is two and a half digits long and half a digit wide. the hide is attached to the bellows-boards by means of these nails, so that a horn of one nail almost touches the horn of the next; but it is different with the bows, for the hide is fastened to the back piece of the bow by only two nails, and to the two long pieces by four nails. in this practical manner they put ten nails in one bow and the same number in the other. sometimes when the smelter is afraid that the vigorous motion of the bellows may pull or tear the hide from the bows, he also fastens it with little strips of pine by means of another kind of nail, but these strips cannot be fastened to the back pieces of the bow, because these are somewhat bent. some people do not fix the hide to the bellows-boards and bows by iron nails, but by iron screws, screwed at the same time through strips laid over the hide. this method of fastening the hide is less used than the other, although there is no doubt that it surpasses it in excellence. lastly, the head of the bellows, like the rest of the body, consists of two boards, and of a nozzle besides. the upper board is one cubit long, one and a half palms thick. the lower board is part of the whole of the lower bellows-board; it is of the same length as the upper piece, but a palm and a digit thick. from these two glued together is made the head, into which, when it has been perforated, the nozzle is fixed. the back part of the head, where it is attached to the rest of the bellows-body, is a cubit wide, but three palms forward it becomes two digits narrower. afterward it is somewhat cut away so that the front end may be rounded, until it is two palms and as many digits in diameter, at which point it is bound with an iron ring three digits wide. the nozzle is a pipe made of a thin plate of iron; the diameter in front is three digits, while at the back, where it is encased in the head of the bellows, it is a palm high and two palms wide. it thus gradually widens out, especially at the back, in order that a copious wind can penetrate into it; the whole nozzle is three feet long. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--upper bellows-board. b--lower bellows-board. c--the two pieces of wood of which each consists. d--posterior arched part of each. e--tapered front part of each. f--pieces of linden wood. g--aperture in the upper board. h--lid. i--little mouldings of wood. k--handle. l--cleat on the outside. the cleat inside i am not able to depict. m--interior of the lower bellows-board. n--part of the head. o--air-hole. p--supporting bar. q--flap. r--hide. s--thong. t--exterior of the lower board. v--staple. x--ring. y--bow. z--its long pieces. aa--back piece of the bow. bb--the bowed ends. cc--crossbar distending the bow. dd--the two little pieces. ee--hide. ff--nail. gg--horn of the nail. hh--a screw. ii--long thong. kk--head. ll--its lower board. mm--its upper board. nn--nozzle. oo--the whole of the lower bellows-board. pp--the two exterior plates of the head hinges. qq--their curved piece. rr--middle plate of the head. ss--the two outer plates of the upper bellows-board. tt--its middle plate. vv--little axle. xx--whole bellows.] the upper bellows-board is joined to the head of the bellows in the following way. an iron plate[ ], a palm wide and one and a half palms long, is first fastened to the head at a distance of three digits from the end; from this plate there projects a piece three digits long and two wide, curved in a small circle. the other side has a similar plate. then in the same part of the upper board are fixed two other iron plates, distant two digits from the edge, each of which are six digits wide and seven long; in each of these plates the middle part is cut away for a little more than three digits in length and for two in depth, so that the curved part of the plates on the head corresponding to them may fit into this cut out part. from both sides of each plate there project pieces, three digits long and two digits wide, similarly curved into small circles. a little iron pin is passed through these curved pieces of the plates, like a little axle, so that the upper board of the bellows may turn upon it. the little axle is six digits long and a little more than a digit thick, and a small groove is cut out of the upper board, where the plates are fastened to it, in such a manner that the little axle when fixed to the plates may not fall out. both plates fastened to the bellows-board are affixed by four iron nails, of which the heads are on the inner part of the board, whereas the points, clinched at the top, are transformed into heads, so to speak. each of the other plates is fastened to the head of the bellows by means of a nail with a wide head, and by two other nails of which the heads are on the edge of the bellows-head. midway between the two plates on the bellows-board there remains a space two palms wide, which is covered by an iron plate fastened to the board by little nails; and another plate corresponding to this is fastened to the head between the other two plates; they are two palms and the same number of digits wide. the hide is common to the head as to all the other parts of the body; the plates are covered with it, as well as the front part of the upper bellows-board, and both the bows and the back of the head of the bellows, so that the wind may not escape from that part of the bellows. it is three palms and as many digits wide, and long enough to extend from one of the sides of the lower board over the back of the upper; it is fastened by many t-headed nails on one side to the upper board, and on the other side to the head of the bellows, and both ends are fastened to the lower bellows-board. in the above manner the bellows is made. as two are required for each furnace, it is necessary to have twelve bellows, if there are to be six furnaces in one works. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--front sill. b--back sill. c--front posts. d--their slots. e--beam imposed upon them. f--higher posts. g--their slots. h--beam imposed upon them. i--timber joined in the mortises of the posts. k--planks. l--transverse supporting planks. m--the holes in them. n--pipe. o--its front end. p--its rear end.] now it is time to describe their framework. first, two sills a little shorter than the furnace wall are placed on the ground. the front one of these is three palms wide and thick, and the back one three palms and two digits. the front one is two feet distant from the back wall of the furnace, and the back one is six feet three palms distant from the front one. they are set into the earth, that they may remain firm; there are some who accomplish this by means of pegs which, through several holes, penetrate deeply into the ground. then twelve short posts are erected, whose lower ends are mortised into the sill that is near the back of the furnace wall; these posts are two feet high, exclusive of the tenons, and are three palms and the same number of digits wide, and two palms thick. a slot one and a half palms wide is cut through them, beginning two palms from the bottom and extending for a height of three palms. all the posts are not placed at the same intervals, the first being at a distance of three feet five digits from the second, and likewise the third from the fourth, but the second is two feet one palm and three digits from the third; the intervals between the other posts are arranged in the same manner, equal and unequal, of which each four pertain to two furnaces. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into a transverse beam which is twelve feet, two palms, and three digits long, and projects five digits beyond the first post and to the same distance beyond the fourth; it is two palms and the same number of digits wide, and two palms thick. since each separate transverse beam supports four bellows, it is necessary to have three of them. behind the twelve short posts the same number of higher posts are erected, of which each has the middle part of the lower end cut out, so that its two resulting lower ends are mortised into the back sill; these posts, exclusive of the tenons, are twelve feet and two palms high, and are five palms wide and two palms thick. they are cut out from the bottom upward, the slot being four feet and five digits high and six digits wide. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into a long beam imposed upon them; this long beam is placed close under the timbers which extend from the wall at the back of the furnace to the first long wall; the beam is three palms wide and two palms thick, and forty-three feet long. if such a long one is not at hand, two or three may be substituted for it, which when joined together make up that length. these higher posts are not placed at equal distances, but the first is at a distance of two feet three palms one digit from the second, and the third is at the same distance from the fourth; while the second is at a distance of one foot three palms and the same number of digits from the third, and in the same manner the rest of the posts are arranged at equal and unequal intervals. moreover, there is in every post, where it faces the shorter post, a mortise at a foot and a digit above the slot; in these mortises of the four posts is tenoned a timber which itself has four mortises. tenons are enclosed in mortises in order that they may be better joined, and they are transfixed with wooden pins. this timber is thirteen feet three palms one digit long, and it projects beyond the first post a distance of two palms and two digits, and to the same number of palms and digits beyond the fourth post. it is two palms and as many digits wide, and also two palms thick. as there are twelve posts it is necessary to have three timbers of this kind. on each of these timbers, and on each of the cross-beams which are laid upon the shorter posts, are placed four planks, each nine feet long, two palms three digits wide, and two palms one digit thick. the first plank is five feet one palm one digit distant from the second, at the front as well as at the back, for each separate plank is placed outside of the posts. the third is at the same distance from the fourth, but the second is one foot and three digits distant from the third. in the same manner the rest of the eight planks are arranged at intervals, the fifth from the sixth and the seventh from the eighth are at the same distances as the first from the second and the third from the fourth; the sixth is at the same distance from the seventh as the second from the third. two planks support one transverse plank six feet long, one foot wide, one palm thick, placed at a distance of three feet and two palms from the back posts. when there are six of these supporting planks, on each separate one are placed two bellows; the lower bellows-boards project a palm beyond them. from each of the bellows-boards an iron ring descends through a hole in its supporting plank, and a wooden peg is driven into the ring, so that the bellows-board may remain stationary, as i stated above. the two bellows communicate, each by its own plank, to the back of a copper pipe in which are set both of the nozzles, and their ends are tightly fastened in it. the pipe is made of a rolled copper or iron plate, a foot and two palms and the same number of digits long; the plate is half a digit thick, but a digit thick at the back. the interior of the pipe is three digits wide, and two and a half digits high in the front, for it is not absolutely round; and at the back it is a foot and two palms and three digits in diameter. the plate from which the pipe is made is not entirely joined up, but at the front there is left a crack half a digit wide, increasing at the back to three digits. this pipe is placed in the hole in the furnace, which, as i said, was in the middle of the wall and the arch. the nozzles of the bellows, placed in this pipe, are a distance of five digits from its front end. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--lever which when depressed by means of a cam compresses the bellows. b--slots through the posts. c--bar. d--iron implement with a rectangular link. e--iron instrument with round ring. f--handle of bellows. g--upper post. h--upper lever. i--box with equal sides. k--box narrow at the bottom. l--pegs driven into the upper lever.] the levers are of the same number as the bellows, and when depressed by the cams of the long axle they compress the bellows. these levers are eight feet three palms long, one palm wide and thick, and the ends are inserted in the slots of the posts; they project beyond the front posts to a distance of two palms, and the same distance beyond the back posts in order that each may have its end depressed by its two cams on the axle. the cams not only penetrate into the slots of the back posts, but project three digits beyond them. an iron pin is set in round holes made through both sides of the slot of each front post, at three palms and as many digits from the bottom; the pin penetrates the lever, which turns about it when depressed or raised. the back of the lever for the length of a cubit is a palm and a digit wider than the rest, and is perforated; in this hole is engaged a bar six feet and two palms long, three digits wide, and about one and one-half digits thick; it is somewhat hooked at the upper end, and approaches the handle of the bellows. under the lever there is a nail, which penetrates through a hole in the bar, so that the lever and bar may move together. the bar is perforated in the upper end at a distance of six digits from the top; this hole is two palms long and a digit wide, and in it is engaged the hook of an iron implement which is a digit thick. at the upper part this implement has either a round or square opening, like a link, and at the lower end is hooked; the link is two digits high and wide and the hook is three digits long; the middle part between the link and the hook is three palms and two digits long. the link of this implement engages either the handle of the bellows, or else a large ring which does engage it. this iron ring is a digit thick, two palms wide on the inside of the upper part, and two digits in the lower part, and this iron ring, not unlike the first one, engages the handle of the bellows. the iron ring either has its narrower part turned upward, and in it is engaged the ring of another iron implement, similar to the first, whose hook, extending upward, grips the rope fastened to the iron ring holding the end of the second lever, of which i will speak presently; or else the iron ring grips this lever, and then in its hook is engaged the ring of the other implement whose ring engages the handle of the bellows, and in this case the rope is dispensed with. resting on beams fixed in the two walls is a longitudinal beam, at a distance of four and a half feet from the back posts; it is two palms wide, one and a half palms thick. there are mortised into this longitudinal beam the lower ends of upper posts three palms wide and two thick, which are six feet two palms high, exclusive of their tenons. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into an upper longitudinal beam, which lies close under the rafters of the building; this upper longitudinal beam is two palms wide and one thick. the upper posts have a slot cut out upward from a point two feet from the bottom, and the slot is two feet high and six digits wide. through these upper posts a round hole is bored from one side to the other at a point three feet one palm from the bottom, and a small iron axle penetrates through the hole and is fastened there. around this small iron axle turns the second lever when it is depressed and raised. this lever is eight feet long, and its other end is three digits wider than the rest of the lever; at this widest point is a hole two digits wide and three high, in which is fixed an iron ring, to which is tied the rope i have mentioned; it is five palms long, its upper loop is two palms and as many digits wide, and the lower one is one palm one digit wide. this half of the second lever, the end of which i have just mentioned, is three palms high and one wide; it projects three feet beyond the slot of the post on which it turns; the other end, which faces the back wall of the furnaces, is one foot and a palm high and a foot wide. on this part of the lever stands and is fixed a box three and a half feet long, one foot and one palm wide, and half a foot deep; but these measurements vary; sometimes the bottom of this box is narrower, sometimes equal in width to the top. in either case, it is filled with stones and earth to make it heavy, but the smelters have to be on their guard and make provision against the stones falling out, owing to the constant motion; this is prevented by means of an iron band which is placed over the top, both ends being wedge-shaped and driven into the lever so that the stones can be held in. some people, in place of the box, drive four or more pegs into the lever and put mud between them, the required amount being added to the weight or taken away from it. there remains to be considered the method of using this machine. the lower lever, being depressed by the cams, compresses the bellows, and the compression drives the air through the nozzle. then the weight of the box on the other end of the upper lever raises the upper bellows-board, and the air is drawn in, entering through the air-hole. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--axle. b--water-wheel. c--drum composed of rundles. d--other axle. e--toothed wheel. f--its spokes. g--its segments. h--its teeth. i--cams of the axle.] the machine whose cams depress the lower lever is made as follows. first there is an axle, on whose end outside the building is a water-wheel; at the other end, which is inside the building, is a drum made of rundles. this drum is composed of two double hubs, a foot apart, which are five digits thick, the radius all round being a foot and two digits; but they are double, because each hub is composed of two discs, equally thick, fastened together with wooden pegs glued in. these hubs are sometimes covered above and around by iron plates. the rundles are thirty in number, a foot and two palms and the same number of digits long, with each end fastened into a hub; they are rounded, three digits in diameter, and the same number of digits apart. in this practical manner is made the drum composed of rundles. there is a toothed wheel, two palms and a digit thick, on the end of another axle; this wheel is composed of a double disc[ ]. the inner disc is composed of four segments a palm thick, everywhere two palms and a digit wide. the outer disc, like the inner, is made of four segments, and is a palm and a digit thick; it is not equally wide, but where the head of the spokes are inserted it is a foot and a palm and digit wide, while on each side of the spokes it becomes a little narrower, until the narrowest part is only two palms and the same number of digits wide. the outer segments are joined to the inner ones in such a manner that, on the one hand, an outer segment ends in the middle of an inner one, and, on the other hand, the ends of the inner segments are joined in the middle of the outer ones; there is no doubt that by this kind of joining the wheel is made stronger. the outer segments are fastened to the inner by means of a large number of wooden pegs. each segment, measured over its round back, is four feet and three palms long. there are four spokes, each two palms wide and a palm and a digit thick; their length, excluding the tenons, being two feet and three digits. one end of the spoke is mortised into the axle, where it is firmly fastened with pegs; the wide part of the other end, in the shape of a triangle, is mortised into the outer segment opposite it, keeping the shape of the same as far as the segment ascends. they also are joined together with wooden pegs glued in, and these pegs are driven into the spokes under the inner disc. the parts of the spokes in the shape of the triangle are on the inside; the outer part is simple. this triangle has two sides equal, the erect ones as is evident, which are a palm long; the lower side is not of the same length, but is five digits long, and a mortise of the same shape is cut out of the segments. the wheel has sixty teeth, since it is necessary that the rundle drum should revolve twice while the toothed wheel revolves once. the teeth are a foot long, and project one palm from the inner disc of the wheel, and three digits from the outer disc; they are a palm wide and two and a half digits thick, and it is necessary that they should be three digits apart, as were the rundles. the axle should have a thickness in proportion to the spokes and the segments. as it has two cams to depress each of the levers, it is necessary that it should have twenty-four cams, which project beyond it a foot and a palm and a digit. the cams are of almost semicircular shape, of which the widest part is three palms and a digit wide, and they are a palm thick; they are distributed according to the four sides of the axle, on the upper, the lower and the two lateral sides. the axle has twelve holes, of which the first penetrates through from the upper side to the lower, the second from one lateral side to the other; the first hole is four feet two palms distant from the second; each alternate one of these holes is made in the same direction, and they are arranged at equal intervals. each single cam must be opposite another; the first is inserted into the upper part of the first hole, the second into the lower part of the same hole, and so fixed by pegs that they do not fall out; the third cam is inserted into that part of the second hole which is on the right side, and the fourth into that part on the left. in like manner all the cams are inserted into the consecutive holes, for which reason it happens that the cams depress the levers of the bellows in rotation. finally we must not omit to state that this is only one of many such axles having cams and a water-wheel. i have arrived thus far with many words, and yet it is not unreasonable that i have in this place pursued the subject minutely, since the smelting of all the metals, to which i am about to proceed, could not be undertaken without it. the ores of gold, silver, copper, and lead, are smelted in a furnace by four different methods. the first method is for the rich ores of gold or silver, the second for the mediocre ores, the third for the poor ores, and the fourth method is for those ores which contain copper or lead, whether they contain precious metals or are wanting in them. the smelting of the first ores is performed in the furnace of which the tap-hole is intermittently closed; the other three ores are melted in furnaces of which the tap-holes are always open. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--charcoal. b--mortar-box. c--stamps.] first, i will speak of the manner in which the furnaces are prepared for the smelting of the ores, and of the first method of smelting. the powder from which the hearth and forehearth should be made is composed of charcoal and earth (clay?). the charcoal is crushed by the stamps in a mortar-box, the front of which is closed by a board at the top, while the charcoal, crushed to powder, is removed through the open part below; the stamps are not shod with iron, but are made entirely of wood, although at the lower part they are bound round at the wide part by an iron band. [illustration (clay washing): a--tub. b--sieve. c--rods. d--bench-frame.] the powder into which the charcoal is crushed is thrown on to a sieve whose bottom consists of interwoven withes of wood. the sieve is drawn backward and forward over two wooden or iron rods placed in a triangular position on a tub, or over a bench-frame set on the floor of the building; the powder which falls into the tub or on to the floor is of suitable size, but the pieces of small charcoal which remain in the sieve are emptied out and thrown back under the stamps. [illustration (clay washing): a--screen. b--poles. c--shovel. d--two-wheeled cart. e--hand-sieve. f--narrow boards. g--box. h--covered pit.] when the earth is dug up it is first exposed to the sun that it may dry. later on it is thrown with a shovel on to a screen--set up obliquely and supported by poles,--made of thick, loosely woven hazel withes, and in this way the fine earth and its small lumps pass through the holes of the screen, but the clods and stones do not pass through, but run down to the ground. the earth which passes through the screen is conveyed in a two-wheeled cart to the works and there sifted. this sieve, which is not dissimilar to the one described above, is drawn backward and forward upon narrow boards of equal length placed over a long box; the powder which falls through the sieve into the box is suitable for the mixture; the lumps that remain in the sieve are thrown away by some people, but by others they are placed under the stamps. this powdered earth is mixed with powdered charcoal, moistened, and thrown into a pit, and in order that it may remain good for a long time, the pit is covered up with boards so that the mixture may not become contaminated. [illustration (implements for furnace work): a--furnace. b--ladder. c--board fixed to it. d--hoe. e--five-toothed rake. f--wooden spatula. g--broom. h--rammer. i--rammer, same diameter. k--two wooden spatulas. l--curved blade. m--bronze rammer. n--another bronze rammer. o--wide spatula. p--rod. q--wicker basket. r--two buckets of leather in which water is carried for putting out a conflagration, should the _officina_ catch fire. s--brass pump with which the water is squirted out. t--two hooks. v--rake. x--workman beating the clay with an iron implement.] they take two parts of pulverised charcoal and one part of powdered earth, and mix them well together with a rake; the mixture is moistened by pouring water over it so that it may easily be made into shapes resembling snowballs; if the powder be light it is moistened with more water, if heavy with less. the interior of the new furnace is lined with lute, so that the cracks in the walls, if there are any, may be filled up, but especially in order to preserve the rock from injury by fire. in old furnaces in which ore has been melted, as soon as the rocks have cooled the assistant chips away, with a spatula, the accretions which adhere to the walls, and then breaks them up with an iron hoe or a rake with five teeth. the cracks of the furnace are first filled in with fragments of rock or brick, which he does by passing his hand into the furnace through its mouth, or else, having placed a ladder against it, he mounts by the rungs to the upper open part of the furnace. to the upper part of the ladder a board is fastened that he may lean and recline against it. then standing on the same ladder, with a wooden spatula, he smears the furnace walls over with lute; this spatula is four feet long, a digit thick, and for a foot upward from the bottom it is a palm wide, or even wider, generally two and a half digits. he spreads the lute equally over the inner walls of the furnace. the mouth of the copper pipe[ ] should not protrude from the lute, lest sows[ ] form round about it and thus impede the melting, for the furnace bellows could not force a blast through them. then the same assistant throws a little powdered charcoal into the pit of the forehearth and sprinkles it with pulverised earth. afterward, with a bucket he pours water into it and sweeps this all over the forehearth pit, and with the broom drives the turbid water into the furnace hearth and likewise sweeps it out. next he throws the mixed and moistened powder into the furnace, and then a second time mounting the steps of the ladder, he introduces the rammer into the furnace and pounds the powder so that the hearth is made solid. the rammer is rounded and three palms long; at the bottom it is five digits in diameter, at the top three and a half, therefore it is made in the form of a truncated cone; the handle of the rammer is round and five feet long and two and a half digits thick; the upper part of the rammer, where the handle is inserted, is bound with an iron band two digits wide. there are some who, instead, use two rounded rammers three and a half digits in diameter, the same at the bottom as at the top. some people prefer two wooden spatulas, or a rammer spatula. in a similar manner, mixed and moistened powder is thrown and pounded with a rammer in the forehearth pit, which is outside the furnace. when this is nearly completed, powder is again put in, and pushed with the rammer up toward the protruding copper pipe, so that from a point a digit under the mouth of the copper pipe the hearth slopes down into the crucible of the forehearth,[ ] and the metal can run down. the same is repeated until the forehearth pit is full, then afterward this is hollowed out with a curved blade; this blade is of iron, two palms and as many digits long, three digits wide, blunt at the top and sharp at the bottom. the crucible of the forehearth must be round, a foot in diameter and two palms deep if it has to contain a _centumpondium_ of lead, or if only seventy _librae_, then three palms in diameter and two palms deep like the other. when the forehearth has been hollowed out it is pounded with a round bronze rammer. this is five digits high and the same in diameter, having a curved round handle one and a half digits thick; or else another bronze rammer is used, which is fashioned in the shape of a cone, truncated at the top, on which is imposed another cut away at the bottom, so that the middle part of the rammer may be grasped by the hand; this is six digits high, and five digits in diameter at the lower end and four at the top. some use in its place a wooden spatula two and a half palms wide at the lower end and one palm thick. the assistant, having prepared the forehearth, returns to the furnace and besmears both sides as well as the top of the mouth with simple lute. in the lower part of the mouth he places lute that has been dipped in charcoal dust, to guard against the risk of the lute attracting to itself the powder of the hearth and vitiating it. next he lays in the mouth of the furnace a straight round rod three quarters of a foot long and three digits in diameter. afterward he places a piece of charcoal on the lute, of the same length and width as the mouth, so that it is entirely closed up; if there be not at hand one piece of charcoal so large, he takes two instead. when the mouth is thus closed up, he throws into the furnace a wicker basket full of charcoal, and in order that the piece of charcoal with which the mouth of the furnace is closed should not then fall out, the master holds it in with his hand. the pieces of charcoal which are thrown into the furnace should be of medium size, for if they are large they impede the blast of the bellows and prevent it from blowing through the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth to heat it. then the master covers over the charcoal, placed at the mouth of the furnace, with lute and extracts the wooden rod, and thus the furnace is prepared. afterward the assistant throws four or five larger baskets full of charcoal into the furnace, filling it right up; he also throws a little charcoal into the forehearth, and places glowing coals upon it in order that it may be kindled, but in order that the flames of this fire should not enter through the tap-hole of the furnace and fire the charcoal inside, he covers the tap-hole with lute or closes it with fragments of pottery. some do not warm the forehearth the same evening, but place large charcoals round the edge of it, one leaning on the other; those who follow the first method sweep out the forehearth in the morning, and clean out the little pieces of charcoal and cinders, while those who follow the latter method take, early in the morning, burning firebrands, which have been prepared by the watchman of the works, and place them on the charcoal. at the fourth hour the master begins his work. he first inserts a small piece of glowing coal into the furnace, through the bronze nozzle-pipe of the bellows, and blows up the fire with the bellows; thus within the space of half an hour the forehearth, as well as the hearth, becomes warmed, and of course more quickly if on the preceding day ores have been smelted in the same furnace, but if not then it warms more slowly. if the hearth and forehearth are not warmed before the ore to be smelted is thrown in, the furnace is injured and the metals lost; or if the powder from which both are made is damp in summer or frozen in winter, they will be cracked, and, giving out a sound like thunder, they will blow out the metals and other substances with great peril to the workmen. after the furnace has been warmed, the master throws in slags, and these, when melted, flow out through the tap-hole into the forehearth. then he closes up the tap-hole at once with mixed lute and charcoal dust; this plug he fastens with his hand to a round wooden rammer that is five digits thick, two palms high, with a handle three feet long. the smelter extracts the slags from the forehearth with a hooked bar; if the ore to be smelted is rich in gold or silver he puts into the forehearth a _centumpondium_ of lead, or half as much if the ore is poor, because the former requires much lead, the latter little; he immediately throws burning firebrands on to the lead so that it melts. afterward he performs everything according to the usual manner and order, whereby he first throws into the furnace as many cakes melted from pyrites[ ], as he requires to smelt the ore; then he puts in two wicker baskets full of ore with litharge and hearth-lead[ ], and stones which fuse easily by fire of the second order, all mixed together; then one wicker basket full of charcoal, and lastly the slags. the furnace now being filled with all the things i have mentioned, the ore is slowly smelted; he does not put too much of it against the back wall of the furnace, lest sows should form around the nozzles of the bellows and the blast be impeded and the fire burn less fiercely. this, indeed, is the custom of many most excellent smelters, who know how to govern the four elements[ ]. they combine in right proportion the ores, which are part earth, placing no more than is suitable in the furnaces; they pour in the needful quantity of water; they moderate with skill the air from the bellows; they throw the ore into that part of the fire which burns fiercely. the master sprinkles water into each part of the furnace to dampen the charcoal slightly, so that the minute parts of ore may adhere to it, which otherwise the blast of the bellows and the force of the fire would agitate and blow away with the fumes. but as the nature of the ores to be smelted varies, the smelters have to arrange the hearth now high, now low, and to place the pipe in which the nozzles of the bellows are inserted sometimes on a great and sometimes at a slight angle, so that the blast of the bellows may blow into the furnace in either a mild or a vigorous manner. for those ores which heat and fuse easily, a low hearth is necessary for the work of the smelters, and the pipe must be placed at a gentle angle to produce a mild blast from the bellows. on the contrary, those ores that heat and fuse slowly must have a high hearth, and the pipe must be placed at a steep incline in order to blow a strong blast of the bellows, and it is necessary, for this kind of ore, to have a very hot furnace in which slags, or cakes melted from pyrites, or stones which melt easily in the fire[ ], are first melted, so that the ore should not settle in the hearth of the furnace and obstruct and choke up the tap-hole, as the minute metallic particles that have been washed from the ores are wont to do. large bellows have wide nozzles, for if they were narrow the copious and strong blast would be too much compressed and too acutely blown into the furnace, and then the melted material would be chilled, and would form sows around the nozzle, and thus obstruct the opening into the furnace, which would cause great damage to the proprietors' property. if the ores agglomerate and do not fuse, the smelter, mounting on the ladder placed against the side of the furnace, divides the charge with a pointed or hooked bar, which he also pushes down into the pipe in which the nozzle of the bellows is placed, and by a downward movement dislodges the ore and the sows from around it. after a quarter of an hour, when the lead which the assistant has placed in the forehearth is melted, the master opens the tap-hole of the furnace with a tapping-bar. this bar is made of iron, is three and a half feet long, the forward end pointed and a little curved, and the back end hollow so that into it may be inserted a wooden handle, which is three feet long and thick enough to be well grasped by the hand. the slag first flows from the furnace into the forehearth, and in it are stones mixed with metal or with the metal adhering to them partly altered, the slag also containing earth and solidified juices. after this the material from the melted pyrites flows out, and then the molten lead contained in the forehearth absorbs the gold and silver. when that which has run out has stood for some time in the forehearth, in order to be able to separate one from the other, the master first either skims off the slags with the hooked bar or else lifts them off with an iron fork; the slags, as they are very light, float on the top. he next draws off the cakes of melted pyrites, which as they are of medium weight hold the middle place; he leaves in the forehearth the alloy of gold or silver with the lead, for these being the heaviest, sink to the bottom. as, however, there is a difference in slags, the uppermost containing little metal, the middle more, and the lowest much, he puts these away separately, each in its own place, in order that to each heap, when it is re-smelted, he may add the proper fluxes, and can put in as much lead as is demanded for the metal in the slag; when the slag is re-melted, if it emits much odour, there is some metal in it; if it emits no odour, then it contains none. he puts the cakes of melted pyrites away separately, as they were nearest in the forehearth to the metal, and contain a little more of it than the slags; from all these cakes a conical mound is built up, by always placing the widest of them at the bottom. the hooked bar has a hook on the end, hence its name; otherwise it is similar to other bars. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b, c--three furnaces. at the first stands the smelter, who with a ladle pours the alloy out of the forehearth into the moulds. d--forehearth. e--ladle. f--moulds. g--round wooden rammer. h--tapping-bar. at the second furnace stands the smelter, who opens the tap-hole with his tapping-bar. the assistant, standing on steps placed against the third furnace which has been broken open, chips off the accretions. i--steps. k--spatula. l--the other hooked bar. m--mine captain carrying a cake, in which he has stuck the pick, to the scales to be weighed. n--another mine captain opens a chest in which his things are kept.] afterward the master closes up the tap-hole and fills the furnace with the same materials i described above, and again, the ores having been melted, he opens the tap-hole, and with a hooked bar extracts the slags and the cakes melted from pyrites, which have run down into the forehearth. he repeats the same operation until a certain and definite part of the ore has been smelted, and the day's work is at an end; if the ore was rich the work is finished in eight hours; if poor, it takes a longer time. but if the ore was so rich as to be smelted in less than eight hours, another operation is in the meanwhile combined with the first, and both are performed in the space of ten hours. when all the ore has been smelted, he throws into the furnace a basket full of litharge or hearth-lead, so that the metal which has remained in the accretions may run out with these when melted. when he has finally drawn out of the forehearth the slags and the cakes melted from pyrites, he takes out, with a ladle, the lead alloyed with gold or silver and pours it into little iron or copper pans, three palms wide and as many digits deep, but first lined on the inside with lute and dried by warming, lest the glowing molten substances should break through. the iron ladle is two palms wide, and in other respects it is similar to the others, all of which have a sufficiently long iron shaft, so that the fire should not burn the wooden part of the handle. when the alloy has been poured out of the forehearth, the smelter foreman and the mine captain weigh the cakes. then the master breaks out the whole of the mouth of the furnace with a crowbar, and with that other hooked bar, the rabble and the five-toothed rake, he extracts the accretions and the charcoal. this crowbar is not unlike the other hooked one, but larger and wider; the handle of the rabble is six feet long and is half of iron and half of wood. the furnace having cooled, the master chips off the accretions clinging to the walls with a rectangular spatula six digits long, a palm broad, and sharp on the front edge; it has a round handle four feet long, half of it being of iron and half of wood. this is the first method of smelting ores. because they generally consist of unequal constituents, some of which melt rapidly and others slowly, the ores rich in gold and silver cannot be smelted as rapidly or as easily by the other methods as they can by the first method, for three important reasons. the first reason is that, as often as the closed tap-hole of the furnace is opened with a tapping-bar, so often can the smelter observe whether the ore is melting too quickly or too slowly, or whether it is flaming in scattered bits, and not uniting in one mass; in the first case the ore is smelting too slowly and not without great expense; in the second case the metal mixes with the slag which flows out of the furnace into the forehearth, wherefore there is the expense of melting it again; in the third case, the metal is consumed by the violence of the fire. each of these evils has its remedy; if the ore melts slowly or does not come together, it is necessary to add some amount of fluxes which melt the ore; or if they melt too readily, to decrease the amount. the second reason is that each time that the furnace is opened with a tapping-bar, it flows out into the forehearth, and the smelter is able to test the alloy of gold and lead or of silver with lead, which is called _stannum_.[ ] when the tap-hole is opened the second or third time, this test shows us whether the alloy of gold or silver has become richer, or whether the lead is too debilitated and wanting in strength to absorb any more gold or silver. if it has become richer, some portion of lead added to it should renew its strength; if it has not become richer, it is poured out of the forehearth that it may be replaced with fresh lead. the third reason is that if the tap-hole of the furnace is always open when the ore and other things are being smelted, the fluxes, which are easily melted, run out of the furnace before the rich gold and silver ores, for these are sometimes of a kind that oppose and resist melting by the fire for a longer period. it follows in this case, that some part of the ore is either consumed or is mixed with the accretions, and as a result little lumps of ore not yet melted are now and then found in the accretions. therefore when these ores are being smelted, the tap-hole of the furnace should be closed for a time, as it is necessary to heat and mix the ore and the fluxes at the same time; since the fluxes fuse more rapidly than the ore, when the molten fluxes are held in the furnace, they thus melt the ore which does not readily fuse or mix with the lead. the lead absorbs the gold or silver, just as tin or lead when melted in the forehearth absorbs the other unmelted metal which has been thrown into it. but if the molten matter is poured upon that which is not molten, it runs off on all sides and consequently does not melt it. it follows from all this that ores rich in gold or silver, when put into a furnace with its tap-hole always open, cannot for that reason be smelted so successfully as in one where the tap-hole is closed for a time, so that during this time the ore may be melted by the molten fluxes. afterward, when the tap-hole has been opened, they flow into the forehearth and mix there with the molten lead. this method of smelting the ores is used by us and by the bohemians. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--forehearths. d--dipping-pot. the smelter standing by the first furnace draws off the slags with a hooked bar. e--hooked bar. f--slags. g--the assistant drawing a bucket of water which he pours over the glowing slags to quench them. h--basket made of twigs of wood intertwined. i--rabble. k--ore to be smelted. l--the master stands at the other furnace and prepares the forehearth by ramming it with two rammers. m--crowbar.] the three remaining methods of smelting ores are similar to each other in that the tap-holes of the furnaces always remain open, so that the molten metals may continually run out. they differ greatly from each other, however, for the tap-hole of the first of this kind is deeper in the furnace and narrower than that of the third, and besides it is invisible and concealed. it easily discharges into the forehearth, which is one and a half feet higher than the floor of the building, in order that below it to the left a dipping-pot can be made. when the forehearth is nearly full of the slags, which well up from the invisible tap-hole of the furnace, they are skimmed off from the top with a hooked bar; then the alloy of gold or silver with lead and the melted pyrites, being uncovered, flow into the dipping-pot, and the latter are made into cakes; these cakes are broken and thrown back into the furnace so that all their metal may be smelted out. the alloy is poured into little iron moulds. the smelter, besides lead and cognate things, uses fluxes which combine with the ore, of which i gave a sufficient account in book vii. the metals which are melted from ores that fuse readily in the fire, are profitable because they are smelted in a short time, while those which are difficult to fuse are not as profitable, because they take a long time. when fluxes remain in the furnace and do not melt, they are not suitable; for this reason, accretions and slags are the most convenient for smelting, because they melt quickly. it is necessary to have an industrious and experienced smelter, who in the first place takes care not to put into the furnace more ores mixed with fluxes than it can accommodate. the powder out of which this furnace hearth and the adjoining forehearth and the dipping-pot are usually made, consists mostly of equal proportions of charcoal dust and of earth, or of equal parts of the same and of ashes. when the hearth of the furnace is prepared, a rod that will reach to the forehearth is put into it, higher up if the ore to be smelted readily fuses, and lower down if it fuses with difficulty. when the dipping-pot and forehearth are finished, the rod is drawn out of the furnace so that the tap-hole is open, and through it the molten material flows continuously into the forehearth, which should be very near the furnace in order that it may keep very hot and the alloy thus be made purer. if the ore to be smelted does not melt easily, the hearth of the furnace must not be made too sloping, lest the molten fluxes should run down into the forehearth before the ore is smelted, and the metal thus remain in the accretions on the sides of the furnace. the smelter must not ram the hearth so much that it becomes too hard, nor make the mistake of ramming the lower part of the mouth to make it hard, for it could not breathe[ ], nor could the molten matter flow freely out of the furnace. the ore which does not readily melt is thrown as much as possible to the back of the furnace, and toward that part where the fire burns very fiercely, so that it may be smelted longer. in this way the smelter may direct it whither he wills. only when it glows at the part near the bellows' nozzle does it signify that all the ore is smelted which has been thrown to the side of the furnace in which the nozzles are placed. if the ore is easily melted, one or two wicker baskets full are thrown into the front part of the furnace so that the fire, being driven back by it, may also smelt the ore and the sows that form round about the nozzles of the bellows. this process of smelting is very ancient among the tyrolese[ ], but not so old among the bohemians. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--forehearth. d--dipping-pots. the master stands at the one furnace and draws away the slags with an iron fork. e--iron fork. f--wooden hoe with which the cakes of melted pyrites are drawn out. g--the forehearth crucible: one-half inside is to be seen open in the other furnace. h--the half outside the furnace. i--the assistant prepares the forehearth, which is separated from the furnace that it may be seen. k--bar. l--wooden rammer. m--ladder. n--ladle.] the second method of smelting ores stands in a measure midway between that one performed in a furnace of which the tap-hole is closed intermittently, and the first of the methods performed in a furnace where the tap-hole is always open. in this manner are smelted the ores of gold and silver that are neither very rich nor very poor, but mediocre, which fuse easily and are readily absorbed by the lead. it was found that in this way a large quantity of ore could be smelted at one operation without much labour or great expense, and could thus be alloyed with lead. this furnace has two crucibles, one of which is half inside the furnace and half outside, so that the lead being put into this crucible, the part of the lead which is in the furnace absorbs the metals of the ores which easily fuse; the other crucible is lower, and the alloy and the molten pyrites run into it. those who make use of this method of smelting, tap the alloy of gold or silver with lead from the upper crucible once or twice if need be, and throw in other lead or litharge, and each absorbs that flux which is nearest. this method of smelting is in use in styria[ ]. [illustration (furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--tap-holes of furnaces. d--forehearths. e--their tap-holes. f--dipping-pots. g--at the one furnace stands the smelter carrying a wicker basket full of charcoal. at the other furnace stands a smelter who with the third hooked bar breaks away the material which has frozen the tap-hole of the furnace. h--hooked bar. i--heap of charcoal. k--barrow on which is a box made of wicker work in which the coals are measured. l--iron spade.] the furnace in the third method of smelting ores has the tap-hole likewise open, but the furnace is higher and wider than the others, and its bellows are larger; for these reasons a larger charge of the ore can be thrown into it. when the mines yield a great abundance of ore for the smelter, they smelt in the same furnace continuously for three days and three nights, providing there be no defect either in the hearth or in the forehearth. in this kind of a furnace almost every kind of accretion will be found. the forehearth of the furnace is not unlike the forehearth of the first furnace of all, except that it has a tap-hole. however, because large charges of ore are smelted uninterruptedly, and the melted material runs out and the slags are skimmed off, there is need for a second forehearth crucible, into which the molten material runs through an opened tap-hole when the first is full. when a smelter has spent twelve hours' labour on this work, another always takes his place. the ores of copper and lead and the poorest ores of gold and silver are smelted by this method, because they cannot be smelted by the other three methods on account of the greater expense occasioned. yet by this method a _centumpondium_ of ore containing only one or two _drachmae_ of gold, or only a half to one _uncia_, of silver,[ ] can be smelted; because there is a large amount of ore in each charge, smelting is continuous, and without expensive fluxes such as lead, litharge, and hearth-lead. in this method of smelting we must use only cupriferous pyrites which easily melt in the fire, in truth the cakes melted out from this, if they no longer absorb much gold or silver, are replenished again from crude pyrites alone. if from this poor ore, with melted pyrites alone, material for cakes cannot be made, there are added other fluxes which have not previously been melted. these fluxes are, namely, lead ore, stones easily fused by fire of the second order and sand made from them, limestone, _tophus_, white schist, and iron stone[ ]. although this method of smelting ores is rough and might not seem to be of great use, yet it is clever and useful; for a great weight of ores, in which the gold, silver, or copper are in small quantities, may be reduced into a few cakes containing all the metal. if on being first melted they are too crude to be suitable for the second melting, in which the lead absorbs the precious metals that are in the cakes, or in which the copper is melted out of them, yet they can be made suitable if they are repeatedly roasted, sometimes as often as seven or eight times, as i have explained in the last book. smelters of this kind are so clever and expert, that in smelting they take out all the gold and silver which the assayer in assaying the ores has stated to be contained in them, because if during the first operation, when he makes the cakes, there is a _drachma_ of gold or half an _uncia_ of silver lost from the ores, the smelter obtains it from the slags by the second smelting. this method of smelting ores is old and very common to most of those who use other methods. [illustration (lead smelting furnaces): a--furnace of the carni. b--low wall. c--wood. d--ore dripping lead. e--large crucible. f--moulds. g--ladle. h--slabs of lead. i--rectangular hole at the back of the furnace. k--saxon furnace. l--opening in the back of the furnace. m--wood. n--upper crucible. o--dipping-pot. p--westphalian method of melting. q--heaps of charcoal. r--straw. s--wide slabs. t--crucibles. v--polish hearth.] although lead ores are usually smelted in the third furnace--whose tap-hole is always open,--yet not a few people melt them in special furnaces by a method which i will briefly explain. the _carni_[ ] first burn such lead ores, and afterward break and crush them with large round mallets. between the two low walls of a hearth, which is inside a furnace made of and vaulted with a rock that resists injury by the fire and does not burn into chalk, they place green wood with a layer of dry wood on the top of it; then they throw the ore on to this, and when the wood is kindled the lead drips down and runs on to the underlying sloping hearth[ ]. this hearth is made of pulverised charcoal and earth, as is also a large crucible, one-half of which lies under the furnace and the other half outside it, into which runs the lead. the smelter, having first skimmed off the slags and other things with a hoe, pours the lead with a ladle into moulds, taking out the cakes after they have cooled. at the back of the furnace is a rectangular hole, so that the fire may be allowed more draught, and so that the smelter can crawl through it into the furnace if necessity demands. the saxons who inhabit gittelde, when smelting lead ore in a furnace not unlike a baking oven, put the wood in through a hole at the back of the furnace, and when it begins to burn vigorously the lead trickles out of the ore into a forehearth. when this is full, the smelting being accomplished, the tap-hole is opened with a bar, and in this way the lead, together with the slags, runs into the dipping-pots below. afterward the cakes of lead, when they are cold, are taken from the moulds. in westphalia they heap up ten wagon-loads of charcoal on some hillside which adjoins a level place, and the top of the heap being made flat, straw is thrown upon it to the thickness of three or four digits. on the top of this is laid as much pure lead ore as the heap can bear; then the charcoal is kindled, and when the wind blows, it fans the fire so that the ore is smelted. in this wise the lead, trickling down from the heap, flows on to the level and forms broad thin slabs. a few hundred pounds of lead ore are kept at hand, which, if things go well, are scattered over the heap. these broad slabs are impure and are laid upon dry wood which in turn is placed on green wood laid over a large crucible, and the former having been kindled, the lead is re-melted. the poles use a hearth of bricks four feet high, sloping on both sides and plastered with lute. on the upper level part of the hearth large pieces of wood are piled, and on these is placed small wood with lute put in between; over the top are laid wood shavings, and upon these again pure lead ore covered with large pieces of wood. when these are kindled, the ore melts and runs down on to the lower layer of wood; and when this is consumed by the fire, the metal is collected. if necessity demand, it is melted over and over again in the same manner, but it is finally melted by means of wood laid over the large crucible, the slabs of lead being placed upon it. the concentrates from washing are smelted together with slags (fluxes?) in a third furnace, of which the tap-hole is always open. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--vaulted roof. c--columns. d--dust-chamber. e--opening. f--chimney. g--window. h--door. i--chute.] it is worth while to build vaulted dust-chambers over the furnaces, especially over those in which the precious ores are to be smelted, in order that the thicker part of the fumes, in which metals are not wanting, may be caught and saved. in this way two or more furnaces are combined under the same vaulted ceiling, which is supported by the wall, against which the furnaces are built, and by four columns. under this the smelters of the ore perform their work. there are two openings through which the fumes rise from the furnaces into the wide vaulted chamber, and the wider this is the more fumes it collects; in the middle of this chamber over the arch is an opening three palms high and two wide. this catches the fumes of both furnaces, which have risen up from both sides of the vaulted chamber to its arch, and have fallen again because they could not force their way out; and they thus pass out through the opening mentioned, into the chimney which the greeks call [greek: kapnodochê], the name being taken from the object. the chimney has thin iron plates fastened into the walls, to which the thinner metallic substances adhere when ascending with the fumes. the thicker metallic substances, or _cadmia_,[ ] adhere to the vaulted chamber, and often harden into stalactites. on one side of the chamber is a window in which are set panes of glass, so that the light may be transmitted, but the fumes kept in; on the other side is a door, which is kept entirely closed while the ores are being smelted in the furnaces, so that none of the fumes may escape. it is opened in order that the workman, passing through it, may be enabled to enter the chamber and remove the soot and _pompholyx_[ ] and chip off the _cadmia_; this sweeping is done twice a year. the soot mixed with _pompholyx_ and the _cadmia_, being chipped off, is thrown down through a long chute made of four boards joined in the shape of a rectangle, that they should not fly away. they fall on to the floor, and are sprinkled with salt water, and are again smelted with ore and litharge, and become an emolument to the proprietors. such chambers, which catch the metallic substances that rise with the fumes, are profitable for all metalliferous ores; but especially for the minute metallic particles collected by washing crushed ores and rock, because these usually fly out with the fire of the furnaces. i have explained the four general methods of smelting ores; now i will state how the ores of each metal are smelted, or how the metal is obtained from the ore. i will begin with gold. its sand, the concentrates from washing, or the gold dust collected in any other manner, should very often not be smelted, but should be mixed with quicksilver and washed with tepid water, so that all the impurities may be eliminated. this method i explained in book vii. or they are placed in the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, for this also separates its impurities. in this method we see the gold sink in the glass ampulla, and after all the _aqua_ has been drained from the particles, it frequently remains as a gold-coloured residue at the bottom; this powder, when it has been moistened with oil made from argol[ ], is then dried and placed in a crucible, where it is melted with borax or with saltpetre and salt; or the same very fine dust is thrown into molten silver, which absorbs it, and from this it is again parted by _aqua valens_[ ]. it is necessary to smelt gold ore either outside the blast furnace in a crucible, or inside the blast furnace; in the former case a small charge of ore is used, in the latter a large charge of it. _rudis_ gold, of whatever colour it is, is crushed with a _libra_ each of sulphur and salt, a third of a _libra_ of copper, and a quarter of a _libra_ of argol; they should be melted in a crucible on a slow fire for three hours, then the alloy is put into molten silver that it may melt more rapidly. or a _libra_ of the same crude gold, crushed up, is mixed together with half a _libra_ of _stibium_ likewise crushed, and put into a crucible with half an _uncia_ of copper filings, and heated until they melt, then a sixth part of granulated lead is thrown into the same crucible. as soon as the mixture emits an odour, iron-filings are added to it, or if these are not at hand, iron hammer-scales, for both of these break the strength of the _stibium_. when the fire consumes it, not alone with it is some strength of the _stibium_ consumed, but some particles of gold and also of silver, if it be mixed with the gold[ ]. when the button has been taken out of the crucible and cooled, it is melted in a cupel, first until the antimony is exhaled, and thereafter until the lead is separated from it. crushed pyrites which contains gold is smelted in the same way; it and the _stibium_ should be of equal weight and in truth the gold may be made from them in a number of different ways[ ]. one part of crushed material is mixed with six parts of copper, one part of sulphur, half a part of salt, and they are all placed in a pot and over them is poured wine distilled by heating liquid argol in an ampulla. the pot is covered and smeared over with lute and is put in a hot place, so that the mixture moistened with wine may dry for the space of six days, then it is heated for three hours over a gentle fire that it may combine more rapidly with the lead. finally it is put into a cupel and the gold is separated from the lead[ ]. or else one _libra_ of the concentrates from washing pyrites, or other stones to which gold adheres, is mixed with half a _libra_ of salt, half a _libra_ of argol, a third of a _libra_ of glass-galls, a sixth of a _libra_ of gold or silver slags, and a _sicilicus_ of copper. the crucible into which these are put, after it has been covered with a lid, is sealed with lute and placed in a small furnace that is provided with small holes through which the air is drawn in, and then it is heated until it turns red and the substances put in have alloyed; this should take place within four or five hours. the alloy having cooled, it is again crushed to powder and a pound of litharge is added to it; then it is heated again in another crucible until it melts. the button is taken out, purged of slag, and placed in a cupel, where the gold is separated from the lead. or to a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, is added a _libra_ each of salt, of saltpetre, of argol, and of glass-galls, and it is heated until it melts. when cooled and crushed, it is washed, then to it is added a _libra_ of silver, a third of copper filings, a sixth of litharge, and it is likewise heated again until it melts. after the button has been purged of slag, it is put into the cupel, and the gold and silver are separated from the lead; the gold is parted from the silver with _aqua valens_. or else a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, a quarter of a _libra_ of copper filings, and two _librae_ of that second powder[ ] which fuses ores, are heated until they melt. the mixture when cooled is again reduced to powder, roasted and washed, and in this manner a blue powder is obtained. of this, and silver, and that second powder which fuses ores, a _libra_ each are taken, together with three _librae_ of lead, and a quarter of a _libra_ of copper, and they are heated together until they melt; then the button is treated as before. or else a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, half a _libra_ of saltpetre, and a quarter of a _libra_ of salt are heated until they melt. the alloy when cooled is again crushed to powder, one _libra_ of which is absorbed by four pounds of molten silver. or else a _libra_ of the powder made from that kind of concentrates, together with a _libra_ of sulphur, a _libra_ and a half of salt, a third of a _libra_ of salt made from argol, and a third of a _libra_ of copper resolved into powder with sulphur, are heated until they melt. afterward the lead is re-melted, and the gold is separated from the other metals. or else a _libra_ of the powder of this kind of concentrates, together with two _librae_ of salt, half a _libra_ of sulphur, and one _libra_ of litharge, are heated, and from these the gold is melted out. by these and similar methods concentrates containing gold, if there be a small quantity of them or if they are very rich, can be smelted outside the blast furnace. if there be much of them and they are poor, then they are smelted in the blast furnace, especially the ore which is not crushed to powder, and particularly when the gold mines yield an abundance of it[ ]. the gold concentrates mixed with litharge and hearth-lead, to which are added iron-scales, are smelted in the blast furnace whose tap-hole is intermittently closed, or else in the first or the second furnaces in which the tap-hole is always open. in this manner an alloy of gold and lead is obtained which is put into the cupellation furnace. two parts of roasted pyrites or _cadmia_ which contain gold, are put with one part of unroasted, and are smelted together in the third furnace whose tap-hole is always open, and are made into cakes. when these cakes have been repeatedly roasted, they are re-smelted in the furnace whose tap-hole is temporarily closed, or in one of the two others whose tap-holes are always open. in this manner the lead absorbs the gold, whether pure or argentiferous or cupriferous, and the alloy is taken to the cupellation furnace. pyrites, or other gold ore which is mixed with much material that is consumed by fire and flies out of the furnace, is melted with stone from which iron is melted, if this is at hand. six parts of such pyrites, or of gold ore reduced to powder and sifted, four of stone from which iron is made, likewise crushed, and three of slaked lime, are mixed together and moistened with water; to these are added two and a half parts of the cakes which contain some copper, together with one and a half parts of slag. a basketful of fragments of the cakes is thrown into the furnace, then the mixture of other things, and then the slag. now when the middle part of the forehearth is filled with the molten material which runs down from the furnace, the slags are first skimmed off, and then the cakes made of pyrites; afterward the alloy of copper, gold and silver, which settles at the bottom, is taken out. the cakes are gently roasted and re-smelted with lead, and made into cakes, which are carried to other works. the alloy of copper, gold, and silver is not roasted, but is re-melted again in a crucible with an equal portion of lead. cakes are also made much richer in copper and gold than those i spoke of. in order that the alloy of gold and silver may be made richer, to eighteen _librae_ of it are added forty-eight _librae_ of crude ore, three _librae_ of the stone from which iron is made, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of the cakes made from pyrites, and mixed with lead, all are heated together in the crucible until they melt. when the slag and the cakes melted from pyrites have been skimmed off, the alloy is carried to other furnaces. there now follows silver, of which the native silver or the lumps of _rudis_ silver[ ] obtained from the mines are not smelted in the blast furnaces, but in small iron pans, of which i will speak at the proper place; these lumps are heated and thrown into molten silver-lead alloy in the cupellation furnace when the silver is being separated from the lead, and refined. the tiny flakes or tiny lumps of silver adhering to stones or marble or rocks, or again the same little lumps mixed with earth, or silver not pure enough, should be smelted in the furnace of which the tap-hole is only closed for a short time, together with cakes melted from pyrites, with silver slags, and with stones which easily fuse in fire of the second order. in order that particles of silver should not fly away[ ] from the lumps of ore consisting of minute threads of pure silver and twigs of native silver, they are enclosed in a pot, and are placed in the same furnace where the rest of the silver ores are being smelted. some people smelt lumps of native silver not sufficiently pure, in pots or triangular crucibles, whose lids are sealed with lute. they do not place these pots in the blast furnace, but arrange them in the assay furnace into which the draught of the air blows through small holes. to one part of the native silver they add three parts of powdered litharge, as many parts of hearth-lead, half a part of galena[ ], and a small quantity of salt and iron-scales. the alloy which settles at the bottom of the other substances in the pot is carried to the cupellation furnace, and the slags are re-melted with the other silver slags. they crush under the stamps and wash the pots or crucibles to which silver-lead alloy or slags adhere, and having collected the concentrates they smelt them together with the slags. this method of smelting _rudis_ silver, if there is a small quantity of it, is the best, because the smallest portion of silver does not fly out of the pot or the crucible, and get lost. if bismuth ore or antimony ore or lead ore[ ] contains silver, it is smelted with the other ores of silver; likewise galena or pyrites, if there is a small amount of it. if there be much galena, whether it contain a large or a small amount of silver, it is smelted separately from the others; which process i will explain a little further on. because lead and copper ores and their metals have much in common with silver ores, it is fitting that i should say a great deal concerning them, both now and later on. also in the same manner, pyrites are smelted separately if there be much of them. to three parts of roasted lead or copper ore and one part of crude ore, are added concentrates if they were made by washing the same ore, together with slags, and all are put in the third furnace whose tap-hole is always open. cakes are made from this charge, which, when they have been quenched with water, are roasted. of these roasted cakes generally four parts are again mixed with one part of crude pyrites and re-melted in the same furnace. cakes are again made from this charge, and if there is a large amount of copper in these cakes, copper is made immediately after they have been roasted and re-melted; if there is little copper in the cakes they are also roasted, but they are re-smelted with a little soft slag. in this method the molten lead in the forehearth absorbs the silver. from the pyritic material which floats on the top of the forehearth are made cakes for the third time, and from them when they have been roasted and re-smelted is made copper. similarly, three parts of roasted _cadmia_[ ] in which there is silver, are mixed with one part of crude pyrites, together with slag, and this charge is smelted and cakes are made from it; these cakes having been roasted are re-smelted in the same furnace. by this method the lead contained in the forehearth absorbs the silver, and the silver-lead is taken to the cupellation furnace. crude quartz and stones which easily fuse in fire of the third order, together with other ores in which there is a small amount of silver, ought to be mixed with crude roasted pyrites or _cadmia_, because the roasted cakes of pyrites or _cadmia_ cannot be profitably smelted separately. in a similar manner earths which contain little silver are mixed with the same; but if pyrites and _cadmia_ are not available to the smelter, he smelts such silver ores and earths with litharge, hearth-lead, slags, and stones which easily melt in the fire. the concentrates[ ] originating from the washing of _rudis_ silver, after first being roasted[ ] until they melt, are smelted with mixed litharge and hearth-lead, or else, after being moistened with water, they are smelted with cakes made from pyrites and _cadmia_. by neither of these methods do (the concentrates) fall back in the furnace, or fly out of it, driven by the blast of the bellows and the agitation of the fire. if the concentrates originated from galena they are smelted with it after having been roasted; and if from pyrites, then with pyrites. pure copper ore, whether it is its own colour or is tinged with chrysocolla or azure, and copper glance, or grey or black _rudis_ copper, is smelted in a furnace of which the tap-hole is closed for a very short time, or else is always open[ ]. if there is a large amount of silver in the ore it is run into the forehearth, and the greater part of the silver is absorbed by the molten lead, and the remainder is sold with the copper to the proprietor of the works in which silver is parted from copper[ ]. if there is a small amount of silver in the ore, no lead is put into the forehearth to absorb the silver, and the above-mentioned proprietors buy it in with the copper; if there be no silver, copper is made direct. if such copper ore contains some minerals which do not easily melt, as pyrites or _cadmia metallica fossilis_[ ], or stone from which iron is melted, then crude pyrites which easily fuse are added to it, together with slag. from this charge, when smelted, they make cakes; and from these, when they have been roasted as much as is necessary and re-smelted, the copper is made. but if there be some silver in the cakes, for which an outlay of lead has to be made, then it is first run into the forehearth, and the molten lead absorbs the silver. indeed, _rudis_ copper ore of inferior quality, whether ash-coloured or purple, blackish and occasionally in parts blue, is smelted in the first furnace whose tap-hole is always open. this is the method of the tyrolese. to as much _rudis_ copper ore as will fill eighteen vessels, each of which holds almost as much as seven roman _moduli_[ ], the first smelter--for there are three--adds three cartloads of lead slags, one cartload of schist, one fifth of a _centumpondium_ of stones which easily fuse in the fire, besides a small quantity of concentrates collected from copper slag and accretions, all of which he smelts for the space of twelve hours, and from which he makes six _centumpondia_ of primary cakes and one-half of a _centumpondium_ of alloy. one half of the latter consists of copper and silver, and it settles to the bottom of the forehearth. in every _centumpondium_ of the cakes there is half a _libra_ of silver and sometimes half an _uncia_ besides; in the half of a _centumpondium_ of the alloy there is a _bes_ or three-quarters of silver. in this way every week, if the work is for six days, thirty-six _centumpondia_ of cakes are made and three _centumpondia_ of alloy, in all of which there is often almost twenty-four _librae_ of silver. the second smelter separates from the primary cakes the greater part of the silver by absorbing it in lead. to eighteen _centumpondia_ of cakes made from crude copper ore, he adds twelve _centumpondia_ of hearth-lead and litharge, three _centumpondia_ of stones from which lead is smelted, five _centumpondia_ of hard cakes rich in silver, and two _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes[ ]; he adds besides, some of the slags resulting from smelting crude copper, together with a small quantity of concentrates made from accretions, all of which he melts for the space of twelve hours, and makes eighteen _centumpondia_ of secondary cakes, and twelve _centumpondia_ of copper-lead-silver alloy; in each _centumpondium_ of the latter there is half a _libra_ of silver. after he has taken off the cakes with a hooked bar, he pours the alloy out into copper or iron moulds; by this method they make four cakes of alloy, which are carried to the works in which silver is parted from copper. on the following day, the same smelter, taking eighteen _centumpondia_ of the secondary cakes, again adds twelve _centumpondia_ of hearth-lead and litharge, three _centumpondia_ of stones from which lead is smelted, five _centumpondia_ of hard cakes rich in silver, together with slags from the smelting of the primary cakes, and with concentrates washed from the accretions which are usually made at that time. this charge is likewise smelted for the space of twelve hours, and he makes as many as thirteen _centumpondia_ of tertiary cakes and eleven _centumpondia_ of copper-lead-silver alloy, each _centumpondium_ of which contains one-third of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of silver. when he has skimmed off the tertiary cakes with a hooked bar, the alloy is poured into copper moulds, and by this method four cakes of alloy are made, which, like the preceding four cakes of alloy, are carried to the works in which silver is parted from copper. by this method the second smelter makes primary cakes on alternate days and secondary cakes on the intermediate days. the third smelter takes eleven cartloads of the tertiary cakes and adds to them three cartloads of hard cakes poor in silver, together with the slag from smelting the secondary cakes, and the concentrates from the accretions which are usually made at that time. from this charge when smelted, he makes twenty _centumpondia_ of quaternary cakes, which are called "hard cakes," and also fifteen _centumpondia_ of those "hard cakes rich in silver," each _centumpondium_ of which contains a third of a _libra_ of silver. these latter cakes the second smelter, as i said before, adds to the primary and secondary cakes when he re-melts them. in the same way, from eleven cartloads of quaternary cakes thrice roasted, he makes the "final" cakes, of which one _centumpondium_ contains only half an _uncia_ of silver. in this operation he also makes fifteen _centumpondia_ of "hard cakes poor in silver," in each _centumpondium_ of which is a sixth of a _libra_ of silver. these hard cakes the third smelter, as i have said, adds to the tertiary cakes when he re-smelts them, while from the "final" cakes, thrice roasted and re-smelted, is made black copper[ ]. the _rudis_ copper from which pure copper is made, if it contains little silver or if it does not easily melt, is first smelted in the third furnace of which the tap-hole is always open; and from this are made cakes, which after being seven times roasted are re-smelted, and from these copper is melted out; the cakes of copper are carried to a furnace of another kind, in which they are melted for the third time, in order that in the copper "bottoms" there may be more silver, while in the "tops" there may be less, which process is explained in book xi. pyrites, when they contain not only copper, but also silver, are smelted in the manner i described when i treated of ores of silver. but if they are poor in silver, and if the copper which is melted out of them cannot easily be treated, they are smelted according to the method which i last explained. finally, the copper schists containing bitumen or sulphur are roasted, and then smelted with stones which easily fuse in a fire of the second order, and are made into cakes, on the top of which the slags float. from these cakes, usually roasted seven times and re-melted, are melted out slags and two kinds of cakes; one kind is of copper and occupies the bottom of the crucible, and these are sold to the proprietors of the works in which silver is parted from copper; the other kind of cakes are usually re-melted with primary cakes. if the schist contains but a small amount of copper, it is burned, crushed under the stamps, washed and sieved, and the concentrates obtained from it are melted down; from this are made cakes from which, when roasted, copper is made. if either chrysocolla or azure, or yellow or black earth containing copper and silver, adheres to the schist, it is not washed, but is crushed and smelted with stones which easily fuse in fire of the second order. lead ore, whether it be _molybdaena_[ ], pyrites, (galena?) or stone from which it is melted, is often smelted in a special furnace, of which i have spoken above, but no less often in the third furnace of which the tap-hole is always open. the hearth and forehearth are made from powder containing a small portion of iron hammer-scales; iron slag forms the principal flux for such ores; both of these the expert smelters consider useful and to the owner's advantage, because it is the nature of iron to attract lead. if it is _molybdaena_ or the stone from which lead is smelted, then the lead runs down from the furnace into the forehearth, and when the slags have been skimmed off, the lead is poured out with a ladle. if pyrites are smelted, the first to flow from the furnace into the forehearth, as may be seen at goslar, is a white molten substance, injurious and noxious to silver, for it consumes it. for this reason the slags which float on the top having been skimmed off, this substance is poured out; or if it hardens, then it is taken out with a hooked bar; and the walls of the furnace exude the same substance[ ]. then the _stannum_ runs out of the furnace into the forehearth; this is an alloy of lead and silver. from the silver-lead alloy they first skim off the slags, not rarely white, as some pyrites[ ] are, and afterward they skim off the cakes of pyrites, if there are any. in these cakes there is usually some copper; but since there is usually but a very small quantity, and as the forest charcoal is not abundant, no copper is made from them. from the silver-lead poured into iron moulds they likewise make cakes; when these cakes have been melted in the cupellation furnace, the silver is parted from the lead, because part of the lead is transformed into litharge and part into hearth-lead, from which in the blast furnace on re-melting they make de-silverized lead, for in this lead each _centumpondium_ contains only a _drachma_ of silver, when before the silver was parted from it each _centumpondium_ contained more or less than three _unciae_ of silver[ ]. the little black stones[ ] and others from which tin is made, are smelted in their own kind of furnace, which should be narrower than the other furnaces, that there may be only the small fire which is necessary for this ore. these furnaces are higher, that the height may compensate for the narrowness and make them of almost the same capacity as the other furnaces. at the top, in front, they are closed and on the other side they are open, where there are steps, because they cannot have the steps in front on account of the forehearth; the smelters ascend by these steps to put the tin-stone into the furnace. the hearth of the furnace is not made of powdered earth and charcoal, but on the floor of the works are placed sandstones which are not too hard; these are set on a slight slope, and are two and three-quarters feet long, the same number of feet wide, and two feet thick, for the thicker they are the longer they last in the fire. around them is constructed a rectangular furnace eight or nine feet high, of broad sandstones, or of those common substances which by nature are composed of diverse materials[ ]. on the inside the furnace is everywhere evenly covered with lute. the upper part of the interior is two feet long and one foot wide, but below it is not so long and wide. above it are two hood-walls, between which the fumes ascend from the furnace into the dust chamber, and through this they escape by a narrow opening in the roof. the sandstones are sloped at the bed of the furnace, so that the tin melted from the tin-stone may flow through the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth.[ ] as there is no need for the smelters to have a fierce fire, it is not necessary to place the nozzles of the bellows in bronze or iron pipes, but only through a hole in the furnace wall. they place the bellows higher at the back so that the blast from the nozzles may blow straight toward the tap-hole of the furnace. that it may not be too fierce, the nozzles are wide, for if the fire were fiercer, tin could not be melted out from the tin-stone, as it would be consumed and turned into ashes. near the steps is a hollowed stone, in which is placed the tin-stone to be smelted; as often as the smelter throws into the furnace an iron shovel-ful of this tin-stone, he puts on charcoal that was first put into a vat and washed with water to be cleansed from the grit and small stones which adhere to it, lest they melt at the same time as the tin-stone and obstruct the tap-hole and impede the flow of tin from the furnace. the tap-hole of the furnace is always open; in front of it is a forehearth a little more than half a foot deep, three-quarters of two feet long and one foot wide; this is lined with lute, and the tin from the tap-hole flows into it. on one side of the forehearth is a low wall, three-quarters of a foot wider and one foot longer than the forehearth, on which lies charcoal powder. on the other side the floor of the building slopes, so that the slags may conveniently run down and be carried away. as soon as the tin begins to run from the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth, the smelter scrapes down some of the powdered charcoal into it from the wall, so that the slags may be separated from the hot metal, and so that it may be covered, lest any part of it, being very hot, should fly away with the fumes. if after the slag has been skimmed off, the powder does not cover up the whole of the tin, the smelter draws a little more charcoal off the wall with a scraper. after he has opened the tap-hole of the forehearth with a tapping-bar, in order that the tin can flow into the tapping-pot, likewise smeared with lute, he again closes the tap-hole with pure lute or lute mixed with powdered charcoal. the smelter, if he be diligent and experienced, has brooms at hand with which he sweeps down the walls above the furnace; to these walls and to the dust chamber minute tin-stones sometimes adhere with part of the fumes. if he be not sufficiently experienced in these matters and has melted at the same time all of the tin-stone,--which is commonly of three sizes, large, medium, and very small,--not a little waste of the proprietor's tin results; because, before the large or the medium sizes have melted, the small have either been burnt up in the furnace, or else, flying up from it, they not only adhere to the walls but also fall in the dust chamber. the owner of the works has the sweepings by right from the owner of the ore. for the above reasons the most experienced smelter melts them down separately; indeed, he melts the very small size in a wider furnace, the medium in a medium-sized furnace, and the largest size in the narrowest furnace. when he melts down the small size he uses a gentle blast from the bellows, with the medium-sized a moderate one, with the large size a violent blast; and when he smelts the first size he needs a slow fire, for the second a medium one, and for the third a fierce one; yet he uses a much less fierce fire than when he smelts the ores of gold, silver, or copper. when the workmen have spent three consecutive days and nights in this work, as is usual, they have finished their labours; in this time they are able to melt out a large weight of small sized tin-stone which melts quickly, but less of the large ones which melt slowly, and a moderate quantity of the medium-sized which holds the middle course. those who do not smelt the tin-stone in furnaces made sometimes wide, sometimes medium, or sometimes narrow, in order that great loss should not be occasioned, throw in first the smallest size, then the medium, then the large size, and finally those which are not quite pure; and the blast of the bellows is altered as required. in order that the tin-stone thrown into the furnace should not roll off from the large charcoal into the forehearth before the tin is melted out of it, the smelter uses small charcoal; first some of this moistened with water is placed in the furnace, and then he frequently repeats this succession of charcoal and tin-stone. the tin-stone, collected from material which during the summer was washed in a ditch through which a stream was diverted, and during the winter was screened on a perforated iron plate, is smelted in a furnace a palm wider than that in which the fine tin-stone dug out of the earth is smelted. for the smelting of these, a more vigorous blast of the bellows and a fiercer fire is needed than for the smelting of the large tin-stone. whichever kind of tin-stone is being smelted, if the tin first flows from the furnace, much of it is made, and if slags first flow from the furnace, then only a little. it happens that the tin-stone is mixed with the slags when it is either less pure or ferruginous--that is, not enough roasted--and is imperfect when put into the furnace, or when it has been put in in a larger quantity than was necessary; then, although it may be pure and melt easily, the ore either runs out of the furnace at the same time, mixed with the slags, or else it settles so firmly at the bottom of the furnace that the operation of smelting being necessarily interrupted, the furnace freezes up. [illustration (tin smelting furnaces): a--furnace. b--its tap-hole. c--forehearth. d--its tap-hole. e--slags. f--scraper. g--dipping-pot. h--walls of the chimney. i--broom. k--copper plate. l--latticework bars. m--iron seal or die. n--hammer.] the tap-hole of the forehearth is opened and the tin is diverted into the dipping-pot, and as often as the slags flow down the sloping floor of the building they are skimmed off with a rabble; as soon as the tin has run out of the forehearth, the tap-hole is again closed up with lute mixed with powdered charcoal. glowing coals are put in the dipping-pot so that the tin, after it has run out, should not get chilled. if the metal is so impure that nothing can be made from it, the material which has run out is made into cakes to be re-smelted in the hearth, of which i shall have something to say later; if the metal is pure, it is poured immediately upon thick copper plates, at first in straight lines and then transversely over these to make a lattice. each of these lattice bars is impressed with an iron die; if the tin was melted out of ore excavated from mines, then one stamp only, namely, that of the magistrate, is usually imprinted, but if it is made from tin-stone collected on the ground after washing, then it is impressed with two seals, one the magistrate's and the other a fork which the washers use. generally, three of this kind of lattice bars are beaten and amalgamated into one mass with a wooden mallet. the slags that are skimmed off are afterward thrown with an iron shovel into a small trough hollowed from a tree, and are cleansed from charcoal by agitation; when taken out they are broken up with a square iron mallet, and then they are re-melted with the fine tin-stone next smelted. there are some who crush the slags three times under wet stamps and re-melt them three times; if a large quantity of this be smelted while still wet, little tin is melted from it, because the slag, soon melted again, flows from the furnace into the forehearth. under the wet stamps are also crushed the lute and broken rock with which such furnaces are lined, and also the accretions, which often contain fine tin-stone, either not melted or half-melted, and also prills of tin. the tin-stone not yet melted runs out through the screen into a trough, and is washed in the same way as tin-stone, while the partly melted and the prills of tin are taken from the mortar-box and washed in the sieve on which not very minute particles remain, and thence to the canvas strake. the soot which adheres to that part of the chimney which emits the smoke, also often contains very fine tin-stone which flies from the furnace with the fumes, and this is washed in the strake which i have just mentioned, and in other sluices. the prills of tin and the partly melted tin-stone that are contained in the lute and broken rock with which the furnace is lined, and in the remnants of the tin from the forehearth and the dipping-pot, are smelted together with the tin-stone. when tin-stone has been smelted for three days and as many nights in a furnace prepared as i have said above, some little particles of the rock from which the furnace is constructed become loosened by the fire and fall down; and then the bellows being taken away, the furnace is broken through at the back, and the accretions are first chipped off with hammers, and afterward the whole of the interior of the furnace is re-fitted with the prepared sandstone, and again evenly lined with lute. the sandstone placed on the bed of the furnace, if it has become faulty, is taken out, and another is laid down in its place; those rocks which are too large the smelter chips off and fits with a sharp pick. [illustration (tin smelting furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearths. c--their tap-holes. d--dipping-pots. e--pillars. f--dust-chamber. g--window. h--chimneys. i--tub in which the coals are washed.] some build two furnaces against the wall just like those i have described, and above them build a vaulted ceiling supported by the wall and by four pillars. through holes in the vaulted ceiling the fumes from the furnaces ascend into a dust chamber, similar to the one described before, except that there is a window on each side and there is no door. the smelters, when they have to clear away the flue-dust, mount by the steps at the side of the furnaces, and climb by ladders into the dust chamber through the apertures in the vaulted ceilings over the furnaces. they then remove the flue-dust from everywhere and collect it in baskets, which are passed from one to the other and emptied. this dust chamber differs from the other described, in the fact that the chimneys, of which it has two, are not dissimilar to those of a house; they receive the fumes which, being unable to escape through the upper part of the chamber, are turned back and re-ascend and release the tin; thus the tin set free by the fire and turned to ash, and the little tin-stones which fly up with the fumes, remain in the dust chamber or else adhere to copper plates in the chimney. [illustration (refining tin): a--hearths. b--dipping-pots. c--wood. d--cakes. e--ladle. f--copper plate. g--lattice-shaped bars. h--iron dies. i--wooden mallet. k--mass of tin bars. l--shovel.] if the tin is so impure that it cracks when struck with the hammer, it is not immediately made into lattice-like bars, but into the cakes which i have spoken of before, and these are refined by melting again on a hearth. this hearth consists of sandstones, which slope toward the centre and a little toward a dipping-pot; at their joints they are covered with lute. dry logs are arranged on each side, alternately upright and lengthwise, and more closely in the middle; on this wood are placed five or six cakes of tin which all together weigh about six _centumpondia_; the wood having been kindled, the tin drips down and flows continuously into the dipping-pot which is on the floor. the impure tin sinks to the bottom of this dipping-pot and the pure tin floats on the top; then both are ladled out by the master, who first takes out the pure tin, and by pouring it over thick plates of copper makes lattice-like bars. afterward he takes out the impure tin from which he makes cakes; he discriminates between them, when he ladles and pours, by the ease or difficulty of the flow. one _centumpondium_ of the lattice-like bars sells for more than a _centumpondium_ of cakes, for the price of the former exceeds the price of the latter by a gold coin[ ]. these lattice-like bars are lighter than the others, and when five of them are pounded and amalgamated with a wooden mallet, a mass is made which is stamped with an iron die. there are some who do not make a dipping-pot on the floor for the tin to run into, but in the hearth itself; out of this the master, having removed the charcoal, ladles the tin and pours it over the copper-plate. the dross which adheres to the wood and the charcoal, having been collected, is re-smelted in the furnace. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnace. b--bellows. c--iron disc. d--nozzle. e--wooden disc. f--blow-hole. g--handle. h--haft. i--hoops. k--masses of tin.] some of the lusitanians melt tin from tin-stone in small furnaces. they use round bellows made of leather, of which the fore end is a round iron disc and the rear end a disc of wood; in a hole in the former is fixed the nozzle, in the middle of the latter the blow-hole. above this is the handle or haft, which draws open the round bellows and lets in the air, or compresses it and drives the air out. between the discs are several iron hoops to which the leather is fastened, making such folds as are to be seen in paper lanterns that are folded together. since this kind of bellows does not give a vigorous blast, because they are drawn apart and compressed slowly, the smelter is not able during a whole day to smelt much more than half a _centumpondium_ of tin. [illustration (iron smelting furnaces): a--hearth. b--heap. c--slag-vent. d--iron mass. e--wooden mallets. f--hammer. g--anvil.] very good iron ore is smelted[ ] in a furnace almost like the cupellation furnace. the hearth is three and a half feet high, and five feet long and wide; in the centre of it is a crucible a foot deep and one and a half feet wide, but it may be deeper or shallower, wider or narrower, according to whether more or less ore is to be made into iron. a certain quantity of iron ore is given to the master, out of which he may smelt either much or little iron. he being about to expend his skill and labour on this matter, first throws charcoal into the crucible, and sprinkles over it an iron shovel-ful of crushed iron ore mixed with unslaked lime. then he repeatedly throws on charcoal and sprinkles it with ore, and continues this until he has slowly built up a heap; it melts when the charcoal has been kindled and the fire violently stimulated by the blast of the bellows, which are skilfully fixed in a pipe. he is able to complete this work sometimes in eight hours, sometimes in ten; and again sometimes in twelve. in order that the heat of the fire should not burn his face, he covers it entirely with a cap, in which, however, there are holes through which he may see and breathe. at the side of the hearth is a bar which he raises as often as is necessary, when the bellows blow too violent a blast, or when he adds more ore and charcoal. he also uses the bar to draw off the slags, or to open or close the gates of the sluice, through which the waters flow down on to the wheel which turns the axle that compresses the bellows. in this sensible way, iron is melted out and a mass weighing two or three _centumpondia_ may be made, providing the iron ore was rich. when this is done the master opens the slag-vent with the tapping-bar, and when all has run out he allows the iron mass to cool. afterward he and his assistant stir the iron with the bar, and then in order to chip off the slags which had until then adhered to it, and to condense and flatten it, they take it down from the furnace to the floor, and beat it with large wooden mallets having slender handles five feet long. thereupon it is immediately placed on the anvil, and repeatedly beaten by the large iron hammer that is raised by the cams of an axle turned by a water-wheel. not long afterward it is taken up with tongs and placed under the same hammer, and cut up with a sharp iron into four, five, or six pieces, according to whether it is large or small. these pieces, after they have been re-heated in the blacksmith's forge and again placed on the anvil, are shaped by the smith into square bars or into ploughshares or tyres, but mainly into bars. four, six, or eight of these bars weigh one-fifth of a _centumpondium_, and from these they make various implements. during the blows from the hammer by which it is shaped by the smith, a youth pours water with a ladle on to the glowing iron, and this is why the blows make such a loud sound that they may be heard a long distance from the works. the masses, if they remain and settle in the crucible of the furnace in which the iron is smelted, become hard iron which can only be hammered with difficulty, and from these they make the iron-shod heads for the stamps, and such-like very hard articles. [illustration (iron smelting furnaces): a--furnace. b--stairs. c--ore. d--charcoal.] but to iron ore which is cupriferous, or which when heated[ ] melts with difficulty, it is necessary for us to give a fiercer fire and more labour; because not only must we separate the parts of it in which there is metal from those in which there is no metal, and break it up by dry stamps, but we must also roast it, so that the other metals and noxious juices may be exhaled; and we must wash it, so that the lighter parts may be separated from it. such ores are smelted in a furnace similar to the blast furnace, but much wider and higher, so that it may hold a great quantity of ore and much charcoal; mounting the stairs at the side of the furnace, the smelters fill it partly with fragments of ore not larger than nuts, and partly with charcoal; and from this kind of ore once or twice smelted they make iron which is suitable for re-heating in the blacksmith's forge, after it is flattened out with the large iron hammer and cut into pieces with the sharp iron. [illustration (steel making furnaces): a--forge. b--bellows. c--tongs. d--hammer. e--cold stream.] by skill with fire and fluxes is made that kind of iron from which steel is made, which the greeks call [greek: stomôma]. iron should be selected which is easy to melt, is hard and malleable. now although iron may be smelted from ore which contains other metals, yet it is then either soft or brittle; such (iron) must be broken up into small pieces when it is hot, and then mixed with crushed stone which melts. then a crucible is made in the hearth of the smith's furnace, from the same moistened powder from which are made the forehearths in front of the furnaces in which ores of gold or silver are smelted; the width of this crucible is about one and a half feet and the depth one foot. the bellows are so placed that the blast may be blown through the nozzle into the middle of the crucible. then the whole of the crucible is filled with the best charcoal, and it is surrounded by fragments of rock to hold in place the pieces of iron and the superimposed charcoal. as soon as all the charcoal is kindled and the crucible is glowing, a blast is blown from the bellows and the master pours in gradually as much of the mixture of iron and flux as he wishes. into the middle of this, when it is melted, he puts four iron masses each weighing thirty pounds, and heats them for five or six hours in a fierce fire; he frequently stirs the melted iron with a bar, so that the small pores in each mass absorb the minute particles, and these particles by their own strength consume and expand the thick particles of the masses, which they render soft and similar to dough. afterward the master, aided by his assistant, takes out a mass with the tongs and places it on the anvil, where it is pounded by the hammer which is alternately raised and dropped by means of the water-wheel; then, without delay, while it is still hot, he throws it into water and tempers it; when it is tempered, he places it again on the anvil, and breaks it with a blow from the same hammer. then at once examining the fragments, he decides whether the iron in some part or other, or as a whole, appears to be dense and changed into steel; if so, he seizes one mass after another with the tongs, and taking them out he breaks them into pieces. afterward he heats the mixture up again, and adds a portion afresh to take the place of that which has been absorbed by the masses. this restores the energy of that which is left, and the pieces of the masses are again put back into the crucible and made purer. each of these, after having been heated, is seized with the tongs, put under the hammer and shaped into a bar. while they are still glowing, he at once throws them into the very coldest nearby running water, and in this manner, being suddenly condensed, they are changed into pure steel, which is much harder and whiter than iron. the ores of the other metals are not smelted in furnaces. quicksilver ores and also antimony are melted in pots, and bismuth in troughs. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--hearth. b--poles. c--hearth without fire in which the pots are placed. d--rocks. e--rows of pots. f--upper pots. g--lower pots.] i will first speak of quicksilver. this is collected when found in pools formed from the outpourings of the veins and stringers; it is cleansed with vinegar and salt, and then it is poured into canvas or soft leather, through which, when squeezed and compressed, the quicksilver runs out into a pot or pan. the ore of quicksilver is reduced in double or single pots. if in double pots, then the upper one is of a shape not very dissimilar to the glass ampullas used by doctors, but they taper downward toward the bottom, and the lower ones are little pots similar to those in which men and women make cheese, but both are larger than these; it is necessary to sink the lower pots up to the rims in earth, sand, or ashes. the ore, broken up into small pieces is put into the upper pots; these having been entirely closed up with moss, are placed upside down in the openings of the lower pots, where they are joined with lute, lest the quicksilver which takes refuge in them should be exhaled. there are some who, after the pots have been buried, do not fear to leave them uncemented, and who boast that they are able to produce no less weight of quicksilver than those who do cement them, but nevertheless cementing with lute is the greatest protection against exhalation. in this manner seven hundred pairs of pots are set together in the ground or on a hearth. they must be surrounded on all sides with a mixture consisting of crushed earth and charcoal, in such a way that the upper pots protrude to a height of a palm above it. on both sides of the hearth rocks are first laid, and upon them poles, across which the workmen place other poles transversely; these poles do not touch the pots, nevertheless the fire heats the quicksilver, which fleeing from the heat is forced to run down through the moss into the lower pots. if the ore is being reduced in the upper pots, it flees from them, wherever there is an exit, into the lower pots, but if the ore on the contrary is put in the lower pots the quicksilver rises into the upper pot or into the operculum, which, together with the gourd-shaped vessels, are cemented to the upper pots. the pots, lest they should become defective, are moulded from the best potters' clay, for if there are defects the quicksilver flies out in the fumes. if the fumes give out a very sweet odour it indicates that the quicksilver is being lost, and since this loosens the teeth, the smelters and others standing by, warned of the evil, turn their backs to the wind, which drives the fumes in the opposite direction; for this reason, the building should be open around the front and the sides, and exposed to the wind. if these pots are made of cast copper they last a long time in the fire. this process for reducing the ores of quicksilver is used by most people. in a similar manner the antimony ore,[ ] if free from other metals, is reduced in upper pots which are twice as large as the lower ones. their size, however, depends on the cakes, which have not the same weight everywhere; for in some places they are made to weigh six _librae_, in other places ten, and elsewhere twenty. when the smelter has concluded his operation, he extinguishes the fire with water, removes the lids from the pots, throws earth mixed with ash around and over them, and when they have cooled, takes out the cakes from the pots. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--pots. b--opercula. c--nozzles. d--gourd-shaped earthenware vessels.] other methods for reducing quicksilver are given below. big-bellied pots, having been placed in the upper rectangular open part of a furnace, are filled with the crushed ore. each of these pots is covered with a lid with a long nozzle--commonly called a _campana_--in the shape of a bell, and they are cemented. each of the small earthenware vessels shaped like a gourd receives two of these nozzles, and these are likewise cemented. dried wood having been placed in the lower part of the furnace and kindled, the ore is heated until all the quicksilver has risen into the operculum which is over the pot; it then flows from the nozzle and is caught in the earthenware gourd-shaped vessel. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--enclosed chamber. b--door. c--little windows. d--mouths through the walls. e--furnace in the enclosed chamber. f--pots.] others build a hollow vaulted chamber, of which the paved floor is made concave toward the centre. inside the thick walls of the chamber are the furnaces. the doors through which the wood is put are in the outer part of the same wall. they place the pots in the furnaces and fill them with crushed ore, then they cement the pots and the furnaces on all sides with lute, so that none of the vapour may escape from them, and there is no entrance to the furnaces except through their mouths. between the dome and the paved floor they arrange green trees, then they close the door and the little windows, and cover them on all sides with moss and lute, so that none of the quicksilver can exhale from the chamber. after the wood has been kindled the ore is heated, and exudes the quicksilver; whereupon, impatient with the heat, and liking the cold, it escapes to the leaves of the trees, which have a cooling power. when the operation is completed the smelter extinguishes the fire, and when all gets cool he opens the door and the windows, and collects the quicksilver, most of which, being heavy, falls of its own accord from the trees, and flows into the concave part of the floor; if all should not have fallen from the trees, they are shaken to make it fall. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--larger pot. b--smaller. c--tripod. d--tub in which the sand is washed.] the following is the fourth method of reducing ores of quicksilver. a larger pot standing on a tripod is filled with crushed ore, and over the ore is put sand or ashes to a thickness of two digits, and tamped; then in the mouth of this pot is inserted the mouth of another smaller pot and cemented with lute, lest the vapours are emitted. the ore heated by the fire exhales the quicksilver, which, penetrating through the sand or the ashes, takes refuge in the upper pot, where condensing into drops it falls back into the sand or the ashes, from which the quicksilver is washed and collected. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--pots. b--lids. c--stones. d--furnace.] the fifth method is not very unlike the fourth. in the place of these pots are set other pots, likewise of earthenware, having a narrow bottom and a wide mouth. these are nearly filled with crushed ore, which is likewise covered with ashes to a depth of two digits and tamped in. the pots are covered with lids a digit thick, and they are smeared over on the inside with liquid litharge, and on the lid are placed heavy stones. the pots are set on the furnace, and the ore is heated and similarly exhales quicksilver, which fleeing from the heat takes refuge in the lid; on congealing there, it falls back into the ashes, from which, when washed, the quicksilver is collected. by these five methods quicksilver may be made, and of these not one is to be despised or repudiated; nevertheless, if the mine supplies a great abundance of ore, the first is the most expeditious and practical, because a large quantity of ore can be reduced at the same time without great expense.[ ] [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--pit across which wood is placed. b--forehearth. c--ladle. d--iron mould. e--cakes. f--empty pot lined with stones in layers. g--troughs. h--pits dug at the foot of the troughs. i--small wood laid over the troughs. k--wind.] bismuth[ ] ore, free from every kind of silver, is smelted by various methods. first a small pit is dug in the dry ground; into this pulverised charcoal is thrown and tamped in, and then it is dried with burning charcoal. afterward, thick dry pieces of beech wood are placed over the pit, and the bismuth ore is thrown on it. as soon as the kindled wood burns, the heated ore drips with bismuth, which runs down into the pit, from which when cooled the cakes are removed. because pieces of burnt wood, or often charcoal and occasionally slag, drop into the bismuth which collects in the pit, and make it impure, it is put back into another kind of crucible to be melted, so that pure cakes may be made. there are some who, bearing these things in mind, dig a pit on a sloping place and below it put a forehearth, into which the bismuth continually flows, and thus remains clean; then they take it out with ladles and pour it into iron pans lined inside with lute, and make cakes of it. they cover such pits with flat stones, whose joints are besmeared with a lute of mixed dust and crushed charcoal, lest the joints should absorb the molten bismuth. another method is to put the ore in troughs made of fir-wood and placed on sloping ground; they place small firewood over it, kindling it when a gentle wind blows, and thus the ore is heated. in this manner the bismuth melts and runs down from the troughs into a pit below, while there remains slag, or stones, which are of a yellow colour, as is also the wood laid across the pit. these are also sold. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--wood. b--bricks. c--pans. d--furnace. e--crucible. f--pipe. g--dipping-pot.] others reduce the ore in iron pans as next described. they lay small pieces of dry wood alternately straight and transversely upon bricks, one and a half feet apart, and set fire to it. near it they put small iron pans lined on the inside with lute, and full of broken ore; then when the wind blows the flame of the fierce fire over the pans, the bismuth drips out of the ore; wherefore, in order that it may run, the ore is stirred with the tongs; but when they decide that all the bismuth is exuded, they seize the pans with the tongs and remove them, and pour out the bismuth into empty pans, and by turning many into one they make cakes. others reduce the ore, when it is not mixed with _cadmia_,[ ] in a furnace similar to the iron furnace. in this case they make a pit and a crucible of crushed earth mixed with pulverised charcoal, and into it they put the broken ore, or the concentrates from washing, from which they make more bismuth. if they put in ore, they reduce it with charcoal and small dried wood mixed, and if concentrates, they use charcoal only; they blow both materials with a gentle blast from a bellows. from the crucible is a small pipe through which the molten bismuth runs down into a dipping-pot, and from this cakes are made. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--hearth in which ore is melted. b--hearth on which lie drops of bismuth. c--tongs. d--basket. e--wind.] on a dump thrown up from the mines, other people construct a hearth exposed to the wind, a foot high, three feet wide, and four and a half feet long. it is held together by four boards, and the whole is thickly coated at the top with lute. on this hearth they first put small dried sticks of fir wood, then over them they throw broken ore; then they lay more wood over it, and when the wind blows they kindle it. in this manner the bismuth drips out of the ore, and afterward the ashes of the wood consumed by the fire and the charcoals are swept away. the drops of bismuth which fall down into the hearth are congealed by the cold, and they are taken away with the tongs and thrown into a basket. from the melted bismuth they make cakes in iron pans. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--box. b--pivot. c--transverse wood beams. d--grate. e--its feet. f--burning wood. g--stick. h--pans in which the bismuth is melted. i--pans for moulds. k--cakes. l--fork. m--brush.] others again make a box eight feet long, four feet wide, and two feet high, which they fill almost full of sand and cover with bricks, thus making the hearth. the box has in the centre a wooden pivot, which turns in a hole in two beams laid transversely one upon the other; these beams are hard and thick, are sunk into the ground, both ends are perforated, and through these holes wedge-shaped pegs are driven, in order that the beams may remain fixed, and that the box may turn round, and may be turned toward the wind from whichever quarter of the sky in may blow. in such a hearth they put an iron grate, as long and wide as the box and three-quarters of a foot high; it has six feet, and there are so many transverse bars that they almost touch one another. on the grate they lay pine-wood and over it broken ore, and over this they again lay pine-wood. when it has been kindled the ore melts, out of which the bismuth drips down; since very little wood is burned, this is the most profitable method of smelting the bismuth. the bismuth drips through the grate on to the hearth, while the other things remain upon the grate with the charcoal. when the work is finished, the workman takes a stick from the hearth and overturns the grate, and the things which have been accumulated on it; with the brush he sweeps up the bismuth and collects it in a basket, and then he melts it in an iron pan and makes cakes. as soon as possible after it is cool, he turns the pans over, so that the cakes may fall out, using for this purpose a two-pronged fork of which one prong is again forked. and immediately afterward he returns to his labours. end of book ix. footnotes: [ ] the history of the fusion of ores and of metals is the history of individual processes, and such information as we have been able to discover upon the individual methods previous to agricola we give on the pages where such processes are discussed. in general the records of the beginnings of metallurgy are so nebular that, if one wishes to shirk the task, he can adopt the explanation of william pryce one hundred and fifty years ago: "it is very probable that the nature and use of metals were not revealed to adam in his state of innocence: the toil and labour necessary to procure and use those implements of the iron age could not be known, till they made part of the curse incurred by his fall: 'in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life' (genesis). that they were very early discovered, however, is manifest from the mosaick account of tubal cain, who was the first instructor of every artificer in brass [_sic_] and iron" (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, p. ). it is conceivable that gold could be found in large enough pieces to have had general use in pre-historic times, without fusion; but copper, which was also in use, must have been smelted, and therefore we must assume a considerable development of human knowledge on the subject prior to any human record. such incidental mention as exists after record begins does not, of course, extend to the beginning of any particular branch of the art--in fact, special arts obviously existed long before such mention, and down to the complete survey of the state of the art by agricola our dates are necessarily "prior to" some first mention in literature, or "prior to" the known period of existing remains of metallurgical operations. the scant egyptian records, the scriptures, and the shoo king give a little insight prior to b.c. the more extensive greek literature of about the th to the rd centuries b.c., together with the remains of greek mines, furnish another datum point of view, and the roman and greek writers at the beginning of the christian era give a still larger view. after them our next step is to the monk theophilus and the alchemists, from the th to the th centuries. finally, the awakening of learning at the end of the th and the beginning of the th centuries, enables us for the first time to see practically all that was known. the wealth of literature which exists subsequent to this latter time makes history thereafter a matter of some precision, but it is not included in this undertaking. considering the great part that the metals have played in civilization, it is astonishing what a minute amount of information is available on metallurgy. either the ancient metallurgists were secretive as to their art, or the ancient authors despised such common things, or, as is equally probable, the very partial preservation of ancient literature, by painful transcription over a score of centuries, served only for those works of more general interest. in any event, if all the direct or indirect material on metallurgy prior to the th century were compiled, it would not fill pages such as these. it may be of service to give a tabular summary indicating approximately the time when evidence of particular operations appear on the historical horizon: gold washed from alluvial prior to recorded civilization copper reduced from ores by smelting prior to recorded civilization bitumen mined and used prior to recorded civilization tin reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. bronze made prior to b.c. iron reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. soda mined and used prior to b.c. gold reduced from ores by concentration prior to b.c. silver reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. lead reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. (perhaps prior to b.c.) silver parted from lead by cupellation prior to b.c. bellows used in furnaces prior to b.c. steel produced prior to b.c. base metals separated from ores by water prior to b.c. concentration gold refined by cupellation prior to b.c. sulphide ores smelted for lead prior to b.c. mercury reduced from ores by (?) prior to b.c. white-lead made with vinegar prior to b.c. touchstone known for determining gold and silver prior to b.c. fineness quicksilver reduced from ore by distillation prior to christian era silver parted from gold by cementation with salt prior to " " brass made by cementation of copper and calamine prior to " " zinc oxides obtained from furnace fumes by prior to " " construction of dust chambers antimony reduced from ores by smelting (accidental) prior to " " gold recovered by amalgamation prior to " " refining of copper by repeated fusion prior to " " sulphide ores smelted for copper prior to " " vitriol (blue and green) made prior to " " alum made prior to " " copper refined by oxidation and poling prior to a.d. gold parted from copper by cupelling with lead prior to a.d. gold parted from silver by fusion with sulphur prior to a.d. manufacture of nitric acid and _aqua regia_ prior to a.d. gold parted from silver by nitric acid prior to a.d. gold parted from silver with antimony sulphide prior to a.d. gold parted from copper with sulphur prior to a.d. silver parted from iron with antimony sulphide prior to a.d. first text book on assaying prior to a.d. silver recovered from ores by amalgamation prior to a.d. separation of silver from copper by liquation prior to a.d. cobalt and manganese used for pigments prior to a.d. roasting copper ores prior to smelting prior to a.d. stamp-mill used prior to a.d. bismuth reduced from ore prior to a.d. zinc reduced from ore (accidental) prior to a.d. further, we believe it desirable to sketch at the outset the development of metallurgical appliances as a whole, leaving the details to special footnotes; otherwise a comprehensive view of the development of such devices is difficult to grasp. we can outline the character of metallurgical appliances at various periods in a few words. it is possible to set up a description of the imaginary beginning of the "bronze age" prior to recorded civilization, starting with the savage who accidentally built a fire on top of some easily reducible ore, and discovered metal in the ashes, etc.; but as this method has been pursued times out of number to no particular purpose, we will confine ourselves to a summary of such facts as we can assemble. "founders' hoards" of the bronze age are scattered over western europe, and indicate that smelting was done in shallow pits with charcoal. with the egyptians we find occasional inscriptions showing small furnaces with forced draught, in early cases with a blow-pipe, but later--about b.c.--with bellows also. the crucible was apparently used by the egyptians in secondary melting, such remains at mt. sinai probably dating before b.c. with the advent of the prophets, and the first greek literature-- th to th century b.c.--we find frequent references to bellows. the remains of smelting appliances at mt. laurion ( - b.c.) do not indicate much advance over the primitive hearth; however, at this locality we do find evidence of the ability to separate minerals by specific gravity, by washing crushed ore over inclined surfaces with a sort of buddle attachment. stone grinding-mills were used to crush ore from the earliest times of mt. laurion down to the middle ages. about the beginning of the christian era the writings of diodorus, strabo, dioscorides, and pliny indicate considerable advance in appliances. strabo describes high stacks to carry off lead fumes; dioscorides explains a furnace with a dust-chamber to catch _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide); pliny refers to the upper and lower crucibles (a forehearth) and to the pillars and arches of the furnaces. from all of their descriptions we may conclude that the furnaces had then reached some size, and were, of course, equipped with bellows. at this time sulphide copper and lead ores were smelted; but as to fluxes, except lead for silver, and lead and soda for gold, we have practically no mention. charcoal was the universal fuel for smelting down to the th century. both dioscorides and pliny describe a distillation apparatus used to recover quicksilver. a formidable list of mineral products and metal alloys in use, indicate in themselves considerable apparatus, of the details of which we have no indication; in the main these products were lead sulphide, sulphate, and oxide (red-lead and litharge); zinc oxide; iron sulphide, oxide and sulphate; arsenic and antimony sulphides; mercury sulphide, sulphur, bitumen, soda, alum and potash; and of the alloys, bronze, brass, pewter, electrum and steel. from this period to the period of the awakening of learning our only light is an occasional gleam from theophilus and the alchemists. the former gave a more detailed description of metallurgical appliances than had been done before, but there is little vital change apparent from the apparatus of roman times. the alchemists gave a great stimulus to industrial chemistry in the discovery of the mineral acids, and described distillation apparatus of approximately modern form. the next period--the renaissance--is one in which our descriptions are for the first time satisfactory, and a discussion would be but a review of _de re metallica_. [ ] see footnote , p. , on verbs used for roasting. [ ] agricola has here either forgotten to take into account his three-palm-thick furnace walls, which will make the length of this long wall sixty-one feet, or else he has included this foot and a half in each case in the six-foot distance between the furnaces, so that the actual clear space is only four and a half feet between the furnace with four feet on the ends. [ ] the paucity of terms in latin for describing structural members, and the consequent repetition of "beam" (_trabs_), "timber" (_tignum_), "billet" (_tigillum_), "pole" (_asser_), with such modifications as small, large, and transverse, and with long explanatory clauses showing their location, renders the original very difficult to follow. we have, therefore, introduced such terms as "posts," "tie-beams," "sweeps," "levers," "rafters," "sills," "moulding," "braces," "cleats," "supports," etc., as the context demands. [ ] this set of rafters appears to start from the longitudinal beam. [ ] devices for creating an air current must be of very old invention, for it is impossible to conceive of anything but the crudest melting of a few simple ores without some forced draft. wilkinson (the ancient egyptians, ii, p. ) gives a copy of an illustration of a foot-bellows from a tomb of the time of thotmes iii. ( b.c.). the rest of the world therefore, probably obtained them from the egyptians. they are mentioned frequently in the bible, the most pointed reference to metallurgical purposes being jeremiah (vi, ): "the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed in the fire; the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away." strabo (vii, ) states that ephorus ascribed the invention of bellows to anacharsis--a thracian prince of about b.c. [ ] this whole arrangement could be summarized by the word "hinge." [ ] the rim of this wheel is obviously made of segments fixed in two layers; the "disc" meaning the aggregate of segments on either side of the wheel. [ ] it has not been considered necessary to introduce the modern term _twyer_ in these descriptions, as the literal rendering is sufficiently clear. [ ] _ferruminata_. these accretions are practically always near the hearth, and would correspond to english "sows," and therefore that term has been adopted. it will be noted that, like most modern metallurgists, agricola offers no method for treating them. pliny (xxxiv, ) describes a "sow," and uses the verb _ferruminare_ (to weld or solder): "some say that in the furnace there are certain masses of stone which become soldered together, and that the copper fuses around it, the mass not becoming liquid unless it is transferred to another furnace; it thus forms a sort of knot, as it were, of the metal." [ ] what are known in english as "crucible," "furnace well," "forehearth," "dipping-pot," "tapping-pot," "receiving-pot," etc., are in the text all _catinus_, _i.e._, crucible. for easier reading, however, we have assigned the names indicated in the context. [ ] _panes ex pyrite conflati_. while the term _matte_ would cover most cases where this expression appears, and in many cases would be more expressive to the modern reader, yet there are instances where the expression as it stands indicates its particular origin, and it has been, therefore, considered advisable to adhere to the literal rendering. [ ] _molybdaena_. see note , p. . it was the saturated furnace bottoms from cupellation. [ ] the four elements were earth, air, fire, and water. [ ] "stones which easily melt in the fire." nowhere in _de re metallica_ does the author explain these substances. however in the _interpretatio_ (p. ) he gives three genera or orders with their german equivalents, as follows:--"_lapides qui igni liquescunt primi generis,--schöne flüsse; secundi,--flüsse zum schmeltzen flock quertze; tertii,--quertze oder kiselstein."_ we confess our inability to make certain of most of the substances comprised in the first and second orders. we consider they were in part fluor-spar, and in any event the third order embraced varieties of quartz, flint, and silicious material generally. as the matter is of importance from a metallurgical point of view, we reproduce at some length agricola's own statements on the subject from _bermannus_ and _de natura fossilium_. in the latter (p. ) he states: "finally there now remain those stones which i call 'stones which easily melt in the fire,' because when thrown into hot furnaces they flow (_fluunt_). there are three orders (_genera_) of these. the first resembles the transparent gems; the second is not similar, and is generally not translucent; it is translucent in some part, and in rare instances altogether translucent. the first is sparingly found in silver and other mines; the second abounds in veins of its own. the third genus is the material from which glass is made, although it can also be made out of the other two. the stones of the first order are not only transparent, but are also resplendent, and have the colours of gems, for some resemble crystal, others emerald, heliotrope, lapis lazuli, amethyst, sapphire, ruby, _chrysolithus_, _morion_ (cairngorm?), and other gems, but they differ from them in hardness.... to the first genus belongs the _lapis alabandicus_ (modern albandite?), if indeed it was different from the alabandic carbuncle. it can be melted, according to pliny, in the fire, and fused for the preparation of glass. it is black, but verging upon purple. it comes from caria, near alabanda, and from miletus in the same province. the second order of stones does not show a great variety of colours, and seldom beautiful ones, for it is generally white, whitish, greyish, or yellowish. because these (stones) very readily melt in the fire, they are added to the ores from which the metals are smelted. the small stones found in veins, veinlets, and the spaces between the veins, of the highest peaks of the sudetic range (_suditorum montium_), belong partly to this genus and partly to the first. they differ in size, being large and small; and in shape, some being round or angular or pointed; in colour they are black or ash-grey, or yellow, or purple, or violet, or iron colour. all of these are lacking in metals. neither do the little stones contain any metals which are usually found in the streams where gold dust is collected by washing.... in the rivers where are collected the small stones from which tin is smelted, there are three genera of small stones to be found, all somewhat rounded and of very light weight, and devoid of all metals. the largest are black, both on the outside and inside, smooth and brilliant like a mirror; the medium-sized are either bluish black or ash-grey; the smallest are of a yellowish colour, somewhat like a silkworm. but because both the former and the latter stones are devoid of metals, and fly to pieces under the blows of the hammer, we classify them as sand or gravel. glass is made from the stones of the third order, and particularly from sand. for when this is thrown into the heated furnace it is melted by the fire.... this kind of stone is either found in its own veins, which are occasionally very wide, or else scattered through the mines. it is less hard than flint, on account of which no fire can be struck from it. it is not transparent, but it is of many colours--that is to say, white, yellowish, ash-grey, brown, black, green, blue, reddish or red. this genus of stones occurs here and there in mountainous regions, on banks of rivers, and in the fields. those which are black right through to the interior, and not merely on the surface, are more rare; and very frequently one coloured vein is intersected by another of a different colour--for instance, a white one by a red one; the green is often spotted with white, the ash-grey with black, the white with crimson. fragments of these stones are frequently found on the surface of the earth, and in the running water they become polished by rubbing against stones of their own or of another genus. in this way, likewise, fragments of rocks are not infrequently shaped into spherical forms.... this stone is put to many uses; the streets are paved with it, whatever its colour; the blue variety is added to the ash of pines for making those other ashes which are used by wool-dyers. the white variety is burned, ground, and sifted, and from this they make the sand out of which glass is made. the whiter the sand is, the more useful it is." perusal of the following from _bermannus_ (p. ) can leave little doubt as to the first or second order being in part fluor-spar. agricola derived the name _fluores_ from _fluo_ "to flow," and we in turn obtain "fluorite," or "fluorspar," from agricola. "_bermannus_.--these stones are similar to gems, but less hard. allow me to explain word for word. our miners call them _fluores_, not inappropriately to my mind, for by the heat of fire, like ice in the sun, they liquefy and flow away. they are of varied and bright colours. _naevius_.--theophrastus says of them that they are made by a conflux in the earth. these red _fluores_, to employ the words just used by you, are the ruby silver which you showed us before. _bermannus_.--at the first glance it appears so, although it is not infrequently translucent. _naevius_.--then they are rubies? _bermannus_.--not that either. _naevius_.--in what way, then, can they be distinguished from rubies? _bermannus_.--chiefly by this sign, that they glitter more feebly when translucent. those which are not translucent may be distinguished from rubies. moreover, _fluores_ of all kinds melt when they are subject to the first fire; rubies do not melt in fire. _naevius_.--you distinguish well. _bermannus_.--you see the other kind, of a paler purple colour? _naevius_.--they appear to be an inferior kind of amethyst, such as are found in many places in bohemia. _bermannus_.--indeed, they are not very dissimilar, therefore the common people who do not know amethysts well, set them in rings for gems, and they are easily sold. the third kind, as you see here, is white. _naevius_.--i should have thought it a crystal. _bermannus_.--a fourth is a yellow colour, a fifth ash colour, a sixth blackish. some are violet, some green, others gold-coloured. _anton_.--what is the use of _fluores_? _bermannus_.--they are wont to be made use of when metals are smelted, as they cause the material in the fire to be much more fluid, exactly like a kind of stone which we said is made from pyrites (matte); it is, indeed, made not far from here, at breitenbrunn, which is near schwarzenberg. moreover, from _fluores_ they can make colours which artists use." [ ] _stannum_. (_interpretatio_,--_werck_, modern _werk_). this term has been rendered throughout as "silver-lead" or "silver-lead alloy." it was the argentiferous lead suitable for cupellation. agricola, in using it in this sense, was no doubt following his interpretation of its use by pliny. further remarks upon this subject will be found in note , p. . [ ] _expirare_,--to exhale or blow out. [ ] _rhetos_. the ancient rhaetia comprised not only the greater part of tyrol, but also parts of switzerland and lombardy. the mining section was, however, in tyrol. [ ] _noricum_ was a region south of the danube, embracing not only modern styria, but also parts of austria, salzberg, and carinthia. [ ] one _drachma_ of gold to a _centumpondium_ would be (if we assume these were roman weights) ozs. dwt. troy per short ton. one-half _uncia_ of silver would be ozs. dwts. per short ton. [ ] for discussion of these fluxes see note page . [ ] _carni_. probably the people of modern austrian carniola, which lies south of styria and west of croatia. [ ] historical note on smelting lead and silver.--the history of lead and silver smelting is by no means a sequent array of exact facts. with one possible exception, lead does not appear upon the historical horizon until long after silver, and yet their metallurgy is so inextricably mixed that neither can be considered wholly by itself. as silver does not occur native in any such quantities as would have supplied the amounts possessed by the ancients, we must, therefore, assume its reduction by either ( ) intricate chemical processes, ( ) amalgamation, ( ) reduction with copper, ( ) reduction with lead. it is impossible to conceive of the first with the ancient knowledge of chemistry; the second (see note , p. ) does not appear to have been known until after roman times; in any event, quicksilver appears only at about b.c. the third was impossible, as the parting of silver from copper without lead involves metallurgy only possible during the last century. therefore, one is driven to the conclusion that the fourth case obtained, and that the lead must have been known practically contemporaneously with silver. there is a leaden figure exhibited in the british museum among the articles recovered from the temple of osiris at abydos, and considered to be of the archaic period--prior to b.c. the earliest known egyptian silver appears to be a necklace of beads, supposed to be of the xii. dynasty ( b.c.), which is described in the th memoir, egyptian exploration fund (london, , p. ). with this exception of the above-mentioned lead specimen, silver articles antedate positive evidence of lead by nearly a millennium, and if we assume lead as a necessary factor in silver production, we must conclude it was known long prior to any direct (except the above solitary possibility) evidence of lead itself. further, if we are to conclude its necessary association with silver, we must assume a knowledge of cupellation for the parting of the two metals. lead is mentioned in b.c. among the spoil captured by thotmes iii. leaden objects have frequently been found in egyptian tombs as early as rameses iii. ( b.c.). the statement is made by pulsifer (notes for a history of lead, new york , p. ) that egyptian pottery was glazed with lead. we have been unable to find any confirmation of this. it may be noted, incidentally, that lead is not included in the metals of the "tribute of yü" in the shoo king (the chinese classics, b.c.?), although silver is so included. after or b.c. evidences of the use of lead become frequent. moses (numbers xxxi, - ) directs the israelites with regard to their plunder from the midianites ( b.c.): "only the gold and the silver, the brass [_sic_], the iron, the tin, and the lead. everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless, it shall be purified with the water of separation, and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water." numerous other references occur in the scriptures (psalms xii, ; proverbs xvii, ; xxv, ; etc.), one of the most pointed from a metallurgical point of view being that of jeremiah ( b.c.), who says (vi, - ): "the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away. reprobate silver shall men call them because the lord hath rejected them." from the number of his metaphors in metallurgical terms we may well conclude that jeremiah was of considerable metallurgical experience, which may account for his critical tenor of mind. these biblical references all point to a knowledge of separating silver and lead. homer mentions lead (iliad xxiv, ), and it has been found in the remains of ancient troy and mycenae (h. schliemann, "troy and its remains," london, , and "mycenae," new york, ). both herodotus (i, ) and diodorus (ii, ) speak of the lead used to fix iron clamps in the stone bridge of nitocris ( b.c.) at babylon. our best evidence of ancient lead-silver metallurgy is the result of the studies at mt. laurion by edouard ardaillon (_mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, paris, ). here the very extensive old workings and the slag heaps testify to the greatest activity. the re-opening of the mines in recent years by a french company has well demonstrated their technical character, and the frequent mention in greek history easily determines their date. these deposits of argentiferous galena were extensively worked before b.c. and while the evidence of concentration methods is ample, there is but little remaining of the ancient smelters. enough, however, remains to demonstrate that the galena was smelted in small furnaces at low heat, with forced draught, and that it was subsequently cupelled. in order to reduce the sulphides the ancient smelters apparently depended upon partial roasting in the furnace at a preliminary period in reduction, or else upon the ferruginous character of the ore, or upon both. see notes p. and p. . theognis ( th century b.c.) and hippocrates ( th century b.c.) are frequently referred to as mentioning the refining of gold with lead; an inspection of the passages fails to corroborate the importance which has been laid upon them. among literary evidences upon lead metallurgy of later date, theophrastus ( b.c.) describes the making of white-lead with lead plates and vinegar. diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.), in his well-known quotation from agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) with regard to gold mining and treatment in egypt, describes the refining of gold with lead. (see note , p. .) strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) says (iii, , ): "the furnaces for silver are constructed lofty in order that the vapour, which is dense and pestilent, may be raised and carried off." and again (iii, , ), in quoting from polybius ( - b.c.): "polybius, speaking of the silver mines of new carthage, tells us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about stadia, and occupy a circuit of stadia; that there are , men regularly engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the roman people (a revenue of) , drachmae. the rest of the process i pass over, as it is too long; but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is broken up and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to be again broken, and the water having been strained off it is to be sifted and broken a third time. the dregs which remain after the fifth time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is obtained pure. these silver mines still exist; however, they are no longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but are possessed by private individuals. the gold mines, on the contrary, nearly all belong to the state. both at castlon and other places there are singular lead mines worked. they contain a small proportion of silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining" (hamilton's trans.). dioscorides ( st century a.d.), among his medicines, describes several varieties of litharge, their origin, and the manner of making white-lead (see on pp. , ), but he gives no very tangible information on lead smelting. pliny, at the same period in speaking of silver, (xxxiii, ), says: "after this we speak of silver, the next folly. silver is only found in shafts, there being no indications like shining particles as in the case of gold. this earth is sometimes red, sometimes of an ashy colour. it is impossible to melt it except with lead ore (_vena plumbi_), called _galena_, which is generally found next to silver veins. and this the same agency of fire separates part into lead, which floats on the silver like oil on water." (we have transferred lead and silver in this last sentence, otherwise it means nothing.) also (xxxiv, ) he says: "there are two different sources of lead, it being smelted from its own ore, whence it comes without the admixture of any other substance, or else from an ore which contains it in common with silver. the metal, which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace, is called _stannum_ that at the second melting is silver; that which remains in the furnace is _galena_, which is added to a third part of the ore. this being again melted, produces lead with a deduction of two-ninths." we have, despite some grammatical objections, rendered this passage quite differently from other translators, none of whom have apparently had any knowledge of metallurgy; and we will not, therefore, take the several pages of space necessary to refute their extraordinary and unnecessary hypotheses. from a metallurgical point of view, two facts must be kept in mind,--first, that _galena_ in this instance was the same substance as _molybdaena_, and they were both either a variety of litharge or of lead carbonates; second, that the _stannum_ of the ancients was silver-lead alloy. therefore, the metallurgy of this paragraph becomes a simple melting of an argentiferous lead ore, its subsequent cupellation, with a return of the litharge to the furnace. pliny goes into considerable detail as to varieties of litharge, for further notes upon which see p. . the romans were most active lead-silver miners, not only in spain, but also in britain. there are scores of lead pigs of the roman era in various english museums, many marked "_ex argent_." bruce (the roman wall, london, , p. ) describes some roman lead furnaces in cumberland where the draught was secured by driving a tapering tunnel into the hills. the roman lead slag ran high in metal, and formed a basis for quite an industry in england in the early th century (hunt, british mining, london, , p. , etc.). there is nothing in mediæval literature which carries us further with lead metallurgy than the knowledge displayed by pliny, until we arrive at agricola's period. the history of cupellation is specially dealt with in note on p. . [ ] _cadmia_. in the german translation this is given as _kobelt_. it would be of uncertain character, but no doubt partially furnace calamine. (see note on p. .) [ ] _pompholyx_. (_interpretatio_ gives the german as _weisser hütten rauch als ober dem garherde und ober dem kupfer ofen_). this was the impure protoxide of zinc deposited in the furnace outlets, and is modern "tutty." the ancient products, no doubt, contained arsenical oxides as well. it was well known to the ancients, and used extensively for medicinal purposes, they dividing it into two species--_pompholyx_ and _spodos_. the first adequate description is by dioscorides (v, ): "_pompholyx_ differs from _spodos_ in species, not in genus. for _spodos_ is blacker, and is often heavier, full of straws and hairs, like the refuse that is swept from the floors of copper smelters. but _pompholyx_ is fatty, unctuous, white and light enough to fly in the air. of this there are two kinds--the one inclines to sky blue and is unctuous; the other is exceedingly white, and is extremely light. white _pompholyx_ is made every time that the artificer, in the preparation and perfecting of copper (brass?) sprinkles powdered _cadmia_ upon it to make it more perfect, for the soot which rises being very fine becomes _pompholyx_. other _pompholyx_ is made, not only in working copper (brass?), but is also made from _cadmia_ by continually blowing with bellows. the manner of doing it is as follows:--the furnace is constructed in a two-storied building, and there is a medium-sized aperture opening to the upper chamber; the building wall nearest the furnace is pierced with a small opening to admit the nozzle of the bellows. the building must have a fair-sized door for the artificer to pass in and out. another small building must adjoin this, in which are the bellows and the man who works them. then the charcoal in the furnace is lighted, and the artificer continually throws broken bits of _cadmia_ from the place above the furnace, whilst his assistant, who is below, throws in charcoals, until all of the _cadmia_ inside is consumed. by this means the finest and lightest part of the stuff flies up with the smoke to the upper chamber, and adheres to the walls of the roof. the substance which is thus formed has at first the appearance of bubbles on water, afterward increasing in size, it looks like skeins of wool. the heaviest parts settle in the bottom, while some fall over and around the furnaces, and some lie on the floor of the building. this latter part is considered inferior, as it contains a lot of earth and becomes full of dirt." pliny (xxxiv, ) appears somewhat confused as to the difference between the two species: "that which is called _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ is found in the copper-smelting furnaces, the difference between them being that _pompholyx_ is separated by washing, while _spodos_ is not washed. some have called that which is white and very light _pompholyx_, and it is the soot of copper and _cadmia_; whereas _spodos_ is darker and heavier. it is scraped from the walls of the furnace, and is mixed with particles of metal, and sometimes with charcoal." (xxxiv, .) "the cyprian _spodos_ is the best. it is formed by fusing _cadmia_ with copper ore. this being the lightest part of the metal, it flies up in the fumes from the furnace, and adheres to the roof, being distinguished from the soot by its whiteness. that which is less white is immature from the furnace, and it is this which some call '_pompholyx_.'" agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) traverses much the same ground as the authors previously quoted, and especially recommends the _pompholyx_ produced when making brass by melting alternate layers of copper and calamine (_cadmia fossilis_). [ ] _oleo, ex fece vini sicca confecto_. this oil, made from argol, is probably the same substance mentioned a few lines further on as "wine," distilled by heating argol in a retort. still further on, salt made from argol is mentioned. it must be borne in mind that this argol was crude tartrates from wine vats, and probably contained a good deal of organic matter. heating argol sufficiently would form potash, but that the distillation product could be anything effective it is difficult to see. [ ] _aqua valens_. no doubt mainly nitric acid, the preparation of which is explained at length in book x, p. . [ ] _quod cum ignis consumit non modo una cum eo, quae ipsius stibii vis est, aliqua auri particula, sed etiam argenti, si cum auro fuerit permistum, consumitur._ the meaning is by no means clear. on p. is set out the old method of parting silver from gold with antimony sulphide, of which this may be a variation. the silver combines with sulphur, and the reduced antimony forms an alloy with the gold. the added iron and copper would also combine with the sulphur from the antimony sulphide, and no doubt assist by increasing the amount of free collecting agent and by increasing the volume of the matte. (see note , p. .) [ ] there follow eight different methods of treating crude bullion or rich concentrates. in a general way three methods are involved,-- st, reduction with lead or antimony, and cupellation; nd, reduction with silver, and separation with nitric acid; rd, reduction with lead and silver, followed by cupellation and parting with nitric acid. the use of sulphur or antimony sulphide would tend to part out a certain amount of silver, and thus obtain fairly pure bullion upon cupellation. but the introduction of copper could only result deleteriously, except that it is usually accompanied by sulphur in some form, and would thus probably pass off harmlessly as a matte carrying silver. (see note below.) [ ] it is not very clear where this lead comes from. should it be antimony? the german translation gives this as "silver." [ ] these powders are described in book vii., p. . it is difficult to say which the second really is. there are numbers of such recipes in the _probierbüchlein_ (see appendix b), with which a portion of these are identical. [ ] a variety of methods are involved in this paragraph: st, crude gold ore is smelted direct; nd, gold concentrates are smelted in a lead bath with some addition of iron--which would simply matte off--the lead bullion being cupelled; rd, roasted and unroasted pyrites and _cadmia_ (probably blende, cobalt, arsenic, etc.) are melted into a matte; this matte is repeatedly roasted, and then re-melted in a lead bath; th, if the material "flies out of the furnace" it is briquetted with iron ore and lime, and the briquettes smelted with copper matte. three products result: (_a_) slag; (_b_) matte; (_c_) copper-gold-silver alloy. the matte is roasted, re-smelted with lead, and no doubt a button obtained, and further matte. the process from this point is not clear. it appears that the copper bullion is melted with lead, and normally this product would be taken to the liquation furnace, but from the text it would appear that the lead-copper bullion was melted again with iron ore and pyrites, in which case some of the copper would be turned into the matte, and the lead alloy would be richer in gold and silver. historical note on gold.--there is ample evidence of gold being used for ornamental purposes prior to any human record. the occurrence of large quantities of gold in native form, and the possibility of working it cold, did not necessitate any particular metallurgical ingenuity. the earliest indications of metallurgical work are, of course, among the egyptians, the method of washing being figured as early as the monuments of the iv dynasty (prior to b.c.). there are in the british museum two stelae of the xii dynasty ( b.c.) ( bay and bay ) relating to officers who had to do with gold mining in nubia, and upon one there are references to working what appears to be ore. if this be true, it is the earliest reference to this subject. the papyrus map ( b.c.) of a gold mine, in the turin museum (see note , p. ), probably refers to a quartz mine. of literary evidences there is frequent mention of refining gold and passing it through the fire in the books of moses, arts no doubt learned from the egyptians. as to working gold, ore as distinguished from alluvial, we have nothing very tangible, unless it be the stelae above, until the description of egyptian gold mining by agatharchides (see note , p. ). this geographer, of about the nd century b.c., describes very clearly indeed the mining, crushing, and concentration of ore and the refining of the concentrates in crucibles with lead, salt, and barley bran. we may mention in passing that theognis ( th century b.c.) is often quoted as mentioning the refining of gold with lead, but we do not believe that the passage in question ( ): "but having been put to the test and being rubbed beside (or against) lead as being refined gold, you will be fair," etc.; or much the same statement again ( ) will stand much metallurgical interpretation. in any event, the myriads of metaphorical references to fining and purity of gold in the earliest shreds of literature do not carry us much further than do those of shakespeare or milton. vitruvius and pliny mention the recovery or refining of gold with mercury (see note , p. on amalgamation); and it appears to us that gold was parted from silver by cementation with salt prior to the christian era. we first find mention of parting with sulphur in the th century, with nitric acid prior to the th century, by antimony sulphide prior to the th century, and by cementation with nitre by agricola. (see historical note on parting gold and silver, p. .) the first mention of parting gold from copper occurs in the early th century (see note , p. ). the first comprehensive description of gold metallurgy in all its branches is in _de re metallica_. [ ] _rudis_ silver comprised all fairly pure silver ores, such as silver sulphides, chlorides, arsenides, etc. this is more fully discussed in note , p. . [ ] _evolent_,--volatilize? [ ] _lapidis plumbarii facile liquescentis_. the german translation gives _glantz_, _i.e._, galena, and the _interpretatio_ also gives _glantz_ for _lapis plumbarius_. we are, however, uncertain whether this "easily melting" material is galena or some other lead ore. [ ] _molybdaena_ is usually hearth-lead in _de re metallica_, but the german translation in this instance uses _pleyertz_, lead ore. from the context it would not appear to mean hearth-lead--saturated bottoms of cupellation furnaces--for such material would not contain appreciable silver. agricola does confuse what are obviously lead carbonates with his other _molybdaena_ (see note , p. ). [ ] the term _cadmia_ is used in this paragraph without the usual definition. whether it was _cadmia fornacis_ (furnace accretions) or _cadmia metallica_ (cobalt-arsenic-blende mixture) is uncertain. we believe it to be the former. [ ] _ramentum si lotura ex argento rudi_. this expression is generally used by the author to indicate concentrates, but it is possible that in this sentence it means the tailings after washing rich silver minerals, because the treatment of the _rudis_ silver has been already discussed above. [ ] _ustum_. this might be rendered "burnt." in any event, it seems that the material is sintered. [ ] _aes purum sive proprius ei color insederit, sive chrysocolla vel caeruleo fuerit tinctum, et rude plumbei coloris, aut fusci, aut nigri._ there are six copper minerals mentioned in this sentence, and from our study of agricola's _de natura fossilium_ we hazard the following:--_proprius ei color insederit_,--"its own colour,"--probably cuprite or "ruby copper." _tinctum chrysocolla_--partly the modern mineral of that name and partly malachite. _tinctum caeruleo_, partly azurite and partly other blue copper minerals. _rude plumbei coloris_,--"lead coloured,"--was certainly chalcocite (copper glance). we are uncertain of _fusci aut nigri_, but they were probably alteration products. for further discussion see note on p. . [ ] historical note on copper smelting.--the discoverer of the reduction of copper by fusion, and his method, like the discoverer of tin and iron, will never be known, because he lived long before humanity began to make records of its discoveries and doings. moreover, as different races passed independently and at different times through the so-called "bronze age," there may have been several independent discoverers. upon the metallurgy of pre-historic man we have some evidence in the many "founders' hoards" or "smelters' hoards" of the bronze age which have been found, and they indicate a simple shallow pit in the ground into which the ore was placed, underlaid with charcoal. rude round copper cakes eight to ten inches in diameter resulted from the cooling of the metal in the bottom of the pit. analyses of such bronze age copper by professor gowland and others show a small percentage of sulphur, and this is possible only by smelting oxidized ores. copper objects appear in the pre-historic remains in egypt, are common throughout the first three dynasties, and bronze articles have been found as early as the iv dynasty (from to b.c., according to the authority adopted). the question of the origin of this bronze, whether from ores containing copper and tin or by alloying the two metals, is one of wide difference of opinion, and we further discuss the question in note , p. , under tin. it is also interesting to note that the crucible is the emblem of copper in the hieroglyphics. the earliest source of egyptian copper was probably the sinai peninsula, where there are reliefs as early as seneferu (about b.c.), indicating that he worked the copper mines. various other evidences exist of active copper mining prior to b.c. (petrie, researches in sinai, london, , p. , etc.). the finding of crucibles here would indicate some form of refining. our knowledge of egyptian copper metallurgy is limited to deductions from their products, to a few pictures of crude furnaces and bellows, and to the minor remains on the sinai peninsula; none of the pictures were, so far as we are aware, prior to b.c., but they indicate a considerable advance over the crude hearth, for they depict small furnaces with forced draught--first a blow-pipe, and in the xviii dynasty (about b.c.) the bellows appear. many copper articles have been found scattered over the eastern mediterranean and asia minor of pre-mycenaean age, some probably as early as b.c. this metal is mentioned in the "tribute of yü" in the shoo king ( b.c.?); but even less is known of early chinese metallurgy than of the egyptian. the remains of mycenaean, phoenician, babylonian, and assyrian civilizations, stretching over the period from to b.c., have yielded endless copper and bronze objects, the former of considerable purity, and the latter a fairly constant proportion of from % to % tin. the copper supply of the pre-roman world seems to have come largely, first from sinai, and later from cyprus, and from the latter comes our word copper, by way of the romans shortening _aes cyprium_ (cyprian copper) to _cuprum_. research in this island shows that it produced copper from b.c., and largely because of its copper it passed successively under the domination of the egyptians, assyrians, phoenicians, greeks, persians, and romans. the bronze objects found in cyprus show % to % of tin, although tin does not, so far as modern research goes, occur on that island. there can be no doubt that the greeks obtained their metallurgy from the egyptians, either direct or second-hand--possibly through mycenae or phoenicia. their metallurgical gods and the tradition of cadmus indicate this much. by way of literary evidences, the following lines from homer (iliad, xviii.) have interest as being the first preserved description in any language of a metallurgical work. hephaestus was much interrupted by thetis, who came to secure a shield for achilles, and whose general conversation we therefore largely omit. we adopt pope's translation:-- there the lame architect the goddess found obscure in smoke, his forges flaming round, while bathed in sweat from fire to fire he flew; and puffing loud the roaring bellows blew. * * * in moulds prepared, the glowing ore (metal?) he pours. * * * "vouchsafe, oh thetis! at our board to share the genial rites and hospitable fare; while i the labours of the forge forego, and bid the roaring bellows cease to blow." then from his anvil the lame artist rose; wide with distorted legs oblique he goes, and stills the bellows, and (in order laid) locks in their chests his instruments of trade; then with a sponge, the sooty workman dress'd his brawny arms embrown'd and hairy breast. * * * thus having said, the father of the fires to the black labours of his forge retires. soon as he bade them blow the bellows turn'd their iron mouths; and where the furnace burn'd resounding breathed: at once the blast expires, and twenty forges catch at once the fires; just as the god directs, now loud, now low, they raise a tempest, or they gently blow; in hissing flames huge silver bars are roll'd, and stubborn brass (copper?) and tin, and solid gold; before, deep fixed, the eternal anvils stand. the ponderous hammer loads his better hand; his left with tongs turns the vex'd metal round. and thick, strong strokes, the doubling vaults rebound then first he formed the immense and solid shield; even if we place the siege of troy at any of the various dates from to b.c., it does not follow that the epic received its final form for many centuries later, probably - b.c.; and the experience of the race in metallurgy at a much later period than troy may have been drawn upon to fill in details. it is possible to fill a volume with indirect allusion to metallurgical facts and to the origins of the art, from greek mythology, from greek poetry, from the works of the grammarians, and from the bible. but they are of no more technical value than the metaphors from our own tongue. greek literature in general is singularly lacking in metallurgical description of technical value, and it is not until dioscorides ( st century a.d.) that anything of much importance can be adduced. aristotle, however, does make an interesting reference to what may be brass (see note on p. ), and there can be no doubt that if we had the lost work of aristotle's successor, theophrastus ( - b.c.), on metals we should be in possession of the first adequate work on metallurgy. as it is, we find the green and blue copper minerals from cyprus mentioned in his "stones." and this is the first mention of any particular copper ore. he also mentions (xix.) pyrites "which melt," but whether it was a copper variety cannot be determined. theophrastus further describes the making of verdigris (see note , p. ). from dioscorides we get a good deal of light on copper treatment, but as his objective was to describe medicinal preparations, the information is very indirect. he states (v, ) that "pyrites is a stone from which copper is made." he mentions _chalcitis_ (copper sulphide, see note on, p. ); while his _misy_, _sory_, _melanteria_, _caeruleum_, and _chrysocolla_ were all oxidation copper or iron minerals. (see notes on p. .) in giving a method of securing _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide), "the soot flies up when the copper refiners sprinkle powdered _cadmia_ over the molten metal" (see note , p. ); he indirectly gives us the first definite indication of making brass, and further gives some details as to the furnaces there employed, which embraced bellows and dust chambers. in describing the making of flowers of copper (see note , p. ) he states that in refining copper, when the "molten metal flows through its tube into a receptacle, the workmen pour cold water on it, the copper spits and throws off the flowers." he gives the first description of vitriol (see note , p. ), and describes the pieces as "shaped like dice which stick together in bunches like grapes." altogether, from dioscorides we learn for the first time of copper made from sulphide ores, and of the recovery of zinc oxides from furnace fumes; and he gives us the first certain description of making brass, and finally the first notice of blue vitriol. the next author we have who gives any technical detail of copper work is pliny ( - a.d.), and while his statements carry us a little further than dioscorides, they are not as complete as the same number of words could have afforded had he ever had practical contact with the subject, and one is driven to the conclusion that he was not himself much of a metallurgist. pliny indicates that copper ores were obtained from veins by underground mining. he gives the same minerals as dioscorides, but is a good deal confused over _chrysocolla_ and _chalcitis_. he gives no description of the shapes of furnaces, but frequently mentions the bellows, and speaks of the _cadmia_ and _pompholyx_ which adhered to the walls and arches of the furnaces. he has nothing to say as to whether fluxes are used or not. as to fuel, he says (xxxiii, ) that "for smelting copper and iron pine wood is the best." the following (xxxiv, ) is of the greatest interest on the subject:--"cyprian copper is known as _coronarium_ and _regulare_; both are ductile.... in other mines are made that known as _regulare_ and _caldarium_. these differ, because the _caldarium_ is only melted, and is brittle to the hammer; whereas the _regulare_ is malleable or ductile. all cyprian copper is this latter kind. but in other mines with care the difference can be eliminated from _caldarium_, the impurities being carefully purged away by smelting with fire, it is made into _regulare_. among the remaining kinds of copper the best is that of campania, which is most esteemed for vessels and utensils. this kind is made in several ways. at capua it is melted with wood, not with charcoal, after which it is sprinkled with water and washed through an oak sieve. after it is melted a number of times spanish _plumbum argentum_ (probably pewter) is added to it in proportion of ten pounds of the lead to one hundred pounds of copper, and thereby it is made pliable and assumes that pleasing colour which in other kinds of copper is effected by oil and the sun. in many parts of the italian provinces they make a similar kind of metal; but there they add eight pounds of lead, and it is re-melted over charcoal because of the scarcity of wood. very different is the method carried on in gaul, particularly where the ore is smelted between red hot stones, for this burns the metal and renders it black and brittle. moreover, it is re-melted only a single time, whereas the oftener this operation is repeated the better the quality becomes. it is well to remark that all copper fuses best when the weather is intensely cold." the red hot stones in gaul were probably as much figments of imagination as was the assumption of one commentator that they were a reverberatory furnace. apart from the above, pliny says nothing very direct on refining copper. it is obvious that more than one melting was practised, but that anything was known of the nature of oxidation by a blast and reduction by poling is uncertain. we produce the three following statements in connection with some bye-products used for medicinal purposes, which at least indicate operations subsequent to the original melting. as to whether they represent this species of refining or not, we leave it to the metallurgical profession (xxxiv, ):--"the flowers of copper are used in medicine; they are made by fusing copper and moving it to another furnace, where the rapid blast separates it into a thousand particles, which are called flowers. these scales are also made when the copper cakes are cooled in water (xxxiv, ). _smega_ is prepared in the copper works; when the metal is melted and thoroughly smelted charcoal is added to it and gradually kindled; after this, being blown upon by a powerful bellows, it spits out, as it were, copper chaff (xxxiv, ). there is another product of these works easily distinguished from _smega_, which the greeks call _diphrygum_. this substance has three different origins.... a third way of making it is from the residues which fall to the bottom in copper furnaces. the difference between the different substances (in the furnace) is that the copper itself flows into a receiver; the slag makes its escape from the furnace; the flowers float on the top (of the copper?), and the _diphrygum_ remains behind. some say that in the furnace there are certain masses of stone which, being smelted, become soldered together, and that the copper fuses around it, the mass not becoming liquid unless it is transferred to another furnace. it thus forms a sort of knot, as it were, in the metal." pliny is a good deal confused over the copper alloys, failing to recognise _aurichalcum_ as the same product as that made by mixing _cadmia_ and molten copper. further, there is always the difficulty in translation arising from the fact that the latin _aes_ was indiscriminately copper, brass, and bronze. he does not, except in one instance (xxxiv., ), directly describe the mixture of _cadmia_ and copper. "next to livian (copper) this kind (_corduban_, from spain) most readily absorbs _cadmia_, and becomes almost as excellent as _aurichalcum_ for making _sesterces_." as to bronze, there is no very definite statement; but the _argentatium_ given in the quotation above from xxxiv, , is stated in xxxiv, , to be a mixture of tin and lead. the romans carried on most extensive copper mining in various parts of their empire; these activities extended from egypt through cyprus, central europe, the spanish peninsula, and britain. the activity of such works is abundantly evidenced in the mines, but very little remains upon the surface to indicate the equipment; thus, while mining methods are clear enough, the metallurgy receives little help from these sources. at rio tinto there still remain enormous slag heaps from the romans, and the phoenician miners before them. professor w. a. carlyle informs us that the ore worked must have been almost exclusively sulphides, as only negligible quantities of carbonates exist in the deposits; they probably mixed basic and siliceous ores. there is some evidence of roasting, and the slags run from . to . %. they must have run down mattes, but as to how they ultimately arrived at metallic copper there is no evidence to show. the special processes for separating other metals from copper by liquation and matting, or of refining by poling, etc., are none of them clearly indicated in records or remains until we reach the th century. here we find very adequate descriptions of copper smelting and refining by the monk theophilus (see appendix b). we reproduce two paragraphs of interest from hendrie's excellent translation (p. and ): "copper is engendered in the earth. when a vein of which is found, it is acquired with the greatest labour by digging and breaking. it is a stone of a green colour and most hard, and naturally mixed with lead. this stone, dug up in abundance, is placed upon a pile and burned after the manner of chalk, nor does it change colour, but yet loses its hardness, so that it can be broken up. then, being bruised small, it is placed in the furnace; coals and the bellows being applied, it is incessantly forged by day and night. this should be done carefully and with caution; that is, at first coals are placed in, then small pieces of stone are distributed over them, and again coals, and then stone anew, and it is thus arranged until it is sufficient for the size of the furnace. and when the stone has commenced to liquefy, the lead flows out through some small cavities, and the copper remains within. ( ) of the purification of copper. take an iron dish of the size you wish, and line it inside and out with clay strongly beaten and mixed, and it is carefully dried. then place it before a forge upon the coals, so that when the bellows act upon it the wind may issue partly within and partly above it, and not below it. and very small coals being placed round it, place copper in it equally, and add over it a heap of coals. when, by blowing a long time, this has become melted, uncover it and cast immediately fine ashes of coals over it, and stir it with a thin and dry piece of wood as if mixing it, and you will directly see the burnt lead adhere to these ashes like a glue. which being cast out again superpose coals, and blowing for a long time, as at first, again uncover it, and then do as you did before. you do this until at length, by cooking it, you can withdraw the lead entirely. then pour it over the mould which you have prepared for this, and you will thus prove if it be pure. hold it with pincers, glowing as it is, before it has become cold, and strike it with a large hammer strongly over the anvil, and if it be broken or split you must liquefy it anew as before." the next writer of importance was biringuccio, who was contemporaneous with agricola, but whose book precedes _de re metallica_ by years. that author (iii, ) is the first to describe particularly the furnace used in saxony and the roasting prior to smelting, and the first to mention fluxes in detail. he, however, describes nothing of matte smelting; in copper refining he gives the whole process of poling, but omits the pole. it is not until we reach _de re metallica_ that we find adequate descriptions of the copper minerals, roasting, matte smelting, liquation, and refining, with a wealth of detail which eliminates the necessity for a large amount of conjecture regarding technical methods of the time. [ ] _cadmia metallica fossilis_ (see note on p. ). this was undoubtedly the complex cobalt-arsenic-zinc minerals found in saxony. in the german translation, however, this is given as _kalmey_, calamine, which is unlikely from the association with pyrites. [ ] the roman _modius_ (_modulus_?) held about cubic inches, the english peck holding cubic inches. then, perhaps, his seven _moduli_ would be roughly, bushel pecks, and vessels full would be about bushels--say, roughly, , lbs. of ore. [ ] exhausted liquation cakes (_panes aerei fathiscentes_). this is the copper sponge resulting from the first liquation of lead, and still contains a considerable amount of lead. the liquation process is discussed in great detail in book xi. [ ] the method of this paragraph involves two main objectives--first, the gradual enrichment of matte to blister copper; and, second, the creation of large cakes of copper-lead-silver alloy of suitable size and ratio of metals for liquation. this latter process is described in detail in book xi. the following groupings show the circuit of the various products, the "lbs." being roman _librae_:-- charge. products. { crude ore , lbs. } primary matte ( ) lbs. { lead slags cartloads } st { schist cartload } silver-copper alloy (a) " { flux lbs. } { concentrates from } slags (b) { slags & accretions small quantity } { primary matte ( ) , lbs. } secondary matte ( ) , lbs. { hearth-lead & litharge , " } { lead ore " } silver-copper-lead nd { rich hard cakes (a_{ }) " } alloy (liquation { liquated cakes " } cakes) (a_{ }) , " { slags (b) } { concentrates from } slags (b_{ }) { accretions } { secondary matte ( ) , lbs. } tertiary matte ( ) , lbs. { hearth-lead & litharge , " } silver-copper-lead { lead ore " } alloy (liquation rd { rich hard cakes (a_{ }) " } cakes) (a_{ }) , " { slags (b_{ }) } slags (b_{ }) { concentrates from } { accretions } { tertiary matte ( ) cartloads } quaternary hard cakes { poor hard cakes (a_{ }) " } matte ( ) , lbs. th { slags (b_{ }) } rich hard cakes of { concentrates from } matte (a_{ }) , " { accretions } { roasted quartz } poor hard cakes of th { matte ( ) (three } matte (a_{ }) , lbs. { times roasted) cartloads } final cakes of matte ( ) th final matte three times roasted is smelted to blister copper. the following would be a rough approximation of the value of the various products:-- ( .) primary matte = ounces troy per short ton. ( .) secondary matte = " " " ( .) tertiary matte = " " " ( .) quaternary matte = indeterminate. a. copper-silver alloy = ounces troy per short ton. a_{ } copper-silver-lead alloy = " " " a_{ } " " " = " " " a_{ } rich hard cakes = " " " a_{ } poor hard cakes = indeterminate. final blister copper = ozs. troy per short ton. [ ] this expression is usually used for hearth-lead, but in this case the author is apparently confining himself to lead ore, and apparently refers to lead carbonates. the german translation gives _pleyschweiss_. the pyrites mentioned in this paragraph may mean galena, as pyrites was to agricola a sort of genera. [ ] (_excoquitur_) ... "_si verò pyrites, primò è fornace, ut goselariae videre licet, in catinum defluit liquor quidam candidus, argento inimicus et nocivus; id enim comburit: quo circa recrementis, quae supernatant, detractis effunditur: vel induratus conto uncinato extrahitur: eundem liquorem parietes fornacis exudant._" in the glossary the following statement appears: "_liquor candidus primo è fornace defluens cum goselariae excoquitur pyrites,--kobelt; quem parietes fornacis exudant,--conterfei._" in this latter statement agricola apparently recognised that there were two different substances, _i.e._, that the substance found in the furnace walls--_conterfei_--was not the same substance as that which first flowed from the furnace--_kobelt_. we are at no difficulty in recognizing _conterfei_ as metallic zinc; it was long known by that term, and this accidental occurrence is repeatedly mentioned by other authors after agricola. the substance which first flowed into the forehearth presents greater difficulties; it certainly was not zinc. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), agricola says that at goslar the lead has a certain white slag floating upon it, the "colour derived from the pyrites (_pyriten argenteum_) from which it was produced." _pyriten argenteum_ was either marcasite or mispickel, neither of which offers much suggestion; nor are we able to hazard an explanation of value. historical note on zinc. the history of zinc metallurgy falls into two distinct lines--first, that of the metal, and second, that of zinc ore, for the latter was known and used to make brass by cementation with copper and to yield oxides by sublimation for medicinal purposes, nearly , years before the metal became generally known and used in europe. there is some reason to believe that metallic zinc was known to the ancients, for bracelets made of it, found in the ruins of cameros (prior to b.c.), may have been of that age (raoul jagnaux, _traité de chimie générale_, , ii, ); and further, a passage in strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) is of much interest. he states: (xiii, , ) "there is found at andeira a stone which when burnt becomes iron. it is then put into a furnace, together with some kind of earth, when it distils a mock silver (_pseudargyrum_), or with the addition of copper it becomes the compound called _orichalcum_. there is found a mock silver near tismolu also." (hamilton's trans., ii, p. ). about the christian era the terms _orichalcum_ or _aurichalcum_ undoubtedly refer to brass, but whether these terms as used by earlier greek writers do not refer to bronze only, is a matter of considerable doubt. beyond these slight references we are without information until the th century. if the metal was known to the ancients it must have been locally, for by its greater adaptability to brass-making it would probably have supplanted the crude melting of copper with zinc minerals. it appears that the metal may have been known in the far east prior to such knowledge in europe; metallic zinc was imported in considerable quantities from the east as early as the th and th centuries under such terms as _tuteneque_, _tuttanego_, _calaëm_, and _spiauter_--the latter, of course, being the progenitor of our term spelter. the localities of eastern production have never been adequately investigated. w. hommel (engineering and mining journal, june , ) gives a very satisfactory review of the eastern literature upon the subject, and considers that the origin of manufacture was in india, although the most of the th and th century product came from china. the earliest certain description seems to be some recipes for manufacture quoted by praphulla chandra ray (a history of hindu chemistry, london, , p. ) dating from the th to the th centuries. there does not appear to be any satisfactory description of the chinese method until that of sir george staunton (journal asiatique paris, , p. .) we may add that spelter was produced in india by crude distillation of calamine in clay pots in the early part of the th century (brooke, jour. asiatic soc. of bengal, vol. xix, , p. ), and the remains of such smelting in rajputana are supposed to be very ancient. the discovery of zinc in europe seems to have been quite independent of the east, but precisely where and when is clouded with much uncertainty. the _marchasita aurea_ of albertus magnus has been called upon to serve as metallic zinc, but such belief requires a hypothesis based upon a great deal of assumption. further, the statement is frequently made that zinc is mentioned in basil valentine's triumphant chariot of antimony (the only one of the works attributed to this author which may date prior to the th century), but we have been unable to find any such reference. the first certain mention of metallic zinc is generally accredited to paracelsus ( - ), who states (_liber mineralium_ ii.): "moreover there is another metal generally unknown called _zinken_. it is of peculiar nature and origin; many other metals adulterate it. it can be melted, for it is generated from three fluid principles; it is not malleable. its colour is different from other metals and does not resemble others in its growth. its ultimate matter (_ultima materia_) is not to me yet fully known. it admits of no mixture and does not permit of the _fabricationes_ of other metals. it stands alone entirely to itself." we do not believe that this book was published until after agricola's works. agricola introduced the following statements into his revised edition of _bermannus_ (p. ), published in : "it (a variety of pyrites) is almost the colour of galena, but of entirely different components. from it there is made gold and silver, and a great quantity is dug in reichenstein, which is in silesia, as was recently reported to me. much more is found at raurici, which they call _zincum_, which species differs from pyrites, for the latter contains more silver than gold, the former only gold or hardly any silver." in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ): "for this _cadmia_ is put, in the same way as quicksilver, in a suitable vessel so that the heat of the fire will cause it to sublime, and from it is made a black or brown or grey body which the alchemists call _cadmia sublimata_. this possesses corrosive properties to the highest degree. cognate with this _cadmia_ and pyrites is a compound which the noricans and rhetians call _zincum_." we leave it to readers to decide how near this comes to metallic zinc; in any event, he apparently did not recognise his _conterfei_ from the furnaces as the same substance as the _zincum_ from silesia. the first correlation of these substances was apparently by lohneys, in , who says (_vom bergwerk_, p. - ): "when the people in the smelting works are smelting, there is made under the furnace and in the cracks in the walls among the badly plastered stones, a metal which is called _zinc_ or _counterfeht_, and when the wall is scraped it falls into a vessel placed to receive it. this metal greatly resembles tin, but it is harder and less malleable.... the alchemists have a great desire for this _zinc_ or bismuth." that this metal originated from blende or calamine was not recognised until long after, and libavis (_alchymia_, frankfort, ), in describing specimens which came from the east, did not so identify it, this office being performed by glauber, who says (_de prosperitate germanias_, amsterdam, ): "zink is a volatile mineral or half-ripe metal when it is extracted from its ore. it is more brilliant than tin and not so fusible or malleable ... it turns (copper) into brass, as does _lapis calaminaris_, for indeed this stone is nothing but infusible zinc, and this zinc might be called a fusible _lapis calaminaris_, inasmuch as both of them partake of the same nature.... it sublimates itself up into the cracks of the furnace, whereupon the smelters frequently break it out." the systematic distillation of zinc from calamine was not discovered in europe until the th century. henkel is generally accredited with the first statement to that effect. in a contribution published as an appendix to his other works, of which we have had access only to a french translation (_pyritologie_, paris, , p. ), he concludes that zinc is a half-metal of which the best ore is calamine, but believes it is always associated with lead, and mentions that an englishman lately arrived from bristol had seen it being obtained from calamine in his own country. he further mentions that it can be obtained by heating calamine and lead ore mixed with coal in a thick earthen vessel. the bristol works were apparently those of john champion, established about . the art of distillation was probably learned in the east. definite information as to the zinc minerals goes back to but a little before the christian era, unless we accept nebular references to _aurichalcum_ by the poets, or what is possibly zinc ore in the "earth" mentioned by aristotle (_de mirabilibus_, ): "men say that the copper of the mossynoeci is very brilliant and white, no tin being mixed with it; but there is a kind of earth there which is melted with it." this might quite well be an arsenical mineral. but whether we can accept the poets or aristotle or the remark of strabo given above, as sufficient evidence or not, there is no difficulty with the description of _cadmia_ and _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ of dioscorides ( st century), parts of which we reproduce in note , p. . his _cadmia_ is described as rising from the copper furnaces and clinging to the iron bars, but he continues: "_cadmia_ is also prepared by burning the stone called pyrites, which is found near mt. soloi in cyprus.... some say that _cadmia_ may also be found in stone quarries, but they are deceived by stones having a resemblance to _cadmia_." _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ are evidently furnace calamine. from reading the quotation given on p. , there can be no doubt that these materials, natural or artificial, were used to make brass, for he states (v, ): "white _pompholyx_ is made every time that the artificer in the working and perfecting of the copper sprinkles powdered _cadmia_ upon it to make it more perfect, the soot arising from this ... is _pompholyx_." pliny is confused between the mineral _cadmia_ and furnace _calamine_, and none of his statements are very direct on the subject of brass making. his most pointed statement is (xxxiv, ): "... next to livian (copper) this kind best absorbs _cadmia_, and is almost as good as _aurichalcum_ for making sesterces and double asses." as stated above, there can be little doubt that the _aurichalcum_ of the christian era was brass, and further, we do know of brass sesterces of this period. other roman writers of this and later periods refer to earth used with copper for making brass. apart from these evidences, however, there is the evidence of analyses of coins and objects, the earliest of which appears to be a large brass of the cassia family of b.c., analyzed by phillips, who found . % zinc (records of mining and metallurgy, london, , p. ). numerous analyses of coins and other objects dating during the following century corroborate the general use of brass. professor gowland (presidential address, inst. of metals, ) rightly considers the romans were the first to make brass, and at about the above period, for there appears to be no certainty of any earlier production. the first adequate technical description of brass making is in about a.d. being that of theophilus, who describes (hendrie's trans., p. ) calcining _calamina_ and mixing it with finely divided copper in glowing crucibles. the process was repeated by adding more calamine and copper until the pots were full of molten metal. this method is repeatedly described with minor variations by biringuccio, agricola (_de nat. fos._), and others, down to the th century. for discussion of the zinc minerals see note on p. . [ ] "_... non raro, ut nonnulli pyritae sunt, candida...._" this is apparently the unknown substance mentioned above. [ ] one _drachma_ is about ounces troy per short ton. three _unciae_ are about ounces dwts. troy per short ton. [ ] in this section, which treats of the metallurgy of _plumbum candidum_, "tin," the word _candidum_ is very often omitted in the latin, leaving only _plumbum_, which is confusing at times with lead. the black tin-stone, _lapilli nigri_ has been treated in a similar manner, _lapilli_ (small stones) constantly occurring alone in the latin. this has been rendered as "tin-stone" throughout, and the material prior to extraction of the _lapilli nigri_ has been rendered "tin-stuff," after the cornish. [ ] "_... ex saxis vilibus, quae natura de diversa materia composuit._" the glossary gives _grindstein_. granite (?). [ ] historical notes on tin metallurgy. the first appearance of tin lies in the ancient bronzes. and while much is written upon the "bronze age" by archæologists, we seriously doubt whether or not a large part of so-called bronze is not copper. in any event, this period varied with each race, and for instance, in britain may have been much later than egyptian historic times. the bronze articles of the iv dynasty (from to b.c. depending on the authority) place us on certain ground of antiquity. professor gowland (presidential address, inst. of metals, london, ) maintains that the early bronzes were the result of direct smelting of stanniferous copper ores, and while this may be partially true for western europe, the distribution and nature of the copper deposits do not warrant this assumption for the earlier scenes of human activity--asia minor, egypt, and india. further, the lumps of rough tin and also of copper found by borlase (tin mining in spain, past and present, london, , p. ) in cornwall, mixed with bronze celts under conditions certainly indicating the bronze age, is in itself of considerable evidence of independent melting. to our mind the vast majority of ancient bronzes must have been made from copper and tin mined and smelted independently. as to the source of supply of ancient tin, we are on clear ground only with the advent of the phoenicians, - b.c., who, as is well known, distributed to the ancient world a supply from spain and britain. what the source may have been prior to this time has been subject to much discussion, and while some slender threads indicate the east, we believe that a more local supply to egypt, etc., is not impossible. the discovery of large tin fields in central africa and the native-made tin ornaments in circulation among the negroes, made possible the entrance of the metal into egypt along the trade routes. further, we see no reason why alluvial tin may not have existed within easy reach and have become exhausted. how quickly such a source of metal supply can be forgotten and no evidence remain, is indicated by the seldom remembered alluvial gold supply from ireland. however, be these conjectures as they may, the east has long been the scene of tin production and of transportation activity. among the slender evidences that point in this direction is that the sanskrit term for tin is _kastira_, a term also employed by the chaldeans, and represented in arabic by _kasdir_, and it may have been the progenitor of the greek _cassiteros_. there can be no doubt that the phoenicians also traded with malacca, etc., but beyond these threads there is little to prove the pre-western source. the strained argument of beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. ii., p. ) that the _cassiteros_ of homer and the _bedil_ of the hebrews was possibly not tin, and that tin was unknown at this time, falls to the ground in the face of the vast amount of tin which must have been in circulation to account for the bronze used over a period , years prior to those peoples. tin is early mentioned in the scriptures (numbers xxxi, ), being enumerated among the spoil of the midianites ( b.c.?), also ezekiel ( b.c., xxvii, ) speaks of tin from tarshish (the phoenician settlement on the coast of spain). according to homer tin played considerable part in vulcan's metallurgical stores. even approximately at what period the phoenicians began their distribution from spain and britain cannot be determined. they apparently established their settlements at gades (cadiz) in tarshish, beyond gibraltar, about b.c. the remains of tin mining in the spanish peninsula prior to the christian era indicate most extensive production by the phoenicians, but there is little evidence as to either mining or smelting methods. generally as to the technical methods of mining and smelting tin, we are practically without any satisfactory statement down to agricola. however, such scraps of information as are available are those in homer (see note on p. ), diodorus, and pliny. diodorus says (v, ) regarding tin in spain: "they dig it up, and melt it down in the same way as they do gold and silver;" and again, speaking of the tin in britain, he says: "these people make tin, which they dig up with a great deal of care and labour; being rocky, the metal is mixed with earth, out of which they melt the metal, and then refine it." pliny (xxxiv, ), in the well-known and much-disputed passage: "next to be considered are the characteristics of lead, which is of two kinds, black and white. the most valuable is the white; the greeks called it _cassiteros_, and there is a fabulous story of its being searched for and carried from the islands of atlantis in barks covered with hides. certainly it is obtained in lusitania and gallaecia on the surface of the earth from black-coloured sand. it is discovered by its great weight, and it is mixed with small pebbles in the dried beds of torrents. the miners wash these sands, and that which settles they heat in the furnace. it is also found in gold mines, which are called _alutiae_. a stream of water passing through detaches small black pebbles variegated with white spots, the weight of which is the same as gold. hence it is that they remain in the baskets of the gold collectors with the gold; afterward, they are separated in a _camillum_ and when melted become white lead." there is practically no reference to the methods of cornish tin-working over the whole period of , years that mining operations were carried on there prior to the norman occupation. from then until agricola's time, a period of some four centuries, there are occasional references in stannary court proceedings, charters, and such-like official documents which give little metallurgical insight. from a letter of william de wrotham, lord warden of the stannaries, in , setting out the regulations for the impost on tin, it is evident that the black tin was smelted once at the mines and that a second smelting or refining was carried out in specified towns under the observation of the crown officials. in many other official documents there are repeated references to the right to dig turfs and cut wood for smelting the tin. under note , p. , we give some further information on tin concentration, and the relation of cornish and german tin miners. biringuccio ( ) gives very little information on tin metallurgy, and we are brought to _de re metallica_ for the first clear exposition. as to the description on these pages it must be remembered that the tin-stone has been already roasted, thus removing some volatile impurities and oxidizing others, as described on page . the furnaces and the methods of working the tin, here described, are almost identical with those in use in saxony to-day. in general, since agricola's time tin has not seen the mechanical and metallurgical development of the other metals. the comparatively small quantities to be dealt with; the necessity of maintaining a strong reducing atmosphere, and consequently a mild cold blast; and the comparatively low temperature demanded, gave little impetus to other than crude appliances until very modern times. [ ] _aureo nummo_. german translation gives _reinschen gülden_, which was the equivalent of about $ . , or . shillings. the purchasing power of money was, however, several times as great as at present. [ ] in the following descriptions of iron-smelting, we have three processes described; the first being the direct reduction of malleable iron from ore, the second the transition stage then in progress from the direct to indirect method by way of cast-iron; and the third a method of making steel by cementation. the first method is that of primitive iron-workers of all times and all races, and requires little comment. a pasty mass was produced, which was subsequently hammered to make it exude the slag, the hammered mass being the ancient "bloom." the second process is of considerable interest, for it marks one of the earliest descriptions of working iron in "a furnace similar to a blast furnace, but much wider and higher." this original german _stückofen_ or high bloomery furnace was used for making "masses" of wrought-iron under essentially the same conditions as its progenitor the forge--only upon a larger scale. with high temperatures, however, such a furnace would, if desired, yield molten metal, and thus the step to cast-iron as a preliminary to wrought-iron became very easy and natural, in fact agricola mentions above that if the iron is left to settle in the furnace it becomes hard. the making of malleable iron by subsequent treatment of the cast-iron--the indirect method--originated in about agricola's time, and marks the beginning of one of those subtle economic currents destined to have the widest bearing upon civilization. it is to us uncertain whether he really understood the double treatment or not. in the above paragraph he says from ore "once or twice smelted they make iron," etc., and in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) some reference is made to pouring melted iron, all of which would appear to be cast-iron. he does not, however, describe the th century method of converting cast into wrought iron by way of in effect roasting the pig iron to eliminate carbon by oxidation, with subsequent melting into a "ball" or "mass." it must be borne in mind that puddling for this purpose did not come into use until the end of the th century. a great deal of discussion has arisen as to where and at what time cast-iron was made systematically, but without satisfactory answer; in any event, it seems to have been in about the end of the th century, as cast cannon began to appear about that time. it is our impression that the whole of this discussion on iron in _de re metallica_ is an abstract from biringuccio, who wrote years earlier, as it is in so nearly identical terms. those interested will find a translation of biringuccio's statement with regard to steel in percy's metallurgy of iron and steel, london, , p. . historical note on iron smelting. the archæologists' division of the history of racial development into the stone, bronze, and iron ages, based upon objects found in tumuli, burial places, etc., would on the face of it indicate the prior discovery of copper metallurgy over iron, and it is generally so maintained by those scientists. the metallurgists have not hesitated to protest that while this distinction of "ages" may serve the archæologists, and no doubt represents the sequence in which the metal objects are found, yet it by no means follows that this was the order of their discovery or use, but that iron by its rapidity of oxidation has simply not been preserved. the arguments which may be advanced from our side are in the main these. iron ore is of more frequent occurrence than copper ores, and the necessary reduction of copper oxides (as most surface ores must have been) to fluid metal requires a temperature very much higher than does the reduction of iron oxides to wrought-iron blooms, which do not necessitate fusion. the comparatively greater simplicity of iron metallurgy under primitive conditions is well exemplified by the hill tribes of northern nigeria, where in village forges the negroes reduce iron sufficient for their needs, from hematite. copper alone would not be a very serviceable metal to primitive man, and he early made the advance to bronze; this latter metal requires three metallurgical operations, and presents immeasurably greater difficulties than iron. it is, as professor gowland has demonstrated (presidential address, inst. of metals, london, ) quite possible to make bronze from melting stanniferous copper ores, yet such combined occurrence at the surface is rare, and, so far as known, the copper sources from which asia minor and egypt obtained their supply do not contain tin. it seems to us, therefore, that in most cases the separate fusions of different ores and their subsequent re-melting were required to make bronze. the arguments advanced by the archæologists bear mostly upon the fact that, had iron been known, its superiority would have caused the primitive races to adopt it, and we should not find such an abundance of bronze tools. as to this, it may be said that bronze weapons and tools are plentiful enough in egyptian, mycenæan, and early greek remains, long after iron was demonstrably well known. there has been a good deal pronounced by etymologists on the history of iron and copper, for instance, by max müller, (lectures on the science of language, vol. ii, p. , london, ), and many others, but the amazing lack of metallurgical knowledge nullifies practically all their conclusions. the oldest egyptian texts extant, dating b.c., refer to iron, and there is in the british museum a piece of iron found in the pyramid of kephron ( b.c.) under conditions indicating its co-incident origin. there is exhibited also a fragment of oxidized iron lately found by professor petrie and placed as of the vi dynasty (b.c. ). despite this evidence of an early knowledge of iron, there is almost a total absence of egyptian iron objects for a long period subsequent to that time, which in a measure confirms the view of its disappearance rather than that of ignorance of it. many writers have assumed that the ancients must have had some superior art of hardening copper or bronze, because the cutting of the gigantic stonework of the time could not have been done with that alloy as we know it; no such hardening appears among the bronze tools found, and it seems to us that the argument is stronger that the oldest egyptian stoneworkers employed mostly iron tools, and that these have oxidized out of existence. the reasons for preferring copper alloys to iron for decorative objects were equally strong in ancient times as in the present day, and accounts sufficiently for these articles, and, therefore, iron would be devoted to more humble objects less likely to be preserved. further, the egyptians at a later date had some prejudices against iron for sacred purposes, and the media of preservation of most metal objects were not open to iron. we know practically nothing of very early egyptian metallurgy, but in the time of thotmes iii. ( b.c.) bellows were used upon the forge. of literary evidences the earliest is in the shoo king among the tribute of yü ( b.c.?). iron is frequently mentioned in the bible, but it is doubtful if any of the early references apply to steel. there is scarcely a greek or latin author who does not mention iron in some connection, and of the earliest, none are so suggestive from a metallurgical point of view as homer, by whom "laboured" mass (wrought-iron?) is often referred to. as, for instance, in the odyssey (i., ) pallas in the guise of mentes, says according to pope: "freighted with iron from my native land i steer my voyage to the brutian strand, to gain by commerce for the laboured mass a just proportion of refulgent brass." (brass is modern poetic licence for copper or bronze). also, in the odyssey (ix, ) when homer describes how ulysses plunged the stake into cyclop's eye, we have the first positive evidence of steel, although hard iron mentioned in the tribute of yü, above referred to, is sometimes given as steel: "and as when armourers temper in the ford the keen-edg'd pole-axe, or the shining sword, the red-hot metal hisses in the lake." no doubt early wrought-iron was made in the same manner as agricola describes. we are, however, not so clear as to the methods of making steel. under primitive methods of making wrought-iron it is quite possible to carburize the iron sufficiently to make steel direct from ore. the primitive method of india and japan was to enclose lumps of wrought-iron in sealed crucibles with charcoal and sawdust, and heat them over a long period. neither pliny nor any of the other authors of the period previous to the christian era give us much help on steel metallurgy, although certain obscure expressions of aristotle have been called upon (for instance, st. john v. day, prehistoric use of iron and steel, london, , p. ) to prove its manufacture by immersing wrought-iron in molten cast-iron. [ ] _quae vel aerosa est, vel cocta_. it is by no means certain that _cocta_, "cooked" is rightly translated, for the author has not hitherto used this expression for heated. this may be residues from roasting and leaching pyrites for vitriol, etc. [ ] agricola draws no sharp line of distinction between antimony the metal, and its sulphide. he uses the roman term _stibi_ or _stibium_ (_interpretatio_,--_spiesglas_) throughout this book, and evidently in most cases means the sulphide, but in others, particularly in parting gold and silver, metallic antimony would be reduced out. we have been in much doubt as to the term to introduce into the text, as the english "stibnite" carries too much precision of meaning. originally the "antimony" of trade was the sulphide. later, with the application of that term to the metal, the sulphide was termed "grey antimony," and we have either used _stibium_ for lack of better alternative, or adopted "grey antimony." the method described by agricola for treating antimony sulphide is still used in the harz, in bohemia, and elsewhere. the stibnite is liquated out at a low heat and drips from the upper to the lower pot. the resulting purified antimony sulphide is the modern commercial "crude antimony" or "grey antimony." historical note on the metallurgy of antimony. the egyptologists have adopted the term "antimony" for certain cosmetics found in egyptian tombs from a very early period. we have, however, failed to find any reliable analyses which warrant this assumption, and we believe that it is based on the knowledge that antimony was used as a base for eye ointments in greek and roman times, and not upon proper chemical investigation. it may be that the ideograph which is interpreted as antimony may really mean that substance, but we only protest that the chemist should have been called in long since. in st. jerome's translation of the bible, the cosmetic used by jezebel (ii. kings ix, ) and by the lady mentioned by ezekiel (xxiii, ), "who didst wash thyself and paintedst thine eyes" is specifically given as _stibio_. our modern translation carries no hint of the composition of the cosmetic, and whether some of the greek or hebrew mss. do furnish a basis for such translation we cannot say. the hebrew term for this mineral was _kohl_, which subsequently passed into "alcool" and "alkohol" in other languages, and appears in the spanish bible in the above passage in ezekiel as _alcoholaste_. the term _antimonium_ seems to have been first used in latin editions of geber published in the latter part of the th century. in any event, the metal is clearly mentioned by dioscorides ( st century), who calls it _stimmi_, and pliny, who termed it _stibium_, and they leave no doubt that it was used as a cosmetic for painting the eyebrows and dilating the eyes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "the best _stimmi_ is very brilliant and radiant. when broken it divides into layers with no part earthy or dirty; it is brittle. some call it _stimmi_, others _platyophthalmon_ (wide eyed); others _larbason_, others _gynaekeion_ (feminine).... it is roasted in a ball of dough with charcoal until it becomes a cinder.... it is also roasted by putting it on live charcoal and blowing it. if it is roasted too much it becomes lead." pliny states (xxxiii, and ): "in the same mines in which silver is found, properly speaking there is a stone froth. it is white and shining, not transparent; is called _stimmi_, or _stibi_, or _alabastrum_, and _larbasis_. there are two kinds of it, the male and the female. the most approved is the female, the male being more uneven, rougher, less heavy, not so radiant, and more gritty. the female kind is bright and friable, laminar and not globular. it is astringent and refrigerative, and its principal use is for the eyes.... it is burned in manure in a furnace, is quenched with milk, ground with rain water in a mortar, and while thus turbid it is poured into a copper vessel and purified with nitrum ... above all in roasting it care should be taken that it does not turn to lead." there can be little doubt from dioscorides' statement of its turning to lead that he had seen the metal antimony, although he thought it a species of lead. of further interest in connection with the ancient knowledge of the metal is the chaldean vase made of antimony described by berthelot (_comptes rendus_, , civ, ). it is possible that agricola knew the metal, although he gives no details as to de-sulphurizing it or for recovering the metal itself. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) he makes a statement which would indicate the metal, "_stibium_ when melted in the crucible and refined has as much right to be regarded as a metal as is accorded to lead by most writers. if when smelted a certain portion be added to tin, a printer's alloy is made from which type is cast that is used by those who print books." basil valentine, in his "triumphal chariot of antimony," gives a great deal that is new with regard to this metal, even if we can accredit the work with no earlier origin than its publication--about ; it seems possible however, that it was written late in the th century (see appendix b). he describes the preparation of the metal from the crude ore, both by roasting and reduction from the oxide with argol and saltpetre, and also by fusing with metallic iron. while the first description of these methods is usually attributed to valentine, it may be pointed out that in the _probierbüchlein_ ( ) as well as in agricola the separation of silver from iron by antimony sulphide implies the same reaction, and the separation of silver and gold with antimony sulphide, often attributed to valentine, is repeatedly set out in the _probierbüchlein_ and in _de re metallica_. biringuccio ( ) has nothing of importance to say as to the treatment of antimonial ores, but mentions it as an alloy for bell-metal, which would imply the metal. [ ] historical note on the metallurgy of quicksilver. the earliest mention of quicksilver appears to have been by aristotle (_meteorologica_ iv, , ), who speaks of it as fluid silver (_argyros chytos_). theophrastus ( ) states: "such is the production of quicksilver, which has its uses. this is obtained from cinnabar rubbed with vinegar in a brass mortar with a brass pestle." (hill's trans., p. ). theophrastus also ( ) mentions cinnabar from spain and elsewhere. dioscorides (v, ) appears to be the first to describe the recovery of quicksilver by distillation: "quicksilver (_hydrargyros_, _i.e._, liquid silver) is made from _ammion_, which is called _cinnabari_. an iron bowl containing _cinnabari_ is put into an earthen vessel and covered over with a cup-shaped lid smeared with clay. then it is set on a fire of coals and the soot which sticks to the cover when wiped off and cooled is quicksilver. quicksilver is also found in drops falling from the walls of the silver mines. some say there are quicksilver mines. it can be kept only in vessels of glass, lead, tin (?), or silver, for if put in vessels of any other substances it consumes them and flows through." pliny (xxxiii, ): "there has been discovered a way of extracting _hydrargyros_ from the inferior _minium_ as a substitute for quicksilver, as mentioned. there are two methods: either by pounding _minium_ and vinegar in a brass mortar with a brass pestle, or else by putting _minium_ into a flat earthen dish covered with a lid, well luted with potter's clay. this is set in an iron pan and a fire is then lighted under the pan, and continually blown by a bellows. the perspiration collects on the lid and is wiped off and is like silver in colour and as liquid as water." pliny is somewhat confused over the _minium_--or the text is corrupt, for this should be the genuine _minium_ of roman times. the methods of condensation on the leaves of branches placed in a chamber, of condensing in ashes placed over the mouth of the lower pot, and of distilling in a retort, are referred to by biringuccio (a.d. ), but with no detail. [ ] most of these methods depend upon simple liquation of native bismuth. the sulphides, oxides, etc., could not be obtained without fusing in a furnace with appropriate de-sulphurizing or reducing agents, to which agricola dimly refers. in _bermannus_ (p. ), he says: "_bermannus_.--i will show you another kind of mineral which is numbered amongst metals, but appears to me to have been unknown to the ancients; we call it _bisemutum_. _naevius_.--then in your opinion there are more kinds of metals than the seven commonly believed? _bermannus_.--more, i consider; for this which just now i said we called _bisemutum_, cannot correctly be called _plumbum candidum_ (tin) nor _nigrum_ (lead), but is different from both, and is a third one. _plumbum candidum_ is whiter and _plumbum nigrum_ is darker, as you see. _naevius_.--we see that this is of the colour of _galena_. _ancon_.--how then can _bisemutum_, as you call it, be distinguished from _galena_? _bermannus_.--easily; when you take it in your hands it stains them with black unless it is quite hard. the hard kind is not friable like _galena_, but can be cut. it is blacker than the kind of crude silver which we say is almost the colour of lead, and thus is different from both. indeed, it not rarely contains some silver. it generally shows that there is silver beneath the place where it is found, and because of this our miners are accustomed to call it the 'roof of silver.' they are wont to roast this mineral, and from the better part they make metal; from the poorer part they make a pigment of a kind not to be despised." this pigment was cobalt blue (see note on p. ), indicating a considerable confusion of these minerals. this quotation is the first description of bismuth, and the above text the first description of bismuth treatment. there is, however, bare mention of the mineral earlier, in the following single line from the _probierbüchlein_ (p. ): "jupiter (controls) the ores of tin and _wismundt_." and it is noted in the _nützliche bergbüchlein_ in association with silver (see appendix b). [ ] this _cadmia_ is given in the german translation as _kobelt_. it is probably the cobalt-arsenic-bismuth minerals common in saxony. a large portion of the world's supply of bismuth to-day comes from the cobalt treatment works near schneeberg. for further discussion of _cadmia_ see note on p. . book x. questions as to the methods of smelting ores and of obtaining metals i discussed in book ix. following this, i should explain in what manner the precious metals are parted from the base metals, or on the other hand the base metals from the precious[ ]. frequently two metals, occasionally more than two, are melted out of one ore, because in nature generally there is some amount of gold in silver and in copper, and some silver in gold, copper, lead, and iron; likewise some copper in gold, silver, lead, and iron, and some lead in silver; and lastly, some iron in copper[ ]. but i will begin with gold. gold is parted from silver, or likewise the latter from the former, whether it be mixed by nature or by art, by means of _aqua valens_[ ], and by powders which consist of almost the same things as this _aqua_. in order to preserve the sequence, i will first speak of the ingredients of which this _aqua_ is made, then of the method of making it, then of the manner in which gold is parted from silver or silver from gold. almost all these ingredients contain vitriol or alum, which, by themselves, but much more when joined with saltpetre, are powerful to part silver from gold. as to the other things that are added to them, they cannot individually by their own strength and nature separate those metals, but joined they are very powerful. since there are many combinations, i will set out a few. in the first, the use of which is common and general, there is one _libra_ of vitriol and as much salt, added to a third of a _libra_ of spring water. the second contains two _librae_ of vitriol, one of saltpetre, and as much spring or river water by weight as will pass away whilst the vitriol is being reduced to powder by the fire. the third consists of four _librae_ of vitriol, two and a half _librae_ of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of alum, and one and a half _librae_ of spring water. the fourth consists of two _librae_ of vitriol, as many _librae_ of saltpetre, one quarter of a _libra_ of alum, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. the fifth is composed of one _libra_ of saltpetre, three _librae_ of alum, half a _libra_ of brick dust, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. the sixth consists of four _librae_ of vitriol, three _librae_ of saltpetre, one of alum, one _libra_ likewise of stones which when thrown into a fierce furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, and one and a half _librae_ of spring water. the seventh is made of two _librae_ of vitriol, one and a half _librae_ of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of alum, and one _libra_ of stones which when thrown into a glowing furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, and five-sixths of a _libra_ of spring water. the eighth is made of two _librae_ of vitriol, the same number of _librae_ of saltpetre, one and a half _librae_ of alum, one _libra_ of the lees of the _aqua_ which parts gold from silver; and to each separate _libra_ a sixth of urine is poured over it. the ninth contains two _librae_ of powder of baked bricks, one _libra_ of vitriol, likewise one _libra_ of saltpetre, a handful of salt, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. only the tenth lacks vitriol and alum, but it contains three _librae_ of saltpetre, two _librae_ of stones which when thrown into a hot furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, half a _libra_ each of verdigris[ ], of _stibium_, of iron scales and filings, and of asbestos[ ], and one and one-sixth _librae_ of spring water. all the vitriol from which the _aqua_ is usually made is first reduced to powder in the following way. it is thrown into an earthen crucible lined on the inside with litharge, and heated until it melts; then it is stirred with a copper wire, and after it has cooled it is pounded to powder. in the same manner saltpetre melted by the fire is pounded to powder when it has cooled. some indeed place alum upon an iron plate, roast it, and make it into powder. although all these _aquae_ cleanse gold concentrates or dust from impurities, yet there are certain compositions which possess singular power. the first of these consists of one _libra_ of verdigris and three-quarters of a _libra_ of vitriol. for each _libra_ there is poured over it one-sixth of a _libra_ of spring or river water, as to which, since this pertains to all these compounds, it is sufficient to have mentioned once for all. the second composition is made from one _libra_ of each of the following, artificial orpiment, vitriol, lime, alum, ash which the dyers of wool use, one quarter of a _libra_ of verdigris, and one and a half _unciae_ of _stibium_. the third consists of three _librae_ of vitriol, one of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of asbestos, and half a _libra_ of baked bricks. the fourth consists of one _libra_ of saltpetre, one _libra_ of alum, and half a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac.[ ] [illustration (nitric acid making): a--furnace. b--its round hole. c--air-holes. d--mouth of the furnace. e--draught opening under it. f--earthenware crucible. g--ampulla. h--operculum. i--its spout. k--other ampulla. l--basket in which this is usually placed lest it be broken.] the furnace in which _aqua valens_ is made[ ] is built of bricks, rectangular, two feet long and wide, and as many feet high and a half besides. it is covered with iron plates supported with iron rods; these plates are smeared on the top with lute, and they have in the centre a round hole, large enough to hold the earthen vessel in which the glass ampulla is placed, and on each side of the centre hole are two small round air-holes. the lower part of the furnace, in order to hold the burning charcoal, has iron plates at the height of a palm, likewise supported by iron rods. in the middle of the front there is the mouth, made for the purpose of putting the fire into the furnace; this mouth is half a foot high and wide, and rounded at the top, and under it is the draught opening. into the earthen vessel set over the hole is placed clean sand a digit deep, and in it the glass ampulla is set as deeply as it is smeared with lute. the lower quarter is smeared eight or ten times with nearly liquid lute, each time to the thickness of a blade, and each time it is dried again, until it has become as thick as the thumb; this kind of lute is well beaten with an iron rod, and is thoroughly mixed with hair or cotton thread, or with wool and salt, that it should not crackle. the many things of which the compounds are made must not fill the ampulla completely, lest when boiling they rise into the operculum. the operculum is likewise made of glass, and is closely joined to the ampulla with linen, cemented with wheat flour and white of egg moistened with water, and then lute free from salt is spread over that part of it. in a similar way the spout of the operculum is joined by linen covered with lute to another glass ampulla which receives the distilled _aqua_. a kind of thin iron nail or small wooden peg, a little thicker than a needle, is fixed in this joint, in order that when air seems necessary to the artificer distilling by this process he can pull it out; this is necessary when too much of the vapour has been driven into the upper part. the four air-holes which, as i have said, are on the top of the furnace beside the large hole on which the ampulla is placed, are likewise covered with lute. all this preparation having been accomplished in order, and the ingredients placed in the ampulla, they are gradually heated over burning charcoal until they begin to exhale vapour and the ampulla is seen to trickle with moisture. but when this, on account of the rising of the vapour, turns red, and the _aqua_ distils through the spout of the operculum, then one must work with the utmost care, lest the drops should fall at a quicker rate than one for every five movements of the clock or the striking of its bell, and not slower than one for every ten; for if it falls faster the glasses will be broken, and if it drops more slowly the work begun cannot be completed within the definite time, that is within the space of twenty-four hours. to prevent the first accident, part of the coals are extracted by means of an iron implement similar to pincers; and in order to prevent the second happening, small dry pieces of oak are placed upon the coals, and the substances in the ampulla are heated with a sharper fire, and the air-holes on the furnace are re-opened if need arise. as soon as the drops are being distilled, the glass ampulla which receives them is covered with a piece of linen moistened with water, in order that the powerful vapour which arises may be repelled. when the ingredients have been heated and the ampulla in which they were placed is whitened with moisture, it is heated by a fiercer fire until all the drops have been distilled[ ]. after the furnace has cooled, the _aqua_ is filtered and poured into a small glass ampulla, and into the same is put half a _drachma_ of silver[ ], which when dissolved makes the turbid _aqua_ clear. this is poured into the ampulla containing all the rest of the _aqua_, and as soon as the lees have sunk to the bottom the _aqua_ is poured off, removed, and reserved for use. gold is parted from silver by the following method[ ]. the alloy, with lead added to it, is first heated in a cupel until all the lead is exhaled, and eight ounces of the alloy contain only five _drachmae_ of copper or at most six, for if there is more copper in it, the silver separated from the gold soon unites with it again. such molten silver containing gold is formed into granules, being stirred by means of a rod split at the lower end, or else is poured into an iron mould, and when cooled is made into thin leaves. as the process of making granules from argentiferous gold demands greater care and diligence than making them from any other metals, i will now explain the method briefly. the alloy is first placed in a crucible, which is then covered with a lid and placed in another earthen crucible containing a few ashes. then they are placed in the furnace, and after they are surrounded by charcoal, the fire is blown by the blast of a bellows, and lest the charcoal fall away it is surrounded by stones or bricks. soon afterward charcoal is thrown over the upper crucible and covered with live coals; these again are covered with charcoal, so that the crucible is surrounded and covered on all sides with it. it is necessary to heat the crucibles with charcoal for the space of half an hour or a little longer, and to provide that there is no deficiency of charcoal, lest the alloy become chilled; after this the air is blown in through the nozzle of the bellows, that the gold may begin to melt. soon afterward it is turned round, and a test is quickly taken to see whether it be melted, and if it is melted, fluxes are thrown into it; it is advisable to cover up the crucible again closely that the contents may not be exhaled. the contents are heated together for as long as it would take to walk fifteen paces, and then the crucible is seized with tongs and the gold is emptied into an oblong vessel containing very cold water, by pouring it slowly from a height so that the granules will not be too big; in proportion as they are lighter, more fine and more irregular, the better they are, therefore the water is frequently stirred with a rod split into four parts from the lower end to the middle. the leaves are cut into small pieces, and they or the silver granules are put into a glass ampulla, and the _aqua_ is poured over them to a height of a digit above the silver. the ampulla is covered with a bladder or with waxed linen, lest the contents exhale. then it is heated until the silver is dissolved, the indication of which is the bubbling of the _aqua_. the gold remains in the bottom, of a blackish colour, and the silver mixed with the _aqua_ floats above. some pour the latter into a copper bowl and pour into it cold water, which immediately congeals the silver; this they take out and dry, having poured off the _aqua_[ ]. they heat the dried silver in an earthenware crucible until it melts, and when it is melted they pour it into an iron mould. the gold which remains in the ampulla they wash with warm water, filter, dry, and heat in a crucible with a little _chrysocolla_ which is called borax, and when it is melted they likewise pour it into an iron mould. some workers, into an ampulla which contains gold and silver and the _aqua_ which separates them, pour two or three times as much of this _aqua valens_ warmed, and into the same ampulla or into a dish into which all is poured, throw fine leaves of black lead and copper; by this means the gold adheres to the lead and the silver to the copper, and separately the lead from the gold, and separately the copper from the silver, are parted in a cupel. but no method is approved by us which loses the _aqua_ used to part gold from silver, for it might be used again[ ]. [illustration (parting precious metals with nitric acid): a--ampullae arranged in the vessels. b--an ampulla standing upright between iron rods. c--ampullae placed in the sand which is contained in a box, the spouts of which reach from the opercula into ampullae placed under them. d--ampullae likewise placed in sand which is contained in a box, of which the spouts from the opercula extend crosswise into ampullae placed under them. e--other ampullae receiving the distilled _aqua_ and likewise arranged in sand contained in the lower boxes. f--iron tripod, in which the ampulla is usually placed when there are not many particles of gold to be parted from the silver. g--vessel.] a glass ampulla, which bulges up inside at the bottom like a cone, is covered on the lower part of the outside with lute in the way explained above, and into it is put silver bullion weighing three and a half roman _librae_. the _aqua_ which parts the one from the other is poured into it, and the ampulla is placed in sand contained in an earthen vessel, or in a box, that it may be warmed with a gentle fire. lest the _aqua_ should be exhaled, the top of the ampulla is plastered on all sides with lute, and it is covered with a glass operculum, under whose spout is placed another ampulla which receives the distilled drops; this receiver is likewise arranged in a box containing sand. when the contents are heated it reddens, but when the redness no longer appears to increase, it is taken out of the vessel or box and shaken; by this motion the _aqua_ becomes heated again and grows red; if this is done two or three times before other _aqua_ is added to it, the operation is sooner concluded, and much less _aqua_ is consumed. when the first charge has all been distilled, as much silver as at first is again put into the ampulla, for if too much were put in at once, the gold would be parted from it with difficulty. then the second _aqua_ is poured in, but it is warmed in order that it and the ampulla may be of equal temperature, so that the latter may not be cracked by the cold; also if a cold wind blows on it, it is apt to crack. then the third _aqua_ is poured in, and also if circumstances require it, the fourth, that is to say more _aqua_ and again more is poured in until the gold assumes the colour of burned brick. the artificer keeps in hand two _aquae_, one of which is stronger than the other; the stronger is used at first, then the less strong, then at the last again the stronger. when the gold becomes of a reddish yellow colour, spring water is poured in and heated until it boils. the gold is washed four times and then heated in the crucible until it melts. the water with which it was washed is put back, for there is a little silver in it; for this reason it is poured into an ampulla and heated, and the drops first distilled are received by one ampulla, while those which come later, that is to say when the operculum begins to get red, fall into another. this latter _aqua_ is useful for testing the gold, the former for washing it; the former may also be poured over the ingredients from which the _aqua valens_ is made. the _aqua_ that was first distilled, which contains the silver, is poured into an ampulla wide at the base, the top of which is also smeared with lute and covered by an operculum, and is then boiled as before in order that it may be separated from the silver. if there be so much _aqua_ that (when boiled) it rises into the operculum, there is put into the ampulla one lozenge or two; these are made of soap, cut into small pieces and mixed together with powdered argol, and then heated in a pot over a gentle fire; or else the contents are stirred with a hazel twig split at the bottom, and in both cases the _aqua_ effervesces, and soon after again settles. when the powerful vapour appears, the _aqua_ gives off a kind of oil, and the operculum becomes red. but, lest the vapours should escape from the ampulla and the operculum in that part where their mouths communicate, they are entirely sealed all round. the _aqua_ is boiled continually over a fiercer fire, and enough charcoal must be put into the furnace so that the live coals touch the vessel. the ampulla is taken out as soon as all the _aqua_ has been distilled, and the silver, which is dried by the heat of the fire, alone remains in it; the silver is shaken out and put in an earthenware crucible, and heated until it melts. the molten glass is extracted with an iron rod curved at the lower end, and the silver is made into cakes. the glass extracted from the crucible is ground to powder, and to this are added litharge, argol, glass-galls, and saltpetre, and they are melted in an earthen crucible. the button that settles is transferred to the cupel and re-melted. if the silver was not sufficiently dried by the heat of the fire, that which is contained in the upper part of the ampulla will appear black; this when melted will be consumed. when the lute, which was smeared round the lower part of the ampulla, has been removed, it is placed in the crucible and is re-melted, until at last there is no more appearance of black[ ]. if to the first _aqua_ the other which contains silver is to be added, it must be poured in before the powerful vapours appear, and the _aqua_ gives off the oily substance, and the operculum becomes red; for he who pours in the _aqua_ after the vapour appears causes a loss, because the _aqua_ generally spurts out and the glass breaks. if the ampulla breaks when the gold is being parted from the silver or the silver from the _aqua_, the _aqua_ will be absorbed by the sand or the lute or the bricks, whereupon, without any delay, the red hot coals should be taken out of the furnace and the fire extinguished. the sand and bricks after being crushed should be thrown into a copper vessel, warm water should be poured over them, and they should be put aside for the space of twelve hours; afterward the water should be strained through a canvas, and the canvas, since it contains silver, should be dried by the heat of the sun or the fire, and then placed in an earthen crucible and heated until the silver melts, this being poured out into an iron mould. the strained water should be poured into an ampulla and separated from the silver, of which it contains a minute portion; the sand should be mixed with litharge, glass-galls, argol, saltpetre, and salt, and heated in an earthen crucible. the button which settles at the bottom should be transferred to a cupel, and should be re-melted, in order that the lead may be separated from the silver. the lute, with lead added, should be heated in an earthen crucible, then re-melted in a cupel. we also separate silver from gold by the same method when we assay them. for this purpose the alloy is first rubbed against a touchstone, in order to learn what proportion of silver there is in it; then as much silver as is necessary is added to the argentiferous gold, in a _bes_ of which there must be less than a _semi-uncia_ or a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_[ ] of copper. after lead has been added, it is melted in a cupel until the lead and the copper have exhaled, then the alloy of gold with silver is flattened out, and little tubes are made of the leaves; these are put into a glass ampulla, and strong _aqua_ is poured over them two or three times. the tubes after this are absolutely pure, with the exception of only a quarter of a _siliqua_, which is silver; for only this much silver remains in eight _unciae_ of gold[ ]. as great expense is incurred in parting the metals by the methods that i have explained, as night vigils are necessary when _aqua valens_ is made, and as generally much labour and great pains have to be expended on this matter, other methods for parting have been invented by clever men, which are less costly, less laborious, and in which there is less loss if through carelessness an error is made. there are three methods, the first performed with sulphur, the second with antimony, the third by means of some compound which consists of these or other ingredients. [illustration (parting precious metals with sulphur): a--pot. b--circular fire. c--crucibles. d--their lids. e--lid of the pot. f--furnace. g--iron rod.] in the first method,[ ] the silver containing some gold is melted in a crucible and made into granules. for every _libra_ of granules, there is taken a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of sulphur (not exposed to the fire); this, when crushed, is sprinkled over the moistened granules, and then they are put into a new earthen pot of the capacity of four _sextarii_, or into several of them if there is an abundance of granules. the pot, having been filled, is covered with an earthen lid and smeared over, and placed within a circle of fire set one and a half feet distant from the pot on all sides, in order that the sulphur added to the silver should not be distilled when melted. the pot is opened, the black-coloured granules are taken out, and afterward thirty-three _librae_ of these granules are placed in an earthen crucible, if it has such capacity. for every _libra_ of silver granules, weighed before they were sprinkled with sulphur, there is weighed out also a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of copper, if each _libra_ consists either of three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver and a quarter of a _libra_ of copper, or of three-quarters of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of copper. if, however, the silver contains five-sixths of a _libra_ of silver and a sixth of a _libra_ of copper, or five-sixths of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and an _uncia_ and a half of copper, then there are weighed out a quarter of a _libra_ of copper granules. if a _libra_ contains eleven-twelfths of a _libra_ of silver and one _uncia_ of copper, or eleven-twelfths and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and a _semi-uncia_ of copper, then are weighed out a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of copper granules. lastly, if there is only pure silver, then as much as a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of copper granules are added. half of these copper granules are added soon afterward to the black-coloured silver granules. the crucible should be tightly covered and smeared over with lute, and placed in a furnace, into which the air is drawn through the draught-holes. as soon as the silver is melted, the crucible is opened, and there is placed in it a heaped ladleful more of granulated copper, and also a heaped ladleful of a powder which consists of equal parts of litharge, of granulated lead, of salt, and of glass-galls; then the crucible is again covered with the lid. when the copper granules are melted, more are put in, together with the powder, until all have been put in. a little of the regulus is taken from the crucible, but not from the gold lump which has settled at the bottom, and a _drachma_ of it is put into each of the cupels, which contain an _uncia_ of molten lead; there should be many of these cupels. in this way half a _drachma_ of silver is made. as soon as the lead and copper have been separated from the silver, a third of it is thrown into a glass ampulla, and _aqua valens_ is poured over it. by this method is shown whether the sulphur has parted all the gold from the silver, or not. if one wishes to know the size of the gold lump which has settled at the bottom of the crucible, an iron rod moistened with water is covered with chalk, and when the rod is dry it is pushed down straight into the crucible, and the rod remains bright to the height of the gold lump; the remaining part of the rod is coloured black by the regulus, which adheres to the rod if it is not quickly removed. if when the rod has been extracted the gold is observed to be satisfactorily parted from the silver, the regulus is poured out, the gold button is taken out of the crucible, and in some clean place the regulus is chipped off from it, although it usually flies apart. the lump itself is reduced to granules, and for every _libra_ of this gold they weigh out a quarter of a _libra_ each of crushed sulphur and of granular copper, and all are placed together in an earthen crucible, not into a pot. when they are melted, in order that the gold may more quickly settle at the bottom, the powder which i have mentioned is added. although minute particles of gold appear to scintillate in the regulus of copper and silver, yet if all that are in a _libra_ do not weigh as much as a single sesterce, then the sulphur has satisfactorily parted the gold from the silver; but if it should weigh a sesterce or more, then the regulus is thrown back again into the earthen crucible, and it is not advantageous to add sulphur, but only a little copper and powder, by which method a gold lump is again made to settle at the bottom; and this one is added to the other button which is not rich in gold. when gold is parted from sixty-six _librae_ of silver, the silver, copper, and sulphur regulus weighs one hundred and thirty-two _librae_. to separate the copper from the silver we require five hundred _librae_ of lead, more or less, with which the regulus is melted in the second furnace. in this manner litharge and hearth-lead are made, which are re-smelted in the first furnace. the cakes that are made from these are placed in the third furnace, so that the lead may be separated from the copper and used again, for it contains very little silver. the crucibles and their covers are crushed, washed, and the sediment is melted together with litharge and hearth-lead. those who wish to separate all the silver from the gold by this method leave one part of gold to three of silver, and then reduce the alloy to granules. then they place it in an ampulla, and by pouring _aqua valens_ over it, part the gold from the silver, which process i explained in book vii. if sulphur from the lye with which _sal artificiosus_ is made, is strong enough to float an egg thrown into it, and is boiled until it no longer emits fumes, and melts when placed upon glowing coals, then, if such sulphur is thrown into the melted silver, it parts the gold from it. [illustration (parting precious metals with antimony): a--furnace in which the air is drawn in through holes. b--goldsmith's forge. c--earthen crucibles. d--iron pots. e--block.] silver is also parted from gold by means of _stibium_[ ]. if in a _bes of_ gold there are seven, or six, or five double _sextulae_ of silver, then three parts of _stibium_ are added to one part of gold; but in order that the _stibium_ should not consume the gold, it is melted with copper in a red hot earthen crucible. if the gold contains some portion of copper, then to eight _unciae_ of _stibium_ a _sicilicus_ of copper is added; and if it contains no copper, then half an _uncia_, because copper must be added to _stibium_ in order to part gold from silver. the gold is first placed in a red hot earthen crucible, and when melted it swells, and a little _stibium_ is added to it lest it run over; in a short space of time, when this has melted, it likewise again swells, and when this occurs it is advisable to put in all the remainder of the _stibium_, and to cover the crucible with a lid, and then to heat the mixture for the time required to walk thirty-five paces. then it is at once poured out into an iron pot, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, which was first heated and smeared over with tallow or wax, and set on an iron or wooden block. it is shaken violently, and by this agitation the gold lump settles to the bottom, and when the pot has cooled it is tapped loose, and is again melted four times in the same way. but each time a less weight of _stibium_ is added to the gold, until finally only twice as much _stibium_ is added as there is gold, or a little more; then the gold lump is melted in a cupel. the _stibium_ is melted again three or four times in an earthen crucible, and each time a gold lump settles, so that there are three or four gold lumps, and these are all melted together in a cupel. to two _librae_ and a half of such _stibium_ are added two _librae_ of argol and one _libra_ of glass-galls, and they are melted in an earthen crucible, where a lump likewise settles at the bottom; this lump is melted in the cupel. finally, the _stibium_ with a little lead added, is melted in the cupel, in which, after all the rest has been consumed by the fire, the silver alone remains. if the _stibium_ is not first melted in an earthen crucible with argol and glass-galls, before it is melted in the cupel, part of the silver is consumed, and is absorbed by the ash and powder of which the cupel is made. the crucible in which the gold and silver alloy are melted with _stibium_, and also the cupel, are placed in a furnace, which is usually of the kind in which the air is drawn in through holes; or else they are placed in a goldsmith's forge. just as _aqua valens_ poured over silver, from which the sulphur has parted the gold, shows us whether all has been separated or whether particles of gold remain in the silver; so do certain ingredients, if placed in the pot or crucible "alternately" with the gold, from which the silver has been parted by _stibium_, and heated, show us whether all have been separated or not. we use cements[ ] when, without _stibium_, we part silver or copper or both so ingeniously and admirably from gold. there are various cements. some consist of half a _libra_ of brick dust, a quarter of a _libra_ of salt, an _uncia_ of saltpetre, half an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, and half an _uncia_ of rock salt. the bricks or tiles from which the dust is made must be composed of fatty clays, free from sand, grit, and small stones, and must be moderately burnt and very old. another cement is made of a _bes_ of brick dust, a third of rock salt, an _uncia_ of saltpetre, and half an _uncia_ of refined salt. another cement is made of a _bes_ of brick dust, a quarter of refined salt, one and a half _unciae_ of saltpetre, an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, and half an _uncia_ of rock salt. another has one _libra_ of brick dust, and half a _libra_ of rock salt, to which some add a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of vitriol. another is made of half a _libra_ of brick dust, a third of a _libra_ of rock salt, an _uncia_ and a half of vitriol, and one _uncia_ of saltpetre. another consists of a _bes_ of brick dust, a third of refined salt, a sixth of white vitriol[ ], half an _uncia_ of verdigris, and likewise half an _uncia_ of saltpetre. another is made of one and a third _librae_ of brick dust, a _bes_ of rock salt, a sixth of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, a sixth and half an _uncia_ of vitriol, and a sixth of saltpetre. another contains a _libra_ of brick dust, a third of refined salt, and one and a half _unciae_ of vitriol. those ingredients above are peculiar to each cement, but what follows is common to all. each of the ingredients is first separately crushed to powder; the bricks are placed on a hard rock or marble, and crushed with an iron implement; the other things are crushed in a mortar with a pestle; each is separately passed through a sieve. then they are all mixed together, and are moistened with vinegar in which a little sal-ammoniac has been dissolved, if the cement does not contain any. but some workers, however, prefer to moisten the gold granules or gold-leaf instead. the cement should be placed, alternately with the gold, in new and clean pots in which no water has ever been poured. in the bottom the cement is levelled with an iron implement, and afterward the gold granules or leaves are placed one against the other, so that they may touch it on all sides; then, again, a handful of the cement, or more if the pots are large, is thrown in and levelled with an iron implement; the granules and leaves are laid over this in the same manner, and this is repeated until the pot is filled. then it is covered with a lid, and the place where they join is smeared over with artificial lute, and when this is dry the pots are placed in the furnace. [illustration (parting precious metals by cementation): a--furnace. b--pot. c--lid. d--air-holes.] the furnace has three chambers, the lowest of which is a foot high; into this lowest chamber the air penetrates through an opening, and into it the ashes fall from the burnt wood, which is supported by iron rods, arranged to form a grating. the middle chamber is two feet high, and the wood is pushed in through its mouth. the wood ought to be oak, holmoak, or turkey-oak, for from these the slow and lasting fire is made which is necessary for this operation. the upper chamber is open at the top so that the pots, for which it has the depth, may be put into it; the floor of this chamber consists of iron rods, so strong that they may bear the weight of the pots and the heat of the fire; they are sufficiently far apart that the fire may penetrate well and may heat the pots. the pots are narrow at the bottom, so that the fire entering into the space between them may heat them; at the top the pots are wide, so that they may touch and hold back the heat of the fire. the upper part of the furnace is closed in with bricks not very thick, or with tiles and lute, and two or three air-holes are left, through which the fumes and flames may escape. the gold granules or leaves and the cement, alternately placed in the pots, are heated by a gentle fire, gradually increasing for twenty-four hours, if the furnace was heated for two hours before the full pots were stood in it, and if this was not done, then for twenty-six hours. the fire should be increased in such a manner that the pieces of gold and the cement, in which is the potency to separate the silver and copper from the gold, may not melt, for in this case the labour and cost will be spent in vain; therefore, it is ample to have the fire hot enough that the pots always remain red. after so many hours all the burning wood should be drawn out of the furnace. then the refractory bricks or tiles are removed from the top of the furnace, and the glowing pots are taken out with the tongs. the lids are removed, and if there is time it is well to allow the gold to cool by itself, for then there is less loss; but if time cannot be spared for that operation, the pieces of gold are immediately placed separately into a wooden or bronze vessel of water and gradually quenched, lest the cement which absorbs the silver should exhale it. the pieces of gold, and the cement adhering to them, when cooled or quenched, are rolled with a little mallet so as to crush the lumps and free the gold from the cement. then they are sifted by a fine sieve, which is placed over a bronze vessel; in this manner the cement containing the silver or the copper or both, falls from the sieve into the bronze vessel, and the gold granules or leaves remain on it. the gold is placed in a vessel and again rolled with the little mallet, so that it may be cleansed from the cement which absorbs silver and copper. the particles of cement, which have dropped through the holes of the sieve into the bronze vessel, are washed in a bowl, over a wooden tub, being shaken about with the hands, so that the minute particles of gold which have fallen through the sieve may be separated. these are again washed in a little vessel, with warm water, and scrubbed with a piece of wood or a twig broom, that the moistened cement may be detached. afterward all the gold is again washed with warm water, and collected with a bristle brush, and should be washed in a copper full of holes, under which is placed a little vessel. then it is necessary to put the gold on an iron plate, under which is a vessel, and to wash it with warm water. finally, it is placed in a bowl, and, when dry, the granules or leaves are rubbed against a touchstone at the same time as a touch-needle, and considered carefully as to whether they be pure or alloyed. if they are not pure enough, the granules or the leaves, together with the cement which attracts silver and copper, are arranged alternately in layers in the same manner, and again heated; this is done as often as is necessary, but the last time it is heated as many hours as are required to cleanse the gold. some people add another cement to the granules or leaves. this cement lacks the ingredients of metalliferous origin, such as verdigris and vitriol, for if these are in the cement, the gold usually takes up a little of the base metal; or if it does not do this, it is stained by them. for this reason some very rightly never make use of cements containing these things, because brick dust and salt alone, especially rock salt, are able to extract all the silver and copper from the gold and to attract it to themselves. it is not necessary for coiners to make absolutely pure gold, but to heat it only until such a fineness is obtained as is needed for the gold money which they are coining. the gold is heated, and when it shows the necessary golden yellow colour and is wholly pure, it is melted and made into bars, in which case they are either prepared by the coiners with _chrysocolla_, which is called by the moors borax, or are prepared with salt of lye made from the ashes of ivy or of other salty herbs. the cement which has absorbed silver or copper, after water has been poured over it, is dried and crushed, and when mixed with hearth-lead and de-silverized lead, is smelted in the blast furnace. the alloy of silver and lead, or of silver and copper and lead, which flows out, is again melted in the cupellation furnace, in order that the lead and copper may be separated from the silver. the silver is finally thoroughly purified in the refining furnace, and in this practical manner there is no silver lost, or only a minute quantity. there are besides this, certain other cements[ ] which part gold from silver, composed of sulphur, _stibium_ and other ingredients. one of these compounds consists of half an _uncia_ of vitriol dried by the heat of the fire and reduced to powder, a sixth of refined salt, a third of _stibium_, half a _libra_ of prepared sulphur (not exposed to the fire), one _sicilicus_ of glass, likewise one _sicilicus_ of saltpetre, and a _drachma_ of sal-ammoniac.[ ] the sulphur is prepared as follows: it is first crushed to powder, then it is heated for six hours in sharp vinegar, and finally poured into a vessel and washed with warm water; then that which settles at the bottom of the vessel is dried. to refine the salt it is placed in river water and boiled, and again evaporated. the second compound contains one _libra_ of sulphur (not exposed to fire) and two _librae_ of refined salt. the third compound is made from one _libra_ of sulphur (not exposed to the fire), half a _libra_ of refined salt, a quarter of a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac, and one _uncia_ of red-lead. the fourth compound consists of one _libra_ each of refined salt, sulphur (not exposed to the fire) and argol, and half a _libra_ of _chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax. the fifth compound has equal proportions of sulphur (not exposed to the fire), sal-ammoniac, saltpetre, and verdigris. the silver which contains some portion of gold is first melted with lead in an earthen crucible, and they are heated together until the silver exhales the lead. if there was a _libra_ of silver, there must be six _drachmae_ of lead. then the silver is sprinkled with two _unciae_ of that powdered compound and is stirred; afterward it is poured into another crucible, first warmed and lined with tallow, and then violently shaken. the rest is performed according to the process i have already explained. gold may be parted without injury from silver goblets and from other gilt vessels and articles[ ], by means of a powder, which consists of one part of sal-ammoniac and half a part of sulphur. the gilt goblet or other article is smeared with oil, and the powder is dusted on; the article is seized in the hand, or with tongs, and is carried to the fire and sharply tapped, and by this means the gold falls into water in vessels placed underneath, while the goblet remains uninjured. gold is also parted from silver on gilt articles by means of quicksilver. this is poured into an earthen crucible, and so warmed by the fire that the finger can bear the heat when dipped into it; the silver-gilt objects are placed in it, and when the quicksilver adheres to them they are taken out and placed on a dish, into which, when cooled, the gold falls, together with the quicksilver. again and frequently the same silver-gilt object is placed in heated quicksilver, and the same process is continued until at last no more gold is visible on the object; then the object is placed in the fire, and the quicksilver which adheres to it is exhaled. then the artificer takes a hare's foot, and brushes up into a dish the quicksilver and the gold which have fallen together from the silver article, and puts them into a cloth made of woven cotton or into a soft leather; the quicksilver is squeezed through one or the other into another dish.[ ] the gold remains in the cloth or the leather, and when collected is placed in a piece of charcoal hollowed out, and is heated until it melts, and a little button is made from it. this button is heated with a little _stibium_ in an earthen crucible and poured out into another little vessel, by which method the gold settles at the bottom, and the _stibium_ is seen to be on the top; then the work is completed. finally, the gold button is put in a hollowed-out brick and placed in the fire, and by this method the gold is made pure. by means of the above methods gold is parted from silver and also silver from gold. now i will explain the methods used to separate copper from gold[ ]. the salt which we call _sal-artificiosus_,[ ] is made from a _libra_ each of vitriol, alum, saltpetre, and sulphur not exposed to the fire, and half a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac; these ingredients when crushed are heated with one part of lye made from the ashes used by wool dyers, one part of unslaked lime, and four parts of beech ashes. the ingredients are boiled in the lye until the whole has been dissolved. then it is immediately dried and kept in a hot place, lest it turn into oil; and afterward when crushed, a _libra_ of lead-ash is mixed with it. with each _libra_ of this powdered compound one and a half _unciae_ of the copper is gradually sprinkled into a hot crucible, and it is stirred rapidly and frequently with an iron rod. when the crucible has cooled and been broken up, the button of gold is found. the second method for parting is the following. two _librae_ of sulphur not exposed to the fire, and four _librae_ of refined salt are crushed and mixed; a sixth of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of this powder is added to a _bes_ of granules made of lead, and twice as much copper containing gold; they are heated together in an earthen crucible until they melt. when cooled, the button is taken out and purged of slag. from this button they again make granules, to a third of a _libra_ of which is added half a _libra_ of that powder of which i have spoken, and they are placed in alternate layers in the crucible; it is well to cover the crucible and to seal it up, and afterward it is heated over a gentle fire until the granules melt. soon afterward, the crucible is taken off the fire, and when it is cool the button is extracted. from this, when purified and again melted down, the third granules are made, to which, if they weigh a sixth of a _libra_, is added one half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of the powder, and they are heated in the same manner, and the button of gold settles at the bottom of the crucible. the third method is as follows. from time to time small pieces of sulphur, enveloped in or mixed with wax, are dropped into six _librae_ of the molten copper, and consumed; the sulphur weighs half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_. then one and a half _sicilici_ of powdered saltpetre are dropped into the same copper and likewise consumed; then again half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of sulphur enveloped in wax; afterward one and a half _sicilici_ of lead-ash enveloped in wax, or of minium made from red-lead. then immediately the copper is taken out, and to the gold button, which is now mixed with only a little copper, they add _stibium_ to double the amount of the button; these are heated together until the _stibium_ is driven off; then the button, together with lead of half the weight of the button, are heated in a cupel. finally, the gold is taken out of this and quenched, and if there is a blackish colour settled in it, it is melted with a little of the _chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax; if too pale, it is melted with _stibium_, and acquires its own golden-yellow colour. there are some who take out the molten copper with an iron ladle and pour it into another crucible, whose aperture is sealed up with lute, and they place it over glowing charcoal, and when they have thrown in the powders of which i have spoken, they stir the whole mass rapidly with an iron rod, and thus separate the gold from the copper; the former settles at the bottom of the crucible, the latter floats on the top. then the aperture of the crucible is opened with the red-hot tongs, and the copper runs out. the gold which remains is re-heated with _stibium_, and when this is exhaled the gold is heated for the third time in a cupel with a fourth part of lead, and then quenched. the fourth method is to melt one and a third _librae_ of the copper with a sixth of a _libra_ of lead, and to pour it into another crucible smeared on the inside with tallow or gypsum; and to this is added a powder consisting of half an _uncia_ each of prepared sulphur, verdigris, and saltpetre, and an _uncia_ and a half of _sal coctus_. the fifth method consists of placing in a crucible one _libra_ of the copper and two _librae_ of granulated lead, with one and a half _unciae_ of _sal-artificiosus_; they are at first heated over a gentle fire and then over a fiercer one. the sixth method consists in heating together a _bes_ of the copper and one-sixth of a _libra_ each of sulphur, salt, and _stibium_. the seventh method consists of heating together a _bes_ of the copper and one-sixth each of iron scales and filings, salt, _stibium_, and glass-galls. the eighth method consists of heating together one _libra_ of the copper, one and a half _librae_ of sulphur, half a _libra_ of verdigris, and a _libra_ of refined salt. the ninth method consists of placing in one _libra_ of the molten copper as much pounded sulphur, not exposed to the fire, and of stirring it rapidly with an iron rod; the lump is ground to powder, into which quicksilver is poured, and this attracts to itself the gold. gilded copper articles are moistened with water and placed on the fire, and when they are glowing they are quenched with cold water, and the gold is scraped off with a brass rod. by these practical methods gold is separated from copper. either copper or lead is separated from silver by the methods which i will now explain.[ ] this is carried on in a building near by the works, or in the works in which the gold or silver ores or alloys are smelted. the middle wall of such a building is twenty-one feet long and fifteen feet high, and from this a front wall is distant fifteen feet toward the river; the rear wall is nineteen feet distant, and both these walls are thirty-six feet long and fourteen feet high; a transverse wall extends from the end of the front wall to the end of the rear wall; then fifteen feet back a second transverse wall is built out from the front wall to the end of the middle wall. in that space which is between those two transverse walls are set up the stamps, by means of which the ores and the necessary ingredients for smelting are broken up. from the further end of the front wall, a third transverse wall leads to the other end of the middle wall, and from the same to the end of the rear wall. the space between the second and third transverse walls, and between the rear and middle long walls, contains the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from gold or silver. the vertical wall of its chimney is erected upon the middle wall, and the sloping chimney-wall rests on the beams which extend from the second transverse wall to the third; these are so located that they are at a distance of thirteen feet from the middle long wall and four from the rear wall, and they are two feet wide and thick. from the ground up to the roof-beams is twelve feet, and lest the sloping chimney-wall should fall down, it is partly supported by means of many iron rods, and partly by means of a few tie-beams covered with lute, which extend from the small beams of the sloping chimney-wall to the beams of the vertical chimney-wall. the rear roof is arranged in the same way as the roof of the works in which ore is smelted. in the space between the middle and the front long walls and between the second[ ] and the third transverse walls are the bellows, the machinery for depressing and the instrument for raising them. a drum on the axle of a water-wheel has rundles which turn the toothed drum of an axle, whose long cams depress the levers of the bellows, and also another toothed drum on an axle, whose cams raise the tappets of the stamps, but in the opposite direction. so that if the cams which depress the levers of the bellows turn from north to south, the cams of the stamps turn from south to north. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--rectangular stones. b--sole-stone. c--air-holes. d--internal walls. e--dome. f--crucible. g--bands. h--bars. i--apertures in the dome. k--lid of the dome. l--rings. m--pipes. n--valves. o--chains.] lead is separated from gold or silver in a cupellation furnace, of which the structure consists of rectangular stones, of two interior walls of which the one intersects the other transversely, of a round sole, and of a dome. its crucible is made from powder of earth and ash; but i will first speak of the structure and also of the rectangular stones. a circular wall is built four feet and three palms high, and one foot thick; from the height of two feet and three palms from the bottom, the upper part of the interior is cut away to the width of one palm, so that the stone sole may rest upon it. there are usually as many as fourteen stones; on the outside they are a foot and a palm wide, and on the inside narrower, because the inner circle is much smaller than the outer; if the stones are wider, fewer are required, if narrower more; they are sunk into the earth to a depth of a foot and a palm. at the top each one is joined to the next by an iron staple, the points of which are embedded in holes, and into each hole is poured molten lead. this stone structure has six air-holes near the ground, at a height of a foot above the ground; they are two feet and a palm from the bottom of the stones; each of these air-holes is in two stones, and is two palms high, and a palm and three digits wide. one of them is on the right side, between the wall which protects the main wall from the fire, and the channel through which the litharge flows out of the furnace crucible; the other five air-holes are distributed all round at equal distances apart; through these escapes the moisture which the earth exhales when heated, and if it were not for these openings the crucible would absorb the moisture and be damaged. in such a case a lump would be raised, like that which a mole throws up from the earth, and the ash would float on the top, and the crucible would absorb the silver-lead alloy; there are some who, because of this, make the rear part of the structure entirely open. the two inner walls, of which one intersects the other, are built of bricks, and are a brick in thickness. there are four air-holes in these, one in each part, which are about one digit's breadth higher and wider than the others. into the four compartments is thrown a wheelbarrowful of slag, and over this is placed a large wicker basket full of charcoal dust. these walls extend a cubit above the ground, and on these, and on the ledge cut in the rectangular stones, is placed the stone sole; this sole is a palm and three digits thick, and on all sides touches the rectangular stones; if there are any cracks in it they are filled up with fragments of stone or brick. the front part of the sole is sloped so that a channel can be made, through which the litharge flows out. copper plates are placed on this part of the sole-stone so that the silver-lead or other alloy may be more rapidly heated. a dome which has the shape of half a sphere covers the crucible. it consists of iron bands and of bars and of a lid. there are three bands, each about a palm wide and a digit thick; the lowest is at a distance of one foot from the middle one, and the middle one a distance of two feet from the upper one. under them are eighteen iron bars fixed by iron rivets; these bars are of the same width and thickness as the bands, and they are of such a length, that curving, they reach from the lower band to the upper, that is two feet and three palms long, while the dome is only one foot and three palms high. all the bars and bands of the dome have iron plates fastened on the underside with iron wire. in addition, the dome has four apertures; the rear one, which is situated opposite the channel through which the litharge flows out, is two feet wide at the bottom; toward the top, since it slopes gently, it is narrower, being a foot, three palms, and a digit wide; there is no bar at this place, for the aperture extends from the upper band to the middle one, but not to the lower one. the second aperture is situated above the channel, is two and a half feet wide at the bottom, and two feet and a palm at the top; and there is likewise no bar at this point; indeed, not only does the bar not extend to the lower band, but the lower band itself does not extend over this part, in order that the master can draw the litharge out of the crucible. there are besides, in the wall which protects the principal wall against the heat, near where the nozzles of the bellows are situated, two apertures, three palms wide and about a foot high, in the middle of which two rods descend, fastened on the inside with plates. near these apertures are placed the nozzles of the bellows, and through the apertures extend the pipes in which the nozzles of the bellows are set. these pipes are made of iron plates rolled up; they are two palms three digits long, and their inside diameter is three and a half digits; into these two pipes the nozzles of the bellows penetrate a distance of three digits from their valves. the lid of the dome consists of an iron band at the bottom, two digits wide, and of three curved iron bars, which extend from one point on the band to the point opposite; they cross each other at the top, where they are fixed by means of iron rivets. on the under side of the bars there are likewise plates fastened by rivets; each of the plates has small holes the size of a finger, so that the lute will adhere when the interior is lined. the dome has three iron rings engaged in wide holes in the heads of iron claves, which fasten the bars to the middle band at these points. into these rings are fastened the hooks of the chains with which the dome is raised, when the master is preparing the crucible. on the sole and the copper plates and the rock of the furnace, lute mixed with straw is placed to a depth of three digits, and it is pounded with a wooden rammer until it is compressed to a depth of one digit only. the rammer-head is round and three palms high, two palms wide at the bottom, and tapering upward; its handle is three feet long, and where it is set into the rammer-head it is bound around with an iron band. the top of the stonework in which the dome rests is also covered with lute, likewise mixed with straw, to the thickness of a palm. all this, as soon as it becomes loosened, must be repaired. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--an artificer tamping the crucible with a rammer. b--large rammer. c--broom. d--two smaller rammers. e--curved iron plates. f--part of a wooden strip. g--sieve. h--ashes. i--iron shovel. k--iron plate. l--block of wood. m--rock. n--basket made of woven twigs. o--hooked bar. p--second hooked bar. q--old linen rag. r--bucket. s--doeskin. t--bundles of straw. v--wood. x--cakes of lead alloy. y--fork. z--another workman covers the outside of the furnace with lute where the dome fits on it. aa--basket full of ashes. bb--lid of the dome. cc--the assistant standing on the steps pours charcoal into the crucible through the hole at the top of the dome. dd--iron implement with which the lute is beaten. ee--lute. ff--ladle with which the workman or master takes a sample. gg--rabble with which the scum of impure lead is drawn off. hh--iron wedge with which the silver mass is raised.] the artificer who undertakes the work of parting the metals, distributes the operation into two shifts of two days. on the one morning he sprinkles a little ash into the lute, and when he has poured some water over it he brushes it over with a broom. then he throws in sifted ashes and dampens them with water, so that they could be moulded into balls like snow. the ashes are those from which lye has been made by letting water percolate through them, for other ashes which are fatty would have to be burnt again in order to make them less fat. when he has made the ashes smooth by pressing them with his hands, he makes the crucible slope down toward the middle; then he tamps it, as i have described, with a rammer. he afterward, with two small wooden rammers, one held in each hand, forms the channel through which the litharge flows out. the heads of these small rammers are each a palm wide, two digits thick, and one foot high; the handle of each is somewhat rounded, is a digit and a half less in diameter than the rammer-head, and is three feet in length; the rammer-head as well as the handle is made of one piece of wood. then with shoes on, he descends into the crucible and stamps it in every direction with his feet, in which manner it is packed and made sloping. then he again tamps it with a large rammer, and removing his shoe from his right foot he draws a circle around the crucible with it, and cuts out the circle thus drawn with an iron plate. this plate is curved at both ends, is three palms long, as many digits wide, and has wooden handles a palm and two digits long, and two digits thick; the iron plate is curved back at the top and ends, which penetrate into handles. there are some who use in the place of the plate a strip of wood, like the rim of a sieve; this is three digits wide, and is cut out at both ends that it may be held in the hands. afterward he tamps the channel through which the litharge discharges. lest the ashes should fall out, he blocks up the aperture with a stone shaped to fit it, against which he places a board, and lest this fall, he props it with a stick. then he pours in a basketful of ashes and tamps them with the large rammer; then again and again he pours in ashes and tamps them with the rammer. when the channel has been made, he throws dry ashes all over the crucible with a sieve, and smooths and rubs it with his hands. then he throws three basketsful of damp ashes on the margin all round the edge of the crucible, and lets down the dome. soon after, climbing upon the crucible, he builds up ashes all around it, lest the molten alloy should flow out. then, having raised the lid of the dome, he throws a basketful of charcoal into the crucible, together with an iron shovelful of glowing coals, and he also throws some of the latter through the apertures in the sides of the dome, and he spreads them with the same shovel. this work and labour is finished in the space of two hours. an iron plate is set in the ground under the channel, and upon this is placed a wooden block, three feet and a palm long, a foot and two palms and as many digits wide at the back, and two palms and as many digits wide in front; on the block of wood is placed a stone, and over it an iron plate similar to the bottom one, and upon this he puts a basketful of charcoal, and also an iron shovelful of burning charcoals. the crucible is heated in an hour, and then, with the hooked bar with which the litharge is drawn off, he stirs the remainder of the charcoal about. this hook is a palm long and three digits wide, has the form of a double triangle, and has an iron handle four feet long, into which is set a wooden one six feet long. there are some who use instead a simple hooked bar. after about an hour's time, he stirs the charcoal again with the bar, and with the shovel throws into the crucible the burning charcoals lying in the channel; then again, after the space of an hour, he stirs the burning charcoals with the same bar. if he did not thus stir them about, some blackness would remain in the crucible and that part would be damaged, because it would not be sufficiently dried. therefore the assistant stirs and turns the burning charcoal that it may be entirely burnt up, and so that the crucible may be well heated, which takes three hours; then the crucible is left quiet for the remaining two hours. when the hour of eleven has struck, he sweeps up the charcoal ashes with a broom and throws them out of the crucible. then he climbs on to the dome, and passing his hand in through its opening, and dipping an old linen rag in a bucket of water mixed with ashes, he moistens the whole of the crucible and sweeps it. in this way he uses two bucketsful of the mixture, each holding five roman _sextarii_,[ ] and he does this lest the crucible, when the metals are being parted, should break open; after this he rubs the crucible with a doe skin, and fills in the cracks. then he places at the left side of the channel, two fragments of hearth-lead, laid one on the top of the other, so that when partly melted they remain fixed and form an obstacle, that the litharge will not be blown about by the wind from the bellows, but remain in its place. it is expedient, however, to use a brick in the place of the hearth-lead, for as this gets much hotter, therefore it causes the litharge to form more rapidly. the crucible in its middle part is made two palms and as many digits deeper.[ ] there are some who having thus prepared the crucible, smear it over with incense[ ], ground to powder and dissolved in white of egg, soaking it up in a sponge and then squeezing it out again; there are others who smear over it a liquid consisting of white of egg and double the amount of bullock's blood or marrow. some throw lime into the crucible through a sieve. afterward the master of the works weighs the lead with which the gold or silver or both are mixed, and he sometimes puts a hundred _centumpondia_[ ] into the crucible, but frequently only sixty, or fifty, or much less. after it has been weighed, he strews about in the crucible three small bundles of straw, lest the lead by its weight should break the surface. then he places in the channel several cakes of lead alloy, and through the aperture at the rear of the dome he places some along the sides; then, ascending to the opening at the top of the dome, he arranges in the crucible round about the dome the cakes which his assistant hands to him, and after ascending again and passing his hands through the same aperture, he likewise places other cakes inside the crucible. on the second day those which remain he, with an iron fork, places on the wood through the rear aperture of the dome. when the cakes have been thus arranged through the hole at the top of the dome, he throws in charcoal with a basket woven of wooden twigs. then he places the lid over the dome, and the assistant covers over the joints with lute. the master himself throws half a basketful of charcoal into the crucible through the aperture next to the nozzle pipe, and prepares the bellows, in order to be able to begin the second operation on the morning of the following day. it takes the space of one hour to carry out such a piece of work, and at twelve all is prepared. these hours all reckoned up make a sum of eight hours. now it is time that we should come to the second operation. in the morning the workman takes up two shovelsful of live charcoals and throws them into the crucible through the aperture next to the pipes of the nozzles; then through the same hole he lays upon them small pieces of fir-wood or of pitch pine, such as are generally used to cook fish. after this the water-gates are opened, in order that the machine may be turned which depresses the levers of the bellows. in the space of one hour the lead alloy is melted; and when this has been done, he places four sticks of wood, twelve feet long, through the hole in the back of the dome, and as many through the channel; these sticks, lest they should damage the crucible, are both weighted on the ends and supported by trestles; these trestles are made of a beam, three feet long, two palms and as many digits wide, two palms thick, and have two spreading legs at each end. against the trestle, in front of the channel, there is placed an iron plate, lest the litharge, when it is extracted from the furnace, should splash the smelter's shoes and injure his feet and legs. with an iron shovel or a fork he places the remainder of the cakes through the aperture at the back of the dome on to the sticks of wood already mentioned. the native silver, or silver glance, or grey silver, or ruby silver, or any other sort, when it has been flattened out[ ], and cut up, and heated in an iron crucible, is poured into the molten lead mixed with silver, in order that impurities may be separated. as i have often said, this molten lead mixed with silver is called _stannum_[ ]. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--furnace. b--sticks of wood. c--litharge. d--plate. e--the foreman when hungry eats butter, that the poison which the crucible exhales may not harm him, for this is a special remedy against that poison.] when the long sticks of wood are burned up at the fore end, the master, with a hammer, drives into them pointed iron bars, four feet long and two digits wide at the front end, and beyond that one and a half digits wide and thick; with these he pushes the sticks of wood forward and the bars then rest on the trestles. there are others who, when they separate metals, put two such sticks of wood into the crucible through the aperture which is between the bellows, as many through the holes at the back, and one through the channel; but in this case a larger number of long sticks of wood is necessary, that is, sixty; in the former case, forty long sticks of wood suffice to carry out the operation. when the lead has been heated for two hours, it is stirred with a hooked bar, that the heat may be increased. if it be difficult to separate the lead from the silver, he throws copper and charcoal dust into the molten silver-lead alloy. if the alloy of argentiferous gold and lead, or the silver-lead alloy, contains impurities from the ore, then he throws in either equal portions of argol and venetian glass or of sal-ammoniac, or of venetian glass and of venetian soap; or else unequal portions, that is, two of argol and one of iron rust; there are some who mix a little saltpetre with each compound. to one _centumpondium_ of the alloy is added a _bes_ or a _libra_ and a third of the powder, according to whether it is more or less impure. the powder certainly separates the impurities from the alloy. then, with a kind of rabble he draws out through the channel, mixed with charcoal, the scum, as one might say, of the lead; the lead makes this scum when it becomes hot, but that less of it may be made it must be stirred frequently with the bar. within the space of a quarter of an hour the crucible absorbs the lead; at the time when it penetrates into the crucible it leaps and bubbles. then the master takes out a little lead with an iron ladle, which he assays, in order to find what proportion of silver there is in the whole of the alloy; the ladle is five digits wide, the iron part of its handle is three feet long and the wooden part the same. afterward, when they are heated, he extracts with a bar the litharge which comes from the lead and the copper, if there be any of it in the alloy. wherefore, it might more rightly be called _spuma_ of lead than of silver[ ]. there is no injury to the silver, when the lead and copper are separated from it. in truth the lead becomes much purer in the crucible of the other furnace, in which silver is refined. in ancient times, as the author pliny[ ] relates, there was under the channel of the crucible another crucible, and the litharge flowed down from the upper one into the lower one, out of which it was lifted up and rolled round with a stick in order that it might be of moderate weight. for which reason, they formerly made it into small tubes or pipes, but now, since it is not rolled round a stick, they make it into bars. if there be any danger that the alloy might flow out with the litharge, the foreman keeps on hand a piece of lute, shaped like a cylinder and pointed at both ends; fastening this to a hooked bar he opposes it to the alloy so that it will not flow out. [illustration (cleansing of silver cakes): a--cake. b--stone. c--hammer. d--brass wire. e--bucket containing water. f--furnace from which the cake has been taken, which is still smoking. g--labourer carrying a cake out of the works.] now when the colour begins to show in the silver, bright spots appear, some of them being almost white, and a moment afterward it becomes absolutely white. then the assistant lets down the water-gates, so that, the race being closed, the water-wheel ceases to turn and the bellows are still. then the master pours several buckets of water on to the silver to cool it; others pour beer over it to make it whiter, but this is of no importance since the silver has yet to be refined. afterward, the cake of silver is raised with the pointed iron bar, which is three feet long and two digits wide, and has a wooden handle four feet long fixed in its socket. when the cake of silver has been taken from the crucible, it is laid upon a stone, and from part of it the hearth-lead, and from the other part the litharge, is chipped away with a hammer; then it is cleansed with a bundle of brass wire dipped in water. when the lead is separated from the silver, more silver is frequently found than when it was assayed; for instance, if before there were three _unciae_ and as many _drachmae_ in a _centumpondium_, they now sometimes find three _unciae_ and a half[ ]. often the hearth-lead remaining in the crucible is a palm deep; it is taken out with the rest of the ashes and is sifted, and that which remains in the sieve, since it is hearth-lead, is added to the hearth-lead[ ]. the ashes which pass through the sieve are of the same use as they were at first, for, indeed, from these and pulverised bones they make the cupels. finally, when much of it has accumulated, the yellow _pompholyx_ adhering to the walls of the furnace, and likewise to those rings of the dome near the apertures, is cleared away. [illustration (crane for cupellation furnace): a--crane-post. b--socket. c--oak cross-sills. d--band. e--roof-beam. f--frame. g--lower small cross-beam. h--upright timber. i--bars which come from the sides of the crane-post. k--bars which come from the sides of the upright timber. l--rundle drums. m--toothed wheels. n--chain. o--pulley. p--beams of the crane-arm. q--oblique beams supporting the beams of the crane-arm. r--rectangular iron plates. s--trolley. t--dome of the furnace. v--ring. x--three chains. y--crank. z--the crane-post of the other contrivance. aa--crane-arm. bb--oblique beam. cc--ring of the crane-arm. dd--the second ring. ee--lever-bar. ff--third ring. gg--hook. hh--chain of the dome. ii--chain of the lever-bar.] i must also describe the crane with which the dome is raised. when it is made, there is first set up a rectangular upright post twelve feet long, each side of which measures a foot in width. its lower pinion turns in a bronze socket set in an oak sill; there are two sills placed crosswise so that the one fits in a mortise in the middle of the other, and the other likewise fits in the mortise of the first, thus making a kind of a cross; these sills are three feet long and one foot wide and thick. the crane-post is round at its upper end and is cut down to a depth of three palms, and turns in a band fastened at each end to a roof-beam, from which springs the inclined chimney wall. to the crane-post is affixed a frame, which is made in this way: first, at a height of a cubit from the bottom, is mortised into the crane-post a small cross-beam, a cubit and three digits long, except its tenons, and two palms in width and thickness. then again, at a height of five feet above it, is another small cross-beam of equal length, width, and thickness, mortised into the crane-post. the other ends of these two small cross-beams are mortised into an upright timber, six feet three palms long, and three-quarters wide and thick; the mortise is transfixed by wooden pegs. above, at a height of three palms from the lower small cross-beam, are two bars, one foot one palm long, not including the tenons, a palm three digits wide, and a palm thick, which are mortised in the other sides of the crane-post. in the same manner, under the upper small cross-beam are two bars of the same size. also in the upright timber there are mortised the same number of bars, of the same length as the preceding, but three digits thick, a palm two digits wide, the two lower ones being above the lower small cross-beam. from the upright timber near the upper small cross-beam, which at its other end is mortised into the crane-post, are two mortised bars. on the outside of this frame, boards are fixed to the small cross-beams, but the front and back parts of the frame have doors, whose hinges are fastened to the boards which are fixed to the bars that are mortised to the sides of the crane-post. then boards are laid upon the lower small cross-beam, and at a height of two palms above these there is a small square iron axle, the sides of which are two digits wide; both ends of it are round and turn in bronze or iron bearings, one of these bearings being fastened in the crane-post, the other in the upright timber. about each end of the small axle is a wooden disc, of three palms and a digit radius and one palm thick, covered on the rim with an iron band; these two discs are distant two palms and as many digits from each other, and are joined with five rundles; these rundles are two and a half digits thick and are placed three digits apart. thus a drum is made, which is a palm and a digit distant from the upright timber, but further from the crane-post, namely, a palm and three digits. at a height of a foot and a palm above this little axle is a second small square iron axle, the thickness of which is three digits; this one, like the first one, turns in bronze or iron bearings. around it is a toothed wheel, composed of two discs a foot three palms in diameter, a palm and two digits thick; on the rim of this there are twenty-three teeth, a palm wide and two digits thick; they protrude a palm from the wheel and are three digits apart. and around this same axle, at a distance of two palms and as many digits toward the upright timber, is another disc of the same diameter as the wheel and a palm thick; this turns in a hollowed-out place in the upright timber. between this disc and the disc of the toothed wheel another drum is made, having likewise five rundles. there is, in addition to this second axle, at a height of a cubit above it, a small wooden axle, the journals of which are of iron; the ends are bound round with iron rings so that the journals may remain firmly fixed, and the journals, like the little iron axles, turn in bronze or iron bearings. this third axle is at a distance of about a cubit from the upper small cross-beam; it has, near the upright timber, a toothed wheel two and a half feet in diameter, on the rim of which are twenty-seven teeth; the other part of this axle, near the crane-post, is covered with iron plates, lest it should be worn away by the chain which winds around it. the end link of the chain is fixed in an iron pin driven into the little axle; this chain passes out of the frame and turns over a little pulley set between the beams of the crane-arm. above the frame, at a height of a foot and a palm, is the crane-arm. this consists of two beams fifteen feet long, three palms wide, and two thick, mortised into the crane-post, and they protrude a cubit from the back of the crane-post and are fastened together. moreover, they are fastened by means of a wooden pin which penetrates through them and the crane-post; this pin has at the one end a broad head, and at the other a hole, through which is driven an iron bolt, so that the beams may be tightly bound into the crane-post. the beams of the crane-arm are supported and stayed by means of two oblique beams, six feet and two palms long, and likewise two palms wide and thick; these are mortised into the crane-post at their lower ends, and their upper ends are mortised into the beams of the crane-arm at a point about four feet from the crane-post, and they are fastened with iron nails. at the back of the upper end of these oblique beams, toward the crane-post, is an iron staple, fastened into the lower sides of the beams of the crane-arm, in order that it may hold them fast and bind them. the outer end of each beam of the crane-arm is set in a rectangular iron plate, and between these are three rectangular iron plates, fixed in such a manner that the beams of the crane-arm can neither move away from, nor toward, each other. the upper sides of these crane-arm beams are covered with iron plates for a length of six feet, so that a trolley can move on it. the body of the trolley is made of wood from the ostrya or any other hard tree, and is a cubit long, a foot wide, and three palms thick; on both edges of it the lower side is cut out to a height and width of a palm, so that the remainder may move backward and forward between the two beams of the crane-arm; at the front, in the middle part, it is cut out to a width of two palms and as many digits, that a bronze pulley, around a small iron axle, may turn in it. near the corners of the trolley are four holes, in which as many small wheels travel on the beams of the crane-arm. since this trolley, when it travels backward and forward, gives out a sound somewhat similar to the barking of a dog, we have given it this name[ ]. it is propelled forward by means of a crank, and is drawn back by means of a chain. there is an iron hook whose ring turns round an iron pin fastened to the right side of the trolley, which hook is held by a sort of clavis, which is fixed in the right beam of the crane-arm. at the end of the crane-post is a bronze pulley, the iron axle of which is fastened in the beams of the crane-arm, and over which the chain passes as it comes from the frame, and then, penetrating through the hollow in the top of the trolley, it reaches to the little bronze pulley of the trolley, and passing over this it hangs down. a hook on its end engages a ring, in which are fixed the top links of three chains, each six feet long, which pass through the three iron rings fastened in the holes of the claves which are fixed into the middle iron band of the dome, of which i have spoken. therefore when the master wishes to lift the dome by means of the crane, the assistant fits over the lower small iron axle an iron crank, which projects from the upright beam a palm and two digits; the end of the little axle is rectangular, and one and a half digits wide and one digit thick; it is set into a similar rectangular hole in the crank, which is two digits long and a little more than a digit wide. the crank is semi-circular, and one foot three palms and two digits long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick. its handle is straight and round, and three palms long, and one and a half digits thick. there is a hole in the end of the little axle, through which an iron pin is driven so that the crank may not come off. the crane having four drums, two of which are rundle-drums and two toothed-wheels, is more easily moved than another having two drums, one of which has rundles and the other teeth. many, however, use only a simple contrivance, the pivots of whose crane-post turn in the same manner, the one in an iron socket, the other in a ring. there is a crane-arm on the crane-post, which is supported by an oblique beam; to the head of the crane-arm a strong iron ring is fixed, which engages a second iron ring. in this iron ring a strong wooden lever-bar is fastened firmly, the head of which is bound by a third iron ring, from which hangs an iron hook, which engages the rings at the ends of the chains from the dome. at the other end of the lever-bar is another chain, which, when it is pulled down, raises the opposite end of the bar and thus the dome; and when it is relaxed the dome is lowered. [illustration (cupellation furnace at freiberg): a--chamber of the furnace. b--its bed. c--passages. d--rammer. e--mallet. f--artificer making tubes from litharge according to the roman method. g--channel. h--litharge. i--lower crucible or hearth. k--stick. l--tubes.] in certain places, as at freiberg in meissen, the upper part of the cupellation furnace is vaulted almost like an oven. this chamber is four feet high and has either two or three apertures, of which the first, in front, is one and a half feet high and a foot wide, and out of this flows the litharge; the second aperture and likewise the third, if there be three, are at the sides, and are a foot and a half high and two and a half feet wide, in order that he who prepares the crucible may be able to creep into the furnace. its circular bed is made of cement, it has two passages two feet high and one foot wide, for letting out the vapour, and these lead directly through from one side to the other, so that the one passage crosses the other at right angles, and thus four openings are to be seen; these are covered at the top by rocks, wide, but only a palm thick. on these and on the other parts of the interior of the bed made of cement, is placed lute mixed with straw, to a depth of three digits, as it was placed over the sole and the plates of copper and the rocks of that other furnace. this, together with the ashes which are thrown in, the master or the assistant, who, upon his knees, prepares the crucible, tamps down with short wooden rammers and with mallets likewise made of wood. [illustration (cupellation furnace in poland): a--furnace similar to an oven. b--passage. c--iron bars. d--hole through which the litharge is drawn out. e--crucible which lacks a dome. f--thick sticks. g--bellows.] the cupellation furnace in poland and hungary is likewise vaulted at the top, and is almost similar to an oven, but in the lower part the bed is solid, and there is no opening for the vapours, while on one side of the crucible is a wall, between which and the bed of the crucible is a passage in place of the opening for vapours; this passage is covered by iron bars or rods extending from the wall to the crucible, and placed a distance of two digits from each other. in the crucible, when it is prepared, they first scatter straw, and then they lay in it cakes of silver-lead alloy, and on the iron bars they lay wood, which when kindled heats the crucible. they melt cakes to the weight of sometimes eighty _centumpondia_ and sometimes a hundred _centumpondia_[ ]. they stimulate a mild fire by means of a blast from the bellows, and throw on to the bars as much wood as is required to make a flame which will reach into the crucible, and separate the lead from the silver. the litharge is drawn out on the other side through an aperture that is just wide enough for the master to creep through into the crucible. the moravians and carni, who very rarely make more than a _bes_ or five-sixths of a _libra_ of silver, separate the lead from it, neither in a furnace resembling an oven, nor in the crucible covered by a dome, but on a crucible which is without a cover and exposed to the wind; on this crucible they lay cakes of silver-lead alloy, and over them they place dry wood, and over these again thick green wood. the wood having been kindled, they stimulate the fire by means of a bellows. [illustration (refining silver): a--pestle with teeth. b--pestle without teeth. c--dish or tray full of ashes. d--prepared tests placed on boards or shelves. e--empty tests. f--wood. g--saw.] [illustration (refining silver): a--straight knife having wooden handles. b--curved knife likewise having wooden handles. c--curved knife without wooden handles. d--sieve. e--balls. f--iron door which the master lets down when he refines silver, lest the heat of the fire should injure his eyes. g--iron implement on which the wood is placed when the liquid silver is to be refined. h--its other part passing through the ring of another iron implement enclosed in the wall of the furnace. i--tests in which burning charcoal has been thrown.] i have explained the method of separating lead from gold or silver. now i will speak of the method of refining silver, for i have already explained the process for refining gold. silver is refined in a refining furnace, over whose hearth is an arched chamber built of bricks; this chamber in the front part is three feet high. the hearth itself is five feet long and four wide. the walls are unbroken along the sides and back, but in front one chamber is placed over the other, and above these and the wall is the upright chimney. the hearth has a round pit, a cubit wide and two palms deep, into which are thrown sifted ashes, and in this is placed a prepared earthenware "test," in such a manner that it is surrounded on all sides by ashes to a height equal to its own. the earthenware test is filled with a powder consisting of equal portions of bones ground to powder, and of ashes taken from the crucible in which lead is separated from gold or silver; others mix crushed brick with the ashes, for by this method the powder attracts no silver to itself. when the powder has been made up and moistened with water, a little is thrown into the earthenware test and tamped with a wooden pestle. this pestle is round, a foot long, and a palm and a digit wide, out of which extend six teeth, each a digit thick, and a digit and a third long and wide, and almost a digit apart; these six teeth form a circle, and in the centre of them is the seventh tooth, which is round and of the same length as the others, but a digit and a half thick; this pestle tapers a little from the bottom up, that the upper part of the handle may be round and three digits thick. some use a round pestle without teeth. then a little powder is again moistened, and thrown into the test, and tamped; this work is repeated until the test is entirely full of the powder, which the master then cuts out with a knife, sharp on both sides, and turned upward at both ends so that the central part is a palm and a digit long; therefore it is partly straight and partly curved. the blade is one and a half digits wide, and at each end it turns upward two palms, which ends to the depth of a palm are either not sharpened or they are enclosed in wooden handles. the master holds the knife with one hand and cuts out the powder from the test, so that it is left three digits thick all round; then he sifts the powder of dried bones over it through a sieve, the bottom of which is made of closely-woven bristles. afterward a ball made of very hard wood, six digits in diameter, is placed in the test and rolled about with both hands, in order to make the inside even and smooth; for that matter he may move the ball about with only one hand. the tests[ ] are of various capacities, for some of them when prepared hold much less than fifteen _librae_ of silver, others twenty, some thirty, others forty, and others fifty. all these tests thus prepared are dried in the sun, or set in a warm and covered place; the more dry and old they are the better. all of them, when used for refining silver, are heated by means of burning charcoal placed in them. others use instead of these tests an iron ring; but the test is more useful, for if the powder deteriorates the silver remains in it, while there being no bottom to the ring, it falls out; besides, it is easier to place in the hearth the test than the iron ring, and furthermore it requires much less powder. in order that the test should not break and damage the silver, some bind it round with an iron band. [illustration (refining silver): a--grate. b--brass block. c--block of wood. d--cakes of silver. e--hammer. f--block of wood channelled in the middle. g--bowl full of holes. h--block of wood fastened to an iron implement. i--fir-wood. k--iron bar. l--implement with a hollow end. the implement which has a circular end is shown in the next picture. m--implement, the extremity of which is bent upwards. n--implement in the shape of tongs.] in order that they may be more easily broken, the silver cakes are placed upon an iron grate by the refiner, and are heated by burning charcoal placed under them. he has a brass block two palms and two digits long and wide, with a channel in the middle, which he places upon a block of hard wood. then with a double-headed hammer, he beats the hot cakes of silver placed on the brass block, and breaks them in pieces. the head of this hammer is a foot and two digits long, and a palm wide. others use for this purpose merely a block of wood channelled in the top. while the fragments of the cake are still hot, he seizes them with the tongs and throws them into a bowl with holes in the bottom, and pours water over them. when the fragments are cooled, he puts them nicely into the test by placing them so that they stand upright and project from the test to a height of two palms, and lest one should fall against the other, he places little pieces of charcoal between them; then he places live charcoal in the test, and soon two twig basketsful of charcoal. then he blows in air with the bellows. this bellows is double, and four feet two palms long, and two feet and as many palms wide at the back; the other parts are similar to those described in book vii. the nozzle of the bellows is placed in a bronze pipe a foot long, the aperture in this pipe being a digit in diameter in front and quite round, and at the back two palms wide. the master, because he needs for the operation of refining silver a fierce fire, and requires on that account a vigorous blast, places the bellows very much inclined, in order that, when the silver has melted, it may blow into the centre of the test. when the silver bubbles, he presses the nozzle down by means of a small block of wood moistened with water and fastened to an iron rod, the outer end of which bends upward. the silver melts when it has been heated in the test for about an hour; when it is melted, he removes the live coals from the test and places over it two billets of fir-wood, a foot and three palms long, a palm two digits wide, one palm thick at the upper part, and three digits at the lower. he joins them together at the lower edges, and into the billets he again throws the coals, for a fierce fire is always necessary in refining silver. it is refined in two or three hours, according to whether it was pure or impure, and if it is impure it is made purer by dropping granulated copper or lead into the test at the same time. in order that the refiner may sustain the great heat from the fire while the silver is being refined, he lets down an iron door, which is three feet long and a foot and three palms high; this door is held on both ends in iron plates, and when the operation is concluded, he raises it again with an iron shovel, so that its edge holds against the iron hook in the arch, and thus the door is held open. when the silver is nearly refined, which may be judged by the space of time, he dips into it an iron bar, three and a half feet long and a digit thick, having a round steel point. the small drops of silver that adhere to the bar he places on the brass block and flattens with a hammer, and from their colour he decides whether the silver is sufficiently refined or not. if it is thoroughly purified it is very white, and in a _bes_ there is only a _drachma_ of impurities. some ladle up the silver with a hollow iron implement. of each _bes_ of silver one _sicilicus_ is consumed, or occasionally when very impure, three _drachmae_ or half an _uncia_[ ]. [illustration (cleansing of silver cakes): a--implement with a ring. b--ladle. c--its hole. d--pointed bar. e--forks. f--cake of silver laid upon the implement shaped like tongs. g--tub of water. h--block of wood, with a cake laid upon it. i--hammer. k--silver again placed upon the implement resembling tongs. l--another tub full of water. m--brass wires. n--tripod. o--another block. p--chisel. q--crucible of the furnace. r--test still smoking.] the refiner governs the fire and stirs the molten silver with an iron implement, nine feet long, a digit thick, and at the end first curved toward the right, then curved back in order to form a circle, the interior of which is a palm in diameter; others use an iron implement, the end of which is bent directly upward. another iron implement has the shape of tongs, with which, by compressing it with his hands, he seizes the coals and puts them on or takes them off; this is two feet long, one and a half digits wide, and the third of a digit thick. when the silver is seen to be thoroughly refined, the artificer removes the coals from the test with a shovel. soon afterward he draws water in a copper ladle, which has a wooden handle four feet long; it has a small hole at a point half-way between the middle of the bowl and the edge, through which a hemp seed just passes. he fills this ladle three times with water, and three times it all flows out through the hole on to the silver, and slowly quenches it; if he suddenly poured much water on it, it would burst asunder and injure those standing near. the artificer has a pointed iron bar, three feet long, which has a wooden handle as many feet long, and he puts the end of this bar into the test in order to stir it. he also stirs it with a hooked iron bar, of which the hook is two digits wide and a palm deep, and the iron part of its handle is three feet long and the wooden part the same. then he removes the test from the hearth with a shovel or a fork, and turns it over, and by this means the silver falls to the ground in the shape of half a sphere; then lifting the cake with a shovel he throws it into a tub of water, where it gives out a great sound. or else, having lifted the cake of silver with a fork, he lays it upon the iron implement similar to tongs, which are placed across a tub full of water; afterward, when cooled, he takes it from the tub again and lays it on the block made of hard wood and beats it with a hammer, in order to break off any of the powder from the test which adheres to it. the cake is then placed on the implement similar to tongs, laid over the tub full of water, and cleaned with a bundle of brass wire dipped into the water; this operation of beating and cleansing is repeated until it is all clean. afterward he places it on an iron grate or tripod; the tripod is a palm and two digits high, one and a half digits wide, and its span is two palms wide; then he puts burning charcoal under the tripod or grate, in order again to dry the silver that was moistened by the water. finally, the royal inspector[ ] in the employment of the king or prince, or the owner, lays the silver on a block of wood, and with an engraver's chisel he cuts out two small pieces, one from the under and the other from the upper side. these are tested by fire, in order to ascertain whether the silver is thoroughly refined or not, and at what price it should be sold to the merchants. finally he impresses upon it the seal of the king or the prince or the owner, and, near the same, the amount of the weight. [illustration (refining silver): a--muffle. b--its little windows. c--its little bridge. d--bricks. e--iron door. f--its little window. g--bellows. h--hammer-chisel. i--iron ring which some use instead of the test. k--pestle with which the ashes placed in the ring are pounded.] there are some who refine silver in tests placed under iron or earthenware muffles. they use a furnace, on the hearth of which they place the test containing the fragments of silver, and they place the muffle over it; the muffle has small windows at the sides, and in front a little bridge. in order to melt the silver, at the sides of the muffle are laid bricks, upon which the charcoal is placed, and burning firebrands are put on the bridge. the furnace has an iron door, which is covered on the side next to the fire with lute in order that it may not be injured. when the door is closed it retains the heat of the fire, but it has a small window, so that the artificers may look into the test and may at times stimulate the fire with the bellows. although by this method silver is refined more slowly than by the other, nevertheless it is more useful, because less loss is caused, for a gentle fire consumes fewer particles than a fierce fire continually excited by the blast of the bellows. if, on account of its great size, the cake of silver can be carried only with difficulty when it is taken out of the muffle, they cut it up into two or three pieces while it is still hot, with a wedge or a hammer-chisel; for if they cut it up after it has cooled, little pieces of it frequently fly off and are lost. end of book x. footnotes: [ ] _vile a precioso_. [ ] the reagents mentioned in this book are much the same as those of book vii, where (p. ) a table is given showing the latin and old german terms. footnotes in explanation of our views as to these substances may be most easily consulted through the index. [ ] _aqua valens_, literally strong, potent, or powerful water. it will appear later, from the method of manufacture, that hydrochloric, nitric, and sulphuric acids and _aqua regia_ were more or less all produced and all included in this term. we have, therefore, used either the term _aqua valens_ or simply _aqua_ as it occurs in the text. the terms _aqua fortis_ and _aqua regia_ had come into use prior to agricola, but he does not use them; the alchemists used various terms, often _aqua dissolvia_. it is apparent from the uses to which this reagent was put in separating gold and silver, from the method of clarifying it with silver and from the red fumes, that agricola could have had practical contact only with nitric acid. it is probable that he has copied part of the recipes for the compounds to be distilled from the alchemists and from such works as the _probierbüchlein_. in any event he could not have had experience with them all, for in some cases the necessary ingredients for making nitric acid are not all present, and therefore could be of no use for gold and silver separation. the essential ingredients for the production of this acid by distillation, were saltpetre, water, and either vitriol or alum. the other substances mentioned were unnecessary, and any speculation as to the combinations which would result, forms a useful exercise in chemistry, but of little purpose here. the first recipe would no doubt produce hydrochloric acid. [ ] agricola, in the _interpretatio_, gives the german equivalent for the latin _aerugo_ as _spanschgrün_--"because it was first brought to germany from spain; foreigners call it _viride aeris_ (copper green)." the english "verdigris" is a corruption of _vert de grice_. both verdigris and white lead were very ancient products, and they naturally find mention together among the ancient authors. the earliest description of the method of making is from the rd century b.c., by theophrastus, who says ( - ): "but these are works of art, as is also ceruse (_psimythion_) to make which, lead is placed in earthen vessels over sharp vinegar, and after it has acquired some thickness of a kind of rust, which it commonly does in about ten days, they open the vessels and scrape off, as it were, a kind of foulness; they then place the lead over the vinegar again, repeating over and over again the same method of scraping it till it is wholly dissolved; what has been scraped off they then beat to powder and boil for a long time; and what at last subsides to the bottom of the vessel is the white lead.... also in a manner somewhat resembling this, verdigris (_ios_) is made, for copper is placed over lees of wine (grape refuse?), and the rust which it acquires by this means is taken off for use. and it is by this means that the rust which appears is produced." (based on hill's translation.) vitruvius (vii, ), dioscorides (v, ), and pliny (xxxiv, and ), all describe the method of making somewhat more elaborately. [ ] _amiantus_ (_interpretatio_ gives _federwis_, _pliant_, _salamanderhar_). from agricola's elaborate description in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) there can be no doubt that he means asbestos. this mineral was well-known to the ancients, and is probably earliest referred to ( rd century b.c.) by theophrastus in the following passage ( ): "there is also found in the mines of scaptesylae a stone, in its external appearance somewhat resembling wood, on which, if oil be poured, it burns; but when the oil is burnt away, the burning of the stone ceases, as if it were in itself not liable to such accidents." there can be no doubt that strabo (x, ) describes the mineral: "at carystus there is found in the earth a stone, which is combed like wool, and woven, so that napkins are made of this substance, which, when soiled, are thrown into the fire and cleaned, as in the washing of linen." it is also described by dioscorides (v, ) and pliny (xix, ). asbestos cloth has been found in pre-augustinian roman tombs. [ ] this list of four recipes is even more obscure than the previous list. if they were distilled, the first and second mixtures would not produce nitric acid, although possibly some sulphuric would result. the third might yield nitric, and the fourth _aqua regia_. in view of the water, they were certainly not used as cements, and the first and second are deficient in the vital ingredients. [ ] _distillation_, at least in crude form, is very old. aristotle (_meteorologica_, iv.) states that sweet water can be made by evaporating salt-water and condensing the steam. dioscorides and pliny both describe the production of mercury by distillation (note , p. ). the alchemists of the alexandrian school, from the st to the th centuries, mention forms of imperfect apparatus--an ample discussion of which may be found in kopp, _beiträge zur geschichte der chemie_, braunschweig, , p. . [ ] it is desirable to note the contents of the residues in the retort, for it is our belief that these are the materials to which the author refers as "lees of the water which separates gold from silver," in many places in book vii. they would be strange mixtures of sodium, potassium, aluminium sulphates, with silica, brickdust, asbestos, and various proportions of undigested vitriol, salt, saltpetre, alum, iron oxides, etc. their effect must have been uncertain. many old german metallurgies also refer to the _todenkopf der scheidwasser_, among them the _probierbüchlein_ before agricola, and after him lazarus ercker (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten_, etc., prague, ). see also note , p. . [ ] this use of silver could apply to one purpose only, that is, the elimination of minor amounts of hydrochloric from the nitric acid, the former originating no doubt from the use of salt among the ingredients. the silver was thus converted into a chloride and precipitated. this use of a small amount of silver to purify the nitric acid was made by metallurgists down to fairly recent times. biringuccio (iv, ) and lazarus ercker (p. ) both recommend that the silver be dissolved first in a small amount of acid, and the solution poured into the newly-manufactured supply. they both recommend preserving this precipitate and its cupellation after melting with lead--which agricola apparently overlooked. [ ] in this description of parting by nitric acid, the author digresses from his main theme on pages and , to explain a method apparently for small quantities where the silver was precipitated by copper, and to describe another cryptic method of precipitation. these subjects are referred to in notes and below. the method of parting set out here falls into six stages: _a_--cupellation, _b_--granulation, _c_--solution in acid, _d_--treatment of the gold residues, _e_--evaporation of the solution, _f_--reduction of the silver nitrate. for nitric acid parting, bullion must be free from impurities, which cupellation would ensure; if copper were left in, it would have the effect he mentions if we understand "the silver separated from the gold soon unites with it again," to mean that the silver unites with the copper, for the copper would go into solution and come down with the silver on evaporation. agricola does not specifically mention the necessity of an excess of silver in this description, although he does so elsewhere, and states that the ratio must be at least three parts silver to one part gold. the first description of the solution of the silver is clear enough, but that on p. is somewhat difficult to follow, for the author states that the bullion is placed in a retort with the acid, and that distillation is carried on between each additional charge of acid. so far as the arrangement of a receiver might relate to the saving of any acid that came over accidentally in the boiling, it can be understood, but to distill off much acid would soon result in the crystallization of the silver nitrate, which would greatly impede the action of subsequent acid additions, and finally the gold could not be separated from such nitrate in the way described. the explanation may be (apart from incidental evaporation when heating) that the acids used were very weak, and that by the evaporation of a certain amount of water, not only was the acid concentrated, but room was provided for the further charges. the acid in the gold wash-water, mentioned in the following paragraph, was apparently thus concentrated. the "glass" mentioned as being melted with litharge, argols, nitre, etc., was no doubt the silver nitrate. the precipitation of the silver from the solution as a chloride, by the use of salt, so generally used during the th and th centuries, was known in agricola's time, although he does not mention it. it is mentioned in geber and the _probierbüchlein_. the clarity of the latter on the subject is of some interest (p. a): "how to pulverise silver and again make it into silver. take the silver and dissolve it in water with the _starckenwasser_, _aqua fort_, and when that is done, take the silver water and pour it into warm salty water, and immediately the silver settles to the bottom and becomes powder. let it stand awhile until it has well settled, then pour away the water from it and dry the settlings, which will become a powder like ashes. afterward one can again make it into silver. take the powder and put it on a _test_, and add thereto the powder from the settlings from which the _aqua forte_ has been made, and add lead. then if there is a great deal, blow on it until the lead has incorporated itself ... blow it until it _plickt_ (_blickens_). then you will have as much silver as before." [ ] the silver is apparently precipitated by the copper of the bowl. it would seem that this method was in considerable use for small amounts of silver nitrate in the th century. lazarus ercker gives elaborate directions for this method (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten_, etc., prague, , p. ). [ ] we confess to a lack of understanding of this operation with leaves of lead and copper. [ ] we do not understand this "appearance of black." if the nitrate came into contact with organic matter it would, of course, turn black by reduction of the silver, and sunlight would have the same effect. [ ] this would be equal to from to parts of copper in , . [ ] as _siliquae_ are _uncia_, then / _siliqua_ in _unciae_ would equal one part silver in , parts gold, or about . fine. [ ] the object of this treatment with sulphur and copper is to separate a considerable portion of silver from low-grade bullion (_i.e._, silver containing some gold), in preparation for final treatment of the richer gold-silver alloy with nitric acid. silver sulphide is created by adding sulphur, and is drawn off in a silver-copper regulus. after the first sentence, the author uses silver alone where he obviously means silver "containing some gold," and further he speaks of the "gold lump" (_massula_) where he likewise means a button containing a great deal of silver. for clarity we introduced the term "regulus" for the latin _mistura_. the operation falls into six stages: _a_, granulation; _b_, sulphurization of the granulated bullion; _c_, melting to form a combination of the silver sulphide with copper into a regulus, an alloy of gold and silver settling out; _d_, repetition of the treatment to abstract further silver from the "lump;" _e_, refining the "lump" with nitric acid; _f_, recovery of the silver from the regulus by addition of lead, liquation and cupellation. the use of a "circle of fire" secures a low temperature that would neither volatilize the sulphur nor melt the bullion. the amount of sulphur given is equal to a ratio of parts bullion and parts sulphur. we are not certain about the translation of the paragraph in relation to the proportion of copper added to the granulated bullion; because in giving definite quantities of copper to be added in the contingencies of various original copper contents in the bullion, it would be expected that they were intended to produce some positive ratio of copper and silver. however, the ratio as we understand the text in various cases works out to irregular amounts, _i.e._, parts of silver to , . , , . , . , . , or parts of copper. in order to obtain complete separation there should be sufficient sulphur to have formed a sulphide of the copper as well as of the silver, or else some of the copper and silver would come down metallic with the "lump". the above ratio of copper added to the sulphurized silver, in the first instance would give about parts of copper and parts of sulphur to parts of silver. the copper would require . parts of sulphur to convert it into sulphide, and the silver about parts, or a total of . parts required against parts furnished. it is plain, therefore, that insufficient sulphur is given. further, the litharge would probably take up some sulphur and throw down metallic lead into the "lump". however, it is necessary that there should be some free metallics to collect the gold, and, therefore, the separation could not be complete in one operation. in any event, on the above ratios the "gold lump" from the first operation was pretty coppery, and contained some lead and probably a good deal of silver, because the copper would tend to desulphurize the latter. the "powder" of glass-galls, salt, and litharge would render the mass more liquid and assist the "gold lump" to separate out. the roman silver _sesterce_, worth about - / pence or . american cents, was no doubt used by agricola merely to indicate an infinitesimal quantity. the test to be applied to the regulus by way of cupellation and parting of a sample with nitric acid, requires no explanation. the truth of the description as to determining whether the gold had settled out, by using a chalked iron rod, can only be tested by actual experiment. it is probable, however, that the sulphur in the regulus would attack the iron and make it black. the re-melting of the regulus, if some gold remains in it, with copper and "powder" without more sulphur, would provide again free metallics to gather the remaining gold, and by desulphurizing some silver this button would probably not be very pure. from the necessity for some free metallics besides the gold in the first treatment, it will be seen that a repetition of the sulphur addition and re-melting is essential gradually to enrich the "lump". why more copper is added is not clear. in the second melting, the ratio is parts of the "gold lump", parts of sulphur and parts copper. in this case the added copper would require about parts sulphur, and if we consider the deficiency of sulphur in the first operations pertained entirely to the copper, then about . parts would be required to make good the shortage, or in other words the second addition of sulphur is sufficient. in the final parting of the "lump" it will be noticed that the author states that the silver ratio must be arranged as three of silver to one of gold. as to the recovery of the silver from the regulus, he states that _librae_ of silver give _librae_ of _regulus_. to this, _librae_ of lead are added, and it is melted in the "second" furnace, and the litharge and hearth-lead made are re-melted in the "first" furnace, the cakes made being again treated in the "third" furnace to separate the copper and lead. the "first" is usually the blast furnace, the "second" furnace is the cupellation furnace, and the "third" the liquation furnace. it is difficult to understand this procedure. the charge sent to the cupellation furnace would contain between % and % copper, and between % and % sulphur. however, possibly the sulphur and copper could be largely abstracted in the skimmings from the cupellation furnace, these being subsequently liquated in the "third" furnace. it may be noted that two whole lines from this paragraph are omitted in the editions of _de re metallica_ after . for historical note on sulphur separation see page . [ ] there can be no doubt that in most instances agricola's _stibium_ is antimony sulphide, but it does not follow that it was the mineral _stibnite_, nor have we considered it desirable to introduce the precision of either of these modern terms, and have therefore retained the latin term where the sulphide is apparently intended. the use of antimony sulphide to part silver from gold is based upon the greater affinity of silver than antimony for sulphur. thus the silver, as in the last process, is converted into a sulphide, and is absorbed in the regulus, while the metallic antimony alloys with the gold and settles to the bottom of the pot. this process has several advantages over the sulphurization with crude sulphur; antimony is a more convenient vehicle of sulphur, for it saves the preliminary sulphurization with its attendant difficulties of volatilization of the sulphur; it also saves the granulation necessary in the former method; and the treatment of the subsequent products is simpler. however, it is possible that the sulphur-copper process was better adapted to bullion where the proportion of gold was low, because the fineness of the bullion mentioned in connection with the antimonial process was apparently much higher than the previous process. for instance, a _bes_ of gold, containing , , or double _sextulae_ of silver would be . , . or . fine. the antimonial method would have an advantage over nitric acid separation, in that high-grade bullion could be treated direct without artificial decrease of fineness required by inquartation to about . fine, with the consequent incidental losses of silver involved. the process in this description falls into six operations: _a_, sulphurization of the silver by melting with antimony sulphide; _b_, separation of the gold "lump" (_massula_) by jogging; _c_, re-melting the regulus (_mistura_) three or four times for recovery of further "lumps"; _d_, re-melting of the "lump" four times, with further additions of antimony sulphide; _e_, cupellation of the regulus to recover the silver; _f_, cupellation of the antimony from the "lump" to recover the gold. percy seems to think it difficult to understand the insistence upon the addition of copper. biringuccio (iv, ) states, among other things, that copper makes the ingredients more liquid. the later metallurgists, however, such as ercker, lohneys, and schlüter, do not mention this addition; they do mention the "swelling and frothing," and recommend that the crucible should be only partly filled. as to the copper, we suggest that it would desulphurize part of the antimony and thus free some of that metal to collect the gold. if we assume bullion of the medium fineness mentioned and containing no copper, then the proportions in the first charge would be about parts gold, parts silver, parts sulphur, parts antimony, and parts copper. the silver and copper would take up . parts of sulphur, and thus free about . parts of antimony as metallics. it would thus appear that the amount of metallics provided to assist the collection of the gold was little enough, and that the copper in freeing . parts of the antimony was useful. it appears to have been necessary to have a large excess of antimony sulphide; for even with the great surplus in the first charge, the reaction was only partial, as is indicated by the necessity for repeated melting with further antimony. the later metallurgists all describe the separation of the metallic antimony from the gold as being carried out by oxidation of the antimony, induced by a jet of air into the crucible, this being continued until the mass appears limpid and no cloud forms in the surface in cooling. agricola describes the separation of the silver from the regulus by preliminary melting with argols, glass-gall, and some lead, and subsequent cupellation of the lead-silver alloy. the statement that unless this preliminary melting is done, the cupel will absorb silver, might be consonant with an attempt at cupellation of sulphides, and it is difficult to see that much desulphurizing could take place with the above fluxes. in fact, in the later descriptions of the process, iron is used in this melting, and we are under the impression that agricola had omitted this item for a desulphurizing reagent. at the dresden mint, in the methods described by percy (metallurgy silver and gold, p. ) the gold lumps were tested for fineness, and from this the amount of gold retained in the regulus was computed. it is not clear from agricola's account whether the test with nitric acid was applied to the regulus or to the "lumps". for historical notes see p. . [ ] as will be shown in the historical note, this process of separating gold and silver is of great antiquity--in all probability the only process known prior to the middle ages, and in any event, the first one used. in general the process was performed by "cementing" the disintegrated bullion with a paste and subjecting the mass to long-continued heat at a temperature under the melting point of the bullion. the cement (_compositio_) is of two different species; in the first species saltpetre and vitriol and some aluminous or silicious medium are the essential ingredients, and through them the silver is converted into nitrate and absorbed by the mass; in the second species, common salt and the same sort of medium are the essentials, and in this case the silver is converted into a chloride. agricola does not distinguish between these two species, for, as shown by the text, his ingredients are badly mixed. the process as here described falls into five operations: _a_, granulation of the bullion or preparation of leaves; _b_, heating alternate layers of cement and bullion in pots; _c_, washing the gold to free it of cement; _d_, melting the gold with borax or soda; _e_, treatment of the cement by way of melting with lead and cupellation to recover the silver. investigation by boussingault (_ann. de chimie_, , p. - ), d'elhuyar (_bergbaukunde_, leipzig, , vol. ii, p. ), and percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, p. ), of the action of common salt upon silver under cementation conditions, fairly well demonstrated the reactions involved in the use of this species of cement. certain factors are essential besides salt: _a_, the admission of air, which is possible through the porous pots used; _b_, the presence of some moisture to furnish hydrogen; _c_, the addition of alumina or silica. the first would be provided by agricola in the use of new pots, the second possibly by use of wood fuel in a closed furnace, the third by the inclusion of brickdust. the alumina or silica at high temperatures decomposes the salt, setting free hydrochloric acid and probably also free chlorine. the result of the addition of vitriol in agricola's ingredients is not discussed by those investigators, but inasmuch as vitriol decomposes into sulphuric acid under high temperatures, this acid would react upon the salt to free hydrochloric acid, and thus assist to overcome deficiencies in the other factors. it is possible also that sulphuric acid under such conditions would react directly upon the silver to form silver sulphates, which would be absorbed into the cement. as nitric acid is formed by vitriol and saltpetre at high temperatures, the use of these two substances as a cementing compound would produce nitric acid, which would at once attack the silver to form silver nitrate, which would be absorbed into the melted cement. in this case the brickdust probably acted merely as a vehicle for the absorption, and to lower the melting point of the mass and prevent fusion of the metal. while nitric acid will only part gold and silver when the latter is in great excess, yet when applied as fumes under cementation conditions it appears to react upon a minor ratio of silver. while the reactions of the two above species of compounds can be accounted for in a general way, the problem furnished by agricola's statements is by no means simple, for only two of his compounds are simply salt cements, the others being salt and nitre mixtures. an inspection of these compounds produces at once a sense of confusion. salt is present in every compound, saltpetre in all but two, vitriol in all but three. lewis (_traité singulier de métallique_, paris, , ii, pp. - ), in discussing these processes, states that salt and saltpetre must never be used together, as he asserts that in this case _aqua regia_ would be formed and the gold dissolved. agricola, however, apparently found no such difficulty. as to the other ingredients, apart from nitre, salt, vitriol, and brickdust, they can have been of no use. agricola himself points out that ingredients of "metallic origin" corrupt the gold and that brickdust and common salt are sufficient. in a description of this process in the _probierbüchlein_ (p. ), no nitre is mentioned. this booklet does mention the recovery of the silver from the cement by amalgamation with mercury--the earliest mention of silver amalgamation. [ ] while a substance which we now know to be natural zinc sulphate was known to agricola (see note , p. ), it is hardly possible that it is referred to here. if green vitriol be dehydrated and powdered, it is white. [ ] the processes involved by these "other" compounds are difficult to understand, because of the lack of information given as to the method of operation. it might be thought that these were five additional recipes for cementing pastes, but an inspection of their internal composition soon dissipates any such assumption, because, apart from the lack of brickdust or some other similar necessary ingredient, they all contain more or less sulphur. after describing a preliminary treatment of the bullion by cupellation, the author says: "then the silver is sprinkled with two _unciae_ of that powdered compound and is stirred. afterward it is poured into another crucible ... and violently shaken. the rest is performed according to the process i have already explained." as he has already explained four or five parting processes, it is not very clear to which one this refers. in fact, the whole of this discussion reads as if he were reporting hearsay, for it lacks in every respect the infinite detail of his usual descriptions. in any event, if the powder was introduced into the molten bullion, the effect would be to form some silver sulphides in a regulus of different composition depending upon the varied ingredients of different compounds. the enriched bullion was settled out in a "lump" and treated "as i have explained," which is not clear. [ ] historical note on parting gold and silver. although the earlier classics contain innumerable references to refining gold and silver, there is little that is tangible in them, upon which to hinge the metallurgy of parting the precious metals. it appears to us, however, that some ability to part the metals is implied in the use of the touchstone, for we fail to see what use a knowledge of the ratio of gold and silver in bullion could have been without the power to separate them. the touchstone was known to the greeks at least as early as the th century b.c. (see note , p. ), and a part of theophrastus' statement (lxxviii.) on this subject bears repetition in this connection: "the nature of the stone which tries gold is also very wonderful, as it seems to have the same power as fire; which is also a test of that metal.... the trial by fire is by the colour and the quantity lost by it, but that of the stone is made only by rubbing," etc. this trial by fire certainly implies a parting of the metals. it has been argued from the common use of _electrum_--a gold-silver alloy--by the ancients, that they did not know how to part the two metals or they would not have wasted gold in such a manner, but it seems to us that the very fact that _electrum_ was a positive alloy ( % gold, % silver), and that it was deliberately made (pliny xxxiii, ) and held of value for its supposed superior brilliancy to silver and the belief that goblets made of it detected poison, is sufficient answer to this. to arrive by a process of elimination, we may say that in the middle ages, between and a.d., there were known four methods of parting these metals: _a_, parting by solution in nitric acid; _b_, sulphurization of the silver in finely-divided bullion by heating it with sulphur, and the subsequent removal of the silver sulphide in a regulus by melting with copper, iron, or lead; _c_, melting with an excess of antimony sulphide, and the direct conversion of the silver to sulphide and its removal in a regulus; _d_, cementation of the finely-divided bullion with salt, and certain necessary collateral re-agents, and the separation of the silver by absorption into the cement as silver chloride. inasmuch as it can be clearly established that mineral acids were unknown to the ancients, we can eliminate that method. further, we may say at once that there is not, so far as has yet been found, even a remote statement that could be applied to the sulphide processes. as to cementation with salt, however, we have some data at about the beginning of the christian era. before entering into a more detailed discussion of the history of various processes, it may be useful, in a word, to fix in the mind of the reader our view of the first authority on various processes, and his period. ( ) separation by cementation with salt, strabo (?) b.c.- a.d.; pliny - a.d. ( ) separation by sulphur, theophilus, - a.d. ( ) separation by nitric acid, geber, prior to th century. ( ) separation by antimony sulphide, basil valentine, end th century, or _probierbüchlein_, beginning th century. ( ) separation by antimony sulphide and copper, or sulphur and copper, _probierbüchlein_, beginning th century. ( ) separation by cementation with saltpetre, agricola, . ( ) separation by sulphur and iron, schlüter, . ( ) separation by sulphuric acid, d'arcet, . ( ) separation by chloride gas, thompson, . ( ) separation electrolytically, latter part th century. parting by cementation. the following passage from strabo is of prime interest as the first definite statement on parting of any kind (iii, , ): "that when they have melted the gold and purified it by means of a kind of aluminous earth, the residue left is _electrum_. this, which contains a mixture of silver and gold, being again subjected to the fire, the silver is separated and the gold left (pure); for this metal is easily dissipated and fat, and on this account gold is most easily molten by straw, the flame of which is soft, and bearing a similarity (to the gold) causes it easily to dissolve, whereas coal, besides wasting a great deal, melts it too much, by reason of its vehemence, and carries it off (in vapour)." this statement has provoked the liveliest discussion, not only on account of the metallurgical interest and obscurity, but also because of differences of view as to its translation; we have given that of mr. h. c. hamilton (london, ). a review of this discussion will be found in percy's metallurgy of gold and silver, p. . that it refers to cementation at all hangs by a slender thread, but it seems more nearly this than anything else. pliny (xxxiii, ) is a little more ample: "(the gold) is heated with double its weight of salt and thrice its weight of _misy_, and again with two portions of salt and one of a stone which they call _schistos_. the _virus_ is drawn out when these things are burnt together in an earthen crucible, itself remaining pure and incorrupt, the remaining ash being preserved in an earthen pot and mixed with water as a lotion for _lichen_ (ring-worm) on the face." percy (metallurgy silver and gold, p. ) rightly considers that this undoubtedly refers to the parting of silver and gold by cementation with common salt. especially as pliny further on states that with regard to _misy_, "in purifying gold they mix it with this substance." there can be no doubt from the explanations of pliny and dioscorides that _misy_ was an oxidized pyrite, mostly iron sulphate. assuming the latter case, then all of the necessary elements of cementation, _i.e._, vitriol, salt, and an aluminous or silicious element, are present. the first entirely satisfactory evidence on parting is to be found in theophilus ( th century), and we quote the following from hendrie's translation (p. ): "of heating the gold. take gold, of whatsoever sort it may be, and beat it until thin leaves are made in breadth three fingers, and as long as you can. then cut out pieces that are equally long and wide and join them together equally, and perforate through all with a fine cutting iron. afterwards take two earthen pots proved in the fire, of such size that the gold can lie flat in them, and break a tile very small, or clay of the furnace burned and red, weigh it, powdered, into two equal parts, and add to it a third part salt for the same weight; which things being slightly sprinkled with urine, are mixed together so that they may not adhere together, but are scarcely wetted, and put a little of it upon a pot about the breadth of the gold, then a piece of the gold itself, and again the composition, and again the gold, which in the digestion is thus always covered, that gold may not be in contact with gold; and thus fill the pot to the top and cover it above with another pot, which you carefully lute round with clay, mixed and beaten, and you place it over the fire, that it may be dried. in the meantime compose a furnace from stones and clay, two feet in height, and a foot and a half in breadth, wide at the bottom, but narrow at the top, where there is an opening in the middle, in which project three long and hard stones, which may be able to sustain the flame for a long time, upon which you place the pots with the gold, and cover them with other tiles in abundance. then supply fire and wood, and take care that a copious fire is not wanting for the space of a day and night. in the morning taking out the gold, again melt, beat and place it in the furnace as before. again also, after a day and night, take it away and mixing a little copper with it, melt it as before, and replace it upon the furnace. and when you have taken it away a third time, wash and dry it carefully, and so weighing it, see how much is wanting, then fold it up and keep it." the next mention is by geber, of whose date and authenticity there is great doubt, but, in any event, the work bearing his name is generally considered to be prior to the th, although he has been placed as early as the th century. we quote from russell's translation, pp. and , which we have checked with the latin edition of : "sol, or gold, is beaten into thin plates and with them and common salt very well prepared lay upon lay in a vessel of calcination which set into the furnace and calcine well for three days until the whole is subtily calcined. then take it out, grind well and wash it with vinegar, and dry it in the sun. afterwards grind it well with half its weight of cleansed _sal-armoniac_; then set it to be dissolved until the whole be dissolved into most clear water." further on: "now we will declare the way of cementing. seeing it is known to us that cement is very necessary in the examen of perfection, we say it is compounded of inflammable things. of this kind are, all blackening, flying, penetrating, and burned things; as is vitriol, _sal-armoniac_, _flos aeris_ (copper oxide scales) and the ancient _fictile_ stone (earthen pots), and a very small quantity, or nothing, of sulphur, and urine with like acute and penetrating things. all these are impasted with urine and spread upon thin plates of that body which you intend shall be examined by this way of probation. then the said plates must be laid upon a grate of iron included in an earthen vessel, yet so as one touch not the other that the virtue of the fire may have free and equal access to them. thus the whole must be kept in fire in a strong earthen vessel for the space of three days. but here great caution is required that the plates may be kept but not melt." albertus magnus ( - ) _de mineralibus et rebus metallicis_, lib. iv, describes the process as follows:--"but when gold is to be purified an earthen vessel is made like a cucurbit or dish, and upon it is placed a similar vessel; and they are luted together with the tenacious lute called by alchemists the lute of wisdom. in the upper vessel there are numerous holes by which vapour and smoke may escape; afterwards the gold in the form of short thin leaves is arranged in the vessel, the leaves being covered consecutively with a mixture obtained by mixing together soot, salt, and brick dust; and the whole is strongly heated until the gold becomes perfectly pure and the base substances with which it was mixed are consumed." it will be noted that salt is the basis of all these cement compounds. we may also add that those of biringuccio and all other writers prior to agricola were of the same kind, our author being the first to mention those with nitre. parting with nitric acid. the first mention of nitric acid is in connection with this purpose, and, therefore, the early history of this reagent becomes the history of the process. mineral acids of any kind were unknown to the greeks or romans. the works of the alchemists and others from the th to the th centuries, have been well searched by chemical historians for indications of knowledge of the mineral acids, and many of such suspected indications are of very doubtful order. in any event, study of the alchemists for the roots of chemistry is fraught with the greatest difficulty, for not only is there the large ratio of fraud which characterised their operations, but there is even the much larger field of fraud which characterised the authorship and dates of writing attributed to various members of the cult. the mention of saltpetre by roger bacon ( - ), and albertus magnus ( - ), have caused some strain to read a knowledge of mineral acids into their works, but with doubtful result. further, the monk theophilus ( - ) is supposed to have mentioned products which would be mineral acids, but by the most careful scrutiny of that work we have found nothing to justify such an assertion, and it is of importance to note that as theophilus was a most accomplished gold and silver worker, his failure to mention it is at least evidence that the process was not generally known. the transcribed manuscripts and later editions of such authors are often altered to bring them "up-to-date." the first mention is in the work attributed to geber, as stated above, of date prior to the th century. the following passage from his _de inventione veritatis_ (nuremberg edition, , p. ) is of interest:--"first take one _libra_ of vitriol of cyprus and one-half _libra_ of saltpetre and one-quarter of alum of jameni, extract the _aqua_ with the redness of the alembic--for it is very solvative--and use as in the foregoing chapters. this can be made acute if in it you dissolve a quarter of sal-ammoniac, which dissolves gold, sulphur, and silver." distilling vitriol, saltpetre and alum would produce nitric acid. the addition of sal-ammoniac would make _aqua regia_; geber used this solvent water--probably without being made "more acute"--to dissolve silver, and he crystallized out silver nitrate. it would not be surprising to find all the alchemists subsequent to geber mentioning acids. it will thus be seen that even the approximate time at which the mineral-acids were first made cannot be determined, but it was sometime previous to the th century, probably not earlier than the th century. beckmann (hist. of inventions ii, p. ) states that it appears to have been an old tradition that acid for separating the precious metals was first used at venice by some germans; that they chiefly separated the gold from spanish silver and by this means acquired great riches. beckmann considers that the first specific description of the process seems to be in the work of william budaeus (_de asse_, , iii, p. ), who speaks of it as new at this time. he describes the operation of one, le conte, at paris, who also acquired a fortune through the method. beckmann and others have, however, entirely overlooked the early _probierbüchlein_. if our conclusions are correct that the first of these began to appear at about , then they give the first description of inquartation. this book (see appendix) is made up of recipes, like a cook-book, and four or five different recipes are given for this purpose; of these we give one, which sufficiently indicates a knowledge of the art (p. ): "if you would part them do it this way: beat the silver which you suppose to contain gold, as thin as possible; cut it in small pieces and place it in 'strong' water (_starkwasser_). put it on a mild fire till it becomes warm and throws up blisters or bubbles. then take it and pour off the water into a copper-bowl; let it stand and cool. then the silver settles itself round the copper bowl; let the silver dry in the copper bowl, then pour the water off and melt the silver in a crucible. then take the gold also out of the glass _kolken_ and melt it together." biringuccio ( , book vi.) describes the method, but with much less detail than agricola. he made his acid from alum and saltpetre and calls it _lacque forti_. parting with sulphur. this process first appears in theophilus ( - ), and in form is somewhat different from that mentioned by agricola. we quote from hendrie's translation, p. , "how gold is separated from silver. when you have scraped the gold from silver, place this scraping in a small cup in which gold or silver is accustomed to be melted, and press a small linen cloth upon it, that nothing may by chance be abstracted from it by the wind of the bellows, and placing it before the furnace, melt it; and directly lay fragments of sulphur in it, according to the quantity of the scraping, and carefully stir it with a thin piece of charcoal until its fumes cease; and immediately pour it into an iron mould. then gently beat it upon the anvil lest by chance some of that black may fly from it which the sulphur has burnt, because it is itself silver. for the sulphur consumes nothing of the gold, but the silver only, which it thus separates from the gold, and which you will carefully keep. again melt this gold in the same small cup as before, and add sulphur. this being stirred and poured out, break what has become black and keep it, and do thus until the gold appear pure. then gather together all that black, which you have carefully kept, upon the cup made from the bone and ash, and add lead, and so burn it that you may recover the silver. but if you wish to keep it for the service of niello, before you burn it add to it copper and lead, according to the measure mentioned above, and mix with sulphur." this process appears in the _probierbüchlein_ in many forms, different recipes containing other ingredients besides sulphur, such as salt, saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, and other things more or less effective. in fact, a series of hybrid methods between absolute melting with sulphur and cementation with salt, were in use, much like those mentioned by agricola on p. . parting with antimony sulphide. the first mention of this process lies either in basil valentine's "triumphant chariot of antimony" or in the first _probierbüchlein_. the date to be assigned to the former is a matter of great doubt. it was probably written about the end of the th century, but apparently published considerably later. the date of the _probierbüchlein_ we have referred to above. the statement in the "triumphal chariot" is as follows (waite's translation, p. - ): "the elixir prepared in this way has the same power of penetrating and pervading the body with its purifying properties that antimony has of penetrating and purifying gold.... this much, however, i have proved beyond a possibility of doubt, that antimony not only purifies gold and frees it from foreign matter, but it also ameliorates all other metals, but it does the same for animal bodies." there are most specific descriptions of this process in the other works attributed to valentine, but their authenticity is so very doubtful that we do not quote. the _probierbüchlein_ gives several recipes for this process, all to the same metallurgical effect, of which we quote two: "how to separate silver from gold. take part of golden silver, part of _spiesglass_, part copper, part lead; melt them together in a crucible. when melted pour into the crucible pounded sulphur and directly you have poured it in cover it up with soft lime so that the fumes cannot escape, and let it get cold and you will find your gold in a button. put that same in a pot and blow on it." "how to part gold and silver by melting or fire. take as much gold-silver as you please and granulate it; take _mark_ of these grains, _mark_ of powder; put them together in a crucible. cover it with a small cover, put it in the fire, and let it slowly heat; blow on it gently until it melts; stir it all well together with a stick, pour it out into a mould, strike the mould gently with a knife so that the button may settle better, let it cool, then turn the mould over, strike off the button and twice as much _spiesglas_ as the button weighs, put them in a crucible, blow on it till it melts, then pour it again into a mould and break away the button as at first. if you want the gold to be good always add to the button twice as much _spiesglass_. it is usually good gold in three meltings. afterward take the button, place it on a cupel, blow on it till it melts. and if it should happen that the gold is covered with a membrane, then add a very little lead, then it shines (_plickt_) and becomes clearer." biringuccio ( ) also gives a fairly clear exposition of this method. all the old refiners varied the process by using mixtures of salt, antimony sulphide, and sulphur, in different proportions, with and without lead or copper; the net effect was the same. later than agricola these methods of parting bullion by converting the silver into a sulphide and carrying it off in a regulus took other forms. for instance, schlüter (_hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ) describes a method by which, after the granulated bullion had been sulphurized by cementation with sulphur in pots, it was melted with metallic iron. lampadius (_grundriss einer allgemeinen hüttenkunde_, göttingen, ) describes a treatment of the bullion, sulphurized as above, with litharge, thus creating a lead-silver regulus and a lead-silver-gold bullion which had to be repeatedly put through the same cycle. the principal object of these processes was to reduce silver bullion running low in gold to a ratio acceptable for nitric acid treatment. before closing the note on the separation of gold and silver, we may add that with regard to the three processes largely used to-day, the separation by solution of the silver from the bullion by concentrated sulphuric acid where silver sulphate is formed, was first described by d'arcet, paris, in ; the separation by introducing chlorine gas into the molten bullion and thus forming silver chlorides was first described by lewis thompson in a communication to the society of arts, , and was first applied on a large scale by f. b. miller at the sydney mint in - ; we do not propose to enter into the discussion as to who is the inventor of electrolytic separation. [ ] there were three methods of gilding practised in the middle ages--the first by hammering on gold leaf; the second by laying a thin plate of gold on a thicker plate of silver, expanding both together, and fabricating the articles out of the sheets thus prepared; and the third by coating over the article with gold amalgam, and subsequently driving off the mercury by heat. copper and iron objects were silver-plated by immersing them in molten silver after coating with sal-ammoniac or borax. tinning was done in the same way. [ ] see note , p. , for complete discussion of amalgamation. [ ] these nine methods of separating gold from copper are based fundamentally upon the sulphur introduced in each case, whereby the copper is converted into sulphides and separated off as a matte. the various methods are much befogged by the introduction of extraneous ingredients, some of which serve as fluxes, while others would provide metallics in the shape of lead or antimony for collection of the gold, but others would be of no effect, except to increase the matte or slag. inspection will show that the amount of sulphur introduced in many instances is in so large ratio that unless a good deal of volatilization took place there would be insufficient metallics to collect the gold, if it happened to be in small quantities. in a general way the auriferous button is gradually impoverished in copper until it is fit for cupellation with lead, except in one case where the final stage is accomplished by amalgamation. the lore of the old refiners was much after the order of that of modern cooks--they treasured and handed down various efficacious recipes, and of those given here most can be found in identical terms in the _probierbüchlein_, some editions of which, as mentioned before, were possibly fifty years before _de re metallica_. this knowledge, no doubt, accumulated over long experience; but, so far as we are aware, there is no description of sulphurizing copper for this purpose prior to the publication mentioned. [ ] _sal artificiosus_. the compound given under this name is of quite different ingredients from the stock fluxes given in book vii under the same term. the method of preparation, no doubt, dehydrated this one; it would, however, be quite effective for its purpose of sulphurizing the copper. there is a compound given in the _probierbüchlein_ identical with this, and it was probably agricola's source of information. [ ] throughout the book the cupellation furnace is styled the _secunda fornax_ (glossary, _treibeherd_). except in one or two cases, where there is some doubt as to whether the author may not refer to the second variety of blast furnace, we have used "cupellation furnace." agricola's description of the actual operation of the old german cupellation is less detailed than that of such authors as schlüter (_hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ) or winkler (_beschreibung der freyberger schmelz huttenprozesse_, freyberg, ). the operation falls into four periods. in the first period, or a short time after melting, the first scum--the _abzug_--arises. this material contains most of the copper, iron, zinc, or sulphur impurities in the lead. in the second period, at a higher temperature, and with the blast turned on, a second scum arises--the _abstrich_. this material contains most of the antimony and arsenical impurities. in the third stage the litharge comes over. at the end of this stage the silver brightens--"_blicken_"--due to insufficient litharge to cover the entire surface. winkler gives the following average proportion of the various products from a charge of _centners_:-- _abzug_ _centners_, containing % lead _abstrich_ - / " " % " _herdtplei_ - / " " % " impure litharge " " % " litharge " " % " --- total _centners_ he estimates the lead loss at from % to %, and gives the average silver contents of _blicksilber_ as about %. many analyses of the various products may be found in percy (metallurgy of lead, pp. - ), schnabel and lewis (metallurgy, vol. i, p. ); but as they must vary with every charge, a repetition of them here is of little purpose. historical note on cupellation. the cupellation process is of great antiquity, and the separation of silver from lead in this manner very probably antedates the separation of gold and silver. we can be certain that the process has been used continuously for at least , years, and was only supplanted in part by pattinson's crystallization process in , and further invaded by parks' zinc method in , and during the last fifteen years further supplanted in some works by electrolytic methods. however, it yet survives as an important process. it seems to us that there is no explanation possible of the recovery of the large amounts of silver possessed from the earliest times, without assuming reduction of that metal with lead, and this necessitates cupellation. if this be the case, then cupellation was practised in b.c. the subject has been further discussed on p. . the first direct evidence of the process, however, is from the remains at mt. laurion (note , p. ), where the period of greatest activity was at b.c., and it was probably in use long before that time. of literary evidences, there are the many metaphorical references to "fining silver" and "separating dross" in the bible, such as job (xxviii, ), psalms (xii, , lxvi, ), proverbs (xvii, ). the most certain, however, is jeremiah (vi, - ): "they are all brass [_sic_] and iron; they are corrupters. the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away. reprobate silver shall men call them." jeremiah lived about b.c. his contemporary ezekiel (xxii, ) also makes remark: "all they are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of the silver." among greek authors theognis ( th century b.c.) and hippocrates ( th century b.c.) are often cited as mentioning the refining of gold with lead, but we do not believe their statements will stand this construction without strain. aristotle (problems xxiv, ) makes the following remark, which has been construed not only as cupellation, but also as the refining of silver in "tests." "what is the reason that boiling water does not leap out of the vessel ... silver also does this when it is purified. hence those whose office it is in the silversmiths' shops to purify silver, derive gain by appropriation to themselves of the sweepings of silver which leap out of the melting-pot." the quotation of diodorus siculus from agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) on gold refining with lead and salt in egypt we give in note , p. . the methods quoted by strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) from polybius ( - b.c.) for treating silver, which appear to involve cupellation, are given in note , p. . it is not, however, until the beginning of the christian era that we get definite literary information, especially with regard to litharge, in dioscorides and pliny. the former describes many substances under the terms _scoria_, _molybdaena_, _scoria argyros_ and _lithargyros_, which are all varieties of litharge. under the latter term he says (v, ): "one kind is produced from a lead sand (concentrates?), which has been heated in the furnaces until completely fused; another (is made) out of silver; another from lead. the best is from attica, the second (best) from spain; after that the kinds made in puteoli, in campania, and at baia in sicily, for in these places it is mostly produced by burning lead plates. the best of all is that which is a bright golden colour, called _chrysitis_, that from sicily (is called) _argyritis_, that made from silver is called _lauritis_." pliny refers in several passages to litharge (_spuma argenti_) and to what is evidently cupellation, (xxxiii, ): "and this the same agency of fire separates part into lead, which floats on the silver like oil on water" (xxxiv, ). "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting is called _stannum_, the second melting is silver; that which remains in the furnace is _galena_, which is added to a third part of the ore. this being again melted, produced lead with a deduction of two-ninths." assuming _stannum_ to be silver-lead alloy, and _galena_ to be _molybdaena_, and therefore litharge, this becomes a fairly clear statement of cupellation (see note , p. ). he further states (xxxiii, ): "there is made in the same mines what is called _spuma argenti_ (litharge). there are three varieties of it; the best, known as _chrysitis_; the second best, which is called _argyritis_; and a third kind, which is called _molybditis_. and generally all these colours are to be found in the same tubes (see p. ). the most approved kind is that of attica; the next, that which comes from spain. _chrysitis_ is the product from the ore itself; _argyritis_ is made from the silver, and _molybditis_ is the result of smelting of lead, which is done at puteoli, and from this has its name. all three are made as the material when smelted flows from an upper crucible into a lower one. from this last it is raised with an iron bar, and is then twirled round in the flames in order to make it less heavy (made in tubes). thus, as may be easily perceived from the name, it is in reality the _spuma_ of a boiling substance--of the future metal, in fact. it differs from slag in the same way that the scum of a liquid differs from the lees, the one being purged from the material while purifying itself, the other an excretion of the metal when purified." the works of either theophilus ( - a.d.) or geber (prior to the th century) are the first where adequate description of the cupel itself can be found. the uncertainty of dates renders it difficult to say which is earliest. theophilus (hendrie's trans., p. ) says: "how gold is separated from copper: but if at any time you have broken copper or silver-gilt vessels, or any other work, you can in this manner separate the gold. take the bones of whatever animal you please, which (bones) you may have found in the street, and burn them, being cold, grind them finely, and mix with them a third part of beechwood ashes, and make cups as we have mentioned above in the purification of silver; you will dry these at the fire or in the sun. then you carefully scrape the gold from the copper, and you will fold this scraping in lead beaten thin, and one of these cups being placed in the embers before the furnace, and now become warm, you place in this fold of lead with the scraping, and coals being heaped upon it you will blow it. and when it has become melted, in the same manner as silver is accustomed to be purified, sometimes by removing the embers and by adding lead, sometimes by re-cooking and warily blowing, you burn it until, the copper being entirely absorbed, the gold may appear pure." we quote geber from the nuremberg edition of , p. : "now we describe the method of this. take sifted ashes or _calx_, or the powder of the burned bones of animals, or all of them mixed, or some of them; moisten with water, and press it with your hand to make the mixture firm and solid, and in the middle of this bed make a round solid crucible and sprinkle a quantity of crushed glass. then permit it to dry. when it is dry, place into the crucible that which we have mentioned which you intend to test. on it kindle a strong fire, and blow upon the surface of the body that is being tested until it melts, which, when melted, piece after piece of lead is thrown upon it, and blow over it a strong flame. when you see it agitated and moved with strong shaking motion it is not pure. then wait until all of the lead is exhaled. if it vanishes and does not cease its motion it is not purified. then again throw lead and blow again until the lead separates. if it does not become quiet again, throw in lead and blow on it until it is quiet and you see it bright and clear on the surface." cupellation is mentioned by most of the alchemists, but as a metallurgical operation on a large scale the first description is by biringuccio in . [ ] in agricola's text this is "first,"--obviously an error. [ ] the roman _sextarius_ was about a pint. [ ] this sentence continues, _ipsa vero media pars praeterea digito_, to which we are unable to attribute any meaning. [ ] _thus_, or _tus_--"incense." [ ] one _centumpondium_, roman, equals about . lbs. avoirdupois; one _centner_, old german, equals about . lbs. avoirdupois. therefore, if german weights are meant, the maximum charge would be about . short tons; if roman weights, about . short tons. [ ] see description, p. . [ ] _stannum_, as a term for lead-silver alloys, is a term which agricola (_de natura fossilium_, pp. - ) adopted from his views of pliny. in the _interpretatio_ and the glossary he gives the german equivalent as _werk_, which would sufficiently identify his meaning were it not obvious from the context. there can be little doubt that pliny uses the term for lead alloys, but it had come into general use for tin before agricola's time. the roman term was _plumbum candidum_, and as a result of agricola's insistence on using it and _stannum_ in what he conceived was their original sense, he managed to give considerable confusion to mineralogic literature for a century or two. the passages from pliny, upon which he bases his use, are (xxxiv, ): "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace is called _stannum_, the second melting is silver," etc. (xxxiv, ): "when copper vessels are coated with _stannum_ they produce a less disagreeable flavour, and it prevents verdigris. it is also remarkable that the weight is not increased.... at the present day a counterfeit _stannum_ is made by adding one-third of white copper to tin. it is also made in another way, by mixing together equal parts of tin and lead; this last is called by some _argentarium_.... there is also a composition called _tertiarium_, a mixture of two parts of lead and one of tin. its price is twenty _denarii_ per pound, and it is used for soldering pipes. persons still more dishonest mix together equal parts of _tertiarium_ and tin, and calling the compound _argentarium_, when it is melted coat articles with it." although this last passage probably indicates that _stannum_ was a tin compound, yet it is not inconsistent with the view that the genuine _stannum_ was silver-lead, and that the counterfeits were made as stated by pliny. at what period the term _stannum_ was adopted for tin is uncertain. as shown by beckmann (hist. of inventions ii, p. ), it is used as early as the th century in occasions where tin was undoubtedly meant. we may point out that this term appears continuously in the official documents relating to cornish tin mining, beginning with the report of william de wrotham in . [ ] the latin term for litharge is _spuma argenti_, spume of silver. [ ] pliny, xxxiii, . this quotation is given in full in the footnote p. . agricola illustrates these "tubes" of litharge on p. . [ ] assuming roman weights, three _unciae_ and three _drachmae_ per _centumpondium_ would be about ozs., and the second case would equal about ozs. per short ton. [ ] agricola uses throughout _de re metallica_ the term _molybdaena_ for this substance. it is obvious from the context that he means saturated furnace bottoms--the _herdpley_ of the old german metallurgists--and, in fact, he himself gives this equivalent in the _interpretatio_, and describes it in great detail in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ). the derivatives coined one time and another from the greek _molybdos_ for lead, and their applications, have resulted in a stream of wasted ink, to which we also must contribute. agricola chose the word _molybdaena_ in the sense here used from his interpretation of pliny. the statements in pliny are a hopeless confusion of _molybdaena_ and _galena_. he says (xxxiii, ): "there are three varieties of it (litharge)--the best-known is _chrysitis_; the second best is called _argyritis_; and a third kind is called _molybditis_.... _molybditis_ is the result of the smelting of lead.... some people make two kinds of litharge, which they call _scirerytis_ and _peumene_; and a third variety being _molybdaena_, will be mentioned with lead." (xxxiv, ): "_molybdaena_, which in another place i have called _galena_, is an ore of mixed silver and lead. it is considered better in quality the nearer it approaches to a golden colour and the less lead there is in it; it is also friable and moderately heavy. when it is boiled with oil it becomes liver-coloured, adheres to the gold and silver furnaces, and in this state it is called _metallica_." from these two passages it would seem that _molybdaena_, a variety of litharge, might quite well be hearth-lead. further (in xxxiv, ), he says: "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace is called _stannum_, at the second melting is silver, that which remains in the furnace is _galena_." if we still maintain that _molybdaena_ is hearth-lead, and _galena_ is its equivalent, then this passage becomes clear enough, the second melting being cupellation. the difficulty with pliny, however, arises from the passage (xxxiii, ), where, speaking of silver ore, he says: "it is impossible to melt it except with lead ore, called _galena_, which is generally found next to silver veins." agricola (_bermannus_, p. , &c.), devotes a great deal of inconclusive discussion to an attempt to reconcile this conflict of pliny, and also that of dioscorides. the probable explanation of this conflict arises in the resemblance of cupellation furnace bottoms to lead carbonates, and the native _molybdaena_ of dioscorides; and some of those referred to by pliny may be this sort of lead ores. in fact, in one or two places in book ix, agricola appears to use the term in this sense himself. after agricola's time the term _molybdaenum_ was applied to substances resembling lead, such as graphite, and what we now know as _molybdenite_ (_mos_{ }_). some time in the latter part of the th century, an element being separated from the latter, it was dubbed _molybdenum_, and confusion was five times confounded. [ ] agricola here refers to the german word used in this connection, _i.e._, _hundt_, a dog. [ ] if agricola means the german _centner_, this charge would be from about . to . short tons. if he is using roman weights, it would be from about to . short tons. [ ] the refining of silver in "tests" (latin _testa_) is merely a second cupellation, with greater care and under stronger blast. stirring the mass with an iron rod serves to raise the impurities which either volatilize as litharge or, floating to the edges, are absorbed into the "test." the capacity of the tests, from _librae_ to _librae_, would be from about to ozs. troy. [ ] a _drachma_ of impurities in a _bes_, would be one part in , or . fine. a loss of a _sicilicus_ of silver to the _bes_, would be one part in , or about . %; three _drachmae_ would equal . %, and half an _uncia_ . %, or would indicate that the original bullion had a fineness in the various cases of about , , and . [ ] _praefectus regis_. book xi. different methods of parting gold from silver, and, on the other hand, silver from gold, were discussed in the last book; also the separation of copper from the latter, and further, of lead from gold as well as from silver; and, lastly, the methods for refining the two precious metals. now i will speak of the methods by which silver must be separated from copper, and likewise from iron.[ ] [illustration (building plan for refinery): six long walls: a--the first. b--the first part of the second. c--the further part of the second. d--the third. e--the fourth. f--the fifth. g--the sixth. fourteen transverse walls: h--the first. i--the second. k--the third. l--the fourth. m--the fifth. n--the sixth. o--the seventh. p--the eighth. q--the ninth. r--the tenth. s--the eleventh. t--the twelfth. v--the thirteenth. x--the fourteenth.] the _officina_, or the building necessary for the purposes and use of those who separate silver from copper, is constructed in this manner. first, four long walls are built, of which the first, which is parallel with the bank of a stream, and the second, are both two hundred and sixty-four feet long. the second, however, stops at one hundred and fifty-one feet, and after, as it were, a break for a length of twenty-four feet, it continues again until it is of a length equal to the first wall. the third wall is one hundred and twenty feet long, starting at a point opposite the sixty-seventh foot of the other walls, and reaching to their one hundred and eighty-sixth foot. the fourth wall is one hundred and fifty-one feet long. the height of each of these walls, and likewise of the other two and of the transverse walls, of which i will speak later on, is ten feet, and the thickness two feet and as many palms. the second long wall only is built fifteen feet high, because of the furnaces which must be built against it. the first long wall is distant fifteen feet from the second, and the third is distant the same number of feet from the fourth, but the second is distant thirty-nine feet from the third. then transverse walls are built, the first of which leads from the beginning of the first long wall to the beginning of the second long wall; and the second transverse wall from the beginning of the second long wall to the beginning of the fourth long wall, for the third long wall does not reach so far. then from the beginning of the third long wall are built two walls--the one to the sixty-seventh foot of the second long wall, the other to the same point in the fourth long wall. the fifth transverse wall is built at a distance of ten feet from the fourth transverse wall toward the second transverse wall; it is twenty feet long, and starts from the fourth long wall. the sixth transverse wall is built also from the fourth long wall, at a point distant thirty feet from the fourth transverse wall, and it extends as far as the back of the third long wall. the seventh transverse wall is constructed from the second long wall, where this first leaves off, to the third long wall; and from the back of the third long wall the eighth transverse wall is built, extending to the end of the fourth long wall. then the fifth long wall is built from the seventh transverse wall, starting at a point nineteen feet from the second long wall; it is one hundred and nine feet in length; and at a point twenty-four feet along it, the ninth transverse wall is carried to the third end of the second long wall, where that begins again. the tenth transverse wall is built from the end of the fifth long wall, and leads to the further end of the second long wall; and from there the eleventh transverse wall leads to the further end of the first long wall. behind the fifth long wall, and five feet toward the third long wall, the sixth long wall is built, leading from the seventh transverse wall; its length is thirty-five feet, and from its further end the twelfth transverse wall is built to the third long wall, and from it the thirteenth transverse wall is built to the fifth long wall. the fourteenth transverse wall divides into equal parts the space which lies between the seventh transverse wall and the twelfth. the length, height, breadth, and position of the walls are as above. their archways, doors, and openings are made at the same time that the walls are built. the size of these and the way they are made will be much better understood hereafter. i will now speak of the furnace hoods and of the roofs. the first side[ ] of the hood stands on the second long wall, and is similar in every respect to those whose structure i explained in book ix, when i described the works in whose furnaces are smelted the ores of gold, silver, and copper. from this side of the hood a roof, which consists of burnt tiles, extends to the first long wall; and this part of the building contains the bellows, the machinery for compressing them, and the instruments for inflating them. in the middle space, which is situated between the second and third transverse walls, an upright post eight feet high and two feet thick and wide, is erected on a rock foundation, and is distant thirteen feet from the second long wall. on that upright post, and in the second transverse wall, which has at that point a square hole two feet high and wide, is placed a beam thirty-four feet and a palm long. another beam, of the same length, width, and thickness, is fixed on the same upright post and in the third transverse wall. the heads of those two beams, where they meet, are joined together with iron staples. in a similar manner another post is erected, at a distance of ten feet from the first upright post in the direction of the fourth wall, and two beams are laid upon it and into the same walls in a similar way to those i have just now described. on these two beams and on the fourth long wall are fixed seventeen cross-beams, forty-three feet and three palms long, a foot wide, and three palms thick; the first of these is laid upon the second transverse wall, the last lies along the third and fourth transverse walls; the rest are set in the space between them. these cross-beams are three feet apart one from the other. in the ends of these cross-beams, facing the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters reaching to those timbers which stand upright on the second long wall, and in this manner is made the inclined side of the hood in a similar way to the one described in book ix. to prevent this from falling toward the vertical wall of the hood, there are iron rods securing it, but only a few, because the four brick chimneys which have to be built in that space partly support it. twelve feet back are likewise mortised into the cross-beams, which lie upon the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, the lower ends of as many rafters, whose upper ends are mortised into the upper ends of an equal number of similar rafters, whose lower ends are mortised to the ends of the beams at the fourth long wall. from the first set of rafters[ ] to the second set of rafters is a distance of twelve feet, in order that a gutter may be well placed in the middle space. between these two are again erected two sets of rafters, the lower ends of which are likewise mortised into the beams, which lie on the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, and are interdistant a cubit. the upper ends of the ones fifteen feet long rest on the backs of the rafters of the first set; the ends of the others, which are eighteen feet long, rest on the backs of the rafters of the second set, which are longer; in this manner, in the middle of the rafters, is a sub-structure. upon each alternate cross-beam which is placed upon the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall is erected an upright post, and that it may be sufficiently firm it is strengthened by means of a slanting timber. upon these posts is laid a long beam, upon which rests one set of middle rafters. in a similar manner the other set of middle rafters rests on a long beam which is placed upon other posts. besides this, two feet above every cross-beam, which is placed on the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, is placed a tie-beam which reaches from the first set of middle rafters to the second set of middle rafters; upon the tie-beams is placed a gutter hollowed out from a tree. then from the back of each of the first set of middle rafters a beam six feet long reaches almost to the gutter; to the lower end of this beam is attached a piece of wood two feet long; this is repeated with each rafter of the first set of middle rafters. similarly from the back of each rafter of the second set of middle rafters a little beam, seven feet long, reaches almost to the gutter; to the lower end of it is likewise attached a short piece of wood; this is repeated on each rafter of the second set of middle rafters. then in the upper part, to the first and second sets of principal rafters are fastened long boards, upon which are fixed the burnt tiles; and in the same manner, in the middle part, they are fastened to the first and second sets of middle rafters, and at the lower part to the little beams which reach from each rafter of the first and second set of middle rafters almost to the gutter; and, finally, to the little boards fastened to the short pieces of wood are fixed shingles of pine-wood extending into the gutter, so that the violent rain or melted snow may not penetrate into the building. the substructures in the interior which support the second set of rafters, and those on the opposite side which support the third, being not unusual, i need not explain. in that part of the building against the second long wall are the furnaces, in which exhausted liquation cakes which have already been "dried" are smelted, that they may recover once again the appearance and colour of copper, inasmuch as they really are copper. the remainder of the room is occupied by the passage which leads from the door to the furnaces, together with two other furnaces, in one of which the whole cakes of copper are heated, and in the other the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried" by the heat of the fire. likewise, in the room between the third and seventh[ ] transverse walls, two posts are erected on rock foundation; both of them are eight feet high and two feet wide and thick. the one is at a distance of thirteen feet from the second long wall; the other at the same distance from the third long wall; there is a distance of thirteen feet between them. upon these two posts and upon the third transverse wall are laid two longitudinal beams, forty-one feet and one palm long, and two feet wide and thick. two other beams of the same length, width, and thickness are laid upon the upright posts and upon the seventh transverse wall, and the heads of the two long beams, where they meet, are joined with iron staples. on these longitudinal beams are again placed twenty-one transverse beams, thirteen feet long, a foot wide, and three palms thick, of which the first is set on the third transverse wall, and the last on the seventh transverse wall; the rest are laid in the space between these two, and they are distant from one another three feet. into the ends of the transverse beams which face the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters erected toward the upright posts which are placed upon the second long wall, and in this manner is made the second inclined side wall of the hood. into the ends of the transverse beams facing the third long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters rising toward the rafters of the first inclined side of the second hood, and in this manner is made the other inclined side of the second hood. but to prevent this from falling in upon the opposite inclined side of the hood, and that again upon the opposite vertical one, there are many iron rods reaching from some of the rafters to those opposite them; and this is also prevented in part by means of a few tie-beams, extending from the back of the rafters to the back of those which are behind them. these tie-beams are two palms thick and wide, and have holes made through them at each end; each of the rafters is bound round with iron bands three digits wide and half a digit thick, which hold together the ends of the tie-beams of which i have spoken; and so that the joints may be firm, an iron nail, passing through the plate on both sides, is driven through the holes in the ends of the beams. since one weight counter-balances another, the rafters on the opposite hoods cannot fall. the tie-beams and middle posts which have to support the gutters and the roof, are made in every particular as i stated above, except only that the second set of middle rafters are not longer than the first set of middle rafters, and that the little beams which reach from the back of each rafter of the second set of middle rafters nearly to the gutter are not longer than the little beams which reach from the back of each rafter of the first set of middle rafters almost to the gutter. in this part of the building, against the second long wall, are the furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead, and in which "slags" are re-smelted. against the third long wall are the furnaces in which silver and lead are liquated from copper. the interior is also occupied by two cranes, of which one deposits on the ground the cakes of copper lifted out of the moulding pans; the other lifts them from the ground into the second furnace. on the third and the fourth long walls are set twenty-one beams eighteen feet and three palms long. in mortises in them, two feet behind the third long wall, are set the ends of the same number of rafters erected opposite to the rafters of the other inclined wall of the second furnace hood, and in this manner is made the third inclined wall, exactly similar to the others. the ends of as many rafters are mortised into these beams where they are fixed in the fourth long wall; these rafters are erected obliquely, and rest against the backs of the preceding ones and support the roof, which consists entirely of burnt tiles and has the usual substructures. in this part of the building there are two rooms, in the first of which the cakes of copper, and in the other the cakes of lead, are stored. in the space enclosed between the ninth and tenth transverse walls and the second and fifth long walls, a post twelve feet high and two feet wide and thick is erected on a rock foundation; it is distant thirteen feet from the second long wall, and six from the fifth long wall. upon this post and upon the ninth transverse wall is laid a beam thirty-three feet and three palms long, and two palms wide and thick. another beam, also of the same length, width and thickness, is laid upon the same post and upon the tenth transverse wall, and the ends of these two beams where they meet are joined by means of iron staples. on these beams and on the fifth long wall are placed ten cross-beams, eight feet and three palms long, the first of which is placed on the ninth transverse wall, the last on the tenth, the remainder in the space between them; they are distant from one another three feet. into the ends of the cross-beams facing the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters inclined toward the posts which stand vertically upon the second long wall. this, again, is the manner in which the inclined side of the furnace hood is made, just as with the others; at the top where the fumes are emitted it is two feet distant from the vertical side. the ends of the same number of rafters are mortised into the cross-beams, where they are set in the fifth long wall; each of them is set up obliquely and rests against the back of one of the preceding set; they support the roof, made of burnt tiles. in this part of the building, against the second long wall, are four furnaces in which lead is separated from silver, together with the cranes by means of which the domes are lifted from the crucibles. in that part of the building which lies between the first long wall and the break in the second long wall, is the stamp with which the copper cakes are crushed, and the four stamps with which the accretions that are chipped off the walls of the furnace are broken up and crushed to powder, and likewise the bricks on which the exhausted liquation cakes of copper are stood to be "dried." this room has the usual roof, as also has the space between the seventh transverse wall and the twelfth and thirteenth transverse walls. [illustration (hearths for melting lead cakes): a--hearth. b--rocks sunk into the ground. c--walls which protect the fourth long wall from damage by fire. d--dipping-pot. e--masses of lead. f--trolley. g--its wheels. h--crane. i--tongs. k--wood. l--moulds. m--ladle. n--pick. o--cakes.] at the sides of these rooms are the fifth, the sixth, and the third long walls. this part of the building is divided into two parts, in the first of which stand the little furnaces in which the artificer assays metals; and the bone ash, together with the other powders, are kept here. in the other room is prepared the powder from which the hearths and the crucibles of the furnaces are made. outside the building, at the back of the fourth long wall, near the door to the left as you enter, is a hearth in which smaller masses of lead are melted from large ones, that they may be the more easily weighed; because the masses of lead, just as much as the cakes of copper, ought to be first prepared so that they can be weighed, and a definite weight can be melted and alloyed in the furnaces. to begin with, the hearth in which the masses of lead are liquefied is six feet long and five wide; it is protected on both sides by rocks partly sunk into the earth, but a palm higher than the hearth, and it is lined in the inside with lute. it slopes toward the middle and toward the front, in order that the molten lead may run down and flow out into the dipping-pot. there is a wall at the back of the hearth which protects the fourth long wall from damage by the heat; this wall, which is made of bricks and lute, is four feet high, three palms thick, and five feet long at the bottom, and at the top three feet and two palms long; therefore it narrows gradually, and in the upper part are laid seven bricks, the middle ones of which are set upright, and the end ones inclined; they are all thickly coated with lute. in front of the hearth is a dipping-pot, whose pit is a foot deep, and a foot and three palms wide at the top, and gradually narrows. when the masses of lead are to be melted, the workman first places the wood in the hearth so that one end of each billet faces the wall, and the other end the dipping-pot. then, assisted by other workmen, he pushes the mass of lead forward with crowbars on to a low trolley, and draws it to the crane. the trolley consists of planks fastened together, is two and one-half feet wide and five feet long, and has two small iron axles, around which at each end revolve small iron wheels, two palms in diameter and as many digits wide. the trolley has a tongue, and attached to this is a rope, by which it is drawn to the crane. the crane is exactly similar to those in the second part of the works, except that the crane-arm is not so long. the tongs in whose jaws[ ] the masses of lead are seized, are two feet a palm and two digits long; both of the jaws, when struck with a hammer, impinge upon the mass and are driven into it. the upper part of both handles of the tongs are curved back, the one to the right, the other to the left, and each handle is engaged in one of the lowest links of two short chains, which are three links long. the upper links are engaged in a large round ring, in which is fixed the hook of a chain let down from the pulley of the crane-arm. when the crank of the crane is turned, the mass is lifted and is carried by the crane-arm to the hearth and placed on the wood. the workmen wheel up one mass after another and place them in a similar manner on the wood of the hearth; masses which weigh a total of about a hundred and sixty _centumpondia_[ ] are usually placed upon the wood and melted at one time. then a workman throws charcoal on the masses, and all are made ready in the evening. if he fears that it may rain, he covers it up with a cover, which may be moved here and there; at the back this cover has two legs, so that the rain which it collects may flow down the slope on to the open ground. early in the morning of the following day, he throws live coals on the charcoal with a shovel, and by this method the masses of lead melt, and from time to time charcoal is added. the lead, as soon as it begins to run into the dipping-pot, is ladled out with an iron ladle into copper moulds such as the refiners generally use. if it does not cool immediately he pours water over it, and then sticks the pointed pick into it and pulls it out. the pointed end of the pick is three palms long and the round end is two digits long. it is necessary to smear the moulds with a wash of lute, in order that, when they have been turned upside down and struck with the broad round end of the pick, the cakes of lead may fall out easily. if the moulds are not washed over with the lute, there is a risk that they may be melted by the lead and let it through. others take hold of a billet of wood with their left hand, and with the heavy lower end of it they pound the mould, and with the right hand they stick the point of the pick into the cake of lead, and thus pull it out. then immediately the workman pours other lead into the empty moulds, and this he does until the work of melting the lead is finished. when the lead is melted, something similar to litharge is produced; but it is no wonder that it should be possible to make it in this case, when it used formerly to be produced at puteoli from lead alone when melted by a fierce fire in the cupellation furnace.[ ] afterward these cakes of lead are carried into the lead store-room. [illustration (stamp-mill for breaking copper cakes): a--block of wood. b--upright posts. c--transverse beams. d--head of the stamp. e--its tooth. f--the hole in the stamp-stem. g--iron bar. h--masses of lead. i--the bronze saddle. k--axle. l--its arms. m--little iron axle. n--bronze pipe.] the cakes of copper, put into wheelbarrows, are carried into the third part of the building, where each is laid upon a saddle, and is broken up by the impact of successive blows from the iron-shod stamp. this machine is made by placing upon the ground a block of oak, five feet long and three feet wide and thick; it is cut out in the middle for a length of two feet and two palms, a width of two feet, and a depth of three palms and two digits, and is open in front; the higher part of it is at the back, and the wide part lies flat in the block. in the middle of it is placed a bronze saddle. its base is a palm and two digits wide, and is planted between two masses of lead, and extends under them to a depth of a palm on both sides. the whole saddle is three palms and two digits wide, a foot long, and two palms thick. upon each end of the block stands a post, a cubit wide and thick, the upper end of which is somewhat cut away and is mortised into the beams of the building. at a height of four feet and two digits above the block there are joined to the posts two transverse beams, each of which is three palms wide and thick; their ends are mortised into the upright posts, and holes are bored through them; in the holes are driven iron claves, horned in front and so driven into the post that one of the horns of each points upward and the other downward; the other end of each clavis is perforated, and a wide iron wedge is inserted and driven into the holes, and thus holds the transverse beams in place. these transverse beams have in the middle a square opening three palms and half a digit wide in each direction, through which the iron-shod stamp passes. at a height of three feet and two palms above these transverse beams there are again two beams of the same kind, having also a square opening and holding the same stamp. this stamp is square, eleven feet long, three palms wide and thick; its iron shoe is a foot and a palm long; its head is two palms long and wide, a palm two digits thick at the top, and at the bottom the same number of digits, for it gradually narrows. but the tail is three palms long; where the head begins is two palms wide and thick, and the further it departs from the same the narrower it becomes. the upper part is enclosed in the stamp-stem, and it is perforated so that an iron bolt may be driven into it; it is bound by three rectangular iron bands, the lowest of which, a palm wide, is between the iron shoe and the head of the stamp; the middle band, three digits wide, follows next and binds round the head of the stamp, and two digits above is the upper one, which is the same number of digits wide. at a distance of two feet and as many digits above the lowest part of the iron shoe, is a rectangular tooth, projecting from the stamp for a distance of a foot and a palm; it is two palms thick, and when it has extended to a distance of six digits from the stamp it is made two digits narrower. at a height of three palms upward from the tooth there is a round hole in the middle of the stamp-stem, into which can be thrust a round iron bar two feet long and a digit and a half in diameter; in its hollow end is fixed a wooden handle two palms and the same number of digits long. the bar rests on the lower transverse beam, and holds up the stamp when it is not in use. the axle which raises the stamp has on each side two arms, which are two palms and three digits distant from each other, and which project from the axle a foot, a palm and two digits; penetrating through them are bolts, driven in firmly; the arms are each a palm and two digits wide and thick, and their round heads, for a foot downward on either side, are covered with iron plates of the same width as the arms and fastened by iron nails. the head of each arm has a round hole, into which is inserted an iron pin, passing through a bronze pipe; this little axle has at the one end a wide head, and at the other end a perforation through which is driven an iron nail, lest this little axle should fall out of the arms. the bronze pipe is two palms long and one in diameter; the little iron axle penetrates through its round interior, which is two digits in diameter. the bronze pipe not only revolves round the little iron axle, but it also rotates with it; therefore, when the axle revolves, the little axle and the bronze tube in their turn raise the tooth and the stamp. when the little iron axle and the bronze pipe have been taken out of the arms, the tooth of the stamps is not raised, and other stamps may be raised without this one. further on, a drum with spindles fixed around the axle of a water-wheel moves the axle of a toothed drum, which depresses the sweeps of the bellows in the adjacent fourth part of the building; but it turns in the contrary direction; for the axis of the drum which raises the stamps turns toward the north, while that one which depresses the sweeps of the bellows turns toward the south. [illustration (hearths for heating copper cakes): a--back wall. b--walls at the sides. c--upright posts. d--chimney. e--the cakes arranged. f--iron plates. g--rocks. h--rabble with two prongs. i--hammers.] those cakes which are too thick to be rapidly broken by blows from the iron-shod stamp, such as are generally those which have settled in the bottom of the crucible,[ ] are carried into the first part of the building. they are there heated in a furnace, which is twenty-eight feet distant from the second long wall and twelve feet from the second transverse wall. the three sides of this furnace are built of rectangular rocks, upon which bricks are laid; the back furnace wall is three feet and a palm high, and the rear of the side walls is the same; the side walls are sloping, and where the furnace is open in front they are only two feet and three palms high; all the walls are a foot and a palm thick. upon these walls stand upright posts not less thick, in order that they may bear the heavy weight placed upon them, and they are covered with lute; these posts support the sloping chimney and penetrate through the roof. moreover, not only the ribs of the chimney, but also the rafters, are covered thickly with lute. the hearth of the furnace is six feet long on each side, is sloping, and is paved with bricks. the cakes of copper are placed in the furnace and heated in the following way. they are first of all placed in the furnace in rows, with as many small stones the size of an egg between, so that the heat of the fire can penetrate through the spaces between them; indeed, those cakes which are placed at the bottom of the crucible are each raised upon half a brick for the same reason. but lest the last row, which lies against the mouth of the furnace, should fall out, against the mouth are placed iron plates, or the copper cakes which are the first taken from the crucible when copper is made, and against them are laid exhausted liquation cakes or rocks. then charcoal is thrown on the cakes, and then live coals; at first the cakes are heated by a gentle fire, and afterward more charcoal is added to them until it is at times three-quarters of a foot deep. a fiercer fire is certainly required to heat the hard cakes of copper than the fragile ones. when the cakes have been sufficiently heated, which usually occurs within the space of about two hours, the exhausted liquation cakes or the rocks and the iron plate are removed from the mouth of the furnace. then the hot cakes are taken out row after row with a two-pronged rabble, such as the one which is used by those who "dry" the exhausted liquation cakes. then the first cake is laid upon the exhausted liquation cakes, and beaten by two workmen with hammers until it breaks; the hotter the cakes are, the sooner they are broken up; the less hot, the longer it takes, for now and then they bend into the shape of copper basins. when the first cake has been broken, the second is put on to the other fragments and beaten until it breaks into pieces, and the rest of the cakes are broken up in the same manner in due order. the head of the hammer is three palms long and one wide, and sharpened at both ends, and its handle is of wood three feet long. when they have been broken by the stamp, if cold, or with hammers if hot, the fragments of copper or the cakes are carried into the store-room for copper. the foreman of the works, according to the different proportions of silver in each _centumpondium_ of copper, alloys it with lead, without which he could not separate the silver from the copper.[ ] if there be a moderate amount of silver in the copper, he alloys it fourfold; for instance, if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than the following proportions, _i.e._: half a _libra_ of silver, or half a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_, or half a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, or half a _libra_ and _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_, then rich lead--that is, that from which the silver has not yet been separated--is added, to the amount of half a _centumpondium_ or a whole _centumpondium_, or a whole and a half, in such a way that there may be in the copper-lead alloy some one of the proportions of silver which i have just mentioned, which is the first alloy. to this "first" alloy is added such a weight of de-silverized lead or litharge as is required to make out of all of these a single liquation cake that will contain approximately two _centumpondia_ of lead; but as usually from one hundred and thirty _librae_ of litharge only one hundred _librae_ of lead are made, a greater proportion of litharge than of de-silverized lead is added as a supplement. since four cakes of this kind are placed at the same time into the furnace in which the silver and lead is liquated from copper, there will be in all the cakes three _centumpondia_ of copper and eight _centumpondia_ of lead. when the lead has been liquated from the copper, it weighs six _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and almost a _sicilicus_ of silver. only seven _unciae_ of the silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in that copper-lead alloy which we call "liquation thorns"; they are not called by this name so much because they have sharp points as because they are base. if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there are less than seven _uncia_ and a _semi-uncia_ or a _bes_ of silver, then so much rich lead must be added as to make in the copper and lead alloy one of the proportions of silver which i have already mentioned. this is the "second" alloy. to this is again to be added as great a weight of de-silverized lead, or of litharge, as will make it possible to obtain from that alloy a liquation cake containing two and a quarter _centumpondia_ of lead, in which manner in four of these cakes there will be three _centumpondia_ of copper and nine _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which liquates from these cakes weighs seven _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ of silver and a little more than a _sicilicus_. about seven _unciae_ of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns, if we may be allowed to make common the old name (_spinae_ = thorns) and bestow it upon a new substance. if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver, or three-quarters and a _semi-uncia_, then as much rich lead must be added as will produce one of the proportions of silver in the copper-lead alloy above mentioned; this is the "third" alloy. to this is added such an amount of de-silverized lead or of litharge, that a liquation cake made from it contains in all two and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of lead. in this manner four such cakes will contain three _centumpondia_ of copper and eleven _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which these cakes liquate, when they are melted in the furnace, weighs about nine _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and more than a _sicilicus_ of silver; and seven _unciae_ of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns. if, however, in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than ten-twelfths of a _libra_ or ten-twelfths of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, then such a proportion of rich lead is added as will produce in the copper-lead alloy one of the proportions of silver which i mentioned above; this is the "fourth" alloy. to this is added such a weight of de-silverized lead or of litharge, that a liquation cake made from it contains three _centumpondia_ of lead, and in four cakes of this kind there are three _centumpondia_ of copper and twelve _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which is liquated therefrom weighs about ten _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and more than a _semi-uncia_ of silver, or seven _unciae_; a _bes_, or seven _unciae_ and a _semi-uncia_, of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnace in which "slags" are re-smelted. b--furnace in which copper is alloyed with lead. c--door. d--forehearths on the ground. e--copper moulds. f--rabble. g--hook. h--cleft stick. i--arm of the crane. k--the hook of its chain.] against the second long wall in the second part of the building, whose area is eighty feet long by thirty-nine feet wide, are four furnaces in which the copper is alloyed with lead, and six furnaces in which "slags" are re-smelted. the interior of the first kind of furnace is a foot and three palms wide, two feet three digits long; and of the second is a foot and a palm wide and a foot three palms and a digit long. the side walls of these furnaces are the same height as the furnaces in which gold or silver ores are smelted. as the whole room is divided into two parts by upright posts, the front part must have, first, two furnaces in which "slags" are re-melted; second, two furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead; and third, one furnace in which "slags" are re-melted. the back part of the room has first, one furnace in which "slags" are re-melted; next, two furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead; and third, two furnaces in which "slags" are re-melted. each of these is six feet distant from the next; on the right side of the first is a space of three feet and two palms, and on the left side of the last one of seven feet. each pair of furnaces has a common door, six feet high and a cubit wide, but the first and the tenth furnace each has one of its own. each of the furnaces is set in an arch of its own in the back wall, and in front has a forehearth pit; this is filled with a powder compound rammed down and compressed in order to make a crucible. under each furnace is a hidden receptacle for the moisture,[ ] from which a vent is made through the back wall toward the right, which allows the vapour to escape. finally, to the right, in front, is the copper mould into which the copper-lead alloy is poured from the forehearth, in order that liquation cakes of equal weight may be made. this copper mould is a digit thick, its interior is two feet in diameter and six digits deep. behind the second long wall are ten pairs of bellows, two machines for compressing them, and twenty instruments for inflating them. the way in which these should be made may be understood from book ix. the smelter, when he alloys copper with lead, with his hand throws into the heated furnace, first the large fragments of copper, then a basketful of charcoal, then the smaller fragments of copper. when the copper is melted and begins to run out of the tap-hole into the forehearth, he throws litharge into the furnace, and, lest part of it should fly away, he first throws charcoal over it, and lastly lead. as soon as he has thrown into the furnace the copper and the lead, from which alloy the first liquation cake is made, he again throws in a basket of charcoal, and then fragments of copper are thrown over them, from which the second cake may be made. afterward with a rabble he skims the "slag" from the copper and lead as they flow into the forehearth. such a rabble is a board into which an iron bar is fixed; the board is made of elder-wood or willow, and is ten digits long, six wide, and one and a half digits thick; the iron bar is three feet long, and the wooden handle inserted into it is two and a half feet long. while he purges the alloy and pours it out with a ladle into the copper mould, the fragments of copper from which he is to make the second cake are melting. as soon as this begins to run down he again throws in litharge, and when he has put on more charcoal he adds the lead. this operation he repeats until thirty liquation cakes have been made, on which work he expends nine hours, or at most ten; if more than thirty cakes must be made, then he is paid for another shift when he has made an extra thirty. at the same time that he pours the copper-lead alloy into the copper mould, he also pours water slowly into the top of the mould. then, with a cleft stick, he takes a hook and puts its straight stem into the molten cake. the hook itself is a digit and a half thick; its straight stem is two palms long and two digits wide and thick. afterward he pours more water over the cakes. when they are cold he places an iron ring in the hook of the chain let down from the pulley of the crane arm; the inside diameter of this ring is six digits, and it is about a digit and a half thick; the ring is then engaged in the hook whose straight stem is in the cake, and thus the cake is raised from the mould and put into its place. the copper and lead, when thus melted, yield a small amount of "slag"[ ] and much litharge. the litharge does not cohere, but falls to pieces like the residues from malt from which beer is made. _pompholyx_ adheres to the walls in white ashes, and to the sides of the furnace adheres _spodos_. in this practical manner lead is alloyed with copper in which there is but a moderate portion of silver. if, however, there is much silver in it, as, for instance, two _librae_, or two _librae_ and a _bes_, to the _centumpondium_,--which weighs one hundred and thirty-three and a third _librae_, or one hundred and forty-six _librae_ and a _bes_,[ ]--then the foreman of the works adds to a _centumpondium_ of such copper three _centumpondia_ of lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a third of a _libra_ of silver, or a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_. in this manner three liquation cakes are made, which contain altogether three _centumpondia_ of copper and nine _centumpondia_ of lead.[ ] the lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, weighs seven _centumpondia_; and in each _centumpondium_--if the _centumpondium_ of copper contain two _librae_ of silver, and the lead contain a third of a _libra_--there will be a _libra_ and a sixth and more than a _semi-uncia_ of silver; while in the exhausted liquation cakes, and in the liquation thorns, there remains a third of a _libra_. if a _centumpondium_ of copper contains two _librae_ and a _bes_ of silver, and the lead a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, there will be in each liquation cake one and a half _librae_ and a _semi-uncia_, and a little more than a _sicilicus_ of silver. in the exhausted liquation cakes there remain a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver. [illustration (furnaces enriching copper bottoms): a--furnace. b--forehearth. c--dipping-pot. d--cakes.] if there be in the copper only a minute proportion of silver, it cannot be separated easily until it has been re-melted in other furnaces, so that in the "bottoms" there remains more silver and in the "tops" less.[ ] this furnace, vaulted with unbaked bricks, is similar to an oven, and also to the cupellation furnace, in which the lead is separated from silver, which i described in the last book. the crucible is made of ashes, in the same manner as in the latter, and in the front of the furnace, three feet above the floor of the building, is the mouth out of which the re-melted copper flows into a forehearth and a dipping-pot. on the left side of the mouth is an aperture, through which beech-wood may be put into the furnace to feed the fire. if in a _centumpondium_ of copper there were a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, or a quarter of a _libra_, or a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_--there is re-melted at the same time thirty-eight _centumpondia_ of it in this furnace, until there remain in each _centumpondium_ of the copper "bottoms" a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver. for example, if in each _centumpondium_ of copper not yet re-melted, there is a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, then the thirty-eight _centumpondia_ that are smelted together must contain a total of eleven _librae_ and an _uncia_ of silver. since from fifteen _centumpondia_ of re-melted copper there was a total of four and a third _librae_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, there remain only two and a third _librae_. thus there is left in the "bottoms," weighing twenty-three _centumpondia_, a total of eight and three-quarter _librae_ of silver. therefore, each _centumpondium_ of this contains a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, a _drachma_, and the twenty-third part of a _drachma_ of silver; from such copper it is profitable to separate the silver. in order that the master may be more certain of the number of _centumpondia_ of copper in the "bottoms," he weighs the "tops" that have been drawn off from it; the "tops" were first drawn off into the dipping-pot, and cakes were made from them. fourteen hours are expended on the work of thus dividing the copper. the "bottoms," when a certain weight of lead has been added to them, of which alloy i shall soon speak, are melted in the blast furnace; liquation cakes are then made, and the silver is afterward separated from the copper. the "tops" are subsequently melted in the blast furnace, and re-melted in the refining furnace, in order that red copper shall be made[ ]; and the "tops" from this are again smelted in the blast furnace, and then again in the refining furnace, that therefrom shall be made _caldarium_ copper. but when the copper, yellow or red or _caldarium_ is re-smelted in the refining furnace, forty _centumpondia_ are placed in it, and from it they make at least twenty, and at most thirty-five, _centumpondia_. about twenty-two _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes and ten of yellow copper and eight of red, are simultaneously placed in this latter furnace and smelted, in order that they may be made into refined copper. the copper "bottoms" are alloyed in three different ways with lead.[ ] first, five-eighths of a _centumpondium_ of copper and two and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of lead are taken; and since one liquation cake is made from this, therefore two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper and eleven _centumpondia_ of lead make four liquation cakes. inasmuch as in each _centumpondium_ of copper there is a third of a _libra_ of silver, there would be in the whole of the copper ten-twelfths of a _libra_ of silver; to these are added four _centumpondia_ of lead re-melted from "slags," each _centumpondium_ of which contains a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver, which weights make up a total of an _uncia_ and a half of silver. there is also added seven _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a _drachma_ of silver; therefore in the four cakes of copper-lead alloy there is a total of a _libra_, a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver. in each single _centumpondium_ of lead, after it has been liquated from the copper, there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, which alloy we call "poor" argentiferous lead, because it contains but little silver. but as five cakes of that kind are placed together in the furnace, they liquate from them usually as much as nine and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of poor argentiferous lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, or a total of ten _unciae_ less four _drachmae_. of the liquation thorns there remain three _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there are three _sicilici_ of silver; and there remain four _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes, each _centumpondium_ of which contains a _semi-uncia_ or four and a half _drachmae_. inasmuch as in a _centumpondium_ of copper "bottoms" there is a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, in five of those cakes there must be more than one and a half _unciae_ and half a _drachma_ of silver. then, again, from another two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper "bottoms," together with eleven _centumpondia_ of lead, four liquation cakes are made. if in each _centumpondium_ of copper there was a third of a _libra_ of silver, there would be in the whole of the _centumpondia_ of base metal five-sixths of a _libra_ of the precious metal. to this copper is added eight _centumpondia_ of poor argentiferous lead, each _centumpondium_ of which contains an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, or a total of three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver. there is also added three _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a _drachma_ of silver. therefore, four liquation cakes contain a total of a _libra_, seven _unciae_, a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver; thus each _centumpondium_ of lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, contains an _uncia_ and a half and a _sicilicus_ of silver, which alloy we call "medium" silver-lead. then, again, from another two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper "bottoms," together with eleven _centumpondia_ of lead, they make four liquation cakes. if in each _centumpondium_ of copper there were likewise a third of a _libra_ of silver, there will be in all the weight of the base metal five-sixths of a _libra_ of the precious metal. to this is added nine _centumpondia_ of medium silver-lead, each _centumpondium_ of which contains an _uncia_ and a half and a _sicilicus_ of silver; or a total of a _libra_ and a quarter and a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of silver. and likewise they add two _centumpondia_ of poor silver-lead, in each of which there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver. therefore the four liquation cakes contain two and a third _librae_ of silver. each _centumpondium_ of lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, contains a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver. this alloy we call "rich" silver-lead; it is carried to the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from silver. i have now mentioned in how many ways copper containing various proportions of silver is alloyed with lead, and how they are melted together in the furnace and run into the casting pan. [illustration (crane for liquation cakes): a--crane. b--drum consisting of rundles. c--toothed drum. d--trolley and its wheels. e--triangular board. f--cakes. g--chain of the crane. h--its hook. i--ring. k--the tongs.] now i will speak of the method by which lead is liquated from copper simultaneously with the silver. the liquation cakes are raised from the ground with the crane, and placed on the copper plates of the furnaces. the hook of the chain let down from the arm of the crane, is inserted in a ring of the tongs, one jaw of which has a tooth; a ring is engaged in each of the handles of the tongs, and these two rings are engaged in a third, in which the hook of the chain is inserted. the tooth on the one jaw of the tongs is struck by a hammer, and driven into the hole in the cake, at the point where the straight end of the hook was driven into it when it was lifted out of the copper mould; the other jaw of the tongs, which has no tooth, squeezes the cake, lest the tooth should fall out of it; the tongs are one and a half feet long, each ring is a digit and a half thick, and the inside is a palm and two digits in diameter. those cranes by which the cakes are lifted out of the copper pans and placed on the ground, and lifted up again from there and placed in the furnaces, are two in number--one in the middle space between the third transverse wall and the two upright posts, and the other in the middle space between the same posts and the seventh transverse wall. the rectangular crane-post of both of these is two feet wide and thick, and is eighteen feet from the third long wall, and nineteen from the second long wall. there are two drums in the framework of each--one drum consisting of rundles, the other being toothed. the crane-arm of each extends seventeen feet, three palms and as many digits from the post. the trolley of each crane is two feet and as many palms long, a foot and two digits wide, and a palm and two digits thick; but where it runs between the beams of the crane-arm it is three digits wide and a palm thick; it has five notches, in which turn five brass wheels, four of which are small, and the fifth much larger than the rest. the notches in which the small wheels turn are two palms long and as much as a palm wide; those wheels are a palm wide and a palm and two digits in diameter; four of the notches are near the four corners of the trolley; the fifth notch is between the two front ones, and it is two palms back from the front. its pulley is larger than the rest, and turns in its own notch; it is three palms in diameter and one palm wide, and grooved on the circumference, so that the iron chain may run in the groove. the trolley has two small axles, to the one in front are fastened three, and to the one at the back, the two wheels; two wheels run on the one beam of the crane-arm, and two on the other; the fifth wheel, which is larger than the others, runs between those two beams. those people who have no cranes place the cakes on a triangular board, to which iron cleats are affixed, so that it will last longer; the board has three iron chains, which are fixed in an iron ring at the top; two workmen pass a pole through the ring and carry it on their shoulders, and thus take the cake to the furnace in which silver is separated from copper. from the vicinity of the furnaces in which copper is mixed with lead and the "slags" are re-melted, to the third long wall, are likewise ten furnaces, in which silver mixed with lead is separated from copper. if this space is eighty feet and two palms long, and the third long wall has in the centre a door three feet and two palms wide, then the spaces remaining at either side of the door will be thirty-eight feet and two palms; and if each of the furnaces occupies four feet and a palm, then the interval between each furnace and the next one must be a foot and three palms; thus the width of the five furnaces and four interspaces will be twenty-eight feet and a palm. therefore, there remain ten feet and a palm, which measurement is so divided that there are five feet and two digits between the first furnace and the transverse wall, and as many feet and digits between the fifth furnace and the door; similarly in the other part of the space from the door to the sixth furnace, there must be five feet and two digits, and from the tenth furnace to the seventh transverse wall, likewise, five feet and two digits. the door is six feet and two palms high; through it the foreman of the _officina_ and the workmen enter the store-room in which the silver-lead alloy is kept. [illustration (liquation furnace): a--sole-stones. b--rectangular stones. c--copper plates. d--front panel. e--side panels. f--bar. g--front end of the long iron rods. h--short chain. i--hooked rod. k--wall which protects the third long wall from injury by fire. l--third long wall. m--feet of the panels. n--iron blocks. o--cakes. p--hearth. q--receiving-pit.] each furnace has a bed, a hearth, a rear wall, two sides and a front, and a receiving-pit. the bed consists of two sole-stones, four rectangular stones, and two copper plates; the sole-stones are five feet and a palm long, a cubit wide, a foot and a palm thick, and they are sunk into the ground, so that they emerge a palm and two digits; they are distant from each other about three palms, yet the distance is narrower at the back than the front. each of the rectangular stones is two feet and as many palms long, a cubit wide, and a cubit thick at the outer edge, and a foot and a palm thick on the inner edge which faces the hearth, thus they form an incline, so that there is a slope to the copper plates which are laid upon them. two of these rectangular stones are placed on one sole-stone; a hole is cut in the upper edge of each, and into the holes are placed iron clamps, and lead is poured in; they are so placed on the sole-stones that they project a palm at the sides, and at the front the sole-stones project to the same extent; if rectangular stones are not available, bricks are laid in their place. the copper plates are four feet two palms and as many digits long, a cubit wide, and a palm thick; each edge has a protuberance, one at the front end, the other at the back; these are a palm and three digits long, and a palm wide and thick. the plates are so laid upon the rectangular stones that their rear ends are three digits from the third long wall; the stones project beyond the plate the same number of digits in front, and a palm and three digits at the sides. when the plates have been joined, the groove which is between the protuberances is a palm and three digits wide, and four feet long, and through it flows the silver-lead which liquates from the cakes. when the plates are corroded either by the fire or by the silver-lead, which often adheres to them in the form of stalactites, and is chipped off, they are exchanged, the right one being placed to the left, and the left one, on the contrary, to the right; but the left side of the plates, which, when the fusion of the copper took place, came into contact with the copper, must lie flat; so that when the exchange of the plates has been carried out, the protuberances, which are thus on the underside, raise the plate from the stones, and they have to be partially chipped off, lest they should prove an impediment to the work; and in each of their places is laid a piece of iron, three palms long, a digit thick at both ends, and a palm thick in the centre for the length of a palm and three digits. the passage under the plates between the rectangular stones is a foot wide at the back, and a foot and a palm wide at the front, for it gradually widens out. the hearth, which is between the sole-stones, is covered with a bed of hearth-lead, taken from the crucible in which lead is separated from silver. the rear end is the highest, and should be so high that it reaches to within six digits of the plates, from which point it slopes down evenly to the front end, so that the argentiferous lead alloy which liquates from the cakes can flow into the receiving-pit. the wall built against the third long wall in order to protect it from injury by fire, is constructed of bricks joined together with lute, and stands on the copper plates; this wall is two feet, a palm and two digits high, two palms thick, and three feet, a palm and three digits wide at the bottom, for it reaches across both of them; at the top it is three feet wide, for it rises up obliquely on each side. at each side of this wall, at a height of a palm and two digits above the top of it, there is inserted in a hole in the third long wall a hooked iron rod, fastened in with molten lead; the rod projects two palms from the wall, and is two digits wide and one digit thick; it has two hooks, the one at the side, the other at the end. both of these hooks open toward the wall, and both are a digit thick, and both are inserted in the last, or the adjacent, links of a short iron chain. this chain consists of four links, each of which is a palm and a digit long and half a digit thick; the first link is engaged in the first hole in a long iron rod, and one or other of the remaining three links engages the hook of the hooked rod. the two long rods are three feet and as many palms and digits long, two digits wide, and one digit thick; both ends of both of these rods have holes, the back one of which is round and a digit in diameter, and in this is engaged the first link of the chain as i have stated; the hole at the front end is two digits and a half long and a digit and a half wide. this end of each rod is made three digits wide, while for the rest of its length it is only two digits, and at the back it is two and a half digits. into the front hole of each rod is driven an iron bar, which is three feet and two palms long, two digits wide and one thick; in the end of this bar are five small square holes, two-thirds of a digit square; each hole is distant from the other half a digit, the first being at a distance of about a digit from the end. into one of these holes the refiner drives an iron pin; if he should desire to make the furnace narrower, then he drives it into the last hole; if he should desire to widen it, then into the first hole; if he should desire to contract it moderately, then into one of the middle holes. for the same reason, therefore, the hook is sometimes inserted into the last link of the chain, and sometimes into the third or the second. the furnace is widened when many cakes are put into it, and contracted when there are but few, but to put in more than five is neither usual nor possible; indeed, it is because of thin cakes that the walls are contracted. the bar has a hump, which projects a digit on each side at the back, of the same width and thickness as itself. these humps project, lest the bar should slip through the hole of the right-hand rod, in which it remains fixed when it, together with the rods, is not pressing upon the furnace walls. [illustration (liquation furnaces): a--furnace in which the operation of liquation is being performed. b--furnace in which it is not being performed. c--receiving-pit. d--moulds. e--cakes. f--liquation thorns.] there are three panels to the furnace--two at the sides, one in front and another at the back. those which are at the sides are three feet and as many palms and two digits long, and two feet high; the front one is two feet and a palm and three digits long, and, like the side ones, two feet high. each consists of iron bars, of feet, and of iron plates. those which are at the side have seven bars, the lower and upper of which are of the same length as the panels; the former holds up the upright bars; the latter is placed upon them; the uprights are five in number, and have the same height as the panels; the middle ones are inserted into holes in the upper and lower bars; the outer ones are made of one and the same bar as the lower and upper ones. they are two digits wide and one thick. the front panel has five bars; the lower one holds similar uprights, but there are three of them only; the upper bar is placed on them. each of these panels has two feet fixed at each end of the lower bar, and these are two palms long, one wide, and a digit thick. the iron plates are fastened to the inner side of the bars with iron wire, and they are covered with lute, so that they may last longer and may be uninjured by the fire. there are, besides, iron blocks three palms long, one wide, and a digit and a half thick; the upper surface of these is somewhat hollowed out, so that the cakes may stand in them; these iron blocks are dipped into a vessel in which there is clay mixed with water, and they are used only for placing under the cakes of copper and lead alloy made in the furnaces. there is more silver in these than in those which are made of liquation thorns, or furnace accretions, or re-melted "slags." two iron blocks are placed under each cake, in order that, by raising it up, the fire may bring more force to bear upon it; the one is put on the right bed-plate, the other on the left. finally, outside the hearth is the receiving-pit, which is a foot wide and three palms deep; when this is worn away it is restored with lute alone, which easily retains the lead alloy. if four liquation cakes are placed on the plates of each furnace, then the iron blocks are laid under them; but if the cakes are made from copper "bottoms," or from liquation thorns, or from the accretions or "slags," of which i have partly written above and will further describe a little later, there are five of them, and because they are not so large and heavy, no blocks are placed under them. pieces of charcoal six digits long are laid between the cakes, lest they should fall one against the other, or lest the last one should fall against the wall which protects the third long wall from injury by fire. in the middle empty spaces, long and large pieces of charcoal are likewise laid. then when the panels have been set up, and the bar has been closed, the furnace is filled with small charcoal, and a wicker basket full of charcoal is thrown into the receiving-pit, and over that are thrown live coals; soon afterward the burning coal, lifted up in a shovel, is spread over all parts of the furnace, so that the charcoal in it may be kindled; any charcoal which remains in the receiving-pit is thrown into the passage, so that it may likewise be heated. if this has not been done, the silver-lead alloy liquated from the cakes is frozen by the coldness of the passage, and does not run down into the receiving-pit. after a quarter of an hour the cakes begin to drip silver-lead alloy,[ ] which runs down through the openings between the copper plates into the passage. when the long pieces of charcoal have burned up, if the cakes lean toward the wall, they are placed upright again with a hooked bar, but if they lean toward the front bar they are propped up by charcoal; moreover, if some cakes shrink more than the rest, charcoal is added to the former and not to the others. the silver drips together with the lead, for both melt more rapidly than copper. the liquation thorns do not flow away, but remain in the passage, and should be turned over frequently with a hooked bar, in order that the silver-lead may liquate away from them and flow down into the receiving pit; that which remains is again melted in the blast furnace, while that which flows into the receiving pit is at once carried with the remaining products to the cupellation furnace, where the lead is separated from the silver. the hooked bar has an iron handle two feet long, in which is set a wooden one four feet long. the silver-lead which runs out into the receiving-pit is poured out by the refiner with a bronze ladle into eight copper moulds, which are two palms and three digits in diameter; these are first smeared with a lute wash so that the cakes of silver-lead may more easily fall out when they are turned over. if the supply of moulds fails because the silver-lead flows down too rapidly into the receiving-pit, then water is poured on them, in order that the cakes may cool and be taken out of them more rapidly; thus the same moulds may be used again immediately; if no such necessity urges the refiner, he washes over the empty moulds with a lute wash. the ladle is exactly similar to that which is used in pouring out the metals that are melted in the blast furnace. when all the silver-lead has run down from the passage into the receiving-pit, and has been poured out into copper moulds, the thorns are drawn out of the passage into the receiving-pit with a rabble; afterward they are raked on to the ground from the receiving-pit, thrown with a shovel into a wheelbarrow, and, having been conveyed away to a heap, are melted once again. the blade of the rabble is two palms and as many digits long, two palms and a digit wide, and joined to its back is an iron handle three feet long; into the iron handle is inserted a wooden one as many feet in length. the residue cakes, after the silver-lead has been liquated from the copper, are called "exhausted liquation cakes" (_fathiscentes_), because when thus smelted they appear to be dried up. by placing a crowbar under the cakes they are raised up, seized with tongs, and placed in the wheelbarrow; they are then conveyed away to the furnace in which they are "dried." the crowbar is somewhat similar to those generally used to chip off the accretions that adhere to the walls of the blast furnace. the tongs are two and a half feet long. with the same crowbar the stalactites are chipped off from the copper plates from which they hang, and with the same instrument the iron blocks are struck off the exhausted liquation cakes to which they adhere. the refiner has performed his day's task when he has liquated the silver-lead from sixteen of the large cakes and twenty of the smaller ones; if he liquates more than this, he is paid separately for it at the price for extraordinary work. silver, or lead mixed with silver, which we call _stannum_, is separated by the above method from copper. this silver-lead is carried to the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from silver; of these methods i will mention only one, because in the previous book i have explained them in detail. amongst us some years ago only forty-four _centumpondia_ of silver-lead and one of copper were melted together in the cupellation furnaces, but now they melt forty-six _centumpondia_ of silver-lead and one and a half _centumpondia_ of copper; in other places, usually a hundred and twenty _centumpondia_ of silver-lead alloy and six of copper are melted, in which manner they make about one hundred and ten _centumpondia_ more or less of litharge and thirty of hearth-lead. but in all these methods the silver which is in the copper is mixed with the remainder of silver; the copper itself, equally with the lead, will be changed partly into litharge and partly into hearth-lead.[ ] the silver-lead alloy which does not melt is taken from the margin of the crucible with a hooked bar. [illustration (exhausted liquation cakes): a--cakes. b--hammer.] the work of "drying" is distributed into four operations, which are performed in four days. on the first--as likewise on the other three days--the master begins at the fourth hour of the morning, and with his assistant chips off the stalactites from the exhausted liquation cakes. they then carry the cakes to the furnace, and put the stalactites upon the heap of liquation thorns. the head of the chipping hammer is three palms and as many digits long; its sharp edge is a palm wide; the round end is three digits thick; the wooden handle is four feet long. the master throws pulverised earth into a small vessel, sprinkles water over it, and mixes it; this he pours over the whole hearth, and sprinkles charcoal dust over it to the thickness of a digit. if he should neglect this, the copper, settling in the passages, would adhere to the copper bed-plates, from which it can be chipped off only with difficulty; or else it would adhere to the bricks, if the hearth was covered with them, and when the copper is chipped off these they are easily broken. on the second day, at the same time, the master arranges bricks in ten rows; in this manner twelve passages are made. the first two rows of bricks are between the first and the second openings on the right of the furnace; the next three rows are between the second and third openings, the following three rows are between the third and the fourth openings, and the last two rows between the fourth and fifth openings. these bricks are a foot and a palm long, two palms and a digit wide, and a palm and two digits thick; there are seven of these thick bricks in a row, so there are seventy all together. then on the first three rows of bricks they lay exhausted liquation cakes and a layer five digits thick of large charcoal; then in a similar way more exhausted liquation cakes are laid upon the other bricks, and charcoal is thrown upon them; in this manner seventy _centumpondia_ of cakes are put on the hearth of the furnace. but if half of this weight, or a little more, is to be "dried," then four rows of bricks will suffice. those who dry exhausted liquation cakes[ ] made from copper "bottoms" place ninety or a hundred _centumpondia_[ ] into the furnace at the same time. a place is left in the front part of the furnace for the topmost cakes removed from the forehearth in which copper is made, these being more suitable for supporting the exhausted liquation cakes than are iron plates; indeed, if the former cakes drip copper from the heat, this can be taken back with the liquation thorns to the first furnace, but melted iron is of no use to us in these matters. when the cakes of this kind have been placed in front of the exhausted liquation cakes, the workman inserts the iron bar into the holes on the inside of the wall, which are at a height of three palms and two digits above the hearth; the hole to the left penetrates through into the wall, so that the bar may be pushed back and forth. this bar is round, eight feet long and two digits in diameter; on the right side it has a haft made of iron, which is about a foot from the right end; the aperture in this haft is a palm wide, two digits high, and a digit thick. the bar holds the exhausted liquation cakes opposite, lest they should fall down. when the operation of "drying" is completed, a workman draws out this bar with a crook which he inserts into the haft, as i will explain hereafter. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--side walls. b--front arch. c--rear arch. d--wall in the rear arch. e--inner wall. f--vent holes. g--chimney. h--hearth. i--tank. k--pipe. l--plug. m--iron door. n--transverse bars. o--upright bars. p--plates. q--rings of the bars. r--chains. s--rows of bricks. t--bar. v--its haft. x--copper bed-plates.] in order that one should understand those things of which i have spoken, and concerning which i am about to speak, it is necessary for me to give some information beforehand about the furnace and how it is to be made. it stands nine feet from the fourth long wall, and as far from the wall which is between the second and fourth transverse walls. it consists of walls, an arch, a chimney, an interior wall, and a hearth; the two walls are at the sides; and they are eleven feet three palms and two digits long, and where they support the chimney they are eight feet and a palm high. at the front of the arch they are only seven feet high; they are two feet three palms and two digits thick, and are made either of rock or of bricks; the distance between them is eight feet, a palm and two digits. there are two of the arches, for the space at the rear between the walls is also arched from the ground, in order that it may be able to support the chimney; the foundations of these arches are the walls of the furnace; the span of the arch has the same length as the space between the walls; the top of the arch is five feet, a palm and two digits high. in the rear arch there is a wall made of bricks joined with lime; this wall at a height of a foot and three palms from the ground has five vent-holes, which are two palms and a digit high, a palm and a digit wide, of which the first is near the right interior wall, and the last near the left interior wall, the remaining three in the intervening space; these vent-holes penetrate through the interior of the wall which is in the arch. half-bricks can be placed over the vent-holes, lest too much air should be drawn into the furnace, and they can be taken out at times, in order that he who is "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes may inspect the passages, as they are called, to see whether the cakes are being properly "dried." the front arch is three feet two palms distant from the rear one; this arch is the same thickness as that of the rear arch, but the span is six feet wide; the interior of the arch itself is of the same height as the walls. a chimney is built upon the arches and the walls, and is made of bricks joined together with lime; it is thirty-six feet high and penetrates through the roof. the interior wall is built against the rear arch and both the side walls, from which it juts out a foot; it is three feet and the same number of palms high, three palms thick, and is made of bricks joined together with lute and smeared thickly with lute, sloping up to the height of a foot above it. this wall is a kind of shield, for it protects the exterior walls from the heat of the fire, which is apt to injure them; the latter cannot be easily re-made, while the former can be repaired with little work. the hearth is made of lute, and is covered either with copper plates, such as those of the furnaces in which silver is liquated from copper, although they have no protuberances, or it may be covered with bricks, if the owners are unwilling to incur the expense of copper plates. the wider part of the hearth is made sloping in such a manner that the rear end reaches as high as the five vent-holes, and the front end of the hearth is so low that the back of the front arch is four feet, three palms and as many digits above it, and the front five feet, three palms and as many digits. the hearth beyond the furnaces is paved with bricks for a distance of six feet. near the furnace, against the fourth long wall, is a tank thirteen feet and a palm long, four feet wide, and a foot and three palms deep. it is lined on all sides with planks, lest the earth should fall into it; on one side the water flows in through pipes, and on the other, if the plug be pulled out, it soaks into the earth; into this tank of water are thrown the cakes of copper from which the silver and lead have been separated. the fore part of the front furnace arch should be partly closed with an iron door; the bottom of this door is six feet and two digits wide; the upper part is somewhat rounded, and at the highest point, which is in the middle, it is three feet and two palms high. it is made of iron bars, with plates fastened to them with iron wire, there being seven bars--three transverse and four upright--each of which is two digits wide and half a digit thick. the lowest transverse bar is six feet and two palms long; the middle one has the same length; the upper one is curved and higher at the centre, and thus longer than the other two. the upright bars are two feet distant from one another; both the outer ones are two feet and as many palms high; but the centre ones are three feet and two palms. they project from the upper curved transverse bar and have holes, in which are inserted the hooks of small chains two feet long; the topmost links of these chains are engaged in the ring of a third chain, which, when extended, reaches to one end of a beam which is somewhat cut out. the chain then turns around the beam, and again hanging down, the hook in the other end is fastened in one of the links. this beam is eleven feet long, a palm and two digits wide, a palm thick, and turns on an iron axle fixed in a nearby timber; the rear end of the beam has an iron pin, which is three palms and a digit long, and which penetrates through it where it lies under a timber, and projects from it a palm and two digits on one side, and three digits on the other side. at this point the pin is perforated, in order that a ring may be fixed in it and hold it, lest it should fall out of the beam; that end is hardly a digit thick, while the other round end is thicker than a digit. when the door is to be shut, this pin lies under the timber and holds the door so that it cannot fall; the pin likewise prevents the rectangular iron band which encircles the end of the beam, and into which is inserted the ring of a long hook, from falling from the end. the lowest link of an iron chain, which is six feet long, is inserted in the ring of a staple driven into the right wall of the furnace, and fixed firmly by filling in with molten lead. the hook suspended at the top from the ring should be inserted in one of these lower links, when the door is to be raised; when the door is to be let down, the hook is taken out of that link and put into one of the upper links. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--the door let down. b--bar. c--exhausted liquation cakes. d--bricks. e--tongs.] on the third day the master sets about the principal operation. first he throws a basketful of charcoals on to the ground in front of the hearth, and kindles them by adding live coals, and having thrown live coals on to the cakes placed within, he spreads them equally all over with an iron shovel. the blade of the shovel is three palms and a digit long, and three palms wide; its iron handle is two palms long, and the wooden one ten feet long, so that it can reach to the rear wall of the furnace. the exhausted liquation cakes become incandescent in an hour and a half, if the copper was good and hard, or after two hours, if it was soft and fragile. the workman adds charcoal to them where he sees it is needed, throwing it into the furnace through the openings on both sides between the side walls and the closed door. this opening is a foot and a palm wide. he lets down the door, and when the "slags" begin to flow he opens the passages with a bar; this should take place after five hours; the door is let down over the upper open part of the arch for two feet and as many digits, so that the master can bear the violence of the heat. when the cakes shrink, charcoal should not be added to them lest they should melt. if the cakes made from poor and fragile copper are "dried" with cakes made from good hard copper, very often the copper so settles into the passages that a bar thrust into them cannot penetrate them. this bar is of iron, six feet and two palms long, into which a wooden handle five feet long is inserted. the refiner draws off the "slags" with a rabble from the right side of the hearth. the blade of the rabble is made of an iron plate a foot and a palm wide, gradually narrowing toward the handle; the blade is two palms high, its iron handle is two feet long, and the wooden handle set into it is ten feet long. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--the door raised. b--hooked bar. c--two-pronged rake. d--tongs. e--tank.] when the exhausted liquation cakes have been "dried," the master raises the door in the manner i have described, and with a long iron hook inserted into the haft of the bar he draws it through the hole in the left wall from the hole in the right wall; afterward he pushes it back and replaces it. the master then takes out the exhausted liquation cakes nearest to him with the iron hook; then he pulls out the cakes from the bricks. this hook is two palms high, as many digits wide, and one thick; its iron handle is two feet long, and the wooden handle eleven feet long. there is also a two-pronged rake with which the "dried" cakes are drawn over to the left side so that they may be seized with tongs; the prongs of the rake are pointed, and are two palms long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick; the iron part of the handle is a foot long, the wooden part nine feet long. the "dried" cakes, taken out of the hearth by the master and his assistants, are seized with other tongs and thrown into the rectangular tank, which is almost filled with water. these tongs are two feet and three palms long, both the handles are round and more than a digit thick, and the ends are bent for a palm and two digits; both the jaws are a digit and a half wide in front and sharpened; at the back they are a digit thick, and then gradually taper, and when closed, the interior is two palms and as many digits wide. the "dried" cakes which are dripping copper are not immediately dipped into the tank, because, if so, they burst in fragments and give out a sound like thunder. the cakes are afterward taken out of the tank with the tongs, and laid upon the two transverse planks on which the workmen stand; the sooner they are taken out the easier it is to chip off the copper that has become ash-coloured. finally, the master, with a spade, raises up the bricks a little from the hearth, while they are still warm. the blade of the spade is a palm and two digits long, the lower edge is sharp, and is a palm and a digit wide, the upper end a palm wide; its handle is round, the iron part being two feet long, and the wooden part seven and a half feet long. on the fourth day the master draws out the liquation thorns which have settled in the passages; they are much richer in silver than those that are made when the silver-lead is liquated from copper in the liquation furnace. the "dried" cakes drip but little copper, but nearly all their remaining silver-lead and the thorns consist of it, for, indeed, in one _centumpondium_ of "dried" copper there should remain only half an _uncia_ of silver, and there sometimes remain only three _drachmae_.[ ] some smelters chip off the metal adhering to the bricks with a hammer, in order that it may be melted again; others, however, crush the bricks under the stamps and wash them, and the copper and lead thus collected is melted again. the master, when he has taken these things away and put them in their places, has finished his day's work. [illustration (dried liquation cakes): a--tank. b--board. c--tongs. d--"dried" cakes taken out of the tanks. e--block. f--rounded hammer. g--pointed hammer.] the assistants take the "dried" cakes out of the tank on the next day, place them on an oak block, and first pound them with rounded hammers in order that the ash-coloured copper may fall away from them, and then they dig out with pointed picks the holes in the cakes, which contain the same kind of copper. the head of the round hammer is three palms and a digit long; one end of the head is round and two digits long and thick; the other end is chisel-shaped, and is two digits and a half long. the sharp pointed hammer is the same length as the round hammer, but one end is pointed, the other end is square, and gradually tapers to a point. the nature of copper is such that when it is "dried" it becomes ash coloured, and since this copper contains silver, it is smelted again in the blast furnaces.[ ] [illustration (copper refining furnace): a--hearth of the furnace. b--chimney. c--common pillar. d--other pillars. the partition wall is behind the common pillar and not to be seen. e--arches. f--little walls which protect the partition wall from injury by the fire. g--crucibles. h--second long wall. i--door. k--spatula. l--the other spatula. m--the broom in which is inserted a stick. n--pestles. o--wooden mallet. p--plate. q--stones. r--iron rod.] i have described sufficiently the method by which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried"; now i will speak of the method by which they are made into copper after they have been "dried." these cakes, in order that they may recover the appearance of copper which they have to some extent lost, are melted in four furnaces, which are placed against the second long wall in the part of the building between the second and third transverse walls. this space is sixty-three feet and two palms long, and since each of these furnaces occupies thirteen feet, the space which is on the right side of the first furnace, and on the left of the fourth, are each three feet and three palms wide, and the distance between the second and third furnace is six feet. in the middle of each of these three spaces is a door, a foot and a half wide and six feet high, and the middle one is common to the master of each of the furnaces. each furnace has its own chimney, which rises between the two long walls mentioned above, and is supported by two arches and a partition wall. the partition wall is between the two furnaces, and is five feet long, ten feet high, and two feet thick; in front of it is a pillar belonging in common to the front arches of the furnace on either side, which is two feet and as many palms thick, three feet and a half wide. the front arch reaches from this common pillar to another pillar that is common to the side arch of the same furnace; this arch on the right spans from the second long wall to the same pillar, which is two feet and as many palms wide and thick at the bottom. the interior of the front arch is nine feet and a palm wide, and eight feet high at its highest point; the interior of the arch which is on the right side, is five feet and a palm wide, and of equal height to the other, and both the arches are built of the same height as the partition wall. imposed upon these arches and the partition wall are the walls of the chimney; these slope upward, and thus contract, so that at the upper part, where the fumes are emitted, the opening is eight feet in length, one foot and three palms in width. the fourth wall of the chimney is built vertically upon the second long wall. as the partition wall is common to the two furnaces, so its superstructure is common to the two chimneys. in this sensible manner the chimney is built. at the front each furnace is six feet two palms long, and three feet two palms wide, and a cubit high; the back of each furnace is against the second long wall, the front being open. the first furnace is open and sloping at the right side, so that the slags may be drawn out; the left side is against the partition wall, and has a little wall built of bricks cemented together with lute; this little wall protects the partition wall from injury by the fire. on the contrary, the second furnace has the left side open and the right side is against the partition wall, where also it has its own little wall which protects the partition wall from the fire. the front of each furnace is built of rectangular rocks; the interior of it is filled up with earth. then in each of the furnaces at the rear, against the second long wall, is an aperture through an arch at the back, and in these are fixed the copper pipes. each furnace has a round pit, two feet and as many palms wide, built three feet away from the partition wall. finally, under the pit of the furnace, at a depth of a cubit, is the hidden receptacle for moisture, similar to the others, whose vent penetrates through the second long wall and slopes upward to the right from the first furnace, and to the left from the second. if copper is to be made the next day, then the master cuts out the crucible with a spatula, the blade of which is three digits wide and as many palms long, the iron handle being two feet long and one and a half digits in diameter; the wooden handle inserted into it is round, five feet long and two digits in diameter. then, with another cutting spatula, he makes the crucible smooth; the blade of this spatula is a palm wide and two palms long; its handle, partly of iron, partly of wood, is similar in every respect to the first one. afterward he throws pulverised clay and charcoal into the crucible, pours water over it, and sweeps it over with a broom into which a stick is fixed. then immediately he throws into the crucible a powder, made of two wheelbarrowsful of sifted charcoal dust, as many wheelbarrowsful of pulverised clay likewise sifted, and six basketsful of river sand which has passed through a very fine sieve. this powder, like that used by smelters, is sprinkled with water and moistened before it is put into the crucible, so that it may be fashioned by the hands into shapes similar to snowballs. when it has been put in, the master first kneads it and makes it smooth with his hands, and then pounds it with two wooden pestles, each of which is a cubit long; each pestle has a round head at each end, but one of these is a palm in diameter, the other three digits; both are thinner in the middle, so that they may be held in the hand. then he again throws moistened powder into the crucible, and again makes it smooth with his hands, and kneads it with his fists and with the pestles; then, pushing upward and pressing with his fingers, he makes the edge of the crucible smooth. after the crucible has been made smooth, he sprinkles in dry charcoal dust, and again pounds it with the same pestles, at first with the narrow heads, and afterward with the wider ones. then he pounds the crucible with a wooden mallet two feet long, both heads of which are round and three digits in diameter; its wooden handle is two palms long, and one and a half digits in diameter. finally, he throws into the crucible as much pure sifted ashes as both hands can hold, and pours water into it, and, taking an old linen rag, he smears the crucible over with the wet ashes. the crucible is round and sloping. if copper is to be made from the best quality of "dried" cakes, it is made two feet wide and one deep, but if from other cakes, it is made a cubit wide and two palms deep. the master also has an iron band curved at both ends, two palms long and as many digits wide, and with this he cuts off the edges of the crucible if they are higher than is necessary. the copper pipe is inclined, and projects three digits from the wall, and has its upper end and both sides smeared thick with lute, that it may not be burned; but the underside of the pipe is smeared thinly with lute, for this side reaches almost to the edge of the crucible, and when the crucible is full the molten copper touches it. the wall above the pipe is smeared over with lute, lest that should be damaged. he does the same to the other side of an iron plate, which is a foot and three palms long and a foot high; this stands on stones near the crucible at the side where the hearth slopes, in order that the slag may run out under it. others do not place the plates upon stones, but cut out of the plate underneath a small piece, three digits long and three digits wide; lest the plate should fall, it is supported by an iron rod fixed in the wall at a height of two palms and the same number of digits, and it projects from the wall three palms. then with an iron shovel, whose wooden handle is six feet long, he throws live charcoal into the crucible; or else charcoal, kindled by means of a few live coals, is added to them. over the live charcoal he lays "dried" cakes, which, if they were of copper of the first quality, weigh all together three _centumpondia_, or three and a half _centumpondia_; but if they were of copper of the second quality, then two and a half _centumpondia_; if they were of the third quality, then two _centumpondia_ only; but if they were of copper of very superior quality, then they place upon it six _centumpondia_, and in this case they make the crucible wider and deeper.[ ] the lowest "dried" cake is placed at a distance of two palms from the pipe, the rest at a greater distance, and when the lower ones are melted the upper ones fall down and get nearer to the pipe; if they do not fall down they must be pushed with a shovel. the blade of the shovel is a foot long, three palms and two digits wide, the iron part of the handle is two palms long, the wooden part nine feet. round about the "dried" cakes are placed large long pieces of charcoal, and in the pipe are placed medium-sized pieces. when all these things have been arranged in this manner, the fire must be more violently excited by the blast from the bellows. when the copper is melting and the coals blaze, the master pushes an iron bar into the middle of them in order that they may receive the air, and that the flame can force its way out. this pointed bar is two and a half feet long, and its wooden handle four feet long. when the cakes are partly melted, the master, passing out through the door, inspects the crucible through the bronze pipe, and if he should find that too much of the "slag" is adhering to the mouth of the pipe, and thus impeding the blast of the bellows, he inserts the hooked iron bar into the pipe through the nozzle of the bellows, and, turning this about the mouth of the pipe, he removes the "slags" from it. the hook on this bar is two digits high; the iron part of the handle is three feet long; the wooden part is the same number of palms long. now it is time to insert the bar under the iron plate, in order that the "slags" may flow out. when the cakes, being all melted, have run into the crucible, he takes out a sample of copper with the third round bar, which is made wholly of iron, and is three feet long, a digit thick, and has a steel point lest its pores should absorb the copper. when he has compressed the bellows, he introduces this bar as quickly as possible into the crucible through the pipe between the two nozzles, and takes out samples two, three, or four times, until he finds that the copper is perfectly refined. if the copper is good it adheres easily to the bar, and two samples suffice; if it is not good, then many are required. it is necessary to smelt it in the crucible until the copper adhering to the bar is seen to be of a brassy colour, and if the upper as well as the lower part of the thin layer of copper may be easily broken, it signifies that the copper is perfectly melted; he places the point of the bar on a small iron anvil, and chips off the thin layer of copper from it with a hammer.[ ] [illustration (copper refining): a--pointed bar. b--thin copper layer. c--anvil. d--hammer.] [illustration (copper refining): a--crucible. b--board. c--wedge-shaped bar. d--cakes of copper made by separating them with the wedge-shaped bar. e--tongs. f--tub.] if the copper is not good, the master draws off the "slags" twice, or three times if necessary--the first time when some of the cakes have been melted, the second when all have melted, the third time when the copper has been heated for some time. if the copper was of good quality, the "slags" are not drawn off before the operation is finished, but at the time they are to be drawn off, he depresses the bar over both bellows, and places over both a stick, a cubit long and a palm wide, half cut away at the upper part, so that it may pass under the iron pin fixed at the back in the perforated wood. this he does likewise when the copper has been completely melted. then the assistant removes the iron plate with the tongs; these tongs are four feet three palms long, their jaws are about a foot in length, and their straight part measures two palms and three digits, and the curved a palm and a digit. the same assistant, with the iron shovel, throws and heaps up the larger pieces of charcoal into that part of the hearth which is against the little wall which protects the other wall from injury by fire, and partly extinguishes them by pouring water over them. the master, with a hazel stick inserted into the crucible, stirs it twice. afterward he draws off the slags with a rabble, which consists of an iron blade, wide and sharp, and of alder-wood; the blade is a digit and a half in width and three feet long; the wooden handle inserted in its hollow part is the same number of feet long, and the alder-wood in which the blade is fixed must have the figure of a rhombus; it must be three palms and a digit long, a palm and two digits wide, and a palm thick. subsequently he takes a broom and sweeps the charcoal dust and small coal over the whole of the crucible, lest the copper should cool before it flows together; then, with a third rabble, he cuts off the slags which may adhere to the edge of the crucible. the blade of this rabble is two palms long and a palm and one digit wide, the iron part of the handle is a foot and three palms long, the wooden part six feet. afterward he again draws off the slags from the crucible, which the assistant does not quench by pouring water upon them, as the other slags are usually quenched, but he sprinkles over them a little water and allows them to cool. if the copper should bubble, he presses down the bubbles with the rabble. then he pours water on the wall and the pipes, that it may flow down warm into the crucible, for, the copper, if cold water were to be poured over it while still hot, would spatter about. if a stone, or a piece of lute or wood, or a damp coal should then fall into it, the crucible would vomit out all the copper with a loud noise like thunder, and whatever it touches it injures and sets on fire. subsequently he lays a curved board with a notch in it over the front part of the crucible; it is two feet long, a palm and two digits wide, and a digit thick. then the copper in the crucible should be divided into cakes with an iron wedge-shaped bar; this is three feet long, two digits wide, and steeled on the end for the distance of two digits, and its wooden handle is three feet long. he places this bar on the notched board, and, driving it into the copper, moves it forward and back, and by this means the water flows into the vacant space in the copper, and he separates the cake from the rest of the mass. if the copper is not perfectly smelted the cakes will be too thick, and cannot be taken out of the crucible easily. each cake is afterward seized by the assistant with the tongs and plunged into the water in the tub; the first one is placed aside so that the master may re-melt it again immediately, for, since some "slags" adhere to it, it is not as perfect as the subsequent ones; indeed, if the copper is not of good quality, he places the first two cakes aside. then, again pouring water over the wall and the pipes, he separates out the second cake, which the assistant likewise immerses in water and places on the ground together with the others separated out in the same way, which he piles upon them. these, if the copper was of good quality, should be thirteen or more in number; if it was not of good quality, then fewer. if the copper was of good quality, this part of the operation, which indeed is distributed into four parts, is accomplished by the master in two hours; if of mediocre quality, in two and a half hours; if of bad quality, in three. the "dried" cakes are re-melted, first in the first crucible and then in the second. the assistant must, as quickly as possible, quench all the cakes with water, after they have been cut out of the second crucible. afterward with the tongs he replaces in its proper place the iron plate which was in front of the furnace, and throws the charcoal back into the crucible with a shovel. meanwhile the master, continuing his work, removes the wooden stick from the bars of the bellows, so that in re-melting the other cakes he may accomplish the third part of his process; this must be carefully done, for if a particle from any iron implement should by chance fall into the crucible, or should be thrown in by any malevolent person, the copper could not be made until the iron had been consumed, and therefore double labour would have to be expended upon it. finally, the assistant extinguishes all the glowing coals, and chips off the dry lute from the mouth of the copper pipe with a hammer; one end of this hammer is pointed, the other round, and it has a wooden handle five feet long. because there is danger that the copper would be scattered if the _pompholyx_ and _spodos_, which adhere to the walls and the hood erected upon them, should fall into the crucible, he cleans them off in the meantime. every week he takes the copper flowers out of the tub, after having poured off the water, for these fall into it from the cakes when they are quenched.[ ] the bellows which this master uses differ in size from the others, for the boards are seven and a half feet long; the back part is three feet wide; the front, where the head is joined on is a foot, two palms and as many digits. the head is a cubit and a digit long; the back part of it is a cubit and a palm wide, and then becomes gradually narrower. the nozzles of the bellows are bound together by means of an iron chain, controlled by a thick bar, one end of which penetrates into the ground against the back of the long wall, and the other end passes under the beam which is laid upon the foremost perforated beams. these nozzles are so placed in a copper pipe that they are at a distance of a palm from the mouth; the mouth should be made three digits in diameter, that the air may be violently expelled through this narrow aperture. there now remain the liquation thorns, the ash-coloured copper, the "slags," and the _cadmia_.[ ] liquation cakes are made from thorns in the following manner.[ ] there are taken three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of thorns, which have their origin from the cakes of copper-lead alloy when lead-silver is liquated, and as many parts of a _centumpondium_ of the thorns derived from cakes made from once re-melted thorns by the same method, and to them are added a _centumpondium_ of de-silverized lead and half a _centumpondium_ of hearth-lead. if there is in the works plenty of litharge, it is substituted for the de-silverized lead. one and a half _centumpondia_ of litharge and hearth-lead is added to the same weight of primary thorns, and half a _centumpondium_ of thorns which have their origin from liquation cakes composed of thorns twice re-melted by the same method (tertiary thorns), and a fourth part of a _centumpondium_ of thorns which are produced when the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried." by both methods one single liquation cake is made from three _centumpondia_. in this manner the smelter makes every day fifteen liquation cakes, more or less; he takes great care that the metallic substances, from which the first liquation cake is made, flow down properly and in due order into the forehearth, before the material of which the subsequent cake is to be made. five of these liquation cakes are put simultaneously into the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper, they weigh almost fourteen _centumpondia_, and the "slags" made therefrom usually weigh quite a _centumpondium_. in all the liquation cakes together there is usually one _libra_ and nearly two _unciae_ of silver, and in the silver-lead which drips from those cakes, and weighs seven and a half _centumpondia_, there is in each an _uncia_ and a half of silver. in each of the three _centumpondia_ of liquation thorns there is almost an _uncia_ of silver, and in the two _centumpondia_ and a quarter of exhausted liquation cakes there is altogether one and a half _unciae_; yet this varies greatly for each variety of thorns, for in the thorns produced from primary liquation cakes made of copper and lead when silver-lead is liquated from the copper, and those produced in "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes, there are almost two _unciae_ of silver; in the others not quite an _uncia_. there are other thorns besides, of which i will speak a little further on. those in the carpathian mountains who make liquation cakes from the copper "bottoms" which remain after the upper part of the copper is divided from the lower, in the furnace similar to an oven, produce thorns when the poor or mediocre silver-lead is liquated from the copper. these, together with those made of cakes of re-melted thorns, or made with re-melted litharge, are placed in a heap by themselves; but those that are made from cakes melted from hearth-lead are placed in a heap separate from the first, and likewise those produced from "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes are placed separately; from these thorns liquation cakes are made. from the first heap they take the fourth part of a _centumpondium_, from the second the same amount, from the third a _centumpondium_,--to which thorns are added one and a half _centumpondia_ of litharge and half a _centumpondium_ of hearth-lead, and from these, melted in the blast furnace, a liquation cake is made; each workman makes twenty such cakes every day. but of theirs enough has been said for the present; i will return to ours. the ash-coloured copper[ ] which is chipped off, as i have stated, from the "dried" cakes, used some years ago to be mixed with the thorns produced from liquation of the copper-lead alloy, and contained in themselves, equally with the first, two _unciae_ of silver; but now it is mixed with the concentrates washed from the accretions and the other material. the inhabitants of the carpathian mountains melt this kind of copper in furnaces in which are re-melted the "slags" which flow out when the copper is refined; but as this soon melts and flows down out of the furnace, two workmen are required for the work of smelting, one of whom smelts, while the other takes out the thick cakes from the forehearth. these cakes are only "dried," and from the "dried" cakes copper is again made. the "slags"[ ] are melted continually day and night, whether they have been drawn off from the alloyed metals with a rabble, or whether they adhered to the forehearth to the thickness of a digit and made it smaller and were taken off with spatulas. in this manner two or three liquation cakes are made, and afterward much or little of the "slag," skimmed from the molten alloy of copper and lead, is re-melted. such liquation cakes should weigh up to three _centumpondia_, in each of which there is half an _uncia_ of silver. five cakes are placed at the same time in the furnace in which argentiferous lead is liquated from copper, and from these are made lead which contains half an _uncia_ of silver to the _centumpondium_. the exhausted liquation cakes are laid upon the other baser exhausted liquation cakes, from both of which yellow copper is made. the base thorns thus obtained are re-melted with a few baser "slags," after having been sprinkled with concentrates from furnace accretions and other material, and in this manner six or seven liquation cakes are made, each of which weighs some two _centumpondia_. five of these are placed at the same time in the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper; these drip three _centumpondia_ of lead, each of which contains half an _uncia_ of silver. the basest thorns thus produced should be re-melted with only a little "slag." the copper alloyed with lead, which flows down from the furnace into the forehearth, is poured out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds; these cakes are "dried" with base exhausted liquation cakes. the thorns they produce are added to the base thorns, and they are made into cakes according to the method i have described. from the "dried" cakes they make copper, of which some add a small portion to the best "dried" cakes when copper is made from them, in order that by mixing the base copper with the good it may be sold without loss. the "slags," if they are utilisable, are re-melted a second and a third time, the cakes made from them are "dried," and from the "dried" cakes is made copper, which is mixed with the good copper. the "slags," drawn off by the master who makes copper out of "dried" cakes, are sifted, and those which fall through the sieve into a vessel placed underneath are washed; those which remain in it are emptied into a wheelbarrow and wheeled away to the blast furnaces, and they are re-melted together with other "slags," over which are sprinkled the concentrates from washing the slags or furnace accretions made at this time. the copper which flows out of the furnace into the forehearth, is likewise dipped out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds; in this way nine or ten cakes are made, which are "dried," together with bad exhausted liquation cakes, and from these "dried" cakes yellow[ ] copper is made. [illustration (copper refining): a--furnace. b--forehearth. c--oblong moulds.] the _cadmia_,[ ] as it is called by us, is made from the "slags" which the master, who makes copper from "dried" cakes, draws off together with other re-melted base "slags"; for, indeed, if the copper cakes made from such "slags" are broken, the fragments are called _cadmia_; from this and yellow copper is made _caldarium_ copper in two ways. for either two parts of _cadmia_ are mixed with one of yellow copper in the blast furnaces, and melted; or, on the contrary, two parts of yellow copper with one of _cadmia_, so that the _cadmia_ and yellow copper may be well mixed; and the copper which flows down from the furnace into the forehearth is poured out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds heated beforehand. these moulds are sprinkled over with charcoal dust before the _caldarium_ copper is to be poured into them, and the same dust is sprinkled over the copper when it is poured in, lest the _cadmia_ and yellow copper should freeze before they have become well mixed. with a piece of wood the assistant cleanses each cake from the dust, when it is turned out of the mould. then he throws it into the tub containing hot water, for the _caldarium_ copper is finer if quenched in hot water. but as i have so often made mention of the oblong copper moulds, i must now speak of them a little; they are a foot and a palm long, the inside is three palms and a digit wide at the top, and they are rounded at the bottom. the concentrates are of two kinds--precious and base.[ ] the first are obtained from the accretions of the blast furnace, when liquation cakes are made from copper and lead, or from precious liquation thorns, or from the better quality "slags," or from the best grade of concentrates, or from the sweepings and bricks of the furnaces in which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried"; all of these things are crushed and washed, as i explained in book viii. the base concentrates are made from accretions formed when cakes are cast from base thorns or from the worst quality of slags. the smelter who makes liquation cakes from the precious concentrates, adds to them three wheelbarrowsful of litharge and four barrowsful of hearth-lead and one of ash-coloured copper, from all of which nine or ten liquation cakes are melted out, of which five at a time are placed in the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper; a _centumpondium_ of the lead which drips from these cakes contains one _uncia_ of silver. the liquation thorns are placed apart by themselves, of which one basketful is mixed with the precious thorns to be re-melted. the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried" at the same time as other good exhausted liquation cakes. the thorns which are drawn off from the lead, when it is separated from silver in the cupellation furnace[ ], and the hearth-lead which remains in the crucible in the middle part of the furnaces, together with the hearth material which has become defective and has absorbed silver-lead, are all melted together with a little slag in the blast furnaces. the lead, or rather the silver-lead, which flows from the furnace into the forehearth, is poured out into copper moulds such as are used by the refiners; a _centumpondium_ of such lead contains four _unciae_ of silver, or, if the hearth was defective, it contains more. a small portion of this material is added to the copper and lead when liquation cakes are made from them, if more were to be added the alloy would be much richer than it should be, for which reason the wise foreman of the works mixes these thorns with other precious thorns. the hearth-lead which remains in the middle of the crucible, and the hearth material which absorbs silver-lead, is mixed with other hearth-lead which remains in the cupellation furnace crucible; and yet some cakes, made rich in this manner, may be placed again in the cupellation furnaces, together with the rest of the silver-lead cakes which the refiner has made. the inhabitants of the carpathian mountains, if they have an abundance of finely crushed copper[ ] or lead either made from "slags," or collected from the furnace in which the exhausted liquation cakes are dried, or litharge, alloy them in various ways. the "first" alloy consists of two _centumpondia_ of lead melted out of thorns, litharge, and thorns made from hearth-lead, and of half a _centumpondium_ each of lead collected in the furnace in which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried," and of copper _minutum_, and from these are made liquation cakes; the task of the smelter is finished when he has made forty liquation cakes of this kind. the "second" alloy consists of two _centumpondia_ of litharge, of one and a quarter _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead or lead from "slags," and of half a _centumpondium_ of lead made from thorns, and of as much copper _minutum_. the "third" alloy consists of three _centumpondia_ of litharge and of half a _centumpondium_ each of de-silverized lead, of lead made from thorns, and of copper _minutum contusum_. liquation cakes are made from all these alloys; the task of the smelters is finished when they have made thirty cakes. the process by which cakes are made among the tyrolese, from which they separate the silver-lead, i have explained in book ix. silver is separated from iron in the following manner. equal portions of iron scales and filings and of _stibium_ are thrown into an earthenware crucible which, when covered with a lid and sealed, is placed in a furnace, into which air is blown. when this has melted and again cooled, the crucible is broken; the button that settles in the bottom of it, when taken out, is pounded to powder, and the same weight of lead being added, is mixed and melted in a second crucible; at last this button is placed in a cupel and the lead is separated from the silver.[ ] there are a great variety of methods by which one metal is separated from other metals, and the manner in which the same are alloyed i have explained partly in the eighth book of _de natura fossilium_, and partly i will explain elsewhere. now i will proceed to the remainder of my subject. end of book xi. footnotes: [ ] the whole of this book is devoted to the subject of the separation of silver from copper by liquation, except pages - on copper refining, and page on the separation of silver from iron. we believe a brief outline of the liquation process here will refresh the mind of the reader, and enable him to peruse the book with more satisfaction. the fundamental principle of the process is that if a copper-lead alloy, containing a large excess of lead, be heated in a reducing atmosphere, above the melting point of lead but below that of copper, the lead will liquate out and carry with it a large proportion of the silver. as the results are imperfect, the process cannot be carried through in one operation, and a large amount of bye-products is created which must be worked up subsequently. the process, as here described, falls into six stages. st, melting the copper and lead in a blast furnace to form "liquation cakes"--that is, the "leading." if the copper contain too little silver to warrant liquation directly, then the copper is previously enriched by melting and drawing off from a settling pot the less argentiferous "tops" from the metal, liquation cakes being made from the enriched "bottoms." nd, liquation of the argentiferous lead from the copper. this work was carried out in a special furnace, to which the admission of air was prevented as much as possible in order to prevent oxidation. rd, "drying" the residual copper, which retained some lead, in a furnace with a free admission of air. the temperature was raised to a higher degree than in the liquation furnace, and the expelled lead was oxidized. th, cupellation of the argentiferous lead. th, refining of the residual copper from the "drying" furnace by oxidation of impurities and poling in a "refining furnace." th, re-alloy and re-liquation of the bye-products. these consist of: _a_, "slags" from "leading"; _b_, "slags" from "drying"; _c_, "slags" from refining of the copper. all of these "slags" were mainly lead oxides, containing some cuprous oxides and silica from the furnace linings; _d_, "thorns" from liquation; _e_, "thorns" from "drying"; _f_, "thorns" from skimmings during cupellation; these were again largely lead oxides, but contained rather more copper and less silica than the "slags"; _g_, "ash-coloured copper," being scales from the "dried" copper, were cuprous oxides, containing considerable lead oxides; _h_, concentrates from furnace accretions, crushed bricks, &c. the discussion of detailed features of the process has been reserved to notes attached to the actual text, to which the reader is referred. as to the general result of liquation, karsten (see below) estimates the losses in the liquation of the equivalent of lbs. of argentiferous copper to amount to - lbs. of lead and to lbs. of copper. percy (see below) quotes results at lautenthal in the upper harz for the years - , showing losses of % of the silver, . % of the copper, and . lbs. of lead to the lbs. of copper, or say, % of the lead; and a cost of £ s. per ton of copper. the theoretical considerations involved in liquation have not been satisfactorily determined. those who may wish to pursue the subject will find repeated descriptions and much discussion in the following works, which have been freely consulted in the notes which follow upon particular features of the process. it may be mentioned that agricola's treatment of the subject is more able than any down to the th century. ercker (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten mineralischen_, etc., prague, ). lohneys (_bericht vom bergwercken_, etc., zellerfeldt, ). schlüter (_gründlicher unterricht von hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ). _karsten_ (_system der metallurgie v._ and _archiv für bergbau und hüttenwesen_, st series, ). berthier (_annales des mines_, , ii.). percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, london, ). nomenclature.--this process held a very prominent position in german metallurgy for over four centuries, and came to have a well-defined nomenclature of its own, which has never found complete equivalents in english, our metallurgical writers to the present day adopting more or less of the german terms. agricola apparently found no little difficulty in adapting latin words to his purpose, but stubbornly adhered to his practice of using no german at the expense of long explanatory clauses. the following table, prepared for convenience in translation, is reproduced. the german terms are spelled after the manner used in most english metallurgies, some of them appear in agricola's glossary to _de re metallica_. english. latin. german. blast furnace _prima fornax_ _schmeltzofen_ liquation furnace _fornax in qua argentum et _saigernofen_ plumbum ab aere secernuntur_ drying furnace _fornax in qua aerei panes _darrofen_ fathiscentes torrentur_ refining hearth _fornax in qua panes aerei _gaarherd_ torrefacti coquuntur_ cupellation _secunda fornax_, or _treibherd_ furnace _fornax in qua plumbum ab argento separatur_ leading _mistura_ _frischen_ liquating _stillare_, or _distillare_ _saigern_ "drying" _torrere_ _darren_ refining _aes ex panibus torrefactis _gaarmachen_ conficere_ liquation cakes _panes ex aere ac plumbo misti_ _saigerstock_ exhausted _panes fathiscentes_ _kiehnstock_, liquation cakes or _kinstocke_ "dried" cakes _panes torrefacti_ _darrlinge_ slags from leading _recrementa_ _frischschlacke_ (with explanatory phrases) slags from drying _recrementa_ _darrost_ (with explanatory phrases) slags from refining _recrementa_ _gaarschlacke_ (with explanatory phrases) liquation thorns _spinae_ _saigerdörner_, (with explanatory phrases) or _röstdörner_ thorns from "drying" _spinae_ _darrsöhle_ (with explanatory phrases) thorns from _spinae_ _abstrich_ cupellation (with explanatory phrases) silver-lead or _stannum_ _saigerwerk_ or liquated _saigerblei_ silver-lead ash-coloured copper _aes cinereum_ _pickschiefer_ or _schifer_ furnace accretions _cadmiae_ _offenbrüche_ or "accretions" historical note.--so far as we are aware, this is the first complete discussion of this process, although it is briefly mentioned by one writer before agricola--that is, by biringuccio (iii, , ), who wrote ten years before this work was sent to the printer. his account is very incomplete, for he describes only the bare liquation, and states that the copper is re-melted with lead and re-liquated until the silver is sufficiently abstracted. he neither mentions "drying" nor any of the bye-products. in his directions the silver-lead alloy was cupelled and the copper ultimately refined, obviously by oxidation and poling, although he omits the pole. in a.d. theophilus (p. , hendrie's trans.) describes melting lead out of copper ore, which would be a form of liquation so far as separation of these two metals is concerned, but obviously not a process for separating silver from copper. this passage is quoted in the note on copper smelting (note on p. ). a process of such well-developed and complicated a character must have come from a period long before agricola; but further than such a surmise, there appears little to be recorded. liquation has been during the last fifty years displaced by other methods, because it was not only tedious and expensive, but the losses of metal were considerable. [ ] _paries_,--"partition" or "wall." the author uses this term throughout in distinction to _murus_, usually applying the latter to the walls of the building and the former to furnace walls, chimney walls, etc. in order to gain clarity, we have introduced the term "hood" in distinction to "chimney," and so far as possible refer to the _paries_ of these constructions and furnaces as "side of the furnace," "side of the hood," etc. [ ] from this point on, the construction of the roofs, in the absence of illustration, is hopeless of intelligent translation. the constant repetition of "_tignum_," "_tigillum_," "_trabs_," for at least fifteen different construction members becomes most hopelessly involved, especially as the author attempts to distinguish between them in a sort of "house-that-jack-built" arrangement of explanatory clauses. [ ] in the original text this is given as the "fifth," a manifest impossibility. [ ] _chelae_,--"claws." [ ] if roman weights, this would be . short tons, and . tons if german _centner_ is meant. [ ] this is, no doubt, a reference to pliny's statement (xxxiii, ) regarding litharge at puteoli. this passage from pliny is given in the footnote on p. . puteoli was situated on the bay of naples. [ ] by this expression is apparently meant the "bottoms" produced in enriching copper, as described on p. . [ ] the details of the preparation of liquation cakes--"leading"--were matters of great concern to the old metallurgists. the size of the cakes, the proportion of silver in the original copper and in the liquated lead, the proportion of lead and silver left in the residual cakes, all had to be reached by a series of compromises among militant forces. the cakes were generally two and one-half to three and one-half inches thick and about two feet in diameter, and weighed to lbs. this size was wonderfully persistent from agricola down to modern times; and was, no doubt, based on sound experience. if the cakes were too small, they required proportionately more fuel and labour; whilst if too large, the copper began to melt before the maximum lead was liquated. the ratio of the copper and lead was regulated by the necessity of enough copper to leave a substantial sponge mass the shape of the original cake, and not so large a proportion as to imprison the lead. that is, if the copper be in too small proportion the cakes break down; and if in too large, then insufficient lead liquates out, and the extraction of silver decreases. ercker (p. - ) insists on the equivalent of about copper to . lead; lohneys (p. ), copper to or lead. schlüter (p. , etc.) insists on a ration of copper to about lead. kerl (_handbuch der metallurgischen hüttenkunde_, ; vol. iii., p. ) gives copper to to parts lead. agricola gives variable amounts of parts copper to from to parts lead. as to the ratio of silver in the copper, or to the cakes, there does not, except the limit of payability, seem to have been any difficulty on the minimum side. on the other hand, ercker, lohneys, schlüter, and karsten all contend that if the silver ran above a certain proportion, the copper would retain considerable silver. these authors give the outside ratio of silver permissible for good results in one liquation at what would be equivalent to to ozs. per ton of cakes, or about to ozs. per ton on the original copper. it will be seen, however, that agricola's cakes greatly exceed these values. a difficulty did arise when the copper ran low in silver, in that the liquated lead was too poor to cupel, and in such case the lead was used over again, until it became rich enough for this purpose. according to karsten, copper containing less than an equivalent of to ozs. per ton could not be liquated profitably, although the upper harz copper, according to kerl, containing the equivalent of about ozs. per ton, was liquated at a profit. in such a case the cakes would run only to ozs. per ton. it will be noticed that in the eight cases given by agricola the copper ran from to over ozs. per ton, and in the description of enrichment of copper "bottoms" the original copper runs ozs., and "it cannot be separated easily"; as a result, it is raised to ozs. per ton before treatment. in addition to the following tabulation of the proportions here given by agricola, the reader should refer to footnotes and , where four more combinations are tabulated. it will be observed from this table that with the increasing richness of copper an increased proportion of lead was added, so that the products were of similar value. it has been assumed (see footnote p. ), that roman weights are intended. it is not to be expected that metallurgical results of this period will "tie up" with the exactness of the modern operator's, and it has not been considered necessary to calculate beyond the nearest pennyweight. where two or more values are given by the author the average has been taken. st charge. nd charge. rd charge. th charge. amount of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. argentiferous copper amount of lead . " . " . " . " weight of each cake . " . " . " . " average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. charge dwts. dwts. dwts. dwts. per cent. of copper . % % . % % average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. original copper dwts. dwts. dwts. dwts. per ton weight of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. lbs. argentiferous lead liquated out average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. liquated lead per ton weight of residues lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. (residual copper and thorns) average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. to residues per ton ozs. extraction of . % . % % . % silver into the argentiferous lead [ ] see p. . [ ] an analysis of this "slag" by karsten (_archiv_. st series ix, p. ) showed . % lead oxide, . % cuprous oxide, . % silica (from the fuel and furnace linings), together with some iron alumina, etc. the _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ were largely zinc oxide (see note, p. ). [ ] this description of a _centumpondium_ which weighed either - / _librae_, or - / _librae_, adds confusion to an already much mixed subject (see appendix c.). assuming the german _pfundt_ to weigh , troy grains, and the roman _libra_ , grains, then a _centner_ would weigh . _librae_, which checks up fairly well with the second case; but under what circumstances a _centner_ can weigh - / _librae_ we are unable to record. at first sight it might appear from this statement that where agricola uses the word _centumpondium_ he means the german _centner_. on the other hand, in the previous five or six pages the expressions one-third, five-sixths, ten-twelfths of a _libra_ are used, which are even divisions of the roman _unciae_ to one _libra_, and are used where they manifestly mean divisions of units. if agricola had in mind the german scale, and were using the _libra_ for a _pfundt_ of _untzen_, these divisions would amount to fractions, and would not total the _sicilicus_ and _drachma_ quantities given, nor would they total any of the possibly synonymous divisions of the german _untzen_ (see also page ). [ ] if we assume roman weights, the charge in the first case can be tabulated as follows, and for convenience will be called the fifth charge:-- th charge ( cakes). amount of copper . lbs. amount of lead . lbs. weight of each cake . lbs. average value of charge ozs. dwts. per cent. of copper % average value of original copper per ton ozs. dwts. grs. weight of argentiferous lead liquated out . lbs. average value of liquated lead per ton ozs. dwts. weight of residues lbs. average value of residues per ton ozs. (about). extraction of silver into the argentiferous lead % the results given in the second case where the copper contains _librae_ and a _bes_ per _centumpondium_ do not tie together at all, for each liquation cake should contain _librae_ - / _unciae_, instead of - / _librae_ and / _uncia_ of silver. [ ] in this enrichment of copper by the "settling" of the silver in the molten mass the original copper ran, in the two cases given, ozs. dwts. and ozs. dwt. per ton. the whole charge weighed , lbs., and contained in the second case ozs. troy, omitting fractions. on melting, , lbs. were drawn off as "tops," containing ozs. of silver, or running ozs. per ton, and there remained , lbs. of "bottoms," containing ozs. of silver, or averaging ozs. per ton. it will be noticed later on in the description of making liquation cakes from these copper bottoms, that the author alters the value from one-third _librae_, a _semi-uncia_ and a _drachma_ per _centumpondium_ to one-third of a _libra_, _i.e._, from ozs. to ozs. dwts. per ton. in the glossary this furnace is described as a _spleisofen_, _i.e._, a refining hearth. [ ] the latter part of this paragraph presents great difficulties. the term "refining furnace" is given in the latin as the "second furnace," an expression usually applied to the cupellation furnace. the whole question of refining is exhaustively discussed on pages to . exactly what material is meant by the term red (_rubrum_), yellow (_fulvum_) and _caldarium_ copper is somewhat uncertain. they are given in the german text simply as _rot_, _geel_, and _lebeter kupfer_, and apparently all were "coarse" copper of different characters destined for the refinery. the author states in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ): "copper has a red colour peculiar to itself; this colour in smelted copper is considered the most excellent. it, however, varies. in some it is red, as in the copper smelted at neusohl.... other copper is prepared in the smelters where silver is separated from copper, which is called yellow copper (_luteum_), and is _regulare_. in the same place a dark yellow copper is made which is called _caldarium_, taking its name among the germans from a caldron.... _regulare_ differs from _caldarium_ in that the former is not only fusible, but also malleable; while the latter is, indeed, fusible, but is not ductile, for it breaks when struck with the hammer." later on in _de re metallica_ (p. ) he describes yellow copper as made from "baser" liquation thorns and from exhausted liquation cakes made from thorns. these products were necessarily impure, as they contained, among other things, the concentrates from furnace accretions. therefore, there was ample source for zinc, arsenic or other metallics which would lighten the colour. _caldarium_ copper is described by pliny (see note, p. ), and was, no doubt, "coarse" copper, and apparently agricola adopted this term from that source, as we have found it used nowhere else. on page the author describes making _caldarium_ copper from a mixture of yellow copper and a peculiar _cadmia_, which he describes as the "slags" from refining copper. these "slags," which are the result of oxidation and poling, would contain almost any of the metallic impurities of the original ore, antimony, lead, arsenic, zinc, cobalt, etc. coming from these two sources the _caldarium_ must have been, indeed, impure. [ ] the liquation of these low-grade copper "bottoms" required that the liquated lead should be re-used again to make up fresh liquation cakes, in order that it might eventually become rich enough to warrant cupellation. in the following table the "poor" silver-lead is designated (a) the "medium" (b) and the "rich" (c). the three charges here given are designated sixth, seventh, and eighth for purposes of reference. it will be seen that the data is insufficient to complete the ninth and tenth. moreover, while the author gives directions for making four cakes, he says the charge consists of five, and it has, therefore, been necessary to reduce the volume of products given to this basis. th charge. th charge. th charge. amount of copper . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. bottoms amount of lead . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. (slags) of (a) of (b) amount of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. (a) de-silverized lead weight of each cake . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. charge per ton dwts. dwts. dwts. per cent. of copper . % . % . % average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton original copper dwts. dwts. dwts. average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton of dwts. (slags) dwts. (a) dwts. (a) average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton of dwt. (lead) dwt. (lead) dwts. (b) weight of liquated . lbs. lead average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. the liquated lead dwts. (a) dwts. (b) dwts. (c) per ton weight of exhausted . lbs. liquation cakes average value of ozs. the exhausted dwts. liquation cakes per ton weight of liquation . lbs. thorns average value of ozs. the liquation dwts. thorns per ton extraction of % silver into the liquated lead [ ] for the liquation it was necessary to maintain a reducing atmosphere, otherwise the lead would oxidize; this was secured by keeping the cakes well covered with charcoal and by preventing the entrance of air as much as possible. moreover, it was necessary to preserve a fairly even temperature. the proportions of copper and lead in the three liquation products vary considerably, depending upon the method of conducting the process and the original proportions. from the authors consulted (see note p. ) an average would be about as follows:--the residual copper--exhausted liquation cakes--ran from to % lead; the liquated lead from to % copper; and the liquation thorns, which were largely oxidized, contained about % copper oxides, % lead oxides, together with impurities, such as antimony, arsenic, etc. the proportions of the various products would obviously depend upon the care in conducting the operation; too high temperature and the admission of air would increase the copper melted and oxidize more lead, and thus increase the liquation thorns. there are insufficient data in agricola to adduce conclusions as to the actual ratios produced. the results given for the th charge (note , p. ) would indicate about % lead in the residual copper, and would indicate that the original charge was divided into about % of residual copper, % of liquation thorns, and % of liquated lead. this, however, was an unusually large proportion of liquation thorns, some of the authors giving instances of as low as %. [ ] the first instance given, of _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and one _centumpondium_ ( . lbs.) copper, would indicate that the liquated lead contained . % copper. the second, of _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and - / _centumpondia_ copper ( lbs.), would indicate % copper; and in the third, _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and six copper ( lbs.) would show . % copper. this charge of _centumpondia_ in the cupellation furnace would normally make more than _centumpondia_ of litharge and of hearth-lead, _i.e._, saturated furnace bottoms. the copper would be largely found in the silver-lead "which does not melt," at the margin of the crucible. these skimmings are afterward referred to as "thorns." it is difficult to understand what is meant by the expression that the silver which is in the copper is mixed with the remaining (_reliquo_) silver. the coppery skimmings from the cupellation furnace are referred to again in note , p. . [ ] a further amount of lead could be obtained in the first liquation, but a higher temperature is necessary, which was more economical to secure in the "drying" furnace. therefore, the "drying" was really an extension of liquation; but as air was admitted the lead and copper melted out were oxidized. the products were the final residual copper, called by agricola the "dried" copper, together with lead and copper oxides, called by him the "slags," and the scale of copper and lead oxides termed by him the "ash-coloured copper." the german metallurgists distinguished two kinds of slag: the first and principal one, the _darrost_, and the second the _darrsöhle_, this latter differing only in that it contained more impurities from the floor of the furnace, and remained behind until the furnace cooled. agricola possibly refers to these as "more liquation thorns," because in describing the treatment of the bye-products he refers to thorns from the process, whereas in the description of "drying" he usually refers to "slags." a number of analyses of these products, given by karsten, show the "dried" copper to contain from . to . % copper, and from . to . % lead; the "slag" to contain . to . % lead oxide, and from . to . % cuprous oxide, with to % silica from the furnace bottoms, together with some other impurities; the "ash-coloured copper" to contain about % cuprous oxide and % lead oxide, with some metallic copper and minor impurities. an average of proportions given by various authors shows, roughly, that out of _centners_ of "exhausted" liquation cakes, containing about % copper and % lead, there were about _centners_ of "dried" copper, _centners_ of "slag," and - / _centners_ of "ash-coloured copper." according to karsten, the process fell into stages; first, at low temperature some metallic lead appeared; second, during an increasing temperature for over to hours the slags ran out; third, there was a period of four hours of lower temperature to allow time for the lead to diffuse from the interior of the cakes; and fourth, during a period of eight hours the temperature was again increased. in fact, the latter portion of the process ended with the economic limit between leaving some lead in the copper and driving too much copper into the "slags." agricola gives the silver contents of the "dried" copper as _drachmae_ to _centumpondium_, or equal to about ozs. per ton; and assuming that the copper finally recovered from the bye-products ran no higher, then the first four charges (see note on p. ) would show a reduction in the silver values of from to %; the th and th charges (note on p. ) of about %. [ ] if roman weights, this would equal from , lbs. to , lbs. [ ] one half _uncia_, or three _drachmae_ of silver would equal either ozs. or ozs. per ton. if we assume the values given for residual copper in the first four charges (note p. ) of ozs., this would mean an extraction of, roughly, % of the silver from the exhausted liquation cakes. [ ] see note , p. . [ ] assuming roman weights: _centumpondia_ = . lbs. - / " = . " " = . " - / " = . " " = . " [ ] this description of refining copper in an open hearth by oxidation with a blast and "poling"--the _gaarmachen_ of the germans--is so accurate, and the process is so little changed in some parts of saxony, that it might have been written in the th century instead of the th. the best account of the old practice in saxony after agricola is to be found in schlüter's _hütte werken_ (braunschweig, , chap. cxviii.). the process has largely been displaced by electrolytic methods, but is still in use in most refineries as a step in electrolytic work. it may be unnecessary to repeat that the process is one of subjecting the molten mass of impure metal to a strong and continuous blast, and as a result, not only are the impurities to a considerable extent directly oxidized and taken off as a slag, but also a considerable amount of copper is turned into cuprous oxide. this cuprous oxide mostly melts and diffuses through the metallic copper, and readily parting with its oxygen to the impurities further facilitates their complete oxidation. the blast is continued until the impurities are practically eliminated, and at this stage the molten metal contains a great deal of dissolved cuprous oxide, which must be reduced. this is done by introducing a billet of green wood ("poling"), the dry distillation of which generates large quantities of gases, which reduce the oxide. the state of the metal is even to-day in some localities tested by dipping into it the point of an iron rod; if it be at the proper state the adhering copper has a net-like appearance, should be easily loosened from the rod by dipping in water, is of a reddish-copper colour and should be quite pliable; if the metal is not yet refined, the sample is thick, smooth, and detachable with difficulty; if over-refined, it is thick and brittle. by allowing water to run on to the surface of the molten metal, thin cakes are successively formed and taken off. these cakes were the article known to commerce over several centuries as "rosetta copper." the first few cakes are discarded as containing impurities or slag, and if the metal be of good quality the cakes are thin and of a red colour. their colour and thinness, therefore, become a criterion of purity. the cover of charcoal or charcoal dust maintained upon the surface of the metal tended to retard oxidation, but prevented volatilization and helped to secure the impurities as a slag instead. karsten (_archiv._, st series, p. ) gives several analyses of the slag from refining "dried" copper, showing it to contain from . to . % lead oxide, . to . % cuprous oxide, and . to . silica (from the furnace bottoms), with minor quantities of iron, antimony, etc. the "bubbles" referred to by agricola were apparently the shower of copper globules which takes place upon the evolution of sulphur dioxide, due to the reaction of the cuprous oxide upon any remaining sulphide of copper when the mass begins to cool. historical note.--it is impossible to say how the ancients refined copper, beyond the fact that they often re-smelted it. such notes as we can find are set out in the note on copper smelting (note , p. ). the first authentic reference to poling is in theophilus ( to a.d., hendrie's translation, p. ), which shows a very good understanding of this method of refining copper:--"of the purification of copper. take an iron dish of the size you wish, and line it inside and out with clay strongly beaten and mixed, and it is carefully dried. then place it before a forge upon the coals, so that when the bellows act upon it the wind may issue partly within and partly above it, and not below it. and very small coals being placed round it, place the copper in it equally, and add over it a heap of coals. when by blowing a long time this has become melted, uncover it and cast immediately fine ashes of coals over it, and stir it with a thin and dry piece of wood as if mixing it, and you will directly see the burnt lead adhere to these ashes like a glue, which being cast out again superpose coals, and blowing for a long time, as at first, again uncover it, and then do as you did before. you do this until at length by cooking it you can withdraw the lead entirely. then pour it over the mould which you have prepared for this, and you will thus prove if it be pure. hold it with the pincers, glowing as it is, before it has become cold, and strike it with a large hammer strongly over the anvil, and if it be broken or split you must liquefy it anew as before. if, however, it should remain sound, you will cool it in water, and you cook other (copper) in the same manner." biringuccio (iii, ) in describes the process briefly, but omits the poling, an essential in the production of malleable copper. [ ] _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ were impure zinc oxides (see note , p. ). the copper flowers were no doubt cupric oxide. they were used by the ancients for medicinal purposes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "of flowers of copper, which some call the scrapings of old nails, the best is friable; it is gold-coloured when rubbed, is like millet in shape and size, is moderately bright, and somewhat astringent. it should not be mixed with copper filings, with which it is often adulterated. but this deception is easily detected, for when bitten in the teeth the filings are malleable. it (the flowers) is made when the copper fused in a furnace has run into the receptacle through the spout pertaining to it, for then the workmen engaged in this trade cleanse it from dirt and pour clear water over it in order to cool it; from this sudden condensation the copper spits and throws out the aforesaid flowers." pliny (xxxiv, ) says: "the flower, too, of copper (_æris flos_) is used in medicine. this is made by fusing copper, and then removing it to another furnace, where the repeated blast makes the metal separate into small scales like millet, known as flowers. these scales also fall off when the cakes of metal are cooled in water; they become red, too, like the scales of copper known as '_lepis_,' by use of which the flowers of copper are adulterated, it being also sold for it. these are made when hammering the nails that are made from the cakes of copper. all these methods are carried on in the works of cyprus; the difference between these substances is that the _squamae_ (copper scales) are detached from hammering the cakes, while the flower falls off spontaneously." agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ) notes that "flowers of copper (_flos æris_) have the same properties as 'roasted copper.'" [ ] it seems scarcely necessary to discuss in detail the complicated "flow scheme" of the various minor bye-products. they are all re-introduced into the liquation circuit, and thereby are created other bye-products of the same kind _ad infinitum_. further notes are given on:-- liquation thorns note . slags " . ash-coloured copper " . concentrates " . _cadmia_ " . there are no data given, either by agricola or the later authors, which allow satisfactory calculation of the relative quantities of these products. a rough estimate from the data given in previous notes would indicate that in one liquation only about % of the original copper came out as refined copper, and that about % of the original lead would go to the cupellation furnace, _i.e._, about % of the original metal sent to the blast furnace would go into the "thorns," "slags," and "ash-coloured copper." the ultimate losses were very great, as given before (p. ), they probably amounted to % of the silver, % copper, and % of the lead. [ ] there were the following classes of thorns:-- st. from liquation. nd. from drying. rd. from cupellation. in a general way, according to the later authors, they were largely lead oxide, and contained from % to % cuprous oxide. if a calculation be made backward from the products given as the result of the charge described, it would appear that in this case they must have contained at least one-fifth copper. the silver in these liquation cakes would run about ozs. per ton, in the liquated lead about ozs. per ton, and in the liquation thorns ozs. per ton. the extraction into the liquated lead would be about % of the silver. [ ] the "ash-coloured copper" is a cuprous oxide, containing some % lead oxide; and if agricola means they contained two _unciae_ of silver to the _centumpondium_, then they ran about ozs. per ton, and would contain much more silver than the mass. [ ] there are three principal "slags" mentioned-- st. slag from "leading." nd. slag from "drying." rd. slag from refining the copper. from the analyses quoted by various authors these ran from % to % lead oxide, % to % cuprous oxide, and considerable silica from the furnace bottoms. they were reduced in the main into liquation cakes, although agricola mentions instances of the metal reduced from "slags" being taken directly to the "drying" furnace. such liquation cakes would run very low in silver, and at the values given only averaged ozs. per ton; therefore the liquated lead running the same value as the cakes, or less than half that of the "poor" lead mentioned in note , p. , could not have been cupelled directly. [ ] see note , p. , for discussion of yellow and _caldarium_ copper. [ ] this _cadmia_ is given in the glossary and the german translation as _kobelt_. a discussion of this substance is given in the note on p. ; and it is sufficient to state here that in agricola's time the metal cobalt was unknown, and the substances designated _cadmia_ and _cobaltum_ were arsenical-cobalt-zinc minerals. a metal made from "slag" from refining, together with "base" thorns, would be very impure; for the latter, according to the paragraph on concentrates a little later on, would contain the furnace accretions, and would thus be undoubtedly zincky. it is just possible that the term _kobelt_ was used by the german smelters at this time in the sense of an epithet--"black devil" (see note , p. ). [ ] it is somewhat difficult to see exactly the meaning of base (_vile_) and precious (_preciosum_) in this connection. while "base" could mean impure, "precious" could hardly mean pure, and while "precious" could mean high value in silver, the reverse does not seem entirely _apropos_. it is possible that "bad" and "good" would be more appropriate terms. [ ] the skimmings from the molten lead in the early stages of cupellation have been discussed in note , p. . they are probably called thorns here because of the large amount of copper in them. the lead from liquation would contain % to % of copper, and this would be largely recovered in these skimmings, although there would be some copper in the furnace bottoms--hearth-lead--and the litharge. these "thorns" are apparently fairly rich, four _unciae_ to the _centumpondium_ being equivalent to about ozs. per ton, and they are only added to low-grade liquation material. [ ] _particulis aeris tusi_. unless this be the fine concentrates from crushing the material mentioned, we are unable to explain the expression. [ ] this operation would bring down a button of antimony under an iron matte, by de-sulphurizing the antimony. it would seem scarcely necessary to add lead before cupellation. this process is given in an assay method, in the _probierbüchlein_ (folio ) years before _de re metallica_: "how to separate silver from iron: take that silver which is in iron _plechen_ (_plachmal_), pulverize it finely, take the same iron or _plec_ one part, _spiesglasz_ (antimony sulphide) one part, leave them to melt in a crucible placed in a closed _windtofen_. when it is melted, let it cool, break the crucible, chip off the button that is in the bottom, and melt it in a crucible with as much lead. then break the crucible, and seek from the button in the cupel, and you will find what silver it contains." book xii. previously i have dealt with the methods of separating silver from copper. there now remains the portion which treats of solidified juices; and whereas they might be considered as alien to things metallic, nevertheless, the reasons why they should not be separated from it i have explained in the second book. solidified juices are either prepared from waters in which nature or art has infused them, or they are produced from the liquid juices themselves, or from stony minerals. sagacious people, at first observing the waters of some lakes to be naturally full of juices which thickened on being dried up by the heat of the sun and thus became solidified juices, drew such waters into other places, or diverted them into low-lying places adjoining hills, so that the heat of the sun should likewise cause them to condense. subsequently, because they observed that in this wise the solidified juices could be made only in summer, and then not in all countries, but only in hot and temperate regions in which it seldom rains in summer, they boiled them in vessels over a fire until they began to thicken. in this manner, at all times of the year, in all regions, even the coldest, solidified juices could be obtained from solutions of such juices, whether made by nature or by art. afterward, when they saw juices drip from some roasted stones, they cooked these in pots in order to obtain solidified juices in this wise also. it is worth the trouble to learn the proportions and the methods by which these are made. i will therefore begin with salt, which is made from water either salty by nature, or by the labour of man, or else from a solution of salt, or from lye, likewise salty. water which is salty by nature, is condensed and converted into salt in salt-pits by the heat of the sun, or else by the heat of a fire in pans or pots or trenches. that which is made salty by art, is also condensed by fire and changed into salt. there should be as many salt-pits dug as the circumstance of the place permits, but there should not be more made than can be used, although we ought to make as much salt as we can sell. the depth of salt-pits should be moderate, and the bottom should be level, so that all the water is evaporated from the salt by the heat of the sun. the salt-pits should first be encrusted with salt, so that they may not suck up the water. the method of pouring or leading sea-water into salt-pits is very old, and is still in use in many places. the method is not less old, but less common, to pour well-water into salt-pits, as was done in babylon, for which pliny is the authority, and in cappadocia, where they used not only well-water, but also spring-water. in all hot countries salt-water and lake-water are conducted, poured or carried into salt-pits, and, being dried by the heat of the sun, are converted into salt.[ ] while the salt-water contained in the salt-pits is being heated by the sun, if they be flooded with great and frequent showers of rain the evaporation is hindered. if this happens rarely, the salt acquires a disagreeable[ ] flavour, and in this case the salt-pits have to be filled with other sweet water. [illustration (salt pans): a--sea. b--pool. c--gate. d--trenches. e--salt basins. f--rake. g--shovel.] salt from sea-water is made in the following manner. near that part of the seashore where there is a quiet pool, and there are wide, level plains which the inundations of the sea do not overflow, three, four, five, or six trenches are dug six feet wide, twelve feet deep, and six hundred feet long, or longer if the level place extends for a longer distance; they are two hundred feet distant from one another; between these are three transverse trenches. then are dug the principal pits, so that when the water has been raised from the pool it can flow into the trenches, and from thence into the salt-pits, of which there are numbers on the level ground between the trenches. the salt-pits are basins dug to a moderate depth; these are banked round with the earth which was dug in sinking them or in cleansing them, so that between the basins, earth walls are made a foot high, which retain the water let into them. the trenches have openings, through which the first basins receive the water; these basins also have openings, through which the water flows again from one into the other. there should be a slight fall, so that the water may flow from one basin into the other, and can thus be replenished. all these things having been done rightly and in order, the gate is raised that opens the mouth of the pool which contains sea-water mixed with rain-water or river-water; and thus all of the trenches are filled. then the gates of the first basins are opened, and thus the remaining basins are filled with the water from the first; when this salt-water condenses, all these basins are incrusted, and thus made clean from earthy matter. then again the first basins are filled up from the nearest trench with the same kind of water, and left until much of the thin liquid is converted into vapour by the heat of the sun and dissipated, and the remainder is considerably thickened. then their gates being opened, the water passes into the second basins; and when it has remained there for a certain space of time the gates are opened, so that it flows into the third basins, where it is all condensed into salt. after the salt has been taken out, the basins are filled again and again with sea-water. the salt is raked up with wooden rakes and thrown out with shovels. [illustration (salt wells): a--shed. b--painted signs. c--first room. d--middle room. e--third room. f--two little windows in the end wall. g--third little window in the roof. h--well. i--well of another kind. k--cask. l--pole. m--forked sticks in which the porters rest the pole when they are tired.] salt-water is also boiled in pans, placed in sheds near the wells from which it is drawn. each shed is usually named from some animal or other thing which is pictured on a tablet nailed to it. the walls of these sheds are made either from baked earth or from wicker work covered with thick mud, although some may be made of stones or bricks. when of brick they are often sixteen feet high, and if the roof rises twenty-four feet high, then the walls which are at the ends must be made forty feet high, as likewise the interior partition walls. the roof consists of large shingles four feet long, one foot wide, and two digits thick; these are fixed on long narrow planks placed on the rafters, which are joined at the upper end and slope in opposite directions. the whole of the under side is plastered one digit thick with straw mixed with lute; likewise the roof on the outside is plastered one and a half feet thick with straw mixed with lute, in order that the shed should not run any risk of fire, and that it should be proof against rain, and be able to retain the heat necessary for drying the lumps of salt. each shed is divided into three parts, in the first of which the firewood and straw are placed; in the middle room, separated from the first room by a partition, is the fireplace on which is placed the caldron. to the right of the caldron is a tub, into which is emptied the brine brought into the shed by the porters; to the left is a bench, on which there is room to lay thirty pieces of salt. in the third room, which is in the back part of the house, there is made a pile of clay or ashes eight feet higher than the floor, being the same height as the bench. the master and his assistants, when they carry away the lumps of salt from the caldrons, go from the former to the latter. they ascend from the right side of the caldron, not by steps, but by a slope of earth. at the top of the end wall are two small windows, and a third is in the roof, through which the smoke escapes. this smoke, emitted from both the back and the front of the furnace, finds outlet through a hood through which it makes its way up to the windows; this hood consists of boards projecting one beyond the other, which are supported by two small beams of the roof. opposite the fireplace the middle partition has an open door eight feet high and four feet wide, through which there is a gentle draught which drives the smoke into the last room; the front wall also has a door of the same height and width. both of these doors are large enough to permit the firewood or straw or the brine to be carried in, and the lumps of salt to be carried out; these doors must be closed when the wind blows, so that the boiling will not be hindered. indeed, glass panes which exclude the wind but transmit the light, should be inserted in the windows in the walls. they construct the greater part of the fireplace of rock-salt and of clay mixed with salt and moistened with brine, for such walls are greatly hardened by the fire. these fireplaces are made eight and a half feet long, seven and three quarters feet wide, and, if wood is burned in them, nearly four feet high; but if straw is burned in them, they are six feet high. an iron rod, about four feet long, is engaged in a hole in an iron foot, which stands on the base of the middle of the furnace mouth. this mouth is three feet in width, and has a door which opens inward; through it they throw in the straw. [illustration (salt caldron): a--fireplace. b--mouth of fireplace. c--caldron. d--posts sunk into the ground. e--cross-beams. f--shorter bars. g--iron hooks. h--staples. i--longer bars. k--iron rod bent to support the caldron.] the caldrons are rectangular, eight feet long, seven feet wide, and half a foot high, and are made of sheets of iron or lead, three feet long and of the same width, all but two digits. these plates are not very thick, so that the water is heated more quickly by the fire, and is boiled away rapidly. the more salty the water is, the sooner it is condensed into salt. to prevent the brine from leaking out at the points where the metal plates are fastened with rivets, the caldrons are smeared over with a cement made of ox-liver and ox-blood mixed with ashes. on each side of the middle of the furnace two rectangular posts, three feet long, and half a foot thick and wide are set into the ground, so that they are distant from each other only one and a half feet. each of them rises one and a half feet above the caldron. after the caldron has been placed on the walls of the furnace, two beams of the same width and thickness as the posts, but four feet long, are laid on these posts, and are mortised in so that they shall not fall. there rest transversely upon these beams three bars, three feet long, three digits wide, and two digits thick, distant from one another one foot. on each of these hang three iron hooks, two beyond the beams and one in the middle; these are a foot long, and are hooked at both ends, one hook turning to the right, the other to the left. the bottom hook catches in the eye of a staple, whose ends are fixed in the bottom of the caldron, and the eye projects from it. there are besides, two longer bars six feet long, one palm wide, and three digits thick, which pass under the front beam and rest upon the rear beam. at the rear end of each of the bars there is an iron hook two feet and three digits long, the lower end of which is bent so as to support the caldron. the rear end of the caldron does not rest on the two rear corners of the fireplace, but is distant from the fireplace two thirds of a foot, so that the flame and smoke can escape; this rear end of the fireplace is half a foot thick and half a foot higher than the caldron. this is also the thickness and height of the wall between the caldron and the third room of the shed, to which it is adjacent. this back wall is made of clay and ashes, unlike the others which are made of rock-salt. the caldron rests on the two front corners and sides of the fireplace, and is cemented with ashes, so that the flames shall not escape. if a dipperful of brine poured into the caldron should flow into all the corners, the caldron is rightly set upon the fireplace. the wooden dipper holds ten roman _sextarii_, and the cask holds eight dippers full[ ]. the brine drawn up from the well is poured into such casks and carried by porters, as i have said before, into the shed and poured into a tub, and in those places where the brine is very strong it is at once transferred with the dippers into the caldron. that brine which is less strong is thrown into a small tub with a deep ladle, the spoon and handle of which are hewn out of one piece of wood. in this tub rock-salt is placed in order that the water should be made more salty, and it is then run off through a launder which leads into the caldron. from thirty-seven dippersful of brine the master or his deputy, at halle in saxony,[ ] makes two cone-shaped pieces of salt. each master has a helper, or in the place of a helper his wife assists him in his work, and, in addition, a youth who throws wood or straw under the caldron. he, on account of the great heat of the workshop, wears a straw cap on his head and a breech cloth, being otherwise quite naked. as soon as the master has poured the first dipperful of brine into the caldron the youth sets fire to the wood and straw laid under it. if the firewood is bundles of faggots or brushwood, the salt will be white, but if straw is burned, then it is not infrequently blackish, for the sparks, which are drawn up with the smoke into the hood, fall down again into the water and colour it black. [illustration (salt caldron): a--wooden dipper. b--cask. c--tub. d--master. e--youth. f--wife. g--wooden spade. h--boards. i--baskets. k--hoe. l--rake. m--straw. n--bowl. o--bucket containing the blood. p--tankard which contains beer.] in order to accelerate the condensation of the brine, when the master has poured in two casks and as many dippersful of brine, he adds about a roman _cyathus_ and a half of bullock's blood, or of calf's blood, or buck's blood, or else he mixes it into the nineteenth dipperful of brine, in order that it may be dissolved and distributed into all the corners of the caldron; in other places the blood is dissolved in beer. when the boiling water seems to be mixed with scum, he skims it with a ladle; this scum, if he be working with rock-salt, he throws into the opening in the furnace through which the smoke escapes, and it is dried into rock-salt; if it be not from rock-salt, he pours it on to the floor of the workshop. from the beginning to the boiling and skimming is the work of half-an-hour; after this it boils down for another quarter-of-an-hour, after which time it begins to condense into salt. when it begins to thicken with the heat, he and his helper stir it assiduously with a wooden spatula, and then he allows it to boil for an hour. after this he pours in a _cyathus_ and a half of beer. in order that the wind should not blow into the caldron, the helper covers the front with a board seven and a half feet long and one foot high, and covers each of the sides with boards three and three quarters feet long. in order that the front board may hold more firmly, it is fitted into the caldron itself, and the side-boards are fixed on the front board and upon the transverse beam. afterward, when the boards have been lifted off, the helper places two baskets, two feet high and as many wide at the top, and a palm wide at the bottom, on the transverse beams, and into them the master throws the salt with a shovel, taking half-an-hour to fill them. then, replacing the boards on the caldron, he allows the brine to boil for three quarters of an hour. afterward the salt has again to be removed with a shovel, and when the baskets are full, they pile up the salt in heaps. in different localities the salt is moulded into different shapes. in the baskets the salt assumes the form of a cone; it is not moulded in baskets alone, but also in moulds into which they throw the salt, which are made in the likeness of many objects, as for instance tablets. these tablets and cones are kept in the higher part of the third room of the house, or else on the flat bench of the same height, in order that they may dry better in the warm air. in the manner i have described, a master and his helper continue one after the other, alternately boiling the brine and moulding the salt, day and night, with the exception only of the annual feast days. no caldron is able to stand the fire for more than half a year. the master pours in water and washes it out every week; when it is washed out he puts straw under it and pounds it; new caldrons he washes three times in the first two weeks, and afterward twice. in this manner the incrustations fall from the bottom; if they are not cleared off, the salt would have to be made more slowly over a fiercer fire, which requires more brine and burns the plates of the caldron. if any cracks make their appearance in the caldron they are filled up with cement. the salt made during the first two weeks is not so good, being usually stained by the rust at the bottom where incrustations have not yet adhered. although salt made in this manner is prepared only from the brine of springs and wells, yet it is also possible to use this method in the case of river-, lake-, and sea-water, and also of those waters which are artificially salted. for in places where rock-salt is dug, the impure and the broken pieces are thrown into fresh water, which, when boiled, condenses into salt. some, indeed, boil sea-salt in fresh water again, and mould the salt into the little cones and other shapes. [illustration (salt boiling): a--pool. b--pots. c--ladle. d--pans. e--tongs.] some people make salt by another method, from salt water which flows from hot springs that issue boiling from the earth. they set earthenware pots in a pool of the spring-water, and into them they pour water scooped up with ladles from the hot spring until they are half full. the perpetual heat of the waters of the pool evaporates the salt water just as the heat of the fire does in the caldrons. as soon as it begins to thicken, which happens when it has been reduced by boiling to a third or more, they seize the pots with tongs and pour the contents into small rectangular iron pans, which have also been placed in the pool. the interior of these pans is usually three feet long, two feet wide, and three digits deep, and they stand on four heavy legs, so that the water flows freely all round, but not into them. since the water flows continuously from the pool through the little canals, and the spring always provides a new and copious supply, always boiling hot, it condenses the thickened water poured into the pans into salt; this is at once taken out with shovels, and then the work begins all over again. if the salty water contains other juices, as is usually the case with hot springs, no salt should be made from them. [illustration (salt boiling): a--pots. b--tripod. c--deep ladle.] others boil salt water, and especially sea-water, in large iron pots; this salt is blackish, for in most cases they burn straw under them. some people boil in these pots the brine in which fish is pickled. the salt which they make tastes and smells of fish. [illustration (salt evaporated on faggots): a--trench. b--vat into which the salt water flows. c--ladle. d--small bucket with pole fastened into it.] those who make salt by pouring brine over firewood, lay the wood in trenches which are twelve feet long, seven feet wide, and two and one half feet deep, so that the water poured in should not flow out. these trenches are constructed of rock-salt wherever it is to be had, in order that they should not soak up the water, and so that the earth should not fall in on the front, back and sides. as the charcoal is turned into salt at the same time as the salt liquor, the spaniards think, as pliny writes[ ], that the wood itself turns into salt. oak is the best wood, as its pure ash yields salt; elsewhere hazel-wood is lauded. but with whatever wood it be made, this salt is not greatly appreciated, being black and not quite pure; on that account this method of salt-making is disdained by the germans and spaniards. [illustration (lye making): a--large vat. b--plug. c--small tub. d--deep ladle. e--small vat. f--caldron.] the solutions from which salt is made are prepared from salty earth or from earth rich in salt and saltpetre. lye is made from the ashes of reeds and rushes. the solution obtained from salty earth by boiling, makes salt only; from the other, of which i will speak more a little later, salt and saltpetre are made; and from ashes is derived lye, from which its own salt is obtained. the ashes, as well as the earth, should first be put into a large vat; then fresh water should be poured over the ashes or earth, and it should be stirred for about twelve hours with a stick, so that it may dissolve the salt. then the plug is pulled out of the large vat; the solution of salt or the lye is drained into a small tub and emptied with ladles into small vats; finally, such a solution is transferred into iron or lead caldrons and boiled, until the water having evaporated, the juices are condensed into salt. the above are the various methods for making salt. (illustration p. .) [illustration (nitrum-pits): a--nile. b--nitrum-pits, such as i conjecture them to be.[ ]] _nitrum_[ ] is usually made from _nitrous_ waters, or from solutions or from lye. in the same manner as sea-water or salt-water is poured into salt-pits and evaporated by the heat of the sun and changed into salt, so the _nitrous_ nile is led into _nitrum_ pits and evaporated by the heat of the sun and converted into _nitrum_. just as the sea, in flowing of its own will over the soil of this same egypt, is changed into salt, so also the nile, when it overflows in the dog days, is converted into _nitrum_ when it flows into the _nitrum_ pits. the solution from which _nitrum_ is produced is obtained from fresh water percolating through _nitrous_ earth, in the same manner as lye is made from fresh water percolating through ashes of oak or hard oak. both solutions are taken out of vats and poured into rectangular copper caldrons, and are boiled until at last they condense into _nitrum_. [illustration (soda making): a--vat in which the soda is mixed. b--caldron. c--tub in which _chrysocolla_ is condensed. d--copper wires. e--mortar.] native as well as manufactured _nitrum_ is mixed in vats with urine and boiled in the same caldrons; the decoction is poured into vats in which are copper wires, and, adhering to them, it hardens and becomes _chrysocolla_, which the moors call _borax_. formerly _nitrum_ was compounded with cyprian verdigris, and ground with cyprian copper in cyprian mortars, as pliny writes. some _chrysocolla_ is made of rock-alum and sal-ammoniac.[ ] [illustration (saltpetre making): a--caldron. b--large vat into which sand is thrown. c--plug. d--tub. e--vat containing the rods.] saltpetre[ ] is made from a dry, slightly fatty earth, which, if it be retained for a while in the mouth, has an acrid and salty taste. this earth, together with a powder, are alternately put into a vat in layers a palm deep. the powder consists of two parts of unslaked lime and three parts of ashes of oak, or holmoak, or italian oak, or turkey oak, or of some similar kind. each vat is filled with alternate layers of these to within three-quarters of a foot of the top, and then water is poured in until it is full. as the water percolates through the material it dissolves the saltpetre; then, the plug being pulled out from the vat, the solution is drained into a tub and ladled out into small vats. if when tested it tastes very salty, and at the same time acrid, it is good; but, if not, then it is condemned, and it must be made to percolate again through the same material or through a fresh lot. even two or three waters may be made to percolate through the same earth and become full of saltpetre, but the solutions thus obtained must not be mixed together unless all have the same taste, which rarely or never happens. the first of these solutions is poured into the first vat, the next into the second, the third into the third vat; the second and third solutions are used instead of plain water to percolate through fresh material; the first solution is made in this manner from both the second and third. as soon as there is an abundance of this solution it is poured into the rectangular copper caldron and evaporated to one half by boiling; then it is transferred into a vat covered with a lid, in which the earthy matter settles to the bottom. when the solution is clear it is poured back into the same pan, or into another, and re-boiled. when it bubbles and forms a scum, in order that it should not run over and that it may be greatly purified, there is poured into it three or four pounds of lye, made from three parts of oak or similar ash and one of unslaked lime. but in the water, prior to its being poured in, is dissolved rock-alum, in the proportion of one hundred and twenty _librae_ of the former to five _librae_ of the latter. shortly afterward the solution will be found to be clear and blue. it is boiled until the waters, which are easily volatile (_subtiles_), are evaporated, and then the greater part of the salt, after it has settled at the bottom of the pan, is taken out with iron ladles. then the concentrated solution is transferred to the vat in which rods are placed horizontally and vertically, to which it adheres when cold, and if there be much, it is condensed in three or four days into saltpetre. then the solution which has not congealed, is poured out and put on one side or re-boiled. the saltpetre being cut out and washed with its own solution, is thrown on to boards that it may drain and dry. the yield of saltpetre will be much or little in proportion to whether the solution has absorbed much or little; when the saltpetre has been obtained from lye, which purifies itself, it is somewhat clear and pure. the purest and most transparent, because free from salt, is made if it is drawn off at the thickening stage, according to the following method. there are poured into the caldron the same number of _amphorae_ of the solution as of _congii_ of the lye of which i have already spoken, and into the same caldron is thrown as much of the already made saltpetre as the solution and lye will dissolve. as soon as the mixture effervesces and forms scum, it is transferred to a vat, into which on a cloth has been thrown washed sand obtained from a river. soon afterward the plug is drawn out of the hole at the bottom, and the mixture, having percolated through the sand, escapes into a tub. it is then reduced by boiling in one or another of the caldrons, until the greater part of the solution has evaporated; but as soon as it is well boiled and forms scum, a little lye is poured into it. then it is transferred to another vat in which there are small rods, to which it adheres and congeals in two days if there is but little of it, or if there is much in three days, or at the most in four days; if it does not condense, it is poured back into the caldron and re-boiled down to half; then it is transferred to the vat to cool. the process must be repeated as often as is necessary. others refine saltpetre by another method, for with it they fill a pot made of copper, and, covering it with a copper lid, set it over live coals, where it is heated until it melts. they do not cement down the lid, but it has a handle, and can be lifted for them to see whether or not the melting has taken place. when it has melted, powdered sulphur is sprinkled in, and if the pot set on the fire does not light it, the sulphur kindles, whereby the thick, greasy matter floating on the saltpetre burns up, and when it is consumed the saltpetre is pure. soon afterward the pot is removed from the fire, and later, when cold, the purest saltpetre is taken out, which has the appearance of white marble, the earthy residue then remains at the bottom. the earths from which the solution was made, together with branches of oak or similar trees, are exposed under the open sky and sprinkled with water containing saltpetre. after remaining thus for five or six years, they are again ready to be made into a solution. pure saltpetre which has rested many years in the earth, and that which exudes from the stone walls of wine cellars and dark places, is mixed with the first solution and evaporated by boiling. thus far i have described the methods of making _nitrum_, which are not less varied or multifarious than those for making salt. now i propose to describe the methods of making alum,[ ] which are likewise neither all alike, nor simple, because it is made from boiling aluminous water until it condenses to alum, or else from boiling a solution of alum which is obtained from a kind of earth, or from rocks, or from pyrites, or other minerals. [illustration (vitriol making): a--tanks. b--stirring poles. c--plug. d--trough. e--reservoir. f--launder. g--lead caldron. h--wooden tubs sunk into the earth. i--vats in which twigs are fixed.] this kind of earth having first been dug up in such quantity as would make three hundred wheelbarrow loads, is thrown into two tanks; then the water is turned into them, and if it (the earth) contains vitriol it must be diluted with urine. the workmen must many times a day stir the ore with long, thick sticks in order that the water and urine may be mixed with it; then the plugs having been taken out of both tanks, the solution is drawn off into a trough, which is carved out of one or two trees. if the locality is supplied with an abundance of such ore, it should not immediately be thrown into the tanks, but first conveyed into open spaces and heaped up, for the longer it is exposed to the air and the rain, the better it is; after some months, during which the ore has been heaped up in open spaces into mounds, there are generated veinlets of far better quality than the ore. then it is conveyed into six or more tanks, nine feet in length and breadth and five in depth, and afterward water is drawn into them of similar solution. after this, when the water has absorbed the alum, the plugs are pulled out, and the solution escapes into a round reservoir forty feet wide and three feet deep. then the ore is thrown out of the tanks into other tanks, and water again being run into the latter and the urine added and stirred by means of poles, the plugs are withdrawn and the solution is run off into the same reservoir. a few days afterward, the reservoirs containing the solution are emptied through a small launder, and run into rectangular lead caldrons; it is boiled in them until the greater part of the water has evaporated. the earthy sediment deposited at the bottom of the caldron is composed of fatty and aluminous matter, which usually consists of small incrustations, in which there is not infrequently found a very white and very light powder of asbestos or gypsum. the solution now seems to be full of meal. some people instead pour the partly evaporated solution into a vat, so that it may become pure and clear; then pouring it back into the caldron, they boil it again until it becomes mealy. by whichever process it has been condensed, it is then poured into a wooden tub sunk into the earth in order to cool it. when it becomes cold it is poured into vats, in which are arranged horizontal and vertical twigs, to which the alum clings when it condenses; and thus are made the small white transparent cubes, which are laid to dry in hot rooms. if vitriol forms part of the aluminous ore, the material is dissolved in water without being mixed with urine, but it is necessary to pour that into the clear and pure solution when it is to be re-boiled. this separates the vitriol from the alum, for by this method the latter sinks to the bottom of the caldron, while the former floats on the top; both must be poured separately into smaller vessels, and from these into vats to condense. if, however, when the solution was re-boiled they did not separate, then they must be poured from the smaller vessels into larger vessels and covered over; then the vitriol separating from the alum, it condenses. both are cut out and put to dry in the hot room, and are ready to be sold; the solution which did not congeal in the vessels and vats is again poured back into the caldron to be re-boiled. the earth which settled at the bottom of the caldron is carried back to the tanks, and, together with the ore, is again dissolved with water and urine. the earth which remains in the tanks after the solution has been drawn off is emptied in a heap, and daily becomes more and more aluminous in the same way as the earth from which saltpetre was made, but fuller of its juices, wherefore it is again thrown into the tanks and percolated by water. [illustration (alum making): a--furnace. b--enclosed space. c--aluminous rock. d--deep ladle. e--caldron. f--launder. g--troughs.] aluminous rock is first roasted in a furnace similar to a lime kiln. at the bottom of the kiln a vaulted fireplace is made of the same kind of rock; the remainder of the empty part of the kiln is then entirely filled with the same aluminous rocks. then they are heated with fire until they are red hot and have exhaled their sulphurous fumes, which occurs, according to their divers nature, within the space of ten, eleven, twelve, or more hours. one thing the master must guard against most of all is not to roast the rock either too much or too little, for on the one hand they would not soften when sprinkled with water, and on the other they either would be too hard or would crumble into ashes; from neither would much alum be obtained, for the strength which they have would be decreased. when the rocks are cooled they are drawn out and conveyed into an open space, where they are piled one upon the other in heaps fifty feet long, eight feet wide, and four feet high, which are sprinkled for forty days with water carried in deep ladles. in spring the sprinkling is done both morning and evening, and in summer at noon besides. after being moistened for this length of time the rocks begin to fall to pieces like slaked lime, and there originates a certain new material of the future alum, which is soft and similar to the _liquidae medullae_ found in the rocks. it is white if the stone was white before it was roasted, and rose-coloured if red was mixed with the white; from the former, white alum is obtained, and from the latter, rose-coloured. a round furnace is made, the lower part of which, in order to be able to endure the force of the heat, is made of rock that neither melts nor crumbles to powder by the fire. it is constructed in the form of a basket, the walls of which are two feet high, made of the same rock. on these walls rests a large round caldron made of copper plates, which is concave at the bottom, where it is eight feet in diameter. in the empty space under the bottom they place the wood to be kindled with fire. around the edge of the bottom of the caldron, rock is built in cone-shaped, and the diameter of the bottom of the rock structure is seven feet, and of the top ten feet; it is eight feet deep. the inside, after being rubbed over with oil, is covered with cement, so that it may be able to hold boiling water; the cement is composed of fresh lime, of which the lumps are slaked with wine, of iron-scales, and of sea-snails, ground and mixed with the white of eggs and oil. the edges of the caldron are surmounted with a circle of wood a foot thick and half a foot high, on which the workmen rest the wooden shovels with which they cleanse the water of earth and of the undissolved lumps of rock that remain at the bottom of the caldron. the caldron, being thus prepared, is entirely filled through a launder with water, and this is boiled with a fierce fire until it bubbles. then little by little eight wheelbarrow loads of the material, composed of roasted rock moistened with water, are gradually emptied into the caldron by four workmen, who, with their shovels which reach to the bottom, keep the material stirred and mixed with water, and by the same means they lift the lumps of undissolved rock out of the caldron. in this manner the material is thrown in, in three or four lots, at intervals of two or three hours more or less; during these intervals, the water, which has been cooled by the rock and material, again begins to boil. the water, when sufficiently purified and ready to congeal, is ladled out and run off with launders into thirty troughs. these troughs are made of oak, holm oak, or turkey oak; their interior is six feet long, five feet deep, and four feet wide. in these the water congeals and condenses into alum, in the spring in the space of four days, and in summer in six days. afterward the holes at the bottom of the oak troughs being opened, the water which has not congealed is drawn off into buckets and poured back into the caldron; or it may be preserved in empty troughs, so that the master of the workmen, having seen it, may order his helpers to pour it into the caldron, for the water which is not altogether wanting in alum, is considered better than that which has none at all. then the alum is hewn out with a knife or a chisel. it is thick and excellent according to the strength of the rock, either white or pink according to the colour of the rock. the earthy powder, which remains three to four digits thick as the residue of the alum at the bottom of the trough is again thrown into the caldron and boiled with fresh aluminous material. lastly, the alum cut out is washed, and dried, and sold. alum is also made from crude pyrites and other aluminous mixtures. it is first roasted in an enclosed area; then, after being exposed for some months to the air in order to soften it, it is thrown into vats and dissolved. after this the solution is poured into the leaden rectangular pans and boiled until it condenses into alum. the pyrites and other stones which are not mixed with alum alone, but which also contain vitriol, as is most usually the case, are both treated in the manner which i have already described. finally, if metal is contained in the pyrites and other rock, this material must be dried, and from it either gold, silver, or copper is made in a furnace. vitriol[ ] can be made by four different methods; by two of these methods from water containing vitriol; by one method from a solution of _melanteria_, _sory_ and _chalcitis_; and by another method from earth or stones mixed with vitriol. [illustration (vitriol making): a--tunnel. b--bucket. c--pit.] the vitriol water is collected into pools, and if it cannot be drained into them, it must be drawn up and carried to them in buckets by a workman. in hot regions or in summer, it is poured into out-of-door pits which have been dug to a certain depth, or else it is extracted from shafts by pumps and poured into launders, through which it flows into the pits, where it is condensed by the heat of the sun. in cold regions and in winter these vitriol waters are boiled down with equal parts of fresh water in rectangular leaden caldrons; then, when cold, the mixture is poured into vats or into tanks, which pliny calls wooden fish-tanks. in these tanks light cross-beams are fixed to the upper part, so that they may be stationary, and from them hang ropes stretched with little stones; to these the contents of the thickened solutions congeal and adhere in transparent cubes or seeds of vitriol, like bunches of grapes. [illustration (vitriol making): a--caldron. b--tank. c--cross-bars. d--ropes. e--little stones.] by the third method vitriol is made out of _melanteria_ and _sory_. if the mines give an abundant supply of _melanteria_ and _sory_, it is better to reject the _chalcitis_, and especially the _misy_, for from these the vitriol is impure, particularly from the _misy_. these materials having been dug and thrown into the tanks, they are first dissolved with water; then, in order to recover the pyrites from which copper is not rarely smelted and which forms a sediment at the bottom of the tanks, the solution is transferred to other vats, which are nine feet wide and three feet deep. twigs and wood which float on the surface are lifted out with a broom made of twigs, and afterward all the sediment settles at the bottom of this vat. the solution is poured into a rectangular leaden caldron eight feet long, three feet wide, and the same in depth. in this caldron it is boiled until it becomes thick and viscous, when it is poured into a launder, through which it runs into another leaden caldron of the same size as the one described before. when cold, the solution is drawn off through twelve little launders, out of which it flows into as many wooden tubs four and a half feet deep and three feet wide. upon these tubs are placed perforated crossbars distant from each other from four to six digits, and from the holes hang thin laths, which reach to the bottom, with pegs or wedges driven into them. the vitriol adheres to these laths, and within the space of a few days congeals into cubes, which are taken away and put into a chamber having a sloping board floor, so that the moisture which drips from the vitriol may flow into a tub beneath. this solution is re-boiled, as is also that solution which was left in the twelve tubs, for, by reason of its having become too thin and liquid, it did not congeal, and was thus not converted into vitriol. [illustration (vitriol making): a--wooden tub. b--cross-bars. c--laths. d--sloping floor of the chamber. e--tub placed under it.] [illustration (vitriol making): a--caldron. b--moulds. c--cakes.] the fourth method of making vitriol is from vitriolous earth or stones. such ore is at first carried and heaped up, and is then left for five or six months exposed to the rain of spring and autumn, to the heat of summer, and to the rime and frost of winter. it must be turned over several times with shovels, so that the part at the bottom may be brought to the top, and it is thus ventilated and cooled; by this means the earth crumbles up and loosens, and the stone changes from hard to soft. then the ore is covered with a roof, or else it is taken away and placed under a roof, and remains in that place six, seven, or eight months. afterward as large a portion as is required is thrown into a vat, which is half-filled with water; this vat is one hundred feet long, twenty-four feet wide, eight feet deep. it has an opening at the bottom, so that when it is opened the dregs of the ore from which the vitriol comes may be drawn off, and it has, at the height of one foot from the bottom, three or four little holes, so that, when closed, the water may be retained, and when opened the solution flows out. thus the ore is mixed with water, stirred with poles and left in the tank until the earthy portions sink to the bottom and the water absorbs the juices. then the little holes are opened, the solution flows out of the vat, and is caught in a vat below it; this vat is of the same length as the other, but twelve feet wide and four feet deep. if the solution is not sufficiently vitriolous it is mixed with fresh ore; but if it contains enough vitriol, and yet has not exhausted all of the ore rich in vitriol, it is well to dissolve the ore again with fresh water. as soon as the solution becomes clear, it is poured into the rectangular leaden caldron through launders, and is boiled until the water is evaporated. afterward as many thin strips of iron as the nature of the solution requires, are thrown in, and then it is boiled again until it is thick enough, when cold, to congeal into vitriol. then it is poured into tanks or vats, or any other receptacle, in which all of it that is apt to congeal does so within two or three days. the solution which does not congeal is either poured back into the caldron to be boiled again, or it is put aside for dissolving the new ore, for it is far preferable to fresh water. the solidified vitriol is hewn out, and having once more been thrown into the caldron, is re-heated until it liquefies; when liquid, it is poured into moulds that it may be made into cakes. if the solution first poured out is not satisfactorily thickened, it is condensed two or three times, and each time liquefied in the caldron and re-poured into the moulds, in which manner pure cakes, beautiful to look at, are made from it. the vitriolous pyrites, which are to be numbered among the mixtures (_mistura_), are roasted as in the case of alum, and dissolved with water, and the solution is boiled in leaden caldrons until it condenses into vitriol. both alum and vitriol are often made out of these, and it is no wonder, for these juices are cognate, and only differ in the one point,--that the former is less, the latter more, earthy. that pyrites which contains metal must be smelted in the furnace. in the same manner, from other mixtures of vitriolic and metalliferous material are made vitriol and metal. indeed, if ores of vitriolous pyrites abound, the miners split small logs down the centre and cut them off in lengths as long as the drifts and tunnels are wide, in which they lay them down transversely; but, that they may be stable, they are laid on the ground with the wide side down and the round side up, and they touch each other at the bottom, but not at the top. the intermediate space is filled with pyrites, and the same crushed are scattered over the wood, so that, coming in or going out, the road is flat and even. since the drifts or tunnels drip with water, these pyrites are soaked, and from them are freed the vitriol and cognate things. if the water ceases to drip, these dry and harden, and then they are raised from the shafts, together with the pyrites not yet dissolved in the water, or they are carried out from the tunnels; then they are thrown into vats or tanks, and boiling water having been poured over them, the vitriol is freed and the pyrites are dissolved. this green solution is transferred to other vats or tanks, that it may be made clear and pure; it is then boiled in the lead caldrons until it thickens; afterward it is poured into wooden tubs, where it condenses on rods, or reeds, or twigs, into green vitriol. sulphur is made from sulphurous waters, from sulphurous ores, and from sulphurous mixtures. these waters are poured into the leaden caldrons and boiled until they condense into sulphur. from this latter, heated together with iron-scales, and transferred into pots, which are afterward covered with lute and refined sulphur, another sulphur is made, which we call _caballinum_.[ ] [illustration (sulphur making): a--pots having spouts. b--pots without spouts. c--lids.] the ores[ ] which consist mostly of sulphur and of earth, and rarely of other minerals, are melted in big-bellied earthenware pots. the furnaces, which hold two of these pots, are divided into three parts; the lowest part is a foot high, and has an opening at the front for the draught; the top of this is covered with iron plates, which are perforated near the edges, and these support iron rods, upon which the firewood is placed. the middle part of the furnace is one and a half feet high, and has a mouth in front, so that the wood may be inserted; the top of this has rods, upon which the bottom of the pots stand. the upper part is about two feet high, and the pots are also two feet high and one digit thick; these have below their mouths a long, slender spout. in order that the mouth of the pot may be covered, an earthenware lid is made which fits into it. for every two of these pots there must be one pot of the same size and shape, and without a spout, but having three holes, two of which are below the mouth and receive the spouts of the two first pots; the third hole is on the opposite side at the bottom, and through it the sulphur flows out. in each furnace are placed two pots with spouts, and the furnace must be covered by plates of iron smeared over with lute two digits thick; it is thus entirely closed in, but for two or three vent-holes through which the mouths of the pots project. outside of the furnace, against one side, is placed the pot without a spout, into the two holes of which the two spouts of the other pots penetrate, and this pot should be built in at both sides to keep it steady. when the sulphur ore has been placed in the pots, and these placed in the furnace, they are closely covered, and it is desirable to smear the joint over with lute, so that the sulphur will not exhale, and for the same reason the pot below is covered with a lid, which is also smeared with lute. the wood having been kindled, the ores are heated until the sulphur is exhaled, and the vapour, arising through the spout, penetrates into the lower pot and thickens into sulphur, which falls to the bottom like melted wax. it then flows out through the hole, which, as i said, is at the bottom of this pot; and the workman makes it into cakes, or thin sticks or thin pieces of wood are dipped in it. then he takes the burning wood and glowing charcoal from the furnace, and when it has cooled, he opens the two pots, empties the residues, which, if the ores were composed of sulphur and earth, resemble naturally extinguished ashes; but if the ores consisted of sulphur and earth and stone, or sulphur and stone only, they resemble earth completely dried or stones well roasted. afterward the pots are re-filled with ore, and the whole work is repeated. [illustration (sulphur making): a--long wall. b--high walls. c--low walls. d--plates. e--upper pots. f--lower pots.] the sulphurous mixture, whether it consists of stone and sulphur only, or of stone and sulphur and metal, may be heated in similar pots, but with perforated bottoms. before the furnace is constructed, against the "second" wall of the works two lateral partitions are built seven feet high, three feet long, one and a half feet thick, and these are distant from each other twenty-seven feet. between them are seven low brick walls, that measure but two feet and the same number of digits in height, and, like the other walls, are three feet long and one foot thick; these little walls are at equal distances from one another, consequently they will be two and one half feet apart. at the top, iron bars are fixed into them, which sustain iron plates three feet long and wide and one digit thick, so that they can bear not only the weight of the pots, but also the fierceness of the fire. these plates have in the middle a round hole one and a half digits wide; there must not be more than eight of these, and upon them as many pots are placed. these pots are perforated at the bottom, and the same number of whole pots are placed underneath them; the former contain the mixture, and are covered with lids; the latter contain water, and their mouths are under the holes in the plates. after wood has been arranged round the upper pots and ignited, the mixture being heated, red, yellow, or green sulphur drips from it and flows down through the hole, and is caught by the pots placed underneath the plates, and is at once cooled by the water. if the mixture contains metal, it is reserved for smelting, and, if not, it is thrown away. the sulphur from such a mixture can best be extracted if the upper pots are placed in a vaulted furnace, like those which i described among other metallurgical subjects in book viii., which has no floor, but a grate inside; under this the lower pots are placed in the same manner, but the plates must have larger holes. [illustration (bitumen making): a--lower pot. b--upper pot. c--lid.] others bury a pot in the ground, and place over it another pot with a hole at the bottom, in which pyrites or _cadmia_, or other sulphurous stones are so enclosed that the sulphur cannot exhale. a fierce fire heats the sulphur, and it drips away and flows down into the lower pot, which contains water. (illustration p. ). [illustration (bitumen making): a--bituminous spring. b--bucket. c--pot. d--lid.] bitumen[ ] is made from bituminous waters, from liquid bitumen, and from mixtures of bituminous substances. the water, bituminous as well as salty, at babylon, as pliny writes, was taken from the wells to the salt works and heated by the great heat of the sun, and condensed partly into liquid bitumen and partly into salt. the bitumen being lighter, floats on the top, while the salt being heavier, sinks to the bottom. liquid bitumen, if there is much floating on springs, streams and rivers, is drawn up in buckets or other vessels; but, if there is little, it is collected with goose wings, pieces of linen, _ralla_, shreds of reeds, and other things to which it easily adheres, and it is boiled in large brass or iron pots by fire and condensed. as this bitumen is put to divers uses, some mix pitch with the liquid, others old cart-grease, in order to temper its viscosity; these, however long they are boiled in the pots, cannot be made hard. the mixtures containing bitumen are also treated in the same manner as those containing sulphur, in pots having a hole in the bottom, and it is rare that such bitumen is not highly esteemed. [illustration (chrysocolla making): a--mouth of the tunnel. b--trough. c--tanks. d--little trough.] since all solidified juices and earths, if abundantly and copiously mixed with the water, are deposited in the beds of springs, streams or rivers, and the stones therein are coated by them, they do not require the heat of the sun or fire to harden them. this having been pondered over by wise men, they discovered methods by which the remainder of these solidified juices and unusual earths can be collected. such waters, whether flowing from springs or tunnels, are collected in many wooden tubs or tanks arranged in consecutive order, and deposit in them such juices or earths; these being scraped off every year, are collected, as _chrysocolla_[ ] in the carpathians and as ochre in the harz. there remains glass, the preparation of which belongs here, for the reason that it is obtained by the power of fire and subtle art from certain solidified juices and from coarse or fine sand. it is transparent, as are certain solidified juices, gems, and stones; and can be melted like fusible stones and metals. first i must speak of the materials from which glass is made; then of the furnaces in which it is melted; then of the methods by which it is produced. it is made from fusible stones and from solidified juices, or from other juicy substances which are connected by a natural relationship. stones which are fusible, if they are white and translucent, are more excellent than the others, for which reason crystals take the first place. from these, when pounded, the most excellent transparent glass was made in india, with which no other could be compared, as pliny relates. the second place is accorded to stones which, although not so hard as crystal, are yet just as white and transparent. the third is given to white stones, which are not transparent. it is necessary, however, first of all to heat all these, and afterward they are subjected to the pestle in order to break and crush them into coarse sand, and then they are passed through a sieve. if this kind of coarse or fine sand is found by the glass-makers near the mouth of a river, it saves them much labour in burning and crushing. as regards the solidified juices, the first place is given to soda; the second to white and translucent rock-salt; the third to salts which are made from lye, from the ashes of the musk ivy, or from other salty herbs. yet there are some who give to this latter, and not to the former, the second place. one part of coarse or fine sand made from fusible stones should be mixed with two parts of soda or of rock-salt or of herb salts, to which are added minute particles of _magnes_.[ ] it is true that in our day, as much as in ancient times, there exists the belief in the singular power of the latter to attract to itself the vitreous liquid just as it does iron, and by attracting it to purify and transform green or yellow into white; and afterward fire consumes the _magnes_. when the said juices are not to be had, two parts of the ashes of oak or holmoak, or of hard oak or turkey oak, or if these be not available, of beech or pine, are mixed with one part of coarse or fine sand, and a small quantity of salt is added, made from salt water or sea-water, and a small particle of _magnes_; but these make a less white and translucent glass. the ashes should be made from old trees, of which the trunk at a height of six feet is hollowed out and fire is put in, and thus the whole tree is consumed and converted into ashes. this is done in winter when the snow lies long, or in summer when it does not rain, for the showers at other times of the year, by mixing the ashes with earth, render them impure; for this reason, at such times, these same trees are cut up into many pieces and burned under cover, and are thus converted into ashes. [illustration (glass-making furnace): a--lower chamber of the first furnace. b--upper chamber. c--vitreous mass.] some glass-makers use three furnaces, others two, others only one. those who use three, melt the material in the first, re-melt it in the second, and in the third they cool the glowing glass vessels and other articles. of these the first furnace must be vaulted and similar to an oven. in the upper chamber, which is six feet long, four feet wide, and two feet high, the mixed materials are heated by a fierce fire of dry wood until they melt and are converted into a vitreous mass. and if they are not satisfactorily purified from dross, they are taken out and cooled and broken into pieces; and the vitreous pieces are heated in pots in the same furnace. [illustration (glass-making furnace): a--arches of the second furnace. b--mouth of the lower chamber. c--windows of the upper chamber. d--big-bellied pots. e--mouth of the third furnace. f--recesses for the receptacles. g--openings in the upper chamber. h--oblong receptacles.] the second furnace is round, ten feet in diameter and eight feet high, and on the outside, so that it may be stronger, it is encompassed by five arches, one and one half feet thick; it consists in like manner of two chambers, of which the lower one is vaulted and is one and one half feet thick. in front this chamber has a narrow mouth, through which the wood can be put into the hearth, which is on the ground. at the top and in the middle of its vault, there is a large round hole which opens to the upper chamber, so that the flames can penetrate into it. between the arches in the walls of the upper chamber are eight windows, so large that the big-bellied pots may be placed through them on to the floor of the chamber, around the large hole. the thickness of these pots is about two digits, their height the same number of feet, and the diameter of the belly one and a half feet, and of the mouth and bottom one foot. in the back part of the furnace is a rectangular hole, measuring in height and width a palm, through which the heat penetrates into a third furnace which adjoins it. this third furnace is rectangular, eight feet long and six feet wide; it also consists of two chambers, of which the lower has a mouth in front, so that firewood may be placed on the hearth which is on the ground. on each side of this opening in the wall of the lower chamber is a recess for oblong earthenware receptacles, which are about four feet long, two feet high, and one and a half feet wide. the upper chamber has two holes, one on the right side, the other on the left, of such height and width that earthenware receptacles may be conveniently placed in them. these latter receptacles are three feet long, one and a half feet high, the lower part one foot wide, and the upper part rounded. in these receptacles the glass articles, which have been blown, are placed so that they may cool in a milder temperature; if they were not cooled slowly they would burst asunder. when the vessels are taken from the upper chamber, they are immediately placed in the receptacles to cool. [illustration (glass-making furnaces): a--lower chamber of the other second furnace. b--middle one. c--upper one. d--its opening. e--round opening. f--rectangular opening.] some who use two furnaces partly melt the mixture in the first, and not only re-melt it in the second, but also replace the glass articles there. others partly melt and re-melt the material in different chambers of the second furnace. thus the former lack the third furnace, and the latter, the first. but this kind of second furnace differs from the other second furnace, for it is, indeed, round, but the interior is eight feet in diameter and twelve feet high, and it consists of three chambers, of which the lowest is not unlike the lowest of the other second furnace. in the middle chamber wall there are six arched openings, in which are placed the pots to be heated, and the remainder of the small windows are blocked up with lute. in the middle top of the middle chamber is a square opening a palm in length and width. through this the heat penetrates into the upper chamber, of which the rear part has an opening to receive the oblong earthenware receptacles, in which are placed the glass articles to be slowly cooled. on this side, the ground of the workshop is higher, or else a bench is placed there, so that the glass-makers may stand upon it to stow away their products more conveniently. those who lack the first furnace in the evening, when they have accomplished their day's work, place the material in the pots, so that the heat during the night may melt it and turn it into glass. two boys alternately, during night and day, keep up the fire by throwing dry wood on to the hearth. those who have but one furnace use the second sort, made with three chambers. then in the evening they pour the material into the pots, and in the morning, having extracted the fused material, they make the glass objects, which they place in the upper chamber, as do the others. the second furnace consists either of two or three chambers, the first of which is made of unburnt bricks dried in the sun. these bricks are made of a kind of clay that cannot be easily melted by fire nor resolved into powder; this clay is cleaned of small stones and beaten with rods. the bricks are laid with the same kind of clay instead of lime. from the same clay the potters also make their vessels and pots, which they dry in the shade. these two parts having been completed, there remains the third. [illustration (glass making): a--blow-pipe. b--little window. c--marble. d--forceps. e--moulds by means of which the shapes are produced.] the vitreous mass having been made in the first furnace in the manner i described, is broken up, and the assistant heats the second furnace, in order that the fragments may be re-melted. in the meantime, while they are doing this, the pots are first warmed by a slow fire in the first furnace, so that the vapours may evaporate, and then by a fiercer fire, so that they become red in drying. afterward the glass-makers open the mouth of the furnace, and, seizing the pots with tongs, if they have not cracked and fallen to pieces, quickly place them in the second furnace, and they fill them up with the fragments of the heated vitreous mass or with glass. afterward they close up all the windows with lute and bricks, with the exception that in each there are two little windows left free; through one of these they inspect the glass contained in the pot, and take it up by means of a blow-pipe; in the other they rest another blow-pipe, so that it may get warm. whether it is made of brass, bronze, or iron, the blow-pipe must be three feet long. in front of the window is inserted a lip of marble, on which rests the heaped-up clay and the iron shield. the clay holds the blow-pipe when it is put into the furnace, whereas the shield preserves the eyes of the glass-maker from the fire. all this having been carried out in order, the glass-makers bring the work to completion. the broken pieces they re-melt with dry wood, which emits no smoke, but only a flame. the longer they re-melt it, the purer and more transparent it becomes, the fewer spots and blisters there are, and therefore the glass-makers can carry out their work more easily. for this reason those who only melt the material from which glass is made for one night, and then immediately make it up into glass articles, make them less pure and transparent than those who first produce a vitreous mass and then re-melt the broken pieces again for a day and a night. and, again, these make a less pure and transparent glass than do those who melt it again for two days and two nights, for the excellence of the glass does not consist solely in the material from which it is made, but also in the melting. the glass-makers often test the glass by drawing it up with the blowpipes; as soon as they observe that the fragments have been re-melted and purified satisfactorily, each of them with another blow-pipe which is in the pot, slowly stirs and takes up the glass which sticks to it in the shape of a ball like a glutinous, coagulated gum. he takes up just as much as he needs to complete the article he wishes to make; then he presses it against the lip of marble and kneads it round and round until it consolidates. when he blows through the pipe he blows as he would if inflating a bubble; he blows into the blow-pipe as often as it is necessary, removing it from his mouth to re-fill his cheeks, so that his breath does not draw the flames into his mouth. then, twisting the lifted blow-pipe round his head in a circle, he makes a long glass, or moulds the same in a hollow copper mould, turning it round and round, then warming it again, blowing it and pressing it, he widens it into the shape of a cup or vessel, or of any other object he has in mind. then he again presses this against the marble to flatten the bottom, which he moulds in the interior with his other blow-pipe. afterward he cuts out the lip with shears, and, if necessary, adds feet and handles. if it so please him, he gilds it and paints it with various colours. finally, he lays it in the oblong earthenware receptacle, which is placed in the third furnace, or in the upper chamber of the second furnace, that it may cool. when this receptacle is full of other slowly-cooled articles, he passes a wide iron bar under it, and, carrying it on the left arm, places it in another recess. the glass-makers make divers things, such as goblets, cups, ewers, flasks, dishes, plates, panes of glass, animals, trees, and ships, all of which excellent and wonderful works i have seen when i spent two whole years in venice some time ago. especially at the time of the feast of the ascension they were on sale at morano, where are located the most celebrated glass-works. these i saw on other occasions, and when, for a certain reason, i visited andrea naugerio in his house which he had there, and conversed with him and francisco asulano. end of book xii. footnotes: [ ] the history of salt-making in salt-pans, from sea-water or salt springs, goes further back than human records. from an historical point of view the real interest attached to salt lies in the bearing which localities rich in either natural salt or salt springs, have had upon the movements of the human race. many ancient trade routes have been due to them, and innumerable battles have been fought for their possession. salt has at times served for currency, and during many centuries in nearly every country has served as a basis of taxation. these subjects do not, however, come within the scope of this text. for the quotation from pliny referred to, see note below, on bitumen. [ ] the first edition gives _graviorem_, the latter editions _gratiorem_, which latter would have quite the reverse meaning from the above. [ ] the following are approximately the english equivalents:-- pints. quarts. gallons. _cyathus_ . _cyathi_ = _quartarius_ . _quartarii_ = _sextarius_ . _sextarii_ = _congius_ . . _sextarii_ = _modius_ . . . _congii_ = _amphora_ . . . the dipper mentioned would thus hold about one and one quarter gallons, and the cask ten gallons. [ ] the salt industry, founded upon salt springs, is still of importance to this city. it was a salt centre of importance to the germanic tribes before charles, the son of charlemagne, erected a fortress here in . mention of the salt works is made in the charter by otto i., conveying the place to the diocese of magdeburg, in . [ ] pliny xxxi., - . "in the gallic provinces in germany they pour salt water upon burning wood. the spaniards in a certain place draw the brine from wells, which they call _muria_. they indeed think that the wood turns to salt, and that the oak is the best, being the kind which is itself salty. elsewhere the hazel is praised. thus the charcoal even is turned into salt when it is steeped in brine. whenever salt is made with wood it is black." [ ] we have elsewhere in this book used the word "soda" for the latin term _nitrum_, because we believe as used by agricola it was always soda, and because some confusion of this term with its modern adaptation for saltpetre (nitre) might arise in the mind of the reader. fortunately, agricola usually carefully mentions other alkalis, such as the product from lixiviation of ashes, separately from his _nitrum_. in these paragraphs, however, he has soda and potash hopelessly mixed, wherefore we have here introduced the latin term. the actual difference between potash and soda--the _nitrum_ of the ancients, and the _alkali_ of geber (and the glossary of agricola), was not understood for two hundred years after agricola, when duhamel made his well-known determinations; and the isolation of sodium and potassium was, of course, still later by fifty years. if the reeds and rushes described in this paragraph grew near the sea, the salt from lixiviation would be soda, and likewise the egyptian product was soda, but the lixiviation of wood-ash produces only potash; as seen above, all are termed _nitrum_ except the first. historical notes.--the word _nitrum_, _nitron_, _nitri_, _neter_, _nether_, or similar forms, occurs in innumerable ancient writings. among such references are jeremiah (ii., ) proverbs (xxv., ), herodotus (ii., , ), aristotle (_prob._ i., , _de mirab._ ), theophrastus (_de igne_ ed. heinsii, hist. plants iii., ), dioscorides (v., ), pliny (xiv., , and xxxi., ). a review of disputations on what salts this term comprised among the ancients would itself fill a volume, but from the properties named it was no doubt mostly soda, more rarely potash, and sometimes both mixed with common salt. there is every reason to believe from the properties and uses mentioned, that it did not generally comprise nitre (saltpetre)--into which superficial error the nomenclature has led many translators. the preparation by way of burning, and the use of _nitrum_ for purposes for which we now use soap, for making glass, for medicines, cosmetics, salves, painting, in baking powder, for preserving food, embalming, etc., and the descriptions of its taste in "nitrous" waters,--all answer for soda and potash, but not for saltpetre. it is possible that the common occurrence of saltpetre as an efflorescence on walls might naturally lead to its use, but in any event its distinguishing characteristics are nowhere mentioned. as sal-ammoniac occurred in the volcanoes in italy, it also may have been included in the _nitrum_ mentioned. _nitrum_ was in the main exported from egypt, but theophrastus mentions its production from wood-ash, and pliny very rightly states that burned lees of wine (argol) had the nature of _nitrum_. many of the ancient writers understood that it was rendered more caustic by burning, and still more so by treatment with lime. according to beckmann (hist. of inventions ii., p. ), the form of the word _natron_ was first introduced into europe by two travellers in egypt, peter ballon and prosper alpinus, about . the word was introduced into mineralogy by linnaeus in . in the first instance _natron_ was applied to soda and potash in distinction to _nitre_ for saltpetre, and later _natron_ was applied solely to soda. it is desirable to mention here two other forms of soda and potash which are frequently mentioned by agricola. "ashes which wool dyers use" (_cineres quo infectores lanarum utuntur_).--there is no indication in any of agricola's works as to whether this was some special wood-ash or whether it was the calcined residues from wool washing. the "yolk" or "suint" of wool, originating from the perspiration of the animal, has long been a source of crude potash. the water, after washing the wool, is evaporated, and the residue calcined. it contains about % k_{ }co_{ }, the remainder being sodium and potassium sulphates. another reason for assuming that it was not a wood-ash product, is that these products are separately mentioned. in either event, whether obtained from wool residues or from lixiviation of wood-ash, it would be an impure potash. in some methods of wool dyeing, a wash of soda was first given, so that it is barely possible that this substance was sodium carbonate. "salt made from the ashes of musk ivy" (_sal ex anthyllidis cinere factus_,--glossary, _salalkali_). this would be largely potash. [ ] this wondrous illustration of soda-making from nile water is no doubt founded upon pliny (xxxi., ). "it is made in almost the same manner as salt, except that sea-water is put into salt pans, whereas in the nitrous pans it is water of the nile; these, with the subsidence of the nile during the forty days, are impregnated with _nitrum_." [ ] this paragraph displays hopeless ignorance. borax was known to agricola and greatly used in his time; it certainly was not made from these compounds, but was imported from central asia. sal-ammoniac was also known in his time, and was used like borax as a soldering agent. the reaction given by agricola would yield free ammonia. the following historical notes on borax and sal-ammoniac may be of service. borax.--the uncertainties of the ancient distinctions in salts involve borax deeply. the word _baurach_ occurs in geber and the other early alchemistic writings, but there is nothing to prove that it was modern borax. there cannot be the slightest doubt, however, that the material referred to by agricola as _borax_ was our borax, because of the characteristic qualities incidentally mentioned in book vii. that he believed it was an artificial product from _nitrum_ is evident enough from his usual expression "_chrysocolla_ made from _nitrum_, which the moors call _borax_." agricola, in _de natura fossilium_ (p. - ), makes the following statements, which could leave no doubt on the subject:--"native _nitrum_ is found in the earth or on the surface.... it is from this variety that the venetians make _chrysocolla_, which i call _borax_.... the second variety of artificial _nitrum_ is made at the present day from the native _nitrum_, called by the arabs _tincar_, but i call it usually by the greek name _chrysocolla_; it is really the arabic _borax_.... this _nitrum_ does not decrepitate nor fly out of the fire; however, the native variety swells up from within." the application of the word _chrysocolla_ (_chrysos_, gold; _colla_, solder) to soldering materials, and at the same time to the copper mineral, is of greek origin. if any further proof were needed as to the substance meant by agricola, it lies in the word _tincar_. for a long time the borax of europe was imported from central asia, through constantinople and venice, under the name of _tincal_ or _tincar_. when this trade began, we do not know; evidently before agricola's time. the statement here of making borax from alum and sal-ammoniac is identical with the assertion of biringuccio (ii., ). sal-ammoniac.--the early history of this--ammonium chloride--is also under a cloud. pliny (xxxi., ) speaks of a _sal-hammoniacum_, and dioscorides (v., ) uses much the same word. pliny describes it as from near the temple of ammon in egypt. none of the distinctive characteristics of sal-ammoniac are mentioned, and there is every reason to believe it was either common salt or soda. herodotus, strabo, and others mention common salt sent from about the same locality. the first authentic mention is in geber, who calls it _sal-ammoniacum_, and describes a method of making, and several characteristic reactions. it was known in the middle ages under various names, among them _sal-aremonicum_. agricola (_de nat. fos._, iii., p. ) notes its characteristic quality of volatilization. "sal-ammoniac ... in the fire neither crackles nor flies out, but is totally consumed." he also says (p. ): "borax is used by goldsmiths to solder gold, likewise silver. the artificers who make iron needles (tacks?) similarly use sal-ammoniac when they cover the heads with tin." the statement from pliny mentioned in this paragraph is from xxxiii., , where he describes the _chrysocolla_ used as gold solder as made from verdigris, _nitrum_, and urine in the way quoted. it is quite possible that this solder was sal-ammoniac, though not made in quite this manner. pliny refers in several places (xxxiii., , , , and , xxxv., , etc.) to _chrysocolla_, about which he is greatly confused as between gold-solder, the copper mineral, and a green pigment, the latter being of either mineral origin. [ ] saltpetre was secured in the middle ages in two ways, but mostly from the treatment of calcium nitrate efflorescence on cellar and similar walls, and from so-called saltpetre plantations. in this description of the latter, one of the most essential factors is omitted until the last sentence, _i.e._, that the nitrous earth was the result of the decay of organic or animal matter over a long period. such decomposition, in the presence of potassium and calcium carbonates--the lye and lime--form potassium and calcium nitrates, together with some magnesium and sodium nitrates. after lixiviation, the addition of lye converts the calcium and magnesium nitrates into saltpetre, _i.e._, ca(no_{ })_{ } + k_{ }co_{ } = caco_{ } + kno_{ }. the carbonates precipitate out, leaving the saltpetre in solution, from which it was evaporated and crystallized out. the addition of alum as mentioned would scarcely improve the situation. the purification by repeated re-solution and addition of lye, and filtration, would eliminate the remaining other salts. the purification with sulphur, however, is more difficult to understand. in this case the saltpetre is melted and the sulphur added and set alight. such an addition to saltpetre would no doubt burn brilliantly. the potassium sulphate formed would possibly settle to the bottom, and if the "greasy matter" were simply organic impurities, they might be burned off. this method of refining appears to have been copied from biringuccio (x., ), who states it in almost identical terms. historical note.--as mentioned in note above, it is quite possible that the ancients did include efflorescence of walls under _nitrum_; but, so far as we are aware, no specific mention of such an occurrence of _nitrum_ is given, and, as stated before, there is every reason to believe that all the substances under that term were soda and potash. especially the frequent mention of the preparation of _nitrum_ by way of burning, argues strongly against saltpetre being included, as they would hardly have failed to notice the decrepitation. argument has been put forward that greek fire contained saltpetre, but it amounts to nothing more than argument, for in those receipts preserved, no salt of any kind is mentioned. it is most likely that the leprosy of house-walls of the mosaic code (leviticus xiv., to ) was saltpetre efflorescence. the drastic treatment by way of destruction of such "unclean" walls and houses, however, is sufficient evidence that this salt was not used. the first certain mention of saltpetre (_sal petrae_) is in geber. as stated before, the date of this work is uncertain; in any event it was probably as early as the th century. he describes the making of "solvative water" with alum and saltpetre, so there can be no doubt as to the substance (see note on p. , on nitric acid). there is also a work by a nebulous marcus graecus, where the word _sal petrosum_ is used. and it appears that roger bacon (died ) and albertus magnus (died ) both had access to that work. bacon uses the term _sal petrae_ frequently enough, and was the first to describe gunpowder (_de mirabili potestate artis et naturae_ ). he gives no mention of the method of making his _sal petrae_. agricola uses throughout the latin text the term _halinitrum_, a word he appears to have coined himself. however, he gives its german equivalent in the _interpretatio_ as _salpeter_. the only previous description of the method of making saltpetre, of which we are aware, is that of biringuccio ( ), who mentions the boiling of the excrescences from walls, and also says a good deal about boiling solutions from "nitrous" earth, which may or may not be of "plantation" origin. he also gives this same method of refining with sulphur. in any event, this statement by agricola is the first clear and complete description of the saltpetre "plantations." saltpetre was in great demand in the middle ages for the manufacture of gunpowder, and the first record of that substance and of explosive weapons necessarily involves the knowledge of saltpetre. however, authentic mention of such weapons only begins early in the th century. among the earliest is an authority to the council of twelve at florence to appoint persons to make cannon, etc., ( ), references to cannon in the stores of the tower of london, , &c. [ ] there are three methods of manufacturing alum described by agricola, the first and third apparently from shales, and the second from alum rock or "alunite." the reasons for assuming that the first process was from shales, are the reference to the "aluminous earth" as ore (_venae_) coming from "veins," and also the mixture of vitriol. in this process the free sulphuric acid formed by the oxidation of pyrites reacts upon the argillaceous material to form aluminium sulphate. the decomposed ore is then placed in tanks and lixiviated. the solution would contain aluminium sulphate, vitriol, and other impurities. by the addition of urine, the aluminium sulphate would be converted into ammonia alum. agricola is, of course, mistaken as to the effect of the addition, being under the belief that it separated the vitriol from the alum; in fact, this belief was general until the latter part of the th century, when lavoisier determined that alum must have an alkali base. nor is it clear from this description exactly how they were separated. in a condensed solution allowed to cool, the alum would precipitate out as "alum meal," and the vitriol would "float on top"--in solution. the reference to "meal" may represent this phenomenon, and the re-boiling referred to would be the normal method of purification by crystallization. the "asbestos" and gypsum deposited in the caldrons were no doubt feathery and mealy calcium sulphate. the alum produced would, in any event, be mostly ammonia alum. the second process is certainly the manufacture from "alum rock" or "alunite" (the hydrous sulphate of aluminium and potassium), such as that mined at la tolfa in the papal states, where the process has been for centuries identical with that here described. the alum there produced is the double basic potassium alum, and crystallizes into cubes instead of octahedra, _i.e._, the roman alum of commerce. the presence of much ferric oxide gives the rose colour referred to by agricola. this account is almost identical with that of biringuccio (ii., ), and it appears from similarity of details that agricola, as stated in his preface, must have "refreshed his mind" from this description; it would also appear from the preface that he had himself visited the locality. the third process is essentially the same as the first, except that the decomposition of the pyrites was hastened by roasting. the following obscure statement of some interest occurs in agricola's _de natura fossilium_, p. :--"... alum is made from vitriol, for when oil is made from the latter, alum is distilled out (_expirat_). this absorbs the clay which is used in cementing glass, and when the operation is complete the clay is macerated with pure water, and the alum is soon afterward deposited in the shape of small cubes." assuming the oil of vitriol to be sulphuric acid and the clay "used in cementing glass" to be kaolin, we have here the first suggestion of a method for producing alum which came into use long after. "burnt alum" (_alumen coctum_).--agricola frequently uses this expression, and on p. , describes the operation, and the substance is apparently the same as modern dehydrated alum, often referred to as "burnt alum." historical notes.--whether the ancients knew of alum in the modern sense is a most vexed question. the greeks refer to a certain substance as _stypteria_, and the romans refer to this same substance as _alumen_. there can be no question as to their knowledge and common use of vitriol, nor that substances which they believed were entirely different from vitriol were comprised under the above names. beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. i., p. ) seems to have been the founder of the doctrine that the ancient _alumen_ was vitriol, and scores of authorities seem to have adopted his arguments without inquiry, until that belief is now general. one of the strongest reasons put forward was that alum does not occur native in appreciable quantities. apart from the fact that the weight of this argument has been lost by the discovery that alum does occur in nature to some extent as an aftermath of volcanic action, and as an efflorescence from argillaceous rocks, we see no reason why the ancients may not have prepared it artificially. one of the earliest mentions of such a substance is by herodotus (ii., ) of a thousand talents of _stypteria_, sent by amasis from egypt as a contribution to the rebuilding of the temple of delphi. diodorus (v., ) mentions the abundance which was secured from the lipari islands (stromboli, etc.), and a small quantity from the isle of melos. dioscorides (v., ) mentions egypt, lipari islands, melos, sardinia, armenia, etc., "and generally in any other places where one finds red ochre (_rubrica_)." pliny (xxxv., ) gives these same localities, and is more explicit as to how it originates--"from an earthy water which exudes from the earth." of these localities, the lipari islands (stromboli, etc.), and melos are volcanic enough, and both lipari and melos are now known to produce natural alum (dana. syst. min., p. ; and tournefort, "_relation d'un voyage du levant_." london, , _lettre_ iv., vol. .). further, the hair-like alum of dioscorides, repeated by pliny below, was quite conceivably fibrous _kalinite_, native potash alum, which occurs commonly as an efflorescence. be the question of native alum as it may--and vitriol is not much more common--our own view that the ancient _alumen_ was alum, is equally based upon the artificial product. before entering upon the subject, we consider it desirable to set out the properties of the ancient substance, a complete review of which is given by pliny (xxxv., ), he obviously quoting also from dioscorides, which, therefore, we do not need to reproduce. pliny says:-- "not less important, or indeed dissimilar, are the uses made of _alumen_; by which name is understood a sort of salty earth. of this, there are several kinds. in cyprus there is a white _alumen_, and a darker kind. there is not a great difference in their colour, though the uses made of them are very dissimilar,--the white _alumen_ being employed in a liquid state for dyeing wool bright colours, and the dark-coloured _alumen_, on the other hand, for giving wool a sombre tint. gold is purified with black _alumen_. every kind of _alumen_ is from a _limus_ water which exudes from the earth. the collection of it commences in winter, and it is dried by the summer sun. that portion of it which first matures is the whitest. it is obtained in spain, egypt, armenia, macedonia, pontus, africa, and the islands of sardinia, melos, lipari, and strongyle; the most esteemed, however, is that of egypt, the next best from melos. of this last there are two kinds, the liquid _alumen_, and the solid. liquid _alumen_, to be good, should be of a limpid and milky appearance; when rubbed, it should be without roughness, and should give a little heat. this is called _phorimon_. the mode of detecting whether it has been adulterated is by pomegranate juice, for, if genuine, the mixture turns black. the other, or solid, is pale and rough and turns dark with nut-galls; for which reason it is called _paraphoron_. liquid _alumen_ is naturally astringent, indurative, and corrosive; used in combination with honey, it heals ulcerations.... there is one kind of solid _alumen_, called by the greeks _schistos_, which splits into filaments of a whitish colour; for which reason some prefer calling it _trichitis_ (hair like). _alumen_ is produced from the stone _chalcitis_, from which copper is also made, being a sort of coagulated scum from that stone. this kind of _alumen_ is less astringent than the others, and is less useful as a check upon bad humours of the body.... the mode of preparing it is to cook it in a pan until it has ceased being a liquid. there is another variety of _alumen_ also, of a less active nature, called _strongyle_. it is of two kinds. the fungous, which easily dissolves, is utterly condemned. the better kind is the pumice-like kind, full of small holes like a sponge, and is in round pieces, more nearly white in colour, somewhat greasy, free from grit, friable, and does not stain black. this last kind is cooked by itself upon charcoal until it is reduced to pure ashes. the best kind of all is that called _melinum_, from the isle of melos, as i have said, none being more effectual as an astringent, for staining black, and for indurating, and none becomes more dry.... above all other properties of _alumen_ is its remarkable astringency, whence its greek name.... it is injected for dysentry and employed as a gargle." the lines omitted refer entirely to medical matters which have no bearing here. the following paragraph (often overlooked) from pliny (xxxv., ) also has an important bearing upon the subject:--"in egypt they employ a wonderful method of dyeing. the white cloth, after it is pressed, is stained in various places, not with dye stuffs, but with substances which absorb colours. these applications are not apparent on the cloth, but when it is immersed in a caldron of hot dye it is removed the next moment brightly coloured. the remarkable circumstance is that although there be only one dye in the caldron yet different colours appear in the cloth." it is obvious from pliny's description above, and also from the making of vitriol (see note , p. ), that this substance was obtained from liquor resulting from natural or artificial lixiviation of rocks--in the case of vitriols undoubtedly the result of decomposition of pyritiferous rocks (such as _chalcitis_). such liquors are bound to contain aluminum sulphate if there is any earth or clay about, and whether they contained alum would be a question of an alkali being present. if no alkali were present in this liquor, vitriol would crystallize out first, and subsequent condensation would yield aluminum sulphate. if alkali were present, the alum would crystallize out either before or with the vitriol. pliny's remark, "that portion of it which first matures is whitest", agrees well enough with this hypothesis. no one will doubt that some of the properties mentioned above belong peculiarly to vitriol, but equally convincing are properties and uses that belong to alum alone. the strongly astringent taste, white colour, and injection for dysentry, are more peculiar to alum than to vitriol. but above all other properties is that displayed in dyeing, for certainly if we read this last quotation from pliny in conjunction with the statement that white _alumen_ produces bright colours and the dark kind, sombre colours, we have the exact reactions of alum and vitriol when used as mordants. therefore, our view is that the ancient salt of this character was a more or less impure mixture ranging from alum to vitriol--"the whiter the better." further, considering the ancient knowledge of soda (_nitrum_), and the habit of mixing it into almost everything, it does not require much flight of imagination to conceive its admixture to the "water," and the absolute production of alum. whatever may have been the confusion between alum and vitriol among the ancients, it appears that by the time of the works attributed to geber ( th or th century), the difference was well known. his work (_investigationes perfectiones_, iv.) refers to _alumen glaciale_ and _alumen jameni_ as distinguished from vitriol, and gives characteristic reactions which can leave no doubt as to the distinction. we may remark here that the repeated statement apparently arising from meyer (history of chemistry, p. ) that geber used the term _alum de rocca_ is untrue, this term not appearing in the early latin translations. during the th century alum did come to be known in europe as _alum de rocca_. various attempts have been made to explain the origin of this term, ranging from the italian root, a "rock," to the town of rocca in syria, where alum was supposed to have been produced. in any event, the supply for a long period prior to the middle of the th century came from turkey, and the origin of the methods of manufacture described by agricola, and used down to the present day, must have come from the orient. in the early part of the th century, a large trade in alum was done between italy and asia minor, and eventually various italians established themselves near constantinople and smyrna for its manufacture (dudae, _historia byzantina venetia_, , p. ). the alum was secured by burning the rock, and lixiviation. with the capture of constantinople by the turks ( ), great feeling grew up in italy over the necessity of buying this requisite for their dyeing establishments from the infidel, and considerable exertion was made to find other sources of supply. some minor works were attempted, but nothing much eventuated until the appearance of one john de castro. from the commentaries of pope pius ii. ( , p. ), it appears that this italian had been engaged in dyeing cloth in constantinople, and thus became aware of the methods of making alum. driven out of that city through its capture by the turks, he returned to italy and obtained an office under the apostolic chamber. while in this occupation he discovered a rock at tolfa which appeared to him identical with that used at constantinople in alum manufacture. after experimental work, he sought the aid of the pope, which he obtained after much vicissitude. experts were sent, who after examination "shed tears of joy, they kneeling down three times, worshipped god and praised his kindness in conferring such a gift on their age." castro was rewarded, and the great papal monopoly was gradually built upon this discovery. the industry firmly established at tolfa exists to the present day, and is the source of the roman alum of commerce. the pope maintained this monopoly strenuously, by fair means and by excommunication, gradually advancing the price until the consumers had greater complaint than against the turks. the history of the disputes arising over the papal alum monopoly would alone fill a volume. by the middle of the th century alum was being made in spain, holland, and germany, and later in england. in her efforts to encourage home industries and escape the tribute to the pope, elizabeth (see note on p. ) invited over "certain foreign chymistes and mineral masters" and gave them special grants to induce them to "settle in these realmes." among them was cornelius devoz, to whom was granted the privilege of "mining and digging in our realm of england for allom and copperas." what devoz accomplished is not recorded, but the first alum manufacture on a considerable scale seems to have been in yorkshire, by one thomas chaloner (about ), who was supposed to have seduced workmen from the pope's alum works at tolfa, for which he was duly cursed with all the weight of the pope and church. (pennant, tour of scotland, ). [ ] the term for vitriol used by the roman authors, followed by agricola, is _atramentum sutorium_, literally shoemaker's blacking, the term no doubt arising from its ancient (and modern) use for blackening leather. the greek term was _chalcanthon_. the term "vitriol" seems first to appear in albertus magnus (_de mineralibus_, _liber_ v.), who died in , where he uses the expression "_atramentum viride a quibusdam vitreolum vocatur_." agricola (_de nat. foss._, p. ) states, "in recent years the name _vitriolum_ has been given to it." the first adequate description of vitriol is by dioscorides (v., ), as follows:--"vitriol (_chalcanthon_) is of one genus, and is a solidified liquid, but it has three different species. one is formed from the liquids which trickle down drop by drop and congeal in certain mines; therefore those who work in the cyprian mines call it _stalactis_. petesius calls this kind _pinarion_. the second kind is that which collects in certain caverns; afterward it is poured into trenches, where it congeals, whence it derives its name _pectos_. the third kind is called _hephthon_ and is mostly made in spain; it has a beautiful colour but is weak. the manner of preparing it is as follows: dissolving it in water, they boil it, and then they transfer it to cisterns and leave it to settle. after a certain number of days it congeals and separates into many small pieces, having the form of dice, which stick together like grapes. the most valued is blue, heavy, dense, and translucent." pliny (xxxiv., ) says:--"by the name which they have given to it, the greeks indicate the similar nature of copper and _atramentum sutorium_, for they call it _chalcanthon_. there is no substance of an equally miraculous nature. it is made in spain from wells of this kind of water. this water is boiled with an equal quantity of pure water, and is then poured into wooden tanks (fish ponds). across these tanks there are fixed beams, to which hang cords stretched by little stones. upon these cords adheres the _limus_ (agricola's 'juice') in drops of a vitreous appearance, somewhat resembling a bunch of grapes. after removal, it is dried for thirty days. it is of a blue colour, and of a brilliant lustre, and is very like glass. its solution is the blacking used for colouring leather. _chalcanthon_ is made in many other ways: its kind of earth is sometimes dug from ditches, from the sides of which exude drops, which solidify by the winter frosts into icicles, called _stalagmia_, and there is none more pure. when its colour is nearly white, with a slight tinge of violet, it is called _leukoïon_. it is also made in rock basins, the rain water collecting the _limus_ into them, where it becomes hardened. it is also made in the same way as salt by the intense heat of the sun. hence it is that some distinguish two kinds, the mineral and the artificial; the latter being paler than the former and as much inferior to it in quality as it is in colour." while pliny gives prominence to blue vitriol, his solution for colouring leather must have been the iron sulphate. there can be no doubt from the above, however, that both iron and copper sulphates were known to the ancients. from the methods for making vitriol given here in _de re metallica_, it is evident that only the iron sulphate would be produced, for the introduction of iron strips into the vats would effectually precipitate any copper. it is our belief that generally throughout this work, the iron sulphate is meant by the term _atramentum sutorium_. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. - ) agricola gives three varieties of _atramentum sutorium_,--_viride_, _caeruleum_, and _candidum_, _i.e._, green, blue, and white. thus the first mention of white vitriol (zinc sulphate) appears to be due to him, and he states further (p. ): "a white sort is found, especially at goslar, in the shape of icicles, transparent like crystals." and on p. : "since i have explained the nature of vitriol and its relatives, which are obtained from cupriferous pyrites, i will next speak of an acrid solidified juice which commonly comes from _cadmia_. it is found at annaberg in the tunnel driven to the saint otto mine; it is hard and white, and so acrid that it kills mice, crickets, and every kind of animal. however, that feathery substance which oozes out from the mountain rocks and the thick substance found hanging in tunnels and caves from which saltpetre is made, while frequently acrid, does not come from _cadmia_." dana (syst. of min., p. ) identifies this as _goslarite_--native zinc sulphate. it does not appear, however, that artificial zinc vitriol was made in agricola's time. schlüter (_huette-werken_, braunschweig , p. ) states it to have been made for the first time at rammelsberg about . it is desirable here to enquire into the nature of the substances given by all of the old mineralogists under the latinized greek terms _chalcitis_, _misy_, _sory_, and _melanteria_. the first mention of these minerals is in dioscorides, who (v., - ) says: "the best _chalcitis_ is like copper. it is friable, not stony, and is intersected by long brilliant veins.... _misy_ is obtained from cyprus; it should have the appearance of gold, be hard, and when pulverised it should have the colour of gold and sparkle like stars. it has the same properties as _chalcitis_.... the best is from egypt.... one kind of _melanteria_ congeals like salt in the entries to copper mines. the other kind is earthy and appears on the surface of the aforesaid mines. it is found in the mines of cilicia and other regions. the best has the colour of sulphur, is smooth, pure, homogenous, and upon contact with water immediately becomes black.... those who consider _sory_ to be the same as _melanteria_, err greatly. _sory_ is a species of its own, though it is not dissimilar. the smell of _sory_ is oppressive and provokes nausea. it is found in egypt and in other regions, as libya, spain, and cyprus. the best is from egypt, and when broken is black, porous, greasy, and astringent." pliny (xxxiv., - ) says:--"that is called _chalcitis_ from which, as well as itself copper (?) is extracted by heat. it differs from _cadmia_ in that this is obtained from rocks near the surface, while that is taken from rocks below the surface. also _chalcitis_ is immediately friable, being naturally so soft as to appear like compressed wool. there is also this other distinction; _chalcitis_ contains three other substances, copper, _misy_, and _sory_. of each of these we shall speak in their appropriate places. it contains elongated copper veins. the most approved kind is of the colour of honey; it is streaked with fine sinuous veins and is friable and not stony. it is considered most valuable when fresh.... the _sory_ of egypt is the most esteemed, being much superior to that of cyprus, spain, and africa; although some prefer the _sory_ from cyprus for affections of the eyes. but from whatever nation it comes, the best is that which has the strongest odour, and which, when ground up, becomes greasy, black, and spongy. it is a substance so unpleasant to the stomach that some persons are nauseated by its smell. some say that _misy_ is made by the burning of stones in trenches, its fine yellow powder being mixed with the ashes of pine-wood. the truth is, as i said above, that though obtained from the stone, it is already made and in solid masses, which require force to detach them. the best comes from the works of cyprus, its characteristics being that when broken it sparkles like gold, and when ground it presents a sandy appearance, but on the contrary, if heated, it is similar to _chalcitis_. _misy_ is used in refining gold...." agricola's views on the subject appear in _de natura fossilium_. he says (p. ):--"the cupriferous pyrites (_pyrites aerosus_) called _chalcitis_ is the mother and cause of _sory_--which is likewise known as mine _vitriol_ (_atramentum metallicum_)--and _melanteria_. these in turn yield vitriol and such related things. this may be seen especially at goslar, where the nodular lumps of dark grey colour are called vitriol stone (_lapis atramenti_). in the centre of them is found greyish pyrites, almost dissolved, the size of a walnut. it is enclosed on all sides, sometimes by _sory_, sometimes by _melanteria_. from them start little veinlets of greenish vitriol which spread all over it, presenting somewhat the appearance of hairs extending in all directions and cohering together.... there are five species of this solidified juice, _melanteria_, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and vitriol. sometimes many are found in one place, sometimes all of them, for one originates from the other. from pyrites, which is, as one might say, the root of all these juices, originates the above-mentioned _sory_ and _melanteria_. from _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _melanteria_ originate the various kinds of vitriol.... _sory_, _melanteria_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_ are always native; vitriol alone is either native or artificial. from them vitriol effloresces white, and sometimes green or blue. _misy_ effloresces not only from _sory_, _melanteria_, and _chalcitis_, but also from all the vitriols, artificial as well as natural.... _sory_ and _melanteria_ differ somewhat from the others, but they are of the same colours, grey and black; but _chalcitis_ is red and copper-coloured; _misy_ is yellow or gold-coloured. all these native varieties have the odour of lightning (brimstone), but _sory_ is the most powerful. the feathery vitriol is soft and fine and hair-like, and _melanteria_ has the appearance of wool and it has a similarity to salt; all these are rare and light; _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_ have the following relations. _sory_ because of its density has the hardness of stone, although its texture is very coarse. _misy_ has a very fine texture. _chalcitis_ is between the two; because of its roughness and strong odour it differs from _melanteria_, although they do not differ in colour. the vitriols, whether natural or artificial, are hard and dense ... as regarding shape, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and _melanteria_ are nodular, but _sory_ is occasionally porous, which is peculiar to it. _misy_ when it effloresces in no great quantity from the others is like a kind of pollen, otherwise it is nodular. _melanteria_ sometimes resembles wool, sometimes salt." the sum and substance, therefore, appears to be that _misy_ is a yellowish material, possibly ochre, and _sory_ a blackish stone, both impregnated with vitriol. _chalcitis_ is a partially decomposed pyrites; and _melanteria_ is no doubt native vitriol. from this last term comes the modern _melanterite_, native hydrous ferrous sulphate. dana (system of mineralogy, p. ) considers _misy_ to be in part _copiapite_--basic ferric sulphate--but any such part would not come under agricola's objection to it as a source of vitriol. the disabilities of this and _chalcitis_ may, however, be due to their copper content. [ ] agricola (_de nat. fos._, ) says:--"there is a species of artificial sulphur made from sulphur and iron hammer-scales, melted together and poured into moulds. this, because it heals scabs of horses, is generally called _caballinum_." it is difficult to believe such a combination was other than iron sulphide, but it is equally difficult to understand how it was serviceable for this purpose. [ ] inasmuch as pyrites is discussed in the next paragraph, the material of the first distillation appears to be native sulphur. until the receiving pots became heated above the melting point of the sulphur, the product would be "flowers of sulphur," and not the wax-like product. the equipment described for pyrites in the next paragraph would be obviously useful only for coarse material. but little can be said on the history of sulphur; it is mentioned often enough in the bible and also by homer (od. xxii., ). the greeks apparently knew how to refine it, although neither dioscorides nor pliny specifically describes such an operation. agricola says (_de nat. fos._, ): "sulphur is of two kinds; the mineral, which the latins call _vivum_, and the greeks _apyron_, which means 'not exposed to the fire' (_ignem non expertum_) as rightly interpreted by celsius; and the artificial, called by the greeks _pepyromenon_, that is, 'exposed to the fire.'" in book x., the expression _sulfur ignem non expertum_ frequently appears, no doubt in agricola's mind for native sulphur, although it is quite possible that the greek distinction was between "flowers" of sulphur and the "wax-like" variety. [ ] the substances referred to under the names _bitumen_, _asphalt_, _maltha_, _naphtha_, _petroleum_, _rock-oil_, etc., have been known and used from most ancient times, and much of our modern nomenclature is of actual greek and roman ancestry. these peoples distinguished three related substances,--the greek _asphaltos_ and roman _bitumen_ for the hard material,--greek _pissasphaltos_ and roman _maltha_ for the viscous, pitchy variety--and occasionally the greek _naphtha_ and roman _naphtha_ for petroleum proper, although it is often enough referred to as liquid _bitumen_ or liquid _asphaltos_. the term _petroleum_ apparently first appears in agricola's _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), where he says the "oil of bitumen ... now called _petroleum_." bitumen was used by the egyptians for embalming from pre-historic times, _i.e._, prior to b.c., the term "mummy" arising from the persian word for bitumen, _mumiai_. it is mentioned in the tribute from babylonia to thotmes iii., who lived about b.c. (wilkinson, ancient egyptians i., p. ). the egyptians, however, did not need to go further afield than the sinai peninsula for abundant supplies. bitumen is often cited as the real meaning of the "slime" mentioned in genesis (xi., ; xiv., ), and used in building the tower of babel. there is no particular reason for this assumption, except the general association of babel, babylon, and bitumen. however, the hebrew word _sift_ for pitch or bitumen does occur as the cement used for moses's bulrush cradle (exodus ii., ), and moses is generally accounted about b.c. other attempts to connect biblical reference to petroleum and bitumen revolve around job xxix., , deut. xxxii., , maccabees ii., i, , matthew v., , but all require an unnecessary strain on the imagination. the plentiful occurrence of bitumen throughout asia minor, and particularly in the valley of the euphrates and in persia, is the subject of innumerable references by writers from herodotus ( - b.c.) down to the author of the company prospectus of recent months. herodotus (i., ) and diodorus siculus (i) state that the walls of babylon were mortared with bitumen--a fact partially corroborated by modern investigation. the following statement by herodotus (vi., ) is probably the source from which pliny drew the information which agricola quotes above. in referring to a well at ardericca, a place about miles from ancient susa, in persia, herodotus says:--"for from the well they get bitumen, salt, and oil, procuring it in the way that i will now describe: they draw with a swipe, and instead of a bucket they make use of the half of a wine-skin; with this the man dips and, after drawing, pours the liquid into a reservoir, wherefrom it passes into another, and there takes three different shapes. the salt and bitumen forthwith collect and harden, while the oil is drawn off into casks. it is called by the persians _rhadinace_, is black, and has an unpleasant smell." (rawlinson's trans. iii., p. ). the statement from pliny (xxxi., ) here referred to by agricola, reads:--"it (salt) is made from water of wells poured into salt-pans. at babylon the first condensed is a bituminous liquid like oil which is burned in lamps. when this is taken off, salt is found beneath. in cappadocia also the water from both wells and springs is poured into salt-pans." when petroleum began to be used as an illuminant it is impossible to say. a passage in aristotle's _de mirabilibus_ ( ) is often quoted, but in reality it refers only to a burning spring, a phenomenon noted by many writers, but from which to its practical use is not a great step. the first really definite statement as to the use of petroleum as an illuminant is strabo's quotation (xvi., , ) from posidonius: "asphaltus is found in great abundance in babylonia. eratosthenes describes it as follows:--the liquid _asphaltus_, which is called _naphtha_, is found in susa; the dry kind, which can be made solid, in babylonia. there is a spring of it near the euphrates.... others say that the liquid kind is also found in babylonia.... the liquid kind, called _naphtha_, is of a singular nature. when it is brought near the fire, the fire catches it.... posidonius says that there are springs of _naphtha_ in babylonia, some of which produce white, others black _naphtha_; the first of these, i mean white _naphtha_, which attracts flame, is liquid sulphur; the second or black _naphtha_ is liquid _asphaltus_, and is burnt in lamps instead of oil." (hamilton's translation, vol. iii., p. ). eratosthenes lived about b.c., and posidonius about years later. dioscorides (i., ), after discussing the usual sources of bitumen says: "it is found in a liquid state in agrigentum in sicily, flowing on streams; they use it for lights in lanterns in place of oil. those who call the sicilian kind oil are under a delusion, for it is agreed that it is a kind of liquid bitumen." pliny adds nothing much new to the above quotations, except in regard to these same springs (xxxv., ) that "the inhabitants collect it on the panicles of reeds, to which it quickly adheres and they use it for burning in lamps instead of oil." agricola (_de natura fossilium_, book iv.) classifies petroleum, coal, jet, and obsidian, camphor, and amber as varieties of bitumen, and devotes much space to the refutation of the claims that the last two are of vegetable origin. [ ] agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) in discussing substances which originate from copper, gives among them green _chrysocolla_ (as distinguished from borax, etc., see note above), and says: "native _chrysocolla_ originates in veins and veinlets, and is found mostly by itself like sand, or adhering to metallic substances, and when scraped off from this appears similar to its own sand. occasionally it is so thin that very little can be scraped off. or else it occurs in waters which, as i have said, wash these minerals, and afterward it settles as a powder. at neusohl in the carpathians, green water flowing from an ancient tunnel wears away this _chrysocolla_ with it. the water is collected in thirty large reservoirs, where it deposits the _chrysocolla_ as a sediment, which they collect every year and sell,"--as a pigment. this description of its occurrence would apply equally well to modern _chrysocolla_ or to malachite. the solution from copper ores would deposit some sort of green incrustation, of carbonates mostly. [ ] the statement in pliny (xxxvi., ) to which agricola refers is as follows: "then as ingenuity was not content with the mixing of _nitrum_, they began the addition of _lapis magnes_, because of the belief that it attracts liquefied glass as well as iron. in a similar manner many kinds of brilliant stones began to be added to the melting, and then shells and fossil sand. authors tell us that the glass of india is made of broken crystal, and in consequence nothing can compare with it. light and dry wood is used for fusing, _cyprium_ (copper?) and _nitrum_ being added, particularly _nitrum_ from ophir etc." a great deal of discussion has arisen over this passage, in connection with what this _lapis magnes_ really was. pliny (xxxvi., ) describes the lodestone under this term, but also says: "there (in ethiopia) also is _haematites magnes_, a stone of blood colour, which shows a red colour if crushed, or of saffron. the _haematites_ has not the same property of attracting iron as _magnes_." relying upon this sentence for an exception to the ordinary sort of _magnes_, and upon the impossible chemical reaction involved, most commentators have endeavoured to show that lodestone was not the substance meant by pliny, but manganese, and thus they find here the first knowledge of this mineral. there can be little doubt that pliny assumed it to be the lodestone, and agricola also. whether the latter had any independent knowledge on this point in glass-making or was merely quoting pliny--which seems probable--we do not know. in any event, biringuccio, whose work preceded _de re metallica_ by fifteen years, does definitely mention manganese in this connection. he dismisses this statement of pliny with the remark (p. - ): "the ancients wrote about lodestones, as pliny states, and they mixed it together with _nitrum_ in their first efforts to make glass." the following passage from this author (p. - ), however, is not only of interest in this connection, but also as possibly being the first specific mention of manganese under its own name. moreover, it has been generally overlooked in the many discussions of the subject. "of a similar nature (to _zaffir_) is also another mineral called _manganese_, which is found, besides in germany, at the mountain of viterbo in tuscany ... it is the colour of _ferrigno scuro_ (iron slag?). in melting it one cannot obtain any metal ... but it gives a very fine colour to glass, so that the glass workers use it in their pigments to secure an azure colour.... it also has such a property that when put into melted glass it cleanses it and makes it white, even if it were green or yellow. in a hot fire it goes off in a vapour like lead, and turns into ashes." to enter competently into the discussion of the early history of glass-making would employ more space than can be given, and would lead but to a sterile end. it is certain that the art was pre-grecian, and that the egyptians were possessed of some knowledge of making and blowing it in the xi dynasty (according to petrie , b.c.), the wall painting at beni hassen, which represents glass-blowing, being attributed to that period. the remains of a glass factory at tel el amarna are believed to be of the xviii dynasty. (petrie, , b.c.). the art reached a very high state of development among the greeks and romans. no discussion of this subject omits pliny's well-known story (xxxvi, ), which we also add: "the tradition is that a merchant ship laden with _nitrum_ being moored at this place, the merchants were preparing their meal on the beach, and not having stones to prop up their pots, they used lumps of _nitrum_ from the ship, which fused and mixed with the sands of the shore, and there flowed streams of a new translucent liquid, and thus was the origin of glass." appendix a. agricola's works. georgius agricola was not only the author of works on mining and allied subjects, usually associated with his name, but he also interested himself to some extent in political and religious subjects. for convenience in discussion we may, therefore, divide his writings on the broad lines of ( ) works on mining, geology, mineralogy, and allied subjects; ( ) works on other subjects, medical, religious, critical, political, and historical. in respect especially to the first division, and partially with regard to the others, we find three principal cases: (_a_) works which can be authenticated in european libraries to-day; (_b_) references to editions of these in bibliographies, catalogues, etc., which we have been unable to authenticate; and (_c_) references to works either unpublished or lost. the following are the short titles of all of the published works which we have been able to find on the subjects allied to mining, arranged according to their present importance:--_de re metallica_, first edition, ; _de natura fossilium_, first edition, ; _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, first edition, ; _bermannus_, first edition, ; _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, first edition, ; _de mensuris et ponderibus_, first edition, ; _de precio metallorum et monetis_, first edition, ; _de veteribus et novis metallis_, first edition, ; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, first edition, ; _de animantibus subterraneis_, first edition, . of the "lost" or unpublished works, on which there is some evidence, the following are the most important:--_de metallicis et machinis_, _de ortu metallorum defensio ad jacobum scheckium_, _de jure et legibus metallicis_, _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris_, _de terrae motu_, and _commentariorum, libri vi_. the known published works upon other subjects are as follows:--latin grammar, first edition, ; two religious tracts, first edition, ; _galen_ (joint revision of greek text), first edition, ; _de bello adversus turcam_, first edition, ; _de peste_, first edition, . the lost or partially completed works on subjects unrelated to mining, of which some trace has been found, are:--_de medicatis fontibus_, _de putredine solidas partes_, etc., _castigationes in hippocratem_, _typographia mysnae et toringiae_, _de traditionibus apostolicis_, _oratio de rebus gestis ernesti et alberti_, _ducum saxoniae_. review of principal works. before proceeding with the bibliographical detail, we consider it desirable to review briefly the most important of the author's works on subjects related to mining. _de natura fossilium._ this is the most important work of agricola, excepting _de re metallica_. it has always been printed in combination with other works, and first appeared at basel, . this edition was considerably revised by the author, the amended edition being that of , which we have used in giving references. the work comprises ten "books" of a total of folio pages. it is the first attempt at systematic mineralogy, the minerals[ ] being classified into ( ) "earths" (clay, ochre, etc.), ( ) "stones properly so-called" (gems, semi-precious and unusual stones, as distinguished from rocks), ( ) "solidified juices" (salt, vitriol, alum, etc.), ( ) metals, and ( ) "compounds" (homogeneous "mixtures" of simple substances, thus forming such minerals as galena, pyrite, etc.). in this classification agricola endeavoured to find some fundamental basis, and therefore adopted solubility, fusibility, odour, taste, etc., but any true classification without the atomic theory was, of course, impossible. however, he makes a very creditable performance out of their properties and obvious characteristics. all of the external characteristics which we use to-day in discrimination, such as colour, hardness, lustre, etc., are enumerated, the origin of these being attributed to the proportions of the peripatetic elements and their binary properties. dana, in his great work[ ], among some fourscore minerals which he identifies as having been described by agricola and his predecessors, accredits a score to agricola himself. it is our belief, however, that although in a few cases agricola has been wrongly credited, there are still more of which priority in description might be assigned to him. while a greater number than fourscore of so-called species are given by agricola and his predecessors, many of these are, in our modern system, but varieties; for instance, some eight or ten of the ancient species consist of one form or another of silica. book i. is devoted to mineral characteristics--colour, brilliance, taste, shape, hardness, etc., and to the classification of minerals; book ii., "earths"--clay, lemnian earth, chalk, ochre, etc.; book iii., "solidified juices"--salt, _nitrum_ (soda and potash), saltpetre, alum, vitriol, chrysocolla, _caeruleum_ (part azurite), orpiment, realgar, and sulphur; book iv., camphor, bitumen, coal, bituminous shales, amber; book v., lodestone, bloodstone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, mica, calamine, various fossils, geodes, emery, touchstones, pumice, fluorspar, and quartz; book vi., gems and precious stones; book vii., "rocks"--marble, serpentine, onyx, alabaster, limestone, etc.; book viii., metals--gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, lead, tin, antimony, bismuth, iron, and alloys, such as electrum, brass, etc.; book ix., various furnace operations, such as making brass, gilding, tinning, and products such as slags, furnace accretions, _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide), copper flowers, litharge, hearth-lead, verdigris, white-lead, red-lead, etc.; book x., "compounds," embracing the description of a number of recognisable silver, copper, lead, quicksilver, iron, tin, antimony, and zinc minerals, many of which we set out more fully in note , page . _de ortu et causis subterraneorum._ this work also has always been published in company with others. the first edition was printed at basel, ; the second at basel, , which, being the edition revised and added to by the author, has been used by us for reference. there are five "books," and in the main they contain agricola's philosophical views on geologic phenomena. the largest portion of the actual text is occupied with refutations of the ancient philosophers, the alchemists, and the astrologers; and these portions, while they exhibit his ability in observation and in dialectics, make but dull reading. those sections of the book which contain his own views, however, are of the utmost importance in the history of science, and we reproduce extensively the material relating to ore deposits in the footnotes on pages to . briefly, book i. is devoted to discussion of the origin and distribution of ground waters and juices. the latter part of this book and a portion of book ii. are devoted to the origin of subterranean heat, which he assumes is in the main due to burning bitumen--a genus which with him embraced coal--and also, in a minor degree, to friction of internal winds and to burning sulphur. the remainder of book ii. is mainly devoted to the discussion of subterranean "air", "vapour", and "exhalations", and he conceives that volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are due to their agency, and in these hypotheses he comes fairly close to the modern theory of eruptions from explosions of steam. "vapour arises when the internal heat of the earth or some hidden fire burns earth which is moistened with vapour. when heat or subterranean fire meets with a great force of vapour which cold has contracted and encompassed in every direction, then the vapour, finding no outlet, tries to break through whatever is nearest to it, in order to give place to the insistent and urgent cold. heat and cold cannot abide together in one place, but expel and drive each other out of it by turns". as he was, we believe, the first to recognise the fundamental agencies of mountain sculpture, we consider it is of sufficient interest to warrant a reproduction of his views on this subject: "hills and mountains are produced by two forces, one of which is the power of water, and the other the strength of the wind. there are three forces which loosen and demolish the mountains, for in this case, to the power of the water and the strength of the wind we must add the fire in the interior of the earth. now we can plainly see that a great abundance of water produces mountains, for the torrents first of all wash out the soft earth, next carry away the harder earth, and then roll down the rocks, and thus in a few years they excavate the plains or slopes to a considerable depth; this may be noticed in mountainous regions even by unskilled observers. by such excavation to a great depth through many ages, there rises an immense eminence on each side. when an eminence has thus arisen, the earth rolls down, loosened by constant rain and split away by frost, and the rocks, unless they are exceedingly firm, since their seams are similarly softened by the damp, roll down into the excavations below. this continues until the steep eminence is changed into a slope. each side of the excavation is said to be a mountain, just as the bottom is called a valley. moreover, streams, and to a far greater extent rivers, effect the same results by their rushing and washing; for this reason they are frequently seen flowing either between very high mountains which they have created, or close by the shore which borders them.... nor did the hollow places which now contain the seas all formerly exist, nor yet the mountains which check and break their advance, but in many parts there was a level plain, until the force of winds let loose upon it a tumultuous sea and a scathing tide. by a similar process the impact of water entirely overthrows and flattens out hills and mountains. but these changes of local conditions, numerous and important as they are, are not noticed by the common people to be taking place at the very moment when they are happening, because, through their antiquity, the time, place, and manner in which they began is far prior to human memory. the wind produces hills and mountains in two ways: either when set loose and free from bonds, it violently moves and agitates the sand; or else when, after having been driven into the hidden recesses of the earth by cold, as into a prison, it struggles with a great effort to burst out. for hills and mountains are created in hot countries, whether they are situated by the sea coasts or in districts remote from the sea, by the force of winds; these no longer held in check by the valleys, but set free, heap up the sand and dust, which they gather from all sides, to one spot, and a mass arises and grows together. if time and space allow, it grows together and hardens, but if it be not allowed (and in truth this is more often the case), the same force again scatters the sand far and wide.... then, on the other hand, an earthquake either rends and tears away part of a mountain, or engulfs and devours the whole mountain in some fearful chasm. in this way it is recorded the cybotus was destroyed, and it is believed that within the memory of man an island under the rule of denmark disappeared. historians tell us that taygetus suffered a loss in this way, and that therasia was swallowed up with the island of thera. thus it is clear that water and the powerful winds produce mountains, and also scatter and destroy them. fire only consumes them, and does not produce at all, for part of the mountains--usually the inner part--takes fire." the major portion of book iii. is devoted to the origin of ore channels, which we reproduce at some length on page . in the latter part of book iii., and in books iv. and v., he discusses the principal divisions of the mineral kingdom given in _de natura fossilium_, and the origin of their characteristics. it involves a large amount of what now appears fruitless tilting at the peripatetics and the alchemists; but nevertheless, embracing, as agricola did, the fundamental aristotelian elements, he must needs find in these same elements and their subordinate binary combinations cause for every variation in external character. _bermannus._ this, agricola's first work in relation to mining, was apparently first published at basel, . the work is in the form of a dialogue between "bermannus," who is described as a miner, mineralogist, and "a student of mathematics and poetry," and "nicolaus ancon" and "johannes naevius," both scholars and physicians. ancon is supposed to be of philosophical turn of mind and a student of moorish literature, naevius to be particularly learned in the writings of dioscorides, pliny, galen, etc. "bermannus" was probably an adaptation by agricola of the name of his friend lorenz berman, a prominent miner. the book is in the main devoted to a correlation of the minerals mentioned by the ancients with those found in the saxon mines. this phase is interesting as indicating the natural trend of agricola's scholastic mind when he first comes into contact with the sciences to which he devoted himself. the book opens with a letter of commendation from erasmus, of rotterdam, and with the usual dedication and preface by the author. the three conversationalists are supposed to take walks among the mines and to discuss, incidentally, matters which come to their attention; therefore the book has no systematic or logical arrangement. there are occasional statements bearing on the history, management, titles, and methods used in the mines, and on mining lore generally. the mineralogical part, while of importance from the point of view of giving the first description of several minerals, is immensely improved upon in _de natura fossilium_, published years later. it is of interest to find here the first appearance of the names of many minerals which we have since adopted from the german into our own nomenclature. of importance is the first description of bismuth, although, as pointed out on page , the metal had been mentioned before. in the revised collection of collateral works published in , the author makes many important changes and adds some new material, but some of the later editions were made from the unrevised older texts. _rerum metallicarum interpretatio._ this list of german equivalents for latin mineralogical terms was prepared by agricola himself, and first appears in the collection of _de ortu et causis_, _de natura fossilium_, etc., being repeated in all subsequent publications of these works. it consists of some latin mineralogical and metallurgical terms, many of which are of agricola's own coinage. it is of great help in translation and of great value in the study of mineralogic nomenclature. _de mensuris et ponderibus._ this work is devoted to a discussion of the greek and roman weights and measures, with some correlation to those used in saxony. it is a careful work still much referred to by students of these subjects. the first edition was published at paris in , and in the edition at basel appears, for the first time, _de precio metallorum et monetis_. _de veteribus et novis metallis._ this short work comprises folio pages, and first appears in the collection of collateral works. it consists mainly of historical and geographical references to the occurrence of metals and mines, culled from the greek and latin classics, together with some information as to the history of the mines in central europe. the latter is the only original material, and unfortunately is not very extensive. we have incorporated some of this information in the footnotes. _de animantibus subterraneis._ this short work was first printed in basel, , and consists of one chapter of folio pages. practically the whole is devoted to the discussion of various animals who at least a portion of their time live underground, such as hibernating, cave-dwelling, and burrowing animals, together with cave-dwelling birds, lizards, crocodiles, serpents, etc. there are only a few lines of remote geological interest as to migration of animals imposed by geologic phenomena, such as earthquakes, floods, etc. this book also discloses an occasional vein of credulity not to be expected from the author's other works, in that he apparently believes aristotle's story of the flies which were born and lived only in the smelting furnace; and further, the last paragraph in the book is devoted to underground gnomes. this we reproduce in the footnote on page . _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra._ this work of four books, comprising folio pages, first appears in the collection. as the title indicates, the discussion is upon the substances which flow from the earth, such as water, bitumen, gases, etc. altogether it is of microscopic value and wholly uninteresting. the major part refers to colour, taste, temperature, medicinal uses of water, descriptions of rivers, lakes, swamps, and aqueducts. bibliographical notes. for the following we have mainly to thank miss kathleen schlesinger, who has been employed many months in following up every clue, and although the results display very considerable literary activity on the part of the author, they do not by any means indicate miss schlesinger's labours. agricola's works were many of them published at various times in combination, and therefore to set out the title and the publication of each work separately would involve much repetition of titles, and we consequently give the titles of the various volumes arranged according to dates. for instance, _de natura fossilium_, _de ortu et causis_, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, and _interpretatio_ have always been published together, and the latin and italian editions of these works always include _bermannus_ as well. moreover, the latin _de re metallica_ of includes all of these works. we mark with an asterisk the titles to editions which we have been able to authenticate by various means from actual books. those unmarked are editions which we are satisfied do exist, but the titles of which are possibly incomplete, as they are taken from library catalogues, etc. other editions to which we find reference and of which we are not certain are noted separately in the discussion later on.[ ] * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici, bermannus sive de re metallica._ (froben's mark). _basileae in aedibus frobenianis anno. mdxxx._ bound with this edition is (p. - ), at least occasionally, _rerum metallicarum appellationes juxta vernaculam germanorum linguam, autori plateano_. _basileae in officina frobeniana_, anno. mdxxx. * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici libri quinque de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus plaeraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur. opus nunc primum in lucem aeditum._ (wechelus's mark). _parisiis. excudebat christianus wechelus, in vico iacobaeo, sub scuto basileiensi, anno mdxxxiii._ pages and index of pages. * ( to): _georgii agricolae medici libri quinque. de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus pleraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur._ (froben's mark). _basileae ex officina frobeniana anno mdxxxiii. cum gratia et privilegio caesareo ad sex annos._ ( to): _georgii agricolae. epistola ad plateanum, cui sunt adiecta aliquot loca castigata in libris de mensuris et ponderibus nuper editis._ froben, basel, . * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici libri v. de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus pleraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur._ (printer's mark). at the end of index: _venitüs per juan anto. de nicolinis de sabio, sumptu vero et requisitione dñi melchionis sessae. anno. dñi mdxxxv. mense julii._ folios. on back of title page is given: _liber primus de mensuris romanis, secundus de mensuris graecis, tertius de rerum quas metimur pondere, quartus de ponderibus romanis, quintus de ponderibus graecis._ * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici bermannus sive de re metallica._ _parisiis. apud hieronymum gormontiú. in vico jacobeo sub signotrium coronarum._ . * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici bermannus, sive de metallica ab accurata autoris recognitione et emendatione nunc primum editus cum nomenclatura rerum metallicarum. eorum lipsiae in officina valentini papae anno. mdxlvi._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iiii. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis, lib. ii. bermannus sive de re metallica dialogus. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae addito indice faecundissimo._ _apud hieron frobenium et nicolaum episcopium basileae, mdxlvi. cum privilegio imp. maiestatis ad quinquennium._ * ( vo): _georgii agricolae de animantibus subterraneis liber._ froben, basel, mdxlix. * ( vo): _di georgio agricola de la generatione de le cose, che sotto la terra sono, e de le cause de' loro effetti e natura, lib. v. de la natura di quelle cose, che de la terra scorrono lib. iiii. de la natura de le cose fossili, e che sotto la terra si cavano lib. x. de le minere antiche e moderne lib. ii. il bermanno, ò de le cose metallice dialogo, recato tutto hora dal latino in buona lingua volgare._ (vignette of sybilla surrounded by the words)--_qv al piv fermo e il mio foglio È il mio presaggio._ _col privilegio del sommo pontefice papa giulio iii. et del illustriss. senato veneto per anni. xx._ (colophon). _in vinegia per michele tramezzino, mdl._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae. de mensuris et ponderibus rom. atque graec. lib. v. de externis mensuris et ponderibus lib. ii. ad ea quae andreas alciatus denuo disputavit de mensuris et ponderibus brevis defensio lib. i. de mensuris quibus intervalla metimur lib. i. de restituendis ponderibus atque mensuris. lib. i. de precio metallorum et monetis. lib. iii._ _basileae._ froben. mdl. _cum privilegio imp. maiestatis ad quinquennium._[ ] * (folio): _georgii agricolae de re metallica libri xii. quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissime describuntur, sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas, adjunctis latinis, germanicisque appellationibus ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint eiusdem de animantibus subterraneis liber, ab autore recognitus: cum indicibus diversis, quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchre demonstrantibus._ (froben's mark). _basileae mdlvi. cum privilegio imperatoris in annos v. et galliarum regis ad sexennium._ folio pages and preface, glossary and index amounting to pages. this is the first edition of _de re metallica_. we reproduce this title-page on page xix. * (folio): _vom bergkwerck xii bücher darinn alle empter, instrument, gezeuge, unnd alles zu disem handel gehörig, mitt schönen figuren vorbildet, und klärlich beschriben seindt erstlich in lateinischer sprach durch den hochgelerten und weittberümpten herrn georgium agricolam, doctorn und. bürgermeistern der churfürstlichen statt kempnitz, jezundt aber verteüscht durch den achtparen. unnd hochgelerten herrn philippum bechium, philosophen, artzer und in der loblichen universitet zu basel professorn._ _gedruckt zu basel durch jeronymus froben und niclausen bischoff im jar mitt keiserlicher freyheit._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iv. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii. bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus liber. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae, addito duplici indice, altero rerum, altero locorum omnia ab ipso authore, cum haud poenitenda accessione, recens recognita._ _froben, et episcop. basileae mdlviii. cum imp. maiestatis renovato privilegio ad quinquennium._ pages and index. as the title states, this is a revised edition by the author, and as the changes are very considerable it should be the one used. the italian translation and the wittenberg edition, mentioned below, are taken from the edition, and are, therefore, very imperfect. * (folio): second edition of _de re metallica_ including _de animantibus subterraneis_, with same title as the first edition except the addition, after the body of the title, of the words _atque omnibus nunc iterum ad archetypum diligenter restitutis et castigatis_ and the year mdlxi. pages and pages of glossary and index. * (folio): _opera di giorgio agricola de l'arte de metalli partita in xii. libri, ne quali si descrivano tutte le sorti, e qualità de gli uffizii, de gli strumenti, delle macchine, e di tutte l'altre cose attenenti a cotal arte, non pure con parole chiare ma eziandio si mettano a luoghi loro le figure di dette cose, ritratte al naturale, con l'aggiunta de nomi di quelle, cotanto chiari, e spediti, che meglio non si puo desiderare, o havere._ _aggiugnesi il libro del medesimo autore, che tratta de gl' animali di sottoterra da lui stesso corretto et riveduto. tradotti in lingua toscana da m. michelangelo florio fiorentino._ _con l'indice di tutte le cose piu notabili alla fine_ (froben's mark) _in basilea per hieronimo frobenio et nicolao episcopio, mdlxiii._ pages with pages of index. * (folio): _bergwerck buch: darinn nicht allain alle empte instrument gezeug und alles so zu diesem handel gehörig mit figuren vorgebildet und klärlich beschriben, etc. durch den hochgelehrten ... herrn georgium agricolam der artzney doctorn und burgermeister der churfürstlichen statt kemnitz erstlich mit grossem fleyss mühe und arbeit in latein beschriben und in zwölff bücher abgetheilt: nachmals aber durch den achtbarn und auch hochgelehrten philippum bechium philosophen artzt und in der löblichen universitet zu basel professorn mit sonderm fleyss teutscher nation zu gut verteutscht und an tag geben. allen berckherrn gewercken berckmeistern geschwornen schichtmeistern steigern berckheuwern wäschern und schmeltzern nicht allein nützlich und dienstlich sondern auch zu wissem hochnotwendig._ _mit römischer keys. may freyheit nicht nachzutrucken._ _getruckt in der keyserlichen reichsstatt, franckfort am mayn, etc. im jahr mdlxxx._ * ( mo): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra, lib. iv. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii. bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae._ _addito indice faecundissimo, plurimos jam annos à germanis, et externarum quoque nationum doctissimis viris, valde desiderati et expetiti._ _nunc vero in rei metallicae studiosorum gratiam recensiti, in certa capita distributi, capitum argumentis, et nonnullis scholiis marginalibus illustrati à johanne sigfrido philos: et medicinae doctore et in illustri julia professore ordinario._ _accesserunt de metallicis rebus et nominibus observationes variae et eruditae, ex schedis georgii fabricii, quibus ea potissimum explicantur, quae georgius agricola praeteriit_. _wittebergae sumptibus zachariae schüreri bibliopolae typis andreae rüdingeri, ._ there are pages in the work of agricola proper, the notes of fabricius comprising a further pages, and the index pages. * ( vo): _georgii agricolae de animantibus subterraneis liber hactenus à multis desideratus, nunc vero in gratiam studiosorum seorsim editus, in certa capita divisus, capitum argumentis et nonnullis marginalibus exornatus à johanne sigfrido, phil. & med. doctore_, etc. _wittebergae. typis meisnerianis: impensis zachariae. schureri bibliop. anno. mdcxiv._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae kempnicensis medici ac philosophi clariss. de re metallica libri xii quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissimè describuntur; sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas adjunctis latinis, germanicisque; appellationibus, ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint._ _ejusdem de animantibus subterraneis liber, ab autore recognitus cum indicibus diversis quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchrè demonstrantibus._ (vignette of man at assay furnace). _basileae helvet. sumptibus itemque typis chalcographicis ludovici regis anno mdcxxi._ pages and pages glossary and indices. * (folio): _bergwerck buch darinnen nicht allein alle empter instrument gezeug und alles so zu disem handel gehörig mit figuren vorgebildet und klärlich beschrieben:.... durch den hochgelehrten und weitberühmten herrn georgium agricolam, der artzney doctorn und burgermeister der churfürstlichen statt kemnitz erstlich mit grossem fleiss mühe und arbeit in latein beschrieben und in zwölff bücher abgetheilt: nachmals aber durch den achtbarn und auch hochgelehrten philippum bechium. philosophen, artzt, und in der loblichen universitet zu basel professorn mit sonderm fleiss teutscher nation zu gut verteutscht und an tag geben und nun zum andern mal getruckt._ _allen bergherrn gewercken bergmeistern geschwornen schichtmeistern steigern berghäwern wäschern unnd schmeltzern nicht allein nutzlich und dienstlich sondern auch zu wissen hochnohtwendig._ (vignette of man at assay furnace). _getruckt zu basel inverlegung ludwig königs im jahr, mdcxxi._ pages pages glossary--no index. * (folio): _georgii agricolae kempnicensis medici ac philosophi clariss. de re metallica libri xii. quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissimè describuntur: sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas, adjunctis latinis, germanicisque appellationibus, ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint. quibus accesserunt hac ultima editione, tractatus ejusdem argumenti, ab eodem conscripti, sequentes._ _de animantibus subterraneis lib. i., de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v., de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iv., de natura fossilium lib. x., de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii., bermannus sive de re metallica, dialogus lib. i._ _cum indicibus diversis, quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchrè demonstrantibus._ (vignette of assayer and furnace). _basileae sumptibus et typis emanuelis könig. anno mdclvii._ folio, pages and pages of glossary and indices. this is a very serviceable edition of all of agricola's important works, and so far as we have noticed there are but few typographical errors. * ( vo): _gespräch vom bergwesen, wegen seiner fürtrefflich keit aus dem lateinischen in das deutsche übersetzet, mit nützl. anmerkungen erläutert. u. mit einem ganz neuen zusatze von zlüglicher anstellung des bergbaues u. von der zugutemachung der erze auf den hüttenwerken versehen von johann gottlieb stör._ _rotenburg a. d. fulda, hermstädt ._ pages. * ( vo): _georg agricola's bermannus eine einleitung in die metallurgischen schriften desselben, übersetzt und mit exkursionen herausgegeben von friedrich august schmid. haushalts- und befahrungs-protokollist im churf. vereinigten bergamte zu st. annaberg._ _freyberg . bey craz und gerlach._ * - ( vo). _georg agrikola's mineralogische schriften übersetzt und mit erläuternden anmerkungen. begleitet von ernst lehmann bergamts-assessor, berg- gegen- und receszschreiber in dem königl. sächs. bergamte voigtsberg der jenaischen societät für die gesammte mineralogie ehrenmitgliede._ _freyberg, - . bey craz und gerlach._ this german translation consists of four parts: the first being _de ortu et causis_, the second _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, and the third in two volumes _de natura fossilium_, the fourth _de veteribus et novis metallis_; with glossary and index to the four parts. we give the following notes on other possible prints, as a great many references to the above works occur in various quarters, of date other than the above. unless otherwise convinced it is our belief that most of these refer to the prints given above, and are due to error in giving titles or dates. it is always possible that such prints do exist and have escaped our search. _de re metallica._ leupold, richter, schmid, van der linden, mercklinus and eloy give an vo edition of _de re metallica_ without illustrations, schweinfurt, . we have found no trace of this print. leupold, van der linden, richter, schmid and eloy mention an vo edition, wittenberg, . it is our belief that this refers to the wittenberg edition of the selected works, which contains a somewhat similar title referring in reality to _bermannus_, which was and is still continually confused with _de re metallica_. ferguson mentions a german edition, schweinfurt, vo, . we can find no trace of this; it may refer to the schweinfurt edition mentioned above. _de natura fossilium._ leupold and gatter refer to a folio edition of . this was probably an error for either the or the editions. watt refers to an edition of combined with _de medicatis fontibus_. we find no trace of such edition, nor even that the latter work was ever actually printed. he also refers to an edition of and one of , this probably being an error for the edition of the subsidiary works and the _de re metallica_ of . leupold also refers to an edition of , this probably being an error for . _de ortu et causis._ albinus, hofmann, jacobi, schmid, richter, and reuss mention an edition of . this we believe to be an error in giving the date of the dedication instead of that of the publication ( ). albinus and ferguson give an edition of , which date is, we believe, an error for . ferguson gives an edition of the italian translation as ; we believe this should be . draud gives an edition of ; probably this should be . _bermannus._ albinus, schmid, reuss, richter, and weinart give the first edition as . we have been unable to learn of any actual copy of that date, and it is our belief that the date is taken from the dedication instead of from the publication, and should be . leupold, schmid, and reuss give an edition by froben in ; we have been unable to confirm this. leupold also gives an edition of (folio), and jöcher gives an edition of geneva (folio); we have also been unable to find this, and believe the latter to be a confusion with the _de re metallica_ of , as it is unlikely that _bermannus_ would be published by itself in folio. the catalogue of the library at siena (vol. iii., p. ) gives _il bermanno, vinegia_, , vo. we have found no trace of this edition elsewhere. _de mensuris et ponderibus._ albinus and schmid mention an edition of , and one of . the biographie universelle, paris, gives one of , and leupold one of , all of which we have been unable to find. an epitome of this work was published at various times, sometimes in connection with editions of vitruvius; so far as we are aware on the following dates, , , , . there also appear extracts in relation to liquid measures in works entitled _vocabula rei numariae ponderum et mensurarum_, etc. paul eber and caspar peucer, _lipsiae_, , and in same wittenberg, . _de veteribus et novis metallis._ watt gives an edition, basel, , and paris, ; we believe this is incorrect and refers to _bermannus_. reuss mentions a folio print of basel, . we consider this very unlikely. _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra._ albinus, hofmann, schmid, jacobi, richter, reuss, and weinart give an edition of . we believe this is again the dedication instead of the publication date ( ). _de animantibus subterraneis._ van der linden gives an edition at schweinfurt, vo, . although we have been unable to find a copy, this slightly confirms the possibility of an octavo edition of _de re metallica_ of this date, as they were usually published together. leupold gives assurance that he handled an octavo edition of wittenberg, , _cum notis johann sigfridi_. we think he confused this with _bermannus sive de re metallica_ of that date and place. schmid, richter, and draud all refer to an edition similarly annotated, leipzig, , vo. we have no trace of it otherwise. unpublished works on subjects related to mining. agricola apparently projected a complete series of works covering the whole range of subjects relating to minerals: geology, mineralogy, mining, metallurgy, history of metals, their uses, laws, etc. in a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer (march, ), the former states that agricola intended writing about books (chapters) in addition to those already published, and to the twelve books _de re metallica_ which he was about to publish. apparently a number of these works were either unfinished or unpublished at agricola's death, for his friend george fabricius seems to have made some effort to secure their publication, but did not succeed, through lack of sympathy on the part of agricola's family. hofmann[ ] states on this matter: "his intentions were frustrated mainly through the lack of support with which he was met by the heirs of the mineralogist. these, as he complains to a councillor of the electorate, christopher von carlovitz, in , and to paul eber in another letter, adopted a grudging and ungracious tone with regard to his proposal to collect all agricola's works left behind, and they only consented to communicate to him as much as they were obliged by express command of the prince. at the prince's command they showed him a little, but he supposed that there was much more that they had suppressed or not preserved. the attempt to purchase some of the works--the elector had given fabricius money for the purpose ( nummos unciales)--proved unavailing, owing to the disagreeableness of agricola's heirs. it is no doubt due to these regrettable circumstances that all the works of the industrious scholar did not come down to us." the "disagreeableness" was probably due to the refusal of the protestant townsfolk to allow the burial of agricola in the cathedral at chemnitz. so far as we know the following are the unpublished or lost works. _de jure et legibus metallicis._ this work on mining law is mentioned at the end of book iv. of _de re metallica_, and it is referred to by others apparently from that source. we have been unable to find any evidence that it was ever published. _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris._ in a letter[ ] to johann naevius, agricola refers to having a work in hand of this title. _de metallis et machinis._ hofmann[ ] states that a work of this title by agricola, dated basel , was sold to someone in america by a frankfort-on-main bookseller in . this is apparently the only reference to it that we know of, and it is possibly a confusion of titles or a "separate" of some chapters from _de re metallica_. _de ortu metallorum defensio ad jacobum scheckium._ referred to by fabricius in a letter[ ] to meurer. if published was probably only a tract. _de terrae motu._ in a letter[ ] from agricola to meurer (jan. , ) is some reference which might indicate that he was formulating a work on earthquakes under this title, or perhaps may be only incidental to the portions of _de ortu et causis_ dealing with this subject. _commentariorum in quibus utriusque linguae scriptorum locos difficiles de rebus subterraneis explicat, libri vi._ agricola apparently partially completed a work under some such title as this, which was to embrace chapters entitled _de methodis_ and _de demonstratione_. the main object seems to have been a commentary on the terms and passages in the classics relating to mining, mineralogy, etc. it is mentioned in the preface of _de veteribus et novis metallis_, and in a letter[ ] from one of froben's firm to agricola in , where it is suggested that agricola should defer sending his new commentaries until the following spring. the work is mentioned by albinus[ ], and in a letter from georg fabricius to meurer on the nd jan. ,[ ] in another from g. fabricius, to his brother andreas on oct. , ,[ ] and in a third from fabricius to melanchthon on december th, [ ], in which regret is expressed that the work was not completed by agricola. writings not related to mining, including lost or unpublished works. _latin grammar._ this was probably the first of agricola's publications, the full title to which is _georgii agricolae glaucii libellus de prima ac simplici institutione grammatica. excusum lipsiae in officina melchioris lottheri. anno mdxx._ ( to), folios.[ ] there is some reason to believe that agricola also published a greek grammar, for there is a letter[ ] from agricola dated march th, , in which henicus camitianus is requested to send a copy to stephan roth. _theological tracts._ there are preserved in the zwickau rathsschul library[ ] copies by stephan roth of two tracts, the one entitled, _deum non esse auctorem peccati_, the other, _religioso patri petri fontano, sacre theologie doctori eximio georgius agricola salutem dicit in christo_. the former was written from leipzig in , and the latter, although not dated, is assigned to the same period. both are printed in _zwei theologische abhandlungen des georg agricola_, an article by otto clemen, _neuen archiv fur sächsische geschichte_, etc., dresden, . there is some reason (from a letter of fabricius to melanchthon, dec. th, ) to believe that agricola had completed a work on the unwritten traditions concerning the church. there is no further trace of it. _galen._ agricola appears to have been joint author with andreas asulanus and j. b. opizo of a revision of this well-known greek work. it was published at venice in , under the title of _galeni librorum_, etc., etc. agricola's name is mentioned in a prefatory letter to opizo by asulanus. _de bello adversus turcam._ this political tract, directed against the turks, was written in latin and first printed by froben, basel, . it was translated into german apparently by agricola's friend laurenz berman, and published under the title _oration anrede und vormanunge ... widder den türcken_ by frederich peypus, nuremberg, in ( vo), and either in or by wolfgang stöckel, dresden, to. it was again printed in latin by froben, basel, , to; by h. grosius, leipzig, , vo; it was included among other works published on the same subject by nicholas reusnerus, leipzig, ; by michael lantzenberger, frankfurt-am-main, , to. further, there is reference by watt to an edition at eisleben, , of which we have no confirmation. there is another work on the subject, or a revision by the author mentioned by albinus[ ] as having been, after agricola's death, sent to froben by george fabricius to be printed; nothing further appears in this matter however. _de peste._ this work on the plague appears to have been first printed by froben, basel, , vo. the work was republished at schweinfurt, , and at augsburg in , under various editors. it would appear from albinus[ ] that the work was revised by agricola and in froben's hands for publication after the author's death. _de medicatis fontibus._ this work is referred to by agricola himself in _de natura eorum_,[ ] in the prefatory letter in _de veteribus et novis metallis_; and albinus[ ] quotes a letter of agricola to sebastian munster on the subject. albinus states (_bergchronik_, p. ) that to his knowledge it had not yet been published. conrad gesner, in his work _excerptorum et observationum de thermis_, which is reprinted in _de balneis_, venice, , after agricola's _de natura eorum_, states[ ] concerning agricola _in libris quos de medicatis fontibus instituerit copiosus se dicturum pollicetur_. watt mentions it as having been published in , , , and . he, however, apparently confuses it with _de natura eorum_. we are unable to state whether it was ever printed or not. a note of inquiry to the principal libraries in germany gave a negative result. _de putredine solidas partes humani corporis corrumpente._ this work, according to albinus was received by fabricius a year after agricola's death, but whether it was published or not is uncertain.[ ] _castigationes in hippocratem et galenum._ this work is referred to by agricola in the preface of _bermannus_, and albinus[ ] mentions several letters referring to the preparation of the work. there is no evidence of publication. _typographia mysnae et toringiae._ it seems from agricola's letter[ ] to munster that agricola prepared some sort of a work on the history of saxony and of the royal family thereof at the command of the elector and sent it to him when finished, but it was never published as written by agricola. albinus, hofmann, and struve give some details of letters in reference to it. fabricius in a letter[ ] dated nov. , asks meurer to send agricola some material for it; in a letter from fabricius to meurer dated oct. , , it appears that the elector had granted agricola thalers to assist in the work. after agricola's death the material seems to have been handed over to fabricius, who made use of it (as he states in the preface) in preparing the work he was commissioned by the elector to write, the title of which was, _originum illustrissimae stirpis saxonicae libri_, and was published in leipzig, . it includes on page a fragment of a work entitled _oratio de rebus gestis ernesti et alberti ducum saxoniae_, by agricola. works wrongly attributed to georgius agricola. the following works have been at one time or another wrongly attributed to georgius agricola:-- _galerazeya sive revelator secretorum de lapide philosophorum_, cologne, and , by one daniel agricola, which is merely a controversial book with a catch-title, used by catholics for converting heretics. _rechter gebrauch der alchimey_, a book of miscellaneous receipts which treats very slightly of transmutation.[ ] _chronik der stadt freiberg_ by a georg agricola (died ), a preacher at freiberg. _dominatores saxonici_, by the same author. _breviarum de asse_ by guillaume bude. _de inventione dialectica_ by rudolph agricola. footnotes: [ ] see footnote , page . [ ] system of mineralogy. [ ] the following are the titles of the works referred to in this discussion:-- petrus albinus: _meissnische land und berg chronica in welcher ein wollnstendige description des landes_, etc., dresden, (contains part i, _commentatorium de mysnia_). _newe chronica und beschreibung des landes zu meissen_, pp. to , besides preface and index, and part ii. _meissnische bergk chronica_, dresden, , pp. to , besides preface and index. adam daniel richter: _umständliche ... chronica der ... stadt chemnitz nebst beygefügten urkunden_, pts. to, zittau & leipzig, . ben. g. weinart: _versuch einer litteratur d. sächsischen geschichte und staats kunde_, leipzig, . friedrich august schmid: _georg agrikola's bermannus: einleitung in die metallurgischen schriften desselben_, freyberg, craz & gerlach. , pp. viii., - . franz ambros reuss: _mineralogische geographie van böhmen_. vols. to, dresden, - . (agricola vol. i, p. ). jacob leupold: _prodromus bibliothecae metallicae_, corrected, continued, and augmented by f. e. brückmann. wolfenbüttel, , s.v. agricola. christian gottlieb göcher: _allgemeines gelehrten-lexicon_, with continuation and supplements by adelung, leipzig, , s.v. agricola. john anton van der linden: _de scriptis medicis, libri duo_, amsterdam, , s.v. georgius agricola. nicolas françois joseph eloy: _dictionnaire historique de la médecine_, liége & francfort (chez j. f. bassompierre), , vo (agricola p. , vol. i). georg abraham mercklinus: _lindenius renovatus de scriptis medicis continuati ... amplificati_, etc., amsterdam, , s.v. georgius agricola. john ferguson: _bibliotheca chemica_: a catalogue of the alchemical, chemical, and pharmaceutical books in the collection of the late james young of kelly & durris, esq., l.l.d., f.r.s., f.r.s.e. glasgow, , to, vols., s.v. agricola. christoph wilhelm gatterer: _allgemeines repertorium der mineralogischen, bergwerks und salz werkswissenschaftlichen literatur_, göttingen, , vol. i. dr. reinhold hofmann: _dr. georg agricola, ein gelehrtenleben aus dem zeitalter der reformation_, vo, gotha, . georg heinrich jacobi: _der mineralog georgius agricola und sein verhältnis zur wissenschaft seiner zeit_, etc., vo. zwickau ( ), (_dissertation_--leipzig). georg draud: _bibliotheca classica_, frankfurt-am-main, . b. g. struve: _bibliotheca saxonica_, vo, halle, . [ ] albinus states (p. ): _omnes simul editi anno. , iterum , basileae_, as though two separate editions. [ ] _g. fabricii epistolae ad w. meurerum et alios aequales_, by baumgarten-crusius, leipzig, , p. . [ ] _dr. georg agricola_, gotha, , pp. - . [ ] albinus, _landchronik_, pp. - . [ ] _dr. georg agricola_, p. . [ ] _baumgarten-crusius_, p. . [ ] _virorum clarorum saec. xvi. et xvii._ _epistolae selectae_ by ernst weber, leipzig, , p. . [ ] nicholas episcopius to georg agricola, sept. , , published in schmid's _bermannus_ p. . see also hofmann, op. cit. pp. and . [ ] _meissnische landchronik_, dresden, , p. . [ ] printed in baumgarten-crusius, pp. - , letter xlviii. [ ] printed in hermann peter's _meissner jahresbericht der fürstenschule_, , p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius. _georgii fabricii chemnicensis epistolae_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] there is a copy of this work in the rathsschul library at zwickau. [ ] in the rathsschul library at zwickau. [ ] contained in vols. xxxvii. and xl. of stephan roth's _kollectanenbände_ volumes of transcripts. [ ] _landchronik_, p. . [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] book iv. [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] page . [ ] see baumgarten-crusius, p. , letter from georg fabricius. [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] albinus, op. cit., p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius, p. . [ ] see ferguson, _bibliotheca chemica_, s.v. daniel agricola. appendix b. ancient authors. we give the following brief notes on early works containing some reference to mineralogy, mining, or metallurgy, to indicate the literature available to agricola and for historical notes bearing upon the subject. references to these works in the footnotes may be most easily consulted through the personal index. greek authors.--only a very limited greek literature upon subjects allied to mining or natural science survives. the whole of the material of technical interest could be reproduced on less than twenty of these pages. those of most importance are: aristotle ( - b.c.), theophrastus ( - b.c.), diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.), strabo ( b.c.- a.d.), and dioscorides ( st century a.d.). aristotle, apart from occasional mineralogical or metallurgical references in _de mirabilibus_, is mostly of interest as the author of the peripatetic theory of the elements and the relation of these to the origin of stones and metals. agricola was, to a considerable measure, a follower of this school, and their views colour much of his writings. we, however, discuss elsewhere[ ] at what point he departed from them. especially in _de ortu et causis_ does he quote largely from aristotle's _meteorologica_, _physica_, and _de coelo_ on these subjects. there is a spurious work on stones attributed to aristotle of some interest to mineralogists. it was probably the work of some arab early in the middle ages. theophrastus, the principal disciple of aristotle, appears to have written at least two works relating to our subject--one "on stones", and the other on metals, mining or metallurgy, but the latter is not extant. the work "on stones" was first printed in venice in , and the greek text, together with a fair english translation by sir john hill, was published in london in under the title "theophrastus on stones"; the translation is, however, somewhat coloured with hill's views on mineralogy. the work comprises short paragraphs, and would, if reproduced, cover but about four of these pages. in the first paragraphs are the peripatetic view of the origin of stones and minerals, and upon the foundation of aristotle he makes some modifications. the principal interest in theophrastus' work is the description of minerals; the information given is, however, such as might be possessed by any ordinary workman, and betrays no particular abilities for natural philosophy. he enumerates various exterior characteristics, such as colour, tenacity, hardness, smoothness, density, fusibility, lustre, and transparence, and their quality of reproduction, and then proceeds to describe various substances, but usually omits his enumerated characteristics. apart from the then known metals and certain "earths" (ochre, marls, clay, etc.), it is possible to identify from his descriptions the following rocks and minerals:--marble, pumice, onyx, gypsum, pyrites, coal, bitumen, amber, azurite, chrysocolla, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, quartz in various forms, lapis lazuli, emerald, sapphire, diamond, and ruby. altogether there are some sixteen distinct mineral species. he also describes the touchstone and its uses, the making of white-lead and verdigris, and of quicksilver from cinnabar. diodorus siculus was a greek native of sicily. his "historical library" consisted of some books, of which parts of are extant. the first print was in latin, , and in greek in ; the first translation into english was by thomas stocker, london, , and later by g. booth, . we have relied upon booth's translation, but with some amendments by friends, to gain more literal statement. diodorus, so far as relates to our subject, gives merely the occasional note of a traveller. the most interesting paragraphs are his quotation from agatharchides on egyptian mining and upon british tin. strabo was also a geographer. his work consists of books, and practically all survive. we have relied upon the most excellent translation of hamilton and falconer, london, , the only one in english. mines and minerals did not escape such an acute geographer, and the matters of greatest interest are those with relation to spanish mines. dioscorides was a greek physician who wrote entirely from the standpoint of materia medica, most of his work being devoted to herbs; but book v. is devoted to minerals and rocks, and their preparation for medicinal purposes. the work has never been translated into english, and we have relied upon the latin translation of matthioli, venice, , and notes upon the greek text prepared for us by mr. c. katopodes. in addition to most of the substances known before, he, so far as can be identified, adds schist, _cadmia_ (blende or calamine), _chalcitis_ (copper sulphide), _misy_, _melanteria_, _sory_ (copper or iron sulphide oxidation minerals). he describes the making of certain artificial products, such as copper oxides, vitriol, litharge, _pompholyx_, and _spodos_ (zinc and/or arsenical oxides). his principal interest for us, however, lies in the processes set out for making his medicines. occasional scraps of information relating to the metals or mines in some connection are to be found in many other greek writers, and in quotations by them from others which are not now extant, such as polybius, posidonius, etc. the poets occasionally throw a gleam of light on ancient metallurgy, as for instance in homer's description of vulcan's foundry; while the historians, philosophers, statesmen, and physicians, among them herodotus, xenophon, demosthenes, galen, and many others, have left some incidental references to the metals and mining, helpful to gleaners from a field, which has been almost exhausted by time. even archimedes made pumps, and hero surveying instruments for mines. roman authors.--pre-eminent among all ancient writers on these subjects is, of course, pliny, and in fact, except some few lines by vitruvius, there is practically little else in extant roman literature of technical interest, for the metallurgical metaphors of the poets and orators were threadbare by this time, and do not excite so much interest as upon their first appearance among the greeks and hebrews. pliny (caius plinius secundus) was born a.d., and was killed by eruption of vesuvius a.d. his natural history should be more properly called an encyclopædia, the whole comprising books; but only portions of the last four books relate to our subject, and over one-half of the material there is upon precious stones. to give some rough idea of the small quantity of even this, the most voluminous of ancient works upon our subject, we have made an estimate that the portions of metallurgical character would cover, say, three pages of this text, on mining two pages, on building and precious stones about ten pages. pliny and dioscorides were contemporaries, and while pliny nowhere refers to the greek, internal evidence is most convincing, either that they drew from the same source, or that pliny drew from dioscorides. we have, therefore, throughout the text given precedence in time to the greek author in matters of historical interest. the works of pliny were first printed at venice in . they have passed dozens of editions in various languages, and have been twice translated into english. the first translation by philemon holland, london, , is quite impossible. the second translation, by bostock and riley, london, , was a great advance, and the notes are most valuable, but in general the work has suffered from a freedom justifiable in the translation of poetry, but not in science. we have relied upon the latin edition of janus, leipzig, . the frequent quotations in our footnotes are sufficient indication of the character of pliny's work. in general it should be remembered that he was himself but a compiler of information from others, and, so far as our subjects are concerned, of no other experience than most travellers. when one considers the reliability of such authors to-day on technical subjects, respect for pliny is much enhanced. further, the text is no doubt much corrupted through the generations of transcription before it was set in type. so far as can be identified with any assurance, pliny adds but few distinct minerals to those enumerated by theophrastus and dioscorides. for his metallurgical and mining information we refer to the footnotes, and in general it may be said that while those skilled in metallurgy can dimly see in his statements many metallurgical operations, there is little that does not require much deduction to arrive at a conclusion. on geology he offers no new philosophical deductions of consequence; the remote connection of building stones is practically all that can be enumerated, lest one build some assumption of a knowledge of ore-deposits on the use of the word "vein". one point of great interest to this work is that in his search for latin terms for technical purposes agricola relied almost wholly upon pliny, and by some devotion to the latter we have been able to disentangle some very puzzling matters of nomenclature in _de re metallica_, of which the term _molybdaena_ may be cited as a case in point. vitruvius was a roman architect of note of the st century b.c. his work of ten books contains some very minor references to pumps and machinery, building stones, and the preparation of pigments, the latter involving operations from which metallurgical deductions can occasionally be safely made. his works were apparently first printed in rome in . there are many editions in various languages, the first english translation being from the french in . we have relied upon the translation of joseph gwilt, london, , with such alterations as we have considered necessary. mediÆval authors.--for convenience we group under this heading the writers of interest from roman times to the awakening of learning in the early th century. apart from theophilus, they are mostly alchemists; but, nevertheless, some are of great importance in the history of metallurgy and chemistry. omitting a horde of lesser lights upon whom we have given some data under the author's preface, the works principally concerned are those ascribed to avicenna, theophilus, geber, albertus magnus, roger bacon, and basil valentine. judging from the preface to _de re metallica_, and from quotations in his subsidiary works, agricola must have been not only familiar with a wide range of alchemistic material, but also with a good deal of the arabic literature, which had been translated into latin. the arabs were, of course, the only race which kept the light of science burning during the dark ages, and their works were in considerable vogue at agricola's time. avicenna ( - ) was an arabian physician of great note, a translator of the greek classics into arabic, and a follower of aristotle to the extent of attempting to reconcile the peripatetic elements with those of the alchemists. he is chiefly known to the world through the works which he compiled on medicine, mostly from the greek and latin authors. these works for centuries dominated the medical world, and were used in certain european universities until the th century. a great many works are attributed to him, and he is copiously quoted by agricola, principally in his _de ortu et causis_, apparently for the purpose of exposure. theophilus was a monk and the author of a most illuminating work, largely upon working metal and its decoration for ecclesiastical purposes. an excellent translation, with the latin text, was published by robert hendrie, london, , under the title "an essay upon various arts, in three books, by theophilus, called also rugerus, priest and monk." hendrie, for many sufficient reasons, places the period of theophilus as the latter half of the th century. the work is mainly devoted to preparing pigments, making glass, and working metals, and their conversion into ecclesiastical paraphernalia, such as mural decoration, pictures, windows, chalices, censers, bells, organs, etc. however, he incidentally describes the making of metallurgical furnaces, cupellation, parting gold and silver by cementation with salt, and by melting with sulphur, the smelting of copper, liquating lead from it, and the refining of copper under a blast with poling. geber was until recent years considered to be an arab alchemist of a period somewhere between the th and th centuries. a mere bibliography of the very considerable literature which exists in discussion of who, where, and at what time the author was, would fill pages. those who are interested may obtain a start upon such references from hermann kopp's _beiträge zur geschichte der chemie_, braunschweig, , and in john ferguson's _bibliotheca chemica_, glasgow, . berthelot, in his _chimie au moyen age_, paris, , considers the works under the name of geber were not in the main of arabic origin, but composed by some latin scholar in the th century. in any event, certain works were, under this name, printed in latin as early as - , and have passed innumerable editions since. they were first translated into english by richard russell, london, , and we have relied upon this and the nuremberg edition in latin of . this work, even assuming berthelot's view, is one of the most important in the history of chemistry and metallurgy, and is characterised by a directness of statement unique among alchemists. the making of the mineral acids--certainly nitric and _aqua regia_, and perhaps hydrochloric and sulphuric--are here first described. the author was familiar with saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, and alkali, and with the acids he prepared many salts for the first time. he was familiar with amalgamation, cupellation, the separation of gold and silver by cementation with salt and by nitric acid. his views on the primary composition of bodies dominated the alchemistic world for centuries. he contended that all metals were composed of "spiritual" sulphur (or arsenic, which he seems to consider a special form of sulphur) and quicksilver, varying proportions and qualities yielding different metals. the more the quicksilver, the more "perfect" the metal. albertus magnus (albert von bollstadt) was a dominican monk, afterwards bishop, born about , and died about . he was rated the most learned man of his time, and evidence of his literary activities lies in the complete edition of his works issued by pierre jammy, lyons, , which comprises folio volumes. however, there is little doubt that a great number of works attributed to him, especially upon alchemy, are spurious. he covered a wide range of theology, logic, alchemy, and natural science, and of the latter the following works which concern our subject are considered genuine:--_de rebus metallicis et mineralibus_, _de generatione et corruptione_, and _de meteoris_. they are little more than compilations and expositions of the classics muddled with the writings of the arabs, and in general an attempt to conciliate the peripatetic and alchemistic schools. his position in the history of science has been greatly over-estimated. however, his mineralogy is, except for books on gems, the only writing of any consequence at all on the subject between pliny and agricola, and while there are but two or three minerals mentioned which are not to be found in the ancient authors, this work, nevertheless, deserves some place in the history of science, especially as some attempt at classification is made. agricola devotes some thousands of words to the refutation of his "errors." roger bacon ( - ) was a franciscan friar, a lecturer at oxford, and a man of considerable scientific attainments for his time. he was the author of a large number of mathematical, philosophical, and alchemistic treatises. the latter are of some importance in the history of chemistry, but have only minute bearing upon metallurgy, and this chiefly as being one of the earliest to mention saltpetre. basil valentine is the reputed author of a number of alchemistic works, of which none appeared in print until early in the th century. internal evidence seems to indicate that the "triumphant chariot of antimony" is the only one which may possibly be authentic, and could not have been written prior to the end of the th or early th century, although it has been variously placed as early as . to this work has been accredited the first mention of sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, the separation of gold and silver by the use of antimony (sulphide), the reduction of the antimony sulphide to the metal, the extraction of copper by the precipitation of the sulphate with iron, and the discovery of various antimonial salts. at the time of the publication of works ascribed to valentine practically all these things were well known, and had been previously described. we are, therefore, in much doubt as to whether this author really deserves any notice in the history of metallurgy. early th century works.--during the th century, and prior to _de re metallica_, there are only three works of importance from the point of view of mining technology--the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, the _probierbüchlein_, and biringuccio's _de la pirotechnia_. there are also some minor works by the alchemists of some interest for isolated statements, particularly those of paracelsus. the three works mentioned, however, represent such a stride of advance over anything previous, that they merit careful consideration. _eyn nützlich bergbüchlin._ under this title we frequently refer to a little booklet on veins and ores, published at the beginning of the th century. the title page of our copy is as below:-- [illustration (title page)] this book is small vo, comprises folios without pagination, and has no typographical indications upon the title page, but the last line in the book reads: _gedruckt zu erffurd durch johan loersfelt, _. another edition in our possession, that of "frankfurt am meyn", , by christian egenolph, is entitled _bergwerk und probierbüchlin_, etc., and contains, besides the above, an extract and plates from the _probierbüchlein_ (referred to later on), and a few recipes for assay tests. all of these booklets, of which we find mention, comprise instructions from daniel, a skilled miner, to knappius, "his mining boy". although the little books of this title are all anonymous, we are convinced, largely from the statement in the preface of _de re metallica_, that one calbus of freiberg was the original author of this work. agricola says: "two books have been written in our tongue: the one on the assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author is unknown; the other 'on veins', of which pandulfus anglus is also said to have written, _although the german book was written by calbus of freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task he had begun_." he again refers to calbus at the end of book iii.[ ] of _de re metallica_, and gives an almost verbatim quotation from the _nützlich bergbüchlin_. jacobi[ ] says: "calbus fribergius, so called by agricola himself, is certainly no other than the freiberg doctor, rühlein von c(k)albe." there are also certain internal evidences that support agricola's statement, for the work was evidently written in meissen, and the statement of agricola that the book was unfinished is borne out by a short dialogue at the end of the earlier editions, designed to introduce further discussion. calbus (or dr. ulrich rühlein von kalbe) was a very active citizen of freiberg, having been a town councillor in , burgomaster in , a mathematician, mining surveyor, founder of a school of liberal arts, and in general a physician. he died in .[ ] the book possesses great literary interest, as it is, so far as we are aware, undoubtedly the first work on mining geology, and in consequence we have spent some effort in endeavour to find the date of its first appearance. through the courtesy of m. polain, who has carefully examined for us the _nützlich bergbüchlein_ described in marie pellechet's _catalogue général des incunables des bibliothèques publiques de france_,[ ] we have ascertained that it is similar as regards text and woodcuts to the erfurt edition, . this copy in the bibliothèque nationale is without typographical indications, and m. polain considers it very possible that it is the original edition printed at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth centuries. mr. bennett brough,[ ] quoting hans von dechen,[ ] states that the first edition was printed at augsburg in , no copy of which seems to be extant. the librarian at the school of mines at freiberg has kindly furnished us with the following notes as to the titles of the copies in that institution:--( ) _eyn wolgeordent und nützlich bergbüchlein_, etc., worms, [ ] and [ ] (the place and date are written in), ( ) the same as ours ( ); ( ) the same, heinrich steyner, augsburg, ; ( ) the same, . on comparing these various editions (to which may be added one probably published in nürnberg by friedrich peypus in [ ]) we find that they fall into two very distinct groups, characterised by their contents and by two entirely different sets of woodcuts. group i. (_a_) _eyn nützlich bergbüchlein_ (in _bibl. nat._, paris) before (?). (_b_) ditto, erfurt, . group ii. (_c_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, worms, peter schöfern, . (_d_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, worms, peter schöfern, . (_e_) _bergbüchlin von erkantnus der berckwerck_, nürnberg, undated, (?). (_f_) _bergwerckbuch & probirbuch_, christian egenolph, frankfurt-am-meyn, . (_g_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, augsburg, heinrich steyner, . (_h_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, augsburg, heinrich steyner, . there are also others of later date toward the end of the sixteenth century. the _büchlein_ of group i. terminate after the short dialogue between daniel and knappius with the words: _mitt welchen das kleinspeissig ertz geschmeltzt soil werden_; whereas in those of group ii. these words are followed by a short explanation of the signs used in the woodcuts, and by directions for colouring the woodcuts, and in some cases by several pages containing definitions of some mining terms. in the editions of group i. the woodcut on the title page represents a miner hewing ore in a vein and two others working a windlass. in those of group ii. the woodcut on the title page represents one miner hewing on the surface, another to the right carting away ore in a handcart, and two others carrying between them a heavy timber. in our opinion group i. represents the older and original work of calbus; but as we have not seen the copy in the _bibliothèque nationale_, and the augsburg edition of has only so far been traced to veith's catalogue,[ ] the question of the first edition cannot be considered settled at present. in any event, it appears that the material grafted on in the second group was later, and by various authors. the earliest books comprise ten chapters, in which daniel delivers about , words of instruction. the first four chapters are devoted to the description of veins and the origin of the metals, of the remaining six chapters one each to silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, lead, and quicksilver. among the mining terms are explained the meaning of country rock (_zechstein_), hanging and footwalls (_hangends_ and _liegends_), the strike (_streichen_), dip (_fallen_), and outcrop (_ausgehen_). of the latter two varieties are given, one of the "whole vein," the other of the _gesteins_, which may be the ore-shoot. various veins are illustrated, and also for the first time a mining compass. the account of the origin of the metals is a muddle of the peripatetics, the alchemists, and the astrologers, for which acknowledgment to albertus magnus is given. they are represented to originate from quicksilver and sulphur through heat, cold, dampness, and dryness, and are drawn out as exhalations through the veins, each metal owing its origin to the special influence of some planet; the moon for silver, saturn for lead, etc. two types of veins are mentioned, "standing" (_stehendergang_) and flat (_flachgang_). stringers are given the same characteristics as veins, but divided into hanging, footwall, and other varieties. prominence is also given to the _geschick_ (selvage seams or joints?). the importance of the bearing of the junctions of veins and stringers on enrichment is elaborated upon, and veins of east-west strike lying upon a south slope are considered the best. from the following notes it will be seen that two or three other types of deposits besides veins are referred to. in describing silver veins, of peculiar interest is the mention of the association of bismuth (_wismuth_), this being, we believe, the first mention of that metal, galena (_glantz_), quartz (_quertz_), spar (_spar_), hornstone (_hornstein_), ironstone and pyrites (_kies_), are mentioned as gangue materials, "according to the mingling of the various vapours." the term _glasertz_ is used, but it is difficult to say if silver glance is meant; if so, it is the first mention of this mineral. so far as we know, this is the first use of any of the terms in print. gold alluvial is described, part of the gold being assumed as generated in the gravel. the best alluvial is in streams running east and west. the association of gold with pyrites is mentioned, and the pyrites is found "in some places as a complete stratum carried through horizontally, and is called a _schwebender gang_." this sort of occurrence is not considered very good "because the work of the heavens can be but little completed on account of the unsuitability of the position." gold pyrites that comes in veins is better. tin is mentioned as found in alluvial, and also in veins, the latter being better or worse, according to the amount of pyrites, although the latter can be burned off. tin-stone is found in masses, copper ore in schist and in veins sometimes with pyrites. the ore from veins is better than schist. iron ore is found in masses, and sometimes in veins; the latter is the best. "the iron veins with good hanging- and foot-walls are not to be despised, especially if their strike be from east to west, their dip to the south, the foot-wall and outcrop to the north, then if the ironstone is followed down, the vein usually reveals gold or other valuable ore". lead ore is found in _schwebenden gang_ and _stehenden gang_. quicksilver, like other ore, is sometimes found in brown earth, and sometimes, again, in caves where it has run out like water. the classification of veins is the same as in _de re metallica_.[ ] the book generally, however, seems to have raised agricola's opposition, for the quotations are given in order to be demolished. _probierbüchlein._ agricola refers in the preface of _de re metallica_ to a work in german on assaying and refining metals, and it is our belief that it was to some one of the little assay books published early in the th century. there are several of them, seemingly revised editions of each other; in the early ones no author's name appears, although among the later editions various names appear on the title page. an examination of these little books discloses the fact that their main contents are identical, for they are really collections of recipes after the order of cookery books, and intended rather to refresh the memory of those already skilled than to instruct the novice. the books appear to have grown by accretions from many sources, for a large number of methods are given over and over again in the same book with slight variations. we reproduce the title page of our earliest copy. [illustration (title page)] the following is a list of these booklets so far as we have been able to discover actual copies:-- _date._ _place._ _publisher._ _title (short)._ _author._ unknown unknown unknown _probierbüchlein_ anon. (undated; but catalogue of british museum suggests augsburg, .) magdeburg _probirbüchleyn anon. tzu gotteslob_ augsburg unknown _probierbuch aller anon. sachsischer ertze_ frankfurt a. _bergwerck und anon. meyn probierbüchlein_ augsburg heinrich _probirbüchlein_ anon. steyner, vo. augsburg ditto, ditto _probirbüchlein_ anon. augsburg ditto, ditto _probirbüchlein_ anon. augsburg math. francke, _probirbüchlein_ zach. lochner to augsburg vo. _probirbuch_ sam. zimmermann franckfurt _probierbüchlein_ anon. a. meyn ditto _probierbüchlein fremde cyriacus und subtile kunst_ schreittmann ditto _probierbüchlein_ anon. ditto _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ dresden to _metallische probier c. c. schindler kunst_ _bericht vom ursprung und erkenntniss der metallischen erze_ amsterdam _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ leipzig _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ leipzig _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ nürnberg mo. _deutliche vorstellung anon. der probier kunst_ lübeck vo. _neu-eröffnete probier anon. buch_ frankfurt vo. _scheid-künstler ... anon. and leipzig alle ertz und metalle ... probiren_ rotenburg an vo. _probierbuch aus k. a. scheidt der fulde erfahrung aufgesetzt_ as mentioned under the _nützlich bergbüchlein_, our copy of that work, printed in , contains only a portion of the _probierbüchlein_. ferguson[ ] mentions an edition of , and the freiberg school of mines catalogue gives also frankfort, , and nürnberg, . the british museum copy of earliest date, like the title page reproduced, contains no date. the title page woodcut, however, in the museum copy is referred from that above, possibly indicating an earlier date of the museum copy. the booklets enumerated above vary a great deal in contents, the successive prints representing a sort of growth by accretion. the first portion of our earliest edition is devoted to weights, in which the system of "lesser weights" (the principle of the "assay ton") is explained. following this are exhaustive lists of touch-needles of various composition. directions are given with regard to assay furnaces, cupels, muffles, scorifiers, and crucibles, granulated and leaf metals, for washing, roasting, and the preparation of assay charges. various reagents, including glass-gall, litharge, salt, iron filings, lead, "alkali", talc, argol, saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, alum, vitriol, lime, sulphur, antimony, _aqua fortis_, or _scheidwasser_, etc., are made use of. various assays are described and directions given for crucible, scorification, and cupellation tests. the latter part of the book is devoted to the refining and parting of precious metals. instructions are given for the separation of silver from iron, from lead, and from antimony; of gold from silver with antimony (sulphide) and sulphur, or with sulphur alone, with "_scheidwasser_," and by cementation with salt; of gold from copper with sulphur and with lead. the amalgamation of gold and silver is mentioned. the book is diffuse and confused, and without arrangement or system, yet a little consideration enables one of experience to understand most statements. there are over recipes, with, as said before, much repetition; for instance, the parting of gold and silver by use of sulphur is given eight times in different places. the final line of the book is: "take this in good part, dear reader, after it, please god, there will be a better." in truth, however, there are books on assaying four centuries younger that are worse. this is, without doubt, the first written word on assaying, and it displays that art already full grown, so far as concerns gold and silver, and to some extent copper and lead; for if we eliminate the words dependent on the atomic theory from modern works on dry assaying, there has been but very minor progress. the art could not, however, have reached this advanced stage but by slow accretion, and no doubt this collection of recipes had been handed from father to son long before the th century. it is of wider interest that these booklets represent the first milestone on the road to quantitative analysis, and in this light they have been largely ignored by the historians of chemistry. internal evidence in book vii. of _de re metallica_, together with the reference in the preface, leave little doubt that agricola was familiar with these booklets. his work, however, is arranged more systematically, each operation stated more clearly, with more detail and fresh items; and further, he gives methods of determining copper and lead which are but minutely touched upon in the _probierbüchlein_, while the directions as to tin, bismuth, quicksilver, and iron are entirely new. biringuccio (vanuccio). we practically know nothing about this author. from the preface to the first edition of his work it appears he was styled a mathematician, but in the text[ ] he certainly states that he was most of his time engaged in metallurgical operations, and that in pursuit of such knowledge he had visited germany. the work was in italian, published at venice in , the title page of the first edition as below:-- [illustration (title page)] it comprises ten chapters in folios demi-octavo. other italian editions of which we find some record are the second at venice, ; third, venice, ; fourth, venice, ; fifth, bologna, . a french translation, by jacques vincent, was published in paris, , and this translation was again published at rouen in . of the ten chapters the last six are almost wholly devoted to metal working and founding, and it is more largely for this description of the methods of making artillery, munitions of war and bells that the book is celebrated. in any event, with the exception of a quotation which we give on page on silver amalgamation, there is little of interest on our subject in the latter chapters. the first four chapters are undoubtedly of importance in the history of metallurgical literature, and represent the first work on smelting. the descriptions are, however, very diffuse, difficult to follow, and lack arrangement and detail. but like the _probierbüchlein_, the fact that it was written prior to _de re metallica_ demands attention for it which it would not otherwise receive. the ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, and iron are described, but much interrupted with denunciations of the alchemists. there is little of geological or mineralogical interest, he too holding to a muddle of the classic elements astrology and alchemy. he has nothing of consequence to say on mining, and dismisses concentration with a few words. upon assaying his work is not so useful as the _probierbüchlein_. on ore smelting he describes the reduction of iron and lead ores and cupriferous silver or gold ores with lead. he gives the barest description of a blast furnace, but adds an interesting account of a _reverbero_ furnace. he describes liquation as consisting of one operation; the subsequent treatment of the copper by refining with an oxidizing blast, but does not mention poling; the cupellation of argentiferous lead and the reduction of the litharge; the manufacture of nitric acid and that method of parting gold and silver. he also gives the method of parting with antimony and sulphur, and by cementation with common salt. among the side issues, he describes the method of making brass with calamine; of making steel; of distilling quicksilver; of melting out sulphur; of making vitriol and alum. he states that _arsenico_ and _orpimento_ and _etrisagallio_ (realgar) are the same substance, and are used to colour copper white. in general, biringuccio should be accredited with the first description (as far as we are aware) of silver amalgamation, of a reverberatory furnace, and of liquation, although the description is not complete. also he is, so far as we are aware, the first to mention cobalt blue (_zaffre_) and manganese, although he classed them as "half" metals. his descriptions are far inferior to agricola's; they do not compass anything like the same range of metallurgy, and betray the lack of a logical mind. _other works._ there are several works devoted to mineralogy, dating from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which were, no doubt, available to agricola in the compilation of his _de natura fossilium_. they are, however, practically all compiled from the jeweller's point of view rather than from that of the miner. among them we may mention the poem on precious stones by marbodaeus, an author who lived from to , but which was first printed at vienna in ; _speculum lapidum_, a work on precious stones, by camilli leonardi, first printed in venice in . a work of wider interest to mineralogists is that by christoph entzelt (or enzelius, encelio, encelius, as it is variously given), entitled _de re metallica_, and first printed in . the work is five years later than _de natura fossilium_, but contains much new material and was available to agricola prior to his revised editions. footnotes: [ ] see pages and . [ ] page . [ ] _der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, , p. . [ ] andreas möller, _theatrum freibergense chronicum_, etc., freiberg, . [ ] paris, , vol. i. p. . [ ] cantor lectures, london, april . [ ] hans von dechen, _das älteste deutsche bergwerksbuch_, reprint from _zts. für bergrecht bd. xxvi._, bonn, . [ ] panzer's _annalen_, nürnberg, , p. , gives an edition worms _bei_ peter schöfern, . [ ] the royal library at dresden and the state library at munich have each a copy, dated , worms. [ ] hans von decken _op. cit._, p. - . [ ] _annales typographiae augustanae ab ejus origine, mccclxvi. usque ad. an. m.d.xxx. accedit dom franc. ant. veith. diatribe de origine ... artis typographicae in urbe augusta vindelica edidit...._ georgius g. zapf., augsburg, , x. p. . [ ] see p. . [ ] _bibliotheca chemica_. [ ] book i., chap. . appendix c. weights and measures. as stated in the preface, the nomenclature to be adopted for weights and measures has presented great difficulty. agricola uses, throughout, the roman and the romanized greek scales, but in many cases he uses these terms merely as lingual equivalents for the german quantities of his day. moreover the classic language sometimes failed him, whereupon he coined new latin terms adapted from the roman scale, and thus added further confusion. we can, perhaps, make the matter clearer by an illustration of a case in weights. the roman _centumpondium_, composed of _librae_, the old german _centner_ of _pfundt_, and the english hundredweight of pounds can be called lingual equivalents. the first weighs about , troy grains, the second , , and the third , . while the divisions of the _centumpondium_ and the _centner_ are the same, the _libra_ is divided into _unciae_ and the _pfundt_ into _untzen_, and in most places a summation of the units given proves that the author had in mind the roman ratios. however, on p. he makes the direct statement that the _centumpondium_ weighs _librae_, which would be about the correct weight if the _centumpondium_ referred to was a _centner_. if we take an example such as "each _centumpondium_ of lead contains one _uncia_ of silver", and reduce it according to purely lingual equivalents, we should find that it runs . troy ounces per short ton, on the basis of roman values, and . ounces per short ton, on the basis of old german. if we were to translate these into english lingual equivalents of one ounce per hundredweight, then the value would be . ounces per short ton. several possibilities were open in translation: first, to calculate the values accurately in the english units; second, to adopt the nearest english lingual equivalent; third, to introduce the german scale of the period; or, fourth, to leave the original latin in the text. the first would lead to an indefinite number of decimals and to constant doubt as to whether the values, upon which calculations were to be based, were roman or german. the second, that is the substitution of lingual equivalents, is objectionable, not only because it would indicate values not meant by the author, but also because we should have, like agricola, to coin new terms to accommodate the lapses in the scales, or again to use decimals. in the third case, that is in the use of the old german scale, while it would be easier to adapt than the english, it would be more unfamiliar to most readers than the latin, and not so expressive in print, and further, in some cases would present the same difficulties of calculation as in using the english scale. nor does the contemporary german translation of _de re metallica_ prove of help, for its translator adopted only lingual equivalents, and in consequence the summation of his weights often gives incorrect results. from all these possibilities we have chosen the fourth, that is simply to reproduce the latin terms for both weights and measures. we have introduced into the footnotes such reductions to the english scale as we considered would interest readers. we have, however, digressed from the rule in two cases, in the adoption of "foot" for the latin _pes_, and "fathom" for _passus_. apart from the fact that these were not cases where accuracy is involved, agricola himself explains (p. ) that he means the german values for these particular terms, which, fortunately, fairly closely approximate to the english. further, we have adopted the anglicized words "digit", "palm", and "cubit", instead of their latin forms. for purposes of reference, we reproduce the principal roman and old german scales, in so far as they are used by agricola in this work, with their values in english. all students of weights and measures will realize that these values are but approximate, and that this is not an occasion to enter upon a discussion of the variations in different periods or by different authorities. agricola himself is the author of one of the standard works on ancient weights and measures (see appendix a), and further gives fairly complete information on contemporary scales of weight and fineness for precious metals in book vii. p. etc., to which we refer readers. roman scales of weights. troy grains. _siliqua_ = . _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ . _scripula_ = _sextula_ . _sextulae_ = _uncia_ . _unciae_ = _libra_ . _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . also _scripulum_ = . _scripula_ = _drachma_ . _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ . _sicilici_ = _uncia_ . _unciae_ = _bes_ . scale of fineness (agricola's adaptation). _siliquae_ = unit of _siliquae_ _units of siliquae_ = _semi-sextula_ _semi-sextulae_ = _duella_ _duellae_ = _bes_ old german scale of weights. troy grains. _pfennig_ = . _pfennige_ = _quintlein_ . _quintlein_ = _loth_ . _loth_ = _untzen_ . _untzen_ = _mark_ . _mark_ = _pfundt_ . _pfundt_ = _centner_ . scale of fineness. _grenlin_ = _gran_ _gran_ = _krat_ _krat_ = _mark_ roman long measure. inches. _digitus_ = . _digiti_ = _palmus_ . _palmi_ = _pes_ . - / _pedes_ = _cubitus_ . _pedes_ = _passus_ . also roman _uncia_ = . _unciae_ = pes . greek long measure. inches. _dactylos_ = . _dactyloi_ = _palaiste_ . _palaistai_ = _pous_ . - / _pous_ = _pechus_ . _pous_ = _orguia_ . old german long measure. inches. _querfinger_ = . _querfinger_ = _werckschuh_ . _werckschuh_ = _elle_ . _elle_ = _lachter_ . also _zoll_ = . _zoll_ = _werkschuh_ roman liquid measure. cubic inches. pints. _quartarius_ = . . _quartarii_ = _sextarius_ . . _sextarii_ = _congius_ . . _sextarii_ = _modius_ . . _congii_ = _amphora_ . . (agricola nowhere uses the saxon liquid measures, nor do they fall into units comparable with the roman). general index. note.--the numbers in heavy type refer to the text; those in plain type to the footnotes, appendices, etc. abandonment of mines, = = abertham. mines at, = =; = =; abolite, _abstrich_, ; abydos. gold mines of, = =; lead figure from, _abzug_, ; ; _achates_ (_see_ agate). accidents to miners, = - = accounts (mining), = - = adit, _aeris flos_ (_see_ copper flowers). _aeris squama_ (_see_ copper scales). _aes caldarium_, _aes luteum_, _aes nigrum_, _aes purum fossile_ (_see_ native copper). _aes rude plumbei coloris_ (_see_ copper glance). _aes ustum_ (_see_ roasted copper). _aetites_, africa. iron, tin, agate, agriculture. mining compared with, = = ailments of miners (_see_ maladies of miners). air currents in mines, = =; = = alabaster, alchemists, xxvii-xxx; ; agricola's opinion of, xii; =xxvii.= amalgamation, assaying, = =; discovery of acids, ; distillation, aljustrel tablet, - alkali, alloys, assaying of, = - = alluvial mining, = - =; - alston moor, altenberg, =xxxi=; vi. collapse of mine, = = miners poisoned, = = tin working appliances, = =; = =; = = alum, = - =; - a solidified juice, elizabethan charter, in roasted pyrites, = = in _sal artificiosus_, = = latin and german terms, ; papal monopoly, use in making nitric acid, = =; amalgam. parting the gold from, = =; amalgamation, of gilt objects, = = mills, = - = amber, = =; amethyst, _amiantus_ (_see_ asbestos). ampulla, = - =; annaberg, vi; =xxxi=; = =; = =; profits, = = ant, venomous, = = antimony, ; ; minerals, smelting of, = =; = = use as type-metal, ; antimony sulphide, ; ; parting gold and silver with, = =; ; parting gold from copper, = = parting silver and iron, = = antwerp, scale of weights, = = apex law, ; - _aqua regia_, ; ; _aqua valens_ (_see also_ nitric acid), = - =; ; clarification with silver, = =; cleansing gold-dust with, = = parting precious metals with, = - = _arbores dissectae_ (lagging), archimedes, screw of, architecture. knowledge necessary for miners, = = _area fodinarum_ (_see_ meer). argentiferous copper ores, smelting of, = - = argentite, _argentum purum in venis_ (_see_ native silver). _argentum rude plumbei coloris_ (_see_ silver glance). _argentum rude rubrum translucidum_ (_see_ ruby silver). argol, ; as a flux, = =; = =; = = use in melting silver nitrate, = = use in smelting gold dust, = - = argonauts, arithmetical science. knowledge necessary for miners, = = armenia, stone of, arsenic (_see also_ orpiment _and_ realgar), ; _arsenicum_, arsenopyrite, asbestos, = =; ; ash-coloured copper, = - =; ; - ; from liquation, = - = ashes which wool dyers use (_see also_ potash), ; ; use in assaying, = - = ash of lead, = - =; ; ash of musk ivy (_see also_ potash and _nitrum_), = - =; asphalt, _asphaltites_ (_see_ dead sea). assay balances (_see_ balances). assay fluxes (_see_ fluxes). assay furnaces, = - =; crucible, = - = muffle, = - =; = = assaying (_see also_ _probierbüchlein_), = =; ; ; amalgamation, = = bismuth, = = copper, = = cupellation, = = gold and silver alloys, = = gold ore, = - = iron ore, = = lead, = - = silver, = - = silver and copper alloys, = - = tin, = = tin and silver alloys, = = assay muffles (_see_ muffles). assay ton, = =; assyrian copper, asthma, = = astronomy. knowledge necessary for miners, = = atarnea. mines near, = =; athens. mining law, sea power and mines, silver mines (_see_ mt. laurion, mines of). _atramentum sutorium_ (_see also_ vitriol), ; _atramentum sutorium candidum_, _atramentum sutorium rubrum_, = =; _aurichalcum_, ; _auripigmentum_ (_see_ orpiment). azure, ; ; an indication of copper, = = an indication of gold, = = colour of flame, = = azurite ; ; babel, tower of, babylonia. bitumen in, use of lead, babytace. gold buried by inhabitants, = =; = = baebelo, = =; balances, = =; = - = barite, barmaster, of high peak, bars, for furnace work, = = baskets, for hoisting, = = batea, = = beer, = =; bell, to call workmen, = = bellows, = - =; = = ancient use of, ; ; assay furnace, = =; = = mine ventilation with, = - = beni hassen, inscriptions at, _berg-geel_, bergmeister, = =; = =; = =; = =; ; deals with forfeited shares, = - = jurors, = = bergmeister's clerk, = =; _bergzinober_ (_see_ quicksilver). bermius (bermium), mt. (_see_ mt. bermius). bismuth, = =; ; assaying ores of, = = indication of silver, = = minerals, ; smelting of, = - =; = = the "roof of silver," = =; _zaffre_, bitumen. ancient knowledge of, ; - ; colour of fumes, = = dead sea, = = distillation, = = from springs, = = harmful to metals, = = roasting from ore, = =; = =; = = solidified juice, = = _bituminosa cadmia_ (_see_ _cadmia bituminosa_). blast, regulation of, = =; = = blasting, blende, bleyberg, bloodstone, ; bloom, _blütstein_ (_see_ ironstone). bohemia. antimony sulphide, pestilential vapours, = = sifting ore in, = = smelting, = = bone-ash, = =; borax, ; ; method of manufacture, = = use in gold smelting, = =; = =; = = use in assaying, = =; = = bornite, boundary stones, = =; boundaries, = =; = = bowls for alluvial washing, = =; = =; = =; = = brass, ; ; ancient methods of making, - ; breaking ore, = - = brick dust. used in cementation, = =; used in making nitric acid, = = brine (_see also_ salt). evaporation of, = - = britain. lead-silver smelting, miners mentioned by pliny, tin trade, - british museum. egyptian gold-mining, egyptian lead, egyptian steel, bromyrite, bronze. historical notes, ; ; bronze age, ; = =; bryle (outcrop), buckets, for hoisting ore, = - =; = = buddle, ; ; divided, = - = simple, = - =; = - = bullion, pouring into bars, = = burning ore, = =; = =; burnt alum, = =; ; _cadmia_ (_see also_ zinc, _pompholyx_, _and_ cobalt), = =; ; - ancient ore of brass, from dust chambers, = = from liquation, = =; from roasting matte, = = poisonous to miners, = =; roasting, = = smelting for gold and silver, = = _cadmia bituminosa_, = =; ; _cadmia fornacis_ (_see_ furnace accretions). _cadmia fossilis_ (_see_ calamine _and_ blende). _cadmia metallica_ (_see also_ cobalt), = =; _caeruleum_ (_see_ azure). cakes of melted pyrites, ; a flux, = = roasting of, = - = use in smelting, = = calaëm (_see also_ zinc), = = calamine, ; ; ; calcite, calcspar, = =; _caldarium_ copper, = =; = =; ; caldrons, for evaporating salts, = = _calmei_ (_see_ calamine). cameros. zinc found at, camphor, = =; ; cam-shaft, = - =; _canales_ (ore channels), ; ; ore shoots in, = = cannon, = = cardinal points, = =; = = carnelian, _carneol_ (_see_ carnelian). _carni_, cupellation, = = smelting of lead ores, = = carpathian mountains. liquation practice in, = =; = = sieves, = = stamp-milling, = = carthage. mines in spain, = = castulo (cazlona), cementation (_see also_ parting gold from silver), = - =; ; _centumpondium_, ; ; scale of weights, = - = cerargurite, _cerussa_ (_see_ white-lead). cerussite, chain pumps, = - = chalcanthite, _chalcanthum_ (_see also_ vitriol), ; chalcedony, _chalcitis_, ; indication of copper, = = chalcocite, ; chalcopyrite, chaldean antimony, chemistry. origin, xxvii; chemnitz. agricola appointed city physician, vii. agricola elected burgomaster, viii; ix. quarrel over agricola's burial, xi. china, grand canal of, chinese. early copper smelting, early iron, early silver metallurgy, early zinc smelting, _chrysocolla_ (_see also_ borax), ; ; ; collection in vats, = = colour of fumes, = = indication of copper, = = indication of gold, = = mineral, smelting of, = = church, share in mines, = = cimolite, cinnabar (_see_ quicksilver _and_ _minium_). claim, in american title, cloth. lining sluices, = = ventilation by shaking, = = coal, cobalt, ; ; - cobalt-blue, ; from lead smelting, king hiram's experience with, poisonous to miners, relation to _cadmia_, relation to bismuth, smelting ores of, cobalt-arsenic minerals (_see_ arsenic). cobaltite, _cobaltum cineraceum_ (_see_ smallite). _cobaltum ferri colore_ (_see_ cobaltite). _cobaltum nigrum_ (_see_ abolite). coiners, = =; coins, = - =; = = colchis. alluvial gold washing, = = cologne. scale of weights, = = companies, mining, = - =; fraudulent dealing, = = investment in, = = compass, = - =; ; divisions of the, = =; = = swiss, = =; concentrates. from washing liquation products, = = sintering of, = = smelting of, = =; = - =; = = concentration, = - =; ; _congius_, ; , constantinople, alum trade, consumption. miners liable to, = = _conterfei_ (_see_ zinc). contracts, method of setting, = = copiapite, copper (_see also_ liquation), ; ; assay of, = =; = = granulation of, = = indications of, = = parting from gold, = - = parting gold from silver, = - =; ratio in liquation cakes, ; residues from liquation, = = rosette, = = copper-filings, = =; ; copper flowers, = =; ; ; pliny's description, copper glance, = =; copper matte. roasting, = = smelting, = - = copper ore (_see also_ copper smelting, _etc._), assaying, = - = copper pyrites, = =; copper refining, = - =; ; ; - breaking cakes, = - = enrichment of silver by settling, roman method, rosette copper, copper scales, ; ; ; use in assaying, = = copper schists (_see also_ mannsfeld copper slates), method of smelting, = = copper smelting, = - =; = =; = =; invention of appliances, - cornwall. ancient tin mining, early german miners, early mining law, early ore dressing, influence on german mining, "knockers," mining terms, ; ; ; royal geol. soc. transactions, _coticula_ (_see_ touchstone). _counterfeht_ (_see_ zinc). crane. for cupellation furnaces, = - = for lead cakes, = = for liquation cakes, = = cremnitz. age of mines, = = width of veins, = = crinoid stems, croppings, = =; crosscuts, = = crowbars, = = crucible. assay, = =; = =; = =; = =; of blast furnaces, = =; = = _crudaria_, crushing mills (_see_ stamp-mill _and_ mills). crushing ore, = =; = - =; crystal (_crystallum_), cumberland. early report on ores of, roman lead furnaces, cup-bearer. right to a meer, = = cupellation, = - =; - buildings and furnaces, = - =; brightening of the silver, = =, = = in assaying, = = in "tests," = = latin and german terms, ; litharge, = = cupels, = - =; ; drying of, = = moulds, = = cupric oxide, cuprite, ; _cyanus_ (_see also_ azurite), cyprus. ancient copper smelting, _dach_, _dactylos_, ; dangers to miners, = - = _darrlinge_, _darrofen_, _darrsöhle_, dawling, of a vein, dead sea. bitumen in, = = decemviral college, = = _decumanus_ (_see_ tithe gatherer). _demensum_ (_see_ measure). demons (_see also_ gnomes), = =; derbyshire (_see also_ high peak). early ore washing, introduction jigging sieve, mining law, ; - descent into mines, = = devon. mining law, dilleugher, dioptra, _diphrygum_, dip of veins, = - = dippas, dippers, = = of pumps, = = _discretores_ (_see_ sorters). distillation, for making nitric acid, = = of amalgam, = = of quicksilver, = - = _distributor_, divining rod, = - =; ; divisions of the compass, = =; = = drainage of mines, = =; = - = with buckets, = = with chain pumps, = = with rag and chain pumps, = = with suction pumps, = = with water bags, = = drawing. knowledge necessary for miners, = = drifts, = =; = =; timbering of, = = drusy veins, = =; "drying" liquation residues (_see also_ liquation), = - =; ; furnaces for, = =; = =; silver extracted by, = = slags from, dumps, working of, = = dust chambers, = =; = =; dutins, (timbers), dynamite, "earths." agricola's view of, ; ; extraordinary, = = peripatetic view of, ; egyptians. alluvial mining, antimony, bronze, ; copper smelting, crushing and concentration, furnaces, glass making, gold mining, iron, maps, mining law, silver and lead metallurgy, tin, ; egyptian screw (_see_ archimedes, screw of). eifel. spalling ore, = = _eisenertz_ (_see_ ironstone). _eisenglantz_ (_see_ ironstone). eisleben. heap roasting, = =; _electrum_, ; ; elements, peripatetic theory of, emery, erbisdorff. tin strakes, = = _excoctores_ (_see_ smelters). exhalations. from veins, = =; = = exhausted liquation cakes (_see_ liquation cakes, exhausted). fans, ventilation, = - = fathom, ; = =; _federwis_, (_see also_ asbestos), ; feldspar, _ferrugo_ (_see_ iron-rust). _ferrum purum_ (_see_ native iron). _fibrae_ (_see_ stringers). fineness, scales of, ; fire-setting, = - =; - firstum mines (_see_ fürst). fissure vein (_see_ _vena profunda_). flame. determination of metal by, = = determination of required flux by, = = flint, as a flux, float, from veins, = = flookan, flue-dust, = - = _fluores_ (_see_ fluorspar). fluorspar, ; ; indication of ore, = = _flüsse_ (_see_ fluorspar). fluxes (_see also_ argol, saltpetre, limestone, stones which easily melt, _etc._), = - =; ; ; ; basic, de-sulphurizing, = =; for smelting, = =; = =; = =; = = reducing, = =; stock fluxes for assaying, = = sulphurizing, = =; footwall, = =; = = forehearth, = =; = - =; = =; for tin furnaces, = =; = = foreman (_see_ mining foreman). forest-fires, = =; forest of dean, forest of mendip, _formae_, _fossa latens_ (_see also_ drifts), _fossa latens transversa_ (_see also_ crosscuts), _fossores_ (_see_ miners). founders' hoards, ; fractional meers, = = france. mediæval mining law, free mining cities, freiberg, =xxxi.= age of the mines, = = bergmeister, = = division of shares, = =; = =; = = first discovery of veins, = =; flooding of mines, = = method of cupellation, = = fullers' earth, fumes. from heated ore, = = poisonous, = - = _fundamentum_ (_see also_ footwall), _fundgrube_ (_see also_ meer), furnaces, = - =; = =; = =; ; assaying (_see_ assay furnaces). bismuth smelting, = - = burning tin concentrates, = = cementation, = = copper smelting, = - = cupellation, = - =; = - = "drying" liquated copper, = - = enriching copper bottoms, = = gold and silver ores, = - = heating copper cakes, = = iron smelting, = - =; latin and german terms, lead ores, = - = liquation of silver, = = melting lead cakes, = = nitric acid making, = = parting precious metals with antimony, = - = quicksilver distillation, = - = refining copper, = - = refining silver, = =; = = refining tin, = = roasting, = - = smelting liquation slags, = = tin smelting, = - =; = = furnace accretions, ; ; removal of, = = furnace hoods, = = fürst. mines of, = =; _gaarherd_ (_see_ refining-hearth). _gaarmachen_ (_see_ copper refining). gad, galena, ; ; ; bismuth distinguished from, smelting of, = - = gangue minerals, garlic. magnet weakened by, = = garnets, = = gases (_see also_ fumes) from fire-setting, = = _gedigen eisen, silber_, etc. (_see_ native iron, silver, etc.). _gel atrament_ (_see_ _misy_). gems, = =; geology. agricola's views, germans. english mining influenced by, mining men imported into england, ore-dressing methods, - _geschwornen_ (in saxon mines), geyer, =xxxi=; = =; vi. shafts, tin-strakes, = = gilding, removal from objects, = =; = = gips (_see_ gypsum). gittelde. smelting of lead ore, = = _glantz_ (_see_ galena). _glasertz_ (_see_ silver glance). _glasköpfe_ (_see_ ironstone). glass, = - = blowing, = = furnaces, = - = from sand, glass-galls, ; as a flux, = =; = =; = =; = = use in parting gold from copper, = = use in smelting gold concentrates, = =; = = _glette_ (_see_ litharge). _glimmer_ (_see_ mica). gnomes. in mines, = =; ; ; goblins (_see_ gnomes). god's gift mine (_see_ gottsgaab mine). gold (_see also_ gold ores, parting, smelting, stamp-mill, _etc._). alluvial mining, = - =; alluvial streams, = = amalgamation, gold-dust, = = historical notes, ; indications of, = =; = = lust for, not the fault of the metal, = = minerals, minerals associated with, = - = smelting of ores, = - =; = =; = =; = =; = = wickedness caused by, = - = gold concentrates, = - =; golden fleece, = =; gold ores, = - = amalgamation, = - =; assay by amalgamation, = - = assay by fire, = - = flux used in assaying, = = flux used in smelting, = = smelting in blast furnace, = - = smelting cupriferous ores, = - = smelting in lead bath, = = smelting pyritiferous ore, = - = stamp-milling, = = _goldstein_ (_see_ touchstone). goslar, = =; = =; lead smelting, = = native zinc vitriol, roasting ores, = =; spalling hard ore, = = goslarite, ; gottsgaab mine, vi; vii; = =; gounce, grand canal of china, granulation methods for bullion, = = granulation of copper, = = greeks. antimony, brass making, copper smelting, iron and steel making, metallurgy from egypt, mining law, ore dressing, quicksilver, silver-lead smelting, smelting appliances, grey antimony (_see also_ _stibium_), ; ; griffins, groom of the chamber. right to a meer, = = groove (_see also_ shafts), ground sluices, = - = ground waters, - _grünspan_ (_see_ verdigris). _gulden_, ; gunpowder. first use for blasting in mines, invention of, gypsum, hade, _haematites_ (_see_ ironstone). _halinitrum_ (_see_ saltpetre). halle, salt industry, = = hammers, = = with water power, = = hangingwall, = =; = = harz miners. agricola consulted, vii. antimony sulphide, first mining charter, first stamp-mill, pumps, = = hauling appliances (_see also_ whims _and_ windlasses), = - =; heap roasting, = - = hearth-lead (_see also_ _molybdaena_), = =; ; ; as a flux, = = use in smelting, = =; = =; = = hearths. for bismuth smelting, = - = for melting lead, = =; = = heavenly host mine (_see_ _himmelisch höz_ mine). heavy spar, hebrews. knowledge of antimony, silver-lead smelting, term for tin, hematite, hemicycle (_hemicyclium_), = - = _heraclion_ (_see_ lodestone). _herdplei_ (_see_ hearth-lead). hiero, king, = =; high peak (derbyshire). mining law, nomenclature in mines, saxon customs, connection with, ; _himmelisch höz_ mine, = =; = =; hoe, = = holidays of miners, = = horn silver, horns of deer, = = hornstone, = =; hungary. cupellation, = = _hüttenrauch_ (_see_ _pompholyx_). iglau, charter of, incense in cupellation furnaces, = = indications of ore, = =; = =; = = _ingestores_ (_see_ shovellers). india. steel, zinc, _intervenium_, = =; = = investment in mines, = - = iron, ; ; cast, censure of, = = indications of, = = malleable, smelting, = - = sulphur harmful to, = = iron age, iron filings (_see also_ iron-scales), use in assaying, = =; = =; = = iron ore. assaying of, = = smelting of, = - = iron-rust, = =; = =; ; iron-scales, flux, = = use in smelting gold, = = use in smelting silver, = = use in making nitric acid, = = use in parting gold from copper, = = iron-slag, as a flux, = =; = = ironstone, = =; italians. alluvial mining in germany, = = italy. mining formerly forbidden, = = jade, japan. steel, jasper, ; _jaspis_, jet, jigging sieve, = =; ; joachimsthal, vi. first stamp-mill, mining shares and profits, = =; = = _jüdenstein_ (_see_ _lapis judaicus_). juices, ; agricola's theory, ; from springs and streams, = = stone juice, ; tastes of, = = juices, solidified. agricola's view of, ; extraction of metals from, = = preparation of, = = julian alps. stamp-milling in, = = junctions (_see_ veins, intersections of). _jurati_ (_see_ jurors). jurors, = =; = =; = =; in english mining custom, relations to bergmeister, = =; justinian code. mines, _kalchstein_ (_see_ limestone). _kammschale_, kaolinite (_see_ porcelain clay). _katzensilber_ (_see_ mica). king. deputy, = = right to a meer, = = _kinstock_ (_see_ liquation cakes, exhausted). _kis_ (_see_ pyrites). knockers (_see_ gnomes). _kobelt_ (_see_ cobalt). kölergang vein, = = königsberg. fire-setting, _kupferglas ertz_ (_see_ copper glance). _kupferschiefer_ (_see_ copper schists). kuttenberg. depths of shafts, labour condition in mining title, = =; - lacedaemonians (_see_ spartans). _lachter_ (_see_ fathom). ladderways in shafts, = =; = = ladle for bullion, = = _lapis aerarius_ (_see_ copper ore). _lapis alabandicus_, _lapis judaicus_, = =; _lapis specularis_ (_see_ gypsum). laths (lagging), la tolfa. alum manufacture, discovery of, laurion (laurium), mt. (_see_ mt. laurion, mines of). lautental, liquation at, law (_see_ mining law). law-suits over shares in mines, = = lead, ; ; censure of, = = cupellation, = - = melting prior to liquation, = = in liquation cakes, = - =; ; refining silver, = - = smelting of ores, = - =; = = use in assaying, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = washing in sluices, = = lead-ash, = =; ; as a flux, = = use in parting gold from copper, = = lead bath, = = lead-glass, lead granules, = =; = =; leading (in liquation), = =; = =; = =; ; ; components of the charge, = - = lead ochre, ; ; lead ore. assay methods, = - = roasting, = = smelting in blast furnace, = =; = = lease, in australian title, leaves, preparation of bullion into, = = leberthal, lees of _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, ; ; as a flux, = =; = = lees of vinegar (_see also_ argol), as a flux, = =; = =; = =; lees of wine (_see_ argol). lemnos, island of, = = lemnian earth, leprosy of house walls (_see_ saltpetre). level (_see also_ drift), level, plummet (_see_ plummet level). limestone, ; as a flux, = =; = = limonite, limp, linares. hannibal's mines near, lipari islands. alum from, liquated silver-lead (_see_ _stannum_ _and_ silver-lead). liquation, = - =; ; ash-coloured copper from, = = buildings for, furnace, = - =; historical note on, losses, ; nomenclature, liquation cakes, = - =; ; ; enrichment of the lead, = =; extraction of silver from, from bye-products of liquation, = - = from copper bottoms, = =; proportion of lead in rich silver copper, = = liquation cakes, exhausted, = - =; = =; ; liquation slags, ; ; furnaces for, = = treatment of, = = liquation thorns, = =; = =; ; ; from cupellation, = =; from "drying" copper residues, = = litharge (_see also_ cupellation), = =; = - =; ; ; ; use in reducing silver nitrate, = = use in smelting, = =; = =; = = _lithargyrum_ (_see_ litharge). lodestone, = =; ; ; compass, _los pozos de anibal_, _lotores_ (_see_ washers). lusitania. gold alluvial, = = sluices for gold washing, = = tin smelting, = = lute, preparation of for furnace linings, = - = lydia. mining law, the king's mines, lye, = =; ; use in making fluxes, = = use in parting, = = _magister metallicorum_ (_see_ bergmeister). _magister monetariorum_ (_see_ master of the mint). _magnes_ (_see also_ lodestone _and_ manganese), = =; ; ; magnet, = = garlic, = = _magnetis_ (_see_ mica). magnetite, malachite, ; maladies of miners, = - = maltha, manager (_see_ mine manager). manganese, ; mannsfeld copper slates, = - =; = =; ; map-making, marble, = =; ; marcasite, ; ; _marga_ (_see_ marl). marienberg, =xxxi=; vi. marl, marmelstein (_see_ marble). _marmor_ (_see_ marble). _marmor alabastrites_ (_see_ alabaster). _marmor glarea_, massicot (_see also_ lead ochre), ; ; master of the horse, = = master of the mint, = =; matte (_see_ cakes of melted pyrites). matte smelting, = - = measure (unit of mining area), = =; measures, - ; ; medicine. knowledge necessary for miners, = = _medulla saxorum_ (_see_ porcelain clay). meer, = - = boundary stones, = = on _vena cumulata_, = = on _vena dilatata_, = = meissen. dumps from mines, = = _melanteria_, = =; ; indication of copper, = = melanterite, melos, island of, _menning_ (_see_ red-lead). _mergel_ (_see_ marl). metals, ; ; advantages and uses, = =; = = necessity to man, =xxv=; = - = not responsible for evil passions, = = _metreta_, mexico. patio process, mica, middle ages, mining law of, mills for grinding ore, = - =; mimes (_see also_ gnomes), mine captain, = =; mine manager, = =; = =; ; mineral kingdom, agricola's divisions of, minerals, ; ; ; compound, ; mixed, ; miners, = - =; = =; duties and punishments, = =; = = law (_see_ mining law). litigation among, = = slaves as, = = mines. abandonment of, = = conditions desirable, = - = investments in, = - = management of, = =; = = names of, = = mines royal, company of, mining (_see also_ sett, lease, claim, meer, _etc._). criticisms of, = - = harmless and honourable, = =; = =; = = methods of breaking ore, = - = stoping, = = mining clerk, = =; = =; = =; mining companies (_see_ companies, mining). mining foreman, = - =; frauds by, = - = mining law, - boundary stones, = = drainage requirements, = - = england, - europe, forfeiture of title, = - = france, greek and roman, middle ages, - right of overlord, landowner, state and miner, tunnels, = - = mining prefect, = =; = =; mining rights (_see_ mining law _and_ meer). mining terms, old english, ; mining tools, = - = buckets for ore, = - = buckets for water, = = trucks, = = wheelbarrows, = = _minium_, quicksilver from, red-lead, _minium secundarium_ (_see_ red-lead). mispickel (_mistpuckel_), _misy_ (the mineral), ; ; an indication of copper, = = use in parting gold and silver, _mitlere und obere offenbrüche_ (_see_ furnace accretions). _modius_, ; moglitz. tin working, = = moil, _molybdaena_, ; ; ; ; term for lead carbonates, ; molybdenite, _monetarius_ (_see_ coiners). money, assaying of, = - = morano glass factories, = = moravia. cupellation, = = stamp-milling, = = washing gold ore, = = mordants, mortar-box, = - =; = =; = =; mountains. formation of, = = mt. bermius. gold mines of, = =; mt. laurion, mines of, = =; - ; crushing and concentration of ores, cupellation, mining law, smelting appliances, xenophon on, = = mt. sinai. ancient copper smelting, ; muffle furnaces, = - =; = = muffles, = =; = =; refining silver, = - = mühlberg, battle of, x. _murrhina_ (_see_ chalcedony). muskets, = = mycenae. copper, silver-lead smelting, names of mines, = = naphtha, native copper, native iron, native minerals, = = native silver, = =; natron (_see_ _nitrum_). neolithic furnaces, neusohl, method of screening ore, = = newbottle abbey, nitocris, bridge of, nitric acid (_see also_ _aqua valens_), = - =; ; ; assay parting gold and silver, = = testing silver regulus with, = = use in cleaning gold dust, = = _nitrum_ (_see also_ soda), ; nomenclature, i; mining law, ; mining officials, ; _norici_, conveyance of ore, = = normans. mining law in england, notary, = =; nubia. early gold-mining, nuremberg, scale of weights, = = _obolus_, _ochra nativa_, ochre yellow, _offenbrüche_ (_see_ furnace accretions). olynthus. betrayal to philip of macedon, = = operculum, = =; orbis, = =; ore (_see various metals_, assaying, mining, _etc._). ore channels (_see_ canales). ore deposits, theory of, xiii; - ore dressing, = - = burning, = = hand spalling, = - = sorting, = - = _orguia_, = =; ; _orichalcum_ (_see_ _aurichalcum_). orpiment, ; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = indication of gold, etc., = = roasted from ore, = = use in assaying, = = outcrops, ; ox-blood in salt making, = = pactolus, gold sands of, park's process, parting gold from copper, = - = parting gold from silver, = - =; - antimony sulphide, = - =; - ; cementation, = - =; = - =; = = chlorine gas, ; electrolysis, ; nitric acid, = - =; ; ; nitric acid (in assaying), = - = sulphur and copper, = - =; ; sulphuric acid, ; partitions, passau, peace of, ix. _passus_, ; patio process, - pattinson's process, peak, the (_see_ high peak). _pentremites_, pergamum. brazen ox of, = = mines near, = =; peripatetics, xii. theory of ore deposits, = =; view of wealth, = = persians. ancient mining law, _pes_, ; pestles, = =; = = petroleum, - phalaris, brazen bull of, = = philosophy. knowledge necessary for miners, = = phoenicians. copper and bronze, in thasos, tin, - picks, = - = _pickschiefer_ (_see_ ash-coloured copper). placer mining, = - = _pleigeel_ (_see_ lead ochre). _pleiweis_ (_see_ white-lead). pleygang vein, = = _plumbago_, _plumbum candidum_, ; ; _plumbum cinereum_, ; _plumbum nigrum lutei coloris_, ; plummet level. standing, = =; suspended, = =; = =; pockets in alluvial sluices, = - = poisonous fumes (_see_ fumes). poland. cupellation, = = lead ore washing, = = lead smelting, = = _poletae_, tablets of the, poling copper, = - =; - pompeiopolis. arsenic mine at, _pompholyx_, ; - ; from copper refinings, = = from cupellation, = = from dust-chambers, = = from roasting ore, = = poisonous, = =; used for brass making, porcelain clay, potash, = - =; ; ; in _sal artificiosus_, = = pottery, egyptian, potosi, pozos de anibal, los, _pous_, ; _praefectus cuniculi_, _praefectus fodinae_ (_see_ mine manager). _praefectus metallorum_ (_see_ mining prefect). _praeses cuniculi_, _praeses fodinae_ (_see_ mining foreman). precious and base metals, primgap, _procurator metallorum_, prospecting, = = proustite, pumps, = - =; chain, = - = rag and chain, = - = suction, = - = _purgator argenti_ (_see_ silver refiner). purser, puteoli, = = pyrargyrite, _pyriten argentum_, pyrites (_see also_ cakes of melted pyrites), ; ; ; as a flux, = = assay for gold, = = in tin concentrates, = = latin and german terms, roasting, = - = roasting cakes of, = - = smelting for gold and silver, = =; = = used in making vitriol, _pyrites aerosus_ (_see_ copper pyrites). _pyrites aurei coloris_ (_see_ copper pyrites). quartz (_see also_ stones which easily melt), as a flux, an indication of ore, = = material of glass, silver ore, = = smelting of, = = _quarzum_ (_see_ quartz). quertze, quicksilver, ; ; ; amalgamation of gilt objects, = = amalgamation of gold dust, = = amalgamation of gold ores, = =; assaying methods, = = ore, - use in assaying gold ore, = = rag and chain pumps, = - = rake veins, rammelsberg. collapse of mines, = = discovery, early vitriol making, _rauchstein_, realgar, ; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = indication of ore, = = roasted from ore, = = _rederstein_ (_see_ _trochitis_). red-lead, ; ; use in parting gold from copper, = = use in parting gold from silver, = = refined salt, = =; = =; refinery for silver and copper, = - = refining gold from copper, = - = refining gold from silver, = - = refining-hearth, refining silver, = - =; ; refining silver from lead, = = reformation, the, v; viii. re-opening of old mines, = = revival of learning. agricola's position in, xiii. reward lease, in australian law, rhaetia, rhaetian alps. stamp milling in, = = ring-fire, = = rio tinto mines. roman methods of smelting, roman water-wheels, risks of mining, = - = rither (a horse), roasted copper, = =; ; roasting, = - =; heap roasting, = - = in furnaces, = = mattes, = - = prior to assaying, = = rocks, = =; rock-salt, = =; use in cementation, = = roman alum, romans. amalgamation, antimony, brass making, companies, copper smelting, - mining law, minium company, quicksilver, roasting, silver-lead smelting, washing of ore, rosette copper, = =; _rosgeel_ (_see_ realgar). ruby copper, ; ruby silver, ; assaying of, = = cupellation, = = _rudis_ ores, rust (_see_ iron-rust). sabines, = = _saigerdörner_ (_see_ liquation thorns). _saigerwerk_ (_see_ _stannum_). _salamander har_ (_see_ asbestos). salamis, battle of, sal-ammoniac, = =; ; in cements for parting gold and silver, = - = in making _aqua valens_, = = uses in cupellation, = = uses in making _aqua regia_, uses in parting gold from copper, = = _sal artificiosus_, = =; = =; in assaying, = = as a flux, = = salt, = =; = =; ; ; as a flux, = - = pans, = =; = = solidified juice, use in cementation, = =; use in parting gold from copper, = =; = = use in smelting ores, = =; = = wells, = - = salt made from ashes of musk ivy, ; _sal torrefactus_, = =; ; _sal tostus_, = =; ; saltpetre, = - =; ; ; as a flux, = =; = - =; = =; = = in smelting gold concentrates, = = uses in cementation, = =; uses in making nitric acid, = =; = =; = =; = = uses in melting silver nitrate, = = sampling copper bullion, = = sand, = = _sandaraca_ (_see_ realgar). sandiver (_see_ glass-galls). _sarda_ (_see_ carnelian). saxony. high peak customs from, ; political state in agricola's time, viii; ix. reformation, ix. _saxum calcis_ (_see_ limestone). scales of fineness, ; scapte-hyle, mines of, schemnitz. age of mines, = = gunpowder for blasting, pumps, = = schist, _schistos_ (_see_ ironstone). schlackenwald. ore washing, = = schmalkalden league, ix. schmalkalden war, ix; x. schneeberg, =xxxi=; vi. cobalt, = = depth of shafts, ore stamping, shares, = = st. george mine, = =; ; _schwartz-atrament_ (_see_ _melanteria_ _and_ _sory_). scorification assay, = = scorifier, = =; = =; assays in, = =; = = screening ore (_see_ sifting ore). screens (_see also_ screening), in stamp-mill, = = _scriba fodinarum_ (_see_ mining clerk). _scriba magistri metallicorum_ (_see_ bergmeister's clerk). _scriba partium_ (_see_ share clerk). scum of lead from cupellation, = = scythians. wealth condemned, = =; = = seams in the rocks, = =; ; indications of ore, = =; = = sea-water, salt from, = - = _sesterce_, sett, settling pits, = =; shaft-houses, = = shafts, = - =; = - = surveys of, = - = _venae cumulatae_, = = shakes, share clerk, = =; = =; share in mines (_see_ companies, mining). shears for cutting native silver, = = shift, = =; shoes (stamp), = - =; shovellers, = =; = =; _sideritis_ (_see_ lodestone). _siegelstein_ (_see_ lodestone). sieves. for charcoal, = = for crushed ore, = - =; = = sifting ore, = - = _signator publicus_ (_see_ notary). _silberweis_ (_see_ mica). _silex_, ; silver (_see also_ assaying, liquation, parting, refining, _etc._), ; ; amalgamation, ; assaying, = - = cupellation, = - =; = = "drying" copper residues from liquation, enrichment in copper bottoms, = =; exhausted liquation cakes, indicated by bismuth, etc., = = liquation, = - =; ; ; parting from gold (_see_ parting gold and silver). parting from iron, = =; precipitation from solution in copper bowl, = = refining, = - =; ; smelting of ores, = - =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = use in clarification of nitric acid, = =; silver, ruby (_see_ ruby silver). silver glance, assaying, = = cupellation, = = dressing, = = silver-lead alloy (_see_ _stannum_, _etc._). silver ores, = =; assaying, = - = assaying cupriferous ores, = = fluxes required in assaying, = = smelting cupriferous ores, = - = silver-plating, silver refiner, = =; silver refining (_see_ refining). silver veins, = = singing by miners, = = sintering concentrates, = = slags (_see also_ liquation slags), from blast furnace, = =; = = from liquation, ; ; slaves as miners, = =; in greek mines, = =; ; slough (tunnel), sluices, = =; = - = smallite, smalt, _smega_, smelters, smelting (_see also various metals_), = - =; - assaying compared, = = building for, = - = objects of, = = _smirgel_ (_see_ emery). _smiris_ (_see_ emery). smyrna. mines near, snake-bites, soda (_see also_ _nitrum_), = =; = =; ; as a flux, = =; = = historical notes, ; solidified juice, sole, solidified juices (_see_ juices, solidified). _solifuga_, = =; sorters, sorting ore, = - = _sory_, ; ; sows, = =; = =; spain (_see also_ lusitania). ancient silver-lead mines, ; ancient silver mines of carthage, = = ancient tin mines, - spalling ore, = - = _spangen_ (_see_ _trochitis_). _spanschgrün_ (_see_ verdigris). spartans. gold and silver forbidden, = =; = = interference with athenian mines, spat (_see_ heavy spar). spelter, sphalerite, _spiauter_, _spiesglas_ (_see_ _stibium_). spines of fishes for cupels, = = _spodos_, = =; ; ; _spuma argenti_ (_see_ litharge). staffordshire. first pumping engine, stalagmites, stall roasting, = - = stamp, for breaking copper cakes, = - = for crushing crucible lining, = - = stamping refined silver, = = stamp-mill, = - =; - ; wet ore, = - =; = - = standing plummet level (_see_ plummet level). stannaries, _stannum_, ; ; ; steel, = - =; - ; _steiger_, _steinmarck_ (_see_ porcelain clay). stemple (stull), stephanite, sternen mine, = =; steward (of high peak mines), st. george mine (schneeberg), = =; ; _stibium_ (_see also_ antimony _and_ antimony sulphide), ; ; ; flux to be added to, = = in assaying, = - = in cementation, = - = indication of silver, = = in making nitric acid, = = in parting gold and silver, = - =; = = in parting gold from copper, = = in treatment of gold concentrates, = =; = = stibnite, ; st. lorentz mine, = =; = = stockwerke (_see_ _vena cumulata_). stoics. views on wealth, = = _stomoma_, = = stone juice, ; stones. agricola's view of, ; ; various orders of fusibility, = = "stones which easily melt" (_see also_ quartz), ; as a flux, = =; = =; in making nitric acid, = = in smelting, = =; = =; = = smelting of, = = stool (of a drift), stope, = = stoping, = = _venae cumulatae_, = = _venae dilatatae_, = =; = = strake, = - =; ; canvas, = - =; = =; = =; egyptians, greeks, short, = - =; washing tin concentrates, = - = strata, = = streaming, = - = stringers, = =; ; ; indication of ore, = = mining method, = = styria, = = subterranean heat, ; suction pumps, = - = sulphides, ; sulphur, = - =; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = in assaying, = - = in parting gold from copper, = =; in parting gold from silver, = - =; ; in smelting gold dust, = = roasted from ores, = =; = = solidified juice, sulphur "not exposed to the fire," = =; = =; surveyor's field, = =; = =; surveying, = - =; necessary for miners, = = rod, = - = suspended plummet level (_see_ plummet level). swiss compass, = =; swiss surveyors, = = _symposium_, = = tap-hole, = =; = = tappets, = =; = =; tapping-bar, = = tarshish, tin trade, tartar (cream of), ; _tectum_ (hangingwall), _terra sigillata_ (_see_ lemnian earth). "tests", refining silver in, = - =; ; _thaler_, thasos, mines of, = =; = =; _theamedes_, theodosian code. mines, thorns (_see_ liquation thorns). thuringia. roasting pyrites, = = sluices of gold washing, = = tigna (wall plate), timbering. of ladderways and shafts, = =; = =; = = of stopes, = = of tunnels and drifts, = - = tin, - ; ; alluvial mining, = - = assaying ore, = = assaying for silver, = = colour of fumes, = = concentrates, = - =; = - = cornish treatment, refining, = - = smelting, = - = stamp-milling, = - = streaming, = - = washing, = =; = =; = = _tincar_ or _tincal_ (_see_ borax). tithe gatherer, = =; = =; = =; tithe on metals, = =; _toden kopff_, _tofstein_ (_see_ _tophus_). tolfa, la (_see_ la tolfa). tools, = - = _topfstein_ (_see_ _tophus_). _tophus_, ; ; as a flux, = =; = =; = = tortures. with metals, = = without metals, = = touch-needles, = - =; touchstone, = - =; ; ; ; mineral, uses, = =; = =; = = trade-routes. salt-deposits influence on, transport of ore, = - = trent, bishop of. charter ( ), triangles in surveying, = - = tripoli, _trochitis_, = =; trolley, = =; = =; = = troy. lead found in, troy weights, ; ; trucks, = = tunnels, = =; law, = - = surveys of, = - = timbering, = = turin papyrus, ; turn (winze), _tuteneque_, _tuttanego_, tutty, twitches of the vein, twyer, tye, type. _stibium_ used for, ; tyrants. inimical to miners, = = tyrolese. smelting, = =; = = ulcers, = =; _uncia_ (length), = =; ; _uncia_ (weight), ; undercurrents (_see_ sluices). united states. apex law, _vectiarii_ (_see_ windlass men). veins, = =; = - =; = - =; barren, = =; = = direction of, = - = drusy, = =; = =; = = hardness variable, = = indications, = - = intersections of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = _vena_. use of term, ; _vena cumulata_, = =; = =; = =; ; mining method, = = mining rights, = = _vena dilatata_, = =; = =; = =; = - =; ; junctions with _vena profunda_, = =; = = mining method, = - = mining rights, = - = washing lead ore from, = = _vena profunda_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; ; cross veins, = = functions, = =; = =; = =; = = mining rights, = - = venetian glass, factories, = = in assaying, = =; = =; = = in cupellation, = = venice. glass-factories, = = parting with nitric acid, scale of weights, = = ventilation, = - =; = = with bellows, = - = with fans, = - = with linen cloths, = = with windsails, = - = verdigris, ; ; ; in cementation, = =; = = indication of ore, = = in making nitric acid, = = in parting gold from copper, = = vermilion. adulteration with red-lead, poisonous, = = villacense lead, = =; vinegar. use in breaking rocks, = =; use in cleansing quicksilver, = = use in roasting matte, = = use in softening ore, = = _virgula divina_ (_see_ divining rod). vitriol, = =; ; ; ; in assaying, = - = in cementation, = =; indication of copper, = = in making nitric acid, = - = in roasted ores, = = in _sal artificiosus_, = = native, native blue, native white, red, white, volcanic eruptions, washers, washing ore (_see also_ concentration, screening ore, _etc._), = - = water-bags, = - =; = = water-buckets, = - = water-wheels, = =; = =; = =; = = water-tank, under blast furnaces, = - = wealth, = - = wedges, = = weights, = - =; - ; ; _weisser kis_, _werckschuh_, ; westphalia. smelting lead ore, = = spalling ore, = = wheelbarrows, = = whims, = - = white-lead, ; ; ; white schist, = =; = =; ; winding appliances (_see_ hauling appliances). windlasses, = =; = =; windlass men, = =; winds. greek and roman names, = = sailors' names, = =; = = winds (winze), windsails, = - = winzes, wittenberg, capitulation of, ix. wizards. divining rods, = = workmen, = =; = = woughs, _zaffre_, zeitz, xi. zinc (_see also_ _cadmia_ _and_ cobalt). historical notes, - ; minerals, - zinck (_see_ zinc). zinc oxides, ; zinc sulphate (_see_ vitriol). _zincum_ (_see_ zinc). _zoll_, ; zwickau, vi. _zwitter_, index to persons and authorities. note.--the numbers in heavy type refer to the text; those in plain type to the footnotes, appendices, etc. acosta, joseph de, aeschylus. amber, aesculapius. love of gold, = = africanus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii agatharchides. cupellation, egyptian gold mining, ; ; fire-setting, agathocles. money, = = agathodaemon (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii agricola, daniel, agricola, georg (a preacher at freiberg), agricola, georgius. assaying, biography, v-xvi founder of science, xiv geologist, xii; ; interest in _gottsgaab_ mine, vii; mineralogist, xii; ; paracelsus compared with, xiv real name, v works, appendix a see also: _bermannus._ _de animantibus._ _de natura eorum_, etc. _de natura fossilium._ _de ortu et causis._ _de peste._ _de precio metallorum._ _de re metallica._ _de veteribus metallis._ etc. agricola, rudolph, albert the brave, duke of meissen, viii albertus magnus (albert von bollstadt), xxx; alluvial gold, = = cementation, metallic arsenic, metals, saltpetre, zinc, albinus, petrus, v; cuntz von glück, alpinus, prosper, alyattes, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; american institute of mining engineers, ; anacharsis. invention of bellows, anacreon of teos. money despised by, = =; = = anaxagoras. money despised by, = = anna, daughter of agricola, vii anna, wife of agricola, vii antiphanes. on wealth, = = apollodorus, apulejus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix archimedes. king hiero's crown, = = machines, ardaillon, edouard. mt. laurion, ; ; aristippus. gold, = =; = = aristodemus. money, = = aristotle, xii; amber, athenian mines, ; burning springs, coal, cupellation, distillation, lodestone, nitrum, ores of brass, quicksilver, silver from forest fires, theory of ore deposits, wealth of, = = arnold de villa nova. (_see_ villa nova, arnold de). athenaeus. silver from forest fires, augurellus, johannes aurelius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx augustinus pantheus (alchemist), =xxvii= augustus, elector of saxony, =ix= dedication of _de re metallica_, =xxv= letter to agricola, =xv= avicenna, xxx; bacon, roger, xxx; saltpetre, ; badoarius, franciscus, =xxvii= balboa, v. n. de, v ballon, peter, barba, alonso, ; barbarus, hermolaus, =xxvii= barrett, w. f., becher, j. j., bechius, philip, xv beckmann, johann. _alumen_, amalgamation, _nitrum_, parting with nitric acid, stamp-mills, _stannum_, tin, _bergbüchlein_ (_see_ _nützlich bergbüchlin_). _bergwerks lexicon_, ; ; berman, lorenz, vi; _bermannus_, ; ; vi arsenical minerals, bismuth, ; _cadmia_, cobalt, fluorspar, _molybdaena_, schist, shafts, zinc, berthelot, m. p. e., ; berthier, bias of priene. wealth, = =; = = biringuccio, vannuccio, agricola indebted to, =xxvii= amalgamation of silver ores, assaying, assay ton, brass making, clarifying nitric acid, copper refining, copper smelting, cupellation, liquation, manganese, parting precious metals, ; ; roasting, steel making, _zaffre_, boeckh, august, boerhaave, hermann, xxix borlase, w. c. bronze celts, borlase, william. cornish miners in germany, born, ignaz edler von, boussingault, j. b., boyle, robert. divining rod, brough, bennett, bruce, j. c., brunswick, duke henry of (_see_ henry, duke of brunswick). budaeus, william (guillaume bude), ; cadmus, calbus (_see also_ _nützlich bergbüchlin_), ; =xxvi=; xxvii alluvial gold, = = caligula. gold from _auripigmentum_, callides (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii callimachus. on wealth, = = camerarius, =viii= canides (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii carew, richard. cornish mining law, cornish ore-dressing, carlyle, w. a. ancient rio tinto smelting, carne, joseph. cornish cardinal points, casibrotius, leonardus, vi _castigationes in hippocratem et galenum_, castro, john de, chabas, f. j., chaloner, thomas, chanes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii charles v. of spain, =ix= agricola sent on mission to, =x= chevreul, m. e., _chronik der stadt freiberg_, cicero. divining rod, wealth of, = = cincinnatus l. quintius, = = circe. magic rod, = = cleopatra. as an alchemist, =xxvii=; xxix collins, a. l. columbus, christopher, v columella, moderatus, =xxv=; =xxvi= comerius, =xxvii=; xxix _commentariorum ... libri vi._, conrad (graf cuntz von glück), = =; corduba, don juan de, cortes, hernando, =v= cramer, john, crassus, marcus. love of gold, = = crates, the theban. money despised by, = = croesus, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; ctesias. divining rod, ctesibius. machines, curio, claudius. love of gold, = = curius, marcus. gold of samnites, = =; = = dana, j. d., alum, copiapite, emery, lemnian earth, minerals of agricola, zinc vitriol, danae. jove and, = = d'arcet, j. parting with sulphuric acid, day, st. john v. ancient steel making, _de animantibus subterraneis_, ; =vii= editions, gnomes, = =; _de bello adversus turcam_, _de inventione dialectica_, _de jure et legibus metallicis_, = =; _de medicatis fontibus_, _de mensuris et ponderibus_, editions, weights and measures, = =; _de metallis et machinis_, democritus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii demosthenes. mt. laurion mines, ; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, ; = = dedication, vii editions, _de natura fossilium_, ; ; iii; xii alum, amber, antimony, argol, arsenical minerals, asbestos, bismuth, bitumen, borax, brass making, _cadmia_, _caldarium_ copper, camphor, _chrysocolla_, coal, cobalt, copper flowers, ; copper scales, crinoid stems, emery, fluorspar, goslar ores, goslar smelting, iron ores, iron smelting, jet, _lapis judaicus_, lead minerals, mannsfeld ores, _melanteria_, mineral kingdom, _misy_, _molybdaena_, native metals, petroleum, _pompholyx_, ; pyrites, quicksilver, _rudis_ minerals, sal-ammoniac, silver glance, _sory_, _spodos_, _stannum_, stones which easily melt, sulphur, _tophus_, touchstone, white schist, zinc, _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, ; ; iii; vii; xii; xiii earths, gangue minerals, gold in alluvial, = = ground waters, juices, metals, solidified juices, stones, touchstone, veins, _de ortu metallorum defensio ad j. scheckium_, _de peste_, ; viii _de precio metallorum et monetis_, ; mention by agricola, = =; = = _de putredine solidas partes_, etc., _de re metallica_, i; xiii; xiv-xvi editions, ; xiv title page, =xix= de soto, fernandes, v _de terrae motu_, _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris_, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, ; ; vii; =xxvi=; agricola's training, vi conrad, discovery of mines, = =; ; _gottsgaab_ mine, devoz (de voz), cornelius, ; diodorus siculus, alum, bitumen, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, egyptian gold mining, fire-setting, lead, silver from forest fires, = = tin, diogenes laertius, ; ; dioscorides, ; alum, antimony, argol, arsenic minerals, asbestos, bitumen, brass making, burned lead, _cadmia_, _chalcitis_, copper flowers, ; copper smelting, cupellation, distillation apparatus, dust-chambers, ; emery, lead, lead minerals, lemnian earth, litharge, lodestone, _melanteria_, _misy_, naphtha, _pompholyx_, ; quicksilver, ; red-lead, sal-ammoniac, _sory_, _spodos_, verdigris, vitriol, white-lead, diphilos, ; diphilus (poet). gold, = = _dominatores saxonici_, draud, g., dudae. alum trade, elizabeth, queen of england. charters to alum makers, ; dedication of italian _de re metallica_ to, xv importation of german miners, ; eloy, n. f. j., entzelt (enzelius, encelio), erasmus, vi; viii; xiv ercker, lazarus. amalgamation, liquation, ; nitric acid preparation, parting gold and silver, ; eriphyle. love of gold, = = ernest, elector of saxony, viii euripides. amber mentioned by, plutus, = =; = = ezekiel, prophet. antimony, cupellation, tin, fabricius, george. agricola's death, x friendship with agricola, viii laudatory poem on agricola, =xxi= letters, ix; x; xiv; xv posthumous editor of agricola, ; fairclough, h. r., iii farinator, mathias, xxvi ferdinand, king of austria. agricola sent on mission to, x badoarius sent on mission to, =xxvii= ferguson, john. editions of _de re metallica_, xvi; feyrabendt, sigmundi, xv figuier, l., flach, jacques. aljustrel tablet, florio, michelangelo, xv förster, johannes, vi francis, col. grant, ; francis i., king of france, ix frederick, elector of saxony, viii; ix froben, publisher of _de re metallica_, xiv; xv frontinus, sextus julius, galen. agricola's revision of, ; vi lemnian earth, mention by agricola, _galerazeya sive revelator secretorum_, etc., gama, vasco da, v ganse (gaunse), joachim, ; gatterer, c. w., geber, =xxvii=; xxx; alum, = = assaying, cementation, cupels, nitric acid, origin of metals, precipitation of silver nitrate, _genesis, book of_, xii; george, duke of saxony, ix; = =; gesner, conrad, gibbon, edward, glauber, j. r., glück, cuntz von (_see_ conrad). gmelin, j. f., göcher, c. g., godolphin, sir francis, gowland, william. ancient bronze, ; ; early smelting, graecus, marcus. saltpetre, grommestetter, paul, grymaldo, leodigaris, xvi gyges, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; hannibal. alps broken by vinegar, spanish mines, = =; hardy, william, heath, thomas. on hero, heliodorus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix henckel, j. f., ; ; hendrie, r., hennebert, e., henry, duke of brunswick, vii henry, duke of meissen, ix hermes (alchemist), =xxvi=; xxviii hermes (mercury). magic rod, hero. underground surveying, herodotus. alum, bitumen, lead, mines of thrace, _nitrum_, hertel, valentine, xiv hiero, king of syracuse. crown, hill, john, _auripigmentum_, himilce, wife of hannibal, hippocrates. cupellation, ; lodestone, hiram, king of tyre. mines, hofmann, dr. r. biography of agricola, v; xi; ; homer. amber, divining rod, = =; lead, smelting, steel, sulphur, tin, hommel, w. early zinc smelting, horace. metals, = = wealth, = =; = = hordeborch, johannes, vii houghstetter, daniel, houghton, thomas, humphrey, william. jigging sieve, hunt, robert. roman lead smelting, inama-sternegg, k. t. von, _interpretatio rerum metallicarum_ (_see_ _rerum metall. interpretatio_). irene, daughter of agricola, vii jacobi, g. h. biography of agricola, v; calbus, xxvii; jagnaux, raoul. ancient zinc, jason. golden fleece, jeremiah. bellows, cupellation, lead smelting, _nitrum_, jezebel. use of antimony, job. refining silver, johannes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii john, elector of saxony, ix john, king of england. mining claims, john frederick, elector of saxony, ix josephus. dead sea bitumen, jove. danae legend, = = justin, = = juvenal. money, = = karsten, k. j. b. liquation, ; ; ; ; ; kerl, bruno. liquation, könig, emanuel, xv könig, ludwig, xv kopp, dr. hermann, ; lampadius, g. a., lasthenes. love of gold, = = _latin grammar_ (agricola), leonardi, camilli, leupold, jacob, xv; _leviticus_. leprosy of walls, lewis, g. r, lewis, libavis, andrew, lieblein, j. d. c., linnaeus, charles, livy. hannibal's march over the alps, lohneys, g. e. liquation, ; parting with antimony, zinc, ; lucretia, daughter of agricola, vii lucretius. forest fires melting veins, = = lully, raymond, =xxvii=; xxx luscinus, fabricius. gold, = =; = = luther, martin, v; vi; viii; ix lycurgus (athenian orator). prosecution of diphilos, ; lycurgus (spartan legislator). wealth prohibited by, = =; = = magellan, f. de, v maltitz, sigismund, manlove, edward, ; marbodaeus, marcellinus, ammianus. on thucydides, marcellus, nonius, xxxi maria the jewess, =xxvii=; xxviii mathesius, johann. cobalt, conrad mentioned by, _de re metallica_, xiv king hiram's mines, matthew paris. cornish miners in germany, maurice, elector of saxony, =xxv=; viii; ix; x mawe, j., maximilian, emperor, = =; meissen, dukes of (_see under personal names_: albert, henry, _etc._). melanchthon. relations with agricola, viii; x menander. riches, = = mercklinus, g. a., mercury (_see_ hermes). merlin (magician), =xxvii=; xxx meurer, wolfgang. letters, ix; x meyer, ernst von, ; meyner, matthias, vii midas, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; miller, f. b., minerva. magic rod, = = morris, w. o'c., mosellanus, petrus, vi moses. bitumen, lead, refining gold, rod of horeb, ; = = müller, max. ancient iron, naevius. money, = = nash, w. g. rio tinto mine, naumachius. gold and silver, = = neckam, alexander. compass, newcomen, thomas, nicander. on coal, nicias. sosias and slaves of, = =; _nützlich bergbüchlin_, ; =xxvi=; xxvii alluvial gold, bismuth, ; compass, ; ore-deposits, ore-shoots, veins, ; ; olympiodorus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx oppel, van (_see_ van oppel). orus chrysorichites (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii osthanes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix otho the great, otho, prince, ovid. mining censured by, = = pandulfus anglus, =xxvi= pantaenetus. demosthenes' oration against, ; pantheus, augustinus (alchemist), =xxvii= paracelsus, xiv; xxx divining rod, zinc, ; paris, matthew (_see_ matthew paris). pebichius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii pelagius (alchemist), =xxvii= pennent, thomas, percy, john. cementation, ; cupellation, liquation, parting with antimony, ; peregrinus, petrus. compass, petasius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii petrie, w. m. f. egyptian iron, mt. sinai copper, pettus, sir john, xvi; phaenippus. demosthenes' oration against, ; phaeton's sisters, pherecrates, =xxvi= philemon. riches, philip of macedonia, philip, peter, phillips, j. a., philo. lost work on mining, =xxvi= phocion. bribe of alexander, = =; = = phocylides. gold, = = photius, fire-setting, pindar. wealth, = =; pius ii, pope. alum maker, pizarro, f., =v= plateanus, petrus, xiv plautus. gold, = = pliny (caius plinius secundus), =xxvi=; alluvial mining, ; alum, amalgamation, amber, antimony, argol, _arrhenicum_, asbestos, bitumen, = =; brass, british miners, cadmia, cementation, chrysocolla, copper flowers and scales, ; copper smelting, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, _electrum_, fire-setting, galena, glass, ; hannibal's silver mine, = =; hoisting ore, = =; iron, jew-stone, lead, lemnian earth, litharge, = =; ; lodestone, manganese (?), metallurgical appliances, _misy_, _molybdaena_, ; naphtha, _nitrum_, ore-dressing, outcrops, _pompholyx_, protection from poison, quicksilver, red-lead, roasting, sal-ammoniac, salt from wood, silver-lead smelting, _sory_, _spodos_, _stannum_, tin, spanish, _tophus_, touchstone, = =; turfs in sluices, = =; _vena_, ventilation with wet cloths, = =; verdigris, vitriol, white-lead, plutarch, pluto, = = polybius. ore washing, silver-lead smelting, ; polymnestor, king of thrace. love of gold, = =; = = pörtner, hans, posepny, franz, posidonius. asphalt and naphtha, drainage of spanish mines, silver from forest fires, priam, king of troy. gold mines of, = =; _probierbüchlein_, ; =xxvi= amalgamation, antimony, assaying, assay ton, bismuth, cementation, nitric acid, parting, ; ; precipitation of silver nitrate, residues from distillation of nitric acid, ; roasting, stock fluxes, ; touchstone, propertius. gold, = = pryce, william. adam's fall, divining rod, juices, ore-deposits, stamp-mill, stringers, psalms. silver refining, pulsifer, wm. h., pygmalion. love of gold, = =; = = rachaidibus (alchemist), =xxvii= rameses i. map of mines, rameses iii. leaden objects dating from, raspe, r. e., rawlinson, george, ray, p. chandra. indian zinc, raymond, rossiter w., _rechter gebrauch der alchimey_, _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, ; vii; reuss, f. a., richter, a. d., v; rodianus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii rössler, b., royal geological society of cornwall, rühlein von kalbe (_see_ calbus). salmoneus. lightning, = = sandwich, earl of, trans. barba's book, sappho. wealth, = = savery, thomas, saxony, dukes and electors of. (_see under personal names_: albert, ernest, _etc._). schliemann, h., schlüter, c. a. artificial zinc vitriol, copper refining, cupellation, liquation, ; parting with sulphur, schmid, f. a., v; xv; schnabel and lewis, scott, sir walter. "antiquary," seneca. wealth of, = = seneferu. copper mines, seti i. map of mine, shaw, peter, xxviii shoo king. copper and lead, ; iron, shutz, christopher, sigfrido, joanne. ed. agricola's works, xv socrates. riches, = =; = =; = =; = = solinus, c. julius. _solifuga_, = =; solomon, king. cobalt in mines, solon. scarcity of silver under, sosias, the thracian. slaves employed by, = = stahl, g. e., staunton, sir george, stephanus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx stephenson, george, strabo, arsenical minerals, asbestos, asphalt, ; bellows, cementation, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, forest fires melting veins, high stacks, lydian mines, ; mt. laurion, silver-lead smelting, spanish ore-washing, zinc (?), strato. lost work on mines, =xxvi=; =xxvii=; xii struve, b. g., synesius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix tantalus, taphnutia (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii tapping, thomas, thales of miletus. amber, themistocles. athenian mine royalties, theodor, son of agricola, vii theognis. cupellation, on greed, = = plutus, = = refining gold, _theological tracts_ (agricola), theophilus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii theophilus the monk, brass making, calamine, cementation, copper refining, copper smelting, cupels, divining rod, liquation, metallurgical appliances, parting with sulphur, roasting, theophrastus, xii; amber, arsenical minerals, asbestos, assaying, coal, copper minerals, copper ore, emery, lodestone, lost works, =xxvi=; origin of minerals, parting precious metals, quicksilver, ; touchstone, verdigris, vermilion, white-lead, ; thompson, lewis, thoth. hermes trismegistos, xxix thotmes iii. lead, ; thucydides. mining prefect, = =; ; tibullus. wealth condemned by, = = timocles. riches, = = timocreon of rhodes. plutus, = = tournefort, joseph p. de, tubal cain. instructor in metallurgy, tursius, = = twain, mark. merlin, xxx _typographia mysnae et toringiae_, ulloa, don antonio de, ulysses. magic rod, = = valentine, basil, xxx; antimony, divining rod, parting with antimony, zinc, valerius, son of agricola, vii van der linden, j. a., van oppel, xiii; varro, marcus, =xxvi= vasco da gama (_see_ gama, vasco da). veiga, estacia de, velasco, dom pedro de, veradianus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii villa nova, arnold de (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx virgil. avarice condemned by, = = vitruvius, amalgamation, hiero's crown, pumps, ; red-lead, surveying, verdigris, white-lead, vladislaus iii., king of poland, = = von oppel (_see_ van oppel). voz, cornelius de (_see_ devoz, cornelius). wallerius, j. g., ; watt, james, watt, robert, xxvii wefring, basilius, xiv weindle, caspar, weinart, b. g., weller, j. g., v werner, a. g., xiii; wilkinson, j. gardner. bitumen, egyptian bellows, egyptian gold-washing, williams, john, winkler, k. a., wrotham, william de, ; ; xenophon. athenian mines, = =; = =; ; fruitfulness of mines, = = mining companies, mine slaves, ; quoted by agricola, = =; = = zimmerman, c. f., zosimus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix index to illustrations. alum making, = = amalgamation mill, = = ampulla, = =; = = argonauts, = = assay balances (_see_ balances). assay crucible, = = assay furnaces. crucible, = = muffle, = =; = = balances, = = baling water, = = bars, for furnace work, = =; = = batea, = = bellows. for blast furnaces, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = for mine ventilation, = =; = =; = = for tin furnace, = = bismuth smelting, = =; = =; = =; = = bitumen making, = = bitumen spring, = = bowls for alluvial washing (_see also_ batea), = = buckets. for hoisting ore, = = for hoisting water, = = buddle, = =; = =; = =; = = building plan for refinery, = = building plan for smelter, = = chain pumps, = =; = =; = = _chrysocolla_ making, = = circular fire (_see_ ring-fire). clay washing, = =; = = compass, = =; = =; = =; = = copper mould for assaying, = = copper refining, = =; = = copper refining furnace, = = crane. for cupellation furnace, = = for liquation cakes, = = crowbars, = = cupel, = = mould, = = cupellation furnace, = =; = =; = = at freiberg, = = in poland, = = cutting metal, = = descent into mines, = = dipping-pots, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = distillation (_see_ nitric acid _and_ quicksilver). divining rod, = = dogs packing ore, = = drifts, = = drying furnace for liquation, = =; = =; = = dust chambers, = =; = = fans, ventilation, = =; = =; = =; = = fire-buckets, = = fire pump, = = fire-setting, = = forehearth, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = frames (or sluices) for washing ore or alluvial, = - =; = - =; = - = furnaces. assaying (_see_ assay furnaces). blast, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = copper refining, = = cupellation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = distilling sulphur, = = enriching copper bottoms, = = glass-making, = =; = =; = =; = = iron smelting, = =; = = lead smelting (_see also_ furnaces, blast), = = liquation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = nitric acid making, = = nitric acid parting, = = parting precious metals with antimony, = = ditto cementation, = = quicksilver distillation, = - = refining silver, = =; = =; = = roasting, = = steel making, = = tin burning, = = tin smelting, = = gad, = = glass making, = = furnaces, = =; = =; = = ground sluicing, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = hammers, = = with water-power, = =; = = heap roasting, = =; = = hearths. for bismuth smelting, = =; = = for heating copper cakes, = = for melting lead, = = for melting lead cakes, = = for refining tin, = = for roasting, = = hemicycle, = = hoe, = = _intervenium_, = = iron fork for metal, = = iron hook for assaying, = = iron smelting, = =; = = iron tools, = = jigging sieve, = = ladders, = = ladle for metal, = = lead mould for assaying, = = liquation cakes. dried, = = liquation cakes, exhausted, = = liquation furnaces, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = lye making, = = matte roasting, = =; = = meers, shape of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = mills for grinding ore, = =; = = muffle furnaces, = =; = = muffles, = = nitric acid making, = = _nitrum_ pits, = = _operculum_, = = _orbis_, = a= parting precious metals. with antimony, = = by cementation, = = with nitric acid, = = with sulphur, = = picks, = = plummet level. standing, = = suspended, = = pumps. chain, = =; = =; = = duplex suction, = =; = =; = = rag and chain, = =; = =; = =; = = suction, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = quicksilver distillation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rag and chain pumps, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rammers for fire-clay, = =; = = ring-fire, for parting with sulphur, = = roasting (_see also_ heap _and_ stall roasting), = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rosette copper making, = = salt. boiling, = =; = =; = = caldron, = =; = = evaporated on faggots, = = pans, = = wells, = = saltpetre making, = = saxon lead furnace, = = scorifier, = = seams in the rocks, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = shafts. inclined, = = timbering, = = vertical, = =; = = shears for cutting metal, = = shield for muffle furnace, = = sifting ore, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = silver. cakes, cleansing of, = =; = = refining, = =; = =; = =; = = sleigh for ore, = = sluicing tin, = =; = =; = =; = = smelter, plan of building, = = soda making, = = sorting ore, = =; = = spalling ore, = =; = =; = = stall roasting. matte, = =; = = ore, = =; = = stamp-mill, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = for breaking copper cakes, = = stamps, = = steel furnace, = = strake, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = canvas, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = streaming for tin, = = stringers. associated, = = _fibra dilatata_, = = _fibra incumbens_, = = oblique, = = transverse, = = surveying. rods, = a= shafts and tunnels, = = triangles, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = suction pumps (_see_ pumps). sulphur making, = =; = = tap-holes in furnaces, = = tapping-bar, = =; = = "tests" for refining silver, = =; = = timbering. shafts, = = tunnels, = = tin. bars, = = burning, = = refining, = = smelting, = =; = = touch-needles, = = trays for washing alluvial, = = tread whim, = = trough, = = for washing alluvial, = =; = = trucks, = = tunnels, = =; = =; = =; = = timbering, = = veins. barren, = = beginning of, = = cavernous, = = curved, = = end of, = = head of, = = horizontal, = = intersections of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = solid, = = strike of, = =; = = _vena cumulata_, = =; = = _vena dilatata_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = _vena profunda_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = ventilating with damp cloth (_see also_ bellows, fans, and windsails), = = vitriol making, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = wagons, for hauling ore, = = washing ore (_see_ sifting ore). water tanks, under furnaces, = = wedges, = = weights, for assay balances, = = westphalian lead smelting, = = wheelbarrows, = = whims. horse, = =; = = tread, = = windlasses, = =; = =; = = winds, direction of, = = windsails for ventilation, = =; = =; = = transcriber's notes. this document includes quotes from very early authors. as such, it's no surprise that there are many spelling and punctuation irregularities. also the authors were american, but writing for a british journal. in addition, whether "ae" and "oe" appear as ligatures or separate characters seems to be fairly random. unless there was a clearly preferred spelling choice, variants were kept as is. all changes are explicitly documented below. noted spelling variants that were preserved include: "aluminum" and "aluminium;" "ampullas" and "ampullae;" "beechwood" and "beech-wood;" "blütstein" and "blüt stein;" "brick dust" and "brickdust;" "calcspar," "calc spar" and "calc-spar;" derivatives of "crossbar" and "cross-bar," and similarly for "crosscut," "crosspiece," etc.; (hans von) "dechen" and "decken;" "desulphurizing" and "de-sulphurizing;" "dissension" and "dissention" (and their plurals); "distill" and "distil" (and derivatives); "encrusted" and "incrusted;" "enquire" and "inquire" (and derivatives); "ensure" and "insure;" (lazarus) "ercker" and "erckern;" "flavor" and "flavour;" "fluor-spar" and "fluorspar;" "flusse" and "flüsse;" (rotenburg an der) "fulda" and "fulde;" "gatter" and "gatterer" may be the same person; "gold workers," "goldworkers" and "gold-workers;" "gray" and "grey" (and derivatives); "grove" and "groove" (english mining term for a shaft); "halitum" and "halitus;" "henckel" and "henkel;" "holm oak" and "holmoak;" "homogenous" and "homogeneous;" daniel "houghsetter," "houghstetter" and "hochstetter;" "joannes" and "johannes" (the alchemist); "johanes" and "johannes" (aurelius augurellus), a.k.a. "john aurelio augurello;" "jüdenstein" and "jüden stein;" "kinstock" and "kinstocke;" "lautental" and "lautenthal;" "lawsuit" and "law-suit;" "leipsic" and "leipzig;" "krat" and "kratt;" "mosaic" and "mosaick;" "mineralogic" and "mineralogical;" "nützlich bergbüchlin," "nützliche bergbüchlin," "nützlich bergbüchlein," and "nützliche bergbüchlein;" "organisation" and "organization;" (thomas) "pennant" and "pennent;" "probier büchlein," "probierbüchlin," "probierbüchlein," "probirbüchlein," and "probirbüchleyn" (which may be different books in some cases); derivatives of "pulverise" and "pulverize;" "reagent" and "re-agent" (and their plurals); derivatives of "recognise" and "recognize;" "republished" and "re-published;" "salamander har" and "salamanderhar;" "seashore" and "sea-shore;" "semicircle" and "semi-circle" (and derivatives); "shovelful" and "shovel-ful;" "spiesglas," "spiesglass," and "spiesglasz;" "turkey oak" and "turkey-oak;" "vannucci," "vannuccio" and "vanuccio" (biringuccio); "vectarii" and "vectiarii;" derivatives of "volatilise" and "volatilize." there appears to be no rule whether punctuation following a quote should be inside or outside the quotation marks. the text was simply left as is. there appears to be no rule whether roman numerals have periods after them or not; even references to the same document may differ. the text was simply left as is. for the text version of the document, replaced the oe-ligature with the separate characters "oe." also removed the macron from the "e" in "pectos." some footnote numbers are skipped. to avoid confusion with references to the footnotes, none of the footnotes were re-numbered. in particular, book i does not have footnote ; book vi does not have footnote ; book viii does not have footnote , or ; book ix does not have footnote ; book xi does not have footnote . inserted missing anchor for footnote on page v. changed "albertham" to "abertham" on page vii: "the god's gift mine at abertham." changed "honored" to "honoured" on page xi: "most honoured citizens." treated the explanatory text on page xxiv as a footnote (number ) and created its anchor on page xxi. changed "license" to "licence" in the note on page xxiv: "only poets have licence." changed "bibliotheque" to "bibliothèque" in the footnote on page xxix: "the bibliothèque nationale." changed "theosebeia" to "theosebia" and inserted closing double quotation mark after "written to theosebia, etc....'" on page xxx. left "loadstone" on page although it's spelled "lodestone" everywhere else, because it's in a quote. changed "silver-mines" to "silver mines" on page : "the silver mines at freiberg." removed the extra comma after "ll." in footnote on page : "odes, i., , ll. - ;" and in footnote on page : "satires, ii., , ll. - ." changed "realised" to "realized" on page : "his hopes are not realized." removed extra double quotation mark from before "probable that the work" on page . changed "hipprocrene" to "hippocrene" in footnote on page : "named hippocrene after that horse." changed "joachimstal" to "joachimsthal" on page . adjusted the formats of the captions to the illustrations on page , , and to be consistent with other captions. removed extra double quotation mark after "not a metal" in the footnote from page . changed "foot walls and hanging walls" to "footwalls and hangingwalls" on page . changed "hanging-wall" to "hangingwall" in footnote on page : "into the hangingwall." changed "phaenippis" to "phaenippus" in the footnote on page : "the other against phaenippus." inserted double quotation mark after "droit francais et etranger" in the footnote on page . changed "inama-strenegg" to "inama-sternegg" in the footnote on page . changed "himmelich" to "himmelisch" on page : "himmelisch höz." "himmelsch hoz" was retained as a variant elsewhere. changed "shovelers" to "shovellers" on page : "miners, shovellers, windlass men." the table in the note on page refers to note on p. . it would make more sense to refer to note , but was left as is. changed "chrusos" to "chrysos" in the footnote on page : "(chrysos, gold and kolla, solder)." the footnote on page contains the reference "(see note xx., p. x)." rather than roman numerals, this appears to be a placeholder to a reference that was not filled in. perhaps it should be "(see note , p. )," but it was left as is. changed "tinstone" to "tin-stone" in the footnote on page . changed "de la pirotechnica" to "de la pirotechnia" in the footnote on page . changed "mansfeld" to "mannsfeld" in the footnote on page : "mannsfeld copper schists." changed "coasa" to "coass" in the footnote on page : "cobaltite (coass)." changed "phoenecians" to "phoenicians" on page : "phoenicians must have possessed." changed "hanging wall" to "hangingwall" on page : "the hangingwall and the footwall." changed "venæ dilatatæ" (ae-ligature) to "venae dilatatae" on page : "mine venae dilatatae lying down." changed "venæ cumulatæ" (ae-ligature) to "venae cumulatae" on page : "as to venae cumulatae." changed "watts's" to "watt's" in footnote on page : "watt's improvements." changed "locks" to "blocks" on page : "blocks, and plates." something is wrong with the sentence on page that ends with the reference to footnote . one metreta is larger than one-sixth of a congius. perhaps "metreta" and "congius" should be swapped in this sentence, but it was left as is. changed "bail" to "bale" on page : "iron semi-circular bale." changed "fosilium" to "fossilium" twice in the footnote on page : "de natura fossilium." changed "decends" to "descends" on page : "descends into an underground chamber," and again on page : "the plank descends." changed "pig-skin" to "pigskin" in the caption to the illustration on page : "pigskin sacks." left "vapor" as is in footnote on page although it's spelled "vapour" everywhere else, because it's in a quote. changed "de hydrated" to "dehydrated" in the footnote on page : "probably dehydrated alum." changed "na_{ }co_{ }" to "na_{ }co_{ }" in the footnote on page . changed "fore-part" to "forepart" on page : "the forepart lies." changed "four-fold" to "fourfold" on page : "with fourfold curves." changed "or" to "of" on page : "an ore of copper." changed "factictius" to "facticius" in the footnote on page : "sal facticius." changed "interpretaltio" to "interpretatio" in footnote on page : "interpretatio, die heffe." changed "loehneys" to "lohneys" in footnote on page . "cramner" in footnote on page may be a typo for "cramer," but it was left as is. changed "neutralized" to "neutralised" in footnote on page : "neutralised by the nitre." changed "notes" to "note" in footnote on page : "note ." changed "liquified" to "liquefied" on page : "has become sufficiently liquefied." changed "touchneedles" to "touch-needles" in footnote on page : "detailed account of touch-needles." the reference to page in footnote on page does not seem to make sense, but was not changed. perhaps the reference should be to footnote on page . in the table on page , the entries for the th and st needles do not add up, because the entry for the number of sextulae of copper belongs in the st needle, not the th. this was corrected. however, there are other errors in this table, which are not so obvious and were not corrected. in particular, the entries for the nd, th and st needles do not add correctly. in the table on page , the number for the siliquae of copper was sometimes in the sextulae column. these were corrected. the affected lines were the ones for needles , and . there is some other error (uncorrected) for the th needle; probably it should have another sextula of silver. filled in the missing " " in the line for the th needle in the table on page . changed " " to " " in the line for the rd weight in the table for the "greater" weights on page . changed "stele" to "stelae" on page : "certain stelae." changed "hanging-wall" to "hangingwall" on page : "the hangingwall rock;" and on page : "from the hangingwall." changed "lead" to "led" in the footnote on page : "led through a series." changed "humpfrey" to "humphrey" in the footnote on page : "william humphrey." changed "erbisdroff" to "erbisdorff" on page : "tin-stuff of schlackenwald and erbisdorff." changed "colleced" to "collected" on page : "concentrates are collected." changed "civilisation" to "civilization" in footnote on page : "glimmer of civilization." changed "chapter ix" to "book ix" in footnote from page . changed "thothmes" to "thotmes" in footnote on page : "the time of thotmes iii." changed "unseasonable" to "unreasonable" on page : "yet it is not unreasonable." inserted "l--" in the caption for the illustration on page . footnote , p. , refers to a note on p. , but there is no such note. changed "carni" to "carni" in the caption to the illustration on page . removed extra right parenthesis at end of footnote , from page , and footnote , from page . changed "agatharcides" to "agatharchides" in the footnote on page , and again in the footnote on page . changed "bare" to "bars" on page : "the lattice-like bars sells." changed "nütliche" to "nützliche" in footnote on page : "the nützliche bergbüchlein in association." changed "threequarters" to "three-quarters" on page : "three-quarters of a foot." changed "the spout from the opercula extends" to "the spouts from the opercula extend" in the caption to the illustration on page . changed "earthern" to "earthen" on page : "melted with copper in a red hot earthen crucible." changed "boussingalt" to "boussingault" in footnote on page : "investigation by boussingault." footnote , on page , refers to a discussion on page ; there is no such discussion. perhaps the note on page was intended, but no change was made. the reference to p. in the footnote on page doesn't seem to make sense. perhaps the reference should be to the note on p. or the illustration on p. , but it was not changed. changed "agricolas'" to "agricola's" in footnote on page . changed "roman" to "roman" in the caption to the figure on page . changed "pinewood" to "pine-wood" on page : "shingles of pine-wood." changed "fore-hearths" to "forehearths" in the caption to the illustration on page . changed "or" to "of" in the table in footnote on page : " . lbs. of (a)." changed "near-by" to "nearby" on page : "in a nearby timber." changed "fore-hearth" to "forehearth" on page : "into the forehearth," and on page : "into the forehearth." changed "sideboards" to "side-boards" on page : "the side-boards are fixed." changed superscripts to subscripts in footnote on page : "ca(no_{ })_{ } + k_{ }co_{ } = caco_{ } + kno_{ }." changed "crystallised" to "crystallized" in footnote on page . changed "hydros" to "hydrous" in the footnote on page : "the hydrous sulphate." changed "octrahedra" to "octahedra" in the footnote on page . changed "subtance" to "substance" in footnote on page : "that feathery substance." changed "ventholes" to "vent-holes" on page : "two or three vent-holes." changed "prehistoric" to "pre-historic" on page : "from pre-historic times." changed "rawlinsons, trans." to "rawlinson's trans." in the footnote on page . changed "neavius" to "naevius" on page : "johannes naevius." changed "unständliche" to "umständliche" in footnote on page : "umständliche ... chronica." changed "watts" to "watt" on page : "watt mentions it." changed "begininng" to "beginning" on page : "beginning of the sixteenth centuries." changed "oxidising" to "oxidizing" on page : "an oxidizing blast." changed "oryguia" to "orguia" on page . changed the reference for annaberg on page from "xxi" to "xxxi." changed "ceragurite" to "cerargurite" in its index entry on page . changed "fibræ" to "fibrae" (ae-ligature) in its index entry on page . changed the reference for glass on page from " - " to " - ." changed two references for magnes on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for nuremberg, scale of weights on page from " " to " ." changed "pickscheifer" to "pickschiefer" in its index entry on page . changed the reference for proustite on page , and the references for pyrargyrite, for ruby silver, for silver, for silver glance and for silver ores on page , from " " to " ." changed the reference for quicksilver on page from " " to " ." changed "stuices" to "sluices" on page , in the index entry for "pockets in alluvial sluices." changed the references for schneeberg, st. george mine and for st. george mine on page from " " to " ." changed "steinmack" to "steinmarck" in its index entry on page . in the index to persons and authorities (starting page ), there are a number of references to page that appear to make more sense as references to , but which were not changed. changed the reference for venice, scale of weights on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for de mensuris et ponderibus, weights and measures on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra, dedication on page from "viii" to "vii." changed the reference for de precio metallorum et monetis on page from " " to " ." changed "diphilus" to "diphilos" in its index entry on page . changed the references for forehearth and for furnaces, blast on page from " " to " ." changed the references for pumps, suction on page from " ; " to " ; ." changed the reference for "tests" for refining silver on page from " " to " ." transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). * * * * * _front. vol. iii._ [illustration] useful knowledge: or _a familiar account_ of the various productions of nature, mineral, vegetable, and animal, which are chiefly employed for the use of man. _illustrated with numerous figures, and intended as a work both of instruction and reference._ ---- by the rev. william bingley, am. fls. late of peterhouse, cambridge, and author of animal biography. [illustration] in three volumes. vol. iii. animals. ---- _fourth edition._ ---- london: printed for baldwin, cradock, and joy; harvey and darton; and c. and j. rivington. ---- . explanation of the plates of the _third volume_. ---- frontispiece: plate i. heads, &c. of quadrupeds, upon an outline of the head of the great whale. fig. . rhinoceros. . seal. . cat. . sable. . bear. . badger. . camel. . elk. . stag, or red deer. . fallow deer. . chamois. . antelope. . goat. . sheep. . bison. . hog. . outline of the head of the great whale. plate ii. parts of mammiferous animals. . manis. . armadillo. . elephant. . spaniel. . greyhound. . mastiff. . fox. . beaver. . hare. . musk. . rein-deer. . ox. . horse. plate iii. parts of birds. . falcon. . bird of paradise. . crowned pigeon. . pheasant. . cock. . red grous. . black grous. . ptarmigan. . bustard. . ostrich. . heron. . bittern. . snipe. . curlew. . woodcock. . ruff. . swan. . eider duck. . puffin. . penguin. . gannet. plate iv. reptiles and fishes. . turtle. . imbricated turtle. . guana. . eel. . muræna. . sword-fish. . cod. . torsk. . burbot. . thunny. . gurnard. . tench. . dog-fish. plate v. fishes, &c. . dorée. . turbot. . surmullet. . salmon. . gar-fish. . carp. . sturgeon. . skate. . lamprey. . lobster. . prawn. . crab. . oysters. . scallop. . muscle. . cockle. _plate . vol. ._ [illustration] _plate . vol. ._ [illustration] _plate . vol. ._ [illustration] _plate . vol. ._ [illustration] useful knowledge. ---- animal productions. ---- _introduction._ . animals are natural bodies which possess organization, life, sensation, and voluntary motion; and zoology is that branch of natural science which treats of their systematic arrangement; their structure and functions; their habits of life, instincts, and uses to mankind. . the objects comprehended within the animal kingdom are divided into six classes: of mammalia or mammiferous animals, birds, amphibia or amphibious animals, fishes, insects, and worms: which are thus distinguished: classes. { viviparous i. mammalia. { hot blood { oviparous ii. birds. { with vertebræ { cold red blood { with lungs iii. amphibia. body { { with gills iv. fishes. { { have antennæ. v. insects. { without vertebræ. cold white blood { have tentacula. vi. worms. . the first class, or mammalia, consists of such animals as produce living offspring, and nourish their young ones with milk supplied from their own bodies; and it comprises both the quadrupeds and whales. . this class has been distributed into seven orders; of _primates_, _bruta_, _feræ_, _glires_, _pecora_, _belluæ_, and _cete_, or whales. the characteristics of these are founded, for the most part, on the number and arrangement of the teeth; and on the form and construction of the feet, or of those parts in the seals, manati, and whales, which supply the place of feet. _orders of mammalia._ i. primates have the upper _front teeth_ generally four in number, wedge-shaped, and parallel; and two _teats_ situated on the breast, as the _apes_ and _monkeys_. ii. bruta have no _front teeth_ in either jaw; and the _feet_ armed with strong hoof-like nails, as the _elephant_. iii. ferÆ have in general six _front teeth_ in each jaw; a single _canine tooth_ on each side in both jaws; and the grinders with conic projections, as the _dogs_ and _cats_. iv. glires have in each jaw two long projecting _front teeth_, which stand close together; and no _canine teeth_ in either jaw, as the _rats_ and _mice_. v. pecora have no _front teeth_ in the upper jaw; six or eight in the lower jaw, situated at a considerable distance from the grinders; and the _feet_ with hoofs, as the _cattle_ and _sheep_. vi. belluÆ have blunt wedge-shaped _front teeth_ in both jaws; and the feet with hoofs, as the _horses_. vii. cete have _spiracles_, or breaking holes on the head; _fins_ instead of fore-feet; and a _tail_ flattened horizontally, instead of hind feet. this order consists of the _narwals_, _whales_, _cachalots_, and _dolphins_. . the second class, or birds, comprises all such animals as have their bodies clad with _feathers_. their _jaws_ are elongated, and covered externally with a horny substance called a bill or beak, which is divided into two parts called mandibles. their _eyes_ are furnished with a thin, whitish, and somewhat transparent membrane, that can at pleasure be drawn over the whole external surface like a curtain. birds _respire_ by air-vessels, which are extended through their body, and which, in the abdominal cavity, adhere to the under surface of the bones. their organs of motion are two _wings_ and two _legs_; and they are destitute of external ears, lips, and many other parts which are important to quadrupeds. . linnæus has divided this class into six orders. _orders of birds._ . _land birds._ i. rapacious birds (_accipitres_) have the upper mandible hooked, and an angular projection on each side near the point, as the _eagles_, _hawks_, and _owls_. ii. pies (_picæ_) have their bills sharp at the edge, somewhat compressed at the sides, and convex on the top, as the _crows_. iii. passerine birds (_passeres_) have the bill conical and pointed, and the nostrils oval, open, and naked, as the _sparrow_ and _linnet_. iv. gallinaceous birds (_gallinæ_) have the upper mandible arched, and covering the lower one at the edge, and the nostrils arched over with a cartilaginous membrane, as the _common poultry_. . _water birds._ v. waders (_grallæ_) have a roundish bill, a fleshy tongue, and the legs naked above the knees, as the _herons_, _plovers_, and _snipes_. vi. swimmers (_anseres_) have their bills broad at the top, and covered with a soft skin; and the feet webbed, as the _ducks_ and _geese_. . under the third class, or amphibia, are arranged such animals as have a cold, and, generally, naked body, a lurid colour, and nauseous smell. they respire chiefly by lungs, but they have the power of suspending respiration for a long time. they are extremely tenacious of life, and can repair certain parts of their bodies which have been lost. they are also able to endure hunger, sometimes even for months, without injury. the bodies of some of them, as the turtles and tortoises, are protected by a hard and horny shield or covering; those of others are clad with scales, as the serpents, and some of the lizards; whilst others, as the frogs, toads, and most of the water-lizards, are entirely naked, or have their skin covered with warts. many of the species shed their skins at certain times of the year. several of them are furnished with a poison, which they eject into wounds that are made by their teeth. they chiefly live in retired, watery, and morassy places, and, for the most part, feed on other animals; though some of them eat water plants, and many feed on garbage and filth. none of these species chew their food; they swallow it whole, and digest it very slowly. the offspring of all the tribes are produced from _eggs_, which, after they have been deposited by the parent animals in a proper place, are hatched by the heat of the sun. the eggs of some of the species are covered with a shell: those of others have a soft and tough skin or covering, not much unlike wet parchment: and the eggs of several are perfectly gelatinous. in those few that produce their offspring alive, as the vipers, and some other serpents, the eggs are regularly formed, but are hatched within the bodies of the females. . this class is divided into two orders. _orders of amphibia._ i. reptiles have four legs, and walk with a crawling pace, as the _tortoises_, _frogs_, and _lizards_. ii. serpents have no legs, but crawl on their belly. . fishes constitute the fifth class of animals. they are all inhabitants of the water, in which they move by certain organs called _fins_. these, when situated on the back, are called _dorsal fins_; when on the sides, behind the gills, they have the name of _pectoral fins_; when on the belly near the head, they are _ventral_; when behind the vent, they are _anal_; and that at the posterior extremity of the body is called the _caudal fin_. fishes breathe by _gills_, which, in most of the species, are situated at the sides of the head. in some of the flatfish, however, as the skate and thornback, they are on the under part of the body. fish rise and sink in the water, generally by a kind of bladder in the interior of their body, called an _air-bladder_. some of them, as the skate and other flat-fish, do not possess this organ, and consequently are seldom found but at the bottom of the water. the bodies of these animals are usually covered with _scales_, which keep them from injury by the pressure of the water. several of them are enveloped with a fat and oily substance to preserve their bodies from putrefaction, and also to guard them from extreme cold. . the fishes are divided into six orders. _orders of fishes._ i. apodal have bony gills; and no ventral fins, as the _eel_. ii. jugular have bony gills; and the ventral fins situated in front of the pectoral fins, as the _cod_, _haddock_, and _whiting_. iii. thoraic have bony gills; and the ventral fins situated directly under the pectoral fins, as the _perch_ and _mackerel_. iv. abdominal have bony gills; and the ventral fins on the belly behind the pectoral fins, as the _salmon_, _herrings_, and _carp_. v. branchiostegous have their gills destitute of bony rays. vi. chondropterygeous have cartilaginous fins, as the _sturgeons_, _sharks_, and _skate_. . the fifth class of animals comprises the insects. these are so denominated from the greater number of them having a separation in the middle of their bodies, by which they are, as it were, cut into two parts. the science which treats of them is called entomology. insects have, in general, six or more _legs_, which are, for the most part, nearly of equal length and thickness. sometimes, however (as in the mole-cricket), the forelegs are very thick and strong, for burrowing into the ground; sometimes the hind thighs are long and thick, for leaping; or flattened, fringed with hairs, and situated nearly in an horizontal position, to serve as oars for swimming. most of the insect tribes are furnished with _wings_. some, as the beetles, have two membranous wings, covered and protected by hard and crustaceous cases, called elytra; some, as the wasps and bees, have four wings without elytra; others, as the common houseflies, have two wings; and others, as the spiders, are entirely destitute of these members. they are furnished with _antennæ_, which are usually jointed, and moveable organs, formed of a horny substance, and situated on the front and upper part of the head. these serve as instruments of touch, or of some sense which is to us unknown. the _eyes_ of insects are formed of a transparent substance, so hard as to require no coverings to protect them. their _mouth_ is generally situated somewhat beneath the front part of the head, and in a few of the tribes is below the breast; and the jaws are transverse, and move in lateral directions. these are furnished with feelers, and other organs, of various arrangement and structure, which constitute the foundation of arrangement in some of the systems of entomology. all insects breathe, not through their mouth, but through pores or holes along the sides of their bodies; or, as in the crabs and lobsters, by means of gills. the skin of insects is, in general, of hard or bony consistence, divided into plates or joints which admit of some degree of motion, and is generally clad with very short hairs. nearly all insects go through certain great _changes_ at different periods of their existence. from the _egg_ is hatched the _larva_, grub, or caterpillar, which is destitute of wings; this afterwards changes to a _pupa_, or _crysalis_, wholly covered with a hard shell, or strong skin, from which the _perfect_ or _winged insect_, bursts forth. spiders, and some other wingless insects, issue from the egg nearly in a perfect state. . linnæus has divided the animals of this class into seven orders. _orders of insects._ i. coleopterous have elytra or crustaceous cases covering the wings; and which, when closed, form a longitudinal division along the middle of the back, as the _chafer_. ii. hemipterous have four wings, the upper ones partly crustaceous, and partly membranous; not divided straight down the middle of the back, but crossed, or incumbent on each other, as the _cock-roach_. iii. lepidopterous have four wings covered with fine scales, almost like powder, as the _butterflies_ and _moths_. iv. neuropterous have four membranous and semi-transparent wings, veined like net-work; and the tail without a sting, as the _dragon-fly_ and _ephemera_. v. hymenopterous have four membranous and semi-transparent wings, veined like network; and the tail armed with a sting, as the _wasp_ and _bee_. vi. dipterous have only two wings, as the _common house-flies_. vii. apterous have no wings, as the _spiders_. . the sixth and last class of animals consists of worms, or vermes. these are slow of motion, and have soft and fleshy bodies. some of them have hard internal parts, and others have crustaceous coverings. in some of the species eyes and ears are very perceptible, whilst others appear to enjoy only the senses of taste and touch. many have no distinct head, and most of them are destitute of feet. they are, in general, so tenacious of life, that parts which have been destroyed will be re-produced: these animals are principally distinguished from those of the other classes by having tentacula, or feelers. . some late writers have divided the worms into three or more distinct classes; but the linnæan division is into five orders. orders of vermes, or worms. i. intestinal are simple and naked, without limbs; some of them live within other animals, as the _ascarides_ and _tape-worms_; others in water, as the _leeches_; and a few in the earth, as the _earth-worm_. ii. molluscous are simple animals, without shell, and furnished with limbs, as the _cuttle-fish_, _medusæ_, _star-fish_, and _sea-urchins_. iii. testaceous are animals similar to the last, but covered with shells, as _oysters_, _cockles_, _snails_, and _limpets_. iv. zoophytes are composite animals, and appear to hold a rank between animals and vegetables; though they are in fact true animals, and possess sensation and voluntary motion. in many instances a great number of them inhabit the same stone, but some are soft, naked, and separate. the _coral_, _sponge_, and _polypes_, are instances of this order. v. animalcules are destitute of tentacula or feelers, and are generally so minute as to be invisible to the naked eye. they are chiefly found in different infusions of animal and vegetable substances. ---- class i.--mammiferous animals. ---- order i.--primates. . _man._ _the only production of the human body which appears to be useful in a commercial view, is the_ hair. human hair, for the purpose of being made into wigs, and ornamental head-dresses, is imported into this country from the continent, and chiefly from germany. we also import hair from china, but the latter is generally of very dark colour. on the continent this article is almost wholly collected by pedlars, who travel through the different countries, and carry trinkets and other articles for sale, and to exchange for it. when, some years ago, long hair was much more fashionable than it is at present, great numbers of young women in germany suffered their hair to grow, and had it cut, from time to time, as a source of emolument. the notion that long hair is frequently cut from the heads of persons after they are dead is totally unfounded, since the uncertainty of such supply would alone render it impracticable. the hair that is used for men's wigs is almost wholly children's hair, no other being in general considered sufficiently fine for this purpose. the value of hair is from five to twelve shillings per ounce, according to the quality, length, or colour. before it can be used it is well rubbed with dry sand, and afterwards boiled, to clean it. such as is intended for wigs, if it do not curl naturally, is twisted round small earthenware cylinders, put into a vessel with sand, and baked in an oven, until it acquire this property. the most scarce and valuable kind of hair is that of flaxen colour. so great was formerly the demand for long hair, and so extravagant the price for which it was frequently sold, that a mode was invented of stretching it to nearly double its original length. this was effected by fastening the ends of the hair to the opposite sides of a vessel, placing a heavy weight across the middle, and applying heat underneath. as the heat softened the hair, the weight pressed it down, and extended it. but this project was found not to answer, as the hair lost all its quality, and could never be used but when mixed with other hair, and even then the fraud was discoverable by the stretched hair gradually shrinking nearly to its original length. in lawyers' and judges' wigs horse-hair and goats'-hair are frequently used, to give stiffness and form to the different parts. . _apes, baboons, and monkeys_ (simia), _are all animals of hot climates, none of them except the barbury ape_ (simia inuus) _being ever found wild in europe. they are distinguished by having four front teeth in each jaw, and all their feet formed like hands_. _linnæus, although he has arranged these animals under one tribe, has characterised the apes by their entire want of tails; the_ baboons _by having short tails; and the_ monkeys _by having long ones. the tails of some of the monkeys, particularly those of south america, are so formed, that the animals are able to coil them round any object so firmly as to afford them a support in, apparently, the most perilous situations. several of the monkeys have pouches within their cheeks, in which they collect their food previously to its being swallowed._ the chief, perhaps the only, use to which these animals are applied, is as food. the _pigmy apes_ are caught by the arabs, and fattened for this purpose, as we would fatten sheep. whilst dampier was on the coast of america he frequently partook of this kind of food; and states that he never ate any thing more delicious. the native american tribes eat the flesh of almost all kinds of monkeys, preferring that, however, of the _four-fingered species_ to any other. oexmelin informs us that, while he was at cape gracias a dios, in new spain, the hunters regularly brought home, in the evening, such monkeys as they had killed in the course of the day; and that their flesh somewhat resembled that of a hare, and was of peculiarly sweet flavour. he observes, that he and his companions lived on these animals all the time they remained there. desmarchias, in his account of cayenne, says that the flesh of the _howling monkeys_, which are peculiarly numerous in the woods of that county, is a white and very palatable food, not indeed so fat, but in general as good, as mutton. both the negroes and the colonists of surinam occasionally subsist on monkeys. yet, however delicate this kind of food may be, it is extremely repugnant to the feelings of an european to partake of what, when skinned, has so much the form and general appearance of a human being as these animals. the woods of nearly all hot climates abound in monkeys, the species of which are extremely numerous. they feed almost wholly on fruit, grain, roots, and other vegetable productions. it would be inconsistent with the plan of the present work to enter into any detail relative to their habits of life. we can only say, generally, that few animals are known to be more active, mischievous, and enterprising than these. they usually live in immense troops, and commit great depredations in cultivated grounds near the forests where they reside; some of them continuing on watch, to give alarm in case of danger, whilst others are engaged in pilfering and carrying off the plunder to their habitations. . _the bats_ (vespertilio) _constitute a very singular tribe of quadrupeds, which have the toes of their fore-feet extremely long, and connected together by a very thin and dark-coloured membrane, that extends round the hinder part of their body, and serves the place of wings, in enabling them to flit along the air in pursuit of food_. _there are near thirty ascertained species of bats, six of which are occasionally found in england. some of them are smaller than a mouse, but others are so large that their extended membranes measure betwixt three and four feet in width. the latter are found only in torrid climates._ as all the european bats feed wholly on insects, which they catch during their flight, there can be no doubt but, in this respect, they are extremely serviceable to mankind. they devour myriads of night-flying moths, the caterpillars of which would otherwise prove injurious to our gardens, orchards, and fields. the larger kinds, such as the _vampyre_ and _spectre bats_, the former of which are found in incredible numbers in the islands of the eastern seas, and the latter on the continent of south america, are not unfrequently used as food. at a particular season of the year, they become fat; and though, whilst alive, their smell is excessively rank and unpleasant, they are then said to be delicious eating, and, in flavour, somewhat to resemble rabbits. the inhabitants of new caledonia weave their _hair_ into various ornamental articles, and plait it, with the stalks and leaves of a kind of grass, into tassels for their clubs. order ii.--bruta. . _the long and short-tailed manis_ (manis tetradactyla, and pentadactyla, fig. ) _are very singular quadrupeds, with a long muzzle, small mouth destitute of teeth, and their body covered with scales. they are distinguished from each other by the former having a very long tail and four toes, and the latter a short tail and five toes._ _these animals are natives of india, africa, and china; and are from four to seven or eight feet in length. from the scales with which their bodies are clad, and the general shape of the tail, they might be mistaken, at first sight, for lizards. the under part of their bodies, however, is clad with hair, which is not the case in any species of lizard._ by the negroes of africa both the species of manis are much sought for, and on account, chiefly, of their _flesh_ as food. there is, however, some difficulty in procuring them, as they live in obscure places, in the midst of rocks, woods, and morasses. when discovered they are unable to escape by flight, and, in self-defence, roll themselves into a ball, and erect their scales; exposing an armed surface on every side, impenetrable by the teeth of dogs, but easily assailable by the spears of the negroes. in their habits these animals are gentle and innoxious, and subsist only on insects, of different kinds. their _scales_, which are sufficiently hard to strike fire when struck against flint, are applied to many useful purposes. . _the armadillos_ (dasypus, fig. ) _are a tribe of quadrupeds, which have grinding teeth, but no canine nor front-teeth; their bodies are covered with a crustaceous shell_. _there are ten species, all of which are inhabitants of brazil and other parts of south america, and are from eight or ten inches to three feet in length. the species are distinguished from each other chiefly by the number of flexible bands which extend across their back._ their _flesh_ is a favourite food with the inhabitants of south america. of their _shells_ these people make baskets, boxes, and numerous ornamental articles, which they paint and adorn in various ways; and the shells, reduced to powder, are sometimes administered internally as a medicine. it is customary to hunt armadillos with dogs that are trained for the purpose. they reside in burrows which they dig in the ground, into these they endeavour to retreat when pursued: or, if at too great a distance, they attempt to dig new ones before they are overtaken. when in their holes, they are either smoked out, or are expelled by pouring in water. the moment they are seized they roll themselves together, and will not again extend unless placed near a hot fire. these animals seldom appear abroad except during the night; and they are often caught in snares that are laid for them at the mouths of their dens. . _the rhinoceros.--there are two species of rhinoceros, one of which has one, and the other two horns, situated on the nose, and three hoofs on each foot._ _these are animals of large size and bulky form, and live in swamps, morasses, and forests, in wet situations, within the torrid regions_. _the_ single-horned rhinoceros (rhinoceros unicornis, fig. .) _which is generally five or six feet in height, is found in africa, in the central and southern parts of asia, and in the islands of sumatra and ceylon. its skin is blackish, naked, extremely thick, covered with a kind of warts, and disposed into large folds on different parts of the body. the_ two-horned rhinoceros (rhinoceros bicornis) _is a native of africa, and has a thick and dark-coloured skin, but not arranged in folds like that of the preceding species_. the _skin_ of the rhinoceros is an article in great demand in several countries of asia and africa. it is manufactured into the best and hardest leather that can be imagined; and targets or shields are made of it, that are proof against even the stroke of a scimitar. in this state the colour of the skin is variegated; and when polished it is nearly similar in appearance to tortoise-shell. the inhabitants of surat make very elegant targets of these hides, which they stud with silver-headed nails. the hottentots make _chanboks_ or whips of them. in sumatra, ceylon, and some parts of india, the _flesh_ of the rhinoceros is an useful food. the _horns_, which are from twelve to fifteen inches in length, and three to six inches in diameter, are much esteemed amongst the mahometans, not on account of any real utility, but from their being considered an antidote against poison. good-sized horns, if purchased at three or four pounds sterling each, may be sold in the east indies, with considerable profit, to the arabian merchants. they are made into drinking cups; and it is believed that if any thing poisonous be put into them, a fermentation will ensue, by which the poison may be discovered. this, however, is without foundation, as very satisfactory experiments have proved. by the arabians the horns of the rhinoceros are frequently made into the hilts of swords; and they are sold at an enormous price for that purpose. they are also manufactured into snuff-boxes, which are considered preferable to such as are made of tortoise shell; and we are informed by martial, that the roman ladies of fashion used them in the baths, to hold their essence bottles and oils. the savage tribes of southern africa, and even the inhabitants of the cape of good hope, set a high value on the dried _blood_ of the rhinoceros, to which they ascribe great medicinal virtues. the _hoofs_, and even the _teeth_, are also used medicinally. respecting the rhinoceros it may not be improper to remark, that, although naturally of a quiet and inoffensive disposition, his strength is such, that few animals are able to contend with him; and that the thickness of his hide is so great, as in several parts to be impenetrable even by a musket ball. these animals feed entirely on vegetable food, but particularly on the leaves and tender branches of shrubs. their horns are not fixed into the bone of the head, like those of other quadrupeds, but only into the skin. they appear loose whilst the animals are in a quiescent state; but when the animals are irritated, they become fixed and immoveable. . _the elephant_ (elephas, fig. ), _the only known animal of the tribe to which it belongs, is an inhabitant of the warmer regions of asia and africa, and is distinguished by having two long tusks projecting from the upper jaw, and the snout lengthened into a long and flexible trunk_. _the general height of the elephant is nine or ten feet. its skin is of dingy brown colour, and nearly destitute of hair. the tusks are much longer in the male than the female. each of the feet has five rounded hoofs: and the tail, which is short, is terminated by a few scattered, and very thick black hairs._ throughout the whole of the east indies, as well as in several other parts of asia, the elephant is an animal of indispensable utility. when tamed and reduced to a state of submission, he becomes so tractable as to obey all the orders of his keeper. elephants are formed in a particular manner for the service of man in hot climates. they are employed both as beasts of draft and burthen; and one elephant is supposed equal to as much work as six horses. they are conducted by a man, who sits on their neck, and who employs as a weapon an iron rod, hooked at the end, with which he pricks the animal to urge him forward, or turn him in any direction that may be required. almost all the articles that are transported from place to place in india are conveyed by elephants. they bend their knees to accommodate those who mount them: and, with their trunks, they even assist the persons by whom they are loaded. before the invention of gunpowder, elephants were much employed by the indians in their wars. they are now chiefly used for the purposes of labour and parade. they require much attention, and are generally fed with rice, either raw or boiled, and mixed with water, of which each elephant will devour daily near a hundred pounds' weight, besides a certain quantity of fresh herbage which is procured for him. they are led to the water thrice a day, both to drink and bathe; and their daily consumption of water for drink has been estimated at forty five gallons each. the modes in which elephants are caught and domesticated are curious and interesting. in a wild state they inhabit, in large troops, the thick and boundless forests of asia and africa. to obtain the single male elephant, it is customary, in some parts of india, to employ females, which are trained for that particular purpose. when the hunters have discovered a male elephant that suits them, they conduct four of the females silently and slowly, at a little distance from each other, nearly to the place where he is feeding. if, as frequently is the case, he permit their approach, two of them are conducted, one on each side, close to his neck, a third places herself across his tail, and the fourth is brought up by proper attendants, who immediately pass under the animal and tie his legs with ropes. after this he is further secured; and, at length, though not without much difficulty, is conveyed home and domesticated. when a herd of elephants are to be secured, a party consisting sometimes of persons are employed. these, by fire and noises, drive them into certain enclosures, formed for the purpose; an operation which generally occupies several days. these enclosures are three in number, and communicate with each other by narrow openings or gateways. the opening of the outer enclosure is disguised, as much as possible, by bamboos and branches of trees stuck into the ground, so as to make it look like a natural jungle. it is not without much difficulty that the leader can be induced to enter: but, after he has passed, all the others immediately follow. there is still greater difficulty in inducing them to pass into the second and third enclosures: and lastly, one by one, into the roomee, an outlet about sixty feet in length, and so narrow that the animals are unable to turn round in it. here, after in vain exerting all their powers to break down the fences and escape, they are all, in succession, secured by ropes that are fastened round their legs. to domesticate the animals, they are now each placed under a keeper, who is appointed to attend and instruct them. after the elephant has for some days been supplied with food and water, the keeper ventures to approach him. he strokes and pats him with his hand, at the same time speaking to him in a soothing voice; and after a little while the beast begins to know and obey him. by degrees the keeper becomes familiar; he ventures to mount upon his back from one of the tame elephants, and at length seats himself on his neck, from whence he afterwards regulates and directs all his motions. in a few weeks the animal becomes obedient; his fetters are by degrees taken off; and, in the course of six months, he submits entirely to his keeper's will. wild male elephants are frequently hunted and killed, both in asia and africa, on account of their tusks, which, under the name of _ivory_, are a very important article of traffic. the temptation held out, at the cape of good hope, to this dangerous pursuit, in which many of the hunters lose their lives, is the payment of a guilder per pound for the tusks; and these weigh from to pounds each. for the whitest, smoothest, and most compact ivory that is known, we are, however, indebted to the island of ceylon. the whole quantity of ivory exported from the cape of good hope in four years, ending in , amounted to pounds; and the average annual quantity vended at the east india company's sales from to was twenty-six tons. the principal consumption of ivory is for making ornamental utensils, mathematical instruments, boxes, combs, dice, and an infinite variety of toys. this substance is also used for painting miniatures upon, for which, however, it goes through a peculiar preparation. it is capable of being stained of various and very beautiful colours. the shavings of ivory, like those of hartshorn, may, by boiling, be converted into a jelly; and they possess similar virtues. bone is frequently substituted for ivory, but it is easily known by its pores, which are not to be seen in ivory, and by its wanting the beautiful white veins or marks by which ivory is distinguished. the _flesh_ of the elephant is eaten by the negroes of africa; and the ancients attributed many medicinal qualities to the _blood_ and the _trunk_. . _the great morse, or arctic walrus_ (trichechus rosmarus), _is a marine quadruped of enormous size, with short fin-like feet, two great tusks pointing downward from the upper jaw, the lips peculiarly thick, the upper lip cleft into two large rounded lobes, and no front teeth in either jaw_. _these animals inhabit the sea near the northern parts of the coast of america, and feed on sea-weeds, corallines, and shellfish. they are sometimes nearly eighteen feet in length, and ten or twelve in circumference. their skin is of dark colour, and thinly covered with short brownish hair. they have small eyes, and small circular orifices in place of external ears._ we are informed that these animals, under the name of horse-whales, were objects of pursuit so early as even the reign of king alfred, and on account chiefly of their _tusks_ and _oil_. the former are a close-grained kind of ivory, and weigh from ten to near thirty pounds each; and the latter, which is equally valuable with that of whale oil, is in such abundance that the body of each animal yields nearly half a tun. this oil is burned in lamps, is used for the same purposes as whale-oil, and even eaten by the inhabitants of greenland with their food. of the _skins_ of the arctic walrus the greenlanders make a thick and strong harness for their sledges and carriages; and they sometimes twist narrow strips of them together to form cables. they constitute an important article of export from the coast of labrador. the _tendons_ of these animals are capable of being split and used as thread. so numerous were arctic walruses formerly in the northern seas, that we are informed of the english, in , having killed, on cherry island (betwixt norway and greenland) near eight hundred of them in six hours; and that, in , they killed nine hundred in seven hours. of late years, however, their numbers are much decreased. order iii.--ferÆ. . _the common seal_ (phoca vitulina, fig. ) _is a marine quadruped with a large and round head, no external ears, the neck smooth, the body tapering gradually to the tail, the legs smooth, and all the feet webbed._ _this animal is found on almost all the northern shores of britain; and is generally from four to six feet in length. its colour varies, being dusky, whitish, grey, black, or spotted._ seals are eagerly pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the northern countries of europe. they are found in hollow rocks or caverns near the sea, and are killed with guns, clubs, or spears. the usual season for hunting them is during the months of october and november. the _flesh_ of seals is much esteemed by the greenlanders; and their _skins_ are extremely serviceable. these are converted into clothing; into coverings for beds, houses, and boats; and into thongs, and straps of every description. the americans fill them with air and make a kind of rafts of them. the _fat_ yields a clear and much sweeter oil than that obtained from whales, and is used by the greenlanders in their lamps, and frequently also with their food. the _fibres_ of the tendons are said to be a stronger and better substance for sewing with than either thread or silk. before the introduction of iron the _bones_ of seals were used for the points of weapons both for chase and war. the _skins of the entrails_ are employed instead of glass in windows; and, sewed together, are formed into shirts and other under parts of dress. when the long and coarse hair of the seal is pulled off, a fine, short, silky, and somewhat fawn-coloured down is left, which in this country is a fashionable _fur_ for ornamenting ladies' dresses. this fur woven with silk is also manufactured into shawls, which are of extremely soft and delicate texture. seal _skins_, when tanned and properly dressed, are converted into a valuable leather for shoes and other uses. . _the leonine seal, or sea lion_ (phoca jubata) _is a marine quadruped which inhabits the shores of kamschatka and greenland, is sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and is distinguished by the male having its neck covered with a mane._ the great quantity of oil which is yielded by these seals is the cause of their being pursued and killed, by the inhabitants of all countries on the shores of which they are found. the _skins_ of the younger animals are made, in greenland, into garments for women; and those of the old ones are used for beds. when the latter are freed from the hair, they are applied as coverings for boats and houses. they are also sometimes sewed together as bags to contain provision, and for other uses. the _skins of the intestines_ are used for the same purposes as those of the common seal; and the _teeth_ are adapted for the points of arrows and spears. there are numerous other species of seals, all of which are in some respects useful to mankind, and chiefly for the purposes which have been above enumerated. . _the dog_ (canis familiaris) _is an animal characterized by linnæus as having the tail recurved, and bent towards the left side of the body._ _dogs are found in a wild state in africa and south america._ as an attached and faithful servant of man, the dog is equalled by no animal. though destitute of the faculty of thought, he has all the ardour of sentiment. he is all zeal, warmth, and obedience; and, forgetful of injuries, he seeks only how he may gain the favour and affection of his master. during the night he guards the house, and, by the noise he makes, he gives notice of the approach of depredators. he also protects the property committed to his care, and secures it from being plundered. he directs the steps of the blind, and, in some instances, has even been instructed to pick up money, and put it into his master's hat. being endowed with great strength and fleetness of foot, some kinds of dogs are trained to the chase, and taught not only to pursue and to destroy noxious and savage beasts, but also to hunt for and secure animals as food for their master. and there are many countries, both of the old and new continent, in which, if man were deprived of this faithful ally, he would unsuccessfully resist the foes that surround him, and that are incessantly on the watch to destroy his labour, attack his person, or encroach upon his property. but it is not only during his life that the dog is serviceable to mankind. after death his _skin_ is converted, by the inhabitants of greenland, into garments, and particularly into stockings. it is also used for the coverlets of beds. dogs' skins in our own country are tanned, and applied to several useful purposes, as leather, and particularly for gloves and shoes. the _hair_ of some kinds of dogs is so thick and matted that, like wool, it is capable of being converted into cloth. a small kind of king charles's dog is mentioned by dr. anderson to have had long and soft hair, covering a finer sort, which might, with advantage, have been woven into shawls. he speaks of another kind which had a very thick fleece, much resembling that of some of the lincolnshire sheep; and of a third kind with close frizzed wool, which was shorn annually and made into stockings. he, however, remarks that the finest hair he ever saw upon a dog, and which indeed for softness and gloss more resembled silk than hair, grew upon a very small kind of maltese dog. this, if manufactured, might have been converted into shawls of uncommon softness and beauty. the fleece of a water dog, belonging to a farrier in the horse artillery, was manufactured into hats, and answered this purpose sufficiently well. each fleece was sufficient for two hats, and was considered to be worth about twelve shillings. disgusting as it may appear to us, the _flesh_ of the dog is a favourite food in many countries. the greenlanders eat it with avidity. in the markets of canton, dogs are exposed for sale in the same manner as other animal food. the negroes of africa prefer their flesh to that of any other quadrupeds; for dogs are sold in some of their markets at as dear a rate as mutton or venison. with the north american indians they are considered a great delicacy; and we are informed by pliny, that the romans were so partial to this kind of food, that a fricassee of sucking puppies was considered a favourite dish with even the most notorious roman epicures. there are near thirty distinct and well ascertained varieties of the dog; of which fourteen are considered to be natives of our own island. . _the siberian dog is distinguished by having its ears erect, and the hair of its body and tail very long._ to the inhabitants of many northern countries of the world, these dogs are of essential service. they are employed in drawing sledges over the frozen snow, five of them being yoked to each sledge, two and two, with the fifth in front as a leader. these sledges generally carry only one person each, who sits sideways, and guides the animals by reins fastened to their collars; but more particularly by his voice, and a crooked stick which he carries in his hand. if the dogs be well trained, the charioteer has only to strike the ice with his stick to make them go to the left, and the sledge to make them go to the right; and, when he wishes them to stop, he places it betwixt the front of the sledge and the snow. when they are inattentive to their duty, he chastises them by throwing his stick at them; but great dexterity is generally requisite in picking it up again. so much, however, depends upon the excellence of the leader, that a steady and docile dog for this purpose is not unfrequently sold for as much as ten pounds sterling. the fleetness of the siberian dogs is so great that they have been known to perform a journey of miles in three days and a half; and with a sledge containing three persons and their luggage, they will travel sixty miles in a day. during the most severe storms, when their master cannot see his path, nor can even keep his eyes open, they seldom miss their way. and it is said that, in the midst of a long journey, when it is found absolutely impossible to proceed any further, the dogs, lying round their master, will keep him warm, and prevent him from perishing by the cold. the natives of kamtschatka wear the _skins_ of these animals as clothing, and consider the long hair as an ornament. . _the newfoundland dog_, for united size, strength, and docility, exceeds all the kinds of dog with which we are acquainted. as its name imports, it is a native of the island of newfoundland; and also of the adjacent parts of america, where it is employed in drawing wood on sledges, from the interior of the country to the sea-coast. four of these dogs are harnessed to each sledge, and are able with ease to draw three hundred weight of wood for several miles. and it is peculiarly deserving of remark, that they often perform this service without any driver. before the introduction of horses into general use in canada, most of the land-carriage was performed by dogs. the ease with which the newfoundland dog swims, and the strong attachment which he forms towards mankind, have rendered him of great service in cases of danger from the oversetting of boats, and other accidents by water. british dogs. . _the shepherd's dog is an animal of rude and inelegant appearance, has its ears erect or half erect, and the tail covered beneath with long hair._ in wide and extensive tracts of down or mountain that are appropriated to the feeding of sheep, it would be impossible for the shepherds to have any command over their flocks, without the assistance of this faithful and docile ally. at a word from his master he drives the sheep to and from their pasture, and will suffer no stranger from another flock to intrude upon his. if he observe any of the sheep attempting to stray, he springs forward in an instant to stop their course, however great the distance. these dogs drive the sheep entirely by their voice; never lacerating them, nor indeed ever employing force but for the preservation of peace and good order. when awake they are, at all times, alive to their master's directions; and, in repose, they lie down by his wallet, and defend it from plunder. . _the water dog is principally distinguished by having its hair long and curled, like the fleece of a sheep, its muzzle somewhat short, and the feet more webbed than those of most other dogs._ _there are two kinds of water-dogs, which differ only in size, the one being nearly as large again as the other._ it is to sportsmen principally that these dogs are of use. being fond of swimming, they are chiefly employed for fetching out of the water game that has been shot and fallen into it. their _fleece_ has so near a resemblance to wool, that it is capable of being manufactured into a coarse kind of cloth, or of being made into hats. . _the spaniel_ (fig. ) _is a dog with pendulous and woolly ears, the hair long on all parts of the body, but particularly on the breast, beneath the body, and at the back of the legs._ like the water dog, the spaniel is chiefly useful to sportsmen, in the shooting of water fowl. and when hawking was a fashionable recreation in england, this was the kind of dog which was always taken out to spring the game. in all ages the spaniel has been noted for fidelity and attachment to mankind; and the instances that have been recorded of these are innumerable. the chief order of denmark (now improperly denominated the order of the elephant) was instituted in memory of a spaniel, which had shown a peculiar attachment to the monarch, his master, when deserted by his subjects. . _the setter is a dog nearly allied to the spaniel, and is to this day frequently distinguished by the name of the english spaniel._ in some parts of england these dogs are used in the field to discover and point out game to the sportsman. they are very tractable, and easily trained to their duty. and such are their muscular powers, that an instance has been related of a setter having hunted all the fields adjoining to the road along which his master was riding, through a distance of near sixty miles. . _the pointer is a dog with smooth hair, stout limbs, blunt muzzle, and tail appearing as if in part cut off._ these dogs are in common use with sportsmen, for discovering game, which they are taught to do with wonderful steadiness and attention. aided by the acuteness of their smell, they gently approach the spot where the game lies, and at length stop; having their eyes steadily fixed upon it, one foot generally somewhat raised from the ground, and the tail extended in a straight line. if the birds run, the dog steals cautiously after them, keeping still the same attitude; and when they stop he is again steady. it is by the assistance of pointers that game is chiefly killed in this country. . _hounds are distinguished into three kinds, called the_ harrier, fox-hound, _and_ stag-hound; _all of which are characterized by having their ears smooth and pendulous, and having on each hind foot a spurious claw, called a dew claw._ of these animals the first, which is the smallest, has its name from being employed in hunting the hare; the second is larger and more stout, and is used for hunting the fox; and the third, which is the largest, stoutest, and fleetest of the whole, is used for hunting the stag. they are always taken to the field in packs, consisting of about twenty-five couple; and, when in scent of their game, they unite in a loud yelling noise which they continue so long as they are in pursuit. . _the blood-hound is larger than the common hound, and is generally of a deep tan or reddish colour, with a black spot over each eye._ in the early periods of our history, blood-hounds were in much greater request than at present.--they are indebted, for their name, to the faculty with which they are endowed, of being able to trace wounded animals by their blood. their principal employment was to recover such game as, after having been wounded, had escaped from the hunters. in most of the royal forests blood-hounds are at this day kept, for tracing wounded deer; which they are able to do, however distant the flight, or however thick the parts of the forest through which they may have passed. deer-stealers are also frequently discovered by means of these animals. blood-hounds were formerly used in certain districts on the confines of england and scotland, to overawe or pursue the depredators of flocks and herds. of late years they have been employed in the island of jamaica, to discover the ambuscades of the maroons, in their projected descent upon the whites; and, in the spanish west indian islands, to traverse the country, in pursuit of persons guilty of murder and other crimes. the dogs are taught to act more by exciting terror than by attack; and criminals are in general taken by them, and brought to justice, without the slightest personal injury. . _the grey-hound_ (fig. ) _is distinguished by his slender and curved body, his narrow muzzle, and his tail being curved upward at the extremity._ our ancestors so highly esteemed the grey-hound, that, by the laws of canute, it was enacted that no person under the degree of a gentleman should presume to keep a grey-hound. the pursuit of animals by these dogs is particularly denominated _coursing_. those that were anciently coursed by them were the deer, the fox, and the hare; but they are now only used for coursing the hare. they hunt by sight, and not by scent; and their fleetness of foot is such that, in a hilly or uneven country, there are few horses which can keep pace with them. . _the mastiff_ (fig. ) _is a dog of large size and robust body; and has the lips hanging down at the sides._ by the ancient britons it was customary to train these dogs to be of use in war. with us they are chiefly employed as watch dogs; and they discharge this duty in many instances with great fidelity. some of them will suffer a stranger to come into the enclosure they are appointed to guard, and will accompany him peaceably through every part, so long as he continues to touch nothing; but the moment he attempts to lay hold of any of the goods, or endeavours to leave the place, the animal informs him, first by growling, or if that be ineffectual, by harsher means, that he must neither do mischief nor go away. he seldom uses violence unless resisted; and in this case, will sometimes seize the person, throw him down, and, without biting him, will hold him there for hours, or until relieved. when roused to fury the mastiff is one of the most tremendous animals with which we are acquainted, and consequently one of the most difficult to be overcome in combat. he is, however, capable of a steady attachment towards his master, and will protect him from injury at the risk of his own life. . _the bull-dog is smaller than the mastiff, but in general form is nearly allied to it: the body is robust, the snout somewhat flatter than that of the mastiff; and the lips are pendulous at the sides._ for courage and ferocity the bull-dog is exceeded by no british animal of its size. since the horrid practice of bull-baiting has been discontinued in this kingdom, the race of these dogs has much declined; and the few that are now seen are employed by butchers and other persons as watch-dogs. . _the terrier is a small and hardy kind of dog, the name of which is derived from its usually subterraneous employments._ _some terriers are rough, and others smooth haired. they are generally of reddish brown, or black colour, short-legged, and strongly bristled about the muzzle._ these dogs, the determined enemies of almost every species of vermin, are of great use to farmers and others, in the extermination of rats, polecats, and similar depredators. they are also employed in driving foxes from their dens, and on this account are generally attendants upon every pack of fox-hounds. formerly they were used in rabbit warrens, to expel these animals from their burrows. in character they are fierce, keen, and hardy; and, being remarkable for vigilance, they are admirable house-dogs. . _the lurcher is a dog apparently partaking of the nature both of the terrier and the grey-hound; there are two varieties, one covered with short and thickset hair, and the other with long and harsh hair._ as this dog hunts both by sight and smell, and takes his prey without noise, he is frequently employed by poachers in their nocturnal excursions in pursuit of game. when in the midst of game the lurcher does not, like most other dogs, either bark or suddenly run upon it; but, by a seeming neglect, he deceives the object till it comes within reach, and then suddenly springs upon and secures it. . _the turnspit is a small dog, with short and generally crooked legs, and the tail curled upward._ these dogs were formerly much employed to assist in the roasting of meat. for this purpose they were placed in a broad kind of wheel connected with the spit, which they turned round by running in it as a squirrel does in his cage. they are still used in this capacity in most of the countries of the continent; but being now in little request in england, the breed is nearly extinct with us. . _the wolf_ (canis lupus) _is a ferocious animal of the dog tribe, of brownish colour, with pointed nose, erect and sharp ears, and bushy tail bent inward._ _this animal is found wild in most of the countries of the continent, and was formerly common in england._ the wolf affords to us nothing valuable but his _skin_, which makes a warm and durable fur. in north carolina there is a kind of wolf the _skin_ of which, when properly dressed, makes good parchment; and, when tanned, is convertible into excellent summer shoes. the indians frequently use these skins for beds, under an impression that they drive away bugs and fleas; and they imagine that nearly all parts of this animal are useful as remedies for different bodily disorders. in the ancient periods of our history wolves were so numerous and so destructive in england, that we are informed of places having been built in different parts of the island to defend passengers from their attacks. in the reign of edward the first, a royal mandate was issued to a person whose name was corbet, to superintend and assist in the destruction of wolves, in the several counties of gloucester, worcester, hereford, salop, and stafford; and numerous individuals held lands of the crown, by the duty of hunting and destroying wolves. the latest account that has occurred respecting the existence of wolves in england is under the date of . the last wolf known to have been killed in scotland was in the year ; and the date of the complete extinction of these animals in ireland is . . _the common fox_ (canis vulpes, fig. ) _is an animal of the dog tribe, of brown colour, with sharp muzzle, erect and pointed ears, and straight and bushy tail tipped with white._ _this animal is found in almost every country of the world._ although foxes occasionally commit great depredation in poultry-yards, and among game, they are serviceable to mankind by destroying many kinds of noxious animals. their _skin_ also constitutes a soft and warm fur, which, in many parts of europe, is used for muffs and tippets, for the linings of winter garments, and for robes of state. so great is the demand for these skins, that, at lausanne, there are furriers, who in a single winter, have received betwixt two and three thousand of them from different parts of the adjacent country. the _flesh_ of the fox is eaten by the inhabitants of some countries of the continent. . _the arctic fox_ (canis lagopus) _is an animal of the dog tribe, smaller than the common fox, of white or bluish grey colour; the hair very thick, long, and soft, the tail straight and bushy, and the feet very hairy._ _the extreme parts of north america, and the country around the frozen sea, are those which the arctic fox principally inhabits._ these animals are principally killed on account of their _skins_, their fur being light and warm, though not durable. in winter this changes to a _white_ colour, and becomes much thicker. the inhabitants of greenland split the _tendons_, and use them as thread; they also sometimes eat the _flesh_ of these animals. the modes in which they are caught are various: by stone traps; in holes in the snow, the openings to which are surrounded by snares; in pitfalls, the surfaces of which are so covered that the animals are unable to discover them; and with arrows and guns. . _the lion is an animal of the cat tribe, distinguished, from all others, by his body being of uniform tawny colour, the tail being long and bushy at the end, and the neck and chest of the male being clad with a shaggy mane._ _the deserts of the interior of africa, persia, india, and japan, are inhabited by these animals._ the _skin_ of the lion was formerly used as the tunic of heroes. at this day it serves both as a mantle and a bed for many of the african tribes. his _flesh_, though of strong and disagreeable flavour, is occasionally eaten by the savages, who do not dislike it the more on that account. the _fat_ of the lion is considered to possess many medicinal properties. it is a characteristic of the lion that he does not often attack any animal openly, unless provoked, or impelled by hunger. the immense strength of his body, his dauntless courage, and the great quantity of food that is requisite to his support, all, however, tend to render him an object of dread. his voice, when irritated, is an horrible roar, which is particularly loud and tremendous when in the act of springing upon and seizing his prey. the only mode of alarming these animals, and preventing a threatened attack, is by fire; the notion of their being alarmed at the crowing of a cock is entirely fabulous. . _the tiger_ (felis tigris) _is an animal of the cat kind, about the size of a lion, with smooth hair, of brownish or tawny yellow colour, and marked by long transverse stripes._ _he is a native of various parts, both of asia and africa, but is principally found in india and the indian islands._ the _skin_ of the tiger is almost the only advantage, trifling as that is, which mankind appears to derive from this destructive beast. tigers' skins are occasionally imported into europe, but not in great numbers, as articles of trade. they are rather brought as objects of curiosity than of use; and are chiefly employed as hammer-cloths for carriages. they are, however, much esteemed by the chinese; the mandarins cover their seats of justice and sedans with them, and also use them for cushions and pillows in the winter. the best skins are of large size, with bright yellow ground, beautifully marked with numerous broad black stripes; the more intense the yellow, and the better defined the stripes, the more valuable are the skins. the indians eat the _flesh_ of the tiger, which they find neither disagreeable nor unwholesome. they also attribute medicinal properties to various parts of the tiger's body. the great military officers of china have the figure of a tiger embroidered on their robes, than which there could not be selected a more appropriate symbol of the evils and horrors of war. we know of no quadruped so powerful and ferocious as this. he is the terror of the inhabitants of all the hotter parts of asia, who not only fear for ravages which he commits amongst their cattle and flocks, but even for their own personal safety. the mode of seizing his prey is by concealing himself, and springing suddenly upon it with an hideous roar. this tremendous beast usually resides in woods and thickets, near streams or morasses. . _the panther_ (felis pardus), _ounce_ (felis uncia), _and hunting leopard_ (felis jubata), _are all animals of the cat tribe; of which the_ panther _is about seven feet in length, and has the upper part of the body marked with circular spots, many of them with a spot in the centre, and the lower parts with stripes; the ounce is about three feet and half in length, has the body whitish, with irregular black spots; and the_ hunting leopard _is about the height of a grey-hound, has its body tawny, with black spots, and the neck somewhat maned._ _each of these animals is found in the hotter parts of africa and asia._ in persia and india, the ounce and hunting leopard are each trained for the _chase_ of antelopes and other game. of these the former is carried, on horse-back, behind the rider, upon a small leather pad made for the purpose. as soon as the horseman perceives an antelope or other animal at a moderate distance, he makes the ounce descend; which, creeping unperceived near the spot, springs, at five or six amazing leaps, suddenly upon it, and seizes it securely by the neck. the hunting leopard is generally carried in a small waggon, chained and hooded, lest his precipitation should defeat his master's purpose. his mode of approaching and seizing his prey is similar to that of the ounce. the _skins_ of all these animals are valuable, and are converted into excellent furs. that of the panther is particularly esteemed in russia. . _the leopard_ (felis leopardus) _is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, of yellowish colour, and marked with numerous annular spots._ _it is an inhabitant of senegal, guinea, and most parts of africa; and has considerable resemblance, both in habit and appearance, to the panther._ leopards' _skins_ are much esteemed in europe. they seldom exceed four feet in length; and should be chosen large, of lively yellow colour, marked on the back and sides with annular spots, the belly covered with longish white hairs, and with large and oblong spots on the tail. their use is for hammer-cloths, muffs, the trimmings of ladies' dresses, and other purposes. some of the most valuable of these skins sell for ten guineas each and upwards. the _flesh_ of the leopard is said, by kolben, to be white and of good flavour. . _the common cat_ (felis catus), _in its wild state, is distinguished from all the animals of the same tribe by having its tail marked with rings of different coloured hair._ _the body of the wild cat is marked with dusky stripes, of which three on the top of the back are lengthwise, whilst those on the sides are transverse and somewhat curved. domestic cats are marked very variously; some are grey and striped, others variegated with black, white, and orange, and others are entirely black or white._ _cats are found wild in woods of europe, asia, and america._ the savage disposition and great size of the wild cats render them the most formidable wild animals which are now left in great britain. in the southern and midland parts of england they have all been long destroyed; but, in the woods which border the lakes of westmoreland and cumberland, and in several of the mountainous parts of scotland, they are yet occasionally found. they have their lodgments in hollow trees, in the fissures of the rocks, and in deep and narrow holes on the face of dreadful precipices; from which, during the night chiefly, they issue forth in search of prey. this consists of hares, rabbits, and other quadrupeds, and also of various kinds of birds. wild cats are caught in traps, more for the purpose of destroying them on account of the ravages they commit, than for any uses to which they can be converted. their _skins_ were formerly in request as fur for the lining of robes and other garments; though they do not appear to have been held in much esteem. the _domestic cat_ (fig. ) is a subdued variety of the wild species; and although it still partakes, in some degree, of the native ferocity of its original, it is a clean and useful inmate in our houses. by the ancient egyptians cats were considered objects of sacred veneration; it was accounted a capital crime wilfully to kill one of them, and whoever even accidentally killed one was liable to severe punishment. we are informed by herodotus, the greek historian, that, whenever a cat died a natural death, the inhabitants of the house were accustomed to shave their eye-brows in token of sorrow, and the animal so dying was embalmed and nobly interred. the turks entertain a sacred respect for cats; and the ancient britons so greatly esteemed them that, in the tenth century, their price was inserted even in the laws of the land: a kitten, before it could see, having been rated at a penny (equal to at least five shillings of present money); as soon as proof could be had of its having caught a mouse, the price was raised to two-pence; and a tolerably good mouser was considered worth four-pence. these animals possess a very acute sense both of sight and smell; and by the peculiar structure of their eyes, which sparkle in the dark, they are able to discover their prey, such as rats and mice, as well in the night as during the day; and a cat, that is a good mouser, will soon clear a house of these troublesome little quadrupeds. cats should not, however, either be much handled or too well fed, if kept for this purpose; as, in this case, they become indolent and disinclined to exert themselves. useful as cats are to us, they are, in some respects, unpleasant. if injured or offended, they suddenly express their resentment by scratching and biting, and sometimes with great fury. constantly bent on theft and rapine, they are never to be trusted in the same room with provisions that are within their reach; and although many persons do not hesitate to let them sleep on their beds, it is a practice much better avoided, as the exhalation from their bodies is considered to be injurious. the _skins_ of cats form, in some countries, a very considerable branch of commerce; and, as furs, they are much esteemed for particular purposes. those of spanish cats are the most valuable; but the greatest numbers sent from the northern parts of europe and asia. the russians not only export them to other countries of europe, but even send them into china. in jamaica, and some of the other west indian islands, the negroes frequently eat the _flesh_ of cats. from the skins of their intestines was formerly manufactured the article called _cat-gut_, which was used as strings for violins, and other similar musical instruments; but this is now chiefly made from the intestines of sheep. if the fur of the cat be rubbed with the hand, particularly in frosty weather, it yields electric sparks; and if a cat, clean and perfectly dry, be placed during frosty weather on a stool with glass feet, and rubbed, for a little while, in contact with a coated phial, the phial will become effectually charged. this fur is consequently sometimes used in electrical experiments. the caffre women, in the south of africa, occasionally use cat-skins as pocket handkerchiefs. . _the lynx_ (felis lynx) _is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is obscurely ringed, and black at the tip; the head and body are whitish tawny, spotted with black; and the ears have a long pencil of black hair at the tip._ _this animal is found in woods and forests of the northern parts of europe, of asia, and america, where it climbs with facility into the loftiest trees._ there is a trade in the _skins_ of lynxes, and other animals, betwixt russia and china. these skins constitute a thick and soft fur, and, when of pale or whitish colour, with the spots tolerably distinct, they are very valuable. the further north the animals are caught, the whiter and better are the skins; those that are most elegant are taken near lake balkash in usbec tartary. they are sold at a rate of from fifteen shillings to five or six pounds sterling each, exclusive of the fore feet, which are so valuable as to be sold separately, and at high prices. . _the ichneumon_ (viverra ichneumon) _is a quadruped somewhat more than three feet in length, of which the tail, which is thick at the base, and tapering and tufted at the extremity, measures nearly half: the hair is hard, coarse, and of reddish gray colour, and the great toes are remote from the others._ _it is found in egypt, and particularly in the parts of that country which are adjacent to the banks of the nile. it is also found throughout nearly all the southern parts of asia._ to the inhabitants of egypt the ichneumon is an animal of great importance. being a natural enemy of the whole serpent race, and of other noxious reptiles which infest that country, it unsparingly attacks and destroys them. it combats, without dread, even the most venomous serpents; and the address with which it seizes them by the throat, in such manner as to avoid receiving any injury itself, is very remarkable. it digs the eggs of crocodiles out of the sand; and even kills and devours great numbers of the young ones of those tremendous and dreaded creatures. both in india and egypt the ichneumon is domesticated and kept in houses, where it is found more serviceable than a cat, in destroying rats and mice. it is easily tamed, and very active, and springs with great agility on its prey. for its various services, but more especially in the destroying of crocodiles, it was ranked by the ancient egyptians amongst their deities, and received the honours of divine worship. . _the striated weasel, or skunk_ (viverra putorius), _is an animal of the ichneumon tribe, which has the upper parts of its body striped with black and while, the neck and legs very short, and the tail is clad towards its extremity with long whitish hair._ _this animal is about eighteen inches in length exclusive of the tail, which measures about fourteen inches. it is an inhabitant of several parts of america._ the mode in which the skunk is protected from the attack of enemies more powerful than itself, is by emitting an odour so fetid and abominable that few creatures are able long to continue within its influence. cattle are said to be so much alarmed by it as to utter the most dreadful bellowings. clothes that are infected with this smell retain it for many weeks; no washing can render them sweet, and they must be for some time buried in the fresh soil before they are thoroughly cleansed. notwithstanding this, the american indians frequently eat the _flesh_ of the skunk; but great care is requisite in killing it, to prevent any ill effect which would arise from its noxious vapour. as soon as the animals are dead, the glands, from which this vapour issues, are cut away, and the flesh, then untainted, is said nearly to resemble that of a young pig. the _skins_ of these quadrupeds, which are sweet, and well clad with hair, are much in request by furriers. the inhabitants of chili are very partial to them as coverlids for their beds, and for other useful purposes. the indians also make purses of them, which they hold in great esteem. . _the civet_ (viverra civetta) _is an animal of the ichneumon tribe, distinguished by having coarse hair of yellowish ash-colour, marked with large blackish or dusky spots and stripes; a sort of upright mane on the neck and back, and the tail spotted above, and brown towards the tip._ _the whole length of the civet is generally about two feet. it is a native of several parts both of africa and india._ the drug or _perfume_ called civet is the production of this animal. it is formed in a large bag or receptacle situated at a little distance beneath the tail, and the creature often spontaneously presses it out through an external orifice. this substance is a fatty secretion about the consistence of soft pomatum, of lively white colour when fresh, but darker when it has been some time kept. its perfume is so strong, that it infects every part of the animal's body. the skin and hair are so entirely impregnated with it, that they retain their original smell long after they have been taken from the body; and if a person be shut up in the same apartment with one of these quadrupeds, the odour is almost insupportable. civet was formerly much employed in medicine; but it is now seldom used, except as a perfume. it communicates some smell both to watery and spirituous liquors; hence a small portion of it is often added to odoriferous waters and spirits. the italians make it an ingredient in perfumed oils, and in this manner obtain the whole of its scent; for oils dissolve the entire substance of the civet. when genuine, its value is from thirty to fifty shillings per ounce. although the animals which produce this drug are inhabitants of hot climates, they are kept in great numbers, and with a commercial view, at amsterdam. they are fed with boiled meat, eggs, birds, small quadrupeds, and fish; and, as soon as the receptacle of any of them is supposed to be nearly full, the animal is put into a long cage, so narrow that it is unable to turn round. this cage has a door behind, through which a small spoon or spatula is introduced into the pouch. this is carefully scraped, and its contents are deposited in a proper vessel. the operation is usually performed twice or thrice a week. in many parts of the levant and the east indies, civets are reared and fed, as domestic animals are with us: but as, in the levant particularly, they are few in number, and brought from a great distance, the perfume is increased by introducing into the bag a small quantity of butter or other fat. the people then shake the animal violently, and, by beating, irritate and enrage it as much as possible. this accelerates the secretion; and the fat, after having imbibed a great portion of the perfume, is used in place of the genuine drug. civet is adulterated by mixing it with storax and other balsamic and odoriferous substances. that which is procured from amsterdam is said to be less adulterated, and consequently is held in higher estimation than the civet which is imported from the levant and the east indies; but, notwithstanding the apparent care to sell it genuine, as would appear by the sealed bottles in which it is purchased, there is reason to suppose that very little indeed of it is free from adulteration. it must be remarked, that the drug called civet is not only produced by this animal, but by some others of the same tribe, though in smaller quantity, and of less value. civet is more pleasant than musk ( ), to which it has some resemblance, and with which, by ignorant persons, it is sometimes confounded. . _the genet_ (viverra genetta) _is a quadruped belonging to the ichneumon tribe, and nearly allied to the civet, but is distinguished by its tail having seven or eight black rings, and the body being of tawny red colour, spotted with black._ _it is an inhabitant of some parts of asia, and is also found in france and spain. its length is about seventeen inches._ like the civet ( ) this animal produces, and in similar manner, an agreeable _perfume_. it is not, however, so powerful as that of the civet, and its scent much sooner evaporates. the _skin_ of the genet is capable of being made into a light and handsome fur. this was formerly a fashionable substance for muffs, particularly on the continent; and, as the animals are by no means numerous, was sold at high prices. after a while, however, the art of counterfeiting it, by staining the skins of grey rabbits with black spots, having been discovered, its value gradually abated, and, at length, it has ceased to be in request. . _the martin_ (mustela foina) _is a quadruped belonging to the weasel tribe, with greatly lengthened body and short legs, and the body of blackish tawny colour above, brown on the belly, and white on the throat._ _this animal is about eighteen inches in length, exclusive of the tail, and is not uncommon in woods near farm-yards, in the southern districts of great britain and ireland. it is also found in several parts both of the old and new continent._ in some countries the martin is an object of eager pursuit, on account of its _skin_, which makes a valuable fur. this is in great request in europe for lining and trimming the robes of magistrates, and for several other purposes. in turkey, where furs of all kinds are in much esteem, those of the martin are particularly admired; and they are exported thither chiefly from france and sicily. they form a considerable article of commerce betwixt this country and the northern parts of america; more than , skins being annually imported from hudson's bay, and more than , from canada. the most valuable part of the skin is that which extends along the middle of the back. in england these skins are sold for about seven shillings each; and the best and darkest of them are sometimes imposed upon the purchaser for sables' skins ( ). in some countries the flesh of the martin is eaten; but from its musky flavour, it is not very palatable even to persons who are accustomed to partake of it. . _the sable_ (mustela zibellina, fig. ) _is an animal of the weasel tribe, which in its general shape and size has a great resemblance to the martin ( ), and is of a deep glossy brown colour._ _it is a native of some of the northern parts of america and europe, as well as of siberia and kamschatka, and is usually about eighteen inches in length._ the _fur_ of the sable is peculiarly valuable. some of the darkest and best skins, though not more than four inches in breadth, have been sold at sums equal to twelve or fifteen pounds sterling each. sables' skins are chiefly imported from russia, and the greatest number of them was formerly obtained in siberia, by persons banished thither from russia: or sent for the purpose of collecting them. these were compelled by the government to furnish annually a certain number of skins by way of tax. sables are chased only during the winter, betwixt the months of november and january; for at that time the skins are in the highest perfection. such animals as are caught at any other season have their skins full of short hairs, which render them less valuable. the sable hunters frequently assemble in companies of thirty or forty, and proceed along the great rivers in boats, taking with them provisions for three or four months. they have a chief, who, when they are arrived at the place of their rendezvous, assigns to each division of his men the quarter to which they are to go. in the places which are frequented by these animals the hunters remove the snow, on particular spots, and place snares there, each hunter being able to place about twenty snares in a day. they also pitch upon small places near trees; these they surround with pointed stakes of a certain height, covering them with boards to prevent the snow from falling in, and leaving a narrow entrance, above which is placed a beam supported only by a small and light piece of wood. as soon as a sable touches this to seize the piece of meat or fish which is placed for a bait, the beam falls and kills it. sables are also caught by a kind of snares that are usually laid for grouse and hares, being peculiarly partial to the seeds that are employed as bait for these animals. nets are sometimes used. when the hunter has discovered the trace of a sable in the snow, he pursues it till he arrives at the burrow of the animal, over the mouth of which he places his net, and then by smoke compels the animal to come out, when he is secured in the net. if fire-arms are used, they are loaded only with single balls, that the skins may be as little injured as possible. sometimes, in place of fire-arms, cross-bows with very small or with blunt-headed arrows are adopted. all the sables, as they are caught, are either delivered to the chief hunter, or concealed in holes of trees, lest the tonguses, or other tribes inhabiting the adjacent country, should steal and carry them away. when the time appropriated to the chase is over, the hunters all assemble at the place of rendezvous, and return home. the hardships, fatigue, and perils with which these expeditions are attended, may well be conceived when we consider the nature of the country, the season of the year, and the intense cold which the hunters have to endure. frequently do they penetrate into the depths of immense and trackless woods, from which, they have no other mode of securing a retreat, than by marking the trees as they advance; and, if these marks should be obliterated and fail them, they must inevitably be lost; often have they to sustain the extremes of cold and hunger. some instances have been mentioned of sable hunters, when their provisions have failed, being reduced to the necessity of tying thin boards tight to their stomachs to prevent the cravings of appetite. to all these must be added the constant peril, under which they labour, of being overwhelmed and lost in the snow. the fur of the sable is short, and generally of glossy and beautiful blackish brown colour: some animals, however, are of lighter colour, some have yellowish spots on the neck, and others have been found entirely white; but the skins of these are of little further value than as curiosities. there is a mode of dyeing the light-coloured furs darker, and also of dyeing other furs to imitate sables; but these are easily discovered by their having neither the smoothness nor the gloss of furs in a natural state. sables are very sprightly and active little animals. they form holes or burrows under ground in forests, and the banks of rivers, and subsist on small quadrupeds, birds, eggs, and other animal substances of different kinds. . _the ferret_ (mustela furo) _is a species of weasel, which, in shape, somewhat resembles the martin ( ); but it has a strong and more shaggy fur, of dingy yellowish colour, and red eyes._ _it is found wild in the northern parts of africa._ the principal use to which this quadruped is applied is in rabbit warrens, for driving those animals out of their burrows into the nets or traps of the warreners. though naturally of savage disposition, ferrets are easily tamed, and rendered sufficiently docile for all the services that are required of them. they should be kept in tubs or chests, and well supplied with clean straw, as otherwise they would become excessively fetid and offensive. when about to be used, they should be kept, for a little while, without food, and have their mouths securely muzzled. the former, lest they should become indolent and not hunt: and the latter, lest they should satiate themselves on the rabbits, and consequently be disinclined to return from the burrows. some warreners are so cruel as to sew up the mouths of ferrets instead of muzzling them. when put into a burrow it is customary to tie a bell round the neck of the ferret, and purse-nets are fastened over all the holes that are supposed to communicate with that in which he is placed. the use of the bell is to ascertain the situation of the ferret, and prevent his being lost. the best time for setting the nets is at day-break, and they are generally suffered to remain till half an hour before sun-rise: and they are set again from half an hour before sun-set until it is dark. if it be required to take half-grown rabbits from holes that are known to have few angles, and not to extend far below the surface of the ground, it is sometimes customary to use the ferret unmuzzled, and with a line round him; and as soon as he is supposed to have seized the rabbit, he is drawn gently back with the animal in his mouth. ferrets are frequently kept by farmers and other persons for killing rats; and so eager and active are they in this pursuit that few are able to escape them. even a young ferret, after he has seized a rat, will so perseveringly retain his hold, as to suffer himself to be dragged to a considerable distance before he can kill it, but he seldom fails in doing this at last. as the unmixed breed of ferrets is supposed to degenerate, and lose, in some degree, their native ferocity, it is usual with some warreners to cross the breed with our native wild animal the polecat. . _the ermine is a species of weasel, of white colour, except the tip of the tail, which is black. this is, however, only the winter colour of the animal in the northern parts of europe; in the summer it becomes brown instead of white, and in this state has the name of stoat._ _this animal, which, in its brown state, is well known in all parts of england, is usually about ten inches in length, exclusive of the tail._ the skins of ermines are a valuable article of commerce in several parts of the continent, and particularly betwixt the russians and chinese. in some countries, as in norway, lapland, and finland, the animals are found in prodigious numbers. they are generally caught in traps, but are sometimes shot with blunt arrows. their skins are employed for ornamenting robes of state, and in various parts of female dress; and, for these purposes, they have been used during many centuries past, as is evident from ancient paintings, sculpture, and other authorities. the black tips of the tails are considered peculiarly valuable. in russia ermines' skins of good quality are sold at the rate of about a shilling each. they are usually sewed in lengths of three russian ells, and these parcels are estimated, according to their quality, at from two to five guineas each. many deceptions, however, have been practised respecting ermines' skins, which have tended to depreciate their value; the principal of these is to conceal and sew small bits of lead in the feet, to increase their weight. ermines, like all other animals of the same tribe, are carnivorous, and very destructive to such quadrupeds as they are able either openly to attack, or to seize by stratagem. they are chiefly found amongst woods, in hedge-banks, hollow trees, heaps of stones, and the banks of rivers. it is a remarkable circumstance, and one that affords a very pleasing proof of the wisdom of providence, that, at the commencement of winter, these and other defenceless animals change their brown summer coat to one similar in colour to the snows of that inclement season. by such means they are able to elude the sight of many of their enemies, to the attacks of which they would otherwise be peculiarly exposed. . _the common otter_ (lutra vulgaris) _is a large quadruped of dark brown colour, with short and thick legs, the hind feet naked, and the tail about half the length of the body._ _this animal is about two feet in length, exclusive of the tail. it has a short head and broad muzzle; the eyes are situated towards the front of the face; the ears are rounded and, short; and the tail is very thick, particularly towards its origin._ _the otter inhabits the banks of fresh-water rivers and streams, in many of the british counties; in other parts of europe, in north america, and asia, as far as persia._ the depredations committed in rivers and fish ponds by this voracious animal, are not compensated by the value of its _skin_, which however affords a fine fur of deep brown colour, particularly if the animal be killed in the winter; for then its shade is darker than at any other season of the year. otters are generally either caught in traps, or chased by dogs, and men armed with long spears. their _flesh_ is allowed by the canons of the romish church to be eaten on maigre days, from its supposed resemblance to fish, on which otters almost wholly subsist. in the kitchen of the carthusian convent near dijon, mr. pennant saw the servants preparing an otter for the dinner of the religious of that rigid order, who, by their rules, are prohibited, during their whole lives, the eating of flesh. it is possible so far to tame and educate these animals as to render them serviceable in catching fish. many instances of this have been mentioned. an inhabitant of christianstadt in sweden had an otter which daily procured for him as much fish as served for the use of his family. dr. goldsmith speaks of having himself seen an otter plunge into a gentleman's pond at the word of command, drive the fish into a corner, and, seizing one of the largest, bring it off to his master; and in bewick's history of quadrupeds two instances of this proficiency are noted. in one of these it is stated that the otter would sometimes catch for his master as many as eight or ten salmon in a day. as soon as one was brought to the shore and taken from its mouth, it dived in pursuit of another; and when tired would refuse to fish any longer, after which it was rewarded with as much as it could devour. the otter always hunts for his prey against the stream; and usually destroys several fish at a time, seldom devouring more than the upper part of their bodies. these animals fish in the sea as well as in fresh water; and their habitation is a den or burrow, which they form or find near the banks of rivers or other water, from which they can take food. . _the sea-otter_ (lutra marina) _is chiefly distinguishable from the common species by its hind feet being hairy, and the tail being only one fourth part as long as the body._ _its length, exclusive of the tail, is about three feet; and its fur extremely soft, and of deep glossy black or dark brown, colour. the hind legs somewhat resemble those of a seal ( )._ _these animals are found on the sea-coast of kamtschatka and the adjacent islands, as well as on most parts of the opposite coast of america._ a considerable trade in sea-otters' _skins_ is carried on betwixt russia and other nations. the kamtschadales, on whose coasts the animals are chiefly killed, barter them with the cossacks, and they with the russian merchants. so little do the kamtschadales value these skins, that they exchange them freely for an equal number of foxes' or sables' skins, which are much indeed inferior to them in value. the chinese are the principal purchasers of them from the russians; and they pay for them at the rate of from seventy to a hundred rubles each. this great price, and the distance from which they are brought, are the principal causes of their being seldom seen in europe. the best skins are those of such animals as are killed betwixt the months of march and may. the fur of the sea-otter is, in some respects, inconvenient as cloathing, on account of its being very thick and heavy, otherwise (independently of its greater size) it would be superior in value to the fur of the sable. its colour is generally black, but sometimes brown like the fur of the common otter. the skins of the females are easily distinguished from those of the males, by being smaller, more black, and having the hair longest under the belly. it was the trade for these and other furs, at nootka sound, on the north-western coast of america, which, in , had nearly occasioned a rupture betwixt this country and spain. the _flesh_ of the young sea-otters is said to be an extremely delicate food, and scarcely to be distinguishable from that of lamb. . _the common bear_ (ursus arctos, fig. ) _is a heavy looking quadruped of large size, which has a prominent snout, a short tail, treads on the whole sole of its foot; and is covered with shaggy blackish hair._ _it is found in marshy woods of the northern parts of europe and asia, and is likewise found in egypt, barbary, and india._ the hunting of bears is an extremely important pursuit to the inhabitants of nearly all the countries in which they are found; and in many parts of the world it constitutes their principal and most profitable employ. the _skins_ are made into beds, covertures, caps, and gloves. of all coarse furs these are the most valuable; and, when good, a light and black bear's skin is one of the most comfortable, at the same time one of the most costly articles in the winter wardrobe of a man of fashion at petersburgh or moscow. in england bears' skins are used for the hammer-cloths of carriages, for pistol-holsters, and other purposes. the leather prepared from bears' skins is made into harness for carriages, and is used for all the purposes of strong leather. nearly every part of the bear is of use. its _flesh_ is a savoury and excellent food, somewhat resembling pork: and that of the paws is considered a delicacy in russia, even at the imperial table. the _hams_ are salted, dried, and exported to other parts of europe. the flesh of young bears is as much in request in some parts of russia as that of lamb is with us. bears' _fat_ is frequently employed as a remedy for tumours, rheumatism, and other complaints. an _oil_ prepared from it is adopted as a means of making the hair grow. this fat is likewise used by the russians and kamtschadales with their food, and is esteemed as good as the best olive-oil. the _intestines_, when cleansed and properly scraped, are worn by the females of kamtschatka, as masks to preserve their faces from the effects of the sun, the rays of which, being reflected from the snow, are found to blacken the skin; but by this means they are enabled to preserve a fair complexion. these intestines are also used instead of glass for windows. in kamschatka the _shoulder-blade bones_ of bears are converted into sickles for the cutting of grass. the modes in which bears are caught or killed are too numerous to be described in this place. these animals chiefly frequent the most retired parts of forests; and their habitations are dens formed beneath the surface of the ground, in which they pass the winter in a state of repose and abstinence. in some countries, where they are suffered to live without much molestation, they are quiet and inoffensive animals; but in others they are extremely surly and ferocious. . _the white or polar pear_ (ursus maritimus) _is a quadruped of large size, sometimes measuring near twelve feet in length, and covered with long, coarse, and shaggy white hair; the head and neck much longer in proportion than those of the common bear, and the tail short._ _the sea-shores of greenland, and other countries within the arctic circle, as well as the immense islands of ice which abound in the frozen ocean, are frequented by great numbers of these animals._ the uses of the white bear are chiefly confined to the skin, the flesh, and the fat. of these the _skin_, which is perhaps the most valuable part, is employed for beds, shoes, boots, and, in various ways, as leather. the _flesh_ is eaten by the greenlanders and the inhabitants of other northern countries, and is described to be as excellent as mutton, though this must be very doubtful when we consider the food on which these animals subsist. the _fat_ is melted and employed instead of oil; that of the paws is used in medicine, for anointing rheumatic and paralytic limbs, and was formerly esteemed a sovereign remedy in these diseases. of the _tendons_, when split into slender filaments, the greenlanders make thread to sew with. white bears are killed with spears; and are sometimes hunted with dogs, or killed with guns. they are savage, ferocious, and powerful animals; and so great is their activity in the water, that they are frequently known to swim over tracts of sea, six or seven leagues, from one island or shore to another. . _the glutton_ (ursus gulo) _is a small animal of the bear tribe, which has the back, muzzle, and feet of dark brown colour; the sides dusky, and the tail of the same colour as the body._ _it is about three feet in length, exclusive of the tail; and is a native of mountains and forests in the northern parts of europe, asia, and america._ in such esteem are the _skins_ of these animals in kamtschatka, that only the most wealthy of the inhabitants can afford to wear them; and females, when full dressed, ornament their hair with the paws. they indeed value this kind of fur so highly as to assert that the heavenly beings wear garments made of it; and no kamtschatka can present to his wife or mistress a more acceptable gift than one of these skins. in lapland they are sold at very high prices; and are used for muffs and the linings of coats. from the skin of the legs the lapland women cut out gloves, which they work with a kind of tinsel wire, drawn through a machine made of the skull of the rein-deer. the fur is of glossy black colour, and shines with peculiar lustre, reflecting different shades of light, according to the different positions in which it is held. the _flesh_ of these animals is sometimes eaten in greenland. it is said to be the habit of the gluttons to climb into trees, and to drop from the branches upon the backs of deer and other animals which happen to pass beneath, and on which they can prey. they also feed on hares, mice, birds, and even on putrid flesh; and are said to be voracious in an extreme degree. . _the raccoon_ (ursus lotor) _is a slender and somewhat fox-shaped quadruped belonging to the bear tribe; and is peculiarly distinguished by having a dusky stripe along the nose, and the tail marked with black rings._ _this animal it chiefly found in the woods of north america._ the _fur_ of the raccoon is so soft and useful as to be sometimes employed instead of beaver in the making of hats. it is also used for the linings of garments; and the _skins_, when properly dressed, make good gloves and upper leathers for shoes. the _flesh_ is eatable. . _the badger_ (ursus meles, fig. ) _is a small animal, of the bear tribe, which has coarse hair, of grey-colour on the upper parts, and black beneath; and a long, black, pyramidal strips on each side of the head; its body and legs are thick, and the teeth and claws peculiarly strong._ _this animal is found in several of the woody districts of england, as well as in nearly all the temperate parts of europe, and is about the size of a small pig._ in various particulars the badger is an useful animal to mankind. its _flesh_, which is somewhat similar in taste to that of the wild dog, is much esteemed in italy, france, and germany, and may be made into excellent hams, and bacon. the _skin_, when dressed with the hair on, makes excellent knapsacks, and covers for pistol furniture and travelling trunks. for all these purposes it is frequently used, as it is impervious by rain, and needs no additional preparation to render it water-proof. in the paralytic complaints of old persons, it is asserted that the hairy skin of the badger, worn next to the body, has been of great service, by stimulating the nerves into action. the _hairs_ or bristles are made into brushes for painters; and the _fat_ is applied to many useful purposes, both externally and internally, in medicine. badgers are generally caught in sacks fastened at night, when the animals are abroad in search of food, into the mouth of their burrows in the ground. when these are fixed, the animals are hunted home from the adjacent fields with dogs, and, on entering their usual places of retreat to escape from their foes, they are immediately seized and tied up in the sacks by men who are stationed at hand for that purpose. badgers are also sometimes caught by steel traps placed in their haunts. these animals subsist principally upon roots and other vegetable food, which they scratch and root out of the ground during the night. their dens or burrows are generally formed in woody places, or the clefts of rocks. though in almost every respect innoxious, they are endowed with such strength as successfully to oppose the attacks of animals apparently much more powerful than themselves. . _the virginian opossum_ (didelphis opossum) _is a whitish-coloured animal about the size of a small cat, but with feet somewhat like those of the monkey, slender muzzle, and scaly tail; the female has a pouch or bag on the under part of the body, in which she places her young ones, when very small, and where they afterwards find a place of retreat from danger._ _this species of opossum are numerous in virginia, louisiana, surinam, and other warm and temperate parts both of north and south america._ notwithstanding the disgusting smell of these animals whilst alive, when dead and skinned, their _flesh_ is as sweet and excellent as any other animal food. all the american travellers who have partaken of it appear to agree that it much resembles that of sucking pig. the _hair_, which is of considerable length, is spun, by the american indians, into thread, dyed red, and then woven into girdles and other parts of dress. . _the common mole_ (talpa europæa) _is a small and well-known british quadruped of black colour, with broad fore feet, large head terminating in a slender snout, extremely small eyes, no external ears, and short tail._ in former times the _skins_ of moles were in great esteem for many purposes both useful and ornamental. they were employed for the linings of winter garments, and for trimmings in several kinds of dress and were even made into coverlets for beds. at present, although, by a late invention, the down or fur, which is as soft as the finest velvet, has been adopted in the manufacture of hats, they are so little esteemed in this country that the mole-catchers in general can find no sale for them. the _flesh_ of the mole is eaten in some countries, but the animals are too small to be used with any advantage as food. moles live only in burrows or galleries which they dig, under the surface of the earth, with their strong fore feet, and they are chiefly caught to prevent the injury which they are imagined to do to the farmer by throwing up the mould, in little hillocks, in different parts of his grounds. the mode of catching them is by traps placed in their galleries, by persons employed for that purpose, and who are paid for their trouble at a stipulated rate per dozen. moles feed on roots, worms, and the grubs or caterpillars of insects. they are generally considered to be both blind and deaf, but they possess every requisite organ both for sight and hearing: indeed their quickness of hearing is such that they take alarm, and seek for safety in flight, at even the most distant approach of danger. moles are believed, by some persons, to be useful and not injurious to the farmer. in cold clayey land their operations are supposed to have a tendency to drain the soil, and to be beneficial in communicating air to the roots of plants; they are also thought to be serviceable by raising fresh mould upon grass-land, and feeding on the grubs of several kinds of insects which subsist on the roots of the grass. . _the hedge-hog or urchin_ (erinaceus europæus) _is a small british quadruped, the upper parts of which are covered with spines, each about an inch long, and the under parts covered with hair._ these animals are of considerable utility in several points of view. if kept and allowed to run about in rooms that are infested with beetles, cock-roaches, or crickets, they will destroy the whole of them. some persons imagine that they will devour mice, but this wants authentication. a hedge-hog which was kept at the angel inn at felton, northumberland, was tamed, and employed as a turnspit ( ). the _flesh_ of the hedge-hog is occasionally used as food, and is said to be very delicate eating. the _skin_, which was frequently employed by the ancients as a clothes brush, is now used by farmers, in some parts of the continent, to put on the muzzles of calves which they are about to wean, that the cow may not permit them to suck. several of the old writers have related accounts of very extraordinary, and at the same time very absurd, medicinal effects from different parts of this animal. hedge-hogs sleep in the day-time, and are awake during the night, when they run abroad in search of worms, snails, insects, and other food. few creatures can be more inoffensive. when attacked they defend themselves by rolling into a globular form, and opposing, on all sides, a spinous surface. there is a notion, but it is apparently an unfounded one, that hedge-hogs suck the milk of cows whilst lying in the fields asleep; and that they stick fruit upon their prickles, and thus carry it off to their habitations. order iv.--glires. . _the common porcupine_ (hystrix cristata) _is a quadruped, the upper parts of which are covered with quills or spines six or seven inches in length, each variegated with black and white rings; and its head has a crest of smaller spines._ _this animal, which is common in exhibitions of wild beasts in this country, and is about two feet in length, is found wild in spain and italy, as well as in several parts of africa, asia, and america._ in america porcupines are hunted chiefly on account of their _quills_, which are applied by the indians to many useful purposes. the women dye them of several beautiful colours, split them into slips, and weave them into bags, belts, baskets, and other articles, the neatness and elegance of which would not disgrace more enlightened artists. the _flesh_ of the porcupine is said to be excellent eating, and, at the cape of good hope, is frequently introduced at the tables even of the principal families. it was formerly believed that these animals, when attacked, had a means of defending themselves by forcibly darting their quills at the aggressor; but this opinion has been fully refuted. their principal mode of defence is by throwing themselves on one side, and erecting their spines against the assailant. they live in dens under the ground, and are chiefly in motion during the night, in search of fruit, roots, and other vegetables, which constitute their principal food. though apparently heavy and inactive animals, they are able to climb even to the tops of the highest trees, with great facility. . _the beaver_ (castor fiber, fig. .) _is a quadruped, with smooth, glossy, and chesnut-coloured hair; and a flat, oval, and naked tail, marked into scaly divisions, somewhat like the skin of a fish._ _these animals inhabit the banks of rivers and lakes in woody and unfrequented parts of the north of europe, asia, and america: their general length is betwixt two and three feet._ in ancient times the beaver is supposed to have been found wild in this country, and its _skin_ was so valuable as to constitute the chief and most valuable fur which the island produced. the _hair_ is of two kinds, of which the upper is long and thick; and the lower, or that immediately next to the skin, is of dark brown colour, short, close-set, and as soft as down. in commerce a distinction is made betwixt fresh, dry, and fat beaver' skins. of these the first are obtained from animals that are killed in the winter; the second sort from those taken during the summer; and the third or fat sort are such as have been carried, for some time, on the bodies of the american indians, who, as it were, tan the skins with their perspirable matter. it is the fur of the first sort which is chiefly manufactured into hats; but the fat skins are esteemed the most valuable in consequence of the long hairs having been worn off, and the fine downy fur being left perfectly free from them. each full-grown beaver yields about twenty-four ounces of fur. this, besides hats, is wrought into gloves, caps, stockings, and other articles of dress. the _skin_ of the beaver, as leather, serves for saddles, the upper leathers of shoes, gloves, the covering of trunks, &c. the russians sell great numbers of these skins to the chinese, but, probably, the greatest traffic in them is from north america. we may form some idea of the numbers which are exported from that country, when it is stated that more than , skins have been vended by the hudson's bay company at one sale; and that, in the year , no fewer than , beavers' skins were collected in canada, and exported thence into europe and to china. besides their fur these animals furnish a valuable substance, which is known by the name of _castor_[ ] or _castoreum_, and is contained in two little bags, called the inguinal glands, each about the size of a hen's egg. this substance is of a brownish oily consistence, has a disagreeable, narcotic smell, and a bitterish, acrid, and nauseous taste. the castor which is imported from russia is generally esteemed the most valuable; though in many cases that from hudson's bay has been found nearly if not fully equal to it. castor has been long celebrated as a remedy in hysterical complaints; and has been frequently used with advantage in languid habits and constitutions. the american indians are partial to the _flesh_ of the beaver, and they use its _teeth_ for the cutting, hollowing, and polishing of wood; they also clothe themselves in beavers' _skins_, and, in winter, wear them with the hair next to their bodies as a defence against the cold. beavers are only found in the most retired situations, always in the immediate neighbourhood of water, and generally in extensive communities. . _the chinchilla_ (muslaniger) _is a small quadruped of the rat tribe, which has a beautifully soft grey fur._ the _fur_ of this animal, which is a native of some parts of south america, was formerly used by the peruvians, as a fine kind of wool, and was spun and woven into stuffs of extremely delicate texture, to which they attached great value. of late years, however, the manufacture of it has been much neglected. as a fur, the skin of the chinchilla is much in request in this country, in consequence of its having become a fashionable trimming for ladies' dresses, and a favourite article for muffs. . _the grey squirrel_ (sciurus cinereus) _is a quadruped about the size of a rabbit, which has the upper parts of its body grey, and the under parts white. it is found in america, and in some countries of the north of europe._ the _skins_ of these animals are sometimes used as a fur for the lining of winter garments, and are frequently imported into england, but they are not of much value. as, however, they are very tough, they are tanned and employed in america for many of the purposes of leather, but particularly for the making of ladies' shoes. the laplanders, in winter, annually make war upon the troops of grey squirrels which are found in some parts of their country. this they do chiefly for the sake of their skins, which they make up into bundles of about forty each. but no merchandize is more liable to deception than this. the purchaser receives them without examination, the skins are packed with the fur inward, and all the bundles are sold at the same price. in several of the plantations of north america these animals, from their immense numbers, and the devastations they commit, are greatly injurious to the inhabitants. rewards for their destruction are consequently given; and, in pennsylvania alone, more than , of them have, in some years, been destroyed. the grey squirrels reside chiefly in trees, but lay up stores of provision, for winter, in holes which they dig in the ground. they are extremely agile animals, and run about among the branches with as much facility and security as upon the ground. . _the black squirrel_ (sciurus niger) _is a small black quadruped of the squirrel tribe, which is not uncommon in north america and new spain._ the finest furs which the iroquois indians possess are those of _black squirrels_. these they make into robes and garments, which they sell at a price as high as seven or eight pistoles each. . _the common hare_ (lepus timidus, fig. ) _is distinguishable from all other animals of its tribe by the ears being tipped with black, and longer than the head; the hind-legs being half as long as the body, and the tail short._ _it is found in every quarter of the world except africa._ notwithstanding the great estimation in which the _flesh_ of the hare is now held as food, it was absolutely forbidden by the druids; and was abhorred by the britons for many centuries after the abolition of that order. at the present day it is not eaten by the inhabitants of many eastern nations. it is prohibited by the mahometans and jews; and the copts, who have adopted many of the jewish customs, refrain from it. the ancient romans, however, considered it so great a delicacy for the table, that martial styles the hare, in this view, the first of quadrupeds. the _fur_ of the hare forms an important article in the manufacture of hats, and vast quantities of hares' skins are, for this purpose, annually brought from russia and siberia. this is the chief use which we make of them; but, in some parts of the continent, the fur is spun and woven into a kind of cloth. the inhabitants of dalecarlia, a province of sweden, set a peculiar value upon such cloth, from an opinion that it is itself so attractive to fleas as to preserve the wearer from their attacks! the romans spun the fur both of the hare and rabbit into cloth; but pliny says that such cloth was neither soft nor durable. in the extreme northern countries, where the frosts of winter are intense, and where snow lies upon the ground for many successive months, all the hares, at the approach of that season, change their coat, and, instead of retaining a coloured fur, become perfectly white. the chase of the hare is, at this day, a popular amusement in most parts of england; and four or five centuries ago it was so much followed, that even ladies had hunting parties by themselves, in which they rode astride upon the saddle. it is sometimes difficult to ascertain the excellence of hares for the table, but the following directions may be of use. when newly killed the body will be stiff, and the flesh of pale colour; but when a hare has been some time killed the body becomes limber, and the flesh gradually turns black. a young hare may be known from an old one, after it is dead, by the bones of the knee joint. if, on thrusting the thumb-nail against this joint, the bones are somewhat separate, the hare is young; if there be no space, it is old; and the greater the separation, the younger the animal may be considered. the under jaw of a young hare may easily be broken, and the ears easily torn; the cleft also of the lip is narrow, and the claws smooth and sharp. in an old hare the cleft of the lip spreads very much, the claws are blunt and rugged, and the ears dry and tough. hares may be kept better if they are not opened for four or five days after they are killed; and they are considered in the best state for the table when the colour of the flesh is beginning to turn. so numerous are these animals in some parts of england, where attention is paid to preserving the breed, that they become greatly injurious to the crops of all the neighbouring farmers. they feed upon green corn, clover, and other useful vegetables; and frequently commit much damage in young plantations, by eating the bark from the trees. some years ago a gentleman in suffolk found it necessary to destroy the hares near some new plantations, and were ascertained to have been killed. . _the alpine hare_ (lepus alpinus) _is a siberian animal, destitute of tail, of tawny colour, with rounded, brown ears, and brown feet._ amongst the mountains of siberia alpine hares are very numerous. they live in burrows or holes under ground, and store up, beneath the shelter of trees or rocks, large ricks of dried grass and other vegetables for their winter's subsistence. these collections are anxiously sought after by persons engaged in the hunting of sables ( ); and, in many instances, they are the means of preserving their horses from perishing by famine. some of the adjacent peasantry also search them out as food for their horses and cattle. the _skins_ of the alpine hares supply one of the articles of commerce betwixt the russians and chinese. . _the rabbit_ (lepus cuniculus) _is a british quadruped belonging to the same tribe as the hare; and is principally distinguishable from that animal by its proportionally shorter ears, and by the hind legs being only one-third of the length of the body._ _the colour of the wild rabbit is dusky brown above, and paler or whitish on the under parts. in the domestic rabbit the colour is various, white, grey, black, or black and white._ _these animals inhabit nearly all the warmer parts of europe, as well as several of the temperate countries of asia and africa._ there are farms in many parts of england, particularly in lincolnshire, norfolk, and cambridgeshire, where the breeding of rabbits is rendered an extremely advantageous pursuit. the most desirable situations are those in which the soil is loose and sandy, and where the ground rises, in different parts into low hills. such lands can be more profitably employed as rabbit-warrens than any others, from the greater facility with which the animals are able to form their burrows in the earth, and the less liability they have to be flooded, by the falling of heavy rains. in a commercial view rabbits are animals of much greater importance than hares; because, from their habit of living in greater numbers together, they can be better attended to and managed; and also because they multiply much more rapidly than hares. their fecundity, indeed, is truly astonishing. they breed several times in the year, and generally produce seven or eight young ones at a birth; and it has been calculated that, if the progeny from a single pair could, without interruption, proceed in the same ratio for four or five years, the whole stock would, even in that short period, amount to more than one million. the particular uses of the rabbit are nearly the same as those of the hare ( ). the _fur_ is a principal substance employed in the composition of hats; and such parts of it as are unfit for this purpose may advantageously be adopted for the stuffing of beds and bolsters. rabbits' skins are also sometimes used as a cheap and warm-trimming for female dress; and the _skins_ themselves, after the hair has been stripped from them, are boiled down, and made into size or glue. the _flesh_, though, like that of the hare, forbidden to the jews and mahometans, is a very delicate and palatable food. we are informed by pliny, the roman naturalist, that the ancients had a favourite dish which was made of sucking leverets or rabbits unpaunched. the modes of ascertaining the quality of rabbits as food are nearly the same as those which have been mentioned respecting the hare. it is customary, in most warrens, to use ferrets ( ) in the catching of these animals. the ferrets are muzzled and put into the burrows; and, by pursuing the rabbits under ground, they alarm and drive them into nets that are placed over the outlets, in open and extensive grounds other modes are adopted. these, as we are informed by mr. daniel, in his work on rural sports, are by implements called fold-nets, spring-nets, and a kind of trap called tipes. the _fold-nets_ are set, about midnight, between the burrows and the feeding grounds; the rabbits being driven into them with dogs, and kept enclosed in the folds till morning. the _spring-net_ is generally laid round a haystack, or some other object of inducement for rabbits to collect in numbers. the _tipe_ consists of a large pit or cistern, covered with a floor. this has, near its centre, a small trap-door nicely balanced, into which the rabbits are led by a narrow road or _meuse_. it was customary formerly to set this kind of trap near a hay-stack; but, since turnips are now grown as food for these animals in an enclosure in the interior of the warren, it is placed within the wall of this enclosure. for a night or two the rabbits are suffered to go through the meuse and over the trap, that they may be familiarized to the place where the turnips are grown. after that the trap-door is unbarred, and immense numbers fall in. on emptying the cistern, the fat rabbits are selected and killed, and the others are turned out upon the turnips to improve. five or six hundred couples have not unfrequently been taken in one night by this contrivance; and once, in the driffield warrens, as many as fifteen hundred couples were caught. many persons breed rabbits in a _tame_ or _domestic state_. the _skins_ of these are useful; but, for food, the wild animals are greatly preferable. care should, at all times, be taken to keep them clean; and, during the breeding season, the males and females must be kept apart. the best food for tame rabbits is the shortest and sweetest hay that can be had; and one load of this will serve two hundred couples for a year. order v.--pecora. . _the arabian camel, or dromedary_ (camelus dromedarius, fig. ), _is distinguishable from every other specics of camel, by having a single bunch upon the middle of its back._ _this animal, which is a native of many of the deserts of asia and africa, is of a tawny grey colour, and has soft hair, which is longer on the neck, under the throat, and on the haunch, than elsewhere._ _the arabian, like all other species of camel, has its upper lip cleft, and its feet with two long hoofs on which it treads, and two others shorter, which do not touch the ground._ these animals constitute the principal source of riches, and the whole force and security, of the arabians. they are the only beasts by which the inhabitants of the sandy deserts of many parts of asia could travel or convey their burdens. their tough and spongy feet, which are peculiarly adapted both to the climate and the country, and their abstemious temperament, but particularly their capability of travelling without water, for many successive days, enable them to perform such journeys as would destroy, probably, any other species of quadruped. the caravans, or troops of merchants, that traverse, in all directions, the deserts of egypt and arabia, are always accompanied by camels, which are often more in number than the men. these commercial travels are sometimes to the distance of or leagues, and are usually performed at the rate of ten or twelve leagues a day, the camels being, every night, unloaded to rest and feed. for the latter purpose, if better provender cannot be had, they are contented with a small quantity of dates or a few beans, together with the scattered and oftentimes bitter herbage which the desert affords. the burden of each camel usually weighs about half a ton; and, at the command of his conductor, he kneels down for the greater convenience of being loaded. it is from this practice that we account for those horny parts that are observable on the bellies, knees, and limbs, even of the animals that are exhibited in england. camels are trained, from the earliest part of their life, to the labours which they are afterwards to perform: and, with this view, when but a few days old, their limbs are folded under their body, and they are compelled to remain on the ground whilst they are loaded with a weight, which is gradually increased as they increase in strength. as soon as they have acquired sufficient strength they are trained to the course, and their emulation is excited by the example of horses or of other camels. the pace of the camel is a high and swinging trot, which, to persons unaccustomed to it, is at first disagreeable and apparently dangerous, but is afterwards sufficiently pleasant and secure. the arabians, in general, ride on a saddle that is hollowed in the middle, and has, at each bow, a piece of wood placed upright, or sometimes horizontally, by which the rider keeps himself in the seat. a ring is inserted into the nostrils of the camel, to which a cord is affixed; and this serves as a bridle to guide and stop him, or to make him kneel when the rider wishes to dismount. mr. bruce informs us that, in the caravans of one of the abyssinian tribes, the people sometimes ride two together on each camel, and sit back to back. the camels of sahara are probably more fleet than any that are known; and, on these animals, the arabs, with their loins, breast, and ears bound round, to prevent the injurious effects of percussion from the quickness of motion, can cross that great desert in a few days. with a goat's skin or a porous earthen pitcher filled with water, a few dates, and some ground barley, the arab travels from timbuctoo to morocco, feeding his camel but once upon the road. in one instance a camel was known to travel from fort st. joseph, on the river senegal, to the house of messrs. cabane and depras at mogador, a distance of more than miles, in seven days. it has been observed that the camel is the most completely and most laboriously enslaved of all animals; the most completely, because, in the other kinds of domestic animals, we find at least some individuals in their natural state, and which have not yet been subdued by man: but the whole species of the camel is enslaved; and not any of them are now to be found in their primitive state of independence and liberty. he is the most laboriously enslaved because he has never been trained, but as a beast of burden whom man has not harnessed nor taught to draw, but whose body is considered a living carriage which may be loaded and oppressed. the above are not the only uses of the camel. the _hair_ or fleece of these animals, which is renewed every year, and which regularly falls off in the spring, is so soft that the finest parts of it may be manufactured into stuffs of beautiful texture: and, in europe, when mixed with the fur of the beaver ( ), it is sometimes made into hats. the inhabitants in some parts of sahara live in tents formed of woven camel's hair; this forms a thick covering completely water-proof. after the hair has been stripped off, the _skin_ is converted into leather. in arabia the _milk_ of the camel is a most important article of nutriment; and the _flesh_, though dry and hard, is not unpalatable, particularly when young. by the inhabitants of egypt camels' flesh is so much esteemed, that, at cairo and alexandria, it was formerly forbidden to be sold to christians. in many parts of africa the _tongues_ are salted and dried, both for use and exportation; and, with the ancient romans, the _heels_ of camels were eaten as a great delicacy. . _the bactrian, or two-bunched camel_ (camelus bactrianus), _is known by having two bunches on its back; and by being somewhat larger, and having shorter legs than the arabian species._ _this animal is found in usbec tartary, the ancient bactria: it is likewise a native of siberia, thibet, and some parts of china._ the purposes to which the bactrian camel are applied are the same as those already described respecting the arabian species ( ). these animals, however, are sufficiently hardy to sustain the climate of the temperate parts of siberia, and to be able, without injury, to traverse even humid and marshy countries, which would soon prove fatal to the arabian camel. . _the llama, or glama_ (camelus glama), _is a south american species of camel, of small size, which has a protuberance on the breast, and no bunch on the back._ _the colour of the llama is white, grey, and russet, variously disposed. its height, to the top of the back, is somewhat more than four feet, and to the head nearly six feet._ without the aid of these animals, the spaniards who inhabit the mining districts of south america would labour under great inconveniences for the transport of their merchandise and treasures: since mountains that are altogether inaccessible to the horse, are with facility traversed by the llama. this beast, though not so patient, is nearly as abstemious as the camel. he proceeds, when loaded, with a slow but sure pace, and performs journeys, in these mountainous regions, more than leagues in extent. sometimes he will travel four or five days successively without appearing desirous of repose, and then he rests spontaneously, for twenty or thirty hours, before he resumes his toil. like the camel, these animals kneel to be loaded; and they are directed in this, and in most other of their motions, by their conductor's whistle. the value of the best llamas is about eighteen ducats, and of the common ones twelve or thirteen ducats each. the burdens they are able to carry are from to pounds' weight: and the number of llamas that are kept in actual employ is supposed to exceed , . of the _skin_ of the llama a hard kind of leather is made, which is converted into harness, the soles of shoes, and to many other useful purposes. but, as it is only tanned, and not curried, it is soon injured by exposure to wet. the _hair_, or fleece, particularly of the wild llamas, which is longer than that of the animals in a domesticated state, is much in request for the manufacture of camlets and other stuffs, some of which are of very beautiful texture, and also for the making of hats. on this account the animals are frequently hunted in the plains with dogs, or killed with guns; but such is their activity amongst rocks, that, if they can once reach these, the hunters are generally obliged to desist from any further pursuit. the _flesh_ of the llama is a wholesome and excellent food. sometimes it is salted, and, in this state, like our salt beef, is adopted as provision for ships proceeding on long voyages. that, however, of the young llamas four or five months old is preferred, and is considered as good as veal. many parts of these animals are adopted by the inhabitants of south america as medicines. . _the vicuna_ (camelus vicugna) _is a small south american species of camel, with woolly fleece, a flat and blunt nose, an erect tail; and without any bunches._ _this animal inhabits, in a wild state, and in extensive flocks, the highest peaks of the andes._ unable to sustain burthens exceeding sixty or seventy pounds in weight, the vicuna is seldom employed in the transport of merchandise. it is chiefly in esteem on account of its _fleece_, which is of a dead rose colour, and as soft and valuable as silk. this, in south america, is spun and woven into gloves, stockings, quilts, carpets, and innumerable other articles, which are sold at great prices, and constitute an important branch of commerce. in most of their habits these animals have a close alliance with the llama, and their general figure is nearly the same. they are gentle and inoffensive, and, though not tamed with quite so much facility, are capable of great attachment towards those who have the care of them. amongst their native mountains they are so light and agile, in all their motions, that it is not easy to come within reach of them, except by stratagem; and, consequently, though dogs are sometimes employed to hunt them, they are much more frequently killed by snares or traps than in any other way. in consequence of the great advantages which, in america, are derived from the wool of the vicuna, the spaniards were, some years ago, induced to attempt the introduction of these animals into europe. some of them were brought to spain; but, from want of proper attention to their natural habits, the experiment entirely failed. . _the musk_ (moschus moschiferus, fig. ) _is a small quadruped, somewhat shaped like a deer, but without horns; it has two projecting tusks curved downward, a short tail; and, about the middle of the under part of the male, there is an oval bag, about the size of a small egg._ _this animal is seldom more than about two feet in height at the shoulder, and is clad with long, upright, and thickset hair. each hair is waved, and of three different colours; the tip ferruginous, the middle black, and the bottom dusky._ _it inhabits the mountains of thibet, tonquin, and siberia._ the drug called _musk_ is a brown fatty substance, which appears somewhat like clotted blood. it is contained in the bag or receptacle under the belly, which has two small external orifices; through these, when it is overcharged, the animal squeezes it out upon trees or stones. the mode in which musk is collected for sale is to kill the animals, cut off the bags, and tie them closely up to prevent it from being spoiled by evaporation. in those countries where the animals are most abundant they are pursued in the autumn and winter, and generally with so much success that many thousands of bags are annually collected. it is, however, presumed that, of those which are sold, many are factitious, formed of other parts of the skin, and filled with musk adulterated by mixture with other substances. indeed, so valuable is this drug, that it is seldom to be obtained in a pure state. to increase its quantity blood is not unfrequently mixed with it; and, to increase its weight, lead finely ground, and sometimes even little bits of lead, are put into the bags. the natives of india are said to have various methods of detecting this adulteration, by the taste and the weight; but, principally, by a thread steeped in the juice of garlic, which they draw through the bag with a needle; this, if it retain the smell of garlic, is considered a decisive indication of the musk having improper ingredients mixed with it. the purest musk is said to be that which is brought from patna, in the dominions of the great mogul, where it is collected from various parts of the interior of the country. it is imported into europe in bags, each of which is about the size of a pigeon's egg, well filled, and covered with short brown hair. musk was formerly much used as a perfume. it is now chiefly in repute as a medicine in spasmodic, convulsive, and other complaints; and, when properly given, is thought a remedy of great service. so powerful is the scent of this drug, that the smallest particle of it will perfume a very considerable space; and, when the bags are fresh, if one of them be opened in a close apartment, every person present is obliged to cover his mouth and nose with several folds of linen, to prevent suffocation. in all the countries where these animals are found, their _skins_ are in great request as a strong and valuable leather; and, when tanned and properly prepared, the russians have a method of rendering this nearly as soft and shining as silk. these skins are also sometimes dressed as _furs_ for winter clothing. the flesh of the musk is frequently eaten; but that of the young ones only is tender and of good flavour. these animals, which are astonishingly light and active in all their motions, and at the same time of inoffensive and timid habits and disposition, are caught by snares placed near their feeding places; are shot with arrows, and sometimes killed by cross-bows, so placed that they discharge arrows, by the animals treading on a string connected with the trigger. . _the elk, or moose deer_ (cervus alces, fig. ), _is the largest species of deer that is known, and is distinguished from all others by having broad and flattened horns with several points, no brow-antlers, and a hairy protuberance on the throat._ _in size these animals are frequently larger than a horse. their upper lip is square, very broad, deeply furrowed, and hangs over the mouth. the hair of the male is black at the points, dusky in the middle, and white at the roots; that of the female is of sandy brown colour, except under the throat, belly, and flank, which are whitish. the males only are horned._ _the elk inhabits the forests of north america, of some parts of europe, and of asia as far south as japan._ strong and powerful as these animals are, it has been found possible to domesticate and train them to labour. mr. livingston, at a farm near new york, made the experiment by breaking two elks to the harness. after having been only twice bitted, though two years old, they appeared equally docile with colts of the same age, applying their whole strength to the draught, and proceeding in a steady pace. the motion of these animals is a shambling kind of trot, but it is very rapid, and, in drawing carriages, they are able to out-travel a horse. they are also less delicate in their food than horses, are long-lived, and more productive than any known beast of burden, having annually from one to three young ones at a birth. elks were formerly used in sweden for the drawing of sledges; but as they were frequently employed in the escape of criminals from justice, the use of them was prohibited under severe penalties. the inhabitants of all countries where the elk is found esteem its _flesh_ a sweet and nutritious food, though the grain is coarser than that of most other kinds of venison. the american indians assert that they can travel further, after having eaten of it, than of any other animal food. after having been properly salted and dried, the _tongues_ are better than those of the ox; and the nose, when cooked, is stated to eat like marrow, and to be one of the greatest delicacies which are produced in canada. of the _skins_ an excellent buff leather is made, which is strong, light, and soft. this leather is used by the indians for tent-covers, snow-shoes, and the coverings of canoes. the long _hair_ of the elk is well adapted for the stuffing of mattresses and saddles. in canada the hunting of the wild elk is a frequent but in general a most laborious, pursuit, which chiefly occupies the attention of the indians during winter, when the whole surrounding country is covered with snow. in a wild state these animals browze the thick and lofty grasses of the plains, and the leaves and tender branches of trees. during the summer they frequent the banks of rivers and lakes; and in winter they often traverse vast distances upon the frozen snow. notwithstanding the natural strength of their body, their disposition is so mild and inoffensive, that, even when pursued and attacked, they seldom attempt any resistance. . _the rein-deer_ (cervus tarandus, fig. ) _is known by its horns being long, bent back, slender, branched, and generally broad at the extremities._ _it is about four feet and half high at the shoulder, and is of brown or greyish white colour above, and white on the under parts of the body. both the sexes are horned._ _these animals inhabit several of the alpine districts of america, and of the northern countries of europe and asia._ useful and even indispensable as many of the domestic animals of this country are to us, the rein-deer is infinitely more so to the laplander. for travelling, and the conveyance of heavy burdens in sledges and carriages, he supplies the place of the horse; and such is the speed with which he traverses the frozen snows of that dreary region, that he is able, with ease, to perform a journey of near a hundred miles in one day. to this labour the animals are trained from the earliest period of their lives: and neither darkness nor storms can essentially impede their progress. the usual mode of travelling is in sledges, to which one or more of the animals are yoked. the sledges are extremely light, somewhat shaped like a boat, having at the back an upright board for the driver to lean against. being rounded and not flat underneath, much dexterity is requisite in the balancing and management of them. the driver is tied in, and protected by a cover which encloses all the lower parts of his body, and shelters him from the inclemency of the weather. the rein-deer is yoked by a collar, from which a trace is brought under the belly between the legs, and fastened to the fore part of the sledge; and the animal is guided by a cord or rein fastened to its horns, and tied to a hoop held upon the driver's right thumb. he directs the course of the deer by pulling the rein on the side he would have him go, encouraging him at the same time with his voice. in general, the laplanders can travel with ease about thirty miles without stopping. to persons unaccustomed to the habits of the laplanders and their animals, it will appear wonderful that they should be able to travel during the winter, by night as well as by day, the earth presenting one uniform surface of snow, and not a single vestige of human industry and labour being discernible to direct their course; the snow, at the same time, flying about in all directions, and almost blinding them. yet it is certain that they are under no difficulty in finding the spot to which they are bound; and dangerous as these journeys may seem, they rarely experience any accident. when several persons are travelling in company, they fix bells to the harness of the animals, that the whole may be kept together by hearing when they cannot see each other, after the light of their short day has failed them. to guide them in their course, the laplanders observe, in the day-time, the quarter whence the wind blows, and, at night, they are directed by the position of the stars. the missionary leems, who resided ten years amongst the laplanders, remarks that, during the whole of that time, he did not remember more than one fatal accident to have occurred from this mode of travelling. as the rein-deer supplies, to the laplanders, the place of a horse for conveyance and carriage, so it is an invaluable substitute for the cow in affording them food. the females supply them with _milk_, each yielding about as much as a common she-goat. this, though not so thick as the milk of the cow, is said to be sweeter and more nutritive: and produces them both butter and cheese. the mountain laplander subsists, through the whole winter, upon these, or upon _flesh_ of the rein-deer, slaughtering two or three every week, according to the number of his family. the animals are killed by stabbing them in the neck, and the wound is so dexterously inflicted that no _blood_ flows from it; but this is found in the inside, whence it is carefully taken out, and prepared for use. the _fat_ of the rein-deer serves also for food. of the _skin_, after it has been properly prepared, the laplanders make garments, gloves, shoes, and caps, which cover them from head to foot, and protect them against the cold. these skins also serve as interior coverings for tents, as linings and coverings for sledges, and as beds. they are more or less valuable, according to the season in which the animals have been killed. if slain in the spring, the hides are found to be perforated, in various parts, by a species of insect which lays its eggs in them; but if the deer be killed in winter the skin is free from these defects. the laplander, however, desirous of obtaining the same price for a defective skin as for a perfect one, frequently attempts to defraud the purchaser by artfully closing up the holes in such manner as to render them scarcely visible. the _horns_ are converted into handles for different kinds of instruments, and an excellent glue is made of them. the _bones_ are likewise of use; and the _sinews_ or tendons of the legs, after having been held before the fire and beaten with wooden hammers, are divided into filaments as fine as hair, which answer all the purposes of thread; and these filaments twisted together, serve for bowstrings and cords of different kinds. so numerous and important are the uses of the rein-deer in lapland, that there are few inhabitants of that country who do not possess them; and some of the wealthiest laplanders have herds consisting of more than head. in the summer-time these feed on divers plants which flourish during that season; but, in winter, they either browze on the rein-deer liverwort (_lichen rangiferinus_), which they dig up from beneath the snow with their feet and horns; or on another kind of liverwort, which hangs on the branches of fir-trees, and which affords them sustenance when the snows are too deep or too hard frozen to allow them to reach that. wild rein-deer live in the mountains and woods, and the hunting of them is, in general, attended with excessive fatigue; as they are endowed with astonishing muscular powers, and also possess a nicety and acuteness of precaution which can scarcely be equalled. some idea may be formed of the difficulty of this pursuit, when it is stated that a laplander, in chase of one of these animals, has been known to creep on his hands and knees through shrubs and moss, for nearly five miles, before he could approach within gun-shot of his prey. the various modes in which rein-deer are pursued, are too numerous and too intricate to require a detail in this place. it may be sufficient to say that they are assailed by dogs, traps, pitfalls, snares, cross-bows, and fire-arms, in all the ways which the inventive art of man can devise. . _the stag, or red deer_ (cervus elaphus, fig. ), _is a large species of deer, generally of reddish brown colour on the upper parts of the body, and white beneath; with large and much branched horns, rounded through their whole length._ _the males only are horned. the males is called_ stag, _or_ hart, _the female_ hind, _and the young one has the name of_ fawn. _red deer are found in the mountainous parts of scotland; in the forest of martindale, cumberland; in the new forest, hampshire; in the woods on the river tamar, in devonshire; and amongst the mountains of kerry in ireland. on the continent of europe and in several parts of asia and north america, they are very common._ the hunting of these animals was formerly considered one of the most important occupations of the english nobility, and, during the saxton heptarchy, it was the privileged pursuit of the sovereign and his court. by the kings of the norman line laws of the most sanguinary description were enacted for the preservation of these the royal game, it being then deemed less criminal to destroy an individual of the human species than a beast of chase. forests were enlarged for the shelter of wild animals, and for the more ample enjoyment of the diversion of hunting, at the expense of every principle of justice and humanity. happily for us, the scenes of devastation which this pursuit occasioned have long ceased to exist; and those vast tracts of country which were once dedicated to hunting, are now, for the most part, applied to the advantages and comfort of man. as, therefore, the breed of red deer is now chiefly preserved in this kingdom from motives of curiosity, rather than either an object of amusement or utility, we are indebted almost wholly to foreign countries for those parts of the stag which are important in a commercial, economical, and medical view. the _skins_ are manufactured into an excellently soft, and somewhat yellow-coloured leather, which is useful for numerous purposes. many very extraordinary medicinal virtues were formerly attributed to the _horns_ of the stag, and indeed to nearly all parts of its body: but the experience of late years gives no countenance to them. the horns are of nearly the same nature as bones, and the preparations of them, by heat, are similar to those of solid animal substances in general. consequently the articles denominated _spirit of hartshorn_, and _salt of hartshorn_, though formerly obtained only from the horns of different species of deer, are now chiefly prepared from bones. the former of these, which is a volatile alkali of very penetrating nature, is an efficacious remedy in nervous complaints and fainting fits; and salt of hartshorn has been successfully prescribed in fevers. the scrapings or raspings of the horns, under the name of _hartshorn shavings_, are variously employed in medicine. boiled in water, the horns of deer give out an emollient _jelly_ which is said to be remarkably nutritive. _burnt hartshorn_ is employed in medicine. the horns of the stag are used by cutlers and other mechanics for the handles of knives and for cutting instruments of different kinds. the _flesh_ of every species of deer has the name of _venison_; that of the young red deer is very delicate eating, that of the female is by no means bad, but that of the full-grown stag has a strong and disagreeable flavour. these animals generally live in herds that consist of females, with their offspring, headed by one male, and they inhabit the wildest and most unfrequented parts of forests, browzing on grass, and on the leaves and buds of trees. they have a penetrating sight, and an exquisite smell, and are always on guard against the approach of danger. their disposition, when unprovoked, is mild and peaceable; but if attacked, they prove extremely formidable opponents. the females produce their offspring (generally one each) about the end of may, or the beginning of june. . _the fallow deer_ (cervus dama, fig. ) _is a considerably smaller animal than the stag, generally of brownish bay colour on the upper parts of the body and whitish beneath, with branched horns, bent backward, compressed and broad at their extremity._ _the males only are horned. the male of the fallow deer is called_ buck, _the female_ doe, _and the young one_ fawn. _common as these animals are in parks throughout every part of england, they are not found wild in this country. they, however, inhabit various forests of the continent; even as far as the south of persia._ there is no species of food in more general request by epicures and _bon-vivans_ than the _venison_ of the fallow deer. this, when properly dressed, is an excellent aliment, and easily assimilated to the human fluids; but when half putrid, as is generally the case, it is considered very detrimental to health. the best season for killing the _bucks_ for venison is from about the first of july to somewhat later than the middle of september; and that for the _does_ is from about the middle of november to the middle of february. the does produce one, sometimes two, and rarely three young ones each, about the beginning of june; these, for the first year, are called by the park-keepers _fawns_, if, during that time, they have no horns; the second year, if the young one be a male, it is called a _pricket_; in the third year, a _sorel_, and in the ensuing year, a _sore_; when he attains his fifth year he has the name of _buck_, and is accounted fit to be killed; but if he be suffered to live a year or two longer, he will improve both in flesh and fatness. if the young one be a female it is called during the first year, a _fawn_, during the second a _teg_, and, after that, it takes its proper name of _doe_. such does as are intended to be killed in their season are either what have had no fawns in the preceding summer, or have had these killed and taken away. the _horns_ of fallow deer are used for all the same purposes as those of the stag ( ); and their hides, under the name of _buck-skin_ and _doe-skin_, have long been celebrated for their softness and pliability; and the manufacturing of them into breeches and gloves affords subsistence to a very numerous and industrious class of people. extensive herds of fallow deer associate together in large parks. these animals are less savage than red deer, yet when offended they often become ferocious. they feed on several kinds of vegetables, and on the leaves, bark, and young branches of trees; many of which, particularly hollies, are cut down, by park-keepers, in the severe weather of winter, for their subsistence. . _the roe or roe-buck_ (cervus capreolus) _is a small species of deer, not more than two feet and half high at the shoulder, of reddish brown colour, which has short erect horns, divided towards their extremity into two or three points._ _the males only have horns._ _small flocks of these animals are found wild in several of the mountainous districts of scotland, and also in the mountainous woods of germany, switzerland, and other parts of the continent of europe, as well as in those of north america._ in some countries the _venison_ of the roe is esteemed, during the proper season, equal to that of any other species of deer. there is, however, a great difference in it, according to the country in which the animals have fed, and the different races or varieties of the animals themselves. the flesh also of the bucks which have passed their second year is said to be tough and not well flavoured, whilst that of the does, though of much greater age, is tender. those animals that are fed in parks, plains, and valleys, are also greatly inferior to such as have resided among mountains. in america the _skins_ of roes are an important object of commerce. they are very light, and are capable, for some time, of resisting the effects of moisture. of these skins the american indians make bags or bottles, in which they are able to keep oil, honey, butter, and other similar substances. they are also converted into clothing, and are sometimes dressed as furs, but the hair soon falls off. the _hair_ itself is valuable for the stuffing of horse-collars and saddles, and it has the advantage of not becoming knotty like that of the ox. the _horns_ are used in making handles for knives and for other purposes. . _the chamois_ (antilope rupicapra, fig. ) _is a kind of antelope about the size of a goat, with short, erect, round, and smooth horns, which are hooked backward at the tips._ _its colour is dusky yellowish brown on the upper parts of the body, with the cheeks, chin, throat, and belly, yellowish white. the horns, which are common to both the sexes, are generally about eight inches in length, but shorter in the female than the male._ _these animals inhabit many of the mountainous parts of europe, particularly the alps and pyrenees._ there are few pursuits more arduous and difficult than the hunting of the chamois. being wholly confined to rocky and mountainous situations, dogs are nearly useless in it; and such are the sagacity and acuteness of perception of these animals, that they take alarm at the most distant approach of danger, and the stratagems which are practised to come within gun-shot of them are almost innumerable. they associate in flocks consisting of from four or five to nearly a hundred in number; and, when alarmed, they are able to spring, at a single leap, up rocks the perpendicular height of which is more than twenty feet, and in this case, by a few bounds, they throw themselves entirely out of the reach of their pursuers. if hard pressed, they will sometimes turn upon the hunter and attack him with fury; and instances have been related of men, thus attacked, having been thrown down precipices and destroyed by them. the chief objects of this pursuit are the _flesh_ and the _skin_. the former is, in general, a nutritious and wholesome food, and the latter is useful in numerous ways. when dressed, it forms a soft, warm, and pliable leather, which has the name of _shammoy_, and is manufactured into breeches, vests, and gloves, that are very durable and are much used by the labouring classes of people on the continent. of late years, however, the art of tanning has been brought to so much perfection, that excellent shammoy leather is made from the skins of the goat, the sheep, and the deer. the _horns_ of the chamois are often cut into heads for canes, and the farriers of the continent sometimes sharpen and use them for the bleeding of cattle. the _blood_ of these animals is used medicinally, and, in switzerland, is a celebrated nostrum for the cure of pleurisy and some other complaints. . _the common antelope_ (antilope cervicapra, fig. ) _is a quadruped distinguished by having spiral, round, and expanded horns, each marked with a great number of prominent rings; and the body of a brown colour, clouded with whitish and dusky shades and marks_. _it is found in several parts of africa and india._ one mode of hunting these and some other species of antelope is by the hunting leopard and the ounce, but the most frequent mode of killing them is with guns. their _skins_ are sometimes dressed with the hair on, and sometimes as leather; and the _flesh_ constitutes an excellent kind of venison. the _horns_ are convertible to nearly all the same purposes as the horns of the different kinds of deer; and they are also occasionally used as weapons. . _the common goat_ (capra ægagrus, fig. ) _is distinguished by having hollow, compressed, and rough horns, which grow first upright, and then bend backward._ _both the male and female are horned._ _these animals are found wild in many of the mountainous countries of the european continent, of africa, persia, and india._ in many parts of europe the goat is an animal essentially serviceable to the necessities and the comforts of mankind; affording even during its life, though fed on the most barren and uncultivated grounds, an abundant supply of milk and cheese. goats' _milk_ is not only considered to be thicker, but to have a richer flavour than that of the cow; and, in some situations, especially on ship-board, where the goat thrives better than any other animal, it is peculiarly valuable. this creature eats readily every sort of refuse vegetables, and is kept at little expense. in a medicinal view goat's milk is an useful substitute for that of asses. it is of very peculiar nature, as its oily and coagulate parts do not separate spontaneously; they throw up no cream, and yield scarcely any butter. but this milk affords a very large proportion of _cheese_. hence, in switzerland, and other mountainous countries best adapted to the pasturage of goats, cheese is the chief produce of the dairies. the flesh of the _goat_, when full grown, is rank, hard, and indigestible; yet, in some countries, it is eaten both in a fresh and salted state. that of the kid is peculiarly rich, and, by many persons, is considered even preferable to lamb. when properly tanned, the _skin_ of the goat is manufactured into gloves and other articles of dress. there is a way of preparing these skins by maceration, so as to separate the surface or grain from the coarse under parts, after which they are dyed of various colours for different uses. _morocco leather_ is chiefly made from the skins of goats, tanned and dyed in a peculiar manner. the manufacture of this leather was originally invented in the kingdom of morocco, whence it has its name. the colours that are chiefly communicated to it are red and yellow, the former of which is produced by cochineal, and the latter by a yellow kind of berries. morocco leather is also dyed black, green, and blue. until within the last few years, the consumers of this kind of leather in england have depended wholly on a foreign supply: there are now, however, several manufactories of it in the neighbourhood of london, from which the most beautiful moroccos may be had at prices that have superseded the necessity of importing it from abroad. for leather of inferior quality, and particularly for such as is to receive a yellow colour, sheeps' skins are often substituted. the reason why goats' skins have been principally adopted for the manufacture of morocco is, that they take the dye better, and that they are susceptible of richer and more beautiful colours, than those of any other animals. goat-skins, as well as the skins of sheep, are sometimes made into parchment. the _skins of kids_ are thin and of beautiful texture; they are consequently well adapted for ladies' gloves and shoes. on the continent they are made into stockings, bed-ticks, and sometimes into hangings for beds, into sheets, and even into shirts. although the _fleece_ of the goat is by no means so valuable as that of the sheep, yet it has been found extremely useful. the long and shaggy coated goat, which is bred in many parts of this country, has, at the roots of the long hair, a fine and beautiful soft wool. the latter, though scarcely known to our manufacturers, has long been used in russia for gloves, stockings, and other articles of dress, which are highly valuable. about a pound of this wool, in an unsorted state, was, some years ago, sent from russia to be made into shawls. as the quantity was too small to admit of being manufactured into a web by itself, the chain was formed of silk, and the woof of yarn made from the goat's wool. the fabric, when completed, was compared with the finest indian shawls; and, notwithstanding the hardness of the silken part, it was decidedly more soft and beautiful than any of these. of the above-mentioned small quantity of wool three full-sized shawls and one waistcoat were made. their colour was a dull white, with a delicate and scarcely perceptible glance of red through it; and their texture was so much admired, that dr. anderson, to whose care they were consigned, states, that if a hundred of them had been offered for sale, they would have produced at least twenty guineas each. the _long hair_ of goats, particularly that of the males, is used by peruke-makers, for lawyers and judges' wigs. previously to its being used, it goes through several processes of preparation. the fine hair of kids is sometimes employed in the manufacture of hats. goat's hair is occasionally made into a strong and coarse kind of cloth. of the _horns_ of these animals the country people make handles for tucks, and knives of different kinds. the _fat_ or suet, which, in general, is very abundant, may be made into candles, which, in whiteness and quality, are greatly superior to those of the best tallow of the sheep and ox. goats are active and mischievous animals, of hardy nature, which delight in rocky and mountainous situations. they are sometimes very injurious to young plantations, from their propensity to peel and destroy the trees. the females usually have two, sometimes three, and rarely four young ones at a birth; and, in our climates, the duration of their life is said not often to exceed eleven or twelve years. . the hair of the angora goat is long, soft, and silky, and is one of the most beautiful substances with which we are acquainted, for the manufacture of shawls, and other fine stuffs; and these, which in england have the name of _camblets_, are sometimes sold at very high prices. it is supposed that, with attention, angora goats might be successfully and advantageously bred in great britain; particularly in those parts where the country is mountainous, and where the climate and food might not be far different from those of their native country of asia minor. . _the common sheep_ (ovis aries, fig. ) _has, in general, hollow, compressed, transversely wrinkled, and somewhat crescent-shaped horns; but some of the varieties are entirely destitute of these weapons._ _the male is called_ ram, _the female_ ewe, _and the young one has the name of_ lamb. _sheep are found in nearly every country of the world._ the bodies of these animals, in temperate and cold climates, are clad with a curled and closely matted kind of hair, which has the peculiar appellation of _wool_. the distinguishing characteristic of wool is that, when even the coarsest sort is manufactured into cloth, it thickens in the milling, and forms a close texture, owing to the peculiar roughness of its surface, and to its curly form; whereas the finest possible hair, under the same operation, will neither thicken nor form any texture whatever. it is by the manufacture of wool into various kinds of clothing that many thousands of people, in different countries of europe, are entirely supported and fed. in temperate countries the fleeces of sheep are shorn or cut off once, and in others, where the climate is warmer, twice in the year, the animals being previously well washed to cleanse the wool. the shetland sheep, and some others, have the fleece pulled, and not cut off. when wool is intended to be manufactured into cloth of mixed colours, it is dyed in the fleece before it is spun. when intended for tapestry, it is dyed after it is spun; and when to be wrought into cloth of uniform colour, it is not dyed until the cloth is made. much wool is used in the manufacture of hats. for this purpose it goes through a process called _felting_, to unite or mat it into a firm substance. felt is either made of wool alone, or of a mixture of wool with camel's or other hair. the _skins_ of sheep, after the processes called tanning and currying, are manufactured into a thin and coarse but useful kind of leather, which is much in request by saddlers, book-binders, and others. these skins, by a different process, are converted into _parchment_, which is used for writing deeds upon. lambs' skins are made into gloves. every part of the sheep is advantageous to mankind. the flesh, under the denomination of _mutton_, supplies us with a wholesome and palatable food, which is in greatest estimation when the animals are at least three, and not more than six years old. that of lambs, in the spring of the year, is also in considerable demand. _house lamb_ is so denominated from the animals being fattened within doors; but this kind of food is neither so wholesome nor so nutritive as the meat in a natural state. _suet_ is a solid kind of fat which is found in various parts of the bodies (particularly about the kidneys and intestines) of sheep, oxen, and other ruminating animals. it differs materially from fat or grease, as the latter remains soft, and this hardens in cooling. suet is used for culinary and other purposes, and very extensively in the making of candles. the _milk_ of sheep is rich and nourishing, and in great esteem among the peasantry of all countries where these animals are bred. it produces an abundance of butter, but this is so unpalatable as seldom to be eaten. ewes' milk yields a large proportion of strong and tough cheese. of the entrails of sheep are made the strings generally called _cat-gut_, which are used for different kinds of musical instruments, and for the coverings of whips. handles of knives, and several other useful articles, are made of the _bones_ of sheep; the refuse parts of which are coarsely ground to serve as manure. a very important advantage is in another respect derived from these animals, by folding them upon land on which corn is afterwards to be grown. there are, in great britain, many different breeds of sheep, some of which are very valuable. . those called leicester sheep are chiefly bred in that and the adjacent counties, and are much esteemed for their property of readily fattening. their _mutton_, when in perfection, has a fineness of grain and a superiority of flavour beyond that of almost every other kind of sheep. these animals are capable of being rendered so fat, that, in some instances they have measured more than six inches deep in solid fat on the ribs. but, in this case, the mutton is scarcely eatable. . a coarse _wool_, but so long as to measure from ten to more than eighteen inches, is obtained from the breed called lincolnshire sheep. . for united excellence of _wool_ and _mutton_ the south down sheep are in great demand. this breed, which particularly abounds on the dry and chalky downs of sussex and other southern parts of england, has of late been dispersed over nearly the whole kingdom. the animals are distinguishable by their grey or speckled face and legs, and being destitute of horns. . from the ryeland and or herefordshire sheep is obtained a peculiarly short, soft, and fine _wool_, which, if the filaments were of equal thickness and quality throughout, would be as valuable as the best wool that we import from spain. the _mutton_ of these sheep is also fine-grained and of excellent flavour. . a breed of sheep, which is well known in northumberland by the name of cheviot sheep, produces very admirable _mutton_ and _wool_ of fine texture. of the _milk_ of these sheep great quantities of cheese are made, which is sold at a low price. this, when three or four days old, becomes very pungent, and is in considerable esteem for the table. . the shetland islands produce a kind of sheep so small as seldom to exceed the weight of thirty or forty pounds. their _wool_ is sufficiently soft to be adapted even to clothing of the most delicate texture. a pair of stockings that were made of it were so fine as to be sold for six guineas. the _skins_ of these sheep with the fleece on are capable of being converted into a fur of great value; and, when the wool is stripped from them, they are, as leather, peculiarly estimable for aprons, and are purchased by mechanics for this purpose at double the price of other skins of the same size. . it is to the breed called dorsetshire sheep that the london markets are principally indebted for the _house-lamb_, which, at an early part of the season, bears so high a price. after the lambs are produced they are confined in small dark places, and never see the light, except when brought out to be fed by the ewes; and, at the times when thus brought out, their cabins are cleansed, and littered with fresh straw, as a great part of their value depends upon the cleanliness in which they are kept. . the _mutton_ of the heath sheep, a breed which is found in most of the north-western parts of england, and even as far as the western highlands of scotland, is accounted peculiarly excellent; and immense numbers of these sheep are annually sold at the north country fairs. the animals themselves are hardy and active, and well adapted to subsist in healthy and mountainous districts. . _merino sheep are a celebrated spanish breed of sheep, with small horns, white face and legs, small bones, a loose skin hanging from the neck, the wool fine, the external part of the fleece dark brown in consequence of the dust adhering to it, the interior delicate white, and the skin of rosy hue._ the celebrity of this breed, for the production of a remarkably fine _wool_, has been such, that all the highest priced cloths manufactured in this country, until of late years, were made of spanish wool. in the year some of these sheep were first introduced into england. and, although it was formerly a prevailing opinion that the excellence of their fleece depended, in a great degree, upon the temperature of the spanish climate, it has been satisfactorily ascertained that the fineness of spanish wool is not in the slightest degree impaired by breeding the sheep in this country. even in hungary sheep of this kind have, for many years, been so successfully reared, that much of the fine wool used in our clothing countries has been imported from thence. the average weight of the merino fleece is about three pounds and half. it has lately been a great object of attention in england to improve our own breeds, particularly the ryeland, by a mixture with merinos, and this cross breed is stated to retain all the principal characteristics of the spanish race. the _mutton_ of these sheep, for size and flavour, is much in demand, and sells in the market at a higher price than that of most other kinds of sheep. . _the broad-tailed sheep are a very remarkable kind of sheep, distinguished by their tails being extremely large, and so long as sometimes to drag upon the ground._ _they are found in several parts of persia, syria, egypt, and other eastern countries._ the _tails_ of these animals are almost wholly composed of a substance resembling marrow, and sometimes they are equal in weight to one-third of the whole carcase. to prevent them from chafing against the ground, the shepherds not unfrequently put boards, with small wheels, under them, attached to the hinder parts of the animal. the substance of these tails is in great demand, instead of butter, for culinary purposes; and it forms an ingredient in several kinds of dishes. the _fleece_ of the broad-tailed sheep is peculiarly long and fine, and, in thibet, is manufactured into shawls and other articles of peculiarly delicate texture, which form a considerable source of wealth to the inhabitants. of these, and of another kind of sheep called _tartarian_ or _fat-rumped sheep_, the hinder parts of which are so excessively fat as entirely to enclose the tail, there are great numbers bred in tartary. it is even stated that, on an average, , of them are annually sold at the fairs of orenburgh, and a much greater number in some other places. . _the common ox_ (bos taurus domesticus, fig. ) _is characterised by having rounded horns which curve outward, and a loose skin or dewlap beneath the throat._ _the male is called_ bull, _the female_ cow, _and the young one_ calf. _this animal, in a wild state, is the_ bison (fig. ) _which is found in the marshy forests of poland and lithuania._ it is almost impossible to enumerate all the benefits that mankind derive from these admirable animals. in many countries nearly the whole labour of agriculture is performed by oxen, and, after this service is over, they are fatted and slaughtered for food. it is well known in what estimation they were formerly held in egypt; they furnished even deities to the superstitious inhabitants of that country. from their supplying the gentoos with milk, butter, and cheese, their favourite food, those people bear for them a veneration so great that nothing on earth would induce them to slay one of them. in nearly all eastern countries oxen are employed in treading out corn. by the caffres of the cape of good hope they are used as beasts of draught and burden. when mr. barrow and his suite went into the country of the caffres, the king, who was at a distance from his usual residence, was sent to; and he is stated to have arrived riding upon an ox full gallop, attended by five or six of his people. to the _milk_ of the cow we are indebted for several important articles of human subsistence. it is adapted to every state and age of the body, but particularly to the feeding of infants after they have been weaned. skimmed milk, or that which remains after the cream has been taken off, is employed, in considerable quantity, by wine and spirit merchants, for clarifying or fining down turbid white wine, arrack, and weak spirits. nearly all the _cheese_ that is consumed in the british islands is made of cow's milk. for this purpose the milk is curdled by mixture with a substance called rennet, which is prepared from the inner membrane of a calf's stomach; and the curd, thus formed, after being cleared of the whey or watery part contained in the milk, is collected together, pressed, and dried for use. the richest of all the english kinds of cheese is that called _stilton cheese_. this, however, is not, as its name would import, made in the town of stilton, but in various parts of huntingdonshire, and in leicestershire, rutland, and northamptonshire. stilton cheese is indebted, for its excellence, both to the rich pastures on which the cows are fed, and to the peculiar process by which it is made. it is not sufficiently mellowed for use until two years old, and is not in a state to be eaten till it is decayed, blue, and moist. to hasten the ripening of stilton cheeses, it is not unusual to place them in buckets, and to cover these with horse-dung. _cheshire_ is famous for its cheese, which is generally much salter and more smart upon the palate than any other english kind. in _wiltshire_ and _gloucestershire_ much cheese of rich and excellent quality is made. the neighbourhood of _chedder_, in the county of somerset, produces a very admirable kind, which is little inferior in taste to parmesan, and is supposed to owe its peculiar quality to the cows feeding in rich pastures, and particularly on the flote fescue grass (_festuca fluitans_), with which many of those pastures abound. _cottenham cheese_ is a soft white cheese, for which we are chiefly indebted to a small village of that name situated a few miles from cambridge. in the neighbourhood of _bath_ and _york_, and also in _lincolnshire_, a rich and excellent kind of cream cheese is made. in scotland a species of cheese is produced which has long been known and celebrated under the name of _dunlop cheese_, from a parish of that name in ayrshire, in the neighbourhood of which it is principally made. of foreign kinds of cheese the most celebrated is _parmesan_. this is made of ewes' milk, or of a mixture of ewes' or goats' milk with that of the cow. we receive it from various parts of italy, and also from other countries, although the name would import it to be made exclusively in the neighbourhood of parma. in the district of _gruyere_, a small town in the canton of friburg in switzerland, a well-known kind of cheese of large size is made, which goes by that name. _gouda_ cheese is famous in holland. the common _dutch cheeses_ are of globular shape, and each three or four pounds in weight. they are prepared in the same manner as cheshire cheese, with the exception that, instead of rennet, the dutch use spirit of vitriol (sulphuric acid). hence this kind of cheese has a sharp and saline taste, which is said to exempt it from the depredations of mites. _green swiss cheese_ has a strong and peculiar flavour derived from the fragrant powder of melliot (_trifolium melilotus officinalis_). this cheese is, however, to many persons, very disagreeable. when milk has been suffered to stand a few hours, a substance called _cream_ rises to the surface. this is skimmed off for several uses, but principally for the purpose of being made into _butter_, which is done by beating it in a vessel called a churn. in cheshire it is customary to churn the butter from the whole milk, without its being skimmed, but this is contrary to the practice in most other parts of england. the consumption of butter is so great that not less than , tons' weight of it are stated to be annually used in london only. that, which is principally in esteem there is produced in essex, and known by the name of _epping butter_. to make butter keep for a greater length of time than it would otherwise do, it is salted and packed in small tubs or barrels; and, in this state, it is a very considerable article of commerce. in the salting and packing of butter many abuses are practised, to increase its bulk and weight, against which there is an express act of parliament. lumps of good butter are sometimes laid, for a little depth, at the top of a barrel, with butter of inferior quality beneath it. sometimes the butter is packed hollow; and sometimes the exterior part of the butter is good whilst the whole interior is bad. after the butter has been separated there remains in the churn a kind of whey which is called _butter-milk_, and the quality of which greatly depends on the manner of churning. before it turns sour, butter-milk is a favourite beverage in the families of some farmers. it is also occasionally used as a wash for the face, being considered a remedy against freckles; but it is principally applied for the feeding of pigs. the flesh of oxen constitutes the kind of food which we call _beef_. this is usually eaten in a recent state, but is sometimes, particularly in the northern parts of england, in ireland, and holland, salted in the manner of bacon, and in this state, it is a considerable article of trade. it affords a strong and invigorating nutriment, superior to any that we are acquainted with. _beef-tea_ is a preparation commonly made for invalids and convalescents, and consists of an infusion of the lean parts of beef in boiling water. _veal_, or the flesh of calves, is an highly esteemed and delicate food. the _skins_ of cattle, after they have undergone the processes of tanning and currying, are employed for making harness, saddles, bridles, the soles of shoes, and for various other purposes. _calves' skins_ are used for the upper leathers of shoes, and by saddlers, book-binders, &c. the skins of sucking calves are manufactured into _vellum_, a thin substance which is employed by book-binders; also for writing and drawing upon, and for other uses. from the parings and other offals of the hides of oxen, and the parings and scraps of the legs, by boiling them in water to the consistence of a jelly, straining them through a wicket basket, suffering the impurities to subside, and then boiling them a second time, is made _glue_. this, in a state of jelly, is poured into flat frames or moulds; when congealed, it is cut into square pieces, and afterwards dried, by being suspended in a coarse kind of netting. the leg-_bones_ of oxen, after having been whitened by boiling them with quick-lime, are used in the manufacture of the handles of knives and forks, and for innumerable other purposes. this substance, when good, is nearly allied to ivory: but is easily distinguished by its porous nature, its coarse grain, and its wanting the beautiful white veins which are so conspicuous in ivory. bones, after having been burnt or calcined, are used by the refiners of gold and silver. the _horns_ of oxen are used for many of the same purposes as bone. after having been softened by heat they are capable of being moulded into almost any shape. they are sometimes stained in such manner as to imitate tortoise-shell, and they are then used for the making of combs. by a peculiar process they are rendered semi-transparent, and, when formed into thin plates, are employed instead of glass for lanthorns. horn was the first transparent substance that was ever used for lanthorns and windows. _tallow_ is the fat of sheep and oxen, cleared of its fibrous parts by straining and other management. it is further improved and clarified by the addition of alum, and, in this state, is used for the making of candles. tallow is also a chief ingredient in soap. from the feet of oxen is procured a kind of oil, called _neats'-foot oil_, which is of great use in the preparing and softening of leather. the _blood_ is employed in the clarifying of sugar, and great quantities of it, during the late war, were exported from london to sweden for this purpose. the skins of the intestines are used for beating gold leaf betwixt; and these, under the name of _gold-beaters' skin_, are afterwards considered efficacious as an adhesive plaster for healing small wounds. of gold-beaters' skin the french manufacturers of toys sometimes construct little balloons for the amusement of children. a few years ago there was, in london, an exhibition of animals formed of this substance and inflated with air. . british cattle are considered preferable to the cattle of any other country in the world. those called devonshire cattle, which are distinguished by their mahogany colour and light yellow horns, are adjudged to be the best of any. they are much used in agricultural labours, being peculiarly fitted for draught both by their hardiness and activity. the _beef_ of this breed is peculiarly excellent. their _skins_ are thin, but improve much in tanning; and the _tallow_ is of peculiarly good quality. . in the northern parts of england there is a very useful kind, called holderness or dutch cattle. these, in size and weight exceed all the british cattle. the cows have great celebrity for yielding a very extraordinary quantity of _milk_; instances have been mentioned of their yielding thirty-six quarts in a day. this stock is well known in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, being that which is generally kept by the london cow-keepers. the animal exhibited in london in the beginning of , under the name of the "wonderful ox," was a variety produced from this breed, and weighed more than stone. . the lancashire or long-horned cattle, are much esteemed for the dairy. the cows yield from sixteen to twenty-four quarts of _milk_ per day; and, on an average, about weight of cheese per annum. they are hardy animals, readily become fat, and produce remarkably well-flavoured _beef_. but they are chiefly celebrated for the thickness and substance of their hides, which are very valuable, and sell at high prices. in many instances the _hides_ have been known to produce a greater price per pound than the beef. . alderney cattle are a favourite breed, that have long been known and esteemed, in the southern counties of england, for their _milk_, which is richer than that of any other breed. these animals are of small size, the cows seldom exceeding the height of four feet; yet they are known to produce so much milk as to yield from to more than pounds' weight of butter per annum. in the islands of guernsey, jersey, and alderney, where these cattle are chiefly bred, they are sometimes employed in ploughing; but their greatest use is in carting, and, in this respect, they are found to answer peculiarly well in bad roads and hilly countries. their _beef_ is generally yellow or very high coloured; but it is peculiarly fine in the grain, and of excellent flavour. . scotland is famous for a small kind of black cattle, with fine white upright horns tipped with black, called highland stots, or kyloe cattle. having great celebrity for the fineness and sweetness of their _beef_, as well as the facility with which they are fattened, these cattle are in such esteem as to be driven into the southern counties of england, and occasionally to supply even the london markets. the cows, in proportion to their size, yield a great quantity of rich milk. . _the yak, or grunting ox_ (bos grunniens), _is an animal of large size, with round, upright, and slender horns, a lump on the shoulders, long and pendant hair, white on the back and tail; and the tail somewhat resembling that of a horse._ _in a wild state this animal is an inhabitant of the mountains of thibet._ with the oriental princes the white _tails_ of the yak are of great value for military standards; and the use of them is very ancient. these tails are also employed, in many parts of the east, to ornament the trappings both of elephants and horses; and, when mounted on a silver handle, they are used by the principal men of india as a brush to chase away flies. the chinese dye the hair of a red colour, and form tufts for their caps of it. many beautiful kinds of stuffs are woven of a fine wool which these animals have next to their skin. . _the musk ox_ (bos moschatus) _is a north american animal of small size, with horns broad, and approaching each other at the base, bent downward, and the tips upward and pointed; a protuberance on the shoulder, and the body covered with long silky hair of a dusky red tinge._ to the north american indians the musk ox is an animal of considerable importance. its _flesh_ furnishes them with an useful food, which, though it has a musky flavour, is not on that account the less esteemed. this flesh, in a frozen state, is also an article of traffic, with the british and american forts, during winter. at the roots of the long hair of the musk ox there is a peculiarly beautiful ash-coloured _fleece_, which is finer and softer than silk, and may be wrought into very elegant articles of dress. it is of the long hair of these animals that the esquimaux indians make those caps which give them their very extraordinary appearance, by the ends being contrived so to fall down over their face, as to protect them from the bites of musquetoes. the _skins_ are convertible into leather, and are also frequently used, by indians, with the hair on, as coverings of various kinds. . _the american bison_ (bos americanus) _is a large species of ox, with round and distant horns which point outward, a long and woolly mane, and a large fleshy protuberance on the shoulders._ _these animals inhabit, in immense herds, the savannahs and marshes of the interior of north america._ as they are capable of being domesticated, and, in this state, are sufficiently tractable for the purpose, they are sometimes rendered useful for agricultural labours. the hunting of the wild bison is a common and very arduous employment of the natives of the interior of america, particularly those living adjacent to the rivers mississippi and ohio. the _flesh_ of these animals is used as food, and the fatty protuberance on the shoulders is esteemed a great delicacy. the _tongues_, which are reckoned superior to those of oxen, are frequently transported to new orleans, where they always have a ready sale. when the animals are quite fat they are said to yield sometimes as much as pounds weight of _tallow_ each. the latter is so important an article of commerce, that, in many instances, the hunters cut out only the tongue and tallow, leaving the remainder of the carcase to be devoured by wild beasts. powder-flasks are made of the _horns_. the _skins_ are capable of being converted into an excellent buff leather; and, when dressed with the hair on, the lighter skins serve the indians as beds, and for clothes, gloves, and shoes. some persons use them as blankets, and find them a very warm and pleasant covering. the _hair_ is spun and woven into various articles of clothing, which are both durable and useful, and are peculiarly soft and pleasant to the wearer. . _the buffalo_ (bos bubalus) _is a species of ox, which has large horns of compressed form, with the outer edge sharp, growing straight for a considerable length from their base, and then bent slightly upward: on the shoulders there is a bony protuberance; and the general colour of the hair is black or dusky._ _in a wild state these animals are natives of asia and africa; and they are domesticated in india, and in some of the warmer parts of europe._ although the buffalo is naturally a savage and ferocious beast, yet, when properly trained, it is very serviceable to mankind. these animals are used both for draught and burthen, and are sometimes even trained for the saddle. they are guided by a cord attached to a ring, which is made to pass through the cartilage of their nose. two buffaloes, harnessed to a carriage, are considered able to draw as much as four horses. the _milk_ of the buffalo, though not so good as that of the cow, is in greater quantity, and in much esteem. _ghee_ is a kind of butter made from the milk of these animals, and clarified. this is an article of commerce in various parts of india, and is generally conveyed in bags or bottles made of the hide, each of which holds from ten to forty gallons. the _flesh_ is said somewhat to resemble beef, but to be of a darker colour: that of the calves is considered peculiarly delicate. of the skin is made a strong and durable leather, which, under the name of _buff_ leather, is applicable to a great variety of uses. the _horns_ have a fine grain, are strong, and bear a good polish; and are, therefore, much used by cutlers and other artificers. they are occasionally imported into this country from bengal. these animals usually associate in large herds, in marshy and woody plains. so great is their ferocity that the hunters are at all times fearful of attempting to kill them, unless they are perfectly sure of their aim. they swim over even the widest rivers with a facility which can be equalled by few quadrupeds. . _the cape buffalo_ (bos cafer) _is an excessively strong and ferocious beast of the ox tribe, which has thick horns that are rugged at the base, and lie so flat as to cover almost all the top of the head._ _these animals are found in herds of a hundred and fifty or two hundred together, in the plains of caffraria, and other parts of the south of africa._ there are no animals of the ox tribe so savage, so much dreaded, nor so wantonly mischievous as these: they attack and destroy mankind without being themselves previously assailed, and commit devastations of the most alarming kind in the neighbourhood of the places where they are found. they are killed on account of their _flesh_, which is lean, but juicy and of high flavour; and also on account of their _hides_, which are so thick and tough that even musket-proof targets are formed of them. of these hides also the strongest and best thongs for harness are made. the hottentots, who are never inclined to take much trouble in dressing their victuals, cut the _flesh_ off into slices, and then smoke, and at the same time half broil, it over a few coals. they also frequently eat it in a state of absolute putrefaction. order vi.--belluÆ. . _the horse_ (equus caballus, fig. ) _is distinguished from every other quadruped by having his hoofs single, and his tail covered with long hair._ _the male has the name of_ horse, _the female of_ mare, _and the young one of_ foal. _wild horses are found, in large herds, in siberia, and several other parts of asia, as well as in some parts of africa._ endowed with the most useful qualifications, the horse is an animal of the greatest importance to the inhabitants of all temperate climates. though naturally spirited, active, and intrepid, he submits with patience to carry burthens, and to toil, for days together, along roads and in agricultural labours. and, if treated with care and attention, he perseveringly adapts himself to our wants and conveniences. in some parts of tartary these animals have even been made objects of divine worship, originating, no doubt, in a principle of gratitude for the services they perform. by the arabians they are nearly as much attended to and beloved as human beings: they live in the same tents with their owners, and participate in all the kindnesses which this people bestow upon their own families. in arabia, indeed, they may be deemed the chief support of the families which possess them; and (surrounded with foes) the very existence of the owner not unfrequently depends upon the powers of his horse. in no country of europe is so much attention paid to the breeding and training of horses as in england. the consequence has been that the british horses are superior, both in swiftness of foot, and in strength and perseverance in the course, to any others in this quarter of the world. the fleetest of all the _british horses_ is, of course, the _race-horse_: and, for short distances, none of the arabians, which have been tried in england, have proved in any degree equal to him. the celebrated horse called childers, in the year , ran four miles in six minutes and forty-eight seconds, carrying a weight of nine stone two pounds. had the different racing meetings at newmarket, york, and other places, no other view than to call together great concourses of people for amusement, their tendency would be injurious rather than beneficial to society; but when it is considered that such meetings are the cause of great emulation in the breeding of a race of animals so valuable as the horse, their utility will be sufficiently apparent. the english _hunters_ are allowed to be among the noblest, most elegant, and most useful animals that are known; and the value of our _hackneys_, or road horses, may be imagined when it is stated that many of them are able to trot at the rate of more than fifteen miles per hour. so great is the strength of these animals, that instances have been mentioned of a single horse drawing, for a short space, the weight of three tons; and of others carrying a load which weighed more than pounds. the immense _dray-horses_ that are employed by brewers, and are so frequently seen in the streets of london, though in some measure they are useful as being able better to sustain the shock of loading and unloading than slighter animals, are chiefly kept from a principle of ostentation. the british _draught-horses_ are extremely valuable animals, but particularly a chesnut-coloured race called suffolk-horses. in _scotland_ there is a breed of small horses, or ponies, which are known by the name of _galloways_. the best of these seldom exceed the height of fourteen hands and a half,[ ] and are uncommonly active, hardy, and spirited animals. the shetland islands produce a race called _shelties_, which, though exceedingly diminutive in size, are, in other respects, highly excellent. in _ireland_ the cart-horses, though of sufficient size, are ill-shaped and bad. the saddle-horses appear naturally as good as ours; but, in general, they are ill kept, worse groomed, and still worse shod. the _french horses_ are extremely various in their kind; but few of them can be called fine. the best saddle-horses of france are produced in the vicinity of limosin, and in normandy. the latter, though not so valuable as hunters, are preferable to all the rest for war. lower normandy is famous for fine carriage horses. a prevailing fault in the horses of france is too great a width across the shoulders. the _dutch horses_ are said to be very good for carriages; and great numbers of them are annually sent into france. the _flemish horses_ are far inferior to those of holland. they have generally large heads and broad feet; and their legs are subject to dropsical swellings. _germany_ affords some fine horses, but the generality of them are heavy and thick-winded. those of _hungary_ and _transylvania_, however, are very light and fleet. the hussars and hungarians, it is said, adopt the cruel practice of slitting the nostrils of their horses, with a view to improve their wind, and prevent them from neighing in the field. the _danish horses_ are so large in size, and so well set, that they were formerly preferred, as carriage-horses, to all others. they are extremely various in colour; and many of them are pyed and spotted, which is not the case with the horses of other countries. in _spain_ the horses are very beautiful and excellent. they have a long thick neck, with a flowing mane. the head is large; the ears are long, but well placed; the eyes full of fire; the air noble and spirited; the shoulders thick, and the chest broad. they have great agility and stateliness. their prevailing colours are black and light chesnut. the _italian horses_ were formerly much finer than they are at present, the breeding of them having long been neglected. the kingdom of naples, however, still affords fine horses, especially for carriages; but they have, in general, large heads and thick necks. they are also untractable, and consequently are difficult to be trained; but these defects are, in some degree, compensated by the largeness of their size, their spirit, and the beauty of their motions. there is a prevalent and erroneous notion that the _flesh_ of the horse is bitter and unpalatable. in several parts of asia wild horses are killed almost exclusively for food; and the calmuc tartars, in particular, are so partial to this kind of flesh, that they seldom eat any other. horses' flesh is constantly exposed for sale in the markets of tonquin. a celebrated british writer (dr. anderson) has strongly recommended the fattening of horses as food in this country, and urges his recommendation by declaring that horse-flesh is superior in delicacy of flavour to beef! the tartars drink the _milk_ of the mare, and also convert it into butter and cheese. one of their most favourite kinds of beverage is called _koumiss_: it is a sort of wine made of fermented mares' milk; and is carried, by them, from place to place, in bags made of horses' hides. when in perfection, the taste of koumiss is said to be a pleasant mixture of sweet and sour; but it is necessary to agitate it before it is drunk. this preparation is also considered of great utility in a medicinal view. the _skin_ of the horse, after it is tanned, is made into collars, traces, and other parts of harness; and, under the name of _cordovan_, is also used for shoes. the _hair_ forms a considerable branch of trade. that of the tail is employed for weaving the covers or seats of chairs and sofas; for making sieves, fishing-lines, and the bows of musical instruments. the inferior hair of the tail and mane is employed for the stuffing of bolsters and mattresses. for this purpose it is baked, by which it is rendered one of the most elastic substances, for couches, that are known. the short hair of the horse is used for stuffing saddles and horse-collars. if horses be well treated, and properly attended to, they will sometimes live to the age of fifty years; but, during great part of this time, they are generally so decrepid as to be unable to perform any services whatever for their owners. to ascertain the age of a horse, reference is generally had to the teeth. deeply sunk eye-pits are usually considered a criterion, though not an infallible one, of an old horse; and, for colts or young horses, attention must be paid to the appearance of their coat, and of the hairs of the mane and tail, as it is not until they have changed their first teeth that any correct judgment of their age can be formed from the mouth. the deceptions of horse-dealers in changing the appearance of the teeth, and in various other particulars relative to the horse, render great caution necessary in the purchase of these animals. . _the ass_ (equus asinus) _is characterized by his tail having long hairs only towards the extremity, and the male having a blackish cross over the shoulders._ _wild asses associate in herds in the mountainous deserts of tartary, persia, and india; and also in some parts of africa._ this animal, which by care and attention, is rendered, in spain and some other countries, an elegant, tractable, and valuable servant of man, is entirely neglected by us; and, in england, has consequently degenerated into a stupid and inactive beast. the sacred writings speak of asses being in general use throughout the eastern countries, both for the saddle, and as animals of draught and burthen. with the romans they were in such estimation that pliny speaks of a male ass having been sold at a price which exceeded l. of our money. in spain the best asses are sold at very high prices, sometimes as much as guineas and upwards each. doomed as it is with us to slavery and ill treatment, we cannot be surprised that the ass, in many instances, should appear a stubborn and intractable animal. but whenever it is well treated, it is remarkable for meekness, patience, and docility; it submits quietly to chastisement, is temperate in its food, and is contented to feed on such vegetables as most other animals would refuse. in proportion to its size, the ass is capable of supporting great fatigue, and of dragging and carrying heavy burthens. asses are chiefly employed for drawing hucksters' carts, and similar burthens; and, if properly trained, there can be no doubt but they would constitute the cheapest team that could be used. being more hardy than horses, these animals are preferred to them for journeys across the deserts of asia. most of the musselmen pilgrims use them in their long and laborious journeys to mecca. in the principal streets of cairo, asses stand ready saddled for hire, and answer the same purposes as hackney coaches in london. the person who lets an ass accompanies him, running behind to goad him on. asses' _milk_ is light, easy of digestion, and so nutritious as to be recommended in many disorders. it is particularly agreeable to the tender stomachs of consumptive persons, is wholesome for young children, and is chiefly drunk whilst warm from the animals; there is a mode of preparing artificial asses' milk with eryngo root, pearl-barley, and liquorice root, boiled in water, and mixed with new cows' milk. in some parts of the continent asses' milk is occasionally used as a cosmetic. the _flesh_ of the wild ass is so much esteemed in persia that it is admitted even to the imperial table. the persians have an adage expressive of their high opinion of it. notwithstanding this, the flesh of the domestic ass is so bad as food, that it is said few persons would be able to eat of it. from their hardness and elasticity, the _skins_ of these animals are capable of being used for various purposes. they are manufactured into shoes, heads for drums, and, when varnished over in a peculiar manner, are cut into leaves for pocket-books. the inhabitants of some of the eastern countries make of asses' skin the substance called _sagri_ or _shagreen_. at astracan, and throughout persia, there are great manufactories of this article. it is not naturally granulated; this roughness being altogether effected by art. of the bones of the ass the ancients are said to have made their best sounding flutes. . the mule, or mixed produce betwixt the ass and the mare, is a very hardy and useful animal. its size is larger, its head and ears smaller, and its coat smoother than those of the ass. in countries where the breed of asses is sufficiently large for obtaining mules of considerable size, these are preferred to nearly all animals for cheapness, durability, and general convenience, as beasts of burthen. in england they have never been propagated to any extent; and the few that have been reared in this country have, in general, been the produce of such diminutive parents, as to exhibit only a puny race, by no means calculated for the services of which a well-managed breed would be capable. yet even these, where they have been used, have been found to possess many very estimable qualities. in the brewhouse of messrs. truman, harford, and co. of limehouse, mules were for a little while used in place of the dray-horses which are employed by other brewers. each dray was drawn by three mules, and carried three butts of beer, a weight precisely the same which the london drays carry with three large horses. . _the hippopotamus, or river-horse_ (hippopotamus amphibius), _is an african quadruped of immense bulk, with large head, extremely wide mouth, strong teeth, and thick and short legs, each terminated by four hoofs._ _the body is of brownish colour, and covered with short and thinly set hair. one of these animals, which m. le vaillant killed in the south of africa, measured nearly eleven feet in length, and about nine in circumference._ in the immediate vicinity of rivers, in several parts of africa, even as far south as the cape of good hope, the hippopotamus is occasionally seen. notwithstanding his bulk and strength, he is an animal of considerable timidity; and whenever he is surprised, he plunges into the water, and walks about at the bottom with great ease, rising to the surface about once every ten minutes to breathe. he feeds on plants of various kinds, and sometimes proves very destructive in the plantations, not only by the quantity of food which he devours, but also by treading down and crushing with his feet much more than he eats. the hippopotamus is one of those animals whose _tusks_ are used as ivory; and, from their always preserving their original whiteness and purity, they are considered superior to the tusks of the elephant. they are each from twelve to fourteen inches in length, and weigh from six to ten pounds. dentists sometimes manufacture them into artificial teeth, for which they are well adapted. of the _hide_, which in some parts is nearly two inches thick, the inhabitants of africa make excellent whips, which, after a little use, become very pliable. the _flesh_, when the animals are in good condition, is said to be tender and well flavoured, particularly that of the parts near the breast. it is even sometimes admitted to the tables of the colonists at the cape of good hope. the hottentots consider it so great a delicacy that they eat it even in an half putrid state. professor thunberg states, that he one day passed a hottentot's tent, which had been pitched for the purpose of consuming the body of an hippopotamus that had been killed sometime before; and says, that the inhabitants of the tent were in the midst of such stench, that the travellers could hardly pass them without being suffocated. the _feet_ are considered peculiarly fine eating; and the _tongue_, when salted and dried, is in great esteem at the cape. . _the hog_ (sus scrofa, fig. ) _is distinguishable by its prominent tusks, the flat termination of its snout, its feet being cloven, the fore part of its back being bristly, and the tail hairy._ _the male is called_ boar, _and the female_ sow. _the appellations of_ swine _and_ pig _are given to the whole breed, though the latter is more peculiarly applicable to the young animals._ _the parent stock of our domestic swine is the wild boar, which inhabits the forests of france, germany, and other parts of europe, as well as those of persia and india._ wild boars usually live in families, and are hunted, as an amusement, in all the parts of the world where they are found. the _flesh_ of the wild animals, if they are not old, is said to be much superior to that of our domestic swine. that of the young ones is peculiarly delicate. of an old wild boar the head only is eatable. the advantages derived from the breeding of swine are very great. their flesh, which has the appellation of _pork_, is in universal request; and is of peculiar importance in a commercial view, as it takes salt better, and is capable of being kept longer, than any other kind of meat that we are acquainted with. pork, after having been salted, is sometimes hung up to dry in the open air; but, generally, it is smoked by being hung in a chimney. in this state it has the general name of _bacon_. what are called _hams_, are the thighs preserved in a similar manner. _westphalia hams_ are generally made from such animals as have been well fed, and allowed to range at pleasure in the extensive moorlands of that province; and they have a singular flavour, not so much from any great difference that there is in the salting of them, as from their being smoked in chimneys where only wood fires are burnt. the time of fumigation is from three to six months, according to their size. pork, though a wholesome food, requires a strong stomach to digest it properly; and ham and bacon are highly improper for persons of weak and languid habits. _brawn_ is the flesh of the boar pickled in a peculiar manner, and is always better tasted according to the greater age of the animal of which it is made. after the boar is killed, the head and legs are cut off, and the bones are carefully taken from the remaining part. this, after having been properly salted, is rolled together as hard as possible. it is then boiled till it becomes so tender as to be pierced with a straw. it is afterwards set by till quite cold, and lastly is immersed in a pickle formed of salt and bran boiled together. the usual mode of curing pork is with common salt, or bay salt; but some persons add saltpetre or nitre, juniper berries, pepper, and other antiseptic substances. the jews and mahometans abstain from this species of food from a religious principle, and even consider themselves defiled by touching it. the inhabitants of china, on the contrary, are so excessively fond of pork, that multitudes, from this partiality alone, are said to have been prevented from conversion to mahometanism. the _fat_ of swine differs, in its situation, from that of almost every other quadruped, as it covers the animals all over, and forms a thick, distinct, and continued layer betwixt the flesh and the skin, somewhat like the blubber in whales ( ). it is called _lard_, and is applicable to various uses, both culinary and medicinal; and particularly to the composition of ointments. the general mode of preparation is to melt it in a jar placed in a kettle of water; and in this state to boil it, and run it into bladders that have been cleansed with great care. the smaller the bladders are the better the lard will keep. the fat which adheres to the parts connected with the intestines differs from common lard, and is preferably employed for the greasing of carriage wheels. the _blood_, the _feet_, and the _tongue_, are all adopted for food. the _skin_, when properly dressed, is used for the seats of saddles; by book-binders, and other artisans. in china hogs' skins are much in request by shoe-makers. all the shoes that are sold to europeans at canton are made of hogs' leather, the hair having previously been burnt off with a hot iron. in our own country, when swine are killed for food, it is not customary to strip off the skin, but merely to rid it of the bristles, by scalding the animals, after they are dead, with hot water, or singeing them with lighted straw. consequently the hogs' skins which we use are chiefly imported from abroad. the _bristles_ of swine are made into brushes of various kinds, and are also employed by shoe-makers in the place of needles. among the other uses of swine, it may not generally be known that, in the island of minorca, they are employed as beasts of draught. they are frequently yoked to the plough with asses; and one writer speaks of having seen a cow, a sow, and two young horses, all yoked together, and of these the sow drew the best. in some parts of italy swine are used in hunting for truffles, an eatable species of fungus which grow at the depth of some inches in the ground. a cord being tied to the hind leg of one of these animals, the beast is driven into certain pastures; and we are told that truffles are always to be found wherever he stops and begins to turn up the earth with his nose. most writers have asserted that swine are long-lived, but few instances are allowed to occur of their attaining a great age; as it is neither profitable nor convenient to keep them to the full extent of their time. a gentleman in hampshire kept a sow till she was nearly seventeen years old; and, at this period, she began to exhibit some signs of old age by the decay of her teeth, and ceasing to be so fertile as she had previously been. this animal afforded an instance of the extremely prolific nature of swine. she is calculated to have been the parent of no fewer than young ones. the great weight to which swine are sometimes fed would appear altogether incredible had it not been well attested. in one instance a pig was known to weigh pounds when alive; and pounds when killed and dressed. order vii.--cete, or cetaceous animals. . _the narwal, or sea-unicorn_ (monodon monoceros) _is a marine animal from twenty to thirty feet in length, with a long, tapering, twisted, and pointed weapon of ivory in front of the head._ _it has a small fin on each side of the breast, in place of fore feet, an horizontally flattened tail, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the highest part of the head. the skin is white, variegated with numerous black spots on the upper parts of the body; and the weapon is generally from five to eight feet in length._ _these animals are found in the greenland seas, and they occasionally migrate southward off the british coasts. their name of_ narh-wal _signifies a whale that subsists on dead bodies._ the greenlanders pursue the narwals as they do other whales, chiefly on account of the _oil_ which they obtain from them. this is considered superior, in many respects, to the oil of the great whale ( ), and is used by them both with food and to burn in their lamps. these people also eat the _flesh_ of the narwal prepared by fire, dried in a half putrid state, and sometimes even raw; and they are also partial to the _intestines_ as food. the _tendons_ serve them as a strong kind of thread. the projecting _weapon_, which is not a horn but a species of tusk, in its substance not much unlike the tusk of an elephant, is sometimes cut into the heads of arrows; and, in some parts of greenland where wood is scarce, these weapons are occasionally used in the structure of tents and sledges. as ivory, they are not of much use, since, from their twisted form, they cut to great disadvantage. the kings of denmark have, in the castle of rosenberg, a throne formed of the tusks of the narwal. it has of late years been ascertained that the japanese have a very extraordinary opinion of the medical virtues of these tusks. a dutch merchant, on his return to europe, happened, among other curiosities, to transmit one of them to a friend in japan, who by the sale of it became extremely rich. from that time the dutch wrote, to their correspondents in europe, for as many as could be sent, and great profit was made of them; and, although by the continued importation, the price has since been considerably diminished, it still continues very high. narwals are quick, active, and inoffensive animals. they swim with considerable velocity. when harpooned they dive in the same manner as the whale, but not so deep. they generally descend about two hundred fathoms, after which they return to the surface, where they are dispatched, in a few minutes, with a lance. . _the great or greenland whale_ (balæna mysticetus, pl. , fig. ) _is a marine animal of immense magnitude, measuring from fifty to eighty feet in length, of which the head is nearly one third, and having several horny blades in the upper jaw, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the upper part of the head._ _the bulk of these animals is such that their greatest circumference is nearly equal to their length; and their weight has been known to exceed , pounds. the mouth is of enormous size, extending as far back as to the eyes; and the tongue is sometimes eighteen or twenty feet in length, and nine or ten in width. notwithstanding this, the_ gullet, _or passage of the throat, is seldom more than four or five inches across. the eyes are situated a little above the corners of the mouth, and are scarcely larger than those of an ox; and the external opening of the ears, which are merely auditory holes, is likewise very small. there is a large fin on each side of the breast, and the horizontally flattened tail-fin is equal to about one sixth part of the length of the animal. on the back there is neither fin nor protuberance. the skin is very thick and strong, entirely destitute of hair, and always covered with an oily substance which issues through the pores, and which, when exposed to the rays of the sun, makes the surface appear as resplendent as that of polished metal. whales vary much in colour; some being entirely black, others reddish, or black above and white beneath, and others variously mottled with black or brown and white._ _the great whales are inhabitants of the ocean, and found chiefly in the greenland and other seas, near the arctic pole; they, however, sometimes migrate so far south as to be seen in the neighbourhood of the british shores._ the animals of the whale tribe are of great use to mankind in a commercial view. they are pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the maritime countries of europe, and to us are not merely a source of profit, but, from the whale fishery requiring many ships, are the means of training a great number of seamen. to this fishery it is that we are indebted for those two valuable articles--_whale_ or _train oil_, and _whalebone_. the fat of all the whales has the name of _blubber_, and is principally found beneath the skin, to the depth of ten or twelve inches. its use, to the animals, appears to be for the double purpose of poising their bodies, and keeping off the immediate contact of the water from the flesh, the continued cold of which, in the frozen climates of the north, would tend to chill the blood. the _whalebone_ supplies, in these animals, the place of teeth, for catching and securing their food. it is attached to the upper jaw, and is arranged in thin plates or blades, sometimes near seven hundred in number, and parallel to each other on both sides of the mouth. the largest blades measure from ten to fifteen feet in length, and twelve or fifteen inches in width; and they all terminate in a kind of fringe of considerable length, which has the appearance of the blades split into innumerable small fibres. a large whale sometimes yields a ton and half of whalebone. the number of ships employed in the whale fishery is very great; but, in consequence of the incessant pursuit of these animals for the last two centuries, their numbers have been greatly diminished. one of the most fortunate years that ever was known was , when the following ships entered the bay of greenland: from bremen, which had taken from hamburgh from holland ---- total number of whales taken ---- the year was a singularly prosperous one to the british whale fishery: ships, fitted out from different ports of this country, obtained whales, besides seals, &c. the british ships, during four years, ending with , returned with whales, which produced , tons of oil, and tons of whalebone. the season for the whale-fishery commences in may, and continues through the months of june and july; but the ships must come away before the end of august, otherwise they might be blocked up and destroyed by the ice. every ship sent out from this country carries along with it six or seven boats, each of which has one harpooner, one man at the rudder, one man to manage the line, and four men as rowers. in each boat there are also two or three harpoons, several spears, and about six lines, each fathoms in length, fastened together. as soon as the men in the boats discover a whale, swimming near the surface of the water, they approach to the spot, and strike a harpoon deeply into his body. to this instrument the line is attached; and on the whale plunging into the water, this line is allowed to run out, great care being taken not only to prevent it from catching, lest the animal should overset the boat, but also (by continually wetting the place against which it runs) to prevent its rapid motion from setting fire to the wood. after a while the wounded animal is obliged to return to the surface to breathe. his direction is followed, and his re-appearance carefully marked. with great dexterity fresh wounds are inflicted, till, at length, he appears exhausted, when a long spear is thrust into his intestines, which soon destroys him. the whale is then dragged to the ship, and securely fastened to the side by ropes attached to the fins and tail. the blubber is cut out, in large square pieces, by men who get upon the animal, having their shoes armed with a kind of iron spurs to prevent their slipping. as soon as the blubber is taken on board the vessel, it is divided into smaller pieces, and thrown into the hold to drain. the next operation is to extract the whalebone. this is done entire, along with the gums, which are hoisted on the deck, where the blades are cut and separated, and left until the men have leisure to scrape and clear them. the _tongue_ consists of a soft and spongy fat substance, which, when boiled down, yields five or six barrels of oil; the oil that is drained from the two upper jaw-bones is the peculiar perquisite of the captain. as an encouragement to the whale fishery, a bounty of twenty shillings is allowed by government for every ton of blubber which is imported into this country. from milford, in pembrokeshire, and some other british sea-ports, vessels are also fitted out for the south seas, in pursuit of whales which frequent the ocean in those torrid climates, particularly near the coast of south america. the inhabitants of greenland, and of other northern countries of the world, eat almost every part of the whale. the _skin_, the _tail_, and the _fins_, are sometimes eaten even raw. the _flesh_ is eaten both fresh and dried. that of the young animals is of red colour; and, when cleared of fat, broiled and seasoned with pepper and salt, is said to eat not unlike coarse beef. that of an old whale appears black, and is exceedingly coarse and unpalatable. the esquimaux, however, eat both the flesh and fat of the whale, and drink the oil with greediness. indeed some of the tribes carry, in their canoes, bladders filled with whale oil, which they use in the same way, and with a similar relish, that a british sailor does a dram. they also eat the _skin_ of the whale raw. it is not unusual for female esquimaux, when they visit whale ships, to select for eating, pieces of skin to which a portion of blubber is attached. they also give it for food to the infants suspended at their backs, who suck it with great apparent delight. the _heart_ of a young whale which was caught in the year , and measured fifteen feet in length, is said by captain colnett to have afforded a delicious repast to his ship's crew. of the _intestines_ of the whale the greenlanders prepare a substance which serves instead of glass for their windows. they make fishing-lines of the _filaments_ which terminate the blades of whalebone; and in many countries, the ribs and other large _bones_ supply the place of timber, in the construction of houses, and as fences to surround gardens and fields. the smaller bones are converted into harpoons and spears. the _tendons_ are split into filaments, and used as cordage, and for nets of various kinds. with the esquimaux some of the membranes of the abdomen are used for an upper article of clothing; and the thinnest and most transparent of them are adopted, instead of glass, in the windows of their huts. the _blubber_ of the whale, when pickled and boiled, is said to be very palatable; and the _tail_, when parboiled and fried, is often adopted in the greenland ships as food. the blubber, when in a fresh state, is destitute of any unpleasant smell: indeed it is not until the termination of the voyage, when the cargo is unstowed, that a greenland ship becomes disagreeable. the use of the _whalebone_ in our own country is well known; but, since ladies have left off wearing stays, it is at present comparatively in little demand. by a late invention it is manufactured into hats, bonnets, and brushes. whales are sometimes seen in troops sporting about near the surface of the ocean. they spout water through the spiracles on the top of their heads, with the rushing noise of a cataract, and to the height even of thirty or forty feet. such are their powers in the water that, in some instances, their motion through that element has been calculated at thirty feet in a second, or upwards of twenty miles in an hour. great caution is required in attacking them, as, with a single blow of their tail, they are able to upset a tolerably large boat. they feed only on the smaller kinds of fish and other marine animals, as their throat is not sufficiently wide to admit of their swallowing any substance of large size, and they are not furnished with teeth to cut or grind their food into small pieces. the females produce only one young one each: this they suckle for many months, and are peculiarly affectionate and attentive towards it. these animals are occasionally stranded on the british shores, in which case, by the ancient laws of the land, they are deemed royal fish; the king being entitled to the anterior, and the queen to the posterior half. . _the fin-backed whale, or fin-fish_ (balæna physalus), _is a marine animal from sixty to ninety feet in length, with a thick fin on the hinder part of the back, the muzzle tapering, and the jaws somewhat pointed._ _this species is of more slender form than the last, its greatest circumference not in general exceeding fifteen or twenty feet. the spiracle or breathing hole is double, and situated on the middle of the fore part of the head; and the colour of the body is generally dark or blackish olive above, and white below. the whole surface appears polished and shining._ _these whales are chiefly found in the northern frozen ocean, and particularly about the coast of greenland and spitzbergen. but they sometimes enter the mediterranean, and are not uncommon in the south american and indian seas._ although a smaller proportion of _oil_ is obtained from these than from the great whales, it is of much better quality than that. the inhabitants of greenland consume it with their food, preferably to burning it in lamps, if oil of less value can be obtained for that purpose. the _whalebone_ is too short and narrow to be of much value. from the small quantity of oil, and little value of the whalebone, added to the difficulty and danger which are attendant on the pursuit of these active and powerful animals, they are not very eagerly sought after by the whale-fishers. we are assured that the _flesh_ of the fin-backed whale is as well tasted, and, in every respect, as excellent, as that of the sturgeon. in most of the northern countries, both of europe and america, the _fins_, the _skin_, and the _tendons_, all serve for many useful purposes. there are other species of whales which are useful, in a certain degree, to mankind, for the oil that is yielded by their bodies; but few of them are objects of pursuit, on account of the difficulty there is in killing them, or of the very inferior quantity of oil which they afford. the blades of their whalebone are also too small to be of any use as an object of commerce. . _the blunt-headed cachalot, or spermaceti whale_ (physeter macrocephalus) _is a marine animal from sixty to seventy feet in length, with large teeth in the under jaw, which fit into corresponding sockets of the upper jaw; the orifice of the spiracle single, and at the upper part of the extremity of the muzzle; and without any fin upon the back._ _the head occupies about one-third of the length of the whole body. the colour of this whale is generally black, but, in the old animals, the under parts become whitish. the skin is smooth, oily, and almost as soft to the touch as silk._ _it is most frequently seen in the northern ocean, in the latitudes of greenland, spitzbergen, and iceland; yet it is occasionally observed off the british coasts, and sometimes even in the mediterranean._ lucrative as the several parts of these animals are, the whale-fishers have a great dread of them, in consequence of their astonishing activity in the water. much care is requisite, in striking the harpoon, to keep the boats out of danger of being overturned, and great dexterity in following their track. from the relation given by the danish voyagers olafsen and povelsen, it would appear that the spermaceti whales become occasionally so ferocious as even to seize the fishing boats with their teeth, and, in an instant, to destroy the whole crew. notwithstanding all these dangers, so highly valued are they that they are searched for with much assiduity: and happy are the owners of those vessels which can obtain the greatest number of them. the _oil_ that is obtained from them is not in great quantity, but is of excellent quality. in burning it yields a bright flame, without exhaling any noxious smell. the white and fatty substance known in our shops by the name of _spermaceti_ is found in an immense cavity of the skull, distinct from that which contains the brain. this sometimes occupies nearly the whole front and upper part of the head, and, in some instances, is known to measure sixteen or eighteen feet in length. it is divided horizontally into two parts by a strong membrane, and each of these parts is again subdivided, by vertical membranes, into numerous cells, which communicate with each other, and contain the spermaceti. this, which is frequently mistaken for the brain, is sometimes found in such quantity as to fill eighteen or twenty butts. whilst the animals are alive, the spermaceti is in a fluid state; but, when dead, it is found in somewhat solid lumps, and is of whitish colour. spermaceti is of considerable use, medicinally, in pains and erosions of the intestines, in coughs, and other complaints. it is also applied externally in ointments, and for other purposes. it is converted into a very beautiful kind of candles, which appear to be a medium between those made of wax and tallow. good spermaceti is in fine white flakes, glossy, and semi-transparent, soft, and unctuous to the touch, yet dry and easily friable, in taste somewhat like butter, and of faint smell, not much unlike that of tallow. if exposed to the air, it soon becomes rancid and yellow. its quality and colour may however be recovered by steeping it in alkaline liquors, or in a sufficient quantity of spirit of wine. the _flesh_ of this kind of whale is of pale red colour, appears not much unlike coarse pork, and is not unpalatable as food. the _skin_, _intestines_, and _tendons_, are all useful to the inhabitants of the northern countries of europe. the _tongue_ is considered excellent eating. the _teeth_ are formed into the heads of spears and arrows, and may even be used as ivory; the _bones_ are sometimes applied as timber for tents and cottages; and a very tenacious glue or size is manufactured from the _fibres of the flesh_. it is to these, and some other animals nearly allied to them, that we are indebted for the drug or perfume called _ambergris_. this is generally found in the stomach, but sometimes in the intestines, and in lumps from three to twelve inches in thickness, mixed with many substances very different from itself, such as macerated vegetables, the remains of marine shell-animals, the bones and other hard parts of fish; and the ambergris itself frequently contains the beaks or jaws of different species of sepiæ, or cuttle-fish. the latter are the cause of those yellowish, whitish, or dusky spots that are often observable in this drug. as we see it in the shops, ambergris is an opake substance, which varies in solidity, according to its exposure to a warm or cold atmosphere. it is however, in general, sufficiently hard to be broken. its smell is extremely powerful and agreeable to some persons, but unpleasant and even nauseous to others. when first taken from the stomach or intestines of the animals which produce it, ambergris is quite soft to the touch; and, as may well be conjectured from the situation in which it is found, has a fetid and most disgusting smell; but after it has, for some time, been exposed to the influence of the atmosphere, it becomes harder, and yields the powerful and peculiar odour by which it is characterized. oil, spermaceti, and ambergris, are supposed to be yielded in greater or less quantity from every species of cachalot. . _the common or true dolphin_ (delphinus delphis) _is a cetaceous animal nine or ten feet in length, with a row of large teeth in each jaw, and a single orifice near the top of the head; an oblong and roundish body, a fin on the back, and the snout narrow and pointed, having a broad transverse band or projection of the skin on its upper part. the body is black, with a bluish tinge above, and white below._ _dolphins are found in nearly every part of the ocean._ few animals have had greater celebrity than these. their activity in playing about near the surface of the ocean, their undulating motion, and the evolutions and gambols of whole shoals of them together, occasionally afford to mariners and others a very entertaining spectacle. by the ancient greeks and romans dolphins were supposed to entertain a kind of friendship towards mankind, and were consecrated to the gods. in cases of shipwreck they were believed to be in waiting to rescue and carry on shore the unfortunate mariners. pliny, the roman naturalist, was credulous enough to believe that dolphins had been rendered so tame as to allow of persons mounting on their backs, and being carried in safety over a considerable space of sea. as these animals, in their progress through the water, often assume a crooked form, in order to spring forward with the greater force, both ancient and modern artists have depicted the dolphin with its back curved. the _flesh_ of the dolphin is hard and insipid, yet it was formerly in repute as food even in this country. we are informed by dr. caius, that a dolphin which was caught, in his time, at shoreham, in sussex, was sent to the duke of norfolk, who had part of it roasted and served up at table with a sauce made of the crumbs of white bread mixed with vinegar and sugar. the _tongue_ of the dolphin is said to be very agreeable to the taste, and to be in every respect delicate eating. the _fat_, which, as in other cetaceous animals, lies, for the most part, immediately beneath the skin, is not in great abundance. it is to be remarked that seamen give the name of dolphin to another kind of animal, the dorado (_coryphæna hippuris_). the latter, however, is a genuine species of fish, and not, like the present, a warm-blooded and mammiferous animal. . _the porpesse_ (delphinus phocæna) _is a cetaceous animal, six or seven feet in length, with a somewhat conical body, a row of pointed teeth in each jaw, a single spiracle near the top of the head, a broad fin about the middle of the back, and a short and bluntish muzzle._ _its colour is bluish black above, and white beneath, and the skin is bright, smooth, and soft to the touch._ _these animals are found in the baltic sea, near the coasts of greenland and labrador, in all parts of the atlantic, and even in the pacific ocean._ in most of their habits the porpesses have a near resemblance to the dolphin, but they are not so active. they generally associate in troops of from six or seven to thirty and upwards in number, and feed on fish of all kinds, but particularly on such as swim in large shoals, as mackerel, herrings, and the different species of the cod. in proportion to the size of their body, porpesses yield a great quantity of excellent _oil_; but from the difficulty there is in catching them, in sufficient number to repay the labour, they are seldom thought worth pursuing. the _flesh_, as well as that of the dolphin, was formerly in great estimation in england. among the provisions for the celebrated inthronization feast of george neville, archbishop of york, in the reign of edward the fourth, are enumerated no fewer than twelve porpesses and seals. these animals, however, are now entirely neglected with us as food; yet the inhabitants of greenland and lapland consider the flesh of the porpesse as highly excellent. the former even eat the _fat_, the _entrails_, and the _skin_; but they seldom cook the flesh till its hardness is destroyed by long keeping. the americans use the _skins_ (dressed in a peculiar manner) for making waistcoats and breeches; they also form them into an excellent covering for carriages. ---- class ii.--birds. ---- order i.--accipitres, or rapacious birds. . _the aquiline or egyptian vulture_ (vultur percnopterus) _is a large bird of prey, which has a naked head and neck; a black and hooked beak, yellow at the base; and the quill feathers of the wings, except the first two, black, edged with hoary._ _the male is of a dirty white colour, and the female brown, with, the above exception of the quill feathers._ _immense flocks of aquiline vultures are observable near all the principal towns of egypt, syria and persia._ filthy and disgusting as these birds are, not only in their appearance but in all their habits, they are of almost indispensable utility to mankind in those countries where they are found. they may be considered the scavengers of hot climates. in conjunction with other animals of similar appetites and propensities, they clear away, by devouring them, all the remains of animal substances which otherwise would be left to putrefy, and would infect the air with the most noxious effluvia. they are consequently protected and encouraged by mankind. the ancient egyptians held them in such veneration as to punish with death any person who destroyed them. in consequence of this protection, they have become fearless of mankind, and, even in the streets of the most populous towns of egypt, may be seen to feed with the greatest familiarity. these vultures devour also the eggs and young ones of the crocodiles, and destroy myriads of rats and mice, as well as reptiles of every description, which abound among the mud, and in all the grounds that are fertilized by the overflowing of the nile. . _the carrion vulture_ (vultur aura) _is an american bird of prey, about four feet and a half high, with a small head covered with red skin, the bill hooked and white; and the plumage dusky, except the quill feathers, which are black._ in america these birds are protected for the same services as are performed by the aquiline vulture ( ) in africa and asia. they not only devour the filth of the towns and villages, but also destroy, in great numbers, the eggs of alligators; which animals otherwise would become intolerable by their prodigious increase. the vultures watch the females in the act of depositing their eggs in the sand; and, as soon as they retire into the water, dart to the spot and feed upon their contents. . _the cinereous eagle_ (aquila albicilla) _is a species of eagle about the size of a turkey, of cinereous brown colour, with while tail, the quill feathers white, the middle ones tipped with black; and the base of the bill, and the feet, yellow._ _this bird is found in england, and in nearly every other country of europe._ the _flesh_ of the cinereous eagles is eaten in greenland, and is said not to be of bad flavour. their _skins_ sewed together, are used as under garments; and are also frequently employed as beds. the _beak_ and _claws_ are employed as amulets or charms; and are considered efficacious for the cure of various complaints. the greenlanders either kill these birds with arrows, or catch them in snares laid in the snow, and baited with flesh. the cinereous eagles feed on dead animals of every description, as well as on fish, young seals, and several kinds of birds. . _the secretary falcon_ (falco serpentarius) _is a bird of prey of large size, with a bill hooked at the point and bearded at the base, black plumage, a crest on the hind part of the head, the tail feathers white at the tip, the two middle ones the longest, and the legs of great length._ _this bird is about three feet in height, and, in its general appearance, has some resemblance both to the eagle and the crane._ _it is an inhabitant of the interior of africa, of some parts of asia, and several of the asiatic islands._ as a destroyer of noxious reptiles and other injurious animals, the secretary falcon is of great service to mankind. he attacks without fear even the most poisonous serpents, approaching them with the point of one of his wings, and either trampling them to death with his feet, or catching them on the pinion of the other wing, and throwing them into the air several times successively until they are dead. this bird is easily domesticated, in which state he is not only serviceable in destroying reptiles and serpents, but he might probably also be useful in devouring rats and mice. poultry of all kinds ought, however, to be kept out of his way, or he would devour them also. . _the gentil falcon_ (falco gentilis, fig. ) _is a british bird of prey about two feet in length, distinguished by its ash-coloured plumage, with brown spots; the tail having four blackish bands, and the base of the bill and the legs being of yellow colour._ _it inhabits several of the mountainous parts of europe and north america._ this was one of the several kinds of birds that were in great repute in _falconry_; a sport which, some centuries ago, was pursued in all the principal courts of europe, and anterior to that by the ancient greeks and romans. the estimation in which this sport was held may well be supposed when it is stated that, at one period, scarcely any person of rank appeared abroad without a hawk on his hand; and that, in old paintings, this representation is considered even a criterion of nobility. the english laws enacted for the preservation of falcons were so rigorous, that in the reign of edward the third it was rendered felony to steal one of these birds; and for a person to take the eggs, even in his own grounds, he was liable to be imprisoned for a year and a day, besides a fine at the king's pleasure. the falcons or hawks chiefly used in the british dominions, were the present species, the _peregrine falcon_ (_falco peregrinus_), _iceland falcon_ (_falco islandus_), _goshawk_ (_falco palumbarius_), and _gyrfalcon_ (_falco candicans_). after the invention of gunpowder this sport fell gradually into disuse; until, at length, hawks were discarded, and the whole pleasure of killing feathered game was confined to shooting. . _owls are birds of prey, distinguishable by their round head, a circular arrangement of feathers round each eye, the bill being hooked, and the nostrils being covered with bristly feathers._ these birds are of great service to farmers by devouring mice and other small animals, the uninterrupted increase of which would be extremely injurious to the fruits of the harvest. the late rev. gilbert white, in his natural history of selborne, states that he had paid considerable attention to the manner of life of a pair of white owls, which constantly bred under the eaves of the church. he says that, generally, about an hour before sunset they sallied forth in quest of mice; that he has often minuted the birds with his watch for an hour together, and found that the one or the other of them returned to the nest about once in five minutes, with a mouse in its claws. though serviceable in thus destroying mice, these birds also destroy young rabbits, hares, and partridges, for which they are execrated by sportsmen; and they sometimes enter pigeon-houses, where their ravenous propensities cause them to commit great devastations. . _the great or cinereous shrike_ (lanius excubitor) _is a small bird of prey, distinguished by having a straightish black bill with a notch in each mandible near the end: the back hoary, the wings black, with a white spot, and the tail white at the sides._ _there is likewise a black stripe on each side of the head, extending backward from the base of the bill. the length of this bird is about eight inches._ _it inhabits the woods of europe and america._ such are the courage and address of the cinereous shrike, that it is capable of being trained to hawk for and catch small birds. we are informed that francis the first, king of france, was frequently in the habit of chasing the smaller kinds of game with shrikes. in some parts of the continent where these birds are very numerous, they are considered so useful, by waging continual war against rats and mice, and destroying great numbers of noxious insects, that the farmers will not allow them to be destroyed. it is the singular propensity of the cinereous shrike to stick the insects on which it feeds upon the thorny branches of trees, previously to eating them. even when confined in a cage, it often adopts a similar mode with respect to its food, by sticking it against the wires. order ii.--picÆ, or pies. . _the raven_ (corvus corax) _is a bird of the crow tribe, known by its large size, its plumage being of bluish black colour, and its tail being roundish at the end._ _it is found in almost every country of europe, siberia, and north america._ in egypt these birds are held nearly in equal veneration with the vultures ( ), on account of their propensity to devour dead animals, and putrid substances of almost every description. they also destroy rats, mice, and small reptiles. it is said that in the bermudas the inhabitants were, for several years, annoyed by a prodigious increase of rats, which devoured the corn and plants, and swam from island to island, committing great depredations in every place; and that, at length, they suddenly disappeared, without any other assignable cause than the unexpected presence of several flocks of ravens. by the ancients these birds were esteemed of much importance, from a notion that, by the various modulations or tones of their voice, certain future events might be predicted. ravens are easily domesticated, and in this state may be trained to fowling, somewhat in the same manner as falcons ( ). they may also be taught to fetch and carry small objects, like spaniels; but they are so mischievous that they ought not to be trusted in any place where spoons or other valuable articles are deposited, lest they also carry them away and hide them. the _flesh_ of the raven is eaten by the inhabitants of greenland; and the _skin_, with the feathers on, is preferred to most other substances as a warm under garment. the _beak_ and _claws_ are used, in that country, as amulets. with us the _quills_, cut to a point, were formerly much in request for what are called the jacks of harpsichords, to strike the wires in playing. they are now chiefly employed for drawing and writing with. . _the rook_ (corvus frugilegus) _is a bird of the crow tribe, distinguished by its black and glossy colour, the base of the bill being naked and dusky, and the tail being roundish._ _these birds are found in europe and siberia._ notwithstanding the prejudices which are entertained, by many farmers, against these birds, arising from a supposition that they feed upon grain, and consequently are destructive to the crops, there can be little doubt that the services they perform are infinitely greater than any injury they commit. often may flocks of them be seen following at a little distance the ploughs, to devour the grubs or caterpillars of such insects as may be thereby exposed to their attacks. these of the cockchafer are destroyed by them in thousands; and it is remarkable that the nostrils, chin, and sides of the mouth, in old rooks, are white, and bared of feathers, in consequence, as it is supposed, of their frequent habit of thrusting their bill into the ground in search of these insects. the late mr. stillingfleet was informed, by an intelligent farmer in berkshire, that, one year, while his men were hoeing a field of turnips, a great number of rooks alighted in a part of it where they were not at work; and that the consequence was a remarkably fine crop in that part, while in the remainder of the field there were scarcely any turnips. young rooks are sometimes used as food; but it is requisite to skin them, previously to their being cooked, as otherwise they would be too strong-tasted to be eaten. . _the red-bellied toucan_ (ramphastos picatus) _is a bird about twenty inches in length, with an enormously large bill of yellowish green colour, and serrated at the edges; the upper part of the body blackish, the breast yellow, and the belly and the tip of the tail red._ _this bird is found in africa, and in several of the eastern parts of south america._ we are assured, by travellers in south america, that the red-bellied toucans are held in great esteem by the indians, not only on account of their _flesh_ as food, but also for their _plumage_; particularly the feathers of the breast, which are used to ornament their dresses. the indians even cut out the skin of this part, with the feathers on, and, after it has been dried, glue it to their cheeks, considering it a great addition to their beauty. we are informed by one of the french voyagers that, whilst he was off the island of st. catherine, near the coast of brazil, the governor, among other presents, sent on board the ship fifty skins of toucans which had been dried with the feathers on. . _the bird of paradise_ (paradisea apoda, fig. ) _is characterized by its having a chesnut-coloured body, the neck being of a gold green colour beneath, the feathers of the sides being longer than the body, and the two middle tail-feathers very long and bristly._ _these birds inhabit new guinea and the adjacent islands of aroo; being found on the former in the fine, and the latter in the rainy seasons._ to the inhabitants of the islands of aroo the birds of paradise have, for many centuries, been an important article of commerce. they are shot with blunt-headed arrows; or caught by birdlime or in snares. as soon as they are killed their legs are cut off, as, by that means, the skins are more easily preserved, and also because the persons who purchase them prefer them thus. the entrails and breast-bone are taken out, and they are dried with smoke and sulphur, for exportation to banda and other commercial settlements. they are in great demand both in persia and india to adorn the turbans of persons of rank, and even the handles of sabres and the trappings of horses. many of them are also sold to the chinese; and, a few years ago, they were a very fashionable ornament for female head-dress in england. the appellation of birds of paradise has been given to these birds from a notion, formerly prevalent, that, destitute of feet, they were constantly in flight, even during their sleep; or that, if they did rest, it was only for a few moments together, and then suspended from the branches of trees by the long feathers of their tail: that the female deposited her eggs in a hollow place on the back of the male, and there sat upon and hatched them, that they fed only on dew: that, destitute of stomach and intestines, the whole abdominal cavity was filled with fat; and, lastly, that they never touched the earth until their death. it is somewhat difficult to account for the origin of notions so absurd, unless we are to suppose them the inventions of persons who traded in the skins of these birds, and founded merely in the very extraordinary nature of their plumage, and the circumstance of such skins being always sold without the legs. birds of paradise generally associate in flocks of forty or fifty together. they form their nests in trees, and feed on fruit and insects. their legs are so short that, when they alight upon the ground, they cannot, without difficulty, rise again into the air. . _the bee cuckoo, or moroc_ (cuculus indicator), _is an african bird somewhat larger than a sparrow, of rusty grey colour above, and whitish beneath; it has naked and black eyelids, a yellow spot on the shoulders, and the feathers of the tail somewhat rust-coloured, marked with white._ the great partiality which these birds have to honey and the maggots of bees, as food, is the cause of their pointing out the hives of wild bees to the inhabitants of those countries in which they are found. as soon as the moroc has itself discovered a nest of bees, it utters a loud and continued cry, as if for the purpose of exciting attention to its wants. if followed by any person, it flies slowly towards the place, alighting from time to time, to give opportunity for its attendant to come up. if the hive be in the cleft of a rock, a hollow tree, or in some cavity of the earth, the moroc will hover over the spot for a short time, and then sit, at a little distance, in expectation of the result, and apparently with a view of sharing in the plunder. when the bee-hunter has taken the nest, he generally leaves a share of the comb to supply the wants and repay the services of the bird. we are informed by m. le vaillant that the hottentots have so great a regard for these birds that they consider it criminal to kill them. . _woodpeckers are a numerous race of birds, distinguished by having a straight, strong, and angular bill, and their tongue very long, slender, bony, hard, and jagged at the end. their toes are formed two forward and two backward._ the english species of woodpeckers are somewhat injurious in woods and plantations, from their propensity to pick holes in trees as places for their nests. by this means the rain has admission to the wood, and often causes its speedy decay. in forming these holes the birds fix themselves firmly against the trees by their claws and tail, the feathers of which are remarkably stiff: and they are able to pierce even the soundest and hardest timber. it does not appear that any of the english species of woodpecker are of further use than by their subsisting on such insects as are found upon the bark, or in crevices or holes of trees; but there can be no doubt that they are very serviceable, by destroying great numbers of the grubs of these timber-eating beetles, some of which bore to great depths, and have holes of considerable size. some of the tribes of turguses roast these birds; then bruise their bodies, and mixing the substance thus formed with fat, cover with it the points of arrows which they use in the chase, under a notion that such animals as are struck with these arrows immediately fall dead. of the bills of the _white-billed woodpecker (picus principalis)_ some of the american indians make a kind of coronets, by setting them in a wreath with the points outward. and such is the value at which they estimate these coronets, that they frequently purchase the bills at the rate of two and even three deer's skins each.--the flesh of some of the species is accounted good eating. order iii.--passeres, or passerine birds. . _the song thrush, or throstle_ (turdus musicus), _is a bird known by its almost straight bill, notched near the end of the upper mandible; and its quill feathers being rust-coloured at their inner base._ _this bird inhabits woods of all the temperate parts of europe._ although the singing birds may not, on account of their melodious notes alone, be considered of any absolute use to mankind, yet these afford us so much delight, and convey to our minds so many pleasing and cheerful emotions, that they must not be overlooked even by such persons as are in search of the useful productions of nature. for fulness and clearness of tone, the throstle is excelled by none of the british song-birds; and in plaintiveness, compass, and execution, it is much superior to the blackbird. its notes are heard in woods and thickets during nearly nine months of the year, but are much too powerful to be pleasant when kept in a room. some of the inhabitants of poland catch thrushes in such numbers as even to load small vessels with them for exportation to other countries. during long droughts in the summer-time these birds are of great service by hunting out shell-snails, which they eagerly pull in pieces as food for their offspring. they build their nests in thickets or orchards, and sometimes in thick hedges near the ground. the outside consists of moss interwoven with dried grass or hay, and the inside is curiously and smoothly plastered. the female generally lays five or six eggs of deep blue colour, marked with black spots. . _the fieldfare_ (turdus pilaris) _is a bird of the thrush tribe, distinguished by the tail feathers being black, except the outermost, which, at their inner edge, are tipped with white; and by the head and upper part of the body near the tail being of a hoary colour._ _these birds annually visit england at the beginning of winter, arriving in large flocks from, the northern parts of europe. they are also found in syria and siberia._ by the ancients, fieldfares, with some other species of thrush, were in great esteem as food. the roman epicures, as we are informed by varro, had them fattened with crumbs of bread mixed with minced figs; and the people employed for this purpose kept thousands of them in successive states of preparation for the table. with us they are sometimes eaten, but they are by no means esteemed as a luxury. fieldfares do not breed in this country. they generally leave us about the end of february or the beginning of march, and do not return till the commencement of winter. . _the blackbird_ (turdus merula) _is a species of thrush, of black colour, with the bill and eyelids yellow._ _the plumage of the female is generally brownish on the under parts._ _these birds are found in nearly all the countries of europe, and in several parts of asia._ the song of the male blackbird is much admired in woods and fields, but it is too loud for the house. in mellowness and sprightliness it is esteemed equal to that of the thrush ( ), but in compass and execution it is considerably inferior. the blackbird begins its song in the first fine days of spring, and, except during the season of its moulting, or change of plumage, continues it until the commencement of winter. blackbirds devour vast numbers of worms and shelled snails. they form their nests in thick bushes externally of moss, roots, and other similar materials; plastering them internally with earth, and lining them with dry grass. the eggs are four or five in number, of light blue colour, with pale rust-coloured spots. persons who rear these birds feed them as soon as they are taken from the nest with a mixture of raw meat chopped small, bread, and bruised hempseed, somewhat moistened with water. the song of the female is very different from that of the male. . _the bulfinch_ (loxia pyrrhula) _is a species of grosbeak, of cinereous colour, with the head, wings, and tail black, the breast and under parts red, the parts near the tail and the hindermost quill feathers whiter._ _this bird is common in england and other parts of europe._ though in considerable esteem as song bird, the bulfinch, in a state of nature, has but three cries, all of which are unpleasant. with attention, however, it may be taught to whistle almost any simple tune of moderate compass. it is even possible to instruct these birds to whistle in duet; but, in this case, the composition should be so arranged as to be in correct harmony, let the birds begin, stop, or go on in whatever parts they please. the germans are noted for training these birds, and great numbers of them are annually imported into this country from germany. bulfinches are very common in some parts of england, building their nests in bushes or low trees about the month of may. their eggs are four or five in number, of bluish colour, with brown and faintly reddish spots towards the large end. . _the ortolan_ (emberiza hortulana) _is a species of bunting, known by its quill feathers being brown, the first three whitish at the edges; and the tail feathers brown, the two lateral ones black on the outer side._ _it is found in most countries of the continent, but has never been caught in england._ during the months of july, august, and september, these birds become excessively fat; and, at that season, they are in great demand by epicures on the continent. they are caught in vast numbers at a time, are kept in dark cages, and fattened for the table with oats and millet seed. there is a great traffic in ortolans carried on by the inhabitants of the island of cyprus; where they are pickled in spice and vinegar, and packed in casks, each containing from to birds. in this state they are exported to france, holland, and england, where they are sold at very high prices. we are informed that, in productive years, such casks, or on an average , of these birds, are sacrificed, to the palate of man, in the island of cyprus only. by many persons ortolans are kept in cages as singing birds; and they are much esteemed on account of their song. . _the goldfinch_ (fringilla carduelis) _is a small bird, distinguished by having all the quill feathers, except the two outermost, marked with yellow in the middle; the front of the head red, and the crown black._ _these birds are found in europe, asia, and africa, and are very common in most parts of england._ as a songster this bird ranks high, but particularly on account of the vivacity and sprightliness of its tones; and, in addition to these, the beauty of its plumage, and the facility with which it may be instructed to perform many amusing tricks, have rendered it a great favourite. one of the commonest of these that they are taught is to draw up their own food and drink, in small cups formed for that purpose. if a young goldfinch be placed with any other singing bird it will readily learn its song. goldfinches, during the winter season, assemble in flocks; but they separate into pairs at the commencement of spring. they frequently construct their nests in orchards or large gardens; forming them externally of moss interwoven with other soft materials, in a most beautiful, compact, and artificial manner; and internally with grass, horse-hair, wool, and feathers. the eggs are five in number, and of white colour, speckled and marked with reddish brown. . _the canary-bird_ (fringilla canaria) _is a species of finch, the bill and body of which are generally of straw-colour, and the quill and tail feathers greenish._ _it is found wild in the canary islands, and also in several parts of the continent, particularly the woods of italy and greece._ it was not until about the middle of the fifteenth century that these birds were first brought into notice. they were then called _sugar birds_, from an opinion that they were peculiarly partial to the sugar-cane as food. for some time afterwards they continued so dear that they could only be purchased by persons of fortune. in germany, and particularly in the tyrol, great attention has, of late years, been paid to the breeding and rearing of canary-birds. at ymst, in the tyrol, there was formerly a company, who, after the breeding season was over, sent out persons to different parts of germany and switzerland, to purchase birds from those who bred them. each person generally brought with him from three to four hundred birds. these were afterwards carried, for sale, through almost every country of europe: and were usually conveyed on the backs of those who sold them. we are informed that, in the canary islands, these birds have no song; and it is a well-established fact that nearly all the birds which are kept in cages are indebted for their song to parents, the progenitors of which have been bred with nightingales or tit-larks. if canary-birds be treated with proper care they will breed three or four times in the year, and become as vigorous and healthy in this country as in their native islands. they are subject to many diseases, to prevent which the greatest care should be taken to provide them with pure water and simple food. . _the grey linnet_ (fringilla linota) _is a species of finch, of chesnut-brown colour, whitish beneath, the wings with a longitudinal white band, and the tail feathers edged on each side with white._ _it is a native of woods and thickets in most parts of europe, and is sufficiently common in our own island._ the plumage of these birds is of obscure colour, but their song is very sweet. in compass and execution it is inferior only to that of the nightingale. and so imitative are they that they will adopt the notes of almost any other bird with which they are brought up. the experiment was tried with three nestling linnets, one of which was reared under a sky-lark ( ), another with a wood-lark ( ), and the third under a tit-lark, and each adhered to the song of its instructor. linnets, when full grown, are caught, during the summer months, by twigs smeared with birdlime, or in nets; and, if properly attended to, they soon become tame. but if it be required that they should imitate the notes of other birds, they ought to be taken from the nest when only about ten days old. these birds generally construct their nests in some thick bush or hedge, forming the outside with dried weeds and straw, and the inside of horse-hair and such soft materials as they can pick up. they lay four or five white eggs speckled with red. . the _common sparrow (fringilla domestica)_ is mentioned in this place only under a hope, in some measure, of rescuing its character from the extreme degree of odium with which it is loaded, in consequence of the supposed injury that it commits by feeding upon corn. this bird is by no means without its utility, even to the very persons who incessantly seek its destruction. on a calculation made by the late professor bradley, it was ascertained that a pair of sparrows, during the time they have young ones, destroy on an average caterpillars every week. he observed the two parents to bring to the nest at least forty caterpillars in an hour; and, on a supposition that they might have been thus occupied twelve hours every day, it will yield the above number per week. but their utility is not confined to the destruction of caterpillars. they likewise feed their young ones with butterflies and other winged insects, each of which, if not thus destroyed, would be the parent of hundreds of caterpillars. in many parts of the world sparrows are in considerable demand as articles of luxury for the table. . _the sky-lark_ (alauda arvensis) _is a small bird with slender bill, and the hind claw very long; the upper parts of its plumage are of a varied greenish brown colour, the external webs of the two outer tail feathers are white, and the two middle feathers are rust-coloured._ _these birds are found in every quarter of the world except america._ to all persons capable of experiencing pleasure from rural scenes, the notes of the lark are beyond description animating and delightful. during fine weather, from the earliest part of spring, for several succeeding months, they are every day heard. these birds sing whilst hovering in the air, and sometimes at so vast a height that they seem but a speck in the sky. in sprightliness their notes exceed those of any other bird except the goldfinch; and in compass and execution are inferior only to those of the nightingale. sky-larks, whilst in the nest, are fed on worms and insects; but when they are fledged they subsist chiefly on seeds, herbage, and other vegetable substances. it is remarkable, respecting them, that owing to the great length of their hinder claw they are not able to perch on trees, but always alight on the ground. here they form their nest, generally in some hollow place, and lay four or five dusky eggs spotted with brown. in the winter season sky-larks collect into large flocks, and are caught with different kinds of nets in vast numbers for the table. the neighbourhood of dunstable is chiefly celebrated for them. the season commences about the th of september, and ends the th of february; and, during that time, as we are informed by mr. pennant, about dozen have been caught. in the country adjacent to the river rhone, in france, as many larks have been caught by one person in a day as loaded two mules: and in saxony, where they are liable to a tax, an average sum equal to about l. sterling is annually paid to the city of leipsic, on account of the larks that are caught in that neighbourhood. . _the wood-lark_ (alauda arborea) _is a bird smaller than the sky-lark, with slender bill, long hind claws, and a white streak over each eye, extending backward so as to form almost a ring round the head._ _it is a very common bird in this country; and is found in other parts of europe, and in siberia._ there is, in the song of these birds, a plaintiveness and mellowness of tone which exceed those of any english songster except the nightingale; but their execution is much inferior to that of most others. they are not only heard in the day-time, but also during the night: and not only whilst in flight, but also when perched upon trees. wood-larks are tender birds, and not easily to be reared in a cage. towards the beginning of winter they become fat, and are then considered excellent eating. they generally form their nests in a bush near the ground, and have about four eggs of pale red colour, clouded, and mottled with red and yellow. . _the nightingale_ (motacilla luscinia) _is distinguished by the rusty brown colour, tinged with olive, of its upper parts, and by an ash-coloured ring on the naked part of the thigh above the knees._ _it is a migratory bird, generally arriving in this country in the month of april, and leaving it in september, and then retiring, as it is supposed, into some parts of asia._ this bird delights in solitude, and is naturally of a wild and timid disposition. his usual resort is the side of some hill, especially if there be an echo. here, perched upon the branch of a tree or shrub, he most delights to sing; and interrupts his warblings by short pauses, as if listening and making responses to the echo of his own voice. the song of the nightingale is peculiarly mellow and plaintive; and its compass, such as to reach through three octaves, and sometimes even more. in sprightliness it yields to the notes of the sky-lark, the linnet, goldfinch, and even the redbreast. a nightingale in singing its whole song was remarked to have sixteen different beginnings and closes; at the same time that the intermediate notes were generally varied in their succession with so much judgment, as to produce a most pleasing variety. it is to be remarked, that nightingales in general do not, in a wild state, sing more than ten weeks in the year; whilst those in cages continue their song for nine or ten months. notwithstanding the naturally beautiful song of these birds, they readily adopt the notes of any other. they will even modulate their voice to a given key, and that so readily, that if any person whistle a note to it, the nightingale will immediately try in its strain an unison with that note. delightful as the song of the nightingale is, it is certain that some people have a dislike to it. we have even been told of a person who entertained so great an abhorrence for these birds as to have all the trees in his neighbourhood cut down, that, being thus without shelter, they might be driven away. it may perhaps be worth while to remark, in addition, that this person was delighted with the croaking of frogs. the food of nightingales consists principally of insects, small worms, and the grubs of ants. they usually build their nests near the ground, among briers, in some low tree by a hedge or bush, and have four or five eggs. . _the wheat-ear, or white-rump_ (motacilla oenanthe), _is a bird about the size of a sparrow, distinguished by its back being of a hoary colour; the forehead, a line above the eyes, and the rump being white, and by having a black band through each eye._ _these birds are migratory, and found in the southern parts of england from about the beginning of may till the middle or end of september. they are also found on the continent of europe, in asia, and africa._ on the downs of sussex the number of wheat-ears is sometimes so great that more than eighty dozen have been caught by one person in a day. they become fat in the autumn, and are then much esteemed for the table. during a rainy season they are fatter than in a dry one; this is accounted for by their feeding not only on insects, but on earth-worms, which come out of the ground in much greater numbers during wet than in dry weather. these birds are caught, by the shepherds, in snares made of horse-hair, and placed beneath a long turf. part of them are eaten in the neighbourhood, part are pickled and sent to london for sale, and many are potted. when eaten fresh, they are generally roasted, wrapped up in vine leaves. wheat-ears breed in old rabbit-burrows, in holes of cliffs, under old timber, and in other situations on the ground. they form a large nest, and have from six to eight light blue eggs. . _the redbreast_ (motacilla rubecola) _is distinguished by the dusky olive colour of its plumage and its red breast. it is found in nearly every country of europe._ this interesting little bird is by no means despicable as a songster, being equal or superior to the goldfinch in every particular except the sprightliness of its notes; and its song is more valuable, as it is occasionally heard even in winter and the earliest part of spring. so quick are its powers of imitation, that a young red-breast, educated under a very fine nightingale, which began already to be out of song, and was perfectly mute in less than a fortnight, sang three parts in four of the nightingale's notes. these birds are serviceable to mankind by the myriads of injurious insects which they devour. they form their nests in thickets or holes of old buildings; and have from five to seven eggs of dull white colour sprinkled with reddish spots. . _the swallows are a tribe of birds chiefly distinguished by their short and depressed bills, their long wings, and the tail being generally forked._ _only four species are found in this country. these are all migratory. the common or chimney swallow_ (hirundo rustica) _usually appears about the middle of april, and departs about the end of october; the martin_ (hirundo urbica) _appears in the beginning of march, and leaves us about the middle of october; the sand martin_ (hirundo riparia) _appears after the middle of march, and departs about the middle of september; and the swift_ (hirundo apus) _appears before the middle of may, and departs in the beginning of september._ all the english species of swallow skim along the air in pursuit of flies, gnats, and other insects; which, if it were not for the all-wise ordination of providence, in directing their regulation by supplying food to these and other species of birds, would soon fill the atmosphere and destroy all our comfort. hence (to say nothing worse of it) we see how injurious it is to destroy these birds, as is frequently the case, for mere amusement, and under an idle pretext, by many persons of improving their skill in shooting game. chimney swallows are sold as food in the markets of france, spain, and italy. . _the esculent swallow_ (hirundo esculenta) _is a very small bird, distinguished by being blackish above and whitish beneath, and having the tail tipped with white._ _it is found in sumatra, java, and some other islands in the eastern seas._ there is a great trade to china in the nests of these birds. they are of texture resembling isinglass, and are, in shape, somewhat like a saucer with one side flatted. their thickness is little more than that of a silver spoon, and their weight from a quarter to half an ounce. they are very brittle, and have a shining gummy appearance internally when broken; and are wrinkled or slightly furrowed externally. the best and clearest of these nests are nearly as white as writing paper, and, semi-transparent, having a few downy feathers hanging about them; but their general colour is white inclining to red. they are usually packed one within another, to the length of twelve or fifteen inches, and secured with split canes to prevent their breaking. the use to which they are principally applied is for the thickening of soups and broths, and to these they are said to communicate an exquisite flavour. or, after having been softened in water, they are mixed with ginseng, and put into the body of a fowl, and the whole is stewed together, and constitutes a very favourite dish with the chinese epicures. it has been calculated that the island of batavia alone exports to china more than twelve tons' weight of these nests annually. a few are brought into europe as curiosities and presents. sir george staunton speaks of having seen great numbers of them in two caverns which ran horizontally into the side of a rock, in the island of cass, near sumatra. they adhered to each other and to the sides of the cavern, mostly in rows, without any break or interruption. the nests are not taken until after the young ones are fledged; and, in general, this is done by persons who descend to the places where they are situated, by rope ladders. . _the wild pigeon, or stock-dove_ (columba ænas), _is distinguished by its bluish plumage, the neck being of a glossy green colour above; by the wings being marked with two black bars, and the tip of the tail blackish._ these birds are in some degree migratory; large flocks of them arriving in england from the northern regions of the continent at the approach of winter, and returning in the spring. many of them, however, remain in this country during the whole year, and only change their quarters to procure food. similar, but much more extensive, flights of wild pigeons are observed in some parts of italy, where great numbers of them are caught for sale as food. they build their nests in the holes of rocks, in old castles, churches, and towers, and sometimes in the hollows of trees, but never on the boughs; and they lay two white eggs. the name of stock-dove has been given to these birds, from their being the stock or origin of our _domestic pigeon_. in a domesticated state artificial cavities are formed for them to breed in; and they are frequently known to have young ones eight or nine times in the year. thus, although they have only two eggs for each brood, their increase is sometimes extremely rapid. the uses of pigeons in cookery are well known. the young ones only are selected for this purpose; and they are generally taken just before they are fledged. there is a mode of enticing pigeons to resort to and reside in any place, by putting there what is called a "salt cat." this is made of loam, old rubbish and salt, and is a substance they are so fond of that instances have been known of farmers having thus deprived their neighbours of their whole stock of pigeons. but, by act of parliament, this practice is now rendered illegal. the shooting of pigeons is also an offence against the law. with respect to the formation of pigeon-houses, it may not perhaps be generally known that, although a lord of a manor may build them on his own land parcel of the manor, and a freeholder on his own ground, yet a tenant cannot do this without his lord's license. pigeons are generally considered an injurious stock to the farmer, as they subsist almost wholly on grain, and devour, in the course of a year, infinitely more than would amount to their own value. there are more than twenty different varieties of the domestic pigeon, of which those called carriers, tumblers, croppers, and powters, are perhaps the best known. . the carrier pigeon, which is easily distinguished from others by a broad circle of naked white skin round each eye, and by the dark bluish colour of its plumage, is remarkable for the celerity and certainty with which it has been known to convey letters from distant parts. this arises from the natural attachment which the birds have for the places where they have been bred. the mode of employing them is to take them to the spot whence intelligence is to be brought, to tie the letter under their wing, and let them loose. they rise to a great height into the air; then, by an unaccountable instinct, they dart onward in a direct line to their home. the rapidity of their motion is such that they have been known to fly at the rate of near thirty miles an hour. . _the ring dove_ (columba palumbus) _is a species of pigeon known by its cinereous plumage, the tail feathers being black on the hind part, the first quill feathers being whitish on the outer edge, and the neck white on each side._ _it is common in our woods, and is also found in most other parts of europe._ these birds differ from the last in the habit of constructing their nests on the branches of trees, and particularly on those of the fir-tree, and not in holes of rocks and buildings. as they are of considerably larger size than the domestic pigeon, and, whilst young, are almost equally good for the table, several attempts have, at different times, been made to domesticate them, by hatching their eggs in dove-houses under pigeons; but it has always happened that as soon as they were able to fly, they have escaped to their natural haunts in the woods. . _the crowned pigeon_ (columba coronata, fig. ) _is a bird about the size of a turkey, of blueish colour, with a crest four or five inches high upon its head, and the shoulders somewhat rust-coloured._ _it is found in new guinea, and some of the adjacent islands._ by the inhabitants of new guinea crowned pigeons are killed for food; and, from their great size, they often afford a very important supply. as they are easily domesticated, they are frequently reared in poultry yards in the east indies; and their appearance there is highly pleasing and ornamental. . _the passenger pigeon_ (columba migratoria) _is known by its long tail, the circles round the eyes being naked and blood coloured, and the breast being of reddish colour._ _these birds are found in different parts of north america._ some idea of the immense numbers of passenger pigeons may be formed by stating that one continued flight of them is calculated by mr. weld to have extended at least eighty miles; and that a person is known to have killed more than a hundred and twenty at one shot with a blunderbuss. they migrate, at certain seasons, from one part of the country to another in search of acorns, berries, and other food. during these migrations they are very fat, and are either killed with clubs and guns, or caught in nets extended upon the ground, into which they are allured by tame pigeons, of their own species. passenger pigeons are brought, for sale, in sacksful to quebec, where they are eagerly purchased as food. such numbers of them are killed by the american indians that they prepare their fat so as to be eaten like butter. and we are informed that some years ago there was scarcely any indian town in the interior of carolina in which gallons of this fat might not at any time have been purchased. it will easily be imagined, that, in every part of the country where these pigeons feed, they must prove, beyond all calculation, injurious to the farmer, by devouring the fruits of the harvest. order iv.--gallinÆ, or gallinaceous birds. . _the turkey_ (meleagris gallo-pavo) _is found wild in the woods of america, and is distinguished by its forehead and chin having a red and naked shin, and the breast of the male being tufted._ wild turkeys are hunted with dogs by the inhabitants of those parts of america where they are found. as soon as their haunts are discovered, the hunters send into the flock a dog that has been trained to this pursuit. the turkeys do not attempt to escape by flight, but run before him until they become fatigued, when they seek for safety in the trees. the dog gives notice to his followers of the places where they are concealed, and they are then easily knocked off the branches with poles, and secured. such is the size of these birds that they frequently weigh more than forty pounds each. the indians not only esteem them as food, but make an elegant clothing of the _feathers_. the webs of these they twist, into a double string, with hemp or the inner bark of the mulberry-tree, and work or weave them somewhat, like matting. the article thus produced is said to have a rich and glossy appearance, and to be as fine in texture as silk shag. the inhabitants of louisiana make fans of the tails; and the french, in the american colonies, used formerly to construct parasols by joining four of these tails together. it does not appear that turkeys were known in england anterior to the reign of henry the eighth; and it is supposed that the first of these birds which appeared in europe were brought from mexico, after the conquest of that country, in . these birds, in a domestic state, subsist on grain and insects, and breed early in the spring; the females, whenever they have opportunity, wander to a considerable distance from the poultry yards to construct their nests, and lay and hatch their eggs. these are from fourteen to seventeen in number, of large size, and white colour, marked with reddish or yellow freckles. young turkeys are so tender as to require much attention in rearing them. the housewives of sweden frequently plunge them into cold water the day they are hatched; and, after having forced each of them to swallow a pepper-corn, restore them to the care of the parent. few birds are more in request for the table than these. the principal countries in which they are fed are norfolk and suffolk; and, about christmas, the demand for them in london is so great that the coaches are sometimes laden with them, even to the exclusion of living passengers. occasionally turkeys are driven along the roads in flocks of several hundreds together, the drivers having no other implement for keeping them in order, than a long stick with a piece of scarlet rag tied at the end, to which colour they have a very extraordinary antipathy. . _the peacock_ (pavo cristatus) _is a well-known bird, a native of the woods of the east indies and other parts of asia, as well as of several parts of africa._ _it is peculiarly distinguished by having on its head a crest of twenty-four feathers, and, a single hard spur at the back of each leg. the male has, over its tail, several feathers, sometimes four or five feet in length, and each marked, at the extremity, with an eye-like spot: the real tail consists of a range of short, brown, and stiff feathers, which are beneath these._ in some parts of the east indies the shooting of wild peacocks is not an uncommon diversion, and the size and heavy flight of the birds are such that it does not require a good marksman to bring them down. peacocks are mentioned, in the sacred writings, as constituting part of the cargoes of the fleet which conveyed the various treasures of the east to the court of king solomon. they were so much esteemed for the table, by the romans, that one person, who had devised a mode of fattening them, obtained thereby alone an annual income equal to about l. of our money. in england these birds were formerly introduced at sumptuous dinners, and sometimes the skin and all the feathers, particularly those of the tail, were kept to serve them up in. the flesh of the old birds is coarse and unfit for food; but young pea-fowls are at this day much esteemed by epicures. the _train feathers_ of the peacock are used among the chinese for ornamental work of different kinds, and particularly for decorating the caps of the mandarins; and they are an article of traffic from the east indies to that country. peacocks' _crests_, in ancient times, were among the ornaments of the kings of england; and it appears from records that, in fines to the crown, these crests were sometimes among the articles to be paid. pea-fowls are fed in the same manner as turkeys ( ); and the females, when allowed to range at liberty, always deposit their eggs in some sequestered place. these birds are very injurious in gardens, from their scratching up the ground in search of food. they love to perch on the highest trees; and their voice is a harsh scream in two notes, one of which is an octave of the other. . _the common pheasant_ (phasianus colchicus, fig. ) _is distinguished by the general reddish chesnut colour of its plumage, its head and neck being blue, and each eye being surrounded with a red, naked, and warty skin._ _there is a small and moveable tuft of feathers on each side of the head. the plumage of the female is much less brilliant and beautiful than that of the male._ _these birds, though now found wild in our woods, are supposed to have been originally brought into europe from the banks of the phasis, a river of colchis, in asia, situated to the east of the black sea. pheasants are also found in other parts of asia, and in africa._ these birds constitute a rich and wholesome nutriment. they breed in woods and fields, forming their nests, upon the ground, in places where the herbage is thick and close; and laying from twelve to fifteen eggs. these are sometimes taken away and committed to the care of poultry hens, which will hatch them, and rear the young ones as their own. pheasants feed on corn, wild berries, beech-mast, acorns, and other similar food. they roost on the branches of trees, and, in the short days of winter, generally fly into them for this purpose about sun-set; the male birds making a noise, which they repeat three or four times successively, called "cocketing," and the hens uttering one shrill whistle. poachers, well acquainted with these sounds, easily discover the place, and either shoot them on their perch, bring them down by burning sulphur underneath, or catch them by a snare made of brass-wire, and fixed to the end of a long pole. they are also caught by snares placed in tracks through which they are known to run, towards the adjacent fields, to feed. if noblemen and gentlemen of extensive landed property did not preserve the breed of pheasants by forbidding them, except under certain regulations, to be destroyed, the race would soon be extinct in this country. . _the argus pheasant_ (phasianus argus) _is a splendid bird, of pale yellow colour, spotted with black, the feathers of the wings grey, with eye-like spots; and the two middle feathers of the tail very long, with similar spots._ _it is a native of chinese tartary, the inland of sumatra, and other parts of the east, and is about the size of a turkey._ the beauty of the plumage of the argus pheasants, but particularly of their wing feathers, and the two long feathers of the tail, has rendered them objects of considerable attention. these feathers were, some years ago, in considerable request in england as an ornament in female head-dress; but from their natural stiffness both of texture and appearance, they are at present but little regarded. in their native country these birds are killed as food, their _flesh_ being as much esteemed as that of the common pheasant is with us. . _domestic poultry_ (phasianus gallus, fig. ) _are birds of the pheasant tribe, and found in a wild state in some of the forests of india, and the indian islands._ there are few birds so important to mankind as these. whilst living, they supply us with eggs; and when dead, their bodies afford us food, and their feathers are useful for making beds. it is said that hens will sometime lay as many as two hundred _eggs_ in twelve months. the chickens are naturally produced by the warmth of the parents sitting upon them, and generally in about three weeks after the operation has commenced. in egypt, however, it is customary to hatch chickens in ovens by artificial heat. these ovens are sometimes so large as to contain from , to , eggs; and it has been calculated that more than , , of chickens are annually brought to life in this manner. a similar mode of hatching them was, some years ago, introduced into france by m. de reaumur; but the practice does not appear to have been much followed. some villages in sussex are famous for poultry, which are fattened to a size and perfection not known elsewhere. they are fed on ground oats made into gruel, by a mixture with hog's grease, sugar, pot-liquor, and milk; or on ground oats, treacle, suet, &c. they are kept warm, and crammed for about a fortnight before they are sold to the higlers. the cramming is performed by rolling their food into pieces of sufficient size to be passed down their throats. when full grown these fowls weigh six or seven pounds, and are sold at four shillings and sixpence or five shillings each. what are called _darking fowls_ are a very large breed which are also reared in sussex. to ascertain whether eggs are fresh, some persons hold them up against a strong light, to see that the white has not lost its transparency; others put their tongue to the large end, and if this feel warm they are considered to be good. if, on shaking them, they are heard to rattle, they are bad. it is said that eggs may be preserved, for many months, by being covered with a thin coat of mutton suet, or other fat substance; but perhaps a better mode than this would be to cover them with a cheap varnish, by which, as well as by the fat, the air would be prevented from penetrating the shells, and thereby rendering the eggs putrid. eggs are an agreeable and nourishing food, and are used in various ways in cookery. the whites are of use in medicine. they have been employed with advantage in burns, and have been recommended as a specific for the cure of jaundice. they are likewise used by gilders and artisans. the yolks are employed in medicine in several different ways, but most frequently in emulsions. the shells of eggs serve for various purposes, but chiefly as a white colour, in painting, which is considered preferable to that called flake white. the _feathers_ of poultry are used, to considerable extent, for making beds, pillows, and bolsters; but they are by no means so excellent as those of geese. . _the guinea-fowl, gallina, or pintado_ (numidia meleagris), _is an african bird, which is now domesticated in most parts of europe, and is known by the red or bluish wattles, under the throat, a naked protuberance on the head, their slender neck, and beautifully spotted plumage._ the flesh of guinea fowls is tender and sweet, and, by some persons, is thought to resemble that of the pheasant. in guinea and the adjacent parts of africa, their native country, where they are not unfrequently seen in flocks of two or three hundred together, they are hunted and caught by dogs. these birds chiefly delight in marshy and morassy places, and subsist on insects, worms, and different kinds of seeds. their eggs are a very delicate food. guinea fowls were originally introduced into england somewhat earlier than the year , and they are now common in our poultry yards, the females always endeavour to lay their eggs in some concealed situation; and the chicks, when hatched, require warmth and quiet, and should, for some time, be fed on rice swelled with milk, or with bread soaked in milk. these are restless and clamorous birds, and have a harsh and, to some persons, an unpleasant cry, which consists of two notes, sounding like "camac, camac, camac," frequently repeated. . _the red grous, or red game_ (tetrao scoticus, fig. ), _is a species of feathered game from fifteen to nineteen ounces in weight, which has its plumage beautifully mottled with deep red and black, and the six outer tail feathers blackish._ _over each eye is an arched and naked scarlet spot, and the feet are feathered to the claws._ _this bird inhabits the mountainous heaths of derbyshire, yorkshire, wales, and scotland._ it is generally supposed that red grous are peculiar to the british islands. they are found in "packs," consisting sometimes of forty to fifty birds; and are an object of eager pursuit by sportsmen. they principally frequent high and heathy grounds, where they feed on mountain berries and the tops of heath; and they seldom descend into the valleys. the birds are eaten roasted, like most other game, but they are sometimes potted, and are in general much admired for the table. red grous have been bred, and successfully reared, in confinement, by supplying them almost every day with fresh pots of heath. . _black grous, or black game_ (tetrao tetrix, fig. ), _is a species of feathered game of violet black colour, with the tail forked, and the secondary quill feathers white towards the base._ _its weight is from two to four pounds. these birds are found in mountainous and woody parts of the north of england, and in the new forest, hampshire; in scotland, and several countries of the continent._ the pursuit of this and other species of grous is a much more important occupation in the northern parts of the continent than it is in this country. in some parts of russia they are caught in traps of wickerwork baited with corn. huts full of loop-holes are sometimes formed in woods that are frequented by them, and upon the adjacent trees artificial decoy-birds are placed. the persons in the huts fire upon the grous as they alight, being careful to kill those first which are upon the lower branches; and, in this case, so long as the men are concealed, the report of the guns does not alarm the birds. these birds feed on mountain fruits, and in winter on the tops of heath; and, although they always roost on trees, they form their nests on the ground. each female lays six or eight eggs, of dull yellowish white colour, marked with numerous small rust-coloured specks, and towards the smaller end with some blotches of the same colour. the young male birds quit their parents in the beginning of winter, and usually associate in small packs until the spring. black grous will live and thrive, but they have not been known to breed, in aviaries. . _the ptarmigan, or white game_ (tetrao lagopus, fig. ), _is a species of grous which, in summer, is of pale brown colour, elegantly mottled with small bars and dusky spots; and has the bill and the tail feathers black. in winter it is almost wholly while._ _these birds, which, are somewhat larger than a pigeon, are inhabitants of the extreme northern countries of the continents both of europe and america. they are also found among the mountains of scotland, and are sometimes seen in the alpine parts of westmoreland and cumberland._ by the inhabitants of greenland not only the _flesh_ but even the intestines of these birds are much esteemed as food. the _skins_, with the feathers on, are made into clothing; and the black _tail feathers_ were formerly much in request among this people for female headdresses. so numerous are these birds in the northern parts of america, as, at the commencement of winter, to assemble in flocks of or in number; and more than , have, in some years, been caught near hudson's bay, betwixt the months of november and may. they are killed in various ways; by snares, with nets, and with guns; and indeed so fearless are they of the approach of mankind that they may be knocked down with sticks or clubs, instances have occurred of their having been driven, almost like poultry, into nets or snares that have been laid for them. in our own country these birds associate in small packs, and live among rocks, perching on the stones, and, when alarmed, taking shelter beneath them. they feed on mountain berries, the buds of trees, and the young shoots of the heath. the females form their nests on the ground, and lay in them from six to ten eggs, which are of a dusky colour with reddish brown spots. it is a very extraordinary ordination of providence, that these birds at the commencement of winter should assume a white plumage, by which, being incapable of defence, they are able, amidst the winter's snows, to elude the pursuit of their enemies. and not only this, but, as an additional protection against the cold, all the feathers except those of the wings and tail are now doubled. as food, these birds are said very much to resemble the red grous in flavour. . _the wood grous, or capercaile_ (tetrao urogallus), _is a bird nearly as large as a turkey, its plumage varied, but bay above, marked with blackish lines; the tail rounded, and the under parts at the base of the wings white._ _this bird is found in the northern parts of europe and asia; and (though very rarely) in the highlands of scotland north of inverness._ there can be no doubt but, in ancient times, these birds were common in the mountainous parts of south britain. in countries where pine forests are numerous, they feed on the buds of fir-trees, and on the young cones, so as sometimes to render the taste of their flesh extremely unpalatable. they are also partial to the berries of the juniper. the females form their nests on the ground, and lay from eight to sixteen eggs, which are of a white colour spotted with yellow. . _partridges_ (tetrao perdix) _are particularly distinguished, by having, under the eyes, a naked scarlet spot; the tail rust-coloured, the breast brown, and the legs of light colour._ _these birds are found in nearly all the countries of europe, and in many of the temperate parts of asia._ in the autumn and winter, partridges are generally found in coveys, as they are called, of ten or fifteen birds, consisting of the parents and their brood. they are killed, by sportsmen, in immense numbers, for the table; and in all the ways in which they are cooked they are an highly esteemed food. partridges are remarkable for never perching nor alighting on trees. they live in cultivated lands, constructing their nests upon the ground, and having usually from fifteen to eighteen eggs. these are hatched towards the beginning of june, and the young ones are able to run as soon as they come into the world. if the eggs happen to be destroyed, the female will, in many cases, form another nest, and produce a second offspring. the birds of this brood are not perfectly fledged till the beginning of october; and are always a puny race. if the eggs of partridges be placed under a common hen, she will hatch them, and rear the young ones without difficulty. but these, after they are grown, almost always escape into the fields and become wild. it is said that the inhabitants of scio, one of the islands of the grecian archipelago, rear large flocks of partridges, which, during the day, are permitted to visit the fields, and in the evening always return home to roost. at the commencement of the breeding season they abscond for some time; but, after having hatched their coveys, they return with their families to the farm-yard. the attachment of partridges to their offspring, and the stratagems which they adopt to draw off the attention of their enemies whilst these seek their safety by flight or concealment, are well known to almost all persons who are resident in the country. it is usually considered that the dark-coloured feathers on the breast of the partridge are peculiar to the male; but it has been ascertained beyond a doubt that these are also common to the female. the males can be distinguished from the females only by a superior brightness of the plumage about the head. . _the quail_ (tetrao corturnix) _is a bird considerably smaller than, but much resembling, the partridge: its form, however, is more slender, the body is spotted with grey, the eyebrows are white; and the tail-feathers have a rust-coloured edge and crescent._ _these birds are found in some parts of england; but in other countries of europe, as well as in several districts of asia and africa, they are extremely numerous._ quails are migratory birds, generally arriving in this country betwixt the middle of august and the middle of september, and departing in april. they are greatly esteemed for the table; and are usually eaten roasted (without being drawn), and served on toast, in the same manner as woodcocks. so numerous are they, in many countries of the continent, that they may be purchased, even by dozens, at a very low price. in some parts of italy thousands of quails are caught in a day, at the periods of their migration. the russians also take them in immense numbers, and, packing them in casks, send them for sale to petersburgh and moscow. we formerly imported great numbers of these birds alive from france. they were conveyed, by the stage coaches, in large square boxes, divided into five or six compartments one above another, and just high enough for the birds to stand upright, each box containing about a hundred quails. these boxes had wire in front, and each partition was furnished with a small trough for food. the object of this importation was solely for the table. so irritable is the disposition of the quail, that, whenever the males are kept together, they always fight. this propensity rendered them esteemed by the ancient greeks and romans, for the same purposes as game cocks are by many of the moderns. the fighting of quails is, at this day, a fashionable diversion with the chinese, and in some parts of italy. the ancients did not eat these birds, under a supposition that they were an unwholesome food. quails are not so prolific as partridges. they seldom have more than six or seven eggs, which are of whitish colour marked with ragged rust-coloured spots. . _the bustard_ (otis tarda, fig. ), _the largest land bird which is produced in england, is distinguished by its plumage being waved and spotted, with black and dusky, and whitish beneath; and the bill being convex and strong, with a tuft of feathers on each side of the lower mandible._ _these birds are about four feet in length, and are found in small flocks on open plains of different countries of europe, asia, or africa. they were formerly seen on salisbury plain in wiltshire, and other parts of england; but, in consequence of the enclosures which have of late years been made, the breed is supposed to be nearly extinct in this country._ when these birds were more numerous than they now are, they were hunted by grey-hounds for amusement, and, as they run with great rapidity (seldom being known to rise on wing), the chase was sometimes very long. their flesh has been compared to that of the turkey, and epicures on the continent are stated to prefer the thigh of the bustard to most other kinds of game. such is the timidity of these birds that they seldom allow any person to approach within gun-shot of them. they fly slowly, and have some difficulty to rise from the ground, but, when in flight, they are able to continue their course for many miles without resting. bustards feed on green corn and vegetables; and on worms, frogs, mice, and other animals. they form no nest, but the female lays her eggs, two in number, on the ground. the eggs are as large as those of a goose, and of pale olive-brown colour, marked with brown spots. . _the ostrich_ (struthio camelus, fig. ) _is a bird of immense height, measuring from seven to nine feet from its head to the ground; and is distinguished by its extremely long neck, somewhat, conical bill, the wings not being formed for flight, and the feet having each only two toes._ _it inhabits extensive plains and deserts in the torrid regions of asia and africa._ ostriches are pursued by the arabs principally on account of their _feathers_, which are a considerable article of traffic. this people use the _fat_ of these birds in cookery; and they occasionally subsist upon the _flesh_. the _eggs_ of the ostrich are of large size, and, in the south of africa, are considered a great delicacy. they are prepared for eating in various ways; but the best way is simply to bury them in hot ashes, and, through a hole made in the larger end, to stir the contents till they acquire the consistence of an omelet. ostriches' eggs are capable of being preserved for a great length of time even at sea; and without any trouble of constantly turning them, as is requisite with hen's eggs. this is owing to the great thickness of the shells. at the cape of good hope they are usually sold at the rate of about sixpence sterling each. the egyptians suspend the shells of these eggs as ornaments, under the vaulted roofs of their houses; and they are frequently hung between lamps in the mosques of the mahometans, and also in the greek and coptic churches. the _shells_ are cut by the hottentots into necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments for the waist. in the eggs of the ostrich are frequently found a kind of small oval-shaped stones about the size of a marrowfat pea, which are sometimes set and used for buttons. the _skins_ of ostriches are employed by the arabians as a substitute for leather. but no parts of the ostrich are so valuable as the _feathers_ of the wings and tail. these are divided into loose and silky filaments, and are most admired when plucked from the birds whilst alive. they are packed in bundles by the arabs, who put them, large and small, good and bad, together for sale. in europe they are used for female head-dresses; and for this purpose the shortest and lightest are most esteemed. the ostrich feathers that are imported into this country from the cape of good hope are not considered so good as those which we receive from barbary; they are of better colour, but not so perfect in the flue or feather, and are thin and irregular. there is a permanent tax of l. s. and a war tax of s. d. per pound on all ostrich feathers which are imported into england. two, three, or sometimes four ostriches deposit their eggs, thirty or forty in number, in the same hollow place in the sand; and they do not, as is generally supposed, leave them entirely to the heat of the sun to be hatched. these birds are sometimes reared in a domestic state. order v.--waders, or grallÆ. . _the common or white stork_ (ardea ciconia) _is a bird distinguished by its strong and sharp red bill, its white plumage, and the orbits of the eyes and the quill feathers being black. the feathers of the breast are long and pendulous._ _this bird is upwards of three feet in length. it is found in every quarter of the world, except america; and, though rarely seen in england, is extremely common in holland and some other parts of europe. it is a bird of passage, and leaves europe in the autumn for egypt, barbary, and some of the countries of asia._ the mahometans have the highest veneration for the stork; and any person would be held in abhorrence who attempted to kill or even to molest these birds. they frequent the streets of the most populous towns, where they devour offal and filth of almost every kind; and, in fenny countries, they are of great service by feeding upon noxious reptiles and insects. in ancient thessaly it was a crime expiable only by death to kill one of them. storks are easily tamed and rendered domestic, and may be trained to reside in gardens, which they soon clear of frogs, toads, and other reptiles. in a wild state they make their nests of sticks and dried plants, on lofty trees or the summits of rocks. the inhabitants of holland frequently place boxes on their houses for them to build in. the _quills_ of the stork are large, and make excellent pens for writing with. . _the common heron_ (ardea major, fig. ) _is a bird of the stork tribe, distinguished by the cinereous colour of its plumage, by the male having a long and pendent crest on the hind part of the head, the feathers of the neck long; and by having a double row of black spots on the neck._ _this bird, which is somewhat more than three feet in length, is common in most of the fenny parts of great britain._ a few centuries ago heronies were nearly as common in the neighbourhood of noblemen's houses as rookeries. these birds, like rooks, delight in building their nests in society, and on the highest trees. as many as eighty herons' nests are mentioned by mr. pennant, to have been counted on a single tree at cressi hall, near gosberton in lincolnshire. when heron hawking, or the pursuing of these birds with falcons, was a favourite diversion in this country, great attention was paid to the preservation of the breed, they were ranked among royal game, and were so far protected by the laws, that any person destroying or shooting at one of them was liable to a penalty of twenty shillings. a penalty of ten shillings was exacted for taking young herons from the nest, and any one taking or destroying the eggs, betwixt the twenty-first of march and the thirteenth of june, was punishable by twelve months' imprisonment, and a forfeiture of eightpence for every egg so taken. these birds were formerly as much esteemed for the table as pheasants are now, and no fewer than four hundred herons are stated to have been served up at archbishop neville's inthronization feast, in the reign of edward the fourth. plumes formed of feathers of the heron and egret are used as ornaments for the caps of knights of the garter. herons subsist chiefly upon fish, and are very destructive in fish-ponds. it has been calculated that a single heron will destroy nearly carp in a year. these birds take their prey by wading into the water, and seizing the fish as they pass by: they also sometimes catch them in shallow water by darting from the air, and securing them against the bottom. . _the bittern_ (ardea stellaris, fig. ) _is a bird of the stork tribe, distinguishable by its brownish yellow plumage, variously marked with black; by the feathers of the neck and breast being peculiarly long; and the bill being strong, of brown colour above, and greenish beneath._ _this bird is not quite so large as the heron. it is found in marshes of several parts of england, as well as on the continents of europe, asia, and america._ the _flesh_ of the bittern was formerly much esteemed at the table. amongst other provisions at archbishop neville's inthronization feast, there appear to have been bitterns. these birds are now sometimes to be seen in the poulterers' shops in london, where they are generally sold for about half-a-guinea each. the _hind claws_ were once in esteem as tooth-picks, from an opinion that the use of them tended to preserve the teeth from decaying. few birds of their size are more strong, or, when attacked, are more ferocious than these. they subsist chiefly on fish, frogs, mice, and other animals. during the months of february and march the males, in the mornings and evenings, make a kind of deep, lowing noise, which is supposed to be their call to the females. these birds form their nests among rushes, and generally lay four or five greenish brown eggs. . _the curlew_ (scolopax arquata, fig. ) _is a bird known by having a long arched black bill, bluish legs, and blackish wings, with snowy spots and marks._ _its general weight is betwixt twenty and thirty ounces._ _in winter large flocks of these birds are seen on our sea-coasts, and in summer they often retire into mountainous parts of the interior of the country. they are found in europe, asia, and africa._ curlews are frequently shot for food, and sometimes are very palatable, particularly if killed at a distance from the sea: but such as are killed near the sea-coasts have often a fishy and bad taste. they feed on marine and other worms and insects, and build their nests upon the ground in unfrequented places distant from the coast, laying four eggs, which are of a pale green or olive colour, marked with irregular brown spots. . _the woodcock_ (scolopax rusticola, fig. ) _is a bird with varied plumage, a long straight bill reddish at the base, legs ash-coloured, the thighs clad with feathers, and the head with a black band on each side._ _the weight of the woodcock is generally about twelve ounces._ _these birds are migratory, and usually begin to arrive, in england about the first week in october, and depart about the middle of march._ the woodcocks which arrive in the southern parts of england, probably come from normandy; and those in the northern parts from sweden. the latter appears evident by the time of their departure from sweden exactly coinciding with that of their arrival in britain, and their retreat from this country coinciding with their re-appearance there. in their migrations they chiefly fly during the night, and arrive in greatest numbers with north-easterly winds and during foggy weather. few birds are so much in esteem for the table as these and they are fattest, and consequently in best condition, during the months of december and january. before they were protected by the game laws, it was customary, in some of the northern parts of england, to catch woodcocks by traps. long parallel rows of stones or sticks, four or five inches high, were made in moonlight nights on the commons frequented by them. in these rows several intervals or gateways were left in which the traps were placed. when the birds, running about in search of food came to one of these rows, they did not usually cross it, but ran along the side till they arrived at the gateways, which they entered, and in which they were caught. notwithstanding the high opinion entertained by british epicures respecting the woodcock for the table, we are assured that the inhabitants of sweden, norway, and other northern countries, wholly reject them, under a notion that they are unwholesome. they, however, eat and are particularly partial to the _eggs_ of the woodcock. these are carried for sale, in great numbers, to the markets of stockholm and gottenburg. in commencing its flight this bird rises heavily from the ground, and makes a flapping noise with its wings. it does not long continue in flight, and stops so suddenly as to fall apparently like a dead weight. a few moments after being on the ground it runs swiftly, but soon pauses, raises its head, and casts a glance around before it ventures to lurk in concealment under the herbage or bushes. woodcocks are seldom known to breed in this country. those very few, however, that happen to remain, after the great flights have departed, construct their nests on the ground, generally at the root of some tree, and lay four or five eggs of rusty colour marked with brown spots. they feed on worms and insects. . _the common snipe_ (scolopax gallinago, fig. ) _is a small bird, with long straight bill, brown legs, the plumage varied with blackish and tawny colour above, and white beneath, and the front marked with four brown lines._ _these birds, which usually weigh about four ounces, are found in marshy places in most parts of the world. they are migratory, a considerable portion of them leaving great britain in the spring of the year and returning in the autumn. many, however, continue with us through the whole year._ snipes, on account of their delicate flavour, are in great request for the table. but as, like woodcocks ( ), they are eaten with their entrails, which contain many stimulant insects, &c. it has been supposed that a frequent indulgence in such food is apt to induce the gout, or at least to accelerate its paroxysms. it is remarkable respecting these birds that, though generally fat and rich eating, they seldom cloy even the weakest stomachs. in winter they usually continue near marshy grounds, concealed among rushes and thick herbage; but, during severe frosts, they resort to sheltered springs, unfrozen boggy places, or any open streams of water. in summer they disperse throughout the country, and are occasionally found even among the highest mountains. when roused by the sportsman they utter a feeble whistle, and generally fly off, against the wind, in a zigzag direction. snipes are fattest and in best season in november and december. these birds feed on small worms, slugs, and insects. they form their nests of dried grass and feathers, in concealed and inaccessible parts of marshes, and have each four eggs of a dirty olive colour marked with dusky spots. . _the ruff and reeve_ (tringa pugnax, fig. ) _are the male and female of a species of sandpiper, which have very varied plumage, the face coloured with yellow pimples, the three lateral tail feathers without spots, and the covert feathers of the wings brown, inclining to ash-colour._ _the males, or_ ruffs, _have, round their heads, after they are twelve months old, a very singular arrangement of long feathers, which drop off every year at the season of moulting. the female, or_ reeve, _has no feathers of this description. the weight of the ruff is generally more than seven ounces, and that of the reeve about four._ _these birds are found in the fens of lincolnshire, cambridgeshire, and yorkshire._ in the early part of spring they begin to appear in the fens, and they disappear about michaelmas. these birds are caught in nets, and a skilful fowler has been known to catch six dozen in one morning. in general the males only are taken, the females being allowed to escape on account of their smaller size, and that they may be left to breed. when caught they are generally put up, for some days, to be fattened; and for this purpose are fed with boiled wheat, and bread and milk mixed with hempseed, to which sugar is sometimes added. by this treatment, in the course of a fortnight, they become excessively fat. the usual mode of killing them is by cutting off their head with a pair of scissars. they are cooked, like woodcocks, with their intestines, and, when in perfection, are esteemed by epicures a most delicious food. it is a very singular habit of the males, which are much more numerous than the females, to take possession each of a small piece of ground, upon which they run in a circle until all the grass is worn away. these _hills_, as they are called by the fowlers, are near each other; and as soon as a female alights, all the ruffs of the neighbourhood immediately begin to fight for her. it is during this contest that the fowlers seize the opportunity of entangling them in their nets. the reeves form their nests of a few straws and dried grass loosely put together upon the ground; and lay each four white eggs marked with large rust-coloured spots. . _the lapwing, or pee-wit_ (tringa vanellus), _is a well-known marsh bird, which has a crest at the back of the head, the upper part of its plumage green, the breast black, and the legs red._ _its general weight is seven or eight ounces. this bird frequents moist heaths and marshy grounds in nearly all the temperate parts of europe, asia, and africa._ the name of lapwing has been given to these birds, on account of the flapping noise which they make with their large wings during flight; and that of pee-wit has been obtained from their cry. they associate in flocks during the winter-time, and are caught, by nets, in the same manner as ruffs ( ), but are killed as soon as they are caught. lapwings are in considerable demand by the london poulterers, particularly about the month of october, when they are fat and excellent eating. their _eggs_, which are olive-coloured spotted with black, are esteemed a peculiar delicacy during the whole season in which they can be obtained. lapwings feed chiefly on worms, and the females lay each two eggs on the ground, in some hollow place, on the dry parts of marshes. . _the dotterel_ (charadrius morinellus) _is a species of plover distinguished by its roundish and obtuse bill and black legs, its breast being rust-coloured, and by having a white line over each eye, and another upon the breast._ _these birds seldom weigh more than three or four ounces. about the latter end of april, during the month of may, and part of june, they are found, in flocks of eight or ten together, on the heaths and moors of cambridgeshire, lincolnshire, and derbyshire, and among the mountains of westmorland and cumberland. they are also seen on the wiltshire and berkshire downs in the months of april and september._ such is the singularity of manners of these birds that it is possible to catch them, even with the hand, by a very simple artifice. it was formerly customary for the fowler to proceed, in the night, with a candle and lantern, to the places where he knew the birds were in the habit of roosting. roused, but unalarmed, by the light, if he approached with caution they would continue immoveable until he was able to discover them. he would now stretch out one of his arms, which induced the imitative birds to stretch their wing; then a foot, which the birds likewise mimicked. this he did alternately until he was sufficiently near to extend and entangle them in his net. there were other contrivances besides this: but the greater facility of killing these birds by the gun has of late years rendered them all useless. when dotterels are best in season they are very fat and delicate eating. there are several birds which are sold by the london poulterers under the appellation of _plovers_. these are chiefly the golden plover (_charadrius pluvialis_), the grey sand-piper (_tringa squatorola_), and the green sand-piper (_tringa ochropus_), all of which are much esteemed for the table. . _the land-rail, or corn-crake_ (rallus crex), _is distinguished by having a short and strong bill, and the legs situated far back; the feathers of the back black, edged with bay, and the wings of a reddish rusty colour._ _the usual weight of these birds is from six to eight ounces. they are found, during summer, in corn-fields, but are migratory, and seldom seen after the middle of september._ the remarkable cry of "crek, crek, crek," uttered by these birds in meadows and corn-fields before the grass and corn are cut, is well known. it is heard from the thickest part of the herbage: and, when any person approaches the spot, so great is the rapidity with which they run, that it is, almost in an instant afterwards, heard forty or fifty paces distant. when pursued by dogs, these birds persist in keeping upon the ground, and they may sometimes be taken even with the hand. they often stop short and squat, and the dog, overshooting the mark, loses his trace. when driven to the last extremity they rise, but they fly heavily, and generally with their legs hanging down. they do not fly far before they alight: they then run off, and, before the sportsman can reach the place, are at a considerable distance. sometimes the land-rail will alight upon a hedge, in which case it will perch and sit motionless till the pursuer (who thinks it is upon the ground) almost touches it. when they first appear these birds are quite lean, but, before their departure, they become so fat that the author of rural sports informs us he has frequently been obliged to wrap his handkerchief round them, when killed, to prevent the fat which exuded from the shot-holes from soiling other birds. the females lay twelve or more eggs of reddish cinereous white colour, marked with rusty and ash-coloured spots and blotches. the nest is loosely formed of moss or dry grass, generally in some hollow place among thick grass. order vi.--swimmers, or anseres. . _the wild swan, or hooper_ (anas cygnus), _is distinguished from the tame swan ( ) by having the cere or naked skin at the base of the bill yellow and not black; and being of smaller size._ _these birds are found in the northern parts of europe, asia, and america._ on several of the lochs or lakes of scotland wild swans are very numerous; and they are known, at a great distance, by their cry, which is not much unlike the sound of a clarionet blown by a novice in music. about the month of august these birds change their feathers, during which, in some countries, they are killed with clubs or hunted by dogs. their _flesh_ is esteemed a wholesome and palatable food, and the _eggs_ are considered peculiarly delicious. of the _skins_, which are used in england, with the down upon them, for muffs, tippets, and powder-puffs, the inhabitants of iceland and kamtschatka make garments of different kinds. the north american indians sometimes weave the down into ornamental dresses; and form the large feathers into caps and plumes to decorate the heads of their warriors. . _the tame swan_ (anas olor, fig. ), _the largest of all british birds, is distinguished from the wild swan ( ) by its larger size, and by the cere or naked skin at the base of the bill being black and not yellow._ _it is an inhabitant both of europe and asia._ so highly were these beautiful and stately birds esteemed by our ancestors that, by an act of edward the fourth, no person who possessed a freehold of less yearly value than five marks was permitted to keep them. at this day the stealing of swans is considered a felonious act; and there is a penalty for stealing the eggs, of twenty shillings each. swans were formerly served up at almost every great feast. at archbishop neville's feast in the reign of edward the fourth, there were no fewer than of these birds. at present, the _cygnets_, or young swans, only are eaten. considerable numbers of these are annually fattened near norwich, about christmas, and chiefly for the table of the corporation of that city. the nest of the swan is formed, about the month of february, of grass, and generally among reeds near the water. the eggs are six or eight in number, of large size and white colour. . _the wild goose_ (anas anser) _is distinguished by having a somewhat cylindrical bill, the body ash-coloured above and paler beneath, and the neck striate._ _large flocks of wild geese frequent all the fenny districts of england, and are also found in the northern parts of the continents of europe, asia, and america._ these birds are killed on account of their _flesh_ which is an excellent and nutritive food; and they are the stock from which our common or _tame geese_ have been obtained. vast numbers of the latter are kept in the fens of lincolnshire, and other parts of england, and chiefly for the sake of their quills and feathers. of these they are unmercifully stripped, whilst alive, once every year for the former, and five times for the latter. the _quills_, or large feathers of the wings, are termed firsts, seconds, and thirds, from the order in which they grow. the last two kinds are those principally used in writing, on account of the larger size of their barrels. and as the utility and value of quills, in the making of pens, greatly depend on their firmness and elasticity, different expedients have been contrived to harden them. the most simple of these is to thrust the barrels, for a few moments, into hot sand or ashes, afterwards to press them almost flat with a penknife, and then to restore their roundness by the fingers, with the assistance of a piece of leather or woollen cloth, removing at the same time their external roughness by the friction. but when great numbers are to be prepared, other methods are adopted. aqua-fortis is frequently employed in the preparation of quills, by which they are stained a yellow colour. all the best _feathers_ that are used in this country for making beds, bolsters, and pillows, are those of geese: and such as are obtained in the county of somerset are generally esteemed the best. great quantities of goose and other feathers are annually imported from the north of europe; but these being insufficient for the demand, the feathers of cocks and hens, and also of ducks and turkeys, all of which are much inferior to those of geese, are frequently mixed with them. the best mode of preserving feathers is to expose them, in a room, to the rays of the sun; and, as soon as they are thoroughly dried, to put them loosely into bags, in which they should be well beaten to cleanse them from dust and filth. of late years feathers have been manufactured into hats. the usual weight of a fine goose is fifteen or sixteen pounds, but it is scarcely credible how far this weight may be increased, by cramming the birds with bean-meal, and other fattening diet. it some places it is customary to nail them to the floor by the webs of the feet, to prevent any possibility of action, and thus to fatten them the more readily. in vienna the _livers_ of geese are esteemed a great delicacy. they are eaten stewed, and some of the german poulterers have a method of making them grow to an enormous size. in the choosing of geese for the table, care should be taken that the feet and legs be yellow, which is an indication of the bird's being young: the legs of old geese are red. if recently killed, the legs will be pliable, but if stale they will generally be found dry and stiff. these birds are denominated _green geese_ until they are three or four months old; and, at this immature age, they are held by many persons in great esteem for the table. besides the present, there are several other species of goose, which are useful on account of their quills and feathers, and likewise as supplying mankind with food. . _the wild duck_ (anas boschas) _is distinguished by the general cinereous colour of its plumage, by having a narrow white mark round the neck, the bill being straight, and the tail feathers of the male curved upward._ _the male is called_ mallard, _or_ drake, _and the female has the name of_ duck. _wild ducks are very common, in most of the fenny parts of england: they are also found on the continent of europe, in asia, and america._ one mode of catching wild ducks, in the fens of lincolnshire and some other countries, is by what are called _decoys_. these are ponds, generally formed in marshy situations, and surrounded with wood or reeds, and if possible with both. the wild birds are attracted into nets placed in the ditches of the decoy, by ducks trained for the purpose, and called decoy-birds. the latter fly abroad, but regularly return, for food, to the pond of the decoy, where they mix with tame ducks, which never quit the place. when it is required to catch the wild birds a quantity of hemp-seed is thrown into the ditches. the decoy and tame ducks lead them in search of this, along the ditches, which generally have reed-skreens at certain intervals on each side, to prevent the decoy-man from being seen. and as soon as they have advanced to the part of the ditch over which the net is extended, the man appears behind. fearful of returning past him, and unable to escape by flight, they proceed onward to the end of the net, which terminates on the land, and are there caught by a man stationed for the purpose. the trained birds return back, past the decoy-man, into the pond again. the general season for catching wild ducks is from the latter end of october until the beginning of february; and we are informed that, in ten decoys which are near wainfleet, as many as , wild ducks, wigeon, teal, and other water fowl, were caught in a single season. these birds are the original to which we are indebted for our valuable breed, the common or _tame duck_. . _the teal and wigeon_ (anas crecca _and_ penelope) _are two small species of duck, of which the former has a green spot on each wing, and a white line about and beneath the eyes; and the latter has the tail somewhat pointed, the under part near the tail black, the head brown, the front white, and the back waved with ash-coloured and blackish marks._ both these species are common in england, and are killed for the table. . _the eider duck_ (anas mollissima, fig. ) _is about twice the size of the common duck, and known by its bill being cylindric, and the cere or naked skin at the base being divided into two parts at the back, and wrinkled._ _these birds inhabit the northern parts of europe, asia, and america, and generally form their nests on small islands not far from the sea-shore._ the nests of eider ducks are constructed, externally, of marine plants, and lined with white down, which the birds pluck from their own breasts. this is the substance called _eider down_. it is collected, from the nests, by the bird-catchers, who, for that purpose, carefully remove the females, and then take away a certain portion both of down and eggs from each. more down is plucked from their breasts, and more eggs are laid to supply the place of those that have been taken. the nests are plundered in the same manner as before; and when the young ones are fledged, the whole of the down that remains is collected. it is generally reckoned that the down of one nest, after it has been picked and cleansed, will weigh about a quarter of a pound; and the bulk of the whole quantity may easily be imagined, when it is stated that three quarters of an ounce of eider down is more than sufficient to fill the crown of a large hat. the use of this down is for making beds, but, particularly, for making what are called down quilts, a kind of covering almost like a feather bed, which is used in the northern countries of europe, as a protection against cold, instead of a common quilt, or blanket. the _flesh_ and the _eggs_ of these birds are used for food, and their _skins_ are sewed together and made into under garments by the inhabitants of greenland. . _the puffin_ (alca arctica, fig. ) _is a marine bird about the size of a pigeon, and distinguished by having a large bill compressed at the sides and marked with four grooves; the top of the head, a ring round the throat, and all the upper parts of the plumage, black, and the under parts white._ _these are birds of passage, arriving in this country about the beginning of april, and leaving it in august. they are chiefly found on rocks and elevated ground, in unfrequented places, near the sea-shore._ the breeding of puffins is encouraged in the island of prestholme, north wales, and other parts of the british dominions, as a source of profit. the birds, which, in some places, are numerous beyond all calculation, form their nests in holes in the ground, each nest containing only a single white egg. the young ones are seized before they are quite fledged; and, after the bones are taken out, the skin is closed round the flesh, and they are pickled in vinegar impregnated with spices. in this state they are sold as a delicacy for the table. the flesh of the old birds is rank and unpalatable, in consequence of their feeding on seaweeds and fish. we are informed, by dr. caius, that in roman catholic countries, puffins are permitted to be eaten instead of fish during lent, and on other fast days. . _penguins_ (fig .) _are a tribe of marine birds with straight and narrow bills, furrowed at the sides; the legs situated so far back that they walk in an upright position; and the wings small, not calculated for flight, and covered with a broad and strong membrane._ _most of the penguins are found in different islands of the south seas._ vast numbers of these birds inhabit the falkland islands, and, to mariners, they have sometimes afforded a very seasonable supply of food. they are in general extremely fat, and must be skinned before they are eaten. sometimes they have been salted and packed in casks to supply the place of beef. these birds are so fearless of the approach of mankind, that there is no difficulty in knocking them down and killing them with sticks. penguins form their nests in holes in the ground, and generally lay one egg in each nest. the _eggs_ are an excellent food. . _pelecans, or corvorants, are a tribe of birds distinguished by their bills being hooked at the end, and furnished with a nail at the point and a pouch beneath, and having their face naked._ _there are more than thirty known species of pelecans, some of which are found in nearly every part of the world._ of these the most remarkable species is the great, or white pelecan (_pelecanus onocrolalus_). it is furnished with a bag attached to the lower mandible of its bill, so large as to be capable of containing a great number of fish. on these the pelecan feeds, and, by means of this bag, is enabled to convey them as food for its offspring. we are informed that the inhabitants of mexico sometimes obtain a supply of fish by cruelly breaking the wing of a live pelecan, and then tying the bird to a tree. its screams are said to attract other pelecans to the place, which give up a portion of the provisions they have collected to their imprisoned companion. as soon as this is observed the men, who are concealed at a little distance, rush to the spot, and take away all except a small portion, sufficient for the support of the prisoner. the chinese train one of the species (_pelecanus sinensis_) to catch fish, and the birds are so well trained that they do not appear to swallow any, but such as are given to them for encouragement and food. . the gannet (_pelecanus bassanus_, fig. ) is a species of pelecan so numerous, and, at the same time, so important to the inhabitants of some parts of scotland, that, in the island of st. kilda only, more than , are said to be annually killed by the inhabitants as food. the young birds, however, alone are eatable; and, to obtain these and the eggs, the bird-catchers undergo the greatest risks. they not only climb the rocks, but even allow themselves to be lowered from the top of the most dangerous precipices, by ropes, to the ledges on which the nests are placed. as gannets and their eggs are a principal support of the inhabitants of st. kilda throughout the year, they are preserved, for this purpose, in a frozen state, in small pyramidal stone buildings covered with turf and ashes. ---- class iii.--amphibia. ---- order i.--reptiles. . _the greek tortoise_ (testudo græca) _is a species of reptile of dirty yellow and black colour; with four feet, and a somewhat hemispherical shell, consisting of thirteen middle convex pieces, and about twenty-five marginal ones._ _these animals are about eight inches long, and three or four pounds in weight. they are found in woods of many of the countries of the continent, and in most of the islands of the mediterranean._ in nearly all countries where these tortoises abound they are considered valuable as food; and are cooked in various ways, but are chiefly used for soup. by some people the _blood_ is eaten without any culinary preparation. each tortoise towards the end of june lays, in the sand, from thirty to forty _eggs_, of round shape, and about the size of those of a pigeon. these eggs, when boiled, are in particular esteem for the table. in some parts of italy it is customary to collect and bury them in places dug in the earth; and when the young ones appear, they are fed and taken care of until they are in a fit state to be killed for the table. in their habits the animals are mild and peaceable; and, being furnished with a house which they continually carry about with them, and into which they can, in an instant, withdraw their head, legs, and tail, they have no danger to fear from their enemies. so great is the strength of their shell that instances have occurred of their having been run over, even by waggons, without injury. tortoises have been known to live to the age of more than years. . several other kinds of tortoises serve for food as well as the present; particularly the _round tortoise (testudo orbicularis)_, which is in great request for the tables of the opulent inhabitants of germany and hungary. . _the hawk's-bill turtle_ (testudo imbricata, fig. ) _is a marine species of tortoise, of yellowish and brown colour, which has fin-shaped feet each with two claws, thirteen plates in the middle of the shell, and twenty-one round the margin, lying somewhat loosely over each other at the edges._ _this animal, which is from two to three feet in length, is a native of the american and asiatic seas; and is also sometimes found in the mediterranean._ the plates or scales of the hawk's-bill turtle constitute that beautifully variegated and semi-transparent substance called _tortoise-shell_. this, after having been softened by means of boiling water, is capable of being moulded into almost any form; and is in request by opticians and other artists for many purposes both useful and ornamental. the ancient greeks and romans were so partial to the use of tortoise-shell that they decorated with it their doors, the pillars of their houses, and even their beds; and the great consumption of it at rome may be imagined by the relation of velleius paterculus, who informs us that, when the city of alexandria was taken by julius cæsar, the magazines or warehouses were so full of this article that he proposed to have it made the principal ornament of his triumph. the best tortoise-shell which is brought into this country pays an import duty of s. ½d. per pound; and the quantity vended at the east india company's sales in was no less than , pounds. the _flesh_ of the hawk's-bill turtle is not only of bad flavour, but is said to be even in some degree poisonous; persons who have partaken of it having been seized with vomiting and other unpleasant symptoms. the _eggs_, however, are esteemed peculiarly delicious. . _the common, or green turtle_ (testudo mydas, fig. ), _is a marine species of tortoise, distinguished by its oval shape; by the fore-feet only having two claws, the scales neither folding upon each other, nor having any ridge, and the middle scales being thirteen in number._ _these, which are the largest kind of tortoise that is known, are sometimes six feet and upwards in length, and five or six hundred pounds in weight._ _they are found, and generally in great numbers, on the unfrequented sea-shores of most countries within the torrid zone._ this species of turtle is one of the most valuable gifts of providence, to the inhabitants of tropical climates, and to mariners frequenting those climates. it affords them an abundant supply of agreeable and nutritive food. so numerous are they, in some places, that instances have occurred of forty or fifty having been obtained in the course of three hours. they are generally caught whilst asleep on the shore. the seamen go gently to the places where they are found, and successively turn them on their backs. from this position they are unable to recover their feet, and thus are perfectly secured until a sufficient number can be collected for conveyance on ship-board. turtles are sometimes killed with spears whilst lying at the bottom of the sea in shallow water, or whilst swimming on the surface. the females dig hollow places in the sand of the sea-shore, a little above high water mark; and in these they deposit sometimes more than a hundred eggs, carefully concealing them, from observation, by scratching over them a thin layer of sand. these eggs, which are wholesome food, are nearly globular, each two or three inches in diameter, and covered with a strong membrane, somewhat like wet parchment. they consist of a yolk, which by boiling hardens like that of other eggs, and of a white that is incapable of being hardened by heat. the parts of the turtle most in esteem are those about the belly, which are of delicate white colour, somewhat resembling veal; and the green fat, which possesses a very peculiar odour. the whole is extremely nutritious, and of a soft gelatinous nature; but, as it contains a large proportion of strong fat, it should not be eaten without salt and pepper, or other spice; and should be carefully avoided in every form by invalids and persons whose digestive powers are impaired. the flesh of the turtle is sometimes cut into pieces and salted, and in this state forms an article of traffic in the west indies. not only the flesh, but even the intestines and eggs are salted. the _fat_ yields a greenish yellow oil, which is used in lamps for burning, and when fresh with food. the inhabitants of some countries convert the upper _shells_ of turtles into canoes, troughs, bucklers, and other useful articles; and sometimes adopt them as a covering for houses. it does not appear that the turtle has been introduced into england, as an article of luxury for the table, more than seventy or eighty years. we import these animals chiefly from the west indies. . _the edible frog_ (rana esculenta) _is distinguished by its back being angular, and by having three yellowish stripes which extend from the muzzle almost to the hind legs._ _these animals are not only common in england, but are found in ponds, ditches, and fens, in nearly all the temperate parts of europe._ as an article of luxury for the table the edible frogs are in great request in france, germany, and other countries of the continent. they are generally caught, in the autumn, by rakes with long close-set teeth, by nets, and in numerous other ways. some persons amuse themselves by catching them with lines and hooks baited with insects or worms. at this season they are collected in thousands, and sold to the wholesale dealers, who have large conservatories for them. these are holes dug in the ground, to the depth of four or five feet, covered at the mouth with a board, and over this, in winter, with straw. we are informed, by dr. townson that at vienna, in the year , there were only three great dealers in frogs; by whom most of those persons were supplied who carried them to the markets for sale. the parts that are eaten are chiefly the hind quarters. . in america the species called _bull-frogs_, which sometimes measure eighteen inches and upwards in length, from the nose to the hind feet, are not unfrequently adopted as food. . _the crocodile and alligator_ (lacerta crocodilus _and_ alligator) _are two immense animals of the lizard tribe, the principal distinction between which is founded on the head and part of the neck of the former being more smooth than those of the latter; and in the snout being proportionally more wide and flat, as well as more rounded at the extremity._ _the length of the crocodile, when full grown, is from eighteen to about twenty-five feet; and that of the alligator somewhat less. crocodiles are chiefly found in the river nile; and alligators in rivers and lakes of some parts of america._ the _flesh_ of both these animals has a strong, unpleasant, and somewhat musky flavour; yet it is eaten by the natives of most of the countries in which they are found. it is white and juicy; and the parts that are preferred are those about the belly and tail. the flesh of the young ones is, however, said to be devoid of any unpleasant taste, and to be sufficiently palatable even to europeans. the _eggs_ also are eaten. of the _teeth_ of the alligator, which are as white as ivory, the americans make snuff-boxes, charges for guns, and several kinds of toys. there is an unfounded opinion that the upper jaws of these animals are moveable; and that they have no tongue. they swim with great velocity, and sometimes float asleep on the rivers, like immense logs of wood. their voracity is excessive; springing in a very surprising manner upon animals on which they prey, they instantly drag them into the water, sink to the bottom, and there devour them. the females deposit their eggs, from eighty to a hundred in number, in the sand, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. . _the guana_ (lacerta iguana, fig. ) _is a species of lizard, four or five feet in length, which has a round and long tail; the back with an elevated ridge of scales; and the throat with a pouch that is capable of being inflated to a large size._ _these animals are found among rocks, or in woods, in several parts of india and america. in surinam, guiana, and cayenne, they are very numerous: and they are occasionally caught in the west indian islands._ scarcely any species of animal food is so much admired by epicures in hot climates as the _flesh_ of the guana. it is preferred even to that of the turtle, and is cooked in various ways, being roasted, boiled, or converted into soup. the fat of these animals, after having been melted and clarified, is applicable to many uses. the flesh is sometimes salted, and exported for sale to distant countries. there are several modes of catching guanas. in many parts of america they are chased by dogs, which are trained purposely to this pursuit. frequently they are caught with snares placed near their haunts, and sometimes by a noose of cord affixed to the end of a long rod. the _eggs_ of the guana, which are generally found in the sand near the sea-shore, are said to be preferable for sauces and other purposes of cookery to the eggs of poultry; but, when eaten alone, they are viscid in the mouth, and to an european palate have at first a very disagreeable taste. . _serpents._--several kinds of serpents are adopted as food by the inhabitants of countries in which they are found. the american indians often regale themselves on _rattle-snakes_ (_crotalus horridus_), skinning and eating them as we do eels. the _great boa_ (_boa constrictor_), which sometimes measures more than thirty feet in length, is a favourite food with the negroes of some countries. the flesh of the _common viper_ (_coluber berus_) has been strongly recommended as a medicine in several complaints, such as leprosy, scurvy, rheumatism, and consumptions, but its virtues have been much exaggerated. ---- class iv.--fishes. ---- order i.--apodal fish. . _the roman eel_ (muræna helena, fig. ) _is a long and slimy fish, of serpentine form, variously marked and spotted, and destitute of pectoral fins._ _it is an inhabitant both of fresh and salt waters, and is chiefly found in the mediterranean sea, and the rivers that run into that sea._ by the romans this fish was regarded one of the greatest delicacies which could be introduced at their tables; and instances have been recorded of wealthy persons having even fed them with the flesh of slaves that had been condemned to die, believing that they were thereby rendered still more delicious. on many parts of the coast of italy reservoirs were made in the sea for storing and fattening these fish in; and the luxurious sybarites exempted from every kind of tribute the persons who sold them. representations of them were made into ear-rings, and into other ornaments for female attire. pliny tells us, that one of the roman punishments for youths under the age of seventeen years was to flog them with whips made of eel-skin. . _the common eel_ (muræna anguilla, fig. ) _is distinguishable by its lower jaw being somewhat longer than the upper, and the body being of an uniform colour._ _it is an inhabitant of rivers and ponds in almost every country of europe; and sometimes grows to the weight of fifteen or twenty pounds._ the _flesh_ of the eel affords a very rich and delicious food; and, were it not for groundless prejudices, arising from its serpent-like shape, this fish would be in much greater request for the table than it now is. so abundant are eels, in many of the rivers adjacent to the sea, that, in the first autumnal floods several tons' weight have sometimes been caught in a day; and, in the river ban, near coleraine, in ireland, there is an eel-fishery of such extent as to be let for l. per annum. the modes of taking eels are various; but these are chiefly by traps or engines of different kinds, so contrived as to admit of their entering, but to prevent their return. in the river nyne, northamptonshire, a small kind of eels are caught, with small head and narrow mouths, which have the name _bed-eels_. what are called, in the south of england, _grigs_, _gluts_, or _snigs_, are a variety of the common eel with larger head, blunter nose, and thicker skin. _silver eels_ owe probably their distinction of colour to the clear and gravelly streams in which they feed. eels are considered in highest perfection for the table from the commencement of spring till about the end of july; yet they continue good till the end of september. the modes of cooking them are numerous and well known. in some parts of the continent the _skins_ are made into a kind of ropes, which have great strength and durability. the inhabitants of several of the districts of tartary use them, in place of glass, for windows; and, in the orkney islands, they are worn as a remedy for the cramp. bits of eel-skin are not unfrequently put into coffee to clarify it. in many parts of the north of europe the _scales_, which are extremely minute, are mixed with cement to give a silvery lustre to the houses. . _the conger, or sea eel_ (muræna conger), _is chiefly distinguished from the common eel by the lower jaw being shorter than the upper, and the lateral or side line being white._ _it is found in all the european seas; and, when at its full growth, measures from six to twelve feet in length, and from twelve to twenty inches in circumference._ so numerous are congers on some of the british shores, that, from mount's bay, in cornwall, there have, in some years, been more than ten tons' weight of dried congers exported to different parts of spain and portugal. these fish are also peculiarly abundant in the neighbourhood of the orkneys and hebrides. they are chiefly caught with strong lines, each about feet in length, and having sixty hooks placed about eight feet asunder. the lines are sunk in the sea, and sometimes so many of them are fastened together that they extend nearly a mile in length. the _flesh_ of the conger is white, but coarse and greasy; and, though frequently eaten, is to some persons extremely disgusting. in the salting and drying of these fish they shrink to less than one-fourth part of their original weight, and the process is attended by the most nauseous stench. by the spaniards and portuguese dried congers are ground or beaten into powder, to thicken and give a relish to soups. . _sand-launce, sand eel, or wreckle_ (ammodytes tobianus), _is a small fish, distinguished by its eel-shape, its head being narrower than the body, the lower jaw much longer than the upper, and the upper lip being doubled._ _there is only one ascertained species of launce: this is found on sandy sea-shores in the northern ocean, and seldom exceeds the length of six or eight inches._ from about the end of june to the middle of october these brilliant little fish are caught in great numbers on the southern coasts of england. they are sometimes fished for with seine nets, which have small meshes, and sometimes are dug out of the sand, at low water, with a kind of fork that has three or four short and flat prongs. when eaten perfectly fresh, these are among the richest and most delicious fish that are known. but, to have them in perfection, they should be cooked almost immediately after they are caught. they so soon become putrid that it would be impossible to convey them to any distant market. the inhabitants of some parts of the continent salt and dry them, and, in this state, they are considered a great delicacy. . _the european sword-fish_ (xiphias gladius, fig. ) _is known by having its upper jaw lengthened into a hard and sword-shaped blade; and its dorsal fin long, and lowest in the middle._ _these fish are of steel-blue colour, and measure from fifteen to twenty feet in length._ _they are found in most parts of the european seas._ by the ancient romans sword-fish were highly esteemed as food; and were killed, with harpoons, by persons stationed in boats for that purpose. they were not only eaten fresh, but were also cut into pieces and salted. the inhabitants of sicily are, at this day, extremely partial to them, and purchase them, particularly the smaller ones, at very high prices. the parts chiefly in request are those about the belly and tail. in several places, near the mediterranean, the fins are salted and sold under the name of _callo_. order ii.--jugular fish. . _the common cod_ (gadus morhua, fig. ) _is distinguished by having three fins upon its back, a small fleshy beard on the under jaw, the tail fin nearly even at the extremity, and the first ray of the anal fin spinous._ _the average weight of these fish is from ten to twenty, or thirty pounds._ to the inhabitants of many countries, but more especially to those of our own, the cod fishery is a very essential source of wealth. it affords occupation to many thousand persons, and employment for several hundred sail of shipping. the fishery on the great bank near the island of newfoundland is by far the most important of any that has hitherto been discovered in the world, and the resort of fish to this spot is beyond all imagination numerous. in the year there were caught more than , , pounds weight. this immense bank is a vast mountain in the sea, more than miles long, miles broad, and, in depth of water, from twenty to sixty fathoms. it was first discovered in the reign of henry the seventh; and in an act of parliament was passed, by which all englishmen were permitted to traffic and fish on the coasts of newfoundland and the adjacent banks, without payment of any duty. in sir humphrey gilbert took possession of the island of newfoundland in the name of queen elizabeth; and the first english company that associated to settle a colony there was incorporated by a patent of king james the first, in . the newfoundland fishery at present gives freight to about vessels, from to tons' burden each. these are chiefly fitted out from the islands of guernsey and jersey, from ireland, and some ports of the english channel, as pool, dartmouth, &c. when these vessels arrive at the fishery, a kind of gallery is formed, which reaches from the main-mast to the poop, and sometimes even from one end of the ship to the other. this is furnished with tuns stove in at one end, into which the fishermen get, to be sheltered from the weather, their heads being covered with a kind of roof fixed to the top of the tun. the mode of fishing is by hook and line only; and the baits are herrings, a small fish called capelins ( ), shell fish, or pieces of sea fowl. each man can catch only one fish at a time; yet an expert fisherman has sometimes been known to take in a day. as soon as the fish are caught the tongues are cut out, the heads cut off, and the liver, entrails, and spine, are all taken out. after this they are salted and piled, for some time, in the holds of the vessels, and then packed in barrels for sale, under the name of _green_ or _wet cod_. when the fish are to be dried, they are conveyed in boats to the shore, where they are headed, cleansed, and salted, upon stages or scaffolds erected for that purpose. they are subsequently spread on the shore to dry; these are called _dry cod_, and constitute the principal object of the newfoundland trade. the chief markets to which the fish are conveyed are those of spain, portugal, italy, and the levant. the most important fishing banks of europe are in the neighbourhood of iceland, norway, and the orkney islands; and the dogger-bank, and well-bank, betwixt this country and holland. as the air-bladders of cod are thick and of a gelatinous nature, the icelanders frequently make _isinglass_ of them, similar to that which we usually import from russia. by the newfoundland fishermen the air-bladders are generally salted and packed in barrels under the name of _sounds_; and these, when good, are considered a great delicacy for the table. the _tongues_ are prepared in the same manner and for the same purpose. from the _livers_, after they have become in a certain degree putrid, a kind of oil is obtained which is considered superior to whale oil ( ), because it preserves leather longer flexible, and, when clarified, yields less vapour in burning than that. the _roes_ are collected by the icelanders, salted, packed in barrels, and sold to the dutch, french, and spaniards, as bait for anchovies and other fish. before the commencement of the french revolution from , to , barrels of these roes were annually exported from bergen. the inhabitants of some parts of norway, when forage is scarce, dry the _heads_ of cod, and, mixing them with some species of sea-weeds, give them as food to their cattle. the london markets are abundantly supplied with fresh cod from the fishing banks adjacent to our own country. these fish are in season from the beginning of december till about the end of april; and are brought alive to the thames in well-boats, the air-bladders being previously perforated with a pointed instrument, to prevent the fish from rising in the water. cod should be chosen for the table of middling size, plump about the shoulder and near the tail, the hollow behind the head deep, and with a regular undulated appearance on the sides, as if they were ribbed. the gills should be very red, the eyes fresh, and the flesh white and firm. it is generally considered that the shoals of cod confine themselves between the latitudes ° and ° north. those which are caught to the north or south of these degrees are both few in quantity and bad in quality. . _the haddock_ (gadus aglefinus) _is a fish of the cod tribe, which has three fins tip on its back, a small fleshy beard on the under jaw, the upper jaw the longer, and the tail somewhat forked. there is a dark oval spot on each side of the body a little below the gills._ _these fish seldom exceed the weight of seven or eight pounds._ our markets are principally supplied with haddocks from the coast of yorkshire and other eastern parts of england. they are best in season betwixt the months of july and january, after which they deposit their eggs or roe, and, for many weeks, are scarcely eatable; but those which have not begun to breed may be admitted to the table after this period. their flesh, which in a degree resembles that of the common cod, is white, firm, well-tasted, and easy of digestion. those that are best for the table do not usually exceed the weight of two or three pounds. though haddocks are sometimes caught with nets, they are much more frequently taken by lines. each of these has a great number of hooks, and is placed in the sea at the ebb of the tide, and taken up at the ensuing tide. the numbers thus caught have, in some instances, been almost beyond belief. some idea may however be formed respecting them, when it is stated that shoals of haddocks have not unfrequently been known to extend four or five miles in length and nearly a mile in width. these fish are sometimes salted and packed in barrels like cod. and, if this be skilfully done, they are excellent eating, and may be kept good for a great length of time. . _the torsk_ (gadus callarias, fig. ) _is a species of cod which has three fins upon its back, a small fleshy beard on the under jaw, the upper jaw longer than the lower, and the tail fin nearly even at the extremity._ _its usual weight is from two to seven or eight pounds._ as an article of food the torsk is said to be superior to every fish of its tribe. it is principally found in the baltic sea and the northern ocean, and has not hitherto been known to frequent the english shores. the most favourable seasons for catching these fish, in greenland, are the spring and autumn; and the general mode is by lines made of pieces of whalebone, or thongs of seal-skin, the hooks being baited with fish. the icelanders frequently salt and dry them, as one of their articles of subsistence for the winter. . _the whiting pout_ (gadus barbatus) _is a small fish of the cod kind, distinguishable by the great depth of its body, which is usually about one-third of its length; by having three dorsal fins, a small fleshy beard on the chin, and seven punctures on each side of the lower jaw._ _its weight seldom exceeds a pound and half or two pounds._ these delicate fish are found in shoals, near several of the shores of europe. they are usually caught about the month of august; and are so plentiful on some parts of the french coast that fishermen have been known to take two or three hundred of them at a single haul of their nets. the french consider them to be dry and insipid eating; but in england they are often more esteemed than whitings. the inhabitants of greenland frequently salt them: they also salt and dry the _roes_; and are particularly partial to the _livers_, which they dress and serve to table with crowberries (_empetrum nigrum_). . _the capelan, or poor_ (gadus minutus), _is a fish of the cod tribe, which seldom exceeds the length of six or seven inches, and differs from all others of the same tribe by being black in the interior of the abdomen._ _it has three dorsal fins, a small beard on the chin, and nine punctures on each side of the lower jaw._ in the newfoundland fishery these fish are of considerable importance, as supplying bait for the taking of cod. they are also found in considerable numbers in the mediterranean, the baltic, and the north sea, and wherever they appear they are a source of great joy to the fishermen, since they are believed to announce an abundant supply of valuable fish, which pursue and prey upon them. it is stated that, in the year , the french coasts in the mediterranean were visited, for two months, by such myriads of capelans, that many of the inhabitants were obliged to collect together and bury those that were thrown ashore, to prevent any evil consequence that might occur from the corruption of so great a mass of animal matter. these fish are sometimes caught on the coast of cornwall. they are considered very delicate food; and when salted are peculiarly excellent. a few barrels of salted capelans are occasionally sent from newfoundland, as presents to the friends of the merchants in england, but the fish are too small to be salted there as an article of profit. they are caught both with lines and nets. . _the whiting_ (gadus merlangus) _is distinguished from other fish of the cod tribe by having three fins on its back, no beard on the chin, its upper jaw longer than the lower, the tail-fin somewhat hollowed, the back dusky, and the rest of the body silvery white._ _its weight seldom exceeds two pounds._ the chief season for whiting is during the first three months of the year, though they are frequently, brought to market till after midsummer. they are sometimes caught with nets, but the hook and line are generally preferred, on account of the depth of the water at which they are usually found. the baits are lugworms, and muscles, whelks, or other shell-fish. the shoals of whiting, which approach within two or three miles of our shores, are sometimes extremely numerous. the dutch fishermen use lines, for catching them, of immense length, and each containing about hooks. these are laid near the bottom of the water; and when taken up have, in many instances, a fish at each hook. it has been remarked that the flesh of the whiting, which is usually considered very delicate eating, varies much with the season and the kind of shore where the fish are caught. those which frequent sandy flats, at a little distance from the shores, are smaller and much better flavoured than others that are taken on banks distant from the sea-coasts. they should be chosen for the table by the redness of their gills, the brightness of the eyes, and the general firmness of the body and fins. in the neighbourhood of bruges and ostend whitings are frequently salted; and conveyed for sale into the interior of france and germany, where, in general, they are considered preferable to salted cod. . _coal-fish, or piltocks_ (gadus carbonarius), _are a kind of cod with three dorsal fins, no beard on the under jaw; the under jaw longer than the upper, the side line straight, and the mouth black within._ _they are frequently two or three feet long, and twenty pounds and upwards in weight._ these fish are indebted, for their name, to the dark colour which their body generally assumes when they have attained their full growth. to the inhabitants of the orkney islands, and of the extreme northern parts of scotland, they afford a most important supply of food, at a season of the year when the poor are deprived of almost every other means of subsistence. at the approach of winter, when the seas are stormy, myriads of these fish run into the bays; and they continue in the immediate neighbourhood of the same coasts till the months of february and march. they are nearly as important an object of pursuit on account of their _livers_ as for their _flesh_. from these is obtained a considerable quantity of oil, which is used for burning in lamps, and for numerous other purposes. the young coal-fish approach the yorkshire coasts in the months of july and august, and, when four or five inches in length, they are much esteemed as food; but the older fish are so coarse and bad, that, where other food is to be obtained, few people will eat them. by being salted and dried, however, they are rendered firm and palatable. coal-fish are usually caught with lines. the best bait for them is a sprat or a limpet parboiled. the shetlanders use the latter; and, seated on the rocks projecting over the water, or in boats, they are very expert in catching them. a man, holding a rod in each hand, will frequently draw them up as fast as he can put down his lines. he keeps a few limpets in his mouth, and baits his hook at a single motion with one hand, assisted by his lips, and with the greatest ease and certainty. the fish thus caught are generally those of the second year's growth, and are not much larger than herrings. . _pollack_ (gadus pollachius) _is a fish belonging to the cod tribe, with three dorsal fins, no beard to the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, the tail-fin forked, and the side line much curved._ _the usual weight of the pollack is six or seven pounds, but it sometimes much exceeds this._ in the baltic sea and the northern ocean, particularly in those parts where the bottom is rocky, and the sea much agitated, these fish appear, at stated seasons, in great shoals, playing about on the surface in all directions and in the most sportive and agile manner. near lubec and heligoland they are sometimes caught, in immense numbers, in nets, or with lines and hooks baited with a feather, a small fish, or a bit of the skin of an eel. they frequent some of the southern parts of our coasts in the summer, and the eastern shores of yorkshire in winter. as an article of food, pollacks are usually considered inferior to whiting, but, in some places, they are much esteemed. on the continent they are sometimes salted, and eaten during lent by the inferior classes of people. . _ling_ (gadus molva) _are a species of cod which have two dorsal fins, a small beard on the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, and the tail fin rounded._ _they are caught in great numbers in the northern ocean, and about the northern coasts of great britain and ireland; and when full grown are three or four feet in length._ the importance of these fish in a commercial view, is very great. their size, the numbers in which they are caught, the excellence of their flesh when salted, and the value of the oil that they yield, all contribute to render them an object of eager pursuit by fishermen in those countries on the coasts of which they are found. more than , pounds' weight of ling are annually exported from the coasts of norway. in england they are fished for and cured in the same manner as cod ( ): and it is said that they bear carriage to great distances much better than cod. ling are in season from february until about the end of may. vast numbers of these fish are salted in the northern parts of england, for exportation as well as for home consumption. when they are in season the _liver_ is white, and yields a great quantity of fine and well-flavoured oil. this is extracted by placing it over a slow fire; but if a sudden heat be applied, very little oil can be obtained. as soon as the fish are out of season the liver becomes red, and affords no oil. a kind of isinglass is made from the _air-bladders_. the _tongues_ are eaten either fresh, dried, or salted. . _the burbot_ (gadus lota, fig. ) _is a somewhat eel-shaped species of cod with two dorsal fins, a single fleshy beard on the under jaw, the jaws nearly equal in length, and the tail rounded._ _this fish is found in some rivers of england, and in rivers and lakes of the continent; and when full grown weighs two or three pounds._ although the burbot is esteemed a very delicate fish for the table, it is so common in the oder, and in some other rivers of germany, that the fishermen, unable otherwise to dispose of all they catch, not unfrequently cut the fattest parts of the fish into slips, and, after drying them, burn them instead of candles. the _livers_ are large and of peculiarly excellent flavour. it is related of a countess de beuchlingen, in thuringia, that she was so partial to the livers of burbots as to expend a great portion of her income in the purchase of them. if suspended in a glass and placed near a hot stove, or in the heat of the sun, they yield an oil which was formerly in great repute as an external application for the removal of swellings. the _air-bladders_, which are so large as often to be nearly one-third of the whole length of the fish, are employed in some countries for making isinglass. order iii.--thoracic fish. . _the john doree_ (zeus faber, fig. ) _is a fish very much compressed at the sides, with large head, wide mouth, long filaments to the rays of the first dorsal fin, the tail rounded, and a roundish black spot on each side of the body._ _this fish is an inhabitant of most seas, and is usually about a foot and a half in length; but it is sometimes known to weigh so much as ten or twelve pounds._ it has only been within about the last half century that this delicious, though hideous-looking, fish, has had a place at our tables; and the first person who brought it into notice was the well-known actor and bon-vivant, the late mr. quin. near the coasts of devonshire and cornwall, dorées are caught in great number both in nets and with lines; and they are principally in season during the months of october, november, and december. their name is a corruption from the french _jaune dorée_, and signifies golden yellow fish, this being their colour when first taken out of the water. . _the holibut_ (pleuronectes hippoglossus) _is a flat fish of considerably lengthened shape, of olive or blackish colour above, with smooth body, and the tail hollowed at the extremity. the eyes (as viewed from the head toward the tail) are on the right side._ _these, the largest of all the european species of flat fish, inhabit both the european and american seas, and frequently weigh from to or pounds each._ as the holibut is found only at the bottom of the water, the usual mode of catching it is with hooks and lines; and its size is so great that, for sale in the markets, it is customary to cut it into pieces. the season in which it is most esteemed is during the months of october, november, and december. though, in general, a coarse food, the parts which are near the side fins are fat and delicious, but too rich for any one to eat much of them. the inhabitants of greenland eat of these fish both fresh and dried. they also eat the _skin_ and the _liver_; and the _membrane of the stomach_ serves instead of glass for windows. the swedes and icelanders make of holibut a food called _raff_ and _roechel_; the former consisting of the fins with the fat skin to which they are attached; and the latter of pieces of the flesh cut into stripes, salted, and dried on sticks in the air. holibuts are also salted in the same manner as herrings, which is said to be the best mode of curing them; but, in this state, they are coarse and bad eating. . _the plaise_ (pleuronectes platessa) _is a kind of flat fish easily known by a row of six bony protuberances behind the left eye, and its upper side being marbled with olive and brown, and marked with orange spots_. _though usually of small size, this fish sometimes grows to the weight of twelve or fourteen pounds, and is found on the shores of almost all the countries of europe._ the best and largest plaise are said to be caught on some parts of the coast of sussex. they are in greatest perfection from december to march, and in july, august and september. those that are of tolerably large size are firm and well-flavoured, but the small and thin fish become gluey by boiling. the flesh of the former is bluish, and of the latter reddish white. plaise are generally caught with nets called seine nets, which are hauled upon the shores. in some countries these fish are salted and dried as articles of commerce; and in others the best of them are skinned, dried, and pressed into particular forms, and, when eaten, are cut like cheese. . _the dab_ (pleuronectes limanda) _is a species of flat fish, of yellowish brown colour, with the eyes on the right side of the body, the scales hard and toothed, and the lateral line, at its commencement, curved round the pectoral fin._ _it is in general much smaller than the plaise._ although very common on the shores of the baltic and mediterranean seas, the dab is much more scarce on the british shores than the plaise. when in best season, during the months of february, march, and april, it is considered preferable to that fish. in the summer-time its flesh is soft and of bad flavour. the dutch and scots fishermen sometimes salt and dry these fish. . _the brill is a flat fish somewhat like the turbot ( ), but with its eyes on the right side of the body, the whole surface of the body smooth, and a laceration at the beginning of the dorsal fin._ these fish are not uncommon, in somewhat deeper water than the plaise, and the flounder, along the coasts of dorsetshire, hampshire, and some of the eastern parts ot england. they are very common at billingsgate, and in other markets; are considered an excellent fish for the table, being white, firm, and well-flavoured; and are chiefly in season in the months of october and november. . _the flounder_ (pleuronectes flesus) _is a flat fish which differs from the plaise ( ) principally in wanting the six protuberances behind the left eye, in having the lateral line rough, short spines at the base of the upper side of the fins, and a great number of rough points on almost the whole upper surface of the body._ _its weight seldom exceeds two or three pounds._ there are few species of fish so common on the flat and somewhat muddy shores of this country as the flounder. it enters the harbours, and ascends the rivers to a considerable distance from their mouth. it is even caught in places where the water is perfectly fresh, and it is said to be much sweeter and better for the table when taken at a distance from the sea than in salt-water. on this account chiefly it is that the flounders caught in the river thames have obtained great celebrity. they are in best season from january to march, and from july to september. flounders are generally caught with nets in the same way as other flat fish. but sometimes the fishermen catch them by walking gently in the shallow waters, where they abound, and stabbing an iron prong or fork through their bodies, as they lie in the mud. the places where they lie are known by the exposure only of their eyes and mouth, all the other parts of their body being concealed. small flounders are frequently used by fishermen as bait for crabs and lobsters. . _the sole_ (pleuronectes solea) _is a flat fish, the body of which is oblong and rough, and the upper jaw longer than the lower._ _it is found off the sandy shores of nearly all parts of the world; and, though in england, it does not often exceed the might of three or four pounds, in hot climates it frequently weighs as much as seven or eight pounds._ the sole is a fish in great request for the table, and, except the turbot, is usually considered the most firm and delicate fish of its tribe. though exposed for sale during nearly the whole year, it is in highest perfection about midsummer. by the ancient laws of the cinque ports no person was allowed to catch soles from the first of november to the fifteenth of march; nor was any one permitted to use nets betwixt sun-setting and sun-rising, that the fish might not be disturbed in their feeding. soles when good are of thick form, and their under parts are cream-coloured; if the latter are bluish, the fish are flabby and bad. these, unlike most other fish, may be kept several days, even in hot weather, without becoming putrid; and they are always skinned before they are eaten. the _skins_ are sometimes dried, and used for the clarifying of coffee. . _the turbot_ (pleuronectes maximus, fig. ) _is a species of flat fish, distinguished by its eyes being on the left side, the body being broad, marbled with brown and yellow above, and rough with bony protuberances._ _the weight of these fish is from four or five to betwixt twenty and thirty pounds._ _they are chiefly caught in the european and mediterranean seas._ it has been calculated that more than , pounds' weight of turbots are annually consumed in london. these are chiefly caught off the northern coasts of england, and off the coast of holland. notwithstanding the high repute of turbot for the tables of the most wealthy and luxurious inhabitants of this country, it has only of late been relished in scotland, and many persons there still prefer the holibut ( ) to it. there are now, or were very lately, living in one of the coast-towns of scotland several poor people who were accustomed to derive a great part of their subsistence from the turbots which the fishermen threw away upon the beach as of no value. a general officer in the english army first taught the inhabitants of fifeshire that these fish were eatable; and astonished the fishermen of that country by offering so great a sum as a shilling a piece for the largest of them. many of the vessels, which carry fish to the thames, are employed in fishing for turbot even so far north as the frith of forth, and, in the wells of these vessels, they are brought alive to the london markets. turbot are caught off the yorkshire coast with hooks and lines. at scarborough each fisherman takes, in his boat, three lines coiled upon flat oblong pieces of wicker-work, the hooks being baited and placed in the centre of the coils. the lines are usually furnished with hooks, placed at the distance of six feet two inches from each other. in this fishing there are always three men in each boat, and nine of these lines are fastened together, extending in length nearly three miles, and furnished with hooks. they are placed in the sea, across the current, and secured by anchors or large stones at the end of every three lines. their situation is marked by floats or buoys made of leather or cork. the lines are always placed at the turn of the tide; and they are suffered to continue until the next tide, and consequently remain upon the ground about six hours. the best bait for turbot is a fresh herring, though the dutch fishermen prefer the lesser lampreys ( ) to them, and have been known to purchase of the english fishermen, for this purpose, more than l. worth of these lampreys per annum. small pieces of haddocks, sand-worms, and some kinds of shell-fish, are also occasionally used; and, when none of these are to be had, bullock's liver is adopted. turbots are in season during nearly the whole summer. when in perfection, they are thick, and the under part of the body is of yellowish white colour. if they are thin, or this part has a bluish tinge, they are bad. these fish are generally considered better if kept in a cool place for a few days before they are eaten. . _the common perch_ (perca fluviatilis) _is a fresh-water fish, distinguished by having sixteen soft rays to the second dorsal fin, fourteen spiny ones to the first dorsal fin, the upper gill-covers serrated at the edges, and the sides marked by five broad and upright bars of black._ _this fish seldom exceeds the weight of four or five pounds._ _it is found in rivers and lakes both in europe and siberia._ with the ancient romans the perch was a very favourite fish. though somewhat bony, it is white, firm, and well flavoured, and is considered an excellent food for persons in a weak state of health. perch are generally found in rapid streams where the water is somewhat deep. they are caught both with nets and with hooks and lines, and are in greatest perfection, from january to march, and again in october and november. in lapland and siberia they are sometimes found of enormous size. the laplanders, in one of their churches, have the dried head of a perch which is nearly a foot in length. the dutch are particularly fond of perch when made into a dish called _water souchy_. from the _skins_ of perch a kind of isinglass is made which surpasses that made from any other fish. the laplanders use it to stiffen their bows and make them durable. as this substance might be rendered of use for various purposes of domestic economy, it may not be altogether unimportant to detail the mode of its preparation. the skins are first dried, and afterwards softened in cold water to rid them of the scales. the laplanders generally take four or five of the skins at a time, put them into a rein-deer's bladder, or wrap them in pieces of the bark of the birch-tree, so that they may not come in contact with the water. they place these in a pot of boiling water, putting on them a stone to keep them at the bottom of the pot; and in this situation they are boiled for an hour. when they have become soft and glutinous, they are taken out, and are then in a state fit for use. perch may be bred and fattened in ponds; but care should be taken not to put them with other fish, as their voracity renders them extremely destructive to any that are weaker than themselves; or they should be accompanied by such only as are intended to furnish them with food. a pond may be stocked with perch by putting only the eggs or spawn into it; and if the situation and circumstances be favourable, the increase in a few years will be extremely great. these fish are so tenacious of life that instances have occurred of their being packed in wet straw and carried alive to a distance of fifty miles and upwards. . _the basse is a sea-fish somewhat resembling a perch, with a short and sharp spine on the posterior plate of the gill-cover, fourteen rays to the second dorsal fin, the back dusky tinged with blue, and the belly white._ _this fish sometimes attains the weight of twenty and even thirty pounds._ _it is found in the mediterranean, the british channel, the northern ocean, and the baltic._ these voracious fish are caught during nearly all the year; but the months of august, september, and october, are considered most favourable for taking them. they not only approach the shores, but even ascend the rivers to great distances. though their flesh is in general woolly and insipid, the romans preferred them to many other kinds of fish, and sometimes paid high prices for them. those which they chiefly esteemed were caught in the tiber, betwixt the bridges of rome. the eggs or _roes_ of the basse have sometimes been used in france and italy to make what is called _boutargue_ or _botargo_. . _the common mackrel_ (scomber scomber) _is known from other fish by having five small and distinct fins betwixt the dorsal fin and the tail._ _its usual length is from a foot to eighteen inches, and its weight seldom exceeds two or three pounds._ the mackrel fishery is an object of great commercial importance to the inhabitants of most of the countries on the shores of which these fish abound. during the summer season they approach our coasts in immense shoals, and are generally caught in what are called seine nets. from june to august many of our markets are supplied with them; but as mackrel become putrid sooner than most other fish, they cannot be carried to any great distance, nor be kept for any great length of time. on this account it is that they are allowed to be sold in the streets of london on sundays, and in catholic countries on sundays and festivals. when quite fresh mackrel are an excellent fish for the table, and are in best season from may to july. both in italy and england they are often pickled with vinegar and spices, and sometimes with bay leaves intermixed. by the inhabitants of many parts of the north of europe they are salted; and, in this state, they constitute a cheap and very important article of subsistence. in scotland they are frequently cured in the same manner as herrings. it was with these fish chiefly that the ancient romans formed their celebrated pickle called _garum_. this in the ancient world constituted a very considerable branch of commerce, not only from its being used as an highly esteemed sauce, but also as it was considered a remedy for various diseases. in the mediterranean the _roes_ of mackrel are salted, and used for _caviar_. . _the thunny, or albicore_ (scomber thynnus, fig. ), _is a large fish of the mackrel tribe, of steel-blue colour above, and silvery white beneath; and is particularly known by having from eight to eleven distinct fins betwixt the dorsal fin and the tail._ _these fish measure from six to ten feet in length, and frequently weigh from to pounds._ _they are chiefly caught in the mediterranean._ we are acquainted with no species of fish, of size equal to the thunny, which supply mankind with so palatable a food. the thunny fishery is pursued with great ardour, by the inhabitants of nearly all the shores of the mediterranean; but, particularly, by those of spain and sardinia. it constitutes one of the principal objects of diversion to the inhabitants of sardinia; and, for the purpose of attending it, many persons of distinction come even from distant countries. the nets, which are of great size and value, are prepared in april, and are consecrated by the priests previously to being thrown into the sea. on the preceding evening the persons employed draw lots for the name of the saint who is to be considered the patron of the fishing for the ensuing day; and this saint, whoever he maybe, is alone invoked to promote the success of the undertaking. notwithstanding their great size, these fish swim in shoals of sometimes more than together. pliny, the roman naturalist, asserts that the fleet of alexander the great attempted, in vain, to pass through a shoal of them, in any other manner than closely arranged in order of battle. of the immense numbers of thunnies some idea may be formed when it is stated that , or , of them are supposed every year to pass through the straits of gibraltar. these fish are not uncommon on the western shores of scotland, but not in shoals as in the mediterranean. the flesh of the thunny differs much, according to the season, and the place where it is taken; hence in sardinia it is called by different names according with this difference. when raw it is in general red like beef, but, on being boiled, it assumes a pale colour; and when in perfection, its taste somewhat resembles that of salmon. these fish are salted, and sent, in great quantity, to constantinople and the greek islands. the thunny was so much esteemed by the ancient greeks that they consecrated it to diana. . _the bonito_ (scomber pelamis) _is a large species of mackrel, of thick form, with seven small distinct fins betwixt the dorsal fin and the tail, and several large scales below the pectoral fin._ _this fish measures eighteen inches or two feet in length, and is ten pounds and upwards in weight._ _it is principally found in the seas of tropical climates._ sometimes these fish approach the european shores; and one of them was caught a few years ago at christchurch, in hampshire. to mariners in hot climates they often afford an important supply of food. their flesh is fat and white, but inferior in excellence to that of the thunny, except when salted. a very lucrative fishery of bonitos is carried on at cadiz. the fishing commences about the end of april, and continues until the beginning of july; and, in general, affords occupation for about a hundred persons. . _the red surmullet_ (mullus barbatus) _is a fish known by its large and loose scales, the general red colour of its body, and its having two fleshy beards on the under jaw._ _it frequents the european seas, and seldom exceeds the length of eight or ten inches._ . _the striped surmullet_ (mullus surmuletus, fig. .) _has large and long scales, is of red colour, with four yellowish stripes along its sides, and two beards on the under jaw._ _this fish inhabits both the european and the american seas, and is from ten or twelve inches to two feet in length._ the prices at which the surmullet was sometimes purchased by the romans were enormously great. we read of a roman consul having given at the rate of more than l. of our money for one of them; and of one of the roman emperors having paid upwards of l. for another--to such an absurdity of extravagance did this people arrive before the dissolution of their empire. but it went further:--they are said to have considered even the surmullet of little value unless it died in the very hands of their guests. some of the most luxurious of the romans had stews formed even in their eating-rooms, so that the fish could at once be brought from under the table and placed upon it. here they were put into transparent vases, that the guests might be entertained with their various changes of colour, from red to violet and blue, as they expired. the parts chiefly admired for the table were the head and the liver. both the above species of surmullet occasionally visit our coasts during the summer season. their flesh is white, firm, and well-tasted; but they cannot long be kept without becoming putrid. . _gurnards_ (trigla, fig. .) _are fish with a large angular and bony head; and two or more distinct appendages near the pectoral fins._ of about fifteen known species of gurnards, five are caught near the british coasts. these are the grey gurnard, red gurnard, piper, tub-fish, and streaked gurnard, of which the two former are considered best for the table. their flesh is white, firm, and good, though somewhat insipid; and they are thought to be in greatest perfection from about the beginning of may to the end of july. order. iv.--abdominal fish. . _the common salmon_ (salmo salar, fig. ) _is a fish known by its forked tail, the upper jaw being somewhat longer than the lower, and by the extremity of the under jaw, in the male, being hooked and bent upward._ _all the fish of the salmon tribe have their hindmost dorsal fin fleshy._ at an early season of the year salmon begin to leave their winter haunts in the ocean, and to pass up the fresh water rivers, sometimes to vast distances, to deposit their spawn. and it is in these peregrinations that they are chiefly caught. the british rivers that are most celebrated for salmon are the tweed, the tyne, the trent, the severn, and the thames. sometimes they are taken in nets, sometimes in traps or engines, and sometimes by harpoons. they have been known to ascend the rivers to the distance of more than miles. vast numbers of salmon are annually pickled at berwick for the london markets, and for sale on the continent. these are packed in small tubs, and are usually sold under the name of newcastle salmon. the season for catching salmon commences towards the end of the year, but the principal capture is in the month of july; and instances have occurred in which more than fish have been caught at one haul of a net. fresh salmon are frequently sent to london from the northern rivers packed in ice. the severn salmon are earlier in season than those of any other river in england, though not so early as what are caught in some parts of scotland and ireland. the thames salmon are principally taken near isleworth, and are sold at a most extravagant rate in london. in ireland the most considerable salmon fishery is as cranna, on the river ban, about a mile and a half from coleraine. at a single haul of one of the nets, about the year , there were taken as many as fish; this circumstance was so extraordinary as to be recorded in the town books of coleraine. in the severn, trent, and some other northern rivers of england, no salmon measuring less than eighteen inches from the eye to the middle of the tail is allowed to be caught; nor any whatever betwixt the eighth of september and the eleventh of november (except in the ribble, where they may be caught betwixt the first of january and fifteenth of september), under the penalty of l. and forfeiture of the fish. and no salmon of less weight than six pounds are permitted to be sent by fishmongers to their agents in london, under a similar penalty. when these fish, about the beginning of may, are five or six inches in length, they are called _salmon smelts_, and, when they have attained the weight of from about six to nine pounds, they have the name of _gilse_. salmon are a very general and favourite article of food. when eaten fresh, they are tender, flaky, and nutritive; but are thought to be difficult of digestion. the flesh of the salmon is of red colour, and the beauty of its appearance is increased by soaking slices of it in fresh water before they are cooked. immediately after the salmon have deposited their spawn they become so flabby and bad as to be unfit for food. raw salmon is a favourite dish with even the first nobility of stockholm, insomuch that they seldom give a great dinner in which this food is not presented on the table. it is prepared by merely cutting the fish into slices, putting these into salt, and, when salted, leaving them for three days in a wooden dish, with a little water. in this state it is said to be very delicious eating. the modes of curing salmon are various, but these are chiefly by _drying_, _smoking_, _salting_, and _pickling_. near the bay of castries (in the strait of saghalier) the tartars tan the _skins_ of large salmon, and convert them into a very supple kind of clothing. . in south wales, and in the rivers of the north of england which fall into the sea, a kind of salmon, called _sewen_ (_salmo esiox_), is frequently found. it is known by having nearly an even tail, and being marked with ash-coloured spots. these salmon are chiefly caught from july to september, and seldom weigh more than ten or twelve pounds. they are much inferior to the common salmon in delicacy of flavour. . _salmon trout, sea trout, or budge_ (salmo trutta), _is a species of salmon chiefly characterized by the tail being hollowed, by having seven rays to the anal fin, black spots encircled with ash-colour on the head, back, and sides; and the jaws of equal length._ _it inhabits the sea, and rivers adjacent to the sea; and sometimes weighs eight or ten pounds, or more._ the flesh of the salmon trout is red and good, but not so highly flavoured as that of the salmon; and it varies much, according to the quality of the water in which the fish are taken. salmon trout are caught chiefly with nets; and the fishing for them generally commences about the beginning of may, and continues till after michaelmas. in some of the northern countries of europe, where these fish are very numerous, they are cured by _salting_, _pickling_, and _smoking_; and in these different states they are articles of some commercial importance. the smoking of these and other fish is performed in a tub without bottom, which is pierced at the top and round the sides with holes. this tub is raised on three stones; and the fish being suspended within it, they are exposed, for three days, to the smoke of burning oak-branches and juniper berries, which are lighted beneath. . _the fresh-water trout_ (salmo trutta) _is a species of salmon which has its tail somewhat hollowed, eleven rays to the anal fin, the upper parts of the body and the sides marked with red spots encircled with brown, and the lower jaw somewhat longer than the upper._ _these fish inhabit fresh-water rivers, streams, and lakes, but particularly those of mountainous countries; and their weight is seldom more than four or five pounds._ in clear and cold streams the fresh-water trout multiplies very fast, and chiefly because such streams do not contain any voracious fish of greater power than themselves. such is the excellence of these fish that it has frequently been considered desirable to keep them in ponds or preserves. these should have the water clear and cold, a gravelly or sandy bottom, and be constantly supplied by a stream. the ponds should, if possible, be shaded with trees; and should have, at the bottom, roots of trees or large stones, amongst which the fish may find shelter, and deposit their spawn. they should also be supplied with gudgeons, loaches, roach, minnows, and other small fish. to stock these ponds it is recommended to place in them the spawn of the trout, and not the fish themselves, as the former will bear carriage much better than the latter. trout are chiefly caught with lines. their flesh is red, tender, and of excellent flavour; and the colder and more pure the water is the better they are. the best season for trout is from april to june: and, during the winter, their flesh is white and ill-tasted. in many countries the nobility reserve these fish for their own use, and the capture of them is forbidden under very severe penalties. so numerous are trout in some of the mountainous parts of the continent, that, having little or no sale for them, the inhabitants _salt_ and _dry_ them for their winter's food. in certain lakes of the province of galway, and other districts of ireland, there is a kind of trout called _gillaroo trout_, which are remarkable for the great thickness of their _stomachs_. these, from their resemblance to the organs of digestion in birds, are sometimes called gizzards; and, in the largest fish, they are equal in bulk to the gizzard of a turkey. the trout themselves are bad eating; but the stomachs are much esteemed for their fine flavour, and are in frequent request for the table. . _charr_ (salmo alpinus?) _are a species of salmon which inhabit the lakes of mountainous countries: there are three kinds or varieties of them, called_ gilt charr, red charr, _and_ case charr. _their bodies are spotted; and those of the first are of a golden colour, of the second full red, and of the case charr pale red. their tails are forked. when full grown these fish are about ten inches in length._ _they are found in ullswater, winandermere, and some other lakes in the north of england, in a lake near snowdon in north wales, and in lakes of several parts of the continent._ there are no fish of the salmon tribe more esteemed for the table than these. the _gilt charr_ are considered in highest perfection, and are caught in greatest numbers, from the end of september until the end of november, and the _case charr_ about the month of may. during the summer-time all the kinds of charr sink to the bottoms of the lakes far out of the reach of the fishermen. they are usually caught with nets called breast-nets, which are about twenty-five fathoms long and five in depth. their flesh is of red colour, and their flavour peculiarly delicate. great numbers of charr are potted every year, and sent to london. but of the fish which are sold under the name of potted charr many are trout; and, even in the pots which contain charr, trout are frequently to be found. in the river petteril, which runs near carlisle, there is a kind of trout which, both in size and colour, are so like charr that they can scarcely be distinguished from that fish. . _the smelt, or sparling_ (salmo eperlanus), _is a small fish of the salmon tribe, known by its silvery and semi-transparent appearance, the first dorsal fin being further from the head than the ventral fins, the under jaw being longer than the upper and curved, and the tail being forked._ _its length seldom exceeds seven or eight inches._ _these fish abound on the shores of most of the countries of europe; and, during their spawning season, they ascend the rivers sometimes in immense shoals._ about the month of november smelts begin to leave the deep water, and approach the coasts, for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the rivers. this they do in the ensuing months of march and april; and they are caught, in vast abundance, in the thames, during this time. when in perfection, they are not only a delicious, but are considered as nutritious fish, and easy of digestion. their name is derived from their very singular smell, and is nothing more than a contraction of "smell it." these fish are sometimes split, salted, and dried; and sold under the name of _dried sparlings_. . _umber, or grayling_ (salmo thymallus), _is a fish of the salmon tribe, distinguished by having several longitudinal streaks upon its body, the first dorsal fin nearer the head than the ventral fins, the upper jaw longer than the lower one, the side line nearly straight, and the tail forked._ _a fish of this species, which, weighed five pounds, was caught some years ago in the river severn._ _the umber inhabits clear and rapid streams of europe and siberia._ these fish are so much esteemed in some parts of the continent, that they are exclusively reserved for the tables of the nobility. they are fattest in the autumn, but are best in season during the winter, particularly when the weather is cold; and they cannot be dressed too soon after they are caught. many of the old medical writers strongly recommended umber as a wholesome fish for sick persons: they also stated that an oil prepared from its fat would obliterate freckles and other spots on the skin. by the laplanders the intestines are frequently employed as a substitute for rennet, to coagulate the milk of the rein-deer, when used for the making of cheese. these fish are in great esteem by anglers on account of their vivacity, the eagerness with which they rise at a bait, and their rapid motions in the water. they lurk close all the winter, and begin to be very active in april and may, about which time they deposit their spawn. . _the pike, or jack_ (esox lucius), _is a voracious fresh-water fish, with large teeth, a compressed head and muzzle, the part of the head betwixt the nape and the eyes elevated and rounded; and the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins marked with black spots._ _these fish sometimes attain so large a size as to weigh upwards of thirty pounds._ _they are found in deep rivers, and in lakes of nearly all parts of europe, in some of the northern districts of persia, and in north america._ common as pike now are in our fresh-water rivers, it has been asserted that they were originally introduced from the continent in the reign of henry the eighth. this, however, cannot be the fact, as they were known in england long before that period. mr. pennant speaks of these fish being formerly so rare in this country, that a pike, in the month of february, was sold for double the price of a house-lamb. if caught in clear and tolerably rapid waters, these fish, though bony and dry, are not bad eating. in some parts of germany they are salted, smoked, and barrelled for exportation to other countries. the modes of catching pike are very various, by nets, with lines, and snares of different kinds. their voracity is so great that they not only eagerly seize a bait, but one pike has been known to choke itself by swallowing another of its own species, which proved too large a morsel. these fish are chiefly partial to still and shady waters, where the bottom is of sand, clay, or chalk. they spawn in march or april. when in high season, their colours are green spotted with yellow; but, when out of season, the green changes to grey, and the yellow spots turn pale. the age to which they live has not been ascertained, though there appears sufficient evidence of their existing for more than a century. as to their size, we are informed that, in the river shannon, in ireland, they have been found of nearly seventy pounds in weight; and, in some of the continental lakes, they are said to be more than eight feet long, and from eighty to a hundred pounds in weight. . _the sea-pike, or gar-fish_ (esox belone, fig. ), _is a fish of the pike tribe, of green colour on the upper part, serpentine shape, with long and narrow jaws, the lower one considerably shorter than the upper. the bones are of green colour when they have been exposed to strong heat._ _these fish generally are about a foot and a half in length, and weigh from one to three pounds. the late sir william hamilton, however, mentioned one caught near naples which weighed fourteen pounds, and was sent to the king as a great curiosity._ _they are found in the ocean in nearly all parts of europe._ the gar-fish begin to approach our coasts, in considerable shoals, about the month of march, shortly after which they deposit their eggs in smooth and shallow water. their flavour is not much unlike that of mackrel, though many persons have a great antipathy to them, in consequence of the green colour of the bones. . _the white, or common mullet_ (mugil cephalus) _is a fish distinguished by having the lower jaw angular upwards, several narrow and dark-coloured stripes on each side of the body, a toothed process betwixt the eye and the opening of the mouth, and the gill-covers angular behind and covered with scales._ _the weight of these fish is four or five pounds and upward._ _they inhabit the seas of nearly all the southern parts of europe, and annually enter the mouths of almost all the great rivers._ vast shoals of mullets are frequently observed, about the months of may, june, and july, swimming, near the surface of the water, in harbours, and in rivers adjacent to the sea. they are caught with nets, but are so cunning, that, even when entirely surrounded, they will sometimes nearly all escape, either by leaping over or by diving under the nets. these fish are in considerable request for the table, and are in best season about the month of august. their flesh, however, is, in many instances, woolly and bad; and the great quantity of oil which is found beneath the skin renders them, to some persons, very unpleasant. in several places on the coast of the mediterranean mullets are dried and smoked for exportation. of the roes of mullets is sometimes made the kind of caviar called _botargue_ or _botargo_. for this purpose they are taken out and covered with salt, for four or five hours. afterwards they are gently pressed between two boards or stones, to squeeze the water out of them. they are then washed in a weak brine, and lastly exposed to the sun for twelve or fifteen days to be dried. this substance is said to quicken a decayed appetite, and to give a relish to wine. it is much in request, in greece, as food on the numerous fast-days of the greek church. . _the herring_ (clupæa harengus) _is a small fish distinguished by its sharp and serrated belly, the body being without spots, the lower jaw longer than the upper, and the dorsal fins so exactly situated above the centre of gravity that, when taken up by it, the fish will hang in equilibrio._ _these fish, which are in general from eight to ten inches in length, are migratory, and found, at particular periods, in immense shoals, in nearly all parts of the northern ocean._ so great is the supply of herrings, and such is the general esteem in which they are held, that they have almost equal admission to the tables of the poor and the rich. they have been known and admired from the remotest periods of antiquity; but, as our ancestors were ignorant of the means by which they could be preserved from corruption, they were not so profitable to them as they are to us. the herring fishery, in different parts of the world, affords occupation and support to a great number of people. in holland it has been calculated that formerly more than , persons were employed in catching, pickling, drying, and trading in herrings; and, on the different coasts of our own country, many thousands of families are entirely supported by this fishery. the principal of the british herring fisheries are off the coasts of scotland and norfolk; and the implements that are used in catching the fish are nets stretched in the water, one side of which is kept from sinking by buoys fixed to them at proper distances, and the other hangs down, by the weight of lead which is placed along its bottom. the herrings are caught in the meshes of the nets, as they endeavour to pass through, and, unable to liberate themselves, they continue there until the nets are hauled in and they are taken out. herrings are in full roe about the month of june, and continue in perfection until the commencement of winter, when they begin to deposit their spawn. the art of pickling these fish is said to have been first discovered towards the end of the fourteenth century, by guilliaume beuchel, a native of brabant. the emperor charles the fifth, about years afterwards, honoured this benefactor of the human race by visiting the place of his interment, and eating a herring on his grave. yarmouth, in norfolk, is the great and ancient mart of herrings in this country. the season for catching them commences about michaelmas, and lasts during the whole month of october; and generally more than , barrels are every year cured in the neighbourhood of that town. some of these are _pickled_, and others are dried. in the preparation of the latter (which have the name of _red herrings_) the fish are soaked for twenty-four hours in brine, and then taken out, strung by the head on little wooden spits, and hung in a chimney formed to receive them. after this a fire of brush-wood, which yields much smoke but no flame, is kindled beneath, and they are suffered to remain until they are sufficiently dried, when they are packed in barrels for exportation and sale. it will afford some idea of the astonishing supply of these invaluable fish, when it is stated that, about seventy years ago, near , barrels of herrings were annually exported from different parts of the coast of norway; that, previously to the late war, about , barrels were annually cured by the dutch fishermen; and that a considerably greater quantity than this is every year obtained on the coasts of great britain and ireland. there is, in some countries, a considerable trade in the _oil_ that is obtained from herrings during the process of curing them. the average annual quantity of this oil exported from sweden is about , barrels. . _the pilchard_ (clupæa pilcardus) _is a fish of the herring tribe, and so nearly resembling the common herring, that the best mode of distinguishing the one from the other appears to be by the situation of the dorsal fin. if the pilchard be held by this fin, the head will dip downward; the herring held in similar manner continues in equilibrio._ _the length of the pilchard is from eight to about ten inches._ _these fish annually appear in vast shoals off the coast of cornwall, and some other south-western parts of england. their utmost range seems to be the isle of wight in the british, and ilfracomb in the bristol channel._ to the inhabitants of devonshire and cornwall the pilchard fishery is of as much importance as that of herrings is to the people on the eastern and northern coasts of britain. many hundred families are almost wholly supported by it. the first appearance of the fish is generally about the middle of july, and they usually continue until the latter end of october. as soon as the pilchards are caught they are conveyed to a warehouse, where they are covered with bay-salt, and suffered to lie for three weeks or a month. after this they are washed in sea-water and dried. as soon as they are dry the fish are closely pressed into barrels to extract the oily particles from them, which drain through holes that are made in the bottom. thus prepared they become fit for use, and, when properly dressed, they are considered preferable to herrings. pilchards are generally caught in nets. these are sometimes fathoms in length, and about eighteen fathoms deep. the approach of the shoals is known by great numbers of sea-birds which accompany and prey upon them; and the progress of the shoals is marked by persons who are stationed on the cliffs to point them out to the fishermen, and who are called _huers_, from their setting up a hue for this purpose. the principal towns in the neighbourhood of which pilchards are caught are fowey, falmouth, penzance, and st. ives; and the average annual quantity that is sent to market is about , hogsheads. . _the shad_ (clupæa alosa) _is a species of herring known by the belly being strongly serrated and covered with large transverse scales, the sides being marked with round black spots placed longitudinally, and the under jaw sloping upward._ _these fish weigh from half a pound to four or five pounds and upwards._ _they are found on the shores of all the temperate and warm countries of europe, and, at certain seasons of the year, they ascend the rivers, to considerable distances, in order to deposit their spawn._ in the thames and severn these fish are generally found in the months of april, may, and june. those that are caught in the thames are coarse and insipid; whilst such as are caught in the severn, especially that part of it which flows by gloucester, are generally sold at a higher price than salmon. shad that are taken in the sea are thin and of bad flavour, and the longer they continue in the rivers the fatter and more eatable they become. they are generally caught in nets, but sometimes with lines having an earth-worm for a bait. the london fishmongers are frequently supplied with shads from the severn. these are distinguished by the name of _allis_, or _alose_, the french name for shad. . _the sprat_ (clupæa sprattus) _is a very small fish of the herring tribe, distinguished by its belly being strongly serrated, the dorsal fin having seventeen rays, the anal fin nineteen, and the ventral fins each six._ _it seldom exceeds the length of about five inches, and is generally much smaller._ _these fish are caught on most of the british shores, and they ascend the river thames nearly as high as london bridge, in the beginning of november, and leave it in the month of march._ to the lower classes of inhabitants in london, during the winter, sprat a afford a cheap and very acceptable supply of food. they are caught in nets, and, in some instances, as many have been taken at a single haul as would have filled thirty barrels. sprats are generally eaten fresh, though, both at gravesend and yarmouth, they are cured in the manner of red herrings. in some countries they are pickled, and, in this state, they are little inferior to anchovies, though the bones will not dissolve like those of anchovies. immense numbers of sprats, larger in size than ours, are every year caught on the coast of sardinia. these are salted, packed in barrels, and exported to various parts of the world under the name of _sardines_. . _the anchovy_ (clupæa encrasicolus) _is a small fish of the herring tribe, known from all the others by its upper jaw being considerably longer than the under jaw._ _these fish seldom exceed the length of four or five inches._ _they are chiefly caught in the mediterranean, and the principal fishery for them is on the shores of gorgona, a small island west of leghorn. they are also caught off the coast if france, and occasionally off our own shores._ there are few persons fond of good eating to whom the anchovy, either in the form of sauce or as an article of food, is unknown. with us, however, it is seldom eaten in a recent state, the greater proportion of the anchovies consumed in this country being brought in pickle from the mediterranean. they are generally caught in nets during the night, being attracted together by fires lighted on the shore, or by torches fixed to the boats which are engaged in the fishery. as soon as they are caught the heads are cut off and the entrails taken out; after this they are salted, or pickled, and packed in barrels or earthen vessels for exportation. in the choice of anchovies such should be selected as are small, round-backed, fresh pickled, whitish on the outside and red within. the most effectual method of concentrating the excellences of these fish is to reduce the fleshy part to a soft pulp, and to boil this gently, for a few minutes, with a certain proportion of water and spices. the substance thus prepared is denominated _essence of anchovies_. . _the carp_ (cyprinus carpio, fig. ) _is a fresh-water fish known by having one dorsal fin, three bony rays to the gill membrane, the mouth with four fleshy beards, the second ray of the dorsal fin serrated behind, and the body covered with large scales._ _these fish sometimes grow to a very large size._ _they inhabit slow and stagnated waters in various parts of europe and persia, and were first introduced into england about the year ._ carp are a useful species of fish for the stocking of ponds, and for the supply of the table. in polish prussia they are an important article of commerce; being sent alive in well-boats to sweden, russia, and other parts. they are bred by the principal landholders of the country, to whom, in many instances, they yield a very important revenue. if the rearing of carp were better understood and practised in the marshy parts of england than it now is, they would amply repay every expence and trouble that might be bestowed upon them. the increase of these fish is very great: we are informed by bloch that four male and three female carp, put into a large pond, produced in one year an offspring of no fewer than , fish. they are also extremely long lived, instances having occurred of carp living to the age of considerably more than years. to fatten carp and increase their size, the growth of vegetation in the ponds where they are kept should be particularly attended to, as, during the summer-time, they principally feed upon this. in winter, when the ponds are frozen over, care must be taken to break the ice, that they may have access to the atmospheric air, without which, if they are in great numbers, they will die. carp are much esteemed as food, but a principal part of their excellence depends on the mode in which they are cooked. they are best in season during the autumnal and winter months. the usual mode of catching them is with nets, and the most proper time at daybreak. these fish, if kept in a cellar, in wet hay or moss, and fed with bread and milk, will live many days out of the water, and will even become fat. with the roes of carp, in the eastern parts of europe, a kind of _caviar_ is made, which is sold in considerable quantity to the jews, who hold that of the sturgeon in abhorrence. the _sounds_, or air-bladders, of carp are converted into a species of isinglass, and their _gall_ is in much repute, with the turks, for staining paper and for making a green paint. . _the tench_ (cyprinus tinca, fig. ) _is a fish of the carp tribe, distinguished by its mouth having only two beards, the scales being small, the fins thick, and the whole body covered with a slimy matter._ _the weight of these fish seldom exceeds four or five pounds, but instances have occurred of their weighing more than eleven pounds._ _they are found in stagnant waters in nearly all the temperate parts of the globe._ there are not many fresh-water fish that are more excellent for the table than these; yet the ancient romans so much despised them, that they were eaten by none but the lowest classes of the people. in the kingdom of congo, on the contrary, they were formerly so much esteemed that they were allowed only to be eaten at court, and any person was liable to the punishment of death who caught a tench and did not carry it to the royal cook. such tench as are caught in clear waters are much superior to those which have inhabited muddy places. they thrive best in still waters, where there are weeds at the bottom; and they are in season from the beginning of october until the end of may. . _the gudgeon_ (cyprinus gobio) _is a small fish of the carp tribe, with a thick and round body, two fleshy beards near the mouth, and the dorsal and caudal fins spotted with black._ _its length is usually about six inches, and its weight seldom more than three or four ounces._ _this fish is an inhabitant of gentle streams, with gravelly or sandy bottom, in most of the northern parts of europe._ the flesh of gudgeons is white, firm, and of excellent flavour; but the smallness of their size prevents these fish from being much in demand. they are found in small shoals near the bottom of the water; and are caught both with nets and lines. the bait that is used is generally a small earth-worm, which they seize with great eagerness. the season when they are in greatest perfection is from september till the end of the year. gudgeons are found to thrive well in ponds, if these be fed by brooks running through them. under favourable circumstances they have sometimes attained an unusually large size. they feed on aquatic plants, worms, water-insects, and the spawn of fish. . _the bleak_ (cyprinus alburnus) _is a small fish of the carp tribe, with somewhat pointed muzzle, and no beards; and the scales thin, shining and slightly attached._ _it seldom exceeds the length of five or six inches._ _these fish inhabit fresh-water rivers, in nearly all the temperate parts of europe, and are extremely common in many if those of our own country._ there is, in paris, a great consumption of bleaks on account of their _scales_, which are used in the manufacture of _artificial pearls_. the scales are scraped off into clear water, and beaten to an extremely fine pulp. after this the water is several times changed until they are entirely free from colour. the silvery matter that is left precipitates to the bottom; and the water is carefully poured off from it, by inclining the vessel. this substance, mixed with a little size, is introduced, in small quantity, into thin glass bubbles, by a slender pipe, and moved about until their whole interior surface is covered. the remaining part of the bubble is then generally filled with wax. the inventor of this art was a frenchman of the name of jannin, a bead merchant in paris. in some countries bleaks are pickled in the manner of anchovies. when of large size they are well flavoured, but they are too bony to be in much request as food, even by the poor. they are considered in greatest perfection in the autumn. order vi.--chondropterigious fish. . _the common sturgeon_ (acipenser sturio, fig. ), _is a large kind of sea-fish with five rows of bony tubercles along the body; the mouth beneath the head, and four fleshy beards betwixt the mouth and the extremity of the muzzle._ _this fish sometimes growes to the length of sixteen feet and upwards._ _it inhabits the european and american seas, and annually ascends the rivers in the early part of the year._ it is to this and to a still larger species of sturgeon called the beluga (_acipenser huso_), which is found in the river wolga, that we are indebted for much of the well-known substance called _isinglass_. the mode of making isinglass was long kept a secret by the russians, and has only of late years been made public. this article consists of certain membranous parts of fishes deprived of their viscous quality and properly dried. the sounds, or air bladders, are those of which it is chiefly made. they are taken out, while sweet and fresh, slit open, washed from their slime, divested of a very thin membrane which envelopes them, and then left to stiffen in the air. after this they are formed into rolls, each about the thickness of the finger, and put into the shape in which we see them, by small wooden pegs, and left to dry. the kind called _cake isinglass_ is formed of bits and fragments put into a flat metal pan with very little water, heated just enough to make the parts adhere, and subsequently dried in the air. although by far the greatest quantity of isinglass is obtained from the beluga, as being the largest and most abundant fish in the rivers of muscovy, yet it has been ascertained that this substance may be made from the air-bladders of every species of fresh water fish. the principal consumption of isinglass is by brewers and others, for the fining of fermented liquors: this it appears to do merely by the mechanical effect of its organization, which forms a kind of strainer, or fine net-work, and carries the gross impurities before it, as it subsides. it is sometimes employed in medicine; and also in cookery, for making jellies, and other purposes. _caviar_ is a kind of food made generally from the roes of the sturgeon. for this purpose they are washed, when fresh, by rubbing them, with the hands, in a sieve, to free them from the fibres by which the several eggs are connected together. they are then washed in white wine or vinegar, and spread out to dry. after some further processes, they are either formed into cakes, each about an inch in thickness and three or four inches in diameter, or they are packed in small kegs for use. the _flesh_ of the sturgeon is firm, white, and of excellent flavour; and, by some persons, has been compared to veal. it is considered best when roasted; though it is commonly sold in a pickled state, and, in this state, is chiefly imported from the rivers of the baltic and north america. all sturgeons that are caught near london are taken to the lord mayor, and are by him presented to the king. in italy the _back bones_ of these fish are cut into pieces, salted and smoked for food. the russians frequently convert the _skins_ of sturgeons into a kind of leather, which they use for the covering of carriages. . _the sharks and dog-fish_ (squalus, fig. ) _constitute a tribe of sea-fish noted for their voracity, and peculiarly characterized by having, instead of gills, from four to seven breathing apertures, of curved form, on each side of the neck._ _they are found in all seas, and some of them are of enormous magnitude, measuring from twenty to thirty feet and upwards in length._ the _skins_ of nearly all these animals, which are rough, with hard and minute prickles, are in frequent use for polishing wood, ivory, and even iron. those of the larger species are cut into thongs and traces for carriages; and, in norway, a sort of leather is prepared from them, which is employed for shoes and many other purposes. the skin of the spotted dog-fish (_squalus canicula_) is converted into the well-known substance called _shagreen_, or _chagreen_. for this purpose it is extended on a board and covered with mustard seed; and, after having been exposed for several days to the effects of the weather, it is tanned. the best shagreen is imported from constantinople. this is of brownish colour, and very hard; but when immersed in water, it becomes soft and pliable, and may be dyed of any colour. shagreen is often counterfeited by preparing morocco leather in the same manner as the skins of the dog-fish. such fraud may, however, easily be detected by the surface of the spurious manufacture peeling or scaling off, whilst that of the genuine article remains perfectly sound. shagreen is employed principally to cover cases for mathematical instruments, and was formerly used for watch-cases and the covers of books. _sharks' fins_ are an article of trade from the arabian and persian gulfs to india, and thence to china: they are generally packed in bales weighing each about pounds. the _flesh_ of all the species of sharks is hard, and in general unpleasant both to the smell and the taste; yet it is sometimes eaten by seamen, after having been macerated for a while in water to soften it. the _eggs_ of sharks are also eaten. the _livers_ of all the species yield a considerable quantity of oil, which is useful for burning and for other purposes. from the livers of some of the larger kinds as much as seven or eight butts of oil have been obtained, worth twenty or thirty pounds and upwards. . _the skate_ (raia batis, fig. ) _is a species of ray of large size, with flat and somewhat diamond-shaped body, and the mouth on the under side: the teeth sharp, and a single row of spines in the tail._ _it is found in almost every part of the european ocean._ no fish of its tribe is so excellent for the table as the skate, particularly when it is young and has not fed in a muddy part of the sea. the flesh is white and of good flavour, but is usually crimped before it is cooked. the best season for skate is from january to march; and from july to september. so great is the size which these fish sometimes attain, that willoughby mentions one that would have served men for dinner. in several parts of the continent skate are salted and dried for sale. the fishermen also sometimes dry the _stomach_ as an article of food; and extract from the _liver_ a white and valuable kind of oil. . _the thornback_ (raia clavata) _is a species of ray, which differs from the skate chiefly in having blunt teeth, and a row of curved spines along the middle of the body and on the tail._ _this is a very common fish near all the coasts of britain._ the flesh of thornback is much inferior to that of the skate, yet it is sometimes eaten. that of the young ones, which have the denomination of _maids_, is however peculiarly excellent. the norwegian fishermen catch thornbacks chiefly on account of their _livers_; from these they extract a considerable quantity of oil, which they sell with great advantage to strangers who frequent their harbours. . _the true lamprey_ (petromyzon marinus, fig. ) _is an eel-shaped fish having seven breathing-holes on each side of the neck, and somewhat oblong mouth with many rows of yellowish pointed teeth disposed in a circular form._ _these fish are of dusky colour, irregularly marked with dirty yellow; and they sometimes weigh four or five pounds each._ _they are sea-fish, but, at certain seasons, they ascend the rivers to deposit their eggs._ lampreys are celebrated as forming an excellent dish for the table; and they have, at all times, been held in great esteem by epicures, particularly when potted or stewed. the death of one of our monarchs, henry the first, has been attributed to a too plentiful repast which he made of these fish. lampreys are in best season during the month of march, april, and may; at which time they are caught in the rivers. the severn is peculiarly celebrated for them; and the city of gloucester, which is situated on that river, is required, by ancient custom, to present annually to the king, at christmas, a lamprey pie with raised crust. and as, at that early season, lampreys are very scarce, it is not without difficulty that the corporation is able to supply the proper quantity. these fish are caught in various ways, but particularly in osier pots or baskets formed to entrap them, and also in nets. in some parts of the country they are boiled, and afterwards packed into barrels with vinegar and spices. . _the lesser lamprey_ (petromyzon fluviatilis) _is a fresh-water fish, distinguishable from the true lamprey by its much smaller size, the second dorsal fin being angular and connected with the caudal fin, and having a single row of teeth placed circularly in the mouth._ _this fish seldom exceeds the length of eight or ten inches._ _it is found in the rivers of most parts of europe, america, and asia; and particularly in those of brandenburgh, pomerania, silesia, and prussia._ in the spring of the year these fish are frequently seen sticking, by their mouth, to stones in shallow water, from which they may easily be taken with the hand. they are considered a very delicious fish for the table, in whatever way they are cooked. the best season for them is betwixt the months of december and april. great numbers of lesser lampreys are caught in the severn, the dee, and the thames; but particularly in the latter, near mortlake in surrey. anterior to the late war more than , of them were annually sold to the dutch as bait for cod, turbot, and other large fish. ---- class v.--insects. ---- . _the spanish fly, or blistering lytta_ (lytta vesicatoria), _is a coleopterous insect ( ), about an inch in length, of shining blue-green colour with black antennæ._ _it is found in most parts of europe, and feeds on the leaves of the ash, poplar, elder, lilac, and other trees._ these insects, which are known in medicine by the name of _cantharides_, are of incalculable importance to mankind, as the basis of blistering plasters, and also as an internal remedy against many diseases. we import them in a dried state, from spain, italy, and the south of france; in many parts of which countries, about the middle of summer, they are found in vast abundance. as they are generally in a torpid state during the day, they are easily collected, by shaking them from the trees upon a cloth spread on the ground to receive them. when a sufficient number has been collected they are tied in bags, and killed by being held over the fumes of hot vinegar. after this they are dried in the sun, and packed in boxes for sale. the odour which is emitted by these insects is peculiarly nauseous, and so powerful, that great injury has sometimes been experienced by persons employed in picking them, and by those who have even fallen asleep under the trees where they abound. previously to being used they are pounded; and if, in this state, they be applied to the skin, they first cause inflammation, and afterwards raise a blister. the usual blistering plaster is formed with venice turpentine, yellow wax, spanish flies, and powdered mustard. . _the palm-tree grub, or grugru, is the larva or caterpillar of a coleopterous insect ( ), the palm-tree weevil_ (curculio palmarum), _which is about two inches in length, of black colour, and has the elytra or wing cases shorter than the body, and streaked or marked with several longitudinal lines._ _this insect is found in cayenne, surinam, and other parts of south america._ it deposits its eggs on the summit of the palm-tree; and the grubs that issue from these eggs subsist on the soft interior parts of the tree. they become about the size of the thumb, and are much sought after in many places for the table. they are generally eaten roasted, and are considered a peculiar delicacy. we are informed, by Ælian, of an indian king, who for a dessert, instead of fruit, set before his grecian guests a dish of roasted worms taken from a plant: these were probably the present insects, or a kind nearly allied to them. . _the locust_ (gryllus migratorius) _is an insect, not much unlike our large grasshoppers, which is too common in most of the eastern countries._ _it is about two inches and a half in length, has a brownish body varied with darker spots, blue legs and jaws, the hind thighs yellowish, and the wings of yellowish brown colour spotted with black._ we are informed, in the new testament, that the food of john the baptist in the wilderness was "locusts and wild honey." some of the commentators have imagined the locusts here mentioned to have been a vegetable production--a species of pulse; but this opinion will scarcely be admitted when it is known that the insects of this name, even at the present day, serve as food to many of the eastern tribes. the ethiopians and parthians are recorded, from the earliest periods of antiquity, to have occasionally subsisted on this species of food. and the traveller hasselquist, in reply to some inquiries which he made on this subject, was informed that, at mecca, when there was a scarcity of grain, the inhabitants, as a substitute for flour, would grind locusts in their hand-mills, or pound them in stone mortars: that they mixed the substance thus formed with water, and made cakes of it; and that they baked these cakes, like their other bread. he adds, that it was not unusual for them to eat locusts when there was no famine; but that, in this case, they boiled them first in water, and afterwards stewed them with butter into a kind of fricasee. the hottentots delight in locusts as food, and even make their eggs into a kind of soup. some of the african tribes pound and boil these insects with milk; and others eat them, after being merely broiled for a little while on the coals. mr. jackson says that, when he was in barbary, in , dishes of locusts were frequently served at the principal tables, and were esteemed a great delicacy. these insects are preferred by the moors to pigeons; and it is stated that a person may eat or of them without experiencing any ill effects. . _lac is a resinous substance, the production of an hemipterous insect_ (coccus ficus), _which is found on three or four different kinds of trees in the east indies._ _the head and trunk of the lac insect seem to form one uniform, oval, and compressed red body, about the size of a flea. the antennæ are thread-shaped, and half the length of the body. the tail is a little white point, whence proceed two horizontal hairs as long as the body._ these insects pierce the small branches of the trees on which they feed; and the juice that exudes from the wounds is formed by them into a kind of cell, or nidus for their eggs. lac is imported, into this country, adhering to the branches, in small transparent grains, or in semi-transparent flat cakes. of these the first is called _stick lac_, the second _seed lac_, and the third _shell lac_. on breaking a piece of stick lac it appears to be composed of regular honeycomb-like cells, with small red bodies lodged in them; these are the young insects, and to them the lac owes its tincture; for, when freed from them, its colour is very faint. seed lac is the same substance grossly pounded and deprived of its colouring matter, which is used in dyeing, and for other purposes; and shell lac consists of the cells liquefied, stained, and formed into thin cakes. this substance is principally found upon trees in the uncultivated mountains on both sides of the river ganges; and it occurs in such abundance, that, were the consumption ten times greater than it is, the markets might readily be supplied. the only trouble which attends the procuring of it is to break down the branches of the trees and carry them to market. the uses of lac, in its different states, are various. it is employed in the east indies for making rings, beads, chains, necklaces, and other ornaments for female attire. mixed with sand, it is formed into grind-stones; and added to lamp-black or ivory-black, being first dissolved in water with the addition of a little borax, it composes an ink, which, when dry, is not easily acted upon by moisture. a red liquor obtained from lac is employed as a substitute for cochineal ( ) in dyeing scarlet, and in painting. shell lac is chiefly adopted in the composition of varnish, japan, and sealing-wax. a tincture prepared from lac is sometimes used in medicine. . _cochineal is a scarlet dyeing drug, which is chiefly imported from mexico and new spain, and is the production of a small hemipterous insect_ (coccus cacti) _that is found on the prickly pear_ (cactus opuntia) _and some other trees._ _the male is winged, and the female not. the latter is of an oval form, convex on the back, and covered with a white downy substance resembling the finest cotton. the antennæ are half as long as the body, and the legs are short and black._ cochineal is one of the most valuable substances that are used in dyeing. as imported into this country, it is in the form of a reddish shrivelled grain, covered with a white bloom or powder. the cochineal insects adhere in great numbers, and in an apparently torpid state, to the leaves of the prickly pear. at a certain period of the year they are carefully picked or brushed off, either by a bamboo twig shaped somewhat into the form of a pen, or by an instrument formed of a squirrel's or stag's tail: and so tedious is the operation, that the persons employed in it are sometimes obliged to sit for hours together beside a single plant. in some parts of south america the insects, after being collected in a wooden bowl, are thickly spread upon a flat dish of earthen ware, and cruelly placed alive over a charcoal fire, where they are slowly roasted, till their downy covering disappears, and they are perfectly dried. in other parts they are killed by being thrown into boiling water, by being placed in ovens, or being exposed in heaps to the sun. the quantity of cochineal annually exported from south america is said to be worth more than , l. sterling, a vast sum to arise from so minute an insect; and the present annual consumption of cochineal in england has been estimated at about , pounds' weight. it is for dyeing scarlet that cochineal is chiefly in demand; but although a peculiarly brilliant dye is now obtained from it, this substance gave only a dull crimson colour until a chemist of the name of kuster, who, about the middle of the seventeenth century, lived at bow, near london, discovered the art of preparing it with a solution of tin. cochineal, if kept in a dry place, may be preserved, without injury, for a great length of time. an instance has been mentioned of some of this dye, years old, having been found to produce the same effect as though it had been perfectly fresh. the attention of the east india company has, for many years, been directed to the production of cochineal in the east, but hitherto with little success. that which has been brought from india is very small, and greatly inferior to what is imported from new spain. an imitation of cochineal is made by a preparation of bullock's blood, and some other ingredients. . _the silk-worm is a smooth and somewhat lead-coloured caterpillar, produced from the eggs of a moth_ (phalæna mori) _which is found in great abundance in china, the east indies, the levant, several parts of italy, and the south of spain._ so great is the importance of _silk_, in a commercial view, that, in most of the eastern countries of the world, a close attention is paid to the growth and cultivation of the insects by which it is produced. each moth lays about two hundred small straw-coloured eggs. as soon as the worms are hatched they are fed with the tenderest leaves of the mulberry-tree, or with these leaves chopped very fine; and, when they have attained sufficient strength, they are removed into wicker baskets, or placed upon shelves made of wickerwork. here they feed for about thirty days, until they are full grown, when they are furnished with little bushes of heath or broom. on these they spin the nests in which they are about to change into chrysalids. these nests have the general name of coccoons, and consist of somewhat oval-shaped balls of silk, of marigold colour. the exterior of the coccoon is composed of a rough cotton-like substance, called _floss_. within this is the thread, which is more distinct and even; and appears arranged in a very irregular manner, winding off first from one side of the coccoon, and then from the other. previously to the silk being wound from the coccoons they are baked for about an hour to kill the chrysalids they contain. when the silk is to be wound off, the coccoons are put into small coppers or basins, of water, each placed over a small fire. the ends of the threads are found by brushing the coccoons gently with a whisk made for the purpose; and so fine are these threads that eight or ten of them are generally rolled off into one. in winding them, they are each passed through a hole in an horizontal iron bar placed at the edge of the basin, which prevents them from being entangled. the art of manufacturing silk was known to the ancients; but in europe this commodity, long after its invention, was of very great value. we are informed that, in the third century, the wife of the roman emperor aurelian entreated him to give her a robe of purple silk, and that he refused this under an allegation that he could not buy such a robe for its weight in gold. it is not certain at what precise period the silk manufacture was first introduced into england. but, in the year , we are told that part of the streets of london were covered or shaded with silk, for the reception of richard, the brother of henry the third, on his return from the holy land. in the silk manufactures of england are said to have been confined to ribbons, laces, and other trifling articles. queen elizabeth, in the third year of her reign, was furnished by her silk-woman with a pair of black knit silk stockings, which she is stated to have admired as "marvellous delicate wear;" and after the using of which she no longer had cloth ones, as before. james the first, whilst king of scotland, requested of the earl of mar the loan of a pair of silk stockings to appear in before the english ambassador, enforcing his request with this cogent appeal, "for ye would not, sure, that your king should appear as a scrub before strangers." china may be said to be the country of silk; indeed it furnishes large quantities of raw silk to all the neighbouring nations, and to europe; and also for clothing the greatest part of its own inhabitants. there are in china very few, except the lowest orders, who are not clad in silk garments. the best chinese silk is that which is imported from nankin. the principal silk manufacture in england is carried on in spitalfields, london. although the whole of the silk which is produced in europe, and the greatest proportion of that manufactured in china, is obtained from the common silkworm; yet considerable quantities are procured, in india, from the caterpillars of other moths. of these the most important are the tusseh and arrindy silk worms (_phalæna paphia_ and _cinthia_), both of which are natives of bengal and the adjacent provinces. the silk from these kinds of worms has long been used by the natives. the former, which is commonly called tusseh silk, is woven into a coarse and dark-coloured kind of cloth, called _tusseh dooties_, much worn by the brahmins and other sects of hindoos. of the arrindy silk is manufactured a coarse kind of white cloth, of seemingly loose texture, but of almost incredible durability. it is employed as clothing both for men and women; and may be used for more than twenty years without decay. in the washing of it, however, care must be taken to use only cold water, as, if put into boiling water, it will become rotten, and will tear like old and decayed cloth. this kind of silk is not only employed for clothing, but, by merchants, as packing cloths, for silks, shawls, and other fine goods. some manufacturers in england, to whom the silk was shown, were of opinion that it might be made into shawls, equal in quality to any that we receive from india. . _the hive-bee_ (apis mellifica) _is a well-known, hymenopterous insect ( ), of uniform brown colour, and with somewhat hairy body._ _bees live in extremely numerous societies, either in decayed trees, or in habitations prepared for them by mankind, called_ hives. _each hive contains, , a single female which has the name of_ queen-bee; _ , about males, called_ drones; _and, , about , individuals of neither sex, called_ working-bees. _it is upon the latter that the whole trouble devolves of constructing combs, or cells, for the honey and for the eggs deposited by the female; collecting and forming the honey, and feeding the grubs which proceed from the eggs, and which afterwards change into bees._ _bees' wax_ is the substance of the combs after the honey has been extracted from them. the best kind is hard, compact, of clear yellow colour, and an agreeable odour, nearly similar to that of honey. it is melted, and cast in moulds of different sizes and shapes. _white wax_ is prepared from common bees' wax by melting it into water, and exposing it, for a considerable time, to the action of the sun, air, and water. when sufficiently bleached, it is cast into thin cakes. the purposes for which wax is applicable are very numerous. great quantities of white wax are annually consumed in the manufacture of candles; and in making cerates, plasters, and ointments. _honey_ is a sweet and fluid substance, which is collected from flowers, and deposited in the combs for support of the bees and their offspring. the honey made by young bees is purer than any other, and is thence called _virgin honey_. before the discovery of sugar, honey was of much greater importance than it is at present. yet both as a delicious article of food, and as the basis of a wholesome fermented liquor called _mead_, it is of no mean value even in this country; but in many parts of the continent, where sugar is much dearer than with us, few articles of rural economy, not of primary importance, would be dispensed with more reluctantly than honey. in the ukraine some of the peasants have each or bee-hives, and make more profit of their bees than of corn. and in spain the number of hives is almost incredible: a single parish priest is stated to have possessed . bee-hives that are made of straw are usually preferred to any others, as they are not liable to be overheated by the sun; they keep out the cold better than wood, and are cheaper than those formed of any other material. the profit arising from bees, when properly attended to, is very considerable; and, to obtain the greatest possible advantage from them, they should be supplied with every convenience for the support of themselves and their offspring. they should be kept in a good situation; that is, in a country abounding with flowers; at a distance from brew-houses, smelting-works, &c. and in well-constructed hives. in france floating bee-hives are very common. one barge contains from sixty to a hundred hives well defended from the inclemency of the weather. with these the owners float gently down the stream, whilst the insects gather honey from the flowers along the banks. many of the bee-masters in france have an ingenious mode of transporting the loaded bee-hives from one part of the country to another. they are fastened together by laths placed on pack-cloth, which is drawn up on each side, and then tied by a piece of pack-thread several times round the top. in this state they are laid in a cart, and can be carried in safety to very considerable distances. when the young bees begin to appear, the hives become so much crowded that they _swarm_ or separate. this usually takes place in the month of may, or earlier if the season be warm. in england it is customary, in taking the honey, to destroy the bees, by suffocating them with the fumes of brimstone; but there are modes, which not only humanity but even policy would recommend, of obtaining the honey without injuring the insects. . _the common, or black-clawed crab_ (cancer pagurus, fig. ), _is a crustaceous animal, with smooth shell, of somewhat oval shape, having a margin with nine folds on each side, and the great claws black at the tip._ _these crabs inhabit the rocky parts of the sea both of europe and india._ they are frequently caught at low water of the spring tides, under stones and in crevices of the rocks. but the usual mode is by large wicker baskets made somewhat in the shape of wire mouse-traps, and baited with garbage or fish. when caught, the large claws are tied together, or (with great cruelty) pegged in the joints, to prevent the animals from destroying each other. they are then put into store baskets, which are placed in the sea, until the crabs are wanted for sale. in these they are kept sometimes for many weeks, without any other food than what they can collect from the sea-water. the principal season for crabs is the spring of the year; and those of middle size which are the heaviest are best. when in perfection the joints of the legs are stiff, and the body has an agreeable smell. if the eyes look dead and flaccid, the crabs are not fresh. the article which is used in medicine called _crabs' claws_, consists of the black tips of the claws pounded, well washed in boiling water, and reduced to a fine powder. . _the land crab_ (cancer ruricola) _is a crustaceous animal, common in some parts of america, the bahamas, and other islands in the west indies, which has a rounded shell without margin, and the first joints of the legs spinous, and the second and third furnished with tufts of hair._ _the shells of the largest land crabs are about six inches in diameter, and of various colours._ these crabs inhabit the clefts of rocks, the hollows of trees, or holes which they form in the ground. in the early part of the year they descend in myriads to the sea-coast, to deposit their eggs in the sand. they chiefly travel by night, but in rainy weather they also proceed during the day. the inhabitants of the countries where they abound are always eagerly on watch for their migrations towards the sea, and destroy immense numbers of them, disregarding, at this time, the bodies, and only taking out the spawn. it is on their return that the animals themselves are valuable as food. . _the lobster_ (cancer gammarus, fig. ) _is a well known crustaceous animal, distinguished by its long and jointed tail, its shell being smooth, and having betwixt the eyes a kind of beak toothed on each side, and with a double tooth at its base._ _these animals are of bluish black colour when alive, but, in boiling, this changes to a dingy red. they sometimes grow to an immense size._ _lobsters are found among marine rocks in nearly all parts of europe._ they are caught much in the same manner as crabs ( ). the london markets are supplied with great numbers of lobsters from the orkney islands and the eastern parts of scotland, and even from the coast of norway. it is said that in london lobsters are sometimes boiled every day for a week or longer, to keep them sweet externally; but, notwithstanding this precaution, their inner parts become putrid. an immoderate use both of lobsters and crabs is sometimes attended with irruptions in the face, or a species of nettle rash over the whole body; and, when eaten in a state approaching to putrescence, they are sometimes productive of still more disagreeable effects. when selected for the table, lobsters ought to be heavy in proportion to their size, and to have a hard, and firm crust. during winter the male lobsters are generally preferred for the table. these are distinguished by the narrowness of their tail, and by the first two fins beneath being large and hard. the females, on the contrary, are broader in the tail, and have these fins small and soft. the roe or eggs are found under the tail of the females for some time after they have been protruded from the body, and in this state the females are generally preferred to the males. when fresh, the tails of lobsters are stiff, and pull open with a spring, but when they are stale the joints of the tail become flaccid. . _the sea craw-fish, or spiny lobster_ (cancer homarus), _is a crustaceous animal, distinguishable from the common lobster, by its shell being covered with spines, mud by each of the legs ending in a hairy claw._ _this species is of large size, and is found in most of the european seas._ sea craw-fish are very common in the london markets, where they are sold at a price inferior to that of the common lobsters. their flesh is hard, and has a peculiar sweetness, which by many persons is much disliked. at marseilles, and on the coast of the mediterranean, however, they are in considerable request on account of their eggs, which are esteemed a great delicacy. these begin to appear towards the end of may, and are cast about two months afterwards. . _the common, or fresh-water craw-fish_ (cancer astacus), _is a small crustaceous animal, in shape somewhat resembling a lobster, and distinguished by having its large claws beset with numerous tubercles, and the beak between its eyes being toothed on each side, and having a single tooth at the base._ _it inhabits holes in the clayey or stony banks of many of the rivers of england, and is seldom known to exceed the length of three or four inches._ craw-fish are frequently used in cookery; and their flesh is considered nutritive, but somewhat indigestible. those substances which in medicine are improperly denominated _crabs' eyes_ are concretions formed within the thorax of the craw-fish. they are generally about the size of peas, or larger, somewhat flatted on one side, and of whitish colour. the principal part of them are brought from muscovy, and particularly from the banks of the river don. in england the usual mode of catching craw-fish is by cleft sticks, baited with flesh or garbage, and stuck in the mud near their haunts at the distance of a few feet from each other. after being suffered to remain some time, these are gently drawn up, and a basket is put under them to receive the animals, which always drop off as soon as they are brought to the surface of the water. . _the common shrimp_ (cancer crangon), _is a very small crustaceous animal, somewhat shaped like a lobster; having four antennæ, the two interior ones short and double, with two thin projecting laminæ beneath them, and on each of the large claws a single moveable fang._ _shrimps are common in shallow parts of the sea where the bottom is sandy._ . _the prawn_ (cancer squilla, fig. ), _is a small crustaceous animal, which differs from the shrimp in having a preceding and sharply serrated horn in front of its head, four antennæ, of which the two interior ones are long, and each in three divisions, and on each of the large claws two fangs._ _it is found in many parts of the european ocean._ both these species are in great demand for the table, the former chiefly as sauce, and the latter to eat as a relish at breakfast or with the last courses at dinner. they are an agreeable repast, and more easily digestible than either crabs or lobsters. the mode in which they are caught is generally by a kind of net called a putting net, which is fixed to the end of a long pole, and pushed along upon the sand in shallow water. prawns in some places are caught in wicker baskets, similar in shape to those which are used for the catching of crabs ( ). ---- class vi.--worms. ---- . _the medicinal leech_ (hirudo medicinalis), _is a worm-shaped animal of olive-black colour, with six yellowish lines on the upper part of the body, and spotted with yellow beneath._ _when fully extended, the leech is generally two or three inches in length. it is found in stagnant and muddy waters._ the use of leeches in medicine is to diminish the accumulation of blood in any particular part of the body. this they do by fixing themselves to the spot, forming a hole with three sharp teeth which are situated triangularly in their mouth, and sucking the blood through the wound. when they have drawn sufficient, they are easily loosened by putting upon them a small quantity of salt, pepper, or vinegar. leeches are caught in various ways, but one of the best is to throw bundles of weeds into the water which they inhabit. these, if taken out a few hours afterwards, will generally be found to contain a considerable number. they are collected from several of the rivers in the south of england, and are kept for sale sometimes, many thousands together, in casks or tubs of spring water. this is frequently changed, and all the slime and filth which exude from their bodies is carefully washed away. it is said that if leeches be kept in glass vessels they will indicate a change of weather, by becoming at such times peculiarly restless and active. . _the officinal cuttle-fish_ (sepia officinalis), _is a marine animal, with somewhat oval body nearly surrounded by a margin, eight short and pointed arms, and two tentacula four times as long as the arms, all furnished with numerous small cup-shaped suckers._ _these animals are found in considerable numbers in the european seas._ by the ancients, cuttle-fish were in great esteem as a delicacy for the table; and, even at the present day, they are frequently eaten by the italians, and by the inhabitants of other countries on the shores of the mediterranean. there is, in the middle of their body, an oval bone, thick in the middle, and thin and sharp at the edges, light, spongy, and of whitish colour. these bones were formerly employed in medicine, and are still kept in the druggists' shops. when dried and pulverized, they are used by silversmiths as moulds, in which they cast spoons, rings, and other small work. when burnt or calcined, they are useful for the cleaning and polishing of silver and other hard substances, and sometimes for correcting the acidity of wines. the body of the cuttle-fish is furnished with a vessel that contains a considerable quantity of dark-coloured or inky fluid, which the animal emits into the water, to conceal its retreat when alarmed by the approach of its enemies. and it is generally supposed that the article called _indian ink_ is this black fluid, in an inspissated or hardened state, and perfumed with musk and other substances. . _the pearl-bearing mya_ (mya margaritifera) _is a testaceous animal, having an oblong double or bivalve shell of somewhat oval shape, but narrower towards the middle than at the ends, and covered externally with a dark-coloured rough epidermis or skin, except on the protuberant parts near the hinge: one of the shells at the hinge has a single tooth or prominent part, which fits into a forked one in the other._ _the general depth of the shells is two inches, and breadth about five inches._ _pearl-bearing myas are found in fresh-water rivers in many parts of britain, and in those of most other countries within the arctic circle. the river tay in scotland, and the conwy in wales, are particularly noted for them._ in the river tay some of these shells are found to contain good pearls; but fine ones are very scarce, and the greater part are of little or no value. they are of various shapes, round, oval, or elongated, and cylindrical, hemispherical, and resembling buttons. several of the oblong ones have a contraction towards the middle, which gives them the appearance of two pearls joined together. pearls are a calculus, or morbid concretion, formed in consequence of some external injury which the shell receives, particularly from the operations of certain minute worms which occasionally bore even quite through to the animal. the pearls are formed in the inside on these places. hence it is easy to ascertain, by the inspection of the outside only, whether a shell is likely to contain pearls. if it be quite smooth, without cavity, perforation, or callosity, it may with certainty be pronounced to contain none. if, on the contrary, the shell be pierced or indented by worms, there will always be found either pearls or the embryos of pearls. it is possible, by artificial perforations of the shells, to cause the formation of these substances. the process which has been chiefly recommended is to drill a small hole through the shell, and to fill this hole with a piece of brass wire, rivetting it on the outside like the head of a nail; and the part of the wire which pierces the interior shining coat of the shell will, it is said, become covered with a pearl. as to the value of british pearls, some have been found of size so large as to be sold for l. each and upwards; and l. was once offered and refused for one of them. it is reported in wales, that a pearl, from the river conwy, which was presented to the queen of charles the second, was afterwards placed in the regal crown. . _the oriental pearl muscle_ (mytilus margaritiferus) _to which we are indebted for nearly all the pearls of commerce, has a flattened and somewhat circular shell, about eight inches in diameter; the part near the hinge bent, or transverse, and imbricated (or covered like slates on a house) with several coats which are toothed at the edges._ _some of the shells are externally of sea-green colour, others are chesnut, or reddish with white stripes or marks; and others whitish with green marks._ _these shells are found both in the american and indian seas._ the principal pearl fisheries are off the coasts of hindostan and ceylon. the fishing usually commences about the month of march, and occupies many boats and a great number of hands. each boat has generally twenty-one men, of whom one is the captain, who acts as pilot; ten row and assist the divers, and the remainder are divers. the latter go down into the sea alternately by five at a time. to accelerate their descent they have a perforated stone of eighteen or twenty pounds weight, fastened by a cord to their great toe, or to some other part of their body. the depth of water through which they pass is from four to ten fathoms; and they collect the muscles into a bag of net-work which they hang about their necks. when desirous of ascending, they pull a rope as a signal to their companions in the boat to draw them up. they are often known to descend as many as forty or fifty times in a day, and at each plunge to return with more than a hundred shells. the usual time for the divers to remain under water does not much exceed two minutes, though some are able to continue immersed more than five minutes. when the muscles are taken out of the boats, they are placed in heaps on the shore, where they continue about ten days, till the animals become quite putrid. they are then opened and searched for the pearls. one muscle sometimes contains many pearls, a hundred and upwards, large and small; and sometimes a hundred muscles have been opened without yielding a single pearl large enough to be of any value. the pearls are sorted according to their size, by being passed through large brass sieves, or through saucers with round holes in the bottom. after having been sorted, they are drilled; and then washed in salt water to prevent any stains which might be left by the drilling. the arranging of them on strings is considered the most difficult task of a pearl merchant, in consequence of the correctness of judgment which is requisite in classing them according to their value. the value of pearls is estimated by their size, roundness, colour and brightness. a handsome necklace of pearls, smaller than large peas, is worth from l. to l. whilst one of pearls not larger than pepper-corns may not be worth more than l. the king of persia has a pear-shaped pearl so large and pure as to have been valued at , l. sterling. the largest round pearl that has been known belonged to the great mogul, and was about two-thirds of an inch in diameter. pearls from the fishery of ceylon are considered more valuable in england than those from any other part of the world. the smaller kinds are called _seed_ or _dust pearls_, and are of comparatively small value, being sold by the ounce to be converted into powder. _nacre_ or _mother-of-pearl_ is the inner part of the shell of the pearl muscle. this is of a brilliant and beautifully white colour, and is usually separated from the external part by aqua-fortis, or the lapidary's mill. pearl muscle shells are on this account an important article of traffic to china and many parts of india, as well as to the different countries of europe. they are manufactured into beads, snuff-boxes, buttons, and spoons, fish and counters, for card-players, and innumerable other articles. the pearl muscles are not considered good as food; though, after having been dried in the sun, they are sometimes eaten by the lower classes of people in the countries near which they are found. . _the common or edible muscle_ (mytilus edulis, fig. ) _is a testaceous animal, with a smooth double or bivalve shell of oblong oval form, pointed, and slightly keel-shaped at the beak, flatted and somewhat curved on one side._ _the colour is generally blackish, and the length about three inches._ _this species of muscle is found adhering to sub-marine rocks by certain silky threads, which it forms from its own body; and it is common both in the indian and european seas._ in many parts of europe muscles are nearly as much in request for the table as oysters; and at rochelle, and some other places, modes are adopted of increasing their excellence, by placing them, after they are taken from the sea, in pools or ditches where the sea-water is stagnant, and introduced only at particular periods as it is wanted. muscles are caught nearly through the whole year, though they are considered best in the autumn. to some constitutions they are an unwholesome food, producing inflammation, eruptions on the skin, and an intolerable itching over the whole body; the best remedies for which are said to be a liberal use of oil, emetics, or milk. . _the oyster_ (ostrea edulis, fig. ) _is a testaceous animal, too well known to need any description._ _it is found affixed to rocks, or in large beds, both in the european and indian seas._ the use of oysters as food has rendered them celebrated in all ages. the ancient roman writers speak of them as in great request by that luxurious people. pliny relates that in his time they were considered so exquisite as, when in perfection, to have been sold for enormous prices; and that apicius, the notorious epicure or glutton, invented a peculiar method of preserving and fattening them. of all the european oysters, the largest are those that are caught off the coast of normandy, and with which paris is principally supplied. but the best are of middle or somewhat small size, and are caught in the waters of malden and colne in essex, or near the mouth of the thames. they are dredged up by a net (with an iron scraper at the mouth) which is dragged by a rope from a boat over the beds; and then stored in large pits formed for the purpose, and furnished with sluices through which, at spring tides, the salt water is suffered to flow. in these pits they acquire their full quality, and become fit for the table in six or eight weeks. the most delicious oysters are considered to be those which are fattened in the salt-water creeks near milton in kent, and colchester in essex. oysters are out of season during the summer-time, the period at which they deposit their spawn, and which commences in the month of april. each spawn has the appearance of a drop of candle-grease, and adheres to rocks, stones, or other substances on which it happens to be deposited. in some oyster-beds, old shells, pieces of wood, &c. under the denomination of _cultch_, are purposely thrown in to receive the spawn. from these, in the month of may, the oyster-fishers are allowed to separate the spawn for the purpose of transferring it to other beds; but they are required, under certain penalties, to throw the cultch in again, that the beds may be preserved for the future; unless the spawn should be so small as not with safety to be separable from the cultch. oysters are considered to be first fit for the table when about a year and half old; and they are among the few animals which in europe are not merely eaten raw, but even in a living state. oysters are also eaten cooked in various ways, as sauce to different kinds of fish, and pickled. the _shells_, like those of other testaceous animals, consist of calcareous earth in combination with animal glue; and, by calcination, they yield a pure kind of quick-lime. in this state they are not only useful as lime, but are also frequently employed by stationers and attorneys as pounce for rubbing upon parchment previously to its being written upon. . _the great scallop_ (pecten maximus, fig. ) _is a testaceous animal with a double shell, flat on one side, and convex on the other, with about fourteen rounded ribs, which are longitudinally grooved, and a projection or ear on each side of the hinge._ _the shells, when full grown, are about five inches long, and six inches broad._ by some persons scallops are thought better eating than oysters; and the ancients held them in great esteem. in several parts of france they have the name of "coquilles de saint jacques," from the catholics who annually visit the shrine of st. james of compostella, in spain, placing the shells in their hats as a testimony of this pilgrimage. these shells are also worn by pilgrims to the holy land. . _the cockle_ (cardium edule, fig. ) _is a small and well-known testaceous animal with a double convex shell, somewhat deeper on one side than the other; and marked by twenty-eight depressed ribs, which are streaked or slightly furrowed across._ cockles are perhaps more generally eaten in england than in any other country of the world: and they are a wholesome and, to many persons, an agreeable food, but, if eaten raw, they are supposed to produce poisonous effects. cockles are generally found on sea coasts, immersed at the depth of two or three inches in the sand. they are dug up at low water, and the places where they are concealed are known by small, circular, and depressed spots in the sand. cockles are chiefly in request during the winter months. they are sometimes pickled, and sometimes converted into ketchup. . _the great pinna, or sea wing_ (pinna nobilis) _is a testaceous animal with a double or bivalve shell, of nearly triangular shape, open at the broader end, longitudinally striated, the scales channelled and tubular, and somewhat imbricated._ _its length is sometimes more than fourteen inches, and its greatest breadth six or seven inches._ _these animals are found in great abundance in the mediterranean; and in the sea near some parts of the coast of america._ from the most remote periods of antiquity the _byssus_, as it has been denominated, or silky threads by which these animals affix their shells to rocks or stones at the bottom of the sea, has been spun and woven into different articles of dress. for this purpose the shells are dragged up by a kind of iron rake with many teeth, each about seven inches long, and three inches asunder; and attached to a handle proportionate to the depth of water in which the shells are found. when the byssus is separated, it is well washed, to cleanse it from impurities. it is then dried in the shade, and straightened with a large comb; the hard part from which it springs is cut off, and the remainder is properly carded. by these different processes it is said that a pound of byssus, as taken from the sea, is reduced to about three ounces. this substance, in its natural colour, which is a brilliant golden brown, is manufactured in sicily and calabria (with the aid of a little silk to strengthen it) into stockings, gloves, caps, waistcoats, and other articles of extremely fine texture. all these, however, are to be considered rather as curious than useful; and the manufacture of them is every day declining. . _the edible snail_ (helix pomatia), _is a shell animal distinguished by its large size, nearly globular shape; being of brownish white colour with usually three reddish horizontal bands, somewhat striated longitudinally; and having a large and rounded aperture with thickened and reflected margin._ _it is sometimes more than two inches in diameter; and is found in woods and hedges in several parts of europe, and occurs in those of some of the southern counties of england._ by the romans, towards the close of the republic, when the luxury of the table was carried to the greatest height of absurdity and extravagance, this species of snails were fattened as food, in a kind of stews constructed for the purpose, and were sometimes purchased at enormous prices. the places for feeding them were usually formed under rocks or eminences; and, if these were not otherwise sufficiently moist, water was conveyed into them through pipes bored full of holes like those of a watering pot. they were fattened with bran and the sodden lees of wine. in france, germany, and other countries of the continent, these snails are at this day in great request for the table: and are chiefly in season during winter and the early months of the year. they are boiled in their shells, and then taken out, washed, seasoned, and otherwise cooked according to particular palates. sometimes they are fried in butter, and sometimes stuffed with force-meat; but, in what manner soever they are dressed, their sliminess always in a great measure remains. they are generally kept in holes dug in the ground, and are fed on refuse vegetables from the gardens. these snails are frequently used by females in france, as a cosmetic, to preserve the skin of the face soft and delicate. . _coral_ (corallium nobilis) _is a hard, stony, branched, and cylindrical substance which is formed, at the bottom of the sea, by certain minute animals called polypes, that issue from the branches, and are white, soft, semi-transparent, and each furnished with eight tentacula or feelers._ _the general appearance of coral is that of a shrub destitute of leaves; and its height is usually from three to four feet._ _it is found in great abundance in the mediterranean and the red sea._ to the inhabitants of marseilles, catalonia, and corsica, the coral fishery is a very important pursuit; and the principal parts of the mediterranean from which coral is obtained are the coasts of tunis and sardinia, and the mouth of the adriatic sea. the british government has, within the last few years, concluded a treaty with the barbary powers, for liberty to fish for coral in their waters. the coral thus obtained is conveyed chiefly to malta and sicily, is there wrought into beads and other ornamental forms; and thence is imported into this country. previously to this arrangement the principal import of coral was from leghorn. the mode of obtaining coral is by a very simple machine, consisting of two strong bars of wood or iron tied across each other, with a weight suspended from their centre of union. each of the arms is loosely surrounded, through its whole length, with twisted hemp; and, at the extremity, there is a small open purse or net. this machine is suspended by a rope, and dragged along those rocks where the coral is most abundant; and such as is broken off either becomes entangled in the hemp, or falls into the nets. coral is bought by weight: and its value increases in a certain ratio according to its size. beads of large size are worth about forty shillings an ounce, whilst small ones do not sell for more than four shillings. large pieces of coral are sometimes cut into balls, and exported to china, to be worn in the caps of certain persons, as an insignia of office. these, if perfectly sound and of good colour, and upwards of an inch in diameter, have been known to produce, in that market, as much as l. to l. sterling each. there are extant many beautiful pieces of sculpture in coral; as this substance has in all ages been considered an admirable material on which to exhibit the artist's taste and skill. probably the finest specimens of sculptured coral that are known are a chess-board and men, in the tuilleries. the chinese have, within the last three or four years, succeeded in cutting coral beads of much smaller dimension than has hitherto been effected by any european artist. these, which are not larger than small pins' heads, are called _seed coral_, and are now imported from china into this country in very considerable quantity for necklaces. nearly the whole of the coral that is used is of _red_ colour; _white coral_ being considered of little value either as an article of commerce or decoration. there are modes of imitating coral so exactly, that, without a close inspection, it is sometimes impossible to discover the difference betwixt the real and the counterfeit article. . _sponge_ (spongia officinalis) _is an animal substance of soft, light, porous, and elastic nature, which is found adhering to rocks at the bottom of the sea in several parts of the mediterranean, and particularly near the islands of the grecian archipelago._ the general uses of sponge, arising from its ready absorption of fluids, and distension by moisture, are well known, and of great importance. it is collected from rocks, in water five or six fathoms deep, chiefly by divers, who, after much practice, become extremely expert in obtaining it. when first taken from the sea, it has a strong and fishy smell, of which it is divested by being washed in clear water. no other preparation than this is requisite previously to its being packed up for exportation and sale. the growth of sponge is so rapid that it is frequently found in perfection on rocks from which, only two years before, it had been entirely cleared. it is principally imported into this country from the levant. sponge is sometimes used by surgeons for the dilating of wounds; and, as it adheres strongly to the mouths of wounded vessels, it is occasionally applied as a styptic to prevent their bleeding. sponge burnt in a close earthen or iron vessel, and then reduced to powder, is sometimes used as a medicine. index to the third volume. ---- a. albicore. see thunny. alligator, description of, and use of flesh, eggs, teeth, &c., ambergris, what it is, whence obtained, and uses, anchovy, description of, how caught, cured, and uses of, animals, classification of, antelope, description of, and uses of flesh, skin, and horns, apes. see monkeys. arctic walrus, description of, and uses of tusks, oil, skin, and tendons, armadillo, description of, how caught, and uses of, ass, uses of, and of milk, flesh, skin, and bones, asses-skin pocket-books, of what made, b. baboons. see apes. bacon, how cured, badger, description and habits of, and how caught, , ----, uses of flesh, skin, hair, and fat, basse, description and use of, bats, description and uses of, ---- vampire bat, use of its hair, bear, common, description of, and how caught, , ---- ----, uses of skin, flesh, fat, oil, intestines, and bones, bear, white or polar, description of, and uses of skin, flesh, fat, and tendons, beaver, description of, and uses of skin, hair, castor, flesh, and teeth, beef, bees, description, uses, and management of, bees'-wax, what it is, how prepared, and uses of, bison, american, description of and uses of, flesh, tongue, tallow, horns, skin, and hair, bittern, description of, and uses of flesh and claws, blackbird, black game, bleak, description and uses of, blistering plasters, of what made, bloodhound, description and uses of, blood, uses of, boa, great, bonito, description and use of, botargue, or botargo, of what and how made, , brawn, what it is, and how prepared, brill, description and use of, bristles of swine, uses of, buck-skin, what it is, and uses of, buffalo, description of, and uses of milk, flesh, skin, and horns, ----, cape, description of, and uses of flesh and hide, buff leather, what it is, bulfinch, bull-dog, description and use of, burbot, description of, how caught, and use of, bustard, description and uses of, and particulars respecting, butter, how made, uses of, and impositions respecting, buttermilk, uses of, c. cachalot, blunt-headed, description and uses of, callo, what it is, calve's skins, uses of, camblets, what they are, camel, arabian, description and uses of, ----, uses of milk, flesh, tongue, and heels, ----, bactrian, or two-bunched, description and uses of, canary-bird, description of, whence obtained, &c., cantharides, what they are, how collected and prepared, and uses of, capelan, description of, how caught, cured, and uses of, carp, description of, how bred and kept, and uses of, cat, wild, description, habits, &c. of, ----, domestic, uses of, and of skin, flesh, and intestines, cat-gut, what it is, and uses of, , cattle, uses of, and of milk, flesh, &c., ----, devonshire, and holderness or dutch, ----, lancashire or long-horned, alderney, and highland or kyloe, caviar, what it is, and how made, , chagreen, of what made, uses of, and how imitated, chamois, description of, and how hunted, ----, uses of flesh, skin, horns, and blood, charr, description, preparation, and uses of, cheese, stilton, how made, ----, cheshire, wiltshire, and gloucestershire, cheese, chedder, cottenham, bath, york, lincolnshire, dunlop, parmesan, gouda, gruyere, dutch, and green swiss, chinchilla, description of, and uses of fur, civet, description of, how obtained, and uses of, coal-fish, description of, how caught, and use of, cochineal, description of, how obtained, value, and uses of, cod, common, description of, fishery, and modes of curing, ----, use of air-bladder or sounds, tongue, liver, roes, &c. conger, description and uses of, coral, description of, how obtained, value, and uses of, ----, white, red, and seed, cordovan leather, what it is, and uses of, corn-crake, description of, and particulars respecting, corvorants, crab, common, how caught, and uses of, ----, land, description and uses of, craw-fish, sea, description and use of, ----, common or fresh-water, description of, how caught, and use of, cream, uses of, crocodile, description of, and uses of flesh, eggs, teeth, &c., cuckoo, bee, description and uses of, curlew, description and use of, cuttle-fish, description and uses of, cygnets, what they are, and use of, d. dab, description and use of, doe-skin, what it is, and uses of, dog-fish, description of, and use of skin, &c., dog, description and uses of, ----, uses of skin, hair, and flesh, ----, siberian, description and uses of, ----, newfoundland dog, shepherd's dog, ----, water dog, spaniel, ----, setter, pointer, hound, ----, bloodhound, greyhound, ----, mastiff, bull-dog, ----, terrier, lurcher, turnspit, dolphin, common or true, description and habits of, ---- ----, uses of flesh, tongue, and fat, dorée, description and use, &c. of, dotterel, description and uses of, and particulars respecting, dromedary, description and uses of, duck, wild, description of, how caught, and use of, ----, tame, ----, eider, description of, and uses of down, flesh, eggs, and skin, e. eagle, cinereous, description of, and uses of flesh, skin, beak, and claws, eel, roman, description and use of, and particulars respecting, ----, common, description of, how caught, and use of, ----, conger, eggs, uses, &c. of, eider down, how obtained and prepared, and use of, elephant, description and uses of, for draft and burthen, &c., , ----, how caught and tamed, ----, uses of tusks, flesh, blood, and proboscis, elk, description and use of, and of flesh, tongue, skin, and hair, ermine, description, habits, &c. of, , ----, uses and value of skin, , f. falcon, secretary, description and uses of, ----, gentil, falconry, account of the sport of, fallow deer, description and uses of, feathers, how prepared and uses of, , ferret, description and uses of, fieldfare, fin-fish, description and uses of, flounder, description of, how caught, and use of, fox, common, description of, and uses of skin, and flesh, ----, arctic, description of, and uses of skin, tendons, and flesh, ----, white, frog, edible, description of, how obtained, kept, and use of, ----, bull, g. gallina, description and use of, and particulars respecting, galloways, gannet, gar-fish, or gore-fish, description and uses of, garum, pickle so called, of what made, genet, description and uses of, ghee, what it is, and how made, gilse, description and uses of, glama, description and uses of, glue, of what and how made, glutton, description of, and uses of skin and flesh, gluts, goat, common, uses of milk, flesh, skin, hair, horns, and fat, ----, angora, description and uses of, goldfinch, gold-beater's skin, what it is, and use of, goose, wild, description and use of, ----, tame, use of quills, feathers, &c., grayling, description of, how caught and use of, greyhound, uses of, grigs, grous, red, particulars respecting, ----, black, how caught and uses of, ----, wood, description and uses of, grugru, description and use of, guana, description of, how caught, and uses of flesh and eggs, gudgeon, guinea-fowls, description, &c. of, gurnards, h. haddock, description of, how caught, and use of, hair, human, uses of, and how prepared, hams, how cured, hare, common description and uses of, ----, alpine, hartshorn, from what prepared, and uses of, ----, shavings and jelly, hedge-hog, description and habits of, ----, flesh and skin, uses of, heron, common, description and use of, herring, description of, and account of fishery, ----, how cured, and uses of, hippopotamus, description of, and uses of tusks, hide, flesh, feet, and tongue, hog, uses of flesh, fat, blood, feet, tongue, skin, bristles, &c., holibut, description of, and uses of flesh, skin, liver, &c., honey, description and uses of, hooper, description of, and uses of flesh, eggs, skin, &c., horn, how prepared, and uses of, horses, uses of, ----, race, hunter, hackney, ----, dray, draught, scots, irish, french, dutch, flemish, german, hungarian, ----, danish, spanish, italian, ----, uses of flesh, milk, and skin, , horse-hair, uses of, hound, description and uses of, house-lamb, i. ichneumon, description and use of, indian ink, of what made, isinglass, of what and how made, ivory, what it is, importation, value, and uses of, k. kid skins, uses of, l. lac, description of, how obtained, and uses of, ----, stick, seed, and shell, lamprey, description and use of, ----, lesser, land-rail, description, &c. of, lap-wing, description and use of, lard, what it is, how prepared, and use of, leech, medicinal, description of, how caught, and use of, leopard, description and use of, ----, hunting, description and use of, ling, description and fishery of, ----, uses of flesh, liver, air-bladder, and tongue, linnet, grey, lion, description of, and uses of skin, flesh, and fat, llama, description and uses of, ----, uses of skin, hair, and flesh, lobster, how caught, how chosen, &c., ----, spiny, locust, description of, and particulars respecting, lurcher, description and use of, lynx, description of, and use of skin, m. mackrel, description of, how caught, and use of, maids, manis, long and short-tailed, description and use of, martin, description and uses of, mastiff, description and use of, mead, of what made, milk, of goat, uses of, ----, of sheep, ----, of cow, mole, uses of skins and flesh, habits of, and how caught, monkeys, description of, and uses of, for food, moose deer. see elk. moroc, description and uses of, morocco leather, of what and how made, and how imitated, morse, great. see article walrus. mother of pearl, what it is, and uses of, mule, description and uses of, mullet, white, description of, how caught, and uses of, muscle, oriental pearl, description and uses of, ----, common or edible, musk, description of, how procured and imported, and uses of, mutton, mya, pearl-bearing, n. nacre, what it is, and uses of, narwal, description of, and uses of oil, flesh, intestines, tendons, and horns, neat's-foot oil, what it is, and use of, nightingale, particulars respecting, o. opossum, virginian, description and uses of, ortolan, description and use of, ostrich, description of, and uses of feathers, fat, flesh, eggs, and skins, otter, common, description and uses of, ----, trained to catch fish, ----, sea, description of, and uses and value of skin, ounce, description and use of, owls, use of, ox. see cattle. ----, musk, description of, and uses of flesh, wool, hair, and skin, ----, grunting, description and use of, oysters, how caught, and uses, &c. of, p. palm-tree grub, description and use of, panther, description and use of, paradise, bird of, description and use of, parchment, of what made, partridge, particulars and use of, peacock, description and uses of, pearls, how obtained and prepared, use and value of, , ----, how formed by artificial perforations, ----, artificial, how made, pee-wit, description and use of, pelecan, white, penguins, description and use of, perch, description of, how caught, and use of, pheasant, common, particulars and use of, ----, argus, description and use of, pigeon, wild, ----, domestic, ----, carrier and crowned, ----, passenger, pike or jack, description of, how caught, and use of, ----, sea, pilchard, description, fishery, and use of, piltocks, description of, how caught, and use of, pintado, particulars respecting the, plaise, description and use of, plovers, pointer, description and use of, pollack, description of, how caught, and use of, porcupine, common, description and habits of, ----, uses of, quills and flesh, pork, what it is, value of, and how cured, porpesse, description of, and uses of oil, flesh, fat, entrails, and skin, poultry, domestic, particulars respecting, prawns, description of, how caught, and use of, , ptarmigan, description and uses of, puffin, description and use of, q. quail, description and use of, and particulars respecting, quills, how obtained and prepared, and uses of, r. rabbit, wild, description and uses of, ----, modes of catching, ----, warrens, ----, tame, raccoon, description of, and uses of fur, skin, and flesh, , rattle-snake, raven, description of, and uses of flesh, skin, beak, claws, and quills, red-game, redbreast, red deer. see stag. reeve. see ruff. rein deer, description, uses, and value of, ----, uses of milk, flesh, blood, fat, skin, horns, bones, tendons, &c. ----, how hunted, rinoceros, description of, and uses of skin, flesh, horns, blood, hoofs, and teeth, ringdove, river-horse. see hippopotamus. roe, or roe-buck, description and use of, rook, description and use of, ruff and reeve, particulars respecting, and use of, s. sable, description of, and how hunted, , ----, uses and value of fur, and modes of imitating, , sagri, or shagreen, of what made, salmon, common, description, fishery, and uses of, sand-eel, or sand-launce, description of, and how caught, sea-unicorn. see narwal. sea-lion. see seal, leonine. seal, common, description of, and how killed, ---- ----, uses of flesh, skin, fat, tendons, bones, fur, &c. ----, leonine, description and uses of, serpents, setter, description and uses of, sewen, shad, description of, and particulars respecting, shagreen, of what made, and how manufactured, shammoy leather, what it is, and uses of, sharks, description and uses of, sheep, common, uses of wool, skin, flesh, fat, milk, intestines, and bones, ----, leicester, lincolnshire, southdown, and ryeland or hereford, account of, ----, cheviot, shetland, dorsetshire, heath, ----, merino, broad-tailed, ----, tartarian, or fat-rumped, shelties, shrimps and prawns, how caught, and uses of, shrike, great or cinereous, description and uses of, silk, value, uses, and other particulars of, ----, tusseh, and arrindy, silkworms, description of, how bred, &c., skate, description and use of, skunk, description and habits of, ----, flesh and skins, uses of, skylark, how caught, &c., smelt, description and use of, snail, edible, description of, how kept, use of, &c., snigs, snipe, common, description, particulars, and use of, sole, description of, how caught, and use of, song thrush, spaniel, description and uses of, spanish fly, description and use of, sparling, description and use of, sparrow, common, use of, spermaceti, what it is, how obtained, and use of, sponge, description of, how obtained, and use of, sprat, description and use of, squirrel, grey, description and use of, ----, black, stag, description and uses of, stock dove, stork, common or white, description and use of, sturgeon, common, description, and fishery of, ----, uses of flesh, roes, bones, and skin, suet, surmullet, red and striped, description, particulars, and use of, swallows in general, swallow, esculent, use, &c. of its nest, swan, wild, description of, and uses of flesh, eggs, and skin, ----, tame, swift, sword-fish, description of, how killed, and use of, t. tallow, what it is, how prepared, and use of, teal, tench, description and uses of, terrier, description and use of, thornback, throstle, thunny, description, fishery, value, and use of, tiger, description of, and uses of skin and flesh, torsk, description of, how caught, and use of, tortoise, greek, description of, and uses of blood, eggs, &c., ----, round, ---- shell, what it is, how prepared, use, and value of, toucan, red-bellied, description and uses of, train-oil, what it is, and uses of, trout, salmon or sea, description and use of, ----, fresh-water, description of, how caught, use of, &c., turbot, description of, fishery, &c., turkey, wild, how caught, use of, &c., ----, domestic, particulars respecting, turnspit, description and use of, turtle, common or green, description of, how procured, and uses of, ----, hawk's bill, description of, and uses of flesh, eggs, and shell, tusseh dooties, what they are, and use of, u. umber, description of, how caught, and uses of, urchin. see hedge-hog. v. veal, vellum, of what made, and uses, venison, vicuna, description and uses of, viper, common, uses of, vulture, aquiline or egyptian, description and uses of, ----, carrion, w. wax, bees and white, what it is, how prepared, and uses, weasel, striated. see skunk. westphalia hams, how cured, whale, great or greenland, description of; and uses of oil, whalebone, tongue, skin, fins, flesh, intestines, bones, &c., , &c. ---- ----, fishery, account of, ---- ----, fin-backed, description of, and uses of oil, spermaceti, flesh, skin, intestines, tendons, teeth, bones, &c., , &c. whalebone, what it is, and uses of, , wheat-ear, description of, how caught, and use of, white-game, white-rump, description of, how caught, and uses of, whiting, description of, how caught, and use of, ----, pout, description and use of, wigeon, wolf, description and history of, ----, use of skin, woodcock, description and use of, and particulars respecting, woodlark, woodpeckers, description and uses of, wool, uses and manufacture of, , , , wreckle, description of, how caught, and use of, y. yak, description and use of, the end. popular school books, and miscellaneous works of information for youth. ---- a dictionary of latin phrases; comprehending a methodical digest of the various phrases from the best authors, which have been collected in all phraseological works hitherto published; for the more speedy progress of students in latin composition. by william robertson, am. of cambridge. a new edition, with considerable additions, alterations, and corrections. in a very thick volume royal mo. s. bound. *** the present edition has this advantage over its predecessors, that it is enriched with many hundred phrases which have hitherto been unrecorded; and these 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"the utility of this work to students in latin composition is too evident to need pointing out; and we doubt not it will readily find a due place in the list of school books."--gentleman's magazine. "if the work in its 'first estate' was a favourite treatise at our schools, it can have nothing to fear in its renovated form, where its barbarisms have been expunged, and some thousand phrases, drawn from the purest sources, have been added: we shall merely observe that it is an excellent key to latin composition."--lit. chronicle. essays on the institutions, government, and manners of the states of ancient greece. the second edition, mo. price s. by henry david hill, dd. professor of greek in the university of st. andrew's. 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exhibiting three distinct parts, and yet forming one connected whole: expressly adapted to every age and capacity, and to every class of learners, both in ladies' and gentlemen's schools. the ninth edition, handsomely printed in crown mo. and illustrated with seven maps, engraved by j. c. russell, jun. price s. bound. "we think this work entitled to unqualified approbation. it unites utility with cheapness. its method is simple and practicable, and well adapted to the first wants of the mind. its ample title-page professes no more than what is performed in the body of the work. mr. guy is already known as the author of some other works of a similar nature, and this will add to his merit in that species of composition."--universal magazine. "the present epitome of geography challenges comparison either with any of the author's former publications, or with those of others upon the same subject, not even excepting the popular 'grammar of geography, by goldsmith.' contrasted with the latter, it contains upwards of one-fourth more matter, and perhaps, not less than double the real information. in guy we find, in addition to the usual geographical description of kingdoms, an abstract of their natural curiosities, animals, climate, soil, inhabitants, religion, manners, customs, language, government, chronology, and history. in goldsmith we find almost nothing more than the names of a few (and only a few) rivers, provinces, and chief towns, without any thing to excite attention or curiosity, farther than what appears in the outline map of a country. goldsmith indeed merely talks about geography, or the physical and political divisions of the globe; guy describes them agreeably, and presents to the reader a complete and faithful portrait, in miniature, of the habitable world, equally intelligible and interesting to the youth and the man."--antijacobin review. since the first publication of this geography in , nearly , copies have been sold, and its superiority over other works of the same kind is becoming daily more manifest--the last year's sale being double that of any of the preceding. in this edition many improvements have been added, the list of accepted geographical names is greatly enlarged, much original matter respecting the extensive empire of tonkin is annexed, the book is printed in a superior style on the best paper, and the whole forms a most perfect and highly interesting school book. *** the maps, printed on a stout royal drawing paper, and beautifully coloured, are done up separately for the use of teachers, price s. a key to guy's geography, containing answers to all the questions and the problems on the globes, in this geography. price s. d. sewed. a chart of general history, ancient and modern. fourth edition corrected. on a sheet of columbier drawing-paper, price s. coloured; on canvass and rollers, s. d.; and varnished s. a chart of this kind will greatly facilitate the student's progress, and give him clearer ideas of the rise, duration, and fall of each kingdom and empire, than the perusal of many volumes. it is, in short, to history, what maps are to geography; and a mode of representation which gives a kind of locality to events; and conveys not only distinct ideas of distant events in any one country, but the relative occurrences of different nations. c. baldwin, printer, new bridge-street, london. notes [ ] this is perfectly distinct from castor oil, which is the production of a vegetable seed. [ ] four inches make a hand. this is the usual mode of estimating the height of horses. [transcriber's notes emphasis is denotes as _italic_ and =bold=. most small caps text has been converted to all caps; but where some may have been rendered as mixed case letters where it seemed appropriate.] [illustration: fig. .--the scallop shell, _pecten opercularis_ (see page ), slightly reduced in size. the larger shells are from douglas, isle of man; the smaller shells are young specimens from llandudno, north wales.] stories _of the_ universe animal life by b. lindsay _with forty-seven illustrations_ new york review _of_ reviews company copyright, by d. appleton and company _all rights reserved_ preface of the diagrams which illustrate this little volume, the majority were prepared by miss e. c. abbott (formerly bathurst scholar at newnham college, cambridge): the sketches were made from specimens in the south kensington museum of natural history, which has kindly granted permission for their use. in addition to these, there are several figures that are taken from specimens in my possession, photographed by the publishers; two or three cuts are diagrammatic; and i owe to the kindness of mr. j. craggs, formerly president of the northumberland microscopical association, the drawings of polycystina and of the scales of the sole. b. l. contents chapter page i. the story of animal life ii. how animals adapt themselves to circumstances iii. classification: the sorting of the animal kingdom iv. the one-celled animals, or protozoa v. the coelenterata vi. the sponges vii. the vermes or worms viii. the arthropoda: lobsters, spiders, and insects ix. the mollusca, or shell-fish x. the brachiopoda, or lamp-shells xi. the moss-corals, or polyzoa xii. the echinodermata xiii. the chordata xiv. the vertebrata xv. man xvi. how zoologists do their work index list of illustrations figure page . the scallop-shell _frontispiece_ . limpets and periwinkles . diagram of _amoeba_ . section of _hydra_ . diagrammatic section of earthworm . diagram of a gastrula . diagram of a trochosphere . shells of radiolarians (polycystina) . a coralline . gorgonia . corals . marine worms . a centipede , . shells of barnacles , . hermit crabs . a land crab . a sand-hopper . a spider . nest of trap-door spider . _galeodes_ . a tick . a scorpion . larvæ of insects . larva of the bee . ants . white ants . cocoons of moths . a moth and its larva . nest of a gregarious caterpillar . development of an english water-beetle (_dytiscus_) . insect pests . branchy murex . shell of the common _venus_ . eggs of molluscs . the five-holed sand-cake . a brittle-star . a sea-cucumber . a stone-lily or encrinite . a feather-star . sections showing position of the vertebrate notochord . scales of a sole . tadpoles . eggs of reptiles . skull of kangaroo . skull of rodent . slide with rows of sections for the microscope the story of animal life chapter i the story of animal life if the microscope had never been invented, the story of animal life, as it is related by modern science, could never have been told. it is to the microscope that we owe our knowledge of innumerable little animals that are too small to be seen by the unassisted eye; and it is to the microscope that we owe the most important part of our knowledge about the bodies of larger animals, about the way in which they are built up, and the uses of their different parts. the earlier opticians who toiled, one after another, to bring the microscope to perfection, never dreamed, in their most ambitious moments, of the value of the gift that their labour was to confer upon mankind. for the microscope alone has made it possible for men of science to study the world of living things. this is the value of honest and thorough work in almost every department of intellectual labour; that it builds a firm and sure though perhaps hidden foundation for the loftier and more perfect work of after days. the microscope has shown us the intimate structure of every organ of the animal body; and thus, in most cases, the uses of the organ, and the steps by which it performs its tasks, have been made clear. the microscope has also shown the true nature of the sexual functions, and all the steps of the processes of growth in young animals. none of these things could ever have been rightly understood without the microscope, for all their most important details are invisible to the naked eye. to the microscope, too, we owe our knowledge of the essential kinship between plants and animals; to it, also, our understanding of the oneness, the "solidarity," as the french would say, of the animal kingdom, for it is in the structure of microscopic parts that resemblances are revealed under the most strikingly different circumstances of outward form. let us inquire a little into the history of the animals that can only be seen by the aid of the microscope. most of them live in water, especially dirty water, containing decaying remains of plants or animals. the naturalists who first discovered them studied them in "infusions" of hay, and so on, and hence these little creatures were named infusoria--a name that has since been somewhat restricted in its application. by an "infusion" is meant that water is poured on some substance and allowed to stand; the more ancient and evil-smelling the infusion becomes, the more of these little animals do you find living in it. nature provides dirty water ready made, in ditches and in ponds, and these are full of microscopic animals. and not only do they appear in dirty water, but kindred kinds appear in clean water also, and many in the waters of the sea. it will easily be understood that when the existence of microscopic animals was discovered, zoologists had greatly to modify their ideas of the animal world. still more was this the case afterwards, when it was found that all animals were built up of minute parts much resembling these microscopic animals in their main features. to these unit parts, of which all animal bodies are composed, the term "cell" is applied. the name of cell is not very descriptive of these units in the animal body, but correctly describes the unit of plant structure. in certain important essential particulars both, however, are alike. nowadays we are not content to describe the grouping and external features of cells; their minute structure also is made a subject of research and inquiry, and affords a field for most of the fashionable speculations of our own day. how great has been the progress made by the science of zoology since the eighteenth century may be estimated from the following quotation:-- "i remember," says the late george j. romanes (in his book called "the scientific evidences of organic evolution"), "once reading a very comical disquisition in one of buffon's works on the question as to whether or not a crocodile was to be classified as an insect; and the instructive feature in the disquisition was this, that although a crocodile differs from an insect as regards every conceivable particular of its internal anatomy, no allusion at all is made to this fact, while the whole discussion is made to turn on the hardness of the external casing of a crocodile resembling the hardness of the external casing of a beetle; and when at last buffon decides that, on the whole, a crocodile had better not be classified as an insect, the only reason given is, that as a crocodile is so very large an animal it would make 'altogether too terrible an insect.'" how different is the state of knowledge now, when every part of a crocodile or a cockroach is described in print in the minutest detail, and set before even the beginner in zoology as a necessary lesson. but in spite of the labour necessary to master such detailed lessons, the study of the animal world is far from prosaic. the story of animal life, indeed, bids fair to be the only element of romance left in the modern world for those who stay at home in their own land. the traveller of days of yore, when he ventured into the woods and fields, or upon the water, expected to meet with all sorts of strange things--fairies and elves and ugly gnomes; giants, ogres, and dragons; mermaids and water-witches. with the spread of education all these things have vanished now; it is quite certain that no board-school-boy has ever met any of them: and one's walks abroad would be in these days as prosaic as they are safe, but for the world of animal life. if you have eyes for this, every field has its inhabitants, and every hedge its marvels. instead of a fairy, you may be well contented to meet a dragon-fly with shining wings; instead of an ogre you will find the fierce spider, which not only makes away with every harmless fly that blunders into her net, but in many cases destroys her own kind also. many a plant may be met with which has its own special caterpillar or other dependent insect, with ways of its own, which may amuse your idle hours. as for the change of a caterpillar or a tadpole into its adult form, it would be taken for a miracle if it were observed for the first time. the reader may have noticed that there are some unfortunate people who have no eyes for these things; from childhood upwards they have been so absorbed in money-making or in reading books--the one case is as bad as the other--that they have never learnt to observe the facts of nature. some cannot even recognise the different kinds of plants that they see in the hedges, or in a country walk. such natures are intellectually defective; they are much to be pitied, and require a special training to remedy their stupidity. i mention this, because the occurrence of this form of stupidity is one of the dangers resulting from town life and bookish education, which we have to guard against at the present time. but for all healthy people accustomed to the outdoor world, the study of animal life has always possessed an interest. its interest has, however, been increased a hundred fold by the progress of modern discovery, which has taught us to see in the animal kingdom one large family, working its way upwards from humble beginnings, to more perfect structure of body, and more complete intelligence of mind. chapter ii how animals adapt themselves to circumstances we all know what it is to adapt ourselves to circumstances. suppose two lads, fresh from school, go out into the world to earn their living; one becomes a navvy and one a clerk. in five years' time these two young men will probably be very different in appearance from one another. the navvy will have developed his muscles; he will be broad-built, broad-chested, and strong. the clerk, on the other hand, will probably be comparatively weak and slim, his chest will not be so broad, his muscles will not be so well developed. the navvy, too, will probably be of a fresh complexion, while the clerk will be pale. all these differences are due to the fact that their bodies have adapted themselves to circumstances. both men may be equally healthy, and equally long-lived. let us take another example. let us compare two other youths, of whom one becomes a cobbler and one an alpine guide. the latter, in five years' time will have become a perfect specimen of muscular humanity--active, agile, and hardy. the cobbler will be comparatively stiff in his limbs and unable to undertake any singular feat of muscular exertion, although he may be able to do a very hard day's work at his own trade. the mountaineer, too, will probably differ in disposition from the cobbler. he will be daring, resourceful, and not afraid of danger under circumstances which would terrify the cobbler. now let us suppose that the sons and grandsons of the navvy are brought up to be navvies, and the sons and grandsons of the clerk are brought up to be clerks;--that the children and grandchildren of the alpine guide follow his own calling, and the children and grandchildren of the cobbler do the same;--we shall probably have four families differing very much in type of physique from one another. yet take one of the navvy's sturdy grandchildren and bring him up as a clerk, and he will lose much of his sturdiness. let the mountaineer's grandsons be brought up as cobblers, and by the time they are thirty they will not be remarkable for their muscular capabilities. just in a similar way the bodies of animals adapt themselves to circumstances. it is not always possible to trace the steps by which this has been done. but sometimes it is so; and we may find a whole series of varieties that are plainly due to adaptation. when we see an animal which is in some way especially fitted for its surroundings, we are therefore justified in concluding that it has become so by degrees. the way in which animals adapt themselves to their surroundings in the matter of colour would afford material for several volumes each as large as this one. those who have not travelled in foreign countries may perhaps find it difficult to realise that brilliant colouring and showy patterns can ever enable an animal to hide itself successfully. but an instance may be taken from an animal common on our own shores which will illustrate how this principle works. in the spring there may be found in large numbers upon our rocky coasts a little oval shell-fish, about one-third of an inch long, sticking to the fronds of the tangle and other broad-leaved seaweeds. the animal is of a very pale brown colour; its shell brownish and semi-transparent, with several stripes of brilliant turquoise blue down the back. these stripes are not continuous, but interrupted at intervals so as to give them a beady look. taken in the hand and looked at closely, the shell, with its contrast of blue stripes on a brown ground, is extremely conspicuous; brown being, in fact, the contrast-colour which shows blue in its greatest brilliancy. yet, when perched upon the tangle, the creature is almost invisible, and might easily be mistaken for a natural irregularity of the surface of the seaweed. while the brown is the colour of the seaweed itself, the brilliant blue is indeed the exact colour of the spring sky at that season, everywhere reflected from the sea-water and from the wet surface of the seaweed. by matching that brilliant colour the animal therefore is rendered invisible. this little creature is the young of the semi-transparent limpet, _patella pellucida_. this, at least, was the old-fashioned name for it, though it has received others. its young and its adult form are so different in the appearance of the shell, that they have been described under different names. english readers who search for it in the spring will learn by experience that bright colouring may help to make a creature invisible. but this is not all that is to be said about the protective colouring of this little shell-fish. there are many creatures whose young live at the surface of the sea, and afterwards migrate to deeper water as they attain adult age. in early life they are transparent, because thus they best escape notice in the clear water of the surface, especially when seen from below, by the many enemies on the watch to devour them. but in their later life they become opaque, because thus they best escape notice from enemies watching from above, as they crawl along the bottom of the sea. now this is the case with the little patella. for this also migrates to the bottom--in this instance a comparatively short journey--when it is ready for adult life. both shell and animal, therefore, are at first nearly transparent, but in older life both become more opaque; the blue stripes, too, are almost or quite obliterated in the after-growth of the shell, slight traces of them alone remaining at its apex. this change of colour fits the animal for the new home in which it settles, for it moves down from the leaf of the tangle to its root, and there finds a snug shelter among the coral-shaped branches of which the root is composed. not many reflections of the blue sky are likely to reach the recesses of the tangle-root, so the creature has no longer any need of its protective colouring of blue. the adult shell, however, retains a certain degree of translucency, which matches very well with the colouring of the tangle-root; and thus presents a great contrast to the shell of the common limpet, which is found on rocks. the rugged surface of the latter is usually more or less irregularly speckled in harmony with the surfaces on which it lives, though this shell also presents when young occasional touches of blue, which suggests a family likeness in colour tastes on the part of the two kinds of limpet. the blue in this case, however, is of the dullest and dingiest shade. the _patella pellucida_ is common on the more rocky portions of our coasts; in spring the young may be seen in thousands on the seaweeds of the isle of man; here its habits were first observed and described in detail by the manx naturalist forbes, who noticed its peculiar way of finding a hiding place among the roots of the tangle. the same shell-fish, in contrast with the commoner limpet of the rocks, affords another instance of the way in which shells adapt their forms to their surroundings. in each case the shell is a plain conical cap, and the animal within keeps the shell firmly attached to the base on which it rests. the limpet can move about at a very creditable snail's pace when it wishes to do so, and at low-water mark, when the tide is beginning to rise, you may easily find them moving about and off their guard; but during many hours of the day, when the tide is out, the main object of the limpet is to keep its shell as firmly fixed to the rock as possible. it will at once be seen that if the margin of the shell were smooth like that of a tea-cup, and the surface of the rock to which it clung very irregular, many chinks would be left between the margin of the shell and the surface of the rock through which unwelcome visitors might find entrance. the loss of moisture through the crevices, too, would be a serious thing to the animal during the hours when the shell is uncovered by the tide and exposed to the rays of a hot sun. on the other hand, if the margin of the shell were irregular, and the surface on which it rested smooth, unprotected crevices would in the same way be left. so the limpets adapt the shape of their shell to their surroundings; the _patella pellucida_, which lives on the smooth branches of the tangle-root, has a shell with a smooth regular edge; while the _patella vulgata_, which lives upon rocks, has a shell with an irregular, indented edge, whose irregularities fit into those of the rock on which it rests. (see fig. .) [illustration: fig. .--shells mentioned in chap. ii. , common limpet, old and young; , semi-transparent limpet, old and young (the remains of the young shell may be seen crowning the adult shell); , common yellow periwinkle; , common edible periwinkle; and , high-tide-mark periwinkle, both with a sharp spire, for comparison. one specimen of the latter stands among group .] probably every reader will be able to appreciate the above instances of creatures adapted to their surroundings. for there are few people who are not familiar with the common limpet of the shore between tide-marks, and with the great seaweed called tangle, which has its habitat a little lower down, and forms great sea-meadows, whose upper limits alone are ever laid bare by the tide. the _patella pellucida_, too, is fairly common, and the dead shell may be found on most rocky parts of our coast all the year round. as for the blue-striped young shell, floating on the blades of the tangle, those who have leisure to visit the seaside during the months of spring and early summer, may have seen it as i have described it; and the mention of it will recall pleasant memories of clear spring skies, and fresh sea-winds, and fields of heavy tangle swaying gently on the swell that comes in from the open sea. it is interesting to know something of the habits of the creatures whose forms we study, and we have already spoken of the snug little hiding-place that the semi-transparent limpet finds for itself in the tangle-root. it is of interest to remember that the common limpet, too, is a home-loving creature, which knows and prefers the spot of rock on which it habitually rests; and can find its way back to it, aided by its two eyes and two smelling patches. this has been proved by professor lloyd morgan, who has recorded the result of his observations, made on the coast of dorsetshire. it is not easy to detach a limpet from the rock without injuring or exhausting it, but these specimens were caught when moving of their own accord, and were therefore uninjured and brisk. they were removed to short distances, and the following table shows the result of the experiment, clearly proving that the limpet prefers home, but regards a distance of two feet as a very long journey. ----------+-------------+----------+---------+-------- | | number | | number | distance in | returned | in four | later. removed. | inches. | in two | tides. | | | tides. | | ----------+-------------+----------+---------+-------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------+-------------+----------+---------+-------- similar observations were made at an earlier date, by mr. george roberts, at lyme regis. let us now take an instance of adaptation in form. and this time we will take a shell so common that everybody will know it. everyone who has spent a little time in naturalising on the shore, has noticed how often you may find univalve shells, such as those of the whelk and periwinkle, with the top of the shell knocked off. this is nearly always the case with the dead shells that you find strewn along the tide-line; and after a storm, on a rocky coast, you may find shells that still contain the living tenant, in the same sad condition. and you may also meet not infrequently with shells, dead or living, that bear evidence of the owners' efforts to repair them after an accident to the spire. a piece has been broken, and you find it cemented on again by a patch of shell, serviceable no doubt to the owner, but crooked and unsightly in appearance. now there is a very common shell, the little yellow periwinkle, which has practically done away with its spire, the coils of the shell being so curved that the earlier part of the spire does not project beyond the later-formed coils, and the whole shell has a rounded outline. this little creature lives on the long seaweeds which grow at low-water mark or near it; and when the sea is rough it is obviously liable to be dashed from its foothold on the seaweed and flung violently down, as the huge seaweeds sway about in the shallow waves. we may easily satisfy ourselves that this is an accident that frequently happens, by examining the shore when the tide is going out, on some stormy spring or autumn day. numbers of the yellow periwinkles are then to be found crawling on the sand, and striving to regain their place in the seaweedy rocks as soon as possible. on a calm day you will rarely see one crawling on sand above low-water mark, for it is a place they do not choose by preference; those that are to be found there on the stormy day have lost their foothold, and have been washed about by the tide. had they, like some other kinds of periwinkle, a sharp spire, how many would be the casualties under these circumstances! but as it is, you do not see a single specimen with a broken top: the rounded spire is an adaptation to circumstances, required for the protection of the tenant of the shell. (see fig. .) it may be added that the yellow periwinkle is not only protected from mechanical sources of danger by its form, but is also in some degree protected from living enemies by its colour. this, at first sight, seems exceedingly conspicuous. we must remember, however, that the animal often lives in that part of the shore where the bladder seaweeds, or fuci, are extremely abundant. the flowering ends of these are of a yellow colour, fairly bright. when seen from below, with the sunlight streaming through them, they no doubt appear much brighter than when seen, as we see them, from above, with the sunlight falling on them. now protection from foes below is what the yellow periwinkle needs most: for fishes are quite ready to swallow it whole, and are not in any way deterred by the thickness of the shell, which is (by-the-way) in a measure a protection against birds when the tide is out; fishes habitually swallow shell-fish whole, although the inmate only is digested. the bright yellow, then, that seems to us so conspicuous, is probably a good means of hiding for the periwinkle when under water. its common variations in colour, too, are probably protective in their use: some are a dull purplish brown, some drab. these are good colours in which to lie hidden, respectively, under darker tracts of seaweed, or upon the rock itself. this little shell is so abundant on rocky coasts that on some beaches the dead shells are as numerous as pebbles. no wonder, with all these adaptations for protection! another instance of adaptation to circumstances is described in the sea-urchin shown on p. . this is one among many instances where animals that live on sand or mud acquire a flattened shape, so that their weight is distributed, and the danger lessened, of their sinking in a quick-sand. the flat-fish, such as soles and flounders, are a familiar example; and the same principle is illustrated by the flattened forms of many of the bivalve shell-fish, whose flat shell, when closed, can lie safely on the loosest sand. equally is their form adapted for their circumstances, when, in their slow way, they begin to move. for the flat valves of the shell are placed to the right and left of the animal's body. so that when it stirs, or floats quietly in the current of the tide, the shells present their sharp edges to the resistance of the water, thus enabling the creature to move like a ship through the sea, or like a knife-blade through bread, with the least possible friction: and specially is this provision for the lessening of friction important, when we consider that many of these bivalve shell-fish have to move, not only through water, but also through sand and mud. it may be assumed that every reader is familiar with the common forms of the bivalve shell-fish. the frontispiece shows one of them, considerably flattened in shape. so far, however, we have not explained _how_ animals adapt themselves to circumstances; we have only pointed out the fact that they do so. take the case of our little limpet. it cannot say: "i will paint myself with blue and brown, so as to be mistaken for a bit of seaweed reflecting the blue sky"; nor can the periwinkle say: "i will paint myself with yellow, so as to pass unnoticed among the yellow ends of the _fucus_; and i will build my spire low, so that it will not be broken." the bivalve shell-fish and the sand-cake sea-urchins do not say to one another, "let us alter our shells, and build them a little flatter, so that we shall not sink in too deep when we lie upon the ooze and sand of the sea." how then do these adaptations take place? darwin has explained this for us. individuals often have some little peculiarity, in which they differ from the average of their kind. the establishment of such little marks of individuality is spoken of as variation. if among these individual peculiarities there is one which is in any way disadvantageous, _e.g._ one which tends to make the creature conspicuous in the sight of its foes, the owner will be quickly eaten, and of that peculiarity there will be an end. if, on the contrary, the peculiarity gives the owner some advantage over its fellows, that individual will survive, and probably transmit its peculiarity to some of its descendants. we have seen, for instance, that it is of advantage to our little periwinkle to be yellow, when it lives in certain situations; and that it sometimes presents other colours, likely to be favourable in other cases. if we gather together a large number of specimens, we shall find a surprising range of variation in colour. some present a tint of bright orange, nearly red; some are a dull brown; the dark purple shade and the drab have been already referred to. the very young shell usually presents an unmistakable shade of pink; and we may find innumerable half-grown specimens in which we may trace the gradual establishment of the advantageous yellow colour, from an original shade of unmistakable pink, presented by the earlier whorls. kindred varieties of the shell, too, may be found with stripes or speckles. since this very common shell may be found in abundance on any rocky shore in the british isles, the reader may easily study its colour-variations, both in the dead and the living shell. study also the ground on which the creature lives, with its sharp colour-contrasts of rock and seaweed patches, and it will be easy to understand why the colours are thus varied, with a preponderance, on the whole, of the yellow shades. it is all a question of the survival of the fittest--the unfit being represented by colours too easily seen, and therefore quickly snapped up. as for the spire, it has already been shown how that is adapted to circumstances. it is worthy of remark that in the kindred edible periwinkle, _littorina littorea_, which has a sharp spire, elderly specimens may be seen with the end of the spire damaged. turn again for a moment to our first instance--the adaptation of men to a sedentary or an outdoor occupation. here we dwelt upon the change produced by their mode of life; we left out of sight the "survival of the fittest." yet here it is equally surely at work. how often does the young mountaineer, less agile than his fellows, come by a violent death? only those who are equal to the necessities of the life survive--many are lost. how often does the clerk, tied to his desk, fail in health and die? how often, hating a sedentary life for which he is unfitted, does he throw his energies into athletics, lose interest in his office work, and get dismissed? here again comes in "the survival of the fittest"--for a desk: alas! perhaps the only means of livelihood. but _why_ do variations occur? this is the question first asked by a child, when you try to explain the working of "natural selection." it is also the last question asked by scientists, who are still industriously engaged upon studying the problem. in the above instances from human life, we have considered the occurrence of changes brought about in the organism by the circumstances of life; or as scientists say, by the "environment." scientific men are busily hunting for instances of variation of this sort. take for example, an animal which lives sometimes in salt water, sometimes in water that is only brackish; there are cases in which small differences can be noticed, according to the difference in the habitat. notice the marine shell-fish, for instance, near the estuary of a river: they are often less robust specimens than are found at a point free from the influence of fresh water. not until the effect of known causes on the rise of variations has been studied much more fully than at present, will it be possible to judge regarding the nature of those variations which _appear_ to be spontaneous; for which, at present, no predisposing cause can be assigned. a very large number of variations, however, fall into the class of "atavistic" variations; that is to say, those which show a return to an ancestral type. these are variations which are very rarely welcome. if, for instance, a boy has a pair of handsome black rabbits, he is not much pleased to find among their progeny, every now and then, one of the colour of the original wild bunny. the probability, in this case, is that the atavistic variety will find its way into a pie, instead of being kept as a pet. equally unsatisfactory to the owner, is the incorrigibly savage and intractable dog or horse--a reversion to the mental type of an ancestor which knew not the authority of a master. atavistic variation often occurs when members of two well-marked varieties are mated; so that in some of the offspring produced, each parent seems to cancel out the more extreme characteristics of the other, leaving only the characteristics of the more generalized ancestral type, from which both parents have alike been derived. when the ancestral type is in some way inferior to the modern one, variation which consists in reverting to the former is often referred to as degeneracy. there is reason to believe that discomfort and hardship of existence tend to produce variation of this kind--a fact of supreme importance, when the problem of degeneracy is considered in connection with human life. when creatures begin to degenerate, it is, in fact, as if the species were saying to itself, "i have gone astray; let me retrace my steps along the road by which i came, and maybe i shall find comfort and safety; step by step i will try to go back to my ancestral form." very rapid variation of any sort is indeed often a sign that the struggle for existence is too hard for the type in question. the palæontologist can tell us of types that present numerous variations before becoming extinct; while others, comfortably holding their own in the struggle for existence, remain practically unchanged during age after age of the geological record, and survive even up to the present day. we may borrow from commercial life a homely illustration that will explain this aspect of variation. when competition in trade is keen, the seller must have novelties; he will try all sorts, and find some good, some bad, some indifferent. if he now revives an out-of-date pattern of goods, for the sole sake of change, this is degeneracy. but where, on the contrary, competition is dull, the same firm will turn out the same goods for a long period of time. there is an optimum in trade competition: a reasonable competition results in the production of sensible novelties, and consequent progress; but competition over-keen results in the production of rubbish, leading to eventual failure. so in the world of animal life; a certain degree of struggle for existence results in variation, establishment of new varieties, progress. a greater degree results in too rapid variation, new varieties that speedily perish, and finally, the extinction of the type. we have spoken of "varieties." each of the domestic animals presents varieties, which are the cumulative result of the breeder's artificial selection of natural variations. thus the pug and the collie for instance, are varieties of the dog; the bantam and the dorking of the fowl. among wild animals, varieties are similarly produced by _natural_ selection, resulting from the "survival of the fittest." by degrees, intermediate forms are lost; and new species are established by the greater and greater divergence of varieties originally derived from one ancestral type. table showing the position in classification of the animals named in the foregoing chapter =phylum= =mollusca=, or shell-fish. =class= gasteropoda, or snail-like shell-fish. =sub-class= anisopleura, or unequal-sided gasteropods. =branch= streptoneura, or unequal-sided gasteropods with nerves twisted into the shape of a figure of . /------------^-----------\ /--------------^--------------\ =order= zygobranchiata, azygobranchiata, or streptoneura with or streptoneura with a pair of gills. only one gill. =genus= _patella_, the limpet, _littorina_, the periwinkle, with gills obliterated, or shore shell. and only indirectly represented; breathing is performed by folds of the mantle. =species= _vulgata_, the common _littoralis_, the (yellow) limpet. periwinkle that lives above low-tide-mark. chapter iii classification, or the sorting of the animal kingdom give a child a few handfuls of shells. probably the first thing he will do with them is to sort out the various kinds and separate them from one another. each will go into a little heap by itself; and next, our young friend will find names for them. these are cap-shells and those sword-shells; these saucers and those plates; these yellow-shells and those pink-shells--according as some special character or form or colour strikes his fancy. now this is what zoologists have been doing with the animal kingdom from the earliest days of science; trying to recognise each distinct kind of animal form, and to give it a name of its own. unfortunately for the reader, zoologists have been obliged to choose names of latin and greek origin, and therefore in writing about animals we are often obliged to burden our pages with long words. this is a disadvantage, but it is a very slight one compared with the great advantage gained by using the learned tongues, which consists in this, that learned men from all countries of the globe can equally understand the names thus brought into use. one particular kind of creature may have one name in english, another in french, another in german, and so on; but the learned world does not trouble itself with this multiplicity of names--it gives the creature a couple of names in latin, and these names stand good for learned readers in every part of the globe. the importance of this will be fully realised when, in a later page, we shall have to speak of the work done by zoologists, and the way in which they do it. meantime we must ask our readers to have patience if now and then some long names must be used. these learned names sometimes convey a description of some important characteristic possessed by the animal, and sometimes they are merely fanciful names, such as the child we have spoken of gives to his zoological playthings. it does not greatly matter whether the name is descriptive or not; zoologists describe each animal kind in its most minute details, and the most commonplace or inappropriate name serves its purpose quite efficiently as a means of referring to published descriptions. we have spoken of sorting the animal kingdom into its various kinds. but how do we know when a number of animals are all of one kind? no two individual animals are ever exactly alike, any more than two persons are ever exactly alike. "it is a matter of common observation that no two individuals of a species are ever exactly alike; two tabby cats, for instance, however they may resemble one another in the general characters of their colour and markings, invariably present differences in detail by which they can be readily distinguished. _individual variations_ of this kind are of universal occurrence" (t. j. parker). among a host of animals that present so many differences, how do we determine what shall be considered as belonging to one and the same kind? this is a point that nature usually settles thus. if two varieties when mated produce offspring which are perfectly fertile when mated again with another set of offspring similarly produced, then the two varieties, however differing in appearance, belong to one species. if on the other hand, the two belong to a different species, the offspring will be what is called a mule or hybrid, and will not produce offspring if mated with another mule. one of the most familiar examples of a mule is the animal, commonly so-called, which results from mating a horse and an ass, and partakes of the characteristics of both. every animal receives two latin or latinised names, the first that of the genus, the second that of the species; this system of naming, often referred to as the "binary nomenclature," we owe to the industry of linnaeus the great swedish botanist and zoologist. genera are groups consisting of a number of different species which closely resemble one another. similarly genera, which are somewhat alike, are again formed into larger groups, and so on. the names of families, orders, and classes used to be given to these groups in ascending order; but it is now generally recognised that such names are arbitrary, and that the divisions into which animals may naturally be grouped are altogether irregular, and not comparable with one another. those who know a little of botany will readily understand, from their knowledge of wild flowers, that natural groups cannot be arranged in a formal series. the main branches of the animal kingdom, the largest groups of all, used formerly to be called sub-kingdoms. now the main divisions are often spoken of as phyla or races. classifications, although they differ much in detail, according to the preferences of individual zoologists, yet agree as to the main branches of the animal kingdom, the chief of these are:-- . the protozoa, or one-celled animals. . the coelenterata or two-layered animals. . the sponges or porifera. . the vermes or worms. . the arthropods or jointed animals, viz., insects and crustacea. . the mollusca or shell-fish. . the brachiopoda or lamp-shells. . the bryozoa or moss-corals. . the echinodermata or sea-urchins. . the chordata, including--(_a_) the hemichordata; (_b_) the ascidians; (_c_) the vertebrata. within recent years an attempt has been made to express the relationship these groups bear to one another, by placing them in separate divisions or grades. the first grade includes only the protozoa, or unicellular animals. the position of second grade has been assigned to the coelenterata or diploblastic animals, whose bodies consist typically of two layers of cells. a third grade includes only a few groups of the lower worms, among which three body-layers may be distinguished, but no body-cavity is present. while the fourth grade, including practically the rest of the animal kingdom, have three body-layers (see p. ), and a body-cavity surrounding the internal organs (see p. ). this arrangement of groups is an extremely convenient one; all the more convenient because it easily admits of modification. already, indeed, we might find room for a grade intermediate between i. and ii., consisting of what might be termed monoblastic animals, namely, animals consisting of a single layer of cells. for the frequent occurrence of larvæ of this kind, consisting of a hollow ball of cells, renders zoologists on the alert to find a grown-up organism built in the same way. it is doubtful whether any of the forms that have been supposed to answer to this description really do so. certain forms of these often claimed as plants by the botanists are, however, in the meanwhile, invited in to fill the blank. there are also animals in which the internal layer of the body is very much reduced, consisting sometimes in fact of one cell only. those are the dicyemidæ and orthonectidæ, both of them parasitic forms. they differ so completely from all other forms that it has been proposed to make for them a special group, the mesozoa, or midway animals, between the protozoa and all the rest of the animal kingdom. it is, however, possible to group them under the head of diploblastic animals; but nothing more different from the coelenterata could well be imagined, and some regard them as a degraded form of worm. the animals which are higher in structure than the protozoa, viz. our divisions to , are often grouped under the name metazoa. the metazoa thus include grades ii., iii., and iv. the meaning of the division of the animal kingdom into grades will be more apparent if we give an example of each. [illustration: fig. .--_amoeba_, a typical unicellular animal: _n_, nucleus; _cv_, contractile vacuole; _ps_, pseudopodia; highly magnified. this represents grade i. of animal existence.] grade i. _the one-celled animals._--_amoeba_, the mobile animal, is the typical example of these. it consists of a single microscopic cell. in this cell is seen a dark irregular speck, the nucleus, which is an essential character of cells, whether they are independent or form part of the body of a larger animal. there is often visible also a clear rounded space, called the "contractile vacuole," which squeezes out fluid, disappears, and reappears again, serving the purpose of excretion. the cell-substance, called protoplasm, is practically identical in this and in cells of all other kinds. it is jelly-like, and capable of a slow movement, which may be watched under the microscope. it suggests the flowing of treacle or thick gum. the movement may be traced by the change in outline of the cell and by the change in position of any granules that it may have taken in; for particles which touch the creature sink in and are surrounded; thus it obtains its food. these slow flowing movements of the protoplasm result in continual changes of shape; hence the name, amoeba, the mobile animal. sometimes the island of protoplasm, as it changes its shape, throws out, as it were, capes and headlands. these projections, which are presently drawn in again, are called pseudopodia or false feet. they are characteristic of the whole group of amoeba-like animals, which are consequently called rhizopoda, the root-footed. the production of new individuals is accomplished by the division of the old cell into two. thus it may be said that there is always a bit of the old cell remaining, though divided into fragments; and for this reason the amoeba-like protozoans have been fancifully called "immortal." [illustration: fig. .--section, highly magnified, of a two-layered animal, _hydra_ (grade ii.). _ec_, outer layer of ectoderm; _en_, inner layer of endoderm; _l_, lamella dividing the two, represented by a line; _n_, nuclei of the cells; _v_, thin vacuoles of small interstitial cells; _e_, the enteron or digestive cavity.] grade ii. _the two-layered, or diploblastic animals._--the type of these usually chosen is _hydra_, a two-layered animal, which is further described on p. . a section through hydra (fig. ) shows ( ) the outer or skin layer of cells, called the ectoderm, and ( ) the inner or stomach layer of cells, called the endoderm (literally outer skin and inner skin). the clear recognition of the primary body-layers of the simpler invertebrates as identical with the primary body-layers of the embryo of higher forms, is largely owing to the teaching of professor huxley, the importance of whose work on this and in many other respects, is little guessed at by many readers who know his name merely as a popular exponent of scientific ideas. the two-layered body of hydra encloses a hollow digestive space; from this the coelenterata receive their name, which means "possessing a hollow space only, by way of intestines." the name of acoelomata, animals without a body-cavity, has therefore been given to the coelenterata and sponges. the meaning of the term body-cavity will be explained in the next paragraph but one. the hydra, like all animals of its grade, and all those of the succeeding grades, reproduces itself by means of ova or egg-cells, and spermatozoa which fertilize them. grade iii. _the triploblastic animals without body-cavity._--this is a small section including only some of the lowest worms, such as the forms called planarians. between the ectoderm and endoderm lies an intermediate layer the mesoderm. there are the beginnings of this in the coelenterata and sponges, but here it is further established. it includes a very thick layer of muscles. [illustration: fig. .--diagrammatic plan of section cut through an earthworm to show the position of the three body-layers and the body-cavity (grade iv.). _sk_, skin; _al_, glandular lining of the alimentary canal; _w_, muscular wall of body; _w'_, muscular of intestine, both belonging to the third layer or mesoblast; _b.c._, body-cavity (shaded); _al.c._, cavity of alimentary canal (shaded); _n_, nerve.] grade iv. _the coelomata or triploblastic animals with a body-cavity._--this grade includes all the remainder of the animal kingdom. as an example of it, we may take the common frog. if we open from the lower surface the dead body of a frog, we first cut through the skin, next the muscles; then we come to the viscera, lying neatly packed in a cavity from which we can dislodge them. this cavity is the body-cavity. the skin corresponds with the ectoderm of hydra, although it is a vastly more complicated affair. the glandular lining of the alimentary canal corresponds with the endoderm of hydra; although this, too, is a more complicated affair. the mass of the body, lying between these two layers, is considered to correspond somewhat with the mesoderm of grade iii., and has received the collective term of mesoblast. this description applies equally to the earthworm, for the higher worms differ immensely from the lower worms, and stand on a level with more important members of the animal kingdom (see fig. , p. ). the body-cavity may be formed in different ways in different animal groups; but there is reason to believe that in certain cases it originates by a folding off of part of an original cavity corresponding with that of hydra; so that part went to form the intestine, and part the cavity surrounding it. the above arrangement of the main great groups of animals into four grades is that given by professor arnold lang. it should be added, that there are a few exceptional forms that present a departure from these broad rules of structure. they are, however, so few that they need only be named as curiosities. for instance, there are parasites in which the inner body-layer is practically done away with, because they are fitted to absorb food through the outer layer. and in one division of the moss-corals there is no body-cavity to be seen, although it is to be found in the other division. what is the outcome of all this sorting of the animal kingdom? this most important result: that a classification of the animal kingdom into the four grades we have named, presents, in serial order, the stages through which young animals of the higher forms pass in the course of their growth. every creature begins as a unicellular organism--the fertilised egg-cell. a vast number of creatures belonging to the higher groups present, later on, a two-layered condition, comparable with that of grade ii. later on they acquire a third layer, and therefore correspond with grade iii. by degrees the body-cavity is formed, and they then present the adult body-structure of grade iv. the development of the chicken in the egg, for instance, presents these four stages. it will be sufficiently apparent that this coincidence is too striking to be without a meaning. zoologists are all agreed in their interpretation of this meaning: it is, that the history of the individual presents a summary of the history of the race, and goes through the stages of structure which its ancestors presented in their adult forms. the story of the gradual upward struggle of the animal kingdom, from its humble beginnings to its present wonderful complexity, is written in the growing tissues of every young creature. the principle that ancestral traits betray themselves is accepted as a truism in common life. do we see young people rude and stupid? we say, perhaps, "no wonder; their grandfather was a drunken, worthless lout." do we see a family of the poorest class clever, and industrious, and refined? we say, "they come of a good stock." when we speak in this way, we reason from the common experience of mankind, that children resemble their ancestors. similarly, when zoologists find an embryo starting its existence from one cell, they say, "no wonder; its ancestors were unicellular." and when they find it assuming a two-layered form, they say, "its ancestors were two-layered creatures." so certain are zoologists of the existence of an ancestral two-layered form, the parent at once of the existing coelenterata and of the higher forms, that professor hæckel has given it a special name--gastræa. the two-layered young stage of higher creatures, when it has a free-swimming existence, is called a gastrula (fig. ). both names, meaning stomach-animal, refer to the structure, which is, in a still simpler form, that of _hydra_--a two-layered bag of cells, of which the inner layer, lining the cavity, performs the work of digestion. the lowest of the vertebrata, the lancelet (see p. ), has a larva of this kind. the same reasoning which suggests the existence of an ancestral gastræa-animal, suggests that of an ancestral planula-animal; for the two-layered animals, on their part, present us with a monoblastic larva of the form already described (p. ), called a planula. hence it is that zoologists look with such eagerness for forms, of which it can be said that they consist of one layer of cells only. the name planula signifies "wandering animal," because the planula larva swims about by means of cilia. [illustration: fig. .--diagrammatic representation of a typical gastrula, or two-layered larval form, highly magnified; optical section, longitudinal. _ec_, ectoderm or skin layer; _en_, endoderm or stomach layer; _m_, mouth leading into the enteric cavity. the dots are the nuclei of the cells.] [illustration: fig. .--diagrammatic representation of a typical trochosphere, or ciliated larva, considerably magnified. _m_ is the mouth; the stomach and intestine are seen showing through the transparent body.] mention has been made above of larval forms. it is perhaps advisable to explain clearly what is meant by this term. it is a matter of every-day knowledge that in some animals the young form presents an appearance and structure very different from that of the grown-up form, and adapted for a different mode of life; the commonest instances are the caterpillar of the butterfly and the tadpole of the frog. we are apt to think of these creatures as somewhat exceptional in this respect. but the zoologist, in viewing the whole range of the animal kingdom, finds a vast number of animals with larvæ, differing much from the adult, and adapted for a different mode of life. it is, in fact, a very common arrangement; but often these larvæ are very minute, perhaps absolutely microscopic, therefore only known to the scientific observer. the two familiar instances we have named are fortunately big enough to be known to everyone. now it is an axiom with modern zoologists (as has been explained above), that the history of the individual is a summary of the history of its ancestors; larval forms are therefore of special interest in this connection. a very wide-spread form of larva, more advanced in its structure than the little gastrula that has been already named, has received the name of trochosphere or wheel-ball (fig. ), because it swims round and round, by means of cilia, usually distributed in bands. its inner or stomach-layer, forms a definite alimentary canal, and is separated by a very simple mesoderm from the outside ciliated layer, which presents certain differences in form, according as the creature belongs to one group of animals or to another. the main characters of the trochosphere are, however, the same in very widely differing groups. these little larvæ give rise to one of the most eagerly debated problems of zoology. are we to suppose that animals which possess a trochosphere larva are all descended from one common ancestor? or are we to think that the trochosphere is a form of body very convenient for the necessities of juvenile existence in the sea, and therefore independently evolved by animals which are not directly related to each other? some authorities take the latter view; the former is perhaps more widely accepted, and has even been expressed by the application of the name trochophora (wheel-carriers), as a general term for those groups in which such larvæ are found. these include some of the higher worms, which present the typical trochosphere, the brachiopoda, and the polyzoa; while variations of the trochosphere type are shown by the earliest larvæ of mollusca, the larvæ of the echinoderms, and those of the hemichordata (see p. ), the latter bringing us, as it were, within eye-shot of the vertebrata themselves. it will be seen, therefore, that the range of the trochosphere larva covers a large portion of the ground occupied by our grade iv. there is, however, one marked exception: the arthropoda, which seem to have a prejudice against cilia in any form (since they include but one animal which possess any) have no example of a ciliated larva. even their simplest larval forms belong to a higher type of structure, in which the shelly, jointed structure characteristic of the group is already indicated. when we speak, however, of the occurrence of the trochosphere throughout a wide range of animal life, it must be understood that its presence is not necessarily uniform throughout a group in which it occurs. larval forms are adaptations which conform with the conditions of life for the particular animal in question: and nearly related kinds of animal may be without a larva. the trochosphere larva is, of course, only adapted for aquatic existence, and is necessarily absent in the case of terrestrial forms. table of the classification of the animal kingdom[a] =grade i.=--unicellular animals. protozoa. (intermediate forms, see p. .) =grade ii.=--two-layered { sponges. animals. { coelenterata. =grade iii.=--three-layered { platyhelminthes, or flat-worms. animals. { vermes, the higher forms. { arthropoda. { mollusca. =grade iv.=--coelomata, or { brachiopoda. three-layered animals with a { bryozoa. body-cavity. { echinodermata. { tunicata or ascidians. } =chordata.= { vertebrata. } [a] in the subsequent tables which show the respective sub-divisions of these chief groups, the larger only of the sub-divisions are named. when an animal has no free larva, but quits the egg in a form practically identical with that of the adult, the development is said to be "direct." but changes equally startling with those displayed when a larva develops into the adult form, may take place while the young animal is enclosed within the egg itself. to these also zoologists apply the axiom referred to above, that the history of the individual summarises the history of the race. thus, for example, the amphibian larva, _e.g._ the tadpole of a frog (p. ) has gills, which disappear in the adult form: the young reptile, bird, or mammal, which has no larval stage, has gills during a comparatively early stage; and loses them at a later period of its development. in each case zoologists conclude that the animal is descended from a fish-like ancestor, which possessed gills all its life, and that the more immediate ancestors in the family tree, have lost their gills by degrees. the study of the progressive changes of young forms, whether larval, or enclosed within the egg, is called embryology, and constitutes, in these days, the major branch of zoological science. that it is of paramount importance to the student of classification, engaged upon the sorting of the animal kingdom, will be apparent from what has been stated above. chapter iv the one-celled animals or protozoa some idea of the general characteristics of the protozoa has already been given by the description of _amoeba_. we may now say something about special groups of the protozoa, which have minor characteristics of their own. amoeba belongs to the class rhizopoda, as has been already stated; but there are many of the rhizopoda that greatly differ from amoeba in appearance. the possession of a shell or skeleton gives a special importance to several groups. for, as the reader has no doubt already learnt from an earlier volume in this series, such skeletons or shells have played an important part in the history of the earth's surface, building up geological strata of vast extent, by the accumulation of the shells left after the decay of the owners' tiny bodies, during long periods of time. the chalk rocks that form the "white cliffs of albion," and that are so widely distributed in other parts of the globe, are formed in this manner; while the ooze of the atlantic and other oceans, similarly composed of protozoan _débris_, is now at the present time building up what will be the chalk rocks of future ages. some of these protozoans attain a remarkable size, instead of being microscopic, as is the case typically with the one-celled animals. some forms of the foraminifera found on the coast of north america measure as much as one-fifth of an inch across, while in warmer seas there are kinds which attain, as did the extinct nummulite of egypt, the size of a bean. two inches across is mentioned as the maximum diameter, however, of either extinct or living forms. the foraminifera are sometimes named reticularia, because their pseudopodia interlace. [illustration: fig. .--fossil skeletons of polycystina, from the so-called "infusorial earth" of barbadoes, highly magnified.] the foraminifera have shells composed of carbonate of lime, but there are other forms that build up geological deposits, in which the shell is flinty. the diagram (fig. ) shows some fossil shells of protozoa from the marl of barbadoes. these constitute a deposit which was named "infusorial earth," in the earlier days of microscopic observation, when all protozoans were spoken of as infusoria. the name, infusoria, it must be recollected, is now restricted to a special class, to which the forms in question do not belong. these fossil forms were named polycystina, and are still often spoken of under that name, although the animals that present the peculiar feature of possessing "more than one cyst" now are called radiolarians. the "cyst" consists of a basket-work supporting skeleton of flint; there may be several, one inside the other, and connected by radial bars. a living species named _actinomma_ has three such layers of basket-work, one in the outer layer of protoplasm, one in the inner layer, and a central one. it will perhaps be remembered by the reader that the animals of this group, radiolaria, are forms described in a previous volume of the series, as so curiously associated in symbiosis with the algæ known as yellow cells. the famous polishing slate of bilin in bohemia consists of flinty protozoan shells; it is feet thick, and a cubic inch has been estimated to contain , , , of the shells. while the radiolarians are marine, the heliozoa, a group in which the skeleton is also present, but not usually so greatly developed, are predominantly fresh-water forms. both classes take their name (ray-animals, sun-animals) from the stiff radiating rods of the skeleton. strongly to be contrasted with the above groups belonging to the rhizopoda are the infusoria proper, which are characterized by the usual possession of cilia. cilia (literally "eyelashes") are fine hair-like processes of the protoplasm of the cell, which fringe its exterior; by their constant movement they enable the animal to swim, and at the same time they create a current in the water, which washes up to the region of the mouth particles which may serve for food; for these creatures have this very great advantage over amoeba, and the other forms above referred to, that they possess something which may be called a mouth. that is to say, there is one particular spot of the surface where particles are taken in. this may seem to be a restriction, when we compare the infusorian with amoeba, which is apparently able to take in food at any part of the surface. but it is a restriction which is associated with an advantage; the infusorian cell, namely, has a firm exterior with a definite outline, instead of being soft and mobile all over. the firmer exterior layer of protoplasm, which is in turn covered by a thin cuticle or limiting membrane, is called the cortex or rind. for this reason the name corticata is sometimes given to the group, _i.e._, protozoa with a rind. _vorticella_, the bell animalcule, is a stalked form living in ditches, which is usually selected as a typical form of the infusoria. it receives its name, the whirlpool animal, from the current which its cilia create in the water. the purpose of this current is to wash food particles into the mouth. associated with the infusoria under the name of corticata are the gregarina and some other parasitic forms. it is interesting to note that the main types of the unicellular animals are repeated again in the cells of different parts of the bodies of multicellular animals. amoeboid cells, so called because of their mobility and general resemblance to amoeba, are found in various parts of the higher animals. the lymph corpuscles of vertebrata, and the white corpuscles of vertebrate blood, as well as the blood corpuscles of invertebrates, are among the instances of this. there are cells, on the contrary, such as those that line the mucous tracts, which are of a vorticella type, so to speak; fixed to their bases, and presenting cilia on the free aspect. two things must be noticed before we leave the subject of the protozoa. one is, that some forms present the beginning of a multicellular condition. several units sometimes join together, and in this way a complex object may be formed, in which there are several nuclei; or the original unit may keep on growing till it consists of many successive portions, and in some of them a fresh nucleus may arise. this occurs in some of the foraminifera. the next thing to be noticed is, that there are a number of organisms which constitute a debateable ground, and are claimed now by the botanist, and now by the zoologist. while the latter insists on calling them protozoa (primitive animals) the former would have them protophyta (primitive plants). the fact is that in these organisms of the first grade, the distinction between "plant" and "animal" has not become a hard and fast line; and the disputed forms may be best described as links between the two. the chemistry of nutrition is probably more to be relied upon as a distinction, than the difference of structure. it is here that the two groups, plants and animals, start upon different roads, and many of the differences in structure must be regarded as the direct result of the fundamental difference in the mode of nutrition. the following very instructive remarks on the subject are taken from professor hertwig's valuable book "the biological problem of to-day,"[b] pp. , . [b] "the biological problem of to-day, preformation or epigenesis," by professor o. hertwig. translated by p. c. mitchell. heinemann, . "the different mode of nutrition of animals results in a totally different structural plan. animal cells absorb material that is already organised, and that they may do so their cells are either quite naked, so affording an easy passage for solid particles, or they are clothed only by a thin membrane, through which solutions of slightly diffusible organic colloids may pass. therefore, unlike plants, multicellular animals display a compact structure with internal organs adapted to the different conditions which result from the method of nutrition peculiar to animals. a unicellular animal takes organic particles bodily into its protoplasm, and forming around them temporary cavities known as food vacuoles, treats them chemically. the multicellular animal has become shaped so as to enclose a space within its body, into which solid organic food-particles are carried and digested thereafter in a state of solution, to be shared by the single cells lining the cavity. in this way the animal body does not require so close a relation with the medium surrounding it; its food, the first requirement of an organism, is distributed to it from inside outwards. in its further complication the animal organisation proceeds along the same lines. the system of internal hollows becomes more complicated by the specialisation of secreting surfaces, and by the formation of an alimentary canal, and of a body-cavity separate from the alimentary canal. in plants it is the external surface that is increased as much as possible. in animals, in obedience to their different requirements, increase takes place in the internal surface. the specialisation of plants displays itself in organs externally visible--in leaves, twigs, flowers, and tendrils. the specialisation of animals is concealed within the body, for the internal surface is the starting-point for the formation of the organs and tissues." table showing the classification of the protozoa =grade i.= { rhizopoda, or { gymnomyxa. unicellular animals. =protozoa= { { infusoria, or { corticata. chapter v the coelenterata next after the animals that consist of one cell only we have to consider the group of animals among which the lower kinds, at any rate, consist of a number of cells arranged in two layers. the representative of this group that the reader is most likely to meet with is the sea-anemone, the coral animal probably he will be content to know from pictures. everybody who has been accustomed to take a little interest in natural history, remembers the use of the old-fashioned term "zoophyte." it was a name given to animals like those named above, which have a flower-like appearance, due to the possession of a set of petal-like arms or tentacles, placed all round the mouth; its literal meaning was animal plant, in allusion to the flower-like form. the great french zoologist, cuvier, gave the group name radiata to animals of this kind. this name is now not much used, because we have learnt to emphasize other peculiarities possessed by these animals, as well as that of radial symmetry, viz., their two-layered body-wall and simple digestive space (see p. ). the group called radiata by cuvier, included, too, a number of animals which are widely separated from the "zoophytes" in modern systems of classification. sea-anemones may be found on almost every rocky part of the english shores. look for them in pools towards low-tide mark; if uncovered by the water, they will be found with the arms drawn in, so that the animal looks merely like a small round knob of shiny opaque coloured jelly; if covered by the water, they will usually be found open, that is to say, with the arms (often called tentacles) spread out. in the middle of the circle of arms is the mouth; and the apparent "flower" possesses an excellent appetite, as will readily be seen if any unfortunate little shrimp or sea-snail should come within reach of the arms. the latter will then at once contract upon it, and draw it into the mouth. touch any of the common sea-anemones, and you will find that it is firmly fixed to the rock; at an early period of life it becomes fixed, and practically it remains always in one place, although a slight movement of the base is sometimes possible. hence the advantage of the "radial" structure, for the arms reach equally in all directions round that most important centre of activity, the mouth. the most common kind of sea-anemone is of a dull dark red colour, and small in size; but others are large and brilliant in colouring. no uncoloured drawing would convey much idea of their beauty: the reader should consult the works of the late p. gosse, an authority on sea-anemones, in whose books many beautiful illustrations will be found. a much smaller animal than the sea-anemone is found in fresh water and is called _hydra_. its arms or tentacles are longer in proportion to its body, especially in one species, than is the case in the sea-anemones. hence its name, fancifully derived from the seven-headed serpent of greek mythology, the hydra killed by hercules, which may be supposed to have presented a similar straggling appearance. the diagram on page represents a section through the middle of the body, only without the arms. unlike the sea-anemone, the hydra can walk about. this it does in a very awkward manner, much in the same way as the caterpillar known as the "looper," clinging first with the front and then with the back extremity of the body (for head and tail they can hardly be called in so simple an animal as the _hydra_, although the looper caterpillar boasts both head and tail). the _hydra_ is so small an animal that it appears to the unaided eye merely as a tiny speck. it may be found anywhere in british ponds and ditches, standing on water-weeds. like the sea-anemone it preys on animals smaller than itself. nature has provided it with minute stinging cells, which benumb its prey; and in this all the animals of the coelenterate group resemble it. one of the most curious things about the hydra is, that it often throws out buds. it can, of course, produce eggs which are fertilized and hatched in the usual way of eggs; the buds are an additional way of multiplying itself.[c] [c] we may recall in comparison the way trees may be propagated by slips independently of flowers producing the seeds of the trees. these buds are at first merely swellings, in which both of the layers of the body join: they grow larger; become provided with tentacles and a mouth, like the parent, and finally are cast off as independent animals. for this reason the group to which _hydra_ belongs has received the name of eleutheroblasteæ, the animals with free buds. but hydra has many near relations in which these buds are not so cast off, but remain attached to the parent; and they in turn may produce others which also remain attached. in this way, groups or colonies are formed, consisting of large numbers of individuals, and possessing a common stalk or stock which is formed by degrees as the process of multiplication goes on. the corals and the corallines are familiar examples of this. the matter is complicated by the fact that either the separate animals or the flesh of the stock, or both, may secrete within themselves a hard supporting structure forming what is known as corals. this may be developed in such a complicated manner, that instead of the coral appearing to be the product of the animal, the animal seems to be inserted in the coral, into which indeed it can retract itself for shelter. the corallines, on the contrary, secrete a leathery coating or sheath outside themselves and the stock. the leathery case is fairly transparent, so that on magnifying the creature the flesh of the common stock, as well as of the stalks of individual animals, may be seen inside. the "heads" of the animals poke out at the end of each branch (see fig. ). the _hydra_, with which we started, had always the power of producing eggs; each animal could do so, besides producing buds. but in our colonial coralline this is not necessarily so. some individuals lose the power of producing eggs. others can do nothing else, and become greatly altered in structure, often losing the power of developing tentacles, and exhibiting other changes. so much are they altered sometimes that they seem to be mere buds, not separate animals at all. in other cases a still more surprising thing happens. the bud that is destined to produce eggs falls off, and becomes quite independent of the colony; more than this, it becomes quite different in appearance from the members of the colony: and instead of being a hydra-like animal it becomes a jelly-fish. but the eggs of this jelly-fish do not produce jelly-fishes: they produce a more or less hydra-like animal which gives rise by budding to a fresh colony. this is what is known to zoologists as "alternation of generations." now comes a puzzling question--which part of this family group shall we select and call it an "animal"? is each hydroid of the colony an animal, and the jelly-fish another animal? zoologists say "no": from the development of one egg, to the production of another, is the cycle that constitutes an individual animal. so we have the puzzling result in nomenclature, that an "individual" consists of a very large colony of creatures in one place, together with a perfect shoal of creatures quite unlike it, floating miles away from it on the ocean. what name must we give to the units, so curiously connected with one another? zoologists call them "zooids" (animal-like parts) or "persons." this is the story of the jelly-fish as originally told. but there are innumerable variations upon it. there are kinds of jelly-fish that produce jelly-fish and have no hydroid stage at all. sometimes the "persons" of the colony present many varieties, each taking up some different task for the community. some may be "nutritive persons," _i.e._ commonplace zooids that have mouths and eat food; some "protective persons," reduced to mere folds or sheathing processes to guard the others; some are "stinging persons" armed with enormous quantities of thread cells. then the whole colony may be like the jelly-fish, a floating affair, and not fixed at all. [illustration: fig. .--an example of the hydrozoa. a, branch of a coralline, _sertularia ellisii_, magnified. b, the same, more highly magnified.] we have several times above referred to the animals known as corallines. it may almost be assumed that the ordinary reader knows what these are; if not, a little search among the treasures of the sea-shore will almost certainly reveal some of them, living or dead. the texture and appearance of the dead stems remind one of soft horn or dried gelatine; the branching arrangement of the stems and the little cells disposed at the ends of the branches will easily be shown under slight magnification. most people will remember the rage for dyed corallines, by which all the fancy shops and florists were possessed a few years ago. the corallines, dyed a bright emerald green, or a dull red, which were used for decorations at that time, were usually a variety of the bottle-brush coralline, found on english shores; but sometimes commoner kinds were employed. fig. shows an example of a coralline, slightly magnified in a, and in b much more highly magnified, so as to show the individual hydra-like zooids, each with its circle of tentacula. the sea-anemone and the hydra respectively represent the two great groups of the coelenterata, named after them, the anthozoa (flower-animals), and the hydrozoa (hydra-animals). the corals are forms of the anthozoa, single or colonial, which possess a skeleton. [illustration: fig. .--_gorgonia verrucosa_, from guernsey, nearly one-third of the natural size.] [illustration: fig. .--corals. _a_, _acanthoporia horrida_. _b_, _meandrina strigosa_. _c_, _madrepora divaricata_. _d_, _fungia papillosa_. _e_, red coral, _corallium rubrum_. _f_, _stylaster sanguineus_.] the above diagram shows examples of the anthozoa. fig. is _gorgonia_, the sea-fan; while fig. represents corals of six different kinds. besides the two great groups we have named, the hydra-like animals and the sea-anemone-like animals, the coelenterata contain a third group, the ctenophora, or comb-bearers, so called on account of their possessing bands of cilia, fancifully compared to the teeth of a comb. at first sight most of them somewhat resemble jelly-fishes, being transparent forms swimming near the surface of the sea. they are carnivorous, and some of them highly phosphorescent at night. the gastric cavity is divided up into branches. the representatives of the ctenophores, most often seen on our own coasts, are small rounded forms. two remarks must be added before quitting the subject of the coelenterata. firstly, the description of them as two-layered animals is one that only applies typically and to the simpler forms. in others, such as the jelly-fishes, there is an intermediate layer of jelly, which appears to acquire a cellular structure by the immigration of cells derived from the primary layers. thus we see, within the group of the coelenterata, the gradual establishment of that third body-layer, which is found in all animals of higher structure. scarcely indicated in _hydra_, as a faint trace of a boundary-line (lamella) between the ectoderm and endoderm, it attains a good thickness in the jelly-fish and ctenophora. in animals of higher structure the third body-layer, being now fully established, is cellular from its beginning in the embryo; in the coelenterata its gradual formation is to be traced. secondly, it must be remarked that the colonial structure and the arrangement sometimes concomitant with it of "alternation of generations," is by no means confined to the coelenterata. both are seen in other forms of life, in which the units, or zooids, differ greatly in structure from those of this group. table showing the classification of the coelenterata { hydrozoa, or { hydra-like { animals. =grade ii.= { { the two-layered =coelenterata.= { actinozoa, or animals. { sea-anemone-like { animals. { { { ctenophora. chapter vi the sponges many who are familiar with the domestic sponge have never seen a sponge in a growing state, and would find it almost impossible to realise that a sponge may be a thing of beauty. and yet sponges are quite common on the rocky shores of our own country. it is true that they do not form large masses, like the sponges grown in warmer seas, which we import; but the smaller growths, massed together, often cover a considerable space of rock, and are conspicuous by their beautiful colouring. some sponges are crimson, and some green; while one of the commonest is a brilliant orange-yellow. the latter may often be found near low-tide mark, on a shelf of rock under growing seaweed. if the explorer has any doubt what the object is, it may easily be identified by the touch, which though moist and firm in the growing state, is still the unmistakable "feel" of sponge. where the receding tide exposes a large surface of steep rock, for instance in caves, sponges may be found covering the rocks as thickly as mosses do on land. masses of dead sponge, consisting of branching parallel fingers a few inches long, may often be found in the dead state, washed up on the shore; these are the usual drab colour of a dead sponge. the encrusting sponges which grow on rocks present a mass, so to speak, of little hillocks: in kinds which attain a larger growth, these may almost be described as branches. each little hillock or branch has a hole at the top; and on the exterior of the rounded mass of the bath-sponge may be found numbers of such holes. we should naturally suppose that these holes were the mouths of the various sponge branches, especially since they lead to the central cavity of the branch, and thus to that of the whole sponge; and indeed they are known by the latin name of "oscula," little mouths. they are, however, nothing of the sort; the sponge once had a mouth, a single one, when it was young, but the adult sponge has lost it. for the young sponge is at first a little free-swimming, two-layered animal of the type which has been described above as the gastrula larva. when it gets old enough to settle down in life, it sinks upon some suitable surface, and becomes fixed to it, mouth downward: the mouth is thus lost. how, then, is the animal to be fed? as it grows, there is developed in its substance a system of hollow spaces, which communicate with the exterior by means of microscopic pores. through the latter, water is drawn in, and passes, after devious wanderings, to the central cavity of the animal, whence it is expelled by the so-called osculum. at first, the young sponge has but one cavity and one osculum; but by degrees the sponge branches and spreads, the cavity of each new portion remaining in connection with the main cavity. if, as they grow in size, the branches touch one another, they sometimes coalesce--a fact which renders the growth of the sponge in some cases a very complicated matter. it will be seen from the above description that the sponge is a sort of living filter. as the water passes in through the pores, it deposits in the substance of the sponge all the little organisms that it contains; on these the sponge feeds. it will naturally be asked, how does this living filter work? water will not pass through small holes to flow out again at large ones in an upward direction, unless helped by some mechanism. how is this supplied? by the industry of the cells of the sponge. its canal-system includes a set of wide chambers, lined with cells which have long cilia, called flagella. these flagella, constantly moving in one direction (like the fan of a ventilator), create a current, which passes the water on with such force that it reaches the central cavity, whence it is expelled through the oscula. these chambers do not communicate directly with the exterior. they are closed, except at certain small holes, the "prosopyles," where they take in the water that enters from spaces connected with the pores. at the main end of the chamber is an aperture called the "apopyle," capable of being partly closed, and leading into an excurrent passage. this last communicates with the central cavity of the sponge. it will be seen that the topography of the sponge is a very complicated business. all its details have been studied by means of thin sections specially prepared and placed under the microscope (see p. ); in these the labyrinth of canals and chambers is seen cut through at various points; the cells lining them and dividing them may be individually studied. the passage of water through the sponge was first observed by robert grant; many of the most recent discoveries regarding the structure of sponges we owe to professor sollas. we have not yet explained what our living filter does with its food when it gets it. the ciliated cells of the internal lining take in solid particles just as amoeba does; and from these they may be passed on to the cells of the middle layer, amoeboid cells, which can move about. these cells are considered to be derived from the primary layers of the body, especially the inner one, and to have wandered into a cellless middle layer, comparable in nature with that of some coelenterates. the sponge is full of firm or gritty particles, which form its skeleton, and remain when the sponge is dead, and the softer parts decayed. these, when magnified, often present beautiful and curious shapes. the use of them is not only to support the body, but also to prevent the sponge from being eaten by other animals. there is found in the english canals and rivers a small, fresh-water sponge, usually greenish in colour. this is named _spongilla fluviatilis_, the river-sponge, and affords an exception to the usual marine distribution of sponges. in the winter it dies gradually away, at the same time forming asexual buds, or "gemmules," in the interior of its substance, which are liberated in the spring, and become young sponges. table showing the classification of sponges { calcarea, with calcareous { =porifera.= { skeleton. =grade ii.= { { two-layered { { animals, or { { non-calcarea, with acoclomata. { { skeleton absent or { { flinty. { =coelenterata.= some of the marine sponges are parasitic. most people have doubtless found on the sea-shore now and then a dead oyster-shell, completely riddled with small round holes, very similar in appearance to those seen in "worm-eaten" wood. these are the work of _clione_, a parasitic sponge which is very fatal to the oyster. at first sight it seems a puzzle how the sponge made its way into the hard shell; it has no mouth to bite or suck its way into the solid substance. the cells of the sponge, however, wear away the lime of the shell by means of some acid chemical action. not only so, but they can attack stones as well, when these consist of limestone; and on some parts of the coast bits of sponge-eaten limestone washed up on the beach are quite common objects. they are pierced all through by holes, so that their appearance would suggest a sponge carved in stone, but for the fact that the holes are fairly uniform in size. such stones, lying on the shore, often puzzle the finder, when they contain no apparent trace of the tenant that has worked its way through them. the sponges have received the name of porifera, on account of the structure above described. they are often classed with the coelenterata, because, among other reasons, they practically belong to the two-layered type of structure, and because they form a complex organism that may almost be called a colony. but some prefer to place them in a group by themselves, apart from the coelenterata. the chief reason of this is that the sponges, as compared with a primitive two-layered type indicated by their own larvæ, are turned upside down, the mouth being, as above stated, originally situated at the fixed end. chapter vii worms when the great naturalist, linnæus, framed his classification of the animal kingdom, he included in the division vermes or worms, nearly everything except the vertebrates and insects. this assemblage would have been more correctly styled if instead of "vermes" it had been described as "animals unsorted." subsequent zoologists have by degrees picked out and separated from the vermes first one group of animals and then another. but the process is still going on, and several of the groups which are still classed under the name of "worms" might, with very great justification, be separated from each other; it is custom, rather than family resemblance, that accounts for their being retained under one heading. widely although the various "worms" may differ from one another, one thing may be stated regarding the most of them, and that is, that they "crawl"; that is to say, they move along by means of successive contractions of successive parts of the muscular wall of their elongated bodies. this "crawling" mode of progress is the chief thing involved in the popular idea of a worm; but the popular definition of a worm includes also the larvæ of insects, such as caterpillars and beetle-grubs. the latter, it must be noted, crawl with the assistance of legs, while the true worms crawl without any such assistance. any adornments that they may possess, whatever else they may be, are not legs. the worms were formerly included along with the insects and lobsters, in a division called annulosa, or, ring-bodied animals, but it has now long been recognised that the latter are worthy of a division to themselves. it will easily be seen, however, that the term ring-bodied animals is very appropriate to all of them. if we look at either an earthworm or a lobster, we can but recognise that the body consists of a number of successive parts very similar to each other; and since the body of each is, in section, more or less round, these successive parts may very aptly be termed rings. modern writers, however, prefer to call these parts not rings, but metameres, _i.e._ successive parts. the symmetrical arrangement of the body in a series of such parts is called "metamerism"; and the animals which possess it are said to be "metameric" in structure. sometimes also the successive parts are spoken of as "segments." compare fig. ; _a_ and _c_ show the successive body-rings of worms. the earthworm, with its many rings, is one of the higher forms among the worms. among the lowest forms there are worms in which the ring structure cannot be detected. between the limits thus marked out, there lies, so to speak, the battleground of modern zoology. for the origin of metamerism, and the pedigree of vertebrates, are among the questions that are being discussed in connection with various groups of the worms. among the lowest forms of worms are the planarian worms, already alluded to as examples of the third grade of animal existence. these belong to the class turbellaria, which is represented by plenty of both fresh water and marine forms in our own country and on its coast. the turbellaria are divided into groups called acoela, dendrocoela, and rhabdocoela. these names allude to the intestine, which in the first group is wanting, in the second branched like a tree, and in the third straight. the cestoda or tape-worms, which absorb nourishment through the skin, and therefore need no alimentary canal, and possess none; and the trematodes, represented by the liver-fluke, which infests sheep, together make up the group of flat-worms (platyhelminthes), of which mention has already been made (p. ). in all of them the body is more or less flat, and the digestive cavity, like that of coelenterates, has but one opening, the mouth. the life-history of parasitic worms is described in a well-known volume by leuckart, which forms the basis of our knowledge on the subject. since its publication, discoveries regarding parasites have been constantly added by other observers. the history of the liver-fluke is a most complicated example of alternation of generations. the adult form infests the sheep's liver. there it produces eggs, which afterwards find their way into water. here they die unless they find their way into a certain water-snail, which many of them do. within this snail--_linnæa truncatula_--the egg develops into a sac-like body, called a sporocyst. this produces within itself numbers of a small creature which is called the redia form. these in turn produce a tailed form, called a cercaria, which gets out of the snail, swims in water, and finally settles down on some plant. here it is eaten by an unfortunate sheep, within which it develops into the adult fluke. the other great divisions of the vermes are as follows: the nematodes or thread-worms, a group of parasites which includes the dreaded _trichina_; the nemertines, a group mostly carnivorous, possessing a curious proboscis, and often an armed skin; the leeches or hirudinea, and finally, the chætopods (bristle-footed worms), the highest group of all, containing the forms often spoken of as annelides--_i.e._ ring-shaped worms. these last are again subdivided into the following: the archiannelida or primitive annelids, some of which have a curious ciliated larva, already referred to (p. ) as the typical trochosphere or wheel-ball; the oligochæta (few-bristles), which include the familiar earthworms; and the polychæta (many-bristles). of the latter, some, the tubicola, live in tubes which may or may not be fixed to some object; while others, the errantia, or wanderers, are free and very active. _nereis_, the rainbow worm (p. ) may be named as an example. our illustration shows instances of each group. _a_ is the sea-mouse, a bristly creature so named by some very imaginative person. it has two kinds of bristles, long and short, the former being possessed of a peculiar lustre (see p. ). _c_ is _syllis_, one of a very curious family of worms. in both _a_ and _c_ are seen a row of paired appendages; these are not "legs," but expansions called "parapodia" which serve the purpose of legs, besides which they frequently act as breathing organs, a special part being appropriated to this purpose. each of these animals is active and carnivorous, and has a head. the syllidæ are remarkable for the very peculiar way in which they divide, new individuals being formed and cast off from the end of the body. there is, however, a deep-sea form of _syllis_ which divides in a very odd manner, giving rise to new individuals placed transversely. the result is a most extraordinary looking creature, a network of worms with numerous heads, each branch being eventually provided with one of its own. [illustration: fig. .--worms. _a_, a sea-mouse, _aphrodite aculeata_; _b_, _terebella littoralis_; _c_, _syllis_; _d_, _serpula vermicularis_; _e_, _spirorbis nautiloides_, on a piece of seaweed.] the tube-dwelling worms are represented in our picture by _terebella_, _serpula_ and _spirorbis_, all very common forms on the english coasts. the _terebella_ glues around its body a number of grains of sand and bits of shell, thus forming a case; the projecting threads at the head end are the gill-filaments, borne by the anterior segments of the body. these are plumed; the thread-like structures which are seen to lie in front of them are the tentacles or feelers. _d_, _serpula_, is common on shells and stones. the animal has a plumy bunch of gill-filaments, brilliantly coloured, and a stopper with which it can close the mouth of its tube. this precaution is necessary to keep out its predatory cousins belonging to the errantia, who poke in their heads and eat the tube-dwelling worms. _e_ is _spirorbis_, a minute form with a coiled tube, which looks at first sight like a small univalve shell. it is common everywhere, on shells and stones, and encrusting fuci and other seaweeds, which it sometimes covers almost completely. spirorbis also has plume-like gills and a stopper. in the latter is a cavity where the creature's eggs are incubated for a time. the reader will have no difficulty in finding and identifying both _serpula_ and _spirorbis_. _terebella_ is frequently washed up on a sandy shore. on the lancashire coast one may feel sure of finding this and many other sand-dwelling animals, after an east wind. the east wind, driving back the water at low tide, kills these creatures with cold, and presently they are washed up dead or dying by the high tide. _pectinaria_, another worm with a tube of sand-grains, in which, however, the body lies loosely within the tube, may also be found in thousands under the same circumstances. table showing the classification of vermes or worms =grade iii.= { { with mesoderm, { platyhelminthes, { _a._ turbellaria or planarians. but without { or flat-worms. { _b._ cestoda or tape-worms. body-cavity. { { _c._ trematoda or fluke-worms. =grade iv.= { nemertines. with mesoderm { nematoda or thread-worms. and { hirudinia body-cavity. { or leeches. { _a._ archiannelids. { { { chÆtopoda. { _b._ oligochÆta. { { _c._ polychÆta. { (_a_) tubieola. { (_b_) errantia. we must not forget to say something regarding the most commonly known member of the vermes, the familiar earthworm. the worms are the first of the great group of animal life in which we find true land animals. there are terrestrial forms among the lowest worms, at least forms that live in earth that is damp; but the earthworm is in the strictest sense a terrestrial animal. darwin showed that it not only dwells in the soil, but is in a sense the manufacturer of soil, since the fertility of the earth depends greatly upon the work of earthworms. they pass the soil through their bodies, digesting the organic particles they find in it, and thereby loosen the soil, reduce it to a state of fine division, and render it more fit to support the growth of plants. the "worm-casts" formed by the soil that the earthworm has passed through its body may not have been noticed by everybody. more obvious are the worm-casts in sand left by the sand-dwelling marine annelids. these everyone must have seen who has walked on a sandy shore at low tide. the worms include many puzzling forms, which have not been alluded to here. among these must not be forgotten the rotifers, or wheel-bearing animals. these are of minute size, and when first discovered were therefore placed amongst the infusoria. they are common in ponds. chapter viii arthropoda, the lobsters, spiders and insects the above is a very descriptive name for a division which includes the crabs and lobsters and the insects. formerly they were included, along with the worms, under the name annulosa, the ringed animals. they resemble these as possessing what is termed metameric symmetry, but they are distinguished from them as the leggy animals, a fact which is explained in the name, arthropoda, joint-footed. worms, as we have seen, have no true legs, but the arthropods, theoretically, have a pair of legs to every ring. in some of the lower members of the group this is literally the case, the centipedes, or hundred-footed animals, for example (fig. ). in higher forms the number of legs is greatly reduced; several successive rings may become merged with one another, losing, along with their independence, their legs. the true insects, thus, have only three pairs of legs and the spiders four. [illustration: fig. .--a centipede, _lithobius elongatus_, from tunis, slightly reduced in size.] what are theoretically regarded as legs, however, may practically be turned to many other uses, according to the position of the particular body-ring to which they are attached. thus, in the case of a body-ring near the mouth, we find such things as "jaw-feet," maxillipedes--that is to say, legs used for jaws. it consequently results that zoologists are sometimes driven to speak of "walking legs," or, hiding the tautology under a latin phrase, "ambulatory legs"; and absurd although this may seem, it is sometimes quite necessary for the sake of accuracy. it is therefore more convenient to speak of the "appendages" of a body-ring than of its legs. for this vague term can be applied equally to all the row, whatever their uses. among the different forms taken by the "appendages" are those of "antennæ," long, hair-like feelers attached to the head; "chelæ," or claws, such as the large claws of the lobster; "cheliceræ," or "claw-horns," tearing appendages attached to the head; "mandibles," mouth appendages used for biting, etc., etc. the reader who wishes to attain a clear idea of the structure of a segmented animal, and of the ways in which its parts are modified, should consult huxley's classical study of "the crayfish" (international science series). the arthropoda include two main groups--the crustacea, or jointed animals of the water, which breathe by gills; the insects, or jointed animals of the land, which breathe through tubes in their sides, called tracheæ. the crustacea include the familiar crabs and lobsters. these are among their highest forms as well as their largest, and if we begin at the beginning we must seek much smaller forms. the group called entomostraca include the so-called freshwater flea, a very active little thing found in english ditches, and a great many other freshwater forms: also the little cypris, which has a shield forming a sort of bivalve-shell, and is interesting from its wide occurrence as a fossil form. most of the entomostraca have a larval form called a nauplius; but this larva refuses to tell us anything about the past history of the arthropods. it is itself already a jointed animal with legs. so we see that the arthropods, unlike the worms and the chordata, have obliterated all record of their poor relations. the parasitic "fish-lice," so-called, are entomostracous crustacea, often greatly degenerated in consequence of their habit of life. some live in the gill-chambers of a fish, some on, or even embedded in the skin. [illustration: fig. .--shell of the bell barnacle, _balanus tintinnabulum_, one-half the natural size. the figure shows several successive generations, perched one upon another.] among the most curiously modified forms of the crustacea are the barnacles or cirripedia. these creatures, like the sponges, have a free-swimming larvæ, which eventually fixes itself by its anterior end, so that the adult animal passes its existence upside down. the young is an ordinary little creature with jointed legs, but the adult protects itself by a strange armour of shell. an intermediate stage exists in which the creature eats no food; it has therefore been compared with the chrysalis of insects. at the top of the adult shell two little valves open and shut, allowing the legs to dart out and seize upon prey. these legs, gathered into a bunch, and extended and retracted together, remind one of the fingers of a hand opening and closing. they are clothed with a fringe of "cirrhi" or small processes; hence the name of the group. the common barnacle of our own shores, sometimes called the acorn-shell, is found on shells and stones, and often on those that are left uncovered between tides. in places where the rocks of the coast are very steep, a belt of white, several feet or yards deep, may often be seen above low-water mark. this white zone, when examined more nearly, is found to consist of barnacles, so crowded together that they obscure the natural colour of the rock. the common barnacle is one of the smaller species of the genus: in warmer seas barnacles attain to a much greater size (figs. and ). [illustration: fig. .--shells of a barnacle, _balanus hameri_, found in european and north american seas, natural size.] the higher crustacea, malacostraca, include the familiar crabs and lobsters, decapoda. the lobsters receive the name of macrura or big-tails; associated with them are the shrimps and the hermit-crabs (fig. ). the latter are therefore not crabs at all, but somewhat divergent lobsters. their tails are soft, and they thus require protection: they choose the dried shell of some univalve mollusc and live in it (fig. ). how far the case is that they need a house because their tails are soft, and how far the contrary is true that their tails are soft because they live in a house, it would be difficult to say. readers of another volume in this series, professor hickson's "story of animal life in the sea," will remember that the hermit-crab often offers a curious instance of "commensalism" or partnership with other animals. the hermit-crab was, in fact, one of the earliest instances in which such a partnership was observed, the companion being in this case a sea-anemone perched on the shell in which the crab lives. [illustration: fig. .--hermit crabs. _a_, _aniculus typicus_, from the indo-pacific seas, one-half of the natural size. _b_, _caternus tibicen_, from the indo pacific seas, slightly enlarged.] the true crabs are called brachyura, or short-tails; for obvious reasons, the tail of a crab being very curiously modified and tucked in under the carapace or "shell." a form exceptional in the fact that frequents the land is the land-crab of the west indies (fig. ). another land crustacean, _birgus latro_, the robber crab, belongs to the previous group. [illustration: fig. .--land crab, _gecarcinus ruricola_, from the west indies, one-half of the natural size.] in addition to the above the malacostraca include the arthrostraca, or crustaceans which have the front of the body jointed as well as the tail, so that there is no large shield formed by the fused armour of several segments (cephalo-thoracic shield, _cf._ figs. and ), as in crabs and lobsters. the amphipoda, or sand-hoppers, sometimes called sand-fleas, are familiar examples of these. there are several common kinds found on our english shores, and sometimes they appear in such numbers, hopping above sand or seaweed left by the tide, that they seem to form a sort of cloud, every unit of which, however, is but in the air an instant, falling and giving place to some other, while it prepares for a fresh hop. the so-called freshwater shrimp, _gammarus_, is another common member of the amphipoda. fig. shows the general form of a sand-hopper. nearly allied are the isopoda or wood-lice, interesting because they are among the few terrestrial forms of the crustacea; they live, however, in damp places, and are but too well-known in gardens, where the gardener often mis-names them "insects." [illustration: fig. .--a sand-hopper, _pallasea cancellus_, from siberia, natural size.] [illustration: fig. .--a south american spider, _ctenus ferus_, from the amazon region, natural size.] the mention of terrestrial forms would naturally bring us to the discussion of the true insects. in the arthropoda we for the first time meet with terrestrial animals except in scattered instances, and the true insects are the largest and most important group of these. there are, however, various creatures belonging to the arthropoda which are neither crustacea nor yet insects. among these is the familiar spider, an "insect" in popular language, but not so described by the zoologist. among other differences, the true spiders have eight legs, whereas the true insects have only six. fig. shows a typical spider; the eight jointed legs are attached to the thorax ("breastplate"); with the latter the head is united. the abdomen, as in insects, is formed by the fusion of several segments, and has no legs, but it has, however, out of sight, the spinning legs or "spinnerets," out of which the thread of the spider's web is spun. the venom of the spider is not a fable; spiders have poison-glands with ducts which open on the tops of the cheliceræ. they dispose of their prey by sucking it; they do not swallow solid food. the habits and webs of spiders are familiar to every one: their nests, as a rule, are only noticed by close observers. the nest is made of spun threads closely felted together to form a round hollow ball. this the house-spiders hang on a wall or among the rafters of a roof. there are, however, spiders which build their nests under ground; and in this case the nest may be conveniently furnished with a lid, which can be pushed up when the animal wishes to come out. fig. shows the nest of the trap-door spider, so called from the construction of its nest. [illustration: fig. .--nest of the trap-door spider, from the south of france, three-quarters of the natural size.] fig. shows a spider-like animal which, at first sight, seems to have five pairs of legs. in fact, however, it has only three pairs, thus approaching the insects in structure. these three pairs of legs are attached to the thorax, while the head, which is separate from the thorax, unlike that of the true spider, bears two pairs of leg-like appendages. this is the chief of a group which are sometimes placed in a class by themselves, on account of their great differences from real spiders. their head is separated from the thorax; and the thorax is divided into three segments; these, however, do not come out clearly in the diagram. the head bears, posteriorly, a pair of appendages which are practically legs; in front of these a pair of long "pedipalps" or "foot-feelers"; and quite in front the comparatively short "cheliceræ." these creatures are very venomous; they move about by night to seek their prey. [illustration: fig. .--a venomous spider-like animal, _galeodes araneoides_, from north africa, natural size (diagrammatic).] another kind of spider-like animal is familiar in english fields and waysides--the long-legged spiders, called harvestmen or phalangidæ, which spin no web, but jump upon their prey. unlike the last group, the body differs from that of true spiders, in being more, not less, compact: for not only is the head joined to the thorax, but also the thorax is joined to the abdomen, the outline of the body being therefore almost globular. they receive the name phalangidæ, joint-spiders, from the sharp joints in their long legs. allied also to the spiders are the mites, acarina, so destructive to cheese, flour, and other eatables; and the ticks, which infest the skins of various animals fig. shows a specimen of the latter. they are practically blood-sucking mites. it is the female which attacks animals, while the males live among vegetation. [illustration: fig. .--the tick which infests the hippopotamus, from south africa, twice natural size.] the scorpions, also, are relatives of the spiders. they are inhabitants of hot countries, and highly venomous. they possess a jointed tail, instead of an abdomen with fused segments, and a lobster-like pair of appendages in front; these are the second pair of appendages, the "pedipalps," while the short "cheliceræ" lie in front. in the living animal the tail is often carried curled up over the back. the mites, ticks, and scorpions all agree with the true spiders in possessing eight legs. the king-crab, limulus, has not hitherto been named, because, though living in the sea, it is not a crab at all. it has been shown by professor ray lankester to be related to the spiders. it is a large crab-like creature, which may be seen in museums and aquaria, and is brought from the tropical seas. [illustration: fig. . a scorpion, _buthus kochii_, from india.] before passing to consider the true insects, or hexapoda, something must be said about the discovery of _peripatus_, a creature which comes from cape colony. it has been called caterpillar-like in appearance, but its structure is in many respects so peculiar, that it has been described as a link between insects and the higher worms. its legs, for instance, although jointed, and much resembling those of insects in appearance, are hollow, like the "parapodia" of worms. the centipedes have been already referred to. these, with the millipedes, form the group myriapoda. in outward form, at any rate, these suggest an intermediate position between peripatus and insects. the true insects have a definite head, separated from the thorax, and a constriction between the thorax and the abdomen; this is why they are called insects, "cut in two." the thorax bears three pairs of legs, the mouth has typically three pairs of appendages, which may be altered and modified in many different ways, according to the nature of the animal's way of feeding. while the crustacea are typically adapted for breathing in water by means of their gills, the insects are adapted for breathing air. this they do by means of their air-tubes or tracheæ, the inlets of which open on their sides. these are divided into fine branches, which diffuse air through the body of the insect. two interesting points must be noticed about insects. the first is that they were the first group in which zoologists were able to study the nature of larval forms, long before the microscope had revealed the larval forms of marine animals. the changes undergone by insects are known as metamorphosis, or change of form; and are typically represented by the life-history of a caterpillar, which assumes during the winter a resting form called a chrysalis or pupa, and finally emerges as a butterfly. insects have sometimes been classified according to the greater or less completeness of the metamorphosis they undergo, which in some cases is comparatively slight. it has been mentioned elsewhere that larval forms usually exist where the young animal is placed under very different conditions from the adult. fig. shows two well-known instances of insect larvæ in which this is strikingly the case, the larval form being a water-dweller, and the adult a winged fly. of these, one, the larvæ of the dragon-fly, crawls about free; while the other, the so-called caddis-"worm," builds itself a case of grains of stone and shell cemented together. [illustration: fig. .--larvæ of insects. _a_, of a dragon-fly, enlarged; _b_, house of the larva of the caddis fly, natural size; _c_, the caddis larva itself, enlarged.] the second point of interest is the wonderful part which has been played by insects in modifying the world we live in. we owe the bright colours and the sweet honey of flowers to the selection exercised by insects; they carry the pollen of flowers from one plant to its neighbouring kindred, thus securing cross-fertilization for the advantage of the plant, and thereby perpetuating any quality, such as colour or sweetness, which has originally attracted the insect to the flower. while a few plants only are fertilised by means of the wind, a vast majority depend entirely upon insects for the cross-fertilisation which is so necessary for the production of healthy seeds. we have already alluded to the part played by the earthworm in preparing the soil. if the earthworm has been the ploughman the insect has been the more intelligent gardener, who has filled the world with bright flowers. the earlier forms of plant life had green and inconspicuous flowers (cryptogamia); the phanerogamia, or showy-flowered plants, including all those that bear what are popularly termed flowers, have been produced by the artificial selection exercised by insects long before man was here to admire the result, and to carry on the same work in his gardens. the insect owes its food to the plant world; the plant world owes health and beauty to the constant ministration of the insect; so marvellous is the inter-connexion of one form of life with another. the number of different kinds of insect is enormous; the number of named species has been estimated at nearly a quarter of a million. it is therefore no wonder that entomology, the study of insects, has claimed the rank of a special science. we cannot here do more than refer in passing to a few of the more familiar types. first of all, by right of its work in fertilising flowers, let us take the bee. fig. shows its honeycomb and its larvæ. the bee-grub differs from the caterpillar in its comparative helplessness. it is fed like a child by the worker bees, which are undeveloped females; and it does not leave the cell in which the egg is originally placed until it is ready to take on the adult form. the metamorphosis is complete; that is to say there is a grub stage and a pupa stage before the adult stage. there are three kinds of bees--the workers, which are sexless; the drones, which are males, and the queen, who is the sole female of the hive. the bee-grub may develop into a worker or a queen, according to the food it receives as a grub, the grubs that are intended to become queens being placed in a larger cell. the bee-grub differs from the caterpillar in having no feet. [illustration: fig. .--_a_, larva of the bee, _apis mellifica_; _b_, section of honeycomb.] [illustration: fig. .--ants, _formica rufa_, english, enlarged. _a_, female; _b_, neuter, or worker.] the ants are nearly allied to the bees, and also have a complete metamorphosis. fig. shows the english red ant, female and neuter. the wings of the female drop off after the pairing season, a fact which has given a name, hymenoptera, to the whole group to which the ant belongs, although the name is often quite inapplicable. a recent discovery in entomology is the fact that ants have a voice. dr. d. sharp of cambridge has described their "stridulating," _i.e._ noise-producing, organs. these consist of parallel ridges present on the sides of certain segments. by working the body up and down, the insect scrapes these ridges with the edge of the preceding segment, so that a musical note is produced, intelligible to other ants. the question has also been investigated by french observers. the principle involved will readily be recognised by those who in childhood were guilty of trying to extract music from a comb. [illustration: fig. .--white ants, _eutermes morio_, from pernambuco, twice the natural size. _a_, soldier; _b_, worker; _c_, young male; _d_, female.] the white ants, so destructive in tropical climates, are not true ants, but belong to a different order. these also live in colonies; like the bees, they have an egg-laying queen. she has a partner, the king. there are neuter soldiers and neuter workers, both wingless, while the male and female have wings, afterwards lost. [illustration: fig. .--cocoons of moths. _a_, compound cocoon of _coenodomuc hockingi_, from india, one-half natural size; _b_, of a silkworm, _bombyx japonica_, one-half natural size; _c_, of green-shaded honey moth; _d_, of death's head moth, one-quarter natural size; _e_, of _metura savendersii_, from new south wales, natural size; _f_, of _castnia endesmia_, from chili, one-sixth of the natural size; _g_, of _attacus attas_ from bombay, one-fourth of the natural size.] the lepidoptera or butterflies and moths receive their name, scaly-winged, from the beautiful microscopic scales with which their wings are covered. fig. shows the cocoons which the larvæ of some of the moths make for themselves in which to pass their pupa stage. some are made wholly of silk, others of dried leaves woven together. fig. shows a moth with its caterpillar, cocoon, and chrysalis. the threads of which a caterpillar weaves its cocoon are familiarly exemplified in the silk of commerce. the caterpillar, in some cases, is gregarious, and builds a common nest (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--a moth, _saturnia pyri_ (s. europe), with its caterpillar, _a_; its cocoon, _b_; cocoon cut open to show chrysalis, _c_; adult insect, _d_.] the beetles, coleoptera, are, like the butterflies, endlessly numerous. they are characterised by the striking difference in their two pairs of wings, of which the anterior pair is strong and horny, and forms, when at rest, a sheath which covers the thinner posterior pair of wings. the metamorphosis is complete in this group also. fig. shows an example which is typical except in one respect--the adult form, namely, is one of the comparatively few instances of adult insects that live in water. [illustration: fig. .--nest of gregarious caterpillar of a moth, _hypsoides_.] [illustration: fig. .--development of an english water-beetle, _dytiscus_. grub; pupa; adult insect.] much has been said above in praise of insects and their wonderful work in selecting flowers. there is, however, another side to this, as the gardener and farmer know too well. while the winged honey seekers help the plants, their larvæ devour them, and so do many other forms of insect. fig. gives us in miniature some of the most notorious insect pests. the work of the locust has been dreaded since the days of the pharaohs and before: the colorado beetle which infests the potato, is a plague as terrible, if more modern. the weevils and caterpillars that destroy trees, though not directly dangerous to our food supply, are sufficiently destructive. the terror of insect pests lies in their vast numbers, which may render an otherwise harmless creature dangerous. i read last year of a curious railway mishap in the united states. a train was brought to a standstill by the wheels sliding on something greasy that covered the track. it proved to be a flock of the so-called "army worm," a variety of caterpillar which travels long distances in crowds, when its numbers have become too many for the supply of food, or when it is about to enter into the pupa stage. these covered the railway track, and the whole country for a long distance; and the "greasiness" of the rails was produced by the crushed bodies of the unfortunate caterpillars. the train was delayed for hours, while a gang of men with brooms cleared the way in front of it. [illustration: fig. . insect pests. _a_, locust, _acridium peregrinum_, one-fourth natural size; _b_, caterpillar of wood leopard moth, _zeutzera Æsculi_, boring in wood, about one-thirtieth of natural size; _c_, colorado beetle, one-fourth natural size; _d_, leaf-rolling weevil of the oak.] chapter ix mollusca, the shell-fish the shell-fish are called mollusca, the soft-bodied animals. it will easily be seen that this name was intended to point out the distinction between them and the arthropoda, as regards the way in which the skin is protected. in the latter, as we have seen, the skin itself is hardened. in the shell-fish, the skin secretes a covering which lies outside it. just as our skins pass out superfluous moisture to the outside, in the form of perspiration, so the skin of the mollusc continually passes to the outside the solid substances which the body has taken in from the sea-water; and by the continual accumulation of these, the shell is formed. this, at least, is the view taken by modern authorities of the formation of the shell in most instances. the juvenile shell-collector usually begins his knowledge of the classification of the mollusca, by learning that shells are classified as univalves and bivalves. this distinction is useful as a beginning. univalves, that is to say shells which consist of one piece, are those of the snail-like animals, gasteropoda, or gastropoda, as some prefer to spell it. bivalves, or shells which consist of two flaps, are those of the lamellibranchiata or animals with plate-like gills, such as the mussel or oyster. let us begin with the former. everybody knows the snail. the snail proper bears a typical univalve shell: though in its relatives (the slugs), the shell is more or less suppressed. the name, gasteropoda (stomach-footed animals), is supposed to be descriptive of the way in which a snail crawls. half getting out of its shell, so to speak, it does its best to lay its body to the ground, and its so-called "foot" is an extensive muscular expansion underlying its body, not just a muscular organ thrust out of the shell, as in some other groups. the shell, the mode of crawling, and the "horns," tipped with eye-specks, and directed, intelligently and inquisitively, towards things of interest--these make up, for most people, the idea of snail. but the most distinctive feature of the class is a less obvious feature, namely, the structure of the tongue. we may see, on any damp day or dewy evening, the snail working away with its tongue at some tender leaf. its tongue is practically a file with which it files away the substance of the leaf, the resulting green mash being thus made ready in minute quantities for the snail to swallow. thus are made the too familiar holes which disfigure the leaves of plants in our garden. when seen under the microscope, the file-like structure of the tongue is visible; indeed, in large tongues, it may, to some extent, be made out with the naked eye. across the tongue, which is a flat ribbon-like structure, there runs a pattern of small teeth, bilaterally symmetrical, and this pattern is repeated over and over again throughout the whole length of the tongue. it might be thought that snails' tongues, being so much alike in their mode of use, would not need to be very various in pattern: but far from this, they vary in appearance as much as the shell. not only is there a different pattern for every different order of the class, but a different pattern for every genus; nay, there are even distinctions between the tongues of different species in the same genus. consequently some authorities on shell-fish prefer to classify them by their tongues, a classification which for the most part holds good. so characteristic is the tongue of the gasteropod, that when new animals have turned up which were difficult to classify by means of the structure of the body, they have been finally recognised as molluscs, somewhat related to the snails, by the tongue. this file-like tongue-ribbon of the snails is often called the odontophore or tooth-carrier; sometimes the part which actually bears the teeth receives the name of the radula. the snail and its relative, the slugs, belong to the pulmonate (_i.e._ air-breathing) division of the gasteropoda. the sea-slugs, in which, like the land slugs, the shell is absent or reduced, are relatives of the land snails. some of those found on our own shores are handsome creatures, brilliantly coloured. both groups fall under the division euthyneura, while the majority of the marine univalves belong to the division streptoneura (_i.e._ gasteropods with twisted nerves). the gasteropods, in the course of the evolution of their shell, have had the body thrown crooked by the burden of carrying it; the streptoneura are the forms in which this crookedness is most pronounced; in the euthyneura it is less so. there are degrees of crookedness even among the streptoneura; and the limpet is less crooked than the periwinkle (see table, p. ). the older classifications of the gasteropoda were largely founded on the characters of the shell; but these, though in the main they hold good, have required some modifications in recent times. conchology, the study of shells, was at one time the hobby of many collectors whose knowledge of the animals possessing the shells was not of a very extensive kind; and consequently the very name of conchology is often enough to ruffle the feelings of the zoologist of the present day. yet many interesting problems of variation may be studied from shells alone, by those whose circumstances forbid them to study the living animal. nor is there any branch of zoology which is more useful to the teacher who wishes to catch the eye and the attention of the beginner in the study of natural history, especially if the beginner is young, as beginners ought to be. therefore we must by no means undervalue the past labours of conchologists, or the valuable collections which their industry has brought together and set in order for the benefit of the world. for example of the most crooked, or azygobranchiate division of the streptoneura, turn now to fig. , in which we see a typical gasteropod shell, _murex ramosus_, the branchy murex, aptly enough named from the many prickly branches which beset it. these rough points are probably assumed for protective purposes; any animal that might wish to dine upon the _murex ramosus_ would think twice before trying to swallow it--the morsel of shell-fish is so small, its shelly case so large and so prickly. if we look for its nearest english relative, that is _murex erinaceus_, the hedgehog murex, or sting-winkle. this, though a comparatively plain shell, has still enough rough ridges upon it to have secured it a comparison to the prickly hedgehog. perhaps the most prickly member of the genus, however, is _murex tenuispina_, sometimes called venus' comb, because the crowded parallel spines which decorate the elongated front of the shell somewhat resemble the parallel teeth of a comb. [illustration: fig. .--the branchy murex, _m. ramosus_, a typical specimen of the shell of the carnivorous gasteropods. _sp._, spire or posterior end of the shell; _s_, siphon or anterior end of the shell. fig. a, shows the mouth of the shell; fig. b, the exterior only. less than one-half the natural size.] how does the _murex_ get its living? let us notice the shape of the shell, drawn out to a point, at the end opposite to the spire. according to the older classification of the mollusca, now somewhat fallen out of use, this point marks the shell as belonging to one of the siphonostomata (shell-fish with a siphon at the mouth of the shell, _i.e._). these shell-fish are, with few exceptions, carnivorous; not that the siphon shape of the shell has any direct connection with the animal's way of feeding. just as the snail files among soft vegetable substances, so the murex and many of its relations file away much harder things. a sting-winkle, or a dog-whelk, can sit down over a helpless bivalve shell-fish, and patiently file away, until it has worked a neat round hole in the protecting shell of the latter. you may find, among the dead shells on any sandy part of the english coast, any number of bivalve half-shells with a neat little round hole in them, indicating unmistakeably how the tenant came to its death. there is some controversy as to the spot chosen by the assailant for its attack. some authorities have stated that the predatory mollusc is so wise that it knows where to find a weak spot, and makes a hole just over some vital organ of the bivalve, or else above its adductor muscles, so that, when these are cut, the half-shells cannot be drawn tightly together and kept shut. recently this has been denied, and statistics of the attacks of _purpura_, the common small whelk, a relation of the _murex_, on _mytilus edulis_, the common mussel, have shown that the perforation occurs in every part of the shell. it is possible, however, that the mussel, from the peculiar shape of its shell, offers an exceptional case; and i am inclined to think that in the case of bivalves of a more flattened shape, the earlier statement holds true. at south shields, england, perforated half-shells of the common _venus_ (fig. ) are so abundant that the children string them for necklaces; yet i have never been able, by the most industrious search, to find more than one or two specimens in which the hole is at all near the lip of the shell. it is possible that these exceptional instances were the work of a young and inexperienced univalve mollusc, or a stupid one. it is possible, also, that the mode of attack differs somewhat according to the species of the assailant. (it should perhaps be explained, for the benefit of those who have no experience in the ways of children or of shell necklaces, that the hole must be moderately near the beak of the shell, to enable the shell to "sit" properly on a string. every unit in the necklace may therefore be counted as one in favour of the older theory.) many of the siphonostomatous molluscs are surprisingly active and strong, so that they are well fitted for a predatory existence. in fact, they not only eat bivalves, but occasionally attack the vegetable-feeding univalves when nothing better is to be got, so that occasionally the shells of these also may be found displaying the deadly little round hole we have described. [illustration: fig. .--half shells of the common venus, several of them perforated by carnivorous molluscs. from south shields, england.] let us contrast with the _murex_ one of the shells which are "holostomatous," _i.e._ possessing an unindented shell-mouth--that is to say, one without a "siphon." the common edible periwinkle, _littorina littorea_, may be taken as an example. no shell is more familiar; even the town-dweller, who has never found it on the sea-shore, has seen it often on stalls in the slums. the mouth of the shell is quite round and unindented, and in this case the character holds good as the mark of a vegetable-feeder--a non-predatory sea-snail. it is hardly necessary to remind the reader that its name (the shore-shell) is given it because it lives where the tide leaves the rocks exposed during part of the day. another common species of _littorina_, which frequently lives a little lower down, where the large sea-weeds grow, has been described in chapter ii.; and another, _l. rudis_, lives a little higher up, so that it spends most of its time in a dry state, and is fast on its way to become a land-shell. at most of the familiar english seaside resorts one may see dozens of it baking in a hot july sun on rocks where only the highest tides can reach them: and yet under these conditions they continue to live and flourish. the periwinkles are remarkable for the great length of the tooth-ribbon, in comparison with the size of the animal. the number of separate teeth upon it has been estimated at . a familiar feature of the common periwinkle is the lid or stopper (operculum), with which the animal can close the mouth of the shell. this is developed and carried by the outside of the animal's foot. in the periwinkle and other english molluscs it is comparatively soft and semi-transparent, and reminds one of a thin slice of horn. in many tropical molluscs, however, it is hard and shelly. the large tropical shells named _turbo_ have massive lids of considerable weight. these shells, which are nearly allied to the pearly top-shells (_trochus_) of the english shores, are sold as ornaments, the outer coat of the shell being partly scraped off to show the inner coat of pearl: it is rarely, however, that the purchaser obtains a lid, or even knows that the creature had one. the reverse is the case with some of the smaller kinds, the lids of which, being brightly coloured, are imported without the shell, and sometimes set as articles of jewellery. some of these are of a bright green hue. while the lids of the holostomata are rounded in shape, those that belong to the siphonostomatous shells are necessarily more or less modified so as to fit the mouth of the shell, and are consequently oval or even claw-like in shape. the sting-winkle already spoken of, the common small whelk, _purpura lapillus_, and the large whelk, _buccinum undatum_, are common shell-fish in which the elongated lid may be studied. the lid is not, however, like the tongue-ribbon, an essential feature of the structure of every univalve mollusc.[d] not only are there special instances in which it is greatly modified, but also there are whole groups of univalve molluscs in which it is absent. [d] there are one or two exceptional cases of gasteropod molluscs that have no tongue-ribbon. the majority of these are parasitic forms, which can get their food without the trouble of filing it down. a curious suggestion has been made with regard to the lids of univalve shell-fish; namely, that the snapping to of the lid is capable of producing a sound, which may perhaps be audible at a distance under the water. various molluscs have been credited with producing sounds, either by muscular movements or by the grating of the shell as the animal walks. the common tortoise-shell snail, _helix aspersa_, sometimes makes a most alarming noise when crawling over a window. it has been disputed whether the sounds thus made are produced by the grating of the creature's tongue-ribbon on the glass, as it files off small particles of algae and vegetable moulds, which are invisible to our eyes: or whether they are sounds due to suction of the muscular surfaces, such as may be produced by drawing a wet finger across glass. the noise, however produced, is, as i can testify from experience, sufficiently loud and weird to be very startling, if heard in the dead of night. turn now to the bivalves or lamellibranchiate molluscs, which include the familiar oyster, cockle, and mussel. these are also known as the pelecypoda, and as the aglossa, or molluscs without a tongue-ribbon. the name lamellibranchiate refers to the shape of the gills--"plate-like," or flat; the name pelecypoda to the shape of the foot, "hatchet-foot." the animal usually chosen as a type of these, the fresh-water mussel, is rather a dull sort of creature, so we have chosen a prettier and more lively specimen as a representative of the class; namely, one of the scallops, _pecten opercularis_, sometimes called the quin, the shell of which is shown in the frontispiece of the book. this is one of the most beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful, of the english shells. the generic name, _pecten_, the comb-shell, probably refers, not to the shape of the gills, which is somewhat peculiar, but to the marking of the shell, which presents raised ridges, side by side. anyone familiar with shells will see at once that this is an unusual pattern. there are plenty of bivalve shells with concentric ridge markings, comparatively few with radiating ridges. we shall see presently that there is a good reason for this. the specific name "opercularis," lid-like, refers to the neat round shape of the shell. each half of the shell has a pair of "ears," so-called. the person who first gave this name to these flaps of shell, three of which are three-cornered and the fourth nondescript, must have been familiar in his youth with books afflicted with the "dog's-ear" disfigurement; for certainly there is no other kind of ear which greatly resembles these. the notch beneath the irregularly shaped ear is called the "byssal notch": many pectens spin a byssus or thread, like that spun by the common sea-mussel, and thus anchor themselves to fixed objects for a time; this notch is the place where threads of this kind leave the shell. the two valves of the shell differ in depth, one being flatter than the other; and the "ears" of the two valves differ in shape. the inside of the shell shows muscular impressions, but these cannot be seen in a photograph. the picture, however, shows the strong hinge-ligament which joins the halves of the shell, and the difference in depth and shape of the two valves. the valve on which the animal usually lies is the lighter in colour of the two, and has one ear much longer than the other. the creature swims by means of the "mantle," or muscular margin of the body. it contracts this suddenly, after first opening the shell and taking in as much water as possible. thus the water is squeezed out again, and the effect of this is to propel the animal in an opposite direction. now we are in a position to understand a little more about the shape of the shell. these curious "ears" possessed by the two valves, together form a straight, strong edge, which cuts the water as the animal flies along. it reminds us of a ship's prow, and not without reason, for the use of each is the same. a boat's sharp prow, compared with the rounded front of a "tub," makes all the difference in the possibilities of straight steering, and favours the putting on of speed: the ears of the shell are not less useful to our scallop. the following account of the swimming powers of this species of scallop, quoted by woodward, was given by the rev. d. landsborough, who observed young specimens, about the size of the small ones in our picture, swimming about in a pool of sea-water, left by the ebbing tide. "their motion was rapid and zigzag; they seemed, by the sudden opening and shutting of their valves, to have the power of darting like an arrow through the water. one jerk carried them some yards, and then by another sudden jerk they were off in a moment on a different tack." to the sharp prow, the _pecten_ owes this capability of arrow-like flight. its eyes are situated on the fringe of its mantle, and consequently near the wide end of the shell; its peculiar mode of progression, therefore, enables it to back away instantly from any enemy it sees. something must be said regarding the interior of the shell. the majority of bivalve shells have a complicated system of so-called "teeth," or interlocking projections, at the hinges of the shell: these exhibit great variety in different kinds of shell, and are therefore often a ready means of distinguishing one shell from another. the scallop, however, is very deficient in this respect, as are also some of its near relations, for instance the oyster and its family group. the fresh-water mussel also gains its name, _anodon_, or _anodonta_, the toothless one, from the same circumstance. the name often puzzles the beginner, who asks, bewildered, "but do bivalves ever have any teeth?" true teeth, of course, they have none--it is the shell-hinge that has teeth, not the animal inside it. not only have the bivalve shell-fish no teeth indeed, or tongue-ribbon, but furthermore they have no head. for this reason the group has not only received the name already mentioned, of aglossa, the tongue-less ones, but also that of lipocephala, _i.e._ molluscs in which the head is not developed. the reason of its absence is not far to seek--a head would be no use inside such a shell. the snail-shell, so differently built, allows freedom for the head; the bivalve mollusc, squeezed in between its valves, has room only for a mouth. we have referred above to the ridges on the outside of the shell. now that we have learnt that the _pecten_ is a very active animal, and moves in the manner described, we see that these ridges run parallel to the direction in which it moves as it darts away ears foremost. let us try to realise what is the effect of this. take a mat with parallel stripes and move it along the floor or table in the direction of the stripes; then try moving it in an opposite direction across the stripes. it is easy to perceive that in the former case one's eye does not detect the movement nearly so soon as in the latter case. to explain this would necessitate a lengthy digression on the subject of optical illusions: that the fact is so everyone may easily ascertain by experiment. the ridges, therefore, converging in the direction towards which the shell is going, are a protective decoration, enabling it to slip away more easily from under the eyes of its foes. the reader will readily recall a parallel instance in the common cockle. this also is a very active creature; it takes leaps by means of a strong muscular foot; and the ridges on the shell, like those of the scallop, converge towards the hinges, that is to say, in the direction in which the shell moves. another instance of a very active shell-fish with similar markings is afforded by certain kinds of lima, a near relative of the scallops. it may be added that all scallops are not equally active, nor all limas; and various modifications of their form and colour might be pointed out which lead us to suspect that in the less active kinds the pattern of ridges is often somewhat obscured by means of these differences. now, take up a comb and draw it over your fingers, firstly _along_ the teeth, and secondly _across_ them, and you will be able to estimate the gain in speed and comfort to the comb-shell, pecten, and to the common cockle, from having its ridges set in the direction in which it is going. were the ridges concentric, as is so often the case in bivalve shell-fish of a more sluggish disposition, the friction caused by the ridges would seriously delay the progress of the shell. something must be added regarding the colouring of the shell, which is vivid, corresponding with that of the animal within. it is capable of great variety, though perhaps not so great as in some of the smaller _pectens_. the predominant shades are pink, crimson and yellow, either separately or mixed; that is to say, some shells are pure pink, some almost pure yellow, some almost pure crimson, while others present every imaginable shade of pinkish yellow, reddish brown and brownish crimson. local variation of colour is so marked that we may suspect the variations in tint to be in some degree protective. the shell also varies considerably in size and strength according to the neighbourhood in which it has grown. this scallop-shell is but one of many: a number of other species are found on our own shores, and many others again in foreign seas. one shell of the english coast is very annoying to the juvenile shell-collector who gathers specimens on the shore. this is _pecten pusio_, a very small and delicate kind, with a raised pattern of fine markings upon the ridges, which are very narrow. a good specimen of the deeper valve is common enough, but the shallow valve, if of any size, is distorted into all manner of shapes, as if it had been squeezed and crumpled. the disappointing character of these specimens, from an æsthetic point of view, is explained when we learn that it not only lies on its shallow valve, but becomes fixed in this position, instead of hopping about freely like the _p. opercularis_. it therefore has frequently to adapt its shape to the nature of the ground where it has happened to fix itself. thus arises the disfigurement of the shell. so far we have only considered two great groups of the mollusca, two which are represented by common shells, familiar to everybody. we must not leave the subject of the mollusca without referring to their most aristocratic group, the cephalopoda. these are represented in museums by the shells of the pearly nautilus, and of its not very near relative, the paper nautilus; and they are represented on english shores by the cuttle-fishes. all these agree with the gasteropoda in the possession of a tongue-ribbon, and in classification are therefore treated with them under the name glossophora. with the pteropods, transparent forms found swimming over the surface of the deep sea, the reader is not likely to have much to do. in classification they are now placed near the sea-slugs. the placophora, or polyplacophora, wholly different from our usual idea of a shell-fish, may be named as creatures which the reader is quite likely to meet with. though not very common, they are widely distributed over our coasts, and may be found near low-tide mark clinging to stones. imagine a wood-louse without any apparent head which has taken to clinging to the rock like a limpet, so that it cannot be removed without injury, and you have a rough idea of their general appearance. _chiton_ is the name of these animals, which have received the group name of polyplacophora, carriers of many plates, because their external covering consists of an armour of successive shelly plates. these also belong to the glossophora or tongue-ribbon carriers, of which they present a comparatively primitive form. reference has already been made to the labours of the earthworm and of the insects, and to their important effects upon the vegetable world. although the mollusca include but one terrestrial group, the snails, they, too, have played an appreciable part in modifying plant life. if we owe our flowers to the insects, we have probably to thank the snail for our medicines. for the snail dislikes bitter-tasting leaves, and lets them alone, thus exercising an artificial selection in favour of the survival of medicinal plants. in the same way the snail has favoured the survival of hairy and thorny plants, upon which it cannot easily crawl. the larval forms of the mollusca differ considerably from the adult. that of _anodon_, the fresh-water mussel, at first received, in consequence, a different name, that of glochidium, by which it is still known, although it has now been long identified as a larval form. it is exceptional in the fact that it is parasitic on fish. the usual molluscan larva is a ciliated creature which has been compared to a modified trochosphere. it is preceded by a gastrula stage, and it develops later on into what is called a "veliger," or "veil-carrying" larva, so called because it has in front a broad two-lobed ciliated expansion, the velum. this larva is adapted for swimming, which is accomplished by means of the velum. in terrestrial molluscs, the development is necessarily much more direct. it is worthy of note that the periwinkle mentioned above, which lives high and dry (_l. rudis_) has no larval form, while its relatives that live under water develop in the usual way. the eggs of mollusca are often enclosed in tough cases, calculated to resist waves and weather. some of these are shown in miniature, in the group of eggs of various kinds, fig. . [illustration: fig. .--eggs (reduced to half the natural size). _a_, egg-capsules of _murex_. _b_, frog's eggs. _c_, eggs of large land-snail. _d_, eggs of snail placed on a leaf. _e_, cockchafer's eggs. _f_, egg-case of cockroach. _g_, egg-cases of locust. _h_, _i_, _j_, eggs of gasteropod molluscs. _h_, _sycotypus_ (_pyrula_). _j_, _fusus_.] table showing the classification of the mollusca { aglossa: the lamellibranchiata, also called { conchifera, and pelecypoda. =mollusca.= { { { glossophora { gasteropoda. { cephalopoda. chapter x the brachiopoda or lamp-shells these were at one time included under the mollusca, on account of their possession of a bivalve shell. this shell, however, is placed practically back and front of the animal, not to the right and left of it, as is the case with the shells of the bivalve mollusca. the name, arm-footed, was given them in reference to a pair of special structures called the arms, bearing a large number of tentacles; it is now more frequently spoken of as the lophophore (see p. ), and regarded as comparable to the lophophore of the polyzoa, spread out into two portions. with the latter group the brachiopods were formerly united by huxley, under the name of molluscoidea. this name is now obsolete, because it is understood that all these creatures are widely different from molluscs; but the theory of relationship of the brachiopoda to the polyzoa, implied in it, still holds good. the chief importance of this group lies in its fossil forms, which are exceedingly numerous, particularly in the mountain limestone of the carboniferous period; it is crowded with their shells, especially a form named, from its elongated shape, productus. the shells of brachiopods are equal-sided; that is to say, the right and left valves match; but they are inequivalve, the ventral valve being much the biggest. it often contains a foramen, or hole, at the beak, for the passage of the pedicle, or stalk, by which the animal is attached to the ground (_e.g._ _terebratula_, _rhynchonella_). sometimes, however, the pedicle passes out between the valves (_lingula_, _e.g._), in which case there is no foramen; or it may be arranged in other ways. sometimes the shell is merely attached to the ground by its side, like an oyster. some forms are enormously widened in a lateral direction, _e.g._ _spirifera_, and the _productus_ above named. _lingula_, among others, is remarkable as being a form that has survived from the earliest geological period to the present day. table showing the classification of the brachiopoda { testicardinis.--shell calcareous, with hinges. { skeleton present in the arms. =brachiopoda.= { { ecardines.--shell comparatively soft, composed { of chitin, only strengthened by deposits { of lime, without hinges. no skeleton in { the arms. the larva, in its best known forms, passes through the typical larval stages of the animal kingdom. it is first a one-layered larva, then a two-layered form, and then becomes a ciliated animal. in this three regions may be distinguished, representing respectively the head, body, and pedicle. the shells of the brachiopoda, including the kinds above named, may be seen by the reader in any geological museum. chapter xi the polyzoa; moss-corals and sea-mats we have already described the creatures which are popularly known as corallines. modern zoologists have long separated off from the corallines of the older writers, a group of animals known as the sea-mats, which also are colonies made up of unit individuals. the common sea-mat, _flustra foliacea_, may be picked up on almost any part of the english coast, being often torn up "by the roots" and washed in by the tide. when fresh it has a pleasant scent, which has been compared to that of lemon verbena, and a pinkish colour, due to the presence of the little inhabitants in their cells. when dry it has no odour, the cells are empty, and the colour a pale drab like that of a dead coralline. its texture is, however, much more crisp and brittle, and less horny, than that of a dead coralline: it grows in flat, forked expansions, much resembling in outline the fronds of several common seaweeds; and each side of these is covered with a diamond pattern of little cells. this crowded arrangement of the cells, with a tendency to assume a geometrical pattern, is the readiest feature by which the beginner may distinguish a sea-mat from a coralline. the latter arrange their cells in a free-growing, tree-like or fernlike form, without any crowding of the units into a geometrical pattern. the division of the flat leaf-like colony by two, resulting in bifurcated branches, is another obvious feature of the sea-mat. covering--and to the botanist's eye disfiguring--the branches of many sea-weeds, and growing upon oyster-shells, tangle-roots, and other fixed objects, we may find many little incrustations which remind us of the lichens of the land: the diamond pattern of little cells shows us, however, that these things are relations of the sea-mats. the name of bryozoa, moss-corals, was formerly given to these growths. many of them bear long hair-like processes at regular intervals; these, which are large enough to be plainly seen with the naked eye, afford a ready means of recognising these creatures. table showing the classification of the polyzoa { ectoprocta, with excretory aperture outside { the ring of tentacles, _e.g._, _flustra_. =polyzoa.= { { endoprocta with excretory aperture inside { the ring of tentacles. the polyzoa include freshwater as well as marine forms. they have a free-swimming larva, which becomes fixed after a time, and gives rise to the adult colonial forms. the zooids of the latter have each an independent head with a crown of tentacles, called the lophophore (crest-carrier); but the fixed ends of their bodies communicate with one another. the hard covering of the colony, which retains its form after the animal is dead, is a kind of hardened skin: the apparent "cells" are the openings through which the individual zooids protrude themselves. sometimes certain of the zooids undergo modification for special purposes: in this way are formed the "avicularia," snapping appendages, probably defensive in purpose, so called because they open and shut like a bird's beak. there are two divisions of the polyzoa, the ectoprocta and the endoprocta. among the latter there is found a form which is not colonial. _phoronis_, a curious worm-like animal, which has a larval form called _actinotrocha_ is sometimes placed in classification near the polyzoa, which it resembles in possessing a crown of tentacles (lophophore). chapter xii the echinodermata everybody knows the star-fish and many people know the sea-urchin. an "urchin" is not a name for a naughty little boy, but the french (_oursin_) for a hedgehog. a sea-urchin is therefore a "sea-hedgehog," a name very appropriate for a creature armed with prickles. the greek word _echinos_ also means a hedgehog, so that the long name given to the group means simply hedgehog-skinned. the prickles attain their maximum in the sea-urchin, but they are well represented in the star-fish, while in the sea-cucumber the general tendency to "prickliness" is much reduced, and represented only by "spicules" (needles) of shelly stuff underneath the skin of the animal. the largest and the most beautiful of the sea-urchins of the english coast is known as the purple-tipped sea-urchin, on account of the beautiful colour of the spines. it lives on rocky coasts, and during very low tides may be seen at home, although it usually takes care not to stray above the water-line. it is a shelly ball with a flat base; its surface is covered with long spines. its mouth, which is in the centre of the base, shows five wicked-looking teeth peeping out. the shell is pierced by what look like hundreds of minute pin-holes, arranged in a complicated pattern; these are the holes through which it pokes its feet, which greatly resemble those of a star-fish, being white suckers with a disc at the end. when thrown out to their full length they are, however, much longer than those of the starfish, for they are naturally obliged to be thrown out to a distance longer than the length of the animal's own prickles. when moored by all its feet, extended from all sides of the shelly ball, the animal presents a curious and pretty sight. large specimens are almost as big as a child's head, but smaller ones are more common. there is a considerable range of variation in colour; not only are various shades of purple found, but also purplish-red and red. the spines are mounted on something resembling a ball and socket joint, with a ring-shaped pad, so that they have a wide range of movement; if any of the spines are touched they are immediately set back over a considerable part of the neighbouring surface. other kinds may be found upon a more sandy shore. these are heart-shaped and much lighter in colour. the shell is thinner and of less weight. these adaptations for lessening the animal's weight enable it to move over sand: the species above described has no occasion for such precautions. when it crawls over rocks and the strong seaweeds that grow on them, there is no fear of its sinking in. the sand-dweller, on the contrary, must take care that it is not swallowed up. [illustration: fig. .--the five-holed sand cake, _mellita pentapora_, a flat sea-urchin from the east coast of tropical north america. _a_, upper surface; =b=, lower surface; _c_, side view.] there are sea-urchins that carry their precautions against sinking to an extreme degree. these are the shield-urchins or clypeastridæ, so-called from their flat shape; they include the american forms popularly known as "sand-cakes." the diagram (fig. ) shows one of the most curious of these flattened forms adapted for moving over fine sand and ooze, and literally "as flat as a pancake." the mouth is approximately in the centre of the lower surface, _b_; the upper surface, _a_, shows a rosette pattern on the top of the shell. this is formed by the rows of holes for the very minute tube feet. in the english sea-urchin above described, which is one of the group called (for that reason) regulares, the rows of holes are uniformly continued all along the rounded sides of the body down to the neighbourhood of the mouth. here they are much restricted, forming merely a rosette at the top of the shell: hence they are described as circumscript or "petaloid." the excretory aperture is shown in the photograph as a smaller dot on one side of the mouth, while in the echinus, on the contrary, it is at the top of the shell. the five odd-looking, elongated holes are a curious individual peculiarity of this sea-urchin. it has already been explained that the shield-urchins are flattened in order to distribute their weight; these holes are a contrivance for still further reducing the weight in comparison with the area. this is when the animal is lying quiet at the bottom of the water, but when it moves about what effect will the presence of the holes produce? flattened animals are usually supposed to derive an advantage from the fact that they sink more slowly through depths of water; as in lying upon the ground, their weight is distributed, and they float, as it were, in the same stratum of water without sinking further down. this creature, on the contrary, has apparently feared lest it should move too slowly when it moves in a vertical direction, and it presents us with an arrangement by means of which its sinking through water is facilitated. water will pass readily through the five holes as the animal goes either up or down, and the resistance of the whole flat area to the water is thus reduced and vertical movement rendered more easy. thus, by one and the same contrivance, the animal has lessened its weight when lying quiet, and diminished the resistance it meets with when it moves. the distribution of the holes, moreover, is such as to regulate the animal's position in sinking, and to prevent it from falling "headlong." for although the creature has, strictly speaking, no "head," yet the end nearest the mouth is the thickest and heaviest part of the "cake," and would naturally tend downwards. this tendency is counteracted by the fact that the thicker end is unperforated, while the thinner and lighter end has a large central hole to diminish its resistance and enable it to sink more rapidly. adapted for living in sand rather than on rocks, but not so extreme in the peculiarity of their form as the shield-urchins, are the heart-urchins, already referred to, shaggy-looking creatures whose fine yellowish-white spines give them almost the appearance of being clothed with fur. the excretory aperture is at the narrow end of the "heart," and the mouth at one side of the lower surface towards the wide end. the complicated apparatus of teeth found in other sea-urchins is absent in these. they are abundant on sandy shores. during the severe winter of - , when the mersey at liverpool was frozen nearly for one memorable day, and filled with floating ice for many more, i saw the shore beyond new brighton heaped all along with a bank, often two feet across, of the common heart-urchin. these, which afforded a fine feast for the hungry sea-gulls, had been killed by the intense cold, and afterwards washed ashore by the tide. the vast numbers of this creature which exist on that coast were thus unexpectedly brought to light. these animals are sometimes described as "burrowing" creatures, because they live covered in sand. the term is rather misleading. far from wishing to burrow, they spend their lives in a constant struggle with sand that closes over them only too readily; and their whole structure is adapted to prevent their sinking in a quick-sand. we began our chapter with the sea-urchins, because they are the most important members of the group to which they give their name; but there are forms belonging to the echinodermata that are more familiar to the ordinary observer--the starfishes. those who take an interest in the cultivation of the oyster find them far too familiar--for the starfish is the oyster's deadliest foe, not even excepting man. the common starfish, _asterias rubens_, may constantly be found among stones, about low-tide mark. its manner of walking is peculiar and characteristic. on the under surface of each ray are rows of white sucker-like tube-feet, which can either be drawn in or pushed out. by doing each alternately the animal walks. first the feet are extended to their full length; then the terminal sucking disc of each catches hold of the ground. then the feet are again retracted, while their discs still cling; the effect of this is, naturally, to pull the ray onwards. this process is repeated again and again, until some appreciable degree of movement is effected. the tube-feet are in connection with a system of vessels filled with fluid, known as the water-vascular system of the starfish. the fluid is driven on by muscular contractions until the feet are fully extended, and again driven back when the feet are retracted. the water-vascular system is a structure common to all echinoderms; and vessels of a comparable character are found in some worms. how does the starfish know where it is going? underneath each ray, near the tip, is a little feeler (or tentacle) and a little eye spot. by means of these it gets an idea where each ray is going to; and, since it often moves but one ray at a time, this is sufficient for it. when necessary, however, the several rays can act in concert with one another. the rayed form of the starfishes led to their being at first included in the group of radiate animals, along with the tentacle-bearing coelenterata; but it has long been recognised that they are animals of much higher structure. their very larvæ can barely be brought into comparison with animals so simple as the true "radiates." the snake-stars, or ophiuroidea, are closely allied to the starfishes. in these the arms are thin and sharply defined from the little central disc, instead of sloping gently out of it, as in the starfishes. the rapid wriggling movements of the arms have gained for them their very appropriate name. they are also called brittle stars, because the arms break off easily, sometimes at the will of the animal. several kinds of them are common on our shores, although they are not so common as the ordinary starfishes. fig. shows the general form of a brittle star. [illustration: fig. .--a brittle-star, _ophiopteris antipodum_.] [illustration: fig. . a sea-cucumber, _cucumaria planci_, from naples, natural size.] the sea-cucumbers, holothuroidea, are another group of echinodermata that are represented on our own coasts; by small specimens, however, while the pacific ocean furnishes instances of larger size--the trepangs--which are used by the chinese as articles of food. the name sea-cucumber is given in fanciful comparison to a small gherkin; presumably one that has been very badly pickled--for the colour of the animal is brownish and by no means green. the mouth of a sea-cucumber is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles (partially indicated in the diagram, fig. ). the body is elongated and crawls along: the "star" shape, so characteristic of the echinoderms, is scarcely to be recognised except in cross section, where the longitudinal rows of tube-feet are seen to outline a pentagon. the skeleton of the sea-cucumber is of a very meagre description. instead of forming a rounded case, as in the sea-urchin, it consists only of loose pieces of very small size, situated below the skin. the starfishes are intermediate in this respect. their "skeleton" consists of a vast number of pieces or "ossicles," which are of fair size, but are not closely united, as in the sea-urchin. they are, however, so numerous and so well knit, that the skeleton of a dead starfish presents the complete outward form of the animal. it must be noted that the ordinary skeleton of the sea-urchin is only _apparently_ exterior. as is the case with the ossicles of the starfish and sea-cucumber, the skin lies outside, and the hard particles belong to the middle layer, or mesoderm. in this the skeleton of echinoderms differs from the "shell" of a crab or lobster, which is formed by a hardening of the skin itself. [illustration: fig. .--_a_, head of a stone lily or encrinite, _encrinus liliformis_, a fossil from the muschelkalk of brunswick, natural size. _b_, rock with stalks of encrinites. _c_, section of a stalk.] the crinoidea, encrinites or stone-lilies, form another group of the echinodermata. though still represented by living forms, they attained their maximum development in past ages. the english "mountain limestone" of the carboniferous period is full of their fossilized remains, which form a marble often used for ornamental purposes. the so-called "stone lily" consists of a "head" comparable with the body of a star-fish or other echinoderm, which is borne at the end of a long fixed stalk. the marble above named owes its ornamental appearance to the presence of these stalks, often very long, and cut through at every possible angle. the crinoids have their living representative in english seas, _antedon_, the feather-star (fig. ). on the side opposite the mouth, where, in the encrinite, the stalk would be, there are a group of elongated processes called cirrhi, by means of which the animal can attach itself to stones or seaweeds. when not thus fixed, it swims about, by moving its fringed arms, each of which is forked. it will be seen that when the animal is fixed by its cirrhi, it stands mouth upwards, so that its position compared with that of the starfish or sea-urchin is upside down. the young of the feather-stars have stalks by which they are fixed, like the encrinites; but afterwards the stalk is lost. [illustration: fig. .--a feather-star, _antedon bifida_, british seas, three-quarters of the natural size. the short threads in the middle are the cirrhi.] among fossil echinoderms there are two groups of stalked forms which have no living representatives. these are the cystoidea and the blastoidea. in both of these the stalk bears, as in encrinites, a calyx or head, which is comparable, with the body of the free echinoderms. the sea-urchins possess a swimming larval stage, which goes through remarkable changes after passing out of the two-layered (gastrula) form. it becomes provided with cilia, which are arranged in bands, and outgrowths of peculiar form are established in the case of the sea-urchins, while the larvæ of the other groups also present characteristic shapes. within the larva the adult form develops, the outside of the larva being finally thrown off. in the young feather-star, a subsequent stage of the young animal has a stalk, by which, like the encrinite, it is fixed. this animal therefore is at first free-swimming, afterwards fixed, and again free in its final stage--a remarkable series of changes. these queer-shaped things, the sea-urchins and their allies, are perhaps the last creatures amongst which we should think of looking for relations of the worms. yet the earliest stages of the larva are considered to present a certain amount of resemblance to the wheel-ball larva, which has been referred to elsewhere (pp. and ). still more startling fact, these larvæ have been compared to that of _balanoglossus_, the lowest member of the chordata, and a relation of the vertebrates themselves (see p. ). table showing the classification of the echinodermata { echinoidea, or sea-urchins. { asteroidea, or star-fishes. =echinodermata.= { ophiuroidea, or brittle-stars. { crinoidea, or feather-stars and { stone-lilies. { holothuroidea, or sea-cucumbers. chapter xiii the chordata the older zoologists used to speak of vertebrata and invertebrata as animals with a back-bone and animals without one, and everyone thought it a very natural way of dividing up the animal kingdom. it never occurred to anyone that it was possible to bridge the interval between them and find a link between the two. but now the vertebrata have been compelled to give up their aristocratic pretensions, and own that they have risen from the ranks of the common people of the animal world; in other words, that they are descended from the invertebrates. their family secrets have been published to the world, and now everybody knows that they have poor relations. but how many, and how nearly related? this we do not accurately know; consequently the whole zoological world for many years has concentrated all its energies on attempts to find out the truth about the matter. a great sensation was caused by the first discovery of a poor relation of the vertebrates among the ascidians, or leather-bottle animals. these are named from their shape and texture, for they have a leathery skin. now some of these ascidians have larvæ with a tail; and in the tail there is a long cord-like structure, which in many essential particulars resembles the cord which precedes the back-bone in the vertebrate embryo. this structure is called the notochord (a string down the back). the credit of this great discovery belongs to russia; for the presence of the notochord in the ascidian larva was discovered by a. kowalevsky, in . to the present generation of zoological students, the chordate affinities of ascidians are part of the abc of knowledge; and it is hardly possible for them to realise that it is only thirty years ago since the idea was so new that huxley, in his "text-book of the vertebrata," only alluded to it in a footnote. would-be zoological critics, at a somewhat later period, met the theory with ridicule, for want of better argument. for critics include not only "those who have failed in literature and art," but also those who have failed in science. the majority of the ascidians are sessile animals, which fix themselves, like sea-anemones, to some object when they have passed their earliest stages of growth; and although there are many forms that swim freely, most authorities are inclined to believe that these have arisen by adaptation, and that the kinds that are fixed when adult are the original type of the group. anything more unlike what we should expect to find as a relative of the vertebrates could not possibly be imagined. what has been written about these little animals by various observers would make a whole series of volumes of the size of this one, so many are the puzzles afforded by their internal structure. the arrangement of their organs is in many respects very unsymmetrical. their most striking peculiarity, perhaps, is the nature of the gills. these form a kind of basket-work, consisting of minute holes with intermediate supports; and they are associated with a special cavity outside them called the atrial chamber. into this the gills pass the sea-water which they have breathed. the group, as a whole, is sometimes considered to present evidence of having degenerated from a higher type; but whatever else may be doubtful or obscure in its history, the nature of the larval notochord is quite clear and certain; zoologists have never had any doubt about its nature since the first few years after its discovery. ascidians are not at all uncommon animals on the english coast. some of them may be met with on stones near low-water mark, and i have often seen them on the shells of oysters sold in the shops--for there the town-dwelling naturalist may often find a good many interesting things without much trouble. they are like little lumps of tough jelly; of various colours, according to the kind, red being the most common, and of very indefinite shape. you may see some of the colonial kinds forming pretty star-shaped patterns, attached to various objects, such as stones and the larger seaweeds. the place of ascidians in classification was a puzzle, until their relationship with vertebrates was discovered. at one time they were placed with the mollusca. now they are grouped, together with the vertebrata and some other creatures that remain to be spoken of, under the name of chordata, or animals possessing a notochord. some of the ascidians present what has been already described in other types (p. ) as "alternation of generations." the discovery of this fact was made by the poet adelbert von chamisso. some of his verses are known to english readers, for whom they were translated by mary howitt, a poetess whose writings were popular with our grandmothers, and deserved to be so. this is not the only case in which a poet has been also a zoologist: goethe studied the science, and framed a theory regarding the vertebrate skull, which he regarded as consisting of a series of vertebræ. in this he was less fortunate than the italian poet; for while chamisso's observations were correct, and were confirmed by subsequent writers, goethe's theory of the skull is anything but correct. it was made worse, too, by the speculations of subsequent writers, who attempted to follow it into detail, with the result of demonstrating its absurdity. chapter xiv the vertebrata we have spoken of the notochord as a structure which precedes the formation of the spinal column in vertebrates. this needs a little more definite explanation. we all know that the spinal column of vertebrates is formed to protect the spinal cord. this protection is, however, an afterthought, so to speak, of the vertebrate structure; the lowest of all vertebrates is quite without it; and in the lower groups of fishes we may trace various steps of its formation. but in these cases where the spinal column is absent or incomplete, there is a large and well-developed notochord; and in the embryo of higher vertebrates, when the spinal column has not yet begun to be formed, the notochord is equally a conspicuous feature. it runs from the region known as the mid-brain, to the end of the tail, and lies throughout just beneath the spinal cord. whatever its original use in the animal body may have been, it undoubtedly acts now as a support to the spinal cord, and indeed to the whole body. bones, we must explain, do not exist either in the lower vertebrate, or in the early embryo. in the latter they are formed by degrees. the spinal cord and the notochord each begin to be surrounded by rings of cartilage or gristle, which by degrees is changed into bone. the rings surrounding the notochord, however, gradually encroach upon it and obliterate it. the place where it has been becomes the centrum, or most solid part of each vertebra. the notochord at first is continuous, and has no division into successive parts; but when the bony spinal column is developed, it consists of a series of successive vertebræ. each of them is made up of several parts, which by degrees become consolidated into the vertebræ. [illustration: fig. .--_a_, the notochord of vertebrates. section, considerably magnified, through the middle of an embryo one inch long, of acanthias, one of the spiny dog-fishes allied to the sharks. , section through spinal cord; , section through notochord; below it lies a bean-shaped space, which is a section through a large blood-vessel; _sk_, epiblast or skin; _me_, mesoblast or middle layer of the body; the dots represent the nuclei of its transparent cells. the intestine, _i_, lined with hypoblast, is traversed by a spiral valve, and surrounded by the horse-shoe shaped body-cavity. _b_, diagram indicating the position of the notochord in the vertebra of an adult common dog-fish (_scyllium canicula_). , "neural arch" of the vertebra, consisting of processes of bone enclosing the central nervous system, or spinal cord; , bony centrum of the vertebra, hollowed out into a cup, in which lies a soft pad, the remains of the notochord.] the lowest member of the vertebrate group, separated in fact from the true vertebrates and placed in a lower division all by itself, is the little animal called the lancelet or amphioxus. it is often spoken of as a "fish"; but it is only by a stretch of our courtesy that it can receive that name, being an animal of a much lower form than the fishes. it was discovered in , in the mediterranean, and described as a fish; but it had previously been discovered in , by a german naturalist who described it as a slug. the latter was misled by its external shape. he had not the advantage of the modern methods of preparing animals for examination under the microscope; in these days, amphioxus is cut into successive slices along its whole length, and each of these carefully magnified, so that no detail of structure is lost. the amphioxus burrows in the sea-sand; it lies buried in it, with its mouth just uncovered. its food consists of microscopic vegetable organisms. its distribution is very wide; it is found in both the atlantic and pacific waters. it occurs most abundantly in the salt-water lakes of sicily, and in the gulf of naples. the specimen first seen, in , came from the coast of cornwall. there are eight species; the one which is found in the english channel is the _amphioxus lanceolatum_, also found in the mediterranean and on the shores of north america. the classes of the vertebrata are fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals. we used to learn that of these, fishes had gills, and amphibia gills for a time; but, to be strictly accurate, we must say that fishes have gills, and _all_ the rest of the vertebrata have gills for a time. there is no exception to this rule, not even among the highest vertebrates of all. but in those vertebrates which stand higher in the scale of life than amphibia, viz., reptiles, birds, and mammals, these gills are never brought into use. they only exist in the early embryo, and afterwards disappear, giving rise by their modification to other structures. strange to say, one of these structures is the ear. this takes its origin from one of the gill-"clefts" or spaces. the eustachian tube, which communicates between the ear and the nose, is part of this cleft; and the little bones which are inside the ear represent the bones of that gill-cleft. for, in fishes, bones support each gill, and are connected together to form a complex arrangement. in the higher vertebrates, which possess gills only in the embryo, this gill-skeleton is much modified, and persists as a bone, the hyoid bone supporting the tongue. the gills of vertebrates, arranged in successive pairs along the throat, are "perforating gills"; that is to say, they consist essentially of holes or spaces which pass right through the wall of the throat. if we were to seek for a general character of the vertebrates, besides those mentioned above, that they all possess a notochord and gills, we might also find it in the character of the skin. fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals, all agree in this, that they have a special clothing of the skin--scales, feathers and fur, respectively. these three kinds of structure, although so widely differing in appearance, are practically formed all in the same way, viz., by alternate ingrowths and outgrowths of the skin; the ingrowth forming the root of the scale, hair or feather, and the outgrowth its projecting part. if these infoldings and outgrowths of the skin could be straightened out into a plane surface, the skin of a small vertebrate would cover an enormous area. the above list excludes the amphibia: in this class, it should be mentioned, the scales have been lost, and are only found in one group. the scales of fishes were at one time proposed as a basis of classification: large groups being characterized respectively by the possession of plain rounded scales (cycloids), scales fringed at the posterior end (ctenoid, or comb-like); placoid scales, consisting of bony plates, and ganoid scales, large plates covered with shiny enamel. these distinctions, however, were not found useful as a guide in classification. the diagram shows the elaborate scales of the common sole. [illustration: fig. .--scales of the common sole, highly magnified.] let us now consider some other creatures that resemble vertebrates in some ways, and help to form the group of chordata. balanoglossus is one of them, the acorn-tongue animal. this odd name is given to it on account of a structure which is called (like the elephant's trunk) a proboscis; this may be compared with a tongue, so far as its use goes, for it is thrust out to catch prey and again drawn in. it is oval in shape, and therefore fancifully compared to an acorn. it is highly sensitive, being richly supplied with nerves. the creature is to all intents and purposes a kind of worm; and, like many of the higher worms, it has a larva with bands of cilia. this larva, which is better represented in some species than in others, was originally described under the name of _tornaeria_. it is considered to resemble, in some degree, the larva of echinoderms; on this hint, some zoologists have sought to establish a connection between vertebrates and echinoderms, and have been able to find other points of comparison besides the one named. it remains to be seen whether this suggestion will lead to further results. it may be added that the larva of balanoglossus has also been compared with that of phoronis (p. ), thus assuming a relationship with the polyzoa, and through them with the brachiopoda. it appears, therefore, that the subject of the possible relationships of the vertebrata is one of the greatest complexity. the last named theory, however, has been adversely criticised by very high authority. we have not, however, explained yet what is the claim of balanoglossus to be grouped with the chordata. this consists in the fact that a certain part associated with the interior of the proboscis has been identified, from its structure, mode of origin, and relations with the nerves, as a notochord. balanoglossus also agrees with the true vertebrates in possessing successive pairs of perforating gills (see p. ), which are especially noticeable in the young animal. the presence of this feature is important, in view of the fact that some authorities have sought to throw doubt on the genuineness of the notochord of balanoglossus. balanoglossus is not without relations, some of which have been recently discovered, while others have been known for some time, although their affinities were not at first recognised. among these the most remarkable are sessile forms which have received the names respectively of _cephalodiscus_ and _rhabdopleura_. both produce buds and form a colony, and in both a notochord has been distinguished. the former was procured from the straits of magellan, while the latter makes its dwelling-place in a nearer region, having been found off the shetland islands, and off the lofoden islands. cephalodiscus, which is a very curious creature, receives its name from a disc placed at the head end. the use of this structure is believed to be as follows. the units of the colony live inside a common system of tubes, which they secrete; each unit, when adult, is independent, and can move about inside the tubes; the disc is used as a means of attachment to successive spots of the tube-wall, as the animal wanders from place to place. above the disc are twelve plume-like tentacles covered with cilia, which create a current in the water surrounding the head, and wash food particles into the mouth. that these creatures are but distant relations of the true vertebrates is a fact expressed by the names under which they are grouped in classification. those forms which we have just described have received the name of hemichordata--that is to say, chordata which have but half a notochord, since the notochord is very restricted in extent; while the ascidians are grouped under the name of urochordata, or chordata which only possess a notochord in the tail. the name of adelochorda, "with an obscure chord," is sometimes applied to the hemichordata. table showing the classification of the chordata { hemichordata, balanoglossus, &c. =chordata.= { urochordata, the ascidians. { vertebrata, the back-boned animals. let us return now to the vertebrate. a character common to all the groups of the vertebrata is the possession of teeth. readers of the previous volumes of this series will recollect that, even among birds, instances of the possession of teeth may be found among fossil forms, although they are absent in the birds of the present day. in all the other divisions of the vertebrata, the presence of teeth is the rule, their absence an exception so rare that we may easily note the chief instances of it. among amphibia, there are toads that have no teeth; among reptiles, the tortoises and turtles have none; among mammals, teeth are wanting in _echidna_, the spiny ant-eater; and in the ant-eaters and the whalebone whales they are absent in the adult, although present in early embryonic life. the majority of people, if asked to give a definition of the meaning of teeth, would reply that they are hard structures that grow in the jaw. but this is an idea that requires very considerable modification from a scientific point of view. in the first place, they are found in other places besides the jaws; and in the second place, they are by rights structures originally belonging to the skin. both these important facts must be illustrated by reference to the fishes, which exhibit the primitive types of teeth. in fishes, not only are teeth found on the jawbone, but sometimes also on other bones which border upon the cavity of the mouth; they are found on the palatine bone, or roof-plate of the mouth, and, still more strange, upon bones which belong to the "hyoid apparatus," or skeleton of the gills (see above). the latter may form a set of throat-teeth, which are used for grinders, while the jaw-teeth are used for biting. among the carps, the jaw-teeth are reduced, and the fish depends upon its throat-teeth only. in the wrasses, one pair of the bones that bear throat-teeth (the inferior pharyngeal bones) are fused, so as to form a stronger apparatus: and from this circumstance, the group of fishes to which they belong has been given the name of pharyngognathi, fishes possessing throat-jaws. they have, however, biting teeth as well, in the true jaws. the grinding teeth are apparently used for consuming the food in a leisurely manner when once it has been taken into the mouth. a curious circumstance in connection with these "throat-jaws" is, that they produce musical sounds. fishes have other means, however, of producing a voice--usually by means of the swimming-bladder and muscles in connection with it. probably they are able, to some extent, to effect communication with each other in this way. it has already been stated that teeth, in their primitive form, are to be regarded as skin-structures. certain fish, which are looked upon as ancestral types, have, dispersed throughout the skin, a number of bony plates, or granules (placoid scales), more or less formidable, and tipped with a hard enamel-like substance. teeth are regarded as but a special form of these. but if they are skin-structures, how come they in the mouth and throat? because the mouth and throat are lined by an ingrowth from the external skin; the origin and growth of this is seen in the embryo. in the mammalia the teeth, though restricted in number, attain the greatest possible variety of form, so that the jaws of different but allied species may be distinguished by their teeth. let us now return to the lowest vertebrate of all, which has a large notochord and no bones. this is the _amphioxus_, the lancelet. amphioxus has no bones whatever, and no head, in the sense in which we usually employ that term; that is to say, most of the structures which we see in the vertebrate head are undeveloped. the peculiarities of the structure of amphioxus are many. among them may be named the curious gills: these form a sort of basket-work along the sides of the throat, which at first sight bears little resemblance to the gills of fishes, and reminds us of those of ascidians. the gills lead also, as in ascidians, to another cavity, the atrial chamber. this basket-work is formed, however, by the subdivision of the primary pairs of gills. these are very numerous, ninety pairs being sometimes named as the number. they cut up the wall of the throat to such an extent, that additional supporting bars are needed to strengthen it; and, by the formation of these, both in parallel and in transverse directions to the primary partitions, the "basket-work" is produced, as the growth of the animal proceeds. the primitive nature of the notochord is, however, perhaps the most striking feature of amphioxus. the chord passes to the front of the animal's snout--head it can hardly be called--instead of ending in the middle of the brain, as in true vertebrates, for there is, indeed, no "brain" of any extent to lie in front of it; and the notochord, together with the spinal cord itself, have no other protection than a fibrous sheath. the spinal column is thus entirely absent, except so far as it may be regarded as represented by this thin sheath. the lancelet also differs from the true vertebrates, in that it has no limbs. there is a fringing fin along the body, but it is not comparable with the fins of fishes. it differs also in possessing no teeth. in one respect, however, the lancelet reminds us of a fish: and that is in the arrangement of its muscles; these form a successive series of overlapping masses on each side of the body, as in a fish. the development of the lancelet presents us with an instance of the two-layered larva, or gastrula. this shows that amphioxus is a comparatively primitive type. but it has been suspected that it is less primitive than it looks, and that it has degenerated from some higher form, owing to its preferring a dull mode of existence, half-buried in sand or mud. there is a huge gap between the lancelet and the true vertebrates. the lowest form of the latter is _ammocoetes_, the larva of the lamprey (_petromyzon_). the latter, even in the adult form, has no true limbs, though there are fringing fins. the notochord sheath is supplemented, however, by cartilage bars which are equivalent to the beginnings of the vertebræ of the back-bone. the gills are very different from those of other true vertebrates, and it has no jaws. teeth it has, however, on the tongue and the lining of the mouth. probably this creature is greatly altered by adaptation to its peculiar mode of life, so that no certain conclusions can be drawn from it regarding the structure of primitive fishes. it has a sucking mouth, by means of which it hangs on to fishes, while it rasps away their flesh with its rough tongue. when not thus engaged, it hangs on to a stone by means of its suctional mouth, thus fixing itself at rest. the hag-fish, _myxine_, in many respects similar, devours dead fishes chiefly. the hag-fish is found on english coasts: so is the marine lamprey; while two freshwater forms are found in streams. leaving the cyclostomata, as the above fishes are called, we reach the true fishes, which have limbs and scales. something has already been said regarding their teeth and gills. the cartilaginous fishes, in which most part of the skeleton remains gristle and does not become transformed into bone, include the sharks, rays, and dog-fishes, all savage animals with strong teeth. the common spotted dog-fish of our own shores is familiar to everybody: fishermen regard it with disgust, as it is not eatable. the rays are flattened fishes, which live at the bottom of rather deep water, and attain enormous size even on our own coasts. the thornback skate is covered with prickles (placoid scales). all these fishes are grouped under the name of elasmobranchii, the strap-gilled, so called from the structure of the gill-arches. the majority of familiar fishes, such as the herring, mackerel, cod and sole, belong to the group of _teleostei_, or bony fishes, in which, by contradistinction from the last group, as much of the skeleton as possible becomes bone. nevertheless, traces of the notochord persist in the back-bone of these fishes. break the back-bone across, of a cod or a sole, and you will find between adjacent sides of the centra, or middle parts of the vertebræ, a pad of gristly substance. this is the remaining substance of the notochord, which finds room between the cup-shaped sides of the centra. when the centrum, instead of being biconcave, is solid, as in the higher vertebrata, the notochord is obliterated by its encroachment. the amphibia, familiarly represented by frogs and toads, receive their name, "adapted for both lives," from the fact that they usually divide their lives between land and water. they are, from one point of view, the most interesting of the classes of the vertebrata, for they form a dividing line between the lower and upper chordata. below we have hemichordata, ascidians, amphioxus, fishes; all water-dwellers, breathing by gills. above, we have reptiles, birds, mammals, air-breathers, never possessing gills, except for a short time, as rudiments in the embryo, not brought into use. they are linked by the amphibia, in which we see the larva a water-dweller, breathing by gills; the adult, an air-breather, adapted for life on land, and obliged to come to the surface to breathe, even when it passes its time in the water. the individual amphibian tells us the past history of the higher groups; once they had gills--but growing older, they lost them. fig. shows us an outline sketch of amphibian larvæ; we should require an enlarged diagram of an earlier stage, to show the gills, which are external and projecting at first, but afterwards are overgrown by the skin with the exception of an orifice on each side. the diagram shows the gradual change of form. the tails in these tadpoles will presently be lost, for they belong to the anura, or tail-less order of amphibia (frogs and toads). the tailed amphibians, urodela, are represented in great britain by the newts, _triton_, popularly called efts. belonging to the tailed amphibians also, is the axolotl, a creature found in the lakes of mexico, and in those of the rocky mountains. it may or may not retain its gills; and forms with gills, and forms without, may be found in the same lake, each capable of laying eggs. the two forms were at first described under two different generic names: but when specimens of the gill-bearing _siredon_, kept in confinement, lost their gills, it was seen that they became _amblystoma_. there are other cases of larval forms that produce young, and this curious occurrence is known as "pædogenesis." [illustration: fig. .--tadpoles, three-quarters of their natural size. _a_ to _d_, different stages of the tadpole of the common toad, from epping forest, england. _e_, tadpole of _pelodytes punctatus_, dorsal view.] the amphibia include the curious creatures called cæciliæ (blind animals), or gymnophiona. they are snake-like in form, and are without limbs; they burrow underground. their real place in classification was not found out at first, but they were classed, by a wrong shot, with the reptiles. they are interesting as being the only amphibians that have scales. these are very minute, embedded in the skin, and arranged in transverse rings. the name gymnophiona, naked serpents, is therefore doubly inapplicable: for they are not serpents, and not scaleless. the reptiles and birds at first sight seem to be widely different. the latter are the warmest blooded of all vertebrates, the former are coldblooded. the one wear feathers, the other scales. nevertheless, there is an intimate connection between them; the reader has doubtless already learned from other sources the facts about their relationship, so we will not here do more than recall a few of these facts. one is, that the birds of earlier times had teeth in their beaks, and possessed jointed tails. another, that the reptiles of earlier times included forms that were able to fly. a third notable fact is the presence of claws on the wings of some birds, showing that the wing of the bird was not always wholly specialised for use in flight. we owe to professor huxley, the recognition of the close relationship of birds and reptiles, and the name sauropsida (reptile-like animals), under which both are included. they agree in being air-breathers and never having gills, except the rudiments present in the early embryo: this distinguishes them from amphibia. they agree in having the skull set on to the back-bone by a single articulating surface or condyle; and thus differ alike from amphibia and from vertebrata. they agree in having the red corpuscles of the blood nucleated; and in this differ from the mammalia, in which the red corpuscles are non-nucleated discs. from a popular point of view, we may say that the striking distinction between birds and reptiles lies in beauty and ugliness. even in their eggs, the reptiles display no love for adornment, no colouring or pattern. fig. shows the eggs of some reptiles. [illustration: fig. .--eggs of reptiles, half the natural size. _a_, of african cobra. _b_, of common english snake. _c_, of common english lizard, _lacerta agilis_. _d_, of elephantine tortoise. _e_, of crocodile.] the five chief groups of existing reptiles are the chelonia (tortoises and turtles); the rhyncocephala, represented only by _hatteria_, a lizard found in new zealand; the lacertilia or lizards; the ophidia, or snakes and serpents; and the crocodilia. perhaps the most interesting point regarding the reptiles that can be mentioned in brief space, is the fact that they present traces of a median third eye, which have been described by baldwin spencer, in the new zealand hatteria, and in other reptiles. it is situated on the roof of the brain. while the structure in hatteria shows it to be an eye, its position corresponds with that of the pineal gland of vertebrates generally; so that we find, in fact, the trace of a third eye in all vertebrates, including ourselves. it is, however, a trace only. in the lamprey fishes as well as in _hatteria_, it reaches a further degree of development. this pineal eye has been compared in structure to the eye of ascidians. the birds, excluding the extinct form with teeth and a jointed tail, to which the group name of archæornithes is given, fall into two groups. these are the ratitæ, or birds with raft-like, _i.e._ flat, breast-bones, and the carinatæ, or birds with keeled breast-bones. the former include the african ostrich (_struthio_), the american ostrich (_rhea_), the australian emu, the cassowary of new guinea, and the kiwi, or apteryx of new zealand; all of them birds that cannot fly. the vast majority of birds belong to the carinatæ, characterised by the projecting keel (carina) in the middle of the breast-bone. the presence of this, which affords a safe attachment for strong muscles, is associated with the power of flight. it is impossible to treat the birds more fully in the space allotted to this little story, but a few words about feathers, however, may find a place here. the colour of feathers is a subject of much interest. everyone is familiar with the brilliant tints often presented by the feathers of birds, and everyone who is a close observer of natural objects knows that there are some feathers which are iridescent, changing colour according to the direction in which light falls on them. it has been shown by dr. gadow that this variation of the colour of a feather is due to its structure; this may be described as prismatic, for the small divisions of the feather present acute angular edges, which reflect the light like the edges of a prism. these are symmetrically repeated all along the feathers, so as to reflect the same colour throughout. thus in the plumage of the common red and green parrot, we see feathers that are red when held in one position, and yellow when shifted to another position; while there are also feathers that are blue when seen in one position, and green when seen in another; the alternative colour being the one next in order in the rainbow. another point regarding the colours of feathers has no doubt puzzled many of our readers; and that is, the metallic quality of the colouring in some exceptional feathers, and in these only. the feathers of the parrot just referred to, are, for instance, simply red and yellow, or blue and green; but the feathers of the peacock, though displaying the same colours, show a metallic lustre which is wanting in the other case. the feathers of the starling, the blackbird, and the black hen of the farmyard, though not so brilliant as those of the peacock, are the same as regards the quality of the light they reflect. the secret of the difference lies in the greater opacity of the feathers named; they are _black_ feathers, while those of the parrot are light-coloured. now after the metals themselves, there are few objects in nature so opaque as the black pigment of a black feather. if a thin section through the roots of young black feathers is cut for examination under the microscope, the pigmented parts, although cut so very thin, appear completely opaque. and just as a glass gives a better reflection when backed by something opaque, so does the reflecting surface of the feather. hence it is that the quality of the colours reflected by these feathers is what we call "metallic." if we ask for a definition of this metallic brightness, other than the accepted fact that it resembles the light reflected from metals, the artist will reply that it consists in two things--( ) the greater brilliancy of the light reflected, that is to say the greater completeness of the reflection; and ( ) the entire absence of those gradations of light which are afforded by the reflections from any object, however dark, that possesses a surface translucent, even in the smallest degree. "metallic" reflections, in fact, may be defined as those in which the greatest amount of light is reflected, and the reflected sunlight receives from the reflecting surface the least possible degree of modification. while the actual tint of the colour reflected by a black feather, then, is determined by the form and position of its angular ridges, the quality of the reflection is determined by the opacity of the substance itself. it is interesting to note that the opacity necessary for reflecting a "metallic" lustre, may be produced by means of pigment, in the vegetable as well as in the animal organism; for instance, in the dark centres of _coreopsis_ (the beetle flower), and several other fashionable garden plants belonging to the compositæ or daisy family. within the animal kingdom, we may note that the metallic lustre is almost entirely confined to land animals; their dry skins have more chance to develop opaque parts, than the moist tissues of creatures that live in the water. the most familiar exception to this rule is the sea-mouse, an annelid worm found on english coasts (p. ), which receives its odd name because it is a fat oval creature, covered with bristles, thus greatly differing in appearance from most worms. the larger bristles, which are of a dark purplish-black colour, have a bronze or golden metallic lustre. various other annelids exhibit brilliant rainbow colours; for example, _nereis_, the rainbow worm, also found on english shores; but without the underlying black opaque pigment, the reflections from the surface fall short of absolutely metallic brightness. on land, we see among the insects innumerable forms which present a metallic lustre, the beetles being the most notable in this respect. to return to the vertebrates, from which we started, everybody must have noticed that the fur of a clean well-kept black cat, when lit up by the bright sunlight in which the animal loves to bask, shows little rainbow reflections of red and green. these are due to the presence of little grooves and irregularities on the surface of the hairs, which play the same part in breaking up the light which they reflect, as do the sharp angles of iridescent feathers. like the iridescence of the rainbow worm, they fall short of absolutely metallic brightness; the fault in this case being due not to the nature of the underlying stratum, so much as to the incomplete development of the light-reflecting grooves. yet this instance serves to show the part taken by the dark pigment; for while the play of colours is perfectly obvious in the fur of a black cat, it is almost impossible to distinguish it in the case of cats with fur of lighter shades. the mammalia, or animals that suckle their young and produce them by birth, were formerly considered to be sharply defined from animals that lay eggs, such as the birds and reptiles. but in mr. caldwell confirmed the statement which had been made previously, yet hardly credited by the scientific world, to the effect that the lowest form of mammals lays eggs. this, the duck-mole or _ornithorhyncus anatinus_ (bird-billed animal much like a goose), is a native of australia and tasmania. it lives on the banks of rivers, and burrows in the bank. it has webbed feet, and therefore sometimes receives the name of platypus (flat-foot). it lays eggs two at a time, in its burrow; and these eggs, like those of other egg-laying vertebrates, have a yolk. a kindred form, _echidna hystrix_ or spiny ant-eater, is found in australia, tasmania, and new guinea. the _echidna_ hatches its young in a temporary pocket, which appears in the neighbourhood of the breasts, and disappears after the young are old enough to take care of themselves. the _ornithorhyncus_ has fur, the _echidna_ has spines, with hairs between them. neither bears the slightest resemblance to a bird; the comparison suggested in the name of _ornithorhyncus_ is fanciful, and depends chiefly on the flat beak-like mouth; these egg-laying quadrupeds may, however, be reasonably brought into comparison with reptiles. neither of them has any teeth; the _echidna_ has no teeth at all; the _ornithorhyncus_ loses them at an early stage of growth, and develops instead hard horny patches in each jaw. with these it crushes its food, which consists of small insects, worms, etc. the _echidna_, on the contrary, lives in rocky places, and feeds on ants, which it searches for with its long-pointed snout. these two genera are grouped under the name of prototheria or primitive mammals. the pocket in which _echidna_ hatches its young, suggests a relationship with the next group, the metatheria or marsupialia, which are the characteristic mammals of australasia. these are distinguished by the possession of a permanent nursery-pocket, the "marsupium." in this they put their young, which are born, like those of other mammals, not hatched from eggs like those of the last group. they are, however, born in a very backward condition, and therefore require to go through a further period of incubation, so to speak, in the marsupium. here each one attaches itself to a teat, to which it remains fixed. but it cannot suck as a new-born kitten or puppy does; and the milk is forced down its throat by the muscles of the teat. [illustration: fig. .--skull and lower jaw of great kangaroo, _macropus giganteus_, much reduced.] the marsupialia are not entirely confined to australasia; a few occur in south america, and in north america they are represented by the "'possum," _i.e._ opossum, of american stories. the marsupials seem almost to mimic the forms of ordinary quadrupeds. thus _notoryctes_, a form discovered a few years ago, mimics a mole. the fact is that, just as among the eutheria, or higher mammals, special types have become established, possessed of certain habits, and especially of certain habits with regard to food, and modified in accordance with those habits. thus there are among them savage carnivora, harmless herbivora, and rodents; and these respectively share certain characteristics in common with the carnivora, herbivora, and rodents, belonging to the eutheria. one of the herbivorous marsupials is the great kangaroo, _macropus_. it gets its name, large-foot, from the size of its hind-paws; on these it stands, and by their aid it takes remarkably long leaps. its skull is shown in fig. ; this, however, has not the full set of teeth, some of which are soon shed. it crops the herbage with its front teeth, and grinds it with its back teeth, like other herbivora. [illustration: fig. .--skull and lower jaw of rodent; _i_, _i_, incisor teeth, separated by a long interval from the molars. about one-half the natural size.] the study of the teeth is of great help in the classification of the mammalia. of the eight orders of the eutheria, two alone, the sloth order and the whale order, show a tendency to the suppression of the teeth. those of the herbivora and carnivora may easily be compared by anyone, in the sheep and the dog respectively. fig. shows the skull of a rodent, with elongated front teeth, adapted for that persistent gnawing which makes the animals of the order, such as the rat and rabbit, so terribly destructive. table showing the classification of the mammalia { . prototheria, or egg-laying mammals. { one order, the monotremata. =mammalia.= { { . metatheria, or marsupial mammals. { { . eutheria, or higher mammals. the mammalia are a terrestrial group. exceptions are the cetacea (whales), sirenia (dugongs), and seals or sea-carnivora, but all of these are air-breathers; even the whale can only stay under water for a limited period of time. hence we see that none of them are really animals belonging to the water; they are land animals adapted for life in the water. this brings us very near to the last chapter in the story of animal life. we have seen that our story began with the one-celled animals, and went on with the tale of the two-layered animals, in which each layer was built up by cells in partnership. from two-layered animals we passed to three-layered animals, and from them to three-layered animals with a "body-cavity." when we reached the latter, we found amongst them traces of the ancestry of the vertebrates. from the lowest of the vertebrata, the lancelet, we passed on to the lamprey, and from that to the true fishes. in the latter we found the parent type of all the other vertebrata, possessing gills in the adult, while the latter only possess them, or traces of them, in early stages of growth. the amphibia formed a group to themselves, in which we traced the loss of gills in the adult. in the reptiles, four-legged egg-laying animals, we found not only a close relationship with birds, but also, through the four-legged egg-laying _ornithorhyncus_, a relationship with the mammalia. the last group comprises all the furry animals, and culminates in the order primates, in which the great cuvier included man. table showing the distribution of animal life between land and water key to table: a arthropoda. b vertebrata. c chordata. land water except a few forms living --all the protozoa. living in damp places, or as parasites --all the sponges. --all the coelenterata. except a few forms --vermes. terrestrial, and many parasitic insects, except --a very few adult forms and } except wood-lice and a few larvæ. } a very few others --crustacea. } a spider-like animals, } except --_limulus._ } --all the brachiopoda. --all the polyzoa. --all the echinodermata. except the land-snails --mollusca. --hemichordata. } --urochordata, or ascidians. } --all the fishes: (some few can } exist in damp places) } } amphibia belong to both. } } all the reptiles --except swimming forms, } } which are nevertheless } } air-breathers, only } } partially adapted for } } water life: tortoises } } and turtles, crocodiles } } and water-snakes, _e.g._ } } c } } all the birds: swimming and } b } diving forms are only adapted } } for temporary visits to the } } water } } all the mammals --except whales, sirenia, } } and seals, which are } } nevertheless } } air-breathers, only } } partially adapted } } for water life. } } another volume of this series, "the story of the earth," has already dealt with the distribution of animal life in time; while "the story of animal life in the sea" tells about the present inhabitants of the ocean. it is therefore unnecessary to say much in this volume regarding the distribution of animal life. a table is, however, appended, which is not without interest. it shows how the chief great groups of animals are divided between land life and water life, whether in fresh water or salt. it will be seen that the terrestrial animals are much in a minority, and that they belong, for the most part, to the higher types. they are, in fact, stragglers, bold emigrants from the early home of animal life, which lies in the more shallow parts of the waters of the sea. chapter xv man if we are to accept the opinion of dr. isaac watts, man, as a moral being, is distinctly inferior to the "birds in their little nests," who live in harmony with one another; and, again, if we are to believe solomon, he is by no means always the equal in intelligence of the ant. yet somehow it came as a shock to many who had been accustomed to revere both these authors, when they were asked, early in the latter half of the nineteenth century, to regard man, from a zoological point of view, as just a little superior to the apes. then arose a great agitation as to the possibility of finding the missing link. we shall see later on in this chapter, that if research had been content, like charity, to begin at home, its industry would have been duly rewarded. but inquiry, carried far afield in time and place, has not been without result. for it is generally believed that the remains found in in java by dr. eugène dubois, are veritably those of the missing link. these remains, which consist of the top of a skull, two teeth and a thigh bone, belong either to the oldest pleistocene age, or to the upper pliocene; they are found in association with the remains of other animals, among which are included some forms now extinct, or absent from that region. these ape-like remains have been carefully compared with those of the lowest races of man which have hitherto been found in a fossil state, and the result of the comparison is as follows: of twelve experts present at the zoological congress held at leyden, "three held that the fossil remains belonged to a low race of man, three declared them to be those of a man-like ape of great size; the rest maintained that they belonged to an intermediate form, which directly connected primitive man with the anthropoid apes" (haeckel). to the creature represented by these bones has been assigned the name of _pithecanthropus erectus_, the upright ape-man. let us now return from the subject of the java fossil to those inquiries which, as we have above suggested, begin at home. we have already referred to the great principle of modern zoology, that the history of the development of the individual sums up the history of the development of the race. of late years it has occurred to scientific men to apply this principle in the case of human beings, and to ask, "what can the baby teach us?" the baby, for one thing, has a very small nose, insignificant compared with the size of its jaw. at least scientists find that this is the case with their babies--if would, of course, be invidious to make such a remark regarding their friends' children; and still more so to add, that in this the baby differs from the human adult, and somewhat resembles the ape, in which the nose is still less prominent, and the jaw still more so. observations have been made, too, regarding the baby's remarkable power of "holding on" with its hands. while a baby is, in most respects, a very weak creature, yet its powers of grip have been favourably compared with those of adult human beings. no one who has ever tried to rescue his watch or his hair from the clutches of a friend's baby, will feel inclined to doubt the conclusions of scientific observers regarding the point in question. the observations above referred to were made by dr. louis robinson. he drew his conclusions from the study of sixty cases, all of them infants less than a month old; and of these at least half were tested within an hour of their birth. in every instance except two, says dr. robinson, the child was able to hang on by its hands to the finger, or to a small stick three quarters of an inch in diameter, and to sustain the whole weight of its body for at least ten seconds. "in twelve cases, in infants under an hour old, half a minute passed before the grasp relaxed, and in three or four cases nearly a minute." in infants of about four days old, increased strength was shown, and "nearly all, when tried at this age, could sustain their weight for half a minute. at about a fortnight or three weeks after birth the faculty appeared to have attained its maximum, for several at this period succeeded in hanging for over a minute and a half, two for over two minutes, and one infant of three weeks old for _two minutes thirty-five seconds_!" "thus," says dr. robinson, "a three-weeks-old baby can perform a feat of muscular strength that would tax the powers of many a healthy adult. if any of my readers doubt this," he adds, "let them try hanging by their hands from a horizontal bar for three minutes." in these facts dr. robinson finds something to remind us of the ape-babies that owe their safety to their capability of holding on to a tree-climbing mother; and also something to suggest connection with an ancestor which, although well accustomed to the use of its hands, had yet to learn the use of its feet for walking on flat ground. the same author, in discussing the "meaning of a baby's footprint," has shown that the foot of a young child bears traces of adaptation to a state of existence in which it was used for purposes other than that of walking. "the toes of infants," says dr. robinson, "are much more mobile than those of adults. the great toe is shorter than the second and third, and is often separated from the second by a considerable interval. the four outer toes can be, and frequently are, bent downwards so as to show a distinct knuckle on the upper aspect of the foot at the metatarso-phalangeal joint, and when at the same time the great toe is flexed and turned inwards towards the sole, the front part of the foot makes a very respectable fist. the great and little toes are often made to approach one another beneath the rest, and i have seen one child who could almost make them touch, and who habitually would endeavour to make the great toe oppose the others when any graspable object was brought into contact with the front part of the sole."[e] [e] _nineteenth century_ for may, . regarding the lines in the sole of the foot, dr. robinson says: "the sole is covered with lines of a character exactly similar to those on the hand; and when the toes are bent downwards these become deep creases, showing that they are, like the palmar lines, the natural folding-places of the integument to facilitate the action of grasping.... the lines are scarcely visible at fourteen months old, and are only present in a few cases after the age of two years. in adults no trace of them can be seen when the foot is at rest, and only the faintest indication at one or two spots when the toes are flexed to the utmost. the obliteration is doubtless owing to the foot being used as an organ for progression rather than prehension, and it will be seen that the most distinct line crosses the sole at the spot where the epidermis is always dense and callous, and the subcutaneous tissues thickened into a cushion-like pad by the pressure and friction consequent on walking. this line undoubtedly marks the place where the chief fold in the skin was situated, when the toes were habitually clasped round some object such as the branch of a tree." it has been pointed out by other writers that the lines of the sole of the foot can plainly be seen in the adult foot of some savage races. it must be added, however, that the survival of the lines in the adult civilised foot is by no means so rare as dr. robinson's remarks would lead one to suppose. i have seen instances in which they were quite clearly marked. it must be added that anyone who wishes to confirm my observations in this respect must be careful not to mistake lines of disfigurement, caused by the pressure of boots, which are sufficiently common, for the primitive lines of the foot. the child, as it grows, ceases to remind us of the ape. its nose gets bigger as its toes cease to wriggle and learn to stand. but, for years of its life, it is only too apt to remind us of the savage. how greedy it often is! how readily it snatches that which does not belong to it! how quick it is to quarrel with its playmates, and to fight! how noisy when at play! how cross when it meets with disappointment! how fond of tawdry things! in all these qualities we see the history of the race, repeating itself in the life of the individual. the savage has preceded the civilised family--the child shows us the faults of a lower race. with the elapse of years they disappear, and are replaced by the more amiable and gracious manners of the adult human being. nor do we need to go into the nursery to find links with our inferiors. much, indeed far too much, has been written of late years about "atavistic degeneracy"; that is to say, degeneracy which imitates the characteristics of our forefathers. many things which are classed as diseases, whether of the body, mind, or moral nature, may be explained in this way. take the gills, which, as we have stated, exist in all vertebrates, but not in the adult of the highest groups. in a sickly individual, even among the highest vertebrates, traces of these are sometimes seen existing in the adult, as a gap or open space in the neck, called by the medical man "cervical fistula": this is an instance of degeneracy in the body. take, for another instance, the kleptomaniac, who snatches up everything he takes a fancy to, although he is not in want. this is degeneracy of the mind, a relic of savage nature out of place in civilised man. yet the gill-space is an ancestral feature which has its right time to appear, though it is out of place in the adult; and the "want-to-snatch" stage, as we have already seen, is quite natural in the young child. a parallel instance to the last is that of the hysterical girl who invents all sorts of tales about her harrowing adventures, weaving in stories she has heard of other people, with an account of her own life. she is an impostor; but her instinct for weaving yarns is that of the savage, who is the more admired by his fellows the more he can show himself a liar. even the dangerous criminal, such as the anarchist assassin, is comparable with the treacherous savage, who stabs his guest, and with the fierce animal that bites the hand that feeds it. the causes of degeneracy may seem obscure. but if we turn to our gardens, how easily is the process understood! leave a cultivated plant to look after itself; neither watered, nor manured, nor weeded; and how long will it be before the plant resembles its wild ancestors? the flower will be less fine, the leaves more weedy; the whole aspect of the plant is changed. the causes: insufficient food and water, and the struggle for root space, standing-room, and light, with the weeds around it. just in like manner the human being, when unfed, unwashed, and untaught, begins to degenerate. the want of fresh air and light associated with slum life, and even in the country, associated with the homes of the poor, are factors in the case that are not to be forgotten. add to these drink, and the other sins of the fathers which are visited on the children. all these are among the causes of degeneracy. nay more, the very virtues of the parents, as we account them, may lead to the degeneracy of the offspring. overwork, either physical or mental, causes the deterioration of the family, and in our days nearly every man successful in any career, either commercial or intellectual, is guilty of overwork. the "haste to be rich," equally with the haste to be famous, tells on the next generation. those who are fond of moralising at the expense of their neighbours, enjoy pointing out the unsatisfactory careers of the sons of men who have become rich. almost invariably such a one is idle, we are told, and fond of pleasure. good cause has he to be so. he comes into the world with weakened constitution, owing to his father's strenuous career; and if he were to work as hard as his father, he would probably soon be dead; or at least his children, in their turn, would be miserable and diseased. nature guides his inclinations, and whispers "do not work too hard," "do not deny yourself too much"; and thus, so long as his father's money maintains him, his life is preserved. what is the kind of degeneracy that overtakes the family of the brain-worker? the modern world is full of it. we owe to the unamiable genius of max nordau a criticism of the intellectual world of the present day, which attributes well-nigh all the follies of intellectual cliques to degeneracy. poetry, which is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," rich in rhyme and alliteration, but wanting in sense; art which seeks effect by loud and inharmonious colours; music which rejects "mere melody": in these the critic sees the taste of the savage, fond of a jingle of words, fond of bright colours, and ignorant of middle tints; and fond of noise without a tune. the so-called æsthetic movement which, a few years ago, wrought such marvels in decoration and in dress, comes in for a share of the critic's analysis. the dull senses of the degenerate cannot appreciate the soft colours which ordinary persons like to look at; to attract his attention and to please his fancy, he must have staring red, or staring blue. or, if he possesses an object which is of special interest, he must bring this into contrast with a very sombre background, lest by chance it should miss being seen. i met with an amusing instance the other day which is much to the point. in a remote part of the british isles, two friends, immigrants from the world of "culture," had been criticising the landscape. it was a pity, they agreed, that everything was so grey and dull; otherwise the neighbourhood might have been pretty. if only the cottagers could be got to grow something in their gardens that would give a touch of _colour_ to the scene! these poor creatures had before their purblind sight all nature's rich harmony of colour, which affords such pleasure to persons of true taste. green fields, brown rocks, blue sea, and blue sky, all were dull to them. wild flowers of a score of kinds, and bright with every colour--these were too insignificant to be visible. they wanted some big patch of vivid colour, perfectly inappropriate to the climate and surroundings. some exotic plant was needed, in their opinion, to give a touch of brightness. the harmony of colour and beauty of form in our native plants, and in the common flowers of cottage gardens, were imperceptible to their unobservant eyes. their intelligence was on a level with that of the savage, who is impressed by new and striking objects, and delighted by gaudy colours, but finds no beauty in wild nature or in accustomed things. these people were typical specimens of the degenerate of the book-reading classes; dull of understanding and wanting in taste, as the result of mental overwork in several successive generations; immeasurably inferior in æsthetic capabilities to the untaught peasants and fishermen of the district they would fain enlighten--for these appreciate the beauty of their country, and love its flowers. much might be added regarding atavistic degeneracy, as an explanation of the mental and moral defects of human beings. its most frequent form, perhaps, is that of mere laziness. the ape does not work; nor does the savage, if he can possibly help it. civilised man, if thoroughly sound in mind and body, likes activity, and activity with a purpose. the poor man takes a pride in his labour; the rich man takes a pride in his skill in games, his learning, or his efforts to benefit others. the idler, disinclined for either hearty work or hearty play, is a degenerate. of late there has been much discussion of a plan for treating the confirmed idler as a criminal. it will be seen from the remarks made above, that there are equally good reasons for treating him as an invalid. in criticising the plans of would-be reformers, this fact should not be forgotten. he was a wise man who said "you cannot, by passing an act of parliament, make a vice into a crime." it must, however, be remarked that the doctrine of degeneracy has lost both in force and in usefulness, by the treatment it has received at the hands of those who have constituted themselves its popular exponents. some of these writers have made it but too evident that their criticisms are often captious, and that their definition of degeneracy includes all human failings--except their own. the reader who devotes a little attention to the subject will, however, readily find an explanation of this: for he will easily recognise, in the popular writers on degeneracy, the characteristics of the degenerate, as described by themselves. first, the choice of a disagreeable subject, when the whole field of science lay open to them: for the degenerate prefers a disagreeable subject. secondly, the almost universal discovery of causes of dissatisfaction, in every possible direction: for the degenerate is always vexed with everybody--except himself. again, the want of principle shown in appealing to the morbid tastes of the public, by laying before it information on disagreeable subjects: for the degenerate is lacking in principle; what does it matter to him how much harm is done to weak minds by his writings, so long as he sees in such writings a safe means of securing eager readers and liberal pay? again, the degenerate seeks notoriety; and this is easily secured by writing books that discuss the morbid side of life. above all, the habit of carrying the war of criticism into regions of art and culture with which the writer is obviously unfamiliar: this also marks the tendency of the writer's mind. to criticise the doing of that which he can by no means do; to destroy that which he can by no means make; to leave no margin of leniency in his judgment, for the imperfections which disfigure all human work: these are the familiar failings of youth, of the unripe mind. they are also those of the type of mind that never attains ripeness--of the degenerate: we are forbidden, on high authority, to apply to our brethren a shorter and less modern term. but although the doctrine of degeneracy has thus found its way to the general reader in a form which is often much to be regretted, it is nevertheless a doctrine which, if wisely used, may lead to the most beneficial results. already it is widely recognised, by the thinkers of all nations, that the theory of degeneracy, when thoroughly understood, must revolutionise our treatment of the criminal classes. instead of the attempt to punish, civilised legislation must eventually, in many cases, substitute a system of restraint. it is useless to try to reform the idler or the thief, whose instinct for idling or thieving is as imperative as a cat's instinct for catching mice. so long as he goes free, so long will the instinct reassert itself at every renewal of opportunity. repeated punishment of the offender, who is powerless against his own impulses, is frequently a mere cruelty; while his repeated release, at the termination of every punitive sentence, is, on the other hand, still more certainly, a cruelty to the community at large, which he afflicts by his presence. public opinion is gradually becoming awake to the necessity for fresh methods of dealing with these problems; it is by the patient investigations of scientific men that it has been enlightened. table showing the place of man in classifications =grade iv.= triploblastic animals with a body-cavity. =group.= chordata; animals with a notochord. =phylum.= vertebrata; animals with a back-bone. =class.= mammalia; animals that suckle the young. =order.= primates. =genus.= homo, i.e. man. _species._ sapiens (possessed of sense). meanwhile, it must not be forgotten that the theory of degeneracy has its cheerful aspect. it enables us to look at the offending fellow-creature who belongs to the criminal classes, as an incomplete development rather than as a hardened sinner. it reminds us, too, that the criminal and the idler of to-day are now, what in the times of savagery and animalism, every man once was. the degenerate criminal, in fact, stands as a landmark, to point out the progress which has been made by the human race. this was the starting-point, where now he stands. how great the progress that is measured by the distance between him, and the orderly, kindly-hearted citizen of the present age! chapter xvi how zoologists do their work it is one of the most well-worn of commonplace sayings, that "one half the world does not know how the other half lives." it is equally true that one half the world does not know how the other half works; and especially is this the case when one of the world's halves is its learned, and the other its unlearned, half. the average business man probably has an idea that the man of learning has a pretty easy time of it, and that his most arduous occupation is to enlighten an attentive world by reading papers at the meetings of the british association and the royal society. he has a vague idea that the man of learning sometimes uses midnight oil, but it would surprise him to be informed that the man of learning often sets to work at five o'clock in the morning--as is actually the case. and well he may, considering the magnitude of the task he has in hand, and the variety of the odds and ends of labour that it includes. _firstly_, how does he obtain the raw material for his work? the scientist, like the cook, must "first catch his hare" before any further details of work can be arranged. he does not, as a rule, do this in person, except when an animal of unusual interest is concerned. an army of collectors, all the world over, are constantly busy in searching for material for the zoologists, on land and sea. they look for employment and pay to the museums and laboratories of the learned world. when the specimens arrive, what is to be done with them? some arrive alive, and may be dismissed from present consideration. the dead specimens give employment to a number of workers who are under the command of the man of learning. there are skins to be mounted and stuffed, bones to be articulated and set up, each practically the work of a different trade. there are drawings to be made of all important specimens, a task which affords employment for the artist and the photographer. there are carcases large and small, to be immersed in preservative fluids until they can be thoroughly examined in detail. and woe betide the zoologist who allows any of these tasks to be performed without his own personal supervision. he will realise, as all careless masters do, that blunders may be made in an hour, which cannot be repaired in a day. but when all is done that servants and helpers can accomplish, the real business remains to be done. is there among the specimens one which has not been thoroughly overhauled by other writers, one whose every detail of structure is not already to be found printed in a book? that one must be examined with the utmost accuracy. if it is big enough, it must be dissected, and every part recorded and figured in diagrams. but suppose it is a small creature, whose parts can only be seen under the microscope, a long series of processes are necessary before it is ready for use. in its fresh state, it contains a quantity of water, and if left to itself would shortly decompose. even if already immersed during carriage in various preservative fluids, it still contains much water, and, if so, neither will it keep for an indefinite length of time, nor could it be satisfactorily examined under the microscope. it must be soaked in one of various chemical solutions, to harden and preserve it. if very small indeed, a mere speck, it perhaps only needs to be transferred to a fluid in which it can be "mounted" and placed under the microscope. but with the vast majority of specimens, an immense amount of labour is needed before they are ready for inspection under the microscope. this will easily be understood if we reflect for a moment on the way in which objects are examined under the microscope. for purposes of scientific investigation, they are rarely looked at under light that falls upon their surfaces, that is to say, by reflected light; for this method can show nothing but details which are external and comparatively unimportant. they are seen by light placed behind them so as to shine through them, _i.e._ by transmitted light. if the object is not extremely thin, it will shut out too much light, and thus it cannot be clearly seen, therefore all objects, except the most minute, must be divided into thin slices, technically known as "sections." if we want to know not only the microscopic structure of organs, but also their shape and position in the body, and their relations with other parts, we must have every successive section carefully preserved, and the whole row arranged in correct successive order; the physiologist may often content himself with single sections; the zoologist must have rows and rows of them. what a task this was, a quarter of a century ago, for scientists who cut their sections by hand! let us, however, describe first the way in which objects are prepared for section-cutting--whether by hand or by machine. it has already been noticed that animal substances contain a quantity of water, and therefore will not keep. the same circumstance renders them soft and squashy, so that the sharpest razor in the world, in cutting a section, must necessarily do more or less damage to the structure of the delicate tissues. the water is held in the meshes of the tissues just as it is held, for example, in the meshes of a sponge. now, if we were dealing with the sponge, we could get it to absorb any other fluid substance besides water; we might choose one that would prevent decomposition; we might choose one that would go harder by cooling; so as to change the sponge into a strong solid block that could be knocked about without sustaining any damage. this is exactly what we must do with our animal tissue to prepare it for section-cutting; and the most convenient fluid for the purpose is melted wax. but whereas we might take our sponge out of water, squeeze it dry, and dip it straight into melted wax, we can by no means do so with our animal tissues. for one thing they usually cannot be squeezed, and where they can, they would of course be irretrievably ruined by such a rough process. even the transference of the specimen from one fluid to another of very different qualities and density, would deface the tissues. cells would burst, or be squeezed out of shape, and organs would be loosed from their right position by the currents set up in all parts of the specimen, under such circumstances. we must, therefore, try to get rid of the water by degrees. this may be done by gradually adding alcohol, a fluid which may be diluted with water in any proportion. we begin with a comparatively weak solution of alcohol, say about fifty per cent., and immerse the specimen in this for some little time. the time required depends somewhat upon the size of the specimen; if a large one, a new fluid will take longer to filter through it. then we must change this solution of alcohol for stronger ones, say seventy per cent. and ninety per cent. successively, and finally to absolute alcohol. by this time the alcohol will have removed almost nearly all trace of water from the specimen. the latter is now nearly but not quite ready to be imbedded in melted wax; but first we must soak it for a while in a fluid intermediate in thickness between the alcohol and the wax, and capable of mixing in a friendly manner with both. then it goes into a bath of melted wax, and is kept for hours at a stated temperature until the wax permeates it thoroughly. then the melted wax and the specimen along with it is poured into a little mould and left to cool. the block of wax containing the specimen is cut down to a quadrangular shape, and is now ready for section cutting. in old days the block was placed in a stand, and successive sections were cut from it by hand with a razor. but this process is much too slow for modern days. machines called microtomes (_i.e._ cutters of small parts) have been invented, and of these there are several kinds--in all, however, the razor is worked by machine and not by hand, so as to secure steadiness and a uniform thinness of the sections. the old microtomes threw off each section separately; but now matters are so arranged that the wax of each section adheres to that of the next, and the whole series of sections forms a continuous ribbon of thin wax. a large specimen, affording a number of sections, thus results in a ribbon of considerable length. further processes are now required to fit the sections for the microscope. the ribbon must be divided into successive pieces of a length determined by that of the slides to be used. these are mounted in order on the slides, steps are taken to melt away the wax from the sections, the latter are covered with canada balsam surmounted by a glass cover slip, and left for some time to dry. after this they are ready for examination, and it is only now that the work really begins. all that has gone before is mere handicraft; it is time now for science to be called into play. [illustration: fig. .--sections of embryo chick, eight days old. a slide mounted for microscopic examination, showing sections arranged in ribbons.] the sections must be compared with others of the same kind which have been cut before. do they entirely resemble these, or is there a difference somewhere? happy the man who finds that his sections represent a fresh stage, perhaps older or younger than any that has been seen before in the history of the particular animal which is under investigation. happier still the man who has succeeded in getting hold of an animal which has not been described before. he will make haste to write a full description of it, illustrated by drawings; to found a new theory on it, if that can possibly be done; and to publish it to the world. it will go all over the globe. to every country in europe; to the centres of learning in the united states; to universities in new zealand and australia, and our other colonies; and perhaps even to "far japan." when in his turn he receives publications from all countries, written in all languages, he is in a position to realise the very great advantage (referred to in an earlier page, p. ) that results from the use of the learned tongues, in the terminology of zoological science. for the educated classes in all countries are equally acquainted with these; and when half of a sentence consists of words of greek or latin derivation, the labour of translation from a foreign tongue is necessarily greatly lightened. to no writer is this advantage of so great importance as to the englishman, who is usually less familiar with the tongues of other nations than his colleagues abroad. it will easily be understood that in the world of zoology, there is no "predominance of the english-speaking races." far from it. german is the language which supplies the fullest literature of every scientific subject; and in england even our text-books are, for the most part, translated from the german. german, in short, is to the seeker after knowledge, what english is to the seeker after money. let us now pause a moment to consider how large a number of different industries profit by the labour of the zoologist. first there is the shipping trade; for, of course, all specimens from foreign lands are brought by sea. the chemist supplies preservative substances, and reagents used in the preparation of objects for the microscope. the construction of microscopes is a profession in itself, and one which employs many industries; for the making of a microscope includes not only the work of the optician, but also that of the artificer in brass, and of many other handicraftsmen. the glass-worker supplies "slides," that is to say, the thin pieces of glass upon which objects for the microscope are placed, and "cover-slips," the little sheets of thinner glass which are laid over them; and, besides these, the bottles in which specimens are placed. then comes the microtome, already spoken of, by means of which sections for the microscope are cut; how many skilled workmen have been engaged in the construction of its parts! sheffield, perhaps, has supplied the razor which it holds, as well as the instruments for the dissection of the larger zoological specimens. we have already spoken of the laboratory servants, and the bone-articulators and skin-stuffers, who are personally and directly employed by the zoologist; and of the artists and photographers who depict his specimens, or perhaps copy his drawings. we must add to the list of the zoologist's helpers, last, but not least, the printer who "sets" the learned treatise in which the final result of his work is usually embodied; and attendant on the work of the printer is that of the bookbinder. with the bookseller the zoologist has but little to do; the general public, even the reading public, has no knowledge whatever of the writings of the zoological specialist. they are addressed to his equals and co-workers, not to critics and reviewers. their publication is provided for, not by the law of supply and demand, but by the funds of the learned societies and the universities. it is only occasionally that a writer arises who is able and willing, like huxley or darwin, to express himself in a book that the general public can read; and it is only after a lifetime of detailed work, such as is understood only by the specialist, that writers like these think it fitting to lay the results of their labour before outsiders. the librarian, finally, must not be forgotten, in making up our list of the zoologist's helpers. the preservation and cataloguing of zoological literature is obviously a task all the more important, because, as we have already stated, zoological writings are not regulated by the law of supply and demand. a very little paper, read to a very small meeting of a learned society, and wholly ignored by the world at large, may contain facts priceless to the world of science. it is on the accurate and painstaking work of the librarian, who preserves and catalogues small things as conscientiously as large ones, that we rely for the completeness of our record of zoological knowledge. such work has at all times been carried on in the libraries of our universities; but at the present time there are in existence libraries specially devoted to zoological literature alone. the museum, again, must not be forgotten, in which our man of learning stores his specimens, duly labelled and arranged. here, again, is a staff of curators and sub-curators; and, under their direction, work for various workmen, and for perhaps even a humble charwoman to dust the shelves. turn now to another aspect of the zoologist's work--that of teaching. we should think it very wrong to turn men loose on the world to practise in the professions of law or medicine without a long and careful training to fit them for their task. no less impossible is it for anyone to become a man of science without a similar training; for the profession of the man of science, whether zoologist, chemist, botanist, or expert in whatever branch, if defined in plain english, is the profession of seeking after knowledge of the order of things in which we live; and what profession can be more important to the world than this? to attain a scientific degree of any value, years of study are therefore required, and a series of examinations tests--or is supposed to test--the success of the student. both the work of teaching and the work of examining must be the tasks of the scientist who has attained a position of eminence in the world of learning. the preparation of lectures, with their accompanying illustrations of diagrams and lantern slides: the guiding of classes engaged in the actual work of making acquaintance with animal specimens--these are the labours of the great man who is at the head of things. his task is carried out with the aid of junior helpers of his own profession--the demonstrators, who "point out" detail after detail of the work described in the lectures. another helper, more esteemed by the students than by the professor who teaches them, is the "coach" who prepares them directly for their examinations. his aid, in the shape of extra teaching, given at the last moment, will often secure for the careless and inattentive pupil, better success than is the lot of the painstaking and industrious one, who cannot afford to pay extra fees. few, however, of all the many pupils who crowd the lecture room of the zoologist, will ever become zoologists themselves. a vast proportion of them are students of medicine, of whom some knowledge of the subject is required. others are preparing to be schoolmasters or schoolmistresses, and seek just such an amount of knowledge as they expect to find useful in teaching pupils of their own. to the students who are preparing to be doctors or teachers, circumstances often assign a limit--"thus far and no farther"--when they would fain bring their knowledge to a higher standard. but the time they have spent already has not been wasted. how keen an observer of animal life is the country doctor! how often, isolated from the world of learning, and ill-provided with books, he finds in this his chief recreation! as for the schoolmaster, how is the routine of school-work relaxed, and labour changed into pleasure, when he lets his boys exchange grammar and euclid for zoology, and the lessons of the schoolroom for lessons in the fields! the most important part, however, of a zoologist's work is not the giving of instruction, but the labour of original research, to which we have already alluded; not the mere communication of information, but the task of adding to the general store of knowledge; not teaching, but discovery. the work of the man of science is, in fact, within the limits of his own department, the work of seeking after truth. index a. acoelomata, . adaptation, . alternation of generations, , . amoeba, , . amphibia, - . ancestors, , . animalcule (minute animal), . anisopleura, . annelids, . annulosa, . ants, . appendages, . arachnida (spiders), . arthropoda, , . ascidians, , , . asexual reproduction, . atavistic variation, . azygo-branchiata, . b. balanoglossus, , . barnacles, , . bees, . beetles, . bell animalcule, . birds, . bivalve shell-fish, , , . body-cavity, , , . body-cavity (diagrams), , . body-rings, or "segments," . brachiopoda, , , , . bryozoa, , , . buds, . butterflies, , . c. cat, fur of black, . cell, . cell-types, . cephalodiscus, . cephalopoda, . centipedes, . chætopoda, . chalk, . chordata, , , , - . cilia, , , , . classes, . classification, . classification, tables of, , , , , , , , , , , , , . coelenterata, , , . coelomata, , . cockle, . colony, . corals, . corallines, , . corticata (or infusoria), . crabs, . crocodile, . crustacea, - . ctenophora, , . d. degeneracy, , - . development by metamorphosis (change of form), , . development, direct, . dicyemidæ, . diploblastic (two-layered), , . diploblastic larva, . duck-mole, . e. earthworm, . earthworm, diagrammatic section of, to show position of body-cavity, . echinodermata, , , , . ectoderm, outer or skin-layer of adult animals and larvæ (corresponding with the epiblast of embryos in the egg), , , , . eleutheroblasteæ (hydroid animals which throw off "free buds"), . embryology, . encrinites, . endoderm, inner or digestive layer of adult animals and larvæ (corresponding with the hypoblast of embryos in the egg), , , . enteron, . environment, . errantia, or wandering annelids, . euthyneura, . f. families, . fertility, . feathers, . feather-stars, . fishes, - . flagella, . flat-fish, . foraminifera, . frogs, , . g. galeodes, a spider-like animal, , . gasteropoda, , - . gasteropoda, classification of, . gastræa, . gastrula, larva, , . genus, . gills, , , . grades, , - . gregarina, . h. heliozoa, . hemichordata (or adelochorda), , , . hermit crabs, . holostomata, . hybrid, . hydra, , , , . i. infusoria , . "infusorial earth," . insects, true, - . j. jelly-fish, , . k. kangaroo, . l. lamellibranchiata, . lamp-shells, . land animals, . larvæ, larval forms, , . larvæ of brachiopods, . larvæ of insects, . larvæ of molluscs, . lancelet (amphioxus), , , . leeches, . limpet, common, , , , , . limpet, semi-transparent, - . liver-fluke, . lobsters, . lophophore, , . lustre, metallic, of feathers, . m. mammalia, . man, , , - . mantle (of bivalve molluscs), . marsupialia (or metatheria), . marsupium or nursery-pocket, . mesoblast, . mesoderm or middle body-layer, , . metameric symmetry, . mesozoa, . metazoa, . microscope, , , . microscope, sections for the, . microtome, . mites, . mollusca, . mollusca (classification of gasteropod), . moths, . monoblastic, . moss-corals, , , . mule, . mussel, common, . n. nematodes, . notochord, , , , , . nucleus, . nummulite, . o. odontophore, . operculum (of univalve molluscs), . opossum, . orders, . orthonectidae, . p. pelecypoda, . perforating gills (of vertebrates and other chordata), , . peripatus, . periwinkle, common or edible, , , . periwinkle, high-tide-mark (_l. rudis_) , , . periwinkle, yellow, , , , , , . "persons" of a colony, . phoronis, . phylum, pl. phyla, . placophora, . planarian worms, , . planula larva, . platyhelminthes, , . polycystina, . polyzoa, . porifera, , , . protective coloration, , . protophyta, . protoplasm, . prototheria, . protozoa, , , . pseudopodia, . r. radial symmetry, . radiata, . radiolarians, . rainbow worm, , . reptiles, - . rhabdopleura, . rhizopoda, , , . rodent, teeth of, . rotifers, . s. sand-hoppers, . sauropsida, . scales of fish, , . scallop, - . scorpion, , . sex, . sea-anemone, , . sea-cucumbers, , . sea-fan, . sea-mats, . sea-mouse, , . sea-urchins, , , . shell-fish, . siphonostomata, , . skin of vertebrates, . snail, , . snake-stars, or brittle-stars, . species, . spiders, . spiny ant-eater, . sponges, , , , . sponges, parasitic, . starfishes, . streptoneura, , . symbiosis, . t. teeth, , . tentacles (arms or feelers), . ticks, . trichina, . triploblastic (three-layered), . trochophora, . trochosphere larva, , , . tubicolous (tube-dwelling) annelids, , . tunicata, , , . turbellaria, . two-layered animals, , . u. unicellular animals, , , , , . univalve shell-fish, . urochordata, . v. vacuole, contractile, . variation, , , , . varieties, . vermes, , , . vertebrae (joints of the backbone), , . vertebrata, , , . w. water animals, . wheel-ball larva, , . white ants, . wood-lice, . worms, , , . z. zooids, . zoologists (_see below_). zoophyte, . zygobranchiata, . zoologists, names of-- buffon, . caldwell, . chamisso, . cuvier, . darwin, , . dubois, eugène, . forbes, . gadow, . gosse, p., . grant, robert, . hæckel, , . hertwig, o., . huxley, , , , . kowalevsky, . landsborough, w., . lang, a., . linnaeus, , . leuckart, . morgan, lloyd, . parker, t. j., . roberts, g., . romanes, g. j., . sharp, d., . sollas, . woodward, . transcriber's note: obvious typographical errors have been corrected. original published spelling and hyphenation have been retained as they appear in the original publication, including "debateable" and "cellless". a possible missing "wall" has not been added to the caption for fig. ("--muscular of intestine"; and reference to "the italian poet" on page of the original publication has been preserved. where figures or tables cut paragraphs, they were moved above or below the paragraph. volume eleven number four journal of entomology and zoology december, published quarterly by pomona college department _of_ zoology claremont, california, u. s. a. contents page notes on the behavior of the social wasp polistes --_horace gunthorp_ biology of the north american crane-flies. v. the genus dicranoptycha--_charles p. alexander_ the central nervous system of nucula and malletia --_w. a. hilton_ entered claremont, cal., post-office oct. , , as second-class matter, under act of congress of march , journal of entomology and zoology edited by pomona college, department of zoology _subscription_ $ . to domestic, $ . to foreign countries. this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and entomological journals, proceedings, transactions, reports of societies, museums, laboratories and expeditions. the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian forms and conditions are particularly desired, but short morphological, systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for publication. manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about by inches. foot notes, tables, explanations of figures, etc., should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the size of the page when reduced, that is, by - / inches or less. the lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on the drawings, in most cases. authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are desired, the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of the number containing their articles. manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. address all communications to the journal of entomology and zoology william a. hilton, editor claremont, california, u. s. a. notes on the behavior of the social wasp polistes horace gunthorp washburn college, topeka, kans. one day last september the writer picked up a nest of the common social wasp, _polistes_, which had been detached from its support, and placed it upon his desk. a short time later he was attracted by a scratching sound, and discovered that one of the wasps was just beginning to cut the cap from its cell preparatory to emerging. during the next few days a series of observations were made and notes taken covering the behavior of the wasps which emerged from their cells during that period. miss enteman[a] has made a careful study of the instincts of the social wasps, and while the observations recorded in the present paper are largely corroborative of her work, some interesting details are here added. the cutting of the cap of the cell occupied some time, and extended around four-fifths of its circumference, the remaining one-fifth being gnawed and partially chewed through so that it was flexible enough to act as a hinge for the cap. after the cap was sufficiently cut away, the wasp started to slowly work itself out, pushing up the top of the cell like a trap door as progress was made. a good deal of effort was required to get the body out until the front legs were freed. then the wasp had more purchase and progress was somewhat faster until the second pair of legs came out. after this slight effort seemed to be necessary for the completion of the operation. for the next thirty minutes careful observations were made of the movements of this wasp in order to ascertain its first reactions. it is evident that they would be somewhat modified from what they are here recorded if the colony had contained the queen and other workers, as this specimen had the run of the entire nest, and none of its movements were effected by those of other individuals. it is equally evident that all stimuli came from within, or from contact with the nest, and not from suggestions received from other individuals or from contact with them. the following is the record made at one minute intervals, beginning with the time the specimen left its cell: : . specimen emerged from its cell. : . cleaned its front legs in its mouth and its antennæ with its front legs. : . moved around some. rubbed its wings with its hind legs and spread them out twice. : . cleaned antennæ and front legs. : . swung abdomen back and forth, and brushed its wings. moved around the nest rapidly and waved the antennæ, but all movements were jerky. : . explored nest, occasionally rubbing abdomen with legs. : . explored nest. : . explored nest. movements unsteady. cleaned antennæ and front legs. : . explored nest, in the course of which it went over the edge on to the back side, but immediately returned to the under side. cleaned the front legs and antennæ, and then the hind legs. : . spread out the wings. cleaned the antennæ. : . cleaned abdomen. : . crawled on top or back side of nest again and stayed there. cleaned wings and abdomen. : . explored top. cleaned front legs and antennæ. : . stood still. occasional movement of head, antennæ or abdomen. : . same as : . : . began to explore again, becoming quite lively. antennæ constantly waving. : . same as : , but extended its travels to the under (cell) side of the nest. : . left the nest entirely and began to walk around the surface of the desk. : . started to climb a bottle that was some six inches from the nest. antennæ still waving. : . on the neck of the bottle, two inches above the surface of the desk. cleaned front legs and antennæ. : . quiet except that it spread its wings once. : . still on neck of bottle. moved its head and antennæ back and forth. : . slight change in position. antennæ were still waving. rubbed its wings, spread them, and then rubbed them again. : . rubbed its hind legs together vigorously. : . spread wings once, then rubbed them and the abdomen with the hind legs. rubbed the hind legs together, and finally rubbed the right wings vigorously. : . moved around some, occasionally stopping to rub the right wings. : . explored the neck of the bottle. : . same as : . cleaned antennæ. : . same as : . : . stood still but continued to clean antennæ and front legs. : . climbed up and explored the cork of the bottle. : - : . stood still on the cork, occasionally moving its jaws. at : the nest was placed against the cork and the wasp immediately crawled onto it, but seemed restless. as the nest has a faint, but distinct, odor of honey, it was probably attracted to it through the sense of smell. the next morning the specimen was nowhere in sight, but forty-eight hours later it fell out of a loose-leaf binder that had been lying on the desk. it seemed to be as active as when seen two days before. some time during the second night after the appearance of the first specimen, that is, when it was some thirty hours old, a second individual emerged. this one was discovered on a pile of books two feet from the nest where it had evidently crawled soon after emerging. as soon as the first specimen was rediscovered, that is, when it was sixty hours old, the second wasp then being thirty hours old, the two were placed on the nest, and this in turn was placed on a book. they both started on tours of observation, and every time they came in contact with each other they made sudden starts and jumps to avoid an evidently startling new object, meanwhile violently waving their antennæ and often cleaning these organs after such contact. dr. enteman says, "all wasps possess the instinct of fear. this ... is readily overcome by the frequent appearance of the awe-inspiring object." this is true, because they were evidently on familiar terms with each other in half an hour, and paid very little attention to the frequent meetings which before had apparently distressed them. they wandered freely over their nest and the top surface of the book on which it was placed, but did not attempt to climb off the latter. at o'clock, four hours later, a third wasp had appeared, and none of the specimens seemed to be disturbed by the presence of the others. when the nest was first picked up, one cell containing a well formed pupa was uncapped. this specimen was then alive, but it may have been dead at the time of this observation. in either case, it had been dragged out of its cell, decapitated, and the front legs torn off. no trace of the head was found, but the body and legs were on the book about one inch from the nest. whether this act was connected with the hunger of the wasps themselves or with the first development of the instinct of feeding the larvæ in the nest, which miss enteman says begins without imitation, is not clear. at p. m. (two hours later) the colony was placed out of doors, still on the book. two of the wasps soon left the latter, and settled near it, keeping very quiet for half an hour. the third kept climbing over and around the nest. at : one of the two wasps returned to the nest. at p. m. two of the specimens were on the ground near the porch. they made only short flights, resembling jumps with the wings assisting, this being true even when they were disturbed. the third wasp was beside the colony, chewing on the decapitated pupa, probably getting some nourishment from it in the process. during the afternoon the nest was disturbed, and at p. m. all three specimens had gone from the porch. one was found wandering aimlessly on a canna leaf near by. it did not seem to be able to fly well. the other two had disappeared entirely. the nest was saved and several days later a fourth wasp appeared. it was a very lively specimen, and spent the first few hours actively exploring the nest. it seemed of a very nervous disposition, being more easily disturbed than any of the others had been. every time the nest was picked up, it would start for the fingers or forceps holding it. at one time it was observed with its whole body in a cell, head downward, evidently examining the interior. after staying close to the nest for a day, it began to fly around the floor of the room, paying no more attention to its former home. even when it was placed on or near it, it would almost immediately crawl or fly away. its flying was erratic, and seemed to lack power, but it got along much better than any of the other three had done. from the above observations it would appear that the movements of the wasp recorded at one minute intervals after emergence from its cell were probably reactions due to the discomfort of the drying and hardening of the tissues. at first the wasps apparently had very little, if any, home instinct. the only things to indicate that they had any were the facts that the first specimen so readily left the cork on which it was sitting and went back to its nest when the latter was held near it, and the fourth wasp stayed on or near the nest for the first twelve hours. but all the specimens observed left the nest the first night and showed no intention or disposition to return. the presence of a second wasp seemed to bring the home instinct into existence more forcibly, as the first and second wasps stayed with the nest for six or seven hours when they were returned to it together, while the fourth one repeatedly left the empty nest almost at once when it was returned to it. but this instinct was seemingly not very strong, as they soon wandered away when placed out of doors. they seemed to have no idea as to how to carry on the work of the colony, but wandered aimlessly over it. perhaps this was due to the fact that they were too young, as miss enteman says the development of the nursing instinct is usually manifested "any time after the first half day of imaginal life," but was observed in some neuters as young as four hours, while in others it was delayed for two weeks. while the above observations are admittedly too few from which to draw definite conclusions, they seem to warrant the following assumptions, the first three of which are quoted from miss enteman, and hence are simply corroborative of her work: . "all wasps possess the instinct of fear. this is especially strong the first few days after emergence, but is readily overcome by the frequent appearance of the awe-inspiring object. . "in a sense, the wasp remembers. this is indicated by the manner in which it accustoms itself to the sight of strange objects, and by its behavior when a change is made in its nest or surroundings. . "it shows considerable individual variability, both as to time and manner of its response to stimuli." . after emergence, the first reactions are associated simply with the discomfort of the hardening of the tissues. . it has marked curiosity, as shown by its repeated inspection of its nest and other familiar objects. . the "home instinct" seems to be slight when the wasp is alone, but becomes stronger when two or more are on the same nest. . the olfactory sense is closely associated with the early instincts of the wasp. footnotes: [footnote a: minnie marie enteman. "some observations on the behavior of the social wasps." pop. sci. mo., : - , .] the biology of the north american crane-flies (tipulidæ, diptera) v. the genus dicranoptycha osten sacken by charles p. alexander, ph.d. (cornell) generic diagnosis _larva._ form very elongate, terete; integument smooth, glassy, transparent; abdominal segments two to eight with a basal transverse band or area of microscopic chitinized points on the ventral surface; segment eight with a similar band on the dorsum. spiracular disk surrounded by four lobes, the lateral pair more slender than the blunt ventral pair; dorsal lobe very low or lacking; spiracles small, widely separated; a triangular brown mark on the disk between the spiracles; anal gills a fleshy protuberant ring surrounding the anus. head-capsule compact, massive, the præfrons large with a few marginal punctures; externo-lateral plates very broad. labrum large, flattened, pale; antennæ two-segmented, the apical segment almost as long as the basal segment, narrowed to the blunt tip; mandibles with a blunt dorsal and two blunt ventral teeth; maxillæ generalized in structure; hypopharynx a rounded cushion; mentum deeply split behind but not completely divided, with three principle teeth and a small lateral tooth on either side. _pupa._ cephalic crest low, depressed, setiferous; labrum tumid; labial lobes oval, contiguous; antennal sheaths ending opposite the base of the wing. pronotal breathing-horns microscopic, represented only by tiny triangular tubercles; mesonotum unarmed; wing-sheaths ending opposite the middle of the third abdominal segment; leg-sheaths ending opposite the base of the fifth abdominal segment, the tarsi terminating on a level, or nearly so. abdominal tergites and sternites each with four transverse rows of microscopic setæ; lateral spiracles on segments two to seven. discussion of the genus the genus _dicranoptycha_ was erected by osten sacken in (proc. acad. nat. sci. phila. for , p. ). the genus includes a small group of crane-flies with a holarctic distribution, there being about six species in north america and two, or possibly three, in europe. as i have indicated elsewhere, _d. signaticollis_ v.d.w. of java is undoubtedly a species of _libnotes_. of the american species, _d. germana_ o.s. is characteristic of the canadian life-zone of northeastern america. _d. sobrina_ o.s. is widely distributed in the united states and southern canada, usually occurring in the transitional and upper austral life-zones. so far as known at present it is the only species of the genus occurring on the pacific slope. the remaining american species (_nigripes_ o.s., _winnemana_ alex., _tigrina_ alex. and _minima_ alex.) are austral in distribution, occurring in the southeastern and south central united states. a more detailed account of the distribution of the species is given in another paper by the writer which may be consulted (proc. acad. nat. sci. phila. for , pp. , ). all of the known species are generally similar to one another in appearance and are separated by relatively slight differences of size, color and structure. nothing has ever been written concerning the immature stages of this peculiar group of crane-flies. the species described hereinafter were reared at lawrence, kansas, and the general conditions under which they occur may be briefly discussed: north hollow, on the campus of the university of kansas, is a typical dry austral woodland traversed by a small stream that is entirely dry during the months of midsummer drought. the soil consists of a rich black humus that is soft and mellow except during the period of greatest dryness, being overlain by a varying depth of vegetable debris and leaf-mold. it is in this relatively dry soil that the larvæ of _dicranoptycha_ occur. the forest cover consists of carolina poplar, _populus deltoides_ marsh; black walnut, _juglans nigra_ l., white elm, _ulmus americana_ l.; kentucky coffee-tree, _gymnocladus dioica_ (l.) koch; honey locust, _gleditsia triacanthos_ l.; red bud, _cercis canadensis_ l.; yellow wood, _cladrastis lutea_ (mx.f.) koch; tree-of-heaven, _ailanthus glandulosa_ desf., etc. the principle shrubs are the goose-berry, _ribes gracile_ mx.; poison ivy, _rhus toxicodendron_ l.; wahoo, _evonymus atropurpureus_ jacq.; bladder-nut, _staphylea trifolia_ l.; coral-berry, _symphoricarpos orbiculatus_ moench.; blackberried elder, _sambucus canadensis_ l., etc. the herbage is made up of tall grasses, composites and, in the spring, the all-dominant cleavers, _galium_. in addition to the above, great tangles of lianas (_smilax_, _vitis_, _ampelopsis_, etc.) are found. in situations such as the above these austral species of _dicranoptycha_ spend their entire lives. the first larvæ of _d. winnemana_ were found here on march , , by the writer and his wife. at this time they were well grown (length mm.; diameter . mm.). they occurred just beneath the cover of fallen leaves and other debris in the upper layers of soil. here they were associated with pupæ of _tipula angustipennis_ lw., larvæ of _sciara_ (mycetophilidæ); _psilocephala hæmorrhoidalis_ macq. (therevidæ), numerous beetle larvæ, centipedes, etc. by their elongate form and glabrous shiny skin they are very characteristic and easily recognized. the glassy appearance of the body suggests the shiny shells of a small coiled molluscan whose dead fragments occurred in some numbers in the same situations. these larvæ were placed in rearing and the first adults appeared in the breeding-cages on may , and from that time on continued to appear in large numbers. it was over a month later that the first individuals were taken in the field. the pupal duration could not be determined closer than ten days, and this may be the usual length of time required for this stage. the first larvæ of _d. minima_ were found on july , , in similar situations in north hollow. at this time they were only about one-half grown. on july much larger larvæ of this species were secured and placed in rearing, emerging as adults on july . the larvæ, like these of _d. winnemana_, live just beneath the layer of leaf-mold in the upper zone of black soil. they are usually quite sluggish in their motions but at other times are quite active. the larvæ are herbivores and feed on the rich organic earth in their haunts. when ready to pupate, they encase themselves in earthen cells ( mm. × . mm.), firm in texture, rather thick-walled but without silk. there is a small opening at either end. the length of the cavity is but little greater than the pupa itself. in this cavity the pupa rests and matures. as in other insects, the teneral pupæ are very pale yellow but gradually darken in color until, at emergence, they are of a dark brownish-black. when newly transformed the teneral flies rest on the ground and on the leaves of low plants nearby. the adult flies of _d. germana_ usually occur in the immediate neighborhood of running or stagnant water and may be swept from the rank vegetation in such places. the flies rest on the upper surface of the leaves of tall herbs and low shrubs. in eastern kansas, the flies of _d. winnemana_, _d. tigrina_ and _d. minima_ often occur together. in june, _d. winnemana_ appears on the wing and is found associated with _tipula morrisoni_ alex., _t. mingwe_ alex., etc.; in july, _d. minima_ appears, together with _tipula flavibasis_ alex., _t. unimaculata_ lw., etc.; still later in july _d. tigrina_ emerges and all three species fly together during august and into september when they fly with _tipula ultima_ alex., _t. unifasciata_ lw., etc. it is curious that no other species of limnobiinæ occur in the thamnophytic association frequented by _dicranoptycha_. all three species of this genus as discussed above have habits that are generally similar to one another. they are usually found resting quietly on the upper surface of the leaves but fly readily and on slight disturbance. pairs in copulation are often found resting, the bodies directed away from one another and the wings folded over the abdomen. while thus united they fly readily, sometimes the female taking the initiative, sometimes the rather smaller male. the eggs are deposited in the soft earth in these situations. natural affinities in the monographs ( ) osten sacken included the genus _dicranoptycha_ in his tribe (section) limnobina anomala, or, as it subsequently became known, the rhamphidini, and still later the antochini. a recent survey of the immature stages of several antochine genera has shown that the tribe is merely an artificial grouping based on superficial resemblance of the adult flies. this heterogeneous assemblage includes representatives of at least three other tribes, _dicranoptycha_, together with _antocha_, _elliptera_, _rhamphidia_, etc., showing an undeniable affinity with the limnobiini, whereas _teucholabis_, _elephantomyia_, etc., show an equally clear relationship with the eriopterini. moreover a close phylogenetic relationship with the lowermost subtribes of the hexatomini (_ularia_, _epiphragmaria_, etc.), is easily apparent. _dicranoptycha_ shows the closest affinities with _antocha_ and _rhamphidia_. the larvæ of these three genera, each of which typifies a division, show the following common characters: abdominal segments with basal transverse creeping welts or areas of microscopic points. the massive compact head-capsule with the præfrontal sclerite large, distinct, the externo-lateral plates large, mussel-shaped and very thin. the mentum is not completely divided medially. the maxillæ are large and of primitive structure, the cardines and stipites distinct, the two distal lobes large, subequal in size, covered with hairs and bearing sensory organs. mandibles with one or more dorsal and two or more ventral teeth in addition to the apical point. the differences between these allied divisions are best indicated by a key. larvae . spiracular disk with only the two long ventral lobes remaining; spiracles lacking or vestigial; abdominal segments with both dorsal and ventral welts; strictly aquatic. _antocharia._ spiracular disk surrounded by four or five short lobes; spiracles large and functional; abdominal segments with ventral welts only (except the dorsum of segment eight); terrestrial or semiaquatic. . body moderately elongated and covered with a long dark pubescence; spiracular disk squarely truncated, surrounded by five subequal stout lobes; mentum with five subequal teeth, the lateral one of either side not conspicuously reduced. _rhamphidaria._ body very long and slender, glabrous; spiracular disk obliquely truncated, surrounded by four slender naked lobes; mentum with three subequal primary teeth and a much reduced lateral tooth on either side. _dicranoptycharia._ pupae . pronotal breathing-horns branched; aquatic. _antocharia._ pronotal breathing-horns not branched; semiaquatic or terrestrial. . pronotal breathing-horns distinct, elongate-cylindrical. _rhamphidaria._ pronotal breathing-horns apparently lacking, microscopic. _dicranoptycharia._ the subtribe dicranoptycha a key to the species of dicranoptycha larvae . spiracular disk with the dark markings less extensive; the mark of the lateral lobes not contiguous with the spiracle or the triangular area on the disk; dorsal marking indistinct or lacking. _d. winnemana_ alex. spiracular disk with the dark markings more extensive; the mark of the lateral lobes suffusing the ventral inner margin of the spiracle and usually closely approximated or nearly contiguous with the triangular area on the disk; dorsal marking black, transversely rectangular. _d. minima_ alex. description of the species. description of the species _dicranoptycha winnemana_ alexander; proc. acad. nat. sci. phila., pp. , ; pl. , fig. . _larva._--length, - mm. diameter, . - . mm. coloration varying from white to almost black depending on the nature and amount of the food eaten which shows clearly through the transparent integument. the fat-bodies likewise show through and give a white color to the larva especially after death. form very elongate (fig. ), body terete; integument very glabrous, transparent and glassy. prothoracic segment a little longer than the mesothorax which, in turn, slightly exceeds the metathorax. the intermediate abdominal segments are elongated. the basal ring of sternites two to eight bears a transverse band or area of microscopic chitinized spicules, the one on the eighth segment split lengthwise by a capillary line. a similar band occurs in the same position on the dorsum of the eighth segment but the pleural region is devoid of such a band. spiracular disk (fig. ) moderate in size, obliquely truncated, surrounded by four lobes, a pair of small, slender, lateral lobes and short, broader ventral lobes. the usual dorso-median lobe is lacking but its position is indicated by a gently rounded convexity. the inner face of the lateral lobe bears a narrow semi-lunate black mark with the concavity toward the spiracle, the proximal end acutely pointed. the ventral lobes bear a similar but smaller subrectangular black mark. a pale and usually indistinct dusky mark occupies the inner face of the dorsal lobe. on the disk between, and slightly below the level of, the spiracles is a large brown triangular or v-shaped mark. the spiracles are small, separated from one another by a distance equal to about . to times the diameter of one; the center-piece of the spiracle is black, the ring yellow surrounded by an outer dusky margin. anal gills fleshy and protuberant as a blunt ring surrounding the anus (fig. ). head-capsule (fig. ) of the compact, massive type of the limnobiini; præfrontal sclerite (fig. ) large and distinct; the sclerite broad with the sides subparallel to about midlength, thence tapering gradually to the tip which is entire; there are two or three punctures at the margin before midlength. interno-lateral plates narrow, a little longer than the præfrons; externo-lateral plates very broad, thin and flattened with the posterior margin very obtuse and the inner ventral portions continuous with the mental plate. labrum (fig. ) very broad and extensive, flattened, pale in color, the anterior margin with about two sense-organs. mentum (fig. ) deeply split behind but not completely divided, the anterior margin with three primary teeth that are subequal in size or the middle one a little smaller; a much reduced lateral tooth on either side. præmentum smaller than the hypopharynx, in outline roughly oval or semicircular with the two labial palpi surrounded by hairs at the base. hypopharynx (fig. ) consisting of two chitinized arms that are contiguous but not fused medially, the concavity between them filled with a rounded cushion that is covered with tubercles arranged in more or less distinct oblique parallel rows. antennæ (fig. ) two-segmented, the basal segment cylindrical with an auditory plate on the face at beyond midlength; apical segment long and slender, in length but slightly less than the basal segment, tapering gradually to the bluntly rounded apex. mandibles (fig. ) simple with the teeth blunt; apical point longer than the lateral teeth; dorsal tooth single, broad, very flattened and obtusely pointed; ventral teeth two, a little smaller than the dorsal tooth. maxillæ (fig. ) of a generalized structure, the cardines distinct and feebly chitinized; distal lobes of the organ consisting of a subequal inner and outer lobe; the outer lobe with an abundance of long, delicate hairs and bearing a few sensory papillæ including one larger palpiform organ. _pupa._--length, . - . mm. width, d.-s., . - . mm. depth, d.-v., . - . mm. thoracic dorsum shiny light brown; in very old pupæ the color is much darker, but still retains a much brighter color than the leg and wing-sheaths; abdomen pale becoming darker in age, especially on the pleura. cephalic crest (fig. ) low and depressed, inconspicuous, lying between the antennal bases which extend beyond it; there are four small setigerous lobes, the larger pair of which are posterior in position. front between the eyes broad, subparallel. two blunt tubercles on either side of the forehead. eyes large, with coarse ommatidia. labrum semicircular in outline, tumid. labial lobes large, oval, contiguous with one another, at the tip of the labrum. maxillary palpi moderately long and slender, nearly straight, gradually narrowed to the tip which ends opposite the knee-joint of the fore legs. antennæ with the basal segments separated only by the cephalic crest, the sheaths ending about opposite or a little before the lateral angle of the thorax. pronotal breathing-horns (fig. ) very small, almost microscopic; when viewed from the dorsal aspect appearing as tiny triangular tubercles. mesonotum moderately convex, unarmed, the v-shaped suture distinct; a few setæ on the mesonotum, including one near the end of each scutal lobe. wing-sheaths rather short, but narrow, ending about opposite midlength of the third abdominal segment. leg-sheaths ending opposite the base of the fifth abdominal segment, the tips of the tarsi ending about on a common level or those of the fore legs a trifle longer. abdominal segments (fig. ) subdivided into four annuli that bear transverse bands of microscopic setæ; these bands increase in width from the basal to the apical. spiracles on the pleural region of segments two to seven, lying opposite the third annulus and close to the ventral margin of the pleura. no spiracles are discernible on the dorsum of the eighth segment. male cauda (fig. ) with the ventral lobes very blunt, rounded; the dorsal lobes very small, terminating in a sharp spine that is directed dorsad and bears a weak seta near its base. female cauda (fig. ) with the ventral lobes a little longer than the dorsal lobes; the latter at the outer angle of the apex with a short stout spine that is directed dorsad as in the male. _nepionotype_ (type larva), lawrence, kansas, april , . _neanotype_ (type pupa), with the type larva, may , . _paratypes_, larvæ and pupæ, about fifty from the type locality, march to may , . _dicranoptycha minima_ alexander. _dicranoptycha minima_ alexander; ent. news, vol. . the larva is very similar to that of _d. winnemana_ as described above, but is slightly smaller. the spiracular disk (fig. ) has the dark markings much more extensive. the mark of the lateral lobes is contiguous with the spiracles and is also closely approximated to the large triangular brown mark on the disk. there is a large transverse rectangular mark occupying the inner face of the dorsal lobe. the marking of the ventral lobe is about as in _d. winnemana_. _nepionotype_, lawrence, kansas, july , . _neanotype_, lawrence, kansas, july , . _paratypes_, a few larvæ from the type-locality. explanation of the figures a--labial lobes; e--eye; el--externo-lateral plate; g--anal gills; il--interno-lateral plate; lb--labrum; m--maxillary palpus; p--pronotal breathing-horn; pf--præfrons; s--spiracle. fig. . larva of _dicranoptycha winnemana_, ventral aspect of body. fig. . the same, head-capsule, ventral aspect. fig. . the same, head-capsule, dorsal aspect. fig. . the same, mentum, ventral aspect. fig. . the same, hypopharynx, ventral aspect. fig. . the same, antenna. fig. . the same, mandible. fig. . larva of _dicranoptycha winnemana_, spiracular disk, dorso-caudal aspect. fig. . larva of _d. minima_, spiracular disk, caudal aspect, the anal gills protruded. fig. . larva of _d. winnemana_, spiracular disk, lateral aspect. fig. . pupa of _d. winnemana_, lateral aspect of male. fig. . the same, lateral aspect of female cauda. fig. . the same, head and mouth-parts, ventral aspect. fig. . the same, pronotal breathing-horn, enlarged. [illustration] [illustration] the central nervous system of nucula and malletia william a. hilton these bivalve forms are grouped among the simplest of the molloscs. it is especially from the condition in _nucula_ as described by pelseneer ' , that the conception of the most anterior ganglion being composed of four ganglia, has its chief support. drew ' , who has also studied _nucula_, believes that the lobes of the ganglion in _nucula_ are superficial and that the four connectives coming from the ganglion may be interpreted in another way. that is, that one pair of nerves may represent an otocystic branch partly fused with the connective. this view seemed reasonable to him as stempel ' in _solenyma_ found the otocystic nerves arose directly from the cerebral ganglion. the two species of this group used for study were collected at laguna beach. _nucula castrensis_ hinds, occurs abundantly at low tide under rocks. it is rather small for dissection, but very good complete series were obtained and stained in hematoxylin. _malletia faba_ dall, was much less abundant. specimens were obtained from holdfasts or from dredging. although this was a larger species, gross dissection was not very easily carried out on any of the specimens, but good series were made. the ganglia of _nucula_ are easily studied in section. the cerebral mass seems composed of one main mass, partly divided into four subdivisions, the two central most completely fused, and the lateral quite distinct in places. the central portion might represent the cerebral ganglia and the lateral, the pleural if we take that interpretation. the pedal ganglion is made of right and left parts quite completely fused except at the margins. the pedal mass is the smallest of the three chief ganglionic areas. the visceral ganglia are quite widely separated and a little larger than the pedal mass. the ganglia of _malletia_ are in general plan similar to those of _nucula_, the greatest differences being in the cerebral mass. the cerebro-pleural mass seems almost one. in most sections it is very compact and a little more complicated in structure than the ganglion of _nucula_. however there are two small ventral ganglionic branches or small ganglia attached to the ventral side of the cerebral mass. these small ganglia may represent the visceral. farther back in a cross section series as the cerebral mass disappears two other small branches take origin and run parallel to the nerves from the ganglionic cords. these two branches on each side seem to run together before the pedal ganglia are reached. neither of these pairs of nerves seems connected with an otocyst. at the cephalic end of the cerebro-pleural ganglion the large ganglionic cords are in evidence. a little distance from the cephalic end on the dorsal side there are quite large groups of cells down from the surface and surrounded by nerve fibers. the course of the fibers here is quite complex. on the ventral lateral sides of the ganglia are paired light areas of fibers which may be traced into the fibers of the ganglionic cords. the pedal ganglion is small and much as in _nucula_. the visceral ganglia are larger and widely separated. in both _nucula_ and _malletia_ young specimens were used for study. in _nucula_ there was more the appearance of four ganglia in the cerebro-pleural mass, and the ganglia seem less complex than in _malletia_. this last species has more separate pleural ganglia, if the ganglionic cords can be so regarded. in neither of the species studied were all parts of the connectives easy to follow, so it was impossible to test the suggestions of drew, but in both species there is some indication of two lateral lobes of the cerebral mass, and in _nucula_ there is good evidence of two central ganglia as well as the smaller lateral ones. the lateral ganglia of the cerebral mass are most clearly separated in _malletia_. in _nucula_ the lateral ganglia are larger in proportion and the distribution of the gray and white matter is more irregular. references _drew, g. a._ the life history of nucula delphinodonta. quart, jour. sc. vol. , pt. . _pelseneer, p._ contribution á l'étude des lamellibranchs. arch. d. biol. xi. _stempell_ zur anatomie von solrmya togata. zool. jahrb. bd. xiii. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) explanation of figures fig. . diagram of the ganglia of _nucula castrensis_, reconstructed from serial sections. the probable position of the connectives is shown and the proportionate distances between ganglia are given. the upper ganglion is the cerebro-pleural with large nerves leading off from the ganglion which is itself lobed into four chief lobes. the pedal ganglion is next. in section the pedal ganglion at one place seems to be made up of four parts which may correspond to four connectives from the cerebro-pleural although only one pair of connectives was clearly determined. the visceral ganglion is connected with the pedal below. × . fig. . cross section of cerebro-pleural ganglion. on the right side one of the lateral ganglia is shown. the one of the other side does not show because the section is not straight across. the dorsal side is up. × . fig. . section of the pedal mass of _nucula_, through the center. the dorsal side is up. × . fig. . left side of the visceral mass of _nucula_. dorsal side up. × . fig. . nerve cells from the central nervous system of _nucula_. × . fig. . section through the body of _nucula_ showing the position of the cerebro-pleural ganglion cut through the center. dorsal side up. the cellular portion of the ganglion is black. × . fig. . section through the body of _nucula_ at the level of the visceral nerves which are shown on either side of the section. the area of nerve cells is shown in black. × . fig. . reconstruction from serial sections of the cerebro-pleural mass nerves and connectives of _malletia faba_. the drawing is a ventral view, the cephalic side is at the top. × . fig. . reconstruction of pedal ganglion of _malletia_ from the ventral side. cephalic side at the top. × . fig. . reconstruction of visceral ganglia of _malletia_. × . fig. . section through cerebro-pleural mass of _malletia_. the dorsal side is up. on the ventral side to the left and right are the beginnings of the lateral lobes or ganglionic cords which may represent the pleural ganglia. in this species the cerebral ganglia are not separated into right and left halves as in _nucula_. × . fig. . section through the central part of the pedal mass of _malletia_. the dorsal side is up. × . fig. . section through one visceral ganglion of _malletia_. the dorsal side is up. × . [illustration] [illustration] journal of entomology and zoology--_advertising section_ _the_ journal _of_ zoological research _edited by walter e. collinge, m. sc., f. l. s., f. e. s. the gatty marine laboratory the university, st. andrews, scotland_ the subject matter is strictly confined to original zoological research--systematic and anatomical. fully illustrated by lithographic plates and text figures. each volume will consist of parts, price $ . _all subscriptions should be forwarded to_ messrs. dulau & co., ltd. soho square, london, w., england griffith incubators [illustration] a simple, well constructed bacteriological incubator gage--the microscope an introduction to microscopic methods and to histology by simon h. gage. twelfth edition. entirely rewritten, and with many new illustrations. price, postpaid, $ . . this work aims to give help to everyone who uses the microscope, whether he is a beginner or an advanced worker. comstock--a manual for the study of insects by john henry comstock, professor of entomology in cornell university, and anna botsford comstock, member of the society of american wood-engravers. vo. cloth, ix. + pages, figures in the text, and six full page plates. nearly all of the figures were engraved especially for this work. postpaid $ . ; 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renewals, $ . ; payable in advance. single copies cents. address entomological news race street, philadelphia, pa. class work material can be procured at any time of the year from c. s. brimley, zoologist newberne avenue raleigh, n. c., u. s. a. twenty-one years' experience price list on application the journal of parasitology a quarterly devoted to medical zoology this journal will be a medium for the prompt publication of briefer papers and research notes on animal parasites. emphasis laid on the morphology, life history and biology of zooparasites and the relations of animals to disease. subscription, $ . a volume managing editor, henry b. ward; univ. illinois, urbana, illinois do business by mail it's profitable, with accurate lists of prospects. our catalogue contains vital information on mail advertising. also prices and quantity on , national mailing lists, % guaranteed. such as: war material mfrs. cheese box mfrs. shoe retailers tin can mfrs. druggists auto owners wealthy men ice mfrs. doctors axle grease mfrs. railroad employees contractors fly paper mfrs. foundries farmers fish hook mfrs. feather duster mfrs. hotels write for this valuable reference book. ross-gould, h olive street, st. louis. ross-gould mailing lists st. louis pomona college located in one of the most healthful and beautiful parts of the west coast. the mountains reach an elevation of ten thousand feet within a few miles of the college and these with the nearby ocean afford many special advantages for the study of things not in books. special advantages are afforded by the fact that the college limits its attendance, the freshman class being restricted to two hundred applicants. the success of the college is particularly indicated by the large proportion of the graduates who proceed to advanced work in the large universities. in addition, well-manned departments of music and art afford exceptional advantages. for further information, address secretary of pomona college claremont, california * * * * * transcriber's notes page : changed * * * to ... (preferred form for ellipsis). originally: this * * * is readily overcome by the frequent page : changed "placd" to "placed". originally: surface of the book on which it was placd, page : changed "x" to "×". originally: cells ( mm. x . mm.) page : changed "chitinizd" to "chitinized". originally: changed area of microscopic chitinizd spicules, page : changed "lengh" to "length". originally: pupa.--lengh, . - . mm. page : retained "molloscs", as a possible spelling variant for "molluscs". however, it may be a typo. originally: forms are grouped among the simplest of the molloscs. pages , : retained "stempel" and "stempell" spelling variations. page : changed "once" to "one". originally: the pedal ganglion at once place seems to be made up page : changed all instances of "x" to "×" to indicate magnification. the works of francis maitland balfour. vol. ii. memorial edition. cambridge: printed by c. j. clay, m.a. and son, at the university press. memorial edition. the works of francis maitland balfour, m.a., ll.d., f.r.s., fellow of trinity college, and professor of animal morphology in the university of cambridge. edited by m. foster, f.r.s., professor of physiology in the university of cambridge; and adam sedgwick, m.a., fellow and lecturer of trinity college, cambridge. vol. ii. a treatise on comparative embryology. vol. i. invertebrata. london: macmillan and co. [_the right of translation is reserved._] preface. my aim in writing this work has been to give such an account of the development of animal forms as may prove useful both to students and to those engaged in embryological research. the present volume, save in the introductory chapters, is limited to a description of the development of the invertebrata: the second and concluding volume will deal with the vertebrata, and with the special histories of the several organs. since the work is, i believe, with the exception of a small but useful volume by packard, the first attempt to deal in a complete manner with the whole science of embryology in its recent aspects, and since a large portion of the matter contained in it is not to be found in the ordinary text books, it appeared desirable to give unusually ample references to original sources. i have accordingly placed at the end of each chapter, or in some cases of each section of a chapter, a list of the more important papers referring to the subject dealt with. the papers in each list are numbered continuously, and are referred to in the text by their numbers. these lists are reprinted as an appendix at the end of each volume. it will of course be understood that they do not profess to form a complete bibliography of the subject. in order to facilitate the use of the work by students i have employed two types. the more general parts of the work are printed in large type; while a smaller type is used for much of the theoretical matter, for the details of various special modes of development, for the histories of the less important forms, and for controversial matter generally. the student, especially when commencing his studies in embryology, may advantageously confine his attention to the matter in the larger type; it is of course assumed that he already possesses a competent knowledge of comparative anatomy. since the theory of evolution became accepted as an established doctrine, the important bearings of embryology on all morphological views have been universally recognised: but the very vigour with which this department of science has been pursued during the last few years has led to the appearance of a large number of incomplete and contradictory observations and theories; and to arrange these into anything like an orderly and systematic exposition has been no easy task. many embryologists will indeed probably hold that any attempt to do so at the present time is premature, and therefore doomed to failure. i must leave it to others to decide how far my effort has been justified. that what i have written contains errors and shortcomings is i fear only too certain, but i trust that those who are most capable of detecting them will also be most charitable in excusing them. the work is fully illustrated, and most of the figures have been especially engraved from original memoirs or from my own papers or drawings by mr collings, who has spared no pains to render the woodcuts as clear and intelligible as possible. i trust my readers will not be disappointed with the results. the sources from which the woodcuts are taken have been in all cases acknowledged, and in the cases where no source is given the illustrations are my own. i take this opportunity of acknowledging my great obligations to professors agassiz, huxley, gegenbaur, lankester, turner, kölliker, and claus, to sir john lubbock, mr moseley, and mr p. h. carpenter, for the use of electrotypes of woodcuts from their works. i am also under great obligations to numerous friends who have helped me in various ways in the course of my labour. professor kleinenberg, of messina, has read through the whole of the proofs, and has made numerous valuable criticisms. my friend and former pupil, mr adam sedgwick, has been of the greatest assistance to me in correcting the proofs. i have had the benefit of many useful suggestions by professor lankester especially in the chapter on the mollusca, and mr p. h. carpenter has kindly revised the chapter on the echinodermata. i am also much indebted to dr michael foster, mr moseley, and mr dew-smith for aid and advice. contents of volume i. introduction. pp. - . chapter i. the ovum and spermatozoon. general history of the ovum, pp. - . special history of the ovum in different types, pp. - . the spermatozoon, pp. - . chapter ii. the maturation and impregnation of the ovum. maturation of the ovum, and formation of the polar bodies, pp. - . impregnation of the ovum, pp. - . summary, p. . chapter iii. the segmentation of the ovum. internal phenomena of segmentation, pp. - . external features of segmentation, pp. - . introduction to systematic embryology. pp. - . chapter iv. dicyemidÆ and orthonectidÆ. pp. - . chapter v. porifera. pp. - . chapter vi. coelenterata. hydrozoa, pp. - . actinozoa, pp. - . ctenophora, pp. - . summary, etc., pp. - . alternations of generations, pp. - . chapter vii. platyelminthes. turbellaria, pp. - . nemertea, pp. - . trematoda, pp. - . cestoda, pp. - . chapter viii. rotifera. pp. - . chapter ix. mollusca. formation of the layers and larval characters, pp. - . _gasteropoda and pteropoda_, pp. - . _cephalopoda_, pp. - . _polyplacophora_, pp. - . _scaphopoda_, pp. , . _lamellibranchiata_, pp. - . _general review of molluscan larvæ_, pp. - . development of organs, pp. - . chapter x. polyzoa. entoprocta, pp. - . ectoprocta, pp. - . summary and general considerations, pp. - . chapter xi. brachiopoda. development of the layers, pp. - . the history of the larva, pp. - . development of organs, p. . general observations on the affinities of the brachiopoda, pp. , . chapter xii. chÆtopoda. formation of the germinal layers, pp. - . the larval form, pp. - . formation of organs, pp. - . alternations of generations, pp. , . chapter xiii. discophora. formation of layers, pp. - . history of larva, pp. - . chapter xiv. gephyrea. gephyrea nuda, pp. - . gephyrea tubicola, pp. - . general considerations, p. . chapter xv. chætognatha, pp. - . myzostomea, pp. , . gastrotricha, p. . chapter xvi. nematelminthes, pp. - . acanthocephala, pp. - . chapter xvii. tracheata. prototracheata, pp. - . myriapoda, pp. - . insecta, pp. - . _embryonic membranes and the formation of the layers_, pp. - . _formation of the organs_, pp. - . _special types of larvæ_, pp. - . _metamorphosis and heterogamy_, pp. - . arachnida, pp. - . _formation of the layers and general development_, pp. - . _formation of the organs_, pp. - . formation of the layers and embryonic envelopes in the tracheata, pp. - . chapter xviii. crustacea. history of larval forms, pp. - . _branchiopoda_, pp. - . _malacostraca_, pp. - . _copepoda_, pp. - . _cirripedia_, pp. - . _ostracoda_, pp. - . _phylogeny of the crustacea_, pp. - . the formation of the germinal layers, pp. - . comparative development of organs, pp. - . chapter xix. poecilopoda, pp. - . pycnogonida, pp. , . pentastomida, pp. - . tardigrada, p. . summary of arthropodan development, pp. - . chapter xx. echinodermata. development of the germinal layers, pp. - . development of the larval appendages and metamorphosis, pp. - . summary and general considerations, pp. - . chapter xxi. enteropneusta. pp. - . index. pp. - . appendix. embryology. introduction. embryology forms a large and important department of biology. strictly interpreted according to the meaning of the word, it ought to deal with the growth and structure of organisms during their development within the egg membranes, before they are capable of leading an independent existence. modern investigations have however shewn that such a limitation of the science would have a purely artificial character, and the term embryology is now employed to cover the anatomy and physiology of the organism during the whole period included between its first coming into being and its attainment of the adult state. the subject-matter of the science of embryology admits of a twofold classification. it may be placed under a series of heads, each dealing either with a special group of organisms, or with a special department of the whole science. if classified in the first of these ways the science will naturally be divided into an embryology of plants, and an embryology of animals; each of which admits of further subdivision. in the second way the subject falls under two primary heads; viz. physiological embryology and anatomical embryology. the present treatise deals only with the embryology of animals, and is further confined to those animals known as metazoa. the science is moreover treated from the morphological or anatomical, rather than from the physiological side. the marvellous phenomenon of the evolution of a highly complicated living being from a simple undifferentiated germ in which it needs the aid of the most modern microscopical appliances to detect any visible signs of life, has not unnaturally attracted the attention of biologists from the very earliest periods. before the establishment of the cell theory the origin of the organism from the germ was not known to be an occurrence of the same nature as the growth of the fully formed individual, and embryological investigations were mixed up with irrelevant speculations on the origin of life[ ]. [ ] to this general statement wolff forms a remarkable exception, for though without any clear knowledge of what we call cells he had very distinct notions on the relations of growth and development. the difficulties of understanding the formation of the individual from the structureless germ led anatomists at one time to accept the view "according to which the embryo preexisted, even though invisible, in the ovum, and the changes which took place during incubation consisted not in a formation of parts, but in a growth, _i.e._ in an expansion with concomitant changes of the already existing germ." great as is the interest attaching to the simple and isolated life histories of individual organisms, this interest has been increased tenfold by the generalizations of mr charles darwin. it has long been recognized that the embryos and larvæ of the higher forms of each group pass, in the course of their development, through a series of stages in which they more or less completely resemble the lower forms of the group[ ]. this remarkable phenomenon receives its explanation on mr darwin's theory of descent. there are, according to this theory, two guiding, and in a certain sense antagonistic principles which have rendered possible the present order of the organic world. these are known as the laws of heredity and variation. the first of these laws asserts that the characters of an organism at all stages of its existence are reproduced in its descendants at corresponding stages. the second of these laws asserts that offspring never exactly resemble their parents. by the common action of these two principles continuous variation from a parent type becomes a possibility, since every acquired variation has a tendency to be inherited. [ ] von baer who is often stated to have established the above generalization really maintained a somewhat different view. he held (_ueber entwickelungsgeschichte d. thiere_, p. ) that the embryos of higher forms never resembled the adult stages of lower forms but merely the embryos of such forms. von baer was mistaken in thus absolutely limiting the generalization, but his statement is much more nearly true than a definite statement of the exact similarity of the embryos of higher forms to the adults of lower ones. the remarkable law of development enunciated above, which has been extended, especially by the researches of huxley[ ] and kowalevsky, beyond the limits of the more or less artificial groups created by naturalists, to the whole animal kingdom, is a special case of the law of heredity. this law, interpreted in accordance with the theory of descent, asserts that each organism in the course of its individual ontogeny repeats the history of its ancestral development. it may be stated in another way so as to bring out its intimate connection with the laws of inheritance and variation. each organism reproduces the variations inherited from all its ancestors at successive stages in its individual ontogeny which correspond with those at which the variations appeared in its ancestors. this mode of stating the law shews that it is a necessary consequence of the law of inheritance. the above considerations clearly bring out the fact that comparative embryology has important bearings on phylogeny, or the history of the race or group, which constitutes one of the most important branches of zoology. [ ] huxley was the first to shew that the body of the coelenterata was formed of two layers, and to identify these with the two primary germinal layers of the vertebrata. were it indeed the case that each organism contained in its development a full record of its origin, the problems of phylogeny would be in a fair way towards solution. as it is, however, the law above enunciated is, like all physical laws, the statement of what would occur without interfering conditions. such a state of things is not found in nature, but development as it actually occurs is the resultant of a series of influences of which that of heredity is only one. as a consequence of this, the embryological record, as it is usually presented to us, is both imperfect and misleading. it may be compared to an ancient manuscript with many of the sheets lost, others displaced, and with spurious passages interpolated by a later hand. the embryological record is almost always abbreviated in accordance with the tendency of nature (to be explained on the principle of survival of the fittest) to attain her ends by the easiest means. the time and sequence of the development of parts is often modified, and finally, secondary structural features make their appearance to fit the embryo or larva for special conditions of existence. when the life history of a form is fully known, the most difficult part of his task is still before the scientific embryologist. like the scholar with his manuscript, the embryologist has by a process of careful and critical examination to determine where the gaps are present, to detect the later insertions, and to place in order what has been misplaced. the aims of comparative embryology as restricted in the present work are two-fold: ( ) to form a basis for phylogeny, and ( ) to form a basis for organogeny or the origin and evolution of organs. the justification for employing the results of comparative embryology in the solution of the problems in these two departments of science is to be found in the law above enunciated, but the results have to be employed with the qualifications already hinted at; and in both cases a knowledge of comparative anatomy is a necessary prelude to their application. in accordance with the above objects comparative embryology may be divided into two departments. the scientific method employed in both of these departments is that of comparison, and is in fact fundamentally the same as the method of comparative anatomy. by this method it becomes possible with greater or less certainty to distinguish the secondary from the primary or ancestral embryonic characters, to determine the relative value to be attached to the results of isolated observations, and generally to construct a science out of the rough mass of collected facts. it moreover enables each observer to know to what points it is important to direct his attention, and so prevents that simple accumulation of disconnected facts which is too apt to clog and hinder the advance of the science it is intended to promote. in the department of phylogeny the following are the more important points aimed at. ( ) to test how far comparative embryology brings to light ancestral forms common to the whole of the metazoa. examples of such forms have been identified by various embryologists in the ovum itself, supposed to represent the unicellular ancestral form of the metazoa: in the ovum at the close of segmentation regarded as the polycellular protozoon parent form: in the two-layered gastrula, etc., regarded by haeckel as the ancestral form of all the metazoa[ ]. [ ] the value of these identifications as well as of those below is discussed in its appropriate place in the body of the work. their citation here is not to be regarded as necessarily implying my acceptance of them. ( ) how far some special embryonic larval form is constantly reproduced in the ontogeny of the members of one or more groups of the animal kingdom; and how far such larval forms may be interpreted as the ancestral type for those groups. as examples of such forms may be cited the six-limbed nauplius supposed by fritz müller to be the ancestral form of the crustacea; the trochosphere larva of lankester, which he considers to be common to the mollusca, vermes, and echinodermata; the planula of the coelenterata, etc. ( ) how far such forms agree with living or fossil forms in the adult state; such an agreement being held to imply that the living or fossil form in question is closely related to the parent stock of the group in which the larval form occurs. it is not easy to cite examples of a very close agreement of this kind between the larval forms of one group and the existing or fossil forms of another. the larvæ of some of the chætopoda with long provisional setæ resemble fossil chætopods. the rotifers have many points of resemblance to the trochosphere, especially to that form of trochosphere characteristic of the mollusca. the turbellarians have some features in common with the coelenterate planula. some of the gephyrea in the presence of a præoral lobe resemble certain trochosphere types. the larva of the tunicata has the characters of a simple type of the chordata. within the limits of a single group agreements of this kind are fairly numerous. in the craniata the tadpole of the anura has its living representative in the pisces and perhaps especially in the myxinoids. the larval forms of the insecta approach peripatus. the stalked larva of comatula is reproduced by the living pentacrinus and rhizocrinus etc. numerous examples of the same phenomenon are found amongst the crustacea. ( ) how far organs appear in the embryo or larva which either atrophy or become functionless in the adult state, and which persist permanently in members of some other group or in lower members of the same group. cases of this kind are of the most constant occurrence, and it is only necessary to cite such examples as the gill slits and wolffian body in the embryos of higher craniata to illustrate the kind of instance alluded to. the same conclusions may be drawn from them as from the cases under the previous heading. ( ) how far organs pass in the course of their development through a condition permanent in some lower form. phylogenetic conclusions may be drawn from instances of this character, though they have a more important bearing on organology than on phylogeny. the considerations which were used to shew that the ancestral history is reproduced in the ontogeny of the individual apply with equal force to the evolution of organs. the special questions in organology, on which comparative embryology throws light, may be classified under the following heads. ( ) the origin and homologies of what are known as the germinal layers; or the layers into which the embryo becomes divided immediately after the segmentation. ( ) the origin of primary tissues, epithelial, nervous, muscular, connective, etc., and their relation to the germinal layers. ( ) the origin of organs. the origin of the primitive organs is intimately connected with that of the germinal layers. the first differentiation of the segmented ovum results in the cells of the embryo becoming arranged as two layers, an outer one known as the epiblast and an inner one as the hypoblast. the outer of these forms a primitive sensory organ, and the inner a primitive digestive organ. ( ) the gradual evolution of the more complicated organs and systems of organs. this part of the subject, even more than that dealing with questions of phylogeny, is intimately bound up with comparative anatomy; without which indeed it becomes quite meaningless. reproduction. a study of reproduction logically precedes that of embryology. reproduction essentially consists in the separation of a portion of an organism which has the capacity of developing into a form similar to that which gave it origin. the simplest modes of reproduction are those which occur amongst the protozoa. in this group, reproduction may take place in a great variety of ways. these may be classified in three groups: ( ) fission, ( ) budding or gemmation, ( ) spore formation. reproduction in all these ways may take place either subsequently to and apparently in consequence of a very important process known as conjugation, which consists in the temporary or permanent fusion of two or more individuals, or spontaneously, _i.e._ independently of any such previous conjugation. reproduction by fission consists simply in the division of the organism into two similar parts, the nucleus when present becoming divided simultaneously with the cell body. this mode of reproduction is the simplest conceivable, and is not followed by a development, since the two organisms produced are exactly similar, except in size, to the parent form. besides single fission, a process of multiple fission may take place, as amongst the flagellata, where drysdale and dallinger have shewn that an individual enclosed within a structureless cyst may divide first into two, then into four, and so on. the process of budding differs mainly from that of simple fission in the fact that the two organisms produced are dissimilar in size, and also that the separation of the smaller organism from the larger is preceded by a process of growth in the latter, so that in the separation of the bud no essential part of the parent form is removed. this mode of reproduction is found amongst the infusoria, acineta, &c. an interesting variation in it is the internal gemmation of many of the acineta, where a portion of the internal protoplasm with part of the nucleus is separated off to form a fresh individual. this mode of gemmation is connected by a series of gradations with the normal external gemmation. the organisms produced by gemmation are not always similar at birth to the parent; _e.g._ acineta. both fission and gemmation when incomplete lead to the formation of colonies. the third mode of reproduction, by spore formation, does not essentially differ from that by multiple fission. it consists in the breaking up of the organisms into a number (usually very considerable) of portions; each of which eventually develops into an organism like the parent form. all gradations between a simultaneous division of the organism into such spores and simple multiple fission are to be found, but this process of reproduction may be sometimes distinguished from that by such fission by the fact that the two processes may coexist in a single form, _e.g._ the biflagellate monad of drysdale and dallinger. in the majority of cases the spores produced differ at first from the parent organism not only in size but in other points, such as the possession of a flagellum, etc. they may even be without a nucleus when the parent organism is nucleated, as in the gregarinidæ. the encystment, which in many cases precedes reproduction by any of the above processes, and more especially by spores, is not an essential condition of their occurrence; and is probably in the first instance a protective arrangement which has become secondarily adapted to and connected with reproduction. as has been already stated, all the above modes of reproduction take place in some of the protozoa without any anterior process which can be regarded as of a sexual nature; but very often they are preceded by the temporary or permanent fusion of two or more individuals, such fusion being known as conjugation. in most cases reproduction by spores is the consequence of conjugation, but in the infusoria etc. where the fusion at conjugation is temporary (except vorticella), there is probably merely a renewed activity--a rejuvenescence--which most likely results in active fission or budding. in the gregarinidæ reproduction by spores usually follows conjugation, but may also take place without it. in some flagellata reproduction by spores follows the conjugation of two individuals in a different stage of development. thus in the springing monad, described by drysdale and dallinger, a form produced by the fission of a monad in an amoeboid condition fuses with an ordinary monad to produce an individual, which then breaks up into spores. another instance of the fusion of dissimilar individuals is afforded by vorticella, where a free-swimming individual conjugates and is permanently united with a fixed one (engelmann, bütschli). conjugation often consists in the fusion of more than two individuals. in conjugation where the fusion is permanent, the nuclei of the conjugating forms usually unite before the product breaks up into spores and where temporary fusion occurs in the infusoria a division of the paranuclei and often of the nuclei takes place, followed by the ejection of parts of them, and a reproduction of new paranuclei and nuclei from the remainder of the original structures. in order to understand the meaning of conjugation in connection with reproduction, it is important to understand how the two became in the first instance related. for the solution of this question the fact that many protozoa have the capacity of temporarily or permanently fusing together without an _immediate_ act of reproduction is of great importance. a good example of such fusion is supplied by actinophrys. we must suppose in fact that the simple coalescence of two or more individuals gives a sufficient amount of extra vigour to their product, to compensate the race for the loss in number of individuals so caused. this extra vigour probably first exhibited itself especially by increased activity in reproduction, till finally the two processes, viz. that of conjugation and that of reproduction, came to be inseparably connected together. the reproduction of the forms above the protozoa, which are known as the metazoa, takes place by two methods, viz. a sexual and an asexual one. the sexual process, which occurs in every known metazoon[ ], consists essentially, as is shewn in the second chapter of this work, in the fusion of two cells budded off from the parent organism, viz. the female cell or ovum, and the male cell or spermatozoon, and of the subsequent division of the compound cell so produced into a number of parts which build themselves up into an organism resembling one of the parents. the sexual process has obviously at first sight a very close resemblance to the process of conjugation. since it is a question of fundamental importance to determine how sexual reproduction originated, it becomes necessary to examine how far this apparent resemblance is a real one, and how far sexual reproduction can be derived from reproduction following upon conjugation. [ ] dicyema, if it is a true metazoon, would seem to form an exception to this rule. in spite of the general similarity between the two processes there is an obvious difficulty in comparing them, in that the result of conjugation is usually the breaking up of the individual formed by the fusion of two other individuals into a _number of new organisms_, while the result of the fusion which takes place in sexual reproduction is the formation of a _single new organism_. this difference between the two processes, great as it is, is perhaps apparent rather than real. it must be remembered that a single individual metazoon is equivalent to a number of protozoa coalesced to form a single organism in a higher state of aggregation. it results from this that the segmentation of the ovum which follows the sexual act may be compared to the breaking up of the product of conjugation into spores, the difference between the two processes consisting in the fact that in the one case the spores separate each to form an independent organism, while in the other they remain united and give rise to a single compound organism. if the above considerations are well founded it seems permissible to accept the general view according to which sexual reproduction is derived from conjugation. it is necessary to suppose that, in a colony of protozoa in the course of becoming a metazoon, the capacity of reproduction by spores became localized in certain definite cells, and although the formation of spores from these cells may have been possible without previous conjugation, yet that conjugation gradually became established as the rule. the differentiation of primitively similar conjugating cells into male and female cells was probably a very early occurrence, since indications of an analogous differentiation, as has already been mentioned, are found in certain existing protozoa (monads, vorticella, etc.). i have attempted to shew in the second chapter that the breaking up of the cell into spores without previous conjugation is perhaps provided against in the extrusion of the so-called 'directive body'. with the differentiation of special germinal cells, to take the place of the whole individual in the act of conjugation, the possibility of each act of conjugation resulting in the production of only a single organism became introduced. germinal cells can be indefinitely produced, and the reproductive capacity of a single individual is therefore unlimited; while if two whole individuals conjugated and only produced _one_ from the process, the result would be a diminution instead of an increase in the race[ ]. [ ] in the vegetable kingdom there are numerous types of thallophytes, which throw a considerable amount of light on the relation between sexual reproduction and conjugation. subjoined are a few of the more striking cases. in pandorina at the time of sexual reproduction the cells which constitute a colony divide each into sixteen, and the products of their division are set free. pairs of them then conjugate and permanently fuse. after a resting stage the protoplasm is set free from its envelope after division into two or four parts. each of these then divides into sixteen coherent cells and constitutes a new pandorina colony. in oedogonium the fertilization is effected by a spermatozoon fusing with an oosphere (ovum). the fertilized oosphere (oospore) then undergoes segmentation like the ovum of an animal; but the segments, instead of uniting to form a single organism, separate from each other, and each of them gives rise to a fresh individual (swarm-spore) which grows into a perfect oedogonium. in coleochæte the impregnation and segmentation take place nearly as in oedogonium, but the segments remain united together, acquire definite cell walls, and form a single embryo. there is in fact in coleochæte a true sexual reproduction of the ordinary type. (_vide_ s. h. vines "on alternation of generation in the thallophytes." _journal of botany_, nov., .) it must be admitted that, in the present state of our knowledge, the passage from reproduction by spores following conjugation, to true sexual reproduction, can only be traced in a very speculative manner, and that a further advance in our knowledge may prove that the steps which i have attempted to sketch out are far from representing the true origin of sexual differentiation. the peculiar conjugation and fusion of two individuals to form _diplozoon paradoxum_ may be alluded to in this connection. this fusion merely results in the attainment of sexual maturity by the two conjugating individuals. it does not appear to me probable that this conjugation is in any way connected with the conjugation of the protozoa, but the reverse must be borne in mind as a possibility. it is not easy to decide whether the hermaphrodite or the dioecious state is the primitive one, or in other words whether the two conjugating cells, from which i have supposed the sexual products to originate, were derived in the first instance from one or from two colonies of protozoa. on purely _à priori_ grounds it seems probable that they were originally formed in one colony, and that their derivation from two colonies or individuals was inaugurated when the spermatozoon became motile. there can be no doubt that the dioecious state is a very early one, and that the majority of existing cases of hermaphroditism are secondary. the above considerations with reference to the male and female cells appear to indicate that they were primitively homodynamous; a conclusion which is on the whole borne out by the history of their development. although the modes of reproduction amongst the metazoa have been divided into the classes sexual and asexual, there is nevertheless one mode of asexual reproduction which ought to be classified with the sexual rather than with the asexual modes. i mean parthenogenesis, which consists essentially in the development of the ovum into a fresh individual without previous coalescence with the male element. this mode of reproduction, which has a very limited range in the animal kingdom, being confined to the arthropoda and rotifera, is undoubtedly secondarily derived from sexual reproduction. the conditions of its occurrence are discussed in the second chapter. it is remarkable that in certain cases the absence of fertilization causes the production of males (bees, a saw-fly, nematus ventricosus, etc.); more usually it results in the production of females only, and there are very often in the arthropoda a series of successive generations of females all producing ova which develop parthenogenetically into females; eventually however, usually in direct or indirect connection with a change of food or temperature, or other conditions, ova are formed which give rise without fertilization both to males and females. the true asexual modes of reproduction amongst the metazoa consist of fission and gemmation. gemmation is by far the most widely disseminated of the two. various as are the methods in which it takes place, it seems nevertheless that cells derived from all the germinal layers, and very frequently from all the important organs of the adult, assist in forming the bud. into the details of the process, which require in many points a fuller elucidation, it is not my purpose to enter. gemmation is a far commoner occurrence amongst the simpler than amongst the more highly organised forms. it appears to have been superadded to the sexual mode of reproduction quite independently in a number of different instances. while there is no difficulty in understanding how gemmation may have started in such simple types as the coelenterata, the manner in which it first originated in certain highly organised forms, as for instance the ascidians, is somewhat obscure, but it seems probable that it began with the division of the developing germ into two or more embryos, at a very early stage of growth. such a division of the germ is, as has been shewn by kleinenberg, normal in lumbricus trapezoides[ ] and haeckel has shewn that an artificial division of the germ in the siphonophora leads to the development of two individuals. it has been pointed out by various naturalists that the production of double monsters is often a phenomenon of the same nature. while it is next to impossible to understand how production of a bud could commence for the first time in the adult of a highly organised form, it is not difficult to form a picture of the steps by which the fission of the germ might eventually lead to the formation of buds in the adult state. [ ] the case of pyrosoma, which might be cited in this connection, is probably secondary. the coexistence of sexual reproduction with normal asexual multiplication, or with parthenogenesis, has led to a remarkable phenomenon in the animal kingdom known as alternations of generations[ ]. [ ] for an excellent account of this subject, _vide_ allen thompson's article ovum in todd's _cyclopædia_. the metamorphosis of the echinoderms included under this head in thompson's article is now known not to be a proper case of alternations of generations. for the details of the various types of alternations of generations, and their origin, the reader is referred to the body of the work; but a few general remarks on the nature and origin of the process, and on its nomenclature, may conveniently be introduced in this place. the simplest cases are those in which an individual which produces by sexual means gives origin to asexual individuals differently organised to itself, which produce by budding the original sexual form, and so complete a cycle. instances of this kind are supplied by the hydrozoa, annelida and tunicata. in the case of the tunicata (doliolum) two different asexual generations may be interpolated between the sexual generations. in all these cases the origin of the phenomenon is easily understood. it appears, as is most clearly shewn in the case of the annelida, that the ancestors of the species which now exhibit alternations of generations originally reproduced themselves at the same time both sexually and by budding, though probably the two modes of reproduction did not take place at the same season. gradually a differentiation became established, by which sexual reproduction was confined to certain individuals, which in most instances did not also reproduce asexually. after the two modes of reproduction became confined to separate individuals, the dissimilarity in habits of life necessitated by their diverse functions caused a difference in their organization; and thus a complete alternation of generations became established. the above is no merely speculative history, since all gradations between complete alternations of generations and simple budding combined with sexual reproduction can be traced in actually existing forms. the alternation of generations as it is found amongst the entoparasitic trematodes and most cestodes, is to be explained in a slightly different way. it appears that in these parasitic forms a complicated metamorphosis first arose from the parasite having to accommodate itself to the different hosts it was compelled to inhabit, owing to the liability of its primitive and subsequent hosts to be devoured[ ]. a capacity for asexual multiplication--obviously of immense advantage to a parasite--appears to have been acquired in some of the stages of this metamorphosis, and an alternation of generations thus established. [ ] the appearance of vertebrata on the globe as the forms which most frequently preyed on invertebrate forms, and were themselves not so liable to be devoured, has no doubt had a great influence on the metamorphosis of internal parasites, and has amongst other things resulted in these parasites usually reaching their sexual state in a vertebrate host. a nearly parallel series to that exhibiting alternations of sexual generations with generations which produce by budding is supplied by the cases where sexual generations alternate with parthenogenetic ones, or in some instances even with larvæ which reproduce sexually or else parthenogenetically. the best known examples of this form of alternations of generations are found amongst the insecta[ ]. a simple case is that of the aphides. the ova deposited by impregnated females give rise to forms differently organised to the parents but provided with an ovary[ ]. the eggs from the ovary develop parthenogenetically within the oviduct, and so long as there is plenty of food and warmth the generations produced are always parthenogenetic forms. the failure of warmth and nutriment causes the production of true males and females, and so the cycle is completed. we must suppose that the capacity possessed by so many female insects of producing eggs capable of developing without the influence of the male element, has been, so to speak, taken hold of by natural selection, and has led to the production of viviparous parthenogenetic forms, by which, so long as food is abundant, a clear economy in reproduction is effected. the continuance of the species during winter is secured by the production of males and females, the females laying eggs in autumn which are hatched in the spring. [ ] for details _vide_ chapter on insecta. [ ] the distinction drawn by huxley between ova and pseudova does not appear to me a convenient one in practice. in chermes there is less modification of the primitive condition in that the parthenogenetic generations lay their eggs like the impregnated females. in the gall-flies (cynipidæ), there is frequently an alternation of generations of the same kind as in chermes; there being no viviparous forms. the individuals of the different generations differ from each other to some extent in all these cases. a second type of alternations of parthenogenetic and sexual generations is exemplified by the cases of chironomus and cecidomyia, where the _larvæ_ which develop from the eggs of the fertilized female produce parthenogenetically, by means of true ova, forms which eventually after several generations (cecidomyia) of larval reproduction give rise to sexual forms. the explanation is here practically the same as in the case of aphis, and is paralleled in the gemmiparous series by the production of _buds_ in the _larval_ forms of trematodes, etc. a very similar occurrence takes place in ascaris nigrovenosa (_vide_ chapter on nematoidea), except that larval forms, which carry on reproduction and then perish without developing farther, do so by a true sexual process. thus there is an alternation of generations of adult and larval sexual forms. the axolotl is an intermittent example of the same phenomenon. as might be anticipated from the mode in which alternations of generations have become established, incomplete approximations to it are not uncommon. such approximations are especially found in the arthropoda, where alternations of sexual and parthenogenetic generations frequently take place, in which the individuals of different generations are similarly organised (psychidæ, apus, &c.). another approximation is afforded by the parthenogenetic winter eggs of leptodora amongst the phyllopods, which give rise to nauplius larvæ, while the young hatched from the summer eggs do not pass through a metamorphosis. numerous transitional cases are also found amongst the forms in which there is an alternation of sexual and gemmiparous generations. the whole of the cases to which allusion has been made in this section may be conveniently classed under the term alternations of generations, but the cases of alternation of two sexual generations, and of sexual and parthenogenetic generations, are classified by leuckart, claus, etc. as cases of heterogeny, which they oppose to the other form of alternation of generations. if special terms are to be adopted for the two kinds of alternation of generations, it would be perhaps convenient to classify the cases of alternations of sexual and gemmiparous generations under the term metagenesis, and to employ the term heterogamy for the cases of alternation of sexual and parthenogenetic generations. the term nurse (_german_ amme), employed for the asexual generations in metagenesis, may advantageously be dropped altogether. chapter i. the ovum and spermatozoon. the ovum. the complete developmental history of any being constitutes a cycle. it is therefore permissible in treating of this history to begin at any point. as a matter of convenience the ovum appears to be the most suitable point of departure. the question as to the germinal layer from which it is ultimately derived is dealt with in a subsequent part of the work; the present chapter deals with its origin and growth. _general history of the ovum._ every young ovum (fig. ) has the character of a simple cell. it is formed of a mass of naked protoplasm (_a_), containing in its interior a nucleus (_b_), within which there is a nucleolus (_c_). the nucleus and nucleolus are usually known as the germinal vesicle and germinal spot. [fig. . diagram of the ovum. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ granular protoplasm. _b._ nucleus (germinal vesicle). _c._ nucleolus (germinal spot).] the ovum so constituted is developed either ( ) from one cell out of an aggregation or layer of cells all of which have the capacity of becoming ova; or ( ) from one of a number of cells segmented off from a polynuclear mass of protoplasm, not divided into separate cells. in both cases the cells which have the capacity of becoming ova may be spoken of as germinal cells, and in the case where the ova are ultimately developed from a polynuclear mass of protoplasm the latter structure may be called a germogen. in some cases the whole of the germinal cells eventually become ova, but as a rule only a small proportion of them have this fate, the remainder undergoing various changes to be spoken of in the sequel. extended investigations have shewn that the distinction between germinal cells which are independent cells from the first, or derived from a germogen in which the nucleated protoplasm is not divided into cells, is an unimportant one; and closely allied forms may differ in this respect. it is moreover probable that a germogen of nucleated protoplasm is less common than is often supposed: it being a matter of great difficulty to determine the structure of the organs usually so described. a germogen is stated to be found in most platyelminthes, nematoidea, discophora, insecta, and crustacea. a more important distinction in the origin of the germinal cells is that afforded by their position. in this respect three groups may be distinguished. ( ) the germinal cells may form the lining of a sack or tube, having the form of a syncytium or of an epithelium of separate cells (platyelminthes, mollusca, rotifera, echinodermata, nematoidea, arthropoda). ( ) or they may form a specialized part of the epithelium lining the general body cavity (chætopoda, gephyrea, vertebrata). ( ) or they may form a mass placed between the two elsewhere contiguous primitive germinal layers (coelenterata[ ]). [ ] in all the metazoa the generative organs are placed between the primitive germinal layers; and the peculiarity of their position in the coelenterata depends on the absence of a body cavity and of a distinct mesoblast. types of transition between the first and second group are not uncommon. such types, properly belonging to the second group, originate by a special membranous sack continuous with the oviduct being formed round the primitively free patch of germinal cells. examples of this are afforded by the discophora, the teleostei, etc. it is very probable that all the cases which fall under the first heading may have been derived from types which belonged to the second group. the mode of conversion of the germinal cells into ova is somewhat diverse. before the change takes place the germinal cells frequently multiply by division. the change itself usually involves a considerable enlargement of the germinal cell, and generally a change in the character of the germinal vesicle, which in most young ova (fig. ) is very large as compared to the body of the ovum. the most complicated history of this kind is that of the ovum of the craniata. (_vide_ pp. , .) [fig. . ovum of carmarina (geryonia) hastata. (copied from haeckel.) _gd._ body of ovum. _gv._ germinal vesicle. _gm._ germinal spot.] the ovum in its young condition is obviously nothing but a simple cell; and such it remains till the period when it attains maturity. nevertheless the changes which it undergoes in the course of its growth are of a very peculiar kind, and, consisting as they do in many instances of the absorption of other cells, have led various biologists to hold that the ovum is a compound structure. it becomes therefore necessary to consider the processes by which the growth and nutrition of the ovum is effected before dealing with the structure of the ovum at all periods of its history. [fig. . female gonophore of tubularia mesembryanthemum. containing one large ovum (_ov_) and a number of germinal cells (_g.c._). _ep._ epiblast (ectoderm). _hy._ hypoblast (entoderm). _ov._ ovum. _g.c._ germinal cells.] the ovum is of course nourished like every other cell by the nutritive fluids in which it is surrounded, and special provisions are made for this, in that the ovary is very frequently placed in contiguity with vascular channels. but in addition to such nutrition a further nutrition, the details of which are given in the special part of this chapter, is provided for in the germinal cells which do not become ova. in the simplest case, as in many hydrozoa (fig. ), the germinal cells which do become ova are assimilated by the ovum much in the manner of an amoeba. in other cases the ovum becomes invested by a special layer of cells, which then constitutes what is known as a follicle. the cells which form the follicle are often germinal cells, _e.g._ holothuria, insecta (fig. ), vertebrata (fig. ). in other cases they seem rather to be adjoining connective-tissue or epithelioid cells, though it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between such cells and germinal cells. examples of follicles formed of ordinary connective-tissue cells, are supplied by asterias, bonellia (fig. ), cephalopoda (fig. ), etc. a membrane enclosing the ovum without a lining of cells, as in many arachnida, _vide_ p. , has no true analogy with a follicle and does not deserve the same name. the function of the follicle cells appears to be, to elaborate nutriment for the growth of the ovum. the follicle cells are not as a rule directly absorbed into the body of the ovum, though in some instances, as in sepia (_vide_ p. ), they are eventually assimilated in this way. in many cases some of the germinal cells form a follicle, while other germinal cells form a mass within the follicle destined eventually to be used as pabulum. insects supply the best known examples of this, but piscicola, bonellia (?) may also be cited as examples of the same character. in the craniata (pp. - ) some of the germinal cells which advance a certain distance on the road towards becoming ova, are eventually used as pabulum, before the formation of the follicle; while other germinal cells form at a later period the follicular epithelium. a peculiar case is that of the platyelminthes (fig. ), where a kind of follicle is constituted by the cells of a specially differentiated part of the ovary, known as the yolk-gland. the cells of this follicle may either remain distinct, and continue to surround the ovum after its development has commenced, and so be used as food by the embryo; or they may secrete yolk particles, which enter directly into the protoplasm of the ovum. for further variations in the mode of nutrition the reader is referred to the special part of this chapter. suffice it to say that none of the known modes of nutrition indicate that the ovum becomes a compound body any more than the fact of an amoeba feeding on another amoeba would imply that the first amoeba ceased thereby to be a unicellular organism. the constitution of the ovum may be considered under three heads:-- ( ) the body of the ovum. ( ) the nucleus or germinal vesicle. ( ) the investing membranes. the body of the ovum. the essential constituent of the body of the ovum is an active living protoplasm. as a rule there are present certain extraneous matters in addition, which have not the vital properties of protoplasm. the most important of these is known as food-yolk, which appears to be generally composed of an albuminoid matter. the body of the ovum is at first very small compared with the germinal vesicle, but continually increases as the ovum approaches towards maturity. it is at first comparatively free from food-yolk; but, except in the rare instances where it is almost absent, food-yolk becomes deposited in the form of granules, or highly refracting spheres, by the inherent activity of the protoplasm during the later stages in the ripening of the ovum. in many instances the protoplasm of the ovum assumes a sponge-like or reticulate arrangement, a fluid yolk substance being placed in the meshes of the reticulum. the character of the food-yolk varies greatly. many of its chief modifications are described below. there is not unfrequently present in the vitellus a peculiar body known as the yolk nucleus, which is very possibly connected with the formation of the food-yolk. it is found in many arachnida, myriapoda, amphibia, etc.[ ] [ ] for details on the yolk nucleus _vide_ balbiani, _leçons s. l. génération d. vertébrés_. paris, . in this work the author maintains very peculiar views on the nature and function of the yolk nucleus, which do not appear to me well founded. [fig. . _a._ ovum of hydra in the amoeboid state, with yolk-spherules (pseudocells) and chlorophyll granules. (after kleinenberg.) _gv._ germinal vesicle. _b._ single pseudocell of hydra.] more important for the subsequent development than the variation in the character of the food-yolk is its amount and distribution. in a large number of forms it is distributed unsymmetrically, the yolk being especially concentrated at one pole of the ovum, the germinal vesicle, surrounded by a special layer of protoplasm comparatively free from food-yolk, being placed at the opposite pole. in the arthropoda it has in most instances a symmetrical distribution. further details on this subject are given in connection with the segmentation; the character of which is greatly influenced by the distribution of food-yolk. the body of the ovum is usually spherical, but during a period in its development it not unfrequently exhibits a very irregular amoeboid form, _e.g._ hydra (fig. ), halisarca. [fig. . unripe ovum of toxopneustes lividus. (copied from hertwig.)] the germinal vesicle. the germinal vesicle exhibits all the essential characters of a nucleus. it has a more or less spherical shape, and is enveloped by a distinct membrane which seems, however, in the living state to be very often of a viscous semi-fluid nature and only to be hardened into a membrane by the action of reagents (fol). the contents of the germinal vesicle are for the most part fluid, but may be more or less granular. their most characteristic components are, however, a protoplasmic network and the germinal spots[ ]. the protoplasmic network stretches from the germinal spots to the investing membrane, but is especially concentrated round the former. (fig. .) the germinal spot forms a nearly homogeneous body, with frequently one or more vacuoles. it often occupies an eccentric position within the germinal vesicle, and is usually rendered very conspicuous by its high refrangibility. in many instances it has been shewn to be capable of amoeboid movements (hertwig, eimer), and is moreover more solid and more strongly tinged by colouring reagents than the remaining constituents of the germinal vesicle. [ ] in the germinal vesicles of very young ova the reticulum is often absent. in many instances there is only one germinal spot, or else one main spot and two or three accessory smaller spots. in other cases, _e.g._ osseous fishes, echinaster fallax, eucope polystyla, there are a large number of nearly equal germinal spots which appear to result from the division or endogenous proliferation of the original spot. sometimes the germinal spots are placed immediately within the membrane of the germinal vesicle (elasmobranchii and sagitta). in many lamellibranchiata, in the earthworm, and in many chætopoda the components of the germinal spot become separated into two nearly spherical masses (fig. ), which remain in contiguity along a small part of their circumference, and are firmly united together. the smaller of the two parts is more highly refractive than the larger. hertwig has shewn that the germinal spot is often composed of two constituents as in the above cases, but that the more highly refractive material is generally completely enclosed by the less dense substance. by fol the germinal spot is stated to be absent in a species of sagitta, but this must be regarded as doubtful. in young ova the relative size of the germinal vesicle is very considerable. it occupies in the first instance a central position in the ovum, but at maturity is almost always found in close proximity to the surface. its change of position in a large number of instances is accomplished during the growth of the ovum in the ovary, but in other cases does not take place till the ovum has been laid. as the ovum attains maturity, important changes take place in the constitution of the germinal vesicle, which are described in the next chapter. the egg membranes. a certain number of ova when ready to be fertilized are naked cells devoid of any form of protecting covering, but as a rule the ovum is invested by some form of membrane. such coverings present great variety in their character and origin, and may be conveniently (ludwig, no. ) divided into two great groups, viz. ( ) those derived from the protoplasm of the ovum itself or from its follicle, which may be called primary egg membranes; and ( ) those formed by the wall of the oviduct or otherwise, such as the egg-shell of a bird, which may be called secondary egg membranes. [fig. . ovum of toxopneustes variegatus with the pseudopodia-like processes of the protoplasm penetrating the zona radiata (_zr_). (after selenka.)] the primary egg membranes may again be divided into two groups (ed. van beneden, no. ), viz., ( ) those formed by the protoplasm of the ovum, to which the name vitelline membranes will be applied; and ( ) those formed by the cells of the follicle, to which the name chorion will be applied. the secondary egg membranes will be dealt with in connection with the systematic account of the development of the various groups. they coexist as a rule with primary membranes, though in some types (cephalophorous mollusca, many platyelminthes, etc.), they constitute the only protecting coverings of the ovum. the vitelline membranes are either simple structureless membranes or present numerous radial pores. membranes with the latter structure are very widely distributed, echinodermata, gephyrea, vertebrata, etc. (_vide_ figs. and .) the function of the pores appears to be a nutritive one. they either serve for the emission of pseudopodia-like processes of the protoplasm of the ovum, as has been very beautifully shown in the case of toxopneustes by selenka (fig. ), or they admit (?) processes of the follicular epithelial cells (vertebrata). their presence is in fact probably caused by the existence of such processes, which prevent the continuous deposition of the membrane. the term zona radiata will be applied to perforated membranes of this kind. two vitelline membranes, one perforated and the other homogeneous, may coexist at the same time, _e.g._ sipunculida, vertebrata. (fig. .) [fig. . section through a small part of the surface of an ovum of an immature female of scyllium canicula. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _zn._ zona radiata. _yk._ yolk with protoplasmic network.] the chorion is often ornamented with various processes, etc. it is in many cases doubtful whether a particular membrane is a chorion or a vitelline membrane. all the membranes which surround the ovum may be provided with a special aperture known as the micropyle. a micropyle is by no means found in the majority of types, and there is no homology between the various apertures so named. micropyles have two functions, either ( ) to assist in the nutrition of the ovum during its development, or ( ) to permit the entrance of the spermatozoa. the two functions may in some cases coexist. micropyles of the first class are developed at the point of attachment of the ovum to the wall of the ovary or to its follicle. good examples of this kind of micropyle are afforded by the lamellibranchiata (fig. ), holothuria, and many annelida (polynoe, etc.). the micropyle of the lamellibranchiata (p. ) probably serves also to admit the spermatozoa. the second type of micropyle is found in many insecta, teleostei, etc. general bibliography of the ovum. ( ) ed. van beneden. "recherches sur la composition et la signification de l'oeuf," etc. _mém. cour. d. l'acad. roy. des sciences de belgique_, vol. xxxiv. . ( ) r. leuckart. artikel "zeugung," r. wagner's _handwörterbuch d. physiologie_, vol. iv. . ( ) fr. leydig. "die dotterfurchung nach ihrem vorkommen in d. thierwelt u. n. ihrer bedeutung." _oken, isis_, . ( ) ludwig. "ueber d. eibildung im thierreiche." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, vol. i. [ ]. ( ) allen thomson. article "ovum" in todd's _cyclopædia of anatomy and physiology_, vol. v. . ( ) w. waldeyer. _eierstock u. ei._ leipzig, . [ ] a very complete and critical account of the literature is contained in this paper. _special history of the ovum in different types._ coelenterata. ( ) ed. van beneden. "de la distinction originelle d. testicule et de l'ovaire." _bull. acad. roy. belgique_, e série, vol. xxxvii. . ( ) r. and o. hertwig. _der organismus d. medusen._ jena, . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra._ leipzig, . amongst the coelenterata the ova are developed in imperfectly specialized organs, which are situated in various parts of the body, for the most part in the space between the epiblast and the hypoblast. in hydra the locality where the ova are developed only becomes specialized at the time when an ovum is about to be formed. at one or more points the interstitial cells of the epiblast increase in number and form a protuberance of germinal cells, which may be called the ovary. in this ovary a single ovum is formed by the special growth of one cell. (kleinenberg, no. .) in the free and attached gonophores of hydrozoa, the ova appear either around the walls of the stomach, or the radial canals, or around other parts of the gastro-vascular canals. [fig. . ripe ovum of epibulia aurantiaca. the germinal vesicle has become invisible without reagents. copied from metschnikoff, "entwicklung der siphonophoren." _zeitschrift f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiv. . _p.d._ peripheral layer of denser protoplasm. _p.m._ central area consisting of a protoplasmic meshwork.] their close relations to the gastrovascular canals are probably determined by the greater nutritive facilities thereby afforded. (hertwig, no. .) in the permanent medusa forms the ova have similar relations to the gastro-vascular system. amongst the actinozoa the ova are usually developed between the epiblast and the hypoblast in the walls of the gastric mesenteries. amongst the ctenophora the ova are situated in close relation with the peripheral canals of the gastro-vascular system, which run along the bases of the ciliated bands. there are many examples amongst the coelenterata of ova which retain in their mature state the very simple constitution which has been described as characteristic of all young ova; and which are, when laid, absolutely without any trace of a vitelline membrane or chorion. in many other cases both amongst the medusæ, the siphonophora, and the ctenophora, the ripe egg exhibits a distinction into two parts. the outer part is composed of a dense protoplasm, while the interior is composed of a network or more properly a spongework of protoplasm enclosing in its meshes a more fluid substance. (fig. .) in some cases the ovum while still retaining the constitution last described becomes invested by a very delicate membrane. such is the constitution of the ripe ovum of hippopodius gleba amongst the siphonophora[ ] and of the eggs of geryonia amongst the permanent medusæ[ ]. the ripe eggs of the ctenophora usually present a similar structure[ ]. after being laid they are found to be invested by a delicate membrane separated by a space filled with fluid from the body of the ovum. the latter is composed of two layers, an outer one of finely granular protoplasm and an inner layer consisting of a protoplasmic spongework containing in its meshes irregular spheres. these latter are stated by agassiz to be of a fatty nature, and it is probable that in most cases where a protoplasmic network is present, this alone constitutes the active protoplasm and that the substance which fills up its meshes is to be looked on as a form of food-yolk or deutoplasm, though it appears sometimes to have the power of assimilating the firmer yolk particles. [ ] metschnikoff. _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxiv. . [ ] herman fol. _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. [ ] kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. rippenquallen." _mémoire de l'acad. pétersbourg_, . and alex. agassiz. "embryology of the ctenophoræ." _amer. acad. of science and arts_, vol. x. no. . the membrane which invests the ovum of many of the coelenterata is probably a vitelline membrane. the ova of the hydrozoa take their origin, in most groups at any rate[ ], from the deeper layer of the epiblast (interstitial layer of kleinenberg). the interstitial cells in the ovarian region form primary germinal cells, and by an excess of nutrition certain of them outstrip their fellows and become young ova. such ova differ from the full-grown ova already described, mainly in the fact that they have a proportionately smaller amount of protoplasm round the germinal vesicle. they grow to a considerable extent at the expense of germinal cells which do not become converted into ova. [ ] the view of van beneden, according to which the ova have an endodermal (hypoblastic) origin, has been shewn to be at any rate confined to certain groups. the whole question of the origin of the generative products from the germinal layers in the coelenterata is still involved in great obscurity. the ova of many coelenterata undergo changes of a more complicated kind before attaining their full development. of these ova that of hydra may be taken as the type. the ovary of hydra (kleinenberg, no. ) is constituted of angular flattish germinal cells of which no single one can be at first distinguished from the remainder. as growth proceeds one of the cells occupying a central position becomes distinguished from the remaining cells by its greater size, and wedge-like shape. it constitutes the single ovum of the ovary. after it has become prominent it grows rapidly in size, and throws out irregular processes. the germinal vesicle, which for a considerable time remains unaltered, also at length begins to grow; and the sharply defined germinal spot which it contains after reaching a certain size completely vanishes. after the atrophy of the germinal spot, there appears in the middle of the ovum a number of roundish yolk granules. the shape of the ovum becomes more irregular, and chlorophyll granules, in addition to the yolk granules, make their appearance in it. a fresh germinal spot of circular form also arises in the germinal vesicle. protoplasmic processes are next thrown out in all directions, giving to the ovum a marvellous amoeboid character. (fig. .) the amoeboid form of the ovum serves no doubt to give it a larger surface for nutrition. coincidently with the assumption of an amoeboid form there appear in the ovum a great number of peculiar bodies. they are vesicles with a thick wall bearing a conical projection into the interior which is filled with fluid. (fig. b.) these bodies are formed directly from the protoplasm of the ovum, and are to be compared both morphologically and physiologically with the yolk-spherules of such an ovum as that of the bird. they are called pseudocells by kleinenberg, and are found with slightly varying characters in many ova of the hydrozoa. they first appear as small highly refracting granules; in these a cavity is formed which is at first central but is eventually pushed to one side by the formation of a conical projection from the wall of the vesicle. after the growth of the ovum is completed the amoeboid processes gradually withdraw themselves, and the ovum assumes a spherical form; still however continuing to be invested by the remaining cells of the ovary. it is important to notice that the egg of hydra retains throughout its whole development the characters of a single cell, and that the pseudocells and other structures which make their appearance in it are not derived from without, and supply not the slightest ground for regarding the ovum as a structure compounded of more than one cell. the development of the ova of the tubularidæ, which has been supposed by many investigators to present very special peculiarities, takes place on essentially the same type as that of hydra, but the germinal vesicle remains permanently very small and difficult to observe. the mode of nutrition of the ovum may be very instructively studied in this type. the process is one of actual feeding, much as an amoeba might feed on other organisms. adjoining one of the large ova of the ovary there may be seen a number of small germinal cells. (fig. .) the boundary between these cells and the ovum is indistinct. just beyond the edge of the ovum the small cells have begun to undergo retrogressive changes; while at a little distance from the ovum they are quite normal (_g.c._)[ ]. [ ] the above description of the ova of the tubularidæ is founded on sections of the gonophores of tubularia mesembryanthemum. dr kleinenberg informs me however that the absence of a distinct boundary between the germinal cells and the ovum is not usual. platyelminthes. ( ) p. hallez. _contributions à l'histoire naturelle des turbellariés._ lille, . ( ) s. max schultze. _beiträge z. naturgeschichte d. turbellarien._ greifswald, . ( ) c. th. von siebold. "helminthologische beiträge." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) c. th. von siebold. _lehrbuch d. vergleich. anat. d. wirbellosen thiere._ berlin, . ( ) e. zeller. "weitere beiträge z. kenntniss d. polystomen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . [_vide_ also ed. van beneden] (no. ). this group, under which i include the trematodes, cestodes, turbellarians and nemertines, has played an important part in all controversies relating to the nature and composition of the ovum. the peculiarity in the development of the ovum in most members of this group consists in the fact that two organs assist in forming what is usually spoken of as the ovum. one of these is known as the ovary proper, and the other as the vitellarium or yolk-gland. in the sequel the term ovum will be restricted to the product of the first of these organs. in trematodes the ovary forms an unpaired organ directly continuous with an oviduct into which there open the ducts from paired yolk-glands. the ovary has a sack-like form and contains in some instances a central lumen (polystomum integerrimum). at the blind end of the organ is placed the germinal tissue. this part is, according to the accounts of the majority of investigators, formed of a polynuclear mass of protoplasm not divided into distinct cells. whether it is really formed of undivided protoplasm or not, it is quite certain that a little lower down in the organ distinct cells are found, which have been segmented off from the above mass, and are formed of a large nucleus and nucleolus, surrounded by a delicate layer of protoplasm. these cells are the young ova. they usually assume a more or less angular form from mutual pressure, and, in the cases where the ovary has a lumen, constitute a kind of epithelial lining for the ovarian tube. they become successively larger in passing down the ovary, and, though in most cases naked, are in some instances (polystomum integerrimum) invested by a delicate vitelline membrane. eventually the ova pass into the oviduct and become free and at the same time assume a spherical form. in the oviduct the ovum receives somewhat remarkable investing structures, derived from the organ before spoken of as the yolk-gland. the yolk-gland consists of a number of small vesicles, each provided with a special duct, connected with the main duct of the gland. each vesicle is lined by an epithelium of cells provided with doubly contoured membranes, and containing nuclei. as the yolk cells grow older refracting spherules become deposited in their protoplasm, which either completely hide the nucleus, or render it very difficult to see. in the majority of cases the entire cells forming the lining of the vesicles constitute the secretion of the yolk-gland. they invest the ovum, and around them is formed a shell or membrane. in some cases (_e.g._ polystomum integerrimum) the yolk cells retain their cellular character and vitality till the embryo is far developed. in other cases they lose their membrane and nucleus shortly after the formation of the egg-shell, and break up into a fluid, holding in suspension a number of yolk granules. a partial disorganisation of the yolk cells can also take place before they surround the ovum; while in some species of distomum they completely break up before leaving the yolk-gland. [fig. . generative system of vortex viridis. (from gegenbaur, after max schultze.) _t._ testis. _v.d._ vasa differentia. _v.s._ seminal vesicle. _p._ penis. _u._ uterus. _o._ ovary. _v._ vagina. _g.v._ yolk-glands. _r.s._ receptaculum seminis.] there is thus a complete series of gradations between the investment of the ovum by a number of distinct cells, and its investment by a layer of fluid containing yolk-spherules in suspension. in neither the one case nor the other do the investing structures take any share in the direct formation of the embryo from the ovum. physiologically speaking they play the same part as the white in the fowl's egg. the egg-shell, which is usually formed by a secretion of a special shell-gland opening into the oviduct, exhibits one or two peculiarities in the different species of trematodes. in amphistomum subclavatum it presents at one extremity a thickened area, which is pierced by a narrow micropyle. in other cases one extremity of the egg-shell is produced into a long process, and sometimes even both extremities are armed in this way. opercula and other types of armature are also found in different forms. the mode of development of the ovum in cestodes is very nearly the same as in trematodes. the ovum becomes enveloped in the usual secretion of the yolk-gland; and an egg-shell is always formed by the secretion of a special shell-gland. amongst the turbellarians and nemertines, there are greater variations in the arrangement of the female generative glands, than in the preceding types. in most of the rhabdocoela and fresh-water dendrocoela these organs resemble in their fundamental characters those of the trematodes and cestodes. there are present a paired or single ovary and a paired yolk-gland. the general arrangement of the organs is shewn in fig. . the blind end of the ovaries is usually (ed. van beneden, etc.) stated to be formed of a polynuclear protoplasmic basis, but hallez (no. ) has recently insisted that, even at the extreme end of the ovary, the germinal cells are quite distinct, and not confounded together. with one or two exceptions the yolk cells secreted by the vitellarium retain their vitality till they are swallowed by the embryo, after the development of its mouth. the few not so swallowed become disintegrated. they are granular nucleated cells, and, as was first shewn by von siebold, are remarkable for exhibiting spontaneous amoeboid movements. very important light on the nature of the vitellarium is afforded by the structure of the generative organs in prorhyncus and macrostomum. in prorhyncus there is no separate vitellarium, but the lower part of the ovarian tube functionally and morphologically replaces it. the ovum becomes surrounded by yolk cells, which according to hallez (no. ) retain their vitality for a long time. according to ed. van beneden yolk-spherules are formed in the protoplasm of the ovum itself, in addition to and independently of the surrounding yolk cells. in convoluta paradoxa a special vitellarium is stated to be absent; though a deposit of yolk is formed round the ovum (claparède). in macrostomum again the yolk-glands are at most represented by a lower specialized part of the ovarian tube. the ova in passing down become filled with yolk-spherules. according to ed. van beneden these spherules are formed in the protoplasm of the ovum itself; but this is explicitly denied by hallez, who finds that they are formed from the lining cells of the ovarian tube, which, instead of retaining their vitality as in prorhyncus, break up and form a granular mass which is absorbed by the protoplasm of the ovum. in prostomum caledonicum (ed. van beneden) the generative organs are formed on the same plan as in other rhabdocoela, but the cells which form the yolk-gland give rise to yolk particles which enter the ovum, instead of to a layer of yolk cells surrounding the ovum. amongst the marine dendrocoelous turbellarians the ova are formed in separate sacks widely distributed in the parenchyma of the body between the alimentary diverticula. in these the ova undergo their complete development, without the intervention of yolk-glands. the ovaries of the nemertines more nearly resemble those of the marine dendrocoela than those of the rhabdocoela. they consist of a series of sacks situated on the two sides of the body between the prolongations of the digestive canal. the eggs are developed in these sacks in a perfectly normal manner, and in many cases become filled with yolk-spherules which arise as differentiations of the protoplasm of the ovum. the protecting membranes of the ova have not been accurately studied. in some cases[ ] two membranes are present, an internal and an external. the former, immediately investing the vitellus, is very delicate: the external one is thicker and hyaline. [ ] amphiporus lactiflorius and nemertes gracilis. mcintosh. _monograph on british nemertines._ ray society. the constitution of the female generative organs of the trematodes was first clearly ascertained by von siebold (no. ). he originally, though not very confidently, propounded the view that the germinal vesicles alone were formed in the ovary and that the protoplasm of the ovum was supplied by the yolk-gland. this view has long been abandoned, and von siebold (no. ) himself was the first to recognize that true ova with a protoplasmic body containing a germinal vesicle and germinal spot were formed in the ovary. the trematodes have however not ceased to play an important part in forming the current views upon the development of ova, and have quite recently served ed. van beneden as his type in exposing his general view upon this subject. his view consists fundamentally in regarding the secretion of the yolk-glands, which in most cases merely invests the ovum, as homologous with the yolk-spherules which fill the protoplasm of many eggs; and he considers the part of the ovary where in most forms the ova receive their supply of yolk particles, as equivalent to the vitellarium of the platyelminthes. he further appears to regard the primitive state as that exemplified in trematodes, cestodes, etc., and holds that the ovarian types characteristic of other forms are secondarily derived from this, by the coalescence of the primitively distinct vitellarium with the ovary proper. this appears to me a case of putting the cart before the horse. to my mind the vitellarium is to be regarded, as has already been suggested by gegenbaur, hallez, etc. as a special differentiation of the primitively simple ovarian tube, and the instances of macrostomum and prorhyncus just cited appear to me to indicate some of the steps in this differentiation. in macrostomum the cells of the lower part of the oviduct simply supply a kind of nutriment to the ovum in the form of granular yolk particles, while in prorhyncus the yolk cells of the lower part of the ovarian tube form a complete investment of independent cells for the ovum. if this lower part of the ovarian tube were to grow out as a special diverticulum we should have produced a normal vitellarium. but even with the above modification the theory of van beneden appears to me not completely satisfactory. the view that the yolk-spherules are of the same nature as the yolk cells is mainly supported by the case of prostomum caledonicum, where the vitellarium produces the yolk particles which fill the ovum. the cases of prorhyncus and macrostomum give a different complexion to that of prostomum caledonicum. from the first of these especially it appears that, even when normal yolk cells surround the ovum, yolk particles can be deposited independently in the protoplasm of the ovum. the most probable view of the nature of the vitellarium is that of gegenbaur, hallez, etc., according to which it is to be regarded as a specially modified part of the ovarian tube. on this view the nature and function of the yolk cells admit of a fairly simple explanation. they are to be regarded as primary germinal cells like those in the ovaries of hydra, tubularia, etc., which do not become converted into ova. like these cells they may in some instances, macrostomum, prostomum, etc., serve directly in the nutrition of the ovum. in other cases they retain their independence and serve for the late nutrition of the embryo. in both instances they retain the faculty, normally possessed by ova, of forming yolk particles in their protoplasm. echinodermata. ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "zur anatomie d. echiniden u. spatangen." _niederländisch. archiv f. zoologie_, vol. i. . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "zur anatomie d. asteriden." _niederländisch. archiv f. zoologie_, vol. ii. . ( ) h. ludwig. "beiträge zur anat. d. crinoiden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxviii. . ( ) joh. müller. "ueber d. canal in d. eiern d. holothurien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) c. semper. _holothurien._ leipzig, . ( ) e. selenka. _befruchtung d. eies v. toxopneustes variegatus_, . [_vide_ also ludwig (no. ), etc.] the eggs of the echinodermata present in their development certain points of interest. the ovaries themselves are usually surrounded by a special vascular dilatation. in the asteroidea, the echinoidea, and the holothuroidea the organs have the form of sacks; specially surrounded in the two former groups, and probably the latter, by a vascular sinus formed as a dilatation of one of the generative vessels. in the crinoids they have the form of a hollow rachis completely surrounded by a blood-vessel. (fig. , _b._) the proximity of the ovaries (generative organs) to the vascular system in these forms has clearly the same physiological significance as the proximity of the ovaries (generative organs) to the radial vessels in the coelenterata. in the asteroidea, the echinoidea and the holothuroidea the ovaries have the form of sacks lined by an epithelium of germinal cells, and the ova are formed by the enlargement of these cells, which, when they have reached a certain size, become detached from the walls, and fall into the cavity of the ovarian sack. in toxopneustes (selenka) and very probably in other forms only a few of the epithelial cells undergo conversion into ova: the remainder undergo repeated division, and, as in so many other cases, are eventually employed in the nutrition of the true ova. in the nearly ripe ova of asterias fol has described a flattened follicular epithelium the origin of which is unknown. [fig. . ovum of toxopneustes variegatus with the pseudopodia-like projections of the protoplasm penetrating the zona radiata (_zr_). (after selenka.)] in holothuria (semper) a further differentiation of the germinal cells, not destined to become ova, takes place. they surround the enlarged cell which forms the true ovum, for which they constitute a kind of follicular capsule. this capsule is attached by a stalk to the walls of the ovary, and the ovum lies freely in it except for an area nearly opposite its (the capsule's) point of attachment, where the ovum adheres to the wall of the capsule. subsequently the follicle cells which form the capsule fuse together, and form a definite membrane in which only the nuclei remain distinct. within the membranous capsule there is formed for the ovum an albuminous zona radiata. at the point where the ovum is attached to its capsule this membrane cannot be developed, and therefore remains incomplete. the perforation so formed, becomes the micropyle of the holothurian egg, which was first discovered by joh. müller. the albuminous membrane just described for holothurians is also found in asteroids (fig. ) and echinoids. in these groups there is no proper micropyle, though in ophiothrix a nutritive passage perforates the membrane at the attachment of the ovum before the period when the ovum becomes free (ludwig). the formation of the zona radiata has been studied by selenka. it is secreted by the protoplasm of the ovum, and has a gelatinous consistency, and after it is formed the peripheral layer of the protoplasm of the ovum sends out through it pseudopodia-like processes to absorb nutriment from without. these processes are at first large and irregular, but soon become finer and finer (fig. ), and acquire a regular radiating arrangement. they are withdrawn when the ovum is ripe, but they nevertheless give rise to the finely radiated appearance of the membrane, the radii being in reality delicate pores. [fig. . transverse section through the pinna of a sexually mature comatula. (from gegenbaur, after ludwig.) _p._ tentacle. _g._ lumen of genital rachis. _w._ water-vascular vessel. _n._ nerve cord. _b._ blood-vessel on nerve cord and round genital rachis. _cg._ genital canal. _cd._ dorsal section of the body cavity. _cv._ ventral section of body cavity.] in the crinoids the generative rachis consists of a tube, the epithelium of which is formed of the primary germinal cells. (fig. .) while some of these cells enlarge and become ova, the remainder supply the elements for a follicular epithelium, which is established round the ova, exactly as in holothurians. mollusca. _lamellibranchiata._ ( ) h. lacaze-duthiers. "organes génitaux des acéphales lamellibranches." _ann. sci. nat._, me série, vol. ii. . ( ) w. flemming. "ueb. d. er. entwick. am ei d. teichmuschel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. x. . ( ) w. flemming. "studien üb. d. entwick. d. najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxi. . ( ) th. von hessling. "einige bemerkungen, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. v. . ( ) h. von jhering. "zur kenntniss d. eibildung bei d. muscheln." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxix. . ( ) keber. _de introitu spermatozoorum in ovula_, etc. königsberg, . ( ) fr. leydig. "kleinere mittheilung etc." _müller's archiv_, . _gasteropoda._ ( ) c. semper. "beiträge z. anat. u. physiol. d. pulmonaten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. viii. . ( ) h. eisig. "beiträge z. anat. u. entwick. d. pulmonaten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xix. . ( ) fr. leydig. "ueb. paludina vivipara." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ii. . _cephalopoda._ ( ) al. kÖlliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. cephalopoden._ zurich, . ( ) e. r. lankester. "on the developmental history of the mollusca." _phil. trans._, . _lamellibranchiata._ the ova of the lamellibranchiata present several points of interest. they are developed in pouches of the ovary which are lined by a flattened germinal epithelium, or sometimes (?) a syncytium. some of the cells of this epithelium enlarge and become ova, but remain attached to the walls of their pouches by protoplasmic stalks. round the ovum there appears in some forms (anodon, unio) a delicate vitelline membrane, which is incomplete at the protoplasmic stalk, and is therefore perforated by an aperture which forms the micropyle. (fig. .) as the ovum becomes ripe a large space filled with albuminous fluid becomes established between the ovum and its membrane, but the ovum remains attached to the membrane at the micropyle. in scrobicularia (von jhering, no. ) the membrane round the ovum appears from the first as an albuminous layer, the outermost stratum of which becomes subsequently hardened as the vitelline membrane. in this form also the protoplasmic stalk becomes, in pouches largely filled with ova, extremely long. the ova become eventually detached by the stalk rupturing, and the portion of it which remains attached to the vitelline membrane falling off. the function of the stalk and of the micropyle during the development of the ovum is undoubtedly a nutritive one. in anodon and unio yolk granules similar to those deposited in the protoplasm of the ovum are also found in the epithelial cells of the ovarian pouches (flemming, ), and there can be but little doubt that they are directly transported from these cells into the ovum. these cells would seem therefore to play much the same part as the yolk-glands of some turbellarians (prostomum caledonicum). in scrobicularia yolk granules are not found in the epithelium of the pouches, but are contained in the dilated disc by which the ovum is attached to the wall of its pouch, as well as in the ovum itself. [fig. . medium-sized ovum of anodonta complanata. (after flemming.) _mp._ micropyle. _gs._ germinal spot.] on the ovum becoming detached the micropyle still remains as an aperture, which probably has the function of admitting the spermatozoa. the shape and form of the micropyle vary greatly. in anodon and unio it is a projecting trumpet-shaped structure, which after fertilization becomes shortened and reduced to a mere aperture which is finally stopped up. (fig. .) in other forms it is simply a perforation in the vitelline membrane which is sometimes very large. in a species of arca, which i had an opportunity of observing at valparaizo, it was equal to nearly the circumference of the ovum. the eggs of the lamellibranchiata are not only remarkable in the possession of a micropyle, but in certain peculiarities of the yolk and of the germinal vesicle. in the fresh-water mussels there is usually found in young and medium-sized ova a peculiar lens-shaped body--keber's corpuscle--which is placed immediately internal to the micropyle. it is probably in some way connected with the nutrition of the ovum, though the fact that it is not always present shews that it cannot be of great importance. a dark body found by von jhering in the neighbourhood of the germinal vesicle in the ripe ovum of scrobicularia is probably of a similar nature to keber's corpuscle. both bodies may be placed in the same category as the so-called yolk nucleus of the spider's and frog's ova. in all except the youngest ova of anodon and unio the germinal spot is composed of two nearly complete spheres united together for a small part of their circumference. (fig. , _gs._) the smaller of these has a higher refractive index than the larger, and often contains a vacuole: the two parts together appear to be the separated components (though not by simple division) of the primitive nucleolus. a nucleolus of this character is not universal amongst lamellibranchiata, but a similar separation of the constituents of the germinal spot has been found by flemming in tichogonia, in which however the more highly refracting body envelopes part of the less highly refracting body in a cap-like fashion. _gasteropoda._ the ova of the gasteropoda are developed, like those of the lamellibranchiata, from the epithelial cells of the ovarian acini or pouches. in the hermaphrodite forms both ova and spermatozoa are produced in the same pouches (fig. ), some of the epithelial cells becoming ova and others spermatozoa. the ova are usually formed in the wall of the pouch, and the spermatozoa internally (pulmonata) (fig. _a_), or a further differentiation of parts may take place (fig. _b_). the ova of gasteropods are exceptional in the fact that a vitelline membrane is rarely or never developed around them. the ovum in its passage to the exterior becomes enclosed in a secretion of the albuminous gland, which hardens externally to form a special membrane. [fig. . follicles of the hermaphrodite glands of gasteropoda. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ of helix hortensis. the ova (_aa_) are developed on the wall of the follicle, and the seminal masses (_b_) internally. _b._ of aeolidia. the seminal portion of a follicle is beset peripherally by ovarian saccules (_a_). _c._ common afferent duct.] _cephalopoda._ lankester (no. ) has brought out some very interesting points with reference to the nutrition of the eggs of sepia during their growth. the eggs develop in connective-tissue pouches which early give rise to a double pedunculated capsule of connective tissue. the cells of the inner layer of this capsule soon assume an epithelial character, and become a definite follicular epithelium, while between the two layers there penetrates a network of vascular channels. the follicular epithelium becomes after the establishment of these vascular channels folded in a most remarkable manner. the folds, which are shewn in section in fig. , _ic_, project into and nearly completely fill up the body of the ovum. an enormous increase is thus effected in the nutritive surface exposed by the epithelium. each fold is thoroughly supplied with blood-vessels. the plications of the follicular epithelium give rise to a basket-work tracery on the surface of the ovum. during the stage when the follicular epithelium has the above structure, its cells have a character similar to that of the goblet-cells of a mucous membrane, and pour out their metamorphosed protoplasm into the body of the ovum. [fig. . transverse section through an ovarian egg of sepia. (copied from lankester.) _o.c._ outer capsular membrane. _i.c._ inner capsular membrane with follicular epithelium. _b.v._ blood-vessels in section between the outer and inner capsular membranes. _c._ vitellus. the section shews the folds of the inner capsule with their epithelium, which penetrate into the substance of the ovum for the purpose of supplying it with nourishment.] after the above mode of nutrition has gone on for a certain time a change takes place, and the ridges gradually disappear. this is caused by the epithelial cells passing off from the ridges into the protoplasm of the ovum; and becoming assimilated, after retaining their individuality for a longer or shorter period. when the absorption of the ridges is completed the surface of the ovum assumes a perfectly regular outline. the capsule of the ovum then bursts at the opposite pole to the peduncle, and the ovum falls into the oviduct. the ova of the cephalopoda, like those of the gasteropoda, are quite naked, being without a vitelline membrane or chorion. the egg-capsule which is formed for them in their passage down the oviduct is perforated in sepia by a micropylar aperture. chÆtopoda. ( ) ed. claparède. "les annelides chætopodes d. golfe de naples." _mém. d. l. sociét. phys. et d'hist. nat. de genève_ - and . ( ) e. ehlers. _die borstenwürmer nach system. und anat. untersuchungen._ leipzig, - . ( ) e. selenka. "das gefäss-system d. aphrodite aculeata." _niederländisches archiv f. zool._, vol. ii. . the ova of the chætopoda are in most cases developed from the special tracts of the epithelial cells lining parts of the body cavity, which constitute a germinal epithelium (fig. ). very frequently (aphrodite, arenicola), as is so common in other types, these tracts of germinal cells surround the blood-vessels. in some cases the germinal epithelium thickens to form a compact organ, for which the outermost cells may form a more or less definite membranous covering (oligochæta, etc.). the ova are formed by the enlargement, accompanied by other changes, of these germinal cells. during their early development the ova are frequently surrounded by a special capsule, which is often stalked, and provided at its attachment with a large micropylar aperture. in aphrodite and polynoe this arrangement, which is clearly connected with the nutrition of the ovum, is very easily seen. the ovum is dehisced into the body cavity by the bursting of its capsule or the rupture of the stalk. the capsule is always eventually thrown off; but a vitelline membrane is frequently developed after the detachment of the ovum into the body cavity. the vitelline membrane of spio and other polychæta is provided with an equatorial ring of ampulliform vesicles. [fig. . a parapodium of tomopteris. (from gegenbaur.) _o._ collection of germinal epithelial cells lining the body cavity.] discophora. ( ) h. dorner. "ueber d. gattung branchiobdella." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xv. . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten._ ( ) fr. leydig. "zur anatomie v. piscicola geometrica, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. i. . ( ) c. o. whitman. "embryology of clepsine." _quart. j. of micr. sci._, vol. xviii. . the ovary of the discophora is formed of a mass of cells enveloped in a membranous sack. in branchiobdella there is placed in the central axis of these cells a column of nucleated protoplasm from which the cells themselves are budded off. the development of the ovum takes place by the enlargement, etc. of one of the peripheral cells, which eventually bursts the wall of the sack and is freely dehisced into the body cavity. in most other leeches (except piscicola and its allies) there is found a more specialized arrangement of the same nature as in branchiobdella. there are one or more coiled egg-strings which lie freely in a delicate sack continuous with the oviduct. each egg-string is formed of a central rachis and of a peripheral layer of cells[ ]. the ova are formed by the enlargement of the peripheral cells accompanied by a deposition of food-yolk. food-yolk appears to be formed in the rachis even more energetically than in the protoplasm of the ova. when ripe the ova fall into the ovarian sack. [ ] the rachis is stated by whitman (no. ), and other observers to be formed of nucleated protoplasm, but further investigations on this point are still required. in piscicola the development of the ovum is somewhat peculiar but resembles in certain respects that of bonellia (p. ). the ova are developed from the primitive germinal cells which fill up the ovarian sack. the nuclei in these cells increase in number, and a nucleated peripheral layer of each cell becomes separated from the central part, which also contains nuclei. this latter part next divides into numerous cells, of which one eventually forms the ovum, and the remainder constitute a mass of cells adjoining it as in bonellia (fig. ). this mass of cells eventually disappears, and is probably employed in the nutrition of the ovum. the ovaries of the leech appear to belong to the tubular type in that the ova are not formed from part of the epithelium lining the body cavity; but if, as seems probable, the true affinities of the leeches are with the chætopoda, the investment of the ovaries must be of a secondary nature. it should be noted that the ova are not, as in the ordinary tubular ovary, developed from the epithelium lining the ovarian tube. gephyrea. ( ) keferstein u. ehlers. _zoologische beiträge._ leipzig, . ( ) c. semper. _holothurien_, , p. . ( ) j. w. spengel. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. gephyreen." _beiträge a. d. zool. station z. neapel_, vol. i. . ( ) j. w. spengel. "anatomische mittheilungen üb. gephyreen." _tagebl. d. naturf. vers._ münchen, . in the gephyrea, as in the chætopoda, the ova are developed from the lining cells of the peritoneum and frequently from the cells surrounding parts of the vascular system (bonellia, thalassema). in many cases (sipunculus, phascolosoma, echiurus) the main growth of the ovum takes place after it has been dehisced into the body cavity. in sipunculus the ova in the body cavity are surrounded by a follicle which is thrown off before they become ripe. brandt denies the existence of this follicle or rather its cellular nature. spengel's ( ) observations are conclusive in favour of the correctness of the original interpretation of keferstein and ehlers. the follicles would seem to be formed after the ova have become free. in phascolosoma there is no follicle (semper, spengel). in both phascolosoma and sipunculus a vitelline membrane with radial pores--_zona radiata_--is formed, and in phascolosoma the external part of this is separated off as a structureless vitelline membrane. the formation of both these membranes from the protoplasm of the ovum is rendered certain in the latter case by the absence of a follicular epithelium. some interesting observations on the growth and origin of the ovum in bonellia have been made by spengel. [fig. . follicle of bonellia at a medium stage of development. (after spengel.) _ov._ ovum. _fe._ flattened follicular epithelium.] the ova originate from certain cells (germinal cells) in the peritoneal investment of the ventral vessel, overlying the nervous cord. these cells, which are well marked off from the surrounding flattened peritoneal elements, increase in number by division, and form small masses surrounded by a follicle of peritoneal cells, and attached by a stalk to the peritoneum. the central cell of each mass grows larger than the rest, which arrange themselves in a columnar fashion round it; it is not, however, destined to become the ovum. on the contrary certain of the other cells adjoining the stalk grow larger, and finally one of these becomes distinguished as the ovum by its greater size and the character of its nucleus. the remainder of the larger cells become of the same size as their neighbours. the ovum now becomes more or less separate from the mass of germinal cells, rapidly grows in size, and soon forms the most considerable constituent of the follicle (fig. , _ov_). the remaining germinal cells are quite passive, and though, with the exception of the central cell, they do not appear to atrophy, they soon constitute a relatively small prominence on the surface of the ovum. by the rupture of the stalk the whole follicle becomes eventually detached, and the further development of the ovum takes place in the body cavity. a vitelline membrane is formed, and eventually the ovum is taken into the oviduct (segmental organ). at this time or slightly before, the follicle cells together with the germinal mass, which throughout exhibits no signs of atrophy, become thrown off, and the ovum is left invested in its vitelline membrane. nematoda. ( ) ed. claparède. _de la formation et de la fécondation des oeufs chez les vers nématodes._ genève, . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten._ ( ) h. munk. "ueb. ei- u. samenbildung u. befruchtung b. d. nematoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . ( ) h. nelson. "on the reproduction of ascaris mystax, etc." _phil. trans._ . ( ) a. schneider. _monographie d. nematoden._ berlin, . the female organs consist as a rule of two cæcal tubes which unite before opening to the exterior. each of these is divided into a vagina, uterus, oviduct, and ovary. the ovary constitutes the blind end of the tube, and is formed of a common protoplasmic column, holding a number of nuclei in suspension. the protoplasm becomes cleft around the nuclei in the uppermost part of the tube; the circumscription of the ova proceeds, however, very gradually, and since it commences at the periphery of the column the ova remain attached by stalks to a central axis with one end free. in this way there is formed a rod-like structure known as the _rachis_, which consists of a central axis with a series of half circumscribed ova radiately arranged round it. in the lowest part of the ovary the ova become completely isolated and form separate cells. the protoplasm of the ova, which is clear in the terminal division of the ovary, becomes in most forms filled lower down with yolk-spherules secreted in the body of the ova. these commence to appear at the uppermost extremity of the rachis. in some instances, _e.g._ cucullanus elegans, yolk-spherules are not formed. in the oxyuridæ the ova are directly segmented off from the terminal syncytium of protoplasm without the intervention of a rachis; and are therefore formed in the same way as amongst trematodes, etc. the origin of the membrane around the ova of the nematoda has been much disputed. at the time when the ovum is detached from the rachis no membrane is present, but it nevertheless appears from schneider's observations that the region at which it is detached is softer than other parts, so that a kind of micropyle is here formed which disappears after impregnation. a delicate vitelline membrane then appears, around which there is subsequently established an egg-shell, which is usually stated to be formed as a secretion of the walls of the uterus; but schneider and leuckart have given strong grounds for believing that it is really a further differentiation of the vitelline membrane due to the activity of the protoplasm of the ovum. the originally single membrane becomes as it thickens split into two layers. the outer of these forms the true egg-shell, and the fertilization of the ovum appears to be a necessary prelude to its production. round the egg-shell the walls of the uterus often secrete a special albuminous covering. the egg-shell exhibits in many cases peculiar sculpturings as well as terminal prolongations. insecta. ( ) a. brandt. _ueber das ei u. seine bildungsstätte._ leipzig, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the agamic reproduction and morphology of aphis." _linnean trans._, vol. xxii. . _vide_ also _manual of invertebrated animals_, . ( ) r. leuckart. "ueber die micropyle u. den feinern bau d. schalenhaut bei den insecteneiern." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) fr. leydig. _der eierstock u. die samentasche d. insecten._ dresden, . ( ) lubbock. "the ova and pseudova of insects." _phil. trans._ . ( ) stein. _die weiblichen geschlechtsorgane d. käfer._ berlin, . [conf. also claus, landois, weismann, ludwig (no. ).] the ovum of insects has formed the subject of numerous investigations, and has played an important part in the controversies on the nature of the ovum. the ovaries are paired organs, rarely directly connected, each consisting of more or fewer ovarian tubes which open into a common oviduct. the oviducts unite into a vagina, usually provided with a spermatheca and accessory glands, which need not be further alluded to. each ovary is invested by a peritoneal covering, which assumes various characters, and either forms a loose network covering the whole or a special tunic round each egg-tube. it is continuous with the general peritoneal investment. each ovarian tube (fig. ) consists of three sections: ( ) a terminal thread, ( ) the terminal chamber or germogen, ( ) the egg-tube proper. [fig. . _a._ ovarian tube of the flea, pulex irritans. (from gegenbaur, after lubbock.) _o._ ovum. _g._ germinal vesicle. _b._ ovarian tube of a beetle, carabus violaceus. (after lubbock.) _o._ ovarian segment, formed of an ovum _a_, and a mass of yolk cells, _b_.] the whole egg-tube is invested in a structureless tunica propria. the terminal threads are fine prolongations of the ends of the egg-tubes usually continued close up to the heart. at their extremities they frequently anastomose, or even unite into a common thread. in some cases they are absent. they form either direct continuations of the germogen and have the same histological structure, or in other cases are simply prolongations of the tunica propria, and serve as ligaments. the germogen usually consists of two parts: an upper, filled with nuclei imbedded in protoplasm, and a lower, in which distinct cells have become differentiated. the lower part of the egg-tubes is filled with ova which advance in development towards the oviduct, and lie in chambers more or less distinctly constricted from each other. in these chambers there are in most forms in addition to the true ova a certain number of nutritive cells. the true egg-tubes are moreover lined by an epithelial layer which passes in and forms more or less complete septa between the successive chambers. the points which have been especially controverted are ( ) the relation of the ovum to the germogen, and ( ) the relation of the nutritive or yolk cells to the ovum. to the controversies on these points it will only be possible to give a passing allusion. as has been already hinted there are two distinct types of ovaries, viz. those without the so-called nutritive or yolk cells and those with them[ ]. [ ] for a list of the genera with and without nutritive cells, _vide_ brandt, pp. and . the formation of the ovum is most simple in the type without yolk cells, which will for that reason be first considered (fig. _a_). the germogen is constituted of a number of nuclei imbedded in a scanty cementing protoplasm. in the lower part of the germogen the nuclei are larger, and become separated off from the nucleated protoplasm above, as distinct cells with a thin layer of protoplasm round the germinal vesicle. these cells are the ova. as they pass down the egg-tube their protoplasm increases in bulk, and they become isolated by ingrowths of the epithelial cells the origin of which is still uncertain, which form round each ovum a special follicle, so that the egg-tube is filled by a single row of ova each in an epithelial follicle (fig. _a_). the larger the ova the more columnar is the epithelium of the follicle. as the oviductal extremity of the egg-tube is approached the ova increase in size, and their protoplasm is more and more filled with yolk particles. in the lower part of the egg-tube the epithelium gives rise to a chorion. the epithelium around each ovum has been spoken of as forming a follicle, and it is implied that the epithelium round each ovum travels down the egg-tube with the ovum. it is however by no means clear from the observations of the majority of writers that this is the case, and in fact the epithelium is generally spoken of as if it were simply the epithelium of the egg-tube. in favour of the view here adopted the following considerations may be urged. firstly, there is considerable evidence that the superficial layer of the germogen gives rise to the epithelial cells, simultaneously with the formation of the ova from the deeper layers. secondly, the fact that the epithelium grows in between the separate ova appears to render it almost certain that this part of the epithelium must travel down the egg-tubes with the ova. thirdly, the epithelium no doubt gives rise to the chorion, and considering the peculiar structure of the chorion, this seems possible only on the view that the epithelium travels down the egg-tube with the ova. fourthly, when, or even before, the egg is laid the epithelium undergoes atrophy, and the remains of it have been compared to the corpora lutea. if the view about the epithelium here adopted is correct, the epithelium without doubt corresponds to the follicular epithelium of other ova, and has the same origin as the ova themselves. the ovaries with yolk cells differ in appearance from those without, mainly in each ovarian chamber of an egg-tube containing two elements, usually more or less distinctly separated. these two elements are ( ) at the lower end of the chamber, the ovum, and ( ) at the upper, large cells which gradually disappear as the ovum grows larger (fig. _b_). the uppermost part of the egg-tube is formed, as in the previous type, by a mass of nucleated protoplasm, but the germinal cells formed from it do not all become ova. the germinal cells leave the germogen in batches, and in each batch one of the cells may usually be distinguished from the very first as the ovum; the remainder forming the nutritive cells. in the uppermost part of the egg-tube the whole mass of each batch is very small, and the successive batches are very imperfectly constricted from each other. gradually however both the nutritive cells and the ovum grow in size, and then as a rule, the diptera forming a marked exception, the chamber containing a batch becomes constricted into an upper section with the nutritive cells and a lower one with the ovum. the ovum in passing down the tube becomes gradually invested by a layer of epithelial cells, which in many cases pass in and partially separate the ovum from the nutritive cells. the epithelium appears not unfrequently to be continued as a flat layer between the nutritive cells and the wall of the egg-tube. as was first shewn by huxley and lubbock, the protoplasm of the ovum is often continued up as a solid cord, which terminates freely between the nutritive cells, and serves to bring to the ovum the material elaborated by them. it is present in its most primitive form in the somewhat aberrant ovary of coccus. in this ovary the terminal chamber is filled with cells which are united to a central rachis, as in nematodes, and the prolongation from the ovum is continuous with this rachis. this cord is known as the yolk-duct (dottergang) by german writers. although it is not generally present in a distinct form, there is always a passage connecting the ovum and yolk cells, even when the follicular epithelium grows in and nearly separates them. the number of nutritive cells varies from two (one ?) to several dozen. after they have reached a maximum they gradually atrophy, and are finally absorbed without apparently fusing directly with the ovum. the two types of insect ovaries appear fundamentally to differ in this. in the one type all the germinal cells develop into ova; in the other the quantity is, so to speak, sacrificed to the quality, and the majority of germinal cells are modified so as to subserve the nutrition of the few. it is still undecided whether the yolk cells absolutely elaborate yolk particles, or are merely conveyers of nutriment to the ovum. the egg membranes of insects present many points of interest, which are however for the most part beyond the scope of this work. there is always a chorion formed as a cuticular deposit of the follicle cells, which is frequently sculptured, finely perforated, etc., and is in many instances provided with a micropyle, developed, according to leydig, at the upper end of the ovum. its development at this point appears to be due to the fact that the follicle is here incomplete; so that the cuticular membrane deposited by it is also incomplete. a true vitelline membrane can in many instances be demonstrated (donacia, etc.). araneina. ( ) victor carus. "ueb. d. entwick. d. spinneneies." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ii. . ( ) v. wittich. "die entstehung d. arachnideneies im eierstock, etc." müller's _archiv._ . [conf. leydig, balbiani, ludwig (no. ), etc.] the ova of many araneina are remarkable for the presence in the ovum of the so-called yolk-nucleus. the ova develop from the epithelial cells lining the ovarian sack. certain of these cells grow large and project outwards, invested by the structureless membrane of the ovarian wall. the stalks of projections so formed are turned towards the lumen of the ovary, and are plugged with the epithelial cells which line the ovarian sack. when ripe, the ova pass from their sacks into the cavity of the ovary. the yolk-nucleus, which appears very early, is a solid body present in the protoplasm of the ovum. it is not found in all genera of araneina. at its full development it exhibits in the fresh condition a granular structure, but very soon shews an irregularly concentric stratification which becomes more marked on the addition of reagents. according to balbiani this stratification is confined to the superficial layers, while internally there is a body with all the characters of a cell. the yolk-nucleus is still found in the nearly ripe ovum, though it always disappears before development commences. it is probably connected with the nutrition of the ovum, though nothing is certainly known about its function. crustacea. ( ) aug. weismann. "ueb. d. bildung von wintereiern bei leptodora hyalina." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxvii. . [for general literature _vide_ ludwig no. and ed. van beneden, no. .] amongst the many interesting observations on the crustacean ova i will only allude to those of weismann on the ova of leptodora, a well-known cladoceran form. the phenomena of the development of the ova in this form present a close analogy with those in insects. the ovary is formed of ( ) a germogen containing at its upper end nucleated protoplasm and lower down germinal cells in groups of four; ( ) of a portion formed of successive chambers in each of which there is a row of four germinal cells. of the four cells only the third develops into an ovum; the remainder are used as pabulum. this is the mode of development in the summer. in the winter the sacrifice of a larger number of germinal cells is required for the development of the ova; and an ovum is produced only in the alternate chambers. in the chambers where an ovum will not be formed an epithelial investment becomes first established round the four germinal cells. the four cells then coalesce, and form a spherical ball of protoplasm from which portions are budded off and absorbed by the investing epithelial cells, which at the same time lose their nuclei. when the whole of the central ball is thus absorbed by the epithelial cells, the latter become used by the winter ovum as food. the winter ovum at its full development is formed of a central mass of food-yolk and superficial layer of protoplasm. chordata. _urochorda._ (tunicata.) ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien ü. d. entwicklung d. ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "ueber entwicklungsgeschichte d. pyrosoma." _arch. f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. . ( ) kupffer. "stammverwandtschaft zwischen ascidien u. wirbelthieren." _arch. f. mikr. anat._, vol. vi. . ( ) giard. "Études critiques des travaux, etc." _archives zool. expériment._, vol. i. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber die entstehung, etc." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. ii. . _cephalochorda._ ( ) p. langerhans. "z. anatomie d. amphioxus lanceolatus," pp. - . _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xii. . _craniata._ ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. . ( ) th. eimer. "untersuchungen ü. d. eier d. reptilien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. viii. . ( ) pflüger. _die eierstöcke d. säugethiere u. d. menschen._ leipzig, . ( ) j. foulis. "on the development of the ova and structure of the ovary in man and other mammalia." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xvi. . ( ) j. foulis. "the development of the ova, etc." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiii. - . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. wirbelthiereier mit partieller dottertheilung." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) alex. götte. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. _untersuchungen üb. d. ei u. d. eientwicklung bei knochenfischen._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. höherer thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) j. müller. "ueber d. zahlreichen porenkanäle in d. eikapsel d. fische." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) w. h. ransom. "on the impregnation of the ovum in the stickleback." _pro. r. society_, vol. vii. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen, etc." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . [cf. ludwig, no. , ed. van beneden, no. , waldeyer, no. , &c.] there are some very obscure points connected with the growth of the ovum of the tunicata. when quite young the ovum is a naked cell with a central nucleus containing a single large nucleolus. around it is a flat follicular epithelium enclosed in a membrana propria folliculi. the follicle cells soon become larger and give rise to an envelope round the egg of the nature of a chorion. at the same time they frequently become cubical or even columnar, and filled with numerous vacuoles. during or after the completion of the above changes a number of bodies usually spoken of as test-cells make their appearance in the superficial protoplasm of the egg, which by the time the egg is ripe arrange themselves in many species as a definite layer round the periphery of the ovum. these bodies have received their name from the opinion, now known to be erroneous (hertwig and semper), that they eventually migrated into the test or mantle of the embryo which becomes developed round the ovum. by kowalevsky (no. ) these bodies are regarded as true cells, and are believed to be formed by some of the cells of the original follicular epithelium making their way into the vitellus of the ovum and multiplying there. by kupffer (no. ), and giard (no. ), and fol, they are also regarded as true cells but are believed to originate spontaneously in the vitellus. finally by semper they are believed not to be cells, but to be amoeboid protoplasmic bodies which are pressed out from the vitellus under the stimulus of the sea-water or otherwise. they do not according to this author naturally appear till the ovum is quite ripe, though they can be artificially produced at an earlier period by the action of reagents or sea-water. when produced in the natural course of things the vitellus undergoes a contraction. they are without any apparent function, and play no part in the embryonic development. semper's results are very peculiar, but owing to the careful study which his paper displays they no doubt deserve attention. further investigations are however very desirable. kowalevsky from his researches on pyrosoma (no. ) adheres to his first opinion, though he abandons the view that these cells are connected with the formation of the test. in the passage of the egg through the oviduct the vacuolated follicle cells grow out into very peculiar long processes or villi. in ascidia canina these processes become as long as the whole diameter of the vitellus (kupffer, no. ). in amphioxus and the craniata the ova are developed as in the chætopoda, gephyrea, etc., from specialized germinal cells of the peritoneal epithelium. in amphioxus the germinal epithelium which constitutes the essential part of the ovary is divided into a number of distinct segments: in the craniata no such division is observable. in young examples of amphioxus the generative organs are in an indifferent condition, and the two sexes cannot be distinguished. they form isolated horse-shoe shaped masses of cells, which occupy a position at the base of the myotomes, in the intervals between the successive segments; and extend from the hinder end of the respiratory sack to the abdominal pore. they are situated in the proper body cavity, and are surrounded by the peritoneal membrane. each generative mass is at first solid, and is formed of an outer layer of more flattened cells and an inner mass of large rounded or polygonal cells. in its interior there appears at a somewhat later period a central cavity. after the cavity has appeared the sexes can be distinguished by the different behaviour of the cells. in all the craniata, the ovary forms a paired ridge (unless single by abortion or fusion) attached by a mesentery to the dorsal wall of a more or less extended region of the abdominal cavity. this ridge is at first identical in the two sexes, and arises at an early period of embryonic life. it is essentially formed of a thickening of the peritoneal epithelium, and in osseous fish, ganoids (?) and amphibia the ovary remains during embryonic life nearly in this condition, though a small prominence of the adjacent stroma also becomes formed. in other craniata the ridge, though at first in this condition, very soon becomes much more prominent, and is formed of a central core of stroma enclosed in the germinal epithelium (fig. ). [fig. . transverse section through the ovary of a young embryo of scyllium canicula, to shew the primitive germinal cells (_po_) lying in the germinal epithelium on the outer side of the ovarian ridge.] the thickened germinal epithelium gives rise (in the case of the female) to the ova and the follicular epithelium. whether the genital ridge is provided with a core of stroma or no, the germinal epithelium is always in contact on one side with the stroma, from which it is at first separated by a well-marked boundary line; but after a certain time there appear numerous vascular ingrowths from the stroma, which penetrate through all parts of the germinal epithelium, and break it up into a sponge-like structure formed of trabeculæ of germinal epithelium interpenetrated by vascular strands of stroma. the trabeculæ of the germinal epithelium form the egg-tubes of pflüger. with reference to the distribution of the stroma in the germinal epithelium, it may be said in a general way that there is a special layer close to the surface of the ovary, which, after the formation of fresh ova has nearly ceased, completely isolates a superficial layer of the germinal epithelium from the deeper and major part of it. the superficial layer is frequently (but erroneously) regarded as constituting the whole of the germinal epithelium. the layer of stroma below the superficial epithelium forms in the mammalian ovary the tunica albuginea. as the follicles are formed. in the trabeculæ of germinal epithelium the stroma grows in around them, and forms for each one of them a special tunic. the adult ovaries differ in a corresponding manner to the embryonic genital ridges as to the presence of a core of stroma. the ovaries which are without such a core in the embryo, are also without it in the adult, and are formed of a double layer of tissue entirely derived from the germinal epithelium with its ingrowths of stroma, and composed, for the most part, of ova in all stages of development. in the case of the other ovaries there is a hilus of stroma--the zona vasculosa--internal to the egg-bearing region. in mammalia, proportionately to the ovary, the zona vasculosa is at a maximum, and in birds and reptiles it is relatively far less developed. in these forms the germinal epithelium covers the whole surface of the ovary. in elasmobranchii the structure of the ovary is somewhat different, owing to the presence in the ovarian ridge of a large quantity of a peculiar lymphatic tissue, which has no homologue in the other ovaries; and still more to the fact that the true germinal epithelium is in most forms entirely confined to the outer surface of the ovary, on which it forms a layer of thickened epithelium in the embryo (fig. ), and of ovigerous tissue in the adult. in the ovary of mammalia and reptilia and possibly other forms there are present in the zona vasculosa during embryonic life cords of epithelial tissue derived from the malpighian bodies; these cords have no function in the female, but in the male assist in forming the seminiferous tubules. in considering the development of the ova it is again convenient to distinguish between amphioxus and the craniata. in amphioxus the germinal cells destined to become ova are first distinguished by the larger size of their germinal vesicles and by the presence of certain refracting granules in their protoplasm. they subsequently rapidly enlarge and form protuberances on the surface of the ovary, which are enveloped for three-quarters of their circumference by the flattened epithelioid cells of the peritoneal membrane, which thus form a kind of follicle. as the ova become ripe yolk granules are deposited in their protoplasm, first in the superficial layer and subsequently throughout. the germinal vesicle also passes from the centre to the surface. a vitelline membrane is formed when the ova are mature. in the craniata the ova are developed from the cells of the germinal epithelium. in the types with larger ova (teleostei, elasmobranchii, amphibia, reptilia, aves), at a very early period, sometimes (elasmobranchii) even before the formation of the genital ridge, certain of the cells which are destined to form ova become distinguished by their greater size, and by the possession of an abundant clear protoplasm and a large spherical granular nucleus. (fig. , _po._) such special cells form primitive germinal cells, and are common to both sexes. for a considerable period after their first formation these cells remain stationary in their development; but their number increases, partly, it appears, by an addition of fresh ones, and partly by division. owing to the latter process the germinal cells come to form small masses or nests. the following description of the further changes of these cells in the female refers in the first instance to elasmobranchii, but holds good in most respects for other types as well. it is convenient to distinguish two modes in which the primitive germinal cells may become converted into permanent ova, though the morphological difference between the two modes is of no great importance. [fig. . section through part of the germinal epithelium of the ovary of scyllium at the time when the primitive germinal cells are becoming converted into ova. _nn._ nests formed of agglomerated germinal cells. the nuclei of these cells are imbedded in undivided protoplasm. _do._ developing ova. _o._ ovum with follicle. _po._ primitive germinal cell. _dv._ blood-vessels.] in the first mode the protoplasm of all the cells forming a nest unites into a single mass containing the nuclei of the previously independent ova (fig. , _nn_). the nuclei in the nest increase in number, probably by division, and at the same time the nest itself increases in size. the nuclei while increasing in number also undergo important changes. a segregation of their contents takes place, and the granular part (nuclear substance) forms a mass close to one side of the membrane of the nucleus, while the remainder of the nucleus is filled with a clear fluid. the whole nucleus at the same time increases somewhat in size. the granular mass gradually assumes a stellate form, and finally becomes a beautiful reticulum, of the character so well known in nuclei (fig. , _do_). two or three special nucleoli are present, and form the nodal points of the reticulum, while its meshes are filled up with the clear fluid constituents of the nucleus. not all the nuclei undergo the above changes; but some of them stop short in their development, undergo atrophy, and appear finally to be absorbed as pabulum by the protoplasm of the nest. such nuclei in a state of degeneration are shewn in fig. . thus only a few nuclei out of a nest undergo a complete development. at first the protoplasm of the nest is clear and transparent, but as the nuclei undergo their changes the protoplasm becomes more granular, and a specially large quantity of granular protoplasm is generally present around the most developed nuclei, and these with their protoplasm gradually become constricted off from the nest, and constitute the permanent ova (fig. , _do_). the relative number of ova which may develop from a single nest is subject to great variation. the object of the whole occurrence of the fusion of primitive ova and the subsequent atrophy of some of them is to ensure the adequate nutrition of a certain number of them. in the second and rarer mode of development of permanent ova from primitive germinal cells, the nuclei and protoplasm undergo the same changes as in the first mode, but the cells either remain isolated, and never form part of a nest, or form part of a nest in which no fusion of protoplasm takes place, and in which all the cells develop into permanent ova. the isolated ova and nests are situated, during the whole of the above changes, amongst the general undifferentiated cells of the germinal epithelium, but as soon as a permanent ovum becomes formed the cells adjoining it arrange themselves around it as a special layer, and so give rise to the epithelium of the follicle (fig. , _o_). the growths of stroma into the germinal epithelium appear shortly after the formation of the earlier follicles. _mammalia._ the development of the ovary in mammalia differs mainly from that just described in that the formation of primitive germinal cells from the indifferent cells of the germinal epithelium takes place at a relatively much later period. the stroma grows into the germinal epithelium while it is still formed of rounded indifferent cells, and divides it into trabeculæ as described above. at a later period a number of the cells in the deeper layer of the epithelium, as well as certain cells in the superficial part, become primitive germinal cells, while the remainder of the cells become smaller and are destined to form the follicle cells. the most conspicuous primitive germinal cells are situated in the superficial layer of epithelium; and the primitive germinal cells in the deeper layers of the germinal epithelium are not nearly so marked as in most craniata, so that it is difficult in some cases to be sure of their destination till their nucleus commences to undergo its characteristic metamorphosis. the change of the primitive ova into permanent ova takes place in the same manner in mammals as in elasmobranchii, except that the fusion of the primitive ova into polynuclear masses is much rarer. the formation of the at first quite simple follicles takes place while the ova are still aggregated in large masses; and the first follicles are formed in the innermost part of the germinal epithelium. soon after their formation the follicles become isolated by connective-tissue growths. _post-embryonic development of the ova._ the ova of the vertebrata differ greatly in size and structure. the differences in size depend upon the quantity of the food-yolk. in the amphioxus and mammalia, in which the ova are smallest, the comparatively insignificant amount of food-yolk is distributed uniformly through the ovum. a larger quantity of it is present in the ova of amphibia, marsipobranchii and teleostei, and it attains an immense development in the ova of elasmobranchii, reptilia, and aves. the food-yolk originates from a differentiation of the protoplasm of the egg. it arises as a number of small highly refracting particles in a stratum slightly below the surface. in the mammalian ovum these particles spread through the protoplasm of the egg, but do not attain any considerable development. in other forms the case is different. in elasmobranch fishes the refracting particles appear to develop into vesicles, in the interior of which there arise solid oval or even rectangular highly refracting bodies, in the substance of which a stratification may usually be observed, which gives them an appearance not unlike that of striated muscle. in teleostei the yolk assumes very different characters in different cases. it is often formed of larger or smaller vesicles containing in their interior other bodies. stratified plates like those of elasmobranchii are also not uncommon. in the ripe ovum of teleostei the food-yolk usually resolves itself into a large vitelline sphere, which occupies the greater part of the ovum, and is formed of a highly refracting fluid material which coagulates on the addition of water. it contains in many instances one or more highly refracting bodies known as oil globules, and is invested by a granular protoplasmic layer continuous with the germinal disc, in which a number of normal yolk-spherules are frequently present. in the ovum of the herring[ ] no distinct investing protoplasmic layer or germinal disc is present till after impregnation, but the ovum is formed of a superficial layer with minute yolk-spherules, and of a central portion with larger yolk-spheres. [ ] kupffer, _laichen u. entwicklung des ostsee-härings_. berlin, . in amphibia the yolk very often appears in the form of oval or quadrilateral plates. in reptilia the yolk-spherules are vesicles, somewhat similar to the white yolk-spheres of aves, but as a rule without the highly refracting spheres in their interior. the peculiar and complicated arrangement and structure of the white and yellow yolk in birds is fully described in the "elements of embryology," and it need only be said that the yolk develops in birds in the same manner as in other types, and that at first all the yolk-spherules appear in the form of white yolk. the yellow yolk-spheres are a peculiar modification of white yolk-spheres, formed comparatively late in the development of the egg (fig. ). [fig. . yolk elements from the egg of the fowl. _a._ yellow yolk. _b._ white yolk.] in the eggs of many amphibia a dark granular mass known as the yolk nucleus makes its appearance; and is supposed, without any very clear evidence, to be related to the formation of the yolk. a body in the form of a shell enclosing a dark nucleus, which is perhaps of the same nature, has been described by eimer in the reptilian egg: it eventually resolves itself into a number of angular fragments. in elasmobranchii a similar body is perhaps present. the food-yolk just described is imbedded in the active protoplasmic portion of the body of the ovum. in the case of the mammalian ovum the food-yolk is fairly uniformly distributed, but in the case of all other craniate ova the protoplasm of the ovum is especially concentrated at one pole, which is known as the upper or animal pole, and the food-yolk is more especially concentrated at the opposite pole. the herring's ovum forms an apparent exception to this statement, in that the concentration of the protoplasm to form the germinal disc does not take place till after impregnation. in amphibia the animal pole is mainly marked by the smaller size of the yolk-spherules, but in most other forms a small portion of the ovum in the region of the germinal vesicle is nearly free from yolk-spherules, and then forms a more or less specialized part known as the germinal disc. in aves, reptilia, and elasmobranchii the germinal disc shades off insensibly into the yolk; but in teleostei it is more sharply marked off, and is continued more or less completely round the periphery of the ovum. in ova with true germinal discs it is the germinal disc alone which undergoes segmentation. the protoplasm of vertebrate ova frequently exhibits a reticulate or sponge-like structure (fig. ) and the reticulum in many cases, _e.g._ elasmobranchii and reptilia, serves to hold the yolk-spheres together. in the tench it has been observed by bambeke to penetrate into the vitelline sphere. in the ova of the craniata the germinal vesicle is generally polynucleolar. in amphioxus and petromyzon there is however but a single nucleolus, and in mammalia there is usually one special nucleolus and two or three accessory ones. the opposite extreme is reached in many osseous fish where the nucleoli are extremely numerous. the protoplasmic reticulum of the embryonic germinal vesicle may in some instances be retained till the ovum is nearly ripe, but usually assumes a very granular form. it is at first connected with the nucleoli which form nodal points in it, but this relation cannot always be detected in the later stages. a membrane, which in the case of the larger ova becomes very thick, is always present round the germinal vesicle. it is said to be perforated in some reptilian ova (eimer). as to the position of the germinal vesicle, it is at first situated in the centre of the ovum, but always eventually travels to the animal pole, and as the egg becomes ripe undergoes changes which will be more especially detailed in the next chapter. in the ova with a large amount of food-yolk it assumes an eccentric position very early. the homologies of the primary egg membranes of craniata are still involved in some obscurity. there seem to be three membranes, which may all coexist, and of which one or more are almost always present. these membranes are-- ( ) an outermost usually homogeneous non-perforated membrane, which is by most authors regarded as a chorion, but is probably a vitelline membrane--by which name i shall speak of it. ( ) a radiately striated membrane (internal to the former when the two coexist) which can be broken up into a series of separate columns. these give to the membrane its radiate striation, but it is probable that between the columns there are pores sufficiently large to admit of the passage of protoplasmic filaments. this membrane will be spoken of as the zona radiata. it is a differentiation of the outermost layer of the yolk. ( ) within the zona radiata a third and delicate membrane is occasionally found, especially when the ovum is approaching maturity. [fig. . section through a small part of the surface of an ovum of an immature female of scyllium canicula. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _zn._ zona radiata. _yk._ yolk with protoplasmic network.] in elasmobranchii the first membrane to be formed is the vitelline membrane, which appears in some instances before the formation of the follicle--a fact which appears to shew that it is really formed as a differentiation of the protoplasm of the egg. in most elasmobranchii this membrane attains a very considerable development. a zona radiata is generally (if not always) present in elasmobranchii, but arises at a later period than the vitelline membrane (fig. , zn). the zona radiata always disappears long before the ovum is ripe. the vitelline membrane also gradually atrophies, though it lasts much longer than the zona radiata. when the egg is taken up by the oviduct all trace of both membranes has vanished. in reptilia precisely the same arrangements of the membranes are found as in elasmobranchii, except that as a rule the zona radiata is relatively more important. the vitelline membrane is thin except in the crocodilia. the third innermost membrane is found according to eimer in many reptilia. in birds both vitelline membrane and zona radiata are present, but the latter atrophies early, leaving the former as the sole membrane when the egg is ripe. in osseous fish the vitelline membrane is usually either absent or may perhaps in some instances, _e.g._ the perch, be imperfectly represented. in the ripe ovum of the herring there is a distinctly developed membrane external to the zona radiata which is probably the vitelline membrane. the zona radiata attains a very great development, and is generally provided with knobs of various shapes on its outer surface. a delicate membrane internal to this--my third membrane--has often been described, but there is still some doubt about its existence. in some cases an external less granular layer of the ovum itself has been described as a special membrane. in the perch a peculiar mucous capsule, penetrated by irregular branched prolongations of the follicle cells, is present in addition to the ordinary membranes. in petromyzon a zona radiata appears to be present, which in the adult is divided into two layers, both of them radiately striated according to calberla, but according to kupffer and benecke the outer one is not perforated, and would appear therefore to be a vitelline membrane as defined above. a delicate membrane is formed at a comparatively late period around the ova of the amphibia, and is stated (waldeyer, no. , and kolessnikow) to have a delicate radial striation. it probably corresponds with the zona radiata. in mammalia a radiately striated membrane--the zona radiata--is generally described as being present, and internal to it, in the nearly ripe egg, a delicate membrane has been shewn by e. van beneden to exist. externally to the zona radiata there may be observed a granular membrane irregular on its outer surface on which the cells of the discus are supported. this membrane is more or less distinctly separated from the zona radiata; and by tracing back its development it appears very probable that it is the remnant of the first-formed membrane in the very young ovum, and therefore the vitelline membrane. a micropyle (first discovered by ransom, no. ) is present in a large number of osseous fish and in petromyzon (calberla). doubts have been thrown on its existence in the latter form by kupffer and benecke; and at any rate it would only seem to perforate the zona radiata. in the osseous fish in which it has been detected, salmonidæ, percidæ (gasterosteus), clupeidæe, etc., it forms a minute perforation of the zona radiata at the animal pole, just large enough to admit a single spermatozoon. its characters differ slightly in different cases, but there is usually a shallow depression, in the centre of which it is situated. the eggs of all craniata (except petromyzon (?)) appear to be enclosed in a cellular envelope known as the follicle. the cells which form this are, as has been already explained, derived from the germinal epithelium[ ], and frequently arrange themselves around the ovum before the appearance of the growths of stroma into the epithelium. all young follicles are nearly alike, but as they grow older they exhibit various modifications in the different groups. they retain their simplest condition as a flat epithelial layer in most osseous fish and amphibia. in most other forms the cells become at some period columnar, and are generally arranged in two or more layers. there is formed externally to the epithelium a delicate membrane--the membrana propria folliculi--which is in its turn enclosed in a vascular connective-tissue sheath. [ ] for the different views maintained by foulis, kölliker, etc. the reader is referred to the writings of these authors. the grounds for the view here adopted will be found in my paper (no. ). in elasmobranchii and many reptilia (_lacertilia_, _ophidia_) some of the cells become much larger than the others, and assume a funnel-shaped form with the narrow end in contact with the egg membrane. these large cells, which have a regular arrangement in the epithelium, are probably in some way connected with the nutrition. they have only been noticed in large-yolked ova. many observers have described prolongations of the follicle cells through the pores of the zona radiata in aves, reptilia and teleostei. the most remarkable modification of the follicle is that which is found in mammalia. at first the follicle is similar to that of other vertebrata, and is formed of flat cells derived from the germinal cells adjoining the ovum. these cells next become columnar and then one or two layers deep. later they become thicker on one side than on the other, and there appears in the thickened mass a cavity, which gradually becomes more distended and is filled with an albuminous fluid. as the cavity enlarges, the ovum with several layers of cells around it forms a prominence projecting into it. the whole structure with its tunic is known as the graafian follicle. the follicle cells are known as the membrana granulosa, and the projection, in which the ovum lies, as the discus or cumulus proligerus. the cells of the discus in immediate contiguity to the ovum usually form a more or less specialized layer and are somewhat more columnar than the adjoining cells. the spermatozoon. although there is no doubt that the spermatozoon in most instances plays as important a part as the ovum in influencing the characters of the organism which is evolved from the coalesced product of the ovum and spermatozoon, yet the actual form of the spermatozoon has not, like the form of the ovum, a secondary influence on the early phases of development. a comparative history of the spermatozoon is therefore of less importance for my purpose than that of the ovum; and i shall confine myself to a few remarks on its general structure, and mode of growth. the primary origin of the male germinal cells, and their relation to the sperm-forming cells, is dealt with in the second part of the treatise. although the minute size of most spermatozoa places great difficulties in the way of a satisfactory investigation of them, yet there can be but little doubt that they always have the value of cells. in the vast majority of instances the spermatic cell or spermatozoon is composed of ( ) a spherical or oval portion known as the head, formed of a nucleus enveloped in an extremely delicate layer of protoplasm, and ( ) of a motile protoplasmic flagellum known as the tail; which together with the investing layer of the head forms the body of the cell. as might be anticipated, the proportion, size, and relations of the parts of the spermatozoon are subject to great variations. the head is often extremely elongated; and it is in many cases rather on theoretical grounds, than as a result of actual observation, that a protoplasmic layer is stated to be continued round the nucleus which forms the main constituent of the head. in some of the elongated forms of spermatozoa, _e.g._ in insecta, there is no marked distinction, except in the character of the protoplasm, between the head and the tail. a connecting element is frequently interposed between the head and tail, which appears however to be constituted of the same material as the tail, and sometimes forms a thickening on the tail close below the head (amphioxus). a very remarkable modification of the tail is found in many amphibia, reptilia and mammalia. in these types there is attached to what appears to be a normal tail a delicate membrane, the outer edge of which is thickened to form a kind of secondary filament. in the living spermatozoon this filament is in a state of constant movement. the membrane winds spirally round the tail. in the majority of forms the tail of the living spermatozoon exhibits sinuous cilia-like movements. in two groups the movements are however of an amoeboid character. these groups are the nematoda and the crustacea; and the spermatozoa in both of them frequently present very abnormal forms. in nematoda they are pear-shaped, cylindrical, spine-shaped, etc., and are mainly formed of protoplasm with a highly refracting nucleus. in the crustacea the variations of form are still greater. in the malacostraca they are sometimes simply spherical (squilla), while in astacus and a large number of decapoda they are composed of a nucleated body with stellate rays. in paludina amongst the mollusca there are two _forms_ of completely developed spermatozoa existing side by side in the same individual. the spermatozoa are formed by the breaking up of the male germinal cells, or of cells secondarily derived from them by division. the cells which directly give rise by division to the spermatozoa may be called spermospores and are equivalent to the ova or oospores. amongst the sponges (halisarca, schultze, no. ) a germinal cell, similar to that which in the female becomes an ovum, repeatedly divides and eventually gives rise to a ball of cells (a spermosphere or sperm-morula), each constituent cell of which becomes converted into a spermatozoon, and may be designated by the special term 'spermoblast.' in most hydrozoa the subepithelial epiblastic cells become converted into germinal cells (spermospores), and then break up to form spermoblasts, each of which becomes a spermatozoon. in most higher metazoa the spermospores usually form the epithelium of an ampulla or tube, though more rarely (many chætopoda, gephyrea, etc.) they may be derived from cells lining the body cavity, as in the case of ova. the spermatozoa are formed either by the direct division of the spermospores into a number of cells, spermoblasts, each of which grows into a spermatozoon; or by the nucleus of the spermospore becoming subdivided within the cell body, the latter differentiating itself into the tails of the spermatozoa while the segments of the nucleus give rise to the main part of the heads. in many instances interstitial cells which do not give rise to spermatozoa, are intermingled with the spermospores. in a good many cases, as first pointed out by blomfield[ ], the whole of each spermospore does not become converted into spermatozoa, but part, either with or without a segment of the original nucleus, remains passive, and carrying as it does the off-budded spermoblasts may be called the 'sperm-blastophor.' this passive portion of protoplasm is not employed in the regeneration of the spermoblast. this very singular phenomenon has been observed in elasmobranchii, the frog, the earthworm, helix, etc.[ ], and probably has a much wider extension. in elasmobranchii (semper) the passive portions of protoplasm are nucleated, and are placed on the outer side of the columnar spermospores which line the testicular ampullæ; they are not distinctly differentiated till the nuclei, segmented from the nucleus of the primitive spermospore to form the heads of the spermatozoa, have become fairly numerous. in the frog the passive blastophor also occurs as a nucleated mass of protoplasm on the outer side of the spermospore. in the earthworm the blastophor forms a central non-nucleated portion of the spermospore; and the whole periphery of each spermospore becomes converted into spermoblasts. [ ] _quart. journ. of micro. science_, vol. xx. . [ ] blomfield, _loc. cit._, p. , states that he has observed this fact in lumbricus, tubifer, hirudo, helix, arion, paludina, rana, salamandra, and mus. it has been already stated in the introduction that the male and female generative products are homodynamous, but the consideration of the development of the products in the two sexes shews that a single spermatozoon is not equivalent to an ovum, but rather _that the whole of the spermatozoa derived from a spermospore are together equivalent to one ovum_. chapter ii. the maturation and impregnation of the ovum. _maturation of the ovum and formation of the polar bodies._ in the preceding chapter the changes in the ovum were described nearly up to the period when it became ripe, and ready to be impregnated. preparatory to the act of impregnation there take place however a series of remarkable changes, which more especially concern the germinal vesicle. the attention of a large number of investigators has recently been directed to these changes as well as to the phenomena of impregnation. the results of their investigations will be described in the present chapter; but for an historical account of these investigations, as well as for a determination of the delicate questions of priority, the reader is referred to fol's memoir (no. ), and to a paper by the author (no. ). [fig. . ripe ovum of asterias glacialis enveloped in a mucilaginous envelope, and containing an eccentric germinal vesicle and germinal spot (copied from fol).] the nature of the changes which take place in the maturation of the ovum may perhaps be most conveniently displayed by following the history of a single ovum. for this purpose the eggs of asterias glacialis, which have recently formed the subject of a series of beautiful researches by fol ( ), may be selected. the ripe ovum (fig. ), when detached from the ovary is formed of a granular vitellus enveloped in a mucilaginous coat, the zona radiata. it contains an eccentrically-situated germinal vesicle and a germinal spot. in the former is present the usual protoplasmic reticulum. as soon as the ovum reaches the sea-water the germinal vesicle commences to undergo a peculiar metamorphosis. it exhibits frequent changes of form, the reticulum vanishes, its membrane becomes gradually absorbed, its outline indented and indistinct, and finally its contents become to a certain extent confounded with the vitellus (fig. ). [fig. . two successive stages in the gradual metamorphosis of the germinal vesicle and spot of the ovum of asterias glacialis immediately after it is laid (copied from fol).] the germinal spot at the same time loses its clearness of outline and gradually disappears from view. at this stage, and between it and the stage represented in fig. , the action of reagents brings to light certain appearances the nature of which is not yet fully cleared up for asterias, which have been described somewhat differently by fol for ast. glacialis and hertwig for asteracanthion. fol finds immediately after the stage just described that a star is visible between the remains of the germinal vesicle and the surface of the egg, which is connected with an imperfectly-formed nuclear spindle extending towards the germinal vesicle[ ]. at the end of the nuclear spindle may be seen the broken up fragments of the germinal spot. [ ] by the term 'nuclear spindle' i refer to the peculiar form of a double striated cone assumed by the nucleus just before division, which is no doubt familiar to all my readers. i use the term star for the peculiar stellate figure usually visible at the poles of the nuclear spindle. for a further description of these parts the reader is referred to chapter iv. [fig. . ovum of asterias glacialis shewing the clear spaces in the place of the germinal vesicle. fresh preparation (copied from fol).] at a slightly later stage, in the place of the original germinal vesicle there may be observed in the fresh ovum two clear spaces (fig. ), one ovoid and nearer the surface, and the second more irregular in form and situated rather deeper in the vitellus. in the upper space parallel striæ may be observed. by treatment with reagents the first clear space is found to be formed of a horizontally-placed spindle with two terminal stars, near which irregular remains of the germinal spot may be seen. slightly later (fig. ) there may be seen on the lower side of the spindle a somewhat irregular body, which may possibly be part of the remains of the germinal spot, though fol holds that it is probably part of the membrane of the germinal vesicle. the lower clear space visible in the fresh ovum now contains a round body, fig. . fol concludes that the spindle is formed out of part of the germinal vesicle and not from the germinal spot, while he sees in the round body present in the lower of the two clear spaces the metamorphosed germinal spot. he will not, however, assert that no fragment of the germinal spot enters into the formation of the spindle. [fig. . ovum of asterias glacialis, at the same stage as fig. , treated with picric acid (copied from fol).] the following is hertwig's (no. ) account of the changes in the germinal vesicle in asteracanthion. shortly after the egg is laid the protoplasm on the side of the germinal vesicle towards the surface of the egg develops a prominence which presses inwards the wall of the vesicle. at the same time the germinal spot develops a large vacuole, in the interior of which is a body consisting of nuclear substance, and formed of a firmer and more refractive material than the remainder of the germinal spot. in the prominence first mentioned as projecting inwards towards the germinal vesicle first one star, formed by radial striæ of protoplasm, and then a second make their appearance; while the germinal spot appears to have vanished, the outline of the germinal vesicle to have become indistinct, and its contents to have mingled with the surrounding protoplasm. treatment with reagents demonstrates that in the process of disappearance of the germinal spot the nuclear mass in its vacuole forms a rod-like body, the free end of which is situated between the two stars which occupy the prominence indenting the germinal vesicle. at a later period granules may be seen at the end of the rod and finally the rod itself vanishes. after these changes by the aid of reagents there may be demonstrated a spindle between the two stars, which hertwig believes to grow in size as the last remnants of the germinal spot gradually vanish, and he maintains that the spindle is formed at the expense of the germinal spot. the stage with this spindle corresponds with fig. . several of hertwig's figures closely correspond with those of fol, and considering how conflicting is the evidence before us, it seems necessary to leave open for asterias the question as to what parts of the germinal vesicle are concerned in forming the first spindle. a clearer view of the phenomena which take place at this stage has been obtained by fol in the case of heteropods (pterotrachæa). in the ovum a few minutes after it has been laid the germinal vesicle becomes very pale, and two stars make their appearance round a clear substance near its poles. the nucleus itself is somewhat elongated, and commences to exhibit at its poles longitudinal striæ, which gradually extend towards the centre at the expense of the nuclear reticulum, from a metamorphosis of which they are directly derived. when the striæ of the two sides have nearly met, thickenings may be observed in the recticulum between them, which give rise, where the striæ of the two sides unite, to the central thickenings of the fibres (nuclear plate). in this way a complete nuclear spindle is established[ ]. [ ] for the further details on the nuclear spindle _vide_ the next chapter. the important result of fol's observations on heteropods, which tallies also with what is found in asterias, is that a spindle with two stars at its poles is formed from the metamorphosis of the germinal vesicle and surrounding protoplasm (fig. ). [fig. . portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis at the moment of the detachment of the first polar body and the withdrawal of the remaining part of the spindle within the ovum. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] polar cells. the spindle has up to this time been situated with its axis parallel to the surface of the egg, but in somewhat older specimens a vertical spindle is found, with one end projecting into a protoplasmic prominence which makes its appearance on the surface of the egg (fig. ). hertwig believes that the spindle simply travels towards the surface, and while doing so changes the direction of its axis. fol asserts, however, that this is not the case, but that between the two phases of the spindle an intermediate one is found in which a spindle can no longer be seen in the egg, but its place is taken by a body with a dentated outline. he has not been able to arrive at a conclusion as to what meaning is to be attached to this occurrence, which does not appear to take place in heteropods. [fig. . portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis, with the first polar cell as it appears when living (copied from fol).] in any case the spindle which projects into the prominence on the surface of the egg divides into two parts, one in the prominence and one in the egg (fig. ). the prominence itself with the enclosed portion of the spindle becomes constricted off from the egg to form a body, well known to embryologists as the polar body or cell (fig. ). since more than one polar cell is formed, that which is the earliest to appear may be called the first polar cell. [fig. . portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis immediately after the formation of the second polar cell. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] the part of the spindle which remains in the egg becomes directly converted into a second spindle by the elongation of its fibres, without passing through a typical nuclear condition. a second polar cell next becomes formed in the same manner as the first (fig. ), and the portion of the spindle remaining in the egg becomes converted into two or three clear vesicles (fig. ), which soon unite to form a single nucleus (fig. ). the new nucleus which is clearly derived from part of the original germinal vesicle is called the female pronucleus, for reasons which will appear in the sequel. [fig. . portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis after the formation of the second polar cell, shewing the part of the spindle remaining in the ovum becoming converted into two clear vesicles. picric acid preparation (copied from fol).] the two polar cells appear to be situated between two membranes, the outer of which is very delicate, and only distinct where it covers the polar cells, while the inner one is thicker and becomes, after impregnation, more distinct, and then forms what fol speaks of as the vitelline membrane. it is clear, as hertwig has pointed out, that the polar bodies originate by a regular process of cell division and have the value of cells. a peculiar phenomenon makes its appearance in the eggs of clepsine shortly after the formation of the polar cells, which has been spoken of by whitman (no. ) as the formation of the polar rings. the following is his description of the occurrence. "fifteen minutes after the elimination of the polar globules (_i.e._ cells) a ring-like depression or constriction appears in the yolk around the oral pole, and in this depression a transparent liquid substance (nuclear?) is collected forming the first polar ring.... the same phenomena repeat themselves later at the aboral pole.... the rings concentrate to form two discs.... before the first cleavage both discs plunge deep into the egg." the nature of these rings is at present quite obscure. [fig. . ovum of asterias glacialis with the two polar cells and the female pronucleus surrounded by radial striÆ, as seen in the living egg (copied from fol).] considering how few ova have been adequately investigated with reference to the behaviour of the germinal vesicle, any general conclusions which may at present be formed are to be regarded as provisional. there is however abundant evidence that at the time of maturation of the egg the germinal vesicle undergoes peculiar changes, which are, in part at least, of a retrogressive character. these changes may begin considerably before the egg has reached the period of maturity, or may not take place till after it has been laid. they consist in an appearance of irregularity and obscurity in the outline of the germinal vesicle, the absorption of its membrane, the partial absorption of its contents in the yolk, the disappearance of the reticulum, and the breaking up and disappearance of the germinal spot. the exact fate of the single germinal spot, or the numerous spots where they are present, is still obscure. the retrogressive metamorphosis of the germinal vesicle is followed in a large number of instances by the conversion of what remains into a striated spindle similar in character to a nucleus previous to division. this spindle travels to the surface of the ovum and undergoes division to form the polar cell or cells in the manner above described. the part which remains in the egg forms eventually the female pronucleus. the germinal vesicle has up to the present time only been observed to undergo the above series of changes in a certain number of instances, which, however, include examples from several divisions of the coelenterata, the echinodermata, and the mollusca, some of the vermes [turbellarians (_leptoplana_), nematodes, hirudinea, alciope, sagitta], ascidians, etc. it is very possible, not to say probable, that such changes are universal in the animal kingdom, but the present state of our knowledge does not justify us in saying so. in the craniata especially our knowledge of the formation of the polar bodies is very unsatisfactory. in petromyzon kupffer and benecke have brought forward evidence to shew that one polar body is formed prior to the impregnation, and a second in connection with a peculiar prominence of protoplasm after impregnation. part of the germinal vesicle remains in the egg as the female pronucleus. in the sturgeon the germinal vesicle atrophies and breaks up before impregnation, and afterwards part is found as a granular mass on the surface of the egg, while part forms a female pronucleus. in amphibia the observations of hertwig ( ) and bambeke ( ) tend to shew that after the germinal vesicle has assumed a superficial situation at the pigmented pole of the ovum its contents become intermingled with the yolk, and are in part extruded from the ovum as a granular mass after impregnation. part of them remains in the ovum and forms a female pronucleus. whether there is a proper division of the germinal vesicle as in typical cases is not known. oellacher ( ) by a series of careful observations upon the egg of the trout, and subsequently of the bird, demonstrated that in the ovum while still in the ovary, the germinal vesicle underwent a kind of degeneration and eventually became ejected, in part at any rate. my own observations on elasmobranchs, which require enlargement and confirmation, tend to shew that this part may be the membrane. ed. van beneden ( ) has contributed some important observations on the rabbit. his account is as follows. as the ovum approaches maturity the germinal vesicle assumes an eccentric position, and fuses with the peripheral layer of the egg to constitute the _cicatricular lens_. the germinal spot next travels to the surface of the cicatricular lens and forms the _nuclear disc_: at the same time the membrane of the germinal vesicle vanishes, though it probably unites with the nuclear disc. the plasma of the nucleus then collects into a definite mass and forms the nucleoplasmic body. finally the nuclear disc assumes an ellipsoidal form and becomes the nuclear body. nothing is now left of the original germinal vesicle but the nuclear body and the nucleoplasmic body, both still situated within the ovum. in the next stage no trace of the germinal vesicle can be detected in the ovum, but outside it, close to the point where the modified remnants of the vesicle were previously situated, there is present a polar body which is composed of two parts, one of which stains deeply and resembles the nuclear body, and the other does not stain but is similar to the nucleoplasmic body. van beneden concludes that the parts of the polar body are the two ejected products of the germinal vesicle. we may be perhaps permitted to hold that further observations on this difficult object will demonstrate that part of the germinal vesicle remains in the ovum to form the female pronucleus. with reference to invertebrate forms attention may be called to the observations of bütschli ( ). although in cucullanus a normal formation of the polar bodies takes place, yet in the nematodes generally, bütschli has been unable to find the spindle modification of the germinal vesicle, but states that the germinal vesicle undergoes degeneration, its outline becoming indistinct and the germinal spot vanishing. the position of the germinal vesicle continues to be marked by a clear space, which gradually approaches the surface of the egg. when it is in contact with the surface a small spherical body, the remnant of the germinal vesicle, comes into view, and eventually becomes ejected. the clear space subsequently disappears. in addition to the types just quoted, which may very probably turn out to be normal in the mode of formation of the polar bodies, there is a large number of types, including the whole of the rotifera and arthropoda with a few doubtful exceptions[ ], in which the polar cells cannot as yet be said to have been satisfactorily observed. [ ] the best instance of what appears like a polar cell in arthropoda is a body recently found by grobben ("entwicklungsgeschichte d. moina rectirostris." claus' _arbeiten_, vol. ii., wien, ) near the surface of the protoplasm at the animal pole of the summer and parthenogenetic eggs of _moina rectirostris_, one of the cladocera. the body stains deeply with carmine, but differs from normal polar cells in not being separated from the ovum; and its identification as a polar cell must remain doubtful till it has been shewn to originate from the germinal vesicle. the more important of the doubtful cases amongst the rotifera and arthropoda are the following. flemming ( ) finds that in the summer and probably parthenogenetic eggs of _lacinularia socialis_ the germinal vesicle approaches the surface and becomes invisible, and that subsequently a slight indentation in the outline of the egg marks the point of its disappearance. in the hollow of the indentation flemming believes a polar cell to be situated, though he has not definitely seen one. hoek[ ] believes that he has found a polar body in the ovum of _balanus balanoides_, but his observations are not perfectly satisfactory. [ ] "zur entwicklung d. entomostraken." _niederlandischer archiv. f. zoologie_, vol. iii. p. . bütschli, who has expressly searched for the polar bodies in the ova of rotifera, was unable to find any trace of them, though he found that as the egg became ripe the germinal vesicle became half its original size. in the parthenogenetic eggs of aphis he also failed to find a trace of polar bodies, though the germinal vesicle, after the germinal spot had broken up into fragments, approached the surface and disappeared. whatever may be the eventual result of more extended investigation, it is clear that the formation of polar cells according to the type described above is a very constant occurrence. its importance is increased by the discovery by strasburger of the existence of an analogous process amongst plants. two questions about it obviously present themselves for solution: ( ) what are the conditions of its occurrence with reference to impregnation? ( ) what meaning has it in the development of the ovum or the embryo? the answer to the first of these questions is not difficult to find. the formation of the polar bodies is independent of impregnation, and is the final act of the normal growth of the ovum. in a few types the polar cells are formed while the ovum is still in the ovary, as, for instance, in some species of echini, hydra, etc., but, according to our present knowledge, far more usually after the ovum has been laid. in some instances the budding-off of the polar cells precedes, and in other instances follows impregnation; but there is no evidence to shew that in the latter cases the process is influenced by the contact with the male element. in asterias, as has been shewn by o. hertwig and fol, the formation of the polar cells may indifferently either precede or follow impregnation--a fact which affords a clear demonstration of the independence of the two occurrences. to the second of the two questions it does not unfortunately seem possible at present to give an answer which can be regarded as satisfactory. the retrogressive changes in the membrane of the germinal vesicle which usher in the formation of the polar bodies may very probably be viewed as a prelude to a renewed activity of the contents of the vesicle; and are perhaps rendered the more necessary from the thickness of the membrane which results from a protracted period of passive growth. this suggestion does not, however, help us to explain the formation of polar bodies by a process identical with cell division. the ejection of part of the germinal vesicle in the formation of the polar cells may probably be paralleled by the ejection of part or the whole of the original nucleus which, if we may trust the beautiful researches of bütschli, takes place during conjugation in infusoria as a preliminary to the formation of a fresh nucleus. this comparison is due to bütschli, and according to it the formation of the polar bodies would have to be regarded as assisting, in some as yet unknown way, the process of regeneration of the germinal vesicle. views analogous to this are held by strasburger and hertwig, who regard the formation of the polar bodies in the light of a process of excretion or removal of useless material. such hypotheses do not, unfortunately, carry us very far. i would suggest that in the formation of the polar cells part of the constituents of the germinal vesicle, which are requisite for its functions as a complete and independent nucleus, is removed, to make room for the supply of the necessary parts to it again by the spermatic nucleus. my view amounts to the following, viz. that after the formation of the polar cells the remainder of the germinal vesicle within the ovum (the female pronucleus) is incapable of further development without the addition of the nuclear part of the male element (spermatozoon), and that if polar cells were not formed parthenogenesis might normally occur. a strong support for this hypothesis would be afforded were it to be definitely established that a polar body is not formed in the arthropoda and rotifera; since the normal occurrence of parthenogenesis is confined to these two groups. it is certainly a remarkable coincidence that they are the only two groups in which polar bodies have not so far been satisfactorily observed. it is perhaps possible that the part removed in the formation of the polar cells is not absolutely essential; and this seems at first sight to follow from the fact of parthenogenesis being possible in instances where impregnation is the normal occurrence. the genuineness of the observations on this head is too long a subject to enter into here[ ], but after admitting, as we probably must, that there are genuine cases of such parthenogenesis, it cannot be taken for granted without more extended observation that the occurrence of development in these rare instances may not be due to the polar cells not having been formed as usual, and that when the polar cells are formed the development without impregnation is impossible. [ ] the instances quoted by siebold, _parthenogenesis d. arthropoden_, are not quite satisfactory. in hensen's case, p. , impregnation would have been possible if we can suppose the spermatozoa to be capable of passing into the body cavity through the open end of the uninjured oviduct; and though oellacher's instances are more valuable, yet sufficient care seems hardly to have been taken, especially when it is not certain for what length of time spermatozoa may be able to live in the oviduct. for oellacher's precautions, vide _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xxii., p. . a better instance is that of a sow given by bischoff, _ann. sci. nat._, series , vol. ii., . the unimpregnated eggs were found divided into segments, but the segments did not contain the usual nucleus, and were perhaps nothing else than the parts of an ovum in a state of disruption. selenka found in the case of _purpura lapillus_ that no polar body was formed in the eggs which did not develop, but in the case of neritina, bütschli has found that this does not hold good. the remarkable observations of greeff (no. ) on the parthenogenetic development of the eggs of _asterias rubens_ tell, however, very strongly against the above hypothesis. greeff has found that under normal circumstances the eggs of this species of starfish will develop without impregnation in simple sea-water. the development is quite regular and normal, though much slower than in the case of impregnated eggs. it is not definitely stated that polar cells are formed, but there can be no doubt that this is implied. greeff's account is so precise and circumstantial that it is not easy to believe that any error can have crept in; but neither hertwig nor fol have been able to repeat his experiments, and we may be permitted to wait for further confirmation before absolutely accepting them. to the suggestion already made with reference to the function of the polar cells, i will venture to add the further one, _that the function of forming polar cells has been acquired by the ovum for the express purpose of preventing parthenogenesis_. the explanation given by mr darwin of the evil effects of self-fertilization, viz. the want of sufficient differentiation in the sexual elements[ ], would apply with far greater force to cases of parthenogenesis. [ ] darwin, _cross- and self-fertilization of plants_, p. . in the production of fresh individuals, two circumstances are obviously favourable to the species. ( ) that the maximum number possible of fresh individuals should be produced, ( ) that the individuals should be as vigorous as possible. sexual differentiation (even in hermaphrodites) is clearly very inimical to the production of the maximum number of individuals. there can be little doubt that the ovum is potentially capable of developing _by itself_ into a fresh individual, and therefore, unless _the absence_ of sexual differentiation was very injurious to the vigour of the progeny, parthenogenesis would most certainly be a very constant occurrence; and, on the analogy of the arrangements in plants to prevent self-fertilization, we might expect to find some contrivance both in animals and in plants to prevent the ovum developing by itself without fertilization. if my view about the polar cells is correct, the formation of these bodies functions as such a contrivance. reproduction by budding or fission has probably arisen as a means of increasing the number of individuals produced, so that the coexistence of asexual with sexual reproduction is to be looked on as a kind of compromise for the loss of the power of rapid reproduction due to the absence of parthenogenesis. in the arthropoda and rotifera the place of budding has been taken by parthenogenesis, which may be a frequent, though not always a necessary occurrence, as in various branchiopoda (_apus_, _limnadia_, etc.) and lepidoptera (_psyche helix_, etc.); or a regular occurrence for the production of one sex, as in bees, wasps, nematus, etc.; or an occurrence confined to a certain stage in the cycle of development in which all the individuals reproduce their kind parthenogenetically, as in aphis, cecidomyia, gall insects (_neuroterus_, etc.), daphnia[ ]. [ ] mr j. a. osborne has recently shewn (_nature_, sept. , ), that the eggs of a beetle (gastrophysa raphani) may occasionally develop, up to a certain point at any rate, without the male influence. on my hypothesis the possibility of parthenogenesis, or at any rate its frequency, in arthropoda and rotifera is possibly due to the absence of polar cells. in the case of all animals, so far as is known to me, fertilization of the ovum occasionally occurs[ ], but there are instances in the vegetable kingdom where so-called parthenogenesis appears to be capable of recurring for an indefinite period. one of the best instances appears to be that of coelebogyne, an introduced exotic euphorbiaceous plant which regularly produces fertile seeds although a male flower never appears. the recent researches of strasburger have however shewn that in coelebogyne and other parthenogenetic flowering plants, embryos are formed by the _budding_ and subsequent development of cells belonging to the ovule. this being the case, it is impossible to assert of these plants that they are really parthenogenetic, for the embryos contained in the seed of a flower which has certainly not been fertilized, may have been formed, _not by the development of the ovum_, but by budding from the surrounding tissue of the ovule. [ ] dicyema, which is an apparent exception, has not yet been certainly shewn to develop true ova. if its germs are true ova it forms an exception to the above rule. the above view with reference to the nature of the polar bodies is not to be regarded as forming more than an hypothesis. _impregnation of the ovum._ a far greater amount of certainty has been attained as to the effects of impregnation than as to the changes of the germinal vesicle which precede this, and there appears, moreover, to be a greater uniformity in the series of resulting phenomena. [fig. . small portions of the ovum of asterias glacialis. the spermatozoa are shewn enveloped in the mucilaginous coat. in a. a prominence is rising from the surface of the egg towards the nearest spermatozoon; and in b. the spermatozoon and prominence have met. (copied from fol.)] [fig. . portion of the ovum of asterias glacialis after the entrance of a spermatozoon into the ovum. it shews the prominence of the ovum through which the spermatozoon has entered. a vitelline membrane with a crater-like opening has become distinctly formed. (copied from fol.)] it will be convenient again to take asterias glacialis as the type. the part of the germinal vesicle which remains in the egg, after the formation of the second polar cell, becomes converted into a number of small vesicles (fig. ), which aggregate themselves into a single clear nucleus, which gradually travels toward the centre of the egg and around which, as a centre, the protoplasm becomes radiately striated (fig. ). this nucleus is known as the female pronucleus. by the action of reagents a nucleolus may be shewn in it. in asterias glacialis the most favourable period for fecundation is about an hour after the formation of the female pronucleus. if at this time the spermatozoa are allowed to come in contact with the egg, their heads soon become enveloped in the investing mucilaginous coat. a prominence, pointing towards the nearest spermatozoon, now arises from the superficial layer of protoplasm of the egg, and grows till it comes in contact with the spermatozoon (fig. , a and b). under normal circumstances the spermatozoon which meets the prominence is the only one concerned in the fertilization, and it makes its way into the egg by passing through the prominence. the tail of the spermatozoon, no longer motile, remains visible for some time after the head has bored its way in, but its place is soon taken by a pale conical body, which is, however, probably in part a product of the metamorphosis of the tail itself (fig. ). it eventually becomes absorbed into the body of the ovum. at the moment of contact between the spermatozoon and the egg the outermost layer of the protoplasm of the latter raises itself as a distinct membrane, which separates from the egg and prevents the entrance of other spermatozoa. at the point where the spermatozoon entered a crater-like opening is left in the membrane, through which the metamorphosed tail of the spermatozoon may at first be seen projecting (fig. ). [fig. . ovum of asterias glacialis, with male and female pronucleus and a radial striation of the protoplasm around the former. (copied from fol.)] the head of the spermatozoon when in the egg forms a nucleus, for which the name male pronucleus may be conveniently adopted. it grows in size, probably by assimilating material from the ovum, and around it is formed a clear space free from yolk-spherules. shortly after its formation the protoplasm in its neighbourhood assumes a radiate arrangement (fig. ). at whatever point of the egg the spermatozoon may have entered, it gradually travels towards the female pronucleus. the latter, around which the protoplasm no longer has a radiate arrangement, remains motionless till the rays of the male pronucleus come in contact with it, after which its condition of repose is exchanged for one of activity, and it rapidly approaches the male pronucleus, apparently by means of its inherent amoeboid contractions, and eventually fuses with it (figs. - ). as the male pronucleus approaches the female the latter, according to selenka, sends out protoplasmic processes which embrace the former. the actual fusion does not take place till after the pronuclei have been in contact for some time. while the two pronuclei are approaching one another the protoplasm of the egg exhibits amoeboid movements. [figs. , , and . three successive stages in the coalescence of the male and female pronuclei in asterias glacialis. from the living ovum. (copied from fol.)] the product of the fusion of the two pronuclei forms the first segmentation nucleus (fig. ), which soon, however, divides into the two nuclei of the two first segmentation spheres. [fig. . ovum of asterias glacialis, after the coalescence of the male and female pronuclei. (copied from fol.)] the phenomenon which has just been described consists essentially in the fusion of the male cell and the female cell. in this act the protoplasm of the two cells as well as their nuclei coalesce, since the whole spermatozoon which has been absorbed into the ovum is a cell of which the head is the nucleus. it is clear that the ovum after fertilization is an entirely different body to the ovum prior to that act, and unless the use of the same term for the two conditions of the ovum had become very familiar, a special term, such as oosperm, for the ovum after its fusion with the spermatozoon, would be very convenient. of the earlier observations on this subject there need perhaps only be cited one of e. van beneden, on the rabbit's ovum, shewing the presence of two nuclei before the commencement of segmentation. bütschli was the earliest to state from observations on _rhabditis dolichura_ that the first segmentation nucleus arose from the fusion of two nuclei, and this was subsequently shewn with greater detail for _ascaris nigrovenosa_, by auerbach ( ). neither of these authors gave at the first the correct interpretation of their results. at a later period bütschli ( ) arrived at the conclusion that in a large number of instances (_lymnæus_, _nephelis_, _cucullanus_, &c.), the nucleus in question was formed by the fusion of two or more nuclei, and strasburger at first made a similar statement for _phallusia_, though he has since withdrawn it. though bütschli's statements depend, as it seems, upon a false interpretation of appearances, he nevertheless arrived at a correct view with reference to what occurs in impregnation. van beneden ( ) described in the rabbit the formation of the original segmentation nucleus from two nuclei, one peripheral and the other central, and deduced from his observations that the peripheral nucleus was derived from the spermatic element. it was reserved for oscar hertwig ( ) to describe in _echinus lividus_ the entrance of a spermatozoon into the egg and the formation from it of the male pronucleus. the general fact that impregnation consists in the fusion of the spermatozoon and ovum has now been established for some forms in the majority of invertebrate groups (arthropoda and rotifera excepted). amongst vertebrata also it has been shewn by e. van beneden that the first segmentation nucleus is formed by the coalescence of the male and female pronucleus. calberla, and kupffer and benecke have demonstrated that a single spermatozoon enters at first the ovum of petromyzon. the contact of the spermatozoon with the egg membrane causes in petromyzon active movements of the protoplasm of the ovum, and a retreat of the protoplasm from the membrane. in amphibia the appearance of a peculiar pigmented streak extending inwards from the surface of the pigmented pole of the ovum, and containing in a clear space at its inner extremity a nucleus, has been demonstrated as the result of impregnation by bambeke ( ) and hertwig ( ). there can be little doubt that this nucleus is the male pronucleus, and that the pigmented streak indicates its path inwards. close to it hertwig has shewn that another nucleus is to be found, the female pronucleus, and that eventually the two join together. in amphibia the phenomena accompanying impregnation are clearly of the same nature as in the invertebrata. a precisely similar series of phenomena to those in amphibia has been shewn by salensky to take place in the sturgeon. although there is a general agreement between the most recent observers, hertwig, fol, selenka, strasburger, &c., as to the main facts connected with the entrance of one spermatozoon into the egg, the formation of the male pronucleus, and its fusion with the female pronucleus, there still exist differences of detail in the different descriptions, which partly, no doubt, depend upon the difficulties of observation, but partly also upon the observations not having all been made upon the same species. hertwig does not enter into details with reference to the actual entrance of the spermatozoon into the egg, but in his latest paper points out that considerable differences may be observed in the occurrences which succeed impregnation, according to the relative period at which this takes place. when, in asterias, the impregnation is effected about an hour after the egg is laid, and previously to the formation of the polar cells, the male pronucleus appears at first to exert but little influence on the protoplasm, but after the formation of the second polar cell, the radial striæ around it become very marked, and the pronucleus rapidly grows in size. when it finally unites with the female pronucleus it is equal in size to the latter. in the case when the impregnation is deferred for four hours the male pronucleus never becomes so large as the female pronucleus. with reference to the effect of the time at which impregnation takes place, asterias would seem to serve as a type. thus in _hirudinea_, _mollusca_, and _nematoidea_ impregnation normally takes place before the formation of the polar bodies is completed, and the male pronucleus is accordingly as large as the female. in _echinus_, on the other hand, where the polar bodies are formed in the ovary, the male pronucleus is always small. selenka, who has investigated the formation of the male pronucleus in _toxopneustes variegatus_, differs in certain points from fol. he finds that usually, though not always, a single spermatozoon enters the egg, and that though the entrance may be effected at any part of the surface it generally occurs at the point marked by a small prominence where the polar cells are formed. the spermatozoon first makes its way through the mucous envelope of the egg, within which it swims about, and then bores with its head into the polar prominence. one important point has been so far only indirectly alluded to, viz. the number of spermatozoa required to effect impregnation. the concurrent testimony of almost all observers tends to shew that one only is required for this purpose. but the number of cases tested is too small to admit of satisfactory generalization. both hertwig and fol have made observations on the result of the entrance into the egg of several spermatozoa. fol finds that when the impregnation has been too long delayed the vitelline membrane is formed with comparative slowness, and several spermatozoa are thus enabled to penetrate. each spermatozoon forms a separate pronucleus with a surrounding star; and several male pronuclei usually fuse with the female pronucleus. each male pronucleus appears to exercise a repulsive influence on other male pronuclei, but to be attracted by the female pronucleus. when there are several male pronuclei the segmentation is irregular and the resulting larva a monstrosity. these statements of fol and hertwig are up to a certain point in contradiction with the more recent results of selenka. in _toxopneustes variegatus_ selenka finds that though impregnation is usually effected by a single spermatozoon yet several may be concerned in the act. the development continues, however, to be normal up to the gastrula stage, at any rate, if three or even four spermatozoa enter the egg almost simultaneously. under such circumstances each spermatozoon forms a separate pronucleus and star. selenka is of opinion (apparently rather on _a priori_ grounds than as a result of direct observation) that normal development cannot occur when more than one male pronucleus fuses with the female pronucleus; and holds that, where he has observed such normal development after the entrance of more than one spermatozoon, the majority of male pronuclei become absorbed. it may be noticed that, while the observations of fol and hertwig were admittedly made upon eggs in which the impregnation was delayed till they no longer displayed their pristine activity, selenka's were made upon quite fresh eggs; and it seems not impossible that the pathological symptoms in the embryos reared by the two former authors may have been due to the imperfection of the egg, and not to the entrance of more than one spermatozoon. this, of course, is merely a suggestion which requires to be tested by fresh observations. kupffer and benecke have further shewn that although only one spermatozoon enters the ovum directly in petromyzon yet other spermatozoa pass through the vitelline membrane, and are taken into a peculiar protoplasmic protuberance of the ovum which appears after impregnation. the act of impregnation may be described as the fusion of the ovum and spermatozoon, and the most important feature in this act appears to be the fusion of a male and female nucleus; not only does this appear in the actual fusion of the two pronuclei, but it is brought into still greater prominence by the fact that the female pronucleus is a product of the nucleus of a primitive ovum, and the male pronucleus is the metamorphosed _head_ of the spermatozoon which, as stated above, contains _part_ of the nucleus of the primitive spermatic cell. the spermatic cells originate from cells indistinguishable from the primitive ova, so that the fusion which takes place is the fusion of morphologically similar parts in the two sexes. these conclusions tally very satisfactorily with the view adopted in the introduction, that impregnation amongst the metazoa was derived from the process of conjugation amongst the protozoa. _summary._ in what may probably be regarded as a normal case the following series of events accompanies the maturation and impregnation of an ovum:-- ( ) transportation of the germinal vesicle to the surface of the egg. ( ) absorption of the membrane of the germinal vesicle and metamorphosis of the germinal spot and nuclear reticulum. ( ) assumption of a spindle character by the remains of the germinal vesicle, these remains being probably in part formed from the germinal spot. ( ) entrance of one end of the spindle into a protoplasmic prominence at the surface of the egg. ( ) division of the spindle into two halves, one remaining in the egg, the other in the prominence; the prominence becoming at the same time nearly constricted off from the egg as a polar cell. ( ) formation of a second polar cell in the same manner as the first, part of the spindle still remaining in the egg. ( ) conversion of the part of the spindle remaining in the egg into a nucleus--the female pronucleus. ( ) transportation of the female pronucleus towards the centre of the egg. ( ) entrance of one spermatozoon into the egg. ( ) conversion of the head of the spermatozoon into a nucleus--the male pronucleus. ( ) appearance of radial striæ round the male pronucleus, which gradually travels towards the female pronucleus. ( ) fusion of male and female pronuclei to form the first segmentation nucleus. ( ) auerbach. _organologische studien_, heft . breslau, . ( ) bambeke. "recherches s. embryologie des batraciens." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. lxi., . ( ) e. van beneden. "la maturation de l'oeuf des mammifères." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xl. no. , . ( ) idem. "contributions à l'histoire de la vésicule germinative, &c." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xli. no. , . ( ) o. bütschli. _eizelle, zelltheilung, und conjugation der infusorien._ frankfurt, . ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the phenomena accompanying the maturation and impregnation of the ovum." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xviii., . ( ) calberla. "befruchtungsvorgang beim ei von petromyzon planeri." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxx. ( ) w. flemming. "studien in d. entwickelungsgeschichte der najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, b. lxxi., . ( ) h. fol. "die erste entwickelung des geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii., . ( ) idem. "sur le développement des ptéropodes." _archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale_, vol. iv. and v., - . ( ) idem. "sur le commencement de l'hénogénie." _archives des sciences physiques et naturelles._ genève, . ( ) idem. _recherches s. l. fécondation et l. commen. d. l'hénogénie._ genève, . ( ) r. greeff. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwickelung d. echinodermen." _sitzun. der gesellschaft z. beförderung d. gesammten naturwiss. z. marburg_, no. , . ( ) oscar hertwig. "beit. z. kenntniss d. bildung, &c., d. thier. eies." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. i., . ( ) idem. ibid. _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. heft , . ( ) idem. "weitere beiträge, &c." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii., , heft . ( ) idem. "beit. z. kenntniss, &c." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iv. heft and , . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra._ leipzig, . ( ) c. kupffer u. b. benecke. _der vorgang d. befruchtung am eie d. neunaugen._ königsberg, . ( ) j. oellacher. "beiträge zur geschichte des keimbläschens im wirbelthiere." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, bd. viii., . ( ) w. salensky. "befruchtung u. furchung d. sterlets-eies." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , . ( ) e. selenka. _befruchtung des eies von toxopneustes variegatus._ leipzig, . ( ) strasburger. _ueber zellbildung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . ( ) idem. _ueber befruchtung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . ( ) c. o. whitman. "the embryology of clepsine." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii., . chapter iii. the segmentation of the ovum. the immediate result of the fusion of the male and female pronucleus is the segmentation or division of the ovum usually into two, four, eight, etc. successive parts. the segmentation may be dealt with from two points of view, viz. ( ) the nature of the vital phenomena which take place in the ovum during its occurrence, which may be described as the internal phenomena of segmentation. ( ) the external characters of the segmentation. _internal phenomena of segmentation._ numerous descriptions have been given during the last few years of the internal phenomena of segmentation. the most recent contribution on this head is that of fol (no. ). he appears to have been more successful than other observers in obtaining a complete history of the changes which take place, and it will therefore be convenient to take as type the ovum of _toxopneustes (echinus) lividus_, on which he made his most complete series of observations. the changes which take place may be divided into a series of stages. the ovum immediately after the fusion of the male and female pronucleus contains a central segmentation nucleus. in the first stage a clear protoplasmic layer derived from the plasma of the cell is formed round the nucleus, from which there start outwards a number of radial striæ, which are rendered conspicuous by the radial arrangement of the yolk granules between them. the nucleus during this process remains perfectly passive. in the second stage the nucleus becomes less distinct and somewhat elongated, and around it the protoplasmic layer of the earlier stage is arranged in the form of a disc-shaped ring, compared by fol to saturn's ring. the protoplasmic rays still take their origin from the perinuclear protoplasm. this stage has a considerable duration ( minutes). in the third stage the protoplasm around the nucleus becomes transported to the two nuclear poles, at each of which it forms a clear mass surrounded by a star-shaped figure formed by radial striæ. the nucleus is hardly visible in the fresh condition, but when brought into view by reagents is found to contain many highly refractive particles, and to be still enveloped in a membrane. in the fourth stage the nucleus when treated by reagents has assumed the well-known spindle form. the striæ of which it is composed are continuous from one end of the spindle to the other and are thickened at the centre. the central thickenings constitute the so-called nuclear plate. the clear protoplasmic masses and stars are present as before at the apices of the nucleus, and the rays of the latter converge as if they would meet at the centre of the clear masses, but stop short at their periphery. there is no trace of a membrane round either the nuclear spindle or the clear masses; and in the centre of the latter is a collection of granules. the striæ of the polar stars are very fine but distinct. between the stage with a completely formed spindle and the previous one the intermediate steps have not been made out for toxopneustes; but for heteropods fol has been able to demonstrate that the striæ of the spindle and their central thickenings are formed, as in the case of the spindle derived from the germinal vesicle, _from the metamorphosis of the nuclear reticulum_. they commence to be formed at the two poles, and are then (in heteropods) in immediate contiguity with the striæ of the stars. the striæ gradually grow towards the centre of the nucleus and there meet. in the fifth stage the central thickenings of the spindle separate into two sets, which travel symmetrically outwards towards the clear masses, growing in size during the process. they remain however united for a short time by delicate filaments--named by fol connective filaments--which very soon disappear. the clear masses also increase in size. during this stage the protoplasm of the ovum exhibits active amoeboid movements preparatory to division. in the sixth stage, which commences when the central thickenings of the spindle have reached the clear polar masses, the division of the ovum into two parts is effected by an equatorial constriction at right angles to the long axis of the nucleus. the inner vitelline membrane follows the furrow for a certain distance, but does not divide with the ovum. all connection between the two parts of the spindle becomes lost during this stage, and the thickenings of the fibres of the spindle give rise to a number of spherical vesicular bodies, which pass into the clear masses and become intermingled with the granules which are placed there. the radii of the stars now extend round the whole circumference of each of the clear masses. in the seventh stage the two clear masses become elongated and travel towards the outer sides of their segments; while the radii connected with them become somewhat bent, as if a certain amount of traction had been exercised on them in the movement of the clear masses. shortly afterwards the spherical vesicles, each of which appears like a small nucleus and contains a central nucleolus, begin to unite amongst themselves, and to coalesce with the neighbouring granules. those in each segment finally unite to form a nucleus which absorbs the substance of the clear mass. _the new nucleus is therefore partly derived from the division of the old one and partly from the plasma of the cell._ the two segments formed by division are at first spherical, but soon become flattened against each other. in each subsequent division of these cells the whole of the above changes are repeated. the phenomena which have just been described would appear to occur in the segmentation of ova with remarkable constancy and without any very considerable variations. the division of the ovum constitutes a special case of cell division, and it is important to determine to what extent the phenomena of ordinary cell division are related to those which take place in the division of the ovum. without attempting a full discussion of the subject i will confine myself to a few remarks suggested by the observations of flemming, peremeschko and klein. the observations of these authors shew that in the course of the division of nuclei in the salamander, newt, etc. the nuclear reticulum undergoes a series of peculiar changes of form, and after the membrane of the nucleus has vanished divides into two masses. the masses form the basis for the new nuclei, and become reconverted into an ordinary nuclear reticulum after repeating, in the reverse order, the changes of form undergone by the reticulum previous to its division. it is clear without further explanation that the conversion of the nuclear reticulum of the segmentation nucleus into the striæ of the spindle is a special case of the same phenomenon as that first described by flemming in the salamander. there are however some considerable differences. in the first place the fibres in the salamander do not, according to flemming, unite in the middle line, though they appear to do so in the newt. this clearly cannot be regarded as a fact of great importance; nor can the existence of the central thickenings of the striæ (nuclear plate), constant as it is for the division of the nucleus of the ovum, be considered as constituting a fundamental difference between the two cases. more important is the fact that the striæ in the case of the ovum do not appear, at any rate have not been shewn, to form themselves again into a nuclear network. with reference to the last point it is however to be borne in mind ( ) that the gradual travelling outwards of the two halves of the nuclear plate is up to a certain point a repetition, in the reverse order, of the mode of formation of the striæ of the spindle, since the striæ first appeared at the poles and gradually grew towards the middle of the spindle; ( ) that there is still considerable doubt as to how the vesicular bodies formed out of the nuclear plate reconstitute themselves into a nucleus. the layer of clear protoplasm around the nucleus during its division has its homologue in the case of the division of the nuclei of the salamander, and the rays starting from this are also found. klein has suggested that the extra-nuclear rays of the stars around the poles of the nucleus are derived from a metamorphosis of the extra-nuclear reticulum, which he believes to be continuous with the intra-nuclear reticulum. the delicate connective filaments usually visible between the two halves of the nuclear plate would seem from strasburger's latest observations (no. ) to be derived from the nuclear substance between the striæ of the spindle, and to become eventually reabsorbed into the newly-formed nuclei. we are it appears to me still in complete ignorance as to the physical causes of segmentation. the view that the nucleus is a single centre of attraction, and that by its division the centre of attraction becomes double and thereby causes division, appears to be quite untenable. the description already given of the phenomena of segmentation is in itself sufficient to refute this view. nor is it in the least proved by the fact (shewn by hallez) that the plane of division of the cell always bears a definite relation to the direction of the axis of the nucleus. the arguments by which kleinenberg ( ) attempted to demonstrate that cell division was a phenomenon caused by alterations in the molecular cohesion of the protoplasm of the ovum still in my opinion hold good, but recent discoveries as to the changes which take place in the nucleus during division probably indicate that the molecular changes which take place in the cohesion of the protoplasm are closely related to, and possibly caused by, those in the nucleus. these alterations of cohesion are produced by a series of molecular changes, the external indications of which are to be found in the visible alterations in the constitution of the body of the cell and of the nucleus prior to division. bibliography. in addition to the papers cited in the last chapter, _vide_ ( ) w. flemming. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. zelle u. ihrer lebenserscheinungen." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvi., . ( ) e. klein. "observations on the glandular epithelium and division of nuclei in the skin of the newt." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix., . ( ) peremeschko. "ueber d. theilung d. thierischen zellen." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvi., . ( ) e. strasburger. "ueber ein z. demonstration geeignetes zelltheilungs-object." _sitz. d. jenaischen gesell. f. med. u. naturwiss._, july , . _external features of segmentation._ [fig. . various stages in process of segmentation. (after gegenbaur.)] in the simplest known type of segmentation the ovum first of all divides into two, then four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, etc. cells (fig. ). these cells so long as they are fairly large are usually known as segments or spheres. at the close of such a simple segmentation the ovum becomes converted into a sphere composed of segments of a uniform size. these segments usually form a wall (fig. , e), one row of cells thick, round a central cavity, which is known as the segmentation cavity or cavity of von baer. such a sphere is known as a blastosphere. the central cavity usually appears very early in the segmentation, in many cases when only four segments are present (fig. , b). [fig. . the segmentation of amphioxux. (copied from kowalevsky.) _sg._ segmentation cavity. a. stage with two equal segments. b. stage with four equal segments. c. stage after the four segments have become divided by an equatorial furrow into eight equal segments. d. stage in which a single layer of cells encloses a central segmentation cavity. e. somewhat older stage in optical section.] in other instances, which however are rarer than those in which a segmentation cavity is present, there is no trace of a central cavity, and the sphere at the close of segmentation is quite solid. in such instances the solid sphere is known as a morula. it is found in some sponges, many coelenterata, some nemertines, etc., and in mammals; in which group the segmentation is not however quite regular. all intermediate conditions between a large segmentation cavity, and a very minute central cavity which may be surrounded by more than a single row of cells have been described. the segmentation cavity has occasionally, as in sycandra, the ctenophora and amphioxus, the form of an axial perforation of the ovum open at both extremities. when the process of regular segmentation is examined somewhat more in detail it is found to follow as a rule a rather definite rhythm. the ovum is first divided in a plane which may be called vertical, into two equal parts (fig. , a). this division is followed by a second, also in a vertical plane, but at right angles to the first plane, and by it each of the previous segments is halved (fig. , b.) in the third segmentation the plane of division is horizontal or equatorial and divides each of the four segments into two halves, making eight segments in all (fig. , c). in the fourth period the segmentation takes place in two vertical planes each at an angle of ° with one of the previous vertical planes. all the segments are thus again divided into two equal parts. in the fifth period there are two equatorial planes one on each side of the original equatorial plane, and thirty-two spheres are present at the close of this period. sixty-four segments are formed at the sixth period, but beyond the fourth and fifth periods the original regularity is not usually preserved. in many instances the type of segmentation just described cannot be distinctly recognized. all that can be noticed is that at each fresh segmentation every segment becomes divided into two equal parts. it is not absolutely certain that there is not always some slight inequality in the segments formed, by which, what are known as the animal and vegetative poles of the ovum, can very early be distinguished. a regular segmentation is found in species in most groups of the animal kingdom. it is very common in sponges and coelenterates. though less common so far as is known amongst the vermes, it is yet found in many of the lower types, viz. nematoidea, gordiacea, trematoda, nemertea (apparently as a rule), _sagitta_, _chætonotus_, some gephyrea (_phoronis_); though not usual it occurs amongst chætopoda, e.g. serpula. it is the usual type of segmentation amongst the echinodermata. amongst the crustacea it appears (for the earlier phases of segmentation at any rate) not infrequently amongst the lower forms, and even occurs amongst the amphipoda (_phronima_). it is however very rare amongst the tracheata, _podura_ affording the one example of it known to me. it is almost as rare amongst mollusca as amongst the tracheata, but occurs in _chiton_ and is nearly approached in some nudibranchiata. in vertebrata it is most nearly approached in _amphioxus_[ ]. [ ] in the rabbit and probably other monodelphous mammalia the segmentation is nearly though not quite regular. most of the eggs which have a perfectly regular segmentation are of a very insignificant size and rarely contain much food-yolk: in the vast majority of eggs there is present however a considerable bulk of food material usually in the form of highly refracting yolk-spherules. these yolk-spherules lie embedded in the protoplasm of the ovum, but are in most instances not distributed uniformly, being less closely packed and smaller at one pole of the ovum than elsewhere. where the yolk-spherules are fewest the active protoplasm is necessarily most concentrated, and we can lay down as a general law[ ] that the velocity of segmentation in any part of the ovum is roughly speaking proportional to the concentration of the protoplasm there; and that the size of the segments is inversely proportional to the concentration of the protoplasm. thus the segments produced from that part of an egg where the yolk-spherules are most bulky, and where therefore the protoplasm is least concentrated, are larger than the remaining segments, and their formation proceeds more slowly. [ ] _vide_ f. m. balfour, "comparison of the early stages of development in vertebrates." _quart. jour. of micr. science_, july, . though where much food-yolk is present it is generally distributed unequally, yet there are many cases in which it is not possible to notice this very distinctly. in most of these cases the segmentation is all the same unequal, and it is probable that they form apparent rather than real exceptions to the law laid down above. although before segmentation the protoplasm may be uniformly distributed, yet in many instances, _e.g._ mollusca, vermes, etc., during or at the commencement of segmentation the protoplasm becomes aggregated at one pole, and one of the segments formed consists of clear protoplasm, all the food-yolk being contained in the other and larger segment. unequal segmentation. the type of segmentation i now proceed to describe has been called by haeckel (no. ) 'unequal segmentation', a term which may conveniently be adopted. i commence by describing it as it occurs in the well-known and typical instance of the frog[ ]. [ ] _vide_ remak, _entwicklung d. wirbelthiere_; and götte, _entwicklung d. unke_. the ripe ovum of the common frog and of most other tailless amphibians presents the following structure. one half appears black and the other white. the former i shall call the upper pole, the latter the lower. the ovum is composed of protoplasm containing in suspension numerous yolk-spherules. the largest of these are situated at the lower pole, the smaller ones at the upper pole, and the smallest of all in the peripheral layer of the upper pole, in which also pigment is scattered and causes the black colour visible from the surface. [fig. . segmentation of common frog. rana temporaria. (copied from ecker.) the numbers above the figures refer to the number of segments at the stage figured.] the first formed furrow is a vertical furrow. it commences in the upper half of the ovum, through which it extends rapidly, and then more slowly through the lower. as soon as the first furrow has extended through the egg, and the two halves have become separated from each other, a second vertical furrow appears at right angles to the first and behaves in the same way (fig. , ). the next furrow is equatorial or horizontal (fig. , ). it does not arise _at the true equator of the egg_, but much nearer to its upper pole. it extends rapidly round the egg and divides each of the four previous segments into two parts, one larger and one smaller. thus at the end of this stage there are present four small and four large segments. at the meeting point of these a small cavity appears, which is the segmentation cavity, already described for uniformly segmenting eggs. it increases in size in subsequent stages, its roof being formed of the smaller cells and its floor of the larger. the appearance of the equatorial furrow is followed by a period of repose, after which two rapidly succeeding vertical furrows are formed in the upper pole, dividing each of the four segments of which this is composed into two. after a short period these furrows extend to the lower pole, and when completed segments are present--eight larger and eight smaller (fig. , ). a pause now ensues, after which the eight upper segments become divided by an equatorial furrow, and somewhat later a similar furrow divides the eight lower segments. at the end of this stage there are therefore present smaller and larger segments (fig. , ). after segments have been formed by vertical furrows which arise symmetrically in the two poles (fig. , ), two equatorial furrows appear in the upper pole before a fresh furrow arises in the lower; so that there are segments in the upper half, and only in the lower. the regularity is quite lost in subsequent stages, but the upper pole continues to undergo a more rapid segmentation than the lower. while the segments have been increasing in number the segmentation cavity has been rapidly growing in size; and at the close of segmentation the egg forms a sphere, containing an excentric cavity, and composed of two unequal parts (fig. ). the upper part, which forms the roof of the segmentation cavity, is formed of smaller cells: the lower of larger yolk-containing cells. [fig. . section through frog's ovum at the close of segmentation. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _ll._ large yolk-containing cells. _ep._ small cells at formative pole (epiblast).] the mode of segmentation of the frog's ovum is typical for unequally segmenting ova, and it deserves to be noticed that as regards the first three or more furrows the segmentation occurs with the same rhythm in the unequally segmenting ova as in those which have an uniform segmentation. there appear two vertical furrows followed by an equatorial furrow. the general laws which were stated with reference to the _velocity_ of segmentation and the size of the resulting segments are well exemplified in the case of the frog's ovum. the majority of the smaller segments in the segmented frog's ovum are destined to form into the epiblast, and the larger segments become hypoblast and mesoblast. with a few exceptions (the rabbit, lymnæus, etc.) the majority of the smaller segments always become epiblast and of the larger segments hypoblast. the frog's ovum serves as a good medium type for unequally segmenting ova. there are many cases however in which a regular segmentation is far more closely approached, and others in which it is less so. one familiar instance in which a regular segmentation is nearly approached is afforded by the rabbit's ovum, which has indeed usually been regarded as offering an example of a regular segmentation. the ovum of the rabbit[ ] becomes first divided into two sub-equal spheres. the larger and more transparent of the two may, from its eventual fate, be called the epiblastic sphere, and the other the hypoblastic. the two spheres are divided into four, and then by an equatorial furrow into eight--four epiblastic and four hypoblastic. one of the latter assumes a central position. the four epiblastic spheres now divide before the four hypoblastic. there is thus introduced a stage with twelve spheres. it is followed by one with sixteen, and that by one with twenty-four. during the stages with sixteen spheres and onwards the epiblastic spheres gradually envelop the hypoblastic, which remain exposed on the surface at one point only. there is no segmentation cavity. [ ] van beneden, "développement embryonnaire des mammifères." _bull. de l'acad. belgique_, . in pedicellina, one of the entoproctous polyzoa, there is a sub-regular segmentation, where however the two primary spheres can be distinguished much in the same way as in the case of the rabbit. a very characteristic type of unequal segmentation is that presented by the majority of gasteropods and pteropods and probably also of some lamellibranchiata. it is also found in some turbellarians, in bonellia, some annelids, etc. in many instances it offers a good example of the type where in the course of segmentation the protoplasm becomes aggregated at one pole of the ovum, or of its segments, to become separated off as a clear sphere. the first four segments formed by two vertical furrows at right angles are equal, but from these there are budded off four smaller segments, which in subsequent stages divide rapidly, receiving however, a continual accession of segments budded off from the larger spheres. the four larger spheres remain conspicuous till near the close of the segmentation. the process of budding, by which the smaller spheres become separated from the larger, consists in a larger sphere throwing out a prominence, which then becomes constricted off from it. in the extreme forms of this unequal segmentation we find at the end of the second cleavage two larger spheres filled with yolk material and two smaller clear spheres; and in the later stages, though the large spheres continue to bud off small spheres, only the two smaller ones undergo a regular segmentation, and eventually completely envelop the former. such a case as this has been described in aplysia by lankester[ ]. [ ] _phil. trans._ . the types i have described serve to exemplify unequal segmentation. the rabbit's ovum stands at one end of the series, that of aplysia at the other; and the frog's ovum between the two. great variations are presented by the ova with unequal segmentation as to the presence of a segmentation cavity. in some instances, _e.g._ the frog, such a cavity is well developed. in other cases it is small, _e.g._ most mollusca, while not unfrequently it is altogether absent. before leaving this important type of segmentation, it will be well to enter with slightly greater detail into some of the more typical as well as some of the special forms which it presents. as an example of the typical molluscan type the normal heteropod segmentation, accurately described by fol[ ], may be selected. [ ] fol, _archives de zoologie expérimentale_, vol. iv. . the ovum divides into two and then four equal segments in the usual vertical planes. each segment has a protoplasmic and a vitelline pole. the protoplasmic pole is turned towards the polar bodies. in the third segmentation, which takes place along an equatorial plane, four small protoplasmic cells or segments are segmented or rather budded off from the four large segments, so that there are four small segments in one plane and four large below these. in the fourth segmentation the four large segments alone are active and give rise to four small and four large cells; so that there are formed in all eight small and four large cells. the four small cells of the third generation next divide, forming in all twelve small cells and four large. the small cells of the fourth generation then divide, and subsequently the four large cells give rise to four new small ones, so that there are twenty small cells and four large. the small cells form a cap embracing the upper pole of the large segments. it may be noted that from the third stage onwards the cells increase in arithmetical progression--a characteristic feature of the typical gasteropod segmentation. in the later stages of segmentation the large cells cease to give rise to smaller ones in the same manner as before. one of them divides first into two unequal parts, of which the smaller becomes pushed in towards the centre of the egg. the larger cell then divides again into two, and the three cells so formed occupy the centre of a shallow depression. the remaining larger cells divide in the same way, and give rise to smaller cells which line a pit which becomes formed on one side of the ovum. the original smaller cells continue in the meantime to divide and so form a layer enclosing the larger, leaving exposed however the opening of the pit lined by the latest products of the larger cells. the eggs of anodon and unio serve as excellent examples of the type in which the ovum has a uniform structure before the commencement of segmentation, but in which a separation into a protoplasmic and a nutritive portion becomes obvious during segmentation. in anodon[ ] the egg is at first uniformly granular, but after impregnation it throws out on one side a protuberance nearly free from granules (fig. , ) [ ] flemming, "entwick. der najaden," _sitz. d. akad. wiss. wien_, bd. , . [fig. . segmentation of anodon piscinalis. (copied from flemming.) _r._ polar cells. _v._ vitelline sphere. . commencing division into two segments; one mainly formed of protoplasm, the other of yolk. . stage with four segments. . formation of blastosphere, and segmentation cavity. . definite segmentation of the yolk sphere.] in the case of this clear protuberance and of the similar protuberances which follow it, the protoplasm is not at first quite free from food-yolk, but only becomes so on being separated from the yolk-containing part of the ovum. we must therefore suppose that the production of the clear segments is in part at least due to the yolk-spherules becoming used up to form protoplasm. such a formation of protoplasm from yolk-spherules has been clearly shewn to occur in other types by bobretzky and fol. the protuberance soon becomes separated off from the larger part of the egg as a small segment composed of clear protoplasm. from the larger segment filled with food-yolk, a second small clear segment is next budded off, and simultaneously (fig. , ) the original small segment divides into two. thus there are formed four segments, one large and three small; the large segment as before being filled with food-yolk. the continuation of a similar process of budding off and segmentation eventually results in the formation of a considerable number of small and of one large segment (fig. , ). between this large and the small segments is a segmentation cavity. eventually the large yolk segment, which has hitherto merely budded off a series of small segments free from yolk, itself divides into two similar parts. this process is then repeated (fig. , ) and there is at last formed a number of yolk segments filled with yolk spheres, which occupy the place of the original large yolk segment. between these yolk segments and the small segments is placed the segmentation cavity. the segmentation of the ovum of euaxes[ ] resembles that of unio in the budding off of clear segments from those filled with yolk, but presents many interesting individualities. [ ] kowalevsky, _mem. akad. petersburg_, series vii, . a very peculiar modification of the ordinary gasteropod segmentation is that described by bobretzky for nassa mutabilis[ ]. [ ] _archiv. f. mikr. anat._ vol. xiii. . the ovum contains a large amount of food-yolk, and the protoplasm is aggregated at the formative pole, adjoining which are placed the polar bodies. an equatorial and a vertical furrow (fig. a), the former near the upper pole, appear simultaneously, and divide the ovum into three segments, two small, each with a protoplasmic pole, and one large entirely formed of yolk material. one of the two small segments next completely fuses with the large segment (fig. b), and after the fusion is complete, a triple segmentation of the large segment takes place as at the first division, and at the same time the single small segment divides into two. in this way four partially protoplasmic segments and one yolk segment are formed (fig. c). one of the small segments again fuses with the large segment, so that the number of segments becomes again reduced to four, three small and one large. the protoplasmic ends of these segments are turned towards each other, and where they meet four very small cells become budded off, one from each segment (fig. d). four small cells are again budded off twice in succession, while the original small cells remain passive, so that there come to be twelve small and four large cells. in later stages the four first-formed small cells give rise to still smaller cells and then the next-formed do the same. the large cells continue also to give rise to small ones, and finally, by a continuous process of division, and fresh budding of small cells from large cells, a cap of small cells becomes formed covering the four large cells which have in the meantime pressed themselves together (fig. e). a segmentation cavity of not inconsiderable dimensions becomes established between this cap of small cells and the large cells. [fig. . segmentation of nassa mutabilis (from bobretzky). a. upper half divided into two segments. b. one of these has fused with the large lower segment. c. four small and one large segment, one of the former fusing with the large segment. d. each of the four segments has given rise to a small segment. e. small segments have increased to thirty-six.] many eggs, such as those of the myriapods[ ], present an irregular segmentation; but the segmentation is hardly unequal in the sense in which i have been using the term. such cases should perhaps be placed in the first rather than in the present category. [ ] metschnikoff, _zeitschrift f. wiss. zoologie_, . the type of unequal segmentation is on the whole the most widely distributed in the animal kingdom. there is hardly a group without examples of it. it occurs in porifera, hydrozoa, actinozoa and ctenophora. amongst the ctenophora this segmentation is of the most typical kind. four equal segments are first formed in the two first periods. in the third period a circumferential furrow separates four smaller from four larger segments. this type is also widely distributed amongst the unsegmented (gephyrea, turbellaria), as well as the segmented vermes, and is typical for the rotifera. it appears to be very rare in echinoderms (_echinaster sarsii_). it is not uncommon in early stages of the segmentation of the lower crustacea. for mollusca (except cephalopoda) it is typical. amongst the ascidia it occurs in several forms (_salpa_, _molgula_) and amongst the craniata it is typical in the cyclostomata, amphibia, and some ganoids, _e.g. accipenser_. partial segmentation. the next type of segmentation we have to deal with has long been recognized as partial segmentation. it is a type in which only part of the ovum, called the germinal disc, undergoes segmentation, the remainder usually forming an appendage of the embryo known as the yolk-sack. ova belonging to the two groups already dealt with are frequently classed together as holoblastic ova, in opposition to ova of the present group in which the segmentation is only partial, and which are therefore called meroblastic. for embryological purposes this is in many ways a very convenient classification, but ova belonging to the present group are in reality separated by no sharp line from those belonging to the group just described. [fig. . surface views of the early stages of the segmentation in a fowl's egg. (after coste.) _a._ edge of germinal disc. _b._ vertical furrow. _c._ small central segment. _d._ larger peripheral segment.] the origin and nature of meroblastic ova will best be understood by taking an ovum with an unequal segmentation, such as that of the frog, and considering what would take place in accordance with the laws already laid down, supposing the amount of food-yolk at the vitelline pole to be enormously increased. what would happen may be conveniently illustrated by fig. , representing the segmentation of a fowl's egg. there would first obviously appear a vertical furrow at the formative or protoplasmic pole. (fig. a, _b_.) this would gradually advance round the ovum and commence to divide it into two halves. before the furrow had however proceeded very far it would come to the vitelline part of the ovum; here, according to the law previously enunciated, it would travel very slowly, and if the amount of the food-yolk was practically infinite as compared with the protoplasm, it would absolutely cease to advance. a second vertical furrow would soon be formed, crossing the first at right angles, and like it not advancing beyond the edge of the germinal disc. (fig. b.) the next furrow should be an equatorial one (as a matter of fact in the fowl's ovum an equatorial furrow is not formed till after two more vertical furrows have appeared). the equatorial furrow would however, in accordance with the analogy of the frog, _not be formed at the equator, but very close to the formative pole_. it would therefore separate off as a distinct segment (fig. c, _c_), a small central, _i.e._ polar, portion of each of the imperfect segments formed by the previous vertical furrows. by a continuation of the process of segmentation, with the same alternation of vertical and equatorial furrows as in the frog, a cap or disc of small segments would obviously be formed at the protoplasmic pole of the ovum, outside which would be a number of deep radiating grooves (fig. ), formed by the vertical furrows, the advance of which round the ovum has come to an end owing to the too great proportion of yolk spheres at the vitelline pole. [fig. . surface view of the germinal disc of fowl's egg during a late stage of the segmentation. _c._ small central segmentation spheres; _b._ larger segments outside these; _a._ large, imperfectly circumscribed, marginal segments; _e._ margin of germinal disc.] it is clear from the above that an immense accumulation of food-yolk at the vitelline pole necessarily causes a partial segmentation. it is equally clear that the part of meroblastic ova which does not undergo segmentation is not a new addition absent in other cases. it is on the contrary to be regarded merely as a part of the ovum in which the yolk-spherules have attained to a very great bulk as compared with the protoplasm; sometimes even to the complete exclusion of the protoplasm. an ordinary meroblastic ovum consists then of a small disc at the formative pole, known as the germinal disc, composed mainly of protoplasm in which comparatively little food-yolk is present. this graduates into the remainder of the ovum, being separated from it by a more or less sharp line. this remainder of the ovum, which almost always forms the major part, usually consists of numerous yolk-spherules, embedded in a very scanty protoplasmic matrix. in some cases, _e.g._ the eggs of elasmobranchii[ ], the protoplasm is present in the form of a delicate network; in other and perhaps the majority of cases, too little protoplasm is present to be detected, or the protoplasm may even be completely absent. in some osseous fishes, _e.g._ lota, the yolk forms a homogeneous transparent albuminoid substance containing a large globule at the pole furthest removed from the germinal disc. in this case the germinal disc is sharply separated from the yolk. in other osseous fishes the separation between the two parts is not so sharp[ ]. in these cases we find adjoining the germinal disc a finely granular material containing a large proportion of protoplasm; this graduates into a material with very little protoplasm and numerous yolk-spherules, which is in its turn continuous with an homogeneous albuminoid yolk substance. in elasmobranchii we find that immediately beneath the germinal disc there is present a finely granular matter, rich in protoplasm, which is continuous with the normal yolk. [ ] _vide_ schultze, _archiv. f. mikr. anat._ vol. xi.; and f. m. balfour, _monograph on the development of elasmobranch fishes_. [ ] _vide_ klein, _quart. journal of micr. science_, april, . bambeke, _mem. cour. acad. belgique_, . his, _zeit. für anat. u. entwicklung_. vol. i. the elasmobranch ovum may conveniently serve as type for the vertebrata. the ovum is formed of a spherical vitellus without any investing membrane. the germinal disc is recognizable on this as a small yellow spot about - / millimetres in diameter. in the germinal disc a furrow appears bisecting the disc, followed by a second furrow at right angles to the first. thus after the formation of the second furrow the disc is divided into four equal areas. fresh furrows continue to rise, and eventually a circular furrow, equivalent to the equatorial furrow of the frog's ovum, makes its appearance, and separates off a number of smaller central segments from peripheral larger segments. in the later stages the smaller segments at first divide more rapidly than the larger, but eventually the latter also divide rapidly, and the germinal disc becomes finally formed of a series of segments of a fairly uniform size. so much may be observed in surface views of the segmenting ovum, and it may be noted that there is not much difference to be observed between the segmentation of the germinal disc of the fowl's ovum and that of the elasmobranchii. indeed the figure of the former (fig. ) would serve fairly well for the latter. when however we examine the segmenting germinal discs by means of sections, there are some differences between the two types, and several interesting features which deserve to be noticed in the segmentation of the elasmobranchii. in the first stages the furrows visible on the surface are merely furrows, which do not meet so as to isolate distinct segments; they merely, in fact, form a surface pattern. it is not till after the appearance of the equatorial furrow that the segments begin to be distinctly isolated. in the subsequent stages not only do the segments already existing in the germinal disc increase by division, but fresh segments are continually being formed from the adjacent yolk, and added to those already present in the germinal disc. (fig. .) this fact is one out of many which prove that the germinal disc is merely part of the ovum characterized by the presence of more protoplasm than the remainder which forms the so-called food-yolk. during the latest stages of segmentation there appear in the yolk around the blastoderm a number of nuclei. (fig. , _nx´._) these are connected with a special protoplasmic network (already described) which penetrates through the yolk. towards the end of segmentation, and during the early periods of development which succeed the segmentation, these nuclei become very numerous. (fig. a, _n´_.) around many of them a protoplasmic investment is established, and cells are thus formed which eventually enter the blastoderm. [fig. . section through germinal disc of a pristiurus embryo during the segmentation. _n._ nucleus; _nx._ nucleus modified prior to division; _nx´._ modified nucleus of the yolk; _f._ furrow appearing in the yolk adjacent to the germinal disc.] the result of segmentation is the formation of a lens-shaped mass of cells lying in a depression on the yolk. in this a cavity appears, the homologue of the segmentation cavity already spoken of. it lies at first in the midst of the cells of the blastoderm, but very soon its floor of cells vanishes, and it lies between the yolk and the blastoderm. (fig. a.) its subsequent history is given in a future chapter. segmentation proceeds in osseous fishes in nearly the same manner as in elasmobranchii. in some cases the germinal disc is small as compared with the yolk, in other cases it is almost as large as the yolk. the only points which deserve special notice are the following: ( ) nuclei, precisely similar to those in the elasmobranch yolk, appear in the protoplasmic matter around the germinal disc; ( ) after the deposition of the ova there is present in some forms a network of protoplasm extending from the germinal disc through the yolk[ ]. at impregnation this withdraws itself from the yolk. it is to be compared to the protoplasmic network of the elasmobranch ovum. [ ] _vide_ bambeke, _loc. cit._ [fig. . two longitudinal sections of the blastoderm of a pristiurus embryo at stages prior to the formation of the medullary groove. _ep._ epiblast; _ll._ lower layer cells; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _sc._ segmentation cavity; _es._ embryo swelling; _n´_. nuclei of yolk; _er._ embryonic rim.] there are two types of meroblastic ova. in one of these (aves, elasmobranchii) the germinal disc is formed in the ovarian ovum. in the second type the germinal disc is formed after impregnation by a concentration of the protoplasm at one pole. this concentration is analogous to what has already been described for anodon and other molluscan ova (p. ). the ova of some teleostei are intermediate between the two types. the ovum of the wood-louse, oniscus murarius[ ], may be taken as an example of the second type of meroblastic ovum. in this egg development commences by the appearance of a small clear mass with numerous transparent vesicles. this mass is the protoplasm which has become separated from the yolk. it undergoes segmentation in a perfectly normal fashion. examples of other cases of this kind have been described by van beneden and bessels[ ] in anchorella, and in hessia by van beneden[ ]. it appears from their researches that the protoplasm collects itself together, first of all in the interior of the egg, and then travels to the surface. it arrives at the surface after having already divided into two or more segments, which then rapidly divide in the usual manner to form the blastoderm. [ ] _vide_ bobretzky, _zeitschrift für wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxiv., . [ ] _loc. cit._ [ ] _bulletins de l'acad. belgique_, tom. xxix., . there are some grounds for thinking that the cases of partial segmentation in the arthropoda are not really quite comparable with those in other groups, but more probably fall under the next type of segmentation to be described. the grounds for this view are mentioned in connection with the next type. in most if not all meroblastic ova there appear during and after segmentation a number of nuclei in the yolk adjoining the blastoderm, around which cells become differentiated. (figs. and .) these cells join the part of the blastoderm formed by the normal segmentation of the germinal disc. such nuclei are formed in all craniate meroblastic ova[ ]. in cephalopods they have been found by lankester, and in oniscus by bobretzky. they have been by some authors supposed to originate from the nuclei of the blastoderm, and by others spontaneously in the yolk. [ ] though less obvious in the ovum of the fowl than in that of some other types, they may nevertheless be demonstrated there without very much difficulty. some of the earliest observations on these nuclei were made by lankester[ ] in the cephalopods. he found that they appeared first in a ring-like series round the edge of the blastoderm, and subsequently all over the yolk in a layer a little below the surface. he observed their development in the living ovum and found that they "commenced as minute points, gradually increasing in size like other free-formed nuclei." a cell area subsequently forms around them. [ ] _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xv. pp. , . by e. van beneden[ ] they were observed in a teleostean ovum to appear nearly simultaneously in considerable numbers in the granular matter beneath the blastoderm. van beneden concludes from the simultaneous appearance of these bodies that they develop autogenously. kupffer at an earlier period arrived at a similar conclusion. my own observations on these nuclei in elasmobranchii on the whole support the conclusions to be derived from lankester's, kupffer's and van beneden's observations. as mentioned above, the nuclei in elasmobranchii do not appear simultaneously, but increase in number as development proceeds; and it is possible that van beneden may be mistaken on this point. no evidence came before me of derivation from pre-existing nuclei in the blastoderm. my observations prove however that the nuclei increase by division. this is shewn by the fact that i have found them with the spindle modification (fig. , _nx´_), and that in most cases they usually exhibit the form of a number of aggregated vesicles[ ], which is a character of nuclei which have just undergone division. it should be mentioned however that i failed to find a spindle modification of the nuclei in the later stages. against these observations must be set those of bobretzky, according to which the nuclei in oniscus are really the nuclei of cells which have migrated from the blastoderm. bobretzky's observations do not however appear to be very conclusive. [ ] _quart. journ. of micr. science,_ vol. xviii. p. . [ ] at the time when my observations on elasmobranchii were carried out, this peculiar condition of the nucleus had not been elucidated. it must be admitted that the general evidence at our command appears to indicate that the nuclei of the yolk in meroblastic ova originate _spontaneously_. there is however a difficulty in accepting this conclusion in the fact that all the other nuclei of the embryo are descendants of the first segmentation nucleus; and for this reason it still appears to me possible that the nuclei of the yolk will be found to originate from the continued division of one primitive nucleus, itself derived from the segmentation nucleus. the existence of these nuclei in the yolk and the formation of a distinct cell body around them is a strong piece of evidence in favour of the view above maintained, (which is not universally accepted,) that the part of the ovum of meroblastic ova which does not segment is of the same nature as that which does segment, and differs only in being relatively deficient in active protoplasm. the following forms have meroblastic ova of the first type: the cephalopoda, _pyrosoma_, elasmobranchii, teleostei, reptilia, aves, ornithodelphia (?). the second type of meroblastic segmentation occurs in many crustacea, (parasitic copepoda, isopoda _mysis_, etc.). it is also stated to be found in _scorpio_. the ova of the majority of groups in the animal kingdom segment according to one of the types which have just been described. these types are not sharply separated, but form an unbroken series, commencing with the ovum which segments uniformly, and ending with the meroblastic ovum. it is convenient to distinguish the ova which segment uniformly by some term; and i should propose for this the term alecithal[ ], as implying that they are without food-yolk, or that what little food-yolk there is, is distributed uniformly. [ ] for this term as well as for the terms telolecithal and centrolecithal i am indebted to mr lankester. the ova in which the yolk is especially concentrated at one pole i should propose to call telolecithal. they constitute together a group with an unequal or partial segmentation. the telolecithal ova may be defined in the following way: ova in which the food-yolk is not distributed uniformly, but is concentrated at one pole of the ovum. when only a moderate quantity of food-yolk is present the pole at which it is concentrated merely segments more slowly than the opposite pole; but when food-yolk is present in very large quantity the part of the ovum in which it is located is incapable of segmentation, and forms a special appendage known as the yolk-sack. there is a third group of ova including a series of types of segmentation nearly parallel to the telolecithal group. this group takes its start from the alecithal ovum as do the telolecithal ova, and equally with these includes a series of varieties of segmentation running parallel to the regular and unequal types of segmentation which directly result from the presence of a greater or smaller quantity of food-yolk. the food-yolk is however placed, not at one pole, but _at the centre of the ovum_. this group of ova i propose to name centrolecithal. it is especially characteristic of the arthropoda, if not entirely confined to that group. centrolecithal ova. as might be anticipated on the analogy of the types of segmentation already described, the concentration of the food-yolk at the centre of the ovum does not always take place before segmentation, but is sometimes deferred till even the later stages of this process. examples of a regular segmentation in centrolecithal ova are afforded by palæmon (bobretzky) and penæus (hæckel). a type of unequal segmentation like that of the frog occurs in _gammarus locusta_ (beneden and bessels), where however the formation of a central yolk mass does not appear to take place till rather late in the segmentation. more irregular examples of unequal segmentation are also afforded by other crustaceans, _e.g._ various members of the genus _chondracanthus_ (beneden and bessels) and by myriapods. in all these cases segmentation ends in the formation of a layer of cells enclosing a central mass of food-yolk. [fig. . segmentation of a crustacean ovum (penÆus). (after hæckel.) the sections illustrate the type of segmentation in which the yolk is aggregated at the centre of the ovum. _yk._ central yolk mass. and . surface view and section of the stage with four segments. in it is seen that the furrows visible on the surface do not penetrate to the centre of the ovum. and . surface view and section of ovum near the end of segmentation. the central yolk mass is very clearly seen in .] the peculiarity of the centrolecithal ova with regular or unequal segmentation is that (owing to the presence of the yolk in the interior) the furrows which appear on the surface are not continued to the centre of the egg. the spheres which are thus distinct on the surface are really united internally. fig. , copied from hæckel, shews this in a diagrammatic way. many ova, which in the later stages of segmentation exhibit the characteristics of true centrolecithal ova, in the early stages actually pass through nearly the same phases as holoblastic ova. thus in _eupagurus prideauxii_[ ] (fig. ), and probably in the majority of decapods, the egg is divided successively into two, four and eight distinct segments, and it is not till after the fourth phase of the segmentation that the spheres fuse in the centre of the egg. such ova belong to a type which is really intermediate between the ordinary type of segmentation and that with a central yolk mass. eupagurus presents one striking peculiarity, viz. that the nucleus divides into two, four and eight nuclei, each surrounded by a delicate layer of protoplasm prolonged into a reticulum, before the ovum itself commences to become segmented. the ovum before segmentation is therefore in the condition of a syncytium. [ ] mayer, _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. xi. [fig. . transverse section through four stages in the segmentation of eupagurus prideauxii. (after p. mayer.)] the segmentation of asellus aquaticus[ ] is very similar to that of eupagurus, etc. but the ovum at the very first divides into as many segments (viz. eight) as there are nuclei. [ ] ed. van beneden, _bull. d. l'acad. roy. belgique_, me série, tom. xxviii. no. , , p. . in gammarus locusta the resemblance to ordinary unequal segmentation is very striking, and it is not till a considerable number of segments have been formed that a central yolk mass appears. in all the above types, as segmentation proceeds, the protoplasm becomes more and more concentrated at the surface, and finally a superficial layer of flat blastoderm cells is completely segmented off from the yolk below (fig. d). in cases like those of penæus, eupagurus, etc., the yolk in the interior is at first nearly homogeneous, but at a later period it generally becomes divided up partially or completely into a number of distinct spheres, which may have nuclei and therefore have the value of cells. in many cases nuclei have however not been demonstrated in these yolk spheres, though probably present; yet, till they have been demonstrated, some doubt must remain on the nature of these yolk spheres. it is probable that _not_ all the nuclei which result from the division of the first segmentation nucleus become concerned in the formation of the superficial blastoderm, but that some remain in the interior of the ovum to become the nuclei of the yolk spheres. [fig. . segmentation and formation of the blastoderm in chelifer. (after metschnikoff.) in a the ovum is divided into a number of separate segments. in b a number of small cells have appeared (_bl_) which form a blastoderm enveloping the large yolk spheres. in c the blastoderm has become divided into two layers.] in _myriapods_ (_chilognatha_) a peculiar form of segmentation has been observed by metschnikoff[ ]. the ovum commences by undergoing a perfectly normal, though rather irregular total segmentation. but after the process of division has reached a certain point, scattered masses of very small cells make their appearance on the surface of the large spheres. these small cells have probably arisen in a manner analogous to that which characterizes the formation of the superficial cells of the blastoderm in the types of centrolecithal ova already described. they rapidly increase in number and eventually form a continuous blastoderm; while the original large segments remain in the centre as the yolk mass. in the interesting arachnid _chelifer_ segmentation takes place in nearly the same manner as in myriapods (fig. ). [ ] _zeitschrift für wiss. zool._, vol. xxiv. . [fig. . four successive stages in the segmentation of the egg of tetranychus telarius. (after claparède.)] it is clear that it is not possible in centrolecithal ova to have any type of segmentation exactly comparable with that of meroblastic ova. there are however some types which fill the place of the meroblastic ova in the present group, _in as much as they are characterised by the presence of a large bulk of food-yolk which either does not segment, or does not do so till a very late stage in the development_. the essential character of this type of segmentation consists in the division of the germinal vesicle in the interior, or at the surface of the ovum into two, four, etc. nuclei (fig. ). these nuclei are each of them surrounded by a specially concentrated layer of protoplasm (fig. ) which is continuous with a general protoplasmic reticulum passing through the ovum [not shewn in fig. ]. the yolk is contained in the meshes of this reticulum in the manner already described for other ova. the ovum, like that of eupagurus before segmentation, is now a syncytium. eventually the nuclei, having increased by division and become very numerous, travel, unless previously situated there, to the surface of the ovum. they then either simultaneously or in succession become, together with protoplasm around them, segmented off from the yolk, and give rise to a peripheral blastoderm enclosing a central yolk mass. in the latter however many of the nuclei usually remain, and it also very often undergoes a secondary segmentation into a number of yolk spheres. the eggs of insects afford numerous examples of this mode of segmentation, of which the egg of porthesia[ ] may be taken as type. after impregnation it consists of a central mass of yolk which passes without a sharp line of demarcation into a peripheral layer of more transparent (protoplasmic) material. in the earliest stage observed by bobretzky there were two bodies in the interior of the egg, each consisting of a nucleus enclosed in a thin protoplasmic layer with stellate prolongations. this stage corresponds with the division into two, but though the nucleus divides, the preponderating amount of yolk prevents the egg from segmenting at the same time. by a continuous division of the nuclei there becomes scattered through the interior of the ovum a series of bodies, each formed of nucleus and a thin layer of protoplasm with reticulate processes. after a certain stage some of these bodies pass to the surface, simultaneously (in porthesia) or in some cases successively. at the surface the protoplasm round each nucleus contracts itself into a rounded cell body, distinctly cut off from the adjacent yolk. [ ] bobretzky, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxi. . the cells so formed give rise to a superficial blastoderm of a single layer of cells. many of the nucleated bodies remain in the yolk, and after a certain time, which varies in different forms, the yolk becomes segmented up into a number of rounded or polygonal bodies, in the interior of each of which one of the above nuclei with its protoplasm is present. this process, known as the secondary segmentation of the yolk, is really part of the true segmentation, and the bodies to which it gives rise are true cells. other examples of this type may be cited. in aphis[ ] metschnikoff shewed that the first segmentation nucleus divides into two, each of which takes up a position in the clearer peripheral protoplasmic layer of the egg (fig. , and ). following upon further division the nuclei enveloped in a continuous layer of protoplasm arrange themselves in a regular manner, and form a syncytium, which becomes segmented into definite cells (fig. , and ). the existence of a special clear superficial layer of protoplasm has been questioned by brandt. [ ] metschnikoff, "embry. stud. insecten," _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xvi. . my own observations on this form accord in the main with those of metschnikoff. [fig. . segmentation of aphis rosae. (copied from metschnikoff.) in all the stages there is seen to be a central yolk mass surrounded by a layer of protoplasm. in this protoplasm two nuclei have appeared in , four nuclei in . in the nuclei have arranged themselves regularly, and in the protoplasm has become divided into a number of columnar cells corresponding to the nuclei. _w._ pole of the blastoderm which has no share in forming the embryo.] in _tetranychus telarius_, one of the mites, claparède found on the surface of the ovum a nucleus surrounded by granular protoplasm (fig. ); which is no doubt the first segmentation nucleus. by a series of divisions, all on the surface, a layer of cells becomes formed round a central yolk mass. the result here is the same as in insects, but the nucleus with its granular protoplasm is from the first superficial. in other cases, such as that of the common fly[ ], a layer of protoplasm is stated to appear investing the yolk; and in this there arise simultaneously (?) a number of nuclei at regular intervals, around each of which the protoplasm separates itself to form a distinct cell. closely allied is the type observed by kowalevsky in apis. development here commences by the appearance of a number of protoplasmic prominences, each forming a cell provided with a nucleus, the nuclei having no doubt been formed by previous division in the interior of the ovum. they appear at the edge of the yolk, and are separated from one another by short intervals. shortly after their appearance a second batch of similar bodies appears, filling up the interspaces between the first-formed prominences. in the fresh-water gammarus fluviatilis the protoplasm is stated first of all to collect at the centre of the ovum, where no doubt the segmentation nucleus divides. subsequently cells appear at numerous points on the surface, and by repeated division constitute an uniform blastoderm investing the central yolk mass. this mode of formation of the blastoderm is closely allied to that observed by kowalevsky in apis. [ ] _vide_ weismann, _entwicklung d. dipteren_; and auerbach, _organologische studien_. between ova with a segmentation like that of insects, and those with a segmentation like that of penæus, there is more than one intermediate form. the eupagurus type, with the division of the first nucleus into eight nuclei before the division of the ovum, must be regarded in this light; but the most instructive example of such a transitional type of segmentation is that afforded by spiders[ ]. [ ] _vide_ ludwig, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, . [fig. . three stages in the segmentation of philodromus limbatus. (after hub. ludwig.)] the first phenomenon which can be observed after impregnation is the conglomeration of the yolk spheres into cylindrical columns, which finally assume a radiating form diverging from the centre of the egg. in the centre of the radiate figure is a protoplasmic mass, probably containing a nucleus, which sends out protoplasmic filaments through the columns (fig. a). after a certain period of repose the figure becomes divided into two rosette-like masses, which remain united for some time by a protoplasmic thread: this thread is finally ruptured (fig. b). the whole egg does not in this process divide into two segments, but merely the radiate figure, which is enclosed in a finely granular material. the two rosettes next become simultaneously divided, giving rise to four rosettes (fig. c): and the whole process is repeated with the same rhythm as in a regular segmentation till there are formed thirty-two rosettes in all (fig. a). the rosettes by this time have become simple columns, which by mutual pressure arrange themselves radiately around the centre of the egg, which however they do not quite reach. [fig. . surface view and optical section of a late stage in the segmentation of philodromus limbatus (koch). (after hub. ludwig.) _bl._ blastoderm; _yk._ yolk spheres.] when only two rosettes are present the protoplasm with its nucleus occupies a central position in each rosette, but gradually, in the course of the subsequent subdivisions, it travels towards the periphery, and finally occupies, when the stage with thirty-two rosettes is reached, a peripheral position. the peripheral protoplasm next becomes separated off as a nucleated layer (fig. b). it forms the proper blastoderm, and in it the nuclei rapidly multiply and finally around each an hexagonal or polygonal area of protoplasm is marked off; and a blastoderm, formed of a single layer of flattened cells, is thus constituted. the columns within the blastoderm now form (fig. b) more or less distinct masses, which are stated by ludwig to be without protoplasm. from observations of my own i am inclined to differ from ludwig as to the nature of the parts within the blastoderm. my observations have been made on _agelena labyrinthica_ and commence at the close of the segmentation. at this time i find a superficial layer of flattened cells, and within these a number of large polyhedral yolk cells. in many, and i believe all, of the yolk cells there is a nucleus surrounded by protoplasm. it is generally placed at one side and not in the centre of a yolk cell, and the nuclei are so often double that i have no doubt they are rapidly undergoing division. it appears to me probable that, at the time when the superficial layer of protoplasm is segmented off from the yolk below, the nuclei undergo division, and that a nucleus with surrounding protoplasm is left with each yolk column. for further details _vide_ chapter on arachnida. although by the close of the segmentation the protoplasm has travelled to a superficial position, it may be noted that at first it forms a small mass in the centre of the egg, and only eventually assumes its peripheral situation. it is moreover clear that in the spider's ovum there is, so to speak, an attempt at a complete segmentation, which however only results in an arrangement of the constituents of the ovum in masses round each nucleus, and not in a true division of the ovum into distinct segments. it seems very probable that ludwig's observations on the segmentation of spiders only hold good for species with comparatively small ova. in connection with the segmentation of the insects' ovum and allied types it should be mentioned that bobretzky, to whose observations we are largely indebted for our knowledge of this subject, holds somewhat different views from those adopted in the text. he regards the nuclei surrounded by protoplasm, which are produced by the division of the primitive segmentation nucleus, as so many distinct cells. these cells are supposed to move about freely in the yolk, which acts as a kind of intercellular medium. this view does not commend itself to me. it is opposed to my own observations on similar nuclei in the spiders. it does not fit in with our knowledge of the nature of the ovum, and it cannot be reconciled with the segmentation of such types as spiders or even eupagurus, with which the segmentation in insects is undoubtedly closely related. the majority if not all the cases in which a central yolk mass is formed occur in the arthropoda, in which group centrolecithal ova are undoubtedly in a majority. in alcyonium palmatum the segmentation appears however to resemble that of many insects. one or two peculiar varieties in the segmentation of ova of this type may be spoken of here. the first one i shall mention is detailed in the important paper of e. van beneden and bessels which i have already so often had occasion to quote: it is characteristic of the eggs of most of the species of chondracanthus, a genus of parasitic crustaceans. the ovum divides in the usual way but somewhat irregularly into , , segments which meet in a central yolk mass; but after the third division instead of each segment dividing into two equal parts it divides _at once_ into four, and the division into four having started, reappears at every successive division. thus the number of the segments at successive periods is , , , , , etc. in another peculiar case, an instance of which[ ] is afforded by _asellus aquaticus_, after each of the earlier segmentations all the segments fuse and become indistinguishable, but at the succeeding segmentation double the number of segments appears. although, as has been already stated, it does not seem possible to have a true meroblastic segmentation in centrolecithal ova, it does nevertheless appear probable that the apparent cases of a meroblastic segmentation in the arthropoda are derivatives of this type of segmentation. the manner in which the one type might pass into the other may perhaps be explained by the segmentation in _asellus aquaticus_[ ]. in this ovum large segments are at first formed around a central yolk mass, in the peculiar manner mentioned in the previous paragraph, but at the close of the first period of segmentation minute cells, which eventually form a superficial blastoderm, are produced from the yolk cells. they do not however appear at once round the whole periphery of the egg, but at first only on the ventral surface and later on the dorsal surface. if the amount of food-yolk in the egg were to increase so as to render the formation of the yolk cells impossible, and at the same time the formation of the blastodermic cells were to take place at the commencement, instead of towards the close of the segmentation, a mass of protoplasm with a nucleus might first appear at the surface on the future ventral side of the egg, then divide in the usual way for meroblastic ova, and give rise to a layer of cells gradually extending round to the dorsal surface. a meroblastic segmentation might perhaps be even more easily derived from the type found in insects. it is probable that the cases of scorpio, mysis, oniscus, the parasitic isopoda, and some parasitic copepoda belong to this category; and it may be noticed that in these cases the blastopore would be situated on the dorsal and not on the ventral side of the ovum. the morphological importance of this latter fact will appear in the sequel. [ ] [ ] ed. van beneden, _bull. acad. belgique_, vol. xxviii. . the results arrived at in the present section may be shortly restated in the following way. ( ) a comparatively small number of ova contain very little or no food-yolk embedded in their protoplasm; and have what food-yolk may be present distributed uniformly. in such ova the segmentation is regular. they may be described as alecithal ova. ( ) the distribution of food-yolk in the protoplasm of the ovum exercises an important influence on the segmentation. the rapidity with which any part of an ovum segments varies _ceteris paribus_ with the relative amount of protoplasm it contains; and the size of the segments formed varies inversely to the relative amount of protoplasm. when the proportion of protoplasm in any part of an ovum becomes extremely small, segmentation does not occur in that part. ova with food-yolk may be divided into two great groups according to the eventual arrangement of the food-yolk in the protoplasm. in one of these, the food-yolk when present is concentrated at the vegetative pole of the ovum. in the other group it is concentrated at the centre of the ovum. ova belonging to the former group are known as telolecithal ova, those to the latter as centrolecithal. in each group more than one type may be distinguished. in the first group these types are ( ) unequal segmentation, ( ) partial segmentation. the features of these three types have been already so fully explained that i need not repeat them here. in the second group there are three distinct types, ( ) equal segmentation, ( ) unequal segmentation. these two being externally similar to the similarly named types in the first group. ( ) superficial segmentation. this is unlike anything which is present in the first group, and is characterized by the appearance of a superficial layer of cells round a central yolk mass. these cells may either appear simultaneously or successively, and their nuclei are derived from the segmentation within the ovum of the first segmentation nucleus. the types of ova in relation to the characters of the segmentation may be tabulated in the following way: _segmentation._ ( ) alecithal } regular ova } ( ) telolecithal } (_a_) unequal ova } (_b_) partial ( ) centrolecithal } (_a_) regular (with segments united in ova } central yolk mass) } (_b_) unequal " " " " } (_c_) superficial. although the various types of segmentation which have been described present very different aspects, they must nevertheless be looked on as manifestations of the same inherited tendency to division, which differ only according to the conditions under which the tendency displays itself. this tendency is probably to be regarded as the embryological repetition of that phase in the evolution of the metazoa, which constituted the transition from the protozoon to the metazoon condition. from the facts narrated in this chapter the reader will have gathered that similarity or dissimilarity of segmentation is no safe guide to affinities. in many cases, it is true, a special type of segmentation may characterize a whole group; but in other cases very closely allied animals present the greatest differences with respect to their segmentation; as for instance the different species of the genus gammarus. the character of the segmentation has great influence on the early phenomena of development, though naturally none on the adult form. external features of segmentation. ( ) e. haeckel. "die gastrula u. eifurchung." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . ( ) fr. leydig. "die dotterfurchung nach ihrem vorkommen in d. thierwelt u. n. ihrer bedeutung." _oken isis._ . part i. _systematic embryology._ part i. systematic embryology. introduction. in all the metazoa the segmentation is followed by a series of changes which result in the grouping of the embryonic cells into definite layers, or membranes, known as the germinal layers. there are always two of these layers, known as the epiblast and hypoblast; and in the majority of instances a third layer, known as the mesoblast, becomes interposed between them. it is by the further differentiation of the germinal layers that the organs of the adult become built up. owing to this it is usual, in the language of embryology, to speak of the organs as derived from such or such a germinal layer. at the close of the section of this work devoted to systematic embryology, there is a discussion of the difficult questions which arise as to the complete or partial homology of these layers throughout the metazoa, and as to the meaning to be attached to the various processes by which they take their origin; but a few words as to the general fate of the layers, and the general nature of the processes by which they are formed, will not be out of place here. of the three layers the epiblast and hypoblast are to be regarded as the primary. the epiblast is essentially the primitive integument, and constitutes the protective and sensory layer. it gives rise to the skin, cuticle, nervous system, and organs of special sense. the hypoblast is essentially the digestive and secretory layer, and gives rise to the epithelium lining the alimentary tract and the glands connected with it. the mesoblast is only found in a fully developed condition in the forms more highly organized than the coelenterata. it gives origin to the general connective tissue, internal skeleton, the muscular system, the lining of the body cavity, the vascular, and excretory systems. it probably in the first instance originated from differentiations of the two primary layers, and in all groups with a well-developed body cavity it is divided into two strata. one of them forms part of the body wall and is known as the somatic mesoblast, the other forms part of the wall of the viscera and is known as the splanchnic mesoblast. a very large number not to say the majority of organs are derived from parts of two of the germinal layers. many glands for instance have a lining of hypoblast which is coated by a mesoblastic layer. [fig. . diagram of a gastrula. (from gegenbaur.) _a._ blastopore; _b._ archenteron; _c._ hypoblast; _d._ epiblast.] the processes by which the germinal layers take their origin are largely influenced by the character of the segmentation, which, as was shewn in the last chapter, is mainly dependent on the distribution of the food-yolk. when the segmentation is regular, and results in the formation of a blastosphere, the epiblast and hypoblast are usually differentiated from the uniform cells forming the wall of the blastosphere in one of the two following ways. ( ) one-half of the blastosphere may be pushed in towards the other half. a two-layered hemisphere is thus established which soon elongates, while its opening narrows to a small pore (fig. ). the embryonic form produced by this process is known as a gastrula. the process by which it originates is known as embolic invagination, or shortly invagination. of the two layers of which it is formed the inner one (_c_) is known as the hypoblast and the outer (_d_) as the epiblast, while the pore leading into its cavity lined by the hypoblast is the blastopore (_a_). the cavity itself is the archenteron (_b_). ( ) the cells of the blastosphere may divide themselves by a process of concentric splitting into two layers (fig. , ). the two layers are as before the epiblast and hypoblast, and the process by which they originate is known as delamination. the central cavity or archenteron (_f_) is in the case of delamination the original segmentation cavity; and not an entirely new cavity as in the case of invagination. by the perforation of the closed two-walled vesicle resulting from delamination an embryonic form is produced which cannot be distinguished in structure from the gastrula produced by invagination (fig. , ). the opening (_m_) in this case is not however known as the blastopore but as the mouth. [fig. . diagram shewing the formation of a gastrula by delamination. (from lankester.) fig. . ovum. fig. . stage in segmentation. fig. . commencement of delamination after the appearance of a central cavity. fig. . delamination completed, mouth forming at _m_. in fig. , and _ec._ is ectoplasm, and _en._ is entoplasm. in fig. _ec._ is epiblast and _en._ hypoblast.] when segmentation does not take place on the regular type the processes above described are as a rule somewhat modified. the yolk is usually concentrated in the cells which would, in the case of a simple gastrula, be invaginated. as a consequence of this, these cells become ( ) distinctly marked off from the epiblast cells during the segmentation; and ( ) very much more bulky than the epiblast cells. the bulkiness of the hypoblast cells necessitates a modification of the normal process of embolic invagination, and causes another process to be substituted for it, viz. the growth of the epiblast cells as a thin layer over the hypoblast. this process (fig. ) is known as epibolic invagination. the point where the complete enclosure of the hypoblast cells is effected is known as the blastopore. all intermediate conditions between epibolic and embolic invagination have been found. [fig. . transverse section through the ovum of euaxes during an early stage of development. (after kowalevsky.) _ep._ epiblast; _ms._ mesoblastic band; _hy._ hypoblast.] [fig. . two stages in the development of stephanomia pictum. (after metschnikoff.) a. stage after the delamination. _ep._ epiblastic invagination to form pneumatocyst. b. later stage after the formation of the gastric cavity in the solid hypoblast. _po._ polypite; _t._ tentacle; _pp._ pneumatophore; _ep._ epiblastic invagination to form pneumatocyst; _hy._ hypoblast surrounding pneumatocyst.] in delamination, when the segmentation is not uniform, or when a solid morula is formed, the differentiation of the epiblast and hypoblast is effected by the separation of the central solid mass of cells from the peripheral cells (fig. a). in the case of epibolic invagination as well as in that of the type of delamination just spoken of, the archenteric cavity is in most cases secondarily formed in the solid mass of hypoblast (fig. b). in ova with a partial segmentation there is usually some modification of the epibolic gastrula. many varieties are found in the animal kingdom of the types of invagination and delamination just characterized, and in not a few forms the layers originate in a manner which cannot be brought into connection with either of these processes. [fig. . epibolic gastrula of bonellia. (after spengel.) a. stage when the four hypoblast cells are nearly enclosed. b. stage after the formation of the mesoblast has commenced by an infolding of the lips of the blastopore. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _bl._ blastopore.] the mesoblast usually originates subsequently to the two primary layers. it then springs from one or both of the other layers, but its modes of origin are so various that it would be useless to attempt to classify them here. in cases of invagination it often arises at the lips of the blastopore (fig. and ), and in other cases part of it springs as paired hollow outgrowths of the walls of the archenteron. such outgrowths are shewn in fig. , b and c at _pv_. the cavity of the outgrowths forms the body cavity, and the walls of the outgrowths the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast (fig. c. _sp._ and _so._). the archenteron is in part always converted into a section of the permanent alimentary tract and the section of the alimentary tract so derived is known as the mesenteron. there are however usually two additional parts of the alimentary tract, known as the stomodaeum and proctodaeum, derived from epiblastic invaginations. they give rise respectively to the oral and anal extremities of the alimentary tract. [fig. . three stages in the development of sagitta. (a and c after bütschli and b after kowalevsky.) the three embryos are represented in the same positions. a. represents the gastrula stage. b. represents a succeeding stage in which the primitive archenteron is commencing to be divided into three parts, the two lateral of which are destined to form the mesoblast. c. represents a later stage in which the mouth involution (_m_) has become continuous with alimentary tract, and the blastopore has become closed. _m._ mouth; _al._ alimentary canal; _ae._ archenteron; _bl._ _p._ blastopore; _pv._ perivisceral cavity; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _ge._ generative organs.] bibliography. ( ) k. e. von baer. "ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere." königsberg, - . ( ) c. claus. _grundzüge d. zoologie._ marburg und leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _grundriss d. vergleichenden anatomie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also translation. _elements of comparative anatomy._ macmillan and co., . ( ) e. haeckel. _studien z. gastræa-theorie_. jena, , and also _jenaische zeitschrift_, vols. viii. and ix. ( ) e. haeckel. _schöpfungsgeschichte._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _the history of creation._ king and co., london, . ( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _anthropogeny_ (translation). kegan paul and co., london, . ( ) th. h. huxley. _the anatomy of invertebrated animals._ churchill, . ( ) e. r. lankester. "notes on embryology and classification." _quart. j. of. micr. science_, vol. xvii. . ( ) a. s. p. packard. _life histories of animals, including man, or outlines of comparative embryology._ holt and co., new york, . ( ) h. rathke. _abhandlungen z. bildung und entwicklungsgesch. d. menschen u. d. thiere._ leipzig, . chapter iv. dicyemidÆ and orthonectidÆ. dicyemidÆ. the structure and development of these remarkable parasites in the renal organs of the cephalopoda have recently been greatly elucidated by the researches of e. van beneden; and although a male element has not been discovered, yet the embryos originate from bodies which have a close similarity to ordinary ova. van beneden has shewn that dicyema consists in the adult state of ( ) a single layer of ciliated epiblast cells, somewhat modified anteriorly to form a cephalic enlargement; and of ( ) one large nucleated hypoblast cell enclosed within the epiblast. there are two kinds of embryo, both developed from germs which originate in the hypoblast cell. the two kinds of embryo arise in individuals of somewhat different forms. the one kind, called by van beneden the vermiform embryo, arises in the more elongated and thinner examples of dicyema which have been named nematogens. these embryos pass directly into the parent form without metamorphosis. the second kind of embryo, called infusoriform, is very different from the parent, and has a free existence. its eventual history is not known. it originates in the shorter and thicker individuals of dicyema; which have been called rhombogens. the vermiform embryos. the germs or cells which give rise to the vermiform embryos originate endogenously in the protoplasmic reticulum of the axial hypoblast cell. they appear as small but well-defined spheres, with a minute body in the centre. in these spheres a cortical layer becomes differentiated, which gradually increases in thickness and gives rise to the body of a cell, the nucleus and nucleolus of which are respectively formed from the inner part of the original sphere and the minute central body. these germs can originate in all parts of the hypoblast cell and are frequently very numerous. [fig. . a. gastrula stage of dicyema typus. b. veriform embryo of dicyema typus. (from gegenbaur, after e. van beneden.)] the germ when completely formed undergoes a segmentation very similar to that of an ordinary ovum. it divides first into two and then into four approximately equal segments. of the four segments one, however, remains passive for the remainder of the development. the other three divide and arrange themselves so as partially to enclose in a cup-like fashion the passive cell (fig. a). the six cells resulting from their division again divide, giving rise to twelve cells, which nearly enclose the passive cell, leaving only a small aperture at one point. the whole process by which the central cell becomes enclosed is, as e. van beneden points out, identical with a gastrula formation by epibole, and the space where the central cell is left uncovered is the blastopore. the central cell itself gives origin to the hypoblast cell of the adult, and the peripheral cells to the epiblast. by this time the embryo has assumed an oval form, and the blastopore is situated at the pole of the long axis of the oval where the cephalic enlargement is eventually formed. the subsequent development consists mainly in the closure of the blastopore, and an increase in the number of the epiblast cells. before the development is completed, and while the embryo is still in the body of the parent, two germs, destined themselves to give rise to fresh embryos, appear in the hypoblast cell, one on each side of the nucleus (fig. b). the embryo continues to elongate, while the anterior cells become converted into the polar cells. cilia appear simultaneously over the general surface, and the embryo makes its way out of the body of the parent, usually at the cephalic pole, and becomes itself parasitic in the renal organ of the host in which it finds itself. at the time of birth the embryo may contain a number of germs and sometimes even developing embryos. infusoriform embryos. the infusoriform embryos are capable of living in sea-water and almost certainly lead a free existence. in their most fully developed condition so far known they have the following rather complicated structure (fig. d, e, f, g). the body is somewhat pyriform, with a blunt extremity which is directed forwards in swimming, and a more pointed extremity directed backwards. the former may be spoken of as the anterior, and the latter as the posterior extremity or tail. at the anterior extremity are situated a pair of refractive bodies (_r_) which lie above an unpaired organ which may be called the urn. the structure of the urn, the refractive bodies, and the tail may be dealt with in succession. the urn consists of three parts: ( ) a wall (_u_), ( ) a lid (_l_), and ( ) contents (_gr_). the wall of the urn is hemispherical in form, and composed of two halves in apposition (fig. f). its concavity is directed forwards, and in its edge are imbedded a number of rod-like corpuscles which appear as a ring near the surface in a full-face view (fig. d). the lid has the form of a low pyramid with its apex directed outwards. it is made up of four segments (fig. d). the contents of the urn, which completely fill up its cavity, are four polynuclear cells arranged in the form of a cross which appear with low powers as granular bodies (fig. f). they are frequently ejected, apparently at the will of the embryo. the refractive bodies (_r_), two in number, one on each side of the middle line, are composed of a material which is not of a fatty nature, and which is passive to the majority of reagents. each is enveloped in a special capsule, and at times more than one refractive body is present in each capsule. the tail is a conical structure formed of ciliated granular cells. no plausible guess has been made as to the function either of the urn or of the refractive bodies. the infusoriform embryos originate from germs, which have however a different origin to the germs of the vermiform embryos. one to five cells appear in the axial hypoblast cell, in a way not clearly made out, and each of them gives rise by an endogenous process to several generations of cells, all of which develop into infusoriform embryos. [fig. . infusoriform embryo of dicyema. a. b. c. three of the later stages in the development. d. e. f. three different views of the full-grown larva. d. from the front, e. from the side, and f. from above. g. side view of urn. _u._ wall of urn; _l._ lid of urn; _r._ refractive bodies; _gr._ granular bodies filling the interior of the urn.] the primitive cell is called by van beneden a germogen. in its protoplasm a number of germs first appear endogenously, but the nucleus of the germogen does not assist in their formation. they eventually become detached from the parent cell, around which they are concentrically arranged. a second and then a third generation of germs are formed in the same way, till the whole of the protoplasm of the primitive cell is absorbed in the formation of these germs, and nothing of it remains but the nucleus. the germs so formed are arranged in about three concentric layers, of which the innermost is the youngest. one to five masses of germs may be present in a single rhombogen. the germs undergo a division, in the course of which their nuclei exhibit very beautifully a spindle modification. in the course of the segmentation the embryo gradually assumes its permanent form, and four of the cells composing it can be distinguished from the remainder by their greater size (fig. a, _u_). the two largest of these give rise to the wall of the urn, and also give origin to four smaller cells (fig. b, _gr_) which eventually become polynuclear and constitute the four granular cells in the urn. the two other cells become the lid of the urn. the parts of the urn lie at first side by side, but in the course of development the cells which form the wall of the urn travel inwards, and the four granular cells are carried into their concavity. at the same time the cells which form the lid of the urn alter their position so as to overlie the wall of the urn. the two cells immediately above the urn give rise to the refractive bodies (fig. a, b, c, _r_) and the remainder of the cells of the embryo become the tail (fig. c). the embryo becomes ciliated, and attains its nearly full development before leaving the parental tissues. it usually passes out at the cephalic extremity. as has already been stated, it is probable that the infusoriform embryos leave the renal organs of their host and lead a free existence. what becomes of them afterwards is not however known, though there can be little doubt that they serve to carry the species to new hosts. till the further development of the infusoriform embryo is known it is not possible to arrive at a definite conclusion as to the affinities of this strange parasite. van beneden is anxious to form it, on account of its simple organization, into a group between the protozoa and the metazoa. it appears however very possible that the simplicity of its organization is the result of a parasitic existence; a view which receives confirmation from the common occurrence of the process of endogenous cell formation in the axial hypoblast cell. it has been clearly shewn by strasburger that endogenous cell formation is secondarily derived from cell division; so that the occurrence of this process in dicyema probably indicates that the hypoblast was primitively multicellular. it is not improbable that the enigmatical infusoriform embryo may develop into a sexual form, the progeny of which are destined to complete the cycle of development by becoming again parasitic in the renal organ of a cephalopod. bibliography. ( ) e. van beneden. "recherches sur les dicyemides." _bull. d. l'académie roy. de belgique_, e sér. t. xli. no. and t. xlii. no. , . _vide_ this paper for a full account of the literature. ( ) a. kölliker. _ueber dicyema paradoxum den schmarotzer der venenanhänge der cephalopoden._ ( ) aug. krohn. "ueb. d. vorkommen von entozoen, etc." _froriep notizen_, vii. . orthonectidÆ. a number of minute parasites infesting various nemertines, turbellarians, and ophiuroids have recently been studied by giard and metschnikoff, the former of whom has placed them in a special group which he calls the orthonectidæ. they were first discovered by w. c. mcintosh. in the adult state they are[ ] (metschnikoff) somewhat pear-shaped bodies formed of a kind of plasmodium of cells with irregular lobate processes. in the interior of this body are eggs in all stages of development. in the type observed by metschnikoff (intoshia gigas) the ova undergo a regular segmentation, resulting in the formation of a blastosphere in which an inner layer is subsequently formed by delamination. a smaller and a larger kind of embryo are formed; but all the embryos in each female belong to one type. the larger become females and the smaller males. [ ] this at any rate holds true for the type investigated by metschnikoff. the full history of other forms is not yet known. the female embryos are ovoid. the outer layer of cells or epiblast becomes ciliated, and divided into nine segments, of which the second is marked off from the remainder by the absence of cilia, and by being provided with refractive corpuscles. the inner layer which surrounds a central cavity, and might be supposed to be the hypoblast, becomes according to metschnikoff converted into ova. the male embryos are more elongated than the female, from which they further differ in only having six segments. the cells of the inner layer eventually divide up into spermatozoa. the larvæ probably become free, and while in the free state impregnation would appear to be effected. when the female larvæ become parasitic they undergo a metamorphosis, the stages of which have not been observed; but in the course of which the epiblast cells probably unite into a plasmodium. the observations of giard are in several points irreconcilable with those of metschnikoff, but from the statements of the latter it appears possible that giard has made two genera from the males and females of one species; and that giard's account of an unequal segmentation followed by an epibolic gastrula, in one of his species, has arisen from two segmenting ova temporarily fusing together. giard has given a description of internal gemmiparous reproduction, upon the accuracy of which doubts have been thrown by metschnikoff. the affinities of the orthonectidæ are as obscure as those of the dicyemidæ; though there can be but little doubt that their organization has been much simplified in correlation with their parasitic habits. the origin of the genital products in the axial tissue is a feature they have in common with the dicyemidæ. bibliography. ( ) alf. giard. "les orthonectida classe nouv. d. phylum des vers." _journal de l'anat. et de la physiol._, vol. xv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "zur naturgeschichte d. orthonectidæ." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. - , . [ch. julin. "rech. sur l'organization et le devel. d'orthonectides." _arch. biol._ vol. iii. . e. metschnikoff. "untersuchungen üb. orthonectidæ." _zeit. f. wiss. zoologie_, vol. xxxv. . for general account of orthonectidæ, _vide_ spengel. _biolog. centralblatt_, no. .] chapter v. porifera. although within the last few years greater advances have probably been made in our knowledge of the development of the porifera than of any other group, yet there is much that is still very obscure, and it is not possible to make general statements applying to the whole group. calcispongiæ. the form which has so far been most completely worked out is _sycandra raphanus_, one of the calcispongiæ (metschnikoff, nos. and , f. e. schulze, nos. and ), and i shall commence my account with the life history of this species. the ovum in sycandra as in other spongida has the form of a naked amoeboid nucleated mass of protoplasm. from the analogy of the other members of the group, there is no doubt that it is fertilized by a male spermatic element, though this has not as yet been shewn to be the case--and the changes which accompany fertilization are quite unknown. [fig. . successive stages in the segmentation of sycandra raphanus. (copied from f. e. schulze.) a. stage with eight segments still arranged in pairs, from above. b. side view of stage with eight segments. c. side view of stage with sixteen segments. d. side view of stage with forty-eight segments. e. view from above of stage with forty-eight segments. f. side view of embryo in the blastosphere stage, eight of the granular cells which give rise to the epiblast of the adult are present at the lower pole. _cs._ segmentation cavity; _ec._ granular cells which form the epiblast; _en._ clear cells which form the hypoblast.] the segmentation and early stages of development take place in the tissues of the parent. the segmentation is somewhat peculiar, though a modification of a regular segmentation. the ovum divides along a vertical plane, first into two, and then into four equal segments. but even when two segments are formed, each of them has one end pointed and the other broader. the pointed ends give rise to the ciliated cells of the future larva, and the broad ends to the granular cells. instead of the next division taking place, as is usually the case, in a horizontal (equatorial) plane, it is actually effected along two vertical planes intermediate in position between the two first planes of segmentation. eight equal segments are thus formed, each of which has the form of a pyramid. all the segments are situated in a single tier, and are so arranged as to give to the whole ovum the form of a flat cone, the apex of which is formed by the pointed extremities of the constituent segments (fig. b). the apices of the segments do not however quite meet, but they leave a central space, which is an actual perforation (fig. a) through the axis of the ovum, open at both ends. the first indications of this perforation appear when only four segments are present, and it is to be regarded as the homologue of the segmentation cavity of other ova. the next plane of division is horizontal (equatorial), and the apices of the eight cells are segmented off as a tier of small cells. at the completion of this division (fig. c), the ovum is formed of sixteen cells arranged in two superimposed tiers. the ovum now assumes somewhat the form of a biconvex lens, in the axis of which the central perforation is still present. at the close of the next stage, forty-eight cells are present arranged in four tiers (fig. d and e), the two outer tiers containing eight cells each, and the two inner sixteen. the two inner tiers probably arise by the simultaneous appearance of two equatorial furrows dividing the original tiers into two, and by the subsequent simple division of the cells of the two inner of the tiers so formed. at the close of the stage the eight basal cells become granular (fig. f). at the same time the central part of the segmentation cavity becomes enlarged, while its terminal apertures become narrowed and finally, shortly after the end of this stage, closed. the axial perforation thus acquires the character of a closed segmentation cavity. while the ovum itself becomes at the same time a blastosphere. [fig. . larva of sycandra raphanus at pseudogastrula stage, in situ in the maternal tissues. (copied from f. e. schulze.) _me._ mesoblast of adult; _hy._ collared cells forming hypoblast of the adult; _en._ clear cells of larva which eventually become involuted to form the hypoblast; _ec._ granular cells of larva which give rise to the epiblast, which at this stage are partially involuted.] this stage nearly completes the segmentation: in the next one, the cells of the poles of the blastosphere increase in number, and the cells of the greater part of the blastosphere become columnar and ciliated, (fig. _en._) while the granular cells (_ec._) increase to about thirty-two in number and appear to be (partially at least) involuted into the segmentation cavity, reducing this latter to a mere slit. this stage forms the last passed by the embryo in the tissues of the parent. the general position of the embryo while still in this situation may be gathered from fig. , representing the embryo _in situ_. the embryo is always placed close to one of the radial canals. from this situation it makes its way through the lining cells into a canal and is thence transported to the surrounding water. by the time the larva has become free, the semi-invaginated granular cells have increased in bulk and become everted so as to project very much more prominently than in the encapsuled state. to the gastrula stage, if it deserves the name, passed through by the embryo in the tissues of the parent, no importance can be attached. [fig. . two free stages in the development of sycandra raphanus. (copied from schulze.) a. amphiblastula stage. b. a later stage after the ciliated cells have commenced to become invaginated. _cs._ segmentation cavity; _ec._ granular cells which will form the epiblast; _en._ ciliated cells which become invaginated to form the hypoblast.] the larva, after it has left the parental tissues, has an oval form and is transversely divided into two areas (fig. a). one of these areas is formed of the elongated, clear, ciliated cells, with a small amount of pigment near their inner ends (_en._), and the other and larger area of the thirty-two granular cells already mentioned (_ec._). fifteen or sixteen of these are arranged as a special ring on the border of the clear cells. in the centre of the embryo is a segmentation cavity (_c.s._) which lies between the granular and the clear cells, but is mainly bounded by the vaulted inner surface of the latter. this stage is known as the amphiblastula stage. during the later periods of the amphiblastula stage a cavity appears in the granular cells dividing them into two layers. after the larva has for some time enjoyed a free existence, a remarkable series of changes take place, which result in the invagination of the half of it formed of the clear cells, and form a prelude to the permanent attachment of the larva. the entire process of invagination is completed in about half an hour. the whole embryo first becomes flattened, but especially the ciliated half, which gradually becomes less prominent (fig. b); and still later the cells composing it undergo a true process of invagination. as a result of this invagination the segmentation cavity is obliterated, and the larva assumes a compressed plano-convex form, with a central gastrula cavity, and a blastopore in the middle of the flattened surface. the two layers of the gastrula may now be spoken of as epiblast and hypoblast. the blastopore becomes gradually narrowed by the growth over it of the outer row of granular cells. when it has become very small the attachment of the larva takes place by the flat surface where the blastopore is situated. it is effected by protoplasmic processes of the outer ring of epiblast cells, which, together with the other epiblast cells, now become amoeboid. they become at the same time clearer and permit a view of the interior of the gastrula. between the epiblast cells and the hypoblast cells which line the gastrula cavity there arises a hyaline structureless layer, which is more closely attached to the epiblast than to the hypoblast, and is probably derived from the former. a view of the gastrula stage after the larva has become fixed is given in fig. . [fig. . fixed gastrula stage of sycandra raphanus. (copied from schulze.) the figure shews the amoeboid epiblast cells (_ec._) derived from the granular cells of the earlier stage, and the columnar hypoblast cells, lining the gastrula cavity, derived from the ciliated cells of the earlier stage. the larva is fixed by the amoeboid cells on the side on which the blastopore is situated.] there would seem according to metschnikoff's observations (no. ) to be a number of mesoblast cells interposed between the two primary layers, which he derives from the inner part of the mass of granular cells. after invagination the cilia of the hypoblast cells can no longer be seen, and are probably absorbed; and their disappearance is nearly coincident with the complete obliteration of the blastopore, an event which takes place shortly after the attachment of the larva. not long after the closure of the blastopore, calcareous spicules make their appearance in the larva as delicate unbranched rods pointed at both extremities. they appear to be formed on the mesoblast cells situated between the epiblast and hypoblast[ ]. the larva when once fixed rapidly grows in length and assumes a cylindrical form (fig. a). the sides of the cylinder are beset with calcareous spicules which project beyond the surface, and, in addition to the unbranched forms, spicules are developed with three and four rays as well as some with a blunt extremity and serrated edge. the extremity of the cylinder opposite the attached surface is flattened, and, though surrounded by a ring of four-rayed spicules, is itself free from them. at this extremity a small perforation is formed leading into the gastric cavity, which rapidly increases in size and forms an exhalent osculum (_os._). a series of inhalent apertures is also formed at the sides of the cylinder. the relative times of appearance of the single osculum and the smaller apertures are not constant for the different larvæ. on the central gastrula cavity of the sponge becoming placed in communication with the external water, the hypoblast cells lining it become ciliated afresh (fig. b, _en._) and develop the peculiar collar characteristic of the hypoblast cells of the spongida (_vide_ fig. , _hy._). when this stage of development is reached we have a fully formed sponge of the type made known by haeckel as olynthus. [ ] metschnikoff was the first to give this account of the development of the spicules in sycandra, but prof. schulze has informed me by letter that he has arrived at the same result. [fig. . the young of sycandra raphanus shortly after the development of the spicula. (copied from schulze.) a. view from the side. b. view from the free extremity. _os._ osculum; _ec._ epiblast; _en._ hypoblast composed of ciliated cells. the terminal osculum and lateral pores are represented as oval white spaces.] when young examples of sycandra come in contact shortly after their attachment they appear to fuse together temporarily or else permanently. in the latter case colonies are produced by their fusion. amongst other calcareous sponges the larva of _ascandra contorta_ (haeckel no. , barrois no. ) presents the typical amphiblastula stage, and so probably does that of _ascandra lieberkühnii_ (keller no. ). in _leucandra aspera_ (keller no. , metschnikoff no. ) the larva passes through an amphiblastula stage, but the characters of the cells of the two halves of the larva do not differ to nearly the same extent as in sycandra. although the majority of calcareous sponges appear to agree in their mode of development with sycandra, nevertheless the concordant researches of o. schmidt (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. ) have shewn that this is not true for the genus ascetta (_as. primordialis_, _clathrus_ and _blanca_). the larvæ of these forms are very differently constituted to those of sycandra. they have an oval form and are composed of a single row of ciliated columnar cells: their two extremities only differ in the cells at one extremity being longer than those at the other. especially at the pole where the shorter cells are situated (schmidt) a metamorphosis of the cells takes place. one after the other they lose their cilia, become granular, and pass into the interior of the vesicle. here they become differentiated into two classes (metschnikoff); one of larger and more granular cells, and the other of smaller cells with clearer protoplasm. cells of the former class are mainly found at one of the poles. when the larva becomes free the cells in the interior of the vesicle increase in number and nearly fill up its central cavity. after a short free existence the larva becomes fixed, and the epiblast cells lose their cilia and become flattened. at a later period the large granular cells assume a radiate arrangement round a central cavity and become clearly marked out as the hypoblast cells. the smaller cells become placed between the epiblast and hypoblast and constitute the mesoblast. myxospongiæ. in this group halisarca has been investigated by carter (no. ), barrois (no. ), schulze (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. ). the ova develop in the mesoblast, and when ripe occupy special chambers lined by a layer of epithelial cells. schulze has found the spermatozoa of this genus of sponge and has been able to shew that the sexes may be distinct, though many species of halisarca are hermaphrodite. the segmentation is, roughly speaking, regular, and a segmentation cavity is early formed, which is never, as in calcispongiæ, open at the poles. when the larva leaves the parent it is an oval vesicle formed of a single layer of columnar ciliated cells. slight differences may be observed between the two extremities of the larvæ of most species. one of these--the hinder extremity--is directed backwards in swimming. the further history of the larva has been investigated by metschnikoff. he has found that the interior of the vesicle becomes gradually filled with mesoblast cells of a peculiar type, called by him rosette-cells, which are probably derived from the walls of the vesicle. when the metamorphosis commences, the larva assumes a flattened form, and cells of a new type, viz. normal amoeboid cells, grow in amongst the rosette cells. the new cells are also derived from the epiblast. the larvæ appear to fix themselves by the hinder extremity. the cilia gradually disappear, and the epiblast cells flatten out and form a kind of cuticle. for some time the larva remains in the two-layered condition, but gradually canals (? ciliated chambers) lined by hypoblast cells become formed. they appear as closed spaces with walls of ciliated cells derived from the amoeboid cells, and the different parts of the system of chambers are established independently. in _h. pontica_ the ciliated chambers are formed before the attachment of the larva. the development was not followed up to the formation of the pores placing the canal system in communication with the exterior. the young sponges at a somewhat later stage have been studied by schulze and barrois. they are formed of an external layer of flattened cells, not clearly ciliated as in the adult, within which are a normal mesoblastic tissue, and several spherical chambers lined by ciliated cells exactly like the ciliated chambers of the full-grown sponge. irregular invaginations of the epiblast give to the young sponge a honeycombed structure. the ciliated chambers in the youngest condition of the sponge are closed; but in slightly older examples they come into communication with the passages lined by hypoblast, and so indirectly with the external medium. ceratospongiæ. amongst the true ceratospongiæ the embryos of two of the aplysinidæ, and of spongelia and euspongia have been to some extent worked out by barrois and schulze. the form worked out by barrois is called by him _verongia rosea_. the segmentation is nearly regular, but from the first the segments may be divided according to their constitution into two categories. at the close of segmentation the embryo is oval and covered by a single layer of columnar ciliated cells; these cells may however be divided into two categories, corresponding with those observable during the segmentation. a certain number are coloured red and form a definite circular mass at one pole, while the remainder, which constitute the major part of the embryo, have a pale yellowish colour. those at the red pole lose their cilia in the free larva, but around the area formed by them is a special ring of long cilia. the chief peculiarity of the embryo (made known by schulze) consists in the fact that the layer of cells which covers the embryo does not, as in other sponge embryos, simply enclose a space, but the interior of the embryo is formed of a mass of stellate cells like the normal mesoblast of full-grown sponges. this feature is also characteristic of the embryos of spongelia and euspongia. the embryo of the gummineæ (_gummina mimosa_) has been investigated by barrois (no. ), and has been shewn closely to resemble the typical larvæ of calcareous sponges; one-half being formed of _elongated ciliated cells_ and the other of rounded granular ones. silicispongiæ. the development of marine silicious sponges is but very imperfectly understood. the larvæ of various forms--reniera (isodyctia), esperia (desmacidon), raspailia, halichondria, tethya--have been described. barrois has shewn that the egg segments regularly and that in the earlier stages a segmentation cavity is present. in the later stages the embryo appears to become solid. externally there is a layer of ciliated cells, and within a mass of granular matter in which the separate cells cannot be made out. the granular matter projects at one pole, and forms a prominence possibly equivalent to the granular cells of sycandra. in some forms, _e.g._ reniera, the edge of the unciliated granular prominence may be surrounded by a row of long cilia. in later stages the granular material may project at both poles or even at other points. one remarkable feature in the development of the silicispongiæ is the appearance of spicula between the ciliated cells and the central mass, while the larva is still free. professor schulze has informed me that these spicula are developed in mesoblast cells; while the horny fibres of the sponge are developed as cuticular products of special mesoblast cells (spongioblasts). the attachment and accompanying metamorphosis are so diversely described that no satisfactory account can be given of them. the general statements are in favour of the attachment taking place by the posterior extremity where the granular matter projects. carter especially gives a very precise account, with figures, of the attachment of the larva in this way. he also figures the appearance of an osculum at the opposite pole[ ]. [ ] keller (no. ) has recently given an account of the development of halichondria (chalinula) fertilis. he finds that there is an irregular segmentation, followed by a partial epibolic invagination, the inner mass of cells remaining exposed at one pole and forming there a prominence, equivalent to the granular prominence in the larvæ of other silicispongiæ. the free-swimming larva resembles the larva of other silicispongiæ in the possession of spicula, etc., and after becoming laterally compressed attaches itself by one of the flattened sides. a central cavity is formed in the interior with ciliated chambers opening into it, and is subsequently placed in communication with the exterior by the formation of an aperture which constitutes the osculum. a very elaborate account of the development of spongilla has been published in russian by ganin, of which a german abstract has also appeared (no. ). the ovum undergoes a regular segmentation and becomes a solid ova morula. an epiblast of smaller cells is early differentiated, and in the interior of the inner cells an archenteron becomes subsequently formed. the inner cells next become divided into an hypoblastic layer lining the archenteron, and a mesoblastic layer between this and the now ciliated epiblast. at the narrow hinder end of the embryo the mesoblast becomes thickened, and largely obliterates the archenteron. in this part of the mesoblast silicious spicula are formed. the larva becomes attached by its hinder extremity, and in the course of this process flattens itself out to a disc-like form. from the nearly obliterated archenteric cavity outgrowths take place which give rise to the ciliated chambers. these are not placed directly in communication with the exterior, but open, if i understand ganin rightly, into a space in the mesoblast, which subsequently acquires an exterior communication--the primitive osculum. the subsequent pores and oscula are also formed as openings leading into the mesoblastic cavity, which communicates in its turn with the ciliated chambers. it appears that in the present unsatisfactory state of our knowledge the larvæ of the porifera may be divided into two groups: viz. ( ) those which have the form of a blastosphere or else of a solid morula; ( ) those which have the amphiblastula form. in the former type the mesoblast and hypoblast are formed either from cells budded off from the outer cells of the blastosphere or from the solid inner mass of cells; while the outer ciliated cells become the epiblast. this type of larva, which is found in the majority of sponges, is very similar in its general characters and development to many coelenterate planulæ. the second type of larva is very peculiar, and though in its fully developed form it is confined to the calcispongiæ, where it is the usual form, a larval type with the same characters is perhaps to be found in other sponges, _e.g._ amongst the gumminæ, and amongst the silicispongiæ where one-half of the embryo is without cilia, though in the case of the silicispongiæ the cells of the ciliated part of the embryo correspond to the granular cells of the larva of sycandra. the later stages in the development of the larvæ of the porifera are not similar to anything we know of in other groups. it might perhaps be possible to regard sponges as degraded descendants of some actinozoon type such as alcyonium, with branched prolongations of the gastric cavity, but there does not appear to me to be sufficient evidence for doing so at present. i should rather prefer to regard them as an independent stock of the metazoa. in this connection the amphiblastula larva presents some points of interest. does this larva retain the characters of an ancestral type of the spongida, and if so, what does its form mean? it is, of course, possible that it has no ancestral meaning but has been secondarily acquired; but, assuming that this is not the case, it appears to me that the characters of the larva may be plausibly explained by regarding it as a transitional form between the protozoa and metazoa. according to this view the larva is to be considered as a colony of protozoa, one-half of the individuals of which have become differentiated into nutritive forms, and the other half into locomotor and respiratory forms. the granular amoeboid cells represent the nutritive forms, and the ciliated cells represent the locomotor and respiratory forms. that the passage from the protozoa to the metazoa may have been effected by such a differentiation is not improbable on _a priori_ grounds. while the above view seems fairly satisfactory for the free-swimming stage of the larval sponge, there arises in the subsequent development a difficulty which appears at first sight fatal to it. this difficulty is the invagination of the ciliated cells instead of the granular ones. if the granular cells represent the nutritive individuals of the colony, they, and not the ciliated cells, ought most certainly to give rise to the lining of the gastrula cavity, according to the generally accepted views of the morphology of the spongida. the suggestion which i would venture to put forward in explanation of this paradox involves a completely new view of the nature and functions of the germinal layers of adult spongida. it is as follows:--when the free-swimming ancestor of the spongida became fixed, the ciliated cells by which its movements used to be effected must have to a great extent become functionless. at the same time the amoeboid nutritive cells would need to expose as large a surface as possible. in these two considerations there may, perhaps, be found a sufficient explanation of the invagination of the ciliated cells, and the growth of the amoeboid cells over them. though respiration was, no doubt, mainly effected by the ciliated cells, it is improbable that it was completely localized in them, but they were enabled to continue performing this function through the formation of an osculum and pores. the collared cells which line the ciliated chambers, or in some cases the radial tubes, are undoubtedly derived from the invaginated cells, and, if there is any truth in the above suggestion, the collared cells in the adult sponge must be mainly respiratory and not digestive in function, while the epiblastic cells, which in most cases line the inhalent passages through its substance[ ], ought to be employed to absorb nutriment. the recent researches of metschnikoff (no. ) on this head shew that the nutriment is largely carried into the mesoblast cells, which in sycandra appear to be derived from the granular cells, and also that it is taken up by the cells which line the passages, though not by the superficial epiblast cells. whether the collared cells generally absorb nutriment is not clear from his statements: but _he finds that they do not do so in silicispongiæ_. [ ] that the greater part of the flat cells which line the passages of most sponges are really derived from epiblastic invaginations appears to me to be proved by schulze's and barrois' observations on the young fixed stages of halisarca. schulze's (no. ) observations have however proved that the flat cells lining the axial gastric chamber of sycandra are hypoblastic in origin, and the observations of keller (no. ) and ganin (no. ) have led to the same result for the flat epithelium lining part of the passages of the silicispongiæ. professor schulze has informed me by letter that he finds the collared cells to be respiratory in function, while the cells derived from the granular cells in sycandra are nutritive. carter[ ], on the contrary, from his observations on spongilla, has fully satisfied himself that the food is absorbed by the cells lining the ciliated chambers. [ ] "on the nutritive and reproductive processes of sponges." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, vol. iv. ser. v. . if it is eventually proved by further experiments on the nutrition of sponges, that digestion is mainly carried on by the general cells lining the passages and the mesoblast cells, and not for the most part by the ciliated cells, it is clear that the epiblast, mesoblast and hypoblast of sponges will not correspond with the similarly named layers in the coelenterata and other metazoa. the invaginated hypoblast will be the respiratory layer and the epiblast and mesoblast the digestive and sensory layers; the sensory function being probably mainly localized in the epithelium on the surface, and the digestive one in the epithelium lining the passages and in the mesoblast. such a fundamental difference in the primary function of the germinal layers between the spongida and the other metazoa, would necessarily involve the creation of a special division of the metazoa for the reception of the former group. bibliography. ( ) c. barrois. "embryologie de quelques éponges de la manche." _annales des sc. nat. zool._, vi. ser., vol. iii. . ( ) carter. "development of the marine sponges." _annals and mag. of nat. hist._, th series, vol. xiv. . ( ) ganin[ ]. "zur entwicklung d. spongilla fluviatilis." _zoologischer anzeiger._ vol. i. no. , . ( ) robert grant. "observations and experiments on the structure and functions of the sponge." _edinburgh phil. j._, vol. xiii. and xiv., , . ( ) e. haeckel. _die kalkschwämme_, . ( ) e. haeckel. _studien zur gastræa-theorie._ jena, . ( ) c. keller. _untersuchungen über anatomie und entwicklungsgeschichte einiger spongien._ basel, . ( ) c. keller. "studien üb. organisation u. entwick. d. chalineen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxviii. . ( ) lieberkühn. "beitr. z. entwick. d. spongillen." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) lieberkühn. "neue beiträge zur anatomie der spongien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte der kalkschwämme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "beiträge zur morphologie der spongien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "spongeologische studien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxii. . ( ) miklucho-maklay. "beiträge zur kenntniss der spongien." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. iv. . ( ) o. schmidt. "zur orientirung über die entwicklung der schwämme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. . ( ) o. schmidt. "nochmals die gastrula der kalkschwämme." _archiv für mikrosk. anat._, bd. xii. . ( ) o. schmidt. "das larvenstadium von ascetta primordialis und asc. clathrus." _archiv für mikrosk. anatomie_, bd. xiv. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "ueber den bau und die entwicklung von sycandra raphanus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte von sycandra." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchung üb. d. bau, etc. die gattung halisarca." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxviii. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen üb. d. bau, etc. die metamorphose von sycandra raphanus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxi. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen ü. d. bau, etc. die familie aplysinidæ." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxx. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen ü. d. bau, etc. die gattung spongelia." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxii. . [ ] there is a russian paper by the same author, containing a full account, with clear illustrations, of his observations. chapter vi. coelenterata[ ]. [ ] i. hydrozoa. . hydromedusæ. {_hydroidea._ {_trachymedusæ._ . siphonophora. {_calycophoridæ._ {_physophoridæ._ . acraspeda. ii. actinozoa. . alcyonaria. (octocoralla.) . zoantharia. (hexacoralla.) iii. ctenophora. hydroidea. the most typical mode of development of the hydroidea is that in which the segmentation leads directly to the formation of a free ciliated two-layered larva, known since dalyell's observations as a planula. the planula is characteristic of almost all the hydromedusæ with fixed hydrosomes including the hydrocoralla (stylasteridæ and millepora), the most important exceptions being the genus tubularia and one or two other genera, and the fresh-water hydra. in a typical sertularian the segmentation is approximately regular[ ] and ends according to the usual accounts in the formation of a solid spherical mass of cells. a process of delamination now takes place, which leads to the formation of a superficial layer of cubical or pyramidal cells, enclosing a central solid mass of more or less irregularly arranged cells. [ ] for a detailed description of the development of a single species the reader referred to allman's description of laomedia flexuosa, no. , p. _et seq._ the embryo, in the cases in which it is still contained within the sporosack, now begins to exhibit slight changes of form, and one extremity of it begins to elongate. it soon becomes free, and rapidly assumes an elongated cylindrical form, while a coating of cilia, by means of which it moves sluggishly about, appears on its outer surface. a central cavity appears in the interior, and the inner cells form themselves into a definite hypoblast. the larva has now become a planula, and consists of a closed sack with double walls. it continues for some few days to move about, but eventually drops its cilia, and becomes dilated at one extremity, by which it then becomes attached. the base of attachment becomes gradually enlarged so as to form a disc, which spreads out and is frequently divided by fissures into radiating lobes. the free extremity becomes enlarged to form the eventual calyx. over the whole exterior a delicate pellicle--the future perisarc--now becomes secreted. round the edge of the anterior enlargement a row of tentacles makes its appearance. these, in the embryos of the tubularian genera, lie some little way behind the apex of the body. after a certain time the perisarc, which has hitherto been continuous, becomes ruptured in the region of the calyx, and the tentacles become quite free. at about the same period a mouth is formed at the oral apex. [fig. . three larva stages of eucope polystyla. (after kowalevsky.) a. blastosphere stage with hypoblast spheres becoming budded off into the central cavity. b. planula stage with solid hypoblast. c. planula stage with a gastric cavity. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _al._ gastric cavity.] the development of eucope polystyla (fig. ), one of the campanularidæ, deviates according to kowalevsky (no. ) in somewhat important points from the usual type. the whole development takes place after the deposition of the ovum. the segmentation results in the formation of a single-walled blastosphere with a large central cavity (fig. a). this cavity, somewhat as in ascetta, becomes filled up with a not clearly (?) cellular material derived from the walls of the blastosphere, which must be regarded as the hypoblast (fig. b). the larva elongates and becomes ciliated, and the epiblast at its two extremities becomes thickened, and is stated by kowalevsky also to become divided into two layers. the alimentary cavity appears as a slit in the middle of the hypoblast (fig. c). the cilia after a time disappear, and the larva then becomes fixed by one extremity. it flattens itself out into a disc-like form, becomes divided into four lobes, and covered by a cuticle (perisarc). from the disc the stalk grows out which dilates at its free extremity into the calyx. [fig. . longitudinal section through a larva of tubularia mesembryanthemum while still in the gonophore. the lower end is the oral one. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast of tentacle; _en._ enteric cavity.] in both the groups (tubularia and hydra) which are exceptional in not having a ciliated planula stage, its absence may be put down to an abbreviation of the development, and in fact a two-layered quiescent stage, through which the embryo passes, may be regarded as representing the planula stage. the development of tubularia, which has been described in detail by ciamician, takes place in the gonophore[ ]. the segmentation is irregular and leads to the formation of an epibolic gastrula, four large central cells constituting the hypoblast[ ]. the larva now elongates, and grows out laterally into two processes which constitute the first pair of tentacles. at this stage it closely resembles the larvæ of some medusæ. additional tentacles are soon formed; and a central cavity appears in the hypoblast, the cells of which have in the meantime become more numerous (fig. ). the tentacles are directed towards the aboral side, which is considerably more prominent than the oral one. they contain a hypoblastic axis. the aboral end continues to grow and the tentacles gradually assume a horizontal position. a constriction now appears, dividing the larva into an aboral portion which will eventually form the stalk, and an oral portion. at the apex of the latter a row of short tentacles--the future oral tentacles--now appears. the larva has at this stage the form known as actinula. in this condition it becomes hatched, and shortly afterwards it becomes fixed by the aboral end and grows into a colony. [ ] _vide_ ciamician, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxii. . [ ] in examining the segmentation by means of sections i have failed to detect an epibolic gastrula or such irregularity as is described by ciamician. prof. kleinenberg informs me that he has been equally unsuccessful. the development of myriothela (allman, no. ) takes place on the tubularian type. the ovum invested by a delicate capsule becomes freed by the rupture of the gonophore, and is then taken up by the remarkable claspers characteristic of the genus. in the claspers it becomes fecundated and undergoes its further development. after segmentation a gastric cavity is formed, and provisional tentacles arise as a series of conical involutions which subsequently become evoluted. permanent tentacles are formed as conical papillæ on a truncated oral process. after hatching it has a few days' free existence, and then becomes attached, and loses its provisional tentacles. although hydra itself constitutes the simplest type of hydrozoon, its development, which has been fully investigated by kleinenberg (no. ), is in some respects a little exceptional. the segmentation is regular, but a segmentation cavity is not formed. the peripheral layer of cells gradually becomes converted into a chitinous membrane, which is perhaps homologous with the perisarc of marine forms. between the membrane and the germ a second pellicle makes its appearance. the above changes require about four days for their completion, but there next sets in a period of relative quiescence which lasts for some - weeks. during this period the remaining development is completed. the cells of the germ first fuse together. in the interior of the protoplasm a clear excentric space arises, which gradually extends itself and forms the rudiment of the gastric cavity. the outer shell in the meantime becomes less firm, and is finally burst and thrown off, owing to the expansion of the embryo within. the outermost layer of the protoplasm becomes, relatively to the inner layer, clear and transparent, and there thus arises an indication of a division of the walls of the archenteric cavity into two zones, or layers. these layers, which form the epiblast and hypoblast, are definitely established on the appearance of cells with contractile tails[ ] in the clear outer zone, between which the interstitial epiblast cells subsequently arise. [ ] these cells are the so-called nerve-muscle cells. their nature is discussed in the second part of this work. the embryo, still forming a closed double-walled sack, elongates itself, and at one pole its wall becomes very thin. and at this point a rupture takes place which gives rise to the mouth. simultaneously with the mouth the tentacles become formed as hollow processes, according to mereschkowsky two being formed first and subsequently the others in pairs. very shortly afterwards the hitherto uniform hypoblast becomes divided up into distinct cells. the thin inner pellicle which persists after the rupture of the outer membrane becomes in the meantime absorbed. with these changes the embryo practically acquires the characters of the adult. trachymedusæ. amongst the trachymedusæ, which as has now been satisfactorily established develop directly without alternations of generations, the embryology of species both of the geryonidæ and the Æginidæ has been studied. in all the types so far investigated the hypoblast is formed by delamination, and there is a more or less well-marked planula stage. [fig. . diagrammatic figure shewing the delamination of the ovum of geryonia. (copied from fol.) _cs._ segmentation cavity; _a._ endoplasm; _b._ ectoplasm. the dotted lines shew the course of the next planes of division.] the development of geryonia (carmarina) hastata has been studied by fol (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. )[ ]. the ovum, when laid, is invested by a delicate vitelline membrane and mucous covering. its protoplasm is formed of an outer granular and dense layer, and a central mass of a more spongy character. the segmentation is complete and regular, and up to the time when thirty-two segments have appeared each segment is composed of both constituents of the protoplasm of the ovum. a segmentation cavity appears when sixteen segments are formed, and becomes somewhat larger at the stage with thirty-two. at this stage the process of delamination commences. each of the thirty-two segments, as shewn in the accompanying diagram (fig. ), becomes divided into two unequal parts. the smaller of these is formed almost entirely of granular material; the larger contains portions of both kinds of protoplasm. in the next segmentation the thirty-two large cells only are concerned, and in each of these the line of division passes between the granular and the transparent protoplasm. the sixty-four lenticular masses of granular protoplasm thus formed constitute an outer closed epiblastic vesicle, within which the thirty-two masses of transparent protoplasm form an hypoblastic vesicle. the embryo at this stage is shewn in optical section in fig. . [ ] in the succeeding account i have followed fol, who differs in some minor points from metschnikoff. the epiblastic vesicle now grows rapidly, while the hypoblastic vesicle remains nearly passive and becomes somewhat lens-shaped. at one point its wall comes in close contact with the epiblast. elsewhere a wide cavity is developed between the two vesicles which becomes filled with gelatinous tissue. at this period cilia appear on the surface, and the larva becomes a planula. [fig. . embryo of geryonia after delamination. (after fol.) _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast.] the succeeding changes lead rapidly to the formation of a typical medusa. where the epiblast and hypoblast are in contact the former layer becomes thickened and forms a disc-shaped structure. the centre of this becomes somewhat protuberant, fuses with the hypoblast and then becomes perforated to form the mouth (fig. _o_). the edge of the disc forms a thickened ridge, the rudiment of the velum (_v_), which is entirely formed of epiblast. at its edge six tentacles (_t_) arise, into which are continued solid prolongations of the wall of the now somewhat hexagonal gastric chamber. the hypoblastic axes of the tentacles soon lose their connection with the gastric wall. [fig. . optical section through the oral pole of geryonia after the appearance of the gelatinous tissue of the disc. (after fol.) _o._ mouth; _v._ velum; _t._ tentacle. the shaded part represents the gelatinous tissue.] up to this time the larva has retained a more or less spherical form, and the cavity on the under side of the umbrella has not yet become developed. the latter now becomes established by the whole disc assuming a vaulted form with the concavity directed downwards. the lining of the cavity so formed is derived from the epiblast of the disc already spoken of. the exact mode of formation of the gastrovascular canals has not been worked out. it has however been established by the researches of the hertwigs (no. ) and claus (no. ) that the radial and circular vessels of this system are connected together in adult medusæ by an hypoblastic lamella; so that these canals would seem to be the remnants of an once-continuous gastric cavity. this mode of formation is established in the case of the medusiform buds; and it would therefore seem, as pointed out by the hertwigs, a fair deduction that it occurs in the larva--a conclusion which is confirmed by the primitive extension of the gastric cavity to the edge of the disc at the time when its walls give rise to the solid axes of the tentacles. in the course of the subsequent retirement of the gastric cavity from the edge of the disc the gastrovascular canals probably take their origin, though fol was unable to follow the changes which result in their formation. on the completion of the above changes the larva has become a fully formed medusa, but it undergoes a not inconsiderable metamorphosis before the attainment of the adult state. [fig. . a three-days' larva of Æginopsis with two tentacles. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _t._ tentacle.] two species of Æginidæ have been studied by metschnikoff ( ), viz. _polyxenia leucostyla_ (_Ægineta flavescens_), and _Æginopsis mediterranea_. in both of these forms the segmentation results in the formation of an elongated two-layered ciliated planula, without a central cavity. the two ends of this grow out into two long processes--the rudiments of a pair of at first aborally directed arms--which contain a solid hypoblastic axis (fig. ). at this stage the larva closely resembles the larva of tubularia. an alimentary cavity is hollowed out in the centre of the hypoblast which soon opens by a wide oral aperture (_m_). a second pair of arms becomes formed, which are at first much shorter than the original pair; with their formation a radial symmetry is acquired. sense organs become at the same time developed, and the whole embryo assumes a medusiform character. fresh tentacles arise, the velum and cavity of the umbrella become established, but these changes do not involve any points of very special interest. siphonophora. the development of the siphonophora has been the subject of careful investigation by haeckel ( ) and metschnikoff ( ). the ova are large and usually (except hippopodius) without a membrane. they are formed of a peripheral denser layer of protoplasm and a central spongy mass. they usually undergo their entire development in the water. in some instances they have been successfully reared by artificial impregnation. as an example of the calycophoridæ i shall take epibulia aurantiaca, a form allied to diphyes, the development of which has been studied by metschnikoff[ ]. [ ] in my description of the development of the siphonophora i employ huxley's terminology. [fig. . three larval stages of epibulia aurantiaca. (after metschnikoff.) a. planula stage. b. six-days' larva with nectocalyx (_nc_) and tentacle (_t_). c. somewhat older larva with gastric cavity. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _so._ somatocyst; _nc._ nectocalyx; _t._ tentacle; _c._ large yolk cells; _po._ polypite.] there is a regular segmentation, unaccompanied by the formation of a segmentation cavity. at its close the ovum becomes a spherical ciliated embryo. this embryo soon becomes elongated, and its cells differentiate themselves into a central and a peripheral layer--the epiblast and the hypoblast (fig. a). at this stage the larva has the typical planula form. the epiblast is especially thickened at a pole, which may be called the oral pole, and towards the side of this, which will be spoken of as the ventral side. adjoining this thickened layer of epiblast a special thin layer of hypoblast becomes differentiated, which in opposition to the main mass of large nutritive cells forms the true hypoblastic epithelium (fig. b, _hy_). on this thickening two prominences make their appearance (fig. b). the oral of these is the rudiment of a tentacle (_t_), and the aboral of a nectocalyx (_nc_). [fig. . an advanced larva of epibulia aurantiaca with one large nectocalyx. (after metschnikoff.) _so._ somatocyst; _nc._ second imperfectly developed nectocalyx; _hph._ hydrophyllium; _po._ polypite; _t._ tentacle.] the former of these elongates itself in succeeding stages into a process of both epiblast and hypoblast. the central part of the nectocalyx on the other hand appears to originate from a thickening of the epiblast in which the cavity of the bell becomes subsequently hollowed out. between this part and the external epiblast which gives origin to the outermost layer of the nectocalyx a layer of hypoblast is interposed. when the nectocalyx has become to a certain extent established a cavity--the commencement of the primitive gastrovascular cavity of the adult--appears in the general hypoblast between the epithelial and nutritive layers in the immediate neighbourhood of its attachment. this cavity becomes prolonged into the nectocalyx to form the four gastrovascular canals; while the hypoblast at the upper end of the nectocalyx forms the somatocyst (fig. c, _so_). the primitive enteric cavity once formed rapidly extends, especially in an oral direction (fig. c), and forms a widish cavity in the oral part of the embryo. at the pole of this part (fig. , _po_) is eventually formed the opening of the mouth, and the contained cavity becomes in a special sense the gastric cavity. this region of the embryo may be spoken of as the polypite. the nectocalyx grows with great rapidity and soon forms by far the most prominent part of the larva (fig. ). the true gastric region or polypite (fig. , _po_) continues also to grow, and a mouth becomes formed at its extremity. the aboral end of the original body of the embryo gradually atrophies. at the junction of the nectocalyx and polypite the coenosarc becomes formed, and rudiments of a second nectocalyx (_nc_) and second polypite early become visible; while a hydrophyllium is formed as a bud which covers over the first polypite and tentacle (_hph_). with the development of the hydrophyllium the first segment, if the term may so be used, is complete. the second segment of which a rudiment is already present as a second polypite is intercalated between the first segment and the nectocalyces. [fig. . two stages in the development of stephanomia pictum. (after metschnikoff.) a. stage after the delamination. _ep._ epiblastic invagination to form pneumatocyst. b. later stage after the formation of the gastric cavity in the solid hypoblast, _po._ polypite; _t._ tentacle; _pp._ pneumatophore; _ep._ epiblastic invagination to form pneumatocyst; _hy._ hypoblast surrounding pneumatocyst.] amongst the physophoridæ there is a considerable range of variation in development; though the variations concern for the most part not very important points. the simplest type hitherto observed is that of _stephanomia_ (halistemma) _pictum_. the segmentation and formation of a two-layered planula (fig. ) take place in the usual way. between the solid central mass of nutritive hypoblast cells and the epiblast an epithelial hypoblastic layer becomes interposed which undergoes a special thickening at the aboral pole. at this pole a solid involution of epiblast next becomes formed, to which a layer of hypoblast becomes applied. the structure so formed is the rudiment of the pneumatocyst (_ep_). in the next stage the air-cavity of the pneumatocyst becomes established within the epiblast. the gastrovascular cavity is formed in the midst of the nutritive hypoblast cells, which then become rapidly absorbed leaving the gastrovascular cavity entirely enclosed by the epithelial layer of hypoblast (fig. b). by the above changes the more important organs of the larva have become established. the one end forms the pneumatophore, and the other, the oral part, the polypite. between the two there is already present the rudiment of a tentacle, and a second tentacle soon becomes formed. the mouth arises as a perforation at the oral end of the larva. the pneumatophore contains a prolongation of the gastrovascular cavity, the fluid in which bathes the outer hypoblastic wall of the pneumatocyst. it has however no communication with the enclosed cavity of the pneumatocyst. in the later developmental stages the size of the pneumatophore becomes immensely reduced in comparison with the remainder of the larva. the development of physophora agrees closely with that of stephanomia except in one somewhat important point, viz. in the development of a provisional hydrophyllium. this arises as a prominence at the aboral pole, containing a prolongation of the gastrovascular cavity. between the epiblast and hypoblast of the prominence gelatinous tissue becomes deposited, and the hydrophyllium is thus converted into a large umbrella-like organ enclosing the polypite. the two together have a close resemblance to an ordinary medusa, the polypite forming the manubrium, and the hydrophyllium the umbrella. the hydrophyllium is eventually thrown off. an important type of physophorid development is exemplified in crystalloides, a genus closely allied to agalma. in this type the greater part of the original ovum, instead of directly giving rise to the polypite, becomes a kind of yolk-sack, from which the polypite is secondarily budded (fig. , _yk_). _agalma sarsii_ is in this respect intermediate between crystalloides and physophora. both these types are remarkable for developing a series of provisional hydrophyllia (fig. , _h.ph._). in both genera the first of these develops as in physophora, and for a long time is the only one functional. the conclusions to be drawn from the above description may be summed up as follows. in all the siphonophora, so far observed, the starting point for further development is a typical ciliated two-layered planula. the inner layer or hypoblast is mainly formed of large nutritive cells. from these cells an epithelial hypoblastic layer becomes secondarily differentiated, the exact relations of which differ somewhat in the various types. the nutritive cells themselves do not appear to become directly converted into the permanent hypoblastic tissues. the development of the adult from the planula commences by the thickening of the epiblastic layer, usually at one pole (the future proximal or aboral pole), and the formation at this pole of a series of bud-like structures (in the growth of which both embryonic layers have a share), which become converted into the hydrophyllia, nectocalyces etc. the main oral part of the planula becomes generally converted into the polypite, though in some instances (crystalloides) it remains as a yolk-sack, and only secondarily gives rise to a polypite. two very different views have been taken as to the nature of the various component parts of the siphonophora, and the embryological evidence has been appealed to by both sides in confirmation of their views. by huxley and metschnikoff the various parts--nectocalyces, hydrophyllia, hydrocysts, polypites, generative gonophores etc. are regarded as simple organs, while by leuckart, haeckel, claus etc. they are regarded as so many different individuals forming a compound stock. the difference between these two views is not merely as to the definition of an individual[ ]. the question really is, are these parts originally derived by the modification of complete zooids like the gonophores and trophosomes of the fixed hydrozoa stocks, or are they structures derived from the modification of the tentacles or some other parts of a single zooid? [ ] from the expressions used by huxley, _anatomy of invertebrated animals_, p. , it appears to me possible that his opposition to leuckart's view is mainly as to the nature of the individual. [fig. . larva of crystalloides, (after haeckel.) _h.ph._ hydrophyllium; _h._ hydrocyst; _t._ tentacle; _pp._ pneumatophore; _po._ polypite; _yk._ yolk-sack.] the difficulty of deciding this point on embryological evidence depends on the fact that ontologically a tentacle and a true bud arise in the same way, viz. as papilliform outgrowths containing prolongations of both the primitive germinal layers. the balance of evidence is nevertheless in my opinion in favour of regarding the siphonophora as compound stocks, and the views of claus on this subject (_zoologie_, p. ) appear to me the most satisfactory. the most primitive condition is probably that like physophora in an early stage with an hydrophyllium enclosing a polypite (cf. haeckel and metschnikoff). in this condition the whole larva may be compared to a single medusa in which the primitive hydrophyllium represents the umbrella of the medusa, and the polypite the manubrium. the tentacle which appears so early is probably not to be regarded as a modified zooid, but as a true tentacle. the absence of a ring of tentacles is correlated with the bilateral symmetry of the siphonophora. the primitive zooid of a siphonophora stock is thus a medusa. like sarsia and wilsia this medusa must be supposed to have been capable of budding. the ordinary nectocalyces by their resemblance to the umbrellas of typical medusæ are clearly such buds of the medusiform type. the same may be said of the pneumatophore, which, as pointed out by metschnikoff, is identical in its development with a nectocalyx. both are formed by a solid process of epiblast in which a cavity--the cavity of the nectocalyx or pneumatocyst--is eventually hollowed out. around this there appears a double layer of hypoblast containing a prolongation of the gastrovascular cavity; and this is in its turn enclosed by a layer of epiblast which forms the covering of the convex surface of the nectocalyx and the external epiblast of the pneumatophore. the generative gonophores are clearly also zooids, and the hydrophyllia are probably a rudimentary form of umbrella. in many cases (epibulia, stephanomia, halistemma etc.) the hydrophyllium of the primitive polypite (manubrium) is absent. in such instances it is necessary to suppose that the umbrella of the primitive zooid of the whole colony has become aborted. leuckart originally took a somewhat different view from the above in that he regarded the starting point of the siphonophora to be a compound fixed hydrozoon stock, which became detached and free-swimming. acraspeda[ ]. the embryonic development of several of the forms of the acraspeda has been investigated by kowalevsky (no. ) and claus (no. ). their observations seem to point to an invaginate gastrula being characteristic of this group. [ ] i use this term for the group, often known as the discophora, which includes the pelagidæ, rhizostomidæ, and lucernaridæ. amongst the forms with alternations of generations and a fixed larval form chrysaora and cassiopea have been most fully investigated. the ovum of the former undergoes the first embryonic phases while still in the ovary. in the latter it is enclosed amongst the oral processes. a complete and more or less regular segmentation leads to the formation of a single-walled blastosphere with a small segmentation cavity. the wall of the blastosphere next becomes invaginated, giving rise to an archenteron (fig. a). the blastopore soon closes up, and the archenteron is converted into a closed sack completely isolated from the epiblast (fig. b). the surface of the larva becomes in the meantime covered with cilia. the free larval stage thus reached is similar to the ordinary hydrozoon planula. after the closure of the blastopore the larva becomes elongated, and one end becomes narrowed. by this narrowed extremity the larva soon attaches itself, and at the opposite and broader end a fresh involution of the epiblast appears (fig. c); this gives rise to the stomodæum, which is placed in communication with the archenteron on the absorption of the septum dividing them. the relation of the stomodæum to the original blastopore has not been determined. at the point of attachment there is developed a peculiar pedal disc, and around the mouth there appears a fold of epiblast which gives rise to an oral disc (fig. d). two tentacles first make their appearance, but one of these is primarily much the largest, though eventually the second overtakes it in its growth. a second pair of tentacles next becomes formed, giving to the larva a -radial symmetry. between these four new tentacles subsequently sprout out, and in the intermediate planes four ridge-like thickenings of the hypoblast, projecting into the cavity of the stomach, make their appearance. they imperfectly divide the stomach into four chambers, to each of which one of the primary tentacles corresponds; they may be regarded as homologous with the mesenteries of the actinozoa. the number of tentacles goes on increasing somewhat irregularly up to sixteen. all the tentacles contain a solid hypoblastic axis. muscular elements are developed from the epiblast. [fig. . four stages in the development of chrysaora. (after claus.) a. gastrula stage. b. stage after closure of blastopore. c. fixed larva with commencing stomodæum. d. fixed larva with mouth, short tentacles, etc. _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _st._ stomodæum; _m._ mouth; _bl._ blastopore.] with the above changes the so-called hydra tuba or scyphistoma form is reached (vide fig. ). the peculiar strobilization of this form is dealt with in the section devoted to the metamorphosis. aurelia is stated by kowalevsky to develop in the same way as cassiopea; and the one stage of rhizostoma observed is that in which it has a (probably invaginate) gastrula form. in pelagia the ovum directly gives rise to a form like the parent. the segmentation and the invagination take place nearly as in cassiopea, but the archenteric cavity is relatively much smaller, and the large space between it and the epiblast becomes filled with the gelatinous tissue which forms the umbrella. the blastopore does not appear to close but to become directly converted into the mouth. as in cassiopea the larva takes a somewhat four-sided pyramidal form. the mouth is placed at the base. the pyramid becomes subsequently flatter, and at the four corners four tentacles grow out which increase to eight by division. the flattening continues till the larva reaches a form hardly to be distinguished from the ephyra resulting from the strobilization of the fixed scyphistoma form of other acraspeda. alcyonidæ. in the alcyonidæ the segmentation appears always to lead to the formation of a solid morula, which becomes a planula by delamination. the true enteric cavity is formed by an absorption of the central cells, but the axial portion of the gastric cavity and mouth are formed by an epiblastic invagination. the development of these types has been mainly studied by kowalevsky ( ), and my knowledge of his results is derived from german abstracts of the original russian memoirs. in _alcyonium palmatum_ the impregnation is external. the segmentation is very exceptional in character. it commences with the formation of a series of irregular prominences on the surface of the ovum, which become segmented off to form a superficial layer of epiblast cells. the inner mass of protoplasm then divides up into polygonal cells to form the hypoblast, which would thus seem to be formed by a kind of delamination. in _clavularia crassa_ (no. ) there is a complete segmentation followed by a delamination. the larva of _al. palmatum_ elongates and becomes ciliated, and so assumes the characters of a typical planula. the central hypoblast is formed of an outer granular stratum with imperfectly differentiated cells--the true hypoblast--and an inner homogeneous mass with vacuoles. some of the larvæ become fixed, while others coalesce together and form a large mass, the fate of which has not been further studied. an invagination of epiblast takes place at the free end of the fixed larva, which gives rise to the so-called gastric cavity, _i.e._ the axial portion of the general enteric cavity, which would appear to be in reality a kind of stomodæum. around the gastric cavity the hypoblast forms eight mesenteries, the chambers between which are filled with the homogeneous material which occupied the centre of the ovum in the previous stage. it is to be presumed, though not stated, that by an absorption of the blind end of the stomodæal invagination the gastric chamber is placed in free communication with the spaces between the mesenteries[ ]. during the next stage the young alcyonium also acquires eight tentacles, which arise as hollow papillæ opening into the eight mesenteric chambers. by this stage also the matter filling up the mesenteric chambers is nearly absorbed. [ ] the german abstract is very obscure as to the formation of the mouth. between the epiblast and hypoblast there is formed an homogeneous membrane, which penetrates in between the two layers of hypoblast which form the mesenteries. on the outer side of this membrane, and therefore presumably derived from the epiblast, is a layer of connective-tissue cells, which eventually gives rise to the abundant gelatinous tissue (coenenchyma) in which the skeletal elements are deposited. in _sympodium coralloides_ kowalevsky (no. ) has shewn still more completely the derivation of the stellate mesoblast cells from the epiblast. he finds that the calcareous spicula develop in these cells as in the mesoblast cells of sponges. the branched gastrovascular canals in this tissue are outgrowths of the primitive enteric cavity. a layer of circular muscles is formed at a late period from the epiblast, but the longitudinal muscles of the mesenteries on the inner side of the homogeneous membrane are regarded by kowalevsky as hypoblastic. a ciliated planula with delaminated hypoblast is also found in gorgonia and _corallium rubrum_. in the former genus at the time when the larva becomes fixed, the hypoblast is formed of two strata, an outer one of columnar cells, and an inner one of round ciliated cells lining a central enteric cavity. the inner layer is believed by kowalevsky to become eventually absorbed and to be homologous with the inner granular mass of alcyonium. zoantharia. amongst the zoantharia several forms have been investigated by kowalevsky ( ) and lacaze duthiers ( ), of which some are stated by the former author to pass through an invaginate gastrula stage, while in other instances the hypoblast is probably formed by delamination. to the first group belongs an edible form of sea anemone found near messina, cerianthus, and perhaps also caryophyllium. in the first of these segmentation results in the formation of a blastosphere. a normal invagination obliterating the segmentation cavity then ensues, and the blastopore narrows to form the mouth. the borders of the mouth bend inwards and so give rise to the gastric cavity (stomodæum) which as in the alcyonidæ is lined by epiblast. simultaneously with the formation of the mouth there appear the two first mesenteries. in cerianthus the segmentation is unequal, the early stages are the same as in the actinia just described, but the hypoblast cells give rise to a mass of fatty material filling up the enteric cavity, which becomes eventually absorbed. in the majority of the zoantharia so far investigated, including species of actinia, sagartia, bunodes, astroides, astræa, the segmentation, which is often unequal[ ] and not accompanied by the formation of a segmentation cavity, results in a solid two-layered ciliated planula. in these forms the impregnation takes place in the ovary, and the early stages of development are passed through in the maternal tissues. [ ] i have this on the authority of kleinenberg. the existence of an unequal segmentation probably indicates an epibolic gastrula. one end of the planula becomes somewhat oval and develops a special bunch of cilia. at the other end a shallow depression appears, which becomes deeper and forms an involution lined by epiblast. this involution is the stomodæum, and becomes the so-called gastric cavity. the true enteric cavity lined by hypoblast is for some time filled with yolk material. the larva always swims with the aboral end directed forwards. between the two embryonic layers a homogeneous membrane is formed, similar to that already described in the alcyonidæ. the further development of the larvæ especially concerns the formation of mesenteries, tentacles and calcareous skeleton. with reference to this subject the observations of lacaze duthiers are especially valuable and striking. in the adult it is usually possible to recognise in the tentacles a symmetry of six. there are six primary tentacles, six secondary, twelve tertiary, twenty-four quaternary, etc. in the hard septa of the skeleton the same law is followed up to the third cycle, but beyond that, in the cases where the point can be verified, there appear to be only twelve septa in each additional cycle. the observations of lacaze duthiers have shewn that this symmetry is only secondarily acquired and does not in the least correspond with the succession of the parts in development. his observations were conducted on three species of zoantharia without a skeleton, viz. actinia mesembryanthemum, sagartia, and bunodes gemmacea; while astroides calycularis served as the type for his investigations on the corallum. it will be convenient to commence with his results on actinia mesembryanthemum which served as his type. the free cylindrical embryo, with the aboral end directed forwards in swimming, first becomes somewhat flattened and the mouth elongated. a bilateral symmetry is thus brought about. two mesenteries now make their appearance transversely to the long axis of the mouth, which divide the enteric cavity into two _unequal chambers_. the mesenteries consist of a fold of hypoblast with a prolongation of the epiblast between the two limbs of the fold. the larger chamber next becomes divided by two fresh mesenteries into three, and a similar division then takes place in the smaller chamber. the stage with six chambers is almost immediately succeeded by one with eight, owing to the appearance of two fresh mesenteries in the second-formed set of chambers. at the stage with eight chambers there is a marked period of repose. the number of chambers is increased to ten by the division of the third-formed set of chambers, and to twelve by the division of the fourth-formed set. it will be observed that the number of the chambers increases in arithmetical progression by the continual addition of two, alternately cut off from the primitive large and small chambers. the freshly formed chambers are always formed immediately on one side of the primitive mesenteries. the stages with six and ten are of very short duration. the two primitive chambers are necessarily at the ends of the long axis of the mouth. after the division of the enteric cavity into twelve chambers, these chambers become about equal in size, and the formation of the tentacles commences. the law regulating the appearance of the tentacles is nearly the same as that for the mesenteries, but is not quite so precise. one tentacle makes its appearance for each chamber. the most remarkable feature in the appearance of the tentacles is due to the fact that the tentacle surmounting the primitive largest chamber arises before any of the others, and long retains its supremacy (fig. a). this fact, coupled with the inequality of the two primitive chambers, supplies some grounds for speculating on a possible descent of the coelenterata from bilaterally symmetrical forms with distinctly differentiated dorsal and ventral surfaces. the supremacy of the first-formed tentacle is not confined to the actinozoa, but as has already been indicated, is also found in the scyphistoma (p. ) of the acraspeda. [fig. . two stages in the development of actinia mesembryanthemum. (after lacaze duthiers.) in the younger ciliated embryo a, viewed from the side, only one tentacle is developed. _m._ mouth. the older larva b is viewed from the face when tentacles have just become established. the letters shew the true order of succession of the tentacles; but _e_ and _f_ are transposed.] after the twelve tentacles have become established they become secondarily divided into two cycles of six respectively larger and smaller tentacles, which alternate with each other. the two tentacles pertaining to the two original chambers belong to the cycle of larger tentacles. the mesenteric filaments appear first of all on the primary pair of septa. the increase in the number of tentacles and chambers from to has been found to take place in a very remarkable and unexpected way. the law is expressed by lacaze duthiers as follows. "the appearance of the new chambers is not, as has been believed, a consequence of the production of a single chamber between each of the twelve already existing chambers, but of the birth of two new chambers in each of the six elements (chambers) of the smaller cycle." the result of this law is that a pair of tentacles of the third cycle is placed in every alternate space, between a large and a small tentacle, of the two already existing cycles, which may conveniently be called the first and second cycles (fig. b). the twenty-four tentacles formed in the above manner are obviously at first very irregularly arranged (fig. b), but they soon acquire a regular arrangement in three graduated cycles of , and . the first cycle of the six largest tentacles is the large cycle of the previous stage, but the two other cycles are heterogeneous in their origin, each of them being composed partly of the twelve tentacles last formed, and partly of the six tentacles of the second cycle of the previous stage. the further law of multiplication has been thus expressed by lacaze duthiers: "the number of chambers and still later that of the corresponding tentacles is carried from - and from - by the birth of a pair of elements in each of the or chambers, above which are placed the smallest tentacles which together constitute the fourth or fifth cycle. since, after the formation of each fresh cycle, the arrangement of the tentacles again becomes symmetrical, it is obvious that all the equal sized cycles except the first are formed of tentacles entirely heterogeneous as to age." the fixation of the free-swimming larva takes place during the period when the tentacles are increasing from to . the general formation of the chambers in bunodes and sagartia is nearly the same as in actinia. in the two types of actinozoa with an embolic gastrula stage the laws as to the formation of the tentacles do not appear to be the same as those regulating the forms observed by lacaze duthiers. in cerianthus four tentacles are formed simultaneously at the period when only four chambers are present. in arachnitis (edwarsia) the succession of the tentacles is stated (a. agassiz, ) to resemble that in cerianthus. there are originally four tentacles, and at one extremity of the long axis of the mouth are the oldest tentacles, while at the other tentacles are constantly added in pairs. an odd tentacle is always found at the extremity of the mouth opposite the oldest tentacles. in the other species with an embolic gastrula eight tentacles would seem to appear simultaneously at the period when eight chambers are present; though on this point kowalevsky's description is not very clear. the presence of such a stage would seem to indicate a close affinity to the alcyonidæ. amongst the sclerodermatous actinozoa, except caryophyllium, the embryo closely resembles that of the delaminate malacodermata. the first stages occur in the ovary, and the larva is dehisced into the body cavity as a two-layered ciliated planula. the laws affecting the formation of the first twelve tentacles and septa appear to be nearly the same as for the malacodermata. the hard parts begin as a rule to be formed when twelve tentacles have appeared, at which period also the fixation of the larva takes place. on fixation the larva becomes very much flattened. the first parts of the corallum to appear are twelve of the septa, which arise simultaneously in folds of the enteric wall in the chambers _between the mesenteries_, and correspond therefore with the tentacles and not, as might be supposed, with the mesenteries. each septum is formed by the coalescence of three calcareous plates which originate in separate centres of calcification. the concrescence of the three produces a y-shaped plate with the single limb directed inwards and the two limbs outwards (fig. ). the theca does not arise till after the septa have become formed, and is at first a somewhat membranous cup quite distinct from the septa. the columella is formed still later by the coalescence of a series of nodules which are formed in a central axis enclosed by the inner ends of the septa. [fig. . larva of astroides calycularis shortly after it has become attached. (after lacaze duthiers.) the figure shews the development of the y-shaped septa in the intervals between the mesenteries. the position of the latter is indicated by the faint shading. the theca has become developed externally.] after the formation of the theca the septa become divided into two cycles by the predominant growth of six of them. on the coalescence of the septa with the theca the space between the two limbs of the y becomes filled up with calcareous tissue. the law of the formation of the third cycle of septa ( - ) has not been worked out, so that it is not possible to state whether it follows the peculiar principles regulating the growth of the tentacles. the whole of the skeletal parts occupy a position between the epiblast and hypoblast, and are exactly homologous in this respect with the skeleton of the alcyonidæ. by lacaze duthiers they are however believed to originate in the hypoblast, but from the observations of kowalevsky there be little doubt that they arise in the connective tissue between the two embryonic layers which is probably epiblastic in origin. a peculiar larva, probably belonging to the actinozoa, has been described by semper[ ]. it has an elongated form and is provided with a longitudinal ridge of cilia. there is a mouth at one end of the body and an anus at the opposite extremity. the mouth leads into an oesophagus, which opens freely into a stomach with six mesenteries. in the skin are numerous thread-cells. a mesotrochal worm-like larva, also provided with thread-cells, and found at the same time, was conjectured by semper to be a younger form of this larva. [ ] "ueb. einige tropische larven-formen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xvii. . ctenophora. the ovum of the ctenophora is formed of an outer granular protoplasmic layer and an inner spongy mass with fatty spherules. it is enveloped in a delicate vesicle, the diameter of which is very much greater than that of the contained ovum. this vesicle appears to be filled with sea-water, in which the ovum floats. fertilized ova may usually be easily obtained by keeping the captured adults in water from - hours. the two main authorities on the development of these forms (kowalevsky, no. and and agassiz, no. ) are unfortunately at variance on one or two of the most fundamental points. it seems however that the embryonic layers are formed by a kind of epibolic gastrula; while the true gastric cavity, as distinct from the gastrovascular, is formed by an invagination, and deserves therefore to be regarded as a form of stomodæum. [fig. . five stages in the development of idyia roseola. (after agassiz.) the protoplasmic layer of the ovum is represented in black.] the early stages are very closely similar in all the types so far observed. segmentation commences by the outer layer of the ovum, which throughout behaves as the active layer, forming a protuberance at one pole, which may be called the formative pole. close below this protuberance is placed the nucleus. in the median line of the protuberance a furrow appears (fig. a), which gradually deepens till it divides the ovum into two. the granular layer follows the furrow so that each of the fresh segments, like the original ovum is completely invested by a layer of granular protoplasm. each segment contains a nucleus. a second similar division at right angles to the first gives rise to four segments (fig. b), and the segments so formed become again divided into eight (fig. c). in the division into eight, which takes place in a vertical plane, the segments formed are of unequal size, four of them being much smaller than the others. the eight segments are arranged in the form of a slightly curved disc round a vertical axis--the future long axis of the body;--and there is a cavity in this axis which, like the segmentation cavity of _sycandra raphanus_, is open at both extremities. the disc with its concavity on the side of the formative pole has the shape sometimes of an ellipse (fig. c) and sometimes of a rectangle, in which the four small spheres occupy the poles of the longer axis. a bilateral symmetry is thus even at this stage clearly indicated. in the next phase of segmentation the granular layer surrounding each segment again forms a protuberance at the formative pole, but, instead of each segment becoming divided into two equal parts, the protoplasmic protuberance alone is divided off from the main segment. in this way sixteen spheres become formed, of which eight are large and are formed mainly of the yolk material of the inner part of the ovum, and eight are small and entirely composed of the granular protoplasm. the eight small spheres form a ring on the formative surface of the large spheres (fig. d). the small spheres now increase very rapidly (fig. e), partly by division _and partly by the formation of fresh cells from the large spheres_; and spread over the large spheres, forming in this way an epibolic gastrula. they constitute a layer of epiblast. (fig. a.) the large cells in the meantime remain relatively passive, though during the process they divide, in some cases more or less irregularly, while in eucharis they divide into sixteen. the axial segmentation cavity would seem during the process to become obliterated. there is an important discrepancy between the statements of kowalevsky and agassiz as to the course of the growth of the small cells. according to agassiz the small cells grow most rapidly at the formative pole and cover this before they meet at the opposite pole. the reverse statement is made by kowalevsky. it would seem that the above discrepancy is due to an interchange on the part of the one or the other of these authors of the two poles of the embryo, in that according to agassiz the formation of the mouth takes place _at the formative pole_, and according to kowalevsky _at the pole opposite to this_. without attempting to decide between the above views, we shall speak of the pole at which the mouth is formed as the oral pole. [fig . four stages in the development of idyia roseola. (after agassiz.) _s.c._ sense capsule; _st._ stomodæum.] the formation of the alimentary cavity commences shortly after the complete investiture of the embryo by the epiblast cells. at the oral pole an invagination of epiblast cells takes place (fig. b), which makes its way towards the opposite pole. more especially from the figures given by agassiz, and from the explanation of his plates, it would seem that a large chamber is formed in the hypoblast at the end of the invaginated tube, into which this tube soon opens (fig. c). the invaginated tube would seem to give rise to the so-called stomach, while the chamber at its aboral extremity is no doubt the infundibulum, which as may be gathered from kowalevsky's statements, is lined by a flattened epithelium. at a later period the gastrovascular canals grow out from the infundibulum as four pouches, which are surrounded by, and grow at the expense of, the large central cells, which have in the meantime arranged themselves in four masses, and appear to serve as a kind of yolk. the nuclei of these large cells according to kowalevsky disappear, and the cells themselves break up into continually smaller masses. the main difficulty in the above description of agassiz is the origin of the infundibulum. in the absence of definite statements on this head it seems reasonable to conclude that it arises as a space hollowed out in the central cells, and that its walls are formed of elements derived from the yolk cells[ ]. on this interpretation the alimentary canal of the ctenophora would consist, as in the acraspedote medusæ and actinozoa, of two sections: ( ) a true hypoblastic section consisting of the infundibulum and the gastrovascular canals derived from it; and ( ) an epiblastic section--the stomodæum--forming the stomach. [ ] chun (no. ) gives a short statement of his observations, which accords with the interpretation in the text. the observations of kowalevsky on the alimentary system do not wholly tally with those of agassiz. he finds that the oral side of the embryo becomes hollowed out, and that the hollow, lined by flattened cells, becomes constricted off as the infundibulum, from which the radial canals subsequently grow out. to the infundibulum there leads a narrow canal lined by a columnar epithelium which becomes the gastric cavity. while the alimentary canal is becoming formed a series of important changes takes place in other parts of the embryo. the rows of locomotive paddles first appear as four longitudinal equidistant linear thickenings of the epiblast near the aboral pole (fig. d). on the projecting surface of these ridges stiff cilia appear which coalesce together to form the paddles. while the embryo is still within the egg the rows of paddles are quite short and also double. there are in pleurobrachia about eight or nine pairs of paddles in each row. each double row eventually separates into two. in all the forms except the eurostomata (beroe) two tentacles grow out as thickenings of the epiblast (fig. b, _t._). they are placed at the opposite poles of the long transverse axis of the embryo. a process of the contractile gelatinous tissue of the body, the origin of which is described below, makes its way, according to kowalevsky, into the tentacles. the central apparatus of the nervous system and the otoliths are formed at the aboral pole from a thickening of the epiblast, but the full details of their formation have not been elucidated. it may be well to preface my account of their development with a short statement of their adult structure. they consist in the adult of a vesicle with a ciliated lining situated at the bifurcation of the two anal tubes, and of certain structures connected with this vesicle. from the floor of the vesicle is suspended a mass of otoliths by four leaf-like bodies known as suspenders. the roof is very delicate and has the form of a four-sided pyramid. six openings lead into the vesicle. through four of these, placed at the four corners, there pass out four ciliated grooves continuous with the suspenders. these grooves, after leaving the otolithic vesicle, bifurcate and pass to the eight rows of paddles. at the two sides the walls of the vesicle are continuous with two thickened ciliated plates with swollen edges, opposite the centres of which are two lateral openings into the vesicle, completing the six openings. through the lateral openings the sea-water is driven by the action of the cilia of the plates. the development of these parts is as follows--in the aboral thickening of epiblast a cavity makes its appearance, the walls of which constitute the rudiment of the otolithic vesicle (fig. b and c, _s.c._). the roof of the cavity is extremely delicate. on each side of it a thickening of cells becomes established, regarded by kowalevsky as the rudiment of the nervous ganglia. these thickenings appear to give origin to the lateral ciliated plates. the otoliths arise from cells at four separate points at the corners of the ciliated plates opposite the rows of paddles (fig. a, _ot._). [fig. . two stages in the development of pleurobrachia rhododactyla. (after agassiz.) _ot._ otolith; _t._ tentacle.] in pleurobrachia there is at first only one otolith at each corner. the otoliths are gradually transported towards the centre of the vesicle (fig. b, _ot._) and are there attached, though the four leaf-like suspenders do not arise till very late. the otoliths go on increasing in number throughout life. the gelatinous tissue of the ctenophora appears as a homogeneous layer between the epiblast and the yolk cells, and is probably homologous with the layer formed in the same situation in all other coelenterate forms. into the layer a number of anastomosing cells, mainly derived from the epiblast, though according to chun (no. ) also in part from the hypoblast, make their way. these cells would appear to be mainly, if not entirely (chun), of a contractile nature. it is probable that the great mass of the gelatinous tissue of the adult is an intercellular substance derived from these cells. the whole of the above changes are completed while the embryo is still enclosed in the egg-capsule. during their accomplishment the oro-anal axis, which was originally very short, increases greatly in length (fig. ), so that the embryo acquires an oval form similar to that of the adult. the exact period of leaving the egg does not appear to be very constant but the hatching never takes place till the embryo has practically acquired all the organs of the adult. in the majority of types the differences between the just hatched larva and the adult are inconsiderable, and in all cases the larva has a somewhat oval form. in the case of the tæniatæ (cestum, etc.), the larva has the characteristic oval form, and the subsequent changes amount almost to a metamorphosis. the larva of the lobatæ, such as eucharis, bolina, etc., can hardly be distinguished from pleurobrachia, and undergoes therefore considerable changes after hatching. _eucharis multicornis_ while still in the larval condition is stated by chun to become sexually mature. the new genus ctenaria recently described by haeckel, which is intermediate between the ctenophora and the medusæ clearly proves that the ctenophora are more closely related to the medusæ than to the actinozoa but their development, especially the presence of a stomodæum, shews that they have affinities (in spite of the rudimentary velum of ctenaria) with the acraspedote as well as with the craspedote medusæ; and it may be noted that the acraspeda have undoubted affinities with the actinozoa. _summary and general considerations._ even in the adult condition the lower forms of coelenterata do not rise in complexity much beyond a typical gastrula. ontogeny nevertheless brings clearly to light the existence of a larval form--the planula--which recurs with fair constancy amongst all the groups except the ctenophora. we are probably justified in assuming that the planula is a repetition of a free ancestral form of the coelenterata. the planula, as it most frequently occurs, is a two-layered ciliated nearly cylindrical organism, with at most a rudimentary digestive cavity hollowed out in the inner layer, and as a rule no mouth. in the outer layer are numerous thread-cells. how many of these characters did the ancestral planula possess? i think it is not unreasonable to assume that the only two characters about which there can be much doubt are the rudimentary condition of the digestive cavity and the absence of a mouth. paradoxical as it may seem, it appears to me not impossible that the coelenterata may have had an ancestor in which a digestive tract was physiologically replaced by a solid mass of amoeboid cells. this ancestor was perhaps common to the turbellarians also. the constant presence of thread-cells in the inner layer of their epiblast fits in with their derivation from a form similar to the planula. while the solid parenchymatous digestive canal of convoluta and schizoprora and other forms amongst the turbellarians, though very probably secondary, may perhaps be explained by such a view of their origin. the planula in its primitive condition is not bilaterally symmetrical, but frequently, as amongst the actinozoa, it becomes flattened on two sides before undergoing its conversion into the adult form. perhaps the bilateral form of planula is the starting point both for the coelenterata and the turbellaria. in this connection the peculiar unilateral development of a tentacle in scyphistoma and actinia should be noted. the planula occurs in the majority of sessile forms of hydrozoa except the tubularidæ and hydra. it is also characteristic of the trachymedusæ and siphonophora. amongst the acraspeda it is also present, but has an exceptional mode of ontogeny which is discussed in connection with the germinal layers. it is characteristic both of the octocoralla and hexacoralla, but is not found in the ctenophora. in the tubularidæ and in hydra an abbreviated development leads no doubt to the absence of a _free_ planula stage, and the absence of a larval form amongst the ctenophora may, as has already been stated, be probably explained in the same way. the coelenterata of all the metazoa are characterized by the greatest simplicity in the arrangement of their germinal layers; and for this reason very considerable interest attaches to the mode of formation of the layers amongst them. two germinal layers are constantly found, which correspond _in a general way_ to the epiblast and hypoblast. it might have been anticipated that a certain amount of uniformity would have existed in the mode of formation of the layers. this however is not the case. in perhaps the majority of forms they become differentiated by a process of delamination, but in a not inconsiderable minority the two layers owe their origin to an invagination. delamination is constant (with the doubtful exception of some tubularidæ) amongst the hydromedusæ and siphonophora. it is perhaps in the main characteristic of the actinozoa. invagination by embole takes place, so far as is known, constantly amongst the acraspeda and frequently amongst the actinozoa; and an epibolic invagination is characteristic of the ctenophora. if confidence is to be placed in the recorded observations on which this summary is founded, and there is no reason why in a general way it should not be so placed, the conclusion is inevitable that of the above modes of development the one must be primitive and the other a derivative from it, for, if this conclusion be not accepted, the absolutely inadmissible hypothesis of a double origin for the coelenterata would have to be adopted. two questions arise from these considerations:-- ( ) which is the primitive, delamination or invagination? ( ) how is the one of these to be derived from the other? there is a great deal to be said in favour of both delamination and invagination; but it will be convenient to defer all discussion of the question to the general chapter on the formation of the layers throughout the animal kingdom. the hypoblast cells are often filled with yolk material, and secondary modifications are thus produced in the development. the most important examples of such modifications are found in the siphonophora and ctenophora. in the simplest forms amongst the hydrozoa there is no trace of a third layer or mesoblast. the epiblast is typically formed, as was first shewn by kleinenberg, of an epithelial layer and a subepithelial interstitial layer of cells. the cells of the former are frequently produced into muscular or nervous tails, and those of the latter give rise to the thread-cells and generative organs and in some cases to muscles[ ]. in many cases, amongst all the coelenterate groups, and constantly amongst the ctenophora the epiblast is simplified and reduced to a single layer. the hypoblast undergoes in most cases no such differentiation but simply forms a glandular layer lining the gastric chamber and its prolongations into the tentacles; but in the actinozoa it appears to give rise to muscles, and strong evidence has been brought forward to shew that in some groups it gives rise to the generative organs. [ ] the questions relating to the generative organs of the coelenterata are dealt with in the second part of this work. between the epiblast and hypoblast a structureless lamella appears always to be interposed. in many coelenterata further differentiations of the epiblast are present. in many forms the layer gives rise to a hard external skeleton. this is most widely spread amongst the hydrozoa, where in the majority of cases it takes the form of the horny perisarc, and in the hydrocoralla (millepora and stylasteridæ) of a hard calcareous skeleton. the skeleton in these forms, though closely resembling the mesoblastic skeleton of the actinozoa, has been shewn by moseley ( ) to be epiblastic. in the actinozoa an epiblastic skeleton is exceptional, and according to most authorities absent. quite recently however koch ( ) has found that the axial branched skeleton of most of the gorgonidæ, viz. the gorgoninæ and isidinæ, is separated from the coenosarc by an epithelium, which he believes to be epiblastic, and to which no doubt the axial skeleton owes its origin. a similar epithelium surrounds the axis of the pennatulidæ. in the medusæ the epiblast also gives rise to a central nervous system, which however continues to form a constituent part of the layer, and to the organs of special sense[ ]. [ ] the differentiation of the nervous and muscular systems in the hydrozoa is treated of in the second part of this work. a special differentiation of the hypoblast is found in the solid axis of the tentacles. this axis replaces the gastric prolongation found in many forms, and the cells composing it differentiate themselves into a chorda-like tissue, which has a skeletal function, and is no longer connected with nutrition. this axis is placed by many morphologists amongst the mesoblastic structures. in all the higher coelenterata certain tissues become interposed between the epiblast and hypoblast, which may be classified together as the mesoblast. the most important of these are: ( ) the various distinct muscular layers. ( ) the gelatinous tissue of the medusæ and ctenophora. ( ) the skeletogenous tissue of the actinozoa. in most cases the muscular fibres are connected with epithelial cells, but in certain forms amongst the medusæ and in the majority if not all the actinozoa they constitute a distinct layer, sometimes separated from the epiblast by a structureless membrane, _Æquorea mitrocoma_. such layers when on the outer side of the membrane separating epiblast and hypoblast are undoubtedly epiblastic in origin, but in some cases amongst the actinozoa they adjoin the hypoblast, and are very probably derived from this layer. the origin of the gelatinous tissue is still involved in much obscurity. it originates as a homogeneous layer between epiblast and hypoblast, which in the hydromedusæ never becomes cellular though traversed by elastic fibres. in the acraspeda it contains anastomosing cells in the main apparently (claus) derived from the hypoblast, and in the ctenophora it is richly supplied with muscular stellate cells for the most part of epiblastic origin, though some are stated by chun to come from the hypoblast. on the whole it seems probable, that the gelatinous tissue may be regarded as a product _of both layers_; and there are some grounds for thinking that it is an immense development of the membrane always interposed between the two primary layers. it must however be borne in mind that a membrane, regarded by the hertwigs as the equivalent of the ordinary membrane between the epiblast and hypoblast, can be usually demonstrated on both surfaces of the gelatinous tissues in medusæ. the skeletogenous layer of the actinozoa is probably the morphological homologue of the gelatinous tissue; but the evidence we have is on the whole in favour of the connective-tissue cells it contains being epiblastic in origin. it gives rise to the skeleton of the hexacoralla, to the spicular skeleton of alcyonium, the axial skeleton of corallium, and the skeleton of the helioporidæ and tubiporidæ. _alternations of generations._ alternation of generations is of common occurrence amongst the hydrozoa, and something analogous to it has been found to take place in fungia amongst the actinozoa. it is not known to occur in the ctenophora. the chief interest of its occurrence amongst the hydromedusæ and siphonophora is the fact that its origin can be traced to a division of labour in the colonial systems of zooids so characteristic of these types. in the hydromedusæ an interesting series of relations between alternation of generations and the division of the zooids into gonophores and trophosomes can be made out. in hydra the generative and nutritive functions are united in the same individual. the generative swellings in these forms cannot, as has been ably argued by kleinenberg, be regarded as rudimentary gonophores, but are to be compared to the generative bands developed in the medusæ around parts of the gastro-vascular system. a condition like that of hydra, in which the ovum directly gives rise to a form like its parent, is no doubt the primitive one, though it is not so certain that hydra itself is a primitive form. the relation of hydra to the tubularidæ and campanularidæ may best be conceived by supposing that in hydra most ordinary buds did not become detached, so that a compound hydra became formed; but that at certain periods particular buds retained their primitive capacity of becoming detached and subsequently developed generative organs, while the ordinary buds lost their generative function. it would obviously be advantageous for the species that the detached buds with generative organs should be locomotive, so as to distribute the species as widely as possible, and such buds in connection with their free existence would naturally acquire a higher organization than the attached trophosomes. it is easy to see how, by a series of steps such as i have sketched out, a division of labour might take place, and it is obvious that the embryos produced by the highly organized gonophores would give rise to a fixed form from which the fixed colony would be budded. thus an alternation of generations would be established as a necessary sequel to such a division of labour. to test the above explanation it is necessary to review the main facts with reference to alternations of generations amongst the hydromedusæ. hydromedusæ[ ]. in many instances amongst the tubularidæ, sertularidæ and campanularidæ medusiform buds are produced which become detached and develop sexual organs. [ ] for a full account of this subject the reader is referred to the beautiful memoir of allman (no. ). such medusæ are divided into two great groups, the ocellata and vesiculata, according to the characters of the marginal sense organs. in the ocellata the sense organs have the form of eyes, and in the vesiculata of auditory vesicles. the latter seem to be usually budded off from the campanularia stocks, and the generative organs extend in folded bands over the radial canals. these bands have been regarded by allman as composed of rudimentary gonophores, and he called the medusæ which give rise to them blastochemes. he regards them as representing a more complicated type of alternation of generations with three instead of two generations in the series. the hertwigs have brought what appear to me conclusive grounds for rejecting this view, and have demonstrated that the generative organs of these types resemble those of ordinary medusæ. in many forms the medusiform buds though fully developed do not become detached; whether detached or not they are known as phanerocodonic gonophores. in other forms again buds which begin as if they were going to form medusæ never reach that condition but remain permanently in an undeveloped state. they have been called by allman adelocodonic gonophores. in all the above cases two generations at the least interpose between the successive sexual periods, viz.:-- ( ) a trophosome produced directly from the ovum. ( ) a gonophore budded from this. in a very large number of types the gonophores do not develop directly on the hydroid stem, but arise on specially modified zooids resembling rudimentary trophosomes which have been named blastostyles by allman. on the sides of each blastostyle a series of gonophores usually becomes developed. the blastostyles either remain exposed as in all the gymnoblastic or tubularian hydroids, or as in all the calyptoblastic hydroids (sertularidæ and campanularidæ) they become invested by a special case--known as the gonangium--which is formed of perisarc lined by epiblast. in the forms with blastostyles three generations interpose between the successive stages of sexual reproduction, ( ) the trophosome developed directly from the ovum, ( ) the blastostyle budded from this, ( ) the gonophore budded from the blastostyle. such being the main facts, in order to prove that the existing condition of polymorphism amongst the hydromedusæ is to be explained as hypothetically suggested above, it is still necessary to shew that ( ) the free medusiform gonophores are really only modified trophosomes, or rather that the trophosomes and gonophores are both modifications of some common type, and ( ) that the fixed so-called adelocodonic gonophores are retrograde derivatives of the free medusiform gonophores. unless these points can be established it might be maintained that the medusæ were special zooids, developed _de novo_ and not by a modification of trophosome zooids. to demonstrate these propositions at length would carry me too far into the region of simple comparative anatomy, and i content myself with referring the reader to a discussion of the hertwigs (no. , p. ) where the first point appears to me fully established. with reference to the second point i will only say that the structure and development of the adelocodonic gonophores can only be explained on the assumption that they are retrograde forms of the phanerocodonic gonophores, and that the opposite view, that the phanerocodonic gonophores are derived from the adelocodonic, leads to a series of untenable positions. the trachymedusæ, as has been shewn above, develop directly. they are probably derived from gonophores in which the trophosome has disappeared from the developmental cycle. to sum up, three types of development are found amongst the hydromedusæ. ( ) no alternations of generations. permanent form, a sexual trophosome. _ex._ hydra. ( ) alternations of generations. trophosome fixed, gonophore free or attached. _ex._ gymnoblastic and calyptoblastic hydroids, and hydrocoralla. ( ) no alternations of generations. permanent form, a sexual medusa. _ex._ trachymedusæ. siphonophora. in the siphonophora alternations of generations take place in the same way as in the hydromedusæ, but the starting point appears to be a medusa. the gonophores may remain fixed or become detached. acraspeda. with the exception of pelagia and lucernaria, in which the development involves a simple metamorphosis, all the acraspeda undergo a form of alternations of generations. the ovum, as already described, develops into a fixed form--the scyphistoma--which increases asexually by normal budding, and can even form a permanent colony. [fig. . three stages in the alternations of generations of aurelia aurita. (from gegenbaur.) a. polype stage. b. commencing strobilization. c. completed strobilization.] the formation of the sexual medusa form takes place by a kind of strobilization of the body of the fixed scyphistoma. a series of transverse constrictions becomes formed round the body below the mouth, dividing it up into corresponding rings, each of which eventually gives rise to a medusa known as an ephyra (fig. ). in each of these rings is a dilation of the stomach, and a section of each of the four rudimentary mesenteries described in connection with the development of the scyphistoma. as the constrictions become deeper the segments of the body between them become disc-like, and their edges are produced into eight lobes containing prolongations of the gastric cavity (fig. c). the lower surface of each disc, which forms the future aboral surface of the medusa, becomes convex, in part owing to the development of gelatinous tissue. on the opposite surface a muscular layer becomes developed. during the above process the body of the scyphistoma gradually grows in length and continues to be segmented, so that a series of ephyræ are uninterruptedly formed, of which those near the base are the youngest. the original terminal ring of tentacles of the scyphistoma gradually atrophies. in the further development of the ephyræ each of their eight lobes becomes bifid at its extremity. as the ephyræ successively reach this condition they become detached, and by a series of remarkable changes, amounting almost to a metamorphosis, and accompanied by an enormous growth in size, reach the adult condition. the alternation of generations in the acraspeda cannot be quite so simply explained as in the hydromedusæ, though the principle is probably the same in the two cases. actinozoa. amongst the actinozoa there occurs in fungia a peculiar process which is, as shewn by semper ( ), in many ways analogous to alternations of generations[ ]. from the larva a nurse-stock is developed, at the end of which a cup-like coral resembling the adult is formed as a bud. the bud becomes detached and then gives rise to a permanent sexual fungia. from the nurse-stock there is formed however a fresh bud at the centre of the scar left on the detachment of the old one. the fresh bud eventually becomes separated from the nurse-stock leaving a small portion of its stem behind; each succeeding bud similarly leaves a small portion of its stem, so that the nurse-stock eventually acquires a jointed appearance. in the above process we clearly have, as in the hydromedusæ, a non-sexual form--the nurse-stock--produced directly from the larva, giving rise by budding to a sexual form; all the conditions of an alternation of generations are therefore fulfilled. it seems however possible that the nurse-stock itself may eventually become sexual. [ ] vide also moseley. _notes by a naturalist of the challenger_, pp. and . bibliography. _coelenterata. general._ ( ) alex. agassiz. _illustrated catalogue of the museum of comparative anatomy at harvard college_, no. ii. american acalephæ. cambridge, u. s., . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. _der organismus d. medusæ u. seine stellung z. keimblättertheorie._ jena, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "untersuchungen üb. d. entwicklung d. coelenteraten." _nachrichten d. kaiser. gesell. d. freunde d. naturer kenntniss d. anthropologie u. ethnographie._ moskau, . (russian.) for abstract vide _jahresberichte d. anat. u. phys._ (hoffman u. schwalbe), . _hydrozoa._ ( ) l. agassiz. _contributions to the natural history of the united states of america._ boston, . vol. iv. ( ) g. j. allman. _a monograph of the gymnoblastic or tubularian hydroids._ ray society, - . ( ) g. j. allman. "on the structure and development of myriothela." _phil. trans._, vol. clxv. p. . ( ) p. j. van beneden. "mém. sur les campanulaires de la côte d'ostende considérés sous le rapport physiologique, embryogénique, et zoologique." _nouv. mém. de l'acad. de brux._, tom. xvii. . ( ) p. j. van beneden. "recherches sur l'embryogénie des tubulaires et l'histoire naturelle des différents genres de cette famille qui habitent la côte d'ostende." _nouv. mém. de l'acad. de brux._, tom. xvii. . ( ) c. claus. "polypen u. quallen d. adria." _denk. d. math.-naturwiss. classe d. k. k. akad. d. wiss. wien_, vol. xxxviii. . ( ) j. g. dalyell. _rare and remarkable animals of scotland._ london, . ( ) h. fol. "die erste entwicklung d. geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) carl gegenbaur. _zur lehre vom generationswechsel und der fortpflanzung bei medusen und polypen._ würzburg, . ( ) thomas hincks. "on the development of the hydroid polypes, clavatella and stauridia; with remarks on the relation between the polype and the medusoid, and between the polype and the medusa." _brit. assoc. rep._, . ( ) e. haeckel. _zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. siphonophoren._ utrecht, . ( ) th. h. huxley. _oceanic hydrozoa._ ray society, . ( ) geo. johnston. _a history of british zoophytes._ edin. . nd edition, . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra, eine anatomisch-entwicklungsgeschichtliche untersuchung._ leipzig, . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "ueber die entwicklung einiger coelenteraten." _bull. de l'acad. de st pétersbourg_, xv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "studien über entwicklungsgeschichte d. medusen u. siphonophoren." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) h. n. moseley. "on the structure of the stylasteridæ." _phil. trans._ . ( ) f. e. schulze. _ueber den bau und die entwicklung von cordylophora lacustris._ leipzig, . _actinozoa._ ( ) al. agassiz. "arachnitis (edwarsia) brachiolata." _proc. boston nat. hist. society_, . ( ) koch. "das skelet d. alcyonarien." _morpholog. jahrbuch_, bd. iv. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "z. entwicklung d. alcyoniden, sympodium coralloides und clavularia crassa." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. _histoire nat. du corail._ paris, . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. "développement des coralliaires." _archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale_, vol. i. and vol. ii. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber generationswechsel bei steinkorallen etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxii. . _ctenophora._ ( ) alex. agassiz. "embryology of the ctenophoræ." _mem. of the amer. acad. of arts and sciences_, vol. x. no. iii. . ( ) g. j. allman. "contributions to our knowledge of the structure and development of the beroidæ." _proc. roy. soc. edinburgh_, vol. iv. . ( ) c. chun. "das nervensystem u. die musculatur d. rippenquallen." _abhand. d. senkenberg. gesellsch._, b. xi. . ( ) c. claus. "bemerkungen u. ctenophoren u. medusen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, xiv. . ( ) h. fol. _ein beitrag z. anat. u. entwickl. einiger rippenquallen._ . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "studien ü. organis. u. system d. ctenophoren." _archiv. f. naturgesch._, xxii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. rippenquallen." _mém. acad. st pétersbourg_, vii. série, tom. x. no. . . ( ) j. price. "embryology of ciliogrades." _proceed. of british assoc._, . ( ) c. semper. "entwicklung d. eucharis multicornis." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . chapter vii. platyelminthes[ ]. [ ] i. turbellaria. . dendrocoela. . rhabdocoela. ii. nemertea. . anopla. . enopla. iii. trematoda. . distomeæ. . polystomeæ. iv. cestoda. turbellaria. although there is perhaps no group in the animal kingdom the ontogeny of which would better repay a thorough investigation than the turbellarians, yet the difficulties to be overcome have hitherto proved too great. the fresh-water rhabdocoela and dendrocoela do not undergo any metamorphosis, and leave the ovum in a condition in which they cannot easily be distinguished in their general appearance from infusoria. many marine dendrocoela also develop directly, while, as was first shewn by joh. müller, other marine dendrocoela undergo a more or less complicated metamorphosis. marine dendrocoela. of the marine dendrocoela which do not undergo a metamorphosis the form most fully worked out is leptoplana tremellaris--(vide keferstein, no. , and hallez, no. ). the ova are surrounded by large albuminous capsules secreted by a special gland. they are laid a great number at a time, and adhere together so as to form masses not unlike the spawn of nudibranchiate molluscs. within the egg-capsule the ovum floats freely and undergoes a segmentation similar in many respects to the characteristic molluscan type. the ovum divides into two, and then into four parts, from each of which a small segment is then separated off. the four small segments, which appear to give rise to the epiblast, increase in number by division and gradually envelop the large segments[ ]; so that an epibolic invagination clearly takes place. between the small and the large cells is a small segmentation cavity, fig. a and b. at the time when twelve epiblast cells are present, each of the four large cells divides into two unequal parts (hallez), fig. a. in this way four large (_hy_) and four small cells (_m_) are formed. the latter are placed at the opposite pole of the ovum to the epiblast cells, and give rise to the mesoblast, while the four large cells remain as the hypoblast. [ ] it is probable, though it has not been observed, that the growth of the layer of small cells is assisted by the formation of fresh cells from the hypoblast spheres. [fig. . sections through the ovum of leptoplana tremellaris in three stages of development. (after hallez.) _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mesoblast; _hy._ yolk cells (hypoblast); _bl._ blastopore.] in the course of the enclosure of the hypoblast cells by the epiblast, the mesoblast cells gradually travel towards the formative pole (fig. b). in the process they become first of all divided so as to form four linear streaks, and finally unite into a continuous layer between the epiblast and hypoblast, which obliterates the segmentation cavity (fig. c, _m_). before the completion of the epibole a closely packed layer of fine cilia appears, which causes a rotation of the embryo within the egg-capsule. during the above changes a fifth hypoblast cell is formed by the division of one of those already present; and at a later period four of the hypoblast cells give rise within the nearly closed blastoporic area to four small cells. in connection with these cells a complete hyploblastic wall becomes subsequently established, which encloses the original large hypoblast cells. the latter then become resolved into a vitelline mass. from a comparison with other types it may be regarded as probable that the enteric wall originates by a process of continuous budding off of small cells from the large cells, which commences with the formation of the four cells above mentioned. the blastopore becomes nearly obliterated, but whether it gives rise to the mouth, which is formed in the same place, has not been determined. in front of the mouth a small and very transitory rudiment of an upper lip makes its appearance. the protrusible pharynx is stated by hallez to arise as an hypoblastic bud, while its sheath has an epiblastic origin. two pairs of eyes and the supra-oesophageal ganglia also become early developed. the peripheral ciliated layer of small cells becomes divided into two strata, of which the outer remains ciliated and forms the true epiblast: the inner probably forms the cutis. in it are developed rod-like bodies, which seem to be homologous with the thread-cells of the coelenterata, so that if the views put forward in the previous chapter as to the similarity of the turbellarian and coelenterate larvæ are correct, the cutis corresponds with the deeper layer of the coelenterate epiblast. the mesoblast, like the epiblast, becomes divided into two strata. the outer one is stated to form the circular and longitudinal muscles; the inner one to give rise to a muscular reticulum, the spaces within which constitute the parenchymatous body cavity. the later changes are not of great importance. at a period slightly after the formation of the mouth and ganglia two pairs of stiff hairs become formed at the sides of the body. the embryo has by this time grown so as to fill up its capsule, in which however it continues rapidly to rotate, and also commences to exhibit active contractions. it next becomes hatched, and passes from a spherical to a flattened elongated form. the ventral oral opening is at first central, but soon, by a process of unequal growth, becomes carried towards the posterior end of the body. the pairs of stiff hairs in the meantime considerably increase in number. the remains of the yolk cells now disappear, and the enteric walls become more distinct. the alimentary canal, which is at first simple in outline like that of a rhabdocoelous turbellarian, soon assumes a dendritic form. the young animal after these changes resembles its parent, except in the possession of only two pairs of eyes and in the absence of generative organs. of the types with a complete metamorphosis the free larvæ of various species of thysanozoon have been observed by joh. müller ( ) and moseley ( ), and the complete development of eurylepta auriculata has been studied by hallez. [fig. . larva of eurylepta auriculata immediately after hatching. viewed from the side. (after hallez.) _m_. mouth.] the stages within the egg of this latter type agree precisely with those already described in leptoplana. after the formation of the mouth the body elongates, remaining however cylindrical. a fold forms on the anterior side of the mouth, giving rise to a large upper lip. two posterior processes are next formed, and other processes soon arise, constituting the whole of those found in the free larva. the embryo next shakes off its egg membranes by a series of vigorous contractions. when free it has the form represented in the annexed figure (fig. ). it is so similar to müller's (fig. ) and moseley's larvæ that all three may be dealt with together. the body is somewhat oval, and slightly pointed behind. at the anterior end are placed the eyes, two in the youngest larva of müller, and twelve in the older larva (fig. ), and in the middle of the ventral surface is the mouth. it is surrounded by a strong fold, and leads into an alimentary canal, which is at first simple, but in the older larvæ is much branched. a bilobed ganglion connected with two nerve cords is placed anteriorly. the superficial epithelium is ciliated, and below it is a layer of cells (cutis) derived from the primitive epiblast, in which are formed the usual rods (hallez). the chief peculiarity of the larva consists in the presence of elongated processes covered with long cilia, and so connected together by a ciliated band that the whole together forms, in müller's larva at any rate, _a_ _lobed præoral ciliated band_ (fig. ). this band is not quite so clear in hallez' figures. müller's youngest larva was provided with eight very long lobes; three were dorsal, viz. a median anterior, and two lateral placed far back; three ventral, viz. a median in the front of the mouth forming a large upper lip, and two processes at the sides of the mouth. the number was completed by two lateral processes of the body. all the processes except the dorsal median one are shewn in fig. . in hallez' larva, fig. , the six posterior processes form a rather definite ring, while one flagellum projects from the front end of the body immediately below the eyes, and a second flagellum behind. in moseley's youngest larva six processes only were present, though subsequently eight became formed as in müller's larvæ. [fig. . mÜller's turbellarian larva (probably thysanozoon). viewed from the ventral surface. (after müller.) the ciliated band is represented by the black line. _m_. mouth; _u.l._ upper lip.] the metamorphosis consists in the whole animal growing longer and flatter, and in the arms becoming gradually shorter and shorter till they finally disappear altogether, and the larva acquires the ordinary adult form. the lobed larval form of the turbellaria has some points of resemblance to the pilidium form of nemertine larva described below, yet its resemblance to this interesting larva is less close than would appear to be the case with certain turbellarian larval forms recently described by götte and metschnikoff, which are in some respects intermediate in character between the larva of leptoplana and those just described. the observations of götte (no. ) were made on planaria neapolitana and thysanozoon diesingi, and those of metschnikoff (no. ) on stylochopsis ponticus. the larvæ of all these forms undergo more or less of a metamorphosis, but the accounts of their development are not easily reconciled.[ ] the early stages of planaria are like those of leptoplana, as described by keferstein. four large hypoblast cells become surrounded by small epiblast cells, which commence to be formed on the dorsal side. the hypoblast cells divide and arrange themselves in two bilaterally symmetrical rows. a small blastopore is left by the small cells on the _ventral surface_, which communicates with an otherwise closed and ciliated cavity which is formed between the two rows of hypoblast cells. the blastopore would seem to remain permanently open, and to be placed at the base of a deep pit, lined by epiblast cells, which constitutes the stomodæum. [ ] the account of metschnikoff's observations on stylochopsis ponticus given in the german abstract is too obscure to be placed in the text, but the following are the more important points which can be gleaned from it. the ovum becomes first divided into eight segments. by further division along the equatorial zone, a ring of small cells is formed which becomes the epiblast. the two poles are at this time formed of large cells. at one pole four small cells appear, which are compared by metschnikoff to the pole cells of the diptera (vide chapter on the development of the insecta). at the opposite pole a blastopore is formed leading into a small segmentation cavity. the epiblast also now gradually grows over the large cells. at the blastopore pole the large cells give rise to the hypoblast and the small cells at the opposite pole assist in forming the epiblast. the blastopore disappears, and with it the segmentation cavity, while the hypoblast, forming a solid mass, becomes divided into two halves (cf. planaria neapolitana). the embryo becomes ciliated and begins to rotate; and the eyes, and somewhat later (?) the nervous ganglion make their appearance. in the interior a wide cavity develops between the hypoblast cells, which becomes ciliated and is placed in communication with the exterior by an invaginated stomadæum which forms the pharynx. the larva now, as in planaria neapolitana, takes on a pilidium-like form. lateral lobes and an anterior lip grow out from the under surface, and become covered with long cilia, while at the upper pole a long flagellum makes its appearance. the embryo now becomes dorsally convex, while the ventral surface becomes marked with a median furrow and grows out laterally into two lobes, and anteriorly into a ventrally-directed upper lip. the whole surface becomes ciliated, and the cilia are especially prominent on the ventral processes and the summit of the dorsal dome. a bunch of strong cilia becomes formed in front of the dome, and a less marked bunch behind. the larva is now stated by götte closely to resemble a pilidium. it soon, however, extends itself, and the two bunches of cilia become situated at the anterior and posterior extremities of the body. the ventral processes become inconspicuous prominences of the side of the body. götte believes that the larva undergoes no further metamorphosis. [fig. . planarian larva (probably planaria angulata). (from agassiz.)] [fig. . planarian larva (probably plamaria angulata). (from agassiz.)] a type of planarian larva (figs. and )--possibly plan. angulata, observed by alex. agassiz (no. ),--is very different from any other so far described, and is remarkable for being divided into a series of segments corresponding in number with the diverticula of the digestive cavity. in the youngest specimen (fig. ) the body was nearly cylindrical, and divided into eleven rings, corresponding with as many digestive diverticula. two eye-spots were present. in a later stage (fig. ) the body was considerably flattened and had approached more to the planarian form. if agassiz' interesting observations can be trusted we have in this larva indications of a distinct segmentation, which are of some morphological importance, especially when taken in connection with the traces of segmentation found amongst the nemertines. a further type, with an incomplete metamorphosis, has been observed by girard ( ). it is remarkable for having an uniform segmentation, and for presenting a quiescent stage after passing through a free larval condition with a large upper lip. fresh-water dendrocoela. the development of the fresh-water dendrocoela has been especially investigated by knappert (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. ). the ova are very delicate minute naked cells, which to the number of - or more become enveloped in a capsule or cocoon together with a large mass of yolk cells derived from the vitellarium. the yolk cells exhibit peristaltic movements and send out amoeboid processes. each ovum when laid becomes surrounded by an extremely delicate membrane, which disappears during the course of development. the capsules consist of a spherical case and a stalk. the latter is first emitted from the female opening as a thread-like body. its free end becomes attached, and then the remainder of the capsule is ejected. impregnation takes place before the formation of the capsule. the segmentation is complete. the ovum first divides into two segments. one of these next divides, forming three segments. there are subsequently stages with four, eight, sixteen, and thirty-two segments. metschnikoff's results on the stages subsequent to the segmentation are not in complete harmony with those of knappert; but no doubt represent an advance in our knowledge, and i shall follow them here. his observations were made on planaria polychroa. in the earliest stage observed by him the segmentation was already far advanced, but no membrane was present round the ovum. at a later stage the ovum becomes more or less bell-shaped or hemispherical, and encloses within its concavity a mass of yolk elements. it is now formed of three concentric layers. an outer layer of flattened cells--the epiblast, a middle layer of fused cells--the mesoblast, and an inner solid mass of yolk cells--the hypoblast. at the upper pole is formed the protrusible pharynx (cf. knappert), which is provided with a provisional musculature and a lumen. by its contractions it takes up the yolk elements which surround the embryo, and the rapid growth of the embryo no doubt takes place at their expense. the embryo gradually loses its hemispherical form, and assumes an elongated and flattened shape. it acquires a coating of cilia by means of which it rotates. on the fifth day it is hatched. the alimentary tract long remains solid, even after it has acquired its branched form. the pharynx becomes withdrawn as soon as the larva is hatched. it loses its provisional muscles, and subsequently acquires a permanent musculature. the young after hatching attach themselves to the body of their parent, on which they feed (?). rhabdocoela. the development of some of the rhabdocoela has recently been studied by hallez. the ova are mostly laid in capsules, one in each capsule. sometimes the development commences before the capsules are laid, at other times not till afterwards. in certain forms (mesostomum) there are summer eggs with thin capsules which develop within the parent, while hard capsules, forming what are known as winter eggs, are laid in the autumn, and the embryo hatched in the spring. the ova of the rhabdocoela like those of the fresh-water dendrocoela are enveloped in yolk elements derived from the vitellarium. the segmentation probably takes place in the same way as in leptoplana. a stage with four equal cells has been observed by hallez, and there is subsequently an epibolic gastrula. the embryo becomes ciliated while still within the capsule and, according to hallez, the pharynx arises as a bud of the hypoblast. the proboscis in prostomum originates as an epiblastic invagination. nemertea. some nemertea develop without and some with a metamorphosis. the most remarkable type of nemertine development with a metamorphosis is that in which the ovum develops into a peculiar larval form known as pilidium, within which the perfect worm is subsequently evolved. closely allied to this type is one in which the sexual worm is developed within a larval form as in pilidium, but in which the larva has no free-swimming stage, and is therefore without the characteristic appendages of the pilidium. this is known as the type of desor and is confined (?) to the genus lineus. the pilidium and the desor type may be first considered (vide barrois, no. ). the type of desor. the segmentation is regular and leads to the formation of a blastosphere with a large segmentation cavity. the blastosphere is converted by invagination into a gastrula (fig. a). the blastopore is soon carried relatively forwards by the elongation backwards of the archenteron, and, according to barrois, actually forms the mouth. owing to the elongation of the archenteric cavity the embryo assumes a bilateral form (fig. a) in which the dorsal and ventral surfaces can be distinguished, the mouth (_m._) being situated on the ventral surface. [fig. . three stages in the development of lineus. (after barrois.) a is a side view in optical section. b and c are two later stages from the ventral (oral) surface. _ae._ archenteron; _sc._ segmentation cavity; _hy._ hypoblast; _me._ mesoblast; _ep._ epiblast; _m._ mouth; _st._ stomach; _pr.d._ prostomial disc; _po.d._ metastomial disc; _pr._ proboscis.] [fig. . three stages in the development of lineus.] (after barrois.) a. side view of an embryo at a very early stage as an opaque object. b and c. two late stages, seen as transparent objects from the ventral surface. _ae._ archenteron; _m._ mouth; _pr. d._ prostomial disc; _po.d._ metastomial disc; _cs._ lateral pit developing in b as a diverticulum from the oesophagus; _pr_. proboscis; _ms._ muscular layer (?); _ls._ larval skin about to be thrown off; _me._ mesoblast; _st._ stomach.] immediately after the completion of the gastrula a remarkable series of phenomena takes place. the embryo when viewed from the ventral surface assumes a pentagonal form (fig. b), and four invaginations of the epiblast make their appearance on the ventral surface (fig. a), _two in front of (pr.d.) and two behind (po.d.) the mouth_; they result in the formation of four thickened discs. these discs soon become separated from the external skin, which closes in forming an unbroken layer over them (fig. c). the discs grow rapidly, and first the prostomial pair and subsequently the metastomial fuse together, and finally the whole four unite into a continuous ventral plate; analogous it would seem to the ventral plate of chætopodan and arthropodan embryos. the plate so formed gradually extends itself so as to close over the dorsal surface, and to form a complete skin within the primitive larval skin, which at this period is richly ciliated, though the embryo is not yet hatched (fig. c). while these changes are taking place, there are budded off from the invaginated discs a number of fatty cells, which fill up the space between the discs and the archenteron, and eventually form the mesoblastic reticulum. during this stage the rudiment of the proboscis also makes its appearance as a solid process of epiblast, which grows backwards from the point of fusion of the two prostomial discs at the front end of the embryo (fig. c, _pr._). a lumen is excavated in it at a later period. the lateral organs or cephalic pits arise in a somewhat unexpected fashion as a pair of diverticula from the oesophagus (fig. b, _cs._)[ ], which soon fuse with the walls of the body at the junction of the prostomial and metastomial plates (fig. c, _cs._), although they remain for some time attached to the oesophagus by a solid cord. [ ] bütschli for pilidium regards these pits as formed by invaginations of the epiblast, but metschnikoff's statements are in accordance with those in the text. during these changes the original larval skin separates itself from the subjacent layer formed by the discs (fig. , b and c), and is soon thrown off completely, leaving the already ciliated (fig. c) external layer of the invaginated discs as the external skin of the young nemertine. during, and subsequently to, the casting off of the embryonic skin, important changes take place in the constitution of the various layers of the body, resulting in the formation of the vascular system and other mesoblastic organs, the nervous system, and the permanent alimentary tract. these changes appear to me to stand in need of further elucidation; and the account below must be received with a certain amount of caution. it has been already stated that the two discs give rise to fatty cells, which occupy the space between the walls of the body and the archenteron. at the period of the casting off of the embryonic skin fresh changes take place. the discs become very much thickened, and then divide into two layers, which become the epidermis and subjacent muscular layers. the muscular layers arise in two masses, separated by the two cephalic sacks. the anterior mass is formed as an unpaired anterior thickening, followed by two lateral thickenings. the posterior mass is much thinner, in correspondence with the rapid elongation of the metastomial portion of the embryo. the cells originally split off from the discs undergo considerable changes, some of them arrange themselves around the proboscis as a definite membrane, which becomes _the proboscidean sheath_, some also form a true splanchnic layer of mesoblast, and the remainder, which are especially concentrated during early embryonic life in the anterior parts of the body, form the general interstitial connective tissue. the cephalic ganglia are stated to become gradually differentiated in the prostomial mesoblast, and the two cords connected with them in the metastomial mesoblast. at the time when the larval skin is cast off the original mouth becomes closed, and it is not till some time afterwards that a permanent mouth is formed in the same situation. during the early part of embryonic life the intestine is lined with columnar cells, but, before the loss of the larval skin, the walls of the intestine undergo a peculiar metamorphosis. their cells either fuse or become indistinguishable, and their protoplasm appears to become converted into yolk-spherules, which fill up the whole space within the walls of the body, and are only prevented from extending forwards by a membrane of connective tissue. this mass gradually forms itself into a distinct canal, lined by columnar cells. pilidium. in the case of the true pilidium type, the larva is hatched very early and leads the usual existence of surface larvæ. a regular segmentation is followed by an invagination which does not however cause the complete obliteration of the segmentation cavity (fig. a, _a.e._). [fig. . two stages in the development of pilidium. (after metschnikoff.) _ae._ archenteron; _oe._ oesophagus; _st._ stomach; _am._ amnion; _pr.d._ prostomial disc; _po.d._ metastomial disc; _c.s._ cephalic sack.] the primitive alimentary tract so formed becomes divided into oesophageal and gastric regions (fig. b, _oe._ and _st._). even while the invagination of the archenteron is proceeding, the larva becomes ciliated throughout, and assumes a somewhat conical form, the apex of the cone being opposite the flat ventral surface on which the mouth is situated (fig. , a and b). from the apex a flagellum projects in many forms, giving the larva a helmet-like appearance. in other forms a bunch of long cilia takes the place of the flagellum (fig. ), and in others again the flagellum is not represented. after the completion of the invagination a lobe grows out on each side of the mouth, and less well-developed lobes may appear anteriorly and posteriorly. round the edge of the ventral surface a ciliated band makes its appearance. two pairs of invaginations of the skin, just as in the type of desor, now make their appearance, one pair in front of and the other behind the mouth (fig. b, _pr.d._ and _po.d._), and each of them by the closure of the opening of invagination forms a sack, the outer wall of which becomes very thin and the inner wall (corresponding with the whole invagination of the type of desor) very thick. the inner walls of the four thickenings, which i may speak of as discs, now fuse together, each disc first uniting with its fellow, and finally the two pairs uniting. [fig. . a. pilidium with an advanced nemertine worm. b. ripe embryo of the nemertea in the position it occupies in pilidium. (both after bütschli.) _oe._ oesophagus; _st._ stomach; _i._ intestine; _pr._ proboscis; _lp._ lateral pit; _an._ amnion; _n._ nervous system.] a ventral germinal plate is thus established, which gradually grows round the intestine of the pilidium to form the skin of the future nemertine. the outer thin layer of each of the discs grows _pari passu_ with the inner layer, and furnishes an amnion-like covering for the embryo which is forming within the pilidium (fig. , _an_). in connection with the young vermiform nemertine there is formed on each side an outgrowth from the oesophagus (fig. ) which is eventually placed in communication with the exterior by a ciliated canal[ ]. the proboscis arises as an hollow invagination at the point where the two anterior discs fuse in front. [ ] this is the view of both metschnikoff (no. ) and leuckart and pagenstecher (no. ), and is further confirmed by barrois, but bütschli (no. ), though he has not observed the earliest stages of their outgrowth, believes them to be invaginations of the nemertine skin. when the young nemertine has become pretty well formed within the pilidium it becomes ciliated, begins to move, and eventually frees itself and leads an independent existence, leaving its amnion in the pilidium which continues to live for some time. the central nervous system (fig. ) is developed either before or after the detachment of the young nemertine, according to metschnikoff as a thickening of the epiblast. the young nemertine is at first without an anus. the development of the nemertine within the pilidium is clearly identical with that of the lineus embryo within the larval skin; the formation of an amnion in the pilidium constituting the only important difference which can be pointed out between the modes of origin of the young nemertine in the two types. so far as is known the forms which develop in a pilidium, or according to the type of desor, all belong to the division of the nemertines without stylets in the proboscis, known as the anopla. development without metamorphosis. the majority of the nemertea, including the whole (?) of the enopla, develop without a metamorphosis. the observations which have been made on this type are not very satisfactory, but appear to indicate that the formation of the hypoblast may take place either by invagination or by delamination. invaginate types have been observed by barrois (no. ), dieck (no. ) and hubrecht. barrois' fullest observations were made on _amphiporus lactifloreus_ (one of the enopla), and those of dieck on _cephalothrix galatheæ_ (one of the anopla). a regular segmentation is followed by a blastosphere stage with a small segmentation cavity. in barrois' type the inner ends of the cells of the blastosphere are stated to fuse into a kind of syncytium. a small invagination takes place, and the cells which take part in it separate from the epiblast, and then fuse with the syncytium within the blastosphere. dieck finds that in cephalothrix the invaginated mass simply vanishes. barrois' statements about the fusion of the syncytium derived from the epiblast cells with the invaginated cells must be regarded as very doubtful. the formation of the germinal layers takes place, according to barrois, by the separation of the internal mass of cells into mesoblast and hypoblast. the proboscis is formed, according to this author, from the mesoblastic tissues. dieck, on the other hand, with greater probability, states that the proboscis is formed by an invagination. in cephalothrix a further point deserves notice, in that the whole of the primitive epiblast becomes shed. in this fact there may perhaps be recognised the last trace of a metamorphosis like that in the type of desor. delaminate types have been studied by barrois (no. ) and hoffman (no. ), both of whom give circumstantial accounts of their development. hoffman's account is especially deserving of attention, since his observations were, to a great extent, made by means of artificial sections. the following account is taken from him. his observations were made on _tetrastemma varicolor_, and tetrastemma appears to be the genus in which this type of development has been most completely made out. after a regular segmentation the embryo forms a solid mass of cells, the outermost of which soon become distinguished as a separate epiblastic layer. at the same time the larva leaves the egg, and the epiblast cells become coated by an uniform covering of cilia. at the anterior extremity of the body is a bunch of long cilia; and at the hinder end two stiff bristles are formed, but soon disappear. the internal mass of cells is still quite uniform, but as the larva grows in length the outermost of them arrange themselves as a columnar layer, constituting the mesoblast. of the cells internal to the mesoblast the outer become columnar, and are converted into the walls of the alimentary tract, while the inner ones undergo fatty degeneration, and form a kind of food-yolk. in the later development the characters of the adult are gradually acquired without metamorphosis, and the larval skin passes directly into that of the adult. both mouth and anus are formed nearly simultaneously by a rupture of the enteric wall from within. the nervous system arises as a thickening of the epiblast, which hoffman states he has been able to see in sections. hoffman also states that the epithelium of the proboscis is formed as a diverticulum of the alimentary tract, and that its sheath is formed by a special mesoblastic growth. barrois is less precise than hoffman, from whom he differs in certain particulars. hoffman's statements about the proboscis are important if accurate, but require further confirmation. malacobdella. the early stages in development of the peculiar ectoparasitic nemertine _malacobdella_ have been worked by hoffman (no. ) by means of sections, and there appears to be a close agreement between the development of malacobdella and that of tetrastemma. the segmentation is uniform, and there is no trace of a segmentation cavity. on the third day after impregnation the outermost cells of the embryo become flattened and ciliated, and distinguished from the remaining spherical cells of the embryo as the epiblast. with the appearance of cilia a rotation of the embryo commences. on the fourth day the embryo becomes oval, and at one of the poles--the future anal pole--a separation takes place between the epiblast and the inner cells, giving rise to the body cavity. in it are a number of loose oval cells, which soon become stellate, and form a mesoblastic reticulum connecting the body wall and central cells of the embryo, which may now be spoken of as hypoblast. the body cavity increases in size, leaving at last the hypoblast and epiblast united only at one point--the oral pole--at which, on the fifth day, a crown of long cilia appears. the solid mass of hypoblast in the interior becomes differentiated into an outer layer of cells--the true glandular epithelium of the alimentary tract--and an inner core, the cells of which soon undergo fatty degeneration, and serve as food-yolk. the later stages of development, and the formation of the proboscis, etc., have not been worked out. general considerations. of the types of larvæ hitherto found amongst the nemertea, those with a metamorphosis, viz. the pilidium type and that of desor, are to be regarded as the primitive. but even in pilidium there are evidences of a great abbreviation in development. pilidium itself is probably a more or less modified ancestral form, while the peculiar development of the nemertine within it is to be explained as a very much shortened record of a long series of changes by which the pilidium became gradually converted into a nemertine. the formation of the body wall of the nemertine by four epiblastic invaginations is a remarkable embryological phenomenon, for which it is not easy to assign a satisfactory meaning; and it is probable that it is merely a secondary process of growth similar to the formation of imaginal discs in the larvæ of diptera (vide chapter on tracheata), which has had its origin in the abbreviation of the development just alluded to. the development of the type of desor is clearly a simplification of the pilidium type, and its peculiarities are to be explained by the fact that the first larval form has no free existence. the types without metamorphosis have no doubt a development of a still more simplified character; they are remarkable however in presenting us, if the existing descriptions are to be trusted, with examples of delamination and invagination coexisting in closely allied forms. trematoda. the eggs of the trematoda consist of a germ or true ovum enclosed in a mass of yolk cells, which undergo disintegration and subsequent absorption at varying periods of the development. from the observations of e. van beneden (no. ), zeller (no. ), etc. it is known that the segmentation is usually complete, but generally somewhat irregular. unfortunately we are still completely in the dark as to the mode of formation of the germinal layers. the embryos of the entoparasitic forms or distomeæ become free in a very imperfect condition, and the ova are small while in the polystomeæ the development is as a rule nearly completed before hatching, and the ova are large. it will be convenient to treat separately the development of the two groups. distomeæ. the embryos of the distomeæ are hatched either in some moist place or more usually in water. in the majority of genera the larvæ pass through a complicated metamorphosis, accompanied by alternations of generations. but for some genera, _e.g._ holostomum, etc., the life history has not yet been made out. the whole life history of comparatively few forms has been followed, but sufficient fragments are known to justify us in making certain general statements, which no doubt hold true for a large proportion of the distomeæ. the larvæ are usually ciliated (fig. a), but sometimes naked. the ciliated forms are generally completely covered with cilia, but in _distomum lanceolatum_ the cilia are confined to an area at the front end of the body, in the centre of which a median spine is placed. an x shaped pigment spot, sometimes provided with a rudimentary lens (_monostomum mutabile_), is also generally situated on the dorsal surface. in some instances a more or less completely developed alimentary tract is present (_monostomum capitellum_, _amphistomum subclavatum_), but usually there can only be distinguished in the interior of the larva a transparent mass of cells bounded by a more or less distinctly marked body wall with ciliated excretory channels. ed. van beneden has shewn that the ciliated covering is developed while the embryo is still in the egg, and long before the yolk cells are completely absorbed. it would seem that even before hatching this ciliated covering is to a great extent independent of the mass within. in the larva of monostomum mutabile (fig. a), which offers an example of an extreme case of the kind, there is present within the ciliated epidermis a fully developed independent worm. the non-ciliated larvæ are less highly organized than the ciliated forms, and are covered by a cuticle: their anterior extremity is sometimes provided with a circular plate armed with radiate ridges and spines. the free-swimming or creeping embryos make their way into or on to the body of some invertebrate (occasionally vertebrate) form, usually a mollusc, to undergo the first stage in their metamorphosis. they may either do this on the gills of their host, or very frequently they bore their way into the interior of the body. soon after the larvæ have reached a satisfactory position the epidermis becomes stripped off, and there emerges a second larval form developed in the interior of the first larva, much as a nemertine is developed within the larva of desor. in the case of monostomum mutabile the new worm is, as stated above, fully formed within the ciliated larva at the time of hatching. the worm which proceeds from the above metamorphosis has different characters corresponding with those of the larva from which it proceeded. if the original larva had an alimentary canal it has one also, and then grows into the form known as a redia (fig. , b and c). the redia has anteriorly a mouth leading into a muscular pharynx and thence into a cæcal stomach. posteriorly the body is prolonged into a kind of blunt caudal process, at the commencement of which are a pair of lateral papillæ. there is a perivisceral cavity, and the body walls are traversed by excretory tubes. if the original larva is without an alimentary tract, the second form becomes what is known as a sporocyst. the sporocyst is a simple elongated sack with a central body cavity; when derived from the metamorphosis of a ciliated embryo its walls are provided with excretory tubes, but such tubes are absent in sporocysts developed from non-ciliated larvæ. some sporocysts send out numerous branches amongst the viscera of their hosts. [fig. . various stages in the metamorphosis of the distomeÆ (from huxley.) _a._ ciliated larva of monostomum mutabile. _a._ larval skin. _b._ redia developed within it. _b._ redia of monostomum mutabile. _c._ redia of distomum pacificum, with germs of a second brood of rediæ. _d._ redia containing cercariæ. _e._ cercaria. _f._ full-grown distomum.] the rediæ and sporocysts rapidly grow in size and sometimes increase by transverse division. in the course of their further development one of two things may happen. they may either ( ) develop fresh rediæ or sporocysts by a process of internal budding (fig. c); or else ( ) there may be formed in them, by an analogous process, larvæ with long tails known as cercariæ (fig. d.) the direct development of cercariæ is the usual course, though in _distomum globiparum_ the reverse is true; but where this does not take place the rediæ or sporocysts of the second generation give rise to cercariæ. the cercariæ are developed from spherical masses of cells found in the body cavity of the sporocyst or redia. the exact origin of these masses is still somewhat obscure, but they are stated by wagener (no. ) to be derived from the body wall. they are probably to be regarded as internal buds. the spherical bodies grow rapidly in size, their posterior extremity is prolonged into a process which forms the tail, while the anterior part forms the trunk. when fully formed (fig. e), the trunk has very much the organization of an adult distomum. there is an anterior and a ventral sucker, the former of which contains the opening of the mouth, and is often provided with a special chitinous armature. the mouth leads into a muscular pharynx, and this into a bilobed cæcal alimentary tract. an excretory system of the ordinary type is present, consisting of longitudinal contractile trunks continuous anteriorly with branched ciliated canals, which, as has recently been shewn by bütschli, may be provided with funnel-shaped ciliated internal openings[ ]. the contractile trunks unite posteriorly, but instead of opening directly to the exterior are prolonged into a vessel which traverses the substance of the tail, and after a longer or shorter course bifurcates into two branches which open laterally. [ ] o. bütschli, "bemerkungen üb. d. excretorischen gefässapparat d. trematoden." _zoologischer anzeiger_, , no. . the tail is provided with an axial rod of hyaline connective tissue, like the notochord of the tail of a larval ascidian, and is frequently provided with membranous expansions. it is used as a swimming organ. beneath the epidermis are layers of circular and longitudinal muscular fibres, the latter arranged in the tail as two bands. the cercariæ when fully developed leave the sporocyst or redia, and then their host, and become free. in most rediæ there is a special opening, not far from the mouth, by which they pass out. there is no such opening in sporocysts, but the cercariæ bore their way through the walls. after leaving their parent the cercariæ pass into the external medium, and for a short period have a free existence. they soon however enter a new host, making their way into its body by a process of boring, which is effected by the head (especially when armed with chitinous processes) assisted by movements of the tail. the second host is usually some invertebrate (mollusc, worm, crustacean, insect larva, &c.), but occasionally a fish or amphibian or even a vegetable. the tail is very often lost as the cercaria bores its way into its host, but whether it is so or not, the cercaria, after it has once reached a suitable post in its new host, assumes a quiescent condition, and surrounds itself with a many-layered capsule. the cephalic armature and tail (if still present) are then exuviated, and the generative organs gradually become apparent though very small. in other respects the organization is not much altered. though an encysted cercaria may remain some months without further change, it eventually dies unless it be introduced into its permanent vertebrate host, an act which is usually effected by the host in which it is encysted being devoured. it then becomes freed from its capsule as a fully formed trematode, in which the generative organs rapidly complete their development. in some cases the rediæ or sporocysts do not give rise to tailed cercariæ, but to tailless forms. in such cases, as a rule, the encystment takes place in the host of the redia or sporocyst, but the tailless larvæ sometimes pass through a free stage like the cercariæ. in the case of _distomum cygnoides_, parasitic in the bladder of the frog, the cercaria passes directly into the adult host without the intervention of an intermediate host. the life history of a typical entoparasitic trematode is shortly as follows: ( ) it leaves the egg as a ciliated or non-ciliated free larva. ( ) this larva makes its way on to the gills or into the body of some mollusc or other host, throws off its epidermis and becomes a redia or sporocyst. ( ) in the body cavity of the redia or sporocyst numerous tailed larvæ, known as cercariæ, are developed by a process of internal gemmation. ( ) the cercariæ pass out of the body of their parent, and out of their host, and become for a short time free. they then pass into a second, usually invertebrate host, and encyst. ( ) if their second host is swallowed by the vertebrate host of the adult of the species, the encysted forms become free, and attain to sexual maturity. the majority of these stages are simply parts of a complicated metamorphosis, but in the coexistence of larval budding (giving rise to cercariæ or fresh rediæ) with true sexual reproduction there is in addition a true alternation of generations. polystomeæ. the ova of the polystomeæ are usually large and not very numerous, and they are in most cases provided with some process for attachment. some species of polystomeæ, _e.g._ gyrodactylus, are however viviparous. the young leave the egg in a nearly perfect state, and at the utmost undergo a slight metamorphosis and no alternations of generations. some however (polystomum, diplozoon) are provided with temporary cilia, but the number investigated is too small to determine whether ciliation is the rule or the exception. the ciliated larvæ have a short free existence. the cilia are developed on special cells which may be arranged in transverse bands in the same way as in the larvæ of many chætopods, but are not, in the larvæ at present known, distributed uniformly. when the free larvæ become parasitic the cells with cilia shrink up. in _polystomum integerrimum_, which lives in the urinary bladder of _rana temporaria_, the eggs when laid in the spring pass out into the water. the segmentation is complete, and the embryo when hatched is provided with most of the adult organs, but presents certain striking larval characters. it has five rings of ciliated cells. three of these are placed anteriorly, and are especially developed on the ventral surface, the posterior one being incomplete dorsally; two are placed posteriorly, and are especially developed on the dorsal surface. anteriorly there is a tuft of cilia. the larva itself resembles somewhat an adult gyrodactylus, and is provided ( ) with a large posterior disc armed with hooks, and ( ) with two pairs of eyes which persist in the adult state. after a certain period of free existence the larva attaches itself to the gills of a tadpole. the rings of ciliated cells shrink up, and some of the six pairs of suckers found in the adult commence to be formed on the posterior disc. when the bladder of the tadpole is developed, the young polystomum passes down the alimentary tract to the cloaca, and thence to the urinary bladder, where it slowly attains to sexual maturity. when the larva becomes attached to the gills of a very young tadpole, its development is somewhat more rapid in consequence of better nutrition from the more delicate gills. it then reaches its full development in the gill cavity, and, though smaller and provided with differently organised generative organs to the normal form, produces generative products and dies without being transported to the bladder (vide zeller, nos. and ). the ova of diplozoon, a form parasitic on the gills of freshwater fish (phoxinus, etc.), are provided with a long spiral filament (zeller, no. ). the embryo has five ciliated areas, four lateral and one posterior. the young form is known as diporpa. sexual maturity is not attained till two individuals unite permanently together. they unite by the ventral sucker of each of them becoming attached to the dorsal papilla of the other. subsequently these parts coalesce, and the ventral suckers disappear in the process. gyrodactylus, parasitic, like diplozoon, on the gills of freshwater fishes (gasterosteus, etc.), is remarkable for its mode of reproduction. it is viviparous, producing a single young one at a time, and, what is still more remarkable, the young while still within its parent produces a young one, and this again a young one, so that three generations may be present within the parent. it seems probable that the second and third generations are produced asexually, the generative organs not being developed; while the young gyrodactylus of the first generation springs from a fertilized ovum (wagener, no. ). cestoda. on anatomical grounds the affinity of the cestoda to the trematoda has been insisted on by the majority of anatomists. the existence of such intermediate forms as amphilina tends to strengthen this view; and the striking resemblances between the two groups in the structure of the egg and characters of the metamorphosis appear to me to remove all doubt about the matter. the ripe egg is formed of a minute germ enveloped in yolk cells, the whole being surrounded by a membrane, which is very delicate in most forms, but in certain types has a firmer consistency, and is provided with an aperture, covered by an operculum, by which the larva escapes. the early development, up to the formation of a six-hooked larva, generally takes place in the uterus, but in the types with a firmer egg-shell it takes place after the egg has been deposited in water. the segmentation (e. van beneden, no. , metschnikoff, no. ) is complete, and during its occurrence the yolk cells surrounding the germ are gradually absorbed, so that the mass of segmentation spheres grows in size, till at the close of segmentation it fills up nearly the whole egg-shell. as was first shewn by kölliker for bothriocephalus salmonis, the embryonic cells separate themselves at the close of segmentation into a superficial layer and a central mass. the further development takes place on two types. in the cases where the egg-shell is strong, and the egg is laid prior to the formation of the embryo, a ciliated larva is developed (bothriocephalus latus, ditremus, schistocephalus dimorphus, ligula simplicissima, etc.[ ]). [ ] vide for list of such forms at present known willemoes suhm, no. . of these forms bothriocephalus latus may be taken as type. the development of the embryo requires many months for its completion. the outer layer becomes ciliated while the central mass has already become developed into a six-hooked embryo. the embryo leaves its shell by the opercular aperture, and for some time swims rapidly about by means of its long cilia. the ciliated coating is eventually stripped off, and the six-hooked larva emerges. in the second type of embryo the external cellular layer does not become ciliated. this is the most usual arrangement, and is even found in many species of bothriocephalus. the central mass of cells becomes developed, as in the other type, into a six-hooked (rarely four-hooked) embryo (fig. g), but the superficial layer separates from the central, and either disappears or becomes (_bothriocephalus proboscideus_) a cuticular layer. between the six-hooked embryo and the outer layer of cells one or more thick membranes become deposited (e. van beneden). the eggs are carried out of the alimentary canal in the proglottis and transported to various situations on land or in water. they usually remain within the proglottis, invested by their thick shell, till taken up into the alimentary canal of a suitable host, or they may be swallowed after the death and decay of the proglottis. they are subsequently hatched after their shell has become softened by the action of the digestive fluids. [fig. . diagrams of various stages in the development of the cestoda. (from huxley.) a. cysticercus. b. and c. cysticerci in the everted (b) and inverted (c) condition. d. coenurus. e. and f. diagrams of echinococcus. it is most probable that tænia heads are not developed directly from the wall of the cyst as represented in the diagram. g. six-hooked embryo.] before proceeding to describe their further history, the close resemblance between the first developmental stages of cestoda, especially in the case of the ciliated larvæ, and those of trematoda, may be pointed out. in both there is a ciliated larva, and in both there is developed within the ciliated skin a second larva, which becomes freed by the stripping off of the ciliated skin. the type of development has moreover many analogies with that of the nemertine larva of desor, p. (cf. metschnikoff), and is probably like that an abbreviated record of a long history. the suitable host for the six-hooked embryo to enter is rarely the same as the host for the sexual form. the embryos having become transported into the alimentary canal of such a host, and become free, if previously invested by the egg-shell, soon make their way, apparently by the help of their hooks, through the wall of the alimentary tract, and are transported in the blood or otherwise into some suitable place for them to undergo their next transformation. this place may be the liver, lungs, muscles, connective tissue, or even the brain (_e.g._ _coenurus cerebralis_ in the brain of sheep). here they become enclosed in a granular deposit from the surrounding tissues, which becomes in its turn enclosed in a connective-tissue coat. within lies the solid embryo, the hooks of which in many cases disappear or become impossible to make out. in other forms, _e.g._ _cysticercus limacis_, they remain visible, and then mark the anterior pole of the worm (fig. , _c._). the central part of the body next becomes transformed into a material composed of clear non-nucleated vesicles. accompanying these changes the embryo grows rapidly in size; a cuticle is deposited by its outer layer, in which also an external layer of circular muscular fibres and an internal layer of longitudinal fibres become differentiated, and internal to both there is formed a layer of granular cells. with the rapid growth of the body a central cavity is formed, which becomes filled with fluid, and the embryo assumes the form of a vesicle. at the same time a system of excretory vessels, sometimes opening by a posterior pore, becomes visible in the wall of the vesicle. the embryo has now reached a condition in which it is known as a cystic- or bladder-worm, and may be compared in almost every respect with the sporocyst of a trematode (huxley). [fig. . cysticercus cellulosÆ. (from gegenbaur, after von siebold.) _a._ caudal vesicle. _c._ anterior part of body. _d._ head.] [fig. . cysticercus with small caudal vesicle. a. head involuted. b. head everted. _a._ scolex. _b._ caudal vesicle. _c._ (in a) six embryonic hooks.] the next important change consists in the development of a head, which becomes the head of the adult tænia. this is formed in an involution of the outer wall of the anterior extremity of the cystic worm. this involution forms a papilliform projection on the inner surface of the wall of the cystic worm, with an axial cavity opening by a pore on the outer surface. the layer of cells forming the papilla soon becomes divided into two laminæ, of which the outer forms a kind of investing membrane for the papilla. the papilla itself now becomes moulded into a cestode head, which however is developed in an inverted position. the suckers and hooks (when present) of the head are developed on a surface bounding the axial lumen of the papilla, which is the true morphological outer surface, while the apparent outer surface of the papilla is that which eventually forms the interior of the (at first) hollow head. before the external armature of the head has become established, four longitudinal excretory vessels, continuous with those in the body of the cystic worm, make their appearance. they are united by a circular vessel at the apex of the head. the development is by no means completed with the simple growth of the head, but the whole inverted papilla continues to grow in length, and gives rise to what afterwards becomes part of the trunk. the whole papilla eventually becomes everted, and then the cystic worm takes the form (fig. ) of a head and unsegmented trunk with a vesicle--the body of the cystic worm--attached behind. the whole larva is known as a cysticercus. the term scolex, which is also sometimes employed, may be conveniently retained for the head and trunk only. the head differs mainly from that of the adult in being hollow. there are great variations in the relative size of the head and the vesicle of cysticerci. in some forms the vesicle is very small (fig. ), _e.g._ _cysticercus limacis_; it is medium-sized in _cysticercus cellulosæ_ (fig. ), and in some forms is much larger. the embryonic hooks, when they persist, are found at the junction of the trunk and the vesicle (fig. a, _c_). though the majority of cystic worms only develop one head, this is not invariably the case. there is a cystic worm found in the brain of the sheep known as _coenurus cerebralis_--the larva of _tænia coenurus_, parasitic in the intestine of the dog--which forms an exception to this rule. there appears, to start with, a tuft of three or four heads, and finally many hundred heads are developed (fig. d). they are arranged in groups at one (the anterior?) pole of the cystic worm. a still more complicated form of cystic worm is that known as echinococcus, parasitic in the liver, lungs, etc. of man and various domestic ungulata. in the adult state it is known as _tænia echinococcus_ and infests the intestine of the dog. the cystic worm developed from the six-hooked embryo has usually a spherical form, and is invested in a very thick cuticle (fig. e and f, and fig. ). it does not itself directly give rise to tænia heads, but after it reaches a certain size there are formed on the inner side of its walls small protuberances, which soon grow out into vesicles connected with the walls of the cyst by narrow stalks (figs. f and c). in the interior of these vesicles a cuticle is developed. it is in these secondary vesicles that the heads originate. according to leuckart, they either arise as outgrowths of the wall of the vesicle on the inner face of which the armature is developed, which subsequently become involuted and remain attached to the wall of the vesicle by a narrow stalk, or they arise from the first as papilliform projections into the lumen of the vesicle, on the outer side of which the armature is formed. recent observers only admit the second of these modes of development. the echinococcus larva, in addition to giving rise to the above head-producing vesicles, also gives rise by budding to fresh cysts, which resemble in all respects the parent cyst. these cysts may either be detached in the interior (fig. f) of the parent or externally. they appear to spring in most cases from the walls of the parent cyst, but there are some discrepancies between the various accounts of the process. in the cysts of the second generation vesicles are produced in which new heads are formed. as the primitive cyst grows, it naturally becomes more and more complicated, and the number of heads to which one larva may give rise becomes in this way almost unlimited. cysticerci may remain a long time without further development, and human beings have been known to be infested with an echinococcus cyst for over thirty years. when however the cysticercus with its head is fully developed, it is in a condition to be carried into its final host. this takes place by the part of one animal infested with cysticerci becoming eaten by the host in question. in the alimentary canal of the final host the connective-tissue capsule is digested, and then the vesicular caudal appendage undergoes the same fate, while the head, with its suckers and hooks, attaches itself to the walls of the intestine. the head and rudimentary trunk, which have been up to this time hollow, now become solid by the deposition of an axial tissue; and the trunk very soon becomes divided into segments, known as proglottides (fig. a). these segments are not formed in the same succession as those of chætopods; the youngest of them is that nearest to the head, and the oldest that furthest removed from it. each segment appears in fact to be a sexual individual, and is capable of becoming detached and leading for some time an independent existence. in some cases, _e.g._ _cysticercus fasciolaris_, the segmentation of the trunk may take place while the larva is still in its intermediate host. [fig. . echinococcus veterinorum. (from huxley.) a. tænia head or scolex. _a._ hooks. _b._ suckers. _c._ cilia in water vessel. _d._ refracting particles in body wall. b. single hooks. c. portion of cyst. _a._ cuticle. _b._ membranous wall of primary cyst. _c._ and _e._ scolex heads. _d._ secondary cyst.] the stages in the evolution of the cestoda are shortly as follows: . stage with embryonic epidermis either ciliated (bothriocephalus, etc.) or still enclosed in the egg-shell. this stage corresponds to the ciliated larval stage of the trematoda. . six-hooked embryonic stage after the embryonic epidermis has been thrown off. during this stage the embryo is transported into the alimentary tract of its intermediate host, and boring its way into the tissues, becomes encapsuled. . it develops during the encapsuled state into a cystic worm, equivalent to the sporocyst of trematoda. . the cystic worm while still encapsuled develops a head with suckers and hooks, becoming a cysticercus. in some forms (_coenurus_, _echinococcus_) reproduction by budding takes place at this stage. the head and trunk are known as the scolex. . the cysticercus is transported into the second and permanent host by the infested tissue being eaten. the bladder-like remains of the cystic worm are then digested, and by a process of successive budding a chain of sexual proglottides are formed from the head, which remains asexual. [fig. a. tetrarhyncus. (from gegenbaur; after van beneden.) a. asexual state. b. sexual stage with ripe proglottides.] the above development is to be regarded as a case of complicated metamorphosis secondarily produced by the necessities of a parasitic condition, to which an alternation of sexual and gemmiparous generations has been added. the alternation of generations only occurs at the last stage of the development, when the so-called head, without generative organs, produces by budding a chain of sexual forms, the embryos of which, after passing through a complicated metamorphosis, again become cestode heads. in the case of coenurus and echinococcus two or more asexual generations are interpolated between the sexual ones. it is not quite clear whether the production of the tænia head from the cystic worm may not be regarded as a case of budding. there are some grounds for comparing the scolex to the cercaria of trematodes, cf. archigetes. as might be anticipated from the character of the cestode metamorphosis, the two hosts required for the development are usually forms so related that the final host feeds upon the intermediate host. as familiar examples of this may be cited the pig, the muscles of which may be infested by _cysticercus cellulosæ_, which becomes the _tænia solium_ of man. similarly a cysticercus infesting the muscles of the ox becomes the _tænia mediocanellata_ of man. the _cysticercus pisciformis_ of the rabbit becomes the _tænia serrata_ of the dog. the _coenurus cerebralis_ of the sheep's brain becomes the _tænia coenurus_ of the dog. the echinococcus of man and the domestic herbivores becomes the _tænia echinococcus_ of the dog. cystic worms infest not only mammalian forms, but lower vertebrates, various fishes which form the food of other fishes, and invertebrates liable to be preyed on by vertebrate hosts. so far the cestodes (except archigetes) are only known to attain sexual maturity in the alimentary tracts of vertebrata. the rule that the intermediate host is not the same as the final host does not appear to be without exception. redon[ ] has shewn by experiments on himself that a _cysticercus_ (_cellulosæ_) taken from a human subject develops into _tænia solium_ in the intestines of a man. redon took four cysts of a cysticercus from a human subject, and after three months passed some proglottides, and subsequently the head of _tænia solium_. [ ] _annal. d. scien. nat._, th series, vol. vi. . some important variations of the typical development are known. the so-called head or scolex may be formed without the intervention of a cystic stage. in archigetes (leuckart, no. ), which infests, in the cysticercus condition, the body cavity of various invertebrate forms (tubifex, etc.), the six-hooked embryo becomes elongated and divided into two sections, one forming the head, while the other, with the six embryonic hooks, forms an appendage, homologous with the caudal vesicle of other cysticerci. the embryo of _tænia elliptica_ similarly gives rise to a cysticercus infesting the dog-louse (_trichodectes canis_), without passing through a vesicular condition; but the caudal vesicle disappears, so that it forms simply a scolex. these cases may, it appears to me, be probably regarded as more primitive than the ordinary ones, where the cystic condition has become exaggerated as an effect of a parasitic life. in some cases the larva of a tænia has a free existence in the scolex condition. such a form, the larva of phyllobothrium, has been observed by claparède[ ]. it was not ciliated, and was without a caudal vesicle; and was no doubt actively migrating from an intermediate host to its permanent host. [ ] _beobachtungen üb. anat. u. entwick. wirbell. thiere._ leipzig, . scolex forms, without a caudal vesicle, are found in the mantle cavity of cephalopoda, and appear to be occupying an intermediate host in their passage from the host of the cystic worm to that of the sexual form. archigetes, already mentioned, has been shewn by leuckart (no. ) to become sexually mature in the cysticercus state, and thus affords an interesting example of pædogenesis. it is not known for certain whether under normal circumstances it reaches the mature state in another host. _amphilina._ the early stages of this interesting form have been investigated by salensky (no. ), and exhibit clear affinities to those of the true cestoda. an embryonic provisional skin is formed as in cestodes; and pole cells also appear. within the provisional skin is formed an embryo with ten hooks. after hatching the provisional skin is at once thrown off, and the larva, which is then covered by a layer of very fine cilia, becomes free. the further metamorphosis is not known. bibliography. _turbellaria._ ( ) alex. agassiz. 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"weitere beiträge z. kenntniss d. polystomen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxvii. . _cestoda._ ( ) ed. van beneden. "recherches sur la composition et la signification d. l'oeuf." _mém. cour. acad. roy. belgique._ vol. xxxiv. . ( ) p. j. van beneden. "les vers cestoïdes considérés sous le rapport physiologique embryogénique, etc." _bul. acad. scien. bruxelles._ vol. xvii. . ( ) t. s. cobbold. entozoa. groombridge and son, . ( ) ---- _parasites; a treatise on the entozoa, etc._ churchill, . ( ) th. h. huxley. "on the anatomy and development of echinococcus veterinorum." _proc. zool. soc. vol._ xx. . ( ) j. knoch. "die naturgesch. d. breiten bandwürmer." _mém. acad. imp. pétersbourg_, vol. v. ser. , . ( ) f. küchenmeister. "ueber d. umwandlung d. finnen cysticerci in bandwürmer (tænien)." _prag vierteljahrsschr._ . ( ) ---- "experimente üb. d. entstehung d. cestoden. o stufe zunächst d. coenurus cerebralis." günsburg, _zeitsch. klin. med._ iv. . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten_, vol. i. leipzig, . vide also additions at the end of the st and nd volume. ( ) r. leuckart. "archigetes sieboldii, eine geschlechtsreife cestodenamme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxx. supplement, . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "observations sur le développement de quelques animaux (bothriocephalus proboscideus)." _bull. acad. imp. st pétersbourg_, vol. xiii. . ( ) w. salensky. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklungsgeschichte d. amphilina." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiv. . ( ) von siebold. burdach's _physiologie_. ( ) r. von willemoes-suhm. "helminthologische notizen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xix. xx. xxii. , and . chapter viii. rotifera. for many reasons a complete knowledge of the ontogeny of the rotifera is desirable. they constitute a group which retain in the trochal disc an organ common to the embryos of many other groups, but which in most other instances is lost in the adult state. in the character of the excretory organs they exhibit affinities with the platyelminthes, while in other respects they possibly approach the arthropoda (_e.g._ pedalion ?). the interesting _trochosphæra æquatorialis_ of semper closely resembles a monotrochal polychætous larva. up to the present time our embryological knowledge is mainly confined to a series of observations by salensky on _brachionus urceolaris_, and to scattered statements on other larval forms by huxley, etc. in many cases rotifers lay summer and winter eggs of a different character. the former are always provided with a thin membrane, and frequently undergo development within the oviduct. they are hatched in the autumn. the winter eggs are always provided with a thick shell. the summer eggs are of two kinds, viz. smaller eggs which become males, and larger, females. on the authority of cohn (no. ) they are believed to develop parthenogenetically. males are not found in summer, and only seem to be produced from the summer eggs. cohn's observations, especially on _conochilus volvox_, are however not quite satisfactory. huxley (no. ) came to the conclusion that the winter eggs of lacinularia developed without previous fertilization. the following are the more important results of salensky's observations (no. ) on _brachionus urceolaris_. the ovum is attached by a short stalk to the hind end of the body of the female, in which position it undergoes its development. it will be convenient to treat separately the development of the female and male, and to commence with the former. the female ovum divides into two unequal spheres, of which the smaller in the subsequent stages segments more rapidly than the larger. the segmentation ends with the formation of an epibolic gastrula. the solid inner mass of cells derived from the larger sphere constitutes the hypoblast, and is more granular than the epiblast. the evolution of the embryo commences with the formation of a depression on the ventral surface, at the bottom of which the stomodæum is formed by an invagination. at the hinder part of the depression there rises up a rounded protuberance which eventually becomes the caudal appendage or foot. immediately behind the mouth is formed an underlip. on the sides of the ventral depression are two ridges which form the lateral boundaries of the trochal disc. they appear to unite with the under lip. in a later stage the anterior part of the body becomes marked off from the posterior as a præoral lobe, and the hypoblast is at the same time confined to the posterior part. the supra-oesophageal ganglion is early formed as an epiblastic thickening on the dorsal side of the præoral lobe. the first cilia to appear arise at the apex of the præoral lobe. at a later period the lateral ridges of the trochal disc meet dorsally and so enclose the præoral lobe. they then become coated by a ring of cilia, to which a second ring, completing the double ring of the adult, is added later. [fig. . embryo of brachionus urceolaris shortly before it is hatched. (after salensky.) _m._ mouth; _ms._ masticatory apparatus; _me._ mesenteron; _an._ anus; _ld._ lateral gland; _ov._ ovary; _t._ tail, _i. e._ foot; _tr._ trochal disc; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion.] in the trunk an indication of a division into two segments makes its appearance shortly after the development of the præoral lobe. before this period the proctodæum is established as a shallow pit immediately behind the insertion of the foot. the latter structure soon becomes pointed and forked (fig. , _t_). the complete establishment of the alimentary canal occurs late. the stomodæum (fig. ) gives rise to the mouth (_m_), oesophagus and masticatory apparatus (_ms_). the mesenteron is formed from the median part of the hypoblast; the lateral parts of which appear to give rise to the great lateral glandular structures (_ld_) which open into the stomach, and to the ovaries (?) (_ov_) etc. the proctodæum becomes the cloaca and anus (_an_). the origin of the mesoblast is not certainly known. the shell is formed before the larva is hatched--an occurrence which does not take place till the larva closely resembles the adult. the early developmental stages of the male are closely similar to those of the female; and the chief difference between the two appears to consist in the development of the male being arrested at a certain point. the larvæ of lacinularia (huxley, no. ) are provided with a præoral circlet of cilia containing two eye-spots[ ], and a peri-anal patch of cilia. they closely resemble some telotrochal polychætous larvæ. [ ] in leydig's figure of the larva, _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. iii. , the eye-spots lie just outside the ciliated ring. salensky has compared the larva of brachionus to that of a cephalophorous mollusc, more especially to the larva of calyptræa on which he has made important observations. the præoral lobe, with the ciliated band, no doubt admits of a comparison with the velum of the larva of molluscs; but it does so equally, as was first pointed out by huxley, with the ciliated præoral lobe of the larvæ of many vermes. it further deserves to be noted that the trochal disc of a rotifer differs from the velum of a mollusc in that the eyes and ganglia are placed dorsally to it, and not, as in the velum of a mollusc, within it. the larva of lacinularia appears to be an exception to this, since two eye-spots are stated to lie within the circlet of cilia. more important in the comparison is the so-called foot (tail), which arises in the embryo as a prominence between the mouth and anus, and in this respect exactly corresponds with the molluscan foot. if salensky's comparison is correct, and there is something to be said for it, the foot or tail of rotifers is not a post-anal portion of the trunk, but a ventral appendage, and the segmentation which it frequently exhibits is not to be compared with a true segmentation of the trunk. if the rotifers, as seems not impossible, exhibit crustacean affinities, the 'foot' may perhaps be best compared with the peculiar ventral spine of the nauplius larva of _lepas fascicularis_ (vide chapter on crustacea) which in the arrangement of its spines and other points also exhibits a kind of segmentation. bibliography. ( ) f. cohn. "ueb. d. fortpflanzung von räderthiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. vii. . ( ) f. cohn. "bemerkungen ü. räderthiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. ix. , and vol. xii. . ( ) t. h. huxley. "lacinularia socialis." _trans. of the microscopical society_, . ( ) fr. leydig. "ueb. d. bau u. d. systematische stellung d. räderthiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. vi. . ( ) w. salensky. "beit. z. entwick. von brachionus urceolaris." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxii. . ( ) c. semper. "zoologische aphorismen. trochosphæra æquatorialis." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxii. . chapter ix. mollusca[ ]. [ ] the classification of the mollusca adopted in the present chapter is shewn in the subjoined table: i. odontophora. ii. lamellibranchiata. . gasteropoda. _a._ dimya. _a._ prosobranchiata. _b._ monomya. _b._ opisthobranchiata. _c._ pulmonata. _d._ heteropoda. . pteropoda. _a._ gymnosomata. _b._ thecosomata. . cephalopoda. _a._ tetrabranchiata. _b._ dibranchiata. . polyplacophora. . scaphopoda. although the majority of important developmental features are common to the whole of the mollusca, yet at the same time many of the subdivisions have well-marked larval types of their own. it will for this reason be convenient in considering the larval characters to deal successively with the different subdivisions, but to take the whole group at once in considering the development of the organs. _formation of the layers and larval characters._ odontophora. gasteropoda and pteropoda. there is a very close agreement amongst the gasteropoda and pteropoda in the general characters of the larva; but owing to the fact that the eggs of the various species differ immensely as to the amount of food-yolk, considerable differences obtain in the mode of formation of the layers and of the alimentary tract. the spheres at a very early stage of segmentation[ ] become divided into two categories, one of them destined to give rise mainly to the hypoblast, the other mainly to the epiblast. according as there is much or little food-yolk the hypoblast spheres are either very bulky or the reverse. in all cases the epiblast cells lie at one pole, which may be called the formative pole, and the hypoblast cells at the opposite pole. when the bulk of the food-yolk is very great, the number of hypoblast spheres is small. thus in aplysia there are only two such spheres. in other cases, where there is but little food-yolk, they may be nearly as numerous as the epiblast cells. in all these cases, however, as was first shewn by lankester and selenka, a gastrula becomes formed either by normal invagination as in the case of paludina (fig. ), or by epibole as in _nassa mutabilis_ (fig. ). in both cases the hypoblast becomes completely enclosed by the epiblast. _the blastopore is always situated opposite the original formative pole._ in the large majority of cases (_i.e._ marine gasteropoda, heteropoda, and pteropoda) the blastopore becomes gradually narrowed to a circular opening which eventually occupies the position of the mouth. it either closes or remains permanently open at this point. in some cases the blastopore remains permanently open and becomes the anus. the best authenticated instance of this is _paludina vivipara_, as was first shewn by lankester (no. ). [ ] the reader is referred for the segmentation to pp. - , and to the special description of separate types. in some instances the blastopore assumes before closing a very narrow slit-like form, and would seem to extend along the future ventral region of the body from the mouth to the anus. this appears, according to lankester (no. ), to be the condition in lymnæus, but while lankester believes that the closure proceeds from the oral towards the anal extremity, other investigators hold that it does so in the reverse direction. fol (no. ) has also described a similar type of blastopore. in an undetermined marine gasteropod, with an embolic gastrula, observed by myself at valparaiso, the blastopore had the same elongated form as in lymnæus, but the whole of it soon became closed except the oral extremity; but whether this finally closed could not be determined. it is probable that the typical form of the blastopore is the elongated form observed by lankester and myself, in which an unclosed portion can indifferently remain at either extremity; and that from this primitive condition the various modifications above described have been derived[ ]. [ ] rabl (no. ) describes a blastopore of this form in planorbis which closes at the mouth. before the blastopore closes or becomes converted into the oral or anal aperture, a number of very important embryonic organs make their appearance; but before describing these it will be convenient to state what is known with reference to the third embryonic layer or mesoblast. this layer generally originates in a number of cells at the lips of the blastopore, which then gradually make their way dorsalwards and forwards, and form a complete layer between the epiblast and hypoblast. the above general mode of formation of the mesoblast may be seen in fig. , representing three stages in the development of paludina. in some cases the mesoblast arises from certain of the segmentation spheres intermediate in size between the epiblast and hypoblast spheres. this is the case in _nassa mutabilis_, where the mesoblast appears when the epiblast only forms a very small cap at the formative pole of the ovum; and in this case the mesoblast cells accompany the epiblast cells in their growth over the hypoblast (fig. ). in other cases the exact derivation of the mesoblast cells is quite uncertain. the evidence is perhaps in favour of their originating from the hypoblast. it is also uncertain whether the mesoblast is bilaterally symmetrical at the time of its origin. it is stated by rabl to be so in lymnæus[ ]. [ ] rabl (no. ) has quite recently given a more detailed account than previous observers of the origin of the mesoblast in planorbis. he finds that it originates from the posterior one of the four large cells which remain distinct throughout the segmentation. by the division of this cell two 'mesoblasts' are formed, one on each side of the middle line at the hinder end of the embryo. each of these again divides into two, an anterior and a posterior. by the division of the mesoblasts there arise two linear rows of mesoblastic cells--the mesoblastic bands--which are directed forwards and divided transversely into two parts, an anterior continued from the front mesoblast, and a posterior from the hinder mesoblast. if rabl's account is correct, there is a striking similarity between the origin of the mesoblast in mollusca and in chætopoda. it appears to me very probable that the mesoblastic bands are formed (as in lumbricus) not only from the products of the division of the mesoblasts, but also from cells budded off from one or both of the primary germinal layers. in the case of paludina the mesoblast becomes two layers thick, and then splits into a splanchnic and somatic layer, of which the former attaches itself to the hypoblast, and gives rise to the muscular and connective-tissue wall of the alimentary tract, and the latter attaches itself to the epiblast, and forms the muscular and connective-tissue wall of the body and other structures. the two layers remain connected by protoplasmic strands, and the space between them forms the body cavity (fig. ). in most instances there would appear to be at first no such definite splitting of the mesoblast, but the layer has the form of a scattered network of cells between the epiblast and the hypoblast. finally certain of the cells form a definite layer over the walls of the alimentary canal, and constitute the splanchnic mesoblast, and the remaining cells constitute the somatic mesoblast. [fig. . diagram of an embryo of pleurobranchidium. (from lankester.) _f._ foot; _ot._ otocyst; _m._ mouth; _v._ velum; _ng._ nerve ganglion; _ry._ residual yolk spheres; _shs._ shell-gland; _i._ intestine.] we must now return to the embryo at the time when the blastopore is becoming narrowed. first of all it will be necessary to define the terms to be applied to the various regions of the body--and these will best be understood by taking a fully formed larva such as that represented in fig. . the ventral surface i consider to be that comprised between the mouth (_m_) and the anus, which is very nearly in the position (_i_) in the figure. as a great protuberance on the ventral surface is placed the foot _f_. the long axis of the body, at this period though not necessarily in the adult, is that passing through the mouth and the shell-gland (_shs._): while the dorsal surface is that opposite the ventral as already defined. before the blastopore has attained its final condition three organs make their appearance, which are eminently characteristic of the typical molluscan larva. these organs are ( ) the velum, ( ) the shell-gland, ( ) the foot. the velum is a provisional larval organ, which has the form of a præoral ring of cilia, supported by a ridge of cells, often in the form of a double row, the ventral end of which lies immediately dorsal to the mouth. its typical position is shewn in fig. , _v_. there are considerable variations in its mode and extent of development etc., but there is no reason to think that it is entirely absent in any group of gasteropoda or pteropoda. in a few individual instances, especially amongst viviparous forms and land pulmonata, it has been stated to be absent. semper (no. ) failed to find it in vitrina, bulimus citrinus, vaginulus luzonicus, and paludina costata. it is very probably absent in helix, etc. in some cases, _e.g._ limax (gegenbaur), neritina (claparède), pterotrachæa (gegenbaur), the larva is stated to be coated by an uniform covering of cilia before the formation of the velum, but the researches of fol have thrown very considerable doubt on these statements. in some cases amongst the nudibranchiata (haddon) and pteropoda there are one or two long cilia in the middle of the velar area. in many nudibranchiata (haddon) there is present a more or less complete _post-oral_ ring of small cilia, which belongs to the velum. the cilia on the velum cause a rotation of the larva within the egg-capsule. cilia are in most cases (paludina, etc.) developed on the foot and on a small anal area. the shell-gland arises as an epiblastic thickening on the posterior and dorsal side. in this thickening a deep invagination (fig. , _shs._) is soon formed, in which a chitinous plug may become developed (paludina, cymbulia? etc.), and in abnormal larvæ such a chitinous plug is generally formed. the foot is a simple prominence of epiblast on the ventral surface, in the cavity of which there are usually a number of mesoblast cells (fig. , _f_). the larval form just described has been named by lankester the trochosphere larva. before considering the further external changes which the larva undergoes, it will be well to complete the history of the invaginated hypoblast. [fig. . embryo of a heteropod. (from gegenbaur; after fol.) _o._ mouth; _v._ velum; _g._ archenteron; _p._ foot; _c._ body cavity; _s._ shell-gland.] the hypoblast has after its invagination either the form of a sack (fig. ) or of a solid mass (fig. ). whether the mouth be the blastopore or no, the permanent oesophagus is formed of epiblast cells, so that the oesophagus and buccal cavity are always lined by epiblast. when the blastopore remains permanently open the outer part of the oesophagus grows as a prominent ridge round the opening. the mesenteric sack itself becomes differentiated into a stomach adjoining the oesophagus, a liver opening immediately behind this, and an intestine. the cells forming the hepatic diverticula and sometimes also those of the stomach may during larval life secrete in their interior peculiar albuminous products, similar to ordinary food-yolk. the proctodæum, except when it is the blastopore, arises later than the mouth. it is frequently developed from a pair of projecting epiblast cells symmetrically placed in the median ventral line behind the foot. it eventually forms a very shallow invagination meeting the intestine. its opening is the anus. the anus, though at first always symmetrical and ventral, subsequently, on the formation of the pallial cavity, opens into this usually on the right and dorsal side. in the cases where the hypoblast is not invaginated in the form of a sack the formation of the mesenteron is somewhat complicated, and is described in the sequel. from the trochosphere stage the larva passes into what has been called by lankester the veliger stage (fig. ), which is especially characteristic of gasteropod and pteropod mollusca. the shell-gland (with a few exceptions to be spoken of subsequently) of the previous stage flattens out, forming a disc-like area, on the surface of which a delicate shell becomes developed, while the epiblast of the edges of the disc becomes thickened. the disc-like area is the mantle. the edge of the area and with it the shell now rapidly extend, especially in a dorsal direction. up to this time the embryo has been symmetrical, but in most gasteropods the shell and mantle extend very much more towards the left than towards the right side, and a commencement of the permanent spiral shell is thus produced. [fig. . larvÆ of cephalophorous mollusca in the veliger stage. (from gegenbaur.) a. and b. earlier and later stage of gasteropod. c. pteropod (cymbulia). _v._ velum; _c._ shell; _p._ foot; _op._ operculum; _t._ tentacle.] the edge of the mantle forms a projecting lip separating the dorsal visceral sack from the head and foot. an invagination appears, usually on the right in gasteropods, and eventually extends to the dorsal side (fig. b). it gives rise to the pallial or branchial cavity, and receives also the openings of the digestive, generative and urinary organs. in most pteropods it is also formed to the right, and usually eventually extends afterwards towards the ventral surface (fig. c). in the pallial cavity the gills are formed, in those groups in which they are present, as solid processes frequently ciliated. they are coated by epiblast and contain a core of mesoblast. they soon become hollow and contractile. the velum in the more typical forms loses its simple circular form, and becomes a projecting bilobed organ, which serves the larva after it is hatched as the organ of locomotion (fig. b and c). the extent of the development of the velum varies greatly. in the heteropods especially it becomes very large, and in atlanta it becomes six-lobed, each lateral half presenting three subdivisions. it is usually armed on its projecting edge with several rows of long cilia, and below this with short cilia which bring food to the mouth. it persists in many forms for a very long period. within the area of the velum there appear the tentacles and eyes (fig. b). the latter are usually formed at the base of the tentacles. the foot grows in most forms to a very considerable size. on its hinder and dorsal surface is formed the operculum as a chitinos plate which originates in a depression lined by thickened epiblast, much in the same way as the shell (fig. b and c, _op_). in the typical larval forms it is only possible to distinguish the anterior flattened surface of the foot for locomotion and the posterior opercular region, but special modifications of the foot are found in the pteropods and heteropods, which are described with those groups. the foot very often becomes richly ciliated, and otic vesicles are early developed in it (fig. , _ot_). all the gasteropods and pteropods have a shell-bearing larval form like that first described, with the exception of a few forms, such as limax and perhaps some other pulmonata, in which the shell-gland closes up and gives rise to an internal shell. the subsequent metamorphosis in the different groups is very various, but in all cases it is accompanied by the disappearance of the velum, though in some cases remnants of the velum may persist as the subtentacular lobes (lymnæus, _lankester_) or the lip tentacles (tergipes, _nordmann_). in prosobranchiate gasteropods the larval shell is gradually added to, and frequently replaced by, a permanent shell, though the free-swimming veligerous larva may have a long existence. in many of the opisthobranchiata the larval shell is lost in the adult and in others reduced. lankester, who has especially worked at the early stages of this group, has shewn that the larvæ are in almost every respect identical with those of prosobranchiate gasteropods. they are all provided with a subnautiloid shell, an operculated foot, etc. the metamorphosis has unfortunately been satisfactorily observed in but few instances. in heteropods and pteropods the embryonic shell is in many cases lost in the adult. the following sections contain a special account of the development in the various groups of gasteropoda and pteropoda which will complete the necessarily sketchy account of the preceding pages. gasteropoda. to illustrate the development of the gasteropoda i have given a detailed description of two types, viz. _nassa mutabilis_ and _paludina vivipara_. [fig. . segmentation of nassa mutabilis. (from bobretzky.) a. upper half divided into two segments. b. one of these has fused with the large lower segment. c. four small and one large segment, one of the former fusing with the large segment. d. each of the four segments has given rise to a fresh small segment. e. small segments have increased to thirty-six.] nassa mutabilis. this form, the development of which has been very thoroughly worked out by bobretzky (no. ), will serve as an example of a marine gasteropod with a large food-yolk. the segmentation has already been described, p. . it will be convenient to take up the development at a late stage of the segmentation. the embryo is then formed of a cap of small cells which may be spoken of as the blastoderm resting upon four large yolk cells of which one is considerably larger than the others (fig. a). the small and the large cells are separated by a segmentation cavity. the general features at this stage are shewn in fig. a, representing a longitudinal section through the largest yolk cell and a smaller yolk cell opposite to it. the blastoderm is for the most part one cell thick, but it will be noticed that, at the edge of the blastoderm adjoining the largest yolk cell, there are placed two cells underneath the edge of the blastoderm (_me_). _these cells are the commencement of the mesoblast._ in the later stages of development the blastoderm continues to grow over the yolk cells, and as it grows the three smaller yolk cells travel round the side of the largest yolk cell with it. as they do so they give rise to a layer of protoplasmic cells (fig. , _hy_) which form a thickened layer at the edge of the blastoderm and therefore round the lips of the blastopore. these cells form the hypoblast. the whole of the protoplasmic matter of the yolk cells is employed in the formation of the hypoblast. the rest of them remains as a mass of yolk. a longitudinal section of the embryo at a slightly later stage, when the blastopore has become quite narrowed, is represented in fig. c. the greater part of the dorsal surface is not represented. [fig. . longitudinal section through the embryo of nassa mutabilis. (after bobretzky.) a. stage when the mesoblast is commencing to be formed. b. stage when the yolk is half enclosed. the hypoblast is seen at the lips of the blastopore. c. stage when the blastopore (_bp_) is nearly obliterated. d. the blastopore is closed. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _bp._ blastopore; _in._ intestine; _st._ stomach; f. foot; _sg._ shell-gland; _m._ mouth.] two definite organs have already become established. one of these is a pit lined by thickened epiblast on the posterior and dorsal side (_sg_). this is the shell-gland. the other is the foot (_f_) which arises as a ventral prominence of thickened epiblast immediately behind the blastopore. the hypoblast forms a ring of columnar cells round the blastopore. on the posterior side its cells have bent over so as to form a narrow tube (_in_), the rudiment of the intestine. in the next stage (fig. d) the blastopore completely closes, but its position is marked by a shallow pit (m) where the stomodæum is eventually formed. the foot (_f_) is more prominent, and on its hinder border is formed the operculum. the shell-gland (not shewn in the figure) has flattened out, and its thickened borders commence to extend especially over the dorsal side of the embryo. a delicate shell has become formed. in front of and dorsal to the mouth, a ciliated ring-shaped ridge of cells, which is however incomplete dorsally, gives rise to the velum. on each side of the foot there appears a protuberance of epiblast cells, which forms a provisional renal organ. the hypoblast now forms a complete layer ventrally, bounding a cavity which may be conveniently spoken of as the stomach (_st_), which is open to the yolk above. posteriorly however a completely closed intestine is present, which ends blindly behind (_in_). the shell and with it the mantle grow rapidly, and the primitive symmetry is early interfered with by the shell extending much more towards the left than the right. the anus soon becomes formed and places the intestine in communication with the exterior. with the growth of the shell and mantle the foot and the head become sharply separated from the visceral sack (fig. ). the oesophagus (_m_) becomes elongated. the eyes and auditory sacks become formed. [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of nassa mutabilis. (after bobretzky.) _f._ foot; _m._ mouth; _ce.v._ cephalic vesicle; _st._ stomach.] with further growth the asymmetry of the embryo becomes more marked. the intestine takes a transverse direction to the right side of the body, and the anus opens on the right side and close to the foot in the mantle cavity which is formed by an epiblastic invagination in this region. the cavity of the stomach (fig. , st) increases enormously and passes to the left side of the body, pushing the food-yolk at the same time to the right side, and the point where it communicates with the intestine becomes carried towards the posterior dorsal end of the visceral sack. the walls of the stomach gradually extend so as to narrow the opening to the yolk. the part of it adjoining the oesophagus becomes the true stomach, the remainder the liver; its interior is filled with coagulable fluid. paludina. paludina--lankester (no. ) and bütschli (no. )--is a viviparous form characterised by the small amount of food-yolk. the hypoblast and epiblast cells are distinguished very early, but soon become of nearly the same size. in the later stages of segmentation the epiblast cells differ from the hypoblast cells in the absence of pigment. the segmentation cavity, if developed, is small. a perfectly regular gastrula is formed (fig. a and b), which is preceded by the embryo assuming a flattened form. the blastopore is at first wide, but gradually narrows, and finally assumes a slightly excentric position. _it becomes not the mouth, but the anus._ when the blastopore has become fairly narrow, mesoblast cells (b, _me._) appear around it, between the epiblast and hypoblast. whether they are bilaterally arranged or no is not clear; and though coloured like the hypoblast, their actual development from this layer has not been followed. [fig. . four stages in the development of paludina vivipara. (copied from bütschli.) _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _me._ mesoblast; _bl._ blastopore; _an._ anus; _st._ stomodæum; _sh._ shell-gland; _v._ velum; _x._ primitive excretory organ.] the velum appears about the same time as the mesoblast, in the form of a double ring of ciliated cells at about the middle of the body (b and c, _v_). the mesoblast rapidly extends so as to occupy the whole space between the epiblast and hypoblast, and at the same time becomes divided into two layers (c). shortly afterwards a space--the body cavity--appears between the two layers (d) which then attach themselves respectively to the epiblast and hypoblast, and constitute the somatic and splanchnic layers of mesoblast. the two layers remain connected by transverse strands. by a change in the relations of the various parts and especially by the growth of the posterior region of the body, the velum now occupies a position at the end of the body opposite the blastopore. immediately behind it there appear two organs, one on the dorsal and one on the ventral side. that on the dorsal side (_sh_) is a deep pit--the shell-gland--which is continuous with a layer of columnar epiblast which ends near the anus. the other organ (_st_), situated on the ventral side, is a simple depression, and is the rudiment of the stomodæum. between it and the dorsally placed anus is a slight prominence--the rudiment of the foot. on the two sides of the body, between the epiblast and hypoblast on a level with the shell-gland are placed two masses of excretory cells, the provisional kidneys (d, _x_). these are probably _not_ homologous with the provisional renal organ of nassa and other marine prosobranchiata. at a later period a ciliated cavity appears in them, which probably communicates with the exterior at the side of the throat. in the later stages the foot grows rapidly, and forms a very prominent mass between the mouth and the anus. an operculum is developed somewhat late in a shallow groove lined by thickened epiblast. a provisional chitinous plug is formed in the shell-gland which soon becomes everted. the shell is formed in the usual way on the everted surface of the shell-gland. the thickened edge of this part becomes the edge of the mantle, and soon projects in the neighbourhood of the anus as a marked fold. with the rapid growth of the larva the invaginated mesenteron becomes relatively reduced in size. in its central part yolk-spherules become deposited, while the part adjoining the blastopore (anus) becomes elongated to give rise to the intestine. the stomodæum grows greatly in length and joins the dorsal part of the archenteron which then becomes the stomach. the part of the mesenteron with yolk-spherules forms the liver. with the development of the visceral sack the anus shifts its position. it first passes somewhat to the left, and is then carried completely to the right. the development of _entoconcha mirabilis_ (joh. müller, no. ), a remarkable prosobranchiate parasitic in the body cavity of synapta, which in the adult state is reduced to little more than an hermaphrodite generative sack, deserves a short description. it is viviparous, and the ovum gives rise to a larva which from the hardly sufficient characters of the foot and shell is supposed to be related to natica. there is nothing very striking in the development. the food-yolk is scanty. the velum, as might be anticipated from the viviparous development, is small. the tentacles are placed not within, but behind the velar area. there is a nautica-like shell, a large mantle cavity, and a large two-lobed foot. in buccinum, and neritina only one out of the many ova included in each egg-capsule develops. the rest atrophy and are used as food by the one which develops. opisthobranchiata. it will be convenient to take a species of pleurobranchidium (aplysia), observed by lankester (no. ), as a type of nudibranchiate development. the ovum first divides into two segments, and from these small segments are budded off, which gradually grow round and enclose the two large segments. the small segments now form the epiblast. at the aboral pole the epiblast becomes thickened and invaginated to form the shell-gland, and shortly afterwards the velum and foot are formed in the normal way, and a stomodæum appears close to the ventral edge of the velum (fig. ). the two yolk cells (_ry_) still remain distinct, but a true hypoblastic layer (probably derived from them, though this has not been made out) soon becomes established. prominent cells early make their appearance at the base of the foot, which become at a later period invaginated to form the anus. otolithic sacks (_ot_) become formed in the foot, and the supraoesophageal ganglia from a differentiation of the epiblast (_ng_). at a later period the shell-gland becomes everted, and a nautiloid shell developed. the alimentary tract becomes completed, though the two yolk cells long retain their original distinctness. the shell-muscle is developed, and peculiar pigmented bodies are formed below the velum. the foot becomes prominent and acquires an operculum. the metamorphosis of tergipes has been more or less completely worked out by nordmann and by schultze (no. ). in _tergipes edwardsii_ worked out by the former author, the larva when hatched is provided with a large velum, eyes, tentacles, an elongated operculated foot, and mantle. in the next stage both shell and operculum are thrown off, and the body becomes elongated and pointed behind. still later a pair of gill-processes with hepatic diverticula becomes formed. the velum next becomes reduced, and two small processes, which give rise to the lip tentacles and a second pair of gills, sprout out. an ecdysis now takes place, and leads to further changes which soon result in the attainment of the adult form. in _tergipes lacinulatus_, observed by schultze, the velum atrophies before the shell and operculum are thrown off. pulmonata. the development of the fresh-water pulmonata appears from lankester's observations on the pond-snail (lymnæus) to be very similar in all important particulars to that of marine branchiogasteropoda. the velum is however less developed than in most marine forms. the shell-gland, etc. have the normal development. in lymnæus the blastopore has an elongated form and it is still a matter of dispute whether it closes at the mouth or anus. in the helicidæ there is a gastrula by epibole. the shell-gland, as may be gathered from von jhering's figures, has the usual form, and an external shell of the usual larval type is developed. there is a ciliated process above the mouth, which extends into the lumen of the mouth. this process is often regarded as a rudimentary velum, but probably has not this value. there is no other organ which can be homologous with the velum. the development of limax presents some peculiarities. the yolk-spheres (hypoblast) form a large mass enclosed by the epiblast cells. a shell-gland is formed in the usual situation, which however, instead of being everted, as in ordinary forms, becomes closed, and in its interior are deposited calcareous plates which give rise to the permanently internal shell. the foot grows out posteriorly, and contains a large provisional contractile vesicle, traversed by muscular strands which contract rhythmically. although an external shell is present in clausilia in the adult, the shell-gland becomes closed in the embryo as in limax, and an internal plate-like shell is developed. the shell is at first covered by a complete epithelium, which eventually gives way in the centre, leaving covered only the edges of the shell. it thus comes about that the original internal shell becomes an external one. it is very difficult to bring this mode of development of the external shell into relation with that of other forms. clausilia like limax develops a large pedal sinus. in both limax and clausilia cilia are early developed and cause a rotation of the embryo, but how far they give rise to a distinct velum is not clear. heteropoda. the heteropod embryos present in their early development the closest resemblance to those of other gasteropods. the segmentation takes place according to the most usual gasteropod type; (vide p. ) and after the yolk cells have ceased to give origin to epiblast cells they divide towards the nutritive pole, become invaginated, and line a spacious archenteron. the epiblast cells at the formative pole gradually envelop the yolk (hypoblast) cells, and the blastopore very early narrows and becomes the permanent mouth. simultaneously with the narrowing of the blastopore, the shell-gland is formed at the aboral pole, and the foot on the ventral side. the velum appears as a patch of cilia on the dorsal side, which then gradually extends ventrally so as to form a complete circle just dorsal to the mouth. the larva, after these changes have been completed, is represented in fig. . in later stages the shell-gland becomes everted, and a shell is developed in all the forms both with and without shells in the adult. the foot grows very rapidly, and an operculum is in all cases formed behind. a bilobed invagination in front gives rise to the mucous gland. the velum enlarges and becomes bilobed. though the blastopore remains permanently open as the mouth, the oesophagus is formed as an epiblastic ingrowth. the rudiment of the proctodæum appears as two epiblastic cells symmetrically placed behind the foot, which subsequently pass to the right side, and give rise to a shallow invagination which meets the mesenteric sack. in the latter structure the cells of part of the wall develop a peculiar nutritive material, and form a nutritive sack which eventually becomes the liver. the part of the sack connected with the epiblastic oesophagus becomes constricted off as the stomach. the remainder, which unites with the proctodæum, forms the intestine. the structural peculiarities of the adult are formed by a post-larval metamorphosis. the caudal appendage of pterotrachea and firoloidea is formed as an outgrowth of the upper border of the hind end of the foot. the so-called fin arises as a cylindrical process in front of the base of the foot, which is eventually flattened laterally. in the atlantidæ it is in some cases at first vermiform, and in other cases attains directly its adult structure. the embryonic foot itself gives rise in pterotrachea, firoloidea and carinaria to the tail, on the dorsal and posterior side of which the operculum may still be seen in young specimens. in atlanta it forms the posterior part of the foot on which the operculum persists through life. the embryonic shell is completely lost in pterotrachea and firoloidea, and the shell is rudimentary in carinaria. with its atrophy the mantle region also becomes much reduced. the velum is enormously developed in many heteropods. in atlanta it is six-lobed, each of the two primitive lateral lobes being prolonged into three processes, two in front, and one behind. as in all other cases, it atrophies in the course of the post-larval metamorphosis. [fig. . embryo of cavolinia (hyalea) tridentata. (after fol.) _m._ mouth; _a._ anus; _s._ stomach; _i._ intestine; sigma. nutritive sack; _mb._ mantle; _mc._ mantle cavity; _kn._ contractile sinus; _h._ heart; _r._ renal sack: _f._ foot; _pn._ epipodia; _q._ shell; _ot._ otolithic sack.] pteropoda. the early larval form of the pteropods is closely similar to that of marine gasteropods. there are usually only three hypoblastic spheres at the close of the segmentation in the thecosomata, and a somewhat larger number in the gymnosomata. the blastopore closes at the oral region, on the nutritive side of the ovum, and the shell-gland is placed at the original formative pole. the velum, shell-gland and foot have the usual relations. although many of the adult forms are symmetrical, there is very early an asymmetry visible in the larva, shewing that the pteropods are descended from asymmetrical ancestors. in the gymnosomata there is a second larval stage after the loss of the shell when the larva is provided with three rings of cilia (fig. ). in most forms of pteropods the dorsal part of the body, covered by the mantle, is produced into a visceral sack like that of the cephalopoda (fig. ). the velum varies considerably in its development in different forms. in the hyaleidæ it is comparatively small and atrophies early; while in cymbulia (fig. ) and the gymnosomata it is large and bilobed, and persists till after the foot has attained its full development. the free edge of the velum is provided with long motor cilia, and its lower border with small cilia which bring the food to the mouth. in cleodora there is a median bunch of cilia in the centre of the velum like that in the lamellibranchiata, nudibranchiata, etc. the shell-gland forms a pit at the aboral end of the body, and in cymbulia a chitinous plug appears to be normally formed in this pit. the pit afterwards everts itself. the edge of the everted area becomes thickened and gradually travels towards the anterior end of the body. on this everted area a small plate is developed, which forms the commencement of the embryonic shell with which the larvæ of all pteropods are provided. the remainder of the embryonic shell is secreted in successive rings by the thickened edge of the mantle, and grows with this till it reaches the neck (fig. ). the permanent shell is added subsequently, usually on a very different model to the larval shell. the fate of the embryonic shell is very various in different forms. in the hyaleidæ the animal withdraws itself from the larval shell, which becomes shut off from the permanent shell by a diaphragm. the larval shell then becomes detached. in the styliolidæ the permanent shell becomes twice the size of the embryonic shell while the animal is still in an embryonic condition, but the larval shell persists for life. in the cymbulidæ there is an embryonic and secondary shell, which persist together during larval life. they are eventually cast off at the same time and replaced by a permanent shell. [fig. . free-swimming pneumodermon larvÆ. (after gegenbaur, copied from bronn.) the velum has atrophied in both larvæ. in a three ciliated bands are present, and the auditory vesicles are visible. in b the tentacles with suckers and the epipodia have become developed. _an._ anus.] in the gymnosomata an embryonic shell is developed, and a secondary shell added to it during embryonic life. both are cast off before the adult condition is attained. after the shell has been cast off three ciliated rings are developed (fig. ). the anterior of these is placed between the velum and the foot, and the two hinder ones on the elongated posterior part of the body. the ciliated rings give to these larvæ a resemblance to chætopod larvæ; but there can be no doubt that this resemblance is a purely superficial one. the anterior ring atrophies early (fig. b), and the second one soon follows suit. it is probable that the hindermost one does not persist through life, although it has been observed in forms with fully developed sexual organs. most of these larvæ have not been traced to their adult forms. they have been referred to pneumodermon, clio, etc. the most characteristic organ of the pteropods is the foot, which is prolonged into two enormous lateral wings, the epipodia. these develop at different periods in different larvæ, but are always distinct lateral outgrowths of the foot. in the hyaleidæ the foot is early conspicuous, and soon sends out two lateral prolongations (fig. _pn._) which develop with enormous rapidity as compared with the medium portion, and give rise to the epipodia. the whole of the foot becomes ciliated. in the cymbulidæ, though not in other forms, an operculum is developed on the hinder surface of the foot (fig. c). the epipodia are late in appearing. in the gymnosomata the foot is developed very early, but remains small. the epipodia do not appear till very late in larval life (fig. b). in pneumodermon and some other gymnosomata there appear on the hinder part of the head peculiar tentacles with suckers like those of the cephalopoda (fig. b). it is not certain that these tentacles are genetically related to the arms of the cephalopoda. cephalopoda. the eggs of the cephalopoda are usually laid in special capsules formed in the oviduct, which differ considerably in the different members of the group. in the case of argonauta each egg is enveloped in an elongated capsule provided with a stalk. by means of the stalk the eggs are attached together in bunches, and these again are connected together and form transparent masses, which are placed in the back of the shell. in octopus the eggs are small and transparent: each of them is enclosed in a stalked capsule. in loligo the eggs are enveloped in elongated sack-like gelatinous cords, each containing about thirty or forty eggs. the cords are attached in bunches to submarine objects. in sepia each egg is independently enveloped in a spindle-shaped black capsule, which is attached to a stone or other object. in a decapod form with pelagic larvæ, described by grenacher (no. ), the eggs were enclosed in a somewhat cylindrical gelatinous mass. in each mass there were an immense number of eggs arranged in spirals. each ovum was enclosed in a structureless membrane, within which it floated in a colourless albumen. the ovum itself within the capsule is a nearly homogeneous granular mass, without a distinct envelope. development commences by the segregation, at the narrow pole of the ovum opposite the egg-stalk, of the greater part of the protoplasmic formative material[ ]. this material forms a disc equivalent to the germinal disc of meroblastic vertebrate ova. the germinal disc in sepia and loligo does not, however, undergo a quite symmetrical segmentation (bobretzky, no. ). when eight segments are present, two of them close together are much smaller and narrower than the remainder; and when, in the succeeding stages small segments are formed from the inner ends of the large ones, those derived from the two smaller segments continue to be smaller than the remainder: so that throughout the segmentation one pole of the blastoderm is formed of smaller segments, and the blastoderm exhibits a bilateral symmetry[ ]. the partial segmentation results in the formation of a blastoderm covering one pole of the egg, but, unlike the vertebrate blastoderm, formed of a single row of cells. this blastoderm very soon becomes two or three cells deep at its edge, and the cells below the surface constitute the layer from which the mesoblast and hypoblast originate (fig. _ms_). the origin of the mesoblast at the edge of the blastoderm is a phenomenon equivalent to its origin at the lips of the blastopore in so many other types. the external layer forms the epiblast. [ ] in octopus and argonauta (lankester) as soon as the blastoderm is completed the egg reverses its position in the egg-shell; the cleavage pole taking up a position nearest the stalk. [ ] i do not know the relation of this axis of symmetry to the future embryo. [fig. . section through the blastoderm of a loligo ovum at the beginning of the fourth day. (after bobretzky.) _ms._ mesoblast; _d._ cell at the edge of the blastoderm; _c._ one of the segmentation cells.] the whole blastoderm does not take its origin from the segmentation spheres, but, as was discovered by lankester ( ), a number of nuclei arise spontaneously in the yolk outside the blastoderm, around which cell bodies become subsequently formed. they make their appearance near to, but not at the surface, extending first in a ring-like series in advance of the margin of the blastoderm, but subsequently appearing indiscriminately over all parts of the egg. they take no share in forming the epiblast, but would seem, according to lankester, to assist in giving rise to the lower layer cells, and also to a layer of flattened cells which eventually completely encloses the yolk, and may be called the yolk membrane. the cells of the yolk membrane first of all appear at the thickened edge of the blastoderm. from this point they spread inwards under the centre of the blastoderm (fig. _m´_), and, together with the epiblast cells, outwards over the yolk generally; so that before long (on the tenth day in loligo) the yolk becomes completely invested by a membrane of cells. in the non-germinal region the blastoderm is formed of two layers, ( ) a flattened epiblast, and ( ) the yolk membrane. in the region of the original germinal disc the epiblast cells become columnar, and below them is placed a ring of lower layer cells, which gradually extends towards the centre so as finally to form a complete layer. below this again comes the yolk membrane just spoken of. before describing the further fate of the separate layers it is necessary to say a few words as to the external features of the embryo. in the adult cephalopod it is convenient, for the sake of comparison with other mollusca, to speak of the narrow space enclosed in the arms, which contains the mouth, as the ventral surface; the aboral apex as the dorsal surface; and what is usually called the upper surface as the anterior and the lower one as the posterior. employing this terminology the centre of the original blastoderm is the dorsal apex of the embryo. in the typical forms with a large yolk-sack the whole embryo is formed out of the original germinal disc; the part of the blastoderm which is continued as a thin layer over the remainder of the egg forms a large ventral yolk-sack appended to the head of the embryo. the following description applies especially to two types, which form the extremes of the series in reference to the development of the yolk-sack. the first of these with a large yolk-sack is sepia, of which kölliker in his classical memoir (no. ) has published a series of beautiful figures. the second, with a small yolk-sack, is the pelagic larva of an unknown adult described by grenadier (no. ). in a young blastoderm of sepia viewed from the dorsal surface, a series of structures appear which are represented in fig. a. in the middle is a somewhat rhomboid prominence which forms the rudiment of the mantle (_mt_). in its centre is a pit which forms the shell-gland. on each side of the mantle is a somewhat curved fold (_f_). these folds eventually coalesce to form the funnel. they are divided into two parts by a small body which forms the cartilage of the funnel. the smaller part of the fold behind this body gives rise to the true funnel, the part in front becomes (kölliker) the strong muscle connecting the funnel with the neck-cartilage. in front and to the sides are two kidney-shaped bodies (_oc_), the optic pits. behind the mantle are two buds (_br_), the rudiments of the gills. [fig. . two surface views of the germinal disc of sepia. (after kölliker.) _mt._ mantle; _oc._ eye; _f._ folds of funnel; _br._ branchiæ; _an._ posterior portion of alimentary tract; _m._ mouth. , , , , , arms; _p._ cephalic lobe.] in the somewhat later stage rudiments of the two posterior pairs of arms make their appearance outside and behind the rudiments of the funnel. the head is indicated by a pair of lateral swellings on each side, the outer of which carries the eyes. the whole embryo now becomes ciliated, though the ciliation does not cause the usual rotation. at a slightly later stage the second, third, and fourth pairs of arms make their appearance slightly in front of those already present. the posterior parts of the funnel rudiments approach each other, and the anterior meet the rudiments of the neck-cartilage. the gills begin to be covered by the mantle-edge, which now projects as a marked fold. at a slightly later period two fresh rudiments may be noted, viz. the oral (fig. b, _m_) and anal invaginations, the latter of which is extremely shallow and appears at the apex of a small papilla which may be spoken of as the anal papilla. these invaginations appear at the two opposite poles (anterior and posterior) of the blastoderm. shortly after this the rudiment of the first pair of arms arises considerably in front of the other rudiments, at the sides of the outer pair of cephalic swellings (fig. b, ). fig. b represents a view from the dorsal surface of an embryo at this stage. in the centre is the mantle with the shell-gland which is now very considerably raised beyond the general surface. concentric with the edge of the mantle are the two halves of the funnel, the anterior half meeting the dorsal or neck-cartilage and the posterior halves approaching each other. the oral invagination is shewn at _m_ and the anal immediately in front of _an_. the gills, nearly covered by the mantle, are seen at _br_. at _p_ are the cephalic swellings, and the eye is seen at _oc_. the arms - form a ring outside these parts. the whole of the embryo, with the exception of the gills, the funnel, and the outer border of the blastoderm, is richly ciliated. the embryo up to this time has had the form of a disc or saucer on the surface of the yolk. after this stage it rapidly assumes its permanent dome-like form, and becomes at the same time folded off from the yolk. the blastoderm is very slow in enveloping the yolk, and the whole yolk is not completely invested till a considerably later stage than that represented in fig. b. as soon as the blastoderm covers the yolk-sack cilia appear upon it. the mantle grows very rapidly, and its free border soon projects over the funnel and gills. after the two halves of the funnel have coalesced into a tube, it comes to project again beyond the edge of the mantle. on the completion of the above changes the resemblance of the embryo to a cuttle-fish becomes quite obvious. three of the stages in the accomplishment of these changes are represented in fig. . [fig. . side views of three late stages in the development of sepia. (after kölliker.) _m._ mouth; _yk._ yolk-sack; _oc._ eye; _mt._ mantle.] to the ventral side of the embryo is attached the enormous external yolk-sack (_yk_), which is continuous with an internal section situated within the body of the embryo. the general relations of the embryo to the yolk will best be understood by reference to the longitudinal section of loligo, fig. . the arms gradually increase in length, and the second pair passes in front of the first so as eventually to lie completely in front of the mouth. the arms thus come to form a complete ring surrounding the mouth, of which the original second pair, and not, as might be anticipated, the first, completes the circle in front. the second pair develops into the long arms of the adult. after the embryo has attained more or less completely its definite form (fig. c) it grows rapidly in size as compared with the yolk-sack. the latter structure is at first four or five times as big as the embryo, but, by the time of hatching, the embryo is two to three times as big as the yolk-sack. loligo mainly differs from sepia in the early enclosure of the yolk by the blastoderm, and in the embryo exhibiting the phenomena of rotation within the egg-capsule so characteristic of other mollusca. in argonauta the yolk-sack is still smaller than in loligo, and the yolk is early completely enclosed by the blastoderm. a well-developed outer yolk-sack is present during early embryonic life, but is completely absorbed within the body before its close. cilia appear on the blastoderm very early, but vanish again when the yolk is about two-thirds enclosed. there is, during embryonic life, no trace of a shell, but the mantle and other parts of the body become covered by peculiar bunches of fine setæ. the shell-gland develops normally in both octopus and argonauta, but disappears again without closing up to form a sack (lankester). the pelagic decapod larva described by grenacher, which forms my second type, must be placed with reference to the development of the yolk-sack at the opposite pole to sepia. segmentation, as in other cephalopods, is partial, but the blastoderm almost completely envelops the yolk before any organs are developed; and no external yolk-sack is present. at a stage slightly before the closure of the yolk-blastopore the mantle is formed as a slight prominence at the blastodermic pole of the egg, and even at this early stage is marked by the presence of chromatophores. the edge of the blastoderm is ciliated. at a slightly later stage the embryo becomes more cylindrical, the edge of the mantle becomes marked by a fold, which divides the embryo transversely into two unequal parts, a smaller region covered by the mantle, and a larger region beyond this. the yolk is still exposed, but rudiments of the optic pit and of two pairs of arms have appeared. the first-formed arms are apparently the anterior, and not, as in sepia, the posterior. at a still later stage, represented in lateral and posterior views in fig. a and b, considerable changes are effected. the yolk-blastopore is nearly though not quite closed. the mantle fold (_mt_) is much more prominent, and on the posterior side on a level with its edge may be seen the rudiments of the gills (_br_). the funnel is formed as two independent folds on each side (_inf _ and _inf _), which apparently correspond with the two divisions of the funnel rudiments in sepia. the eye has undergone considerable changes. close to each rudiment of the funnel may be seen a fresh sense organ--the auditory sack (_ac_). the ventral (upper in the figure) end of the body now forms a marked protuberance, probably equivalent to the foot of other mollusca (_vide_ p. ), at the sides of which are seen the rudiments of the arms ( , , ). to the two previously present a third one, on the posterior side, has been added. the blastopore is placed on the anterior side of the ventral protuberance, and immediately dorsal to this is an invagination (_os_) which gives rise to the stomodæum. the ciliation at the edge of the blastopore still persists, but does not lead to the rotation of the embryo. in later stages (fig. c) the blastopore becomes closed, and the mantle region increases in length as compared with the remainder of the body. the ventral halves of the funnel, each in the form of a half tube, coalesce together to form a single tube (_inf_) in the same manner as in sepia. a shallow proctodæum (_an_) is formed between the two branchiæ. the eyes (_oc_) stand out as lateral projections, and the arms become much longer. [fig. . three embryos of a cephalopod with a very small yolk-sack. (after grenacher.) _a._ blastopore; _br._ branchiæ; _inf. _ and _inf. _ posterior and anterior folds of the funnel; _g.op._ optic ganglion (?); _oc._ eye; _wk._ white body; _ac._ auditory pit; _os._ stomodæum; _an._ anus; _mt._ mantle; , , . st, nd, and rd pairs of arms. still later a fourth pair of arms is added as a bud from each of the posterior pair, and with the growth in length of the arms the suckers make their appearance. the mouth is gradually carried up so as to be surrounded by the arms. the ciliation of the surface becomes more extensive. during the whole of the above development the interior of the embryo is filled with yolk, although no external yolk-sack is present. the internal yolk-sack falls into three sections; a cephalic section, a section in the neck, and an abdominal section. of these, that in the neck is the first to be absorbed. the cephalic portion fills out the ventral protuberance already spoken of. the hinder section becomes occupied by the liver which exactly fits itself into this space as it absorbs the material previously there. it will be convenient at this point to complete the account of the cephalopoda by a short history of their germinal layers, and by a fuller description of the mantle, shell, and funnel than that given in the preceding pages. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through a loligo ovum when the mesenteric cavity is just commencing to be formed. (after bobretzky.) _gls._ salivary gland; _brd._ sheath of radula; _oe._ oesophagus; _ds._ yolk-sack; _chs._ shell-gland; _mt._ mantle; _pdh._ mesenteron; _x._ epiblastic thickening between the folds of the funnel.] it has already been shewn that in the region of the germinal disc a thick layer of cells becomes interposed between the epiblast and the yolk membrane. this layer (fig. _m_) is mainly mesoblastic, but also contains the elements which form the lining of the alimentary tract. its cells first become differentiated into mesoblast and hypoblast after the shell-gland has become a fairly deep pit. the mode of differentiation is shewn in fig. . on the posterior side of the mantle, at the point marked in fig. b, _an_, a cavity is formed between the yolk membrane and the mesoblast cells (fig. , _pdh_). this cavity is the commencement of the anal extremity of the mesenteron, and the columnar cells lining it constitute the hypoblast. the remainder of the lower layer cells are the mesoblast. the mesenteron gradually extends itself till it meets the stomodæum (fig. ). the proctodæum is formed as a shallow pit close to the first formed part of the mesenteron. the mesoblast gives rise not only to the organs usually formed in this layer, but also to the nervous centres, etc. the mantle and shell. the mantle first arises as a thickening of the epiblast on the dorsal surface of the embryo. the thickened integument, with the subjacent mesoblast, soon forms a definite projection, in the centre of which appears a circular pit (figs. _chs_ and _shs_). this pit, which has already been spoken of as the shell-gland, resembles very closely the shell-gland of other mollusca. the fold around the edge of the shell-gland grows inwards so as gradually to circumscribe its opening, which before long becomes completely obliterated; and the gland forms a closed sack lined by epiblast which grows in an anterior direction (figs. and _cch_). [fig. . diagram of a vertical section through the mantle region of an embryo loligo. (from lankester.) [this figure is turned the reverse way up to fig. .] _ep._ epiblast; _y._ food-yolk; _m._ mesoblast; _m´._ cellular yolk membrane; _shs._ shell-gland.] the edges of the mantle now begin to project, especially on the posterior side (fig. ), and within the cavity formed by this projecting lip there are placed the anus (_an_), gills, etc. the projecting lip of the mantle is formed both of epiblast and mesoblast. the whole of the anterior side of the mantle is filled by the elongated shell-sack (_cch_), within which the shell or pen soon becomes secreted. there are certain difficulties in comparing the shell-gland of the cephalopoda with that of other mollusca which will best be rendered clear by the following quotation from lankester[ ]: [ ] "development of pond-snail." _quart. j. of micro. science_, , pp. - . "the position and mode of development of the shell-gland of the cephalopoda exactly agree with that of the shell-gland as seen in the other molluscan embryos figured in this paper. we are therefore fairly entitled to conclude from the embryological evidence that the pen-sack of cephalopoda is identical with the shell-gland of other mollusca. "but here--forming an interesting example of the interaction of the various sources of evidence in genealogical biology--palæontology crosses the path of embryology. i think it is certain that if we possessed no fossil remains of cephalopoda the conclusion that the pen-sack is a special development of the shell-gland would have to be accepted. "but the consideration of the nature of the shell of the belemnites and its relation to the pen of living cuttle-fish brings a new light to bear on the matter. reserving anything like a decided opinion as to the question in hand, i may briefly state the hypothesis suggested by the facts ascertained as to the belemnitidæ. the complete shell of a belemnite is essentially a straightened nautilus-shell (therefore an external shell inherited from a nautilus-like ancestor), which, like the nautiloid shell of _spirula_, has become enclosed by growths of the mantle, and unlike the shell of _spirula_, has received large additions of calcareous matter from those enclosing overgrowths. on the lower surface of the enclosed nautilus-shell of the belemnite--the phragmacone--a series of layers of calcareous matter have been thrown down forming the guard; above, the shell has been continued into the extensive chamber formed by the folds of the mantle, so as to form the flattened pen-like pro-ostracum of huxley. "whether in the belemnites the folds of the mantle which thus covered in and added to the original chambered shell, were completely closed so as to form a sack or remained partially open with contiguous flaps must be doubtful. "in _spirula_ we have an originally external shell enclosed but not added to by the enclosing mantle sack. "in _spirulirostra_, a tertiary fossil, we have a shell very similar to that of _spirula_, with a small guard of laminated structure developed as in the belemnite (see the figures in bronn _classen u. ordnungen des thierreichs_). "in the belemnites the original nautiloid shell is small as compared with _spirulirostra_. it appears to be largest in huxley's genus _xiphoteuthis_. hence in the series _spirula_, _spirulirostra_, _xiphoteuthis_, _belemnites_, we have evidence of the enclosure of an external shell by growths from the mantle (as in aplysia), of the addition to that shell of calcareous matter from the walls of its enclosing sack, and of the gradual change of the relative proportions of the original nucleus (the nautiloid phragmacone) and its superadded pro-ostracal and rostral elements tending to the disappearance of the nucleus (the original external shell). if this view be correct as to the nature of these shells, it is clear that the shell-gland and its plug has nothing to do with them. the shell-gland must have preceded the original nautiloid shell, and must be looked for in such a relation whenever the embryology of the pearly nautilus can be studied. now, everything points to the close agreement of the belemnitidæ with the living dibranchiata. the hooklets on the arms, the ink bag, the horny jaws, and general form of the body, leave no room for doubt on that point; it is more than probable that the living dibranchiata are modified descendants of the mesozoic belemnitidæ. if this be so, the pens of _loligo_ and _sepia_ must be traced to the more complex shell of the belemnite. this is not difficult if we suppose the originally external shell the phragmacone, around which as a nucleus the guard and pro-ostracum were developed, to have finally disappeared. the enclosing folds of the mantle remain as a sack and perform their part, producing the chitino-calcareous pen of the living dibranch, in which parts can be recognised as corresponding to the pro-ostracum, and probably also to the guard of the belemnite. if this be the case, if the pen of _sepia_ and _loligo_ correspond to the entire belemnite shell minus the phragmacone-nucleus, it is clear that the sack which develops so early in _loligo_ and which appears to correspond to the shell-gland of the other molluscs cannot be held to do so. the sack thus formed in _loligo_ must be held to represent the sack formed by the primæval upgrowth of mantle folds over the young nautiloid shell of its belemnitoid ancestors, and has accordingly no general significance for the whole molluscan group, but is a special organ belonging only to the dibranchiate stem, similar to--but not necessarily genetically connected with--the mantle fold in which the shell of the adult _aplysia_ and its congeners is concealed. the pen, then, of cephalopods would not represent the plug of the shell-gland. in regard to this view of the case, it may be remarked that i have found no trace in the embryonic history of the living dibranchiata of a structure representing the phragmacone; and further, it is possible, though little importance can be attached to this suggestion, that the dibranchiate pen-sack, as seen in its earliest stage in the embryo _loligo_, etc., is fused with the surviving remnants of an embryonic shell-gland. when the embryology of _nautilus pompilius_ is worked out, we shall probably know with some certainty the fate of the molluscan shell-gland in the group of the cephalopoda." the funnel. the general development of the funnel has already been sufficiently indicated. the folds of which it is formed are composed both of epiblast and mesoblast. the mesoblast of the anterior part of each half of the funnel would appear to give rise to a muscle passing from the cartilage of the neck to the funnel proper. the posterior parts gradually approximate, but meet in the first instance ventrally. the two folds at first merely form the side of a groove or imperfect tube (fig. c and ff.), but soon the free edges unite and so give rise to a perfect tube, the primitive origin of which by the coalescence of two halves would not be suspected. in nautilus the two halves remain permanently separate but overlap each other, so as to form a functional tube. [fig. . i. chiton wossnessenskii. (after middendorf.) ii. chiton dissected to shew _o._ the mouth; _g._ the nervous ring; _ao._ the aorta; _c._ the ventricle; _c´._ an auricle; _br._ the left branchiæ; _od._ oviducts. (after cuvier.) iii., iv., v. stages of development of chiton cinereus. (after lovén.) the figure is taken from huxley.] polyplacophora. the external characters of the embryo of chiton have long been known through the classical observations of lovén (no. ), while the formation of the layers and the internal phenomena of development have recently been elucidated by kowalevsky (no. ). the eggs are laid in april, may, and june, and are enclosed in a kind of chorion with calcareous protuberances. the segmentation remains regular till sixty-four segments are formed. the cells composing the formative half of the ovum then divide more rapidly than the remainder; there is in this way formed an elongated sphere, half of which is composed of small cells and half of larger cells. in the interior is a small segmentation cavity. from its eventual fate the hemisphere of the smaller cells may be called the anterior pole, and that of the larger cells the posterior. an involution of the cells at the apex of the posterior pole (though not of the whole hemisphere of larger cells) now takes place, and gives rise to the archenteron. at the same time an equatorial double ring of large cells appears on the surface between the two poles, which becomes ciliated and forms the velum. at the apex of the anterior pole a tuft of cilia, or at first a single flagellum, is established (fig. iii. and iv.). in the succeeding developmental period the blastopore, which has so far had the form of a circular pore at the posterior extremity of the body, undergoes a series of very remarkable changes. in conjunction with a gradual elongation of the larva it travels to the ventral side, and is prolonged forwards to the velum as a groove. the middle part of the groove is next converted into a tube, which opens externally in front, and posteriorly communicates with the archenteron. the walls of this tube subsequently fuse together, obliterating the lumen, and necessarily causing at the same time the closure of the blastopore. the tube itself becomes thereby converted into a plate of cells on the ventral surface between the epiblast and the hypoblast[ ]. [ ] there is a striking similarity between the changes of the blastopore in chiton and the formation of the neurenteric canal of chordata; especially if kowalevsky is correct in stating that the pedal nerves are developed from the ventral plate. while the above changes have been taking place the mesoblast has become established. it is derived from the lateral and ventral cells of the hypoblast. after the establishment of the germinal layers the further evolution of the larva makes rapid progress. a transverse groove is formed immediately behind the velum, which is especially deep on the ventral surface; and the stomodæum is formed as an invagination of the anterior wall of the deeper section of the groove. behind the stomodæum the remainder of the ventral surface grows out as a flattened foot. the dorsal surface behind the velum constitutes the mantle, and becomes divided by six or seven transverse grooves into segment-like areas, which may be called mantle plates (fig. iv.). these areas would seem (?) to correspond to so many flattened out shell-glands. immediately behind the velum the eyes appear as two black spots (fig. iv.). while the above external changes take place the archenteron undergoes considerable modifications. its anterior section gives rise, according to kowalevsky, to a dorsal (?) sack in which the radula is formed; while the liver arises from it as two lateral diverticula. from the above statements it would appear that kowalevsky holds that the oesophagus and radula sack are both derived from the walls of the archenteron and not from the stomodæum. such an origin for these organs is without parallel amongst mollusca. the larva becomes about this time hatched, and after swimming about for some time attaches itself by the foot, throws off its larval organs, cilia, etc., and develops the shell. the shell appears first of all during larval life in the form of spicula on the middle and sides of the head, and later on the middle and sides of the post-oral mantle plates (fig. v.). the permanent shell arises somewhat later as a series of median and lateral calcareous plates, first of all on the posterior part of the velar area, and subsequently on the mantle plates behind. the three calcareous patches of each plate fuse together and give rise to the permanent shell plates. the original spicula are displaced to the sides, where they partly remain, and are partly replaced by new spicula. the nervous system is formed during larval life as four longitudinal cords:--two lateral--the branchial cords, and two ventral--the pedal. paired anterior thickenings of the pedal cords meet in front of the mouth to form the oesophageal ring. the pedal cords and their derivatives are believed by kowalevsky to be developed from the lateral parts of the plate formed by the metamorphosis of the blastopore. the median part of the plate is still visible after the formation of these parts. the chief peculiarity of the larva of chiton (apart from the peculiar ventral plate) consists in the elongation and dorsal segmentation of the posterior part of the body. the velum has the normal situation and relation to its mouth. the position of the eyes behind it is however abnormal. the elongation and segmentation of the posterior part of the trunk is probably to be regarded as indicating that chiton has early branched off from the main group of the odontophora along a special line of its own, and _not_ that the remaining odontophora are descended from chiton-like ancestral forms. the shell of mollusca on this view is not to be derived from one of the plates of chiton, but the plates of chiton are to be derived from the segmentation of a primitive simple shell. the segmentation exhibited is of a kind which all the trochosphere larval forms seem to have been capable of acquiring. the bilateral symmetry of chiton, which is quite as well marked as that of the lamellibranchiata, indicates that it is a primitive phylum of the odontophora. scaphopoda. the external characters of the peculiar larva of this interesting group have been fully worked out by lacaze duthiers (no. ). the segmentation is unequal and conforms to the usual molluscan type. at its close the embryo becomes somewhat elongated, and there appears on its surface a series of transverse ciliated rings. as soon as these become formed the larva is hatched, and swims about by means of its cilia. six ciliated bands are formed in all, and in addition a tuft of cilia is formed in a depression at the anterior extremity. the larva thus constituted is very different in appearance to the larvæ already described, and its parts very difficult to identify; the next stages in the development shew however that the whole region of the body taken up by the ciliated rings is part of the velar area, while the small papilliform region behind is the post-velar part of the embryo. this latter part grows rapidly, and at the same time the ciliated rings become reduced to four; which gradually approach each other, while the region on which they are placed grows in diameter. the rings finally unite, and form a single ring on a projecting velar ridge. in the centre of this ring is placed the terminal tuft of cilia on a much reduced prominence. by the time that these changes have been effected in the velum, the post-velar part of the embryo has become by far the largest section of the embryo, so that the velum forms a projecting disc at the front end of an elongated body. the mantle is formed as two lateral outgrowths near the hinder extremity of the body which leave between them a ventral groove lined by cilia; on their dorsal side is formed a delicate shell. the mantle lobes continue to grow, and by the time the above changes in the velum are effected they meet and unite in the ventral line and convert the groove between them into a complete tube open in front and behind. a stream of water is driven through this tube by the action of the cilia. the shell, which is at first disc-shaped like the shell of other molluscan larvæ, moulds itself upon the mantle and is so converted into a tube. at the front end of the mantle tube, which does not at first cover the velum, there is formed the foot. it arises as a protuberance of the ventral wall of the body, which rapidly grows forwards, becomes trilobed as in the adult, and ciliated. on the completion of these changes the larva mainly differs in appearance from the adult by the projection of the velum beyond the edge of the shell. the velum soon however begins to atrophy; and the larva sinks to the bottom. the mantle tube and shell grow forward and completely envelop the velum, which shortly afterwards disappears. the mouth is formed on the ventral side of the velum at the base of the foot; at its sides arise the peculiar tentacles so characteristic of the adult dentalium. lamellibranchiata. the larvæ of lamellibranchiata have in a general way the same characters as those of gasteropods and pteropods. a trochosphere stage with a velum but without a shell is succeeded by a veliger stage with a still more developed velum, a dorsal shell, and a ventral foot. the segmentation is unequal, and in a general way like that of gasteropoda, but the specially characteristic gasteropodan type with four large yolk spheres is only known to occur in pisidium, and a type of segmentation similar to that of anodon (p. ) appears to be the most frequent. there is an epibolic or embolic gastrula, but the further history of the formation of the germinal layers has been worked out so imperfectly, and for so few types, that it is not possible to make general statements about it. what is known on this head is mentioned in connection with the description of the development of special types. the blastopore in some cases closes at the point where the anus (pisidium), and probably in other cases where the mouth, is eventually formed. in anodon it is stated to close at a point corresponding neither with the mouth nor the anus, but on the dorsal surface! the embryo assumes a somewhat oval form, and in the free marine forms there appears very early in front of the mouth a well-developed velum. this is formed according to lovén from two papillæ, and takes the form of a circular ridge armed with long cilia. in the centre of the velar area there is usually present a single long flagellum (fig. b and c). the velum never becomes bilobed. [fig. . three stages in the development of cardium. (after lovén.) _hy._ hypoblast; _b._ foot; _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _v._ velum; _cm._ anterior adductor muscle.] in the later stages, after the development of the shell, the velum becomes highly retractile and can be nearly completely withdrawn within the mantle by special muscles. it forms the chief organ of locomotion of the free larva. in some fresh-water forms, which have no free larval existence, the velum is very much reduced (anodon, unio, cyclas) or even aborted (pisidium). in these forms as well as in teredo and probably other marine forms (_e.g._ ostrea) the central flagellum is absent. it has been suggested by lovén, though without any direct evidence, that the labial tentacles of adult lamellibranchiata are the remains of the velum. the velar area is in any case the only representative of the head. in some marine forms a general covering of cilia arises before the formation of the velum; and in montacuta and other types there is developed, as in many gasteropoda, a circumanal patch of cilia. a shell-gland appears at a very early period on the dorsal surface in pisidium, cyclas and ostrea, and probably in most marine forms (fig. , _shs_). it is somewhat saddle-shaped, and formed of elongated non-ciliated cells bounding a groove. it flattens out and on its surface is formed the shell, which appears usually to have the form of an unpaired saddle-shaped cuticle, on the two sides of which the valves are subsequently formed by a deposit of calcareous salts. in pisidium the two valves are stated by lankester to be at first quite independent and widely separated, and it has been suggested by lankester, though not proved, that the ligament of the shell is developed in the median part of the groove of the shell-gland. the mantle lobes are developed as lateral outgrowths of the body: they usually have a considerable extension before they are covered by the shell. in anodon and unio the larval mantle lobes are, however, formed in a somewhat exceptional way, and are from the first completely covered by the valves of the larval shell. the larval mantle lobes and shell in anodon and unio are subsequently replaced by the permanent structures. [fig. . an embryo of pisidium pusillum. (from lankester.) _f._ foot; _m._ mouth; _ph._ pharynx; _gs._ bilobed stomach; _pi._ intestine; _shs._ shell-gland.] the adductor muscles are formed soon after the appearance of the shell. the posterior sometimes appears first, _e.g._ mytilus, and at other times the anterior, _e.g._ cardium. the foot arises in the usual way as a prominence between the mouth and anus. in comparison with gasteropoda it is late in appearing, and in many cases does not become prominent till the shell has attained a considerable size. in its hinder part a provisional paired byssus-gland is developed from the epidermis in cyclas and other forms. in other cases, _e.g._ mytilus, the byssus-gland is permanent. the byssus-gland occupies very much the position of the gasteropod operculum, and would appear very probably to correspond with this organ. the anterior part of the foot is usually ciliated. the gills appear rather late in larval development along the base of the foot on either side, between the mantle and the foot (fig. , _br_). they arise as a linear row of separate ciliated somewhat knobbed papillæ. a second row appears later. the two rows give rise respectively to the two gill lamellæ of each side. the further history of the development of the gills has been studied by lacaze duthiers (no. ) in mytilus. the first row of gill papillæ formed becomes the innermost of the two lamellæ of the adult. the number of papillæ goes on increasing from before backwards. when about eleven have been formed, their somewhat swollen free extremities unite together, the basal portions being separated by slits. the free limb is formed by the free end of the gill lamella bending upon itself towards the inner side and growing towards the line of attachment of the lamella. the free limb is at first not composed of separate bars, but of a continuous membrane. before this membrane has grown very wide, perforations are formed in it corresponding to the spaces between the bars of the attached limb. the outer gill lamella develops in precisely the same way as, but somewhat later than, the inner. the rudiments of it appear when about twenty papillæ of the inner lamella are formed. its first papillæ are formed near the hind border of the inner lamella, and new papillæ are added both in front and behind. its free limb is on the outer side. in mytilus the two limbs (free and attached) of each bar of the gill are joined at wide intervals by extensile processes, the 'inter-lamellar junctions,' and the successive bars are attached together by ciliated junctions. in many other types the concrescences between the various parts of the gills are carried much further; the maximum of concrescence being perhaps attained in anodon and unio[ ]. [ ] r. h. peck, "gills of lamellibranch mollusca." _quart. j. of m. science_, vol. xvii. . large paired auditory sacks seem always to be developed in the foot; and clearly correspond with the auditory sacks in gasteropoda. eyes are frequently present in the larva, though they disappear in the adult. in montacuta and other types a pair of these organs is formed at the base of the velum on each side of the oesophagus, not far from the auditory sacks. they are provided with a lens. a row of similar organs is present in the larva of teredo in front of the foot. cardium. as an example of a marine lamellibranchiate i may take _cardium pygmaeum_, the development of which has been studied by lovén (no. ). the ova, surrounded by a thickish capsule, are impregnated in the cloaca. the segmentation takes place much as in nassa (_vide_ p. ), and the small segments gradually envelop the large hypoblast spheres; so that there would seem to be a gastrula by epibole. after the hypoblast has become enveloped by the epiblast, one side of the embryo is somewhat flattened and marked by a deepish depression (fig. a). from lovén's description it appears to me probable that the depression on the flattened side occupies the position of the blastopore, and that the depression itself is the stomodæum. at this stage the embryo becomes covered with short cilia which cause it to rotate within the egg-capsule. close above the mouth there appear two small papillæ. these gradually separate and give rise to a circular ridge covered with long cilia, which encircles the embryo anteriorly to the ventrally-placed mouth. this structure is the velum. in its centre is a single long flagellum (fig. b). shortly after this the shell appears as a saddle-shaped structure on the hinder part of the dorsal surface of the embryo. it is formed at first of two halves which meet behind without the trace of a hinge (fig. c). the two halves rapidly grow and partially cover over the velum, and below them the mantle folds soon sprout out as lateral flaps. the alimentary tract has by this time become differentiated (fig. c). it consists of a mouth (_m_) and ciliated oesophagus probably derived from the stomodæum, a stomach and intestine derived from the true hypoblast, and an hepatic organ consisting of two separate lobes opening into the stomach. the anus (_an_) appears not far behind the mouth, and between the two is a very slightly developed rudiment of the foot (_b_). the anterior adductor muscle (_cm_) appears at this stage, though the posterior is not yet differentiated. the larva is now ready to be hatched, but the further stages of its development were not followed. ostrea. the larvæ of ostrea, figured by salensky (no. ), shew a close resemblance to those of cardium. the velum is however a simple ring of cilia without a central flagellum. the proctodæum would appear to be formed later than the stomodæum, and the earliest stage figured is too far advanced to throw light on the position of the blastopore. pisidium. the development of pisidium has been investigated by lankester (no. ). the ovum is invested by a vitelline membrane and undergoes development in a brood-pouch at the base of the inner gill lamella. the segmentation commences by a division into four equal spheres, each of which, as in so many other mollusca, then gives rise by budding to a small sphere. the later stages of segmentation have not been followed in detail, but the result of segmentation is a blastosphere. an invagination, presumably at the lower pole, now takes place, and gives rise to an archenteric sack. [fig. . three views of an embryo of pisidium immediately after the closure of the blastopore. (after lankester.) a. view from the surface. b. optical section through the median plane. c. optical section through a plane a little below the surface. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _p._ cells apparently budding from the hypoblast to form mesoblastic elements.] the embryo now rapidly grows in size. the blastopore becomes closed and the archenteric sack forms a small mass attached at one point to the walls of the embryonic vesicle (fig. , _hy_). in the space between the walls of the archenteron and those of the embryonic vesicle stellate mesoblast cells make their appearance, derived in the main from the epiblast, though probably in part also from the hypoblastic vesicle (_vide_ fig. c, _p_). the cavity between the hypoblast and epiblast, which contains these cells, is the body cavity. fig. represents three views of the embryo at this stage. a is a surface view shewing the epiblast; b is an optical section through the median plane shewing the hypoblast and some of the mesoblast cells; and c is an optical section shewing the mesoblast cells. a prominence on one side of the embryo now develops which forms the commencement of the foot, and the archenteric sack grows out at its free extremity into two lobes, but remains attached to the epiblast by an imperforate pedicle. the next organ to appear is the stomodæum. it arises as a ciliated epiblastic ingrowth which meets the free end of the archenteric sack, fuses with it, and shortly afterwards opens into it (fig. , _ph_). between the mouth and the attachment of the enteric pedicle is placed the foot (_f_), which becomes ciliated. on the dorsal side of the enteric pedicle there appears a saddle-shaped patch of epiblast cells bounding the sides of a groove (_shs_). this is the rudiment of the shell-gland. the enteric pedicle, or intestine as it may now be called, soon acquires a lumen, though still imperforate at its termination where the anus is eventually formed. ventral to the intestine is placed a mass of cells--the rudiment of the organ of bojanus. it is stated to be developed as an ingrowth of the epiblast. in a slightly later stage the shell-gland rapidly increases in size and flattens out, and on the two sides of it there appear the rudiments of the two valves, which are at first quite distinct, and separated by a considerable interval (fig. ). before the appearance of the valves of the shell, the mantle folds have already grown out from the sides of the body. [fig. . diagrammatic view of advanced larva of pisidium. (copied from lankester.) _m._ mouth; _a._ anus; b. organ of bojanus; _mn._ mantle; _f._ foot.] at a somewhat later stage the gills appear as a linear series of small independent buds within the folds of the mantle behind the foot (fig. , _br_). the anterior adductor also becomes differentiated. the alimentary tract in the meantime has undergone considerable changes. the primitive lateral lobes dilate enormously and become ciliated. at a still later stage their walls undergo peculiar changes, the nature of which is somewhat obscure, but they appear to me to be of the same character as those in many pteropods and gasteropods, where the cells of the hepatic diverticula, to which the lobes of pisidium apparently correspond, become filled with an albuminous material. the later stages in pisidium have not been followed. it is remarkable that in pisidium a veliger stage does not occur. this is probably due to the development taking place within the brood-pouch. the late development of the otocysts is also remarkable. a byssus-gland was not formed up to the stage observed. in cyclas calyculata (schmidt), a byssus-gland also appears to be absent. cyclas. the development of cyclas as described by von jhering is very unlike that of pisidium, and the differences would seem to be too great to be accounted for except by errors of observation. the segmentation of cyclas is similar to that of anodon (_vide_ p. ), and a mass of large cells enclosed by the smaller cells gives rise to the hypoblast. in the interior of this mass there appears a lumen, and a process from it grows towards and meets the epiblast, and gives rise to the oesophagus and mouth,--a mode of development of these parts without parallel amongst mollusca. a very rudimentary velum would appear, according to leydig (no. ), to be developed at the cephalic extremity. a shell-gland is formed of the same character as in gasteropods. according to leydig the shell appears as a single saddle-like structure on the dorsal surface; the lateral parts of this become calcified, and give rise to the two valves, but are united in the middle by the membranous median portion. at the two sides of the body the mantle lobes are formed, as in pisidium. very shortly after the formation of the shell the byssus-gland appears as a pair of small follicles in the hinder part of the foot. it rapidly grows larger and becomes a paired pyriform gland, in which are secreted the byssus threads which serve to attach all the embryos at a common point to the walls of the brood-pouch. the foot is large, and ciliated anteriorly. otolithic sacks and peda ganglia are developed in it very early. unio. the ovum of anodonta and unio is enveloped in a vitelline membrane, the surface of which is raised into a projecting trumpet-like tube perforated at its extremity (fig. ). this structure is the micropyle. the micropyle disappears in anodonta piscinalis when the egg is ripe, but in unio persists during the whole development. the ova are transported, in a manner not certainly made out, into the space between the two limbs of the outer gills of the mother, and there undergo their early development. the animal or upper pole of the egg is placed at the pole opposite to the micropyle. the segmentation is unequal (__vide__ p. ) and results in the formation of a blastosphere with a large segmentation cavity. the greater part of the circumference of the egg is formed of small uniform spheres, but the lower (with reference to the segmentation) pole is taken up by a single large cell. the small spheres become the epiblast, and the large cell gives rise to hypoblast and mesoblast[ ]. [ ] the account of the remainder of the development till the larva becomes hatched is taken from rabl, no. . the single large cell next divides into two, and then four, and finally into about ten to fifteen cells. these cells form an especial area of more granular cells than the other cells of the blastosphere. most of them are nearly of the same size, but two of them (according to rabl), in contact with each other, but placed on the future right and left sides of the embryo, are considerably larger than the remainder. these two cells soon pass into the cavity of the blastosphere, while at the same time the area of granular cells becomes flattened out, and then becomes involuted as a small sack with a transversely elongated opening, which does not nearly fill up the cavity of the blastosphere. this involuted sack is the archenteron. the two large cells, which lie in immediate contact with what, following rabl, i shall call the anterior lip of the blastopore, next bud off small cells, which first form a layer covering the walls of the archenteron, but subsequently develop into a network filling up the whole cavity of the primitive blastosphere. the space between these cells is the primitive body cavity. for a long time the two primitive mesoblast cells retain their preponderating size[ ]. at the hinder end of the body, and at the end opposite therefore to the two mesoblast cells, are placed three especially large epiblast cells. [ ] in this description i follow rabl's nomenclature. according to his statements the ventral part of the body is the original animal pole--the dorsal the lower pole; the anterior end the mesoblastic side of the opening of invagination. in anodonta and unio tumidus there appears at this period a patch of long cilia at the anterior end of the body. these cilia cause a rotation of the embryo and would appear to be the velum. in unio pictorum they do not appear till much later. immediately following this stage the changes in the embryo take place with great rapidity. in the first place a special mass of mesoblast cells appears at the hinder end of the archenteric sack; and becoming elongated transversely gives rise to the single adductor muscle. on the subsequent formation of the shell the muscle becomes inserted in its two valves. the blastopore next becomes closed, and the small archenteron grows forwards till it meets the epiblast anteriorly, and at the same time detaches itself from the epiblast in the region where the blastopore was placed. where it comes in contact with the wall of the body in front a small epiblastic invagination arises, which meets and opens into the archenteric sack and forms the permanent mouth. while these changes have been taking place the shell is formed as a continuous saddle-shaped plate on the dorsal surface. from this plate the two valves are subsequently differentiated. on the dorsal surface they meet with a straight hinge-line. each valve is at first rounded, but subsequently becomes triangular with the hinge-line as base. the valves are not quite equi-sided, but the anterior side is less convex than the posterior. at a later period a beak-shaped organ is formed at the apex of each valve in the same manner as the remainder of the shell. this organ is placed at about a right angle with the main portion of the valve. it is pointed at its extremity and bears numerous sharp spines on its outer side, which are especially large in the median line (_vide_ fig. a). it is employed in fixing the larva, after it is hatched, on to the fish on which it is for some time parasitic. the shell is perforated by numerous pores. after the shell has become formed a new structure makes its appearance which is known as the byssus-gland. it is developed as an invagination of the epiblast at the hinder end of the body: rabl was unable to determine whether it was formed from the three large epiblastic cells present there or no. it subsequently forms an elongated gland with three coils or so round the adductor muscle on the left side of the body, but opening in the median ventral line. it secretes an elongated cord by which the larva becomes suspended after hatching. for some time the ventral portion of the body projects behind the ends of the valves of the shell, but before these are completely formed a median invagination of the body wall takes place, which obliterates to a large extent the body cavity, and gives rise to two great lateral lobes, one for each valve. these lobes are the mantle lobes. before the mantle lobes are fully formed peculiar sense organs, usually four in number, make their appearance on each lobe. each of them consists of a columnar cell, bearing at its free end a cuticle from which numerous fine bristles proceed. covering the cell and the parts adjoining it is a delicate membrane perforated for the passage of the bristles. the largest and first formed of these organs is placed near the anterior and dorsal part of the mantle. the three others are placed near the free end of the mantle (_vide_ fig. a). these organs probably have the function of enabling the larva to detect the passage of a fish in its vicinity, and to assist it therefore in attaching itself. when the embryo is nearly ripe there appears immediately ventral to and behind the velum a shallow pit on each side of the middle line, and the two pits appear to be connected by a median transverse bridge. these structures have been the cause of great perplexity to different investigators, and their meaning is not yet clear. according to rabl the median structure is the somewhat bilobed archenteron, and according to his view it is not really connected with the laterally placed pits. the cilia of the velum overlie these latter structures and make them appear as if their edges were ciliated. they are regarded by rabl as the rudiments of the nervous system. with the development of the shell, the mantle, and the sense organs, the young mussel reaches its full larval development, and is now known as a glochidium (fig. a). if the parent, with glochidia in its gills, is placed in a tank with fish, it very soon (as i have found from numerous experiments) ejects the larvæ from its gills, and as soon as this occurs the larvæ become free from the egg membrane, attach themselves by the byssus-cord, and when suspended in this position continually close and open their shells by the contraction of the adductor muscle. if the mussels are not placed in a tank with fish the larvæ may remain for a long time in the gills. [fig. . a. glochidium immediately after it is hatched. _ad._ adductor; _sh._ shell; _by._ byssus cord; _s._ sense organs. b. glochidium after it has been on the fish for some weeks. _br._ branchiæ; _au.v._ auditory sack; _f._ foot; _a.ad._ and _p.ad._ anterior and posterior adductors; _al._ mesenteron; _mt._ mantle.] before passing on to state what is known with reference to the larval metamorphosis, it may be well to call attention to certain, and to my mind not inconsiderable, difficulties in the way of accepting in all particulars rabl's account of the development. in all gasteropod molluscs the lower or vegetative pole of the ovum is ventral, not dorsal as rabl would make it in unio. the blastopore in other molluscs always coincides either with the mouth or anus, or extends between the two. the surface on which the foot is formed is the ventral surface. on the dorsal surface are placed, ( ) the velum near the mouth, ( ) the shell-gland near the anus. in anodon the velum is placed just dorsal to the mouth, then according to rabl follows the blastopore, and in the region of the blastopore is formed the shell. the blastopore is therefore dorsal in position. it occupies in fact the ordinary place of the shell-gland, and looks very much like this organ (which is not otherwise present in anodon and unio). without necessarily considering rabl's interpretations false, i think that the above difficulties should have been at any rate discussed in his paper. more especially is this the case when there is no doubt that rabl has made in his paper on lymnæus a confusion between the mouth and the shell-gland. investigations on the post-embryonic metamorphosis of glochidium have been made by braun (no. ), and several years ago i made a series of observations on this subject, the results of which agree in most points with those of braun. i was however unsuccessful in carrying on my observations till the young mussel left its host. the free glochidia very soon attach themselves to the gills, fins, or other parts of fish which are placed in the tank containing them; after attachment they become covered by a growth of the epidermic cells of their host, and undergo their metamorphosis. the first change that takes place is the disappearance of the byssus and the byssus organ. this occurs very soon; shortly afterwards all traces of the velum and sense organs also become lost. at the time of the disappearance of these bodies, at the point of the projection from which the byssus cord arose, and very possibly from this very projection, the foot arises as a rounded process which rapidly grows and soon becomes ciliated (fig. b, _f_). the single adductor muscle begins to atrophy very early, but before its entire disappearance rudiments are formed at the two ends of the body, which at a later period can be distinctly recognised as the anterior and posterior adductor muscles (fig. b, _a.ad_ and _p.ad_). after the formation of these parts the gills arise as solid and at first somewhat knobbed papillæ covered with a ciliated epidermis, on each side of, but somewhat in front of (!) the foot (fig. b, _br_). in the foot there soon appear the auditory sacks (_au.v_), and the foot itself becomes a long tongue-like ciliated organ projecting backwards[ ]. [ ] the position of the foot and gills in the larva represented in fig. b would be more normal if the convex and not the flatter side of the shell were the anterior. i have followed rabl and flemming in the determinations of the anterior and posterior end of the embryo, but failed to rear my larvæ up to a stage at which the presence of the heart or some other organ would definitely confirm their interpretation. i originally adopted myself the other view, and in case they are mistaken, the so-called velum would be a circumanal patch of cilia, while the position of the primitive mesoblast cells as well as of the byssus would better suit my view than that adopted in the text on the authority of the above observers. the mantle lobes undergo great changes, and indeed by braun the mantle lobes are stated to be formed almost entirely _de novo_. the permanent shell is (braun) formed on the dorsal surface of the still parasitic larva in the form of two small independent plates. i have not followed the changes of the alimentary canal, etc., but at an early stage there is visible, dorsal to the foot, a simple enteric sack. by the time the larva leaves its host all the organs of the adult, except the generative organs, have become established. the post-embryonic development of the organs of glochidium is similar in the main to that of other lamellibranchiata. this fact is of some importance on account of the peculiarities of the earlier developmental stages. the byssus organ, the toothed processes of the shell, and the sense organs of the glochidium can hardly be ancestral rudiments, but must be organs which have been specially developed for the peculiar mode of life of the glochidium. whether the single muscle is to be counted amongst such provisional organs is perhaps a more doubtful point, but i am inclined to think that it ought to be so. if however the single muscle is an ancestral organ, it is important to observe that it entirely disappears as development goes on and the two adductor muscles in the adult are developed independently of it. _general review of the characters of the molluscan larvæ._ the typical larva of a mollusc, as has been more especially pointed out by lankester, is essentially similar to the larva of a number of invertebrate types, and especially the chætopoda, with the addition of certain special organs characteristic of the mollusca. it has a bent alimentary tract, with a mouth on the ventral surface and a terminal or ventral anus. the alimentary tract is divided into three regions: oesophagus, stomach, and intestine. there is a variously developed præoral lobe with a ring of cilia--the velum, and a peri-anal lobe, often with a patch of cilia (paludina, etc.). in all these characters it is essentially similar to a chætopod larva. the two characteristic molluscan organs are ( ) a foot between the mouth and anus, and ( ) an invagination of the epiblast on the dorsal side at the hinder end of the body, which is connected with the formation of the shell. the larvæ of most gasteropoda, pteropoda, and lamellibranchiata present no features which call for special remark; but the larvæ of the gymnosomata amongst the pteropoda, and of the scaphopoda, polyplacophora and cephalopoda present interesting peculiarities. the larvæ of the gymnosomata are peculiar in the presence of three transverse ciliated rings, _situated behind the velum_ (fig. ). these rings might be regarded as indications of a rudimentary segmentation; but, as already indicated, this view is not satisfactory. there is every reason for thinking that these rings have been specially acquired by these larvæ. at first sight the larvæ of the gymnosomata might be supposed to resemble those of the scaphopoda, which are also provided with transverse ciliated rings; but, as shewn above, the rings of the scaphopoda are merely parts of the extended velar ring. thus, the ciliated rings of the two larvæ--so similar in appearance--are in reality structures of entirely different values, being in the one case parts of the velum, and in the other special developments of cilia behind the velum. the great peculiarity of the early larva of the scaphopoda is the enormous development of the præoral lobe, which gives room for the development of the ciliated rings. in the presence of a central tuft of cilia, at the anterior extremity, the larva of the scaphopoda resembles that of the lamellibranchiata, etc. the larva of the polyplacophora resembles that of lamellibranchiata in its anterior flagellum, and that of the scaphopoda in the large development of the præoral lobe; but is quite peculiar amongst mollusca in the transverse segmentation of the mantle area. the embryo of the cephalopoda agrees very closely with that of normal odontophora in the formation of the mantle and (?) of the shell-gland, but is quite exceptional ( ) in the almost invariable presence of a more or less developed external yolk-sack, ( ) in the absence of a velum, ( ) in the absence of a median foot, and in the presence of the arms. the presence of a yolk-sack may most conveniently be spoken of in connection with the foot, and we may therefore pass on to the question of the velum. the velum is one of the most characteristic embryonic appendages of the mollusca, and its absence in the cephalopoda is certainly very striking. by some investigators the arms have been regarded as representing the velum, but considering that they are primitively placed on the posterior and ventral side of the mouth, and that the velum is essentially an organ on the dorsal side of the mouth, this view cannot, in my opinion, be maintained with any plausibility. various views have been put forward with reference to the cephalopod foot. huxley's view, which is the one most generally adopted, is given in the following quotation[ ]. [ ] _the anatomy of invertebrated animals_, p. . "but that which particularly distinguishes the cephalopoda is the form and disposition of the foot. the margins of this organ are, in fact, produced into eight or more processes termed arms, or _brachia_; and its anterolateral portions have grown over and united in front of the mouth, which thus comes, apparently, to be placed in the centre of the pedal disk. moreover, two muscular lobes which correspond with the epipodia of the pteropods and branchiogasteropods, developed from the sides of the foot, unite posteriorly, and, folding over, give rise to a more or less completely tubular organ--the funnel or _infundibulum_." grenacher, from his observations on the development of cephalopoda, argues strongly against this view, and maintains that no median structure comparable with the foot is present in this group: and that the arms cannot be regarded as taking the place of the foot, but are more probably representatives of the velum. the difficulty of arriving at a decision on this subject is mainly due to the presence of the yolk-sack, which, amongst the cephalopoda as amongst the vertebrata, is the cause of considerable modifications in the course of the development. the foot is essentially a protuberance on the ventral surface, between the mouth and the anus. in gasteropods it is usually not filled with yolk, but contains a cavity, traversed by contractile mesoblastic cells. in this group the blastopore is a slit-like opening (_vide_ p. ) extending over the region of the foot, from the mouth to the anus, the final point of the closure of which is usually at the oral but sometimes at the anal extremity. in cephalopods the position of the gasteropod foot is occupied by the external yolk-sack. in normal forms the blastopore closes at the apex of the yolk-sack, and at the two sides of the yolk-sack the arms grow out. these considerations seem to point to the conclusion that the normal gasteropod foot is represented in the cephalopod embryo by the yolk-sack, which has, owing to the immense bulk of food-yolk present in the ovum, become filled with food-yolk and enormously dilated. the closure of the blastopore at the apex of the yolk-sack, and not at its oral or anal side, is what might naturally be anticipated from the great extension of this part. grenacher's type of larva, where the external yolk-sack is practically absent, appears to me to lend confirmation to this view. if the reader will turn to fig. , he will observe a prominence between the mouth and anus, which exactly resembles the ordinary gasteropod foot. at the sides of this prominence are placed the rudiments of the arms. this prominence is filled with yolk, and represents the rudiment of the external yolk-sack of the typical cephalopod embryo. the blastopore, owing to the smaller bulk of the food-yolk, reverts more nearly to its normal position on the oral side of this prominence. if the above considerations have the weight which i attribute to them, the unpaired part of the cephalopod foot has been overlooked in the embryo on account of the enormous dilatation it has undergone from being filled with food-yolk; and also owing to the fact that in the adult the median part of the foot is unrepresented. the arms are clearly, as huxley states, processes of the margin of the foot. both grenacher and huxley agree in regarding the funnel as representing the coalesced epipodia; but grenacher points out that the anterior folds which assist in forming the funnel (_vide_ p. ) represent the great lateral epipodia of the pteropod foot, and the posterior folds the so-called horse-shoe shaped portion of the pteropod foot. _development of organs._ the epiblast. with reference to the general structure of the epiblast there is nothing very specially deserving of notice. it gives rise to the whole of the general epidermis and to the epithelium of the organs of sense. the most remarkable feature about it is a negative one, viz. that it does not, in all cases at any rate, give rise to the nervous system. the epiblast of the mantle has the special capacity of secreting a shell, and the integument of the foot has also a more or less similar property in that it forms the operculum, and a byssus in some lamellibranchiata, other parts of the integument form the radula, setæ in chiton, and other similar structures. nervous system. the origin of the nervous system in mollusca is still involved in some obscurity. it is the general opinion amongst the majority of investigators that the nervous ganglia in gasteropods and pteropods are formed from detached thickenings of the epiblast. both lankester (no. ) and fol (no. - ) have arrived at this conclusion, and rabl has shewn by sections that in planorbis there are two lateral thickenings of the epiblast in the velar area; from which the supra-oesophageal ganglia become subsequently separated off. the observations on the pedal ganglia are less precise: they very probably arise as thickenings of the epiblast of the side of the foot. according to fol, the nervous system in the hyaleacea amongst the pteropoda originates in a somewhat different way. a disc-like area appears in the centre of the velum, which soon becomes nearly divided into two halves. from each of these there is formed by invagination a small sack. the axes of invagination of the two sacks meet at an angle on the surface. the cavities of the sacks become obliterated; the sacks themselves become detached from the surface, fuse in the middle line, and come to lie astride of the oesophagus. fol has detected a similar process in limax. the exact origin of the pedal ganglia was not observed, but fol is inclined to believe that they develop from the mesoblast of the foot. a very different view is held by bobretzky (no. ), whose observations were made by means of sections. the supra-oesophageal and pedal ganglia are formed according to this author as independent and ill-defined local thickenings of cells which are apparently mesoblastic. the two sets of ganglia appear nearly simultaneously, and later than the rudiments of the auditory and optic organs. in the cephalopoda there seems to be but little doubt, as first pointed out by lankester, that the various ganglia originate in what is apparently mesoblastic tissue. there is still very much requiring to be made out with reference to their origin, unless details on this subject are given in bobretzky's russian memoir. it would seem however that each ganglion develops as an independent differentiation of the mesoblast (unless the optic and cerebral ganglia are from the first continuous)[ ]. the corresponding ganglia of the two sides become subsequently united and the various ganglia become connected by their proper commissural cords. the ganglia are shewn in figures , , and . [ ] ussow states that they are independent. in lamellibranchiata the development of the nervous system has not been worked out. the two points which are most striking in the development of the nervous system of mollusca are ( ) the fact that in the cephalopoda at any rate it is developed from tissue apparently mesoblastic; and ( ) the fact that the several ganglia frequently originate quite independently, and subsequently become connected. with reference to the first of these points it should be noticed that the supra-oesophageal and pedal ganglia are at first respectively connected with the optic and auditory organs, and that these sense organs are in some cases at any rate developed anteriorly in point of time to the ganglia. it seems perhaps not impossible that primitively the ganglia may have been simply differentiations of the walls of the sense organ, and perhaps their apparent derivation from the mesoblast is really a derivation from cells which primitively belonged to the walls of these sense organs. bobretzky's observations on fusus fit in well with this view. in the hyaleacea and in other pteropods, where the eyes are absent in the adult, fol finds the supra-oesophageal ganglia resulting from a pair of epiblastic invaginations. may not these invaginations be really rudiments of the eyes as well as of the ganglia? fol also, it is true, describes a similar mode of origin for these ganglia in limax. it would be interesting to have further observations on this subject. the independent origin of the pedal and supra-oesophageal ganglia finds its parallel amongst the chætopoda. [fig. . three diagrammatic sections of the eyes of mollusca. (after grenacher.) a. nautilus. b. gasteropod (limax or helix). c. dibranchiate cephalopod. _pal._ eyelid; _co._ cornea; _co.ep._ epithelium of ciliary body; _ir._ iris; _int._ _int _ ... _int ._ different parts of the integument; _l._ lens; _l ._ outer segment of lens; _r._ retina; _n.op._ optic nerve; _g.op._ optic ganglion; _x._ inner layer of retina; _n.s._ nervous stratum of retina.] the supra-oesophageal ganglia appear always to develop within the region of the velar area. this area corresponds with the præ-oral lobe of the chætopod larva, at the apex of which is developed the supra-oesophageal ganglion. embryology thus confirms the results of comparative anatomy in reference to the homology of these ganglia in the two groups. optic organs[ ]. an eye is present in most gasteropods and in many larval pteropods. although its development has not been fully worked out, yet it has clearly been shewn by bobretzky and other investigators that it originates as an involution of the epidermis, which first forms a cup and eventually a closed vesicle. the posterior wall of the vesicle gives rise to the retina, the anterior to the inner epithelium of the cornea. the external epidermis becomes continued over the outer surface of the vesicle. [ ] for a fuller account of this subject the reader is referred to the chapter on 'the development of the eye.' the lens is formed in the interior of the vesicle, probably as a cuticular deposit, which increases by the addition of concentric layers. pigment becomes deposited between the cells of the retina. fig. b is a diagrammatic representation of the adult eye of a gasteropod. the cephalopod eye is formed, as first shewn by lankester, as a pit in the epiblast round which a fold arises (fig. a) and gradually grows over the mouth of the pit so as to shut it off from communication with the exterior (fig. b). [fig. . two sections through the developing eye of a cephalopod to shew the formation of the optic cup. (after lankester.)] the epiblast lining the posterior region of the vesicle gives rise to the retina, that lining the anterior region to the ciliary body and processes. it is important to notice that the condition of the eye just before the above pit becomes closed is exactly that which is permanent in nautilus (_vide_ fig. a). after the pit has become closed a mesoblastic layer grows in between its wall and the external epiblast. the lens becomes formed in two independent segments. the inner and larger of these arises as a rod-like process (fig. ) projecting from the front wall of the optic vesicle into the cavity of the vesicle. it is a cuticular structure and therefore without cells. by the deposition of a series of concentric layers it soon assumes a spherical form (fig. , _hl_). the condition of the eye, with a closed optic vesicle and the lens projecting into it, is that which is permanent in the majority of gasteropods (_vide_ fig. b). at about the time when the lens first becomes formed a fold composed of epiblast and mesoblast appears round the edge of the optic cup (fig. , _cc_), and gives rise to a structure known in the adult as the iris. shortly afterwards this becomes more prominent (fig. , _if_), and at the same time the layers of cells of the ciliary region in front of the inner segment of the lens become reduced to the condition of mere membranes (fig. b); and in front of them the anterior or outer segment of the lens becomes formed as a cuticular deposit (fig. b, _vl_). at a still later period a fresh fold of epiblast and mesoblast appears round the eye and gradually constitutes the anterior optic chamber (_vide_ fig. c, _co_). in most forms this chamber communicates with the exterior by a small aperture, but in some it is completely closed. the fold itself gives rise to the cornea in front and to the sclerotic at the sides. at a later period another fold may appear forming the eyelids (fig. c, _pal_). [fig. . transverse section through the head of an advanced embryo of loligo. (after bobretzky.) _vd._ oesophagus; _gls._ salivary gland; _g.vs._ visceral ganglion; _gc._ cerebral ganglion; _g.op._ optic ganglion; _adk._ optic cartilage; _ak._ and _y._ lateral cartilage or (?) white body; _rt._ retina; _gm._ limiting membrane; _vk._ ciliary region of eye; _cc._ iris; _ac._ auditory sack (the epithelium lining the auditory sacks is not represented); _vc._ vena cava; _ff._ folds of funnel.] auditory organs. a pair of auditory sacks is found in the larvæ of almost all gasteropods and pteropods, and usually originates very early. they are placed in the front part of the foot, and on the formation of the pedal ganglia come into close connection with it, though they receive their nervous supply in the adult from the supra-oesophageal ganglia. in a very considerable number of cases amongst gasteropods and pteropods the auditory organs have been observed to develop as invaginations of the epiblast, which give rise to closed vesicles lying in the foot, _e.g._ paludina, nassa, heteropods, limax, some pteropods (clio). this is no doubt the primitive mode of origin, but in other cases, which perhaps require confirmation, the sacks are stated to originate from a differentiation of solid thickenings of the epidermis or of the tissues subjacent to it. the auditory sacks are provided with an otolith, which according to fol's observations is first formed in the wall of the sack. in cephalopods the auditory organs are formed as epiblastic pits on the posterior surface of the embryo, and are at first widely separated (fig. , _ac_). the openings of the pits become narrowed, and finally the original pits form small sacks lined by an epithelium, and communicating with the exterior by narrow ducts, equivalent to the _recessus vestibuli_ of vertebrates, and named, after their discoverer, kölliker's ducts. the external openings of these ducts become completely closed at about the same time as the shell-gland, and the ducts remain as ciliated diverticula of the auditory pits. the widely separated auditory sacks gradually approach in the middle ventral line, and are immediately invested by the visceral ganglia (fig. , _ac_). they finally come to lie in contact on the inner side of the funnel. on the side opposite kölliker's duct, an epithelial ridge is formed--the _crista acustica_--the cells of which give rise to an otolith connected with the crista by a granular material. at a later period of development three regions of the epithelium of the sack become especially differentiated. each of these regions is provided with two rows of cells, bearing on their free edges numerous very short auditory hairs. the cells of each row are placed nearly at right angles to those of the adjoining row. [fig. . sections through the developing eye of loligo at two stages. (after bobretzky.) _hl._ inner segment of lens; _vl._ outer segment of lens; _a_ and _a´_. epithelium lining the anterior optic chamber; _gz._ large epiblast cells of ciliary body; _cc._ small epiblast cells of ciliary body; _ms._ layer of mesoblast between the two epiblastic layers of the ciliary body; _af._ and _if._ fold of iris; _rt._ retina; _r´´._ inner layer of retina; _st._ rods; _aq._ equatorial cartilage.] muscular system. the muscular system in all groups of molluscs is derived entirely from the mesoblast. the greater part of the system takes its origin from the somatic mesoblast. in almost all gasteropod and pteropod larvæ there is present a well-developed spindle muscle attaching the embryo to the shell. this muscle appears to be absent in the cephalopoda. body cavity and vascular system. the body cavity in gasteropods and pteropods originates either by a definite splitting of the mesoblast, or by the appearance of intercellular spaces. it becomes divided into numerous sinuses which freely communicate with the vascular system. very different accounts have been given by different investigators of the development of the heart in the gasteropoda and pteropoda. it would seem however in most cases to arise as a solid mass of mesoblast cells at the hind end of the pallial cavity, which subsequently becomes hollowed out and divided into an auricle and ventricle. bobretzky's careful observations have fully established this mode of development for nassa. in pteropods the heart is formed (fol) close to the anus, but slightly dorsal to it (fig. , _h_). the pericardium is formed from the mesoblast at a considerably later period than the heart. a very different account of the formation of the heart is given by bütschli for paludina. he states that there appears an immense contractile sack on the left side of the body. this becomes subsequently reduced in size, and in the middle of it appears the heart, probably from a fold of its wall. the original sack would appear to give rise to the pericardium. in connection with the vascular system mention may be made of certain contractile sinuses frequently found in the larvæ of gasteropoda and pteropoda. one of these is placed at the base of the foot, and the other on the dorsal surface within the mantle cavity immediately below the velum[ ]. the completeness of the differentiation of these sinuses varies considerably; in some forms they are true sacks with definite walls, in other cases mere spaces traversed by muscular strands. they are found in the majority of marine gasteropods, heteropods and pteropods. in limax a large posteriorly placed pedal sinus is well developed, and there is also a sinus in the visceral sack. the rhythmical contraction of the yolk-sack of cephalopods appears to be a phenomenon of the same nature as the contraction of the foot sinus of limax. [ ] rabl holds that there is no contractile dorsal sinus, but that the appearance of contraction there is due to the contractions of the foot. in calyptræa (salensky) there is an enormous provisional cephalic dilatation within the velum which does not appear to be contractile. similar though less marked cephalic vesicles are found in fusus, buccinum and most marine gasteropods. in cephalopods the vascular system is formed by a series of independent (?) spaces originating in the mesoblast, the cells around which give rise to the walls of the vessels. the branchial hearts are formed at about the time at which the shell-gland becomes closed. the aortic heart (fig. , _c_) is formed of two independent halves which subsequently coalesce (bobretzky). the true body cavity arises as a space in the mesoblast subsequently to the formation of the main vascular trunks. renal organs. amongst the gasteropods and pteropods there are present provisional renal organs, which may be of two kinds, and a permanent renal organ. the provisional organs consist of either ( ) an external paired mass of excretory cells or ( ) an internal organ provided with a duct, which is not in all cases certainly known to open externally. the former structure is found especially in the marine prosobranchiates (nassa, etc.) where it has been fully studied by bobretzky. it consists of a mass of cells on each side of the body, close to the base of the foot, and not far behind the velum. this mass grows very large, and below it may be seen a continuous layer of epiblast. the cells forming it fuse together, their nuclei disappear, and numerous vacuoles containing concretions arise in them. at a later stage all the vacuoles unite together and form a cavity filled with a brown granular mass. the provisional internal renal organ is found in many pulmonate gasteropods--lymnæus, planorbis, etc. it consists of a paired v-shaped ciliated tube with a pedal and cephalic limb. the former has an external opening, but the termination of the latter is still in doubt. it consists, according to büschli's description (no. ), in the freshwater pulmonata (lymnæus, planorbis) of a round sack, close to the head, opening by an elongated and richly ciliated tube in the neighbourhood of the eye. from the sack a second shorter tube passes off towards the foot, which seems however to end blindly. the cells lining the sack contain concretions, and there is one especially large cell in the lumen of the sack attached on the side turned towards the eye. it coexists in lymnæus with provisional renal organs of the type of those in marine prosobranchiata. a somewhat different description of the structure and development of this organ in planorbis has recently been given by rabl (no. ). it consists of a v-shaped tube on each side with both extremities opening into the body cavity. the one limb is directed towards the velar area, the other towards the foot. it is developed from the mesoblast cells of the anterior part of the mesoblastic band. the large mesoblast (p. ) of each side grows into two processes, the two limbs of the future organ. a lumen in the cell is continued into each limb, while continuations of the two limbs of the v are formed from the hollowing out of the central parts of the adjoining mesoblast cells. in limax embryos gegenbaur found a pair of elongated provisional branched renal sacks, the walls of which contained concretions. these sacks are provided with anteriorly directed ducts opening on the dorsal side of the mouth. this organ is probably of the same nature as the provisional renal organ in other pulmonata. _permanent renal organ._ according to the most recent observer (rabl, no. ), whose statements are supported by the sections figured, the permanent renal organ in gasteropods is developed from a mass of mesoblast cells close to the end of the intestine. this is first carried somewhat to the left side, and then becomes elongated and hollow, and attaches itself to the epiblast on the left side of the anus (fig. , _r_). after the formation of the heart the inner end opens into the pericardium and becomes ciliated, the median part becomes glandular and concrements appear in its lining cells, and the terminal part forms the duct. previous observers have usually derived this organ from the epiblast; according to rabl this is owing to their having studied too late a stage in the development. in cephalopoda the excretory sacks or organ of bojanus are apparently differentiations of the mesoblast[ ]. at an early stage part of their walls envelops the branchial veins. from this part of the wall the true glandular section of the organ would seem to be formed. the epithelium forming the inner wall of each sack is at an early age very columnar. [ ] i conclude this from bobretzky's figures. the development of the organ of bojanus in lamellibranchiata has been studied by lankester. he finds that it develops as a paired invagination of the epiblast immediately ventral to the anus. generative glands. the generative glands in mollusca would appear to be usually developed in the post-larval period, but our knowledge on this subject is extremely scanty. in pteropods fol believes that he has proved that the hermaphrodite gland originates from two independent formations, one (the testicular) epiblastic in origin, and the other (the ovarian) hypoblastic. these views of fol do not appear to me nearly sufficiently substantiated to be at present accepted. the generative glands in cephalopoda appear to be simple differentiations of the mesoblast. they are at first very closely connected with the aortic heart (fig. , _kd_), but soon become completely separated from it. alimentary tract. the formation of the archenteron, and the relation of its opening to the permanent mouth and anus, has already been described and needs no further elucidation. it will be convenient to treat the subject of this section under three headings for each group--viz. ( ) the mesenteron, ( ) the stomodæum, and ( ) the proctodæum. _the mesenteron._ in the gasteropoda and pteropoda the mesenteron, as has already been mentioned, forms a simple sack, which may however, owing to the presence of food-yolk, be at first without a lumen. of this sack an anterior portion gives rise to the stomach and liver, and a posterior to the intestine. this latter portion is the first to be distinctly differentiated as such, and forms a narrowish tube connecting the anterior dilatation with the anus. in the meantime the cells of a great part of the anterior portion of the mesenteron undergo peculiar changes. they enlarge, and in each of them a deposit of food material appears, which is often at any rate derived from the absorption of the albumen in which the embryo floats. the cells on the dorsal side, adjoining the oesophageal invagination, and the whole of the cells on the ventral side do not however undergo these changes. there thus arises an anterior and ventral region adjoining the oesophagus, which becomes completely enclosed by small cells and forms the true stomach. the part behind and dorsal to the stomach is lined by the large nutritive cells and forms the liver. it opens into the stomach at the junction of the latter with the intestine, which in the later stages becomes bent somewhat forwards and to the right. still later the hepatic region becomes branched, the albuminous contents of its cells are replaced by a coloured secretion, and it becomes bodily converted into the liver. the stomach is usually richly ciliated. the various modifications of the above type of development of the alimentary tract are to be regarded as due to the disturbing influence of food-yolk. where primitively the hypoblast cells are very bulky, though invaginated in a normal way, the wall of the hepatic region becomes immensely swollen with food-yolk, _e.g._ nautica. in other cases amongst certain pteropods (fol, no. ) where the hypoblast is still more bulky, part of the archenteric walls becomes converted into a bilobed sack opening into the pyloric region, in the walls of which a large deposit of food material is stored, which gradually passes into the remainder of the alimentary tract and is there digested. the bilobed nutritive sack, as it is called by fol, is eventually completely absorbed, though the liver in some, if not all cases, grows out as a fresh sack from its duct. the formation of the permanent alimentary tract, when the hypoblast is so bulky that there is no true archenteric cavity, has been especially investigated by bobretzky (no. ). in the case of a species of fusus the hypoblast, when enclosed by the epiblast, is composed of four cells only. the blastopore remains permanently open at the oral region, and around it the oesophagus grows in a wall-like fashion. the protoplasmic portions of the four hypoblast cells are turned towards the oesophageal opening, and from them are budded off small cells which are continuous at the blastopore with the epiblast of the oesophagus. these cells give rise posteriorly to the intestine and anteriorly to the sack, which becomes the stomach and liver. this sack always remains open towards the four primitive yolk cells. the cells of the posterior part of it become larger and larger and form the hepatic sack, which fills up the left and posterior part of the visceral sack, pushing the yolk cells to the right. the cells lining the hepatic sack become pyramidal in shape, and each of them is filled with a peculiar mass of albuminous material. the cells adjoining the opening of the oesophagus remain small, become ciliated, and form the stomach. they are not sharply separated off from the cells of the hepatic sack. the yolk cells remain distinct on the right side of the body during larval life, and their food material is gradually absorbed for the nutrition of the embryo. a modification of the above mode of development, where the food material is still more bulky and the blastopore closed, is found in nassa, and has already been described (_vide_ p. ). _the stomodæum._ the stomodæum in most cases is formed as a simple epiblastic invagination which meets and opens into the mesenteron. when the blastopore remains permanently open at the oral region the stomodæum is formed as an epiblastic wall round its opening. in all cases the stomodæum gives rise to the mouth and oesophagus. at a subsequent period there are developed in the oral region of the stomodæum the radula in a special ventral pit, and the salivary glands--the latter as simple outgrowths. the oesophagus is usually ciliated. _the proctodæum._ except where the blastopore remains as the permanent anus (paludina) the proctodæum is always formed subsequently to the mouth. its formation is usually preluded by the appearance of two projecting epiblast cells, but it is always developed as a very shallow epiblastic invagination, which does not give rise to any part of the true intestine. in the cephalopods the alimentary tract is formed, as in other cephalophorous mollusca, of three sections. ( ) a stomodæum, formed by an epiblastic invagination, which gives rise to the mouth, oesophagus and salivary glands. ( ) a proctodæum, which is an extremely small epiblastic invagination. ( ) a mesenteron, lined by true hypoblast, which forms the main section of the alimentary tract, viz. the stomach, intestine, the liver, and ink sack[ ]. [ ] the following description applies specially to loligo. [fig. . longitudinal vertical section through a loligo ovum when the mesenteric cavity is just commencing to be formed. (after bobretzky.) _gls._ salivary gland; _brd._ sheath of radula; _oe._ oesophagus; _ds._ yolk-sack; _chs._ shell-gland; mt. mantle; _pdh._ mesenteron; _x._ epiblastic thickening between the folds of the funnel.] _the mesenteron._ the mesenteron is first visible from the surface as a small tubercle on the posterior side of the mantle between the rudiments of the two gills (fig. b, _an_). within this, as was first shewn by lankester, a cavity appears. this cavity is as in gasteropods open to the yolk-sack, and only separated from the yolk itself by the yolk membrane already spoken of. it is at first lined by indifferent cells of the lower layer of the blastoderm, which however soon become columnar and form a definite hypoblastic layer (fig. , _pdh_). between the hypoblast and epiblast there is a very well marked layer of mesoblast. as the mesenteric cavity extends, its walls meet the epiblast, and at the point of contact of the two layers the epiblast becomes slightly pitted in. at this point the anus is formed at a considerably later period (fig. , _an_). on the ventral side of the primitive mesenteron an outgrowth appears very early, which becomes the ink sack (fig. , _bi_). [fig. . longitudinal section through an advanced embryo of loligo. (after bobretzky.) _os._ mouth; _gls._ salivary gland; _brd._ sheath of radula; _ao._ anterior aorta; _ao ._ posterior aorta; _va._ branch of posterior aorta to shell sack; _ma._ branch of posterior aorta to mantle; _c._ aortic heart; _oe._ oesophagus; _mg._ stomach; _an._ anus; _bi._ ink sack; _kd._ germinal tissue; _eih._ shell sack; _vc._ vena cava; _g.vs._ visceral ganglion; _g.pd._ pedal ganglion; _ac._ auditory sack; _tr._ funnel.] the mesenteric cavity, still open to the yolk, gradually extends itself in a dorsal direction over the yolk-sack, but remains for some time completely open to it ventrally, and only separated from the actual yolk by the yolk membrane. there early grow out from the walls of the mesenteron a pair of hepatic diverticula. as the mesenteric cavity extends it dilates at its distal extremity into a chamber destined to form the stomach (fig. , _mg_). at about this time the anus becomes perforated. shortly afterwards the mesenteron meets and opens into the oesophagus at the dorsal extremity of the yolk-sack, but at the time when this takes place the hypoblast has extended round the entire cavity, and has shut it off from the yolk. the yolk membrane throughout the whole of this period is quite passive, and has no share in forming the walls of the alimentary tract. _the stomodæeum._ the stomodæum appears as an epiblastic invagination at the anterior side of the blastoderm, before any trace of the mesenteron is present. it rapidly grows deeper, and, shortly after the mesenteric cavity becomes formed, an outgrowth arises from its wall adjoining the yolk-sack, which gives rise to the salivary glands (figs. and , _gls_). immediately behind the opening of the salivary glands there appears on its floor a swelling which becomes the odontophore, and behind this a pocket of the stomodæal wall forms the sheath of the radula (figs. and , _brd_). behind this again the oesophagus is continued dorsalwards as a very narrow tube, which eventually opens into the stomach (fig. ). the terminal portion of the rudiment of the salivary gland divides into two parts, each of which sends out numerous diverticula which constitute the permanent glands. the greater part of the original outgrowth remains as the unpaired duct of the two glands[ ]. [ ] in loligo only a single pair of salivary glands is present. in the larva observed by grenacher the anterior pair of salivary glands originated from independent lateral outgrowths of the floor of the mouth, close to the opening of the posterior salivary glands. _the yolk-sack of the cephalopoda._ the yolk, as has already been stated, becomes at an early period completely enclosed in a membrane formed of flattened cells, which constitutes a definite yolk-sack. it is, in the more typical forms of cephalopoda, divided into an external and an internal section, of which the former is probably a special differentiation of the median part of the foot of other cephalophorous mollusca (_vide_ p. ). at no period does the yolk-sack communicate with the alimentary tract. the two sections of the yolk-sack are at first not separated by a constriction. in the second half of embryonic life the condition of the yolk-sack undergoes considerable changes. the internal part grows greatly in size at the expense of the external, and the latter diminishes very rapidly and becomes constricted off from the internal part of the sack, with which it remains connected by a narrow vitelline duct. the internal yolk-sack becomes divided into three sections: a dilated section in the head, a narrow section in the neck, and an enormously developed portion in the mantle region. it is the latter part which mainly grows at the expense of the external yolk-sack. it gives off at its dorsal end two lobes, which pass round and embrace the lower part of the oesophagus. the passage of the yolk from the external to the internal yolk-sack is probably largely due to the contractions of the former. the external yolk-sack is not vascular, and probably the absorption of the yolk for the nutrition of the embryo can only take place in the internal yolk-sack. the most remarkable feature of the cephalopod yolk-sack is the fact that it lies on the opposite side of the alimentary tract to the yolk cells, which form a rudimentary yolk-sack in such gasteropoda as nassa and fusus. in these forms, the yolk-sack is at first dorsal, but subsequently is carried by the growth of the liver to the right side. in cephalopoda on the contrary, the yolk-sack is placed on the ventral side of the body. what is known of the development of the alimentary tract in the polyplacophora has already been mentioned. in the lamellibranchiata (lankester, no. ), the mesenteron early grows out into two lateral lobes which form the liver, while the part between them forms the stomach. in pisidium the intestine is formed from the original pedicle of invagination, which remains permanently attached to the epiblast. the stomodæum is formed by the usual epiblastic invagination, and becomes the mouth and oesophagus. the development of the crystalline rod and its sack do not appear to be known. in the adult the sack of the crystalline rod opens into a part of the alimentary tract which appears to belong to the mesenteron. were however the development to shew them to be really derived from the stomodæum they might be interpreted as rudiments of the organ which constitutes the odontophore and its sack in cephalophorous mollusca--an interpretation which would be of considerable phylogenetic interest. bibliography. _general._ ( ) t. h. huxley. 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"om utvecklingen hos slägtet chiton." _stockholm öfversigt_, xii. . [vide also _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, vol. xvii. , and _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, .] _scaphopoda._ ( ) h. lacaze-duthiers. "développement du dentale." _ann. d. sci. nat._, series iv. vol. vii. . _lamellibranchiata._ ( ) m. braun. "postembryonale entwicklung d. süsswasser-muscheln." _zoologischer garten_. ( ) c. g. carus. "neue untersuch. üb. d. entwickl. unserer flussmuschel." _verh. leop.-car. akad._, vol. xvi. . ( ) w. flemming. "studien in d. entwicklungsgeschichte der najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxi. . ( ) f. leydig. "ueber cyclas cornea." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) s. l. lovén. "bidrag til känned. om utweckl. af moll. acephala lamellibr." _vetensk. akad. handl._, . [vide also _arch. f. naturg._, .] ( ) c. rabl. "ueber d. entwicklungsgeschichte d. malermuschel." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. x. . ( ) w. salensky. "bemerkungen über haeckels gastræa-theorie (ostrea)." _arch. f. naturg._, . ( ) o. schmidt. "ueb. d. entwick. von cyclas calyculata." müller's _arch._, . ( ) o. schmidt. "zur entwickl. der najaden." _wien, sitzungsber. math.-nat. cl._, vol. xix. . ( ) p. stepanoff. "ueber die geschlechtsorgane u. die entwicklung von cyclas." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, . ( ) h. lacaze-duthiers. "développement d. branchies d. mollusques acéphales." _an. sc. nat._, ser. iv. vol. v. . chapter x. polyzoa[ ]. [ ] the classification of the polyzoa adopted in this chapter is shewn in the subjoined table: i. entoprocta. ii. ectoprocta. {_a._ chilostomata. . gymnolÆmata {_b._ ctenostomata. {_c._ cyclostomata. . phylactolÆmata. . podostomata (_rhabdopleura_). entoprocta. the development of the larvæ of pedicellina is known from the researches of hatschek (no. ) far more completely than that of loxosoma, though it does not apparently differ from it except in certain details. in both the known entoproctous genera the segmentation is regular or nearly so, though hatschek believes that he has detected in pedicellina a slight difference between the two first segmentation spheres, and regards them as constituting the animal and vegetative poles of the embryo. the segmentation in pedicellina, to which genus alone the remainder of the description applies, results in the formation of a single-layered blastosphere, with a small segmentation cavity, in which the animal and vegetative poles can readily be distinguished owing to the smaller size of the cells at the animal pole. the hypoblast cells and the vegetative[ ] pole become invaginated in the normal manner (fig. a), the blastopore becomes narrowed to a slit with an anteroposterior direction, _i.e._ parallel to the line connecting the mouth and anus in the adult. at the hinder extremity of the blastopore there are present two conspicuously large cells (fig. b, _me_), one on each side of the middle line. these cells give rise to the mesoblast. on the completion of the invagination the mesoblasts become covered by the epiblast (fig. c, _me_). the blastopore then closes, but in the position it occupied the epiblast becomes thickened to form the rudiment of the vestibule, which at this stage constitutes a disc marked off by a shallow groove from the remainder of the body. [ ] the succeeding statements about the gastrula are derived from hatschek. according to salensky a segmentation cavity is not present, and the hypoblast would seem to be formed by delamination or epibole. barrois finds a gastrula in both loxosoma and pedicellina, but gives no details. uljanin finds a segmentation cavity in pedicellina, and schmidt would appear to have observed a gastrula stage in loxosoma. none of the accounts we have can be compared in fulness of detail to that of hatschek. [fig. . three stages in the development of pedicellina echinata. (after hatschek.) _s.c._ segmentation cavity; _a.e._ archenteron; _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast. a is the commencing gastrula stage from the side in optical section. b is a slightly later stage from above in optical section. it shews the two primitive mesoblast cells. c is a later stage after the closure of the blastopore, viewed from the side in optical section.] at the anterior extremity of this disc an invagination arises to form the oesophagus (fig. a, _oe_); and not long afterwards a posterior invagination to form the rectum (fig. b, _an.i_). the oral disc and the oesophagus are richly ciliated. the oesophagus first, and afterwards the rectum unite with the archenteron (fig. ), the walls of which soon become differentiated into a stomach and intestine, and on the upper wall of the former the hepatic cells become especially conspicuous (fig. ). during the completion of the alimentary canal a number of important structures is formed. the disc in which the oral and anal apertures are situated becomes converted into a true vestibule. on its floor, between the mouth and the anus, there arises a marked prominence with a tuft of cilia (fig. b), which persists in the adult. [fig. . two stages in the development of pedicellina. (after hatschek.) _oe._ oesophagus; _ae._ archenteron; _an.i._ anal invagination; _f._ fold of epiblast; _f.g._ ciliated disc; _x._ problematical body derived from hypoblast (probably a bud).] this prominence is perhaps equivalent to the epistome of the phylactolæmata and the disc-like organ of rhabdopleura, which lankester has compared to the molluscan foot[ ]. [ ] lankester. "remarks on the affinities of rhabdopleura." _quart. j. of micro. science_, vol. xiv. . very shortly after the first formation of the vestibule there appears at the opposite end of the larva a thickening of the epiblast, which soon becomes invaginated, and forms an eversible pit (fig. a and b, _f.g._). round its mouth there is formed a ring of stiff cilia (fig. , _f.g._). this organ is very possibly equivalent to the cement gland described by kowalevsky in the adult loxosoma. i shall speak of it as the ciliated disc. the epiblast cells early secrete a cuticle. the two mesoblast cells soon increase by division, and occupy the space between the alimentary canal and the body wall. they do not become divided into a splanchnic and somatic layer; but give rise to the interstitial connective tissue and muscles. from the mesoblast there is also formed, according to hatschek, a pair of ciliated excretory canals, in the space between the mouth and anus (fig. b, _nph._). the development of the nervous system has not been observed. at a comparatively late stage in the development there is formed round the edge of the vestibule a ring of long cilia (fig. b, _m._). [fig. . two stages in the development of pedicellina. (after hatschek.) _v._ vestibule; _m._ mouth; _l._ liver; _hg._ hind-gut; _a._ anus; _an.i._ anal invagination; _nph._ duct of kidney; _fg._ ciliated disc; _x._ dorsal organ (probably bud).] a remarkable organ makes its appearance on the dorsal side of the oesophagus (the side opposite the adult ganglion) formed of an oval mass of cells attached to the epiblast at the apex of a small ciliated papilla (fig. a and b, _x._). this organ will be spoken of as the dorsal organ. according to hatschek it develops as a solid outgrowth of the hypoblastic walls of the mesenteron shortly before the mesenteron joins the oesophagus (fig. b, _x._). the cells composing it arrange themselves as a sack, which acquires an external opening on the dorsal surface (fig. a, _x._). in a later stage the lumen of the sack disappears, but at the junction of the organ with the epiblast a pit is formed, lined with ciliated cells, which is capable of being protruded as a papilla. the organ itself becomes invested by a lining of cells, which hatschek regards as mesoblastic. a nearly similar organ to this is found in the embryo of loxosoma [vogt (no. ) and barrois (no. )]. here however it is double, and forms a kind of disc connected with two eye spots. hatschek has made with reference to the dorsal organ the extremely plausible suggestion that it is a rudimentary bud, and that the hypoblastic sack it contains gives rise to the hypoblast of the young polype developed from the bud. although, owing to the deficiency of our observations on the attachment of the larva, this suggestion has not received direct confirmation, yet the relations of dorsal organs in pedicellina and loxosoma respectively strongly confirm hatschek's view of their nature. both of these forms increase in the adult state by budding: in pedicellina there is a single row of buds formed successively on the dorsal side of the stem, corresponding with the single dorsal organ of the embryo; while in loxosoma a double row of buds, right and left, is formed, in correspondence with the double nature of the dorsal organ. as to the mode of attachment of the embryo next to nothing is known, the few observations we have being due to barrois. from these observations it would appear probable that the larva, as is usual amongst polyzoa, does not become directly converted into the permanent form, but that, on becoming fixed, it undergoes a metamorphosis in the course of which its organs atrophy. i would venture to suggest that the whole free-swimming larva atrophies, while the dorsal organ alone develops into the fixed form[ ]. [ ] my view of the metamorphosis which takes place during the fixation of the larva involves the supposition that in loxosoma, about the attachment of which we know absolutely nothing, two buds are directly formed in accordance with the double nature of the dorsal organ. although the changes which take place during budding do not fall within the province of this work, it may be well to state that hatschek has observed during this process the development of the nervous system and the generative organs. the nervous system arises as an unpaired thickening of the epiblastic floor of the vestibule, between the mouth and the anus. on becoming constricted off from the epiblast the nerve ganglion contains a central cavity which afterwards vanishes. the generative organs originate as a pair of specially large mesoblast cells in the space between the stomach and the floor of the vestibule. these two cells, surrounded by an investment of flattened mesoblast cells, subsequently divide and form two masses. at a still later period each mass divides into an anterior and a posterior part; the former giving rise to the ovary, the latter to the testis. the similarity of this mode of development of the generative organs to that observed by bütschli in sagitta, which is described in the sequel, is very striking. ectoprocta. although the embryology of the ectoprocta has been investigated by a very considerable number of the distinguished naturalists of the century, many points connected with it still stand in great need of further elucidation. the original nature of the embryo was rightly interpreted by grant, dalyell and other naturalists, but it was not till huxley demonstrated the presence of both the ovary and testis that the true sexual origin of the embryo in the ovicells became an established fact in science. the recent memoir of barrois (no. ), though it contains the record of a vast amount of research, and marks a great advance in our knowledge, still leaves a great number of points, both with reference to the early development and to the larval metamorphosis in a very unsatisfactory condition. four larval forms can be distinguished, viz. ( ) a larval form which with slight modifications is common to all the genera of the chilostomata (except membranipora and flustrella) and of the ctenostomata. ( ) a bivalved larva of membranipora known as _cyphonautes_, the true nature of which was first recognized by schneider (no. ), and the closely allied larva of flustrella. ( ) the typical cyclostomatous larva, for the first full description of which we are indebted to barrois (no. ). ( ) the larva of the phylactolæmata. chilostomata and ctenostomata. as an example of the first type of larvæ, _alcyonidium mytili_, one of the ctenostomata, may be conveniently selected for description, as having been more completely worked out by barrois than perhaps any other form. the segmentation commences in the normal manner by the appearance of two vertical furrows followed by an equatorial furrow, which divide the ovum into eight equal spheres. the stage with eight spheres is followed, according to barrois, by one with sixteen, formed in a remarkable manner by the simultaneous appearance of two vertical furrows, _both parallel to one_ of the original vertical furrows, so that the segmentation spheres at this stage are arranged in two layers of eight each. in the next stage segmentation takes place along two fresh vertical planes, similar to those of the last stage, but at right angles to them, and therefore parallel to the second of the two primitive vertical furrows. at the close of this stage there are thirty-two cells arranged in two layers of sixteen each; and when viewed from the surface each of these layers presents a regularly symmetrical pattern. up to the stage with sixteen cells the two poles of the egg, separated by the primitive equatorial plane of segmentation, remain equal, but during the stage with thirty-two cells a peculiar change takes place in the character of the cells at the two poles. at the one pole, which will be spoken of as the oral pole, the four central cells become much larger than the twelve peripheral cells. the stages immediately following are still involved in much obscurity, and have been described very differently by barrois in his original memoir (no. ), and in a subsequent note (no. )[ ]. in the latter he states that the four large cells of the oral face become enclosed by the division and growth of the twelve peripheral cells. they are thus carried into the interior of the ovum; and there divide into a central vitelline mass--the hypoblast--and a peripheral mesoblastic layer. [ ] the note (no. ) refers in the first instance to the changes in the larvæ of the chilostomata, but the similarity of the larvæ of the ctenostomata to those of the chilostomata renders it practically certain that the corrections, in so far as they apply to the one group, apply also to the other. the eight peripheral cells of the aboral pole divide vertically, and, owing to the eight central cells at the aboral pole dividing transversely so as to form a protuberance on the aboral surface, they constitute a transverse ring of large cells round the ovum, which become ciliated and constitute the main ciliated band of the embryo, corresponding to the ciliated band at the edge of the vestibule of the entoproctous larvæ. they divide the embryo into an aboral and an oral region. the central part of the aboral projection forms a structure which i shall speak of as the ciliated disc. it probably corresponds with the ciliated disc in the entoprocta. an invagination is next formed on the oral surface, which gives rise to a sack opening to the exterior (fig. , _st._). this was originally held by barrois to be the stomach; but barrois now prefers to call it 'the internal sack.' to my mind it is probably the stomodæum. the embryo has become in the meantime laterally compressed, and, at what i shall call the anterior end of the oral disc, a structure makes its appearance (fig. , _m_), which is probably homologous with the dorsal organ of the larva of pedicellina and may go by the same name. it was originally interpreted by barrois as the pharynx[ ]. [ ] the interpretation of the larvæ given in the text must be regarded as somewhat tentative. the opacity of the free larvæ is very great, and almost every one of the numerous authors who have worked on these larvæ have arrived at different conclusions, as to the physiological significance of the various parts. [fig. . free-swimming larva of alcyonidium mytili. (after barrois.) _m_ (?) dorsal organ; _st._ stomodæum (?); _s._ ciliated disc.] the larva, having now acquired all the important structures it is destined to possess, becomes free. it is shewn in fig. ; the oral face being turned upwards. there are two rings of cilia, one round the edge of the ciliated disc, and a second with larger cilia on the ring of large cells described above. this ring projects somewhat; its projecting edge being directed towards the ciliated disc. the dorsal organ (_m?_) is placed on the oral face at the bottom of an elongated groove, in front of which is a bunch of long cilia or flagella. two long flagella are also developed at the posterior extremity of the oral face, and two pairs (an anterior and a posterior) of eye-spots also appear. towards the posterior extremity of the oral face is seen a body marked _st_, which forms the internal sack. if i am right in regarding this as the stomodæum, it is probable that it never unites with the invaginated hypoblast, and that the alimentary tract of the larva remains therefore permanently in an imperfect condition. careful observations have been made by repiachoff (no. ) on the early development of tendra, which accord in some respects with the results arrived at by barrois in his second memoir. the observations are not, unfortunately, carried down to the complete development of the larva. the ovum divides in the normal way into two and then four uniform segments. these four next become divided by an equatorial furrow into four dorsal and four ventral segments, the former constituting the aboral pole and forming the epiblast, and the latter the oral pole. the stages with sixteen and thirty-two cells appear to be formed in the same manner as in alcyonidium--but between the two layers of cells forming the oral and aboral poles a well-marked segmentation cavity arises at the stage with sixteen segments. at the stage with thirty-two cells the four middle cells of the oral side, which are larger than the others, become divided into two tiers, in such a manner as to form a prominence projecting into the segmentation cavity. by the appearance of a lumen in this prominence it becomes converted into an archenteron, which communicates with the exterior by a blastopore in the middle of the oral surface. the blastopore becomes eventually closed. the archenteric sack of repiachoff is clearly the same structure as barrois' four invaginated cells of the oral face, their further history has unfortunately not been followed out by repiachoff. the free larva swims about for some time, and then fixes itself and undergoes a metamorphosis; but the exact course of this metamorphosis is still very imperfectly known. according to the latest statements of barrois the attachment takes place by the oral face[ ]. the ciliated disc, which in the free larva forms a kind of cup directed towards the aboral end, turns in upon itself towards the oral face. it subsequently undergoes degeneration and forms a nutritive or yolk-mass. the skin of the larva after these changes gives rise to the ectocyst or cell of the future polype. the future polype itself appears to originate, in part at any rate, from the so-called dorsal organ[ ]. [ ] barrois himself held the opposite view in his earlier memoir, and other observers have done the same. [ ] the statements on this head are so unsatisfactory and contradictory that it does not appear to me worth while quoting them here; even the latest accounts of barrois, which entirely contradict his early statements, can hardly be regarded as satisfactory. the first distinct rudiment of the polype appears as a white body, which gradually develops into the alimentary canal and lophophore. while this is developing the ectocyst grows rapidly larger, and the yolk in its interior separates from the walls and occupies a position in the body cavity of the future polype, usually behind the developing alimentary canal. according to nitsche (no. ) it is attached to a protoplasmic cord (funiculus) which connects the fundus of the stomach with the wall of the cell. it is probably (nitsche, etc.) simply employed as nutritive material, but, according to barrois, becomes converted into the muscles, especially the retractor muscles. adopting the hypothesis already suggested in the case of the entoprocta the metamorphosis just described would seem to be a case of budding accompanied by the destruction of the original larva. this view of the nature of the post-embryonic metamorphosis is apparently that of claparède and salensky, and is supported by claparède's statement that the formation of the first polype 'resembles to a hair' that of the subsequent buds. the mode of budding would, however, appear to present certain peculiarities, in that the whole larval skin passes directly into the bud, while from the rudimentary bud of the larva the lophophore and alimentary tract only of the fixed polype are formed. flustrella and cyphonautes. the next group of larval forms is that of which cyphonautes is the best known type. the larvæ composing it at first sight appear to have but little in common with the larvæ hitherto described. the researches of barrois (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. ), (but especially those of the former on the early stages of _flustrella hispida_, the larva of which is very similar in form to cyphonautes, though without so great a complexity of organisation), have given a satisfactory basis for a general comparison of cyphonautes with other ectoproctous larvæ. the segmentation and early stages of the embryo of flustrella resemble closely those of alcyonidium. a projecting ring of large cells is formed, dividing the larva into oral and aboral parts. the oral part soon however becomes very small as compared with the aboral, and becomes vertically flattened so as to be nearly on a level with the ring of large cells. in the next stage the flattening becomes completed; and the ring of large cells surrounds, like the vestibule of the entoprocta, a flat oral disc. the aboral side is dome-shaped, and forms the greater part of the embryo. in the next stage a small disc--the ciliated disc--is formed in the middle of the aboral dome. the larva becomes laterally compressed. the ring of large cells which now constitute the edge of the vestibule is covered, as in the larva of pedicellina, by cilia, which are specially long in front of the dorsal organ. [fig. . advanced larva of flustrella hispida. (after barrois.) _m_ (?) groove above dorsal organ; _ph._ dorsal organ; _st._ stomodæum (?); _s._ ciliated disc at aboral end of body.] in the next stage the ciliated disc (fig. , _s._) becomes reduced in size, but surmounted by a ring of cilia round the edge, and a tuft of cilia in the centre. the chief difference between this larva and that of alcyonidium depends on the small size of the ciliated disc, and the oral position of the ciliated ring in the former. there are intermediate types between these forms of larvaæ. this stage immediately precedes the liberation of the larva. the free larva differs from that in the ovicell mainly in the possession of a shell formed as a cuticular structure, composed of two valves placed on the two sides of the embryo. the aboral ciliated disc, still more reduced in size, loses its cilia, and becomes enclosed between the two valves of the shell. the post-embryonic metamorphosis follows, so far as is known, the course already described for the larva of alcyonidium. cyphonautes (fig. ) forms at certain seasons of the year one of the commonest captures in the surface net. it was originally described by ehrenberg, but the important discovery of its true nature as the larva of membranipora (the common species _c. compressus_ is the larva of _mem. pilosa_), a genus of the chilostomatous polyzoa, was made by schneider (no. ). the younger stages of the larva have not been worked out, but from a comparison with the last described larva it is easy to make out the general relationship of the parts. the larva has a triangular form with an aboral apex, corresponding with the summit of the dome of the flustrella larva, and an oral base. it is enclosed in a bivalve shell, the two valves of which meet along the two sides, but are separate along the base. at the apex an opening is left between the two valves, through which a ciliated disc (_f.g_) of the same character and nature as that of previous larvæ can be protruded. [fig. . cyphonautes (larva of membranipora). (after hatschek.) _m._ mouth; _a´_ anus; _f.g._ ciliated disc; _x._ problematical body (probably a bud).] the oral side or base is girthed by a somewhat sinuous ciliated edge, which is continued round the anterior and posterior extremities of the oral disc. it is no doubt equivalent to the ciliated ring of other larvæ. two openings are present on the oral face, both enclosed in a special lobe of the ciliated ring. the larger of these leads into a depression, which may be called the vestibule; and is situated on the posterior side of the oral surface. the smaller of the two, on the anterior side, leads into a cavity which is apparently (hatschek) equivalent to the rudimentary bud or dorsal organ of other larvæ. the deeper part of the vestibule leads into the mouth (_m_) and oesophagus; the latter is continued till close to the apex of the larva, there bends upon itself, dilates into a stomach, and is continued parallel to the oesophagus as the rectum which opens by an anus (_a´_) at the posterior end of the vestibule. a peculiar paired organ is situated on each side nearly above the stomach. its nature is somewhat doubtful. it was regarded as muscular by claparède (no. ), though this, as shewn by schneider, is no doubt a mistake. allman (no. ) regards it as hepatic, and hatschek as a thickening of the epidermis. close to each of these organs is a small body regarded by claparède as an accessory muscle. it is placed in the normal position for a polyzoon ganglion, and may perhaps be therefore regarded as nervous in nature. allman points out its similarity to a bilobed ganglion, but is not inclined to take this view of it. the constitution of the parts contained in the anterior cavity (_x_) is somewhat obscure. the most elaborate descriptions of them are given by schneider and allman. lining the cavity is apparently a mass of spherical bodies, connected with which is a tongue-like process provided with long cilia, which can be protruded from the orifice. internal to this is a striated body. a good figure of the whole structure is given by schneider. the general similarity of cyphonautes to the other larvæ is quite obvious from the above description and figure. in the presence of an anus, a vestibule, and possibly a nervous system, it clearly exhibits a far more complicated organisation than any other polyzoon larvæ except those of the entoprocta. the post-embryonic metamorphosis of cyphonautes, admirably investigated by schneider, takes place in the same manner as that of other larvæ, and is accompanied by the degeneration of the larval organs, and the formation of a clear body, which gives rise to the alimentary cavity and lophophore of the fixed polype. the larval shell takes part in the formation of the ectocyst of the polype. cyclostomata. we owe to barrois by far the fullest account of the development of the cyclostomata, but how far his interpretations are to be trusted is very doubtful. the larvæ differ very considerably from the normal larvæ of the chilostomata and ctenostomata; the difference being mainly due to the enormous development of the ciliated disc. barrois has investigated the larvæ of three genera, phalangella, crisia, and diastopora, and states that they very closely resemble each other. the ovum is extremely minute. the segmentation, so far as it has been made out, is regular. during the segmentation growth is very rapid, and eventually there is formed a blastosphere many times larger than the original ovum. the blastosphere becomes flattened, and is converted into a gastrula by bending up into a cup-like form. the gastrula opening is stated to remain as the permanent mouth, which has a terminal and central position. a transverse ring-like thickening is formed round the larva, which probably corresponds with the ciliated ring of previous larvæ; and the body of the larva in front of this ring becomes ciliated. the aboral end of the larva becomes thickened, and grows out into an elongated prominence, which probably corresponds to the ciliated disc. the ring before mentioned becomes at the same time more prominent, and forms a cylindrical sheath for the ciliated disc. at the time when the larva becomes liberated from the maternal cell it has the form of a barrel with a slight constriction in the middle separating the oral from the aboral end. at the centre of the oral face is situated the mouth, leading into a wide stomach, while the aboral end is formed of the ciliated disc enclosed in its sheath. the whole surface is now ciliated. no structure equivalent to the dorsal organ or bud is described by barrois, but in other respects, if the ciliated disc is really equivalent in the two forms, a general comparison on the line indicated above between this larva and the normal larvæ of the ctenostomata and chilostomata seems quite possible. the fixation and subsequent development of the larva take place in the normal manner. phylactolæmata. the development of the phylactolæmatous polyzoa has been studied by metschnikoff (no. ), who describes the eggs as undergoing a complete segmentation within a peculiar brood-pouch developed from the walls of the body of the parent. after segmentation the cells of the embryo arrange themselves in two layers round a central cavity. the embryo then forms the well-known cyst, from which a colony is formed by a process of budding. _general considerations on the larvæ of the polyzoa._ the different forms of embryo amongst the polyzoa are represented in figs. b, , , and in what i regard as identical positions, and fig. a is a figure of what may be regarded as an idealized larval polyzoon. in all the larvæ there is present a ciliated ring, which separates an oral from an aboral face, and is apparently homologous throughout the series. in the adult it is probably represented by the lophophore. on the oral face is situated in all cases the mouth, and in the entoproctous larvæ and cyphonautes also the anus. it thus appears that cyphonautes, though the larva of an ectoproctous form, is itself entoproctous--a fact which tends to shew that the entoprocta are the more primitive forms. in all the larvæ, except possibly those of the cyclostomata, there is present on the anterior side of the mouth, in the ectoprocta on the oral, and in the entoprocta on the aboral side of the ciliated ring, an organ, to which is attached externally a plume of long cilia. this organ has been identified throughout the series in accordance with hatschek's view as the dorsal organ or rudimentary bud; but it is well to bear in mind that this identification is of a purely hypothetical character. [fig. a. diagram of an ideal larva of a polyzoon. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _st._ stomach; _s._ ciliated disc.] on the aboral side of the ciliated ring there is present in all the larvæ an organ, which has been called the ciliated disc, which is probably homologous throughout the series. it perhaps remains in the adult of loxosoma as the cement gland, but not in other forms. the polyzoa present a simple and almost certainly degraded organisation in the adult state; it is therefore more than usually necessary to turn to their larvæ for the elucidation of their affinities, and various plausible suggestions have been made as to the interpretation of the characters of the larvæ. lankester[ ] has suggested that the larvæ are essentially similar to those of molluscs. he compares the main ciliated ring to the velum, but has ingeniously suggested that it represents not the simple velar ring of most molluscan larvæ, but a more extended longitudinal ring, of which the gills of lamellibranchiata are supposed by him to be remnants, and to which the echinoderm larvæ with one continuous ciliated band furnish a parallel. [ ] lankester. "remarks on the affinities of rhabdopleura." _quart. j. of micro. science_, vol. xiv. . the foot he finds in the epistome of the phylactolæmata, and the disc of rhabdopleura--both situated between the mouth and anus, and therefore in the situation of the molluscan foot. the peculiar prominence between the mouth and the anus in pedicellina (_vide_ fig. b) and loxosoma is probably the same structure. finally he identifies my ciliated disc, which as mentioned above is perhaps equivalent to the cement gland in the adult loxosoma, as the molluscan shell-gland. lankester's interpretations are very plausible, but at the same time they appear to me to involve considerable difficulties. there is absolutely no evidence amongst the mollusca of the existence of a primitive longitudinal ciliated ring, such as he supposes to have existed, and lankester is debarred from regarding the ciliated ring of the polyzoa as equivalent to the simple velar ring of the mollusca, because his shell-gland lies in the centre and not as it should do on the posterior side of the ciliated ring. another difficulty which i find is the invariable ciliation of lankester's shell-gland--a ciliation which never occurs amongst mollusca. it appears to me that a more satisfactory comparison of the larvæ of the polyzoa with those of the mollusca is obtained by dropping the view that the ciliated disc is the shell-gland, and by regarding the ciliated ring as equivalent to the velum. this mode of comparison has been adopted by hatschek. the larva ceases however on this view to have any special molluscan characters (except possibly the organ which lankester has identified as the foot), and only resembles a molluscan larva to the same extent as it does a larva of the polychæta. the ciliated disc lies according to this view in the centre of the velar area or præ-oral lobe, and therefore in the situation in which a tuft of cilia is often present in lamellibranchiate and other molluscan larvæ, and also in the larvæ of most chætopoda. it is moreover at this point that the supra-oesophageal ganglion is always formed in the mollusca and chætopoda as a thickening of the epiblast (fig. , _sg._), so that the thickening of the epiblast in the ciliated disc of the polyzoa may perhaps be a rudiment of the supra-oesophageal ganglion, which entirely atrophies in the adult after the attachment has been effected in the region of this disc. the comparison between the polyzoon larva and that of a chætopod becomes very much strengthened by taking as types mitraria[ ] (fig. ) and cyphonautes (fig. ). the similarity between these two forms is so striking that i am certainly inclined to view the larvæ of the polyzoa as trochospheres similar to those of chætopods, rotifera, etc., _which become fixed in the adult by the extremity of their præ-oral lobe_. [ ] the larva of mitraria is figured with the aboral surface turned upwards, instead of downwards, as in the figure of cyphonautes. the ciliated band is also diagrammatically put in black for greater distinctness. [fig. . two stages in the development of mitraria. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _br._ and _b._ provisional bristles; _pr.b._ præ-oral ciliated band.] the attachment of the larva by the præ-oral lobe is not more extraordinary than the attachment of a barnacle by its head, and after such a mode of attachment the atrophy of the supra-oesophageal ganglion would be only natural. there is one important fact which deserves to be noted in the development of the polyzoa, viz. that if the suggestion in the text as to the mode of development of the adult from the so-called larva is accepted, the polyzoa exhibit universally _the phenomenon of alternations of generations_. the ovum gives rise to a free form which never becomes sexual, but produces by budding the sexual attached form. bibliography. _general._ ( ) j. barrois. _recherches sur l'embryologie des bryozoaires._ lille, . _entoprocta._ ( ) b. hatschek. "embryonalentwicklung u. knospung d. pedicellina echinata." _zeitschrift für wiss. zool._, bd. xxix. . ( ) m. salensky. "etudes sur les bryozoaires entoproctes." _ann. scien. nat._, th ser. tom. v. . ( ) o. schmidt. "die gattung loxosoma." _archiv f. mik. anat._, bd. xii. . ( ) c. vogt. "sur le loxosome des phascolosomes." _archives de zool. expér. et génér._, tom. v. . ( ) c. vogt. "bemerkungen zu dr hatschek's aufsatz üb. embryonalentwicklung u. knospung von pedicellina echinata." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxx. . _ectoprocta._ ( ) g. j. allman. _monograph of fresh-water polyzoa._ ray society. ( ) g. j. allman. "on the structure of cyphonautes." _quart. j. of micr. scie._, vol. xii. . ( ) g. j. allman. "on the structure and development of the phylactolæmatous polyzoa." _journal of the linnean society_, vol. xiv. no. . . ( ) j. barrois. "le développement d. bryozoaires chilostomes." _comptes rendus_, sept. , . ( ) e. claparède. "beiträge zur anatomie u. entwicklungsgeschichte d. seebryozoen." _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xxi. . ( ) e. claparède. "cyphonautes." _anat. u. entwick. wirbell. thiere. leipzig, . ( ) r. e. grant. "observations on the structure and nature of flustræ." _edinburgh new philosoph. journal_, . ( ) b. hatschek. "embryonalentwicklung u. knospung d. pedicellina echinata." (_description of cyphonautes_). _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxix. . ( ) t. h. huxley. "note on the reproductive organs of the cheilostome polyzoa." _quart. jour. of micr. science_, vol. iv. . ( ) l. joliet. "contributions à l'histoire naturelle des bryozoaires des côtes de france." _archives de zoologie expérimentale_, vol. vi. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "ueber d. metamorphose einiger seethiere." _göttingische nachrichten_, . ( ) e. metschnikoff. _bull. de l'acad. de st pétersbourg_, xv. , p. . ( ) h. nitsche. "beiträge zur kenntniss d. bryozoen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xx. . ( ) w. repiachoff. "zur naturgeschichte d. chilostomen seebryozoen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvi. . ( ) w. repiachoff. "ueber die ersten entwicklungsvorgänge bei tendra zostericola." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxx. . supplement. ( ) w. repiachoff. "zur kenntniss der bryozoen." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , vol. i. . ( ) w. repiachoff. "bemerkungen üb. cyphonautes." _zoologischer anzeiger_, vol. ii. . ( ) m. salensky. "untersuchung an seebryozoen." _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) a. schneider. "die entwicklung u. syst. stellung d. bryozoen u. gephyreen." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. v. . ( ) smitt. "om hafsbryozoernas utveckling och fettkroppar." _aftryck ur öfvers. af kong. vet. akad. förh._ stockholm, . ( ) t. hincks. _british marine and polyzoa._ van voorst, . [conf. also works by farre, hincks, van beneden, dalyell, nordmann.] chapter xi. brachiopoda[ ]. [ ] the classification of the brachiopoda adopted in the present chapter is shewn in the subjoined table: i. articulata. { _a._ rhynchonellidæ. { _b._ terebratulidæ. { _a._ lingulidæ. ii. inarticulata. { _b._ craniadæ. { _c._ discinidæ. the observations which have been made on the developmental history of the brachiopoda have thrown very considerable light on the systematic position of this somewhat isolated group. _development of the layers._ for our knowledge of the early stages in the development of the brachiopoda we are almost entirely indebted to kowalevsky[ ] (no. ). his researches extend to four forms, argiope, terebratula, terebratulina, and thecidium. the early development of the first three of these takes place on one plan, and that of thecidium on a second plan. [ ] kowalevsky's memoir is unfortunately written in russian. the account in the text is derived from an inspection of his figures, and from an abstract in hoffmann and schwalbe's _jahresberichte_ for . in argiope, which may be taken as typical of the first group, the ova are transported into the oviducts (segmental organs) where they undergo their early development. the segmentation leads to the formation of a blastosphere, which then becomes a gastrula by invagination. the blastopore gradually narrows, and finally closes, while at the same time the archenteric cavity (fig. a) becomes divided into three lobes, a median (_me_) and two lateral (_pv_). these lobes next become completely separated, and the middle one forms the mesenteron, while the two lateral ones give rise to the body cavity, their outer walls forming the somatic mesoblast, and their inner the splanchnic (fig. b). the embryo now elongates, and becomes divided into three successive segments (fig. b), which are usually, though on insufficient grounds (_vide_ thecidium), regarded as equivalent to the segments of the chætopoda. the alimentary tract is not continued into the hindermost of them. [fig. . two stages in the development of argiope. (after kowalevsky.) a. late gastrula stage. b. stage after the larva has become divided into three segments. _bl._ blastopore; _me._ mesenteron; _pv._ body cavity; _b._ temporary bristles.] in thecidium the ova are very large, and development takes place in a special incubatory pouch in the ventral valve. the embryos are attached by suspenders to the two cirri of the arms which immediately adjoin the mouth. there is a nearly regular segmentation, and a very small segmentation cavity is developed. there is no invagination; but cells are budded off from the walls of the blastosphere, which soon form a solid central mass, enclosed by an external layer--the epiblast. in this central mass three cavities are developed, which constitute the mesenteron and the two halves of the body cavity. around these cavities distinct walls become differentiated. the body (lacaze duthiers, no. ) soon after becomes divided into two segments, of which the posterior is the smaller. the hinder part of the large anterior segment next becomes constricted off as a fresh segment, and subsequently the remaining part becomes divided into two, of which the anterior is the smallest. the embryo thus becomes divided into four segments, of which the two foremost appear (?) together to correspond to the cephalic segment of argiope; but these segments are formed not, as in chætopoda and other truly segmented forms, by the addition of fresh segments between the last-formed segment and the unsegmented end of the body, but by the interpolation of fresh segments at the cephalic end of the body as in cestodes; so that the hindermost segment is the oldest. assuming the correctness[ ] of lacaze duthiers' observations, the mode of formation of these segments appears to me to render it probable that they are not identical with the segments of a chætopod. a suspender is attached to the front end of each embryo. before the four segments are established the whole embryo is covered with cilia[ ], and two and then four rudimentary eyes are developed on the anterior segment of the body. [ ] it should be stated that it is by no means clear from kowalevsky's figures that he agrees with lacaze duthiers as to the succession of the segments. [ ] kowalevsky in his figures leaves the penultimate lobe unciliated. _the history of the larva and the development of the organs of the adult._ [fig. . larva of argiope. (from gegenbaur, after kowalevsky.) _m._ mantle; _b._ setæ; _d._ archenteron.] articulata. the observations of kowalevsky and morse have given us a fairly complete history of the larval metamorphosis of some of the articulata, while some of the later larval stages in the history of the inarticulata have been made known to us from the researches of fritz müller, brooks, etc. the embryo of argiope, which may be taken as the type for the articulata, was left (fig. b) as a three lobed organism with a closed mesenteron and a body cavity divided into two lateral compartments. on the middle segment of the body dorsal and ventral folds, destined to form the mantle lobes, make their appearance, and on the latter two pairs of bundles of setæ are present (fig. b). the setæ together with the mantle folds grow greatly, and the setæ resemble in appearance the provisional setæ of many chætopods (fig. ). on the hinder border of the mantle cilia make their appearance. the anterior or cephalic segment assumes a somewhat umbrella-like form, and round its edge is a circlet of long cilia, while elsewhere it is provided with a coating of short cilia. two pairs of eyes also arise on its anterior surface (fig. ). [fig. . two stages in the development of argiope, shewing the folds of the mantle growing over the cephalic lobe. (after kowalevsky.) _m._ mantle fold; _me._ mesenteron; _pd._ peduncle; _b._ provisional setæ.] after swimming about for some time the larva becomes fixed by its hind lobe, and becomes gradually transformed into the adult. the hind lobe itself becomes the peduncle. after attachment the mantle lobes bend forward (fig. a, _m_), and enclose the cephalic lobe. the valves of the shell are formed on their outer surface as two delicate chitinous plates (fig. b). at a somewhat later stage the provisional bristles are thrown off, and are eventually replaced by permanent setæ round the edge of the mantle. the cephalic lobe becomes located in the dorsal valve of the shell, and the mouth is formed near the apex of the cephalic lobe immediately ventral to the eye-spots, by an epiblastic invagination. the permanent muscles are formed out of the muscles already present in the embryo. around the mouth there arises a ring of tentacles, very possibly derived from the ciliated ring visible in fig. [ ]. the ring of tentacles is placed obliquely, and the mouth is situated near its ventral side. the tentacles appear to form a post-oral circlet, like that of phoronis (actinotrocha): they gradually increase in number as the larva grows older. [ ] in the abstract in hoffman and schwalbe kowalevsky is made to state that the tentacles spring from the border of the mantle. this can hardly be a correct account of what he states, since it does not fit in with the adult anatomy of the parts. the figures he gives might lead to the supposition that they sprang from the edge of the cephalic lobe, or perhaps from the dorsal lobe of the mantle. [fig. . diagram of a longitudinal vertical section of an advanced embryo of lingula. (after brooks.) _a._ end of valves; _b._ thickened margin of mantle; _c._ mantle; _d._ dorsal median tentacle; _e._ lophophore; _f._ lip; _g._ mouth; _h._ mantle cavity; _i._ body cavity; _k._ wall of oesophagus; _l._ oesophagus; _m._ hepatic chamber of stomach; _n._ intestinal chamber of stomach; _o._ intestine; _q._ ventral ganglion; _r._ posterior muscle; _s._ dorsal valve of shell; _t._ ventral valve of shell.] some of the later stages in the development of the terebratulidæ have been made known to us by the observations of morse (no. - ) on terebratulina septentrionalis. the most interesting point in morse's observations on the later stages is the description of the gradual conversion of the disc bearing the circlet of tentacles into the arms of the adult. the tentacles, six in number, first form a ring round the edge of a disc springing from the dorsal lobe of the mantle; in their centre is the mouth. in the later stages calcareous spicula become developed on the tentacles. when the embryo is far advanced the tentacles begin to assume a horse-shoe arrangement, which bears a striking, though probably accidental, resemblance to that of the tentacles on the lophophore of the fresh-water polyzoa. the disc bearing the tentacles is prolonged anteriorly into two processes, the free ends of the future arms. by this change of shape in the disc the tentacles form two rows, one on the anterior and one on the posterior border of the disc, and eventually become the cirri of the arms. the mouth is placed between the two rows of tentacles, where the two arms of the lophophore meet behind. the position of the mouth was the original centre of the ring of tentacles before they became pulled out into a horse-shoe form. in front of the mouth is a lip. the arms grow greatly in length in the adult terebratulina. in thecidium the oral disc retains the horse-shoe form, while in argiope the embryonic circular arrangement of the tentacles is only interfered with by the appearance of marginal sinuations. the shell is deposited as to chitinous plates, which subsequently become calcified. it undergoes in the different genera great changes of form during its growth. with reference to the larval stages of other articulata, a few points may be noted. the three-lobed larva of terebratulina septentrionalis is provided with a special tuft of cilia at the apex of the front lobe. the arms appear to originate, in terebratulina caput serpentis, as two processes at the sides of the mouth, on which the tentacles are formed. provisional setæ do not appear to be formed in the lobed embryos of thecidium and terebratulina, but they appear at a later stage at the edge of the mantle in the latter form. the third lobe of thecidium gives rise to the dorsal and ventral mantle lobes. inarticulata. the youngest stages in the development of the inarticulata are not known, and in the earliest stages observed the shell is already developed. the young larvæ with shells differ however from those of the articulata in the fact that they are free-swimming, and that the peduncle is not developed. the larva of discina radiata has been described by fritz müller (no. ). it resembles generally a larva of the articulata shortly after the tentacles have become developed. five pairs of long provisional setæ are present, of which all but the hindermost are seated on the ventral lobe of the mantle. shorter setæ are also lodged on the edge of the dorsal lobe. the mouth is placed on the ventral side of a protrusible oral lobe. it is imperfectly surrounded by four pairs of tentacles, which form a swimming apparatus. a fuller history of the development of lingula has been recently supplied by brooks (no. ). the youngest larva is enveloped in two nearly similar plate-like valves, covering the two mantle lobes. the mouth is placed at the centre of a disc, attached to the dorsal valve, on the margin of which is a ring of ciliated tentacles. the general position of the disc and its relations may be gathered from fig. , which represents a diagrammatic longitudinal vertical section of the embryo. with the growth of the embryo the tentacles increase in number, the new pairs being always added between the odd dorsal tentacle and the next pair. there is an axial cavity in the tentacles which, unlike the cavity in the tentacles of the polyzoa, does not communicate with the perivisceral cavity. as the tentacles increase in number, the lateral parts of the tentacular disc grow out into the two lateral arms of the adult, while the dorsal margin forms the median coiled arm. these changes are not effected till the larva has become fixed. the attachment of the larva was not observed; but the peduncle, of which there is no trace in the young stages, grows out as a simple prolongation of the hinder end of the body while the larva is still free. it had already reached a very great length in the youngest fixed larva observed. _development of organs._ the alimentary tract after the obliteration of the blastopore forms a closed sack, which becomes subsequently placed in communication with the exterior by the stomodæal invagination. the liver is formed as a pair of dorsal outgrowths of the mesenteron. from brooks' observations on lingula it would appear that the primitive mesenteron forms the stomach of the adult only, and that the intestine grows out from this as a solid process: this eventually meets the skin, and here the anus is formed. in the articulata the mesenteron is aproctous. the origin of the body cavity as paired archenteric diverticula has already been described. its somatic wall becomes in lingula ciliated, and its cavity filled with a corpusculated fluid, as in many chætopods. it is eventually prolonged into the dorsal and ventral mantle lobes as a pair of horn-like prolongations into each lobe, which communicate with the body cavity by large ciliated openings. some incomplete observations of brooks on the development of the nervous system in lingula shew that it arises in the embryo as a ring round the oesophagus with a ventral sub-oesophageal (fig. _q_), and two lateral ganglia, and two dorsal otocysts. the ventral ganglion is formed as a thickening of the epiblast, with which it remains in continuity for life. the remainder of the ring grows out from the ventral ganglion as two cords, which gradually meet on the dorsal side of the oesophagus. _general observations on the affinity of the brachiopoda._ the larva of argiope, as has been noticed by many observers, has undoubtedly very close affinities with the chætopoda. it resembles, in fact, a mesotrochal larval chætopod with provisional setæ (_vide_ chapter on chætopoda). lacaze duthiers' observations point to the lobes of the larva not being true segments, and certainly the mesoblast does not in the embryo become segmented as it ought to do were these lobes true segments. if this view is correct the larva is to be compared to an unsegmented chætopod larva. in rhynchonella, however, indications of two segments are afforded in the adult in the two pairs of segmental organs. though the larval brachiopod resembles a mesotrochal chætopod larva, it does not appear to resemble the trochosphere larvæ so far described, or the more typical larvæ of the chætopoda, in that the ring of tentacles, which is probably, as already mentioned, derived from the ciliated ring shewn in fig. , is _post-oral_, and not _præ-oral_. the ring of tentacles is like the ring in actinotrocha (the larva of phoronis) amongst the gephyrea. although there is no doubt a striking resemblance between the tentacular disc of a larval brachiopod and the lophophore of a polyzoon, which has been pointed out by lankester, morse, brooks, etc., their homology is rendered, to my mind, very doubtful ( ) by the fact that the lophophore is præ-oral in polyzoa[ ] and post-oral in brachiopoda; and ( ) by the fact that the concave side of the lophophore is turned in nearly opposite directions in the two forms. in brachiopods it is turned dorsalwards, and in phylactolæmatous polyzoa ventralwards. [ ] for the ectoproctous polyzoa it might be held that the ciliated ring of tentacles is post-oral, but the facts of development recorded in the previous chapter appear to me to shew that this view is untenable. the view of morse, that the brachiopoda are degraded tubicolous chætopods, is not so far supported by any definite embryological facts. the development of the tentacular ring as well as its innervation from the sub-oesophageal ganglion prohibit us, as has been pointed out by gegenbaur, from comparing it with the tentacles of tubicolous chætopoda. bibliography. ( ) w. k. brooks. "development of lingula." _chesapeake zoological laboratory, scientific results of the session of ._ baltimore, j. murphy and co. ( ) a. kowalevsky. "development of the brachiopoda." _protocol of the first session of the united sections of anatomy, physiology, and comparative anatomy at the meeting of russian naturalists in kasan_, . (russian.) ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. "histoire de la thécidie." _ann. scien. nat. etc._ ser. , vol. xv. . ( ) morse. "on the early stages of terebratulina septentrionalis." _mem. boston soc. nat. history_, vol. ii. , also _ann. & mag. of nat. hist._, series , vol. viii. . ( ) ---- "on the embryology of terebratulina." _mem. boston soc. nat. history_, vol. iii., . ( ) ---- "on the systematic position of the brachiopoda." _proceedings of the boston soc. of nat. hist._, . ( ) fritz müller. "beschreibung einer brachiopoden larve." müller's _archiv_, . chapter xii. chÆtopoda[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the chætopoda is adopted in the present section: i. achæta. (_polygordius_). ii. polychæta. { sedentaria. { errantia. iii. oligochæta. _formation of the germinal layers._ most chætopoda deposit their eggs before development. the oligochæta lay them in peculiar cocoons or sacks formed by a secretion of the integument. some marine polychæta carry them about during their development. autolytus cornutus has a special sack on the ventral surface in which they are hatched. in spirorbis pagenstecheri they develop inside the opercular tentacle, and in spirorbis spirillum inside the tube of the parent. a few forms (_e.g._ eunice sanguinea, syllis vivipara, nereis diversicolor) are viviparous. perhaps the most primitive type of chætopod development so far observed is that of serpula (stossich, no. )[ ]. there is a regular segmentation resulting in the formation of a blastosphere with a central segmentation cavity. an invagination of the normal type now ensues. the blastopore soon narrows to become the permanent anus, while the invaginated hypoblast forms a small prominence with an imperfectly developed lumen, which _does not nearly fill up the segmentation cavity_ (fig. a). the embryo, which has in the meantime become completely covered with cilia, now assumes more or less the form of a cone, at the apex of which is the anus, while the base forms the rudiment of a large præ-oral lobe. the alimentary sack grows forwards and then bends upon itself nearly at right angles, and meets a stomodæal invagination from the ventral side some way from the front end of the body. [ ] the observations of stossich are not thoroughly satisfactory. [fig. . two stages in the development of serpula. (after stossich.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _al._ archenteron.] the alimentary canal soon differentiates itself into three regions ( ) oesophagus, ( ) stomach, and ( ) intestine. with these changes the larva, which in the meantime becomes hatched, assumes the characters of a typical annelid larva (fig. b). in front is a large præ-oral lobe, at the sides of which the eye-spots soon appear. the primitive segmentation cavity remains as a wide space between the curved alimentary tract and the body walls, and becomes traversed by muscular fibres passing between the two. the original chorion appears to serve as cuticle, and is perforated by the cilia. the further changes in this larval form do not present features of general importance. a peculiar vesicle, which in anomalous cases is double, is formed near the anus. if it were shewn to occur widely amongst chætopoda, it might be perhaps regarded as homologous with the anal vesicles of the gephyrea. serpula is one of the few chætopoda at present known in which the segmentation is quite regular[ ]. in other forms it is more or less unequal. the formation of the germinal layers has been far more fully studied in the oligochæta than in the polychæta, and though unfortunately the development is much abbreviated in the former group, they nevertheless have to serve as our type; and unless the contrary is indicated the statements in the remainder of the section apply to the oligochæta. the segmentation is nearly regular in lumbricus agricola (kowalevsky) and results in the formation of a flattened blastosphere, one of the sides of which is hypoblastic and the other epiblastic, the hypoblast cells being easily distinguished from the epiblast cells by their clearer aspect. an invagination takes place, in the course of which the hypoblast becomes enclosed by the epiblast, and a somewhat cylindrical two-layered gastrula is formed. the opening of this gastrula at first extends over the whole of what becomes the ventral surface of the future worm, but gradually narrows to a small pore--the permanent mouth--near the front end. the central cavity of the gastrula is lined by hypoblast cells, but the oral opening, which leads by a narrow passage into the gastric cavity, is lined by epiblast cells. [ ] according to willemoes-suhm, terebellides stroemii is also characterised by a regular segmentation. the segmentation of lumbricus trapezoides (kleinenberg, no. ), and of criodrilus (hatschek, no. ), is more unequal and more irregular than that of lumbricus agricola, and there is an invagination which is intermediate between the embolic and epibolic types. the segmentation of lumbricus trapezoides is especially remarkable. it is strangely irregular and at one period the segmentation cavity communicates by a pore with the exterior. before the completion of the gastrula stage the ovum becomes partially divided into two halves, each of which gives rise to a complete embryo. the two embryos are at first united by an epiblast cord which connects their necks (fig. a), but this cord is very early ruptured, and the two embryos then become quite independent. some of the peculiarities of the segmentation may no doubt be explained by this remarkable embryonic fission. the gastrula opening in both lumbricus trapezoides and criodrilus is placed on the ventral surface, and eventually narrows to form the mouth or possibly (criodrilus) closes at the position of the mouth. in lumbricus trapezoides the oral opening is at first lined by hypoblast, and in criodrilus is bounded anteriorly by three large peculiar epiblast cells, which are believed by hatschek to assist in absorbing the albuminous fluid in which the eggs are suspended. these large cells are eventually covered by the normal epiblast cells and subsequently disappear. in both these types the hypoblast cells undergo, during their invagination, peculiar changes connected with their nutritive function. in euaxes (kowalevsky) the segmentation is far more unequal than in the other types; a typical epibolic invagination takes place (fig. ), and the blastopore closes completely along the ventral surface. [fig. . transverse section through the ovum of euaxes during an early stage of development. (after kowalevsky.) _ep._ epiblast; _ms._ mesoblastic band; _hy._ hypoblast.] in all the oligochætous types, with the exception of euaxes, where the blastopore closes completely, the blastopore becomes, or coincides with the mouth. in serpula it is stated (stossich), as we have seen, to coincide with the anus: a statement which receives confirmation from the similar statements of willemoes-suhm (no. ). it is necessary either to suppose a mistake on the part of stossich, or that we have in chætopods a case like that of gasteropods in which a slit-like blastopore originally extending along the ventral surface may in some forms become reduced to a pore at the oral, or in other forms at the anal extremity. so far only two germinal layers--the epiblast and the hypoblast--have been spoken of. before the invagination of the hypoblast is completed the mesoblast makes its appearance in the form of two bands or streaks, extending longitudinally for the whole length of the embryo. these are usually spoken of as germinal streaks, but to avoid the ambiguity of this term they will be spoken of as mesoblastic bands. their origin and growth has been most fully studied by kleinenberg (no. ) in lum. trapezoides. they commence in this species shortly before the gastrula stage as two large cells on the surface of the blastoderm, which may be called mesoblasts. these cells lie one on each side of the median line at the hind end of the embryo. they soon travel inwards and become covered by the epiblast (fig. a, _m´_), while on their inner and anterior side a row of small cells appears (_ms_). these rows of cells form the commencement of the mesoblastic bands, and in the succeeding stages they extend one on each side of the body (fig. b, _ms_) till they reach the sides of the mouth. their forward growth takes place mainly at the expense of the superjacent epiblast cells, but the two mesoblasts at their hinder extremities probably assist in their growth. each mesoblastic band is at first composed of only a single row of cells, but soon becomes thicker, first of all in front, and becomes composed of two, three or more rows of cells abreast. from the above it is clear that the mesoblastic bands have, in l. trapezoides at any rate, in a large measure an epiblastic origin. [fig. . three sections illustrating the development of lumbricus trapezoides. (after kleinenberg.) _ms._ mesoblastic band; _m´._ mesoblast; _al._ archenteron; _pp._ body cavity. a. horizontal and longitudinal section of an embryo which is dividing into two embryos at the gastrula stage. it shews the mesoblasts and the mesoblastic bands proceeding from them. b. transverse section shewing the two widely separated mesoblastic bands. c. transverse section at a later stage shewing the mesoblastic bands which have approached the ventral line and developed a body cavity _pp._] at first the two bands end _in front_ at the sides of the mouth, but subsequently their front ends grow dorsalwards at the expense of the adjoining epiblast cells, and meet above the mouth, forming in this way a mesoblastic dorsal commissure. the mesoblastic bands soon travel from the lateral position, which they at first occupy, towards the ventral surface. they do not however meet ventrally for some time, but form two bands, one on each side of the median ventral line (fig. c). the usual accounts of the origin and growth of the bands differ somewhat from the above. by kowalevsky (no. ) and hatschek (no. ) they are believed to increase in lumbricus rubellus and criodrilus entirely at the expense of the mesoblasts. kowalevsky moreover holds that in l. rubellus the original mesoblasts spring from the hypoblast. in some forms, _e.g._ lumbricus agricola, the mesoblasts are not present. in euaxes the origin of the mesoblast bands is somewhat interesting as illustrating the relation of the chætopod mesoblastic bands to the mesoblast of other forms. to render intelligible the origin of the mesoblast in this form, it is necessary to say a few words about the segmentation. by a somewhat abnormal process of segmentation the ovum divides into four spheres, of which one is larger than the others, and occupies a position corresponding with the future hind end of the embryo. the three smaller spheres give rise _on their dorsal side_ by a kind of budding to small cells, which become the epiblast; and the epiblast is also partly formed from the hinder large cell in that this cell produces by budding a small cell, which again divides into two. the anterior of the two cells so formed divides still further and becomes incorporated in the epiblast; the posterior only divides into two _which form the two mesoblasts_. the remainder of the mesoblast is formed by further division of the three smaller of the primitive large spheres, and at first forms a continuous layer between the dorsal cap of epiblast and the four largest cells which, after giving rise to the epiblast and mesoblast, constitute the hypoblast. as the epiblast spreads over the hypoblast the mesoblastic sheet gives way in the middle, and the mesoblast remains as a ridge of cells at the edge of the epiblastic cup. it forms in fact a thickening of the lips of the blastopore. behind the thickening is completed by the two mesoblasts. the appearance of the mesoblast in section is shewn in fig. . as the epiblast accompanied by the mesoblast grows round the hypoblast, the blastopore assumes an oval form, and the mesoblast appears as two bands forming the sides of the oval. the epiblast travels over the hypoblast more rapidly than the mesoblast, so that when the blastopore becomes closed ventrally the mesoblastic bands are still some little way apart on the ventral side. in euaxes the mesoblast originates in a manner which is very similar to that in some of the gasteropoda, _e.g._ _nassa, vide_ p. , and vermes, _e.g._ _bonellia_, etc. as mentioned in the chapter on the mollusca the origin of the mesoblast in planorbis, p. , is very similar to that in lumbricus. hatschek has shewn that in polygordius the mesoblast arises in fundamentally the same way as in the oligochæta. besides the mesoblast which arises from the mesoblastic bands, there is evidence of the existence of further mesoblast in the larvæ of many polychæta in the form of muscular fibres which traverse the space between the body wall and the wall of the enteric cavity prior to the formation of the permanent body cavity. these fibres have already been described in the embryo of serpula, and are probably represented by stellate cells in the cephalic region (præ-oral lobe) of the oligochæta. these cells are probably of the same nature as the amoeboid cells in the larvæ of echinodermata, some mollusca and other types. _the larval form._ true larval forms are not found in the oligochæta where the development is abbreviated. they occur however in the majority of the marine polychæta. they present a great variety of characters with variously arranged ciliated bands. most of these forms can be more or less satisfactorily derived from a larval form, like that of serpula (fig. b) or polygordius (fig. ); and the constant recurrence of this form amongst the chætopoda, combined with the fact that it presents many points of resemblance to the larval forms of many rotifers, molluscs, and gephyreans, seems to point to its being a primitive ancestral form for all these groups. the important characters of this larval form are ( ) the division of the body into a large præ-oral lobe and a relatively small post-oral region containing the greater part of the alimentary tract; ( ) the presence of a curved alimentary canal divided into stomodæum (oesophagus), stomach and intestine, and opening by a ventrally placed mouth, and an anus near the hind end of the body. to these may be added the frequent presence of ( ) a ganglion at the apex of the præ-oral lobe, ( ) a large cavity between the wall of the gut and the skin, which is the remnant of the segmentation cavity, and is usually traversed by muscular strands, of which one connecting the apex of the præ-oral lobe and the stomach or oesophagus is very commonly present (fig. ). the arrangement of the ciliated bands presents great variations, though in some instances it is constant through large groups. in chætopods there is a widely distributed præ-oral ciliated band, which is similarly placed to the ring constantly found in the larvæ of molluscs, rotifers, etc. in many of these forms the band is practically double, the opening of the mouth being placed between its two component rings (_vide_ fig. ). the best introduction to the study of the chætopod larval forms will be the history of the changes of a typical larval form in becoming converted into the adult. [fig. . polygordius larva. (after hatschek.) _m._ mouth; _sg_. supra-oesophageal ganglion; _nph._ nephridion; _me.p._ mesoblastic band; _an._ anus; _ol._ stomach.] for this purpose no better form can be selected than the interesting larva of polygordius (_vide_ agassiz, no. , schneider, no. , and hatschek, no. ), which was first discovered by lovén, and believed by him to be the larva of an ordinary chætopod. its true nature was determined by schneider. at a very young stage the larva has the form (fig. ) of a flattened sphere, with a small conical knob at the posterior extremity. at the equator are situated two parallel ciliated bands[ ], between which lies the ventrally placed mouth (_m_). the more conspicuous ciliated band is formed of a double row of cilia, and is situated in front of the mouth. the thinner ciliated band behind the mouth appears to be absent in the american species. [ ] these two rings are at first (hatschek) not quite closed dorsally, calling to mind the early condition of the echinoderm larvæ with a præ-oral and post-oral ciliated area. the mouth leads into an oesophagus, and this into a globular stomach (_ol_), which is continuous with a rectum terminating by an anus (_an_) placed at the hind end of the posterior conical knob. the whole alimentary tract is ciliated. in the american form of larva there is a ring of cilia round the anus, which is developed at a somewhat later stage in the form observed by hatschek. [fig. polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] the position of the ciliated bands and the alimentary tract enables us to divide the embryo into three regions: a præ-oral region bounded by the anterior ciliated band, a gastric region in which the embryonic stomach is situated, and an abdominal region formed of the posterior conical portion, which by its subsequent elongation gives rise to the whole segmented portion of the future polygordius. at the front end of the præ-oral lobe is situated the early formed supra-oesophageal ganglion (_sg_) (first noticed by agassiz) in connection with which is a pair of eyes, and a ramified system of nerves. the ganglion is marked externally by a crown of cilia. [fig. . polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] the larval epidermis bears a delicate cuticula, and is separated by a considerable interval from the walls of the alimentary tract. the space between the two represents a provisional body cavity, which is eventually replaced by the permanent body cavity formed between the two layers of the mesoblast. it is doubtful when the replacement takes place in the head. it probably does so very early. the mesoblast is present in the usual form of two bands (_me.p_) (germinal streaks), which are anteriorly continued into two muscular bands which pass through the embryonic body cavity to the front end of the præ-oral lobe. another pair of contractile bands passes from the same region of the præ-oral lobe to the oesophagus. there is no trace of the ventral nerve cord. the most remarkable organ of the larva is a paired excretory organ (_nph_) discovered by hatschek. this is a ciliated canal with at first one and subsequently several funnel-shaped openings into the body cavity in front and an external opening behind. it is situated immediately anterior to the lateral band of mesoblast, and is parallel with, and dorsal to, the contractile band which passes off from this. it occupies therefore a position in front of the segmented region of the adult polygordius. [fig. . polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] the changes by which this peculiar larval form reaches the adult condition will be easily gathered from an inspection of figs. - . they consist essentially in the elongation of what has been termed the abdominal region of the body, and the appearance of a segmentation in the mesoblast; the segments being formed from before backwards, and each fresh segment being interpolated between the anus-bearing end of the body and the last segment. as the hind portion of the body becomes elongated the stomach extends into it, and gives rise to the mesenteron of the adult (figs. , , and ). for a long time the anterior spherical dilated portion of the larva remains very large, consisting of a præ-oral lobe and a post-oral section. the two together may be regarded as constituting the head. at a comparatively late stage a pair of tentacles arises from the front end of the præ-oral lobe (fig. ), and finally the head becomes relatively reduced as compared with the body, and gives rise to the simple head of the fully formed worm (fig. ). the two ciliated bands disappear, the posterior vanishing first. the ciliated band at the hind end of the body also atrophies; and just in front of it the ring of wart-like prominences used by the adult to attach itself becomes developed. [fig. . polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] at the sides of the head there is formed a pair of ciliated pits, also found by hatschek in the embryo of criodrilus, and characteristic of many chætopod larvæ, but persistent in the adult polygordius, saccocirrus, polyophthalmus, etc. they are perhaps the same structures as the ciliated pits in nemertines. [fig. . polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] during the external changes above described, by which the adult form of polygordius is reached, a series of internal changes also takes place which are for the most part the same as in other chætopoda; and do not require a detailed description. the nervous[ ] and muscular systems have precisely the normal development. the division of the mesoblast into somites is not externally indicated. the organs most worthy of notice are the excretory organs. [ ] the structure of the ventral cord in the adult requires further elucidation. the essential points in the above development of polygordius are ( ) the gradual elongation and corresponding segmentation of the post-cephalic part of the body; and ( ) the relative reduction in size of the præ-oral lobe and its conversion together with the oral region into the head; ( ) the atrophy of the ciliated bands. the conversion of the larva into the adult takes place in fact by the intercalation of a segmented region between a large mouth-bearing portion of the primitive body and a small anus-bearing portion[ ]. [ ] for semper's view as to the intercalation of segments in the cephalic region, _vide_ note on p. . [fig. . polygordius larva. (from alex. agassiz.)] the general mode of development of chætopod larvæ is similar to the above except in details, which are however no doubt often of great importance. the history of the larvæ may be conveniently treated under three heads. ( ) the form of the primitive unsegmented larva; ( ) the arrangement of the cilia on the unsegmented larva, and on the larva at later stages; ( ) the character of the metamorphosis and the development of the permanent external organs. a larva similar to the polygordius larva with a greatly developed præ-oral lobe is widely distributed amongst the annelids. an almost identical form is that of nepthys scolopendroides (claparède and metschnikoff, no. ); that of phyllodoce (fig. ) is also very similar, and that of saccocirrus (metsch. and clap. no. , pl. xiii. fig. ), a very primitive form most nearly related to polygordius, clearly belongs to the same type. many other larval forms, such as that of spio fuliginosus (metsch. and clap. no. ), terebella, nerine, etc., also closely approach this form. [fig. . larva of phyllodoce. (from alex. agassiz.)] other really similar forms at first sight appear very different, but this is mainly owing to the fact that their præ-oral lobe never attains a considerable development. its smallness, though obviously of no deep morphological significance, at once produces a very different appearance in a larva. a good example of a larval form with a small præ-oral lobe is afforded by capitella, which is figured by clap. and metsch. (no. , pl. xvii. fig. ). the imperfect development of the præ-oral lobe is also generally characteristic of the oligochæta. the persistence of a relatively large præ-oral lobe for so long a time as in polygordius is very unusual. the arrangement of the cilia in chætopod larvæ has been employed as a means of classifying them. although a classification so framed has no morphological value, yet the terms themselves which have been invented are convenient. the terms most usually employed are atrochæ, monotrochæ, telotrochæ, polytrochæ, mesotrochæ. the polytrochæ may again be subdivided into polytrochæ proper, nototrochæ, gasterotrochæ, and amphitrochæ. the atrochæ contain forms (fig. ) in which the larva is at first coated by an uniform covering of cilia, which, though it may subsequently disappear from certain areas, does not break up into a series of definite bands. the monotrochæ or cephalotrochæ are larvæ in which only a single præ-oral ring is developed (fig. b). [fig. . two chÆtopod larvÆ. (from gegenbaur.) _o._ mouth; _i._ intestine; _a._ anus; _v._ præ-oral ciliated band; _w._ peri-anal ciliated band.] in the telotrochæ there is present a præ-oral and a post-oral, _i.e._ peri-anal ring (fig. a); the latter sometimes having the form of a peri-anal patch. the polytrochæ are segmented larvæ with perfect or imperfect rings of cilia on the segments of the body--usually one ring to each segment--between the two characteristic telotrochal rings. when these rings are complete the larvæ are polytrochæ proper, when they are only half rings they are either nototrochæ or gasterotrochæ. sometimes there are both dorsal and ventral half rings which do not however correspond, such forms constitute the amphitrochæ. in the mesotrochæ one or two rings are present in the middle of the body, and the characteristic telotrochal rings are absent. larvæ do not necessarily continue to belong to the same group at all ages. a larva may commence as a monotrochal form and then become telotrochal and from this pass into a polytrochal condition, etc. the atrochal forms are to be regarded as larvæ which never pass beyond the primitive stage of uniform ciliation, which in other instances may precede that of definite rings. they usually lose their cilia early, as in the cases of serpula and other larvæ described below. the atrochal larvæ are not common. the following history of an eunicidan larva (probably lumbriconereis) from claparède and metschnikoff (no. ) will illustrate their general history. in the earliest stage noticed the larva has a spherical form, the præ-oral lobe not being very well marked. in the interior is a globular digestive tract. the cilia form a broad central band leaving free a narrow space at the apex of the præ-oral lobe, and also a circumanal space. at the apex of the præ-oral lobe is placed a bunch of long cilia, and a patch of cilia also marks out the anal area. as the larva grows older it becomes elongated, and the anterior bunch of cilia is absorbed. the alimentary canal divides itself into pharynx and intestine. the former opens (?) by the mouth in the middle of the central band of cilia, the latter in the anal patch. the setæ indicating the segmentation are formed successively in the posterior ring-like area free from cilia. the cilia disappear after the formation of two segments. in lumbricus, the embryo of which ought perhaps to be grouped with the atrochæ, the cilia (kleinenberg) cover a ventral tract of epiblast between the two mesoblastic cords, and are continued anteriorly to form a circle round the mouth. the monotrochal larvæ are provided only with the important præ-oral ciliated ring before mentioned. in the majority of cases they are transitional forms destined very shortly to become telotrochal, and in such instances they usually have a more or less spherical body which is nearly divided into two equal halves by a ciliated ring. in some few instances, such as polynoe, dasychone, etc., the monotrochal characters are not lost till the larval cilia are exuviated. the telotrochal forms (of which examples are shewn in figs. , , etc.) may ( ) start as monotrochal; or ( ) from the first have a telotrochal character; or ( ) be derived from atrochal forms. the last mode of origin probably represents the ancestral one. their mode of development is well illustrated by the case of terebella nebulosa (_vide_ milne-edwards, no. ). the embryo is at first a nearly spherical ciliated mass. one end slightly elongates and becomes free from cilia, and, acquiring dorsally two eye-spots, constitutes a præ-oral lobe. the elongation continues at the opposite end, and near this is formed a narrow area free from cilia. the larva now has the same characters as the atrochal eunicidan larva described above. it consists of a non-ciliated præ-oral lobe, followed by a wide ciliated band, behind which is a ring-like area free from cilia; and behind this again a peri-anal patch of cilia. the ring-like area free from cilia is, as in the eunicidan larva, the region which becomes segmented. it soon becomes longer, and is then divided into two segments; a third and fourth etc. non-ciliated segment becomes successively interposed immediately in front of the peri-anal patch; and, after a certain number of segments have become formed, there appear on some of the hinder of them short tubercles, provided with single setæ (the notopodia), which are formed from before backwards, like the segments. the mouth, anus, and intestine become in the meantime clearly visible. the mouth is on the posterior side of the ciliated band, and the anus in the centre of the peri-anal patch. the ciliated band in front now becomes contracted and provided with long cilia. it passes below completely in front of the mouth, and constitutes, in fact, a well-marked præ-oral ring, while the cilia behind constitute an equally marked peri-anal ring. the larva has in fact now acquired all the characters of a true telotrochal form. only a comparatively small number of chætopod larvæ remain permanently telotrochal. of these terebella nebulosa, already cited (though not terebella conchilega), is one; polygordius, saccocirrus and capitella are other examples of the same, though in the latter form the whole ventral surface becomes ciliated. the majority of the originally telotrochal forms become polytrochal. in most cases the ciliated rings or half rings of the polytrochal forms are placed at equal distances, one for each segment. they are especially prominent in surface-swimming larvæ, and are in rare cases preserved in the adult. in some instances (_e.g._ nerine and spio) the ventral half rings, instead of being segmentally arranged, are somewhat irregularly distributed amongst the segments, so that there does not seem to be a necessary correspondence between the ciliated rings and the segments. this is further shewn by the fact that the ciliated rings are not precursors of the true segmentation, but are developed after the establishment of the segments, and thus seem rather to be secondarily adapted to the segments than primarily indicative of them. in most polytrochæ the rings are incomplete, so that they fall under the category of nototrochæ or gasterotrochæ. the larva of odontosyllis is an example of the former, and that of magelona of the latter. the larvæ of nerine and spio, already quoted as examples of an unsegmented arrangement of the ventral ciliated half rings, are both amphitrochal forms. as an example of a polytrochal form with complete ciliated rings ophryotrocha puerilis may be cited. this form, discovered by claparède and metschnikoff, develops a complete ciliated ring on each segment: and the præ-oral ring, though at first single, becomes at a later period divided into two. this form is further exceptional in that the ciliated rings are persistent in the adult. the unimportance of the character of the rings in the polytrochal forms is shewn by such facts as the absence of these rings in terebella nebulosa and the presence of dorsal half rings in terebella conchilega. the mesotrochal forms are the rarest of chætopod larvæ, and would seem to be confined to the chætopteridæ. their most striking character is the presence of one or two complete ciliated rings which girth the body between the mouth and anus. the whole body is further covered with short cilia. the anus has a distinct dorsal situation, while on its ventral side there projects backwards a peculiar papilla. the total absence of the typical præ-oral and of the peri-anal bands separates the mesotrochal larvæ very sharply from all the previous types. a characteristic of many chætopod larvæ is the presence of a bunch of cilia or a single flagellum at the apex of the præ-oral lobe. the presence of such a structure is characteristic of the larval forms of many other groups, turbellarians, nemertines, molluscs, etc. in the preceding section the mode of multiplication of the segments has already been sufficiently described[ ]. [ ] it has been insisted by semper (no. ) that certain of the anterior segments, belonging to what he regards as the head region in opposition to the trunk, become interpolated between the trunk and the head. the general evidence, founded on observations of budding, which he brings forward, cannot be discussed here. but the special instance which he cites (founded on milne-edwards's (no. ) observations) of the interpolation of the head segments, bearing the gills, in terebella appears to me quite unjustified from milne-edwards's own statements; and is clearly shewn to be unfounded by the careful observations of claparède on ter. conchilega, where the segments in question are demonstrated to be present from the first. [fig. . larva of phyllodoce from the ventral side. (from alex. agassiz.)] apart from the formation of the segments the larval metamorphosis consists in the atrophy of the provisional ciliated rings and other provisional organs, and in the acquirement of the organs of the adult. the great variations in the nature of the chætopod appendages render it impossible to treat this part of the developmental history of the chætopoda in a systematic way. the mode of development of the appendages is not constant, so that it is difficult to draw conclusions as to the primitive form from which the existing types of appendages are derived. in a large number of cases the primitive rudiments of the feet exhibit no indication of a division into notopodium and neuropodium; while in other instances (_e.g._ terebella and nerine, fig. ) the notopodium is first developed, and subsequently the neuropodium quite independently. in many cases the setæ appear before there are any other visible rudiments of the feet (_e.g._ lumbriconereis); while in other cases the reverse holds good. the gills are usually the last parts to appear. [fig. . larva of nerine, with provisional setÆ. (from alex. agassiz.)] not only does the mode of development of the feet differ greatly in different types, but also the period. the appearance of setæ may afford the first external indication of segmentation, or the rudiments of the feet may not appear till a large number of segments are definitely established. a very considerable number of chætopod larvæ are provided with very long provisional setæ (figs. and ). these setæ are usually placed at the sides of the anterior part of the body, immediately behind the head, and also sometimes on the posterior parts of the body. in some instances (_e.g._ fig. ) they form the only appendages of the trunk. alex. agassiz has pointed out that setæ of this kind, though not found in existing chætopods, are characteristic of the fossil forms. setæ of this kind are found in chætopod-like larvæ of some brachiopods (argiope, fig. ). [fig. . embryo chÆtopod with provisional setÆ. (from agassiz.)] it is tempting to suppose that the long provisional bristles springing from the oral region are the setiform appendages handed down from the unsegmented ancestors of the existing chætopod forms. claparède has divided chætopod larvæ into two great groups of metachætæ and perennichætæ, according as they possess or are without provisional setæ. with reference to the head and its appendages it has already been stated that the head is primarily formed of the præ-oral lobe and of the peristomial region. the embryological facts are opposed to the view that the præ-oral region either represents a segment or is composed of segments equivalent to those of the trunk. the embryonic peristomial region may, on the other hand, be regarded as in a certain sense the first segment. its exact relations to the succeeding segments become frequently more or less modified in the adult. the præ-oral region is in most larvæ bounded behind by the ciliated ring already described. on the dorsal part of the præ-oral lobe in front of this ring are placed the eyes, and from it there may spring a variable number of processes which form antennæ or cephalic tentacles. the number and position of these latter are very variable. they appear as simple processes, sometimes arising in pairs, and at other times alternating on the two sides. there is frequently a median unpaired tentacle. the development of the median tentacle in terebella, where there is in the adult a great number of similar tentacles, is sufficiently remarkable to deserve special notice; _vide_ milne-edwards, claparède, etc. it arises long before any of the other tentacles as a single anterior prolongation of the præ-oral lobe containing a parenchymatous cavity, which communicates freely with the general perivisceral cavity. it soon becomes partially constricted off at its base from the procephalic lobe, but continues to grow till it becomes fully half as long as the remainder of the body. a very characteristic figure of the larva at this stage is given by claparède and metschnikoff, pl. xvii., fig. e. it now strikingly resembles the larval proboscis of balanoglossus, and it is not easy to avoid the conclusion that they are homologous structures. another peculiar cephalic structure which deserves notice is the gill apparatus of the serpulidæ. in dasychone (sabella) the gill apparatus arises (claparède and metschnikoff, no. ) as a pair of membranous wing-like organs on the dorsal side of the præ-oral lobe immediately in front of the ciliated ring. each subsequently becomes divided into two rays, and new rays then begin to sprout on the ventral side of the two pairs already present. a cartilaginous axis soon becomes formed in these rays, and after this is formed fresh rays sprout irregularly from the cartilaginous skeleton. [fig. . larva of spirorbis. (from alex. agassiz.) the first odd tentacle (_t_) is shewn on the right side. behind the præ-oral ciliated ring is the large collar.] in spirorbis spirillum as observed by alex. agassiz, the right gill-tentacle (fig. , _t_) first appears, and then the left, and subsequently the odd opercular tentacle which covers the right original tentacle. the third and fourth tentacles are formed successively on the two sides, and rapidly become branched in the succeeding stages. with reference to the sense organs it may be noted that the eyes, or at any rate the cephalic pigment spots, are generally more numerous in the embryo than in the adult, and that they are usually present in the larvæ of the sedentaria, though absent in the adults of these forms. the sedentaria thus pass through a larval stage in which they resemble the errantia. paired auditory vesicles of a provisional character have been found on the ventral side of the body, in the fourth segment behind the mouth, in the larva of terebella conchilega (claparède). mitraria. a peculiar larval chætopod form known as mitraria, the metamorphosis of which was first worked out by metschnikoff, deserves a special notice. this form (fig. a) in spite of its remarkable appearance can easily be reduced to the normal type of larva. the mouth (_m_) and anus (_an_) (fig. a) are closely approximated, and situated within a vestibule the edge of which is lined by a simple or lobed ciliated ring. the shape of the body is somewhat conical. the cavity of the vestibule forms the base of the cone, and at the apex is placed a ciliated patch (_sg_). a pair of lobes (_br_) bear provisional setæ. the alimentary canal is formed of the three normal parts, oesophagus, stomach, and intestine. [fig. . two stages in the development of mitraria. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _br._ provisional bristles; _pr.b._ præ-oral ciliated band.] to compare this larva with an ordinary chætopod larva one must suppose that the alimentary canal is abnormally bent, so that the post-oral ventral surface is reduced to the small space between the mouth and the anus. the ciliated band surrounding the vestibule is merely the usual præ-oral band, borne on the very much extended edge of the præ-oral lobe. the apex of the larva is the front end of the præ-oral lobe with the usual ciliated patch. the two lobes with provisional bristles are really dorsal and not posterior. the correctness of the above interpretation is clearly shewn by the metamorphosis. the first change consists in the pushing in of a fold of skin, between the mouth and anus, towards the intestine, which at the same time rapidly elongates, and forms the axis of a conical projection, which thereupon becomes segmented and is thereby shewn to be the rudiment of the trunk (fig. b). on the elongation of the trunk in this way the præ-oral lobe and its ciliated ring assume an appearance not very dissimilar to the same structures in polygordius. at the ciliated apex of the præ-oral lobe a paired thickening of epiblast gives rise to the supra-oesophageal ganglia (_sg_). in the further metamorphosis, the præ-oral lobe and its ciliated ring gradually become reduced, and finally atrophy in the normal way, while the trunk elongates and acquires setæ. the dorsally situated processes with provisional setæ last for some time, but finally disappear. the young worm then develops a tube and shews itself as a normal tubicolous chætopod. _formation of organs._ except in the case of a few organs our knowledge of the formation of the organs in the chætopoda is derived from investigations on the oligochæta. the embryo of the oligochæta has a more or less spherical form, but it soon elongates, and becoming segmented acquires a distinct vermiform character. the ventral surface is however for a considerable time markedly convex as compared to the dorsal. the ventrally placed mouth is surrounded by a well-marked lip, and in front of it is placed a small præ-oral lobe. [fig. . section through the head of a young embryo of lumbricus trapezoides. (after kleinenberg.) _c.g._ cephalic ganglion; _cc._ cephalic portion of the body cavity; _x._ oesophagus.] the epiblast. the epiblast cells at the commencement of the gastrula stage become much flattened, and on the completion of the invagination form an investment of flattened cells, only thickened in the neighbourhood of the mesoblastic bands (fig. b and c). in the polychæta at any rate the statements of several investigators would seem to indicate that the cuticle is derived from the chorion. it is difficult to accept this conclusion, but it deserves further investigation. nervous system. the most important organ derived from the epiblast is the nervous system; the origin of which from this layer was first established by kowalevsky (no. ). [fig. . section through part of the ventral wall of the trunk of an embryo of lumbricus trapezoides. (after kleinenberg.) _m._ longitudinal muscles; _so._ somatic mesoblast; _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _vg._ ventral nerve cord; _vv._ ventral vessel.] it arises[ ] (kleinenberg, no. ) from two at first quite distinct structures, viz. ( ) the supra-oesophageal rudiment and ( ) the rudiment of the ventral cord. the former of these takes its origin as an unpaired dorsal thickening of the epiblast at the front end of the head (fig. , _c.g._), which sends two prolongations downwards and backwards to meet the ventral cord. the latter arises as two independent thickenings of the epiblast, one on each side of the ventral furrow (fig. , _vg_). these soon unite underneath the furrow, in the median line, and after being differentiated into segmentally arranged ganglionic and interganglionic regions become separated from the epiblast. both the supra-oesophageal and ventral cord become surrounded by a layer of somatic mesoblast. the junction between the two parts of the central nervous system takes place comparatively late. [ ] for further details, _vide_ general chapter on nervous system. the mesoblast. it is to kowalevsky (no. ) and kleinenberg (no. ) that we mainly owe our knowledge of the history of the mesoblast. the fundamental processes which take place are ( ) the splitting of the mesoblast into splanchnic and somatic layers with the body cavity between them, ( ) the transverse division of the mesoblast of the trunk into distinct somites. the former process commences in the cephalic mesoblastic commissure, where it results in the formation of a pair of cavities each with a thin somatic and thick splanchnic layer (fig. , _cc_); and thence extends gradually backwards into the trunk (fig. c, _pp_). in the trunk however the division into somites precedes the horizontal splitting of the mesoblast. the former process commences when the mesoblastic bands form widish columns quite separate from each other. these columns become broken up successively from before backwards into somewhat cubical bodies, in the centre of which a cavity soon appears. the cavity in each somite is obviously bounded by four walls, ( ) an outer, the somatic, which is the thickest; ( ) an inner, the splanchnic; and ( , ) an anterior and posterior. the adjoining anterior and posterior walls of successive somites unite together to form the transverse dissepiments of the adult, which subsequently become very thin and are perforated in numerous places, thus placing in communication the separate compartments of the body cavity. the somites, though at first confined to a small area on the ventral side, gradually extend so as to meet their fellows above and below and form complete rings (fig. ) of which the splanchnic layer (_sp_) attaches itself to the enteric wall and the somatic (_so_) to the epiblast. in polygordius and probably also saccocirrus and other forms the cavities of the somites of the two sides do not coalesce; and the walls which separate them constitute dorsal and ventral mesenteries. the two cavities in the cephalic commissure unite dorsally, but ventrally open into the first somite of the trunk. the mesoblastic masses of the head are probably not to be regarded as forming a pair of somites equivalent to those in the trunk, but as forming the mesoblastic part of the præ-oral lobe, of which so much has been said in the preceding pages. kleinenberg's observations are however of great importance as shewing that the cephalic cavities are simply an anterior part of the true body cavity. the splanchnic layer of the head cavity gives rise to the musculature of the oesophagus. the somatic layer of the trunk somites becomes converted into the musculature of the body wall and the external peritoneal layer of body cavity. the first part of the muscular system to be definitely formed is the ventral band of longitudinal muscles which arises on each side of the nervous system in contact with the epidermis (fig. , _m_). how the circular muscles become subsequently formed outside these muscles has not been made out. the splanchnic layer of the trunk somites gives rise to the muscular and connective-tissue wall of the mesenteron, and also to the walls of the vascular trunks. the ventral vessel is first formed (kowalevsky) as a solid mass of cells which subsequently becomes hollowed out. the dorsal vessel in lumbricus and criodrilus is stated by kowalevsky and vejdovsky to be formed by the coalescence of two lateral vessels; a peculiarity which is probably to be explained by the late extension of the mesoblast into the dorsal region. the layer from which the sacks for the setæ and the segmental organs spring is still doubtful. the sacks for the setæ are believed by kowalevsky (no. ) to be epiblastic invaginations, but are stated by hatschek (no. ) to be mesoblastic products. for the development of the segmental organs the reader is referred to the chapter on the excretory system. in marine polychæta the generative organs are no doubt mesoblastic products, as they usually spring from the peritoneal epithelium, especially the parts of it covering the vascular trunks. the alimentary canal. in lumbricus the enteric cavity is formed during the gastrula stage. in criodrilus the hypoblast has at first no lumen, but this becomes very soon established. in euaxes on the other hand, where there is a true epibolic gastrula, the mesenteron is at first represented by a solid mass of yolk (_i.e._ hypoblast) cells. as the central amongst these become absorbed a cavity is formed. the protoplasm of the yolk cells which line this cavity unites into a continuous polynuclear layer containing at intervals masses of yolk. these masses become gradually absorbed, and the protoplasmic wall of the mesenteron then breaks up into a cylindrical glandular epithelium similar to that of the other types. in lumbricus and criodrilus the blastopore remains as the mouth, but in euaxes a new mouth or rather stomodæum is formed by an epiblastic invagination between the front end of the two mesoblastic bands. this epiblastic invagination forms the permanent oesophagus; and in lumbricus trapezoides and criodrilus, where the oral opening is at first lined by hypoblast, the epiblast soon becomes inflected so as to line the oesophageal region. the splanchnic mesoblast of the cephalic region subsequently invests the oesophagus, and some of its cells penetrating between the adjoining epiblast cells give rise to a thick wall for this part of the alimentary tract; the original epiblast cells being reduced to a thin membrane. this mesoblastic wall is sharply separated from the muscular wall outside, which is also formed of splanchnic mesoblast. the anus is a late formation. _alternations of generations._ amongst chætopoda a considerable number of forms exhibit the phenomenon of alternations of generations, which in the same general way as in the case of the coelenterata, is secondarily caused by budding or fission. the process of fission essentially consists in the division of a parent form into two zooids by the formation of a zone of fission between two old rings, which becomes differentiated ( ) into an anal zone in front which forms the anal region of the anterior zooid, and ( ) into a cephalic zone behind which forms the head and some of the succeeding segments of the posterior zooid. the anal zone is capable, by growth and successive segmentation, of giving rise to an indefinite number of fresh segments. in protula dysteri, as shewn by huxley, there is a simple fission into two in the way described. sexual reproduction does not take place at the same time as reproduction by fission, but both zooids produced are quite similar and multiply sexually. in the freshwater forms nais and chætogaster a more or less similar phenomenon takes place. by a continual process of growth in the anal zones, and the formation of fresh zones of fission whenever four or five segments are added in front of an anal zone, complicated chains of adhering zooids are produced, each with a small number of segments. as long as the process of fission continues sexual products are not developed, but eventually the chains break up, the individuals derived from them cease to go on budding, and, after developing a considerably greater number of segments than in the asexual state, reproduce themselves sexually. the forms developed from the ovum then repeat again the phenomenon of budding, etc., and so the cycle is continued[ ]. [ ] reproduction by budding and formation of the sexual products to some extent overlap. the phenomena so far can hardly be described as cases of alternation of generations. the process is however in certain types further differentiated. in syllis (quatrefages) fission takes place, the parent form dividing into two, of which only the posterior after its detachment develops sexual organs. the anterior asexual zooid continues to produce fresh sexual zooids by fission. in myrianida also, where a chain of zooids is formed, the sexual elements seem to be confined to the individuals produced by budding. the cases of syllis and myrianida seem to be genuine examples of alternations of generations, but a still better instance is afforded by autolytus (krohn, no. , and agassiz, no. ). in autolytus cornutus the parent stock, produced directly from the egg, acquires about - segments, and then gives rise by fission, with the production of a zone of fission between about the th and th rings, to a fresh zooid behind. this after becoming fully developed into either a male or a female is detached from the parent stock, from which it very markedly differs. the males and females are moreover very different from each other. in the female zooid the eggs are carried into a kind of pouch where they undergo their development and give rise to asexual parent stocks. after the young are hatched the female dies. the asexual stock, after budding off one asexual zooid, elongates again and buds off a second zooid. it never develops generative organs. the life history of some species of the genus nereis presents certain very striking peculiarities which have not yet been completely elucidated. as was first shewn by malmgren asexual examples of various species of nereis may acquire the characters of heteronereis and become sexually mature. the metamorphosis of nereis dumerilii has been investigated by claparède, who has arrived at certain very remarkable conclusions. he finds that there are two distinct sexual generations of the nereis form of this species, and two distinct sexual generations of the heteronereis form. one sexual nereis, characterized by its small size, is dioecious, the other discovered by metschnikoff is hermaphrodite. of the heteronereis sexual forms, both are dioecious, one is small, and swims on the surface, the other is larger and lives at the bottom. how these various generations are mutually related has not been made out; but claparède traced the passage of large asexual examples of the nereis form into the large heteronereis form. bibliography. ( ) alex. agassiz. "on the young stages of a few annelids." _annals lyceum nat. hist. of new york_, vol. viii. . ( ) alex. agassiz. "on the embryology of autolytus cornutus and alternations of generations, etc." _boston journal of nat. history_, vol. vii. - . ( ) w. busch. _beobachtungen ü. anat. u. entwick. einiger wirbelloser seethiere_, . ( ) ed. claparède. _beobachtungen ü. anat. u. entwick. wirbelloser thiere an d. küste von normandie_. leipzig, . ( ) ed. claparède u. e. metschnikoff. "beiträge z. kenntniss üb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. chætopoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xix. . ( ) e. grube. _untersuchungen üb. entwicklung d. anneliden._ königsberg, . ( ) b. hatschek. "beiträge z. entwick. u. morphol. d. anneliden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxiv. . ( ) b. hatschek. "studien über entwicklungsgeschichte der anneliden." _arbeiten aus d. zoologischen institute d. universität wien. von c. claus._ heft iii. . ( ) th. h. huxley. "on hermaphrodite and fissiparous species of tubicolar annelidæ (protula)." _edinburgh new phil. journal_, vol. i. . ( ) n. kleinenberg. "the development of the earthworm lumbricus trapezoides." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . _sullo sviluppo del lumbricus trapezoides._ napoli, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, series vii. vol. xvi. . ( ) a. krohn. "ueber die erscheinungen bei d. fortpflanzung von syllis prolifera u. autolytus prolifer." _archiv f. naturgesch._ . ( ) r. leuckart. "ueb. d. jugendzustände ein. anneliden, etc." _archiv f. naturgesch._ . ( ) s. lovén. "beobachtungen ü. die metamorphose von anneliden." weigmann's _archiv_, . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "ueber die metamorphose einiger seethiere (mitraria)." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxi. . ( ) m. milne-edwards. "recherches zoologiques, etc." _ann. scie. natur._ iii. série, vol. iii. . ( ) j. müller. "ueb. d. jugendzustände einiger seethiere." _monats. d. k. akad. wiss._ berlin, . ( ) max müller. "ueber d. weit. entwick. von mesotrocha sexoculata." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) quatrefages. "mémoire s. l'embryogénie des annelides." _ann. scie. natur._ iii. série, vol. x. . ( ) m. sars. "zur entwicklung d. anneliden." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, vol. xi. . ( ) a. schneider. "ueber bau u. entwicklung von polygordius." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. schneider. "entwicklung u. system. stell. d. bryozoen u. gephyreen (mitraria)." _archiv f. mikr. anat._ vol. v. . ( ) m. schultze. _ueb. die entwicklung von arenicola piscatorum u. anderer kiemenwürmer._ halle, . ( ) c. semper. "die verwandschaftbeziehungen d. gegliederten thiere." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit._ würzburg, vol. iii. - . ( ) c. semper. "beiträge z. biologie d. oligochæten." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit._ würzburg, vol. iv. - . ( ) m. stossich. "beiträge zur entwicklung d. chætopoden." _sitz. d. k. k. akad. wiss. wien_, b. lxxvii. . ( ) r. v. willemoes-suhm. "biologische beobachtungen ü. niedrige meeresthiere." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxi. . chapter xiii. discophora[ ]. [ ] the discophora are divided into the following groups: i. rhyncobdellidæ. ii. gnathobdellidæ. iii. branchiobdellidæ. the eggs of the discophora, each enclosed in a delicate membrane, are enveloped in a kind of mucous case formed by a secretion of the integument, which hardens into a capsule or cocoon. in each cocoon there are a limited number of eggs surrounded by albumen. the cocoons are attached to water plants, etc. in clepsine the embryos leave the cocoon very soon after they get rid of the egg membrane, but in nephelis they remain within the cocoon for a very much longer period ( - days after hatching). the young of clepsine, after their liberation, attach themselves to the ventral surface of their parent. our knowledge of the development of the discophora is in a very unsatisfactory state; but sufficient is known to shew that it has very many points in common with that of the oligochæta, and that the discophora are therefore closely related to the chætopoda. in clepsine there is an epibolic gastrula, and mesoblastic bands like those in euaxes are also formed. in nephelis however the segmentation is very abnormal, and the formation of the germinal layers cannot easily be reduced to an invaginate gastrula type, though probably it is modified from such a type. mesoblastic bands similar to those in the oligochæta occur in this form also. the embryology of clepsine, which will serve as type for the leeches without jaws (rhyncobdellidæ), has recently been studied by whitman (no. ), and that of nephelis, which will serve as type for the leeches with jaws (gnathobdellidæ), has been studied by bütschli (no. ). the early history of both types is imperfectly known[ ]. [ ] hoffmann's account (no. ) is so different from that of other observers that i have been unable to make any use of it. _formation of the layers._ clepsine. it is necessary to give a full account of the segmentation of clepsine, as the formation of the germinal layers would be otherwise unintelligible. segmentation commences with the division of the ovum into two unequal spheres by a vertical cleavage passing from the animal to the vegetative pole. by a second vertical cleavage the large segment is divided into two unequal parts, and the small one into two equal parts. of the four segments so produced three are relatively small, and one, placed at the posterior end, is large. each of the four segments next gives rise to a small cell at the animal pole. these small cells form the commencement of the epiblast, and, according to whitman, the mouth is eventually placed in their centre. such a position for the mouth, at the animal pole, is extremely unusual, and the statements on this head require further confirmation. [fig. . two views of the larva of clepsine. (after whitman.) _o._ oral extremity; _m._ mouth; _pr._ germinal streak. a. this figure shews the blastoderm (shaded) with a thickened edge formed by the primitive (_i.e._ mesoblastic) streaks with the four so-called neuroblasts posteriorly. the vitelline spheres are left without shading. b. represents an embryo in which the blastoderm has enclosed the yolk, and in which the division into segments has taken place. at the hind end are shewn the so-called neuroblasts forming the termination of the germinal streak.] the posterior large segment now divides into two, one of which is dorsal, and the other and larger ventral. the former i shall call with whitman the neuroblast, and the latter the mesoblast. the mesoblast very shortly divides again. during the formation of the neuroblast and mesoblast additional epiblastic small cells are added from the three spheres which give rise to three of the primitive epiblast cells, which may now be called the vitelline spheres. the neuroblast next divides into ten cells, of which the two smaller are soon broken up into epiblastic cells, while the remaining eight arrange themselves in two groups of four each, one group on each side at the posterior border of the epiblastic cap. the two mesoblasts also take up a position on the right and left sides immediately ventral to the four neuroblasts of each side. the neuroblasts and mesoblasts now commence to proliferate at their anterior border, and produce on each side a thickened band of cells underneath the edge of the cap of epiblast cells. each of these bands is formed of a superficial quadruple[ ] row of neuroblasts budded off from the four primary neuroblasts, and a deeper row of mesoblasts. the compound streaks so formed may be called the germinal streaks. [ ] according to robin it is more usual for there to be only a triple row of primary neuroblasts. the general appearance of the embryo as seen from the dorsal surface, after the appearance of the two germinal streaks, may be gathered from fig. a. the epiblastic cap in this figure is shaded. the epiblastic cap, accompanied by the germinal streaks, now rapidly extends and encloses the three vitelline spheres by a process equivalent to that of an ordinary epibolic gastrula; but the front and hind ends of the streaks remain practically stationary. owing to this mode of growth the edges of the epiblastic cap and the germinal streaks meet in a linear fashion along the ventral surface of the embryo (fig. , a and b). the germinal streaks first meet anteriorly (b) and their junction is then gradually continued backwards. the process is completed at about the time of hatching. during the above changes the nuclei of the vitelline spheres pass to the surface and rapidly divide. eventually, together with part of the protoplasm of the vitelline spheres, they appear to give rise to a layer of hypoblastic cells. this layer encloses the remains of the vitelline spheres, which become the yolk. [fig. . two embryos of clepsine in which the germinal streaks have partially met along the ventral line. (after robin.) _gs._ germinal, _i.e._ mesoblastic streaks. the area covered by epiblast is shaded. the so-called neuroblasts at the end of the germinal streaks are shewn in b.] at the front end of the germinal streaks, in a position corresponding with that of the four original epiblast cells, two depressions appear which coalesce to form the single oral invagination; in the centre of which are formed the mouth and pharynx by a second epiblastic invagination. the most important point in connection with the above history is the fate of what have been called the germinal streaks. according to whitman they are composed of two kinds of cells, viz. four rows of smaller superficial cells, which he calls neuroblasts, and, in the later stages at any rate, a row of deeper large cells, which he calls mesoblasts. as to the eventual fate of these cells he states that the neuroblasts uniting together in the median line form the rudiment of the ventral ganglionic chain, while the mesoblasts equally coalesce and give rise to the mesoblast. such a mode of origin for a ventral ganglionic chain is, so far as i know, without a parallel in the whole animal kingdom; and whatever evidence whitman may have that the cells in question really do give rise to the nervous system he has not thought fit to produce it in his paper. he figures a section with the eight neuroblastic cells in the middle ventral line, and in the next stage described the nervous system is divided up into ganglia! the first stage, in which the so-called nervous system has the form of a single row of eight cells, is quite unlike any rudiment of the nervous system such as is usually met with in the chætopoda, and not a single stage between this and a ganglionated cord is described or figured. whitman, whose views seem to have been influenced by a peculiar, and in my opinion erroneous, theory of rauber's about the relation of the neural groove of vertebrata to the blastopore, does not seem to be aware that his determination of the fate of his neuroblasts requires any special support. he quotes the formation of these parts in euaxes (_vide_ preceding chapter, p. ) as similar to that in clepsine. in this comparison it appears to me probable that he may be quite correct, but the result of the comparison would be to shew that the neuroblasts and mesoblasts composed together a mesoblastic band similar to that of the oligochæta. till more evidence is brought forward by whitman or some other observer in support of the view that the so-called neuroblasts have any share in forming the nervous system, they must in my opinion be regarded as probably forming, in conjunction with the mesoblasts, two simple mesoblastic bands. kowalevsky has moreover briefly stated that he has satisfied himself that the nervous system in clepsine originates from the epiblast--a statement which certainly could not be brought into harmony with whitman's account. nephelis. nephelis will form my type of the gnathobdellidæ. the segmentation of this form has not yet been thoroughly investigated, but bütschli's (no. ) observations are probably the most trustworthy. the ovum first divides into two, and then into four segments of which two are slightly smaller than the others. four small cells which form the commencement of the epiblast are now formed. three of them are derived by budding from the two larger and one of the smaller of the four cells, and the fourth from a subsequent division of one of the larger cells[ ]. the three cells which assisted in the formation of the epiblast cells again give rise each to a small cell; and the small cells so formed constitute a layer underneath the epiblast which is the commencement of the hypoblast, while the cells from which they originated form the vitelline spheres. shortly after the formation of the hypoblast, the large sphere which has hitherto been quiescent divides into two, one of which then gives rise in succession to two small epiblastic elements. [ ] doubts have been cast by whitman on the above account of the origin of the four epiblast cells. the two large spheres, resulting from the division of the originally quiescent sphere, next divide again on the opposite side of the embryo, and form a layer of epiblast there; so that there is now on one side of the embryo (the ventral according to robin) a layer of epiblast formed of six cells, and on the opposite side a layer formed of four cells. the two layers meet at the front border of the embryo and between them are placed the three large vitelline spheres. the two patches of epiblast cells now rapidly increase, and gradually spread over the three large vitelline spheres. except where they meet each other at the front edge they leave uncovered a large part of the margin of the vitelline spheres. while these changes have been taking place on the exterior, the hypoblast cells have increased in number (additional cells being probably derived from the three large vitelline spheres) and fill up in a column-like fashion a space which is bounded behind by the three vitelline spheres, and in front by the epiblast of the anterior end of the embryo. at the sides of the hypoblast the mesoblast has become established, probably as two lateral bands. the origin of the cells forming it has not yet been determined. the hypoblast cells in the succeeding stage arrange themselves round a central archenteric cavity, and at the same time rapidly increase in size and become filled with a secondary deposit of food-yolk. shortly afterwards a mouth and thick-walled oesophagus are formed, probably from an epiblastic invagination. the mesoblast now forms two curved lateral bands at the two sides of the body, equivalent to the mesoblastic bands of the chætopoda. the three vitelline spheres, still largely uncovered by the epiblast, lie at the posterior end of the body. the embryo grows rapidly, especially anteriorly, and the three vitelline spheres become covered by a layer of flattened epiblast cells. around the oesophagus a cavity traversed by muscular fibres is established. elsewhere there is no trace of such a cavity. the cephalic region becomes ciliated, and the dorsal part of it, which represents a rudimentary præ-oral lobe, is especially prominent. the cilia of the oral region are continued into the lumen of the oesophagus, and at a later period are prolonged, as in lumbricus, along the median line of the ventral surface. the mesoblastic bands would seem from bütschli's observations, which receive confirmation from kleinenberg's researches on lumbricus, to be prolonged dorsally to the oesophagus into the cephalic region. posteriorly they abut on the large vitelline spheres, which were supposed by kowalevsky to give origin to them, and to play the same part as the large mesoblasts in lumbricus. it has already been shewn that the function of the large cells in lumbricus has been exaggerated, and bütschli denies to them in nephelis any share in the production of the mesoblast. it seems in fact probable that they are homologous with the three vitelline spheres of clepsine; and that their primitive function is to give origin to the hypoblast. they are visible for a long time at the hind end of the embryo, but eventually break up into smaller cells, the fate of which is unknown. the embryo of hirudo would appear from the researches of robin to develop in nearly the same way as that of nephelis. the anterior part is not however ciliated. the three large posterior cells disappear relatively early. _general history of the larva._ the larva of clepsine, at the time when the mesoblastic bands have met along the ventral line, is represented in fig. b. it is seen to be already segmented, the process having proceeded _pari passu_ with the ventral coalescence of the mesoblastic bands. the segments are formed from before backwards as in chætopoda. the dorsal surface is flat and short, and the ventral very convex. the embryo about this time leaves its capsule, and attaches itself to its parent. it rapidly elongates, and the dorsal surface, growing more rapidly than the ventral, becomes at last the more convex. eventually thirty-three post-oral segments become formed; of which the eight last coalesce to form the posterior sucker. the general development of the body of nephelis and hirudo is nearly the same as that of clepsine. the embryo passes from a spherical to an oval, and then to a vermiform shape. for full details the reader is referred to robin's memoir. the presence of a well-marked protuberance above the oesophagus, which forms the rudiment of a præ-oral lobe, has already been mentioned as characteristic of the embryo of nephelis; no such structure is found in clepsine. _history of the germinal layers and development of organs._ the epiblast. the epiblast is formed of a single layer of cells and early develops a delicate cuticle which is clearly formed quite independently of the egg membrane. it becomes raised into a series of transverse rings which bear no relation to the true somites of the mesoblast. the nervous system. the nervous system is probably derived from the epiblast, but its origin still requires further investigation. the ventral cord breaks up into a series of ganglia, which at first correspond exactly with the somites of the mesoblast. of these, four or perhaps three eventually coalesce to form the sub-oesophageal ganglion, and seven or eight become united in the posterior sucker. it would appear from bütschli's statements that the supra-oesophageal ganglion arises, as in oligochæta, independently of the ventral cord. mesoblast. it has already been indicated that the mesoblast probably takes its origin both in nephelis and clepsine from the two mesoblastic bands which unite in the median ventral line. the further history of these bands is only imperfectly known. they become segmented from before backwards. the somites formed by the segmentation gradually grow upwards and meet in the dorsal line. septa are formed between the somites probably in the same way as in the oligochæta. in clepsine the mesoblastic bands are stated by kowalevsky to become split into somatic and splanchnic layers, between which are placed the so-called lateral sinuses. these sinuses form, according to whitman, a single continuous tube investing the alimentary tract; a tube which differs therefore to a very small extent from the normal body cavity of the chætopoda. the somatic layer of mesoblast no doubt gives rise to the circular and longitudinal muscular layers of the embryo. the former is stated to appear the earliest, while the latter, as in the oligochæta, first takes its origin on the ventral side. a delicate musculature, formed mainly of transverse but also of longitudinal fibres, would appear to be developed independently of the mesoblastic bands in nephelis and hirudo (rathke, leuckart, robin, and bütschli). it develops apparently from certain stellate cells which are found between the walls of the alimentary tract and the skin, and which probably correspond to the system of contractile fibres which pass from the body wall to the alimentary tract through the segmentation cavity in the larva of chætopoda, various vermes and mollusca[ ]. [ ] according to robin this system of muscles becomes gradually strengthened and converted into the permanent system. rathke on the other hand states that it is provisional, and that it is replaced by the muscles developed from the mesoblastic somites. it is possible to suppose that it may really become incorporated in the latter system. the mesoblast, so far as is known, gives rise, in addition to the parts already mentioned, to the excretory organs, generative organs, vascular system, etc. _excretory organs._ there are found in the embryo of nephelis and hirudo certain remarkable provisional excretory organs the origin and history of which is not yet fully made out. in nephelis they appear as one (according to robin, no. ), or (according to bütschli, no. ) as two successive pairs of convoluted tubes on the dorsal side of the embryo, which are stated by the latter author to develop from the scattered mesoblast cells underneath the skin. at their fullest development they extend, according to robin, from close to the head to near the ventral sucker. each of them is u-shaped, with the open end forwards, each limb of the u being formed by two tubes united in front. no external opening has been clearly made out. semper believed that the tubes were continuous with the three posterior vitelline cells, but this has been shewn not to be the case. fürbringer[ ] is inclined from his own researches to believe that they open laterally. they contain a clear fluid. [ ] _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iv. p. . he further speaks of the tube as "feinverzweigt u. netzförmig verästelt," but whether from his own observations is not clear. in hirudo, leuckart (no. ) has described three similar pairs of organs the structure of which he has fully elucidated. they are situated in the posterior part of the body, and each of them commences with an enlargement from which a convoluted tube is continued for some distance backwards; it then turns forwards again and afterwards bends upon itself to open to the exterior. the anterior part is broken up into a kind of labyrinthic network. the true segmental organs are found in a certain number of the segments and are stated (whitman) to develop from groups of mesoblast cells. their origin requires however further investigation. a double row of colossal cells on each side of the body has been described in clepsine by whitman as derived from the mesoblastic plates. these cells (fig. b), which he calls segment-cells, lie opposite the walls of the septa. the inner row is stated to be connected with the segmental organs. their eventual history is unknown, but they are conjectured by whitman to be the mother cells of the testes. the alimentary tract. this is formed primitively of two parts--the epiblastic stomodæum--forming mouth, pharynx, and oesophagus, and the hypoblastic mesenteron. the anus is formed very late as a simple perforation immediately dorsal to the posterior sucker. in clepsine, where there is an epibolic gastrula, the rudiment of the mesenteron is at first formed of the three vitelline spheres, from the surface of which a true hypoblastic layer enclosing a central yolk mass becomes differentiated, as already described. the mesenteric sack so formed is constricted by the growth of the mesoblastic septa into a series of lobes, while the posterior part forms a narrow and at first very short tube opening by the anus. the lobed region forms the sacculated stomach of the adult. the sacculations of the stomach by their mode of origin necessarily correspond with the segments. in the adult however the anterior lobe is really double and has two divisions for the two segments it fills, while the posterior lobe, which, as is well known, extends backwards parallel with the rectum, is composed of five segmental sacculations. in connection with the stomodæum a protrusible pharynx is developed. in hirudo and nephelis the mesenteron has from the first a sack-like form. the cells which compose the sack give rise to a secondary deposit of food-yolk. the further changes are practically the same as in clepsine. in hirudo the posterior sacculation of the stomach is primitively unpaired. the jaws are formed at about the same time as the eyes as protuberances on the wall of the oral cavity. bibliography. ( ) o. bütschli. "entwicklungsgeschichtliche beiträge (nephelis)." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxix. . ( ) e. grube. _untersuchungen üb. d. entwicklung d. anneliden._ königsberg, . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. clepsineen." _niederländ. archiv f. zool._ vol. iv. . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten (hirudo)_, vol. i. p. , et seq. ( ) h. rathke. _beit. z. entwicklungsgesch. d. hirudineen._ leipzig, . ( ) ch. robin. _mém. sur le développement embryogenique des hirudinées._ paris, . ( ) c. o. whitman. "embryology of clepsine." _quart. j. of micro. science_, vol. xviii. . [_vide_ also c. semper (no. ) and kowalevsky (no. ) for isolated observations.] chapter xiv. gephyrea[ ]. [ ] the following scheme shews the classification of the gephyrea adopted in the present chapter: i. gephyrea nuda. { ( ) _inermia._ { ( ) _armata._ ii. gephyrea tubicola. (phoronis). it is convenient for the purposes of embryology to divide the gephyrea into two groups, viz. ( ) gephyrea nuda or true gephyrea; and ( ) gephyrea tubicola formed by the genus phoronis. gephyrea nuda. _segmentation and formation of the layers._ an embolic or epibolic gastrula is characteristic of the gephyrea, and the blastopore appears, in some cases at any rate (phascolosoma, thalassema), to become the mouth. bonellia. in bonellia (spengel, no. ) the segmentation is unequal but complete, and, as in many molluscs etc., the ovum exhibits before its commencement a distinction into a protoplasmic and a yoke pole. the ovum first divides into four equal segments, each of them formed of the same constituents as the original ovum. at the animal pole four small cells, entirely formed of protoplasm, are next formed by an equatorial furrow. they soon place themselves in the intervals between the large spheres. four small cells are again budded off from the large spheres and the eight small cells then divide. by a further continuation of the division of the existing small cells, and the formation of fresh ones from the large spheres, a layer of small cells is eventually formed, which completely envelops the four large spheres except for a small blastopore at the vegetative pole of the ovum (fig. a). the large spheres continue to give rise to smaller cells which however no longer take a superficial position but lie within the layer of small cells, and give rise to the hypoblast (fig. b). the small cells become the epiblast, and at the blastopore they curl inwards (fig. b) and give rise to a layer of cells, which appears to extend as an unbroken sheet between the epiblast and hypoblast, and to form the mesoblast. the blastopore now closes up, but its position in relation to the parts of the embryo has not been made out. [fig. . epibolic gastrula of bonellia. (after spengel.) a. stage when the four hypoblast cells are nearly enclosed. b. stage after the formation of the mesoblast has commenced by an infolding of the lips of the blastopore. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _bl._ blastopore.] in phascolosoma (selenka, no. ) the ovum, enclosed in a porous zona radiata, divides into two unequal spheres, of which the smaller next divides into two and then into four. an invagination takes place which is intermediate between the embolic and the epibolic types. the small cells, the number of which is increased by additions from the large sphere, divide, and grow round the large sphere. the latter in the meantime also divides, and the cells produced from it form on the one hand a small sack which opens by the blastopore, and on the other they fill up the segmentation cavity, and become the mesoblast and blood corpuscles. the blastopore becomes the permanent mouth. _larval forms and development of organs._ amongst the gephyrea armata the larva has as a rule (thalassema, echiurus) the characters of a trochosphere, and closely approaches the typical form characteristic of the larva of polygordius, often known as lovén's larva. in bonellia this larval form is less perfectly preserved. echiurus. in echiurus (salensky, no. ) the youngest known larva has all the typical trochosphere characters (fig. ). it is covered with cilia and divided into a præ-oral lobe and post-oral region of nearly equal dimensions. there is a double ciliated ring which separates the two sections of the body as in the larva of polygordius: the mouth (_m_) opens between its two elements. the alimentary canal is divided into a stomodæum with a ventral opening, a large stomach, and a short intestine opening by a terminal anus (_an_). connecting the oesophagus with the apex of the præ-oral lobe is the usual contractile band, and at the insertion of this band is a thickening of the epiblast which probably represents the rudiment of the supra-oesophageal ganglion. a ventral nerve cord is stated by salensky to be present, but his observations on this point are not quite satisfactory. [fig. . larva of echiurus. (after salensky.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion (?).] the metamorphosis is accompanied by the loss of swimming power, and consists in the enlargement of the post-oral portion of the trunk, and in the simultaneous reduction of the præ-oral lobe, which remains however permanently as the cylindrical proboscis. a groove which terminates posteriorly at the mouth is very early formed on its ventral side. the ciliated rings gradually disappear during the metamorphosis. of the further external changes the most important are ( ) the early appearance round the anal end of the body of a ring of bristles; and ( ) the appearance of a pair of ventral setæ in the anterior part of the body. the anterior ring of bristles characteristic of the adult echiurus does not appear till a late period. of the internal changes the earliest is the formation of the anal respiratory sacks. with the growth of the posterior part of the trunk the intestine elongates, and becomes coiled. bonellia. the embryo of bonellia, while still within the egg, retains a spherical form and acquires an equatorial band of cilia, behind which a second narrower band is soon established, while in front of the first one a pair of eye-spots becomes formed (fig. a). the embryo on becoming hatched rapidly elongates, while at the same time it becomes dorso-ventrally flattened and acquires a complete coating of cilia (fig. b). according to spengel it resembles at this time in its form and habits a rhabdocoelous turbellarian. the anterior part is however somewhat swollen and presents an indication of a præ-oral lobe. [fig. . three stages in the development of bonellia. (after spengel.) a. larva with two ciliated bands and two eye-spots. b. ripe larva from the dorsal surface. c. young female bonellia from the side. _al._ alimentary tract; _m._ mouth; _se._ provisional excretory tube; _s._ ventral hook; _an.v._ anal vesicle.] during the above changes important advances are made in the formation of the organs from the embryonic layers. the epiblast acquires a superficial cuticula, which is perhaps directly derived from the vitelline membrane. the nervous system is also formed, probably from the epiblast. the band-like supra-oesophageal ganglion is the first part of the nervous system formed, and appears to be undoubtedly derived from the epiblast. the ventral cord arises somewhat later, but the first stages in its development have not been satisfactorily traced. it is continuous with the supra-oesophageal band which completely girths the oesophagus without exhibiting any special dorsal enlargement. after the ventral cord has become completely separated from the epiblast a central fibrous mass becomes differentiated in it, while the lateral parts are composed of ganglion cells. in the arrangement of its cells it presents indications of being composed of two lateral halves. it is, however, without ganglionic swellings. the mesoblast, though at first very thin, soon exhibits a differentiation into a splanchnic and somatic layer--though the two do not become distinctly separated by a body cavity. the somatic layer rapidly becomes thicker, and enlarges laterally to form two bands united dorsally and ventrally by narrow, thinner bands. the outermost parts of each of these bands become differentiated into an external circular and an internal longitudinal layer of muscles. in the præ-oral lobe the mesoblast assumes a somewhat vacuolated character. the hypoblast cells form a complete layer round the four yolk cells from which they arise (fig. b, _al_), but at first no alimentary lumen is developed. the oesophagus appears during this period as an, at first solid, but subsequently hollow, outgrowth of the hypoblast towards the epiblast. the metamorphosis of the larva into the adult female bonellia commences with the conversion of many of the indifferent mesoblast cells into blood corpuscles, and the introduction into the body cavity of a large amount of fluid, which separates the splanchnic and somatic layers of mesoblast. the fluid is believed by spengel to be sea-water, introduced by two anal pouches, the development of which is described below. the body cavity is lined by a peritoneum, and very soon distinct vessels, formed by folds of the peritoneum, become established. of these there are three trunks, two lateral and a median in the præ-oral lobe (proboscis), and in the body a ventral trunk above the nerve cord, and an intestinal trunk opening anteriorly into the ventral one. the vessels appear to communicate with the body cavity. in the course of the above changes the two ciliated bands disappear, the hinder one first. the cilia covering the general surface become atrophied, with the exception of those on the ventral side of the præ-oral lobe. the latter structure becomes more prominent; the stellate mesoblast cells, which fill up its interior, become contractile, and it gives rise to the proboscis (fig. c). at the point where the oesophageal protuberance joined the epiblast at a previous stage the mouth becomes established (fig. c, _m_), and though it is formed subsequently to the atrophy of the anterior ciliated band, yet there is evidence that it is potentially situated behind this band. the lumen of the alimentary canal becomes established by the absorption of the remains of the four central cells. the anus is formed on the ventral side of the posterior end of the body, and close to it the pouches already noticed grow out from the hindermost part of the alimentary tract (fig. c, _an.v_). they are at first simple blind pouches, but subsequently open into the body cavity[ ]. they become the anal pouches of the adult. there is present when the mouth is first formed a peculiar process of the alimentary tract projecting into the præ-oral lobe, which appears to atrophy shortly afterwards. [ ] the fact that these pouches are outgrowths of the alimentary tract appears to preclude the possibility of their being homologous with excretory tubes of the platyelminthes and rotifera. after the formation of the mouth, there are formed on the ventral side of and slightly behind it ( ) anteriorly a pair of tubes, which appear to be provisional excretory organs and soon disappear (fig. c, _sc_); and ( ) behind them a pair of bristles (_s_) which remain in the adult. the formation of the permanent excretory (?) organ (oviduct and uterus) has not been followed out. the ovary appears very early as a differentiation of the epithelium lining the ventral vessel. the larvæ, which become the minute parasitic males, undergo a very different and far less complete metamorphosis than those which become females. they attach themselves to the proboscis of an adult female, and lose their ciliated bands. germinal cells make their appearance in the mesoblast, which form spherical masses, and, like the germinal balls in the female ovary, consist of a central cell, and an epithelium around it. the central cell becomes very large, while the peripheral cells give rise to the spermatozoa. a body cavity becomes developed in the larvæ, into which the spermatic balls are dehisced. neither mouth nor anus is formed. the further changes have not been followed out. the larval males make their way into the oesophagus of the female, where they no doubt live for some time, and probably become mature, though the seminal pouch of the adult is not found in many of the males living in the oesophagus. when mature the males leave the oesophagus, and pass into the uterus. phascolosoma. cilia appear in phascolosoma (selenka, no. ) while the ovum is still segmenting. after segmentation they form a definite band immediately _behind_ the mouth, which divides the larva into two hemispheres--a præ-oral and a post-oral. a præ-oral band of cilia is soon formed close to the post-oral band, and at the apex of the præ-oral lobe a tuft of cilia also appears. the larva has now the characters of a trochosphere, but differs from the typical trochosphere in the post-oral part of the ciliated equatorial ring being more important than the præ-oral, and in the absence of an anus. the metamorphosis commences very early. the trunk rapidly elongates, and the præ-oral lobe becomes relatively less and less conspicuous. the zona radiata becomes the larval cuticle. three pairs of bristles are formed on the trunk, of which the posterior pair appears first, then the anterior, and finally the middle pair: an order of succession which clearly proves they can have no connection with a true segmentation. the tentacles become developed _between_ the two parts of the ciliated ring, and finally the præ-oral lobe, unlike what takes place in the gephyrea armata, nearly completely vanishes. the anus appears fairly late on the dorsal surface, and the ventral nerve cord is established as an unganglionated thickening of the ventral epiblast. gephyrea tubicola. the larva of phoronis was known as actinotrocha long before its connection with phoronis was established by kowalevsky (no. ). there is a complete segmentation leading to the formation of a blastosphere, which is followed by an invagination, the opening of which is said by kowalevsky to remain as the mouth[ ]. it is at first terminal, but on the development of a large præ-oral lobe it assumes a ventral position. the anus is formed at a later period at the posterior end of the body. [ ] kowalevsky states that what i have called the mouth is the anus, but his subsequent descriptions shew that he has transposed the mouth and anus in the embryo, and that the opening, which he asserts to be the anus, is in reality the mouth. [fig. . a series of stages in the development of phoronis from actinotrocha. (after metschnikoff.) a. young larva. b. larva after the formation of post-oral ring of tentacles. c. larva with commencing invagination to form the body of phoronis. d. invagination partially everted. e. invagination completely everted. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _iv._ invagination to form the body of phoronis.] the youngest free larva observed by metschnikoff (no. ) was less developed than the oldest larva found by kowalevsky. it probably belongs to a different species. the body is uniformly ciliated (fig. a). there is a large contractile præ-oral lobe, and the body ends behind in two processes. the mouth (_m_) is ventral, and the anus (_an_) dorsal, and not terminal as in kowalevsky's larva. the alimentary tract is divided into stomodæum, stomach and intestine. the two processes at the hind end of the body are the rudiments of the first-formed pair of the arms which are so characteristic of the fully developed actinotrocha. a second pair of arms next become established on the dorsal side of the previously existing pair, and the region where the anus is placed grows out as a special process. new pairs of arms continue to be formed in succession dorsalwards and forwards, and soon constitute _a complete oblique post-oral ring_ (fig. b). they are covered by long cilia. round the anal process a very conspicuous ciliated ring also becomes established. at the period when five pairs of arms are present a delicate membrane becomes visible on the ventral side of the intestine which joins the somatic mesoblast anteriorly. this membrane is the rudiment of the future ventral vessel. the somatic mesoblast is present even before this period as a delicate layer of circular muscular fibres. when six pairs of arms have become formed an involution (fig. c, _iv_) appears on the ventral side, immediately behind the ring of arms. this involution consists both of the epiblast and somatic mesoblast. it grows inwards towards the intestine, and, increasing greatly in length, becomes at the same time much folded. when it has reached its full development the critical period of the metamorphosis of actinotrocha into phoronis is reached, and is completed in about a quarter of an hour. the ventral involution becomes evoluted (fig. d), just as one might turn out the finger of a glove which had been pulled inwards. when the involution has been to a certain extent everted, the alimentary canal passes into it, and at the same time the body of the larva becomes violently contracted. by the time the evagination is completed it forms (fig. e) a long conical body, containing the greater part of the alimentary tract, and _constituting the body of the young phoronis_. the original anal process remains on the dorsal side as a small papilla (fig. e, _an_). while these changes have been taking place the præ-oral lobe has become much contracted, and partly withdrawn into the stomodæum. at the same time the arms have become bent forward, so as to form a ring round the mouth. their bases become much thickened. the metamorphosis is completed by the entire withdrawal of the præ-oral lobe within the oesophagus, and by the casting off of the ends of the arms, their bases remaining as the circumoral ring of tentacles, which form however a lophophore rather than a complete ring. the peri-anal ring of cilia is also thrown off, and the anal process withdrawn into the body of the young phoronis. there are now three longitudinal vascular trunks, united anteriorly by a circular vessel which is prolonged into the tentacles. _general considerations._ the development of phoronis is so different from that of the other gephyrea that further investigations are required to shew whether phoronis is a true gephyrean. apart from its peculiar metamorphosis actinotrocha is a very interesting larval form, in that it is without a præ-oral ciliated ring, and that the tentacles of the adult are derived from a true post-oral ring, prolonged into arm-like processes. the other gephyrea present in their development an obvious similarity to the normal chætopoda, but their development stops short of that of the chætopoda, in that they are clearly without any indications of a true segmentation. in the face of what is known of their development it is hardly credible that they can represent a _degenerate_ chætopod phylum in which segmentation has become lost. further than this the gephyrea armata seem in one respect to be a very primitive type in that they retain through life a well-developed præ-oral lobe, which constitutes their proboscis. in almost all other forms, except balanoglossus, the larval præ-oral lobe becomes reduced to a relatively insignificant anterior part of the head. bibliography. _gephyrea nuda._ ( ) a. kowalevsky. _sitz. d. zool. abth. d. iii. versam. russ. naturj._ (thalassema). _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xxii. , p. . ( ) a. krohn. "ueb. d. larve d. sipunculus nudus nebst bemerkungen," etc. müller's _archiv_, . ( ) m. salensky. "ueber die metamorphose d. echiurus." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, bd. ii. ( ) e. selenka. "eifurchung u. larvenbildung von phascolosoma elongatum." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ , bd. xxv. p. . ( ) j. w. spengel. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. gephyreen (bonellia)." _mittheil. a. d. zool. station z. neapel_, vol. i. . _gephyrea tubicola (actinotrocha)._ ( ) a. krohn. "ueb. pilidium u. actinotrocha." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "on anatomy and development of phoronis," pétersbourg, . pl. russian. _vide_ leuckart's _bericht_, - . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "ueber d. metamorphose einiger seethiere (actinotrocha)." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxi. . ( ) j. müller. "bericht üb. ein. thierformen d. nordsee." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) an. schneider. "ueb. d. metamorphose d. actinotrocha branchiata." müller's _arch._ . chapter xv. chÆtognatha, myzostomea and gastrotricha. the present chapter deals with three small isolated groups, which only resemble each other in that the systematic position of all of them is equally obscure. _chætognatha._ the discoveries of kowalevsky (no. ) confirmed by bütschli (no. ) with reference to the development of sagitta, though they have not brought us nearer to a knowledge of the systematic position of this remarkable form, are nevertheless of great value for the more general problems of embryology. the development commences after the eggs are laid. the segmentation is uniform, and a blastosphere, formed of a single layer of columnar cells, is the product of it. an invagination takes place, the opening of which narrows to a blastopore situated at the pole of the embryo opposite that at which the mouth subsequently appears (fig. a). the simple archenteron soon becomes anteriorly divided into three lobes, which communicate freely with the still single cavity behind (fig. b). the two lateral lobes are destined to form the body cavity, and the median lobe the alimentary tract of the adult. an invagination soon arises at the opposite pole of the embryo to the blastopore and forms the mouth and oesophagus (fig. b and c, _m_). [fig. . three stages in the development of sagitta. (a and c after bütschli and b after kowalevsky.) the three embryos are represented in the same positions. a. the gastrula stage. b. a succeeding stage in which the primitive archenteron is commencing to be divided into three parts, the two lateral of which are destined to form the body cavity. c. a later stage in which the mouth involution (_m_) has become continuous with the alimentary tract, and the blastopore has become closed. _m._ mouth; al. alimentary canal; _ae._ archenteron; _bl.p._ blastopore; _pv._ perivisceral cavity; _sp._ splanchnopleuric mesoblast; _so._ somatopleuric mesoblast; _ge._ generative organs.] at the gastrula stage there is formed a paired mass destined to give rise to the generative organs. it arises as a prominence of six cells, projecting from the hypoblast at the anterior pole of the archenteron, and soon separates itself as a mass, or probably a pair of masses, lying freely in the cavity of the archenteron (fig. a, _ge_). when the folding of the primitive cavity takes place the generative rudiment is situated at the hind end of the median lobe of the archenteron in the position represented in fig. c, _ge_. an elongation of the posterior end of the embryo now takes place, and the embryo becomes coiled up in the egg, and when eventually hatched sufficiently resembles the adult to be recognisable as a young sagitta. before hatching takes place various important changes become manifest. the blastopore disappears after being carried to the ventral surface. the middle section of the trilobed region of the archenteron becomes separated from the unpaired posterior part, and forms a tube, blind behind, but opening in front by the mouth (fig. a, _al_). it constitutes the permanent alimentary tract, and is formed of a pharyngeal epiblastic invagination, and a posterior hypoblastic section derived from the primitive archenteron. the anus is apparently not formed till comparatively late. after the isolation of the alimentary tract the remainder of the archenteron is formed of two cavities in front, which open freely into a single cavity behind (fig. a). _the whole of it constitutes the body cavity and its walls the mesoblast._ the anterior paired part becomes partitioned off into a head section and a trunk section (fig. a and b). the former constitutes a pair of distinct cavities (_c.pv_) in the head, and the latter two cavities opening freely into the unpaired portion behind. at the junction of the paired cavities with the unpaired cavity are situated the generative organs (_ge_). the inner wall of each of the paired cavities forms the splanchnopleuric mesoblast, and the outer wall of the whole the somatic mesoblast. the inner walls of the posterior cavities unite above and below the alimentary tract, and form the dorsal and ventral mesenteries, which divide the body cavity into two compartments in the adult. before the hatching of the embryo takes place this mesentery is continued backwards so as to divide the primitively unpaired caudal part of the body cavity in the same way. [fig. . two views of a late embryo of sagitta. a. from the dorsal surface. b. from the side. (after bütschli.) _m._ mouth; _al._ alimentary canal; _v.g._ ventral ganglion (thickening of epiblast); _ep._ epiblast; _c.pv._ cephalic section of body cavity; _so._ somatopleure; _sp._ splanchnopleure; _ge._ generative organs.] from the somatic mesoblast of the trunk is derived the single layer of longitudinal muscles of sagitta, and part of the epithelioid lining of the body cavity. the anterior termination of the trunk division of the body cavity is marked in the adult by the mesentery dividing into two laminæ, which bend outwards to join the body wall. the cephalic section of the body cavity seems to atrophy, and its walls to become converted into the complicated system of muscles present in the head of the adult sagitta. in the presence of a section of the body cavity in the head the embryo of sagitta resembles lumbricus, spiders, etc. the generative rudiment of each side divides into an anterior and a posterior part (fig. , _ge_). the former constitutes the ovary, and is situated in front of the septum dividing the tail from the body; and the latter, in the caudal region of the trunk, forms the testis. the nervous system originates from the epiblast. there is a ventral thickening (fig. b, _v.g_) in the anterior region of the trunk, and a dorsal one in the head. the two are at first continuous, and on becoming separated from the epiblast remain united by thin cords. the ventral ganglion is far more prominent during embryonic life than in the adult. its position and early prominence in the embryo perhaps indicate that it is the homologue of the ventral cord of chætopoda[ ]. [ ] langerhans has recently made some important investigations on the nervous system of sagitta, and identifies the ventral ganglion with the parieto-splanchnio ganglia of molluscs, while he has found a pair of new ganglia, the development of which is unknown, which he calls the suboesophageal or pedal ganglia. the embryological facts do not appear to be in favour of these interpretations. bibliography. ( ) o. bütschli. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte der sagitta." _zeitschrift f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiii. . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "Über die entwicklung der sagitta." _abhand. d. naturforschenden gesellschaft in halle_, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "embryologische studien an würmern u. arthropoden." _mém. acad. pétersbourg_, vii. sér., tom. xvi., no. . . myzostomea. the development of these peculiar parasites on crinoids has been investigated by metschnikoff (no. ), semper (no. ), and graff (no. ). the segmentation is unequal, and would appear to be followed by an epibolic invagination. the outer layer of cells (epiblast) becomes covered with cilia, and the inner is transformed into a non-cellular (?) central yolk mass. at this stage the larva is hatched, and commences to lead a free existence. in the next stage observed by metschnikoff, the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, and anus had become developed; and two pairs of feet were present. in both of these feet chætopod-like setæ were present, which in the hinder pair were simple fine bristles without a terminal hook. the papilliform portion of the foot is at first undeveloped. the feet become successively added, like chætopod segments, and the stomach does not become dendriform till the whole complement of feet ( pairs) are present. in the primitive covering of cilia, combined with a subsequent indication of segments in the formation of the feet and setæ, the larva of the myzostomea shews an approximation to the chætopoda, and the group is probably to be regarded as an early chætopod type specially modified in connection with its parasitic habits. bibliography. ( ) l. graff. _das genus myzostoma._ leipzig, . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. myzostomum." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xvi. . ( ) c. semper. "z. anat. u. entwick. d. gat. myzostomum." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . gastrotricha. a few observations of ludwig on the winter eggs of ichthydium larus shew that the segmentation is a total and apparently a regular one. it leads to the formation of a solid morula. the embryo has a ventral curvature, and the caudal forks are early formed as cuticular structures. by the time the embryo leaves the egg, it has almost reached the adult state. the ventral cilia arise some little time prior to the hatching. bibliography. ( ) h. ludwig. "ueber die ordnung gastrotricha _metschn_." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxvi. . chapter xvi. nematelminthes and acanthocephala. nematelminthes[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the nematoda is employed in this chapter: { ascaridæ. { strongylidæ. i. nematoidea. { trichinidæ. { filaridæ { mermithidæ. { anguillulidæ. ii. gordioidea. iii. chætosomoidea. nematoidea. although the ova of various nematodes have formed some of the earliest, as well as the most frequent objects of embryological observation, their development is still but very imperfectly known. both viviparous and oviparous forms are common, and in the case of the oviparous forms the eggs are usually enveloped in a hard shell. the segmentation is total and nearly regular, though the two first segments are often unequal. the relation of the segmentation spheres to the germinal layers is however only satisfactorily established (through the researches of bütschli (no. )) in the case of cucullanus elegans, a form parasitic in the perch[ ]. [ ] the ova of anguillula aceti are stated by hallez to undergo a similar development to those of cucullanus. the early development of this embryo takes place within the body of the parent, and the egg is enveloped in a delicate membrane. after the completion of the early stages of segmentation the embryo acquires the form of a thin flat plate composed of two layers of cells (fig. a and b). the two layers of this plate give rise respectively to the epiblast and hypoblast, and at a certain stage the hypoblastic layer ceases to grow, while the growth of the epiblastic layer continues. as a consequence of this the sides of the plate begin to fold over towards the side of the hypoblast (fig. d.) this folding results in the formation of a remarkably constituted gastrula, which has the form of a hollow two-layered cylinder with an incompletely closed slit on one side (fig. e, _bl.p_). this slit has the value of a blastopore. it becomes closed by the coalescence of the two edges, a process which commences posteriorly, and then gradually extends forwards. in front the blastopore never becomes completely closed, but remains as the permanent mouth. the embryo after these changes has a worm-like form, which becomes the more obvious as it grows in length and becomes curved (fig. f). [fig. . various stages in the development of cucullanus elegans. (from bütschli.) a. surface view of flattened embryo at an early stage in the segmentation. b. side view of an embryo at a somewhat later stage, in optical section. c. flattened embryo at the completion of segmentation. d. embryo at the commencement of the gastrula stage. e. embryo when the blastopore is reduced to a mere slit. f. vermiform embryo after the division of the alimentary tract into oesophageal and glandular divisions. _m._ mouth; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _me._ mesoblast; _oe._ oesophagus; _bl.p._ blastopore.] the hypoblast of the embryo gives rise to the alimentary canal, and soon becomes divided into an oesophageal section (fig. f, _oe_) formed of granular cells, and a posterior division formed of clear cells. the mesoblast (fig. , _me_) takes its origin from certain special hypoblast cells around the mouth, and thence grows backwards towards the posterior end of the body. the young cucullanus becomes hatched while still in the generative ducts of its parent, and is distinguished by the presence of a remarkable thread-like tail. on the dorsal surface is a provisional boring apparatus in the form of a conical papilla. a firm cuticle enveloping the body is already present. in this condition it leaves its parent and host, and leads for a time a free existence in the water. its metamorphosis is dealt with in another section. the ova of the oxyuridæ parasitic in insects are stated by galeb (no. ) to take the form of a blastosphere at the close of segmentation. an inner layer is then formed by delamination. what the inner layer gives rise to is not clear, since the whole alimentary canal is stated to be derived from two buds, which arise at opposite ends of the body, and grow inwards till they meet. the generative organs. the study of the development of the generative organs of nematodes has led to some interesting results. in the case of both sexes the generative organs originate (schneider, no. ) from a single cell. this cell elongates and its nuclei multiply. after assuming a somewhat columnar form, it divides into ( ) a superficial investing layer, and ( ) an axial portion. in the female the superficial layer is only developed distinctly in the median part of the column. in the course of the further development the two ends of the column become the blind ends of the ovary, and the axial tissue they contain forms the germinal tissue of nucleated protoplasm. the superficial layer gives rise to the epithelium of the uterus and oviduct. the germinal tissue, which is originally continuous, is interrupted in the middle part (where the superficial layer gives rise to the uterus and oviduct), and is confined to the two blind extremities of the tube. in the male the superficial layer, which gives rise to the epithelium of the vas deferens, is only formed at the hinder end of the original column. in other respects the development takes place as in the female. gordioidea. the ovum of gordius undergoes a regular segmentation. according to villot (no. ) it forms at the close of segmentation a morula, which becomes two-layered by delamination. the embryo is at first spherical, but soon becomes elongated. by an invagination at the anterior extremity the head is formed. it consists of a basal portion, armed with three rings of stylets, and a conical proboscis, armed with three large stylets. when the larva becomes free the head becomes everted, though it remains retractile. by the time the embryo is hatched a complete alimentary tract is formed with an oral opening at the end of the proboscis, and a subterminal ventral anal opening. it is divided into an oesophagus and stomach, and a large gland opens into it at the base of the proboscis. the body has a number of transverse folds, which give it a ringed appearance. _metamorphosis and life history._ nematoidea. although a large number of nematodes have a free existence and simple life history, yet the greater number of known genera are parasitic, and undergo a more or less complicated metamorphosis[ ]. according to this metamorphosis they may be divided into two groups (which by no means closely correspond with the natural divisions), viz. those which have a single host, and those with two hosts. each of these main divisions may be subdivided again into two. [ ] the following facts are mainly derived from leuckart's exhaustive treatise (no. ). in the first group with one host the simplest cases are those in which the adult sexual form of parasite lays its eggs in the alimentary tract of its host, and the eggs are thence transported to the exterior. the embryo still in the egg, if favoured by sufficient warmth and moisture, completes its development up to a certain point, and, if then swallowed by an individual of the species in which it is parasitic in the adult condition, it is denuded of its shell by the action of the gastric juice, and develops directly into the sexual form. leuckart has experimentally established this metamorphosis in the case of trichocephalus affinis, oxyurus ambigua, and heterakis vermicularis. the oxyuridæ of blatta and hydrophilus have a similar life history (galeb, no. ), and it is almost certain that the metamorphosis of the human parasites, ascaris lumbricoides and oxyurus vermicularis, is of this nature. a slightly more complicated metamorphosis is common in the genera ascaris and strongylus. in these cases the egg-shell is thin, and the embryo becomes free externally, and enjoys for a shorter or longer period a free existence in water or moist earth. during this period it grows in size, and though not sexual usually closely resembles the adult form of the permanently free genus rhabditis. in some cases the free larva becomes parasitic in a freshwater mollusc, but without thereby undergoing any change. it eventually enters the alimentary tract of its proper host and there become sexual. as examples of this form of development worked out by leuckart may be mentioned dochmius trigonocephalus, parasitic in the dog, and ascaris acuminata, in the frog. the human parasite dochmius duodenale undergoes the same metamorphosis as dochmius trigonocephalus. a remarkable modification of this type of metamorphosis is found in ascaris (rhabdonema) nigrovenosa, which in its most developed condition is parasitic in the lungs of the frog (metschnikoff, leuckart, no. ). the embryos pass through their first developmental phases in the body of the parent. they have the typical rhabditis form, and make their way after birth into the frog's rectum. from this they pass to the exterior, and then living either in moist earth, or the fæces of the frog, develop into a sexual form, but are very much smaller than in the adult condition. the sexes are distinct, and the males are distinguished from the females by their smaller size, shorter and rounded tails, and thinner bodies. the females have paired ovaries with a very small number of eggs, but the testis of the males is unpaired. impregnation takes place in the usual way, and in summer time about four embryos are developed in each female, which soon burst their egg-capsules, and then move freely in the uterus. their active movements soon burst the uterine walls, and they then come to lie freely in the body cavity. the remaining viscera of the mother are next reduced to a finely granular material, which serves for the nutrition of the young forms which continue to live in the maternal skin. the larvæ eventually become free, and though in many respects different from the parent form which gave rise to them, have nevertheless the rhabditis form. they live in water or slime, and sometimes become parasitic in water-snails; in neither case however do they undergo important changes unless eventually swallowed by a frog. they then pass down the trachea into the lungs and there rapidly develop into the adult form. no separate males have been found in the lungs of the frog, but it has been shewn by schneider (no. ) that the so-called females are really hermaphrodites; the same gland giving origin to both spermatozoa and ova, the former being developed before the latter[ ]. the remarkable feature of the above life history is the fact that in the stage corresponding with the free larval stage of the previous forms the larvæ of this species become sexual, and give rise to a second free larval generation, which develops into the adult form on again becoming parasitic in the original host. it constitutes a somewhat exceptional case of heterogamy as defined in the introduction. [ ] leuckart does not appear to be satisfied as to the hermaphroditism of these forms; and holds that it is quite possible that the ova may develop parthenogenetically. amongst the nematodes with but a single host a remarkable parasite in wheat has its place. this form, known as anguillula scandens, inhabits in the adult condition the ears of wheat, in which it lays its eggs. after hatching, the larvæ become encysted, but become free on the death of the plant. they now inhabit moist earth, but eventually make their way into the ears of the young wheat and become sexually mature. the second group of parasitic nematodes with two hosts may be divided into two groups, according to whether the larva has a free existence before passing into its first or intermediate host, or is taken into it while still in the egg. in the majority of cases the larval forms live in special connective-tissue capsules, or sometimes free in the tissues of their intermediate hosts; but the adults, as in the cases of other parasitic nematodes, inhabit the alimentary tract. the life history of spiroptera obtusa may be cited as an example of a nematode with two hosts in which the embryo is transported into its intermediate host while still within the egg. the adult of this form is parasitic in the mouse, and the ova pass out of the alimentary tract with the excreta, and may commonly be found in barns, etc. if one of the ova is now eaten by the meal-worm (larva of tenebrio), it passes into the body cavity of this worm and undergoes further development. after about five weeks it becomes encapsuled between the 'fat bodies' of the meal-worm. it then undergoes an ecdysis, and, if the meal-worm with its parasites is now eaten by the mouse, the parasites leave their capsule and develop into the sexual form. as examples of life histories in which a free state intervenes before the intermediate host, cucullanus elegans and dracunculus may be selected. the adult cucullanus elegans is parasitic in the alimentary tract of the perch and other freshwater fishes. it is a viviparous form, and the young after birth pass out into the water. they next become parasitic in cyclops, passing in through the mouth, so into the alimentary tract, and thence into the body cavity. they soon undergo an ecdysis, in the course of which the oesophagus becomes divided into a muscular pharynx and true glandular oesophagus. they then grow rapidly in length, and at a second ecdysis acquire a peculiar beaker-like mouth cavity approaching that of the adult. they do not become encapsuled. no further development of the worm takes place so long as it remains in the cyclops, but, if the cyclops is now swallowed by a perch, the worm undergoes a further ecdysis, and rapidly attains to sexual maturity. the observations of fedschenko on dracunculus medinensis[ ], which is parasitic in the subcutaneous connective tissue in man, would seem to shew that it undergoes a metamorphosis very similar to that of cucullanus. there is moreover a striking resemblance between the larvæ of the two forms. the larvæ of dracunculus become transported into water, and then make their way into the body cavity of a cyclops by boring through the soft skin between the segments on the ventral surface of the body. in the body cavity the larvæ undergo an ecdysis and further development. but on reaching a certain stage of development, though they remain a long time in the cyclops, they grow no further. the remaining history is unknown, but probably the next host is man, in which the larva comes to maturity. in the adult condition only females of dracunculus are known, and it has been suggested by various writers that the apparent females are in reality hermaphrodites, like ascaris nigrovenosa, in which the male organs come to maturity before the female. [ ] _vide_ leuckart, _d. men. par._, vol. ii. p. . another very remarkable human parasite belonging to the same group as dracunculus is the form known as filaria sanguinis hominis, or filaria bancrofti[ ]. [ ] _vide_ d. p. manson, "on the development of filaria sanguinis hominis." _journal of the linnean society_, vol. xiv. no. . the sexual form is parasitic in warm climates in the human tissues, and produces multitudes of larvæ which pass into the blood, and are sometimes voided with the urine. the larvæ in the blood do not undergo a further development, and unless transported to an intermediate host die before very long. some, though as yet hardly sufficient, evidence has been brought forward to shew that if the blood of an infected patient is sucked by a mosquito the larvæ develop further in the alimentary tract of the mosquito, pass through a more or less quiescent stage, and eventually grow considerably in size, and on the death of the mosquito pass into the water. from the water they are probably transported directly or indirectly into the human intestines, and then bore their way into the tissues in which they are parasitic, and become sexually mature. the well-known trichina spiralis has a life history unlike that of other known nematodes, though there can be little doubt that this form should be classified in respect to its life history with the last-described forms. the peculiarity of the life history of trichina is that the embryos set free in the alimentary canal pass through the walls into the muscular tissues and there encyst; but do not in a general way pass out from the alimentary canal of one host and thence into a fresh host to encyst. it occasionally however happens that this migration does take place, and the life history of trichina spiralis then becomes almost identical with that of some of the forms of the third type. trichina is parasitic in man, and in swine, and also in the rat, mouse, cat, fox and other forms which feed upon them. artificially it can be introduced into various herbivorous forms (rabbit, guinea-pig, horse) and even birds. the sexual form inhabits the alimentary canal. the female is viviparous, and produces myriads of embryos, which pass into the alimentary canal of their host, through the walls of which they make their way, and travelling along lines of connective tissue pass into the muscles. here the embryos, which are born in a very imperfect condition, rapidly develop, and eventually assume a quiescent condition in a space inclosed by sarcolemma. within the sarcolemma a firm capsule is developed for each larva, which after some months becomes calcified; and after the atrophy of the sarcolemma a connective-tissue layer is formed around it. within its capsule the larva can live for many years, even ten or more, without undergoing further development, but if at last the infected flesh is eaten by a suitable form, _e.g._ the infected flesh of the pig by man, the quiescent state of the larva is brought to a close, and sexual maturity is attained in the alimentary tract of the new host. gordioidea. the free larva of gordius already described usually penetrates into the larva of chironomus where it becomes encysted. on the chironomus being eaten by some fish (villot, no. ) (phoxinus lævis or cobitis barbatula), it penetrates into the wall of the intestine of its second host, becomes again encysted and remains quiescent for some time. eventually in the spring it leaves its capsule, and enters the intestine, and passes to the exterior with the fæces. it then undergoes a gradual metamorphosis, in the course of which it loses its ringed structure and cephalic armature, grows in length, acquires its ventral cord, and on the development of the generative organs loses the greater part of its alimentary tract. young examples of gordius have often been found in various terrestrial carnivorous insecta, but the meaning of this fact is not yet clear. bibliography. ( ) o. bütschli. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. cucullanus elegans." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, b. xxvi. . ( ) t. s. cobbold. _entozoa._ groombridge and son, . ( ) t. s. cobbold. parasites: _a treatise on the entozoa of man and animals._ churchill, . ( ) o. galeb. "organisation et développement des oxyuridés," &c. _archives de zool. expér. et génér._, vol. vii. . ( ) r. leuckart. _untersuchungen üb. trichina spiralis._ nd ed. leipzig, . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten_, bd. ii. . ( ) h. a. pagenstecher. _die trichinen nach versuchen dargestellt._ leipzig, . ( ) a. schneider. _monographie d. nematoden._ berlin, . ( ) a. villot. "monographie des dragoneaux" (gordioidea). _archives de zool. expér. et génér._, vol. iii. . acanthocephala. the acanthocephala appear to be always viviparous. at the time of impregnation the ovum is a naked cell, and undergoes in this condition the earlier phases of segmentation. the segmentation is unequal (leuckart, no. ), but whether there is an epibolic gastrula has not clearly been made out. before segmentation is completed there are formed round the ovum thick protecting membranes, which are usually three in number, the middle one being the strongest. after segmentation the central cells of the ovum fuse together to give rise to a granular mass, while the peripheral cells at a slightly later period form a more transparent syncytium. at the anterior end of the embryo there appears a superficial cuticle bearing in front a ring of hooks. the embryo is now carried out with the excreta from the intestine of the vertebrate host in which its parent lives. it is then swallowed by some invertebrate host[ ]. [ ] echin. proteus, which is parasitic in the adult state in many freshwater fish, passes through its larval condition in the body cavity of gammarus pulex. ech. angustatus, parasitic in the perch, is found in the larval condition in the body cavity of asellus aquatious. ech. gigas, parasitic in swine, is stated by schneider (no. ) to pass through its larval stages in maggots. in the intestine of the invertebrate host the larva is freed from its membranes, and is found to have a somewhat elongated conical form, terminating anteriorly in an obliquely placed disc, turned slightly towards the ventral surface and armed with hooks. between this disc and the granular mass, already described as formed from the central cells of the embryo, is a rather conspicuous solid body. leuckart supposes that this body may represent a rudimentary functionless pharynx, while the granular mass in his opinion is an equally rudimentary and functionless intestine. the body wall is formed of a semifluid internal layer surrounding the rudimentary intestine, if such it be, and of a firmer outer wall immediately within the cuticle. the adult echinorhyncus is formed by a remarkable process of development within the body of the larva, and the skin is the only part of the larva which is carried over to the adult. in echinorhyncus proteus the larva remains mobile during the formation of the adult, but in other forms the metamorphosis takes place during a quiescent condition of the larva. the organs of the adult are differentiated from a mass of cells which appears to be a product of the central embryonic granular mass, and is called by leuckart the embryonic nucleus. the embryonic nucleus becomes divided into four linearly arranged groups of cells, of which the hindermost but one is the largest, and very early differentiates itself into ( ) a peripheral layer, and ( ) a central mass formed of two distinct bodies. the peripheral layer of this segment grows forwards and backwards, and embraces the other segments, with the exception of the front end of the first one which is left uncovered. the envelope so formed gives rise to the splanchnic and somatic mesoblast of the adult worm. of the four groups of cells within it the anterior gives rise to the proboscis, the next to the nerve ganglion, the third, formed of two bodies, to the paired generatives, and the fourth to the generative ducts. the whole of the above complex rapidly elongates, and as it does so the enveloping membrane becomes split into two layers; of which the outer forms the muscular wall of the body (somatic mesoblast), and the inner the muscular sheath of the proboscis and the so-called generative ligament enveloping the generative organs. the inner layer may be called the splanchnic mesoblast in spite of the absence of an intestine. the cavity between the two mesoblastic layers forms the body cavity. the various parts of the adult continue to differentiate themselves as the whole increases in size. the generative masses very early shew traces of becoming differentiated into testes or ovaries. in the male the two generative masses remain spherical, but in the female become elongated: the rudiment of the generative ducts becomes divided into three sections in both sexes. the most remarkable changes are, however, those undergone by the rudiment of the proboscis. in its interior there is formed a cavity, but the wall bounding the front end of the cavity soon disappears. by the time that this has taken place the body of the adult completely fills up the larval skin, to which it very soon attaches itself. the hollow rudiment of the proboscis then becomes everted, and forms a papilla at the end of the body, immediately adjoining the larval skin. this papilla, with the larval skin covering it, constitutes the permanent proboscis. the original larval cuticle is either now or at an earlier period thrown off and a fresh cuticle developed. the hooks of the proboscis are formed from cells of the above papilla, which grow through the larval skin as conical prominences, on the apex of which a chitinous hook is modelled. the remainder of the larval skin forms the skin of the adult, and at a later period develops in its deeper layer the peculiar plexus of vessels so characteristic of the acanthocephala. the anterior oval appendages of the adult cutis, known as the lemnisci, are outgrowths from the larval skin. the echinorhyncus has with the completion of these changes practically acquired its adult structure; but in the female the ovaries undergo at this period remarkable changes, in that they break up into a number of spherical masses, which lie in the lumen of the generative ligaments, and also make their way into the body cavity. the young echinorhyncus requires to be transported to its permanent host, which feeds on its larval host, before attaining to sexual maturity. bibliography. ( ) r. greeff. "untersuchungen ü. d. bau u. entwicklung des echin. miliarius." _archiv f. naturgesch._ . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten._ vol. ii. p. et seq. . ( ) an. schneider. "ueb. d. bau d. acanthocephalen." _archiv f. anat. u. phys._ . ( ) g. r. wagener. _beiträge z. entwicklungsgeschichte d. eingeweidewürmer._ haarlem, . chapter xvii. tracheata. prototracheata. the remarkable researches of moseley (no. ) on peripatus capensis have brought clearly to light the affinities of this form with the tracheate arthropoda; and its numerous primitive characters, such as the generally distributed tracheal apertures, the imperfectly segmented limbs, the diverging ventral nerve cords with imperfectly marked ganglia, and the nephridia (segmental organs[ ]), would render its embryology of peculiar interest. unfortunately moseley was unable, from want of material, to make so complete a study of its development as of its anatomy. the youngest embryo observed was in part distinctly segmented, and coiled up within the egg (fig. a). the procephalic lobes resemble those of the arthropoda generally, and are unlike the præ-oral lobe of chætopods or discophora. they are not marked off by a transverse constriction from the succeeding segments. the three embryonic layers are differentiated, and the interior is filled with a brownish mass--the remnant of the yolk--which is probably enclosed in a distinct intestinal wall, and is lobed in correspondence with the segmentation of the body. the mouth invagination is not present, and but two pairs of slight prominences mark the rudiments of the two anterior post-oral appendages. [ ] f. m. balfour, "on certain points in the anatomy of peripatus capensis." _quart. journ. of micros. science_, vol. xix. . [fig. . adult example of peripatus capensis, natural size. (from moseley.)] [fig. . two stages in the development of peripatus capensis. (after moseley.) a. youngest stage hitherto observed before the appearance of the legs. b. later stage after the legs and antennæ have become developed. both figures represent the larva as it appears within the egg. and . first and second post-oral appendages.] the single pair of antennæ is formed in the next stage, and is followed by the remaining post-oral appendages, which arise in succession from before backwards somewhat later than the segments to which they appertain. the posterior part of the embryo becomes uncoiled, and the whole embryo bent double in the egg (fig. b). [fig. . embryo of peripatus capensis. slightly older than a in fig. ; unrolled. (after moseley.) _a._ antennæ; _o._ mouth; _i._ intestine; _c._ procephalic lobe. , , , etc., post-oral appendages.] the mouth appears as a slit-like opening between and below the procephalic lobes. on each side and somewhat behind it there grows out an appendage--the first post-oral pair (fig. , )--while in front and behind it are formed the upper and lower lips. these two appendages next turn inwards towards the mouth, and their bases become gradually closed over by two processes of the procephalic region (fig. , _m_). the whole of these structures assist in forming a kind of secondary mouth cavity, which is at a later period further completed by the processes of the procephalic region meeting above the mouth, covering over the labrum, and growing backwards to near the origin of the second pair of post-oral appendages. [fig. . ventral view of the head of an embryo of peripatus capensis at a late stage of development. _l._ thickening of epiblast of procephalic lobe to form supra-oesophageal ganglion; _m._ process from procephalic lobe growing over the first post-oral appendage; _o._ mouth; _e._ eye; and , first and second pair of post-oral appendages.] the antennæ early become jointed, and fresh joints continue to be added throughout embryonic life; in the adult there are at present fully thirty joints. it appears to me probable (though mr moseley takes the contrary view) from the late development of the paired processes of the procephalic lobes, which give rise to the circular lip of the adult, that they are not true appendages. the next pair therefore to the antennæ is the first post-oral pair. it is the only pair connected with the mouth. at their extremities there is formed a pair of claws similar to those of the ambulatory legs (fig. ). the next and largest pair of appendages in the embryo are the oral papillæ. they are chiefly remarkable for containing the ducts of the slime glands which open at their bases. they are without claws. the succeeding appendages become eventually imperfectly five-jointed; two claws are formed as cuticular investments of papillæ in pockets of the skin at the ends of their terminal joints. [fig. . head of an embryo peripatus. (from moseley.) the figure shews the jaws (mandibles), and close to them epiblastic involutions, which grow into the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the antennæ, oral cavity, and oral papillæ are also shewn.] i have been able to make a few observations on the internal structure of the embryos from specimens supplied to me by moseley. these are so far confined to a few stages, one slightly earlier, the others slightly later, than the embryo represented in fig. b. the epiblast is formed of a layer of columnar cells, two deep on the ventral surface, except along the median line where there is a well-marked groove and the epiblast is much thinner (fig. ). the ventral cords of the trunk are formed as two independent epiblastic thickenings. in my earlier stage these are barely separated from the epiblast, but in the later ones are quite independent (fig. , _v.n_), and partly surrounded by mesoblast. the supra-oesophageal ganglia are formed as thickenings of the epiblast of the ventral side of the procephalic lobes in front of the stomodæum. they are shewn at _l_ in fig. . the thickenings of the two sides are at first independent. at a somewhat later period an invagination of the epiblast grows into each of these lobes. the openings of these invaginations extend from the oral cavity forwards; and they are shewn in fig. [ ]. their openings become closed, and the walls of the invaginations constitute a large part of the embryonic supra-oesophageal ganglia. [ ] this figure is taken from moseley. the epiblastic invaginations are represented in it very accurately, and though not mentioned in the text of the paper, moseley informs me that he has long been aware of the homology of these folds with those in various other tracheata. similar epiblastic invaginations assist in forming the supra-oesophageal ganglia of other tracheata. they are described in the sequel for insects, spiders and scorpions. the position of the supra-oesophageal ganglia on the ventral side of the procephalic lobes is the same as that in other tracheata. [fig. . section through the trunk of an embryo of peripatus. the embryo from which the section is taken was somewhat younger than fig. . _sp.m._ splanchnic mesoblast. _s.m._ somatic mesoblast. _mc._ median section of body cavity. _lc._ lateral section of body cavity. _v.n._ ventral nerve cord. _me._ mesenteron.] the mesoblast is formed, in the earliest of my embryos, of scattered cells in the fairly wide space between the mesenteron and the epiblast. there are two distinct bands of mesoblast on the outer sides of the nervous cords. in the later stage the mesoblast is divided into distinct somatic and splanchnic layers, both very thin; but the two layers are connected by transverse strands (fig. ). there are two special longitudinal septa dividing the body cavity into three compartments, a median (mc), containing the mesenteron, and two lateral (_lc_) containing the nerve cords. this division of the body cavity persists, as i have elsewhere shewn, in the adult. a similar division is found in some chætopoda, _e.g._ polygordius. i failed to make out that the mesoblast was divided into somites, and feel fairly confident that it is not so in the stages i have investigated. there is a section of the body cavity in the limbs as in embryo myriapods, spiders, etc. in the procephalic lobe there is a well-developed section of the body cavity, which lies dorsal to and in front of the rudiment of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the alimentary tract is formed of a mesenteron (fig. ), a stomodæum, and proctodæum. the wall of the mesenteron is formed, in the stages investigated by me, of a single layer of cells with yolk particles, and encloses a lumen free from yolk. the forward extension of the mesenteron is remarkable. the stomodæum in the earlier stage is a simple pit, which meets but does not open into the mesenteron. in the later stage the external opening of the pit is complicated by the structures already described. the proctodæum is a moderately deep pit near the hinder end of the body. the existence of a tracheal system[ ] is in itself almost sufficient to demonstrate the affinities of peripatus with the tracheata, in spite of the presence of nephridia. the embryological characters of the procephalic lobes, of the limbs and claws, place however this conclusion beyond the reach of scepticism. if the reader will compare the figure of peripatus with that of an embryo scorpion (fig. a) or spider (fig. c) or better still with metschnikoff's figure of geophilus (no. ) pl. xxi. fig. ii, he will be satisfied on this point. [ ] the specimens shewing tracheæ which moseley has placed in my hands are quite sufficient to leave no doubt whatever in my mind as to the general accuracy of his description of the tracheal system. the homologies of the anterior appendages are not very easy to determine; but since there does not appear to me to be sufficient evidence to shew that any of the anterior appendages have become aborted, the first post-oral appendages embedded in the lips may provisionally be regarded as equivalent to the mandibles, and the oral papillæ to the first pair of maxillæ, etc. moseley is somewhat doubtful about the homologies of the appendages, and hesitates between considering the oral papillæ as equivalent to the second pair of maxillæ (on account of their containing the openings of the mucous glands, which he compares with the spinning glands of caterpillars), or to the poison claws (fourth post-oral appendages) of the chilopoda (on account of the poison glands which he thinks may be homologous with the mucous glands). the arguments for either of these views do not appear to me conclusive. there are glands opening into various anterior appendages in the tracheata, such as the poison glands in the cheliceræ (mandibles) of spiders, and there is some evidence in insects for the existence of a gland belonging to the first pair of maxillæ, which might be compared with the mucous gland of peripatus. for reasons already stated i do not regard the processes of the cephalic lobes, which form the lips, as a pair of true appendages. bibliography. ( ) h. n. moseley. "on the structure and development of peripatus capensis." _phil. trans._ vol. , . myriapoda[ ]. [ ] the classification of the myriapoda employed in the present section is: i. chilognatha. (millipedes.) ii. chilopoda. (centipedes.) chilognatha. the first stages in the development of the chilognatha have been investigated by metschnikoff and stecker, but their accounts are so contradictory as hardly to admit of reconciliation. according to metschnikoff, by whom the following four species have been investigated, viz., strongylosoma guerinii, polydesmus complanatus, polyxenus lagurus, and julus moneletei, the segmentation is at first regular and complete, but, when the segments are still fairly large, the regular segmentation is supplemented by the appearance of a number of small cells at various points on the surface, which in time give rise to a continuous blastoderm. the blastoderm becomes thickened on the ventral surface, and so forms a ventral plate[ ]. [ ] stecker's (no. ) observations were made on the eggs of julus fasciatus, julus foetidus, craspedosoma marmoratum, polydesmus complanatus, and strongylosoma pallipes, and though carried on by means of sections, still leave some points very obscure, and do not appear to me deserving of much confidence. the two species of julus and craspedosoma undergo, according to stecker, a nearly identical development. the egg before segmentation is constituted of two substances, a central protoplasmic, and a peripheral deutoplastic. it first divides into two equal segments, and coincidentally with their formation part of the central protoplasm travels to the surface as two clear fluid segments. the ovum is thus composed of two yolk segments to two protoplasmic segments. the two former next divide into four, with the production of two fresh protoplasmic segments. the four protoplasmic segments now constitute the upper or animal pole of the egg, and occupy the position of the future ventral plate. the yolk segments form the lower pole, which is however _dorsal_ in relation to the future animal. the protoplasmic segments increase in number by a regular division, and arrange themselves in three rows, of which the two outermost rapidly grow over the yolk segments. a large segmentation cavity is stated to be present in the interior of the ovum. it would appear from stecker's description that the yolk segments (hypoblast) next become regularly invaginated, so as to enclose a gastric cavity, opening externally by a blastopore; but it is difficult to believe that a typical gastrula, such as that represented by stecker, really comes into the cycle of development of the chilognatha. the mesoblast is stated to be derived mainly from the epiblast. this layer in the region of the future ventral plate becomes reduced to two rows of cells, and the inner of these by the division of its constituent elements gives rise to the mesoblast. the development of polydesmus and strongylosoma is not very different from that of julus. the protoplasm at the upper pole occupies from the first a superficial position. segmentation commences at the lower pole, where the food-yolk is mainly present! the gastrula is stated to be similar to that of julus. the mesoblast is formed in polydesmus as a layer of cells split off from the epiblast, but in strongylosoma as an outgrowth from the lips of the blastopore. stecker, in spite of the statements in his paper as to the origin of the mesoblast from the epiblast, sums up at the end to the effect that both the primary layers have a share in the formation of the mesoblast, which originates by a process of endogenous cell division! it may be noted that the closure of the blastopore takes place, according to stecker, on the dorsal side of the embryo. the most important sources of information for the general embryology of the chilognatha are the papers of newport (no. ) and metschnikoff (no. ). the development of strongylosoma may be taken as fairly typical for the group; and the subsequent statements, unless the reverse is stated, apply to the species of strongylosoma investigated by metschnikoff. [fig. . three stages in the development of strongylosoma guerinii. (after metschnikoff.) a. embryo on eleventh day with commencing ventral flexure (_x_) b. embryo with three pairs of post-oral appendages. c. embryo with five pairs of post-oral appendages. _gs._ ventral plate; _at._ antennæ; - post-oral appendages; _x._ point of flexure of the ventral plate.] after the segmentation and formation of the layers the first observable structure is a transverse furrow in the thickening of the epiblast on the ventral surface of the embryo. this furrow rapidly deepens, and gives rise to a ventral flexure of the embryo (fig. a, _x_), which is much later in making its appearance in julus than in strongylosoma and polyxenus. a pair of appendages, which become the antennæ, makes its appearance shortly after the formation of the transverse furrow, and there soon follow in order the next three pairs of appendages. all these parts are formed in the infolded portion of the ventral thickening of the blastoderm (fig. b). the ventral thickening has in the meantime become marked by a longitudinal furrow, but whether this is connected with the formation of the nervous system, or is equivalent to the mesoblastic furrow in insects, and connected with the formation of the mesoblast, has not been made out. shortly after the appearance of the three pairs of appendages behind the antennæ two further pairs become added, and at the same time oral and anal invaginations become formed (fig. c). in front of the oral opening an unpaired upper lip is developed. the præ-oral part of the ventral plate develops into the bilobed procephalic lobes, the epiblast of which is mainly employed in the formation of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the next important change which takes place is the segmentation of the body of the embryo (fig. a), the most essential feature in which is the division of the mesoblast into somites. segments are formed in order from before backwards, and soon extend to the region behind the appendages. on the appearance of segmentation the appendages commence to assume their permanent form. the two anterior pairs of post-oral appendages become jaws; and the part of the embryo which carries them and the antennæ is marked off from the trunk as the head. the three following pairs of appendages grow in length and assume a form suited for locomotion. behind the three existing pairs of limbs there are developed three fresh pairs, of _which the two anterior belong to a single primitive segment_. while the above changes take place in the appendages the embryo undergoes an ecdysis, which gives rise to a cuticular membrane within the single egg membrane (chorion, _metschnikoff_). on this cuticle a tooth-like process is developed, the function of which is to assist in the hatching of the embryo (fig. a). in polyxenus a cuticular membrane is present as in strongylosoma, but it is not provided with a tooth-like process. in the same form amoeboid cells separate themselves from the blastoderm at an early period. these cells have been compared to the embryonic envelopes of insects described below. in julus _two_ cuticular membranes are present at the time of hatching: the inner one is very strongly developed and encloses the embryo after hatching. after leaving the chorion the embryo julus remains connected with it by a structureless membrane which is probably the outer of the two cuticular membranes. [fig. . two stages in the development of strongylosoma guerinii. (after metschnikoff.) a. a seventeen days' embryo, already segmented. b. a just hatched larva.] at the time when the embryo of strongylosoma is hatched (fig. b) nine post-cephalic segments appear to be present. of these segments the second is apparently (from metschnikoff's figure, b) without a pair of appendages; the third and fourth are each provided with a single functional pair of limbs; the fifth segment is provided with two pairs of rudimentary limbs, which are involuted in a single sack and not visible without preparation, and therefore not shewn in the figure. the sixth segment is provided with but a single pair of appendages, though a second pair is subsequently developed on it[ ]. [ ] though the superficially hexapodous larva of strongylosoma and other chilognatha has a striking resemblance to some larval insects, no real comparison is possible between them, even on the assumption that the three functional appendages of both are homologous, because embryology clearly proves that the hexapodous insect type has originated from an ancestor with numerous appendages by the atrophy of those appendages, and not from an hexapodous larval form prior to the development of the full number of adult appendages. julus, at the time it leaves the chorion, is imperfectly segmented, but is provided with antennæ, mandibles, and maxillæ, and seven pairs of limbs, of which the first three are much more developed than the remainder. segmentation soon makes its appearance, and the head becomes distinct from the trunk, and on each of the three anterior trunk segments a single pair of limbs is very conspicuous (metschnikoff)[ ]. each of the succeeding segments bears eventually two pairs of appendages. at the time when the inner embryonic cuticle is cast off, the larva appears to be hexapodous, like the young strongylosoma, but there are in reality four pairs of rudimentary appendages behind the three functional pairs. the latter only appear on the surface after the first post-embryonic ecdysis. pauropus (lubbock) is hexapodous in a young stage. at the next moult two pairs of appendages are added, and subsequently one pair at each moult. [ ] newport states however that a pair of limbs is present on the first, second, and fourth post-oral segments, but that the third segment is apodous; and this is undoubtedly the case in the adult. there appear to be eight post-oral segments in julus at the time of hatching. according to newport fresh segments are added in post-embryonic life by successive budding from a blastema between the penultimate segment and that in front of it. they arise in batches of six at the successive ecdyses, till the full number is completed. a functional, though not a real hexapodous condition, appears to be characteristic of chilognatha generally at the time of hatching. the most interesting anatomical feature of the chilognatha is the double character of their segments, the feet (except the first three or four, or more), the circulatory, the respiratory, and the nervous systems shewing this peculiarity. newport's and metschnikoff's observations have not thrown as much light on the nature of the double segments as might have been hoped, but it appears probable that they have _not_ originated from a fusion of two primitively distinct segments, but from a later imperfect division of each of the primitive segments into two, and the supply to each of the divisions of a primitive segment of a complete set of organs. [fig. . two stages in the development of geophilus. (after metschnikoff.) a. side view of embryo at the stage when the segments are beginning to be formed. b. later stage after the appendages have become established. _at._ antennæ; _an.i._ proctodæum.] chilopoda. up to the present time the development of only one type of chilopoda, viz. that of geophilus, has been worked out. most forms lay their eggs, but scolopendra is viviparous. the segmentation appears to resemble that in the chilognatha, and at its close there is present a blastoderm surrounding a central mass of yolk cells. a ventral thickening of the blastoderm is soon formed. it becomes divided into numerous segments, which continue to be formed successively from the posterior unsegmented part. the antennæ are the first appendages to appear, and are well developed when eighteen segments have become visible (fig. a). the post-oral appendages are formed slightly later, and in order from before backwards. as the embryo grows in length, and fresh segments continue to be formed, the posterior part of it becomes bent over so as to face the ventral surface of the anterior, and it acquires an appearance something like that of many embryo crustaceans (fig. b). between forty and fifty segments are formed while the embryo is still in the egg. the appendages long remain unjointed. the fourth post-oral appendage, which becomes the poison claw, is early marked out by its greater size: on the third post-oral there is formed a temporary spine to open the egg membrane. it does not appear, from metschnikoff's figures of geophilus, that any of the anterior segments are without appendages, and it is very probable that newport is mistaken in supposing that the embryo has a segment without appendages behind that with the poison claws, which coalesces with the segment of the latter. it also appears to me rather doubtful whether the third pair of post-oral appendages, _i.e._ those in front of the poison claws, can fairly be considered as forming part of the basilar plate. the basilar plate is really the segment of the poison claws, and may fuse more or less completely with the segment in front and behind it, and the latter is sometimes without a pair of appendages (lithobius, scutigera). geophilus, at the time of birth, has a rounded form like that of the chilognatha. the young of lithobius is born with only six pairs of limbs. _general observation on the homologies of the appendages of myriapoda._ the chief difficulty in this connection is the homology of the third pair of post-oral appendages. in adult chilognatha there is present behind the mandibles a four-lobed plate, which is usually regarded as representing two pairs of appendages, viz. the first and second pairs of maxillæ of insects. metschnikoff's observations seem however to shew that this plate represents but a single pair of appendages, which clearly corresponds with the first pair of maxillæ in insects. the pair of appendages behind this plate is ambulatory, but turned towards the head; it is in the embryo the foremost of the three functional pairs of legs with which the larva is born. is it equivalent to the second pair of maxillæ of insects or to the first pair of limbs of insects? in favour of the former view is the fact ( ) that in embryo insects the second pair of maxillæ sometimes resembles the limbs rather than the jaws, so that it might be supposed that in chilognatha a primitive ambulatory condition of the third pair of appendages has been retained; ( ) that the disappearance of a pair of appendages would have to be postulated if the second alternative is adopted, and that if insects are descended from forms related to the myriapods it is surprising to find a pair of appendages always present in the former, absent in the latter. the arguments which can be urged for the opposite view do not appear to me to have much weight, so that the homology of the appendages in question with the second pair of maxillæ may be provisionally assumed. the third pair of post-oral appendages of the chilopoda may probably also be assumed to be equivalent to the second pair of maxillæ; though they are limb-like and not connected with the head. the subjoined table shews the probable homologies of the appendages. +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | | chilognatha | chilopoda | | | (strongylosoma | (scolopendra adult). | | | at time of birth). | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | pre-oral region. | antennæ. | antennæ. | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | st post-oral segment. | mandibles. | mandibles. | +------------------------+------------------- -+----------------------+ | nd " " | maxillæ . (four- | maxillæ . | | | lobed plate in | (palp and bilobed | | | adult, but a simple| median process). | | | pair of appendages | | | | in embryo). | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | rd " " | st pair of | limb-like appendages | | (probably equivalent | ambulatory limbs | with basal parts in | | to segment bearing | | contact. | | nd pair of maxillæ | | | | in insects). | | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | (?) apodous. | poison claws. | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | nd pair of | st pair of | | | ambulatory limbs. | ambulatory limbs. | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | rd " " " | nd " " " | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | th and th " " | rd " " " | | | (rudimentary.) | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | th " " " | th " " " | | | (the th pair is | | | | developed in this | | | | segment later). | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | apodous. | th " " " | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ | th " " | " (last segment | th " " " | | | in embryo). | | +------------------------+---------------------+----------------------+ _the germinal layers and formation of organs._ the development of the organs of the myriapoda, and the origin of the germinal layers, are very imperfectly known: myriapoda appear however to be closely similar to insects in this part of their development, and the general question of the layers will be treated more fully in connection with that group. the greater part of the blastoderm gives rise to the epiblast, which furnishes the skin, nervous system, tracheal system, and the stomodæum and proctodæum. the mesoblast arises in connection with the ventral thickening of the blastoderm, but the details of its formation are not known. metschnikoff describes a longitudinal furrow which appears very early in strongylosoma, which is perhaps equivalent to the mesoblastic furrows of insects, and so connected with the formation of the mesoblast. the mesoblast is divided up into a series of protovertebra-like bodies--the mesoblastic somites--the cavities of which become the body cavity and the walls the muscles and probably the heart. they are (metschnikoff) prolonged into the legs, though the prolongations become subsequently segmented off from the main masses. the splanchnic mesoblast is, according to metschnikoff, formed independently of the somites, but this point requires further observation. the origin of the hypoblast remains uncertain, but it appears probable that it originates, in a large measure at least, from the yolk segments. in the chilognatha the mesenteron is formed in the interior of the yolk segments, so that those yolk segments which are not employed in the formation of the alimentary canal lie freely in the body cavity. in the relation of the yolk segments to the alimentary canal the chilopoda present a strong contrast to the chilognatha, in that the greater part of the yolk lies within their mesenteron. the mesenteron is at first a closed sack, but is eventually placed in communication with the stomodæum and the proctodæum. the malpighian bodies arise as outgrowths from the blind extremity of the latter. bibliography. ( ) g. newport. "on the organs of reproduction and development of the myriapoda." _philosophical transactions_, . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "embryologie der doppeltfüssigen myriapoden (chilognatha)." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxiv. . ( ) ---- "embryologisches über geophilus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxv. . ( ) anton stecker. "die anlage d. keimblatter bei den diplopoden." _archiv f. mik. anatomie,_ bd. xiv. . insecta[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the insecta is employed in this chapter: i. aptera. {( ) collembola. {( ) thysanura. ii. orthoptera. {( ) orthoptera genuina (_blatta_, _locusta_, etc.). {( ) " pseudoneuroptera (_termes_, _ephemera_, _libellula_). iii. hemiptera. {( ) hemiptera heteroptera (_cimex_, _notonecta_, etc.). {( ) " homoptera (_aphis_, _cicada_, etc.). {( ) " parasita (_pediculus_, etc.). iv. diptera. {( ) diptera genuina (_musca_, _tipula_, etc.). {( ) " aphaniptera (_pulex_, etc.). {( ) " pupipara (_braula_, etc.). v. neuroptera. {( ) neuroptera planipennia (_myrmeleon_, etc.). {( ) " trichoptera (_phryganea_, etc.). vi. coleoptera. vii. lepidoptera. viii. hymenoptera. {( ) hymenoptera aculeata (_apis_, _formica_, etc.). {( ) " entomophaga (_ichneumon_, _platygaster_, etc.). {( ) " phytophaga (_tenthredo_, _sirex_, etc.). the formation of the embryonic layers in insects has not been followed out in detail in a large number of types; but, as in so many other instances, some of the most complete histories we have are due to kowalevsky (no. ). the development of hydrophilus has been worked out by him more fully than that of any other form, and will serve as a type for comparison with other forms. [fig. . four embryos of hydrophilus piceus viewed from the ventral surface. (after kowalevsky.) the upper end is the anterior. _gg._ germinal groove; _am._ amnion.] the segmentation has not been studied, but no doubt belongs to the centrolecithal type (_vide_ pp. - ). at its close there is an uniform layer of cells enclosing a central mass of yolk. these cells, in the earliest observed stage, were flat on the dorsal, but columnar on part of the ventral surface of the egg, where they form a thickening which will be called the ventral plate. at the posterior part of the ventral plate two folds, with a furrow between them, make their appearance. they form a structure which may be spoken of as the germinal groove (fig. a, _gg_). the cells which form the floor of the groove are far more columnar than those of other parts of the blastoderm (fig. a). the two folds on each side of it gradually approach each other. they do so at first behind, and then in the middle; from the latter point the approximation gradually extends backwards and forwards (fig. b and c). in the middle and hinder parts of the ventral plate the groove becomes, by the coalescence of the folds, converted into a canal (fig. a, _gg_), the central cavity of which soon disappears, while at the same time the cells of the wall undergo division, become more rounded, and form a definite layer (_me_)--the mesoblast--beneath the columnar cells of the surface. anteriorly the process is slightly different, though it leads to the similar formation of mesoblast (fig. b). the flat floor of the groove becomes in front bodily converted into the mesoblast, but the groove itself is never converted into a canal. the two folds simply meet above, and form a continuous superficial layer. [fig. . two transverse sections through embryos of hydrophilus piceus. (after kowalevsky.) a. section through an embryo of the stage represented in fig. b, at the point where the two germinal folds most approximate. b. section through an embryo somewhat later than the stage fig. d, through the anterior region where the amnion has not completely closed over the embryo. _gg._ germinal groove; _me._ mesoblast; _am._ amnion; _yk._ yolk.] [fig. . sections through two embryos of hydrophilus piceus. (after kowalevsky.) a. section through the posterior part of the embryo fig. d, shewing the completely closed amnion and the germinal groove. b. section through an older embryo in which the mesoblast has grown out into a continuous plate beneath the epiblast. _gg._ germinal groove; _am._ amnion; _yk._ yolk; _ep._ epiblast.] during the later stages of the process last described remarkable structures, eminently characteristic of the insecta, have made their first appearance. these structures are certain embryonic membranes or coverings, which present in their mode of formation and arrangement a startling similarity to the true and false amnion of the vertebrata. they appear as a double fold of the blastoderm round the edge of the germinal area, which spreads over the ventral plate, from behind forwards, in a general way in the same manner as the amnion in, for instance, the chick. the folds at their origin are shewn in surface view in fig. d, am, and in section in fig. b, _am_. the folds eventually meet, coalesce (fig. , am) and give rise to two membranes covering the ventral plate, viz. an inner one, which is continuous with the edge of the ventral plate; and an outer, continuous with the remainder of the blastoderm. the vertebrate nomenclature may be conveniently employed for these membranes. the inner limb of the fold will therefore be spoken of as the amnion, and the outer one, including the dorsal part of the blastoderm, as the serous envelope[ ]. a slight consideration of the mode of formation of the membranes, or an inspection of the figures illustrating their formation, makes it at once clear that the yolk can pass in freely between the amnion and serous envelope (_vide_ fig. ). at the hind end of the embryo this actually takes place, so that the ventral plate covered by the amnion appears to become completely imbedded in the yolk: elsewhere the two membranes are in contact. at first (fig. ) the ventral plate occupies but a small portion of the ventral surface of the egg, but during the changes above described it extends over the whole ventral surface, and even slightly on the dorsal surface both in front and behind. it becomes at the same time (fig. ) divided by a series of transverse lines into segments, which increase in number and finally amount in all to seventeen, not including the most anterior section, which gives off as lateral outgrowths the two procephalic lobes (_pc.l_). the changes so far described are included within what kowalevsky calls his first embryonic period; at its close the parts contained within the chorion have the arrangement shewn in fig. b. the whole of the body of the embryo is formed from the ventral plate, and no part from the amnion or serous envelope. [ ] the reverse nomenclature to this is rather inconveniently employed by metschnikoff. [fig. . embryo of hydrophilus piceus viewed from the ventral surface. (after kowalevsky.) _pc.l._ procephalic lobe.] the general history of the succeeding stages may be briefly told. [fig. . two stages in the development of hydrophilus piceus. (from gegenbaur, after kowalevsky.) _ls._ labrum; _at._ antenna; _md._ mandible; _mx._ maxilla i.; _li._ maxilla ii.; _p´ p´´ p´´´_. feet; _a._ anus.] the appendages appear as very small rudiments at the close of the last stage, but soon become much more prominent (fig. a). they are formed as outgrowths of both layers, and arise nearly simultaneously. there are in all eight pairs of appendages. the anterior or antennæ (_at_) spring from the procephalic lobes, and the succeeding appendages from the segments following. the last pair of embryonic appendages, which disappears very early, is formed behind the third pair of the future thoracic limbs. paired epiblastic involutions, shewn as pits in the posterior segments in fig. a, give rise to the tracheæ; and the nervous system is formed as two lateral epiblastic thickenings, one on each side of the mid-ventral line. these eventually become split off from the skin; while between them there passes in a median invagination of the skin (fig. c). the two nervous strands are continuous in front with the supra-oesophageal ganglia, which are formed of the epiblast of the procephalic lobes. these plates gradually grow round the dorsal side of the embryo, and there is formed immediately behind them an oral invagination, in front of which there appears an upper lip (fig. , _ls_). a proctodæum is formed at the hind end of the body slightly later than the stomodæum. the mesoblast cells become divided into two bands, one on each side of the middle line (fig. a), and split into splanchnic and somatic layers. the central yolk mass at about the stage represented in fig. begins to break up into yolk spheres. the hypoblast is formed first on the ventral side at the junction of the mesoblast and the yolk, and gradually extends and forms a complete sack-like mesenteron, enveloping the yolk (fig. _al_). the amnion and serous membrane retain their primitive constitution for some time, but gradually become thinner on the ventral surface, where a rupture appears eventually to take place. the greater part of them disappears, but in the closure of the dorsal parietes the serous envelope plays a peculiar part, which is not yet understood. it is described on p. . the heart is formed from the mesoblastic layers, where they meet in the middle dorsal line (fig. c, _ht_). the somatic mesoblast gives rise to the muscles and connective tissue, and the splanchnic mesoblast to the muscular part of the wall of the alimentary tract, which accompanies the hypoblast in its growth round the yolk. the proctodæum forms the rectum and malpighian bodies[ ], and the stomodæum the oesophagus and proventriculus. the two epiblastic sections of the alimentary tract are eventually placed in communication with the mesenteron. [ ] this has not been shewn in the case of hydrophilus. the development of hydrophilus is a fair type of that of insects generally, but it is necessary to follow with somewhat greater detail the comparative history of the various parts which have been briefly described for this type. _the embryonic membranes and the formation of the layers._ all insects have at the close of segmentation a blastoderm formed of a single row of cells enclosing a central yolk mass, which usually contains nuclei, and in the poduridæ is divided up in the ordinary segmentation into distinct yolk cells. the first definite structure formed is a thickening of the blastoderm, which forms a ventral plate. the ventral plate is very differently situated in relation to the yolk in different types. in most diptera, hymenoptera and (?) neuroptera (phryganea) it forms from the first a thickening extending over nearly the whole ventral surface of the ovum, and in many cases extends in its subsequent growth not only over the whole ventral surface, but over a considerable part of the apparent dorsal surface as well (chironomus, simulia, gryllotalpa, etc.). in coleoptera, so far as is known, it commences as a less extended thickening either of the central part (donacia) or posterior part (hydrophilus) of the ventral surface, and gradually grows in both directions, passing over to the dorsal surface behind. embryonic membranes. in the majority of insects there are developed enveloping membranes like those of hydrophilus. [fig. . diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an insect embryo at two stages to shew the development of the embryonic envelopes. in a the amniotic folds have not quite met so as to cover the ventral plate. the yolk is represented as divided into yolk cells. in b the sides of the ventral plate have extended so as nearly to complete the dorsal integument. the mesenteron is represented as a closed sack filled with yolk cells. _am._ amnion; _se._ serous envelope; _v.p._ ventral plate; _d.i._ dorsal integument; _me._ mesenteron; _st._ stomodæum; _an i._ proctodæum.] the typical mode of formation of these membranes is represented diagrammatically in fig. a and b. a fold of the blastoderm arises round the edge of the ventral plate. this fold, like the amniotic fold of the higher vertebrata, is formed of two limbs, an outer, the serous membrane (_se_), and an inner, the true amnion (_am_). both limbs extend so as to cover over the ventral plate, and finally meet and coalesce, so that a double membrane is present over the ventral plate. at the same time (fig. b) the point where the fold originates is carried dorsalwards by the dorsal extension of the edges of the ventral plate, which give rise to the dorsal integument (_d.i_). this process continues till the whole dorsal surface is covered by the integument. the amnion then separates from the dorsal integument, and the embryo becomes enveloped in two membranes--an inner, the amnion, and an outer, the serous membrane. in fig. b the embryo is represented at the stage immediately preceding the closure of the dorsal surface. by the time that these changes are effected, the serous membrane and amnion are both very thin and not easily separable. the amnion appears to be usually absorbed before hatching; but in hatching both membranes, if present, are either absorbed, or else ruptured and thrown off. the above mode of development of the embryonic membranes has been especially established by the researches of kowalevsky (no. ) and graber (no. ) for various hymenoptera (_apis_), diptera (_chironomus_), lepidoptera and coleoptera (_melolontha_, _lina_). considerable variations in the development of the enveloping membranes are known. when the fold which gives rise to the membranes is first formed, there is, as is obvious in fig. a, a perfectly free passage by which the yolk can pass in between the amnion and serous membrane. such a passage of the yolk between the two membranes takes place posteriorly in hydrophilus and donacia: in lepidoptera the yolk passes in everywhere, so that in this form the ventral plate becomes first of all imbedded in the yolk, and finally, on the completion of the dorsal integument, the embryo is enclosed in a complete envelope of yolk contained between the amnion and the serous membrane. during the formation of the dorsal integument the external yolk-sack communicates by a dorsally situated umbilical canal with the yolk cavity within the body. on the rupture of the amnion the embryo is nourished at the expense of the yolk contained in the external yolk-sack. in the hemiptera and the libellulidæ the ventral plate also becomes imbedded in the yolk, but in a somewhat different fashion to the lepidoptera, which more resembles on an exaggerated scale what takes place in hydrophilus. [fig. . three stages in the development of the embryo of calopteryx. (after brandt.) the embryo is represented in the egg-shell. a. embryo with ventral plate. b. commencing involution of ventral plate. c. involution of ventral plate completed. _ps._ ventral plate; _g._ edge of ventral plate; _am._ amnion; _se._ serous envelope.] in the libellulidæ (_calopteryx_) there is first of all formed (brandt, no. ) a small ventral and posterior thickening of the blastoderm (fig. a). the hinder part of this becomes infolded into the yolk as a projection (fig. b), which consists of two laminæ, an anterior and a posterior, continuous at the apex of the invagination. the whole structure, which is completely imbedded within the yolk, rapidly grows in length, and turns towards the front end of the egg (fig. c). its anterior lamina remains thick and gives rise to the ventral plate (_ps_), the posterior (_am_) on the other hand becomes very thin, and forms a covering corresponding with the amnion of the more ordinary types. the remainder of the blastoderm covering the yolk (_se_) forms the homologue of the serous membrane of other types. the ventral surface of the ventral plate is turned towards the dorsal side (retaining the same nomenclature as in ordinary cases) of the egg, and the cephalic extremity is situated at the point of origin of the infolding. the further history is however somewhat peculiar. the amnion is at first (fig. c) continuous with the serous envelope on the posterior side only, so that the serous envelope does not form a continuous sack, but has an opening close to the head of the embryo. in the hemiptera parasita this opening (melnikow, no. ) remains permanent, and the embryo, after it has reached a certain stage of development, becomes everted through it, while the yolk, enclosed in the continuous membrane formed by the amnion and serous envelope, forms a yolk-sack on the dorsal surface. in the libellulidæ however and most hemiptera, a fusion of the two limbs of the serous membrane takes place in the usual way, so as to convert it into a completely closed sack (fig. a). after the formation of the appendages a fusion takes place between the amnion and serous envelope over a small area close to the head of the embryo. in the middle of this area a rupture is then effected, and the head of the embryo followed by the body is gradually pushed through the opening (fig. b and c). the embryo becomes in the process completely rotated, and carried into a position in the egg-shell identical with that of the embryos of other orders of insects (fig. c). [fig. . three stages in the development of calopteryx. (after brandt.) the embryo is represented in the egg-shell; b. and c. shew the inversion of the embryo. _se._ serous envelope; _am._ amnion; _ab._ abdomen; _v._ anterior end of head; _at._ antennæ; _md._ mandible; _mx ._ maxilla ; _mx ._ maxilla ; _p -p ._ three pairs of legs; _oe._ oesophagus.] owing to the rupture of the embryonic envelopes taking place at the point where they are fused into one, the yolk does not escape in the above process, but is carried into a kind of yolk-sack, on the dorsal surface of the embryo, formed of the remains of the amnion and serous envelope. the walls of the yolk-sack either assist in forming the dorsal parietes of the body, or are more probably enclosed within the body by the growth of the dorsal parietes from the edge of the ventral plate. [fig. . three larval stages of hydrophilus from the dorsal side, shewing the gradual closing in of the dorsal region with the formation of the peculiar dorsal organ _do._ (after kowalevsky.) _do._ dorsal organ; _at._ antennæ.] in hydrophilus and apparently in the phryganidæ also, there are certain remarkable peculiarities in the closure of the dorsal surface. the fullest observations on the subject have been made by kowalevsky (no. ), but dohrn (no. ) has with some probability thrown doubts on kowalevsky's interpretations. according to dohrn the part of the serous envelope which covers the dorsal surface becomes thickened, and gives rise to a peculiar dorsal plate which is shewn in surface view in fig. a, _do_, and in section in fig. a, _do._ the ventral parts of the amnion and serous membrane have either been ruptured or have disappeared. while the dorsal plate is being formed, the mesoblast, and somewhat later the lateral parts of the epiblast of the ventral plate gradually grow towards the dorsal side and enclose the dorsal plate, the wall of which in the process appears to be folded over so as first of all to form a groove and finally a canal. the stages in this growth are shewn from the surface in fig. b and c and in section in fig. b, _do._ the canal is buried on the dorsal part of the yolk, but for some time remains open by a round aperture in front (fig. c). the whole structure is known as the dorsal canal. it appears to atrophy without leaving a trace. the heart when formed lies immediately dorsal to it[ ]. [ ] according to kowalevsky the history of the dorsal plate is somewhat different. he believes that on the absorption of the amnion the ventral plate unites with the serous membrane, and that the latter directly gives rise to the dorsal integument, while the thickened part of it becomes involuted to form the dorsal tube already described. [fig. . three transverse sections through advanced embryos of hydrophilus. a. section through the posterior part of the body of the same age as fig. a. b. section through the embryo of the same age as fig. c. c. section through a still older embryo. _do._ dorsal plate; _vn._ ventral nerve cord; _al._ mesenteron; _ht._ heart. the large spaces at the sides are parts of the body cavity.] in the poduridæ the embryonic membranes appear to be at any rate imperfect. metschnikoff states in his paper on geophilus that in some ants no true embryonic membranes are found, but merely scattered cells which take their place. in the ichneumonidæ the existence of two embryonic membranes is very doubtful. formation of the embryonic layers. the formation of the layers has been studied in sections by kowalevsky (no. ), hatschek (no. ), and graber (no. ), etc. from their researches it would appear that the formation of the mesoblast always takes place in a manner closely resembling that in hydrophilus. the essential features of the process (figs. and ) appear to be that a groove is formed along the median line of the ventral plate, and that the sides of this groove either ( ) simply close over like the walls of the medullary groove in vertebrates, and so convert the groove into a tube, which soon becomes solid and forms a mass or plate of cells internal to the epiblast; or ( ) that the cells on each side of the groove grow over it and meet in the middle line, forming a layer external to the cells which lined the groove. the former of these processes is the most usual; and in the muscidæ the dimensions of the groove are very considerable (graber, no. ). in both cases the process is fundamentally the same, and causes the ventral plate to become divided into two layers[ ]. the external layer or epiblast is an uniform sheet forming the main part of the ventral plate (fig. b, _ep_). it is continuous at its edge with the amnion. the inner layer or mesoblast constitutes an independent plate of cells internal to the epiblast (fig. b, _me_). the mesoblast soon becomes divided into two lateral bands. [ ] tichomiroff (no. ) denies the existence of a true invagination to form the mesoblast, and also asserts that a separation of mesoblast cells from the epiblast can take place at other parts besides the median ventral line. the origin of the hypoblast is still in dispute. it will be remembered (_vide_ pp. and ) that after the segmentation a number of nuclei remain in the yolk; and that eventually a secondary segmentation of the yolk takes place around these nuclei, and gives rise to a mass of yolk cells, which fill up the interior of the embryo. these cells are diagrammatically shewn in figs. and , and it is probable that they constitute the true hypoblast. their further history is given below. _formation of the organs and their relation to the germinal layers._ the segments and appendages. one of the earliest phenomena in the development is the appearance of transverse lines indicating segmentation (fig. ). the transverse lines are apparently caused by shallow superficial grooves, and also in many cases by the division of the mesoblastic bands into separate somites. the most anterior line marks off a præ-oral segment, which soon sends out two lateral wings--the procephalic lobes. the remaining segments are at first fairly uniform. their number does not, however, appear to be very constant. so far as is known they never exceed seventeen, and this number is probably the typical one (figs. and ). in diptera the number appears to be usually fifteen though it may be only fourteen. in lepidoptera and in apis there appear to be sixteen segments. these and other variations affect only the number of the segments which form the abdomen of the adult. [fig. . embryo of hydrophilus piceus viewed from the ventral surface. (after kowalevsky.) _pc.l._ procephalic lobe.] the appendages arise as paired pouch-like outgrowths of the epiblast and mesoblast; and their number and the order of their appearance are subject to considerable variation, the meaning of which is not yet clear. as a rule they arise subsequently to the segmentation of the parts of the body to which they belong. there is always formed one pair of appendages which spring from the lateral lobes of the procephalic region, or from the boundary line between these and the median ventral part of this region. these appendages are the antennæ. they have in the embryo a distinctly ventral position as compared to that which they have in the adult. in the median ventral part of the procephalic region there arises the labrum (fig. , _ls_). it is formed by the coalescence of a pair of prominences very similar to true appendages, though it is probable that they have not this value[ ]. [ ] if these structures are equivalent to appendages, they may correspond to one of the pairs of antennæ of crustacea. from a figure by fritz müller of the larva of calotermes (_jenaische zeit_. vol. xi. pl. , fig. ) it would appear that they lie in front of the true antennæ, and would therefore on the above hypothesis correspond to the first pair of antennæ of crustacea. bütschli (no. ) describes in the bee a pair of prominences immediately in front of the mandibles which eventually unite to form a kind of underlip; they in some ways resemble true appendages. [fig. . two stages in the development of hydrophilus piceus. (from gegenbaur, after kowalevsky.) _ls._ labrum; _at._ antenna; _md._ mandible; _mx._ maxilla i.; _li._ maxilla ii.; _p´ p´´ p´´´._ feet; _a._ anus.] the antennæ themselves can hardly be considered to have the same morphological value as the succeeding appendages. they are rather equivalent to paired processes of the præ-oral lobes of the chætopoda. from the first three post-oral segments there grow out the mandibles and two pairs of maxillæ, and from the three following segments the three pairs of thoracic appendages. in many insects (cf. hydrophilus) a certain number of appendages of the same nature as the anterior ones are visible in the embryo on the abdominal segments, a fact which shews that insects are descended from ancestors with more than three pairs of ambulatory appendages. in apis according to bütschli (no. ) all the abdominal segments are provided with appendages, which always remain in a very rudimentary condition. all trace of them as well as of the thoracic appendages is lost by the time the embryo is hatched. in the phytophagous hymenoptera the larva is provided with - pairs of legs. in the embryo of lepidoptera there would appear from kowalevsky's figures to be rudiments of ten pairs of post-thoracic appendages. in the caterpillar of this group there are at the maximum five pairs of such rudimentary feet, viz. a pair on the rd, th, th, and th, and on the last abdominal segment. the embryos of hydrophilus (fig. ), mantis, etc. are also provided with additional appendages. in various thysanura small prominences are present on more or fewer of the abdominal segments (fig. ), which may probably be regarded as rudimentary feet. whether all or any of the appendages of various kinds connected with the hindermost segments belong to the same category as the legs is very doubtful. their usual absence in the embryo or in any case their late appearance appears to me against so regarding them; but bütschli is of opinion that in the bee the parts of the sting are related genetically to the appendages of the penultimate and antepenultimate abdominal segments, and this view is to some extent supported by more recent observations (kraepelin, etc.), and if it holds true for the bee must be regarded as correct for other cases also. as to the order of the appearance of the appendages observations are as yet too scanty to form any complete scheme. in many cases all the appendages appear approximately at the same moment, _e.g._ hydrophilus, but whether this holds good for all coleoptera is by no means certain. in apis the appendages are stated by bütschli to arise simultaneously, but according to kowalevsky the two mouth appendages first appear, then the antennæ, and still later the thoracic appendages. in the diptera the mouth appendages are first formed, and either simultaneously with these, or slightly later, the antennæ. in the hemiptera and libellulidæ the thoracic appendages are the first to be formed, and the second pair of maxillæ makes its appearance before the other cephalic appendages. the history of the changes in the embryonic appendages during the attainment of the adult condition is beyond the scope of this treatise, but it may be noted that the second pair of maxillæ are relatively very large in the embryo, and not infrequently (libellula, etc.) have more resemblance to the ambulatory than to the masticatory appendages. [fig. . figures illustrating aquatic respiration in insects. (after gegenbaur.) a. hinder portion of the body of ephemera vulgata. _a._ longitudinal tracheal trunks; _b._ alimentary canal; _c._ tracheal gills. b. larva of Æschna grandis. _a._ superior longitudinal tracheal trunks; _b._ their anterior end; _c._ portion branching on proctodæum; _o._ eyes. c. alimentary canal of the same larva from the side. _a, b,_ and _c._ as in b; _d._ inferior tracheal trunk; _e._ transverse branches between upper and lower tracheal trunks.] the exact nature of the wings and their relation to the other segments is still very obscure. they appear as dorsal leaf-like appendages on the nd and rd thoracic segments, and are in many respects similar to the tracheal gills of the larvæ of ephemeridæ and phryganidæ (fig. a), of which they are supposed by gegenbaur and lubbock to be modifications. the undoubtedly secondary character of the _closed_ tracheal system of larvæ with tracheal gills tells against this view. fritz müller finds in the larvæ of calotermes rugosus (one of the termites) that peculiar and similar dorsal appendages are present on the two anterior of the thoracic segments. they are without tracheæ. the anterior atrophies, and the posterior acquires tracheæ and gives rise to the first pair of wings. the second pair of wings is formed from small processes on the third thoracic segment like those on the other two. fritz müller concludes from these facts that the wings of insects are developed from dorsal processes of the body, not equivalent to the ventral appendages. what the primitive function of these appendages was is not clear. fritz müller suggests that they may have been employed as respiratory organs in the passage from an aqueous to a terrestrial existence, when the termite ancestors lived in moist habitations--a function for which processes supplied with blood-channels would be well adapted. the undoubted affinity of insects to myriapods, coupled with the discovery by moseley of a tracheal system in peripatus, is however nearly fatal to the view that insects can have sprung directly from aquatic ancestors not provided with tracheæ. but although this suggestion of fritz müller cannot be accepted, it is still possible that the processes discovered by him may have been the earliest rudiments of wings, which were employed first as organs of propulsion by a water-inhabiting insect ancestor which had not yet acquired the power of flying. the nervous system. the nervous system arises entirely from the epiblast; but the development of the præ-oral and post-oral sections may be best considered separately. the post-oral section, or ventral cord of the adult, arises as two longitudinal thickenings of the epiblast, one on each side of the median line (fig. b, _vn_), which are subsequently split off from the superficial skin and give rise to the two lateral strands of the ventral cord. at a later period they undergo a differentiation into ganglia and connecting cords. between these two embryonic nerve cords there is at first a shallow furrow, which soon becomes a deep groove (fig. c). at this stage the differentiation of the lateral elements into ganglia and commissures takes place, and, according to hatschek (no. ), the median groove becomes in the region of the ganglia converted into a canal, the walls of which soon fuse with those of the ganglionic enlargements of the lateral cords, and connect them across the middle line. between the ganglia on the other hand the median groove undergoes atrophy, becoming first a solid cord interposed between the lateral strands of the nervous system, and finally disappearing without giving rise to any part of the nervous system. it is probable that hatschek is entirely mistaken about the entrance of a median element into the ventral cord, and that the appearances he has described are due to shrinkage. in spiders the absence of a median element can be shewn with great certainty, and, as already stated, this element is not present in peripatus. hatschek states that in the mandibular segment the median element is absorbed, and that the two lateral cords of that part give rise to the oesophageal commissures, while the sub-oesophageal ganglion is formed from the fusion of the ganglia of the two maxillary segments. [fig. . three transverse sections through the embryo of hydrophilus. (after kowalevsky.) a. transverse section through the larva represented in fig. a. b. transverse section through a somewhat older embryo in the region of one of the stigmata. c. transverse section through the larva represented in fig. b. _vn._ ventral nerve cord; _am._ amnion and serous membrane; _me._ mesoblast; _me.s._ somatic mesoblast; _hy._ hypoblast(?); _yk._ yolk cells (true hypoblast); _st._ stigma of trachea.] the præ-oral portion of the nervous system consists entirely of the supra-oesophageal ganglion. it is formed, according to hatschek, of three parts. firstly and mainly, of a layer separated from the thickened inner part of the cephalic lobe on each side; secondly, of an anterior continuation of the lateral cords; and thirdly, of a pit of skin invaginated on each side close to the dorsal border of the antennæ. this pit is at first provided with a lumen, which is subsequently obliterated; while the walls of the pit become converted into true ganglion cells. the two supra-oesophageal ganglia remain disconnected on the dorsal side till quite the close of embryonic life. the tracheæ and salivary glands. the tracheæ, as was first shewn by bütschli (no. ), arise as independent segmentally arranged paired invaginations of the epiblast (fig. b and c, _st_). their openings are always placed on the outer sides of the appendages of their segments, where such are present. although in the adult stigmata are never found in the space between the prothorax and head[ ], in the embryo and the larva tracheal invaginations may be developed in all the thoracic (and possibly in the three jaw-bearing segments) and in all the abdominal segments except the two posterior. [ ] in smynthurus, one of the collembola, there are, according to lubbock, only two stigmata, which are placed on the head. in the embryo of the lepidoptera, according to hatschek (no. ), there are pairs of stigmata, belonging to the segments of the body behind the mouth; but tichomiroff states that hatschek is in error in making this statement for the foremost post-oral segments. the last two segments are without stigmata. in the larvæ of lepidoptera as well as those of many hymenoptera, coleoptera and diptera, stigmata are present on all the postcephalic segments except the nd and rd thoracic and the two last abdominal. in apis there are eleven pairs of tracheal invaginations according to kowalevsky (no. ), but according to bütschli (no. ) only ten, the prothorax being without one. in the bee they appear simultaneously, and before the appendages. the blind ends of the tracheal invaginations frequently (_e.g._ apis) unite together into a common longitudinal canal, which forms a longitudinal tracheal stem. in other cases (_e.g._ gryllotalpa, _dohrn_, no. ) they remain distinct, and each tracheal stem has a system of branches of its own. the development of the tracheæ strongly supports the view, arrived at by moseley from his investigations on peripatus, that they are modifications of cutaneous glands. the salivary and spinning glands are epiblastic structures, which in their mode of development are very similar to the tracheæ, and perhaps have a similar origin. the salivary glands arise as paired epiblastic invaginations, not, as might be expected, of the stomodæum, but of the ventral plate behind the mouth on the inner side of the mandibles. at first independent, they eventually unite in a common duct, which falls into the mouth. the spinning glands arise on the inner side of the second pair of maxillæ in apis and lepidoptera, and form elongated glands extending through nearly the whole length of the body. they are very similar in their structure and development to salivary glands, and are only employed during larval life. they no doubt resemble the mucous glands of the oral papillæ of peripatus, with which they have been compared by moseley. the mucous glands of peripatus may perhaps be the homologous organs of the first pair of maxillæ, for the existence of which there appears to be some evidence amongst insects. mesoblast. it has been stated that the mesoblast becomes divided in the region of the body into two lateral bands (fig. a). these bands in many, if not all forms, become divided into a series of somites corresponding with the segments of the body. in each of them a cavity appears--the commencing perivisceral cavity--which divides them into a somatic plate in contact with the epiblast, and a splanchnic plate in contact with the hypoblast (fig. ). in the interspaces between the segments the mesoblast is continuous across the median ventral line. the mesoblast is prolonged into each of the appendages as these are formed, and in the appendages there is present a central cavity. by metschnikoff these cavities are stated to be continuous, as in myriapods and arachnida, with those of the somites; but by hatschek (no. ) they are stated to be independent of those in the somites and to be open to the yolk. the further details of the history of the mesoblast are very imperfectly known, and the fullest account we have is that by dohrn (no. ) for gryllotalpa. it would appear that the mesoblast grows round and encloses the dorsal side of the yolk earlier than the epiblast. in gryllotalpa it forms a pulsating membrane. as the epiblast extends dorsalwards the median dorsal part of the membrane is constricted off as a tube which forms the heart. at the same time the free space between the pulsating membrane and the yolk is obliterated, but transverse passages are left at the lines between the somites, through which the blood passes from the ventral part of the body to corresponding openings in the wall of the heart. the greater part of the membrane gives rise to the muscles of the trunk. ventrally the mesoblastic bands soon meet across the median line. the cavities in the appendages become obliterated and their mesoblastic walls form the muscles, etc. the cavities in the separate mesoblastic somites also cease to be distinctly circumscribed. the splanchnic mesoblast follows the hypoblast in its growth, and gives rise to the connective tissue and muscular parts of the walls of the alimentary tract. the mesoblastic wall of the proctodæum is probably formed independently of the mesoblastic somites. in the head the mesoblast is stated to form at first a median ventral mass, which does not pass into the procephalic lobe; though it assists in forming both the antennæ and upper lip. the alimentary canal. the alimentary tract of insects is formed of three distinct sections (fig. )--a mesenteron or middle section (_me_), a stomodæum (_st_) and a proctodæum (_an_). the stomodæum and proctodæum are invaginations of the epiblast, while the mesenteron is lined by the hypoblast. the distinction between the three is usually well marked in the adult by the epiblastic derivatives being lined by chitin. the stomodæum consists of mouth, oesophagus, crop, and proventriculus or gizzard, when such are present. the mesenteron includes the stomach, and is sometimes (orthoptera, etc.) provided at its front end with pyloric diverticula--posteriorly it terminates just in front of the malpighian bodies. these latter fall into the proctodæum, which includes the whole of the region from their insertion to the anus. the oral invagination appears nearly coincidently with the first formation of segments at the front end of the groove between the lateral nerve cords, and the anal invagination appears slightly later at the hindermost end of the ventral plate. the malpighian bodies arise as _two pairs of outgrowths of the epiblast of the proctodæum_, whether solid at first is not certain. the subsequent increase which usually takes place in their number is due to sproutings (at first solid) of the two original vessels. the glandular walls of the mesenteron are formed from the hypoblast; but the exact origin of the layer has not been thoroughly worked out in all cases. in hydrophilus it is stated by kowalevsky (no. ) to appear as two sheets split off from the lateral masses of mesoblast, which gradually grow round the yolk, and a similar mode of formation would seem to hold good for apis. tichomiroff (no. ) confirms kowalevsky on this point, and further states that these two masses meet first ventrally and much later on the dorsal side. in lepidoptera, on the other hand, hatschek finds that the hypoblast arises as a median mass of polygonal cells in the anterior part of the ventral plate. these cells increase by absorbing material from the yolk, and then gradually extend themselves and grow round the yolk. dohrn (no. ) believes that the yolk cells, the origin of which has already been spoken of, give rise to the hypoblastic walls of the mesenteron, and this view appears to be shared by graber (no. ), though the latter author holds that some of the yolk cells are derived by budding from the blastoderm[ ]. [ ] graber's view on this point may probably be explained by supposing that he has mistaken a passage of yolk cells into the blastoderm for a passage of blastoderm cells into the yolk. the former occurrence takes place, as i have found, largely in spiders, and probably therefore also occurs in insects. from the analogy of spiders i am inclined to accept dohrn's and graber's view. it appears to me probable that kowalevsky's observations are to be explained by supposing that the hypoblast plates which he believes to be split off from the mesoblast are really separated from the yolk. it will be convenient to add here a few details to what has already been stated as to the origin of the yolk cells. as mentioned above, the central yolk breaks up at a period, which is not constant in the different forms, into polygonal or rounded masses, in each of which a nucleus has in many instances been clearly demonstrated although in others such nuclei have not been made out. it is probable however that nuclei are in all cases really present, and that these masses must be therefore regarded as cells. they constitute in fact the yolk cells. the periphery of the yolk breaks up into cells while the centre is still quite homogeneous. the hypoblastic walls of the mesenteron appear to be formed in the first instance laterally (fig. b and c, _hy_). they then meet ventrally (fig. a and b), and finally close in the mesenteron on the dorsal side. the mesenteron is at first a closed sack, independent of both stomodæum and proctodæum; and in the case of the bee it so remains even after the close of embryonic life. the only glandular organs of the mesenteron are the not unfrequent pyloric tubes, which are simple outgrowths of its anterior end. it is possible that in some instances they may be formed _in situ_ around the lateral parts of the yolk. in many instances the whole of the yolk is enclosed in the walls of the mesenteron, but in other cases, as in chironomus and simulia (weismann, no. ; metschnikoff, no. ), part of the yolk may be left between the ventral wall of the mesenteron and the ventral plate. in chironomus the mass of yolk external to the mesenteron takes the form of a median and two lateral streaks. some of the yolk cells either prior to the establishment of the mesenteron, or derived from the unenclosed portions of the yolk, pass into the developing organs (dohrn, ) and serve as a kind of nutritive cell. they also form blood corpuscles and connective-tissue elements. such yolk cells may be compared to the peculiar bodies described by reichenbach in astacus, which form the secondary mesoblast. similar cells play a very important part in the development of spiders. generative organs. the observations on the development of the generative organs are somewhat scanty. in diptera certain cells--known as the pole cells--are stated by both metschnikoff (no. ) and leuckart to give rise to the generative organs. the cells in question (in chironomus and musca vomitoria, weismann, no. ) appear at the hinder end of the ovum before any other cells of the blastoderm. they soon separate from the blastoderm and increase by division. in the embryo, produced by the viviparous larva of cecidomyia, there is at first a single pole cell, which eventually divides into four, and the resulting cells become enclosed within the blastoderm. they next divide into two masses, which are stated by metschnikoff (no. ) to become surrounded by indifferent embryonic cells[ ]. their protoplasm then fuses, and their nuclei divide, and they give rise to the larval ovaries, for which the enclosing cells form the tunics. [ ] this point requires further observation. in _aphis_ metschnikoff (no. ) detected at a very early stage a mass of cells which give rise to the generative organs. these cells are situated at the hind end of the ventral plate; and, except in the case of one of the cells which gives rise by division to a green mass adjoining the fat body, the protoplasm of the separate cells fuses into a syncytium. towards the close of embryonic life the syncytium assumes a horse-shoe form. the mass is next divided into two, and the peripheral layer of each part gives rise to the tunic, while from the hinder extremity of each part an at first solid duct--the egg-tube--grows out. the masses themselves form the germogens. the oviduct is formed by a coalescence of the ducts from each germogen. ganin derives the generative organs in platygaster (_vide_ p. ) from the hind end of the ventral plate close to the proctodæum; while suckow states that the generative organs are outgrowths of the proctodæum. according to these two sets of observations the generative organs would appear to have an epiblastic origin--an origin which is not incompatible with that from the pole cells. in lepidoptera the genital organs are present in the later periods of embryonic life as distinct paired organs, one on each side of the heart, in the eighth postcephalic segment. they are elliptical bodies with a duct passing off from the posterior end in the female or from the middle in the male. the egg-tubes or seminal tubes are outgrowths of the elliptical bodies. in other insects the later stages in the development of the generative organs closely resemble those in the lepidoptera, and the organs are usually distinctly visible in the later stages of embryonic life. it may probably be laid down, in spite of some of metschnikoff's observations above quoted, that the original generative mass gives rise to both the true genital glands and their ducts. it appears also to be fairly clear that _the genital glands of both sexes have an identical origin_. _special types of larvæ._ certain of the hymenopterous forms, which deposit their eggs in the eggs or larvæ of other insects, present very peculiar modifications in their development. platygaster, which lays its egg in the larvæ of cecidomyia, undergoes perhaps the most remarkable development amongst these forms. it has been studied especially by ganin (no. ), from whom the following account is taken. [fig. . a series of stages in the development of platygaster. (from lubbock; after ganin.)] the very first stages are unfortunately but imperfectly known, and the interpretations offered by ganin do not in all cases appear quite satisfactory. in the earliest stage after being laid the egg is enclosed in a capsule produced into a stalk (fig. a). in the interior of the egg there soon appears a single spherical body, regarded by ganin as a cell (fig. b). in the next stage three similar bodies appear in the vitellus, no doubt derived from the first one (fig. c). the central one presents somewhat different characters to the two others, and, according to ganin, gives rise to _the whole embryo_. the two peripheral bodies increase by division, and soon appear as nuclei imbedded in a layer of protoplasm (fig. d, e, f). the layer so formed serves as a covering for the embryo, regarded by ganin as equivalent to the amnion (? serous membrane) of other insect embryos. in the embryo cell new cells are stated to be formed by a process of endogenous cell formation (fig. d, e). it appears probable that ganin has mistaken nuclei for cells in the earlier stages, and that a blastoderm is formed as in other insects, and that this becomes divided in a way not explained into a superficial layer which gives rise to the serous envelope, and a deeper layer which forms the embryo. however this may be, a differentiation into an epiblastic layer of columnar cells and a hypoblastic layer of more rounded cells soon becomes apparent in the body of the embryo. subsequently to this the embryo grows rapidly, till by a deep transverse constriction on the ventral surface it becomes divided into an anterior cephalothoracic portion and a posterior caudal portion (fig. f). the cephalothorax grows in breadth, and near its anterior end an invagination appears, which gives rise to the mouth and oesophagus. on the ventral side of the cephalothorax there is first formed a pair of claw-like appendages on each side of the mouth, then a posterior pair of appendages near the junction of the cephalothorax and abdomen, and lastly a pair of short conical antennæ in front. at the same time the hind end of the abdomen becomes bifid, and gives rise to a fork-like caudal appendage; and at a slightly later period four grooves make their appearance in the caudal region, and divide this part of the embryo into successive segments. while these changes have been taking place in the general form of the embryo, the epiblast has given rise to a cuticle, and the hypoblastic cells have become differentiated into a central hypoblastic axis--the mesenteron--and a surrounding layer of mesoblast, some of the cells of which form longitudinal muscles. with this stage closes what may be regarded as the embryonic development of platygaster. the embryo becomes free from the amnion, and presents itself as a larva, which from its very remarkable characters has been spoken of as the cyclops larva by ganin. the larvæ of three species have been described by ganin, which are represented in fig. a, b, c. these larvæ are strangely dissimilar to the ordinary hexapod type, whether larval or adult. they are formed of a cephalothoracic shield with the three pairs of appendages (_a_, _kf_, _lfg_), the development of which has already been described, and of an abdomen formed of five segments, the last of which bears the somewhat varying caudal appendages. the nervous system is as yet undeveloped. the larvæ move about in the tissues of their hosts by means of their claws. the first larval condition is succeeded by a second with very different characters, and the passage from the first to the second is accompanied by an ecdysis. the ecdysis commences at the caudal extremity, and the whole of the last segment is completely thrown off. as the ecdysis extends forwards the tail loses its segmentation and becomes strongly compressed, the appendages of the cephalothorax are thrown off, and the whole embryo assumes an oval form without any sharp distinction into different regions and without the _slightest indication of segmentation_ (fig. d). of the internal changes which take place during the shedding of the cuticle, the first is the formation of a proctodæum (_gh_) by an invagination, which ends blindly in contact with the mesenteron. shortly after this a thickening of the epiblast (_bsm_) appears along the ventral surface, which gives rise mainly to the ventral nerve cord; this thickening is continuous behind with the epiblast which is invaginated to form the proctodæum, and in front is prolonged on each side into two procephalic lobes, in which there are also thickenings of the epiblast (_gsae_), which become converted into supra-oesophageal ganglia, and possibly other parts. [fig. . a series of stages in the development of platygaster. (from lubbock; after ganin.) a. b. c. cyclops larvæ of three species of platygaster. d. second larval stage. e. third larval stage. _mo._ mouth; _a._ antenna; _hf._ hooked feet; _lfg._ lateral feet; _f._ branches of tail; _ul._ lower lip; _slkf._ oesophagus; _gsae._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _bsm._ ventral epiblastic plate; _lm._ lateral muscles (the letters also point in d to the salivary glands); _gh._ proctodæum; _ga._ generative organs; _md._ mandibles; _ag._ ducts of salivary glands; _sp._ (in e) salivary glands; _mls._ stomach; _ed._ intestine; _ew._ rectum; _ao._ anus; _tr._ tracheæ; _fk._ fat body.] towards the close of the second larval period the muscles (_lm_) become segmentally arranged, and give indications of the segmentation which becomes apparent in the third larval period. the third and last larval stage (fig. e) of platygaster, during which it still remains in the tissues of its host, presents no very peculiar features. the passage from the second to the third form is accompanied by an ecdysis. remarkable as are the larvæ just described, there can i think be no reason, considering their parasitic habits, for regarding them as ancestral. _metamorphosis and heterogamy._ metamorphosis. the majority of insects are born in a condition in which they obviously differ from their parents. the extent of this difference is subject to very great variations, but as a rule the larvæ pass through a very marked metamorphosis before reaching the adult state. the complete history of this metamorphosis in the different orders of insects involves a far too considerable amount of zoological detail to be dealt with in this work; and i shall confine myself to a few observations on the general characters and origin of the metamorphosis, and of the histological processes which take place during its occurrence[ ]. [ ] for a systematic account of this subject the reader is referred to lubbock (no. ) and to graber (no. ). he will find in weismann (nos. and ) a detailed account of the internal changes which take place. in the aptera the larva differs from the adult only in the number of facets in the cornea and joints in the antennæ. in most orthoptera and hemiptera the larvæ differ from the adult in the absence of wings and in other points. the wings, etc., are gradually acquired in the course of a series of successive moultings. in the ephemeridæ and libellulidæ, however, the metamorphosis is more complicated, in that the larvæ have provisional tracheal gills which are exuviated before the final moult. in the ephemeridæ there are usually a great number of moultings; the tracheal gills appear after the second moult, and the rudiments of the wings when the larva is about half grown. larval life may last for a very long period. in all the other groups of insects, viz. the diptera, neuroptera, coleoptera, lepidoptera, and hymenoptera, the larva passes--with a few exceptions--through a quiescent stage, in which it is known as a pupa, before it attains the adult stage. these forms are known as the holometabola. in the diptera the larvæ are apodous. in the true flies (muscidæ) they are without a distinct head and have the jaws replaced by hooks. in the tipulidæ there is on the other hand a well-developed head with the normal appendages. the pupæ of the muscidæ are quiescent, and are enclosed in the skin of the larva which shrinks and forms a firm oval case. in the tipulidæ the larval skin is thrown off at the pupa stage, and in some cases the pupæ continue to move about. the larvæ of the neuroptera are hexapodous voracious forms. when the larva becomes a pupa all the external organs of the imago are already established. the pupa is often invested in a cocoon. it is usually quiescent, though sometimes it begins to move about shortly before the imago emerges. in the coleoptera there is considerable variety in the larval forms. as a rule the larvæ are hexapodous and resemble wingless insects. but some herbivorous larvæ (_e.g._ the larva of melolontha) closely resemble true caterpillars, and there are also grub-like larvæ without feet (curculio) which resemble the larvæ of hymenoptera. the pupa is quiescent, but has all the parts of the future beetle plainly visible. the most interesting larvæ among the coleoptera are those of sitaris, one of the meloidæ (fabre, no. ). they leave the egg as active hexapodous larvæ which attach themselves to the bodies of hymenoptera, and are thence transported to a cell filled with honey. here they eat the ovum of the hymenopterous form. they then undergo an ecdysis, in which they functionally lose their appendages, retaining however small rudiments of them, and become grubs. they feed on the honey and after a further ecdysis become pupæ. in the lepidoptera the larva has the well-known form of a caterpillar. the caterpillars have strong jaws, adapted for biting vegetable tissues, which are quite unlike the oral appendages of the adult. they have three pairs of jointed thoracic legs, and a variable number (usually five) of pairs of rudimentary abdominal legs--the so-called pro-legs. the larva undergoes numerous ecdyses, and the external parts of the adult such as the wings, etc., are formed underneath the chitinous exoskeleton before the pupa stage. the pupa is known as a chrysalis and in some lepidoptera is enveloped in a cocoon. the hymenoptera present considerable variations in the character of the larvæ. in the aculeata, many entomophaga, the cynipidæ, etc., the larvæ are apodous grubs, incapable of going in search of their food; but in the siricidæ they are hexapodous forms like caterpillars, which are sometimes even provided with pro-legs. in some of the entomophaga the larvæ have very remarkable characters which have already been described in a special section, _vide_ pp. , . before proceeding to the consideration of the value of the various larval forms thus shortly enumerated, it is necessary to say a few words as to the internal changes which take place during the occurrence of the above metamorphosis. in the simplest cases, such as those of the orthoptera and hemiptera, where the metamorphosis is confined to the gradual formation of the wings, etc. in a series of moults, the wings first appear as two folds of the epidermis beneath the cuticle on the two posterior thoracic segments. at the next moult these processes become covered by the freshly formed cuticle, and appear as small projections. at every successive moult these projections become more prominent owing to a growth in the epidermis which has taken place in the preceding interval. accompanying the formation of such organs as the wings, internal changes necessarily take place in the arrangement of the muscles, etc. of the thorax, which proceed _pari passu_ with the formation of the organs to which they belong. the characters of the metamorphosis in such forms as the ephemeridæ only differ from the above in the fact that provisional organs are thrown off at the same time that the new ones are formed. in the case of the holometabola the internal phenomena of the metamorphosis are of a very much more remarkable character. the details of our knowledge are largely due to weismann (nos. and ). the larvæ of the holometabola have for the most part a very different mode of life to the adults. a simple series of transitions between the two is impossible, because intermediate forms would be for the most part incapable of existing. the transition from the larval to the adult state is therefore necessarily a more or less sudden one, and takes place during the quiescent pupa condition. many of the external adult organs are however formed prior to the pupa stage, but do not become visible on the surface. the simplest mode of holometabolic metamorphosis may be illustrated by the development of corethra plumicornis, one of the tipulidæ. this larva, like that of other tipulidæ, is without thoracic appendages, but before the last larval moult, and therefore shortly before the pupa stage, certain structures are formed, which weismann has called imaginal discs. these imaginal discs are in corethra simply invaginations of the epidermis. there are in the thorax six pairs of such structures, three dorsal and three ventral. the three ventral are attached to the terminations of the sensory nerves, and the limbs of the imago are formed as simple outgrowths of them, which as they grow in length take a spiral form. in the interior of these outgrowths are formed the muscles, tracheæ, etc., of the limbs; which are believed by weismann (it appears to me without sufficient ground) to be derived from a proliferation of the cells of the neurilemma. the wings are formed from the two posterior dorsal imaginal discs. the hypodermis of the larva passes directly into that of the imago. the pupa stage of corethra is relatively very short, and the changes in the internal parts which take place during it are not considerable. the larval abdominal muscles pass for the most part unchanged into those of the imago, while the special thoracic muscles connected with the wings, etc., develop directly during the latest larval period from cords of cells already formed in the embryo. in the lepidoptera the changes in the passage from the larval to the adult state are not very much more considerable than those in corethra. similar imaginal discs give rise during the later larval periods to the wings, etc. the internal changes during the longer pupa period are somewhat more considerable. important modifications and new formations arise in connection with the alimentary tract, the nervous and muscular systems. the changes which take place in the true flies (muscidæ) are far more complicated than either those in corethra or in the lepidoptera. the abdomen of the larva of musca becomes bodily converted into the abdomen of the imago as in the above types, but the whole epidermis and appendages of the head and thorax are derived from imaginal discs which are formed within and (so far as is known) independently of the epidermis of the larva or embryo. these imaginal discs are simple masses of apparently indifferent cells, which for the most part appear at the close of embryonic life, and are attached to nerves or tracheæ. they grow in size during larval life, but during the relatively long pupa stage they unite together to give rise to a continuous epidermis, from which the appendages grow out as processes. the epidermis of the anterior part of the larva is simply thrown off, and has no share in forming the epidermis of the adult. there are a pair of cephalic imaginal discs and six pairs of thoracic discs. two pairs, a dorsal and a ventral, give rise to each thoracic ring, and the appendages attached to it. though, as mentioned above, no evidence has yet been produced to shew that the imaginal discs of musca are derived from the embryonic epiblast, yet their mode of growth and eventual fate proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are homologous with the imaginal discs of corethra. their earliest origin is well worth further investigation. the metamorphosis of the internal organs is still more striking than that of the external. there is a disruption, total or partial, of all the internal organs except the generative organs. in the case of the alimentary tract, the malpighian vessels, the heart and the central nervous system, the disruption is of a partial kind, which has been called by weismann histolysis. the cells of these organs undergo a fatty degeneration, the nuclei alone in some cases remaining. the kind of plasma resulting from this degeneration retains the shape of the organs, and finally becomes built up again into the corresponding organs of the imago. the tracheæ, muscles and peripheral nerves, and an anterior part of the alimentary tract, are entirely disrupted. they seem to be formed again from granular cells derived from the enormous fat body. the phenomena of the development of the muscidæ are undoubtedly of rather a surprising character. leaving for the moment the question of the origin of the pupa stage to which i return below, it will be admitted on all hands that during the pupa stage the larva undergoes a series of changes which, had they taken place by slow degrees, would have involved, in such a case as musca, a complete though gradual renewal of the tissues. such being the case, the cells of the organs common to the larva and the imago would, in the natural course of things, not be the same cells as those of the larva but descendants of them. we might therefore expect to find in the rapid conversion of the larval organs into those of the adult some condensation, so to speak, of the process of ordinary cell division. such condensations are probably represented in the histolysis in the case of the internal organs, and in the formation of imaginal discs in the case of the external ones, and i think it probable that further investigation will shew that the imaginal discs of the muscidæ are derivatives of the embryonic epiblast. the above considerations by no means explain the whole of weismann's interesting observations, but an explanation is i believe to be found by following up these lines. more or less parallel phenomena to those in insects are found in the development of the platyelminthes and echinoderms. the four disc-like invaginations of the skin in many larval nemertines (_vide_ p. ), which give rise to the permanent body wall of the nemertine, may be compared to the imaginal discs. the subsequent throwing off of the skin of pilidium or larva of desor is a phenomenon like the absorption of part of the larval skin of musca. the formation of an independent skin within the first larval form in the distomeæ and in the cestoda may be compared to the apparently independent formation of the imaginal discs in musca. the fact that in a majority of instances it is possible to trace an intimate connection between the surroundings of a larva and its organization proves in the clearest way _that the characters of the majority of existing larval forms of insects have owed their origin to secondary adaptations_. a few instances will illustrate this point. [fig. . anterior half of campodea fragilis. (from gegenbaur; after palmen.) _a._ antennæ; _p._ feet; _p´._ post-thoracic rudimentary feet; _s._ stigma.] in the simplest types of metamorphosis, _e.g._ those of the orthoptera genuina, the larva has precisely the same habits as the adult. we find that a caterpillar form is assumed by phytophagous larvæ amongst the lepidoptera, hymenoptera and coleoptera. where the larva has not to go in search of its nutriment the grub-like apodous form is assumed. the existence of such an apodous larva is especially striking in the hymenoptera, in that rudiments of thoracic and abdominal appendages are present in the embryo and disappear again in the larva. the case of the larva of sitaris, already described (p. ), affords another very striking proof that the organization of the larva is adapted to its habits. it follows from the above that the development of such forms as the orthoptera genuina is more primitive than that of the holometabolous forms; a conclusion which tallies with the fact that both palæontological and anatomical evidence shew the orthoptera to be a very primitive group of insects. the above argument probably applies with still greater force to the case of the thysanura; and it seems to be probable that this group is more nearly related than any other to the primitive wingless ancestors of insects[ ]. the characters of the oral appendages in this group, the simplicity of their metamorphosis, and the presence of abdominal appendages (fig. ), all tell in favour of this view, while the resemblance of the adult to the larvæ of the pseudoneuroptera, etc., points in the same direction. the thysanura and collembola are not however to be regarded as belonging to the true stock of the ancestors of insects, but as degenerated relations of this stock; much as amphioxus and the ascidians are degenerate relations of the ancestral stock of vertebrates, and peripatus of that of the tracheata. it is probable that all these forms have succeeded in retaining their primitive characters from their degenerate habits, which prevented them from entering into competition in the struggle for existence with their more highly endowed relatives. while in a general way it is clear that the larval forms of insects cannot be expected to throw much light on the nature of insect ancestors, it does nevertheless appear to me probable that such forms as the caterpillars of the lepidoptera are not without a meaning in this respect. it is easy to conceive that even a secondary larval form may have been produced by the prolongation of one of the embryonic stages; and the general similarity of a caterpillar to peripatus, and the retention by it of post-thoracic appendages, are facts which appear to favour this view of the origin of the caterpillar form. [ ] brauer and lubbock (no. ) have pointed out the primitive characters of these forms, especially of campodea. the two most obscure points which still remain to be dealt with in the metamorphosis of insects are ( ) the origin of the quiescent pupa stage; ( ) the frequent dissimilarity between the masticatory apparatus of the larva and adult. these two points may be conveniently dealt with together, and some valuable remarks about them will be found in lubbock (no. ). on grounds already indicated it may be considered certain that the groups of insects without a pupa stage, and with a larva very similarly organised to the adult, preceded the existing holometabolic groups. the starting point in the metamorphosis of the latter groups was therefore something like that of the orthoptera. suppose it became an advantage to a species that the larva and adult should feed in a somewhat different way, a difference in the character of their mouth parts would soon make itself manifest; and, since an intermediate type of mouth parts would probably be disadvantageous, there would be a tendency to concentrate into a single moult the transition from the larval to the adult form of mouth parts. at each ordinary moult there is a short period of quiescence, and this period of quiescence would naturally become longer in the important moult at which the change in the mouth parts was effected. in this way a rudimentary pupa stage might be started. the pupa stage, once started, might easily become a more important factor in the metamorphosis. if the larva and imago diverged still more from each other, a continually increasing amount of change would have to be effected at the pupa stage. it would probably be advantageous to the species that the larva should not have rudimentary functionless wings; and the establishment of the wings as external organs would therefore become deferred to the pupa stage. the same would probably apply to other organs. insects usually pass through the pupa stage in winter in cold climates and during the dry season in the tropics, this stage serving therefore apparently for the protection of the species during the inclement season of the year. these facts are easily explained on the supposition that the pupa stage has become secondarily adapted to play a part in the economy of the species quite different from that to which it owes its origin. heterogamy. the cases of alternations of generations amongst insects all fall under the heading already defined in the introduction as heterogamy. heterogamy amongst insects has been rendered possible by the existence of parthenogenesis, which, as stated in the introduction, has been taken hold of by natural selection, and has led to the production of generations of parthenogenetic forms, by which a clear economy in reproduction is effected. parthenogenesis without heterogamy occurs in a large number of forms. in bees, wasps, and a sawfly (nematus ventricosus) the unfertilized ova give rise to males. in two lepidopterous genera (psyche and solenobia) the unfertilized ova give rise mainly, if not entirely, to females. heterogamy occurs in none of the above types, but in psyche and solenobia males are only occasionally found, so that a series of generations producing female young from unfertilized ova are followed by a generation producing young of both sexes from fertilized ova. it would be interesting to know if the unimpregnated female would not after a certain number of generations give rise to both males and females; such an occurrence might be anticipated on grounds of analogy. in the cases of true heterogamy parthenogenesis has become confined to special generations, which differ in their character from the generations which reproduce themselves sexually. the parthenogenetic generations generally flourish during the season when food is abundant; while the sexual generations occur at intervals which are often secondarily regulated by the season, supply of food, etc. a very simple case of this kind occurs, if we may trust the recent researches of lichtenstein[ ], in certain gall insects (cynipidæ). he finds that the female of a form known as spathegaster baccarum, of which both males and females are plentiful, pricks a characteristic gall in certain leaves, in which she deposits the fertilized eggs. the eggs from these galls give rise to a winged and apparently adult form, which is not, however, spathegaster, but is a species considered to belong to a distinct genus known as neuroterus ventricularis. only females of neuroterus are found, and they lay unfertilized ova in peculiar galls which develop into spathegaster baccarum. here we have a true case of heterogamy, the females which produce parthenogenetically having become differentiated from those which produce sexually. another interesting type of heterogamy is that which has been long known in the aphides. in the autumn impregnated eggs are deposited by females, which give rise in the course of the spring to females which produce parthenogenetically and viviparously. the viviparous females always differ from the females which lay the fertilized eggs. the generative organs are of course differently constituted, and the ova of the viviparous females are much smaller than those of the oviparous females, as is generally the case in closely allied viviparous and oviparous forms; but in addition the former are usually without wings, while the latter are winged. the reverse is however occasionally the case. an indefinite number of generations of viviparous females may be produced if they are artificially kept warm and supplied with food; but in the course of nature the viviparous females produce in the autumn males and females which lay eggs with firm shells, and so preserve the species through the winter. the heterogamy of the allied coccidæ is practically the same as that of the aphidæ. in the case of chermes and phylloxera the parthenogenetic generations lay their eggs in the normal way. [ ] _petites nouvelles entomologiques_, may, . the complete history of phylloxera quercus has been worked out by balbiani (no. ). the apterous females during the summer lay eggs developing parthenogenetically into apterous females, which continue the same mode of reproduction. in the autumn, however, the eggs which are laid give rise in part to winged forms and in part to apterous forms. both of these forms lay smaller and larger eggs, which develop respectively into very minute males and females without digestive organs. the fertilized eggs laid by these forms probably give rise to the parthenogenetic females. a remarkable case of heterogamy accompanied by pædogenesis was discovered by wagner to take place in certain species of cecydomyia (miastor), a genus of the diptera. the female lays a few eggs in the bark of trees, etc. these eggs develop in the winter into larvæ, in which ovaries are early formed. the ova become detached into the body cavity, surrounded by their follicles, and grow at the cost of the follicles. they soon commence to undergo a true development, and on becoming hatched they remain for some time in the body cavity of the parent, and are nourished at the expense of its viscera. they finally leave the empty skin of their parent, and subsequently reproduce a fresh batch of larvæ in the same way. after several generations the larvæ undergo in the following summer a metamorphosis, and develop into the sexual form. another case of pædogenesis is that of the larvæ of chironomus, which have been shewn by grimm (no. ) to lay eggs which develop exactly in the same way as fertilized eggs into larvæ. bibliography. ( ) m. balbiani. "observations s. la reproduction d. phylloxera du chêne." _an. sc. nat._ ser. v. vol. xix. . ( ) e. bessels. "studien ü. d. entwicklung d. sexualdrüsen bei den lepidoptera." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xvii. . ( ) alex. brandt. "beiträge zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. libellulida u. hemiptera, mit besonderer berücksichtigung d. embryonalhüllen derselben." _mém. ac. pétersbourg_, ser. vii. vol. xiii. . ( ) alex. brandt. _ueber das ei u. seine bildungsstätte_. leipzig, . ( ) o. bütschli. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. biene." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xx. . ( ) h. dewitz. "bau u. entwicklung d. stachels, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vols. xxv. and xxviii. and . ( ) h. dewitz. "beiträge zur kenntniss d. postembryonalentwicklung d. gliedmassen bei den insecten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ xxx. supplement. . ( ) a. dohrn. "notizen zur kenntniss d. insectenentwicklung." _zeitschrift f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxvi. . ( ) m. fabre. 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"faltenblatt an d. embryonen d. gattung chironomus." _arch. f. mikr. anat._ vol. ii. . ( ) r. leuckart. _zur kenntniss d. generationswechsels u. d. parthenogenese b. d. insecten._ frankfurt, . ( ) lubbock. _origin and metamorphosis of insects._ . ( ) lubbock. _monograph on collembola and thysanura._ ray society, . ( ) melnikow. "beiträge z. embryonalentwicklung d. insecten." _archiv f. naturgeschichte_, bd. xxxv. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "embryologische studien an insecten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xvi. . ( ) p. meyer. "ontogenie und phylogenie d. insecten." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. x. . ( ) fritz müller. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. termiten." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . ( ) a. s. packard. "embryological studies on diplex, perithemis, and the thysanurous genus isotoma." _mem. peabody acad. science_, . . . ( ) suckow. "geschlechtsorgane d. insecten." heusinger's _zeitschrift f. organ. physik_, bd. ii. . ( ) tichomiroff. "ueber die entwicklungsgeschichte des seidenwurms." _zoologischer anzeiger_, ii. jahr. no. (preliminary notice). ( ) aug. weismann. "zur embryologie d. insecten." _archiv f. anat. und phys._ . ( ) aug. weismann. "entwicklung d. dipteren." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vols. xiii. and xiv. leipzig, - . ( ) aug. weismann. "die metamorphose d. corethra plumicornis." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xvi. . ( ) n. wagner. "beitrag z. lehre d. fortpflanzung d. insectenlarven." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ vol. xiii. . ( ) zaddach. _untersuchungen üb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. gliederthiere._ berlin, . arachnida[ ]. [ ] the classification of the arachnida adopted in the present work is shewn below: i. arthrogastra. {scorpionidæ. {pedipalpi. {pseudoscorpionidæ. {solifugæ. {phalangidæ. ii. araneina. {tetrapneumones. {dipneumones. iii. acarina. the development of several divisions of this interesting group has been worked out; and it will be convenient to deal in the first instance with the special history of each of these divisions, and then to treat in a separate section the development of the organs for the whole group. [fig. . ovum of scorpion with the already formed blastoderm shewing the partial segmentation. (after metschnikoff.) _bl_. blastoderm.] scorpionidæ. the embryonic development always takes place within the female scorpion. in buthus it takes place within follicle-like protuberances of the wall of the ovary. in scorpio also development commences while the egg is still in the follicle, but when the trunk becomes segmented the embryo passes into the ovarian tube. the chief authority for the development of the scorpionidæ is metschnikoff (no. ). at the pole of the ovum facing the ovarian tube there is formed a germinal disc which undergoes a partial segmentation (fig. _bl_). a somewhat saucer-shaped one-layered blastoderm is then formed, which soon becomes thickened in the centre and then divided into two layers. the outer of these is the epiblast, the inner the mesoblast. beneath the mesoblast there subsequently appear granular cells, which form the commencement of the hypoblast[ ]. [ ] the origin of the hypoblast cells, if such these cells are, is obscure. metschnikoff doubtfully derives them from the blastoderm cells; from my investigations on spiders it appears to me more probable that they originate in the yolk. during the formation of the blastoderm a cellular envelope is formed round the embryo. its origin is doubtful, though it is regarded by metschnikoff as probably derived from the blastoderm and homologous with the amnion of insects. it becomes double in the later stages (fig. ). [fig. . three surface views of the ventral plate of a developing scorpion. (after metschnikoff.) a. before segmentation. b. after five segments have become formed. c. after the appendages have begun to be formed.] during the differentiation of the three embryonic layers the germinal disc becomes somewhat pyriform, the pointed end being the posterior. at this extremity there is a special thickening which is perhaps equivalent to the primitive cumulus of spiders. the germinal disc continues gradually to spread over the yolk, but the original pyriform area is thicker than the remainder, and is marked off anteriorly and posteriorly by a shallow furrow. it constitutes a structure corresponding with the ventral plate of other tracheata. it soon becomes grooved by a shallow longitudinal furrow (fig. a) which subsequently becomes less distinct. it is then divided by two transverse lines into three parts.[ ] [ ] the exact fate of the three original segments is left somewhat obscure by metschnikoff. he believes however that the anterior segment forms the procephalic lobes, the posterior probably the telson and five adjoining caudal segments, and the middle one the remainder of the body. this view does not appear to me quite satisfactory, since on the analogy of spiders and other arthropoda the fresh somites ought to be added by a continuous segmentation of the posterior lobe. in succeeding stages the anterior of the three parts is clearly marked out as the procephalic lobe, and soon becomes somewhat broader. fresh segments are added from before backwards, and the whole ventral plate increases rapidly in length (fig. b). when ten segments have become formed, appendages appear as paired outgrowths of the nine posterior segments (fig. c). the second segment bears the pedipalpi, the four succeeding segments the four ambulatory appendages, and the four hindermost segments smaller provisional appendages which subsequently disappear, with the possible exception of the second. the foremost segment, immediately behind the procephalic lobes, is very small, and still without a rudiment of the cheliceræ, which are subsequently formed on it. it would appear from metschnikoff's figures to be developed later than the other post-oral segments present at this stage. the still unsegmented tail has become very prominent and makes an angle of ° with the remainder of the body, over the ventral surface of which it is flexed. [fig. . a fairly advanced embryo of the scorpion enveloped in its membranes. (after metschnikoff.) _ch._ cheliceræ; _pd._ pedipalpi; _p -p ._ ambulatory appendages; _ab._ post-abdomen (tail).] by the time that twelve segments are definitely formed, the procephalic region is distinctly bilobed, and in the median groove extending along it the stomodæum has become formed (fig. a). the cheliceræ (ch) appear as small rudiments on the first post-oral segment, and the nerve cords are distinctly differentiated and ganglionated. in the embryonic state there is one ganglion for each segment. the ganglion in the first segment (that bearing the cheliceræ) is very small, but is undoubtedly post-oral. at this stage, by a growth in which all the three germinal layers have a share, the yolk is completely closed in by the blastoderm. it is a remarkable fact with only few parallels, and those amongst the arthropoda, that the blastopore, or point where the embryonic membranes meet in closing in the yolk, is situated on the dorsal surface of the embryo. the general relations of the embryo at about this stage are shewn in fig. , where the embryo enclosed in its double cellular membrane is seen in a side view. this embryo is about the same age as that seen from the ventral surface in fig. a. the general nature of the further changes may easily be gathered from an inspection of fig. b and c, but a few points may be noted. an upper lip or labrum is formed as an unpaired organ in the line between the procephalic lobes. the pedipalpi become chelate before becoming jointed, and the cheliceræ also early acquire their characteristic form. rudimentary appendages appear on the six segments behind the ambulatory legs, five of which are distinctly shewn in fig. ; they persist only on the second segment, where they appear to form the comb-like organs or pectines. the last abdominal segment, _i.e._ that next the tail, is without provisional appendages. the embryonic tail is divided into six segments including the telson (fig. c, _ab_). the lungs (_st_) are formed by paired invaginations, the walls of which subsequently become plicated, on the four last segments which bear rudimentary limbs, and simultaneously with the disappearance of the rudimentary limbs. [fig. . three stages in the development of the scorpion. the embryos are represented as if seen extended on a plane. (after metschnikoff.) _ch._ cheliceræ; _pd._ pedipalpi; _p -p ._ ambulatory appendages; _pe._ pecten; _st._ stigmata; _ab._ post abdomen (tail).] pseudoscorpionidæ. the development of chelifer has been investigated by metschnikoff ( ), and although (except that it is provided with tracheæ instead of pulmonary sacks) it might be supposed to be closely related to scorpio, yet in its development is strikingly different. the eggs after being laid are carried by the female attached to the first segment of the abdomen. the segmentation (_vide_ p. ) is intermediate between the types of complete and superficial segmentation. the ovum, mainly formed of food-yolk, divides into two, four, and eight equal segments (fig. a). there then appear one or more clear segments on the surface of these, and finally a complete layer of cells is formed round the central yolk spheres (fig. b), which latter subsequently agglomerate into a central mass. the superficial cells form what may be called a blastoderm, which soon becomes divided into two layers (fig. c). there now appears a single pair of appendages (the pedipalpi) (fig. a, _pd_), while at the same time the front end of the embryo grows out into a remarkable proboscis-like prominence--a temporary upper lip (concealed in the figure behind the pedipalpus), and the abdomen (_ab_) becomes bent forwards towards the ventral surface. in this very rudimentary condition, after undergoing an ecdysis, the larva is hatched, although it still remains attached to its parent. after hatching it grows rapidly, and becomes filled with a peculiar transparent material. the first pair of ambulatory appendages is formed behind the pedipalpi and then the three succeeding pairs, while at the same time the cheliceræ appear as small rudiments in front. external signs of segmentation have not yet appeared, but about this period the nervous system is formed. the supra-oesophageal ganglia are especially distinct, and provided with a central cavity, probably formed by an invagination, as in other arachnida. in the succeeding stages (fig. b) four provisional pairs of appendages (shewn as small knobs at _ab_) appear behind the ambulatory feet. the abdomen is bent forwards so as to reach almost to the pedipalpi. in the later stages (fig. c) the adult form is gradually attained. the enormous upper lip persists for some time, but subsequently atrophies and is replaced by a normal labrum. the appendages behind the ambulatory feet atrophy, and the tail is gradually bent back into its final position. the segmentation and the gradual growth of the limbs do not call for special description, and the formation of the organs, so far as is known, agrees with other types. [fig. . segmentation and formation of the blastoderm in chelifer. (after metschnikoff.) in a the ovum is divided into a number of separate segments. in b a number of small cells have appeared (_bl_) which form a blastoderm enveloping the large yolk spheres. in c the blastoderm has become divided into two layers.] the segmentation of chthonius is apparently similar to that of chelifer (stecker, no. ). phalangidæ. our knowledge of the development of phalangium is unfortunately confined to the later stages (balbiani, no. ). these stages do not appear however to differ very greatly from those of true spiders. araneina. the eggs of true spiders are either deposited in nests made specially for them, or are carried about by the females. species belonging to a considerable number of genera, viz. pholcus, epeira, lycosa, clubione, tegenaria and agelena have been studied by claparède (no. ), balbiani (no. ), barrois (no. ) and myself (no. ), and the close similarity between their embryos leaves but little doubt that there are no great variations in development within the group. [fig. . three stages in the development of chelifer. (after metschnikoff.) _pd._ pedipalpi; _ab._ abdomen; _an.i._ anal invagination; _ch._ cheliceræ.] the ovum is enclosed in a delicate vitelline membrane, enveloped in its turn by a chorion secreted by the walls of the oviduct. the chorion is covered by numerous rounded prominences, and occasionally exhibits a pattern corresponding with the areas of the cells which formed it. the segmentation has already been fully described, pp. and . at its close there is present an enveloping blastoderm formed of a single layer of large flattened cells. the yolk within is formed of a number of large polygonal segments; each of which is composed of large yolk-spherules, and contains a nucleus surrounded by a layer of protoplasm, which is prolonged into stellate processes holding together the yolk-spherules. the nucleus, surrounded by the major part of the protoplasm of each yolk cell, appears, as a rule, to be situated not at the centre, but on one side of its yolk segment. the further description of the development of spiders applies more especially to agelena labyrinthica, the species which formed the subject of my own investigations. the first differentiation of the blastoderm consists in the cells of nearly the whole of one hemisphere becoming somewhat more columnar than those of the other hemisphere, and in the cells of a small area near one end of the thickened hemisphere becoming distinctly more columnar than elsewhere, and two layers thick. this area forms a protuberance on the surface of the ovum, originally discovered by claparède, and called by him the primitive cumulus. in the next stage the cells of the thickened hemisphere of the blastoderm become still more columnar; and a second area, at first connected by a whitish streak with the cumulus, makes its appearance. in the second area the blastoderm is also more than one cell deep (fig. ). it will be noticed that the blastoderm, though more than one cell thick over a large part of the ventral surface, is not divided into distinct layers. the second area appears as a white patch and soon becomes more distinct, while the streak continued to it from the cumulus is no longer visible. it is shewn in surface view in fig. a. though my observations on this stage are not quite satisfactory, yet it appears to me probable that there is a longitudinal thickened ridge of the blastoderm extending from the primitive cumulus to the large white area. the section represented in fig. , which i believe to be oblique, passes through this ridge at its most projecting part. [fig. . section through the embryo of agelena labyrinthica. the section is from an embryo of the same age as fig. a, and is represented with the ventral plate upwards. in the ventral plate is seen a keel-like thickening, which gives rise to the main mass of the mesoblast. _yk._ yolk divided into large polygonal cells, in several of which nuclei are shewn.] the nuclei of the yolk cells during the above stages multiply rapidly, and cells are formed in the yolk which join the blastoderm; there can however be no doubt that the main increase in the cells of the blastoderm has been due to the division of the original blastoderm cells. in the next stage i have been able to observe there is, in the place of the previous thickened half of the blastoderm, a well-developed ventral plate with a procephalic lobe in front, a caudal lobe behind, and an intermediate region marked by about three transverse grooves, indicating a division into segments. this plate is throughout two or more rows of cells thick, and the cells which form it are divided _into two distinct layers_--a columnar superficial layer of epiblast cells, and a deeper layer of mesoblast cells (fig. a). in the latter layer there are several very large cells which are in the act of passing from the yolk into the blastoderm. the identification of the structures visible in the previous stage with those visible in the present stage is to a great extent a matter of guess-work, but it appears to me probable that the primitive cumulus is still present as a slight prominence visible in surface views on the caudal lobe, and that the other thickened patch persists as the procephalic lobe. however this may be, the significance of the primitive cumulus appears to be that it is the part of the blastoderm where two rows of cells become first established[ ]. [ ] various views have been put forward by claparède and balbiani about the position and significance of the primitive cumulus. for a discussion of which _vide_ self, no. . the whole region of the blastoderm other than the ventral plate is formed of a single row of flattened epiblast cells. the yolk retains its original constitution. by this stage the epiblast and mesoblast are distinctly differentiated, and the homologue of the hypoblast is to be sought for in the yolk cells. the yolk cells are not however entirely hypoblastic, since they continue for the greater part of the development to give rise to fresh cells which join the mesoblast. the spider's blastoderm now resembles that of an insect (except for the amnion) after the establishment of the mesoblast, and the mode of origin of the mesoblast in both groups is very similar, in that the longitudinal ridge-like thickening of the mesoblast shewn in fig. is probably the homologue of the mesoblastic groove of the insects' blastoderm. the ventral plate continues to grow rapidly, and at a somewhat later stage (fig. b) there are six segments interposed between the procephalic and caudal lobes. the two anterior of these (_ch_ and _pd_), especially the foremost, are less distinct than the remainder; and it is probable that both of them, and in any case the anterior one, are formed later than the three segments following. these two segments are the segments of the cheliceræ and pedipalpi. the four segments following belong to the four pairs of ambulatory legs. the segments form raised transverse bands separated by transverse grooves. there is at this stage a faintly marked groove extending along the median line of the ventral plate. this groove is mainly caused by the originally single mesoblastic plate having become divided throughout the whole region of the ventral plate, except possibly the procephalic lobes, into two bands, one on each side of the middle line (fig. b). [fig. . four stages in the development of agelena labyrinthica. a. stage when the ventral plate is very imperfectly differentiated. _pr.c._ primitive cumulus. b. ovum viewed from the side when the ventral plate has become divided into six segments. _ch._ segment of cheliceræ imperfectly separated from procephalic lobe; _pd._ segment of pedipalpi. c. ventral plate ideally unrolled after the full number of segments and appendages are established. _st._ stomodæum between the two præ-oral lobes. behind the six pairs of permanent appendages are seen four pairs of provisional appendages. d and e. two views of an embryo at the same stage. d ideally unrolled, e seen from the side. _st._ stomodæum; _ch._ cheliceræ; on their inner side is seen the ganglion belonging to them. _pd._ pedipalpi; _pr.p._ provisional appendages.] the segments continue to increase in number by the continuous addition of fresh segments between the one last formed and the caudal lobe. by the stage with nine segments the first rudiments of the limbs make their appearance. the first rudiments to appear are those of the pedipalpi and four ambulatory limbs: the cheliceræ, like the segment to which they belong, lag behind in development. the limbs appear as small protuberances at the borders of their segments. by the stage when they are formed the procephalic region has become bilobed, and the two lobes of which it is composed are separated by a shallow groove. by a continuous elongation the ventral plate comes to form a nearly complete equatorial ring round the ovum, the procephalic and caudal lobes being only separated by a very narrow space, the undeveloped dorsal region of the embryo. this is shewn in longitudinal section in fig. . in this condition the embryo may be spoken of as having a _dorsal flexure_. by the time that this stage is reached (fig. c) the full number of segments and appendages has become established. there are in all sixteen segments (including the caudal lobe). the first six of these bear the permanent appendages of the adult; the next four are provided with provisional appendages; while the last six are without appendages. the further features of this stage which deserve notice are ( ) the appearance of a shallow depression (_st_)--the rudiment of the stomodæum--between the hinder part of the two procephalic lobes; ( ) the appearance of raised areas on the inner side of the six anterior appendage-bearing segments. these are the rudiments of the ventral ganglia. it deserves to be especially noted that the segment of the cheliceræ, like the succeeding segments, is provided with ganglia; and that the ganglia of the cheliceræ are quite distinct from the supra-oesophageal ganglia derived from the procephalic lobes. ( ) the pointed form of the caudal lobe. in pholcus (claparède, no. ) the caudal lobe forms a projecting structure which, like the caudal lobe of the scorpion, bends forward so as to face the ventral surface of the part of the body immediately in front. in most spiders such a projecting caudal lobe is not found. while the embryo still retains its dorsal flexure considerable changes are effected in its general constitution. the appendages (fig. d and e) become imperfectly jointed, and grow inwards so as to approach each other in the middle line. even in the stage before this, the ventral integument between the rudiments of the ganglia had become very much thinner, and had in this way divided the ventral plate into two halves. at the present stage the two halves of the ventral plate are still further separated, and there is a wide space on the ventral side only covered by a delicate layer of epiblast. this is shewn in surface view (fig. d) and in section in fig. c. the stomodæum (_st_) is much more conspicuous, and is bounded in front by a prominent upper lip, and by a less marked lip behind. the upper lip becomes less conspicuous in later stages, and is perhaps to be compared with the provisional upper lip of chelifer. each procephalic lobe is now marked by a deep semicircular groove. the next period in the development is characterised by the gradual change in the flexure of the embryo from a dorsal to a ventral one; accompanied by the division of the body into an abdomen and cephalo-thorax, and the gradual assumption of the adult characters. the change in the flexure of the embryo is caused by the elongation of the dorsal region, which has hitherto been hardly developed. such an elongation increases the space on the dorsal surface between the procephalic and caudal regions, and therefore necessarily separates the caudal and procephalic lobes; but, since the ventral plate does not become shortened in the process, and the embryo cannot straighten itself in the egg-shell, it necessarily becomes ventrally flexed. if there were but little food-yolk this flexure would naturally cause the whole embryo to be bent in so as to have the ventral surface concave. but instead of this the flexure is at first confined to the two bands which form the ventral plate. these bands, as shewn in fig. a, acquire a true ventral flexure, but the yolk forms a projection--a kind of yolk-sack as barrois (no. ) calls it--distending the thin integument between the two ventral bands. this yolk-sack is shewn in surface view in fig. a and in section in fig. . at a later period, when the yolk has become largely absorbed, the true nature of the ventral flexure becomes quite obvious, since the abdomen of the young spider, while still in the egg, is found to be bent over so as to press against the ventral surface of the thorax (fig. b). [fig. . two late stages in the development of agelena labyrinthica. a. embryo from the side at the stage when there is a large ventral protuberance of yolk. the angle between the line of insertion of the permanent and provisional appendages shews the extent of the ventral flexure. b. embryo nearly ready to be hatched. the abdomen which has not quite acquired its permanent form is seen to be pressed against the ventral side of the thorax. _pr.l._ procephalic lobe; _pd._ pedipalpi; _ch._ cheliceræ; _c.l._ caudal lobe; _pr.p._ provisional appendages.] the general character of the changes which take place during this period in the development is shewn in fig. a and b representing two stages in it. in the first of these stages there is no constriction between the future thorax and abdomen. the four pairs of provisional appendages exhibit no signs of atrophy; and the extent of the ventral flexure is shewn by the angle formed between the line of their insertion and that of the appendages in front. the yolk has enormously distended the integument between the two halves of the ventral plate, as is illustrated by the fact that, at a somewhat earlier stage than that figured, the limbs cross each other in the median ventral line, while at this stage they do not nearly meet. the limbs have acquired their full complement of joints, and the pedipalpi bear a cutting blade on their basal joint. the dorsal surface between the prominent caudal lobe and the procephalic lobes forms more than a semicircle. the terga are fully established, and the boundaries between them, especially in the abdomen, are indicated by transverse markings. a large lower lip now bounds the stomodæum, and the upper lip has somewhat atrophied. in the later stage (fig. b) the greater part of the yolk has passed into the abdomen, which is now to some extent constricted off from the cephalo-thorax. the appendages of the four anterior abdominal somites have disappeared, and the caudal lobe has become very small. in front of it are placed two pairs of spinning mammillæ. a delicate cuticle has become established, which is very soon moulted. acarina. the development of the acarina, which has been mainly investigated by claparède (no. ), is chiefly remarkable from the frequent occurrence of several larval forms following each other after successive ecdyses. the segmentation (_vide_ p. ) ends in the formation of a blastoderm of a single layer of cells enclosing a central yolk mass. a ventral plate is soon formed as a thickening of the blastoderm, in which an indistinct segmentation becomes early observable. in myobia, which is parasitic on the common mouse, the ventral plate becomes divided by five constrictions into six segments (fig. a), from the five anterior of which paired appendages very soon grow out (fig. b). the appendages are the cheliceræ (_ch_) and pedipalpi (_pd_) and the first three pairs of limbs (_p -p _). on the dorsal side of the cheliceræ a thickened prominence of the ventral plate appears to correspond to the procephalic lobes of other arachnida. the part of the body behind the five primitive appendage-bearing segments appears to become divided into at least two segments. in other mites the same appendages are formed as in myobia, but the preceding segmentation of the ventral plate is not always very obvious. in myobia two moultings take place while the embryo is still within the primitive egg-shell. the first of these is accompanied by the _apparently total disappearance of the three pediform appendages_, and the complete coalescence of the two gnathiform appendages into a proboscis (fig. c). the feet next grow out again, and a second ecdysis then takes place. the embryo becomes thus inclosed within three successive membranes, viz. the original egg-shell and two cuticular membranes (fig. d). after the second ecdysis the appendages assume their final form, and the embryo leaves the egg as an hexapodous larva. the fourth pair of appendages is acquired by a post-embryonic metamorphosis. from the proboscis are formed the rudimentary palpi of the second pair of appendages, and two elongated needles representing the cheliceræ. [fig. . four successive stages in the development of myobia musculi. (after claparède.) _s -s ._ post-oral segments; _ch._ cheliceræ; _pd._ pedipalpi; _pr_ proboscis formed by the coalescence of the cheliceræ and pedipalpi; _p , p _, etc. ambulatory appendages.] in the cheese mite (tyroglyphus) the embryo has two ecdyses which are not accompanied by the peculiar changes observable in myobia: the cheliceræ and pedipalpi fuse however to form the proboscis. the first larval form is hexapodous, and the last pair of appendages is formed at a subsequent ecdysis. in atax bonzi, a form parasitic on unio, the development and metamorphosis are even more complicated than in myobia. the first ecdysis occurs before the formation of the limbs, and shortly after the ventral plate has become divided into segments. within the cuticular membrane resulting from the first ecdysis the anterior five pairs of limbs spring out in the usual fashion. they undergo considerable differentiation; the cheliceræ and pedipalpi approaching each other at the anterior extremity of the body, and the three ambulatory legs becoming segmented and clawed. an oesophagus, a stomach, and an oesophageal nerve-ring are also formed. when the larva has attained this stage the original egg-shell is split into two valves and eventually cast off, but the embryo remains enclosed within the cuticular membrane shed at the first ecdysis. this cuticular membrane is spoken of by claparède as the deutovum. in the deutovum the embryo undergoes further changes; the cheliceræ and pedipalpi coalesce and form the proboscis; a spacious body cavity with blood corpuscles appears; and the alimentary canal enclosing the yolk is formed. the larva now begins to move, the cuticular membrane enclosing it is ruptured, and the larva becomes free. it does not long remain active, but soon bores its way into the gills of its host, undergoes a fresh moult, and becomes quiescent. the cuticular membrane of the moult just effected swells up by the absorption of water and becomes spherical. peculiar changes take place in the tissues, and the limbs become, as in myobia, nearly absorbed, remaining however as small knobs. the larva swims about as a spherical body within its shell. the feet next grow out afresh, and the posterior pair is added. from the proboscis the palpi (of the pedipalpi) grow out below. the larva again becomes free, and amongst other changes the cheliceræ grow out from the proboscis. a further ecdysis, with a period of quiescence, intervenes between this second larval form and the adult state. the changes in the appendages which appear common to the mites generally are ( ) the late development of the fourth pair of appendages, which results in the constant occurrence of an hexapodous larva; and ( ) the early fusion of the cheliceræ and pedipalpi to form a proboscis in which no trace of the original appendages can be discerned. in most instances palpi and stilets of variable form are subsequently developed in connexion with the proboscis, and, as indicated in the above descriptions, are assumed to correspond with the two original embryonic appendages. _the history of the germinal layers._ it is a somewhat remarkable fact that each of the groups of the arachnida so far studied has a different form of segmentation. the types of chelifer and the spiders are simple modifications of the centrolecithal type, while that of scorpio, though apparently meroblastic, is probably to be regarded in the same light (_vide_ p. and p. ). the early development begins in the scorpion and spiders with the formation of a ventral plate, and there can be but little doubt that chelifer is provided with an homologous structure, though very probably modified, owing to the small amount of food-yolk and early period of hatching. the history of the layers and their conversion into the organs has been studied in the case of the scorpion (metschnikoff, no. ), and of the spiders; and a close agreement has been found to obtain between them. it will be convenient to take the latter group as type, and simply to call attention to any points in which the two groups differ. the epiblast. the epiblast, besides giving rise to the skin (hypodermis and cuticle), also supplies the elements for the nervous system and organs of sense, and for the respiratory sacks, the stomodæum and proctodæum. at the period when the mesoblast is definitely established, the epiblast is formed of a single layer of columnar cells in the region of the ventral plate, and of a layer of flat cells over other parts of the yolk. when about six segments are present the first changes take place. the epiblast of the ventral plate then becomes somewhat thinner in the median line than at the two sides (fig. b). in succeeding stages the contrast between the median and the lateral parts becomes still more marked, so that the epiblast becomes finally constituted of two lateral thickened bands, which meet in front in the procephalic lobes, and behind in the caudal lobe, and are elsewhere connected by a very thin layer (fig. c). shortly after the appendages begin to be formed, the first rudiments of the ventral nerve cord become established as epiblastic thickenings on the inner side of each of the lateral bands. the thickenings of the epiblast of the two sides are quite independent, as may be seen in fig. c, _vn_, taken from a stage somewhat subsequent to their first appearance. they are developed from before backwards, but either from the first, or in any case very soon afterwards, cease to form uniform thickenings, but constitute a linear series of swellings--the future ganglia--connected by very short less prominent thickenings of the epiblast (fig. c). the rudiments of the ventral nerve cord are for a long time continuous with the epiblast, but shortly after the establishment of the dorsal surface of the embryo they become separated from the epiblast and constitute two independent cords, the histological structure of which is the same as in other tracheata (fig. , _vn_). [fig. . transverse sections through the ventral plate of agelena labyrinthica at three stages. a. stage when about three segments are formed. the mesoblastic plate is not divided into two bands. b. stage when six segments are present (fig. b). the mesoblast is now divided into two bands. c. stage represented in fig. d. the ventral cords have begun to be formed on thickenings of the epiblast, and the limbs are established. _ep._ epiblast; _me._ mesoblast; _me.s._ mesoblastic somite; _vn._ ventral nerve cord; _yk._ yolk.] the ventral cords are at first composed of as many ganglia as there are segments. the foremost pair, belonging to the segment of the cheliceræ, lie immediately behind the stomodæum, and are as independent of each other as the remaining ganglia. anteriorly they border on the supra-oesophageal ganglia. when the yolk-sack is formed in connection with the ventral flexure of the embryo, the two nerve cords become very widely separated (fig. , _vn_) in their middle region. at a later period, at the stage represented in fig. b, they again become approximated in the ventral line, and delicate commissures are formed uniting the ganglia of the two sides, but there is no trace at this or any other period of a median invagination of epiblast between the two cords, such as hatschek and other observers have attempted to establish for various arthropoda and chætopoda. at the stage represented in fig. a the nerve ganglia are still present in the abdomen, though only about four ganglia can be distinguished. at a later stage these ganglia fuse into two continuous cords, united however by commissures corresponding with the previous ganglia. the ganglia of the cheliceræ have, by the stage represented in fig. b, completely fused with the supra-oesophageal ganglia and form part of the oesophageal commissure. the oesophageal commissure is however completed ventrally by the ganglia of the pedipalpi. the supra-oesophageal ganglia are formed independently of the ventral cords as two thickenings of the procephalic lobes (fig. ). the thickenings of the two lobes are independent, and each of them becomes early marked out by a semicircular groove (fig. d) running outwards from the upper lip. each thickening eventually becomes detached from the superficial epiblast, but before this takes place the two grooves become deeper, and on the separation of the ganglia from the epiblast, the cells lining the grooves become involuted and detached from the skin, and form an integral part of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. at the stage represented in fig. b the supra-oesophageal ganglia are completely detached from the epiblast, and are constituted of the following parts: ( ) a dorsal section formed of two hemispherical lobes, mainly formed of the invaginated lining of the semicircular grooves. the original lumen of the groove is still present on the outer side of these lobes. ( ) two central masses, one for each ganglion, formed of punctiform tissue, and connected by a transverse commissure. ( ) a ventral anterior lobe. ( ) the original ganglia of the cheliceræ, which form the ventral parts of the ganglia[ ]. [ ] for further details _vide_ self, no. . the later stages in the development of the nervous system have not been worked out. the development of the nervous system in the scorpion is almost identical with that in spiders, but metschnikoff believes, though without adducing satisfactory evidence, that the median integument between the two nerve cords assists in forming the ventral nerve cord. grooves are present in the supra-oesophageal ganglia similar to those in spiders. the mesoblast. the history of the mesoblast, up to the formation of a ventral plate subjacent to the thickened plate of epiblast, has been already given. the ventral plate is shewn in fig. a. it is seen to be formed mainly of small cells, but some large cells are shewn in the act of passing into it from the yolk. during a considerable section of the subsequent development the mesoblast is confined to the ventral plate. [fig. . longitudinal section through an embryo of agelena labyrinthica. the section is through an embryo of the same age as that represented in fig. c, and is taken slightly to one side of the middle line so as to shew the relation of the mesoblastic somites to the limbs. in the interior are seen the yolk segments and their nuclei. - . the segments; _pr.l._ procephalic lobe; _do._ dorsal integument.] [fig. . section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of agelena labyrinthica. the section is taken from an embryo of the same age as fig. d. _st._ stomodæum; _gr._ section through semicircular groove in procephalic lobe; _ce.s._ cephalic section of body cavity.] the first important change takes place when about six somites are established; the mesoblast then becomes divided into two lateral bands, shewn in section in fig. b, which meet however in front in the procephalic lobes, and behind in the caudal lobes. very shortly afterwards these bands become broken up into a number of parts corresponding to the segments, each of which soon becomes divided into two layers, which enclose a cavity between them (_vide_ fig. and fig. ). the outer layer (somatic) is thicker and attached to the epiblast, and the inner layer (splanchnic) is thinner and mainly, if not entirely, derived (in agelena) from cells which originate in the yolk. these structures constitute the mesoblastic somites. in the appendage-bearing segments the somatic layer of each of them, together with a prolongation of the cavity, is continued into the appendage (fig. c). since the cavity of the mesoblastic somites is part of the body cavity, all the appendages contain prolongations of the body cavity. not only is a pair of mesoblastic somites formed for each segment of the body, but also for the procephalic lobes (fig. ). the mesoblastic somites for these lobes are established somewhat later than for the true segments, but only differ from them in the fact that the somites of the two sides are united by a median bridge of undivided mesoblast. the development of a somite for the procephalic lobes is similar to what has been described by kleinenberg for lumbricus (p. ), but must not be necessarily supposed to indicate that the procephalic lobes form a segment equivalent to the segments of the trunk. they are rather equivalent to the præ-oral lobe of chætopod larvæ. when the dorsal surface of the embryo is established a thick layer of mesoblast becomes formed below the epiblast. this layer is not however derived from an upgrowth of the mesoblast of the somites, but from cells which originate in the yolk. the first traces of the layer are seen in fig. , _do_, and it is fully established as a layer of large round cells in the stage shewn in fig. . this layer of cells is seen to be quite independent of the mesoblastic somites (_me.s_). the mesoblast of the dorsal surface becomes at the stage represented in fig. b divided into splanchnic and somatic layers, and in the abdomen at any rate into somites continuous with those of the ventral part of the mesoblast. at the lines of junction of successive somites the splanchnic layer of mesoblast dips into the yolk, and forms a number of transverse septa, which do not reach the middle of the yolk, but leave a central part free, in which the mesenteron is subsequently formed. at the insertion of these septa there are developed widish spaces between the layers of somatic and splanchnic mesoblast, which form transversely directed channels passing from the heart outwards. they are probably venous. at a later stage the septa send out lateral offshoots, and divide the peripheral part of the abdominal cavity into a number of compartments filled with yolk. it is probable that the hepatic diverticula are eventually formed in these compartments. [fig. . transverse section through the thoracic region of an embryo of agelena labyrinthica. the section is taken from an embryo of the same age as fig. a, and passes through the maximum protuberance of the ventral yolk-sack. _vn._ ventral nerve cord; _yk._ yolk; _me.s._ mesoblastic somite; _ao._ aorta.] the somatic layer of mesoblast is converted into the muscles, both of the limbs and trunk, the superficial connective tissue, nervous sheath, etc. it probably also gives rise to the three muscles attached to the suctorial apparatus of the oesophagus. the heart and aorta are formed as a solid rod of cells of the dorsal mesoblast, before it is distinctly divided into splanchnic and somatic layers. eventually the central cells of the heart become blood corpuscles, while its walls are constituted of an outer muscular and inner epithelioid layer. it becomes functional, and acquires its valves, arterial branches, etc., by the stage represented in fig. b. the history of the mesoblast, more especially of the mesoblastic somites, of the scorpion is very similar to that in spiders: their cavity is continued in the same way into the limbs. the general character of the somites in the tail is shewn in fig. . the caudal aorta is stated by metschnikoff to be formed from part of the mesenteron, but this is too improbable to be accepted without further confirmation. the hypoblast and alimentary tract. it has already been stated that the yolk is to be regarded as corresponding to the hypoblast of other types. for a considerable period it is composed of the polygonal yolk cells already described and shewn in figs. , , and . the yolk cells divide and become somewhat smaller as development proceeds; but the main products of the division of the yolk nuclei and the protoplasm around them are undoubtedly cells which join the mesoblast (fig. a). the permanent alimentary tract is formed of three sections, viz. stomodæum, proctodæum, and mesenteron. the stomodæum and proctodæum are both formed before the mesenteron. the stomodæum is formed as an epiblastic pit between the two procephalic lobes (figs. and , _st_). it becomes deeper, and by the latest stage figured is a deep pit lined by a cuticle and ending blindly. to its hinder section, which forms the suctorial apparatus of the adult, three powerful muscles (a dorsal and two lateral) are attached. [fig. . tail of an advanced embryo of the scorpion to illustrate the structure of the mesoblastic somites. (after metschnikoff.) _al._ alimentary tract; _an.i._ anal invagination; _ep._ epiblast; _me.s._ mesoblastic somite.] the proctodæum is formed considerably later than the stomodæum. it is a comparatively shallow involution, which forms the rectum of the adult. it is dilated at its extremity, and two malpighian vessels early grow out from it. the mesenteron is formed _in the interior of the yolk_. its walls are derived from the cellular elements of the yolk, and the first section to be formed is the hinder extremity, which appears as a short tube ending blindly behind in contact with the proctodæum, and open to the yolk in front. the later history of the mesenteron has not been followed, but it undoubtedly includes the whole of the abdominal section of the alimentary canal of the adult, except the rectum, and probably also the thoracic section. the later history of the yolk which encloses the mesenteron has not been satisfactorily studied, though it no doubt gives rise to the hepatic tubes, and probably also to the thoracic diverticula of the alimentary tract. the general history of the alimentary tract in scorpio is much the same as in spiders. the hypoblast, the origin of which as mentioned above is somewhat uncertain, first appears on the ventral side and gradually spreads so as to envelop the yolk, and form the wall of the mesenteron, from which the liver is formed as a pair of lateral outgrowths. the proctodæum and stomodæum are both short, especially the former (_vide_ fig. ). _summary and general conclusions._ the embryonic forms of scorpio and spiders are very similar, but in spite of the general similarity of chelifer to scorpio, the embryo of the former differs far more from that of scorpio than the latter does from spiders. this peculiarity is probably to be explained by the early period at which chelifer is hatched; and though a more thorough investigation of this interesting form is much to be desired, it does not seem probable that its larva is a primitive type. the larvæ of the acarina with their peculiar ecdyses are to be regarded as much modified larval forms. it is not however easy to assign a meaning to the hexapodous stage through which they generally pass. with reference to the segments and appendages, some interesting points are brought out by the embryological study of these forms. the maximum number of segments is present in the scorpion, in which nineteen segments (not including the præ-oral lobes, but including the telson) are developed. of these the first twelve segments have traces of appendages, but the appendages of the six last of these (unless the pecten is an appendage) atrophy. in spiders there are indications in the embryo of sixteen segments and in all the arachnida, except the acarina, at the least four segments bear appendages in the embryo which are without them in the adult. the morphological bearings of this fact are obvious. it deserves to be noted that, in both scorpio and the spider, the cheliceræ are borne in the embryo by the first post-oral segment, and provided with a distinct ganglion, so that they cannot correspond (as they are usually supposed to do) with the antennæ of insects, which are always developed on the præ-oral lobes, and never supplied by an independent ganglion. the cheliceræ would seem probably to correspond with the mandibles of insects, and the antennæ to be absent. in favour of this view is the fact that the embryonic ganglion of the mandibles of insects is stated (cf. lepidoptera, _hatschek_, p. ) to become, like the ganglion of the cheliceræ, converted into part of the oesophageal commissure. if the above considerations are correct, the appendages of the arachnida retain in many respects a very much more primitive condition than those of insects. in the first place, both the cheliceræ and pedipalpi are much less differentiated than the mandibles and first pair of maxillæ with which they correspond. in the second place, the first pair of ambulatory limbs must be equivalent to the second pair of maxillæ of insects, which, for reasons stated above, were probably originally ambulatory. it seems in fact a necessary deduction from the arguments stated that the ancestors of the present insecta and arachnida must have diverged from a common stem of the tracheata at a time when the second pair of maxillæ were still ambulatory in function. with reference to the order of the development of the appendages and segments, very considerable differences are noticeable in the different arachnoid types. this fact alone appears to me to be sufficient to prove that the order of appearance of the appendages is often a matter of embryonic convenience, without any deep morphological significance. in scorpio the segments develop successively, except perhaps the first post-oral, which is developed after some of the succeeded segments have been formed. in spiders the segment of the cheliceræ, and probably also of the pedipalpi, appears later than the next three or four. in both these types the segments arise before the appendages, but the reverse appears to be the case in chelifer. the permanent appendages, except the cheliceræ, appear simultaneously in scorpions and spiders. the second pair appears long before the others in chelifer, then the third, next the first, and finally the three hindermost. bibliography. _scorpionidæ._ ( ) el. metschnikoff. "embryologie des scorpions." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._ bd. xxi. . ( ) h. rathke. _reisebemerkungen aus taurien_ (scorpio). leipzig, . _pseudoscorpionidæ._ ( ) el. metschnikoff. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. chelifer." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxi. . ( ) a. stecker. "entwicklung der chthonius-eier im mutterleibe und die bildung des blastoderms." _sitzung. königl. böhmisch. gesellschaft wissensch._, , . heft, and _annal. and mag. nat. history_, , xviii. . _phalangidæ._ ( ) m. balbiani. "mémoire sur le développement des phalangides." _ann. scien. nat._ series v. vol. xvi. . _araneina._ ( ) m. balbiani. "mémoire sur le développement des aranéides." _ann. scien. nat_. series v. vol. xvii. . ( ) f. m. balfour. "notes on the development of the araneina." _quart. journ. of micr. science_, vol. xx. . ( ) j. barrois. "recherches s. l. développement des araignées." _journal de l'anat. et de la physiol._ . ( ) e. claparède. _recherches s. l'évolution des araignées._ utrecht, . ( ) herold. _de generatione araneorum in ovo._ marburg, . ( ) h. ludwig. "ueber die bildung des blastoderms bei den spinnen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxvi. . _acarina._ ( ) p. van beneden. "développement de l'atax ypsilophora." _acad. bruxelles_, t. xxiv. ( ) ed. claparède. "studien über acarinen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xviii. . _formation of the layers and the embryonic envelopes in the tracheata._ there is a striking constancy in the mode of formation of the layers throughout the group. in the first place the hypoblast is not formed by a process which can be reduced to invagination: in other words, there is no gastrula stage. efforts have been made to shew that the mesoblastic groove of insects implies a modified gastrula, but since it is the essence of a gastrula that it should directly or indirectly give rise to the archenteron, the groove in question cannot fall under this category. although the mesoblastic groove of insects is not a gastrula, it is quite possible that it is the rudiment of a blastopore, the gastrula corresponding to which has now vanished from the development. it would thus be analogous to the primitive streak of vertebrates[ ]. [ ] the primitive streak of vertebrates, as will appear in the sequel, has no connection with the medullary groove, and is the rudiment of the blastopore. the growth of the blastoderm over the yolk in scorpions admits no doubt of being regarded as an epibolic gastrula. the blastopore would however be situated dorsally, a position which it does not occupy in any gastrula type so far dealt with. this fact, coupled with the consideration that the partial segmentation of scorpio can be derived without difficulty from the ordinary arachnidan type (_vide_ p. ), seems to shew that there is no true epibolic invagination in the development of scorpio. on the formation of the blastoderm traces of two embryonic layers are established. the blastoderm itself is essentially the epiblast, while the central yolk is the hypoblast. the formation of the embryo commences in connection with a thickening of the blastoderm, known as the ventral plate. the mesoblast is formed as an unpaired plate split off from the epiblast of the ventral plate. this process takes place in at any rate two ways. in insects a groove is formed, which becomes constricted off to form the mesoblastic plate: in spiders there is a keel-like thickening of the blastoderm, which takes the place of the groove. the unpaired mesoblastic plate becomes in all forms very soon divided into two _mesoblastic bands_. the mesoblastic bands are very similar to, and probably homologous with, those of chætopoda; but the different modes by which they arise in these two groups are very striking, and probably indicate that profound modifications have taken place in the early development of the tracheata. in the chætopoda the bands are from the first widely separated, and gradually approach each other ventrally, though without meeting. in the tracheata they arise from the division of an unpaired ventral plate. the further history of the mesoblastic bands is nearly the same for all the tracheata so far investigated, and is also very much the same as for the chætopoda. there is a division into somites, each containing a section of the body cavity. in the cephalic section of the mesoblastic bands a section of the body cavity is also formed. in arachnida, myriapoda, and probably also insecta, the body cavity is primitively prolonged into the limbs. in spiders at any rate, and very probably in the other groups of the tracheata, a large part of the mesoblast is not derived from the mesoblastic plate, but is secondarily added from the yolk cells. in all tracheata the yolk cells give rise to the mesenteron which, in opposition, as will hereafter appear, to the mesenteron of the crustacea, forms the main section of the permanent alimentary tract. one of the points which is still most obscure in connection with the embryology of the tracheata is the origin of the embryonic membranes. amongst insects, with the exception of the thysanura, such membranes are well developed. in the other groups definite membranes like those of insects are never found, but in the scorpion a cellular envelope appears to be formed round the embryo from the cells of the blastoderm, and more or less similar structures have been described in some myriapods (_vide_ p. ). these structures no doubt further require investigation, but may provisionally be regarded as homologous with the amnion and serous membrane of insects. in the present state of our knowledge it does not seem easy to give any explanation of the origin of these membranes, but they may be in some way derived from an early ecdysis. chapter xviii. crustacea[ ]. [ ] the following is the classification of the crustacea employed in the present chapter: i. branchiopoda. { phyllopoda. { cladocera. ii. malacostraca. { nebaliadæ. { schizopoda. { decapoda. { stomatopoda. { cumaceæ. { edriophthalmata. { _natantia._ iii. copepoda. { eucopepoda. { _parasita._ { branchiura. iv. cirripedia. { thoracica. { abdominalia. { apoda. { rhizocephala. v. ostracoda. _history of the larval forms[ ]._ [ ] the importance of the larval history of the crustacea, coupled with our comparative ignorance of the formation of the layers, has rendered it necessary for me to diverge somewhat from the general plan of the work, and to defer the account of the formation of the layers till after that of the larval forms. the larval forms of the crustacea appear to have more faithfully preserved their primitive characters than those of almost any other group. branchiopoda. the branchiopoda, comprising under that term the phyllopoda and cladocera, contain the crustacea with the maximum number of segments and the least differentiation of the separate appendages. this and other considerations render it probable that they are to be regarded as the most central group of the crustaceans, and as in many respects least modified from the ancestral type from which all the groups have originated. the free larval stages when such exist commence with a larval form known as the nauplius. the term nauplius was applied by o. f. müller to certain larval forms of the copepoda (fig. ) in the belief that they were adult. [fig. . two stages in the development of apus cancriformis. (after claus.) a. nauplius stage at the time of hatching. b. stage after first ecdysis. _an ._ and _an ._ first and second antennæ; _md._ mandible; _mx._ maxilla; _l._ labrum; _fr._ frontal sense organ; _f._ caudal fork; _s._ segments.] the term has now been extended to a very large number of larvæ which have certain definite characters in common. they are provided (fig. a) with three pairs of appendages, the future two pairs of antennæ and mandibles. the first pair of antennæ (_an _) is uniramous and mainly sensory in function, the second pair of antennæ (_an _) and mandibles (_md_) are biramous swimming appendages, and the mandibles are without the future cutting blade. the nauplius mandibles represent in fact the palp. the two posterior appendages are both provided with hook-like prominences on their basal joints, used in mastication. the body in most cases is unsegmented, and bears anteriorly a single median eye. there is a large upper lip, and an alimentary canal formed of oesophagus, stomach and rectum. the anus opens near the hind end of the body. on the dorsal surface small folds of skin frequently represent the commencement of a dorsal shield. one very striking peculiarity of the nauplius according to claus and dohrn is the fact that the second pair of antennæ is innervated from _a sub-oesophageal ganglion_. a larval form with the above characters occurs with more or less frequency in all the crustacean groups. in most instances it does not _exactly_ conform to the above type, and the divergences are more considerable in the phyllopods than in most other groups. its characters in each case are described in the sequel. phyllopoda..for the phyllopoda the development of apus cancriformis may conveniently be taken as type (claus, no. ). the embryo at the time it leaves the egg (fig. a) is somewhat oval in outline, and narrowed posteriorly. there is a slight v-shaped indentation behind, at the apex of which is situated the anus. the body, unlike that of the typical nauplius, is already divided into two regions, a cephalic and post-cephalic. on the ventral side of the cephalic region there are present the three normal pairs of appendages. foremost there are the small anterior antennæ (_an _), which are simple unjointed rod-like bodies with two moveable hairs at their extremities. they are inserted at the sides of the large upper lip or labrum (_l_). behind these are the posterior antennæ, which are enormously developed and serve as the most important larval organs of locomotion. they are biramous, being formed of a basal portion with a strong hook-like bristle projecting from its inner side, an inner unjointed branch with three bristles, and an outer large imperfectly five-jointed branch with five long lateral bristles. the hook-like organ attached to this pair of appendages would seem to imply that it served in some ancestral form as jaws (claus). this character is apparently universal in the embryos of true phyllopods, and constantly occurs in the copepoda, etc. the third pair of appendages or mandibles (_md_) is attached close below the upper lip. they are as yet unprovided with cutting blades, and terminate in two short branches, the inner with two and the outer with three bristles. at the front of the head there is the typical unpaired eye. on the dorsal surface there is already present a rudiment of the cephalic shield, continuous anteriorly with the labrum (_l_) or upper lip, the extraordinary size of which is characteristic of the larvæ of phyllopods. the post-cephalic region, which afterwards becomes the thorax and abdomen, contains underneath the skin rudiments of the five anterior thoracic segments and their appendages, and presents in this respect an important variation from the typical nauplius form. after the first ecdysis the larva (fig. b) loses its oval form, mainly owing to the elongation of the hinder part of the body and the lateral extension of the cephalic shield, which moreover now completely covers over the head and has begun to grow backwards so as to cover over the thoracic region. at the second ecdysis there appears at its side a rudimentary shell-gland. in the cephalic region two small papillæ (_fr_) are now present at the front of the head close to the unpaired eye. they are of the nature of sense organs, and may be called the frontal sense papillæ. they have been shewn by claus to be of some phylogenetic importance. the three pairs of nauplius appendages have not altered much, but a rudimentary cutting blade has grown out from the basal joint of the mandible. a gland opening at the base of the antennæ is now present, which is probably equivalent to the green gland often present in the malacostraca. behind the mandibles a pair of simple processes has appeared, which forms the rudiment of the first pair of maxillæ (_mx_). in the thoracic region more segments have been added posteriorly, and the appendages of the three anterior segments are very distinctly formed. the tail is distinctly forked. the heart is formed at the second ecdysis, and then extends to the sixth thoracic segment: the posterior chambers are successively added from before backwards. at the successive ecdyses which the larva undergoes new segments continue to be formed at the posterior end of the body, and limbs arise on the segments already formed. these limbs probably represent the primitive form of an important type of crustacean appendage, which is of value for interpreting the parts of the various malacostracan appendages. they consist (fig. ) of a basal portion (protopodite of huxley) bearing two rami. the basal portion has two projections on the inner side. to the outer side of the basal portion there is attached a dorsally directed branchial sack (_br_) (epipodite of huxley). the outer ramus (_ex_) (exopodite of huxley) is formed of a single plate with marginal setæ. the inner one (_en_) (endopodite of huxley) is four-jointed, and a process similar to those of the basal joint is given off from the inner side of the three proximal joints. [fig. . typical phyllopod appendage. (copied from claus.) _ex._ exopodite; _en._ endopodite; _br._ branchial appendage (epipodite). the basal portion bearing the two proximal projections is not sharply separated from the endopodite.] at the third ecdysis several new features appear in the cephalic region, which becomes more prominent in the succeeding stages. in the first place the paired eyes are formed at each side of and behind the unpaired eye, secondly the posterior pair of maxillæ is formed though it always remains very rudimentary. the shell-gland becomes fully developed opening at the base of the first pair of maxillæ. the dorsal shield gradually grows backwards till it covers its full complement of segments. after the fifth ecdysis the nauplius appendages undergo a rapid atrophy. the second pair of antennæ especially becomes reduced in size, and the mandibular palp--the primitive nauplius portion of the mandible--is contracted to a mere rudiment, which eventually completely disappears, while the blade is correspondingly enlarged and also becomes toothed. the adult condition is only gradually attained after a very large number of successive changes of skin. the chief point of interest in the above development is the fact of the primitive nauplius form becoming gradually converted without any special metamorphosis into the adult condition[ ]. [ ] nothing appears to be known with reference to the manner in which it comes about that more than one appendage is borne on each of the segments from the eleventh to the twentieth. an investigation of this point would be of some interest with reference to the meaning of segmentation. branchipus like apus is hatched as a somewhat modified nauplius, which however differs from that of apus in the hinder region of the body having no indications of segments. it goes through a very similar metamorphosis, but is at no period of its metamorphosis provided with a dorsal shield: the second pair of antennæ does not abort, and in the male is provided with clasping organs, which are perhaps remnants of the embryonic hooks so characteristic of this pair of antennæ. the larva of estheria when hatched has a nauplius form, a large upper lip, caudal fork and single eye. there are two functional pairs of swimming appendages--the second pair of antennæ and mandibles. the first pair of antennæ has not been detected, and a dorsal mantle to form the shell is not developed. at the first moult the anterior pair of antennæ arises as small stump-like structures, and a small dorsal shield is also formed. rudiments of six or seven pairs of appendages sprout out in the usual way, and continue to increase in number at successive moults: the shell is rapidly developed. the chief point of interest in the development of this form is the close resemblance of the young larva to a typical adult cladocera (claus). this is shewn in the form of the shell, which has not reached its full anterior extension, the rudimentary anterior antennæ, the large locomotor second pair of antennæ, which differ however from the corresponding organs in the cladocera in the presence of typical larval hooks. even the abdomen resembles that of daphnia. these features perhaps indicate that the cladocera are to be derived from some phyllopod form like estheria by a process of retrogressive metamorphosis. the posterior antennæ in the adult estheria are large biramous appendages, and are used for swimming; and though they have lost the embryonic hook, they still retain to a larger extent than in other phyllopod families their nauplius characteristics. the nauplius form of the phyllopods is marked by several definite peculiarities. its body is distinctly divided into a cephalic and post-cephalic region. the upper lip is extraordinarily large, relatively very much more so than at the later stages. the first pair of antennæ is usually rudimentary and sometimes even absent; while the second pair is exceptionally large, and would seem to be capable of functioning not only as a swimming organ, but even as a masticating organ. a dorsal shield is nearly or quite absent. [fig. a. nauplius larva of leptodora hyalina from winter egg. (copied from bronn; after sars.) _an ._ antenna of first pair; _an ._ antenna of second pair; _md._ mandible; _f._ caudal fork.] cladocera. the probable derivation of the cladocera from a form similar to estheria has already been mentioned, and it might have been anticipated that the development would be similar to that of the phyllopods. the development of the majority of the cladocera takes place however in the egg, and the young when hatched closely resembles their parents, though in the egg they pass through a nauplius stage (dohrn). an exception to the general rule is however offered by the case of the winter eggs of leptodora, one of the most primitive of the cladoceran families. the summer eggs develop without metamorphosis, but sars (no. ) has discovered that the larva leaves the winter eggs in the form of a nauplius (fig. ). this nauplius closely resembles that of the phyllopods. the body is elongated and in addition to normal nauplius appendages is marked by six pairs of ridges--the indications of the future feet. the anterior antennæ are as usual small; the second large and biramous, but the masticatory bristle characteristic of the phyllopods is not present. the mandibles are without a cutting blade. a large upper lip and unpaired eye are present. the adult form is attained in the same manner as amongst the phyllopods after the third moult. malacostraca. owing to the size and importance of the various forms included in the malacostraca, greater attention has been paid to their embryology than to that of any other division of the crustacea; and the proper interpretation of their larval forms involves some of the most interesting problems in the whole range of embryology. the majority of malacostraca pass through a more or less complicated metamorphosis, though in the nebaliadæ, the cumaceæ, some of the schizopoda, a few decapoda (astacus, gecarcinus, etc.), and in the edriophthalmata, the larva on leaving the egg has nearly the form of the adult. in contradistinction to the lower groups of crustacea the nauplius form of larva is rare, though it occurs in the case of one of the schizopods (euphausia, fig. ), in some of the lower forms of the decapods (penæus, fig. ), and perhaps also, though this has not been made out, in some of the stomatopoda. [fig. . zoÆa of thia polita. (after claus.) _mxp ._ second maxillipede.] in the majority of the decapoda the larva leaves the egg in a form known as the zoæa (fig. ). this larval form is characterised by the presence of a large cephalo-thoracic shield usually armed with lateral, anterior, and dorsal spines. the caudal segments are well developed, _though without appendages_, and the tail, which functions in swimming, _is usually forked_. the six posterior thoracic segments are, on the other hand, _rudimentary or non-existent_. there are seven anterior pairs of appendages shewn in detail in fig. , viz. the two pairs of antennæ (_at. i._ and _at. ii._), neither of them used as swimming organs, the mandibles without a palp (_md_), well-developed maxillæ (two pairs, _mx _ and _mx _), and two or sometimes (macrura) three pairs of biramous natatory maxillipeds (_mxp _ and _mxp _). two lateral compound stalked eyes are present, together with a median nauplius eye. the heart has in the majority of cases only one or two (brachyura) pairs of ostia. [fig. . the appendages of a crab zoÆa. _at. i._ first antenna; _at. ii._ second antenna; _md._ mandible (without a palp); _mx. ._ first maxilla; _mx. ._ second maxilla; _mxp. ._ first maxilliped; _mxp. ._ second maxilliped. _ex_. exopodite; _en_. endopodite.] the zoæa larva, though typically developed in the decapoda, is not always present (_e.g._ astacus and homarus), and sometimes occurs in a very modified form. it makes its appearance in an altered garb in the ontogeny of some of the other groups. the two malacostracan forms, amongst those so far studied, in which the phylogenetic record is most fully preserved in the ontogeny, are euphausia amongst the schizopods and penæus amongst the decapods. schizopoda. euphausia leaves the egg (metschnikoff, no. - ) as a true nauplius with only three pairs of appendages, the two hinder biramous, and an unsegmented body. the second pair of antennæ has not however the colossal dimensions so common in the lower types. a mouth is present, but the anus is undeveloped. [fig. . nauplius of euphausia. (from claus; after metschnikoff.) the nauplius is represented shortly before an ecdysis, and in addition to the proper appendages rudiments of the three following pairs are present. _ol._ upper lip; _ul._ lower lip; _md._ mandible; _mx´._ and _mx´´._ two pairs of maxillæ; _mf´._ maxilliped .] after the first moult three pairs of prominences--the rudiments of the two maxillæ and st maxillipeds arise behind the nauplius appendages (fig. ). at the same time an anus appears between the two limbs of a rudimentary caudal fork; and an unpaired eye and upper lip appear in front. after another moult (fig. ) a lower lip is formed (_ul_) as a pair of prominences very similar to true appendages; and a delicate cephalo-thoracic shield also becomes developed. still later the cutting blade of the mandible is formed, and the palp (nauplius appendage) is greatly reduced. the cephalo-thoracic shield grows over the front part of the embryo, and becomes characteristically toothed at its edge. there are also two frontal papillæ very similar to those already described in the phyllopod larvæ. rudiments of the compound eyes make their appearance, and though no new appendages are added, those already present undergo further differentiations. they remain however very simple; the maxillipeds especially are very short and resemble somewhat phyllopod appendages. up to this stage the tail has remained rudimentary and short, but after a further ecdysis (claus) it grows greatly in length. at the same time the cephalo-thoracic shield acquires a short spine directed backwards. the larva is now in a condition to which claus has given the name of protozoæa (fig. a). very shortly afterwards the region immediately following the segments already formed becomes indistinctly segmented, while the tail is still without a trace of segmentation. the region of the thorax proper soon becomes distinctly divided into seven very short segments, while at the same time the now elongated caudal region has become divided into its normal number of segments (fig. b). by this stage the larva has become a true zoæa--though differing from the normal zoæa in the fact that the thoracic region is segmented, and in the absence of a second pair of maxillipeds. [fig. . larvÆ of euphausia. (after claus.) from the side. a. protozoæa larva. b. zoæa larva. _mx.´_ and _mx´´._ maxillæ and ; _mxp ._ maxilliped .] the adult characters are very gradually acquired in a series of successive moults; the later development of euphausia resembling in this respect that of the phyllopods. on the other hand euphausia differs from that group in the fact that the abdominal (caudal) and thoracic appendages develop as _two independent series_ from before backwards, of which the abdominal series is the earliest to attain maturity. this is shewn in the following table compiled from claus' observations. +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | | appendages of thoracic | | | length of | region; viz. the nd and | appendages of abdomen. | | larva. | rd maxilliped and | | | | ambulatory appendages. | | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | - - / mm. | nd maxilliped, | st abdominal appendage. | | | rudimentary. | | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | - / - mm. | nd maxilliped, biramous. | nd and rd abdominal | | | rd rudimentary. | appendages. | | | st and nd ambulatory | th and th rudimentary. | | | appendages, rudimentary. | | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | - / - mm. | rd maxilliped, biramous. | th, th, and th fully | | | | developed. | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | - - / mm. | rd and th ambulatory | | | | appendages. | | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ | mm. | th ambulatory appendage. | | +-------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+ all the appendages following the second pair of maxillæ are biramous, and the first eight of these bear branched gills as their epipodites. it is remarkable that the epipodite is developed on all the appendages anteriorly in point of time to the outer ramus (exopodite). although in mysis there is no free larval stage, and the development takes place in a maternal incubatory pouch, yet a stage may be detected which clearly corresponds with the nauplius stage of euphausia (e. van beneden, no. ). at this stage, in which only the three nauplius appendages are developed, the mysis embryo is hatched. an ecdysis takes place, but the nauplius skin is not completely thrown off, and remains as an envelope surrounding the larva during its later development. decapoda. amongst the decapoda the larva usually leaves the egg in the zoæa form, but a remarkable exception to this general rule is afforded by the case of one or more species of penæus. fritz müller was the first to shew that the larva of these forms leaves the egg as a _typical nauplius_, and it is probable that in the successive larval stages of these forms the ancestral history of the decapoda is most fully preserved[ ]. [ ] the doubts which have been thrown upon müller's observations appear to be quite unfounded. the youngest known larva of penæus (fig. ) has a somewhat oval unsegmented body. there spring from it the three typical pairs of nauplius appendages. the first is uniramous, the second and third are biramous, and both of them adapted for swimming, and the third of them (mandibles) is without a trace of the future blade. the body has no carapace, and bears anteriorly a single median simple eye. posteriorly it is produced into two bristles. [fig. . nauplius stage of penÆus. (after fritz müller.)] after the first moult the larva has a rudiment of a forked tail, while a dorsal fold of skin indicates the commencement of the cephalo-thoracic shield. a large provisional helmet-shaped upper lip like that in phyllopods has also appeared. behind the appendages already formed there are stump-like rudiments of the four succeeding pairs (two pairs of maxillæ and two pairs of maxillipeds); and in a slightly older larva the formation of the mandibular blade has commenced, together with the atrophy of the palp or nauplius appendage. [fig. . protozoÆa stage of penÆus. (after fritz müller.)] between this and the next observed stage there is possibly a slight lacuna. the next stage (fig. ) at any rate represents the commencement of the zoæa series. the cephalo-thoracic shield has greatly grown, and eventually acquires the usual dorsal spine. the posterior region of the body is prolonged into a tail, which is quite as long as the whole of the remainder of the body. the four appendages which were quite functionless at the last stage have now sprouted into full activity. the region immediately behind them is divided (fig. ) into six segments (the six thoracic segments) without appendages, while somewhat later the five anterior abdominal segments become indicated, but are equally with the thoracic segments without feet. the mode of appearance of these segments shews that the thoracic and abdominal segments develop in regular succession from before backwards (claus). of the palp of the mandibles, as is usual amongst zoæa forms, not a trace remains, though in the youngest zoæa caught by fritz müller a very small rudiment of the palp was present. the first pair of antennæ is unusually long, and the second pair continues to function as a biramous swimming organ; the outer ramus is multiarticulate. the other appendages are fully jointed, and the two maxillipeds biramous. on the dorsal surface of the body the unpaired eye is still present, but on each side of it traces of the stalked eyes have appeared. frontal sense organs like those of phyllopods are also present. from the protozoæa form the larva passes into that of a true zoæa with the usual appendages and spines, characterised however by certain remarkable peculiarities. of these the most important are ( ) the large size of the two pairs of antennæ and the retention of its nauplius function by the second of them; ( ) the fact that the appendages of the six thoracic segments appear as small biramous schizopod legs, while the abdominal appendages, with the exception of the sixth, are still without their swimming feet. the early appearance of the appendages of the sixth abdominal segment is probably correlated with their natatory function in connection with the tail. as a point of smaller importance which may be mentioned is the fact that both pairs of maxillæ are provided with small respiratory plates (exopodites) for regulating the flow of water under the dorsal shield. from the zoæa form the larva passes into a mysis or schizopod stage (fig. ), characterised by the thoracic feet and maxillipeds resembling in form and function the biramous feet of mysis, the outer ramus being at first in many cases much larger than the inner. the gill pouches appear at the base of these feet nearly at the same time as the endopodites become functional. at the same time the antennæ become profoundly modified. the anterior antennæ shed their long hairs, and from the inner side of the fourth joint there springs a new process, which eventually elongates and becomes the inner flagellum. the outer ramus of the posterior antennæ is reduced to a scale, while the flagellum is developed from a stump-like rudiment of the inner ramus (claus). a palp sprouts on the mandible and the median eye disappears. [fig. . penÆus larva in the mysis stage. (after claus.)] the abdominal feet do not appear till the commencement of the mysis stage, and hardly become functional till its close. from the mysis stage the larva passes quite simply into the adult form. the outer ramus of the thoracic feet is more or less completely lost. the maxillipeds, or the two anterior pairs at any rate, lose their ambulatory function, cutting plates develop on the inner side of their basal joints, and the two rami persist as small appendages on their outer side. gill pouches also sprout from their outer side. the respiratory plate of the second maxilla attains its full development and that on the first maxilla disappears[ ]. the nauplius, so far as is known, does not occur in any other decapod form except penæus. [ ] from claus' observations (no. ) it would appear that the respiratory plate is only the exopodite and not, as is usually stated, the coalesced exopodite and epipodite. huxley in his _comparative anatomy_ reserves this point for embryological elucidation. [fig. . latest protozoÆa stage of sergestes larva (elaphocaris). (after claus.) _mxp´´´._ third pair of maxillipeds.] the next most primitive larval history known is that which appears in the sergestidæ. the larval history, which has been fully elucidated by claus, commences with a protozoæa form (fig. ), which develops into a remarkable zoæa first described by dohrn as elaphocaris. this develops into a form originally described by claus as acanthosoma, and this into a form known as mastigopus (fig. ) from which it is easy to pass to the adult. the remarkable protozoæa (fig. ) is characterised by the presence on the dorsal shield of a frontal, dorsal and two lateral spikes, each richly armed with long side spines. the normal zoæa appendages are present, and in addition to them a small third pair of maxillipeds. the thoracic region is divided into five short rings, but the abdomen is unsegmented. the tail is forked and provided with long spines. the antennæ, like those of penæus, are long--the second pair biramous; the mandibles unpalped. both pairs of maxillæ are provided with respiratory plates; the second pair is footlike, and has at its base a glandular mass believed by claus to be the equivalent of the entomostracan shell-gland. the maxillipeds have the usual biramous characters. a helmet-shaped upper lip like that of a typical nauplius is present, and the eyes are situated on very long stalks. [fig. . mastigopus stage of sergestes. (from claus.) _mf´´´._ maxilliped .] in the true zoæa stage there appear on the five thoracic segments pouch-like biramous rudiments of the limbs. the tail becomes segmented; but the segments, with the exception of the sixth, remain without appendages. on the sixth a very long bilobed pouch appears as the commencement of the swimming feet of this segment. the segments of the abdomen are armed with lateral spines. from the zoæa stage the larva passes into the form known as acanthosoma, which represents the mysis stage of penæus. the complex spikes on the dorsal shield of the zoæa stage are reduced to simple spines, but the spines of the tail still retain their full size. in the appendages the chief changes consist ( ) in the reduction of the jointed outer ramus of the second pair of antennæ to a stump representing the scale, and the elongation of the inner one to the flagellum; ( ) in the elongation of the five ambulatory thoracic appendages into biramous feet, like the maxillipeds, and in the sprouting forth of rudimentary abdominal feet. the most obvious external indications of the passage from the acanthosoma to the mastigopus stage (fig. ) are to be found in the elongation of the abdomen, the reduction and flattening of the cephalo-thoracic shield, and the nearly complete obliteration of all the spines but the anterior. the eyes on their elongated stalks are still very characteristic, and the elongation of the flagellum of the second pair of antennæ is very striking. [fig. . larva of hippolyte in zoÆa stage. (from claus.) _mx´._ and _mx´´._ maxillæ and ; _mf´._ _mf´´._ _mf´´´._ maxillipeds.] [fig. . older larva of hippolyte after the thoracic appendages have become formed. (from claus.)] the maxillæ and maxillipeds undergo considerable metamorphosis, the abdominal feet attain their adult form, and the three anterior thoracic ambulatory legs lose their outer rami. the most remarkable change of all concerns the two last pairs of thoracic appendages, which, instead of being metamorphosed like the preceding ones, are completely or nearly completely thrown off in the moult which inaugurates the mastigopus stage, and are subsequently redeveloped. with the reappearance of these appendages, and the changes in the other appendages already indicated, the adult form is practically attained. with reference to the development of the majority of the carabidæ, penæinæ, palæmoninæ, crangoninæ, it may be stated generally that they leave the egg in the zoæa stage (fig. ) with anterior appendages up to the third pair of maxillipeds. the thorax is unsegmented and indeed almost unrepresented, but the abdomen is long and divided into distinct segments. both thoracic and abdominal appendages are absent, and the tail is formed by a simple plate with numerous bristles, not forked, as in the case of the zoæa of fritz müller's penæus and sergestes. a dorsal spine is frequently found on the second abdominal segment. from the zoæa form the embryo passes into a mysis stage (fig. ), during which the thoracic appendages gradually appear as biramous swimming feet; they are all developed before any of the abdominal appendages, except the last. in some cases the development is still further abbreviated. thus the larvæ of crangon and palæmonetes (faxon, no. ) possess at hatching the rudiments of the two anterior pairs of thoracic feet, and palæmon of three pairs[ ]. [ ] fritz müller has recently (_zoologischer anzeiger_, no. ) described a still more abbreviated development of a palæmon living in brooks near blumenau. [fig. . newly-hatched larva of the american lobster. (after smith.)] amongst the other macrura the larva generally leaves the egg as a zoæa similar to that of the prawns. in the case of the thalassinidæ and paguridæ a mysis stage has disappeared. the most remarkable abbreviations of the typical development are presented on the one hand by homarus and astacus, and on the other by the loricata. the development of homarus has been fully worked out by s. j. smith (no. ) for the american lobster (homarus americanus). the larva (fig. ) leaves the egg in an advanced mysis stage. the cephalo-thoracic shield is fully developed, and armed with a rostrum in front. the first pair of antennæ is unjointed but the second is biramous, the outer ramus forming a large mysis-like scale. the mandibles, which are palped, the maxillæ, and the two anterior maxillipeds differ only in minor details from the same appendages of the adult. the third pair of maxillipeds is mysis-like and biramous, and the five ambulatory legs closely resemble them, the endopodite of the first being imperfectly chelate. the abdomen is well developed but without appendages. the second, third, fourth and fifth segments are armed with dorsal and lateral spines. in the next stage swimming feet have appeared on the second, third, fourth and fifth abdominal segments, and the appendages already present have approached their adult form. still later, when the larva is about half an inch in length, the approach to the adult form is more marked, and the exopodites of the ambulatory legs though present are relatively much reduced in size. the swimmerets of the sixth abdominal segment are formed. in the next stage observed the larva has entirely lost its schizopod characters, and though still retaining its free-swimming habits differs from the adult form only in generic characters. as has been already stated, no free larval stages occur in the development of astacus, but the young is hatched in a form in which it differs only in unimportant details from the adult. the peculiar larval form of the loricata (scyllarus, palinurus) has long been known under the name phyllosoma (fig. c), but its true nature was first shewn by couch (no. ) [couch did not however recognise the identity of his larva with phyllosoma; this was first done by gerstäcker] and shortly afterwards by gerbe and coste. these observations were however for a long time not generally accepted, till dohrn (no. ) published his valuable memoir giving an account of how he succeeded in actually rearing phyllosoma from the eggs of scyllarus and palinurus, and shewing that some of the most remarkable features of the metamorphosis of the loricata occur before the larva is hatched. the embryo of scyllarus in the egg first of all passes through the usual nauplius stage, and then after the formation of a cuticle develops an elongated thoracico-abdominal region bent completely over the anterior part of the body. there appear moreover a number of appendages and the rudiments of various organs; and the embryo passes into a form which may be described as the embryonic phyllosoma stage. in this stage there are present on the anterior part of the body, in front of the ventral flexure, two pairs of antennæ, mandibles, two pairs of maxillæ, the second commencing to be biramous, _and a small stump representing the first pair of maxillipeds_. the part of the body bent over consists of a small quadrate caudal plate, and an appendage-bearing region to which are attached anteriorly three pairs of biramous appendages--the second and third maxillipeds, and the anterior pair of ambulatory legs--and two pairs of undivided appendages--the second and third pairs of ambulatory legs. in a slightly later stage the first pair of maxillæ becomes biramous, as also does the first pair of maxillipeds in a very rudimentary fashion. the second and third pairs of ambulatory legs become biramous, while the second and third maxilliped nearly completely lose their outer ramus. very small rudiments of the two hinder ambulatory legs become formed. if the embryo is taken at this stage (_vide_ fig. a, which represents a nearly similar larva of palinurus) out of the egg, it is seen to consist of ( ) an anterior enlargement with a vaulted dorsal shield enclosing the yolk, two stalked eyes, and a median eye; ( ) a thoracic region in which the indications of segmentation are visible with the two posterior pairs of maxillipeds (_mxp _ and _mxp _) and the ambulatory legs (_p _); ( ) an abdominal region distinctly divided into segments and ending in a fork. [fig. . larvÆ of the loricata. (after claus.) a. embryo of palinurus shortly before hatching. b. young phyllosoma larva of scyllarus, without the first maxilliped, the two last thoracic appendages, or the abdominal appendages. c. fully-grown phyllosoma with all the decapod appendages. _at ._ antenna of first pair; _at ._ antenna of second pair; _md._ mandible; _mx ._ first maxilla; _mx ._ second maxilla; _mxp -mxp ._ maxillipeds; _p -p ._ thoracic appendages.] before the embryo becomes hatched _the first pair of maxillipeds becomes reduced in size and finally vanishes_. the second pair of maxillæ becomes reduced to simple stumps with a few bristles, the second pair of antennæ also appears to undergo a retrogressive change, while the two last thoracic segments cease to be distinguishable. it thus appears that during embryonic life the second pair of antennæ, the second pair of maxillæ, and the second and third pair of maxillipeds and the two hinder ambulatory appendages undergo retrogressive changes, while the first pair of maxillipeds is completely obliterated! the general form of the larva when hatched (fig. b) is not very different from that which it has during the later stages within the egg. the body is divided into three regions: ( ) an anterior cephalic, ( ) a middle thoracic, and ( ) a small posterior abdominal portion; and all of them are characterised by their extreme dorso-ventral compression, so that the whole animal has the form of a three-lobed disc, the strange appearance of which is much increased by its glass-like transparency. the cephalic portion is oval and projects slightly behind so as to overlap the thorax. its upper surface constitutes the dorsal shield, from which there spring anteriorly the two compound eyes on long stalks, between which is a median nauplius eye. the mouth is situated about the middle of the under surface of the anterior disc. it leads into a stomach from which an anterior and a lateral hepatic diverticulum springs out on each side. the former remains as a simple diverticulum through larval life, but the latter becomes an extremely complicated glandular structure. at the front border of the disc is placed the unjointed but elongated first pair of antennæ (_at _). externally to and behind these there spring the short posterior antennæ (_at _), at the base of which the green gland is already formed. surrounding the mouth are the mandibles (_md_) and anterior pair of maxillæ (_mx _), and some distance behind the second pair of maxillæ (_mx _), consisting of a cylindrical basal joint and short terminal joint armed with bristles. the first pair of maxillipeds is absent. the thoracic region is formed of an oval segmented disc attached to the under surface of the cephalic disc. from its front segment arises the second pair of maxillipeds (_mxp _) as single five-jointed appendages, and from the next segment springs the five-jointed elongated but uniramous third pair of maxillipeds (_mxp _), and behind this there arise three pairs of six-jointed ambulatory appendages (_p _, _p _, _p _, of which only the basal joint is represented in the figure) with an exopodite springing from their second joint. the two posterior thoracic rings and their appendages cannot be made out. the abdomen is reduced to a short imperfectly segmented stump, ending in a fork, between the prongs of which the anus opens. even the youngest larval phyllosoma, such as has just been described, cannot be compared with a zoæa, but belongs rather, in the possession of biramous thoracic feet, to a mysis stage. in the forked tail and nauplius eye there appear however to be certain very primitive characters carried on to this stage. the passage of this young larva to the fully formed phyllosoma (fig. c) is very simple. it consists essentially in the fresh development of the first pair of maxillipeds and the two last ambulatory appendages, the growth and segmentation of the abdomen, and the sprouting on it of biramous swimming feet. in the course of these changes the larva becomes a true decapod in the arrangement and number of its appendages; and indeed it was united with this group before its larval character was made out. in addition to the appearance of new appendages certain changes take place in those already present. the two posterior maxillipeds, in the palinurus phyllosoma at any rate, acquire again an exopodite, and together with the biramous ambulatory feet develop epipodites in the form of gill pouches. the mode of passage of the phyllosoma to the adult is not known, but it can easily be seen from the oldest phyllosoma forms that the dorsal cephalic plate grows over the thorax, and gives rise to the cephalo-thoracic shield of the adult. there are slight structural differences, especially in the antennæ, between the phyllosoma of scyllarus and that of palinurus, but the chief difference in development is that the first pair of maxillipeds of the palinurus embryo, though reduced in the embryonic state, does not completely vanish, at any rate till after the free larval state has commenced; and it is doubtful if it does so even then. the freshly hatched palinurus phyllosoma is very considerably more developed than that of scyllarus. [fig. . the appendages of a crab zoÆa. _at. i._ first antenna; _at. ii._ second antenna; _md._ mandible (without a palp); _mx. ._ first maxilla; _mx. ._ second maxilla; _mx. ._ third maxilla; _mxp. ._ first maxilliped; _mxp. ._ second maxilliped. _ex._ exopodite; _en._ endopodite.] _brachyura._ all the brachyura, with the exception of one or more species of land crabs[ ], leave the egg in the zoæa condition, and though there are slight variations of structure, yet on the whole the crab zoæa is a very well marked form. immediately after leaving the egg (fig. ) it has a somewhat oval shape with a long distinctly segmented abdomen bent underneath the thorax. the cephalo-thoracic shield covers over the front part of the body, and is prolonged into a long frontal spine pointing forwards, and springing from the region between the two eyes; a long dorsal spine pointing backwards; and two lateral spines. [ ] it has been clearly demonstrated that the majority of land crabs leave the egg in the zoæa form. to the under surface of the body are attached the anterior appendages up to the second maxilliped, while the six following pairs of thoracic appendages are either absent or represented only in a very rudimentary form. the abdomen is without appendages. [fig. . crab zoÆa after the third pair of maxillipeds and the thoracic and abdominal appendages have become developed. _at ._ antenna of first pair; _at ._ antenna of second pair; _mx ._ first maxilla; _mx ._ second maxilla; _mxp ._ first maxilliped; _mxp ._ second maxilliped; _mxp ._ third maxilliped; _oc._ eye; _ht._ heart.] the anterior antennæ are single and unjointed, but provided at their extremity with a few olfactory hairs (only two in carcinus moenas) and one or two bristles. the rudiment of the secondary flagellum appears in very young zoææ on the inner side of the antennules (fig. _at. i._). the posterior antennæ are without the flagellum, but are provided with a scale representing the exopodite (fig. _at. ii. ex_) and usually a spinous process. the flagellum is very early developed and is represented in fig. , _at. ii. en_. the mandibles (_md_) are large but without a palp. the anterior maxillæ (_mx _) have a short two-jointed endopodite (palp) with a few hairs, and a basal portion with two blades, of which the distal is the largest, both armed with stiff bristles. the posterior maxillæ have a small respiratory plate (exopodite), an endopodite (palp) shaped like a double blade, and two basal joints each continued into a double blade. the two maxillipeds (_mxp _ and _mxp _) have the form and function of biramous swimming feet. the exopodite of both is two-jointed and bears long bristles at its extremity; the endopodite of the anterior is five-jointed and long, that of the second is three-jointed and comparatively short. in the six-jointed tail the second segment has usually two dorsally directed spines, and the three succeeding segments each of them two posteriorly directed. the telson or swimming plate is not at first separated from the sixth segment; on each side it is prolonged into two well-marked prongs; and to each prong three bristles are usually attached (fig. ). the heart (fig. _ht_) lies under the dorsal spine and is prolonged into an anterior, posterior, and dorsal aorta. it has only two pairs of venous ostia. during the zoæa stage the larva rapidly grows in size, and undergoes considerable changes in its appendages which reach the full decapod number (fig. ). on both pairs of antennæ a flagellum becomes developed and grows considerably in length. before the close of the zoæa condition a small and unjointed palp appears on the mandible. behind the second maxilliped the third maxilliped (_mxp _) early appears as a small biramous appendage, and the five ambulatory feet become distinctly formed as uniramous appendages--the exopodites not being present. the third pair of maxillipeds and three following ambulatory appendages develop gill pouches. the abdominal feet are formed on the second to the sixth segments of the tail as simple pouches. the oldest zoæa is transmuted at its moult into a form known as megalopa, which is really almost identical with an anomurous decapod. no schizopod stage is intercalated, which shews that the development is in many respects greatly abbreviated. the essential characters of the megalopa are to be found in ( ) the reduction of the two anterior maxillipeds, which cease to function as swimming feet, and together with the appendages in front of them assume the adult form; ( ) the full functional development of the five ambulatory appendages; ( ) the reduction of the forked telson to an oval swimming plate, and the growth in size of the abdominal feet, which become large swimming plates and are at the same time provided with short endopodites which serve to lock the feet of the two sides. with these essential characters the form of the megalopa differs considerably in different cases. in some instances (_e.g._ carcinus moenas) the zoæa spines of the youngest megalopa are so large that the larva appears almost more like a zoæa than a megalopa (spence bate, no. ). in other cases, _e.g._ that represented on fig. , the zoæa spines are still present but much reduced; and the cephalo-thoracic shield has very much the adult form. in other cases again (_e.g._ portunus) the zoæa spines are completely thrown off at the youngest megalopa stage. there is a gradual passage from the youngest megalopa to the adult form by a series of moults. [fig. . megalopa stage of crab larva.] some of the brachyurous zoæa forms exhibit considerable divergences from the described type, more especially in the armature of the shield. in some forms the spines are altogether absent, _e.g._ maja (couch, no. ) and eurynome. in other forms the frontal spine may be much reduced or absent (inachus and achæus). the dorsal spine may also be absent, and in one form described by dohrn (no. ) there is a long frontal spine and two pairs of lateral spines, but no dorsal spine. both dorsal and frontal spines may attain enormous dimensions and be swollen at their extremities (dohrn). a form has been described by claus as pterocaris in which the cephalo-thoracic shield is laterally expanded into two wing-like processes. the zoæa of porcellana presents on the whole the most remarkable peculiarities and, as might be anticipated from the systematic position of the adult, is in some respects intermediate between the macrurous zoæa and that of the brachyura. it is characterized by the oval form of the body, and by the presence of one enormously long frontal spine and two posterior spines. the usual dorsal spine is absent. the tail plate is rounded and has the character of the tail of a macrurous zoæa, but in the young zoæa the third pair of maxillipeds is absent and the appendages generally have a brachyurous character. a megalopa stage is hardly represented, since the adult may almost be regarded as a permanent megalopa. stomatopoda. the history of the larval forms of the stomatopoda (squilla etc.) has not unfortunately been thoroughly worked out, but what is known from the researches of fritz müller (no. ) and claus (no. ) is of very great importance. there are it appears two types, both of which used to be described as adult forms under the respective names erichthus and alima. [fig. . second stage of erichthus larva of squilla with five maxillipeds and the first pair of abdominal appendages. (from claus.)] the youngest known erichthus form is about two millimetres in length, and has the characters of a modified zoæa (fig. ). the body is divided into three regions, an anterior unsegmented region to which are attached two pairs of antennæ, mandibles, and maxillæ (two pairs). this portion has a dorsal shield covering the next or middle region, which consists of five segments each with a pair of biramous appendages. these appendages represent the five maxillipeds of the adult[ ]. the portion of the body behind this is without appendages. it consists of three short anterior segments,--the three posterior thoracic segments of the adult,--and a long unsegmented tail. the three footless thoracic segments are covered by the dorsal shield. both pairs of antennæ are uniramous and comparatively short. the mandibles, like those of phyllopods, are without palps, and the two following pairs of maxillæ are small. the five maxillipeds have the characters of normal biramous zoæa feet. from the front of the head spring a pair of compound eyes with short stalks, which grow longer in the succeeding stages; between them is a median eye. the dorsal shield is attached just behind this eye, and is provided, as in the typical zoæa, with a frontal spike--while its hinder border is produced into two lateral spikes and one median. in a larva of about three millimetres a pair of biramous appendages arises behind the three footless thoracic segments. it is the anterior pair of abdominal feet (fig. ). the inner ramus of the second pair of maxillipeds soon grows greatly in length, indicating its subsequent larger size and prehensile form (fig. _g_). when the larva after one or two moults attains a length of six millimetres (fig. ) the abdomen has six segments (the sixth hardly differentiated), each with a pair of appendages (the two hindermost still rudimentary) which have become gradually developed from before backwards. the three hindermost thoracic segments are still without appendages. [ ] these five maxillipeds correspond with the three maxillipeds and two anterior ambulatory appendages of the decapoda. [fig. . advanced erichthus larva of squilla with five pairs of abdominal appendages. (from claus.) _f._ first maxilliped; _g._ second maxilliped.] some changes of importance have occurred in the other parts. both antennæ have acquired a second flagellum, but the mandible is still without a palp. the first and second pair of maxillipeds have both undergone important modifications. their outer ramus (exopodite) has been thrown off, and a gill plate (epipodite) has appeared as an outgrowth from their basal joint. each of them is composed of six joints. the three following biramous appendages have retained their earlier characters but have become much reduced in size. in the subsequent moults the most remarkable new features concern the three posterior maxillipeds, _which undergo atrophy, and are either completely lost or reduced to mere unjointed sacks_ (fig. ). in the stage where the complete erichthus type has been reached, these three appendages have again sprouted forth in their permanent form and each of them is provided with a gill sack on its coxal joint. behind them the three ambulatory appendages of the thorax have also appeared, first as simple buds, which subsequently however become biramous. on their development the full number of adult appendages is acquired. [fig. . advanced erichthus larva of squilla when the three posterior maxillipeds have become reduced to minute pouches. (from claus.)] the most noteworthy points in the developmental history detailed above are the following: ( ) the thoracic and abdominal segments (apart from their appendages) develop successively from before backwards. ( ) the three last maxillipeds develop before the abdominal feet, as biramous appendages, but subsequently completely atrophy, and then sprout out again in their permanent form. ( ) the abdominal feet develop in succession from before backwards, and the whole series of them is fully formed before a trace of the appendages of the three hindermost thoracic segments has appeared. it may be mentioned as a point of some importance that the zoæa of squilla has an elongated many-chambered heart, and not the short compact heart usually found in the zoæa. the younger stages of the alima larva are not known[ ], but the earliest stage observed is remarkable for presenting no trace of the three posterior pairs of maxillipeds, or of the three following pairs of thoracic appendages. the segments belonging to these appendages are however well developed. the tail has its full complement of segments with the normal number of well-developed swimming feet. the larva represents in fact the stage of the erichthus larva when the three posterior pairs of maxillipeds have undergone atrophy; but it is probable that these appendages never become developed in this form of larva. [ ] the observations of brooks (no. ) render it probable that the alima larva leaves the egg in a form not very dissimilar to the youngest known larva. apart from the above peculiarities the alima form of larva closely resembles the erichthus form. nebaliadæ. the development of nebalia is abbreviated, but from metschnikoff's figures[ ] may be seen to resemble closely that of mysis. the abdomen has comparatively little yolk, and is bent over the ventral surface of the thorax. there is in the egg a nauplius stage with three appendages, and subsequently a stage with the zoæa appendages. [ ] his paper is unfortunately in russian. the larva when it leaves the egg has the majority of its appendages formed, but is still enveloped in a larval skin, and like mysis bends its abdomen towards the dorsal side. when the larva is finally hatched it does not differ greatly from the adult. cumaceæ. the development of the cumaceæ takes place for the most part within the egg, and has been shewn by dohrn (no. ) to resemble in many points that of the isopods. a dorsal organ is present, and a fold is formed immediately behind this which gives to the embryo a dorsal flexure. both of these features are eminently characteristic of the isopoda. the formation of the two pairs of antennæ, mandibles, and two pairs of maxillæ and the following seven pairs of appendages takes place very early. the pair of appendages behind the second maxillæ assumes an ambulatory form, and exhibits a schizopod character very early, differing in both these respects from the homologous appendages in the isopoda. the cephalo-thoracic shield commences to be formed when the appendages are still quite rudimentary as a pair of folds in the maxillary region. the eyes are formed slightly later on each side of the head, and only coalesce at a subsequent period to form the peculiar median sessile eye of the adult. the two pairs of appendages behind the second maxillæ become converted into maxillipeds, and the exopodite of the first of them becomes the main ramus, while in the externally similar second maxilliped the exopodite atrophies and the endopodite alone remains. the larva is hatched without the last pair of thoracic limbs or the abdominal appendages (which are never developed in the female), but in other respects closely resembles the adult. before hatching the dorsal flexure is exchanged for a ventral one, and the larva acquires a character more like that of a decapod. copepoda. natantia. the free copepoda are undoubtedly amongst the lowest forms of those crustacea which are free or do not lead a parasitic existence. although some features of their anatomy, such for instance as the frequent absence of a heart, may be put down to a retrogressive development, yet, from their retention of the median frontal eye of the nauplius as the sole organ of vision[ ], their simple biramous swimming legs, and other characters, they may claim to be very primitive forms, which have diverged to no great extent from the main line of crustacean development. they supply a long series of transitional steps from the nauplius stage to the adult condition. [ ] the pontellidæ form an exception to this statement, in that they are provided with paired lateral eyes in addition to the median one. while still within the egg-shell the embryo is divided by two transverse constrictions into three segments, on which the three nauplius appendages are developed, viz. the two pairs of antennæ and the mandibles. when the embryo is hatched the indication of a division into segments has vanished, but the larva is in the fullest sense a typical nauplius[ ]. there are slight variations in the shape of the nauplius in different genera, but its general form and character are very constant. it has (fig. a) an oval unsegmented body with three pairs of appendages springing from the ventral surface. the anterior of these (_at _) is uniramous, and usually formed of three joints which bear bristles on their under surface. the two posterior pairs of appendages are both biramous. the second pair of antennæ (_at _) is the largest. its basal portion (protopodite) bears on its inner side a powerful hook-like bristle. the outer ramus is the longest and many-jointed; the inner ramus has only two joints. the mandibles (_md_), though smaller than the second pair of antennæ, have a nearly identical structure. no blade-like projection is as yet developed on their protopodite. between the points of insertion of the first pair of antennæ is the median eye (_oc_), which originates by the coalescence of two distinct parts. the mouth is ventral, and placed in the middle line between the second pair of antennæ and the mandibles: it is provided with an unpaired upper lip. there are two bristles at the hind end of the embryo between which the anus is placed; and in some cases there is at this part a slight indication of the future caudal fork. [ ] the term nauplius was applied to the larva of cyclops and allied organisms by o. f. müller under the impression that they were adult forms. [fig. . successive stages in the development of cyclops tenuicornis. (copied from bronn; after claus.) a. b. and c. nauplius stages. d. youngest copepod stage. in this figure maxillæ and the two rami of the maxilliped are seen immediately behind the mandible _md._ _oc._ eye; _at ._ first pair of antennæ; _at ._ second pair of antennæ; _md._ mandible; _p ._ first pair of feet; _p ._ second pair of feet; _p ._ third pair of feet; _u._ excretory concretions in the intestine.] the larva undergoes a number of successive ecdyses, at each of which the body becomes more elongated, and certain other changes take place. first of all a pair of appendages arises behind the mandibles, which form the maxillæ (fig. b); at the same time the basal joint of the maxillæ develops a cutting blade. three successive pairs of appendages (fig. c) next become formed--the so-called maxillipeds (the homologues of the second pair of maxillæ), and the two first thoracic limbs. each of these though very rudimentary is nevertheless bifid. the body becomes greatly elongated, and the caudal fork more developed. up to this stage of development the nauplius appendages have retained their primitive character almost unaltered; but after a few more ecdyses a sudden change takes place; a cephalo-thoracic shield becomes fully developed, and the larva comes to resemble in character an adult copepod, from which it mainly differs in the smaller number of segments and appendages. in the earliest 'cyclops' stage the same number of appendages are present as in the last nauplius stage. there (fig. d) is a well-developed cephalo-thorax, and four free segments behind it. to the cephalo-thoracic region the antennæ, mandibles, maxillæ, the now double pair of maxillipeds (derived from the original single pair of appendages), and first pair of thoracic appendages (_p _) are attached. the second pair of thoracic appendages (_p _) is fixed to the first free segment, and the rudiment of a third pair (_p _) projects from the second free segment. the first pair of antennæ has grown longer by the addition of new joints, and continues to increase in length in the following ecdyses till it attains its full adult development, and then forms the chief organ of locomotion. the second pair of antennæ is much reduced and has lost one of its rami. the two rami of the mandibles are reduced to a simple palp, while the blade has assumed its full importance. the maxillæ and following appendages have greatly increased in size. they are all biramous, though the two rami are not as yet jointed. the adult state is gradually attained after a number of successive ecdyses, at which new segments and appendages are added, while new joints are formed for those already present. parasita. the earliest developmental stages of the parasitic types of copepoda closely resemble those of the free forms, but, as might be expected from the peculiarly modified forms of the adult, they present a large number of secondary characters. so far as is known a more or less modified nauplius larva is usually preserved. [fig. . successive stages in the development of achtheres percarum. (copied from bronn; after claus.) a. modified nauplius stage. b. cyclops stage. c. late stage of male embryo. d. sexually mature female. e. sexually mature male. _at ._ first pair of antennæ; _at ._ second pair of antennæ; _md._ mandible; _mx._ maxillæ; _pm ._ outer pair of maxillipeds; _pm ._ inner pair of maxillipeds; _p ._ first pair of legs; _p ._ second pair of legs; _z._ frontal organ; _i._ intestine; _o._ larval eye; _b._ glandular body; _t._ organ of touch; _ov._ ovary; _f._ rod projecting from coalesced maxillipeds; _g._ cement gland; _rs._ receptaculum seminis; _n._ nervous system; _te._ testis; _v._ vas deferens.] the development of achtheres percarum, one of the lernæopoda parasitic in the mouth, etc. of the common perch, may be selected to illustrate the mode of development of these forms. the larva leaves the egg as a much simplified nauplius (fig. a). it has an oval body with only the two anterior pairs of nauplius appendages; both of them in the rudimentary condition of unjointed rods. the usual median eye is present, and there is also found a peculiar sternal papilla, on which opens a spiral canal filled with a glutinous material, which is probably derived from a gland which disappears on the completion of the duct. the probable function of this organ is to assist at a later period in the attachment of the parasite to its host. underneath the nauplius skin a number of appendages are visible, which become functional after the first ecdysis. this takes place within a few hours after the hatching of the nauplius, and the larva then passes from this rudimentary nauplius stage into a stage corresponding with the cyclops stage of the free forms (fig. b). in the cyclops stage the larva has an elongated body with a large cephalo-thoracic shield, and four free posterior segments, the last of which bears a forked tail. there are now present eight pairs of appendages, viz. antennæ (two pairs), mandibles, maxillæ, maxillipeds, and three pairs of swimming feet. the nauplius appendages are greatly modified. the first pair of antennæ is three-jointed, and the second biramous. the outer ramus is the longest, and bears a claw-like bristle at its extremity. this pair of appendages is used by the larva for fixing itself. the mandibles are small and connected with the proboscidiform mouth; and the single pair of maxillæ is small and palped. the maxillipeds (_pm _ and _pm _) are believed by claus to be primitively a single biramous appendage, but early appear as two distinct structures[ ], the outer and larger of which becomes the main organ by which the larva is fixed. both are at this stage simple two-jointed appendages. the two anterior pairs of swimming feet have the typical structure, and consist of a protopodite bearing an unjointed exopodite and endopodite. the first pair is attached to the cephalo-thorax and the second (_p _) to the first free thoracic segment. the third pair is very small and attached to the second free segment. the mouth is situated at the end of a kind of proboscis formed by prolongations of the upper and lower lips. the alimentary tract is fairly simple, and the anus opens between the caudal forks. [ ] van beneden (no. ) in the genera investigated by him finds that the two maxillipeds are really distinct pairs of appendages. between this and the next known stage it is quite possible that one or more may intervene. however this may be the larva in the next stage observed (fig. c) has already become parasitic in the mouth of the perch, and has acquired an elongated vermiform aspect. the body is divided into two sections, an anterior unsegmented, and a posterior formed of five segments, of which the foremost is the first thoracic segment which in the earlier stage was fused with the cephalo-thorax. the tail bears a rudimentary fork between the prongs of which the anus opens. the swimming feet have disappeared, so also has the eye and the spiral duct of the embryonic frontal organ. the outer of the two divisions of the maxilliped have undergone the most important modification, in that they have become united at their ends, where they form an organ from which an elongated rod (_f_) projects, and attaches the larva to the mouth or gills of its host. the antennæ and jaws have nearly acquired their adult form. the nervous system consists of supra- and infra-oesophageal ganglia and two lateral trunks given off from the latter. at this stage the males and females can already be distinguished, not only by certain differences in the rudimentary generative organs, but also by the fact that the outer branch of the maxillipeds is much longer in the female than in the male, and projects beyond the head. in the next ecdysis the adult condition is reached. the outer maxillipeds of the male (fig. e, _pm _) separate again; while in the female (fig. d) they remain fused and develop a sucker. the male is only about one-fifth the length of the female. in both sexes the abdomen is much reduced. in the genera anchorella, lernæopoda, brachiella and hessia, _ed. van beneden_ (no. ) has shewn that the embryo, although it passes through a crypto-nauplius stage in the egg, is when hatched already in the cyclops stage. branchiura. the peculiar parasite argulus, the affinities of which with the copepoda have been demonstrated by claus (no. ), is hatched in a cyclops stage, and has no nauplius stage. at the time of hatching it closely resembles the adult in general form. its appendages are however very nearly those of a typical larval copepod. the body is composed of a cephalo-thorax and free region behind this. the cephalo-thorax bears on its under surface antennæ (two pairs), mandibles, maxillipeds, and the first pair of thoracic feet. the first pair of antennæ is three-jointed, but the basal joint bears a hook. the second pair is biramous, the inner ramus terminating in a hook. the mandible is palped, but the palp is completely separated from the cutting blade[ ]. the maxilla would, according to claus, appear to be absent. [ ] it seems not impossible that the appendage regarded by claus as the mandibular palp may really represent the maxilla, which would otherwise seem to be absent. this mode of interpretation would bring the appendages of argulus into a much closer agreement with those of the parasitic copepoda. it does not seem incompatible with the existence of the stylet-like maxillæ detected by claus in the adult. the two typical divisions of the copepod maxillipeds are present, viz. an outer and anterior larger division, and an inner and posterior smaller one. the first pair of thoracic feet, as is usual amongst copepoda, is attached to the cephalo-thorax. it has not the typical biramous copepod character. there are four free segments behind the cephalo-thorax, the last of which ends in a fork. three of them bear appendages, which are rudimentary in this early larval stage. on the dorsal surface are present paired eyes as well as an unpaired median eye. between the larval condition and that of the adult a number of ecdyses intervene. cirripedia. the larvæ of all the cirripedia, with one or two exceptions, leave the egg in the nauplius condition. the nauplii differ somewhat in the separate groups, and the post-nauplial stages vary not inconsiderably. it will be most convenient to treat successively the larval history of the four sub-orders, viz. thoracica, abdominalia, apoda, and rhizocephala. thoracica. the just hatched larvæ at once leave the egg lamellæ of their parent. they pass out through an opening in the mantle near the mouth, and during this passage the shell of the parent is opened and the movements of the cirriform feet cease. the larval stages commence with a nauplius[ ] which, though regarded by claus as closely resembling the copepod nauplius (figs. and a), certainly has very marked peculiarities of its own, and in some respects approaches the phyllopod nauplius. it is in the youngest stage somewhat triangular in form, and covered on the dorsal side by a very delicate and hardly perceptible dorsal shield, which is prolonged laterally into two very peculiar conical horns (fig. _lh_), which are the most characteristic structures of the cirriped nauplius. they are connected with a glandular mass, the secretion from which passes out at their apex. anteriorly the dorsal shield has the same extension as the body, but posteriorly it projects slightly. [ ] alepas squalicola is stated by koren and danielssen to form an exception to this rule, and to leave the egg with six pairs of appendages. an unpaired eye is situated on the ventral surface of the head, and immediately behind it there springs a more or less considerable upper lip (_lb_), which resembles the phyllopod labrum rather than that of the copepoda. both mouth and anus are present, and the hind end of the body is slightly forked in some forms, but ends in others, _e.g._ lepas fascicularis, in an elongated spine. the anterior of the three pairs of nauplius appendages (_at _) is uniramous, and the two posterior (_at _ and _md_) are biramous. from the protopodites of both the latter spring strong hooks like those of the copepod and phyllopod nauplii. in some nauplii, _e.g._ that of balanus, the appendages are at first not jointed, but in other nauplii, _e.g._ that of lepas fascicularis, the jointing is well marked. in lepas fascicularis the earliest free nauplius is enveloped in a larval skin, which is thrown off after a few hours. the nauplii of all the thoracica undergo a considerable number of moults before their appendages increase in number or segmentation of the body appears. during these moults they grow larger, and the posterior part of the body--the future thoracic and abdominal region--grows relatively in length. there also appear close to the sides of the unpaired eye two conical bodies, which correspond with the frontal sense organs of the phyllopods. during their growth the different larvæ undergo changes varying greatly in degree. in balanus the changes consist for the most part in the full segmentation of the appendages and the growth and distinctness of the dorsal shield, which forms a somewhat blunt triangular plate, broadest in front, with the anterior horns very long, and two short posterior spines. the tail also becomes produced into a long spine. [fig. . nauplius larva of lepas fascicularis viewed from the side. _oc._ eye; _at. ._ antenna of first pair; _at. ._ antenna of second pair; _md._ mandible; _lb._ labrum; _an._ anus; _me._ mesenteron; _d.sp._ dorsal spine; _c.sp._ caudal spine; _vp._ ventral spine; _lh._ lateral horns.] in lepas fascicularis the changes in appearance of the nauplius, owing to a great spinous development on its shield, are very considerable; and, together with its enormous size, render it a very remarkable form. dohrn (no. ), who was the first to describe it, named it archizoæa gigas. the dorsal shield of the nauplius of lepas fascicularis (fig. ) becomes somewhat hexagonal, and there springs from the middle of the dorsal surface an enormously long spine (_d.sp_), like the dorsal spine of a zoæa. the hind end of the shield is also produced into a long caudal spine (_c.sp_) between which and the dorsal spine are some feather-like processes. from its edge there spring in addition to the primitive frontal horns three main pairs of horns, one pair anterior, one lateral, and one posterior, and smaller ones in addition. all these processes (with the exception of the dorsal and posterior spines) are hollow and open at their extremities, and like the primitive frontal horns contain the ducts of glands situated under the shield. on the under surface of the larva is situated the unpaired eye (_oc_) on each side of which spring the two-jointed frontal sense organs. immediately behind these is the enormous upper lip (_lb_) which covers the mouth[ ]. at the sides of the lip lie the three pairs of nauplius appendages, which are very characteristic but present no special peculiarities. posteriorly the body is produced into a long ventral spine-like process (_vp_) homologous with that of other more normal nauplii. at the base of this process large moveable paired spines appear at successive moults, six pairs being eventually formed. these spines give to the region in which they are situated a segmented appearance, and perhaps similar structures have given rise to the appearance of segmentation in spence bate's figures. the anus is situated on the dorsal side of this ventral process, and between it and the caudal spine of the shield above. the fact that the anus occupies this position appears to indicate that the ventral process is homologous with the caudal fork of the copepoda, on the dorsal side of which the anus so often opens[ ]. [ ] willemoes suhm (no. ) states that the mouth is situated at the free end of the upper lip, and that the oesophagus passes through it. from an examination of some specimens of this nauplius, for which i am indebted to moseley, i am inclined to think that this is a mistake, and that a groove on the surface of the upper lip has been taken by suhm for the oesophagus. [ ] the enormous spinous development of the larva of lepas fascicularis is probably to be explained as a secondary protective adaptation, and has no genetic connection with the somewhat similar spinous armature of the zoæa. from the nauplius condition the larvæ pass at a single moult into an entirely different condition known as the cypris stage. in preparation for this condition there appear, during the last nauplius moults, the rudiments of several fresh organs, which are more or less developed in different types. in the first place a compound eye is formed on each side of the median eye. secondly there appears behind the mandibles a fourth pair of appendages--the first pair of maxillæ--and internal to these a pair of small prominences, which are perhaps equivalent to the second pair of maxillæ, and give rise to the third pair of jaws in the adult (sometimes spoken of as the lower lip). behind these appendages there are moreover formed the rudiments of six pairs of feet. under the cuticle of the first pair of antennæ there may be seen just before the final moult the four-jointed antennæ of the cypris stage with the rudiment of a disc on the second joint by which the larvæ eventually become attached. by the free cypris stage, into which the larva next passes, a very complete metamorphosis has been effected. the median and paired eyes are present as before, but the dorsal shield has become a bivalve shell, the two valves of which are united along their dorsal, anterior, and posterior margins. the two valves are further kept in place by an adductor muscle situated close below the mouth. remains of the lateral horns still persist. the anterior antennæ have undergone the metamorphosis already indicated. they are four-jointed, the two basal joints being long, and the second provided with a suctorial disc, in the centre of which is the opening of the duct of the so-called antennary or cement gland, which is a granular mass lying on the ventral side of the anterior region of the body. the gland arises (willemoes suhm) during the nauplius stage in the large upper lip. the two distal joints of the antennæ are short, and the last of them is provided with olfactory hairs. the great upper lip and second pair of antennæ and mandibles have disappeared, but a small papilla, forming the commencement of the adult mandibles, is perhaps developed in the base of the nauplius mandibles. the first pair of maxillæ have become small papillæ and the second pair probably remain. the six posterior pairs of appendages have grown out as functional biramous swimming feet, which can project beyond the shell and are used in the locomotion of the larva. they are composed of two basal joints, and two rami with swimming hairs, each two-jointed. these feet resemble copepod feet, and form the main ground for the views of claus and others that the copepoda and cirripedia are closely related. they are regarded by claus as representing the five pairs of natatory feet of copepoda, and the generative appendages of the segment behind these. between the natatory feet are delicate chitinous lamellæ, in the spaces between which the cirriform feet of the adult become developed. the ventral spinous process of the nauplius stage is much reduced, though usually three-jointed. it becomes completely aborted after the larva is fixed. in addition to the antennary gland there is present, near the dorsal side of the body above the natatory feet, a peculiar paired glandular mass, the origin of which has not been clearly made out, but which is perhaps equivalent to the entomostracan shell-gland. it probably supplies the material for the shell in succeeding stages[ ]. [ ] there is considerable confusion about the shell-gland and antennary gland. in my account willemoes suhm has been followed. claus however regards what i have called the antennary gland as the shell-gland, and states that it does not open into the antennæ till a later period. he does not clearly describe its opening, nor the organ which i have called the shell-gland. [fig. . larval forms of the thoracica. (from huxley.) a. nauplius of balanus balanoides. (after sp. bate.) b. pupa stage of lepas australis. (after darwin.) _n._ antennary apodemes; _t._ cement gland with duct to antenna.] the free cypris stage is not of long duration; and during it the larva does not take food. it is succeeded by a stage known as the pupa stage (fig. b), in which the larva becomes fixed, while underneath the larval skin the adult structures are developed. this stage fully deserves its name, since it is a quiescent stage during which no nutriment is taken. the attachment takes place by the sucker of the antennæ, and the cement gland (_t_) supplies the cementing material for effecting it. a retrogressive metamorphosis of a large number of the organs sets in, while at the same time the formation of new adult structures is proceeded with. the eyes become gradually lost, but the nauplius eye is retained, though in a rudimentary state, and the terminal joints of the antennæ with their olfactory hairs are thrown off. the bivalve shell is moulted about the same time as the eyes, the skin below it remaining as the mantle. the caudal process becomes aborted. underneath the natatory feet, and between the above-mentioned chitinous lamellæ, the cirriform feet are formed; and on their completion the natatory feet become thrown off and replaced by the permanent feet. in the lepadidæ, in which the metamorphosis of the pupa stages has been most fully studied, the anterior part of the body with the antennæ gradually grows out into an elongated stalk, into which pass the ovaries, which are formed during the cypris stage. at the base of the stalk is the protuberant mouth, the appendages of which soon attain a higher development than in the cypris stage. at the front part of it a large upper lip becomes formed. above the mantle and between it and the shell there are formed in the lepadidæ the provisional valves of the shell. these valves are chitinous, and have a fenestrated structure, owing to the chitin being deposited round the margin of the separate epidermis (hypodermis) cells. these valves in the lepadidæ "prefigure in shape, size, and direction of growth, the shelly valves to be formed under and around them" (darwin, no. , p. ). whatever may be the number of valves in the adult the provisional valves never exceed five, viz. the two scuta, the two terga and the carina. they are relatively far smaller than the permanent valves and are therefore separated by considerable membranous intervals. they are often preserved for a long time on the permanent calcareous valves. in the balanidæ the embryonic valves are membranous and do not overlap, but do not present the peculiar fenestrated structure of the primordial valves of the lepadidæ. in connection with the moult of the pupa skin, and the conversion of the pupa into the adult form, a remarkable change in the position takes place. the pupa lies with the ventral side parallel to and adjoining the surface of attachment, while the long axis of the body of the young cirriped is placed nearly at right angles to the surface of attachment. this change is connected with the ecdyses of the antennary apodemes (_n_), which leave a deep bay on the ventral surface behind the peduncle. the chitinous skin of the cirriped passes round the head of this bay, but on the moult of the pupa skin taking place becomes stretched out, owing to the posterior part of the larva bending dorsalwards. it is this flexure which causes the change in the position of the larva. in addition to the remarkable external metamorphosis undergone during the pupa stage, a series of hardly less considerable internal changes take place, such as the atrophy of the muscles of the antennæ, a change in the position of the stomach, etc. abdominalia. in the alcippidæ the larva leaves the egg as a nauplius, and this stage is eventually followed by a pupa stage closely resembling that of the thoracica. there are six pairs of thoracic natatory legs (darwin, no. ). of these only the first and the last three are preserved in the adult, the first being bent forward in connection with the mouth. the body moreover partially preserves its segmentation, and the mantle does not secrete calcareous valves. [fig. . stages in the development of the rhizocephala. (from huxley, after fritz müller.) a. nauplius of sacculina purpurea. b. cypris stage of lernæodiscus porcellanæ. c. adult of peltogaster paguri. _ii._ _iii._ _iv._ two pairs of antennæ and mandibles; _cp._ carapace; _a._ anterior end of body; _b._ generative aperture; _c._ root-like processes.] the very remarkable genus cryptophialus, the development of which is described by darwin (no. ) in his classical memoir, is without a free nauplius stage. the embryo is at first oval but soon acquires two anterior processes, apparently the first pair of antennæ, and a posterior prominence, the abdomen. in a later stage the abdominal prominence disappears, and the antennary processes, within which the true antennæ are now visible, are carried more towards the ventral surface. the larva next passes into the free cypris stage, during which it creeps about the mantle cavity of its parent. it is enveloped in a bivalve shell, and the antennæ have the normal cirriped structure. there are no other true appendages, but posteriorly three pairs of bristles are attached to a rudimentary abdomen. paired compound eyes are present. during the succeeding pupa stage the metamorphosis into the adult form takes place, but this has not been followed out in detail. in kochlorine, a form discovered by noll (no. ) and closely related to cryptophialus, the larvæ found within the mantle represent apparently two larval stages, similar to two of the larval stages described by darwin. rhizocephala. the rhizocephala, as might have been anticipated from their close relationship to anelasma squalicola amongst the thoracica, undergo a development differing much less from the type of the thoracica than that of cryptophialus and kochlorine. sacculina leaves the egg as a nauplius (fig. a), which differs from the ordinary type mainly ( ) in the large development of an oval dorsal shield (_cp_) which projects far beyond the edge of the body, but is provided with the typical sternal horns, etc.; and ( ) in the absence of a mouth. the cypris and pupa stages of sacculina and other rhizocephala (fig. b) are closely similar to those of the thoracica, but the paired eye is absent. the attachment takes place in the usual way, but the subsequent metamorphosis leads to the loss of the thoracic feet and generally to retrogressive changes. ostracoda. our knowledge of the development of this remarkable group is entirely due to the investigations of claus. some forms of cythere are viviparous, and in the marine form cypridina the embryo develops within the valves of the shell. cypris attaches its eggs to water plants. the larvæ of cypris are free, and their development is somewhat complicated. the whole development is completed in nine ecdyses, each of them accompanied by more or less important changes in the constitution of the larva. [fig. . two stages in the development of cypris. (from claus.) a. earliest (nauplius) stage. b. second stage. _a´._ _a´´._ first and second pairs of antennæ; _md._ mandibles; _ol._ labrum; _mx´._ first pair of maxillæ; _f´´_. first pair of feet.] in the earliest free stage the larva has the characters of a true nauplius with three pairs of appendages (fig. a). the nauplius presents however one or two very marked secondary characters. in the first place it is completely enveloped in a fully formed bivalve shell, differing in unessential points from the shell of the adult. an adductor muscle (sm) for the shell is present. again the second and third appendages, though locomotive in function are neither of them biramous, and the third one already contains a rudiment of the future mandibular blade, and terminates in an anteriorly directed hook-like bristle. the first pair of antennæ is moreover very similar to the second and is used in progression. neither of the pairs of antennæ become much modified in the subsequent metamorphosis. the nauplius has a single median eye, as in the adult cypris, and a fully developed alimentary tract. [fig. . stages in the development of cypris. (from claus.) a. fourth stage. b. fifth stage. _mx´._ first maxilla; _mx´´._ and _f´._ second maxilla; _f´´._ first pair of feet; _l._ liver.] the second stage (fig. b), inaugurated by the first moult, is mainly characterized by the appearance of two fresh pairs of appendages, viz. the first pair of maxillæ and the first pair of feet; the second pair of maxillæ not being developed till later. the first pair appear as leaf-like curved plates (_mx´_) more or less like phyllopod appendages (claus) though at this stage without an exopodite. the first pair of feet (_f´´_) terminates in a curved claw and is used for adhering. the mandibles have by this stage fully developed blades, and have practically attained their adult form, consisting of a powerful toothed blade and a four-jointed palp. during the third and fourth stages the first pair of maxillæ acquire their pectinated gill plate (epipodite) and four blades; and in the fourth stage (fig. a) the second pair of maxillæ (_mx´´_) arises, as a pair of curved plates, similar to the first pair of maxillæ at their first appearance. the forked tail is indicated during the fourth stage by two bristles. during the fifth stage (fig. b) the number of joints of the first pair of antennæ becomes increased, and the posterior maxillæ develop a blade and become four-jointed ambulatory appendages terminating in a hook. the caudal fork becomes more distinct. in the sixth stage (fig. ) the second and hindermost pair of feet becomes formed (_f´´´_) and the maxillæ of the second pair lose their ambulatory function, and begin to be converted into definite masticatory appendages by the reduced jointing of their palp, and the increase of their cutting blades. by the seventh stage all the appendages have practically attained their permanent form; the second pair of maxillæ has acquired small branchial plates, and the two following feet have become jointed. in the eighth and ninth stages the generative organs attain their mature form. [fig. . sixth stage in the development of cypris. (from claus.) _mx´._ first maxilla; _mx´´._ _f´._ second maxilla; _f´´._ and _f´´´._ first and second pair of feet; _fu._ caudal fork; _l._ liver; _s.d._ shell-gland.] the larva of cythere at the time of birth has rudiments of all the limbs, but the mandibular palp still functions as a limb, and the three feet ( nd pair of maxillæ and two following appendages) are very rudimentary. the larvæ of cypridina are hatched in a condition which to all intents and purposes resembles the adult. _phylogeny of the crustacea._ the classical work of fritz müller (no. ) on the phylogeny of the crustacea has given a great impetus to the study of their larval forms, and the interpretations of these forms which he has offered have been the subject of a very large amount of criticism and discussion. a great step forward in this discussion has been recently made by claus in his memoir (no. ). the most fundamental question concerns the meaning of the nauplius. is the nauplius the ancestral form of the crustacea, as is believed by fritz müller and claus, or are its peculiarities and constant occurrence due to some other cause? the most plausible explanation on the second hypothesis would seem to be the following. the segments with their appendages of arthropoda and annelida are normally formed from before backwards, therefore every member of these two groups with more than three segments must necessarily pass through a stage with _only three segments_, and the fact that in a particular group this stage is often reached on the larva being hatched is in itself no proof that the ancestor of the group had only three segments with their appendages. this explanation appears to me, so far as it goes, quite valid; but though it relieves us from the necessity of supposing that the primitive crustacea had only three pairs of appendages, it does not explain several other peculiarities of the nauplius[ ]. the more important of these are the following. [ ] for the characters of nauplius _vide_ p. . . that the mandibles have the form of biramous swimming feet and are not provided with a cutting blade. . that the second pair of antennæ are biramous swimming feet with a hook used in mastication, and are innervated (?) from the suboesophageal ganglion. . the absence of segmentation in the nauplius body. an absence which is the more striking in that before the nauplius stage is fully reached the body of the embryo is frequently divided into three segments, _e.g._ copepoda and cirripedia. . the absence of a heart. . the presence of a median single eye as the sole organ of vision. of these points the first, second, and fifth appear only to be capable of being explained phylogenetically, while with reference to the absence of a heart it appears very improbable that the ancestral crustacea were without a central organ of circulation. if the above positions are accepted the conclusion would seem to follow that in a certain sense the nauplius is an ancestral form--but that, while it no doubt had its three anterior pairs of appendages similar to those of existing nauplii, it may perhaps have been provided with a segmented body behind provided with simple biramous appendages. a heart and cephalo-thoracic shield may also have been present, though the existence of the latter is perhaps doubtful. there was no doubt a median single eye, but it is difficult to decide whether or no paired compound eyes were also present. the tail ended in a fork between the prongs of which the anus opened; and the mouth was protected by a large upper lip. in fact, it may very probably turn out that the most primitive crustacea more resembled an apus larva at the moult immediately before the appendages lose their nauplius characters (fig. b), or a cyclops larva just before the cyclops stage (fig. ), than the earliest nauplius of either of these forms. if the nauplius ancestor thus reconstructed is admitted to have existed, the next question in the phylogeny of the crustacea concerns the relations of the various phyla to the nauplius. are the different phyla descended from the nauplius direct, or have they branched at a later period from some central stem? it is perhaps hardly possible as yet to give a full and satisfactory answer to this question, which requires to be dealt with for each separate phylum; but it may probably be safely maintained that the existing phyllopods are members of a group which was previously much larger, and the most central of all the crustacean groups; and which more nearly retains in the characters of the second pair of antennæ etc. the nauplius peculiarities. this view is shared both by claus and dohrn, and appears to be in accordance with all the evidence we have both palæontological and morphological. claus indeed carries this view still further, and believes that the later nauplius stages of the different entomostracan groups and the malacostraca (penæus larva) exhibit undoubted phyllopod affinities. he therefore postulates the earlier existence of a protophyllopod form, which would correspond very closely with the nauplius as reconstructed above, from which he believes all the crustacean groups to have diverged. it is beyond the scope of this work to attempt to grapple with all the difficulties which arise in connection with the origin and relationships of the various phyla, but i confine myself to a few suggestions arising out of the developmental histories recorded above. malacostraca. in attempting to reconstitute from the evidence in our possession the ancestral history of the malacostraca we may omit from consideration the larval history of all those types which leave the egg in nearly the adult form, and confine our attention to those types in which the larval history is most completely preserved. there are three forms which are of special value in this respect, viz. euphausia, penæus and squilla. from the history of these which has already been given it appears that in the case of the decapoda four stages (claus) may be traced in the best preserved larval histories. . a nauplius stage with the usual nauplius characters. . a protozoæa stage in which the maxillæ and first pair of maxillipeds are formed behind the nauplius appendages; but in which the tail is still unsegmented. this stage is comparatively rarely preserved and usually not very well marked. . a zoæa stage the chief features of which have already been fully characterised (_vide_ p. ). three more or less distinct types of zoæa are distinguished by claus. (_a_) that of penæus, in which the appendages up to the third pair of maxillipeds are formed, and the thorax and abdomen are segmented, the former being however very short. the heart is oval, with one pair of ostia. from this type the zoæa forms of the other decapoda are believed by claus to be derived. (_b_) that of euphausia, with but one pair of maxillipeds and those short and phyllopod-like. the heart oval with one pair of ostia. (_c_) that of squilla, with an elongated many-chambered heart, two pairs of maxillipeds and the abdominal appendages in full activity. . a mysis stage, which is only found in the macrurous decapod larvæ. the embryological questions requiring to be settled concern the value of the above stages. do they represent stages in the actual evolution of the present types, or have their characters been secondarily acquired in larval life? with reference to the first stage this question has already been discussed, and the conclusion arrived at, that the nauplius does in a much modified form represent an ancestral type. as to the fourth stage there can be no doubt that it is also ancestral, considering that it is almost the repetition of an actually existing form. the second stage can clearly only be regarded as an embryonic preparation for the third; and the great difficulty concerns the third stage. the natural view is that this stage like the others has an ancestral value, and this view was originally put forward by fritz müller and has been argued for also by dohrn. on the other hand the opposite side has been taken by claus, who has dealt with the question very ably and at great length, and has clearly shewn that some of fritz müller's positions are untenable. though claus' opinion is entitled to very great weight, an answer can perhaps be given to some of his objections. the view adopted in this section can best be explained by setting forth the chief points which claus urges against fritz müller's view. the primary question which needs to be settled is whether the malacostraca have diverged very early from the nauplius root, or later in the history of the crustacea from the phyllopod stem. on this question claus[ ] brings arguments, which appear to me very conclusive, to shew that the malacostraca are derived from a late protophyllopod type, and claus' view on this point is shared also by dohrn. the phyllopoda present so many characters (not possessed by the nauplius) in common with the malacostraca or their larval forms, that it is incredible that the whole of these should have originated independently in the two groups. the more important of these characters are the following. [ ] claus speaks of the various crustacean phyla as having sprung from a protophyllopod form, and it might be supposed that he considered that they all diverged from the same form. it is clear however from the context that he regards the protophyllopod type from which the malacostraca originated as far more like existing phyllopods than that from which the entomostracan groups have sprung. it is not quite easy to get a consistent view of his position on the question, since he states (p. ) that the malacostraca and the copepods diverged from a similar form, which is represented in their respective developments by the protozoæa and earliest cyclops stage. yet if i understand him rightly, he does not consider the protozoæa stage to be the protophyllopod stage from which the malacostraca have diverged, but states on p. that it was not an ancestral form at all. . the compound eyes, so often stalked in both groups. . the absence of a palp on the mandible, a very marked character of the zoæa as well as of the phyllopoda. . the presence of a pair of frontal sense knobs. . the phyllopod character of many of the appendages. cf. first pair of maxillipeds of the euphausia zoæa. . the presence of gill pouches (epipodites) on many of the appendages[ ]. [ ] claus appears to consider it doubtful whether the malacostracan gills can be compared with the phyllopod gill pouches. in addition to these points, to which others might be added, claus attempts to shew that nebalia must be regarded as a type intermediate between the phyllopods and malacostraca. this view seems fairly established, and if true is conclusive in favour of the phyllopod origin of the malacostraca. if the protophyllopod origin of the malacostraca is admitted, it seems clear that the ancestral forms of the malacostraca must have developed their segments regularly from before backwards, and been provided with nearly similar appendages on all the segments. this however is far from the case in existing malacostraca, and fritz müller commences his summary of the characters of the zoæa in the following words[ ]. "the middle body with its appendages, those five pairs of feet to which these animals owe their name, is either entirely wanting or scarcely indicated." this he regards as an ancestral character of the malacostraca, and is of opinion that their thorax is to be regarded as a later acquirement than the head or abdomen. claus' answer on this point is that in the most primitive zoææ, viz. those already spoken of as types, the thoracic and abdominal segments actually develop in regular succession from before backwards, and he therefore concludes that the late development of the thorax in the majority of zoæa forms is secondary and not an ancestral phyllopod peculiarity. [ ] _facts for darwin_, p. . this is the main argument used by claus against the zoæa having any ancestral meaning. his view as to the meaning of the zoæa may be gathered from the following passage. after assuming that none of the existing zoæa types could have been adult animals, he says--"much more probably the process of alteration of the metamorphosis, which the malacostracan phylum underwent in the course of time and in conjunction with the divergence of the later malacostracan groups, led secondarily to the three different zoæa configurations to which probably later modifications were added, as for instance in the young form of the cumaceæ. we might with the same justice conclude that adult insects existed as caterpillars or pupæ as that the primitive form of the malacostraca was a protozoæa or zoæa." granting claus' two main positions, viz. that the malacostraca are derived from protophyllopods, and that the segments were in the primary ancestral forms developed from before backwards, it does not appear impossible that a secondary and later ancestral form may have existed with a reduced thorax. this reduction may only have been partial, so that the zoæa ancestor would have had the following form. a large cephalo-thorax and well-developed tail (?) with swimming appendages. the appendages up to the second pair of maxillipeds fully developed, but the thorax very imperfect and provided only with delicate foliaceous appendages not projecting beyond the edge of the cephalo-thoracic shield. another hypothesis for which there is perhaps still more to be said is that there was a true ancestral zoæa stage in which the thoracic appendages were completely aborted. claus maintains that the zoæa form with aborted thorax is only a larval form; but he would probably admit that its larval characters were acquired to enable the larva to swim better. if this much be admitted it is not easy to see why an actual member of the ancestral series of crustacea should not have developed the zoæa peculiarities when the mud-dwelling habits of the phyllopod ancestors were abandoned, and a swimming mode of life adopted. this view, which involves the supposition that the five (or six including the third maxillipeds) thoracic appendages were lost in the adult (for they may be supposed to have been retained in the larva) for a series of generations, and reappeared again in the adult condition, at a later period, may at first sight appear very improbable, but there are, especially in the larval history of the stomatopoda, some actual facts which receive their most plausible explanation on this hypothesis. these facts consist in cases of the actual loss of appendages during development, and their subsequent reappearance. the two most striking cases are the following. . in the erichthus form of the squilla larva the appendages corresponding to the third pair of maxillipeds and first two pairs of ambulatory appendages of the decapoda are developed in the protozoæa stage, but completely aborted in the zoæa stage, and subsequently redeveloped. . in the case of the larva of sergestes in the passage from the acanthosoma (mysis) stage to the mastigopus stage the two hindermost thoracic appendages become atrophied and redevelop again later. both of these cases clearly fit in very well with the view that there was an actual period in the history of the malacostraca in which the ancestors of the present forms were without the appendages which are aborted and redeveloped again in these larval forms. claus' hypothesis affords no explanation of these remarkable cases. it is however always possible to maintain that the loss and reappearance of the appendages in these cases may have no ancestral meaning; and the abortion of the first pair of maxillipeds and reduction of some of the other appendages in the case of the loricata is in favour of this explanation. similar examples of the abortion and reappearance of appendages, which cannot be explained in the way attempted above, are afforded by the mites and also by the insects, _e.g._ bees. on the other hand there is almost a conclusive indication that the loss of the appendages in sergestes has really the meaning assigned to it, in that in the allied genius leucifer the two appendages in question are actually absent in the adult, so that the stage with these appendages absent is permanently retained in an adult form. in the absence of the mandibular palp in all the zoæa forms, its actual atrophy in the penæus zoæa, and its universal reappearance in adult malacostraca, are cases which tell in favour of the above explanation. the mandibular palp is permanently absent in phyllopods, which clearly shews that its absence in the zoæa stage is due to the retention of an ancestral peculiarity, and that its reappearance in the adult forms was a late occurrence in the malacostracan history. the chief obvious difficulty of this view is the redevelopment of the thoracic feet after their disappearance for a certain number of generations. the possibility of such an occurrence appears to me however clearly demonstrated by the case of the mandibular palp, which has undoubtedly been reacquired by the malacostraca, and by the case of the two last thoracic appendages of sergestes just mentioned. the above difficulty may be diminished if we suppose that the larvæ of the zoæa ancestors always developed the appendages in question. such appendages might first only partially atrophy in a particular zoæa form and then gradually come to be functional again; so that, as a form with functional thoracic limbs came to be developed out of the zoæa, we should find in the larval history of this form that the limbs were developed in the pre-zoæal larval stages, partially atrophied in the zoæa stage, and redeveloped in the adult. from this condition it would not be difficult to pass to a further one in which the development of the thoracic limbs became deferred till after the zoæa stage. the general arguments in favour of a zoæa ancestor with partially or completely aborted thoracic appendages having actually existed in the past appear to me very powerful. in all the malacostracan groups in which the larva leaves the egg in an imperfect form a true zoæa stage is found. that the forms of these zoææ should differ considerably is only what might be expected, considering that they lead a free existence and are liable to be acted upon by natural selection, and it is probable that none of those at present existing closely resemble the ancestral form. the spines from their carapace, which vary so much, were probably originally developed, as suggested by fritz müller, as a means of defence. the simplicity of the heart--so different from that of phyllopods--in most forms of zoæa is a difficulty, but the reduction in the length of the heart may very probably be a secondary modification; the primitive condition being retained in the squilla zoæa. in any case this difficulty is not greater on the hypothesis of the zoæa being an ancestral form, than on that of its being a purely larval one. the points of agreement in the number and character of the appendages, form of the abdomen, etc. between the various types of zoæa appear to me too striking to be explained in the manner attempted by claus. it seems improbable that a peculiarity of form acquired by the larva of some ancestral malacostracan should have been retained so permanently in so many groups[ ]--more permanently indeed than undoubtedly ancestral forms like that of mysis--and it would be still more remarkable that a zoæa form should have been two or more times independently developed. [ ] a secondary larval form is less likely to be repeated in development than an ancestral adult stage, because there is always a strong tendency for the former, which is a secondarily intercalated link in the chain, to drop out by the occurrence of a reversion to the original type of development. there are perhaps not sufficient materials to reconstruct the characters of the zoæa ancestor, but it probably was provided with the anterior appendages up to the second pair of maxillipeds, and (?) with abdominal swimming feet. the heart may very likely have been many-chambered. whether gill pouches were present on the maxillipeds and abdominal feet does not appear to me capable of being decided. the carapace and general shape were probably the same as in existing zoæas. it must be left an open question whether the six hindermost thoracic appendages were absent or only very much reduced in size. on the whole then it may be regarded as probable that the malacostraca are descended from protophyllopod forms, in which, on the adoption of swimming habits, six appendages of the middle region of the body were reduced or aborted, and a zoæa form acquired, and that subsequently the lost appendages were redeveloped in the descendants of these forms, and have finally become the most typical appendages of the group. the relationship of the various malacostracan groups is too difficult a subject to be discussed here, but it seems to me most likely that in addition to the groups with a zoæa stage the edriophthalmata and cumaceæ are also post-zoæal forms which have lost the zoæa stage. nebalia is however very probably to be regarded as a præ-zoæal form which has survived to the present day; and one might easily fancy that its eight thin thoracic segments with their small phyllopod-like feet might become nearly aborted. copepoda. the copepoda certainly appear to have diverged very early from the main stem, as is shewn by their simple biramous feet and the retention of the median eye as the sole organ of vision. it may be argued that they have lost the eye by retrogressive changes, and in favour of this view cases of the pontellidæ and of argulus may be cited. it is however more than doubtful whether the lateral eyes of the pontellidæ are related to the compound phyllopod eye, and the affinities of argulus are still uncertain. it would moreover be a great paradox if in a large group of crustacea the lateral eyes had been retained in a parasitic form only (argulus), but lost in all the free forms. cirripedia. the cirripedia are believed by claus to belong to the same phylum as the copepoda. this view does not appear to be completely borne out by their larval history. the nauplius differs very markedly from that of the copepoda, and this is still more true of the cypris stage. the copepod-like appendages of this stage are chiefly relied upon to support the above view, but this form of appendages was probably very primitive and general, and the number (without taking into consideration the doubtful case of cryptophialus) does not correspond to that in copepoda. on the other hand the paired eyes and the bivalve shell form great difficulties in the way of claus' view. it is clear that the cypris stage represents more or less closely an ancestral form of the cirripedia, and that both the large bivalve shell and the compound eyes were ancestral characters. these characters would seem incompatible with copepod affinities, but point to the independent derivation of the cirripedia from some early bivalve phyllopod form. [fig. . figures illustrating the development of astacus. (from parker; after reichenbach.) a. section through part of the ovum during segmentation. _n._ nuclei; _w.y._ white yolk; _y.p._ yolk pyramids; _c._ central yolk mass. b and c. longitudinal sections during the gastrula stage. _a._ archenteron; _b._ blastopore; _ms._ mesoblast; _ec._ epiblast; _en._ hypoblast distinguished from epiblast by shading. d. highly magnified view of the anterior lip of blastopore to shew the origin of the primary mesoblast from the wall of the archenteron. _p.ms._ primary mesoblast; _ec._ epiblast; _en._ hypoblast. e. two hypoblast cells to shew the amoeba-like absorption of yolk spheres. _y._ yolk; _n._ nucleus; _p._ pseudopodial process. f. hypoblast cells giving rise endogenously to the secondary mesoblast (_s.ms._). _n._ nuclei.] ostracoda. the independent origin of the ostracoda from the main crustacean stem seems probable. claus points out that the ostracoda present by no means a simple organisation, and concludes that they were not descended from a form with a more complex organisation and a larger number of appendages. some simplifications have however undoubtedly taken place, as the loss of the heart, and of the compound eyes in many forms. these simplifications are probably to be explained (as is done by claus) as adaptations due to the small size of body and its enclosure in a thick bivalve shell. although claus is strongly opposed to the view that the number of the appendages has been reduced, yet the very fact of the (in some respects) complex organisation of this group might seem to indicate that it cannot have diverged from the phyllopod stem at so early a stage as (on claus' view of the nauplius) would seem to be implied by the very small number of appendages which is characteristic of it, and it therefore appears most probable that the present number may be smaller than that of the ancestral forms. _the formation of the germinal layers._ the formation of the germinal layers has been more fully studied in various malacostraca, more especially in the decapoda, than in other groups. decapoda. to bobretzky (no. ) is due the credit of having been the pioneer in this line of investigation; and his researches have been followed up and enlarged by haeckel, reichenbach (no. ), and mayer (no. ). the segmentation is centrolecithal and regular (fig. a). at its close the blastoderm is formed of a single uniform layer of lens-shaped cells enclosing a central sphere of yolk, in which as a rule all trace of the division into columns, present during the earlier stages of segmentation, has disappeared; though in palæmon the columns remain for a long period distinct. the cells of the blastoderm are at first uniform, but in astacus, eupagurus, and most decapoda, soon become more columnar for a small area, and form a circular patch. the whole patch either becomes at once invaginated (eupagurus, palæmon, fig. a) or else the edge of it is invaginated as a roughly speaking circular groove deeper anteriorly than posteriorly, within which the remainder of the patch forms a kind of central plug, which does not become invaginated till a somewhat later period (astacus, fig. b and c). after the invagination of the above patch the remainder of the blastoderm cells form the epiblast. the invaginated sack appears to be the archenteron and its mouth the blastopore. the mouth finally becomes closed[ ], and the sack itself then forms the mesenteron. [ ] bobretzky first stated that the invagination remained open, but subsequently corrected himself. _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. p. . [fig. . two longitudinal sections of the embryo of astacus. (from parker; after bobretzky.) a. nauplius stage. b. stage after the hypoblast cells have absorbed the food-yolk. the ventral surface is turned upwards. _fg._ stomodæum; _hg._ proctodæum; _an._ anus; _m._ mouth; _mg._ mesenteron; _abd._ abdomen; _h._ heart.] in astacus the archenteron gradually grows forwards, its opening is at first wide, but becomes continuously narrowed and is finally obliterated. very shortly after this occurrence there is formed, slightly in front of the point where the last trace of the blastopore was observable, a fresh epiblastic invagination, which gives rise to the proctodæum, and the opening of which remains as the definite anus. the proctodæum (fig. a, _hg)_ is very soon placed in communication with the mesenteron (_mg_). the stomodæum (_fg_) is formed during the same stage as the proctodæum. it gives rise to the oesophagus and stomach. the hypoblast cells which form the wall of the archenteron grow with remarkable rapidity at the expense of the yolk; the spherules of which they absorb and digest in an amoeba-like fashion by means of their pseudopodia. they become longer and longer, and finally, after absorbing the whole yolk, acquire a form almost exactly similar to that of the yolk pyramids during segmentation (fig. b). they enclose the cavity of the mesenteron, and their nuclei and protoplasm are situated externally. the cells of the mesenteron close to its junction with the proctodæum differ from those elsewhere in being nearly flat. in palæmon (bobretzky) the primitive invagination (fig. a) has far smaller dimensions than in astacus, and appears before the blastoderm cells have separated from the yolk pyramids. the cells which are situated at the bottom of it pass into the yolk, increase in number, and absorb the whole yolk, forming a solid mass of hypoblast in which the outlines of the individual cells would seem at first not to be distinct. the blastopore in the meantime becomes closed. some of the nuclei now pass to the periphery of the yolk mass; the cells appertaining to them gradually become distinct and assume a pyramidal form (fig. b, _hy_), the inner ends of the cells losing themselves in a central mass of yolk, in the interior of which nuclei are at first present but soon disappear. the mesenteron thus becomes constituted of a layer of pyramidal cells which merge into a central mass of yolk. some of the hypoblast cells adjoining the junction of the proctodæum and mesenteron become flattened, and in the neighbourhood of these cells a lumen first appears. the stomodæum and proctodæum are formed as in astacus. fig. b shews the relative positions of the proctodæum, stomodæum, and mesenteron. although the process of formation of the hypoblast and mesenteron is essentially the same in astacus and palæmon, yet the differences between these two forms are very interesting, in that the yolk is _external_ to the mesenteron in astacus, but _enclosed within it_ in palæmon. this difference in the position of the yolk is rendered possible by the fact that the invaginated hypoblast cells in palæmon do not, at first, form a continuous layer enclosing a central cavity, while they do so in astacus. [fig. . two stages in the development of palÆmon seen in section. (after bobretzky.) a. gastrula stage. b. longitudinal section through a late stage. _hy._ hypoblast; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _vg._ ventral nerve cord; hd. proctodæum; _st._ stomodæum.] the mesoblast appears to be formed of cells budded off from the anterior wall of the archenteron (astacus, fig. d), or from its lateral walls generally (palæmon). they make their first appearance soon after the invagination of the hypoblast has commenced. the mesoblast cells are at first spherical, and gradually spread, especially in an anterior direction, from their point of origin. according to reichenbach there are formed in astacus at the nauplius stage a number of peculiar cells which he speaks of as 'secondary mesoblast cells.' his account is not very clear or satisfactory, but it appears that they originate (fig. f) in the hypoblast cells by a kind of endogenous growth, and though they have at first certain peculiar characters they soon become indistinguishable from the remaining mesoblast cells. towards the end of the nauplius period the secondary mesoblast cells aggregate themselves into a rod close to the epiblast in the median ventral line, and even bifurcate round the mouth and extend forwards to the extremity of the procephalic lobes. this rod of cells very soon vanishes, and the secondary mesoblast cells become indistinguishable from the primary. reichenbach believes, on not very clear evidence, that these cells have to do with the formation of the blood. _general form of the body._ the ventral thickening of epiblast or ventral plate, continuous with the invaginated patch already mentioned, forms the first indication of the embryo. it is at first oval, but soon becomes elongated and extended anteriorly into two lateral lobes--the procephalic lobes. its bilateral symmetry is further indicated by a median longitudinal furrow. the posterior end of the ventral plate next becomes raised into a distinct lobe--the abdomen--which in astacus at first lies _in front_ of the still open blastopore. this lobe rapidly grows in size, and at its extremity is placed the narrow anal opening. it soon forms a well-marked abdomen bent forwards over the region in front (figs. b, and a and b). its early development as a distinct outgrowth causes it to be without yolk; and so to contrast very forcibly with the anterior thoracic and cephalic regions of the body. in most cases this process corresponds to the future abdomen, but in some cases (loricata) it appears to include part of the thorax. before it has reached a considerable development, three pairs of appendages spring from the region of the head, viz. two pairs of antennæ and the mandibles, and inaugurate a so-called nauplius stage (fig. a). these three appendages are formed nearly simultaneously, but the hindermost appears to become visible slightly before the two others (bobretzky). the mouth lies slightly behind the anterior pair of antennæ, but distinctly in front of the posterior pair. the other appendages, the number of which at the time of hatching varies greatly in the different decapods (_vide_ section on larval development), sprout in succession from before backwards (fig. b). the food-yolk in the head and thoracic region gradually becomes reduced in quantity with the growth of the embryo, and by the time of hatching the disparity in size between the thorax and abdomen has ceased to exist. isopoda. the early embryonic phases of the isopoda have been studied by means of sections by bobretzky (no. ) and bullar (no. ) and have been found to present considerable variations. when laid the egg is enclosed in a chorion, but shortly after the commencement of segmentation (ed. van beneden and bullar) a second membrane appears, which is probably of the nature of a larval membrane. [fig. . two stages in the development of palÆmon. a. nauplius stage. b. stage with eight pairs of appendages. _op._ eyes; _at ._ and _at ._ first and second antennæ; _md._ mandibles; _mx _, _mx ._ first and second maxillæ; _mxp ._ third maxillipeds; _lb._ upper lip.] in all the forms the segmentation is followed by the formation of a blastoderm, completely enclosing the yolk, and thickened along an area which will become the ventral surface of the embryo. in this area the blastoderm is formed of at least two layers of cells--an external columnar epiblast, and an internal layer of scattered cells which form the mesoblast and probably in part also the hypoblast (oniscus, _bobretzky_; cymothoa, _bullar_). in asellus aquaticus there is a centrolecithal segmentation, ending in the formation of a blastoderm, which appears first on the ventral surface and subsequently extends to the dorsal. in oniscus murarius, and cymothoa the segmentation is partial [for its peculiarities and relationship _vide_ p. ] and a disc, formed of a single layer of cells, appears at a pole of the egg which corresponds to the future ventral surface (bobretzky). this layer gradually grows round the yolk partly by division of its cells, though a formation of fresh cells from the yolk may also take place. before it has extended far round the yolk, the central part of it becomes two or more layers deep, and the cells of the deeper layers rapidly increase in number, and are destined to give rise to the mesoblast and probably also to part or the whole of the hypoblast. in cymothoa this layer does not at first undergo any important change, but in oniscus it becomes very thick, and its innermost cells (bobretzky) become imbedded in the yolk, which they rapidly absorb; and increasing in number first of all form a layer in the periphery of the yolk, and finally fill up the whole of the interior of the yolk (fig. a), absorbing it in the process. it appears possible that these cells do not, as bobretzky believes, originate from the blastoderm, but from nuclei in the yolk which have escaped his observation. this mode of origin would be similar to that by which yolk cells originate in the eggs of the insecta, etc. if bobretzky's account is correct we must look to palæmon, as he himself suggests, to find an explanation of the passage of the hypoblast cells into the yolk. the thickening of the primitive germinal disc would, according to this view, be equivalent to the invagination of the archenteron in astacus, palæmon, etc. [fig. . two longitudinal sections through the embryo of oniscus murarius. (after bobretzky.) _st._ stomodæum; _pr._ proctodæum; _hy._ hypoblast formed of large nucleated cells imbedded in the yolk; _m._ mesoblast; _vg._ ventral nerve cord; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _li._ liver; _do._ dorsal organ; _zp._ rudiment of masticatory apparatus; _ol._ upper lip.] whatever may be the origin of the cells in the yolk they no doubt correspond to the hypoblast of other types. in cymothoa nothing similar to them has been met with, but the hypoblast has a somewhat different origin being apparently formed from some of the indifferent cells below the epiblast, which collect as a solid mass on the ventral surface, and then divide into two masses which become hollow and give rise to the liver cæca. their fate, as well as that of the hypoblast in oniscus, is dealt with in connection with the alimentary tract. the completion of the enclosure of the yolk by the blastoderm takes place on the dorsal surface. in all the isopods which have been carefully studied, there appears before any other organ a provisional structure formed from the epiblast and known as the dorsal organ. an account of it is given in connection with the development of the organs. the general external changes undergone by the larva in its development are as follows. the ventral thickened area of the blastoderm (ventral plate) shapes itself and girths nearly the whole circumference of the ovum in oniscus (fig. a) but is relatively much shorter in cymothoa. anteriorly it dilates into the two procephalic lobes. in cymothoa it next becomes segmented; and the anterior segments are formed nearly simultaneously, and those of the abdomen somewhat later. at the same time a median depression appears dividing the blastoderm longitudinally into two halves. the appendages are formed later than their segments, and the whole of them are formed nearly simultaneously, with the exception of the last thoracic, which does not appear till comparatively late after the hatching of the embryo. the late development of the seventh thoracic segment and appendage is a feature common to the majority of the isopoda (fritz müller). in oniscus the limbs are formed in nearly the same way as in cymothoa, but in asellus they do not arise quite simultaneously. first of all, the two antennæ and mandibles (the future palp) appear, inaugurating a stage often spoken of as the nauplius stage, which is supposed to correspond with the free nauplius stage of penæus and euphausia. at this stage a cuticle is shed (van beneden) which remains as an envelope surrounding the larva till the time of hatching. similar cuticular envelopes are formed in many isopoda. subsequently the appendages of the thorax appear, and finally those of the abdomen. later than the appendages there arise behind the mouth two prominences which resemble appendages, but give rise to a bilobed lower lip (dohrn). in asellus and oniscus the ventral plate moulds itself to the shape of the egg, and covers the greater part of the dorsal as well as of the ventral side (fig. a). as a result of this the ventral surface of the embryo is throughout convex; and in asellus a deep fold appears on the back of the embryo, so that the embryo appears coiled up within the egg with its ventral side outwards and its head and tail in contact. in oniscus the ventral surface is convex, but the dorsal surface is never bent in as in asellus. in cymothoa the egg is very big and the ventral plate does not extend nearly so far round to the dorsal side as in asellus, in consequence of which the ventral surface is not nearly so convex as in other isopoda. at the same time the telson is early formed, and is bent forwards so as to lie on the under side of the part of the blastoderm in front. in having this ventral curvature of the telson cymothoa forms an exception amongst isopods; and in this respect is intermediate between the embryos of asellus and those of the amphipoda. amphipoda. amongst the amphipoda the segmentation is usually centrolecithal. in the case of gammarus locusta (ed. van beneden and bessels, no. ) it commences with an unequal but total segmentation like that of the frog (_vide_ p. ), and the separation of a central yolk mass is a late occurrence; and it is noticeable that the part of the egg with the small segments eventually becomes the ventral surface. in the fresh-water species of gammarus (g. pulex and fluviatilis) the segmentation is more like that of insects; the blastoderm cells being formed nearly simultaneously over a large part of the surface of the egg. both forms of segmentation give rise to a blastoderm covering the whole egg, which soon becomes thickened on the ventral surface. there is formed, as in the isopoda, a larval membrane at about the time when the blastoderm is completed. very soon after this the egg loses its spherical shape, and becomes produced into a pointed extremity--the future abdomen--which is immediately bent over the ventral surface of the part in front. the ventral curvature of the hinder part of the embryo at so early an age stands in marked contrast to the usual condition of isopod embryos, and is only approached in this group, so far as is known, in the case of cymothoa. at the formation of the first larval membrane the blastoderm cells separate themselves from it, except at one part on the dorsal surface. the patch of cells adherent at this part gives rise to a dorsal organ, comparable with that in oniscus, connecting the embryo and its first larval skin. a perforation appears in it at a later period. the segments and limbs of the amphipoda are all formed before the larva leaves the egg. cladocera. the segmentation (grobben, no. ) takes place on the normal centrolecithal type, but is somewhat unequal. before the close of the segmentation there may be seen at the apex of the vegetative pole one cell marked off from the remainder by its granular aspect. it gives rise to the generative organs. one of the cells adjoining it gives rise to the hypoblast, and the other cells which surround it form the commencement of the mesoblast. the remaining cells of the ovum form the epiblast. by a later stage the hypoblast cell is divided into thirty-two cells and the genital cell into four, while the mesoblast forms a circle of twelve cells round the genital mass. the hypoblast soon becomes involuted; the blastopore probably closes, and the hypoblast forms a solid cord of cells which eventually becomes the mesenteron. the stomodæum is said to be formed at the point of closure of the blastopore. the mesoblast passes inwards and forms a mass adjoining the hypoblast, and somewhat later the genital mass also becomes covered by the epiblast. the proctodæum appears to be formed later than the stomodæum. the embryo as first shewn by dohrn passes through a nauplius stage in the brood-pouch, but is hatched, except in the case of the winter eggs of leptodora, in a form closely resembling the adult. copepoda. amongst the free copepoda the segmentation and formation of the layers have recently been investigated by hoek (no. ). he finds that there is, in both the fresh-water and marine forms studied by him, a centrolecithal segmentation similar to that of palæmon and pagurus (_vide_ p. ), which might from the surface be supposed to be complete and nearly regular. after the formation of the blastoderm an invagination of some of its cells takes place and is completed in about a quarter of an hour. the opening becomes closed. this invagination is compared by hoek to the invagination in astacus, and is believed by him to give rise to the mesenteron. its point of closing corresponds with the hind end of the embryo. on the ventral surface there appear two transverse furrows dividing the embryo into three segments, and a median longitudinal furrow which does not extend to the front end of the foremost segment. the three pairs of nauplius appendages and upper lip become subsequently formed as outgrowths from the sides of the ventral blastodermic thickening. amongst the parasitic copepoda there are found two distinct types of segmentation, analogous to those in the isopoda. in the case of condracanthus the segmentation is somewhat irregular, but on the type of eupagurus, etc. (_vide_ p. ). in the other group (anchorella, clavella, congericola, caligus, lerneopoda) the segmentation nearly resembles the ordinary meroblastic type (_vide_ p. ), and is to be explained in the same manner as in the cases of oniscus and cymothoa. the first blastodermic cells sometimes appear in a position corresponding with the head end of the embryo (anchorella), at other times at the hind end (clavella), and sometimes in the middle of the ventral surface. the dorsal surface of the yolk is always the latest to be inclosed by the blastoderm cells. a larval cuticle similar to that of the isopoda is formed at the same time as the blastoderm. at the sides of the ventral thickening of the blastoderm there grow out the nauplius appendages, of which only the first two appear in anchorella. in anchorella and lerneopoda the embryos are not hatched at the nauplius stage, but after the nauplius appendages have been formed a fresh cuticle--the nauplius cuticle--is shed, and within it the embryo develops till it reaches the so-called cyclops stage (_vide_ p. ). the embryo within the egg has its abdomen curved dorsalwards as amongst the isopoda. cirripedia. the segmentation of balanus and lepas commences by the segregation of the constituents of the egg into a more protoplasmic portion, and a portion formed mainly of food material. the former separates from the latter as a distinct segment, and then divides into two not quite equal portions. the division of the protoplasmic part of the embryo continues, and the resulting segments grow round the single yolk segment. the point where they finally enclose it is situated on the ventral surface (lang) at about the position of the mouth (?). after being enclosed by the protoplasmic cells the yolk divides, and gives rise to a number of cells, which probably supply the material for the walls of the mesenteron. the external layer of protoplasm forms the so-called blastoderm, and soon (arnold, lang) becomes thickened on the dorsal surface. the embryo is next divided by two constrictions into three segments; and there are formed the three appendages corresponding to these, which are at first simple. the two posterior soon become biramous. the larva leaves the egg before any further appendages become formed. _comparative development of the organs._ central nervous system. the ventral nerve cord of the crustacea develops as a thickening of the epiblast along the median ventral line; the differentiation of which commences in front, and thence extends backwards. the ventral cord is at first unsegmented. the supra-oesophageal ganglia originate as thickenings of the epiblast of the procephalic lobes. the details of the above processes are still in most cases very imperfectly known. the fullest account we have is that of reichenbach (no. ) for astacus. he finds that the supra-oesophageal ganglia and ventral cord arise as a continuous formation, and not independently as would seem to be the case in chætopoda. the supra-oesophageal ganglia are formed from the procephalic lobes. the first trace of them is visible in the form of a pair of pits, one on each side of the middle line. these pits become in the nauplius stage very deep, and their walls are then continued into two ridges where the epiblast is several cells deep, which pass backwards one on each side of the mouth. the walls of the pits are believed by reichenbach to give rise to the optic portions of the supra-oesophageal ganglia, and the epiblastic ridges to the remainder of the ganglia and to the circum-oesophageal commissures. at a much later stage, when the ambulatory feet have become formed, a median involution of epiblast in front of the mouth and between the two epiblast ridges gives rise to a central part of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. five elements are thus believed by reichenbach to be concerned in the formation of these ganglia, viz. two epiblast pits, two epiblast ridges, and an involution of epiblast between the latter. it should be noted however that the fate neither of the pair of pits, nor of the median involution, appears to have been satisfactorily worked out. the two epiblast ridges, which pass back from the supra-oesophageal ganglia on each side of the mouth, are continued as a pair of thickenings of the epiblast along the sides of a median ventral groove. this groove is deep in front and shallows out posteriorly. the thickenings on the sides of this groove no doubt give rise to the lateral halves of the ventral cord, and the cells of the groove itself are believed by reichenbach, but it appears to me without sufficient evidence, to become invaginated also and to assist in forming the ventral cord. when the ventral cord becomes separated from the epiblast the two halves of it are united in the middle line, but it is markedly bilobed in section. in the isopoda it would appear both from bobretzky's and bullar's observations that the ventral nerve cord arises as an unpaired thickening of the epiblast _in which there is no trace of anything like a median involution_. after this thickening has become separated from the epiblast a slight median furrow indicates its constitution out of two lateral cords. the supra-oesophageal ganglia are stated to be developed quite simply as a pair of thickenings of the procephalic lobes, but whether they are from the first continuous with the ventral cord does not appear to have been determined. the later stages in the differentiation of the ventral cord are, so far as is known, very similar throughout the crustacea. the ventral cord is, as has been stated, at first unsegmented (fig. a, _vg_), but soon becomes divided by a series of constrictions into as many ganglia as there are pairs of appendages or segments (fig. b, _vg_). there appears either on the ventral side (oniscus) or in the centre (astacus, palæmon) of the two halves of each segment or ganglion a space filled with finely punctuated material, which is the commencement of the commissural portion of the cords. the commissural tissue soon becomes continuous through the length of the ventral cord, and is also prolonged into the supra-oesophageal ganglia. after the formation of the commissural tissue the remaining cells of the cord form the true ganglion cells. a gradual separation of the ganglia next takes place, and the cells become confined to the ganglia, which are finally only connected by a double band of commissural tissue. the commissural tissue not only gives rise to the longitudinal cords connecting the successive ganglia, but also to the transverse commissures which unite the two halves of the individual ganglia. the ganglia usually, if not always, appear at first to correspond in number with the segments, and the smaller number so often present in the adult is due to the coalescence of originally distinct ganglia. organs of special sense. comparatively little is known on this head. the compound eyes are developed from the coalescence of two structures, both however epiblastic, viz. ( ) part of the superficial epiblast of the procephalic lobes; ( ) part of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the former gives rise to the corneal lenses, the crystalline cones, and the pigment surrounding them; the latter to the rhabdoms and the cells which encircle them. between these two parts a mesoblastic pigment is interposed. of the development of the auditory and olfactory organs almost nothing is known. dorsal organ. in a considerable number of the malacostraca and branchiopoda a peculiar organ is developed from the epiblast in the anterior dorsal region. this organ has been called the dorsal organ. it appears to be of a glandular nature, and is usually very large in the embryo or larva and disappears in the adult; but in some branchiopoda it persists through life. in most cases it is unpaired, but in some instances a paired organ appears to take its place. various views as to its nature have been put forward. there is but little doubt of its being glandular, and it is possible that it is a provisional renal organ, though so far as i know concretions have not yet been found in it. its development has been most fully studied in the isopoda. [fig. . diagrammatic section of cymothoa shewing the dorsal organ. (from bullar.)] in cymothoa (bullar, no. ) there appears on the dorsal surface, in the region which afterwards becomes the first thoracic segment, an unpaired linear thickening of the blastoderm. this soon becomes a circular patch, the central part of which is invaginated so as to communicate with the exterior by a narrow opening only (fig. ). it becomes at the same time attached to the inner egg membrane. it retains this condition till the close of larval life. in oniscus (dohrn, no. ; bobretzky, no. ) there appears very early a dorsal patch of thickened cells. these cells become attached at their edge to the inner egg membrane and gradually separated from the embryo, with which they finally only remain in connection by a hollow column of cells (fig. a, _do_). the original patch now gradually spreads over the inner egg membrane, and forms a transverse saddle-shaped band of flattened cells which engirths the embryo on all but the ventral side. in the amphipods the epiblast cells remain attached for a small area on the dorsal surface to the first larval skin, when this is formed. this patch of cells, often spoken of as a micropyle apparatus, forms a dorsal organ equivalent to that in oniscus. a perforation is formed in it at a later period. a perhaps homologous structure is found in the embryos of euphausia, cuma, etc. [fig. . diagrammatic section of an embryo of asellus aquaticus to shew the paired dorsal organ. (from bullar; after e. van beneden.)] in many branchiopoda a dorsal organ is found. its development has been studied by grobben in moina. it persists in the adult in branchipus, limnadia, estherea, etc. in the copepoda a dorsal organ is sometimes found in the embryo; grobben at any rate believes that he has detected an organ of this nature in the embryo of cyclops serrulatus. a paired organ which appears to be of the same nature has been found in asellus and mysis. in asellus (rathke (no. ), dohrn (no. ), van beneden (no. )) this organ originates as two cellular masses at the sides of the body just behind the region of the procephalic lobes. each of them becomes trifoliate and bends towards the ventral surface. in each of their lobes a cavity arises and finally the three cavities unite, forming a trilobed cavity open to the yolk. this organ eventually becomes so large that it breaks through the egg membranes and projects at the sides of the embryo (fig. ). though formed before the appendages it does not attain its full development till considerably after the latter have become well established. in mysis it appears during the nauplius stage as a pair of cavities lined by columnar cells, which atrophy very early. various attempts have been made to identify organs in other arthropod embryos with the dorsal organ of the crustacea, but the only organ at all similar which has so far been described is one found in the embryo of linguatula (_vide_ chapter xix.), but there is no reason to think that this organ is really homologous with the dorsal organ of the crustacea. the mesoblast. the mesoblast in the types so far investigated arises from the same cells as the hypoblast, and appears as a somewhat irregular layer between the epiblast and the hypoblast. it gives rise to the same parts as in other forms, but it is remarkable that it does not, in most decapods and isopods (and so far we do not know about other forms), become divided into somites, at any rate with the same distinctness that is usual in annelids and arthropods. not only so, but there is at first no marked division into a somatic and splanchnic layer with an intervening body cavity. some of the cells become differentiated into the muscles of the body wall and limbs; and other cells, usually in the form of a very thin layer, into the muscles of the alimentary tract. in the tail of _palæmon_ bobretzky noticed that the cells about to form the muscles of the body were imperfectly divided into cubical masses corresponding with the segments; which however, in the absence of a central cavity, differed from typical mesoblastic somites. in _mysis_ metschnikoff states that the mesoblast becomes broken up into distinct somites. further investigations on this subject are required. the body cavity has the form of irregular blood sinuses amongst the internal organs. heart. the origin and development of the heart and vascular system are but very imperfectly known. in phyllopods (branchipus) claus (no. ) has shewn that the heart is formed by the coalescence of the lateral parts of the mesoblast of the ventral plates. the chambers are formed successively as the segments to which they belong are established, and the anterior chambers are in full activity while the posterior are not yet formed. in astacus and palæmon, bobretzky finds that at the stage before the heart definitely appears there may be seen a solid mass of mesoblast cells in the position which it eventually occupies[ ]; and considers it probable that the heart originates from this mass. at the time when the heart can first be made out and before it has begun to beat, it has the form of an oval sack with delicate walls separated from the mesenteron by a layer of splanchnic mesoblast. its cavity is filled with a peculiar plasma which also fills up the various cavities in the mesoblast. around it a pericardial sack is soon formed, and the walls of the heart become greatly thickened. four bands pass off from the heart, two dorsalwards which become fixed to the integument, and two ventralwards. there is also a median band of cells connecting the heart with the dorsal integument. the main arteries arise as direct prolongations of the heart. dohrn's observations on asellus greatly strengthen the view that the heart originates from a solid mesoblastic mass, in that he was able to observe the hollowing out of the mass in the living embryo (cf. the development of the heart in spiders). some of the central cells (nuclei, dohrn) become blood corpuscles. the formation of these is not, according to dohrn, confined to the heart, but takes place _in situ_ in all the parts of the body (antennæ, appendages, etc.). the corpuscles are formed as free nuclei and are primarily derived from the yolk, which at first freely communicates with the cavities of the appendages. [ ] reichenbach describes these cells, and states that there is a thickening of the epiblast adjoining them. in one place he states that the heart arises from this thickening of epiblast, and in another that it arises from the mesoblast. an epiblastic origin of the heart is extremely improbable. alimentary tract. in astacus the formation of the mesenteron by invagination, and the absorption of the yolk by the hypoblast cells, have already been described. on the absorption of the yolk the mesenteron has the form of a sack, the walls of which are formed of immensely long cells--the yolk pyramids--at the base of which the nucleus is placed (fig. b). this sack gives rise both to the portion of the alimentary canal between the abdomen and the stomach and to the liver. the epithelial wall of both of these parts is formed by the outermost portions of the pyramids with the nuclei and protoplasm becoming separated off from the yolk as a layer of flat epithelial cells. the yolk then breaks up and forms a mass of nutritive material filling up the cavity of the mesenteron. the differentiation both of the liver and alimentary tract proper first takes place on the ventral side, and commences close to the point where the proctodæum ends, and extends forward from this point. a layer of epithelial cells is thus formed on the ventral side of the mesenteron which very soon becomes raised into a series of longitudinal folds, one of which in the middle line is very conspicuous. the median fold eventually, by uniting with a corresponding fold on the dorsal side, gives rise to the true mesenteron; while the lateral folds form parallel hepatic cylinders, which in front are not constricted off from the alimentary tract. the lateral parts of the dorsal side of the mesenteron similarly give rise to hepatic cylinders. the yolk pyramids of the anterior part of the mesenteron, which projects forwards as a pair of diverticula on each side to the level of the stomach, are not converted into hepatic cylinders till after the larva is hatched. the proctodæum very early opens into the mesenteron, but the stomodæum remains closed till the differentiation of the mid-gut is nearly completed. the proctodæum gives rise to the abdominal part of the intestine, and the stomodæum to the oesophagus and stomach. the commencement of the masticatory apparatus in the latter appears very early as a dorsal thickening of the epithelium. the primitive mesenteron in palæmon differentiates itself into the permanent mid-gut and liver in a manner generally similar to that in astacus, though the process is considerably less complicated. a distinct layer of cells separates itself from the outer part of the yolk pyramids, and gives rise to the glandular lining both of the mid-gut and of the liver. the differentiation of this layer commences behind, and the mid-gut very soon communicates freely with the proctodæum. the lateral parts of the primitive mesenteron become constricted into four wings, two directed forwards and two backwards; these, after the yolk in them has become absorbed, constitute the liver. the median part simply becomes the mesenteron. the stomachic end of the stomodæum lies in contact with the mesenteron close to the point where it is continued into the hepatic diverticula, and, though the partition wall between the two becomes early very thin, a free communication is not established till the yolk has been completely absorbed. the alimentary tract in the isopoda is mainly if not entirely formed from the proctodæum and stomodæum, both of which arise before any other part of the alimentary system as epiblastic invaginations, and gradually grow inwards (fig. ). in oniscus the liver is formed as two discs at the surface of the yolk on each side of the anterior part of the body. their walls are composed of cubical cells derived from the yolk cells, the origin of which was spoken of on p. . these two discs gradually take the form of sacks (fig. b, _li._) freely open on their inner side to the yolk. as these sacks continue to grow the stomodæum and proctodæum do not remain passive. the stomodæum, which gives rise to the oesophagus and stomach of the adult, soon exhibits a posterior dilatation destined to become the stomach, on the dorsal wall of which a well-marked prominence--the earliest trace of the future armature--is soon formed (fig. b, _zp_). the proctodæum (_pr_) grows with much greater rapidity than the stomodæum, and its end adjoining the yolk becomes extremely thin or even broken through. in the earliest stages it was surrounded by the yolk cells, but in its later growth the yolk cells become gradually reduced in number and appear to recede before it--so much so that one is led to conclude that the later growth of the proctodæum takes place at the expense of the yolk cells. [fig. . two longitudinal sections through the embryo of oniscus murarius. (after bobretzky.) _st._ stomodæum; _pr._ proctodæum; _hy._ hypoblast formed of large nucleated cells imbedded in yolk; _m._ mesoblast; _vg._ ventral nerve cord; _sg._ supra-oesophageal ganglion; _li._ liver; _do._ dorsal organ; _zp._ rudiment of masticatory apparatus.] the liver sacks become filled with a granular material without a trace of cells; their posterior wall is continuous with the yolk cells, and their anterior lies close behind the stomach. the proctodæum continually grows forwards till it approaches close to the stomodæum, and the two liver sacks, now united into one at their base, become directly continuous with the proctodæum. by the stage when this junction is effected the yolk cells have completely disappeared. it seems then that in oniscus the yolk cells (hypoblast) are mainly employed in giving rise to the walls of the liver; but that they probably also supply the material for the later growth of the apparent proctodæum. it becomes therefore necessary to conclude that the latter, which might seem, together with the stomodæum, to form the whole alimentary tract, does in reality correspond to the proctodæum and mesenteron together, though the digestive fluids are no doubt mainly secreted not in the mesenteron but in the hepatic diverticula. the proctodæum and stomodæum at first meet each other without communicating, but before long the partition between the two is broken through. in cymothoa (bullar, no. ) the proctodæum and stomodæum develop in the same manner as in oniscus, but the hypoblast has quite a different form. the main mass of the yolk, which is much greater than in oniscus, is not contained in definite yolk cells, but the hypoblast is represented by ( ) two solid masses of cells, derived apparently from the inner layer of blastoderm cells, which give rise to the liver; and ( ) by a membrane enclosing the yolk in which nuclei are present. the two hepatic masses lie on the surface of the yolk, and each of them becomes divided into three short cæcal tubes freely open to the yolk. the stomodæum soon reaches its full length, but the proctodæum grows forwards above the yolk till it meets the stomodæum. by the time this takes place the liver cæca have grown into three large tubes filled with fluid, and provided with a muscular wall. they now lie above the yolk, and no longer communicate directly with the cavity of the yolk-sack, but open together with the yolk-sack into the point of junction of the proctodæum and stomodæum. the yolk-sack of cymothoa no doubt represents part of the mesenteron, but there is no evidence in favour of any part of the apparent proctodæum representing it also, though it is quite possible that it may do so. the relations of the yolk-sack and hepatic diverticula in cymothoa appear to hold good for asellus and probably for most isopoda. the differences between the decapods and isopods in the development of the mesenteron are not inconsiderable, but they are probably to be explained by the relatively larger amount of food-yolk in the latter forms. the solid yolk in the isopods on this view represents the primitive mesenteron of decapods after the yolk has been absorbed by the hypoblast cells. starting from this standpoint we find that in both groups the lateral parts of the mesenteron become the liver. in decapods the middle part becomes directly converted into the mid-gut, the differentiation of it commencing behind and proceeding forwards. in the isopods, owing to the mesenteron not having a distinct cavity, the differentiation of it, which proceeds forwards as in decapods, appears simply like a prolongation forwards of the proctodæum, the cells for the prolongation being probably supplied from the yolk. in cymothoa the food-yolk is so bulky that a special yolk-sack is developed for its retention, which is not completely absorbed till some time after the alimentary canal has the form of a continuous tube. the walls of this yolk-sack are morphologically a specially developed part of the mesenteron. bibliography. _general works._ ( ) c. spence bate. 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"beiträge zur kenntniss d. ostracoden. entwicklungsgeschichte von cypris ovum." _schriften d. gesell. zur beförderung d. gesamm. naturwiss. zu marburg_, vol. ix., . chapter xix. poecilopoda, pycnogonida, tardigrada, and linguatulida; and comparative summary of arthropodan development. the groups dealt with in the present chapter undoubtedly belong to the arthropoda. they are not closely related, and in the case of each group it is still uncertain with which of the main phyla they should be united. it is possible that they may all be offshoots from the arachnidan phylum. poecilopoda. the development of limulus has been studied by dohrn (no. ) and packard (no. ). the ova are laid in the sand near the spring-tide marks. they are enveloped in a thick chorion formed of several layers; and (during the later stages of development at any rate) there is a membrane within the chorion which exhibits clear indications of cell outlines[ ]. [ ] the nature of the inner membrane is obscure. it is believed by packard to be moulted after the formation of the limbs, and _to be equivalent to the amnion of insects_, while by dohrn it is regarded as a product of the follicle cells. there is a centrolecithal segmentation, which ends in the formation of a blastoderm enclosing a central yolk mass. a ventral plate is then formed, which is thicker in the region where the abdomen is eventually developed. six segments soon become faintly indicated in the cephalothoracic region, the ends of which grow out into prominent appendages (fig. a); of these there are six pairs, which increase in size from before backwards. a stomodæum (m) is by this time established _and is placed well in front of the foremost pair of appendages_[ ]. [ ] dohrn finds at first only five appendages, but thinks that the sixth (the anterior one) may have been present but invisible. in the course of the next few days the two first appendages of the abdominal region become formed (_vide_ fig. c shewing those abdominal appendages at a later stage), and have a very different shape and direction to those of the cephalothorax. the appendages of the latter become flexed in the middle in such a way that their ends become directed towards the median line (fig. b). the body of the embryo (fig. b) is now distinctly divided into two regions--the cephalothoracic in front, and the abdominal behind, both divided into segments. [fig. . three stages in the development of limulus polyphemus. (somewhat modified from packard.) a. embryo in which the thoracic limbs and mouth have become developed on the ventral plate. the outer line represents what packard believes to be the amnion. b. later embryo from the ventral surface. c. later embryo, just before the splitting of the chorion from the side. the full number of segments of the abdomen, and three abdominal appendages, have become established; _m._ mouth; i-ix. appendages.] round the edge of the ventral plate there is a distinct ridge--the rudiment of the cephalothoracic shield. with the further growth of the embryo the chorion becomes split and cast off, the embryo being left enclosed within the inner membrane. the embryo has a decided ventral flexure, and the abdominal region grows greatly and forms a kind of cap at the hinder end, while its vaulted dorsal side becomes divided into segments (fig. c). of these there are according to dohrn seven, but according to packard nine, of which the last forms the rudiment of the caudal spine. in the thoracic region the nervous system is by this stage formed as a ganglionated cord (dohrn), with no resemblance to the peculiar oesophageal ring of the adult. the mouth is stated by dohrn to lie between the second pair of limbs, so that, if the descriptions we have are correct, it must have by this stage changed its position with reference to the appendages. between the thorax and abdomen two papillæ have arisen which form the so-called lower lip of the adult, but from their position and late development they can hardly be regarded as segmental appendages. in the course of further changes all the parts become more distinct, while the membrane in which the larva is placed becomes enormously distended (fig. a). the rudiments of the compound eyes are formed on the third (packard) or fourth (dohrn) segment of the cephalothorax, and the simple eyes near the median line in front. the rudiments of the inner process of the chelæ of the cephalothoracic appendages arise as buds. the abdominal appendages become more plate-like, and the rudiments of a third pair appear behind the two already present. the heart appears on the dorsal surface. an ecdysis now takes place, and in the stage following the limbs have approached far more closely to their adult state (fig. a). the cephalothoracic appendages become fully jointed; the two anterior abdominal appendages (vii.) have approached, and begin to resemble the operculum of the adult, and on the second pair is formed a small inner ramus. the segmentation of the now vaulted cephalothorax becomes less obvious, though still indicated by the arrangement of the yolk masses which form the future hepatic diverticula. [fig. . two stages in the development of limulus polyphemus. (after dohrn.) a. an advanced embryo enveloped in the distended inner membrane shortly before hatching; from the ventral side. b. a later embryo at the trilobite stage, from the dorsal side. i., vii., viii. first, seventh, and eighth appendages. _cs._ caudal spine; _se._ simple eye; _ce._ compound eye.] shortly after this stage the embryo is hatched, and at about the time of hatching acquires a form (fig. b) in which it bears, as pointed out by dohrn and packard, the most striking resemblance to a trilobite. viewed from the dorsal surface (fig. b) it is divided into two distinct regions, the cephalothoracic in front and the abdominal behind. the cephalothoracic has become much flatter and wider, has lost all trace of its previous segmentation, and has become distinctly trilobed. the central lobe forms a well-marked keel, and at the line of insertion of the rim-like edge of the lateral lobes are placed the two pairs of eyes (_se_ and _ce_). the abdominal region is also distinctly trilobed and divided into nine segments; the last, which is merely formed of a median process, being the rudiment of the caudal spine. the edges of the second to the seventh are armed with a spine. the changes in the appendages are not very considerable. the anterior pair nearly meet in the middle line in front or the mouth; and the latter structure is completely covered by an upper lip. each abdominal appendage of the second pair is provided with four gill lamellæ, attached close to its base. three weeks after hatching an ecdysis takes place, and the larva passes from a trilobite into a limuloid form. the segmentation of the abdomen has become much less obvious, and this part of the embryo closely resembles its permanent form. the caudal spine is longer, but is still relatively short. a fourth pair of abdominal appendages is established, and the first pair have partially coalesced, while the second and third pairs have become jointed, their outer ramus containing four and their inner three joints. additional gill lamellæ attached to the two basal joints of the second and third abdominal appendages have appeared. the further changes are not of great importance. they are effected in a series of successive moults. the young larvæ swim actively at the surface. our, in many respects, imperfect knowledge of the development of limulus is not sufficient to shew whether it is more closely related to the crustacea or to the arachnida, or is an independent phylum. the somewhat crustacean character of biramous abdominal feet, etc. is not to be denied, but at the same time the characters of the embryo appear to me to be decidedly more arachnidan than crustacean. the embryo, when the appendages are first formed, has a decidedly arachnidan facies. it will be remembered that when the limbs are first formed they are all _post-oral_. they resemble in this respect the limbs of the arachnida, and it seems to be probable that the anterior pair is equivalent to the cheliceræ of arachnida, which, as shewn in a previous section, are really post-oral appendages in no way homologous with antennæ[ ]. [ ] dohrn believes that he has succeeded in shewing that the first pair of appendages of limulus is innervated in the embryo from the supra-oesophageal ganglia. his observations do not appear to me conclusive, and arguing from what we know of the development of the arachnida, the innervation of these appendages in the adult can be of no morphological importance. the six thoracic appendages may thus be compared with the six arachnidan appendages; which they resemble in their relation to the mouth, their basal cutting blades, etc. the existence of abdominal appendages behind the six cephalothoracic does not militate against the arachnidan affinities of limulus, because in the arachnida rudimentary abdominal appendages are always present in the embryo. the character of the abdominal appendages is probably secondarily adapted to an aquatic respiration, since it is likely (for the reasons already mentioned in connection with the tracheata) that if limulus has any affinities with the stock of the tracheata it is descended from air-breathing forms, and has acquired its aquatic mode of respiration. the anastomosis of the two halves of the generative glands is an arachnidan character, and the position of the generative openings in limulus is more like that in the scorpion than in crustacea. a fuller study of the development would be very likely to throw further light on the affinities of limulus, and if packard's view about the nature of the inner egg membrane were to be confirmed, strong evidence would thereby be produced in favour of the arachnidan affinities. ( ) a. dohrn. "untersuch. üb. bau u. entwick. d. arthropoden (limulus polyphemus)." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vi., . ( ) a. s. packard. "the development of limulus polyphemus." _mem. boston soc. nat. history_, vol. ii., . pycnogonida. the embryos, during the first phases of their development, are always carried by the _male_ in sacks which are attached to a pair of appendages (the third) specially formed for this purpose. the segmentation of the ovum is complete, and there is in most forms developed within the eggshell a larva with three pairs of two-jointed appendages, and a rostrum placed between the front pair. it will be convenient to take achelia lævis, studied by dohrn (no. ), as type. the larva of achelia when hatched is provided with the typical three pairs of appendages. the foremost of them is chelate, and the two following pairs are each provided with a claw. of the three pairs of larval appendages dohrn states that he has satisfied himself that the anterior is innervated by the supra-oesophageal ganglion, and the two posterior by separate nerves coming from two imperfectly united ventral ganglia. the larva is provided with a median eye formed of two coalesced pigment spots, and with a simple stomach. the gradual conversion of the larva into the adult takes place by the elongation of the posterior end of the body into a papilla, and the formation there, at a later period, of the anus; while at the two sides of the anal papilla rudiments of a fresh pair of appendages--the first pair of ambulatory limbs of the adult--make their appearance. the three remaining pairs of limbs become formed successively as lateral outgrowths, and their development is accomplished in a number of successive ecdyses. as they are formed cæca from the stomach become prolonged into them. for each of them there appears a special ganglion. while the above changes are taking place the three pairs of larval appendages undergo considerable reduction. the anterior pair singly becomes smaller, the second loses its claw, and the third becomes reduced to a mere stump. in the adult the second pair of appendages becomes enlarged again and forms the so-called palpi, while the third pair develops in the male into the egg-carrying appendages, but is aborted in the female. the first pair form appendages lying parallel to the rostrum, which are sometimes called pedipalpi and sometimes antennæ. the anal papilla is a rudimentary abdomen, and, as dohrn has shewn, contains rudiments of two pairs of ganglia. the larvæ of phoxichilidium are parasitic in various hydrozoa (hydractinia, etc.). after hatching they crawl into the hydractinia stock. they are at first provided with the three normal pairs of larval appendages. the two hinder of these are soon thrown off, and the posterior part of the trunk, with the four ambulatory appendages belonging to it, becomes gradually developed in a series of moults. the legs, with the exception of the hindermost pair, are fully formed at the first ecdysis after the larva has become free. in the genus pallene the metamorphosis is abbreviated, and the young are hatched with the full complement of appendages. the position of the pycnogonida is not as yet satisfactorily settled. the six-legged larva has none of the characteristic features of the nauplius, except the possession of the same number of appendages. the number of appendages ( ) of the pycnogonida does not coincide with that of the arachnida. on the other hand, the presence of chelate appendages innervated in the adult by the supra-oesophageal ganglia rather points to a common phylum for the pycnogonida and arachnida; though as shewn above (p. ) all the appendages in the embryo of true arachnida are innervated by post-oral ganglia. the innervation of these appendages in the larvæ of pycnogonida requires further investigation. against such a relationship the extra pair of appendages in the pycnogonida is no argument, since the embryos of most arachnida are provided with four such extra pairs. the two groups must no doubt have diverged very early. bibliography. ( ) g. cavanna. "studie e ricerche sui picnogonidi." _pubblicazioni del r. instituto di studi superiori in firenze_, . ( ) an. dohrn. "ueber entwicklung u. bau d. pycnogoniden." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. v. , and "neue untersuchungen üb. pycnogoniden." _mittheil. a. d. zoologischen station zu neapel_, bd. i. . ( ) g. hodge. "observations on a species of pycnogon, etc." _annal. and mag. of nat. hist._ vol. ix. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber pycnogoniden u. ihre in hydroiden schmarotzenden larvenformen." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. i. . pentastomida. the development and metamorphosis of pentastomum tænoides have been thoroughly worked out by leuckart (no. ) and will serve as type for the group. in the sexual state it inhabits the nasal cavities of the dog. the early embryonic development takes place as the ovum gradually passes down the uterus. the segmentation appears to be complete; and gives rise to an oval mass in which the separate cells can hardly be distinguished. this gradually differentiates itself into a characteristic embryo, divided into a tail and trunk. the tail is applied to the ventral surface of the trunk, and on the latter two pairs of stump-like unsegmented appendages arise, each provided with a pair of claws. at the anterior extremity of the body is formed the mouth, with a ventral spine and lateral hook, which are perhaps degenerated jaws. the spine functions as a boring apparatus, and an apparatus with a similar function is formed at the end of the tail. a larval cuticle now appears, which soon becomes detached from the embryo, except on the dorsal surface, where it remains firmly united to a peculiar papilla. this papilla becomes eventually divided into two parts, one of which remains attached to the cuticle, while the part connected with the embryo forms a raised cross placed in a cup-shaped groove. the whole structure has been compared, on insufficient grounds, to the dorsal organ of the crustacea. the eggs, containing the embryo in the condition above described, are eventually carried out with the nasal slime, and, if transported thence into the alimentary cavity of a rabbit or hare, the embryos become hatched by the action of the gastric juice. from the alimentary tract of their new host they make their way into the lungs or liver. they here become enveloped in a cyst, in the interior of which they undergo a very remarkable metamorphosis. they are, however, so minute and delicate that leuckart was unable to elucidate their structure till eight weeks after they had been swallowed. at this period they are irregularly-shaped organisms, with a most distant resemblance to the earlier embryos. they are without their previous appendages, but the alimentary tract is now distinctly differentiated. the remains of two cuticles in the cyst seem to shew that the above changes are effected in two ecdyses. in the course of a series of ecdyses the various organs of the larval form known as pentastomum denticulatum continue to become differentiated. after the first (=third) ecdysis the oesophageal nerve-ring and sexually undifferentiated generative organs are developed. at the fourth (=sixth) ecdysis the two pairs of hooks of the adult are formed in pockets which appeared at a somewhat earlier stage; and the body acquires an annulated character. at a somewhat earlier period rudiments of the external generative organs indicate the sex of the larva. after a number of further ecdyses, which are completed in about six months after the introduction of the embryos into the intermediate host, the larva attains its full development, and acquires a form in which it has long been known as pentastomum denticulatum. it now leaves its cyst and begins to move about. it is in a state fit to be introduced into its final host; but if it be not so introduced it may become encysted afresh. if the part of a rabbit or hare infected by a pentastomum denticulatum be eaten by a dog or wolf, the parasite passes into the nasal cavity of the latter, and after further changes of cuticle becomes a fully developed sexual pentastomum tænioides, which does not differ to any very marked extent from p. denticulatum. in their general characters the larval migrations of pentastomum are similar to those of the cestodes. the internal anatomy of the adult pentastomum, as well as the characters of the larva with two pairs of clawed appendages, are perhaps sufficient to warrant us in placing it with the arthropoda, though it would be difficult to shew that it ought not to be placed with such a form as myzostomum (_vide_ p. ). there do not appear to be any sufficient grounds to justify its being placed with the mites amongst the arachnida. if indeed the rings of the body of the pentastomida are to be taken as implying a true segmentation, it is clear that the pentastomida cannot be associated with the mites. bibliography. ( ) p. j. van beneden. "recherches s. l'organisation et le développement d. linguatules." _ann. d. scien. nat._, ser., vol. xi. ( ) r. leuckart. "bau u. entwicklungsgeschichte d. pentastomen." leipzig and heidelberg. . tardigrada. very little is known with reference to the development of the tardigrada. a complete and regular segmentation (von siebold, kaufmann, no. ) is followed by the appearance of a groove on the ventral side indicating a ventral flexure. at about the time of the appearance of the groove the cells become divided into an epiblastic investing layer and a central hypoblastic mass. the armature of the pharynx is formed very early at the anterior extremity, and the limbs arise in succession from before backwards. the above imperfect details throw no light on the systematic position of this group. _tardigrada._ ( ) j. kaufmann. "ueber die entwicklung u. systematische stellung d. tardigraden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. iii. . _summary of arthropodan development._ the numerous characters common to the whole of the arthropoda led naturalists to unite them in a common phylum, but the later researches on the genealogy of the tracheata and crustacea tend to throw doubts on this conclusion, while there is not as yet sufficient evidence to assign with certainty a definite position in either of these classes to the smaller groups described in the present chapter. there seems to be but little doubt that the tracheata are descended from a terrestrial annelidan type related to peripatus. the affinities of peripatus to the tracheata are, as pointed out in a previous chapter (p. ), very clear, while at the same time it is not possible to regard peripatus simply as a degraded tracheate, owing to the fact that it is provided with such distinctly annelidan organs as nephridia, and that its geographical distribution shews it to be a very ancient form. the crustacea on the other hand are clearly descended from a phyllopod-like ancestor, which can be in no way related to peripatus. the somewhat unexpected conclusion that the arthropoda have a double phylum is on the whole borne out by the anatomy of the two groups. without attempting to prove this in detail, it may be pointed out that the crustacean appendages are typically biramous, while those of the tracheata are never at any stage of development biramous[ ]; and the similarity between the appendages of some of the higher crustacea and those of many tracheata is an adaptive one, and could in no case be used as an argument for the affinity of the two groups. [ ] the biflagellate antennæ of pauropus amongst the myriapods can hardly be considered as constituting an exception to this rule. the similarity of many organs is to be explained by both groups being descendants of annelidan ancestors. the similarity of the compound eye in the two groups cannot however be explained in this way, and is one of the greatest difficulties of the above view. it is moreover remarkable that the eye of peripatus[ ] is formed on a different type to either the single or compound eyes of most arthropoda. [ ] i hope to shew this in a paper i am preparing on the anatomy of peripatus. the conclusion that the crustacea and tracheata belong to two distinct phyla is confirmed by a consideration of their development. they have no doubt in common a centrolecithal segmentation, but, as already insisted on, the segmentation is no safe guide to the affinities. in the tracheata the archenteron is never, so far as we know, formed by an invagination[ ], while in crustacea the evidence is in favour of such an invagination being the usual, and, without doubt, the primitive, mode of origin. [ ] stecker's description of an invagination in the chilognatha cannot be accepted without further confirmation; _vide_ p. . the mesoblast in the tracheata is formed in connection with a median thickening of the ventral plate. the unpaired plate of mesoblast so formed becomes divided into two bands, one on each side of the middle line. in both spiders and myriopods, and probably insects, the two plates of mesoblast are subsequently divided into somites, the lumen of which is continued into the limbs. in crustacea the mesoblast usually originates from the walls of the invagination, which gives rise to the mesenteron. it does not become divided into two distinct bands, but forms a layer of scattered cells between the epiblast and hypoblast, and does not usually break up into somites; and though somites are stated in some cases to be found they do not resemble those in the tracheata. the proctodæum is usually formed in crustacea before and rarely later[ ] than the stomodæum. the reverse is true for the tracheata. in crustacea the proctodæum and stomodæum, especially the former, are very long, and usually give rise to the greater part of the alimentary tract, while the mesenteron is usually short. [ ] this is stated to be the case in moina (grobben). in the tracheata the mesenteron is always considerable, and the proctodæum is always short. the derivation of the malpighian bodies from the proctodæum is common to most tracheata. such diverticula of the proctodæum are not found in crustacea. chapter xx. echinodermata[ ]. [ ] the following classification of the echinodermata is employed in this chapter: i. holothuroidea. ii. asteroidea. iii. ophiuroidea. iv. echinoidea. v. crinoidea. the development of the echinodermata naturally falls into two sections:-- ( ) the development of the germinal layers and of the systems of organs; ( ) the development of the larval appendages and the metamorphosis. _the development of the germinal layers and of the systems of organs._ the development of the systems of organs presents no very important variations within the limits of the group. holothuroidea. the holothurians have been most fully studied (selenka, no. ), and may be conveniently taken as type. the segmentation is nearly regular, though towards its close, and in some instances still earlier, a difference becomes apparent between the upper and the lower poles. at the close of segmentation (fig. a) the egg has a nearly spherical form, and is constituted of a single layer of columnar cells enclosing a small segmentation cavity. the lower pole is slightly thickened, and the egg rotates by means of fine cilia. an invagination now makes its appearance at the lower pole (fig. b), and simultaneously there become budded off _from the cells undergoing the invagination_ amoeboid cells, which eventually form the muscular system and the connective tissue. these cells very probably have a bilaterally symmetrical origin. this stage represents the gastrula stage which is common to all echinoderms. the invaginated sack is the archenteron. as it grows larger one side of the embryo becomes flattened, and the other more convex. on the flattened side a fresh invagination arises, the opening of which forms the permanent mouth, the opening of the first invagination remaining as the permanent anus (fig. a). [fig. . two stages in the development of holothuria tubulosa viewed in optical section. (after selenka.) a. blastosphere stage at the close of segmentation. b. gastrula stage. _mr._ micropyle; _fl._ chorion; _s.c._ segmentation cavity; _bl_. blastoderm; _ep._ epiblast; _hy._ hypoblast; _ms._ amoeboid cells derived from hypoblast; _a.e._ archenteron.] these changes give us the means of attaching definite names to the various parts of the embryo. it deserves to be noted in the first place that the embryo has assumed a distinctly bilateral form. there is present a more or less concave surface extending from the mouth to near the anus, which will be spoken of as the ventral surface. the anus is situated at the posterior extremity. the convex surface opposite the ventral surface forms the dorsal surface, which terminates anteriorly in a rounded præ-oral prominence. it will be noticed in fig. a that in addition to the primitive anal invagination there is present a vesicle (_v.p._). this vesicle is directly formed by a constriction of the primitive archenteron (fig. _vpv._), and is called by selenka the vaso-peritoneal vesicle. it gives origin to the epithelioid lining of the body cavity and water-vascular system of the adult[ ]. in the parts now developed we have the rudiments of all the adult organs. [ ] the origin of the vaso-peritoneal vesicle is not quite the same in all the species. in holothuria tubulosa it is separated from the cæcal end of the archenteron; the remainder of which then grows towards the oral invagination. in cucumaria the archenteron forks (fig. ); and one fork forms the vaso-peritoneal vesicle, and the other the major part of the mesenteron. the mouth and anal involutions (after the separation of the vaso-peritoneal vesicle) meet and unite, a constriction indicating their point of junction (fig. b). eventually the former gives rise to the mouth and oesophagus, and the latter to the remainder of the alimentary canal[ ]. [ ] there appears to be some uncertainty as to how much of the larval oesophagus is derived from the stomodæal invagination. [fig. . three stages in the development of holothuria tubulosa viewed from the side in optical section. (after selenka.) _m._ mouth; _oe._ oesophagus; _st._ stomach; _i._ intestine; _a_ anus; _l.c._ longitudinal ciliated band; _v.p._ vaso-peritoneal vesicle; _p.v._ peritoneal vesicle; _p.r._ right peritoneal vesicle; _pl._ left peritoneal vesicle; _w.v._ water-vascular vesicle; _p._ dorsal pore of water-vascular system; _ms._ muscle cells.] the vaso-peritoneal vesicle undergoes a series of remarkable changes. after its separation from the archenteron it takes up a position on the left side of this, elongates in an antero-posterior direction, and from about its middle sends a narrow diverticulum towards the _dorsal_ surface of the body, where an opening to the exterior becomes formed (fig. b, _p._). the diverticulum becomes the madreporic canal, and the opening the dorsal pore. the vaso-peritoneal vesicle next divides into two, an anterior vesicle (fig. b, _w.v._), from which is derived the epithelium of the water-vascular system, and a posterior (fig. b, _p.v._), which gives rise to the epithelioid lining of the body cavity. the anterior vesicle (fig. c, _w.v._) becomes five-lobed, takes a horseshoe-shaped form, and grows round the oesophagus (fig. , _w.v.r_). the five lobes form the rudiments of the water-vascular prolongations into the tentacles. the remaining parts of the water-vascular system are also developed as outgrowths of the original vesicle. five of these, alternating with the original diverticula, form the five ambulacral canals, from which diverticula are produced into the ambulacral feet; a sixth gives rise to the polian vesicle. the remaining parts of the original vesicle form the water-vascular ring. we must suppose that eventually the madreporic canal loses its connection with the exterior so as to hang loosely in the interior, though the steps of this process do not appear to have been made out. [fig. . longitudinal section through an embryo of cucumaria doliolum at the end of the fourth day. _vpv._ vaso-peritoneal vesicle; _me._ mesenteron; _blp._, _ptd._ blastopore, proctodæum.] the original hinder peritoneal vesicle grows rapidly, and divides into two (fig. c, _pl._ and _pr._), which encircle the two sides of the alimentary canal, and meet above and below it. the outer wall of each of them attaches itself to the skin, and the inner one to the alimentary canal and water-vascular system; in both cases the walls remain separated from the adjacent parts by a layer of the amoeboid cells already spoken of. the cavity of the peritoneal vesicles becomes the permanent body cavity. where the walls of the two vesicles meet on the dorsal side, a mesentery, suspending the alimentary canal and dividing the body cavity longitudinally, is often formed. in other parts the partition walls between the two sacks appear to be absorbed. the amoeboid cells, which were derived from the invaginated cells, arrange themselves as a layer round all the organs (fig. ). some of them remain amoeboid, attach themselves to the skin, and form part of the cutis; and in these cells the calcareous spicula of the larva and adult are formed. others form the musculature of the larval alimentary tract, while the remainder give rise to the musculature and connective tissue of the adult. the development of the vascular system is not known, but the discovery of kowalevsky, confirmed by selenka, that from the walls of the water-vascular system corpuscles are developed, identical with those in the blood-vessels, indicates that it probably develops in connection with the water-vascular system. the observations of hoffmann and perrier on the communication of the two systems in the echinoidea point to the same conclusion. though nothing very definite is known with reference to the development of the nervous system, metschnikoff suggests that it develops in connection with the thickened bands of epiblast which are formed by a metamorphosis of the ciliated bands of the embryo, and accompany the five radial tubes (_vide_ p. ). in any case its condition in the adult leaves no doubt of its being a derivative of the epiblast. from the above description the following general conclusions may be drawn:-- ( ) the blastosphere stage is followed by a gastrula stage. ( ) the gastrula opening forms the permanent anus, and the mouth is formed by a fresh invagination. ( ) the mesoblast arises entirely from the invaginated cells, but in two ways:-- (_a_) as scattered amoeboid cells, which give origin to the muscles and connective tissue (including the cutis) of the body wall and alimentary tract. (_b_) as a portion separated off from the archenteron, which gives rise both to the epithelioid lining of the body cavity, and of the water-vascular system. ( ) the oesophagus is derived from an invagination of the epiblast, and the remainder of the alimentary canal from the archenteron. ( ) the embryonic systems of organs pass directly into those of the adult. the development of synapta diverges, as might be expected, to a very small extent from that of holothuria. asteroidea. in asterias the early stages of development conform to our type. there arise, however, two bilaterally symmetrical vaso-peritoneal diverticula from the archenteron. these diverticula give rise both to the lining of the body cavity and water-vascular system. with reference to the exact changes they undergo there is, however, some difference of opinion. agassiz ( ) maintains that both vesicles are concerned in the formation of the water-vascular system, while metschnikoff ( ) holds that the water-vascular system is entirely derived from the anterior part of the larger left vesicle, while the right and remainder of the left vesicle form the body cavity. metschnikoff's statements appear to be the most probable. the anterior part of the left vesicle, after separating from the posterior, grows into a five-lobed rosette (fig. , _i_), and a madreporic canal (_h_) with a dorsal pore opening to the exterior. the rosette appears not to grow round the oesophagus, as in the cases hitherto described. but the latter is stated to disappear, and a new oesophagus to be formed, which pierces the rosette, and places the old mouth in communication with the stomach. except where the anus is absent in the adult, the larval anus probably persists. ophiuroidea. the early development of the ophiuroidea is not so fully known as that of other types. most species have a free-swimming larva, but some (amphiura) are viviparous. the early stages of the free-swimming larvæ have not been described, but i have myself observed in the case of ophiothrix fragilis that the segmentation is uniform, and is followed by the normal invagination. the opening of this no doubt remains as the larval anus, and there are probably two outgrowths from this to form the vaso-peritoneal vesicles. each of these divides into two parts, an anterior lying close to the oesophagus, and a posterior close to the stomach. the anterior on the right side aborts; that on the left side becomes the water-vascular vesicle, early opens to the exterior, and eventually grows round the oesophagus, which, as in holothurians, becomes the oesophagus of the adult. the posterior vesicles give rise to the lining of the body cavity, but are stated by metschnikoff to be at first solid, and only subsequently to acquire a cavity--the permanent body cavity. the anus naturally disappears, since it is absent in the adult. in the viviparous type the first stages are imperfectly known, but it appears that the blastopore vanishes before the appearance of the mouth. the development of the vaso-peritoneal bodies takes place as in the free-swimming larvæ. echinoidea. in the echinoidea (agassiz, no. , selenka, no. ) there is a regular segmentation and the normal invagination (fig. a). the amoeboid mesoblast cells arise as two laterally placed masses, and give rise to the usual parts. the archenteron grows forward and bends towards the ventral side (fig. b). it becomes (fig. c) divided into three chambers, of which the two hindermost (_d_ and _c_) form the stomach and intestine; while the anterior forms the oesophagus, and gives rise to the vaso-peritoneal vesicles. these latter appear as a pair of outgrowths (fig. ), but become constricted off as _a single two-horned vesicle_, which subsequently divides into two. the left of these is eventually divided, as in asteroids, into a peritoneal and water-vascular sack, while the right forms the right peritoneal sack. an oral invagination on the flattened ventral side meets the mesenteron after its separation from the vaso-peritoneal vesicle. the larval anus persists, as also does the larval mouth, but owing to the manner in which the water-vascular rosette is established the larval oesophagus appears to be absorbed, and to be replaced by a fresh oesophagus. [fig. . three side views of early stages in the development of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) _a._ anus (blastopore); _d._ stomach; _o._ oesophagus; _c._ rectum; _w._ vaso-peritoneal vesicle; _v._ ciliated ridge; _r._ calcareous rod.] crinoidea. antedon, the only crinoid so far studied (götte, no. ), presents some not inconsiderable variations from the usual echinoderm type. the blastopore is placed on the somewhat flattened side of the oval blastosphere, and not, as is usual, at the hinder end. [fig. . dorso-ventral view of an early larva of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) _a._ anus; _d._ stomach; _o._ oesophagus; _w._ vaso-peritoneal vesicle; _r._ calcareous rod.] the blastopore completely closes, and is not converted into the permanent anus. the archenteron gives rise to the epithelioid lining of both body cavity and water-vascular system. these parts do not, however, appear as a single or paired outgrowth from the archenteron, but as three distinct outgrowths which are not formed contemporaneously. two of them are first formed, and become the future body cavity; but their lumens remain distinct. originally appearing as lateral outgrowths, the right one assumes a dorsal position and sends a prolongation into the stalk (fig. , _rp´_), and the left one assumes first a ventral, and then an oral position (fig. , _lp_). [fig. . longitudinal section through an antedon larva. (from carpenter; after götte.) _al._ mesenteron; _wv._ water-vascular ring; _lp._ left (oral) peritoneal vesicle; _rp._ right peritoneal vesicle; _rp´._ continuation of right vesicle into the stalk; _st._ stalk.] the third outgrowth of the archenteron gives rise to the water-vascular vesicle. it first grows round the region of the future oesophagus and so forms the water-vascular ring. the wall of the ring then grows towards the body wall so as to divide the oral (left) peritoneal vesicle into two distinct vesicles, an anterior and a posterior, shewn in fig. , _lp´_ and _lp_. before this division is completed, the water-vascular ring is produced in front into five processes--the future tentacles (fig. , _wv_)--which project into the cavity of the oral vesicle (_lp_). after the oral peritoneal space has become completely divided into two parts, the anterior dilates (fig. , _lp´_) greatly, and forms a large vestibule at the anterior end of the body. this vestibule (_lp´_) next acquires a communication with the mesenteron, shewn in fig. at m. the anterior wall of this vestibule is finally broken through. by this rupture the mesenteron is placed in communication with the exterior by the opening at _m_, while at the same time the tentacles of the water-vascular ring (_t_) project freely to the exterior. such is götte's account of the præ-oral body space, but, as he himself points out, it involves our believing that the lining of the diverticulum derived from the primitive alimentary vesicle becomes part of the external skin. this occurrence is so remarkable, that more evidence appears to me requisite before accepting it. the formation of the anus occurs late. its position appears to be the same as that of the blastopore, and is indicated by a papilla of the mesenteron attaching itself to the skin on the ventral side (fig. , _an_). it eventually becomes placed in an interradial space within the oral disc of the adult. the water-vascular ring has no direct communication with the exterior, but the place of the madreporic canal of other types appears to be taken in the larva by a single tube leading from the exterior into the body cavity, the external opening of which is placed on one of the oral plates (_vide_ p. ) in the next interradial space to the right of the anus, and a corresponding diverticulum of the water-vascular ring opening into the body cavity. the line of junction between the left and right peritoneal vesicles forms in the larva a ring-like mesentery dividing the oral from the aboral part of the body cavity. in the adult[ ] the oral section of the larval body cavity becomes the ventral part of the circumvisceral division of the body cavity, and the subtentacular canals of the arms and disc; while the aboral section becomes the dorsal part of the circumvisceral division of the body cavity, the coeliac canals of the arms, and the cavity of the centro-dorsal piece. the primitive distinction between the sections of the larval body cavity becomes to a large extent obliterated, while the axial and intervisceral sections of the body cavity of the adult are late developments. [ ] _vide_ p. h. carpenter, "on the genus actinometra." _linnean trans._, nd series, zoology, vol. ii., part i., . [fig. . longitudinal section through the calyx of an advanced pentacrinoid antedon larva with closed vestibule. (from carpenter; after götte.) _ae._ epithelium of oral vestibule; _m._ mouth; _al._ mesenteron; _an._ rudiment of permanent anus; _lp._ posterior part of left (oral) peritoneal sack; lp´. anterior part of left (oral) peritoneal sack; _wr._ water-vascular ring; _t._ tentacle; _mt._ mesentery; _rp._ right peritoneal sack; _rp´._ continuation of right peritoneal sack into the stalk; _r._ roof of tentacular vestibule.] the more important points in the development indicated in the preceding pages are as follows: ( ) the blastosphere is usually elongated in the direction of the axis of invagination, but in comatula it is elongated transversely to this axis. ( ) the blastopore usually becomes the permanent anus, but it closes at the end of larval life (there being no anus in the adult) in ophiuroids and some asteroids, while in comatula it closes very early, and a fresh anus is formed at the point where the blastopore was placed. ( ) the larval mouth always becomes the mouth of the adult. ( ) the archenteron always gives rise to outgrowths which form the peritoneal membrane and water-vascular systems. in comatula there are three such outgrowths, two paired, which form the peritoneal vesicles, and one unpaired, which forms the water-vascular vesicle. in asteroids and ophiuroids there are two outgrowths. in ophiuroids both of these are divided into a peritoneal and a water-vascular vesicle, but the right water-vascular vesicle atrophies. in asteroids only one water-vascular vesicle is formed, which is derived from the left peritoneal vesicle. in echinoids and holothuroids there is a single vaso-peritoneal vesicle. ( ) the water-vascular vesicle grows round the larval oesophagus in holothuroids, ophiuroids, and comatula; in these cases the larval oesophagus is carried on into the adult. in other forms the water-vascular vesicle forms a ring which does not enclose the oesophagus (asteroids and echinoids); in such cases a new oesophagus is formed, which perforates this ring. _development of the larval appendages and metamorphosis._ holothuroidea. the young larva of synapta, to which j. müller gave the name auricularia (fig. ), is in many respects the simplest form of echinoderm larva. with a few exceptions the auricularia type of larva is common to the holothuria. [fig. . a. the larva of a holothuroid. b. the larva of an asteroid. _m._ mouth; _st._ stomach; _a._ anus; _l.c._ primitive longitudinal ciliated band; _pr.c._ præ-oral ciliated band.] it is (fig. a and fig. ) bilaterally symmetrical, presenting a flattened ventral surface, and a convex dorsal one. the anus (_an_) is situated nearly at the hinder pole, and the mouth (_m_) about the middle of the ventral surface. in front of the mouth is a considerable process, the præ-oral lobe. between the mouth and anus is a space, more or less concave according to the age of the embryo, interrupted by a ciliated ridge a little in front of the anus. a similar ciliated ridge is present on the ventral surface of the præ-oral lobe immediately in front of the mouth. the anal and oral ridges are connected by two lateral ciliated bands, the whole forming a continuous band, which, since the mouth lies in the centre of it (fig. ), may be regarded as a ring completely surrounding the body behind the mouth, or more naturally as a longitudinal ring. [fig. . diagrammatic figures representing the evolution of an auricularia from the simplest echinoderm larval form. (copied from müller.) the black line represents the ciliated ridge. the shaded part is the oral side of the ring, the clear part the aboral side. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus.] the bilateral auricularia is developed from a slightly elongated gastrula with an uniform covering of cilia. the gastrula becomes flattened on the oral side. at the same time the cilia become specially developed on the oral and anal ridges, and then on the remainder of the ciliated ring, while they are simultaneously obliterated elsewhere; and so a complete auricularia is developed. the water-vascular ring in the fully developed larva has already considerably advanced in the growth round the oesophagus (fig. _w.v.r_). most holothurian larvæ, in their transformation from the bilateral auricularia form to the radial form of the adult, pass through a stage in which the cilia form a number of transverse rings, usually five in number, surrounding the body. the stages in this metamorphosis are shewn in figs. , , and . [fig. . full-grown larva of synapta. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _st._ stomach; _a._ anus; _p.v._ left division of perivisceral cavity, which is still connected with the water-vascular system; _w.v.r._ water-vascular ring which has not yet completely encircled the oesophagus; _l.c._ longitudinal part of ciliated band; _pr.c._ præ-oral part of ciliated band.] the primitive ciliated band, at a certain stage of the metamorphosis, breaks up into a number of separate portions (fig. ), the whole of which are placed on the ventral surface. four of these (fig. a and b) arrange themselves in the form of an angular ring round the mouth, which at this period projects considerably. the remaining portions of the primitive band change their direction from a longitudinal one to a transverse (fig. b), and eventually grow into complete rings (fig. c). of these there are five. the middle one ( b) is the first to develop, and is formed from the dorsal parts of the primitive ring. the two hinder rings develop next, and last of all the two anterior ones, one of which appears to be in front of the mouth (fig. c). [fig. . three stages in the development of synapta. a and b are viewed from the ventral surface, and c from the side. (after metschnikoff.) _m._ mouth; _oe._ oesophagus; _pv._ walls of the perivisceral cavity; _wv._ longitudinal vessel of the water-vascular system; _p._ dorsal pore of water-vascular system; _cr._ ciliated ring formed round the mouth from parts of the primitive ciliated band.] the later development of the mouth, and of the ciliated ridge surrounding it, is involved in some obscurity. it appears from metschnikoff (no. ) that an invagination of the oesophagus takes place, carrying with it the ciliated ridge around the mouth. this ridge becomes eventually converted into the covering for the five tentacular outgrowths of the water-vascular ring (fig. ), and possibly also forms the nervous system. the opening of the oesophageal invagination is at first behind the foremost ciliated ring, but eventually comes to lie in front of it, and assumes a nearly terminal though slightly ventral position (fig. ). no account has been given of the process by which this takes place, but the mouth is stated by metschnikoff (though müller differs from him on this point) to remain open throughout. the further changes in the metamorphosis are not considerable. the ciliated bands disappear, and a calcareous ring of ten pieces, five ambulacral and five interambulacral, is formed round the oesophagus. a provisional calcareous skeleton is also developed. [fig. . a late stage in the development of synapta. (after metschnikoff.) the figure shews the vestibular cavity with retracted tentacles; the ciliated bands; the water-vascular system, etc. _p._ dorsal pore of water-vascular system; _pv._ walls of perivisceral cavity; _ms._ amoeboid cells.] all the embryonic systems of organs pass in this case directly into those of the adult. the metamorphosis of most holothuroidea is similar to that just described. in cucumaria (selenka) there is however no auricularia stage, and the uniformly ciliated stage is succeeded by one with five transverse bands of cilia, and a præ-oral and an anal ciliated cap. the mouth is at first situated ventrally behind the præ-oral cap of cilia, but the præ-oral cap becomes gradually absorbed, and the mouth assumes a terminal position. in psolinus (kowalevsky) there is no embryonic ciliated stage, and the adult condition is attained without even a metamorphosis. there appear to be five plates surrounding the mouth, which are developed before any other part of the skeleton, and are regarded by p. h. carpenter (no. ) as equivalent to the five oral plates of the crinoidea. the larval condition with ciliated bands is often spoken of as the pupa stage, and during it the larvæ of holothurians proper use their embryonic tube feet to creep about. asteroidea. the commonest and most thoroughly investigated form of asteroid larva is a free-swimming form known as bipinnaria. this form in passing from the spherical to the bilateral condition passes through at first almost identical changes to the auricularian larva. the cilia become at an early period confined to an oral and anal ridge. the anal ridge gradually extends dorsalwards, and finally forms a complete longitudinal post-oral ring (fig. a); the oral ridge also extends dorsalwards, and forms a closed præ-oral ring (fig. a), the space within which is left unshaded in my figure. the presence of two rings instead of one distinguishes the bipinnaria from the auricularia. the two larvæ are shewn side by side in fig. , and it is obvious that the two bands of the bipinnaria are (as pointed out by gegenbaur) equivalent to the single band of the auricularia divided into two. ontologically, however, the two bands of bipinnaria do not appear to arise from the division of a single band. as the bipinnaria grows older, a series of arms grows out along lines of the two ciliated bands (fig. c), and, in many cases, three special arms are formed, not connected with the ciliated bands, and covered with warts. these latter arms are known as brachiolar arms, and the larvæ provided with them as brachiolaria (fig. d). [fig. . diagrammatic representation of various forms of asteroid larvÆ. a, b, c, bipinnaria; d, brachiolaria. (copied from müller.) the black lines represent the ciliated bands; and the shading the space between the præ-oral and the post-oral bands. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus.] as a rule the following arms can be distinguished (fig. c and d), on the hinder ring (agassiz' nomenclature) a median anal pair, a dorsal anal pair, and a ventral anal pair, a dorsal oral pair, and an unpaired anterior dorsal arm; on the præ-oral ring a ventral oral pair, and sometimes (müller) an unpaired anterior ventral arm. the three brachiolar arms arise as processes from the base of the unpaired dorsal arm, and the two ventral oral arms. the extent of the development of the arms varies with the species. the changes by which the bipinnaria or brachiolaria becomes converted into the adult starfish are very much more complicated than those which take place in holothurians. for an accurate knowledge of them we are largely indebted to alex. agassiz (no. ). the development of the starfish takes place entirely at the posterior end of the larva close to the stomach. on the right and dorsal side of the stomach, and externally to the _right peritoneal space_, are formed five radially situated calcareous rods arranged in the form of a somewhat irregular pentagon. the surface on which they are deposited has a spiral form, and constitutes together with its calcareous rods, the abactinal or dorsal surface of the future starfish. close to its dorsal, _i.e._ embryonic dorsal, edge lies the dorsal pore of the water-vascular system (madreporic canal), and close to its ventral edge the anus. on the left and ventral side of the stomach is placed the water-vascular rosette, the development of which was described on p. . it is situated on the actinal or ventral surface of the future starfish, and is related to the left peritoneal vesicle. metschnikoff (no. ) and agassiz (no. ) differ slightly as to the constitution of the water-vascular rosette. the former describes and figures it as a completely closed rosette, the latter states that 'it does not form a completely closed curve but is always open, forming a sort of twisted crescent-shaped arc.' the water-vascular rosette is provided with five lobes, corresponding to which are folds in the larval skin, and each lobe corresponds to one of the calcareous plates developed on the abactinal disc. the plane of the actinal surface at first meets that of the abactinal at an acute or nearly right angle. the two surfaces are separated by the whole width of the stomach. the general appearance of the larva from the ventral surface after the development of the water-vascular rosette (_i_) and abactinal disc (_a_) is shewn in fig. . [fig. . bipinnaria larva of an asteroid. (from gegenbaur; after müller.) _b._ mouth; _a._ anus; _h._ madreporic canal; _i._ ambulacral rosette; _c._ stomach; _d. g. e._ etc. arms of bipinnaria; _a._ abactinal disc of young asteroid.] as development proceeds the abactinal surface becomes a firm and definite disc, owing to the growth of the original calcareous spicules into more or less definite plates, and to the development of five fresh plates nearer the centre of the disc and _interradial in position_. still later a central calcareous plate appears on the abactinal surface, which is thus formed of a central plate, surrounded by a ring of five interradial plates, and then again by a ring of five radial plates. the abactinal disc now also grows out into five short processes, separated by five shallow notches. these processes are the rudiments of the five arms, and each of them corresponds to one of the lobes of the water-vascular rosette. a calcareous deposit is formed round the opening of the water-vascular canal, which becomes the madreporic tubercle[ ]. at about this stage the absorption of the larval appendages takes place. the whole anterior part of the larva with the great præ-oral lobe has hitherto remained unchanged, but now it contracts and undergoes absorption, and becomes completely withdrawn into the disc of the future starfish. the larval mouth is transported into the centre of the actinal disc. in the larvæ observed by agassiz and metschnikoff nothing was cast off, but the whole absorbed. [ ] the exact position of the madreporic tubercle in relation to the abactinal plates does not seem to have been made out. it might have been anticipated that it would be placed in one of the primary interradial plates, but this does not seem to be the case. the position of the anus is also obscure. according to müller and koren and danielssen this is not the case in the larva observed by them, but part of the larva is thrown off, and lives for some time independently. after the absorption of the larval appendages the actinal and abactinal surfaces of the young starfish approach each other, owing to the flattening of the stomach; at the same time they lose their spiral form, and become flat discs, which fit each other. each of the lobes of the rosette of the water-vascular system becomes one of the radial water-vascular canals. it first becomes five-lobed, each lobe forming a rudimentary tube foot, and on each side of the middle lobe two fresh ones next spring out, and so on in succession. the terminal median lobe forms the tentacle at the end of the arm, and the eye is developed at its base. the growth of the water-vascular canals keeps pace with that of the arms, and the tube feet become supported at their base by an ingrowth of calcareous matter. the whole of the calcareous skeleton of the larva passes directly into that of the adult, and spines are very soon formed on the plates of the abactinal surface. the original radial plates, together with the spines which they have, are gradually pushed outwards with the growth of the arms by the continual addition of fresh rows of spines between the terminal plate and the plate next to it. it thus comes about that the original radial plates persist at the end of the arms, in connection with the unpaired tentacles which form the apex of the radial water-vascular tubes. it has already been mentioned that according to metschnikoff (no. ) a new oesophagus is formed which perforates the water-vascular ring, and connects the original stomach with the original mouth. agassiz (no. ) maintains that the water-vascular ring grows round the primitive oesophagus. he says--"during the shrinking of the larva the long oesophagus becomes shortened and contracted, bringing the opening of the mouth of the larva to the level of the opening of the oesophagus, which eventually becomes the true mouth of the starfish." the primitive anus is believed by metschnikoff to disappear, but by agassiz to remain. this discrepancy very possibly depends upon these investigators having worked at different species. there is no doubt that the whole of the larval organs, with the possible exception of the oesophagus, and anus (where absent in the adult), pass directly into the corresponding organs of the starfish--and that the præ-oral part of the body and arms of the larva are absorbed and not cast off. in addition to the bipinnarian type of asteroid larva a series of other forms has been described by müller (no. ), sars, koren, and danielssen (no. ) and other investigators, which are however very imperfectly known. the best known form is one first of all discovered by sars in echinaster sarsii, and the more or less similar larvæ subsequently investigated by agassiz, busch, müller, wyville thomson, etc. of another species of echinaster and of asteracanthion. these larvæ on leaving the egg have an oval form, and are uniformly covered by cilia. four processes (or in agassiz' type one process) grow out from the body; by these the larvæ fix themselves. in the case of echinaster the larvæ are fixed in the ventral concavity of the disc of the mother, between the five arms, where a temporary brood-pouch is established. the main part of the body is converted directly into the disc of the young starfish, while the four processes come to spring from the ventral surface, and are attached to the water-vascular ring. eventually they atrophy completely. of the internal structure but little is known; till the permanent mouth is formed, after the development of the young starfish is pretty well advanced, the stomach has no communication with the exterior. a second abnormal type of development is presented by the embryo of pteraster miliaris, as described by koren and danielssen[ ]. the larvæ to the number of eight to twenty develop in a peculiar pouch on the dorsal surface of the body. the early stages are not known, but in the later ones the whole body assumes a pentagonal appearance with a mouth at one edge of the disc. at a later stage the anus is formed on the dorsal side of an arm opposite the mouth. the stomach is surrounded by a water-vascular ring, from which the madreporic canal passes to the dorsal surface, but does not open. at a later stage the embryonic mouth and anus vanish, to be replaced by a permanent mouth and anus in the normal positions. [ ] the following statements are taken from the abstract in bronn's _thierreichs_. a third, and in some respects very curious, form is a worm like larva of müller, which is without bands of cilia. the dorsal surface of the youngest larva is divided by transverse constrictions into five segments. on the under side of the first of these is a five-lobed disc, each lobe being provided with a pair of tube feet. at a later period only three segments are visible on the dorsal surface, but the ventral surface has assumed a pentagonal aspect. the later stages are not known. [fig. . diagrammatic figures shewing the evolution of an ophiuroid pluteus from a simple echinoderm larva. (copied from müller.) the calcareous skeleton is not represented. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _d._ anterior arms; _d´._ lateral arms; _e´._ posterior arms; _g´._ anterolateral arms.] ophiuroidea. the full-grown larva of the ophiuroids is known as a pluteus. it commences with the usual more or less spherical form; from this it passes to a form closely resembling that of auricularia with a rounded dorsal surface, and a flattened ventral one. soon however it becomes distinguished by the growth of a post-anal lobe and the absence of a præ-oral lobe (fig. b). the post-anal lobe forms the somewhat rounded apex of the body. in front of the mouth, and between the mouth and anus, arise the anal and oral ciliated ridges, which soon become continued into a single longitudinal ciliated ring. at the same time the body becomes prolonged into a series of processes along the ciliated band, which is continued to the extremity of each. the primitive ciliated ring never becomes broken up into two or more rings. a ciliated crown is usually developed at the extremity of the post-anal lobe. the arms are arranged in the form of a ring surrounding the mouth, and are all directed forwards. the first arms to appear are two lateral ones, which usually remain the most conspicuous (fig. b and c, _d´_). next arises a pair on the sides of the mouth, which may be called the mouth or anterior arms (c, _d_). a pair ventral to and behind the lateral arms is then formed, constituting the posterior arms (d, _e´_), and finally a pair between the lateral arms and the anterior, constituting the anterolateral arms (d, _g´_). the concave area between the arms forms the greater part of the ventral surface of the body. even before the appearance of any of the arms, and before the formation of the mouth, two calcareous rods are formed, which meet behind at the apex of the post-anal lobe, and are continued as a central support into each of the arms as they are successively formed. these rods are shewn at their full development in fig. . the important points which distinguish a pluteus larva from the auricularia or bipinnaria are the following: ( ) the presence of the post-anal lobe at the hind end of the body. ( ) the slight development of a præ-oral lobe. ( ) the provisional calcareous skeleton in the larval arms. [fig. . pluteus larva of an ophiuroid. (from gegenbaur; after müller.) _a._ rudiment of young ophiuroid; _d´._ lateral arms; _d._ anterior arms; _e´._ posterior arms.] great variations are presented in the development of the arms and provisional skeleton. the presence of lateral arms is however a distinctive characteristic of the ophiuroid pluteus. the other arms may be quite absent, but the lateral arms never. the formation of the permanent ophiuroid takes place in much the same way as in the asteroidea. there is formed (fig. ) on the right and dorsal side of stomach the abactinal disc supported by calcareous plates, at first only five in number and radial in position[ ]. the disc is at first not symmetrical, but becomes so at the time of the resorption of the larval arms. it grows out into five processes--the five future rays. the original five radial plates remain as the terminal segments of the adult rays, and new plates are always added between the ultimate and penultimate plate (müller), though it is probable that in the later stages fresh plates are added in the disc. [ ] whether interradial plates are developed as in asterias is not clear. they seem to be found in ophiopholis bellis, agassiz, but have not been recognised in other forms (_vide_ carpenter, no. , p. ). [fig. . diagrammatic figures shewing the evolution of echinoid plutei. (copied from müller.) the calcareous skeleton is not represented. e. pluteus of spatangus. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _d._ anterior arms; _d´._ point where lateral arms arise in the ophiuroid pluteus; _e._ anterointernal arms; _e´._ posterior arms; _g´._ anterolateral arms; _g._ anteroexternal arms.] the ventral surface of the permanent ophiuroid is formed by the concave surface between the mouth and anus. between this and the stomach is situated the water-vascular ring. it is at first not closed, but is horseshoe-shaped, with five blind appendages (fig. ). it eventually grows round the oesophagus, which, together with the larval mouth, is retained in the adult. the five blind appendages become themselves lobed in the same way as in asterias, and grow out along the five arms of the disc and become the radial canals and tentacles. all these parts of the water-vascular system are of course covered by skin, and probably also surrounded by mesoblast cells, in which at a later period the calcareous plates which lie ventral to the radial canal are formed. the larval anus disappears. as long as the larval appendages are not absorbed the ventral and dorsal discs of the permanent ophiuroid fit as little as in the case of the brachiolaria, but at a certain period the appendages are absorbed. the calcareous rods of the larval arms break up, the arms and anal lobe become absorbed, and the dorsal and ventral discs, with the intervening stomach and other organs, are alone left. after this the discs fit together, and there is thus formed a complete young ophiuroid. the whole of the internal organs of the larva (except the anus), including the mouth, oesophagus, the body cavity, etc. are carried on directly into the adult. the larval skeleton is, as above stated, absorbed. the viviparous larva of amphiura squamata does not differ very greatly from the larvæ with very imperfect arms. it does not develop a distinct ciliated band, and the provisional skeleton is very imperfect. the absence of these parts, as well as of the anus, mentioned on p. , may probably be correlated with the viviparous habits of the larva. with reference to the passage of this larva into the adult there is practically nothing to add to what has just been stated. when the development of the adult is fairly advanced the part of the body with the provisional skeleton forms an elongated rod-like process attached to the developing disc. it becomes eventually absorbed. [fig. . two larvÆ of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) _m._ mouth; _a._ anus; _o._ oesophagus; _d._ stomach; _c._ intestine; _v´._ and _v._ ciliated ridges; _w._ water-vascular tube; _r._ calcareous rods.] echinoidea. the echinus larva (fig. ) has a pluteus form like that of the ophiuroids, and in most points, such as the presence of the anal lobe, the ciliated band, the provisional skeleton, etc., develops in the same manner. the chief difference between the two pluteus forms concerns the development of the lateral arms. these, which form the most prominent arms in the ophiuroid pluteus, are entirely absent in the echinoid pluteus, which accordingly has, as a rule, a much narrower form than the ophiuroid pluteus. a pair of ciliated epaulettes on each side of and behind the ciliated ring is very characteristic of some echinoid larvæ. they are originally developed from the ciliated ring (fig. a and b, _v´´_). the presence of three processes from the anal lobe supported by calcareous rods is characteristic of the spatangoid pluteus (fig. e). [fig. . lateral and ventral view of a larva of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) general references as in fig. . _b._ dorsal opening of madreporic canal; _e´._ posterior arms; _e´´´._ anterior arms; _eiv._ anterointernal arms.] the first two pairs of arms to develop, employing the same names as in ophiuroids, are the anterior attached to the oral process (fig. c, _d_) and the posterior pair (_e´_). a pair of anterolateral arms next becomes developed (_g´_). a fourth pair (not represented in ophiuroids) appears on the inner side of the anterior pair forming an anterointernal pair (_e_), and in the spatangoid pluteus a fifth pair may be added on the external side of the anterior pair forming an anteroexternal pair (_g_). each of the first-formed paired calcareous rods is composed of three processes, two of which extend into the anterior and posterior arms; and the third and strongest passes into the anal lobe, and there meets its fellow (fig. ). a transverse bar in front of the arms joins the rods of the two sides meeting them at the point where the three processes diverge. the process in the anterolateral arm (fig. b) is at first independent of this system of rods, but eventually unites with it. although our knowledge of the pluteus types in the different groups is not sufficient to generalise with great confidence, a few points seem to have been fairly determined[ ]. the plutei of strongylocentrus (figs. and ) and echinus have eight arms and four ciliated epaulettes. the only cidaris-like form, the pluteus of which is known, is arbacia: it presents certain peculiarities. the anal lobe develops a pair of posterior (auricular) appendages, and the ciliated ring, besides growing out into the normal eight appendages, has a pair of short blunt anterior and posterior lobes. an extra pair of non-ciliated accessory mouth arms appears also to be developed. ciliated epaulettes are not present. so far as is known the clypeastroid larva is chiefly characterized by the round form of the anal lobe. the calcareous rods are latticed. in the pluteus of spatangoids there are (fig. ) five pairs of arms around the mouth pointing forwards, and three arms developed from the anal lobe pointing backwards. one of these is unpaired, and starts from the apex of the anal lobe. all the arms have calcareous rods which, in the case of the posterior pair, the anterolateral pair, and the unpaired arm of the anal lobe, are latticed. ciliated epaulettes are not developed. [ ] _vide_ especially müller, agassiz, and metschnikoff. viviparous larvæ of echinoids have been described by agassiz[ ]. [ ] for viviparous echini _vide_ agassiz, _proc. amer. acad. _. the development of the permanent echinus has been chiefly worked out by agassiz and metschnikoff. in the pluteus of echinus lividus the first indication of the adult arises, when three pairs of arms are already developed, as an invagination of the skin on the left side, between the posterior and anterolateral arms, the bottom of which is placed close to the water-vascular vesicle (fig. b, _w´_). the base of this invagination becomes very thick, and forms the ventral disc of the future echinus. the parts connecting this disc with the external skin become however thin, and, on the narrowing of the external aperture of invagination and the growth of the thickened disc, constitute a covering for the disc, called by metschnikoff the amnion. the water-vascular vesicle adjoining this disc grows out into five processes, forming as many tube feet, which cause the surface of the involuted disc to be produced into the same number of processes. the external opening of the invagination of the disc never closes, and after the development of the tube feet begins to widen again, and the amnion to atrophy. through the opening of the invagination the tube feet now project. the dorsal and right surface of the pluteus, which extends so as to embrace the opening of the madreporic canal and the anus, forms the abactinal or dorsal surface of the future echinus (fig. , _a_). this disc fits on to the actinal invaginated surface which arises on the left side of the pluteus. on the right surface of the larva (dorsal of permanent echinus) two pedicellariæ appear, and at a later period spines are formed, which are at first arranged in a ring-like form round the edge of the primitively flat test. while these changes are taking place, and the two surfaces of the future echinus are gradually moulding themselves so as to form what is obviously a young echinus, the arms of the pluteus with their contained skeleton have been gradually undergoing atrophy. they become irregular in form, their contained skeleton breaks up into small pieces, and they are gradually absorbed. [fig. . side and dorsal view of a larva of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) general reference letters as in figs. and . _e´´._ anterolateral arms; _v´´_. ciliated epaulettes; _w´_. invagination to form the disc of echinus.] the water-vascular ring is from the first complete, so that, as in asterias, it is perforated through the centre by a new oesophagus. according to agassiz the first five tentacles or tube feet grow into the radial canals, and form the odd terminal tentacles exactly as in asterias[ ]. spatangus only differs in development from echinus in the fact that the opening of the invagination to form the ventral disc becomes completely closed, and that the tube feet have eventually to force their way through the larval epidermis of the amnion, which is ruptured in the process and eventually thrown off. [ ] götte (no. ) supported by müller's and krohn's older, and in some points extremely erroneous observations, has enunciated the view that the radial canals in echinoids and holothuroids have a different nature from those in asteroids and ophiuroids. [fig. . full-grown larva of strongylocentrus. (from agassiz.) the figure shews the largely-developed abactinal disc of the young echinus enclosing the larval stomach. reference letters as in previous figs.] crinoidea. the larva of antedon, while still within the egg-shell, assumes an oval form and uniform ciliation. before it becomes hatched the uniform layer of cilia is replaced by four transverse bands of cilia, and a tuft of cilia at the posterior extremity. in this condition it escapes from the egg-shell (fig. a), and becomes bilateral, owing to a flattening of the ventral surface. on the flattened surface appears a ciliated depression corresponding in position with the now closed blastopore (_vide_ p. ). the third ciliated band bends forward to pass in front of this (fig. ). behind the last ciliated band there is present a small depression of unknown function, also situated on the ventral surface. the posterior extremity of the embryo elongates to form the rudiment of the future stem, and a fresh depression, marking the position of the future mouth, makes its appearance on the anterior and ventral part. [fig. . three stages in the development of antedon (comatula.) (from lubbock; after thomson.) a. larva just hatched; b. larva with rudiment of the calcareous plates; c. pentacrinoid larva.] while the ciliated bands are still at their full development, the calcareous skeleton of the future calyx makes its appearance in the form of two rows, each of five plates, formed of a network of spicula (figs. b and ). the plates of the anterior ring are known as the orals, those of the posterior as the basals. the former surround the left, _i.e_. anterior peritoneal sack; the latter the right, _i.e._ posterior peritoneal sack. the two rows of plates are at first not quite transverse, but form two oblique circles, the dorsal end being in advance of the ventral. the rows soon become transverse, while the originally somewhat ventral oral surface is carried into the centre of the area enclosed by the oral plates. [fig. . larva of antedon with rudiments of calcareous skeleton. (from carpenter; after thomson.) . terminal plate at the end of the stem; . basals; _or._ orals; _bl._ position of blastopore.] by the change in position of the original ventral surface relatively to the axis of the body, the bilateral symmetry of the larva passes into a radial symmetry. while the first skeletal elements of the calyx are being formed, the skeleton of the stem is also established. the terminal plate is first of all established, then the joints, eight at first, of the stem. the centro-dorsal plate is stated by thomson to be formed as the uppermost joint of the stem[ ]. the larva, after the completion of the above changes, is shewn in fig. b, and somewhat more diagrammatically in fig. . [ ] götte (no. ) on the other hand holds that the centro-dorsal plate is developed by the coalescence of a series of at first independent rods, which originate simultaneously with, and close to, the lower edges of the basals, and that it is therefore similar in its origin to the basals. [fig. . young pentacrinoid larva of antedon. (from carpenter; after wyville thomson.) . terminal plate of stem; _cd._ centro-dorsal plate; . basals; . radials; _or._ orals.] after the above elements of the skeleton have become established the ciliated bands undergo atrophy, and shortly afterwards the larva becomes attached by the terminal plate of its stem. it then passes into the pentacrinoid stage. the larva in this stage is shewn in fig. c and fig. . new joints are added at the upper end of the stem next the calyx, and a new element--the radials--makes its appearance as a ring of five small plates, placed in the space between the basals and orals, and in the intervals alternating with them (fig. , ). the roof of the oral vestibule (_vide_ fig. and p. ) has in the meantime become ruptured; and the external opening of the mouth thus becomes established. surrounding the mouth are five petal-like lobes, each of them supported by an oral plate (fig. c). in the intervals between them five branched and highly contractile tentacles, which were previously enclosed within the vestibule, now sprout out: they mark the position of the future radial canals, and are outgrowths of the water-vascular ring. at the base of each of them a pair of additional tentacles is soon formed. each primary tentacle corresponds to one of the radials. these latter are therefore, as their name implies, radial in position; while the basals and orals are interradial. in addition to the contractile radial tentacles ten non-contractile tentacles, also diverticula of the water-vascular ring, are soon formed, two for each interradius. in the course of the further development the equatorial space between the orals and the basals enlarges, and gives rise to a wide oral disc, the sides of which are formed by the radials resting on the basals; while in the centre of it are placed the five orals, each with its special lobe. the anus, which is formed on the ventral side in the position of the blastopore (p. ), becomes surrounded by an anal plate, which is interradial in position, and lies on the surface of the oral disc between the orals and radials. on the oral plate in the next interradius is placed the opening of a single funnel leading into the body cavity, which ludwig regards as equivalent to the opening of the madreporic canal (_vide_ p. )[ ]. [ ] i have made no attempt to discuss the homologies of the plates of the larval echinodermata because the criteria for such a discussion are still in dispute. the suggestive memoirs of p. h. carpenter (no. ) on this subject may be consulted by the reader. carpenter attempts to found his homologies on the relation of the plates to the primitive peritoneal vesicles, and i am inclined to believe that this method of dealing with these homologies is the right one. ludwig (no. ) by regarding the opening of the madreporic canal as a fixed point has arrived at very different results. from the edge of the vestibule the arms grow out, carrying with them the tentacular prolongation of the water-vascular ring. two additional rows of radials are soon added. the stalked pentacrinoid larva becomes converted, on the absorption of the stalk, into the adult antedon. the stalk is functionally replaced by a number of short cirri springing from the centro-dorsal plate. the five basals coalesce into a single plate, known as the rosette, and the five orals disappear, though the lobes on which they were placed persist. in some stalked forms, _e.g._ rhizocrinus hyocrinus, the orals are permanently retained. the arms bifurcate at the end of the third radial, and the first radial becomes in antedon rosacea (though not in all species of antedon) concealed from the surface by the growth of the centro-dorsal plate. an immense number of funnels, leading into the body cavity, are formed in addition to the single one present in the young larva. these are regarded by ludwig as equivalent to so many openings of the madreporic canal; and there are developed, in correspondence with them, diverticula of the water-vascular ring. _comparison of echinoderm larvæ and general conclusions._ in any comparison of the various types of echinoderm larvæ it is necessary to distinguish between the free-swimming forms, and the viviparous or fixed forms. a very superficial examination suffices to shew that the free-swimming forms agree very much more closely amongst themselves than the viviparous forms. we are therefore justified in concluding that in the viviparous forms the development is abbreviated and modified. all the free forms are nearly alike in their earliest stage after the formation of the archenteron. the surface between the anus and the future mouth becomes flattened, and (except in antedon, cucumaria, psolinus, etc. which practically have an abbreviated development like that of the viviparous forms) a ridge of cilia becomes established in front of the mouth, and a second ridge between the mouth and the anus. this larval form, which is shewn in fig. a, is the type from which the various forms of echinoderm larvæ start. in all cases, except in bipinnaria, the two ciliated ridges soon become united, and constitute a single longitudinal post-oral ciliated ring. the larvæ in their further growth undergo various changes, and in the later stages they may be divided into two groups: ( ) the pluteus larva of echinoids and ophiuroids. ( ) the auricularia (holothuroids) and bipinnaria (asteroids) type. the first group is characterized by the growth of a number of arms more or less surrounding the mouth, and supported by calcareous rods. the ciliated band retains its primitive condition as a simple longitudinal band throughout larval life. there is a very small præ-oral lobe, while an anal lobe is very largely developed. [fig. . a. the larva of a holothuroid. b. the larva of an asterias. _m._ mouth; _st._ stomach; _a._ anus; _l.c._ primitive longitudinal ciliated band; _pr.c._ præ-oral ciliated band.] the auricularia and bipinnaria resemble each other in shape, in the development of a large præ-oral lobe, and in the absence of provisional calcareous rods; but differ in the fact that the ciliated band is single in auricularia (fig. a), and is double in bipinnaria (fig. b). the bipinnaria larva shews a great tendency to develop soft arms; while in the auricularia the longitudinal ciliated band breaks up into a number of transverse ciliated bands. this condition is in some instances reached directly, and such larvæ undoubtedly approximate to the larvæ of antedon, in which the uniformly ciliated condition is succeeded by one with four transverse bands, of which one is præ-oral. all or nearly all echinoderm larvæ are bilaterally symmetrical, and since all echinodermata eventually attain a radial symmetry, a change necessarily takes place from the bilateral to the radial type. in the case of the holothurians and antedon, and generally in the viviparous types, this change is more or less completely effected in the embryonic condition; but in the bipinnaria and pluteus types a radial symmetry does not become apparent till after the absorption of the larval appendages. it is a remarkable fact, which seems to hold for the asteroids, ophiuroids, echinoids, and crinoids, that the dorsal side of the larva is not directly converted into the dorsal disc of the adult; but the dorsal and right side becomes the adult dorsal or abactinal surface, while the ventral and left becomes the actinal or ventral surface. it is interesting to note with reference to the larvæ of the echinodermata that the various existing types of larvæ must have been formed after the differentiation of the existing groups of the echinodermata; otherwise it would be necessary to adopt the impossible position that the different groups of echinodermata were severally descended from the different types of larvæ. the various special appendages, etc. of the different larvæ have therefore a purely secondary significance; and their atrophy at the time of the passage of the larva into the adult, which is nothing else but a complicated metamorphosis, is easily explained. originally, no doubt, the transition from the larva to the adult was very simple, as it is at present in most holothurians; but as the larvæ developed various provisional appendages, it became necessary that these should be absorbed in the passage to the adult state. it would obviously be advantageous that their absorption should be as rapid as possible, since the larva in a state of transition to the adult would be in a very disadvantageous position. the rapid metamorphosis, which we find in asteroids, ophiuroids, and echinoids in the passage from the larval to the adult state, has no doubt arisen for this reason. in spite of the varying provisional appendages possessed by echinoderm larvæ it is possible, as stated above (p. ), to recognise a type of larva, of which all the existing echinoderm larval forms are modifications. this type does not appear to me to be closely related to that of the larvæ of any group described in the preceding pages. it has no doubt certain resemblances to the trochosphere larva of chætopoda, mollusca, etc., but the differences between the two types are more striking than the resemblances. it firstly differs from the trochosphere larva in the character of the ciliation. both larvæ start from the uniformly ciliated condition, but while the præ-oral ring is almost invariable, and a peri-anal ring very common in the trochosphere; in the echinoderm larva such rings are rarely found; and even when present, _i.e._ the præ-oral ring of bipinnaria and the terminal though hardly peri-anal patch of antedon, do not resemble closely the more or less similar structures of the trochosphere. the two ciliated ridges (fig. a) common to all the echinoderm larvæ, and subsequently continued into a longitudinal ring, have not yet been found in any trochosphere. the transverse ciliated rings of the holothurian and crinoid larvæ are of no importance in the comparison between the trochosphere larvæ and the larvæ of echinodermata, since such rings are frequently secondarily developed. cf. pneumodermon and dentalium amongst mollusca. in the character of the præ-oral lobe the two types again differ. though the præ-oral lobe is often found in echinoderm larvæ it is never the seat of an important (supra-oesophageal) ganglion and organs of special sense, as it invariably is in the trochosphere. nothing like the vaso-peritoneal vesicles of the echinoderm larvæ has been found in the trochosphere; nor have the characteristic trochosphere excretory organs been found in the echinoderm larvæ. the larva which most nearly approaches those of the echinodermata is the larva of balanoglossus described in the next chapter. bibliography. ( ) alex. agassiz. _revision of the echini._ cambridge, u.s. - . ( ) alex. agassiz. "north american starfishes." _memoirs of the museum of comparative anatomy and zoology at harvard college_, vol. v., no. . (originally published in ). ( ) j. barrois. "embryogénie de l'asteriscus verruculatus." _journal de l'anat. et phys._ . ( ) a. baur. _beiträge zur naturgeschichte d. synapta digitata._ dresden, . ( ) h. g. bronn. _klassen u. ordnungen etc. strahlenthiere_, vol. ii. . ( ) w. b. carpenter. "researches on the structure, physiology and development of antedon." _phil. trans._ clvi. , and _proceedings of the roy. soc._, no. . . ( ) p. h. carpenter. "on the oral and apical systems of the echinoderms." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. and xix. - . ( ) a. götte. "vergleichende entwicklungsgeschichte d. comatula mediterranea." _arch. für micr. anat._, vol. xii. . ( ) r. greeff. "ueber die entwicklung des asteracanthion rubens vom ei bis zur bipinnaria u. brachiolaria." _schriften d. gesellschaft zur beförderung d. gesammten naturwissenschaften zu marburg_, bd. xii. . ( ) r. greeff. "ueber den bau u. die entwicklung d. echinodermen." _sitz. d. gesell. z. beförderung d. gesam. naturwiss. zu marburg_, no. . . ( ) t. h. huxley. "report upon the researches of müller into the anat. and devel. of the echinoderms." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, nd ser., vol. viii. . ( ) koren and danielssen. "observations sur la bipinnaria asterigera." _ann. scien. nat._, ser. iii., vol. vii. . ( ) koren and danielssen. "observations on the development of the starfishes." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, vol. xx. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. holothurien." _mém. ac. pétersbourg_, ser. vii., tom. xi., no. . ( ) a. krohn. "beobacht. a. d. entwick. d. holothurien u. seeigel." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. krohn. "ueb. d. entwick. d. seesterne u. holothurien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. krohn. "beobacht. üb. echinodermenlarven." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) h. ludwig. "ueb. d. primar. steinkanal d. crinoideen, nebst vergl. anat. bemerk. üb. d. echinodermen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxiv. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "studien üb. d. entwick. d. echinodermen u. nemertinen." _mém. ac. pétersbourg_, series vii., tom. xiv., no. . . ( )[ ] joh. müller. "ueb. d. larven u. d. metamorphose d. echinodermen." _abhandlungen d. berlin. akad._ (five memoirs), , , , (two memoirs). ( ) joh. müller. "allgemeiner plan d. entwicklung d. echinodermen." _abhandl. d. berlin. akad._, . ( ) e. selenka. "zur entwicklung d. holothurien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . ( ) e. selenka. "keimblätter u. organanlage bei echiniden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxiii. . ( ) sir wyville thomson. "on the embryology of the echinodermata." _natural history review_, . ( ) sir wyville thomson. "on the embryogeny of antedon rosaceus." _phil. trans._ . [ ] the dates in this reference are the dates of publication. chapter xxi. enteropneusta. the larva of balanoglossus is known as tornaria. the præ-larval development is not known, and the youngest stage (fig. ) so far described (götte, no. ) has many remarkable points of resemblance to a young bipinnaria. [fig. . early stage in the development of tornaria. (after götte.) _w._ so-called water-vascular vesicle developing as an outgrowth of the mesenteron; _m._ mouth; _an._ anus.] a mouth (_m_), situated on the ventral surface, leads into an alimentary canal with a terminal anus (_an_). a præ-oral lobe is well developed, as in bipinnaria, but there is no post-anal lobe. the bands of cilia have the same general form as in bipinnaria. there is a præ-oral band, and a longitudinal post-oral band; and the two bands nearly meet at the apex of the præ-oral lobe (fig. ). a contractile band passes from the oesophagus to the apex of the præ-oral lobe, and a diverticulum (fig. , _w_) from the alimentary tract, directed towards the dorsal surface, is present. contractile cells are scattered in the space between the body wall and the gut. in the following stage (fig. a) a conspicuous transverse post-oral band of a single row of long cilia is formed, and the original bands become more sinuous. the alimentary diverticulum of the last stage becomes an independent vesicle opening by a pore on the dorsal surface (fig. a, _w_). the contractile cord is now inserted on this vesicle. where this cord joins the apex of the præ-oral lobe between the two anterior bands of cilia a thickening of the epiblast (? a ganglion) has become established, and on it are placed two eye-spots (fig. _oc_, and fig. a). a deep bay is formed on the ventral surface of the larva. [fig. . young tornaria. (after müller.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _w._ water-vascular vesicle; _oc._ eye-spots; _c.c._ contractile cord.] [fig. . two stages in the development of tornaria. (after metschnikoff.) the black lines represent the ciliated bands. _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _br._ branchial cleft; _ht._ heart; _c._ body cavity between splanchnic and somatic mesoblast layers; _w._ water-vascular vesicle; _v._ circular blood-vessel.] as the larva grows older the original bands of cilia become more sinuous, and a second transverse band with small cilia is formed (in the mediterranean larva) between the previous transverse band and the anus. the water-vascular vesicle is prolonged into two spurs, one on each side of the stomach. a pulsating vesicle or heart is also formed (fig. b, _ht_), and arises, according to spengel (no. ), as a thickening of the epidermis. it subsequently becomes enveloped in a pericardium, and is placed in a depression in the water-vascular vesicle. two pairs of diverticula, one behind the other, grow out (agassiz, no. ) from the gastric region of the alimentary canal. the two parts of each pair form flattened compartments, which together give rise to a complete investment of the adjoining parts of the alimentary tract. the two parts of each coalesce, and thus form a double-walled cylinder round the alimentary tract, but their cavities remain separated by a dorsal and ventral septum. eventually (spengel) the cavity of the anterior cylinder forms the section of the body cavity in the collar of the adult, and that of the posterior (fig. b, _c_) the remainder of the body cavity. the septa, separating the two halves of each, remain as dorsal and ventral mesenteries. the conversion of tornaria (fig. a) into balanoglossus (fig. b) is effected in a few hours, and consists mainly in certain changes in configuration, and in the disappearance of the longitudinal ciliated band. the body of the young balanoglossus (fig. b) is divided into three regions ( ) the proboscidian region, ( ) the collar, ( ) the trunk proper. the proboscidian region is formed by the elongation of the præ-oral lobe into an oval body with the eye-spots at its extremity, and provided with strong longitudinal muscles. the heart (_ht_) and water-vascular vesicle lie near its base, but the contractile cord connected with the latter is no longer present. the mouth is placed on the ventral side at the base of the præ-oral lobe, and immediately behind it is the collar. the remainder of the body is more or less conical, and is still girt with the larval transverse ciliated band, which lies in the middle of the gastric region in the mediterranean species, but in the oesophageal region in the american one. the whole of the body, including the proboscis, becomes richly ciliated. one of the most important characters of the adult balanoglossus consists in the presence of respiratory structures comparable with the vertebrate gill slits. the earliest traces of these structures are distinctly formed while the larva is still in the tornaria condition, as one pair of pouches from the oesophagus in the mediterranean species, and four pairs in the american one (fig. , _br_). [fig. . late stage in the development of balanoglossus with four branchial clefts. (after alex. agassiz.) _m._ mouth; _an._ anus; _br._ branchial cleft; _ht._ heart; _w._ water-vascular vesicle.] in the mediterranean tornaria the two pouches meet the skin dorsally, and in the young balanoglossus (fig. b, _br_) acquire an external opening on the dorsal side. in the american species the first four pouches are without external openings till additional pouches have been formed. fresh gill pouches continue to be formed both in the american and probably the mediterranean species, but the conversion of the simple pouches into the complicated gill structure of the adult has only been studied by agassiz (no. ) in the american species. it would seem in the first place that the structure of the adult gill slits is much less complicated in the american than in the mediterranean species. the simple pouches of the young become fairly numerous. they are at first circular; they then become elliptical, and the dorsal wall of each slit becomes folded; subsequently fresh folds are formed which greatly increase the complexity of the gills. the external openings are not acquired till comparatively late. our knowledge of the development of the internal organs, mainly derived from agassiz, is still imperfect. the vascular system appears early in the form of a dorsal and a ventral vessel, both pointed, and apparently ending blindly at their two extremities. the two spurs of the water-vascular vesicle, which in the tornaria stage rested upon the stomach, now grow round the oesophagus, and form an anterior vascular ring, which agassiz describes as becoming connected with the heart, though it still communicates with the exterior by the dorsal pore and seems to become connected with the remainder of the vascular system. according to spengel (no. ) the dorsal vessel becomes connected with the heart, which remains through life in the proboscis: the cavity of the water-vascular vesicle forms the cavity of the proboscis in the adult, and its pore remains as a dorsal (not, as usually stated, ventral) pore leading to the exterior. the eye-spots disappear. tornaria is a very interesting larval form, since it is intermediate in structure between the larva of an echinoderm and trochosphere type common to the mollusca, chætopoda, etc. the shape of the body especially the form of the ventral depression, the character of the longitudinal ciliated band, the structure and derivation of the water-vascular vesicle, and the formation of the walls of the body cavity as gastric diverticula, are all characters which point to a connection with echinoderm larvæ. on the other hand the eye-spots at the end of the præ-oral lobe[ ], the contractile band passing from the oesophagus to the eye-spots (fig. ), the two posterior bands of cilia, and the terminal anus are all trochosphere characters. [ ] it would be interesting to have further information about the fate of the thickening of epiblast in the vicinity of the eye-spots. the thickening should by rights be the supra-oesophageal ganglion, and it does not seem absolutely impossible that it may give rise to the dorso-median cord in the region of the collar, which constitutes, according to spengel, the main ganglion of the adult. the persistence of the præ-oral lobe as the proboscis is interesting, as tending to shew that balanoglossus is the surviving representative of a primitive group. bibliography. ( ) a. agassiz. "tornaria." _ann. lyceum nat. hist._ viii. new york, . ( ) a. agassiz. "the history of balanoglossus and tornaria." _mem. amer. acad. of arts and scien._, vol. ix. . ( ) a. götte. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. comatula mediterranea." _archiv für mikr. anat._, bd. xii., , p. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "untersuchungen üb d. metamorphose, etc. (tornaria)." _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xx. . ( ) j. müller. "ueb. d. larven u. metamor. d. echinodermen." _berlin akad._, and . ( ) j. w. spengel. "bau u. entwicklung von balanoglossus." _tagebl. d. naturf. vers. münchen_, . index. abdominalia, , , acanthocephala, acanthosoma, , , acarina, , accipenser, achæta, achelia, achtheres percarum, acineta, , acraspeda, , , , , , , , actinia, , , actinophrys, actinotrocha, , , , actinozoa, , , , , , , , , , , , , actinula, aculeata, Ægineta flavescens, Æginidæ, , Æginopsis mediterranea, Æquorea mitrocoma, agalma, agelena, , agelena labyrinthica, , alciope, alcippidæ, alcyonaria, alcyonidæ, , alcyonidium mytili, , , alcyonium palmatum, , , , alima, , amoeba, , amphibia, , , , , , , , , , amphilina, amphioxus, , , , , , , amphipoda, amphiporus lactifloreus, amphistomum, " subclavatum, amphitrochæ, amphiura squamata, anchorella, , , anelasma squalicola, anguillulidæ, annelida, , , , , anodon, , , , , , , , , , anopla, , anura, antedon, , , aphides, , , , , , , aphrodite, apis, , , , , aplysia, , , , , aplysinidæ, apoda, , aptera, , apus, , , , arachnida, , , , , , , , , , , , arachnitis, araneina, , , arbacia, arca, archigetes, archizoæa gigas, arenicola, argiope, , , , argonauta, , argulus, armata, arthropoda, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , articulata, , , , ascaridiæ, ascaris nigrovenosa, , " lumbricoides, ascetta, ascidia canina, ascidians, , , , asellus aquaticus, , , astacus, , , , , , , asteracanthion, , , asterias, , , , , , , , , asteroidea, , , , , , , astræa, astroides, atax bonzi, atlanta, , atrochæ, aurelia, auricularia, , , , autolytus cornutus, , aves, , , , , , axolotl, balanoglossus, , , balanus balanoides, , belemnites, , bipinnaria, , , , , blatta, , bojanus, organ of, , bonellia, , , , , , , , bothriocephalus salmonis, " proboscideus, brachiella, brachiolaria, , brachiopoda, , , brachyura, , , branchiobdella, , , branchiogasteropoda, branchiopoda, , , , branchipus, , branchiura, , branchionus urceolaris, braula, buccinum, , bulimus citrinas, bunodes, , buthus, calcispongiæ, , calopteryx, calycophoridæ, , calyptoblastic hydroids, , calyptræa, , campanularidæ, , capitella, , carabidæ, carcinus moenas, , cardium, , " pygmæum, carinaria, caryophyllium, , cassiopea, , cecidomyia, , , , , cephalopoda, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , cephalothrix galatheae, ceratospongiæ, cercariae, , , cerianthus, , cestodes, , , , , , , , , , , , chætogaster, chætopoda, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , chætopteridæ, chætosomoidea, chelifer, , , , , chermes, , chilognatha, , , , , , chilopoda, , , chilostomata, , , , , chironomus, , , , , , , chiton, , , , chordata, chrysaora, chthonius, cicada, cirripedia, , , , , , cladocera, , , clausilia, clavella, clavularia crassa, cleodora, clepsine, , , , , , , , clio, , clubione, clupeidæ, cobitis barbatula, coccidæ, coccus, coelebogyne, coelenterata, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , coenurus cerebralis, , coleochæte, coleoptera, , , , , , , collembola, , comatula, , , condracanthus, , , conochilus volvox, convoluta, copepoda, , , , , , , , , , , corallium rubrum, , corethra, , , crangoninæ, craniadæ, craniata, , , , , , , , , , , , crinoidea, , , , , , criodilus, , , , crisia, crocodilia, crustacea, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , cryptophialus, , crystalloides, ctenophora, , , , , , , , , , , , ctenostomata, , , , , cucullanus elegans, , , , , cucumaria, , , cumaceæ, , , , curculio, cyclas, , , , cyclops, , , , , cyclostomata, , , cymbulia, , cymothoa, , , , , , cynipidæ, , , cyphonautes, , , , , cypridina, , cysticercus cellulosæ, , " fasciolaris, " limacis, daphnia, , dasychone, , decapoda, , , , , , , dendrocoela, , , , , dentalium, , desmacidon, desor, type of, , , , , , , diastopora, dibranchiata, , dicyema, , , , , dimya, diphyes, diplozoon, , , diporpa, diptera, , , , , , , , , , , , discina radiata, discinidæ, discophora, , , , , distomeæ, , , distomum, " cygnoides, " globiparum, " lanceolatum, dochmius duodenale, " trigonocephalus, donacia, dracunculus, , echinaster fallax, " sarsii, , echinodermata, , , , , , , , , , , , , echinoidea, , , , , , echinorhyncus, , echinus lividus, , , echiurus, , , ectoprocta, , edriophthalmata, , elaphocaris, elasmobranchii, , , , , , , , , , , , enopla, , entoconcha mirabilis, entomophaga, entoprocta, , , , , , epeira, ephemera, , , , ephyra, epibulia aurantiaca, , erichthus, , errantia, , esperia, estheria, , euaxes, , , , , , eucharis, " multicornis, eucopepoda, eucope polystyla, , eunice sanguinea, eupagurus prideauxii, , , , , euphausia, , , , , , eurostomata, eurylepta auriculata, eurynome, euspongia, , filaria, filaridæ, firoloidea, flagellata, , flustrella, , formica, fungia, , fusus, , , , gammarus, , " fluviatilis, " locusta, , ganoids, , gasteropoda, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , gasterosteus, , gastrotricha, gasterotrochæ, , gecarcinus, geophilus, , gephyrea, , , , , , , , , , , , , , germogen, geryonia hastata, geryonidæ, glochidia, , gnathobdellidæ, , gordiacea, gordioidea, , , gorgonia, gorgonidæ, gorgoninæ, gregarinidæ, gryllotalpa, , , gummineæ, , gymnoblastic hydroids, , gymnolæmata, gymnosomata, , , , , gyrodactylus, halichondria, halisarca, , , halistemma, helicidæ, helioporidæ, helix, , hemiptera, , , , , , hessia, , heterakis vermicularis, heteronereis, heteropoda, , , , , , hexacoralla, , , hippopodius gleba, , hirudinea, , hirudo, , , , , holometabola, , holostomum, holothuria, , , , , , holothuroidea, , , , homarus, hyaleacea, , hyaleidæ, hydra, , , , , , , , , , , hydractinia, hydrocoralla, , , hydroidea, hydromedusæ, , , , , , , , hydrophilus, , , , , , , , hydrozoa, , , , , , , , , , , , , , hymenoptera, , , , , , , ichneumon, inarticulata, , inermia, infusoria, , insecta, , , , , , , , , , , intoshia gigas, isidinæ, isodyctia, isopoda, , , , , , julus moncletei, , , kochlorine, lacertilia, lacinularia, , " socialis, lamellibranchiata, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , lepadidæ, lepas fascicularis, , , , lepidoptera, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , leptodora, , leptoplana, , , , lernæopoda, , , leucifer, libellulidæ, , , , limax, , , , , limnadia, , limulus, lina, lingulidæ, , lithobius, lobatæ, loligo, , , , , loricata, , lota, loxosoma, , , , , lucernaria, lumbricus, , " agricola, " rubellus, " trapezoides, , , lumbriconereis, lymnæus, , , , , , , lycosa, macrostomum, , macrura, malacobdella, malacodermata, malacostraca, , , , , , , , , mammalia, , , , , marsipobranchii, mastigopus, , medusæ, , , , , , , , , , , , , , megalopa, , , melolontha, , membranipora, , mermithidæ, mesotrochæ, metachætæ, metazoa, , , , , , , , , , millepora, , mitraria, , molgula, mollusca, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , monomya, monostomum capitellum, " mutabile, , monotrochæ, montacuta, , musca, muscidæ, , myobia, , myrianida, myriapoda, , , , , , , , myriothela, myrmeleon, mysis, , , , , , , mytilus, , myxinoids, myxispongiæ, myzostomea, nais, nassa mutabilis, , , , , , , , , natantia, natica, , nauplius, , , , , , , , , , , , , nautilus pompilius, , nebaliadæ, , , nematoda, , , , , , , , , , nematogens, nematoidea, , , , , nematus ventricosus, , nemertea, , , , , nemertines, , , , , , , , , , nephelis, , , , , , , nereis, " diversicolor, " dumerilii, neritina, , neuroptera, , , , neuroterus ventricularis, notonecta, nototrochæ, , nudibranchiata, , ocellata, octocoralla, , octopus, odontophora, , , odontosyllis, oedogonium, oligochæta, , , , , , , , olynthus, oniscus murarius, , , , , , , opercula, ophiothryx, , ophidia, ophiuroidea, , , , , , ophryotrochæ puerilis, opisthobranchiata, , , ornithodelphia, orthonectidæ, orthoptera, , , , , , ostracoda, , , ostrea, , , oxyuridæ, , , oxyurus ambigua, " vermicularis, pæcilopoda, paguridæ, palæmon, palæmonetes, palæmoninæ, , , palinurus, , paludina, , , , , , , " costata, " vivipara, pandorina, parasita, pedalion, pedicellina, , , , , pelagia, , penæinæ, penæus, , , , , , , , pennatulidæ, pentacrinus, pentastomida, , pentastomum denticulatum, , " tænoides, , , percidæ, perennichætæ, peripatus, , , , , , petromyzon, , , , , phalangella, phalangidæ, phallusia, phascolosoma, , , , pholcus, , phoronis, , , , phoxinus lævis, phryganea, , , phylactolæmata, , , , , phyllobothrium, phyllodoce, phyllopoda, , , , phyllosoma, , phylloxera, physophoridæ, , , pilidium, type of, , , , , , pisces, piscicola, , pisidium, , , , planaria neapolitana, planorbis, , , platyelminthes, , , , , platygaster, , , , , pleurobrachia, , , pneumodermon, , podostomata, poduridæ, , polychæta, , , , polydesmus complanatus, , polygordius, , , , , , , , polynoe, , polyophthalmus, polyplacophora, , , , , polystomeæ, , , polystomum, " integerrimum, , , polytrochæ, , polyxenia leucostyla, polyxenus lagurus, polyzoa, , , , , , , porcellana, porifera, , , porthesia, prorhyncus, , prosobranchiata, , , prostomum, , , , protozoa, , , , , , , protozoæa, protula dysteri, pseudoneuroptera, pseudoscorpionidæ, psolinus, , psychidæ, pteraster miliaris, pteropoda, , , , , , , , , , , , pterotrachæa, , , pulex, pulmonata, , , , , , purpura lapillus, pycnogonida, pyrosoma, , , rana temporaria, raspailia, redia, , , , reniera, reptilia, , , , , , , rhabditis dolichura, rhabdocoela, , , , rhabdopleura, , rhizocephala, , , , rhizocrinus, rhizostoma, rhombogens, , rhynchonellidæ, rhyncobdellidæ, rotifera, , , , , , , , , , , , saccocirrus, , , , sacculina, sagartia, , sagitta, , , , , , , salmonidæ, salpa, sarcia, scaphopoda, , , , schistocephalus, schizopoda, , , scolopendra, scorpio, , , , , , scrobicularia, , scyllarus, scyphistoma, , , sedentaria, , sepia, , , , , , , , , , sergestidæ, , serpula, , , sertularia, , , silicispongiæ, simulia, , siphonophora, , , , , , , , , , sipunculida, sipunculus, sirex, sitaris, spathegaster baccarum, spio, , , spiroptera obtusa, spirorbis pagenstecheri, " spirillum, , spirula, spirulirostra, spongelia, spongida, , , , spongilla, , sporocysts, , , , squilla, , , stephanomia pictum, , stomatopoda, , , stomodæum, strongylidæ, , strongylocentrus, strongysoloma guerinii, , , stylasteridæ, , styliolidæ, stylochopsis ponticus, sycandra, , , , , , " raphanus, , syllis, " vivipara, sympodium coralloides, tæniatæ, tardigrada, tegenaria, teleostei, , , , , , , telotrochæ, tendra, tenthreds, terebella conchilega, , , terebella nebulosa, , terebratula, , terebratulina, , , " septentrionalis, , teredo, larva of, tergipes, , " edwardsii, " lacinulatus, tethya, tetrabranchiata, tetranychus telarius, tetrastemma varicolor, thalassema, , , thalassinidæ, thallophytes, thecidium, , , , thecosomata, thoracica, , , , thysanozoon, , thysanura, , , , tichogonia, tipula, tipulidæ, , toenia coenurus, " echinococcus, , " solium, tornaria, , toxopneustes, , , , , , tracheata, , , , , , , , , trachymedusæ, , , , trematodes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , trichina, , trichinidæ, trichocephalus affinis, trochosphæra æquatorialis, tubiporidæ, tubularia, , , , , tubularidæ, , , tunicata, , , turbellaria, , , , , , , , , , , , tyroglyphus, unio, , , , , , , , , , vaginulus luzonicus, vermes, , , , , , verongia rosea, vertebrata, , , , , , , , , , , vesiculata, vitrina, vorticella, , , wilsia, xiphoteuthis, zoantharia, , , zoæa, , , , , , , , , bibliography. the ovum. _general works._ ( ) ed. van beneden. "recherches sur la composition et la signification de l'oeuf," etc. _mém. cour. d. l'acad. roy. des sciences de belgique_, vol. xxxiv. . ( ) r. leuckart. artikel "zeugung," r. wagner's _handwörterbuch d. physiologie_, vol. iv. . ( ) fr. leydig. "die dotterfurchung nach ihrem vorkommen in d. thierwelt u. n. ihrer bedeutung." _oken. isis_, . ( ) ludwig. "ueber d. eibildung im thierreiche." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut. würzburg_, vol. i. [ ]. ( ) allen thomson. article "ovum" in todd's _cyclopædia of anatomy and physiology_, vol. v. . ( ) w. waldeyer. _eierstock u. ei._ leipzig, . [ ] a very complete and critical account of the literature is contained in this paper. _the ovum of coelenterata._ ( ) ed. van beneden. "de la distinction originelle d. testicule et de l'ovaire." _bull. acad. roy. belgique_, e série, vol. xxxvii. . ( ) r. and o. hertwig. _der organismus d. medusen._ jena, . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra._ leipzig, . _the ovum of platyelminthes._ ( ) p. hallez. _contributions à l'histoire naturelle des turbellariés._ lille, . ( ) s. max schultze. _beiträge z. naturgeschichte d. turbellarien._ greifswald, . ( ) c. th. von siebold. "helminthologische beiträge." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) c. th. von siebold. _lehrbuch d. vergleich. anat. d. wirbellosen thiere._ berlin, . ( ) e. zeller. "weitere beiträge z. kenntniss d. polystomen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . [_vide_ also ed. van beneden (no. ).] _the ovum of echinodermata._ ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "zur anatomie d. echiniden u. spatangen." _niederländisch. archiv f. zoologie_, vol. i. . ( ) c. k. hoffmann. "zur anatomie d. asteriden." _niederländisch. archiv f. zoologie_, vol. ii. . ( ) h. ludwig. "beiträge zur anat. d. crinoiden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxviii. . ( ) joh. müller. "ueber d. canal in d. eiern d. holothurien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) c. semper. _holothurien._ leipzig, . ( ) e. selenka. _befruchtung d. eies v. toxopneustes variegatus_, . [_vide_ also ludwig (no. ), etc.] _the ovum of mollusca._ _lamellibranchiata._ ( ) h. lacaze-duthiers. "organes génitaux des acéphales lamellibranches." _ann. sci. nat._, me série, vol. ii. . ( ) w. flemming. "ueb. d. er. entwick. am ei d. teichmuschel." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. x. . ( ) w. flemming. "studien üb. d. entwick. d. najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wiss. wien_, vol. lxxi. . ( ) th. von hessling. "einige bemerkungen, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. v. . ( ) h. von jhering. "zur kenntniss d. eibildung bei d. muscheln." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxix. . ( ) keber. _de introitu spermatozoorum in ovula_, etc. königsberg, . ( ) fr. leydig. "kleinere mittheilung etc." müller's _archiv_, . _gasteropoda._ ( ) c. semper. "beiträge z. anat. u. physiol. d. pulmonaten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. viii. . ( ) h. eisig. "beiträge z. anat. u. entwick. d. pulmonaten." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xix. . ( ) fr. leydig. "ueb. paludina vivipara." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ii. . _cephalopoda._ ( ) al. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. cephalopoden._ zürich, . ( ) e. r. lankester. "on the developmental history of the mollusca." _phil. trans._, . _the ovum of the chÆtopoda._ ( ) ed. claparède. "les annelides chætopodes d. golfe de naples." _mém. d. l. sociét. phys. et d'hist. nat. de genève_, - and . ( ) e. ehlers. _die borstenwürmer nach system. und anat. untersuchungen._ leipzig, - . ( ) e. selenka. "das gefäss-system d. aphrodite aculeata." _niederländisches archiv f. zool._, vol. ii. . _the ovum of discophora._ ( ) h. dorner. "ueber d. gattung branchiobdella." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xv. . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten._ ( ) fr. leydig. "zur anatomie v. piscicola geometrica, etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. i. . ( ) c. o. whitman. "embryology of clepsine." _quart. j. of micr. sci._, vol. xviii. . _the ovum of gephyrea._ ( ) keferstein u. ehlers. _zoologische beiträge._ leipzig, . ( ) c. semper. _holothurien_, , p. . ( ) j. w. spengel. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. gephyreen." _beiträge a. d. zool. station z. neapel_, vol. i. . ( ) j. w. spengel. "anatomische mittheilungen üb. gephyreen." _tagebl. d. naturf. vers._ münchen, . _the ovum of nematoda._ ( ) ed. claparède. _de la formation et de la fécondation des_ _oeufs chez les vers nématodes._ genève, . ( ) r. leuckart. _die menschlichen parasiten._ ( ) h. munk. "ueb. ei- u. samenbildung u. befruchtung b. d. nematoden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . ( ) h. nelson. "on the reproduction of ascaris mystax, etc." _phil. trans._ . ( ) a. schneider. _monographie d. nematoden._ berlin, . _the ovum of insecta._ ( ) a. brandt. _ueber das ei u. seine bildungsstätte._ leipzig, . ( ) t. h. huxley. "on the agamic reproduction and morphology of aphis." _linnean trans._, vol. xxii. . _vide_ also _manual of invertebrated animals_, . ( ) r. leuckart. "ueber die micropyle u. den feinern bau d. schalenhaut bei den insecteneiern." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) fr. leydig. _der eierstock u. die samentasche d. insecten._ dresden, . ( ) lubbock. "the ova and pseudova of insects." _phil. trans._ . ( ) stein. _die weiblichen geschlechtsorgane d. käfer._ berlin, . [conf. also claus, landois, weismann, ludwig (no. ).] _the ovum of araneina._ ( ) victor carus. "ueb. d. entwick. d. spinneneies." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ii. . ( ) v. wittich. "die entstehung d. arachnideneies im eierstock, etc." müller's _archiv_, . [conf. leydig, balbiani, ludwig (no. ), etc.] _the ovum of crustacea._ ( ) aug. weismann. "ueb. d. bildung von wintereiern bei leptodora hyalina." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxvii. . [for general literature _vide_ ludwig, no. , and ed. van beneden, no. .] _the ovum of chordata._ _urochorda_ (tunicata). ( ) a. kowalevsky. "weitere studien ü. d. entwicklung d. ascidien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. vii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "ueber entwicklungsgeschichte d. pyrosoma." _arch. f. mikr. anat._, vol. xi. . ( ) kupffer. "stammverwandtschaft zwischen ascidien u. wirbelthieren." _arch. f. mikr. anat._, vol. vi. . ( ) giard. "Études critiques des travaux, etc." _archives zool. expériment._, vol. i. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber die entstehung, etc." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. institut würzburg_, bd. ii. . _cephalochorda._ ( ) p. langerhans. "z. anatomie d. amphioxus lanceolatus," pp. - . _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xii. . _craniata._ ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the structure and development of the vertebrate ovary." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. . ( ) th. eimer. "untersuchungen ü. d. eier d. reptilien." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. viii. . ( ) pflüger. _die eierstöcke d. säugethiere u. d. menschen._ leipzig, . ( ) j. foulis. "on the development of the ova and structure of the ovary in man and other mammalia." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xvi. . ( ) j. foulis. "the development of the ova, etc." _journal of anat. and phys._, vol. xiii. - . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwicklung d. wirbelthiereier mit partieller dottertheilung." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) alex. götte. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. unke._ leipzig, . ( ) w. his. _untersuchungen üb. d. ei u. d. eientwicklung bei knochenfischen._ leipzig, . ( ) a. kölliker. _entwicklungsgeschichte d. menschen u. höherer thiere._ leipzig, . ( ) j. müller. "ueber d. zahlreichen porenkanäle in d. eikapsel d. fische." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) w. h. ransom. "on the impregnation of the ovum in the stickleback." _pro. r. society_, vol. vii. . ( ) c. semper. "das urogenitalsystem d. plagiostomen etc." _arbeiten a. d. zool.-zoot. instit. würzburg_, vol. ii. . [cf. ludwig, no. , ed. van beneden, no. , waldeyer, no. , etc.] maturation and impregnation of the ovum. ( ) auerbach. _organologische studien_, heft . breslau, . ( ) bambeke. "recherches s. embryologie des batraciens." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. lxi. . ( ) e. van beneden. "la maturation de l'oeuf des mammifères." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xl. no. , . ( ) idem. "contributions à l'histoire de la vésicule germinative, &c." _bull. de l'acad. royale de belgique_, me sér., t. xli. no. , . ( ) o. bütschli. _eizelle, zelltheilung, und conjugation der infusorien._ frankfurt, . ( ) f. m. balfour. "on the phenomena accompanying the maturation and impregnation of the ovum." _quart. j. of micros. science_, vol. xviii. . ( ) calberla. "befruchtungsvorgang beim ei von petromyzon planeri." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxx. ( ) w. flemming. "studien in d. entwickelungsgeschichte der najaden." _sitz. d. k. akad. wien_, b. lxxi. . ( ) h. fol. "die erste entwickelung des geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) idem. "sur le développement des ptéropodes." _archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale_, vol. iv. and v. - . ( ) idem. "sur le commencement de l'hénogénie." _archives des sciences physiques et naturelles._ genève, . ( ) idem. _recherches s. l. fécondation et l. commen. d. l'hénogénie._ genève, . ( ) r. greeff. "ueb. d. bau u. d. entwickelung d. echinodermen." _sitzun. der gesellschaft z. beförderung d. gesammten naturwiss. z. marburg_, no. , . ( ) oscar hertwig. "beit. z. kenntniss d. bildung, &c., d. thier. eies." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. i. . ( ) idem. ibid. _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. heft , . ( ) idem. "weitere beiträge, &c." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iii. . heft . ( ) idem. "beit. z. kenntniss, &c." _morphologisches jahrbuch_, vol. iv. heft and . . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra._ leipzig, . ( ) c. kupffer u. b. benecke. _der vorgang d. befruchtung am eie d. neunaugen._ königsberg, . ( ) j. oellacher. "beiträge zur geschichte des keimbläschens im wirbelthiere." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, bd. viii. . ( ) w. salensky. "befruchtung u. furchung d. sterlets-eies." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , . ( ) e. selenka. _befruchtung des eies von toxopneustes variegatus._ leipzig, . ( ) strasburger. _ueber zellbildung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . ( ) idem. _ueber befruchtung u. zelltheilung._ jena, . ( ) c. o. whitman. "the embryology of clepsine." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. . division of nucleus. ( ) w. flemming. "beiträge z. kenntniss d. zelle u. ihrer lebenserscheinungen." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvi. . ( ) e. klein. "observations on the glandular epithelium and division of nuclei in the skin of the newt." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xix. . ( ) peremeschko. "ueber d. theilung d. thierischen zellen." _archiv f. mikr. anat._, vol. xvi. . ( ) e. strasburger. "ueber ein z. demonstration geeignetes zelltheilungs-object." _sitz. d. jenaischen gesell. f. med. u. naturwiss._, july , . segmentation. ( ) e. haeckel. "die gastrula u. eifurchung." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. ix. . ( ) fr. leydig. "die dotterfurchung nach ihrem vorkommen in d. thierwelt u. n. ihrer bedeutung." _oken. isis_. . general works on embryology. ( ) k. e. von baer. "ueb. entwicklungsgeschichte d. thiere." königsberg, - . ( ) c. claus. _grundzüge d. zoologie._ marburg und leipzig, . ( ) c. gegenbaur. _grundriss d. vergleichenden anatomie._ leipzig, . _vide_ also translation. _elements of comparative anatomy._ macmillan and co., . ( ) e. haeckel. _studien z. gastræa-theorie._ jena, , and also _jenaische zeitschrift_, vols. viii. and ix. ( ) e. haeckel. _schöpfungsgeschichte._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _the history of creation._ king and co., london, . ( ) e. haeckel. _anthropogenie._ leipzig. _vide_ also translation. _anthropogeny_ (translation). kegan paul and co., london, . ( ) th. h. huxley. _the anatomy of invertebrated animals._ churchill, . ( ) e. r. lankester. "notes on embryology and classification." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xvii. . ( ) a. s. p. packard. _life histories of animals, including man, or outlines of comparative embryology._ holt and co., new york, . ( ) h. rathke. _abhandlungen z. bildung- und entwicklungsgesch. d. menschen u. d. thiere._ leipzig, . dicyemidÆ. ( ) e. van beneden. "recherches sur les dicyemides." _bull. d. l'académie roy. de belgique_, e sér. t. xli. no. and t. xlii. no. , . _vide_ this paper for a full account of the literature. ( ) a. kölliker. _ueber dicyema paradoxum den schmarotzer der venenanhänge der cephalopoden._ ( ) aug. krohn. "ueb. d. vorkommen von entozoen, etc." _froriep notizen_, vii. . orthonectidÆ. ( ) alf. giard. "les orthonectida classe nouv. d. phylum des vers." _journal de l'anat. et de la physiol._, vol. xv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "zur naturgeschichte d. orthonectidæ." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. - , . porifera. ( ) c. barrois. "embryologie de quelques éponges de la manche." _annales des sc. nat. zool._, vi. ser., vol. iii. . ( ) carter. "development of the marine sponges." _annals and mag. of nat. hist._, th series, vol. xiv. . ( ) ganin[ ]. "zur entwicklung d. spongilla fluviatilis." _zoologischer anzeiger_, vol. i. no. , . ( ) robert grant. "observations and experiments on the structure and functions of the sponge." _edinburgh phil. j._, vol. xiii. and xiv., , . ( ) e. haeckel. _die kalkschwämme_, . ( ) e. haeckel. _studien zur gastræa-theorie._ jena, . ( ) c. keller. _untersuchungen über anatomie und entwicklungsgeschichte einiger spongien._ basel, . ( ) c. keller. "studien üb. organisation u. entwick. d. chalineen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxviii. . ( ) lieberkühn. "beitr. z. entwick. d. spongillen." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) lieberkühn. "neue beiträge zur anatomie der spongien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte der kalkschwämme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "beiträge zur morphologie der spongien." zeit. f. wiss. zool., bd. xxvii. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "spongeologische studien." _zeit. f wiss. zool._, bd. xxxii. . ( ) miklucho-maklay.. "beiträge zur kenntniss der spongien." _jenaische zeitschrift_, bd. iv. . ( ) o. schmidt. "zur orientirung über die entwicklung der schwämme." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. . ( ) o. schmidt. "nochmals die gastrula der kalkschwämme." _archiv für mikrosk. anat._, bd. xii. . ( ) o. schmidt. "das larvenstadium von ascetta primordialis und asc. clathrus." _archiv für mikrosk. anatomie_, bd. xiv. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "ueber den bau und die entwicklung von sycandra raphanus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxv. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte von sycandra." _zeit. f wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchung üb. d. bau, etc. die gattung halisarca." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxviii. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen üb. d. bau, etc. die metamorphose von sycandra raphanus." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxi. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen ü. d. bau, etc. die familie aplysinidæ." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxx. . ( ) f. e. schulze. "untersuchungen ü. d. bau, etc. die gattung spongelia." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxxii. . [ ] there is a russian paper by the same author, containing a full account, with clear illustrations, of his observations. coelenterata. _general._ ( ) alex. agassiz. _illustrated catalogue of the museum of comparative anatomy at harvard college_, no. ii. american acalephæ. cambridge, u. s., . ( ) o. and r. hertwig. _der organismus d. medusæ u. seine stellung z. keimblattertheorie._ jena, . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "untersuchungen üb. d. entwicklung d. coelenteraten." _nachrichten d. kaiser. gesell. d. freunde d. naturerkenntniss d. anthropologie u. ethnographie._ moskau, . (russian). for abstract _vide_ _jahresberichte d. anat. u. phys._ (hoffman u. schwalbe), . _hydrozoa._ ( ) l. agassiz. _contributions to the natural history of the united states of america._ boston, . vol. iv. ( ) g. j. allman. _a monograph of the gymnoblastic or tubularian hydroids._ ray society, - . ( ) g. j. allman. "on the structure and development of myriothela." _phil. trans._, vol. clxv. p. . ( ) p. j. van beneden. "mém. sur les campanulaires de la côte d'ostende considérés sous le rapport physiologique, embryogénique, et zoologique." _nouv. mém. de l'acad. de brux._, tom. xvii. . ( ) p. j. van beneden. "recherches sur l'embryogénic des tubulaires et l'histoire naturelle des différents genres de cette famille qui habitent la côte d'ostende." _nouv. mém. de l'acad de brux._, tom. xvii. . ( ) c. claus. "polypen u. quallen d. adria." _denk. d. math.-naturwiss. classe d. k. k. akad. d. wiss. wien_, vol. xxxviii. . ( ) j. g. dalyell. _rare and remarkable animals of scotland._ london, . ( ) h. fol. "die erste entwicklung d. geryonideneies." _jenaische zeitschrift_, vol. vii. . ( ) carl gegenbaur. _zur lehre vom generationswechsel und der fortpflanzung bei medusen und polypen._ würzburg, . ( ) thomas hincks. "on the development of the hydroid polypes, clavatella and stauridia; with remarks on the relation between the polype and the medusoid, and between the polype and the medusa." _brit. assoc. rep._, . ( ) e. haeckel. _zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. siphonophoren._ utrecht, . ( ) th. h. huxley. _oceanic hydrozoa._ ray society, . ( ) geo. johnston. _a history of british zoophytes._ edin. . nd edition, . ( ) n. kleinenberg. _hydra, eine anatomisch-entwicklungsgeschichtliche untersuchung._ leipzig, . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "ueber die entwicklung einiger coelenteraten." _bull. de l'acad. de st pétersbourg_, xv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. "studien über entwicklungsgeschichte d. medusen u. siphonophoren." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxiv. . ( ) h. n. moseley. "on the structure of the stylasteridæ." _phil. trans._, . ( ) f. e. schulze. _ueber den bau und die entwicklung von cordylophora lacustris._ leipzig, . _actinozoa._ ( ) al. agassiz. "arachnitis (edwarsia) brachiolata." _proc. boston nat. hist. society_, . ( ) koch. "das skelet d. alcyonarien." _morpholog. jahrbuch_, bd. iv. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "z. entwicklung d. aleyoniden, sympodium coralloides und clavularia crassa." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. _histoire nat. du corail._ paris, . ( ) h. lacaze duthiers. "développement des coralliaires." _archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale_, vol. i. and vol. ii. . ( ) c. semper. "ueber generationswechsel bei steinkorallen etc." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxii. . _ctenophora._ ( ) alex. agassiz. "embryology of the ctenophoræ." _mem. of the amer. acad. of arts and sciences_, vol. x. no. iii. . ( ) g. j. allman. "contributions to our knowledge of the structure and development of the beroidæ." _proc. roy. soc. edinburgh_, vol. iv. . ( ) c. chun. "das nervensystem u. die musculatur d. rippenquallen." _abhand. d. senkenberg. gesellsch._, b. xi. . ( ) c. claus. "bemerkungen ü. ctenophoren u. medusen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, xiv. . ( ) h. fol. _ein beitrag z. anat. u. entwickl. einiger rippenquallen._ . ( ) c. gegenbaur. "studien ü. organis. u. system d. ctenophoren." _archiv f. naturgesch._, xxii. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. rippenquallen." _mém. acad. st pétersbourg_, vii. série, tom. x. no. . . ( ) j. price. "embryology of ciliogrades." _proceed. of british assoc._, . ( ) c. semper. "entwicklung d. eucharis multicornis." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. ix. . platyelminthes. _turbellaria._ ( ) alex. agassiz. "on the young stages of a few annelids" (_planaria angulata_). _annals lyceum nat. hist. of new york_, vol. viii. . ( ) dalyell. "powers of the creator." ( ) c. girard. "embryonic development of planocera elliptica." _jour. acad. of nat. sci._, philadelphia. new series, vol. ii. . ( ) alex. götte. "zur entwicklungsgeschichte d. seeplanarien." _zoologischer anzeiger_, no. , . ( ) p. hallez. _contributions à l'histoire naturelle des turbellariés. thésis à la faculté des sciences p. le grade d. docteur ès-sciences naturelles._ lille, . ( ) knappert. "bijdragen tot de ontwikkelings-geschiedenis der zoetwater-planarien." _provinciaal utrechtsch genootschap van kunsten en wetenschappen._ utrecht, . ( ) w. keferstein. "beiträge z. anat. u. entwick. ein. seeplanarien von st. malo." _abh. d. könig. gesell. d. wiss. zu göttingen._ bd. xiv. . ( ) el. metschnikoff. 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( ) a. baur. _beiträge zur naturgeschichte d. synapta digitata._ dresden, . ( ) h. g. bronn. _klassen u. ordnungen etc. strahlenthiere_, vol. ii. . ( ) w. b. carpenter. "researches on the structure, physiology and development of antedon." _phil. trans._ clvi. , and _proceedings of the roy. soc._, no. . . ( ) p. h. carpenter. "on the oral and apical systems of the echinoderms." _quart. j. of micr. science_, vol. xviii. and xix. - . ( ) a. götte. "vergleichende entwicklungsgeschichte d. comatula mediterranea." _arch. für micr. anat._, vol. xii. . ( ) r. greeff. "ueber die entwicklung des asteracanthion rubens vom ei bis zur bipinnaria u. brachiolaria." _schriften d. gesellschaft zur beförderung d. gesammten naturwissenschaften zu marburg_, bd. xii. . ( ) r. greeff. "ueber den bau u. die entwicklung d. echinodermen." _sitz. d. gesell. z. beförderung d. gesam. naturwiss. zu marburg_, no. . . ( ) t. h. huxley. "report upon the researches of müller into the anat. and devel. of the echinoderms." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, nd ser., vol. viii. . ( ) koren and danielssen. "observations sur la bipinnaria asterigera." _ann. scien. nat._, ser. iii., vol. vii. . ( ) koren and danielssen. "observations on the development of the starfishes." _ann. and mag. of nat. hist._, vol. xx. . ( ) a. kowalevsky. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. holothurien." _mém. ac. pétersbourg_, ser. vii., tom. xi., no. . ( ) a. krohn. "beobacht. a. d. entwick. d. holothurien u. seeigel." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. krohn. "ueb. d. entwick. d. seesterne u. holothurien." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) a. krohn. "beobacht. üb. echinodermenlarven." müller's _archiv_, . ( ) h. ludwig. "ueb. d. primar. steinkanal d. crinoideen, nebst vergl. anat. bemerk. üb. d. echinodermen." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxiv. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "studien üb. d. entwick. d. echinodermen u. nemertinen." _mém. ac. pétersbourg_, series vii., tom. xiv., no. . . ( )[ ] joh. müller. "ueb. d. larven u. d. metamorphose d. echinodermen." _abhandlungen d. berlin. akad._ (five memoirs), , , , (two memoirs). ( ) joh. müller. "allgemeiner plan d. entwicklung d. echinodermen." _abhandl. d. berlin. akad._, . ( ) e. selenka. "zur entwicklung d. holothurien." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, bd. xxvii. . ( ) e. selenka. "keimblätter u. organanlage bei echiniden." _zeit. f. wiss. zool._, vol. xxxiii. . ( ) sir wyville thomson. "on the embryology of the echinodermata." _natural history review_, . ( ) sir wyville thomson. "on the embryogeny of antedon rosaceus." _phil. trans._ . [ ] the dates in this reference are the dates of publication. enteropneusta. ( ) a. agassiz. "tornaria." _ann. lyceum nat. hist._ viii. new york, . ( ) a. agassiz. "the history of balanoglossus and tornaria." _mem. amer. acad. of arts and scien._, vol. ix. . ( ) a. götte. "entwicklungsgeschichte d. comatula mediterranea." _archiv für mikr. anat._, bd. xii., , p. . ( ) e. metschnikoff. "untersuchungen üb. d. metamorphose, etc. (tornaria)." _zeit. für wiss. zool._, bd. xx. . ( ) j. müller. "ueb. d. larven u. metamor. d. echinodermen." _berlin. akad._, and . ( ) j. w. spengel. "bau u. entwicklung von balanoglossus." _tagebl. d. naturf. vers. münchen_, . cambridge: printed by c. j. clay, m.a. & son, at the university press transcriber notes: punctuation, hyphenization, and accent marks were standardized. missing letters were added, as appropriate. words in italics are displayed between underscores, _like this_. consistently misspelled words (e.g. hydrophillia) were not changed. captions of some illustrations contain references to items not indentified in the illustration. the greek letter, sigma, is spelled out in the caption to figure . there is no fig. in the original. footnotes were renumbered sequentially and moved to follow the paragraph in which the anchor occurs. anchors [ ] and [ ] refer to the same footnote. illustrations and captions were indented and placed within brackets. other changes: - instances of '_müller's archiv_' to 'müller's _archiv_' - instances of 'develope(s)' to 'develop(s)' - 'usally' to 'usually' ... there is usually found in young ... - 'occurrs' to 'occurs' ... it occurs in ... - 'investigagation' to 'investigation' ... a thorough investigation ... - 'cillated' to 'ciliated' ... the already ciliated ... external layer - 'on' to 'of' ... development of the type of desor ... - 'intances' to 'instances' ... in some instances a more or less ... - 'natica' to 'nautica' ... a nautica-like shell,... - 'valves' to 'halves' ... the two halves rapidly grow ... - 'natica' to 'nautica' ... _e.g._ nautica.... - 'suceeding' to 'succeeding' ....the three succeeding pairs,... - 'espcially' to 'especially' ... especially in the armature ... - 'pecularities' to 'peculiarities' ... marked peculiarities of ... fig. caption - 'fom' to 'from' ... (from gegenbauer ... fig. caption - 'sc.' to 'se.' to match illustration fig. caption - 'pentracrinoid' to 'pentacrinoid' reference ( ) - 'wirbelthiereie' to 'wirbelthiere' references ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) - 'micr.' to 'mikr.' proofreaders [illustration: our camp on the snow mountain at an altitude of , feet] camps and trails in china a narrative of exploration, adventure, and sport in little-known china by roy chapman andrews, m.a. associate curator of mammals in the american museum of natural history and leader of the museum's asiatic zoÖlogical expedition of - ; fellow new york academy of sciences; corresponding member zoÖlogical society of london, member of the biological society of washington; author of 'whale hunting with gun and camera' and yvette borup andrews photographer of the asiatic zoÖlogical expedition this book is dedicated to president henry fairfield osborn as an expression of gratitude and admiration "let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us; let us journey to a lonely land i know. there's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, and the wild is calling, calling ... let us go." --_service_. preface the object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the asiatic zoölogical expedition of the american museum of natural history to china in - . details of a purely scientific nature have been condensed, or eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our experiences with the strange natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the hope that the book will be interesting to the general reader. the scientific reputation of the expedition will rest upon the technical reports of its work which will be published in due course by the american museum of natural history. to these reports we would refer those readers who desire more complete information concerning the results of our researches. at the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press the collections were still undergoing preparation and the study of the different groups had just begun. although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all the illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been made of her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in reference work and in numerous other ways. the information concerning the relationships and distribution of the native tribes of yün-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference work by major h.r. davies and we have followed his spelling of chinese names. parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the _american museum journal, harper's magazine_, and _asia_ and to the editors of the above publications our acknowledgments are due. that the expedition obtained a very large and representative collection of small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts of mr. edmund heller, our companion in the field. he worked tirelessly in the care and preservation of the specimens, and the fact that they reached new york in excellent condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill and thoroughness with which they were prepared. our chinese interpreter, wu hung-tao, contributed largely to the success of the expedition. his faithful and enthusiastic devotion to our interests and his tact and resourcefulness under trying circumstances won our lasting gratitude and affectionate regard. the nineteen months during which we were in asia are among the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest gratitude to the trustees of the american museum of natural history, and especially to president henry fairfield osborn, whose enthusiastic endorsement and loyal support made the expedition possible. director f.a. lucas, dr. j.a. allen and mr. george h. sherwood were unfailing in furthering our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks. to the following patrons, who by their generous contributions materially assisted in the financing of the expedition, we wish to acknowledge our great personal indebtedness as well as that of the museum; mr. and mrs. charles l. bernheimer, mr. and mrs. sidney m. colgate, messrs. george bowdoin, lincoln ellsworth, james b. ford, henry c. frick, childs frick, and mrs. adrian hoffman joline. the expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it would have been impossible to have carried on the work successfully. their services have been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book: the director of the bureau of foreign affairs of the province of yün-nan; m. georges chemin dupontès, director de l'exploration de la compagnie française des chemins de fer de l'indochine et du yün-nan, hanoi, tonking; m. henry wilden, consul de france, shanghai; m. kraemer, consul de france, hongkong; mr. howard page, standard oil co., yün-nan fu; the hon. paul reinsch, minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to the chinese republic, mr. j.v.a. mcmurray, first secretary of the american legation, peking; mr. h.g. evans, british-american tobacco co., hongkong; the rev. william hanna, ta-li fu; the rev. a. kok, li-chang fu; ralph grierson, esq., teng-yueh; herbert goffe, esq., h.b.m. consul general, yün-nan fu; messrs. c.r. kellogg, and h.w. livingstone, foochow, china; the general passenger agent, canadian pacific railroad company, hongkong; and the rev. h.r. caldwell, yenping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript and who through his criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long experience in china. to miss agnes f. molloy and miss anna katherine berger we wish to express our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the preparation of the volume. roy chapman andrews yvette borup andrews justamere home, _lawrence park, bronxville, n.y._ _may , ._ contents chapter i the object of the expedition the importance of the scientific exploration of central asia--the region which the asiatic zoölogical expedition investigated--personnel of the expedition--equipment--applicants for positions upon the expedition chapter ii china in turmoil yuan shi-kai--plot to become emperor of china--the rebellion--our arrival in peking--passports for fukien province--admiral von hintze, the german minister--_en route_ to shanghai--death of yuan shi-kai chapter iii up the min river y.b.a. arrival at foochow--foochow--we leave for yen-ping--the min river--our first night in a _sampan_--miss mabel hartford--brigands at yuchi--yen-ping--trapping at yen-ping chapter iv a bat cave in the big ravine the temple in the big ravine--hunting serow--a bat apartment house chapter v the yen-ping rebellion a message from mr. caldwell--refugees from yen-ping--situation in the city--fighting on monday morning--wounded men at the hospital--we do red cross work--more fighting--a chinese puzzle--the missionaries save the city--the narrow escape of a young chinese--the mission cook--return to foochow chapter vi hunting the great invisible tiger lairs--mr. caldwell's method of hunting--his first tiger--habits of tigers--experiences with the great invisible--killing a man eater--chinese superstitions--hunting in the lair chapter vii the blue tiger arriving at lung-tao--the blue tiger--mr. caldwell's first view of the beast--the lair in the long ravine--bad luck with the tiger--a meeting in the dark--ling-suik monastery--life at the temple--fukien province as a collecting ground chapter viii the women of china y.b.a. schools for girls--position of women--the confucian rules--woman's life in the home--foot binding--early marriage--a chinese wedding chapter ix voyaging to yÜn-nan outfitting in hongkong--food--guns--cameras--_en route_ to tonking--the island of hainan--we engage a cook at paik-hoi--arrival in haiphong--loss of our ammunition--hanoi--the railroad to yün-nan fu--yün-nan--the chinese foreign office endorses our plans chapter x on the road to ta-li fu our caravan--the yün-nan pack saddle--temple camps--chinese _mafus_--roads--country--ignorance of a chinese scholar--new mammals--village life--opium growing--an opium scandal--goitre--the chinese "mountain schooner"--horses--miss morgan--brigands--our guard of soldiers chapter xi ta-li fu hsia-kuan--summer temperature--lake--graves--pagodas--mr. h.g. evans--foreigners of ta-li fu--chinese mandarins--mammals at ta-li--caravan horses and mules--the cook becomes ill chapter xii li-chiang, and the "temple of the flowers" traveling to li-chiang--our entrance into the city--the surprise of the foreigners--the temple--excellent collecting--small mammals--the moso natives--customs--the snow mountain--baron haendel-mazzetti chapter xiii camping in the clouds moso hunters--primitive guns--cross-bows and poisoned arrows--dogs--a porcupine--new mammals--we find a new camp on the mountain chapter xiv the first goral killed near camp--a sacrifice to the god of the hunt--small mammals--the second goral chapter xv more gorals gorals almost invisible--heller shoots a kid--collecting material for a museum group--a splendid hunt--two gorals--a crested muntjac chapter xvi the snow mountain temple the first illness in camp--serow--death of the leading dog--rain--two more serows--lolos--non-chinese tribes of yün-nan chapter xvii gorals and serows relationship--appearance of the serow--habits--gorals chapter xviii the "white water" y.b.a. our new camp--a serow--we go to li-chiang--a burial ceremony--ancestor worship chapter xix across the yangtze gorge traveling to the river--inaccuracy of the chinese--first view of the gorge--the taku ferry--caves chapter xx through unmapped country along the rim of the gorge--a beautiful camp at habala--new mammals--photographic work--phete village--stupid inhabitants--strange natives--the "windy camp"--hotenfa chapter xxi traveling toward tibet a hard climb--our highest camp--a lolo village--thanksgiving with the lolos chapter xxii stalking tibetans with a camera y.b.a. caravans--tibetans--dress--appearance--photographing frightened natives--reason for suspicion chapter xxiii westward to the mekong river snow--photographing natives--the snow mountain again--the shih-ku ferry--cranes--"brahminy ducks"--a well-deserved beating--chinese soldiers chapter xxiv down the mekong valley arrival at wei-hsi--the mekong river--lutzu natives--difficulties in the valley--an unexpected goral--christmas--the salt wells--a snow covered pass--duck shooting--return to ta-li fu chapter xxv missionaries we have known our observations on work of missionaries in fukien and yün-nan provinces--mode of living--servants--voluntary exile--medical missionaries--a missionary's experience with the brigands at yuchi chapter xxvi chinese new year at yung-chang y.b.a. traveling to yung-chang--new year's customs--inhabitants of the city--foot-binding--caves--water buffaloes--chinese cow-caravans--yung-chang mentioned by marco polo chapter xxvii traveling toward the tropics shih-tien plain--curious inhabitants of the city--a tropical valley at ma-po-lo--"a little more far"--a splendid camp--many new mammals--preparing specimens--sambur--trapping chapter xxviii meng-ting: a village: of many tongues the first shan village--priscilla and john alden--meng-ting--the shan mandarin--young priests--the market--photographing under difficulties--suppression of opium growing chapter xxix camping on the nam-ting river a beautiful camp--the "dying rabbit"--sambur hunting--jungle fowl--civets--pole cats and other animals chapter xxx monkey hunting strange calls in the jungle--our first gibbons--relationship and habits--langurs and baboons--a night in the jungle chapter xxxi the shans of the burma border an unfriendly chief--honest natives--houses at nam-ka--tattooing--shan tribe--dress chapter xxxii prisoners of war in burma y.b.a. the mythical ma-li-ling--across the frontier into burma--the _mafus_ rebel--ma-li-pa--captain clive--guarding the border--life at ma-li-pa chapter xxxiii hunting peacocks on the salween river the valley at changlung--the ferry--peacocks--the stalker stalked--habits of peafowls chapter xxxiv the gibbons of ho-mu-shu climbing out of the salween valley--a shan village--ho-mu-shu--camping on a mountain pass--gibbons--an exciting hunt and a narrow escape--habits of the "hoolock" chapter xxxv teng-yueh: a link with civilization tai-ping-pu--flying squirrels--lisos--a bat cave--mail--teng-yueh--mr. ralph grierson--tibetan bear cubs chapter xxxvi a big game paradise gorals at hui-yao--deer--splendid hunts chapter xxxvii serow and sambur monkeys at hui-yao--muntjacs--a new serow--we move camp to wa-tien--a fine sambur chapter xxxviii last days in china return to teng-yueh--packing the specimens--results of the expedition--on the road to bhamo--the chair coolies--burma _vs._ china--in civilization again--farewell to the orient list of illustrations our camp on the snow mountain at an altitude of , feet. yvette borup andrews with a pet yün-nan squirrel edmund heller roy chapman andrews and a goral a chinese hunter and a muntjac brigands killed in the yen-ping rebellion the ling-suik monastery a priest of ling-suik a chinese mother with her children chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet cormorant fishers on the lake at yün-nan fu our camp at chou chou on the way to ta-li fu the pagodas at ta-li fu the dead of china the residence of rev. william j. hanna at ta-li-fu the gate and main street of ta-li fu one of the pagodas at ta-li fu a moso herder a moso woman the snow mountain a cheek gun used by one of our hunters the first goral killed on the snow mountain hotenfa, one of our moso hunters, bringing in a goral another moso hunter with a porcupine a typical goral cliff on the snow mountain a serow killed on the snow mountain the head of a serow the "white water" a liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel the chief of our lolo hunters a lolo village lolos seeing their photographs for the first time travelers in the mekong valley two tibetans the gorge of the yangtze river a quiet curve of the mekong river the temple in which we camped at ta-li fu a crested muntjac the south gate at yung-chang a chinese bride returning to her mother's home at new year's a chinese patriarch young china a shan village a shan woman spinning a kachin woman in the market at meng-ting one of our shan hunters with two yellow gibbons our camp on the nam-ting river the shan village at nam-ka the head of a gibbon killed on the nam-ting river a civet a shan girl a shan boy a suspension bridge mrs. andrews feeding one of our bear cubs a sambur killed at wa-tien the head of a muntjac a mountain chair the waterfall at teng-yueh map i. the red line indicates the travels of the expedition map ii. route of the expedition in yün-nan camps and trails in china chapter i the object of the expedition the earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere in the vast plateau of central asia, north of the himalaya mountains. from this region came the successive invasions that poured into europe from the east, to india from the north, and to china from the west; the migration route to north america led over the bering strait and spread fanwise south and southeast to the farthest extremity of south america. the central asian plateau at the beginning of the pleistocene was probably less arid than it is today and there is reason to believe that this general region was not only the distributing center of man but also of many of the forms of mammalian life which are now living in other parts of the world. for instance, our american moose, the wapiti or elk, rocky mountain sheep, the so-called mountain goat, and other animals are probably of central asian origin. doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive wanderings of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters, one of the most important must have been the movements of the game upon which they lived. therefore the study of the early human races is, necessarily, closely connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of the central asian mammalian life and its distribution. no systematic palaeontological, archaeological, or zoölogical study of this region on a large scale has ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of the inhabited surface of the earth about which so little is known. the american museum of natural history hopes in the near future to conduct extensive explorations in this part of the world along general scientific lines. the country itself and its inhabitants, however, present unusual obstacles to scientific research. not only is the region one of vast intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the earth, but the climate is too cold in winter to permit of continuous work. the people have a natural dislike for foreigners, and the political events of the last half century have not tended to decrease their suspicions. it is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for extensive research must be carefully prepared. one of the most important steps is the sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge of the natives and fauna and of the conditions to be encountered. for the first reconnoissance, which was intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the asiatic zoölogical expedition left new york in march, . its destination was yün-nan, a province in southwestern china. this is one of the least known parts of the chinese republic and, because of its southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and faunal range is very great. it is about equal in size to the state of california and topographically might be likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the greater part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain waves which divide and cross one another in hopeless confusion. yün-nan is bordered on the north by tibet and s'suchuan, on the west by burma, on the south by tonking, and on the east by kwei-chau province. faunistically the entire northwestern part of yün-nan is essentially tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of , feet to , feet above sea level. in the south and west along the borders of burma and tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys, the climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as the fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in the north. the natives of yün-nan are exceptionally interesting. there are about thirty non-chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the shans and lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of china, and it is safe to say that in no similar area of the world is there such a variety of language and dialects as in this region. although the main work of the expedition was to be conducted in yün-nan, we decided to spend a short time in fukien province, china, and endeavor to obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been seen twice by the reverend harry r. caldwell, a missionary and amateur naturalist, who has done much hunting in the vicinity of foochow. the white members of the first asiatic zoölogical expedition included mr. edmund heller, my wife (yvette borup andrews) and myself. a chinese interpreter, wu hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten muleteers, completed the personnel. mr. heller is a collector of wide experience. his early work, which was done in the western united states and the galápagos islands, was followed by many years of collecting in mexico, alaska, south america, and africa. he first visited british east africa with mr. carl e. akeley, next with ex-president theodore roosevelt, and again with mr. paul j. rainey. during the asiatic zoölogical expedition mr. heller devoted most of his time to the gathering and preparation of small mammals. he joined our party late in july in china. mrs. andrews was the photographer of the expedition. she had studied photography as an amateur in germany, france, and italy, as well as in new york, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of photographs in natural colors. such work requires infinite care and patience, but the results are well worth the efforts expended. wu hung-tao is a native of foochow, china, and studied english at the anglo-chinese college in that city. he lived for some time in teng-yueh, yün-nan, in the employ of mr. f.w. carey, commissioner of customs, and not only speaks mandarin chinese but also several native dialects. he acted as interpreter, head "boy," and general field manager. my own work was devoted mainly to the direction of the expedition and the hunting of big game. in order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased only such equipment in new york as could not be obtained in shanghai or hongkong. messrs. shoverling, daly & gales furnished our guns, ammunition, tents, and general camp equipment, and gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the minor details which often assume alarming importance when an expedition is in the field and defects cannot be remedied. all food and commissary supplies were purchased in hongkong (_see_ chapter ix). * * * * * when the announcement of the expedition was made by the american museum of natural history it received wide publicity in america and other parts of the world. immediately we began to discover how many strange persons make up the great cities of the united states, and we received letters and telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take part in the expedition. men and boys were the principal applicants, but there was no lack of women, many of whom came to the museum for personal interviews. most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. one was from a butcher who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our specimens, or defending us from savage natives; another young man offered himself to my wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure his twenty years' experience as a waiter would fit him for an important position on the expedition, and numerous women, young and old, wished to become "companions" for my wife in those "drear wastes." applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way across the continent and in san francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of march on the s.s. _tenyo maru_ for japan. our way across the pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel drew in toward the wharf in yokohama she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives. we were standing at the rail when three japanese approached and, bowing in unison, said, "we are report for leading japanese newspaper. we wish to know all thing about chinese animal." evidently the speech had been rehearsed, for with it their english ended abruptly, and the interview proceeded rather lamely, on my part, in japanese. japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for a person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise. we stayed three weeks and regretfully left for peking by way of korea. but before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would like briefly to review the political situation in china as a background for our early work in the province of fukien. chapter ii china in turmoil during the time the expedition was preparing to leave new york, china was in turmoil. yuan shi-kai was president of the republic, but the hope of his heart was to be emperor of china. for twenty years he had plotted for the throne; he had been emperor for one hundred miserable days; and now he was watching, impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet. yuan was the strong man of his day, with more power, brains, and personality than any chinese since li-hung chang. he always had been a factor in his political world. his monarchial dream first took definite form as early as when he became viceroy of chi-li, the province in which peking is situated. it was then that he began to modernize and get control of the army which is the great basis of political power in china. properly speaking, there was not, and is not now, a chinese national army. it is rather a collection of armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general, and he who secures the support of the various commanders controls the destiny of china's four hundred millions of people regardless of his official title. yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of the leading generals, and in , when the manchu dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues began to bear fruit. by crafty juggling of the rebels and manchus he managed to get himself elected president of the new republic, although he did not for a moment believe in the republican form of government. he was always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing to declare himself an ardent republican so long as such a declaration could be used as a stepping stone to the throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal. as president he ruled with a high hand. in there was a rebellion in protest against his official acts but he defeated the rebels, won over more of the older generals, and solidified the army for his own interests, making himself stronger than ever before. at this time he might well have made a _coup d'état_ and proclaimed himself emperor with hardly a shadow of resistance, but with the hereditary caution of the chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. he wanted his position to be even more secure and to have it appear that he reluctantly accepted the throne as a patriotic duty at the insistent call of the people. yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment were typically chinese but entirely effective, and he was making splendid progress, when in may, , japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage of the european war and presenting the historical twenty-one demands, to most of which china agreed. this delayed his plans only temporarily, and yuan's agents pushed the work of making him emperor more actively than ever, with the result that the throne was tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people." to "save his face" he declined at first but at the second offer he "reluctantly" yielded and on december , , became emperor of china. but his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later tidings of unrest in yün-nan reached peking. general tsai-ao, a former military governor of the province, appeared in yün-nan fu, the capital, and, on december , sent an ultimatum to yuan stating that he must repudiate the monarchy and execute all those who had assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise yün-nan would secede; which it forthwith did on december . without doubt this rebellion was financed by the japanese who had intimated to yuan that the change from a republican form of government would not meet with their approval. the rebellion spread rapidly. on january , kwei-chau province, which adjoins yün-nan, seceded, and, on march , kwang-si also announced its independence. about this time the museum authorities were becoming somewhat doubtful as to the advisability of proceeding with our expedition. we had a long talk with dr. wellington koo, the chinese minister to the united states, at the biltmore hotel in new york. dr. koo, while certain that the rebellion would be short-lived, strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until conditions became more settled. he offered to cable peking for advice, but we, knowing how unwelcome to the government of the harassed yuan would be a party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed area, gratefully declined and determined to proceed regardless of conditions. we hoped that yuan would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he had that of , but day by day, as we anxiously watched the papers, there came reports of other provinces dropping away from his standard. on the _tenyo maru_ we met the honorable charles denby, an ex-american consul-general at shanghai and former adviser to yuan shi-kai when he was viceroy of chi-li. mr. denby was interested in obtaining a road concession near peking and was then on his way to see yuan. his anxiety over the political situation was not less than ours and together we often paced the decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless report told of more desertions to the ranks of the rebels. it seemed to be the beginning of the end, for yuan had lost his nerve. he had decided to quit, and one hundred days after he became emperor elect he issued a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the republic. but the rebellious provinces were not satisfied and demanded that he get out altogether. about this time we reached peking, literally blown in by a tremendous dust storm which seemed an elemental manifestation of the human turmoil within the grim old walls. our cousin, commander thomas hutchins, naval attaché of the american legation, was awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat with one hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other. the news we received from him was by no means comforting for in the legation pessimism reigned supreme. the american minister, dr. reinsch, was not enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions, but nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain the necessary visé for our passports. we wished first to go to foochow, in fukien province, where we were to hunt tiger until mr. heller joined us in july for the expedition into yün-nan. fukien was still loyal to yuan, but the strong japanese influence in this province, which is directly opposite the island of formosa, was causing considerable uneasiness in peking. we were armed with telegrams from mr. c.r. kellogg, of the anglo-chinese college, with whom we were to stay while in foochow, assuring us that all was quiet in the province, and through the influence of dr. reinsch, the chinese foreign office viséd our passports. the huge red stamp which was affixed to them was an amusing example of chinese "face saving." first came the seal of yuan's impotent dynasty of hung hsien, signifying "brilliant prosperity," and directly upon it was placed the stamp of the chinese republic. one was almost as legible as the other and thus the foreign office saved its face in whichever direction the shifting cards of political destiny should fall. at a luncheon given by dr. reinsch at the embassy in peking, we met admiral von hintze, the german minister, who had recently completed an adventurous trip from germany to china. he was minister to mexico at the beginning of the war but had returned to berlin incognito through england to ask the kaiser for active sea service. the emperor was greatly elated over von hintze's performance and offered him the appointment of minister to china if he could reach peking in the same way that he had traveled to berlin. von hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a scandinavian tramp steamer and arrived safely at shanghai, where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign diplomat and proceeded to the capital. the americans were in a rather difficult position at this time because of the international complications, and social intercourse was extremely limited. dinner guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one was very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever one went. peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who has shared its social life. in the midst of one of the most picturesque, most historical, and most romantic cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community that enjoys itself to the utmost. its talk is all of horses, polo, racing, shooting, dinners, and dances, with the interesting background of chinese politics, in which things are never dull. there is always a rebellion of some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never can tell when a new political bomb will be projected from the mysterious gates of the forbidden city. we spent a week in peking and regretfully left by rail for shanghai. _en route_ we passed through tsinan-fu where the previous night serious fighting had occurred in which japanese soldiers had joined with the rebels against yuan's troops. on every side there was evidence of japan's efforts against him. in the foreign quarter of shanghai just behind the residence of mr. sammons, the american consul-general, one of yuan's leading officers had been openly murdered, and japanese were directly concerned in the plot. we were told that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in the foreign concession because wealthy chinese who feared the wrath of one party or the other were eager to pay almost any rent to obtain the protection of that quarter of the city. a short time later it became known to a few that yuan was seriously ill. he was suffering from bright's disease with its consequent weakness, loss of mental alertness, and lack of concentration. french doctors were called in, but yuan's wives insisted upon treating him with concoctions of their own, and on june , shortly after three o'clock in the morning, he died. even on his death-bed yuan endeavored to save his face before the country, and his last words were a reiteration of what he knew no one believed. the story of his death is told in the _china press_ of june , : according to news from the president's palace the condition of yuan became critical at three o'clock in the morning. yuan asked for his old confidential friend, hsu shih-chang, who came immediately. on the arrival of hsu, yuan was extremely weak, but entirely conscious. with tears in his eyes, yuan assured his old friend that he had never had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown; he had been deceived by his _entourage_ over the true state of public opinion and thus had sincerely believed the people wished for the restoration of the monarchy. the desire of the south for his resignation he had not wished to follow for fear that general anarchy would break out all over china. now that he felt death approaching he asked hsu to make his last words known to the public. in the temporary residence of president li yuan-hung, situated in the yung-chan-hu-tung (east city) and formerly owned by yang tu, the prominent monarchist, the formal transfer of the power to li-yuan-hung took place this morning at ten o'clock. yuan chi-jui, secretary of state and premier, as well as all the members of the cabinet, prince pu lun as chairman of the state council, and other high officials were present. the officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by li-yuan-hung in the main hall and made three bows to the new president, which were returned by the latter. the same ceremony will take place at two o'clock, when all the high military officials will assemble at the president's residence. the cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the provinces that vice-president li-yuan-hung, in accordance with the constitution, has become president of the chinese republic (chung-hua-min-kuo) from the seventh instance. so ended yuan shi-kai's great plot to make himself an emperor over four hundred millions of people, a plot which could only have been carried out in china. he failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children and his country in political chaos. chapter iii up the min river _y.b.a._ three days after leaving shanghai we arrived at pagoda anchorage at the mouth of the min river, twelve miles from foochow. we boarded a launch which threaded its way through a fleet of picturesque fishing vessels, each one of which had a round black and white eye painted on its crescent-shaped bow. when asked the reason for this decoration a chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly for a moment and then said: "no have eye. no can see." how simple and how entirely satisfactory! the instant the launch touched the shore dozens of coolies swarmed like flies over it, fighting madly for our luggage. one seized a trunk, the other end of which had been appropriated by another man and, in the argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen the other by his screams. the habit of yelling to enforce command is inherent with the chinese and appears to be ineradicable. to expostulate in an ordinary tone of voice, pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems a psychological impossibility. there had been a mistake about the date of our arrival at foochow, and we were two days earlier than we had been expected, so that mr. c.r. kellogg, of the anglo-chinese college, with whom we were to stay, was not on the jetty to meet us. we were at a loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos and confusion until a customs officer took us in charge and, judiciously selecting a competent looking woman from among the screaming multitude, told her to get two sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. she disappeared and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. dashing about among the crowd in front of us, she chose the baggage for such men as met with her approval and after the usual amount of argument the loads were taken. we mounted our chairs and started off with apparently all foochow following us. as far as we could see down the narrow street were the heads and shoulders of our porters. we felt as if we were heading an invading army as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred pounds of luggage, we descended upon the homes of people whom we did not know and who were not expecting us. but our sudden arrival did not disturb the kelloggs and our welcome was typical of the warm hospitality one always finds in the far east. no matter how long one has lived in china one remains in a condition of mental suspense unable to decide which is the filthiest city of the republic. the residents of foochow boast that for offensiveness to the senses no town can compare with theirs, and although amoy and several other places dispute this questionable title, we were inclined to grant it unreservedly to foochow. it is like a medieval city with its narrow, ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze. they are usually roofed over so that by no accident can a ray of purifying sun penetrate their dark corners. with no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming houses. in foochow, as in other cities of china, the narrow alleys are literally choked with every form of industrial obstruction. countless workmen plant themselves in the tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones. there is a common saying that the chinese do little which is not at some time done on the street. the foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities, missionaries, and merchants, live well out of the city on a hilltop. their houses are built with very high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the occupants seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have "punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible during the intense heat of summer. a telegram was awaiting us from the reverend harry caldwell, with whom we were to hunt, asking us to come to his station two hundred miles up the river, and we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit while mr. kellogg scoured the country for an english-speaking cook. one middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but when he learned that we were going "up country," he shook his head with an assumption of great filial devotion and said that he did not think his mother would let him go. another was afraid the sun might be too hot. finally on the eve of our departure we engaged a stuttering chinese who assured us that he was a remarkable cook and exceptionally honest. if you have never heard a chinaman stutter you have something to live for, and although we discovered that our cook was a shameless rascal he was worth all he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted to utter a word we became almost hysterical. he sounded exactly like a worn-out phonograph record buzzing on a single note, and when he finally did manage to articulate, his "pidgin" english in itself was screamingly funny. one day he came to the _sampan_ proudly displaying a piece of beef and, after a series of vocal gymnastics, eventually succeeded in shouting: "missie, this meat no belong die-cow. die-cow not so handsome." which meant that this particular piece of beef was not from an animal which had died from disease. the first stage of our trip began before daylight. we rode in four-man sedan chairs, followed by a long procession of heavily laden coolies with our cameras, duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. the road lay through green rice fields between terraced mountains, and we jogged along first on the crest of a hill, then in the valley, passing dilapidated temples with the paint flaking off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the reeds of the winding river. it was a relief to get into the country again after passing down the narrow village streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed with honeysuckle. a passenger launch makes the trip to cui-kau at the beginning of the rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in the morning and is literally crowded to overflowing with evil-smelling chinese who sprawl over every available inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries strongly advised us against taking it. the passengers not infrequently are pushed off into the water. one of the missionaries witnessed an incident which illustrates in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the average chinese. a coolie on the cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard, and although a friend was able to grasp his hand and hold him above the surface, no one offered to help him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. this is by no means an isolated case. some years ago a foreign steamer was burned on the yangtze river, and the crowds of watching chinese did little or nothing to rescue the passengers and crew. indeed, as fast as they made their way to shore many of them were robbed even of their clothing and some were murdered outright. our first day on the min river was the most luxurious of the entire expedition, for we were fortunate in obtaining the standard oil company's launch through the kindness of mr. livingston, their agent. it was large and roomy, and the trip, which would have been worse than disagreeable on the public boat, was most delightful. the min is one of the most beautiful rivers of all china with its velvet green mountains rising a thousand feet or more straight up from the water and often terraced to the summits. perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little gentleman with a pigtail wrapped around his head, who said he was a pilot, but as he inquired the channel of everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen times or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain, we felt that his claim was not entirely justified. the river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture. one moment we would pass a _sampan_ so loaded with branches that it seemed like a small island floating down the stream. next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed sails projecting at impossible angles drifted by, followed by innumerable smaller crafts, the monotonous chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water to us as they passed. when evening came we had reached cui-kau. the _sampans_ in which we were to spend eight days were drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others. right above us was the straggling town looking very much like the rear view of tenement houses at home. darkness blotted out the filth of our surroundings but could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down from the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish. our beds were spread in the _sampans_ which we shared in common with the four river men who formed the crew. there was only a mosquito net to screen the end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange that this was but a minor detail. as we lay in our cots we could look up at the stars framed in the half oval of the _sampan's_ roof and listen to the sounds of the water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the river men beached their boats for the night. it seemed only a few minutes later when we were roused by a rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had reached the first of the rapids which separated us from yen-ping, one hundred and twenty miles away. in the late afternoon we arrived at chang-hu-fan where mr. caldwell stood on the shore waving his hat to us amidst scores of dirty little children and the explosion of countless firecrackers. wherever we went crackers preceded and followed us--for when a chinese wishes to register extreme emotion, either of joy or sorrow, its expression always takes the form of firecrackers. there had been a good deal of persecution of the native christians in the district, and only recently a band of soldiers had strung up the native pastor by the thumbs and beaten him senseless. he was our host that night and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man but quite deaf as a result of his cruel treatment. he never recovered and died a few weeks later. mr. caldwell had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries are invested by the people themselves with a good deal of authority. we spent that night in the parish house just behind the little church, a bare schoolroom being turned over to us for our use, and it seemed very luxurious after we had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but the house was in the center of the town and the high walls shut out every breath of pure air. the barred windows opened on a street hardly six feet wide, and while we were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued whispers outside. we switched on a powerful electric flashlight and there stood at least forty men, women and children gazing at us with rapt attention, but they melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a june sun. that night was not a pleasant one. the heat was intense, the mosquitoes worse, and every dog and cat in the village seemed to choose our court yard as a dueling ground in which to settle old scores. the climax was reached at four o'clock in the morning, when directly under our windows there came a series of ear-splitting squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. the neighbors had chosen that particular spot and hour to kill the family pig, and the entire process which followed of sousing it in hot water and scraping off the hair was accompanied by unceasing chatter. boiling with rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to spend another night in the place but to sleep in the _sampans_. on the whole our river men were nice fellows but they had the love of companionship characteristic of all chinese and the inherent desire to huddle together as closely as possible wherever they were. on the way up the river to yuchi every evening they insisted on stopping at some foul-smelling village, and it was difficult to induce them to spend the night away from a town. moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would invariably ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where the sun beat down like a blast furnace. the chinese never appear to be affected by the sun and go bareheaded at all seasons of the year, shading their eyes with one hand or a partly opened fan. a fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to see coolies almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy load and with the perspiration streaming from their naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves meanwhile. mr. caldwell was _en route_ to yuchi, one of his mission stations far up a branch of the min river, and as there was a vague report of tiger in that vicinity we joined him instead of proceeding directly to yen-ping. the tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but our trip was made interesting by meeting miss mabel hartford, the only foreign resident of the place. she has lived in yuchi for two years and at one time did not see a white person for eight months with the exception of mr. caldwell who was in the vicinity for three days. it requires four weeks to obtain supplies from foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are very irregular, but she enjoys the isolation and is passionately fond of her work. she has had an interesting life and one not devoid of danger. in she was wounded and barely escaped death in the hwa shan (flower mountain) massacre in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered by a mob of fanatic natives known as "vegetarians." the chinese government was required to pay a considerable indemnity to miss hartford, which she accepted only under protest and characteristically devoted to missionary work in kucheng where the massacre occurred. conditions at yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled and for some months there had been a veritable "reign of terror." a large band of brigands was established in the hills not far from the city, and we were warned by the mandarin not to attempt to go farther up the river. a few months earlier several companies of soldiers had been sent from foochow, and the result of turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to make "the remedy worse than the disease." the soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants, accusing them of being brigands or aiding the bandits, and shooting them without a hearing. at one time accurate information concerning the camp of the robbers was received and the soldiers set bravely off, but when within a short distance of the brigands the commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns were fired, and the bandits escaped. a chinaman must always "save his face," however, and when they returned to yuchi they arrested dozens of people on mere suspicion and executed them without the vestige of a trial. finally conditions became so intolerable that no one was safe, and after repeated complaints by the missionaries, a new mandarin of a somewhat better type was sent to yuchi. as it was impossible to do any collecting farther up the river because of the bandits, we left for yen-ping two days after arriving at yuchi. yen-ping is a wonderfully picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and loopholed for rifle fire. such walls, while of little use against artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less than field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover. the methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the very summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the four dwelling houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls. mr. caldwell's residence commands a wonderful view down the river and in the late afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and lavender and purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined. but the delights of yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable weather. in summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so nearly saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except over a fire. from all reports winter must be almost as bad in the opposite extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but the early fall is said to be delightful. the larger part of fukien, like many other provinces in china, has been denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have all been planted. this deforestation consequently has driven out the game, and except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and gorals, none of the large species is left. however, the dense growth of sword grass and the thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small cats, civets, and other viverines. these animals come to the rice paddys, which fill every valley, to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because of the chinese who are continually at work in the fields. we spent a week trapping about yen-ping and although we caught a good many animals they were almost always stolen together with the traps. we had this same difficulty in yün-nan as well as in fukien. none of us had ever seen natives in any part of the world who were such unmitigated thieves as the chinese of these two provinces. the small mammals are hardly more abundant than the larger ones for the natives wage an unceasing war on those about the rice paddys and have exterminated nearly all but a few widely distributed forms. chapter iv a bat cave in the big ravine a few days after our arrival in yen-ping we went with mr. caldwell and his son oliver to a taoist temple seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as chi-yuen-kang. the walk to the temple in the early morning was delightful. the "bamboo chickens" and francolins were calling all about us and on the way we shot enough for our first day's dinner. both these birds are abundant in fukien province but it is by no means easy to kill them for they live in such thick cover that they can only be flushed with difficulty. early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins crowing in the trees or on the top of a hill and when a cock had taken possession of such a spot the intrusion of another was almost sure to cause trouble which only ended when one of them had been driven off. for two miles and a half the big ravine is a narrow cut between perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed to their very summits with bamboo and a tangle of thorny vines. in the bottom of the gorge a mountain torrent foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle, slow moving stream when it leaves the cool darkness of the cañon to spread itself over the terraced rice fields. about a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle into the hillside. one stands just over the water, but the other clings to the rock wall three hundred feet above the river, and it was there that we made our camp. the old priest in charge did not appear especially delighted to see us until i slipped a mexican dollar into his hand--then it was laughable to see his change of face. the far end of the balcony was given up to us while mr. caldwell and oliver put up their beds at the feet of a grinning idol in the main temple. we had come to chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (_see_ chapter xvii) and had brought with us only a few traps for small mammals. harry had seen several serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along the river, and all were reported to have been killed near this ravine. there was a village of considerable size at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a mountain which towered about two thousand five hundred feet above the river. never will we forget that climb! we tried to start at daylight but it was well toward six o'clock before we got our men together. a chinaman would drive an impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it is well-nigh impossible to get him started within an hour of the appointed time, and with a half dozen the difficulty is multiplied as many times. just when you think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason for delaying longer, the whole crowd will disappear suddenly and you discover that they have gone for "chow." then you know that the end is really in sight, for chow usually is the last thing. we waited nearly two hours on this particular morning before we started on the long climb to the top of the mountain. the sun was simply blazing, and in fifteen minutes we were soaked with perspiration. when we were half way up the dogs disappeared in a small ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword grass and suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. they had found a fresh trail and were driving our way. harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting to us to watch another higher up. we were hardly in position when his rifle banged, followed by such a bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must have killed nothing less than one of the hunters. before we reached them harry appeared, smiling all over, and dragging a muntjac (_muntiacus_) by the fore legs. he had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he had been watching was not more than ten feet wide and the muntjac flashed across it at full speed. caldwell fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught the animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone dead. this beautiful little deer in fukien is hardly larger than a fox. its antlers are only two or three inches in length and rise from an elongated skin-covered pedicel instead of from the base of the skull as in all other members of the deer family. on each side of the upper jaw is a slender tusk, about two inches long, which projects well beyond the lips and makes a rather formidable weapon. we hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a "good joss," but instead a disappointing day was in store for us. when we had worked our way to the very summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over a trail which led through a smothering bamboo jungle, we saw dozens of fresh serow tracks. the animals were there without a doubt and we were on the _qui vive_ with excitement. we selected positions and the men made a long circuit to drive toward us as caldwell had directed. after half an hour had passed we heard them yelling as they closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly parading in single file up the bottom of the valley on an open trail and carefully avoiding all thickets where a serow could possibly be. as harry expressed it, "all the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the noble procession pass." the beaters very evidently knew nothing whatever about driving nor were we able to teach them, for they seriously objected to leaving the open trails and going into the bush. we worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless and it was impossible to "still hunt" the animals at that time of the year. the natives say that in september when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower forests the serow leave the mountain tops and thick cover to feed upon the fungus, and that they may be killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the hunt would involve a vast amount of labor with only a moderate chance of success. after we had left fukien, mr. caldwell purchased a fine male and female serow for us which are especially interesting as they represent a different subspecies (_capricornis sumatrensis argyrochcaetes_) from those we killed in yün-nan. chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we discovered a wonderful bat cave less than a mile from our temple. its entrance was a low round hole half covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular gallery; from this three long corridors branched off like fingers from the palm of a giant's hand. the cave was literally alive with bats. there must have been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a hundred, representing seven species and at least four genera. this was especially remarkable as it is unusual to find more than two or three species living together. the cave was a regular bat apartment house for each corridor was divided by rock partitions into several small rooms in every one of which bats of different species were rearing their families. the young in most instances were only a few days old but were thickly clustered on the walls and ceilings, and each and every one was squeaking at the top of its tiny lungs. the place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds, of years for the floor was knee-deep with dung. when we returned the day after our first visit we found that many of the young bats had been removed by their parents and in some instances entire rooms had been vacated. after the first day the odor of the cave was so nauseating that to enable us to go inside it was necessary to wear gauze pads of iodoform over our noses. the bats at this place were killed with bamboo switches but later we always used a long gill net which had been especially made in new york. we could hang the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was ready, send a native into the galleries to stir up the animals. as they flew out they became entangled in the net and could be caught or killed before they were able to get away. it was sometimes possible to catch every specimen in a cavern, and moreover, to secure them in perfect condition without broken skulls or wings. if a bat escaped from the net it would never again strike it, for the animals are wonderfully accurate in flight and most expert dodgers. even while in a cave, where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom flew against us, although we might often be brushed by their wings; and it was a most difficult thing to hit them with a bamboo switch. their ability in dodging is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding habits for, with the exception of a few species, bats live exclusively upon insects and catch them in the air. it is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit in a bat cave especially if the light has gone out and she is in utter darkness. of course she has a cap tightly pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if she be a naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats with one wisp of hair exposed! all about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush her face or neck and the air is full of chattering noises like the grinding of hundreds of tiny teeth. sometimes a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares to take her hands from her face long enough to disengage the clinging animal she is liable to receive a vicious bite from teeth as sharp as needles. but, withal, it is good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or collecting trays can be filled with beautiful specimens! chapter v the yen-ping rebellion on sunday, june , we went to the bat cave to obtain a new supply of specimens. upon our return, just as we were about to sit down to luncheon, four excited chinese appeared with the following letter from mr. caldwell: dear roy: there was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this morning. the rebels have taken yen-ping and it looks as though there was trouble ahead. northern soldiers have been sent for and the chances are that either tonight or tomorrow morning there will be quite a battle. bankhardt, dr. trimble and myself have just made a round of the city, visiting the telegraph office, post office and other places, and while we do not believe that the foreigners will be molested, nevertheless it is impossible to tell just what to expect. it is certain, however, that the consul will order all of us to foochow if news of the situation reaches there. owing to the uncertainty, i think you had better come in to yen-ping so as to be ready for any eventuality. after talking the situation over with dr. trimble and mr. bankhardt, we all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to come in immediately. i am sending four burden-bearers for it will be out of the question to find any tomorrow, if trouble occurs tonight. the city gates are closed so you will have to climb up the ladder over the wall behind our compound. best wishes. harry. p.s.--later: it is again reported that northern soldiers are to arrive tonight. if they do and trouble occurs your only chance is to get to yen-ping today. h.c. the camp immediately was thrown into confusion for da-ming, the cook, and the burden-bearers were jabbering excitedly at the top of their voices. the servants began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile we ate a roast chicken faster than good table manners would permit--in fact, we took it in our fingers. we were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement and talked almost as fast as the chinese. in just one hour from the time harry's letter had been received, we were on the way to yen-ping. it was the hottest part of the day, and we were dripping with perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine and struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering in a furnace-like heat. at the first rest house on the top of the long hill we waited nearly an hour for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy loads. three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past us on her peglike feet leaning on the arm of a man. a short distance more and we came to the second rest house. we had been there but a few moments when three panting women, steadying themselves with long staves and barely able to walk on feet not more than four inches long, came up the hill. with them were several men bearing household goods in large bundles and huge red boxes. the exhausted women sank upon the benches and fanned themselves while the perspiration ran down their flushed faces. they looked so utterly miserable that we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which mrs. caldwell had sent us the day before. their gratitude was pitiful, but, of course, they gave the larger share to the men. it was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill path, all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly bound feet. probably these women had not walked so far in their entire lives, but the fear of the northern soldiers and what would happen in the city if they took possession had driven them from their homes. farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line of people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside. half a mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees and their goods. hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every little house beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens. at six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city and half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall of the compound, just behind dr. trimble's house. we were wet through and while cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. it seemed that a certain element in the city was in coöperation with the representatives of the revolutionary organization. these men wished to obtain possession of yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started, to gather forces, march to foochow, and force the governor to declare the independence of the province. the plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of yuan shi-kai had somewhat delayed its fruition. saturday, however, it was known throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. sunday morning at half past three, a band of one hundred men from yuchi had marched to yen-ping where they were received by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who opened to them the east gate of the city. immediately they began to fire up the streets to intimidate the people and in a short time were in a hot engagement with the seventeen northern soldiers, some of whom threw away their guns and swam across the river. the remaining city troops were from the province of hunan and their sympathies were really with the south in the great rebellion. these immediately joined the rebels, where they were received with open arms. it was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district mandarin) had asked for troops from foochow and that these might be expected at any moment; thus when they arrived a real battle could be expected and it was very likely that the city would be partly destroyed. we had a picnic supper on the caldwell's porch and discussed the situation. it was the opinion of all that the foreigners were in no immediate danger, but nevertheless it was considered wise to be prepared, and we decided upon posts for each man if it should become necessary to protect the compound. hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries with requests to be allowed to bring their goods and families inside the walls, but these necessarily had to be refused. had the missionaries allowed the chinese to bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the right of consular protection and, moreover, their compound would have been the first to be attacked if looting began. on monday morning while we were sitting on the porch of mr. caldwell's house preparing some bird skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire and then a roar of shots. bullets began to whistle over us and we could see puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a black powder gun punctuated the vicious snapping of the high-power rifles. the firing gradually ceased after half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to see what had happened, for, as no northern troops had appeared, the cause of the fighting was a mystery. we went first to the mission hospital which lay across a deep ravine and only a few yards from the quarters of the soldiers. at the door of the hospital compound lay a bloody rag, and we found dr. trimble in the operating room examining a wounded man who had just been brought in. the fellow had been shot in the abdomen with a -caliber lead ball that had gone entirely through him, emerging about three inches to the right of his spine. from the doctor we got the first real news of the puzzling situation. it appeared that all the men who had arrived sunday morning from yuchi to join the yen-ping rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their own lives, the hunan soldiers quartered in the city had played a clever trick. they had pretended to join the rebels but at a given signal had turned upon them, killing or capturing almost every one. although their sympathies were really with the south, the hunan men knew that the rebels in yen-ping could not hold the city against the northern soldiers from foochow and, by crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to avert a bigger fight. as we could not help the doctor he suggested that we might be of some assistance to the wounded in the city, and with rude crosses of red cloth pinned to our white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied by four chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. in the compound we met a chair in which was lying an old man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. beside him were his wife and several boys. the poor woman was crying quietly and, between her sobs, was offering the wounded man mustard pickles from a small dish in her hand! poor things, they have so little to eat that they believe food will cure all ills! the bearers set the chair down as we appeared and lifted the filthy rag which covered a gaping wound in the man's shoulder, over which had been plastered a great mass of cow dung. just think of the infection, but it was the only remedy they knew! we took the man upstairs where dr. trimble was preparing to operate on the fellow who had been shot in the abdomen. the doctor was working steadily and quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native hospital staff with his own coolness; the way this young missionary handled his cases made us glad that he was an american. on the way down the hill several soldiers passed us, each carrying four or five rifles and slung about with cartridge belts--plunder stripped from the men who had been killed. a few hundred yards farther on we found two brigands lying dead in a narrow street. the nearest one had fallen on his face and, as we turned him over, we saw that half his head had been blown away; the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on which the flies already were settling in swarms. there was little use in wasting time over these men who long ago had passed beyond need of our help, and we went on rapidly down the alley to the main thoroughfare. guided by a small boy, we hurried over the rough stones for fifteen minutes, and suddenly came to a man lying at the side of the street, his head propped on a wooden block. an umbrella once had partly covered him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected in the broiling sun. his face and a terrible wound in his head were a solid mass of flies, and thousands of insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones beside him. at first we thought he was dead but soon saw his abdomen move and realized that he was breathing. it did not seem possible that a human being could live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told us that he had been lying there for thirty hours--he had been shot early the previous morning and it was now three o'clock of the next afternoon. the man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his wife in the most utter poverty. he had been peering over the city wall when the firing began sunday morning and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay the penalty of his curiosity. i asked why he had not been taken to the hospital, and the answer was that his wife was too poor to hire anyone to carry him and he had no friends. so there he lay in the burning sun, gazed at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand being lifted to help him. our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed him in the stretcher and started up the long hill, followed by the haggard, weeping wife and a curious crowd. on every hand were questions: "why are these men taking him away?" "what are they going to do with him?" but several educated natives who understood said, "_ing-ai-gidaiie_" (a work of love). they got right there a lesson in christianity which they will not soon forget. it is seldom that chinese try to help an injured man, for ever present in their minds is the possibility that he may die and that they will be responsible for his burial expenses. we left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main street with orders to return as soon as they had deposited the man in the hospital and, under the guidance of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said seven or eight men had been shot. our guide took us first to a brigand who had been wounded and left to die beside the gutter. the corpse was a horrible sight and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried examination and walked to the gate at the end of the street. a dozen soldiers were on guard. we learned from the officer that there were no wounded in the pile of dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned toward the river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to the _tao-tai's yamen_ (official residence) where the firing had been heaviest. the _yamen_ was crowded with soldiers, and we were informed that the dead had all been removed and that there were no wounded--a grim statement which told its own story. the _yamen_ is but a short distance from the hospital so we climbed the hill to the compound. the sun was simply blazing and i realized then what the wounded men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter. we returned to the house and were resting on the upper porch when suddenly, far down the river, we saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and with field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men winding along the shore trail. at the same time two huge boats filled with soldiers came into view heading for the water gate of the city. these were undoubtedly the northern troops from foochow who were expected monday night. even as we looked there came a sudden roar of musketry and a cloud of smoke drifted up from the barracks right below us--then a rattling fusillade of shots. we could see soldiers running along the walls firing at men below and often in our direction. bullets hummed in the air like angry bees and we rushed for cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly as it began. we were at a loss to know what it all meant and why the troops were firing upon the northern soldiers whom they wished to placate. it was still a mystery when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a few minutes later mr. bankhardt rushed in saying that he had just received a note from the _tao-tai_. the mandarin's personal servant had brought word that the northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were going to kill him and he begged the missionaries for assistance. bankhardt also told us of the latest developments in the situation. it seems that the city soldiers supposed the northern troops to be brigands and had fired upon them and killed several before they discovered their mistake. a very delicate situation had thus been precipitated, for the northern commander believed that it was treachery and intended to attack the barracks in the morning and kill every man whom he found with a rifle, as well as all the city officials. the story of the way in which the missionaries acted as peacemakers, saved the _tao-tai_, and prevented the slaughter which surely would have taken place in the morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished only after hours of the talk and "face saving" so dear to the heart of the oriental. suffice it to say that through the exercise of great tact and a thorough understanding of the chinese character they were able to settle the matter without bloodshed. the following day twenty brigands were given a so-called trial, marched off to the west gate, beheaded amid great enthusiasm, and the incident was closed. in the afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of us an official letter from the commander of the northern troops thanking us for the part we had played in averting trouble and bringing the matter to a peaceful end. an interesting sidelight on the affair was received a few days later. a young man, a christian, who was born in the same town from which a number of the brigands had come, went to his house on monday night after the fight and found seven of the robbers concealed in his bedroom. he was terrified because if they were discovered he and all his family would be killed for aiding the bandits. he told them they must leave at once, but they pleaded with him to let them stay for they knew there were soldiers at every corner and that it would be impossible to get away. while he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded at the door. he pushed the brigands into the courtyard, and opened to three soldiers. they said: "we understand you have brigands in your house." he was trembling with fear, but answered, "come in and see for yourself, if you think so." the soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner and, as they knew him to be a good man, did not search the house, but went away. the poor fellow was frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being watched it was impossible for the brigands to leave during the day. at night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads, and dressed like coolies, and were able to get to the ladder down the city wall just below the mission compound where they could escape into the hills. the day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in the afternoon, a breathless chinese appeared at the house with a note to mr. bankhardt saying that his chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been arrested by the northern soldiers and were to be beheaded in an hour. we hurried to the police office where they were confined and found that not only the two men but three others were in custody. the mission cook owned a small restaurant under the management of one of his relatives and, while bankhardt's teacher and the other man were sitting at a table, some northern soldiers appeared, one of whom owed the restaurant keeper a small amount of money. when asked to pay, the soldier turned upon him and shouted: "you have been assisting the brigands. i saw some of them carrying goods into your house." thereupon the soldiers arrested everyone in the shop. the police officials were quite ready to release the teacher and the other man upon our statements, but they would not allow the cook to go. his hands were kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by the neck. the soldier who arrested him was his sole accuser, but of course, others would appear to uphold him in his charge if it were necessary. the cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries, but it required several hours of work and threats of complaint to the government at foochow to prevent the man from being summarily executed. we were not able to get any mail from foochow during the rebellion because the constant stream of northern soldiers on their way up the river had paralyzed the entire country to such an extent that all the river men had fled. the soldiers were firing for target practice upon every boat they saw on the river and dozens of men had been killed and then robbed. the northern commander told us frankly that this could not be prevented, and when we announced that we were going to start will all the missionaries down the river on the following day, he was very much disturbed. he insisted that we have american flags displayed on our boats to prevent being fired upon by the soldiers. although it had taken eight days to work our way laboriously through the rapids and up the river from foochow to yen-ping, we covered the same distance down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast with mr. kellogg at his house the morning after we left yen-ping. in two days our equipment was repacked and ready for the trip to futsing to hunt the blue tiger. chapter vi hunting the "great invisible" for many years before mr. caldwell went to yen-ping he had been stationed at the city of futsing, about thirty miles from foochow. much of his work consisted of itinerant trips during which he visited the various mission stations under his charge. he almost invariably went on foot from place to place and carried with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so keen a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest. the country was infested with man-eating tigers, and very often the villagers implored him to rid their neighborhood of some one of the yellow raiders which had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. during ten years he had killed seven tigers in the futsing region. he often said that his gun had been just as effective in carrying christianity to the natives as had his evangelistic work. although mr. caldwell has been especially fortunate and has killed his tigers without ever really hunting them, nevertheless it is a most uncertain sport as we were destined to learn. the tiger is the "great invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere, here today and gone tomorrow. a sportsman in china may get his shot the first day out or he may hunt for weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they are all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that makes the game all the more fascinating. the part of fukien province about futsing includes mountains of considerable height, many of which are planted with rice and support a surprising number of chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages. while the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger and the mountain slopes themselves are usually more or less denuded of forest, yet the deep and narrow ravines, choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during the day without fear of being disturbed. it is possible for a man to make his way through these lairs only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been opened by the tigers themselves. mr. caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead a goat with one or two kids to an open place where they could be fastened just outside the edge of the lair, and then to conceal himself a few feet away. the bleating of the goats would usually bring the tiger into the open where there would be an opportunity for a shot in the late afternoon. mr. caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was with a shotgun at the village of lung-tao. his burden-bearers had not arrived with the basket containing his rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he suggested to da-da, the chinese boy who was his constant companion, that they make a preliminary inspection of the lair even though they carried only shotguns loaded with lead slugs about the size of buckshot. they tethered a goat just outside the edge of the lair and the tiger responded to its bleating almost immediately. caldwell did not see the animal until it came into the open about fifty yards away and remained in plain view for almost half an hour. the tiger seemed to suspect danger and crouched on the terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward a short distance and drawing it slowly back again. he had approached along a small trail, but before he could reach the goat it was necessary to cross an open space a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened himself like a huge striped serpent. his head was extended so that the throat and chin were touching the ground, and there was absolutely no motion of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the beast slid along at an amazingly rapid rate. but at the instant the cat gained the nearest cover it made three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the terrace upon which the goat was tied. "just then he saw me," said mr. caldwell, "and slowly pushed his great black-barred face over the edge of the grass not fifteen feet away. "i fired point-blank at his head and neck. he leaped into the air with the blood spurting over the grass, and fell into a heap, but gathered himself and slid down over the terraces. as he went i fired a second load of slugs into his hip. he turned about, slowly climbed the hill parallel with us, and stood looking back at me, his face streaming with blood. "i was fumbling in my coat trying to find other shells, but before i could reload the gun he walked unsteadily into the lair and lay down. it was already too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail showed where he had gone upward into the grass. later, in the same afternoon, he was found dead by some chinese more than three miles away." during his many experiences with the futsing tigers mr. caldwell has learned much about their habits and peculiarities, and some of his observations are given in the following pages. "the tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted by his greatest enemy--man. bold and daring as he may be when circumstances are in his favor, he will hurriedly abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a shepherd boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will always weigh conditions before making an attack. if things do not exactly suit him nothing will tempt him to charge into the open upon what may appear to be an isolated and defenseless goat. "an experience i had in april, , will illustrate this point. i led a goat into a ravine where a tiger which had been working havoc among the herds of the farmers was said to live. this animal only a few days previous to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three of them, but on this occasion the beast must have suspected danger and was exceedingly cautious. he advanced under cover along a trail until within one hundred feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey of the surroundings. peering into the valley, he saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards or more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a time, the great cat turned and bounded away into the bushes. "on another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity to attack a cow which a farmer was using in plowing his field. the man had unhitched his cow and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day meal, when the tiger suddenly rushed from cover and killed the animal only a few yards behind the peasant. this shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able to strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem to favor an attack. i have known tigers to rush at a dog or hog standing inside a chinese house where there was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost every instance the victim was killed, although it was not always carried away. "there is probably no creature in the wilds which shows such a combination of daring strategy and slinking cowardice as the tiger. often courage fails him after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash off into the nearest wood. "i knew of two chinese who were deer hunting on a mountain-side when a large tiger was routed from his bed. the beast made a rushing attack on the man standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing him by the leg dragged him into the ravine below. luckily the man succeeded in grasping a small tree whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim lying upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and fear. "a group of men were gathering fuel on the hills near futsing when a tiger which had been sleeping in the high grass was disturbed. the enraged beast turned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly and striking another a ripping blow with his paw which sent him lifeless to the terrace below. the beast did not attempt to drag either of its victims into the bush or to attack the other persons near by. "the strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are amazing. i had occasion to spend the night a short time ago in a place where a tiger had performed some remarkable feats. just at dusk one of these marauders visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old calf in a pen which had been excavated in the side of a hill and adjoined a house. there was no possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door opening from the main part of the dwelling or to descend from above. the tiger jumped from the roof upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and the inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see the animal throw the calf out bodily and leap after it himself. i measured the embankment and found that the exact height was twelve and a half feet. "the same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked a hog, just back of the village and carried it into the hills. the villagers pursued the beast and overtook it within half a mile. when the hog, which dressed weighed more than two hundred pounds, was found, it had no marks or bruises upon it other than the deep fang wounds in the neck. this is another instance where courage failed a tiger after he had made off with his kill to a safe distance. the chinese declare that when carrying such a load a tiger never attempts to drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races off at top speed. "the finest trophy taken from fukien province in years i shot in may, . two days previous to my hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a sixteen-year-old boy. i happened to be in the locality and decided to make an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast. obtaining a mother goat with two small kids, i led them into a ravine near where the boy had been killed. the goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair, and the kids were concealed in the tall grass well in toward the place where the tiger would probably be. i selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind a bank of ferns and grass. the fact that one may be stalked by the very beast which one is hunting adds to the excitement and keeps one's nerves on edge. i expected that the tiger would approach stealthily as long as he could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack, so far as my observation goes, is to creep up under cover as far as possible before rushing into the open. in any case the tiger would be within twenty yards of me before it could be seen. "for more than two hours i sat perfectly still, alert and waiting, behind the little blind of ferns and grass. there was nothing to break the silence other than the incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping call of the mountain jay. i had about given up hope of a shot when suddenly the huge head of the man-eater emerged from the bush, exactly where i had expected he would appear and within fifteen feet of the kids. the back, neck, and head of the beast were in almost the same plane as he moved noiselessly forward. "i had implicit confidence in the killing power of the gun in my hand, and at the crack of the rifle the huge brute settled forward with hardly a quiver not ten feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring. a second shot was not necessary but was fired as a matter of precaution as the tiger had fallen behind rank grass, and the bullet passed through the shoulder blade lodging in the spine. the beast measured more than nine feet and weighed almost four hundred pounds. "upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into the ravine, each eager not so much to see their slain tormentor as to gather up the blood. but little attention was paid to the tiger until every available drop was sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men and children even pulled up the blood-soaked grass. i learned that the blood of a tiger is used for two purposes. a bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the neck of a child as a preventive against either measles or smallpox, and tiger flesh is eaten for the same purpose. it is also said that if a handkerchief stained with tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the animal will slink away cowed and terrified. "from the chinese point of view the skin is not the most valuable part of a tiger. almost always before a hunt is made, or a trap is built, the villagers burn incense before the temple god, and an agreement is made to the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin of the beast taken becomes the property of the gods. thus it happens that in many of the temples handsome tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied by the noted 'duai uong,' or the god of the land. when a hunt is successful, the flesh and bones are considered of greatest value, and it often happens that a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully paid for tiger meat. the bones are boiled for a number of days until a gelatine-like product results, and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious medicine. "notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger in the tangle of its lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded for the risk when one begins to sum up one's observations. the most interesting result of investigating an oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's food. that a tiger always devours its prey upon the spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is an erroneous idea. this is often true when the kill is too heavy to be carried for a long distance, but it is by no means universally so. not long ago the remains of a young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's lair a few miles from futsing city. no child had been reported missing in the immediate neighborhood and everything indicated that the boy had been brought alive to this spot from a considerable distance. the sides of the grave were besmeared with the blood of the unfortunate victim, indicating that the tiger had tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as it remains alive. "in the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or places under overhanging trees, which are covered with bones, and are evidently spots to which the animal brings its prey to be devoured. on such a terrace one will find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine, pangolin, and other animals both domestic and wild. a fresh kill shows that with its rasp-like tongue the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before devouring it and the hair will be found in a circle around what remains of the kill. the chinese often raid a lair in order to gather up the quills of the porcupine and the bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for medicinal purposes. "in addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon reptiles and frogs which they find among the rice fields. on the night of april , , a party of frog catchers were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. the animal made no attempt to drag the man away and it would appear that it was attracted by the croaking of the frogs." "one often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some trail or path in, or adjacent to, a lair. catlike, the tiger measures its full length upon a tree, standing in a convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips deeply through the bark. this sign is doubly interesting to the sportsman as it not only indicates the presence of a tiger in the immediate vicinity but serves to give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. the trails leading into a lair often are marked in a different way. in doing this the animal rakes away the grass with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but claw prints never appear." chapter vii the blue tiger after one has traveled in a chinese _sampan_ for several days the prospect of a river journey is not very alluring but we had a most agreeable surprise when we sailed out of foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt the "blue tiger" at futsing. in fact, we had all the luxury of a private yacht, for our boat contained a large central cabin with a table and chairs and two staterooms and was manned by a captain and crew of six men--all for $ . per day! in the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long time before we spread our beds on the roof of the boat and went to sleep under the stars. we left the boat shortly after daylight at daing-nei for the six-mile walk to lung-tao. to my great surprise the coolies were considerably distressed at the lightness of our loads. in this region they are paid by weight and some of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. as an example, one of our men came into camp swinging a -pound trunk on each end of his pole, laughing and chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying pounds for six miles under a broiling sun. mr. caldwell's chinese hunter, da-da, lived at lung-tao and we found his house to be one of several built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of gum and banyan trees. although it was exceptionally clean for a chinese dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance away. at first we were somewhat doubtful about sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we decided that any risk was preferable to spending another hour in the stifling heat of the house. it was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious of the white tents that it would not attack us, but nevertheless during the first nights we were rather wakeful and more than once at some strange night sound seized our rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness. tigers often come into this village. only a few hundred yards from our camp site, in , a tiger had rushed into the house of one of the peasants and attempted to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play under the family table. all was quiet in the house when suddenly the animal dashed through the open door. the chinese declare that the gods protected the infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the leg of the table against which the baby's head was resting, bolted through the door dragging the table into the courtyard. this was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which we had come to hunt and which had on two occasions been seen by mr. caldwell. the first time he heard of this strange beast was in the spring of . the animal was reported as having been seen at various places within an area of a few miles almost simultaneously and so mysterious were its movements that the chinese declared it was a spirit of the devil. after several unsuccessful hunts mr. caldwell finally saw the tiger at close range but as he was armed with only a shotgun it would have been useless to shoot. his second view of the beast was a few weeks later and in the same place. i will give the story in his own words: "i selected a spot upon a hill-top and cleared away the grass and ferns with a jack-knife for a place to tie the goat. i concealed myself in the bushes ten feet away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened and the tiger approached from the rear. "when i first saw the beast he was moving stealthily along a little trail just across a shallow ravine. i supposed, of course, that he was trying to locate the goat which was bleating loudly, but to my horror i saw that he was creeping upon two boys who had entered the ravine to cut grass. the huge brute moved along lizard-fashion for a few yards and then cautiously lifted his head above the grass. he was within easy springing distance when i raised my rifle, but instantly i realized that if i wounded the animal the boys would certainly meet a horrible death. "tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so instead of firing i stepped from the bushes, yelling and waving my arms. the huge cat, crouched for a spring, drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then slowly slipped away into the grass. the boys were saved but i had lost the opportunity i had sought for over a year. "however, i had again seen the animal about which so many strange tales had been told. the markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. the ground color is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light gray-blue on the underparts. the stripes are well defined and like those of the ordinary yellow tiger." before i left new york mr. caldwell had written me repeatedly urging me to stop at futsing on the way to yün-nan to try with him for the blue tiger which was still in the neighborhood. i was decidedly skeptical as to its being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was a most interesting animal and would certainly be well worth getting. i believed then, and my opinion has since been strengthened, that it is a partially melanistic phase of the ordinary yellow tiger. black leopards are common in india and the malay peninsula and as only a single individual of the blue tiger has been reported the evidence hardly warrants the assumption that it represents a distinct species. we hunted the animal for five weeks. the brute ranged in the vicinity of two or three villages about seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently near lung-tao. he was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing a dog or goat in one village and by the time we had hurried across the mountains appearing in another spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified natives who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations. he was in truth the "great invisible" and it seemed impossible that we should not get him sooner or later, but we never did. once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer bad luck, and it was only by exercising almost superhuman restraint that we prevented ourselves from doing bodily harm to the three chinese who ruined our hunt. every evening for a week we had faithfully taken a goat into the "long ravine," for the blue tiger had been seen several times near this lair. on the eighth afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as usual. we had tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two kids were but a few feet away. the grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless heat, silent save for the echoes of the bleating goats. crouched behind the screen of branches, for three long hours we sat in the patchwork shade,--motionless, dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and watched the shadows steal slowly down the narrow ravine. it was a wild place which seemed to have been cut out of the mountain side with two strokes of a mighty ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny vines and sword grass. impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only entrance was by the tiger tunnels which drove their twisting way through the murderous growth far in toward its gloomy heart. the shadows had passed over us and just reached a lone palm tree on the opposite hillside. by that i knew it was six o'clock and in half an hour another day of disappointment would be ended. suddenly at the left and just below us there came the faintest crunching sound as a loose stone shifted under a heavy weight; then a rustling in the grass. instantly the captive goat gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at the rope which held it to the tree. at the first sound harry had breathed in my ear "get ready, he's coming." i was half kneeling with my heavy . winchester pushed forward and the hammer up. the blood drummed in my ears and my neck muscles ached with the strain but i thanked heaven that my hands were steady. caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his little caliber high power savage nestling against his cheek. our eyes met for an instant and i knew in that glance that the blue tiger would never make another charge, for if i missed him, harry wouldn't. for ten minutes we waited and my heart lost a beat when twenty feet away the grass began to move again--but rapidly and _up the ravine_. i saw harry watching the lair with a puzzled look which changed to one of disgust as a chorus of yells sounded across the ravine and three chinese wood cutters appeared on the opposite slope. they were taking a short cut home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and they had succeeded only too well, for the blue tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from whence he had come. he had been nearly ours and again we had lost him! i felt so badly that i could not even swear and it wasn't the fact that harry was a missionary which kept me from it, either. caldwell exclaimed just once, for his disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had been hunting this same tiger off and on for six years. it was useless for us to wait longer that evening and we pushed our way through the sword grass to the entrance of the tunnel down which the tiger had come. there in the soft earth were the great footprints where he had crouched at the entrance to take a cautious survey before charging into the open. as we looked, harry suddenly turned to me and said: "roy, let's go into the lair. there is just one chance in a thousand that we may get a shot." now i must admit that i was not very enthusiastic about that little excursion, but in we went, crawling on our hands and knees up the narrow passage. every few feet we passed side branches from the main tunnel in any one of which the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and could have killed us as we passed. it was a foolhardy thing to do and i am free to admit that i was scared. it was not long before harry twisted about and said: "roy, i haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out." and out we came faster than we went in. this was only one of the times when the "great invisible" was almost in our hands. a few days later a chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice bank early in the afternoon. frightened almost to death he ran a mile and a half to our camp only to find that we had left half an hour before for another village where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the morning. again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at daybreak just as the members of the family were getting up, stole a dog from the "heaven's well," dragged it to a hillside and partly devoured it. we were in camp only a mile away and our chinese hunters found the carcass on a narrow ledge in the sword grass high up on the mountain side. the spot was an impossible one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which had been carried with us from new york. it seemed out of the question for any animal to return to the carcass of the dog without getting caught and yet the tiger did it. with his hind quarters on the upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired to a tree and pulled it away. it was evident that he was quite unconscious of the trap for his fore feet had actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two inches from the pan which would have sprung it. one afternoon we responded to a call from bui-tao, a village seven miles beyond lung-tao, where the blue tiger had been seen that day. the natives assured us that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly clothed with pines and sword grass just above the village and even though it was late when we arrived harry thought it wise to set the trap that night. it was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying the trap, two lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a wretched little dog for bait. we had been engaged for about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and caldwell and i were on our knees over the trap when suddenly a low rumbling growl came from the grass not twenty feet away. we jumped to our feet just as it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. the tiger had arrived a few moments too early and we were in the rather uncomfortable position of having to return to the village by way of a narrow trail through the jungle. with our rifles ready and the electric lamp cutting a brilliant path in the darkness we walked slowly toward the edge of the sword grass hoping to see the flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off beyond the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where we could not follow. apparently he was frightened by the lantern, for we did not hear him again. after nearly a month of disappointments such as these mr. heller joined us at bui-tao with mr. kellogg. caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to the ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where he had once spent a summer with his family and had killed several tigers. this was within the blue tiger's range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a better general collecting ground than bui-tao; thus with heller to look after the small mammals we could begin to make our time count for something if we did not get the tiger. ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of temples, built into a hillside at the end of a long narrow valley which swells out like a great bowl between bamboo clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. on his former visit mr. caldwell had made friends with the head priest and we were allowed to establish ourselves upon the broad porch of the third and highest building. it was an ideal place for a collecting camp and would have been delightful except for the terrible heat which was rendered doubly disagreeable by the almost continual rain. the priests who shuffled about the temples were a hard lot. most of them were fugitives from justice and certainly looked the part, for a more disreputable, diseased and generally undesirable body of men i have never seen. our stay at ling-suik was productive and the temple life interesting. we slept on the porch and each morning, about half an hour before daylight, the measured strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just below us. _boom--boom--boom--boom_ it went, then rapidly _bang, bang, bang_. it was a religious alarm clock to rouse the world. a little later when the upturned gables and twisted dolphins on the roof had begun to take definite shape in the gray light of the new day, the gong boomed out again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms shuffled the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before the early service. the droning chorus of hoarse voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant, harmonized strangely with the romantic surroundings of the temple and become our daily _matin_ and evensong. at the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito nets and dressed to be ready for the bats which fluttered into the building to hide themselves beneath the tiles and rafters. when daylight had fully come we scattered to the four winds of heaven to inspect traps, hunt barking deer, or collect birds, but gathered again at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our spoil. caldwell and i always spent the afternoon at the blue tiger's lair but the animal had suddenly shifted his operations back to lung-tao and did not appear at ling-suik while we were there. our work in fukien taught us much that may be of help to other naturalists who contemplate a visit to this province. we satisfied ourselves that summer collecting is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained for the efforts expended. continual tramping over the mountains in the blazing sun necessarily must have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even a man like mr. caldwell, who has become thoroughly acclimated, is not immune. both caldwell and i lost from fifteen to twenty pounds in weight during the time we hunted the blue tiger and each of us had serious trouble from abscesses. i have never worked in a more trying climate--even that of borneo and the dutch east indies where i collected in - , was much less debilitating than fukien in the summer. the average temperature was about degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so high that one felt as though one were wrapped in a wet blanket and even during a six weeks' rainless period the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds. in winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting then would be vastly easier than in summer, not only on account of climatic conditions, but because much of the vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for "still hunting." trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because of the dense population. the mud dykes and the rice fields usually are covered with tracks of civets, mongooses, and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but if a trap is set it either catches a chinaman or promptly is stolen. moreover, the small mammals are neither abundant nor varied in number of species, and the larger forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow are exceedingly difficult to kill. while our work in the province was done during an unfavorable season and in only two localities, yet enough was seen of the general conditions to make it certain that a thorough zoölogical study of the region would require considerable time and hard work and that the results, so far as a large collection of mammals is concerned, would not be highly satisfactory. work in the western part of the province among the bohea hills undoubtedly would be more profitable, but even there it would be hardly worth while for an expedition with limited time and money. bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology of fukien already has received considerable attention through the collections of swinhoe, la touche, styan, ricketts, caldwell and others, and probably not a great number of species remain to be described. much work could still be done upon the herpetology of the region, however, and i believe that this branch of zoölogy would be well worth investigation for reptiles and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives would rather assist than retard one's efforts. the language of fukien is a greater annoyance than in any other of the chinese coast provinces. the foochow dialect (which is one of the most difficult to learn) is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the city. at yen-ping mr. caldwell, who speaks "foochow" perfectly, could not understand a word of the "southern mandarin" which is the language of that region, and near futsing, where a colony of natives from amoy have settled, the dialect is unintelligible to one who knows only "foochow." travel in fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport is entirely by coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred pounds. the men are paid by distance or weight; therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained there is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one to two hours are consumed before the party can start. but the worst of it is that one can never be certain when one's entire outfit will arrive at its new destination. some men walk much faster than others, some will delay a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if the day be hot, with the result that the last load will arrive perhaps five or six hours after the first one. as horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the only alternative is to be carried in a mountain chair, which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like affair and only to be found along the main highways. on the whole, transport by man-power in china is so uncertain and expensive that for a large expedition it forms a grave obstacle to successful work, if time and funds be limited. on the other hand, servants are cheap and usually good. we employed a very fair cook who received monthly seven dollars mexican (then about three and one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from five to seven dollars (mexican). as none of the servants knew english they could be obtained at much lower wages, but english-speaking cooks usually receive from fifteen to twenty dollars (mexican) a month. it was hard to leave fukien without the blue tiger but we had hunted him unsuccessfully for five weeks and there was other and more important work awaiting us in yün-nan. it required thirty porters to transport our baggage from the ling-suik monastery to daing-nei, twenty-one miles away, where two houseboats were to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were lying off pagoda anchorage awaiting the flood tide to take us to foochow. we made our beds on the deck house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the boat tied to the wharf at the custom house on the bund, and ourselves in full view of all foochow had it been awake at that hour. the week of packing and repacking that followed was made easy for us by claude kellogg, who acted as our ministering angel. i think there must be a special providence that watches over wandering naturalists and directs them to such men as kellogg, for without divine aid they could never be found. when we last saw him, he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the s.s. _haitan_ for hongkong. chapter viii the women of china _y.b.a._ the schools for native girls at foochow and yen-ping interested us greatly, even when we first came to china, but we could not appreciate then as we did later the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions. how much the missionaries are able to accomplish from a religious standpoint is a question which we do not wish to discuss, but no one who has ever lived among them can deny that the opening of schools and the diffusing of western knowledge are potent factors in the development of the people. the chinese were not slow even in the beginning to see the advantages of a foreign education for their boys and now, along the coast at least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their daughters as well. the woman's college, which was opened recently in foochow, is one of the finest buildings of the republic, and when one sees its bright-faced girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments, it is difficult to realize that outside such schools they are still slaves in mind and body to those iron rules of confucius which have molded the entire structure of chinese society for over years. the position of women in china today, and the rules which govern the household of every orthodox chinese, are the direct heritage of confucianism. the following translation by professor j. legge from the _narratives of the confucian school_, chapter , is illuminating: confucius said: "man is the representative of heaven and is supreme over all things. woman yields obedience to the instructions of man and helps to carry out his principles. on this account she can determine nothing of herself and is subject to the rule of the three obediences. "( ) when young she must obey her father and her elder brother; "( ) when married, she must obey her husband; "( ) when her husband is dead she must obey her son. "she may not think of marrying a second time. no instructions or orders must issue from the harem. women's business is simply the preparation and supplying of drink and food. beyond the threshold of her apartments she shall not be known for evil or for good. she may not cross the boundaries of a state to attend a funeral. she may take no steps on her own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation." the grounds for divorce as stated by confucius are: "( ) disobedience to her husband's parents; "( ) not giving birth to a son; "( ) dissolute conduct; "( ) jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates at his harem); "( ) talkativeness, and "( ) thieving." a chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her mother-in-law, and as she is often reared by her husband's family, or else married to him as a mere child, and is under the complete control of his mother for a considerable period of her existence, her life in many instances is one of intolerable misery. there is generally little or no consideration for a girl under the best of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male child; her condition then improves but she approaches happiness only when she in turn occupies the enviable position of mother-in-law. it is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness and vacuity than that of the average chinese woman. owing to her bound feet and resultant helplessness, if she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the narrow confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her entire life she may not go a mile from the house to which she was brought a bride, except for the periodical visits to her father's home. it has been aptly said that there are no real homes in china and it is not surprising that, ignored and despised for centuries, the chinese woman shows no ability to improve the squalor of her surroundings. she passes her life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken furniture and a mud floor, together with pigs, chickens and babies enjoying a limited sphere of action under the tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard without. her work is actually never done and a chinese bride, bright and attractive at twenty, will be old and faded at thirty. but without doubt the crowning evil which attends woman's condition in china is foot binding, and nothing can be offered in extenuation of this abominable custom. it is said to have originated one thousand years before the christian era and has persisted until the present day in spite of the efforts directed against it. the empress dowager issued edicts strongly advising its discontinuation, the "natural foot society," which was formed about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate public opinion, and the missionaries refuse to admit girls so mutilated to their schools; but nevertheless the reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities. "precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands for their daughters are responsible for the continuation of the evil, and it is estimated that there are still about seventy-four millions of girls and women who are crippled in this way. the feet are bandaged between the ages of five and seven. the toes are bent under the sole of the foot and after two or three years the heel and instep are so forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft; gradually also the lower limbs shrink away until only the bones remain. the suffering of the children is intense. we often passed through streets full of laughing boys and tiny girls where others, a few years older, were sitting on the doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and crying bitterly. in some instances out-houses are constructed a considerable distance from the family dwelling where the girls must sleep during their first crippled years in order that their moans may not disturb the other members of the family. the child's only relief is to hang her feet over the edge of the bed in order to stop the circulation and induce numbness, or to seek oblivion from opium. if the custom were a fad which affected only the wealthy classes it would be reprehensible enough, but it curses rich and poor alike, and almost every day we saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves by means of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads or laboring in the fields. although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly making itself felt to a certain extent in the coast provinces, in yün-nan the horrible practice continues unabated. during the year in which we traveled through a large part of the province, wherever there were chinese we saw bound feet. and the fact that virtually _every_ girl over eight years old was mutilated in this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have not penetrated to this remote part of the republic. i know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation because of its senselessness and brutality, and china can never hope to take her place among civilized nations until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and liberated her women from their infamous subjection. there has been much criticism of foreign education because the girls who have had its advantages absorb western ideas so completely that they dislike to return to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a chinese household exist. nevertheless, if the women of china are ever to be emancipated it must come through their own education as well as that of the men. one of the first results of foreign influence is to delay marriage, and in some instances the early betrothal with its attendant miseries. the evil which results from this custom can hardly be overestimated. it happens not infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy, the respective families being in like circumstances at the time. the opportunity perhaps is offered to the girl to attend school and she may even go through college, but an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents' home, forces her to submit to the engagement made in babyhood and perhaps ruins her life through marriage with a man of no higher social status or intelligence than a coolie. among the few girls imbued with western civilization a spirit of revolt is slowly growing, and while it is impossible for them to break down the barriers of ages, yet in many instances they waive aside what would seem an unsurmountable precedent and insist upon having some voice in the choosing of their husbands. while in yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign wedding of a girl who had been brought up in the woman's school and who was qualified to be a "bible woman" or native christian teacher. it was whispered that she had actually met her betrothed on several occasions, but on their wedding day no trace of recognition was visible, and the marriage was performed with all the punctilious chinese observances compatible with a christian ceremony. precedent required of this little bride, although she might have been radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly was, to appear tearful and shrinking and as she was escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might have thought she was being led to slaughter. white is not becoming to the chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning, so she had chosen pink for her wedding gown and had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled hair. after the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded downstairs to the joyous strain of the wedding march, but with nothing joyous in their demeanor--in fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception and endured for over an hour the stares and loud criticism of the guests. he assumed during the ordeal a look of bored indifference while the little bride sat with her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken. but once she raised her face and i saw a merry twinkle in her shining black eyes that made me realize that perhaps it wasn't all quite so frightful as she would have us believe. i often wonder what sort of a life she is leading in her far away chinese courtyard. chapter ix voyaging to yÜn-nan we had a busy week in hongkong outfitting for our trip to yün-nan. hongkong is one of the best cities in the orient in which to purchase supplies of almost any kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best english goods can be had for prices very little in excess of those in london itself. the system which we used in our commissary was that of the unit food box which has been adopted by most large expeditions. the boxes were packed to weigh seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary staple supplies for three persons for one week; thus only one box needed to be opened at a time, and, moreover, if the party separated for a few days a single box could be taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance that sufficient food would be available. our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar, coffee, milk, bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned meat, vegetables, or fruit because we were certain to be able to obtain a plentiful supply of such food in the country through which we were expecting to travel. our tents were brought from new york and were made of light egyptian cotton thoroughly waterproof, but we also purchased in hongkong a large army tent for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and specimens. we used sleeping bags and folding cots, tables and chairs, for when an expedition expects to remain in the field for a long time it is absolutely necessary to be as comfortable as possible and to live well; otherwise one cannot work at one's highest efficiency. for clothing we all wore khaki or "dux-back" suits with flannel shirts and high leather shoes for mountain climbing, and we had light rubber automobile shirts and rubber caps for use in rainy weather. the auto shirt is a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens about the neck and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can be so spread about as to cover all exposed parts of the body; it is especially useful and necessary, and hip rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy season. our traps for catching small mammals were brought from new york. we had two sizes of wooden "out of sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes of oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as civets and polecats. we also carried a half dozen no. wolf traps. mr. heller had used this size in africa and found that they were large enough even to hold lions. mr. heller carried a - savage rifle, while i used a - / mm. mannlicher and a . winchester. all of these guns were eminently satisfactory, but the choice of a rifle is a very personal matter and every sportsman has his favorite weapon. we found, however, that a flat trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we were armed was absolutely essential for many of our shots were at long range and we frequently killed gorals at three hundred yards or over. the camera equipment consisted of two a kodaks, a graphic × tripod camera, and graflex × for rapid work. we have found after considerable field experience that the × is the most convenient size to handle, for the plate is large enough and can be obtained more readily than any other in different parts of the world. the same applies to the a kodak "post-card" size film, for there are few places where foreign goods are carried that a films cannot be purchased. all of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin boxes before we left america, and thus the material was in perfect condition when the cans were opened. we used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to handle than films, nevertheless the results obtained are very superior. a collapsible rubber dark room about seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an indispensable part of the camera equipment. this tent was made for us by the abercrombie & fitch company, of new york, and could be hung from the limb of a tree or the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five minutes. the motion pictures were taken with a universal camera, and like all other negatives were developed in the field by means of a special apparatus which had been designed by mr. carl akeley of the american museum of natural history. this work required a much larger space than that of the portable dark room and we consequently had a tent made of red cloth which could be tied inside of our ordinary sleeping tent. our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and in wooden boxes with sliding tops. the latter arrangement is especially desirable in yün-nan, for the loads can be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus saving a considerable amount of time and trouble. it was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies together, but the lane & crawford company of hongkong pushed the making and packing of our boxes in a remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of their departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a chinaman is to get more chinamen," and they put a small army at work upon our material, which was ready for shipment in just a week. while in hongkong we were joined by wu hung-tao, of shanghai, who acted as interpreter and "head boy" as well as a general field manager of the expedition. he formerly had been in the employ of mr. f. w. gary, when the latter was commissioner of customs in teng-yueh, yün-nan, and he was educated at the anglo-chinese college of foochow. wu proved to be the most efficient and trustworthy servant whom we have ever employed, and the success of our work was due in no small degree to his efforts. we left for tonking on the s.s. _sung-kiang_, commanded by harry trowbridge, a congenial and well-read gentleman whose delightful personality contributed much toward making our week's stay on his ship most pleasant. on our way to haiphong the vessel stopped at the island of hainan and anchored about three miles off the town of hoi-hau. this island is by miles long, is mountainous in its center, but flat and uninteresting at the northwest. a large part of the island is unexplored and in the interior there is a mountain called "the five fingers" which has never been ascended, for it is reported that the hill tribes are unfriendly and that the tropical valleys are reeking with deadly malaria. the island undoubtedly would prove to be a rich field for zoölogical work as is shown by the collections which the american museum of natural history has already received from a native dealer; these include monkeys, squirrels, and other small mammals, and bears, leopards, and deer are said to be among its fauna. the next night's steaming brought us to the city of paik-hoi on the mainland. in the afternoon we went ashore with captain trowbridge to visit dr. bradley of the china inland mission who is in charge of a leper hospital, which is a model of its kind. the doctor was away but we made ourselves at home and when he returned he found us in his drawing room comfortably enjoying afternoon tea. he remarked that he knew of a chinese cook who was looking for a position, and half an hour later, while we were watching some remarkably fine tennis, the cook arrived. he was about six feet two inches high, and so thin that he was immediately christened the "woolworth building" and, although not a very prepossessing looking individual he was forthwith engaged, principally because of his ability to speak english. this was at six o'clock in the afternoon and we had to be aboard the ship at eight. the doctor sent a note to the french consul and the cook returned anon with his baggage and passport. obtaining this cook was the only really rapid thing which i have ever seen done in china! when the _sung-kiang_ arrived in haiphong the next afternoon we were besieged by a screaming, fighting mob of annamits who seized upon our baggage like so many vultures, and it was only by means of a few well-directed kicks that we could prevent it from being scattered to the four winds of heaven. after we had designated a _sampan_ to receive our equipment the unloading began and several trunks had gone over the side, when mr. heller happened to glance down just in time to see one of the ammunition boxes drop into the water and sink like lead. the annamits, believing that it had not been noticed, went on as blithely as before and volubly denied that anything had been lost. we stopped the unloading instantly and sent for divers. the box had sunk in thirty feet of muddy water and it seemed useless to hope that it could ever be recovered, but the divers went to work by dropping a heavy stone on the end of a rope and going down it hand over hand. after two hours the box was located and brought dripping to the surface. fortunately but little of the ammunition was ruined, and most of it was dried during the night in the engine room. because of this delay we had to leave haiphong on the following day, and with captain trowbridge, we went by train to hanoi, the capital of the colony. hanoi is a city of delightful surprises. it has broad, clean streets, overhung with trees which often form a cool green canopy overhead, beautiful lawns and well-kept houses, and in the center of the town is a lovely lake surrounded by a wide border of palms. at the far end, like a jewel in a crystal setting, seems to float a white pagoda, an outpost of the temple which stands in the midst of a watery meadow of lotos plants. the city shops are excellent, but in most instances the prices are exceedingly high. like all the french towns in the orient the hours for work are rather confusing to the foreigner. the shops open at : in the morning and close at o'clock to reopen again at in the afternoon and continue business until : or o'clock in the evening. during the middle of the day all houses have the shutters closely drawn, and because of the intense heat and glare of the sun the streets are absolutely deserted, not even a native being visible. in the morning a _petit déjeuner_, remarkable especially for its "petitness," is served, and a real _déjeuner_ comes later anywhere from to : . about o'clock in the evening the open _cafés_ and restaurants along the sidewalk are lined with groups of men and women playing cards and dice and drinking gin and bitters, vermouth or absinthe. there is an air of happiness and life about hanoi which is typically parisian and even during war time it is a city of gayety. an immense theater stands in the center of the town, but has not been opened since the beginning of the war. we had letters to m. chemein dupontés, the director of the railroads, as well as to the lieutenant-governor and other officials. without exception we were received in the most cordial manner and every facility and convenience put at our disposal. m. dupontés was especially helpful. some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad from hanoi to yün-nan fu had caved in and for almost a month trains had not been running. it was now in operation, however, but all luggage had to be transferred by hand at the broken tunnel and consequently must not exceed eighty-five pounds in weight. this meant repacking our entire equipment and three days of hard work. m. dupontés arranged to have our pounds of baggage put in a special third class carriage with our "boys" in attendance and in this way saved the expedition a considerable amount of money. he personally went with us to the station to arrange for our comfort with the _chef de gare_, telegraphed ahead at every station upon the railroad, and gave us an open letter to all officials; in fact there was nothing which he left undone. the railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement for it was constructed in great haste through a difficult mountainous range. yün-nan is an exceedingly rich province and the french were quick to see the advantages of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports. the british were already making surveys to construct a railroad from bhamo on the headwaters of the irawadi river across yün-nan to connect with the yangtze, and the french were anxious to have their road in operation some time before the rival line could be completed. owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall, or perhaps to both, the tunnels and bridges frequently cave in or are washed away and the railroad is chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in which it does not operate; nevertheless the french deserve great credit for their enterprise in extending their line to yün-nan fu over the mountains where there is a tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. while it was being built through the fever-stricken jungles of tonking the coolies died like flies, and it was necessary to suspend all work during the summer months. the scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the traveling is by no means uncomfortable, but the hotels in which one stops at night are wretched. one of our friends in hongkong related an amusing experience which he had at lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad. he asked for a bath and discovered that a tub of hot water had been prepared. he wished a cold bath, and seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when the hotel proprietor suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming, "mon dieu, mon dieu, you are in the tank of drinking water." when we arrived at yün-nan fu we found a surprisingly cosmopolitan community housed within its grim old walls; some were consuls, some missionaries, some salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the chinese employ, and others represented business firms in hongkong, but all received us with open handed hospitality characteristic of the east. we thought that after leaving hongkong our evening clothes would not again be used, but they were requisitioned every night for we were guests at dinners given by almost everyone of the foreign community. mr. howard page, a representative of the standard oil company, proved a most valuable friend, and through him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other arrangements for the transportation of our baggage. m. henry wilden, the french consul, an ardent sportsman and a charming gentleman, took an active interest in our affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the chinese commissioner of foreign affairs. moreover, he later transported our trunks to hongkong with his personal baggage and assisted us in every possible way. we went to the foreign office at half past ten and were ushered into a large room where a rather imposing lunch had already been spread. the commissioner, a fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of french but none of english, received us in the most cordial way and immediately opened several bottles of champagne in our honor. he asked why our passports had not been viséd in peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying that at the time we were in the capital yün-nan was an independent province and consequently the peking government had not the temerity to put their stamp upon our passports. inasmuch as yün-nan was infested with brigands we had expected some opposition to our plans for traveling in the interior, but none was forthcoming, and with the exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for our trip to ta-li fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse, we left the foreign office with all the desired permits. the chinese government appeared to be greatly interested in our zoölogical study of yün-nan, offered to assist us in every way we could suggest, and telegraphed to every mandarin in the north and west of the province, instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate our work in every way. none of the opposition which we had been led to expect developed, and it is difficult to see how we could have been more cordially received. chapter x on the road to ta-li fu on august , we dispatched half our equipment to ta-li fu, and three days later we ourselves left yün-nan fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after an interminable wait for our caravan. through the kindness of mr. page, a house boat was put at our disposal and we sailed across the upper end of the beautiful lake which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the caravan twenty-five _li_ [footnote: a _li_ in this province equals one-third of an english mile.] from yün-nan fu. on the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers, each with ten or a dozen birds sitting quietly upon the boat with outspread wings drying their feathers. every bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented from swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into the water. after waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the long train of mules and horses winding up the hill toward us. there were seventeen altogether, and in the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately with both hands to a diminutive mule, his long legs dangling and a look of utter wretchedness upon his face. just before the caravan reached us it began to rain, and the cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow oilskins which we had purchased for him in yün-nan fu. these, together with a huge yellow hat, completed a picture which made us roar with laughter; heller gave the caption for it when he shouted, "here comes the 'yellow peril.'" we surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. as heller vainly tried to get his girth tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding over the animal's tail he exclaimed, "is this a horse or a squirrel i'm trying to ride?" but it was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and found that we did not crush the little brutes. a seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with a few odds and ends on top made a pack of at least one hundred and sixty pounds. this is heavy even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility, but it is the usual weight, and the businesslike way in which they moved off showed that they were not overloaded. the yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. the load is strapped with a rawhide to a double a-shaped frame which fits loosely over a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place by its own weight. if a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it can be easily removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. it has the great disadvantage, however, of giving the horses serious back sores which receive but scanty attention from the _mafus_ (muleteers). when we were fairly started upon our long ride to ta-li fu the time slipped by in a succession of delightful days. since this was the main caravan route the _mafus_ had regular stages beyond which they would not go. if we did not stop for luncheon the march could be ended early in the afternoon and we could settle ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle. a few pages from my wife's "journal" of september fifteenth describes our camp at lu-ho-we and our life on the road to ta-li fu. we are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. it is on a hilltop in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at our feet. the sun is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and throwing bars of golden light through the twisted branches of a bent old pine, over the stone well, and into the dim recesses behind the altar where a benevolent idol grins down upon us. we have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting to rest in this peaceful, aged temple. outside children are shouting and laughing but all is quiet here save for the drip of water in the well, and the chatter of a magpie on the pine tree. today we made the stage in one long march and now we can rest and browse among our books or wander with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths. the sun is hot at midday, although the mornings and evenings are cold, and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of yellow pine, and talk for an hour before we go to sleep upon the porch where we can see the moon come up and the stars shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns in the sky. it is seven days since we left yün-nan fu and each night we have come to temples such as this. there is an inexpressible charm about them, lying asleep, as it were, among the trees of their courtyards, with stately, pillared porches, and picturesque gables upturned to the sky. they seem so very, very old and filled with such great calm and peace. sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged women, filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the dilapidated entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close the huge gates and are in another world. we leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn. as we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted against the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and the contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans. wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we have fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the remotest corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal is awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean white cloth. while we are eating, the beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a running fire of exhortations to the _mafus_ who cause us endless trouble. they are a hard lot, these _mafus_. force seems to be the only thing they understand and kindness produces no results. if the march is long and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to get them started within three hours without the aid of threats. once after a long halt when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to wait by the roadside for hours before the caravan arrived. as soon as we were out of sight they had begun to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage until long after dark. in the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses we ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling line of mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones of the road. it is delightful in the early morning for the air is fresh and brisk like that of october at home, but later in the day when the sun is higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade where we can rest until the caravan arrives. the roads are execrable. the chinese have a proverb which says: "a road is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this applies most excellently to those of yün-nan. the main caravan highways are paved with huge stones to make them passable during the rainy season, but after a few years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the earth is washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible angles. the result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch of imagination can be called a road. where the stones are still in place they have been worn to such glasslike smoothness by the thousands of passing mules that it is well-nigh impossible to walk upon them. as a result a caravan avoids the paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes dozens of deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road. we are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire province is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges which we crossed. it is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep mountain-sides, but once on the ridges where the country is spread out below us like a great, green relief map, there is a wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with a joyous sense of freedom. yün-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the peaks about us are shrouded in fog. sometimes the veil-like mists still float about the mountain tops when we climb into them, and we are suddenly enveloped in a wet gray blanket which sends us shivering into the coats tied to our saddles. for centuries this road has been one of the main trade arteries through the province, and with the total lack of conservation ideas so characteristic of the chinese, every available bit of natural forest has been cut away. as a result the mountains are desert wastes of sandstone alternating with grass-covered hills sometimes clothed with groves of pines or spruces. these trees have all been planted, and ere they have reached a height of fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent demand for wood which is ever present with the chinese. the ignorance of the need of forest conservation is an illuminating commentary on chinese education. mr. william hanna, a missionary of ta-li fu, told us that one day he was riding over this same road with a chinese gentleman, a deep scholar, who was considered one of the best educated men of the province. pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil and deeply worn by countless floods, mr. hanna remarked that all this could have been prevented, and that instead of a rocky waste there might have been a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow. the chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts which every western schoolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was ignorant because they are not a part of confucius' teachings. to study modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox chinese for "everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the past utterly neglectful of the present. every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this, together with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for the almost total lack of animal life. night after night we set traps about our temple camps only to find them untouched in the morning. there were no mammals with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels (_callosciurus erythraeus_ sub sp.) and now and then a tree shrew (_tupaia belangeri chinensis_). the latter is an interesting species. although it is an insectivore, and a relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs, it has squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is totally unrelated. instead of the thinly haired mouselike tails of the ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed long bushy tails and in fact look and act so much like squirrels that it is difficult to convince the white residents of yün-nan, who are accustomed to see them run about the hedges and walls of their courtyards that the two are quite unrelated. the tree shrews are found only in asia and are one of the most remarkable instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated animals with similar habits. a study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that they represent a distinct group which is connected with the monkeys (lemurs). although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. we were about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the winter swarm into yün-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants are difficult to get. in fact we were greatly disappointed in the game birds, for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road and virtually none were to be found. the main caravan roads of yün-nan held little of interest for us as naturalists, but as students of native customs they were fascinating, for the life of the province passed before us in panoramic completeness. chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels of utter and abandoned filth and although those of yün-nan are no exception to the rule, they are considerably better than the coast cities. pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion with the human inmates of the houses, the pigs especially being treated as we favor dogs at home. on the door steps children play with the swine, patting and pounding them, and one of my friends said that he had actually seen a mother bring her baby to be nursed by a sow with her family of piglets. the natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed to be industrious. wherever the deforestation had left sufficient soil on the lower hillsides patches of corn took the place of the former poppy fields for opium. in , the empress dowager issued an edict prohibiting the growing of opium, and gave guarantees to the british that it would be entirely stamped out during the next ten years. strangely enough these promises have been faithfully kept, and in yün-nan the hillsides, which were once white with poppy blossoms, are now yellow with corn. in all our miles of riding over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way spots we found only one instance where opium was being cultivated. the mandarin of each district accompanied by a guard of soldiers makes periodical excursions during the seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts down the plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. china deserves the greatest credit for so successfully dealing with a question which affects such a large part of her four hundred millions of people and which presents such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance. just across the frontier in burma, opium is grown freely and much is smuggled into yün-nan. therefore its use has by no means been abandoned, especially in the south of the province, and in some towns it is smoked openly in the tea houses. in august, , just before we reached yün-nan fu there was an _exposé_ of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating side light on the corruption of some chinese officials. opium can be purchased in yün-nan fu for two dollars (mexican) an ounce, while in shanghai it is worth ten dollars (mexican). tang (the military governor), the minister of justice, the governor's brother and three members of parliament had collected six hundred pounds of opium which they undertook to transfer to shanghai. their request that no examination of their baggage be made by the french during their passage through tonking was granted, and a similar favor was procured for them at shanghai. thus the sixty cases were safely landed, but a few hours later, through the opium combine, foreign detectives learned of the smuggling and the boxes were seized. the minister of justice denied all knowledge of the opium, as did the three parliament members, and governor tang was not interrogated as that would be quite contrary to the laws of chinese etiquette; however, he will not receive reappointment when his official term expires. as we neared ta-li fu, and indeed along the entire road, we were amazed at the prevalence of goitre. at a conservative estimate two out of every five persons were suffering from the disease, some having two, or even three, globules of uneven size hanging from their throats. in one village six out of seven adults were affected, but apparently children under twelve or fourteen years are free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex. probably the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking water, for it is most prevalent in the limestone regions and seems to be somewhat localized. every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them, "mountain schooners," in each of which a fat chinaman sprawled while two or four sweating coolies bore him up hill. the chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo poles and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which is piled a heap of bedding. overhead a light bamboo frame supports a piece of yellow oilcloth, which completely shuts in the occupant, except from the front and rear. the chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even to ride, and if one is about to make an official visit nothing less than a four-man chair is required. haste is just as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical exertion, and is utterly incomprehensible to the chinese. major davies says that while he was in tonking before the railroad to yün-nan fu had been constructed, m. doumer, the governor-general of french indo-china, who was a very energetic man, rode to yün-nan fu in an extraordinarily short time. while the europeans greatly admired his feat, the chinese believed he must be in some difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of the viceroy of yün-nan could extricate him. in yün-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding for the inns supply nothing but food, and consequently when a chinaman rides from one city to another he piles a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. the horses are trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and i know of no more ridiculous sight than a chinaman bouncing along a road on the summit of a veritable mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers flying in every direction. he is assisted in keeping his balance by broad brass stirrups in which he usually hooks his heels and guides his horse by means of a rawhide bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make a comforting jingle whenever he moves. on the sixth day out when approaching the city of chu-hsuing fu we took a short cut through the fields leaving the caravan to follow the main road. the trail brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a bridge made from two narrow planks, with a wide median fissure. we led our horses across without trouble and heller started to follow. he had reached the center of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped to one side, hung suspended on his belly for a moment, and toppled off into the water. the performance had all happened behind heller's back and when he turned about in time to see his horse diving into the river, he stood looking down at him with a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust, while the animal climbed out and began to graze as quietly as though nothing had happened. chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of miss cordelia morgan, a niece of senator morgan of virginia. we found her to be a most charming and determined young woman who had established a mission station in the city under considerable difficulties. the mandarin and other officials by no means wished to have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down among them and become a responsibility which might cause them endless trouble, and although she had rented a house before she arrived, the owner refused to allow her to move in. she could get no assistance from the mandarin and was forced to live for two months in a dirty chinese inn, swarming with vermin, until they realized that she was determined not to be driven away. she eventually obtained a house and while she considers herself comfortable, i doubt if others would care to share her life unless they had an equal amount of determination and enthusiasm. at that time she had not placed her work under the charge of a mission board and was carrying it on independently. until our arrival she had seen but one white person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon chinese food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months. we had a delightful dinner with miss morgan and the next morning as our caravan wound down the long hill past her house she stood at the window to wave good-by. she kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if we could have seen her face we would have found tears upon it, for the evening with another woman of her kind had brought to her a breath of the old life which she had resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to her self-appointed exile. on our ninth day from yün-nan fu we had a welcome bit of excitement. we were climbing a long mountain trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high and were near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to the caravan, jabbering wildly in chinese. it required fifteen minutes of questioning before we finally learned that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than a mile ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads. he said that there were two hundred and fifty of them and that they had killed two _mafus_; almost immediately a second gesticulating chinaman appeared and gave the number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as five. allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt quite sure that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently learned that forty was the correct number and that no one had been killed. our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but we got out our rifles and made for a village at the top of the pass. there were not more than a half dozen mud houses and in the narrow street between them perfect bedlam reigned. several small caravans had halted to wait for us, and men, horses, loads, and chairs were packed and jammed together so tightly that it seemed impossible ever to extricate them. our arrival added to the confusion, but leaving the _mafus_ to scream and chatter among themselves, we scouted ahead to learn the true condition of affairs. almost within sight we found the caravan which had been robbed. paper and cloth were strewn about, loads overturned, and loose mules wandered over the hillside. the frightened _mafus_ were straggling back and told us that about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the caravan, shooting and brandishing long knives. instantly the _mafus_ had run for their lives leaving the brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. the goods chiefly belonged to the retiring mandarin of li-chiang, and included some five thousand dollars worth of jade and gold dust, all of which was taken. yün-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of china, is infested with brigands who make traveling very unsafe. there are, of course, organized bands of robbers at all times, but these have been greatly augmented since the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who have taken to brigandage as the easiest means to avoid starvation. the chinese government is totally unable to cope with the situation and makes only half-hearted attempts to punish even the most flagrant robberies, so that unguarded caravans carrying valuable material which arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves very lucky. so far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel great apprehension for it was generally known that we carried but little money and our equipment, except for guns, could not readily be disposed of. throughout the entire expedition we paid our _mafus_ and servants a part of their wages in advance when they were engaged, and arranged to have money sent by the mandarins or the british american tobacco co., to some large town which would be reached after several months. there the balance on salaries was paid and we carried with us only enough money for our daily needs. before we left yün-nan fu we were assured by the foreign office that we would be furnished with a guard of soldiers--an honor few foreigners escape! the first day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! these accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered their official message to the _yamen_ and intrusted us to the care of others for our next day's journey. sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage of , but their cartridges were seldom of the same caliber as the rifles and in most cases the ubiquitous umbrella was their only weapon. just what good they would be in a real attack it is difficult to imagine, except to divert attention by breaking the speed limits in running away. several times in the morning we believed we had escaped them but they always turned up in an hour or two. they were not so much a nuisance as an expense, for custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (mexican) a day both going and returning. they are of some use in lending an official aspect to an expedition and in requisitioning anything which may be needed; also they act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed a claim can be entered against the government, whereas if the escort is refused the traveler has no redress. it is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier way in which these men treat other caravans or the peasants along the road. waving their arms and shouting oaths they shoo horses, mules or chairs out of the way regardless of the confusion into which the approaching caravan may be thrown. they must also be closely watched for they are none too honest and are prone to rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever they wish without the formality of payment. we were especially careful to respect the property on which we camped and to be just in all our dealings with the natives, but it was sometimes difficult to prevent the _mafus_ or soldiers from tearing down fences for firewood or committing similar depredations. wherever such acts were discovered we made suitable payment and punished the offenders by deducting a part of their wages. foreigners cannot respect too carefully the rights of the peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception which will be accorded to all others who follow in their footsteps. chapter xi ta-li fu on friday, september , we were at chou chou and camped in a picturesque little temple on the outskirts of the town. as the last stage was only six hours we spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the caravan and left for ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early _tiffin_. about two o'clock in the afternoon we reached hsia-kuan, a large commercial town at the lower end of the lake. its population largely consists of merchants and it is by all means the most important business place of interior yün-nan; ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence and official city. at hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner, mr. lui, to whom mr. bode, the salt inspector at yün-nan fu, had very kindly telegraphed money for my account, and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went on to ta-li fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was so slippery that it was well-nigh impossible for either horse or man to move over it faster than a walk. this was the hottest day of our experience in northern yün-nan, the thermometer registering °+ in the shade, which is the usual mid-summer temperature, but the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it was cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. even in the winter it is never very cold and its delightful summer should make northern yün-nan a wonderful health resort for the residents of fever-stricken burma and tonking. we rode toward ta-li with the beautiful lake on our right hand and on the other the ts'ang shan mountains which rise to a height of fourteen thousand feet. as we approached the city we could see dimly outlined against the foothills the slender shafts of three ancient pagodas. they were erected to the _feng-shui_, the spirits of the "earth, wind, and water," and for fifteen hundred years have stood guard over the stone graves which, in countless thousands, are spread along the foot of the mountains like a vast gray blanket. in the late afternoon sunlight the walls of the city seemed to recede before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and unreal even when we passed through its gloomy arch and clattered up the stone-paved street. we soon discovered the residence of mr. h.g. evans, agent of the british american tobacco company, to whose care our first caravan had been consigned, and he very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we were in ta-li fu. this was only the beginning of mr. evans' assistance to the expedition, for he acted as its banker throughout our stay in yün-nan, cashing checks and transferring money for us whenever we needed funds. the british american tobacco company and the standard oil company of new york are veritable "oases in the desert" for travelers because their agencies are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in asia and their employees are always ready to extend the cordial hospitality of the east to wandering foreigners. besides mr. evans the white residents of ta-li fu include the reverend william j. hanna, his wife and two other ladies, all of the china inland mission. mr. hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along educational and medical lines. he has built a beautiful little chapel, a large school, and a dispensary in connection with his house, where he and his wife are occupied every morning treating the minor ills of the natives, christian and heathen alike. ta-li fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at the time of the mohammedan war, when the chinese captured the city through the treachery of its commander and turned the streets to rivers of blood. the mohammedans were almost exterminated, and the ruined stone walls testify to the completeness of the chinese devastation. the mandarin at ta-li fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt. he called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately asked if we had any shotgun cartridges. he remarked that he had a gun but no shells, and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to hint broadly at every opportunity. the mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what they can make in "squeeze" from the natives of their district for reimbursement and a profit on their investment. in almost every case which is brought to them for adjustment the decision is withheld until the magistrate has learned which of the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a settlement in his favor. the chinese peasant, accepting this as the established custom, pays the bribe without a murmur if it is not too exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were dispensed in any other way. my personal relations with the various mandarins whom i was constantly required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and i was treated with great courtesy. it was apparent wherever we were in china that there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant and official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the law, undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the republic. before my first official visit wu gave me a lesson in etiquette. the chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary to conform to their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse, the fact that western customs differ from their own. at the end of the reception room in every _yamen_ is a raised platform on which the visitor sits at the _left hand_ of the mandarin; it would be exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. tea is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted until the official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to the lips with both hands. usually when the magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the interview is ended. when leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor to the doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually bows and protests asking him not to come so far. ta-li fu and hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time investigating the shops. one important find was the panda (_aelurus fulgens_). the panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but looks rather like a fox; in fact the chinese call it the "fire fox" because of its beautiful, red fur. pandas were supposed to be exceedingly rare and we could hardly believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made from their skins hanging in the fur shops. skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, _petaruista yunnanensis_, were also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was almost as great a surprise as the finding of the pandas. this is often true in the case of supposedly rare species. a few specimens may be obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant. we saw several skins of the beautiful cat (_felis temmicki_) which, with the snow leopard (_felis uncia_), it was said came from tibet. civets, bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops. the scales of the pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of certain diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows. almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in china by foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops. if a chinaman discovers a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold mine to him. the bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed with an acid, and a phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain value as a tonic. when a considerable amount of faith and chinese superstition is added its efficacy assumes double proportions. every year a few tiger skins find their way to hsia-kuan from the southern part of the province along the tonking border, but the good ones are quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (mexican). ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins. marco polo visited ta-li fu in the thirteenth century and, among other things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province. we were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and more heavily built than those of yün-nan fu and appear to be better in every way. a good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five dollars (mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because they are considered better pack animals. on the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of yün-nan we hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them outright, and subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course. saddle ponies, which are used only for short trips about the city, cannot endure continual traveling over the execrable roads of the interior where often it is impossible to feed them properly. if an entire caravan were purchased the leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble with the _mafus_ to insure even ordinary care of the animals, an opportunity would be given for endless "squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other reasons too numerous to mention why in this province the plan is impracticable. however, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to the limit. they are trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind another horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass. beat or kick the beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the horse in front. on the first day out heller, who was on a particularly bad animal, when trying to pass one of us began to cavort about like a circus rider, prancing from side to side and backward but never going forward. we shouted that we would wait for him to go on but he replied helplessly, "i can't, this horse isn't under my management," and we found very soon that our animals were not under our management either! in a town near ta-li fu we were in front of the caravan with wu and heller: wu stopped to buy a basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move ahead. beat as he would, the animal only backed in a circle, ours followed, and in a few moments we were packed together so tightly that it was impossible even to dismount. there we sat, helpless, to the huge delight of the villagers until rescued by a _mafu_. as soon as he led wu's horse forward the others proceeded as quietly as lambs. we paid forty cents (mexican) a day for each animal while traveling, and fifteen or twenty cents when in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in different parts of the province, and in the west and south, along the burma border fifty cents is the usual price. when a caravan is engaged the necessary _mafus_ are included and they buy food for themselves and beans and hay for the animals. ever since leaving yün-nan fu the cook we engaged at paik-hoi had been a source of combined irritation and amusement. he was a lanky, effeminate gentleman who never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically and mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life. after five months in the field he appeared to be as helpless when the caravan camped for the night as when we first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until someone directed him what to do. but he was a good cook, when he wished to exert himself, and had the great asset of knowing a considerable amount of english. while we were in ta-li fu mr. evans overheard him relating his experiences on the road to several of the other servants. "of course," said the cook, "it is a fine way to see the country, but the riding! my goodness, that's awful! after the third day i didn't know whether to go on or turn back--i was so sore i couldn't sit down even on a chair to say nothing of a horse!" he had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see the country" that way for the day after we left ta-li fu _en route_ to the tibetan frontier he became violently ill. although we could find nothing the matter with him he made such a good case for himself that we believed he really was quite sick and treated him accordingly. the following morning, however, he sullenly refused to proceed, and we realized that his illness was of the mind rather than the body. as he had accepted two months' salary in advance and had already sent it to his wife in paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a certain amount of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its object and illness did not trouble him thereafter. the loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition. good meals and varied food must be provided if the personnel is to work at its highest efficiency and cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. in yün-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no means easy to find and when our paik-hoi gentleman finally left us upon our return to ta-li fu we were fortunate in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to take his place through the good offices of mr. hanna. chapter xii li-chiang and "the temple of the flowers" we left a part of our outfit with mr. evans at ta-li fu and with a new caravan of twenty-five animals traveled northward for six days to li-chiang fu. by taking a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the pine forests three days from ta-li, but instead there was a total absence of animal life. the woods were beautiful, parklike stretches which in a country like california would be full of game, but here were silent and deserted. during the fourth and fifth days we were still in the forests, but on the sixth we crossed a pass , feet high and descended abruptly into a long marshy plain where at the far end were the gray outlines of li-chiang dimly visible against the mountains. wu and i galloped ahead to find a temple for our camp, leaving heller and my wife to follow. a few pages from her journal tell of their entry into the city. we rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the outskirts of the town to wait until the caravan arrived. neither roy nor wu was in sight but we expected that the _mafus_ would ask where they had gone and follow, for of course we could not speak a word of the language. already there was quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our sudden appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement. one old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and uttered what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "mon dieu" of disagreeable surprise. i tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to appreciate our friendliness and in return merely stared with open mouths and eyes. we halted and immediately the street was blocked by crowds of men, women, and children who poured out of the houses, shops, and cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention. when the caravan arrived we moved on again expecting that the _mafus_ had learned where roy had gone, but they seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow winding streets. even though we did not find a camping place we afforded the natives intense delight. i felt as though i were the chief actor in a circus parade at home, but the most remarkable attraction there could not have equaled our unparalleled success in li-chiang. on the second excursion through the town we passed down a cross-street, and suddenly from a courtyard at the right we heard feminine voices speaking english. "it's a girl. no, it's a boy. no, no, can't you see her hair, it's a girl!" just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably foreigners although dressed in chinese costume. they were mrs. a. kok, wife of the resident pentecostal missionary, and two assistants, who rushed into the street as soon as they had determined my sex and literally "fell upon my neck." they had not seen a white woman since their arrival there four years ago and it seemed to them that i had suddenly dropped from the sky. while we were talking wu appeared to guide us to the camp. they had chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled courtyard on the summit of a hill overlooking the city. it was wonderfully clean and when our beds, tables, and chairs were spread on the broad stone porch it seemed like a real home. the next days were busy ones for us all, roy and heller setting traps, and i working at my photography. we let it be known that we would pay well for specimens, and there was an almost uninterrupted procession of men and boys carrying long sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats, toads, and snakes. they would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm. our fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds, and i even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two, for mothers stood about with little brown kiddies on their backs as though they really would like to offer them to us but hardly dared. the temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap, and hidden under his coat he brought dozens of skins. i believe that his religious vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and so he would beckon roy into the darkness of the temple with a most mysterious air, and would extract all sorts of things from his sleeves just like a sleight-of-hand performer. he was a rich man when we left! the people are mostly tribesmen--mosos, lolos, tibetans, and many others. the girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in front and with a long plait in back. they wash their hair once--on their wedding day--and then it is wrapped up in turbans for the rest of their lives. the tibetan women dress their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but i don't believe there is any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves either. li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never had a better one. on the morning after our arrival heller found mammals in half his traps, and in the afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which brought us fifty mammals of eleven species. this was a wonderful relief after the many days of travel through country devoid of animal life. our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow voles, asiatic white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels, and tree shrews. the small mammals were exceedingly abundant and easy to catch, but after the first day we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole our traps. we usually marked them with a bit of cotton, and the boys would follow an entire line down a hedge, taking every one. sometimes they even brought specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught in our stolen traps! the traps were set under logs and stumps and in the grass where we found the "runways" or paths which mice, rats and voles often make. these animals begin to move about just after dark, and we usually would inspect our traps with a lantern about nine o'clock in the evening. this not only gave the trap a double chance to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens, for such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and almost every night, if the specimens were not taken out early in the evening, several would be partly eaten. small mammals are often of much greater interest and importance scientifically than large ones, for, especially among the insectivores, there are many primitive forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and throw light on the evolutionary history of other living groups. li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance for the tibetans bring down vast quantities of skins for sale and trade. lambs, goats, foxes, cats, civets, pandas, and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are dozens of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning. this city is a most interesting place especially on market day, for its inhabitants represent many different tribes with but comparatively few chinese. by far the greatest percentage of natives are the mosos who are semi-tibetan in their life and customs. they were originally an independent race who ruled a considerable part of northern yün-nan, and li-chiang was their ancient capital. to the effeminate and "highly civilized" chinese they are "barbarians," but we found them to be simple, honest and wholly delightful people. many of those whom we met later had never seen a white woman, and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast to that of the chinese who consider themselves so immeasurably their superior. the mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle, and this is the one place in the orient except in large cities along the coast, where we could obtain fresh milk and butter. as with the tibetans, buttered tea and _tsamba_ (parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but they also grow quantities of delicious vegetables and fruit. buttered tea is prepared by churning fresh butter into hot tea until the two have become well mixed. it is then thickened with finely ground _tsamba_ until a ball is formed which is eaten with the fingers. the combination is distinctly good when the ingredients are fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less said of it the better. the natives of this region are largely agriculturists and raise great quantities of squash, turnips, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn, peas, beans, oranges, pears, persimmons and nuts. while traveling we filled our saddle pockets with pears and english walnuts or chestnuts and could replenish our stock at almost any village along the road. everything was absurdly cheap. eggs were usually about eight cents (mexican) a dozen, and we could always purchase a chicken for an empty tin can, or two for a bottle. in fact, the latter was the greatest desideratum and when offers of money failed to induce a native to pose for the camera a bottle nearly always would decide matters in our favor. in li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting only twelve miles north of the city on the snow mountain range, the highest peak of which rises , feet above the sea. we left a part of our outfit at mr. kok's house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules to take us to the hunting grounds. mr. kok assisted us in numberless ways while we were in the vicinity of li-chiang and in other parts of the country. he took charge of all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned us money when it was difficult to get cash from ta-li fu and helped us to engage servants and caravans. it had rained almost continually for five days and a dense gray curtain of fog hung far down in the valley, but on the morning of october we awoke to find ourselves in another world. we were in a vast amphitheater of encircling mountains, white almost to their bases, rising ridge on ridge, like the foamy billows of a mighty ocean. at the north, silhouetted against the vivid blue of a cloudless sky, towered the great snow mountain, its jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning sun had kissed their summits. we rode toward it across a level rock-strewn plain and watched the fleecy clouds form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. it was an inspiration, that beautiful mountain, lying so white and still in its cradle of dark green trees. each hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its grandeur, and we were glad to be of the chosen few to look upon its sacred beauty. in the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple which nestled into a grove of spruce trees on the outskirts of a straggling village. to the north the snow mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and south a grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle undulations to a range of hills which jutted into the valley like a great recumbent dragon. a short time after our camp was established we had a visit from an austrian botanist, baron haendel-mazzetti, who had been in the village for two weeks. he had come to yün-nan for the vienna museum before the war, expecting to remain a year, but already had been there three. surrounded as he was by tibet, burma, and tonking, his only possible exit was by way of the four-month overland journey to shanghai. he had little money and for two years had been living on chinese food. he dined with us in the evening, and his enjoyment of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other canned goods was almost pathetic. a week after our arrival baron haendel-mazzetti left for yün-nan fu and eventually reached shanghai which, however, became a closed port to him upon china's entry into the european war. it is to be hoped that his collections, which must be of great scientific value and importance, have arrived at a place of safety long ere this book issues from the press. chapter xiii camping in the clouds we hired four moso hunters in the snow mountain village. they were picturesque fellows, supposedly dressed in skins, but their garments were so ragged and patched that it was difficult to determine the original material of which they were made. one of them was armed with a most extraordinary gun which, it was said, came from tibet. its barrel was more than six feet long, and the stock was curved like a golf stick. a powder fuse projected from a hole in the side of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was fastened a forked spring. at his waist the man carried a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of which was placed in the crotched spring. when about to shoot the native placed the butt of the weapon against his cheek, pressed the spring so that the burning rope's end touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun. the three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned arrows. they were remarkably good shots and at a distance of one hundred feet could place an arrow in a six-inch circle four times out of five. we found later that crossbows are in common use throughout the more remote parts of yün-nan and were only another evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the middle ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth century equipment, were anachronisms. the natives are able to obtain a good deal of game even with such primitive weapons for they depend largely upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to bay against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. the dogs are a mongrel breed which appears to be largely hound, and some are really excellent hunters. white is the usual color but a few are mixed black and brown, or fox red. hotenfa, one of our mosos, owned a good pack and we all came to love its big red leader. this fine dog could be depended upon to dig out game if there was any in the mountains, but his life with us was short for he was killed by our first serow. hotenfa was inconsolable and the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for the loss of a faithful friend. almost every family owns a dog. some of those we saw while passing through chinese villages were nauseating in their unsightliness, for at least thirty per cent of them were more or less diseased. barely able to walk, they would stagger across the street or lie in the gutter in indescribable filth. one longed to put them out of their misery with a bullet but, although they seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages. the dogs of the non-chinese tribes were in fairly good condition and there seemed to be comparatively little disease among them. our hunters treated their hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves, although loyal to their masters, manifested but little affection. in korea dogs are eaten by the natives, but none of the tribes with which we came in contact in yün-nan used them for food. on our first day in the temple heller went up the snow mountain for a reconnoissance and the party secured a fine porcupine. it is quite a different animal from the american tree porcupines and represents a genus (_hystrix_) which is found in asia, africa, and southern europe. this species lives in burrows and, when hunting big game, we were often greatly annoyed to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of these animals. we would arrive to see the hounds dancing about the burrow yelping excitedly instead of having a goral at bay as we had expected. some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills are more than twelve inches long and very sharp. a porcupine will keep an entire pack of dogs at bay and is almost sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies of some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short time. the mosos eat the flesh which is white and fine. although we were only twelve miles from li-chiang the traps yielded four shrews and one mouse which were new to our collection. the natives brought in three bats which we had not previously seen and began a thriving business in toads and frogs with now and then a snake. the temple was an excellent place for small mammals but it was evident that we would have to move high up on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and other big game were to be obtained. accordingly, while heller prepared a number of bat skins we started out on horseback to hunt a camp site. it was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly from a cloudless sky and just a touch of autumn snap in the air. we crossed the sloping rock-strewn plain to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main peaks. an hour of steady climbing brought us to the summit of the ridge where we struck into the woods toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. the trail led us along the brink of a steep escarpment from which we could look over the valley and away into the blue distance toward li-chiang. three thousand feet below us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering pine trees, and the herds of sheep and cattle massed themselves into moving patches on the smooth brown plain. we pushed our way through the spruce forest with the glistening snow bed as a beacon and suddenly emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the ragged peaks. "what a perfectly wonderful place to camp," we both exclaimed. "if we can only find water, let's come tomorrow." the hunters had assured us that there were no streams on this end of the mountain but we hoped to find a snow bank which would supply our camp for a few days at least. we rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the grandeur of the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling very small and helpless amid surroundings where nature had so magnificently expressed herself. at the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry creek bed which led upward through the dense spruce forest. "where water has been, water may be again," we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way among the trees and over fallen logs to a fairly open hill slope where we attempted to ride, but our animals were nearly done. after climbing a few feet they stood with heaving sides and trembling legs, the breath rasping through distended nostrils. we felt the altitude almost as badly as the horses for the meadow itself was twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and the air was very thin. there seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable snow bank when it was slowly borne in upon us that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound of water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined. above and to the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet in height, and as we toiled upward and emerged beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver ribbon streaming down its face. it came from a melting snow crater and we could follow its course with our eyes to where it swung downward along a rock wall not far from the upper end of the meadow. it was so hidden by the trees that had we not climbed above timber line, it never would have been discovered. this solved the question of our camp and we looked about us happily. on the way through the forest we had noticed small mammal runways under almost every log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy slope was cut by an intricate network of tiny tunnels. these were plainly the work of a meadow vole (_microtus_) and at this altitude it certainly would prove to be a species new to our collection. the sun had already dropped behind the mountain and the meadow was in shadow when we reached it again on our homeward way. by five o'clock we were in the temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations for an early start. but our hopes were idle, for in the morning three of the mules had strayed, and we did not arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the afternoon. our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce forest a few hundred yards from the snow stream. as soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy slope above timber line, with heller, to set a string of traps in the vole runways and under logs and stumps in the forest. the hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a short distance away and slept in their ragged clothes without a blanket or shelter of any kind. it was delightfully warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was out, but as soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and the nights were freezing cold; yet the natives did not seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our offer of a canvas tent fly. we never will forget that first night on the snow mountain. as we sat at dinner about the campfire we could see the somber mass of the forest losing itself in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of the mighty peaks standing guard about our mountain home. we slept, breathing the strong, sweet perfume of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering alone through the forest opening the treasure boxes of the wild. chapter xiv the first goral we were awakened before daylight by wu's long drawn call to the hunters, "_l-a-o-u h-o, l-a-o-u h-o, l-a-o-u h-o_." the steady drum of rain on our tent shot a thrill of disappointment through me as i opened my eyes, but before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags and dressed it lessened to a gentle patter and soon ceased altogether. it left a cold, gray morning with dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but, nevertheless, i decided to go out with the hunters to try for goral. two of the men took the dogs around the base of a high rock shoulder sparsely covered with scrub spruce while i went up the opposite slope accompanied by the other two. we had not been away from camp half an hour when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately we heard them coming around the summit of the ridge in our direction. the hunters made frantic signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the thin air with my heart pounding like a trip hammer i could not go faster than a walk. we climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly the dogs appeared on the side of the cliff near the summit. just in front of them was a bounding gray form. the mist closed in and we lost both dogs and animals but ten minutes later a blessed gust of wind drifted the fog away and the goral was indistinctly visible with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. the big red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for a nip at the animal's throat but was kept at bay by its vicious lunges and sharp horns. it was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud was drifting in again and i dropped down for a shot. the hunters were running up the slope, frantically waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot at that distance. i could just see the gray form through the sights and the first two shots spattered the loose rock about a foot low. for the third i got a dead rest over a stone and as the crash of the little mannlicher echoed up the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air whirling over and over onto the rocks below. the hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill and down into the stream bed, and when i arrived the goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the water. the animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through its lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed on the rocks, its horns were uninjured and the beautiful gray coat was in perfect condition. it so happened that this ram was the largest which we killed on the entire trip. when the hunters were carrying the goral to camp we met yvette and heller on their way to visit the traps just below snow line, and she returned with me to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies which i knew would be performed. one of the natives cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon it and at the first cut chanted a prayer. then laying several leaves one upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart, wrapped it carefully in the leaves and placed it in a nearby tree as an offering to the god of the hunt. i have often seen the chinese and korean hunters perform similar ceremonies at the death of an animal, and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate the god of the hunt is universal. when i was shooting in korea in , and also in other parts of china, if luck had been against us for a few days the hunters would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some animal to sacrifice for "good joss." after each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood we again climbed the cliff at the end of the meadow. when we were nearly , feet above camp the clouds shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped itself about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for it to drift away. after an hour the fog began to thin and the men sent the hounds toward a talus slope at the base of the highest peak. almost immediately the big red dog picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with the pack yelping at his heels. we followed as rapidly as possible over such hard going but before we reached the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp pinnacle and disappeared far below us. expecting that the goral would swing about the base of the peak the hunters sent me back across the talus to watch for a shot, but the animal ran down the valley and into a heavily wooded ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance above camp. i returned to find that heller had secured a rich haul from the traps. as we supposed, the runways which yvette and i had discovered above timber line were made by a meadow vole (_microtus_) and in the forest almost every trap had caught a white-footed mouse (_apodemus_). he also had several new shrews and we caught eight different species of these important little animals at this one camp. wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came to me one day in great perplexity with his anglo-chinese dictionary. he had looked up the word "shrew" and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!" the following day heller went out with the hunters and saw two gorals but did not get a shot. in the meantime yvette and i ran the traps and prepared the small mammals. while we were far up on the mountain-side, baron haendel-mazzetti appeared armed with ropes and an alpine snow ax. he was about to attempt to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet from the summit. he dined at our camp and as all of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we spent a very pleasant evening. during his three years in yün-nan he had explored and mapped many sections of the province which had not been visited previously by foreigners and from him we obtained much valuable information. on the third morning we were up before daylight and i left with the hunters in the gray dawn. we climbed steadily for an hour after leaving camp and, when well up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak through a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets, emerging upon a steep grassy meadow; this abutted on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and below ran into a thick evergreen forest. as we entered the meadow the big red leading dog, trotted off by himself toward the rock wall above us, and in a few moments we heard his sharp yelps near the summit. instantly the pack was off stringing out in a long line up the hillside. we had nearly crossed the open slope and were standing on the edge of a deep gully when the dogs gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure they were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom of the gorge and began the sharp ascent on the other side. it was almost straight up and before we had gone a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of the dogs sounding closer and closer kept us going. when we finally dropped on the summit of the hill i was absolutely done. i lay flat on my back for a few minutes and got to my knees just as the goral appeared on the opposite cliff. the sight of the magnificent animal bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet seemed hardly to touch down the face of a sheer wall, will remain in my memory as long as i live. he seemed the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks and crags, vibrant with the breath of the clouds. selecting a spot which he must touch in the next flying leap, i waited until his body darkened the sights and then pulled the trigger. the game little brute collapsed, then struggled to his feet, and with a tremendous leap landed on a projecting shelf of rock four yards below. instantly i fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass not two feet from the edge of the precipice which fell away in a dizzy drop of six hundred feet. the dogs were on him long before we had worked our way down the cañon and up to the shelf where he lay. he was a fine ram nearly as large as the first one i had killed. i wanted to rest the dogs for they were very tired from their two days of hunting, so i decided to return to camp with the men. on the way a second goral was started but it swung about the summit of the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction, giving one of the hunters a shot with his crossbow, which he missed. it was a beautiful day. above us the sky was clear and blue but the clouds still lay thickly over the meadow and the camp was invisible. the billowy masses clung to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we could look far across the valley into the blue distance where the snow-covered summits of range after range of magnificent mountains lay shining in the sun like beaten silver. there was a strange fascination about those mountains, and i thrilled with the thought that for twelve long months i was free to roam where i willed and explore their hidden mysteries. chapter xv more gorals both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns. their hair was thick and soft, pale olive-buff tipped with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon bones" were buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. their color made them practically invisible against the rocks and when i killed the second goral my only distinct impression as he dashed down the face of the precipice, was of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body which i could hardly see. this invisibility, combined with the fact that the snow mountain gorals lived on almost inaccessible cliffs thickly covered with scrub spruce forest, made "still hunting" impossible. in fact, baron haendel-mazzetti, who had explored this part of the snow mountains fairly thoroughly in his search for plants, had never seen a goral, and did not know that such an animal existed there. heller hunted for two days in succession and, although he saw several gorals, he was not successful in getting one until we had been in camp almost a week. his was a young male not more than a year old with horns about an inch long. it was a valuable addition to our collection for i was anxious to obtain specimens of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat group" in the museum and we lacked only a female. the preparation of the group required the greatest care and study. first, we selected a proper spot to reproduce in the museum, and yvette took a series of natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting the background. next she made detail photographs of the surroundings. then we collected portions of the rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss and leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. in a large group, perhaps several thousand leaves will be required, but the field naturalist need select typical specimens of only five or six different sizes from each of which a plaster mold can be made at the museum and the leaves reproduced in wax. after two days of rain during which i had a hard and unsuccessful hunt for serows we decided to return to the temple at the foot of the mountain which was nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. we had already been in our camp on the meadow for nine days and, besides the gorals, had gathered a large and valuable collection of small mammals. the shrews were especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series of meadow voles, asiatic mice and rats, we obtained a new weasel and a single specimen of a tiny rock-cony or little chief hare, an asiatic genus (_ochotona_) which is also found in the western part of north america on the high slopes of the rocky mountains. although we set dozens of traps among the rocks we did not get another on the entire expedition nor did we see indications of their presence in other localities. the almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great surprise. except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though food was abundant. on the day before we went to the temple i had a magnificent hunt. we left camp at daylight in a heavy fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow trail. we heard them coming toward us as we stood at the upper edge of a little meadow and expected the animal to break cover any moment, but it turned down the mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce woods. we climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were well above the clouds, which lay in a thick white blanket over the camp, and headed for the cañon where i had shot my second goral. hotenfa wished to go lower down into the forests but i prevailed upon him to stay along the open slopes and, while we were resting, the big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and to the right of us. it was in the exact spot where my second goral had been started and we were on the _qui vive_ when the rest of the pack dashed up the mountain-side to join their leader. in a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard them swinging about in our direction. just then the clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank below us, began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the cañon. on and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps of the dogs. i was trembling with impatience and swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the gorge. the cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the ravine, until we were enveloped so completely that i could hardly see the length of my gun barrel. a moment later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff not a hundred yards away. with the rifle useless in my hands i listened to each hoof beat and the stones which his flying feet sent rattling into the gorge. then the dogs came past, and we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing fainter and fainter in the valley far below. the goral was lost, and as though the fates were laughing at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind sucked the cloud out of the cañon as swiftly as it had come, and above us shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea. hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for i had loaned him my three-barrel gun ( gauge and . savage) and he was as excited as a child with a new toy. he was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered the safety catches in a short time even though he had never before seen a breach-loading gun. there was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain for the dogs might bring the goral to bay on one of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes we stood on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest. one of the hunters picked his way down the rock wall while hotenfa and i circled the top of the spur. we had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter shouted that a goral was running in our direction. hotenfa reached the edge of the ridge before me, and i saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which disappeared into the brush. his bullet struck the dirt only a few feet behind the animal although it must have been well beyond a hundred yards and almost straight below us. hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other hunter brought us again to the edge of the cliff just in time to see a second goral dash into the forest a good three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the gorge. rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and hotenfa made signs which said as plainly as words, "i told you so. the gorals are not on the peaks but down in the forest. we ought to have come here first." there were not many moments for regret, however, for this was "our busy day." suddenly a burst of frantic yelps from the red dog turned us off to the left and we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which we had just left. one of the other hunters was standing there and his crossbow twanged as the goral passed only a few yards from him, but the wicked little poisoned dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches above the animal's back. the goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the second hunter who was too surprised to shoot and only yelled that it was coming toward us on the cliff below. hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat himself, and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting shelf which overhung the gorge. we reached the rim at the same moment and saw a huge ram standing on a narrow ledge a hundred yards below. i fired instantly and the noble animal, with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched himself into space falling six hundred feet to the rocks beneath us. as the goral leaped hotenfa seemed suddenly to go insane. yelling with joy, he threw his arms about my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me on the back until i thought he would throw us both off the cliff. i was utterly dumfounded but seized his three-barrel gun to unload it for in his excitement there was imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or me. then i realized what it was all about. we had both fired simultaneously and neither had heard the other's shot. by mistake hotenfa had discharged a load of buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the goral but his joy was so great that i would not for anything have disillusioned him. it was a half hour's hard work to get to the place where the goral had fallen. the dogs were already there lying quietly beside the animal when we arrived. my bullet had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself against the breast bone; the jacket had split, one piece tearing into the heart, so that the ram was probably dead before it struck the rocks. i photographed the goral where it lay and after it had been eviscerated, and the hunters had performed their ceremonies to the god of the hunt, i sent one of them back with it while hotenfa and i worked toward the bottom of the cañon in the hope of finding the other animals. it was a delightfully warm day and hotenfa told me in his vivid sign language that the gorals were likely to be asleep on the sunny side of the ravine; therefore we worked up the opposite slope. it was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours we plodded steadily upward, clinging by feet and hands to bushes and rocks, and were almost exhausted when we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds of the way to the summit. we rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin, toiled on again. i had not gone thirty feet, and hotenfa was still sitting down, when i saw him wave his arm excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. i leaped down to his side just as he fired at a big female goral which was sound asleep in an open patch of grass on the mountain-side. hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the knee but without the slightest sign of injury she dashed down the cliff. i fired as she ran, striking her squarely in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the bushes a hundred feet below. how hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the summit of the ridge i never can understand, for with a light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all i could do to pull myself up the rocks. he was completely done when we finally threw ourselves on the grass at the edge of the meadow which we had left in the morning. hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the goral, but the god of the hunt missed his offering for my bullet had smashed the heart to a pulp. on our way back to camp the red dog, although dead tired, disappeared alone into the heavy forest below us. suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up the hill in our direction. hotenfa and i dropped our burdens and ran to an opening in the forest where we thought the animal must pass. instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared higher up at the heels of a crested muntjac (_elaphodus_), which was bounding along at full speed, its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish back. i had one chance for a shot at about one hundred and fifty yards as the pair crossed a little opening in the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot for, had i missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been killed. i was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is an exceedingly rare species, but a few days later a shepherd brought in another which had been wounded by one of our lolo hunters and had run down into the plains to die. when we reached the hill above camp yvette ran out to meet us, falling over logs and bushes in her eagerness to see what we were carrying. no dinner which i have ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak that night and after a smoke i crawled into my sleeping bag, dead tired in body but with a happy heart. chapter xvi the snow mountain temple on october , we moved to the foot of the mountain and camped in the temple which we had formerly occupied. this was directly below the forests inhabited by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively toward obtaining a representative series of these animals. unfortunately i developed a severe infection in the palm of my right hand almost immediately, and had it not been for the devoted care of my wife i should not have left china alive. through terrible nights of delirium when the poison was threatening to spread over my entire body, she nursed me with an utter disregard of her own health and slept only during a few restless hours of complete exhaustion. for three weeks i could do no work but at last was able to bend my "trigger finger" and resume hunting although i did not entirely recover the use of my hand for several months. however, the work of the expedition by no means ceased because of my illness. mr. heller continued to collect small mammals with great energy and the day after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new native hunters. these were lolos, a wandering unit from the independent tribe of s'suchuan and they proved to be excellent men. the first serow was killed by hotenfa's party on our third day in the temple. heller went out with the hunters but in a few hours returned alone. a short time after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail of a huge serow and followed it for three miles through the spruce forest. they finally brought the animal to bay against a cliff and a furious fight ensued. one dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust in the side, and the big red leader was thrown over a cliff to the rocks below. more of the hounds undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters arrived and shot the animal. the men brought the serow in late at night but our joy was considerably dampened by the loss of the red dog. hotenfa carried him in his arms and laid him gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal died during the night. his master cried like a child and i am sure that he felt more real sorrow than he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for wives are much easier to get in china than good hunting dogs. the serow was an adult male, badly scarred from fighting, and had lost one horn by falling over a cliff when he was killed. he was brownish black, with rusty red lower legs and a whitish mane. his right horn was nine and three-quarters inches in length and five and three-quarters inches in circumference at the base and the effectiveness with which he had used his horns against the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means only for ornaments. in the next chapter the habits and relationships of the gorals and serows will be considered more fully. on the morning following the capture of the first serow the last rain of the season began and continued for nine days almost without ceasing. the weather made hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so thickly over the woods that one could not see a hundred feet and heller found that many of his small traps were sprung by the raindrops. the lolos had disappeared, and we believed that they had returned to their village, but they had been hunting in spite of the weather and on the fifth day arrived with a fine male serow in perfect condition. it showed a most interesting color variation for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with hardly a tinge of reddish. november , the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless sky and during the remainder of the winter we had as perfect weather as one could wish. yvette's constant nursing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion of our interpreter, wu, had checked the spread of the poison in my hand and my nights were no longer haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but i was as helpless as a babe. i could do nothing but sit with steaming cloths wrapped about my arm and rail at the fate which kept me useless in the temple. the lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just above our camp but the animal fell into a rock fissure more than a hundred feet deep and was recovered only after a day's hard work. the men wove a swinging ladder from tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the serow bodily up the cliff; as it weighed nearly three hundred pounds this was by no means an easy undertaking. our lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led by a slender young chief with patrician features who ruled his village like an autocrat with absolute power of life and death. the lolos are a strange people who at one time probably occupied much of the region south of the yangtze river but were pushed south and west by the chinese and, except in one instance, now exist only in scattered units in the provinces of kwei-chau and yün-nan. in s'suchuan the lolos hold a vast territory which is absolutely closed to the chinese on pain of death and over which they exercise no control. several expeditions have been launched against the lolos but all have ended in disaster. only a few weeks before we arrived in yün-nan a number of chinese soldiers butchered nearly a hundred lolos whom they had encountered outside the independent territory, and in reprisal the lolos burned several villages almost under the walls of a fortified city in which were five hundred soldiers, massacred all the men and boys, and carried off the women as slaves. the pure blood lolos "are a very fine tall race, with comparatively fair complexions, and often with straight features, suggesting a mixture of mongolian with some more straight-featured race. their appearance marks them as closely connected by race with the eastern tibetans, the latter being, if anything, rather the bigger men of the two." [footnote: "yün-nan, the link between india and the yangtze," by major h.r. davies, , p. .] they are great wanderers and over a very large part of yün-nan form the bulk of the hill population, being the most numerous of all the non-chinese tribes in the province. like almost every race which has been conquered by the chinese or has come into continual contact with them for a few generations, the lolos of yün-nan, where they are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the chinese. we found, as did major davies, that in some instances they were giving up their language and beginning to talk chinese even among themselves. the women already had begun to tie up their feet in the chinese fashion and even disliked to be called lolos. those whom we employed were living entirely by hunting and, although we found them amiable enough, they were exceedingly independent. they preferred to hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased chance for game our high-power rifles gave them, and eventually left us while i was away on a short trip, even though we still owed them considerable money. the lolos are only one of the non-chinese tribes of yün-nan. major davies has considered this question in his valuable book to which i have already referred, and i cannot do better than quote his remarks here. the numerous non-chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western china, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in that country. it is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are to be heard in the country which lies between assam and the eastern border of yün-nan and in the indo-chinese countries to the south of this region. the reason of this is not hard to find. it lies in the physical characteristics of the country. it is the high mountain ranges and the deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the differences in customs and language, and the innumerable tribal distinctions, which are so perplexing to the enquirer into indo-chinese ethnology. a tribe has entered yün-nan from their original himalayan or tibetan home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land they have settled on not equal to their wants. the natural result has been the emigration of part of the colony. the emigrants, having surmounted pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts, have found a new place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to undertake such a journey again to revisit their old home. being without a written character in which to preserve their traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside world, and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support themselves, the recollection of their connection with their original ancestors has died out. it is not then surprising that they should now consider themselves a totally distinct race from the parent stock. inter-tribal wars, and the practice of slave raiding so common among the wilder members of the indo-chinese family, have helped to still further widen the breach. in fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to each other the marked general resemblance which is still to be found. the hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good means of communication have also naturally militated against the formation of any large kingdoms with effective control over the mountainous districts. directly we get to a flat country with good roads and navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions disappear, and the whole of the inhabitants are welded into a homogeneous people under a settled government, speaking one language. burmese as heard throughout the irrawaddy valley is the same everywhere. a traveler from rangoon to bhamo will find one language spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same length in the hilly country to the east or to the west of the irrawaddy valley would bring him into contact with twenty mutually unintelligible tongues. the same state of things applies to siam and tong-king--one nation speaking one language in the flat country and a tower of babel in the hills (_loc. cit._, pp. - ). chapter xvii gorals and serows gorals and serows belong to the subfamily _rupicaprinae_ which is an early mountain-living offshoot of the _bovidae_; it also includes the chamois, takin, and the so-called rocky mountain goat of america. the animals are commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in order to express the intermediate position which they apparently hold between the goats and antelopes. they are also sometimes called the rupicaprine antelopes from the scientific name of the chamois (_rupicapra_). the horns of all members of the group are finely ridged, subcylindrical and are present in both sexes, being almost as long in the female as in the male. although no one would suspect that the gorals are more closely related to the takins than to the serows, which they resemble superficially, such seems to be the case, but the cranial differences between the two genera are to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of the small japanese serow (_capricornulus crispus_). this species is most interesting because of its intermediate position. in size it is larger than a goral but smaller than a serow; its long coat and its horns resemble those of a goral but it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. it is found in japan, manchuria and southern siberia. the principal external difference between the gorals and serows, besides that of size, is in the fact that the serows have a short tail and a well developed face gland, which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice, while the gorals have a long tail and no such gland. in the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are similar to some of the antelopes but in their clumsy build, heavy limbs and stout hoofs as well as in habits they resemble goats. the serow has a long, melancholy-looking face and because of its enormous ears the chinese in fukien province refer to it as the "wild donkey" but in yün-nan it is called "wild cow." the specific relationships of the serows are by no means satisfactorily determined. mr. pocock, superintendent of the london zoölogical society's gardens, has recently devoted considerable study to the serows of british india and considers them all to be races of the single species _capricornis sumatrensis_. with this opinion i am inclined to agree, although i have not yet had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject in the light of our new material. these animals differ most strikingly in external coloration, and fall into three groups all of which partake more or less of the characters of each other. chinese serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern burma and malayan forms. the serows which we killed upon the snow mountain can probably be referred to _capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, those of fukien obtained by mr. caldwell represent the white-maned serow _capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes_ and one which i shot in may, , near teng-yueh, not far from the burma frontier, is apparently an undescribed form. our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable individual variation exists in the color of the legs of these animals; this character was considered to be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree, but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed to be. two of the serows killed on the snow mountain have the lower legs rusty red, while in two others these parts are buff colored. the animals, all males of nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain, and virtually at the same time. their skulls exhibit no important differences and there is no reason to believe that they represent anything but an extreme individual variation. the two specimens obtained by mr. caldwell at yen-ping are even more surprising. the old female is coal black, but the young male is distinctly brownish-black with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along the mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a ridge. the horns of the female are nearly parallel for half their extent and approach each other at the tips; their surfaces are remarkably smooth. the horns of the young male diverge like a v from the skull and are very heavily ridged. the latter character is undoubtedly due to youth. these serows are an excellent example of the necessity for collecting a large number of specimens from the same locality. only by this means is it possible to learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual variation and what are its really important characters. in the case of the gorals, our expedition obtained at hui-yao such a splendid series of all ages that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent study. serows are entirely asian and found in china, japan, india, sumatra and the malay peninsula. on the snow mountain we found them living singly at altitudes of from , to , feet in dense spruce forests, among the cliffs. the animals seemed to be fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive use. apparently serows seldom come out into the open, but feed on leaves and grass while in the thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill them without the aid of dogs or beaters. sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or four miles, and eventually lose them or it may turn at bay and fight the pack after only a short chase; a large serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds if in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back. the animal can use its strong curved horns with deadly effect for it is remarkably agile for a beast of its size. in fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high mountain clothed with a dense jungle of dwarf bamboo. it was in quite different country from that which the animals inhabit in yün-nan for although the cover was exceedingly thick it was without such high cliffs and there were extensive grassy meadows. we did not see any serows in fukien because of the ignorance of our beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks. the natives said that in late september the animals could often be found in the forests of the lower mountain slopes when they came to browse upon the new grown mushrooms. mr. caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin of a splendid female serow and a short time later obtained a young male. the latter was seen swimming across the river just below the city wall and was caught alive by the natives. the female weighed three hundred and ten pounds and the male two hundred and ninety pounds. serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather dangerous pets unless tamed when very young. we are reproducing a photograph taken and kindly loaned by mr. herbert lang, of one formerly living in the berlin zoölogical garden; we saw a serow in the zoölogical park at calcutta and one from darjeeling is owned by the london zoölogical society. gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the chamois. the species which we killed on the snow mountain can probably be referred to _naemorhedus griseus_, but i have not yet had an opportunity to study our specimens carefully. unlike the serows these gorals have blackish brown tails which from the roots to the end of the hairs measure about inches in length. the horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. the male horns are strongly recurved and are thick and round at the base but narrow rapidly to the tips; the female horns are straighter and more slender. the longest horns in the series which we received measured six inches in length and three and three-quarters inches in circumference at the base. like the serows, gorals are confined to asia and are found in northern india, burma, and china, and northwards through korea and southern manchuria. we hunted gorals with dogs on the snow mountain for in this particular region they could be killed in no other way. there was so much cover, even at altitudes of from , to , feet and the rocks were so precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still hunting" and never see a goral. they are vicious fighters, and often back up to a cliff where they can keep the dogs at a distance. one of our best hounds while hunting alone, brought a goral to bay and was found dead next day by the hunters with its side ripped open. on the snow mountain we found the animals singly but at hui-yao, not far from the burma frontier, where we hunted another species in the spring, they were almost universally in herds of from six to seven or eight. it was at the latter place that we had our best opportunity to observe gorals and learn something of their habits. we were camping on the banks of a branch of the shwelie river, which had cut a narrow gorge for itself; on one side this was seven or eight hundred feet deep. a herd of about fifty gorals had been living for many years on one of the mountain sides not far from the village, and although they were seen constantly the natives had no weapons with which to kill them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred to four hundred yards. we could scan every inch of the hillside through our field glasses and watch the gorals as they moved about quite unconscious of our presence. at this place they were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where the slopes had been partly burned over. we found them browsing from daylight until about nine o'clock, and from four in the afternoon until dark. they would move slowly among the bushes, picking off the new leaves, and usually about the middle of the morning would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon the rocks, and go to sleep. strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides, as do many hoofed animals, but doubled their forelegs under them, stretched their necks and hind legs straight out, and rested on their bellies. it was a most uncomfortable looking attitude, and the first time i saw an animal resting thus i thought it had been wounded, but both mr. heller and myself saw them repeatedly at other times, and realized that this was their natural position when asleep. when frightened, like our own mountain sheep or goats, they would run a short distance and stop to look back. this was usually their undoing, for they offered excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the sky. they were very difficult to see when lying down among the rocks, but our native hunters, who had most extraordinary eyesight, often would discover them when it was almost impossible for me to find them even with the field glasses. we never could be sure that there were no gorals on a mountainside, for they were adepts at hiding, and made use of a bunch of grass or the smallest crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it so completely that they seemed to have vanished from the earth. like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where it seemed impossible for any animal to move. i have seen a goral run down the face of a cliff which appeared to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared not venture. as the animal landed on a projecting rock it would bounce off as though made of rubber, and leap eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which did not seem large enough to support a rabbit. the ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is largely due to the animal's foot structure. professor henry fairfield osborn has investigated this matter in the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost equally well to the goral, i cannot do better than quote them here: the horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme front. behind this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which gives the horny hoof a chance to get its hold. both the main digits and the dewclaws terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded and expanded soles, which are of great service in securing a firm footing on the shelving rocks and narrow ledges on which the animal travels with such ease. this sole, smith states, softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is leaving the ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place. the rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by no means useless; they project back below the horny part of the hoof, and mr. smith has actually observed the young captive goats supporting themselves solely on their dewclaws on the edge of a roof. it is probable that they are similarly used on the rocks and precipices, since on a very narrow ledge they would serve favorably to alter the center of gravity by enabling the limb to be extended somewhat farther forward. [footnote: "mountain goat hunting with the camera," by henry fairfield osborn. reprinted from the tenth _annual report of the new york zoölogical society_, , pp. - .] there were certain trails leading over the hill slopes at hui-yao which the gorals must have used continually, judging by the way in which these were worn. we also found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on projecting ledges to indicate that these were definite resorts for numbers of the animals. many which we saw were young or of varying ages running with the herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they had mastered the art of self-concealment even when hardly a year old. although at hui-yao almost all were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to be especially averse to water, and several times i watched wounded animals swim across the stream. gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little brutes inspire the sportsman with admiration, besides leading him over peaks which try his nerve to the utmost, and i number among the happiest hours of my life the wonderful hunts in yün-nan, far above the clouds, at the edge of the snow. chapter xviii the "white water" _y.b.a._ october had slipped into november when we left the temple and shifted camp to the other side of the snow mountain at the "white water." it was a brilliant day and the ride up the valley could not have been more beautiful. crossing the _gangheisa_ or "dry sea," a great grassy plain which was evidently a dry lake basin, we followed the trail into the forest and down the side of a deep cañon to a mountain stream where the waters spread themselves in a thin, green veil over a bed of white stones. we pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the stream at the edge of the spruce forest. above us towered the highest peak of the mountain, with a glacier nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered slopes extending in a glorious shining crescent about our camp. the moon was full, and each night as we sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to purest silver at the touch of the white moonlight. we have had many camps in many lands but none more beautiful than the one at the "white water." the weather was perfect. every day the sun shone in a cloudless blue sky and in the morning the ground was frozen hard and covered with snowlike frost, but the air was marvelously stimulating. we felt that we could be happy at the "white water" forever, but it did not prove to be as good a hunting ground as that on the other side of the mountain. the lolos killed a fine serow on the first day and hotenfa brought in a young goral a short time later, but big game was by no means abundant. at the "white water" we obtained our first lady amherst's pheasant (_thaumalea amherstiae_) one of the most remarkable species of a family containing the most beautiful birds of the world. the rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are made more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff about the neck. the first birds brought alive to england were two males which had been presented to the countess amherst after whom the species was named. we found this pheasant inhabiting thick forests where it is by no means easy to discover or shoot. it is fairly abundant in yün-nan, eastern tibet and s'suchuan but its habits are not well known. although the camp yielded several small mammals new to our collection, we decided to go into li-chiang to engage a new caravan for our trip across the yangtze river while heller remained in camp. the direct road to li-chiang was considerably shorter than by way of the snow mountain village and at three o'clock in the afternoon our beloved "temple of the flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city. as we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque gathering on the porch and heard the sound of many voices laughing and talking. the beautiful garden-like courtyard was filled with women and children of every age and description, and all the doors from one side of the temple had been removed, leaving a large open space where huge caldrons were boiling and steaming. we sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the young priest was delighted to see us and insisted that we wait until wu arrived. we were glad that we did not seek other quarters for we were to witness an interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of chinese life. it seemed that about five years before a gentleman of li-chiang had "shuffled off this mortal coil." his soul may have found rest, but "his mortal coil" certainly did not. unfortunately his family inherited a few hundred dollars several years later and the village "astrologer" informed them that according to the _feng-shui_, or omnipotent spirits of the earth, wind, and water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's grave was ill-chosen and that if they ever hoped to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up, give the customary feast in his honor and have another burial site chosen. every village has a "wise man" who is always called upon to select the resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to two thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's relatives. the astrologer never will say definitely whether or not the spot will prove a propitious one and if the family later sell any property, receive a legacy, or are known to have obtained money in other ways, the astrologer usually finds that the _feng-shui_ do not favor the original place and he will exact another fee for choosing a second grave. the dead are never buried until the astrologer has named an auspicious day as well as an appropriate site, with the result that unburied coffins are to be seen in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in the back yards of many houses. any interference by foreigners with this custom is liable to bring about dire results as in the case of the rioting in shanghai in . a number of french residents objected to a temple near by being used to store a score or more of bodies until a convenient time for burial and the result was the death of many people in the fighting which ensued. mr. tyler dennet cites an amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling of the problem by a native mandarin in yen-ping where we visited mr. caldwell: the doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was the presence of these coffins in yen-ping. the magistrate had a census taken of the coffins above ground in the city and found that they actually numbered sixteen thousand. the city itself is estimated to have only about twenty thousand inhabitants. it was a difficult problem for the magistrate. he might easily move in such a way as to bring the whole city down about his head. but the chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps the cleverest people on earth. he finally devised a way out. a proclamation was issued levying a tax of fifty cents on every unburied coffin. the chinese may be superstitious, but they are even more thrifty. for a few weeks yen-ping devoted itself to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little city, one of the most isolated in china, can truly be said to be on the road to health. [footnote: "doctoring china," by tyler dennet, _asia_, february, , p. .] there are very few such progressive cities in china, however, and a missionary told us that recently a young child and his grandfather were buried on the same day although their deaths had been nearly fifty years apart. the funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but it is the great ambition of every chinese to have his resting place as near as possible to those of his ancestors. that is one of the reasons why they are so loath to emigrate. we often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under the load of a heavy coffin, transporting a body sometimes a month's journey or more to bury it at the dead man's birthplace. a rooster usually would be fastened to the coffin for, according to the yün-nan superstition, the spirit of the man enters the bird and is conveyed by it to his home. there is a strange absence of the fear of death among the chinese. one often sees large planks of wood stored in a corner of a house and one is told that these are destined to become the coffins of the man's father or mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying the most robust health. indeed, among the poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most fitting gift for a son to present to his father. we established our camp on the porch of the temple at li-chiang and from its vantage point could watch the festivities going on about us. the feasting continued until after dark and at daylight the kettles were again steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration. by ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour later there came a partial stillness which was broken by a sudden burst of music (?) from chinese violins and pipes. going outside we found most of the guests standing about an improvised altar. the foot of the coffin was just visible in the midst of the paper decorations and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes of tempting food. these were meant as an offering to the spirit of the departed one, but we knew this would not prevent the sorrowing relatives from eating the food with much relish later on. in a few moments a group of women approached, supporting a figure clothed in white with a hood drawn over her face. she was bent nearly to the ground and muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her veil as she prostrated herself in front of the altar. for more than an hour this chief mourner, the wife of the deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure shaking with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. this same lady, however, moved about later among her guests an amiable hostess, with beaming countenance, the gayest of the gay. but every morning while the festivities lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate herself before the coffin and display heartrending grief in the presence of the unmoved spectators in order to satisfy the demands of "custom." custom and precedent have grown to be divinities with the chinese, and such a display of feigned emotion is required on certain prescribed occasions. as one missionary aptly described it "the chinese are all face and no heart." mr. caldwell told us that one night while passing down a deserted street in a chinese village he was startled to hear the most piercing shrieks issuing from a house nearby. thinking someone was being murdered, he rushed through the courtyard only to find that a girl who was to be married the following day, according to chinese custom, was displaying the most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her family, even though she probably was enchanted with the idea. on the third day of the celebration in the temple at li-chiang the feasting ended in a burst of splendor. from one o'clock until far past sundown the friends and relatives of the departed one were fed. any person could receive an invitation by bringing a small present, even if it were only a bowl of rice or a few hundred cash (ten or fifteen cents). all during the morning girls and women flocked up the hill with trays of gifts. there were many mosos and other tribesmen among them as well as chinese. the moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the sides and hanging in long narrow plaits down their backs. they wore white leather capes (at least that was the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver and coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay with glowing red cheeks and laughing eyes they were decidedly attractive. the guests were seated in groups of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. small boys acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of vegetables and huge straw platters heaped high with rice. as soon as each guest had stuffed himself to satisfaction he relinquished his place to someone else and the food was passed again. we were frequently pressed to eat with them and in the evening when the last guest had departed the "chief mourner" brought us some delicious fruit candied in black sugar. she told wu that they had fed three hundred people during the day and we could well believe it. the next morning the coffin was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of anguished wails and we were left once more to the peace and quiet of our beautiful temple courtyard. sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for generations to come to provide a suitable funeral for one of its members, because to bury the dead without the proper display would not only be to "lose face" but subject them to the possible persecution of the angered spirits. this is only one of the pernicious results of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that most of the evils in china's social order today can be traced, directly or indirectly, to this unfortunate practice. a man's chief concern is to leave male descendants to worship at his grave and appease his spirit. the more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who walk in his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. as a missionary humorously says "the only law of god that ever has been obeyed in china is to be fruitful and multiply." craving for progeny has brought into existence thousands upon thousands of human beings who exist on the very brink of starvation. nowhere in the civilized world is there a more sordid and desperate struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty. but fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind breeding. the apparent atrophy of the entire race is due to ancestor worship which binds it with chains of iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these bonds are severed can china expect to take her place among the progressive nations of the earth. chapter xix across the yangtze gorge in mid-november we left the white water with a caravan of twenty-six mules and horses. following the road from li-chiang to the yangtze, we crossed the "black water" and climbed steadily upward over several tremendous wooded ridges, each higher than the last, to the summit of the divide. the descent was gradual through a magnificent pine and spruce forest. some of the trees were at least one hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped with beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from branch to branch and hung suspended in delicate streamers yards in length. the forest was choked with underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and the hundreds of fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss, made ideal conditions for small mammal collecting. however, as all the species would probably be similar to those we had obtained on the snow mountain, we did not feel that it was worth while stopping to trap. at four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a beautiful hill in a pine forest which was absolutely devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was thinly overlaid with brown pine needles. although the moso hunter, who acted as our guide, assured us that the river was only three miles away, it proved to be more than fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half past one the next afternoon. we were continually annoyed, as every traveler in china is, by the inaccuracy of the natives, and especially of the chinese. their ideas of distance are most extraordinary. one may ask a chinaman how far it is to a certain village and he will blandly reply, "fifteen _li_ to go, but thirty _li_ when you come back." after a short experience one learns how to interpret such an answer, for it means that when going the road is down hill and that the return uphill will require double the time. caravans are supposed to travel ten _li_ an hour, although they seldom do more than eight, and all calculations of distance are based upon time so far as the _mafus_ are concerned. if the day's march is eight hours you invariably will be informed that the distance is eighty _li_, although in reality it may not be half as great. in "chinese characteristics," dr. arthur h. smith gives many illuminating observations on the inaccuracy of the chinese. in regard to distance he says: it is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the distance is given in "miles" (_li_), whether the "miles" are "large" or not! that there is _some_ basis for estimates of distances we do not deny, but what we do deny is that these estimates or measurements are either accurate or uniform. it is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment one leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become "long." if _li_ constitute a fair day's journey on the main road, then on country roads it will take fully as long to go _li_, and in the mountains the whole day will be spent in getting over _li_ (p. ). in like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of his oxen gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains that he has omitted to estimate the bones! a servant who was asked his height mentioned a measure which was ridiculously inadequate to cover his length, and upon being questioned admitted that he had left out of account all above his shoulders! he had once been a soldier, where the height of the men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of burdens. and since a chinese soldier is to all practical purposes complete without his head, this was omitted. of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who affirmed that he lived "ninety _li_ from the city," but upon cross-examination he consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning both to the city and back, the real distance being as he admitted, only "forty-five _li_ one way!" (p. ) ... the habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads to much vagueness. a few people are "ten or twenty," a "few tens," or perhaps "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate enumeration is one of the rarest of experiences in china.... an acquaintance told the writer that two men had spent " strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition, adding a moment later, "it was strings, but that is the same as --is it not?" (p. ). a man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that he himself "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious from his narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city. upon inquiry, he admitted that he did not _now_ live in the village, and further investigation revealed the fact that the removal took place nineteen generations ago! "but do you not almost consider yourself a resident of the city now?" he was asked. "yes," he replied simply, "we do live there now, but the old root is in that village." ...the whole chinese system of thinking is based on a line of assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed, and they can ill comprehend the mania which seems to possess the occidental to ascertain everything with unerring exactness. the chinese does not know how many families there are in his native village, and he does not wish to know. what any human being can want to know this number for is to him an insoluble riddle. it is "a few hundred," "several hundreds," or "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was and never will be. (p. .) after breaking camp on the day following our departure from the "white water" we rode along a broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in the late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one of the most impressive sights which china has to offer. at the left, and a thousand feet below, the mighty yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been carved out of the solid rock, sharp and clean, with a giant's knife. a few miles to the right the mountains widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the river. every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys which stretch upward between the hills, is under cultivation, giving support for three villages, the largest of which is taku. the ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for miles where the river can be crossed. the south bank is so precipitous that the trail from the plain twists and turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow sand and gravel beach. the opposite side of the river is a vertical wall of rock which slopes back a little at the lower end to form a steep hillside covered with short grass. the landing place is a mass of jagged rocks fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the face of the cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by any loaded animal; therefore all the packs must be unstrapped and laboriously carted up the slope on the backs of the _mafus_. at two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the boat, which carried only two animals and their packs, for the first trip across the river. it was difficult to get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved and actually lifted bodily into the dory. one of the ferrymen first drew the craft along the rocks by a long rope, then climbed up the face of what appeared to be an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close beneath him, slid down into it. in this way the dory was worked well up stream and when pushed into the swift current was rowed diagonally to the other side. after four loads had been taken over, the boatmen decided to stop work although there was yet more than an hour of daylight and they could not be persuaded to cross again by either threats or coaxing. it was an uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do but camp where we were even though the greater part of our baggage was on the other side, with only the _mafus_ to guard it, and therefore open to robbery. about a third of a mile from the ferry we found a sandy cornfield on a level shelf just above the water, and pitched our tents. a slight wind was blowing and before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds, sand in our clothes, and we were eating sand. heller went down the river with a bag of traps while we set forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of the day, we crawled into our sandy beds. at daylight hotenfa visited the ferry and reported that the loads were safe but that one of the boatmen had gone to the village and no one knew when he would return. we went to the river with wu as soon as breakfast was over and spent an aggravating hour trying by alternate threats and cajoling to persuade the remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. but it was useless, for the louder i swore the more frightened he became and he finally retired into a rock cave from which the _mafus_ had to drag him out bodily and drive him into the boat. the second boatman ambled slowly in about ten o'clock and we felt like beating them both, but wu impressed upon us the necessity for patience if we ever expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed our wrath; nevertheless, we decided not to leave until the loads and mules were on the other side, and we ate a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand. heller employed his time by skinning the twenty small mammals (one of which was a new rat) that our traps had yielded. we took a good many photographs and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of the _mafus_ to get the mules aboard. some of them went in quietly enough but others absolutely refused to step into the boat. one of the _mafus_ would pull, another push, a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its feet singly over the side. with the accompaniment of yells, kicks, and chinese oaths the performance was picturesque to say the least. by five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken across the racing green water and we had some time before dark in which to investigate the caverns with which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. they were of two kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves. the latter consist of a long central shaft, just high enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens into a circular room. along the sides of the corridor shallow nests have been scooped out to serve as beds and all the cooking is done not far from the door. the caves, although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling as the ordinary native house. the mines are straight shafts dug into the cliffs where the rock is quarried and crushed by hand. chapter xx through unmapped country we left the taku ferry by way of a steep trail through an open pine and spruce forest along the rim of the yangtze gorge where the view was magnificent. someone has said that when a tourist sees the grand cañon for the first time he gasps "indescribable" and then immediately begins to describe it. thus it was with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of this titanic chasm. in places the rocks were painted in delicate tints of blue and purple; in others, the sides fell away in sheer drops of hundreds of feet to the green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand five hundred miles away. the caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all day and we were left far behind, for at each turn a view more beautiful than the last opened out before us, and until every color plate and negative in the holders had been exposed we worked steadily with the camera. we were traveling northwestward through an unmapped region which baron haendel-mazzetti had skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and probably rich in game. after six hours of riding over almost bare mountain-sides we passed through a parklike spruce forest and reached habala, a long thin village of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides of a narrow valley. above and to the left of the village rose ridge after ridge of dense spruce forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned peak and cut by deep ravines, the gloomy depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky cliffs--a veritable paradise for serow and goral. our camping place was a grassy lawn as flat and smooth as the putting green of a golf course. just below the tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably to itself and a huge dead tree was lying crushed and broken for the camp fire. the boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in half an hour and, after setting a line of traps, we wandered slowly back through the darkness guided by the brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow glow over our little table spread for dinner. we sent men to the village to bring in hunters and after dinner four or five picturesque mosos appeared. they said that there were many serow, goral, muntjac and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and we could well believe it, for there was never a more "likely looking" spot. although the men did not claim to be professional hunters, nevertheless they said that they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and other animals. they agreed to come at daylight and arrived about two hours late, which was doing fairly well for natives. it was a brilliant day just warm enough for comfort in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. however it did not take many hours to demonstrate that the men knew almost nothing about hunting and that their dogs were useless. because of the dense cover "still hunting" was out of the question and, after a hard climb, we returned to camp to spend the remainder of the afternoon developing photographs and preparing small mammals. our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver mole as well as a number of mice, rats, and meadow voles of species identical with those taken on the snow mountain. it was evident, therefore, that the yangtze river does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution of even the smallest forms and that the region in which we were now working would not produce a different fauna. this was an important discovery from the standpoint of our distribution records but was also somewhat disappointing. the photographic work already had yielded excellent results. the paget color plates were especially beautiful and the fact that everything was developed in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality of each negative. for this work the portable dark room was invaluable. it could be quickly erected and suspended from a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and offered an absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates. the moving-picture film required special treatment because of its size and we usually fastened in the servants' tent the red lining which had been made for this purpose in new york. even then the space was so cramped that we were dead tired at the end of a few hours' work. one who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and sees moving-picture film which has been obtained in such remote parts of the world does not realize the difficulties in its preparation. the water for developing almost invariably was dirty and in order to insure even a moderately clear film it always had to be strained. for washing the negative pailful after pailful had to be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the film exposed for hours to the carelessness or curiosity of the natives. in our cramped quarters perhaps a corner of the tent would be pushed open admitting a stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to work, leaving us in complete darkness to finish the developing "by guess and by gosh," or any number of other accidents occur to ruin the film. at most we could not develop more than three hundred feet in an afternoon and we never breathed freely until it finally was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans. we left habala, on november , for a village called phete where the natives had assured us we would find good hunters with dogs. for almost the entire distance the road skirted the rim of the yangtze gorge and there the view of the great chasm was even more magnificent than that we had left. while its sides are not fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer than those of the grand cañon of the colorado, nevertheless its grandeur is hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring. if yün-nan is ever made accessible by railroads this gorge should become a mecca for tourists, for it is without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights in the world. about two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three clusters of houses on a tableland which juts into a chasm cut by a tributary of the great river. one of them was phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in half an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously around the hillside, down to the stream and up again that it was an hour and a half before we found a camping place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the nearest houses. next day we could not go to the village to find hunters until mid-forenoon because the natives of this region are very late risers and often have not yet opened their doors at ten o'clock. this is quite contrary to the custom in many other parts of china where the inhabitants are about their work in the first light of dawn. the hills above phete are bare or thinly forested and every available inch of level ground is under cultivation with corn and a few rice paddys near the creek; the latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected to find rice so far north. the village itself was exceedingly picturesque but never have we met people of such utter and hopeless stupidity as its inhabitants. they were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a smile and salutation, but their brains seemed not to have kept pace with their bodies and when asked the simplest question they would only stare stupidly without the slightest glimmering of intelligence. it required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more people to glean that there were no hunters in the village where they had lived all their lives, but wu, our interpreter, finally discovered a chinese who told us of a hunter in the mountains. he asked how far and the answer was "not very far." "well, is it ten _li_?" "i don't know how many _li_." "have you ever been there?" "yes; it is only a few steps." "how long will it take to get there?" "about the time of one meal." we were not to be deceived, for we had had experience with native ideas of distance, and we ate our tiffin before starting out on the "few steps." a steep trail led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding we reached the hunter's village of three large houses on a flat strip of cleared ground in the midst of a dense forest. the people looked much like those of phete but were rather anemic specimens, and five out of eight had enormous goiters. they were exceedingly shy at first, watching us with side glances and through cracks in the wall. wu learned that we were the first white persons they had ever seen. i imagine that much of their unhealthiness was due to too close intermarriage, for these families had little intercourse with the people in phete who were only "a few steps" away. as we were leaving they began to eat their supper in the courtyard. the principal dish consisted of mixed cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and green vegetables. all the women were busy husking corn which was hung to dry on great racks about the house. these racks we had noticed in every village since leaving li-chiang and they seemed to be in universal use in the north. the hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased one for $ . (mexican) but there was considerable difficulty in paying for it since these people had never seen chinese money even though living in china itself. for currency they used chunks of silver the size of a walnut and worth about one dollar (mexican). the chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the genuineness of our money and we purchased a few eggs and a little very delicious wild honey besides the sheep. these people as well as those of phete spoke the li-chiang dialect but with such variation that even our _mafus_ could understand them only with the greatest difficulty. when we returned to camp we found that the coolie who had been engaged to carry the motion-picture camera and tripod had left without the formality of saying "good-by" or asking for the money which was due him. we had had considerable trouble with the camera coolies since leaving li-chiang. the first one carried the camera to the taku ferry with many groans, and there engaged a huge chinaman to take his place, for he thought the load too heavy. it only weighed fifty pounds, and in the fukien province where men seldom carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much as one hundred and fifty, it would have been considered as only half a burden. in yün-nan, however, animals do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at even an ordinary load. we left phete in the early morning and camped about five hundred feet above the hunter's cabin in a beautiful little meadow. it was surrounded with splendid pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a knoll in the center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen little streams over the edge of a deep ravine where a mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo jungle. the gigantic fallen trees were covered inches deep with green moss, and altogether it was an ideal spot for small mammals. our traps, however, yielded no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens every night. there were a few families of lolos about two miles away and these were engaged as hunters. they told us that serow and muntjac were abundant and that wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several miles to the northward. although the men had a large pack of good dogs they were such unsatisfactory hunters that we gave up in disgust after three days. they never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the morning when the sun had so dried the leaves that the scent was lost and the dogs could not follow a trail even if one were found. moreover, the camp was a very uncomfortable one, due to the wind which roared through the trees night and day. we were rejoined here by hotenfa, who had left us at the taku ferry to see if he could get together a pack of dogs. he brought three hounds with him which he praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that they did not justify our hopes. nevertheless, we were glad to have hotenfa back, for he was one of the most intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives whom we met in all yün-nan. he was an uncouth savage when he first came to us, but in a very short time he had learned our camp ways and was as good a servant as any we had. chapter xxi traveling toward tibet since the hunters at the "windy camp" had proved so worthless and the traps had yielded no small mammals new to our collection, we decided to cross the mountains toward the chung-tien road which leads into tibet. the head _mafu_ explored the trail and reported that it was impassable but, after an examination of some of the worst barriers, we decided that they could be cleared away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven in the morning. before long we found that the _mafus_ were right. the trail was a mass of tangled underbrush and fallen logs and led straight up a precipitous mountain through a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. it was necessary to stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier or cut a passage through the bamboo thickets, and had it not been for the adjustable pack saddles we never could have taken the caravan over the trail. late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals dragged themselves to the summit of the mountain, for it was not a pass. in a few hours we had come from autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and covered with snow. we were at an altitude of more than , feet and far above all timber except the rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low gray mass along the ridges. it was difficult to make the slightest exertion in the thin air and a bitterly cold wind swept across the peaks so that it was impossible to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats. the servants and _mafus_ suffered considerably but it was too late to go on and there was no alternative but to spend the night on the mountain. as soon as the tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the fire, but we started out with a bag of traps while heller went in the opposite direction. we expected to catch some new mammals during the night, for there were great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. the ground was frozen so solidly that it was necessary to cut into the little _microtus_ tunnels with a hatchet in order to set the traps and we were almost frozen before the work was completed. the next morning we had caught twenty specimens of a new white-bellied meadow vole and a remarkable shrew with a long curved proboscis. everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it was bitterly cold even in our sleeping bags and the men had sat up about the fire in order to keep from freezing. there was little difficulty in getting the caravan started in the gray light of early dawn and after descending abruptly four thousand feet on a precipitous trail to a lolo village strung out along a beautiful little valley we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn. the natives here had never before seen a white person and in a few moments our tents were surrounded by a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. the chief of the village presented us with an enormous rooster and we made him happy by returning two tins of cigarettes. the lolo women, the first we had seen, were especially surprising because of their graceful figures and handsome faces. their flat turbans, short jackets, and long skirts with huge flounces gave them a rather old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony with the metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they all wore. the men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque group in their gray and brown felt capes which they gather about the neck by a draw string and, to the lolos and mosos alike, are both bed and clothing. we collected all the men for their photographs, and although they had not the slightest idea what we were about they stood quietly after hotenfa had assured them that the strange-looking instrument would not go off. but most interesting of all was their astonishment when half an hour later they saw the negative and were able to identify themselves upon it. the lolos are apparently a much maligned race. they are exceedingly independent, and although along the frontier of their own territory in s'suchuan they wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly unprovoked. no one can enter their country safely unless he is under the protection of a chief who acts as a sponsor and passes him along to others. mr. brooke, an englishman, was killed by the lolos, but he was not properly "chaperoned," and major d'ollone of the french expedition lived among them safely for some time and gives them unstinted praise. whenever we met tribesmen in yün-nan who had not seen white persons they behaved much like all other natives. they were, of course, always greatly astonished to see our caravan descend upon them and were invariably fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact everything about us, but were generally shy and decidedly less offensive in their curiosity than the chinese of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by no means unknown. as a matter of fact we have found that our white skins, light eyes, and hair are a never failing source of interest and envy to almost all orientals. yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially among the women, and as she wore knickerbockers and a flannel shirt there were times when the determination of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion. her long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and when the women had decided the question of gender satisfactorily they often made timid, and most amusing, advances. one woman said she greatly admired her fair complexion and asked how many baths she took to keep her skin so white. another wondered whether it was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost everyone wished to feel her clothes and shoes. she always could command more attention than anyone else by her camera operations, and a group would stand in speechless amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable dark room when she was developing photographs or loading plates. we made arrangements to go with a number of the lolos to a spot fifteen miles away on the chung-tien road to hunt wapiti (probably _cervus macneilli_) which the natives call _maloo_. our american wapiti, or elk, is a migrant from asia by way of the bering strait and is probably a relative of the wapiti which is found in central asia, china, manchuria and korea. at present these deer are abundant in but few places. throughout the orient, and especially in china, the growing horns when they are soft, or in the "velvet," are considered of great medicinal value and, during the summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly by the natives. in yün-nan, when we were there, a pair of horns were worth $ (mexican). thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with occasional flurries of haillike snow, but we did not heed the cold, for the trail led over two high ridges and along the rim of a tremendous gorge. to the south the white summits of the snow mountain range towered majestically above the surrounding peaks and, in the gray light, the colors were beautiful beyond description. to the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid wapiti country. our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the chung-tien road just within the edge of a stately, moss-draped forest. that night we celebrated with harmless bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded as they filled with steam and echoed among the trees like pistol shots. marco polo speaks of the same phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region over six hundred and thirty years ago. about nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps with a lantern and besides several mice (_apodemus_) found two rare shrews and a new mole (_blarina_). i went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except an old wapiti track and a little sign. all during the following day a dense fog hung close to the ground so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the night of december , it snowed heavily. the morning began bright and clear but clouded about ten o'clock and became so bitterly cold that the lolos would not hunt. they really suffered considerably and that night they all left us to return to their homes. we were greatly disappointed, for we had brilliant prospects of good wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs and in an unknown country there was little possibility of successful still hunting. the _mafus_ were very much worried and refused to go further north. they were certain that we would not be able to cross the high passes which lay between us and the mekong valley far to the westward and complained unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food for their animals. it was necessary to visit the mekong river, for even though it might not be a good big game region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the fauna and important data on the distribution of small mammals. therefore we decided to leave for the long ride as soon as the weather permitted. chapter xxii stalking tibetans with a camera _y.b.a._ the road near which we were camped was one of the great trade routes into tibet and over it caravans were continually passing laden with tea or pork. many of them had traveled the entire length of yün-nan to s'su-mao on the tonking frontier where a special kind of tea is grown, and were hurrying northward to cross the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to the "forbidden land." the caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to spend the night near our camp. as the horses came up, one by one the loads were lifted off, the animals turned loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and _tsamba_ [footnote: _tsamba_ is parched oats or barley, ground finely.] each man stretched out upon the ground without shelter of any kind and heedless of the freezing cold. it is truly the life of primitive man and has bred a hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander over the boundless steppes and demanding from the outside world only to be let alone. they are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in their swinging walk there is a care-free independence and an atmosphere of the bleak tibetan steppes which are strangely fascinating. every tibetan is a study for an artist. he wears a fur cap and a long loose coat like a russian blouse thrown carelessly off one shoulder and tied about the waist, blue or red trousers, and high boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. a long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of glass or stones, is half concealed beneath his coat, and he is seldom without a gun or a murderous looking spear. in the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket, he carries a remarkable assortment of things; a pipe, tobacco, tea, _tsamba_, cooking pots, a snuff box and, hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him from bullets or sickness. the eastern tibetans are men of splendid physique and great strength, and are frequently more than six feet in height. they have brick-red complexions and some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine way. their straight features suggest a strong mixture of other than mongolian stock and they are the direct antithesis of the chinese in every particular. their strength and virility and the dashing swing of their walk are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving, effeminate chinaman whom one sees being carried along the road sprawled in a mountain chair. of all natives whom we tried to photograph the tibetans were the most difficult. it was almost impossible to bribe them with money or tin cans to stand for a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera set up beside the trail they would make long detours to avoid passing in front of it. what we could not get by bribery we tried to do by stealth and concealed ourselves behind bushes with the camera focused on a certain spot upon the road. the instant a tibetan discovered it he would run like a frightened deer and in some mysterious way they seemed to have passed the word along that our camp was a spot to be avoided. sometimes a bottle was too great a temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly like a bird with wings half spread, only to dash away as though the devil were after him, when he saw my head disappear beneath the focusing hood. wu and a _mafu_ who could speak a little tibetan finally captured one picturesque looking fellow. he carefully tucked the tin cans, given for advance payment, inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery allowed me to place him where i wished. but the instant the motion picture camera swung in his direction he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. wu tried to hold him but the tibetan drew his sword, waved it wildly about his head and took to his heels, yelling at the top of his lungs. he was well-nigh frightened to death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in the road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails flapping like a sail in the wind. one caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture camera unawares. there were several women in the party and, as soon as the men realized that there was no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping her between him and the camera. they were taking no chances with their precious selves, for the women could be replaced easily enough if necessary. the trouble is that the tibetan not unnaturally has the greatest possible suspicion and dislike for strangers. the chinese he loathes and despises, and foreigners he knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial peace. he is confirmed in his attitude by the church which throughout tibet has the monopoly of all the gold in the country. and the church utterly declines to believe that any foreigner can come so far for any end less foolish than the discovery of gold and the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly. major davies, who saw much of the yün-nan tibetans, has remarked that it is curious how little impression the civilization and customs of the chinese have produced on the tibetans. elsewhere, one of the principal characteristics of chinese expansion is its power of absorbing other races, but with the tibetans exactly the reverse takes place. the chinese become tibetanized and the children of a chinaman married to a tibetan woman are usually brought up in the tibetan customs. probably the great cause which keeps the tibetan from being absorbed is the cold, inhospitable nature of his country. there is little to tempt the chinese to emigrate into tibet and consequently they never are there in sufficient numbers to influence the tibetans around them. a similar cause has preserved some of the low-lying shan states from absorption, the heat in this case being the reason that the chinese do not settle there. chapter xxiii westward to the mekong river during the night of december , there was a heavy fall of snow and in the morning we awoke to find ourselves in fairyland. we were living in a great white palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs. the long, delicate strands of gray moss which draped themselves from tree to tree and branch to branch were each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful. it was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace, for every vista through the forest seemed more lovely than the one before, but we knew that another fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from the mekong valley. the _mafus_ even refused to try the direct route across the mountains to wei-hsi and insisted on going southward to the shih-ku ferry and up the yangtze river on the main caravan route. it was a long trip and we looked forward with no pleasure to eight days of hard riding. the difficulty in obtaining hunters since leaving the snow mountain had made our big game collecting negligible although we had traveled through some excellent country. the mekong valley might not be better but it was an unknown quantity and, whether or not it yielded specimens, the results from a survey of the mammal distribution would be none the less important, and we felt that it must be done; otherwise we should have turned our backs on the north and returned to ta-li fu. as we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan after caravan of tibetans with heavily loaded horses, all bound for that land of mystery beyond the snow-capped barriers. often we tried to stop some of the red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for a color photograph, but usually they only shook their heads stubbornly and hurried past with averted faces. we finally waylaid a chinese and a tibetan who were walking together. the chinaman was an amiable fellow and by giving each of them a glass jam tumbler they halted a moment. as soon as the photograph had been taken the chinese indicated that he expected us to produce one and was thoroughly disgusted when we showed him that it was impossible. repassing the lolo village, we followed the river gorge at the upper end of which chung-tien is located and left the forests when we emerged on the main road. from the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a magnificent view down the cañon to the snow-capped mountains, which were beautiful beyond description in their changing colors of purple and gold. just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several hundred horses each bearing two whole pigs bent double and tied to the saddles. the animals had been denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would be distributed among the villages somewhere in the interior of tibet. on the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned peaks as sharp and regular as the teeth of a saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into the yangtze. here the mighty river, flowing proudly southward from its home in the wind-blown steppes of the "forbidden land," countless ages ago found the great snow mountain range barring its path. thrust aside, it doubled back upon itself along the barrier's base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the wall of rock. far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's side again, broke through, and swung south gathering strength and volume from hundreds of tributaries as it rushed onward to the sea. for two days we rode along the river bank and crossed at the shih-ku ferry. there was none of the difficulty here which we had experienced at taku, for the river is wide and the current slow. it required only two hours to transport our entire caravan while at the other ferry we had waited a day and a half. strangely enough, although there are dozens of villages along the yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no sign of fishing. moreover, we passed but three boats and five or six rafts and it was evident that this great waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its mouth influences the trade of china so profoundly, is here used but little by the natives. on the ride down the river we had good sport with the huge cranes (probably _grus nigricollis_) which, in small flocks, were feeding along the river fields. the birds stood about five feet high and we could see their great black and white bodies and black necks farther than a man was visible. it was fairly easy to stalk them to within a hundred yards, but even at that distance they offered a rather small target, for they were so largely wings, neck, legs, and tail. we were never within shotgun range and indeed it would be difficult to kill the birds with anything smaller than bb or buckshot unless they were very near. heller shot our first cranes with his . -. savage rifle. he stole upon five which were feeding in a meadow and fired while two were "lined up." one of the huge birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments and lay still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and started off at full speed across the fields. two _mafus_ left the caravan, yelling with excitement, and ran for nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. then they were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long beak which is a really formidable weapon. as food the cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed with chestnut dressing and roasted. each one provided two meals for three of us with enough left over for hash and our appetites were by no means birdlike. although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are not often successful, for the birds are very watchful and will not allow a man within a hundred yards. such a distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well be a hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we were able to shoot as many as were needed for food. the birds almost invariably followed the river when flying and fed in the rice, barley, and corn fields not far from the water. it was an inspiring sight to see a flock of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground and then launch themselves into the air, their black and white wings flashing in the sunlight. they formed into orderly ranks like a company of soldiers or strung out in a long thin line across the sky. when we disturbed a flock from especially desirable feeding grounds they would sometimes whirl and circle above the fields, ascending higher and higher in great spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of happy children. when we returned to ta-li fu in early january, cranes were very abundant in the fields about the lake. they had arrived in late october and would depart in early spring, according to mr. evans. we often saw the birds on sand banks along the yangtze, but they were usually resting or quietly walking about and were not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley, corn, or other grain. this species was discovered by the great traveler and naturalist, lieutenant colonel prjevalsky, who found it in the koko-nor region of tibet, and it was later recorded by prince henri d'orleans from tsang in the tibetan highlands. apparently specimens from yün-nan have not been preserved in museums and the bird was not known to occur in this portion of china. along the yangtze on our way westward we shot a good many mallard ducks (_anas boscas_) and ruddy sheldrakes (_casarca casarca_); the latter are universally known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in burma and yün-nan, but they are not true ducks. the name is derived from the bird's beautiful buff and rufous color which is somewhat like that of the robes worn by the brahmin priests. in america the name "sheldrake" is applied erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and much confusion has thus arisen, for the two are quite unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct groups. the mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks quite unlike those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are entirely dissimilar. the brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not bad eating. we usually found them feeding in fields not far from the river or in flooded rice dykes, and very often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water. they have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is peculiarly fascinating to me and, like the honk of the canada goose, awakens memories of sodden, wind-blown marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot through with v-shaped lines of flying birds. mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes, and we had good shooting along the river and in ponds and rice fields. we also saw a few teal but they were by no means abundant. pheasants were scarce. we shot a few along the road and near some of our camps, but we found no place in yün-nan where one could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of a good dog. this is strikingly different from korea where in a walk over the hillsides a dozen or more pheasants can be flushed within an hour. after two and one-half days' travel up the yangtze we turned westward toward wei-hsi and camped on a beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered stream. it was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke about the fire we all turned in. both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam of angry exclamations and chinese curses roused the whole camp. in a few moments wu came to our tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered, "damn fool soldiers come try to take our horses; say if _mafu_ no give them horses they untie loads. shall i tell _mafu_ break their heads?" we did not entirely understand the situation but it seemed quite proper to give the _mafus_ permission to do the head-breaking, and they went at it with a will. after a volley of blows, there was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the soldiers retired considerably the worse for wear. when the battle was over, wu explained matters more fully. it appeared that a large detachment of soldiers had recently passed up this road to a-tun-tzu and four or five had remained behind to attend to the transport of certain supplies. seeing an opportunity for "graft" the soldiers were stopping every caravan which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless the _mafus_ gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity. our _mafus_, with the protection which foreigners gave them, had paid off a few old scores with interest. that they had neglected no part of the reckoning was quite evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to apologize for their "mistake." one of them had a black and swollen eye and the other was nursing a deep cut on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did not venture into camp until they had been assured that we would not again loose our terrible _mafus_ upon them. such extortions are every day occurrences in many parts of china and it is little wonder that the military is cordially hated and feared by the peasants. the soldiers, taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress. if a complaint is made a dozen soldiers stand ready to swear that the offense was justified or was never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment. it is a disgrace to china that such conditions are allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped that ere many years have passed the country will awake to a proper recognition of the rights of the individual. until she does there never can be a national spirit of patriotism in china and without patriotism the republic can be one in name only. chapter xxiv down the mekong valley on december , we had tiffin on the summit of a twelve thousand foot pass in a beautiful snow-covered meadow, from which we could see the glistening peaks of the vast mountain range which forms the mekong-salween divide. in the afternoon we reached wei-hsi and camped in a grove of splendid pine trees on a hill overlooking the city. the place was rather disappointing after li-chiang. the shops were poor and it was difficult to buy rice even though the entire valley was devoted to paddy fields, but we did get quantities of delicious persimmons. wu told us that seven different languages were spoken in the city, and we could well believe it, for we recognized mosos, lolos, chinese, and tibetans. this region is nearly the extreme western limit of the moso tribe which appears not to extend across the mekong river. the mandarin at wei-hsi received us hospitably and proved to be one of the most courteous officials whom we met in yün-nan. we were sorry to learn that he was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our visit. trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on salt and fifteen hundred rebelled, attacked the city, and captured it after a sharp fight. it was reported that they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and children, and boiled him alive in oil. although the magistrate offered to assist us in every way we could obtain no information concerning either hunting grounds or routes of travel. the flying squirrels which we had hoped to find near the city were reported to come from a mountain range beyond the mekong in burma, and wei-hsi was merely a center of distribution for the skins. moreover, the natives said it would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of the year, for the mountain passes were so heavily covered with snow that neither men nor caravans could cross them. it was desirable, however, to descend to the mekong river in order to determine whether there would be a change in fauna, and on major davies' map a small road was marked down the valley. a stiff climb of a day and a half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen and snow-covered, brought us in sight of the green waters of the mekong which has carved a gorge for itself in an almost straight line from the bleak tibetan plateaus through yün-nan and indo-china to the sea. our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a deep valley, near a small village. wu said that the natives were lutzus and i was inclined to believe he was right, although major davies indicates this region to be inhabited by lisos. at any rate these people both in physical appearance and dress were quite distinct from the lisos whom we met later. they were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the chief, accompanied by four venerable men, brought a present of rice. i gave him two tins of cigarettes and the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles. the garments of the lutzus were characteristic and quite unlike those of the mosos, lisos or tibetans. the women wore a long coat or jacket of blue cloth, trousers, and a very full pleated skirt. the men were dressed in plum colored coats and trousers. the natives said that monkeys (probably _pygathrix_) were often seen when the corn was ripe and that even yet they might be found in the forest across the river. heller spent a day hunting them, but found none and we obtained only one new mammal in our traps. it was a tiny mouse (_micromys_) but the remainder of the fauna was essentially the same as that of the yangtze valley and the intervening country. for three days we traveled down the mekong river. although the natives said that the trail was good, we discovered when it was too late that it was too narrow and difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as ours. it was necessary to continually remove the loads in order to lift them around sharp corners or over rocks, and the _mafus_ sometimes had to cut away great sections of the bank. usually only six or seven miles could be traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work, and we were glad when we could leave the river. the mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred yards wide in this region and, like the yangtze, the water is very green from the tibetan snows. the prevailing rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone, as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the valley are so precipitous that it seems impossible for a human being to walk over them, and yet they are patched with brown corn fields from the summit to the water. considering the small area available for cultivation there are a considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered into villages and seldom live in isolated houses as in the yangtze valley. wherever a stream comes down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating ditches, the ground is beautifully terraced for rice paddys, but in other places, corn and peas appear to be the principal crops. very few vegetables, such as turnips, squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is rather remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the country between the mekong and the yangtze rivers. in several places the water was spanned by rope bridges. the cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end must necessarily be higher than the other, there are always two ropes, one to cross each way. the traveler is tied by leather thongs in a sitting position to a wooden "runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and shoots across the river at tremendous speed. the valley is hopeless from a zoölogical standpoint. it is too dry for small mammals and the mountain slopes are so precipitous, thinly forested, and generally undesirable, that, except for gorals, no other large game would live there. the bird life is decidedly uninteresting. there are no cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of mallards which feed in the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese. on december , we turned away from the mekong valley and began to march southeast by east across an unmapped region toward ta-li fu. we camped at night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees just above a deep moist ravine. in the morning our traps contained several rare shrews, five silver moles, a number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous spiny rat. it was too good a place to leave and i sent hotenfa to inquire from a family of natives if there was big game of any sort in the vicinity. he reported that there were goral not far away, and at half past eight we rode down the trail for three miles when i left my horse at a peasant's house. they told us that the goral were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which rose two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour and a half we climbed steadily upward. we were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep cañon when hotenfa excitedly whispered, "_gnai-yang_" and held up three fingers. he tried to show the animals to me and at last i caught sight of what i thought was a goral standing on a narrow ledge. i fired and a bit of rock flew into the air while the three gorals disappeared among the trees two hundred feet above the spot where i had supposed them to be. i was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started on a run for the other side of the gorge. when we arrived, hotenfa motioned me to swing about to the right while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. no sooner had he reached the edge of the precipice than i saw him lean far out, fire with my three-barrel gun, and frantically wave for me to come. i ran to him and, throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked down. there directly under us stood a huge goral, but just as i was about to shoot, the earth gave way beneath my feet and i would have fallen squarely on the animal had hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me back to safety. the goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt and stones came from before i fired hurriedly, breaking his fore leg at the knee. without the slightest sign of injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock. i dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running at full speed across a narrow open ledge toward a thick mass of cover on the opposite side of the cañon. i fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the mountain, stone dead. it fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly to the bottom of the valley and, slipping and rolling in a cloud of red dust, dropped over a precipice. the ram brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred feet below us, and it required half an hour's hard work to reach the spot. when i finally lifted its head one of the horns which had been broken in the fall slipped through my fingers, and away went the goral on another rough and tumble descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. we returned to camp at noon bringing joy with us, for, as my wife had remarked the day before, "we will soon have to eat chickens or cans." heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following day and we left on december , camping at night on a flat terrace beside a stream at the end of a moist ravine. we intended to spend christmas here for it was a beautiful spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration was to be on christmas eve. the following day dawned bright and clear. there had not been a drop of rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm enough for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at night the temperature dropped to about °+ or °+ fahr. the camp proved to be a good one, giving us two new mammals and, just after tiffin, hotenfa came running in to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys (probably _pygathrix_) in a cornfield a mile away. the monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but while we were gone yvette had been busy and, just before dinner, she ushered us into our tent with great ceremony. it had been most wonderfully transformed. at the far end stood a christmas tree, blazing with tiny candles and surrounded by masses of white cotton, through which shone red holly berries. holly branches from the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and hung in green waves from the ridge pole. at the base of the tree gifts which she had purchased in hongkong in the preceding august were laid out. heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from the chinese wine and orange juice, and we drank to each other and to those at home while sitting on the ground and opening our packages. we had purchased two tibetan rugs in li-chiang and wei-hsi, as christmas presents for yvette. these rugs usually are blue or red, with intricate designs in the center, and are well woven and attractive. to the servants and _mafus_ we gave money and cigarettes. when the muleteers were brought to the tent to receive their gifts they evidently thought our blazing tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and began to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done before their heathen gods. our christmas dinner was a masterpiece. four days previously i had shot a pair of mallard ducks and they formed the _pièce de résistance_. the dinner consisted of soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers, coffee and cigarettes. christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon passed through a very dirty chinese town in a deep valley near some extensive salt wells. red clay dust lay thick over everything and the filth of the streets and houses was indescribable. we camped in a cornfield a mile beyond the village, but were greatly annoyed by the chinese who insisted on swarming into camp. finally, unable longer to endure their insolent stares, i drove them with stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in row upon row exactly as in the "bleachers" at an american baseball game. when we left the following day we passed dozens of caravans and groups of men and women carrying great disks of salt. each piece was stamped in red with the official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only licensed merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover, the importation of salt from foreign countries is forbidden. for the purposes of administration, china is divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which has its own sources of production and the salt obtained in one district may not be sold in another. in yün-nan the salt of the province is supplied from three regions. the water from the wells is boiled in great caldrons for several days, and the resulting deposit is earth impregnated with salt. this is crushed, mixed with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains. after passing a village of considerable size called pei-ping, we began the ascent of an exceedingly steep mountain range twelve thousand feet high. all the afternoon we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening at a pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the way to the summit. during the night it snowed heavily and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed world. every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest white and between the branches we could look westward across the valley toward the mekong and the purple mountain wall of the burma border. there were still one thousand feet of climbing between us and the summit of the pass. the trail was almost blocked, but by slow work we forced our way through the drifts. some of the mules were already weak from exposure and underfeeding, and two of them had to be relieved of their loads; they died the next day. our _mafus_ did not appear to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from the knees down and their feet had no covering except straw sandals. indeed when we discovered, on the summit of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was burning, they waited only a few moments to warm themselves. we met two other caravans fighting their way up the mountain from the other side, and by following the trail which they had broken through the drifts we made fairly good time on the descent. there had been no snow on the broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon and we found that its ponds and fields were alive with ducks, geese, and cranes. the birds were wild but we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning and killed enough to last us several days. on december , our weary days of crossing range after range of tremendous mountains were ended, and we stood on the last pass looking down upon the great chien-chuan plain. outside the grim walls of the old city, which lies on the main a-tun-tzu--ta-li fu road, are two large marshy ponds and, away to the south, is an extensive lake. we camped just without the courtyard of a fine temple, and at four o'clock yvette and i went over to the water which was swarming with ducks and geese. neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious afternoon sunlight. cloud after cloud of ducks rose as we neared the pond and circled high above our heads, but now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail" would swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out the birds would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs or climb higher with frightened quacks if the shot went wild. an hour before dark the brahminy ducks began to come in. we could hear their melodious plaintive calls long before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves out in the grass and mud. soon a thin, black line would streak the sky, and as they drew nearer, yvette would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of wood and bone that the flock would swing and dive toward us in a rush of flashing wings. when we could see the brown bodies right above our heads i would sit up and bang away. now and then a big white goose would drop into the pond or an ibis flap lazily overhead, seeming to realize that it had nothing to fear from the prostrate bodies which spat fire at other birds. the stillness of the marsh was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled in the wild, sweet clamor so dear to the heart of every sportsman. as the day began to die, hung about with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the rice fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. it was our last camp for the year and, as if to bid us farewell as we journeyed toward the tropics, the peaks of the great snow mountain far to the north, had draped themselves in a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky of lavender and gold like white cathedral spires. on january , we camped early in the afternoon on a beautiful little plain beside a spring overhung with giant trees at the head of erh hai, or ta-li fu lake, which is thirty miles long. the fields and marshes were alive with ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a glorious day of sport over decoys and on the water before we went on to ta-li fu. mr. evans was about to leave for a long business trip to the south of the province and we took possession of a pretty temple just within the north gate of the city. here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered from hongkong had just arrived. through the good offices of mr. howard page, manager of the standard oil company of yün-nan fu, their passage through tonking had been facilitated, and he had dispatched the boxes by caravan to ta-li fu. mr. page rendered great assistance to the expedition in numberless ways, and to him we owe our personal thanks as well as those of the american museum of natural history. all the servants except our faithful wu left at ta-li fu but, with the aid of mr. hanna, we obtained a much better personnel for the trip to the burma frontier. the cook, who was one of mr. hanna's converts, was an especially fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and competent as the other had been lazy and helpless. our work in the north had brought us a collection of thirteen hundred mammals, as well as several hundred birds, much material for habitat groups, and a splendid series of photographic records in paget color plates, black and white negatives, and motion picture film. but what was of first importance, we had covered an enormous extent of diverse country and learned much about the distribution of the fauna of northern yün-nan. the thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken in a more or less continuous line across six tremendous mountain ranges, and furnish an illuminating cross section of the entire region from ta-li-fu, north to chung-tien, and west to the mekong river. it is apparent that in this part of the province, which is all within one "life zone," even the smallest mammals are widely spread and that the principal factor in determining distribution is the flora. neither the highest mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the yangtze and the mekong appear to act as effective barriers to migration, and as long as the vegetation remains constant, the fauna changes but little. chapter xxv missionaries we have known during our work in fukien province and in various parts of yün-nan we came into intimate personal contact with a great many missionaries; indeed every traveler in the interior of china will meet them unless he purposely avoids doing so. but the average tourist seldom sees the missionary in his native habitat because, for the most part, he lives and works where the tourist does not go. nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise traveler from carrying back with him from the east a very definite impression of the missionary, which he has gained on board ships or in oriental clubs where he hears him "damned with faint praise." almost unconsciously he adopts the popular attitude just as he enlarges his vocabulary to include "pidgin english" and such unfamiliar phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw." this chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but simply a matter of fair play. we feel that in justice we ought to present our observations upon this subject, which is one of very general interest, as impartially as upon any phase of our scientific work. but it should be distinctly understood that we are writing _only_ of those persons whom we met and lived with, and whose work we had an opportunity to know and to see; _we are not attempting generalizations on the accomplishments of missionaries in any other part of china_. there are three charges which we have heard most frequently brought against the missionary: that he comes to the east because he can live better and more luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages in lucrative trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes little good, either religious or otherwise. it is said that his converts are only "rice christians," and treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this manner, "don't take christian servants; they are more dishonest and unreliable than any others." it is often true that the finest house in a chinese town will be that of the resident missionary. in yen-ping the mission buildings are imposing structures, and are placed upon a hill above and away from the rest of the city. any white person who has traveled in the interior of china will remember the airless, lightless, native houses, opening, as they all do, on filthy streets and reeking sewers and he will understand that in order to exist at all a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean, well-ventilated house. every missionary in china employs servants--many more servants than he could afford at home. so does every other foreigner, whatever his vocation. there is no such thing in china as the democracy of the west, and the missionary's status in the community demands that certain work in his house be done by servants; otherwise he and his family would be placed on a level with the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be discounted. but the chief reason is that the missionary's wife almost always has definite duties to which she could not attend if she were not relieved from some of the household cares. she leads in work among the women of the community by organizing clubs and "mutual improvement societies" and in teaching in the schools or hospitals where young men and women are learning english as an asset to medical work among their own people. servants are unbelievably cheap. while we were in foochow a cook received $ . (gold) per month, a laundryman $ . (gold) per month, and other wages were in proportion. in fukien province the missionaries receive two months' vacation. anyone who has lived through a fukien summer in the interior of the province will know why the missionaries are given this vacation. if they were not able to leave the deadly heat and filth and disease of the native cities for a few weeks every year, there would be no missionaries to carry on the work. the business man can surround himself with innumerable comforts both in his home and in his office which the missionary cannot afford and, during the summer, life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant. yen-ping is eight days' travel from foochow up the min river and it is by no means the most remote station in the province. very few travelers reach these places during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated. miss mabel hartford lives alone at yuchi and at one time she saw only one foreigner in eight months. miss cordelia morgan is the sole foreign resident of chu-hsuing fu, a large chinese city six days from yün-nan fu. in ta-li fu, reverend william j. hanna, his wife and two other women, are fourteen days' ride from the nearest foreign settlement. in li-chiang, reverend and mrs. a. kok and their three small children live with two women missionaries. they are twenty-one days' travel from a doctor, and for four years previous to our visit they had not seen a white woman. these are some instances of missionaries whom we met in china who have voluntarily exiled themselves to remote places where they expect to spend their entire lives surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population. can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this life because it is easier or more luxurious than that at home? some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business positions to take up medical or evangelistic work in china where their compensation is pitifully small--not one-third of the salary they were commanding at home. we did not meet any missionaries who were engaging in trade with the natives even though in some places there were excellent business opportunities. consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences which missionaries bring with them. we saw them in various parts of china doing a magnificent work. dr. bradley has established a great leper hospital at paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the latest and most scientific treatment and beginning to look at life with a new hope. in yen-ping, at the time of the rebellion, we saw dr. trimble working hour after hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of rest. in yün-nan fu, dr. thompson's hospital was filled with patients suffering from almost every known disease. in ta-li fu we saw mr. hanna and his wife dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients waiting by the dozen, the fees received being not enough to pay for the cost of the medicines. why is it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of china is supposed to be able to cure diseases? certainly an important reason is because of the work done by the medical missionaries who have penetrated to the farthest corners of the most remote provinces. aside from their medical work, missionaries are in many instances the real pioneers of western civilization. they bring to the people new standards of living, both morally and physically. they open schools and emancipate the chinese children in mind and body. they fight the barbarous customs of foot binding and the killing and selling of girl babies. until recent years it was not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with from two to six tiny infants peddling his "goods" from village to village. not many years ago such a man appeared before the mission compound at ngu-cheng (fukien) with four babies in his basket. three of these had expired from exposure and the kerosene oil which had been poured down their throats to stupefy them and drown their cries. the fourth was purchased by the wife of the native preacher for ten cents in order to save its life. this child was reared and has since graduated from the mission schools with credit. in foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription stands beside a stagnant pool: "hereafter the throwing of babies into this pool will be punished by law." this was a result of the work of the missionaries. their task is by no means easy and, as mr. hanna once remarked, "yün-nan province has broken the heart of more than one missionary." the chinese do not understand their point of view, and it is difficult to make them see it. a chinaman is a rank materialist and pure altruism does not enter into his scheme of life. as a rule he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his cash bag. it is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the missionary has not come with an ulterior motive--if not to engage in trade, perhaps as a spy for his government. others believe that it is because china is so vastly superior to the rest of the world that the missionaries wish to live there. eventually the suspicions of the natives become quieted and they accept the missionary at some part of his true worth. at the time of the rebellion in yen-ping we saw harry caldwell, mr. bankhardt and dr. trimble save the lives of hundreds of people and the city from partial destruction because the chinese officers of the opposing forces would trust the missionaries when they would not trust each other. an excellent piece of practical missionary work was done in fukien province, not long after our visit there. as we have related in chapter iii, several large bands of brigands were established in the hills about yuchi. brigandage began there in the following way. during a famine when the people were on the verge of starvation, a wealthy farmer, su ek by name, decided to do his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale a quantity of rice which he had accumulated. he approached another man of similar wealth who agreed with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price. su ek accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people and, when he had remaining only enough to sustain his own family until the following harvest, he sent the peasants to the second man who had also agreed to dispose of his grain. this farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price, and the people, angered at his treachery, looted his sheds. he immediately went to foochow and reported to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad in yuchi county under the leadership of su ek, and that they had robbed and plundered his property. without warning a company of soldiers swooped down upon the community and arrested a number of men whose names the informer had given. su ek made his escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand chief, and was later joined by other farmers who had been similarly persecuted. unable to return to their homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order to live. su ek and others were finally decoyed to foochow upon the promise that their lives would be spared if they would induce their band to surrender. they met the conditions but the government officials broke faith and the men were executed. similar attempts were made to enter into negotiations with the brigands and in two hundred were trapped and beheaded after pardons had been promised them. naturally the robbers refused to trust the government officials again. the months which elapsed between this act of treachery and the spring of , were filled with innumerable outrages. many townships were completely devastated, either by the bandits or the chinese soldiers. little will ever be known of what actually took place under the guise of settling brigandage, behind the mountains which separate yuchi from the outer world. it is well that it should not be known. during the spring of a missionary visited yuchi. business called him outside the city wall and just beyond the west gate he saw the bodies of ten persons who had that day been executed. among these were two children, brothers, the sons of a man who was reported to have "sold rice to the brigands." the smaller child had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel beside his older brother further up in the row. he was too small to realize what it all meant but he wanted to die beside his brother. in the middle of the field lay a man whose head was partly severed from his body and who had been shot through and through by the soldiers. he was lying upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of tea or for someone to put him out of his misery. the missionary learned the man's story. it appeared that years ago a law suit in which his father had been concerned had been decided in his favor. in order to square the score between the clans, the son of the man who had lost the suit had reported that he had seen this man carrying rice to the brigands. he had been arrested by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in the glaring sun from nine o'clock in the morning until dark suffering the agonies of crucifixion. not one of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having administered to a brigand. the missionary returned to the city that night vowing that he would make a recurrence of such a thing impossible or he would leave china. he took up the matter with the authorities in peking in a quiet way and later with the military governor in foochow. he was well known to the brigands by reputation and visited several of the chiefs in their strongholds. they declared that they had confidence in him but none in the government--or its representatives. it was only after assuming full responsibility for any treachery that the brigands agreed to discuss terms. upon invitation to accompany him to the th township, the missionary was escorted out to civilization by twenty-five picked men to whom the chief had entrusted an important charge. as the group neared the township the missionary sent word ahead to the commander of the northern soldiers to prepare to receive the brigands. [illustration: seal of a pardoned brigand.] as the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit of a hill overlooking the city, soldiers could be seen forming into squads outside the barracks. instantly the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their rifles, and threw in shells. the missionary realized that they suspected treachery and turning about he said, "i am the guarantee for your lives. if a shot is fired kill me first." with two loaded guns at his back and accompanied by the brigands he marched into the city, where they were received by the officials with all the punctilious ceremony so dear to the heart of the chinese. it had been a dangerous half hour for the missionary. if a rifle had been fired by mistake, and chinese are always shooting when they themselves least expect to, he would have been instantly killed. this conference, and others which followed, resulted in several hundred pardons being distributed to the brigands by the missionary himself. the men then returned to their abandoned homes and again took up their lives as respectable farmers. thus the reign of terror in this portion of the province was ended through the efforts of one courageous man. it is such applied christianity that has made us respect the missionary and admire his work. chapter xxvi chinese new year at yung-chang _y.b.a._ the last half of the expedition began january when we left ta-li fu with a caravan of thirty miles for yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south. the _mafus_ although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight" did not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence it was necessary to camp at hsia-kuan at the foot of the lake. we improved our time there in hunting about for skins and finally purchased two fine leopards and a tiger. the latter had been brought from the tonking frontier. there were a number of tibetans wandering about the market place and in the morning a caravan of at least two hundred horses followed by twenty or thirty tibetans, passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn. they were bringing tea from p'u-erh and s'su-mao in the south of the province and although they had already been nearly a month upon their journey there was still many long weeks of travel before them ere they reached the wind-blown steppes of their native land. the trip to yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful. we crossed a succession of dry, thinly forested mountains from , to , feet high which near their summits were often clothed with a thick growth of rhododendron trees. the beautiful red flowers flashed like fire balls among the green leaves, peach trees were in full blossom and in some spots the dry hills seemed about to break forth in the full glory of their spring verdure. we crossed the mekong near a village called shia-chai on a picturesque chain suspension bridge of a type which is not unusual in the southern and western part of the province. several heavy iron chains are firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of the river and the roadway formed by planks laid upon them. although the bridge shakes and swings in a rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it is perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded. in the afternoon of january , we rode down the mountain to the great yung-chang plain, and for two hours trotted over a hard dirt road. the plain is eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its scattered villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy fields. the city itself includes about five thousand houses. it is exceedingly picturesque and is remarkable for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast strongly with those of the usual chinese town. at the west, but still within the city walls, is a picturesque wooded hill occupied almost exclusively by temples. we ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard of a large and exceptionally clean temple just outside the south gate of the city. it was the chinese new year and wu told us that for several days at least it would be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect the natives to do any work whatever. it was a very pleasant place in which to stay although we chafed at the enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting birds and making various excursions. chinese new year is always interesting to a foreigner and at yung-chang we saw many of the customs attending its celebration. it is a time of feasting and merry making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will work on that day. chinese families almost always live under one roof but should any male member be absent at this season the circumstances must be exceptional to prevent him from returning to his home. it is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's house at new year's. on our way to yung-chang and for several days after leaving the city, we were continually passing young women mounted on mules or horses and accompanied by servants returning to their homes. new clothes are a leading feature of this season and the dresses of the brides and young matrons were usually of the most unexpected hues for, according to our conception of color, the chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous for their good taste. purple and blue, orange and red, pink and lavender clash distressingly, but are worn with inordinate pride. these visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the bride's family. dr. smith says in "chinese characteristics": when she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly business basis. she takes with her it may be a quantity of sewing for her husband's family, which the wife's family must help her get through with. she is accompanied on each of these visits by as many of her children as possible, both to have her take care of them and to have them out of the way when she is not at hand to look after them, and most especially to have them fed at the expense of the family of the maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. in regions where visits of this sort are frequent, and where there are many daughters in a family, their constant raids on the old home are a source of perpetual terror to the whole family, and a serious tax on the common resources. [footnote: "chinese characteristics," by arthur h. smith, p. .] religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous part in the new year's celebration. at this time the "kitchen god," according to current superstition, returns to heaven to render an account of the household's behavior. the wily chinese, however, first rubs the lips of the departing deity with candy in order to "sweeten" his report of any evil which he may have witnessed during the year. usually all the members of the family gather before the ancestral tablets, or should these be lacking as among many of the laboring classes, a scroll with a part of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed are appeased and honored by the burning of incense and the mumbling of incantations. while strict attention is paid to the religious observance to the dead, at new year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered to the living. after the family have paid their respects to one another the younger male members go from house to house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to receive them. the following days are devoted to visits to relatives living in the neighboring towns and villages, and this continues, an endless routine, until fourteen days later the feast of the lanterns puts an end to the "epoch of national leisure." the chinese are inveterate gamblers and at new year's they turn feverishly to this form of amusement which is almost their only one. but they also have to think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely necessary for all classes and conditions of men to meet their obligations at the end of the year. almost everyone owes money in china. according to the clan system an individual having surplus cash is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate of interest) to any members of his family in need of help. however, a chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely obliged to and almost never settles a debt until he has been dunned repeatedly. the activity displayed at new year's is ludicrous. each separate individual [says dr. smith] is engaged in the task of trying to chase down the men who owe money to him, and compel them to pay up, and at the same time in trying to avoid the persons who are struggling to track _him_ down and corkscrew from him the amount of his indebtedness to them! the dodges and subterfuges to which each is obliged to resort, increase in complexity and number with the advance of the season, until at the close of the month, the national activity is at fever heat. for if a debt is not secured then, it will go over till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status of a claim which has actually contrived to cheat the annual day of judgment. in spite of the excellent chinese habit of making the close of a year a grand clearing-house for all debts, chinese human nature is too much for chinese custom, and there are many of these postponed debts which are a grief of mind to many a chinese creditor. the chinese are at once the most practical and the most sentimental of the human race. new year _must not_ be violated by duns for debts, and the debts _must_ be collected new year though it be. for this reason one sometimes sees an urgent creditor going about early on the first day of the year carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [=debtor]. his artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed.... we have but to imagine the application of the principles which we have named, to the whole chinese empire, and we get new light upon the nature of the chinese new year festivities. they are a time of rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing so keen as that of a ruined debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd devices in avoiding the most relentless of his creditors and has thus postponed his ruin for at least another twelve months. for, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year, the debtor finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters, where he cannot be molested. even should his creditors meet him on new year's day, there could be no possibility of mentioning the fact of the previous day's disgraceful flight and concealment, or indeed of alluding to business at all, for this would not be "good form" and to the chinese "good form" (otherwise known as custom), is the chief national divinity. [footnote: "village life in china," by arthur h. smith, , pp. - .] yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited by chinese and in no part of the province did we see foot-binding more in evidence. practically every woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station in life was crippled in this brutal way. the women wear long full coats with flaring skirts which hang straight from their shoulders to their knees. when the trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles, they look in a side view exactly like huge umbrellas. one day we visited a cave thirty _li_ north of the city where we hoped to find new bats. a beautiful little temple has been built over the entrance to the cavern which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into the rock. but twenty _li_ south of yung-chang, just beyond the village of a-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave which is reported to extend entirely through the hill. whether or not this is true we can not say for although we explored it in part we did not reach the end. the central corridor is about thirty feet wide and at least sixty or seventy high. we followed the main gallery for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which led off at a sharp angle. we were not equipped with sufficient candles to pursue the exploration more extensively and did not have time to visit it again. the cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable size, but the limestone was a dull lead color. we found only one bat and these animals appear not to have used it extensively since there was little sign upon the floor. at yuang-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first time in yün-nan but found them to be in universal use farther to the south and west. the huge brutes are as docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better part of valor where they are concerned. water buffaloes are only employed for work in the rice fields but chinese cows are used as burden bearers in this part of the province. such caravans travel much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals are not loaded as heavily. two or three of the leading cows usually carry upon their backs large bells hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no means unmelodious when heard at a distance. marco polo, the great venetian traveler, refers to yung-chang as "vochang." his account of a battle which was fought in its vicinity in the year between the king of burma and bengal and one of kublai khan's generals is so interesting that i am quoting it below: when the king of mien [burma] and bangala [bengal], in india, who was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory, and in wealth, heard that an army of tartars had arrived at vochang [yung-chang] he took the resolution of advancing immediately to attack it, in order that by its destruction the grand khan should be deterred from again attempting to station a force upon the borders of his dominions. for this purpose he assembled a very large army, including a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his country abounds), upon whose backs were placed battlements or castles, of wood, capable of containing to the number of twelve or sixteen in each. with these, and a numerous army of horse and foot, he took the road to vochang, where the grand khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance from it, intended to give his troops a few days of rest. as soon as the approach of the king of mien, with so great a force, was known to nestardín, who commanded the troops of the grand khan, although a brave and able officer, he felt much alarmed, not having under his orders more than twelve thousand men (veterans, indeed, and valiant soldiers); whereas the enemy had sixty thousand, besides the elephants armed as has been described. he did not, however, betray any sign of apprehension, but descending into the plain of vochang, took a position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large trees, whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants, which his troops might not be able to sustain, they could retire, and from thence, in security, annoy them with their arrows.... upon the king of mien's learning that the tartars had descended into the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his ground at the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a disposition of his force, placing the elephants in the front, and the cavalry and infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear, but leaving between them a considerable interval. here he took his own station, and proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly, assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority of their numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had never before been engaged with such combatants, could by no means resist. then giving orders for sounding a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his whole army towards that of the tartars, which remained firm, making no movement, but suffering them to approach their entrenchments. they then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness to engage; but it was soon found that the tartar horses, unused to the sight of such huge animals, with their castles, were terrified, and by wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor could their riders by any exertions restrain them, whilst the king, with the whole of his forces, was every moment gaining ground. as soon as the prudent commander perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they were fastened to the trees. when dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced on foot towards the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge of arrows; whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed in the castles, and the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in return with great activity; but their arrows did not make the same impression as those of the tartars, whose bows were drawn with a stronger arm. so incessant were the discharges of the latter, and all their weapons (according to the instructions of their commander) being directed against the elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who were thereby thrown into confusion. it soon became impossible for their drivers to manage them, either by force or address. smarting under the pain of their wounds, and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they were no longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed into a part of the wood not occupied by the tartars. the consequence of this was, that from the closeness of the branches of large trees, they broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or castles that were upon their backs, and involved in the destruction those who sat upon them. upon seeing the rout of the elephants the tartars acquired fresh courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. on the part of the king's troops there was no want of valor, and he himself went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and not to be alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants. but the tartars by their consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being provided with such armor as was worn by the former. the arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped their swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other. then in an instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion of blood as was dreadful to behold. so great also was the clangor of arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise seemed to ascend to the skies. the king of mien, acting as became a valiant chief, was present wherever the greatest danger appeared, animating his soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain their ground with resolution. he ordered fresh squadrons from the reserve to advance to the support of those that were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was impossible any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the impetuosity of the tartars, the greater part of his troops being either killed or wounded, and all the field covered with the carcasses of men and horses, whilst those who survived were beginning to give way, he also found himself compelled to take to flight with the wreck of his army, numbers of whom were afterwards slain in the pursuit.... the tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled for shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found that the men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in cutting down trees and barricading the passages, with the intent of defending themselves. but their ramparts were soon demolished by the tartars, who slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed to the management of the elephants, they possessed themselves of these to the number of two hundred or more. from the period of this battle the grand khan has always chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which before that time he had not done. the consequences of the victory were, that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of the king of bangala and mien, and annexed them to his dominions. [footnote: "the travels of marco polo the venetian." everyman's library. j.m. dent & sons, ltd., london; pp. - .] chapter xxvii traveling toward the tropics we left yung-chang with no regret on monday, january . our stay there would have been exceedingly pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was impossible not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the caravan. traveling southward for two days over bare brown mountain-sides, their monotony unrelieved except by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended abruptly into the great subtropical valley at shih-tien. mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in a succession of rice paddys and fields of sugar cane interspersed with patches of graceful bamboo, their summits drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes; the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the surrounding hills is delightful. however, we were disappointed in the shooting for, although it appeared to be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we killed only five teal, and the great ponds were almost devoid of bird life. even herons, so abundant in the north, were conspicuous by their absence and we saw no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards. at shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard on the outskirts of the town, and with wu i returned to the village to inquire about shooting places. we seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within ten minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the room, overflowed through the door and windows, and formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which completely blocked the street outside. it was a simple way of getting all the village together and wu questioned everyone who looked intelligent. we learned that shooting was to be found near gen-kang, five days' travel south, and we returned to the temple just in time to receive a visit from the resident mandarin. he was a good-looking, intellectual man, with charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen whom we met in china. during his visit, and until dinner was over and we had retired to our tents, hundreds of men, women and children crowded into the temple yard to gaze curiously at us. after the gates had been closed they climbed the walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows. their curiosity was insatiable but not unfriendly and nowhere throughout our expedition did we find such extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested by the people in this immediate region. they were largely chinese and most of them must have met foreigners before, yet their curiosity was much greater than that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white persons for the first time. just before camping the next day we passed through a large village where we were given a most flattering reception. we had stopped to do some shooting and were a considerable distance behind the caravan. the _mafus_ must have announced our coming, for the populace was out _en masse_ to greet us and lined the streets three deep. it was a veritable triumphal entry and crowds of men and children followed us for half a mile outside the town, running beside our horses and staring with saucer-like eyes. on the second day from shih-tien we climbed a high mountain and wound down a sharp descent for about , feet into a valley only , feet above sea level. we had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a biting wind and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and coats over flannel shirts. after going down about , feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets, on the second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the remainder of the descent rode with sleeves rolled up and shirts open at the throat. we had come from mid-winter into summer in two hours and the change was most startling. it was as though we had suddenly ridden into an artificially heated building like the rooms for tropical plants at botanical gardens. our camp was on a flat plain just above the river where we had a splendid view of the wide valley which was like the bottom of a well with high mountains rising abruptly on all sides. it was a place of strange contrasts. the bushes and trees were in full green foliage but the grass and paddy fields were dry and brown as in mid-winter. the thick trees at the base of the hills were literally alive with doves but there were few mammal runways and our traps yielded no results. that night a muntjac, the first we had heard, barked hoarsely behind the tents. the _yamen_ "soldier" who accompanied us from shih-tien delivered his official dispatch at the village (ma-po-lo) which lies farther down the valley. the magistrate, who proved to be a shan native, arrived soon after with ten or twelve men and we discovered that there was but one man in the village who spoke chinese. the magistrate at ma-po-lo by no means wished to have the responsibility of our safety thrust upon him and consequently assured us that there were neither game nor hunters in this village. although his anxiety to be rid of us was apparent, he was probably telling the truth, for the valley is so highly cultivated (rice), and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited, that it is doubtful if much game remains. in the morning the entire valley was filled with a dense white fog but we climbed out of it almost immediately, and by noon were back again in winter on the summits of the ridges. the country through which we passed _en route_ to gen-kang was similar to that which had oppressed us during the preceding week--cultivated valleys between high barren mountains relieved here and there by scattered groves of planted fir trees. it was a region utterly hopeless from a naturalist's standpoint and when we arrived at a large town near gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged. during almost a month of travel we had been guided by native information which without exception had proved worthless. it seemed useless to rely upon it further, and yet there was no other alternative, for none of the foreigners whom we had met in yün-nan knew anything about this part of the province. we were certain to reach a tropical region farther south and the fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the market offered slight encouragement. these were said to come from a village called meng-ting, "a little more far," to the tune of four or five days' travel, over on the burma frontier. with gloom in our hearts, which matched that of the weather, we left in a pouring rain on february , to slip and splash southward through veritable rivers of mud for two long marches. in the afternoon of the second day the country suddenly changed. the trail led through a wide grassy valley, bordered by heavily forested hills, into a deep ravine. along the banks of a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered logs and dense vegetation made ideal conditions for small mammalian life. we rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky gateway. at the right a green-clothed mountain rose out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the left wave after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves in the low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley filled with stately trees which spread into a thick green canopy overhead. we camped in a clearing just at the edge of the forest. while the tents were being pitched, i set a line of traps along the base of the opposite mountain and found a "runway" under almost every log. about eight o'clock i ran my traps and, with the aid of a lantern, stumbled about in the bushes and high grass, over logs and into holes. when i emptied my pockets there were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing seven species _and all new to our collection_. heller brought in eight specimens and added two new species. we forthwith decided to stay right where we were until this "gold mine" had been exhausted. in the morning our traps were full of mammals and sixty-two were laid out on the table ready for skinning. the length, tail, hind foot, and ear of each specimen was first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our serial number; then an incision was made in the belly, the skin stripped off, poisoned with arsenic, stuffed with cotton, and sewed up. the animal was then pinned in position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden tray which fitted in the collecting trunk. the specimens were put in the sun on every bright day until they were thoroughly dry and could be wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight trunks or boxes. we have found that the regulation u.s. army officer's fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. it measures thirty inches long by thirteen deep and sixteen inches wide and will remain quite dry in an ordinary rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in water. the skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons of some, are numbered like the skin, strung upon a wire, and dried in the sun. also individuals of every species are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical study. larger specimens are always salted and dried. as soon as the skin has been removed and cleaned of flesh and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it and the hide rolled up. in the morning it is unwrapped, the water which has been extracted by the salt poured off, and the skin hung over a rope or a tree branch to dry. if it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may be kept in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field conditions it should be placed in the sun. before it becomes too hard, the hide is rolled or folded into a convenient package hair side in, tied into shape and allowed to become "bone dry." in this condition it will keep indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the salt absorbs moisture from the air and alternate wetting and drying is fatal. we soon trained two of our chinese boys to skin both large and small animals and they became quite expert. they required constant watching, however, and after each hide had been salted either mr. heller or i examined it to make sure that it was properly treated. on our first day in camp we sent for natives to the village of mu-cheng ten _li_ distant. the men assured us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac in the neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. they had no dogs and were armed with crossbows, antiquated guns, and bows and arrows, but they showed us the skins of two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game. like most of the other natives, with the exception of the mosos on the snow mountain, these men had no definite plan in hunting. the first day i went out with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill not far from camp. without giving me an opportunity to reach a position in front of them, they began to work up the hill, and i had a fleeting glimpse of a sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the summit. two days later while i was out with ten other men who had a fairly good pack of dogs, the first party succeeded in killing a female sambur. the animal weighed at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our camp and we purchased the skin for ten _rupees_. south of gen-kang the money of the region, like all of yün-nan for some distance from the burma frontier, is the indian _rupee_ which equals thirty-three cents american gold; in that part of the province adjoining tonking, french indo-china money is current. my journal of february tells of our life at this camp, which we called "good hope." the weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough for comfort and the nights are clear and cold. how we do sleep! it seems hardly an hour from the time we go to bed until we hear wu rousing the servants, and the crackle of the camp-fire outside the tent. we half dress in our sleeping bags and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our high boots in its comfortable warmth. after breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and i inspect the traps. the ground is white with frost and the trees and bushes are dressed in silver. every trap holds an individual interest and we follow the line through the forest, resetting some, and finding new mammals in others. yvette has conquered her feminine repugnance far enough to remove shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring and dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches them. we go back to meet the hunters and while i am away with the men, the lady of the camp works at her photography. i return in the late afternoon and after tea we wander through the woods together. it is the most delightful part of the day when the sun goes down and the shadows lengthen. we sit on a log in a small clearing where we can watch the upper branches of a splendid tree. it is the home of a great colony of red-bellied squirrels (_callosciurus erythraeus_ subsp.) and after a few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along a branch, my gun roars out, and there is a thud upon the ground. yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died away in the forest the gun bangs again. we have already shot a dozen squirrels from this tree and yet more are there. sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk (_tamiops macclellandi_ subsp.) will appear on the lower branches, searching the bark for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to find him in the brown leaves. when it is too dark to see the squirrels, we wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious broiled deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke and talk of the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps." of all the work we enjoy this most. with lanterns and a gun we pick our way among the trees until we strike the trail along which the traps are set. on the soft ground our feet are noiseless and, extinguishing the lanterns, we sit on a log to listen to the night sounds. the woods are full of life. almost beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a scurry among the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. suddenly there is a sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards away has done its work. even in the tree tops the night life is active. dead twigs drop to the ground with an unnatural noise, and soft-winged owls show black against the sky as they flit across an opening in the branches. we light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into a cuplike hollow. here there are a dozen traps and already half of them are full. in one is a tiny brown shrew caught by the tail as he ran across the trap; another holds a veritable treasure, and at my exclamation of delight yvette runs up excitedly. it is a rare insectivore of the genus _hylomys_ and possibly a species new to science. we examine it beside the lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket by itself. the next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log. the trap is gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over every inch of ground. finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet away and stifles a scream for in it, caught by the neck and still alive, is a huge rat nearly two feet long; it too is a species which may prove new. when the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail to the edge of the forest and into the clearing where the tents glow in the darkness like great yellow pumpkins. ours is delightfully warmed by the charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably on the beds, we write our daily records or read dickens for half an hour. it is with a feeling of great contentment that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out the candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the moonlight. chapter xxviii meng-ting: a village of many tongues during the eight days in which we remained at the "good hope" camp, two hundred specimens comprising twenty-one species were added to our collection. although the altitude was still , feet, the flora was quite unlike that of any region in which we had previously collected, and that undoubtedly was responsible for the complete change of fauna. we were on the very edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the tonking and burma frontiers in the extreme south and west of the province. it was already mid-february and if we were to work in the fever-stricken valleys below , feet, it was high time we were on the way southward. the information which we had obtained near gen-kang had been supplemented by the natives of mu-cheng, and we decided to go to meng-ting as soon as possible. the first march was long and uneventful but at its end, from the summit of a high ridge, we could see a wide valley which we reached in the early morning of the second day. the narrow mountain trail abruptly left us on a jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly down a steep ravine to lose itself in a veritable forest of tree ferns and sword grass. the slanting rays of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious depths of the mist-filled valley. to the right a giant sentinel peak of granite rose gaunt and naked from out the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to the left in huge ascending billows. we rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of the bell on the leading mule announced the approach of the caravan and then we picked our way slowly down the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation. in an hour we were breathing the moist warm air of the tropics and riding across a wide valley as level as a floor. the long stretches of rank grass, far higher than our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos, banana palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled vines. near the base of the mountains a shan village nestled into the grass. the bamboo houses, sheltered by trees and bushes, were roofed in the shape of an overturned boat with thatch and the single street was wide and clean. could this really be china? verily, it was a different china from that we had seen before! it might be burma, india, java, but never china! before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning. a real priscilla, somewhat strange in dress to be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel nut, but priscilla just the same. and in his proper place beside her stood john alden. a pair of loose, baggy trousers, hitched far up over one leg to show the intricate tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban completed john's attire, but he grasped a gun almost as ancient in design as that of his pilgrim fathers. priscilla kept her eyes upon the spinning wheel, but john's gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent even before we appeared around a corner of the house and the pretty picture resolved into its rightful components--a surprised, but not unlovely shan girl and a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide brown eyes and open mouth at what must have seemed to him the fancy of a disordered brain. for into his village, filled with immemorial peace and quiet, where every day was exactly like the day before, had suddenly ridden two big men with white skins and blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a broad sun helmet. and almost immediately the little one had jumped from the horse and pointed a black box with a shiny front at him and his priscilla. at once, but without loss of dignity, priscilla vanished into the house, but john alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new tin can had been thrust into his hand and before he had really discovered what it was the little person had smiled at him and turned her attention to the charming street of his village. there the great water buffalos lazily chewed their cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned natives who played trustingly with the calves almost beneath their feet. such was our invasion of the first shan village we had ever seen, and regretfully we rode away across the plain between the walls of waving grass toward the nam-ting river. two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs were soon across the muddy stream and the mules were made to swim to the other bank. shortly after leaving the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank grass on to the open rice paddys which stretched away in a gently undulating plain from the river to the mountains. strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese, but three great flocks of cranes (probably _grus communis_) rose from the fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals above our heads until they were lost in the blue depths of the sky. away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a few wisps of smoke curling above its summit, but not until we were well-nigh there did we realize that its beautiful trees sheltered the thatched roofs of meng-ting. but this was only the "residential section" of the village and below the knoll on the opposite side of a shallow stream lay the shops and markets. we camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of jungle separated us from the nearest house. as soon as the tents were up i announced our coming to the mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock. wu and i found the _yamen_ to be a large well-built house, delightfully cool and exhibiting several foreign articles which evinced its proximity to burma. we were received by a suave chinese "secretary" who shortly introduced the mandarin--a young shan not more than twenty years old who only recently had succeeded his late father as chief of the village. the boy was dressed in an exceedingly long frock coat, rather green and frayed about the elbows, which in combination with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a most extraordinary appearance. we soon discovered that the chinese secretary who did all the talking was the "power behind the throne." he accepted my gift of a package of tea with great pleasure, but the information about hunting localities for which we asked was not forthcoming. he first said that he knew of a place where there were tiger and leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us for we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be responsible for our deaths; bringing to his attention the fact that tigers had never been recorded from the meng-ting region did not impress him in the slightest. it did tend to send him off on another track, however, and he next remarked that if he sent us to a place where the hunting was disappointing we probably would report him to the district mandarin. assurances to the contrary had no effect. it was perfectly evident that he wished only to get us out of his district and thus relieve himself of the responsibility of our safety. during the conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the young shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he sat stolidly in his chair, hardly winking, and except for the constant supply of cigarettes which passed between his fingers there was no evidence that he even breathed. the interview closed with assurances from the chinaman that he would make inquiries concerning hunting grounds and communicate with us in the morning. we returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives arrived from the _yamen_ bearing about one hundred pounds of rice, a sack of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three chickens, and a great bundle of fire wood. these were deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin. we were at a loss to account for such generosity until wu explained that whenever a high official visited a village it was customary for the mandarin to supply his entire party with food during their stay. it would be quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however, for the supplies were levied from the inhabitants of the town. we kept the eggs and chickens, giving the _yamen_ "runners" considerably more than their value in money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and potatoes. on the hill high above our camp was a large shan buddhist monastery, bamboo walled and thatched with straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant of childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley. all day long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the mud walls about the temple like a flock of birds peering at us with bright round eyes. they were wild as hawks, these little priests and, although they sometimes left the shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below the bushy hedge about our rice field. in the village we saw them often, wandering about the streets or sitting in yellow groups beneath the giant trees which threw a welcome shade over almost every house. they were not all children, and finely built youths or men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits of lemon peel, passed to and fro to the temple on the hill. there is no dearth of priests, for every family in the village with male children is required to send at least one boy to live a part of his life under the tutelage of the church. he must remain three years, and longer, if he wishes. the priests are fed by the monastery, and their clothing is not an important item of expenditure as it consists merely of a straw hat and a yellow robe. they lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness. the day following our arrival in meng-ting the weekly market was held, and when wu and i crossed the little stream to the business part of the village, we found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque crowd of natives it has ever been my fortune to see. it was a group flashing with color, and every individual a study for an artist. there were blue-clad chinese, shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and burmans dressed in brilliant purple or green, las, yellow-skinned lisos, flat-faced palaungs, was, and kachins in black and red strung about with beads or shells. long swords hung from the shoulders of those who did not carry a spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked looking daggers peeped from beneath their sashes. every man carried a weapon ready for instant use. nine tribes were present in the market that day and almost as many languages were being spoken. it was a veritable babel and half the trading was done by signs. the narrow street was choked with goods of every kind spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails, knives, swords, hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats, crossbows, arrows, pottery, tea, opium, and scores of other articles for food or household use. dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing new goods or packing up their purchases; under open, thatched pavilions were silent groups of men gambling with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses" white-faced natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling "pills" of opium and oblivious to the constant stream of passers-by. it was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic mass of life and color, where chinese from civilized canton drank, and gambled, and smoked with wild natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken jungles. after one glimpse of the picture in the market i dashed back to camp to bring the "lady of the camera." on the way i met her, hot and breathless, half coaxing, half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent in yellow robes. all the morning she had been trying vainly to photograph a priest and had discovered these splendid fellows when all her color plates had been exposed. she might have succeeded in bringing them to camp had i not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage and rushed away with averted faces. when the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried back to the market followed by two coolies with the cameras. leaving yvette to do her work alone i set up the cinematograph. wu was with me and in less than a minute the narrow space in front of us was packed with a seething mass of natives. it was impossible to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly disappeared. making a virtue of necessity i focused the camera on the irregular line of heads and swung it back and forth registering a variety of facial expressions which it would be hard to duplicate. for some time it was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even for a moment, but after one or two had conquered their fear and been liberally rewarded, there was a rush for places. wu asked several of the natives who could speak chinese if they knew what we were doing but they all shook their heads. none of them had ever seen a camera or a photograph. the kachin women were the most picturesque of all the tribes as well as the most difficult to photograph. yvette was not able to get them at all, and i could do so only by strategy. when wu discovered two or three squatting near their baskets on the ground i moved slowly up behind them keeping in the center of the crowd. after the "movie camera" was in position wu suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the women realized what was happening they were registered on twenty-five or thirty feet of film. one of the kachin men, who had drunk too much, suddenly became belligerent when i pointed the camera in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn knife. i swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down in a heap. he was more surprised than hurt, i imagine, but it took all of the fight out of him for he received no sympathy from the spectators. poor yvette had a difficult time with her camera operations and a less determined person would have given up in despair. the natives were so shy and suspicious that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to stand for a second and it was only after three hours of aggravating work in the stifling heat and dust that she at last succeeded in exposing all her plates. her patience and determination were really wonderful and i am quite sure that i should not have obtained half her results. the kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals. they were short, and strongly built, with a mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and thick lips stained with betel nut. their dress consisted of a short black jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and ornamented with strings of beads and pieces of brass or silver. this tribe forms the largest part of the population in northern burma and also extends into assam. yün-nan is fortunate in having comparatively few of them along its western frontier for they are an uncivilized and quarrelsome race and frequently give the british government considerable trouble. there were only a few burmans in the market although the border is hardly a dozen miles to the west, but the girls were especially attractive. their bright pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile and their graceful figures draped in brilliant _sarongs_ were in delightful contrast to the other, not over-clean, natives. the burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which added to their distinction. the lips of virtually every other woman and man were stained from the red juice, which is in universal use throughout india, the malay peninsula, and the netherlands indies. in yün-nan we first noted it at the "good hope" camp, and the shans are generally addicted to the practice. the permanent population of meng-ting is entirely shan, but during the winter a good many cantonese chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. the drug is smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative trade is carried on. it can be purchased for seventy-five cents (mexican) an ounce in burma and sold for two dollars (mexican) an ounce in yün-nan fu and for ten dollars in shanghai. opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. the drug is cooked over an alcohol lamp and when the "pill" is properly prepared it is placed in the tiny bowl of the pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. the process is a rather complicated one and during it the natives always recline. no visible effect is produced even after smoking several pipefuls, but the deathly paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate opium user. there can be no doubt that the chinese government has been, and is, genuinely anxious to suppress the use of opium and it has succeeded to a remarkable degree. we heard of only one instance of poppy growing in yün-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a guard of soldiers, on inspection trips. indeed, while we were in meng-ting the district mandarin arrived. we were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. they were like the chimes of far away cathedral bells sounding nearer and louder, but losing none of the sweetness. soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the camp bearing in their midst a covered chair. the mandarin established himself in a spacious temple on the opposite side of the village, where i visited him the following day and explained the difficulty we had had at the meng-ting _yamen_. he aided us so effectually that all opposition to our plans ended and we obtained a guide to take us to a hunting place on the nam-ting river, three miles from the burma border. chapter xxix camping on the nam-ting river every morning the valley at meng-ting was filled with a thick white mist and when we broke camp at daylight each mule was swallowed up in the fog as soon as it left the rice field. we followed the sound of the leader's bell, but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan visible. for thirty _li_ the valley is broad and flat as at meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant growth of rank grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved its way through a range of hills. the trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through a dense, tropical jungle. palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved bananas, and giant trees laced and interlaced with thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel. we followed the trail all day, sometimes picking our way among the rocks high above the river or padding along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. at night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous native had fought the jungle and been defeated; his bamboo hut was in ruins and the fields were overgrown with a tangle of throttling vegetation. we had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road were fascinating. brilliant green parrots screamed in the tree tops and tiny sun-birds dressed in garments of red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail like living jewels. once we heard a strange whirr and saw a huge hornbill flapping heavily over the river, every beat of his stiff wing feathers sounding like the motor of an aëroplane. bamboo partridges called from the bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air. at eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed two thatched huts in a little clearing beside the trail and the guide remarked that our camping place was not far away. we reached it shortly and were delighted. two enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark shade above a sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned rice field. from a patch of ground as level as a floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look across the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle and up to the green mountain beyond. a half mile farther down the trail, but hidden away in the jungle, lay a picturesque shan village of a dozen huts, where the guide said we should be able to find hunters. as soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with a bag of steel traps to set them on the tiny trails which wound through the jungle in every direction. selecting a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center, covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body of a bird or a chunk of meat by a wire over the pan about three feet from the ground. a light branch was fastened to the chain as a "drag." when the trap is pulled this invariably catches in the grass or vines and, while holding the animal firmly, still gives enough "spring" to prevent its freeing itself. trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest of wits between the trapper and the animal with the odds by no means in favor of the former. the trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings may be unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands may linger about the bait, or there may be numberless other possibilities to frighten the suspicious animal. in the evening our guide brought a strange individual whom he introduced as the best hunter in the village. he was a tall mohammedan chinese who dressed like a shan and was married to a shan woman. he seemed to be afflicted with mental and physical inertia, for when he spoke it was in slow drawl hardly louder than a whisper, and every movement of his body was correspondingly deliberate. we immediately named him the "dying rabbit" but discovered very shortly that he really had boundless energy and was an excellent hunter. the next morning he collected a dozen shans for beaters and we drove a patch of jungle above camp but without success. there were many sambur tracks in the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to be difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the open places were so few and small that a sambur had every chance to break through without giving a shot. nearly all the beaters carried guns. the "dying rabbit" was armed with a . -caliber bolt action rifle into which he had managed to fit a . shell and several of the men had winchester carbines, model . the guns had all been brought from burma and most were without ammunition, but each man had an assortment of different cartridges and used whichever he could force into his rifle. the men worked splendidly under the direction of the "dying rabbit." on the second day they put up a sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but was absolutely invisible in the high grass. when we returned to camp we found that a civet (_viverra_) had walked past our tent and begun to eat the scraps about the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the _mafus_ and servants who were imploring heller to bring his gun. after considerable difficulty they persuaded him that there really was some cause for their excitement and he shot the animal. it was probably ill, for its flesh was dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition. civets belong to the family _viverridae_ and are found only in asia and africa. although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly related to them and their claws are only partly retractile. they are very beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with black, a ringed tail, and a black and white striped pointed head. a scent gland near the base of the tail secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating, is not particularly disagreeable. the animals move about chiefly in the early morning and evening and at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals, fish, and frogs. one which we caught and photographed had a curious habit of raising the hair on the middle of its back from the neck to the tail whenever it was angry or frightened. although there were no houses within half a mile of camp we were surprised on our first night to hear cocks crowing in the jungle. the note was like that of the ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat more abruptly. the next morning we discovered chanticleer and all his harem in a deserted rice field, and he flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and gold. i dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left of "sixes" and found that they were jungle fowl (_gallus gallus_) in full plumage. the cock was a splendid bird. the long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his back and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was hardly more beautiful than the black of his underparts and green-glossed tail. picture to yourself a "black-breasted red" gamecock and you have him in all his glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more pheasant-like in his general bearing. the female was a trim little bird with a lilac sheen to her brown feathers and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen. the jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard hens and roosters which were probably first domesticated in burma and adjacent countries long before the dawn of authentic history. according to tradition the chinese received their poultry from the west about b.c. and they are figured in babylonian cylinders between the sixth and seventh centuries b.c.; although they were probably introduced in greece through persia there is no direct evidence as to when and how they reached europe. the black-breasted jungle fowl (_gallus gallus_) inhabit northern india, burma, indo-chinese countries, the malay peninsula, and the philippine islands; a related species, _g. lafayetti_, is found in ceylon; another, _g. sonnerati_, in southern india, and a fourth, _g. varius_, in java. we found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even where they were seldom hunted. during the heat of the day they remain in thick cover, but in cloudy weather and in the early morning and evening they come out into clearings to feed. at our camp on the nam-ting river we could usually put up a few birds on the edge of the deserted rice fields which stretched up into the jungle, but they were never far away from the edge of the forest. we sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but usually a cock had with him six or eight hens. it was interesting to watch such a flock feeding in the open. the male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a piece of gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and industriously ran about among his trim little hens, rounding up the stragglers and directing his harem with a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually tempting food. it was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually would send the flock whirring into the jungle while they were well beyond shotgun range. when flushed from the open the birds nearly always would alight in the first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying deeper into the jungle. we caught several hens in our steel traps, and one morning at the edge of a swamp i shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and left" as they flushed together. we were at the nam-ting camp at the beginning of the mating season for the jungle fowl. it is said that they brood from january to april according to locality, laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a bamboo clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves have been scratched together for a nest. the hen announces the laying of an egg by means of a proud cackle, and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep, peep, peep" of the domestic birds. after the breeding season the beautiful red and gold neck hackles of the male sometimes are molted and replaced by short blackish feathers. there seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the cocks are polygamous, but our observations tend to show that they are. we never saw more than one male in a flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in pairs. the cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic birds and their long curved spurs are exceedingly effective weapons. we set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the nam-ting river camp and on the second afternoon it contained a splendid polecat. this animal is a member of the family mustelidae which includes mink, otter, weasels, skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep yellow throat, and long tail is really very handsome. polecats inhabit the northern hemisphere and are closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated and used in hunting rats and rabbits. we found them to be abundant in the low valleys along the burma border and often saw them during the day running across a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. the polecat is a blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything that comes in its way for the pure love of killing, even when its appetite has been satisfied. on the third morning we found two civets in the traps. the cook told me that some animal had stolen a chicken from one of his boxes during the night and we set a trap only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading into the grass. the civet was evidently the thief for the cook boxes were not bothered again. inspecting the traps every morning and evening was a delightful part of our camp life. it was like opening a christmas package as we walked up the trails, for each one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of the region were so varied that surprises were always in store for us. besides civets and polecats, we caught mongooses, palm civets, and other carnivores. the small traps yielded a new _hylomys_, several new rats, and an interesting shrew. we saw a few huge squirrels (_ratufa gigantea_) and shot one. it was thirty-six inches long, coal black above and yellow below. the animals were very shy and as they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no means easy to see or shoot. they represent an interesting group confined to india, siam, the malay peninsula, the islands of the dutch east indies, and borneo. chapter xxx monkey hunting our most exciting sport at the nam-ting camp was hunting monkeys. every morning we heard querulous notes which sounded much like the squealing of very young puppies and which were followed by long, siren wails; when the shrill notes had reached their highest pitch they would sink into low mellow tones exceedingly musical. the calls usually started shortly after daylight and continued until about nine o'clock, or later if the day was dark or rainy. they would be answered from different parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen places simultaneously. the natives assured us that the cries were made by _hod-zu_ (monkeys) and several times we started in pursuit, but they always ceased long before we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from which they came. at last we succeeded in locating the animals. we were inspecting a line of traps placed along a trail which led up a valley to a wide plateau. suddenly the puppy-like squealing began, followed by a low tremulous wail. it seemed almost over our heads but the trees were empty. we stole silently along the trail for a hundred yards and turned into a dry creek bed which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. with infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we slipped along, scanning the top of every tree. a hornbill sitting on a dead branch caught sight of us and flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. a flock of parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel followed persistently scolding at the top of its voice, but the monkeys continued to call. the querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood motionless beside a tree. for an instant the countless jungle sounds were hushed in a breathless stillness; then, low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which swelled into deep full tones. it vibrated an instant, filling all the forest with its richness, and slowly died away. again and again it floated over the tree tops and we listened strangely moved, for it was like the music of an exquisite contralto voice. at last it ceased but, ere the echoes had reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely siren screech. the spell was broken and we moved on, alert and tense. the trees stretched upward full one hundred and fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy roof. long ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant trunks in a swaying mass of living green. far above the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the forest towered in splendid isolation. in its topmost branches we could just discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from which proceeded discordant squeals. it was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all in camp. i fired a charge of b.b.'s at the lowest monkey and as the gun roared out the tree tops suddenly sprang into life. they were filled with running, leaping, hairy forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to branch; not a dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow, brown, and gray. the one at which i had shot seemed unaffected and threw itself full twenty feet to a horizontal limb, below and to the right. i fired again and he stopped, ran a few steps forward and swung to the underside of the branch. at the third charge he hung suspended by one arm and dropped heavily to the ground stone dead. we tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up the hill where the branches were still swaying as the monkeys traveled through the tree tops. they had a long start and it was a hopeless chase. at every step our clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our hands were torn, and our faces scratched and bleeding. in ten minutes they had disappeared and we turned about to find the dead animal. suddenly yvette saw a splash of leaves in the top of a tree below us and a big brown monkey swung out on a pendent vine. i fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled slowly around and dropped to the ground. before i had reloaded my gun it gathered itself together and dashed off through the woods on three legs faster than a man could run. the animal had been hiding on a branch and when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered. we found the dead monkey, a young male, in the creek bed and sat down to examine it. it was evidently a gibbon (_hylobates_), for its long arms, round head, and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species with which i was familiar the male was black. this one was yellow and we knew it to be a prize. that there were two other species in the herd was certain for we had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed away among the trees, but the gibbons were far more interesting than the others. gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and teeth of all the anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group which also includes the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan. they are apparently an earlier offshoot of the anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the giant apes and man are probably a later branch. gibbons are essentially oriental being found in india, burma, siam, tonking, borneo, and the islands of hainan, sulu, sumatra, and java. for the remainder of our stay at the nam-ting river camp we devoted ourselves to hunting monkeys and soon discovered that the three species we had first seen were totally different. one was the yellow gibbon, another a brown baboon (_macacus_), and the third a huge gray ape with a long tail (_pygathrix_) known as the "langur." on the first day all three species were together feeding upon some large green beans and this happened once again, but usually they were in separate herds. the gibbons soon became extremely wild. although the same troop could usually be found in the valley where we had first discovered them, they chose hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them because of the thorny jungle. usually when they called, it was from the upper branches of a dead tree where they could not only scan every inch of the ground below, but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun. sometimes we climbed upward almost on our hands and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing ourselves up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs and bushes, slipping, falling, scrambling through the indescribable tangle. we went forward only when the calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood motionless as the wailing ceased. but in spite of all our care they would see or hear us. then in sudden silence there would be a tremor of the branches, splash after splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away through the trackless tree tops. the gibbons are well named _hylobates_ or "tree-walkers" for they are entirely arboreal and, although awkward and almost helpless on the ground, once their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed as by a miracle. they launch themselves into space, catch a limb twenty feet away, swing for an instant, and hurl themselves to another. it is possible for them to travel through the trees faster than a man can run even on open ground, and when one examines their limbs the reason is apparent. the fore arms are so exceedingly long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground when the animal stands erect, and the slender hands are longer than the feet. the gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and would never drop until stone dead. once i shot an old male with my - / mm. mannlicher rifle at about one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone clear through his body, he hung for several minutes before he dropped into a tangle of vines. it was fifteen minutes before we were able to work our way through the jungle to the spot where the animal had fallen, and we had been searching for nearly half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a monkey was running along a branch above our heads. i fired with the shotgun at a mass of moving leaves and killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the thick foliage. instead of running the animals would sometimes disappear as completely as though they had vanished in the air. after being fooled several times we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we could watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys would try to steal away. the langurs and baboons were by no means as wild as the gibbons and were found in larger herds. some of the langurs were carrying babies which clung to their mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede them in the slightest on their leaps through the tree tops. the young of this species are bright orange-red and strangely unlike the gray adults. as they grow older the red hair is gradually replaced by gray, but the tail is the last part of the body to change. heller captured one of the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to camp in his coat pocket. the little fellow was only a few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless. when it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer little wizened face and blue eyes visible it had a startling resemblance to a human baby until its long tail would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion. it lived only four days in spite of constant care. there are fifty-five species of langurs (_pygathrix_) all of which are confined to the orient. in some parts of india the animals are sacred and climb about the houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without fear. at times they do so much damage to crops that the natives who do not dare to kill the animals themselves implore foreigners to do so. the langurs are not confined to the tropics, but in the tibetan mountains range far up into the snow and enjoy the cold weather. in the market at li-chiang we saw several skins of these animals which had been brought down by the tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was used by the chinese for rugs and coats. the species which we killed at the nam-ting river camp, like all others of the genus _pygathrix_, was interesting because of the long hairs of the head which form a distinct ridge on the occiput. we never heard the animals utter sounds, but it is said that the common indian langur, _pygathrix entellus_, gives a loud whoop as it runs through the tree tops. often when a tiger is prowling about the jungle the indian langurs will follow the beast, keeping in the branches just above its head and scolding loudly. the baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the nam-ting was a close relative of the species (_macacus rhesus_) which one sees parading solemnly about the streets of calcutta, bombay, and other indian cities. in agra, the home of the beautiful taj mahal, the monkey temple is visited by every tourist. a large herd of macaques lives in the grounds and at a few chuckling calls from the native attendants will come trooping over the walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate. these animals are surprisingly tame and make most amusing pets. on one of our hunts my wife and i discovered a water hole in the midst of a dense jungle where the mud was trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar, and other animals. we decided to spend a night watching beside it, but the "dying rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the day time lost his courage as the sunlight waned. very doubtfully he consented to go. although the trip netted us no tangible results it was an experience of which we often think. we started just at dusk and installed ourselves in the bushes a few yards from the water hole. in half an hour the forest was enveloped in the velvety blackness of the tropic night. not a star nor a gleam of light was visible and i could not see my hand before my face. we sat absolutely motionless and listened to the breath of the jungle, which although without definite sound, was vibrant with life. now and then a muntjac barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag thrilled us like an electric shock. once a wild boar grunted on the opposite bank of the river, the sound coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although the animal was far away. tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the leaves and a small animal ran across my wife's lap, leaping frantically down the hill as it felt her move. for five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. although no animals came to the water hole we were silent with a great happiness as we groped our way back to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the jungle and were thrilled with the mystery of the night. chapter xxxi the shans of the burma border we saw many shans at the nam-ting river, for not only was there a village half a mile beyond our camp, but natives were passing continually along the trail on their way to and from the burma frontier. the village was named nam-ka. its chief was absent when we arrived, but the natives were cordial and agreed to hunt with us; when the head man returned, however, he was most unfriendly. he forbade the villagers from coming to our camp and arguments were of no avail. it soon became evident that only force could change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants and _mafus_, we visited his house. he was informed that unless he ceased his opposition and ordered his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to meng-ting for trial before the mandarin. he grudgingly complied and we had no further trouble. we found the shans at nam-ka to be simple and honest people but abnormally lazy. during our three weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although the natives prized them highly, and often brought to us those in which animals had been caught. shans were continually about our camp where boxes were left unlocked, but not an article of our equipment was missed. the nam-ka shans elevated their houses on six-foot poles and built an open porch in front of the door, while the dwellings at meng-ting and farther up the valley were all placed upon the ground. the thatched roofs overhung several feet and the sides of the houses were open so that the free passage of air kept them delightfully cool. moreover, they were surprisingly clean, for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if they wore sandals, left them at the door. in the center of the single room, on a large flat stone, a small fire always burned, but much of the cooking was done on the porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over the hearth. the shans at nam-ka had "no visible means of support." the extensive rice paddys indicated that in the past there had been considerable cultivation but the fields were weed-grown and abandoned. the villagers purchased all their vegetables from the mohammedan hunter and two other chinese who lived a mile up the trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes entertained. in all probability they lived upon the sale of smuggled opium for they were only a few miles from the burma border. virtually every shan we saw in the south was heavily tattooed. usually the right leg alone, but sometimes both, were completely covered from the hip to the knee with intricate designs in black or red. the ornamentations often extended entirely around the body over the abdomen and waist, but less frequently on the breast and arms. all the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations and usually fastened their wide trousers in such a way as to display them to the best advantage. we often could persuade a man to pose before the camera by admiring his tattoo marks and it was most amusing to watch his childlike pleasure. the shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions, and it is probable that at one time it inhabited a large part of china south of the yangtze river; indeed, there is reason to believe that the cantonese chinamen are chiefly of shan stock, and the facial resemblance between the two races certainly is remarkable. although the shans formerly ruled a vast territory in yün-nan before its conquest by the mongol emperors of china in the thirteenth century a.d., and at one time actually subdued burma and established a dynasty of their own, at present the only independent kingdom of the race is that of siam. by far the greatest number of shans live in semi-independent states tributary to burma, china, and siam, and in yün-nan inhabit almost all of the southern valleys below an altitude of , feet. the reason that the chinese allow them to hold such an extent of fertile land is because the low plains are considered unhealthy and the chinese cannot, or will not, live there. whether or not the malarial fever of the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be proved, but the chinese believe it to be so and the result is the same. where the shans are numerous enough to have a chief of their own they live in a semi-independent state, for although their head man is subordinate to the district chinese official, the latter seldom interferes with the internal affairs of the tribe. the shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct mongolian type of features and rather fair complexions. their dress varies decidedly with the region, but the men of the southern part of the province on the nam-ting river wear a pair of enormous trousers, so baggy that they are almost skirtlike, a white jacket, and a large white or pink turban surmounted by a huge straw hat. the women dress in a white jacket and skirt of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans are of similar material and may be worn in a high cylinder, a low oval, or many other shapes according to the particular part of the province in which they live. chapter xxxii prisoners of war in burma _y.b.a._ the camp at nam-ka was a supremely happy one and we left it on march , with much regret. its resources seemed to be almost exhausted and the mohammedan hunter assured us that at a village called ma-li-ling we would find excellent shooting. we asked him the distance and he replied, "about a long bamboo joint away." it required three days to get there! whether the man had ever been to ma-li-ling we do not know but we eventually found it to be a tiny village built into the side of a hill in an absolutely barren country where there was not a vestige of cover. our journey there was not uneventful. we left nam-ka with high hopes which were somewhat dampened after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot where our caravan crossed the nam-ting river. with a shan guide we traveled due north along a good trail which led through dense jungle where there was not a clearing or a sign of life. in the afternoon we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and ascended rapidly. soon we had left the jungle and emerged into an absolutely treeless valley between high barren hills. we knew that the burma frontier could not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the other side the hills were covered with bright green stalks and here and there a field glistened with white poppy blossoms. the guide insisted that we were on the direct road to ma-li-ling which for the first time he said was in burma. on our map it was marked well over the border in chinese territory and we were greatly puzzled. about six o'clock the brown huts of a village were silhouetted against the sky on a tiny knoll in the midst of a grove of beautiful trees, and we camped at the edge of a water hole. the pool was almost liquid mud, but we were told that it was the only water supply of the village and its cattle. as though to prove the statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the hill, and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly chewing their cuds; meanwhile blue-clad shan women with buckets in their hands were constantly arriving at the pond for their evening supply of water. we had no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the filthy liquid but there was no alternative and after repeated boiling and several strainings we settled it with alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup. after dinner we questioned the few natives who spoke chinese, but we became only more and more confused. they knew of no such place as ma-li-ling and our shan guide had discreetly disappeared. but they were familiar with the trail to ma-li-pa, a village farther west in burma and, moreover, they said that two hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. we were quite certain that they must be native indian troops but thought that a white officer might perhaps be in command. we did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible political difficulties since we had no permits to shoot in burma, but there seemed to be no alternative, for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical ma-li-ling. we eventually discovered that there were two villages by that name--one in burma, and the other in china, where it was correctly placed on the map which we were using. while we were discussing the matter a tremendous altercation arose between the chinese _mafus_ and the servants. for some time roy did not interfere, supposing it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance at last became unbearable. calling wu we learned that because we had been so careful to avoid english territory the _mafus_ had conceived the idea that for some reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. since we had inadvertently crossed into burma it appeared to them that it would be an opportune time to extort an increase of wages. they announced, therefore, that unless extra money was given them at once they would untie the loads and leave us. they were hardly prepared for what followed, however. taking his mannlicher rifle, roy called the _mafus_ together and told them that if any man touched a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if they made the slightest resistance the gun would be turned on them. a _mafus_' mules represent all his property and they did not relish the turn affairs had taken. they subsided at once, but we had the loads guarded during the night. in the morning the _mafus_ were exceedingly surprised when they learned that we were going to ma-li-pa and their change of front was laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please as they had been belligerent the night before. the trail led over the same treeless rolling hills through which we had passed on the previous afternoon. there was only one village, but it was surrounded by poppy fields in full blossom. it must be a rather difficult matter for a native living in china near the border to understand why he should not be allowed to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without restriction. poppies seem to grow on hillsides better than on level ground. the plants begin to blossom in late february and the petals, when about to fall, are collected for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to cover the balls of opium. the seed pods which are left after the petals drop off are scarified vertically, at intervals of two or three days, by means of a sharp cutting instrument. the operation is usually performed about four o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form of dried juice, is collected the next morning. when china, in , forbade the consumption of opium and the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were from twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the empire. we reached ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon and found it to be a straggling village built on two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed population of shans and chinese. it happened to be the weekly market day and the "bazaar" was crowded. a number of indian soldiers in khaki were standing about, and i called out to roy, "i wonder if any of them speak english." instantly a little fellow approached, with cap in hand, and said, "yes, madame, i speak english." one cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our own language from a native in this out-of-the-way spot! he was the "compounder," or medical assistant, and told us that the hundred native troops were in charge of a white officer whose house was on the opposite side of the river gorge. he guided us to a temple and, while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a tall, handsome young british officer who introduced himself as captain clive. he was almost speechless with surprise at seeing me, for he had not spoken a sentence in english or seen a white person since his arrival at this lonely post five months before. he asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin and we accepted gladly. on the way he gave us our first news of the outside world, for we had been beyond communication of any sort for months, and we learned that the united states had severed diplomatic relations with germany. captain clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo house with a broad veranda and thatched with straw. it was delightfully cool and dark after the glare of the yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order. the care which britishers take to keep from "letting down" while guarding the frontiers of their vast empire is proverbial, and captain clive was a splendid example of the indian officer. he was as clean-shaved and well-groomed as though he had been expecting us for days and the tiffin to which we sat down was as dainty and well served as it could have been in the midst of civilization. the great lord clive of india was an ancestor of our young officer who had been temporarily detached from his regiment, the th baluchis, and sent on border duty. he was very unhappy, for his brother officers were in active service in east africa, and he had cried to resign several times, but the indian government would not release him. when we reached rangoon some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined his regiment and was at the front. ma-li-pa was a recently established "winter station" and in may would be abandoned when the troop returned to lashio, ten days' journey away. comfortable barracks, cook houses, and a hospital had been erected beside a large space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade ground. captain clive was in communication by heliograph with lashio, at the end of the railroad, and received a _résumé_ of world news two or three times a week. with mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages were flashed from one mountain top to another and, under favorable conditions, reached lashio in seven or eight hours. we pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks in an open field, for there was no available shade. although captain clive was perfectly satisfied with our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed until he had communicated with the indian government by heliograph. the border was being guarded very closely to prevent german sympathizers from crossing into burma from china and inciting the native tribes to rebellion. in december, , a rather serious uprising among the kachins in the myitkyina district on the upper waters of the irawadi river had been incited by a foreigner, i believe, and clive had assisted in suppressing it. the indian government was taking no further chances and had given strict orders to arrest and hold anyone, other than a native, who crossed the border from china. very fortunately h.b.m. consul-general goffe at yün-nan fu had communicated with the lieutenant-governor of burma concerning our expedition and we consequently expected no trouble, but captain clive could not let us proceed until he had orders to do so from the superintendent of the northern shan states. through a delayed message this permission did not reach him for five days and in the meantime we made the most of the limited collecting resources which ma-li-pa afforded. clive ordered his day like all the residents of burma. he rose at six o'clock and after coffee and rolls had drill for two hours. at half past ten a heavy meal took the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with sandwiches and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at eight. his company was composed of several different native tribes, and each religious caste had its own cook and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not prepare meals for men of another. it is an extraordinary system but one which appears to operate perfectly well under the adaptable english government. certainly one of the great elements in the success of the british as colonizers is their respect for native customs and superstitions! the company drilled splendidly and we were surprised to hear all commands given in english although none of the men could understand that language. this is done to enable british and indian troops to maneuver together. captain clive, himself, spoke hindustani to his officers. in the evening the men played football on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic carpet of the arabian nights. every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned about nine o'clock. conditions were not favorable for small mammals and although we could undoubtedly have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats we did not set a line of steel traps for we expected to leave at any time. our attention was mostly devoted to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred interesting specimens. we had our mid-morning meal each day with captain clive and he dined with us in the evening. he had brought with him from lashio a large quantity of supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done at home. although the days were very warm, the nights were cold and a camp fire was most acceptable. captain clive was on excellent terms with the chinese authorities and, while we were there, a very old mandarin, blind and infirm, called to present his compliments. he had been an ardent sportsman and was especially interested in our guns; had we been willing to accept the commission he would have paid us the money then and there to purchase for him a savage . -. rifle like the one we were carrying. the old gentleman always had been very loyal to the british and had received several decorations for his services. a few days after our arrival a half dead chinaman crawled into camp with his throat terribly cut. he had been attacked by brigands only a few miles over the border and had just been able to reach ma-li-pa. the company "compounder" took him in charge and, when clive asked him about the patient, his evasive answers were most amusing; like all orientals he would not commit himself to any definite statement because he might "lose face" if his opinion proved to be wrong. captain clive said to him, "do you think the chinaman will die?" looking very judicial the native replied, "sir, he _may_ die, and yet, he may live." "but," said clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "yes," was the answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." that was all the satisfaction he was able to get. clive told us of another native who formerly had been in his company. he had been transferred and one day the captain met him in rangoon. when asked if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical, "sir, it is good, but not _s-o-o_ good!" on the afternoon of our fourth day in ma-li-pa a heliograph from rangoon announced that "the asiatic zoölogical expedition of the american museum of natural history is especially commended to his majesty's indian government and permission is hereby granted to carry on its work in burma wherever it may desire." this was only one of the many courtesies which we received from the british. the morning following the receipt of the heliogram we broke camp at daylight. when the last mule of the caravan had disappeared over the brown hills toward china we regretfully said farewell and rode away. if we are ever again made "prisoners of war" we hope our captor will be as delightful a gentleman as captain clive. chapter xxxiii hunting peacocks on the salween river from ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the salween river. the country through which we passed was a succession of dry treeless hills, brown and barren and devoid of animal life. on the evening of the third day we reached the salween at a ferry a few miles from the village of changlung where the river begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across the border from china into burma. the stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself through the mountains and the sides are so precipitous that the trail doubles back upon itself a dozen times before it reaches the river , feet below. the upper half of the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees, but in the lower part the grass is long and rank and a thin dry jungle straggles along the water's edge. the salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide, but narrows to half that distance below the ferry and flows in a series of rapids between rocky shores. the valley is devoid of human life except for three boatmen who tend the ferry, but the deserted rice fields along a narrow shelf showed evidence of former cultivation. on the slopes far up the side of the cañon is a miao village, a tribe which we had not seen before. probably the valley is too unhealthy for any natives to live close to the water's edge and, even at the time of our visit in early march, the heated air was laden with malaria. the ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with opium, and assured us that there were no mammals near the river. they admitted that they sometimes heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched on a steep sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird catlike call of a peacock echoed up the valley. it was answered by another farther down the river, and the report of my gun when i fired at a bat brought forth a wild "pe-haun," "pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a dozen places. the ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles lashed together with vines and creepers. it floated just above the surface and was half submerged when loaded. the natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in place of oars. it consisted of a piece of tightly woven bamboo matting three feet long and two feet wide at right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle. with these the men nonchalantly raked the water toward them from the bow and stern when they had poled the raft well into the current. the invested capital was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers" needed repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed to build an entirely new outfit. all of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the river from our camp where the jungle was thickest. on the first morning my wife and i floated down the river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a peacock which had called frequently from a rocky point near the water's edge. we picked our way through the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old cock either saw or heard us before we were within range, and i caught just a glimpse of a brilliant green neck as he disappeared into the bushes. a second bird called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused to come into the open and as we started to stalk it in the jungle we heard a patter of feet among the dry leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw the bird sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a bush-clad hill. this was the only peacock which we were ever able to flush when it had already gained cover. usually the birds depend entirely upon their ability to hide or run through the bushes. after several attempts we learned that it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully. the jungle was so crisp and parched that the dry leaves crackled at every step and even small birds made a loud noise while scratching on the ground. the only way to get the peacocks was to watch for them at the river when they came to drink in the early morning and evening. between two rocky points where we had first seen the birds there was a long curved beach of fine white sand. one morning heller waited on the point nearest camp while my wife and i posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river. we had been sitting quietly for half an hour when we heard a scratching in the jungle. thinking it was a peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water and sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. meanwhile, heller witnessed an interesting little drama enacted behind us. an old male peacock with a splendid train stole around the point close to the water, jumped to a high stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a full minute craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view as we kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his presence. after he had satisfied his curiosity he hopped off the observation pinnacle and, with his body flattened close to the ground, slipped quietly away. it was an excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had heller not witnessed the scene we should never have known how the clever old bird had fooled us. the following morning we got a peahen at the same place. heller had concealed himself in the bushes on one side of the point while i watched the other. shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the jungle on set wings and alighted at the water's edge. she saw heller almost instantly, although he was completely covered by the vines, and started to fly, but he dropped her with a broken wing. recovering herself, she darted around the rocky point only to meet a charge of b.b.'s from my gun. she was a beautiful bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow and blue face patch and a green neck and back, but her plumes were short and inconspicuous when compared with those of the male. probably these birds had never before been hunted but they were exceedingly shy and difficult to kill. although they called more or less during the entire day and we could locate them exactly, they were so far back in the jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made a stalk impossible. we tried to drive them but were unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush unless they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover. apparently realizing that their brilliant plumage made them conspicuous objects, the birds relied entirely upon an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful sight and hearing to protect themselves from enemies. they usually came to the river to drink very early in the morning and just before dusk in the afternoon, but on cloudy days they might appear at almost any hour. if undisturbed they would remain near the water's edge for a considerable time or strut about the sand beach just at the edge of the jungle. at the sound of a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks would answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the domesticated birds will do. the chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is poison and our servants were horrified when they learned that we intended to eat it. they fully expected that we would not survive the night and, even when they saw we had experienced no ill effects, they could not be persuaded to touch any of it themselves. an old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and roasted they are almost the equal of turkey. the species which we killed on the salween river is the green peafowl (_pavo munticus_) which inhabits burma, sumatra, java, and the malay peninsula. its neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common indian peacock (_pavo cristatus_), and it is said that it is the most beautiful bird of the world. the long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are dropped about august and the birds assume more simple barred plumes, but the molt is very irregular; usually the full plumage is resumed in march or even earlier. the train is, of course, an ornament to attract the female and, when a cock is strutting about with spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers. the eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush in the dense jungle, are dull brownish white and nearly three inches long. the chicks are sometimes domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. the birds are omnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles, flower buds, young shoots, and grain. the common peafowl (_pavo cristatus_) is a native of india, ceylon, and assam. it is held sacred by some religious castes and we saw dozens of the birds wandering about the grounds of the temples in benares, agra, and delhi. peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable pets because they often attack infirm persons and children and kill young poultry. in some parts of ceylon and india the birds are so abundant and easily killed that they do not furnish even passable sport, but in other places they are as wild and difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the salween river. in india it is a universal belief among sportsmen that wherever peafowls are common, there tiger will be found. a very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen abruptly in domestication is the so-called "japanned" or black-shouldered peacock named _pavo nigripennis_ by mr. sclater. in some respects it is intermediate between _p. munticus_ and _p. cristatus_ and apparently "breeds true" but never has been found in a wild state. albino specimens are by no means unusual and are a feature of many zoölogical gardens. peacocks have been under domestication for many centuries and are mentioned in the bible as having been imported into palestine by solomon; although the bird is referred to in mythology, the greeks probably had but little knowledge of it until after the conquests of alexander. in the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from our camp on the salween river i put up a silver pheasant (_euplocamus nycthemerus_), one of the earliest known and most beautiful species of the family phasianidae. its white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black, extends like a wedding veil over the head, back and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs. this bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon the heart and back badges of the official dresses of civil mandarins to denote the rank of the wearer, and is found only in southern and western china. it is by no means abundant in the parts of yün-nan which we visited and, moreover, lives in such dense jungle that it is difficult to find. the natives sometimes snare the birds and offer them for sale alive. we also saw monkeys at our camp on the salween river, but were not successful in killing any. they were probably the indian baboon (_macacus rhesus_) and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most extraordinarily wild. they were in large herds and sometimes came down to the water to skip and dance along the sand and play among the rocks. the monkeys invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river from us and by the time we hunted up the boatmen and got the clumsy raft to the other shore the baboons had disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running through the trees up the mountain-side. the valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping ground for either small or large mammals, but the birds were interesting and we secured a good many species new to our collection. jungle fowl were abundant and pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks along the river and only two cormorants. very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay, for it is a long way from the main road and the climb out of the gorge is too formidable to be undertaken if the salween can possibly be crossed higher up where the valley is wide and shallow. while we were camped at the river the heat was most uncomfortable during the middle of the day and was but little mitigated by the wind which blew continually. during mid-summer the valley at this point must be a veritable furnace and doubtless reeks with fever. we slept under nets at night and in the early evening, while we were watching for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome. chapter xxxiv the gibbons of ho-mu-shu it is a long hard climb out of the salween valley. we left on march and all day crawled up the steep sides on a trail which doubled back and forth upon itself like an endless letter s. from our camp at night the river was just visible as a thin green line several thousand feet below, and for the first time in days, we needed a charcoal fire in our tents. we were _en route_ to lung-ling, a town of considerable size, where there was a possibility that mail might be awaiting us in care of the mandarin. although ordinarily a three days' journey, it was more than four days before we arrived, because i had a sharp attack of malaria shortly after leaving the salween river and we had to travel half stages. when we were well out of the valley and at an altitude of , feet, we arrived at a chinese town. its dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together in a crowded mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged children and foot-bound women, were in unpleasant contrast to the charming little shan villages which we had seen in the low country. the inhabitants themselves appeared to no better advantage when compared with their shan neighbors, for their stares and insolent curiosity were almost unbearable. the region between the salween river at changlung and lung-ling is as uninteresting to the zoölogist as it could possibly be, for the hills are dry and bare and devoid of animal life. lung-ling is a typical chinese town except that the streets are wide and it is not as dirty as usual. the mandarin was a jolly rotund little fellow who simulated great sympathy when he informed me that he had received no mail for us. we had left directions to have a runner follow us from yung-chang and in the event that he did not find our camp to proceed to lung-ling with the mail. we learned some weeks later that the runner had been frightened by brigands and had turned back long before he reached meng-ting. we had heard from our _mafus_ and other natives that black monkeys were to be found on a mountain pass not far from the village of ho-mu-shu, on the main yung-chang-teng-yueh road and, as we were certain that they would prove to be gibbons, we decided to make that our next hunting camp. it was three stages from lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we again descended to the salween river. the valley at this point is several miles wide and is so dry that the few shrubs and bushes seem to be parched and barely able to live. at the upper end a picturesque village is set among extensive rice fields. although a few chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly shans who are in a transitory state and are gradually adopting chinese customs. the houses are joined to each other in the chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with straw. in shape as well as in composition they are quite unlike the dwellings of the southern shans. the women wore cylindrical turbans, about eighteen inches high, which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the men were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of chinese blue. i believe that some of the shan women also had bound feet but of this i cannot be certain. we camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree at the far end of the village street, and a short time after the tents were up we had a visit from the shan magistrate. he was a dapper energetic little fellow wearing foreign dress and quite _au courant_ with foreign ways. he even owned a breech-loading shotgun, and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. he presented us with the usual chickens and i returned several tins of cigarettes. he appeared to be quite a sportsman and directed us to a place on the mountain above the village where he said monkeys were abundant. we left early in the morning with a guide and, after a hard climb, arrived at a little village near the forest to which the magistrate had directed us. not only did the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys but we discovered for ourselves that the only water was more than a mile away, and that camping there was out of the question. the next day, april , we went on to ho-mu-shu. it is a tiny village built into the mountain-side with hardly fifty yards of level ground about it, but commanding a magnificent view over the salween valley. although we reached there at half past two in the afternoon the _mafus_ insisted on camping because they swore that there was no water within fifty _li_ up the mountain. very unwillingly i consented to camp and the next morning found, as usual, that the _mafus_ had lied for there was a splendid camping place with good water not two hours from ho-mu-shu. it was useless to rage for the chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small matters, and the head _mafu_ blandly admitted that he knew there was a camping place farther on but that he was tired and wanted to stop early. as we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted with a ringing "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the forest five hundred feet below us; they were the calls of gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those of the nam-ting river. we decided to camp at once and, after considerable prospecting, chose a flat place beside the road. it was by no means ideal but had the advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from either side of the ridge which for its entire length was scarcely two hundred feet in width. the sides fell away for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad slopes and, as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of mountains rolled outward in a great sea of green. our camp would have been delightful except for the wind which swept across the pass night and day in an unceasing gale. my wife and i set a line of traps along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge, while heller chose the opposite slope. we were entranced with the forest. the trees were immense spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed a solid roof of green feet above the soft moss carpet underneath. every trunk was clothed in a smothering mass of vines and ferns and parasitic plants and, from the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers swayed back and forth with every breath of wind. below, the forest was fairly open save for occasional patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more than a somber twilight beneath the trees. our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale which howled up the valley from the south and swept across the ridge in a torrent of wind. the huge trees around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed about to be torn to shreds. amid the crashing of branches and the roar of the wind it was impossible to hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question. we lay in our bags expecting every second to have the covering torn from above our heads, but the tough cloth held, and at midnight the gale began to lull. in the morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was a breathless calm among the trees a few hundred feet below. my wife and i had just returned from inspecting our line of traps about nine o'clock in the morning when the forest suddenly resounded with the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" of the gibbons. it seemed a long way off at first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. at the first note we seized our guns and dashed down the mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and falling. the animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet below the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we moved cautiously from tree to tree, going forward only when they called. it was one of the most exciting stalks i have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed always close above our heads. we were still a hundred yards away when a huge black monkey leaped out of a tree top just as i stepped from behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. for a full half minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head thrust forward staring intently; then launching himself into the air as though shot from a catapult he caught a branch twenty feet away, swung to another, and literally flew through the tree tops. without a sound save the swish of the branches and splash after splash in the leaves, the entire herd followed him down the hill. it was out of range for the shotgun and my wife was ten feet behind me with the rifle, but had i had it in my hand i doubt if i could have hit one of those flying balls of fur. we returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but two days later we redeemed ourselves and brought in the first new gibbons. we were sitting on a bed of fragrant pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when suddenly the wild call of the monkeys echoed up the mountain-side. they were far away to the left, and we ran toward them, stumbling and slipping on the moss-covered rocks and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" sounding louder every moment. they seemed almost under us at times and we would stand motionless and silent only to hear the howls die away in the distance. at last we located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny plants. it was an impossible place to cross, and we sat down, irresolute and discouraged. in a few moments a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black apes swinging along through the trees, two hundred yards away. finally they stopped and began to feed. they were small marks at that distance but i rested my little mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot while yvette watched them with the glasses. one big fellow swung out on a branch and hung with one arm while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other. yvette saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did not move, and at the roar of the second he dropped heavily into the vines below. a brown female ran along the branch a few seconds later and peered down into the jungle where the first monkey had fallen. i covered her carefully with the ivory head of the front sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong off the tree. for a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of leaves and three huge black males leaped into full view from the summit of a tall tree. they were silhouetted against a patch of sky and i fired twice in quick succession registering two clean misses. the bullets must have whizzed too close for comfort and they faded instantly into the forest like three black shadows. for ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense foliage hoping to catch a glimpse of a swaying branch. suddenly yvette heard a rustling in the low tree beneath which we were sitting and seized me violently by the arm, screaming excitedly, "there's one, right above us. quick, quick, he's going!" i looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not twenty feet away hung a huge brown monkey half the size of a man. almost in a daze i fired with the shotgun. the gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long arm and a pair of eyes blazing like living coals, stared into mine. i fired again point blank as the huge mouth, baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a bloodcurdling howl. the monkey slowly swung back again, its arm relaxed and the animal fell at my feet, stone dead. it was a magnificent old female. by a lucky chance we had chosen, from all the trees in the forest, to sit under the very one in which the gibbon had been hiding and she had tried to steal away unnoticed. while my wife waited to direct me from the rim of the gorge, i climbed down into the jungle to try and make my way up the opposite side where the other monkeys had fallen. it was dangerous work, for the rocks were covered with a thin layer of earth which supported a dense growth of vegetation. if i tried to let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern it would almost invariably strip away with a long layer of dirt and send me headlong. after two bad falls i reached the bottom of the ravine where a mountain torrent leaped and foamed over the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade to a pool fifty or sixty feet below. the climb up the opposite side was more difficult than the descent and twice i had to return after finding the way impassable. a sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated me from the spot where the gibbons had fallen. i skirted the rock face and had laboriously worked my way around and above it when a vine to which i had been clinging stripped off and i began to slide. faster and faster i went, dragging a mass of ferns and creepers with me, for everything i grasped gave way. i thought it was the end of things for me because i was hardly ten feet above the precipice which fell away to the jagged rocks of the stream bed in a drop of seventy feet. the rifle slung to my back saved my life. suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me flattened out against the cliff. but even then i was far from safe, as i realized when i tried to twist about to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from a bush above my head. how i managed to crawl back to safety among the trees i can remember only vaguely. i finally got down to the bottom of the cañon, but felt weak and sick and it was half an hour before i could climb up to the place where my wife was waiting. she was already badly frightened for she had not seen me since i left her an hour before and, when i answered her call, she was about to follow into the jungle where i had disappeared. we left the two monkeys to be recovered from above and went slowly back to camp. the gibbons of ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of the nam-ting river. they represent a well-known species called the "hoolock" (_hylobates hoolock_) which is also found in burma. the males, both old and young, are coal black with a fringe of white hairs about the face, and the females are light brown. their note is totally unlike the nam-ting river gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the top of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle for an hour or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes as they swing through the branches and are silent during the remainder of the day. they called most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom heard them during cloudy weather. apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every day, but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. like the gibbons of the nam-ting river, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops at almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things which i have ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw themselves from one tree to another with unerring precision. on april , we received the first mail in nearly three months and our share amounted to letters besides a great quantity of magazines. wu had ridden to teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had a basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of reuter's cablegrams which were kindly sent by messrs. palmer and abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of the chinese customs, who had cared for our mail. mr. abertsen also sent a note telling us of a good hunting ground near teng-yueh. we spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers and, through them, began to get in touch with the world again. it is strange how little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its reach and has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. and it is just as strange how essential it all seems immediately one is again within reach of such adjuncts of civilization. on april , we had the first rain for weeks. the water fell in torrents, and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant that we could barely hear each other shout. because of the long dry spell our camp had not been made with reference to weather and during the night i waked to find that we were in the middle of a pond with fifteen inches of water in the tent. shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface of the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our cots. this was the beginning of a ten days' rain after which we had six weeks of as delightful weather as one could wish. chapter xxxv teng-yueh; a link with civilization after a week on the pass above ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village called tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer teng-yueh on the same road. the ride along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed through grove after grove of rhododendrons in full blossom. the trees were sometimes thirty feet in height and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living coals among their dark green leaves. in the northern part of yün-nan the rhododendrons grow above other timber line on mountains where it is too high even for spruces. it rained continually during our stay at tai-ping-pu. i had another attack of the salween malaria and for five or six days could do little work. heller, however, made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned pheasant, temmick's tragopan (_ceriornis temmincki_), besides half a dozen langurs of the same species as those we had collected on the nam-ting river. he also was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels (_petaurista yunnanensis_) which we had hoped to get at wei-hsi. he saw the animal in the upper branches of a dead tree on the first evening we were in tai-ping-pu but was not able to get a shot. the next night he watched the same spot and killed the squirrel with a charge of "fours." it measured forty-two and one-quarter inches from the nose to the end of the tail and was a rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the underparts were cream white. as in all flying squirrels, the four legs were connected by a sheet of skin called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body. this acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail from tree to tree for, of course, it cannot fly like a bat. as these huge squirrels are strictly nocturnal, they are not often seen even by the natives. we were told by the lutzus on the mekong river that by building huge fires in the woods they could attract the animals and shoot them with their crossbows. a few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel from a native and kept it for several days in the hope that it might become tame. the animal was exceedingly savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at anyone who approached its basket. it could not be tempted to eat or drink and, as it was a valuable specimen, we eventually chloroformed it. just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half dozen families of lisos were living, and we hired the men to hunt for us. they were good-natured fellows, as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and worked well. one day they brought in a fine muntjac buck which had been killed with their crossbows and poisoned darts. the arrows were about twelve inches long, made of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece of the same wood. those for shooting birds and squirrels were sharpened to a needle point, but the hunting darts were tipped with steel or iron. the poison they extracted from a plant, which i never saw, and it was said that it takes effect very rapidly. the muntjac which the lisos killed had been shot in the side with a single arrow and they assured us that only the flesh immediately surrounding the wound had been spoiled for food. these natives like the mosos, lolos, and others carried their darts in a quiver made from the leg skin of a black bear, and none of the men wished to sell their weapons; i finally did obtain a crossbow and quiver for six dollars (mexican). two days before we left tai-ping-pu, three of the lisos guided my wife and me to a large cave where they said there was a colony of bats. the cavern was an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult and dangerous place in the side of a cliff just above a swift mountain stream. we strung our gill net across the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to stir up the animals while we caught them as they flew out. in less than half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown bats, but our fingers were cut and bleeding from the vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. they all represented a widely distributed species which we had already obtained at yün-nan fu. from lung-ling i had sent a runner to mr. evans at ta-li fu asking him to forward to teng-yueh the specimens which we had left in his care, and the day following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing our cases passed us at tai-ping-pu. we, ourselves, were about ready to leave and two days later at ten o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain summit, gazing down at the beautiful teng-yueh plain which lay before us like a relief map. it is as flat as a plain well can be and, except where a dozen or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley is one vast watery rice field. far in the distance, outside the gray city walls, we could see two temple-like buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds, and wu told us they were the houses of the customs officials. teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting" or second-class chinese city, is one of the most important places in the province, for it stands as the door to india. all the trade of burma and yün-nan flows back and forth through the gates of teng-yueh, over the great caravan road to bhamo on the upper irawadi. an important post of the chinese foreign customs, which are administered by the british government as security for the boxer indemnity, is situated in this city, and we were looking forward with the greatest interest to meeting its white population. at the time of our visit the foreigners included messrs. h.g. fletcher and ralph c. grierson, respectively acting commissioner and assistant commissioner of customs; messrs. w.r. palmer and abertsen, also of the customs; mr. eastes, h.b.m. consul; dr. chang, indian medical officer, and reverend and mrs. embry of the china inland mission; mr. eastes, accompanied by the resident mandarin, was absent on a three months' opium inspection tour so that we did not meet him. we reached teng-yueh on sunday morning and camped in a temple outside the city walls. immediately after tiffin we called upon mr. grierson and went with him to the customs house where messrs. abertsen and palmer were living. we found there a scotch botanist, mr. forrest, an old traveler in yün-nan who was _en route_ to a-tun-zu on a three-year plant-hunting expedition for an english commercial firm. we had heard much of forrest from messrs. kok and hanna and were especially glad to meet him because of his wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province. mr. forrest was interested chiefly in primroses and rhododendrons, i believe, and in former years obtained a rather remarkable collection of these plants. from mr. grierson we first learned that the united states had declared war on germany. it had been announced only a week before, and the information had reached teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately. it came as welcome news to us americans who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to ourselves and others our country's lethargy in the face of teuton insolence, and made us feel that once again we could acknowledge our nationality with the pride we used to feel. on monday mr. grierson invited us to become his guests and to move our caravan and belongings to his beautiful home. we were charmed with it and our host. the house was built with upturned, temple-like gables, and from his cool verandah we could look across an exquisite flower-filled garden to the blue mountains from which we had had our first view of teng-yueh the day before. the interior of the dwelling was as attractive as its surroundings, and the beautifully served meals were as varied and dainty as one could have had in the midst of a great city. like all britishers, the customs men had carried their sport with them. just beyond the city walls an excellent golf course had been laid out with chinese graves as bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind the commissioner's house. mr. grierson had two excellent polo ponies, besides three trained pointer dogs, and riding and shooting over the beautiful hills gave him an almost ideal life. we found that mr. fletcher had a really remarkable selection of records and an excellent victrola. after dinner, as we listened to the music, we had only to close our eyes and float back to new york and the metropolitan opera house on the divine harmony of the sextet from "lucia" or caruso's matchless voice. but none of us wished to be there in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and the music already brought with it a lingering sadness because our days in the free, wild mountains of china were drawing to a close. during the week we spent with mr. grierson we dried and packed all our specimens in tin-lined boxes which were purchased from the agent of the british american tobacco company in teng-yueh. they were just the right size to carry on muleback and, after the birds and mammals had been wrapped in cotton and sprinkled with napthalene, the cases were soldered and made air tight. the most essential thing in sending specimens of any kind through a moist, tropical climate such as india is to have them perfectly dry before the boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined. on the day of our arrival in teng-yueh we purchased from a native two bear cubs (_ursus tibetanus_) about a week old. each was coal black except for a v-shaped white mark on the breast and a brown nose. when they first came to us they were too young to eat and we fed them diluted condensed milk from a spoon. the little chaps were as playful as kittens and the story of their amusing ways as they grew older is a book in itself. after a month one of the cubs died, leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only lived and flourished but traveled more than , miles. he went with us on a pack mule to bhamo, down the irawadi river to rangoon, and across the bay of bengal to calcutta. he then visited many cities in india, and at bombay boarded the p. & o.s.s. _namur_ for hongkong and became the pet of the ship. from china we took him to japan, across the pacific to vancouver, and finally to our home at lawrence park, bronxville, new york. after an adventurous career as a house pet, when his exploits had made him famous and ourselves disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully sent him to the national zoölogical park, washington, d.c., where he is living happily at the present time. he was the most delightful little pet we have ever owned and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can see him still as he came to us the first week. he might well have been the model for the original "teddy bear" for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears and sparkling little eyes. chapter xxxvi a big game paradise a few months previous to our arrival, mr. abertsen had discovered a splendid hunting ground near the village of hui-yao, about eighty _li_ from teng-yueh. he had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while passing through the village, the natives told him that a large herd of _gnai-yang_ or "wild goats" lived on the side of a hill through which a branch of the shweli river had cut a deep gorge. although abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the accuracy of the report he spent two days hunting and with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover, he saw twenty-five others. we examined the two skins and realized at once that they represented a different species from those of the snow mountain. therefore, when we left teng-yueh our first camp was at hui-yao. heller and i started with four natives shortly after daylight. we crossed a tumbledown wooden bridge over the river at a narrow cañon where the sides were straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for about two miles. on the way heller, who was in front, saw two muntjac standing in the grass on an open hillside, and shot the leader. the deer pitched headlong but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off into the thick cover at the edge of the meadow. it had disappeared before heller reached the clearing but he saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock. although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal ran a quarter of a mile, and he finally discovered her several hours later in the bushes beside the river. in a short time we reached an open hillside which rose six or seven hundred feet above the river in a steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall of rock bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. we separated at this point. heller, with two natives, keeping near the river, while i climbed up the hill to work along the cliffs half way to the summit. in less than ten minutes heller heard a loud snort and, looking up, saw three gorals standing on a ledge seventy-five yards above him. he fired twice but missed and the animals disappeared around a corner of the hill. a few hundred yards farther on he saw a single old ram but his two shots apparently had no effect. meanwhile i had continued along the hillside not far from the summit for a mile or more without seeing an animal. fresh tracks were everywhere and well-cut trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass. i had reached an impassable precipice and was returning across a steep slope when seven gorals jumped out of the grass where they had been lying asleep. i was in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick succession as the animals appeared through the branches, but missed both times. i ran out from the trees but the gorals were then nearly two hundred yards away. one big ram had left the herd and was trotting along broadside on. i aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his head appeared in the peep sight. he turned a beautiful somersault and rolled over and over down the hill, finally disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water. the other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds later i saw a small one slowly skirting the rocks on the very summit of the hill. the first shot kicked the dirt beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran behind a huge boulder. i rested the little mannlicher on the trunk of a tree, covering the edge of the rock with the ivory head of the front sight and waited. i was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal out, and in two or three minutes his head appeared. i fired instantly, boring him through both shoulders, and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging against a rock not fifty yards from where we stood. the two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling at the top of their lungs, ran up the hill like goats to bring the animal down to me. it was a young male in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches long. our pleasure was somewhat dampened, however, when we went to recover the first goral for we found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge of the river it had either rolled or crawled into the water. we searched along the bank for half a mile but without success and returned to hui-yao just in time for tiffin. in the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little grove on the opposite side of the river behind the hunting grounds. heller, instead of going over with the caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the pine forest where he could look across the river to the hill on which we had hunted in the morning. with his field glasses he discovered five gorals in an open meadow, and opened fire. it was long shooting but the animals did not know which way to run, and he killed three of the herd before they disappeared. our first day had, therefore, netted us one deer and four gorals which was better than at any other camp we had had in china. we realized from the first day's work that hui-yao would prove to be a wonderful hunting ground, and the two weeks we spent there justified all our hopes. at other places the cover was so dense or the country so rough that it was necessary to depend entirely upon dogs and untrained natives, but here the animals were on open hillsides where they could be still hunted with success. moreover, we had an opportunity to learn something about the habits of the animals for we could watch them with glasses from the opposite side of the river when they were quite unconscious of our presence. there was only one day of our stay at hui-yao that we did not bring in one or more gorals and even after we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens were left. shooting the animals from across the river was rather an unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very effective method of collecting the particular specimens we needed for the museum series. the distance was so great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the bullets were coming and almost any number of shots might be had before the animals made for cover. it became simply a case of long range target shooting at seldom less than three hundred yards. still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter, however, and was as good sport as i have ever had. the rocks and open meadow slopes were so precipitous that there was very real danger every moment, for one misstep would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to the bottom where he would inevitably be killed. the gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the sheerest cliffs or to hide in the rank grass, and it took close work to find them. i used most frequently to ride from camp to the river, send back the horse by a _mafu_, and work along the face of the rock wall with my two native boys. their eyesight was wonderful and they often discovered gorals lying among the rocks when i had missed them entirely with my powerful prism binoculars. their eyes had never been dimmed by study and i suppose were as keen as those of primitive man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives thousands of years ago over these same hills. there were many glorious hunts and it would be wearisome were i to describe them all, but one afternoon stands out in my memory above the others. it was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock i rode away from camp, across the rice fields and up the grassy valley to the long sweep of open meadow on the rim of the river gorge. sending back the horse, "achi," my native hunter, and i crawled carefully to a jutting point of rocks and lay face down to inspect the cliffs above and to the left. with my glasses i scanned every inch of the gray wall, but could not discover a sign of life. glancing at achi i saw him gazing intently at the rock which i had just examined, and in a moment he whispered excitedly "_gnai-yang_." by putting both hands to the side of his head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and although he pointed with my rifle, it was full five minutes before i could discover the goral flat upon his belly against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore legs doubled beneath his body. he was sound asleep in the sun and looked as though he might remain forever. by signs achi indicated that we were to climb up above and circle around the cliff to a ragged promontory which jutted into space within a hundred yards of the animal. it was a good three quarters of an hour before we peered cautiously between two rocks opposite the ledge where the goral had been asleep. the animal was gone. we looked at each other in blank amazement and then began a survey of the ground below. halfway down the mountain-side achi discovered the ram feeding in an open meadow and we began at once to make our way down the face of the cliff. it was dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety and worked cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the goral had been standing. again we crawled like snakes among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving grass met our eyes. the goral had disappeared, and even achi could not discover a sign of life upon the meadow. with an exclamation of disgust i got to my feet and looked around. instantly there was a rattle of stones and a huge goral leaped out of the grass thirty yards away and dashed up the hill. i threw up my rifle and shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the animal. swearing softly at my carelessness, i threw in another shell, selected a spot in front of the ram, and fired. the splendid animal sank in its tracks without a quiver, shot through the base of the neck. i had just ejected the empty shell when achi seized me by the arm, whispering "_gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang, na, na, na, na_," and pointing to the cliffs two hundred yards above us. i looked up just in time to see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit of the ridge. an instant later he appeared again and stopped broadside on with his noble head thrown up, silhouetted against the sky. it was a perfect target and, resting my rifle on a flat rock, i covered the animal with the white bead and centered it in the rear sight. as i touched the hair trigger and the roar of the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the cliff, the animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling over and over down the meadow and bringing up against a boulder not twenty yards from the first goral. that night as i walked over the hills in the cool dusk i would not have changed my lot with any man on earth. the breathless excitement of the stalk and the wild thrill of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid rams were still rioting in my veins. i came out of the valley and across the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. yvette ran to the edge of the grove, her hands filled with wet photographic negatives. "how many?" she called. "two," i answered, "and both big ones. how many for you?" "fourteen color plates," she sung back happily, "and all good." chapter xxxvii serow and sambur we had a delightful visit from mr. grierson during our first week in camp. he rode out on thursday afternoon and remained until sunday, bringing us mail, war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with goral meat for all the foreigners in teng-yueh. on the afternoon of his visit i had killed three monkeys which represented a different species from any we had obtained before. they were the indian baboon (_macacus rhesus_) and were probably like those of the salween river at changlung. i found two great troupes of the monkeys running along the opposite river bank. the first herd was climbing up the almost perpendicular rock walls, swinging on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in the tufts of grass. i could not approach nearer than one hundred and fifty yards and did some very bad shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at that distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires a much better shot than i am to register more hits than misses. i did kill two, but both dropped into the river and promptly sank, so that i gave it up. less than a half mile farther on another and larger troupe appeared among the boulders just at the water's edge. profiting by my experience, i kept out of sight among the bushes and watched the animals play about until one hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant. i got six in this way, but we were able to recover only three of them from the water. heller shot three muntjac at hui-yao, besides the doe which he killed on the first day. one of the largest bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers three and one half inches long from the burr to the tip. the skin-covered projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the summits of which the antlers grow, measured two and one-half inches from the skull to the burrs. evidently the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for, although they were all in full summer pelage, two already had lost their antlers while the other had not. i can think of no more delicious meat than the flesh of these little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by the english sportsmen of india as they are by the foreigners of china. i did not see a muntjac while at hui-yao, but was fortunate in killing a splendid coal-black serow which represents a sub-species new to science; although the natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen for years. heller and i had gone to this part of the gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys which he had located on the previous day. we had separated, heller keeping close to the water while i skirted the cliffs near the summit not far from the road which led through the pine forest. i was walking just under the rim of the gorge when suddenly with a snort a large animal dashed out of a thicket below and to the left. i caught a glimpse of a great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns as the beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized that it was a serow. a few seconds later it reappeared, running directly away from me along the upper edge of the gorge. i fired and the animal dropped, gave a convulsive twist, rolled over, and plunged into the cañon. as the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited yells from below, and it was evident that some natives near the water had seen it fall. i had slight hope that they might have rescued it from the river, but my heart was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying to find a place where it was possible to descend. a wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible for a human being to walk along it, and in proof i slid the last half of the way to the rocks at the river's edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck. when we reached the stream it was only to find a flat wall against which the water surged in a mass of white foam, separating us from the place where the serow had fallen. i tried to wade around the rock but in two steps the water was above my waist. it was evident that we would have to swim, and i began to undress, inviting achi and the wood cutter to follow; the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few clothes with considerable hesitation. it was a swim of only about forty feet around the face of the cliff but the current was strong and it was no easy matter to fight my way to the other side. after i had climbed out upon the rocks i called to the wood cutter to follow and he slipped into the water. evidently the current was more than he had bargained for and a look of fear crossed his face, but he went manfully at it. he had almost reached the rock on which i was standing with outstretched hand when his strength seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. i jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one hand and letting my legs float out behind. the wood cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to which he clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning man and i dragged him up stream until, to my intense relief, he could grasp the rocks. we picked our way among the boulders for a few yards and suddenly came upon the serow lying partly in the water. i felt like dancing with delight but the sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations and i merely yelled to achi who understood from the tone, if not from my words, that the animal was safe. the men who had shouted when the animal fell over the cliff were only fifty feet away, but they too were separated from it by a wall of rock and surging water. they said that there was an easier way up the cliff than the one by which we had descended, and prepared a line of tough vines, one end of which they let down to us. we made it fast to the serow and i kept a second vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as they dragged it to the other shore. it was landed safely and the wood cutter was hauled over by the same means. i had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered that achi had disappeared, taking my garments and those of the wood cutter with him. he evidently intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in the rather awkward predicament of making our way through the thick brush with only the proverbial smile and minus even the necktie. the men fastened together the serow's four legs, slipped a pole beneath them and toiled up the steep slope preceded by a naked brown figure and followed by a white one. the side of the gorge was covered with vines and creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing through them with no bodily protection was far from comfortable. when we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge i was dismayed to find that achi was not there with my clothes. the wood cutter did not appear to be greatly worried and indicated that we would find him farther up the road. i walked on dubiously, expecting every second to meet some person, and sure enough, a chinese woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. i dived into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a rabbit, and from the frightened way in which she hurried past, she must have thought she had seen one of her ancestral spirits stalking abroad. we eventually found the boy, and, decently dressed, i faced the world again with confidence and happiness. on the way back to camp we saw a goral on the cliffs across the river. it was high up and fully three hundred and fifty yards away but, of course, quite unconscious of our presence. my first two shots struck close beside the animal, but at the third it rolled over and over down the hill, lodging among the rocks just above the river. our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half the village acted as an escort to the serow, an animal which few had ever seen. it was a female, and probably weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. the mane was short and black and strikingly unlike the long white manes of the snow mountain serows; the horns were almost smooth. getting this specimen was one of the lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman, for one might hunt for weeks in the same place without ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is exceedingly dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk except in a few spots. the animal had been feeding on the new grass just at the edge of the heavy cover and probably had been sleeping under a bush when she was disturbed. besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good collection of reptiles and lizards at hui-yao, but in all other parts of the province which we visited they were exceedingly scarce. in fact, i have never been in a place where there were so few reptiles and batrachians. we obtained only one species of poisonous snake here. it was a small green viper which we sometimes saw coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass. several species of nonpoisonous snakes were more common but were nowhere really abundant. we left hui-yao the day after i killed the serow for a village called wa-tien where there was a report of sambur. none of us had any real hope of finding the huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we camped in the early afternoon on an open hilltop five miles from wa-tien where the natives assured us the animals often came to eat the young rice during the night. we engaged four men with three dogs as hunters, but awoke to find a dense fog blanketing the valley and mountains. it was not until half past nine that the gray mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough for us to hunt. we climbed a wooded ridge directly behind the camp and skirted the edge of a heavily forested ravine which the men wished to drive. heller took a position in a bean field while i climbed to a sharp ridge above and beyond him. in less than half an hour the dogs began to yelp in an uncertain way. i saw one of them running down hill, nose to the ground, and a few seconds later heller fired twice in quick succession. two sambur had skirted the edge of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he had missed with both shots. the trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense underbrush. in a few moments the dogs began to yelp again and, while heller remained on the hillside to watch the open fields, i followed the hounds along the creek bed. suddenly the whiplike crack of his savage - rifle sounded five times in quick succession just above our heads, and we climbed hurriedly out of the gorge. heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur running along the edge of a bean field but the animal showed no sign of being hit. we easily picked up the trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found several drops of blood, showing that at least one bullet had found its mark. the blood soon ceased and we began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely scratched. heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine, a branch of the one out of which it had first been driven, and while he watched the upper side i worked my way to the bottom to look for tracks. a few moments later the natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and heller called out that they had found the deer, which was lying stone dead half way down the side of the gorge in a mass of thick ferns. the sambur had been hit only once but the powerful savage bullet had crashed through the shoulder into the lungs; it was quite sufficient to do the work even on such a huge animal and the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the place where it had been shot. it was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair of antlers which measured twenty-seven inches in length. the deer was about the size of an american wapiti, or elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. the chinese hunters were wild with excitement, but especially so when we began to eviscerate the animal, for they wished to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal value. they filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every receptacle which they could find after each man had drunk all he could possibly force down his throat and had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax. when the sambur was brought to camp a regular orgy was held by our servants, _mafus_, and dozens of villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or steal some of the blood. our interpreter, wu, took the heart as his perquisite, carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a basin. the liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum, and in fact every part of the viscera was saved. because the antlers were hard they were not considered of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we should have had to guard them closely; then they would have been worth about one hundred dollars (mexican). we expected from our easy hunt of the morning that it would not be difficult to get sambur, and indeed, heller did see another in the afternoon but failed to kill it. unfortunately, a relative of one of the hunters died suddenly during the night and all the men went off with their dogs to the burial feast which lasted several days, and we were not able to find any other good hounds. there were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity of our camp but they fed entirely during the night and spent the day in such thick cover that it was impossible to drive them out except with good beaters or dogs. we hunted faithfully every morning and afternoon but did not get another shot and, after a week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain range six miles away near a liso village. the scenery in this region is magnificent. the mountain range is the same on which we hunted at ho-mu-shu and reaches a height of , feet near wa-tien. it is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests must shelter a good deal of game. the foothills on which we were camped are low wooded ridges rising out of open cultivated valleys, which often run into the jungle-filled ravines in which the sambur sleep. why the deer should occur in this particular region and not in the neighboring country is a mystery unless it is the proximity of the great forested mountain range. but in similar places only a few miles away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives said the animals had never been seen, and neither were they known on the opposite side of the mountain range where the teng-yueh--tali-fu road crosses the salween valley. on may , we started back to hui-yao to spend three or four days hunting monkeys before we returned to teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the field work of the expedition. on the way my wife and i became separated from the caravan but as we had one of our servants for a guide we were not uneasy. the man was a lazy, stupid fellow named le ping-sang (which we had changed to "leaping frog" because he never did leap for any cause whatever), and before long he had us hopelessly lost. it would appear easy enough to ask the way from the natives, but the chinese are so suspicious that they often will intentionally misdirect a stranger. they do not know what business the inquirer may have in the village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on general principles, they send him off in the wrong direction. apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer of whom we inquired the way directed us to a road at nearly right angles to the one we should have taken, and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found the caravan. chapter xxxviii last days in china it was of paramount importance to pack our specimens before the beginning of the summer rains. they might be expected to break in full violence any day after june , and when they really began it would be impossible to get our boxes to bhamo, for virtually all caravan travel ceases during the wet season. therefore our second stay at hui-yao was short and we returned to teng-yueh on may , ending the active field work of the expedition exactly a year from the time it began with our trip up the min river to yeng-ping in fukien province. mr. grierson had kindly invited us again to become his guests and no place ever seemed more delightful, after our hot and dusty ride, than his beautiful garden and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served. our days in teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the specimens were packed and the boxes sealed it was necessary to wrap them in waterproof covers; moreover, the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded, a caravan engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of motion-picture film developed. this was done in the spacious dark room connected with mr. grierson's house which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters of the tent which we had used for so many months. much of the success of our motion film lay in the fact that it was developed within a short time after exposure, for had we attempted to bring or send it to shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic changes. although cinematograph photography requires an elaborate and expensive outfit and is a source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an actual moving record of the life of such remote regions is worth all the trouble it entails. the paget natural color plates proved to be eminently satisfactory and were among the most interesting results of the expedition. the stereoscopic effects and the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric shading in the photographs are remarkable. although the plates had been subjected to a variety of climatic conditions and temperatures by the time the last ones were exposed in burma, a year and a half after their manufacture, they showed no signs of deterioration even when the ordinary negatives which we brought with us from america had been ruined. the other photographs, some of which are reproduced in this book, speak for themselves. the entire collections of the expedition were packed in forty-one cases and included the following specimens: , mammals birds reptiles and batrachians skeletons and formalin preparations for anatomical study paget natural color plates photographic negatives , feet of motion-picture film. since the expedition was organized primarily for the study of the mammalian fauna and its distribution, our efforts were directed very largely toward this branch of science, and other specimens were gathered only when conditions were especially favorable. i believe that the mammal collection is the most extensive ever taken from china by a single continuous expedition, and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to represent species new to science. our tents were pitched in different spots from , feet to , feet above sea level, and because of this range in altitudes, the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably varied. moreover, during our nine months in yün-nan we spent days in the saddle, riding , miles on horse or mule back, largely over small roads or trails in little known parts of the province. in teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably and the leisure hours were made delightful by golf, tennis, riding, and dinners. mr. grierson was a charming host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants, at our disposal, utter strangers though we were, and we shall never forget his welcome. we decided to take four man-chairs to bhamo because of the rain which was expected every day, and the coolies made us very comfortable upon our sleeping bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and covered with a strip of yellow oil-cloth. they were the regulation chinese "mountain schooner," at which we had so often laughed, but they proved to be infinitely more desirable than riding in the rain. with the forty-one cases of specimens we left teng-yueh on june , behind a caravan of thirty mules for the eight-day journey to bhamo on the outskirts of civilization. our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of humanity. they were from s'suchuan province and were all unmarried which alone is almost a crime in china. every cent of money, earned by the hardest sort of work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and smoking opium. as wu tersely put it "they make how much--spend how much!" about every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously in the midst of a filthy village and disappear into some dark den in spite of our remonstrances. we would grumble and fume and finally, getting out of our chairs, peer into the hole. in the half light we would see them huddled on a "kang" over tiny yellow flames sucking at their pipes. at tiffin each one would stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and his broad straw hat propped up to screen him from the wind. with infinite care he would extract a few black grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little water, and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium bubbled and was almost ready to drop. then placing it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe he would hold it against the flame and draw in long breaths of the sickly-sweet smoke. the men could work all day without food, but opium was a prime necessity. it was almost impossible to start them in the morning and it became my regular duty to make the rounds of the filthy holes in which they slept, seize them by the collars and drag them into the street. force made the only appeal to their deadened senses and we were heartily sick of them before we reached bhamo. the road to bhamo is a gradual descent from five thousand feet to almost sea level. because of the fever the valleys are largely inhabited by "chinese shans" who differ in dress and customs from the southern shans of the nam-ting river. few of the men were tattooed and the women all wore the enormous cylindrical turban which we had seen once before in the salween valley. at noon of the fifth day we crossed the yün-nan border into burma. it is a beautiful spot where a foaming mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in a series of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall of green. the stream is spanned by a splendid iron bridge from which a fine wide road of crushed stone leads all the way to bhamo. what a difference between the country we were leaving and the one we were about to enter! it is the "deadly parallel" of the old east and the new west. on the one side is china with her flooded roads and bridges of rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a nation still living in the middle ages, fighting progress, shackled by the iron doctrines of confucius to the long dead past. across the river is english burma, with eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of her people, her iron bridges and macadam roads representing the very essence of modern thought and progress. with paternal care of her officials the british government has provided _dâk_ (mail) bungalows at the end of each day's journey which are open to every foreign traveler. they are comfortable little houses set on piles. each one has a spacious living room, with a large teakwood table and inviting lounge chairs. in a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and glass, all clean and in perfect order. the two bedrooms are provided with adjoining baths and a covered passageway connects the kitchen with the house. all is ready for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." such comforts can only be appreciated when one has journeyed for months in a country where they do not exist. our last night on the road was spent at a _dâk_ bungalow near a village only a few miles from bhamo. we were seated at the window, when, with a rattle of wheels, the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by. that cart brought to us more forcibly than any other thing a realization that the expedition was ended and that we were standing on the threshold of civilization. as yvette turned from the window her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and a lump had risen in my throat. not all the pleasures of the city, the love of friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild, free life of the year gone by. silently we left the house and walked across the sunlit road into a grove of graceful, drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled the air. the spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy east; the east which, like the fabled "lorelei," weaves a mystic spell about the wanderer whom she has loved and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. and when he would cast her off and return to his own again she knows full well that her subtle charm will bring him back once more. * * * * * the next morning we entered bhamo. it is a city of low, cool houses, wide lawns and tree-decked streets built on the bank of the muddy irawadi river. only a few miles away the railroad reaches katha, and palatial steamers run to mandalay and rangoon. we called upon mr. farmer, the deputy commissioner, who offered the hospitality of the "circuit house" and in the evening took us with him to the club. a military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed women, and officers in uniform strolled about or sipped iced drinks beside the tennis court. we felt strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange to them for we were newly come from a far country which they saw only as a mystic, unknown land. on june , at noon, we embarked for the , -mile journey to rangoon, exactly nine months after we had ridden away from yün-nan fu toward the mountain of eternal snow. our further travels need not be related here. when we reached civilization we expected that our transport difficulties were ended; instead they had only begun. india was well-nigh isolated from the pacific and to expose our valuable collection to the attacks of german pirates in the mediterranean and atlantic was not to be considered even though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the world to reach america safely. we left rangoon for calcutta, crossed india with all our baggage to bombay, and after a seemingly endless wait eventually succeeded in arriving at hongkong by way of singapore. there we separated from our faithful wu and sent him to his home in foochow. it was hard to say "good-by" to wu, for his efficient service, his enthusiastic interest in the work of the expedition, and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed to be done, had won our gratitude and affection. we ourselves went northward to japan, across the pacific to vancouver, and overland to new york, arriving on october , , nearly nineteen months from the time we left. we were never separated from our collections for, had we left them, i doubt if they would ever have reached america. it was difficult enough to gather them in the field, but infinitely more so to guide the forty-one cases through the tangled shipping net of a war-mad world. they reached new york without the loss of a single specimen and are now being prepared in the american museum of natural history for the study which will place the scientific results of the asiatic zoölogical expedition before the public. * * * * * the story of our travels is at an end. once more we are indefinable units in a vast work-a-day world, bound by the iron chains of convention to the customs of civilized men and things. the glorious days in our beloved east are gone, and yet, to us, the orient seems not far away, for the miles of land and water can be traversed in a thought. again we stand before our tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us, watching the glistening peaks of the snow mountain turn purple and gold in the setting sun; again, we feel the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet tones of a gibbon's call. we have only to shut our eyes to bring back a picture of the bleak barriers of the forbidden land or the sunlit streets of a burma village. thank god, we saw it all together and such blessed memories can never die. index abercrombie & fitch co. abertsen, mr., chinese customs, employee of; discovered hunting ground near hui-yao; killed two gorals africa akeley, carl e. alaska allen, dr. j.a. american flags american legation, peking american museum journal american museum of natural history; trustees of, specimens being prepared at americans ammunition, loss of amoy _anas boscas_ (mallard ducks) anglo-chinese college animal life, lack of annamits antlers ape, gray (_pygathrix_) _apodemus_ (white-footed mouse) asia _asia_ magazine, quoted from asiatic zoölogical expedition; members of assam assistants a-tun-zu babies, killing and selling of baboon, brown (_macacus_) baboon, indian (_macacus rhesus_) bamboo chickens bandits, attack of bankhardt, mr. bat apartment house bat cave, description of; experience of girl in bats, method of killing batrachians bear cubs (_ursus tibetanus_), purchased at teng-yueg bedding berger, anna katherine, acknowledgment to bering strait bernheimer, mr. and mrs. charles l. betel nut bhamo; railroad from; road to; description of big ravine, description of; temples near birds, game _blarina_ boat, chinese, eye on bode, mr. bohea hills bound feet bowdoin, george bradley, dr.; established leper hospital at paik-hoi brahmin priests brahminy ducks; habits of bridge, suspension, description of bridges, rope brigand, seal of a pardoned brigandage brigands; beheading of; infest yün-nan; description of british american tobacco co., hongkong british east africa brooke, englishman, killed by lolos buffaloes; water bui-tao bureau of foreign affairs, director of burial, expenses of burma; border of; girls of; mammals caught near; frontier of; boundary of burmans calcutta caldwell, rev. harry r.; letter from; house of; stationed at futsing; tiger hunting, method of; obtains serows at yen-ping; purchases serow skins in fukien california _callosciurus erythraeus_ camera equipment canadian pacific r.r. co., hongkong, general passenger agent of cantonese, chiefly of shan stock _capricornulus crispus_ _capricornis sumatrensis_ _capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes_ _capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_ caravan, robbing of; buying of; renting of caravan ponies caravans, distance traveled by cary, f.w., commissioner of customs _casarca casarca_ (ruddy sheldrake) caverns central asia central asian plateau _cervus macneilli_ chair-coolies chairs, description of chang, dr. chang-hu-fan; night at changlung; ferry at chien-chuan chi-li china; aboriginal inhabitants of; press; inland mission chinaman, cantonese chinese, republic; army of; face saving; foreign office; screaming, habit of; lack of sympathy of; not affected by sun; love of companionship; bride of; wedding of; dress of; commissioner of foreign affairs, meeting with; education of; villages, description of; etiquette of; new year; collecting debts of chipmunk (_tamiops macclellandi_) chi-yuen-kang chou chou christians, native, persecution of christianity, lesson in christmas; celebration of chu-hsuing fu chung-tien civet (_viverra_) clive, captain clothing colgate, mr. and mrs. sidney m. collecting case color plates confucius, rules of cook, difficulty in obtaining; description of coolies cormorants corn cows, used as burden-bearers by chinese cranes; habits of crossbows cui-kau; description of da-da daing-nei _dâk_ (mail) bungalows da-ming darjeeling davies, major h.r.; quoted dead, burying of deer deer, barking denby, hon. charles dennet, tyler, quoted d'ollone, major, member french expedition d'orleans, prince henri dog, red, death of dogs, description of; for food doumer, m., governor-general of french indo-china duai uong ducks brahminy; shooting of dupontès, georges chemin, assistance of, to expedition eastes, mr., consul education, foreign _elaphodus_ elephants elk ellsworth, lincoln embry, rev. and mrs., china inland mission, members of empress dowager; issued edict prohibiting opium growing equipment, purchase of erh hai or ta-li fu lake etiquette europe european war evans, h.g.; assistance of expedition, announcement of; applicants for positions on; results of expeditions, preliminary eye on chinese boat farmer, mr. fauna, mammalian _felis temmicki_ _felis uncia_ ferry fletcher, h.g. flying squirrel foochow; foreign residents of; streets of; mail from; schools for native girls at; woman's college at food box foot binding, origin of; method of; natural foot society of; agitation against forbidden city ford, james b. foreign office forest conservation, lack of formosa forrest, mr. fossil animals; beds francolins french consul frick, childs frick, henry c. fukien province, china; deforestation of; mammals of; climate and temperature of; collecting in summer at; birds of; herpetology of; trapping for small mammals at; zoölogical study of; language of; travel in; servants in; serows hunted in; missionary work in funeral customs futsing; blue tiger hunting at galápagos islands _gallus gallus_ _gallus lafayetti_ _gallus sonnerati_ _gallus varius_ gamblers geese gen-kang gibbon (_hylobates_); description of; hunting of goffe, consul-general at yün-nan fu goitre, prevalence of gorals; first hunt for; ceremonies at death of; collecting for groups; color of; invisibility of; description of; horns of; distribution of; hunting of; fighting of; habits of; feet of; hunting of, at hui-yao great invisible grierson, ralph c. _grus communis_ _grus nigricollis_ habala; hunting at hainan, description of; fauna of haiphong; arrival at hanna, rev. william j. hanoi, description of _harper's magazine_ hartford, mabel heller, edmund himalaya mountains hoi-hau homes ho-mu-shu; monkeys found near hongkong, purchase of supplies at hoolock (_hylobates hoolock_) hornbill horses, size of hospital attendants hotenfa hsia-kuan, description of hui-yao; reptiles and lizards found at hunan hung-hsien hunters hutchins, commander thomas hwa shan (flower mountain), massacre at _hylobates_ _hylomys_ _hystrix_ india inns irawadi river japan japanese newspaper reporters joline, mrs. adrian hoffman jungle fowl; habits of kachins; women, appearance of katha kellogg, c.r. kok, rev. and mrs. a.; pentecostal missionary; assistance of koko-nor koo, wellington korea; pheasants found in kraemer, m. kucheng kwang-si kwei-chau province lane & crawford company of hongkong lang, herbert, photograph of serow loaned by languages and dialects, number of; reason for langur langurs (_pygathrix_) lao-kay, first hotel on railroad lapwings las lashio legge, prof. j., quoted leopards leper hospital _li_, length of li-chang; animal life on route to; arrival at; camp in; collecting in; mammals of; important fur market at; inhabitants of; return to li-hung chang ling-suik, monastery of; description of; priests at; collecting at lisos livingstone, h.w. loads, weight of lolos; depredations of; independence of; dress of; capes worn by london zoölogical society's garden long ravine, blue tiger seen at lucas, dr. f.a., acknowledgment to lui, mr., salt commissioner at tsia-kuan lung-ling lung-tao lutzus mcmurray, j.v.a. _macacus rhesus_ _mafus_, description of mail malaria malay peninsula ma-li-ling ma-li-pa; poppy fields at mallard ducks mammals, small, importance of; preparing of man, primitive, migrations of man-eater, killing of mandalay mandarins, relations with ma-po-lo, low valley at; game at; fog in marco polo massacre in hwa shan (flower mountain) mazzetti-haendel, baron meadow vole (_microtus_) mekong mekong river, description of mekong-salween divide mekong valley; vegetables in; zoölogy of meng-ting; description of; mandarin of; buddhist monastery at; market at; cantonese visit and buy opium at; fog at; valley at; birds at mergansers methodist mission mexico miao village mice _micromys_ _microtus_, meadow vole min river; life on mission hospital; china inland missionaries; servants of; natives trading with; civilizing influence of mohammedan chinese, married to a shan mohammedan hunter mohammedan war mole molloy, agnes f., acknowledgment to money, carrying of; transmitting of monkey monkey temple moose morgan, cordelia mosos; description of; capes worn by motion pictures; developing of mountain goat "mountain goat hunting with camera," quoted from mouse (_micromys_) moving picture film mu-cheng muntjac, description of museum authorities mustelidae myitkyina district _naemorhedus griseus_ nam-ka, shans at; description of; camp at nam-ting river, ferry at; camping at; hunters at; camp on; polecat trapped at; monkeys, hunting at; hornbill, seen at; monkeys found at; shans seen at; caravan crossed _namur_, s.s. natives; inaccuracy of new york, return to ngu-cheng non-chinese tribes north america northern soldiers northern troops opium; growing of; inspection of; scandal; smuggling of; smoking of osborn, henry fairfield, quoted pack saddle, description of pack, weight of page, howard paget color plates pagoda anchorage paik-hoi; leper hospital at palaungs palmer, mr. pandas, coats of pangolin, scales of parrots partridges, bamboo passports _pavo cristatus_ _pavo munticus_ peacock, black-shouldered peacock, hunting of; habits of; eggs of; domestication of peacock, indian peafowl, killed on salween river; flesh of peking _petaruista yunnanensis_ phasiandae pheasants, shooting of; lady amherst's; silver; horned phete; country about; natives of photographic work photographs in natural colors photography, cinematograph pigeons pigs, killing of; wild; treatment of pin-tail pleistocene pocock, mr. polecat polo, marco; quoted poppy blossoms poppy fields porcupine, description of portable dark room prjevalsky, lieutenant-colonel p'u-erh _pygathrix_ (monkeys) railroad, hanoi to yün-nan; description of rain, last of the season rainey, paul j. rangoon _ratufa gigantea_ rebellion of reinsch, hon. paul republic rhododendrons rice rice fields rifle, mannlicher; savage; winchester riot in shanghai roads, descriptions of rocky mountain sheep roosevelt, colonel theodore _rupicapra_ rupicaprine antelopes, horns of salt, preparation of salween river; heat of sambur; hunting of; blood of sammons, mr., american consul-general sampans, first night in san francisco scandinavian steamer schools for native girls sclater, mr. screaming, chinese habit of sedan chairs serows; hunt for; habits of; hunting for; description of; color variation of; japanese; difference from gorals; horns of; relationship of; appearance of; killed on snow mountain; obtained by mr. caldwell at yen-ping; distribution of; habits of; weight of; hunting of at hui-yao servants, wages of shanghai; riot in shans; description of village of; houses of; heavily tattooed; tribes of; description of sheldrakes sherwood, george h., assistance rendered to expedition by shia-chai shie-tien; bird life at; natives, curiosity of shih-ku ferry shoverling, daly & gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by shrew shwelie river singapore slave raiding smith, arthur h., quoted snow mountain, camp at; traveling to; description of hunters at; mammalogy of; camp on slopes of; mammals collected at; serows killed on soldiers, guard of; guns of; expense of; use of; treatment by natives of; fight with; extortions of south america specimens, packing of squirrel, flying (_petaurista yunnanensis_); _ratufa gigantea_; red-bellied (_callosciurus erythraeus_) s'suchuan province s'su-mao standard oil co.; launch of su ek sun-birds _sung-kiang_, s.s. tablets, ancestral, description of tai-ping-pu taku taku ferry ta-li fu; soldiers guard to; road to; graves at; lake at; mandarin at; pagodas at ta-li fu lake, description of _tamiops macclellandi_ taoist temple _tao-tai_ tartars temple, camp in teng-yueh; return to tents _tenyo maru_ thompson, dr. tibet; monopoly of gold in tibetan plateaus tibetans, description of; photographing of; dislike for strangers of; influence of chinese on tiger; man-eating; lairs of; stalking a goat; habits of; daring of; strength of; excitement of hunting; weight of; blood of; skins in temples of; food of; hunting in lair of; flesh and bones of; marking trees by; skins of tiger, blue; description of; hunting of; trying to trap tonking tragopan, temmick's transportation, difficulties of trapping, methods of traps, steel; method of setting trees, marking of, by tiger tribes, non-chinese, description of trimble, dr.; house of trowbridge, captain harry tsai-ao, general _tsamba_ tsang mountains tsinan-fu _tupaia belangeri chinensis_ united states universal camera _ursus tibetanus_ vegetarians _viverra_ viverridae vochang vole von hintze, admiral wapiti war, mohammedan was waterhole wa-tien wei-hsi white water; camp at; weather at wild boar wilden, henry m., french consul wolves woman's college at foochow women, position of, in china worship, ancestor wu-hung-tao, interpreter _yamen_ yangtze river; road to; crossing of; barrier to mammals yangtze gorge, description of yen-ping; climate of; description of; residence of mr. caldwell at; methodist mission at; trapping at; rebellion in; refugees from; fighting in; attacked by rebels in; wounded in; schools for native girls at; chinese wedding at; missionary buildings of yokohama yuan yuan-shi-kai; death of yuchi; brigands at yung-chang, chinese new year at; road to; water buffaloes at; battle at yung-chang-teng-yueh road yün-nan; size of; topography of; boundaries of; fauna of; natives of; language of; infested with brigands; zoölogical study of; meaning of; summer climate of yün-nan fu; foreign residents of; foreign office at; dr. thompson's hospital at zoölogical garden, berlin zoölogical park, calcutta transcriber note text emphasis is as follows: _italic_. whole and fractional parts of numbers: - / volume eleven number one =============================================================== journal of entomology and zoology march, published quarterly by pomona college department _of_ zoology claremont, california, u. s. a. =============================================================== contents page new polychaetous annelids from laguna beach, cal.--_ralph v. chamberlin_ the nervous system of cæcum californicum--_w. a. hilton_ amphipods from laguna beach =============================================================== entered claremont, cal., post-office oct. , , as second-class matter, under act of congress of march , journal of entomology and zoology edited by pomona college, department of zoology _subscription_ $ . to domestic, $ . to foreign countries. this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and entomological journals, proceedings, transactions, reports of societies, museums, laboratories and expeditions. the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian forms and conditions are particularly desired, but short morphological, systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for publication. manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about by inches. foot notes, tables, explanations of figures, etc., should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the size of the page when reduced, that is, by - / inches or less. the lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on the drawings, in most cases. authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are desired, the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of the number containing their articles. manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. address all communications to the journal of entomology and zoology william a. hilton, editor claremont, california, u.s.a. new polychaetous annelids from laguna beach, california ralph v. chamberlin in a very interesting collection of annelids from laguna beach transmitted to me for study by prof. hilton, the apparently previously undescribed forms listed below are represented. as a comprehensive report on the annelids of the region to follow further explorations and collecting is in contemplation, i am giving here only such preliminary accounts of the new forms as are thought sufficient for their identification in the local fauna. the types of all these species are in the museum of comparative zoology at cambridge. polynoidae _halosydna latior_ sp. nov. a species proportionately broader over all than the usual forms of the common _h. insignis_, _californica_, and _pulchra_. it is characterized by elytra not only closely imbricated along each side but also broadly overlapping in the middle line throughout the length. the elytra in general are unusually elongate in an oblique direction, the long axis running from the outer end cephalomesad; the outline subelliptic, the caudomesal edge broadly convex, the opposite one a little incurved at middle. the entire surface of elytra subdensely covered with very small rounded brown nodules or tubercles; within the middle region, just behind the edge of the preceding overlapping elytron, a number of much larger paler tubercles which in the type are present on all excepting the last pair. elytra extending to outer ends of parapodia. eighteen pairs of elytra present. prostomium subangularly bulging on each side, the anterior eye at the angle, the posterior eye removed far caudad, by about half the greatest width of the prostomium. paired anterior prolongations of the prostomium very long, as long as the median length of the prostomium back to level of posterior eyes, distally clavate. median ceratophore much stouter than the lateral prolongations and exceeding them by more than a third in length. median tentacle long, nearly attaining end of palpi; slender, narrowing distad, only slightly thickened subapically, with the usual slender tip which is of moderate length. lateral tentacles much shorter, their tips reaching only to near middle of light region between proximal black region and subapical black ring of median tentacle. tentacular cirri resembling median tentacle in form, being narrowed distad with subapical enlargement slight; one or two fine setae emerging from a small nodule at distal end of parapodium proximad of tentacular cirrus. the notocirri in general have the same characteristic form as the tentacular cirri, narrowing continuously distad with the subapical enlargement slight. first neurocirrus very elongate, surpassing the parapodium. the other neurocirri slenderly cylindroconical, narrowed into a slender tip and a little narrowed proximally; attached well toward base of parapodium the end of which they fail much of attaining. a characteristic feature is the elongate form of the nephridial papillæ, these in the type as preserved being mostly near three times as long as thick at the middle. neuropodial setae dark amber colored, numerous, arranged in two continuous regions, a narrow dorsal one and a much broader ventral one in the latter of which the setae form four distinct longitudinal series with five or six setae in each series. notopodials moderate in number, the dorsal ones short, the most ventral long, attaining the end of the neuropodium. the elytra are greyish with dusky or brownish mottlings. notocirri with dark annulations as usual. length, mm.; width to end of setae, mm.; to end of parapodia, . mm.; exclusive of parapodia, mm. taken on laguna beach at mussel point (hamilton coll.). type--m. c. z. , . _halosydna tuberculifer_ sp. nov. among other forms known from the california coast characterized especially by the strong tuberculation of all the elytra. the tubercles are mostly large and conical though some are rounded and are confined chiefly to the mesocaudal half and median region of each elytron, a series of large ones ordinarily present along the caudal and caudomesal margin; in the first two or three pairs of elytra the tubercles of the median region especially large, the tubercles on the first pair occurring on the anterior part as well; ectal margin of elytra strongly fringed or ciliate. elytra in general subcircular but with margin of ectocephalic side flattened or in part a little incurved. elytra in contact or nearly so at median line but not there at all overlapping. pairs of elytra eighteen, these being present on somites ii, iv, v, vii, ix and so on alternate ones to xxv and then on xxvi, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, and xxxiii. the last three setigerous somites bear notocirri. anterior pair of eyes near middle of length of prostomium proper, larger than posterior pair which are a little closer together and are well removed from the others. lateral prolongations of the prostomium in front which bear the lateral tentacles only a little shorter than the median ceratophore though much more slender. median tentacle shorter than the palpi, moderately enlarged and strongly rounded subapically and with the usual slender tip or filament which is comparatively short. the lateral tentacles of similar form but much shorter and more slender. neurocirri of first normal segment large, resembling a notocirrus. the other neurocirri much shorter, subconical, constricted at base and prolonged into a slender but short tip; attached near base of neuropodium in each case. anal cirri similar to notocirri but much longer and stouter. neuropodial setae of usual general form, amber colored with dark tip, arranged mostly in two or three, usually uneven, subvertical series. the notopodial setae fine, numerous, the longer ones not falling much short of or reaching the ends of the neuropodials. the nephridial papillæ occupy the ordinary position; they are small and unusually short. the color of the elytra uniform greyish brown. antennæ, tentacular cirri and notocirri banded at base and distally with black. length, mm.; width exclusive of parapodia, mm. a little narrowed cephalad, somewhat more so caudal. taken at laguna beach under stones. ( ) type--m. c. z. , . _halosydna leioseta_ sp. nov. body strongly and continuously narrowed caudad. prostomium wider than long, deeply bilobed, the median tentacle inserted deeply in the intervening incision. lobes extended forward into peaks which, however, are constricted at base so as to give appearance of more or less distinct ceratophores, these short. anterior eye free on each side, the caudal one much farther mesad and overlapped by the peristomium. tentacles short, the median line a little longest and about equalling the palpi; in each a slender tip above the moderate subdistal swelling about equal in length to the remaining part of the style. tentacular cirri similarly formed, as is also the first neurocirrus, the latter less clavate below the slender tip. other neurocirri much shorter, shortly subfusiform with filiform tip short; characteristically inserted almost precisely at middle of length of the neuropodium. notopodia reduced to small lobes at base of neuropodia above, these lobes smooth, bearing no emergent setae in the type. in the average neuropodium the setae are mostly six in number; these are coarse, with subhastate heads the tips of which are curved, entire, and acute; the surface appears smooth, the seriate spinules being exceedingly minute and easily overlooked; pale straw colored. the notocirri have the usual enlarged distal end baring a slender tip and a little exceed the neuropodial setae. the elytra have an arrangement in general similar to that normal in halosydna so far as that usually goes, but twenty-four pairs are present, these occurring on somites, ii, iv, v, vii, ix, xi, xiii, xv, xvii, xix, xxi, xxiii, and xxvi, xxviii, xxix, xxxi, xxxiii, xxxv, xxxvii, xxxix, xli, xliii, xlv, and xlvii. the elytra are characteristically widely imbricated so as completely to cover the dorsum and prostomium. they extend out far laterally so as wholly to overlap the parapodia proper though the ends of the setae and notocirri extend beyond the edges. the elytra have the surface wholly smooth and the edges are also not fringed. as preserved, the type has no definite color markings; color greyish, the elytra of weak fulvous cast. length near mm.; greatest width exclusive of parapodia, . mm.; to ends of parapodia, mm.; to ends of setae, . mm. taken as a commensal on a sea-urchin (metz, july , ). type--m. c. z. , . _lepidonotus setosior_ sp. nov. readily distinguished from _l. squamatus_, _coeloris_ and other species recorded from the pacific coasts of north and south america by the greater length and coarseness of the notopodial setae, these being stout pointed spines often nearly attaining the ends of the neuropodials and thus exceeding the latter in actual length. the notopodials, however, are obviously more slender than the neuropodials; they are much more numerous than the neuropodials and form a dense, subcylindrical, spreading group. the elytra are characterized by bearing over their free portions numerous high and stout, conical, hard or chitinous tubercles which are, however, much less dense than the very different rounded eminences of _squamatus_, these cones often roughened; between these high cones, and over the covered part of the elytra as well, numerous small rounded tubercles or nodules; much more slender and shorter, erect, conical papillæ present on the outer border of at least some of the elytra but no truly ciliate fringe could be detected in the types. the elytra are long, subelliptic in outline, and are arranged either with axis nearly longitudinal or very oblique, the most anterior elytra, however, subcircular. eyes on each side unusually widely separated, the anterior one low on side, a little ectocaudad of base of anterior process. anterior processes of prostomium about four-fifths as long as the median ceratophore and much more slender. lateral tentacles much more slender than the median, and, exclusive of the filamentous tip, falling short of attaining the middle of the style of the latter exclusive of its tip; styles biannulate with black as frequent, the basal process also black. median tentacle surpassing palpi in length; subapical swelling pronounced, much more so than that of the laterals. tentacular cirri and notocirri similar in form to the median tentacle. anal cirri proportionately somewhat shorter than in _squamatus_. color of venter and parapodia grey; elytra at present grey over a fulvous ground. setae dark amber to nearly ferruginous, darker than usual in _squamatus_. a paratype has elytra fulvous of dilute ferruginous cast with black mottlings. length, mm. type--m. c. z. , . _lepidonotus leius_ sp. nov. a species characterized by its rather thin, easily detached elytra which have their surface wholly smooth or, at most, showing a few scattered minute points; closely fringed along the outer margin, about the cephaloectal region, and for a short distance along the anterior edge. elytrophore attached cephaloectad of middle. anterior and ectal margins of a typical elytron only weakly convex, the cephaloectal corner subrectangular though rounded; caudal margin strongly convex, the inner end of elytron like the end of an ellipse but with lower margin the more oblique. elytra transverse or but little oblique, strongly overlapping in the middorsal line. prostomium of usual general form. eyes large and black, the anterior ones near middle of main region of prostomium, the posterior ones closer together and at caudal end. only one tentacle, a lateral, retained in type. this characterized by a short cylindrical style which to the base of the distal swelling is scarcely longer than the basal process, and especially by an unusually long slender tip which is as long as the rest of the style. the parapodium of the first segment bears two prominent setae in the usual position; tentacular cirri of usual form, the filiform tips long, when bent back reaching proximad of middle of style. notocirri also characterized by their long terminal filaments. neuropodial setae light amber-colored; arranged in the usual vertically elongate patch, presenting a narrow dorsal half and a broader ventral one. in the ventral part of the patch normally four longitudinal rows of three setae each, while the narrower upper region shows also about four rows but with only two or one in each. the setae have the usual general structure. notopodials numerous, reaching beyond distal end of neuropodia and sometimes nearly to middle of the neuropodial setae. in the type the elytra are light brown. the tentacles and notocirri ringed with black as common. length, mm.; width exclusive of parapodia, mm.; width to tips of setae, mm. dredged. type--m. c. z. , . phyllodocidae _hesperophyllum_ gen. nov. similar in general to _notophyllum_ and _austrophyllum_ but differing especially in having the ventral cirrus of the second segment flattened and foliaceous and strongly asymmetrical. it is like _notophyllum_ and unlike _austrophyllum_ in having the first segment dorsally reduced. _genotype._--_h. tectum_ sp. nov. _hesperophyllum tectum_ sp. nov. the first segment dorsally reduced. ventral tentacular cirrus of second somite of a thin or foliaceous and asymmetrical form. other tentacular cirri subcylindric, reduced distally to a pointed tip, that of i about half as long as the dorsals of ii and iii. paired tentacles short, proximally thick and convexly bulging, abruptly narrowed to an acute tip with incurving sides. unpaired tentacle situated between eyes in line connecting their centers, nearly of same length and size as the first tentacular cirri and about as long also as prostomium; annulate. prostomium shortly subcordate, well rounded in front, incurved caudally. with very large cirri of which the dorsals widely overlap in the middle and thus completely cover the dorsum, the prostomium normally also being wholly concealed from above. the neurocirrus of a typical parapodium is attached by a broad base extending from a pronounced ventral swelling or flange (neurocirrophore) across the caudal side of the parapodium to its dorsal edge and projects farther dorsad of the parapodium than ventrad, the dorsomesal end widely rounded; much broader dorsoventrally than long, with the free edge evenly rounded. the notocirrophore in a thick rounded body arising from the base of the parapodium proper and showing the notopodium as a proportionately much smaller lobe on its ectal side; the style is attached about its caudal half-circumference and is broadly subreniform with the free margin coarsely crenulate or wavy, its mesal limb widely overlapping that of the opposite notocirrus and its ectal one overlapping the neurocirrus. surface of cirri and of somites, especially ventrally, densely covered with very fine brown dots or points. number of segments in type, near seventy-three. body narrowing caudad, becoming narrow and pointed at posterior end. proboscis unknown. length, mm. type--m. c. z. , . dredged. brown in life, this color being also retained in the preserved type specimen. a paratype has a greenish cast. this species suggests _notophyllum imbricatum_ moore in the large imbricated notocirri covering the dorsum but in the latter all the tentacular cirri are of the elongate, symmetrical, evenly tapering form characteristic of its genus. _imbricatum_ similarly presents nuchal appendages, but these are three in number on each side and slender, instead of two broad, subelliptic lobes. the neuropodium is distally narrowed instead of broad, the head is differently formed, and various other differences are present throughout. _steggoa gracilior_ sp. nov. this is a small and slender form noted as green in life and also retaining this color after preservation in alcohol. it agrees in general with _steggoa_, the first segment being normally developed above and distinct from the prostomium though not so clearly separated as usual, suggesting a tendency toward the _hypoeulalia_ condition. prostomium a little longer than wide, narrowed anteriorly, sides convex; a short lobe, rounded in front and bearing the four tentacles, is set off by a weak constriction from the basal part. unpaired tentacle situated well caudad, more slender than the paired ones but nearly as long. eyes not detected. ventral tentacular cirrus of ii of a thick, leaf-shaped form, sublanceolate in outline and much like the notocirri. the other tentacular cirri longer and filiform. notocirri in outline lanceolate, characteristically exceptionally thick in proportion to width so as at times to appear nearly subconical. neurocirri much smaller; similarly proportionately thick and at times subconical. body slender, strongly narrowed from the middle toward both ends. the proboscis densely and uniformly papillose throughout. number of segments near one hundred and twenty-three. length, about mm. type--m. c. z. , . _sige californiensis_ sp. nov. corresponding closely in general characters with _s. macroceros_ (grube), the genotype. green in color instead of straw-yellow to brown. tentacles long and slender as in _macroceros_, with the median equalling the others in length and inserted close to the base of the latter; tips of tentacles slenderly attenuated. the eyes seem to be proportionately larger than in _macroceros_. the first segment is reduced above at the sides where the prostomium bulges back on each side; but the middle region is well developed, extending forward on the base of the head as a rounded lobe or flap. very easily distinguished from _macroceros_ and other known species by the form of the ventral tentacular cirrus of the second segment which, in place of the ordinarily lanceolate foliaceous form, is very strongly expanded above the base, presenting a large rounded lobe in front and an abruptly much more slender tip, with the blade as a whole irregularly twisted. the parapodia very similar to those of the genotype; but the setigerous lobe less acutely and less deeply notched and rather broader across the end along the setigerous line. the notocirri rather more slender and narrowed more evenly distally, not incurved on each side distally so as to leave an elongate tip set off from the rest. the neurocirri similar but more asymmetrical, the upper margin straight or concave, the lower convex. anal cirri missing. proboscis not protruded. total number of segments in the type, which is complete, sixty-eight. length, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken under stones. moore has described _eulalia (sige) bifoliata_ from monterey bay; but as the ventral tentacular cirrus of ii is described and figured as cylindroconical, that species cannot be properly referred to _sige_ as now restricted. _anaitides heterocirrus_ sp. nov. close to _a. mucosa_ (oersted) in the characters of the proboscis, having similarly six rows of papillæ proximally on each side with the number in each series normally nine or ten, but distinct in the form of the cirri. the three first pairs of normal foliaceous notocirri much smaller than the succeeding ones and different in shape, being very broadly and evenly elliptic, the distal end of the third, e. g., broadly rounded, not conspicuously narrowed as in _mucosa_. in the average parapodia of the middle region of the body the neurocirri are obviously broader with the tip stouter and less acute; and the notocirri, while in general somewhat similar in form, are more elongate with a more pronounced ventral lobe, the distoectal angle more acute and more produced, while the distomesal corner is more rounded, and the proportionate width across the distal end appears less. the prostomium very broadly cordate, notched or constricted at the sides near the anterior third which is distally broadly rounded; tentacles inserted on each side at or just distad of the constriction, conical and of moderate length; caudal margin conspicuously angularly incised at middle and there embracing a conspicuous nuchal papilla. eyes about twice their diameter apart. the type is incomplete caudally, at present consisting of ninety-five somites and having a length of mm. with a maximum width, exclusive of parapodia, of mm. the body at present has a purplish tinge. dredged at fathoms on aug. , . type--m. c. z. , . syllidae _typosyllis bella_ sp. nov. differing from _armillaris_ (müller), _alternata_ (moore) and related forms in the form and relations of the prostomium and its appendages. the prostomium is broadest anteriorly, narrowing caudad and rounded forward a little at middle in front. a characteristic feature is that the three tentacles are in a transverse line along the anterior edge, the median being thus inserted far in advance of the posterior eyes. a median longitudinal furrow extending forward from caudal edge to base of median tentacle. the anterior eyes much larger than the posterior and farther apart, each somewhat transversely elliptic and located far forward at base of lateral tentacle on its ectal side. the median tentacle about two and a half times longer than the prostomium; in the type composed of twenty-one articles; only a little narrowing over the distal region. lateral tentacles considerably shorter than the median. inferior tentacular cirrus about equal in length to the median tentacle, the upper one much longer and consisting of about thirty-four articles. neurocirri slender, subcylindric, somewhat conical distally or sometimes a little clavate, surpassing end of parapodium. notocirri in anterior region alternating in length, the long ones surpassing the width of the body proper and consisting of about thirty-two articles while the short ones embrace only near eighteen. notocirri becoming shorter and essentially uniform in the posterior region. appendage of setae with subapical tooth larger and stouter, more obtuse, than in _alternata_, making a wider angle with the apical tooth, and always conspicuous; the serrations proximad of the tooth fine and rather long. the body is proportionately rather wide and is depressed or flattened, narrowing in the posterior region but retaining there the depressed form. number of segments in the type, near one hundred and forty-five. general color yellowish; each somite of anterior region crossed transversely by two fine complete lines of reddish brown color. width in anterior region, exclusive of parapodia, about . mm.; length near mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken at low tide. the type is a female turgid with eggs. it is remarkable in presenting at the same time a well-developed collateral bud from the ventral surface near the beginning of the posterior third. _pionosyllis pigmentata_ sp. nov. somewhat resembling _p. elongata_ (johnson), which also occurs in this region, but differing in having the dorsum pigmented throughout, being black or slaty with pale lines between the segments and dividing each of the latter transversely excepting across the middorsal region. the pigmentation may sometimes be very dilute. in technical details readily distinguished from that species, e. g., in the different form of the appendage of the setae, this being obviously more elongate and erect and proportionately more slender. two or more dorsal setae differ in having shorter, more strongly curved appendages which are wholly smooth on the concave edge instead of being pubinate to beyond middle as in the others. prostomium rather short and broad. palpi thick the ectal lobe small as compared with the principal or mesal one; united only at base. eyes small, transversely elongate and often curved, the two on each side close together and sometimes almost fused, with the posterior one well mesad of but only a little caudad of the anterior one. median tentacle situated midway between the two eye groups in a longitudinal furrow dividing prostomium; composed of eighteen to twenty-three short articles. each paired tentacle at corner of prostomium in front of eye-group of corresponding side; similar in form and size to the median tentacle. lower tentacular cirrus about equalling a tentacle in length, the dorsal longer, both of similar form. first segment extending forward in a rounded or subtriangular lobe or flap at middle above. the notocirri attached above bases of parapodia as usual; long, composed of numerous short segments; much longer than the tentacles, each average one when laid back along body ordinarily passing over three or three and a half segments. neurocirri short, stout, fusiform. body slender, narrowed moderately at the ends, elsewhere of nearly uniform width. type composed of seventy-three segments. length, near mm. type--m. c. z. , . littoral zone. _pionosyllis lucida_ sp. nov. readily differentiated from _p. elongata_, which it resembles in its pale, translucent appearance, in having the distal appendage of setae more typical, being of a decidedly more elongate and erect form which also differs from that of _pigmentata_. from the latter differing conspicuously in appearance in lacking all dark pigment. notocirri tapering distad, with apical region slender and pointed; long, exceeding the width of the body and consisting of up to forty-five articles. differing from _pigmentata_ in the form of the neurocirri which are more uniform in diameter, subcylindric rather than fusiform; normally extending more or less beyond the tip of the parapodium. prostomium short. eyes reddish; those of first pair larger than the second; second eye on each side almost directly mesad of the first but only a little caudad of it. the median tentacle farther forward than in _pigmentata_, well in front of the eyes, its anterior edge being nearly in line with the caudal margins of the paired tentacles; composed of twenty-eight or more short articles. paired tentacles much shorter and also more slender; composed of about twenty articles. palpi fused at base as usual; narrower distally than in _pigmentata_. the types are incomplete caudally; but the body is evidently slender. one specimen mm. long consists of forty-three segments; and a second, somewhat thicker one, of nearly the same length consists of thirty-seven. the width is near mm. type--m. c. z. , . _hesperalia_ gen. nov. palpi thick, fused at base only to middle of length. pharynx straight. proboscis unarmed (?). tentacles three, attenuated, more or less obviously jointed. eyes two pairs; large. tentacular cirri two pairs. parapodia uniramous with setae all compound, or in the epitokous phase with long simple natatory setae in notopodia of middle region of body. appendage of compound setate short, bidentate. neurocirri present, thick, rounded. notocirri on side of body above parapodia; filiform; more or less segmented. a large quadrate membrane or flap projecting from anterior edge of peristomium forward over caudal region of prostomium. _genotype._--_h. californiensis_ sp. nov. _hesperalia californiensis_ sp. nov. body rather stout for a syllid, more as in hesionidae; broadest and deepest anteriorly, continuously narrowing caudal to the pointed posterior end. the color of the dorsum is blackish, with pale transverse lines in the intersegmental furrows and bisecting each somite which under the lens thus appears double. parapodia and cirri typically pale fulvous and the venter either similar or approaching the dorsum in color. prostomium very short, sunk in the first body ring and almost completely overlapped by the quadrate flap from the latter, this flap extending over the bases of the tentacles in the type. palpi stout, presenting two main lobes fused to their apices or nearly so, and on each of these an ectodistal lobe projecting ventrocephalad, these distal lobes wholly free from each other. tentacles appearing nearly smooth; tapered; the median exceeding the lateral in length. eyes large; in type orange colored; the two on each side contiguous or nearly so; posterior ones nearer together, each beneath edge of the quadrate peristomial flap, while the anterior ones are in line with base of median tentacle. tentacular cirri of same form as tentacles but longer. neurocirri thick, short, distally rounded. natocirri long, filiform, tapering distad, weakly ringed; showing a tendency to alternate in height on the sides of the body, the first being notably farther distad than the second, the third than the second and fourth, etc. setae numerous; the appendage short, falcate, with tip simple, but a slender tooth near middle of curved edge. segments short, crowded, near one hundred in number. length of type, mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken in august, . _hesperalia nans_ sp. nov. the type of this species is in the epitkous phase. the middle region of the body bears notopodeal fasciæ of long, fine, simple, natatory setae in addition to the compound neuropodials. the appendage of the compound setae differs from that of _californiensis_ in having the accessory tooth farther distad, well beyond the middle of the concave edge, whereas in the other species it is normally rather proximad of the middle. in the present species the prostomium is proportionately larger, less covered by the peristomial flap which does not extend over the base of the median tentacle. the palpi are not fused so far distad, being united only at base; they present below on each a large distal lobe similar to that in the other species. eyes with prominent lenses; large; those on each side sub-contiguous. median tentacle in line with the centers of the anterior eyes; short and pointed, shorter than the width of the prostomium. paired tentacles a little shorter than the median; each attached in front of the median at a point midway between the latter and the anterior eye. tentacular cirri much longer than the tentacles, attenuated distad, pointed. the notocirri are all similarly attenuated and run out to a rather fine point. neurocirri very thick, conical, each with a black dot near middle. contrasting with the preceding species in color in having the dorsum in general light, fulvous, in part slightly dusky, with a series of dark, blackish, transverse lines across dorsum, there being four somites between each two dark lines. the body is narrowed toward both ends; venter flat and dorsum strongly arched; hesioniform. because of the broken condition of the type the number of segments is uncertain, but is near seventy-five. greatest width, exclusive of parapodia, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . dredged august , . _campesyllis_ gen. nov. like _streptosyllis_ in having the pharynx strongly sinuous and unarmed and in lacking nuchal flaps such as characterize _amblyosyllis_. it differs from the former genus in having only composite setae and in having these of the ordinary structure, the appendage of a simple, fringed form not covered by a membrane. eyes two pairs instead of three. tentacular cirri two pairs. these, as also the tentacles and notocirri, short, articulated. neurocirri attached proximally. _genotype._--_c. minor_ sp. nov. _campesyllis minor_ sp. nov. the type of this small form is only . mm. long. the pharynx is strongly sinuous. the palpi are contiguous throughout and are fused for most of length though a median furrow or sulcus above and one below run to base; projecting forward; together they narrow distad, with outline triangular; shorter than prostomium. eyes two pairs, well separated, subequal, forming a nearly straight transverse row a little in front of the peristomium. median tentacle attached far back between posterior eyes; short, a little exceeding prostomium and palpi together. lateral tentacles also short, each attached at cephaloectal corner with the prostomium bulging forward between them. tentacular cirri and notocirri also short, the latter in anterior region about equalling half the width of the body proper and not extending much beyond the tips of the setae; joints short, near fifteen or less in number. neurocirri subcylindric, slender, reaching ends of parapodia. setae transparent; end of shaft but little enlarged, its articular edge very oblique; appendage long and slender, the tip curved, the edge strongly fringed. body ventrally flat, convex dorsally, strongly narrowed caudad. taken in a sabellid colony. type--m. c. z. , . nereidÆ _nereis latescens_ sp. nov. allied to _n. vexillosa_ (grube) but a much smaller species readily distinguishable superficially through the presence of purplish markings on the prostomium and anterior segments, by the form of the appendages, and particularly by the presence on region v of the proboscis of a single large conical tooth such as is present in various epitokes. the prostomium is marked above by a large purplish area germinate by a narrow median longitudinal yellow line. eyes black. on the anterior segments, above on each side a transverse purplish stripe along anterior and one along posterior border and across the dorsal region, a shorter but broader stripe a little in front of the middle of segment. the body otherwise yellowish. eyes exceptionally large, and those of each side very close together. tentacles close together, slenderly cylindrical, moderately narrowing distad, shorter than prostomium and not extending beyond end of proximal joint of palpi. paragnatha in general as in _vexillosa_; area i with but a single tooth; ii, iii and iv with numerous teeth in a patch on each; v with a single exceptionally large tooth; vi with four teeth in a quadrangle; vii and viii with teeth in a band across ventral and lateral surface in which the proximal ventral teeth are smaller than the distal as in _vexillosa_. peristomium shorter than prostomium and than the next two somites combined; divided by a transverse furrow. tentacular cirri short; the ventral ones subequal, less than half the length of the dorsals, which are also nearly equal to each other; more or less flattened; cirrophores short. a typical parapodium presents three stout conical lobes additional to the setigerous ones; of these the dorsal one in the anterior region is stoutest, but becomes more slender in the posterior region. both notocirri and neurocirri proportionately very slender. anal cirri about as long as the dorsal tentacular cirri, flattened. number of segments, sixty-two. length of types, to mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken among hydroids. _nereis mediator_ sp. nov. this species also resembles _n. vexillosa_, though apparently a normally much smaller form. it is, so far as evidence at present accessible to me indicates, distinguishable from that species in having a narrow band across the anterior border of the dental band of vii composed of much finer denticles instead of having the anterior teeth large and the posterior ones reduced. the paragnatha are fewer than in _vexillosa_, those of ii, e. g., being in fewer (usually three), less oblique and more separated series and those of vi in all the typical specimens being three in a triangle or four instead of from six to nine or more in a crowded patch. no colored markings. the tentacles proportionately thicker and obviously closer together. tentacular cirri shorter. notocirral laminae of the middle and posterior regions much less elongate and flattened with their ventral conical lobe much more pronounced throughout, more as in the smaller specimens of _vexillosa_. anal cirri short. number of segments up to seventy. length, to mm. type--m. c. t. , . this is doubtless the same form as recorded by dr. moore from san diego as _n. vexillosa_ in proc. acad. sci. phil., , p. . it is undoubtedly close to that species; but as all the specimens which i have seen, and apparently also those studied by moore, differ constantly in the features above mentioned from specimens of _vexillosa_ from more northern localities on the pacific coast, etc., the form is maintained as distinct. a single heteronereis female is among the specimens from laguna beach. leodicidÆ _leodice monilifer_ sp. nov. yellow in color. body strongly narrowed caudad. prostomium short and broad. the palpal lobes large and rounded, bulging conspicuously forward and ventrad; separated by a deep furrow. tentacles in a slightly curved transverse line, the outer paired tentacle on each side lying a little farther forward than the inner. ceratophores very short and not broader than bases of styles, exceeded by the first segment of style which about equals the next two in length. the styles in general strongly moniliform, the articles short and well rounded. the styles in types short but not in any case certainly complete; the number of articles present from nine to twelve. the peristomium much longer than the prostomium than which it is also clearly wider and higher; entire second somite very short, not more than one-fourth as long as i. nuchal cirri short and conical, much shorter than the peristomium, transversely wrinkled or sometimes distinctly annulated. notocirri slenderly conical, becoming more slender in posterior region as usual; with some weak encircling wrinkles but not distinctly divided into articles. branchiæ begin as single filaments on ix or sometimes on viii. branchiæ of x each consisting of two filaments. the number in several of the succeeding branchiæ increases to three, then again falling to two, and, finally, the last eight pairs or so are again simple filaments. the last branchiæ in the type occur on xxxii. anal cirri short, slenderly conical. maxillae strongly chitinized; brown, with edges in part black. in maxillae ii the right plate has six large teeth, the outer left plate four and the odd or inner left plate seven or eight. iii with nine teeth or crenulatious. number of segments in type one hundred and nine. length, mm.; greatest width, exclusive of parapodia, . mm. an incomplete larger specimen has a width of . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken among holdfasts of kelp. (c. f. baker, june , .) _arabella lagunae_ sp. nov. as compared with _a. attenuata_ treadwell, this is a smaller species differing in appearance in being brown of a decided greenish tinge, excepting on the prostomium and at the caudal end. the prostomium is less narrowed cephalad, being more broadly rounded across anterior end. median eyes not exceeding the lateral in size. maxillae v represented by simple small hooks. iv with five teeth of which the most ectal (upper) is long and slender, the two next much shorter and finer and the two innermost closer together. iii with fine teeth similarly arranged and formed. maxillae ii nearly symmetrical; the left one with seven teeth of which the most anterior one is much largest, the right with an additional small tooth in front of (ectad of) the large one; neither of the plates extending caudad of the anterior end of the dental series of i. i with seven or eight well developed teeth; the carriers very long and slender, black throughout. in the paraphodia the posterior lobe is well developed, stout and conical, distally somewhat blunt or rounded, extended ectad or caudoectad and is always shorter than the setae. setae all simple, limbate, in a single series of mostly six in the middle region of the body. setae with the usual double or sigmoidal curve over the limbate part, the first bend or geniculation unusually strong, angular; tip becoming fine and hair-like. body tapering caudad, pointed at the posterior end, ending in two blunt lobes. number of segments in the type one hundred and ninety-one. length, mm.; width, exclusive of parapodia, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken at the shore "under rocks." _arabella mimetica_ sp. nov. resembling the preceding species though smaller and more slender. superficially differing obviously in the form of the prostomium which is much more narrowed distad and is neither depressed nor furrowed either dorsally or ventrally. eyes smaller, obscure. maxillae resembling those of the other species in general, but differing strongly in the second pair in which the right plate, instead of being symmetrical with the left one, is decidedly long and extends far proximad along the dental line of i and bears about fifteen teeth as against only six on the left one and eight on the corresponding plate in _lagunae_. maxillae i on right side with nine teeth, on left apparently with seven. maxillae iii with teeth in arrangement as in _lagunae_ but only four in number and different in all being blunt and shorter. iv as in the other species but teeth four instead of five. the number of segments in the type is near one hundred and sixty-five. length, mm.; width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken among holdfasts of kelp. (c. f. baker, june , .) also a small specimen taken august , , by prof. hilton. _biborin_ gen. nov. setae all simple, limbate, well developed. first two segments achaetous. eyes none. maxillae absent, but the mandibles normally developed, the wall of the alimentary canal opposite the latter simply thickened. notocirri rudimentary. _biborin ecbola_ sp. nov. the type as preserved is greyish brown of a dull bluish green cast. a note with the specimen also states that it is greenish in life. the body is strongly attenuated and pointed caudad, more moderately cephalad. the prostomium larger than wide and somewhat longer than the first two segments; subconically narrowed distad, apically rounded, flattened dorsoventrally. the two achaetous segments subequal in length or the second slightly longer, not produced forward below. mandibles short and broad, not toothed, the edges meeting at an acute angle in front; the caudal stems shorter behind point of separation than the blades in front of this point, rather slender, blunt behind. posterior lobes of parapodia subcylindrical, a little conically narrowed distad but with apex well rounded, extending ectad or caudoectad; in middle region of body reaching to or a little beyond middle of longer setae, the setae relatively shorter in anterior region. setae all simple and limbate with the usual double curve, the first curve or angulation obviously less marked than in _a. lagunae_, which form this species superficially resembles. number of segments in type, two hundred and seventy-seven. length, mm.; width without parapodia, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken among phyllospadix, september , . glyceridÆ _glycera exigua_ sp. nov. a small species easily recognizable among the known forms of the california coast by the character of the parapodia. each of these present three lips, two anterior and one posterior; all three lobes triangular, pointed distad, with the posterior one fully equalling the other two in length. the neurocirrus is also triangular in outline. the natocirrus is reduced to a small rounded or nodular form slightly above base of parapodium. branchiæ simple cylindrical filaments, each attached toward distal end of parapodium above as in _g. alba_ and _g. longipinnis_; the first occurring on or near somite xxx, short, in actual length not greater than parapodium exclusive of terminal lips and falling much short of reaching ends of setae; absent from last twelve segments or so and those just in front of this caudal region much reduced. prostomium of usual general form; consisting of fourteen or fifteen rings. proboscis long; weakly longitudinally ridged and densely finely papillose. body strongly narrowed from the anterior region caudad, the caudal end slenderly pointed. segments biannulate. number of segments in the type near one hundred and thirty. length, mm.; width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . balboa, december , . _glycera basibranchia_ sp. nov. resembles _exigua_ in having the branchiæ in the form of a series of single, simple filaments but readily distinguished in having each branchia attached at base of parapodium on the dorsocaudal surface just ectad of the notocirrus instead of at the distal end above. the branchiæ begin on the twenty-ninth setigerous somite and continue to about the one hundred and twenty-ninth, decreasing in size at the two ends of the series. in the middle region they are cylindrical, distally rounded, and transparent, and at most do not surpass the distal end of the parapodium, most of these being obviously shorter than this in the preserved specimen. also decidedly different from _exigua_ in having four lobes at the distal end of each parapodium, two postsetal and two presetal. these are narrowly triangular, distally pointed, with the presetal lobes thicker and more conical and decidedly longer than the postsetal. the short, distally rounded notocirri are attached at the base of the parapodia above in the angle between the latter and the body wall. neurocirri distally subcylindric, resembling the distal parapodial lobes. the prostomium distinctly ringed to near middle, the basal half showing five rings while the distal half in the type is only vaguely annulate, though with indications of apparently seven nearly fused rings, making the total number twelve. proboscis long, densely papillose. type incomplete caudally; one hundred and forty-five segments retained. length (not quite complete), mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . a note gives the color in life as light, the red blood showing through as usual in the family. _glycera verdescens_ sp. nov. a very small form differing from the two preceding in wholly lacking branchiæ. the parapodia are strikingly different in that the postsetal lobe is either wholly absent, as in anterior region, or is represented by a single, small, pointed process, while there are two presetal lobes which are long and subcylindrical or finger-like and of which the ventral one is ordinarily the larger. the notocirrus is small and occupies the usual place in the angle between the dorsal surface of the parapodium and the body-wall. neurocirrus slenderly conical, darkened distad as are also the presetal lobes. the slenderly conical prostomium showing twelve annuli. type at present showing a distinctly greenish tinge. type incomplete caudally, sixty-nine segments retained, the length being mm., width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . ariciidÆ _nainereis hespera_ sp. nov. this is apparently a smaller species than _longa_ or _robusta_ and is composed of fewer segments. it differs from those species in having the anterior division of the body composed of only nineteen segments and in having the first branchiæ appear on the thirteenth or fourteenth segment. the prostomium is broadly subtrapeziform, narrowing forward and with the anterior margin varying from slightly convex to mesally indented as is the case in the type; dorsal surface nearly flat, simply marked with two furrows, or sometimes with the median caudal region between furrows elevated. peristomium with anterior margin above more or less concave, its median length about equal to that of the second segment, which is also ordinarily bowed caudad. in the neuropodia of the anterior region the postsetal processes are broad, distally rounded, thick lips which are prominent; in the posterior region these become narrowly conical, elongate, distally pointed processes. the postsetal processes of the notopodia in the anterior region are thick, short cones which increase in length in going caudad, in the posterior region being very elongate. the branchiæ begin on the thirteenth or fourteenth segment as short processes but become abruptly longer, basally thick and distally pointed processes much thicker than the postsetal processes of the notopodia and exceeding these in length; they are widely separated and, while curving in somewhat mesad, do not come in contact, leaving much of the middorsal region naked. they continue to the end of the body. the neuropodial setæ of the anterior region are arranged in three subvertical series and form a patch twice as high (dorsoventrally) as long (cephalocaudally). the stout setæ of the posterior row are mostly four in number, less commonly three or five. these coarse setæ are not at all clavate as in elongata and are not roughened or cross-ridged above the curve as in robusta; the terminal region above the curve longer than in the later species. the setæ of the other series are more curved than in robusta and are abruptly contracted farther from the body, the contraction stronger but the one edge similarly roughened or denticlated with cross lines. at the ventral end of the series a small patch of ordinary, camerated, capillary setæ resembling the notopodials. the body is broad anteriotly and narrows to the posterior end. dorsal surface flat and the ventral convex as usual. number of segments in the type one hundred and thirty-six. color in general pale brown; at black spot at base of each branchia at least those of posterior region, in front and behind and the proximal part of branchia often darkened. length, mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . _scoloplos acmeceps_ sp. nov. resembling _s. armiger_ (o. f. müller) in general structure. a less deeply pigmented species easily distinguished from this northern form in wholly lacking the ventral papillæ (neurocirri) present in the latter below the parapodia of about the eighteenth to thirtieth segments. the prostomium is similarly elongate and pointed but is more slender; it is borne at the end of the peristomium which has the form of a truncate cone. the branchiæ begin anteriorly in the same way as very slight elevations and increase quickly to long ligulate forms; but the first one appears on the sixteenth or seventeenth setigerous segment instead of on the twelfth or thirteenth as usual in armiger. the fully developed branchiæ are obviously narrower than typical for the latter species. the lobes of the parapodia are in general similar though they do not become obvious so far forward. in the second division of the body the ventral lobe is similarly elongate and bifid at the tip with the inner or more dorsal lobe the longer; but the lobes are characteristically more divergent, thinner and more slender. the first bifid neuropodial lobes appear on the twenty-first setigerous segment. the dorsal lobe similar in form to that in armiger. caudal end of all the types missing. greatest width, mm. type--m. c. z. , . balboa (sept. , ). flabelligeridÆ _flabelligera haerens_ sp. nov. this species resembles _f. commensalis_ moore in the approximation of the neuropodia though these are apparently not so close as in that species and are at no place actually contiguous though nearly so in the extreme caudal region. in front of this they remain a uniform distance apart, which is less than the length of a somite, forward to about the tenth somite from where the rows diverge gradually forward. the notopodia more widely separated, the rows diverging cephalad from near the tenth somite, always much closer to each other than to the neuropodia. ventral surface flattened or weakly concave, the dorsal surface also flattened but slightly convex, while the sides are convex; the body in part is slightly compressed from side to side, in cross-section subquadrate to subcircular; widest in middle region and narrowing both ways, more strongly so caudad, subfusiform. collar lobe deeply and widely incised dorsally and ventrally; the lobe on each side bearing a series of numerous long cross-striated setæ which are reddish brown in color and are stouter than the ordinary notopodials. the notopodials are simple, finely tapered, colorless setae. there is a single seta in each neuropodium, this being in the form of a very stout hook; the color is dark throughout; the transverse terminal portion of the hook is longer and more slender and acute than in commensalis and the pseudo-joint is farther proximad of the curved region; the shaft is bent caudad at the level of the joint, the hook proper curving mesad. the entire surface is densely papillose. the setæ of the collar are cloaked by a dense growth of long filiform papillæ; with large clavate tips, these papillæ approximating the setæ in length. the papillæ also cluster densely about the notopodia, these papillæ having similar clavate tips. the papillæ of the general surface of dorsum, venter and sides are much shorter. color nearly uniform greyish brown. number of segments in type, forty-nine. length, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken in holdfasts of kelp, august , . capitellidÆ _natomastus angulatus_ sp. nov. in comparison with <i>n. tenuis</i> moore, known from san diego, this species differs in the form of the thorax, which is strongly angulate instead of terete the sides and venter being flat and the dorsum usually but little convex, so that the cross-section is nearly quadrate; also in having the segments and their subdivisions sharply separated with the posterior subsegment in each case much shorter than the anterior instead of equal to it. in the type the posterior thoracic somites are twice or more as long as wide, but in some paratypes the relative length is much less. thorax narrowed caudad. the abdomen in its anterior part obviously thicker than the thorax in its widest part. the prostomium characteristic, showing two distinct regions, a broad posterior one with convex, anteriorly converging sides and a narrower, subconical, palpoidal terminal part sharply set off from the basal. segments of abdomen irregularly multiannulate, sulci deep and surface usually appearing strongly rugose and uneven. length near mm.; greatest width of abdomen, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken in sand and in growths of eel grass. the color is noted as reddish in life, as usual in the family. spionoidea _morants_ gen. nov. body with an anterior region of fifteen setigerous somites separated from a larger posterior region by a specialized somite, the sixteenth. prostomium with a lateral process or horn on each side in front, notched in front at middle. eyes none in genotype. dorsal cirri present in addition to branchiæ on the first four setigerous somites. notopodia with simple capillary setæ throughout. anterior neuropodia with capillary setæ, but others also with crochets. anal. cirri two. _genotype_--_m. duplex_ sp. nov. _morants duplex_ sp. nov. palpal processes lost from type. proboscis as protruded short, distally expanded over proximal region. parapodia dorsolateral in position, the anterior ones very thick. principal postsetal lobe rising above into a branchial process which is short anteriorly but in posterior region is much longer, slender and subulate. mesad of the branchial process of each parapodium of the first four pairs is a cirrus or cirriform process. the inferior setæ of the most anterior parapodia' much shorter than the dorsals, strongly curved. in the first notopodial fascia a much stouter, aciculiform, setæ which is uncate. crochets with strongly narrowed neck; with two curved teeth at distal end above the beak which is decurved; in posterior region few in number, commonly four in a series. anal cirri slender, filiform, much longer than the preceding branchiæ; one in the type has a short spur near its base. total number of segments about one hundred and sixteen. length, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . balboa. the tubes adhere closely to the body. their walls of fine sand. ampharetidÆ _schistocomus_ gen. nov. like phyllocomus in lacking tentacles and postbranchial spines, in bearing fifteen pairs of fasciæ of capillary setæ and four pairs of branchiæ. it differs from that genus in having the branchiæ of two types, one pair being of the ordinary, smooth, simple, subulate form and the other three with the edges divided, two pinnately, bearing two close series of lamellar branches, and one with an essentially single series of branches in the genotype. _genotype_--_s. hiltoni_ sp. nov. _schistocomus hiltoni_ sp. nov. the body has the ordinary general form, being widest near the fifth setigerous segment from where it narrows continuously to the slender, pointed cauda. dorsum convex, venter less so, the latter with a double median longitudinal furrow in the posterior region. prostomium projecting forward as a simple hood with rounded anterior corners and the median region of anterior edge nearly straight; dorsal surface in type longitudinally wrinkled. ventrally the peristomium projects forward between the sides of the prostomium in a conspicuous lobe or lower lip which narrows somewhat distad and has the distal margin convex; surface longitudinally wrinkled. second somite achaetous. the third bearing the first fasciæ of simple setæ, the sixth the first uncini. of the pinnate branchia one pair occur on the third setigerous somite and one on the second while the branchiæ with single series of branches in which the branches are less lamellate, are on the second (first presetal) somite, the simple branchiæ arising on the first setigerous somite. the first branchiæ are attached near the middle of the dorsum, the others laterad close above the parapodia. the first and especially the second or simple branchiæ extending forward beyond the anterior edge of the prostomium. color light fulvous or in part greyish. number of segments near fifty-five. length, mm.; greatest width, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken at laguna beach, sept. , . the tube in which the type was found is mm. long. the wall is thickened by the adhesion of fine particles of sand, fragments of shell, etc. terebellidÆ _leaena videns_ sp. nov. the prostomium extends as a convex hood or inverted scoop above the mouth; along its posterior border is a series of long, crowded, tentacles. the prostomial fold behind the tentacles is crossed by a transverse band of distinct eyes, the band narrow above and widening on each side. mouth a crescentic slit with corners curved caudad; bordered behind by a thick lip the anterior median edge of which is truncate. no dorsal cirriform process on iii or any other segment, all being wholly smooth. a characteristic of the species is the large number of setigerous segments, at least thirty-one being present (iv-xxxiii) in the type, and possibly more. the setæ differs from those of _nuda_ in their longer fine tips and more geniculate appearance at base of this region. the uncini are characterized by an exceptionally long beak which, beyond its strongly curved base is straight; the sinus narrow, the process arising near its middle, low obtuse; vertex not comparatively high, crossed by mostly four series of denticles; body of uncinus rather narrow, the shoulder on convex side much farther toward the end than, e.g., in _nuda_ and well below level of bottom of sinus. the type is incomplete, only near thirty-eight segments being present. the color is noted as pinkish in life. at present it is fulvous in the type. length of incomplete specimen not in excess of mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . _pista fratrella_ sp. nov. this form seems to be close to _p. alata_ moore. the type, which is much smaller than that of _alata_, differs in various details from the description of the latter. the principal lateral wings are confined to the third segment and are united across the dorsum of third somite instead of involving the anterior border of iv and crossing the latter above; connecting dorsal fold low and lacking any forwardly directed process; the wing rises as a high, rounded lobe on each side just below level of setigerous tubercles, rising high above the middorsal surface. in addition to the prominent wings on iii there is on iv on each side a much lower ridge or wing paralleling that on iii, this not more prominent above. unlike those of _alata_, somites ii and iii are not confounded laterally but are distinct throughout. prostomium short. tentacles mostly lost in type; rather slender, not long, apparently in but a single transverse series. peristomium deeply excavated at middle below, the bottom of the excavation rounded and the peristomium produced on each side of this into the usual large lobes. the branchiæ, as in the genotype and other species, strongly asymmetrically developed. the right anterior branchia is much the largest, the trunk very long, with the left anterior much smaller. of the posterior pair, the right, unlike that of _alata_, is also much larger than the left one. in the type the sternal plates are not sharply differentiated. the manubriate uncini of v have the general form of those in _alata_, but the bulge below the beak is much larger and more rounded with the subrostral tooth more obtuse and nearer the middle of the oblique edge; beak less divergent from manubrium; vertex with three transverse series of denticles. the color in the abdominal region light fulvous, in the thoracic darker with a narrow brownish stripe along caudal border of each segment laterally and ventrally. type not quite complete caudally, retaining eighty somites. length, mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . the wall of the tube is composed of sand and shell fragments. _naneva_ gen. nov. prostomium short; with numerous tentacular filaments. uncini avicular and of same form throughout. setæ beginning on third somite; tips simple. uncini beginning on the fourth somite. no lateral foliaceous lobes on the anterior segments. branchiæ two pairs; branched; attached on somites ii and iii. _genotype_--_n. hespera_ sp. nov. differs from thelepus and athelepus in having the branchiæ branched instead of simple and in having the uncini begin on iv. _naneva hespera_ sp. nov. the prostomium forms a prominent upper lip of which the anterior border is turned upward all along, leaving a deep concavity between it and the upcurving posterior fold along which the tentacles are attached. because of their curled and tangled condition the precise number of tentacles was not ascertained, but is about twelve on each side; they are long, some when fully extended being mm. in length. no eyes were detected in the type. peristomium forming a lower lip of but moderate length with straight anterior edge; scarcely twice as long as the second somite below. first branchia on each side attached to second somite just in front and mesad of the first setigerous tubercle. the second branchia attached just caudad of the first on the caudal region of somite iii. both branchiæ very similar, each presenting three principal branches of which the most mesal is largest; ultimate branches numerous, rather short. capillary setæ beginning on iii and continuing to xxvii. the anterior setigerous processes are in the form of vertical plates with straight truncate, distal edge; but in going caudad these become reduced finally to slight tubercles, with the first about equal to half the intervening space and by the seventh equal to this space, while in the abdominal region the opposite series are separated merely by the median furrow. anterior ventral plates strongly longitudinally furrowed. capillary setæ narrowly bilimbate, drawn out into a very fine simple tip. uncini, at least for the most part, in two series both in thoracic and in abdominal region; apparently with mostly three transverse rows of denticles at vertex; beak long, the sinus with parallel sides, opposite side of body evenly curved, not distinctly shouldered. total number of segments in the type, which is complete, about one hundred and thirty, of which ii to xxvii are setigerous. body rapidly narrowed to the eighteenth segment, but only very gradually thereafter. length, near mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . balboa. sabellidÆ _myxicola monacis_ sp. nov. in size and general appearance resembling _m. pacifica_ johnson, with the type of which it has been compared. from that form the present one may readily be distinguished in having the ventral median process from the first segment drawn out into a slender entire tip instead of being broad and presenting distally two angles or lobes; the process is furrowed longitudinally and the edges are somewhat turned down. branchiæ twenty-two pairs. readily distinguished by the form of the abdominal uncini. these have the general form of those of _pacifica_ but as a whole are longer with the body proportionately more slender and its abvertigial end more rounded; the beak is longer and less divergent, distally curving a little back toward the body; the sides of the sinus parallel. the body in the type is somewhat fusiform, being narrowed both ways from the middle but more strongly so caudad. in a paratype the body is scarcely narrowed cephalad. body somewhat depressed dorsoventrally, less terete than in pacifica. total number of segments near seventy. length of type, exclusive of branchiæ, mm.; greatest width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken from holdfasts of seaweeds. _potamilla clara_ sp. nov. the body in general light brown; but ventrally there is a median longitudinal fulvous stripe over the ventral plates. the branchiæ are crossed by a series of dark bands or annuli which fade out proximally, about three distad of the middle of length being deep and distinct. there are nineteen pairs of branchial radioles; barbs numerous, densely arranged to near tip, the naked distal region of axis very short, pale excepting where partially or completely involved by the transverse dark bands. ventral lobes of collar moderate, rounded, edges a little rolled down; dorsal ends separated; no lateral incisions, being but two-lobed; not produced forward below, lobes rounded and separated. thoracic segments eight. ventral plates all rectangular, those of the abdomen divided by the midventral sulcus. total number of segments, sixty. length without branchiæ, mm.; length with branchiæ, mm.; greatest width, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken on beach at low tide. _potamilla omissa_ sp. nov. the general color is dusky or pale brownish with the anterior ventral plates lighter and the branchiæ rather weakly transversely banded with dark. radioles of branchiæ in a simple series; seventeen pairs. collar well developed, produced forward below in two pointed lobes overlapping at the middle. eight setigerous thoracic somites. most dorsal thoracic setæ in each fascicle long and finely pointed with wings narrow; the ventral setæ much more numerous, shorter, spatulate, with fine tip. the uncini have the posterior process very short, rounded at the end, much shorter and more slender than the neck, which is rather strongly curved; vertex high and narrowly rounded; beak not strongly depressed. type incomplete, only seven of the abdominal segments being present. length of first sixteen segments, mm.; including branchiæ, mm.; width, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . _potamilla colorata_ sp. nov. the type is notably marked with black pigment; the collar membrane crossed with a close series of longitudinal dark stripes, one in line with each radiole and narrowing caudad; the branchiæ crossed transversely with dark bands. thoracic somites, more notably the anterior ones, with a dusky to black band in front of each uncinigerous torus and a dark spot on the dorsum mesad of the setigerous papilla. the collar with a dark area ventrad and also dorsad of the fascicle. ground color greyish of light brown cast, lacking the yellow dominating in omissa. sixteen (or seventeen) pairs of radioles in the branchiæ. ventral lobes of collar pointed, widely overlapping in the median line, dorsal ends free, projecting toward each other in dorsal groove. setigerous thoracic somites eight in number. inferior setæ numerous, spatulate, usually in two series. total number of segments present about fifty-one, a few of the most caudal being lost. length, mm.; with branchiæ, mm. type--m. c. z. , . _pseudopotamilla paurops_ sp. nov. a rather slender species with branchiæ of moderate length. excepting the eyes with no pigmented markings. radioles fifteen pairs. eyes few, not present on all radioles; where present usually but a single one on each radiole, in one case two; the eyes deep purple, variable in side from moderate to small; situated at varying distance between base and middle of length of radioles. free dorsal edge of branchial membrane with two short obtuse lobes overlapping in the middle line. the dorsal notch in the collar lobe on each side is mesad of the line of setigerous tubercles, wide open, rectangular or slightly obtuse; lobe mesad of notch small, anteriorly rounded, the mesal edge extending into the dorsal furrow; median ventral lobes separated by a narrow incision, short, the ectal edge passing out in an even concave curve to the anterior lateral margin. a characteristic feature of the species is the presence of ten setigerous thoracic somites. dorsal setæ of the usual two types of which the upper are much fewer spatulate setæ in two series with distal expansion broad and wings asymmetrical, tip short. total number of segments, seventy-eight. length without branchiæ, mm.; with branchiæ, mm. type--m. c. z. , . tube tough, corneus. _pseudopotamilla parva_ sp. nov. the type of this species is a small individual which, as preserved, appears of a uniform dusky color throughout. branchial radioles fourteen or fifteen pairs; in a single series, the membrane not being coiled. no eye spots. collar with ventral lobes proportionately long and acute, the dorsal lobes small and approximate. notopodial setæ of usual two types; few. uncini with beak divergent, nearly horizontal, the "neck" short and the edge of body below bulging much as in _paralaonome japonica_. body furrowed along each side just above notopodia excepting anteriorly. ventral plates sharply limited, elevated; all of abdominal plates bisected by the median longitudinal sulcus excepting the first one, which is entire. total number of somites, fifty-six, of which eight are thoracic. length without branchiæ, mm.; with branchiæ, near mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken among tufted algæ, june , (c. f. baker). _pseudopotamilla lampra_ sp. nov. in this form the collar membrane is crossed by a series of longitudinal dark stripes, one in line with each radiole, as in _potamilla colorata_, these narrowing caudad. branchiæ sometimes mostly dark with light transverse bands. anterior thoracic segments darkly pigmented both above and below, and also along both sides of tori, and most setigerous papillæ and tori of succeeding regions of body also surrounded in some degree with a pigmented area. branchial membrane with free dorsal edges produced into two lobes on each side, the two of each pair overlapping, the posterior lobe rounded, the anterior angular with its caudal margin transverse and the other long and oblique. radioles nineteen pairs, several of these at dorsomesal end of series much reduced. eyes conspicuous but few, only one, or occasionally two, on a radiole and some radioles wholly lacking them. this species has only seven setigerous thoracic somites. total number of segments, near ninety-four. length, about mm.; with branchiæ, mm. a note states that this form is pinkish in life. a paratype was taken "in a large white sponge." type--m. c. z. , . _pseudopotamilla macrops_ sp. nov. while the type of this species includes only the anterior end of the body, its characters seem sufficiently marked for subsequent identification. as in _lampra_, the anterior segments are darkened with purplish brown pigment, especially adjacent to the setigerous papillæ and about the tori, the ventral plates, however, remaining pale. branchial membrane also pigmented caudally, and the branchiæ transversely banded. only two eyes on each side are present in the type, a single one each on the second and third radiole from the dorsal end of the series. these eyes are exceptionally large and prominent, much larger than in any of the other species here recorded, embracing practically the entire width of the stalk. the free dorsal edges of the branchial membrane nearly straight, each with only a very slight angulation near its anterior end, not being truly lobate. nine pairs of radioles. minor dorsal lobes of collar prominent, produced well forward, curving a little mesad distally, the mesal edge reflected down the dorsal groove as usual. width, . mm. length of branchiæ, . mm. type--m. c. z. , . _pseudopotamilla scotia_ sp. nov. differing from the other species here described in having nine setigerous thoracic somites. anterior somites of thorax darkened above, down the sides on both sides of the tori and also more or less ventrally with purplish brown pigment. processes or lobes on free edge of branchial membrane above almost of same form as in _p. lampra_ and similarly overlapping. nineteen pairs of branchial radioles. no eyes. ventral lobes of collar prolonged, subacute, not overlapping. in the dorsal fasciæ of the ordinary thoracic somites the dorsal setæ are arranged mostly in more or less single, curved, longitudinal series, the clavate ventrals being arranged in two vertical series at right angles to the line of the dorsals. pennoned setæ of the uncinigerous tori very prominent. only a few of the most anterior abdominal segments present in type. greatest width, mm. length of branchiæ, mm. type--m. c. z. , . taken in a large white sponge. serpulidÆ _eupomatus intereans_ sp. nov. this species is separated from _e. uncinatus_ (philippi) with some hesitation since specimens of the latter are not at hand for direct comparison. it would seem, however, to be clearly different, to judge from ehler's figure, in the form of the uncini. these are much broader (i.e., at right angles to the dental line), the base projecting conspicuously but not forming an angulate shoulder as in _e. gracilis_, being nearly evenly and rather broadly rounded. the teeth are mostly seven in number, the end below the last of these set off as usual, rounded. the upper collar setæ coarse, with two teeth or spurs at base of the slender tip, these commonly more or less unequal in size. branchiæ thirteen pairs. operculum in general as in _uncinatus_; width of principal expansion . mm.; the latter even, by narrowing into the stalk, the rim with thirty-eight projecting acute teeth or serrations which are straight or very nearly so, not at all uncate as in uncinatus in which they are also fewer (thirty). inner crown of eleven spines each tapered evenly to an acute tip and bent in abruptly toward the center above, the proximal portion being erect and ordinarily parallel with the others. no process or series of processes detected within this crown, the base from which these arise being evenly concave on its distal surface and convex on the proximal. spines of the inner crown dark brown proximally as is the entire basal plate from which they arise, the remaining part of spines light brown. operculum proper nearly black below teeth on proximal surface of the expansion and on adjacent part of stalk the remaining part of which is white; distal surface of funnel pale. branchiæ and body in general pale, unmarked or some of the branchiæ with a blackish mark on stalk toward distal end. thoracic setigerous somites seven. abdominal segments, ninety. type--m. c. z. , . length exclusive of branchiæ, mm.; to end of operculum, about mm. width, . mm. the nervous system of cæcum californicum william a. hilton (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) specimens of this little gastropod mollusc from to mm. in length were the material for the study. specimens were fixed and sectioned whole and a few good series were obtained. it seems rather remarkable that so small a species should have such a high organization of the nervous system. the ganglia are large in proportion to the size of the animal and well developed. in all cases the exact limits of the nerves and connectives were not determined, but the chief ganglia were easily found. quite well towards the head end a pair of buccal ganglia were found, these were small, widely separated and possessed only a few nerve cells. at about this level in cross sections the eyes make their appearance, one on each side. they are simple, quite large and well provided with pigment. below the level of the eyes and the buccal ganglia, on the dorsal side of the esophagus, the much larger cerebral ganglia make their appearance. these probably are connected with the eyes but the connections were not clearly seen in the sections. the cerebral ganglia are closely united along the middle line. they occupy more than one half the diameter of the entire animal. the more caudal ends of these ganglia separate and run down, a little lateral to the esophagus. below the esophagus and a little below the chief level of the cerebral ganglia, a region of more ventral masses of nerve tissue is reached. there are two ganglia on each side, a lateral pair somewhat smaller than the more ventral. the lateral are the pleural and the ventral are the pedal ganglia. the pedal ganglia are closely pressed against each other in the middle line, but not fused, they are much larger than any of the other ganglionic pairs and of a more complicated cell and fibrous structure. beyond the region of large ganglia and slightly farther towards the other end of the animal, on the right side, a small visceral ganglion makes its appearance. farther down on the left side a much smaller group of cells seems to indicate another ganglion of the viscera. [illustration: explanation of figures] fig. camera lucida sketch of cerebral ganglia of cæcum. the dorsal side is up. × fig. . left pleural ganglion of cæcum. × . fig. . left pedal ganglion of cæcum. × . fig. . reconstruction from cæcum, showing position of eyes and ganglia viewed from the ventral side. × . amphipods from laguna beach the following list is from the collections of , or that part of it sent to the u. s. nat. museum for determination. _aruga oculata_ holmes. l. mm., white with red on the head. from algæ. another white specimen of mm. dredged at f. _paraphoxus_ sp. l. mm. light colored. _ipiplateia_ sp. red. l. mm. _lilljeborgia brevicornis_ bruz. one specimen dredged aug. . head white upper half, lower half pink. lower part of body pink, upper white. l. mm. another head end of body red, caudal end white. l. mm. dredged aug. and sept. th. _tiron_ sp. light colored. l. mm. _elasmopus brasiliensis_ dana? l. mm., yellow, brown eyes. line on back. _melita quinquedentata_ shoem. l. . mm. tide pools aug. . _allorchestes_ sp. immature. one lot pale green, red antennæ, l. . mm. one red l. mm. one from holdfasts brown and red. l. mm. _hyalella azteca_ sauss. brown green, . to mm. _hyale_ sp. one red, l. mm. one dark l. . mm. one pink-brown from sulphur sponge. l. mm. one rose on back, ringed with white. one yellow green back, l. . mm. one yellow, pink antennæ, holdfast l. mm. one brown from algæ l. mm. one rose brown. l. mm. _orchestoidea corniculata_ stout. green grey, bluish antennæ l. mm. _lembos_ sp. bands on body. l. mm. from holdfasts. _microprotopus_ sp. bands on body. l. mm. _photis californica_ stout. bands on body. holdfasts. _neophotis inequalis_ stout. brown and red. l. mm. holdfast. _amphithoe corallina_ stout. yellow, green antennæ. l. mm. another mottled white and black l. mm. another brown white legs two white spots on the sides. one with green eggs l. mm. _a. vaillantii_ h. lucas. bright red, l. mm. dredged f. aug. . _a. rubricata_ montagu (?) brownish green, yellow spots on sides. aug. , . _amphithoe_ sp. pink, red antennæ, l. mm. _amphithoe_ yellow, pink antennæ. holdfast. w. a. h. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) journal of entomology and zoology--_advertising section_ ====================================================================== _the_ journal _of_ zoological research _edited by walter e. collinge, m. sc., f. l. s., f. e. s. the gatty marine laboratory the university, st. andrews, scotland_ the subject matter is strictly confined to original zoological research--systematic and anatomical. fully illustrated by lithographic plates and text figures. each volume will consist of parts, price $ . _all subscriptions should be forwarded to_ messrs. dulau & co., ltd. soho square, london, w., england ====================================================================== griffith incubators [illustration] a simple, well constructed bacteriological incubator ====================================================================== gage--the microscope an introduction to microscopic methods and to histology by simon h. gage. twelfth edition. entirely rewritten, and with many new illustrations. price, postpaid, $ . . this work aims to give help to everyone who uses the microscope, whether he is a beginner or an advanced worker. comstock--a manual for the study of insects by john henry comstock, professor of entomology in cornell university, and anna botsford comstock, member of the society of american wood-engravers. vo. cloth, ix.+ pages, figures in the text, and six full page plates. nearly all of the figures were engraved especially for this work. postpaid $ . ; 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renewals, $ . ; payable in advance. single copies cents. address entomological news race street, philadelphia, pa. ====================================================================== class work material can be procured at any time of the year from c. s. brimley, zoologist newberne avenue raleigh, n. c., u. s. a. twenty-one years' experience price list on application ====================================================================== the journal of parasitology a quarterly devoted to medical zoology this journal will be a medium for the prompt publication of briefer papers and research notes on animal parasites. emphasis laid on the morphology, life history and biology of zooparasites and the relations of animals to disease. subscription, $ . a volume managing editor, henry b. ward; univ. illinois, urbana, illinois ====================================================================== [illustration: do business by mail it's profitable, with accurate lists of prospects. our catalogue contains vital information on mail advertising. also prices and quantity on , national mailing lists, % guaranteed. such as: war material mfrs. wealthy men fly paper mfrs. cheese box mfrs. ice mfrs. foundries shoe retailers doctors farmers tin can mfrs. axle grease mfrs. fish hook mfrs. druggists railroad employees feather duster mfrs. auto owners contractors hotels write for this valuable reference book. ross-gould, h olive street, st. louis. ross-gould mailing lists st. louis ] ====================================================================== pomona college located in one of the most healthful and beautiful parts of the west coast. the mountains reach an elevation of ten thousand feet within a few miles of the college and these with the nearby ocean afford many special advantages for the study of things not in books. special advantages are afforded by the fact that the college limits its attendance, the freshman class being restricted to two hundred applicants. the success of the college is particularly indicated by the large proportion of the graduates who proceed to advanced work in the large universities. in addition, well-manned departments of music and art afford exceptional advantages. for further information, address secretary of pomona college claremont, california transcriber's note all obvious typographical errors were corrected. for the words where the "æ" ligature is present in greater quantity than those with just "ae", the "ae" was converted to the ligature. the other cases were left as in the original printed version. below is a list of changes made in the text. page change ==== ====================== _biborin ecbola_ sp. nov. => repeated copy deleted. the two [achaebous] => achaetous second somite [achaetons] => achaetous [illustration: nomahanna, queen of the sandwich islands.] _london. published by henry colburn & richard bentley. ._ a new voyage round the world, in the years , , , and . by otto von kotzebue, post captain in the russian imperial navy. in two volumes. vol. ii. london: henry colburn and richard bentley, new burlington street. . london: printed by samuel bentley. dorset street, fleet street. contents of the second volume page kamtschatka new-archangel california, and the new russian settlement, ross the sandwich islands the pescadores, rimski-korsakoff, eschscholtz, and bronus islands the ladrones and philippines st. helena zoological appendix by professor eschscholtz list of plates. page reception of captain kotzebue at the island of otdia, to face title of vol. i. plan of mattaway bay and village chart of the navigators' islands chart of the islands of radak and ralik nomahanna, queen of the sandwich islands, to face title of vol. ii. kamtschatka. kamtschatka. the wind, which continued favourable to us as far as the northern tropic, was succeeded by a calm that lasted twelve days. the ocean, as far as the eye could reach, was as smooth as a mirror, and the heat almost insupportable. sailors only can fully understand the disagreeableness of this situation. the activity usual on shipboard gave place to the most wearisome idleness. every one was impatient; some of the men felt assured that we should never have a wind again, and wished for the most violent storm as a change. one morning we had the amusement of watching two great sword-fish sunning themselves on the surface of the water. i sent out a boat, in the hope that the powerful creatures would, in complaisance, allow us the sport of harpooning them, but they would not wait; they plunged again into the depths of the sea, and we had disturbed their enjoyments in vain. our water-machine was several times let down, even to the depth of a thousand fathoms: on the surface, the temperature was °, and at this depth, only ° of reaumur. on the nd of may, the anniversary of our frigate's leaving stopel, we got a fresh easterly wind, which carried us forward pretty quickly on the still smooth surface of the sea. on the st of june, when in latitude ° and longitude °, and consequently opposite the coast of japan, we descried a red stripe in the water, about a mile long and a fathom broad. in passing over it we drew up a pail-full, and found that its colour was occasioned by an infinite number of crabs, so small as to be scarcely distinguishable by the naked eye. we now began daily to experience increasing inconveniences from the northern climate. the sky, hitherto so serene, became gloomy and covered with storm-clouds, which seldom threatened in vain; we were, besides, enveloped in almost perpetual mists, bounding our prospect to a few fathoms. in a short time, the temperature of the air had fallen from ° to °. so sudden a change is always disagreeable, and often dangerous. we had to thank the skill and attention of our physician, dr. siegwald, that it did not prove so to us. such rough weather is not common to the latitude we were in at that season; but it is peculiar to the japanese coast even in summer. whales and storm-birds showed themselves in great numbers, reminding us that we were hastening to the north, and were already far from the luxuriant groves of the south-sea islands. the wind continued so favourable, that on the th of june we could already see the high mountains of kamtschatka in their winter clothing. their jagged summits reaching to the heavens, crested with everlasting snow, which glitters in the sunbeams, while their declivities are begirt with clouds, give a magnificent aspect to this coast. on the following day, we reached awatscha bay, and in the evening anchored in the harbour of st. peter and st. paul. the great peninsula of kamtschatka, stretching to the river anadir on the north, and south to the kurilian islands, bathed on the east by the ocean, and on the west by the sea of ochotsk, is, like many men, better than its reputation. it is supposed to be the roughest and most desolate corner of the world, and yet it lies under the same latitude as england and scotland, and is equal in size to both. the summer is indeed much shorter, but it is also much finer; and the vegetation is more luxuriant than in great britain. the winter lasts long, and its discomforts are increased by the quantity of snow that falls; but in the southern parts the cold is moderate; and experience has repeatedly refuted the erroneous opinion, that on account of its long duration, and the consequent curtailment of the summer season, corn cannot be efficaciously cultivated here. although the snow lies in some of the valleys till the end of may, because the high, over-shadowing mountains intercept the warm sunbeams, yet garden-plants prosper. potatoes generally yield a triple crop, and would perfectly supply the want of bread, if the inhabitants cultivated them more diligently: but the easier mode of providing fish in super-abundance as winter food, has induced them to neglect the labour of raising potatoes, although they have known years when the fishery has barely protected them from famine. the winter, as i have already said, is very unpleasant, from the heavy snows, which, drifting from the mountains, often bury the houses, so that the inhabitants are compelled to dig a passage out, while the cattle walk on its frozen surface over their roofs. travelling in this season is very rapid and convenient. the usual mode is in sledges drawn by six or more dogs. the only danger is from snow-storms. the traveller, surprised by this sudden visitation, has no chance for safety except in quietly allowing himself and his dogs to be buried in the snow, and relieving himself from his covering when the storm is past. this, however, is not always practicable; should the storm, or, as it is called here, "purga," overtake him in the ravine of a mountain, such an immense quantity of snow becomes heaped upon him, that he has no power to extricate himself from his tomb. these accidents, however, seldom occur; for the kamtschatkans have acquired of necessity great foresight in meteorology, and of course never undertake a journey when they do not consider themselves sure of the weather. the principal reason why the climate of kamtschatka is inferior to that of other places under the same latitude, is to be found in the configuration of the country. the mountains of england, for instance, are of a very moderate height, and broken by extensive plains; here, on the contrary, intersected only by a few valleys of small extent, a single chain of mountains, its broken snow-crowned summits reaching to the clouds, and in many parts far beyond them, stretches the whole length of the peninsula, and is based upon its breadth. the panorama of kamtschatka is a confused heap of granite blocks of various heights, thickly piled together, whose pointed, jagged forms bear testimony to the tremendous war of elements amidst which they must have burst from the bowels of the earth. the struggle is even now scarcely ended, as the smoking and burning of volcanoes, and frequent shocks of earthquake, sufficiently intimate. one of the mountains, called kamtschatka mountain, rivalling in height the loftiest in the world, often vomits forth streams of lava on the surrounding country. these mountains with their glaciers, and volcanoes emitting columns of fire and smoke from amidst fields of ice, afford a picturesque contrast with the beautiful green of the valleys. the most singular and indescribably-splendid effect is produced by the crystal rocks on the western coast, when illuminated by the sun; their whole refulgent surface reflecting his rays in every various tint of the most brilliant colours, resembles the diamond mountains of fairy-land, while the neighbouring rocks of quartz shine like masses of solid gold. kamtschatka is a most interesting country to the professor of the natural sciences. great mineral treasures will certainly be one day discovered here; the number and diversity of its stones is striking even to the most uninitiated. it abounds in hot and salutary springs. to the botanist it offers great varieties of plants, little if at all known; and the zoologist would find here, amongst the animal tribes deserving his attention, besides several kinds of bears, wolves and foxes, the celebrated sable whose skin is sold for so great a price, and the native wild sheep, which inhabits the tops of the highest mountains. it attains the size of a large goat; the head resembles that of an ordinary sheep, but is furnished with strong, crooked horns: the skin and form of the body are like the reindeer, and it feeds chiefly on moss. it is fleet and active, achieving, like the chamois, prodigious springs among the rocks and precipices, and is, consequently, with difficulty killed or taken. in preparing for these leaps, its eye measures the distance with surprising accuracy; the animal then contracts its legs, and darts forward head-foremost to the destined spot, where it alights upon its feet, nor is it ever known to miss, although the point may be so small as to admit its four feet only by their being closely pressed together. the manner in which it balances itself after such leaps is also admirable: our ballet-dancers would consider it a model of a perfect _à plomb_. the monster of the antediluvian world, the mammoth, must have been an inhabitant of this country, since many of its bones have been found here. the forests of kamtschatka are not enlivened by singing-birds; indeed land-birds are all scarce; but there are infinite numbers of waterfowl of many species. immense flocks of them are to be seen upon the lakes, rivers, morasses, and even the sea itself, in the vicinity of the shore. fish is abundant, especially in the months of june and july. a single draught of the net provided us with as many as the whole crew could consume in several days. a sort of salmon, ling, and herrings, are preferred for winter stock; the latter, dried in the air, supply food for the dogs. kamtschatka was discovered in the year , by a cossack of yakutsh, by name luca semenoff, who, on a report being spread of the existence of this country, set out with sixteen companions to make a journey hither. in the following years, similar expeditions were repeated in greater force, till kamtschatka was subjected and made tributary to the russian crown. the conquest of this country cost many russian lives; and from the ferocity of the conquerors, and the difficulty of maintaining discipline amongst troops so scattered, ended in nearly exterminating the kamtschatkans. although subsequent regulations restrained the disorders of the wild cossacks, the population is still very thin; but under a wise and careful government it will certainly increase. the name of kamtschatka, pronounced kantschatka, conferred by the russians, was adopted from the native appellation of the great river flowing through the country. this river derived its name, according to tradition, from kontschat, a warrior of former times, who had a stronghold on its banks. it is strange that the kamtschatkans had no designation either for themselves or their country. they called themselves simply men, as considering themselves either the only inhabitants of the earth, or so far surpassing all others, as to be alone worthy of this title. on the southern side of the peninsula, the aborigines are believed to have been distinguished by the name of itelmen; but the signification of this word remains uncertain. the kamtschatkans acknowledged an almighty creator of the world, whom they called kutka. they supposed that he inhabited the heavens; but had at one time dwelt in human form in kamtschatka, and was the original parent of their race. even here the tradition of a universal deluge prevails, and a spot is still shown, on the top of a mountain where kutka landed from a boat, in order to replenish the world with men. the proverbial phrase current in kamtschatka, to express a period long past, is, "that was in kutka's days." before the expeditions of the russians to kamtschatka, the inhabitants were acquainted only with the neighbouring koriacks and tchuktchi. they had also acquired some knowledge of japan, from a japanese ship wrecked on their coast. they acknowledged no chief, but lived in perfect independence, which they considered as their highest good. besides the supreme god kutka, they had a host of inferior deities, installed by their imaginations in the forests, the mountains, and the floods. they adored them when their wishes were fulfilled, and insulted them when their affairs went amiss; like the lower class of italians, who, when any disaster befalls them, take off their cap, enumerate into it as many saints' names as they can call to mind, and then trample it under foot. two wooden household deities, aschuschok and hontai, were held in particular estimation. the former, in the figure of a man, officiated in scaring away the forest spirits from the house; for which service he was remunerated in food, his head being daily anointed with fish-soup. hontai was half man, half fish, and on every anniversary of the purification from sin, a new one was introduced and placed beside his predecessors, so that the accumulated number of hontais showed how many years the inhabitants had occupied their house. the kamtschatkans believed in their own immortality, and in that of the brute creation; but they expected in a future state to depend upon their labour for subsistence, as in the present life; they only hoped that the toil would be lightened, and its reward more abundant, that they might never suffer hunger. this idea of itself sufficiently proves, that the fisheries sometimes fail in their produce. the several races of kamtschatkans frequently waged war with each other; caused either by the forcible abduction of the women, or a deficiency in hospitality on their occasional interchange of visits, which was considered an insult to the guest, demanding a bloody revenge. their wars were seldom carried on openly; they preferred stratagem and artifice; and the conquerors practised the greatest cruelties on the conquered. if a party was so beleaguered as to lose all hope of effectual resistance, or of securing their safety by flight, knowing that no mercy would await a surrender, their warlike spirit did not desert them; they first murdered their women and children, and then rushed furiously on the enemy, to sell their lives as dearly as possible. their weapons were lances, and bows and poisoned arrows. to treat a guest with the utmost politeness, and leave no cause for hostility, the host was expected to heat his subterranean dwelling till it became almost insupportable: both parties then cast off all their attire, an enormous quantity of food was placed before the guest, and the fire was continually fed. when the visitor declared that he could no longer eat, or endure the heat of the place, all that courtesy required had been done, and the host expected a present in return for his hospitality. at such entertainments the moucho-more, a deleterious species of mushroom, was usually introduced, as a mode of intoxication. taken in small quantities, it is said to excite an agreeable hilarity of spirits; but if immoderately used, it will produce insanity of several days' duration. animated by these enjoyments, the host and guests found mutual amusement in the exercise of their peculiar talent of mimicking men and animals. the children when grown up showed little affection for their parents, neglected them in old age, and did not even consider it a violation of filial duty to kill them when they became burdensome. they also murdered their defective or weakly children, to spare them the misery of a languishing existence. they did not bury their dead, but dragged the corpse into the open air, by a thong tied about the neck, and left it a prey to dogs; under the belief, that those devoured by these animals, would in another world be drawn by the best dogs. the mode of solemnizing marriages among the kamtschatkans was tedious, and, on the part of the bridegroom, attended with many difficulties. a man who wished to marry a girl went to the house of her parents, and without farther declaration took his share in the domestic labours. he thus became the servant of the family, and was obliged to obey all their behests, till he succeeded in winning the favour of the girl and her parents. this might continue for years, and even in the end he was liable to be dismissed, without any compensation for his trouble. if, however, the maiden was pleased, and the parents were satisfied with him, they gave him permission to catch his beloved; from this moment the girl took all possible pains to avoid being alone with him, defended herself with a fishing-net and numerous girdles, all which were to be cut through with a stone knife, while all the family were upon the watch to rescue her at the first outcry: the unfortunate lover had probably no sooner laid hands upon his bride than he was seized by her relations, beaten, and dragged away by his hair; yet was he compelled to conquer and overpower her resistance, or to continue in unrewarded servitude. when, however, the catching was accomplished, the fair one herself proclaimed the victory, and the marriage was celebrated. the present kamtschatkans are an extremely good-natured, hospitable, timid people; in colour and features nearly resembling the chinese and japanese. they all profess the christian religion; but secretly retain many of their heathen customs, particularly that of killing their deformed children. the town, or rather village, adjoining the harbour of st. peter and st. paul, where the present governor of kamtschatka, captain stanizky, resides, though the principal place in the peninsula, contains but few convenient houses. the rest, about fifty in number, are mere huts, irregularly scattered up the side of a mountain. the inhabitants of this place, which bears the same name as the harbour, are all russians, officers of the crown, sailors, disbanded soldiers, and some insignificant traders. the kamtschatkans live inland in little villages on the banks of the rivers, but seldom on the sea-coast. from krusenstern's representation, kamtschatka appears very little altered in five-and-twenty years. the only advance made in that period, consists in the cultivation of potatoes by the inhabitants of st. peter and st. paul, and the entire water-carriage of various goods and necessaries of life, which were formerly needlessly enhanced in price by being brought overland, through siberia to ochotsk. the northern part of the peninsula and the adjoining country, even to the icy sea, is inhabited by the tschuktschi, a warlike nomad tribe, removing with celerity from place to place by means of their reindeer. they were not so easily conquered as the kamtschatkans, and for five-and-thirty years incessantly annoyed the russians, to whom they now only pay a small tribute in skins. our cannon at length forced a peace upon them, which had not been long concluded, before there was reason to apprehend a breach of its conditions on their part, and an ambassador was sent to their tajon, or chief, to discover their intentions. the chief drew a long knife from a sheath at his side, presented it to the ambassador, making him observe that it had a broken point, and addressed him as follows: "when my father died he gave me this knife, saying, 'my son, i received this broken knife from my uncle, whom i succeeded in the dignity of tajon, and i promised him never to sharpen it against the russians, because we never prosper in our combats with them; i therefore enjoin thee also to enter into no strife with them till this knife shall of itself renew its point.' you see that the knife is still edgeless, and my father's last will is sacred to me." according to an accurate census taken of the population of kamtschatka in the year , it amounts, with the exception of the tschuktschi, who cannot be computed, to two thousand four hundred and fifty-seven persons of the male, and one thousand nine hundred and forty-one of the female sex. of these, the native kamtschatkans were only one thousand four hundred and twenty-eight males, and one thousand three hundred and thirty females; the rest were koriaks and russians. they possessed ninety-one horses, seven hundred and eighteen head of cattle, three thousand eight hundred and forty-one dogs, and twelve thousand reindeer, the latter belonging exclusively to the koriaks. unimportant as was the place where we now landed, a change is always agreeable after a long voyage; and the kind and hospitable reception we met with from the commander as well as the inhabitants, contributed greatly to our enjoyments. we were gratified with a bear-hunt, which produced much sport, and gave us the satisfaction of killing a large and powerful bear. this animal is very numerous here, and is consequently easily met with by a hunting-party. the usually timid kamtschatkan attacks them with the greatest courage. often armed only with a lance and a knife, he endeavours to provoke the bear to the combat; and when it rises on its hind legs for defence or attack, the hunter rushes forward, and, resting one end of the lance on the ground, plunges the other into its breast, finally dispatching it with his knife. sometimes, however, he fails in the attempt, and pays for his temerity with his life. the following anecdote evinces the hardihood of the bears. fish, which forms their chief nourishment, and which they procure for themselves from the rivers, was last year excessively scarce. a great famine consequently existed among them, and instead of retiring to their dens, they wandered about the whole winter through, even in the streets of st. peter and st. paul. one of them finding the outer gate of a house open, entered, and the gate accidentally closed after him. the woman of the house had just placed a large tea-machine,[ ] full of boiling water, in the court, the bear smelt to it and burned his nose; provoked at the pain, he vented all his fury upon the kettle, folded his fore-paws round it, pressed it with his whole strength against his breast to crush it, and burnt himself, of course, still more and more. the horrible growl which rage and pain forced from him, brought all the inhabitants of the house and neighbourhood to the spot, and poor bruin was soon dispatched by shots from the windows. he has, however, immortalized his memory, and become a proverb amongst the town's people, for when any one injures himself by his own violence, they call him "the bear with the tea-kettle." on the th of july, m. preuss observed an eclipse of the sun, from which he determined the geographical longitude of st. peter and st. paul to be ° ' ". on the same day dr. siegwald and messrs. lenz and hoffman happily achieved the herculean task of climbing the owatscha mountain, which lies near the harbour. its height, according to barometrical measurement, is seven thousand two hundred feet. an intermittent smoke arose from its crater, and a cap let down a few feet within it was drawn up burnt. the gentlemen brought back with them some pieces of crystallized sulphur, as evidence of their having really pursued their examination quite into the mouth of the crater. after having delivered all the articles which we had taken in for kamtschatka, we left the harbour of st. peter and st. paul on the morning of the th of july, and with favouring breezes sailed for the russian settlement of new archangel, on the north-west coast of america. at sunset the majestic mountains of kamtschatka appeared for the last time within our horizon, and at a vast distance. this despised and desolate country may perhaps one day become a russian mexico. the only treasure of which we robbed it was, a swallow's nest! i mention it, because it long supplied the whole ship's company with amusement. in the harbour of st. peter and st. paul, there is sufficient depth of water close to the shore to admit of landing by means of a plank only. this proximity led a pair of swallows to mistake our frigate for a building upon terra-firma, and to the infinite delight of the sailors, who regarded it as a lucky omen, they deliberately built themselves a nest close to my cabin. undisturbed by the noise in the ship, the loving pair hatched their brood in safety, fed their young ones with the tenderest care, and cheered them with joyous songs. but when on a sudden they saw their peaceful dwelling removing from the land, they seemed astonished, and hovered anxiously about the ship, yet still fetched food for their young from the shore, till the distance became too great. the struggle between the instincts of self-preservation and parental love then became perceptible. they flew round the vessel, then vanished for awhile, then suddenly returned to their hungry family, and stretching their open beaks towards them, seemed to lament that no food was to be found. this alternate disappearing and returning continued some time, and terminated in the parents returning no more; the sailors then took on themselves the care of the deserted orphans. they removed them from the nest where the parents warmth was necessary, to another lined with cotton, and fixed in a warm place, and fed them with flies, which seemed to please their palates very well. the system at first appeared to have perfectly succeeded, and we were in hopes of carrying them safely to america; when, in spite of the most careful attention, they fell sick, and on the eighth day, to the general sorrow, not one of our nurslings remained alive. they however afforded an additional proof how kindly the common people of russia are interested in all that is helpless. new archangel. new archangel. the swallows brought us no good fortune. the very day after we left kamtschatka, one of our best sailors fell from the mast-head into the scuttle, and immediately expired. he had climbed thither in safety in the most violent storms, and executed the most difficult tasks with ease; now, in fine weather, on a tranquil sea, he met this fate. these accidents happen most frequently to the best and cleverest sailors: they confide too much in their own ability, and consider too little the risks they run. it is impossible to warn them sufficiently. this fatal accident produced a general melancholy among us, which the cloudy, wet, cold weather we soon encountered perpetually increased, till we reached the coast of america. fortunately, we had all the time a strong west wind; by its help we passed the southern coasts of the aleutian islands, and on the th of august already approached the american coast. on this day the sun once more smiled on us; the sky afterwards continued clear, and the air became milder and pleasanter as we neared the land. from our noon observation we were in latitude ° ', and longitude ° '. in this region, some navigators have imagined they observed a regular current to the north; but our experience does not confirm the remark. a current carried us from twenty to thirty miles in twenty-four hours, setting sometimes north, and sometimes south, according to the impulse of the wind; close to shore only the current is regularly to the north. the inhabitants concurred in this observation. we now steered direct for the bay called by the english norfolk sound, and by the russians sitka bay, and the island at its back, which the natives call sitchachan, whence the russian sitka. this island, called by the russians new archangel, is at present the principal settlement of the russian-american company. on the morning of the th of august, we were, according to my calculation, near land; but a thick fog concealed us from every object so much as fifty fathoms distant. at length the mid-day sun burst forth, and rapidly dispelling the curtain of cloud and fog, surprised us with a view of the american coast. we were standing right for the mouth of the above-mentioned bay, at a small distance from the edgecumbe promontory; a table-land so elevated, that in clear weather it serves for a safe landmark at a distance of fifty miles. we were all day prevented by a calm from making the bay, and were obliged to content ourselves with admiring the wild high rocky coast, with its fir forests. though now in a much higher latitude than in kamtschatka, we yet saw no snow, even on the summits of the highest mountains; a proof of the superior mildness of the climate on the american, compared with the asiatic coast. the next day we took advantage of a light wind blowing towards the bay; but so gloomy was the weather, that we could scarcely see land, and not one of our crew had ever been in the bay before. it stretches from the entrance to new archangel twenty-five miles in length, and is full of small islands and shallows; a pilot was not to be thought of; but we happily overcame all our difficulties. we tacked through all the intricacies of this navigation amidst heavy rain and a thick gloom, till we dropped the anchor within musket-shot of the fortress. we here found the frigate kreissac, under the command of captain lasaref, sent here by government for the protection of trade, and whom we were destined to succeed. the appearance of a vessel of our native country, in so distant and desolate a corner of the earth, naturally produced much joy amongst our people. i immediately paid a visit to captain lasaref, and then to the governor of the colony, captain murawief, an old acquaintance, whom i had not seen for many years. at so great a distance from home, friendships are quickly formed between compatriots, even if previously unknown to each other,--how much then must their interest increase, when long ago cemented in the native land! my intercourse with this gentleman, equally distinguished for his noble character and cultivated mind, conduced much to the comfort of a tedious residence in this desert. to my enquiry, whether my vessel must now remain stationary at the colony, he replied, that until the first of march of the following year ( ), my time was at my own disposal, but that after that period my presence could not be dispensed with. i therefore proceeded to visit california and the sandwich islands, and returned to new archangel on the rd of february . the nearer we drew to the land the milder the weather became, and we were astonished, in so northern a country, to see the mountains at this season of the year entirely free from snow to a considerable height. throughout this winter, however, which had been particularly mild, the snow in many of the vallies had never lain above a few hours together. here, under fifty-seven degrees north latitude, the climate is much milder than in european countries similarly situated; as again the north-east coast of asia is much colder than countries of an equal latitude in europe. on the morning of the th, after passing a stormy night on this dangerous coast, we happily succeeded in reaching the harbour, and anchoring before the fortress, just before another and most violent tempest set in. we were received with great rejoicing; and on the following day placed the frigate in such a position, and at such a distance from the fortress, as was most convenient to accomplish the purpose of our mission. to explain this, we must take a short review of the russian settlement here, and of the affairs of the original inhabitants. from the highest antiquity to the present day, examples are not wanting of men trusting themselves in small and frail vessels to the perils of the ocean, and performing astonishing voyages, without any of those aids which the improvements in science and mechanical art place within our reach. the children of the sun in peru, and the founders of the regular political constitution which existed in mexico before its invasion by the spaniards, probably floated in little canoes over the trackless surface of the ocean, as the inhabitants of the south sea islands do to this day. the voyages of the phoenicians and romans are sufficiently known; as are those of the norman heroes who discovered greenland, iceland, and even north america. in vessels just as defective, destitute of the instruments requisite for observing their course, and of any fixed notion concerning the conformation or extent of the earth, often even without a compass, ignorant russian adventurers have embarked from ochotsk, and rounding kamtschatka, have discovered the aleutian islands, and attained to the north-west coast of america. year after year, in more numerous parties, they repeated these expeditions, tempted by the beautiful furs which were procured in the newly-discovered countries. many of their vessels were lost,--many of those who ventured in them were attacked and murdered by savages; yet still new adventurers were found yearly encountering all these risks, for the sake of the profitable traffic in these furs, especially that of the sea-otter. by degrees they formed themselves into commercial societies, which obtained a firmer footing on the aleutian islands, and even on the northern parts of the western coast of america, carried on a regular trade to siberia, but lived in a state of continual violence and dissensions. superior to the natives by the possession of fire-arms, they became overbearing, treated the timid aleutians in the most cruel manner, and would perhaps have quite exterminated them, had not the emperor paul interposed. by his order, in , a russian-american mercantile company was established, which was to supersede the trading societies hitherto existing, and possess the exclusive privilege of carrying on trade and founding settlements in these regions. the directors, in whose hands was vested the administration of the affairs and appointment of the governor of these settlements, were to reside in petersburg, under the control of the government, to which they were responsible. at first the sea-otters were plentiful, even on the coast of kamtschatka; but the unlimited pursuit of them diminished their numbers so rapidly, that the company was obliged to extend their search for them over the aleutian islands, and even to the island of kodiack, lying on the american coast, where they had fixed their chief settlement. from thence the chase was continued to the bay of tschugatsk and cook's river. the poor otters were severe sufferers, for the beauty of the skin nature had bestowed on them. they were pursued in every possible direction, and such numbers annually killed, that at length they became scarce, even in these quarters, having already almost wholly disappeared from kamtschatka and the aleutian islands. the company therefore resolved to extend their settlements farther south; and thus, in the year , arose the colony on the island of sitka, whose natives call themselves after their island, but are styled by the russians kalushes. the island is only separated from the mainland by a narrow inlet of the sea. it extends over three degrees and a half of latitude; and, in fact, consists of three islands, as i ascertained by personal examination in boats. the channels, however, which separate them are so narrow, that the three might easily pass for one. the coast of sitka bay is intersected by many deep creeks, and the neighbouring waters thickly sprinkled with little rocky islands overgrown with wood, which are a protection against storms, and present a strong wall of defence against the waves. the harbour of new archangel is equally well defended by nature, and needs no assistance from art. a bold enterprising man of the name of baronof, long superintended the company's establishments. peculiarly adapted by nature for the task of contending with a wild people, he seemed to find a pleasure in the occupation. although the conquest of the sitkaens, or kalushes, was not so easily achieved as that of the more timid aleutians and kodiacks, he finally accomplished it. a warlike, courageous, and cruel race, provided with fire-arms by the ships of the north american united states, in exchange for otters' skins, maintained an obstinate struggle against the invaders. but baronof at length obtained a decisive superiority over them. what he could not obtain by presents, he took by force, and, in spite of all opposition, succeeded in founding the settlement on this island. he built some dwelling-houses, made an entrenchment, and having, in his own opinion, appeased the kalushes by profuse presents, confided the new conquest to a small number of russians and aleutians. for a short time matters went on prosperously, when suddenly, the garrison left by baronof, believing itself in perfect safety, was attacked one night by great numbers of kalushes, who entered the entrenchments without opposition, and murdered all they met there with circumstances of atrocious cruelty. a few aleutians only, who happened to be out in their little baidars,[ ] escaped by standing out to sea, and brought to kodiack the news of the annihilation of the settlement at sitka. this occurrence took place in the year , when the present admiral krusenstern made his voyage round the world, and his second ship, the neva, was bound for this colony. baronof immediately seized so excellent an opportunity for revenging himself on the kalushes. he armed three vessels, and sailed in company with the neva to sitka. when the kalushes heard that the warrior nonok, as they called baronof, had returned, terror prevented their attempting to oppose his landing; and they retired in great haste to their fortification, consisting of a great quadrangle closely set round with thick, high beams, broken only by one very small and strong door. the pallisadoes were furnished with loop-holes, for the firing of muskets and falconets, with which the besieged were amply supplied. this wooden fortress, enclosing about three hundred fighting men with their families, held out several days; but no sooner had the heavy guns of the russians effected a breach, than the besieged, finding their position no longer tenable, surrendered at discretion, and delivered over the sons of their chiefs as hostages for their submission. though peace was now established, and they were allowed to retire unmolested, yet, mistrusting the russians, they stole away secretly in a dark night, having first murdered all who, whether from age or infancy, might be burdensome to them in their flight. morning discovered the cruelty perpetrated by these barbarians, who, in their fears, judged the russians by themselves. from this time baronof remained nominally in possession of the island, and actually of a hill upon it forming a natural fortification, and formerly inhabited by a chief of the kalushes called katelan. the savages thirsted for revenge; and, notwithstanding the treaties concluded with them, unceasingly sought to gratify it by secret arts and ambushes; so that the russians, unless well armed, and in considerable numbers, could not venture beyond the shelter of their fortress without the most imminent danger of being murdered. baronof re-founded the settlement, and having strengthened by scientific defences the high hill, which falls on every side in abrupt precipices, has rendered it perfectly safe from every attack. the necessary dwelling-houses were soon erected; and this place, under the name of new archangel, became the capital of the russian possessions in america, stretching from ° of latitude to the icy sea, and including also two settlements lying farther south, of which i shall hereafter have occasion to speak. baronof himself resided from this time in new archangel, and the chase of the sea-otters proved very advantageous to the company; but so scarce are these animals now become, even here, that the numbers caught only suffice to cover the expenses of maintaining a force sufficient for protection against the savages. for this reason, the company have contemplated the necessity of entirely abandoning the settlement at new archangel, and making kodiack once more their capital. it were, however, a pity this plan should be adopted, as it would afford facilities to other nations, by settling in these regions, to disturb the trade of the company. but the company may possibly be compelled to give up new archangel, by their resources not permitting them to retain it, unless they should receive some assistance from government. the climate of sitka is not so severe as might have been expected from its latitude. in the middle of winter the cold is not excessive, and never lasts long. agriculture notwithstanding does not appear to be successful here. there is not perhaps a spot in the world where so much rain falls; a dry day is a perfect rarity, and this would itself account for the failure of corn; the nature of the ground is however equally inimical to it. there are no plains of any extent; the small valleys being every where surrounded by high steep rocks of granite, and consequently overshadowed the greater part of the day. some vegetables, such as cabbages, turnips, and potatoes, prosper very well: the latter are raised even by the kalushes, who have learned from the russians the manner of cultivating them, and consider them as a great delicacy. upon the continent of america, the climate, under the same latitude, is said to be incomparably better than on this island, although the cold is rather more severe. great plains are there to be met with, where wheat could probably be successfully cultivated. the forests of sitka, consisting principally of fir and beech, are lofty and thick. some of their trees are a hundred and sixty feet in height, and from six to seven feet in diameter. from these noble trunks the kalushes form their large canoes, which sometimes carry from twenty-five to thirty men. they are laboriously and skilfully constructed; but the credit their builders may claim for this one branch of industry is nearly all that belongs to a barbarous and worthless race of men. wild and unfruitful as this country appears, the soil is rich, so that its indigenous plants, of which there are no great variety, attain a very large growth. several kinds of berries, particularly raspberries and black currants, of an enormous size but watery taste, are met with in considerable quantities. the sea, near the coast and in the bays, abounds in fish and in mammalia. whales, sea-hogs, seals, sea-lions, &c. are very numerous; but of the fish, which chiefly afford subsistence both to the natives and the russians, the best are herrings, salmon, and cod, of which there is a superfluity. there is no great variety of birds native to this coast; but the beautiful white-headed eagle, and several sorts of pretty humming-birds, migrate from warmer climates to build their nests in sitka. it is extraordinary that these tender little creatures, always inhabiting hot countries, should venture thus far northwards. among the quadrupeds frequenting the forests is the black bear, whose skin fetches so high a price in russia, and a species of wild sheep known to us only by the descriptions of the kalushes, and in which our natural histories are still deficient. it differs greatly from that of kamtschatka: its wool rivals silk in the delicacy and softness of its texture. the most remarkable animal, however, is the sea-otter, that which has allured merchants hither from distant countries, and which, if such intercourse should improve the morals and intellects of the natives, may be considered as their benefactor. this animal inhabits only the north-west coast of america, between the latitudes of ° and °, in smaller numbers the aleutian islands, and formerly the coast of kamtschatka and the kurile islands. its skin makes the finest fur in the world, and is as highly prized by the chinese as by the europeans. its value advances yearly, with the increasing scarceness of the animal; it will soon entirely disappear, and exist only in description to decorate our zoological works. attempts have been made to identify the sea and river otter, because there is a considerable resemblance in their form; but the skin of the former is without comparison finer than the latter, which inhabits only lakes and rivers, where the sea-otter is never found. they are often seen on the surface of the water, many miles from land, lying asleep on their backs, with their young, of which only two are produced at a birth, lying over them sucking. the young cannot swim till they are some months old; but the mother, when she goes out to sea in search of food, carries them on her back and brings them back to her hole in the rocks, when she has satisfied her hunger. if seen by the hunter during these excursions, she is a certain prey, for she never forsakes her offspring however they embarrass her swimming, but, in common with the male, defends them courageously against every attack. the lungs of these animals are so constructed that they cannot subsist for more than a few minutes under water, but are necessitated to re-ascend to the surface for breath. these opportunities are seized by the hunters, who would seldom succeed, if the otter could remain long under water, where it swims with great rapidity and skill. even with the above advantage, the chase is very toilsome, and sometimes dangerous. it is carried on in the following manner. the hunters row in the little aleutian baidars round the coast, and for some miles out to sea, provided with bows, arrows, and short javelins. as soon as they see an otter they throw their javelins, or shoot their arrows. the animal is seldom struck; it immediately dives, and as it swims very rapidly, the skill of the hunter is displayed in giving the baidar the same direction as that taken by the animal. as soon as the otter re-appears on the water, it is again fired at, when it dives again; and the pursuit is continued in the same way till the creature becomes so weary that it is easily struck. they tear out with their teeth the arrows which wound them; and often, especially if their young are with them, boldly fall upon the canoes and attack their persecutors with teeth and claws; these conflicts however uniformly end in the defeat and death of the otter. the more baidars are in company, the safer is the hunt, but with experienced hunters two are enough. they often encounter great perils by venturing out too far to sea, and being overtaken by storms. i now proceed, though with some reluctance, to the description of the natives, the kalushes. they are, as i have already said, the most worthless people on the face of the earth, and disgusting to such a degree that i must beg fastidious readers to pass over a few pages. the truth of my narrative makes it necessary for me to submit to the revolting task of showing to what point of degradation human nature may sink. the sitka islanders, as well as their neighbours on the continent, are large and strongly built, but have their limbs so ill-proportioned, that they all appear deformed. their black, straight hair hangs dishevelled over their broad faces, their cheek-bones stand out, their noses are wide and flat, their mouths large, their lips thick, their eyes small, black, and fiery, and their teeth strikingly white. their natural colour is not very dark; but they appear much more so than is natural to them, from the custom of smearing themselves daily over the face and body with ochre and a sort of black earth. immediately after the birth, the head of the child is compressed, to give it what they consider a fine form, in which the eyebrows are drawn up, and the nostrils stretched asunder. in common with many other nations, they tear the beard out by the roots as soon as it appears. this is the business of the women. their usual clothing consists of a little apron; but the rich wear blankets, purchased from the russians, or from the american ships, and tied by two corners round the neck, so that they hang down and cover the back. some of them wear bear-skins in a similar manner. the most opulent possess some european garments, which they wear on great occasions, and which would have an absurd effect were they not so disgusting as to extinguish all inclination to laugh. they never cover the head but in heavy rain, and then protect it by round caps of grass, so ingeniously and closely plaited as to exclude every drop of water. whatever the degree of heat or cold, they never vary their costume; and i believe there is not a people in the world so hardened against the weather. in the winter, during a cold of ° of reaumur, the kalushes walk about naked, and jump into the water as the best method of warming themselves. at night they lie without any covering, under the open sky, near a great fire, so near indeed as to be sometimes covered by the hot ashes. the women whom i have seen were either dressed in linen shifts reaching to their feet, or in plaited mats. the custom common to both sexes, of painting their faces in broad, black, white, and red stripes crossed in all directions, gives them a peculiarly wild and savage appearance. although this painting is quite arbitrary, and subject to no exact rules, the different races distinguish each other by it. to give the face a yet more insane cast, their long, hanging, tangled hair is mixed with the feathers of the white eagle. when powdered and painted in this way, the repulsiveness of the kalush women, by nature excessively ugly, may be imagined; but they have a method of still farther disfiguring themselves. as soon as they are nearly marriageable, an incision is made in the under-lip, and a bone passed through it, which is exchanged from time to time for a thicker one, that the opening may be continually widened. at length a sort of double button, of an oval form, called a kaluga, which, among the people of rank, is often four inches long, and three broad, is forced in so as to make the under lip stand forward thus much in a horizontal direction, and leave the lower teeth quite bare. the outer rim of the lip surrounding the wooden button becomes by the violent stretching as thin as a packthread, and of a dark blue colour. in running, the lip flaps up and down so as to knock sometimes against the chin and sometimes against the nose. upon the continent, the kaluga is worn still larger; and the female who can cover her whole face with her under-lip passes for the most perfect beauty. men and women pierce the gristle of the nose, and stick quills, iron rings, and all kinds of ornaments, through it. in their ears, which are also pierced in many places, they wear strings of bones, muscle-shells, and beads. it would be difficult to convey an adequate idea of the hideousness of these people when their costume is thus complete; but the lips of the women, held out like a trough, and always filled with saliva stained with tobacco-juice, of which they are immoderately fond, is the most abominably revolting part of the spectacle. the kalushes have no fixed residence, but hover round the coast in their large canoes, which they call the women's, carrying all their property with them. when they fix upon any spot for their temporary establishment, they build a hut with great celerity, having all the materials at hand. they drive a number of stakes into the ground in a quadrangular form, fill the interstices with thin planks, and roof in the whole with the bark of trees. with such a dwelling they are satisfied; in the severest winter the family sit in a circle, carrying on their several employments round a fire in the centre. the interior displays as much filthiness as if the inhabitants belonged to the dirtiest class of the brute creation. the smoke; the stench of bad fish, and blubber; the repulsive figures of the women, disgustingly occupied in seeking for vermin on the heads or skins of the men, and actually _eating them_ when found; the great utensil for the service of the whole family, which is also the only vessel capable of containing water to wash with; all this soon drives the most inquisitive european out of so detestable a den. their food, sufficiently disgusting in itself, is rendered still more so by their manner of eating. it consists almost exclusively of fish, of which the whale is the chief favourite, and its blubber an especial dainty. this is sometimes cooked upon red-hot stones, but more commonly eaten raw. the skins of the sea-otters form their principal wealth, and are a substitute for money; these they barter with the ships which trade with them, to the prejudice of the russian company, for muskets, powder, and lead. no kalush is without one musket at least, of which he perfectly understands the use. the richer a kalush is, the more powerful he becomes; he has a multitude of wives who bring him a numerous family, and he purchases male and female slaves who must labour and fish for him, and strengthen his force when engaged in warfare. these slaves are prisoners of war, and their descendants; the master's power over them is unlimited, and he even puts them to death without scruple. when the master dies, two of his slaves are murdered on his grave, that he may not want attendance in the other world; these are chosen long before the event occurs, but meet the destiny that awaits them, very philosophically. the continual wars which the different races carry on against each other, with a ferocious cruelty uncommon even among savages, may account for the scanty population of this district; the fire-arms with which, to their own misfortune, they have been furnished by the american ships, have contributed to render their combats more bloody, and consequently to cause renewed and increased irritation. bows and arrows were formerly their only weapons; now, besides their muskets, they have daggers, and knives half a yard long; they never attack their enemies openly, but fall suddenly upon them in moments of the utmost fancied security. the hope of booty, or of taking a prisoner, is a sufficient motive for one of these treacherous attacks, in which they practise the greatest barbarities; hence the kalushes, even in time of peace, are always on their guard. they establish their temporary abodes on spots in some measure fortified by nature, and commanding an extensive view on all sides. during the night, the watch is confided to women, who, assembled round a fire outside the hut, amuse themselves by recounting the warlike deeds of their husbands and sons. domestic occupations, even the most laborious, are also left to females; the men employing themselves only in hunting, and building their canoes. the slaves are required to assist the women, who often treat them in a most merciless manner. the females take an active part in the wars; they not only stimulate the valour of the men, but even support them in the battle. besides the desire of booty, the most frequent occasion of warfare is revenge. one murder can only be atoned by another; but it is indifferent whether the murderer or one of his relations fall,--the custom merely requires a man for a man; should the murdered person be a female, a female is required in return. a case which would appear inconceivable has actually occurred,--that one of these most disgusting creatures has occasioned a struggle similar to that of troy for the fair helen, and an advantageous peace has been obtained by the cession of one of these monsters. the kalush, who would probably look coldly on our most lovely females, finds his filthy countrywomen, with their lip-troughs, so charming, that they often awaken in him the most vehement passion. in proof of this, i remember an occurrence which took place during our residence in sitka, among a horde of kalushes who had encamped in the vicinity of the fortress. a girl had four lovers, whose jealousy produced the most violent quarrels: after fighting a long time without any result, they determined to end the strife by murdering the object of their love, and the resolution was immediately executed with their lances. the whole horde assembled round the funeral pile, and chanted a song, a part of which was interpreted by one of our countrymen, who had been long resident here. "thou wast too beautiful--thou couldst not live--men looked on thee, and madness fired their hearts!" savage as this action was, another exceeded it in ferocity. a father, irritated by the cries of his child, an infant in the cradle, snatched it up, and threw it into a vessel full of boiling whale-oil. these examples are sufficient to characterise this hateful people, who appear to be in every respect the very refuse of human nature. their weddings are celebrated merely by a feast given to the relatives of the bride. the dead are burned, and their ashes preserved in small wooden boxes, in buildings appropriated to that purpose. they have a confused notion of immortality, and this is the only trace of religion which appears amongst them. they have neither priests, idols, nor any description of worship, but they place great faith in witchcraft; and the sorcerers, who are also their physicians, are held in high estimation, though more feared than loved. these sorcerers profess to heal the sick by conjurations of the wicked spirit; they are, however, acquainted with the medicinal properties of many herbs, but carefully conceal their knowledge as a profitable mystery. we often received visits on board from chiefs of the kalushes, generally with their whole family and attendants, who came to examine the ship, receive presents, and eat their fill, expressing their gratitude for these civilities by attempting to entertain us with their horrid national dance. before coming on board, they usually rowed several times round the ship, howling a song to the following effect: "we come to you as friends, and have really no evil intention. our fathers lived in strife with you, but let peace be between us. receive us with hospitality, and expect the same from us." this song was accompanied by a sort of tambourine, which did not improve its harmony. they would not climb the ship's side till we had several times repeated our invitation, as it is not their custom to accept the first offer of hospitality, probably from a feeling of distrust. on these visits, the kalushes were more than usually particular in the decoration of their persons. their faces were so thickly smeared with stripes of red, black, and white paint, that their natural colour could not be known. their bodies were painted with black stripes, and their hair covered with a quantity of white down and feathers, which were scattered around with every motion of their heads. ermine-skins are also frequently fastened into the hair. a wolf or bear-skin, or a blanket, tied round the neck, covers their bodies, and they use an eagle's wing or tail as a fan. their feet are always bare. when on such occasions they had seen all they wished of the ship, except the cabins, (for these i would not suffer them to enter, on account of the abominable stench left behind by the rancid oil and blubber, which they used as perfumes,) they assembled upon deck to dance. the women did not dance, but assisted as musicians. their song, accompanied by the dull music of the tambourine, consisted of a few hollow and unconnected tones, sent forth at intervals to keep time with the stamping of their feet. the men made the most extraordinary motions with their arms and bodies, varying them by high leaps into the air, while showers of feathers fell from their heads. every dancer retained his own place, but turning continually round and round, gave the spectators an opportunity of admiring him on all sides. one only stood a little apart; he was particularly decorated with ermine-skins and feathers, and beat time for the dancing with a staff ornamented with the teeth of the sea-otter. he appeared to be the director of all the movements. at every pause we offered tobacco-leaves to the dancers and musical ladies: both sexes eagerly seized the favourite refreshment, and crammed their mouths with it, then recommencing the music and dancing with renewed alacrity. when at length downright exhaustion put an end to the spectacle, the kalushes were entertained with a favourite mess of rice boiled with treacle. they lay down round the wooden dishes, and helped themselves greedily with their dirty hands. during the meal, the women were much inconvenienced by their lip-troughs; the weight of the rice made them hang over the whole chin, and the mouth could not contain all that was intended for it. during one of these repasts, the kalushes were much terrified by a young bear which we had brought from kamtschatka: breaking loose from his chain, he sprang over their heads, and seizing on the wooden vessel that contained the rice, carried it off in triumph. at parting we always gave them a dram of brandy, which they are very fond of, and can drink in considerable quantities without injury. that no vice may be wanting to complete their characters, the kalushes are great gamblers. their common game is played with little wooden sticks painted of various colours, and called by several names, such as, crab, whale, duck, &c., which are mingled promiscuously together, and placed in heaps covered with moss; the players being then required to tell in which heap the crab, the whale, &c. lies. they lose at this game all their possessions, and even their wives and children, who then become the property of the winner. during the whole of our residence at sitka, we maintained peace with the kalushes, which may be entirely attributed to the moderation and intrepidity of our sailors. opposite our frigate, on the shore, the ship's cooper had settled under a tent, almost all our casks being in want of repair; and i allowed him three armed sailors as assistants and protectors against the kalushes. one day ten of these savages armed with long knives came into the tent; having sat for some time contemplating the work, they became very troublesome, and, on being forbidden to pass the bounds previously prescribed, drew their knives and attacked the cooper, who would have been severely wounded had he not by good fortune parried a dangerous thrust. the three sailors now sprang forward with their loaded muskets; but as they had received the strictest injunctions not to shed blood, except in the most extreme necessity, they contented themselves with standing before the kalushes and keeping them off with their bayonets. the savages at first continued to threaten the sailors, but on finding they were not to be intimidated, thought proper to retire to the forest. had a skirmish really ensued, the consequences might have been serious. the kalushes would all have united against us, and by rushing upon us from their hiding-places, whenever we left the protection of the ship or the fortress, might have done us much mischief. for this reason, captain murawieff, the governor of the settlement, had always exerted himself to the utmost to prevent any disputes. by his judicious regulations, he had acquired great influence over the natives, and had effected considerable improvement in their behaviour. in every respect, indeed, the administration of this excellent man has been such as to promote the true welfare of the colonies; and if the plans laid down by him for the future be adhered to, the trade of the company will be materially benefited, and new sources of profit opened to them. i have already mentioned that no people in the world surpass the citizens of the united states in the boldness, activity, and perseverance of their mercantile speculations. this observation was confirmed by an instance we met with here. on the th of april , a two-masted ship ran into this harbour from boston. it had performed the voyage by cape horn in a hundred and sixty-six days, without having put into any intermediate port. captain blanchard, proprietor both of the ship, and of the whole cargo, had, upon the strength of a mere report, expended his whole capital upon certain articles of which he had heard that new archangel was in need; and now, at the close of his immense voyage, found with dismay that not only was the colony well provided for the present, but that a ship was also daily expected from st. petersburg laden with every thing it could desire. as, however, his offers were very reasonable, the ship and cargo were subsequently purchased of him for twenty-one thousand skins of sea-cats, (not otters) with the stipulation on his part, that he, his crew, and his skins, should be transported to the sandwich islands, whence he hoped to procure a passage for canton, and there to dispose of his merchandise to advantage. these skins are usually sold in china for two spanish dollars each. on the arrival of captain blanchard's ship in port, the whole crew, he himself not excepted, were in a state of intoxication; and it appeared to be mere good luck that they had escaped the dangers of so many rocks and shallows; but the north americans are such clever sailors, that even when drunk they are capable of managing a ship. it is also probable, that these had lived more soberly during the voyage, and had been tempted by the joy of completing it, to extraordinary indulgence. on my visit to the ship, i could not help remarking the great economy of all its arrangements: no such thing, for instance, as a looking-glass was to be seen, except the one kept for measuring the angle of the sextant, and that, small as it was, assisted the whole crew in the operation of shaving. on the th of july, the ship helena, belonging to the company, arrived in new archangel from petersburg, bringing an ample provision of necessaries for the colony. to us this ship was particularly welcome, as the bearer of permission to leave our station and return to russia. we immediately set to work to get our vessel in sailing order; and the th of august was the long wished-for day, when, favoured by a fresh north wind, we bade adieu to new archangel, where we had passed five months and a-half surrounded by a people calculated only to inspire aversion, and without relief to the wearisomeness of our mode of life, except in the society of captain murawieff and the few russian inhabitants of the fortress. i determined to return to kronstadt by the chinese sea and the cape of good hope. but having no intention of following captain blanchard's example, in wearing out my crew by a voyage of unreasonable length without any relaxation, i appointed manilla, in the philippine island of luçon, for their resting-place, after having made another attempt to find the ralik chain of islands. the medium of the astronomical observations made during these five months, gave, as the geographical longitude of new archangel, ° ' ", and the latitude as ° ' "; the declination of the needle as ° ' east. according to this, the promontory of mount edgecumbe is in the longitude ° ' "; consequently about ' more westerly than appears on vancouver's map. we found a similar difference between our observation of st. francisco and his; i therefore believe that his whole survey of the north-west coast of america represents it more easterly than it really is. our longitudes have the greater claim to confidence, as they were the results of repeated observations on land, while his were merely taken on shipboard _en passant_. the medium of our observations at new archangel upon the difference in high tides at the new and full moon, gave thirty minutes for the time, and sixteen feet for the greatest difference in the height of the water. california, and the russian settlement of ross. california, and the russian settlement of ross. i have already mentioned, in the foregoing chapter, that i was allowed to pass the winter of in california and the sandwich islands. captain lasaref also, whom i relieved on the station, proposed to run into st. francisco on the coast of california, on his return, in order there to lay in fresh provisions for his passage round cape horn. he first awaited, however, the arrival of the post from st. petersburg, which passes between these distant points of our far-spreading monarchy only once in the year, arriving in the spring at ochotsk by the way of siberia, and reaching new archangel in the autumn by sea. it was on the th of september , that after having made the necessary preparations for our subsequent residence in new archangel, and having properly equipped the ship, we again put to sea, and a brisk north wind soon carried us in a southerly direction towards the fertile peninsula of california. our voyage was safe, and varied by no remarkable occurrence, except that under forty degrees of latitude we were indulged with the spectacle of a most extraordinary struggle between two opposing winds. after a few days' pretty fresh breezes from the south, clouds suddenly appeared in the north, and, by the motion of the water, we perceived that an equally strong wind was rising in that direction. the waves from the opposite regions foamed and raged against each other like hostile forces; but between them lay a path some fathoms broad, and stretching from east to west to an immeasurable length, which appeared perfectly neutral ground, and enjoyed all the repose of the most profound peace, not a single breath troubling the glassy smoothness of its surface. after a time, victory declared for boreas, and he drove the smooth strip towards our vessel, which had hitherto been sailing in the territory of the south wind. we presently entered the calm region; and while we had not a puff to swell our sails, the wind raged with undiminished fury on both sides. this strange spectacle lasted for about a quarter of an hour; when the north wind, which had been continually advancing, reached us, and carried us quickly forward towards the point of our destination. on the th of september we found ourselves, by observations, in the neighbourhood of the promontory called by the spaniards "the king," not far from the bay of st. francisco; but a thick fog, which at this season always reigns over the coast of california, veiled the wished-for land till the th. at ten o'clock in the morning of this day, at a distance of only three miles, we doubled his rocky majesty, a high bold hill terminating towards the sea in a steep wall of black rock, and having nothing at all regal in its appearance,--and perceived in his neighbourhood a very strong surf, occasioned by two contrary and violent currents raging, with the vain fury of insurrection, against the tranquillity of his immoveable throne. the channel leading into the beautiful basin of st. francisco is only half gun-shot wide, and commanded by a fortress situated on its left bank, on a high rock, named after st. joachim. we could distinguish the republican flag, the waving signal, that even this most northern colony of spain no longer acknowledges the authority of the mother country; we also remarked a few cavalry and a crowd of people who were watching our swiftly sailing vessel with the most eager attention. as we drew nearer, a sentinel grasped with both hands a long speaking trumpet, and enquired our nation and from whence we came. this sharp interrogatory, the sight of the cannon pointed upon our track, and the military, few indeed, but ready for battle, might have induced an opinion that the fortress had power to refuse entrance even to a ship of war, had we not been acquainted with the true state of affairs. st. joachim, on his rocky throne, is truly a very peaceable and well-disposed saint; no one of his cannon is in condition to fire a single shot, and his troops are cautious of venturing into actual conflict: he fights with words only. i would not therefore refuse to his fortress the courtesy of a salute, but was much astonished at not finding my guns returned. an ambassador from shore soon solved the mystery, by coming to beg so much powder as would serve to answer my civility with becoming respect. as soon as we had dropped anchor, the whole of the military left the fortress without a garrison, to mingle with the assemblage of curious gazers on the shore, where the apparition of our ship seemed to excite as much astonishment as in the south sea islands. i now sent lieutenant pfeifer ashore, to notify our arrival in due form to the commandant, and to request his assistance in furnishing our vessel with fresh provisions. the commandant himself, don martinez ignatio, lieutenant of cavalry, had been summoned to the capital monterey, to attend congress, and was absent; his deputy, the second lieutenant, don joseph sanchez, received my envoy with much cordiality, and referred in a very flattering manner to my former visit to this port, in the ship rurik. don sanchez was at that time a brave subaltern; but had since, under republican colours, risen in the service. he promised to lend us every assistance in his power, and proved his friendly intentions by an immediate present of fruits, vegetables, and fresh meats. as our accounts of california are few and defective, a rapid glance at the history and constitution of this unknown but beautiful country, richly endowed by nature with all that an industrious population could require to furnish the comforts and enjoyments of life, but hitherto sadly neglected under spanish mis-government, will probably not be unwelcome to the readers who have accompanied me thus far: i will therefore, on its behalf, defer, for a short space, the account of our residence here. the narrow peninsula on the north-west coast of america, beginning at st. diego's point, under thirty-two degrees of latitude, and ending with the promontory of st. lucas, under twenty-two degrees, was first exclusively called california; but the spaniards extended this appellation to their more recent discoveries on this coast towards the north; since which, the peninsula has been named old, and the more northern coast to the bay of st. francisco, in thirty-seven degrees latitude, new california; from thence begins the so-called new albion. mexico did not suffice to the ambition of its restless conqueror cortez. to extend still farther the dominion of spain, he directed the building of large vessels on the western coast of mexico; and thus, in the year , was california first seen by spanish navigators, and in visited by francisco de ulloa. when information of the new discoveries reached the spanish government, they resolved, contrary to their proceedings in the cases of mexico and peru, to gain peaceable possession of the new country by converting the inhabitants to the christian religion, and declared that this pious object was all they had in view. only a small military force was, in fact, dispatched with a body of jesuits, who established a settlement and began the trade of conversion. disinterested as this rather expensive expedition appeared, its secret motive might probably be found in the fear that any other nation should establish itself in the neighbourhood of mexico and the spanish gold-mines. the jesuits came and made converts. these were followed by the dominicans, who still have settlements, called here missions, in old california; and subsequently by the franciscans, who have established themselves in the new. they all convert away at a great rate,--we shall soon find how. the first missions were seated on the coast of old california, for the convenience of communication by sea with mexico, and because the country was favourable to agriculture. the military who accompanied the monks, selected for their residence a situation from whence they could overlook several missions, and be always ready for their defence. these military posts are here called presidios. as it was not possible to make the savage natives comprehend the doctrines of christianity, their inculcation was out of the question; and all that these religionists thought necessary to be done with this simple, timid race, scarcely superior to the animals by whom they were surrounded, was to introduce the catholic worship, or, more properly, the dominion of the monks, by force of arms. the missions multiplied rapidly. in new california, where we now were, the first of these, that of st. diego, was established in ; now there are twenty-one in this country. twenty-five thousand baptized indians belong at present to these missions, and a military force of five hundred dragoons is found sufficient to keep them in obedience, to prevent their escape, or, if they should elude the vigilance of their guards, to bring them from the midst of their numerous tribes, improving the favourable opportunity of making new converts by the power of the sword. the fate of these so called christian indians is not preferable even to that of negro slaves. abandoned to the despotism of tyrannical monks, heaven itself offers no refuge from their sufferings; for their spiritual masters stand as porters at the gate, and refuse entrance to whom they please. these unfortunate beings pass their lives in prayer, and in toiling for the monks, without possessing any property of their own. thrice a day they are driven to church, to hear a mass in the latin language; the rest of their time is employed in labouring in the fields and gardens with coarse, clumsy implements, and in the evening they are locked up in over-crowded barracks, which, unboarded, and without windows or beds, rather resemble cows' stalls than habitations for men. a coarse woollen shirt which they make themselves, and then receive as a present from the missionaries, constitutes their only clothing. such is the happiness which the catholic religion has brought to the uncultivated indian; and this is the paradise which he must not presume to undervalue by attempting a return to freedom in the society of his unconverted countrymen, under penalty of imprisonment in fetters. the large tract of arable land which these pious shepherds of souls have appropriated to themselves, and which is cultivated by their flocks, is for the most part sown with wheat and pulse. the harvest is laid up in store; and what is not necessary for immediate consumption is shipped for mexico, and there either exchanged for articles required by the missions, or sold for hard piastres to fill the coffers of the monks. in this way were the missionaries, and the military who depended upon them, living quietly enough in california, when the other spanish colonies threw off their allegiance to the mother country. the insurrection having spread as far as mexico, they were invited by the new governments, under advantageous conditions, to make common cause with them, but they remained true to their king; nor was their fidelity shaken by the total neglect of the spaniards, who for many years appeared to have forgotten their very existence, and had not even troubled themselves to make the ordinary remittances for the pay of the military, or the support of the monks. still their loyalty remained unshaken; they implicitly obeyed even that command of the king which closed their ports against all foreign vessels; and as the republicans were considered as foreigners, and no ships arrived from spain, the missions, as well as the presidios, soon began to suffer the greatest scarcity of many necessaries which the country did not produce. the soldiery, even to the commander himself, were in rags, without pay, and deriving a mendicant subsistence from the monks. the want which pressed most heavily on the latter was that of the implements of agriculture and other labour; having, with true spanish indolence, forborne any attempt to manufacture them in the country. the very source of all their acquisitions was thus threatened with extinction; yet still they adhered to their king, with a fidelity truly honourable had it been more disinterested:--but what could they expect from a change of government, except the limitations of their hitherto unbounded power? in the discontent of the soldiers, however, smouldered a spark, dangerous to the power of the monks, which was suddenly blown into a flame by a circumstance that occurred a few years before our arrival. the only pleasure for which the baptized indians had ever been indebted to the monks was the possession of such baubles as our sailors use in traffic with the south sea islanders. these things of course could no longer be obtained, and their loss was regarded by the new christians as a heavy misfortune. their despair at length broke out into insurrection: they burst their prisons, and attacked the dwellings of the monks, but retired before the fire of musketry. the military, with very little loss on their side, defeated great numbers of the natives, and brought them again into their previous subjection. a new light dawned on the minds of the dragoons. what would have become of the monks without their valiant support? elated by victory, and disregarding all the protestations of the ghostly fathers, whose feebleness and helplessness were now apparent, they declared themselves the first class in the country, and independent of spain, which for so many years had abandoned them to their fate. similar causes produced similar effects in old california, and each country now forms a separate republic. spain might with ease have retained these fertile provinces under allegiance. had their fidelity received the smallest encouragement, it would probably never have been shaken; and california would have proved a most convenient support for the claims of the mother country on the revolutionized colonies, especially on mexico, formerly the fertile source of spanish wealth. the philippines have not rebelled, and these rich islands could have afforded all the assistance the missions required. the neglect of california by spain would almost seem to have been appointed by providence, that the prosperity of the new states might suffer no interruption. one immediate result of the independence of this colony is the opening of her ports to all nations, and the consequent impetus given to commerce. the north american states have been the first to make use of the privilege. the exports of california now consist of corn, ox-hides, tallow, and the costly skins of the sea-otter. some speculators have attempted a trade with china, but hitherto without success. a richly laden ship was entrusted to a north american captain for this purpose, who disposed of the cargo in china; but found it more convenient to retain both the money and ship for his own use, than to return to the owners. the government of new california was on our present visit administered by don louis arguello, the same young man with whom i became acquainted on my voyage in the rurik, when he was commandant of the presidio of st. francisco. he resided at this time in monterey, and employed himself in devising systems of government which should bring the heterogeneous ingredients of the new republic, dragoons, monks, and indians, into order and unity. may the destiny of the latter be ameliorated by the change! no constitution has yet been established here; and arguello's power, or perhaps ability, was inadequate to introducing that which he had proposed. many changes are still necessary in the californias before they can become the happy and flourishing countries for which nature intended them. on the morning after our arrival, i visited old sanchez in the presidio. he received me with unfeigned cordiality, and related to me many things which had taken place since my visit in the rurik eight years ago. don louis, he said, had become a great man, and he himself a lieutenant, which here imports a considerable rank. nevertheless, he disapproved of all the proceedings, and felt assured that no good could accrue from them. he would rather, he said, be a petty spanish subject, than a republican officer of state. the presidio was in the same state in which i found it eight years before; and, except the republican flag, no trace of the important changes which had taken place was perceptible. every thing was going on in the old, easy, careless way. sanchez at once promised to provide the ship daily with fresh meat, but advised me to send a boat to the mission of santa clara for a supply of vegetables, which were there to be had in superfluity. the presidio had, with a negligence which would be inconceivable in any other country, omitted to cultivate even sufficient for their own consumption. as i had not visited the mission of santa clara during my first visit to california, i now determined to proceed thither on the following day, in the long-boat. sanchez provided a good pilot, and sent a courier overland to announce my arrival at the mission. the bay of st. francisco is full ninety miles in circuit: it is divided by islands into two pretty equally sized basins, a northern and a southern. on the banks of the southern, which takes an easterly direction, lie the three missions, st. francisco, santa clara, and st. josé. of the northern half of the bay i will speak hereafter. on the morning of the th of september, the barcasse was ready, and equipped with every thing necessary for our little voyage. favoured both by wind and tide, we sailed eastward past many charming islands and promontories, to the mission of santa clara, which lay at a distance of five-and-twenty miles, in a straight line from the ship. the country presented on all sides a picture of beauty and fertility: the shores are of a moderate elevation, and covered with a brilliant verdure; the hills, towards the interior, swell gently into an amphitheatre, and the background is formed by high thick woods. groves of oaks are scattered upon the slopes, separated by lovely meadows, and forming more graceful and picturesque groups than i have ever seen as the produce of art. with very little trouble, the most luxuriant harvests might be reaped from this soil; but a happy and industrious population has not yet been established here, to profit from the prodigality of nature. the death-like stillness of these beautiful fields is broken only by the wild animals which inhabit them; and as far as the eye can reach, it perceives no trace of human existence; not even a canoe is to be seen upon the surrounding waters, which are navigable for large vessels, and boast many excellent harbours;--the large white pelican with the bag under his bill, is the only gainer by the abundance of fish they produce. during the centuries of spanish supremacy in california, even the exertion of procuring a net has been deemed too great. how abundantly and happily might thousands of families subsist here! and how advantageously might the emigrants to brazil have preferred this spot for colonization! there, they have to struggle with many difficulties, are often oppressed by the government, and always suffer under a scorching sun. here, they would have found the climate of the south of germany, and a luxuriant soil, that would have yielded an ample recompense for the slightest pains bestowed upon it. after a few hours' sail, we came to a deep creek opening to the right, and on its shores we perceived the mission of st. francisco rising among wooded hills. the tide by this time had ebbed, the wind had died away, and we proceeded slowly by the aid of oars: this induced us, after rowing about fifteen miles, to land, at noon, on a pleasant little island. we made a blazing fire; and as every sailor understands something of cookery, a dinner was soon dressed, which eaten in the open air in beautiful weather, under the shade of spreading oaks, appeared excellent. while the sailors were reposing, we examined the island. its northern shore was tolerably high, and rose almost perpendicularly from the sea. its soil, as that of all the country about the bay of st. francisco, consists, under the upper mould, of a variegated slate; probably the foot of man had never before trodden it. but a short time since, no boat was to be found in the neighbourhood, and now each mission possesses only one large barge in which the reverend fathers pass up and down the rivers that discharge themselves into the northern half of the bay, to seek among the indians who are occasionally seen on their banks, for proselytes to recruit the ranks of their laborious subjects. the only canoes of the indians are made of plaited reeds, in which they sit up to their hips in water. that no one has yet attempted to build even the simplest canoe in a country which produces a super-abundance of the finest wood for the purpose, is a striking proof of the indolence of the spaniards, and the stupidity of the indians. our island was surrounded by wild ducks and other sea-fowl; the white-headed eagle hovered too over the oaks, and seemed to be pursuing a very small species of hare, and a pretty partridge, of which there are great numbers. we enjoyed for a few hours the recreation of the land, so welcome to sailors, and then continued our voyage with a favourable wind. the sun was near the horizon when we approached the eastern shore of the bay. here the water is no longer of sufficient depth to admit large vessels, and the face of the country assumes a different character. the mountains retire to a greater distance; extensive plains slope from the hills towards the water's edge, where they become mere swamps, intersected however by a variety of natural channels, by means of which, boats may run some distance inland. it was already growing dark as we entered these channels, where, even during daylight, the assistance of a good pilot is requisite to thread the intricacies of a navigation among thick reeds that grow to such a height in the marshes on both sides, as to exclude from view every object but the sky. our sailors plied their oars vigorously; the channels became gradually narrower, and the banks drier; at length we heard human voices behind the reeds, and at midnight we reached the landing-place. a large fire had been lighted. two dragoons and a few half-naked indians, sent from the mission, were waiting our arrival, with saddle-horses intended for our use. as the mission was at the distance of a good hour's ride, the night was dark, and i was not inclined to trouble the repose of the monks, i determined to await the dawn of morning. our small tents were presently pitched, several fires lighted, and the cooks set to work. after our tedious row, (for, owing to the zigzag course we had been compelled to steer, we had passed over a distance of at least forty miles,) the camping out, in a beautiful night, was quite delightful. although it was now the latter end of september, the air was as mild as with us during the warmest summer nights. round our little encampment we heard an incessant barking, as of young dogs, proceeding from a species of wolf, which abounds throughout california; it is not larger than the fox; but is so daring and dexterous, that it makes no scruple of entering human habitations in the night, and rarely fails to appropriate whatever happens to suit it. this we ourselves experienced; for our provision of meat had not been sufficiently secured, and we found nothing in the morning but a gnawed and empty bag. the rising sun announced the approach of a fine day, and gave us a view of the extensive plains which formed the surrounding country. the missionaries cultivated wheat upon them, which had been already harvested, and large flocks of cattle, horses, and sheep, were seen pasturing among the stubble. the mission of santa clara possesses fourteen thousand head of cattle, one thousand horses, and ten thousand sheep. the greater part of these animals being left to roam undisturbed about the woods, they multiply with amazing rapidity. i now ordered the horses to be saddled, and we set off for the mission, the buildings and woods of which bounded the view over these prodigious corn-fields. our way lay through the stubble, amongst flocks of wild geese, ducks, and snipes, so tame that we might have killed great numbers with our sticks. these are all birds of passage, spending the winter here, and the summer farther north. we fired a few shots among the geese, and brought down about a dozen: they differ but little in size from our domestic goose, and some of them are quite white. a ride of an hour and a half brought us to santa clara, where the monks received us in the most friendly manner, and exerted themselves most hospitably, to make our visit agreeable. the mission, which was founded in the year , is situated beside a stream of the most pure and delicious water, in a large and extremely fertile plain. the buildings of santa clara, overshadowed by thick groves of oaks, and surrounded by gardens which, though carelessly cultivated, produce an abundance of vegetables, the finest grapes, and fruits of all kinds, are in the same style as at all the other missions. they consist of a large stone church, a spacious dwelling-house for the monks, a large magazine for the preservation of corn, and the rancherios, or barracks, for the indians, of which mention has already been made. these are divided into long rows of houses, or rather stalls, where each family is allowed a space scarcely large enough to enable them to lie down to repose. we were struck by the appearance of a large quadrangular building, which having no windows on the outside, and only one carefully secured door, resembled a prison for state-criminals. it proved to be the residence appropriated by the monks, the severe guardians of chastity, to the young unmarried indian women, whom they keep under their particular superintendence, making their time useful to the community by spinning, weaving, and similar occupations. these dungeons are opened two or three times a-day, but only to allow the prisoners to pass to and from the church. i have occasionally seen the poor girls rushing out eagerly to breathe the fresh air, and driven immediately into the church like a flock of sheep, by an old ragged spaniard armed with a stick. after mass, they are in the same manner hurried back to their prisons. yet, notwithstanding all the care of the ghostly fathers, the feet of some of these uninviting fair ones were cumbered with bars of iron, the penal consequence, as i was informed, of detected transgression. only on their marriage are these cloistered virgins allowed to issue from their confinement and associate with their own people in the barracks. three times a-day a bell summons the indians to their meals, which are prepared in large kettles, and served out in portions to each family. they are seldom allowed meat; their ordinary, and not very wholesome food, consisting of wheaten flour, maize, peas and beans, mixed together, and boiled to a thick soup. the mission of santa clara contains fifteen hundred male indians, of whom about one-half are married. all these men are governed by three monks, and guarded by four soldiers and a subaltern officer. since this force is found sufficient, it follows either that the indians of the mission are happier than their free countrymen, or that, no way superior to the domestic animals, they are chained by their instincts to the place where their food is provided. the first supposition can hardly be well founded. hard labour every day, sundays only excepted, when labour is superseded by prayer; corporal chastisement, imprisonment, and fetters on the slightest demonstration of disobedience; unwholesome nourishment, miserable lodging, deprivation of all property, and of all the enjoyments of life:--these are not boons which diffuse content. many indeed of these unfortunate victims prove, by their attempts to escape, that their submission is involuntary; but the soldiers, as i have before observed, generally hunt them from their place of refuge, and bring them back to undergo the severe punishment their transgression has incurred. to the most stupid apathy, then, must the patience of these indians be ascribed; and in this, their distinguishing characteristic, they exceed every race of men i have ever known, not excepting the degraded natives of terra del fuego, or van diemen's land. the christian religion, or what the monks are pleased to call by that name, has given no beneficial spur to their minds. how indeed could it act upon their confined understandings, when their teachers were almost wholly deficient in the necessary means of communicating knowledge,--an acquaintance with their language? i have since had opportunities of observing the free indians, who appear less stupid, and in many respects more civilized, than the proselytes of the _gente rationale_, as the spaniards here call themselves; and i am convinced that the system of instruction and discipline adopted by the monks, has certainly tended to degrade even these step-children of nature. if to raise them to the rank of intellectual beings had been really the object in view, rather than making them the mock professors of a religion they are incapable of understanding, they should have been taught the arts of agriculture and architecture, and the method of breeding cattle; they should have been made proprietors of the land they cultivated, and should have freely enjoyed its produce. had this been done, _los barbaros_ might soon have stood on a level with the _gente rationale_. there are in california many different races of indians, whose languages vary so much from each other, as sometimes to have scarcely any resemblance; in the single mission of santa clara more than twenty languages are spoken. these races are all alike ugly, stupid, dirty, and disgusting: they are of a middle size, weak, and of a blackish colour; they have flat faces, thick lips, broad negro-noses, scarcely any foreheads, and black, coarse, straight hair. the powers of their mind lie yet profoundly dormant; and la pérouse does not perhaps exaggerate when he affirms, that if any one among them can be made to comprehend that twice two make four, he may pass, in comparison with his countrymen, for a descartes or a newton. to most of them, this important arithmetical proposition would certainly be perfectly incomprehensible. in their wild state, all these indians lead a wandering life. it is only recently that they have begun to build huts of underwood, which they burn whenever they remove from the spot. the chase is their sole occupation and means of subsistence. hence their skill in shooting with arrows has cost many spanish lives. they lie in wait at night, in the forests and mountains, watching for game. agriculture, as i have before observed, is the copious source of revenue to the monks, and they farm on an extensive scale. the yearly crop of wheat at santa clara alone, produces three thousand fanegos, about six hundred and twenty english quarters, or three thousand four hundred berlin bushels; and from the extraordinary fertility of the soil, the harvest, on an average, is forty-fold, notwithstanding the roughness of their mode of cultivation. the field is first broken up with a very clumsy plough, then sown, and a second ploughing completes the work. under the hard clods of earth thus left undisturbed, a great part of the seed perishes of course. how unexampled would be the harvest, if assisted by the capital and industry of an european farmer! the monks themselves confess that they are not good agriculturists; but they are content with their harvests. their carelessness is however unpardonable, in having never yet erected a mill. there is not one in all california; and the poor indians are obliged to grind their corn by manual labour between two large, flat stones. from the mission we took half an hour's walk to a _pueblo_. this word signifies, in california, a village, inhabited by married invalids, disbanded soldiers from the presidio, and their progeny. this pueblo lies in a beautiful spot. the houses are pleasant, built of stone, and stand in the midst of orchards, and hedges of vines bearing luxuriant clusters of the richest grapes. the inhabitants came out to meet us, and with much courteousness, blended with the ceremonious politeness of the spaniards, invited us to enter their simple but cleanly dwellings. all their countenances bespoke health and contentment, and they have good cause to rejoice in their lot. unburthened by taxes of any kind, and in possession of as much land as they choose to cultivate, they live free from care on the rich produce of their fields and herds. the population of these pueblos is every year on the increase; while, on the contrary, the numbers of the indians dependent on the missions are continually decreasing. the mortality amongst the latter is so great, that the establishments could not continue, if their spiritual conductors did not constantly procure fresh recruits from amongst the free indians, to fill the thinning ranks of their labourers. in old california, many of the missions have gone to decay on account of the total extermination of the savages. the north still affords an abundant supply to new california; but if the missionaries do not economize the lives of their men more than they have hitherto done, this source also will in time be exhausted. meanwhile the pueblos will continue to multiply, and will become the origins of a new and improved population. after passing three days with the monks of santa clara, who at least possess the virtue of hospitality, we set out on our return with a provision of fruit and vegetables, purchased for very fair prices. they were carried to the place of embarkation on heavy and very badly constructed cars drawn by oxen: the wheels were made of thick planks nailed together, without any regard to mechanical science either in their form or poizing; and the machine slowly advanced with a difficult jolting motion very prejudicial to our fine melons, peaches, grapes, and figs, and to the magnificent apples, which have no equals in europe. on reaching our barcasse, we found all in readiness to receive ourselves and cargo. the sailors had been much disturbed in the night by the wolves. the ebb-tide favoured our navigation, and soon brought us within sight of an arm of the sea, stretching eastward, at the extremity of which the mission of st. josé was built in the year , on a very fertile spot. it is already one of the richest in california, and a pueblo has arisen in its neighbourhood; the only pueblo on the bay of st. francisco, except that near santa clara. between st. josé and santa clara a road has lately been made which may be traversed on horseback in about two hours. soon after our return to the ship, a monk was observed riding along the shore in company with a dragoon, and making signs with his large hat, that he wished to come on board. we sent the boat for him, and a little, thin, lively, and loquacious spaniard introduced himself as the padre thomas of the mission of st. francisco, and offered, for a good remuneration, to furnish us daily with fresh provisions, besides two bottles of milk. he boasted not a little of being the only man in the whole bay of st. francisco who had succeeded, after overcoming many difficulties and obstacles, in obtaining milk from cows, of which he had a numerous herd. as the presidio could not supply our wants, and the mission of santa clara lay too far off, we were very willing to accede to padre thomas's wish; and he left us with an invitation to visit him the following noon. accordingly, several of my officers and myself rode the next day to the mission of st. francisco, which i have described in the account of my former voyage, and which has remained pretty much in the same state ever since. the jovial father thomas was now the only monk in the mission, and, consequently, at its head; he entertained us in a very friendly manner, and with considerable expense. the repast consisted of a great number of dishes, strongly seasoned with garlic and pepper, and plenty of very tolerable wine of the padre's own vintage; it was animated by music, partly the performance of some little naked indian boys, upon bad fiddles, and partly of the venerable father himself on a barrel organ which stood near him. the fruits for the dessert were procured from the mission of santa clara, as the mists from the sea prevent their ripening at st. francisco. some guns from the presidio, fired with the powder that remained after returning our salute, one morning announced the arrival of don ignatio martinez, the commandant, who, after the breaking up of the congress at monterey, had returned to his post. with him came also the commandant of the presidio st. diego, don josé maria estudillo, whom i had before known. they visited me, accompanied by sanchez, dined with me on board, and were so well entertained, that they did not take leave of us till late at night. indispensable business now summoned me to the establishment of the russian-american company called ross, which lies about eighty miles north of st. francisco. i had for some time been desirous of performing the journey by land, but the difficulties had appeared insurmountable. without the assistance of the commandant, it certainly could not have been accomplished; i was therefore glad to avail myself of his friendly disposition towards me to make the attempt. we required a number of horses and a military escort; the latter to serve us at once as guides, and as a protection against the savages. both these requests were immediately granted; and don estudillo himself offered to command our escort. my companions on this journey were dr. eschscholz, mr. hoffman, two of my officers, two sailors, don estudillo, and four dragoons, making altogether a party of twelve. on the evening previous to the day for our departure, estudillo came to the ship with his four dragoons, the latter well armed, and accoutred in a panoply of leather. he himself, in the old spanish costume, with a heavy sword, still heavier spurs, a dagger and pistols in his belt, and a staff in his hand, was a good personification of an adventurer of the olden time. he assured us that we could not be too cautious, since we should pass through a part of the country inhabited by "_los indianos bravos_:" we therefore also made a plentiful provision of arms, and were ready, as soon as the first beams of morning glimmered on the tops of the mountains, to set forward in our barcasse for the mission of st. gabriel, lying on the northern shore of the bay, whence our land journey was to commence. the weather was beautiful, the wind perfectly still, and the air enchantingly mild. an indian named marco, whom estudillo had brought with him, served us as pilot; for the spaniards here, incapable, either through indolence or ignorance, of discharging that office, always employ an experienced indian at the helm. don estudillo, although advanced in life, was a very cheerful companion, and one of the most enlightened spaniards i have met with in california. he piqued himself a little on his literary acquirements, and mentioned having read three books besides don quixote and gil blas, whilst, as he assured me in confidence, the rest of his countrymen here had hardly ever seen any other book than the bible. marco had grown grey in the mission: on account of his usefulness, he had been in many respects better treated than most of the indians: he spoke spanish with tolerable fluency; and when estudillo endeavoured to exercise his wit upon him, often embarrassed him not a little by his repartees. this marco affords a proof that, under favourable circumstances, the minds even of the indians of california are susceptible of improvement; but these examples are rare in the missions. don estudillo spoke with much freedom of the affairs of california, where he had resided thirty years: like most of his comrades, he was no friend to the clergy. he accused them of consulting only their own interest, and of employing their proselytes as a means of laying up wealth for themselves, with which, when acquired, they return to spain. he described to us their method of conversion. the monks, he said, send dragoons into the mountains to catch the free heathens, that they may convert them into christian slaves. for this species of chase, the huntsman is provided with a strong leathern noose fastened to his saddle, long enough to throw to a great distance, and acquires such dexterity in the practice as seldom to miss his aim. as soon as he perceives a troop of indians, he throws his noose over one of them before he has time to defend himself, then setting spurs to his horse, rides back to the mission with his prisoner, and is fortunate if he bring him there alive. i can myself bear witness to the skill and boldness of the dragoons, in the management of their horses, and in the use of the noose, with which two or three of them in conjunction will catch even bears and wild bulls; a single man is sufficient to capture an indian. estudillo declared that no indian ever presents himself voluntarily at the missions, but that they are all either hunted in the manner above described, or tricked out of their liberty by some artifice of the monks. for this purpose, some few in every mission are extremely well treated, as for instance our pilot marco. these are from time to time sent into distant parts of the country to exert their eloquence on their countrymen, and entice them to the missions. once there, they are immediately baptized, and they then become for ever the property of the monks. to my observation, that affairs would now probably assume a different aspect, as the arbitrary dominion of the clergy, and the dependence of the military upon them were equally terminated, estudillo replied, that california might certainly become a powerful state,--that she was abundantly provided by nature with all that was requisite to her political aggrandizement, but that she needed a man of ability in her councils. "don louis arguello," said he, "is not the man to re-invigorate our radically disordered finances, to introduce a wholesome subordination, without which no government can flourish, and to establish a constitution upon which our future tranquillity and improvement may be founded. our soldiers are all of one mind; whoever pays them the arrears due from the spanish government is their master; he purchases them, and to him they belong. induced by a knowledge of this disposition, mexico has entered into negotiations with us; and the question whether california shall exist as an independent state, or place herself under the protection of another power, has been particularly discussed at the late congress at monterey, and is still undecided." i confess i could not help speculating upon the benefit this country would derive from becoming a province of our powerful empire, and how useful it would prove to russia. an inexhaustible granary for kamtschatka, ochotsk, and all the settlements of the american company; these regions, so often afflicted with a scarcity of corn, would derive new life from a close connection with california. the sun rose in full magnificence from behind the mountain, at the moment when, emerging from between the islands which divide the northern from the southern half of the bay, an extensive mirror of water opened upon our view. the mission of st. gabriel, the first stage of our journey, formed a distinguished object in the background of the prospect, sloping up the sides of the hills, the intervening flat land lying so low that it was not yet within our horizon. we had also a distant view towards the north-west of another newly founded mission, that of st. francisco salona, the only one situated on the northern shore of the bay except st. gabriel. the country at this side of the bay, chiefly characterised by gently swelling hills, the park-like grouping of the trees, and the lively verdure of the meadows, is as agreeable to the eye as that of the southern coast. the water is pure and wholesome, which that at the presidio is not; we therefore laid in our ship's store here. the whole bay of st. francisco, in which thousands of ships might lie at anchor, is formed by nature for an excellent harbour; but the little creeks about the north-west coast, now lying to our left, and which i have since frequently visited, are especially advantageous for repairs, being so deep that the largest vessels can lie conveniently close to the land; and an abundance of the finest wood for ship-building, even for the tallest masts, is found in the immediate neighbourhood. the whole of the northern part of the bay, which does not properly belong to california, but is assigned by geographers to new albion, has hitherto remained unvisited by voyagers, and little known even to the spaniards residing in the country. two large navigable rivers, which i afterwards surveyed, empty themselves into it, one from the north, the other from the east. the land is extremely fruitful, and the climate is perhaps the finest and most healthy in the world. it has hitherto been the fate of these regions, like that of modest merit or humble virtue, to remain unnoticed; but posterity will do them justice; towns and cities will hereafter flourish where all is now desert; the waters, over which scarcely a solitary boat is yet seen to glide, will reflect the flags of all nations; and a happy, prosperous people receiving with thankfulness what prodigal nature bestows for their use, will disperse her treasures over every part of the world. a fresh and favourable wind brought us, without much delay from the opposing ebb-tide, to the northern shore. we left the common embouchure of its two principal rivers, distinguished by the steepness of their banks to the right, and rowing up the narrow channel which has formed itself through the marsh land, reached our landing-place just as the sun's disk touched the blue summits of the mountains in the west. we were still distant a good nautical mile from the mission of st. gabriel, which peeped from amongst the foliage of its ancient oaks. many horses belonging to the mission were grazing on a beautiful meadow by the water-side, in perfect harmony with a herd of small deer, which are very numerous in this country. our dragoons, who had no inclination for a long walk, took their _lassos_ in hand, and soon caught us as many horses as we wanted. we had brought our saddles with us, and a delightful gallop across the plain carried us to st. gabriel, where we were received in a very hospitable manner by the only monk in residence. the locality of this mission, founded in , is still better chosen than that of the celebrated santa clara. a mountain shelters it from the injurious north-wind; but the same mountain serves also as a hiding-place and bulwark for the _indianos bravos_, who have already once succeeded in burning the buildings of the mission, and still keep the monks continually on the watch against similar depredations. in fact, st. gabriel has quite the appearance of an outpost for the defence of the other missions. the garrison, _six men_ strong, is always ready for service on the slightest alarm. having been driven from my bed at night by the vermin, i saw two sentinels, fully armed, keeping guard towards the mountain, each of them beside a large fire; every two minutes they rang a bell which was hung between two pillars, and were regularly answered by the howling of the little wolf i have before spoken of, as often lurking in the vicinity of the missions. that there is not much to fear from other enemies, is sufficiently proved by the small number of soldiers kept, and the total neglect of all regular means of defence. the courage of these _bravos_ seems indeed principally to consist in unwillingness to be caught, in flying with all speed to their hiding-places when pursued, and in setting fire to any property of the missions when they can find an opportunity of doing so unobserved. we saw here several of these heroes working patiently enough with irons on their feet, and in no way distinguishable in manners or appearance from their brethren of st. francisco or santa clara. with the first rays of the sun we mounted our horses, and having passed the valley of st. gabriel, and the hill which bounds it, our guide led us in a north-westerly direction further into the interior. the fine, light, and fertile soil we rode upon was thickly covered with rich herbage, and the luxuriant trees stood in groups as picturesque as if they had been disposed by the hand of taste. we met with numerous herds of small stags, so fearless, that they suffered us to ride fairly into the midst of them, but then indeed darted away with the swiftness of an arrow. we sometimes also, but less frequently, saw another species of stag, as large as a horse, with branching antlers; these generally graze on hills, from whence they can see round them on all sides, and appear much more cautious than the small ones. the indians, however, have their contrivances to take them. they fasten a pair of the stag's antlers on their heads, and cover their bodies with his skin; then crawling on all-fours among the high grass, they imitate the movements of the creature while grazing; the herd, mistaking them for their fellows, suffer them to approach without suspicion, and are not aware of the treachery till the arrows of the disguised foes have thinned their number. towards noon the heat became so oppressive, that we were obliged to halt on the summit of a hill: we reposed under the shade of some thick and spreading oaks, while our horses grazed and our meal was preparing. during our rest, we caught a glimpse of a troop of indians skulking behind some bushes at a distance; our dragoons immediately seized their arms, but the savages disappeared without attempting to approach us. in a few hours we proceeded on our journey, through a country, which presenting no remarkable object to direct our course, excited my astonishment at the local memory of our guide, who had traversed it but once before. two great shaggy white wolves, hunting a herd of small deer, fled in terror on our appearance, and we had the gratification of saving the pretty animals for this time. in several places we saw little cylindrically-shaped huts of underwood, which appeared to have been recently quitted by indians, and sometimes we even found the still glimmering embers of a fire; it is therefore probable that the savages were often close to us when we were not aware of it; but they always took care to conceal themselves from the much dreaded dragoons and their lassos. in the evening we reached a little mountain brook, which, after winding through a ravine, falls into the sea at port romanzow, or bodega. it was already dark, and though but ten miles distance from ross, we were obliged to pass the chill and foggy night not very agreeably on this spot. in the morning we forded the shallow stream, and as we proceeded, found in the bold, wild features of the scene a striking difference from the smiling valleys through which we had travelled on the preceding day. the nearer we drew to the coast, the more abrupt became the precipices and the higher the rocks, which were overgrown with larch even to their peaked summits. we wound round the bases of some hills, and having with much fatigue climbed other very steep ascents, reached towards noon a considerable height, which rewarded us with a magnificent prospect. amongst the remarkable objects before us, the ocean stretched to the west, with the harbour of romanzow, which unfortunately will only afford admission to small vessels; the russian settlement here, can therefore never be as prosperous as it might have been, had circumstances permitted its establishment on the bay of st. francisco. to the east, extending far inland, lay a valley, called by the indians the valley of the white men. there is a tradition among them, that a ship was once wrecked on this coast; that the white men chose this valley for their residence, and lived there in great harmony with the indians. what afterwards became of them is not recorded. on the north-east was a high mountain thickly covered with fir trees, from amongst which rose dark columns of smoke, giving evidence of indian habitations. our soldiers said that it was the abode of a chief and his tribe, whose valour had won the respect of the spaniards; that they were of a distinct class from the common race of indians; had fixed their dwellings on this mountain on account of its supposed inaccessibility; were distinguished for their courage, and preferred death to the dominion of the missionaries, into whose power no one of them has ever yet been entrapped. is it not possible that they may owe their superiority to having mingled their race with that of the shipwrecked whites? our road now lay sometimes across hills and meadows, and sometimes along the sands so near the ocean that we were sprinkled by its spray. we passed port romanzow, and soon after forded the bed of another shallow river to which the russians have given the name of slavianka. farther inland it is said to be deeper, and even navigable for ships; its banks are extremely fertile, but peopled by numerous warlike hordes. it flows hither from the north-east; and the russians have proceeded up it a distance of a hundred wersts, or about sixty-seven english miles. the region we now passed through was of a very romantic though wild character; and the luxuriant growth of the grass proved that the soil was rich. from the summit of a high hill, we at length, to our great joy, perceived beneath us the fortress of ross, to which we descended by a tolerably convenient road. we spurred our tired horses, and excited no small astonishment as we passed through the gate at a gallop. m. von schmidt, the governor of the establishment, received us in the kindest manner, fired some guns to greet our arrival on russian-american ground, and conducted us into his commodious and orderly mansion, built in the european fashion with thick beams. the settlement of ross, situated on the sea-shore, in latitude ° ', and on an insignificant stream, was founded in the year , with the free consent of the natives, who were very useful in furnishing materials for the buildings and even in their erection. the intention in forming this settlement was to pursue the chase of the sea-otter on the coast of california, where the animal was then numerous, as it had become extremely scarce in the more northern establishments. the spaniards who did not hunt them, willingly took a small compensation for their acquiescence in the views of the russians; and the sea-otter, though at present scarce even here, is more frequently caught along the californian coast, southward from ross, than in any other quarter. the fortress is a quadrangle, palisaded with tall, thick beams, and defended by two towers which mount fifteen cannons. the garrison consisted, on my arrival, of a hundred and thirty men, of whom a small number only were russians, the rest aleutians. the spaniards lived at first on the best terms with the new settlers, and provided them with oxen, cows, horses, and sheep; but when in process of time they began to remark that, notwithstanding the inferiority of soil and climate, the russian establishment became more flourishing than theirs, envy, and apprehension of future danger, took possession of their minds: they then required that the settlement should be abandoned,--asserted that their rights of dominion extended northward quite to the icy sea, and threatened to support their claims by force of arms. the founder and then commander of the fortress of ross, a man of penetration, and one not easily frightened, gave a very decided answer. he had, he said, at the command of his superiors, settled in this region, which had not previously been in the possession of any other power, and over which, consequently, none had a right but the natives; that these latter had freely consented to his occupation of the land, and therefore that he would yield to no such unfounded pretension as that now advanced by the spaniards, but should be always ready to resist force by force. perceiving that the russians would not comply with their absurd requisitions, and considering that they were likely to be worsted in an appeal to arms, the spaniards quietly gave up all further thought of hostilities, and entered again into friendly communications with our people; since which the greatest unity has subsisted between the two nations. the spaniards often find ross very serviceable to them. for instance, there is no such thing as a smith in all california; consequently the making and repairing of all manner of iron implements here is a great accommodation to them, and affords lucrative employment to the russians. the dragoons who accompanied us, had brought a number of old gunlocks to be repaired. in order that the russians might not extend their dominion to the northern shore of the bay of st. francisco, the spaniards immediately founded the missions of st. gabriel and st. francisco salona. it is a great pity that we were not beforehand with them. the advantages of possessing this beautiful bay are incalculable, especially as we have no harbour but the bad one of bodega or port romanzow. the inhabitants of ross live in the greatest concord with the indians, who repair, in considerable numbers, to the fortress, and work as day-labourers, for wages. at night they usually remain outside the palisades. they willingly give their daughters in marriage to russians and aleutians; and from these unions ties of relationship have arisen which strengthen the good understanding between them. the inhabitants of ross have often penetrated singly far into the interior, when engaged in the pursuit of deer or other game, and have passed whole nights among different indian tribes, without ever having experienced any inconvenience. this the spaniards dare not venture upon. the more striking the contrast between the two nations in their treatment of the savages, the more ardently must every friend to humanity rejoice on entering the russian territory. the greek church does not make converts by force. free from fanaticism, she preaches only toleration and love. she does not even admit of persuasion, but trusts wholly to conviction for proselytes, who, when once they enter her communion, will always find her a loving mother. how different has been the conduct both of catholic priests and protestant missionaries! the climate at ross is mild. reaumur's thermometer seldom falls to the freezing point; yet gardens cannot flourish, on account of the frequent fogs. some wersts farther inland, beyond the injurious influence of the fog, plants of the warmest climates prosper surprisingly. cucumbers of fifty pounds' weight, gourds of sixty-five, and other fruits in proportion, are produced in them. potatoes yield a hundred or two hundred fold, and, as they will produce two crops in a year, are an effectual security against famine. the fortress is surrounded by wheat and barley fields, which, on account of the fogs, are less productive than those of santa clara, but which still supply sufficient corn for the inhabitants of ross. the aleutians find their abode here so agreeable, that although very unwilling to leave their islands, they are seldom inclined to return to them. the spaniards should take a lesson in husbandry from m. von schmidt, who has brought it to an admirable degree of perfection. implements, equal to the best we have in europe, are made here under his direction. our spanish companions were struck with admiration at what he had done; but what astonished them most, was the effect of a windmill; they had never before seen a machine so ingenious, and so well adapted to its purpose. ross is blest with an abundance of the finest wood for building. the sea provides it with the most delicious fish, the land with an inexhaustible quantity of the best kinds of game; and, notwithstanding the want of a good harbour, the northern settlements might easily find in this a plentiful magazine for the supply of all their wants. two ships had already run in here from stapel. the indians of ross are so much like those of the missions, that they may well be supposed to belong to the same race, however different their language. they appear indeed by no means so stupid, and are much more cheerful and contented than at the missions, where a deep melancholy always clouds their faces, and their eyes are constantly fixed upon the ground; but this difference is only the natural result of the different treatment they experience. they have no permanent residence, but wander about naked, and, when not employed by the russians as day-labourers, follow no occupation but the chase. they are not difficult in the choice of their food, but consume the most disgusting things, not excepting all kinds of worms and insects, with good appetite, only avoiding poisonous snakes. for the winter they lay up a provision of acorns and wild rye: the latter grows here very abundantly. when it is ripe, they burn the straw away from it, and thus roast the corn, which is then raked together, mixed with acorns, and eaten without any farther preparation. the indians here have invented several games of chance: they are passionately fond of gaming, and often play away every thing they possess. should the blessing of civilization ever be extended to the rude inhabitants of these regions, the merit will be due to the russian settlements, certainly not to the spanish missions. after a stay of two days, we took leave of the estimable m. von schmidt, and returned by the same way that we came, without meeting with any remarkable occurrence. professor eschscholtz remained at ross, in order to prosecute some botanical researches, intending to rejoin us by means of an aleutian baidar, several of which were shortly to proceed to st. francisco in search of otters. this promised chase was a gratifying circumstance to me, as i had it in contemplation to examine several of the rivers that fall into the bay of st. francisco, for which purpose the small aleutian vessels would probably prove extremely serviceable. the north-west wind is prevalent here during summer, and rain is unknown in that season: it was now, however, the latter end of october, and southerly gales began to blow, accompanied by frequent showers; we had therefore to wait some time for the baidars and professor eschscholtz. meanwhile, to our great surprise, a boat with six oars, one day, entered the bay from the open sea, and lay to beside our ship. it belonged to an english whaler, which had been tacking about for some days, and was prevented by the contrary wind from getting into the bay. the greater part of his crew being sick of the scurvy, the captain at length resolved on sending his boat ashore, in hopes of being able to get some fresh provisions for his patients. i immediately furnished the boat with an ample supply both of fresh meat and vegetables, and having completed its little cargo, it proceeded again to sea forthwith. the next day the whaler succeeded in getting into the bay, and came to anchor close alongside. it was evident, from their manner of working the vessel, that she had but few hands on board capable of labour. the captain, who shortly afterwards visited me, was himself suffering severely, and his mates were all confined to their beds; seven months the vessel had been at sea off the japanese coast, holding no communication with the shore; and this without having succeeded in the capture of a single whale, though numbers of them had been seen on the coast. the scurvy with which the crew was afflicted, was mainly attributable to unwholesome food, selected on a principle of unpardonable economy, and to the want of cleanliness; a vice not usual among the english, but which, during so long an absence from land, is scarcely to be avoided; not the slightest symptom of this fearful malady, formerly so fatal to seamen, manifested itself on board my vessel throughout the whole course of our tedious voyage. the captain informed me that a number of whalers frequented the japanese coast, and often obtained rich cargoes in a short period: the principal disadvantages with which they had to contend were violent storms, and a strict prohibition against landing. the japanese, as is well known, refuse to have any foreign intercourse except with the chinese and dutch, and treat all other nations as if they carried contagion with them; hoping thus to preserve their ancient manners unchanged. during my first voyage with admiral krusenstern, i spent seven months in japan, and may venture to assert, that whoever has an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the people, cannot but respect them for the high degree of intellectual development to which they have attained, through their own efforts, unassisted by foreign influence. their total isolation is probably owing to the timid policy of a despotic government, anxious to prevent the introduction of ideas that might possibly exercise a hostile influence upon the existing institutions. a whaler that had exceeded his appointed stay on the coast, had completely exhausted his stock of water and provisions. in this distress, although fully aware of the severe prohibition, the captain resolved to pay a visit to the emperor in his capital, and accordingly, without ceremony, sailed into the bay of jeddo, where he cast anchor within gun-shot of the city. the hubbub among the inhabitants, who had never seen an european vessel before, may be imagined. the shore immediately swarmed with soldiers, and armed boats surrounded the ship. from these martial preparations, the crew apprehended that it was intended to make them pay for their temerity with their lives; but their fears proved unfounded. as soon as the japanese had taken the necessary precautions to prevent the vessel either from leaving the spot where she had first anchored, or from sending a boat on shore, a handsome barge came alongside, from which two bonjoses, dressed in silk, and each armed with two sabres, stepped on board: they were accompanied by an interpreter who spoke a little broken dutch. they saluted the captain politely, inquiring the object of his visit, and whether he was not aware that the coast of japan was not accessible under pain of death? the captain acknowledged himself aware of the prohibition, but stated that the emergency of the case had left him no choice: the bonjoses thereupon searched the vessel, and having satisfied themselves that she was really destitute of provisions and water, they took leave of the captain with the same civility they had shown him on their arrival. a multitude of boats with persons of both sexes now issued from the city, to feast their eyes upon the novel spectacle, but they were not allowed to approach within the circle marked by the watch-boats. the same day, the interpreter returned, bringing water and every species of provisions, sufficient for several weeks, declaring that the emperor furnished every thing gratuitously, as the government would deem it a disgrace to accept payment from those whom distress had driven to their shore; but as the captain's necessities were now provided for, he was ordered immediately to put to sea, and to inform his countrymen, that except in cases of the most urgent necessity, they were not permitted to approach the japanese coast under pain of death; nor was it at all just to carry on a fishery on their coast, without the permission of the emperor. the interpreter had brought a number of people with him, who assisted in shipping the provisions and water: the captain was then immediately obliged to weigh anchor, and the japanese boats towed the vessel out to sea, after she had been scarcely twelve hours in the bay. on taking leave, the captain wished to make a present to the interpreter, but he hastened out of the vessel in alarm, declaring that his acceptance of the smallest trifle would cost him his head. europeans are not so scrupulous. soon after this, another whaler, knowing nothing about the affair in jeddo, sent a boat ashore, a hundred miles farther south, to a little village on the coast, to try and purchase some fresh provisions. the sailors, on landing, were immediately seized and imprisoned, and their boat placed under arrest. the ship, having waited a long time in vain for the return of her boat, was at length driven by a violent storm to a distance from the coast. the prisoners were well treated; their prison was commodious, and their food excellent. in fourteen days, sentence was pronounced on them, probably at jeddo, and proved less mild than might have been expected in japan:--they were ordered to be replaced in their boat, and immediately sent to sea without any provisions, let the weather be what it might. after wandering on the trackless ocean for eight-and-forty hours, they had the good fortune to meet with a whaler, which took them in. these examples may serve as a warning to all navigators who may be desirous of effecting a landing in japan. the californian winter being now fairly set in, we had much rain and frequent storms. on the th of october the south-west wind blew with the violence of the west-indian tornado, rooted up the strongest trees, tore off the roofs of the houses, and occasioned great devastation in the cultivated lands. one of our thickest cables broke; and if the second had given way, we would have been driven on the rocky shore of the channel which unites the bay with the sea, where a powerful current struggling with the tempest produced a frightful surf. fortunately, the extreme violence of the storm lasted only a few hours, but in that short time it caused a destructive inundation: the water spread so rapidly over the low lands, that our people had scarcely time to secure the tent, with the astronomical apparatus. on comparing the time of day at st. petersburg and st. francisco, by means of the difference of longitude, it appears that the tremendous inundation at the former city took place not only on the same day, but even began in the same hour as that in california. several hundred miles westward, on the sandwich islands, the wind raged with similar fury at the same time, as it did also still farther off, upon the philippine islands, where it was accompanied by an earthquake. so violent was the storm in the bay of manilla, (usually so safe a harbour,) that a french corvette, at anchor there, under the command of captain bougainville, a son of the celebrated navigator, was entirely dismasted, as we afterwards heard, on the sandwich islands, and at manilla itself. this hurricane, therefore, raged at the same time over the greatest part of the northern hemisphere; the causes which produced it may possibly have originated beyond our atmosphere. finding that our anchorage would not be secure during the winter, if we should be exposed to storms of this kind, we took advantage of the fine weather on the following day, to sail some miles farther eastward, into a little bay surrounded by a romantic landscape, where vancouver formerly lay, and which is perfectly safe at all seasons: the spaniards have named this bay _herba buena_, after a sweet-smelling herb which grows on its shores. the arrival of dr. eschscholtz and the baidars from ross was still delayed, and i really began to fear that some misfortune had befallen them in the tempest: my joy therefore was extreme, when at last, on the th of october, the baidars, twenty in number, entered the harbour undamaged, and we received our friend again safe and well. the little flotilla had indeed left ross before the commencement of the hurricane, but had fortunately escaped any injury from it, by taking refuge at a place called _cap de los reges_, till its fury was expended; but the voyagers had been obliged to bivouack on the naked rock, without shelter from the weather, and with very scanty provisions. dr. eschscholtz, however, not in the slightest degree disheartened by the difficulties he had undergone, was quite ready to join the voyage i had meditated for the examination of the adjacent rivers. all our preparations were now completed; we again took on board our pilot marco, and a soldier from the presidio, who offered to accompany us. on the th of november the weather was favourable, and we set out with a barcasse and a shallop, both well manned and provided with every necessary, in company with the aleutian flotilla. at first we took the same course i have before described, towards the mission of st. gabriel; cutting through the waters of the southern basin, and working our way between the islands into the northern portion of the bay; then adopting an easterly course, so that st. gabriel remained at a considerable distance to the left in the north-east. we reached towards noon, at a distance of thirty miles from our ship, the common mouth of the two before-mentioned rivers, which here fall into the bay. the breadth of this embouchure is a mile and a half, and the banks on both sides are high, steep, and little wooded. it is crossed by a shallow, not above two or three feet deep; but on its east side the channel will admit ships of a middling size fully laden. the current was so strong against us, that it was with much exertion our rowers accomplished crossing the shallow. we landed on the left bank in order to determine the geographical position of the mouth, and found the latitude ° ' ", and the longitude ° '. after finishing this task, i ascended the highest hillock on the shore, which consisted of strata of slate and quartz, to admire the beauty of the prospect. on the south lay the enviable and important bay of st. francisco with its many islands and creeks; to the north flowed the broad beautiful river formed by the junction of the two, sometimes winding between high, steep rocks, sometimes gliding among smiling meadows, where numerous herds of deer were grazing. in every direction the landscape was charming and luxuriant. our aleutians here straggled about in their little baidars, and pursued the game with which land and water were stocked: they had never seen it in such plenty; and being passionately fond of the chase, they fired away without ceasing, and even brought down some of the game with a javelin. the aleutians are as much at home in their little leathern canoes, as our cossacks on horseback. they follow their prey with the greatest rapidity in all directions, and it seldom escapes them. white and grey pelicans about twice the size of our geese were here in great numbers. an aleutian followed a flock of these birds, and killed one of them with his javelin; the rest of the flock took this so ill, that they attacked the murderer and beat him severely with their wings, before other baidars could come to his assistance. the frequent appearance of the pelican on this river, proves that it abounds in fish; a remark that our pilot marco confirmed; and we ourselves saw many large fish leap to the surface of the water. when the sailors had rested some hours, we continued our voyage up the stream; but it was ebb-tide, and both currents united allowed us to make but little progress. we landed therefore at six o'clock, after working only a few miles, and pitched our tents for the night in a pretty meadow. the river flowing as before, from the north, was here a mile broad, and deep enough for the largest ships. on the following morning we broke up our camp at break of day, and, favoured by wind and tide, sailed swiftly forward in a direction almost due north. the aspect of the river now frequently changed: its breadth varied from one to two and three miles. we often came into large reaches many miles in circumference, and surrounded by magnificent scenery. we sailed past pretty hilly islands adorned with lofty spreading trees, and every where found a sufficient depth of water to admit the largest ships. the steep banks sometimes opened to delightful plains, where the deer were grazing under the shadow of luxuriant oaks. the voyage was in fact, even at this time of year, a most agreeable excursion. when we had proceeded eighteen miles from our night camp, and twenty-three from the river's mouth, we reached the confluence of the two streams. one flows from the east, and the other from the north. the spaniards call the first pescadores; farther inland it receives two other rivers, which, according to our pilot, are equally broad and deep as itself: the missionaries have given them the names of st. joachim, and jesus maria. some way up these rivers, whose banks are said to have been uncommonly fertile and thickly peopled, the pious fathers have journeyed to convert the indians and procure labourers for the missions. now that a part of the natives have yielded to conversion, and others have fled farther into the interior to escape it, no human being is to be found in the tract of land which we were surveying; no trace remains of a numerous race called korekines, by whom it was once inhabited. since the river pescadores was already known, i chose the other, which flows from the north, and is called sacramento. towards noon, after we had ascended it some miles, a violent contrary wind forced us ashore; latitude ° '. the wind increasing every moment in strength, we were obliged to give up for this day all thoughts of making farther progress; and resolving to pass the night here, pitched our tents in a pleasant meadow on the west side of the river. i then climbed a hill, to enjoy a more extensive prospect; and observed that the country to the west swelled into hills of a moderate height, besprinkled with trees growing singly. in the east and south-east the horizon was bounded by icy mountains, the sierra nevada, part of the immense chain which divides america from north to south: they appeared to be covered more than half-way down with ice and snow. the distance of these mountains from my present station could not be less than forty miles. between them and the river the country is low, flat, thickly wooded, and crossed by an infinite number of streams, which divide the whole of it into islands. we had not yet met a single indian; but the columns of smoke which rose from this abundantly irrigated tract of land, showed that they had taken refuge where the dragoons and their lassos could not follow to convert them. it seems certain that the river pescadores, as well as those of st. joachim and jesus maria, which fall into it, take their rise in the icy mountains, since they flow from the east, and pass through the low lands, where they receive a multitude of smaller streams. on the contrary, the river sacramento flowing from the north, from quite another region, has its source, according to the indians of the mission, in a great lake. i myself conjecture, that the slavianka, which falls into the sea near ross, is an arm of it. the many rivers flowing through this fruitful country will be of the greatest use to future settlers. the low ground is exactly adapted to the cultivation of rice; and the higher, from the extraordinary strength of the soil, would yield the finest wheat-harvests. the vine might be cultivated here to great advantage. all along the banks of the river grapes grow wild, in as much profusion as the rankest weeds: the clusters were large; and the grapes, though small, very sweet, and agreeably flavoured. we often ate them in considerable quantities, and sustained no inconvenience from them. the indians also eat them very voraciously. the chase furnished us with ample and profitable amusement. an abundance of deer, large and small, are to be met with all over the country, and geese, ducks, and cranes, on the banks of the rivers. there was such a superfluity of game, that even those among us who had never been sportsmen before, when once they took the gun in their hands, became as eager as the rest. the sailors chased the deer very successfully. when it grew dark, we kindled a large fire, that our hunters, some of whom had lost their way, might recover the camp. in the night we were much disturbed by bears, which pursued the deer quite close to our tents; and by the clear moonlight we plainly saw a stag spring into the river to escape the bear; the latter, however, jumped after him, and both swam down the stream till they were out of sight. at sunrise, as the wind had fallen a little, we continued our voyage. on the shore we met with a small rattlesnake, which might have been a dangerous neighbour. it was, however, his destiny to become our prize, and enrich the collection of dr. eschscholtz. the river now took a north-westerly direction. its breadth was from two hundred and fifty to three hundred fathoms, independently of numerous branches on the east side, flowing between various small islands. the country on the west bank was of a moderate height; that on the east was low. the power of the current impeded our progress, though our rowers exerted all their strength. as the sun advanced towards the meridian, the north wind also rose again; so that with our utmost efforts we could advance but little, and at noon we were obliged to lay-to again, having proceeded only ten miles the whole day. the latitude on the western shore, where we now landed, was ° ', and the longitude ° '. here we had reached what proved the termination of our little voyage. the unfavourable state of the weather would not allow of our making any farther progress; and our pilot assured us that at this season the quantity of rain that falls, so much swells the river and strengthens the currents, as to make it impossible to contend with the continually increasing force of the stream. we were therefore compelled to abandon the farther prosecution of these inquiries to some future traveller, whose fate shall lead him hither in summer time, when these obstacles do not exist. the neighbourhood of our landing-place seemed to have been recently the abode of some indians. we found a stake driven into the earth, to which a bunch of feathers was attached for a weather-cock; in several places fire had been kindled, as some burning embers still attested. there were also two indian canoes made of reeds. the pilot gave me the names of two tribes who had formerly dwelt in this region, and probably still wandered in its vicinity--the tschupukanes, and hulpunes. we could now see the smoke of their fires rising from the marshy islands, the higher parts of which they inhabit. the majestic chain of mountains of the sierra nevada looked most beautiful from this spot. the whole eastern horizon was bounded by these masses of ice, and before them the low land lay spread out like a verdant sea. from the bay of st. francisco, the sierra nevada are nowhere visible; but they first come in sight after having passed the point where the pescadores and the sacramento unite. the day was again passed in sport, and we shot many stags, the meat of which proved extremely good. during the night we were again disturbed by the little wolves so common here: they stole some pieces of our venison. early the next morning we prepared for our return, and soon quitted these lovely and fertile plains, where many thousand families might live in plenty and comfort, but which now, from their utter loneliness, leave a mournful impression on the mind, increased by the reflection that the native indians have been nearly exterminated. during our return voyage, we were very diligent in taking soundings, and found the water in the middle of the river always as much as from fifteen to seventeen and twenty fathoms; but at its mouth not more than four or five fathoms deep. on the rd of november we again reached our vessel, laden with venison for the whole crew. captain lasaref had arrived during our absence with his frigate; having struggled with storms almost the whole way from new archangel to st. francisco. with the intention of sending letters home by him, i had waited for his arrival to leave california. our vessel was therefore now immediately prepared for sailing, our camp on shore broken up, and all the instruments brought on board. during the last night our people passed on land, they killed a polecat which had slunk into the tent. this animal, of the size and form of an ordinary cat, has so abominable a smell, that its vicinity is insupportable. dogs, when they sometimes attack and bite these creatures, cannot relieve themselves from the stench, but continue to rub their noses so violently against the ground as they run, that they leave a stream of blood on their track. polecats may be considered in the brute creation what the kalushes are among men. on the morning of the th of november, as soon as the tide ebbed, we towed out of the bay of st. francisco with a north-west wind, which here regularly brings fine weather. the sea was still so much agitated by the recent south-west storms, that it rolled large billows into the channel which unites it with the bay. our vessel being dashed against these breakers by the force of the current from the channel, would no longer obey the helm, and we narrowly escaped being cast against a rock. i would therefore recommend others of my profession only to sail out of this bay when the water in the channel is tranquil, which usually happens after the wind has blown for several days from the north-west. according to repeated observations, we found the latitude of the presidio of st. francisco to be ° ' ", and the longitude ° ' ". the declination of the needle was ° east. the medium of our observations in the bay gave us the time for high water, at the new and full moon, hours and minutes. the greatest difference in the height of the water was seven feet. the rivers which fall into the bay have a great influence on the times of ebb and flow, so that the ebb lasts eight hours, and the flood only four. the sandwich islands. the sandwich islands. on losing sight of the californian coast, we steered southwards, to take advantage as soon as possible of the trade-wind, proposing by its means to sail direct for the sandwich islands. a strong and lasting north-wester favoured our intention, and on the rd of december we crossed the tropic of cancer in the latitude ° ', gained the trade-wind, and began our run westward, supposing ourselves secure from storms in this tropical region; we were, however, mistaken: already on the th a high wind from the south-east compelled us to take in all sail; on the th it shifted to the west, and on the th to the north. we experienced from this quarter some violent gusts, after which the heavens cleared, the storm abated, and towards evening on the th, we regained the ordinary trade-wind. i mention these storms, only because they are almost unexampled at so great a distance from land, between the tropics, and especially as coming from the west; but it appears that this year was quite out of the ordinary course, and produced a number of strange phenomena of which we heard complaints wherever we went. the weather, after treating us so ill, again became friendly, and the remainder of our voyage proceeded swiftly and favourably under the magnificent tropical sky: agreeable it was sure to be; for the peculiar charm of a sail between the tropics is appreciated by all seamen. an old english captain, with whom i became acquainted during this voyage, assured me that he could imagine no greater luxury for the remainder of his life, than to possess a good quick-sailing ship, to keep a good table, and to sail between the tropics, without ever making land. i cannot, i confess, altogether participate in this true seaman-like taste: on my voyages, the mere sight of land has always been my great source of pleasure. the conduct of a vessel through distant seas, and through its conflicts with the variable element, is not indeed an uninteresting occupation; but the object which has always chiefly attracted my inclinations, is an intimate knowledge of various countries and their inhabitants; and i have always considered the time spent at sea, as a necessary hardship submitted to with this reward in view. perhaps i was not born for a sailor: an accident, by no means calculated upon in my previous education, made me such in my fifteenth year. we sailed in the night past o wahi, the principal of the sandwich group, with its celebrated giant mountain mou-na-roa. at break of day on the th, we saw in the west the elevated island of muwe, and continued our course along the northern shore of this and its neighbour morotai, to wahu, where we intended to land. the landscape of a tropical country is always pleasing, even when, as here, high lava hills, and masses of sometimes naked rocks piled like towers upon each other, form the principal features of the coast, at first inspiring the navigator with doubts of its fertility. but how agreeably is he surprised, on reaching the southern shores of these islands, to meet with the most smiling scenery, and most luxuriant vegetation. in the middle of the channel, between the islands muwe and morotai, lie two small uninhabited islands, which, strange to say, are not marked on vancouver's map. we took some pains to ascertain their exact situation. at four o'clock in the afternoon, the high yellow rock which forms the eastern point of the island of wahu, became plainly visible above our horizon. we could not reach the secure harbour of hanaruro, which lies on the southern side of this promontory, before nightfall, and therefore thought it advisable to lay-to between the islands wahu and morotai. in the morning, after doubling the conical mountain called the diamond mountain, we suddenly came in sight of the harbour, containing a number of ships decorated with the flags of various nations. i must here make a few remarks for the benefit of such navigators as are not well acquainted with these waters. whoever wishes to sail in between the islands of wahu and morotai, must remember, that throughout the year a strong current always sets here towards the north-west; and that the eastern point of wahu should be doubled within the distance of three miles from the coast; as farther out to sea, calms are very prevalent here, whilst in the neighbourhood of the land, a fresh breeze regularly sets, in the morning, from the land, and from noon till evening from the sea. behind its harbour, safely sheltered by the coral reefs, lies the town of hanaruro, consisting of irregular rows of dwellings scattered over an open plain. here and there among the huts are seen houses built of stone in the european fashion. the former lie modestly concealed, under the cooling shade of palm-trees; the latter stand boldly forward, braving the burning sunbeams and dazzling the eye by their overpowering whiteness. close to the shore the fortress rears its strong turreted walls in a quadrangular form, planted with cannon, and bearing the striped national flag of the sandwich islands. the country above the town rises in an amphitheatre, planted with tarro-root, sugar-cane, and banana, and the view to landward is bounded by precipitous mountains invading the clouds, and thickly overgrown with fine trees. in this beautiful panorama we see at once that the island of wahu deserves the appellation it has acquired,--of the garden of the sandwich islands. as we approached the harbour, i made the usual signal for a pilot, and we soon after saw a boat of european construction making towards us; it was rowed by two naked _kanachas_, as the lower class of people are here called, the pilot sitting at the rudder in an european dress. when he came on board, i recognised him for the englishman, alexander adams, who on my former voyage in the rurik had commanded the ship kahumanna, belonging to king tameamea; he was now chief pilot. the wind did not immediately allow us to run into the harbour, but in a few hours it became favourable, and our skilful pilot guided us safely through the intricacies of its narrow entrance. our ship was the largest that had ever passed through this channel, which would be impracticable for first-rate vessels. some of the ships we found in the harbour were english and american whalers, which had put in here for provisions; others were on trading voyages to the north-west coast of america for skins, or returning thence with their cargoes. some were from canton, laden with chinese produce, which finds a good market in the sandwich islands; and one was a french ship from bordeaux, which having carried a cargo of iron wares to chili, peru, and mexico, had brought the remains of it here. all the captains visited me in the hope of hearing news from europe; but many of them had left it later than we had, and accommodated us with their london newspapers. if we consider that scarcely fifty years have elapsed since these islands were first introduced by captain cook to the knowledge of the european public, and that the inhabitants were then completely what we call savages, that is, that they were wholly destitute of any conception of the arts, sciences, or habits of civilized life, we shall find with surprise that the harbour of hanaruro already bears a character almost entirely european, reminding us only by the somewhat scanty clothing of the natives, of the briefness of their acquaintance with our customs. my readers, i think, will take some interest in a short account of this people, whose rapid progress in civilization would perhaps by this time have placed them on a level with europeans, if unfavourable circumstances had not thrown obstacles in the way of their improvement, which it will require another such governor as tameamea to overcome. the eleven islands named by cook after his patron, the earl of sandwich, but for which the natives have no common appellation, lie between the nineteenth and twenty-second degrees of north latitude. they are all high and volcanic. o wahi, the most easterly, and by much the largest, is eighty-seven miles long and seventy-five broad: it has three mountains, which may well bear a comparison with the highest in the world. the climate of these islands is particularly beautiful and healthy. their population is estimated by captain king at four hundred thousand; whose colour, form, language, and manners, testify their relationship with the other islanders of this great ocean, though they have very little knowledge of them. their earliest history consists of traditions of truths interwoven with fables, which ascend to the first peopling of the islands, and are not yet embodied in the relation of any voyage. i have collected them carefully from the accounts of the most distinguished and intelligent man in hanaruro, my friend karemaku, a spaniard named marini, who had long resided here, assisting as interpreter. according to a belief not long ago universally prevalent, the mighty spirit etua-rono reigned over these islands before they were inhabited by men. ardently desirous of seeing his country peopled, he was melancholy, and shed torrents of tears on the mountain mou-na-roa, because he had no offspring; and his loving wife, the beautiful goddess opuna, was not in a situation to console him. at length fate heard his prayers. on the south-east point of the island of o wahi two boats were stranded, having on board some families, who brought with them hogs, fowls, dogs, and several edible roots. to the present day are the first footsteps of man on this land to be seen. rono was at that time absent, catching fish on the northern islands for his wife. the fire-god, his subject, unpropitious to man, taking advantage of this circumstance, made an effort to repulse the new-comers. he approached them with terrible gestures, and asked whence they came. they answered--"we come from a country which abounds in hogs, dogs, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit. we were overtaken by a violent storm when on a voyage to visit some neighbours; and the moon changed five times before we reached this land." they then begged permission to remain, which the fire-god cruelly refused, and continued inexorable, although they offered to sacrifice a hog to him. rono, however, observing that a strange smell proceeded from o wahi, suddenly returned, and was greatly surprised at the sight of the men. encouraged by his friendly deportment, they made their petition to him, relating the harsh treatment they had endured from the fire-god. rono, enraged at this intelligence, threw the fire-god into the crater kairuo, on the side of the mountain mou-na-roa, where he still chafes in vain. the men now lived tranquilly on o wahi, increased in numbers, and sought, by great sacrifices, to prove their love and thankfulness to their protector, etua-rono. to his honour were established the solemn yearly games called makahiti, in which whoever obtained the victory in running, wrestling, and warlike evolutions, was crowned with a verdant wreath and presided as king over the ensuing feast. the other islands were gradually peopled from o wahi; the number of the gods also increased; but they all remained subject to etua-rono. mankind had enjoyed a long period of peace and content under the beneficent protection of rono, when their happiness was suddenly disturbed by a distressing occurrence. the goddess opuna, the beautiful consort of rono, degraded herself by a clandestine connexion with a man of o wahi. her husband, furious on the discovery of his wrongs, precipitated her from the top of a high rock, and dashed her to pieces; but had scarcely committed this act of violence when, in an agony of repentance, he ran wildly about the islands, bestowing blows and kicks on every one he met. the people, astonished at this frantic behaviour of the god, enquired the reason of it; on which, with the bitterest expression of grief, he exclaimed, "i have murdered her who was dearest to me!" he bore the remains of opuna into the marai on the bay of karekakua, and there remained a long time sunk in the deepest grief. at length he determined to quit the islands, where every thing reminded him of the happiness he had enjoyed with his beloved wife. the people were overwhelmed with sorrow by the communication of his intention; and he endeavoured to console them with the promise that he would one day return on a floating island, furnished with all that man could desire, and make his favourite people happy. he then embarked in a vessel of peculiar construction, and set sail for a distant country. with rono's departure terminated the golden age of this island. wars and tumults arose; the gods still increased in number; but their influence was no longer so friendly to man as when they were under the superintendence of the revered rono. now also commenced many evil customs, such as human sacrifices, which had been unknown in the good old time: cannibalism, however, does not appear ever to have disgraced them. a long period elapsed, of which no record remains; and the story is resumed at the landing of five white men in karekakua bay, near to the marai, where the body of the goddess opuna reposed. the inhabitants supposed them to be superior beings, and offered no opposition when they proceeded to take possession of the marai, on which holy place they were not only exempted from persecution, but also by the offerings daily placed there before the images of the gods, from any danger of suffering a scarcity of food. here, then, they lived very comfortably; and from their having, immediately on their arrival, taken up their abode in the marai, the people, who were all acquainted with the story of opuna, concluded they were sent thither by rono, to watch over the grave of his beloved consort. to this opinion they were indebted for a veneration greater than that entertained for the gods themselves. the priests alone had the privilege of providing for their wants, which they did with the utmost care: the people were not even allowed to approach the neighbourhood of the marai. the white men, however, soon found their time hang heavy in this entire seclusion, and formed a more intimate connexion with the priests, whom they assisted in the holy rites and ceremonies, and at length even made their appearance among the people: the latter then discovered them to be mortals like themselves, differing only in colour, but still retained a high respect for their superior knowledge and good deportment. maidens of the highest rank were given to them for wives; and each of them was installed governor of an island. "the descendants of these strangers," said karemaku, "may still be distinguished by their whiter colour." here, as at tahaiti, the yeris differ from the lower classes in their superior size, and some also by a greater degree of fairness. the helmets and short mantles which cook and king have described as worn by this people, were introduced by these white strangers. at first, the kings only appeared in this costume; but in cook's time it was common also among the yeris. now that european fashions have quite banished those of the original inhabitants, it is only preserved and shown to strangers as a relic of the past. the helmet, of wood covered with small red and yellow feathers, and adorned with a plume, perfectly resembles those of the chivalrous knights of yore; and the short mantle, also most ingeniously made with feathers to supply the want of woven stuff, forms a complete representation of the mantles worn by those ancient heroes: hence it is sufficiently evident that the white men who landed on o wahi were europeans; and that we are therefore more nearly connected with, at least, a part of the inhabitants of the sandwich islands, than with the other south sea islanders. with the arrival of the white men begins the chronology of o wahi, from the first white king to tameamea, making seven successive reigns. during this period, but long before cook's time, two vessels are said to have been wrecked on the north-east side of o wahi. tradition is not unanimous in the account of what became of the crews. according to some, they were lost in the wreck, but others say they were murdered by the natives. my informant, karemaku, mentioned only one ship, which was seen at a distance; and although the iron anchors found at o wahi and at muwe prove that they must have been there, he could give no account of them. it is very probable that the spaniards, who often made a mystery of their discoveries in the south seas, already knew of the existence of these islands before their discovery by cook. their authentic history begins with this event, in , when, as has already been mentioned, cook bestowed on them the name of the first lord of the admiralty at that period. they were not then, as now, united under one king; but each island had its particular sovereign, called yeri-rahi, who possessed full power over the lives of his subjects, and to whom the proprietors of land paid tribute. the name of the monarch of o wahi, on cook's arrival, was teraiopu, or, as he writes it, terreobu. captain king, the companion of cook, gives the following description of the sandwich islanders:-- "they are in general of the middle size,[ ] and well-proportioned. their movements are graceful, they run swiftly, and are able to carry great weights. the men, however, are inferior to the friendly islanders, in strength and activity; and the women are not so delicately formed as those of tahaiti: their colour is also a little browner, and they are not so handsome, but the features of both sexes are open and agreeable; the females especially have beautiful eyes and teeth, and a sweet expression of countenance. their hair is dark-brown, not so smooth as that of the american indians, nor so woolly as that of the negroes of africa, but between the two. "here, as on the other south sea islands, the yeris are advantageously distinguished in form from the lower classes, and are seldom disfigured by the swellings and ulcers frequent among the latter, which we ascribed to the great use of salt in their preparations of meat and fish; the former, however, are much injured by immoderate indulgence in the ava drink. those who suffered most from it had their whole bodies covered with a white eruption: their eyes were red and inflamed, they trembled much, and could scarcely hold up their heads. this beverage does not shorten the lives of all who use it too freely, as teraiopu, kau, and several other chiefs addicted to it, were old men; but it brings on premature and diseased old age. fortunately, this luxury is the exclusive privilege of the chiefs. the son of teraiopu, a boy of twelve years old, often boasted of having obtained the right of drinking ava, and showed with much complacency a spot on his loins where the eruption was already visible. "notwithstanding the great and irreparable loss which the sudden violence of these sandwich islanders has occasioned us," (in the death of cook,) "i must in justice declare, that they are usually gentle and kind, and by no means so changeable and volatile as the tahaitians, nor so reserved and melancholy as the friendly islanders: they live on the best possible terms with each other, and in peace and kindness in their families. we have often admired the care and tenderness with which the women treated their children, while the men assisted them in their domestic occupations with a readiness and good-will which did them great credit. "if however we should pronounce on the degree of civilization to which they have attained by the estimation the female sex enjoys among them, they would rank but low in the scale. the women are not only forbidden to eat with the men, but the best kinds of food are denied them. they are not allowed to eat pork, turtle, or several kinds of fish and bananas; and we were informed that a poor girl had been severely beaten for having tasted of these prohibited viands on board our ship. the females seemed indeed almost to live in a state of separation from their lords; and although we never perceived that they were ill treated, it is certain they are held in little respect. "we were always received when we came ashore with the greatest friendliness and hospitality. as soon as we landed, the inhabitants vied with each other in bringing us presents, preparing food for us, and showing us every mark of kindness. the old people were much pleased when they obtained permission to touch us; and they showed much modesty and humility in the comparisons they made between us and themselves. "in mental capacity, the sandwich islanders do not appear at all inferior to any other people. their progress in agriculture, and their skill in handicrafts, is fully proportionate to their means and situation. the earnest attention which they paid to the work of our smiths, and the various means they devised, even before our departure, to give any required form to the iron they obtained from us, convinced us at once of their industry and ingenuity. "our unfortunate friend kancena, (he was shot by one of the englishmen whom he had always treated with the greatest friendship) had a great desire for knowledge, an admirable natural understanding and a vivacity of mind seldom met with amongst uncultivated nations. he made innumerable inquiries concerning our manners and customs, our king, our form of government, the population and produce of our country, and the manner in which our ships and houses were built. he wished to know if we waged wars, with whom, and for what cause, what god we worshipped, and many other things; which showed an extensive range of thought." this testimony of captain king to the good disposition of the sandwich islanders becomes the more worthy of credit, when we consider that the english always treated them with great severity, and that captain cook only fell a sacrifice to his own error. king has also defended them from the imputation of being cannibals, of which anderson and several of cook's companions had accused them. the propensity to theft was as common among the lower classes here, as on the other south sea islands; and this it was which occasioned the thoughtless severity of cook, who was always judge in his own cause, and suffered himself to be hurried into unjustifiable acts of violence. had he been a philanthropist, as well as a great navigator, he would not have lost his life at o wahi. the custom of tattooing existed also among the sandwich islanders; their faces were frequently marked with lines crossing each other at right angles, and some even had their tongues tattooed; pretty drawings were frequently seen on the hands and arms of the women. the ordinary dress of both sexes was nothing more than a piece of stuff folded round their bodies. the females adorned themselves besides with necklaces of muscle-shells, or little red shining beans, and with bracelets of various ornamental materials; they sometimes wore collars of beautiful feathers ingeniously blended together; their hair was also decorated with feathers and with garlands of flowers. the sandwich islanders lived in villages or little hamlets of from one to two hundred dwellings, standing irregularly, pretty near each other, and communicating by a winding path. some of them were surrounded by gardens, enclosed with hedges. the food of the lower classes consisted chiefly of fish, yams, sweet potatoes, tarro-root, bananas, sugar-canes, and bread-fruit. those of higher rank also indulged in pork, and the flesh of dogs, prepared in the same manner as on the society islands. the tame poultry of europe was also found here, but it was scarce, and not very much prized. these people were particularly clean, and their cookery was preferred by englishmen to that of their own country. the yeris were chiefly employed in the building of vessels and the manufacture of mats; the females prepared a stuff of the paper kind, which was so pressed and coloured as to resemble our calico; and fishing or agriculture was the chief business of the servants. these occupations, however, left leisure for various pastimes, particularly dancing, which the young people of both sexes delighted in. drums of several sorts were their only musical instruments, but their songs were very pleasing. they often played at a game much resembling our draughts; it is played with black and white stones on a piece of board, and from the great number of pieces, seems to require much attention. in another game, a stone was hidden under a large piece of stuff, and the player was to point out the precise spot in which it lay. running races, in which the girls took part, and apparently dangerous exercises in swimming amidst the surf, were also among their amusements. in wrestling and boxing, they did not display so much strength and skill as the friendly islanders. the children often handled their balls with great dexterity, throwing several at once into the air and catching them again. their vessels were very well built; the largest, a double one, seventy feet long, twelve broad, and three and a half deep, belonged to teraiopu. the most remarkable of their utensils were the vessels appropriated to drinking ava; they were usually eight or ten inches in diameter, perfectly round and very well polished, and were supported by three or four little images of men in various attitudes, sometimes bearing the vessel on their heads, sometimes on their shoulders, or on their hands raised above their heads. these figures were very well executed, the proportions correctly preserved, and even the proper action of the muscles well defined. among the arts in which the sandwich islanders excelled, was that of preparing salt: the english obtained from them a large quantity of the best kind. their arms consisted of clubs, lances, and daggers, made of hard wood. war was of frequent occurrence amongst the inhabitants of the several islands; the battles were often very bloody, and usually at sea, the vessels grappling. the yeris, when they went to battle, wore the decorated helmets already described, and the mantles covered with black, red, and yellow feathers: those of the yerirahis, or kings, were of yellow only. images of the god of war, cut in wood; dreadful caricatures of the human figure in a threatening posture, the mouth open and armed with dogs' teeth, were always carried before the kings into battle; and the chief aim of the enemy was to capture them, as this achievement usually put an end to the war. a part of the prisoners were sacrificed to the gods; but as the shedding of blood in this rite was forbidden, they were strangled, and laid down before the images of the gods in the marai, with their faces turned to the earth. the burial of the dead was a very sacred ceremony, and accompanied with many forms. the corpse was laid in a pit till the flesh decayed, the bones were then cleaned, and a part of them distributed among the relations and friends to be preserved as relics, part laid in consecrated ground. dying persons sometimes desired that their bones should be thrown into the crater of the volcano at o wahi, which was inhabited by the revered god pelai. it has already been mentioned, that the women were prohibited from eating many kinds of food; they were also forbidden, under pain of death, to enter a house where the men were eating, and they were entirely secluded from the marais; with these exceptions, they enjoyed great freedom, and even had a voice in the deliberations concerning war and peace. the religious regulation of the tabu, or interdict, existed here as well as on many other of the south sea islands. a person declared under a tabu was inviolable; a piece of land under a tabu must not be trodden by any one; nor must a species of animal so declared, be injured or shot until the tabu was again taken off. thus tameamea declared the diamond mountain under the tabu, because an englishman, finding there a piece of quartz-crystal, considered it to be diamond; and the king, finding these were of great value, supposed he possessed in the mountain an inexhaustible treasure, till he discovered his mistake, and the tabu was taken off. the vessels first seen by the sandwich islanders must have been very small, for when cook's appeared, they took her for a swimming island, and believed that etua-rono, for whom they always retained the most profound veneration, had at length fulfilled his promise and returned to them. the joy was universal; and it was determined to receive the beneficent god, so long absent, who was to restore the golden age upon the island, with all possible honours. neither cook nor his companion seemed to have had any notion that they were saluted with divine honours; but they considered the ceremonies enacted by the rejoicing people as marks of distinction commonly bestowed on persons of importance. his being called by them "o rono," (the rono) did not enlighten him on the subject, as he was unacquainted with the tradition; but he contented himself with the conjecture, that the appellation was a title of honour, signifying chief or priest. had the conduct of cook made it possible for the islanders to retain their beneficial error, the good understanding between them and the english would never have been interrupted; but he himself was the first to convince them that he could not be their divine benefactor. some of the populace conceived themselves entitled to appropriate a portion of the presents which rono, according to his promise, had brought them--a licence which was immediately punished by cook with great severity: the offenders taken in the fact were whipped; those who fled were fired upon; and several persons, some of whom were innocent, lost their lives. rono could not be so cruel and unjust; and _tute_, as they called cook, immediately sunk in their estimation to the rank of ordinary mortals. he was henceforth feared as a mighty chief, but venerated no longer. this change of sentiment was very evident when he returned hither from his voyage northward. the islanders met the ship as before, with hogs and fruits; but they set a price upon them, instead of presenting them, as formerly, in the character of offerings, and accepting the returns made them as gratuitous gifts. finding that they obtained what appeared to them an exorbitant price for their provisions, they supposed the strangers to come from a land of scarcity for the mere purpose of satisfying their appetites; and the common people wholly ceasing to regard them with reverence, became bolder in their depredations. the king, the priests, and many of the principal yeris, still however continued firm in their attachment to the english. a yeri, named parea, gave a striking proof of this kindly disposition, which captain king has thus related:--some kanackas, having stolen certain articles, were pursued with muskets; and though every thing was recovered, an english officer thought himself justified in taking possession of a canoe lying on the shore belonging to parea, who, being perfectly innocent of the theft, reclaimed his property. the officer refused to surrender it; and in the subsequent contest, parea received so violent a blow on the head with an oar, that he fell senseless to the ground. in the mean time the islanders had assembled, and, irritated at this undeserved outrage on a chief, began to throw stones at the english, who were obliged to swim to a neighbouring rock for safety. the victorious people, thus left in possession of the field of battle, fell upon the english boat, which they would have destroyed but for the interposition of parea, who had now recovered his senses. he dispersed the crowd, made a signal to the english that they might return, restored their boat, and sent them back in it to their ship. parea afterwards followed them, taking with him a midshipman's hat, and some other trifles which were missing; expressed his sorrow for the dispute that had arisen, and inquired whether o rono desired his death, or whether he might come again to the ship.--(it appeared from this that he still looked upon cook as the deity, or at least affected this belief to propitiate the english.)--he was assured that he had nothing to fear, and would always be welcome; he then touched the nose of the officers, in sign of amity and reconciliation, and returned to land. since parea had hindered his countrymen from wreaking their vengeance on one boat, they indemnified themselves by stealing another, and in the night cut through the rope which fastened it to the ship. cook, enraged at this occurrence, determined to bring the king himself on board his ship, and detain him there as a hostage till the boat should be restored; a measure which on another island he had already successfully adopted on a similar occasion. he therefore went ashore with a party of soldiers well armed, having given orders that none of the boats belonging to the natives should be suffered to leave the bay, as it was his determination, in case gentler measures should prove ineffectual, to destroy them all. all the boats of both ships, well manned and armed, were therefore so placed as to enforce obedience to this command. cook was received, according to king's account, with the greatest respect: the people prostrated themselves before him. he proceeded direct to the old king, and invited him on board his ship. the king immediately consented; but some of the yeris endeavoured to dissuade him; and the more earnestly cook pressed his going, the more strenuously they endeavoured to prevent it. cook, at length, seized the king by the arm, and would have carried him off by force; which in the highest degree irritated the assembled multitudes. at this moment a yeri, who in crossing the bay from the opposite side had been fired upon by the english boats, rushed with blood streaming from his wound into the presence of the king, and cried aloud to him to remain where he was, or he would certainly receive similar treatment; this incident wound up the rage of the people to its utmost pitch, and the conflict commenced, in which cook lost his life. karemaku, who, when a young man, had witnessed these circumstances, related them to me; and the accounts of cook's companions upon the whole agree with his. some isolated facts are differently stated by them; but i was assured by all the natives of wahu, that karemaku had strictly adhered to the truth. even if we give entire credit to the english narrative, we shall find that they were the aggressors,--that the islanders acted only on the defensive, and that cook's fate, however lamentable, was not entirely undeserved. john reinhold forster, in his preface to a journal of a voyage of discovery to the south sea, in the years to , gives an extract from a letter written to him by an englishman in a responsible situation, in which he says of cook--"the captain's character is not the same now as formerly: his head seems to have been turned." forster gives the same account concerning the change in cook, when he says-- "cook, on his first voyage, had with him messrs. banks and solander, both lovers of art and science. on the second, i and my son were his companions, enjoying daily and familiar intercourse with him. in our presence, respect for his own character restrained him; our mode of thinking, our principles and manners influenced his, and prevented his treating the poor harmless south sea islanders with cruelty. the only instance of undue severity we ever witnessed in his behaviour, was when on account of some petty theft he once allowed his cannon to be fired upon the fugitive offenders; fortunately, however, no one was injured by this rash act. but having in his last voyage no other witnesses of his actions, than such as were entirely under his command, he forgot what he owed to his own great name, and was guilty in many instances of extreme cruelty. i am therefore convinced, that if messrs. banks and solander, dr. spaarmann, or i and my son, had been with him on the last voyage, his life would not have been lost in the manner it was." the first ships which visited the sandwich islands after cook's death were those of meeres, dickson, and coke, in the years - . they traded in skins between china and the north-west coast of america, and found these islands very convenient to touch at. they were well received; and some of the islanders made the voyage to america with them. tianna, one of the first yeris of o wahi, went with meeres to china. these voyages, and the continual intercourse with europeans, which their increasing trade in fur produced, necessarily enlarged the ideas of these children of nature; and as they were not under the dominion of that folly which, in common with the greenlanders, possesses some of the most civilized nations in europe, of considering themselves the first people upon earth, they soon acquired our manners, and derived all the advantage that could be expected from the opportunities of improvement thus afforded them. vancouver found, in , that many remarkable changes had taken place on these islands since cook's time. king teraiopu did not long survive that eminent navigator. his son kawarao succeeded to the government of the greater part of the island of o wahi; the rest fell to his relation tameamea. kawarao was a tyrant, and governed with unexampled cruelty. at certain periods of the moon, he declared himself holy, or under a tabu: the priests alone had then the privilege of seeing him so long as the sun was above the horizon; and an immediate death of the severest torture was the melancholy lot of any individual not belonging to this sacred order, who by whatever accident should cast but a momentary glance upon the voluntarily secluded monarch. to this cruelty of disposition, kawarao united an unbounded ambition, which prompted him to make war on his kinsman tameamea. this young and powerful chief early distinguished himself, and soon became celebrated throughout these islands for superiority of intellect and skill in arms. kawarao, although he had greatly the advantage in numbers, could never obtain a victory; fire-arms were not then in use here, and success long vibrated between the contending rivals. both parties at length determined to put the final issue of the war to the test of a single combat, stipulating that the conqueror should acquire the sovereignty of the whole island. the two kings armed; their respective priests carried the images of their gods to the field, and the fight commenced. kawarao trusted to his skill in throwing the javelin; but tameamea could defend himself from several antagonists at once, and scarcely ever missed his aim. after some fruitless efforts of both combatants, tameamea's spear pierced the side of his bloodthirsty enemy, who fell dead on the field. this duel, by which tameamea became king of o wahi and of muwe, which had also belonged to kawarao, took place in the year . to establish his dominion on a firmer basis, tameamea married the daughter of the vanquished monarch, and acquired the love of his subjects by his wise and moderate government. himself endowed with uncommon powers of mind, he entrusted the important offices of state only to such as were capable of discharging them efficiently. he made a very fortunate choice in karemaku, who, while quite a young man, entered into all the enlightened and comprehensive views of his master, forwarded them with ability and energy, and continued his faithful servant till the death of tameamea. the english called him the pitt of the sandwich islands. several europeans now established themselves at o wahi; among whom davis and john young have been the most useful to the rising nation. under their direction, houses and ships have been constructed in the european fashion; the island has been enriched with many useful plants; and their advice has been successfully followed in the affairs of government. with the appearance of vancouver, arose the fortunate star of these islands. among the innumerable benefits he conferred upon them, they are indebted to him for the possession of sheep and cattle. tameamea declared these animals under a tabu for ten years, which allowed time for so large an increase, that they now run wild in the forests. had vancouver enjoyed cook's advantages, the islanders might still have believed him their rono. tameamea, during vancouver's visit, swayed the sceptre only over the islands of o wahi and muwe, and was engaged in wars with his neighbour kings, whom he fought with the assistance of cannon purchased from european ships. he commanded in every battle, both by sea and land; and karemaku, as first in authority under him, was his constant companion. the o wahians, however, could not have well understood the use of their cannons and other fire-arms, as, after vancouver's departure, the war was maintained for ten years. o tuai, the most north-westerly island, even then held out, though the others had submitted. in the year , tameamea conquered this also, after many unsuccessful attempts, and thus became the supreme governor of the whole archipelago. from this time all his efforts were directed to the education of his people, and the improvement of their trade. salt and sandal-wood were the chief articles of exportation. the latter, though bought at rather a high price by the north-american ships, which almost exclusively monopolized this trade, sold for a large profit at canton. i have been told, that the americans have purchased sandal-wood here to the amount of three hundred thousand spanish dollars a-year. tameamea bartered this wood for some large american merchant-ships, manned them, and other ships built in the sandwich islands, partly with his own subjects, and partly with europeans, and traded on his own account. he had even found means to create a small fleet of ships of war; and his warehouses, built of stone, were filled with european and american merchandise. he possessed a considerable treasure in silver money and utensils; his fortresses were planted with cannon of a large calibre, and he maintained a force of fifteen thousand men, all armed with muskets, in the use of which they had been carefully exercised. he took much pains, assisted by the spaniard marini, to introduce the cotton-tree, which answered very well, and yielded fine cotton; and endeavoured to improve the native flax, already much superior to that of new zealand, and to profit by it as an article of commerce. nothing which promised advantage to his country escaped his penetrating mind; he exerted, in short, every faculty of his mind to place the sandwich islands in a state of progressive assimilation to the most prosperous nations. vessels of every nation were as secure from injustice or insult in his ports, as in those of europe, if not more so. as soon as a strange ship arrived, criers were employed to give notice that the new comers were friends, and must be hospitably received, and that any incivility shown them would be severely punished. when tameamea first sent a ship to canton with sandal-wood, he was obliged to pay a considerable duty for anchorage; whereupon he argued, that what was exacted from himself, he might with a safe conscience demand from others; and every ship is now required to pay forty spanish dollars for anchorage in the outer, and eighty in the inner harbour of hanaruro. wahu is the most fertile of all the islands, and the only one enjoying a secure harbour; it therefore naturally advances the most rapidly in civilization. several european and american traders have settled in hanaruro; shops have been opened, and houses built in the european style, of wood and stone; some of the former were made in america, and brought here to be put together. the exertions of marini introduced here many european vegetables, the vine and other fruits, which are all in a flourishing state. he collected and tamed a herd of cows. goats, sheep, and poultry of all kinds are common. the frequent voyages which the sandwich islanders now made, partly in tameamea's vessels, partly foreign ones, on board which they served as sailors, gradually familiarised them with the manners of more civilized nations. they adopted our costume, but after the tahaitian fashion; considering a complete suit as an unnecessary luxury. even tameamea himself, for his usual attire, wore only a shirt, trowsers, and red waistcoat, without a coat; he possessed, however, many richly embroidered uniforms, but kept them for grand occasions. these islanders had made great progress in the english language: many of them could speak it very tolerably. tameamea understood, but did not speak it. if any of my readers should wish for a farther acquaintance with the character of this distinguished sovereign, i must refer them to vancouver, and to my former voyage; but for the benefit of those who may not be disposed to take this trouble, i cannot forbear repeating from the latter some of his remarks to myself. he presented me with a collar most ingeniously worked with coloured feathers, which he had sometimes worn in war, and on solemn occasions, saying, "i have heard that your monarch is a great warrior, and i love him, because i am a warrior myself; bear to him this collar, which i send as a token of my regard." once as he embraced an image in his marai, he said, "these are our gods whom i adore; whether in so doing i am right or wrong, i know not, but i follow the religion of my country, which cannot be a bad one, since it commands me to be just in all my actions." on the th of may, in the year , tameamea terminated his meritorious career, to the great sorrow as well of the foreign settlers as of his native subjects. his remains were disposed of according to the rites of the religion he professed. after they had remained some time in the marai, the bones were cleaned, and divided among his relatives and the most distinguished of his attendants. according to the custom of this country, two persons had long before been destined for interment with him at his death; but by his express desire this ceremony was dispensed with. his eldest son and legitimate successor, lio lio, or, as the english call it, _rio rio_,--for there is some difficulty in distinguishing between the l and the r of the sandwich islanders,--now assumed the government, under the name of tameamea the second. unhappily, the father's talents were not hereditary; and the son's passion for liquor incapacitated him for ruling with the same splendid reputation an infant state, which, having already received so strong an impulse towards civilization, required a skilful guide to preserve it from degeneracy and error. the chiefs of some of the islands, and especially of o tuai, had, even in tameamea's lifetime, founded a hope of future independence, on the weakness of his successor, and immediately upon his death proceeded to attempt the accomplishment of their desires. but karemaku, the faithful friend and counsellor of the deceased king, to whom the whole nation looked up with affection, and whose penetration easily discerned the evil consequences that would ensue from a political disunion of the islands, devoted to the son all the zeal and patriotism with which he had served the father. by the influence of his eloquence, and the force of his arms, he quelled the insurrection, and re-established peace and order; but to enthrone the new monarch in the hearts of his people exceeded his ability; and their disaffection proved that the germ of future disorders was not wholly extinct. the king chose wahu for his residence, because this island was in the best state for defence; and giving himself up entirely to dissipation, sunk lower and lower in the estimation of his subjects. karemaku was the good genius who watched over the welfare of the country, while its monarch was wasting his hours and his health in orgies, at which he was frequently known to empty a bottle of rum at a draught. it was not to be supposed that a king addicted to such habits should conceive any projects of utility or advantage for his people; he wished, however, to distinguish himself by some effort in their favour, or at least to relieve them from the trammels of superstition. he was a freethinker in a bad sense. he hated the religion of his country, because it laid some restraints upon his inclinations, and he determined to overthrow it; not for the purpose of introducing a better, a task to which his feeble mind was unequal, but for that of at once relieving himself and his subjects from ceremonies which he considered useless, because he undervalued the precepts of morality interwoven with them, and for the sake of which his father had always conscientiously observed them. in the fifth month of his reign, he proceeded in a violent and brutal manner, notwithstanding all the remonstrances of karemaku, to the execution of his design. having previously arranged his plans with some chiefs, the companions of his excesses, he invited the principal inhabitants of the islands to a sumptuous banquet. after the wine and rum had produced their wonted effects, females were introduced, and compelled to partake of the feast. these poor creatures, having no suspicion of the king's intentions, shrunk with terror from a profanation punishable with death. but their resistance was unavailing: they were not only constrained to sit down to the repast in company with the men, but even to eat pork; and thus, to the great astonishment of such guests as were not in the secret, to violate, at the royal command, a double tabu. a murmur arose; but the greater part of the company were under the influence of liquor, and the king now openly proclaimed his intentions. his auditors inquired in alarm what crime the gods had committed, that they should be thus unceremoniously dismissed; and besought him not to occasion his own destruction and that of the country, by provoking their indignation. the king started from his seat, and exclaimed with violent gestures, "you see we have already violated the strongest tabus, and yet the gods inflict no punishment, because they have no power; neither have they power to do us good. our faith was erroneous and worthless. come, let us destroy the marais, and from henceforth acknowledge no religion!" the immediate dependents of the king rose to second him: the inhabitants of hanaruro had been depraved by their intercourse with foreign sailors, and a tumultuous crowd, who held nothing sacred, soon followed the revellers. arrived at the royal marai, some of them, terrified by the aspect of their idols, would have receded; but when the king himself, and his friends and followers, began to maltreat them, and no divine vengeance followed, the courage of the multitude revived, and the marais were soon utterly destroyed. this outrage to what the people at large most venerated, introduced a scene of confusion and violence, and would indeed have entailed destruction both on the king and the country, had not karemaku again stood forward in their defence. several yeris who, disapproving the sentiments of the king, had retired privately from the banquet, joined the priests in exciting the people to defend their gods by force of arms. an army was raised, and, animated by the presence of the war-god, commenced hostilities against his sacrilegious opponents. when the news of the destruction of the marais reached the other islands, insurrections also broke out in each of them. karemaku had condemned the sacrilege, and abstained from any part in it; but as it could not now be prevented, and he foresaw the mischievous consequences of civil commotions, he assembled an army, and, victorious wherever he appeared, succeeded in restoring tranquillity. on the large island o wahi, however, he encountered a formidable resistance; but at length, after several bloody contests, he captured the war-god: the insurgents, who had also lost their leaders in the last battle, believing themselves quite abandoned by the gods, now dispersed, and karemaku, on the restoration of tranquillity, returned to wahu. it is a remarkable fact, that a people who regarded their faith and their priests with so much reverence, as i had myself witnessed previously to this occurrence, should in so short a period, acquiescing in the decree which denounced their creed as error, and consigned their sanctuaries to demolition, contentedly submit to the total deprivation of all external signs of religion. karemaku had judgment enough to perceive that this state of things would not endure, and that a religion of some kind was indispensable to the people; he therefore resolved to set his countrymen a good example, and yielding to an inclination he had long entertained, to declare himself publicly a convert to christianity. in the same year, , captain freycinet, on his voyage round the world, landed at hanaruro, and a clergyman accompanying him, karemaku and his brother boki received the sacrament of baptism according to the forms of the catholic church. at this time, a society of missionaries was formed in the united states of america, for the purpose of introducing christianity into the sandwich islands. of the extinction of the ancient faith, which must of course facilitate their undertaking, they had as yet received no information. six families of these missionaries arrived at wahu in , bringing with them two young sandwich islanders, who had been previously prepared in their schools. the king, hearing of their intention, would not allow them to land, but commanded them immediately to depart from his shores. here, again, karemaku interposed, and endeavoured to convince the king that the christian religion would be one of the greatest benefits he could confer on his subjects. the king then assembled the most distinguished yeris, and after fourteen days' deliberation, decreed that a piece of land should be granted to the missionaries, with permission to build a church, and to preach their doctrines, under the condition that they should immediately leave the island if the experiment should be found to have a prejudicial influence on the people. the missionaries agreed to the terms, took up their residence on wahu, and from thence extended settlements over the other islands. their first efforts were successfully directed to the conversion of the king, his family, and the most distinguished yeris. when these personages had openly professed the new faith, the missionaries considered themselves firmly established, and proceeded with more confidence to the full execution of their plan. they quickly acquired the language of the islands, which from the largest of them they called the o wahi language, printed the first book in it, (a collection of hymns,) in the year , and instructed the natives, who proved apt scholars, in reading and writing. these missionaries were protestants; but the catholic karemaku, having no notion of the points of doctrine in dispute between the churches, joined without hesitation in communion with them; and the christian religion spreading rapidly among the sandwich islanders, without any of the constraint or persecution which had disgraced it at o tahaiti, promised the happiest effects. notwithstanding, however, all the efforts of karemaku, the people were not yet entirely pacified. the former faith had still many secret adherents, and the king was unable to acquire either the esteem or affection of his subjects. insurrections were continually dreaded; and rio rio, not feeling sufficiently secure even in his entrenchments at wahu, determined, by the advice of some europeans, to make a voyage to england, in the hope that these discontents would subside during his absence. he confided the administration of the government to the faithful karemaku, and kahumanna, the favourite wife of his father, and in the year sailed for england in a north american ship, accompanied by his consort, karemaku's brother boki, and some other persons of rank; taking with him twenty-five thousand spanish piastres from the treasure amassed by his father. soon after the king's departure, a regular rebellion broke out in the island of o tuai. its former ruler, tamari, was dead, and his son, a young man who had been brought up in the united states of america, and had unfortunately fallen into bad company, was desirous to recover for himself the independent dominion of the island. karemaku and kahumanna immediately hastened thither with an army, and on our arrival at hanaruro we found the war still raging at o tuai, though it was supposed to be near its close. the government of wahu was entrusted, during the absence of the regents, to another wife of tameamea, named nomahanna, conjointly with a yeri called chinau. on the morning after our arrival, i rowed ashore with some of my officers, to pay my respects to the queen nomahanna, and on landing was met by the spaniard marini, who accompanied us to her majesty as interpreter. on the way i was recognised by several old friends, with whom i had become acquainted on my former visit. they saluted me with a friendly "_aroha_." i cannot say there was much room for compliment on any visible improvement in their costume; for they still wore with much self-complacency some ill-assorted portions of european attire. the residence of nomahanna lay near the fortress on the sea-shore: it was a pretty little wooden house of two stories, built in the european style, with handsome large windows, and a balcony very neatly painted. we were received on the stairs by chinau, the governor of wahu, in a curious dishabille. he could hardly walk from the confinement his feet suffered in a pair of fisherman's shoes, and his red cloth waistcoat would not submit to be buttoned, because it had never been intended for so colossal a frame. he welcomed me with repeated "_arohas_," and led me up to the second floor, where all the arrangements had a pleasing and even elegant appearance. the stairs were occupied from the bottom to the door of the queen's apartments, by children, adults, and even old people, of both sexes, who, under her majesty's own superintendence, were reading from spelling-books, and writing on slates--a spectacle very honourable to her philanthropy. the governor himself had a spelling-book in one hand, and in the other a very ornamental little instrument made of bone, which he used for pointing to the letters. some of the old people appeared to have joined the assembly rather for example's sake, than from a desire to learn, as they were studying, with an affectation of extreme diligence, books held upside down. the spectacle of these scholars and their whimsical and scanty attire, nearly upset the gravity with which i had prepared for my presentation to the queen. the doors were, however, thrown open and i entered, chinau introducing me as the captain of the newly-arrived russian frigate. the apartment was furnished in the european fashion, with chairs, tables, and looking-glasses. in one corner stood an immensely large bed with silk curtains; the floor was covered with fine mats, and on these, in the middle of the room, lay nomahanna, extended on her stomach, her head turned towards the door, and her arms supported on a silk pillow. two young girls lightly dressed, sat cross-legged by the side of the queen, flapping away the flies with bunches of feathers. nomahanna, who appeared at the utmost not more than forty years old, was exactly six feet two inches high, and rather more than two ells in circumference. she wore an old-fashioned european dress of blue silk; her coal-black hair was neatly plaited, at the top of a head as round as a ball; her flat nose and thick projecting lips were certainly not very handsome, yet was her countenance on the whole prepossessing and agreeable. on seeing me, she laid down the psalm-book in which she had been reading, and having, with the help of her attendants, changed her lying for a sitting posture, she held out her hand to me in a very friendly manner, with many "_arohas!_" and invited me to take a seat on a chair by her side. her memory was better than my own; she recognised me as the russian officer who had visited the deceased monarch tameamea, on the island of o wahi. on that occasion i had been presented to the queens; but since that time nomahanna had so much increased in size, that i did not know her again. she was aware how highly i esteemed her departed consort; my appearance brought him vividly to her remembrance, and she could not restrain her tears, in speaking of his death. "the people," said she, "have lost in him a protector and a father. what will now be the fate of these islands, the god of the christians only knows." she now informed me with much self-gratulation that she was a christian, and attended the prayer-meeting several times every day. desirous to know how far she had been instructed in the religion she professed, i inquired through marini the grounds of her conversion. she replied that she could not exactly describe them, but that the missionary bengham, who understood reading and writing perfectly well, had assured her that the christian faith was the best; and that, seeing how far the europeans and americans, who were all christians, surpassed her compatriots in knowledge, she concluded that their belief must be the most reasonable. "if, however," she added, "it should be found unsuited to our people, we will reject it, and adopt another." hence it appears that the christianity of the missionaries is not regarded with the reverence which, in its purity, it is calculated to inspire in the most uncultivated minds. in conclusion, nomahanna triumphantly informed me, that the women might now eat as much pork as they pleased, instead of being, as formerly, limited to dog's flesh. at this observation, an intrusive idea suddenly changed her tone and the expression of her features. with a deep sigh, she exclaimed--"what would tameamea say if he could behold the changes which have taken place here? no more gods--no more marais: all are destroyed! it was not so in his time:--we shall never have such another king!" then, while the tears trickled down her cheeks, she bared her right arm, and showed me, tattooed on it in the o wahi language--"our good king tameamea died on the th of may ." this sign of mourning for the beloved monarch, which cannot be laid aside like our pieces of crape, but accompanies the mourner to the grave, is very frequent on the sandwich islands, and testifies the esteem in which his memory is held: but it is a still more striking proof of the universal grief for his loss, that on the anniversary of his death, all his subjects struck out one of their front teeth; and the whole nation have in consequence acquired a sort of whistle in speaking. chinau had even had the above words tattooed on his tongue, of which he gave me ocular demonstration; nor was he singular in this mode of testifying his attachment. it is surprising that an operation so painful, and which occasions a considerable swelling, should not be attended with worse consequences. nomahanna spoke with enthusiasm on the subject of writing. formerly, she said, she could only converse with persons who were present; now, let them be ever so far distant, she could whisper her thoughts softly to them alone. she promised to write me a letter, in order, she said, that i might prove to every one in russia that nomahanna was able to write. our conversation was interrupted by the rattling of wheels, and the sound of many voices. i looked from the window, and saw a little cart to which a number of active young men had harnessed themselves with the greatest complacency. i inquired of marini what this meant, and was informed that the queen was about to drive to church: an attendant soon after entered, and announced that the equipage was ready. nomahanna graciously proposed my accompanying her; and rather than risk her displeasure by a refusal, i accepted the invitation with many thanks, though i foresaw that i should thus be drawn in as a party to a very absurd spectacle. the queen now put on a white calico hat decorated with chinese flowers, took a large chinese fan in her hand, and, having completed her toilette by drawing on a pair of clumsy sailor's boots, we set out. in descending the stairs, she made a sign that the school was over for the present; an announcement that seemed very agreeable to the scholars, to the old ones especially. at the door below, a crowd had assembled, attracted by curiosity to see me and their queen drive out together. the young men in harness shouted for joy, and patiently waited the signal for the race. some delay, however, occurred in taking our seats with suitable dignity. the carriage was very small, and my companion very large, so that i was fain to be content with a seat upon the edge, with a very good chance of losing my balance, had not her majesty, to obviate the danger, encircled my waist with her stout and powerful arm, and thus secured me on my seat; our position, and the contrast presented by our figures, had no doubt a sufficiently comical effect. when we were at length comfortably settled, the governor chinau came forth, and with no other addition than a round hat to the costume already described, mounted a meagre unsaddled steed, and off we all went at full gallop, the queen taking infinite pains to avoid losing me by the way. the people came streaming from all sides, shouting "_aroha maita!_"--our team continually increasing, while a crowd behind contended for the honour of helping to push us forward. in this style we drove the whole length of hanaruro, and in about a quarter of an hour reached the church, which lies on an ugly flat, and exactly resembles that at o tahaiti both in external and internal appearance. the congregation was very small. nomahanna and an old lady were the only individuals of their sex; and chinau, myself, and a few others, the only males present. even the people who had drawn us did not enter the church; from which i infer, that the influence of the missionaries is by no means so considerable as at o tahaiti; and certainly the converts are not yet driven with a stick into the house of prayer: nor would it be easy to fasten on the minds of the people the fetters so patiently endured on the society islands, where the labours of the missionaries are seldom interrupted by the intervention of strangers. the sandwich islanders are engaged in constant intercourse with foreign sailors, mostly of licentious characters, who indeed profess the christian religion; but brought hither by the desire of gain, or the necessity of laying in provisions for their ships, are generally wholly occupied in driving crafty bargains, and certainly are no way instrumental in inspiring the islanders with ideas of religion or morality, but on the contrary, set them examples which have a direct tendency to deprave their minds. such among these crews as have been guilty of offences on board ship, frequently run away and settle on the islands. this was severely prohibited in tameamea's time, but is now permitted, from christian charity. such characters as these, reckless of every thing sacred, do not hesitate to make a jest of the missionaries, whose extraordinary plans and regulations offer many weak points to the shafts of ridicule. when mr. bengham had concluded a discourse in the o wahi language, which might possibly have been highly edifying, but that it was addressed to little else than empty benches,--for i did not understand him, and the minds of the few other persons present were evidently occupied with very different matters,--we returned to the palace in the same style that we had left it. i then took my leave, having received a promise of being amply supplied with provisions: the queen also, at my request, ordered a small house near her own to be prepared for our astronomical observations, and our astronomer, m. preus, took possession of it on the following day. our arrival had created a great sensation on the island. a foreign ship of war is an uncommon spectacle here--one from russia more especially, as the attempt of the insane dr. scheffer, in , to raise the island of o tuai against tameamea, in the hope of annexing it to the empire of russia, had naturally introduced a fear of similar projects, although the absurd design was entirely discountenanced by the emperor alexander. the english also, even in their writings, have contributed to spread the ridiculous idea, that russia entertained views against the independence of the sandwich islands; and that rio rio's voyage was only undertaken for the purpose of imploring the assistance of england against our government. from the air of protection which england has for some time past assumed towards these islands, it is probable that she herself secretly harbours such a design, and only waits a favourable opportunity for its execution; although the english always profess to acknowledge the sovereignty of the native monarch, and the king of england, in writing to tameamea, calls him, "your majesty." i am, however, far from desiring to maintain this opinion as founded on any sufficient grounds. the alarm of the islanders, on the present occasion, had been in great measure excited by a paragraph in a mexican newspaper, recently imported, which contained a new version of the english fiction. the mistrust, however, did not long subsist. my assurances of friendship, and the particularly good behaviour of the whole crew, by which they were advantageously distinguished from those of the other ships lying here, soon attracted towards us the confidence and esteem of the natives and their governors. during the whole of my stay on the island, i had not the slightest cause to be dissatisfied with the conduct of my men, notwithstanding the temptations to which they were exposed, from the example of other sailors. all that could be spared from the ship were, every sunday, allowed to go ashore; this being generally known in hanaruro, a crowd of wahuaners were always in waiting to welcome the arrival of our boat. the friendly intercourse which at all times subsisted between our people and the islanders was truly gratifying. i observed with regret, in my daily visits to hanaruro, that the wahuaners had lost the simplicity and innocence of character which formerly distinguished them. the profligate habits of the settlers of all nations among them, and of the numerous foreign sailors with whom they constantly associate, have most prejudicially affected their morals. fraud, theft, and burglary, never heard of in tameamea's time, are now frequent. murder implies a degree of wickedness to which they have not yet attained; but a circumstance that occurred shortly before our arrival, may perhaps become an example even for this worst of crimes. the crew of an english whaler, in which much drinking had been permitted, mutinied, and the captain received a blow on the head, which, though it did not destroy life, produced insanity; nor could all the efforts of our physician wholly restore his reason. he had indeed lucid intervals, during which he became reconciled to his crew, and at length sailed for england; but i have reason to believe the vessel never reached its destination. one very unpleasant consequence has attended progressive civilization in hanaruro:--painted signs, that the means of intoxication might be purchased within, hang from many of the houses: their keepers are runaway sailors, who, to increase their own profit, naturally have recourse to every means that may tempt the people to excess; and these liquor-shops accordingly enjoy a constant overflow of visitors. others are fitted up in a superior style, for the exclusive accommodation of yeris and ships' officers, admission being refused to kanackas and sailors. carousing is here also the order of the day, but billiards and whist form part of the entertainments; the latter game especially is a great favourite with the wahuaners, who play it well. whist parties may be seen every where seated on the ground, in the streets or in open fields, among whom large sums of money and valuable goods are at stake. the players are always surrounded by spectators, who pronounce their opinions very volubly at the close of every game. the parties themselves are extremely animated, and the affair seldom terminates without a quarrel. many other games are also in favour; and through the prevalence of a custom which cannot be observed without regret, this once industrious and flourishing people are rapidly acquiring confirmed habits of idleness and dissipation. a great part of the well cultivated tarro-fields, which formerly surrounded hanaruro, now lie waste. on the great market-place, horse and foot races are proceeding all day long, and give occasion to extensive gambling. the wahuaners have as great a passion for horse-racing, as the malays for cock-fighting, and without hesitation venture their whole stock of wealth on a race. the purchase of a horse is, indeed, the great object of their ambition; and little attention having hitherto been directed to the breeding of these animals, they are imported from california, at an expense of from two to three, or even five hundred piastres; so that many a wahuaner is obliged to hoard his whole earnings for years together, to raise the means of indulging in this luxury. in these races the horse is not saddled, and a string supplies the place of a bit; the rider is usually quite naked, but very skilful in the management even of the wildest horse; but, as the treatment is injudicious, they are soon worn out. large sums are also staked at the _ship-games_, as they are called, in which the islanders display their seaman-like tastes. the players are usually clever ship-builders. they build pretty little vessels, in conformity with the rules of art, and, by their good management of the keel, make them good sailers; they rig them completely, and decorate them with flags and streamers. then assembling on the banks of some large pond, the owners spread the sails, make the helm fast, and launch the little fleet. the ship which is best built and rigged, first gains the opposite shore, and wins the prize. the spectators take great interest in the game, and a loud shout announces the victory. the children also, in imitation of their fathers, make little ships, and have sailing-matches on the smaller pieces of water. from the partiality of the sandwich islanders for a sea-life, and from their geographical situation, it is probable that, in time, they will become powerful at sea. tameamea left to his successor above a dozen good ships, all manned with natives. they obtain excellent nautical educations on board the united states' vessels trading between america and canton; and the americans, who are equal to the english as seamen, bear witness to the abilities of the islanders. luxury has made great advances in wahu. even among the lowest class of the people, some article of european clothing is universal. the females especially set their hearts upon the most fashionable mode of dress: whatever the queen wears is their model, which they imitate to the utmost of their power. the men are importuned to gratify this feminine vanity; and if their means will not enable them to do so fairly, they will often have recourse to fraud. the love of foreign wares, and especially of such as serve for dress and ornament, is by far the most fertile source of crime. the shopkeepers are emulous to make their assortment of goods as attractive as possible, and sometimes allow their customers credit, in which case they never fail to charge double, though their profits are at all times enormous. i have myself seen young girls paying two spanish dollars for a string of common glass-beads which would scarcely reach round the throat. the tradespeople practise every species of deception with impunity, for the laws are not yet sufficiently civilized to meet offences of this description; which therefore inflict a double injury on their dupe, by robbing him of his property, and affording him an example of successful fraud, which he will generally at least endeavour to imitate. on sunday, the inhabitants of wahu make their appearance at church in full dress to be admired; and if the spectacle on these occasions is not so thoroughly laughable as at o tahaiti, it is certainly sufficiently comic. the domestic utensils, formerly in use here, have entirely disappeared even from the poorest huts; and chinese porcelain has superseded the manufactures from the gourd or the cocoa-nut. fourteen days after our arrival, i received a message from karemaku, who was still at o tuai. he assured me that he was rejoiced at my coming, stated that he had sent orders to chinau to supply my ship with the best provisions, and added, that having happily concluded the expedition, he should soon return to hanaruro. meanwhile, we had no cause to complain of our situation: every thing was to be had for money; and nomahanna overwhelmed us with presents of fat hogs and the finest fish, putting all the fishermen into requisition to provide abundantly for our table. we had all reason to be grateful for her attention and kindness, and are all therefore ready to maintain that she is not only the cleverest and the most learned, but also the best woman in wahu, as indeed she is considered both by the natives and settlers. but i can also bear testimony to another qualification, of equal importance in her estimation--she has certainly the greatest appetite that ever came under my observation. i usually visited her in the morning, and was in the habit of finding her extended at full length upon the floor, employed in inditing her letter to me, which appeared to occasion her many a head-ache. once, however, i called exactly at dinner-time, and was shown into the eating-room. she was lying on fine mats before a large looking-glass, stretched as usual on her prodigious stomach: a number of chinese porcelain dishes, containing food of various kinds, were ranged in a semicircle before her, and the attendants were busily employed in handing first one and then another to her majesty. she helped herself with her fingers from each in its turn, and ate most voraciously, whilst two boys flapped away the flies with large bunches of feathers. my appearance did not at all disturb her: she greeted me with her mouth full, and graciously nodded her desire that i should take my seat in a chair by her side, when i witnessed, i think, the most extraordinary meal upon record. how much had passed the royal mouth before my entrance, i will not undertake to affirm; but it took in enough in my presence to have satisfied six men! great as was my admiration at the quantity of food thus consumed, the scene which followed was calculated to increase it. her appetite appearing satisfied at length, the queen drew her breath with difficulty two or three times, then exclaimed, "i have eaten famously!" these were the first words her important business had allowed her time to utter. by the assistance of her attendants, she then turned upon her back, and made a sign with her hand to a tall, strong fellow, who seemed well practised in his office; he immediately sprang upon her body, and kneaded her as unmercifully with his knees and fists as if she had been a trough of bread. this was done to favour digestion; and her majesty, after groaning a little at this ungentle treatment, and taking a short time to recover herself, ordered her royal person to be again turned on the stomach, and recommenced her meal. this account, whatever appearance of exaggeration it may bear, is literally true, as all my officers, and the other gentlemen who accompanied me, will witness. m. preuss, who lived in the neighbourhood of the lady, frequently witnessed similar meals, and maintains that nomahanna and her fat hog were the greatest curiosities in wahu. the latter is in particular favour with the queen, who feeds him almost to death: he is black, and of extraordinary size and fatness: two kanackas are appointed to attend him, and he can hardly move without their assistance. nomahanna is vain of her tremendous appetite. she considers most people too thin, and recommends inaction as an accelerator of her admired _embonpoint_--so various are the notions of beauty. on the sandwich islands, a female figure a fathom long, and of immeasurable circumference, is charming; whilst the european lady laces tightly, and sometimes drinks vinegar, in order to touch our hearts by her slender and delicate symmetry. one of our officers obtained the queen's permission to take her portrait. the limner's art is still almost a novelty here; and many persons of rank solicited permission to witness the operation. with the greatest attention, they watched every stroke of the outline, and loudly expressed their admiration as each feature appeared upon the paper. the nose was no sooner traced, than they exclaimed--"now nomahanna can smell!" when the eyes were finished--"now she can see!" they expressed especial satisfaction at the sight of the mouth, because it would enable her to eat; and they seemed to have some apprehension that she might suffer from hunger. at this point, nomahanna became so much interested, that she requested to see the picture also: she thought the mouth much too small, and begged that it might be enlarged. the portrait, however, when finished, did not please her; and she remarked rather peevishly--"i am surely much handsomer than that!" on the th of january, karemaku arrived with a squadron of two and three-masted ships, and many soldiers, before the harbour of hanaruro, after having terminated the war at o tuai quite to his satisfaction. the fleet being unable to enter the harbour, on account of a contrary wind, was obliged to cast anchor outside. i immediately sent off an officer with my shallop, to convey to the king's deputy my congratulations on his arrival; he and his young wife (his wife, of whom i spoke in my former voyage, was since dead,) returned in the shallop, and came on board my ship. i fired a salute as he approached, which pleased him much, as he said this compliment from a russian ship of war would tend to remove from the minds of his countrymen their injurious suspicions of the intentions of russia. karemaku seemed sincerely glad to see me again, and, after a most cordial embrace, presented his young and pretty wife to me. he minutely examined all parts of the ship, expressed his approbation of much that was new to him, and at length exclaimed--"how wide a difference there still is between this ship and ours!--would that they could be made to resemble it! o, tameamea, thou wast taken from us too soon!" in my cabin, he spoke of the death of his royal friend in terms which marini declared it impossible to translate, as no other language would express such depth of thought united with such ardent feeling. i rather apprehend that marini, who is not a man of much education, was not competent to give effect to powerful emotion in any language: but the missionaries also declare that there is considerable difficulty in translating from the o wahi language, which is particularly adapted to poetry. karemaku touched also on the change that had taken place in the religion of the country.--"our present belief," said he, "is preferable to that which it has supplanted; but the inhabitants of the mountains cannot understand its superiority; and strong measures are necessary to prevent their relapsing into idolatry. the king should not have so suddenly annihilated all that they held sacred. as a first consequence, he has been obliged to seek for safety in a foreign country. how all will end, i cannot foresee; but i look forward with fear. the people are attached to me, and i have influence over them; but my health declines, and the government, which i have scarcely been able to keep together, will probably not survive me. blood will be spilt, and anarchy will prevail. already the island of o tuai has revolted, even during my life." these fears are not without foundation: they are shared by the natives and the foreign settlers; and many of the yeris seem persuaded that the monarchy will be dismembered on karemaku's death. some have already fixed upon the districts they mean to appropriate, and do not even take any pains to conceal their intentions. yet has the aged and infirm karemaku hitherto maintained order among these turbulent spirits, permitting no one to disturb the general tranquillity with impunity. during my former visit here, the painter choris, who made the voyage with me, and was afterwards murdered in mexico, took an excellent likeness of tameamea. i now presented to the venerable karemaku a copper-plate engraving from this picture. the joy with which he received it was really affecting; he gazed on the picture with delight, and kissed it several times, while the tears rolled down his cheeks. on taking leave, he begged that he might have the medical assistance from our physician, as he had been long indisposed. he pressed my hand, saying, "i too am a christian, and can read and write." that a warrior, and a statesman, should pride himself on such advantages as these above all others, proves the estimation in which they are held. the sandwich islanders know that these are the ties which connect them with civilized nations. karemaku and his wife were, notwithstanding the extreme heat, dressed entirely in the european fashion. he wore a dark surtout, and black waistcoat, and pantaloons, both of very fine cloth. he was still in mourning for his beloved tameamea, and his hat was bound with crape. the lady's dress was of black silk. a crowd of people of both sexes assembled to welcome the regent. his foot had scarcely touched the shore, when they all began to rub each other's noses, and at a given signal, to weep aloud. this is the established etiquette in welcoming a great chief. some of the old women of rank surrounded karemaku, under chinau's direction, and rubbing each other's noses, sang in a plaintive tone a song to the following effect: "where hast thou stayed so long, beloved ruler? we have wept for thee every day. heaven be praised that thou art here again! dost thou feel how the earth rejoices under thy footsteps? dost thou hear how the pigs which scent thee, joyfully grunt their welcome? dost thou smell the roasted fish that waits thy eating? come, we will cherish thee, that thou mayest take comfort among us." it must be confessed, that if the o wahi language be peculiarly adapted for poetry, this composition does not do it justice. karemaku laughed at this reception, and allowed himself to be conducted in grand procession to nomahanna, who had not condescended to meet him. the excitement lasted the whole day. nothing was spoken of but karemaku's heroism, and the rebel son of tamaris, whom he had brought with him a prisoner. this young man is called prince george; he is about five-and-twenty, and not of a prepossessing appearance. he dresses like a european; but although educated in the united states of america, he scarcely equals a common sailor in moral attainments, and is remarkable only for his vices. karemaku never loses sight of him. two yeris are appointed for his keepers; and he knows that he should be strangled if he attempted to escape. kahumanna still remained in o tuai, to maintain the newly-restored tranquillity. this female, who had already distinguished herself in vancouver's time, unites a clear understanding with a masculine spirit, and seems to have been born for dominion. karemaku's arrival proved extremely useful to us. we had made the disagreeable discovery that a great part of the copper with which the ship was bottomed had become loose, and the hull thereby liable to injury from worms. to repair this damage in the ordinary way, the laborious task of unlading and keel-hauling must have been undertaken; but our noble friend, on hearing of our difficulties, put us upon an easier method of managing the business. he sent me three very clever divers, who worked under the water, and fastened new plates of copper on the hull, two of them provided with hammers to drive in the nails, while the third held the materials. we found that these men could remain at work forty-eight seconds at a time. when they emerged, their eyes were always red and starting; the effect of the violent strain upon the optic nerve which the use of the sight under water produces. we had some skilful divers among our own sailors, who, although they could not have attempted this work, were able to inspect what was done by the wahuaners, and to report that it was properly executed. some days after karemaku's arrival, came an ambassador from nomahanna, with instructions to demand an audience of me. i received him in the cabin. his only clothing, except a pocket of plaited reeds that hung round his neck, was a shirt, and a very broad-brimmed straw hat. the fellow looked important and mysterious, as if he had a mighty secret to impart; but converse with each other we could not, for he understood only his mother-tongue, of which i was entirely ignorant; he therefore informed me by signs that his pocket contained something for me, and drew from it a packet. one by one, a multitude of envelopes of the paper manufactory of the country were removed, till at length a letter came to light, which he handed to me with the words, "aroha nomahanna!" a salutation from nomahanna. he then explained to me, in pantomime, that it was the queen's intention to visit me to-day, and that she requested i would send my boat to fetch her. after saying a great deal about "pala pala," he left me, and i summoned marini, who gave me the following translation of the letter. * * * * * "i salute thee, russian! i love thee with my whole heart, and more than myself. i feel, therefore, on seeing thee again in my country, a joy which our poor language is unequal to express. thou wilt find all here much changed. while tameamea lived, the country flourished; but since his death, all has gone to ruin. the young king is in london. karemaku and kahumanna are absent; and chinau, who fills their place, has too little power over the people to receive thee as becomes thy rank. he cannot procure for thee as many hogs and sweet potatoes, and as much tarro as thou hast need of. how sincerely do i regret that my great possessions lie upon the island of muwe, so far away across the sea! were they nearer, thou shouldst daily be surrounded by hogs. as soon as karemaku and kahumanna return, all thy wants shall be provided for. the king's brother comes with them; but he is yet only an inexperienced boy, and does not know how to distinguish good from evil. "i beg thee to embrace thine emperor in my name. tell him, that i would willingly do so myself, but for the wide sea that lies between us. do not forget to carry my salutations to thy whole nation. since i am a christian, and that thou art also such, thou wilt excuse my indifferent writing. hunger compels me to close my letter. i wish that thou also mayst eat thy hog's head with appetite and pleasure. i am, with royal constancy and endless love, thine, nomahanna." * * * * * this curious epistle is very neatly written in a firm hand. the letters are large, well-formed, and very intelligible. the superscription bears only the words with which the letter begins--"aroha rukkini!" the composition had taken her many weeks to complete; she made some progress in it every day; but what was once inserted she never altered; the same clean page that had been transmitted to me, being the identical one on which the letter was commenced. it was soon known in hanaruro that the queen had written to me; and as all she did was imitated, i was presently in a fair way for being honoured with many similar letters. all my intended correspondents, however, would require at least as much time to express their thoughts on paper, as nomahanna had taken; i must therefore have waited for their favours much longer than would have been convenient. according to nomahanna's request, i sent off an officer with the shallop to fetch her: some hours, however, elapsed before she came, her majesty's toilette having, said my officer, occupied all this time. when at length it was completed, she desired him to give her his arm and conduct her to the shallop. this is another imitation of european customs. for a lady of the sandwich islands, nomahanna was this day very elegantly attired. a peach-coloured dress of good silk, trimmed at the bottom with black lace, covered her majesty's immense figure, which a very broad many-coloured sash, with a large bow in the front, divided exactly into two halves. she had a collar round her neck of native manufacture, made of beautiful red and yellow feathers; and on her head a very fine leghorn hat, ornamented with artificial flowers from canton, and trimmed round the edge with a pendant flounce of black lace; her chin lying modestly hidden behind a whole bed of flowers that bloomed on her mountain bosom. in somewhat striking contrast to all this finery were the clumsily accoutred feet, and stout, ill-shaped, brown, unstockinged legs, which the shortness of her majesty's petticoats, proportioned originally to the stature of a european belle, displayed to a rather unsightly extent. as yet, the shoemaker's craft does not flourish in the sandwich islands; so that all the shoes and boots worn there are imported from europe and america. but as neither of these continents can produce such a pair of feet as those of queen nomahanna, the attempt to force them into any ready-made shoes would be hopeless; and her majesty is therefore obliged, if she would not go bare-foot, which she does not consider altogether decorous, to content herself with a pair of men's galloshes. such trifles as these were, however, beneath her notice, and she contemplated her dress with infinite complacency, as a pattern of princely magnificence. in these splendid habiliments, with a parasol in her hand, slowly and with difficulty, she climbed the ship's stairs, on which, with some of my officers, i was in waiting to receive her; on the highest step she endeavoured already to give us a proof of her acquaintance with our customs, by making a courtesy, which was intended to accord with the most approved rules of the art of dancing, though the feet, not perfectly tutored in their parts, performed in rather a comic style. in attempting this feat, she lost her balance, and would have fallen into the water, if a couple of strong sailors had not caught her illustrious person in their arms. she was much delighted with all that she saw on board, especially with my cabin, where the sofa paid dearly for the honour of her approbation,--she sat upon it, and broke it down. the portrait of the emperor alexander attracted her particular attention; she sat down opposite to it upon the floor, where she could cause no farther destruction, and said, after gazing upon it for some minutes with much interest, "maitai, yeri nue rukkini!" (the great governor of the russians is beautiful!) she told me, that she knew a great deal about russia. a sandwich islander, named lauri, who, in , had made the voyage thither, in the russian ship kamtschatka, with captain golowin, and had afterwards returned to his own country, had told her many things concerning petersburg and the emperor. she said she would have liked to make the voyage herself, but that lauri's fearful description of the cold had terrified her. he had told her, that it was necessary to envelope the body entirely in fur, and that even this would not obviate all danger of losing the nose and ears; that the cold changed the water into a solid substance, resembling glass in appearance, but of so much strength that it was used for a high road, people passing over it in huge chests drawn by horses, without breaking it; that the houses were as high as mountains, and so large, that he had walked three days in one of them without coming to the end of it. it was evident that lauri had stretched a little; but nomahanna had no notion of incredulity. she approved of our inventions for warming the inside of our houses, and thought, that if she were at petersburg, she would not go out at all during the cold weather, but would drive her carriage about the house. she inquired how it could possibly be so warm at one season of the year, and so cold at another. i endeavoured to accommodate my answer to her powers of comprehension, and she seemed satisfied. "lauri was in the right," she observed; "there are very clever people in russia." her acknowledgment of my abilities, however, proved rather inconvenient, for she now overwhelmed me with a host of questions, some of them very absurd, and which to have answered with methodical precision, would have required much time and consideration. for instance, she desired me to tell her how much wood must be burnt, every year, to warm all the countries of the earth? whether rain enough might not fall, at some time or other, to extinguish all the fires? and whether, by means of such a rain, wahu might not become as cold as russia? i endeavoured to cut the matter as short as possible; and, in order to divert her thoughts to other subjects, set wine before her; she liked it very much, and i therefore presented her with a bottle; but her thirst for knowledge was not thus to be quenched, and during a visit of two hours, she asked such incessant questions, that i was not a little relieved when, at length, she proposed to depart. in taking leave, she observed, "if i have wine, i must have glasses, or how can i drink it?" so saying, she took the bottle that had been given her, in one hand, and, with the other, seizing without ceremony the glasses that stood on the table, she went upon deck. there she made a profound courtesy to all present, and again took her seat in the shallop. thus ended this condescending visit, with the royal appropriation of my wine glasses. nomahanna had, however, been so liberal to us, that she had a right to suppose she would be welcome to them. the illness of karemaku had very much increased since his arrival in wahu; he had every symptom of dropsy. our physician, however, succeeded, in a great measure, in restoring him to health, and when i paid him a congratulatory visit, i found him very grateful for the benefit he had received, full of spirits, and very facetious. i adopted his tone, and jestingly told him, that we would certainly complete his cure, even if we should be obliged to rip open his stomach, take out the bowels, clean them, and replace them. karemaku laughed, and said he would submit to the operation, if it was necessary to his perfect recovery. some old women, however, who were present, took the matter in sober seriousness, and spread among the people a report of the dreadful treatment their beloved karemaku was threatened with; a terrible disturbance in hanaruro was the consequence. the people believed i intended to kill him, and were excessively irritated against me. karemaku himself sent me this intelligence through marini; adding a request, that i would not come ashore again till he had overcome this foolish idea, which was accomplished in a few days. the feeling manifested on this occasion was certainly honourable both to the governor and the governed. an epidemic disease prevailed this year throughout the sandwich islands. it produced a great mortality, death generally following the attack within a few days. in hanaruro i saw many corpses daily carried to their burial; but nowhere is recovery from serious illness so improbable as here. as soon as the patient is obliged to take to his bed, he is immediately surrounded by his nearest relations, especially of the female sex, who, weeping, and singing mournful songs in a most lamentable tone, propose to themselves, by this means, to effect his recovery, or at least to procure him some relief from his sufferings. the worse he grows, the larger the assembly, and the louder the noise becomes; even his friends and acquaintances come flocking in: when there is no more room within the house, they congregate round the door, and continue mourning, crying, and howling, inside and outside, till the sufferer expires. this perpetual disturbance, the constant remembrance of death it occasions, and the infection of the air from the number of breaths in the crowded apartment, naturally produce a very prejudicial effect, and no doubt many die rather in consequence of these proofs of sympathy than of their disease. kahumanna, having concluded her business in o tuai, arrived at length in hanaruro with the king's brother, a handsome boy of thirteen. i paid her a visit, and was very graciously received. she is considerably older than nomahanna; but, though large and corpulent enough, not by much such a prodigy of size. her countenance bears traces of former beauty; she dresses entirely like a european, and has a more intimate knowledge of our customs and manners than nomahanna. her house, built partly of wood and partly of stone, is larger than the one i have described as the habitation of the other queen; like that, it has two stories and a balcony, and it is similarly furnished. near it is the abode of the missionary bengham. kahumanna, as well as nomahanna, has the date of tameamea's death marked upon her arm; otherwise they are not tattooed, which indeed few are, and those only the most aged people. kahumanna honoured me several times with visits on board, and condescended to write me a letter, which, marini assured me, contained nothing but expressions so inflated and pompous that he could not understand, and therefore could not translate them. the appointed time for our return to new archangel now approached. our vessel had been fully prepared for encountering the violent and continued storms of the north, and i waited the return of our mineralogist, m. hoffman, who had gone to o wahi, for the purpose of climbing the mountain mou-na-roa, in which however he did not succeed. by command of queen nomahanna, assistance had indeed been afforded him; but the two kanackas, who accompanied him as guides, refused to proceed farther than seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, or about half-way up the mountain; a height to which the most courageous o wahian will scarcely venture, from fear partly of the spirits which haunt the summit of the mountain, partly of the cold, which is almost too severe for an inhabitant of the tropics to endure. at this point the kanackas threw themselves flat upon the earth, nor would they stir another step, although certain of punishment for their refusal. in vain m. hoffman tried to shake their resolution, first by offering them large presents, and then by threatening them with a loaded pistol; they were immoveable, and he was forced to return. his expedition, however, was not altogether fruitless: besides his mineralogical observations, he discovered an extraordinary cave, running at an acute angle several hundred feet deep into the mountain, where he found a sheet of water, which stretched as far as the light of the torches permitted the light to reach through the fearful darkness. it would have been interesting to have traversed this subterranean sea in a boat. it is most remarkable, that the water of this lake is salt, and that the alternate ebb and flow of the tide is as perceptible here as on the coast. m. hoffman will probably publish other particulars respecting this natural curiosity. on the st of january , we left the harbour of hanaruro, having the pleasure to be accompanied by our friend karemaku, who, by the help of our physicians, felt himself well enough to venture thus far. he brought with him several double canoes, which, as there was no wind, towed the ship quite out of the harbour, and far enough to sea to obviate any danger from the reefs; karemaku then took leave of us with the most cordial expressions of friendship, wishing us a prosperous voyage and a speedy return. on a signal from him, the fortress fired five guns, which salute we immediately returned. karemaku waved his hat from his boat, and continuing his "arohas" so long as we were within hearing, was rowed back to the harbour. a fresh wind at this moment springing up, we lost sight of the beautiful island where we had passed our time so agreeably, and prepared, with far less prospect of satisfaction, to encounter the wintry storms of the north. i chose the channel between the islands of wahu and o tuai, as the most convenient outlet into the open ocean, for ships going northward from hanaruro. we passed through it on the following day, and sailed direct for new archangel. the reader will willingly spare me any particular description of this troublesome voyage: i must only mention that, on the th of february, in latitude ° and ° longitude, we sailed over a point where, according to the assertion of some whale-fishers in wahu, an island lies; but though the horizon was perfectly clear, we could discover no sign of land. our voyage proved safer and more expeditious than is usual at this season. our astronomical observations on the sandwich islands gave the following results:-- latitude of hanaruro ° ' " longitude ° ' " longitude of the eastern point of the island muwe ° ' " longitude of the western point ° ' " latitude of one of the small islands east of maratai, which are not given in vancouver's map ° ' " longitude ° ' ". the account of our residence at new archangel is contained in the tenth chapter. on our return voyage to wahu, we had constantly fine weather, though but little wind, so that it was not till the th of august we found ourselves in latitude °, where we first, in a clear star-light night, saw the comet which was then visible in the neighbourhood of aldebaran; it had a tail four degrees and a half long. on the th of september we sailed over a point, occupied in arrowsmith's chart by the island laxara, without perceiving the smallest trace of it; the existence therefore of this island, which is said to have been early discovered by the spanish navigators, remains doubtful. when we reached the tropic, a brisk trade-wind carried us quickly to the sandwich islands, and on the th of september we already saw the mou-na-roa quite clearly, at a distance of a hundred and twenty-four miles, rising high above the horizon. on the following morning, we again dropped anchor before the harbour of hanaruro, after a sail of thirty-five days from new archangel. as i only intended to take in a supply of fresh provisions and water, and then continue my voyage without farther delay, i considered it unnecessary to run into the harbour, and remained in the roads, although the south-wind to which they are exposed is sometimes dangerous to ships riding there. this wind, however, blows only at certain seasons, and is always announced by an over-clouded sky, long enough to afford time for taking shelter or standing out to sea. on the morning after our arrival, a remarkable phenomenon occurred, of which we were witnesses throughout its duration. while the heavens were quite clear, a thick, black cloud formed itself over the island, resting its lower verge on the summits of the mountains, the densest portion of the cloud hanging over the little town of hanaruro. the wind was perfectly calm, till on a sudden a violent gust blew from the north-east, and at the same time a crashing noise proceeded from the cloud, as if many ships were firing their guns; the resemblance was so perfect, that we might have supposed we heard alternately the individual shots of the opposing broadsides. the concussion lasted some minutes; and when it ceased, two stones shot from the cloud into the street of hanaruro, and from the violence of the fall broke into several pieces. the inhabitants collected the still warm fragments, and judging by these, the stones must have weighed full fifteen pounds each. they were grey inside, and were externally surrounded by a black burnt crust. on a chemical analysis, they appeared to resemble the meteoric stones which have fallen in many countries. in the short period of our absence, some important events had taken place. my readers will remember that the king and queen of the sandwich islands arrived safely in london, and were there treated with particular attention by the english court; and that they both died in that country, having previously expressed their desire to be buried in their native land. this wish was fulfilled by the english government. the bodies, having been embalmed, were laid in magnificent coffins decorated with gold, and lord byron was appointed to carry them and the royal suite, back to wahu. when he arrived there, and the news of the deaths of the king and queen transpired, it produced a great but varying sensation. some of the people lamented the loss, but the greater number rejoiced to be relieved of a ruler in whom they had no confidence; our friend karemaku seemed much grieved, possibly from old attachment to the royal family, or from patriotism, as he had hoped that the king's visit to england would have been very advantageous to him, and no one was at the moment qualified to assume the reins of government as his successor. on the th of may, both coffins were carried in solemn procession to the church, the fortress and the english frigate firing their guns. the people cried and howled, as custom requires on these occasions, but all the while greatly admiring the magnificence of the coffins; some remarked that it must be a pleasure to die in england, where people were laid in such beautiful boxes. the following inscriptions in the english language were on the coffin-lids: "tameamea ii., king of the sandwich islands, died in london on the th of july , in the th year of his age. respected be the memory of our beloved king jolani." (the king was sometimes known by this appellation.) "tamehamelu, queen of the sandwich islands, died in london, on the th of july , in the nd year of her age." the funeral procession was arranged in the following order: twelve yeris, in the national costume, with beautiful coloured feather mantles and helmets, walked first; they were followed by a band of musicians playing the dead-march, and a company of soldiers from the frigate blond. then came the chaplain of the frigate, and with him the missionaries, immediately followed by the coffins in hearses, each drawn by forty yeris. directly behind the coffins came the heir to the throne, the brother of the king, a boy about thirteen, dressed in european uniform. lord byron, his officers, and the royal family, followed, the procession being closed by the people, who, attracted by the novelty of the spectacle, assembled in great multitudes. all wore crape as a sign of mourning, or, if they could not procure this, tapa. in the church, which was entirely hung with black, the chaplain of the english frigate read the funeral-service, and the procession afterwards repaired, in the order above described, to a small stone chapel, where the coffins were deposited, and where they still remain. soon after the funeral, the new king was proclaimed by the title of tameamea the third, at the command of karemaku, who retained the regency during the minority, in conjunction with the queen kahumanna. the regents were thus nominally the same; but karemaku was too ill to take an active share in the government, and the missionary bengham found means to obtain such an acendency over the imperious kahumanna, and, through her, over the nation, that in the course of only seven months an entire change had taken place:--we might have imagined ourselves in a different country. bengham had undertaken the education of the young monarch, and was keeping him under the strictest _surveillance_. he meddles in all the affairs of government, and makes kahumanna, and even sometimes karemaku, the instrument of his will; pays particular attention to commercial concerns, in which he appears to take great interest; and seems to have quite forgotten his original situation and the object of his residence in the islands, finding the avocations of a ruler more to his taste than those of a preacher. this would be excusable, if his talents were of a nature to contribute to the instruction and happiness of the people; if he understood the art of polishing the rough diamond, to which the uncorrupted sandwich islander may aptly be compared, so as to bring out its intrinsic value, and to increase its external splendour. but the fact is widely different; and one cannot see without deep regret the spiritual and temporal weal of a well-disposed people committed to the guidance of an unenlightened enthusiast, whose ill-directed and ill-arranged designs are inimical to their true and permanent interests. mr. stewart, also a missionary, but more recently settled here than bengham, is a judicious and well-informed man, and would remedy many of the evils incident to the present state of affairs; but bengham, who has usurped the absolute control of the spiritual administration, will have every thing accommodated to his whims. stewart therefore, finding himself unable to follow the course prescribed by his active zeal and strong understanding, for the benefit of the islanders, proposes to leave the country. that bengham's private views may not be too easily penetrated, religion is made the cloak of all his designs, and the greatest activity and strictness prevail in its propagation, and in the maintenance of church discipline. the inhabitants of every house or hut in hanaruro are compelled by authority to an almost endless routine of prayers; and even the often dishonest intentions of the foreign settlers must be concealed under the veil of devotion. the streets, formerly so full of life and animation, are now deserted; games of all kinds, even the most innocent, are sternly prohibited; singing is a punishable offence; and the consummate profligacy of attempting to dance would certainly find no mercy. on sundays, no cooking is permitted, nor must even a fire be kindled: nothing, in short, must be done; the whole day is devoted to prayer, with how much real piety may be easily imagined. some of the royal attendants, on their return from london, at first opposed these regulations, and maintained that the english, though good christians, submit to no such restraint. kahumanna, however, infatuated by her counsellor, will hear of no opposition; and as her power extends to life and death, those who would willingly resist are compelled to bend under the iron sceptre of this arbitrary old woman. a short time before our return, a command had issued, that all persons who had attained the age of eight years should be brought to hanaruro, to be taught reading and writing. the poor country people, though much discontented, did not venture to disobey, but patiently abandoning their labour in the fields, flocked to hanaruro, where we saw many families bivouacking in the streets, in little huts hastily put together, with the spelling-books in their hands. such as could already read were made to learn passages from the bible by heart. every street in hanaruro has more than one school-house: they are long huts, built of reeds, without any division. in each of these, about a hundred scholars, of both sexes, are instructed by a single native teacher, who, standing on a raised platform, names aloud every single letter, which is repeated in a scream by the whole assembly. these establishments, it may be supposed, are easily recognised afar off; no other sounds are heard in the streets; and the human figure is seldom to be seen amidst this melancholy stillness, except when the scholars, conducted by their teachers, repair to the church. every sort of gaiety is forbidden. lord byron had brought with him from england a variety of magic lanterns, puppet-shows, and such like toys, and was making preparations to exhibit them in public, for the entertainment of the people, when an order arrived from bengham to prevent the representation, because it did not become god-fearing christians to take pleasure in such vain amusements. the nobleman, not wishing to dispute the point, gave up his good-natured intentions. that a people naturally so lively, should readily submit to such gloomy restrictions at the command of their rulers, proves how easily a wise government might introduce among them the blessings of rational civilization. well might karemaku exclaim, "tameamea, thou hast died too soon!" had this monarch doubled the usual age of man, and accorded his protection to such a reformer as stewart, the sandwich islanders might by this time have acquired the respect of all other nations, instead of retrograding in the arts of civilization, and assuming under compulsion the hypocritical appearance of an affected devotion. in taking a walk with an american merchant established here, i met a naked old man with a book in his hand, whom my companion addressed, and knowing him for a determined opponent of the new system, expressed his surprise at his occupation, and enquired how long he had been studying his alphabet. with a roguish laugh which seemed intended to conceal a more bitter feeling, first looking round to make sure that he should not be overheard, he replied, "don't think that i am learning to read. i have only bought the book to look into it, that kahumanna may think i am following the general example; she would not otherwise suffer me to approach her, and what would then become of a poor, miserable, old man like me? what is the use of the odious b a, ba? will it make our yams and potatoes grow? no such thing; our country people are obliged to neglect their fields for it, and scarcely half the land is tilled. what will be the consequence? there will be a famine by and by, and "pala, pala" will not fill a hungry man." it is doubtless praiseworthy in a government to provide for the instruction of the people, but to force it upon them by such unreasonable measures as those adopted by kahumanna and her counsellor must have a prejudicial effect: so far the old man was right. a striking instance of the severity with which the queen sometimes prosecutes her purpose, fell under our observation. an old man of seventy, who rented a piece of land belonging to her, many miles distant from hanaruro, had always paid his taxes with regularity, and hoping that the distance, and his advanced age, might dispense with his attendance at the church and the school, acted accordingly; but for this neglect, kahumanna drove him from his home. he sought her presence, implored her compassion for his destitute condition, and represented the impossibility of learning to read at his age. but in vain! the queen replied with an angry gesture, "if you will not learn to read, you may go and drown yourself." to such tyranny as this, has bengham urged the queen, and perhaps already esteems himself absolute sovereign of these islands. but he reckons without his host. he pulls the cord so tightly, that the bow must break; and i forewarn him, that his authority will, one day, suddenly vanish: already the cloud is gathering; much discontent exists. the injudicious summons of country people to hanaruro has enhanced the price of provisions, partly on account of the increased consumption, partly because so much time spent in study and prayer leaves but little for the labours of agriculture. thus will the approaching pressure of want be added to the slavery of the mind, and probably urge the islanders to burst their fetters. i have myself heard many of the yeris express their displeasure, and the country people, who consider bengham's religion as the source of all their sufferings, one night set fire to the church: the damage sustained was trifling, and the flames were soon extinguished; but the incendiaries were not discovered. karemaku is suffering under a confirmed dropsy. lord byron's surgeon tapped him; but, by the time we arrived, the increase of his disorder required a repetition of the operation; it was performed with great success by our surgeon. but it is impossible he can survive long, and his death will be the signal of a general insurrection, which bengham's folly will certainly have accelerated. our second visit to hanaruro was as disagreeable as the first had been pleasant: even our best friend, nomahanna, was quite altered, and received us with coldness and taciturnity, we therefore laid in our stock of provisions and fresh water as quickly as possible, and rejoiced in being at liberty to take leave of a country from whence one wrong-headed man has banished cheerfulness and content. several whalers were lying in the harbour, and among them the englishman we had met with in st. francisco, and who had then been so unsuccessful. fortune had since been more propitious to him, and he was now returning from the coast of japan with a rich cargo of spermaceti valued at twenty-five thousand pounds sterling: he had touched here to take in provisions for his voyage homewards. i learnt from another captain the particulars of an accident that had happened to one of his companions, which shows the dangers whale-fishers are exposed to, and is a singular example of a providential escape. a north american, captain smith, sailed in the year in a three-masted ship, the albatross, for the south sea, in pursuit of the spermaceti whale. when nearly under the line, west of washington's island, they perceived a whale of an extraordinary size. the boats were all immediately lowered, and, to make the capture more sure, they were manned with the whole crew: the cook's mate alone remained at the helm, and the ship lay-to. the monster, as it peaceably floated on the surface of the water, was eagerly followed, and harpooned. on feeling the stroke of the weapon, it lashed its powerful tail with fury, and the boat nearest it was obliged to dart with all speed out of the way, to avoid instant destruction. the whale then turned its vengeance on the ship, swam several times round her with prodigious noise, and then struck her so violently on the bows, that the cook's mate could compare the effect of the blow only to the shock of an earthquake. the fish disappeared, but the tremendous leak the ship had sprung sank her in five minutes with all that she contained. her solitary guardian was with difficulty saved. the crew were now left in four open boats, several weeks' voyage from the nearest land, and with no provision but the little biscuit they happened to have with them. after a long discussion upon the best course to pursue, they separated: two of the boats steered for the washington or marquesas isles; and the other two, with the captain in one of them, towards the south, for the island of juan fernandez. the former have not since been heard of; but the latter were, a fortnight afterwards, picked up by a vessel, when the captain and four only of his men were found alive: the other ten had died of hunger, and their corpses had afforded nourishment to the survivors. on the th of september, when the first rays of the sun were gilding the romantic mountains of wahu, we spread our sails, and bade adieu to the sandwich islands, heartily wishing them what they so greatly want--another tameamea, not in name only, but in spirit and in deed. the pescadores, the rimski-korsakoff, the eschscholtz, and the bronus isles. the pescadores, the rimski-korsakoff, the eschscholtz, and the bronus isles. on leaving the sandwich isles, we steered southward, it being my intention to sail by a track not hitherto pursued by navigators who have left us records of their voyages, to the radack chain of islands. at hanaruro, several captains had mentioned to me an island situated in ° ' latitude, and ° ' longitude. on the rd of september we crossed this point, and saw indeed birds of a description that rarely fly to any great distance from land; but the reported island itself we were unable to descry even from the mast-head, although the atmosphere was perfectly clear:--so little is the intelligence of masters of trading-vessels to be relied on. on the th, we were, by observation, in ° ' latitude, and ° ' longitude. during the whole of the day, large flights of such sea-birds were seen as indicate the neighbourhood of land, and even some land-birds; so that no doubt remained of our having sailed at no great distance from an island hitherto unknown, the discovery of which is reserved for some future voyager. during the whole of this course, we had frequent signs of the vicinity of land, but never to the same extent as on this day. a captain, who had frequently made the voyage from the sandwich isles to canton, asserts his having discovered a shoal in ° ' latitude, and ° ' longitude. i can neither confirm nor confute this assertion; and my only motive for repeating it here is, that vessels passing near that point may be put upon their guard. on the th of october we reached the udirik group, the most northern of the islands belonging to the radack chain. we sailed past its southern point, at a distance of only three miles, for the purpose of rectifying our longitude, that, in case of discovering the ralik chain, we might be enabled to ascertain the exact difference between that and radack. we therefore continued our course due west, in the direction of the pescadore islands, to obtain ocular demonstration that these and the udirik group are not one and the same; an opinion which is still entertained by some persons, on the ground that the discoverers of the former have mistaken their longitude. we continued our course due west throughout the day, with very fine weather, and having a man constantly upon the look-out from the mast-head. during the night we had the benefit of the full moon; we then carried but little sail; but at break of day we again set all our top-sails. at noon, the watch called from the tops that land was right ahead of us. it soon came in sight, and proved to be a group of low, thickly-wooded coral islands, forming, as usual, a circle round a basin. at one o'clock in the afternoon we reached within three miles of them, and had, from the mast-head, a clear view of their whole extent. while occupied in surveying them, we doubled their most southern point, at a distance of only half a mile from the reefs, and perceived that their greatest length is from east to west, in which direction they take in a space of ten miles. the aspect of these green islands is pleasing to the eye, and, according to appearance, they would amply supply the necessities of a population not superabundant; but though we sailed very near them, and used our telescopes, we could discover no trace of human habitation. according to accurate astronomical observations, the middle of this group lies under ° ' " latitude, and ° ' " longitude. in comparing the situation of the pescadores, as given by captain wallis, their discoverer, with this observation, it is scarcely possible to believe in the identity of the groups. i have, however, left them the name of pescadores, because the two observations nearly correspond. after having sailed round the whole group, we came, at four o'clock in the afternoon, so close to their north-western point, that every movement on land might have been distinctly seen with the naked eye; yet even here there was nothing to indicate the presence of man, though wallis communicated with the inhabitants, if, indeed, these islands be really the pescadores. if so, these people must have become extinct long ago, as no monument of their former existence is now visible. when we had completed our survey, we again proceeded westward, and, within half an hour, the watch again announced land in sight. the evening was now so far advanced, that we determined to lay-to, in order to avoid the danger of too near an approach to the coral reefs during the night, and deferred our survey till the following morning. at break of day we saw the islands which we have called the pescadores, lying six miles to the eastward; whilst those which had risen on our horizon the preceding evening had wholly disappeared. we had diverged from them in the night; but, with a brisk trade-wind, we regained the sight of them in an hour. at eight o'clock in the morning we came within three miles of the nearest island, and running parallel with the land, began our examination. it was another group of coral islands connected by reefs round a basin. here also vegetation was luxuriant, and the cocoa-trees rose to a towering height, but not a trace of man could be discerned; and we therefore concluded they were uninhabited, as we were near enough to distinguish any object with the naked eye. favoured by a fresh breeze, we sailed westward along the islands, till nightfall, without reaching the end of this long group. during the night we had much difficulty in keeping our position, owing to a tolerably smart gale, which, in these unknown waters, would have been attended by no inconsiderable danger, but that the land lay to windward of us; and were therefore well pleased in the morning to find that the different landmarks by which we had been guided overnight, were still visible, so that we were enabled to pursue our observations without interruption. the greatest length of this group, which i named, after our second lieutenant, rimski-korsakoff, is from east-north-east to west-south-west, in which direction it is, fifty-four miles long. its greatest breadth is ten miles. as we were sailing along the islands to windward of us, we could plainly distinguish from the mast-head those which lay at the other side of the basin. after having terminated our observations, we pursued a southerly course, in hopes of discovering more land, and sailed at a great rate during the whole of the day, without seeing any thing. at night we lay-to; but the following morning, the th of october, we had scarcely spread our sails, before the man at the mast-head discovered some low islands to the north, which we had already past, and which now lay to windward of us. i immediately changed our course, and endeavoured to approach them by dint of tacking, but a strong easterly current, which increased as we drew nearer to the land, almost baffled our efforts. we succeeded with much difficulty in getting within eleven miles and a half of the western extremity of the group, distinguished by a small round hill, which at noon lay due east, our latitude by observation being ° ' ", and our longitude ° '. from this point we could see the group, stretching to the verge of the horizon, in a south-easterly and north-easterly direction. we again attempted to approach them nearer; but not succeeding, we were obliged to continue our course to the westward, contenting ourselves with determining the position of the western extremity, ° ' " latitude, and ° ' " longitude, from which point they must stretch considerably to the east. these, like other coral islands, probably lie round a basin: of population we could see no trace, though there was every appearance of their being habitable. i named them, after our worthy doctor and professor, eschscholtz, who was now making the second voyage with me. it is unnecessary to add any thing here respecting the situations of these three groups of isles, which have been laid down, with the greatest possible accuracy, in the chart accompanying this volume; one thing only i beg to observe, that they bear not the slightest resemblance to the pescadores described by wallis. he did not possess the facilities for ascertaining the longitude, which have been invented since his time. his pescadores may be situated elsewhere; but even if one of these groups should be the pescadores, we may justly claim the discovery of the other two. this discovery is of some value, inasmuch as these groups are no doubt the northern extremity of the ralik chain; and their position and distance from radak being now ascertained, there will hereafter be little difficulty in discovering the remaining groups of the chain. from the eschscholtz isles we steered for the bronus isles, it being my wish to try the accuracy of their geographical position, and to ascertain whether the interval between the two groups was wholly free of islands. on the th of october, at noon, being in latitude ° ' ", and longitude ° ', the bronus isles were descried from the mast-head, at a distance of twenty miles. we approached within a mile and a half of the southern extremity of the group, from which point we were able to survey the whole, which we found, like other coral groups, to consist of a circle of islands connected by a reef. the bronus isles, however, appeared of more ancient formation than any we had yet seen; the land was somewhat more elevated, and the trees were larger and stronger. here also we saw no appearance of inhabitants. a calm which suddenly set in exposed us to the danger of being driven by a powerful current upon the reef; but when we were already very near the breakers, the direction of the current varied, running southward parallel with the coast. by this means we were enabled to double the southern extremity of the group, and a gentle breeze soon after springing up, conveyed us to a safe distance from the land. according to our observation, this southern extremity lies in latitude ° ' ", and longitude ° ' ". it was my intention to have noted the position of the whole group, for which purpose i endeavoured during the night to keep the ship in its vicinity; but at daybreak the current had carried us so far to leeward, that land could scarcely be perceived from the mast-head. as it was utterly impossible to make any way against the united force of the current and trade-wind, i was obliged to abandon my design, upon which we steered for the ladrones, or mariana isles, where i intended to take in fresh provisions. it is a striking phenomenon, and one not easily accounted for, that in ° north latitude, from the radak chain to the bronus isles, there should be a current of a mile and a half per hour. the ladrones, and the philippine islands. the ladrones, and the philippine islands. having, in my former voyage, given a detailed account of these islands, i need not here add much concerning them. a fresh breeze, and fine weather, made our voyage agreeable and rapid. on the morning of the th of october, we saw the island sarpani, which belongs to the ladrones, lying before us at the distance of twenty-five miles, and soon after distinguished the principal island, guaham, whither we were bound. the longitude of the eastern point of sarpani was found to be ° '. the aspect of the eastern point of guaham, which is exposed to a constant trade-wind, does not suggest an idea of the fertility of the island; but the traveller is agreeably surprised at the sight of its western coast, where nature has been most prodigal; and cannot but remember with sorrow the extermination of the natives by the spaniards, on their taking possession of the islands and forcibly introducing the catholic religion. it is remarkable that the soil of guaham, under the first stratum of earth, consists of coral blocks not yet quite dissolved; from which it may be conjectured, that a former group of low coral islands, as well as the basin which they enclosed, were forced upwards by the power of subterranean fire; and in this manner the island of guaham has been formed. this hypothesis is confirmed by mr. hoffman's discovery of a crater on the island, with a fire still burning in its abyss. the fortress, standing on what is called the devil's point, intended for the defence of the town of agadna, was so peacefully disposed, that not one of its cannons was fit for use. i saw, to my great astonishment, in the harbour caldera de apra, ships bearing the english and north american flags. the spaniards do not usually permit the entrance of foreign vessels; but i was informed by the captains of these, that the whalers who pursue their occupations on the coast of japan, now frequently choose guaham for refitting and victualling their ships. i also heard, with much pleasure, that they exclusively use our admiral krusenstern's chart of the japanese coast; and they assured me, that objects even of minor importance are laid down in it with the greatest accuracy. how much cause have seamen for thankfulness to one who has provided them with such a chart! their lives frequently depend on the correctness of these guides; and an erroneous one may be worse than none at all. as i only intended stopping here a few days, and the harbour is by no means safe, i determined not to enter it, but sent an officer to the governor, with a list of fresh provisions which i requested his assistance in procuring. on the following morning, i rowed with some of my officers ashore, and we were received by the governor, don gango errero, who had already taken measures for supplying our wants, with great civility, though not without some degree of spanish stateliness. his government here confirms an observation repeatedly made, that a few years of a bad administration are sufficient to undo all that a good one may have effected by a long series of exertions. eight years ago, when medenilla was governor, the most perfect content, and prosperity to a certain extent, existed in guaham; and now, by the fault of one man, every thing bears a totally different aspect. so much depends on the choice of the person to whom power is delegated, at such a distance from the seat of sovereignty as that the complaints of the oppressed can seldom reach it. errero is even accused of the murder of some english and american sailors; and, on this occasion, spanish justice has not been in vain appealed to by their comrades; for, as i afterwards learned, the order for errero's arrest was already made out at the moment when, in perfect self-confidence and enjoyment, he was entertaining me with lively songs, accompanied by himself on the guitar; and medenilla has been again appointed to the command, that he may endeavour to repair the evils errero had occasioned. of my earlier acquaintances, i now met only the estimable don louis de torres, the friend of the carolinas, who communicated to m. de chamisso many interesting particulars respecting these amiable islanders. after our departure in the rurik, he had again made a voyage to the carolinas, and had persuaded several families to come and settle at guaham. the yearly visits of these islanders to guaham are still regularly continued; and at the time of our stay, one of their little flotillas was in the harbour. being clever seamen, they are much employed by the spaniards, who are very ignorant in this respect, in their voyages to the other marian islands, with which, unassisted by their friends of carolina, these would hold but little communication. we had an opportunity of seeing two of their canoes come in from sarpani, when the sea ran high, and the wind was very strong, and greatly admired the skill with which they were managed. the revolt of the spanish colonies has not extended itself to these islands. the inhabitants of guaham have maintained their loyalty, notwithstanding the tyranny of their governor, and unseduced by an example recently given them. a spanish ship of the line and a frigate, with fugitive loyalists from peru, lately touched here; they were bound for manilla; but the crews of both ships mutinied, put the officers and passengers ashore, and returned to peru to make common cause with the insurgents. after remaining four days before agadna, we took in our provisions, for which ten times the price was demanded that we had paid here eight years ago, and left guaham on the nd of october, directing our course for the bashi islands, as i intended to pass through their straits into the chinese sea, and then sail direct to manilla. on the st of november, our noon observation gave ° ' latitude, and ° ' longitude, so that we were already in the neighbourhood of the bashi and babuyan islands. we continued to sail so briskly till sunset, that we could not be then far from land; but black clouds had gathered over it, concealing it from our view, and presaging stormy weather; we did not venture therefore to advance during the night, but tacked with sails reefed, waiting the break of day. at midnight we had some violent squalls from the north with a ruffled sea, but not amounting to a storm. the rising sun discovered to us the three high richmond rocks, rising in the middle of the strait, between the bashi and babuyan islands. soon after the island of bantan appeared, with heavy clouds still lingering behind its cliffs. the weather was, however, at present fine, the wind blowing strongly from the north; we therefore set as much sail as the gale would permit us to carry, and pursued our course through the strait formed by the richmond rocks, and the southern bashi islands. in clearing these straits, we had reason to apprehend serious damage to our rigging, or even the loss of a mast. a heavy squall from the north-east put the sea in great commotion. the billows chafed and roared as they broke over each other, and were met in the narrow channel by a current, driving from the chinese sea into the ocean. this furious encounter of the contending waves produced the appearance of breakers, through which we were compelled to work our dangerous way; the ship, sometimes tossed to their utmost summit, then, without the power of resistance, suddenly precipitated into the yawning gulf between them, wore, however, through all her trials, and gave me cause for exultation in the strength of her masts, and the goodness of her tackling. we passed two hours in this anxious and critical condition, but at length emerged into the chinese sea; where the comparative peacefulness of the waves allowed us to repose after our fatigues, and even afforded us an opportunity of ascertaining our longitudes. we found the longitude of the most easterly of the richmond rocks ° ' " most westerly ° ' " the eastern point of the island of bantan ° ' " the western point of babuyan ° ' " the western point of the bashi island ° ' " latitude of the eastern point ° ' ". all these longitudes are determined according to our chronometers, which were tried immediately after our arrival in manilla. they differ from those on horsbourg's new chart by three minutes and a half, ours being so much more westerly. with a favourable wind we now sailed southwards, in sight of the western coast of luçon, till we reached the promontory of bajador, where we were detained some days by calms, therefore did not come in sight of manilla bay till the th of november. here the wind was violent and contrary; but as it blew from the land, could not materially swell the waves: we were therefore enabled, by tacking, to advance considerably forward; and at length contrived to run into the bay, by the southern entrance, between its shores and the island of corregidor. a spanish brig, which was tacking at the same time, lost both her top-masts in a sudden gust. on the morning of the th of november we anchored before the town of manilla. i immediately waited on don mariano ricofort, the governor of the philippines. he gave me a friendly reception, and granted the permission i requested, to sail to cavite, a hamlet lying on the bay, within a few miles of the town, and possessing the advantage of a convenient dock. our ship being greatly in want of repair, we removed thither on the following day, and immediately commenced our labours. we spent our time very pleasantly in this lovely tropical country. how richly has nature endowed it, and how little is her bounty appreciated by the spaniards! the whole world does not offer a more advantageous station for commerce than the town of manilla, situated as it is in the neighbourhood of the richest countries of asia, and almost midway between europe and america. spanish jealousy had formerly closed her port; but since the revolt of the american colonies, it has been opened to all nations, and the philippines are consequently rising rapidly to importance. as yet, their export trade has been chiefly confined to sugar and indigo for europe, and the costly indian bird's-nest, and _trepangs_, for china. the latter is a kind of sea-snail without a shell, which not only here, but on the ladrones, carolinas, and pelew islands, even as far as new holland, is as eagerly sought after as the sea-otter on the north-west coast of america. the luxurious chinese consider them a powerful restorative of strength, and purchase them as such at an exorbitant price. but what an inexhaustible store of commercial articles might not these islands export! coffee of the best quality, cocoa, and two sorts of cotton, the one remarkably fine, the produce of a shrub, the other of a tree, all grow wild here, and with very little cultivation might be made to yield a prodigious increase of wealth. these productions of nature are, however, so much neglected, that at present no regular trade is carried on in them. a great abundance of the finest sago trees, and whole woods of cinnamon, grow wild and unnoticed in luçon. nutmegs, cloves, and all the produce of the moluccas, are also indigenous on these islands, and industry only (a commodity which, unfortunately, does not flourish here,) is wanting to make them a copious source of revenue. pearls, amber, and cochineal, abound in the philippines; and the bosom of the earth contains gold, silver, and other metals. for centuries past, have the spaniards suffered all these treasures to lie neglected, and are even now sending out gold to maintain their establishments. the regular troops here, as well as the militia, are natives. the officers are spaniards, though many of them are born here, and all, at least with few exceptions, are extremely ignorant. it is said that the soldiers are brave, especially when blessed, and encouraged by the priests. as far, however, as i have had an opportunity of observing the military force, i cannot think it would ever make a stand against an european army. not only are the troops badly armed, but even the officers, who are in fact distinguished from the privates only by their uniforms, have no idea of discipline; any sort of precision in their manoeuvres is out of the question; and to find a sentinel comfortably asleep with his musket on his shoulder, is by no means an uncommon occurrence. i was told that luçon contained eight thousand regular troops, and that by summoning the militia, twenty thousand could be assembled. the field of honour where the heroes of luçon distinguish themselves is on the southern philippine islands, which are not yet subdued; they are inhabited by mahommedan indians, who are constantly at war with the spaniards, and who, ranging as pirates over all the coasts inhabited by christians, spread terror and desolation wherever they appear. from time to time some well manned gun-boats are sent in pursuit of these robbers; which expend plenty of ammunition with very little effect. it is said that six thousand chinese inhabit the suburbs of manilla, to which they are restricted. the greater part of them are clever and industrious mechanics; the rest are merchants, and some of them very rich: they are the jews of luçon, but even more given to cheating and all kinds of meanness than are the israelites, and with fewer, or rather with no exceptions. they enjoy no privileges above the lowest of the people, but are despised, oppressed, and often unjustly treated. their covetousness induces them to submit to all this; and as they are entirely divested of any feeling of honour, a small profit will console them for a great insult. the yearly tax paid by every chinese for liberty to breathe the air in manilla, is six piastres; and if he wishes to carry on any sort of trade, five more; while the native indian pays no more than five reals. the philippines also did not follow the example of the american colonies; for some disturbances among the indians here, were not directed against the government, and an insurrection soon after attempted proved unsuccessful. the former were occasioned by a few innocent botanists wandering through the island in search of plants; and an epidemic disease breaking out among the indians about the same time, of which many died, a report suddenly spread among them, that the foreign collectors of plants had poisoned the springs in order to exterminate them. enraged at this idea, they assembled in great numbers, murdered several strangers, and even plundered and destroyed the houses of some of the old settlers in the town of manilla. it has been supposed that the spaniards themselves really excited these riots, that they might fish in the troubled waters. the late governor, fulgeros, is accused of not having adopted measures sufficiently active for repressing the insurrection. this judicious and amiable man, who was perhaps too mild a governor for so rude a people, was murdered in his bed a year after by a native, of spanish blood, an officer in one of the regiments here, who followed up this crime by heading a mutiny of the troops. the insurgents assembled in the market-place, but were soon dispersed by a regiment which remained faithful, and in a few hours peace was re-established, and has not since been disturbed. the present governor, ricofort, was sent out to succeed the unfortunate fulgeros. the king, affected by the loyalty displayed by the town of manilla, at a time when the other colonies had thrown off their allegiance, presented it with a portrait of himself, in token of his especial favour. the picture was brought out by the new governor, and received with a degree of veneration which satisfactorily evinced the high value set by the faithful colony on the royal present. it was first deposited in a house in the suburb belonging to the crown, and then made its entry into the town in grand procession, and was carried to the station of honour appointed for it in the castle. this important ceremony took place during our residence here, on the th of december; and three days previously, the king in effigy had held a court in the suburb. the house was splendidly illuminated: in front of it stood a piquet of well-dressed soldiers; sentinels were placed at all the doors; the apartments were filled with attendants, pages, and officers of every rank in gala uniforms; and the etiquette of the spanish court was as much as possible adhered to throughout the proceedings. persons whose rank entitled them to the honour of a presentation to the king, were conducted into the audience-chamber, which was splendidly adorned with hangings of chinese silk: here the picture, concealed by a silk curtain, was placed on a platform raised a few steps from the floor, under a canopy of silk overhanging two gilded pillars. the colonel on duty acting as lord chamberlain, conducted the person to be presented before the picture, and raised the curtain. the king then appeared in a mantle lined with ermine, and with a crown upon his head; the honoured individual made a low bow; the king looked in gracious silence upon him; the curtain was again lowered, and the audience closed. on the th of december, the immense multitudes that had assembled from the different provinces, to celebrate the solemn entry of the portrait into the capital of the islands, were in motion at daybreak. the lower classes were seen in all kinds of singular costumes, some of them most laughable caricatures, and some even wearing masks. rockets and chinese fireworks saluted the rising sun, producing of course, by daylight, no other effects than noise, smoke, and confusion, while elegant equipages rolled along the streets, scarcely able to make their way through the crowd. at nine o'clock, a royal salute thundered from the cannon of the fortress; and at twelve the procession began to move, displaying a rather ludicrous mixture of spanish and asiatic taste. i saw it from the windows of a house on its route, which commanded a very extensive view of the line of march. the cortège was led by the chinese. first came a body of twenty-four musicians, some striking with sticks upon large round plates of copper, producing an effect not unlike the jingling of bells, and others performing most execrably upon instruments resembling clarionets. the sound of the copper plates was too confused to allow us to distinguish either time or tune--points of no great consequence perhaps; the choir, at least, did not trouble much about them. the musicians were followed by a troop of chinese bearing silken banners, upon which were represented their idols, and dragons of all sorts and sizes, surrounded by hieroglyphical devices. next followed, in a kind of litter richly ornamented, a young chinese girl with a pair of scales in her hand, and intended, as i was told, to represent justice, a virtue for which her country-people, in these parts, have not much cause to applaud themselves. another set of musicians surrounded the goddess, making din enough with their copper plates to drown every complaint that might endeavour to reach her ear. then came the rest of the chinese, in different bands, with the symbols of their respective trades represented upon banners. four bacchantes, somewhat advanced in age, and in an attire more loose than was consistent with modesty, followed next: from their long, black, dishevelled hair, they might have been taken for furies; and it was only their crowns of vine-leaves, and the goblets in their hands, that enabled us to guess what they were intended to represent. bacchus, very much resembling a harlequin, followed with his tambourine; and after him, a body of very immodest dancers: these, as the procession moved but slowly, halting frequently, had abundant opportunities of displaying their shameless talent, for the benefit of the shouting rabble. why the procession should be disgraced by such an exhibition, it was not easy to conceive; but there were many other inconceivable matters connected with it. a troop of indians followed, in motley and grotesque attire, intended to represent savages: they were armed with spears and shields, and kept up a continual skirmish as they marched. next in procession was a battalion of infantry, composed of boys armed with wooden muskets and pasteboard cartridge-boxes, and followed by a squadron of hussars, also boys, with drawn sabres of wood, not riding, but carrying pasteboard horses: each of these had a hole cut in its saddle, through which the hussar thrust his feet, relieving the charger from any actual necessity of making use of his own--though, to show its high blood and mettlesome quality, each emulated his fellow in prancing, rearing, and kicking with front and hind-legs, to the no small danger of discomfiting the parade order of the squadron. to this redoubtable army succeeded a party of giants two fathoms high, dressed in the very extremity of fashion, the upper part of their bodies being represented in pasteboard, accompanied by ladies elegantly attired, and of nearly equal dimensions, and by some very small dwarfs: the business of this whole group was to entertain the populace with pantomimic gestures, and comic dances. next came all sorts of animals, lions, bears, oxen, &c. of a size sufficiently gigantic to conceal a man in each leg. then, with grave and dignified deportment, marched don quixote and his faithful sancho. to the question, what the honourable knight of the rueful countenance was doing there, somebody replied that he represented the inhabitants of manilla, who were just then mistaking a windmill for a giant. the hero of cervantes was followed by a body of military, seemingly marching under his command; and after them came two hundred young girls from the different provinces of the philippine islands, richly and tastefully attired in their various local costumes. fifty of these young graces drew the triumphal car, richly gilt, and hung with scarlet velvet, which contained the picture of ferdinand. not content with the mantle the painter had given him, they had hung round him a real mantle of purple velvet embroidered with gold. by his side, and seated on a globe, was a tall female form dressed in white, with an open book in one hand, and in the other a wand, pointing towards the portrait. this figure was to represent the muse of history:--may she one day cast a glance of friendly retrospection on the prototype of her pictured companion! a body of cavalry followed the car, and the carriages of the most distinguished inhabitants of the place closed the procession. several chinese triumphal arches crossed the streets, through which the retinue passed; they were temporary erections of wood, occupying the whole breadth of the street, and were decorated in the gayest and most showy manner by the chinese, who, on this occasion, seemed to have spared no expense in order to flatter the vanity of the spaniards. when the royal effigy entered the town, it was received by the governor and the whole clergy of manilla, and the young girls were superseded by the townspeople, who had now the honour to draw the car amidst the incessant cry of "_viva el rey fernando!_" the cannon thundered from the ramparts; the military bands played airs of triumph; and the troops, which were ranged in two files from the gate of the town to the church, presented arms, and joined their "vivas" to those of the populace. the procession halted at the church; and the picture being carried in, the bishop performed the service; after which, the king was replaced on his car, and conducted to the residence of the governor, where, at length, he was installed in peace. three days longer the rejoicings continued: bells were rung, guns were fired, and each evening the town and suburbs were magnificently illuminated: many houses exhibiting allegorical transparencies which occupied their whole front. but the illumination of the chinese triumphal arches in the suburbs surpassed all the show: the dragons which ornamented them spat fire; flames of various colours played around them; and large fire-balls discharged from them emulated the moon in the heavens, till, from their increasing height, they seemed to disappear among the stars. each of these edifices was of three stories, surrounded by galleries, on which, during the day, the chinese performed various feats for the amusement of the people: there were conjurors, rope-dancers, magic lanterns, and even dramatic representations, the multitude eagerly flocking to the sight, and expressing their satisfaction in loud huzzas! i saw a tragedy performed on one of these galleries, in which a fat mandarin, exhibiting a comic variety of grimaces and strange capers which would have done credit to punchinello, submitted to strangulation at the command of his sovereign. at night, the people went about the streets masked, and letting off sky-rockets and chinese fireworks. in several parts of the town, various kinds of spectacles were exhibited for the popular amusement: the air resounded with music, and public balls were gratuitously given. this unexampled rejoicing for the reception of a testimonial of royal approbation, seems sufficiently to prove the loyalty of the philippines, and the little probability of their revolting, especially if the mother-country does not show herself wholly a stepmother to her dutiful children. on the th of january our frigate was ready to sail, and we left manilla, the whole crew being in perfect health. st. helena. st. helena. a fresh north-east monsoon expedited our voyage, and we cut the equator on the st of january, in the longitude ° '; then passing between the islands of sumatra and java, we reached the ocean, after having safely traversed the chinese sea from its northern to its southern boundary, and directed our course towards the cape of good hope, where we intended staying to refresh. when we had reached to longitude °, ° south latitude, the east wind, contrary to all rules at this season, changed for a westerly one, and blew a strong gale; the sky was covered with black clouds, and the rain fell in torrents. at midnight, while the storm was still raging, and the darkness complete, we witnessed the phenomenon known by the name of castor and pollux, and which originates in the electricity of the atmosphere; these were two bright balls of the size which the planet venus appears to us, and of the same clear light; we saw them at two distinct periods, which followed quickly upon each other in the same place, that is, some inches below the extreme point of our main-yard, and at about half a foot distance asunder. their appearance lasted some minutes, and made a great impression on the crew, who did not understand its cause. i must confess, that in the utter darkness, amidst the howling of the storm and the roaring of the water, there was something awful in the sight. our passage was rendered tedious by contrary winds. on the nd of february, we crossed the meridian of the isle of france, three hundred and forty miles off the island, in very stormy weather, and heard afterwards at st. helena, that a hurricane raged at this time near the isle of france, causing great damage to many vessels, and to some of them the loss of their masts. we should have probably shared in this danger had we been a hundred miles nearer the coast. i must here recommend every navigator, if possible, to keep clear of the two isles of france and bourbon, from the middle of january till the middle of march, as, during that season, violent hurricanes continually rage there, which are very destructive even on shore. on the following day we passed the large frigate bombay, belonging to the english east india company, having on board, as passengers, the governor of batavia, baron vander kapellen, and his lady, with whom we afterwards had the pleasure of forming an acquaintance in st. helena. on the th of march we doubled the cape of good hope. it had been my intention to anchor in table bay, but a storm from the north-west came just in time to remind us how dangerous the bay is at this season, and we prosecuted our voyage to st. helena. on the th of the same month, having traversed degrees of longitude from east to west, we had lost a day, and were therefore compelled to change our friday into a saturday. on the th we anchored at st. helena, before the little town of st. james, the whole crew being cheerful and healthy; but our spirits were soon damped by the news of the death of the emperor alexander, which we now received. i must here not omit to express my most cordial thanks to the governor of st. helena, for his very kind reception of myself and companions, and for his constant endeavours to make our stay on the island agreeable; he gave dinners and balls for our entertainment, and was always ready to comply with our wishes; hence he granted us what it is usually difficult to obtain--permission to visit the celebrated estate of longwood, where napoleon closed his splendid career, in powerless and desolate loneliness. we rode thither one fine morning, on horseback. the little town of st. james lies in a ravine between two high, steep, barren lava-rocks; its pleasant situation and cheerful aspect presenting a striking contrast with the gloom of its immediate environs. by a serpentine road cut through the rock, we climbed an ascent, by nature inaccessible; this path, in some parts not three fathoms in breadth, is bounded on one side by the perpendicular rock, and on the other overlooks an abrupt precipice, from which however it is defended by a strong stone balustrade, so that however fearful in appearance, its only real danger lies in an accident which sometimes happens, that large fragments detach themselves from the superincumbent rock, and roll down the precipice, carrying before them every thing that might obstruct their passage to the bottom. having with some difficulty reached the highest ground on the island, we found the tropical heat changed into a refreshing coolness, and enjoyed an extensive prospect over the island, which presented a totally different aspect from that under which it is viewed by passing vessels. the sailor sees only high, black, jagged, and desolate rocks, rising perpendicularly from the sea, and every where washed by a tremendous surf, prohibiting all attempts to land except at the single point of st. james: his eye vainly seeks round the adamant wall, the relief of one sprig of green; not a trace of vegetation appears, and nature herself seems to have destined the spot for a gloomy and infrangible prison. from these heights, on the contrary, the picturesque and smiling landscape of the interior forms the most striking contrast to its external sternness, and suggests the idea of a gifted mind, compelled by painful experience to shroud its charms under a forbidding veil of coldness and reserve. this remark only, however, applies to the western part of the island, which is protected from the trade-wind. the higher eastern part, where napoleon lived, is as dead and barren as its rocky boundary. the trade-wind to which this district is constantly exposed, brings a perpetual fog, and drives the clouds in congregated heaps to the summits of the mountain, where they frequently burst in sudden and violent showers, often producing inundations, and rendering the air damp and unwholesome for the greater part of the year. the ground is for this reason incapable of cultivation; and a species of gum-tree, the only one to be seen in the neighbourhood of longwood, by its stunted growth of hardly six feet, and its universal bend in one direction, proves how destructive is the effect of the trade-wind to all vegetable life. the nearer we approached the boundaries of the circle within which alone the renowned prisoner was permitted to move, the less pleasant became the country and the more raw the climate, till about a german mile from the town we found ourselves on the barren spot i have already described. here a narrow path leads down an abrupt descent into a small valley, or basin, surrounded by hills, sheltered from the wind, and offering in its verdant foliage and cheerful vegetation, a refreshing and agreeable retreat. "there rest the remains of napoleon," said the guide given us by the governor. we dismounted, and proceeded to the grave on foot. an old invalid who watches it, and lives in a lonely hut in its vicinity, now came towards us, and conducted us to a flat, tasteless grave-stone surrounded by an iron railing, and shaded by fine willows, planted probably by the last dependents of the unfortunate prisoner. it is a melancholy thing to tread this simple grave of him who once shook all europe with his name, and here at last closed his too eventful life on a lonely rock in a distant ocean. the stone bears no inscription, but all who behold it may imagine one. posterity alone can pronounce a correct judgment on the man who so powerfully influenced the destinies of nations. honesty may perhaps have been the only quality wanting to have made him the greatest man of his age. the invalid filled a common earthen jug with clear delicious water from a neighbouring spring, and handed it to us with the remark, that napoleon, in his walks hither, was accustomed to refresh himself with cold water from the same vessel. this little valley being the only spot where he could breathe a wholesome air, and enjoy the country, he often visited it, and once expressed a wish that he might be buried there. little as his wishes were usually attended to, this was fulfilled. after spending some time in contemplating this remarkable memorial of the vicissitudes of fortune, we inscribed our names in a book kept for the purpose, and again mounting our horses, rode to what had formerly been the abode of the deceased; where, deprived of all power, the deposed emperor to the last permitted the voluntary companions of his exile to address him by the titles of "sire," and "your majesty." on quitting the garden scenery of the pretty little valley, the country resumed its dreary and sterile character. a ride of about a german mile through this inhospitable region, uncheered either by the fragrance of flowers or the melody of birds, brought us within sight of an inconsiderable level, or table land, perfectly barren, crowning the summit of one of the highest hillocks into which this huge rock is divided. in the centre of the plain, and enveloped in so thick a fog that it was scarcely perceptible, stood a small unpretending mansion. "that," said our guide, "is longwood, late the residence of napoleon." we soon reached the house, expecting to find it as left at the death of its illustrious occupant; with how much interest should we not have visited it, if nothing had been changed or removed! but the english authorities had not taken our gratification into their consideration. the house is divided into two distinct portions; the smaller half, or napoleon's sleeping apartment, has been converted into a stable, and the larger into a warehouse for sheep-skins, fat, and other produce of the island. we had been informed that napoleon had laid out a little garden near his dwelling, in which he often worked, assisted by madame bertrand; and, after many fruitless attempts, had been at length rewarded by the blossoming of a few hardy flowers, and the successful plantation of some young oaks; that one of the latter was set by the hand of napoleon himself, another by that of madame bertrand. as we could see nothing resembling a garden, i enquired of our guide where it lay; he pointed, with a sarcastic smile, to a spot which had been routed up by hogs, saying, "here napoleon was as successful in rearing flowers as he had once been in founding empires, and both have equally vanished." some oaks are still standing beside a broken hedge, but whether planted by napoleon or not, no one can tell. we were also shown a pretty house, which had been built for napoleon by the king's command, but which was not complete till a very short time before his death. though much better and more convenient than the one he inhabited, he never could be induced to remove to it; perhaps already conscious of the approach of death, he felt no farther concern for the accommodations of life. strongly contrasted with the gloom and sterility of longwood, is the summer residence of the governor of st. helena, lying on sandy bay, on the western shore of the island, and about half a german mile from the town. in this beautiful and healthful climate, every tropical plant flourishes in the greatest luxuriance. we were hospitably received at plantation-house, a handsome, spacious, and convenient building, surrounded by an extensive park. in this delightful spot nature and art have combined at once to charm and to surprise; yet while breathing its pure and fragrant air, would our thoughts unconsciously revert with sympathy to the melancholy fate of the exile of longwood. the environs of sandy bay would be a perfect little switzerland, but that the glaciers are wanting to complete the resemblance. scattered amongst the enormous masses of rock which lie confusedly heaped upon each other, a frightful wilderness and most smilingly picturesque landscape alternately present their contrasted images to the eye. such are the traits which the hand of nature has impressed upon the scenery in this fortunate portion of the island; while that of man, busily engaged in adding to her charms, and in correcting her ruggedness, throws an appearance of life, comfort, and civilization over the picture. convenient roads wind up the steep ascents, and frequent openings in the cliff, present vistas of fruitful fields, tastefully built mansions surrounded by parks and plantations, and snug farm-houses embosomed in their pretty gardens. every thing bespeaks industry and comfort. the inhabitants are all well-dressed, healthy, and contented. of their hospitality we had the most agreeable evidences. invited with friendly cordiality into their houses, we were entertained with the best they had, and with the kindest expressions of pleasure in welcoming the first russians who had ever visited their country. we were invited to dinner by one of the richest land proprietors of the island, who, although considerably more than seventy years old, still retained the animation and vigour of youth. this intelligent and well-educated man had never, till his sixty-ninth year, left his beautiful home, except for an occasional and short visit to the town. through the medium of books, and conversation with the strangers visiting st. helena, he was well versed in the customs and localities of europe, and felt the highest respect for the perfection to which the arts and sciences of civilized life had been carried in that quarter of the world, but without experiencing any desire to see it; suddenly, however, at this advanced period of his life, curiosity got the better of his love of ease; his wish to become personally and more accurately acquainted with the much-praised institutions, and the wonderful capital of england, was no longer to be repressed, and he determined to undertake the voyage. on landing in london, he was, as he expressed himself, astonished and dazzled by the extent and magnificence of the city. the throng in the streets, which he compared to ant-hills, far exceeded the ideas he had formed; he visited the manufactories, and observed with wonder the perfection of their machinery; the theatres enchanted him, and the succession of new sights and impressions produced an effect resembling a perpetual intoxication. after a time, however, he experienced the fatigue incident to an extreme tension of mind, and began to sigh for the calm retirement of sandy bay, to which he took the first opportunity of returning, never to leave it more. we passed nine very agreeable days at st. helena, and shall always retain the liveliest remembrance of the kindness shown us by its amiable inhabitants. my crew, though healthy, had in some degree suffered from the effects of a nearly three years' voyage, and i was anxious during our stay here to strengthen them by a regimen of fresh provisions, (which, however, are very dear upon the island,) particularly as we had again to cross the line, and that in a region often considered unhealthy. on the th of april we sailed from st. helena, and cut the equator on the th in the longitude ° '. here, delayed by calms, and oppressed by the heat and damps, notwithstanding all my precautions, a nervous fever broke out among the men; and, after having escaped so many dangers, we began to apprehend a melancholy conclusion to our voyage. this misfortune had probably been communicated to us by contagion. the homeward-bound ships of the english east india company, which almost all touch at st. helena, having nothing in view but a quick passage, and the profit resulting from it, do not generally, as i have myself had opportunities of observing, pay that proper attention to cleanliness and wholesome diet which is absolutely necessary to health. during our residence at st. helena, several of these ships were lying in the roads with sick on board. it is true that, according to a standing order, no vessel is allowed anchorage there till a surgeon has examined into the state of health of her crew; but the captains find means to evade the investigation, and thus are the healthy liable to become infected by association with the diseased. half our crew lay sick, and our skilful and active surgeon was unfortunately of the number. a favouring gale, however, sprang up, which carried us into a cooler and drier climate, our invalids quickly recovered, and we escaped with the loss of one sailor only. by the th of march, when we passed the azore islands, the crew was again in perfect health. on the rd of june we reached portsmouth, where we stopped some days. on the th we touched at copenhagen, and on the th of july joyfully dropped our anchor in the roads of cronstadt, from whence we had sailed nearly three years before. if my readers have by this time become sufficiently acquainted with me to interest themselves in my affairs, they will not learn with indifference, that my most gracious sovereign the emperor has honoured me by the most condescending testimonials of his satisfaction, and that after our long separation, i had the gratification of finding my wife and children well and happy. appendix. review of the zoological collection of fr. eschscholtz, professor at the university of dorpat. it may easily be conceived, that in a sea-voyage a naturalist has fewer opportunities of enriching his collection, than when travelling by land; particularly if the vessel is obliged to pass hastily from one place to another, with a view to her arriving at her destination within a limited period. during our three years' voyage, little more than the third of our time was spent on shore. it is true, that curious animals are occasionally found in the open sea, and that a day may be pleasantly passed in examining them; but it is also true, that certain parts of the ocean appear, near the surface, to be almost wholly untenanted; and accordingly a passage of eleven weeks produced only ten species of animals: these, however, being met with only at sea, are still but partially known to the naturalist, and were the more interesting to me, as, during the preceding voyage, i had become acquainted with many remarkable productions of the ocean. my best plan will be, to arrange in a chronological order all the zoological observations which offered in the course of this voyage. the first, then, was the result of a contrary wind, by which we were detained much longer than we intended in the baltic, and thus enabled to use our deep fishing-nets upon the great banks: these brought to light a considerable number of marine animals. upon the branches of the _spongia dichotoma_, some of which were twelve inches in length, sat swarms of _ophiura fragilis_, _asterias rubens_, _inachus araneus_, _i. phalangium_, _i. scorpio_, _galathea strigosa_, and _caprella scolopendroides lam._ we obtained, at the same time, large pieces of _labularia digitata_, _sertularia abietina_, upon which nothing of the animal kind was to be seen, but attached to which was frequently found _flustra dentata_; also _pagurus bernhardus_, _fusus antiquus_, _rostellaria pes pelecani_, _cardium echinatum_, _ascidia prunum_, _balanus sulcatus_, _echinus saxatilis_, and _spatangus flavescens_. two different species of _actiniæ_, seated on stones, were brought up, which were not to be found either in _pennant's british zoology_, or in the _fauna danica_. during a calm, by which we were detained two days on the portuguese coast, _janthina fragilis_ and _exigua_, _rhizophysa filiformis_, and another species, were brought up. many specimens of the _janthina exigua_ were found, the bladder-like mass of which was stretched out to a great length, and bent into the form of a hook at the end. on the outer side was observed a fleshy streak, bordered by a close row of small paunches: these paunches, which were externally open, contained a great quantity of brown atoms, apparently spawn, and evidently in motion. with respect to the _rhizophysæ_, it has been discovered that they are of the same genus as the _physsophora_, the hard part being torn away in the act of catching them; upon this occasion also, several of these separated parts, still in motion, and bearing some resemblance to salpas, were brought up, and accurately examined. off the cape de verd islands, in addition to the _exocoetus volitans_, which abounds there, various specimens of the much larger _exocoetus exsiliens_ of cuvier alighted on board our vessel. the latter species is distinguished by the long black fins of the belly, and by its remarkably large eyes, differing greatly from the species described by gmelin under the same denomination. the calms near the equator afford an abundant harvest to the zoologist, the tranquil water presenting an immense variety of marine animals to his view, and allowing him to take them with little trouble in a net. the open woollen stuff used for flags offers the most convenient material for making these nets, as it allows the water to run through very quickly, and does not stick together. a short, wide bag should be made of this stuff, which may be stretched upon the hoop of a cask, and the whole fastened to a long, light pole. from the height on which we stand above the water, it is impossible to perceive the smaller animals; the best way therefore to catch these is, to hold the net half in the water, as if to skim off the bubbles of foam from the surface; then, after a few minutes, if the net is drawn out, and the interior rinsed in a glass of fresh sea-water, one may frequently have the pleasure of seeing little animals of strange forms swimming in the glass. in the course of ten days, i obtained, in this way, thirty-one different species of animals, among which was a small _diodon_, eight small crustacea of forms almost wholly unknown; a sea-bug (_halobates micans_); three species of pteropodes, closely allied to the _cliodora_; a small and remarkable hyaloea; two new _janthinæ_; _firola hyalina_, _pyrosoma atlanticum_, _salpa coerulescens_, and another unknown; _porpita glandifera_, and a new species of globular form; a _velella_; two new species of acalephes, of the same family as the _diphyes_; and further _pelagia panopyra_, and two other very small species. when the sea was a little agitated on the brazilian coast, we frequently saw the large sea-bladder floating on the surface; here we also caught with our net a new species of small _hyaloea_, and of the fin-footed _steira_, which approaches the nearest to the _limacina_. brazil has lately been visited by eminent naturalists, who have spent years in the country, and have travelled through it in every direction; we are therefore bound to suppress the few detached observations we were able to make during the short space of four weeks. captain von kotzebue having frequently sent his people to fish in the bay of boto fogo, we enriched our collection by thirty-two kinds of fish, the greater part of which were very similar to those already described as tenants of the atlantic, but still differing from them in some respects. how abundant the insects of brazil are is generally known, particularly in the warm and moist lands along the coast, in the vicinity of rio janeiro. few of them crawl on the ground; the greater part of them live on the leaves and fruits, or under the bark of trees, in flowers, and in the spongy excrescences of the trees. among the coleoptera, the _stachylinus_ is a rarity: the white-winged _cicindela nivea_ of kirby is to be found in great abundance on the sand of the beach, which is of the same colour as itself; the _cic. nodicornis_ and _angusticollis dej._ on the other hand, frequent the paths in the forests. _cosnania_, which supplies the place of our _elaphrus_, is found among the grass by the side of brooks. the little animals of the _plochionus_ and _coptodera_ species climb, by means of their indented claws, along the moss on the trunks of the trees: their numbers, in these extensive forests, must be immense. of the _cantharis_, the number is small; the strongest of which is the _cantharis flavipes_ f. the descriptions of which vary, so that it may still be doubted whether we have a correct account of it. to show the proportion of the numerous subdivisions which we observed in the different genera, it will be sufficient to give the numbers of those which we were able to collect during the short period of our stay:--these were, _elater_, ; _lampyris_, ; _ateuchus_, (including the _deltachilum_ and _eurysternus_); _passalus_, ; _anoplognathidæ_, ; _helops_, (including _stenochia_ and _statira_) ; _curculionidæ_, ; _cerambycidæ_, ; _cassida_, ; _haltica_, ; _doryphora_, ; _colaspis_, ; and _erotylus_, . the _phanæus_, according to macleay, distinguished by the total absence of claws from the feet, is peculiar to the warmer parts of america: _onthophagus_ is not met with along the shore, but is found in the interior. such large _copris_ as are seen in the old world, (_isidis_, _hamadrias_, _bucephalus_,) have not been discovered here: their place is supplied by the large _phanæi_, _faunus_, _bellicosus_, _lancifer_, &c. a golden-green _copris_ is a great rarity. _onitis_ seems to be quite wanting in america: all the specimens, in this part of the world, that have been placed in that class, belong partly to the _phanæus_, and partly to the _eurysternus_ dalm. a remarkable species of the genus ateuchus. the _ateuchi_ are not less numerous in south america than in africa; and here is found what may be looked upon as the intermediate link between _copris_ and _onitis_. no part of the world is so rich in _rutelides_ as trophical america; and according to the narrow limits within which mac leay confines this family, it would seem to be exclusively restricted to this continent. the greater part have not the head divided from the head-shield by a line, and the breast is lengthened in front into a spine: this extensive division is peculiar to america. in the second division, the head-shield of which is bounded by a strongly marked line, those which are provided with a breast-bone are american. south america possesses also the intermediate genus between the _rutelides_ and _scarabæi_, in the genus _cyclocephala_, _anoplognathidæ_ were hitherto known to us from new holland, asia, south africa, and south america, and are characterised by the drooping form of the upper-lip, falling lowest in the middle, and by the inequality of their claws; the under-lip, at the same time, has either a projection in the centre, or consists of two parts lapping over one another. in the same way that the _anoplognathidæ_ of new holland have the appearance of _rutelides_ proper, are the south american _anoplognathidæ_ distinguished by their resemblance to _melolonthidæ_: those of brazil have no breast-bone, and at least one claw to each foot is cloven, which distinguishes them from those of asia. _chelonarium_ and _atractocerus_ fly about in the evening, and are attracted by a light. the brazilian jumping beetles differ, almost all of them, in their form, from those of europe. among the _heteromerides_, in the neighbourhood of rio janeiro, owing to the dampness of the soil, no unwinged beetle is to be met with; a few varieties of the species _scotinus_ have been found upon the organ mountains only. owing to the excessive roughness of the weather, our passage from rio janeiro to the bay of conception afforded us but few opportunities to add to our collections. a snipe blown out to sea from the rio de la plata, a specimen of _diomedea albatros_ at terra del fuego, a large _salpa_, and a _lepas_, were all we were able to obtain. the bay of conception presents a rich field to the ornithologist. a kind of parrot, with a long tail, and naked round the eyes, flies about in swarms; and a smaller kind from the interior, is to be found tame in the houses; our guns frequently brought down two small kinds of doves. of _ambulatores_ we met some, of the genera _cassicus_, _motacilla_, _muscicapa_, _pyrgita_, _saxicola_, _cotile_; of birds of prey, _percnopterus jota mol._, and two buzzards; of _grallatores_, two kinds of _hæmatopus_, both with white legs, the one with a black body, as _h. niger_ is described by quoy and gaimard, the other more similar to the european; a _vanellus_ with spurs to the wings, _numenius_, _scolopax_, _phalaropus_, _ardea nycticorax_; and lastly a small bird with remarkably short legs, digitated, and with a short thick bill, frequenting the sea-shore, and feeding on seeds of _rumex_ and _polygonum_, and constituting a new species, which may be called _thinocorus_. of aquatic birds, there were two kinds of _sterna_ and _larus_; many thousands of _rynchops nigra_, which were so numerous as to appear like clouds when they rose into the air; a _procellaria_ of the variety _nectris_; two kinds of _podiceps_, and an _aptenodytes_ of the variety _spheniscus_. the upper part of the latter was of a lead colour, and the lower part white, with a line of dullish grey running from the bill to the belly, and forming a boundary between the two colours; the bill and legs quite black. the animal was alive when brought to us. when resting, it lay upon its belly and stretched out its head. in the water it appeared unable to maintain itself afloat except by incessant paddling, the whole of the body being meanwhile under water. of amphibia, only five kinds can be distinctly named; a brown _coluber_, two small lizards of the family of _scincoidea_, a small _rana_, with a spot like an eye on the belly, and a small _bufo_. of fishes, the most remarkable was a _torpedo_, with the back of a reddish brown, and smooth; and a _callorhynchus antarcticus_: the latter may very well remain in the class of _chimæra_. of crustaceæ, we collected three _canceres_, a _portunus_, a _porcellana_, a _sphæroma_, and a _ligia_. the dry land along the coast is extremely poor in insects. the number of beetles collected in , together with those taken on the present occasion, amounted only to sixty seven, but they are altogether peculiar to the country. the most remarkable are a _carabus_ of the beautiful colours of the _hispanus_, but with narrow striped cases to the wings, and a large _prionus_: the joints of the feet, in this latter, are short and cylindrical, constituting a distinction from the whole family of the _cerambycinæ_; in every other respect it is unquestionably a _prionus_, and may be called _pr. mercurius_, on account of two wing-shaped appendages, attached to the neck-corselet. sixteen carabicides were found belonging to the _calosoma_, _pæcilus_, _harpalus_, _trechus_, _dromius_, and _peryphus_. we were surprised at finding so few dung-beetles. we met with only two large ones, namely, the _megathopa villosa_ of _esch_. entomography, forming a species of the _ateuchus_, and a _copris torulosa_, described in the same work; this, however, is owing to the very little moisture in the atmosphere, which dries the dung almost immediately. it is curious, that all the seventeen kinds of _copris_ of south america known to us, have but seven stripes upon each wing-case; whereas those of the old world have eight: the larger kinds, _hamadrias_, _bucephalus_, and _isidis_,[ ] alone agree with the south american in the number of stripes. of the americans, the _c. hesperus oliv._ is the only one with a border to the seventh stripe, and the _c. actæon klug_ of mexico is the only one that has eight stripes. various kinds of beetles in chili seek a shelter from the rays of the sun in the dry cow-dung: almost all the heteromerides with wings grown together, the greater part of the beetles armed with trunks, and several carabides, were found there. the ten kinds of heteromerides, with distorted wings, found here, belong to five new classes: the other heteromerides consist of a _helops_ and a black _lytta_ with red thighs. of beetles furnished with a proboscis, we met with four kinds of _listroderes_, two remarkable _cryptorhynchi_, and a few others of the shape of a _rhigus_. lastly are to be noticed, a _lucanus_ of the form of the _femoratus_, a large _stenopterus_, and a large black _psoa_. we found very few other species of insects, but several kinds of _pompilus_, one two inches long, and a curious _castnia_, were the most remarkable. of marine animals there remain to be noticed--a small _octopus_, a _loligo_, two _chiton_, _patella_, _crepidula_, _pilcopsis_, _fissurella_, _calyptræa_; of _concholepas_, only empty shells; a large _mytilus_, a small _modiola_, _turritella_, _turbo_, _balanus_; and a holothuria of the variety _psolus_. in the vast sea between the coast of chili and the low islands or the dangerous archipelago, very few animals appear to live near the surface, at least we saw none; a quantity of flying-fish were seen, resembling the _exocoetus volitans_, but having the rays of the breast-fins parted towards the end. during the short space of ten days that we stayed at o tahaiti, the inhabitants, who for a trifling remuneration brought us all sorts of marine animals, enabled us to make acquaintance with all the natural productions of this much praised country. birds are scarce in the lowlands along the coast. the little blue _psittacus taitianus_ frequents the top of the cocoa-palm; the _ardea sacra_ walks along the coral reefs; but it is seldom that a tropical bird is seen on the wing. a _gecko_ of the species _hemidactylus_ lives about old houses; a small lizard of the family of _scincoidea_, with a copper-coloured body and a blue tail, and a striped _ablepharus_, are met with frequently among the rocks. of fishes, the variety is great, many of them of splendid colours, particularly the small ones, which feed upon the coral, and seek shelter among its branches. the same place of refuge is chosen by numbers of variegated crabs, more particularly the _grapsus_, _portunus_, and _galathea_. three kinds of _canceres_ already known were brought us, the _maculatus_, _corallinus_, and _floridus_; the two former move but little, and their shells are as hard as stones. a small _gelasimus_ burrows under the ground, and makes himself a subterranean passage from the water to the dry land. the female has very small claws, but the male has always one very large pink claw, which is sometimes the right and sometimes the left. a large brownish _gecarcinus_ lives entirely on the land, in holes of his own making; his gills accordingly are not open combs, but consist of rows of bags closely pressed together, and somewhat resembling bladders. _hippa adactyla_ f. is very frequent here, and keeps itself concealed under the sands on the sea-shore. it was from these that fabricius, who has given a wrong description of their legs, formed his species _hippa_; latreille mentions them by the name of _remipes testudinarius_. six kinds of _pagurus_. of crustacea already described, _palæmon longimanus_, _alphæus marmoratus_, and _squilla chiragra_; the legs of the last are red, and formed like a club; it uses them as weapons of offence or defence, and inflicts wounds in striking them out by a mechanism peculiar to itself. the number of insects collected on the low land was very small; among them the _staphylinus erytrocephalus_, also a native of new holland; an _aphodius_, scarcely to be distinguished from the _limbatus wiedem._ of the cape of good hope; an _elater_ of the species _monocrepis_; of _oedemera_, three varieties of the species _dytilus_, to which belong the _dryops livida_ and _lineata_ f.; two small varieties of _apate_; _anthribus_, _cossonnus_, _lamia_, _sphinx pungens_, and a large _phasma_. no place could be more convenient for the observation of the mollusca and radiata than cape venus. at a few hundred paces from the shore is a coral reef, which at low water is completely dry. in the shoal water, between the reef and the shore, is found the greatest variety of the more brittle kinds of coral, and among their sometimes thick bushes, mollusca and echinodermes lie concealed. the rapid movements of a small _strombus_, which, when taken, beat about it with its shell, formed like a thin plate of horn, and armed with sharp teeth, were very curious. on breaking the stone which is formed by fragments of coral, a _sternaspis_ was found burrowing in the interior. seven classes of holothuria were examined; three belonged to the species of _holothuria_, called by lamarck _fistularia_, but which name had already been given by linnæus to the tobacco-pipe fish; the fourth was a species newly discovered, and to which we appropriated the name of _odontopyga_, because the fundament is armed with five calcareous teeth; the belly is furnished with small tubes, and the back covered with bumps. two more belong to the species _thyone_; and the seventh kind of holothuria ought, properly speaking, to form a class apart, not having tubular feet, but adhering, by means of their sharp skin, to extraneous objects, on which account they might be called _sinapta_; their feelers are fringed and they live concealed among stones. we found five small kinds of sea-leeches; and among three kinds of star-fish, the _asterias echinites_, the large radii of which easily inflict a severe wound; another had the form of the _asterias luna_, was eight inches in diameter, without radii, and had more the appearance of a round loaf of bread somewhat flattened. of corals, the variety was very great, as may be judged from the circumstance of our having collected twenty-four kinds within so short a space of time. _fungia_ is quite at home here; for, independently of _f. agariciformis_, _scutaria_, and _limacina_, a long kind was also found, having, like the two former, only one central cavity; they are found in shallow water among other corals. of tabular corals already known, there remain to be mentioned, _pavonia boletiformis_, _madrepora prolifera abrotanoides_, _corymbosa_, _plantaginea_, and _pocillifera_. the inhabitants of the navigator isles brought us the little _psittacus australis_, _columba australis_, and another very prettily marked dove, having green plumage, ornamented with a dark violet line across the breast, and the feet and head of a reddish purple. it climbed about the sides and roof of its cage, did not leave its perch when it wanted to drink, but stooped down so low as merely to hang by its legs; it would not eat seed, but lived principally on fruit, particularly bananas, all which closely agreed with the habits of parrots. during our passage to the equator, _sterna solida_ and _dysporus sula_ alighted frequently on our vessel, and allowed themselves to be taken. the latter, when old, has a blue beak and red feet; when young, a red bill and flesh-coloured legs. the exterior nostrils are entirely wanting; but in every part are air-cells between the skin and the muscles. besides these animals, six varieties of _pteropodes_ were caught; also a _glaucus_, differing from that of the atlantic _janthina penicephala per._, a _planaria_, _salpa vivipara per._, a _pyrosoma_, resembling that of the atlantic, and a _lepas_, attached to the shell of the _janthina_. our collection of acalephi was extremely rich; of fourteen kinds taken, only one, _physalia lamartinieri_, was known to us. our eight days' stay at the coral island otdia, afforded us an opportunity to observe or collect about one hundred different kinds of marine animals. it has already been mentioned elsewhere, that the only kind of mammalia found upon this island is a middling-sized cat, which feeds on the fruit of the pandanus tree, and makes its nest in the dead branches, which it easily hollows out. several lizards have also been found in these islands, such as the striped _ablepharus_ of o tahaiti, and a small _gecko_; a large coal-black lizard was several times seen, but always escaped among the dry pandanus leaves. the fishes are remarkable for the singularity of their form, and the beauty of their colours; those brought to us by the inhabitants belonged to the _holocentrus_, _scarus_, _mullus_, _chætodon_, _heniochus_, _amphacanthus_, _theutis_, and _fistularia_. of crustacea we saw twenty different kinds; among them a _gonoplax_ of the middling size, and as white as the coral-sand, among which it lives, on the shore. the _hippopus_ found here differs from the _maculatus_ already known by the much greater elevation of its shell. the large _tridachna_ is the _tr. squamosa lam._ it is very unusual to meet with an animal belonging to the family of lepades in tubular holes made in the coral rocks, as is the case with the _lithonaetta n._ among the twenty kinds of tabular coral here observed, there was not one of those collected at o tahaiti; there were three new _distichoporæ_, _seriatipora_, six kinds of _madrepora_, two _porites_, four _astrea_, _pocillopora cærulea_, and another kind, forming broad, yellow, leafy masses, the slime of which stings like a nettle; _cariophyllæa glabrescens cham._, and _tubipora_, with red animalculæ. a calm of several days, between eighteen and twenty degrees of north latitude, during our passage to kamtschatka, afforded opportunities for the observation of several remarkable animals. a small animal of lamarck's family of heteropodes, with two rows of separate fins, received the name _tomopteris_. secondly, a _salpa_, of the class which lives apart and has fine long fibres projecting from the hinder part of the body. thirdly, a small animal, nearly allied to the _diphyes_, the soft part of the body, which contains the tube for receiving nourishment, having no air-bladder. fourthly, a small _beroe_, having the power of drawing in its fins. fifthly, a very small _porpita_. the sixth animal was a very remarkable crab, the triangular shell on the back, only two lines in length, provided with a spike from eight to ten lines long, (_lonchophorus anceps_,) projecting both before and behind. professor germar has given to a species of beetle the name _lonchophorus_, but the same had already been described by mac leay, under the name of _phanæus_. seventhly, an animal belonging to the class _arthrodiæ_, (_arthronema n._) the exterior consisting of stiff tubes, in the interior of which is afterwards found a skin, which eventually divides into separate parts. eighthly, a _clio_, about a line in length, with a projection from the globular part of the body. ninthly, a second variety of _appendicularia_, described by my friend and companion, on board the rurik, a. von chamisso, in the tenth volume of the _n. acta acad. leop. car._, which proved to be a species of mollusca belonging to the heteropodes of lamarck. tenthly, a _pelagia_, scarcely, if at all, to be distinguished from the _panopyra per._ lastly, a new kind of _cestum_, _c. najadis n._ in the thirty-fourth degree of latitude, renewed calms again enabled us to add to our collection, firstly, a new species of physsophorides (_agalma n._); secondly, a new _diphyes_; thirdly, a new _pelagia_, with a yellow skin on the belly, attached to which was a small cirrhipede of the class _cineras_; fourthly, a medusa, with broad belly-bags, and four strong fins; fifthly, a medusa of the same species, with five and six fins; sixthly, a very small entomostracea of a flat form, and distinguished by its blue glossy colour, similar to that of the _hoplia farinosa_; seventhly, a _loligo_, probably _cardioptera per._, remarkable on account of the largeness of its eyes; eighthly, a second species of _phyllirhoe_, placed by lamarck among the heteropodes, to which class it does not, however, belong. the species found in the south sea has no eyes, and plain feelers; on which account it was formerly considered by us as forming a distinct class, and called _eurydice_. but, although the _phyllirhoe_ is found to vary so remarkably in its formation, owing to the want of feet, still i consider it as nearly allied to the _eolidia_. ninthly, a new _glaucus_, of a remarkably slim body, with short fins, and of a blackish-blue colour. tenthly, a _eucharis n._ in addition to these, no less than eight crustacea were taken in the net. in the vicinity of kamtschatka, the vessel sailed daily through red masses floating on the surface; on drawing up some of the water, the pail was found full of red _calanus_, a line and a half long, with rough feelers of the same length as the body. in kamtschatka we found the bay of awatscha poor in mollusca and radiated animals, owing probably to the inconsiderable ebb and flood. the objects most frequently met with, were an ugly little _turbo_, the empty shell of which was tenanted by a black _pagurus_ and a _balanus_. a large _cyanea_ differs from the european _c. ciliata_, in the form of the stomach. another medusa, constituting a new kind of _sthenonia n._, was observed; its digestive organs resemble those of the aurelia; and about the edge, eight bunches of very long fibres project, provided, like those of the physaliæ, with two rows of suckers. the environs of st. peter and st. paul, lying under fifty-three degrees of north latitude, possess an insect fauna, such as is in europe only found in sixty and seventy degrees of latitude; as for instance, in lapland and finland. a great number of species are exactly similar in both regions; others of the kamtschatkan insects have been met with nowhere else, except in siberia, and a small number is quite peculiar to the former country. all have not yet been subjected to a diligent examination, and only the following can be with certainty mentioned. firstly, in the north of europe also, are found: _pteroloma forstroemii gyllh._, _nebria arctica dej._ (_hyperborea schoenh._), _blethisa multipunctata_, _pelophila borealis_, _elaphrus lapponicus_ and _riparius_, _notiophilus aquaticus_, _loricera pilicornis_, _poecilus lepidus_, _dyticus circumcinctus_, _staphylinus maxillosus_, _buprestis appendiculata_, _elater holosericeus_, _ptilinus pectinicornis_, _necrophorus mortuorum_; _silpha thoracica_, _lapponica_, _opaca_, and _atrata_; _strongylus colon_, _byrrhus albo-punctatus_, _dorsalis_, _varius_ and _aeneus_; _hydrophilus scarabæoides_ and _melanocephalus_; _cercyon aquaticum_, _hister carbonarius_, _psammodius sabuleti_, _trichus fasciatus_, _oedemera virescens_, _apoderus coryli_, _leptura trifasciata_, _atra_ and _sanguinosa_, _lema brunnea_, _cassida rubiginosa_, _chrysomela staphylæa_, _lapponica_, _ænea_, _viminalis_, _armoracea_ and _vitellinæ_; _eumolpus obscurus_, _cryptocephalus variegatus_, _coccinella_ _punctata_, _punctata_, _mutabilis_, and _guttata_. secondly, such as have been hitherto found only in siberia, though their number is but small: _cantharis annulata fisch._, _dermestes domesticus gebl._, _aphodius ursinus n._, and _a. maurus gebl._, and _leptura sibirica_. among the beetles which have as yet been met with nowhere else, and are therefore considered peculiar to the country, may be named: a _cicindela_, between _hybrida_ and _maritima_; a _carabus_ of the form of the _cancellatus illig._, with black feelers and legs; _c. clerkii n._, and another, green, with gold border, of the form of the _catenulatus_, caught near the line of perpetual snow on the volcano awatscha: _c. hoffmanni n._, _nebria nitidula_, which is the same as the _carabus nitidulus fabr._, as appears by that preserved in banks's museum, hitherto the only specimen in europe; great numbers of these are found in the valleys: a second black sort was caught on the volcano. further, a small bright yellow _pteroloma_, an _elaphrus_, _bembidia_ six kinds, _agonum_ four kinds, an _omaseus_, an _amara_, _elater scabricollis esch. entomogr._; an _elater_, like _undulatus_ p., three kinds, which like _bructeri_, live among stones; a wingless kind which is found buried in the sea-sand, and a perfectly black _campylus_. besides these, a beetle forming a peculiar species between _atopa_ and _cyphon_; _cantharis cembricola esch._, and one resembling the _testacea_; a _hylecoetus_, scarcely differing from _dermestoides_; _catops_; a _heterocerus_, broad and covered with whitish scales; an _elophorus_; two _phaleriæ_ with a black ground; two kinds of _stenotrachelis_, both larger than the european, which has hitherto borne the name of _dryops ænea_; and in fact, the beetle in banks's museum, so called by fabricius, is either the same, or a species very nearly resembling it, and it may therefore be conjectured that some mistake has accidentally occurred in the designation of its native country in that museum. there still remain to be mentioned a chrysomela, like the _pyritosa_, and a _coccinella_ with five very large spots upon both wing-covers, found on the line of perpetual snow on the volcano. it is also probable that the valley of the kamtschatka river, although lying farther north than the environs of the awatscha, yet possesses a richer in sect fauna, as the climate there is much milder, and adapted to agriculture. from kamtschatka our course lay mostly eastward. at first the sea was strongly luminous every night; but when in the midst of this immense ocean, it one night happened, that while the ship was as usual surrounded by brilliant waves, a dark precipice seemed to open before it. on reaching this part of the water, it appeared that all the luminous matters, such as zoophytes and mollusca with their spawn, were entirely wanting, and from this point to the american coast the sea remained dark. we remarked generally of this great ocean, that on the asiatic coast, even at a considerable distance from land, (as much as thirty degrees west from japan,) the water is always muddy; it is made so, partly by the great numbers of small crustacea, zoophytes, and mollusca, partly by the impurities of the whales and dolphins, which latter especially, as well as many other kinds of fish, are very numerous here from the abundance of food to be found. on the contrary, the sea in the neighbourhood of the north-west coast of america is clear and transparent, and nothing is found in it except here and there a single medusa. in the principal settlement of the russian-american trading company on the island of sitcha, in norfolk sound, we had better opportunities of becoming acquainted with natural productions than elsewhere, as, during our stay there, in the year , from march to the middle of august, we had an almost uninterrupted continuation of fine weather: we were in this respect peculiarly favoured, as in most years this island does not enjoy above one fine day to fourteen cloudy or wet ones. we ourselves experienced this sort of weather in , when we passed the latter part of august and the beginning of september there. of the fauna of this island, about two hundred and sixty species came under our notice: from its immediate vicinity to the continent, it is not wonderful that several large _mammalia_ are to be found. among these is the _ursus americanus_, of the black race; a fox; a stag, which perhaps does not differ from the _cervus virginianus_, and the common beaver, which feeds on the large leaves of a _pothos_, said by the inhabitants to be injurious to man. besides these are observed a small _vespertilio_ with short ears, a _mustela_, and a _phoca_. of birds we remarked: the _aquila leucocephala_, _astur_, _corvus corone_ and _stelleri_, and some varieties of the species _turdus_, _sylvia_, _troglodytes_, _parus_, _alcedo_, _picus_, _ardea_, _hæmatopus_, _scolopax_, _charadrius_, _anas_, and _colymbus_. _trochilus rufus_ is not only often found here, but also under sixty degrees of latitude. a small shoal of _procellaria furcata_ was once driven into the bay by stormy weather. of amphibia, only a small kind of toad is met with. there is no great variety in the kinds of fish, but the individuals are numerous, especially a well-flavoured sort of salmon, and herrings; a _pleuronectes_ several feet long, and a reddish yellow _perca_ two feet long and very thick, are extremely abundant. the number of accurately examined _annulides_ amounts to sixteen, among which are found some of very fine and unknown forms. most of them belong to the well-known species _cirrhatulus_, _arenicola_, _aceronereis_, _nereis_, _aphrodita_, _serpula_, _amphitrite_. a _nereis_ was found swimming on the surface of the water in the middle of the bay, which measured two feet in length, and one inch in thickness; the appendages at its sides resemble round leaves. an _aphrodita_ several inches long, and very narrow, was not rare. an animal resembling the amphitrite kind is found enveloped in a transparent mass like jelly. of mollusca we observed, a _limacina_; two _eolidiæ_, some of which have very beautiful colours; a _laniogerus_; a _polycera_; four kinds of _doris_; a _scyllæa_; an animal which deserves the name of _planaria_, it was three inches long, two broad, and only half a line thick; on the upper surface, half an inch from the edge, are two projecting eyes; and in the same part, on the surface beneath, the mouth may be perceived; in the middle of this under surface is another aperture, from which the animal, when in a tranquil state, frequently strecthes out four small folds of skin; this creature, like the _planariæ_, crawls very nimbly. besides these, a small _onichidium_, and a new kind of shelled snail. in the mossy woods live a large, yellowish, black-spotted _limax_, and two helices of middling size. in the bay itself are found a few of the gilled snails with spiral shells; and a considerable number on the outward coast, which is washed by the ocean. here are several species of the genera _murex_, _fusus_, _buccinum_, _mitra_, _trochus_, and _turbo_. further, there are found here a large _fissurella_, and six species of a genus which, from its simple, unwound shell, would be immediately taken for a _patella_; the creature, however, closely resembles the _fissurella_, with the difference that only one gill is visible in the fissure over the neck. it is remarkable, that on the whole north-west coast of america down to california, no _patella_, only animals of the genus _acmæa_, were to be met with. of the _chiton_ genus, six species were observed; in one, the side skin covers the edges of the shell so far as to leave only a narrow strip of it visible down the back; in others, the shell is entirely concealed under the external skin. it is worthy of remark, that these latter, as well as one similarly formed, found in california, attain the considerable length of eight inches. a third kind, to be reckoned among this subdivision, pallas obtained from the kurile islands, and has described it as _chiton amiculatus_. among the acephala are to be named a large _cardium_, also found on the californian coast; _modiolus_, two species; _mytilus_; _mya_, two species; and _teredo palmulatus_: the latter, which is brought here by the ships, is very mischievous in the harbour, and attains to the length of two feet. in this species are comprehended three _ascidiæ_, of different forms; one _anomia_, one _terebratula_ attached to a _fusus_, two _lepas_, and a _balanus_. six _holothuria_, belonging to three different species, were observed: a large _thalassema_ gave us a long-wished for opportunity of observing, that this species belongs to the holothuria, and not to the annulides. eight species of star-fish are found here, partly on the rocks, and partly at the bottom of the sea: among them, four are furnished with five _radii_, and the rest with six, ten, eleven, and eighteen: the latter sort, which is the largest, lives at the bottom of the sea, and the number of its _radii_ varies from eighteen to twenty-one. only one _ophiura_ was seen. several kinds of very large _actinia_ inhabit the rocks: all that we examined belonged to the species which is externally provided with rows of teats. a _velella_ also was caught in the open bay: this is the first which has been observed in so high a latitude. of _zoophytes_, some presented themselves of the genera _antipathes_, _millepora_; _cellaria_, _flustra_ two species, _melobesia_, _retepora_, _acamarchis_, _lafoea_, _aglaophenia_, _dynamena_ fives species, _clytia_ four species, and _folliculina_, two species. the _antipathes_ consists of a simple stem resembling wood, which grows to the length of ten feet: it grows at a great depth in the open bay, and is often accidentally drawn up in fishing. although of all insects of this island the beetle is the most numerous, yet during the whole spring and summer, in almost daily excursions, with constant fine weather, only one hundred and six kinds were found. on the whole, it may be observed, that none among them belong to any of the species which have been hitherto considered as peculiar to america; yet there are some of them which form entirely distinct classes, and must therefore be natives of the north-west coast of america. the result of close examination was, that none of those found here are to be met with either in the north of asia or in europe, and only seven species are to be found even in unalashka. the fauna is adapted to the climate and the soil; _nebria_, _patrobus_ and other carabides, find a cool abode among the stones on the banks of the ice-cold brooks which fall from the snowy summits of the mountains; in the fir-woods, live several kinds of _xylophagi_ and some _cerambycides_; the old mossy trunks of fallen trees afford hiding-places for several kinds of carabides, as two _cychrus_, _leistus_, _platysma_; and for _nitidula_, _scaphidium_, _agyrtes_, and _boros_. on the skirts of the woods, shrubs and tall plants nourish some insects belonging to various families; as two _homalisus_, _omalium_, and _anthophagus_, _anaspis_, _cantharis_, and _silis_; besides _elater_ of eight kinds, and a ninth living under stones. the small standing waters, formed by single cavities, are proportionably rich in water-beetles, among which is found a _dyticus_ of the form of the _sulcatus_, seven _colymbetes_, _hydroporus_ two species, and a _gyrinus_. the carabides are: _cychrus angusticollis_ and _marginatus_, _nebria metallica_ and three new species, _leistus_, _poecilus_ two, _patrobus_, _omaseus adstrictus_, _platysma_ two, _loricera_ plainly distinguished from the _pilicornis_, _amara_, _trechus_ three, _bembidium_ two, and _leja_ three species. thirteen species of _brachelytra_ have been found; of carrion-beetles, a _necrophorus_, a _silpha_, quite of the figure of the _subterranea_, and a _catops_. of pentamerides are still to be mentioned the _scydmaenus_, _cryptophagus_, _byrrhus_, _cercyon_, _psammodius_, and _aphodius_. the number of heteromerides amounts only to four; namely, one _boros_ of the arched form of the _elongatus_, a small _phaleria_, a pale yellow _anaspis_, and a small black, flat beetle with overgrown wing-cases of a new form, which must be reckoned among the family of the blapides. of beetles with probosces only six were found, of xylophagi seven, of the species _hylurgus_ two, _bostrichus_ three, one _rhyzophagus_, and a larger quite red _cucujus_. the three stag-beetles were a _sphondylis_, a _lamia_ with excrescences upon the sharply pointed cases of its wings, and a beetle of the flat form of a _callidium_. of the large class of chrysomelides, only five varieties were to be met with; namely, two sorts of _donacia_, a beetle of the form of a _lema_, and two varieties, of the form of eumolpes. lastly, three trimerides were discovered, namely, two _latridii_ and a _pselaphus_. our stay in the bay of st. francisco, in california, during the months of october and november, was unfavourable to the observations of a naturalist. a perfect drought prevails during those months; vegetation appears completely dead; and all birds of passage abandon the country. the landscape along the coast is alternately formed of naked hills, of a rocky or clayey soil, and low sandy levels, covered with stunted bushes. further inland, the soil is more fertile, but still deficient in wood. the background every where presents lofty mountains; we visited only those to the north, at the foot of which the russian settlement ross is situated. here a fine forest of lofty pines, mingled with oak and horse chesnut-trees, charms the eye. of the mammalia of this hitherto unexplored country, only a few can be cited. the light grey american bear, with a small head, abounds in unfrequented districts, but brown bears are also occasionally killed. we nearly ascertained the existence of two sorts of polecats, and succeeded in getting a skin of one; its fur is brown below, and black above: from the forehead a white stripe runs to the middle of the back, and then divides into two, which extend to the extremity of the tail. the feet of the animal show that it treads upon its entire sole, and lives in holes like a badger. the second sort is said to have three white stripes: our sailors caught one, but it got away again. the mole here is larger than in europe; the upper part of the body is of a greyish brown, the lower part an ash grey; the legs are covered with a white fur, and the taper tail is one-fifth of the length of the body. a shrew-mouse also was caught. two or three kinds of large cats are said to have been seen; a _mustela_, something of the nature of the _lutreola_, was shot near the rio sacramento. the sea-otter still abounds here, but its hair is brownish, and not black. the _cervus wapiti_ is found in great numbers in hilly districts; and there are deer in all unfrequented places. the back and sides of the latter are of a reddish brown in summer, in winter of a blackish brown; the belly, breast, and inside of the legs are white; the mouth, forehead, and the exterior of the ears are black. the antlers (of the male) divide into a fork, with round smooth branches. the animal grows to the height of two feet and a half. near the rio sacramento, and in the vicinity of the russian settlement, we saw herds of animals of the shape of goats, with long hair hanging from their legs, and short straight horns; we were unfortunately unable to obtain a specimen; we saw the animal only through a telescope, and judged it to be the _capra columbiana_, or _rupicapra americana blainville_, so often spoken of. lastly, we have to mention a small kind of hare, not so large as a rabbit, found in great abundance among the bushes, and a dormouse seen in the southern plains. in consequence of the lateness of the season, most of the birds that breed here had already left the neighbourhood; we therefore saw only such birds as pass the winter here, and also a number of aquatic birds that were daily arriving from the north. of the former we met with five kinds of _icterus_; one quite black, except the shoulders, which were red; these were extremely numerous, and sleep, like the _icterus phoenicius_, among rushes. the _sturnus ludovicianus_ and _picus auratus_ of the united states, are also found in california; the _percnopterus californicus_, _corvus mexicanus_, and _perdix californica_, are already known. a large grey crane, probably from the north, remained here: upon the whole, the number of birds observed, amounted to forty. a few amphibia were found concealed under stones; namely, a large _tachydromus_, a _tropydurus_, a _crotalus_, a _coluber_, and four _salamandrides_: among the latter was one with the body covered with warts, and a narrow compressed tail, the glands of the ear wholly wanting; the others had long narrow bodies of about the thickness of a common earth-worm, with short legs, standing far apart, and toes scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. nearly two hundred kinds of beetles were collected: with the exception of the _lampyris corrusca fabr._, which, according to banks, is found on the columbia river, all are as yet undescribed. upon the dry ground, under stones, many heteromerides, with distorted wing-cases, were found, and among them six new species. a large _cychrus_ was also found, and a species closely resembling the _manticora_, together with many other carabides, of which we collected, in all, fifty different species. it was at the sandwich isles that the greatest number of fishes and crustacea were collected: of the former the greatest variety, and the most remarkable, were kept in the fish preserves of the royal family. of other classes of animals, but few are to be met with. among the dense woods that cover the backs of the mountains, there must be a number of land-birds, but we met only _melithreptus vestiarius_, and two sorts of the _dicæum_; in the fields laid under water were the _gallinula chloropus_ and a _fulica_. of corals there is but little variety; these islands being situated nearly in the highest latitude in which coral is ever found. in the vicinity of the harbour are two sorts of _astræa_, two _porites_, a _pavonia_, and a _hornera_. the number of insects is small, as is indeed the case with all land animals; it is therefore creditable to our industry, that we are able to muster twenty sorts of beetles. a small _platynus_ is the only carabide; in the water, two _colymbetes_ and a _hydrophilus_ were found. the only _elater_ belongs to a species (_agrypnus n._) in which we reckon various specimens found only in the old world, such as _elater tomentosus_, _fuscipes_, _senegalensis_, &c.; beetles which have two deep furrows in the lower part of the neck-shield, to receive the feelers, and which go in search of their food at night. they resemble many of the european springing beetles covered with scales, and included by megerle under the name lepidotus; such are _fasciatus_, _murinus_, _varius_. two aphodii were found; one, of the size of the _psammodius porcatus_, but very flat, lives under the bark of a decayed tree, the wood of which has become soft. another has the almost prickly shoulders of the _aphodius stercorator_ and _asper_; of these we form the species _stenocnemis_, and include therein four new varieties found in brazil and luçon. it may be here observed, that _psammodius sabuleti_ and _cylindricus n._, must be classed with _Ægialia_, which, on account of the horny nature of their jaws, and the projection of the upper lip, enter into the same class with _trox_; the remaining kinds of _psammodius_, however, do not at all agree with the character given them by gyllenhal, and ought in their turn to be classed with _aphodius_. among the remaining beetles, all of which dwell under the bark of trees, a _parandra_ was the largest. during our two months' stay in the bay of manilla, we could only become acquainted with a small part of the natural productions, in which the large island of luçon appears extremely rich, because it is difficult to procure them without travelling far into the interior; but the country round manilla and cavite being cultivated to the distance of several days' journey, the woods of the mountains alone remain in a state of nature. there dwell the gigantic snakes and crocodiles, of which every one has some tale to relate. a small _cercopithecus_ is found in great abundance; but we were not able to meet with a good drawing, or even a tolerable description of it. skins of _galeopithecus_ were brought us; and we were assured that the animal allowed itself to be tamed, and would sit like a monkey, and take its food with the fore-feet. two kinds of flying dogs, one of them apparently a _pteropus edulis_, were shot and eaten in the neighbourhood. two other animals, of the bat kind, belonged to the classes _hypexodon_ and _nycticejus_. a _chelone_, three feet long, was brought us, remarkable for seven shields on the middle of its back. _terrapene tricarinata_ is abundant. we obtained also a _basilicus_, a large _tupinambis_, and two _geckos_, which do not as yet appear to have been described. _achrochordus fasciatus_ lives in the sea, and is frequently brought up in the nets of the fishermen; on land, it is unable to move from the spot on which it is placed. in november and december, the months we passed at manilla, all the insects had concealed themselves; and it was only by the assistance of several active malays, who were all day long hunting them, that we were able to collect upwards of two hundred beetles. upon the whole, the beetle fauna agrees with that of java, of which island many have already been made known. a _tricondyla_ we had ourselves the pleasure of catching on the trunk of a tree: the inhabitants did not bring them to us, as they suppose them to be large ants, and are apprehensive of being stung by them. we obtained three sorts of _catascopus_, nineteen aquatic _scarabæus_, six _hydrophilus_, five _buprestis_, five _melolontha_, four _anomala_. _scarabæus gideon_ is found in great abundance in the thick bushes, where it climbs up the branches by means of its long legs and large claws. of _oryctes nasicornis_, a malay one day brought us no less than sixty, taken out of some decayed wood. a green _cetonia_, of the size and form of the _chinensis_, of a coppery brightness, is rare. three small lucanides, of those called by mac leay _nigidius_ and _figulus_, are found in the wood of living trees. of wingless heteromerides, we found only one _tagenia_, and that under the dry bark of a tree. for pimeliades the soil is unfavourable, there not being, as far as we could learn, in the country round manilla, either stones, or low, broad-leafed plants, under which these animals can find shelter from the burning rays of the sun: they are found only under dry bark, and about the root of the _opatrum_, _uloma_, and similar plants. the helopides, on the other hand, must be looked for on the dry branches in the tops of trees, but we obtained only six varieties. of the twenty-six stag-beetles collected here, it is necessary to observe, that they are all essentially different from those found in south america. our passage through the chinese sea was rapid; and as we had constantly stormy weather in the indian ocean, we had no opportunities of observing marine animals. in the vicinity of the cape, we caught some salpæ, physaliæ, and velellæ; but in the northern atlantic, after reaching the region of the _sargassum natans_, daily opportunities for interesting observations presented themselves. from the point at which the floating sea-weed was first noticed, (eighteen degrees north latitude, and about thirty degrees of longitude west of greenwich,) to the coast of england, forty-three kinds of animals were observed, not noticed on our outward voyage. we were able to make a very exact examination of the whole system of the _beroe punctata_. three new varieties of medusa were discovered, and an animal (_rataria n._) between _velella_ and _porpita_: it has the flat form of the latter, but is provided with a sail, which it can draw in at will. we also caught the animal which le sueur has called _stephanomia uvæformis_. lastly, we had the good fortune to procure a specimen of an animal which appears to form a link between the _salpa_ and _pyrosoma_. this species (called _anchinia_) consists of a number of animalculæ of the salpa form, which, by means of a stalk, are attached to a common body, all of them being turned to the same side. in the course of less than three years, kinds of animals were either examined, or only collected, consisting of the following classes:-- species. mammalia birds amphibia fishes annulides crustacea insects arachnides cephalopodes gasteropodes acephali tunicati cirrhipedes echinodermates acalephi zoophytes fr. eschscholtz. dorpat, th january, . the end. london: printed by samuel bentley, dorset street, fleet street. footnotes: [ ] a kind of urn in use throughout all russia, called a samowar, or self-boiler. it generally stands in the middle of the tea-table, and is furnished with a large kettle for water, and a space filled with fire to keep it boiling. [ ] the baidars, or canoes of the aleutians, are generally twelve feet long and twenty inches deep, the same breadth in the middle, and pointed at each end. the smaller are suited only for one man, the larger for two or three. the skeleton and the keel are made of very thin deal planks, fastened together with the sinews of the whale, and covered with the skin of the sea-horse cleared of the hair. it has a kind of deck made of this skin, but leaving an aperture for each person the canoe is intended to carry. these sit in the bottom with their legs stretched out, and their bodies rising through the apertures, which are but just large enough to allow them to move and row conveniently. the space between their bodies and the deck being so well fitted with bladders, that no drop of water can enter. these baidars are moved very rapidly by oars, and the aleutians put to sea with them in all weathers. [ ] this applies only to the lower classes; the yeris are nearly all as large as at tahaiti. [ ] this kind was known to fabricius, for _copris midas_ is a variety of the male, and _gigas_ is the female. the former has erroneously been deemed a native of america. transcriber note emphasized text is denoted as: _italic_ and =bold=. the female symbol is displayed as [f]. volume nine number three ======================================================================== journal of entomology and zoology september, published quarterly by pomona college department _of_ zoology claremont, california, u. s. a. ======================================================================== contents page list of bees from claremont-laguna region--_henry bray_ a partial list of the mammals of the claremont region--_leon l. gardner_ a preliminary list of shells from laguna beach and nearby a reconstruction of the nervous system of a nemertian worm--_w. a. hilton_ entered at claremont, cal., post-office oct. , , as second-class matter, under act of congress of march , journal of entomology and zoology edited by pomona college, department of zoology _subscription_ $ . to domestic, $ . to foreign countries. this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and entomological journals, proceedings, transactions, reports of societies, museums, laboratories and expeditions. the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian forms and conditions are particularly desired, but short morphological, systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for publication. manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about by inches. foot notes, tables, explanations of figures, etc., should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the size of the page when reduced, that is, by ½ inches or less. the lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on the drawings, in most cases. authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are desired, the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of the number containing their articles. manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. address all communications to the journal of entomology and zoology william a. hilton, editor claremont, california, u.s.a. list of bees from claremont-laguna region henry bray through the kindness of prof. t. d. a. cockerell and several others i have been able to get large numbers of our local bees determined. the basis of the work was the extensive cook-baker collection of the college with additional material of my own and others. many of the species here listed have been collected by me and others, but unless not represented in the original college collection it is not noted in the list. so far as the relations of bees to plants has been noted by me it is given in the list. many other species remain to be determined and only a beginning has been made in respect to the relation of the bees to plants. bombidÆ _bombus sonorous._ say. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., nemophila. _bombus californicus._ sm. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _bombus crotchii._ vier. det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., tar weed. anthophoridÆ _anthophora anstrutheri._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., lotus glaber. _anthophora curta._ prov. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., lotus glaber. _anthophora urbana._ cr. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., cactus and poppy. _anthophora washingtoni._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _anthophora stanfordiana._ vier. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., amsinckia intermedia. _anthophora pacifica._ vier. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., lotus glaber. _anthophora simillima._ cr. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., lotus glaber. _anthophora edwardsii._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _mellisodes pallidicineta._ ckll. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. april, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _mellisodes maura._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., amsinckia intermedia. _mellisodes pullata._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. april, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _mellisodes menuacha._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _mellisodes beltragei._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. fl., amsinckia interm. _synhalonia atrientis._ smith det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _diadasia crassicauda_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. laguna, cal., r. la follette. _diadasia bituberculata._ cr. det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., cactus. _diadasia australis rinconis._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., cactus. _diadasia australis opuntia._ ckll. claremont, cal., baker. may. fl., cactus. euceridÆ _tetralonia actuosa._ det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. _tetralonia fowleri._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _tetralonia pomonæ_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _tetralonia robertsoni._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. melectidÆ _bombomelecta thoracicia._ cr. det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. april, nemophila. _pseudomelecta californica miranda._ fox. claremont, cal., baker. _bombomelecta thornica._ cr. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., nemophila. _zacosmia maculata._ cr. claremont, cal., baker. _triepeolus ancoratus_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _triepeolus callopus._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _bombomelecta maculata._ vier. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. nomadidÆ _nomada edwardsii._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. june, no fl. _nomada beulahensis._ ckll. det. br. claremont, cal., bray. from coll. april, no fl. _nomada americana._ kby. det. br. claremont, cal., bray. from coll. april, no fl. _nomada crotchii nigrior._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada civilis._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada pyrrha_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada melanosoma_, sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada subvicinalis._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada erythrospila_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _nomada odontocera_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _exomalopsis velutinus._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _exomalopsis melanurus_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _exomalopsis nitens_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. laguna, cal., r. la follette. xylocopidÆ _xylocopa varipuncta._ patt. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. april, no fl. _xylocopa orsifex._ sm. det. vier. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. april, wood. _xylocopa californica._ cr. det. friese. claremont, cal., baker. april, nemophila. megachilidÆ _megachile pruing._ sm. det. friese. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., cactus. _megachile grindeliarum._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., poppy. _megachile occidentalis._ fox. det. ckll. claremont, cal., bray. _megachile frugalis._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia erythrosmia remotula._ des. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia quadriceps._ ckll. det. cr. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _osmia atrocyanea._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. may, fl., amsinckia intermedia. _osmia propinqua._ cr. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia kincaidii._ ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _osmia bennettæ._ ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _osmia integra._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia cobaltina._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. may, lotus glaber. _osmia faceta._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia clarescens._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. april, fl., phacelia tanacætifolia. _osmia granulosa._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia regulina._ ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _osmia ednæ_, female. ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _osmia playtura._ ckll. det. ckll. cotype. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia hypochrysea._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia pumila._ frieze det. cr. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl. mustard. _osmia cyanopoda_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia cyanosoma._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia nigrobarta_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _hoplitis sambuci._ titus det. ckll. claremont, cal. april, poppy. _hoplitina pentamera._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia pogonigera._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _alcidamea hypocrita._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _osmia melanopleura_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _anthidium maculoscum._ cr. det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. _dianthidium illustri._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _anthidium palliventre._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., baker. _anthidium tricuspidum._ prov. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _dianthidium consimile._ ashmead det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _dianthidium robertsoni._ ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _anthidium angelarum._ titus det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _dianthidium provancheri._ titus det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _dioxys producta._ cr. det. ducke. claremont, cal., baker. _dioxys pomonæ._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _coelioxys megatricha_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _coelioxys angulifera_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _xenoglossa angelica._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. andrenidÆ _andrena porteræ._ vier. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena mustelicolor._ vier. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena prunorum._ vier. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker and bray. may, phacelia tana. and poppy. _andrena mimecta._ ckll. det. ckll. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _andrena texana._ cr. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., poppy. _andrena bipuntala._ lovell det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. april, fl., phacelia tan. _andrena cerasifolii._ vier. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. april, phacelia tanacætifolia. _andrena carlina_ ckll. ashmead det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. may, fl., mustard. _andrene osmoides_ sp. n. cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena peratra_ sp. n. prov. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena auricoma._ sm. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena plana._ vier. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena opaciventris_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena chlorura_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _agapostemon splendens._ friese des. lange. los angeles, cal. _agapostemon californicus._ crawford. claremont, cal., baker. may, poppy. _agapostemon radiatus._ say. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. april, fl., daisy. _diandrena beatula_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _diandrena chalybæa._ cr. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _diandrena cyanosoma_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _diandrena clarventris_ sp. n. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _diandrena scintilla_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _conanthalictus bakeri._ crawford det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _conanthalictus macrops_ sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal. baker. _augochlora pomoniella._ ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena candida._ sm. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena angustitarsata._ vier. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena huardi._ vier. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena pallidifæva._ vier. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena cyanosoma._ ckll. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena nigripes._ prov. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena scripta._ vier. det vier. claremont, cal., baker. _andrena subtristis._ ckll. det. vier. claremont, cal., baker. ceritinidÆ _ceratina neomexicana punctigena_ sub. sp. n. ckll. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. halictidÆ _halictus incompletus._ craw. det. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _halictus punctatoventris._ craw. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus nigrescens._ craw. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus catalinensis._ craw. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus ligatus._ say. det. craw. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus robustus._ craw. det. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus mellipes._ craw. det. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus farinosus._ sm. det. craw. claremont, cal., baker. _halictus rhoptoides._ craw. det. br. from coll. claremont, cal., bray. april, daisy. colletidÆ _colletes californicus._ prov. claremont, cal., baker. _colletes guadialis._ sm. det. ckll. claremont, cal., baker. prosopidÆ _prosopis episcopalis_, female. ckll. det. metz. claremont, cal., baker (rhus laurina). _prosopis coloradensis._ ckll. det. metz. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. _prosopis polifolii_, female. ckll. det. metz. mountains near claremont, cal., baker. panurgidÆ _panurginus atriceps._ ckll. det. cr. claremont, cal., baker. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) a partial list of the mammals of the claremont region leon l. gardner since little or nothing has been published on mammals of this region it was deemed advisable to print a list even though very incomplete and based on preliminary and limited collecting in order to have some definite forward step in this much neglected line. some of the mammals listed below have not been collected by us but are known to occur. thanks are due mr. h. s. swaith for his kind aid in identification of some of the skins collected. bears of course have long since disappeared but still have left their reputation among old mountaineers. the story goes that a bear, perhaps the last one, was killed at bear flats on the trail to "old baldy," hence the name. _odocoileus hemionus californicus._ (caton.) california mule deer. fairly common through upper sonoran and transition zones. they have been taken as low as the mouth of san dimas canyon. the recently established game preserve assures an increase in the future. already they seem to have sensed the protection for on may , , we were surprised to find just feet before us a large doe on the auto road not far above the first power house. _ovis canadensis nelsoni?_ c. m. merriam. merriam desert bighorn. mountain sheep have lived for years in the higher peaks above claremont but being very shy and in inaccessible and little frequented parts have escaped attention very successfully. rumor has it that mountain goats are found with the sheep but i believe this to be unfounded, having been originated probably by the sight of the smaller horned females and young. the area occupied by the sheep is a very definite one and comprises the peaks ontario, cucamonga, telegraph, st. antonio ("old baldy"), and iron mountain with their high rocky intervening ridges. of the points mentioned the first three peaks are the favored ones. i found only a few tracks on iron mountain and a rumor of a pair of horns found there some five or eight years ago. "old baldy" being too often visited is not a frequented spot for the sheep, serving only as a connecting link to iron mountain. however signs around ontario, cucamonga and telegraph peaks are abundant and anyone with a little patience and diligent endeavor can readily see the sheep themselves. they travel often in bands, as many as fifty and in summer keep to the highest places. where they go in winter is as yet a mystery to me, probably lower into canyon heads for i have never found them on the top during this season. this of course is natural for these peaks practically become great ice mountains dangerous for anything to travel over. besides grass the food consists of twigs and leaves of _castonapsis sempewirens_, several species of _ceanothus_, _rhammus croceus californicus_, _rhus trilobata_ and a parsnip _pastinaca sativa_. _citellus beecheyi._ richardson. california ground squirrel. abundant in all parts from brush land to , feet altitude in suitable localities. _sciurus griseus anthonyi._ mearns. anthony gray squirrel. very common in the transition zone. in early spring they start working on pine cones on the mountain tops, gradually coming down to more abundant supplies of food until fall finds them down in the oak belt feeding on acorns. they winter as low as palmers canyon in some cases. _entamias sp._ abundant in the pine belt and as high as the top of "baldy." they are good climbers, exceedingly active and bursting with curiosity. _onychomys torridus ramona._ rhoads. san bernardino grasshopper mouse. but two specimens of this carnivorous mouse were taken in a period of trapping extending over three months. both specimens were taken on bait consisting of rolled oats and in the same place, east of indian hill in the brush. a good many of my specimens were more or less devoured in the traps in this locality, and i strongly suspect this mouse of the crime. nowhere else were my mice eaten or were any grasshopper mice taken. _peromyscus maniculatus gambeli._ baird. gambel white-footed mouse. this species was one of the most common forms taken, being abundant in the brushy valley and foothills. there is a great deal of color variation in the specimens taken. _peromyscus boylei rowleyi._ (allen.) rowley white-footed mouse. no specimens were trapped in the valley. however these mice were found not uncommon at the mouth of palmers canyon, just four miles north of claremont, in the dry brush land. within the canyon they were common and were taken as high as the top of ontario peak along fallen logs. at camp baldy they are very common especially along watercourses and fallen logs. indications are that they ignore zonal limits being taken well down in lower sonoran zone and in high transition and not necessarily near water. _peromyscus californicus insignis._ rhoads. chemisal mouse. not common. none were taken in the valley and few in the canyons. they were not found along waterways but frequently brushy hillsides. this is a large species of mouse and was almost too much for the little "gee whiz" traps to hold. _peromyscus eremicus fraterculus._ miller. dulzura mouse. common in the brush land of both valley and foothill, being found in the canyons also. _reithrodontomys megalotis longicauda._ baird. long-tailed harvest mouse. common in valley and foothill. although partial to grassy areas (i took many in the grassy runways made by meadow mice--microtus californicus). i found them not uncommon in the dry brush land east of indian hill. _neotoma fuscipes macrotis._ thomas. southern brush rat. common from valley to , feet in the mountains in suitable localities. i took one in the property house at the greek theatre this june. the large nests are seen very commonly in the canyons and hillsides. _neotoma intermedia intermedia._ rhoads. intermediate brush rat. there seems to be a curious reversal of conditions between this and the former species. whereas this species is supposed to be taken only up to , feet, i took none _below_ , , all being taken at , feet or more along fallen logs near watercourses, and the former species was limited more distinctly to the foothills which is not a typical condition. _microtus californicus californicus._ (peale.) california meadow mouse. common in runways through the grass in damp canyons, at palmers canyon and in other suitable localities. one was taken as high as kelly's cabin--on ontario peak, among fallen logs by a cold mountain stream. while setting trap in the runways i more than once caught glimpses of them darting along the aisles in the grass. _thomomys bottæ pallescens._ rhoads. southern pocket gopher. abundant in the valley, often doing much damage in lawns and orchards. _perodipus agilis agilis._ (gambel.) gambel kangaroo rats. abundant from valley to transition zone. i found them abundant at brown's flats where the evidences of their digging and their holes are on every side. i have trapped them in brush country, rocky areas, open brushless places, and at the mouth of ground squirrel holes. _lepus californicus._ (gray.) jack-rabbit. common in the valley and to a certain extent in the foothills and higher. _sylvilagus auduboni sanctidiegi._ (miller.) san diego cottontail. abundant in the lower sonoran zone. increasing each year due to the protection afforded by game laws. considerable damage to young trees is done by cottontails and they are a great pest to the farmer. _sylvilagus bachmani cinerascens._ (allen.) ashy brush rabbit. fairly common in the brush. they are not swift runners and rely on escaping by hiding behind clumps of brush. this is more typically an upper sonoran form. _felis oregonensis oregonensis._ (rafinesque.) pacific cougar. numberless reports are always coming in of mountain lions and as usual most of them prove to be unfounded. however authentic records of these beasts are not lacking. i have personally inspected a specimen shot in cold water canyon not more than five years ago. tradition has it that at one time a mountaineer was actually besieged for two days in the little cabin at browns flats. lions have been seen at browns flats, cattle canyon and the north of telegraph peak. mountaineers tell me that they are a great deal more common in the san gabriel drainage. the specimen which i saw was from one of the tributary canyons to the san gabriel river. _lynx eremicus californicus._ (mearns.) california wild cat. common in the mountains and ranging over the valley. about once a year a specimen is brought in to be skinned or identified and great stories are told about them. one of the commonest fallacies is that there are two forms in the mountains, one a "bob cat" with short tail and ear tufts, and the other a true "link" or lynx with longer tail and more prominent ear tufts. it is little wonder, however, that such a notion exists in view of the fact of the great range or variations found in these animals. as for actual records of captures. in the summer of one was shot in the brushy hillsides of laguna canyon (orange co.) and brought in to the marine laboratory. in the spring of a [f] was shot at the mouth of san dimas canyon and brought to the college. in december a [f] in very worn pelage was shot while crossing the santa ana river near prado beach and brought to me to be skinned. finally while trapping for foxes in palmers canyon in march of i took a male. _canis ochropus ochropus._ (eschscholtz.) california coyote. common in the brush land above claremont and in the foothills. the yapping bark is a very familiar cry to any who live near the outskirts of the town and may be heard nearly any evening. although having camped numerous times in the mountains i have never heard coyotes above the foothill region. _urocyon cinereoargenteus californicus._ (mearns.) california gray fox. signs of foxes in the canyons and along mountain trails are always quite common. foeces containing seeds of manzanita berries are familiar occurrences. they are fond of fruit and are readily trapped with such bait. in march three were caught one night at the same place in live oak canyon. _procyon psora psora._ (gray.) california coon. coons are fairly common in the larger canyons where there is an abundance of water. i have seen their tracks in palmers, cucamonga and san antonio canyons. three were trapped this winter ( ) just above camp baldy at an altitude of about feet. _mephitis occidentalis holzneri._ (mearns.) southern california striped skunk. not very common in this region, found mostly in the upper sonoran zone in wooded districts. _spilogale phenax phenax._ (c. h. merriam.) california spotted skunk. very common in valley, foothills and up to , feet in the mountains. they are fearless little creatures and will readily enter cabins in the mountains and keep the occupant awake by rattling pots and pans while scrambling around in search of food, needless to say creating an awkward situation for the host. they have been known to take up their abode underneath houses in claremont and take the liberty of scampering around the parlor floor without regard to the presence of human beings. this was a common occurrence in a certain family i have in mind and on such occasions the unwelcome guest was gently ushered to the door without hurting its feelings and peace of mind restored to the household. they are the easiest of all animals to trap and made considerable trouble and embarrassment for me by continually blundering into traps of mine set for other game. i have found these little creatures as high as , feet in the canyons. _mustela xanthogenys xanthogenys._ (gray.) california weasel. i had always been interested in weasels as to their occurrence and until this year had taken only one in town with a record of only two or three seen along the railroad track. then in one week four weasels were given me and a record of seven others obtained, all these are from nearby orange groves and from below town along the railroad track where for a long time i have known they occurred. _scapanus latimanus occultus._ (grinnell and swartz.) southern california mole. moles are occasionally caught in orchards and lawns and the characteristic workings are familiar sights in the mountains up to , feet. our specimens were all from the valley. _antrozous pallidus pacificus._ (merriam.) pacific pale bat. i have taken several of these bats from behind pictures and in the attics of some of the college buildings. i do not know their relative abundance or distribution but they are certainly common on the campus in spring and summer. _myotis evotis._ (allen.) long-eared bat. this form also occurs in the college buildings and i believe to a certain extent in the mountains. (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) a preliminary list of shells from laguna beach and nearby for a number of years past students have collected shells from laguna beach, these and the bradshaw collection form the basis for this list, which includes shells not farther than ten or twelve miles up and down the coast. the earlier collections were by mabel guernsey and p. r. daggs. practically all the shells drawn and photographed are from the bradshaw collection because the shells were in better condition. some of the earlier specimens were determined by the united states national museum. suggestions and corrections were kindly made by mrs. t. s. oldroyd. the photographs are by robins and cooper. many of the drawings are by miss margaret cate. doubtful specimens are largely omitted in this list, but a few are included and marked by a question. plate i, reduced one-half; plates ii and iii, natural size; plate iv, × ; plate v, × . bivalves _yoldia cooperi_ sabb. fig. . _mytilus californicus_ conr. fig. . _m. stearnsii_ pils and raym. fig. . _septifer bifurcatus_ rve. fig. . _modiolus modiolus_ linn. fig. . _m. rectus_ conr. fig. . _lithophaga plumula_ hanl. rock borer. fig. . _pectin (chlamys) monotimeris_ conr. fig. . _pectin (chlamys) æquisulcatus_ cpr. fig. . _pectin (chlamys) pastatus_ sby. fig. . _pecten (hinnites) giganteus_ gray. fig. . _lima dehiscens_ conr. fig. . _ostrea lurida_ cpr. california oyster. fig. . _chama pellucida_ sby. fig. . _phacoides californicus_ conr. fig. . _phacoides (lucina california) californicus_ conr. fig. . _phacoides nuttallii_ conr. fig. . _cardium quadrigenarium_ conr. fig. . _cardium (livocardium) substriatum_ conr. fig. . _tivela (pachydesma) crassatelloides_ conrad. fig. . small specimen. _chione fluctifrage_ sby. fig. . _chione succincta_ val. fig. . _chione undatella_ sby. fig. . _donax lævigata_ desh. fig. . _tagelus californicus_ conr. fig. . _macoma nasuata_ conr. bent-nosed macoma. fig. . _macoma indentata_ cpr. indented macoma. fig. . _macoma inflatula_ dall. inflated macoma. fig. . _samele rupium_ sby. semele-of-the-rocks. fig. . _cumingia californica_ conr. california cuming-shell. fig. . _mya (cryptomya) californica_ conr. false mya. fig. . _spisula planulata_ conr. fig. . _spisula falcata_ sld. (?). falcate mactra. fig. . _paphia staminea_ conrad. ribbed carpet-shell. fig. . _paphia tenessima_ cpr. finest carpet-shell. fig. . _parapholas californica_ conr. california piddock. fig. . _pholadidea penita_ conr. common piddock. fig. . _pholadidea subrostrata_ sby. little borer. fig. . _milneria minima_ dall. last milner-shell. fig. . _aula (nucula) casternsis_ hinds. camp nut-shell. fig. . fresh-water and land shells univalves _physa heterostropha_ say. laguna stream. fig. . _physa occidentalis_ tryon. aliso lake. fig. . _limnophysa palustris_ mull. fig. . _planorbis (helisoma) trivolvis_ say. fig. . _helix aspera_ mull. fig. . _epiphragmophora_ sp. fig. . marine univalves _acmaea persona_ esch. mask limpet. fig. . _acmaea spectrum_ nutt. ribbed limpet. fig. . _acmaea patina_ esch. pale limpet. fig. . _acmaea scabra_ roe. tile limpet. fig. . _acmaea incessa_ hds. seaweed limpet. fig. . _acmaea asmi_ midd. black limpet. fig. . _acmaea (lottia) gigantea._ owl limpet. fig. . _acmaea paleacea_ gld. chalf limpet. fig. . _tylodina fungina_ gab. fig. . _gadinia reticulata_ sby. netted button-shell. fig. . _crucibulum spinosum_ sby. cup and saucer limpet. fig. . _crepidula dorsata_ brod. wrinkled slipper-shell. fig. . _crepidula aculeata_ gmel. prickly slipper-shell. fig. . _crepidula adunca_ sby. hooked slipper-shell. fig. . _crepidula nivea_ gould. white slipper-shell. fig. . _crepidula onyx_ sby. onyx slipper-shell. pl. ii. fig. . _fissurella volcano_ rve. volcano shell. fig. . _fissuridea aspera_ esch. rough key-hole limpet. fig. . _fissuridea murina_ dall. white key-hole limpet. fig. . _lucapina crenulata_ sby. great key-hole limpet. fig. . _clypidella (lucapinella) calliomarginata_ cpr. southern key-hole limpet. fig. . _megatebennus bimaculatus_ dall. spotted key-hole limpet. fig. . _turris (bathytoma) carpenteriana_ gab. carpenter turret shell. fig. . (laguna beach, jahraus.) _trophon belcheri_ hds. belcher trophon. fig. . (jahraus.) _trophon triangulatus_ cpr. three-cornered trophon. dredged off laguna beach. bean. fig. . _australium undosus_ wood. wavy topshell. fig. . _bullaria gouldiana_ pisb. gold's bubble-shell. many collected at balboa much larger than the specimens shown. fig. . _haminea vesicula_ gld. white bubble-shell. fig. . _haminea virescens_ sby. green bubble-shell. fig. . _cypraea spadicea_ gray. nut-brown cowry. fig. . _trivia californica_ gray. little coffee-bean. fig. . _trivia solandri_ gray. solander trivia. fig. . _erato vitellina_ hds. veally erato. fig. . (slightly enlarged.) _erato collumbella_ mke. dove shell. fig. . _marginella varia_ sby. colored marginella. fig. . _marginella jewetti._ california rice shell. much like the last but white. _olivella biplicata_ sby. purple olive shell. fig. . _olivella pedroana_ conr. pedro olive shell. fig. . _conus californicus_ hds. california cone. fig. . _macron lividus_ a. ad. livid macron. fig. . _littorina scutulata_ gld. checkered littorine. fig. . _littorina planoxis_ nutt. gray littorine. fig. . turned. _purpura (cerostoma) nuttallii_ conr. nuttall's hornmouth. fig. . _tegula (chlorostoma) gallina_ fbs. speckled turban shell. fig. . _tegula (chlorostoma) aureotincta_ fbs. gilded turban shell. large umbilicus with yellow. fig. . _omphalus fuscecens_ phil. banded turban shell. fig. . _tegula veridula ligulata_ wke. fig. . _norrisia norrisii_ sby. smooth turban shell. fig. . _thais emarginata_ desh. rock purple. fig. . _acanthia lapilloides_ conr. pebbly unicorn. fig. . _acanthia elongata_ conr. angled unicorn. fig. . _acanthia spirata_ blain. fig. . _murex gemma_ sby. fig. . _murex (tritonalia) lurida_ cpr. lurid. fig. . _murex (tritonalia) gracillima_ r. e. c. s. fig. . _murex (tritonalia) circumtexta_ r. e. c. s. fig. . _murex (tritonalia) poulsoni_ nutt. fig. . _epitonium hindsii_ cpr. white wentletrap. fig. . _epitonium crenatoides_ cpr. fig. . _actæon puncticælatus_ cpr. barrel shell. fig. . _mitra idæ_ melv. ida's miter shell. fig. . _mitra lowei_ dall (?). fig. . _alectrion (nassa) perpinguis_ gld. fig. . _arcularia (nassa) tegula_ reeve. cover-lip. fig. . _turris ophioderma_ dall. pencilled drill shell. fig. . _potomides (certhidæ) californica_ hold. california horn shell. fig. . _myurella simplex_ cpr. simple auger shell. fig. . _amphissa versicolor_ dall. joseph coat. fig. . slightly enlarged. _calliostoma canliculatum_ mart. channeled top shell. fig. . _polynices recluziana_ desh (?). southern moon shell. fig. . under side. _amalthea antiquata_ linn. ancient hoof shell. fig. . _amalthea tumens_ cpr. sculptured hoof shell. fig. . _fossarus fenestratus_ cpr. windowed isapis. fig. . _lacuna unifasciata_ cpr. one-banded chink shell. fig. . _melampus olivaceus_ cpr. olive ear shell. fig. . _janthina trifida_ nutt. violet snail. shell violet. jahraus collection. fig. . _leptothyra carpenteri_ pilsb. red turban shell. fig. . _leptothyra baccula_ cpr. berry turban. fig. . _calliostoma tricolor_ gabb. three-colored top shell. fig. . _haliotis rufescens_ swains. red abalone. quite common near laguna. _haliotis cracherodii_ leach. black abalone. more common than the red. tooth shells _dentalium neohexagnum_ s. and p. hexagonal tusk shell. dredged off laguna. chitons _mophia hindsii_ sby. hind's chiton. fig. . _mophia mucosa_ gld. mossy chiton. fig. . _ischnochiton clathratus_ rve. fig. . _ischnochiton magdalensis_ hinds. gray chiton. fig. . _nuttallina scabra_ rve. scaly chiton. fig. . _nuttallina californica_ nutt. california chiton. fig. . _trachydermon dentiens_ gld. (pseudodenturus). fig. . _lepidopleurus rugatus_ cpr. fig. . _callistochiton crassicostatus_ pilsb. thick-ribbed chiton. fig. . _tonicella hartwegii_ cpr. hartweg's chiton. fig. . small shells wash drawings by miss m. cate _caecum californicum_ dall. common at laguna beach. pl. iv. fig. × . _vitrinella williamsoni_ dall (?). pl. iv. fig. × . (this specimen in the bradshaw collection was so determined, probably at washington.) arch beach, cal., near laguna. _columbella chrysalloidea_ cpr. shell white. pl. iv. fig. × . _columbella pencillata_ cpr. white shell, cross lines brown. pl. v. fig. × . _columbella gausapata_ gould. common dove-shell. brown mottled. pl. v. fig. × . _liotia acuticostata_ cpr. sharp-ribbed liotia. pure white. pl. v. fig. × . _seila assimilata_ cpr. dark brown. pl. v. fig. × . _turbonilla lammata_ cpr. pl. iv. fig. × . light brown. (dunkeria). _tinostoma supravalata_ cpr. (?). pl. v. fig. × . clear white. (ethalia). _callistoma tricolor_ gabb. pl. v. fig. × . _phasianella pulloides_ gld. pl. v. fig. × . mottled red and white. _tritonalia barberensis_ gabb. pl. v. fig. . _leptothyra baccula_ cpr. pink to gray. pl. v. fig. × . _leptothyra carpenteriana_ pilsb. red turban-shell. pl. v. fig. × . _leptothyra paucicosta_ dall. white. pl. v. fig. × . _jeffreysia translucens_ cpr. (?). pl. v. fig. × . _pedipes unisulcata_ j. g. cooper. light brown. pl. v. fig. × . _mitromorpha aspera_ cpr. brown. pl. v. fig. × . _vermetus anellum_ morch. white. pl. iv. fig. × . this specimen is more coiled than some others. _cerithiopus convexa_ cpr. dark brown. pl. v. fig. . _cerithiopus columna_ cpr. light brown. pl. v. fig. . _turritella mesalia lacteola_ cpr. pure white. (no figure.) _bithium aspera_ gabb. brown. pl. iv. fig. × . _turbonilla stylina_ cpr. (?). pl. iv. fig. × . _turbonilla costanea_ cpr. (?). pl. iv. fig. × . _anachis subturiata_ cpr. (?). pl. iv. fig. × . _amphissa versicolor_ dall. pink, white, brown. pl. v. fig. × . _corbila luteola_ cpr. small bivalve. _philobrya setosa_ cpr. small bivalve. pl. v. fig. × . _acila castrensis_ hds. brownish. pl. v. fig. × . _carditanera minima_ dall. brownish-yellow. pl. iv. fig. × . _crassatella marginata_ cpr. pl. iv. fig. × . _lasea rubra_ mort. tinged with red. pl. v. fig. × . _arca solida_ br. & sby. (?). pl. v. fig. × . (_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) [illustration: plate i] [illustration: plate ii] [illustration: plate iii] [illustration: plate iv] [illustration: plate v] a reconstruction of the nervous system of a nemertian worm william a. hilton small specimens of _carinella cingulata_ cole were fixed in mercuric chloride and cut in series. a general hematoxylin stain was very satisfactory for general anatomy. for a study of the finer structure other preparations will be necessary. no attempt will be made to give a complete review of the literature relating to this group. almost every systematic paper has something, because of the importance of the nervous system in classification and because in many cases the nervous system may be seen through the body-wall without dissection. one of the first extensive accounts of these animals which also included quite a consideration of the nervous system was mcintosh in . several of the genus nemestes were studied and the general form of the nervous system shown. amphipheris is shown in a similar manner with a single lobe of the brain and with the two brain commissures. tetrastemma is shown in a similar manner. hubrecht in has an extensive paper in which the details of several nervous systems are shown as they show in reconstructions from sections. _eupolia girardi_ is especially well shown with its small dorsal and large ventral commissure and with three brain lobes. it is in this paper that hubrecht makes his interesting comparison between the nemertians and cordates. in his paper of he has shown the structure and position of different parts of the nervous system of nemertians, especially of cerebratulus of which he gives a very good figure. in this he shows a reconstruction of the brain with its chief nerves, ventral and dorsal commissures, general position of the cells, the two lobes of the brain on each side and the chief nerves. he also treats of nemertian nervous systems of many other forms, but not in so much detail. burger in , ' , has extensive papers on the nervous system of the group. he discusses not only the general form, but also the minute structure of the nervous system of a number of different types. in burger has another important paper on this group of animals. in it he shows in some forms a marked dorsal ganglion and a ventral ganglion with the typical nerves. burger showed that all ganglion cells are unipolar, without membranes. montgomery, , discusses the minute anatomy of the nerve cells. coe, and , considers the general anatomy of the nervous system, but nerve details are for the most part not shown. in a young _carinella cingulata_ cole which i have studied by means of reconstructions, i find no unusual features. the nervous system is typical of the group. the brain, however, is not very clearly made up of two lobes on each side. this may be because the specimen used was a young one. this may also be the reason why the brain is not sharply marked off from the lateral nerve cords. figure shows the brain and part of the lateral cords from the ventral side. from the two halves of the brain come the nerves to forward parts. the small dorsal commissure is shown with its usual median extension. from the larger ventral commissure come the two nerves to the proboscis, lateral to these are the nerves to the intestine, while from the ridge of the lateral cords the lateral nerves are shown. figure in the larger drawing at the right shows the nervous system as viewed from the side with the dorsal side to the left. the central core of the ganglion and cord is to indicate the position of the fiber area. the small drawings at the left show various levels of the nervous system as seen in cross section. the ventral side is up. the drawing at the top is through the brain before the commissures are reached, the next lower is through the thickest part of the brain and the lower two drawings are through one of the lateral cords. _burger, o._ beitrage zur kenntnis des nervensystems der wirbellosen. neue unter. über das nervensystem der nemertinen. inst. a. d. zool. sta. neah. . _burger, o._ beitrage zur kenntnis des nervensystems der nemertinen. zeit. wiss. zool. bd. l. ---- die nemertinen. fauna u. flora d. golfes v. neapel. _coe, w. r._ on the anatomy of a species of nemertean (cerebratulus). trans. conn. oc. ix. _coe, w. r._ nemerteans. haniman alaska series, vol. xi. _delage et herouard_ trait de zoologie concrete. les vermidinens. vol. v. paris. _haller, b._ beitrage zur kenntnis der textur des central-nervensystems. heherer wurmer. arb. des zoolog. inst. wien. t. viii, heft. . _hubrecht, a. a. w._ relation of the nemertea to the vertebrata. quart. jour. mic. sc. xxvii. _hubrecht, a. a. w._ zur anatomy und physiology des nervensystems der nemertinen nat. ver. der k. akad. decl. xx. ---- report on the nemertia collected by h. m. s. challenger. rep. sc. results h. m. s. challenger. zool., vol. xix. _kemnel, j. v._ beitrag zur kenntnis der nemertinen. arb. a. d. zool. inst. würzburg iv. _mcintosh, w. c._ a monograph of british annelids. part i, nemertineans. ray. soc. _montgomery, t. h., jr._ studies on the elements of the central nervous system of the heteronemertini. jour. morph., vol. xxx, no. . _mosley, h. n._ on pelagonemertes rollestoni. ann. mag. nat. hist., vol. xv. explanation of plate figure . reconstruction of the nervous system of carinella shown from the ventral side. explanation in text. × . figure . figure at the left side view of a reconstruction of the upper portion of the central nervous system of carinella. the figures at the right are from cross sections taken at various levels. the upper and the two lower figures are from one side only. further explanations in the text. × . 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st. louis =================================================================== pomona college located in one of the most healthful and beautiful parts of the west coast. the mountains reach an elevation of ten thousand feet within a few miles of the college and these with the nearby ocean afford many special advantages for the study of things not in books. special advantages are afforded by the fact that the college limits its attendance, the freshman class being restricted to two hundred applicants. the success of the college is particularly indicated by the large proportion of the graduates who proceed to advanced work in the large universities. in addition, well-manned departments of music and art afford exceptional advantages. for further information, address secretary of pomona college claremont, california 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	transcriber note 	 	italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. 	 	 	 	 volume six number four 	 ====================================================================== 	 	 journal 	 	 of 	 	 entomology 	 and 	 zoology 	 	 	 december	 	 	 	 published quarterly by 	 pomona college department _of_ zoology 	 claremont	 california	 u. s. a. 	 ====================================================================== 	 	 	 	contents 	 	 	 pseudoscorpions in the claremont-laguna region--_margaret m. moles_ 	 	 some points in the nervous system of a large deep water crab--_wm. 	 a. hilton_ 	 	 a new pseudoscorpion from california--_nathan banks_ 	 	 a nebalia from laguna beach--_r. la follette_ 	 	 starfish of laguna beach 	 	 barnacles of laguna beach 	 	 notes on the eggs of some laguna beach invertebrates--_p.a. lichti_ 	 	 preliminary notes on some marine worms taken at laguna beach--_w. f. 	 hamilton_ 	 	 studies in the comparative size of the red blood corpuscles of 	 birds--_chi tsau wang_ 	 	 caprellidæ from laguna beach--_r. la follette_ 	 	 short notes 	 	 additional notes on the birds of laguna beach--_leon l. gardner_ 	 	 a new dipterous gall on stanleya--_t. d. a. cockerell_ 	 	 hydroids of laguna beach--_prof. a. m. bean_ 	 	 summer school at laguna beach 	 	entered at claremont	 cal.	 post-office oct. 	 	 as second-class 	matter	 under act of congress of march 	 	 	 	 	 	journal of entomology and zoology 	 	edited by pomona college	 department of zoology 	 	 	_subscription_ $ . to domestic	 $ . to foreign countries. 	 	this journal is especially offered in exchange for zoological and 	entomological journals	 proceedings	 transactions	 reports of 	societies	 museums	 laboratories and expeditions. 	 	the pages of the journal are especially open to western entomologists 	and zoologists. notes and papers relating to western and californian 	forms and conditions are particularly desired	 but short morphological	 	systematic or economic studies from any locality will be considered for 	publication. 	 	manuscripts submitted should be typewritten on one side of paper about 	 by inches. foot notes	 tables	 explanations of figures	 etc.	 	should be written on separate sheets. foot notes and figures should be 	numbered consecutively throughout. the desired position of foot notes 	and figures should be clearly indicated in the manuscript. 	 	figures should be drawn so that they may be reproduced as line cuts so 	far as possible. an unusually large number of half tones must be paid 	for in part by the author. other more expensive illustrations will be 	furnished at cost. figures for cuts should be made to conform to the 	size of the page when reduced	 that is	 by ½ inches or less. the 	lettering should be by means of printed numbers and letters pasted on 	the drawings	 in most cases. 	 	authors of articles longer than a thousand words will receive fifty 	reprints of their publications free of cost. if more than this are 	desired	 the order should be given with the return of the proof sheets. 	extra copies and special covers or special paper will be furnished at 	cost. authors of short contributions will receive a few extra copies of 	the number containing their articles. 	 	manuscripts should be sent by express or registered mail. 	 	address all communications to 	 	 the journal of entomology and zoology 	 	 william a. hilton	 editor 	 	 claremont	 california	 u. s. a. 	 	 	 	 	 journal of 	 entomology and 	 zoology 	 	 volume vi	 	 	 published quarterly by the 	 department of zoology of pomona college 	 claremont	 california	 u. s. a. 	 	 	 	 	contents of volume vi 	 	 	volume vi	 number 	 	=kuwana	 s. i.= 	 	 coccidæ of japan	 . 	 	=alexander	 c. p.	 and lloyd	 j. t.= 	 	 the biology of the north american crane-flies (tipulidæ diptera)	 . 	 	=hilton	 william a.= 	 	 the central ganglia of xenylla	 . 	 	=moles	 margaret lyons= 	 	 a new species of pseudoscorpion from laguna beach	 cal.	 . 	 	=bacon	 gertrude= 	 	 neanura gigantea tull in southern california	 . 	 	shorter articles	 . 	 	 wants and exchanges	 . 	 	 	volume vi	 number 	 	=banks	 nathan= 	 	 new acarina	 . 	 	=funkhouser	 w. d.= 	 	 some philippine membracidæ	 . 	 	=essig	 e. o.= 	 	 the second protodiaspis	 . 	 	=moles	 margaret lyons= 	 	 a pseudoscorpion from poplar trees	 . 	 	=bacon	 gertrude a.= 	 	 a new species of tullbergia	 . 	 	=gardner	 ray earl= 	 	 some notes on the distribution of cinura in the vicinity of 	 claremont	 with description of a new species	 . 	 	=felt	 e. p.= 	 	 aplonyx sarcobati n. sp.	 . 	 	=hilton	 william a.= 	 	 the nervous system of neanura gigantea tull	 . 	 	 shorter articles	 . 	 	 wants and exchanges	 . 	 	 	volume vi	 number 	 	=alexander	 charles paul= 	 	 biology of the north american crane-flies (tipulidæ diptera)	 . 	 	=ewing	 h. e.= 	 	 the geographical distribution of our common red spider	 tetranychus 	 telarius linn.	 . 	 	=king	 geo. b.= 	 	 the eleventh kermes (coccidæ) from california	 . 	 	=hilton	 william a.= 	 	 the central nervous system of the pycnogonid lecythorhynchus	 . 	 	=bacon	 gertrude auld= 	 	 the distribution of collembola in the claremont-laguna region of 	 california	 . 	 	 wants and exchanges	 . 	 	 	volume vi	 number 	 	=moles	 margaret m.= 	 	 pseudoscorpions in the claremont-laguna region	 . 	 	=hilton	 wm. a.= 	 	 some points in the nervous system of a large deep water crab	 . 	 	=banks	 nathan= 	 	 a new pseudoscorpion from california	 . 	 	=la follette	 r.= 	 	 a nebalia from laguna beach	 . 	 	 starfish of laguna beach	 . 	 	=hughes	 miss s. p.= 	 	 barnacles of laguna beach	 . 	 	=lichti	 p. a.= 	 	 notes on the eggs of some laguna beach invertebrates	 . 	 	=hamilton	 w. f.= 	 	 preliminary notes on some marine worms taken at laguna beach	 . 	 	=wang	 chi tsau= 	 	 studies in the comparative size of the red blood corpuscles of birds	 	 . 	 	=la follette	 r.= 	 	 caprellidæ from laguna beach	 . 	 	 short notes	 . 	 	=gardner	 leon l.= 	 	 additional notes on the birds of laguna beach	 . 	 	=cockerell	 t. d. a.= 	 	 a new dipterous gall on stanleya	 . 	 	=bean	 prof. a. m.= 	 	 hydroids of laguna beach	 . 	 	 summer school at laguna beach	 . 	 	 	 	 	index to volume vi 	 	 	 acarina	 . 	 achorutes	 . 	 californica	 . 	 citri	 . 	 actitis macularius	 . 	 Ægialitis novisa	 . 	 semipalmata	 . 	 aglaophenia inconspictus	 . 	 aglaophenia struthionides	 . 	 alexander	 c. p.	 	 . 	 ammodramus savannarum bimaculatus	 . 	 anisomera longicornis	 . 	 antenella avalonia	 . 	 aplonyx sarcobati	 . 	 aphoruridæ	 . 	 aphorura	 . 	 lutea	 . 	 montis	 . 	 arrhenica spinosa	 . 	 asterina miniata	 . 	 astroglinus tristis salicamans	 . 	 asteropecten erinoceus	 . 	 atemnus hirsutus	 	 . 	 	 bacon	 g. a.	 	 	 . 	 balanus nubilus	 . 	 tintinnabulum californicus	 . 	 banks	 nathan	 . 	 barnacles	 . 	 bdellidæ	 . 	 bdella utilis	 . 	 bean	 a. m.	 . 	 birds	 laguna beach	 . 	 buteo borealis colurus	 . 	 	 caligonus terminalis	 . 	 canestrinidæ	 . 	 canestrinia blattophaga	 . 	 campanulariidæ	 . 	 campodea montis	 . 	 kelloggi	 . 	 folsomi	 . 	 caprellidæ	 . 	 æquilibra	 . 	 geometrica	 . 	 septentrionalis	 . 	 catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus	 . 	 centrochares horrificus	 . 	 centrotoscelus	 . 	 typus	 . 	 ceryle alcyon	 . 	 chelanops acuminatus	 . 	 lagunæ	 	 . 	 paludis	 	 . 	 pallipes	 . 	 serratus	 . 	 chelifer cancroides	 . 	 fuscipes	 . 	 scabrisulus	 . 	 cheyletidæ	 . 	 cheyletus cocciphilus	 . 	 chloræmidæ	 . 	 cinura	 . 	 cirratulidæ	 . 	 cirratulus robustus	 . 	 spirobranchus	 . 	 clymenella rubrocincta	 . 	 coccidæ of japan	 	 	 . 	 cockerell	 t. d. a.	 . 	 collembola	 . 	 corpuscles	 birds	 . 	 corvus corax sinuatus	 . 	 crane flies	 	 . 	 cryptaspidia pubera	 . 	 tagalica	 . 	 cunaxa aramata	 . 	 cyphodeirus	 . 	 albinus	 . 	 	 diptera	 	 . 	 disparipes apicola	 . 	 drepanura	 . 	 californica	 . 	 	 eggs	 invertebrates	 . 	 entomobrya	 . 	 binoculata	 . 	 chitellaria	 . 	 laguna	 . 	 multifasciata	 . 	 sexoculata	 . 	 entomobryidæ. 	 entrychocampa wilsoni	 . 	 eriocera	 . 	 fultonensis	 . 	 longicornis	 . 	 macquart	 . 	 spinosa	 . 	 eriococcus festucæ	 . 	 essig	 e. o.	 . 	 eunicidæ	 . 	 euphrosyne aurantiaca	 . 	 euphrosynidæ	 . 	 eusmatura pamoicensis	 . 	 evalljapyx propinquus	 . 	 ewing	 h. e.	 . 	 	 felt	 e. p.	 . 	 fish	 laguna beach	 . 	 funkhouser	 w. d.	 . 	 	 gardner	 l. l.	 . 	 gardner	 r. e.	 . 	 gargara	 . 	 luteipennis	 . 	 nigro-fasciata	 . 	 nitidipennis	 . 	 pulchripennis	 . 	 tuberculata	 . 	 varicolor	 . 	 gavia	 . 	 immer	 . 	 pacifica	 . 	 glyceridæ	 . 	 	 haliætus leucocephalus leucocephalus	 . 	 halosydna	 . 	 californica	 . 	 insignis	 . 	 hamilton	 w. f.	 . 	 harmothoe hirsuta	 . 	 hemipodia borealis	 . 	 hermellidæ	 . 	 heteractitis incanus	 . 	 hilton	 w. a.	 	 	 	 . 	 himantopus mexicanus	 . 	 hirundo erythrogastra	 . 	 hughes	 s. p.	 . 	 hydroids	 . 	 	 ideobisium threveneti	 . 	 ideoroncus obscurus	 . 	 isotoma	 . 	 aquæ	 . 	 aspera	 . 	 besselsii	 . 	 bidenticula	 . 	 catena	 . 	 minima	 . 	 palustris	 . 	 viridis	 . 	 	 japan	 coccidæ of	 . 	 japygidæ	 . 	 	 kermes branigani	 . 	 mirabilis	 . 	 sasseri	 . 	 king	 geo. b.	 	 	 . 	 kuwana	 s. i.	 . 	 	 la follette	 r.	 	 . 	 laguna beach	 . 	 larus heermanni	 . 	 lecanium pseudomagnoliarum	 . 	 lecanium magnoliarum	 . 	 lecythorhynchus	 . 	 lepas anatifera	 . 	 fasciculatus	 . 	 lepidasthenia gigas	 . 	 lepismidæ	 . 	 leptrocentrus reponens	 . 	 lichti	 p. a.	 . 	 linckia columbiæ	 . 	 liogma nodicornis	 . 	 lloyd	 j. t.	 . 	 lumbriconereidæ	 . 	 lumbriconereis erecta	 . 	 	 mcfadden	 e. t.	 . 	 macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus	 . 	 macrocheles sublaevis	 . 	 map--claremont-laguna	 . 	 melanerpes formicivorus bairdi	 . 	 membracidæ	 . 	 mergus serrator	 . 	 mitella polymerus	 . 	 mola mola	 . 	 moldanidæ	 . 	 moles	 m. l.	 	 	 . 	 mycochanes richardsoni richardsoni	 . 	 neanura	 . 	 gigantea	 	 . 	 nebalia	 . 	 nematoda	 . 	 nemertinea	 . 	 nereidæ	 . 	 nereis agassizi	 . 	 virens	 . 	 nervous system	 	 	 	 . 	 	 obisium macilentum	 . 	 ordemia deglandi	 . 	 perspicillata	 . 	 ophiomegistus	 . 	 luzonensis	 . 	 orthasterias gonolena	 . 	 otus asio bendirei	 . 	 	 pandion haliætus carolinensis	 . 	 pennariidæ	 . 	 parasitidæ	 . 	 parasitus inaegualis	 . 	 perrisia stanleyæ	 . 	 phenacoccus azaleæ	 . 	 phyllodocidæ	 . 	 pisaster capitatus	 . 	 pisaster ochraceus	 . 	 pionosyllis elongatus	 . 	 plumulariidæ	 . 	 plumularia lagenifera	 . 	 setacea	 . 	 poduridæ	 . 	 polyaspis lamellipes	 . 	 polychaeta	 . 	 polynoidæ	 . 	 popirius	 . 	 porichthys notatus	 . 	 protodiaspis	 . 	 agrifolia	 . 	 pseudoscorpion	 	 	 . 	 pseudosira	 . 	 domestica	 . 	 pulvinaria	 . 	 citricola	 . 	 idesiæ	 . 	 okilsuensis	 . 	 photiniac	 . 	 pycnogonida	 . 	 pyrgonota bifoliata	 . 	 	 rivers	 j. j.	 . 	 rhyncholophidæ	 . 	 rhyncholophus moestus	 . 	 	 sabellidæ	 . 	 sabellaria californica	 . 	 schmardanella californica	 . 	 sea urchins	 . 	 serpulidæ	 . 	 sertularia fuscata	 . 	 tricuspidata	 . 	 sertulariidæ	 . 	 sinella	 . 	 curviseta	 . 	 sipylus nodipennis	 . 	 smynthuridæ	 . 	 smynthurus	 . 	 spider	 . 	 starfish	 . 	 syllidæ	 . 	 	 tarsonemidæ	 . 	 tarsonemus approximatus	 . 	 assimilis	 . 	 terrebellidæ	 . 	 tetranychidæ	 . 	 tetranychus simplex	 . 	 telarius	 . 	 tipulidæ	 	 . 	 tomocerus	 . 	 bidentatus	 . 	 vulgaris	 . 	 tricentrus	 . 	 convergens	 . 	 fairmairei	 . 	 pilinervosus	 . 	 tubularia	 . 	 tullbergia	 	 . 	 collis	 . 	 turbellaria	 . 	 	 wang	 chi tsau	 . 	 worms	 . 	 	 xenylla	 	 . 	 collis	 . 	 paludis	 . 	 xylococcus napiformis	 . 	 	 	 	 	pseudoscorpions in the claremont-laguna region 	 	margaret m. moles 	 	 	many individuals may be found in a certain vicinity. in the valleys 	where oak and sycamore trees grow abundantly there can be found as many 	as seventy-five on the lower trunk of one tree. they are all of one or 	two species. in all the student collections that have been carried on 	here in college for the last ten years there have never been more than 	four or five species collected. it was only through special collection 	that the other species were found. very few were found under stones	 	where they are so often spoken of as living	 and few were found among 	fallen leaves. some were collected in rotten poplar and pine logs. in 	the marshy ground at chino they were found under leaves and stones and 	were very abundant on the poplar trees. 	 	the distribution of the pseudoscorpions extends from an altitude of 	 down to within ten feet of the ocean. 	 	concerning their habits of living little can be found. many small 	spiders were found in their claws	 also the small mites that live 	underneath the bark of trees. several experiments were tried with some 	that were brought into the laboratory. the results were: 	 	 . the pseudoscorpions would not go into eucalyptus bark. 	 	 . they could not live in a glass dish if water was not placed in it 	somewhere. if water was left out	 they would dry up within twenty-four 	hours. 	 	 . they avoided the sunlight and would go under cover. 	 	 . they would remain in one spot without moving for a day at a time. 	 	_chelifer cancroides_ linn 	 	_description_: length--including mandibles	 mm.; pedipalps	 mm.; 	claw	 . mm. color--pedipalps	 dark reddish brown; cephalothorax	 dark 	reddish brown; abdomen	 lighter than the palps and cephalothorax; legs	 	light yellow brown. 	 	_cephalothorax_: evenly rounded in front; one distinct median suture	 	two distinct eye spots. 	 	_abdomen_: twice as long as it is broad and divided into eleven 	distinct sutures. all of the scuta about the same size except the last 	one	 which is a great deal shorter and broader than the rest. each 	scutum is provided with two strong	 spiny hairs on the outer edge. 	 	the whole body is heavily granulated	 the cephalothorax having 	knob-like protuberances all along the edges. 	 	_pedipalps_: larger than the whole animal. coxa	 smooth; trochanter 	with large protuberance ending in a heavy spine on the outer edge. 	femur longer than cephalothorax	 pedicellate. tibia	 concave on inner 	edge	 pedicellate	 shorter than femur. trochanter	 femur and tibia 	strongly granulated and sparsely covered with almost clavate hairs. 	claw of good size	 finger a little shorter than the hand. hand evenly 	convex on outer and inner edges. finger slightly curved	 smooth	 with 	many long simple tactile hairs. 	 	_mandibles_: small	 fixed finger provided with many small teeth. 	serrula attached throughout length of moveable finger. spinnerets long 	and transparent. mandibles are provided with five or more heavy long 	hairs. 	 	_flagellum_: divided into four separate parts. 	 	_legs_: first two with trochantins	 claws simple	 legs covered with 	almost clavate hairs. 	 	_habitat_: barns or buildings of this community; also found in some 	of the common trees	 such as the oak and sycamore. this was collected 	in whittier	 claremont	 lytle creek and san antonio canyons	 and the 	smaller canyons near claremont. 	 	 	_chelifer fuscipes_ banks. figs. and 	 	_description_: length of animal	 including mandibles	 mm.; pedipalps	 	 . mm.; claw	 mm. color--pedipalps	 reddish brown; cephalothorax	 	reddish brown; abdomen and legs	 light brown. 	 	[illustration: figure . _chelifer fuscipes_ banks. from below and 	above. × .] 	 	[illustration: figure . _chelifer fuscipes_	 third leg and mandible 	much enlarged.] 	 	_cephalothorax_: as long as it is broad. upper edge almost truncate	 	yet rounded; sides evenly convex	 lower edge almost straight. 	cephalothorax finely granulate and heavy	 simple spine-like hairs 	placed in a definite order. one distinct median suture. two eye spots. 	 	_abdomen_: half as broad as it is long and divided into twelve scuta. 	the outer edges of each scutum are prolonged into curved hooked spines. 	the first scutum is the shortest and broadest	 and has the heavier 	spine or hook	 while the last two segments often lack the hook. the 	abdomen is finely granulate and at the lower edge of each scutum there 	are eight heavy	 short	 simple hairs. 	 	_pedipalps_: longer than body	 coxa smooth	 trochanter with large 	protuberance ending in a strong spine on outer side; femur longer than 	cephalothorax	 slightly concave on inner edge	 convex on outer edge. 	tibia pedicellate	 shorter than femur. the trochanter	 femur and tibia 	are all granulate and sparsely covered with short	 simple hairs. claw 	large	 hand broad	 smoothly convex on both sides; finger as long as the 	hand and slightly curved. it is also provided with long	 tactile hairs. 	 	[illustration: figure . pedipalp of _chelanops serratus_ n. sp. × .] 	 	_mandibles_: small for size of animal; fixed finger provided with small 	teeth. serrula attached throughout the length of moveable finger. 	flagellum divided into small parts. spinnerets small and transparent. 	 	_legs_: first three legs with trochantins	 claws simple	 legs covered 	with simple hairs. 	 	_habitat_: sycamore canyons	 laguna beach	 whittier hills	 cucamonga 	canyon	 arrowhead canyon	 lytle creek canyon	 evey's canyon	 san 	antonio canyon	 and from oak and sycamore trees around the college 	campus. 	 	 	_chelifer scabrisulis_ simon 	 	i will not describe the details of this species	 because it is so much 	like the last described	 differing from _c. fuscipes_ by not having 	the prolonged hooks like spines	 on the outer edges of each abdominal 	scutum. the color differs from the other two. the abdomen and legs are 	light brown. the cephalothorax and palps are a little darker yellowish 	brown. 	 	the habitat of this species was the same as that of _c. fuscipes_. when 	collecting	 they were generally found together. 	 	 	_chelanops oblongus_ say 	 	_description:_ length of body	 including mandibles	 mm; abdomen	 	 mm.; pedipalps	 . mm.; claw	 mm. color--cephalothorax	 light 	reddish brown	 pedipalps darker	 abdomen yellow with dark brown spots	 	legs pale yellow. 	 	_cephalothorax:_ very short for length of body. front margin truncate	 	sides almost straight	 lower margin slightly convex	 smooth and shiny 	and provided with many short hairs. 	 	_abdomen:_ four times as long as it is wide; sub-parallel sides. each 	scutum with a dark spot on each side and each dark spot surrounded by 	long	 simple hairs arranged in a definite order. 	 	_pedipalps:_ nearly as long as the body	 coxa smooth	 trochanter stout 	and short; femur pedicellate	 broadest part being near base	 as long 	as the cephalothorax	 inner edge slightly concave	 outer edge strongly 	convex; tibia shorter than femur	 pedicellate	 strongly convex on inner 	edge	 on outer edge slightly concave near base	 but strongly convex 	beyond. 	 	_claw:_ large	 finger very stout and curved	 shorter than the hand. 	hand very broad	 very convex on outer edge	 only slightly so on inner 	edge. the trochanter	 femur and tibia are covered with stout simple 	hairs of varying length. 	 	_mandibles:_ small and short	 serrula attached throughout length of 	finger	 spinnerets small and transparent. 	 	_legs:_ short and stout	 covered with short	 stout	 simple hairs. 	 	_habitat_: this has been reported from palm springs	 but one specimen 	was found within our area at brown's flats	 at about four thousand feet 	elevation	 in an old pine log. 	 	 	_chelanops pallipes_ banks 	 	similar to _c. dorsalis_	 but fingers longer than hand and very 	slender; tibia also slender	 less convex on the inner side	 hard parts 	with clavate hairs. three millimeters long. (from banks.) 	 	_habitat_: los angeles and vicinity	 but has not yet been found in our 	immediate region. 	 	 	_chelanops acuminatus_ simon 	 	cephalothorax and palpi reddish brown	 with short but not clavate 	hairs; no eye spots; pedipalps rather short	 hand evenly convex on 	inner side at base	 fingers much shorter than the hand and quite stout. 	 mm. long. (from banks.) 	 	_habitat_: claremont and los angeles. 	 	 	_chelanops lagunæ_ moles 	 	this species was described in the march number of this journal	 . 	 	it differs chiefly from _c. dorsalis_ banks by having two eye spots. it 	is a smaller species. this small species was found in sycamore canyon	 	near laguna beach. 	 	 	_chelanops paludis_ moles 	 	this species was described in the june	 	 number of this journal. 	 	the very broad form of the abdomen is characteristic. 	 	this was found on poplar trees and in poplar logs in the chino swamp. 	 	 	_chelanops serratus_ n. sp. fig. 	 	_description_: length--pedipalps	 mm. impossible to take measurements 	of other parts	 for slide was so poorly made	 but the body was small. 	color--cephalothorax and pedipalps	 strong yellow brown; legs and 	abdomen	 light yellow. 	 	_cephalothorax_: as long as it is broad	 sides evenly convex	 upper 	margin straight	 one distinct median suture; no eye spots; surface of 	cephalothorax very granular. 	 	[illustration: figure . _ideoroncus obscurus_ banks. forward part of 	the animal from above. × .] 	 	_abdomen_: badly curled up; scuta entirely covered with short almost 	clavate hairs. 	 	the naming of this species is based on the short "saw-like" hairs that 	are all over the body. they are not globular on the end	 as the clavate 	hairs	 but have "saw-like" edge. 	 	_palps_: short and stout	 coxa smooth	 trochanter as usual	 femur 	shorter than cephalothorax; pedicellate	 inner margin almost straight 	at base	 then suddenly concave to tip	 outer margin evenly but not 	strongly convex; tibia broad	 pedicellate	 suddenly enlarging on inner 	side near base	 outer margin evenly convex. trochanter	 femur	 tibia 	strongly granulate and sparsely covered with these "saw-like" hairs. 	 	_hand_: broad as it is long	 greatly swollen on inner margin near base; 	fingers slightly curved and as long as the hand. 	 	_mandibles_: small; spinnerets small and transparent; serrula attached 	throughout the length of the moveable finger. 	 	_legs_: the two anterior legs with trochantins; legs covered with many 	hairs. 	 	this specimen was found on the window pane of the pomona college 	greenhouse. a fly (_musca domestica_) lit on the pane and the 	pseudoscorpion caught its legs and clung while the fly crawled about. 	this is the only one of its kind that has been found. 	 	 	_atemnus hirsutus_ banks 	 	described by banks in this number of the journal. only one specimen of 	this species was taken. this is the species found nearest the ocean. 	the broad hand is quite evident. found ten feet from the ocean	 among 	stones	 at laguna beach. 	 	 	_obisium macilentum_ simon 	 	_description_: pale yellowish brown	 legs paler; hard part shining; 	cephalothorax one-fourth longer than broad. sides parallel; mandibles 	about one-half the length of the cephalothorax; pedipalps very long 	and slender	 with long	 fine	 scattered hairs. femur as long as the 	cephalothorax. fingers longer than hand. 	 	_habitat_: claremont. 	 	_ideobisium threveneti_ simon 	 	_description_: length of animal	 including mandibles	 mm.; length 	of palps	 . mm.; length of abdomen	 mm.; length of claw	 . mm. 	color--cephalothorax and palps	 dark reddish brown; abdomen	 lighter 	than cephalothorax; legs	 pale yellow. 	 	_cephalothorax_: as long as it is broad	 upper margin truncate	 sides 	nearly straight	 lower margin straight; no suture; four distinct eye 	spots; eyes on each side almost touch each other. 	 	_abdomen_: elongate	 three times as long as it is broad; scuta entire. 	 	_palps_: coxa smooth; trochanter small; femur long	 outer edge 	almost straight	 inner edge slightly convex; tibia short and stout	 	pedicellate	 convex on inner and outer surface. 	 	_claw_: not large; finger as long as hand and not curved very much; 	hand	 broad	 evenly convex on inner and outer edges. 	 	_legs_: lack trochantins	 iii and iv stouter than i and ii; mandibles 	large; serrula not attached throughout length of moveable finger; 	spinnerets long and transparent. 	 	_habitat_: claremont	 ice house canyon	 under leaves. 	 	 	_ideoroncus obscurus_ banks 	 	_description_: length of animal	 including mandibles	 mm.; length of 	pedipalps	 mm. color--cephalothorax and pedipalps dark yellow brown; 	abdomen and legs very light yellow. 	 	_cephalothorax_: a little longer than broad; front margin slightly 	truncate	 rounded; sides so slightly convex as to be almost straight; 	lower margin slightly recurved; no transverse sutures; one pair of eyes. 	 	_abdomen_: elongate and slender; scuta entire; both abdomen and 	cephalothorax with a few simple scattered hairs. 	 	_palps_: long and slender; coxa smooth; trochanter lacks large 	protuberance of many of the cheliferidæ; femur hardly as long as 	cephalothorax	 very slender and not pedicellate; tibia shorter and 	broader than femur	 pedicellate	 convex on inner edge	 only slightly so 	on outer edge; trochanter	 femur	 and tibia covered with short	 stout 	simple hairs; claw long and slender; finger little longer than hand	 	and only slightly curved; hand twice as long as broad; hand and claw 	covered with long	 simple hairs; mandibles large	 serrula attached only 	at base; spinnerets long and transparent. 	 	_legs_: the femur and tibia of the first two pairs of legs rather 	stout; no trochantins; covered with simple hairs. 	 	_habitat_: found in oak trees in the wash around claremont. 	 	this differs slightly from that described by banks in that: 	 	 . the upper margin of the cephalothorax is not rounded	 but truncate. 	 	 . the fingers of the claw are not shorter than the hand. 	 	 . the femur and tibia of the first two pairs of legs are not stout. 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) 	 	 	 	 	some points in the nervous system of a large deep water crab 	 	william a. hilton 	 	 	during the summer of several living specimens of the large crab 	_loxorhynchus grandis_ stimp. were obtained at laguna beach. one of 	these was kept for some time in a tank of sea water	 and its general 	movements were observed as it walked about on the bottom or attacked 	the sharks or other fish in the aquarium. its movements were slow and 	its senses seemed not very acute in this situation. 	 	a gross and microscopical examination of the nervous system gave much 	the appearance of these organs in other decapods	 but the remarkably 	small size of the brain or head ganglion was especially noticeable. the 	nerves connected with this ganglion were long and slender. the optic 	was large	 the tegmental a little smaller and the first antennal about 	as large as this last. closely associated with the optic was the small 	oculomotor	 and near the connectives the small second antennal. other 	small nerves were connected with the brain	 whose courses were not 	traced	 including a pair of small frontal nerves. 	 	the connectives with the thoracic-abdominal ganglion were long and 	slender	 with each its small ganglion a short distance from the brain. 	a cross connection between these connectives was not seen. it may have 	been broken in the dissection. 	 	the thoracic-abdominal ganglion has many nerves connected with it	 as 	shown in the figure; the largest of these were traced to the legs and 	upper thoracic appendages. the legs are large and heavy and the nerve 	trunks in them are large; their combined bulk would probably be many 	times that of the ventral ganglion. 	 	so far as studied	 the internal arrangement of tracts and cells does 	not differ materially from the classic descriptions of bethe in another 	species. one thing especially noteworthy is the fact that the nerve 	cells do not seem especially large	 nor are the large ones numerous. 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	the nerve cells and fibers were studied in preparations fixed in 	flemming's fluid and stained with iron hematoxylin. as in forms 	previously studied	 the general structure of the ganglion in a way 	duplicates the structure of the nerve cells	 in that a general 	reticulum forms a framework for the other structures in both. it is 	hard in individual cases to distinguish the supportive structures from 	the conductive	 but the fibers and fibrils in or outside of the nerve 	cells run in longer straight lines--that is	 they do not form so much 	of a meshwork	 although they may branch and intertwine to some degree 	both within and outside the nerve cells. large strands or fibers from 	nerve cells run as fibers	 then divide into smaller masses of fibrils	 	and at last break up into numerous fibrils. the usual demonstration 	of nerve cells with their branches as shown by the golgi or methylene 	blue methods	 i believe	 shows only the _larger_ and _smaller_ branches 	from nerve cells	 and the smallest branches where the fibers break into 	fibrils are not shown at all. 	 	[illustration] 	 	in this and other arthropods which i have studied	 it seems to me to 	be quite characteristic of the nervous system that many parts show 	fine fibrillæ more clearly than they are seen in vertebrates. this 	may in part be due to the nature of the insulating and supportive 	apparatus. as in _carcinus_	 described by bethe	 the optic tract 	enters the mesal side of the globulus and splits up into smaller and 	smaller parts	 and is at last lost in the minute network of fibrils 	and supporting substance. large bundles from the outside may be seen 	as dark masses here and there. these last are held in place in the 	section by many connecting strands which join the fibers from all 	sides. some may be conducting fibrils	 but it is hard to distinguish 	these from supportive. probably most of the conducting fibrils leave at 	or near the termination of the thicker part of the fiber. the denser 	parts of the nervous system of this and other arthropods	 such	 for 	instance	 as the material of the globulus	 are composed for the most 	part of ultimate fibrillæ whose relationships at these points can only 	be conjectured at present because of their minuteness	 their great 	abundance	 and because of the intermingling of supportive or other 	materials of several little understood sorts. an extensive comparative 	study of these denser masses with various reagents should yield some 	interesting results. 	 	tigroid substance	 mostly in the form of dots and flakes	 was 	recognized	 but not studied by special stains. the cells are surrounded 	by a dense capsule of connective substance	 and in some cases the 	peripheral zone of the cell next the capsule is light. in some	 this 	light zone is speckled with dark dots or lines. some of these may be 	the ends of fibrillæ--in fact	 some fibrils were traced--others may be 	tigroid substance	 or possibly the bodies recognized by poluszynski in 	some crustacea	 although his are stained by other methods. 	 	 	papers mentioned 	 	 _bethe	 a._ 	 	das nervensystem von carcinus maenas. arch. f. mic. anat. bd. . 	 	 _poluszynski	 g._ 	 	untersuchungen über den golgi-kopsch'schen apparat und einige andere 	strukturen in dem ganglionzellen der crustaceen. bull. acad. sc. 	cracovie. 	 	 figure . outline of the cephalothorax of _loxorhynchus_	 showing 	 the position and size of the nervous system. one-half 	 natural size. 	 	 figure . brain of _loxorhynchus_ from above. × . o	 ocular 	 nerve; m	 oculomotor; t	 tegmental nerve; a	 first antennal 	 nerve; b	 second antennal; c	 connective. 	 	 figure . nerve cell with fibrils from the brain. × . 	 	 figures and . nerve cells near each other in the brain fibrils 	 are shown. × . 	 	 figure . neuroblast from a doso-median mass of the brain. × . 	 	 figure . neuroglia cell with branches from the brain. × . 	 	 figure . two fibres breaking into fibrils. from the brain. × . 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college._) 	 	 	 	 	a new pseudoscorpion from california 	 	nathan banks 	 	 	professor hilton recently sent me a pseudoscorpion taken on the beach 	near water	 which proves to belong to the genus _atemnus_. our common 	florida _atemnus_ also occurs on the sea beach. the californian species 	differs from the florida form in having a larger hand and more hairy 	body. 	 	 	_atemnus hirsutus_ n. sp. 	 	[illustration] 	 	pale yellowish; cephalothorax a little longer than broad behind	 	narrowed in front	 sides slightly sinuate	 clothed with short	 simple 	bristles; mandibles not one-third the length of the cephalothorax	 	with a short stylet; abdomen elongate	 cylindrical	 the segments with 	apical and preapical rows of simple bristles; legs rather large	 	with many simple bristles	 all showing trochantins. pedipalpi large	 	clothed with many fine simple hairs and bristles; the trochanters 	bituberculate behind near tip; the femur about as long as the width of 	the cephalothorax	 of nearly equal width throughout; the tibia about 	as long as femur	 a little broader beyond the middle	 about equally 	convex on each side; hand extremely broad at base	 barely shorter than 	the tibia; fingers as long as the hand	 much curved	 each with some 	tooth-like granules and a fine toothed ridge on the apposed sides. 	 	from laguna beach	 california	 ten feet from the ocean. (hilton.) 	 	 	 	 	a nebalia from laguna beach 	 	r. la follette 	 	 	among the many marine forms collected and studied at laguna beach 	this summer were several nebalia	 which were taken by mr. lichti from 	a holdfast cast up on the beach. a specimen was sent to the national 	museum at washington	 where it was classified as _nebalia bipes_ o. 	fab. a brief description of the animal will be given in this paper. 	 	_nebalia bipes_ o. fab. (plate i	 fig. ) belongs to the order 	phyllocarida	 which is the linking order between the branchiopoda 	and copepoda on one hand and the schizopoda and decapoda on the 	other. there are only three genera	 and the commonest of these is 	_nebalia_. so far as i know this form has never before been reported 	from this region. the specimen here described was mm. in length and 	a whitish flesh color. it was transparent in the living animal. the 	body is divided into a head	 thorax and abdomen	 having the normal 	malacostracan number of segments	 except the abdomen	 which is made up 	of eight	 the last bearing caudal styles. there is a bivalved cephalic 	carapace extending back to the fourth abdominal segment and terminating 	in front in a movable rostrum. the eyes are large	 round and raised on 	movable stalks. 	 	there are two pairs of antennæ (plate ii	 fig. )	 the first pair 	being four-jointed	 the last joint rather broad and armed with many 	hairs along the outer margin. the other joints have a few hairs on 	the articulating margin. the flagellum rises from the fourth joint	 	behind the fifth and has fourteen joints	 each one armed with several 	hairs on the outer margin of the articulation. the second antennæ are 	slightly larger than the first and made up of three joints with a brush 	of plume hairs at the caudal end of the second joint. the flagellum is 	fourteen jointed. the mandible has a two-jointed palp (fig. )	 with 	numerous hairs along the outer margin. the second maxilla also has a 	palp extending back under the carapace with the function of keeping the 	carapace free from foreign bodies. 	 	the thoracic feet (fig. ) are about . mm. in length	 eight in number 	and biramous. the outer margins are heavily covered with hair	 while 	the inner margins are comparatively smooth. the first four abdominal 	appendages (figs. 	 ) are much larger than the thoracic feet	 	being . mm. in length	 and are used for swimming	 like those of 	the copepods. they are also biramous	 the back margin and tip having 	numerous hairs along the edge	 while the inner margins are lined with 	many plumous hairs. the first appendage (fig. ) is somewhat heavier 	than the fourth (fig )	 but the hairs and spines are arranged in the 	same relative position. the fifth appendage (fig. ) is two-jointed 	uniramous and small	 . mm. long. the sixth is one jointed and smaller 	yet. 	 	the eight abdominal segments taper off in size and the last bears a 	pair of caudal styles (fig. ) which are lined with sharp spines along 	their outer margins. the ends of the styles are armed with two long	 	sharp spines. 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college._) 	 	 	explanation of plate i 	 	magnification times 	 	figure . _nebalia bipes_. 	 	 	explanation of plate ii 	 	magnification times 	 	 figure . antennæ. 	 figure . mandibular palp. 	 figure . thoracic appendage. 	 figure . first abdominal appendage. 	 figure . fourth abdominal appendage. 	 figure . fifth abdominal appendage. 	 figure . caudal styles. 	 	[illustration: plate i	 figure ] 	 	[illustration: plate ii] 	 	 	 	 	starfish of laguna beach 	 	 	the following is a fairly complete list of shore forms of starfish at 	laguna. all but the last one mentioned were photographed by miss clency 	at laguna beach. 	 	 	_linckia columbiæ_ gray. fig. 	 	a large number of these were collected under stones and in tide pools 	near shore. a number were found with six arms	 and often the arms were 	very irregularly developed. the power of regeneration is very marked	 	as may be determined from the appearance of even a small number of 	individuals. 	 	 	_orthasterias gonolena_ verrill. fig. 	 	this is the "soft starfish." clark has called it _asterias forreri_. 	fisher (in first laguna report) called it _a. sertulifera_. verrill 	considers it different from either of these last two. we must thank dr. 	clark for this information	 as well as for the identification of the 	remaining species of starfish. 	 	this form is fairly common in the tide pools and under stones not far 	from shore. 	 	 	_pisaster capitatus_ stimpson. fig. 	 	this is our most beautiful species	 but is not as common as the next 	species with which it is often found. on the points and especially 	among the mussel beds this species may be found. its colors during life 	are beautiful with their delicate shades. 	 	 	_pisaster ochraceus_ brandt. fig. 	 	this is our most common species on the rocky points and among the 	barnacles and mussels	 where they may be found by the dozen. the color 	variations are quite marked	 some being a light red brown	 others a 	darker shade. some specimens of large size were obtained. 	 	[illustration] 	 	 	_astropecten erinaceus_ gray. fig. 	 	this beautiful starfish	 with its pearl gray shades	 is a deeper water 	form than the others. a few were found in the living condition cast up 	on the shore	 and some were obtained from the fishermen	 but they were 	not often found. 	 	 	_asterina miniata_ brandt. fig. 	 	these broad armed starfish were found quite often in the tide pools 	near shore; usually of a deep orange color	 they were sometimes much 	lighter than this. 	 	 w. a. h. 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) 	 	 	 	 	barnacles of laguna beach 	 	miss s. p. hughes 	 	pacific university	 forest grove	 oregon 	 	 	five species of barnacles were found last summer at laguna beach. for 	the identification of the first two of these	 we must thank dr. h. a. 	pilsbry of the academy of natural sciences	 philadelphia. 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	 	_balanus tintinnabulum californicus_ pils. fig. 	 	the most common of the acorn barnacles; found abundantly on rocks	 	mussels	 etc. there are six valves or plates; the rostrum	 carina	 and 	two latera on each side. these plates are delicately marked with pink 	stripes. the connecting pieces are often transversely lined. this is 	the largest of the common acorn barnacles; the average height is about 	an inch. 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	 	_balanus nubilus_ darwin. fig. 	 	this is one of the small acorn barnacles	 also very numerous on the 	rocks at tide level. here the plates	 usually six in number	 although 	in some the lateral plates are divided	 are closely joined to each 	other without connecting pieces. 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	 	_mitella polymerus_ sowerby. fig. 	 	this is a very abundant species	 and is found in great masses on 	the rocks near the tide level. it is readily known by the numerous 	irregularly arranged scales at the base of the capitulum. the valves 	are usually much worn	 and many cases of regeneration have been noted. 	the peduncle is covered with fine scales. 	 	 	_lepas anatifera_ linnæus. fig. 	 	this is a fairly abundant goose barnacle	 found in holdfasts of kelp 	and occasionally on driftwood and floating objects. the size varies 	from a few millimeters to almost an inch in length. the distinguishing 	characters are the very fine striations on the valves	 the presence of 	an umbonal tooth on the right scutum	 and the proximity of the base of 	the carina to the scutum. the valves are a delicate pale blue color and 	the peduncle a deep purplish brown. 	 	[illustration: figure ] 	 	 	_lepas fasciculatus_ elis and solander. fig. 	 	two specimens were found by mr. lichti upon the beach at green bay	 	laguna beach	 in september of this year. others have been collected 	from the laguna region. 	 	it is a light pelagic form	 with paper-like plates and angularly bent 	carina	 with a prominent umbo. 	 	 	 	 	notes on the eggs of some laguna beach invertebrates 	 	p. a. lichti 	 	 	during the past summer a large number of species and individuals were 	examined for eggs. some of these fragmentary notes may be of use to 	others who may carry the study further. 	 	the serpent stars were not especially studied for the eggs	 but 	during july several hundred were collected from various places. these 	were mostly of one species. about one-third of these contained well 	developed ova. on july th and th	 six individuals of the genus 	_ophiothrix_ deposited eggs in the aquarium jars. during august three 	out of twenty specimens had ova well developed	 many may have been 	young. 	 	comparatively few female sea urchins were found. out of individuals 	opened	 were males	 six females	 and the rest young. miss wang also 	found that the males were more numerous than the females as they were 	collected	 four to one. miss wang was able to keep the sperm alive for 	 hours in the laboratory before we had running salt water. 	 	in the common shore goose-neck barnacle _mitella_	 ova and segmentation 	stages were found during the summer. 	 	the common rock crab	 _pachygrapsus_	 was examined many times during 	july and very few adult females were without eggs. during the same day 	mature ova and advanced embryos were found. august th	 about half 	the females were without eggs. on september th	 about two-thirds were 	without eggs. the early summer seems the more active spawning season. 	 	a live female deeper sea crab	 _loporhynchus_	 was caught on june th. 	the enormous mass of eggs was unsegmented and failed to segment in the 	laboratory	 although the animal was kept alive for some time. on july 	 th	 another female was caught	 the embryos were well advanced and it 	was possible to see the heart beat under the microscope. they lived 	only a few hours. 	 	the sand crabs of the genus _eremita_ were found laying their eggs 	all summer. some hundreds were examined	 and it was found that up 	to september egg masses were nearly always found with the females. 	in the whole season	 out of examined	 only in september were 	without eggs. it was found that while the eggs on the swimmeretts were 	developing into crabs another egg mass was being formed in the ovaries	 	this last reached maturity about the same time that the young crabs on 	the swimmeretts hatch. 	 	a species of _cypris_ was found in a pool about ½ miles up laguna 	canyon. these had many eggs on july ; by july no eggs were found. 	 	a number of species of isopods and amphipods were found to have eggs 	during the summer	 and during september it was very easy to obtain 	_ligyda_ with eggs or young	 although the proportion of young stages 	was becoming less. 	 	members of the genus _caprella_ were found with eggs at different times 	during the summer and up into the fall. 	 	of the pycnogonids	 the following genera were found with eggs during 	the summer: _lecythorhynchus_	 _ammothella_ of two species; _halosoma_	 	_pycnogonium_	 _palene_	 _tanystylum_ of two species. 	 	a number of chitons were examined	 but with negative results. probably 	many were young. 	 	some of the bivalved forms were examined	 but the character of the 	period of reproduction is not yet determined. 	 	the sea hare	 _aplysia_	 laid its eggs in the aquarium jars during the 	middle and late summer. 	 	many of the species of nudibranchs collected during the summer were 	found to deposit eggs in the laboratory. one species	 a light brown 	form	 was found abundantly in kelp holdfasts. they laid coiled 	ribbon-like masses of eggs. 	 	eight different individuals of the genus _doris_ deposited eggs in the 	laboratory. 	 	on july 	 two of the genus _hermissenda_ and one _spurilla_ (?) 	deposited eggs. 	 	_laila_ and several unknown forms deposited eggs in the laboratory 	during the first part of september. 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) 	 	 	 	 	preliminary notes on some marine worms taken at laguna beach 	 	w. f. hamilton 	 	 	during the summer of i made a collection of some bottles of 	annelids. it was thought best that i should publish a list of the 	families and of such species as i have succeeded in identifying. 	 	 	polychaeta 	 	syllidæ 	 	 are quite abundant among the finer sea mosses. 	 	 _pionosyllis elongata_ johnson. 	 	 found among goose-neck barnacles west of the laboratory and in 	 seaweed tangles. white with bright red eggs coloring posterior end. 	 taken june 	 . 	 	 two other forms are common in the finer sea moss. 	 	 	polynoidæ 	 	 are of frequent occurrence on rocks and in seaweed tangles. i have 	 identified four species. 	 	 _halosydna insignis_ baird. 	 	 the most common and variable polynoid at laguna. color of elytra 	 yellowish gray to bright red. length from to as much as mm. 	 (contracted). 	 	 _halosydna californica_ johnson. 	 	 less abundant. similar in distribution. more slender and of a lighter 	 pigmentation. 	 	 _lepidasthenia gigas_ johnson. 	 	 this interesting form was taken from a large mass of the tubes of 	 _vermetus_ (_squamigerus?_) (gasteropod). heretofore	 as far as i 	 know	 it has only been recorded as a tube commensal with a large 	 _amphitrite_. my specimen was not commensal	 but was hidden among 	 the mollusc tubes. the color was recorded as a "light	 unsaturated 	 yellow	 elytra darker yellow	 body irridescent below." the setæ 	 project only their tips beyond the parapodia	 differing only in this 	 respect from johnson's figures. i could not find any asymmetrical 	 somites	 judging from the elytrophores. the elytra were all gone and 	 the specimen was poorly preserved. 	 	 _harmothoe hirsuta_ johnson. 	 	 a single specimen mm. long	 badly mutilated and in a poor state 	 of preservation was taken in seaweed between tide-marks. two other 	 species were taken from a similar location	 but i have not identified 	 them yet. 	 	 	phyllodocidæ 	 	 three unidentified kinds inhabiting seaweed tangles and holdfasts are 	 in the collection. 	 	 	euphrosynidæ 	 	 _euphrosyne aurantiaca_ johnson. 	 	 	nereidæ 	 	 are common in the atokous state	 and one "heteronereid" was brought 	 in from an unknown location. 	 	 _nereis agassizi_ ehlers. 	 	 specimens which agree closely with figures by johnson are found very 	 abundantly in seaweed tangles. 	 	 _nereis virens_ sars. 	 	 a single specimen was taken in wave-washed sand three miles south of 	 the laboratory. 	 	 there is another species	 resembling _nereis procera_ which i have 	 not yet identified. 	 	 two specimens of this beautifully brilliant orange annelid were taken 	 on holdfasts. 	 	 	eunicidæ 	 	 i found few of these	 but such as i did find were in burrows in a 	 soft shale ledge or in sand under large stones. 	 	 	lumbriconereidæ 	 	 _lumbriconereis erecta_ (?) moore. 	 	 i am not sure of this determination. the setæ are identical	 but the 	 parapodia are not quite the same as those figured by moore. the worm 	 is very abundant in the sand under large stones. one or two similar 	 species are common in seaweed and under mussels. 	 	 	glyceridæ 	 	 two species of this family were found in the sand under large stones. 	 	 _hemipodia borealis_ johnson. 	 	 found under a large rock	 buried in the sand. one very large and 	 active glycerid was found in the same locality. i have not identified 	 it. 	 	 	cirratulidæ 	 	 found in the roots of eel-grass	 in holes in a soft shale ledge or in 	 the sand under large stones. 	 	 _cirratulus robustus_ johnson. 	 	 _cirratulus spirabranchus_ moore. 	 	 found in abundance in the above places. 	 	 	terrebellidæ 	 	 found with the _cirratulidæ_. 	 	 _schmardanella californica_ moore. 	 	 is very abundant in the matted roots of "eel-grass." 	 	 two other forms are quite abundant wherever _cirratulus_ is found. 	 	 	maldanidæ 	 	 found on holdfasts. 	 	 _clymenella rubrocincta_ johnson. 	 	 fairly common. 	 	 	chlorhæmidæ 	 	 i have a half dozen of these from holdfasts. 	 	 	sabellidæ 	 	 small sabellids are common in holdfasts and seaweed masses. 	 	 	serpulidæ 	 	 the calcareous tubes of these animals are seen everywhere below half 	 tide	 on rocks	 in holdfasts and on kelp (spirobis). i have six 	 different serpulids. 	 	 	hermellidæ 	 	 there are probably two species of this family common at laguna. 	 	 _sabellaria californica_ fewkes. 	 	 this form was found in large colonies in the protected crevasses of 	 cliffs west of the laboratory. the colonies are some twenty feet 	 long	 two feet wide and ten inches thick. the tubes are of loosely 	 agglutinated sand and are crowded very closely together with their 	 mouths evenly disposed over the surface of the colony. 	 	 another species lives singly in very hard	 thick sand tubes. some 	 specimens have algæ growing on their opercula. 	 	 	turbellaria 	 	i have three kinds of these "flat worms" in my collection. they are 	found under partly submerged stones. 	 	 	nemertinea 	 	there are seven different nemertines in the collection. they are 	recorded from holdfasts	 seaweed tangles and from among vermetus tubes. 	 	 	nematoda 	 	there are two or three different marine nematodes in the collection. 	they are most common in the finer moss. 	 	 	sipunculoidea 	 	there are two kinds of sipunculids	 which seem quite distinct. taken 	from eel-grass roots	 from under rocks and mussels. 	 	the specimens were identified from the following papers: 	 	 _fewkes	 j. w._ 	 	 new invertebrata from the coast of california. bull. essex inst. xxi	 	 - 	 pls. - ( ) figs. in text. 	 	 _johnson	 h. p._ 	 	 a preliminary account of the marine annelids of the pacific coast	 	 with descriptions of new species. proc. cal. ac. sc. ( )	 i	 - 	 	 pls. - . 	 	 -------- 	 	 the polychætæ of the puget sound region. proc. bost. soc. nat. hist.	 	 xxix	 - 	 pls. - . 	 	 _moore	 j. p._ 	 	 new polychætæ from california. proc. acad. nat. sci.	 philadelphia	 	 - - 	 pls. - . 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college._) 	 	 	 	 	studies in the comparative size of the red blood corpuscles of birds 	 	chi tsau wang 	 	 	the blood corpuscles of a large number of vertebrates were studied at 	laguna beach during the past summer. some of the sizes of cell and 	nucleus are given below. the blood was obtained as fresh as possible; 	in no case was the blood obtained longer than twenty-four hours after 	death. the corpuscles were measured by the ocular micrometer and 	checked by the aid of a camera lucida. 	 	 average size of average size of 	 corpuscle microns nucleus microns 	 common name 	 scientific name length breadth length breadth 	 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 	 western gull 	 larus occidentalis . . . . 	 heermann gull 	 larus heermanni . . . . 	 great blue heron 	 ardea herodias . . . . 	 red-breasted merganser 	 mergus serrator . . . . 	 arkansas kingbird 	 tyrannus verticalis . . . . 	 california road runner 	 geococcyx californianus . . . . 	 long-billed dowitcher 	 macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus . . . . 	 least tern 	 sterna antillarum . . . . 	 semipalmated plover 	 Ægialitis semipalmata . . . . 	 arizona hooded oriole 	 icterus cucullatus nelsoni . . . . 	 san diego song sparrow 	 melospiza melodia cooperi . . . . 	 least vireo 	 vireo pusillus pusillus . . . . 	 california woodpecker 	 melanerpes formicivorus bairdi . . . . 	 belding marsh sparrow 	 passerculus beldingi . . . . 	 willow gold finch 	 astragalinus tristis salicamans . . . . 	 california horned lark 	 otocoris alpestris actia . . . . 	 western lark sparrow 	 chondestes grammacus strigatus . . . . 	 	_(contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college)_ 	 	 	 	 	caprellidæ from laguna beach 	 	r. la follette 	 	 	this paper is a preliminary article on the caprellidæ of laguna beach	 	and deals with species that have so far been identified. because 	of great variation	 due to age	 it is very difficult to place the 	different forms. 	 	 	_caprella geometrica_ say 	 	mayer places _c. geometrica_ as one of eighteen or twenty varieties 	of the species _acutifrons_	 but i have thought it best to follow 	some of the other writers and use _geometrica_ as the species name	 	as my specimen closely resembles the species which seems to be _c. 	geometrica_ in several accounts. 	 	the specimen here described is an adult male. the peræon (plate i	 fig. 	 ) is robust and covered with many blunt tubercles. in this respect it 	varies from the specimens described by others who say the peræon is 	smooth. the young are comparatively smooth and develop tubercles on 	the caudal segments first. cephalon furnished with a sharp anteriorly 	directed dorsal tooth. first segment shorter than the second	 which is 	triangular in shape; third and fourth broad and a little shorter than 	the second; fifth	 sixth and seventh each growing smaller respectively 	and truncate at the tip. antennæ	 stout; superior pair not half as long 	as the body	 first joint short and twice as thick as the second but 	only half as long	 third joint shorter than first; flagellum as long as 	the peduncle and composed of or joints	 inferior pair extending 	to about the middle of the flagellum of the superior	 joints long and 	narrow. 	 	first gnathopod (fig. )	 attached far forward	 convex in shape and 	tapering slightly toward the finger	 which was long as the palm and 	narrow; palm armed with tooth-like spine at the base and many hairs. 	second gnathopod (fig. )	 attached just posterior to the middle of 	the second pereiod	 basal joint short and thick	 not half as long as 	the palm; inner margin of the hand concave	 armed with a tooth on the 	dorsal lobe and a broad	 truncate tooth near the base of the finger	 as 	well as numerous hairs; finger sharply concave on the inner margin for 	about half its length. branchia nearly round. third	 fourth and fifth 	peræopods (fig. ) similar in structure	 short	 stout	 and armed with 	stiff hairs; hand nearly as long as rest of the extremity; palm broad 	and armed with numerous hairs	 inner margin slightly concave	 with two 	serrate teeth at the base. 	 	length of specimen	 mm. 	 	color varying from a bright red to white. 	 	several specimens taken at laguna beach the latter part of july	 from 	the rhodophyceæ on the rocks. 	 	the young of this species were very abundant at laguna beach	 and i 	will give a short description of one because of the great variation 	from the adult. plate ii shows a young male with the antennæ inverted 	showing the setæ on the ventral side. the first five segments are of 	nearly equal length; peræon smooth; superior antennæ nearly half as 	long as the body	 with inferior nearly as long as superior; flagellum 	with six to nine joints. maxillipeds (plate iii	 fig. ) with inner 	plate reaching apex of first joint of palp	 armed with two teeth and 	spines; outer plate reaching apex of second joint of palp and armed 	with three small teeth. upper lip (fig. ) bilobed	 finely ciliated. 	first maxillæ (fig. ) two-jointed	 palp and second joint armed with 	spines. second maxillæ (fig. ) armed with a few hairs on the tip. 	mandible (fig. ) has cutting plate made of five strong	 unequal teeth; 	teeth of secondary plate nearly equal. first gnathopod attached far 	forward	 triangular in shape and fringed with hairs. second gnathopod 	(fig. ) attached the same as in adult	 palm convex on inner margin	 	instead of concave as in adult	 and armed with two small teeth near 	inner margin at the base; finger is concave and uniform in outline. 	 	 	_caprella septentrionalis_ kroyer 	 	the specimen here described differs slightly from those described by 	mayer	 holmes	 sars and others	 yet i do not think the differences 	great enough to demand the naming of a new species. 	 	the peræon (plate iv	 fig. ) is comparatively smooth	 first two 	segments long	 as long as the rest of the body; cephalon angularly 	produced in front into a very short	 blunt spine. figure shows a 	specimen with a body somewhat broader. the superior antennæ are about 	half as long as the body	 first joint broader than second	 but shorter; 	second joint longest of all; third longer than first	 and narrower 	than second; flagellum shorter than the peduncle and made up of about 	twelve joints. inferior antennæ slightly shorter than the peduncle of 	the superior. mandible (fig. ) cutting edge denticulate	 with five 	irregular teeth	 spine row having three large	 feathery spines; molar 	tubercle strong and prominent. first gnathopod attached far forward	 	against the maxillipeds; hand triangular	 fringed with hairs on the 	inner margin and one spine tooth near the base. second gnathopod (figs. 	 	 ) attached near the posterior extremity of the second pereiod	 	basal joint nearly as long as the hand	 inner margin of hand lying in 	a straight line and armed with two teeth near the base of the palm	 	one on the lobe and the other to one side. another long tooth is near 	the base of the finger and is separated from a large	 broad tooth by a 	deep suture; inner margin of the finger irregular. third	 fourth and 	fifth peræopods are similar in structure and not as stout as those of 	_c. geometrica_; hands powerful and armed with three clumps of spines 	on small prominences; differing in this respect from those described by 	mayer	 sars and others in that they lack the pair of serrated spines at 	the base of the palm. finger stout and half as long as the palm. 	 	length of specimen	 mm. 	 	color white or flesh color. 	 	the specimens were collected during the latter part of july at laguna 	beach	 from the seaweed in the inner tide pools. 	 	 	_caprella æquilibra_ say 	 	the peræon (plate iv	 fig. ) is comparatively smooth	 with the 	cephalon devoid of a horizontal spine; the first three segments are 	long and narrow	 of nearly equal length	 the fourth a little longer 	than the third	 the fifth twice as long as the sixth and seventh 	combined. the branchia are ovate in shape and moderate in size. between 	the bases of the second gnathopods is a sharp projection (fig. )	 and 	on each side another spiniform process pointing anteriorly. superior 	antennæ slightly over half as long as the body	 first joint about half 	as long as the second	 but broader; second twice as long as the first	 	and third a little longer than the first	 but narrower; flagellum 	with sixteen or seventeen joints and about as long as the peduncle. 	inferior antennæ reaching just beyond the peduncle of the superior. 	first gnathopod small	 attached far forward	 palm triangular in shape	 	tapering toward the finger	 which reaches back entirely over the inner 	margin of the palm	 armed with two sharp spine-like teeth at the base 	of the palm	 and scattered hairs. second gnathopod (fig. )	 attached 	at the posterior end of the segment	 basal joint quite short; other 	joints have their lobes ending in spine-like processes; palm slightly 	convex on the inner margin	 with a spined lobe about a third of the way 	along	 and a blunt tooth two-thirds of the way along separated from a 	broad tooth by a deep sinus; claw regularly concave; whole gnathopod 	with but few hairs. third	 fourth and fifth peræopods (fig. ) similar 	in size and structure; palm thick	 with two serrate teeth a third of 	the distance from the base. 	 	length of specimen	 mm. 	 	color a dark brown to flesh color. 	 	two specimens taken on a holdfast that was thrown up on the beach at 	laguna beach during july	 . 	 	 	 	 	bibliography 	 	 _bate	 c. s._ 	 catalogue of amphipodous crustacea	 pp. 	 . 	 	 _holmes	 s. j._ 	 synopses of north american invertebrates	 xviii	 the 	 amphipoda. the american naturalist	 vol xxxvii	 	 no. 	 p. . 	 bulletin of bureau of fisheries	 vol. xxiv	 amphipoda of 	 southern new england	 p. . 	 	 _mayer	 p._ 	 fauna und flora des golfes von neaples	 vi	 monographie	 	 pp. - . 	 	 _mayer	 p._ 	 fauna und flora des golfes von neaples	 xvii	 monographie	 	 pp. - . 	 	 _mayer	 p._ 	 siboga-expeditie	 xxxiv	 monographie	 pp. - . 	 	 _sars	 g. o._ 	 an account of the crustacea of norway	 vol. i	 amphipoda	 	 p. . 	 	 _say_ 	 journal of the academy of natural science	 philadelphia	 	 pp. - . 	 	(_contribution from the zoological laboratory of pomona college_) 	 	 	 	 	explanation of plates 	 	 	plate i 	 	_c. geometrica_ (adult). × 	 	 figure . body showing length of segments 	 figure . first gnathopod. 	 figure . second gnathopod. 	 figure . fifth peræopod. 	 	 	plate ii 	 	_c. geometrica_ (young male). × 	 	 	plate iii 	 	_c. geometrica_ (young male) 	 	 figure . maxillipeds. × . 	 figure . lip. × . 	 figure . first maxillæ. × . 	 figure . second maxillæ. × . 	 figure . mandible. × . 	 figure . first gnathopod. × . 	 figure . second gnathopod. × . 	 	 	plate iv 	 	_c. septentrionalis_ 	 	 figures 	 . bodies	 showing length of segments. × . 	 figure . mandible. × . 	 figures 	 . second gnathopods. × . 	 	 	plate v 	 	_c. æquilibra_ say 	 	 figure . body showing length of segments. × . 	 figure . projection at base of second gnathopod. × . 	 figure . second gnathopod. × . 	 figure . fifth peræopod. × . 	 	[illustration: plate i] 	 	[illustration: plate ii] 	 	[illustration: plate iii] 	 	[illustration: plate iv] 	 	[illustration: plate v] 	 	 	 	 	record of two fish	 not before mentioned	 from laguna 	 	 	during the summer of no special effort was made to collect fish	 	but the two following species were taken: 	 	 	_porichthys notatus_ girard 	 	a specimen of this interesting but rather common californian fish was 	taken in a tide pool and kept for some time alive in the aquarium. this ddition, from six to twelve doing special work for a longer or shorter period. students from three pacific coast colleges were in attendance, although most of the students and advanced workers were from pomona college. two or three studied special histological or embryological topics, but the majority were interested in faunal and distributional problems. as announced at an earlier time, the laguna station is but an extension of the biological part of pomona college, and the plan for special work includes a survey of the whole region from the mountains to the sea. with this in mind, many explorations have been begun, and the aid of specialists in various fields is sought, so that we may first of all know the living forms that inhabit this varied and interesting section of california. we hope that a better knowledge of the species in the different groups here may lead to more extensive observations both by advanced students from the college and by others. [illustration: three arches below laguna] together with the special and general work of the students, collections of marine and land animals were obtained all through the summer. some of these were for the local collection, others to aid in the work of the survey. among the collections made were many species of sponges, hydroids, polyzoans, pycnogonids, marine worms, crustacea of several groups and, in fact, nearly all the shore forms that could be obtained between tides or a short distance from shore with a small boat. there were also extensive collections of insects and spiders from the hills and from up and down the coast. [illustration: san juan capistrano] for the study of marine and land animals laguna has proved itself once more well adapted to our uses. the high hills come down near the ocean at several points, and there are miles of interesting and varied coast line in both directions from the laboratory. all summer, students in small or larger parties tramped over the hills and through the many interesting canyons to the lakes, to the mission of san juan capistrano, or to balboa and the mud flats. saturday was the regular field day, and the longer tramping trips were then taken, but very often of an evening groups of students enjoyed beach suppers or picnics in some canyon or up in the hills. that laguna and its surroundings is a region of great interest and beauty is evinced by the fact that a number of artists make it their home, while it is visited by many others. the trail to balboa, along the beach or the cliffs, is wonderfully varied and beautiful, while the drive from laguna to san juan capistrano, except for the lack of villages and ruins, might well be considered a part of the famous amalfi sorrento drive in italy. during the summer of courses in general as well as special zoology will be given. general entomology may also be studied with advantage. for those who are just beginning biological work there may be special exercises arranged, as last summer. there are eight private rooms in the laboratory for special workers. some of these will be available for investigators who may wish to follow out problems of their own or those suggested by the work of the station. write w. a. hilton, _director_, pomona college, claremont, california. wants and exchanges subscribers and others are urged to use these columns to make their wants known. as the journal goes to all parts of the world we hope to make this a very useful feature of the publication. exchange notes are free to subscribers. wanted--myriopods from all parts of the world. will name, exchange or purchase. r. v. chamberlin, mu. comp. zoology, harvard univ., cambridge, mass. will exchange insects of any order from southern california, for microlepidoptera from any part of north america, preferably pinned, with complete data concerning capture. fordyce grinnell, jr., pasadena, cal. coccidæ--california coccidæ exchanged for specimens from all parts of the world. e. o. essig, secretary state commission of horticulture, sacramento, cal. wanted--cephalopods (in alcohol); chitons (in alcohol or dry); shells of west american mollusca; zoological literature. offered: west american and other molluscan shells; zoological pamphlets, mainly on the mollusca. s. s. berry, cajon st., redlands, california. california syrphidæ, aphididæ to exchange for non-california syrphidæ. w. m. davidson, walnut creek, cal. wanted--for exchange, papers on marine and fresh-water protozoa. albert l. barrows, department of zoology, university of california, berkeley, cal. wanted--information on any mite-papers for sale or exchange that have an economic bearing. h. v. m. hall, room , court house, san diego, cal. wanted--specimens and separates relating to the pseudoscorpions, in exchange for local species. m. moles, claremont, cal. wanted--literature and determined specimens of collembola, in exchange for local forms and literature. g. bacon, claremont, cal. wanted--determined specimens of thysanura in exchange for local species. r. gardner, claremont, cal. wanted--separates relating to the nervous system and sense organs of the invertebrates in exchange for reprints by a number of authors on this and other topics relating to the anatomy of invertebrate animals. w. a. hilton, claremont, cal. tabanidæ from all parts of north america to exchange for tabanidæ from the western united states and mexico and central america. jas. g. hine, ohio state university, columbus, ohio. sarcophagidæ from all parts of the world bought or exchanged, according to arrangement. north american material determined. r. r. parker, ent. lab., mass. agri. college, amherst, mass. ==================================================== journal of entomology and zoology--_advertising section_ ==================================================== ward's natural science establishment founded incorporated natural science supplies =mineralogy=: prepared collections; 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[_the right of translation is reserved._] list of plates, illustrating the original memoirs in vol. i. page plate . development of the layers of the blastoderm " disappearance of primitive groove " . development of blood-vessels " .} preliminary account of development of elasmobranch " .} fishes " . comparison of early stages of vertebrates " . development of elasmobranch fishes. ch. ii. " . " " " " iii. " .} " .} " " " " iv. " . " " " " v. " .} " .} " " " " vi. " . " " " " vii. " . " " " " viii. " .} " .} " " " " ix. " .} " . " " " " x. " . " " " " xi. " .} " .} " " " " xii. " .} " .} development of spinal nerves in elasmobranchs " .} " .} structure and development of vertebrate ovary " .} " .} " .} head-kidney in embryo chick " . early development of lacertilia " .} " .} development of araneina " .} " . development of paired fins of elasmobranchii " .} " .} " .} " .} " .} structure and development of lepidosteus " .} " .} " .} " .} " .} " .} germinal layers of the chick " .} " .} " .} " .} " .} anatomy and development of peripatus capensis " .} " .} " .} " .} explanation of plates. explanation of plate . figs. - and - . (ii. p. .) fig. . section through an unincubated blastoderm, shewing the upper layer, composed of a single row of columnar cells, and the lower layer, composed of several rows of rounded cells in which no nucleus is visible. some of the "formative cells," at the bottom of the segmentation cavity, are seen at (_b_). fig. . section through the periphery of an eight hours' blastoderm, shewing the epiblast (_p_), the hypoblast (_h_), and the mesoblast commencing to be formed (_c_), partly by lower-layer cells enclosed between the epiblast and hypoblast, and partly by formative cells. formative cells at the bottom of the segmentation cavity are seen at _b_. at _s_ is one of the side folds parallel to the primitive groove. fig. . portion of the hypoblast of a thirteen hours' blastoderm, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the great variation in the size of the cells at this period. an hour-glass shaped nucleus is seen at _a_. fig. . periphery of a twenty-three hours' blastoderm, shewing cell for cell the junction between the hypoblast (_h_) and white-yolk spheres (_w_). fig. . junction between the white-yolk spheres and the hypoblast cells at the passage from the area pellucida to the area opaca. the specimen was treated with silver nitrate to bring out the shape of the cells. the line of junction between the opaque and pellucid areas passes diagonally. fig. . section through the primitive streak of an eight hours' blastoderm. the specimen shews the mesoblast very much thickened in the immediate neighbourhood of the primitive streak, but hardly formed at all on each side of the streak. it also shews the primitive groove just beginning to be formed (_pr_), and the fusion between the epiblast and the mesoblast under the primitive groove. the hypoblast is completely formed in the central part of the blastoderm. at _f_ is seen one of the side folds parallel to the primitive groove. its depth has been increased by the action of the chromic acid. fig. . hypoblast cells from the hinder end of a thirty-six hours' embryo, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the regularity and elongated shape of the cells over the embryo and the smaller cells on each side. fig. . epiblast cells from an unincubated blastoderm, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the regular hexagonal shape of the cells and the small spherules they contain. fig. . portion of the epiblast of a thirty-six hours' embryo, treated with silver nitrate, shewing the small rounded cells frequently found at the meeting-points of several larger cells which are characteristic of the upper layer. explanation of plate . figs. - and - . (iii. p. .) figs. and are sections through an embryo rather earlier than the one drawn in fig. . fig. passes through the just commencing medullary groove (_md_), which appears in fresh specimens, as in fig. , merely as an opaque streak coming from the end of the primitive groove. the notochord is hardly differentiated, but the _complete_ separation of mesoblast and hypoblast under the primitive groove is clearly shewn. fig. passes through the anterior end of the primitive groove (_pr_), and shews the fusion between the mesoblast and epiblast, which is always to be found under the primitive groove. fig. is a view from above of a twenty hours' blastoderm, seen as a transparent object. primitive groove (_pr_). medullary groove (_md_), which passes off from the anterior end of the primitive groove, and is produced by the thickening of the mesoblast. head fold (_pf_). figs. - are sections through the blastoderm, drawn in fig. through the lines , , , , respectively. the first section (fig. ) passes through the true medullary groove (_mc_); the two medullary folds (_a_, _a_) are seen on each side with the thickened mesoblast, and the mesoblast cells are beginning to form the notochord (_nc_) under the medullary groove. there is no adherence between the mesoblast cells and the epiblast under the medullary groove. the second (fig. ) section passes through the medullary groove where it has become wider. medullary folds, _a_, _a_; notochord, _ch_. in the third section (fig. ) the notochord (_ch_) is broader, and the epiblast is raised in the centre, while the medullary folds are seen far apart at _a_. in section fig. the medullary folds (_a_) are still to be seen enclosing the anterior end of the primitive groove (_pr_). where the primitive groove appears there is a fusion of the epiblast and mesoblast, and no appearance of the notochord. in the last section, fig. , no trace is to be seen of the medullary folds. figs. and are magnified views of two hardened blastoderms. fig. is twenty-three hours old; fig. twenty-five hours. they both shew how the medullary canal arises entirely independently of the primitive groove and in front of it, and also how the primitive groove gets pushed backwards by the growth of the medullary groove. _pv_, protovertebræ; other references as above. fig. is the blastoderm from which sections figs. - were cut. explanation of plate . (iv. p. .) fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty hours' chick, with four protovertebræ. at _n_ is a nucleus with two nucleoli. figs. and are taken from the posterior end of the pellucid area of a chick with eight protovertebræ. in fig. the nuclei are seen to have considerably increased in number at the points of starting of the protoplasmic processes. at _n_ is seen a nucleus with two nucleoli. fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of an embryo of thirty-six hours. it shews the narrow processes characteristic of the anterior part of the pellucid area, and the fewer nuclei. small spaces, which have the appearance of vacuoles, are shewn at _v_. fig. is taken from the posterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty-six hours' embryo. it shews the nuclei, with somewhat irregular nucleoli, which have begun to acquire the red colour of blood-corpuscles; the protoplasmic processes containing the nuclei; the nuclei in the protoplasm surrounding the corpuscles, as shewn at _a_, _a´_. fig. shews fully formed blood-vessels, in part filled with blood-corpuscles and in part empty. the walls of the capillaries, formed of cells, spindle-shaped in section, are shewn, and also the secondary investment of klein at _k_, and at _b_ is seen a narrow protoplasmic process filled with blood-corpuscles. fig. is taken from the anterior part of the pellucid area of a thirty-six hours' embryo. it shews a collection of nuclei which are beginning to become blood-corpuscles. figs. - are drawn with an / object-glass. fig. is on a much smaller scale. fig. is intermediate. fig. . a transverse section through the dorsal region of a forty-five hours' embryo; _ao_, aorta with a few blood-corpuscles. v, blood-vessels, all of them being formed in the splanchnopleure, and all of them provided with the secondary investment of klein; _pe_, pellucid area; _op_, opaque area. fig. . small portion of a section through the opaque area of a thirty-five hours' embryo, showing protoplasmic processes, with nuclei passing from the somatopleure to the splanchnopleure. fig. . section through the heart of a thirty-four hours' embryo. _a_. alimentary canal; _hb_, hind brain; _nc_, notochord; _e_, epiblast; _so_, mesoblast of the somatopleure; _sp_, mesoblast of the splanchnopleure; _hy_, hypoblast; _hz_, cavity of the heart. fig. . section through the same embryo as fig. , and passing through the orifice of the omphalomeseraic vein. _of_, omphalomeseraic vein; other references as above. these two sections shew that the heart is entirely formed from the mesoblast of the _splanchnopleure_, and that it is formed by the splitting of that part of the mesoblast which has turned to assume its normal direction after being folded in to form the muscular wall of the alimentary canal. in fig. the cavities so formed on each side have not yet united, but in fig. they have united. when the folding becomes more complete the cavities (_of_, _of_) in fig. will unite, and in this way the origin of the omphalomeseraic veins will be carried further backwards. in the section immediately behind section the mesoblast had become thickened, but had not split. explanation of plates and . (v. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _bd._ formative cell probably derived from the yolk. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _ch´._ thickening of hypoblast to form the notochord. _eb._ line indicating the edge of the blastoderm. _ep._ epiblast. _ep´._ epidermis. _er._ embryonic rim. _es._ embryonic swelling. _gl._ glosso-pharyngeal nerve. _h._ head. _ht._ heart. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _ly._ line of separation between the blastoderm and the yolk. _m._ mesoblast. _mc._ medullary canal. _mg._ medullary groove. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ early formed mass of muscles. _n._ peculiar nuclei formed in the yolk. _n´._ similar nuclei in the cells of the blastoderm. _na._ cells which help to close in the alimentary canal, and which are derived from the yolk. _ny._ network of lines present in the food-yolk. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. _ov._ oviduct. _pn._ pineal gland. _pov._ projection which becomes the ovary. _pp._ pleuro-peritoneal cavity. _pp´._ remains of pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head. _prv._ protovertebræ. _pwd._ primary points of involution from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity by the coalescence of which the wolffian duct is formed. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _so._ somatopleure. _sos._ stalk connecting embryo with yolk-sac. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _spn._ spinal nerve. _sur._ suprarenal body. _ts._ caudal lobes. _v._ blood-vessel. _vg._ vagus nerve. v. fifth nerve. vii. seventh nerve. _vc_, , , , &c. st, nd and rd &c. visceral clefts. _vp._ vertebral plates. _wd._ wolffian duct. _x._ peculiar body underlying the notochord derived from the hypoblast. _yk._ yolk spherules. all the figures were drawn with the camera lucida. plate . fig. . section parallel with the long axis of the embryo through a blastoderm, in which the floor of the segmentation cavity (_sg_) is not yet completely lined by cells. the roof of the segmentation cavity is broken. (magnified diam.) the section is intended chiefly to illustrate the distribution of nuclei (_n_) in the yolk under the blastoderm. one of the chief points to be noticed in their distribution is the fact that they form almost a complete layer under the floor of the segmentation cavity. this probably indicates that the cells whose nuclei they become take some share in forming the layer of cells which subsequently (vide fig. ) forms the floor of the cavity. fig. . small portion of blastoderm and subjacent yolk of an embryo at the time of the first appearance of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) the specimen is taken from a portion of the blastoderm which will form part of the embryo. it shews two large nuclei of the yolk (_n_) and the network in the yolk between them; this network is seen to be closer around the nuclei than in the intervening space. the specimen further shews that there are no areas representing cells around the nuclei. fig. . section parallel with the long axis of the embryo through a blastoderm, in which the floor of the segmentation cavity is not yet covered by a complete layer of cells. (magnified diam.) it illustrates ( ) the characters of the epiblast, ( ) the embryonic swelling (_es_), ( ) the segmentation cavity (_sg_). it should have been drawn upon the same scale as fig. ; the line above it represents its true length upon this scale. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm at the time of the first appearance of the embryonic rim, and before the formation of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) it illustrates ( ) the embryonic rim, ( ) the continuity of epiblast and hypoblast at edge of this, ( ) the continual differentiation of the lower layer cells, to form, on the one hand, the hypoblast, which is continuous with the epiblast, and on the other the mesoblast, between this and the epiblast; ( ) the segmentation cavity, whose floor of cells is now completed. n.b. the cells at the embryonic end of the blastoderm have been made rather too large. fig. . surface view of the blastoderm shortly after the appearance of the medullary groove. to shew the relation of the embryo to the blastoderm. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of the same embryo, shortly after the appearance of the medullary groove. (magnified diam.) _a._ in the region of the groove. it shews ( ) the two masses of mesoblast on each side, and the deficiency of the mesoblast underneath the medullary groove; ( ) the commencement of the closing in of the alimentary canal below, chiefly from cells (_na_) derived from the yolk. _b._ section in the region of the head where the medullary groove is deficient, other points as above. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of an embryo about the age or rather younger than that represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) _a._ section nearer the tail; it shews the thickening of the hypoblast to form the notochord (_ch´_). in _b_ the thickening has become completely separated from the hypoblast as the notochord. in _a_ the epiblast and hypoblast are continuous at the edge of the section, owing to the section passing through the embryonic rim. fig. . surface view of a spatula-shaped embryo. the figure shews ( ) the flattened head (_h_) where the medullary groove is deficient, ( ) the caudal lobes, with a groove between them; it also shews that at this point, the medullary groove has become roofed over and converted into a canal. fig. _a_. transverse section of fig. , passing through the line _a_. (magnified diam.) the section shews ( ) the absence of the medullary groove in the head and the medullary folds turning down at this time instead of upwards; ( ) the presence of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head (_pp_); ( ) the completely closed alimentary canal (_al_). fig. _b_. transverse section of fig. , through the line _b_. (magnified diam.) it shews ( ) the neural canal completely formed; ( ) the vertebral plates of mesoblast not yet split up into somatopleure and splanchnopleure. fig. . side view of an embryo of the torpedo, seen as a transparent object a little older than the embryo represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) the internal anatomy has hardly altered, with the exception of the medullary folds having closed over above the head and the whole embryo having become more folded off from the germ. the two caudal lobes, and the very marked groove between them, are seen at _ts_. the front end of the notochord became indistinct, and i could not see its exact termination. the epithelium of the alimentary canal (_al_) is seen closely underlying the notochord and becoming continuous with the epiblast at the hind end of the notochord. the first visceral cleft ( _vc_) and eye (_op_) are just commencing to be formed, and the cranial flexure has just appeared. fig. . section through the dorsal region of an embryo somewhat older than the one represented in fig. . (magnified diam.) it shews ( ) the formation by a pinching off from the top of the alimentary canal of a peculiar body which underlies the notochord (_x_); ( ) the primitive extension of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity up to the top of the vertebral plates. plate . fig. _a_, _b_, and _c_. three sections closely following each other from an embryo in which three visceral clefts are present; _a_ is the most anterior of the three. (magnified diam.) in all of these the muscle-plates are shewn at _mp_. they have become separated from the lateral plates in _b_ and _c_, but are still continuous with them in _a_. the early formed mass of muscles is also shewn in all the figures (_mp´_). the figures further shew ( ) the formation of the spinal nerves (_spn_) as small bodies of cells closely applied to the upper and outer edge of the neural canal. ( ) the commencing formation of the cells which form the axial skeleton from the inner (splanchnopleuric) layer of the muscle-plate. sections _b_ and _c_ are given more especially to shew the mode of formation of the oviduct (_ov_). in _b_ it is seen as a _solid knob (ov)_, arising from the point where the somatopleure and splanchnopleure unite, and in _c_ (the section behind _b_) as a _solid rod (ov)_ closely applied to the epiblast, which has grown backwards from the knob seen in _b_. n.b. in all three sections only one side is completed. fig. _a_ and _b_. two transverse sections of an embryo just before the appearance of the external gills. (magnified diam.) in _a_ there is seen to be an involution on each side (_pwd_), while _b_ is a section from the space between two involutions from the pleuro-peritoneal cavity, so that the wolffian duct (at first solid) (_wd_) is not connected as in _a_ with the pleuro-peritoneal cavity. the further points shewn in the sections are-- ( ) the commencing formation of the spiral valve (_al_). ( ) the suprarenal body (_sur_). ( ) the oviduct (_ov_), which has acquired a lumen. ( ) the increase in length of the muscle-plates, the spinal nerves, &c. fig. . section through the dorsal region of an embryo in which the external gills are of considerable length. (magnified diam.) the chief points to be noticed: ( ) the formation of the wolffian body by outgrowths from the wolffian duct (_wd_). ( ) one of the still continuing connections (primitive involutions) between the wolffian duct and the pleuro-peritoneal cavity (_pwd_). ( ) the oviduct largely increased in size (_ov_). n.b. on the left side the oviduct has been accidentally made too small. ( ) the growth downwards of the muscle-plate to form the muscles of the abdomen. ( ) the formation of an outgrowth on each side of the mesentery (_pov_), which will become the ovary. ( ) the spiral valve (_al_). fig. . transparent view of the head of an embryo shortly before the appearance of the external gills. (magnified diam.) the chief points to be noticed are-- ( ) the relation of the cranial nerves to the visceral clefts and the manner in which the glosso-pharyngeal (_gl_) and vagus (_vg_) are united. ( ) the remnants of the pleuro-peritoneal cavity in the head (_pp_). ( ) the eye (_op_). the stalk, as well as the bulb of the eye, are supposed to be in focus, so that the whole eye has a somewhat peculiar appearance. explanation of plate . (vi. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _al._ cavity of alimentary canal. _bl._ blastoderm. _ch._ notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _em._ embryo. _f._ formative cells. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _m._ mesoblast. _n._ nuclei of yolk of selachian egg. _nc._ neural canal. _sg._ segmentation cavity. _x._ point where epiblast and hypoblast are continuous at the mouth of the alimentary involution. this point is always situated at the tail end of the embryo. _yk._ yolk. epiblast is coloured blue, mesoblast red, and hypoblast yellow. the lower layer cells before their separation into hypoblast and mesoblast are also coloured green. a i, a ii, a iii. diagrammatic sections of amphioxus in its early stages (founded upon kowalevsky's observations). b i, b ii, b iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an hypothetical animal, intermediate between amphioxus and batrachians, in its early stages. c i, c ii, c iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of bombinator igneus in its early stages (founded upon götte's observations). in c iii the neural canal is completed, which was not the case in b iii. the epiblast in c iii has been diagrammatically represented as a single layer. d i, d ii, d iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of an animal, intermediate between batrachians and selachians, in its early stages. e i, e ii, e iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of a selachian in its early stages. e´. surface view of the yolk of a selachian's egg to shew the manner in which it is enclosed by the blastoderm. the yolk is represented yellow and the blastoderm blue. f i, f ii, f iii. diagrammatic longitudinal sections of a bird in its early explanation of plate . (x. p. .) fig. . section through the germinal disc of a ripe ovarian ovum of the skate. _gv._ germinal vesicle. fig. . surface-view of a germinal disc with two furrows. figs. , , . surface-views of three germinal discs in different stages of segmentation. fig. . section through the germinal disc represented in fig . _n._ nucleus; _x._ edge of germinal disc. the engraver has not accurately copied my original drawings in respect to the structure of the segmentation furrows. figs. _a_ and _b_. two furrows of the same germinal disc more highly magnified. fig. _c_. a nucleus from the same germinal disc highly magnified. fig. . section through a germinal disc of the same age as that represented in fig. . _n._ nucleus; _nx._ modified nucleus; _nx´._ modified nucleus of the yolk; _f._ furrow appearing in the yolk around the germinal disc. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three segments with modified nuclei from the same germinal disc. fig. . section through a somewhat older germinal disc. _ep._ epiblast; _n´._ nuclei of yolk. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. modified nuclei from the yolk from the same germinal disc. fig. _d_. segment in the act of division from the same germinal disc. fig. . section through a germinal disc in which the segmentation is completed. it shews the larger collection of cells at the embryonic end of the germinal disc than at the non-embryonic. _ep._ epiblast. explanation of plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _c._ cells formed in the yolk around the nuclei of the yolk. _ep._ epiblast. _er._ embryonic ring. _es._ embryo swelling. _hy._ hypoblast. _ll._ lower layer cells. _ly._ line separating the yolk from the blastoderm. _m._ mesoblast. _mg._ medullary groove. _n´._ nuclei of yolk. _na._ cells to form ventral wall of alimentary canal which have been derived from the yolk. _nal._ cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk which have entered the hypoblast. _sc._ segmentation cavity. _vp._ combined lateral and vertebral plate of mesoblast. fig. . longitudinal section of a blastoderm at the first appearance of the segmentation cavity. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm after the layer of cells has disappeared from the floor of the segmentation cavity. _bd._ large cell resting on the yolk, probably remaining over from the later periods of segmentation. magnified diameters. (hardened in chromic acid.) the section is intended to illustrate the fact that the nuclei form a layer in the yolk under the floor of the segmentation cavity. the roof of the segmentation cavity is broken. fig. _a_. portion of same blastoderm highly magnified, to shew the characters of the nuclei of the yolk _n´_ and the nuclei in the cells of the blastoderm. fig. _b_. large knobbed nucleus from the same blastoderm, very highly magnified. fig. _c_. nucleus of yolk from the same blastoderm. fig. . longitudinal section of blastoderm of same stage as fig. . (hardened in chromic acid.) fig. . longitudinal section of blastoderm slightly older than fig. . magnified diameters. (hardened in osmic acid.) it illustrates ( ) the characters of the epiblast; ( ) the embryonic swelling; ( ) the segmentation cavity. fig. . longitudinal section through a blastoderm at the time of the first appearance of the embryonic rim, and before the formation of the medullary groove. magnified diameters. fig. _a_. section through the periphery of the embryonic rim of the blastoderm of which fig. represents a section. fig. . section through the embryonic rim of a blastoderm somewhat younger than that represented on pl. , fig. b. fig. . section through the most projecting portion of the embryonic rim of a blastoderm of the same age as that represented on pl. , fig. b. the section is drawn on a very considerably smaller scale than that on fig. . it is intended to illustrate the growth of the embryonic rim and the disappearance of the segmentation cavity. fig. _a_. section through peripheral portion of the embryonic rim of the same blastoderm, highly magnified. it specially illustrates the formation of a cell (_c_) around a nucleus in the yolk. the nuclei of the blastoderm have been inaccurately rendered by the artist. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections of the same embryo. inserted mainly to illustrate the formation of the mesoblast as two independent lateral masses of cells; only half of each section is represented. _a_ is the most posterior of the three sections. in it the mesoblast forms a large mass on each side, imperfectly separated from the hypoblast. in _b_, from the anterior part of the embryo, the main mass of mesoblast is far smaller, and only forms a cap to the hypoblast at the highest point of the medullary fold. in _c_ a cap of mesoblast is present, similar to that in _b_, though much smaller. the sections of these embryos were somewhat oblique, and it has unfortunately happened that while in _a_ one side is represented, in _b_ and _c_ the other side is figured, had it not been for this the sections _b_ and _c_ would have been considerably longer than _a_. fig. . longitudinal section of an embryo belonging to a slightly later stage than b. this section passes through one of the medullary folds. it illustrates the continuity of the hypoblast with the remaining lower layer cells of the blastoderm. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections of the same embryo belonging to a stage slightly later than b, pl. . the space between the mesoblast and the hypoblast has been made considerably too great in the figures of the three sections. _a_. the most posterior of the three sections. it shews the posterior flatness of the medullary groove and the two isolated vertebral plates. _b_. this section is taken from the anterior part of the same embryo and shews the deep medullary groove and the commencing formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal from the nuclei of the yolk. _c_ shews the disappearance of the medullary groove and the thinning out of the mesoblast plates in the region of the head. fig. . small portion of the blastoderm and the subjacent yolk of an embryo at the time of the first appearance of the medullary groove × . it shews two large nuclei of the yolk (_n_) and the protoplasmic network in the yolk between them; the network is seen to be closer round the nuclei than in the intervening space. there are no areas representing cells around the nuclei. fig. . nucleus of the yolk in connection with the protoplasmic network hardened in osmic acid. fig. . portion of posterior end of a blastoderm of stage b, shewing the formation of cells around the nuclei of the yolk. fig. . section through part of a young scyllium egg, about / th of an inch in diameter. _nl._ protoplasmic network in yolk. _zp._ zona pellucida. _ch._ structureless chorion. _fep._ follicular epithelium. _x._ structureless membrane external to this. explanation of plates and . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _a._ arteries of yolk sac (red). _al._ alimentary cavity. _alv._ alimentary vesicle at the posterior end of the alimentary canal. _an._ point where anus will appear. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _bl._ blastoderm. _ch._ notochord. _es._ embryo-swelling. _h._ head. _ht._ heart. _m._ mouth. _mg._ medullary groove. _mp._ muscle-plate or protovertebra. _op._ eye. _sc._ segmentation cavity. _sos._ somatic stalk. _ts._ tail-swelling. _v._ veins of yolk sac (blue). _vc._ visceral cleft. i. _vc._ st visceral cleft. _x._ portion of blastoderm outside the arterial circle in which no blood-vessels are present. _yk._ yolk. plate . fig. a. surface view of blastoderm of pristiurus hardened in chromic acid. fig. b. surface view of fresh blastoderm of pristiurus. figs. c, d, e, and f. pristiurus embryos hardened in chromic acid. fig. g. torpedo embryo viewed as a transparent object. figs. h, i. pristiurus embryos viewed as transparent objects. fig. k. pristiurus embryo hardened in chromic acid. the remainder of the figures are representations of embryos of scyllium canicula hardened in chromic acid. in every case, with the exception of the figures marked p and q, two representations of the same embryo are given; one from the side and one from the under surface. plate . fig. . yolk of a pristiurus egg with blastoderm and embryo. about two-thirds of the yolk have been enveloped by the blastoderm. the embryo is still situated at the edge of the blastoderm, but at the end of a bay in the outline of this. the thickened edge of the blastoderm is indicated by a darker shading. two arteries have appeared. fig. . yolk of an older pristiurus egg. the yolk has become all but enveloped by the blastoderm, and the embryo ceases to lie at the edge of the blastoderm, owing to the coalescence of the two sides of the bay which existed in the earlier stage. the circulation is now largely developed. it consists of an external arterial ring, and an internal venous ring, the latter having been developed in the thickened edge of the blastoderm. outside the arterial ring no vessels are developed. fig. . the yolk has now become completely enveloped by the blastoderm. the arterial ring has increased in size. the venous ring has vanished, owing to the complete enclosure of the yolk by the blastoderm. the point where it existed is still indicated (_y_) by the brush-like termination of the main venous trunk in a number of small branches. fig. . diagrammatic projection of the vascular system of the yolk sac of a somewhat older embryo. the arterial ring has grown much larger and the portion of the yolk where no vessels exist is very small (_x_). the brush-like termination of the venous trunk is still to be noticed. the two main trunks (arterial and venous) in reality are in close contact as in fig. , and enter the somatic stalk close together. the letter _a_ which points to the venous (blue) trunk should be _v_ and not _a_. fig. . circulation of the yolk sac of a still older embryo, in which the arterial circle has ceased to exist, owing to the space outside it having become smaller and smaller and finally vanished. explanation of plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary canal. _ch._ chorda dorsalis or notochord. _ch´._ ridge of hypoblast, which will become separated off as the notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _lp._ coalesced lateral and vertebral plate of mesoblast. _mg._ medullary groove. _n._ nucleus of yolk. _na._ cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk to enter into the ventral wall of the alimentary canal. _nc._ neural or medullary canal. _pv._ protovertebra. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _ts._ mesoblast of tail-swelling. _yk._ yolk-spherules. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections from the same embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between b and c, of which fig. _a_ is the most anterior. (× diameters.) the sections illustrate ( ) the different characters of the medullary groove in the different regions of the embryo. ( ) the structure of the coalesced lateral and vertebral plates. ( ) the mode of formation of the notochord as a thickening of the hypoblast (_ch´_), which eventually becomes separated from the hypoblast as an elliptical rod ( _a_, _ch_). fig. . section through the anterior part of an embryo belonging to stage c. the section is mainly intended to illustrate the formation of the ventral wall of the alimentary canal from cells formed around the nuclei of the yolk. it also shews the shallowness of the medullary groove in the anterior part of the body. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections from the same embryo as fig. . fig. _a_ is the most anterior of the three sections and is taken through a point shortly in front of fig. . the figures illustrate the general features of an embryo of stage c, more especially the complete closing of the alimentary canal in front and the triangular section which it there presents. fig. . section through the posterior part of an embryo belonging to stage d. (× diameters.) it shews the general features of the layers during the stage, more especially the differentiation of somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoblast. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_. sections of the same embryo as fig. (× diameters). fig. belongs to part of the embryo intermediate between figs. _e_ and _f_. the sections shew the features of various parts of the embryo. figs. _a_, _b_ and _c_ belong to the head, and special attention should be paid to the presence of a cavity in the mesoblast in _b_ and to the ventral curvature of the medullary folds. fig. _d_ belongs to the neck, fig. _e_ to the back, and fig. _f_ to the tail. fig. . section through the region of the tail at the commencement of stage f. (× diameters.) the section shews the character of the tail-swellings and the commencing closure of the medullary groove. fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the head of an embryo belonging to stage f (× diameters). it shews ( ) the ventral curvature of the medullary folds next the head. ( ) the absence of mesoblast in the anterior part of the head. _hy_ points to the extreme front end of the alimentary canal. fig. . section through the head of an embryo at a stage intermediate between f and g. (× diameters.) it shews the manner in which the medullary folds of the head unite to form the medullary canal. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the tail of an embryo belonging to stage g. it shews the direct communication which exists between the neural and alimentary canals. the section is not quite parallel to the long axis of the embryo, so that the protovertebræ are cut through in its anterior part, and the neural canal passes out of the section anteriorly. fig. . network of nuclei from the yolk of an embryo belonging to stage h. explanation of plates and . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary tract. _an._ point where anus will be formed. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _ar._ rudiment of anterior root of spinal nerve. _b._ anterior fin. _c._ connective-tissue cells. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _df._ dorsal fin. _ep._ epiblast. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _ht._ heart. _l._ liver. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ early formed band of muscles from the splanchnic layer of the muscle-plates. _nc._ neural canal. _p._ protoplasm from yolk in the alimentary tract. _pc._ pericardial cavity. _po._ primitive ovum. _pp._ body-cavity. _pr._ rudiment of posterior root of spinal nerve. _sd._ segmental duct. _sh._ cuticular sheath of notochord. _so._ somatic layer of mesoblast. _sp._ splanchnic layer of mesoblast. _spc._ spinal cord. _sp.v._ spiral valve. _sr._ interrenal body. _st._ segmental tube. _sv._ sinus venosus. _ua._ umbilical artery. _um._ umbilical cord. _uv._ umbilical vein. _v._ splanchnic vein. _v._ blood-vessel. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vr._ vertebral rudiment. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _x._ subnotochordal rod (except in fig. _a_). _y._ passage connecting the neural and alimentary canals. plate . fig. . section from the caudal region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews ( ) the constriction of the subnotochordal rod (_x_) from the summit of the alimentary canal. ( ) the formation of the body-cavity in the muscle-plate and the ventral thickening of the parietal plate. fig. _a_. portion of alimentary wall of the same embryo, shewing the formation of the subnotochord rod (_x_). fig. . section through the caudal vesicle of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . it shews the bilobed condition of the alimentary vesicle and the fusion of the mesoblast and hypoblast at the caudal vesicle. fig. _a_. sections from the caudal region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . picric acid specimen. it shews the communication which exists posteriorly between the neural and alimentary canals, and also by comparison with _b_ it exhibits the dilatation undergone by the alimentary canal in the caudal vesicle. fig. _b_. section from the caudal region of an embryo slightly younger than _a_. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. fig. . section from the cardiac region of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the heart (_ht_) as a cavity between the splanchnopleure and the wall of the throat. fig. . section from the posterior dorsal region of a scyllium embryo, belonging to stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the general features of an embryo of stage h, more especially the relations of the body-cavity in the parietal and vertebral portions of the lateral plate, and the early-formed band of muscle (_mp´_) in the splanchnic layer of the vertebral plate. fig. . section from the oesophageal region of scyllium embryo belonging to stage i. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots (_pr_) and of the vertebral rudiments (_vr_). fig. . section of a torpedo embryo belonging to stage slightly later than i. zeiss c, ocul. , reduced / . osmic acid specimen. it shews ( ) the formation of the anterior and posterior nerve-roots. ( ) the solid knob from which the segmental duct (_sd_) originates. fig. . section from the dorsal region of a scyllium embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it illustrates the structure of the primitive ova, segmental tubes, notochord, etc. fig. _a_. section from the caudal region of an embryo of the same age as . zeiss a, ocul. . it shews ( ) the solid oesophagus. ( ) the narrow passage connecting the pericardial (_pc_) and body cavities (_pp_). fig. . section of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . osmic acid specimen. it shews the formation of the liver (_l_), the structure of the anterior fins (_b_), and the anterior opening of the segmental duct into the body-cavity (_sd_). figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four sections through the anterior region of the same embryo as . osmic acid specimens. the sections shew ( ) the atrophy of the post-anal section of the alimentary tract ( _b_, _c_, _d_). ( ) the existence of the segmental tubes behind the anus ( _b_, _c_, _d_). with reference to these it deserves to be noted that the segmental tubes behind the anus are quite disconnected, as is proved by the fact that a tube is absent on one side in _c_ but reappears in _d_. ( ) the downward prolongation of the segmental duct to join the posterior or cloacal extremity of the alimentary tract ( _b_). plate . fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section of a scyllium embryo of stage h. zeiss c, ocul. . reduced by / . picric acid specimen. it shews ( ) the structure of the notochord; ( ) the appearance of the early formed band of muscles (_mp´_) in the splanchnic layer of the protovertebra. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal sections of an embryo belonging to stage i. zeiss c, ocul. . chromic acid specimen. it illustrates the same points as the previous section, but in addition shews the formation of the rudiments of the vertebral bodies (_vr_) which are seen to have the same segmentation as the muscle-plates. fig. .[ ] longitudinal and horizontal section of an embryo belonging to the stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss c, ocul. . osmic acid specimen illustrating the same points as the previous section. footnote : the apparent structure in the sheath of the notochord in this and the succeeding figure is merely the result of an attempt on the part of the engraver to represent the dark colour of the sheath in the original figure. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section of an embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss c, ocul. , and illustrating same points as previous section. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. figures taken from preparations of an embryo of an age intermediate between i and k, and illustrating the structure of the primitive ova. figs. _a_ and _b_ are portions of transverse sections. zeiss c, ocul. reduced / . figs. _c_ and _d_ are individual ova, shewing the lobate form of nucleus. zeiss f, ocul. . fig. . osmic acid preparation of primitive ova belonging to stage k. zeiss immersion no. , ocul. . the protoplasm of the ova is seen to be nearly filled with bodies resembling yolk-spherules: and one ovum is apparently undergoing division. fig. _a_. picric acid preparation shewing a primitive ovum partially filled with bodies resembling yolk-spherules. fig. . horizontal and longitudinal section of scyllium embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . picric acid preparation. the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the section shews that there is one segmental tube to each vertebral segment. fig. . portion of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage k, viewed as a transparent object. it shews the segmental duct and the segmental involutions--two of which are seen to belong to segments behind the end of the alimentary tract. fig. . vertical longitudinal section of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . hardened in a mixture of osmic and chromic acid. it shews ( ) the commissures connecting together the posterior roots of the spinal nerves; ( ) the junction of the anterior and posterior roots; ( ) the relations of the segmental ducts to the segmental involutions and the alternation of calibre in the segmental tube; ( ) the germinal epithelium lining the body-cavity. explanation of plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _al._ alimentary tract. _ao._ aorta. _c._ connective tissue. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _ep._ epiblast. _ha._ hæmal arch. _l._ liver. _ll._ lateral line. _mc._ mucous canal of the head. _mel._ membrana elastica externa. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ muscles of muscle-plate. _na._ neural arch. _nl._ nervus lateralis. _rp._ rib process. _sd._ segmental duct. _sh._ sheath of notochord. _spc._ spinal cord. _spg._ spinal ganglion. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _um._ ductus choledochus. _v._ blood-vessel. _var._ vertebral arch. _vb._ vertebral body. _vcau._ caudal vein. _vin._ intestinal branch of the vagus. _vop._ ramus ophthalmicus of the fifth nerve. _x._ subnotochordal rod. fig. . section through the anterior part of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_ during stage l. _c._ peculiar large cells which are found at the dorsal part of the spinal cord. sympathetic ganglion shewn at _syg._ zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . section through the lateral line at the time of its first formation. the cells marked _nl_ were not sufficiently distinct to make it quite certain that they really formed part of the lateral nerve. zeiss b, ocul. . figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four sections of the lateral line from an embryo belonging to stage l. _a_ is the most anterior. in _a_ the lateral nerve (_nl_) is seen to lie in the mesoblast at some little distance from the lateral line. in _b_ and _c_ it lies in immediate contact with and partly enclosed by the modified epiblast cells of the lateral line. in _d_, the hindermost section, the lateral line is much larger than in the other sections, but no trace is present of the lateral nerve. the sections were taken from the following slides of my series of the embryo (the series commencing at the tail end) _d_ ( ), _c_ ( ), _b_ ( ), _a_ ( ). the figures all drawn on the same scale, but _a_ is not from the same side of the body as the other sections. fig. . section through lateral line of an embryo of stage p at the point where it is acquiring an opening to the exterior. the peculiar modified cells of its innermost part deserve to be noticed. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . mucous canals of the head with branches of the ramus ophthalmicus growing towards them. stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . mucous canals of head with branches of the ramus ophthalmicus growing towards them. stage between o and p. zeiss a a, ocul. . fig. . junction of a nerve and mucous canal. stage p. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section through the muscle-plates and adjoining structures at a stage intermediate between l and m. the section is intended to shew the gradual conversion of the cells of the somatic layer of muscle-plates into muscles. fig. . longitudinal section through the notochord and adjoining parts to shew the first appearance of the cartilaginous notochordal sheath which forms the vertebral centra. stage n. fig. . transverse section through the tail of an embryo of stage p to shew the coexistence of the rib-process and hæmal arches in the first few sections behind the point where the latter appear. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . transverse section through the centre of a caudal vertebra of an embryo somewhat older than q. it shews ( ) the similarity between the arch-tissue and the hyaline tissue of the outer layer of the vertebral centrum, and ( ) the separation of the two by the membrana elastica externa[ ] (_mel_). it shews also the differentiation of three layers in the vertebral centrum: vide p. . footnote : the slight difference observable between these two tissues in the arrangement of their nuclei has been much exaggerated by the engraver. explanation of plate . (x. p. .) _this plate illustrates the formation of the spinal nerves._ complete list of reference letters. _ar._ anterior root of a spinal nerve. _ch._ notochord. _com._ commissure connecting the posterior roots of the spinal nerves. _i._ mesoblastic investment of spinal cord. _mp._ muscle-plate. _n._ spinal nerve. _nc._ neural canal. _pr._ posterior root of a spinal nerve. _spg._ ganglion on posterior root of spinal nerve. _v.r._ vertebral rudiment. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _y._ point where the spinal cord became segmented off from the superjacent epiblast. figs. , , and . three sections of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage i. fig. passes through the heart, fig. through the anterior part of the dorsal region, fig. through a point slightly behind this. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) in fig. there is visible a slight proliferation of cells from the dorsal summit of the neural canal. in fig. this proliferation definitely constitutes two club-shaped masses of cells (_pr_)--the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots,--both attached to the dorsal summit of the spinal cord. in fig. the rudiments of the posterior roots are of considerable length. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a torpedo embryo slightly older than stage i, with three visceral clefts. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the formation of a pair of dorsal nerve-rudiments (_pr_) and a ventral nerve-rudiment (_ar_). the latter is shewn in its youngest condition, and is not distinctly cellular. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a torpedo embryo slightly younger than stage k. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the rudiment of the ganglion (_spg_) on the posterior root has appeared, and the junction of posterior root with the cord is difficult to detect. the anterior root forms an elongated cellular structure. fig. . section through the dorsal region of a pristiurus embryo of stage k. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section especially illustrates the attachment of the posterior root to the spinal cord. fig. . section through the same embryo as fig. . (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section contains an anterior root, which takes its origin at a point opposite the interval between two posterior roots. fig. . a series of posterior roots with their central ends united by a dorsal commissure, from a longitudinal and vertical section of a scyllium embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between l and m. the embryo was hardened in a mixture of osmic and chromic acids. fig. . the central end of a posterior nerve-root from the same embryo, with the commissure springing out from it on either side. explanation of plates , , . (x. p. .) plate . (the head during stages g-k.) complete list of reference letters. _aa_, _aa_, etc. st, d, etc. aortic arch. _acv._ anterior cardinal vein. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ aorta. _au._ thickening of epiblast to form the auditory pit. _aun._ auditory nerve. _aup._ auditory pit. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _b._ wall of brain. _bb._ base of brain. _cb._ cerebellum. _cer._ cerebrum. _ch._ choroid slit. _ch._ notochord. _com._ commissure connecting roots of vagus nerve. , , etc. _eg._ external gills. _ep._ external epiblast. _fb._ fore-brain. _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve. _hb._ hind-brain. _ht._ heart. _hy._ hyaloid membrane. _in._ infundibulum. _l._ lens. _m._ mouth involution. _m._ mesoblast at the base of the brain. _mb._ mid-brain. _mn._ v. mandibular branch of fifth. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. _opn._ optic nerve. _opv._ optic vesicle. _opth_v. ophthalmic branch of fifth. _p._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _pn._ pineal gland. , etc. _pp._ first, second, etc. section of body-cavity in the head. _pt._ pituitary body. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _spc._ spinal cord. _th._ thyroid body. _v._ blood-vessel. iv._v._ fourth ventricle. v. fifth nerve. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vg._ vagus. vii. seventh or facial nerve. fig. . head of a pristiurus embryo of stage k viewed as a transparent object. the points which deserve special attention are: ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head (_pp_): the first or premandibular section being situated close to the eye, the second in the mandibular arch. above this one the fifth nerve bifurcates. the third at the summit of the hyoid arch. the cranial nerves and the general appearance of the brain are well shewn in the figure. the notochord cannot be traced in the living embryo so far forward as it is represented. it has been inserted according to the position which it is seen to occupy in sections. fig. . head of an embryo of scyllium canicula somewhat later than stage k, viewed as a transparent object. the figure shews the condition of the brain; the branches of the fifth and seventh nerves (v. vii.); the rudiments of the semicircular canals; and the commencing appearance of the external gills as buds on both walls of nd, rd, and th clefts. the external gills have not appeared on the first cleft or spiracle. fig. . section through the head of a pristiurus embryo during stage g. it shews ( ) the fifth nerve (v.) arising as an outgrowth from the dorsal summit of the brain. ( ) the optic vesicles not yet constricted off from the fore-brain. figs. _a_ and _b_. two sections through the head of a pristiurus embryo of stage i. they shew ( ) the appearance of the seventh nerve. ( ) the portion of the body-cavity belonging to the first and second visceral arches. ( ) the commencing thickening of epiblast to form the auditory involution. in _b_, the posterior of the two sections, no trace of an auditory nerve is to be seen. figs. _a_ and _b_. two sections through the head of a torpedo embryo with visceral clefts. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ shews the formation of the thin roof of the fourth ventricle by a divarication of the two lateral halves of the brain. both sections shew the commencing formation of the thyroid body (_th_) at the base of the mandibular arch. they also illustrate the formation of the visceral clefts by an outgrowth from the alimentary tract without any corresponding ingrowth of the external epiblast. fig. . section through the hind-brain of a somewhat older torpedo embryo. zeiss a, ocul. . the section shews ( ) the attachment of a branch of the vagus to the walls of the hind-brain. ( ) the peculiar form of the hind-brain. fig. . transverse section through the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k, passing through both the fore-brain and the hind-brain. zeiss a, ocul. . the section illustrates ( ) the formation of the pituitary body (_pt_) from the mouth involution (_m_), and proves that, although the wall of the throat (_al_) is in contact with the mouth involution, there is by this stage no communication between the two. ( ) the eye. ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head ( _pp_, _pp_). ( ) the fifth nerve (v.) and the seventh nerve (vii). fig. . transverse section through the brain of a rather older embryo than fig. . it shews the ventral junction of the anterior sections of the body-cavity in the head ( _pp_). figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal sections through the brain of a pristiurus embryo belonging to a stage intermediate between i and k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is taken through the median line, but is reconstructed from two sections. it shews ( ) the divisions of the brain--the cerebrum and thalamencephalon in the fore-brain; the mid-brain; the commencing cerebellum in the hind-brain. ( ) the relation of the mouth involution to the infundibulum. ( ) the termination of the notochord. _b_ is a section to one side of the same brain. it shews ( ) the divisions of the brain. ( ) the point of outgrowth of the optic nerves (_opn_). ( ) the sections of the body-cavity in the head and the bifurcation of the optic nerve over the second of these. fig. . longitudinal section through the head of a pristiurus embryo somewhat younger than fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . it shews the relation of the nerves and the junction of the fifth, seventh, and auditory nerves with the brain. fig. . longitudinal section through the fore-brain of a pristiurus embryo of stage k, slightly to one side of the middle line. it shews the deep constriction separating the thalamencephalon from the cerebral hemispheres. fig. . longitudinal section through the base of the brain of an embryo of a stage intermediate between i and k. it shews ( ) the condition of the end of the notochord; ( ) the relation of the mouth involution to the infundibulum. fig. _a_. longitudinal and horizontal section through part of the head of a pristiurus embryo rather older than k. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure contains the eye cut through in the plane of the choroid slit. thus the optic nerve (_opn_) and choroid slit (_ch_) are both exhibited. through the latter is seen passing mesoblast accompanied by a blood-vessel (_v_). _op_ represents part of the optic vesicle to one side of the choroid slit. no mesoblast can be seen passing round the outside of the optic cup; and the only mesoblast which enters the optic cup passes through the choroid slit. fig. _b_. transverse section through the last arch but one of the same embryo as _a_. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the mode of formation of a visceral cleft without any involution of the external skin. ( ) the head-cavity in the arch and its situation in relation to the aortic arch. fig. . surface view of the nasal pit of an embryo of same age as fig. , considerably magnified. the specimen was prepared by removing the nasal pit, flattening it out and mounting in glycerine after treatment with chromic acid. it shews the primitive arrangement of the schneiderian folds. one side has been injured. figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal and vertical sections through the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is the most superficial section of the two. it shews the constitution of the seventh and fifth nerves, and of the intestinal branch of the vagus. the anterior branch of the seventh nerve deserves a special notice. _b_ mainly illustrates the dorsal commissure of the vagus nerve (_com_) continuous with the dorsal commissures of the posterior root of the spinal nerves. fig. . two longitudinal and vertical sections of the head of a pristiurus embryo belonging to the end of stage k. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ passes through the median line of the brain and shews the infundibulum, notochord and pituitary body, etc. the pituitary body still opens into the mouth, though the septum between the mouth and the throat is broken through. _b_ is a more superficial section shewing the head-cavities _pp_ , , , and the lower vagus commissure. plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _cb._ cerebellum. _cer._ cerebral hemispheres. _ch._ notochord. _cin._ internal carotid. _ft._ fasciculi teretes. _in._ infundibulum. _lv._ lateral ventricle. _mb._ mid-brain, or optic lobes. _md._ medulla oblongata. _mn._ mandible. _ol._ olfactory pit. _oll._ olfactory lobe. _op._ eye. _opn._ optic nerve. _opth._ optic thalamus. _pc._ posterior commissure. _pcl._ posterior clinoid. _pn._ pineal gland. _pt._ pituitary body. _rt._ restiform tracts. _tv._ tela vasculosa of the roof of the fourth ventricle. iv._v._ fourth ventricle. vii. seventh nerve. _x._ rudiment of septum which will grow backwards and divide the unpaired cerebral rudiment into the two hemispheres. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. longitudinal sections of the brain of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is taken slightly to one side of the middle line, and shews the general features of the brain, and more especially the infundibulum (_in_) and pituitary body (_pt_). _b_ is through the median line of the pineal gland. _c_ is through the median line of the base of the brain, and shews the notochord (_ch_) and pituitary body (_pt_); the latter still communicating with the mouth. it also shews the wide opening of the infundibulum in the middle line into the base of the brain. fig. . section through the unpaired cerebral rudiment during stage o, to shew the origin of the olfactory lobe and the olfactory nerve. the latter is seen to divide into numerous branches, one of which passes into each schneiderian fold. at its origin are numerous ganglion cells represented by dots. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . horizontal section through the three lobes of the brain during stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the very slight indications which have appeared by this stage of an ingrowth to divide the cerebral rudiment into two lobes (_x_): ( ) the optic thalami united by a posterior commissure, and on one side joining the base of the mid-brain, and behind them the pineal gland: ( ) the thin posterior wall of the cerebral rudiment with folds projecting into the cerebral cavity. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. views from the side, from above, and from below, of a brain of scyllium canicula during stage p. in the view from the side the eye (_op_) has not been removed. the bilobed appearance both of the mid-brain and cerebellum should be noticed. fig. . longitudinal section of a brain of scyllium canicula during stage p. zeiss a, ocul. . there should be noticed ( ) the increase in the flexure of the brain accompanying a rectification of the cranial axis; ( ) the elongated pineal gland, and ( ) the structure of the optic thalamus. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. views from the side, from above, and from below, of a brain of scyllium stellare during a slightly later stage than q. figs. _a_ and _b_. two longitudinal sections through the brain of a scyllium embryo during stage q. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ cuts the hind part of the brain nearly through the middle line; while _b_ cuts the cerebral hemispheres and pineal gland through the middle. in _a_ the infundibulum ( ), cerebellum ( ), the passage of the restiform tracts (_rt_) into the cerebellum ( ), and the rudiments of the tela vasculosa ( ) are shewn. in _b_ the septum between the two lobes of the cerebral hemispheres ( ), the pineal gland ( ), and the relations of the optic thalami ( ) are shewn. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_. four transverse sections of the brain of an embryo slightly older than q. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ passes through the cerebral hemispheres at their junction with the olfactory lobes. on the right side is seen the olfactory nerve coming off from the olfactory lobe. at the dorsal side of the hemispheres is seen the pineal gland (_pn_). _b_ passes through the mid-brain now slightly bilobed, and the opening into the infundibulum (_in_). at the base of the section are seen the optic nerves and their chiasma. _c_ passes through the opening from the ventricle of the mid-brain into that of the cerebellum. below the optic lobes is seen the infundibulum with the rudiments of the sacci vasculosi. _d_ passes through the front end of the medulla, and shews the roots of the seventh pair of nerves, and the overlapping of the medulla by the cerebellum. plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. vii._a._ anterior branch of seventh nerve. _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve. _auv._ auditory vesicle. _cer._ cerebrum. _ch._ notochord. _ch._ epithelial layer of choroid membrane. _gl._ glossopharyngeal nerve. vii._hy._ hyoid branch of seventh nerve. _hym._ hyaloid membrane. _ll._ lateral line. v._mn._ ramus mandibularis of fifth nerve. vii._mn._ mandibular (spiracular) branch of seventh nerve. v._mx._ ramus maxillæ superioris of fifth nerve. _nl._ nervus lateralis. _ol._ olfactory pit. _op._ eye. v._opth._ ramus ophthalmicus of fifth nerve. _pch._ parachordal cartilage. _pfal._ processus falciformis. _pp._ head cavity. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _rt._ retina. _sp._ spiracle. v. fifth nerve. vii. seventh nerve. _vc._ visceral cleft. _vg._ vagus nerve. _vg.br._ branchial branch of vagus. _vgcom._ commissure uniting the roots of the vagus, and continuous with commissure uniting the posterior roots of the spinal nerves. _vgr._ roots of vagus nerves in the brain. _vgin._ intestinal branch of vagus. _vh._ vitreous humour. fig. . diagram of cranial nerves at stage l. a description of the part of this referring to the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves is given at p. . it should be noticed that there are only five strands indicated as springing from the spinal cord to form the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves. it is however probable that there are even from the first a greater number of strands than this. fig. . section through the hinder part of the medulla oblongata, stage between k and l. zeiss a, ocul. . it shews ( ) the vagus commissure with branches on one side from the medulla: ( ) the intestinal branch of the vagus giving off a nerve to the lateral line. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the head of a scyllium embryo of stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . it shews the course of the anterior branch of the seventh nerve (vii.); especially with relation to the ophthalmic branch of the fifth nerve (v._oth_). figs. _a_ and _b_. two horizontal and longitudinal sections through the head of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage o. zeiss a, ocul. . _a_ is the most dorsal of the two sections, and shews the course of the anterior branch of the seventh nerve above the eye. _b_ is a slightly more ventral section, and shews the course of the fifth nerve. fig. . longitudinal and horizontal section through the hind-brain at stage o, shewing the roots of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves in the brain. zeiss b, ocul. . there appears to be one root in the brain for the glossopharyngeal, and at least six for the vagus. the fibres from the roots divide in many cases into two bundles before leaving the brain. swellings of the brain towards the interior of the fourth ventricle are in connection with the first five roots of the vagus, and the glossopharyngeal root; and a swelling is also intercalated between the first vagus root and the glossopharyngeal root. fig. . horizontal section through a part of the choroid slit at stage p. zeiss b, ocul. . the figure shews ( ) the rudimentary processus falciformis (_pfal_) giving origin to the vitreous humour; and ( ) the hyaloid membrane (_hym_) which is seen to adhere to the retina, and not to the vitreous humour or processus falciformis. explanation of plate . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _nervous system._ _ar._ anterior root of spinal nerve. _nc._ neural canal. _pr._ posterior root of spinal nerve. _spn._ spinal nerve. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _alimentary canal._ _al._ alimentary canal. _alv._ caudal vesicle of the postanal gut. _clal._ cloacal section of alimentary canal. _du._ duodenum. _hpd._ ductus choledochus. _pan._ pancreas. _soes._ solid oesophagus. _spv._ intestine with rudiment of spiral valve. _umc._ umbilical canal. _general._ _ao._ dorsal aorta. _aur._ auricle of heart. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ch._ notochord. _eppp._ epithelial lining of the body-cavity. _ir._ interrenal body. _me._ mesentery. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mpl_. muscle-plate sending a prolongation into the limb. _po._ primitive ovum. _pp._ body-cavity. _sd._ segmental duct. _st._ segmental tube. _ts._ tail swelling. _vcau._ caudal vein. _x._ subnotochordal rod. fig. . transverse section through the anterior abdominal region of an embryo of a stage between k and l. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the section illustrates the junction of a sympathetic ganglion with a spinal nerve and the sprouting of the muscle-plates into the limbs (_mpl_). fig. . transverse section through the abdominal region of an embryo belonging to stage l. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the section illustrates the junction of a sympathetic ganglion with a spinal nerve, and also the commencing formation of a branch from the aorta (still solid) which will pass through the sympathetic ganglion, and forms the first sign of the conversion of part of a sympathetic ganglion into one of the suprarenal bodies. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section of an embryo of a stage between l and m, shewing the successive junctions of the spinal nerves and sympathetic ganglia. fig. . section through the solid oesophagus during stage l. zeiss a, ocul. . the section is taken through the region of the heart, so that the cavity of the auricle (_aur_) lies immediately below the oesophagus. fig. . optical section of the tail of an embryo between stages i and k, shewing the junction between the neural and alimentary canals. fig. . four sections through the caudal region of an embryo belonging to stage k, shewing the condition of the postanal section of the alimentary tract. zeiss a, ocul. . an explanation of these figures is given on p. . fig. . section through the interrenal body of a scyllium embryo belonging to stage q. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . portion of a section of the interrenal body of an adult scyllium. zeiss c, ocul. . explanation of plate . (x. p. ) complete list of reference letters. _nervous system._ _n._ nerve. _spn._ spinal nerve. _syg._ sympathetic ganglion. _alimentary canal._ _cl._ cloaca. _incl._ cloacal involution. _oeep._ oesophageal epithelium. _pan._ pancreas. _th._ thyroid body. _general._ _abp._ abdominal pocket (pore). _aur._ auricle. _cav._ cardinal vein. _cauv._ caudal vein. _ly._ lymphoid tissue. _mm._ muscles. _od._ oviduct. _pc._ pericardium. _pp._ body-cavity. _sr._ suprarenal body. _u._ ureter. _vao._ ventral aorta (anterior continuation of bulbus arteriosus). _ven._ ventricle. _wd._ wolffian duct. figs. _a_, _b_, _c_. three sections through the cloacal region of an embryo belonging to stage o. _a_ is the anterior of the three sections. zeiss a, ocul. . reduced one-third. _a_ shews the cloacal involution at its deepest part abutting on the cloacal section of the alimentary tract. _b_ is a section through a point somewhat behind this close to the opening of the wolffian ducts into the cloaca. _c_ shews the opening to the exterior in the posterior part of the cloaca, and also the rudiments of the two abdominal pockets (_abp_). fig. . section through the cloacal region of an embryo belonging to stage p. zeiss a, ocul. . the figure shews the solid anterior extremity of the cloacal involution. fig. . longitudinal vertical section through the thyroid body in a stage between o and p. zeiss a a, ocul. . the figure shews the solid thyroid body (_th_) connected in front with throat, and terminating below the bulbus arteriosus. fig. . pancreas (_pan_) and adjoining part of the alimentary tract in longitudinal section, from an embryo between stages l and m. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . portion of liver network of stage l. zeiss c, ocul. . the section is intended to illustrate the fact that the tubules or cylinders of which the liver is composed are hollow and not solid. between the liver tubules are seen blood spaces with distinct walls, and blood corpuscles in their interior. fig. . section through part of one of the suprarenal bodies of an adult scyllium hardened in chromic acid. zeiss c, ocul. . the section shews the columnar cells forming the cortex and the more polygonal cells of the medulla. fig. . transverse section through the anterior suprarenal body of an adult scyllium. zeiss b, ocul. . reduced one-third. the tissue of the suprarenal body has not been filled in, but only the sympathetic ganglion cells which are seen to be irregularly scattered through the substance of the body. the entrance of the nerve (_n_) is shewn, and indications are given of the distribution of the nerve-fibres. fig. . section through the sympathetic ganglion of a scyllium embryo between stages m and n, shewing the connecting trunk between the suprarenal body and the spinal nerve (_spn_), and the appearance of an indication in the ganglion of a portion more directly connected with the nerve. zeiss d, ocul. . fig. . section through one of the anterior sympathetic ganglia of an embryo of stage q, shewing its division into a true ganglionic portion (_syg_), and a suprarenal body (_sr_). zeiss c, ocul. . explanation of plates and . (x. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _amg._ accessory malpighian body. _cav._ cardinal vein. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _k._ true kidney. _l.c._ longitudinal canal of the wolffian body connected with vasa efferentia. _mg._ malpighian body. _nt._ network and central canal at the base of the testis. _o._ external aperture of urinal cloaca. _od._ oviduct or müllerian duct of the female. _od´._ müllerian duct of the male. _ou._ openings of ureters in wolffian duct in the female (fig. ). _pmg._ primary malpighian body. _px._ growth from vesicle at the end of a segmental tube to join the collecting tube of the preceding segment. _rst._ rudimentary segmental tube. _ru._ ureter commencing to be formed. _sb._ seminal bladder. _sd._ segmental duct. _st._ segmental tube. _sto._ opening of segmental tube into body-cavity. _sur._ suprarenal body. _t._ testis. _u._ ureters. _ve._ vas efferens. _wb._ wolffian body. _wd._ wolffian duct. plate . fig. . diagrammatic representation of excretory organs on one side of a male scyllium canicula, natural size. fig. . diagrammatic representation of the kidney proper on one side of a female scyllium canicula, natural size, shewing the ducts of the kidney and the dilated portion of the wolffian duct. fig. . opening of the ureters into the wolffian duct of a female scyllium canicula. the figure represents the wolffian ducts (_wd_) with ventral portion removed so as to expose their inner surface, and shews the junction of the two w. ducts to form the common urinal cloaca, the single external opening of this (_o_), and openings of ureters into one wolffian duct (_ou_). fig. . anterior extremity of wolffian body of a young male scyllium canicula shewing the vasa efferentia and their connection with the kidneys and the testis. the vasa efferentia and longitudinal canal are coloured to render them distinct. they are intended to be continuous with the uncoloured coils of the wolffian body, though this connection has not been very successfully rendered by the artist. fig. . part of the wolffian body of a nearly ripe male embryo of scyllium canicula as a transparent object. zeiss a a, ocul. . the figure shews two segmental tubes opening into the body-cavity and connected with a primary malpighian body, and also, by a fibrous connection, with a secondary malpighian body of the preceding segment. it also shews one segmental tube (_rst_) imperfectly connected with the accessory malpighian body of the preceding segment of the kidney. the coils of the kidney are represented somewhat diagrammatically. fig. . vasa efferentia of a male embryo of scyllium canicula eight centimetres in length. zeiss a a, ocul. . there are seen to be at the least six and possibly seven distinct vasa going to as many segments of the wolffian body and connected with a longitudinal canal in the base of the testis. they were probably also connected with a longitudinal canal in the wolffian body, but this could not be clearly made out. fig. . the anterior four vasa efferentia of a nearly ripe embryo. connected with the foremost one is seen a body which looks like the remnant of a segmental tube and its opening (_rst?_). fig. . testis and anterior part of wolffian body of an embryo of squatina vulgaris. the figure is intended to illustrate the arrangement of the vasa efferentia. there are five of these connected with a longitudinal canal in the base of the testis, and with another longitudinal canal in the wolffian body. from the second longitudinal canal there pass off four ducts to as many malpighian bodies. through the malpighian bodies these ducts are continuous with the several coils of the wolffian body, and so eventually with the wolffian duct. close to the hindermost vas efferens is seen a body which resembles a rudimentary segmental tube (_rst?_). plate . figs. a, b, c, d. four sections from a female scyllium canicula of a stage between m and n through the part where the segmental duct becomes split into wolffian duct and oviduct. zeiss b, ocul. . a is the foremost section. the sections shew that the oviduct arises as a thickening on the under surface of the segmental duct into which at the utmost a very narrow prolongation of the lumen of the segmental duct is carried. the small size of the lumen of the wolffian duct in the foremost section is due to the section passing through nearly its anterior blind extremity. fig. . section close to the junction of the wolffian duct and oviduct in a female embryo of scyllium canicula belonging to stage n. zeiss b, ocul. . the section represented shews that in some instances the formation of the oviduct and wolffian duct is accompanied by a division of the lumen of the segmental duct into two not very unequal parts. figs. a, b, c. three sections illustrating the formation of a ureter in a female embryo belonging to stage n. zeiss b, ocul. . a is the foremost section. the figures shew that the lumen of the developing ureter is enclosed in front by an independent wall (fig. a), but that further back the lumen is partly shut in by the subjacent wolffian duct, while behind no lumen is present, but the ureter ends as a solid knob of cells without an opening into the wolffian duct. fig. . section through the ureters of the same embryo as fig. , but nearer the cloaca. zeiss b, ocul. . the figure shews the appearance of a transverse section through the wall of cells above the wolffian duct formed by the overlapping ureters, the lumens of which appear as perforations in it. it should be compared with fig. a, which represents a longitudinal section through a similar wall of cells. fig. . section through the ureters, the wolffian duct and the oviduct of a female embryo of scy. canicula belonging to stage p. zeiss b, ocul. . fig. . section of part of the wolffian body of a male embryo of scyllium canicula belonging to stage o. zeiss b, ocul. . the section illustrates ( ) the formation of a malpighian body (_mg_) from the dilatation at the end of a segmental tube, ( ) the appearance of the rudiment of the müllerian duct in the male (_od´_). figs. _a_, _b_. two longitudinal and vertical sections through part of the kidney of an embryo between stages l and m. zeiss b, ocul. . _a_ illustrates the parts of a single segment of the wolffian body at this stage, vide p. . the segmental tube and opening are not in the plane of the section, but the dilated vesicle is shewn into which the segmental tube opens. _b_ is taken from the region of the kidney proper. to the right is seen the opening of a segmental tube into the body-cavity, and in the segment to the left the commencing formation of a ureter, vide p. . fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the posterior part of the kidney proper of an embryo of scyllium canicula at a stage between n and o. zeiss a, ocul. . the section shews the nearly completed ureters, developing malpighian bodies, &c. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through the anterior part of the kidney proper of the same embryo as fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . the figure illustrates the mode of growth of the developing ureters. a. more highly magnified portion of the same section as fig. . compare with transverse section fig. . fig. . longitudinal and vertical section through part of the wolffian body of an embryo of scyllium canicula at a stage between o and p. the section contains two examples of the budding out of the vesicle of a segmental tube to form a malpighian body in its own segment and to unite with the tubulus of the preceding segment close to its opening into the wolffian duct. explanation of plates and [ ]. (viii. p. .) footnote : the figures on these plates give a fair general idea of the appearance presented by the developing spinal nerves; but the finer details of the original drawings have in several cases become lost in the process of copying. the figures which are tinted represent sections of embryos hardened in osmic acid; those without colour sections of embryos hardened in chromic acid. plate . fig. a. section through the dorsal region of an embryo of _scyllium stellare_, with the rudiments of two visceral clefts. the section illustrates the general features at a period anterior to the appearance of the posterior nerve-roots. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _ch._ notochord. _x._ subnotochordal rod. _ao._ rudiment of dorsal aorta. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ alimentary tract. all the parts of the section except the spinal cord are drawn somewhat diagrammatically. figs. b i, b ii, b iii. three sections of a _pristiurus_-embryo. b i is through the heart, b ii through the anterior part of the dorsal region, and b iii through a point slightly behind this. drawn with a camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) in b iii there is visible a slight proliferation of cells from the dorsal summit of the neural canal. in b ii this proliferation definitely constitutes two club-shaped masses of cells (_pr_), both attached to the dorsal summit of the neural canal. the masses are the rudiments of the posterior nerve-roots. in b i the rudiments of the posterior roots are of considerable length. _pr._ rudiment of posterior roots. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _ch._ notochord. _x._ subnotochordal rod. _ao._ dorsal aorta. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ alimentary canal. _ht._ heart. fig. c. section from a _pristiurus_-embryo, slightly older than b. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the embryo from which this figure was taken was slightly distorted in the process of removal from the blastoderm. _vr._ rudiment of vertebral body. other reference letters as in previous figures. fig. d a. section through the dorsal region of a _torpedo_-embryo with three visceral clefts. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the formation of the dorsal nerve-rudiments (_pr_) and of a ventral anterior nerve-rudiment (_ar_), which at this early stage is not distinctly cellular. _ar._ rudiment of an anterior nerve-root. _y._ cells left behind on the separation of the external skin from the spinal cord. _c._ connective-tissue cells springing from the summit of the muscle-plates. other reference letters as above. fig. d b. section from dorsal region of a _torpedo_-embryo somewhat older than d a. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the posterior nerve-rudiment is considerably longer than in fig. d a, and its pedicle of attachment to the spinal cord is thinner. the anterior nerve-rudiment, of which only the edge is present in the section, is distinctly cellular. _m._ mesoblast growing up from vertebral rudiment. _sd._ segmental duct. fig. d c. section from a still older _torpedo_-embryo. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. the rudiment of the ganglion (_g_) on the posterior root has appeared. the rudiment of the posterior nerve is much longer than before, and its junction with the spinal cord is difficult to detect. the anterior root is now an elongated cellular structure. _g._ ganglion. fig. d d. longitudinal and vertical section through a _torpedo_-embryo of the same age as d c. the section shews the commissures (_x_) uniting the posterior roots. fig. e a. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo belonging to the second stage. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the constriction of the pedicle which attaches the posterior nerve-rudiments to the spinal cord. _pr._ rudiment of posterior nerve-root. _nc._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _vr._ vertebral rudiment. _sd._ segmental duct. _ch._ notochord. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _ao._ aorta. _al._ alimentary canal. fig. e b. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo slightly older than e a. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the formation of the anterior nerve-root (_ar_). _ar._ rudiment of the anterior nerve-root. fig. f. section of a _pristiurus_-embryo with the rudiments of five visceral clefts. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the rudiment of the posterior root is seen surrounded by connective-tissue, from which it cannot easily be distinguished. the artist has not been very successful in rendering this figure. figs. g , g , g . three longitudinal and horizontal sections of an embryo somewhat older than f. the embryo from which these sections were taken was hardened .png in osmic acid, but the sections have been represented without tinting. g i is most dorsal of the three sections. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) _nc._ neural canal. _sp.c._ spinal cord. _pr._ rudiment of posterior root. _ar._ rudiment of anterior root. _mp._ muscle-plate. _c._ connective-tissue cells. _ch._ notochord. plate . fig. h i. section through the dorsal region of a _pristiurus_-embryo in which the rudimentary external gills are present as very small knobs. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section shews the commencing differentiation of the posterior nerve-rudiment into root (_pr_), ganglion (_sp.g_), and nerve (_n_), and also the attachment of the nerve-root to the spinal cord (_x_). the variations in the size and shape of the cells in the different parts of the nerve-rudiment are completely lost in the figure. _pr._ posterior nerve-root. _sp.g._ ganglion of posterior root. _n._ nerve of posterior root. _x._ attachment of posterior root to spinal cord. _w._ white matter of spinal cord. _i._ mesoblastic investment to the spinal cord. fig. h ii. section through the same embryo as h i. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the section contains an anterior root, which takes its origin at a point opposite the interval between two posterior roots. the white matter has not been very satisfactorily represented by the artist. figs. i i, i ii. two sections of a _pristiurus_-embryo somewhat older than h. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the connective-tissue cells are omitted. figs. i a, i b, i c. three isolated cells from the ganglion of one of the posterior roots of the same embryo. figs. k i, k ii. two horizontal longitudinal sections through an embryo in which the external gills have just appeared. k i is the most dorsal of the two sections. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the sections shew the relative positions of the anterior and posterior roots at different levels. _pr._ posterior nerve-rudiment. _ar._ anterior nerve-rudiment. _sp.c._ spinal cord. _n.c._ neural canal. _mp._ muscle-plate. _mp´._ first-formed muscles. fig. l. longitudinal and vertical section through the trunk of a _scyllium_-embryo after the external gills have attained their full development. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) the embryo was hardened in a mixture of chromic acid and osmic acid. the section shews the commissures which dorsally unite the posterior roots, and also the junction of the anterior and posterior roots. the commissures are unfortunately not represented in the figure with great accuracy; their outlines are in nature perfectly regular, and not, as in the figure, notched at the junctions of the cells composing them. their cells are apparently more or less completely fused, and certainly not nearly so clearly marked as in the figure. the commissures stain very deeply with the mixture of osmic and chromic acid, and form one of the most conspicuous features in successful longitudinal sections of embryos so hardened. in sections hardened with chromic acid only they cannot be seen with the same facility. .png _sp. c._ spinal cord. _gr._ grey matter. _w._ white matter. _ar._ anterior root. _pr._ posterior root. _x._ commissure uniting the posterior roots. figs. m i, m ii. two sections through the head of the same embryo as fig. b. m i, the foremost of the two, passes through the anterior part of the thickening of epiblast, which becomes involuted as the auditory vesicle. it contains the rudiment of the seventh nerve, vii. camera. (zeiss cc, ocul. .) vii. rudiment of seventh nerve. _au._ thickening of external epiblast, which becomes involuted as the auditory vesicle. _n.c._ neural canal. _ch._ notochord. _pp._ body-cavity in the head. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _al._ throat exhibiting an outgrowth to form the first visceral cleft. explanation of plates , , . (xii. p. .) plate . list of reference letters. _dn._ modified nucleus of primitive ovum. _do._ permanent ovum in the act of being formed. _dv._ developing blood-vessels. _dyk._ developing yolk. _ep._ non-ovarian epithelium of ovarian ridge. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _gv._ germinal vesicle. _lstr._ lymphatic region of stroma. _n n._ nests of nuclei of ovarian region. _o._ permanent ovum. _ovr._ ovarian portion of ovarian ridge. _po._ primitive ovum. _ps e._ pseudo-epithelium of ovarian ridge. _str._ stroma ingrowths into ovarian epithelium. _v._ blood-vessel. _vstr._ vascular region of stroma adjoining ovarian ridge. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _x._ modified nucleus. _yk._ yolk. _zn._ zona radiata. fig. . transverse section of the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scy. canicula_, belonging to stage p, shewing the ovarian region with thickened epithelium and numerous primitive ova. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . transverse section of the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, considerably older than stage q. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ several nests, some with distinct ova, and others with the ova fused together, are present in the section (_nn_), and several examples of modified nuclei in still distinct ova are also represented. one of these is marked _x_. the stroma of the ovarian ridge is exceptionally scanty. fig. . transverse section through part of the ovarian ridge, including the ovarian region of an almost ripe embryo of _scyllium canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ nuclear nests (_n.n._), developing ova (_d.o._), and ova (_o._), with completely formed follicular epithelium, are now present. the ovarian region is still well separated from the subjacent stroma, and does not appear to contain any cells except those of the original germinal epithelium. fig. . section through ovarian ridge of the same embryo as fig. , to illustrate the relation of the stroma (_str._) and ovarian region. zeiss _a a_, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, cm. long, in which the ovary was slightly less advanced than in fig. . to illustrate the relation of the ovarian epithelium to the subjacent vascular stroma. zeiss a, ocul. . _osmic acid._ _y._ points to a small separated portion of the germinal epithelium. fig. . section through the ovarian ridge of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, slightly older than fig. . to illustrate the relation of the ovarian epithelium to the subjacent vascular stroma. zeiss a, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . more highly magnified portion of the same ovary as fig. . to illustrate the same points. zeiss c, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . section through the ovarian region (close to one extremity, where it is very small) from a young female of _scy. canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ it shews the vascular ingrowths amongst the original epithelial cells of the ovarian region. fig. . section through the ovarian region of the same embryo as fig. , at its point of maximum development. zeiss a, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through superficial part of the ovary of an embryo, shewing the pseudo-epithelium; the cells of which are provided with tails prolonged into the general tissue of the ovary. at _f.e._ is seen a surface view of the follicular epithelium of an ovum. zeiss c, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through part of an ovary of _scyllium canicula_ of stage q, with three primitive ova, the most superficial one containing a modified nucleus. fig. . section through part of an ovary of an example of _scyllium canicula_, cm. long. the section passes through a nest of ova with modified nuclei, in which the outlines of the individual ova are quite distinct. zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through part of ovary of the same embryo as in fig. . the section passes through a nest of nuclei, with at the least two developing ova, and also through one already formed permanent ovum. zeiss e, ocul. . _osmic acid._ figs. , , , , [figs. and are on pl. ]. sections through parts of the ovary of the same embryo as fig. , with nests of nuclei and a permanent ova in the act of formation. fig. is drawn with zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. , , , with zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ plate . list of reference letters. _do._ permanent ovum in the act of being formed. _dyk._ developing yolk. _fe._ follicular epithelium. _fe´._ secondary follicular epithelium. _gv._ germinal vesicle. _nn._ nests of nuclei of ovarian region. _o._ permanent ovum. _pse._ pseudo-epithelium. _str._ stroma ingrowths into ovarian epithelium. _vt._ vitelline membrane. _x._ modified nucleus. _yk._ yolk (vitellus). _zn._ zona radiata. [figs. and . vide description of plate .] fig. . two nuclei from a nest which appear to be in the act of division. from ovary of the same embryo as fig. . fig. . section through part of an ovary of the same embryo as fig. , containing a nest of nuclei. zeiss f, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . ovum from the ovary of a half-grown female, containing isolated deeply stained patches of developing yolk granules. zeiss b, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section through a small part of the ovum of an immature female of _scyllium canicula_, to shew the constitution of the yolk, the follicular epithelium, and the egg membranes. zeiss e, ocul. . _chromic acid._ fig. . section through part of the periphery of a nearly ripe ovum of _scy. canicula_. zeiss c, ocul. . it shews the remnant of the vitelline membrane (_v.t._) separating the columnar but delicate cells of the follicular epithelium (_f.e._) from the yolk (_yk._). in the yolk are seen yolk-spherules in a protoplasmic network. the transverse markings in the yolk-spherules have been made oblique by the artist. fig. . fully formed ovum containing a second nucleus (_x_), probably about to be employed as pabulum; from the same ovary as fig. . the follicular epithelium is much thicker on the side adjoining the stroma than on the upper side of the ovum. zeiss f, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . a. ovum from the same ovary as fig. , containing in the yolk three peculiar bodies, similar in appearance to the two small bodies in the germinal vesicle. b. germinal vesicle of a large ovum from the same ovary, containing a body of a strikingly similar appearance to those in the body of the ovum in a. zeiss e, ocul. . _picric acid._ fig. . section of the ovary of a young female of _scyllium stellare_ - / centimetres in length. the ovary is exceptional, on account of the large size of the stroma ingrowths into the epithelium. zeiss c, ocul. . _osmic acid._ fig. . ovum of _scyllium canicula_, mm. in diameter, treated with osmic acid. the figure illustrates the development of the yolk and a peculiar mode of proliferation of the germinal spots. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . small part of the follicular epithelium and egg membranes of a somewhat larger ovum of _scyllium canicul_a than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . the same parts as in fig. , from a still larger ovum. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . ovum of raja with follicular epithelium. zeiss c, ocul. . fig. . small portion of a larger ovum of raja than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . follicular epithelium, &c., from an ovum of raja still larger than fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . surface view of follicular epithelium from an ovum of raja of about the same age as fig. . fig. . vertical section through the superficial part of an ovary of an adult raja to shew the relation of the pseudo-epithelium to the subjacent stroma. zeiss d d, ocul. . plate . complete list of reference letters. _do._ developing ovum. _fc._ cells which will form the follicular epithelium, _fe._ follicular epithelium. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _mg._ malpighian body. _n._ nest of cells of the germinal epithelium. _nd._ nuclei in the act of dividing. _o._ permanent ovum. _ov._ ovary. _po._ primitive ovum. _t._ tubuliferous tissue, derived from malpighian bodies. fig. . transverse section through the ovary of an embryo rabbit of eighteen days, hardened in osmic acid. the colours employed are intended to render clear the distinction between the germinal epithelium (_ge._) and the tubuliferous tissue (_t._), which has grown in from the wolffian body, and which gives rise in the male to parts of the tubuli seminiferi. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. a. transverse section through a small part of the ovary of an embryo from the same female as fig. , hardened in picric acid, shewing the relation of the germinal epithelium to the subjacent tissue. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. longitudinal section through part of the wolffian body and the anterior end of the ovary of an eighteen days' embryo, to shew the derivation of tubuliferous tissue (_t._) from the malpighian bodies, close to the anterior extremity of the ovary. zeiss a, ocul. . fig. . transverse section through the ovary of an embryo rabbit of twenty-two days, hardened in osmic acid. it is coloured in the same manner as fig. . zeiss a, ocul. . fig. a. transverse section through a small part of the ovary of an embryo, from the same female as fig. , hardened in picric acid, shewing the relation of the germinal epithelium to the stroma of the ovary. zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. and a. the same parts of an ovary of a twenty-eight days' embryo as figs. and a of a twenty-two days' embryo. fig. . ovary of a rabbit five days after birth, coloured in the same manner as figs. , and , but represented on a somewhat smaller scale. _picric acid._ fig. a. vertical section through a small part of the surface of the same ovary as fig. . zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. small portion of the deeper layer of the germinal epithelium of the same ovary as fig. . the figure shews the commencing differentiation of the cells of the germinal epithelium into true ova and follicle cells. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. a. section through a small part of the middle region of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit seven days after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. b. section through a small part of the innermost layer of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit seven days after birth, shewing the formation of graafian follicles. zeiss d d, ocul. . figs. a and b. small portions of the middle region of the germinal epithelium of a rabbit four weeks after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . fig. . graafian follicle with two ova, about to divide into two follicles, from a rabbit six weeks after birth. zeiss d d, ocul. . explanation of plates and . (xiii. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _ao._ aorta. _cv._ cardinal vein. _gl._ glomerulus. _gr_ . first groove of head-kidney. _gr_ . second groove of head-kidney. _gr_ . third groove of head-kidney. _ge._ germinal epithelium. _mrb._ malpighian body. _me._ mesentery. _md._ müllerian duct. _r_ . first ridge of head-kidney. _r_ . second ridge of head-kidney. _r_ . third ridge of head-kidney. _wd._ wolffian duct. _x._ fold in germinal epithelium. plate . series a. sections through the head-kidney at our second stage. zeiss , ocul. (reduced one-third). the second and third grooves are represented with the ridge connecting them, and the rod of cells running backwards for a short distance. no. . section through the second groove. no. . section through the ridge connecting the second and third grooves. no. . section passing through the same ridge at a point nearer the third groove. nos. , , . sections through the third groove. no. . section through the point where the third groove passes into the solid rod of cells. no. . section through the rod when quite separated from the germinal epithelium. no. . section very near the termination of the rod. no. . last section in which any trace of the rod is seen. series b. sections passing through the head-kidney at our third stage. zeiss c, ocul. . our figures are representations of the following sections of the series, section being the first which passes through the anterior groove of the head-kidney. no. section . no. section . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . the müllerian duct extends through eleven more sections. the first groove (_gr_ .) extends to no. . the second groove (_gr_ .) extends from no. to no. . the third groove (_gr_ .) extends from no. to no. . the first ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. to no. . the second ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. to no. . the third ridge (_r_ .) extends from no. backwards through twelve sections, when it terminates by a pointed extremity. fig. c. section through the ridge connecting the second and third grooves of the head-kidney of an embryo slightly younger than that from which series b was taken. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). the fold of the germinal epithelium, which gives rise to a deep groove (_x._) external to the head-kidney is well marked. series g. sections through the rod of cells constituting the termination of the müllerian duct at a stage in which the head-kidney is still present. zeiss c, ocul. . plate . series d. sections chosen at intervals from a complete series traversing the peritoneal opening of the müllerian duct, the remnant of the head-kidney, and the termination of the müllerian duct. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). nos. and . sections through the persistent anterior opening of the head-kidney (abdominal opening of müllerian duct). the approach of the wolffian duct to the groove may be seen by a comparison of these two figures. in the sections in front of these (not figured) the two are much more widely separated than in no. . no. . section through the müllerian duct, just posterior to the persistent opening. nos. and . remains of the ridges, which at an earlier stage connected the first and second grooves, are seen passing from the müllerian duct to the peritoneal epithelium. no. . rudiment of the second groove (_gr_ .) of the head-kidney. between and is a considerable interval. no. . all traces of this groove (_gr_ .) have vanished, and the müllerian duct is quite disconnected from the epithelium. no. . rudiment of the third groove (_gr_ .). no. . müllerian duct quite free in the space between the peritoneal epithelium and the wolffian duct, in which condition it extends until near its termination. between nos. and is an interval of eight sections. no. . the penultimate section, in which the müllerian duct is seen. a lumen cannot be clearly made out. no. . the last section in which any trace of the müllerian duct is visible. no line of demarcation can be seen separating the solid end of the müllerian duct from the ventral wall of the wolffian duct. figs. e. and f. sections through the glomerulus of the head-kidney from an embryo prior to the appearance of the head-kidney. zeiss b, ocul. . a comparison of the two figures shows the variation in the thickness of the stalk of the glomerulus. e. section anterior to the foremost malpighian body. f. section through both the glomerulus of the head-kidney and that of a malpighian body. the two are seen to be connected. series h. consecutive sections through the hind end of the müllerian duct, from an embryo in which the head-kidney was only represented by a rudiment. (the embryo was, perhaps, very slightly older than that from which series d was taken.) zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). no. . müllerian duct is without a lumen, and quite distinct from the wolffian wall. no. . the solid end of the müllerian duct is no longer distinct from the internal wall of the wolffian duct. no. . all trace of the müllerian duct has vanished. series i. sections through the hinder end of the müllerian duct from an embryo of about the middle of the sixth day. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). no. . the müllerian duct is distinct and small. no. . is posterior by twelve sections to no. . the müllerian duct is dilated, and its cells are vacuolated. no. . penultimate section, in which the müllerian duct is visible; it is separated by three sections from no. . no. . last section in which any trace of the müllerian duct is visible; the lumen, which was visible in the previous section, is now absent. no. . no trace of müllerian duct. nos. , , and are consecutive sections. fig. k. section through the hind end of the abdominal opening of the müllerian duct of a chick of hours. zeiss c, ocul. (reduced one-third). it illustrates the peculiar cord connecting the müllerian and wolffian ducts. explanation of plate . (xiv. p. .) complete list of reference letters. _am._ amnion. _ch._ notochord. _ch´._ notochordal thickening of hypoblast. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _m.g._ medullary groove. _me.p._ mesoblastic plate. _ne._ neurenteric canal (blastopore). _pr._ primitive streak. series a. sections through an embryo shortly after the formation of the medullary groove. x [ ]. footnote : the spaces between the layers in these sections are due to the action of the hardening reagent.] fig. . section through the trunk of the embryo. figs. - . sections through the neurenteric canal. fig. b. surface view of a somewhat older embryo than that from which series a is taken. x . series b. sections through the embryo represented in fig. b. x . fig. . section through the trunk of the embryo. figs. , . sections through the hind end of the medullary groove. fig. . section through the neurenteric canal. fig. . section through the primitive streak. fig. c. surface view of a somewhat older embryo than that represented in fig. b. x . explanation of plates , , . (xvii. p. .) plate . complete list of reference letters. _ch._ cheliceræ. _ch.g._ ganglion of cheliceræ. _c.l._ caudal lobe. _p.c._ primitive cumulus. _pd._ pedipalpi. _pr.l._ præoral lobe. _pp_{ }. _pp_{ }. _etc._ provisional appendages. _sp._ spinnerets. _st._ stomodæum. i-iv. ambulatory appendages. - . postoral segments. fig. . ovum, with primitive cumulus and streak proceeding from it. fig. . somewhat later stage, in which the primitive cumulus is still visible. near the opposite end of the blastoderm is a white area, which is probably the rudiment of the procephalic lobe. fig. _a_ and _b_. view of an embryo from the ventral surface and from the side when six segments have become established. fig. . view of an embryo, ideally unrolled, when the first rudiments of the appendages become visible. fig. . embryo ideally unrolled at the stage when all the appendages have become established. fig. . somewhat older stage, when the limbs begin to be jointed. viewed from the side. fig. . later stage, viewed from the side. fig. _a_. same embryo as fig. , ideally unrolled. figs. _a_ and _b_. view from the ventral surface and from the side of an embryo, after the ventral flexure has considerably advanced. fig. . somewhat older embryo, viewed from the ventral surface. plates and . complete list of reference letters. _ao._ aorta. _ab.g._ abdominal nerve cord. _ch._ cheliceræ. _ch.g._ ganglion of cheliceræ. _ep._ epiblast. _hs._ hemispherical lobe of supra-oesophageal ganglion. _ht._ heart. _l.l._ lower lip. _m._ muscles. _me._ mesoblast. _mes._ mesenteron. _mp.g._ malpighian tube. _ms._ mesoblastic somite. _oe._ oesophagus. _p.c._ pericardium. _pd._ pedipalpi. _pd.g._ ganglion of pedipalpi. _pr._ proctodæum (rectum). _pr.c._ primitive cumulus. _s._ septum in abdomen. _so._ somatopleure. _sp._ splanchnopleure. _st._ stomodæum. _su._ suctorial apparatus. _su.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglion. _th. g._ thoracic ganglion. _v.g._ ventral nerve cord. _y.c._ cells derived from yolk. _yk._ yolk. _y.n._ nuclei of yolk cells. i_g_-iv_g_. ganglia of ambulatory limbs. - . postoral segments. fig. . section through an ovum, slightly younger than fig. . shewing the primitive cumulus and the columnar character of the cells of one half of the blastoderm. fig. . section through an embryo of the same age as fig. . shewing the median thickening of the blastoderm. fig. . transverse section through the ventral plate of a somewhat older embryo. shewing the division of the ventral plate into epiblast and mesoblast. fig. . section through the ventral plate of an embryo of the same age as fig. , shewing the division of the mesoblast of the ventral plate into two mesoblastic bands. fig. . transverse section through an embryo of the same age as fig. , passing through an abdominal segment above and a thoracic segment below. fig. . longitudinal section slightly to one side of the middle line through an embryo of the same age. fig. . transverse section through the ventral plate in the thoracic region of an embryo of the same age as fig. . fig. . transverse section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of the same age. _gr._ section of hemicircular groove in procephalic lobe. fig. . transverse section through the thoracic region of an embryo of the same age as fig. . fig. . section through the procephalic lobes of an embryo of the same age. fig. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_. five sections through an embryo of the same age as fig. . _a_ and _b_ are sections through the procephalic lobes, _c_ through the front part of the thorax. _d_ cuts transversely the posterior parts of the thorax, and longitudinally and horizontally the ventral surface of the abdomen. _e_ cuts the posterior part of the abdomen longitudinally and horizontally, and shews the commencement of the mesenteron. fig. . longitudinal and vertical section of an embryo of the same age. the section passes somewhat to one side of the middle line, and shews the structure of the nervous system. fig. . transverse section through the dorsal part of the abdomen of an embryo of the same stage as fig. . explanation of plate . (xx. p. .) fig. . transverse section through the pelvic fin of an embryo of _scyllium_ belonging to stage p[ ], magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ fin ray. _m._ muscle. _h f._ horny fibres supporting the peripheral part of the fin. [footnote : i employ here the same letters to indicate the stages as in my "monograph on elasmobranch fig. . pelvic fin of a very young female embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _pu._ pubic process of pelvic girdle (cut across below). _il._ iliac process of pelvic girdle. _fo._ foramen. fig. . pelvic fin of a young male embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _mo._ process of basipterygium continued into clasper. _il._ iliac process of pelvic girdle. _pu._ pubic section of pelvic girdle. fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the trunk of an embryo _scyllium_ of stage p, in the region of the pectoral fins, to shew how the fins are attached to the body, magnified diameters. _br._ cartilaginous fin-ray. _bp._ basipterygium. _m._ muscle of fin. _mp._ muscle-plate. fig. . transverse section through the ventral part of the trunk of an embryo _scyllium_ of stage p, in the region of the pelvic fin, on the same scale as fig. . _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ cartilaginous fin-rays. _m._ muscle of the fins. _mp._ muscle-plate. fig. . pectoral fin of an embryo of _scyllium canicula_, of a stage between o and p, in longitudinal and horizontal section (the skeleton of the fin was still in the condition of embryonic cartilage), magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium (eventual metapterygium). _fr._ cartilaginous fin-rays. _pg._ pectoral girdle in transverse section. _fo._ foramen in pectoral girdle. _pe._ epithelium of peritoneal cavity. fig. . transverse section through the pectoral fin of a _scyllium_ embryo of stage p, magnified diameters. _bp._ basipterygium. _br._ cartilaginous fin-ray. _m._ muscle. _hf._ horny fibres. fig. . pectoral fin of an embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _mp._ metapterygium (basipterygium of earlier stage). _me.p._ rudiment of future pro- and mesopterygium. _sc._ cut surface of a scapular process. _cr._ coracoid process. _fr._ foramen. _hf._ horny fibres. fig. . skeleton of the pectoral fin and part of pectoral girdle of a nearly ripe embryo of _scyllium stellare_, magnified diameters. _mp._ metapterygium. _mes._ mesopterygium. _pp._ propterygium. _cr._ coracoid process. explanation of plates - . (xxii. p. .) list of reference letters. _a._ anus. _ab._ air-bladder. _ab´._ aperture of air-bladder into throat. _ac._ anterior commissure. _af._ anal fin. _al._ alimentary canal. _ao._ aorta. _ar._ artery. _au._ auditory pit. _b._ brain. _bc._ body-cavity. _bd._ bile duct. _bd´._ aperture of bile duct into duodenum. _bl._ coalesced portion of segmental ducts, forming urinogenital bladder. _bra._ branchial arches. _brc._ branchial clefts. _c._ pyloric caæca. _c´._ apertures of caæca into duodenum. _cb._ cerebellum. _cdv._ cardinal vein. _ce._ cerebrum: in figs. a and b, anterior lobe of cerebrum. _ce´._ posterior lobe of cerebrum. _cf._ caudal fin. _cn._ centrum. _ch._ choroidal fissure. _crv._ circular vein of vascular membrane of eye. _csh._ cuticular sheath of notochord. _cv._ caudal vein. _d._ duodenum. _dc._ dorsal cartilage of neural arch. _df._ dermal fin-rays. _dl._ dorsal lobe of caudal fin. _dlf._ dorsal fin. _e._ eye. _ed._ epidermis. _ep._ epiblast. _fb._ fore-brain. _fe._ pyriform bodies surrounding the zona radiata of the ovum, probably the remains of epithelial cells. _gb._ gall-bladder. _gd._ genital duct. _gl._ glomerulus. _gr._ genital ridge. _h._ heart. _ha._ hæmal arch. _hb._ hind-brain. _hc._ head-cavity. _hpd._ hepatic duct. _hm._ hyomandibular cleft. _hop._ operculum. _hy._ hypoblast; in fig. , hyoid arch. _hyl._ hyaloid membrane. _ic._ intercalated cartilaginous elements of the neural arches. _in._ infundibulum. _ir._ iris. _is._ interspinous cartilage or bones. _iv._ subintestinal vein. _ivr._ intervertebral ring of cartilage. _k._ kidney. _l._ lens. _lc._ longitudinal canal, formed by union of the vasa efferentia. _lin._ lobi inferiores. _ll._ ligamentum longitudinale superius. _lr._ liver. _lt._ lateral line. _ly._ lymphatic body in front of kidney. _m._ mouth. _mb._ mid-brain. _mc._ medullary cord. _mel._ membrana elastica externa. _mes._ mesorchium. _mn._ mandible. _md._ and _mo._ medulla oblongata. _ms._ mesoblast. _na._ neural arch. _na´._ dorsal element of neural arch. _nc._ notochord. _nve._ network formed by vasa efferentia on inner face of testis. _od._ oviduct. _od´._ aperture of oviduct into bladder. _ol._ nasal pit or aperture. _olf._ olfactory lobe. _op._ optic vesicle. _op ch._ optic chiasma. _opl._ optic lobes. _op th._ optic thalami. _or ep._ oral epithelium. _ov._ ovary. _p._ pancreas. _pc._ pericardium. _pcf._ pectoral fin. _pch._ pigmented layer of choroid. _pf._ peritoneal funnel of segmental tube of mesonephros. _pfp._ peritoneal funnel leading into pronephric chamber. _pg._ pectoral girdle. _plf._ pelvic fin. _pn._ pineal gland. _po._ primitive germinal cells. _pr._ mesoblastic somite. _prc._ pronephric chamber. _prn._ pronephros. _pr n´._ opening of pronephros into pronephric chamber. _pt._ pituitary body. _py._ pyloric valve. _pz._ parietal zone of blastoderm. _r._ rostrum. _rb._ rib. _rc._ rectum. _s._ spleen. _sc._ seminal vessels passing from the longitudinal canal into the kidney. _sd._ suctorial disc. _sg._ segmental or archinephric duct. _sgt._ segmental tubules. _sh._ granular outer portion of the sheath of the notochord in the vertebral regions. _smx._ superior maxillary process. _snc._ subnotochordal rod. _so._ somatic mesoblast. _sp._ splanchnic mesoblast. _spn._ spinal nerve. _spv._ spiral valve. _st._ stomach. _st._ seminal tubes of the testis. _sup._ suctorial papillæ. _t._ testis. _th._ thalamencephalon. _thl._ lobes of the roof of the thalamencephalon. _tr._ trabeculæ. _ug._ urinogenital aperture. _v._ ventricle. _ve._ vasa efferentia. _vh._ vitreous humour. _vl._ ventral lobe of the caudal fin. _vmt._ ventral mesentery. _vn._ vein. _vs._ blood-vessel. _vsh._ vascular sheath between the hyaloid membrane and the vitreous humour. _vth._ vesicle of the thalamencephalon. _x._ groove in epiblast, probably formed in process of hardening. _y._ yolk. _z._ commissure in front of pineal gland. _zr._ outer striated portion of investing membrane (zona radiata) of ovum. _zr´._ inner non-striated portion of investing membrane of ovum. i. olfactory nerve. ii. optic nerve. iii. oculomotor nerve. v. trigeminal nerve. viii. facial and auditory nerves. plate . figs. - . different stages in the segmentation of the ovum. fig. . ovum with a single vertical furrow, from above. fig. . ovum with two vertical furrows, from above. fig. . side view of an ovum with a completely formed blastodermic disc. fig. . the same ovum as fig. , from below, shewing four vertical furrows nearly meeting at the vegetative pole. figs. - . external views of embryos up to time of hatching. fig. . embryo, . millims. long, third day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the fifth day after impregnation. fig. . posterior part of same embryo as fig. , shewing tail swelling. fig. . embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. fig. . embryo on the eleventh day after impregnation (shortly before hatching). fig. . head of embryo about the same age as fig. , ventral aspect. fig. . side view of a larva about millims. in length, shortly after hatching. fig. . head of a larva about the same age as fig. , ventral aspect. fig. . side view of a larva about millims. long, five days after hatching. fig. . head of a larva millims. in length. fig. . tail of a larva centims. in length. fig. . transverse section through the egg-membranes of a just-laid ovum. we are indebted to professor w. k. parker for figs. , and . plate . figs. - . transverse sections of embryo on the third day after impregnation. fig. . through head, shewing the medullary keel. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . through same region as fig. , shewing a groove (_x_) in the epiblast, probably artificially formed in the process of hardening. fig. . through anterior part of tail region, shewing partial fusion of layers. fig. . through posterior part of tail region, shewing more complete fusion of layers than fig. . figs. - . transverse sections of an embryo on the fifth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain and auditory pits. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. figs. - . transverse sections of the head of an embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain and auditory pits. plate . figs. - . transverse sections of the trunk of an embryo on the sixth day after impregnation. fig. . through anterior part of trunk (from a slightly older embryo than the other sections of this stage). fig. . slightly posterior to fig. , shewing formation of segmental duct as a fold of the somatic mesoblast. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section of embryo on the sixth day after impregnation, passing through the mesoblastic somites, notochord, and medullary canal. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the seventh day after impregnation. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . through the trunk somewhat behind fig. . fig. . through tail region. fig. . further back than fig. , shewing constriction of tail from the yolk. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the eighth day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-brain and optic vesicles. fig. . through hind-brain, shewing closed auditory pits, &c. fig. . through anterior part of trunk. fig. . section through tail of an embryo on the ninth day after impregnation. plate . fig. . section through the olfactory involution and part of fore-brain of a larva on the ninth day after impregnation, shewing olfactory nerve. fig. . section through the anterior part of the head of the same larva, shewing pituitary involution. figs. - . transverse sections through an embryo on the eleventh day after impregnation. fig. . through fore-part of head, shewing the pituitary body still connected with the oral epithelium. fig. . slightly further back than fig. , shewing the pituitary body constricted off from the oral epithelium. fig. . slightly posterior to fig. , to shew olfactory involution, eye, and hyomandibular cleft. fig. . longitudinal section of the head of an embryo of millims. in length, a few days after hatching, shewing the structure of the brain. fig. . longitudinal section of the head of an embryo, about five weeks after hatching, millims. in length, shewing the structure of the brain. in the front part of the brain the section passes slightly to one side of the median line. figs. a to g. transverse sections through the brain of an embryo millims. in length, about a month after hatching. fig. a. through anterior lobes of cerebrum. fig. b. through posterior lobes of cerebrum. fig. c. through thalamencephalon. fig. d. through optic thalami and optic chiasma. fig. e. through optic lobes and infundibulum. fig. f. through optic lobes and cerebellum. fig. g. through optic lobes and cerebellum, slightly in front of fig. f. plate . figs. a, b, c. figures of adult brain. fig. a. from the side. fig. b. from above. fig. c. from below. fig. . longitudinal vertical section through the eye of an embryo, about a week after hatching, shewing the vascular membrane surrounding the vitreous humour. fig. . diagram shewing the arrangement of the vessels in the vascular membrane of the vitreous humour of adult eye. fig. . capillaries of the same vascular membrane. fig. . transverse section through anterior part of trunk of an embryo on the ninth day after impregnation, shewing the pronephros and pronephric chamber. .png fig. . transverse section through the region of the stomach of an embryo millims. in length, shortly after hatching, to shew the glomerulus and peritoneal funnel of pronephros. fig. . transverse section through posterior part of the body of an embryo, about a month after hatching, shewing the structure of the mesonephros, the spiral valve, &c. plate . figs. , , , and are a series of transverse sections through the genital ridge and mesonephros of one side from a larva of centims. fig. . section of the lymphatic organ which lies in front of the mesonephros. fig. . section near the anterior end of the mesonephros, where the genital sack is completely formed. fig. . section somewhat further back, shewing the mode of formation of the genital sack. fig. . section posterior to the above, the formation of the genital sack not having commenced, and the genital ridge with primitive germinal cells projecting freely into the body-cavity. fig. a. view of the testis, mesorchium, and duct of the kidney of the left side of an adult male example of _lepidosteus_, centims. in length, shewing the vasa efferentia and the longitudinal canal at the base of the mesorchium. the kidney ducts have been cut open posteriorly to shew the structure of the interior. fig. b. inner aspect of the posterior lobe of the testis from the same example, to shew the vasa efferentia forming a network on the face of the testis. figs. a and b. two sections shewing the structure and relations of the efferent ducts of the testis in the same example. fig. a. section through the inner aspect of a portion of the testis and mesorchium, to shew the network of the vasa efferentia (_nve_) becoming continuous with the seminal tubes (_st_). the granular matter nearly filling the vasa efferentia and the seminal tubes represent the spermatozoa. fig. b. section through part of the kidney and its duct and the longitudinal canal (_lc_) at the base of the mesorchium. canals (_sc_) are seen passing off from the latter, which enter the kidney and join the uriniferous tubuli. some of the latter (as well as the seminal tubes) are seen to be filled with granular matter, which we believe to be the remains of spermatozoa. fig. . diagram of the urinogenital organs of the left side of an adult female example of _lepidosteus_ centims. in length. this figure shews the oviduct (_od_) continuous with the investment of the ovary, opening at _od´_ into the dilated part of the kidney duct (segmental duct). it also shews the segmental duct and the junction of the latter with its fellow of the right side to form the so-called bladder, this part being represented as cut open. the kidney (_k_) and lymphatic organ (_ly_) in front of it are also shewn. plate . fig. . transverse section through the developing pancreas (_p_) of a larva millims. in length. fig. . longitudinal section through portions of the stomach, liver, and duodenum of an embryo about a month after hatching, to shew the relations of the pancreas (_p_) to the surrounding parts. fig. . external view of portions of the liver, stomach, duodenum, &c., of a young fish, centims. in length, to shew the pancreas (_p_). fig. . transverse section through the anterior part of the trunk of an embryo, about a month after hatching, shewing the connection of the air-bladder with the throat (_ab´_). fig. . transverse section through the same embryo as fig. further back, shewing the posterior part of the air-bladder (_ab_). fig. . viscera of an adult female, centims. in length, shewing the alimentary canal with its appended glands in natural position, and the air-bladder with its aperture into the throat (_ab´_). the proximal part of the duodenum and the terminal part of the intestine are represented as cut open, the former to shew the pyloric valve and the apertures of the pyloric cæca and bile duct, and the latter to shew the spiral valve. this figure was drawn for us by professor a. c. haddon. plate . fig. . transverse section through the tail of an advanced larva, shewing the neural and hæmal processes, the independently developed interneural and interhæmal elements (_is_), and the commencing dermal fin-rays (_df_). fig. . side view of the tail of a larva, minims. in length, dissected so as to shew the structure of the skeleton. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the vertebral column of a larva, . centims. in length, on the level of the hæmal arches, shewing the intervertebral rings of cartilage continuous with the arches, the vertebral constriction of the notochord, &c. figs. and . transverse sections through the vertebral column of a larva of . centims. the red represents bone, and the blue cartilage. fig. . through the vertebral region, shewing the neural and hæmal arches, the notochordal sheath, &c. fig. . through the intervertebral region, shewing the intervertebral cartilage. figs. and . transverse sections through the trunk of a larva of . centims. to shew the structure of the ribs and hæmal arches. fig. . through the anterior part of the trunk. fig. . through the posterior part of the trunk. plate . figs. - . transverse sections through the trunk of the same larva as figs. and . fig. . through the posterior part of the trunk (rather further back than fig. ). fig. . through the anterior part of the tail. fig. . rather further back than fig. . fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the vertebral column of a larva of centims., passing through the level of the hæmal arches, and shewing the intervertebral constriction of the notochord, the ossification of the cartilage, &c. fig. . transverse section through a vertebral region of the vertebral column of a larva centims. in length. fig. . transverse section through an intervertebral region of the same larva as fig. . fig. . side view of two trunk vertebræ of an adult _lepidosteus_. fig. . front view of a trunk vertebra of adult. in figures and the red does not represent bone as in the other figures, but simply the ligamentum longitudinale superius. explanation of plates - . (xxiv. p. .) n.b. the series of sections are in all cases numbered from before backwards. list of reference letters. _a.p._ area pellucida. _ep._ epiblast. _ch._ notochord. _gr._ germinal wall. _hy._ hypoblast. _m._ mesoblast. _o.p._ area opaca. _pr.g._ primitive groove. _pvs._ primitive streak. _yk._ yolk of germinal wall. plate . series a, and . sections through the blastoderm before the appearance of primitive streak. . section through anterior part of area pellucida in front of embryonic shield. the hypoblast here forms an imperfect layer. the figure represents about half the section. . section through same blastoderm, in the region of the embryonic shield. between the epiblast and hypoblast are a number of undifferentiated cells. the figure represents considerably more than half the section. series b, , and . sections through a blastoderm with a very young primitive streak. . section through the anterior part of the area pellucida in front of the primitive streak. . section through about the middle of the primitive streak. . section through the posterior part of the primitive streak. series c, and . sections through a blastoderm with a young primitive streak. . section through the front end of the primitive streak. . section through the primitive streak, somewhat behind . both figures shew very clearly the difference in character between the cells of the epiblastic mesoblast of the primitive streak, and the more granular cells of the mesoblast derived from the hypoblast. fig. d. longitudinal section through the axial line of the primitive streak, and the part of the blastoderm in front of it, of an embryo duck with a well-developed primitive streak. plate . series e, , , and . sections through blastoderm with a primitive streak, towards the end of the first stage. . section through the anterior part of the area pellucida. . section a little way behind shewing a forward growth of mesoblast from the primitive streak. . section through primitive streak. . section through posterior part of primitive streak, shewing the great widening of primitive streak behind. series f, and . sections through a blastoderm with primitive groove. . section shewing a deep pit in front of primitive streak, probably an early indication of the neurenteric canal. . section immediately following . fig. g. section through blastoderm with well-developed primitive streak, shewing an exceptionally deep slit-like primitive groove. series h, and . sections through a blastoderm with a fully-developed primitive streak. . section through the anterior part of area pellucida, shewing the cubical granular hypoblast cells in this region. . section slightly behind , shewing the primitive hypoblast cells differentiated into stellate cells, which can hardly be resolved in the middle line into hypoblast and mesoblast. plate . series i, , , , and . sections through blastoderm somewhat older than series h. . section through area pellucida well in front of primitive streak. . section through area pellucida just in front of primitive streak. . section through the front end of primitive streak. . section slightly behind . . section slightly behind . series k, , , , and . sections through a blastoderm in which the first traces of notochord and medullary groove have made their appearance. rather more than half the section is represented in each figure, but the right half is represented in and , and the left in and . . section through notochord immediately behind the head fold. . section shewing medullary groove a little behind . . section just in front of the primitive streak. and . sections through the front end of the primitive streak. fig. l. surface view of blastoderm with a very young primitive streak. explanation of plates - [ ]. (xxv. p. .) footnote : the explanations of the figures printed within inverted commas are by professor balfour, the rest are by the editors. complete list of reference letters. a. anus. _a._ dorso-lateral horn of white matter in brain. _a.g._ accessory gland of male (modified accessory leg gland). _at._ antenna. _at.n._ antennary nerve. _b._ ventro-lateral horn of white matter of brain. _b.c._ body-cavity. _bl._ blastopore. c. cutis. _c._ postero-dorsal lobe of white matter of brain. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia. _cl._ claw. _c.m._ circular layer of muscles. _co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords. _co. ._ second commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _co_{ }. . mass of cells developed on second commissure. _cor._ cornea. _c.s.d._ common duct for the two salivary glands. _cu._ cuticle. _d._ ventral protuberance of brain. _d.l.m._ dorsal longitudinal muscle of pharynx. _d.n._ median dorsal nerve to integument from supra-oesophageal ganglia. _d.o._ muscular bands passing from the ventro-lateral wall of the pharynx at the region of its opening into the buccal cavity. e. eye. e. central lobe of white matter of brain. _e.n._ nerves passing outwards from the ventral cords. _ep._ epidermis. _ep.c._ epidermis cells. f. , f. , _&c._ first and second pair of feet, &c. _f._ small accessory glandular tubes of the male generative apparatus. f._g._ ganglionic enlargement on ventral nerve-cord, from which a pair of nerves to foot pass off. _f.gl._ accessory foot-gland. f._n._ nerves to feet. _g.co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords containing ganglion cells. _g.o._ generative orifice. h. heart. _h._ cells in lateral division of body-cavity. _hy._ hypoblast. _i.j._ inner jaw. _j._ jaw. _j.n._ nerves to jaws. l. lips. _l._ lens. _l.b.c._ lateral compartment of body-cavity. _le._ jaw lever (cuticular prolongation of inner jaw lying in a backwardly projecting diverticulum of the buccal cavity). _l.m._ bands of longitudinal muscles. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward diverticulum of mouth or common salivary duct which receives the salivary ducts. _me._ mesenteron. _mes._ mesoblastic somite. _m.l._ muscles of jaw lever. _m.s._ sheets of muscle passing round the side walls of pharynx to dorsal body-wall. _od._ oviduct. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _o.f.g._ orifice of duct of foot-gland. _o.j._ outer jaw. _op._ optic ganglion. _op.n._ optic nerve. _or.g._ ganglionic enlargements for oral papillæ. _or.n._ nerves to oral papillæ. _or.p._ oral papillæ. _o.s._ orifice of duct of segmental organ. _ov._ ovary. p. pads on ventral side of foot. _p._ common duct into which the vasa deferentia open. _p.c._ posterior lobe of brain. _p.d.c._ posterior commissure passing dorsal to rectum. _p.f._ internal opening of nephridium into body-cavity. _ph._ pharynx. _pi._ pigment in outer ends of epidermic cells. _pi.r._ retinal pigment. _p.n._ nerves to feet. _p.p._ primary papilla. _pr._ prostate. r. rectum. _re._ retinal rods. r. _m._ muscle of claw. _s._ vesicle of nephridium. _s_{ }. part of th or th nephridium which corresponds to vesicle of other nephridia. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.c._ . region no. of ditto. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sl.g._ tubules of slime gland. _s.o._ , , , _&c._ nephridia of st, nd, &c., feet. _s.o.f._ terminal portion of nephridium. _s.p._ secondary papilla. _st._ stomach. _st.e._ epithelium of stomach. _sy._ sympathetic nerve running in muscles of tongue and pharynx. _sy´_. origin of pharyngeal sympathetic nerves. t. tongue. _t._ teeth on tongue. _te._ testis. _tr._ tracheæ. _tr.c._ cells found along the course of the tracheæ. _tr.o._ tracheal stigma. _tr.p._ tracheal pit. _ut._ uterus. _v.c._ ventral nerve cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. _v.g._ imperfect ganglia of ventral cord. plate . fig. . _peripatus capensis_, × ; viewed from the dorsal surface. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) plate . fig. . a left leg of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the ventral surface; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . a right leg of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the front side. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . the last left ( th) leg of a male _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the ventral side to shew the papilla at the apex of which the accessory gland of the male, or enlarged crural gland, opens to the exterior. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) prof. balfour left a rough drawing (not reproduced) shewing the papilla, to which is appended the following note. "figure shewing the accessory genital gland of male, which opens on the last pair of legs by a papilla on the ventral side. the papilla has got a slit-like aperture at its extremity." fig. . ventral view of head and oral region of _peripatus capensis_. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) plate . figs. and are from one drawing. fig. . _peripatus capensis_ dissected so as to shew the alimentary canal, slime glands, and salivary glands; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . the anterior end of fig. enlarged; x . (from a drawing by miss balfour.) the dissection is viewed from the ventral side, and the lips, l., have been cut through in the middle line behind and pulled outwards, so as to expose the jaws, _j._, which have been turned outwards, and the tongue, t., bearing a median row of chitinous teeth, which branches behind into two. the junction of the salivary ducts, _s.d._, and the opening of the median duct so formed into the buccal cavity is also shewn. the muscular pharynx, extending back into the space between the st and nd pairs of legs, is followed by a short tubular oesophagus. the latter opens into the large stomach with plicated walls, extending almost to the hind end of the animal. the stomach at its point of junction with the rectum presents an s-shaped ventro-dorsal curve. a. anus. _at._ antenna. f. , f. . first and second feet. _j._ jaws. l. lips. _oe._ oesophagus. _or.p._ oral papilla. _ph._ pharynx. r. rectum. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ slime reservoir. _sl.g._ portion of tubules of slime gland. _st._ stomach. t. tongue in roof of mouth. fig. . _peripatus capensis_, x ; male. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) dissected so as to shew the nervous system, slime glands, ducts of the latter passing into the oral papilla, accessory glands opening on the last pair of legs (enlarged crural glands), and segmental organs, viewed from dorsal surface. the first three pairs of segmental organs consist only of the vesicle and duct leading to the exterior. the fourth and fifth pairs are larger than the succeeding, and open externally to the crural glands. the ventral nerve-cords unite behind dorsal to the rectum. a. anus. _a.g._ accessory generative gland, or enlarged crural gland of the th leg. _at._ antenna. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia with eyes. _co._ commissures between the ventral nerve-cords. _d.n._ large median nerve to dorsal integument from hinder part of brain. f. , , &c. feet. _g.o._ generative orifice. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _or.p._ oral papilla. _p.d.c._ posterior dorsal commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _ph._ pharynx. _p.n._ nerves to feet, one pair from each ganglionic enlargement. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sl.g._ tubules of slime gland. _s.o._ , , , _&c._ segmental organs. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cords. _v.g._ imperfect ganglia of ventral cords. figs. and . left jaw of _peripatus capensis_ (male), shewing reserve jaws. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . inner jaw. fig. . outer jaw. plate . figs. - . a series of six transverse sections through the head of _peripatus capensis._ fig. . the section is taken immediately behind the junction of the supra-oesophageal ganglia, _c.g._, and passes through the buccal cavity, m., and jaws, _o.j._ and _i.j._ fig. . the section is taken through the hinder part of the buccal cavity at the level of the opening of the mouth into the pharynx and behind the jaws. the cuticular rod-like continuation (_le._) of the inner jaw lying in a backwardly directed pit of the buccal cavity is shewn; on the right hand side the section passes through the opening of this pit. fig. . the section passes through the front part of the pharynx, and shews the opening into the latter of the median backward diverticulum of the mouth (m{ }), which receives the salivary ducts. it also shews the commencement of the ventral nerve-cords, and the backwardly projecting lobes of the brain. fig. . the section passes through the anterior part of the pharynx at the level of the second commissure (_co._ ), between the ventral nerve-trunks, and shews the mass of cells developed on this commissure, which is in contact with the epithelium of the backward continuation of the buccal cavity (m{ }). fig. . section through the point of junction of the salivary ducts with the median oral diverticulum. fig. . section behind the pharynx through the oesophagus. _b.c._ body-cavity. c. cutis. _c.b.c._ central compartment of body-cavity. _c.g._ supra-oesophageal ganglia. _c.m._ layer of circular muscles. _co._ commissure between ventral nerve-cords. _co._ . second commissure between the ventral nerve-cords. _co{ }._ . mass of cells developed on second commissure (probably sensory). _c.s.d._ common duct for the two salivary glands. _d.l.m._ dorsal longitudinal muscles of pharynx. _d.o._ muscles serving to dilate the opening of the pharynx. _ep._ epidermis. _e.n._ nerve passing outwards from ventral nerve-cord. h. heart. _i.j._ inner jaw. _j.p._ jaw papillæ. _l._ lips of buccal cavity. _l.b.c._ lateral compartment of body-cavity. _le._ rod-like cuticular continuation of inner jaw, lying in a pit of the buccal cavity. _l.m._ bands of longitudinal muscles. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward continuation of buccal cavity. _m.l._ muscles of jaw lever. _m.s._ muscular sheets passing from side walls of pharynx to dorsal body-wall. _oe._ oesophagus. _oes.co._ oesophageal commissures. _o.j._ outer jaw. _ph._ pharynx. _s.d._ salivary duct. _s.g._ salivary gland. _sl.d._ reservoir of slime gland. _sy._ sympathetic nerves running in muscles of tongue or pharynx. _sy{ }._ origin of sympathetic nerves to pharynx. t. tongue. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cords. figs. , . two longitudinal horizontal sections through the head of _peripatus capensis_. fig. is the most ventral. they are both taken ventral to the cerebral ganglia. in fig. dorsal tracheal pits are shewn with tracheæ passing off from them. (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.) c. cutis. _c.s.d._ common salivary duct. _ep._ epidermis. _i.j._ inner jaw. m. buccal cavity. m{ }. median backward diverticulum of mouth. _o.j._ outer jaw. _s.d._ salivary ducts. t. tongue. _t._ teeth on tongue. _tr._ tracheæ. _tr.p._ tracheal pits. plate . fig. . "a, b, c, d, e, f, g." seven transverse sections illustrating the structure of the supra-oesophageal ganglia. (zeiss a, hartnack's camera.) _a._ dorso-lateral horn of white matter. _b._ ventro-lateral horn of white matter. _c._ postero-dorsal lobe of white matter. _d._ ventral protuberance of brain. _e._ central lobe of white matter. _o.p._ optic ganglion. "a. section through anterior portions of ganglia close to the origin of the antennary nerve. b. section a little in front of the point where the two ganglia unite. c. section close to anterior junction of two ganglia. d. section through origin of optic nerve on the right side. e. section shewing origin of the optic nerve on the left side. f. section through the dorso-median lobe of white matter. g. section near the termination of the dorsal tongue of ganglion cells." plate . fig. . portion of a transverse section through the hinder part of _peripatus capensis_ (male). the section passes through a leg, and shews the opening of the segmental organ (_o.s._), and of a crural gland, _o.f.g._, and the forward continuation of the enlarged crural gland of the th leg (_f.gl._). (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.) _a.g._ accessory gland of male (modified crural gland of last leg). c. cutis. _cl._ claw. _cu._ cuticle. _ep._ epidermis. _f.gl._ crural gland. _h._ cells in lateral compartment of body-cavity. _o.f.g._ orifice of accessory foot gland. _o.s._ opening of segmental organ. p. three spinous pads on ventral surface of foot. _pr._ prostate. r.m. retractor muscle of claw. _s._ vesicle of nephridium. _s.c.i._ region no. of coiled part of nephridium. _sl.g._ tubule of slime gland. _s.o.t._ terminal portion of nephridium. _st._ stomach. _st.e._ epithelium of stomach. _v.c._ ventral nerve-cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. fig. . "longitudinal vertical section through the supra-oesophageal ganglion and oesophageal commissures of _peripatus capensis_. (zeiss a a, hartnack.)" _at._ antenna. _e._ central lobe of white matter. _j._ part of jaw. _s.g._ salivary gland. fig. : drawn by miss balfour. brain and anterior part of the ventral nerve-cords of _peripatus capensis_ enlarged and viewed from the ventral surface. the paired appendages (_d_) of the ventral surface of the brain are seen, and the pair of sympathetic nerves (_sy_{ }) arising from the ventral surface of the hinder part. from the commencement of the oesophageal commissures (_oes.co._) pass off on each side a pair of nerves to the jaws (_j.n._). the three anterior commissures between the ventral nerve-cords are placed close together; immediately behind them the nerve-cords are swollen, to form the ganglionic enlargements from which pass off to the oral papillæ a pair of large nerves on each side (_or.n._). behind this the cords present a series of enlargements, one pair for each pair of feet, from which a pair of large nerves pass off on each side to the feet (_p.n_). _at.n._ antennary nerves. _co._ commissures between ventral cords. _d._ ventral appendages of brain. e. eye. _e.n._ nerves passing outwards from ventral cord. _f.g._ ganglionic enlargements from which nerves to feet pass off. _j.n._ nerves to jaws. _or.g._ ganglionic enlargement from which nerves to oral papillæ pass off. _or.n._ nerves to oral papillæ. _p.c._ posterior lobe of brain. _p.n._ nerves to feet. _s.y._ sympathetic nerves. fig. . "longitudinal horizontal section through the head of _peripatus capensis_, shewing the structure of the brain, the antennary and optic nerves, &c. (zeiss a a, hartnack's camera.)" _at._ antenna. _at.n._ antennary nerve. _cor._ cornea. _e._ central mass of white matter. _l._ lens. _op.n._ optic nerve. _ph._ pharynx. _p.p._ primary papilla covered with secondary papillæ and terminating in a long spine. _sy._ pharyngeal sympathetic nerves. fig. . "eye of _peripatus capensis_, as shewn in a longitudinal horizontal section through the head. the figure is so far diagrammatic that the lens is represented as filling up the whole space between the rods and the cornea. in the actual section there is a considerable space between the parts, but this space is probably artificial, being in part caused by the shrinkage of the lens and in part by the action of the razor. (zeiss c, hartnack's camera.)" (it appears that the ganglionic region of the eye is covered by a thin capsule, which is omitted in the figure.) _cor._ cornea. _l._ lens. _op._ optic ganglion. _op.n._ optic nerve. _pi.r._ pigment. _re._ rods. _s.p._ secondary papillæ. fig. . longitudinal horizontal section through the dorsal skin, shewing the peculiar arrangement of the circular muscular fibres. (zeiss a, hartnack's camera.) plate . fig. . portion of ventral cord of _peripatus capensis_ enlarged, shewing two ganglionic enlargements and the origin of the nerves and commissures. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _co._ commissures. e._n._ nerves passing out from ventral cords. f._n._ nerves to feet. _g.co._ commissures between the ventral cords containing ganglion cells. _v.g._ ganglionic enlargements. fig. . segmental organ from the th pair of legs of _peripatus capensis_. this nephridium resembles those of the th legs, and differs from all the others in its large size and in the absence of any dilatation giving rise to a collecting vesicle on its external portion (enlarged). the terminal portion has the same histological characters as in the case of the hinder segmental organs. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) fig. . segmental organ or nephridium from the th pair of legs of _peripatus capensis_, shewing the external opening, the vesicle, the coiled portion and the terminal portion with internal opening (enlarged). (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _o.s._ external opening of segmental organ. _p.f._ internal opening of nephridium into the body-cavity (lateral compartment). _s._ vesicle of segmental organ. _s_{ }. portion of segmental organ of th and th legs, corresponding to vesicle of the other nephridia. _s.c._ . first or external portion of coiled tube of nephridium, lined by columnar epithelium with small nuclei; the cells project for very different distances, giving the inner boundary of this region a ragged appearance. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium, lined by small closely-packed columnar cells. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of segmental organ, lined by large flat cells with large disc-shaped nuclei. _s.c._ . region no. of coiled tube of nephridium; this region is very short and lined by small columnar cells. _s.o.t._ terminal portion of nephridium. fig. . "portion of nephridium of the hindermost leg of _peripatus capensis_, seen in longitudinal and vertical section. the figure is given to shew the peritoneal funnel of the nephridium. portions of the collecting sack (_s._) and other parts are also represented. (zeiss b, hartnack's camera.)" _p.f._ peritoneal funnel. _s._ vesicle. _s.c. _, _s.c. _, _s.c. ._ portions of coiled tube. fig. . "section through a tracheal pit and diverging bundles of tracheal tubes" taken transversely to the long axis of the body. (zeiss e, oc. .) (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) _tr._ _tracheæ_, shewing rudimentary spiral fibre. _tr.c._ cells resembling those lining the tracheal pits, which occur at intervals along the course of the tracheæ. _tr.s._ tracheal stigma. _tr.p._ tracheal pit. fig. . "sense organs and nerves attached from antenna of _peripatus capensis_ (zeiss, immersion , oc. .)" (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) the figure shews the arrangement of the epidermis cells round the base of the spine. the spine is seen to be continuous with the inner layer of the cuticle. fig. . section through the skin of _peripatus capensis_; it shews the secondary papillæ covered with minute spinous tubercles and the relation of the epidermis to them. (the cuticle in the process of cutting has been torn away from the subjacent cells.) the cells of the epidermis are provided with large oval nuclei, and there is a deposit of pigment in the outer ends of the cells. the granules in the protoplasm of the inner ends of the cells are arranged in lines, so as to give a streaked appearance. (zeiss e, oc. .) (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) _c._ dermis. _cu._ cuticle. _ep.c._ epidermis cells. _pi._ deposit of pigment in outer ends of epidermis cells. _s.p._ secondary papillæ. fig. . female generative organs of _peripatus capensis_, × . (from a rough drawing by prof. balfour.) the following note was appended to this drawing: "ovary rather to dorsal side, lying in a central compartment of body-cavity and attached to one of the longitudinal septa, dividing this from the lateral compartment between the penultimate pair of legs and that next in front. the oviducts cross before opening to the exterior, the right oviduct passing under the rectum and the left over it. they meet by opening into a common vestibule, which in its turn opens below the anus. on each side of it are a pair of short papillæ (aborted feet?)." f. , . last two pairs of legs. _od._ oviduct. _ov._ ovary. _ut._ uterus. _v.c._ nerve-cord. plate . figs. - . five young embryos of _peripatus capensis_; ventral view. all, excepting fig. , from drawings by miss balfour. in figures to _a_ denotes what is probably the anterior extremity. fig. , stage a. youngest embryo found, with slightly elongated blastopore. fig. , stage b. embryo with three mesoblastic somites and elongated blastopore. the external boundaries of the somites are not distinct. fig. , stage c. embryo with five somites. the blastopore is closing in its middle portion. fig. , stage d. the blastopore has completely closed in its middle portion, and given rise to two openings, the future mouth and anus. (from a rough drawing left by professor balfour.) (zeiss a, camera oberhaus. on level of stage.) the following note was appended to this drawing in his handwriting: "young larva of _peripatus capensis_. i could not tell for certain which was the anterior end. length, . mm." fig. , stage e. embryo with about thirteen mesoblastic somites in which the flexure of the hind part of the body has commenced. the remains of the original blastopore are present as the mouth, placed between the second pair of mesoblastic somites, and the anus placed on the concavity of the commencing flexure of the hind part of the body. fig. . side view of same embryo. figs. - . drawings by professor balfour of three transverse sections through the embryo from which fig. was taken. (zeiss c, camera.) figs. and pass through the region of the blastopore. _bl._ blastopore. _ep._ epiblast. _hy._ hypoblast. _me._ mesenteron. _mes._ mesoblastic somite. fig. . male generative organs of _peripatus capensis_, viewed from the dorsal surface. (from a drawing by miss balfour.) _a.g._ enlarged crural glands of last pair of legs. f. , . last pairs of legs. _f._ small accessory glandular tubes. _p._ common duct into which vasa deferentia open. _p.r._ prostate. _te._ testes. _v.c._ nerve-cord. _v.d._ vas deferens. [illustration: plate . fmb. ed. nat. del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f.m.b. del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour, del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour &. a. sedgwick del the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . a. b. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour del the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. balfour, del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. k. p. & w. n. p. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p. del ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p. del ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p., & e. m. b. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. b., w. n. p. & m. p. p. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p. & a. c. h. del ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. b. & w. n. p. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . w. n. p. & m p p. del. ad nat. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. deighton del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. deighton del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. deighton del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . a. b. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . a. b. balfour, del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . a. b. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . m. p. parker del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . m. p. parker del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . a. b. balfour & m. p. parker del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. &. a. b. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] [illustration: plate . f. m. &. a. b. balfour del. the cambridge scientific instrument company.] transcriber's notes: underscores surround text in italics, _like this_. raised dots in numbers were converted to decimals. superscript letters are enclosed in braces, e.g. p{ }. use of periods and commas in the abbreviations within and referring to illustrations is inconsistent. often punctuation marks do not match the illustrations to which they refer. periods were retained; commas were added to separate figure numbers from abbreviations within the figure. spacing within the abbreviations was standardized. occasionally, identification marks referenced in the text do not match the illustration (for example, discussion of figure , plate , where epiblast is identified with _e_ in the text, but with e in the illustration). footnotes were renumbered sequentially, indented, and moved to follow the paragraph or section in which the anchor occurs. other changes: footnote : 're-agent' to 'reagent' explanation of plates, plate , figures - : 'tranverse' to 'transverse'